GT’s No. 4 talks about his first full-fledged IPL season and his hopes to lift the trophy

Deivarayan Muthu and S Sudarshanan28-May-20252:34

Rutherford: “Important for me to keep learning and adding to my game”

Sherfane Rutherford is a two-time IPL winner, but he didn’t play any matches in those tournaments. He was a reserve with Mumbai Indians in 2020 and Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024. Across five seasons and five franchises (he was with Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2021 as a replacement, but again, didn’t play) before IPL 2025, he batted in only ten games, but this year he has finally shed his tag as a back-up for players like Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell and carved out his own identity with Gujarat Titans.While Shubman Gill, B Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler have piled on the runs at the top for GT, Rutherford has been a silent contributor in the middle order, scoring 267 runs in ten innings (as of May 27) at a strike rate of 157.05, which is higher than that of other overseas middle-order batters in the league, such as Tristan Stubbs and Shimron Hetmyer.Not many expected Rutherford to start the season ahead of Glenn Phillips, let alone bat at No. 4, but head coach Ashish Nehra and the team management saw his potential to anchor an innings as well as to finish it.”The IPL has always been one of the biggest learning curves for me,” Rutherford says. “Every time I come to the IPL, I try to learn as much from the players and coaches. I think coming into GT this year and having the chance to play [regularly] has been good for me.Related

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“It’s an opportunity I’ve been looking forward to for my whole IPL career. I think it’s important for me to keep learning, keep looking to get better, keep trying to take those opportunities given to me. And hopefully, I can make this IPL a good one for myself and for my team.”Rutherford had a rough initiation into the Titans set-up when he failed to seal a chase of 244 – at one point seeming within his grasp – against Punjab Kings. After hitting two sixes and a four off his first five balls, he got stuck against Vijaykumar Vyshak’s wide yorkers for two overs, though he has had a strike rate of nearly 180 against balls wide outside off since the start of 2021.”Hitting the ball over cover, hitting the wide ball, has been something that I’ve been known for in CPL,” Rutherford says. “My whole life, growing up, I have been good at hitting the ball on the outside. I spoke to a few players as well. One thing I learned is that it happens, and on that day, I wasn’t up to the mark for playing the wide ones.”But I feel like it is something I am good enough to do, and I’m willing to accept that challenge again. Some days it’s good to accept it and just move forward and not to dwell on it for too long.”Rutherford put that game behind him. Less than a month later, he helped finish a match against Delhi Capitals, coming to the crease when GT needed 130 off 75 balls. With Buttler in boss mode at the other end, Rutherford played a measured innings, scoring 43 off 34 balls, as Titans successfully chased a 200-plus target for the first time in the IPL.”Jos is very calm, very experienced,” Rutherford said. “The important thing in that conversation was, ‘Just play the ball and forget about the score. Just read the situation, play every ball at its merit.'”I’m a natural hitter of the ball. I can hit sixes when I want. It was important for me to just know which ball I’m going to hit and which ball I’m going to take on and just keep going, keep batting and take it as deep as possible.”Rutherford (centre) chats with Rovman Powell (left) and Dwayne Bravo, who has had a big impact on Rutherford’s career: “Ever since he came to the [CPL] squad, he was like, you’re going to bat at No. 4. He gave me that role”•BCCIA key moment in Rutherford’s evolution as a versatile middle-order batter came in the 2024 T20 World Cup game against New Zealand. On a tough Trinidad pitch, where West Indies had lost four wickets in the powerplay, Rutherford repaired the innings and then gave it a finishing kick, targeting Daryl Mitchell, the weakest link in the New Zealand attack. During his unbeaten 68 off 39 balls, he displayed a combination of skill and sense.”It was a game that needed batsmanship and I thought I did well,” Rutherford recalled. “I think as a player, I want to be that guy more often than not. As I said, cricket is a game where you have to keep trying. Once you keep trying, you know you’re in. I learned that I can always make up in the end. It’s important to rotate strike, get off strike, hit those gaps, capitalise on bad balls, and once I’m in, I can always make a difference.”It’s important for me to evolve. The game is evolving, so I want to be evolving. I made a promise to myself that I just don’t want to be a hitter. I want to be a batter. So, you know, I’m still learning, and I’m still trying to add more to my game. And I think it’s important for me to just keep learning and keep adding.”Dwayne Bravo has had a strong influence on Rutherford’s progress, having captained and mentored him during St Kitts and Nevis Patriots’ run to win their maiden CPL title, in 2021.Rutherford (second from right) celebrating a win with his St Kitts and Nevis Patriots team-mates during their title-winning campaign in 2021•Randy Brooks/CPL T20/ Getty ImagesRutherford made his T20I debut for West Indies in 2018, but it was only after the 2021 CPL title under Bravo that he believed that he could cut it at the top level. He has since become a sought-after player in T20 leagues. After the IPL, he will head to MLC to play for Los Angeles Knight Riders and then join Barbados Royals in the CPL.”Bravo has always been like a brother to me,” Rutherford says. “He has been one of the coolest guys I’ve worked with as a player. And even as a coach, when he came to St Kitts that year, I could remember that he was like, ‘You’re going to bat at No. 4.’ He said, ‘You have the ability. You’re going to bat at four, so just make sure you are ready.'”I was very happy because, as I said, I always want to be a batter, not just a finisher. I think he saw that in me and gave me that role. Ever since then, I try to keep working on batting. Even when I’m in the nets, I don’t really do any big hits. I just try to play good cricket shots and get in a good position.”That didn’t happen in GT’s heavy defeat against Chennai Super Kings on Sunday, where Rutherford ended up flapping Anshul Kamboj to mid-on for a duck. H e has a chance to remedy that and win his first IPL title as a playing member of a team.”Yeah, it [winning the IPL title with GT] will mean a lot,” he says. “I had this conversation with a few of my West Indies colleagues, but yeah, it’s going to be better. I kind of feel better playing… being a part of a team and contributing to a win. So I’m really excited and looking forward to it this year.”

