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Rousing victory squares the series as new-look team channels a familiar aggression of old

Vithushan Ehantharajah27-Sep-2024England striking at eight an over. A baying Lord’s crowd hooked on Jofra Archer’s thunderbolts, aimed in Australia’s direction. Lord’s on Friday felt a lot like a 2019 tribute.What days those were, by the way. Pre-pandemic, hot summers, Oasis still broken up, and England not just ODI world champions under Eoin Morgan, but setting the standard in white-ball cricket.A lot has changed in five years, and not all of it for the better. But this fourth ODI, for one night only, at close to Gallagher reunion prices, was a remake of old-world excellence with a new-age cast. And though it was only 39 overs a side, in conditions that showed the cricket season should have ended weeks ago, this was a dominance from a previous era. England’s victory by 186 runs was their second-largest by runs against Australia – the reigning 50-over world champions, by the way, who still boasted nine of the XI from that November 2023 final. “That was a pretty special performance,” Harry Brook, England’s stand-in captain, said, after his team had drawn level despite Australia storming to a 2-0 lead. “All bases were covered there tonight.”Brook himself led the way with the bat, top-scoring with 87 from just 58 deliveries, off the back of an unbeaten 110 in Durham. His fourth fifty-plus score in the format was his standout of the season – “it’s definitely the best I’ve hit it this summer” – even if it was superseded by Liam Livingstone’s bombast.Livingstone’s 25-ball fifty warmed English cockles, particularly when he blitzed Mitchell Starc’s final over of the first innings for four sixes and a last-ball four. The left-arm seamer, a modern-day great with the white ball, now has the ignominy of holding the record for the most expensive men’s ODI over delivered by an Australian.That late flurry was a contrast to a watchful start. Josh Hazlewood opened from the Nursery End with a maiden as he kept Ben Duckett and Phil Salt quiet enough to ensure just three fours were struck in the eight-over powerplay. Quite how the wicket column remained unmoved was anyone’s guess.But England emerged from this passage keen to make that luck count. Even as Salt and Will Jacks fell in the space of 25 deliveries, the shift through the gears was smooth and devastating. Brook was the main conduit, but Duckett’s 30 off 20 in their stand of 79 (the left-hander eventually dismissed for 63) and Jamie Smith’s contribution of 30 from 22 in a fourth-wicket stand of 75 off 47 perfectly encapsulated the partnership batting that, five years ago, fast-tracked England to the top of the limited-overs mountain.Matthew Potts was in the wickets during a stellar performance from England’s quicks•Getty ImagesAs was often the case back then, the clinical nature of England’s batting was encapsulated in the target of their assault. Adam Zampa has been integral to Australia’s white-ball success over the last four years, and so, in typical prison-yard fashion, the hosts decided to take him down. The legspinner finished his eight-over allocation with two wickets, but having conceded 66 runs; an economy rate of 8.25 marking his spell as the fifth-most expensive of the 97 ODI innings in which he has bowled five or more overs. It had been a plan three weeks in the making.”I wasn’t here for the T20s, but I think they spoke about trying to attack him as much as possible and trying to put him under a lot of pressure,” Brook said. “And we’re just taking it into the 50-over games, to be honest.”We haven’t let him just settle into a length. I think we’ve used our feet really well and accessed parts of the ground which we’re capable of getting boundaries in. I think we’ve done really well against him.”Sean Abbott was another casualty. His 0 for 62 was an accurate representation of seven overs of struggle, which only served to highlight the need for a Plan B beyond Zampa and the value of Pat Cummins.With 312 on the board – “way over” Brook’s initial ambition after losing the toss – England were always favourites going into the second innings. But when Travis Head carted Brydon Carse out of the ground for the penultimate ball of the seventh over that went for 19, the match was shifting. And then England’s quicks bent it back their way by claiming nine of Australia’s 10 wickets, all of which fell for just 58 runs.If the pitch changed in character over the course of Australia’s innings, then England seized the moment in a remarkable spell of seam bowling from Carse, Archer and Matthew Potts. The four wickets to Potts – including Steven Smith for the second time this series – gave him the most eye-catching figures. But it was Archer and Carse who vied for the best dismissal of the evening.The former’s leg-cutter to flatten Mitchell Marsh’s off stump perhaps came second to the latter’s nip down the slope from a good length to do the same to Marnus Labuschagne’s. But in playing back-to-back ODIs for the first time since this latest return from his elbow issues, Archer claimed more of the limelight.Related

