Celebrate Kane Williamson’s 30th birthday, by seeing how much you know about world cricket’s Mr Nice Guy
Sreshth Shah08-Aug-2020Celebrate Kane Williamson’s 30th birthday, by seeing how much you know about world cricket’s most-loved man. If the quiz doesn’t load, please click here.
“Every game we play now is a big lead up opportunity. It’s about filling in the gaps with guys who have left.”
Firdose Moonda02-Dec-2025
Temba Bavuma played no part in the first ODI•AFP/Getty Images
Temba Bavuma will be back to lead South Africa’s ODI side as they seek to square the series in India but has not confirmed where he will bat while the team continues to tinker with top-order combinations.Bavuma missed the opening match with illness, where South Africa stuck to their new(ish) combination of Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton, with Quinton de Kock at No.3. With the series on the line, they may look to return to the more successful and experienced combination of de Kock and Bavuma at the top, especially given their record. While Markram and Rickelton have opened together in just seven innings, and scored 306 runs at 43.71, de Kock and Bavuma have been South Africa’s second-most prolific opening pair since 2016 with over 1,000 runs together from 19 innings at 56.42, and would appear the better choice.On the eve of match two, Bavuma was non-committal about where he stood in the line-up. “Where I fit in, generally being in that top three, I’m easy whichever way is best for the team, as long as I’m still contributing,” Bavuma said in Raipur, where he also had a long net session, confirming his return to health. “At the moment, it’s about creating depth. There is versatility in that guys who generally bat at the top of their order have used in the middle. In this team, a guy like Matthew Breetzke, who generally sees himself at the top in one-day cricket, but he’s doing that job more than well now at No.4 A guy like Tony (de Zorzi) – he’s getting that opportunity to bat at five.”Related
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In the absence of Heinrich Klaasen (retired), Tristan Stubbs (dropped) and David Miller (not in this ODI squad), South Africa have effectively created a top five out of five different opening batters with Dewald Brevis in at six. The only reserve batter is Rubin Hermann (also a top three batter for the bulk of his List A career) and Bavuma explained their reasoning for stacking the squad with top-order players.”Going back to South Africa, there’s always that element of batsmanship that you need. I know there’s a big craze about guys hitting sixes in the middle order, but you need a little bit of batsmanship. A guy like Tony, he has the characteristics.,” Bavuma said. “I guess now it’s just to keep putting on the performances to justify why he should do that.”De Zorzi has played 21 ODIs for South Africa, scored 688 runs and averages 36.21. He has a strike-rate below 100 and though he is strong against spin, is seen more as someone who can build an innings and rotate strike rather than a big-hitter. It’s that type of player South Africa think they will need, not only in the subcontinent but as they build their resources for the home ODI World Cup in 2027.The tournament is just less than two years away but South Africa will only play, according to the FTP, nine ODIs after this series, all at home. That could change especially as the FTP only runs to April 2027 and the World Cup will be held in October but the time to experiment is now, which is exactly what South Africa are doing.”Every game we play now is a big lead up opportunity. It’s about filling in the gaps with guys who have left,” Bavuma said. “Especially from a resource point of view, we want to make sure if we do have a situation where one of our main bowlers is out that we do have young guys to step in. We’re seeing guys like Nandre Burger, they are putting up their hands. So creating depth and then seeing where guys can be filling in those roles.”Bavuma feels Matthew Breetzke is pulling his weight and more at No.4•BCCI
With Kagiso Rabada out of the series. Burger led the attack in the first match with support from three other seamers: Ottneil Baartman, Corbin Bosch and Marco Jansen. South Africa also have Lungi Ngidi, who is certain to play a role at some stage, in the squad, but for now, seem to be leaning more towards allrounders. Bosch and Jansen were both crucial in South Africa’s attempt to chase 350 in Ranchi and could keep their places as the series goes on. Jansen, in particular, has had a coming of age tour of India, and has made himself central to South Africa’s XI in all formats. Expect to see much more of him in this series.”I don’t know where the rankings sit but I’m sure Marco Jansen in any one of those formats will definitely be in the top 10. His contributions with the bat, with the ball, sometimes even both, have been immense to our success. Marco is still a young guy but he’s had a lot of international cricket that is under his belt and he’s only growing into his own and he’s becoming a lot more comfortable in his skin.”Currently, Jansen, who scored 93 and took seven wickets in the Guwahati Test, is sixth on the ICC’s Test allrounder rankings but 35th on the ODI list. His returns in Ranchi, where he scored a 39-ball 70 and took 2 for 76, could be the start of his climb up the charts.
