All posts by n8rngtd.top

After Ange Postecoglou’s dismal season in the Premier League throughout 2024/25, changes simply had to be made if Tottenham Hotspur were to progress in the right direction.

His Europa League triumph certainly papered over the cracks, but former chairman Daniel Levy saw the bigger picture and decided a switch in manager was needed.

Such responsibility fell into the hands of Thomas Frank, with the former Brentford boss tasked with the responsibility of transforming the Lilywhites’ fortunes in England’s top-flight.

The backline was a real issue for the club last time around, but the 51-year-old has already made an immediate impact – as seen by their tally of six clean sheets across all competitions.

However, the upcoming January transfer window is rapidly approaching, which could see added quality being injected into the opposite end of the pitch.

Spurs’ hunt for new attacking talent in January

Over the last couple of days, Spurs have once again been linked with a deal to land Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo after previously wanting him during the summer.

The Ghanaian international has enjoyed a phenomenal start to 2025/26, scoring on six occasions and registering three assists within his first eight outings.

However, he’s not the only Premier League forward currently on their radar, with Sporting Director Fabio Paratici targeting a move for Everton star Iliman Ndiaye.

The latest report from TEAMtalk states that the Lilywhites see the 25-year-old as a top target for the winter window, but face competition from a fellow top-flight rival.

Newcastle United are also in the race to land the versatile forward in the coming months, which has seen a £60m price tag mooted to prise him away from the Toffees.

Why Spurs’ latest target is even better than Kudus

Landing an attacker from another Premier League side certainly isn’t alien to Spurs, as seen by their deal to land winger Mohammed Kudus from West Ham United.

The hierarchy forked out a fee in the region of £55m for the 25-year-old’s signature, with the Ghanaian seen as the player to take the frontline to the next level.

It’s safe to say he’s already had an immediate impact at the Lilywhites, scoring once and notching four assists within his first eight Premier League appearances.

Kudus has certainly nailed down the role on the right-hand side of the frontline, but he could be joined by another phenomenal talent in the form of Ndiaye.

The Toffees forward has rapidly progressed under David Moyes over the last couple of months, with the Senegalese international now one of the most potent attackers in the division.

When comparing his stats to those of the new Lilywhites addition, Ndiaye has managed to outperform him in numerous key areas throughout the early stages of 2025/26.

The Toffees star has achieved a better shot on target rate and a higher goal per shot on target average – which showcases the added goalscoring threat he possesses.

He’s also completed more passes and registered a higher tally of key passes per 90 – leading to one analyst labelling him as “one of the best” talents in the Premier League.

Ndiaye’s dominance over Kudus is further reflected in his higher take-on success and better tally of carries into the final third per 90 – highlighting his ability to progress the ball into dangerous areas whenever possible.

£60m would be another huge statement from the hierarchy, but it’s a deal that could add further quality into Frank’s frontline in his quest for success in North London.

The prospect of Ndiaye thriving with Kudus at the Lilywhites is truly one to behold, which could see the club be the home to two of the division’s best attacking talents.

However, the board will have to act quickly in January to complete a deal for his signature, especially given the interest from rivals Newcastle United.

Forget Spence: Frank can bin Porro by unleashing "future £100m" Spurs star

Tottenham Hotspur already have another phenomenal talent within their ranks in North London.

By
Ethan Lamb

Oct 24, 2025

As they attempt to hold off the Mariners in a furious American League West race, the Astros may soon have back one of their most formidable weapons.

Houston designated hitter Yordan Alvarez will begin a rehab assignment Tuesday with the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks, Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters Sunday via Chandler Rome of .

Alvarez, 28, has not played since May 2 in what has for the most part been a lost season. He slashed an uncharacteristic .210/.306/.340 with three home runs and 18 RBIs before a lingering hand injury forced him onto the injured list; a July setback delayed his return even further.

The ailment pressed pause on Alvarez's extraordinary, still-young career. In seven seasons, he's slashed .295/.387/.573 and averaged 41 home runs, 119 RBIs and 5.7 bWAR per 162 games.

Houston, which leads the AL West by 1.5 games, will close a series with the Orioles Sunday before heading north for a seismic three-game showdown with the Tigers.

Rangers were certainly busy in the transfer market last summer, but supporters will be demanding more new recruits come January.

13 new additions were made in July and August, but this team has got significantly worse, leading to sporting director Kevin Thelwell feeling the need to do an interview with the club’s in-house TV channel during the international break.

