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And was Mahika Gaur the youngest player to debut in a T20I at age 12?

Steven Lynch22-Aug-2023Has any wicketkeeper done the “match double” of 100 runs and ten dismissals in a Test? asked Andrew Taylor from Australia
This is a very rare feat: for a start, as this list shows, only seven wicketkeepers have so far taken ten or more dismissals in a single Test. And only one of them allied that to 100 runs: AB de Villiers scored 31 and 103 not out, and also took a record-equalling 11 catches, for South Africa against Pakistan in Johannesburg in 2012-13.There are only 12 further instances of this wicketkeeping double in all first-class cricket, two of them by Rod Marsh. Perhaps the most eye-popping performance by a keeper in any first-class match came from the Zimbabwean Test player Wayne James in 1995-96: captaining Matabeleland in the Logan Cup final against Mashonaland Country Districts in Bulawayo, he hoovered up 13 dismissals to add to scores of 99 and 99 not out.A wicket fell to the first ball of both innings in the UAE’s recent T20I against New Zealand. Had this happened before, in T20s or ODIs? asked Elamaran Perumal from the United States
In last week’s match in Dubai, Chad Bowes was out to the first ball of New Zealand’s innings, then the UAE’s captain Muhammad Waseem was dismissed by the first ball of the reply.It seems this is the first such instance in men’s T20Is, but there is one additional case in an ODI: in Cape Town in February 1993, Pakistan’s Ramiz Raja was dismissed by the first ball of the match, and Desmond Haynes fell to the opening delivery of West Indies’ chase.During the women’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies in November 2018, Yasoda Mendis (Sri Lanka) and Sanjida Islam (Bangladesh) fell to the respective opening deliveries of their matchin St Lucia. Less than a year later came the only such instance in women’s ODIs: Australia’s Rachael Haynes was out to the opening delivery of the match, and West Indies’ Natasha McLean went first ball in the chase, in Coolidge (Antigua) in September 2019.Has anyone who only has one Test wicket taken a better single scalp based on the batsman’s career average than David Gower, who dismissed Kapil Dev (average 31.05)? asked Matt Barrett from England
It’s true that David Gower’s only wicket, in 117 Tests, was that of Kapil Dev, caught for 116 in the closing stages of a draw in Kanpur in 1981-82 – but 31.05 currently only makes it to 116th place on this particular list.The man whose solitary wicket accounted for the man with the highest Test batting average was the old Essex player Jack O’Connor, whose one and only victim in Tests was the great West Indian George Headley, who finished with an average of 60.83: he was bowled by O’Connor in Bridgetown in 1929-30. According to Wisden, O’Connor “bowled slow legbreaks and offbreaks mixed, and had the advantage of looking a good deal simpler than he was”.Just behind O’Connor comes the New Zealander Doug Freeman, whose only Test wicket was that of England’s Herbert Sutcliffe, who ended up with a Test average of 60.73. Freeman was 18, and still at school, when he played two Tests against England in 1932-33; in the second, in Auckland, he had Sutcliffe caught by Lindsay Weir for 33, but had no further success as Wally Hammond purred to 336 not out. A tall legspinner, Freeman did not play again: his Test career was over before his 19th birthday.There are currently 20 other bowlers whose only victim in Tests was someone with an average of more than 50. The list includes Andy McKay (New Zealand) and Ujesh Ranchod (Zimbabwe), who both dismissed Sachin Tendulkar (53.79), and – for the time being at least – England’s Harry Brook, whose only wicket to date is Kane Williamson (54.89).Playing her first T20I at age 12 for UAE, Mahika Gaur is currently the 16th youngest T20I debutant in women’s cricket•Asian Cricket CouncilI noticed that Mahika Gaur, who has just been called up by England, played for the UAE in 2019 when she was only 12. Was she the youngest person to appear in a T20I? asked Mohit Karve from the United States
You’re right that left-arm seamer Mahika Gaur, who was added to England’s T20i squad after some impressive displays for Manchester Originals in the Hundred, had previously played for United Arab Emirates. She was born in Reading in March 2006, but her family was living in the Gulf when she played the first of her 19 T20Is for the UAE, against Indonesia in Bangkok in January 2019, when she was still two months short of her 13th birthday.The proliferation of T20Is since all matches between ICC members were declared official means that no fewer than 15 women younger than Gaur have now appeared in such matches. Six of them come from Jersey, including the youngest of all – Nia Greig, who was just 11 years 40 days old when she played against France in Nantes in July 2019.The youngest in a women’s ODI remains Sajjida Shah, of Pakistan, who was 12 years 171 days old when she made her debut against Ireland in Dublin in July 2000.The youngest to feature in a men’s T20I is Marian Gherasim, who was 16 days past his 14th birthday when he played for Romania against Bulgaria in a Balkan Cup match in Ilfov County in October 2020.The youngest in a men’s ODI is Hasan Raza, 14 years 233 days when he played for Pakistan against Zimbabwe in Quetta in 1996-97. The previous week, Hasan had become the youngest male Test player, in Faisalabad, although it should be noted that there are those who dispute the accuracy of his date of birth.Saud Shakeel has now played seven Tests, and scored at least a fifty in all of them. Has anyone had a more successful start in this regard? asked Zahid Ahmed from Pakistan
The Pakistan left-hand batter Saud Shakeel is unique in kicking off his Test career with a score of 50 or more in all of his first seven matches. Four men started with half-centuries (or better) in each of their first six Tests: Bert Sutcliffe (New Zealand), Saeed Ahmed (Pakistan), Basil Butcher (West Indies) and Sunil Gavaskar (India). Three men managed five: David Steele (England), Roy Dias (Sri Lanka) and Devon Conway (New Zealand).Saud Shakeel has 875 runs after his first seven Tests, a number surpassed at that stage of a career only by Everton Weekes (878), Gavaskar (918) and, almost inevitably, Don Bradman (1196)Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