Zimbabwe lost seven wickets for 37 runs to slip to 147 for 8, when a total greater than 180 had been on the cards. Still, they pushed Pakistan’s chase into the final over, their seamers striking three times in the powerplay to slow Pakistan’s advance, before also squeezing the hosts in the middle overs.Pakistan’s Nos. 5, 6, and 7, however, dug them out of the hole. Playing his comeback T20I innings, Fakhar Zaman hit 44 off 32, putting on a 61-run partnership with Usman Khan. Usman was then joined by Mohammad Nawaz, who had earlier been the best of Pakistan’s bowlers. The required rate had become something of a challenge at this stage, but Nawaz’s 20 off 12 balls ensured victory was ultimately comfortable.Had Brian Bennett held a straight-forward chance off Nawaz on the midwicket boundary, with 15 needed off 10, Zimbabwe could have mounted a sterner challenge at the business end. In the end, Nawaz struck the winning boundary with four balls to spare.Zimbabwe veteran Graeme Cremer, playing his first T20I in over seven years and after 122 matches – the latter, a record – conceded 27 runs in three overs for one wicket.
After seven overs, Zimbabwe were running the show. The openers had hit 11 fours and a six between them. The run rate was in touching distance of 10. And the first two overs of spin had conceded 26 runs. But Nawaz, bowling quicker and more accurately than the legspinners, made the breakthrough that soon brought a flood of wickets when he had Tadiwanashe Marumani caught at deep square leg, though that first wicket came off a full toss. Later, he would also have Ryan Burl holing out.It was Nawaz’ economy, though, that set him apart. He conceded only 22 form his four overs, and had by far the lowest economy rate (5.50) of any bowler to bowl four overs in the game. With the bat, he was fortunate to be reprieved on nine, but struck a six and two fours to ensure Pakistan didn’t flounder at the finish.
The period in which Zimbabwe crashed hardest was through the middle of their innings, when they slipped from 91 for 1 in the 11th over, to 128 for 8 in the 19th. Pakistan’s spinners bossed this period, with Saim Ayub and Abrar Ahmed also picking up key wickets. Although there was not much turn off the surface, the legspinners frequently beat batters in the flight, and created pressure through dot balls. It is this pressure that also caused two Zimbabwe run-outs.In the eight-over stretch between the 11th and 19th overs, Pakistan conceded only 30. It took an unbeaten 34 from Sikandar Raza 34 off 24 balls to avert complete disaster.
Early wickets are crucial when defending a modest score, and that’s exactly what Zimbabwe got, when Brad Evans removed both Sahibzada Farhan and Babar Azam in the fifth over, before Tinotenda Maposa trapped Salman Agha in the sixth over. At the end of the powerplay, Pakistan were 31 for 3.They would struggle through the next four overs too, and when Ayub was dismissed by Cremer’s legspin in the 10th over, the required-rate was up to nine, and Zimbabwe looked like defending their total. But a sensible stand between Zaman and Usman gave the Pakistan chase some substance and Nawaz finished the job.
With the pressure growing on Arne Slot, Xabi Alonso has reportedly made his mind up on taking the Liverpool job if it becomes available at the same time that he potentially leaves Real Madrid.