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From the Super Over in that stunning final against New Zealand, to that face-meltingly quick display in the second Ashes Test, so much of the 2019 summer was defined by Archer’s exploits at Lord’s. His manipulation of the white ball was the stand-out aspect of his display, but the wow moment was the brisk rising delivery that clocked Labuschagne on the arm, evoking memories of the blow to the helmet that he inflicted on the same batter in that second Ashes Test – a moment that only came about after Labuschagne had entered the contest as a concussion substitute for Smith, whom Archer had felled in the first innings.”It’s pretty good to watch, isn’t it, when he’s swinging it and seaming around,” Brook said. “Hopefully he can be around for a while.”Naturally, when these two teams meet in anything other than an Ashes contest, the Ashes always comes up. And after a comprehensive victory set in motion by batters already established in the Test team, and finished by a pace attack vying to break back into that XI, you can forgive the extrapolation. Particularly at the end of a summer that began with the pensioning-off of James Anderson with that 2025-26 tour of Australia in mind.The reality, however, is that this is an Australian team who have been afflicted with illness and knocks. They are, to a man, ready for home ahead of a blockbuster summer of their own. Even this result may be moot if the forecast for Sunday’s decider in Bristol plays out.But as far as England’s 50-over ambitions are concerned, this was an evening to savour. And perhaps the best compliment to pay is that the future looks brighter off the back of a performance bearing hallmarks of the past.

The allrounder hammered the door down for selection with his performance in domestic cricket and the call came in Sydney

Andrew McGlashan02-Jan-2025The early daysBorn in the small Tasmania town of Snug, Webster made his first-class debut in February 2014 at the age of 20, playing three games in the latter part of the season. Two years later he made centuries in back-to-back Sheffield Shield matches batting at No. 3 which propelled him into the Australia A side to face India A in Brisbane where he made 11, 30 and 79 across two matches. But it was a brief stay on the fringes of the national set-up.Related

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“I don’t think my defence is the best part of my game, so ultimately I was pretty inconsistent batting in the top order,” he told ESPNcricinfo in an interview in March last year.Opening the batting against New South Wales in 2018, he scored what was then a career-best 136, but at the end of the first part of the 2019-20 his first-class average stood at 26.78 with the bat and 46.19 with the ball.The Covid switchJust a few weeks before the world was shut down in early 2020, Webster had made a run-a-ball 187 against Western Australia. But it was a change of tack with his bowling during the Covid lockdowns that proved to be a major catalyst in his career. Having watch team-mate Jake Doran snag a wicket with his left-arm mediums in the aforementioned WA game, Webster decided to revive his pace bowling which had been shelved by back problems when he was younger.”If we’re going to do it, we’re going to do it properly and start from scratch and get your action sorted,” his coach Adam Griffith told him.It took a little while for pace bowling to bring dividends, but Webster has no doubt about the role it has played in his rise to the Australia side.Beau Webster’s seam bowling has been a key part of his rise•AFP via Getty Images”I don’t think I’d be standing here if I was still wheeling out the offspinners,” Webster said. “It’s a part of my game I’ve been really proud to develop in the last four years. It’s taken a lot of hard work early doors from being sore at the start and trying to get my body used to bowling a few overs here and there and then bowling lots and lots of Tasmania.”It also fitted well with what Tasmania were looking for at the time, as they moved different eras of allrounders. “There was a need for an allrounder after Luke Butterworth and James Faulkner,” Webster said. “We were crying out for an allrounder. I was floating around in the order, settled at No. 6. If I could wheel out some quality medium pace, it would have given the team the ability to play a full-time spinner. I felt like I could impact games with the ball.”Run-scoring explosionThe 2020-21 season was a mediocre one with the bat, but the following couple of summers brought glimpses of what was on offer and he signed off the 2022-23 season with an unbeaten 168 against Queensland. It was a sign of things to come.The 2023-24 Sheffield Shield campaign for Webster will go down as one of the greats: 938 runs at 58.62 and 30 wickets at 30.80. Only Garry Sobers has exceeded both those figures in the same season.He was back on the national radar and featured for the Prime Minister’s XI against Pakistan in Canberra.”If someone like [Mitchell] Marsh got injured, he would have to be the next player in,” team-mate Matthew Wade towards the end of 2023-24 season. “He’ll be pushing for that. He’s been huge.”Beau Webster has averaged over 50 with the bat in recent seasons•Getty ImagesA County Championship stint with Gloucestershire followed and while he wasn’t prolific with the bat, his bowling continued to develop with 16 wickets at 21.25 in four matches.Onto the fringeWebster began the 2024-25 season with a century against Victoria just around the time Cameron Green was being ruled out for the summer with a back injury. But with Mitchell Marsh secure of his spot and Steven Smith returning to the middle order, there was not yet an opening for Webster.He featured for Australia A against India A in the two four-day matches he impressed with a pair of unbeaten innings in the two chases and bagged six wickets at the MCG.Initially called into the Test squad as cover for Marsh in Adelaide and Brisbane, he was officially added to the group for the Boxing Day Test. When Marsh missed out twice in Melbourne, it was form rather than injury that created the opening. And Webster became Test cap 469 for Australia’s men.