If England pull this off, they will owe a huge amount to their captain

George Dobell07-Aug-2021There were a couple of moments, ahead of this Test, when you sensed the burden of carrying this England batting line-up was starting to get to Joe Root.For one thing, he requested that the pre-match captain’s press conference – which has, for many years, taken place the day before the game – be moved to two days ahead of the match to allow him time to focus before the game. And then, while talking about Ben Stokes, his voice caught for just a moment as he discussed the phone call in which his friend had told him he needed a break.Root was, no doubt, aware of how much Stokes would be missed as a player. But the sense was much more of someone who simply felt for a colleague who was going through a tough time. You wondered whether Root might not be experiencing some of the same emotions. We really do ask quite a lot of our cricketers.But whatever the pressure he was feeling ahead of the match, Root has shouldered his burden magnificently. Here he produced one of his finest Test centuries – there are now 21 from which to select; none of them have, to date, come in a losing cause – to keep his side in with a fighting chance in this match. Without him, England would have been blown away.Related

• Chris Silverwood tells England batters around Joe Root to 'step up'

• Joe Root on Ben Stokes: 'I just want my friend to be okay'

• The slips just keep on coming: How England's fielding is undermining their Test ambitions

• Root ton, Bumrah five-wicket haul set up intriguing final day

• Jasprit Bumrah-led pace attack leaves India on strong footing

There was a period, not so long ago, when there were a few whispers about Root’s batting. It wasn’t that the runs had dried up exactly; it was more that the bigger scores had tended to come in relatively low intensity situations. In 2019, for example, there was a century in St Lucia, by which time the series had already been lost, and there was a double-hundred in Hamilton on a pitch so horrendously flat that only 22 wickets fell across five days.There are no such caveats about this innings. It came against an outstanding attack, on a surface upon which other batters have struggled and when his side – still 49 behind and two wickets down when he strode out to bat – were in some trouble. Not only that, but it came at the start of a series with everything still to be defined. It was his first Test century in England since 2018 but his best at home since at least 2017 when he made 190 in the first Test of a series against South Africa.To put his predominance in perspective, while he has made 109 and 64 in this game, the next highest score of his teammates across both innings has been Sam Curran’s 32. It is, according to BBC statistician Andy Zaltzman, only the fourth time in Test history that a player has made a century and half-century in a match where nobody else in the team has made even 35. Increasingly, Root is looking a giant among them. Take him out of this side and you wonder where they would drop in the rankings. Outside the top six, you suspect.His skills were put into greatest context during his partnership (worth 89 in 28.5 overs) with Dom Sibley. While Sibley’s crease occupation was valuable, you couldn’t help but admire how much easier the business of batting looked for Root. So vast is his range of stroke, so adaptable his feet and the angle of his bat, that he is rarely kept scoreless. He faced only two maidens in his entire innings – one of them during a nervous passage of play when he had 97 – and has a late cut which allows him to score from deliveries other players would look to leave well alone. Sibley made just 12 of their partnership.But it was surely the drives, played off both front and back foot, that will linger longest in the memory. Certainly they had a packed Trent Bridge purring in delight. The on-drive that brought the century was just a little reminiscent of the shot with which Sir Geoffrey Boycott reached his 100th first-class hundred. The celebration – by Root’s standards sustained and expressive – showed how important this innings was. He knew his team needed this.Joe Root has stood tall for his team•AFP/Getty ImagesMore than that, though, he had made a conscious effort to try and enjoy these pressures. This is what he had dreamed of as a kid, after all. So instead of focusing on those negative thoughts – the sense that his side would collapse if he failed – instead of allowing himself to