All posts by h716a5.icu

Tottenham Hotspur are now in the race for an “unbelievable” England international, but they may need to qualify for the Champions League to compete for his signature, according to former goalkeeper Paul Robinson.

Spurs' season hinges on Europa League triumph

The 5-1 battering at Anfield on Sunday afternoon was the latest extremely disappointing performance from Tottenham, in a season where there has been no shortage of poor results, but ultimately the loss is of little importance.

Spurs’ season now hinges entirely on their Europa League campaign, and they should be in a very strong position to reach the final in Bilbao, given that they are set to come up against Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt in the semi-final.

A Europa League triumph would end the Lilywhites’ long wait for a trophy, while also granting them access to next season’s Champions League, which should place them in a strong position to bring in some top players this summer.

Tottenham now in position to seal "bargain signing" of "interesting" striker

They’re “well-placed” to do a deal.

ByEmilio Galantini Apr 27, 2025

In a recent interview with Football Insider, Robinson has now provided an update on a player Tottenham could target this summer, although he believes they will only be able to compete for his signature if they win the Europa League.

The former goalkeeper said: “Tottenham are in the race for Marcus Rashford; but without Champions League football, without the Europa League trophy, and Tottenham 17th in the Premier League? Sorry, you’re not in the conversation.”

As Rashford’s relationship with Ruben Amorim has “broken down”, the England international is expected to leave this summer, with a move to Barcelona potentially on the cards, while a permanent switch to Aston Villa remains a possibility.

The 27-year-old is not the only England international Spurs have their eye on, however, with a recent report revealing they are also serious contenders to sign Manchester City’s Jack Grealish.

"Unbelievable" Rashford impressing at Aston Villa

After falling out with Amorim, it was clear the left-winger needed to leave United in January, and he has started to look more like his former self since moving to Villa, picking up four goals and six assists in 17 matches.

Having once been lauded as “unbelievable” by Harry Maguire, it is clear the £300k-per-week forward has bags of talent, but United has been a graveyard for top players in recent years, and it is good to see him reignite his career elsewhere.

Should Tottenham manage to win the Europa League, a move to north London could be attractive to Rashford, but the signs are not good heading into their crucial semi-final against Bodo/Glimt.

Spurs have lost their last three Premier League games on the spin, and even if they manage to reach the final, it will be a very difficult task to beat Athletic Bilbao in their own stadium, or three-time Champions League winners Man United in a European final.

Kings XI Punjab’s leading wicket-taker’s summer really took off only after it was almost over