Having sacked Russell Martin after only 15 games in charge and appointed Danny Röhl, the German will surely demand new recruits when the winter window opens in just 41 days time, so could Rangers bring in some much-needed defensive reinforcements?

Rangers' need for defensive depth

After taking a couple of matches to figure things out, new coach Röhl has settled on a back three, notably deploying this shape against Hibs, Roma and Celtic.

As a result, centre-back will surely be a key position he’ll seek to strengthen in January, given the Light Blues’ lack of depth and quality in this position.

Summer signing Nasser Djiga has regularly proved himself to be an unreliable figure, making a high-profile error against Club Brugge, having been sent off on his home Premiership debut against Dundee, thereby losing his place in the side (video below).

Meantime, John Souttar has been Rangers’ most impressive centre-back so far, starting 23 of 24 fixtures to date, albeit he can unfortunately never be relied upon to remain fit for a long period of time.

He withdrew from Scotland’s starting lineup mere minutes before Tuesday’s historic World Cup qualifying win over Denmark after suffering an injury in the warm-up and was at fault in the game against Greece, with James McFadden stating that he had a “nightmare” in that clash.

So, right now, even when everyone is fit, Röhl has just four senior centre-backs for three starting positions, one of which is Emmanuel Fernandez, who has not started a match since August.

Perhaps an addition in January would do the trick.

Rangers targeting a new centre-back

According to reports in Belgium earlier this month, Rangers have “made enquiries” as they aim to sign defender Mujaid Sadick from Genk.

Well, Football Transfers believes the 25-year-old is worth around £8m, which would make him one of Rangers’ most-expensive signings of all-time, so would he be worth the investment?

Mujaid began his senior career at Deportivo La Coruña in Spain, making 55 appearances for the fallen Spanish giants, before moving to Belgium in 2021, appearing 136 times for current employers Genk, who finished third in last season’s Jupiler Pro League.

This season, he has been a near ever-present for the Smurfs, including starting all four of their Europa League matches, the first of which was a 1-0 victory at Ibrox, with former Celtic striker Oh Hyeon-gyu the match-winner.

The Spaniard’s statistics certainly make for impressive reading, as outlined below.

As the table highlights, Mujaid’s statistics in Belgium’s top-flight this season are generally pretty imperious.

No players boast a higher pass completion %, while he is also in the top 20 when it comes to tackles and clearances.

The Rangers Journal described the Spaniard as “physical, athletic, good on the ball and aggressive”, while his “versatility” has also been praised, which would certainly enhance his reputation with Röhl, who regularly tinkers with his shape and formation both from one game to the next but also within a match.

Thus, what is clear is that Rangers really need to sign another centre-back in January to avoid having to play stop-gaps as part of Röhl’s back three.

Mujaid’s statistics and potential, still only 25 years and playing in the sixth-strongest league on the planet, according to Global Football Rankings, all suggest he would represent an upgrade on Djiga and Souttar, the latter has been in good form, but is injury prone and whether or not his performances as sustainable remains a question mark.

The Spaniard would be an expensive investment, but one Rangers may have to make to correct the errors made in the summer.

Rangers star looks set to become Ibrox's new Hamza Igamane under Rohl

As Rangers seek to replace Hamza Igamane, who has been on fire for Lille, which “exciting” forward, not Youssef Chermiti, could replicate his success?

By
Ben Gray

Nov 16, 2025

When the Los Angeles Dodgers pitched Roki Sasaki on joining their franchise, they had an ace up their collective sleeve: toilets.

On Wednesday, Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten recalled how the franchise lured Sasaki, partly because of fancy new toilets installed in the team's clubhouse.

Kasten recalled that when the Dodgers were recruiting Sasaki, they were also deep into planning for modernizing their clubhouse. The plan had begun the year before when they were attempting to recruit Shohei Ohtani. Near the end of recruitment, Sasaki asked if the team planned to have fancy Japanese toilets installed.

"I said, 'Well, why do you ask? Is that important?' And he said, 'Oh, yeah, that's really important,'" Kasten said. "And I said, 'Oh yeah, then we're having them in there.' And so overnight we changed our plans, and now the entire locker room has these fancy Japanese toilets."

If only the Padres and Blue Jays had known about Sasaki's love of fancy toilets.

When the Dodgers landed the 23-year-old righty, he was almost universally considered the best pitching prospect in the world. Unfortunately for L.A., he has missed most of the season due to shoulder issues. When he has been on the mound, Sasaki has disappointed, going 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA, a 1.49 WHIP, and 24 strikeouts against 22 walks in 34 1/3 innings.

