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Grace Scrivens half-century sets hosts up before Aussies dampen Spirit

ECB Media07-Aug-2024Aussie duo Ashleigh Gardner and Alana King spun Trent Rockets to a much-needed 31-run win over London Spirit at Trent Bridge.Gardner and King combined for six wickets as a star-studded Spirit line-up never threatened to chase down 158 for 5.Young gun Grace Scrivens struck 55 from 43 balls for the hosts, although she had to walk off the field in the second innings when she was struck in the face attempting a catch.It meant Rockets ended a three-game losing streak and was made all the more impressive as Nat Sciver-Brunt, the women’s competition’s leading run-scorer, had a comparatively quiet match with 21 from 12 balls.Former England Under-19s skipper Scrivens played arguably her best innings of The Hundred sharing a 74-run opening stand with Bryony Smith that set the tone for a performance that will have caught the attention of the other teams.Scrivens hit nine boundaries and her opening stand with Smith, who crashed 34 from 22 balls, was only ended in misfortunate when Charlie Dean got a finger on the ball before it crashed into the stumps with Smith unable to recover her ground after backing up.India star Deepti Sharma claimed the big wickets of Sciver-Brunt and Gardner, but Heather Graham’s unbeaten 22 from 12 balls ensured a fast finish.Spirit’s chase was immediately undermined when Gardner removed Georgia Redmayne and Cordelia Griffith from successive balls before King had former Australia captain Meg Lanning caught by Kirstie Gordon at mid-on.Gardner trapped Dani Gibson lbw and when England and Spirit skipper Heather Knight’s sweep at King landed in the hands of Smith, after hitting 29 from 20, the game was up.Gardner and King both finished with identical figures of 3 for 23 from 20 balls as Spirit closed on 127 for 7.Meerkat match Hero, Gardner, said: “It was huge (win for us). It was probably the first game we put all three facets of the game together. The openers did a fantastic job giving us the start that they did, that was the best we’ve been with the ball and we were pretty clean in the field. It was a pretty perfect performance.”

Rising star slams unbeaten 56 from 16 balls then claims two wickets in rout

ECB Reporters Network20-Jun-2024

Birmingham Bears 219 for 4 (Bethell 56*, Barnard 48, Mousley 43) beat Northamptonshire 129 for 9 (Bethell 2-18) by 90 runsA scintillating innings from Jake Bethell hoisted Birmingham Bears to a thumping 90-run Vitality Blast victory over Northants Steelbacks at Edgbaston.Twenty-year-old Bethell smashed an unbeaten 56 from just 16 balls, including a 15-ball half-century, the quickest for the Bears in the Blast, to lift his side to 219 for four.Ed Barnard (48, 29), Dan Mousley (43, 26) and Alex Davies (36, 29) had already laid the foundation for a solid total but Bethell turned solid into spectacular with a furious onslaught of seven sixes, including four from Ben Sanderson in the last over.Steelbacks then meandered to 129 for nine (Bethell adding two for 18 to his batting heroics) to suffer their eighth successive T20 defeat to the Bears. The only negative of the night for the home side was an injury to fast bowler Richard Gleeson who limped off the field, apparently with a hamstring injury, after delivering his seventh ball.After the Bears chose to bat, Barnard hungrily seized his first T20 opportunity of the season. He dominated an opening stand of 80 in 52 balls with skipper Davies who was content to play a supporting role.Ravi Bopara did most to shackle the batters with a canny spell of 4-0-21-2 which included the breakthrough wicket when Barnard slogged to deep mid-wicket. Davies chipped to mid-wicket and Hain hammered a return catch to Bopara but Mousley batted with typical brio before slog-sweeping Freddie Heldreich to Sikandar Raza on the mid-wicket fence.That brought in Barbados-born Bethell who thrilled the crowd by thundering to 50 in just 15 minutes. The last five overs of the innings yielded 92 runs.Northants looked shell-shocked and the effects of Bethell’s plundering were evident from the visitors’ early batting. Under massive scoreboard pressure, the top order went for broke and paid the price.David Willey was superbly caught by Barnard at extra cover off Gleeson who was then chipped tamely to mid on by George Bartlett. Gleeson left the field with figures of 1.1-0-2-2 but the Bears charged on towards victory regardless. When Matt Breetzke skied a heave at Craig Miles, it was 20 for three and the Steelbacks had consumed 16 balls and three wickets without erasing what the Bears had scored in the 20th over.Things went from bad to worse for the Steelbacks in the sixth over when George Garton removed Raza and Saif Zaib, caught at extra cover and slip respectively, from successive balls. Bethell’s happy day continued when Miles took a superb catch inches inside the mid-wicket rope to dismiss Lewis McManus.Still there was Bopara and the former England batter has pulled off some highly unlikely rescue acts for his teams over the years, but finding 151 from 67 balls with four wickets intact was beyond even his considerable skills. With his departure, stumped off Jake Lintott, the sun set on the Steelbacks’ hopes of a fightback just as a glorious sunset, a divine fusion of pinks, purples and oranges, settled upon the sylvan Birmingham skyline.

