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Jhye Richardson believes he could play Test cricket this summer if needed having progressed to bowling off his full run coming off shoulder surgery

Alex Malcolm09-Oct-2025Mitchell Starc believes Pat Cummins won’t need much preparation to play in the first Ashes Test in Perth, saying the skipper remains upbeat despite not yet being cleared to bowl with six weeks to go before the series starts.Doubts are growing over Cummins’ availability for the first Test of the Ashes as he continues to rehab the hot spot in his lower back having not bowled a ball since Australia’s last Test against West Indies in July.While it is understood that Cricket Australia has made no decisions on Cummins’ return to bowling and his availability for the first Test of the Ashes and beyond, the tightness of the timeline for the skipper to build-up his bowling loads adequately has become a major talking point.Related

• Cummins says he's 'less likely than likely' to play in the first Ashes Test

• Cummins 'running out of time' as Perth D-day looms but Ashes hopes alive

• Ashes tracker: Labuschagne shines as Konstas stumbles

• Hazlewood, Starc in line for SCG Shield outing before Ashes

• Doubts over Cummins' fitness for first Ashes Test grow

Starc, who will return to the BBL for the first time in 11 years in the upcoming season, believes Cummins is so unique that he could play a Test match off very limited preparation.”Playing with Pat and being close with Pat, he doesn’t need much,” Starc said. “Whether he bowls three warm-up balls and the first over the game, he’s on the money, he just knows when to switch on or how to switch on really quickly. So what it looks like for him in his prep, it’s going to be certainly different to what mine feels and looks like, and that comes with experience and age.”Having spent so much time with Josh [Hazlewood] and Pat and myself and Scotty [Boland], we all prepare slightly differently. We all feel like we need different things. I feel like at times I need to bowl more around preparation stuff, whether it be training or after layoffs.”Starc has returned to bowling ahead of the ODI series against India after a lengthy pre-season having not played since the Caribbean Test tour. Both Starc and Hazlewood are also set to play in New South Wales’ round four Sheffield Shield match against Victoria at the SCG from November 10-13 in preparation for the first Ashes Test which starts on November 21 in Perth.Starc said he had been in touch with Cummins but had seen less of him since returning to NSW training as the skipper continues to do his gym rehab.Mitchell Starc expects Steven Smith to be “the logical choice” to lead if Pat Cummins isn’t fit•BCCI

“He’s in good spirits,” Starc said. “He’s ultra-positive as always, and there’s still some weeks to go before we get to Perth for the Test prep. So we’ll see where that lands. Hopefully we see a lot of him through the summer, and we’ll see where we get to in Perth.”If Cummins were to be ruled out, the question of who replaces him as captain will be raised but Starc said Steven Smith would be the logical choice given he has captained Australia in 40 Test matches including deputising for Cummins in six over the last four years.”We’ve got a group of us that have played cricket with Steve as captain anyway,” Starc said. “And then the times that he’s filled in over the last few seasons for Pat, whether it be for personal reasons, for illness or for injury, it’s an easy transition for Steve. He’s obviously a very experienced cricket brain and thinks heavily about the game, and we have a team of experienced guys that can give their two cents worth along the journey as well.”Cummins’ potential absence has also raised questions about Australia’s fast-bowling depth beyond the big four of Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood and Boland.Starc cited Michael Neser and Sean Abbott as two experienced options and also mentioned another man who has played for Australia previously and took five wickets in an Ashes game in his most recent Test appearance.”There’s been a little bit of noise around Jhye Richardson coming back from his shoulder as well,” Starc said. “We know what skills he has. We’ve got a fairly talented group of 19-20-year-old bowlers, and then a lot of depth from there up to us that have played a lot of domestic cricket. I think the depth is there.”Richardson, speaking at another BBL event in Melbourne on Thursday, was confident he could play a Test this summer if required despite still progressing his bowling in the nets following shoulder surgery earlier this year.Jhye Richardson last played a Test match in December 2021•AFP/Getty Images