South Africa make second-lowest total; Jacob Bethell England’s second-youngest ODI centurion

Sampath Bandarupalli07-Sep-2025342 England’s margin of win by runs in the third ODI at Southampton against South Africa is the highest for any team in men’s ODIs. The previous biggest margin was India’s 317-run win against Sri Lanka in 2023 at Thiruvananthapuram.South Africa’s previous biggest defeat was by 276 runs against Australia at Mackay, two weeks ago. They have been on the receiving end of two of the top seven biggest defeats in men’s ODIs in the space of 15 days.72 South Africa’s total at Southampton is their second-lowest in men’s ODIs, behind the 69 all-out against Australia in 1993 at the SCG. It is also the fourth-lowest total for any team against England in men’s ODIs.South Africa’s innings lasted 20.5 overs, their second-shortest all-out innings in men’s ODIs, only a ball more than the 83 all-out in 20.4 overs against England in 2022 at Manchester.Getty Images414 for 5 England’s total in the third ODI at Southampton is their highest in the format against South Africa. Their previous highest was 399 for 9 at Bloemfontein in 2016.This was the fourth instance of South Africa conceding a 400-plus total in men’s ODIs, only behind West Indies (5), while England have got past 400 on seven occasions, only behind South Africa (8).21y 319d Jacob Bethell’s age on Sunday, when he scored 110. He is now the second-youngest man to score an ODI hundred for England. David Gower had two hundreds by that age – at 21 years and 55 days against Pakistan in 1978 and at 21 years and 309 days against Australia in 1979.ESPNcricinfo Ltd24 Runs added by South Africa before the fall of the sixth wicket, the lowest by them in a men’s ODI. The previous lowest was 36 runs against Afghanistan in last year’s Sharjah ODI. It is also the fewest runs needed by England to take the opposition’s first six wickets in a men’s ODI.The Southampton ODI is only the second occasion of South Africa being six wickets down in the first ten overs in a men’s ODI (where balls faced by partnerships are available). Last year’s ODI at Sharjah against Afghanistan is the other instance.4 for 5 Jofra Archer’s returns in the first ten overs of South Africa’s innings. Only one bowler has had better average in the first ten overs of a men’s ODI innings while taking four or more wickets – 4 for 4 by Makhaya Ntini against Australia at Cape Town in 2006 (where ball-by-ball data is available).80 Runs conceded by Codi Yusuf in his ten overs are the most on ODI debut for South Africa. The previous most was 73 by Duanne Olivier against Pakistan in 2019.Yusuf’s new-ball partner, Nandre Burger, conceded 95, the joint-second most by a bowler for South Africa in a men’s ODI, behind only Dale Steyn’s 96 against Australia in 2016.

He out-bowled Jadeja and Washington and revealed gaps in India’s spin-bowling cupboard

Karthik Krishnaswamy25-Nov-20253:19

Saba Karim: Spinners need long spell to set up batters

If you are an India fan, Tuesday may have brought a weird sense of déjà vuIndia, dominating a home Test and sitting on a massive lead, bat on and on into the last session of day four. Social-media explodes with complaints that they are scoring too slowly, delaying the declaration for too long.They declare when one of their batters is dismissed in sight of a hundred. More disgruntlement, because personal milestones yadda yadda.Then R Ashwin comes on, takes the new ball, and shuts everyone up. With just his second ball, he beats an opener in the air with drift and dip, and bowls him through the gate. He cycles through his changes of pace and trajectory like a virtuoso, never giving up his length.At stumps, the opposition, chasing an improbable total, are 27 for 2 and staring at defeat.Except it isn’t India doing the dominating but South Africa. Except this tall offspinner in sunglasses isn’t Ashwin. It’s Simon Harmer, and he’s looking like the most threatening spinner on either side.Simon Harmer has picked up 12 wickets in this series against India•BCCIHarmer has given this impression right through this series — unplayable on a Kolkata pitch offering square turn and uneven bounce, and a class above the rest on a flat, true red-soil pitch in Guwahati. He’s been able to bowl at 92kph and hurry batters’ responses to unpredictable behaviour off the first pitch, and to hang it above their eyeline at 78kph and scramble their judgment of line and length on the second.No one in the opposition — no fingerspinner, at any rate — has been able to match Harmer’s range. And the opposition is India.Related

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This is Test cricket in India in 2025, and it’s all upside-down.”I don’t know if we’re better,” South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad said, when asked if Harmer and Keshav Maharaj made up a better spin attack than India’s in conditions like Guwahati. “I think we’re just used to these conditions a lot more. Because back home, the spinners don’t bowl in spin-friendly conditions.”So I think our defensive game is better. If you look at the Indian spinners, I think they’re used to bowling on wickets that are conducive to spin bowling. So the pace they bowl at, the ball reacts a lot quicker, which makes them a lot more dangerous.”I think back home, our spinners are forced to bowl with a little bit more guile and a little bit more variation. And it certainly stood us in good stead coming here, on a good wicket like this, where we’re able to play with our flight, play with our lines and lengths a bit more: overspin, sidespin, all of the variations that are needed.”So I don’t think we’re better than them. I think we might just be slightly better-equipped in these conditions.”2:10

Philander: ‘South Africa playing mind games with India’