Firdose Moonda30-Apr-2009As the sun began to set on the South African summer this year, Yusuf Abdulla was preparing to play his last cricket of the season. His schedule would see him compete in three more matches – all of them first-class four-day domestic fixtures for his franchise, the Dolphins. Thereafter, he could look forward to a mild Durban winter of rest and recovery. Little did Abdulla know that his summer would stretch on for a few weeks longer.His fine domestic Pro20 form, which saw him claim 10 wickets at an average of 17.10, earned him a call-up to the South African Twenty20 squad to face Australia. He was given just a single bite at the cherry, and only featured in one of the two matches against the Aussies, but he made sure he bit hard. His figures of 1 for 16 in three overs included the prize scalp of Ricky Ponting. That was enough to get him noticed by the people who matter.”I thought my season was going to end, but Tom Moody saw me in that game and the next day he called me up asked if I would be interested in playing for Punjab in the Indian Premier League”, Abdulla recalls. The speed at which he had gone from being just another domestic player to a part of cricket’spremier 20-over tournament still shocks him. “I still can’t believe how quickly it all happened. By that stage I knew the tournament was going to be held in South Africa, and it couldn’t have worked out any better”.The IPL has given many little-known Indian players their 15 minutes of fame but how did South Africa’s stocky swing bowler get in the frame?Abdulla is from a Muslim family and grew up in Lenasia, a largely Indian suburb in the south of Johannesburg. He spent some of his high-school career in Gauteng, before his family moved to the coal-mining town of Dundee in KwaZulu Natal (KZN). At 18 he was selected for the KZN academy and taken under the coach Yashin Ebrahim’s wing.”I always knew he had potential because of his natural ability to swing the ball,” Ebrahim says. Abdulla spent his time with the Dolphins priming himself for the big time. After a solid 2006-07 season, in which he took nine wickets at an average of 12.00 in the Pro20, Abdulla was picked as one of 20 amateur players to attend the national academy based at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria. While the academy’s only competitive cricket was against Zimbabwe A, Abdulla saw it as an opportunity to learn everything he could. “I had already been coached by Graham Ford and Phil Russel, so I had a lot of good mentorship. I still wanted to work on my weaknesses and the academy gave me the room to do that”.His performance in the season that followed was testament to his hard work. In the 2007-08 season he took 10 wickets at an average of 13.40 in the Pro20. Besides being the Dolphins’ main strike bowler in the shorter form of the game, Abdulla also refined his Twenty20 technique. He learnt to disguise his slower ball well, and to fire it in fast from a low and wide angle outside the off stump.Ebrahim says that apart from the minor adjustments to his technique, Abdulla’s success can be largely attributed to his strong will. “When he started to back himself, it came together. He worked hard on his mindset even more than his technique. It was no surprise when he was selected for the national side.”Despite his sterling performances in the shorter version of the game, he has only managed to record one five-wicket haul in first-class cricket. His fitness has also often come under question because of his rotund build. “Ideally we would want him to lose some weight, but he has passed all our tests,” says Ebrahim.While Abdulla is looking to improve his form in the longer version of the game, he has one eye on being selected for the World Twenty20 in June and has emerged as one of the few Twenty20 specialists in South African cricket. “He is immensely competitive and seems to thrive on limited-overs cricket. In that form of the game, he is the go-to man for wickets and is as good an opening bowler as anyone in the country,” says AhmedAmla, the Dolphins captain.Ultimately it was these factors and local knowledge that swung him into favour with Punjab. With the team playing six out of their 14 matches in Durban, and Jerome Taylor ruled out injured, they opted for a South African bowler to assist in leading the attack.Their first two games were rain affected, and Abdulla’s performance could hardly be judged on those lines. He was flogged for 19 runs in the solitary over he bowled to the Delhi Daredevils. That baptism of fire exposed him to batsman he rates most highly. “Even though I only bowled the one over, I can tell you that Virender Sehwag is one of the most difficult batsmen to bowl to in the world”. Punjab lost to the Kolkata Knight Riders in their second match, with Abdulla being clobbered for 20 runs in two overs.A change in the Kings XI’s fortunes has been followed up with a change in fortunes for Abdulla as well. He’s notched up figures of 4 for 31 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, among them the wickets of Kevin Pietersen and Jacques Kallis. His return of 3 for 21 against the Rajasthan Royals catapulted him into the top five leading wicket-takers in the tournament. And he went to joint second with a stellar last over in Punjab’s victory against the Mumbai Indians last night.Eager student: Abdulla is keen to learn from his more experienced Punjab team-mates•AFPMany credit his success to the softer wickets of the coast, which tend to favour swing bowlers, and say the real test will come when the IPL moves inland. Abdulla himself says it hasn’t been that easy. “Everybody says the wickets in Durban and Cape Town will suit me, but it has been tough. These wickets are being played on for anything like three matches in a row and by then they are behaving differently to what I am used to. It all depends on what happens on the day and how well I bowl.”Abdulla is still overwhelmed by the leap from provincial cricket into the IPL. He says the immense quality of players in the IPL still mesmerises him. “The main difference between the IPL and domestic cricket is that, for example, when I play against the Lions I am bowling to an opening combination of Alviro Petersen and Jean Symes, but in theIPL it’s to Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum. So even though I am not saying domestic cricket isn’t challenging, the IPL is a step higher and there’s one quality player after the next”.That exposure to players of the highest calibre is also affording Abdulla the opportunity to absorb advice from international players. “I believe in learning wherever I go. The best thing about the IPL is that I am learning from more than one guy all the time. I get advice from players like Yuvraj Singh, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and IrfanPathan.”At 26 he is not ashamed of seeking guidance. “I am quite close to Hashim Amla, not just in cricketing matters. I talk to him about all sorts of things, and I’d say we are the best of friends”.Abdullah says he couldn’t be happier about his extended summer. “There has been absolutely no strain on my body at all and I am really happy to be a part of this. I am just really enjoying it.”

The New York Yankees will live to play one more day. Facing a potential World Series sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers, they managed to rally, taking Game 4 by a score of 11–4 to climb back to a 3–1 deficit in the series. Highlighted by a grand slam from shortstop Anthony Volpe, the offense finally came alive for New York, taking advantage of a bullpen game by Los Angeles. That sets up one more game in the Bronx on Wednesday. 

Here are three takeaways from the action: 

The Bottom of the Yankees Lineup Delivers

Volpe’s grand slam was the sort of moment the Yankees had been desperate for in this series. Here was not just a big hit, but a critically timely one, and from an unexpected source. 

