Category Uncategorized

Returning quicks close out soggy win after Markram, Brevis and Ferreira cameos

Firdose Moonda10-Sep-2025Don’t read too much into it, but South Africa took the lead in the three-match T20I series against England after winning a game initially reduced to nine overs a side by batting for 7.5 and then defending an adjusted five-over target.Wet conditions in Cardiff stalked the match throughout as play began two hours and 20 minutes after the scheduled 6.30pm start, and was then interrupted with seven balls remaining in South Africa’s innings.South Africa were on track for a total over 100 thanks to a top-score of 28 from captain Aiden Markram, who sold for R14 million (US$800,000 approx.) at Tuesday’s SA20 auction and hit two fours and two sixes in the 14 balls he faced. Markam shared in a 32-run second-wicket stand with Lhuan-dre Pretorius before Dewald Brevis and Donovan Ferreira put on 36 off 15 balls to form the spine of a competitive total.A heavy burst of rain ended South Africa’s innings prematurely and England were set a reduced target of 69 of 30 balls. With a required run rate of 13.8 an over, their task was always going to be tough but losing Phil Salt and Harry Brook for ducks made it even more difficult. Jos Buttler returned to the top of the order and scored 25 off 11 but needed support against South Africa’s top seamers to challenge for the result to go England’s way.Wood proves his worthEngland made a late change to include left-arm seamer Luke Wood in their XI in place of Jofra Archer, who was wrapped in cotton wool in wet conditions. Wood seized his opportunity: his second ball, and first to the left-handed Ryan Rickelton, swung away, Rickelton drove with no footwork and edged to Buttler for a golden duck.Luke Wood claimed Ryan Rickelton for a first-ball duck•AFP/Getty ImagesMarkram hit Wood over mid-off for the innings’ first boundary later in that over, then back over his head for six and over mid-on for four at the start of his second over but Wood came back well. Pretorius tried to hit over the leg side but miscued towards mid-off where Brook dived forward to take a stunning catch and Wood ended with 2 for 22.Brevis justifies the big bucksAfter breaking the SA20 pay record and selling for R16.5 million (approx US$944,000) a little over 24 hours ago, Brevis is expected to produce big things and he delivered. When Liam Dawson was brought on in the fifth over, Brevis played the no-look six first up and then smashed a low full toss into the sightscreen for six more. He is a strong player of spin and dispatched Adil Rashid too, over midwicket for his third six.But when Sam Curran was brought on, to bowl his first international spell of the year, he foxed Brevis with an ultra-slow slower ball that Brevis played too early and edged to third. Still, his cameo in partnership with Ferreira showed off his quality – and the reason Pretoria Capitals were willing to splash the cash.Dewald Brevis drills a six down the ground•AFP/Getty ImagesWelcome back, South Africa’s strike bowlersThe wisdom of picking Kagiso Rabada, who sat out the ODIs in both England and Australia with ankle inflammation and will have a big role to play in upcoming tours to Pakistan and India, and Marco Jansen, who has not played for almost three months, could have been questioned but both seemed keen to be back.Rabada’s first ball back was full to Phil Salt, who picked out Kwena Maphaka at deep backward square with precision. Rabada barely had time to celebrate his early strike before Buttler hit his fourth and fifth balls, both pace-off, for four and then six to close out the over strongly.Jansen beat Jacob Bethell to start but was then dispatched over midwicket for six before he had him caught at cover. After Brook missed a coupe, Jansen then found extra bounce to beat his uppercut and ended with a slower ball. He bowled a second over, mixed up his pace well and ended with the wicket of Buttler, caught off the inside edge, to end the game as a contest.South Africa were without Lungi Ngidi, ruled out of the series with a hamstring strain sustained at training on Tuesday, and Keshav Maharaj, who tweaked his groin during the warm-ups. Nandre Burger will replace Ngidi – who is due to fly home on Thursday – and will join up with the squad ahead of Friday’s second T20I in Manchester.