This seemed to be true right through this Test match, particularly if you compare only the fingerspinners. Harmer and Maharaj were far more comfortable bowling slower through the air, with more overspin, and giving the ball a chance to dip and bite into the surface.KL Rahul’s dismissals in both innings summed up the challenge they posed: he stretched forward both times, got nowhere near the pitch of the ball both times, edged Maharaj off the shoulder of his defensive bat in the first innings, and played all around a Harmer offbreak ripping out of the footmarks in the second.During India’s first innings, a graphic went up on TV showing the speeds of the two teams’ fingerspinners. Where Harmer and Maharaj bowled at average speeds of around 83kph with their slowest balls clocking around 77kph, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar clocked average speeds of around 91kph and slowest speeds of around 83kph.India appeared to recognise the need for reduced speed during South Africa’s second innings. Washington bowled a long spell on the fourth morning, with conspicuous amounts of overspin and at speeds typically in the mid-80s rather than the low 90s, and generated impressive dip and bounce, getting Temba Bavuma caught at leg slip with one that sprang at his gloves.By then, of course, South Africa were well ahead of the game.KL Rahul was done in by a jaffa from Simon Harmer on Tuesday•AFP/Getty ImagesNow it’s important to note that they didn’t get there simply because their spinners were better-equipped to bowl on a flat pitch. They won the toss and made use of the best batting conditions of the match to pile up 489. When India batted, they were under scorecard pressure — which included being 1-0 down in the series — and on a pitch that was beginning to do just a little bit more.And as well as Harmer and Maharaj bowled in the first innings, two of their four wickets came off short balls that happened to do unusual things. The towering left-arm quick Marco Jansen was their chief gamebreaker with first-innings figures of 6 for 48.And as limited as Jadeja and Washington may have looked in the first innings, they were bowling on a most unhelpful surface.”Honestly, as a bowler, when we were bowling on the first two days, there wasn’t a single mark on the wicket,” Jadeja said. “It was sparkling like a mirror. And when they [South Africa] began bowling, and in the situation they were in, their fast bowler taking wickets brought their spinners into play. And they were getting the ball to turn and bounce as well.”The situation matters a lot in cricket. If it had been flipped around, and we had been 300 runs ahead when they came in to bat, we could have potentially been winning by a big margin. The toss isn’t in anyone’s hands, and winning and losing the toss is part of the game, but it does have an effect. When you’re bowling first and nothing is happening off the wicket, then your spinners look ordinary. But when you are 300 runs ahead, all your bowlers will look good.”2:16

Jadeja: ‘As good as a win if we bat out the entire day tomorrow’

Lost tosses have haunted India through both this home series and the one they lost 3-0 to New Zealand last year. But even there, during the Pune Test match, India — even with Ashwin in their ranks — weren’t able to match Mitchell Santner’s ability to vary his speeds, particularly down into the 70s, on a pitch that looked more responsive when the spinners bowled slower.Sometimes, it’s just a question of styles. Jadeja is one of cricket’s greatest-ever left-arm spinners, one of the few in history who has been able to bowl accurately at above 90kph while giving the ball enough of a rip to turn it square if he has just enough help from the pitch. On Tuesday, he bowled Aiden Markram with one such ball that turned past the outside edge to hit the top of off. Jadeja’s career is littered with such balls.And when there’s no help from the pitch, Jadeja excels at controlling the scorecard with his unerring lengths, and at varying his release positions on the crease to keep batters hyper-vigilant. What he isn’t particularly known for is varying his pace through the air.It’s understandable that a bowler with his record — no left-arm spinner with 150-plus Test wickets has a better average than his 25.11 — would trust his methods and be reluctant to depart from it in the middle of a Test match.But in their recent trend towards preparing square turners at home, India may have habituated their spinners into bowling in a square-turner sort of way. And in following this template, they may have also prioritised square-turner qualities — air speed, control, the ability to extract natural variation, and also the ability to extend India’s batting depth — in their selection of fingerspinners over recent seasons. Washington and Axar Patel, like Jadeja, tick all these boxes. With Ashwin now retired, there’s no fingerspinner with more old-fashioned traits in India’s Test squad.India’s spinners have struggled to make an impact in the series against South Africa•Associated PressThey do, however, have Kuldeep Yadav, a wristspinner who excels at the things these fingerspinners aren’t comfortable doing. Giving the ball loop, delivering with high overspin, varying his speeds — typically from the high 70s to the mid-80s, and of late into the early 90s too — and deceiving batters in the air. And these qualities had been at the forefront when he took three wickets on day one of this Guwahati Test.After that, though, Kuldeep became a marginal presence, with India’s stand-in captain Rishabh Pant showing a reluctance to give him long spells. After introducing Kuldeep via a seven-over passage broken by a change of ends, Pant did not give him a single spell in either innings that extended past a fifth over.This didn’t seem like the best use of a serious attacking threat, because spinners usually like bowling long spells that allow them to build a rhythm and settle into their lengths and speeds. Perhaps Kuldeep didn’t get to do this because India were already more worried about scoreboard control than wickets by day two, and perhaps because shorter spells are often a byproduct of three-spinner attacks.And perhaps Kuldeep, too, is unused to heavy workloads because he’s habituated to bowling in shorter innings on more helpful pitches. Even during his eight-wicket match haul against West Indies on a slow, low Delhi pitch last month, he had begun menacingly before losing a bit of sting with more overs under his belt.In every way, then, India’s tendency, dating back to early 2021, to play most of their home Tests against strong oppositions on pitches that turn sharply and early may have left them in an odd situation when a surface like Guwahati’s comes along.3:49

Can India’s youngsters grind out a draw?

Through the 2016-19 period, when India mostly played home Tests on true pitches, Ashwin and Jadeja had out-bowled every visiting attack, most of them comprehensively, bowling with better control, at a more challenging pace, while giving the ball a bigger rip. Since then, though, touring sides have learned from India’s successes, and built spin attacks better-suited to Indian conditions.This has generally meant that their spinners have become more comfortable bowling at higher speeds, and attacking the stumps more: Nathan Lyon in 2023, for instance, and Harmer in Kolkata looked right at home bowling like India’s bowlers.But these spinners also bowl a lot on less helpful pitches, in international and domestic cricket, and get the chance to develop other facets of their game. When they need to try and beat batters in the air, or bowl long, patient spells of high overspin and land on footmarks wide of off stump, they know what to do, and have a feel for it.These aren’t things that India’s fingerspinners — at least those who are currently in and around the Test squad — particularly excel at. And it can hurt them overseas too. Jadeja, so used to attacking the stumps, struggled to land the ball in the rough outside Ben Duckett’s off stump when he kept reverse-sweeping him at Headingley in June. It recalled Ashwin’s struggle to bowl the same sort of line to England’s right-hand batters during the 2018 Southampton Test when Moeen Ali slipped into that mode with ease.Harmer’s displays in this series, then, have shone a revealing light on the gaps in India’s spin-bowling cupboard. Every team would kill to have even one of India’s three spin-bowling allrounders, but it may not be in India’s best interests to pack their squad with so many fingerspinners of broadly similar strengths, and to keep playing them on tracks that stifle their growth into more rounded bowlers. Playing on a steady diet of such tracks may not be in the best interests of their wristspinner either.India, in short, have enviable spin-bowling depth, but their spinners, quite possibly, are no longer the best in the world across conditions.

