Luis Suárez acknowledged that there are “many things” in which he is “not an example” after serving multiple suspensions for Inter Miami this season. The Uruguayan opened up about his disciplinary issues and admitted MLS has been more challenging than he expected, having already missed several matches due to on-field incidents.
The summer of 2023 was a landmark period for Arsenal. It signalled the arrival of a certain Declan Rice no less.
The midfielder arrived in a club-record £105m move. The Gunners had beaten Manchester City to his services, thus securing the talents of one of England’s finest players of his generation.
Since he moved across London from West Ham to Islington, there has still been a feeling that Arsenal have missed a player of the calibre of a certain Granit Xhaka.
Over the last year, in particular, Rice has eradicated memories of the Swiss warrior but their Arsenal stories are woven together.
The year Rice arrived, Xhaka left and in perhaps peculiar circumstances. The veteran had just enjoyed the finest individual campaign of his time at the Emirates Stadium, scoring nine goals in all competitions.
No longer was he the defensive midfielder that a great Arsene Wenger once signed. He was now a goalscoring number 8.
After departing, Xhaka enjoyed a fabulous time under Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen, where he won the Bundesliga but he’s now back in England and proving to be one of the signings of the summer.
Over the last few years the newly promoted teams have been swept aside without so much as a noise. To put it frankly, they’ve been terrible.
However, Sunderland are bucking that trend. Ahead of Sunday’s fixtures in the Premier League, they sat fourth in the table and a large reason for that has been the performances of Xhaka.
The Switzerland midfielder signed for the Mackems in a £17m deal back in the summer and was swiftly made club captain. His displays since then have been admirable.
Sky Sports analyst and Sunderland supporter Dougie Critchley went as far as to say he is the “best player” he’s ever seen in the famous red and white strips after his goal against Everton last week.
While Xhaka did not find the net against Arsenal on Saturday, it was another fine display from Sunderland’s tempo-setting midfielder.
Xhaka is a warrior, a leader of men and he demonstrated that by completing 90% of his passes, winning four of his five ground duels and completing seven clearances this weekend.
|
Xhaka vs Arsenal |
|
|---|---|
|
Minutes played |
90 |
|
Touches |
57 |
|
Accurate passes |
35/39 (90%) |
|
Key passes |
0 |
|
Shots |
0 |
|
Fouled |
1x |
|
Tackles won |
2 |
|
Interceptions |
1 |
|
Clearances |
7 |
|
Recoveries |
1 |
|
Ground duels won |
4/5 |
|
Aerial duels won |
1/1 |
|
Stats via Sofascore. |
|
Dan Ballard and Brian Brobbey made the headlines but Xhaka issued Arsenal a timely reminder of his qualities.
Up against Rice and Martin Zubimendi, Arsenal’s midfield pairing exudes similar qualities but they aren’t the only men in Mikel Arteta’s ranks who bring a Xhaka-like presence to the squad.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
The date is 28th October 2019. Unai Emery has chosen to substitute club captain, Xhaka. The response from Arsenal supporters inside the Emirates Stadium was remarkable.
He was booed and jeered as he left the field, which sparked an eyebrow-raising reaction from the Swiss. He cupped his ear, asked for more and then chucked the captain’s armband on the floor.
It was not a surprise to see that he was stripped of the captaincy just ten days later.
Speaking about the incident back in 2023, Xhaka labelled the situation as a “nightmare”. “The passports were out. I was done with Arsenal”, he said.
He ultimately stayed and enjoyed a remarkable change in fortunes under Arteta. The Spaniard turned him into a more forward-thinking midfield and after a hellish first few years in London, enjoyed a fabulous 2022/23 season, in particular.
That was the year Xhaka scored nine times and provided seven assists in all competitions.
The 33-year-old was still a vocal presence on the pitch and while he didn’t possess the armband, he still felt like a captain on the pitch. In the present day, the same could be said of defender Gabriel Magalhaes.
While the Brazilian hasn’t fallen out with supporters since moving from Lille in a £27m move, their Arsenal careers certainly have parallels.
Gabriel headed to London as an exciting talent but he was still incredibly raw. He showcased that during his first few years in English football.
The centre-back was rash and truth be told, a bit error-prone. Rio Ferdinand was particularly scathing of the defender back in 2022.
