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They haven’t been in action since April, and have rested some players for the Australia T20Is, but Shamsi backs them to hit the ground running

Firdose Moonda28-Aug-2023A colder-than-normal winter in South Africa was accompanied by a quieter-than-normal cricket schedule which saw both the national men’s and women’s side out of action for several months. This week, with spring on the horizon, they’re back.The women, who have not played since reaching the T20 World Cup final in February, are in Pakistan for their first tour to that country while the men, who have been on a break since early April, take on Australia at home.It’s the start of an important period for both sides: a rebuilding phase for the women, who have lost senior players to retirement and a rebirth for the men’s team, after they finished last summer on a high under new support staff and now stack up for the ODI World Cup. In the months they’ve been inactive as national teams, some of their players have plied their trade in leagues around the world while others have balanced between taking a break and attending training camps and now, they say they’re ready to begin again.Even though South Africa’s international stocks are no longer as high as they once were – the men are ranked fifth in T20Is and sixth in ODIs – with ICC events every year, they have their eyes on at least one of the big prizes. And this time, they believe they are building the depth required for major tournament success and will start by testing that against the team who have historically pushed all their buttons: Australia.Related

• South Africa call up Dewald Brevis for Australia series

• Marsh excited to unfurl Johnson and Sangha in SA

• Wade replaces injured Maxwell for South Africa T20Is

South Africa are resting key personnel from the curtain-raising T20Is. None of Kagiso Rabada, Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Heinrich Klaasen or Wayne Parnell will play in the three-match series, with Dewald Brevis, Donovan Ferreira and Matthew Breetzke in line for debuts. Given that those three have already made their names on the T20 franchise circuit, Tabraiz Shamsi was bullish when asked if they were going into the next series as second best.”Why would the South African cricket team be underdogs against anybody?” Shamsi replied. “Look at the quality in our change room, look at the quality of players we have and even though we’ve rested a few senior players, the guys who have come in are not weak links. Absolutely not. No matter who the opposition is, no matter how good they are, we respect them but we are not underdogs against any team in the world.”Assuming South Africa are going in undercooked is not entirely incorrect, especially against the backdrop of what their opposition have been doing. While South Africa were out of action, Australia (albeit not all the members of the T20I squad) were involved in one of the most intense English summers in recent memory. They competed in the World Test Championship final, and beat India, and then retained the Ashes with a 2-2 draw. While Shamsi would never discount the advantage of regular, competitive cricket, he pointed out that it does not always mean better preparation.”There’re pros and cons as we can see with the Australians, who have been playing a lot of cricket,” he said. “They’ve got a number of guys with injury concerns where we don’t necessarily have that sort of problem.”Pat Cummins, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc and, most recently, Glenn Maxwell will all miss the T20Is with varying degrees of injuries while South Africa boast a fully fit and firing group that has been “put through our paces”, as Shamsi put it.”We’ve been working very hard,” he said. “Honestly, these dark circles under the eyes, they are not natural. We are well prepared.”Though it was hard to tell through a Zoom screen (yes, that’s still a thing), Shamsi did not look particularly tired, but cut a lean figure as a testament to the training he has been doing. He has also had some recent game time in the Lanka Premier League, where he finished as the joint third-highest wicket-taker in conditions which he hopes could mirror those at the World Cup in India.Tabraiz Shamsi made a splash in the Lanka Premier League with his left-arm wristspin•SLC”It was really nice to go to Sri Lanka and play a little bit in the subcontinent,” he said. “In terms of being game-ready, it definitely helps that I have played quite a lot of games in the last month.”What that means for his role in the national side remains to be seen. Though Shamsi had established himself as the premier spinner in the white-ball side throughout 2021 and 2022, he lost ground to Keshav Maharaj more recently, But Maharaj ruptured his Achilles in March and was expected to be out for the rest of the year. He has made a quicker-than-expected recovery and has been included in the squad along with Shamsi and Bjorn Fortuin. It is expected that only two of the three will make it to the World Cup, though Shamsi does not have any certainty on it just yet.”I’m not too sure,” he said. “We are going to see what happens with the make-up of the squad. But I just want to say, it’s a massive effort that Keshav has put in with his recovery. It normally takes about eight or nine months to recover from something like that. So that’s a huge credit to him and the medical staff that has helped him to recover. We are looking forward to having him back on the park and doing the magic that he does.”A call on whether Maharaj plays in the second and third T20I will be taken later this week, with the ODI series a priority. Though the T20Is are clearly experimental at this stage, Shamsi still described playing in them as a “responsibility” and said the results matter. “We don’t want to think too far ahead and look at the World Cup because we have eight international games ahead of that. I’m sure people won’t be happy if we lose eight games in a row,” he joked.Especially not against Australia.”Any opportunity you get to play, if it goes well for you, there’re a lot of positives you can take from it and even if a game or two doesn’t go your way, you learn from it,” he said. “You pick up on points and mistakes that you’ve made so that you can ensure that come the big, crunch games in the World Cup, you don’t repeat the mistakes. Australians like to play hard and so do we. It’s going to be spicy, it’s going to be exciting and that’s the way we like to play our cricket as well.”