After the innings in which he got to 6000, Babar’s batting average stood at 55.73 – the highest for any batter at that point

Sampath Bandarupalli14-Feb-2025123 – Innings that Babar Azam needed to complete 6000 runs in ODI cricket, the joint-fastest to the milestone alongside Hashim Amla. He got to the landmark in the tri-series final against New Zealand in Karachi. Babar’s rise to joint-fastest pushes Virat Kohli down to No. 3 on the list – he had got there in 136 innings.Before Babar, Saeed Anwar was the quickest to the landmark for Pakistan. Anwar had taken 162 innings, Babar bettered that by 39 innings.1 – Babar is also the fastest overall to reach 5000 ODI runs, accomplishing this in just 97 innings. He is the second-quickest to 4000 ODI runs, achieving it in 81 innings, one behind Amla (82).ESPNcricinfo Ltd55.73 – Batting average of Babar in ODIs. It is the highest for any batter at the time of reaching 6000 runs in men’s ODIs (that is, average at the end of the innings during which they completed the milestone). The previous highest was by Michael Bevan, who averaged 54.70 when he reached 6000 runs in his 167th innings.11 – Batters to score 6000-plus runs for Pakistan in ODIs, including Babar. Only three of these batters were younger than Babar when they got to 6000. Babar was 30 years and 122 days old when he got there, behind Inzamam-ul-Haq (29y 86d), Mohammad Yousuf (30y 40d) and Shahid Afridi (30y 106d).19 – ODI hundreds by Babar so far, the second-most for Pakistan in the format, one behind Saeed Anwar’s 20. Babar scored his 19th ODI ton in his 102nd innings, the fewest needed to get to No. 19 for any batter.

The West Indies opener looks back on the best moments of his previous 99 Tests – his maiden century, the Headingley win, and the hundreds in Australia and South Africa

Interview by Andrew McGlashan02-Jul-2025On Thursday in Grenada, Kraigg Brathwaite will become the tenth West Indian to play 100 Tests. At his best, his powers of concentration have been legendary: he has faced the most balls by a West Indian batter in a Test.Runs have been harder to come by of late, and a new-look batting order needs him to perform, but his career is littered with some outstanding performances. Among the teams he’s played more than once, it’s only against India that is he missing a century. Brathwaite also captained the Test side on 39 occasions before stepping down earlier this year. And he holds one of the game’s quirkier stats for a player of this generation, having not played a single professional T20.”I was privileged to be captain when he played his first Test and to be coach now as he’s playing his 100th Test, 14 years later, it shows his contribution to the game,” West Indies coach Daren Sammy said. “I think that’s a great achievement. And I wish him all the best. I know his team will be rallying with him. It will be a special moment for him and also for the team.”On the eve of his landmark Test, Brathwaite spoke to ESPNcricinfo.Related

