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Even as the humidity went up due to the extended monsoon, both batters kept their cool and raised maiden Test tons, putting South Africa well on top

Mohammad Isam29-Oct-20241:47

Stubbs: ‘Getting to three figures was a big relief’

In local cricket circles, they say that if you have survived Mirpur, Sylhet or Chattogram is a breeze. This is obviously about the pitches at these venues. South Africa’s batters navigated the Shere Bangla National Stadium surface well last week, so when they got to the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram, it was time to cash in. They did, finishing the first day on 307 for 2, and it was thanks mainly to the tenacity of the young pair of Tony de Zorzi and Tristan Stubbs.The two of them hit centuries – the first in Tests for both of them – after South Africa opted to bat, added 201 for the second wicket, and complemented each other when they batted together. Stubbs said afterwards that de Zorzi helped him through his nervous start and a tough period after lunch to keep the pressure on Bangladesh throughout the day.”To get to the three figures was a big relief more than anything,” Stubbs said. “This definitely ranks as my favourite hundred. Till lunch, I was scoring quite freely. After lunch, I was trying hard to get off strike. The ball was [reversing]. It was a good period for them. I grafted it out and once I got the rhythm back, I felt quite comfortable.Related

• De Zorzi and Stubbs hit maiden tons to make it South Africa's day

“When the ball got a bit softer after lunch, we thought Taijul [Islam] got one or two to spin. He beat me on the outside [edge]. There was also a little bit of tail on the ball to keep you thinking. They also got the ball to [reverse] just enough to get you thinking. It was a good batting wicket but it was hard to score freely. You were going to get yourself out by giving them your wicket.”Stubbs got through his 198-ball stay by banking on the reverse sweep, his most profitable shot after the cover drive. Stubbs struck three fours with the reverse sweep, including one that went through the covers. De Zorzi, too, was strong on the sweep, which encouraged Stubbs to stick to what worked for him best.”My plan was to sweep before the game, but then I struggled with the actual sweep,” he said. “So it was more the reverse sweep today. Tony was sweeping very well today. Sometimes when it is working on that day, you commit with it. He did it really well.”I was really nervous up front. It was nice batting with Tony. He was very calm. He was flowing quite nicely. I give huge credit to him. Straight after lunch, he started cramping. The mental strength to go through the whole day was unbelievable. We kept reminding each other to not take anything for granted. It was really enjoyable batting with him.”De Zorzi ended the day having batted through the 81 overs for 141 not out, to Stubbs’ 106.Tony de Zorzi batted through the opening day•AFP/Getty ImagesSouth Africa’s major challenge in Bangladesh has also been the unseasonal heat. The extended monsoon has caused the humidity to go up, too, so the visitors have had to endure some tough weather in both Dhaka and Chattogram, where it usually cools down around this time of the year.”It was flippin’ hot in the Caribbean [too],” Stubbs pointed out. “Then we went to the UAE last month. It is about getting used to the uncomfortable heat. I sweat a lot so it is all about trying to keep my gloves dry. Fortunately, I have a nice sponsor who has given a lot of gloves for this tour. That’s the biggest challenge.”Incidentally, Chattogram has been a happy place for South Africa’s batters over the years, especially when it comes to putting together partnerships.In 2003, Boeta Dippenaar and Jacques Rudolph put together 429 for the unbroken third-wicket stand at the old MA Aziz Stadium across the city. It is still the highest Test stand against Bangladesh. And five years on from that, Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie added 415 for the opening stand at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium – a world record for the opening wicket. De Zorzi and Stubbs haven’t threatened those numbers, but theirs is a partnership that is likely to have a similarly big impact on this Test match.

On day two, just as on day one, Australia bossed the twilight zone in Adelaide

Alagappan Muthu07-Dec-2024Rohit Sharma looked like the most lonesome person in the world as he trekked back to the dressing room. It’s a good thing they’re square of the wicket in Adelaide. Shorter walk.Australia picked up five wickets in the night session. Were it not for Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland overstepping, they could have got them earlier and built on them further. Sometime in the lead-up to Travis Head’s century, it felt like they might be trying something like this. Bowling with the new pink ball in twilight. It’s almost the be-all-end-all of this format.Related