“I think so,” Richardson said. “Body’s really good. At this stage of the recovery what we wanted was for everything else to be right, and the only limiting factor to be my shoulder, which is the case at the moment, which is really good. I’m bowling off a full run, just waiting for a bit of ball speed to come back, which I think is a pretty good position to be in this time of year, or what we were hoping for anyway.”There’s no specific timeline in place at the moment, but I think returning to some sort of competitive cricket, whether it’s club cricket or second XI [for Western Australia] sometime in November I think would be a good start, and then build up from there, and then see where it takes us.”Richardson revealed he was still only bowling at speeds in the low 120s but expected the speed to come with more mobility and confidence in the shoulder, having been through the process before after previous shoulder surgeries. He is hoping to play round five or six of the Sheffield Shield, with WA’s two games starting on November 22 and December 4 respectively.”You never really know how linear the process is going to be,” Richardson said. “I think at the start of the year, we were sort of speaking around that [round] five or six mark leading into the Big Bash and potentially back-end Ashes.”But I don’t want to think too far ahead.”

The first day of the fourth England vs India Test was a good one for quick bowlers, as 13 wickets went down

Sampath Bandarupalli02-Sep-202131 – Shardul Thakur completed his half-century in only 31 balls, the second-fastest recorded half-century in Test cricket for India. The fastest is by Kapil Dev off 30 deliveries against Pakistan in Karachi in 1982. In terms of strike rate, Thakur’s 36-ball 57 is the second-quickest fifty-plus score in Tests for India, behind Kapil’s 55-ball 89, also against England at Lord’s in 1982.ESPNcricinfo Ltd1 – Thakur’s is also the fastest-recorded half-century in Test matches in England. The previous fastest was by Ian Botham, in 32 balls against New Zealand in 1986, also at The Oval. It is also the third-fastest recorded fifty in Tests against England, behind Foffie Williams’ 28-ball fifty in 1948 and Tim Southee’s 29-ball effort in 2008.23.33 – Ajinkya Rahane’s batting average in Test cricket against England. It is the second-poorest average among players to bat in the top six for 20 or more Tests against a single opponent. Alec Bannerman had scored 1108 runs at an average of only 23.08 against England in 50 innings spread across 28 Tests between 1879 and 1893.11 – James Anderson has now sent back Cheteshwar Pujara on 11 occasions in Test cricket – his best against a batter in Tests, joint with Peter Siddle. Nine of those 11 dismissals have come in England, the joint-highest for any bowler at home against a batter in the last 20 years – Stuart Broad had the better of Michael Clarke on nine instances in home Tests, while Ben Stokes has fallen nine times off R Ashwin in India.7 – Ducks for Jasprit Bumrah is Test cricket in 2021, the joint-highest by an Indian in Tests in a calendar year. Bishan Singh Bedi also had seven ducks in 1974, all across ten innings. The only player to bag more ducks in a calendar year is Mervyn Dillion, ten in 2002.13 – Wickets to fall on the first day of the fourth Test, the most on the opening day of a Test match held at The Oval since 1983.

Alexander Isak has been ruled out of Newcastle’s pre-season tour of Asia as the Swedish striker continues to generate transfer talk.

• Striker seeing move speculated on
• Will not make trip to the Far East
• Recovering from minor thigh injury

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Magpies are preparing to face north London giants Arsenal and Tottenham while in the Far East, as well as a K-League XI. Eddie Howe has pieced together his travelling party, with the countdown on to the 2025-26 campaign.

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  He is hoping that prolific frontman Isak will be part of his plans for a season that includes Champions League action, but questions continue to be asked of how much longer the talented 25-year-old will be spending on Tyneside.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Premier League champions Liverpool – who may have moved on after landing Hugo Ekitike – and Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Hilal have been credited with interest in Isak. He will not form part of Newcastle’s upcoming fixtures.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEWCASTLE SAID

  The Magpies said in an update on their , with their Sweden international No.14 having been training by himself of late: “Eddie Howe has an almost fully-fit squad to choose from, however Alexander Isak misses out with a minor thigh injury.”