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What does 100 Tests mean to you?
It means everything. Words to describe it would be pretty tough. You always want to play for the West Indies as a youngster, but to play 100 Tests was a dream. I’ll never forget when I was teenager, I was 14 years old, I would have done an interview and they asked me what my goals were. I remember one of my goals was to play 100 Tests.I think it’s quite amazing to go through the journey of 14 years playing for West Indies and seeing that goal come to fruition. I just want to be a role model, to hopefully inspire even just one youngster in the Caribbean to set their goals from a young age. Whether it’s 100 Tests, 300 one-dayers, playing in all the franchises around the world, whichever it may be, the key is to set a goal and work extremely hard throughout, through the ups and downs, to achieve it.But despite setting that goal, when you played your first Test, against Pakistan in 2011, did you think 100 was realistic?
Obviously, I’ll say no. Playing the first Test wasn’t the easiest. To say it at that time, that I would play 100, would be pretty hard. But from scoring my first hundred [against New Zealand in 2014] – I never thought I’d score a hundred for West Indies, I never thought I was that good, even though I was inspired to want to play – that really helped me get the confidence to go on.There have been a few periods where things really clicked for you: in 2014 you averaged over 77 and in 2022 you were named in the ICC Test team of the year. Do they stand out for you?
In 2014, I remember every series we played I scored a hundred. That was a very good patch for me. Then 2022 as well, those two really stood out for me. We played Bangladesh in 2022 and I made 95 or so [94], otherwise it would have been the same [a century in each series]. As a batsman that’s what you set out to do. I was obviously hoping that 2025 would be as good as those two periods.In West Indies’ famous win at Headingley in 2017, Brathwaite scored 134 and 95•Getty ImagesThe runs haven’t flowed of late. Where do you feel your batting is? Have you got another peak in you?
I still have that belief. I still feel ready and raring. I think it’s just an example of what Test cricket is; it’s a grind, especially as an opener, it’s never easy. You always have your ups and downs, so it’s about staying strong and believing in yourself. Test cricket is all about being mentally strong. I do believe I have those periods left in me.Is opening now as tough as it’s been? It’s a topic in Australian cricket, for example. Are pitches doing more?
I won’t say they’re doing anything different to normal, to be honest. Playing in the Caribbean is obviously never an easy place because pitches, especially early on, can be a bit slow and the ball gets a bit of a nip. But I won’t say the pitches have changed. I think the challenges as an opener still remain, regarding fielding for whether it’s 90 overs or 100 overs and having to run off for five minutes to change, then face world-class bowlers. Kudos to the bowling around the world. Each team pretty much has quality fast bowlers. So it’s always a mental grind for openers.Looking back on the 99 Tests from a batting perspective, can you pick out some highlights?
I can never forget the maiden hundred. At the time I was in total disbelief that I could actually score a hundred for West Indies. But moving on from there, the hundred [against Pakistan] in Sharjah; for me as an opener, I always dream about being there at the end, especially in the second innings, for the team. And to be able to do that in both innings was quite special for me. That was Jason Holder’s first win as captain, so very special.Then Headingley [in 2017] as well. There’s a bit of back story behind that. We lost the first Test, so to come back and play two innings like that to help us to win was quite amazing. But also, and this is just an example of opening the batting, it was my first tour to England and we had three county games before the first Test. I barely got any runs. Mentally, you are really doubting yourself at times.Brathwaite’s advice to young cricketers: “Dream big first. Set your goals from a young age. And then you’ve got to work hard. It’s a a long journey playing red-ball cricket”•Nick Potts/PA Photos/Getty ImagesGoing into the first Test, I made zero in the first innings. It’s not easy place to be. But that’s just the example of having to keep having that inward belief. When that bowler runs up and bowls the ball, pacer or spinner, you’ve got to have that deep belief in yourself. In the second innings of the first Test, I got 30-odd [40], then the second game we won and I got runs. That was just a great example for me as a player and as an opener of what it really takes to do well in this career. You’ve got to be mentally tough. So those were special.But then, emotion-wise, when I got the hundreds in Australia [in Perth in 2022] and in South Africa [in Gqeberha in 2014] – they were both No. 1 [teams] at the time. For me, that was very, very special. We drew one and lost one but those two against the No. 1 team meant a lot.Have you always prided yourself on your powers of concentration?
For sure. When I was young, 10 or 11, I used to bat really fast and hit a lot of boundaries, a lot of sixes. But as I got older, I started to buckle down. I always understood my strengths and weaknesses from a young age. I still knew what I was good at aggressively and not going for other things. But as I developed, I understood playing the longer format.I remember there was an intermediate game back home. I got out playing a bad shot, looking for something that wasn’t there. The next week – because it plays on weekends – two of the guys scored a double and a 180. From there I decided I’ve really got to buckle down. The next game I made a double.That was an example of taking your time and waiting for your strengths. You know your weaknesses, you don’t go too hard at them. And that stood with me throughout my career. Playing for West Indies, it’s always my job, and I knew once I could bat at least two sessions as opener, it will only benefit the team.Brathwaite captained West Indies in 39 Tests, winning ten, including famous victories in Chattogram, Brisbane and Multan•AFP/Getty ImagesDo you think there will be an opportunity for more West Indians to reach 100 Tests?
There’s a lot of talk about it in recent years. At the end of the day, we need all the teams; we need South Africa, they’ve just won the Test Championship, we need West Indies. I think eventually we’ll get to ten-plus Tests in a year, hopefully. Right now, we’re averaging probably between six to eight a year. So, obviously, that would take a younger guy playing for a number of years to get up to 100. But I do believe that in time we will get more games. I can see it happening. I think there’s a lot of youngsters that are spurred to want to play for West Indies.Is there one opener you’ve especially enjoyed batting with?
I’ve enjoyed batting with them all, because I’ve batted with a number of openers, but John Campbell. For me, the bond is quite special because we played from Under-15, then to U-19s and senior cricket. So that one will always remain. We have good camaraderie.Having not played any T20s in this era does stand out. How has that played out? Would you still like to play?
To say I still want to play, it’s pretty foreign. But it’s something I wanted to do. I played a few 50-over games [for West Indies] but I missed a few regional tournaments in the Caribbean, so I was never really able to put my case to get back in the one-day team. Not being able to play 50-overs, it’s pretty tough to play T20s. It’s just how it went. I’d have loved to have played T20, it just didn’t work out. But you never know, there’s a lot of leagues about.If you had advice for a next-generation batter who has that dream of 100 Tests, what would it be?
Dream big first. Set your goals from a young age. Obviously that inward belief in yourself is very important. And then you’ve got to be disciplined, you’ve got to work hard. Things won’t always be easy. It’s a long process, a long journey playing red-ball cricket.But the main thing is, regardless of success or failure, do your routine. Whatever it is, in terms of running, gym, hard work at home, after a series, you don’t ever stop it. You do well, you’ve had a purple patch, a great year, you don’t sit back on your laurels and think that, okay, I’m done working, I’ve received or retained a contract and I’m happy. To be able to do it year-in, year-out through all the success and failure – because there’s way more failure than success, especially in red-ball cricket. But it’s about believing and dreaming it because you can do anything you put your mind to.