become careworn, he tried to remember he was playing the game he loves, for a team he loves and on the grandest of stages. Put simply, he tried to remember it was meant to be “fun”.”There’s been a lot to handle,” he admitted afterwards. “But it’s important you find ways to handle that. You can let it weigh you down but you have to find solutions. It’s about trying to deal with what’s in front of you and not letting anything overwhelm you.”This morning I said to myself and to the group: just remember what is fun about cricket. It might be tough sometimes, it might be hard, but it’s fun. And it’s really important we all embrace that. Whatever the situation, whatever the conditions and wherever you are in your own game, it’s important you go out there, enjoy the moment and make the most of it.”It felt pretty good to get a big score and get us into position to give us a chance of winning this Test.”He reckoned that batting in the ODI series against Sri Lanka had helped him regain his batting rhythm. He made 68 and 79 – both innings unbeaten – in that series and reasoned that the required tempo – positive, but without the urgency of T20 – was helpful to his game.”I’ve actually felt a real benefit from playing some white-ball cricket,” he said. “I know it would be nice to have some red-ball cricket coming into this game but, from my point of view, playing 50-over cricket gave me some rhythm back in my batting.”I felt I got forward and back better. I was standing a lot taller a lot earlier, picking my bat up a lot earlier, I feel like I’ve got rhythm back in my hands. I find 50-over cricket can be a massive help to my red-ball game.”Maybe we shouldn’t have been surprised. Root has risen in stature in recent months, producing a string of huge scores in Sri Lanka and India (228 and 186 in Galle and 218 in Chennai) that led his side to memorable victories. And while Root at times made those surfaces look pretty flat, it’s worth remembering that no-one else in his side made centuries. Indeed, the next-highest score when he made that 186 was just 55.He’s already made 1,064 Test runs this year. So, with up to seven further Tests available to him this year (there are only three Ashes Tests scheduled before the end of the year this time and it’s entirely possible none of them will take place), he has given himself a chance of breaking Mohammad Yousuf’s record of 1,788 runs in a calendar year. More revealingly, however, the next-highest contributor for England in 2021 is Dan Lawrence with 354. In all, Root has scored 29.19 percent of England’s Test runs in 2021.Whether all this is sustainable in the long-term is debatable. At some stage, there is a danger the burden will break even Root. It is really is imperative England find a way to coax more runs out of the rest of their batting line-up. Right now, though, Root has given his side a chance to win a game they could easily have lost already without his intervention. If they pull this off, they will owe a huge amount to their captain.

Plenty has changed since we last discussed the American League and National League Most Valuable Player races.

While Shohei Ohtani maintains his reign over the National League, still a clear-cut favorite to lock down his fourth MVP award in five years, the American League is much less set in stone. That's due to an injury sustained by Aaron Judge and the Yankees star's subsequent struggles in his return to the lineup. Additionally, Mariners star Cal Raleigh has found his power stroke again lately after a prolonged cold spell, tightening what should be a memorable AL MVP battle.

There's still over a month to go, so plenty can still change as teams begin to make their final push for the postseason.

Let's take a look at how the MVP races are currently shaking up:

National League MVP Race1. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter/pitcher

They haven’t always brought success, but West Ham United has had some incredible players represent them over the years.

For example, while it was short and sweet, Dimitri Payet’s time in the Premier League was incredible.

The Frenchman could do things with a ball that most players could only dream of, and it was easy to see glimpses of the sensational Paolo Di Canio in him.

The Italian was a livewire, but one of the most technically gifted players to don the famous claret and blue. Nuno Espírito Santo has a player with shades of him in his game, but said player is becoming an issue and should probably be sold at the end of the season.

