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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

• Onus on England to process lessons as India issue World Cup wake-up

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

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

• Ecclestone to take time away from cricket to prioritise wellbeing

• 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.'”

Manchester City goal machine Erling Haaland shared a bizarre video of himself standing on the banks of a river to celebrate scoring 100 Premier League goals in record time. Haaland became the fastest player in history to become a Premier League centurion as he struck the opener in City's epic 5-4 win over Fulham on Tuesday at Craven Cottage.

• Haaland's bizarre clip to celebrate 100 goals

  Haaland reached the magic figure on Tuesday as he netted in the 17th minute against Fulham. City ended up winning the clash 5-4 as the Norwegian became the fastest player ever to reach 100 Premier League goals, doing so in 111 appearances. In the process, he also broke the previous record held by Newcastle legend Alan Shearer, who took 124 matches to reach the milestone. 

  A day after achieving the feat, Haaland shared a short clip of himself standing on the bank of a river and holding a special Manchester City home kit with 'Haaland 100 PL Goals' printed on the back. 

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• 'It's huge and I'm really proud'

  After reaching 100 league goals, Haaland spoke to Sky Sports as he said: "It's huge and I'm really proud. It's a massive thing, the 100 club is a nice thing to be in and I'm happy. I knew about it, that's what I tried to do. I try to help the team scoring goals, that's my job. Every game is a different game, you can't think of the game that's been, you need to focus on what's ahead. The reality is we lost against Newcastle and Leverkusen but now we have two in a row and we have to keep going. I think if you're sitting at home now you enjoyed that game. It was a crazy game, nine goals is a lot. In the end, we win and we're happy but it's not the best win."

  The 25-year-old is only the 35th player to reach 100 Premier League goals in the league's history. And given he has a contract with City until 2034, the Norway international is well placed to join Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane and Shearer as the only players to have netted 200 or more in the division.

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  'Hopefully he is hungry to continue getting goals'

  City boss Pep Guardiola was elated to see his star striker create another Premier League record. Congratulating the striker after the Fulham clash, he said: "Congratulations, it is incredible. What can I say? Today, he was outstanding. He was unbelievable and got a fantastic goal. Enjoy it, hopefully he is hungry to continue getting goals for this club."

  The Cityzens will return to action on December 6, hosting Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium in what promises to be another demanding stretch of the campaign.

Initially known largely as a finisher, twice this year Gardner has forged outstanding centuries with Australia in trouble

Vishal Dikshit02-Oct-20253:43

Australia’s batting depth comes to the fore

There’s always some sort of inevitability and invincibility about this Australia side, especially in ODIs. That they are the favourites to lift this World Cup, too. That they will be hard to match on most days. That they will come out all guns blazing with the bat. And such is the enviable depth in their batting line-up that someone or the other will step up for a rescue act, if their backs are against the wall.The last of those shone the brightest in their opening World Cup fixture against New Zealand in the form of a counter-attacking century from Ashleigh Gardner. While an Australian fighting back for her team was rather predictable, the way it was played was still a stunning vindication of Gardner’s, and the team’s, belief in the opening match of a major tournament.A Gardner ODI century at No. 6 to salvage Australia’s ship from troubled waters of 128 for 5 against one of their top rivals also rolled out with a sense of déjà vu. She had scored her maiden ODI century in a similar situation earlier this year, against England in the Ashes, when Australia were 59 for 4 in the third ODI in Hobart, where Australia had opted to bat – just like in Indore – before suffering an early stutter.Related