Twelve years ago, India hosted a Women’s World Cup that barely made a dent in the country’s consciousness. Everything is different now

Sruthi Ravindranath and Shashank Kishore28-Sep-2025When India last hosted the Women’s World Cup, in 2013, marketing the sport meant herding a few hundred schoolkids in their uniforms into pockets of the stadium, to lend a bit of atmosphere to the TV coverage.Venues could be changed days before the tournament, just so the city’s biggest stadium could host a Ranji Trophy final involving Sachin Tendulkar.Match practice for India’s senior women’s team comprised games against Under-16s and Under-19s boys teams at the Police Gymkhana, after which the players would walk back to their budget rooms in South Mumbai while overseas teams checked into a five-star hotel. It was only after Diana Edulji, a former India captain, highlighted their plight in the national media that the team was eventually shifted into the hotel that housed the other teams.Related

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India could draw satisfaction from beating at-par opponents like West Indies, but even running bigger teams close felt like victory back then. Like when a wiry 23-year-old batter who dreamed of emulating Virender Sehwag batted out of her skin to briefly give England the jitters.Thirteen years on, the same hard-hitting batter is India’s captain, possibly playing in her last 50-over World Cup at 37. But this time, Harmanpreet Kaur has around her a generation of players who don’t just want to compete, but conquer. And for the first time in half a century, India’s women walk into a World Cup with every reason to believe they could be crowned champions.Thirush Kamini scored a century against West Indies in India’s first match of the 2013 World Cup•AFP/Getty ImagesThe contrast is stark. In 2013, such suggestions would have generated ridicule. Even though women’s cricket was under the BCCI’s purview, it was nowhere near as professional as it is today. Match fees barely touched INR 1 lakh for an entire tour, and daily allowances ran to INR 1500, barely enough to cover a coffee and a snack in countries like England or Australia. For players, defeat often meant checking out the next morning and finding their own way home: sometimes by taxi, sometimes by train.Players craved attention and got none. “Back then, recognition came only during a World Cup,” says former India opener Thirush Kamini, who scored a century in India’s tournament opener against West Indies in 2013. “Once you returned home, unless someone was very passionate about the game, nobody really noticed you. Today, players are recognised everywhere.”Opportunities were scarce. “Probably, I would say, the platform with which the girls are being selected now to play at the highest level [is far superior],” says former India allrounder Niranjana Nagarajan, who was part of the 2013 squad.”They have a platform like WPL. And they have more tournaments to play and show their talent. That we did not have. We just had inter-zonal and challengers. And if we qualified for nationals, we’d get an extra three games. That was it. We lost out on a number of matches.”Even when players did well, their efforts would end up as one- or two-column stories at the peripheries of the sports pages. Instagram was still too new, too basic, and too niche to turn their magic moments viral.”For the men’s team, if Sanju Samson isn’t picked, you ask why. If Shreyas Iyer performs in the IPL and isn’t selected, questions are raised,” Thirush says. This wasn’t the case with women’s cricket in her time, but it’s changed now.”Now when Shafali [Verma] is not getting picked, the selectors are asked why she’s not getting picked. The players who had played during the previous era didn’t even understand why they were not getting picked.”I understand it’s going to be a lot of pressure on a player like Shafali. But when you look at the flip side, I feel she at least has a clarity that she’s still in the scheme of things and she’s just not part of this World Cup. When you’re talking about players getting paid equally, it’s not just about infrastructure or facilities. It’s also about expectations, and that kind of scrutiny should stay.”

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Mithali Raj, who was 14 years into her international career at the 2013 World Cup, was one of two recognisable names in the sport, Jhulan Goswami being the other. Even so, the fact that Mithali had already led India to a World Cup final in 2005 barely shifted the needle of public attention.”When I got my hundred, Mithali was at the other end,” Thirush recalls. “A journalist asked how it felt to beat her record. She just turned to me with a smile and said, ‘Go ahead, it’s your moment.’ That generosity is what made them such great leaders.”Today, the landscape is completely different. Players train at state-of-the-art facilities, compete in thriving T20 leagues in India and abroad, and play the best oppositions as a matter of routine. In the lead-up to this World Cup, India toured England and hosted world champions Australia. A far cry from the time they’d settle for practice matches against men’s age-group teams.Jemimah Rodrigues was once Tendulkar’s neighbour in Mumbai. One of the things that inspired her to play cricket was seeing him arrive home to exuberant celebrations. Harmanpreet was captivated by Sehwag’s fearlessness and his habit of starting his innings with boundaries. Today, aspiring cricketers look at Smriti Mandhana’s cover drive, Harmanpreet’s sweep, and Radha Yadav’s athleticism for inspiration.In 2025, India’s women players are in the midst of a revolution – equal pay, record prize money, and a fan following that travels to see them play and train.In 2013, Mithali Raj (second from left) was one of two widely known women cricketers in India•AFPBucket Hat Cult, a dedicated fan group for women’s cricket, are set for their biggest outing yet. The 25-member group, which officially came together in 2023, travel to “as many India games as possible”, and will be out in force in Navi Mumbai for their first ODI Women’s World Cup. “We want to create as much buzz as we can,” they say.India’s run to the final of the 2017 World Cup was hailed as a turning point for women’s cricket in the country, but the BCCI may have been a tad late in harnessing that wave. Once they did, however, with the 2023 launch of the WPL, interest in the sport has surged. WPL 2025 recorded a 142% spike in TV viewership, drawing 31 million viewers. Even Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s trophy celebration in 2024 drew a full house at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, where the men’s team gave them a guard of honour.It feels like a dream sometimes, but it’s very much real. And after years of anonymity, this is the players’ time to shine.