It was an incident that led to a DM exchange between Gabriel and Ferdinand and since that moment, he has gone from strength to strength.
Like Xhaka in his early days at Arsenal, the big Brazil international was a bit of an accident waiting to happen but they both enjoyed remarkable comebacks.
In the words of Jamie Carragher, Gabriel is now “the most influential player in the Premier League” this season and is in with a real shout of winning the PFA Player of the Year award if the Gunners win the league.
The defender has been a colossal presence in the heart of Arteta’s backline, a true “monster” as per pundit Troy Deeney. He’s a giant at the back, composed with the ball at his feet and has made a rather ridiculous impact from set-pieces.
So far this season, Gabriel has scored two goals and supplied three assists. Since joining in 2020, no centre-back in Europe’s top five leagues has scored more goals than him (22).
Like Xhaka, he’s also now one of the strongest commanders of men in the squad. He’s captained Arsenal on several occasions now and to quote Carragher once more, he is “the leader” in Arteta’s backline.
A midfielder he may not be, but he is certainly like Xhaka in plenty of ways. From being riddled with mistakes to becoming a cult hero at the Emirates, the parallels are certainly there.
Liverpool are in a dire rut of form at the moment and the pressure only ramped up on Arne Slot following their 3-3 draw with Leeds United on Saturday evening.
As if Slot didn’t think things could get any worse, what hasn’t helped is Mohamed Salah’s remarkable interview after the game.
The Egyptian has been on the substitutes bench for the last three games and according to reports, will not travel to Milan when the Reds face Inter in the Champions League this week.
Salah was in conversation with reporters after Liverpool’s dismal draw with Leeds at the weekend and it’s safe to say he did not cover Slot and Co in glory.
“‘I’m very disappointed, Salah began. “I’ve done so much for this club – everyone can see that – over years, especially last season, sitting on the bench I don’t know why. It seems like the club has thrown me under the bus. That’s how I feel it.”
The Liverpool great continued: “It’s very clear that someone wants me to get all the blame. Club promised me a lot in summer. So far I I’m on bench three games, so can’t say they have kept those promises.
“I say many times I had a good relationship with the manager and all of a sudden we don’t have any relationship, I don’t know why. It seems like someone does not want me in the club.
“But again this club, I always support it. my kids will always support it. I love the club so much and I will always do. I called my mum yesterday because I knew I wasn’t going to start and told my mum and dad to the Brighton game [next Saturday].”
Salah smiled and chatted with his teammates on Monday as he attended the club’s first training session since his outburst over the weekend.
He arrived on the training pitch in conversation with French striker Hugo Ekitike. Salah listened as Slot addressed the squad and then took part in a series of warm-up and passing drills, interacting with the likes of Curtis Jones, Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai.
The session was overseen by Slot who is really up against it now. Who the Liverpool board decide to side with, Salah or the Dutchman, will be very interesting.
Every team wants a world-class centre-forward to lead their line, and there is arguably a lack of top strikers in today’s game compared to previous generations.
Scoring goals on a regular basis is a priceless attribute, and all clubs want a proven finisher in their ranks, but they can come at a huge price. That being said, there are still a plethora of elite strikers at the top of their games, but who is the best number nine around today?
Ranking factors
To help rank the strikers in order, we have considered the following criteria:
Current form – how well a player has performed in the past few months Importance to their teams – how influential they are to their team’s performances Role – how unique their skillset is Reputation – what others say about them
Top 15 strikers in the world
Rank
Player
Age
Club
Nation
1
Erling Haaland
25
Man City
Norway
2
Harry Kane
32
Bayern Munich
England
3
Kylian Mbappe
26
Real Madrid
France
4
Julian Alvarez
25
Atletico Madrid
Argentina
5
Robert Lewandowski
37
Barcelona
Poland
6
Viktor Gyokeres
27
Arsenal
Sweden
7
Alexander Isak
26
Liverpool
Sweden
8
Lautaro Martinez
28
Inter Milan
Argentina
9
Victor Osimhen
26
Galatasaray
Nigeria
10
Hugo Ekitike
23
Liverpool
France
11
Marcus Thuram
28
Inter Milan
France
12
Cristiano Ronaldo
40
Al Nassr
Portugal
13
Omar Marmoush
26
Man City
Egypt
14
Nick Woltemade
23
Newcastle
Germany
15
Joao Pedro
24
Chelsea
Brazil
15 Joao Pedro Chelsea and Brazil
Joao Pedro quickly made an impact at Chelsea after signing for £60m from Brighton by helping the Blues win the Club World Cup in the USA.