The 23-year-old shortstop has gone through his share of ups and downs this year. (Including in the second inning on Tuesday, when he drew a walk and put himself in scoring position with a steal, only to fail to make it home on a double because of a baserunning blunder.) But he authored the defining moment of his young career with his grand slam in the third inning. It erased an early Dodgers lead and paved the way for a Yankees victory. And it was just one piece of an incredible night for the bottom of this lineup.

No. 7 hitter Volpe finished 2-for-3 with his homer, a double, a walk and two steals, becoming the first player ever to collect four RBIs and two stolen bases in a World Series game. The only hitter who nearly matched that production? No. 8 hitter Austin Wells. The catcher has struggled at the plate all October. Yet he, too, was 2-for-3 with a home run, double, walk and a steal. (The pair executed a double steal in the eighth inning.) The Yankees needed a big night from their bats. They certainly got it—anchored by some unlikely hitters.

APSTEIN: Anthony Volpe Lives Out a Childhood Dream to Revive Yankees’ World Series Hopes

The Dodgers’ Bullpen Saves its Best Arms 

The Dodgers’ lack of healthy starters has meant that every postseason round includes a bullpen game or two. While the approach has generally worked for them—including in the clinching game of the NLCS—this one was more of a slog. They began with rookie Ben Casparius, making his first career start, before giving the ball to Daniel Hudson, who gave up the grand slam to Volpe, and then Landon Knack. 

Yet they were able to get something crucial there. With the Dodgers trailing, Knack was able to eat up the middle of the game, throwing four innings while allowing one run. He was followed by Brent Honeywell, Jr., who let the game break open for the Yankees. This was certainly not the ideal scenario for the Dodgers. (That would have been completing the sweep to win the World Series.) But this was the ideal way to lose. 

It kept the Dodgers from having to use any of their high-leverage relief arms. The Yankees did not see Alex Vesia, or Ryan Brasier, or Anthony Banda, or Michael Kopech, or Blake Treinen. The Dodgers would have preferred not to have a Game 5. But if they were going to have one, this was exactly how they would have liked to set it up. 

Aaron Judge—Kind of—Finds a Way Through His Slump

Judge spent the first seven innings of Game 4 getting on base every way but hitting. He worked a walk, got hit by a pitch and put himself in position to benefit from a grounder bobbled by Dodgers shortstop Tommy Edman. 

It was not exactly a dream performance. But it beat what Judge had been doing in almost every other game this October. 

And finally, in the eighth inning, with Honeywell on mop-up duty for the Dodgers, the slugger connected for some good contact. With an RBI single to left field, Judge had his first hit since Game 1, and he was greeted with resounding cheers from the home crowd. This was not an emphatic slumpbuster. But it was, at the very least, something different, and much, much better.

Sri Lanka’s batting woes start from the top and that has troubled them for over a year