Legspinning allrounder takes 2 for 14 then belts 45 not out against abject Originals

ECB Media19-Aug-2025David Willey and Rehan Ahmed spearheaded a superb display from Trent Rockets as they made short work of Manchester Originals and moved level on points with Oval Invincibles at the top of the table.Willey, the Rockets’ captain, was in inspired form at Trent Bridge, bowling 20 of the first 30 deliveries in the Originals’ innings and returning figures of 3 for 11, his best in the Hundred, as the visitors made just 98 for 8 from their 100 balls.Ben McKinney was Willey’s first victim, trapped lbw for a duck, before dangerman Jos Buttler and Rachin Ravindra nicked behind to consecutive deliveries from the left-armer as the Originals slipped to 26 for 3.Rehan claimed the key wicket of Heinrich Klaasen when the South African holed out to Sam Hain at long-on for 9 and two stunning catches in the space of two deliveries reduced the visitors to 51 for 6: Joe Root taking a screamer off Sam Cook to send Matty Hurst on his way and Rehan picked up his second when George Linde judged a boundary catch to perfection to dismiss captain Phil Salt for 19.David Willey celebrates trapping Ben McKinney lbw•Nathan Stirk/ECB via Getty ImagesIt took a late-order cameo from Lewis Gregory, who struck two sixes in his unbeaten 33 from 21 against his old side, to give the total some kind of respectability but it never looked like being enough against a Rockets outfit that is firing on all cylinders.Sonny Baker, called up to England’s white-ball squads on Friday, made an early breakthrough when he had Root caught behind, and Ravindra trapped Tom Banton lbw on the reverse-sweep to leave the Rockets 22 for 2 but Rehan showed off his silky strokeplay in making an unbeaten 45 from 35.Max Holden fell to Josh Tongue via a one-handed grab from Salt but Rehan and Tom Moores (22 not out) ensured a comprehensive win, the hosts reaching their target with 26 balls to spare to register a fourth win in five and leave them behind the Invincibles on net run-rate. Those two teams play against one another on Thursday night at The Oval.”We talked about intent a lot at the start of the competition and Rehan epitomises that,” Willey said. “He’s a tricky one to bowl at. You’re not quite sure what he’s going to do. When it comes off like it did tonight he can take the game away from the opposition.”

أبدى أحمد عبد الرؤوف، المدير الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي الزمالك، حزنه بعد خسارة بطولة كأس السوبر المصري أمام الأهلي، ووجّه التهنئة للمنافس بعد الفوز باللقب.

وتوج النادي الأهلي ببطولة السوبر المصري على حساب الزمالك، بهدفين دون رد، في المباراة التي جمعت بين الفريقين على ملعب آل نهيان.

طالع..أول تعليق من زيزو بعد التتويج مع الأهلي بـ كأس السوبر المصري أمام الزمالك

وقال عبد الرؤوف في المؤتمر الصحفي عقب المباراة: “الحمد لله على كل شيء، كنا نتمنى تحقيق الفوز وإسعاد الجماهير، وأبارك للنادي الأهلي على تحقيق اللقب”.

وأضاف: “دخلنا أجواء المباراة في وقت متأخر، وكانت إصابة محمد إسماعيل وبعض اللاعبين مشكلة بالنسبة لنا، كما أن خوان بيزيرا كان من المقرر أن يخوض شوطًا واحدًا فقط، ولكن من سوء الحظ أن الفريق استقبل هدفًا في توقيت صعب قبل نهاية الشوط الأول”.

وتابع المدير الفني للزمالك: “أحمد شريف لم نكن نخطط لمشاركته لوقت طويل بسبب عودته من الإصابة، وهدف الأهلي تحدثنا عنه كثيرًا لأنهم نفذوه أكثر من مرة، ولكن في النهاية الحمد لله على كل حال، وأكثر ما أحزنني هو عدم قدرتنا على إسعاد جمهور الزمالك”.

وأشار عبد الرؤوف إلى أنه يعمل ضمن منظومة متكاملة داخل النادي، قائلًا: “أي أمور أطلبها من المدير الرياضي لن تكون على الملأ، نحن نعمل في ظروف صعبة جدًا، والإصابات زادت الأمور تعقيدًا، لكن حاولنا قدر الإمكان الحفاظ على روح المنافسة بين اللاعبين”.

واختتم تصريحاته قائلًا: “نسعى لأن نكون أفضل خلال الفترة المقبلة، ومباريات السوبر ليست نهاية المشوار، ولا يزال أمامنا طريق طويل في الدوري وننافس بقوة فيه”.

