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It was impossible to miss the Ashes omens as England’s Test-qualified top order were blown apart

Cameron Ponsonby26-Oct-2025He’s done it again. Another innings in New Zealand. Another Harry Brook masterclass.Less than a year ago, Brook played arguably his best innings in an England shirt. Arriving at the crease at 26 for 3, which soon became 43 for 4, Brook made 123 from 115 (in a Test match) at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. He hit one ball out of the stadium and into the road. It had gone over extra cover.So where does he rank his magician’s innings in Mount Maunganui compared to his hundred at Wellington?”Which one?” comes the reply.Because he also made 186 on the same ground the year before. Maybe he genuinely couldn’t remember. Which somehow makes it worse.Related

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Brook’s 135 from 101 balls at the Bay Oval was nothing short of phenomenal. He hit 11 sixes and scored 60.53% of his team’s runs, the highest proportion that any one batter has ever contributed to an England ODI innings.But on a day of extremes, it highlighted one man’s genius in the face of his own team’s weakness. Following the T20 series, Brook spoke of how on true surfaces, there are few teams better in the world than England. But the challenge they have is when faced with a difficult pitch, can they fight and scrap their way to a total?Mount Maunganui was a tricky deck. And England were 10 for 4.You can pick the caveat you want: New Zealand were also 24 for 3, so it was a new-ball wicket. Or, in isolation, each of England’s first four wickets to fall were to exceptional pieces of bowling. Zak Foulkes, in only his second ODI, was entrusted with the new ball due to a strong crosswind and his ability to extract significant swing away from the left-hander. He was close to unplayable, first spinning Ben Duckett round to take the outside edge, then boomeranging one into Joe Root, before bowling a late-tailing yorker to Jacob Bethell.”I wasn’t expecting to open,” Foulkes said. “I didn’t think it was going to keep swinging past the tenth over. That doesn’t usually happen.”Of the four early wickets (Jamie Smith got a good one from Matt Henry first up too), only Root was playing an attacking shot. And counter to what Brook said before, that was the issue.”The question I would ask is, can we probably go a little bit harder?” Brook said here. “I think so. I think we can try and knock them off their lengths a little bit more and capitalise on their slightly off balls.”Instinctively, who’s to question the man who did it so successfully and so spectacularly? But pragmatically, there’s a touch of the genius speaking on behalf of the commoners. Thierry Henry would tell you to open your body and kick it in the goal. But it doesn’t make it any easier for the rest of us. Brook played a style of innings that only he – and Jos Buttler – could dream of.Harry Brook leaves the field at the end of England’s innings•Getty ImagesEngland’s top five consisted of four locks for the Ashes and one potential bolter in Bethell. The already stated line of attack from Australia is that they will produce lively pitches to test the defence of England and nullify their attacking instincts. On this showing, it is a sound strategy.”It’s definitely not a cause for concern,” Brook said when asked whether another failure on a pitch that offered assistance for the bowlers was a worry. “There’s a reason they’re playing cricket for England, they’re the best four batters in the country. It’s just one of them days where a couple of them got nice balls.”You’ve got three Test batters in the top-three. Rooty, Duckett and Smith didn’t come off but on another day they all get 30 and we’re off to a hell of a start.”If any further confirmation was needed that whatever’s about to happen in Australia, it will happen quickly, this was it.Away from the batters, Brydon Carse furthered his reputation in an England shirt with an excellent spell of bowling that claimed the wickets of Will Young, Kane Williamson and Tom Latham. Both Young and Latham were beaten for pace and dismissed bowled and lbw respectively, while Williamson got a lifting delivery that he edged through to Buttler for a golden duck – the first of his ODI career.Carse’s spell, along with Luke Wood claiming the wicket of Rachin Ravindra, gave England hope in a cause that even with Brook’s effort seemed lost.”I was thinking ‘bloody hell, if we get two more wickets here now, Santner comes out and it’s a completely different game’,” Brook said.”Carse was awesome. It was one of them pitches where as a tall bowler you probably get the most out of it. He was hitting the pitch hard and getting a bit of bounce. To get Kane Williamson out first ball put them under serious pressure and the first few overs were a really good start. It’s good signs moving forward.”Already a shoo-in in both the white-ball formats, it is increasingly hard to imagine England walking out in Perth without Carse in their XI.In all, it was another ODI defeat for England, who have now won just eight of their last 24 fixtures. Such is way with the ICC rankings, failure to automatically qualify for the 2027 World Cup remains a distant and unlikely disaster, but even with a full-strength XI, the ODI format clicking for a wildly talented group remains elusive.England’s batters got a taste of what may be to come in the Ashes. And England supporters blearily checking the scorecard first thing in the morning, might just have to.