Gardner upstages Devine as Australia kick off with a win

Devine lauds NZ's fighting spirit on 'physically and mentally draining' day

Against New Zealand on Wednesday, Gardner was still fresh to the middle when Australia lost their fifth wicket in the 22nd over on a flat pitch, looking far from in a position to put up a big total. Three of those five Australia had lost when they tried to fetch boundaries or counterattack and all ended up handing out catches in the 30-yard circle. One of the biggest comforts of the one-day format is there is opportunity to rebuild after an early wobble before it’s time to take off again in the end overs.But that’s where Australia’s approach shone through from Gardner, who wasn’t interested in consolidating. She knew she had the comfort of the depth in Australia’s line-up – with allrounder Kim Garth slotted at No. 9 – she was aware that anything under 300 wouldn’t be enough on a flat deck, and she never took her foot off the pedal.Gardner reeled off a boundary against each of Lea Tahuhu and Amelia Kerr within the first eight balls she faced, initially without taking much risk. Her idea, she said after the game, was to keep the scoreboard going and even if the field was spread out, all she had to do was find the gaps to reach the short boundaries with the help of the quick outfield.When Bree Illing returned for her second spell, Gardner danced down the pitch against the left-arm quick to muscle the ball over mid-on for four. The fall of previous wickets while trying to take the aerial route was not going to bog her down, she knew her task was to score runs, and quickly. When it turned out to be a no-ball, Gardner smacked the free hit again on the leg side for four more. And she was off.Ashleigh Gardner did not take a backward step despite Australia’s tricky position•Associated Press”I was just trying to hit the boundary riders hard, run really hard with my partner and just be really clear in my thinking,” Gardner said at the press conference. “I guess that’s what I was able to do today which is why I was just so clear in where I wanted to score. And I was just really proactive with taking positive options because if I go into my shell, that’s probably when I won’t bat the best. So for me it’s sticking to my strengths. Yes, the scoreboard was saying something, but I was trying to take that out of it.”Soon Gardner was in the 40s and even though a sixth wicket fell at the other end – Tahlia McGrath chipping to midwicket – Gardner had ensured Australia were going at run a ball after 32 overs. With 18 overs to go and just four wickets left, would she now be more watchful?Two balls later, she shimmied down the track for her first six that took her to fifty off 43 balls. Gardner was looking incredibly hard to get out now, and she pushed the run rate to 6.30 by the 40th over even though a seventh wicket had gone down. A bit of unnecessary risk and Australia ran the danger of being bowled out for an under-par score.But what was a par score on a ground where no women’s internationals had been played before and on a fresh pitch for the first match of this season? When both teams had trained at the day before, they knew it was going to be a belter, so Gardner thought they had to keep going.’When I’m clear and I’m not thinking too much, I think that’s when I play my best innings’•Getty Images”I always knew that we probably needed around the 320,” Gardner said. “I think it was maybe eight overs to go when I was batting with Kim Garth, and I said we ideally need about 310-320 here minimum. I guess as you saw there today, once you kind of got set, you can really flourish from there, and once you had the pace of the wicket, that really helped as well.”I think when people got in trouble, it was a little bit two-paced at times and they probably were just second-guessing themselves rather than just having that clarity and I guess the shot decisions that they wanted to make. For me, it was obviously being able to do that and just being really clear in my mind because when I’m clear and I’m not thinking too much, I think that’s when I play my best innings.”And the best part of her innings came towards the end when she took just 34 balls to race from 50 to 100 by finding the boundaries more regularly and brought up a magnificent 77-ball century with the first of back-to-back fours off the now-tired New Zealand bowlers.For New Zealand, Gardner’s blitz might have brought back memories of the 2022 World Cup game in Wellington when she had walked out at 214 for 5 with five overs to go, and smashed an unbeaten 48 off just 18 balls, striking at 266.67 to set up a match-winning total of 269.But the difference in the Gardner of early 2022 and late 2025 is that then she was primarily a finisher, having faced more than 50 deliveries in an ODI just once. Having had to bat for longer durations and in more demanding situations in the last 18 months, especially in Hobart earlier this year with her 102 off 117 balls, Gardner has shown she is not just a finisher, but a more mature batter who can build an innings and then give it a finisher’s garnish.

Real Madrid have now informed Liverpool about their final decision on Ibrahima Konate as 2026 approaches.

Arne Slot reveals "conversation" with Liverpool hierarchy

Arne Slot’s dream Anfield move commenced with a Premier League title in his debut season, but since then he’s endured the ultimate nightmare. The Reds are in historically bad form, losing nine of their last 12 games in all competitions, and serious questions are beginning to be asked about the Dutchman’s tenure.

Gakpo upgrade: Liverpool could see bid accepted to sign £80m "superstar"

Liverpool are planning to enter the market for a new left-sided forward.

By
Angus Sinclair

Nov 27, 2025

Liverpool have never been a sacking club, but recent reports have dropped names like Ange Postecoglou and Andoni Iraola as the pressure continues to grow on Slot. Whether Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes decide to pull the trigger on either of those names remains to be seen, however.