• Australia scorch India after Head ton and Boland-Cummins spells

• Stats – Head's pink-ball delight and Rohit's 2024 misery

• Siraj vs Head: The send-off that turned Adelaide Oval into the Colosseum

• Travis Head and India's bowlers – the one-sided love story continues

India found themselves in a similar situation on day one when they found themselves with a seven-over-old pink ball at sunset. They were able to take only one wicket.”Yeah, I think for me if I can just rewind the clock to the first Test match, I thought our lines and lengths were exceptional and I think that was sort of the blueprint for us going into this series,” bowling coach Morne Morkel said, “We wanted to bring the stumps into play as much as possible and I felt last night with the ball moving around a little bit we missed that.”In their day-night practice match in Canberra, India discovered that the pink ball responded more when you hit the pitch on a good length. So that’s what they did when they got the new ball under lights last night. According to ESPNcricinfo ball-by-ball data, 104 of their first 198 deliveries landed exactly where they wanted it to. But only around 15% of those good-length balls ended up in line with the stumps. Many of the rest behaved a little more erratically than they were prepared for, and by the time they could recalibrate, Australia had seen off the toughest of the conditions to bat in.”Thirty overs seems to be about the mark at Adelaide Oval that for my whole career, that’s the sort of, red ball, pink ball, that’s the time where you sort of have to put in and invest and then it feels like the wicket gets slightly easier to bat on.” Travis Head, an Adelaide native, said.1:07

Where did India’s bowlers go wrong in Adelaide?

India’s second innings began with them 157 runs behind. They were under siege by an amped-up crowd and in the crosshairs of a revved-up bowling unit. Pat Cummins picked up the first wicket and the team-mates he didn’t high-five were probably the luckiest people on earth. Those he did might be sneaking ice-packs into their hotel rooms.Australia also targeted the good-length area. It accounted for 78 of 144 deliveries, and 24% of them posed a threat to the stumps because, ironically enough, in their hands the ball wasn’t moving as much. In their hands, it did just enough to beat the middle of the bat, leaving both edges and the stumps in play.One of them was the ball that had Rohit’s name on it, leaving him with two single-digit scores in his first outing after leading India to a 3-0 defeat at home. He moved down to No. 6 so as not to disrupt the opening combination that had won them the first Test. It also offered him a chance – if everything went well – to come in against the old ball, which sounds like the kind of leg up a batter who hasn’t had as much time to acclimatise to the conditions might find useful. It could be argued that Rohit dropping down the order was as much a concession as it was strategic. And it still didn’t work. He was adjudged lbw off what turned out to be a no-ball on 0, though there was a suggestion of an inside edge and an immediate gesture to review, and bowled neck and crop on 6.A few days ago Mohammed Siraj spoke about how the pink ball, when it was pitched up, didn’t really do a lot. Australia saw virtue in that. They ran the risk of being driven and flicked for four, which Shubman Gill did quite well, but given the vagaries of the pink ball, the magic of the night session and a first-innings lead, they could afford to take those hits. They could gamble in search of what happened in the 18th over when Gill was clean bowled. Starc got that ball to swing in late, seam in further, and beat the closed face of the bat to crash into the stumps.India had to spend a lot of time to home in on the line and length that accounted for the seam and swing. Eighty of their first 198 deliveries were left alone. Australia could settle in a lot quicker. They only allowed India to leave the pink ball 29 times in the window when it tends to do the most damage. This, as much as anything else, has led to the game being where it is. The night session of a day-night Test, it’s influence is irresistible.

Saturday’s loss to South Africa in Karachi was England’s seventh straight defeat in ODIs – their joint-second-longest losing streak in the format

Sampath Bandarupalli01-Mar-20257 – Consecutive ODI defeats for England. It is their joint-second-longest losing streak in men’s ODIs, behind their 11 successive defeats over 2000 and 2001.0.692 – Win-loss ratio as captain for Jos Buttler in ODIs (Saturday’s game was his last as captain). It is the second-lowest win-loss record among 14 captains to have led England at least 20 times in this format. Alec Stewart had a win-loss ratio of 0.600 as a captain across 41 ODI matches.England won only 18 out of 45 ODIs under Buttler. Buttler won only three out of 12 matches as captain across the ODI World Cup and Champions Trophy.Only Duleep Mendis (0.090) and Heath Streak (0.250) have a poorer win-loss ratio among captains to have led in ten-plus matches at ICC men’s ODI tournaments (World Cups and Champions Trophies).26.34 – Buttler’s batting average in ODIs in Asia. Only three visiting batters with 1000-plus runs in Asia average lower than him. Buttler’s average in Asia reads only 20 across 26 ODI innings since 2017, with only two fifties.Quick bowlers have had Buttler’s number on 18 occasions since 2017 in Asia, and he averages 11.16 against them. Against spinners, though, Buttler averages 45.57 with seven dismissals in 311 balls.43 – Balls faced by Buttler for his 21 runs on Saturday, when he failed to hit a boundary. Only once before did he face more balls in an ODI innings without hitting a boundary – 60, against Australia, in 2015.It is also the longest innings without a boundary by an England batter since Joe Root’s unbeaten 57-ball 32 against Sri Lanka in 2018 in Pallekele.179 – England’s total against South Africa on Saturday is the lowest by any team in this Champions Trophy. Afghanistan’s 208 all out against South Africa at the same venue was the previous lowest.England have found it tough to get through the middle overs•Getty Images29 – Wickets lost by England during the middle overs (11-40) across the six ODIs they have played in 2025, including seven on Saturday. They lost only two wickets in the middle overs against Australia in Lahore, where they made 351 for 8. In 2025, they have been bowled out without playing 50 overs whenever they have lost four or more wickets between the 11th and 40th overs.21.38 – Batting average of England’s Nos. 5, 6 and 7 across the six ODIs they have played in 2025. Only two fifties have been scored by players batting in those positions in the six matches – 52 by Buttler and 51 by Jacob Bethell, both during the series against India.5 – Consecutive 50-plus scores for Heinrich Klaasen in ODIs. It is the joint-longest streak of 50-plus scores by a South Africa batter in men’s ODIs. Jonty Rhodes, in 2000-2001, had five successive 50-plus scores in ODIs, while Quinton de Kock did it twice – in 2017 and 2019. Kepler Wessels also had five consecutive fifties between 1985 and 1992, but the first of the five came while representing Australia.3 – Wickets for Marco Jansen during the powerplay against England on Saturday, the most he has taken in the first ten overs of an ODI innings. Jansen’s three wickets were England’s top-three batters – Phil Salt, Ben Duckett and Jamie Smith.The previous instance of a South Africa bowler dismissing the opposition’s top-three batters within the first ten overs was in 2015 by Kagiso Rabada against Bangladesh in Mirpur.