And is Virat Kohli the fastest to 20 ODI centuries?

Steven Lynch12-Sep-2023I noticed that Jos Buttler captained England on his birthday recently. How rare is this? asked Jennifer Roberts from England

Jos Buttler skippered England in a one-day international against New Zealand last week in Cardiff on September 8, his 33rd birthday. Things started well as he top-scored for England with 72, but he ended up on the losing side.Captaining on a birthday is reasonably common: this was the 31st such instance in men’s ODIs, and it was followed next day by the 32nd – Dasun Shanaka skippered Sri Lanka against Bangladesh during the Asia Cup in Colombo on his 32nd birthday. The only other Englishman to do it was Andrew Strauss, in what ended up as a sensational defeat by Ireland during the World Cup in Bangalore on March 2, 2011, his 34th birthday.Tamim Iqbal has made something of a habit of this, captaining Bangladesh in three ODIs on his birthday (March 20) in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Viv Richards and Arjuna Ranatunga both did it twice.There have been 15 instances in men’s T20Is, including another one by Shanaka (in 2022), and one by New Zealand’s Tom Latham (April 2), who also did in an ODI.There have been more cases in Tests, but only 21 occasions when a captain had his birthday on the first day of the match, when he presumably tossed up. The first instance of this actually featured both skippers: on March 11, 1953, in Georgetown, Jeff Stollmeyer (West Indies) turned 32, and Vijay Hazare (India) 38.Virat Kohli captained India in a Test against South Africa in Mohali that started on his 27th birthday (November 5) in 2015, and in a T20I against Scotland on his 33rd, in Dubai during the 2021 World Cup.I read that Tim David was the first to play a one-day international having previously played T20s for a different country. Is that correct? asked Mason Edwards from Australia

It’s not quite true. The hard-hitting Tim David played his first one-day international for Australia last week, against South Africa in Bloemfontein last week. He had previously played 28 T20Is, the first 14 of them for Singapore, where he was born in 1996. The particular distinction achieved by David is that he is the first man who made his official international debut for a country that doesn’t play ODIs to appear in one, obviously after being selected by a country that does play them. (In case it helps the explanation, Mark Chapman, who is now playing for New Zealand, previously appeared for Hong Kong – but they did have ODI status, and he played two such matches for them, as well as 19 T20Is, before New Zealand chose him.)By a remarkable coincidence, the first woman to achieve this unusual double completed it on the same day as David: on September 9, Mahika Gaur made her ODI debut for England, against Sri Lanka in Chester-le Street, after 19 T20Is for United Arab Emirates (and two in recent weeks for England). The UAE’s women’s team does not have ODI status.Which man has the best bowling figures in The Hundred? asked James Narracott from England

The best bowling figures in the men’s Hundred are 5 for 11, by the South African-born Manchester Originals legspinner Calvin Harrison against Northern Superchargers at Old Trafford last month. Harrison bettered the mark set in 2022 by another Originals player, Josh Little, who took 5 for 13 against Oval Invincibles, also at Old Trafford.There have been three other five-fors, by Marchant de Lange (5 for 20 for Trent Rockets), Imran Tahir and Henry Brookes (who both took 5 for 25 for Birmingham Phoenix). For the full list, click here. The only bowler to take five wickets in an innings in the women’s Hundred is Fi Morris – 5 for 7 for Manchester Originals against Birmingham Phoenix at Old Trafford in 2023.Hashim Amla is the fastest to 20 ODI hundreds, getting there in 25 fewer innings than the next fastest, Virat Kohli•AFPVirat Kohli scored his 20th ODI hundred in his 133rd innings. Has anyone got to 20 faster than Virat? asked Vikram Ramaswamy from India

The only man to reach 20 one-day international centuries quicker than Virat Kohli’s 133 innings is the South African Hashim Amla, who got there in 108. In third place is Australia’s David Warner who scored his 20th century in his 142nd ODI innings, against South Africa in Bloemfontein last week.Only 12 others have scored as many as 20 centuries in ODIs. AB de Villiers reached the mark in 175 innings, Rohit Sharma in 183, Ross Taylor 195, Sachin Tendulkar 197, Sourav Ganguly 214, Herschelle Gibbs 217, Chris Gayle 226, Saeed Anwar 243, Ricky Ponting 244, Tillakaratne Dilshan 279, Sanath Jayasuriya 350 and Kumar Sangakkara 366.Both captains during India’s Asia Cup match against Nepal were called Rohit. How rare is this? asked Husein Bharmal from Oman