Slot’s had his say on the matter, revealing conversations with Liverpool’s hierarchy and telling his squad to “fight on” in the face of their disastrous run.

Up next, the Premier League champions travel to West Ham United in desperate need of three points. It is simply a must-win game for Slot, who will only have the backing of the club’s hierarchy for so long.

Ahead of their trip to the London Stadium, fixing their defensive issues should be Liverpool’s priority – starting with solving Konate’s form just days after he’s been informed about Real Madrid’s final transfer decision.

Real Madrid inform Liverpool about final Konate decision

According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Real Madrid have now told Liverpool that they have no interest in signing Konate, despite rumours that they were set to pursue the Frenchman at the end of his contract next summer.

The Reds looked destined for a Trent Alexander-Arnold repeat, but Konate has seemingly played himself out of a move to the Bernabeu next summer – leaving the ball firmly in Liverpool’s court.

Whether both parties can now strike an agreement over a new contract is the big question. Konate’s recent form has left him in a weaker negotiating position, but there’s no doubt that he’s an important member of Slot’s backline at his best.

Dubbed “tremendous” by former Manchester City star Micah Richards last season, the Frenchman simply has to get back to his best if Liverpool are to turn their torrid run of form around.

He’s one of just two fully fit central defenders, with Joe Gomez not yet ready to step in, so has no choice but to play himself into form – especially if he’s after a pay rise up from his current £70,000-a-week deal.

"Oh my god", "Sackable" – Carragher rips into Liverpool star in behind-scenes footage

Three overs of hypnotic, new-ball swing was all it took for LSG to be blown away in the mountain air

Karthik Krishnaswamy04-May-20251:04

Rayudu: Skilful Arshdeep takes pitch out of the equation

It helps to swing the ball both ways, but if you are a left-arm quick in a world dominated by right-hand batters, you don’t have to. Most left-arm swing bowlers only shape the new ball into the right-hand batter, with their usual angle – across the batter from over the wicket – allowing them to test the outside edge should the odd ball refuse to swing, or swing less than expected.The away angle, the inswing, and natural variation are enough by themselves to turn the task of facing a new ball delivered by Trent Boult or Mitchell Starc into a hellish test of alignment. If you’re a right-hand batter, you’ll want to open your stance up to get a clear sighter of the left-arm bowler thundering in from over the wicket. But you can’t get too open, because you’ll just be throwing your hands at the ball slanting away from you if you don’t line it up with your front shoulder. And you can’t get too closed-off either, because here comes that inswinger, threatening your front pad and stumps.Imagine, then, the effect of a left-arm fast bowler not just angling the ball one way and swinging it in the opposite direction but also getting the odd one to bend the other way. Imagine that this left-armer is doing this while maintaining perfect length, and with enough control over his wrist that he barely ever strays down leg with his inswinger or offers width with his outswinger.Related

Unstoppable and unsatisfied: how Punjab Kings marched into their first IPL playoffs in 11 years

Ponting: It was Shreyas' call to promote Inglis to No. 3

Prabhsimran 91, Arshdeep's new-ball spell take PBKS towards playoffs

Spin resurgence: Lengths and speeds the key, says Chawla

Ball after ball, going one way or the other, at pace, always finishing on top of your stumps or in the corridor outside off.Arshdeep Singh bowled a spell like this on Sunday night, a spell from hell that transformed the contest between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Until his intervention, there had been nowhere for bowlers to hide in Dharamsala’s first match of IPL 2025. The pitch was benign, the boundary only a miscue away. PBKS had hit 16 sixes – the joint second-most in an innings this season – on their way to 236 for 5.Then Arshdeep, barely needing the pitch at all, took 3 for 10 in three overs of hypnotic new-ball swing. The wickets were of Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh and Nicholas Pooran, a top three who, coming into this game, had scored nearly 63% of LSG’s runs off the bat this season.And Arshdeep made a profound impact even before he picked up his first wicket. He forced both Markram and Marsh into hurried blocks to keep out full inswingers. He beat Marsh’s outside edge with a jaffa that started outside leg, finished outside off, and forced the keeper to collect the ball over his head. He got Marsh to swing in vain at another awayswinger.”I think his first over tonight really set the tone for our bowling innings,” PBKS head coach Ricky Ponting later said. “It was a fantastic first over. The ball bounced and moved around. So, you know, he’s a, he’s a star, no doubt about it. And we’re very lucky to have him in our team.”Where other formats allow batters to watch the bowler’s release and seam orientation and adjust to the second line and defend, this was a T20 chase of close to two runs a ball. It almost forced LSG’s batters to commit early and hope.2:39

Are PBKS primed for a top-two finish?