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Three of the four venues for this World Cup haven’t hosted a women’s international in the last five years. Outside of Mumbai, most of India’s recent matches have been in Bengaluru, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Delhi. Among them, Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy and Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium have drawn strong crowds, helped by the WPL’s presence.DY Patil is expected to draw big numbers again, but the spotlight now shifts to less familiar venues: Guwahati, Indore and Visakhapatnam. India last played in Guwahati in 2019, in Vizag back in 2014, and have never played in Indore. Local connection could help, with each of these cities represented in the squad. And playing the World Cup in these cities may be a “blessing in disguise”, Niranjana feels.”Women’s cricket is always taking place in Bengaluru and Mumbai, of course the reach and ticket sales will probably be more there,” she says. “But when will we expose women’s cricket to other places?”Girls there will probably pick up a bat after watching the tournament. The reach will get better. I am definitely happy because these places are maybe not as big for women’s cricket but considering this is an ICC tournament, it is definitely a good thing. Those people can also experience women’s cricket as one of its kind.”Kranti Goud is evidence of women’s cricket having spread deep into India’s hinterlands•Getty ImagesUma Chetry, who hails from Guwahati, is the first woman from the state of Assam to represent India. She carries the hopes of a region that seemed unlikely to produce international players a decade ago. In the last year alone, it has produced two – Riyan Parag, an IPL captain no less, is the other.In Kadapa, a few hours away from Visakhapatnam, N Shree Charani’s skills first took shape in gully cricket, where she’d bowl left-arm fast. In 2018-19, Charani’s maternal uncle, who had grown up playing cricket in Hyderabad, persuaded her parents to send her for cricket trials.She caught the eyes of the age-group coaches who were amazed at her athleticism – Charani was a promising track-and-field athlete in school. Today, on the back of an impressive initiation in the WPL, where she plays alongside Meg Lanning, Charani, who now bowls left-arm spin, has a platform to share a stage with the world’s best.Kranti Goud’s journey from Ghuwara, a small town 450km from Indore, to the national team, punctuated by a six-wicket-haul in England, reflects how scouting, WPL performances, and exposure are reshaping India’s talent pool.From struggling for recognition in 2013 to commanding attention and respect in 2025, women’s cricket in India has come a long way. This World Cup could finally give the players a stage that is theirs to own.

Inigo Perez, who currently manages La Liga side Rayo Vallecano, is the latest name “under consideration” by Wolverhampton Wanderers to fill their current vacancy in the dugout.

After picking up just two points from an available 30 in their opening 10 Premier League games, Vitor Pereira was dismissed from his post as manager. Wolves have determined who will take interim charge of the club against Chelsea on Saturday, but will no doubt hope for a swift appointment as James Collins took press conference duties on Friday.

Unsurprisingly, a number of managers have been linked with Wolves and it will take a gargantuan effort to lift the Old Gold out of their current slump. Middlesbrough manager Rob Edwards appears to be their preferred choice, although Boro are hesitant to let go of the head coach who, hired last summer, has made a strong start at the Riverside Stadium.

Reports from Spain, however, have indicated that Wolves were looking to options from abroad to replace Pereira.

Wolves keen on Perez of Rayo Vallecano

Radio Marca, as per Sport Witness, have stated that Inigo Perez has “received calls from Wolves” about becoming their next manager. A former midfielder, Perez spent a season as Rayo Vallecano’s assistant manager under Andoni Iraola, who is now doing brilliant things with Bournemouth.

Returning to the club in 2024 as manager, Perez guided Vallecano to Conference League football through their eighth-placed finish in La Liga last season. The club are unbeaten in Europe after three matches and with 11 league games played, are 10th in the table.

Perez has since acknowledged that he understands comparisons between Iraola, himself and the way their teams play, a brand of football that is clearly effective.

Interest in Perez is understandable, though Diario de Navarra, once again as per Sport Witness, have claimed that Perez “wants to stay at Rayo Vallecano until the end of this season.” As such, he has “rejected the offers” he has received from Wolves and other interested parties.

It feels imperative that Wolves, who are still without a league win this season, soon find a replacement for Pereira, given the predicament they find themselves in. Perez, however, will seemingly not be that man.

If Perez continues to impress as he has done during his reign so far, then he may soon follow Iraola to the Premier League. It would appear that, for now, Wolves will have to turn to an alternative target.

Ex Man Utd manager would be open to talks with Wolves

Somerset 433 and 99 (Thomas 39, Porter 4-18) lead Essex 438 (Walter 158, Elgar 118, Overton 6-88) by 94 runsJamie Porter ripped through some fragile batting with four wickets to help skittle Somerset for 99 and put Essex on course for only their second home Rothesay County Championship victory of the season.Ably supported by debutant seamer Charlie Bennett, and latterly spinner Simon Harmer, Porter took his season’s tally to 49 wickets with figures of 4 for 18 from a dozen overs. It left Essex requiring 95 to win before bad light ended play on day three 17 overs early.At one stage, when Dean Elgar and Paul Walter were putting on 277 for the first wicket the day before, it had looked as if Essex would gain a sizeable first-innings advantage. In reality, that lead turned out to be just five runs as they lost all 10 wickets for an additional 161 runs inside 45 overs. But that was before Somerset went in for a second time.Much of the damage in Essex’s first-innings 438 was down to some naggingly accurate bowling from Craig Overton, who passed 500 first-class career wickets while posting figures of 6 for 88. What had been a docile, one-paced wicket suddenly turned into a seamer’s dream and Overton capitalised with his second six-wicket haul of the season.Essex’s seamers were also quickly among the wickets in Somerset’s second innings. Porter beat Archie Vaughan for pace and then Bennett had Tom Lammonby lbw to 1 that stayed low.James Rew appeared to be repairing the initial damage, harvesting four boundaries in his run-a-ball 19, until he skied a leading edge to midwicket off Bennett.Then in the next over, Tom Kohler-Cadmore may have lost the ball in the gathering gloom as Doug Bracewell bent back his off-stump. The floodlights came on soon after.Josh Thomas had been immune to the carnage around him, hitting seven fours in his 39 from 65 balls, but he became Porter’s 550th first-class wicket for Essex when one kept low and trapped him lbw. In the same over, Kasey Aldridge tickled one through to substitute wicketkeeper Simon Fernandes.With Somerset disappearing down a rabbit hole at 89 for 6, Essex announced free admission for all spectators on the final day. Overton then made a swift exit, playing all around one from Porter. And it became worse when Jack Leach set off for a run, pushing Porter into the covers, but could not recover his ground before Charlie Allison’s throw enabled Fernandes to whip off the bails.Lewis Goldsworthy dug in for 58 balls, but he was undone by a spectacular delivery from Harmer that pitched well outside off-stump and turned square to bowl him. And Jake Ball followed to one from the spinner that went straight on and disturbed his stumps, Somerset all out inside 34 overs.Under dirty grey clouds in the morning, things had looked brighter for Somerset when Overton claimed a second wicket in 10 balls, separated by overnight rest and recuperation. He dug in a short delivery and Tom Westley hooked obligingly to deep square leg.Elgar lasted just another half-an-hour. He added just seven runs to his day-two total before he was lbw for 118 playing all around the second ball of an Aldridge spell.Overton, returning for another spell with the second new-ball already four overs old, struck with his 13th delivery, slanting one in at pace and flattening Allison’s middle stump.Lewis Gregory had looked the most lively of the Somerset attack, beating the bat on a number of occasions, and finally received some reward, Matt Critchley lbw playing down the wrong line.On the stroke of lunch, Michael Pepper became Overton’s fifth victim when he was lbw trying to force the ball through midwicket.Gregory lasted eight deliveries in the afternoon session before pulling up injured and briefly leaving the pitch. He, therefore, missed Overton’s sixth wicket when Bracewell looked to swing lustily to leg but ended up dollying a catch to wide mid-off.Bennett produced some aggressive hitting with five fours in a 26-ball 22 before he gave a tame return catch to Leach. Porter smashed his first ball straight for six to take Essex into the lead but perished when he skied Leach into the covers.