Ever since the WTC final, the fast bowler has gone from strength to strength under a management that has emboldened him to unleash his skills as he sees fit

Firdose Moonda22-Aug-20252:16

Ngidi: Always a test of character against Australia

When cricketers are encouraged to express themselves, we usually know what that looks like for batters: play your shots, innovate, entertain. But how do bowlers interpret that instruction?”It’s pretty much about giving you the freedom to bowl what you want to bowl,” Lungi Ngidi said, after claiming his second ODI five-for during South Africa’s 84-run win in the second ODI against Australia in Mackay. “We’ve been playing international cricket for a couple of years now, so we kind of know what we’re good at and what we need to do. Set your field and bowl what you want to bowl according to whatever you see in front of you. Play the conditions in front of you and don’t be scared to try things.”Like offering one of the opposition’s most dangerous batters a little bit of width, in the belief he would nick off. Or dropping your pace down to just over 100kph because you’d seen the efficacy of the slower ball in the first innings.Related

• Green, Head and Marsh flay centuries as Australia put on a show

• Ngidi takes five, Breetzke, Stubbs shine as South Africa win series

Ngidi did both those things as he bowled South Africa to a series-winning victory, and he did them because he had the confidence to make bold decisions about how he wanted to go about his business.His strategy against Marnus Labuschagne was informed by what Ngidi saw in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, when Labuschagne was dismissed in both innings driving loosely at Marco Jansen. Ngidi, of course, is not the same type of bowler as Jansen, but he believed he could exact similar results.Marnus Labuschagne fell into Lungi Ngidi’s deliberately laid trap•Getty Images”We do our video analysis and we’ve seen, even from the Test Championship, outside off with the ball shaping away seems to be effective. He leaves very well, but you need to score runs at some point in ODI cricket so you’re probably going to feel outside off,” Ngidi explained. “I just tried to keep it simple and just plug away at that length and that line and it seemed to come off. It went according to plan.”Pace-off is Ngidi’s speciality but he used it more after getting confirmation that it worked during South Africa’s innings, in which Nathan Ellis was the stand-out seamer. Ellis started with a 110kph back-of-the-hand slower ball and delivered at least two an over among his pace-on, short-ball change-ups, which got him both his wickets. Ngidi was taking notes.”The beautiful thing about bowling second is I get to sit there and watch what works. And I saw Ellis’ plan and he was pretty successful with that,” he said. “It just gives you an idea of what’s going to work later on in the innings. Also Watching [Xavier] Bartlett up front, it seemed to be swinging or nipping around so it pretty much gives you a blueprint of how to go about things.”Both Ngidi and Nandre Burger found movement early on and made the initial breakthroughs but it was Ngidi’s second spell that earned him his first Player-of-the-Match award, in any format, in nearly three years. He ripped through Australia’s lower order and took four wickets for eight runs in 14 balls. The first was a signature Ngidi delivery, a slower offbreak that Aaron Hardie chipped back to him. But it was Ngidi’s quick reaction to get across and take the catch low to the ground that showed how committed he was to the contest against an opposition he loves playing against.’The beautiful thing about bowling second is I get to sit there and watch what works’•Getty ImagesHis career-best, of 6 for 58, also came against Australia and he has taken more wickets against them in ODIs – 26 at an average of 16.96 – than any other opposition (and he has only played against them once more than he has England, India or Sri Lanka) and it’s fair to say they bring out the best in him.”It’s always a battle against Australia. It’s always competitive,” he said. “It’s a test of character because