The 32-year-old joins to boost promotion push following relegation to Division Two

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jan-2025Australia batter Marcus Harris has joined Lancashire for the 2025 season.The left-handed opener will be available for the club’s County Championship and Metro Bank One-Day Cup campaigns through to September. He is due to arrive in the UK ahead of Lancashire’s opening Championship fixture against Middlesex at Lord’s, which begins on April 4.Acquiring someone of Harris’ standing brings vital experience to Emirates Old Trafford, which head coach Dale Benkenstein cited as vital for an immediate return to Division One after the county were relegated in 2024. Lancashire were keen to bring back New Zealand star Daryl Mitchell, who impressed with bat and ball during a stint in 2023, only for the allrounder to secure a lucrative Platinum deal with PSL franchise Lahore Qalandars.Harris has 12 Test caps for Australia, three of which came in the 2019 Ashes when the tourists secured the urn in Manchester. He came close to a recall for the home Test series against Australia, only for selectors to opt for Nathan McSweeney and then Sam Konstas.The 32-year-old has been a consistent performer domestically, and currently boasts 445 runs at an average of 49.44 for Victoria in this season’s Sheffield Shield. He is also well-versed in county cricket following spells at Leicestershire (2021 and 2024) and Gloucestershire (2022 and 2023), averaging 48.39 from 29 first-class appearances across both teams, with nine centuries.”I am really excited by the opportunity to join Lancashire for the English summer and will give my all to help this great Club win promotion back to Division One of the County Championship,” Harris said, via a statement from Lancashire on Thursday.”Emirates Old Trafford holds some special memories for me after we retained the Ashes there back in 2019 and I know that Nathan Lyon and Chris Green have both spoken so highly about their time at the club.”I have really enjoyed my time playing county cricket in England over the last few years and to start a new challenge with Lancashire is something which I am really looking forward to getting stuck into.”Director of Cricket Performance Mark Chilton said: “Marcus is an experienced operator with international pedigree and has a proven track record of scoring runs at the top of the order in domestic cricket in Australia and England.”He has a strong record in England, following a number of games with both Leicestershire and Gloucestershire in recent years. We are looking forward to working with Marcus and believe that he will play a key role as we look to earn promotion back into Division One at the first time of asking.”It was important to us that we got somebody on board who was going to be available for the majority of the County Championship this summer with the appropriate pedigree, and Marcus ticks that box, while he will also add valuable experience to our side in the One-Day Cup during August.”Harris will play alongside James Anderson, who earlier this month signed on for the upcoming season with Lancashire having not played since last July, when he bowed out of Test cricket against West Indies at Lord’s.West Indies quick Anderson Phillip is the club’s other overseas signing, and is available through to July for the first 11 Championship matches.

Leeds United will be doing plenty of deals in the next couple of months in an attempt to build a squad that can avoid an instant relegation from the Premier League.

The Whites have already made one new signing to bolster Daniel Farke’s options at the top end of the pitch, as Lukas Nmecha has agreed a deal to join the club on a free transfer from Wolfsburg at the start of next month.

He only scored three goals in 19 appearances in the Bundesliga during the 2024/25 campaign, and has only scored eight league goals in the last three seasons combined.

This does not suggest that Nmecha is likely to be the go-to centre-forward option from the start for the West Yorkshire outfit, but the former Germany international could provide experienced back-up to the other number nines in the squad.

The 26-year-old star will not be the last striker to arrive at Elland Road this summer, though, as reporter Graham Smyth claimed that the club are still looking for another addition in that position.

This could spell bad news for 21-year-old marksman Mateo Joseph’s future in West Yorkshire, amid speculation that he could move on ahead of next season.

Why Mateo Joseph could leave Leeds

The Spain U21 international is reportedly being eyed up by several clubs, as GIVEMESPORT recently claimed that Birmingham, Strasbourg, and Real Betis are all keen on securing his signature.

This suggests that there will be no shortage of suitors for the Whites academy graduate if Farke decides that he will not be a part of his plans for the Premier League season, which will kick off with a clash against Everton on the first Monday Night Football of the campaign.

Joseph has now had a taste of first-team football, with 61 Championship outings and four goals in the last two seasons, and should be wanting to play regular minutes next term to continue his development.

The Spanish youngster only scored three goals in 39 matches for Leeds in the second tier during the 2024/25 campaign, but did put up some promising underlying numbers.

As you can see in the table above, Joseph ranked highly among his positional peers when it came to getting into high-quality shooting positions and creating chances for others, but his finishing let him down.

A loan move away from Leeds to play regularly and hone his skills next term could be the ideal next step for him, whilst Leeds are eyeing up a striker who could be an upgrade on him in the short term.

Leeds plotting move for new striker

According to TEAMtalk, the Championship champions are eyeing up further forward additions after the signing of Nmecha, and Besiktas striker Semih Kilicsoy is one of the players they are plotting a move for.