England have the edge as rematch of 2017 and 2022 knock-outs looms on Wednesday

Vishal Dikshit28-Oct-20252:30

Wolvaardt: ‘Have a really good chance of winning if we stay calm’

The stark similarity between the two captains’ press conferences, before the England versus South Africa semi-final, was what preceded them. Out came a slender, black bottle of spray from a corner and it headed straight for the captain’s chair. The right index finger of the lady holding it came down at the top and sprayed it all over the chair, covered in a black cloth, with a long hissing sound. She did it twice, indiscriminately in the same manner, for the same duration, and with the same dedication.There was a deep sense of faith residing in that mosquito repellent, as it dampened the black cloth only a few minutes before each press conference; that it would do the job as soon as it was asked, not unlike the expectations the captains demand of their players, whether with bat or ball in a pressure situation, especially like a semi-final.Laura Wolvaardt arrived first. The first question thrown at her was about the one-sided rivalry between England and South Africa in ODIs – which stands at 36-10 – and especially England not letting South Africa go past the semi-finals in the last two editions, in 2022 and 2017.”I think if we just keep playing the way that we have, we’ll have a really good shot at winning tomorrow,” Wolvaardt said ever so softly, moving the bare minimum muscles on her face, almost weighed down by the occasion and the expectations. “I think we want to win tomorrow. So do they. It’s a semi-final, anything can happen. So, I think that if we just play our best cricket, it’ll be a really good game of cricket.”Wolvaardt even spoke of the opposition, while being that extra bit careful about not promising anything on her team’s behalf. The possible outcomes she presented were also carefully prefaced by “if”.Related

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Wolvaardt had been in both those semi-final defeats. She witnessed from close quarters the tears of Dane van Niekerk in 2017, as she and her inconsolable team-mates sat around on the field after the two-wicket loss, with the fiery Marizanne Kapp burying her head in her hands. Five years later, Wolvaardt lasted just two balls for a duck after being South Africa’s leading scorer in the league stage, and they crumbled for 156 in a tall chase, admitting later that they didn’t put their best foot forward when it mattered.Last year Wolvaardt took over the captaincy in full-time capacity, led South Africa to the final of the T20 World Cup, even going past the mighty Australians in the semi-final. On that occasion, however, her team floundered at the final frontier, to New Zealand, who were not even among the favourites to win the title. It was perhaps the occasion that got to them again; Kapp in tears at the national anthem even before the match had begun while Wolvaardt tried to keep everyone calm. Again, Wolvaardt saw her team-mates shedding tears and even saw her parents “more sad” than her, in her own words.Wolvaardt didn’t want to get ahead of herself this time.”I think, for me, tomorrow it’ll just be about keeping everyone as calm as possible,” she said on Tuesday. “I think the calmest team out there will most likely win. I think 50 overs is a very long time and it’s very easy to let the pressure of a semi-final get to you. But I think it’s still just a game of cricket and there’ll be ups and downs within the game, and I think the team that rides those waves the best throughout the 100-over game will come out on top. [It’s about] keeping everyone calm. Obviously we’ll have our plans in place, so trying to stick to those as best as we can. I think we’re really well prepared as a group, so just trusting and believing in that preparation that we’ve done as well.”Wolvaardt’s entire press conference was done in under six minutes. About an hour later came her counterpart Nat Sciver-Brunt, who looked as different as she possibly could from Wolvaardt. Sciver-Brunt first peeked into the room while holding the door ajar, quickly checking if things were in order and it was time for her to arrive. Once she sat on the assigned chair on the podium, she joked around with her media manager, expressed surprise at the mic booming her voice around the room as if it was not supposed to, and then looked completely at ease once the questions started.”I’m excited for tomorrow, I guess,” she started off by saying. “I’m massively excited to be in the knockout stages of this World Cup and, yeah, really excited to take on the game tomorrow.”Like Wolvaardt, Sciver-Brunt was also quickly reminded of how these two teams had started against each other in this World Cup when South Africa had imploded for 69.”That was obviously a long time ago in the tournament, and since then we’ve played a lot of games. But, yeah, South Africa obviously have had some brilliant games since then and are a dangerous side.”It was as if England were showing more faith in South Africa than South Africa were in themselves.”See, that game was pretty crazy,” Sciver-Brunt said. “Obviously a brilliant start from our side in this competition. But not what we would have expected from South Africa.”In her 14-minute long press conference – also because there were a lot more questions – Sciver-Brunt looked seemingly unfazed by the pressure or the magnitude of the occasion. She soon joined her team-mates at the nets where the experienced head coach Charlotte Edwards had started the drills, the music was blaring on the team’s Bluetooth speaker on the extreme left, and the mood appeared a bit more cheery than when South Africa trained there.Will they make it three out of three in semi-finals against South Africa or will South Africa see that third time’s the charm?