The captains in that Asia Cup match in Pallekele last week were Rohit Sharma of India and Rohit Paudel of Nepal. The only previous instance of the captains sharing the same first name in ODIs was in Perth in 1990-91, when Australia were skippered by Allan Border and England by Allan Lamb.Border and Lamb also opposed each other in one Test, in Brisbane a few weeks earlier; other instances involved Herbie Taylor (South Africa) and Herbie Collins (Australia) in three Tests in 1921-22, and Jack Ryder (Australia) and Jack White (England) in one match in 1928-29. The only case in T20Is was by Mohammad Hafeez (Pakistan) and Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan) in 2013-14.Molly Dive (Australia) and Molly Hide (England) opposed each other in four women’s Tests (three in 1948-49 and one in 1951), and Mary Duggan (England) and Mary Allitt (Australia) in three in 1963. Clare Connor (England) and Clare Shillington (Ireland) captained in an ODI in Pretoria during the 2005 World Cup. (I’ve tried to use the forenames by which the players were usually known, but nicknames or shortened versions of names might mean these lists are not quite complete, so, for example, Steve Waugh and Stephen Fleming did not show up in our query.)Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

The home bowlers work hard to get the better of a slow pitch and a resolute opposition

Sidharth Monga27-Nov-20212:00

Vettori: Axar’s pace, consistency and accuracy were brilliant

Far too often, India win far too easily at home these days. Since the last time they lost a series at home, India have lost two of 38 Tests, and drawn five (three of them weather-affected). Of the 31 wins, only one has been by a margin of under 100 runs or six wickets. The two losses have been when they have lost a crucial toss.However, once in a while, along comes a pitch so slow and low, and along comes a No. 1 team in the world who doesn’t make unforced errors. Edges keep falling short, ones that beat them keep missing the stumps, turn keeps getting slower and slower, and we have a proper challenge.Watch live cricket on ESPN+ in the US

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When the third day started, India knew they were in for a hard day’s work. They had bowled 57 overs on this pitch for no wicket even though they had produced 56 false responses from the batters. As a comparison, India were bowled out in 96 mistakes. It points to some good fortune for the New Zealand openers, but also to how slow and low the pitch had become. You could beat them with sideways turn, which kept increasing, but taking wickets was going to be hard work.In other words, this was not a pitch or an opposition that you could run through with two good bowlers. In three days, there has hardly been a single opportunity at bat-pad. Gully has been kneeling on the floor. Each of the bowlers had to do a job here, and they did.He might have got just three wickets, but R Ashwin was masterful in his 11-over spell in the morning. Axar Patel, who ran away with a five-for, his fifth in just four Tests, was asked what advice he would give his batters on day four given the conditions. He said there wasn’t much to worry with the pitch; only if the spinners are patient can they trouble batters.Ashwin hates the word patience. At least in the traditional parlance, which is to say keep trying your stock ball, experiment less, and the results will come. He was anything but patient. He poured out a career worth of tricks in a spell. He changed the angles of the seam, he changed the angles on the crease, he changed the points of release, he changed the pace. He bowled the carrom ball, he bowled the arm ball, he bowled a legspinner’s topspinner, and he bowled a lot of offbreaks.Related