Jamie Alter in Colombo25-Aug-2008
All the top order really had to do was to see off India’s four key men and attack the fifth, but by the time Yuvraj Singh came on to bowl his part-time spin, Sri Lanka were already deep in the mire © AFP
If Sri Lanka are to turn this series around and add to their Test triumph, their much-vaunted batting line-up has to come out of its current trough. On Sunday, for the second game running, India’s medium-pace trio of Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar and Munaf Patel left the batsmen searching for answers. The script read much the same as in Dambulla, the only difference being that Sri Lanka were chasing under lights.Mahela Jayawardene has been the first to admit Sri Lanka have not batted well in the last three games. One or two players have had good days but, as a unit, the batting has failed to either put runs on the board for the bowlers to defend, or chase targets. The problem starts at the top and runs right through.In 24 innings since the World Cup, Sri Lankan openers average 21.23, with only two fifty-plus stands against non-minnow sides (Bangladesh, Zimbabwe). In the last 20 innings, their best start has been 45. During the first 15 overs of these matches, the average runs per wicket has been 22.89, scored at 4.26 runs an over, which converts into an average 15-over score of 64 runs for 2.8 wickets, or effectively 64 for 3. That is just not good enough against top teams.In this series the preferred openers, Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara, have put on 18, 4 and 18, not once threatening to bolt out of the stables. Jayasuriya, after his feats in the IPL and Asia Cup, was expected to be a major threat but he has disappointed. Not once has he managed to bat out the Powerplays.Sangakkara’s form has been especially worrying. His scores since being promoted to open the innings in the West Indies earlier this year are 23, 28, 1, 101, 0, 112, 121, 7, 4, 19, 2 and 9. Those three hundreds came in the Asia Cup, two against Bangladesh. The last five scores have come against India. His dismissals by Zaheer Khan in the last two matches were classic examples of failing to cope with precision and subtle inswing. Not a natural opener, Sangakkara has been bumped up to get more time at the crease, and against the Indians it doesn’t seem to be working.When asked, earlier in the series, if Sangakkara was not performing due to the pressure of opening, Jayawardene shot back, “When he is scoring centuries you don’t ask these questions. Every batsman has highs and lows. The idea of playing Sangakkara as an opener is to have some senior batsman get more balls to play”. However, with two other specialist openers in the squad, Mahela Udawatte and Malinda Warnapura, the time may have come to use one of them. Warnapura scored good runs in the Test series and Udawatte has impressive scores of 73 and 67 in his last two ODIs.By sticking in a new opener, Sangakkara could then easily slot back into the No. 3 position. He is a firm believer in orthodoxy and batting for time, and he could be better suited to one-drop, where he has batted for most of his careerSri Lanka’s problem is aggravated because their best batsmen traditionally bat at Nos 1, 2 and 3 – a top-order failure invariably puts immense pressure on a brittle middle order. By sticking in a new opener, Sangakkara could then easily slot back into the No. 3 position. He is a firm believer in orthodoxy and batting for time, and he could be better suited to one-drop, where he has batted for most of his career. Jayawardene could then go back to his preferred No. 4 slot. It makes for a more balanced line-up.Chamara Kapugedera’s promotion to No.3 flopped on Sunday but the bigger concern for Sri Lanka is over Chamara Silva, who some locals consider very lucky to be even carrying a bat. He burst onto the scene before the World Cup last year and scored 878 runs at 46.21. His last 11 innings have one fifty; his last three scores read 0, 0, 1. Tillakaratne Dilshan, like Silva, remains a livewire in the field but his batting hasn’t clicked. In the last two matches he has attempted to play his shots in desperation and failed.Given that India only had four specialist bowlers yesterday, a change in strategy could have worked. All the top order really had to do was see off India’s four key men and attack the fifth but, by the time Yuvraj Singh came on to bowl his part-time spin, Sri Lanka were already deep in the mire. Dilshan’s decision to attack hurt his team all the more. There are murmurs that Thilan Samaraweera, who benefited from a change in approach, will be selected, though he’s not in the squad.The Premadasa pitch did a lot more under lights, but that is not an excuse Jayawardene will give for another sloppy batting display, because he batted superbly for his 94. Apart from Jayawardene, there appeared an element of complacency on the part of seniors, who disregarded what they’ve urged the younger team-mates to do – stay out there for as long as possible.Sri Lanka’s ODI fortunes have been sliding after darkness descended on that April evening in Barbados during the World Cup final, and they are still searching for the light. Jayawardene spoke in Dambulla about how much of his team’s slump since the World Cup final was because of the batting. The biggest challenge for Sri Lanka, before the series slips away, is to try and overcome their jitters. Jayawardene will surely lead from the front, but the harder part is getting his team-mates to follow his lead.

County cricket’s finest overseas signing talks of how he had to leave his country to get his due, and the change religion has made to his life and career