Assistant coach says England will continue to target victory despite precarious overnight position

Andrew Miller06-Dec-20251:32

Trescothick: Trying to play the way we want to play

Marcus Trescothick, England’s assistant coach, insisted that the team would continue to stick to their principles, and “remain focused on how we try and win the game” despite a gruesome day with bat and ball at the Gabba that has left them on the brink of a 2-0 deficit in the Ashes.Speaking to TNT Sports shortly after the close of the third day’s play, Trescothick said that the team remained “fairly philosophical about what we’re trying to do”, but added that they were “not quite operating as we need to at the moment”, after a collapse of 6 for 80 in the floodlit evening session had torpedoed their hopes of overturning a 177-run deficit with wickets in hand.As had been the case in the first Test at Perth, England’s collapse came after a strong start to their second innings, and was largely of their own making. After reaching the dinner interval on 48 for 0, Ben Duckett was unlucky to be bowled by a ball from Scott Boland that kept low, but Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley then departed while driving on the up to Michael Neser – precisely the flawed shot selection that had left to a match-turning collapse of 3 for 0 in the series opener.It ran counter to the call from England’s first-innings centurion Joe Root, for his team-mates to “express themselves in the right way”, and whereas he’d salvaged the innings from 5 for 2 on the first day, this time he had no response. Mitchell Starc had been successfully negotiated by the openers but returned to prise Root out for 15, and when Harry Brook and Jamie Smith were extracted before the close, England still trailed by 43 runs with just Ben Stokes and Will Jacks of their recognised batters remaining.”They’ve been better than us today, and they’ve dominated today,” Trescothick said. “They’ve put us under a lot of pressure, and it’s always challenging when that happens.”We’re trying to score as many runs as we can. We’re trying to take wickets when we can. In certain areas, we probably haven’t been as good as we need to be, for long enough. And we’re trying, obviously, to do that and trying to put that right all the time.”Trescothick’s phlegmatic response to a catastrophic day was in keeping with England’s bid to maintain a positive team environment, and echoed similarly outlandish professions of optimism in previous contests – perhaps, most notably, spin coach Jeetan Patel’s insistence, on the eve of Ollie Pope’s astonishing 196 to beat India in Hyderabad in 2024, that “nothing was impossible” for this team and their self-belief.However, Pope will be back in the spotlight once again this evening, and for less glorious reasons. For the second match running, his skittish display when well set was the root cause of England’s collapse – in Perth, his inability to keep the score moving after a fast start resulted in a loose drive that cost him his wicket; here, with the conditions at their toughest and the onus on keeping wickets in hand until the morning session, he survived two wild drives in three deliveries that nearly went to hand off Brendan Doggett, before poking a return catch to Michael Neser in the very next over.Related