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At one point, Ashwin caused a pause in play because the umpire was so flummoxed by the angle of his run-up, which was perfectly legal but is so rarely used it is hard to remember anyone doing it. He ran in from the umpire’s right, got extremely close to him, the closest you can without whacking him, released the ball from practically in front of the umpire, and kept running along the diagonal. While doing this, he made sure he was not close to the danger area.Even while he did all this, Ashwin had the ball on a string. It dipped and drifted beautifully, giving the batters hardly any easy boundary, if at all. On a pitch that other bowlers have drawn a false shot once every seven balls, Ashwin did so once every five balls. This was one of the great spells of spin bowling just for the sheer number of times he beat batters in the air on a pitch that had not yet begun to help the spinners.Tom Latham is an expert batter, tight in defence but severe on anything loose. He batted close to seven hours for just 95 runs not because he was overly defensive, but because he was not given anything to score off. Batting often gets easier the more time you spend on the wicket, but it kept getting difficult the more Latham faced Ashwin.Despite a determined show from New Zealand, India’s bowlers kept creating mistake after mistake, bowling good ball after good ball.•BCCIAnd it wasn’t just Ashwin. It can’t be on such pitches. Ishant Sharma put in a spell of 6-2-20-0 in the morning before other spinners took over. Umesh Yadav then produced his usual brute out of nowhere to take out another big batter Kane Williamson.When so much pressure has been built, it is imperative the change-up bowlers don’t release it. Forget releasing the pressure, India’s change-up bowlers on this day are experts of exploiting it. The harder newer ball drew quicker response from the pitch, and Axar and Ravindra Jadeja started targeting the stumps.Axar had the better day of the two. Interestingly, he said the wider he went on the crease and the lower he went on the release, the more assistance he got from the pitch. So he just kept mixing up high-release straighter deliveries with roundarm turning ones. The accuracy was unerring. He was lethal once it started misbehaving.The endeavour of Test batting, especially away from home, is to see off the main threats and then cash in on either tired or lesser bowlers. There was no lesser bowler. In the pleasant temperatures of Kanpur, which ironically means the cracks didn’t quite open up sooner, there was no question these bowlers were tiring.It took India 67 mistakes to get their first wicket, the most it has taken for an opening wicket to fall in India since ESPNcricinfo started keeping control stats. It took India 133 mistakes in all to bowl New Zealand out. But they kept at it, creating mistake after mistake, bowling good ball after good ball.It will take more of the same in the second innings – although it is getting progressively difficult to bat on – but if India can manage to pull off a win here, New Zealand’s innings of 142.5 overs will be the fifth-longest first innings by a visiting team in a lost Test in India. This win will not have come easy.

Sri Lanka’s batting imploded in the face of a disciplined Zimbabwe attack, as they fell to a 67-run defeat in the second match of the men’s T20I tri-series in Rawalpindi. They were bowled out for 95, chasing a target of 163. For Zimbabwe, it was the perfect response to their opening game defeat to Pakistan.The wickets were spread among each of the six bowlers used by Zimbabwe. Richard Ngarava was excellent picking up figures of 2 for 15, but he was outdone by the ever-reliable Brad Evans, who ended with match best figures of 3 for 9.For Sri Lanka, only Dasun Shanaka, the stand-in skipper, produced an innings of any promise, during a backs-to-the-wall 34 off 25. The only other player to reach double digits was Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who struck a pained 11 off 18 playing his first T20I since January.Zimbabwe, who had been put in at the toss, had a much better time with the bat, led by Brian Bennett (49) and Sikandar Raza (47). It wasn’t a perfect innings as they limped to the finish, but it proved to be more than enough in the end. Wanindu Hasaranga picked up innings-best figures off 3 for 32, while debutant Eshan Malinga also impressed with 2 for 27.

Bennett and Raza set the tone

Bennett, as he has been doing increasingly of late, gave Zimbabwe a fast start inside the powerplay as he and Tadiwanashe Marumani put on a 26-run opening stand in a little over three overs. Sri Lanka though struck back, through Maheesh Theekshana and Malinga, to share the opening period with Zimbabwe on 46 for 2 after six oversSikandar Raza added 61 off 44 balls with Brian Bennett•Pakistan Cricket Board

However, Raza pushed himself up the order, likely in response to how their innings had fallen apart against Pakistan two nights ago, and together with Bennett set about putting up a 61-run partnership off just 44 deliveries.While Bennett fell for 49 for a second game running, the pair had ensured a solid platform as Zimbabwe’s 100 came up inside the 14th over. Raza continued on unbothered, on his way to 32-ball 47, inclusive for three fours and two sixes. With Raza at the crease, 180 was on the cards, and it would take a fantastic running catch in the deep from Shanaka to end his innings.With Bennett and Raza both back in the dugout, Zimbabwe’s innings closed out with a relative whimper; they struck 22 runs in the final three overs to sneak past the 160-mark. Malinga added to his impressive debut with a double-wicket penultimate over, while Dushmantha Chameera also gave away just 12 runs bowling two of the final three overs.