Pakistan have the upper hand but the SA left-arm spinner has prevented them from making the most of it

Danyal Rasool14-Oct-2025When running late, there is always an instinct to rush, even if you cannot possibly make it to your destination on time. You might skip a long shower or an elaborate breakfast, or flirt with the top end of a speed limit on the way. There are wins to be had along the way, small gains that make no difference to the final outcome. But they’re worth pursuing anyway.And South Africa woke up late. Part of it, like the flip of the coin on Sunday morning, they could do as little about as if someone had turned off their alarm and drawn the curtains tighter to induce further sleep. But when Pakistan got the best of the batting conditions, South Africa’s spinners took over a session to find their lines, allowing Imam-ul-Haq and Shan Masood to gain an early, and what felt like a decisive, upper hand.It did not stop South Africa from scrambling to make up ground, even if the inherent disadvantage of batting last meant they were invariably treading water. That knotty sense of hopelessness was at its zenith at tea on Tuesday, a full two days after Imam and Masood pulled clear. But every time Pakistan’s position has veered into unassailability, Senuran Muthusamy has stood stubbornly in the way.Related

• Azhar Mahmood blames shot selection for Pakistan's collapse

• Noman puts Pakistan in driver's seat on 16-wicket day

Muthusamy has made a life out of ensuring innate disadvantages do not prove insurmountable. Growing up in South Africa as a specialist red-ball spinner around the same time as Keshav Maharaj is an accident of birth not conducive to a long Test career. Muthusamy made his first-class debut in 2013, and only got a shot at international cricket when South Africa toured India six years later. His Test match journey reads like a destination list even off-the-beat travel brochures would find too unusual to suggest: Visakhapatnam, Pune, Centurion, Chattogram, Bulawayo and now Lahore.With Pakistan 199 for 2 on Sunday afternoon, yet another one of those rare opportunities for impact appeared to have passed him by, but Muthusamy kept going. He spent the rest of the game showing everyone the value of a scrap to stay alive. Off the final two balls before tea that day, South Africa began to tug Pakistan back, and have held them in place in this uneasy stalemate. The hosts have the higher ground, but remain acutely aware that it is treacherous. Muthusamy accounted for 11 of the next 18 Pakistan wickets that fell, doubling his career Test haul over the past three days.On Tuesday, Masood’s men looked to make amends for leaving the door open. Abdullah Shafique scratched his way to 41, his highest Test score in over a year, and Babar Azam (42) and Saud Shakeel (38) both contributed with similar scores to swell Pakistan’s lead to 259 with six wickets still in the bag. Pakistan’s sense of comfort was illustrated by Shakeel – perhaps the team’s most conservative batter – stepping outside his crease to swipe Muthusamy over midwicket. He found the assured hands of Tristan Stubbs on the boundary, and South Africa began to claw their way back into plausibility once more.Shan Masood and Imam-ul-Haq had laid Pakistan’s groundwork on the first day in Lahore•AFP/Getty ImagesIt took a remarkable implosion from Pakistan, who lost their last six for 17 runs, to keep South Africa in contention. Muthusamy and Simon Harmer held their lines and nerve as the batters appeared to lose theirs; this was the third-steepest six-wicket collapse for Pakistan in a decade. By the time it was done, Muthusamy’s figures were the third-best in Gaddafi Stadium history, behind only Imran Khan and Abdul Qadir.By stumps, Ryan Rickelton and Tony de Zorzi were holding Pakistan at bay. The pair have complemented the tenacity of their spinners; it seems a long time ago but just this morning, de Zorzi had lifted Noman Ali over his head for six before bringing up the game’s only century off Pakistan’s most valuable spinner. Rickelton and de Zorzi have been responsible for exactly two-thirds of the runs South Africa have scored this Test, and will need to crank it up to an even more unlikely percentage if they are to fetch the remaining 226 to pull off a supremely unlikely heist.”A partnership on a wicket like this is gold,” de Zorzi said after play. “It’s tough to start and for a new guy to get rhythm. The beginning is the toughest but hopefully we can build a partnership and crack on.”Any reading of recent – or ancient – history suggests it remains an uphill challenge. Only one of the previous three completed Test matches in Lahore have resulted in a win for the chasing side, and never has a total anywhere near this magnitude been brought down. The advantage Pakistan built up by calling correctly at the toss and the three hours that followed still holds firm, but South Africa have refused to allow the hosts to stretch it further.At the end of the day, the PCB’s in-house website, in its report for the day, cautiously noted the game was “hanging in the balance”. This was around the same time as de Zorzi was beginning to talk up his side’s chances.”Ricks and I keep each other present,” he said. “We take it one ball at a time and remind each other of our options. The guys coming in are just as able, if not more talented. Hopefully they won’t [need to] but anyone in there, if they build a partnership, it’s on.”They may have woken up late, but Muthusamy and de Zorzi have ensured Pakistan are still on their toes three days after they were supposed to have pulled away.