Thomas Tuchel insists there is no problem with Jude Bellingham but warned nobody is guaranteed a place in the England squad after taking the eye-catching decision to omit the Real Madrid star.

England squad announced for Wales and Latvia matches

The back-to-back Euros runners-up face Wales in a Wembley friendly next Thursday before continuing World Cup qualification away to Latvia on Tuesday.

Bellingham missed September’s camp after undergoing shoulder surgery and has since played four matches for Real Madrid, yet there was no place in Tuchel’s 24-man squad for October’s doubleheader.

Phil Foden and Jack Grealish were others overlooked for a call-up, but the 22-year-old was the headline omission two days on from being crowned 2024-25 England men’s senior player of the year.

“I understand your focus on Jude of course,” Tuchel said of a player he would later say is one of the world’s best midfielders and makes his side stronger.

“First of all, he is a very special player and for special players there can always be special rules. I get this.

“But for this camp we decided that we stick with our straightforward decision to invite the same team. That applies also then for Jude. He deserves always to be in camp.

“I think there is an extra layer on top of it, the situation that he has not gathered full rhythm yet at Real Madrid.

“He is back in the team. He hasn’t finished one full match until now. He has only started one match, so he is at the moment in the period where he gets his rhythm, where he gets back to full strength.

“There is this extra layer into the decision, but the decision stayed for this camp.”

Asked if Bellingham was fit enough to be called up, Tuchel said: “Yes, and he wanted to be called up. We had a phone call. There was no issue from that side, he just lacks rhythm.

“He hasn’t finished one complete match, like I said, and on top of it we stayed with our decision to go with the same squad.”

Tuchel has not worked with Bellingham since the England boss apologised for saying in a June interview that his mother finds some of the midfielder’s on-field antics “repulsive”.

The German coach also stressed how good the mood was in the September meet-up, leading the manager to say that “one has nothing to do with the other”.

No problem between me and Bellingham, says Tuchel

Put to Tuchel that some people would think is there a problem between him Bellingham, he said: “No.

“There is also no problem between me and Phil Foden, there is no problem between me and Jack Grealish. Very special players. Phil is back to influencing games, deciding games for Manchester City. Jack is very close to being the best version of himself – a very special player, a very special character.

“There is no problem at all and there is no personal problem in the nomination.”

Bukayo Saka is the only fresh face in October’s squad, replacing injured Arsenal team-mate Noni Madueke. Tino Livramento also drops out with a knee injury of his own.

Tuchel insists players have the chance to get back in the squad and acknowledges there are “players out who deserve to be with us”.

He added: “100 per cent there are no guarantees. If we say the competition is on, then the competition is on.

“We cannot say that like for 80 per cent of the squad the competition is on but for 20 per cent it is not on. It’s on. The competition is on. The team did very, very well and deserve to be in camp again.”

أعرب لاعب ريال مدريد وروما السابق عن استيائه بسبب العنصرية التي يتعرض لها أصحاب البشرة السمراء في مهنة تدريب كرة القدم.

وقال خوليو بابتيستا في تصريحات نقلتها صحيفة “ماركا” عن وصوله إلى روما في نفس يوم وفاة رئيس النادي: “أحيانًا يبدو أن روما لا تتذكر إلا الأخطاء، لا الأحداث الجانبية، حملت نعشه إلى جانب توتي، رأيته يبكي وفهمت ما يعنيه هذا النادي لجماهيره، لم أرَ مثله من قبل”.

وعن المعاناة التي عاشها البرازيلي تحت قيادة رانييري على العكس تمامًا ما كان عليه مع سباليتي: “لقد شعرت بالخيانة، كنت ألعب بشكل جيد مع البرازيل لكنني لم أكن ضمن خطط روما”.

وأكمل: “لم يخبرني رانييري بأي شيء أبدًا، غادرت لأنني كنت بحاجة إلى أن أشعر وكأنني لاعب كرة قدم من جديد”.

وأضاف: “قيل الكثير من الهراء عني، تحدث الكثيرون دون معرفة أين تكون الحقيقة، كانت فترة صعبة وبدلًا من أن أتلقى الدعم تعرضت للسخرية”.