Sri Lanka’s house of (batting) horrors

Chasing 163, after the powerplay Sri Lanka had found themselves on 25 for 2, their lowest powerplay total in 14 T20Is in 2025. Zimbabwe’s combination of tight lines and lengths, and solid plans, had short-wired the thinking of the Sri Lankan batters.Pathum Nissanka had chipped one to midwicket in the opening over and Kusal Perera skied one to short fine leg in the next, but what followed was truly calamitous.Dasun Shanaka walks back after being dismissed•Associated Press

The returning Rajapaksa and Kusal Mendis ate up 26 deliveries in their 19-run stand, and such was the pressure being built by the likes of Ngarava, Tinotenda Maposa and Evans during this period, that the Lankan batters were starved of boundary deliveries and forced to take ever more risky singles.It was one such ill-fated run that brought an end to the partnership, as Rajapaksa struck one straight to cover before setting off on a non-existent single. By the time he looked up to realise his partner still at the other end, Rajapaksa was already halfway down. Not even a wayward throw to the wicketkeeper could save Kusal Mendis, who had made a belated dash for safety.An over later, Rajapaksa was at the non-striker’s end turning down a fairly straightforward single and nearly had Shanaka run out – a wicket spared only by a truly horrendous throw to the keeper.It wasn’t long before Rajapaksa himself was dismissed, clean bowled looking to hit out. It meant Sri Lanka had lost their top four inside the opening 10 overs – it was five midway through the 11th when Raza snuck one past Kamindu Mendis. Only Shanaka showed some defiance, but when he edged one behind from Ryan Burl, Sri Lanka’s faint hopes went with him. The rest of the batting dragged the game to the death, before Evans cleaned up the innings off the final delivery.

Arsenal star Declan Rice has had his say on summer signing Cristhian Mosquera as Mikel Arteta waits to discover the extent of his injury problem.

Arsenal defeat Brentford 2-0 to maintain 18-game unbeaten run

The Gunners restored their five-point advantage at the Premier League summit with a straightforward victory over Brentford on Wednesday evening.

Mikel Merino’s early header and Bukayo Saka’s stoppage-time finish secured all three points to extend the Gunners’ unbeaten streak to 18 matches, but Arteta faces mounting injury concerns ahead of Saturday’s trip to Aston Villa.

The manager watched Mosquera hobble off just before halftime after landing awkwardly during an aerial challenge with Kevin Schade.

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The defender immediately signalled discomfort and was unable to continue, with Jurrien Timber entering as his replacement to partner Piero Hincapie in central defence.

Arsenal’s defensive problems have now intensified with both regular starters William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes already sidelined through injury, leaving Arteta with severely limited options at the back during a congested festive fixture schedule.

That being said, the good news is that Saliba is expected to be back in a ‘matter of days’, according to Arteta in his pre-Brentford press conference.

If the Frenchman is fit and available for Villa, Arsenal will have little choice but to thrust Saliba right back into the starting eleven to partner Hincapie, with Gabriel still weeks away from returning.

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He wasn’t expecting it.

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The situation worsened against Brentford when Rice gestured toward his right calf before receiving treatment and departing in the 83rd minute. Viktor Gyokeres replaced the influential midfielder as concerns grew about the England international’s availability for crucial upcoming fixtures.

Luckily for Arteta, Rice has managed to avoid a serious injury and is expected to be fit for their upcoming Premier League clash against Unai Emery’s men in-form Villa side.

Supporters can breathe a massive sigh of relief after this news, but they’re still waiting to find out about Mosquera’s condition.

Declan Rice praises Cristhian Mosquera amid Arsenal injury scare

Speaking to Sky Sports before Arsenal’s win over Brentford, Rice explained exactly why the Spaniard could end up being a sore miss — especially with Saliba currently absent and a doubt for this weekend.

The England international, who has been their arguable player of the season so far, told Sky that Mosquera is an “incredible” player with “immense” qualities alongside Hincapie.

This high praise comes as further evidence of what many already know — Mosquera has proved to be one of the bargains of the summer.

Signed for just £13 million from Valencia, the 21-year-old has done exactly what has been required of him whilst barely ever faltering.

Mosquera was handed his Premier League debut in a testing 1-0 defeat at Anfield in August, the club’s last defeat in all competitions, and he performed admirably at a very difficult ground after replacing the injured Saliba.

The youngster has attracted major praise whenever he’s been asked to fill in for one of Arsenal’s first choice pairing, with Martin Keown claiming that Mosquera has ‘the same DNA’ as both Saliba and Gabriel.

Arsenal will now be praying that his development isn’t stifled by a serious long-term injury, and the club are reportedly convinced that Mosquera could become one of the best centre-backs in world football.

وجه هاني أبو ريدة، رئيس اتحاد الكرة، رسائل خاصة للاعبي وبعثة منتخب مصر الثاني قبل انطلاق بطولة كأس العرب 2025 المقامة في قطر.