For the first time in Slot’s Liverpool career, serious questions are being asked about his tenure. Last season’s Premier League title win has provided him with plenty of credit but, as Jamie Carragher pointed out on Monday Night Football, not everyone is still convinced that he’s still the man for the job.
After eight defeats in 11 games, the Dutchman simply has to turn things around. The Reds backed him by breaking their transfer record twice in the summer and spending over £400m, but are yet to see that investment pay off.
The most concerning aspect of Liverpool’s recent run is that nothing has changed. Slot has persisted with the same system, which only provided false dawns against Real Madrid and Aston Villa.
Now, with Alonso also under pressure at Madrid, Liverpool could be presented with a tempting opportunity to make a sensational change.
Xabi Alonso makes Liverpool decision
According to Football365, Alonso is now ready to take the Liverpool job if Real Madrid decide to sack him. The Spaniard has been put under increasing pressure by reports that Vinicius Junior has decided against signing a new deal whilst the manager is in charge.
As Real Madrid are forced to decide between their star man and their new manager, it’s Liverpool who could take full advantage.
For many, the big question has centred around who would replace Slot if Liverpool decided to sack the Dutchman. In Alonso, they’d have the perfect answer.
The Reds were interested in a reunion with the Spaniard before they hired Slot and could now get what they initially wanted over a year later.
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Although a lot of pieces will need to fall into place, there’s little doubt that Alonso would be welcomed with open arms at Anfield.
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If Leicestershire’s vision was to clinch promotion to Division One with a resounding victory, it looks unlikely to come to pass this week after a truncated third day of their Rothesay County Championship match left them trailing Gloucestershire by 150 runs.Shan Masood compiled a typically elegant 111 to mark his first-class debut for the county with the 30th hundred of his career but Leicestershire then lost their last six wickets for 22 to trail by 140 on first innings, bowled out for 342 as Gloucestershire seamer Matt Taylor finished with five for 70, backed up by new-ball partner Ajeet Singh Dale’s three for 78.Gloucestershire – who need a victory to keep their outside chance of promotion alive – were eight without loss from four overs in their second innings before a three-hour interruption due to rain, adding just two runs before a resumption at 5.30pm was curtailed after just 13 deliveries due to bad light. With earlier rain having delayed the start by 70 minutes, just 30 overs and one ball were bowled in all.Even if a win eludes them, Leicestershire’s lead in the division is so large that a top-two finish can still be confirmed this week if this match ends in a draw and the clash between third-placed Derbyshire and fourth-placed Middlesex at Lord’s is also drawn.Masood faced 176 balls and hit 13 fours on the way to his eighth first-class hundred in county cricket, having previously made them for Derbyshire and Yorkshire. The left-hander will be 36 next month but retains the capacity to produce moments of sublime skill at the crease, which he underlined with some beautiful strokeplay in this innings.After his 152-run partnership with Lewis Hill on Tuesday had seemed to set up Leicestershire for a substantial reply, there seemed little to suggest that would not happen as a second batting bonus point was secured in a morning session reduced to 50 minutes with Masood and Steve Eskinazi, also making his Championship debut for a new county, having added 82.But that all changed with the last delivery of the session, which resulted in Masood being given out leg before, the former Pakistan Test captain’s body language leaving no doubt that the decision did not meet with his approval.Masood’s dismissal was the catalyst for an unseemly collapse from 320 for four to 342 all out, with the follow-on only just avoided.Having put off taking the second new ball until after lunch, Gloucestershire took it immediately after the break and needed only 10 overs’ use of it to claim the remaining five Leicestershire wickets.Taylor, who had three wickets overnight, beat Ben Cox for pace and had Ben Mike nicking behind to complete his first five-wicket haul in two years.New-ball partner Singh Dale, bound for Lancashire at the end of the season, gained deserved rewards as ex-Middlesex batter Eskinazi’s county debut innings ended on 34 with a catch at second slip. Logan van Beek and Chris Wright became the fourth and fifth batters in the innings to fall leg before, Wright having at least hung around long enough to ensure that the visitors would bat again after the ninth wicket had gone with still one run needed.