اقرأ أيضًا | حكم مباراة برشلونة وإلتشي في الدوري الإسباني

وكشف: “قدمت أداءً رائعًا في روما لكن البعض يفضل التركيز على الجانب السلبي فقط، في إشبيلية كنت بمثابة دبابة، لقد سجلت 47 هدفًا وحصلت على لقب الوحش”.

واستطرد: “ثم جئت إلى ريال مدريد وآرسنال، وتلك المباراة التي لا تُنسى في أنفيلد أمام ليفربول والتي سجلت فيها أربعة أهداف وسط تصفيق حار من الجمهور، كانت تلك الليلة ساحرة”.

واسترسل: “كنت على وشك الانضمام إلى إنتر ميلان بقيادة مورينيو، في النهاية لم يحدث ذلك، وتعاقدوا مع شنايدر، ربما كان هذا هو سبب فشلي في دوري أبطال أوروبا”.

وعن حلمه بتدريب أحد الفرق الكبرى في كرة القدم، أتم: “اليوم وأنا في الثالثة والأربعين من عمري، لا أعرف ما سبب ابتعادي عن التدريب لكن كم مدربًا أسودًا ترى في الدوريات الخمس الكبرى؟ لا أرى الكثير، أود أن أعتقد أنها مجرد صدفة لكن للأسف، لا أعتقد ذلك، الفرص قليلة لنا للغاية، آمل أن أكون الشخص الذي يعكس هذا التفكير، أنا لا أعرف اليأس”.

Kuldeep was introduced as late as the 11th over, and bowled three wicketless overs for 27 runs

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Apr-20253:06

Ganga; Kuldeep not finishing his overs a missed opportunity

In Delhi Capitals’ (DC) 14-run defeat at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Tuesday, their captain Axar Patel used only three overs of Kuldeep Yadav, India’s premier wristspinner. Not only did DC not use spin in the powerplay, but Kuldeep was introduced as late as the 11th over. KKR eventually posted 79 for 1 in the powerplay, and that platform helped them post 204 for 9, a score that proved to be good enough on the night.Daren Ganga, the former West Indies captain, said on ESPNcricinfo’s Time Out that Kuldeep is a bowler who must finish his quota every game. He also said that using Kuldeep as a wicket-taking option in the powerplay could have slowed KKR down, and was a gamble worth taking with Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sunil Narine and Ajinkya Rahane going hard at the other DC bowlers.”Kuldeep not finishing his spell to me was a bit of a missed opportunity,” Ganga said. “When you have a bowler like Kuldeep, regardless of the day he’s having, I’d like to see him exhaust his full complement of overs. That is something he [Axar] could’ve looked at – bowling Kuldeep’s one over earlier on, and then bowling three overs in the middle. That could’ve changed proceedings and probably informed how the other spinners would go on that surface.Related

Narine's all-round show sets up tense win for KKR

Ajinkya Rahane suffers hand injury in victory over Delhi Capitals

The quiet, consistent brilliance of Sunil Narine

“I was having a conversation about teams and their reluctance to use conventional wristspinners in the powerplay phase. To me, if you’re trying to control a phase by taking wickets, that’s an option for you. And then if you know you have an issue with your bowlers not penetrating opposition batters, then I think it is worth a gamble for you to use, at least one over of wristspin in that phase.”Kuldeep finally entered the attack as DC’s sixth bowler, delivering the 11th, 13th, and 15th overs and finishing with figures of 0 for 27. But by then, KKR had already built a strong platform, and even a few hiccups couldn’t derail their momentum. Wasim Jaffer labelled it “strange tactics” not to use Kuldeep up front when DC were clearly in need of a breakthrough while Ambati Rayudu pointed to Kuldeep’s recent success against left-hand batters and said he could have troubled Narine.”Especially today when KKR batsmen were going great guns, I felt they should’ve brought a spinner on for sure. Kuldeep is a wicket-taker and he’s been bowling brilliantly to left-handers of late,” Rayudu said. “He’s been getting the dip now, which wasn’t there in his bowling earlier, and he’s not afraid to bowl googlies to left-handers, and he’s been getting wickets off googlies.”3:56

‘Axar should back himself to bowl in powerplay’