وعقد أبو ريدة، اجتماعًا مع الجهاز الفني ولاعبي منتخب مصر الثاني، فور الوصول إلى الدوحة للحديث عن البطولة المقرر انطلاقها بعد أيام.

طالع.. بيراميدز يوافق على انضمام لاعبه إلى منتخب مصر في كأس العرب

وتنطلق بطولة كأس العرب 2025 في الأول من ديسمبر المقبل وتنتهي في الثامن عشر من نفس الشهر بمشاركة 16 منتخبًا.

وشدد أبو ريدة خلال الاجتماع على أهمية بطولة كأس العرب، وضرورة بذل أقصى جهد لتحقيق أفضل النتائج خلال منافسات البطولة.

وأكد أبو ريدة ثقته الكبيرة في اللاعبين والجهاز الفني، مشددًا على قدرتهم تقديم مستويات تليق بالكرة المصرية وترضي جماهيرها.

وخاض منتخب مصر الثاني بقيادة حلمي طولان، مرانه الأول اليوم السبت، بعد وصوله إلى الدوحة استعدادًا للبطولة.

MatériaMais Notícias

A transferência entre Corinthians e PSG por Gabriel Moscardo não será concretizada nesta janela de transferências. Após realizar exames médicos em Paris, foi constatada uma lesão no pé esquerdo do meia de 18 anos, que passará por intervenção cirúrgica no local.

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Apesar da lesão, o acordo entre o Timão e o clube francês não foi alterado. A equipe europeia pagará 20 milhões de euros (aproximadamente R$ 107 milhões) ao Alvinegro, que poderá receber mais 2 milhões de euros (R$ 10,7 milhões) caso o atleta cumpra metas estabelecidas em contrato.

O tempo de recuperação da cirurgia é de três meses, e o staff do volante ainda não definiu o local da operação. Assim, Moscardo será anunciado oficialmente pelo PSG apenas em julho, quando a janela europeia estará aberta novamente.

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+ Veja como ficou a tabela do Brasileirão após a última rodada

O jogador de apenas 18 anos fez sua primeira temporada pelo Corinthians neste ano, e ele se destacou rapidamente. O volante somou 25 partidas, marcando um gol e anotando uma assistência.

After becoming synonymous with Brentford, Thomas Frank would have been forgiven somewhat if he had teething problems adjusting to the Tottenham Hotspur hot-seat.

Indeed, the much-loved Dane was a mainstay for the Bees for seven years. Yet, he has instantly hit the ground running as Ange Postecoglou’s replacement in North London.

So far, only one defeat has come his way from 11 games at the Spurs helm, leading to Frank guiding his new team all the way up to third spot in the early league standings, before the international break came into play.

One of Frank’s men so far has, of course, been Mohammed Kudus, who has spearheaded plenty of points so far, including the victory over Leeds prior to the break.

Why Kudus looks like one of Spurs' best players

Amazingly, Frank wasn’t the only coup Spurs managed to pull off this summer when directly stealing from some of their London neighbours.

Much to the anger of West Ham supporters, the tricky forward excited the London Stadium at West Ham for Tottenham, moving across the capital in a deal worth £55m, a price tag that made him the club’s fourth-highest transfer of all time.

While West Ham loiter towards the bottom of the division, Kudus has become an instant hit donning Spurs white near the top of the competitive league, with one goal and five assists already falling into his lap from ten contests.

Already, that £55m looks to be money well spent, with Wayne Rooney even hailing the purchase as a “real top signing” after the Ghanaian’s match-winning effort at Elland Road.

There could be bold comparisons forming, too, between Kudus and one of Frank’s favourites at Brentford in Bryan Mbeumo.

Indeed, the Scandinavian boss has now potentially unearthed another blistering output machine he can rely on as his main marksman, with the 25-year-old also capable of playing all across the forward positions, like his Manchester United counterpart.

Yet, there is be a different member of Frank’s camp slipping under the radar as his next Mbeumo-style figure.

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An Mbeumo-like figure for Frank to rely on

Mbeumo and Frank would be seen as two key elements to Brentford’s unbelievable Premier League success story when the pair were still together at the GTech Community Stadium.

Staggeringly, 242 of Mbeumo’s 297 career appearances to date fell under the Dane’s long reign at the Bees, with 70 goals and 51 assists picked up along the way, winning him the label of being Frank’s “main man” as the now Spurs manager stated in April of this year.

While Kudus has gained a lot of plaudits at Spurs to date to now be seen as Frank’s main spark, there is another glue holding the North Londoners together that could be viewed as the 52-year-old’s most reliable asset: Joao Palhinha.