The Turkish attacker and Fulham centre-forward Rodrigo Muniz are both said to be targets for the West Yorkshire outfit, as they look to improve Farke’s options in the final third.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

TEAMtalk adds that Leeds are moving forward in deals to sign Muniz, Kilicsoy, and USG’s Noah Sadiki, with the Besiktas whiz said to be available for a fee of £18m.

The outlet claims that the Whites have extensively scouted the Turkey U21 international and view him as a versatile star with potential who would come in as a long-term signing for Farke.

If Leeds can get an £18m deal over the line to sign the 19-year-old forward during the summer transfer window then they could have an immediate upgrade on both Nmecha and Joseph for next season.

Why Leeds should sign Semih Kilicsoy

There are many reasons why signing the teenage marksman from Besiktas makes a lot of sense for Leeds, including his age profile. At 19, he has many years left ahead of him to develop and improve as a player, which means that the striker could grow in value over time.

It also means that he may not demand to be the first-choice number nine week-in-week-out in the Premier League straight away, and be happy to be a versatile bench option at first, which would allow the Whites to also sign a more experienced striker, such as Muniz.

Kilicsoy’s performances for Besiktas in the last two seasons also suggest that he would offer more quality in front of goal than both Nmecha and Joseph in the top-flight.

The Turkish attacker, who was once hailed as “incredible” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, scored 15 goals and provided nine assists in the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons combined for his club side.

Joseph managed seven goals and four assists for Leeds in all competitions, and Nmecha racked up five goals and zero assists in that same time, which immediately suggests that the teenage star has more to offer the team at the top end of the pitch.

As you can see in the table above, Kilicsoy offered more quality at the top end of the pitch than Joseph this season, with more goals and xA combined per 90, along with far more success in dribbling past opposition players.

Impressively, the teenage attacker managed 0.59 goals and 0.21 assists per 90 in the Super Lig in the previous campaign, when he managed 11 goals and four assists in the division, whilst Joseph scored one goal in 22 league games for Leeds that term.

Therefore, Kilicsoy could be a very exciting signing for Leeds as a young forward who has shown that he has the potential to make a big impact as both a scorer and a creator of goals, even more so than Joseph and Nmecha have in recent years.

Better than Aaronson: Leeds submit bid to sign £21m Sadiki alternative

Leeds are looking at signing a new midfielder this summer

By
Joe Nuttall

Jun 17, 2025

This is why Leeds must press ahead with a deal to sign the £18m-rated centre-forward before the start of the Premier League season to bolster their attacking options.

Endrick has pointed to Vinicius Junior's success as a reason to stay at Real Madrid despite pressure from the club and his Brazil coach to go on loan.

• Endrick wants to stay at Madrid and not move on loan
• Cites Vini Jr and Rodrygo as inspiration to stay
• Injured striker pressured to accept a temporary move

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  According to , Endrick has insisted to Madrid that he wants to stay, inspired by the success of Vinicius, Rodrygo, and Arda Guler, who broke through at the club without leaving on loan. His entourage, also pointed to the struggles of Reinier and Luka Jovic during their loan spells and chose to go against the advice of former Madrid and current Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti, who urged him to seek regular playing time.

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  Endrick saw limited action last season, clocking just 847 minutes, mostly in the Copa del Rey, as he fell behind Kylian Mbappe in the pecking order. With Gonzalo Garcia impressing at the Club World Cup, Real Madrid have opted to retain the Spanish striker. Playing time will again be scarce for Endrick under new coach Xabi Alonso and while Madrid would prefer to send him out for a season, he is willing to wait it out.

• ENDIRCK'S INJURY SITUATION

  Endrick relapsed on his recovery from the hamstring injury he sustained last season. This latest setback has ensured the 19-year-old will be out of action until the end of September.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR ENDRICK ?

  Endrick will hope for a smooth recovery from his injury so that he can get back into the team as soon as possible.

The batter has been with RCB since 2021, and has grown into one of their key players

Ashish Pant13-Feb-202511:44

Will RCB captaincy affect Patidar’s batting?