Sriram Veera14-Oct-2008

Going out with a bang: Mushy leads Sussex off the field after taking 13 wickets in their last game of his penultimate county season, 2007 © Getty Images
Some 15 minutes into our chat Mushtaq Ahmed sums his philosophy up in a nutshell: “You can’t buy respect with wickets.” Self-respect and right conduct are recurring themes through the conversation, and they figure prominently in the explanations for his absence from the Pakistan team during the years he shone for Sussex. So does talk of his faith, of course.The obvious question is thrown across early: How come he was not playing for Pakistan during his successful Sussex period? In 2003 Mushtaq became the first bowler in five years to take 100 wickets in an English season, helping end Sussex’s 164-year wait for the County Championship. He repeated the feat in 2006, and then took 90 wickets in the next season, taking Sussex to a two more titles, before retiring to play in the ICL. His last appearance for his country, though, came in 2003.”I didn’t get a single phone call when I played all those years for Sussex,” Mushtaq says. He isn’t bitter, however. “I have no regrets. I am at complete peace with my career and life. I have never ever criticised anybody and I won’t do it, but I am just raising this point so that the people know what was their mistake.”We are in an elegant mahogany-panelled room in a plush five-star hotel in Hyderabad, where Mushtaq is playing in the ICL for the Lahore Badshahs, led by his friend Inzamam-ul-Haq. When Mushy, smiling, robed in a flowing , came gliding in, looking serene, the room grew quiet immediately.Mushtaq rarely raises his voice through the interview, even when he has a strong point to make – and especially when it happens to be against the Pakistan board. If the board or selectors didn’t call him, couldn’t Inzamam, as the captain, have supported Mushtaq’s case? “I never asked him why I was not playing and he has never told me. He backed Danish Kaneria. Our base of friendship was never about cricket and it will never be, Inshallah. I never want any favours from my friends.”So just why does he think he wasn’t called by the selectors? “You have to go see them, say hi to them. It’s never about your ability. It’s everything to do with your contacts, and I don’t believe in that. People in the board think, ‘He has to come to us.’ They have ego.”Maybe I have my ego too,” he says with a smile, but quickly retracts, unhappy at the choice of word. It’s against his faith. “Ego is a bad word. For me it was about self-respect and morals.””When I have performed why should I go and tell them? Once, someone asked me why I was not playing. I told them I was playing in the domestics. I was the captain and the highest wicket taker. That is the best answer I can give – performance, right? In Pakistan you have to go see the selectors, say hi to them. It’s never about your ability. It’s everything to do with your contacts, and I don’t believe in that “He said, ‘You are not showing interest.’ I said, ‘How does one does that?’ He told me to go and tell them [selectors, board], ‘I want to play.'”I don’t want to do that. I played these games and got so many wickets. What does that show, that I don’t want to play for my country?”How did he handle that phase of his career? “I got my best support from religion,” Mushtaq says. “Once, the Prophet Mohammed’s companion asked him, ‘Who is the strongest among us?’ And he said, ‘The strongest is the one who forgives the other.’ That struck me a great deal. You tell me how difficult it is not to take revenge.”Talk turns to Kaneria and the words “decline” and “detractors” slip out. Mushtaq’s response is revealing of the man. “I have always backed Danish. There is no decline.” A slight pause before he adds, “He has taken 200 wickets in 47 or 48 Test matches. He was the quickest Pakistan spinner to get 200 wickets. He or Saqlain.” (Saqlain, as it happens, who reached the mark in 46 Tests, one less than Kaneria.)”And then on the other side there are bowlers who have not performed for Pakistan but still get more recognition. I don’t want to name them.”Shoaib Akhtar, maybe?”I don’t want to mention. People can guess. They will have a fair idea. Danish is not getting the recognition and respect he deserves. If the guy is performing well, taking wickets, and you get him down from the A category in the contracts to C, then what does that mean?” It’s a statement, not a question.Respect cuts both ways
We move on to the reasons for his success in county cricket. “The environment,” is the quick answer. “I was enjoying it. It’s like you want to go back home after a hard day’s work – you know your parents or your wife will make you happy and less tired. In Sussex I didn’t even have to ask, ‘Where are my socks?’ Everything was organised. If my family had problems, there was a guy who would take them to the doctor. So I didn’t have any worries, and I started enjoying it more and more. It’s natural that if you take care of me, I will do my best as well.”For their part, the English fell in love with Mushtaq too. After he retired, at least one newspaper wondered if he was the finest foreign player in county cricket history.”It’s a great honour for me,” Mushtaq says. “Last year Peter Moores left his practice and made a speech for me. I was very emotional and thanked Allah. Now they are organising a dinner for me, in January or February.”

“You realise destiny is not in your hand” © PA Photos
He tries to be analytical about why he got the respect and acclaim he did. “Obviously my performance was good, but more importantly the way you behave is very important. You can get five wickets, but if you are bad in the dressing room then you cannot get that respect. It doesn’t matter how big a player you are. You’ve got to respect others, be loyal to the team. Hopefully I have done that.”I was given a Citizen of the Year award. The previous year Fatboy Slim got it. I was the only Pakistani – in fact, the first foreigner to get that award. You don’t get that respect with wickets.”Finding my religion
How did the change from a boisterous young cricketer to this serene alter ego come about? Some have said the match-fixing controversy of the 1990s damaged Mushtaq, and that his religious turn was inspired by a desire for redemption.He only offers a lack of peace of mind as the reason. “I had got wickets, I had played for Pakistan, but peace was missing. If you have a new car and are getting worried that someone will smash it, then what’s the use of that car?”It was a former team-mate who first sowed the seeds of faith in Mushtaq. “Zulqarnain – you remember the Sharjah game where [Javed] Miandad hit that last ball six? He was the wicketkeeper – had turned religious and took lots of effort to teach me. He said we would have to leave this world sooner rather than later. ‘Have you prepared for the last world?’ he asked me.”I did take a little bit of time. He was a big influence. Then, of course, Saeed Anwar. The real change came after the 1999 World Cup.”Mushtaq’s concern about the afterlife has had a big impact on his here and now. It has helped his cricket flourish. “I didn’t worry about the results. You realise destiny is not in your hand. I started to enjoy the game more.”There is a prayer I say a lot: ‘Oh mighty Allah, show me the direction that you like and not what I like.’ As human beings, we make mistakes.”On that note, the chat is over and he gets up as he spots Rana Naved-ul-Hasan. “Rana, ” (Isn’t it time for Let’s go.)