Hampshire heavily beaten after batting line-up misfires
ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay13-Aug-2025Worcestershire 196 for 5 (D’Oliveira 52, Jack 2-34) beat Hampshire 194 (Gubbins 60, Allison 6-35) Ben Allison’s career best figures of 6 for 35 helped Worcestershire secure a comfortable five-wicket win over Hampshire in Group A of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup.Allison bowled with pace and control from the outset, as regular wickets stunted Hampshire’s progress, with Nick Gubbins’ half-century the highlight in Hampshire’s total of 194 all out.In reply, a composed 52 from Brett D’Oliveira and thirties from Kashif Ali and Jake Libby put the hosts in control of their chase as Hampshire’s bowlers struggled. A quickfire cameo from Ethan Brookes saw Worcestershire ease their way to a convincing five-wicket win and continue their unbeaten start to the group stage.Allison pushed the home side in front early as he drew Ali Orr into an unnecessary waft at a full delivery outside his off stump in the first over of the contest, shortly before producing a peach of a delivery to account for the vital wicket of Tilak Varma, without scoring. Hampshire rallied from 14 for 2, with Gubbins taking his side past 50 without further cause for concern in sublime batting conditions at New Road.Scotland’s Brandon McMullen (29) gave his wicket away after a promising start, but Gubbins continued his fine solo efforts, raising his bat after passing fifty for the second time in this year’s One-Day Cup. Joe Weatherley’s afternoon was brought to a premature end when he was in single figures, as he retired hurt, unable to continue having been struck on the hand earlier in his innings.Gubbins’ classy knock saw him relatively unphased, stroking nine boundaries on his way to 60, but when Ethan Brookes trapped the opener LBW in front with a darting, full ball, the home side were back on an even keel, with Hampshire 115 for 4.Worcestershire youngster, Jack Home, making his first appearance of the season for the Rapids, returned to the action after a turbulent two-over spell earlier on in the piece to spark the biggest reaction from the crowd of the day when he zipped a ball through the defences of England U19 teammate Ben Mayes, watching a shard of middle stump fall victim of his pace, as the home side tightened their grip on the first-innings.File photo: Ben Allison takes the plaudits•Getty ImagesAt 121 for 5 and faltering on the back of the metronomic Brookes’ spell, a sixth-wicket partnership of 62 between Tom Prest and Felix Organ provided some stability for the visitors.But Worcestershire hit back, with the impressive Allison taking the wickets of both aforementioned batters in the 38th over, with a stunning caught and bowled spelling the end for Prest on 36. The seamer capped a sensational day with two more wickets in his final over, as he returned career-best figures of 6 for 35 to bundle Hampshire out for a below-par 194.Isaac Mohammed fell early in the reply when he was LBW for 10, but Kashif Ali and Brett D’Oliveira put on 59 for the third wicket, with Kashif continuing his excellent run in the competition as he searched for a third consecutive half-century.He perished 14 runs short of the milestone however when he found Prest at mid-off, but his departure didn’t halt Worcestershire’s momentum as they batted on past 100 in the 22nd over.D’Oliveira made his way to a composed half-century from 79 balls as Worcestershire strolled through the middle overs, but Hampshire had a brief moment of optimism McMullen struck in the 30th over to see the back of D’Oliveira.Brookes’ quick fire cameo of 35 from 24 balls propelled the home side up to 168 for 4, as the late loss of he and Libby (32) did not derail what was a comfortable chase with the Rapids securing a five-wicket win with more than ten overs in tact.
Juan Soto is set to become a free agent this offseason after his one-year deal with the New York Yankees is up.