But hey, at least the whole team gets to use those fancy toilets.

The South Australia batsman had been told his performances weren’t consistent enough

Daniel Brettig05-Nov-2020In spite of a promising beginning that peaked with a polished early stint in Australia’s ODI team, Callum Ferguson’s career ultimately ended with a long, slow fade to retirement after the brief high of a Test debut in 2016.That Test, against South Africa in Hobart, saw Ferguson ignominiously run out on the way to the national team’s fifth consecutive long-form defeat. Ferguson and his fellow South Australian debutant Joe Mennie were summarily dropped after Rod Marsh resigned as chairman of selectors, signalling Cricket Australia’s intent to head into another, more youthful direction after choosing “Ferg” at the age of 31.As much as Ferguson would have liked to prove that selection decision wrong, and had even begun this season with fleeting thoughts of fighting his way back to the front rank of Test team aspirants, the panel’s judgment was born out by how he would slip in and out of the Redbacks’ XI in subsequent years, including his omission from the first game of this season.”It’s a really tough question that I asked myself, why not keep playing through the season,” Ferguson said in explaining his retirement. “I’ve been a bit frustrated at my own lack of consistency over the last few years, I feel like I haven’t been at a level I’ve been comfortable with. I feel like I’ve got punches to throw and I feel like I’m going to make runs every time I walk out to the crease. But more so I think at 35 my dream of playing for the country is probably gone, I was thinking that while I was making the decision. Now it is gone to wear the baggy green again.”I think I went into the season feeling like if I put a big 1000-run year on the board I’ll be a chance to get back there. The selectors have shown in the past they’re willing to go with guys who make big runs at an older age, but probably getting left out at the start of the summer took a bit of the wind out of my sails, and that was a tough one to take, but I’ve been around well and truly long enough to understand how the game works. There’s people put in roles to make tough decisions and tough decisions are what make great teams and great associations.”I would’ve loved to play in a couple of wins the last couple of games. That hasn’t eventuated and I think looking at the fact we’ve got one more game before the break, at the end of this game hopefully get a big win on the board, build some momentum, and I think it’s time for someone to get a crack at Nos. 5 or 3, make it their own and hopefully take us to a big second half of the season. Right now I don’t feel like I’m the right one to take us all the way through.”

I have gone into every innings thinking I’m going to make a 100 in the next one and unfortunately, I haven’t done that consistently enough to be able to say ‘no, that’s my spot’, particularly in the eyes of the selectorsCallum Ferguson

Quite simply, Ferguson was unable to make the spinal runs in the first innings of a Sheffield Shield game that generally define the arc of each contest. The brutal reality of life after that one Test was that Ferguson never made another first innings century in a first-class match, a sequence spanning 44 innings for just 694 runs at 15.77 with three 50s. This was no more frustrating for anyone than Ferguson himself, and it was not a pattern that could be allowed to continue if South Australia is to regenerate as a Shield force.”I was given the message that my performances in first innings over the last 12-18 months hadn’t been good enough, and they hadn’t been good enough in my eyes either, and I can’t argue that fact,” Ferguson said. “I was struggling with the idea that I wasn’t in our best top five, but I think when you get to the stage of my career I’m at, I’m always going to feel like I’m in the best five.”I have gone into every innings thinking I’m going to make a 100 in the next one and unfortunately, I haven’t done that consistently enough to be able to say ‘no, that’s my spot’, particularly in the eyes of the selectors. Obviously at the start of the season they didn’t think that was the case, and I’ve got to live with that.”It was a sad end, too, for one of cricket’s more likeable and at one time promising batting talents. Certainly, Ferguson showed enormous potential in his early years, never more than when he was called into Australia’s white-ball team in early 2009 and proceeded to look very much at home over 30 matches in which he compiled 663 runs at 41.43.How Ferguson might have fared if he had been able to spend more time surrounded by the best of Australian cricket at the top end of the game will never be known: a serious knee injury suffered while fielding during the final of the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa in 2009 cost Ferguson a season, and he did not play a white-ball game for Australia after 2011.Callum Ferguson: ‘I’ve been a bit frustrated at my own lack of consistency over the last few years, I feel like I haven’t been at a level I’ve been comfortable with’•Getty ImagesThree of the key figures Ferguson was surrounded by in the earliest days of his career were there again at the end. The South Australia coach Jason Gillespie, the high performance chief Tim Nielsen were both on hand right at the beginning, as a starry-eyed junior watching them in a Shield game at Adelaide Oval, while the assistant coach Greg Blewett had also been there most steps of the way – as a younger man Ferguson had occasionally been referred to as “mini-Blewey”.”The SACA since I was 12 years old have given me every opportunity to make a success of a cricket career, turn it into a lifestyle and a way of life to an extent,” Ferguson said. “I couldn’t be more thankful, they’ve given me absolutely every opportunity all the way through to the point of making it to a baggy green, cap 445, which is the dream.”I was telling the guys just before I remember being up on the hill as a young lad drinking free coca cola on a Dollar Day, day three of a Shield game, I think it was a Sunday and Dizzy was charging in from one end and I think Vin [Nielsen] was taking the ball behind the stumps and that’s probably where the dream began, if not in the backyard pretending I was David Boon.”Retirement has arrived for Ferguson a few months in the wake of fatherhood, and he is now likely to juggle those duties with a continuing T20 career, most recently as a canny captain of the Sydney Thunder.