Marsh had fallen for a golden duck to Arshdeep’s awayswinger when these teams last met, on April 1, squaring up and sending a leading edge ballooning to short third. He fell in similar fashion on Sunday, swinging harder this time but miscuing just as badly. A duck of prolonged agony to follow a first-baller.Three balls later, Markram was gone too, with Arshdeep profiting from the ball stopping on the batter and contributing to a chop-on.LSG were two down, but their most dangerous batter was in the middle. Arshdeep, therefore, was called on to bowl a third powerplay over for the first time this season.The over began with a rare half-volley, the outswinger to the left-hand batter, and Pooran drove it handsomely past mid-off. But no ball is a bad ball if you have the right follow-up: Arshdeep went full again, but corrected his length so it wasn’t quite as full as the previous ball, and swerved this one the other way, into the stumps. Pooran swung, looking to go leg side, and missed.Arshdeep had only bowled 14 balls, and LSG had only faced 26. The match would stretch on for 94 more balls, but the contest was over.”Yeah, once again, great stuff by the captain to bowl him that third over,” Ponting said. “I think once we had the two early wickets and then I think Rishabh [Pant] and Pooran together, I think Shreyas [Iyer] understood how important it was to try and break that partnership early.Arshdeep Singh accounted for both LSG openers in an over•BCCI”So he gave Arshdeep the third over and bang, he knocks Pooran over. And at that stage, with Pooran out and them being three down inside the powerplay, it was always going to be hard work for them to get back into the game.”This was the high point of Arshdeep’s season, but a performance like this was coming. The two-way swing hasn’t always looked as dangerous as it did on Sunday – Arshdeep noted that the low night-time temperatures in Dharamsala may have contributed to more swing being available – but there’s usually been enough of it to keep batters on their toes. Of all bowlers to have delivered at least ten overs in this phase, only one – Sandeep Sharma (6.83) – has a better powerplay economy rate in IPL 2025 than Arshdeep’s 7.00.He now has the wickets to go with the economy: eight in the powerplay as of Sunday, level with Mohammed Siraj with only Khaleel Ahmed (nine) ahead. Overall, Arshdeep has now moved to 16, which puts him third on the Purple Cap leaderboard.Three more league matches remain for PBKS, two of them in the swing-enabling mountain air of Dharamsala. With Arshdeep in the rhythm he’s in, the top orders of Delhi Capitals (DC) and Mumbai Indians (MI) might have a task on their hands.

MEYBA are back and have cooked up a third collaboration with The Beatles, completing a trilogy which brings together football, music, art and culture. They've already achieved great success together with two previous drops, and for their final act in this series, they have gone all in to bring back the spirit of Yellow Submarine, one of the world's very first cross-platform successes.

• MEYBA
  

  Three new football shirts – £65

  The collection features three new football shirts, coming hot off MEYBA's drops honouring Abbey Road and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The extra distinction with Yellow Submarine is its wider cultural impact, with its psychedelic colour scheme and popping visuals coming from the animated film of the same name in 1968, two years after the release of the album.

  Yellow Submarine is widely credited with the boom in vibrant art styles seen in animation for the decades that followed. MEYBA has sought to stay true to that in this modern reboot, with each football shirt a tribute to locations within the film. The black-and-white number represents the Sea of Holes, while the titular submarine and the Blue Meanies are instantly recognisable with their associated palettes.

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• MEYBA
  

  Four graphical t-shirts – £45

  Accompanying the football shirts for this drop are limited edition graphical t-shirts, adorned with either an 'All You Need Is Love' quote or the idiosyncratic submarine in a reversed colour scheme.

  Though the main palettes on these t-shirts are perhaps less exciting, coming in white, black and grey, the contrast to the funkier colours of the graphics themselves make them stand out from the crowd in true late-sixties Beatles fashion.