• Pope runs out of rope as Bazball's poster-boy turns fall-guy

• Australia's tail smokes and chars predictable England in Gabba cauldron

Trescothick, however, refused to point fingers, and held back from criticizing the decision-making that had undermined England’s chances.”Of course, we work with them as coaches,” he said. “Myself, Baz [McCullum] will talk with them about what we’re trying to do, and the principle of our game, and how we’re trying to play our style of play.”When we get it right, sometimes we really dominate and we put pressure on oppositions, and at times we don’t always get it right, and we play bad shots, and potentially, of course, that gets highlighted.”But it is what it is. You’ve got to have some way of trying to play the game. Of course, we’ll look back on it, and every game, every innings, and talk with batters and discuss what we’re trying to do. And we’ll say, yeah, keep going … stick with trying to work out how we’re going to make it better for next time. We’ve got to stick to our principles and what we’re trying to do.”The irony is that Australia’s entire team offered a demonstration in how to build an innings on a cracked Gabba surface that, as Duckett discovered, can offer a few rogue deliveries but broadly speaking has played very true throughout. Every Australian from No.1-11 reached double-figures, for the first time since 1992, while none of them faced fewer than 30 balls.”Once the guys have been in the field for a period of time, like they have in the heat, and then you’re starting to lose a couple of wickets, it’s always tough,” Trescothick said. “We’ve been good in parts. We’ve had periods in the game where we’ve been sustained pressure, and put Australia under that the scrutiny that we needed to, it’s just maybe they’ve then fought back.”They’ve got through the periods of the new ball well, and made it tricky for us, so fair play to them. It’s not just necessarily things that we’ve done wrong. I think Australia have been pretty consistent in what they’ve tried to do.”It’s pretty obvious what they’re trying to do. They’re just trying to smash away on a good length, especially Boland from the far end … there’s a big crack just outside the channel of off stump, we’re all aware of that. They’ve hit consistent areas, and they’ve put us under pressure.”England arrived in Australia with high hopes of competing for their first series win in the country since 2010-11, and their first Ashes victory since 2015. Right now, however, they are racing towards their 15th defeat in their last 17 Tests, and arguably their most humiliating yet, given the chances they’ve had to dominate, and the relative weakness of a team that has been lacking three all-time great bowlers in Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon.”When momentum gets in their favour and they do get on top of you, it’s obviously always a challenge.” Trescothick said. “We are strong enough, we are good enough to challenge with it at times and put a bit pressure back on, if you like. It’s just not quite happened today.”We’re trying to work that out ourselves,” he added, when asked how England had let so many strong positions slip away. “We can be a bit more consistent in the style and in the momentum of the game, and try and keep on top of it when we need to be. And potentially, we haven’t quite matched up to that when we needed to be. But you’ve got to try and remain focused and positive on what you’re trying to do.”We’ve still got an opportunity here. Yes, we’re behind still in the context of the game. We’ve got to come out tomorrow, try and get a partnership going with the last few wickets that we have, and get a total on the board that we can maybe have a little dart at.”The guys are disappointed, but we’re still trying to remain focused on how we try and win the game.”

On Sunday, the Mariners won a home playoff game for the first time since 2001 by defeating the Tigers 3-2. Seattle won Game 2 of the American League Division Series, and plays Game 3 of the series in Detroit on Tuesday.

It was a special moment for a franchise that recently overcame a 21-year playoff drought in 2022 and is now looking to go on a run.

As the Mariners pursue a World Series title, here's a look at Seattle's postseason history.

Have the Mariners Ever Won the World Series?

The Mariners have never won the World Series or even been to a World Series at that. Seattle is the only MLB team that has yet to reach the World Series, and is one of five teams that has never won it, along with the Padres, Brewers, Rays and Rockies.

What Is the Furthest the Mariners Have Gone in MLB Playoffs?

The furthest the Mariners have advanced in the postseason is the American League Championship Series, which they have reached three times, in 1995, 2000 and 2001. The Mariners fell to Cleveland in 1995, and then to the Yankees in both 2000 and 2001, keeping them from reaching the World Series already.

Seattle Mariners Full Playoff History

The Mariners do not have a great track record in the postseason. Not only has Seattle never been to the World Series, but it took the franchise nearly 20 years to finally make the postseason for the first time, and they've only been to the playoffs a total of six times. Here is a look at their rather unfortunate playoff history.

Can the Mariners Win a World Series This Year?

The Mariners can win the World Series this year. While they are not the odds-on favorites at the moment, they are tied with the Tigers at 1-1 in the ALDS, and are one of MLB's final eight teams. If the Mariners advance, they will face either the Blue Jays or Yankees for a shot at their first World Series appearance, both teams Seattle is capable of beating.

To have a shot at winning it all, the Mariners will likely need continued strong production from two of their stars—Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez. Both players came up clutch in their Game 2 ALDS win, and will need to keep doing so going forward.

Can you hear it, the din from the summer transfer window? Newcastle United’s tumultuous market has been placed in the background, now, and Eddie Howe must be delighted that he can crack on and write another chapter into this wonderful story.

But there’s no denying the events of recent months have taken a toll on the Tyneside outfit, who have started their Premier League campaign with just two points from three games, losing that ridiculous clash against Liverpool and blanking in stalemates against Aston Villa and Leeds United.

Still, United are organised and efficient, and having signed forwards such as Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa among a host of other signings, there is hope that the disappointing departure of Alexander Isak can be offset and that targets might still be hit.

But it hasn’t all been sunshines and rainbows. Isak is bound to carry his prolific nature over to Anfield, but perhaps more frustrating is the recent success of Elliot Anderson, who was sold to Nottingham Forest over a year ago to ease the strain of PSR regulations.