The Serie A club have launched a breathtaking new kit and have called on their brand new signing to feature as the poster boy

Genoa have just released their first-ever jersey in black colours, which will be used as the club’s third kit for the 2024-25 season. An unprecedented uniform in the club's history, the simple design with black as the predominant colour also features gold details.

To unveil the third kit, Genoa brought back “The Golden Dark Side of Genova” project, a campaign that began last season when the club released its gold kit.

The project celebrates the new third jersey and the urban fabric and cultural diversity of the city which can be heard in the soundtrack “Genovarabe” by trap group Helmi Sa7bi. They are part of the professionals from the world of music and photography who have elevated the overall production of this campaign.

Features of the new shirt include the various silhouettes of the Grifone – the main figure in Genoa's logo – spread all over the shirt. “DALL’INIZIO, PER SEMPRE” (FROM THE BEGINNING AND FOREVER) can be read on the collar, a tribute to the identity and history of the oldest club in Italy.

A symbol of identity, inclusion, and pride for the city of Genoa: the third kit represents the commitment of Genoa CFC to promote the fusion of cultures and languages, the connection with the territory, and the extraordinary liveliness of the indigenous music movement.

Empower Sports MARIO ONLY SMILES WHEN HE WANTS TOAdvertisementEmpower Sports AS GOOD OFF THE PITCH AS ON ITEmpower Sports THE GRIFONE IS EVERYWHEREEmpower SportsKAPPA HAVE GOT IT ABSOLUTELY SPOT ON

No team before New Zealand has won a Test by over 300 runs after losing the previous Test in the same series by over 300 runs

Sampath Bandarupalli17-Dec-2024423 – New Zealand’s victory margin of 423 runs in Hamilton is their joint-highest by runs in Test cricket. They won by the same margin runs against Sri Lanka in 2018 in Christchurch after setting a target of 660 runs.1 – New Zealand is the first team to win by a margin of over 300 runs after losing the previous Test in the series by over 300 runs – they lost the second Test of the series against England by 323 runs in Wellington.This has never happened before.England beat Australia by 322 runs in the first match of the 1936-37 Ashes before Australia returned the favour with a 365-run win in the third Test.Related

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Twice before has a team won consecutive Tests in a series by over 300 runs.South Africa beat Australia by 307 and 323 runs in consecutive matches in the 1970 home series and did the same in the home series in 2018 with victories by 322 and 492 runs.10 – New Zealand have played ten Tests at Seddon Park since their previous defeat there, in 2012 against South Africa. They have won eight out of these ten, while the other two ended in draws.1 – England is the first team to lose by a margin of 400-plus runs twice in a calendar year – they suffered a 434-run defeat against India in February in Rajkot.Six of the 15 instances of wins by 400-plus runs in Tests have come against England.13 – Men to have scored 40-plus runs and taken three or more wickets in both innings of a Test match, including Mitchell Santner in Hamilton. He is the first player to achieve this feat in men’s Test cricket since Daniel Vettori against Bangladesh in Chattogram in 2008.ESPNcricinfo Ltd1925 – Runs by Joe Root in Tests against New Zealand, the most by any batter, surpassing Javed Miandad’s tally of 1919. Root also has the most runs by a batter in Tests against India, with 2846.Root is only the second player to be the leading run-scorer against two different teams. Kumar Sangakkara is the top-scorer in Tests against both Pakistan (2911) and Bangladesh (1816).1006 – Root’s runs in New Zealand in Tests, making him the first visiting player to score over 1000 Test runs in the country. Root also has the most 50-plus scores in New Zealand by a visiting player – he has done it eight times.27 – Test wickets for Santner in 2024, making it the joint-most wickets by a New Zealand spinner in a calendar year since Vettori took 54 in 2008. Vettori also took 27 wickets in Tests in 2009.7 – Hauls of four or more wickets by New Zealand spinners in Tests in 2024. Santner and Ajaz Patel each took three, while Glenn Phillips contributed one. This tally is the second highest for New Zealand’s spinners in a calendar year, behind the nine they recorded in 2008, of which eight were by Vettori.