• MEYBA
  

  Bespoke varsity jacket – £150

  Talk about a coveted piece of merch. This stunning varsity jacket features caricatures of the band's four members – John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr – on jet black sleeves, with the deep blue of the Blue Meanies again featuring on the body. A Yellow Submarine patch appears with the MEYBA logo on the front, with another cartoon of the band all together on the back.

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• MEYBA
  

  MEYBA's journey, collaborations and future

  MEYBA, once one of Spain's most revered sportswear producers and Barcelona's partner when they won their first European Cup in 1992, have been busy making football shirts fit for all sorts of cross-cultural purposes, from festivals to food to music and more.

  Jonathan Jones, MEYBA's Head of Global Marketing, said: "This collection represents everything MEYBA stands for – creativity, nostalgia, and cultural storytelling through football design. Yellow Submarine allowed us to blur the lines between sport, art, and music in a joyful, playful way."

  It's only fitting that the trilogy wraps up with a Spanish brand honouring a piece of art called Yellow Submarine, given that is the nickname of one of the country's most successful teams and Champions League side Villarreal, who hail from a community town of around 50,000 people.

  This is, however, not the end of MEYBA's return to football or their adventures dipping into other cultures and mediums, with an exciting future still in their sights having agreed deals with clubs all over the world.

Beau Webster, Australia’s incumbent Test allrounder, has four fifties in seven Tests, but knows the No. 6 spot might not be his forever

Andrew McGlashan18-Aug-20252:25

Webster’s 63 steadies Australia

Beau Webster is ready to have to prove himself all over again in a bid to secure a spot in Australia’s side for the Ashes, despite having produced a collection of vital innings early in his Test career.Webster has scored four half-centuries in seven Tests, starting with a critical one on debut against India at the SCG, where Australia clinched the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He followed that by being the team’s top-scorer in the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s, and by making fifties in Barbados and Grenada in very tough conditions against West Indies. Alongside the runs, Webster has claimed eight wickets with the ball, and added strength to Australia’s slip cordon.However, despite those strong returns, there is a world where he sees himself squeezed out of the Test XI by the time England arrive for the Ashes. That could happen if Cameron Green’s return to bowling remains on track, and the selectors decide to move Green back down the order rather than keep him at No. 3, where he finished strongly in the West Indies.Related

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“When you’re at the top level, you’re fighting to hang on to your spot,” Webster told reporters in Hobart, having returned from a county stint with Warwickshire, for whom he played two more matches in this season’s County Championship after the West Indies tour.”With all the wonderful cricketers around the country, and especially a guy like Cameron Green, he batted at the top of the order [in the West Indies], and didn’t bowl. He’s obviously going to be back bowling this summer, which is going to put a bit more pressure on my spot at No. 6 as the allrounder. But I welcome it.”I feel like I’ve been in this position before a lot in my career, where I’ve got to score runs to either go to the next level or stay on the team. It’s certainly not unfamiliar. I’m looking forward to once again showing what I can do at [Sheffield] Shield level, and hopefully, be lining up in that first Ashes Test in Perth. It’s going to be a massive summer. I’m sure the team’s going to change a little bit throughout those five Tests. I’m just going to do everything I can to make sure I’m there for all five.”There is plenty to play out before the Test squad is selected, and then a final XI determined for the opening Ashes game on November 21. Moving Green back down the order would need two top-order players to make a compelling case for selection, given there is a likely vacancy as an opener alongside Usman Khawaja after Sam Konstas’ struggles against West Indies.Webster could play four Sheffield Shield matches before the opening Test – Australia’s squad is expected to be named after round three – and if he picks up the form that propelled him into the Australia set-up in the first place, it will leave the selectors with some tough decisions about whether they can fit two allrounders in the XI.”There’s no hundred next to my name, which I would have loved to go on with one of those [half-centuries]”•Cricket Australia via Getty Images”It’s going to be an intriguing first couple of rounds with potentially all the big boys playing a few of the Shield games, too,” Webster said. “There’s going to be some really strong Shield teams out there, which only promotes better cricket. So it’s going to be exciting for our boys to line up against a number of Test cricketers in the first couple of rounds as well.”It’s always exciting when the team’s not quite settled, and there’s a few opportunities for people to put their hand up and try and get a spot in that first squad.”Webster’s only regret from his Test career so far is that none of his half-centuries have been converted into three figures, even though the runs he has scored have often been worth more given the conditions.”I feel like I’ve scored some tough runs,” he said. “At the same time, there’s no hundred next to my name, which I would have loved to go on with one of those [half-centuries]. I felt like I was batting as good as I have done in a number of those innings. I feel like I’ve got all the tools to succeed this summer in the Ashes with what England are going to potentially bring.”