Why Newcastle sold Elliot Anderson

The way Isak forced his way out of Howe’s Newcastle will sting for many years. Never again will the Sweden striker receive the ball at St. James’ Park without being the recipient of a venomous chorus of boos.

But Anderson was one of the club’s own, homegrown and sold for pure profit to avoid financial ramifications. His success with Nottingham Forest over the past two years has been quite a thing, and his recent performances for the Three Lions have underscored his value.

Newcastle sold the centre-midfielder to the Tricky Trees for around £35m in 2024, but he has since become something more, hailed by analyst Ben Mattinson as a “do-it-all midfield warrior” and regarded in the Premier League as one of the driving forces of Nuno Espirito Santo’s success last season.

The 22-year-old could have been something special for Newcastle, and now serves as a reminder to keep onto those top talents who show such promise but perhaps aren’t yet equipped to maintain the consistency of their more experienced peers.

Take, for example, Anderson’s countryman Lewis Hall, who has lulled of late but remains one of the most exciting up-and-comers within the Premier League scene.

Newcastle have struck gold on Lewis Hall

Hall has spent more time than he would have liked in 2025 in the infirmary, with the full-back’s fitness problems taking away from him the building noise after an emphatic start to life at Newcastle.

It was not that long ago that Toon reporter Dominic Scurr declared Hall to be “the best left-back in the country, bar none.”

Likewise, talent scout Jacek Kulig called the 21-year-old “one of the best left-backs in the Premier League” in December 2024, with Hall firing on all cylinders and instrumental in building the form that would lead United back toward the gates of the Champions League and the Carabao Cup title.

But injury struck in the days before that Wembley meeting with Liverpool, and Hall would be sidelined for the remainder of the campaign.

Hall has also featured twice in the Premier League this season, but both times as a substitute and for a total of 43 minutes as he gets back up to speed. He will hope to reclaim his starting berth in the weeks to come, and on the basis of the evidence, his improvements last season suggest Howe will soon deploy him from the opening again.

Data-led platform FBref reveal Hall to rank among the top 12% of positional peers in the Premier League last year for passes attempted, the top 15% for assists and the top 20% for shot-creating actions and progressive passes per 90, so it’s clear that his technical quality is crucial to erecting the build-up patterns that define Howe’s transitional approach.

It’s also clear that this ball-playing skill aligns with the methods of some of England’s finest. Indeed, Caught Offside revealed in the months preceding the summer transfer window that Liverpool and Manchester City had both registered their interest in the young England international, who Newcastle valued at a floor of £60m.

Of course, this puts Hall above a former Toon talent such as Anderson, who left for £35m and has since seen a market growth toward the ballpark of £45m, as per Football Transfers.

The aforementioned Premier League giants both signed left-backs this summer, which perhaps signals the strength of Newcastle’s response when Hall’s name was discussed in negotiations.

Hall is a defender who can do it all. After all, he played most regularly as a robust central midfielder during his younger days, since refashioned into a wide defender. Perhaps there is a future for him in the middle of the park, where he might rival players such as Anderson for a prominent role in England’s national squad.

Newcastle might have entered something of a transitional campaign, but Howe will remain steadfast in his belief that last year’s success can be used to prop up the riches still to come at St. James’ Park.

In any case, with such exciting talents as Hall set to star for years to come, there’s every reason for excitement.

New Isak: Newcastle have "one of the best teenage prospects in the world"

Newcastle will need to replace Alexander Isak’s goals with a range of different attacking talents.

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By
Angus Sinclair

Sep 3, 2025

In the games that followed Chelsea's defeat away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Christmas Eve, Mauricio Pochettino appeared as if he was starting to steady the ship and to give him credit, winning five of seven games and securing the Blues a place in the League Cup final was genuinely impressive.

However, the Pensioners' previous two Premier League games have utterly eviscerated any feeling of goodwill starting to spring up around Stamford Bridge.

The first saw the Blues fall to a 4-1 defeat away to Anfield that could, and maybe should, have been worse, and then on Sunday, Pochettino oversaw his side lose 4-2 at home to Wolves.

With the fans now chanting the name of former owner Roman Abramovich at home games and the results being what they are, it is starting to feel like the Argentine is on borrowed time in west London. Still, with an FA Cup Fourth Round replay up next, he has a slim chance of earning more time.

With so much resting on this meeting with Aston Villa, the former Tottenham Hotspur manager is unlikely to make too many drastic changes to his starting XI, with at most two personnel and one positional change to the side that lost on the weekend.