The Brazilian, now valued at a career-high €50m, also started the 2025/26 Premier League season on fire and looks set to be Chelsea’s first choice striker for years to come.
Joao Pedro: Major titles won
Trophy
Years won
Club World Cup
2025
14 Nick Woltemade Newcastle and Germany
Eyebrows were raised when Newcastle splashed the cash on Nick Woltemade in a club-record £69m over the summer.
However, the towering German has taken to life in England with ease, replacing Alaxender Isak and scoring goals on a regular basis. Woltemade hasn’t looked out of place in the Premier League.
13 Omar Marmoush Man City and Egypt
After starring for Eintracht Frankfurt, Omar Marmoush got his big move to Man City in January 2025, and he continued to find the back of the net for fun.
Pep Guardiola called the Egypt international “the best player in the Bundesliga” after signing Marmoush for City, and he already has a Premier League hat-trick to his name.
12 Cristiano Ronaldo Al Nassr and Portugal
Arguably one of the best players to have ever graced the game, Cristiano Ronaldo is still going strong at the age of 40 and has actually scored more goals since turning 30 than he did before.
He’s been plying his trade in the Saudi Pro League for Al Nassr since 2023 and has continued to find the back of the net on a regular basis.
Ronaldo has now scored over 950 career goals for club and country and has been showing no signs of slowing down, continuing to feature regularly for Portugal.
Cristiano Ronaldo: Major titles won
Trophy
Years won
Ballon d’Or
2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017
Best FIFA Men’s Player
2008, 2016, 2017
European Championship
2016
Premier League
2007, 2008, 2009
La Liga
2012, 2017
Serie A
2019, 2020
Champions League
2008, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018
FIFA Club World Cup
2009, 2015, 2017, 2018
UEFA Super Cup
2014, 2016, 2017
Nations League
2019
FA Cup
2004
League Cup
2006, 2009
Community Shield
2007
Italian Cup
2021
Copa del Rey
2011, 2014
Spanish Super Cup
2012, 2017
Italian Super Cup
2018, 2020
Portuguese Super Cup
2003
11 Marcus Thuram Inter Milan and France
Marcus Thuram made history in 2025 with the quickest goal to be scored in a Champions League semi-final following his clever flick against Barcelona.
The goal highlights Thuram’s quality, and he is now valued at €75m by Transfermarkt, a figure which has more than doubled since moving to Inter Milan from Borussia Monchengladbach in 2023.
The French forward has had the best goalscoring season of his career in 2024/25, and at 27, appears to be at the peak of his powers.
Marcus Thuram: Major titles won
Trophy
Years won
Serie A
2024
Italian Super Cup
2023
Nations League
2021
10 Hugo Ekitike Liverpool and France
Hugo Ekitike became a man in demand after impressing for Eintracht Frankfurt, with Liverpool winning the race to secure his services for an initial £69m.
The 22-year-old previously made his loan move to Frankfurt from Paris Saint-Germain permanent in 2024 and enjoyed his best ever season in front of goal.
PSG are doing just fine themselves without Ekitike, however, they will surely be kicking themselves in regards to selling the “next Mbappe”.
Hugo Ekitike: Major titles won
Trophy
Years won
Ligue 1
2023, 2024
French Super Cup
2023
9 Victor Osimhen Galatasaray and Nigeria
Galatasaray struck gold by signing Victor Osimhen on loan from Napoli last summer, with the Nigeria international continuing to do what he does best – score goals.
Osimhen fell out with Napoli chiefs last summer which resulted in his move to Turkey for the 2024/25 season, and that has now become permanent. The striker has been called “one of the best centre-forwards in the world” by Alvaro Morata.
8 Lautaro Martinez Inter Milan and Argentina
Alvarez’s international teammate, Lautaro Martinez, is next on the list, with the Inter Milan star a regular source of goals for the Serie A giants since 2018.