Di Canio's West Ham career

West Ham signed Di Canio from Sheffield Wednesday in January 1999, and right from the off, there was controversy.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Fans and pundits alike questioned the club’s decision to spend £1.5m on a player with a reputation as a troublemaker and, at the time, serving an 11-match ban for pushing a referee.

However, then-manager Harry Redknapp brushed aside any criticism of the move, telling the press that he was a player who “can do things with the ball that people can only dream of.”

The veteran coach would be quickly proven correct in this assessment, as he ended that campaign with five goal involvements in just 13 appearances for the Hammers and was named OPTA player of the season.

Moreover, just over a year later, he scored that famous strike against Wimbledon that was rightly later named the Premier League’s goal of the decade.

This ability to do anything he wanted with the ball, and his old-school passionate approach, quickly made him a fan favourite at Upton Park, and his decision to stop the game when Everton keeper Paul Gerrard was injured in December 2000, despite having a clear goalscoring opportunity, earned him fans across the Premier League.

However, as gifted and entertaining as the Italian was, his habit of causing problems never went away, and in 2003 he had a public falling out with then-manager Glenn Roeder, which saw him dropped from the team for some time.

At the end of the 02/03 season, despite making it clear he wanted to remain, West Ham refused to offer Di Canio another contract, a decision many attribute to his dispute with the manager.

In all, the Rome-born star was a truly sensational footballer, but his temperament eventually saw the club get rid of him, and the same thing might now need to happen with someone in Nuno’s squad.

Nuno's new Di Canio he should sell

There are a few West Ham players who should be sold in January, or at the end of the season, such as Niclas Füllkrug, Mads Hermansen and probably Max Kilman.

However, the only player who should be moved on who can even remotely be compared to Di Canio is Lucas Paqueta.

Now, before addressing the reasons the club should cash in on him, what makes the Brazilian similar to the Italian?

Well, first and foremost, he too, is capable of making something out of nothing, or as former coach Mark Warburton put it last year, he “sees things that you just don’t see. You look at the pass for the winning goal in the European final.”

That ability was on show again in the game against Newcastle United this season, when he smashed the ball into the net from some distance out.

Moreover, as Warburton puts it, the former Lyon ace is a “mercurial” talent in the sense that he can glide past opposition defenders if he wants, or pass them out of the game when on song.

With that said, then, why on earth should the club sell him?

Well, the first reason is that, like Di Canio at his worst, he can have a bad temperament.

This was on full show against Liverpool at the weekend, when he received a second yellow card for dissent, which is a truly petulant reason to be sent off.

The second reason he should be moved on is that while he can be an exceptional player on his day, he also isn’t irreplaceable.

For example, he has scored only four goals this season, three of which have come in the Premier League, and last season he ended the campaign with a paltry tally of five goals in 36 games.

Appearances

36

13

Minutes

2536′

1135′

Goals

5

4

Assists

0

0

Ultimately, Paqueta is a great player, but with his contract running out in less than two years, his slightly underwhelming output and the fact that he can do things as silly as be sent off for dissent, West Ham may be wise to move him on at the end of the season.

West Ham set for 'big decision' over selling 'most talented player' with Nuno 'fuming'

It would be a controversial move.

ByEmilio Galantini Dec 2, 2025

Time was when a trip to Anfield was like stepping into your own personal horror movie. Liverpool have spent much time planting the seeds of fear on their home turf, and Jurgen Klopp made that garden grow.

Then Arne Slot put on the gloves and helped Liverpool evolve into an even smoother and more stylish outfit than when Klopp departed, taking the Reds through the campaign and out the other end with a Premier League title in tow.

But that’s no longer the case. This season, Manchester United, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and PSV Eindhoven have all beaten Liverpool on Merseyside. This sanctum of stability has been reduced to just another ground, and Slot has to fix that quickly if he is to continue his project over the coming years.

Liverpool might have avoided defeat at home to Sunderland on Wednesday evening, but the point gained merely papers over the glaring problems that have left many fans shaking their heads at the false dawn at West Ham United last weekend.

It was a performance which left plenty to be desired.

How Liverpool performed vs Sunderland

After the draw, Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris spoke of his surprise that his side were afforded so much time and space to play through Liverpool and carve out opportunities in the danger area.

There lies the crux of Liverpool’s problems. They are too weak and brittle, not just suffering from a soft underbelly but a doughy outer shell too.

Alexander Isak toiled in the final third, a few wayward strikes illustrating the record signing’s lack of sharpness. However, it is inconceivable that FSG should have spent around £200m on the Swede and Hugo Ekitike only for Slot to implement a system that cuts off pathways to the central strikers.