Kudus does offer up a similar exciting, hard-to-contain attacking presence as Mbeumo, but in Palhinha, Frank might well have uncovered another talent that allows his side to tick, with the loan-to-buy deal of £27m that’s on the table continuing to stand out as a masterstroke in this regard.

Games played

7

Goals scored

2

Assists

0

Touches*

49.4

Accurate passes*

30.3 (82%)

Tackles*

3.6

Ball recoveries*

2.0

Total duels won*

6.7

Football London’s Alasdair Gold has even hailed the deal to bring him in as “one of the bargains of the summer”, and it’s not the wildest shout when you assess the ex-Fulham man’s standout numbers to date back in the Premier League.

Away from hammering home two goals for his new employers already, Palhinha has also more than lived up to this previous billing as a “defensive monster” which was once handed to him by analyst Marcus Bring, winning a mighty 6.7 duels per game across his seven top-flight outings.

Already, it appears that Frank has stumbled across another vital commander he can rely on in a similar vein to Mbeumo, with Palhinha hopeful of many more happy seasons under his new boss, if his excellent start to life at Spurs is anything to go by.

After all, his former manager in Marco Silva, would go as far as to herald him as a “leader” at Craven Cottage and despite not donning the armband at Brentford under Frank, that’s exactly what Mbeumo was too.

Not every star man needs to bundle in the goals like the new Man Utd signing to make themselves a hero under Frank and Palhinha has certainly found that out already. Forget Kudus, the Portuguese has been their most important player to date this term.

Move over Spence: Spurs must unleash "one of the best talents England have"

Frank manages at Tottenham some of England’s finest up-and-coming talent.

2 ByAngus Sinclair Oct 12, 2025

Australia coach Andrew McDonald saw small signs of encouragement from Sam Konstas in the second Test against West Indies but has indicated there will “great opportunity” for players to push their case for Ashes selection early in the domestic season and in Australia A matches.Konstas made 25 in the first innings in Grenada before following that with a duck during a brief period of batting late on the second day. He will play the final match at Sabina Park, the ground’s first day-night Test, which provides an opportunity to finish on a high and leave himself near the head of the selection queue for the home Ashes series later in the year.”Four games in, eight innings, it’s probably early for anyone to judge, really,” McDonald said of Konstas’ early Test career. “I think the challenges in Test cricket aren’t necessarily always your skill level or your technique. It’s dealing with the moments, the pressure, all the other things that externally come with that as well. He’s a player finding his feet in the environment.Related

• Ashes Slashes: Broad gives 'muddled' Australia top three the thumbs down

• 'Don't get too caught up in every innings' – Cummins urges Konstas to look at the big picture

• Carey keeps on keeping on as Australia's quiet achiever

• Starc, Hazlewood make quick work of West Indies to help Australia retain Frank Worrell Trophy

“[It was] a small step forward in the last game with that first innings. I thought the way he structured up his first 20-odd balls, he had the positive intent, he was moving a lot better compared to the game before where it looked like he was stuck in the middle and didn’t know whether to play a shot and it was either ultra-aggressive or ultra-defensive.”Konstas will likely feature in the four-day matches on the Australia A tour of India in late September before being available for the opening Sheffield Shield matches in early October with four rounds expected before the start of the Ashes.”There’s great opportunity in domestic cricket at the start of the season, and there always is leading into any Test series,” McDonald said. “We saw with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last year, there was opportunity for players to put their hand up there. There’s also Australia A [against Sri Lanka A] in the Top End [Darwin] at the moment, so we’re watching that closely…so it’s really about the opportunity that presents.”First and foremost, we concentrate on what’s right here, right now. Everyone will be speculating around who can come in, what possibilities are, but we’re confident the players that we’ve got here can do the job.”Prior to the tour, McDonald said it may not be possible to draw huge relevance from this tour to the Ashes and it is a view he maintains despite it having been pace-bowler dominated rather than seeing a significant role for spin.”There’s been a lot of variable bounce and sideways movement, so it’s probably not similar to Australia,” he said. “Maybe some surfaces will be. I think Perth potentially, when it does crack a little bit, it can go up and down and a little bit sideways. But I think the first four rounds of Shield cricket will draw a better connection to the Ashes than what we’re seeing here.”What we are seeing here, though, is people getting exposed at Test level, and within that exposure, the mental challenges of Test cricket are real.”Usman Khawaja has been troubled from around the wicket•Associated Press