Rajat Patidar has been appointed captain of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for IPL 2025, which begins around March 21. The development was contrary to wide speculation that Virat Kohli would lead RCB again after they did not retain Faf du Plessis, their captain from 2022 to 2024, before the mega auction.RCB made the announcement in Bengaluru on Thursday at an event attended by team director Mo Bobat, head coach Andy Flower, and Patidar. He is the eighth captain for RCB and has played three seasons for the franchise since joining them in 2021 and has grown into one of their key batters, scoring 799 runs in 28 matches at a strike rate of 158.85.”I could speak for quite a long time about Rajat, but I’ve settled on three main things that I thought might be interesting to share,” Flower said. “The first one is there’s a calmness and a simplicity to Rajat that I think will stand him in really good stead as a leader and a captain, particularly in the IPL. As we know, the IPL is one of the premier competitions in the world and there’s pressures involved in that, and I think the calm, simple demeanour that inherently lives within Rajat is going to serve him really well in the hurly-burly of that tournament.Related

• For RCB, Rajat Patidar might be just what the doctor ordered

• Mo Bobat: 'Virat doesn't need a captaincy title to lead'

• Samson expected to be fit in time for IPL 2025

• Pant unveiled as LSG captain, says he will give '200%'

• IPL begins March 21 weekend; WPL to start from February 7

“And his decision-making will be tested like all of ours is. But I think these qualities will stand him in really good stead. We watched Rajat very closely as he captained Madhya Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament and we really liked what we saw around those qualities.”The second thing I’d say about him, he’s inherently quite a quiet guy, but observing him, he cares about the people around him, he cares about the people that he plays with, that he shares a dressing room with. And I think that’s a quality that means that he will instantly have the respect and care from other people. As a leader, those qualities are important. In that people will follow you and get behind you.”And then the third thing that stands out for me about him is that he’s got a stubbornness and a strength and a steeliness about him. I’ve seen it myself when I’m trying to coach him in the nets and he won’t listen to me, but you see it in the way that he plays. You see the bravery with which he takes on the game and I think that quality within him will be really important for him through the ups and downs, the inevitable ups and downs that come along with playing in the IPL, and now stepping up another gear into leading a big franchise in the IPL.”Bobat confirmed that Kohli was an option the team management had thought about.”With our retentions, it’s probably worth noting that we obviously retained three players, three Indians, and of those three, it’s worth saying that both Virat and Rajat were obviously credible captaincy options for us going into the auction,” he said. “And then at the auction itself, we spent quite a lot of time thinking about leadership characteristics. We didn’t necessarily want to go into the auction and have our heart set on a captain because we felt that was quite a dangerous approach and then you end up probably overvaluing somebody potentially.”Rajat Patidar has been a part of RCB for the past three IPL seasons•AFP/Getty Images

In a video released by RCB, Kohli congratulated Patidar on the appointment, emphasising that he has earned the right to be in this position.”The way you have grown in this franchise and the way you have performed, you have really made a place in the hearts of all the fans of RCB all over India and they get really excited to watch you play,” Kohli said. “I’ve seen Rajat evolve in the last couple of years as a player. He has got the chance to play for India. His game has improved many levels in the last couple of years.”The way he has led his state team as well and the responsibility that he’s taken and has shown everyone that he has what it takes to lead this amazing franchise and I just wish him all the very best and I would request all the fans to show him absolute support, get right behind him and know that he will always and always do what’s best for the team, what’s best for this franchise.”Discussions within the group confirmed to the coaches that Patidar was the right choice, Bobat said.”We spent some time discussing things with the likes of DK [Dinesh Karthik, the batting coach], who’s obviously a really important part of our management team now. [We] had multiple conversations with Virat, even had some discussions with Rajat and I say discussions, they probably felt a little bit more like interviews for Rajat. But Andy and I spent some time talking to Rajat about his captaincy aspirations and what struck us was that he was very determined and ambitious about leadership and captaincy and he really wanted to do this and that was really important for us to understand and feel.”Bobat also said that they wanted an Indian captain to lead RCB this time around.”Andy and I felt quite blessed that we had quite a few to choose from,” he said. “Whether we went Indian or overseas was an important discussion point for us. We felt quite strongly that an Indian captain was preferable.”That’s nothing against any overseas options, but we were really keen on an Indian option primarily because it’s an Indian competition on Indian pitches against predominantly Indian players. So somebody who’s got that local knowledge and insight is really, really helpful for us.”While this will be 31-year-old Patidar’s first captaincy stint in the IPL, he has captained MP in the 2024-25 season of the 20-over Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (where they finished runners-up) and the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy. Those tournaments were his first full-time assignments as captain in domestic cricket.”I had a conversation with Mo last year,” Patidar said. “I told him before getting the captaincy of RCB, I want to captain a state team. When they told me about this, that it could be between Virat and Rajat, I was happy. I can’t express my reaction.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“I really feel good right now. If I talk about my way of captaincy, I’m not that much expressive, but at the same time, I’m aware of the situation of the matches. So I think for me it’s important to back my players and stand with them and give the sort of involvement where they feel relaxed and confident. So yeah, I’m lucky that I am surrounded by one of the best people in the team and we have a group of leaders as well where their experience and ideas will definitely help in my new leadership role and growth as an individual also.”Patidar was the second-highest run-scorer in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with 428 runs in nine innings at an average of 61.14 and strike rate of 186.08. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he made 226 runs at an average of 56.50 and strike rate of 107.10.RCB have not won the IPL title yet, though they have been finalists three times, the last of which was in 2016. They have made the playoffs in four of the last five seasons, including in 2024, when they won their last six league matches to get into the top four but then lost the Eliminator.With RCB appointing Patidar, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Delhi Capitals (DC) are the only teams yet to name their captains for the upcoming season. Shreyas Iyer, KKR’s captain last year, will lead Punjab Kings (PBKS) this year, while the former DC captain Rishabh Pant is now leading Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