Some will take encouragement from the home side’s gear-raising final flurry, seeking out a winner after the fleet feet of Florian Wirtz led to a Nordi Mukiele own goal to restore parity.

But Liverpool are not just shorn of confidence but tactical fluency too. Slot’s strategising across the 2024/25 campaign earned him a reputation for being a “genius” and a “football scientist”, as remarked by Dutch legend Marco van Basten.

Gone is that air about the former Feyenoord boss. Against the Black Cats, Liverpool secured a hard-earned point to narrow the gap on Chelsea after their defeat at Leeds United. Elland Road is where Liverpool head next.

But imbalances and erraticness have become indivisible for the champions this season, whose title defence is in tatters and whose players have fallen by the wayside.

Ibrahima Konate was culpable of some shaky moments, as has so often been the case this term, but there was another Redman who struggled against Sunderland, leading observers to suggest he has morphed into that late version of Fabinho.

Liverpool star looks "like Fabinho in his final season"

Alexis Mac Allister has been abject this season, so far removed from the “superstar” of a midfielder, as said by pundit Joe Cole, who influenced Klopp and then Slot’s trophy-winning campaigns of recent years at Liverpool.

Having spoken about this testing start to the season earlier this week, Mac Allister suggested that he is now back to full fitness after missing out on pre-season and suffering early injury issues. But this was a performance that left much to be desired, underlining the drop-off that is suggestive of a player whose athleticism has gone walkabouts.

Against Sunderland, the 26-year-old failed to impress. Again. He was so slow and stodgy on the ball, and while he won both of his tackles and three of five contested ground duels, as per Sofascore, no chances were created by a player who need to do more and remind the Premier League of his all-encompassing skillset.

Goals

0.17

0.00

Assists

0.17

0.20

Touches

64.41

64.04

Pass completion (%)

83.5

85.4

Shot-creating actions

4.16

2.73

Progressive passes

6.13

4.34

Progressive carries

1.25

1.72

Successful take-ons

0.55

0.40

Recoveries

5.13

4.14

Tackles won

2.01

0.61

Interceptions

0.76

0.61

Aerials won

0.66

0.51

After the draw, one content creator even said Mac Allister “looks like Fabinho in his final season”, having “physically fallen off a cliff”.

Fabinho was a stalwart for the club over an illustrious period of Klopp-led success, but he did indeed succumb to a loss of aggression and physicality at the end, at the epicentre of Liverpool’s abject 2022/23 campaign.

This feels similar. The only difference is that Mac Allister is supposed to be stepping into the prime of his career, and is instead languishing so far below expectations it beggars belief.

Can Slot spark a turnaround? Should the Dutchman do so, it feels like Mac Allister will be needed in fine and sustainable fettle, and that has been anything but the case over the past several months.

Mac Allister has been terrible, but his struggles are symptomatic of the wider tactical and mental plague that has spread across Slot’s system this season.

It’s not good enough. It needs to change. Mac Allister is 26, but already he is starting to look like the leggy version of Fabinho, who was sold to Saudi Arabia has Klopp began a midfield rebuild that started with Mac Allister’s signature.

FSG could see £75m bid accepted to sign Liverpool their best LW since Mane

Liverpool are in the market for a left-sided winger this winter.

2 ByAngus Sinclair Dec 3, 2025

Jurgen Klopp has already delivered his verdict on completing a return to Liverpool, who endured yet another disastrous afternoon in the Premier League as Nottingham Forest secured a dominant victory.

It’s hard to believe that the Reds were Premier League champions in May, and impressive ones at that. Arne Slot arrived and quickly conquered to shock the rest of English football. It looked like Michael Edwards had performed another act of recruitment genius, but now uncomfortable questions are beginning to emerge.

Liverpool have lost five of their last eight games and now sit in the bottom-half after 12 league games, all but ending their title defence before January has even arrived. After breaking their transfer record twice to welcome Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, it is a run of form that no one saw coming.

It’s now up to Slot to prove his credentials in a crisis. Victory over Real Madrid and Aston Villa proved that there is still plenty of quality in this Liverpool side, it’s just a question of when that quality will be on show.

Just how long Slot will have to turn things around is also a big question. Liverpool have never rushed managerial decisions and Slot has much more credit in the bank than others have done in the past, but the current run of results needs to end – especially if they come at Anfield.