we were put under pressure from the T20s, and we had the opportunity to win a series tonight so just mentally stepping up and finishing it off. It’s just a great rivalry that’s always been there. And it’s going to continue for many, many years.”Ngidi emphasised “staying strong mentally” both to the broadcasters and at his press conference, and it may apply to more than just the ongoing series. His career to date is perhaps best described as stop-start, with injuries and indifferent form often interrupting a good run. The last time he played all matches in a multi-format tour was in 2018, when he played in four of South Africa’s four games in Australia.Currently, Ngidi is on a five-match streak in Australia, and he also played in four of South Africa’s five T20Is last month in Zimbabwe and made a Test comeback the month before that at the WTC final at Lord’s. It was in that game, where his selection raised eyebrows because he had not played a Test in 10 months, that Ngidi showed the value of being backed by the coaching staff and being given freedom by them.Ngidi picked up the second five-wicket haul of his ODI career•AFP/Getty ImagesCoach Shukri Conrad picked Ngidi even after dropping him from the 2024 tour to Bangladesh and, after a rusty start, Ngidi delivered a match-changing second-innings performance when he took 3 for 38. Conrad has since picked Ngidi across all formats, and the returns have only been getting better. Ngidi iced the cake when he became the first South Africa seamer since Kagiso Rabada in July 2015 to take an ODI five-for away from home.Because they came up in the same Under-19 group and are at similar ages, the two are often spoken about in parallel terms, Rabada’s stardust usually leaving Ngidi in the shadows. That was the case in this game too. Ngidi told the broadcasters that when he knew Rabada would be unavailable for this series because of injury, he would “have big shoes to fill.”It’s easy to assume that means he needs to take on Rabada’s role but that only applies to seniority and experience, not style of bowling. While Rabada’s game is based on pace and accuracy, Ngidi’s is on variation and movement and he had the perfect stage to show that in Mackay. That he performed to expectation and beyond is an example of South Africa’s new way, which is as much about staying true to their identity as it is about getting the results they want.”The most important thing is how we played. Are we playing our brand of cricket? Are we playing the way we want to play? When we lose and we’re not playing our way or with the freedom that the coach has given us, then it’s a problem. But when we execute and we play the way we want to play, that’s the beautiful thing,” Ngidi said. “We have lots of white-ball cricket to come. So this is good momentum to kick us off for the rest of the season.”

Left-arm spinner got eight wickets in the second unofficial Test against Australia A, and is now eyeing success in Irani Cup

Daya Sagar27-Sep-2025Before India A’s second unofficial Test against Australia A this week, Manav Suthar last played a competitive match at the senior level back in January, when he turned out for Rajasthan against Andhra in the Ranji Trophy. In that match, he followed a half-century with the bat with four wickets with the ball.Since then, Suthar has travelled with Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025, went on the England tour with India A and was part of the Central Zone squad in the Duleep Trophy. The left-arm spin-bowling allrounder didn’t play a single game on any of those assignments.Even in the first unofficial Test against Australia A, Harsh Dubey was preferred over him. But in the second one, when he finally got his chance, Suthar grabbed it with both hands. He bagged his fifth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket on the first day of the match, and with that, got to 100 wickets in the format.In the second innings, Suthar picked up three more wickets, and helped bowl Australia A out for 185. Speaking to reporters after India A won by five wickets, he explained how he had used the time on the sidelines to improve himself.Related