In fact, Martinez has hit double figures for Serie A goals in all eight of his campaigns in Italy and has now surpassed 150 goals in all competitions for Inter.
Now Inter captain, Martinez appears to be in the prime of his career and even Lionel Messi backed him to win the Ballon d’Or just last year.
7 Alexander Isak Liverpool and Sweden
Alexander Isak is regarded as one of the world’s best centre-forwards after starring in the Premier League for Newcastle United, and his record £125m transfer to Liverpool was the saga of the 2025 summer window.
Jamie Carragher, at the beginning of 2025, actually called Isak the “best striker in the Premier League”, however, his start to life at Anfield hasn’t gone to plan which has seen him drop down the rankings.
Alexander Isak: Major titles won
Trophy
Years won
League Cup
2025
DFB-Pokal
2017
Copa del Rey
2020
6 Viktor Gyokeres Arsenal and Sweden
Many wouldn’t have expected Viktor Gyokeres to be one of the best strikers in the world a few years ago when he was at Coventry City in the Championship. However, the Sweden international is now deservedly regarded among the elite after starring on the European stage with Sporting CP.
Gyokeres scored 43 times in his debut season in Portugal and has proven this year that he wasn’t a one-season wonder by finding the back of the net more than 50 times in 24/25. He has now got his return to England with a big-money move to Arsenal and has continued to find the back of the net, albeit on a less regular occurence.
Norwich City have held talks with one manager who has a 100% win record over the recently sacked Liam Manning.
When Norwich City could appoint Manning’s replacement
The Canaries finally parted ways with Manning after a seventh straight Carrow Road defeat prior to the international break.
The 2-1 loss to Leicester City was Norwich’s 10th defeat from 15 Championship games, leaving them in 23rd place and four points off safety.
Sporting director Ben Knapper said in a statement that he understood criticism from supporters and is looking to “repair the relationship” with fans.
“We have tried absolutely everything possible to work through this incredibly challenging period but, unfortunately, given the recent run of results and performances, we have been left with no choice other than to make a change at this stage.
“Liam and his staff worked tirelessly to move our football club forward. They are all fundamentally good people and we wish them the very best in whatever comes next.
“We very much understand the frustration and criticism from our supporters at this stage. So far, results and performances on the pitch haven’t been good enough.
“We accept that responsibility, but it’s now imperative that we start to repair the relationship with our supporters and do everything we can to give them something to get behind.”
Birmingham City vs Norwich City
22nd November
Norwich City vs Oxford United
25th November
Norwich City vs QPR
29th November
Watford vs Norwich City
6th December
Sheffield United vs Norwich City
9th December
Something that will get supporters back on side will be to appoint a winning manager, with former midfielder Gary O’Neil linked with the vacancy.
Norwich, according to reliable reporter John Percy, have interviewed O’Neil and want to appoint a new manager by November 22, the day club football returns and the Canaries travel to Birmingham City.
Norwich City hold talks with Will Still
Sky Sports reporters Zinny Boswell, Lyall Thomas and Anthony Joseph shared a Norwich City manager update on Wednesday morning, naming the three bosses who the Canaries have spoken with.
As well as former player O’Neil, Norwich have also held talks with Jon Dahl Tomasson and Will Still, with the former Southampton manager available following his St Mary’s departure earlier this month.
Still, who plays a 3-4-1-2 system, struggled to turn the Saints around, winning two of his 13 Championship games which resulted in his sacking a week prior to Manning.
He did defeat Manning and Norwich 3-0 at Carrow Road in an EFL Cup second round tie, though, which began a terrible spell at home for the former Canaries boss.
Still has a 100% win record vs Manning, and he was impressing over in France with Lens before his move to England, being linked with numerous jobs.
The 33-year-old is still inexperienced in English football, though, and after his spell on the south coast, taking a chance on Still would be a gamble by the Norwich board as they look to climb out of the relegation zone.
It could be a risk worth taking, although O’Neil and Tomasson have more experience in English football than Still.