In-form captain has team-mates running out of superlatives and home crowd loving every moment

Andrew Miller14-Aug-20216:00

Root or KP – England’s greatest batsman?

We cannot keep asking more of our star players. That has been the message from the ECB high command in recent months – including on the eve of this Test, when Tom Harrison, the chief executive, insisted the board were committed to a “people first” policy, for the remainder of England’s summer campaign and, most significantly, on into this winter’s Ashes.”It’s no longer acceptable to go ‘once more unto the breach dear friends’,” Harrison said, with Covid restrictions foremost in his thoughts, but with England’s insane itinerary right up there at the top of everyone else’s. For despite such stirring rhetoric, there really is no other way. The reality for England’s cricketers, in the sport’s post-pandemic panic, is that every day is Groundhog Day, every next-biggest occasion ever is just another day on the treadmill.But just as Bill Murray discovered while hanging out in Punxsutawney, some days can still be better than others if you can find it within you to seize the moment. And when you’ve ploughed on for as long as Joe Root has, willing yourself to perform in empty echoing stadiums for months of bubbled-up existence, then to emerge into a sunlight Saturday of a Lord’s Test, in front of a packed and enraptured crowd, with your own family looking on from their box in the Grandstand … well, there couldn’t really be a more perfect stage for a masterpiece.Related

• Stats: Joe Root reaches 9000 Test runs as superb 2021 form continues

• Joe Root's flawless 180* helps England edge 27 ahead

• India refuse to go on the back foot thanks to Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah

Root has had plenty reason to wave his bat in triumph in the course of his extraordinary 2021. But few milestone moments have dripped with more glee than his jab into the covers off Jasprit Bumrah, armed with the second new ball on Saturday afternoon. He scampered the single then veered abruptly towards his family in the stands, punching the air with a delirium that only the most devout can know.For Root isn’t just going to the well for England, time and time again. He’s living in the well. He’s so immersed in the day-to-day pressures of carrying the fortunes of his team that he’s become at one with his surroundings, at peace with the pressure of treading water for hours at an end, knowing that if he dares to stop swimming, everyone is liable to sink. Today he soared, and it was glorious.”Joe and I, when we were walking out, we were just smiling at each other,” Jonny Bairstow said at the close, after an innings of 57 that ended up being less than a third of his captain’s tally, but is still, remarkably, the only other half-century to have come from one of his team-mates this series.”How good is it to walk out on a Saturday at Lord’s, with one of your best mates?” Bairstow added. “That’s exactly what it was. Our partnership was about having fun while we were out there, and to have a full crowd back at Lord’s, with the new stand, with family and friends, was really special. That Lord’s buzz, or hum, or however you want to phrase it, was most definitely back.”Mohammed Siraj congratulates Joe Root on his unbeaten 180•Getty ImagesMuch like James Anderson’s first-innings five-for, hindsight confers an inevitability on Root’s magnificence that circumstance really shouldn’t allow. It was a point put to him in the lead-up to this match – as he opted once again to do his captain’s media duties two days out from the Test, in a bid to cocoon his game-brain and filter out the noise for an extra 24 hours.”How are you Joe?” was the gist of the final question, almost as an afterthought at the end of a 20-minute interrogation, featuring topics including the return of Moeen Ali and the wider failings of a team that had been outplayed in each of their first three Tests of the summer, the longest they’d been made to wait for a home victory since their struggles against Sri Lanka and India back in 2014.He insisted he was fine – but then so too, you suspect, did Ben Stokes last month, when he fielded that SOS after the white-ball Covid outbreak, and broke off his recuperation to lead out a squad of reserves. Today, however, Root offered up the most ringing affirmative he could muster, an innings so serene it was as though the solitude of his supremacy had bought even his classically tailored game an extra yard of response time.Soft hands, calm choices, unhurried strokeplay – at least until his white-ball savvy surged to the fore as Anderson got peppered in the day’s frantic closing moments. He barely presented a straight bat through the V at any stage of his innings, relying instead on nudges off his legs for the balls that veered too straight, and needle-threading judgement on his favoured off-side, which made a mockery at times of Virat Kohli’s attempts to bung up his options with a trio of short covers and two slips to check his dab to third man.And in keeping with the need to think happy thoughts to haul England through this summer’s predicament, Root’s running between the wickets was able to step up an extra notch once he had linked up with sidekicks in whom he could fully trust – Bairstow in the first instance, but Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali too, a trio whose white-ball world-beating counts for more than perhaps it ought to in the cramped confines of this itinerary. In the end Bairstow was bested by the short ball – a method he cannot really plan for when ruling the roost in one-day cricket – while Buttler and Moeen made just 50 runs between them. But they between scratched out half-century stands, and gave Root the ballast he needed to drag the match towards parity.None of this is sustainable. It’s barely even credible – much as in 2018, when India’s 4-1 losing margin was a travesty, it beggars belief that they are not already 1-0 up from Trent Bridge, and pushing for a second. But like a high-wire act over Niagara Falls, Root’s progress is both utterly compelling, and so inexorable, you start to believe he might just get to the other side without looking down.

“I run out of superlatives, to be honest”Jonny Bairstow marvels at the feats of his captain

For his achievements in 2021 are already sensational. In the course of this innings, Root first skittered past Graham Gooch’s former England record of 8900 Test runs, then pushed on past 9000 too, and at a younger age than anyone bar the one Englishman ahead of him in the run-charts, Alastair Cook.By the time he’d run out of partners on 180 not out, Root’s tally for the year was close to double that of any other batter in world cricket – 1244 to Rohit Sharma’s mid-match tally of 669 – and while England’s overloaded itinerary is a contributory factor, the comparison with his peers is even more revealing.By the end of England’s innings, Root had scored almost four times as many runs in 2021 as his next most prolific team-mate, Rory Burns (353), and more runs than the rest of England’s top six in this match combined.He’s made five of their six centuries this year, including each of their four 150-plus scores, and is only one shy of England’s all-time record of six in a calendar year. And, as if further proof was needed of the burden he has carried for his side, in this match he even had to see off two hat-trick balls in the same innings. His first ball came in the wake of Haseeb Hameed’s golden duck on Friday; and his 277th came 152 runs later, as Ishant Sharma started a new over, fresh from delivering Sam Curran his own first-baller.”I run out of superlatives, to be honest,” Bairstow said at the close. “He means a heck of a lot [to the team], like he does to English cricket.”To go into second place in the leading run-scorers in the history of the English game is very special, to pass 9000 Test runs in this game is extremely special, to score another 180 not out at Lord’s is great, isn’t it, and to see him in the form that he is, playing the way he is, it’s awesome to be out there with him, putting on partnerships with him, and enjoying every single moment of it.”And as a consequence, he’s on the brink of his masterpiece now. A year to stand comparison with any of the greats that have gone before. Richards in 1976, Ponting in 2005… even the most prolific of them all, Mohammad Yousuf, whose 1788 runs in his annus mirablis in 2006 included nine centuries in 19 innings. That’s as many as Root himself has now played, but he’s still got 12 more scheduled before the New Year. As might have been mentioned once or twice, England’s itinerary really is something else.But more immediately, Root’s got the chance to prove a point about his contemporary credentials. The mutterings in recent seasons were that he had slipped out of the fabled “Fab Four” of modern batting – his century at Trent Bridge last week had been his first on home soil since India’s last tour in 2018, notwithstanding the fact that his role in England’s World Cup triumph had caused a wavering in his Test focus.But now it’s Kohli who’s feeling the heat for his own relative dip in standards. In consecutive series against England in 2016-17 and 2018, he amassed the small matter of 655 runs at 109.16, and 593 at 59.30. Likewise, Steve Smith racked up 687 runs at 137.40 in Australia’s 4-0 rout in their last home Ashes in 2017-18; then followed that up with 774 more at 110.57.Root, right at this moment, has 353 runs at 176.50, with potentially seven more innings to come. The same, in fact, as his next most prolific colleague for the entire year. It may not be fair to expect Root to keep giving more to the cause. But when you’re in a zone quite like this, who would ever wish it to end?