Uncapped pacer Mohammad Saleem and big-hitter Darwish Rasooli also make squad of 15

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Sep-2022Uncapped fast bowler Mohammad Saleem has made it to Afghanistan’s 15-player squad for the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia in October-November. He is among three call-ups for the tournament, the others being legspinner Qais Ahmad and batter Darwish Rasooli.Saleem had finished joint-sixth in the Shpageeza Cricket League, Afghanistan’s domestic T20 tournament, with 11 wickets for Boost Defenders at an impressive economy rate of 6.63. Qais, a globe-trotting T20 specialist, had topped the wicket-takers’ list in that tournament, with 14 wickets in eight outings at an economy of 6.35. Qais has plied his trade in Australia’s Big Bash League, the Caribbean Premier League, the Lanka Premier League and England’s T20 Blast. Most recently, he was signed by Gulf Giants for the inaugural edition of the International League T20 to be played in the UAE next January.Rasooli had played only two games for Amo Sharks in the Shpageeza Cricket League, but in those two he smacked 41 not out off 19 and 51 off 30.While Saleem is yet to debut in international cricket, Qais and Rasooli have played a handful of games for Afghanistan. Qais has debuted across all three formats, but his last game for Afghanistan was on the tour of Bangladesh in March. The last of Rasooli’s four T20Is was on the tour of Zimbabwe in June.ESPNcricinfo LtdAfghanistan’s chief selector Noor Malikzai said of the new faces: “Fortunately Darwish Rasooli has recovered from injury – a broken finger – and we are happy to have him available for the T20 World Cup. He has demonstrated good glimpses of [what he can do] in the previously held Shpageeza Cricket League 2022, and offers an additional batting option to our middle order.”Since the Australian conditions are fast-bowling friendly, so we have added [Mohammad] Saleem, a tall right-arm quick, to add further impetus to our bowling department.”Afghanistan’s previous T20I assignment was the Asia Cup in the UAE, where they impressed by thumping eventual champions Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the first round before falling narrowly short of upsetting Pakistan in a dramatic Super 4s game.From the squad that played that tournament, Samiullah Shinwari, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Karim Janat, Noor Ahmad and Afsar Zazai miss out. Zazai is one of four reserves named for the T20 World Cup, alongside Sharafuddin Ashraf, Gulbadin Naib and Rahmat Shah.Afghanistan have already made it to the main round of the T20 World Cup, where they are grouped alongside hosts Australia, England, New Zealand and two yet-to-be-determined qualifiers. They kick off their tournament against England in Perth on October 22. The top two teams from each of the two groups will contest the semi-finals, before the final on November 13.T20 World Cup squad: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Najibullah Zadran, Qais Ahmad, Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani, Mohammad Nabi (capt), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Saleem, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Rashid Khan
Reserves: Afsar Zazai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Gulbadin Naib, Rahmat Shah
In: Darwish Rasooli, Mohammad Saleem, Qais Ahmad
Out: Samiullah Shinwari, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Karim Janat, Noor Ahmad, Afsar Zazai (named in reserves)

JJ Watt has explained why he swapped “one seat at a game” in NFL for a place on Burnley’s board, with the American football icon now fully invested.

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Could have stayed in American footballWanted to step out of comfort zoneExperienced highs & lows with ClaretsFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

After taking the decision to hang up his cleats, Watt was eager to remain involved with sport in some capacity. It would have been easy for him to stick with what he knows, having established a reputation as an all-time great in the world of gridiron.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Even his wealth would not make much of an impact in NFL circles, though, with the decision taken to step well outside of a professional comfort zone and join the ranks at Burnley – with quite the adventure being taken in there.

WHAT JJ WATT SAID

Watt has told : "You look at an American football club, right now they're all valued at billions and billions of dollars. You take my amount of money and put it into that and congratulations, you have one seat at a game, not at the board table, not at anything. You come over here and the valuations are different and there's more opportunity.

“I saw an opportunity to get involved at a level I wanted to be involved at, be in the board meetings, learn and grow, while also injecting something, bringing something to the club in terms of global notoriety, eyeballs to the game etc.”