The Yankees are still expected to try to bring Soto back, and his teammates definitely want that to happen, but a few other MLB teams have popped up as potential landing spots for the outfielder. Including, now, the Los Angeles Dodgers according to the 's Jon Heyman. The Yankees and Dodgers are currently playing against each other in the World Series.
The Dodgers would be able to afford Soto thanks to Shohei Ohtani's contract he signed this past offseason. The 10-year, $680 million deal is mostly deferred until the 10 years are up. The Dodgers will be charged around $46.06 million annually and have around $24 million to use each year to help add more talent to the roster.
Soto averaged .288/.419/.569 during the 2024 season. He had 166 hits, 128 runs, 109 RBIs and 41 home runs, which was the fourth most in the league. He will join the Yankees in attempting to stave off elimination starting with Game 3 on Monday night in the Bronx.
No one associated with Celtic Football Club is pleased to be in the Europa League, given their catastrophic and ignominious Champions League exit at the hands of Kairat, but now here, they’re desperate to make a good go of it.
Well, on Wednesday night, the Hoops did make a positive start to the league phase, holding Red Star Belgrade to a 1-1 draw at Stadion Rajko Mitić.
Brendan Rodgers’ side were probably the better side throughout, unlucky not to leave the Serbian capital with all three points, looking exponentially better than they did in Almaty during their last European fixture a month ago, that’s for sure.
Next Thursday, Braga will visit Parkhead, with home games against Sturm Graz, Roma and Utrecht to come thereafter, while the Celts will also travel to Midtjylland, Feyenoord and Bologna.
If Celtic are going to secure a top eight finish, and then make a deep run in the Europa League knockout stages, they’ll need the “fearless” attacker to continue to impress, as he did at the Marakana on Wednesday.
When Kelechi Iheanacho signed for Celtic, there was plenty of skepticism and rightly so.
After Adam Idah had been sold to Swansea for £7m, the Hoops were left without a senior centre-forward at the time the transfer window slammed shut, only able to sign Iheanacho because Sevilla agreed to terminate his contract.
The Nigerian failed to score a single La Liga goal for los Nervionenses, having not reached double figures in a single campaign since 2020/21, but that fact looks like changing, even at this early stage.
Iheanacho marked his debut in hoops by converting a stoppage time penalty at Kilmarnock to snatch a 2-1 victory at Rugby Park.
He then opened the scoring in Belgrade on Wednesday with an excellent finish, having been introduced as a half-time substitute, a goal that Joe Hart, speaking on commentary for TNT Sports, described as “ice-cold”.
The one-time Manchester City striker was also compared to Odsonne Édouard, praised for his “clean touch” and “intelligent movement”.
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Iheanacho stats vs Crvena zvezda |
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|---|---|---|
|
Statistics |
Iheanacho |
Match rank |
|
Goals |
1 |
1st |
|
Shots on target |
3 |
1st |
|
Big chances missed |
2 |
1st |
|
Expected goals |
1.02 |
1st |
|
Touches |
14 |
23rd |
|
Average SofaScore rating |
7.3 |
6th |
|
Stats via SofaScore |
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By accident, more than by design, Celtic appear to have landed a top-class centre-forward, but it was another one of the Hoops’ summer recruits who particularly caught the eye in Belgrade.
While Celtic supporters are generally furious at the board’s inactivity in the transfer market, they surely have to be pleased with the signing of Benjamin Nygren, arriving from Nordsjælland for just £1.7m back in July, which looks like an absolute bargain.
Chalkboard
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Most assumed that the Sweden international was coming in to replace Nicolas Kühn on the right wing, having played a lot of his football in Denmark out-wide, but from day one he has been part of Rodgers’ first-choice midfield trio.
In just his second appearance for the club, Nygren opened the scoring against Aberdeen at Pittodrie, before also netting twice against Livingston a week later.
On Wednesday, he really stepped up and came to the fore, given a 7/10 by the Herald, who note that he grew into the game after the interval, seeing a decent opportunity smartly saved by Matheus, before turning provider to play the ball through to Iheanacho for the night’s opener.