After being dropped from the Test team, seamer’s surging form for Hampshire is remaking his case

Umar Farooq23-Apr-2021Until last week, Mohammad Abbas was an overlooked name in Pakistan cricket. But then at the Ageas Bowl, he reclaimed the spotlight with a remarkable performance for Hampshire against Middlesex in the LV= County Championship, to reignite his belief that his recent axing from the Test team will only be a temporary measure.After picking up three cheap wickets in an innings victory over his former club Leicestershire in the opening round, Abbas confirmed his rhythm was right back where he wanted it to be against Middlesex, as he claimed a hat-trick inside seven balls.The method he used was familiar: understated and deadly. A perfect line to a succession of batters, with just enough wobble off the seam to confound their defences. Max Holden was the first to go, to Abbas’ fifth ball of the innings, as the left-hander poked on an off-stump line and deflected a thick edge to Joe Weatherley at third slip. Nick Gubbins was pinned on the crease one ball later, as Abbas jagged a leg-stump delivery into his knee-roll, then with the first ball of his second over, he grazed Stevie Eskinazi’s outside edge as he pressed forward on off stump again.Before the end of his third over, Abbas had picked up each of the first five wickets to fall as Middlesex crashed to 14 for 5, at which point his figures were an extraordinary 2.5-1-3-5. When Sam Robson fell for 18, with Middlesex 31 for 6, he briefly looked on course to claim all ten in the match but had to settle for the final innings figures of 6 for 11. Though Middlesex put up more of a fight in the follow-on, no one could get to grips with Abbas, as he finished with match figures of 9 for 39 in 31 overs.The hat-trick, though, was the undoubted highlight. It was his first in an extensive 12-year first-class career, having previously failed to convert various opportunities in Pakistan, and Abbas believes that – with the national team still in need of a senior bowler to anchor their attack – his efforts for Hampshire could his route back to Test cricket, after admitting to a tail-off in recent international form.”It great to have a hat-trick in my profile,” Abbas told ESPNcricinfo. “These are kind of records every bowler wishes to have. I am happy that I will be able to decorate my career with this distinction.”I previously had various hat-trick chances in my career but missed it. So when this opportunity arrived, I never wanted it to let it go. With all the experience, I had an idea that the batsman might expect the ball to seam in but I thought to bowl an outswinger and it worked. I am grateful for it, and happy about it.”Ben Stokes winces as Mohammad Abbas bowls him for a duck•Getty ImagesAbbas, 31, is with Hampshire for an initial two months that covers as many as eight games, but his contract could be extended if the side reaches the league stage of the competition in August and September, which is very much on the cards after their flying start to the season.However, Pakistan could well come calling once more on the evidence of his current form. They are scheduled to play three Tests against West Indies in July and August this year, and having picked up 15 wickets at 19.20 in his debut series in the Caribbean in 2017, Pakistan’s chief selectors know plenty about his effectiveness in such conditions.However, he was dropped after a drastic slump in his form in the past two years. At the end of Pakistan’s tour of South Africa in January 2019, Abbas had picked up 66 wickets at 18.16 in 14 Tests, and at one stage he had the lowest average – 15.64 – for any bowler with 50-plus Test wickets in the last 100 years. Against Australia in Abu Dhabi, he became the first Pakistani bowler in 28 years to claim a ten-wicket haul, en route to a crushing 373-run win.Since then, however, Abbas has added just 18 more wickets in nine Tests, at an average of 37.27 and a strike rate of 94.5. He believes, however, that a combination of injury and a lack of match practice due to the Covid-19 pandemic contributed to this down-turn, as well as a dip in form from Pakistan’s attack as a whole.”I really had a great start to my career but unfortunately I got a shoulder injury,” Abbas said. “When you touch a peak and have a sudden fall you obviously need time to regain yourself. I did struggle after my return but then, in the second stint of my career, I lost the experienced bowlers at another end. Things started to break away. New management came in and I got to bowl with a fresh bowler, with Shaheen Afridi at his early stage. Musa [Khan], [Usman] Shinwari, Naseem Shah, they all were inexperienced and Yasir [Shah] also stopped taking wickets so it all comes down to me alone as a senior bowler.