Deepti Sharma’s fifty kept India in the contest but they fell short in the final equation
S Sudarshanan20-Sep-20251:42
Mooney: ‘There’s no ceiling for this group’
Australia 412 (Mooney 138, Voll 81, Perry 68, Reddy 3-86) beat India 369 (Mandhana 125, Deepti 72, Harmanpreet 52, Garth 3-69) by 43 runsCricket was played at a breakneck speed in Delhi on Saturday with close to 800 runs scored at a rate of over eight per over. Australia’s 412 was fuelled by what was then the second-fastest ODI century from Beth Mooney. India – and in particular Smriti Mandhana – came out hunting for both those targets. They got one – Mandhana is now the second-fastest centurion – but India fell just 43 short in the series decider.In the end, Australia protected a proud record of never losing a bilateral ODI series in India as they prepare to defend their crown in exactly these conditions.
India were fined 10% of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate. They were ruled to be two overs short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration. In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC code of conduct, players are fined 5% of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time.
With just ten days to go for the Women’s World Cup 2025, a world record chase was attempted for a second day in a row after Pakistan almost chased down 313 in Lahore on Friday. Faced with a mountainous target of 413, India galloped at a high speed to be placed 204 for 2 in just 20 overs. But Australia gave a reminder of why they are the defending world champions by keeping at it, and striking regularly, to win the series 2-1Riding on a 57-ball century from Mooney and aided with misfields aplenty from India, Australia equalled their highest total. Strange as it may sound, their final total seemed to fall short of what they were likely to score before a late collapse of 6 for 34 ended their innings in 47.5 overs.India’s turbo-charged response was led by vice-captain Mandhana. She added 121 in just 69 balls with captain Harmanpreet Kaur, as Australia searched for ways to plug the flow of runs. It inadvertently came through Harmanpreet’s knee injury break, after which India lost three wickets in 19 balls.ESPNcricinfo Ltd
Deepti Sharma, batting at No. 5 in Jemimah Rodrigues’ absence, continued to keep India’s hopes alive with a counter-attacking half-century. She scored a 58-ball 72, and her strike rate of 124.13 was her quickest for a knock above 20 runs. She added 65 off 54 balls for the eighth wicket with Sneh Rana to take India closer to the target. But with 59 needed off 46 balls, she holed out to deep midwicket to dash India’s hopes of a miracle.Mandhana started from where she left off in New Chandigarh, hitting Megan Schutt for three successive fours in the third over. She also greeted her nemesis Ashleigh Gardner with a six and four, before smashing Kim Garth for two fours and a six in the space of five balls. Earlier in the evening, Australia had scored 77 for 1 at the end of the first powerplay – a score India easily surpassed in seven overs. They were 96 for 2 in ten overs, which is the second-highest total in the first powerplay in women’s ODIs.Mandhana showed no signs of slowing down, getting to her half-century in 23 balls, before reaching her hundred in just 50 balls. She bettered her own mark of 77 balls from a few days ago, and also relegated Mooney’s 57-ball effort from earlier in the game to joint third-fastest. At the other end, Harmanpreet showed her silken touch as well as brute force on her way to a 32-ball fifty. But once Harmanpreet and Mandhana fell in consecutive overs, India’s challenge fizzled out.But for India’s fielding missteps earlier in the afternoon, which cost them 26 off 11 balls as per ESPNcricinfo’s logs, the result might have been different. Fielding has been one of the focal points under head coach Amol Muzumdar’s regime, and India looked to have turned a page with a clinical show in England. However, after dropping four catches in the first ODI, India grassed three chances on Saturday.Getty Images
Georgia Voll was the beneficiary of all three – first, when Richa Ghosh was wrongfooted and couldn’t hang on to the outside edge in the seventh over, and then twice by Radha Yadav. First on 23 when Radha only got her fingertips to a powerful swipe at square leg, and then on 36 when Radha misjudged the pace of Voll’s flick and was late on the jump at midwicket. Voll scored 81 before top-edging a sweep to substitute Uma Chetry at short fine leg.The tone was set early by captain Alyssa Healy, who wanted India to “run around in the heat”, and opted to bat. She attacked India’s new-ball bowlers and Australia managed to hit two fours in each of the first five overs. Kranti Goud then dismissed her for the third time in three games but Voll kept attacking, with Ellyse Perry offering stability during a fluent innings of her own.After Voll’s fall in the 22nd over, Mooney came in and never let the momentum shift. She found gaps at will, used the crease well to access empty parts of the field, and got to her fourth ODI century. The highlight of her innings was how she kept going in the hot and humid conditions, and scoring at a high rate while taking minimum risks. She added 106 from 72 balls with Perry, and then 82 off 46 with Gardner, to set the platform for Australia to post the highest total in women’s ODIs against India.It was only the seventh time a team crossed the 400-mark in women’s ODIs. That India responded with a strong challenge and posted the highest total in a chase in this format will give them solace with a World Cup on the horizon.