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“I wasn’t getting chances in the playing XI,” Suthar said, “but that doesn’t mean I was disappointed or frustrated. I was continuously working behind the scenes on my skills. I was very focused and kept practicing regularly. In practice, my aim was to bowl as many deliveries as possible. Apart from that, I was focusing on my fitness too. I was doing hard strength and conditioning training. At that time, my only thought was that I had to put in all my effort. The more I focused on myself, the better it would be for me in the future.”On the first day of the India A game, when the other bowlers were expensive, Suthar pulled things back with his accurate line and length. It is often said that left-arm spinners are generally not effective against left-hand batters because the ball spins into them. But Suthar troubled Australia A’s left-handers with those very deliveries that came in.In the first innings, he bowled Oliver Peake, and the next ball, had Cooper Connolly caught at slip. In the second innings, Suthar dismissed Peake once again – this time caught at leg slip – and breached Todd Murphy’s defence. Out of the eight wickets Suthar took in the match, four were of left-handers.Manav Suthar says he’s “more comfortable” with a diagonal run-up against left-hand batters•Tanuj Pandey/UPCAAccording to Cricviz, in 2024, over six first-class matches for which ball-by-ball data is available, Suthar averaged 25 against left-handers and 64 against right-handers. These matches include three games from last year’s Duleep Trophy, the Irani Cup final, and two India A matches against England Lions and Australia A, highlighting the quality of opposition. Overall, he has 28 wickets of left-handers in his 103 first-class dismissals.This year, against Australia A, Suthar bowled to left-hand batters from around the wicket in order to angle the ball away from the bat. And he did this the old school way, running in diagonally from the left of the pitch to right, between the umpire and the stumps.”Since childhood, I’ve been coming with a diagonal run-up against left-handers – my coach also taught me that,” Suthar said. “Later, I tried to change it and bowl straight on, but I felt more comfortable this way. When I come in diagonally, my body moves better, and I can put in more effort. That’s why I still continue with it.”It was one of these deliveries that got Connolly caught at slip in the first innings.While Suthar used the around-the-wicket angle against left-hand batters, he bowled over the wicket against the right-handers to exploit the rough outside leg.”That was part of our planning,” he said, “Because there was some rough on the on-side for right-handers, and that angle was troubling them. I plan these things according to the match and conditions. I also got inputs from [KL] Rahul and Dhruv [Jurel]. They kept telling me from time to time what length could work against which batter, at what speed, and what variation to use. When you are in such a set-up, you get to learn something new every day from every player.”

“I come from Sri Ganganagar, where it gets even hotter. I practice there in 45-50 degrees Celsius. So you can say that handling such conditions is in-built in me”Manav Suthar on how hot it got against Australia A in Lucknow

While rain affected each day of the first unofficial Test against Australia A, the second one saw players struggling because of extreme heat and humidity. Drinks, which are usually taken on the hour, were taken every 45 minutes, with bench players also bringing in large umbrellas so that their team-mates could get additional relief.On the third day of the match, Rahul, who was batting well, had to retire due to fatigue. Josh Philippe, Australia A’s wicketkeeper-batter and Player of the Series, said this was the hottest weather he had experienced in his career, and that staying focused in these conditions was a challenge. The offspinner Murphy said even holding the ball was proving difficult with how sweaty his hands got. Suthar found ways to cope because he is used to a lot worse.”I come from Sri Ganganagar [in Rajasthan], where it gets even hotter. I practice there in 45-50 degrees Celsius,” he said. “So you can say that handling such conditions is inbuilt in me. Apart from that, fitness is very important to me. The hard work we put in, [and] the fitness training we do are all for such difficult days.”Suthar, who idolises R Ashwin, has not been included in the ODI leg of the A-team series, but has been picked for Rest of India in the Irani Cup. He is not disappointed that his opportunities seem limited to the longer formats at the domestic level.”I am working very hard on my batting. It is an important part of my game, and I am focused on it” – Manav Suthar•Tanuj/ Ekana Cricket Stadium”My focus is that wherever I get an opportunity, I should perform well for the team and help win matches, no matter which format it is,” Suthar said.He is also not worried about the increasing competition among left-arm spinners in India. Rather, he considers it healthy for the growth of his career. To push himself ahead of his peers, Suthar wants to strengthen his batting. The Australia A game presented him with an unexpected chance to show those skills as well, when he was sent out as the night-watcher in the second innings, but he could only manage 5 off 29.”I am working very hard on my batting. It is an important part of my game, and I am focused on it,” Suthar said. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t score runs here, but whenever I get the opportunity, I work hard on my batting.”For now, Suthar hasn’t set any immediate or long-term goals. After this match, he has his sights set on the Irani Cup in Nagpur on October 1, where he will represent Rest of India for the second consecutive year.

Only once has a Women’s World Cup game seen more runs than the 661 that India and Australia put up on Sunday

Deep Gadhia12-Oct-20253:54

Review: Healy was Australia’s bedrock

331 – The target Australia chased down against India in the Women’s World Cup 2025 on Sunday. This is the highest successful chase in women’s ODI history, going past Sri Lanka’s chase of 302 against South Africa at Potchefstroom in 2024.142 – Alyssa Healy’s score, which is the third-highest by a captain in the World Cup after Belinda Clark’s 227* in 1997 and Meg Lanning’s 152* in 2017. This was Healy’s first century leading Australia in ODIs.Healy’s 142 is also the second-highest score against India in ODIs, and the highest in World Cups.Related