“With all the experience, I had an idea that the batsman might expect the ball to seam in but I thought to bowl an outswinger and it worked”Mohammad Abbas on his hat-trick delivery

“Bowlers also need partnerships similar to in batting,” he added. “When I am bowling I usually develop chemistry and it takes time to find one. If one end is getting wickets, that is mainly because the other end is taking all the pressure of containing runs. One is attacking, the other is containing and controlling the flow of runs.”Given his central role in Pakistan’s victory at Lord’s in 2018, where he claimed four wickets in each innings to set the side up for a highly creditable 1-1 series draw, Abbas’ returns in England last summer were a disappointment, as he finished with five wickets at 35.80 in the three Tests – albeit one of those was arguably the ball of the series, a peerless outswinger to bowl Ben Stokes for a duck at Old Trafford. He fared little better on the subsequent tour of New Zealand, with four wickets at 45.00. But he believes a bowler of his type is particularly hampered by the Covid restrictions on tour.”In New Zealand, when I thought Afridi started to develop, we were suppressed with the 14-day quarantine,” he said. “It basically was a killer for a sportsperson. For a bowler, it’s about adjusting to the away conditions, understanding the length, and with pre-series prep, you get in your groove. But we were largely deprived so it was a missed opportunity for me to revive after injury.”Related

• Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah return to Pakistan Test squad

• Mohammad Abbas hat-trick and six-for leaves Middlesex feeling abashed

• Ian Holland, Sam Northeast tons set Middlesex a mammoth target

• All-round dominance hands Hampshire second big win of the season

Abbas’ expanding strike rate started to become a concern for Pakistan as the wicket tally started to shrink, even though he did well to contain the runs on both tours. But he was dropped for the home series against South Africa and overlooked again for the ongoing Zimbabwe tour.Pakistan left him to work on his game with the bowling coach Waqar Younis, who decided that his game didn’t need any major tweaks after injury. But in his absence, Pakistan have had a drastic change in their bowling line-up, with Afridi now the leader of the pack with a host of new faces.He accepts that a yard of extra pace might not hurt his chances of a recall, but also believes that his innate skill with a cricket ball will continue to stand him in good stead, particularly now that the Covid restrictions are limiting the use of saliva to help the ball swing.”I know I still have a lot to offer and Pakistan needs an experienced bowler,” Abbas said. “There is a lot of Test cricket coming up later this year and next year, and I think I can contribute. This ongoing County Championship is a big opportunity for me to revive myself. I know people often talk about my pace, and I had few words with Umar Gul, and he suggested me to bowl with the older ball as much as I can to generate more pace.”So it’s about getting into my method and helping me to bowl with extra pace. When you are not getting wickets as a player and as a team, your chips are down and your pace drops automatically. But once wickets are falling in your way, you start flying, and with every over you feel reinvigorated.”This county season came at the right time and I am going make the most out of it. Also, this new rule not to use saliva is basically allowing the ball to rough up pretty early than usual… like only after 15 overs instead of after 30 overs so more opportunity to take upfront wickets.”

Also: which captain lost the toss but went on to win the match most often?

Steven Lynch23-Mar-2021With England’s one-dayers in India coming up, I wondered who had the most runs and wickets overall in matches between the two countries? My guesses are Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh! asked Mafat Lal from India

The top five run-scorers in England-India one-day internationals are all Indians – but, surprisingly perhaps, Sachin Tendulkar lies only third on the list with 1455, behind Yuvraj Singh (1523) and the leader Mahendra Singh Dhoni (1546). Before the current series, Virat Kohli had 1178 runs, and was set to overtake Suresh Raina (1207). The leading Englishman is Ian Bell, with 1163, just ahead of Kevin Pietersen (1138). Two more Indians, Rahul Dravid (1012) and Virender Sehwag (1008) made it into four figures.As for the bowlers, James Anderson leads the way with 40 wickets in England-India ODIs, three ahead of Andrew Flintoff and Ravindra Jadeja; next comes Harbhajan Singh with 36, one more than R Ashwin and Javagal Srinath.I noticed Jofra Archer batted for the first time in his 11th T20I the other day. Has anyone else played so many without needing to bat? asked Michael Templeton from England