Newcastle United have a tough run of fixtures to contend with for the rest of November, before the bumper Christmas schedule weighs heavily on the calendar.

Indeed, the up-and-down Magpies have a tricky home clash with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City up next, as Eddie Howe no doubt worries already as to how his porous defence will deal with a free-flowing Erling Haaland.

Then, it’s back-to-back away fixtures at Marseille and Everton in the Champions League and Premier League, with Howe, presumably, under even more intense pressure if he fails to pick up a win or two across this stretch of contests.

Far too many players Howe has relied on over the years have failed to deliver the goods across recent matches, with many of those underperformers also falling into the high earners bracket at St James’ Park.

Assessing Newcastle's current wage bill

Newcastle’s highest earner currently continues to lead by example for the most part in club captain Bruno Guimaraes.

Understandably, during losses on the road against West Ham United and Brentford, the Brazilian wasn’t at his liveliest.

But, the £160k-per-week “talisman” – as he has been recently labelled by Michael Carrick – does still have three goals next to his name this season, when bailing his topsy-turvy side out of some sticky situations, which included this wonderfully taken strike breaking the deadlock against Nottingham Forest last month in a much-needed 2-0 win.

The same adoration isn’t being extended to Joelinton and Anthony Gordon – who both take home a hefty £150k-per-week pay packet – with the pair notably struggling in league action this season. Neither player has scored a single goal or registered an assist from a combined 16 Premier League outings.

Thankfully, Nick Woltemade has lived up to his club-record £69m price tag, and his high £132.5k-per-week wage, on the contrary, with four league goals already next to his name.

There will be some grumbles about Anthony Elanga’s £55m fee and £100k-per-week wage, though, with the ex-Manchester United attacker dubbed a “massive overpay” by analyst Raj Chohan, with the Swede yet to show off his exhilarating best on the wings. He remains goalless so far on Tyneside.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

The likes of Elanga and Gordon are not the only players being hounded.

A "legendary" star must be ditched by Newcastle

Elanga will also surely have the benefit of patience on his side, with the 23-year-old only 17 games down for his new employers. In time, the hope will be that the expensive £55m purchase does come good.

Whereas, in the case of Joe Willock, the peak of his Newcastle career looks to be very firmly behind him now, with his drop-off in form on Tyneside a very concerning tale.

Towards the start of his Newcastle playing days, Willock perform the role of a bright spark in front of goal from the midfield ranks expertly, much like Guimaraes now provides Howe and Co.

Staggeringly, he scored in seven straight Premier League matches during his initial loan spell from Arsenal during the 2020/21 season, as Willock lived up to Mikel Arteta’s words of being a “special” talent.

Ex-Arsenal striker Kevin Campbell even went as far as to state that Willock had achieved “legendary stats” at St James’ Park with this unbelievable goalscoring run, further hailing the number 28 as “god-like” to the Tyneside masses.

Willock has, arguably, become a victim of his own successes at Newcastle, with the former Arsenal midfielder only managing to cough up two more goals across 133 games, away from exploding onto the scene with a breakneck eight goals during his first 14 outings.

The Athletic’s Chris Waugh has simply labelled the 26-year-old as a major “disappointment” over the past couple of seasons, with only 100 minutes of Premier League action handed his way this campaign, really bringing into view his lavish £80k-per-week wage.

Wildly, that means summer arrival Malick Thiaw earns less than Willock, despite being an ever-present part of Howe’s defensive unit in the Premier League so far this season, with the German only banking a £70k-per-week salary.

It’s far from the most uplifting story seeing the decline of Willock in real time, but if Howe is to turn around his side’s fortunes right now, he will have to consider shelving the EFL Cup-winning midfielder for good very soon, alongside other previous regulars who have now fallen off the horse.

Everton enter race to sign £88m South American "machine" with Newcastle

The Toffees need a creative spark.