Liverpool now eyeing Mateta deal amid fresh Crystal Palace contract concern

The Reds know all about his quality.

By
Tom Cunningham

Nov 21, 2025

With the pressure building, Liverpool are set to play host to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Wednesday. Defeat there would certainly do further damage to the credit that Slot banked last season and perhaps send a timely reminder about Klopp’s answer about if he’d ever make a shock return.

Klopp's seven-word answer when asked if he was returning to Liverpool

Just before leaving the club, Klopp was asked if he’d ever make a return to the Anfield dugout if Liverpool needed him.

At the time and certainly for the entirety of last season, it was simply a throw-away answer and one that looked unlikely to rear its head again. Now, however, those at Anfield could do with their iconic manager’s energy more than ever.

They won’t and shouldn’t panic about Slot’s current run, but Liverpool should ensure that the Dutchman channels his very own version of Klopp. When Klopp’s sides were up against it, he had that unique ability to pull off what many still deem miracles to this day. He turned doubters to believers to champions. Slot must now remind his very own champions just who they are in similar fashion.

Meanwhile, if the manager’s run continues then Edwards could yet turn back towards one of the best managers in the club’s history for a stunning second stint.

£280,000-a-week Liverpool star slammed for "anonymous" Nottingham Forest display

The Chicago Cubs made their biggest splash of the offseason so far on Friday, trading for Houston Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker, one of the best bats available on the market this offseason.

The 27-year-old is set to make around $18 million via arbitration this year before hitting free agency for the first time in 2025. A former Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winner, Tucker will demand an impressive contract if and when he hits the market. The new Cubs star was asked Tuesday whether he would entertain extension talks with the Cubs instead of becoming a free agent next offseason, and he wouldn't totally rule it out.

"I'm always open to talks, see where it leads," Tucker said. I'm always open to that, you never know what the future's going to hold. In terms of that, kinda just see how things progress throughout the next however long and see where it leads us, but I'm always open for talks and negotiations and just kinda seeing where that leads. Definitely Chicago's a great city to play in, a great city just in general, so I'm open to anything."

Tucker went on to praise Cubs fans based on his brief Wrigley Field experience with the Astros last season.

"I'm excited. Last year was the first time I played in Wrigley Field, throughout my big league career at least. Those fans love their Cubs. … Now obviously I get to experience it from the home side, really get to experience the love that the city and the fans show their Cubs, and excited to get out there and start playing in front of them and showing what I can do to help them.

"I don't think I could have gone to a much better organization than the Cubs."

After seeing the deal that Juan Soto signed this offseason, Tucker will almost certainly play out the end of his contract this season. However, if Chicago makes an incredibly lucrative offer, as Tucker said, you never know what might happen.

Tucker hit hit .289/.408/.585 with 23 home runs and 49 RBIs in 78 games with Houston last season.

Marcus Rashford has made a sensational start to his Barcelona career, reigniting his form with 12 goal contributions in just 13 appearances since joining on loan from Manchester United. The 28-year-old has openly expressed his desire to make the move permanent, though reports have suggested that the Catalan giants are set to make demands to Rashford to complete the transfer.

• Rashford has a spectacular start at Barcelona

  Rashford’s Barcelona career has taken off in spectacular fashion following his summer loan from Manchester United. After years of inconsistency with the Premier League underperformers, the winger has rediscovered his spark under Hansi Flick. His blistering pace, improved decision-making, and renewed confidence were on full display during El Clasico, where he set up Fermin Lopez’s goal, and also in his Champions League brace against Olympiacos. 

  Rashford’s resurgence has been aided by Raphinha’s injury troubles, which opened the door for him to become the club’s first-choice left winger. He has made the role his own, striking an immediate connection with the likes of Ferran Torres and Lopez in Flick’s fluid attacking system. The Englishman’s turnaround has not gone unnoticed, with Barcelona officials already in talks to activate the option-to-buy clause included in his loan deal with Manchester United. 

  His story marks a remarkable change in fortunes after a turbulent year at Old Trafford, where a falling-out with Ruben Amorim led to his exile. Rashford’s public criticism of the club’s unstable direction and lack of leadership, combined with his short-lived loan at Aston Villa, made his departure inevitable. Now, in a calmer environment and surrounded by belief from both fans and coaching staff, Rashford looks every bit the player who once terrorised Premier League defences.