Getty ImagesDID YOU KNOW?

Watt has experienced the highs and lows of promotion and relegation into and out of the Premier League during his association with the Clarets. It is that rollercoaster of emotions – which does not exist in American sport – that helped to lure him towards Turf Moor.

Stats highlights from the Nagpur Test where India handed South Africa their first away-series defeat in nine years

Shiva Jayaraman27-Nov-20152006 The last time South Africa lost a Test series overseas, whitewashed 2-0 by Sri Lanka. Between then and now, they had remained unbeaten in 15 consecutive away series. That streak is only bettered by West Indies’ 18 consecutive series from 1980 to 1995.7/66 R Ashwin’s figures in the second innings. They are his best in both Tests – beating the 7 for 103 he took against Australia in Chennai in 2012-13 – and first-class cricket. JP Duminy, in South Africa’s second innings, became Ashwin’s 300th first-class wicket. He added three more to that tally and averages 26.90.15 five-wicket hauls for Ashwin – equalling the most taken by any spinner in their first 31 Tests. Australia’s Clarrie Grimmett had been the sole record-holder until today, while South Africa’s Hugh Tayfield is third on this list with 14.169 Wickets by Ashwin – the most by a spinner in his first 31 Tests beating Grimmett’s tally of 164. A broader search including all kinds of bowlers indicates only two have been better wicket-takers than Ashwin after their first 31 Tests. England seamer Sydney Barnes with 189 wickets (in 27 Tests) tops the charts while Pakistan fast bowler Waqar Younis took 180 wickets at 18.78.55 Wickets for Ashwin in 2015, the most by any bowler. It is also only the 12th time an Indian has taken 50 or more wickets in a calendar year, Harbhajan Singh was the last to the mark with 63 wickets in 2008. Ashwin’s six five-fors this year also equals the most by an Indian in a year.17.81 Ashwin’s bowling average in 2015 – currently the third-best for any spinner with at least 50 wickets in a calendar year. Only Muttiah Muralitharan, who averaged lower in two separate years, has done better. Muralitharan took 55 wickets at 17.80 in 2002 and 90 at 16.90 in 2006. Ashwin’s strike rate of 34.20 this year is the second-best for any bowler who has taken at least 50 wickets in a year. Only Waqar has done better: he took 55 wickets at 29.50 in 1993.1 Instance since 1900 when a Test ending with a decisive result had an individual top score lower than the 40 scored by M Vijay in this Test. And it had come quite recently: Rahul Dravid had top-scored with 39 in the Hamilton Test in 2002-03 that New Zealand won. Overall, this was only the 14th Test without an individual fifty to end in a result.1 Instance when a bowler has returned better match figures against South Africa since their return to Test cricket than Ashwin’s 12 for 98 in this match. Muttiah Muralitharan took 13 for 171 in Galle in 2000.1912 The last time South Africa’s batsmen averaged worse in a series involving three or more matches. Their average on this tour of India has been 14.32, with only two fifties from 55 innings, but they had averaged 11.30 in three Tests against England 103 years ago. Overall, batsmen from both teams have together have averaged just 16.90, which is also the third-worst in any series involving three or more Tests.8 Batsmen who were dismissed for scores between (and including) 30 and 40 in this Test. The last Test that had eight or more such scores was the Ashes Test in Sydney in 2010-11. Overall, there are only eight such instances.13 South Africa batsmen who were dismissed for single digits in this Test, which makes it the fourth time that at least 13 batsmen fell between 0 and 9 since their readmission to Test cricket. The last time was against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2004.14.85 Runs conceded per wicket by India’s bowlers against South Africa so far – the best they have averaged in a series with more than one Test. Their previous best was against New Zealand in 1995-96, when they had averaged 18.51. India’s bowling average is also the fifth-best for a team in a series with at least two Tests since 1950. The last time a team did better was in 2012-13, when West Indies’ bowlers had averaged 14.47 against Zimbabwe, taking 40 wickets in two Tests.2012 The last time a South African pair lasted more deliveries in an away Test than the 278 by Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis in the Nagpur Test. Du Plessis was there again, with AB de Villiers in Adelaide, when they faced 408 deliveries for 89 runs. This was South Africa’s fourth-longest fourth-innings stand in away Tests (since balls faced information is available for partnerships). This was also the longest stand of the series bettering the 184 balls by Cheteshwar Pujara and M Vijay in the second innings of the Mohali Test.