Earlier this year, now the most expensive player in British football history, Alexander Isak, who is Nygren’s international teammate, labelled him “fearless”, adding “it was very good to play with Benjamin… playing with a winger like that who is able to provide good crosses can only be beneficial” for a striker.
During his time at previous club Nordsjælland, Nygren scored five goals in five Conference League appearances, including a hat-trick against Fenerbahçe, and is showing that he is capable of making the step-up to an even higher level of European competition.
That was evident on Wednesday night, as he completed 100% of his attempted dribbles and provided three key passes, as per Sofascore, starring in that creative attacking berth for Rodgers’ side.
When Braga travel to Parkhead next Thursday, if Celtic are going to get their first Europa League win on the board, the Swede in midfield is likely to be central to their hopes.
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By
Robbie Walls
Sep 25, 2025
The end of the October international window is upon us, club football fans. Get ready for four more weeks of Premier League fun before we're lulled back into the November break. Fortunately, there's non-stop action before then to look forward to, beginning with some mouth-watering fixtures this coming weekend, including Manchester United's trip to Liverpool.
Elsewhere, Chelsea have the opportunity to inflict more misery on a down-on-their-luck Nottingham Forest, while Manchester City welcome a Jack Grealish-less Everton to the Etihad Stadium and Arsenal look record victory at Craven Cottage for the first time in three seasons when they face Fulham. The races for the title, European places and survival are hotting up before the clocks have even gone back.
There are so many different narratives to keep your eyes peeled for this weekend, and we at GOAL have picked out eight of the most intriguing storylines as we welcome the return of Premier League football:
Whilst the international break has handed Eddie Howe some much-needed reprieve, some of his Newcastle United players have still found themselves in the firing line on international duty.
After a difficult start in the Premier League – failing to win any of their first three games – 10 Newcastle players have travelled for international duty from a range of countries.
As many as four players will be representing England in some capacity, with Tino Livramento, Dan Burn and Anthony Gordon called up to the senior side and Lewis Miley called up to the U21s.
Just how many minutes those players receive will be interesting to see, given that Thomas Tuchel will be forming his World Cup side sooner or later. The Three Lions square off against Andorra tomorrow night, before facing Serbia on Tuesday to end the first international break of the season.
They’re not the only ones to watch on international duty, however. Anthony Elanga and Emil Krafth have both been called up for Sweden in a rapid reunion with Alexander Isak, who recently became Tyneside’s biggest villain by forcing a move to Liverpool.
Despite how he completed the move, Elanga wished his compatriot the best of luck at Liverpool – telling reporters: “Isak is a Liverpool player right now. I have the chance to play with him in the national team. He had a good career at Newcastle, but right now he is a Liverpool player. Good luck to him.”
Elsewhere, Bruno Guimaraes scored for Brazil against Chile earlier this week, Yoane Wissa has been called up for DR Congo, Will Osula is set to represent Denmark and big-money signing Nick Woltemade has already been involved for Germany.
Unlike Guimaraes, though, expensive arrival Woltemade was the talk of the town for the wrong reasons as Germany suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Slovakia.
It was the towering Newcastle star that took the brunt of criticism for Germany as they were shocked by Slovakia. It was an evening to forget for all involved and concerns will certainly be setting in for Julian Nagelsmann, who hasn’t won any of his last three games in charge.
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By
Charlie Smith
Sep 5, 2025
Taking aim at Woltemade, who led the line for Germany, national media slammed his performance as “weak” and “half-hearted” in what may have also been the first time that Newcastle fans have seen their new man in action.
The stats don’t make for pretty reading, either. Woltemade had less touches than any other outfield player (27), completed just 10 of his 16 attempted passes in 90 minutes and won just one ground duel.
It was about as frustrating as it gets for the 23-year-old, who will be hoping to enjoy better fortunes back at Newcastle after the international break.