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GK – Đorđe Petrović

The man between the sticks for Chelsea on Wednesday night will be Đorđe Petrović.

The Serbian international was given a chance following Robert Sanchez's injury against Everton in December and has been rather impressive ever since.

The only other fit shot stoppers in the squad are Marcus Bettinelli and Lucas Bergstrom, and it feels unlikely that they would be given a chance in such an important game.

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RB – Alfie Gilchrist

The first change comes at right-back, as the performance of Malo Gusto on Sunday was so dreadful that Pochettino simply has to drop him for Villa.

The former Lyon man gave away a penalty and was given a 3/10 for his performance by The Standard's Nizaar Kinsella as he 'kept putting Chelsea in danger with his passing.'

After performing admirably against Villa in the FA Cup last month, Alfie Gilchrist also deserves another start in the team.

Plus, if club legend John Terry thinks he's "unbelievable", he must have something about him.

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CB – Axel Disasi

Keeping his place in the side at right centre-back is former AS Monaco man Axel Disasi.

However, this decision is more down to a lack of quality alternatives than anything else.

The Frenchman wasn't great on Sunday, but Levi Colwill is still out, and the performance of Benoît Badiashile against Liverpool was genuinely shambolic, with pundit Gabby Agbonlahor particularly scathing of the Frenchman's performance on The Sports Breakfast (via GOAL), saying: "Badiashile, the centre half, he gave probably the worst centre-half performance I've seen in the Premier League in the last two seasons."

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CB – Thiago Silva

Another defensive survivor from Sunday's massacre at the Bridge is Brazilian veteran Thiago Silva.

The former Paris Saint-Germain star got on the scoresheet and is still one of Pochettino's more reliable players.

Considering he has started 91% of the team's league games, it would be shocking if he were rested for a match as important as this.

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LB – Ben Chilwell

With no Colwill or Marc Cucurella to call upon, it's Ben Chilwell who'll likely be given the nod to start at left-back.

The former Leicester City man has only started 26% of the team's league games this season, but that is more down to his poor injury record than anything to do with how Pochettino rates him.

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DM – Moises Caicedo

Now, this could be a controversial choice given his abysmal showing on Sunday, but Moises Caicedo is still likely to start in midfield on Wednesday evening.

The Ecuadorian may have picked up an assist against Wolves, but The Standard's Kinsella gave him a 3/10 for his performance, citing that he 'was caught in possession multiple times, including for Cunha's equaliser.'

Ultimately, there aren't many other options to pick instead of the 22-year-old and with his label as the most expensive Premier League signing ever hanging over his head, he needs to play himself back into form.

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DM – Enzo Fernández

Unsurprisingly, Enzo Fernández will form the pairing at the heart of Chelsea's midfield against Villa.

The World Cup winner struggled like the rest of his side on Sunday, but considering his importance to the team and the fact that he has started 100% of FA Cup games thus far and 78% of Premier League games, it would be shocking not to see him involved from the first whistle at Villa Park.

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CAM – Conor Gallagher

Disappointing on Sunday, but a firm fan favourite nonetheless and a tireless runner for Pochettino, Conor Gallagher keeps his place as the side's primary attacking midfielder on Wednesday.

However, he'll have to do a lot better in possession than he did against Wolves, as his clumsiness is why Kinsella could only give him a 4/10.

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RM – Cole Palmer

If there is a Chelsea player who'll likely come out of this season with a better reputation than they started it with, it's Cole Palmer.

The former Manchester City youngster joined the Blues in the summer and has arguably been the one bright spot in their season – registering 21 goals and assists in all competitions.

He was on the scoresheet again on Sunday, so it would be utterly perplexing if he didn't start on the right-hand side again at Villa Park.

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LM – Christopher Nkunku

The second significant change to the starting line-up will come on the left-hand side, as Christopher Nkunku replaces Raheem Sterling.

The Englishman had a shocker against Wolves on Sunday and missed a golden opportunity to pull the Blues level in the game, something Kinsella noted when giving him a 4/10.

Nkunku didn't have the best of times up front either, but he needs time to adapt to the Premier League, and with plenty of experience playing on the left wing in the past, he seems like the logical replacement for Sterling.