On a day Wolvaardt rewrote records, former captain van Niekerk’s comeback slotted neatly into a team that transformed in her absence
Firdose Moonda05-Dec-2025If you thought the start of South Africa’s international season was about former captain Dane van Niekerk’s comeback, you were wrong.It was about current captain Laura Wolvaardt, who tore up the record books by scoring the fastest hundred by a South African in T20Is (off 52 balls), and her third successive international hundred. It was also about the one who led in between van Niekerk and Wolvaardt, Sune Luus, whose career-best 81 was part of a 176-run second-wicket stand with Wolvaardt, South Africa’s highest of all time. Luus also opened the bowling and took four for 22 to lead the attack. And it was about a cricketing metaphor of the hierarchy of this South African side, even as they piled on their highest T20I total against an Ireland side that struggled, both against the quality of the hosts and the high winds that swirled around Newlands.That this is Wolvaardt’s team has become clear over the last two global events, where she led them to the final in the T20 World Cup in Dubai and the ODI World Cup in India. That she leads by example is also apparent: Wolvaardt was the top run-scorer at both tournaments. Initially a reluctant captain who feared how it would affect her own form, Wolvaardt has thrived with the extra responsibility and her rising tide has lifted the collective boat.Luus, too, has carved her own path since stepping away from the captaincy after the home T20 World Cup in 2023. In September that year, she scored her first ODI century, and in 2024, she began bowling offspin. She is now one of the side’s premier all-rounders and does not seem to miss being in charge, which is understandable given how fraught things were when she took over. Luus was handed the reins in that grey period when van Niekerk was injured and she was referred to as a stand-in skipper while South Africa waited for their regular captain, van Niekerk, to return.Related
Van Niekerk: Want to 'prove to myself' that I've still got it at the highest level
Now, four years later, she’s back, but not as captain and definitely not as the main attraction in a team that has moved on but has now made room for what she has to bring. Chiefly, what van Niekerk offers is experience, from a long international career, five years as captain and time spent in leagues around the world. She is also a genuine power-hitter, which was on display in her short time at the crease on Friday afternoon.Van Niekerk had to wait until midway through the 18th over before her turn to bat came. By then, Wolvaardt, fresh off the WBBL, had smashed South Africa’s fastest T20I fifty off 24 balls and was four away from a century. Van Niekerk’s first job was to get off strike so Wolvaardt could get there. She nudged the first ball she faced behind square on the off side and called Wolvaardt through for one. All eyes were on how quickly van Niekerk would run, given that was the main talking point when she retired, having failed Cricket South Africa’s then-strict fitness guidelines that required all women’s players to complete a two-kilometre time trial in under nine minutes and 30 seconds. Her first single was simple enough.Next ball, Wolvaardt made her run again and van Niekerk did. It looked urgent, determined, and confident. She blocked the next ball and Wolvaardt had strike at the start of the 19th. Immediately, Wolvaardt wanted two: the real test of van Niekerk’s need for speed. She hustled, she made it. Wolvaardt on 99. No time to waste. When she wanted to run the next ball, van Niekerk responded and then hung back as she let Wolvaardt soak in her hometown achievement.A small but passionate crowd had come to see the national women’s side in their first appearance at Newlands since reaching the T20 World Cup final in February 2023 and all of them were on their feet for Wolvaardt. From her position, van Niekerk applauded with them and then met her captain mid-pitch for a warm embrace. The pride was evident; the baton properly passed.And then, just briefly, van Niekerk was able to occupy some of the main stage. She premeditated the reverse-lap off Orla Prendergast for her first boundary, then cut hard through point and a misfield on the boundary gave her a second, and she closed out the over with a straight drive. After six balls, van Niekerk had 15 runs.Show’s over, Wolvaardt seemed to say as she plundered a four, another four, six