1

By
Tom Cunningham

Nov 16, 2025

Raza had valiantly revived Zimbabwe’s chase through the middle overs but he could not take them over the line

Andrew Fidel Fernando29-Aug-2025A spectacular Dilshan Madushanka hat-trick derailed a scintillating Zimbabwe chase in the final over, which Sikandar Raza had valiantly revived through the middle overs.Raza had brought Zimbabwe to the cusp of what would have been a famous victory. They needed ten off the last over, he himself was on strike and batting beautifully on 92 off 86 balls, and at the other end was Tony Munyonga, with whom he’d shared a 128-run stand.But Madushanka backed his speed and went for the stumps. Raza attempted an over-the-shoulder scoop with the fine leg in the circle. But he could not get a touch on the ball, which sent middle stump flying.With ten now needed off five, Zimbabwe were still in with a shot if someone could find the boundary. But Madushanka kept going full and fast, and kept finding wickets. Brad Evans tried a scoop as well, but wound up only giving short fine a catch. Richard Ngarava tried to swipe across the line next ball, and also found his stumps rearranged. Only two runs were possible off the last three deliveries – Madushanka sticking to fuller lengths and staying tight on the stumps. Though he had been expensive earlier, he had produced the defining over of the match in his first ODI this year. He took 4 for 62. Asitha Fernando took 3 for 50 from his ten overs.Tony Munyonga and Sikandar Raza put on a century stand for the sixth wicket but it wasn’t enough•Zimbabwe Cricket

Before that Madushanka finale, Raza had Zimbabwe sailing through the death overs. He and Munyonga had come together when Zimbabwe still needed 138 for victory off 120 balls, and the pair had produced a dynamic partnership, Raza always leading the way, manipulating the field expertly as the early assistance the pitch had offered died out. (Sri Lanka’s lower middle order had also found batting conditions improved substantially as the ball wore.)Raza largely milked the spinners and reserved his big shots for the seam bowlers, punishing them severely when they missed their lengths. Sri Lanka’s fielding was sloppy through this period, and their over rate also suffered to such an extent that they were punished with having an extra fielder in the circle for the last two overs. Raza kept the singles and twos flowing, and in Munyonga had a partner who could turn the strike back over to him fairly efficiently.Munyonga was dropped on 35 at deep point, with Zimbabwe needing 32 off 22 balls, and from there Zimbabwe’s victory felt fairly assured, as Raza continued to whittle down the score with boundaries and sharp running. Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka had his more reliable quicks – Dushmantha Chameera and Fernando – bowl out by the end of the 49th over, hoping one of them could take the breakthrough wicket. In the end, they left Madushanka with enough runs to defend that batters still had to hit a boundary in that over.Janith Liyanage and Kamindu Mendis put on 137 off just 83 balls•Zimbabwe Cricket

Sri Lanka’s innings had also centred around their sixth-wicket partnership, and those batters had – like Raza and Munyonga – been joined with the score 161 for 5. Janith Liyanage and Kamindu Mendis added 137 off 83 balls to electrify what had been a slow Sri Lanka innings until that point. Of those runs, Liyanage hit 70 not out off 47 balls, and Kamindu 57 off 36 before being bowled by Richard Ngarava off the last delivery of the innings.Although batters above them had been watchful, Liyanage and Kamindu were more severe on the bowlers’ errors in length, as the spinners attempted to continue rushing through the overs, and the seamers tried to exploit the extra bounce in the surface. They found boundaries square of the wicket – Liyanage favouring the offside – and the two were also excellent between the wickets.Kamindu was the busier of the two, but Liyanage got more strike towards the end of the innings, and did not fail to land some big blows, hitting an especially memorable helicopter-shot six off Ngarava in the final over. Trevor Gwandu had earlier conceded a 23-run over to the pair.There had been good top-order contributions in both innings. For Zimbabwe, Sean Williams and Ben Curran both hit fifties in their 118-run partnership, having come together with the score at two wickets for no runs. For Sri Lanka, Pathum Nissanka had struck a patient fifty.

Celtic have closed the gap at the top of the Scottish Premiership table on a potentially pivotal Sunday.

The Hoops demolished Kilmarnock 4-0 at Parkhead, with Johnny Kenny breaking the deadlock, Kieran Tierney adding a second shortly after half time, before Daizen Maeda and then Arne Engels from the penalty spot added a little gloss to the scoreline late on.

With Hearts held to a 1-1 draw by Dundee United over at Tynecastle, the Hoops go into the international break now just seven points adrift of the leaders, also with a game in hand.

For Martin O’Neill, since returning to the Parkhead dugout after two decades away, he has enjoyed back-to-back 4-0 Premiership wins, as well as dumping Rangers out of the League Cup semi-finals at Hampden; the less said about Thursday’s Europa League clash with Midtjylland the better!

In this victory, for however long the 73-year-old remains in caretaker charge, he learned that one Celtic player in particular can be counted on.

Will O'Neill still be at Celtic after the break?

After Sunday’s comfortable victory, O’Neill confirmed “I genuinely don’t know” if he will still be in charge for their next fixture, adding that if the board do appoint a permanent manager during the international break that it’ll “be absolutely fine by me”.

When Celtic do return to action later this month, they’ll travel to St Mirren before facing Feyenoord in Rotterdam in a repeat of the 1970 European Cup Final, but who will be in charge of those matches?

Well, could it be Wilfried Nancy?

He is currently the favourite to land the job, reportedly one of the club’s top targets alongside Kieran McKenna, and a move to Glasgow may have edged a little bit closer this weekend, after Nancy’s Columbus Crew were dumped out the MLS play-offs by rivals FC Cincinnati on Saturday, meaning their season is now over, which could expedite any appointment, if he is indeed who they want.

Irrespective of who is sat in the away dugout in Paisley in a fortnight, they surely can’t help but be impressed by the performance of one Celtic player in particular this weekend.

Celtic star enjoys his finest day of the season vs Kilmarnock

The Celtic medical staff may need to paraphrase Police Chief Brody from Jaws: we’re going to need a bigger treatment room!

The Hoops are already without Cameron Carter-Vickers, Alistair Johnston, Jota and Kelechi Ịheanachọ, before Hampden hero Callum Osmand​​​​​​​ suffered a long-term injury in Herning on Thursday, while Marcelo Saracchi was then stretchered off in the first half against Kilmarnock.

This obviously is not ideal, but does of course present opportunities for others and, in the absence of Carter-Vickers, his compatriot Auston Trusty has really impressed.

The American centre-back put in an excellent display against Rangers in last weekend’s semi-final victory, but was possibly even more eye-catching this Sunday, with the statistics supporting this assertion.