Batsman hopes injury will prove a ‘good thing’ in the long run and hopes to be fit for County Championship opener

George Dobell27-Feb-2020Rory Burns believes the injury that curtailed his winter with the Test team may prove “a good thing” for English cricket in the long term.Burns sustained serious ligament damage when playing football in warm-up the day before the second Test against South Africa. He subsequently underwent surgery and was ruled out of the remaining three Tests in that series and the two upcoming Tests in Sri Lanka. Having just established himself in the team – he had made two Test centuries since August and at least one half-century in four of his previous five Tests – it was a cruel blow both for Burns and for England.ALSO READ: Burns sidelined for four months after ankle surgeryBut the injury had further repercussions. As the latest in a saga of football-related injuries – Jonny Bairstow and Joe Denly were among the other members of the England squad to have sustained injuries in a similar manner – it led to the England management banning football in warm-ups. Several of the first-class counties are understood to have taken similar decisions ahead of the 2020 season.Now, as Burns contemplates his comeback, he admits he will not be playing football again. And he reflects that Ashley Giles, a long-term critic of the idea of playing football as a warm-up activity, was probably right all along. Giles is the director of England’s men’s teams.”Have I ruined it [playing football] for everyone?” Burns says with a smile. “I think I have ruined it for the county circuit. The majority of it, anyway, and certainly the England boys. But I don’t think there’s too many arguments from too many places.”While I am still a professional cricketer I probably won’t play football again. It’s taken four months out of a career and the stage I had got myself to where I was playing quite nicely.”It was an avoidable setback and when you get something that’s avoidable like that you probably re-evaluate whether you want to waste your time doing four months in a gym rehabbing or being on a plane to Sri Lanka.”Was Giles right all along? Potentially. It’s probably taken something like this to re-evaluate it; something like this to put it into perspective. It shows what the downsides of football are, I suppose. There are obviously a lot of plus points to football but I don’t think I will be playing it any time again soon.”It was a bit freakish. Most people roll their ankle on the outside; I did going over to the inside. I think my studs got caught in the floor. But if that’s the catalyst to put things right and maybe say you don’t need it and keep the boys on the park it’s probably a good thing in a weird way.”If none of those guys get injured moving forward because football has been moved out of it then I think that’s a positive thing for English cricket.”Rory Burns speaks at the PCA’s rookie camp•Barrington Coombs/Getty Images for PCA

The good news for Burns is that he looks on course to be fit for the start of the county season. While he hasn’t picked up a bat as yet, he will go on Surrey’s pre-season tour to the UAE from March 17 and is expected to return to their team for their opening Championship fixture against Somerset at The Oval starting on April 19. Barring a significant dip in form, it would be a surprise if he did not return to the Test team when England host West Indies from the start of June.As a player who has had his fair share of ups and downs in the game, Burns was a natural choice to address the 50 or so young players attending the PCA’s rookie camp earlier this week. Among other things, he spoke of the need for persistence – it took him five successive seasons of scoring 1,000 first-class runs to convince the selectors to pick him – and the dangers of social media.ALSO READ: Never a better time to be a professional cricket, but rookies learn perils are huge tooIn particular, he looks back to the aftermath of the Ireland Test – when he scored 6 in each innings – and the savaging he took from some sections of the media. Mark Waugh memorably said Burns “looked like a nightwatchman” and suggested: “don’t think he’ll be playing the Ashes.” Burns responded with a maiden Test century in the first Ashes Test a few days later.”The thing that annoyed me about the Ireland game was that people judge you very quickly – be it fans or whatever – on a snapshot of your career,” he says. “I’d had seven years of batting in first-class cricket that was overwritten in seven Tests.”In the County Championship you don’t get that level of speculation. I don’t avoid social media, but you have to taper it to the voices you want to listen to. I still had it open when I started my Test career and I didn’t read all of it but you can’t help it when it’s at the top of your mentions… Tom Noddy down the road has given his twopence.”The key is: you’re never as good as you think you are when you’re doing well, and you’re never as bad as you think you are when you’re not. You’re always somewhere in the middle and you just bounce along. It’s remembering that. Sticking to the fundamentals of what works for you.”

Victor Osimhen has seen a move to Chelsea break down on deadline day, according to reports.

Article continues below

Article continues below

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• Napoli & Chelsea discussed transfer
• Osimhen could now stay at Napoli
• Antonio Conte signed Lukaku

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  According to , Osimhen's proposed move to Chelsea has fallen through. The Nigeria international had been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge on deadline day but the parties were unable to reach an agreement, leaving the 25-year-old in limbo. Hawkins adds that Osimhen will stay in Naples unless the Serie A club receive a "huge" bid for him from Saudi Arabia before Monday.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  According to , Osimhen was asking for a wage package worth over £300,000-a-week. Chelsea were reportedly ready to continue talks with the striker but their approach went unanswered, leaving the Blues to consider the deal off.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Deadline day continues to be a busy one for Chelsea, with Enzo Maresca's side involved in deals featuring Raheem Sterling and Jadon Sancho. Sterling, made an outcast by the Blues, was chased by title-chasers Arsenal.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  There must be a feeling of relief at Chelsea that the summer transfer window is finally over and Maresca can focus on the squad at his disposal. The Blues take on Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon.