and then one off the first four balls of the final over. Now it is, van Niekerk responded and drove the fifth ball through the covers for four. The rivalry, of course, is manufactured but the symbolism remains. There they were: two people who have spent their careers working for South Africa’s cricketing excellence and now, they are able to do it together.”She’s been great so far. It looks like she just wants to contribute in any way she can,” Wolvaardt said of van Niekerk in the pre-match press conference. “Obviously has a lot of knowledge cricket-wise and is a very smart cricketer. She has a look to offer to the team, more than just her skill. It’s just nice to have her back. And it seems like she’s really prepared to do whatever she can for the team. She brings a lot of energy to the group. On the field she’s normally vocal and loud. We can definitely use that.”But it was Wolvaardt who was the most lively when South Africa stepped out to defend their score of 220. She directed traffic more than usual, took two catches at short fine leg and fired in bullet throws from her position in the covers. Van Niekerk prowled the outer ring, followed instructions and only once moved in to offer an opinion when the think-tank met. When the last wicket fell, van Niekerk was at deep cover and almost the last to reach the huddle. As she approached, Wolvaardt broke away from the group, went to van Niekerk and they shared a handshake and a hug. She’s back, but she’s back in a team that is different to the one she left.”To have her back is cool for everyone. She brings a lot of experience. But as a team it also evolved a lot. We have new values and a whole new structure, so I think it’s also for her to adapt to that and the new brand of cricket we’re playing,” Luus said afterwards. “She’s done that brilliantly and she and coach Mandla (Mashimbyi) seem to have a good relationship. So I think there’s something very good brewing over there.”On cue, van Niekerk was seen deep in conversation with Mashimbyi as the match ended, before she joined the rest of the squad for a signing session. There, the fan favourite seemed to be Chloe Tryon and the selfie queen was undoubtedly Nonkululekho Mlaba but van Niekerk got her fair share of attention. Many still know and appreciate who she is and what she did, and those who don’t could find out over the rest of the series and beyond.
NZ fast bowler experienced side stiffness during training on Saturday
Alex Malcolm25-Oct-2025New Zealand quick Kyle Jamieson has been ruled out of the upcoming ODI series against England with side stiffness.Jamieson, 30, experienced stiffness in his side during training at Bay Oval on Saturday ahead of Sunday’s series opener. Given Jamieson’s history with stress fractures, including one post back surgery, New Zealand made a precautionary decision to rule him out of the three-match series and is targeting a comeback against West Indies in November.”Kyle experienced some stiffness in his side after bowling today and we didn’t want to take any risks at this stage of the summer,” New Zealand coach Rob Walter said. “We felt it was best for him to sit out this one-day series and give himself the best chance of being ready for the West Indies tour which starts on November 5 in Auckland.”Related
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Jamieson will return home to Christchurch for further assessment. Walter said New Zealand would name a replacement following the completion of the opening round of the Ford Trophy, New Zealand’s domestic One-Day tournament, on Saturday.Jamieson told ESPNcricinfo last month that he was being meticulous in the way he was managing his body on his return to competitive cricket in 2025 after the stress fracture last year. His bowling program has been managed by high performance coaches Chelsea Lane and Matt Dallow who are not formally part of New Zealand Cricket.”They’ve done a huge amount of work in rebuilding athletes and biomechanics and just how to stack up your body properly,” Jamieson said. “They advise on everything, right from how my body’s moving, what my gym program looks like, what the [bowling] load numbers look like.”I have reflection and review processes with them after pretty much every day that I bowl, my sort of weekly, monthly calendar is mapped out with them, my total load tracking is done through them. So I’m pretty much fully through them at the moment, and then apply it into the different cricket environments that I end up in.”