Sunderland were always going to face challenges venturing up to the Premier League, but the Black Cats will find their journey up to the big time to be even more unnerving now that Jobe Bellingham has left the club.

Bellingham has followed in his esteemed brother’s footsteps and joined German behemoth Borussia Dortmund, leaving Regis Le Bris with a lot of work to do this summer to plug his noticeable gap.

The Wearside underdogs could look to bring in an entertaining EFL star as a replacement for the skilful 19-year-old.

Sunderland eyeing up move for EFL star

As per a new report by the Daily Mail, Sunderland are eyeing up a potential swoop for Leeds United outcast Sam Greenwood to enhance their attacking options.

Whilst he has struggled for large patches of his Elland Road career, Greenwood has shone away from West Yorkshire on loan with Preston North End and Middlesbrough in the Championship, with Sunderland now keen on winning his services.

Leicester City are also in the race to land the 23-year-old ahead of the Foxes heading back to the second tier, but the Black Cats’ newly obtained Premier League status – on top of the fact Greenwood actually hails from Sunderland – should surely give them a favourable advantage.

Before heading to Leeds, he was actually on the books of the Sunderland and Arsenal academies.

How Greenwood could replace Bellingham

There would be a lot of pressure on Greenwood’s shoulders to come in and fill the void left behind by Bellingham, but it’s clear from his flashes of excellence in the EFL’s elite league that he’s deserving of some more game time in the top-flight, away from being a reserve face at Daniel Farke’s outfit.

After all, much like Bellingham caught the eye with classy displays galore at the Stadium of Light, Greenwood has consistently entertained fans in the EFL when moved out on loan from Leeds.

Amazingly, the 23-year-old even amassed more goals last season in the Championship than Bellingham, with five goals collected come the end of his stay at Deepdale, compared to his now Dortmund counterpart’s four.

By the end of his loan stint in Lancashire, Greenwood scored seven strikes in total from 45 clashes, with this tally just beating his overall Boro count, which stood at five. Alongside that, he also has six Championship assists next to his name, with a chance for him to shine in the level above perhaps coming soon with Le Bris and Co.

Away from offering the same firepower as Bellingham, the “unbelievable” attacker – as Farke once described him – is also similar to the Bundesliga-bound midfielder in offering lots of versatility, with the ex-Arsenal youth starlet capable of playing in a whole host of positions like Bellingham, away from simply lining up as a number ten.

Greenwood actually boasts more career goals and assists lining up as a centre-forward with the 23-year-old potentially offering Le Bris another striker presence, therefore, away from the Frenchman solely depending on Wilson Isidor.

But, he can also line up as a winger and as a central figure, much like Bellingham, with everything pointing in the direction that this could be a smart move for Sunderland to make to try and patch over their star man’s exit.

Greenwood even has a goal and four assists next to his name when utilised sparingly in the Premier League by the Whites, meaning he could really kick on under Le Bris’ guidance if given plenty of action in the wake of Bellingham’s sad departure.

He'd be better than Tanganga: Sunderland interested in signing £8m defender

Sunderland could now swoop in for this defensive target over solely pursuing a move for Japhet Tanganga.

By
Kelan Sarson

Jun 16, 2025