Jofra Archer was not required to bat in his first ten T20I, before finally going in during the fourth match of England’s current series against India in Ahmedabad.He was the sixth man who did not bat in his first ten T20Is. Of the others, Mohammed Shami has now played 12, and has still not made it to the crease, while another India seamer, Jaydev Unadkat, is stuck on ten (he also played seven one-day internationals without having to bat). Ben Shikongo of Namibia finally had to bat in his 11th match – he was out first ball, and he hasn’t played another one since. South Africa’s Wayne Parnell did not bat until his 11th match either, but now has a fairly respectable average of 28.50, helped by a few not-outs.But the leader in this list is Fareed Ahmad of Afghanistan, who did not bat in his first 13 T20Is, before making 24 not out in his 14th. He’s played two more since, in their current series against Zimbabwe, and hasn’t batted in those either.Which captain lost the toss but went on to win the match most often? asked Jeet Banerjee from England

In Tests there’s a tie between Ricky Ponting of Australia and South Africa’s Graeme Smith, who both won 23 matches after losing the toss. MS Dhoni and Steve Waugh come next with 18, then Stephen Fleming and Viv Richards with 17.Ponting also leads the way in one-day internationals, winning 75 after losing the toss; Dhoni is next with 53, ahead of Fleming (51), Hansie Cronje (49), Allan Border and Graeme Smith (48) and Arjuna Ranatunga (45). The T20 specialist is a bit of a surprise: Afghanistan’s Asghar Afghan has won 25 matches after losing the toss, two more than Dhoni, with Eoin Morgan next on 16. In all three formats Ponting leads the way with exactly 100 wins after losing the toss, with Dhoni on 94 and Smith 79.Graeme Smith and Ricky Ponting have both won 23 matches apiece after losing the toss in Tests•Getty ImagesIndia and England have just played a rare five-match T20 series. Who has scored the most runs in one T20 series? asked Ghulam Dhanpade from India

The leader in any T20I tournament is Virat Kohli, who scored 319 runs in the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in 2013-14. He inched past Tillakaratne Dilshan of Sri Lanka, who made 317 in the T20 World Cup in England in 2009. Next come Australia’s Aaron Finch, with 306 runs in a tri-series in Zimbabwe in 2018, and Mahela Jayawardene of Sri Lanka, who made 302 in the T20 World Cup in the West Indies in 2010.The most in a bilateral series is 233, by Mozambique’s Damiao Couana, in a seven-match rubber against Malawi in 2019-20. Colin Munro thrashed 223 in just three games at home to West Indies in 2017-18 (he scored 53, 66 and 104).Apart from the current series in India and the seven-match one in Malawi mentioned above, there have been just five other bilateral series of T20Is containing five matches, only three of them involving Test-playing nations: Malaysia vs Vanuatu, New Zealand vs England, New Zealand vs India and Hong Kong vs Malaysia in 2019-20, and New Zealand vs Australia in 2020-21.Who has made a T20I hundred from lowest in the batting order? asked Kristoff Alkemade from the Netherlands

There have now been 58 centuries in men’s T20Is. Of these, 38 have been made by openers, ten by the No. 3, and six from No. 4. Three No. 5s have reached three figures: David Miller for South Africa against Bangladesh in Potchefstroom in 2017-18, Sivakumar Periyalwar for Romania vs Turkey in Ilfov in August 2019, and Sudesh Wickramasekara for the Czech Republic against Turkey the following day, also in Ilfov.That leaves a lone century from No. 6 in the batting order in T20Is. It came from Belgium’s captain Shaheryar Butt, who came in with his side 41 for 4 after eight overs, and blasted an unbeaten 125 from 50 balls – with nine sixes and 11 fours – against the Czech Republic in Walferdange, Luxembourg, in August 2020.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

In their quest for Eldorado, English cricket may have saddled itself with fool’s gold