When the draw for the first ever league phase of the Women's Champions League was made back in September, there were a lot of ties that caught the eye. From the repeat of last year's semi-final between eventual champions Arsenal and eight-time winners Lyon, to the return of Mary Earps to Old Trafford as her current side, Paris Saint-Germain, faced former club Manchester United, it was a draw that certainly did not disappoint. But no fixture drew the attention quite like that which will take place on Thursday at Stamford Bridge, between Chelsea and Barcelona.

These two have met plenty in recent years. After facing off in the Champions League final back in 2021, the pair have, quite incredibly, clashed in the semi-finals in three of the four seasons since. However, despite those regular meetings at the top level, it's hard to call it a rivalry because of how much Barca have dominated the head-to-head, losing just one of those seven matches.

Some Chelsea fans will have been dismayed by this draw, then. On the other hand, some will have been excited by the chance to have another go at the Catalans. What has unfolded since the fixtures were confirmed, too, will have given the Blues even more confidence going into this game, with there perhaps no better time for the champions of England to get another win over a team that has had their number unlike any other foe in recent years.

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  One-sided

  On the face of it, the head-to-head between these two is insanely one-sided given how good this Chelsea team has been in the last five years especially. In seven meetings, Barcelona have emerged with five wins, one draw and one defeat, scoring 16 goals to the Blues' four. Sometimes, those sorts of numbers don't tell the full story and you have to look beyond them to find out more. Delve deeper, though, and it reflects even more positively on Barca.

  In the last two seasons, when they've met in the semi-finals, Chelsea have had the perceived advantage of hosting the second leg of those ties. In the 2023-24 campaign, the Blues managed to emerge victorious in Catalunya, too, with a historic 1-0 scoreline giving them their first, and thus far only, win in this fixture. Yet, that never seems to bother Barca. Every time, they rise to the occasion and get the result they need, winning on all three of their visits to Stamford Bridge.

  That they inflicted a whopping 8-2 aggregate defeat on the English champions last season felt particularly damning too, given this Chelsea team did not lose a domestic fixture all year and had spent the summer recruiting those with the knowledge of how to get over the line in the Champions League, most notably in head coach Sonia Bompastor, who guided Lyon to victory over Barca in the 2021-22 final.

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  Financial woes finally hit

  So, why would this year be any different for Chelsea? Well, for a start, Barca's squad this season is as weak as it has been for a long time, relative to the high bar that has been set in Catalunya and when compared to other giants across Europe. That's a shame, too, because it is due to factors largely out of the control of the women's team, and certainly the players.

  Barca's financial woes have been well-documented for some time on the men's side, where concerns around player registration and meeting Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules are not new. However, the impact of that on the club has finally made its way to the women's team, with Barca able to call upon just 18 senior players at the start of the 2025-26 season. Compare that to Chelsea's 27, Bayern Munich's 24, Arsenal's 23, Lyon's 22 or even the 20 of Manchester United, who are making their debut in the Women's Champions League proper this term.

  It must be said that, in terms of a starting XI, Barca arguably still have the very best in Europe, if not the world. Their 7-1 thrashing of Bayern to open up their Champions League campaign provided perfect evidence for that claim. But when it comes to depth, as they again look to challenge on four fronts, they're way off many of the continent's biggest clubs and, as such, their bench is nowhere near as stacked as usual. That has already made an unwanted impact, with Barca suffering their earliest Liga F defeat in 11 years last month.

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  Untimely injuries

  The last thing Barca need, then, is injuries. Yet, coming into this clash with Chelsea, they're dealing with some key ones. Patri Guijarro, arguably the best holding midfielder on the planet, is out until the New Year with a stress fracture in her right foot; Salma Paralluelo, the exciting young forward, could also be sidelined until after the winter break due to a knee injury; while Ewa Pajor, who scored more than 50 goals for club and country last term, has only just returned from her own injury, though she marked her comeback with a brace against Real Madrid on Saturday.

  We're talking about some of the best players in the world here, too, the kind which would be tough enough to replace even if Barca had a little more depth at their disposal. But they're having to rely more on younger players, who are talented but inexperienced in these big situations, in order to cope with these losses while also, at times, having to rejig the line-up to deploy players in unnatural and different positions. It's not the perfect situation, at all.

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  Perfect setting and situation

  That will all be music to the ears of Chelsea. This is a huge opportunity for the Blues to get one over Barca given their personnel situation, but also because this is a one-legged affair, rather than the two-legged ties Barca have risen to the occasion in previously, and it's at home.