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Ramón e Emiliano Díaz são um capítulo do passado no Vasco da Gama. Nesta segunda-feira, a comissão técnica tentou realizar uma reunião no CT Moacyr Barbosa para formalizar o pedido de continuar no comenado do Cruz-Maltino. No entanto, foram informados por teleforne pelo CEO Lúcio Barbosa que a história da dupla argentina com o Vasco está encerrada. Com isso, nem mesmo uma despedida com o elenco aconteceu.

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Ao fim da goleada por 4 a 0 sofrida em São Januário diante do Cricíúma no Campeonato Brasileiro, Ramón e Emiliano Díaz comunicaram ao gerente de futebol Clauber Rocha a intenção de deixar o Vasco. Logo após, a comissão fez um pronunciamento no vestiário aonde comunicaram ao elenco, sob a observação da assessoria do Vasco, que estariam deixando o clube.

A direção do Vasco até tentou dissuadir Ramón e Emiliano Díaz da ideia de deixar o Vasco, mas a dupla se mostrou irredutível, até a conversa com o elenco. A reação dos jogadores, que “ficaram impactados” com a informação da saída, no entanto, mudou o panorama.

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A comissão argentina se arrependeu da decisão e tentou voltar atrás, no entanto, o comunicado já havia sido feito à torcida pela comunicação do clube e surpreendeu a comissão técnica. Tal situação causou irritação na dupla argentina e acarretou na explosiva coletiva de imprensa na qual Ramón e Emiliano disseram terem sido “demitidos pelo Twitter” e reclamaram defalta de respeito por parte do Vasco.

Já pelo lado do Vasco, a postura da comissão técnica iritou profundamente o comando do clube que entendeu que a decisão da dupla estava tomada e portanto seria definitiva. As falas na coletiva de imprensa colocaram a pá de cal no assunto e foram interpretadas como um ataque ao clube, já que Ramón e Emiliano expuseram o Vasco à uma expécie de crise institucional.

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The batter emerged from a form slump and set up Pakistan’s opening win in the Asia Cup

Shashank Kishore12-Sep-20251:59

Jaffer: Looks like Haris has worked on his game

Mohammad Haris is forever going to be compared to his predecessor, even if their styles may be polar opposites. If he comes off, it’s seen as a vindication in selection. If he doesn’t, there is invariably going to be murmurs about why Mohammad Rizwan’s experience ought to be used better.Rizwan is more of an accumulator, while Haris is synonymous with intent, which brings with it the inherent risk of being hit-or-miss. But when he comes good, he can deliver the thrill. The problem for Pakistan has been that Haris hasn’t been able to come good lately.Since his century against Bangladesh in Lahore in June, Haris had a highest score of 15 in 11 T20I innings until Friday. He had crossed double figures only twice. All through this run, the pitches he largely played on – from Mirpur to Lauderhill to Sharjah – weren’t exactly conducive to strokeplay.Related

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Then there was also the issue of Pakistan struggling to use him effectively. During this string of low scores, he batted everywhere from Nos. 3-8, a yo-yo existence that further added to the scrutiny. His record against spin in this period was also beginning to look suspect – five dismissals in nine innings that fed into the narrative that more accomplished spinners like Kuldeep Yadav or Rashid Khan can work him out.Yet, through this uncertain phase, one man had complete faith in Haris. Mike Hesson has only been in charge since June, but the shades of dominance he had seen sporadically, both at training and during the occasional big knock like that century in Mirpur, gave him the belief here was a talent worth persisting with.And against the ticking clock, on Friday, Haris delivered – a 32-ball half-century that promised much more, but ended on 66. It was, nonetheless, a knock on a slower-than-usual Dubai surface, which would have given him oodles of confidence.The start wasn’t pretty. He crawled to 16 off 18 as Pakistan were slightly hesitant in the first over. But Haris didn’t panic, and he didn’t throw it away. When Aamir Kaleem, nearly 20 years his senior, came on, he launched the left-arm spinner over deep midwicket with a slog sweep.2:08