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661 – Runs aggregated by both teams in Visakhapatnam, the second-highest for a World Cup game, bettered only by the 678 that England and South Africa made in Bristol 2017.82 for 0 – Australia’s score in the first powerplay, the highest they have scored in the first 10 overs of an ODI (where ball-by-ball data is available). It is also the second-highest in World Cups after New Zealand hit 84 for 1 against Pakistan in Taunton in 2017.ESPNcricinfo Ltd330 – India’s score in the first innings, which is their highest in the World Cup, going past 318 for 7 against West Indies in Hamilton in 2022.It was also the first instance of a team scoring over 300 against Australia in World Cups. There have only been two scores of 300 or more against the defending champions, with India scoring both of them in consecutive ODIs, in Delhi last month and in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.5022 – Smriti Mandhana’s ODI run tally. She became the second Indian, after Mithali Raj, and the fifth batter overall to breach the 5000-run mark in ODIs. She completed the milestone in 112 innings, making her the fastest of the five. West Indies’ Stafanie Taylor (129 innings) was the previous fastest.1062 – Mandhana’s ODI run tally in 2025. She became the first batter to score 1000-plus runs in ODIs in a calendar year. Mandhana had gone past Belinda Clark’s mark of 970 runs in 1997 in the previous match against South Africa and was 18 away from the milestone when she started bating against Australia. She made 80 off 66 on Sunday.ESPNcricinfo Ltd5 – consecutive fifty-plus scores for Mandhana against Australia in ODI cricket. She has aggregated 485 runs in these last five innings, including three hundreds and two fifties. Mandhana also has five fifty-plus scores against West Indies between 2017-2024, making her the only batter to do this against multiple opponents.155 – Runs that Mandhana and Pratika Rawal put on together, making it the highest opening partnership against Australia in ODIs. This was the fourth century stand for the first wicket for India in World Cups, the first since Mandhana and Punam Raut’s 144-run stand against England in the 2017 edition.5 for 40 – Birthday girl Annabel Sutherland’s figures. She registered her maiden five-wicket haul in international cricket on the day she turned 24. She also became the first woman to pick up a five-for on her birthday.

After a mixed start to life as Rangers manager this week, Danny Röhl and his team may now be going into a crucial fortnight with a sense of positivity.

Last Thursday, the Gers were demolished 3-0 by Brann in the Europa League, leaving them bottom of the gigantic league table, but then did manage to beat Kilmarnock 3-1 at Ibrox on Sunday, thanks to second-half goals from Danilo and Youssef Chermiti.

This lifts the Light Blues up to fifth in the Premiership table, with some crucial fixtures ahead.

On Wednesday night, they’ll travel to Edinburgh to take on Hibs, before a League Cup semi-final against Celtic at Hampden next Sunday, followed by a visit from Roma in the Europa League four days later.

So, ahead of three massive tests, which Rangers star made themselves undroppable with their performance against Killie?

Nicolas Raskin's importance to Rangers

Russell Martin made many mistakes as Rangers manager, but his public falling out with last season’s player of the year Nicolas Raskin proved to be one of the most costly.

The Belgian was unceremoniously left on the bench for Champions League qualifiers against Viktoria Plzeň and Club Brugge, before not being included in the matchday squad at all for home matches against Celtic and Hearts.

The latter, a miserable 2-0 defeat, was when the support really started to turn against Martin, with Darrell Currie perplexed as to why any coach would choose to leave their “best player in the stand”.

However, recognising the error of his ways, Raskin was back in the team a week later as Rangers beat Hibs 2-0 in the League Cup quarter-finals, the Belgian heading home the opening goal, albeit this did little to help Martin remain in a job.

Raskin has started both matches since Röhl’s appointment, a trend you can guarantee will continue at Easter Road on Wednesday, but who else has put themselves forward as one of the first names on the team sheet?

Rangers summer signing who starred vs Kilmarnock

Fair to say, plenty of Rangers’ 13 summer signings have not impressed so far; Joe Rothwell, Nasser Djiga, Thelo Aasgaard, Jayden Meghoma and Youssef Chermiti, to name but a few.

Chalkboard

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

However, the last of those signings, namely Derek Cornelius, who arrived on deadline day, could prove to be the best.

The 27-year-old Canadian international is something of a globetrotter, having played in Germany, Serbia, his native Canada, Greece, Sweden and France before moving to Scotland, arriving on a season-long loan from Olympique de Marseille, opening his Rangers account with this header on Sunday.

Overall, the late addition was ultra-impressive, as the numbers outline.

As the table documents, Cornelius was immense against Kilmarnock.

The defender had the most shots on target of any player on the pitch, while registering the most duels contested and duels won, ranked second only to centre-back partner John Souttar when it came to defensive actions, clearances, accurate passes and touches.

Upon his arrival in Govan, then-manager Martin highlighted Cornelius’ “experience”, while Sporting Director Kevin Thelwell heralded his “defensive and leadership abilities”.

Meantime, after games against the Netherlands and France, the latter a memorable goalless draw in Bordeaux​​​​​​​, Canada head coach Jesse Marsch praised his “incredibly strong performances”, adding that the defender is “smart, he understands a lot of the tactical responsibilities, and he’s played with a lot of confidence and belief in himself”.