George Dobell15-Jul-2021″You’ve got a lot of nerve, to say you are my friend,” sang Bob Dylan in the opening line of . It was the song Bob Willis had playing in the background when he died after a long battle with cancer in December 2019.To celebrate Bob’s life – Bob Willis’ life, that is – Edgbaston (his old ground) was tangled up in blue during the third ODI against Pakistan on Tuesday night. Spectators had been encouraged to wear blue to both celebrate his life and raise awareness and funds for the fight against prostate cancer. It’s a surprising choice of final song, in a way. It’s not a peaceful song. Nor gentle or even kind. It’s furious, really. Hateful, even. It sneers at hypocrisy. It angrily demands honesty. And it remains as relevant now as it was when he wrote it almost 60 years ago.Maybe that opening line is a phrase that could be directed towards the ECB executive right now. They are meant to be the guardians of our game, after all. But Tuesday’s was the final ODI before the domestic 50-over competition in England (and Wales) is downgraded into what has been termed a “development” competition. Its final, once a showpiece event in the season, will now be played on a Thursday.It will take place at the same time as the Hundred, you see. And that means it will be without many of the best white-ball players in the land. Surrey, for example, lose 12 players to the Hundred; Sussex lose eight; Somerset lose seven as well as their head coach. And that’s even before we consider the impact of Covid.In a format in which we are told attention to detail and role definition are so important, you wonder what impact this will have when England next play a 50-over World Cup, in India in 2023. It means the best new, white-ball players could be picked for the ODI side without ever having played a professional 50-over game. This week’s success, achieved by a third-choice side against a strong Pakistan team, might prove a high-water mark in the history of England’s ODI cricket.England’s 3-0 clean sweep may come to be seen as the high-water mark of England’s 50-over fortunes•Getty ImagesIt’s not just the 50-over competition which has been forced to compromise, either. The T20 Blast, a competition which has kept the counties afloat in recent years, has been squeezed into a window 40% shorter this year. Even before Covid intervened, clubs had almost no chance to retain the spectator numbers that had been so impressive in previous years based on the premise of regular Friday night fixtures, with room for variance for local factors. This year, Surrey, for example, played six home games in the space of 12 days. Two of them were on Mondays and two more were on Wednesdays. Really, it’s almost as if some people wanted it to fail.Some will scoff at that suggestion. But given the potential direction of travel – the decreasing relevance of the county game and the growing dominance of those based at Test-hosting grounds – many of us fear that the Hundred is an attempt to reduce the number of counties by stealth. And even if it isn’t, might it not be easier to justify the new format if you can demonstrate the existing competitions have failed? It would explain the ECB’s reluctance to sing the success of the Vitality Blast from every rooftop. It has, let us remember, sold out almost every game at several venues – including the London ones – for years. It’s attracted some great overseas players, too. Had it been embraced by a free-to-air broadcaster, it really could have been the vehicle to growth.And remember: these new team identities, some of them based many hours from the regions which they supposedly represent, have never produced a player. They have no pathways, no academies and no existing support base. They are parasites feeding on the players and supporters the county game has produced. It’s a bizarre act of cannibalism to stage a new competition at the same time as an existing one. Even if the new tournament works, it could push existing teams into obsolescence.We haven’t even talked about the first-class game yet. But it’s hard to dispute it has been compromised in the desire to create a white-ball window. At the start of this century, when the Championship was split into two divisions playing four day-cricket, it produced a Test team that went to No. 1 in the world. So well did it prepare people for Test cricket, that four of the top seven (Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss, Jonathan Trott and Matt Prior) made centuries on Test debut and two more (Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen) made half-centuries. One of the bowlers (James Anderson) took a five-for on debut and another (Graeme Swann) claimed two wickets in his first over. The County Championship worked.The County Championship produced players good enough to propel England to No.1 in the world in 2011•Getty ImagesNow? Well, aspects of it are still outstanding. But instead of nurturing it, the ECB have devalued it. It starts before Easter and ends to a backdrop of the boys from the NYPD choir singing Galway Bay. It’s played on surfaces which are sometimes more crazy golf than Masters. It provides little opportunity for spinners or fast bowlers and has proven unable to develop batters with the technique and temperament for Test cricket. The evidence of recent times would suggest it isn’t really working.But let us not talk falsely: there are some good reasons behind the birth of the Hundred. Much as it may pain some of us to admit it, the game’s relevance was diminishing in England and Wales. It had largely disappeared from state schools and free-to-air television. Unless you were privately educated or had a family member interested in sport, it was entirely possible you would never experience the game. It was well on the way to becoming a niche sport.And much as some of us cherish the counties, we might also accept that some of them were failing in their duty to embrace working-class and non-white communities. While some counties have worked hard to remain relevant and solvent, others had been a little too willing to pocket the centrally distributed resources and do an absolute minimum to justify it. Even those of us who passionately care for the 18-county system will admit privately that one or two counties are tough to defend. The fact that one of those is hosting a Hundred side is ironic.More than that, the reputation of the game was tainted. Perhaps unfairly – okay, undoubtedly unfairly – many broadcasters and potential spectators weren’t interested in it. The length of games was stretching a bit long. There probably was room for a re-launch. There probably was logic in the need for change. There almost certainly are good intentions at the root of all this. But never forget: the BBC signed up to the new competition when they thought it was a T20 tournament.There are quite a few such misconceptions about the Hundred. One of them is that it provides a high-profile women’s competition. Which sounds reasonable. But then you remember that the ECB abandoned the Kia Super League (KSL), the women’s domestic T20 competition, at the end of 2019.