‘Axar could have bowled in the powerplay too’Kuldeep wasn’t DC’s only spin option. Vipraj Nigam was brought on in the seventh over, while Axar bowled four overs on the trot from the eighth to the 14th. Despite being effective, Axar too did not bowl in the powerplay, a surprising decision considering his performance in the powerplay in the previous game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).”I think [Axar could’ve bowled] definitely for an over at least,” Rayudu said. “They were going after pace and you had to slow things down, not only time-wise but also in terms of giving pace to the batsmen. I felt they missed a little trick there.”Axar has also become a much, much better bowler. He bowls the under-cutter, which he bowls to left-handers that goes away. And he has that height where he never bowls too full. I think he definitely should have bowled in the powerplay.”Jaffer served a reminder that Axar dismissed left-handers Jacob Bethell and Devdutt Padikkal against RCB too, nullifying the left-arm spinner to left-hand batter worry that some teams have.”I think he should have used at least one over himself, considering in the last game he got two wickets off left-handers,” Jaffer said. “[Not bowling] against Nicholas Pooran you would understand since Pooran is a different beast altogether, but against all other [left-handed] batters, he should back himself.”Ganga, meanwhile, acknowledged the captain’s dilemma when choosing between backing himself or deploying other bowlers. He said that Dushmantha Chameera’s recent inclusion might have influenced Axar’s choices. Still, he felt captains need to show greater conviction.”If the surface was offering a bit more turn, it might’ve prompted him to bowl in the powerplay phase,” Ganga said. “There are also times, as a captain, you find yourself between a rock and a hard place with you putting yourself as an option compared to using other options.”Chameera has been brought in recently to join this DC side. His USP is bowling in the first and last phase, so he was given an opportunity to, but at times, you have to be more determined, take the game by its horns and back yourself. I think we overrate match-ups, sometimes, bowlers can still trouble batters’ inside edge as well. I think at times captains can be a bit more enterprising and use that option.”

دافع النجم المصري السابق، محمد أبو تريكة، محلل قنوات “بي إن سبورتس”، عن نجم ليفربول محمد صلاح، قائد منتخب مصر، بعد الهجوم عليه بسبب سوء مستواه هذا الموسم.

ويعاني محمد صلاح هذا الموسم من تراجع في مستواه، خاصة المعدل التهديفي، على عكس الموسم الماضي، ما أثار تواجد الكثير من الانتقادات له.

ويستعد الفريق الأول لكرة بنادي ليفربول لمواجهة مانشستر يونايتد، اليوم الأحد، في إطار منافسات الجولة الثامنة من بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي “الممتاز”.

ويستضيف ملعب “أنفيلد” مباراة الريدز أمام مانشستر يونايتد في تمام الساعة السادسة والنصف مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة ومكة المكرمة.

وقال تريكة، في تصريحات خلال الاستوديو التحليلي لمباراة ليفربول ومانشستر يونايتد: “صلاح كعبه عالي على الفرق الـ6 الكبار في الدوري الإنجليزي، وأقول لجماهير ليفربول ألا يمتلكوا ذاكرة السمك لأن صلاح هو من جلب دوري الموسم الماضي بمفرده”.

اقرأ أيضًا | تشكيل ليفربول أمام مانشستر يونايتد في الدوري الإنجليزي.. موقف محمد صلاح

وأكمل: “صلاح ليس مشكلة بل هو جزء من الحل، أما عن كوكوريلا فهو يقول إن ماريسكا أخبر اللاعبين بأن يهاجموا الجبهة اليُمنى لأن صلاح لا يعود للدفاع، في حين أنه لا يعود منذ الموسم الماضي الذي توج به مع ليفربول بالبطولة وكان هداف الدوري”.

واستطرد: “هل هناك فرصة لمحمد صلاح للعودة للتألق ؟ حتى وإن لم يعد للتألق فإن تاريخه يسمح له بذلك، قُلت قبل ذلك إن اللاعب إذا قدم موسم استثنائيًا فلن يقدم نفس المستوى في الموسم الذي يليه، لكن صلاح يبقى صلاح”.