Well, very early into his Rangers career, the centre-back is starting to show some of that potential, crucially forming an encouraging partnership alongside Souttar.

Thus, with games against Hibs, Celtic and then Roma next on the agenda, Cornelius has catapulted himself into the undroppable tier of Rangers players, alongside Raskin and Djeidi Gassama, but few others.

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Holding back Raskin: Röhl must drop the "cooked" Rangers flop vs Kilmarnock

Following a 3-0 defeat to Brann in Danny Röhl’s first match as Rangers manager, he must move on from his flop holding back Nicolas Raskin.

By
Ben Gray

Oct 26, 2025

England spinner starred at Lord’s last week, but reveals she ‘wasn’t sure’ she’d return from mental-health break

Valkerie Baynes22-Jul-2025Sophie Ecclestone has revealed she considered quitting cricket in the aftermath of the off-field drama surrounding England Women’s T20 World Cup and Ashes failures.Ecclestone missed the start of the international summer when England hosted West Indies, instead playing for Lancashire during the T20I series while she managed her comeback from a knee injury. She was then ruled out of the ODI series, citing the need to prioritise her wellbeing.Having returned for both white-ball series against India, Ecclestone spoke about the reasons surrounding her absence in a pre-match interview ahead of the third and final ODI at Chester-le-Street.She had come under fire during the Ashes in Australia, where England lost the points series 16-0, after Alex Hartley, the former England spinner turned broadcaster, said Ecclestone had refused to be interviewed by her on TV. Hartley also said she had been “given the cold shoulder” by England players since criticising their fitness following their group-stage exit from the T20 World Cup last October.”It was a tough time for me personally,” Ecclestone told Sky Sports in a pitch-side interview before play on Tuesday. “I tore my meniscus and I had a very sore knee, but I feel like personally I was so tired and so drained from the last few months.Related

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• Nat Sciver-Brunt defends England after wife Katherine questions attitude

• Alex Hartley: Sophie Ecclestone 'refused TV interview' after Ashes loss

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• Ecclestone, Bouchier in England ODI squad to face India

“As a cricketer, we don’t stop, we don’t get much time off and we go from franchise tournaments to England tournaments and it takes it out of you. I feel like during the West Indies series I wasn’t actually sure if I was going to come back and play cricket.”I was away from cricket and I cried to a few people, I cried to my dad, I get emotional now, but it was it was a tough time. But I feel like I’ve come out the other side now and I’m back playing cricket.”Ecclestone credited team-mates Lauren Bell and Alice Capsey, along with her family and friends for helping her return to the cricket field with “a smile on my face again”. That culminated in a Player-of-the-Match award for her 3 for 37 at Lord’s on Saturday, which helped England to an ODI series-levelling victory.Ecclestone disputed the use of the word “refusal” when it came to the infamous interview with Hartley, and appeared to take issue with the timing of the request to talk, suggesting that she wanted to concentrate on her warm-up.”It was a weird time,” Ecclestone said. “I feel like obviously that went down the wrong way, and a few things were said, and I was just concentrating on cricket at that moment.”A lot of things were being said which wasn’t ideal for me and it affected me quite a lot to be honest. It took a lot out of me. There were a lot of words being thrown around about me that I thought were untrue and it wasn’t very nice to hear.”I kind of had to put that to one side, and I did go off social media for a couple of weeks actually during the Ashes, just because it was affecting me quite a lot, what was being said. It wasn’t very nice but we’ve all learnt from that now and there’s a lot of feelings involved but we’re all over that now, and ready to move on.”Ecclestone went on to say that she believed misconceptions had emerged about her in the fallout from the incident.”I feel like a lot of words were being thrown around about me that weren’t true,” she said. “Just that I was really arrogant maybe, and that’s just not me as a person.”The word refusal was getting thrown around and that just wasn’t really true and some of the things people were saying about the team I didn’t really agree with, so it was hard to take for me and hard to take for the team.”Immediately after the Ashes, Clare Connor, managing director of England women’s cricket, described the interview situation as “an unfortunate incident that won’t happen again”.”Our players in general… embrace their media obligations,” Connor said. “It matters to them to be good role models for women’s cricket and the England women’s cricket team. As professional women’s cricket has developed at the rate that it has over recent years, that scrutiny is something that we will all have to embrace and accept.”Ecclestone acknowledged that women’s cricket being in the spotlight more than when she made her debut as a 17-year-old in 2016 was a positive thing and said she had learned from the experience, including the public’s reaction.”I was so surprised,” she said. “I feel like it got slightly blown out of proportion but it was no-one’s fault. It was hard at the time because I feel like I came out to my phone and had about 25,000 messages about something that had happened in the media and I was like, ‘well what’s happened?’ Then I came out and I saw it all, and I was just like, ‘wow like that’s mega.'”