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  Barcelona will need Rashford to reduce wages to sign him permanently

  Barcelona’s pursuit of a permanent deal for Rashford comes amid ongoing financial challenges that continue to shape their transfer policy. Despite their admiration for his impact, the club’s strict salary cap rules mean a permanent move hinges on the forward accepting a drastic wage reduction. Rashford currently earns over £300,000 a week at Manchester United, well above what Barcelona can accommodate under La Liga’s economic controls.  

  The Catalan giants, who have spent the last few seasons restructuring contracts and trimming their wage bill, see Rashford’s situation as a balancing act. Club sources have reportedly told SPORT that the transfer fee itself, believed to be around £30 million, is not an obstacle, but the issue lies in long-term affordability. Barcelona’s sporting department is keen to offer Rashford a multi-year deal to spread the cost, but that would require his full cooperation on salary adjustments.

• Rashford full of confidence after horror Man Utd seasons

  Rashford’s revival has been a story of redemption following a messy end to his Manchester United chapter. After a 30-goal season in 2022–23, his form collapsed during the 2024-25 campaign; until his exile scored just 24 goals across 67 matches. A strained relationship with Amorim, repeated benchings, and his eventual exile from first-team training eroded his confidence before he was shipped off on loan. 

  In interviews since his arrival in Spain, Rashford has subtly alluded to his struggles at Old Trafford, pointing to “an inconsistent environment” and a lack of “long-term direction” at the club. His time in Barcelona, by contrast, has been characterised by stability, tactical clarity, and the faith of a manager who understands his strengths. Flick’s system has granted Rashford freedom to cut inside and combine creatively, something he says he “hadn’t felt in a long time.” 

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  Barcelona are keen on signing Rashford permanently

  Barcelona are aware of his commercial and sporting value and Rashford’s popularity in global markets, coupled with his European form, including a Champions League brace against Olympiacos, makes him a compelling long-term investment. Spanish outlets claim that several Premier League clubs have already made tentative enquiries, but Rashford’s focus remains on staying put at Camp Nou.

  Negotiations between Barcelona and Manchester United are expected to intensify in the coming months, with the Spanish club hopeful of finalising the deal before the end of the season. For Rashford, the key decision will revolve around his willingness to take a pay cut, a step he appears prepared to make in exchange for stability and a starring role at one of Europe’s biggest clubs.   

Du Plessis, Hosein and Ferreira had combined to give Texas Super Kings a fighting total, but it was no match for the power of Pollard and Pooran

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jul-2025

Kieron Pollard. A batting coach at Mumbai Indians in the IPL. Apt, seeing that he is 38-plus. But a full-fledged allrounder elsewhere around the world, including at MLC, where he is such a key part of MI New York. Just how key, he showed on Friday night in Dallas, walking out with MINY’s asking rate over 12, smashing 47 not out from 22 balls, and putting his team in the MLC 2025 final at the expense of Texas Super Kings, who must have felt they were going to the title round till Pollard happened.The chase wasn’t massive: 167. But MINY lost Quinton de Kock and Michael Bracewell for single-digit scores by the seventh over. That they had 43 on the board when Bracewell fell was mainly down to Monank Patel, but he was going at a strike rate of just around 120. Nicholas Pooran, who had walked out at the fall of Bracewell, was at just about a run a ball. And when Monank, after trying hard, fell for 49 off 39 in the 13th over, MINY had only reached 83.They needed a shift in gears. Pollard, facing his first ball, off Noor Ahmad, saw the ball in his arc just outside the off stump and went thump – 100 metres down the ground.Akeal Hosein hit a quick half-century to give Texas Super Kings a fighting total•Sportzpics for MLC

Somehow, though, TSK stayed in the game. And after 16 overs, the asking rate was still 12.50. Then Zia-ul-Haq found the ball in his hand, Pollard across the pitch from him second ball onwards, and Pollard went 6, 4, 4, 2, 6. The over went for 23. That was the shift MINY needed, and TSK must have been dreading.It was straightforward after that, till Pooran finished it off with his third six off the last ball of the 19th, walking off with 52 from 36. Pollard walked off with him, 47 off 22. And MINY were in the final, where they will play Washington Freedom, having completed a dramatic switch after finishing the league stage with three wins from ten games and having to go through the Eliminator-Qualifier 2 route, which they have now.To be fair, the chase should have been more comfortable when TSK were kept to 166. Faf du Plessis had to play pretty much a lone hand for the best part of the innings, till the 13th over, with the rest of the batting collapsing like a pack of cards. Smit Patel, Saiteja Mukkamalla, Shubham Ranjane and Marcus Stoinis all fell for single-digit scores, and du Plessis’ 42-ball 59 was the only reason TSK were in the contest.His fall, though, gave TSK their best phase with the bat, as Donovan Ferreira joined Akeal Hosein with the scoreboard reading 85 for 5 with just over seven overs to go. Hosein hit 55 in 32 balls, Ferreira hit 32 in 20, they put together an unbroken stand of 81 in 45 balls, and gave TSK hope. Pollard, in the main, and Pooran dashed it 19 overs later.