وأضاف: “حتى إذا لم يحقق نفس مردود الموسم الماضي، فإن الجماهير دائمًا تنتظر اللاعبين الكبار في المباريات الكبيرة من أجل الحسم، صلاح ليس لديه شيء لإثباته، أقول له (إلعب يا نجم وعيش حياتك)، الفريق لديه نجوم كثيرين وصفقات قُدرت بحوالي نصف مليار، أين هم؟”.

وأتم أبو تريكة: “لاعب ظل 7 أو 8 مواسم يصنع الفارق مع الفريق وهو الآن 33 عامًا، يأخذ موسم راحة وزملائه من الصفقات الجديدة هم من يساعدونه، وإذا لم يصنع أي شيء هذا الموسم سيظل هو محمد صلاح”.

Racking up frequent flyer miles no excuse for South Africa, captain Temba Bavuma says

Danyal Rasool04-Mar-20253:30

Bavuma: ‘A good show between the two bowling attacks on offer’

It begins with a bit of football. The players stand in a circle keeping the ball up, excitement building as the rally lengthens. Then, a slightly wayward tee-up from one of the players puts Tabraiz Shamsi in a tricky spot. The eye test suggests he’s one of the less technically gifted football players; the rally is destined to end there. Soon after, the group disbands, and the South Africans begin to get into position for a conventional cricket training session.With a quick turnaround and a flight back from Dubai, New Zealand did not put their bowlers through much of a workload, Mitchell Santner saying New Zealand just needed to make sure they were ready. South Africa captain Temba Bavuma sees the bowling battle between the two sides as pivotal.”New Zealand’s bowling is formidable. Quite a disciplined bowling attack,” Bavuma said. “Up front, the guys with the new ball don’t give you much to score from. You’ve got to be decisive as an opening batter. And then in the middle, you’ve got guys again who are able to squeeze the game and force you to make mistakes. We know as batters we’re going to have to work hard. We’re going to have to bat ourselves into a position where we can make the play against them.”Related

South Africa take 'crazy 18 hours' before semi-final in their stride

South Africa call up Linde as cover for injured Markram

South Africa, New Zealand gear up for run-fest as even contest beckons

Mitchell Santner goes from supporting role to main actor, to NZ's benefit

Bavuma’s respect is borne out by the numbers. Aside from India, who played their games at the less scoring-friendly Dubai, no team has sent down more dot balls this tournament than New Zealand, and none of them boasts a tighter economy rate. For games played in Pakistan in the Champions Trophy, three of the top four bowlers to have produced dot balls are from New Zealand – Michael Bracewell, Will O’Rourke and Mitchell Santner.Bavuma, though, rates his own bowlers highly, too. “We’re also quite confident in our bowling. It’ll be a good show on offer between the two bowling attacks. I don’t think there’s a lot between them.”Unlike New Zealand’s bowlers, though, South Africa’s went through a full workload, training later than usual, between 7pm and 10pm on the eve of the game.1:41

Santner: Our bowling combination won’t change too much for semi-final

Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder went through extended periods of bowling. Kagiso Rabada’s workload was lighter as he largely confined himself to fielding drills and the odd spurt. South Africa, after all, flew from Karachi to Dubai on Sunday in case they needed to play the first semi-final, only to fly right back to Lahore on Monday when it emerged they would play the second semi-final.Bavuma said it couldn’t be an excuse for his side, though. “Logistically, things could have been more efficient,” he said. “Having said that, the boys did enjoy the time to gallivant in Dubai. Some of the boys played some golf, some went sightseeing. So it was a bit enjoyable, some of them used the time to recover. Guys made use of it as best as they could.”Three weeks ago, these two sides played a game in Lahore that could not be further removed in terms of importance. It was the second game of the tri-series, a day game starting on a cold February morning. It was a flat surface, with a second-string South Africa side posting 304 before an unbeaten century from Kane Williamson, who has “always been a thorn”, guided New Zealand to a comfortable win.2:26