Accurate passes

98

1st

Passing accuracy %

96%

3rd

Accurate long balls

9

2nd

Dribbles success %

100%

1st

Defensive actions

9

5th

Clearances

7

3rd

Interceptions

1

6th

Duels won

9

1st

Aerial duels won

6

1st

Touches

117

1st

SofaScore rating

8.4

3rd

As the table documents, the centre-half put in a colossal defensive display on Sunday, ranked first for duels as well as accurate passes and touches.

Meantime, when only Celtic players are considered, nobody accumulated more defensive actions, clearances or interceptions.

Glasgow World documented that he ‘continued his rich vein of form’, while noting that the 27-year-old appears to be the perfect man to fill a rather large Carter-Vickers-shaped void at the back.

The defender, who was named man of the match, was also labelled “composed, dominant and aggressive”, having been “immense​​​​​​​” since Carter-Vickers suffered a long-term achilles injury against Sturm Graz.

As recognition of his form, Trusty has been recalled to the United States squad for their friendlies against Paraguay in Pennsylvania and then Uruguay in Florida next week.

Trusty has not played a single minute for the USMNT since November last year, but could well change that as Mauricio Pochettino continues to experiment ahead of the World Cup.

Back at club level, Celtic will need Trusty to remain fit, available and in form because, frankly, they don’t have any other options and, if a new manager is appointed in the next fortnight, he has really staked a claim to remain a key figure. This was undoubtedly his finest day of the campaign to date.

The new Rodgers: Celtic make "incredible" manager their new No.1 target

Celtic could be looking to appoint another Brendan Rodgers-type figure.

ByRobbie Walls Nov 9, 2025

Minto stars for England with five-for, but Ratan takes 4 for 9 to seal comfortable victory

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay05-Sep-2025Bangladesh U19 292 (Hossan 100, Minto 5-68) beat England U19 205 (Mohammed 75, Ratul 4-9) by 87 runsRizan Hossan’s authoritative century off 101 balls outdid a five-wicket haul from Durham’s James Minto and a sparkling 75 from Isaac Mohammed as Bangladesh Men U19s beat England Men U19s by 87 runs in the first Youth One-Day International at Loughborough.Despite a confident start, a target of 293 proved too much for the hosts, as England dramatically collapsed from 132 for two to 205 all out. Bangladesh’s spinners combined to take eight wickets. Samiun Basir Ratul stood out with outstanding figures of 4.2-0-9-4.Bangladesh openers Zawad Abrar and Rifat Beg made a brisk start, reaching 31 for none after five overs. Abrar’s brace of sixes over fine leg during an expensive opening spell by Minto typified their approach. Progress was halted when Leicestershire’s Alex Green claimed Beg’s wicket with his first ball, which grazed the leg stump and ended the 44-run opening stand.Bangladesh captain Azizul Hakim Tamim, who was dropped on four, was next to depart, caught by Kent’s Ben Dawkins off Yorkshire new-ball bowler, Matthew Firbank, for 11. England struck again when Abrar gloved Minto down the legside, at 69 for three in the 13th over the Young Lions appeared to gain a foothold in the game.However, a fourth-wicket partnership worth 148 between Kalam Aleen and Hossan allowed the visitors to regain the initiative.Initially Hossan was the main aggressor, he got to his fifty off 58 balls with a stylish boundary over midwicket. Aleen’s half-century, characterised by strong sweep shots, soon followed off 68 balls, as both batters manipulated the field effectively.The partnership was broken by Minto in the 39th over, who took two wickets in consecutive balls, leaving the score on 217 for five. Firstly, Aleen played across the line and was trapped LBW and then Mohammad Abdullah was the victim of another legside strangle, with captain Thomas Rew completing a regulation catch.England’s impressive death bowling meant that only 66 runs were added in the final 9.2 overs of the innings. The late flurry of wickets included Hossan, dismissed by Nottinghamshire’s Hatton-Lowe, one ball after getting to a deserved century. In the final over, Minto mopped up the innings, bagging two tailend wickets in two balls, the left-armer finishing with five for 68.England’s chase of 293 began badly, as Fahad castled Dawkins, in the first over of the reply. Joe Moores followed in the sixth over for 14, a looping top edge offering Tamim a catch off his own bowling.That brought Will Bennison to the middle, the Yorkshire batter in partnership with Mohammed proceeded to dominate the powerplay, accelerating the score to 129 for two after 15 overs. Isaac’s fifty, off only 34 balls, contained a ramped six along with several conventional boundaries.Bangladesh’s breakthrough came via Shadin Islam’s off-spin, bowling Bennison through the gate for 36 off 32 balls. Soon after, Mohammed’s fine innings of 75 ended with a catch to cover, leaving two new batters at the crease and 151 runs needed off 32.2 overs.Skipper Rew and debutant Jack Nelson maintained the pressure until a critical passage saw Middlesex’s Nelson undone by Ratul. The slow left armer also accounted for Rew as England faltered at 189 for six after 26.2 overs.The situation considerably worsened when Ralphie Albert was needlessly run out. The very next ball, Hatton-Lowe was then caught behind off Shahdin.Ratul closed out the game a few overs later with Firbank’s wicket, a sharp catch of his bowling.Mohammed said: “I really enjoyed it to be fair, I just felt good, I’ve doing a lot of training recently and I feel like a lot of that paid off today. At the end of the day the result didn’t go our way but when Sunday comes hopefully we can put it right.”When I’m batting, I like to stay positive, whatever the scenario is, I’m backing my ability.”Speaking about the Bangladesh spinners claiming eight wickets, he added: “At the start it was quite a fresh ball so it wasn’t doing as much. When the spinners did come back on, I’d just got out before that.”But looking at some of the videos, it looked like it was starting to grip, so if we are playing on the same wicket on Sunday, that could be something to look into.”Mohammed, whose Worcestershire are in the men’s Metro Bank One-Day Cup final against Hampshire later this month, to cap a breakthrough season for the batter said: “I’m loving it, and hopefully in the (Metro Bank) final against Hampshire, we can bring home the trophy.”