One figure who has gone down in history at Leeds United is former manager Marcelo Bielsa. The Argentine manager is adored by the Elland Road faithful, after spending three and a half successful years at the club between 2018/19 and 2021/22.

Of course, he was the man in charge when the Whites were promoted back to the Premier League for the first time in over a decade, and he helped them survive comfortably.

That initial campaign back in the top flight in 2020/21 saw the Yorkshire side come ninth in the table.

Statistically, they were one of the most exciting teams to watch in 2020/21. They certainly stack up well against their start to this season.

How Leeds’ key stats from 2020/21 compare to 2025/26

We are seven games into the new season, and Leeds, now managed by Daniel Farke, have impressed fans and pundits with how well they’ve played.

Many people, including Bill Connelly of ESPN, had them down to be relegated, predicting they’d finish 18th.

Yet, at the October international break, the Whites have done well to keep themselves above the relegation zone. They have eight points to their name and sit 15th in the table.

The expected points tally, as per Understat, has them on 9.96xPTS, suggesting they’ve played better than their current tally suggests.

Seven games into the 2020/21 campaign under Bielsa saw Leeds doing slightly better than their current points total. At the same stage that season, they had ten points to their name and were 12th in the top flight, again impressing given they’d only just been promoted.

Whilst the squad five seasons ago had outscored Farke’s team seven games into the season, the current Leeds side are more defensively sound. They’ve conceded 11 goals this term, with an expected goals against total of 8.87xGA.

In comparison, Bielsa’s men had let in 13 goals in seven matches, at 12.85xGA according to Understat.

With that in mind, there is one man from the current Leeds side who would have surely made Bielsa’s team stronger.

The current Leeds player who'd strengthen Bielsa’s team

There have been several standout players in a Leeds shirt this season. New signing Sean Longstaff has transitioned to life at Elland Road seamlessly.

He’s already created 13 chances in the top flight, averaging 2.5 per 90 minutes.

However, it is defensively that the famous 2020/21 side could have done with reinforcements. That is why current Leeds captain Ethan Ampadu would have slotted seamlessly into Bielsa’s squad.

The Welshman is an “indispensable” member of Farke’s side, according to football talent scout Jacek Kulig.

His entire Elland Road career has come under the German’s tutelage, racking up 91 appearances and even chipping in with a couple of goals back in his first season at the club.

One of the great things about the Whites number four is his versatility. He’s equally adept at playing as a centre-back and the base of the midfield, operating as a number six who can screen the back four.

In a Leeds shirt, he’s played 48 times in the latter role, and 40 at the back.

The above graphic shows Leeds’ most common starting lineup from the 2020/21 campaign. It is easy to imagine Ampadu slotting into the back four next to then-club captain Liam Cooper, displacing Diego Llorente.

Alternatively, he could have played alongside Kalvin Phillips in midfield to make them even more defensively astute. That is a duo which would have won plenty of duels in the middle of the park.

Some stats show Ampadu’s quality, too. Last season in the Championship, and this term in the Premier League, he’s been extremely consistent.

For example, in 2024/25, he made 5.1 ball recoveries per 90 minutes on average, which has slightly dropped to 5 each game in 2025/26.

Pass accuracy

90.44%

86.01%

Duels won

5.9

4.8

Clearances

3.5

2.5

Interceptions

1

1.3

Ball recoveries

5.1

5

It is certainly not too far-fetched to imagine Ampadu operating in this successful Bielsa side. Knowing the versatility he offers, as well as the quality he can bring to a side on and off the ball, he would have made a fine addition to a heavy-metal, transitional team.

Of course, we’ll never know how well this could have worked out, but Ampadu’s contributions could have made Bielsa’s famous Leeds side even better.

Cost £0, now worth more than Okafor: Leeds have hit gold on "crucial" star

Leeds United have hit the jackpot on this star who is now worth even more than Noah Okafor.

2 ByDan Emery Oct 11, 2025