Richard Thompson insists 100-ball format will not change before end of current rights cycle
ESPNcricinfo staff07-Sep-2025The tight turnaround between England’s international and the Hundred is a “short-term issue” which ECB chairman Richard Thompson has pledged will be solved for the next TV rights cycle.England’s men played one day before the start and two days after the end of the Hundred this year, leaving all-format players short on relevant preparation for the ongoing ODI series against South Africa. The same scenario will play out in 2026, with the Hundred expected to start two days after an ODI series against India and three days before the first Test against Pakistan.New investors in the Hundred will expect their England players to be available throughout the tournament. Jamie Smith, Jamie Overton and Ollie Pope missed London Spirit’s first game of this season, the day after the fifth Test at The Oval, which their incoming co-owner Nikesh Arora described as “disappointing” while calling for “better planning” by the ECB.Thompson acknowledged that the schedule is too crammed, speaking in his capacity as an ambassador for the Alzheimer’s Society during England’s third ODI against South Africa on Sunday. “There are no easy answers, but the reality is we can’t have our cake and eat it,” Thompson told Sky Sports.”We want England players to play. This is our premium white-ball competition and we want England players to play in it. What we have to do is find a way of ensuring the schedule before and after the tournament [is better]. Take this year: the gap was a day or two days… That can’t be right.Related
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“If we’re going to get this level of investment, we’ve got to commit to ensuring our England players are available. We don’t want that to be at the expense of the success of England. We need to find a balance, and ultimately we can look at the schedule and we can try and free up time.”We’ve done this deal in the middle of a rights schedule. Come ’28, when we then cut the next deal for the next four years, we can cut this in a different way. We might have a short-term issue here, but we can overcome that.”Ultimately, if a player feels they’re injured, they’re going to rest themselves. They won’t want to play on an injury. England is still everything here. But we are not prepared to accept that you can’t find a halfway house and work with the owners to ensure that the owner will get what they need, and England will get what it needs.”Thompson also said that the tournament’s format will not change from 100-balls-a-side to T20 during the current broadcast cycle, which runs to the end of the 2028 summer, and denied that the sale of stakes in the eight Hundred franchises equates to selling the month of August to private investors.”I can categorically tell you it’s 100 balls next year,” he said. “I don’t think anything will change in this rights cycle. Sky [the Hundred’s main broadcaster] have bought 100 [balls a side]. Sky are not going to want to change that. It’s up to the owners and the ECB to decide what that might be in the future.”This is not English cricket selling off the family silver. This is English cricket bringing in investors to enable us to have a tournament that could challenge the IPL.”
Chamari Athapaththu would do anything to get Sri Lanka to the semi-final of this Women’s ODI World Cup. No Sri Lanka team has managed this over 11 years, at an ICC event, and the women’s team has never got there. Athapaththu has long been the talisman of this side, but feels she has the young players in her side now, who can excel in their own right.”More than in the other tournaments, I’m pretty relaxed in this one,” Athapaththu said in Colombo. “The youngsters have been performing – Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, and Kavisha Dilhari, are all batting well. So more than other times, I’m able to relax a bit.”Gunaratne, Dilhari, and Samarawickrama had all played important roles in Sri Lanka’s chart to an Asia Cup victory at home, though that was in the T20 format. Still, that was enough to inspire more trust from Athapaththu, who suggested she would be more fearless in the first 10 overs.Related
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“I’m going to be playing the game I play in the powerplay,” Athapaththu said. “Then, after that, the challenge is to figure out how I can change gears and do more damage. My one aim is to get Sri Lanka into the semi finals. Before I retire, what I want is to take Sri Lanka to a semi-final. If we can get there, we can figure out the next steps. But even getting there is big.”On paper, Sri Lanka have no easy games, especially at the start of their campaign. Their World Cup begins against India on September 30 in the tournament opener in Guwahati before matches in Colombo against Australia on October 4, England on October 11, New Zealand on October 14 and South Africa on October 18. They then play Bangladesh in Navi Mumbai on October 20 before flying back to Colombo for their final league-stage match against Pakistan on October 24.But the motivation is high, since Sri Lanka are returning to the ODI World Cup after eight years. They did not feature in the ODI World Cup in 2022, owing partially to Sri Lanka not having played a single international between March 2020 and January 2022.”We haven’t been able to play a World Cup since 2017. We lost the chance to play in the last World Cup, because with Covid we couldn’t play the qualifying rounds, and that’s where our rankings were. It’s after eight years we’re playing a World Cup.”We’ve sacrificed a lot and worked really hard to get here. We’ve played really well in the last cycle. We’re in a good mental space. I’m hoping we can get a good start to the tournament.”