Chelsea cruised to a 6-0 win over Austrian side St Polten on matchday three of the Women's Champions League league phase on Tuesday night, which included a landmark 150th goal scored by the club in European competition. Sonia Bompastor's Blues move up to second in the standings, at least for the next 24 hours, with Sam Kerr working hard and rewarded for her efforts.

Kerr lacked conviction with a great early chance only a few yards from goal, but Wieke Kaptein made sure to put a similar opportunity away to break the deadlock after 12 minutes. Naomi Girma's bundled would-be second for Chelsea just over half an hour in was chalked off due to Kerr being offside as she knocked the ball across goal to the American, but there was nothing wrong with Catarina Macario's low strike from the edge of the box just before the interval.

A top Schluter save denied Macario a quickfire third right after the restart. But Alyssa Thompson soon drew a penalty by bamboozling Izabela Krizaj, that Macario made no mistake converting. Thompson had a goal disallowed with Kerr again offside in the build-up.

Kerr kept at it and eventually got her reward with a well-taken goal to make it 4-0. A heavily deflected Lauren James effort on her return from four months out handed Chelsea a late fifth, officially recorded as an own goal. A heavily deflected Lauren James effort on her return from four months out handed Chelsea a late fifth, officially recorded as an own goal from Lisa Ebert, before Kerr’s second of the night wrapped up the 6-0 win.

GOAL rates Chelsea's players from the NV Arena…

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  Goalkeeper & Defence

  Livia Peng (6/10):

  Standing in for the injured Hannah Hampton, although she may have got that nod anyway due to the Lionesses number one being rested on matchday one. Largely a spectator.

  Ellie Carpenter (8/10):

  Chelsea had so much of the ball in advanced areas it was the perfect opportunity to get forward, playing like an extra winger at times, and she laid on the early breakthrough for Kaptein with a smart cutback. Defensively strong too.

  Lucy Bronze (7/10):

  Obviously not known for playing at centre-back, but it was a repeat of the recent WSL win over London City Lionesses, affording Millie Bright and Nathalie Bjorn a rest after the Arsenal game.

  Naomi Girma (7/10):

  Didn't know much about she managed to get the ball in the back of the net, after an initial header came back off the post and rebounded in…not that it mattered because of an offside flag.

  Sandy Baltimore (7/10):

  Freed up to move higher up the pitch once Niamh Charles was brought on in the second half.

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  Midfield

  Catarina Macario (9/10):

  Always a threat with exceptional delivery in to the danger area from both set-pieces and open play. Finished her chance with great precision to double the lead at a key moment right before the break and showed composure from 12 yards to send Schluter the wrong way for 3-0. The width of a post away from a hat-trick after striking the woodwork with a late free-kick.

  Keira Walsh (7/10):

  Probably wishes opposing players would stop flying in on her ankles, after Arsenal's Victoria Pelova at the weekend and now Fanni Nagy here. hardly misplaced a pass all night to help exhaust St Polten.

  Wieke Kaptein (7/10):

  It was a case of a well-timed run that got her into the right place at the right time to score early on. Tidy on the ball throughout.

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  Attack

  Johanna Rytting Kaneryd (7/10):

  Ought to have made it 3-0 in first-half stoppage-time, but denied one-on-one by Carina Schluter's outstretched right foot. Otherwise a source of decent creativity on the right.

  Sam Kerr (9/10):

  This was her first start in almost two years – since December 2023 – after coming through injury hell. Got into the right positions constantly, but should have done better with an early opportunity and put a great headed chance wide. Eventually scored, setting the chance with a brilliant first touch, and arguably a sharper and more match-practiced version of Sam Kerr would have scored a hat-trick on another night.

  Alyssa Thompson (7/10):

  Won the second half penalty that really put the game beyond doubt and was unlucky that her goal was chalked off due to Kerr being offside.

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  Subs & Manager

  Veerle Buurman (6/10):

  A nice opportunity to give the Dutch teenager meaningful minutes, replacing Girma at half-time.

  Niamh Charles (8/10):

  A very impressive half hour.

  Lexi Potter (7/10):

  Another youngster to get a chance on the big stage.

  Sjoeke Nusken (6/10):

  Almost got a Chelsea seventh in stoppage time at the end, drawing a good save from Schluter.

  Lauren James (7/10):

  First Chelsea appearance since last season for the final 15 minutes. Deflected late shot goes down as a Lisa Ebert own goal.

  Sonia Bompastor (8/10):

  Kept key players Millie Bright, Nathalie Bjorn and Erin Cuthbert on the bench to provide at least some rest, and made good use of the wider squad. The result never really should have been in doubt.