Even those of us who passionately care for the 18-county system will admit privately that one or two counties are tough to defend. The fact that one of those is hosting a Hundred side is ironic.

Why? Well, maybe because in its absence it was easier to build a compelling argument for the development of the Hundred. It allowed them to claim that this wasn’t all about money, but also about diversity and inclusion. As if those who oppose the Hundred in some way oppose opportunities for women.There’s the much-repeated argument that the first-class counties needed the money that the Hundred will bring in, too. But, again, it doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Before the Hundred was introduced, the ECB had reserves in excess of £70 million. They could easily have shared some of that with the counties. Instead, they kept them in need to ensure their compliance. The counties have managed to be bribed with their own money. And now those reserves have gone; squandered on a competition which is costing more than it will earn.Equally, supporters of the Hundred – and it’s noticeable that a sizeable proportion of those supporters have some financial incentive for wishing it well – like to portray the county game as reactionary and staid. But again, it doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Where was one-day cricket born? Where was T20 cricket born? Where were free-hits and DLS born? County cricket, that’s where. The ECB should have been wooing and seducing broadcasters, not telling them their existing competitions were rubbish.And that’s an issue to which we keep coming back here: the Hundred is the ECB’s answer to problems they created. If they hadn’t allowed cricket to disappear behind a paywall and if they hadn’t cancelled the KSL, there would be no need for it. We have a great sport. We just need to ensure more people have the opportunity to experience it.Related

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It could yet work. Whether it’s played over 100 overs, 100 balls or five days, cricket is a great game. Perhaps the increased broadcast exposure will counteract all these other factors. But make no mistake: the ECB has bet the farm on this competition. If it fails, it could set the sport back a generation. And if it succeeds, the collateral damage to the other formats and the counties could still lose more than we gain. It feels like a wild, unnecessary gamble.Maybe, had the initial launch been handled differently, existing supporters would have been more accepting of the shortened format or amended regulations. We’ve lived with overs of almost every length over the years, after all. We’ve accepted many other innovations.But the first impressions were awful. The ECB seemed to delight in offending existing cricket lovers. They seemed to revel in sneering ‘we can do without you’. And by the time they realised their hubris had let them down, it was too late. In years to come, you wonder if the initial roll-out of the idea will be studied as a text-book example of how not to do it. If they had their time again – and the ECB has a much-improved communications team these days – you can be quite certain they would do it differently.Partially because of this, The Hundred has become the of its time. And that doesn’t mean the fabled city. It means the BBC soap opera whose reputation was so poor before the first episode was broadcast in 1992 that it was doomed from the off. Many people (63 percent according to a recent survey conducted by the Cricket Supporters’ Association) who love cricket resent and fear and hate the Hundred. The inability of the ECB to bring many cricket lovers with them on this journey may be the defining mistake in this whole saga.The point of all this? Eden is burning, as Bob Dylan put it. The game we knew is being compromised to accommodate a competition we shouldn’t need. A county game which helped England to No. 1 in the world in all three formats, which attracted record attendances, which could, with just a little adaption of the broadcast deal, have been the vehicle to a new audience, is being dismantled. It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there. Really, the ECB have a lot of nerve to pretend they are county cricket’s friend.

The reactions on Twitter after New Zealand upstaged England in the T20 World Cup semi-final

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Nov-2021With 57 required off four overs, it looked like New Zealand’s streak of not winning a men’s T20 World Cup semi-final would continue. But Daryl Mitchell and James Neesham came up with the runs when it mattered, making it a third consecutive major final for the team.

Unreal scenes! What a performance @BLACKCAPS #NZvENG #T20WorldCup21 @ICC

— Mitchell McClenaghan (@Mitch_Savage) November 10, 2021