Kumble: South Africa have a slight edge over New Zealand

Bavuma said the differing stakes and circumstances of that game did not mean there was nothing to pick up from it. “It gave us a look at that New Zealand team,” he said. “That team we played against – I don’t think it’ll be too far to what they’ll put out tomorrow. We have different members, obviously. I guess there’s a difference there. When we played, it was a good wicket, but the last game here, between Australia and Afghanistan, the ball swung quite a bit.”Rabada and Mulder stand for catching practice under the lights, sharing a joke and a laugh. Ryan Rickelton whips Jansen into the on side; he looks the best batter in the practice session, the sound of the middle of his bat hypnotically echoing into the void of the empty stadium.Dale Steyn, in Lahore as a broadcast commentator, briefly goes to the practice pitches and has a chat with a couple of players. It is, as Jansen says, “just another game”, and South Africa are trying their best to treat it as just another training session.These two sides, full of golden talents but achingly missing silverware, know better than most that yearning for glory does not guarantee it. So Rabada takes a sharp catch, Rickelton creams one back down the ground, and Jansen bowls at full pelt. And then they do it all over again. As South Africa and New Zealand always do.

Ashleigh Gardner was relieved to not be stuck in the 90s for too long on the way to an “emotional” maiden international century which put Australia on the brink of retaining the Ashes.Gardner’s previous highest score for Australia was 93, made in a T20I against India in 2020, and in Hobart she became just the second women’s batter to score an ODI century from No. 6 or lower in the order.In the 45th over, Gardner was on 90 and facing Nat Sciver-Brunt when the England allrounder pushed consecutive balls down the leg side which Gardner was able to take advantage of, with a single off the final delivery of the over leaving her on 99 against Lauren Bell. One dot followed before she pulled Bell through square leg.Related

• Sciver-Brunt hopes for 'mindset shift' even as Australia promise to 'scrap and fight'

• Gardner's century and King's five-for give Australia ODI series sweep

• Stats – Gardner's rescue act, King's fruitful series, Ecclestone's poor show against Australia

“Because I haven’t made many hundreds throughout my whole cricketing life I had a feeling that I would get really nervous in the 90s,” Gardner said. “Thankfully for me, Nat bowled a couple down the leg and I was able to get those away to the boundary and race through the 90s.”The rest just fell in place and I was able to get to that milestone. It’s certainly something that I can be really proud of. I’ve played a lot of international games and haven’t quite made that mark…to be able to reach that was pretty emotional, but it was pretty cool to tick off.”Gardner had walked in with Australia tottering on 59 for 4 but was able to stitch together partnerships of 95 with Beth Mooney and a defining 103 from 83 balls with Tahlia McGrath before the innings was capped off by George Wareham’s 12-ball 38.Gardner made a conscious effort to try and put pressure on England’s leading spinner, Sophie Ecclestone, who she scored 24 off 29 balls against in what became Ecclestone second-most expensive return in ODIs.”For me and Moons, it was just to build a partnership and to ease the nerves a little bit and calm people down,” Gardner said. “The conversations just kept being around putting pressure back on them. I know for me, batting in those types of situations, you can go back in your shell.”For me that doesn’t really work because then I go too far the other way, so I still try to be really proactive. I tried to put pressure back on Ecclestone, which sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t. I guess it made her change something, and that was what I was trying to do.”The messages were kind of the same with T-Mac [McGrath]. That was probably the best I’ve seen T-Mac bat in a very long time. She just took a lot of pressure off me. I didn’t feel like because I was the one in that I had to keep going as hard.”Gardner put an exclamation mark on her performance with a spectacular parried boundary catch late in England’s innings to remove Ecclestone.Ash Gardner took a spectacular juggling catch on the rope•Getty Images