  Of course, the Catalans have a great record away at Chelsea and they've beaten them in the only other one-legged match the two have played, in that 2020-21 Champions League final. But if the Blues could pick the perfect situation to play this match in it would absolutely be at home and it would be in a single match, given they have got results against Barca on their day before, but never across two legs.

Arguably one of the best sights in football is seeing a world-class winger in full flow. Whether it be through speed or skill, there are plenty of top-quality wide men in today’s game, including 2025 Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele.

In the past, we have been graced with the brilliant skills of Ronaldinho and crossing ability of David Beckham, but who is the best winger in football today?

Ranking factors

To help rank the wingers in order, we have considered the following criteria:

• Current form – how well a player has been performing
• Importance to their teams – how influential they are to their team
• Role – how unique their skillset is
• Reputation – what others are saying about them

15

Rafael Leao

AC Milan and Portugal

One of the fastest wingers around in the game today is AC Milan star Rafael Leao, who has been called one of the players Ronaldinho most enjoys watching.

Tammy Abraham has even said that Leao “has no idea how good he is”, and he has wowed on the left wing, contributing with double figures for goals and assists in 2024/25.

14

Rodrygo

Real Madrid and Brazil

With Real Madrid’s squad filled with world-class stars such as Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo is sometimes forgotten about in Spain.

However, Jude Bellingham labelled Rodrygo as “the most gifted player in the squad” and a “pleasure to play with”, so he must be doing something right at the Bernabeu. Neymar is also a big fan of his fellow countryman, calling him a “joke” in 2025.

13

Luis Diaz

Bayern Munich and Colombia

Luis Diaz has both the speed and the skill to leave defenders for dead and is already catching the eye at new side Bayern Munich.

Diaz, who left Liverpool in 2025, won his first Premier League title before leaving Anfield, and, according to Danny Murphy, has “gone under the radar”. His defensive work ethic has also been praised, and in the final third, he can come up with something special out of nothing.

12

Nico Williams

Athletic Club and Spain

After coming through the Athletic Club academy, Nico Williams has made a huge impact in La Liga and with Spain and is now regarded as one of the top left-wingers around. At the age of 23, Williams looks destined to move from Bilbao at some point, but did sign a new contract in 2025.

Jose Mourinho has even revealed that he prefers Williams to Barcelona star Lamine Yamal, calling the Athletic Club star “unique” and “wonderful” – high praise from an iconic manager.

11

Bradley Barcola

PSG and France

Bradley Barcola arguably goes under the radar slightly at Paris Saint-Germain due to the sheer amount of attacking talent at the Parc des Princes, but the 22-year-old enjoyed his best ever season in 2024/25.

Called “unstoppable” by Luis Enrique, Barcola has hit double figures for Ligue 1 goals and assists for the first time in his career, which has resulted in his Transfermarkt valuation rocketing to €70m.

10

Desire Doue

PSG and France

Another exciting attacking PSG star is Desire Doue, who, on the right-hand side, has been making a name for himself all across the world.

In French, Doue means ‘gifted’, and the teenager has been living up to his name, with some even calling him the next Neymar due to his ability to stand defenders up, slow the play down before going past them with a piece of skill.

9

Mohamed Salah

Liverpool and Egypt

Many would argue that Mohamed Salah would have been top of this list earlier in 2025, however, the Egyptian King has gone off the boil at Anfield in 2025/26.

The Liverpool star extended his Anfield stay and produced record numbers for goals and assists in a 38-game Premier League campaign, winning his second title with the Reds as a result. Arne Slot called Salah “outstanding” recently, but at 33, Salah may well be getting past his prime.

8

Jeremy Doku

Man City and Belgium

Jeremy Doku has been a standout player for Manchester City in 2025/26, terrorising full-backs with his explosive speed, agility and dribbling qualities.

The Belgian’s display in a 3-0 win over Liverpool was unbelievable, and if it wasn’t for a certain Erling Haaland, you could say Doku would be the first name on the teamsheet under Pep Guardiola.

7

Michael Olise

Bayern Munich and France

After swapping Crystal Palace for Bayern Munich in 2024, Michael Olise has taken his game to the next level with the Bundesliga giants, hitting double figures for league goals and assists for the first time in his career in 2024/25.

Olise “could be as good as anyone” and, according to Didier Deschamps, the Bayern star has a “lot of qualities and has progressed a lot”, so he could get even better over the coming years. His Transfermarkt valuation now sits at a career-high €100m.

6

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

PSG and Georgia

After starring for Napoli for over two-and-a-half years, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia sealed a big-money move to PSG in 2025 and is so far proving to be worth the €70m fee.

The two-footed winger can play on either side and has helped PSG to another Ligue 1 title and a Champions League triumph. Kvaratskhelia is not just brilliant in attack, but the Georgia star also does a “titanic defensive job” with a “relentless” attitude in tracking back, something which doesn’t go unnoticed.