Glasgow Rangers return to Premiership action tonight, three weeks following their last game in the top flight due to the winter break.

They travel to Easter Road to face Hibernian, and they were the opposition for Philippe Clement’s first game in charge of the Ibrox side back in October, which they went on to win 4-0.

A repeat of that scoreline tonight would be a perfect way for the club to resume their domestic campaign and really push Celtic over the coming months.

While the fixtures will be coming thick and fast, Clement still has eight days left to bring in another player or two to bolster his squad and this will be at the forefront of his mind.

Rangers are close to signing Mohamed Diomande

The Ibrox side secured a loan deal for Fabio Silva at the end of December and this move filled the supporters with plenty of anticipation that several more players would arrive in Glasgow.

The previous few weeks have been barren with regard to signings, yet the Gers made a breakthrough at the beginning of this week, and it now looks as though midfielder Mohamed Diomande is close to joining.

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By
Ross Kilvington

Jan 22, 2024

According to Rangers Review journalist Chris Jack, the FC Nordsjaelland gem is expected to arrive in Scotland today in order to finalise his £4.5m move from the Danish club and this is a big statement of intent by Clement, especially in January.

The manager has stated that he would not be “content or confident” for the second half of the campaign if he does not add to his squad before next Thursday. Could this suggest more signings are close?

Rangers’ search for a new left-back

One area that desperately needs to be addressed is the left side of defence, especially with Ridvan Yilmaz being linked with a move away and Borna Barisic’s contract expiring in the summer.

This suggests Clement will be looking to bring in another left-back before the window slams shut next week, and it looks as though he may have made a breakthrough.

According to Dutch outlet Voetbal International, the Gers have made an approach to sign FC Twente defender Gijs Smal this month.

The Dutchman, like Barisic, has entered into the final few months of his current deal and, according to the report from the Netherlands, it does not look like he is about to sign an extension to stay at the club.

This may tempt Clement into luring Smal to Glasgow for a knockdown fee this month as he continues to build his squad for the challenges ahead, and it could turn out to be a solid signing, especially with his impressive performances for the Eredivisie clubs.

Not only that, but he could link up well with Rabbi Matondo down the left flank during the second half of the season and this could benefit Clement greatly.

Gijs Smal could link up with Rabbi Matondo

Normally, Abdallah Sima would be the first-choice left-winger, yet the on-loan Brighton and Hove Albion gem returned from the Africa Cup of Nations with an injury and is expected to be out for the foreseeable future.

This means Matondo will be called upon more often by Clement, and he has finally settled into life at Rangers following a difficult debut season.

Across 17 matches in all competitions, the Welsh winger has scored twice and registered three assists. Considering he has started just seven matches, this is a more than decent return and if given regular game time now due to Sima’s injury, he could thrive.

Smal has displayed his attacking qualities throughout his professional career, registering 47 goal contributions – 13 goals and 34 assists – in just 177 senior matches.

This works out as a goal involvement once every 3.7 matches, which is a wonderful ratio for a left-back.

During the 2022/23 campaign, Smal excelled from an attacking perspective, averaging 1.6 key passes per game while creating 16 big chances, and it certainly indicates that he is a major threat on the left flank.

His bursting runs into the attacking third could benefit Matondo and the duo would create a formidable partnership that would surely cause chaos to defences all over the country.

The stats that show why Gijs Smal would be a good signing for Rangers

These performances last season proved that he is an attack-minded full-back who is no stranger to bombing up and down the left flank and this could fit in well with Clement’s philosophy.

The 6 foot gem has missed 12 games due to a calf injury this term, but when he has played, the 26-year-old has been impressive.

Indeed, he currently ranks fifth among the squad for successful dribbles per game (0.7) along with ranking seventh for key passes per game (1.2), and while these stats are not as impressive as those from the 2022/23 season, it is clear his injury has disrupted any momentum.

Having started the previous nine league matches for Twente, it looks as though he is back fit and healthy and this will be good news for Clement.

Rangers Journal founder Kai Watson has praised the defender amid his recent links to the Glasgow side, paying particular attention to his qualities going forward.