“I was probably off the rope too many steps, knowing that she hits the ball pretty hard and far,” she said. “After the initial catch, it was [about] trying to get my momentum to basically not fall over the rope. It was just one of those things where instinct kicks in and you throw the ball back and hope that you can catch it on the rebound.”I made a bit of a meal of it in the end, and I’m sure people will probably say that I put a bit of mayo on it. I didn’t mean for it to be caught that way, but I’ll take it.”Winning the ODI series has ticked plenty of early boxes for Australia and leaves them needing just two more points to retain the Ashes but with the memories of 2023, when 6-0 became an 8-8 draw, there is a determination not to be in that position again.”I know there was sort of redemption after the white-ball series that we played last time in the [last] Ashes. We weren’t up to it,” Gardner said. “I think the standard that we’ve shown throughout today was probably the most clinical batting performance that we’ve put out there. We’ve played on some tricky wickets, so it’s really exposed us at different times and being able to overcome that.”Knowing that we’re going into the T20s, which I think probably is England’s best format, being able to take confidence in what we’ve done in these last three ODIs into that first T20, I’d imagine England probably don’t have as much confidence as what we do, so we should really relish in that.”Having seen 59 for 4 turn into over 300, England still had a chance at 200 for 4, needing 109 from 80 balls, but when Danni Wyatt-Hodge was superbly caught Phoebe Litchfield, they lost 6 for 22.”You looked at the worms and they were bang on,” captain Heather Knight said of the chase. “I think we were ahead actually, for most of it. We felt like on the bench we could probably chase 10, 11 an over for the last ten. So being in that position, we felt pretty good. We just didn’t have that set batter to go on and go really big”Those key moments, when the game’s on the line, they [Australia] seem to be able to cope with them really well. We haven’t been able to seize the moment a little bit and really hammer down any advantage that we have got. It’s something that we need to do a little bit better, realising when we’re in a key moment of the match, can we go after this? Let’s go and win this. So hopefully we can show some progress in that in the T20s.”

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers believes that the Hoops need to sign another centre-forward to challenge Adam Idah for a place in the starting line-up before the end of the summer transfer window.

The manager recently said: “He was at his best here when was challenging for the position with Kyogo Furuhashi. He really needs that real competition beside him – I think that’s what you get the most out of him.

Idah started the opening two games of the Scottish Premiership season against St Mirren and Aberdeen, but failed to provide a goal or an assist for the side.

Why Celtic need a new striker

The Hoops need to find a new striker because the Ireland international has not proven that he has the quality to be the main number nine for the club in the league, as further evidenced by his struggles at the start of the current campaign.

In the 2024/25 season, the former Norwich City marksman was significantly more effective when coming off the bench to make an impact as a substitute for Celtic.

Appearances

19

16

Minutes

1,352

357

Goals

6

7

Minutes per goal

225

51

Assists

0

1

As you can see in the table above, Idah has had far more success when coming off the bench for the Scottish giants since he returned on a permanent deal, which suggests that the Hoops need a striker to allow him to be an impact substitute.

It was reported last month that Celtic are interested in signing CFR Cluj forward Louis Munteanu, who is reportedly valued at £7m, and he could be a big upgrade on the Irishman.

Why Celtic should sign Louis Munteanu

The Romania international’s form for CFR Cluj in the 2024/25 campaign suggests that he has the potential to come in and offer more than Idah as the main number nine for Rodgers this season.

Football talent scout Jacek Kulig described the striker’s output as “magnificent” and it is hard to argue with that assessment, as he scored 25 goals in all competitions for the Romanian side, per Transfermarkt.

Munteanu, who played for Fiorentina’s U19 team at youth level, proved that he can find the back of the net on a regular basis as a clinical finish in Romania, but it is worth remembering that he is not proven in the Premiership and there is no guarantee that his form translates.

Appearances

35

35

Goals

23

13

Big chances missed

16

19

Goals per game

0.7

0.4

Big chances created

7

6

Assists

3

0

That being said, you can see in the table above, the £7m-rated star does have the potential to be a big upgrade on Idah for Celtic if they can get him firing at his best in Glasgow, based on their respective performances last term.

These statistics suggest that Munteanu could offer way more quality as a goalscorer for the Hoops, because he scored ten more goals whilst missing fewer ‘big chances’ in the same number of appearances at league level.

This means that the Romanian forward is more clinical than Idah with the chances that come his way, which will be music to the ears of supporters after the Irishman’s three ‘big chances’ missed against St Mirren on the opening day.

Munteanu also created one more ‘big chance’ for his teammates in those games and could offer a similar level of creativity in comparison to the 6 foot 3 Irishman.

Bad news for Bernardo: Celtic told to pay £3.5m to sign "fascinating" star

Celtic’s interest in a Premier League midfielder could be bad news for Paulo Bernardo.

ByDan Emery Aug 13, 2025

Overall, though, the Cluj centre-forward appears to have the qualities to come in as a big upgrade on Idah if he can adapt to Scottish football, as he could be the prolific number nine that they are looking for to allow the ex-Canaries forward to play his role off the bench.