Samiuddin: Hesson clear with his plans for Pakistan

Then, he produced the shot of the innings – an inside-out drive over extra cover for four. Sixteen runs came off that over, the last of the powerplay, and with it, the mood shifted. From there, Haris found a gear that had been missing for weeks.His next 25 balls brought him 50 runs, including a six that raised his half-century. There was variety and audacity in equal measure. The short-arm jab off seamer Mohammad Nadeem showed he was adept at tackling bounce. With the off-side ring fortified, it was Haris’ way of outsmarting the bowler, as he picked his spot slightly belatedly, but made a sweet connection.Then the sweep off Samay Shrivastava’s legspin exhibited his power and game sense of targeting the shorter boundary. It was as much muscle as it was about game sense. After the game, Haris spoke of how much the innings meant to him.”The confidence and backing is needed for any player,” he said of the 11-match slump since his previous century. “The way the captain and coach, and senior players, backed me, I’m thankful to them. It’s tough when performances don’t come – there’s a lot of criticism to deal with, but I took it positively.”Haris underlined the need to be flexible, but even by those standards, he cheekily took it to an extreme when he said he was ready to bat even at No. 10 if the team asked him to, impressing upon the need to be versatile. “I’ve been working hard with the batting coach, working on my calmness, and how to tackle spin,” he said. “The seniors have been helping, giving advice. I wanted to use all that and deliver for the team.”For now, he has done just that. More than the runs, it was the manner of scoring, the intent, the composure, the sense of belonging that will encourage Pakistan. For a team bold enough to move on from the superstars under a coach keen on giving them a sense of freedom, Haris’ knock was an inkling that the next-gen may be ready to lead the charge and deliver if persisted with.

Chelsea have now entered negotiations over a deal to sign a rapid new centre-back, and an opening offer is set to be made within weeks.

Blues looking to sign new centre-back despite Cahill comments

With Levi Colwill suffering an ACL injury back in August, the Blues’ offer centre-back options have had to step up to the plate this season, and Gary Cahill has been very impressed with their performances, so much so that he believes his former club don’t need to sign a new defender.

Cahill said: “There has been a lot of noise around this for a long time, but I think the lads that are there are doing a very good job of proving that they don’t need to add to this position,”

“I’ve been very impressed with Wesley Fofana since he’s come back. Touch wood that he stays fit.

“Trevoh Chalobah: look at the job he’s been doing – he’s a bit of an unsung hero. Trevoh is probably the most underappreciated player at Chelsea.

However, while a senior centre-back may not be required, BlueCo are always keen to bring in exciting up-and-coming prospects, and they have now entered negotiations over a deal for Gremio defender Luis Eduardo.

That is according to a report from AS (via Sport Witness), which states Chelsea have now entered talks to sign Eduardo, alongside Premier League rivals Manchester United, with opening offers set to be made in the coming weeks.

The Blues are now trying to ‘accelerate’ their pursuit of the centre-back, given that scouts have been left impressed with his performances, with the 17-year-old well-known for his pace, having reached 38 km/h for Gremio earlier this year.

The speedster has a €60m (£53m) release clause included in his contract with the Brazilian club, although it is unclear whether BlueCo would be willing to shell out such a big fee on a very young player.

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The teenager is yet to establish himself as a regular starter for Gremio, having made just one appearance for the senior team, but he has put in some eye-catching performances for both club and country at youth level.

Despite being a centre-back, the Corrente-born ace managed to score two goals in seven appearances for Gremio U20s in 2025, while he has also netted three goals in 13 appearances for Brazil U17s.

Eduardo could be one for the future, but Cahill is correct in his assessment that Chelsea don’t need to worry about bringing in a new centre-back anytime soon, given Chalobah’s recent form, most recently netting the opening goal in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal.

Enzo Maresca also has Josh Acheampong and Benoit Badiashile at his disposal as back-up options, and with Colwill still to return, the manager is well-stocked at centre-back.