He said: “Smal would provide quality deliveries from the left hand side while also being willing to actually run to the by line. He’s 5 years younger than Barisic and offers a bit more pace and aggression on that side.”

It looks as though the Dutchman is capable of replacing Barisic from an attacking perspective and this is certainly what Clement is after in his fullbacks.

A move for Smal makes perfect sense, especially being able to potentially bring him to the club for a minimal fee this month, giving him plenty of time to adapt.

Adding another signing or two alongside that of Diomande could give the Light Blues a big boost in their chances of securing another trophy or two during the second half of the season.

Will it be enough to see them reel in Celtic and be crowned champions? Only time will tell.

Johnny Cardoso and Julian Alvarez have been left out of Atletico Madrid's squad to face Liverpool in their Champions League opener. Alvarez has been a mainstay in Diego Simeone's side since completing his move to the Spanish club from Manchester City in 2024, and has two goal contributions to his name from four appearances so far this season.

• Simeone names 22-man squad for Liverpool clash

  Atletico Madrid have officially released the 22-man squad Simeone has chosen to travel to Merseyside to face reigning Premier League champions Liverpool in their Champions League opener. Alvarez and Cardoso are the most notable absentees, but Thiago Almada, Jose Maria Gimenez, and Alex Baena have also been omitted from the squad.

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  Alvarez picked up injury against Villarreal

  Alvarez started Atletico's latest La Liga fixture against Villarreal but was substituted at half-time after suffering a knee injury. The Argentina international has yet to recover from the knock and will miss the European clash against the Reds. While Alvarez missed half of the Villarreal game, he did provide the assist for Pablo Barrios' early goal as Simeone's side picked up a comfortable 2-0 win.

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  Why is Cardoso unable to play?

  United States men's national team star Cardoso, who joined Atletico from fellow La Liga club Real Betis for a fee of $35 million (£25.7m) in the summer, reportedly sustained a sprain during the club's training session on Monday and will not travel to the UK for Champions League duty.

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  Anfield to Mallorca: Quick turnaround for Atletico

  After facing Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday, Simeone's Atletico side will only have four days to prepare for their next La Liga outing away at Real Mallorca on Sunday. Atletico are down in 11th in the table after winning just one of their first four games.

Tim Southee, the Player of the Match in Wellington, has moved up to No. 6 among bowlers

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Feb-2020Virat Kohli’s match aggregate of 21 runs in the Wellington Test against New Zealand, which went the way of the home team by 10 wickets, has allowed Steven Smith to reclaim the top spot in the Test rankings for batsmen, the Australian getting to No. 1 for the eighth time in his career.The top spot has changed hands between Smith and Kohli for the longest time, with only Kane Williamson occupying the position for a brief eight-day period in December 2015, and the New Zealand captain has returned to No. 3 on the table by jumping past Marnus Labuschagne after scoring 89 in his only innings at Basin Reserve.Among the Indian batsmen who were part of the action in Wellington, Ajinkya Rahane’s 46 and 29 have taken him up by a spot to No. 8 and Mayank Agarwal has gone up to No. 10 following scores of 34 and 58, but Cheteshwar Pujara has slipped two spots to ninth after identical scores of 11 in the two innings. From the New Zealand side, Ross Taylor, who was playing his 100th Test, has gone up three spots to No. 13 after scoring 44 the only time he got to bat.Over to the bowlers, and there were big gains for Tim Southee and Trent Boult, who picked up nine and five wickets in the match, respectively. Southee has moved up eight positions to sixth, his best since being No. 5 in June 2014, while Boult has moved up four spots to joint-13th with Pakistan’s Mohammad Abbas. Neil Wagner, who missed the first Test against India because of the birth of his first child, remains the top-ranked New Zealand bowler at No. 2 behind Pat Cummins.The Bangladesh v Zimbabwe Test in Dhaka, meanwhile, was a great one for the home side, which won by an innings and 106 runs.Their stars were Mushfiqur Rahim and Mominul Haque with the bat and Nayeem Hasan and Abu Jayed with the ball, and they too gained in the rankings. Mushfiqur’s unbeaten 203 lifted him five places to No. 20, while Haque’s 132 helped him go up to No. 39, a rise of five spots. Hasan’s nine wickets for the match took him up 29 places to 38th, while Jayed, who picked up four wickets in the Zimbabwe first innings, got to No. 46, up by 11.Craig Ervine, the stand-in captain in Sean Williams’ absence, played his part for Zimbabwe with 107 and 43, the best for his team in either innings, and moved up 15 places to 40th place.