The continued scrutiny of the top-order was eased somewhat by Cameron Green’s half-century, but is countered by the struggles of Usman Khawaja. McDonald was keen to stress that Australia have ended as comfortable winners of both Tests. West Indies crumbled in both second innings – facing just 34.3 overs in Grenada and 33.4 in Barbados – having been on even terms after two days.”For every failure in the top-order, the middle-order’s been able to get us out of those situations and vice versa,” he said. “We’ve had times when the top-order’s prospered and the middle potentially hasn’t delivered what you’d probably expect.”Ultimately the game of cricket’s matching the bowling with the batting. At the moment we’re doing that. We’re finding ways through it. Would we like to have greater output from the top-order? There’s no doubt about that. And those players would want more runs. But they’ll come.”We’ve been able to find a way through the West Indies batting order…and they’ve been quite big victories.”McDonald added he did not foresee any changes for the final Test, which will be Mitchell Starc’s 100th, although they will assess players once in Jamaica.A decision on whether to release Marnus Labuschagne from the squad will be taken once play starts. There is an option for him to rejoin for Glamorgan in the County Championship or potentially head to Darwin for the second four-day game against Sri Lanka A which starts on July 20. However, giving him a break before the August ODI series against South Africa is also a possibility.

A former Manchester United player has accused Marcus Rashford of being 'lazy' and 'letting his team-mates at Old Trafford down', with the forward's resurgence at Barcelona dismissed. Rashford has rediscovered himself in Catalonia this season after completing a loan move from United. He had fallen out of favour under Ruben Amorim and was included in the manager's 'bomb squad' during pre-season.

• Rashford's resurgence at Barcelona

  Things started to turn ugly between Rashford and Amorim after the striker revealed in an explosive interview in December 2024 that he wanted to move away from his boyhood club. When the transfer window reopened in January, the Red Devils shipped him off on loan to Aston Villa as he was deemed surplus to the Portuguese coach's needs. Rashford enjoyed an impressive stint under Unai Emery in the second half of the 2024-25 campaign as he started to regain his old form at Villa Park.

  However, after an injury the 27-year-old returned to Old Trafford in the summer but he was informed that he still does not feature in Amorim's plans. Along with other United outcasts like Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho and Antony, Rashford was placed in the so-called 'bomb squad' – a group of players who were up for sale and therefore banned from training with the first team. This prompted Rashford to secure a loan move to Barcelona ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.

  The English forward has so far enjoyed an impressive spell at the Catalan club and he regularly features in Hansi Flick's starting line-up. Rashford has already recorded five goals and as many assists in 12 matches across all competitions, including his latest double in the club's 6-1 thrashing of Olympiacos in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

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  Ex-United star slams Rashford

  Despite his recent resurgence with the Blaugrana, former United defender Paul Parker slammed Rashford as he accused the England international of being "lazy" and 'letting his team-mates down' during his time at Old Trafford.

  Speaking to , Parker said: "He let his team-mates down. He was lazy, he didn’t do anything. He’s got a lot to prove if he comes back to England. How many players in the UK would trust him if he played for their team? We know it, the answer is no-one. They would never say it, but they would be feeling it inside. It was life and death when I played, and that should have been inbuilt in him, but it isn’t. 

  "He has done alright, but I don’t think he is in Barcelona’s ideal starting 11. Will he start in a Champions League final with Yamal, Raphinha and Lewandowski? I think the answer is no. He doesn’t start. Everything about Marcus Rashford seems to be about politics, to be honest."

• 'Rashford put himself in a bad position'

  Parker further claimed that Rashford did not give his all to his boyhood club as he added: "Rashford put himself in a bad position where he didn’t know what to do. If you can’t give everything for your boyhood club and you are willing to let down the rest of the team, then that says a lot about you. If you can’t do it at the club you have been at since you were a kid, even saying you support that team and love the city where you have been brought up.. If you can’t deliver for them and let your teammates down on numerous occasions, then you are in a very bad position. Then he went to Aston Villa and the media claimed he did well, but did he do better than Ollie Watkins? No. Did he do any better than Jacob Ramsey? No. But he was sold that way because the narrative was to put pressure on Man Utd."

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  Rashford preparing to compete in first-ever El Clasico

  After a stunning performance against Olympiacos in the Champions League on Tuesday, where he operated as a No.9 in Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres' absence, Rashford will now aim to bring out his best in the first Clasico of his career as the Catalan giants visit the Santiago Bernabeu this Sunday to face arch-rivals Real Madrid.