Arsenal are expected to sign world football’s “second best” player with the groundwork for a deal already done, according to a very reliable media source.

Andrea Berta holds talks with key Arsenal targets

New sporting director Andrea Berta is set to take the lead in what is anticipated to be a pretty busy summer window for the north Londoners.

Arsenal make offer to £30m star after Berta successfully convinced Arteta

The Italian and Arsenal’s manager are already working on the club’s transfer plans this summer.

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By
Emilio Galantini

May 9, 2025

Nuno Tavares, Albert Sami Lokonga, Fabio Vieira and Oleksandr Zinchenko could all quit Arsenal in the summer, according to Sami Mokbel, with Jorginho also agreeing to join Flamengo and Kieran Tierney set to make a return to Celtic after their contracts expire.

If Arsenal don’t agree an extension with Thomas Partey, following his arguably best season at the Emirates to date, then the Ghana international will follow them – so it appears there will be plenty of ins and outs.

In terms of incomings, Berta is believed to have reached out to the representatives of a few key summer targets already.

Recently, the Italian has been pushing to sign Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres, with extensive discussions held, according to Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg.

As well as this, Berta reached out for talks with Nico Williams’ representatives in one of his first acts as sporting director, as per The Guardian’s Ed Aarons, with Arsenal exploring a move for one of La Liga’s standout talents.

However, one man who could be arriving before any of them is Real Sociedad star Martin Zubimendi.

The Gunners have been in advanced talks for his signature since January (The Mail), and the reliable David Ornstein says that those within Arsenal are behaving like they’ve already sealed a deal for Zubimendi.

Arsenal expected to sign Martin Zubimendi this summer

Now, a very credible source in the BBC, and their reporter Mokbel, have shared an update of their own.

Arsenal are very much expected to sign Zubimendi, according to their information, and the groundwork for a deal has already been done, largely by ex-sporting director Edu Gaspar and interim chief Jason Ayto.

The Spain international’s £51 million release clause looks likely to be triggered, but Arsenal should be wary that Zubimendi rejected a move to Liverpool last summer.

Arsenal will be eager to get this over the line early doors after months of negotiations, especially considering Zubimendi’s pedigree as a truly elite number six.

“For me, Martín is the second-best player in the world. We are incredibly lucky to have these two, who I consider the best players in the world.” said Spain boss Luis de la Fuente on Zubimendi and Rodri.

“But we also have other fantastic players who’ve been here and are with us now—another fantastic player, Pepelu hasn’t come yet, but he’s been called up with us.”

It’s a massive season-defining week for Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta’s side are still technically in the Premier League title race, but with Liverpool now 11 points ahead with seven games to play, it is all but over.

The Champions League, however, is most certainly not. The Gunners play host to European royalty Real Madrid on Wednesday, and to ensure they have the best chance of heading to Spain with a lead to protect, Arteta has to make a few changes.

Heroes could certainly be made but whether Jakub Kiwior goes on to evoke memories of Philippe Senderos and Co remains to be seen.

Why Arteta has to drop Kiwior

Kiwior played most of the game against Fulham last week and then started against Everton on the weekend due to Gabriel Magalhães’ recent hamstring injury.

To his credit, the Polish international was fine against the Toffees, but against the Cottagers, some of the same issues which have plagued him throughout his time in North London showed themselves again, such as lacklustre ball-playing and questionable positioning.

For example, he was partially to blame for their late goal after getting into and losing a tussle with the rapid Adama Traore.

Moreover, we’ve already seen how he fared against top European opposition in the past, when he started at full-back at home to Bayern Munich last time and seriously struggled, picking up a 3/10 match rating from the Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick, who described him as ‘flat-footed’ while content creator and fan Alexander Moneypenny labelled him as “shakey.”

In all, while Kiwior is a useful squad player and perhaps someone who can come on towards the end of the game, he’s not got the quality to start, especially when there is already a perfect replacement in the squad.

Chalkboard

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

The Arsenal star to replace Kiwior

So, given the extent of the injuries to the team’s defensive options at the moment, there are only really two options to replace Kiwior at centre-back tonight, and Arteta should go with Ben White.

The Englishman started at right-back at the weekend and, when fit, has almost exclusively started off the right of a back four across the last three seasons.

However, the former Brighton & Hove Albion ace was initially signed as a centre-back and spent the majority of the 21/22 campaign there, with 34 of his 37 appearances that year coming in a back two.

Centre-Back

208

4

9

Right-Back

113

5

13

Defensive Midfield

13

0

0

Left-Back

4

0

0

Right Midfield

1

0

0

In fact, across his career to date, it’s been his most played position by quite some margin.

He has made 208 appearances there, so he should be able to slot in without an issue.

Moreover, by starting the Gunners’ “warrior,” as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, alongside Willliam Saliba, Arteta can once again start Jurrien Timber at right-back, where he has made 26 appearances this year.

Doing this would at least keep most of the team as they have been for much of the season, and when coming up against a team like Real, the rest of the starters need to be confident that those around them will know exactly what they are doing.

Ultimately, it’s not an ideal solution, but Kiwior has not shown enough in his limited appearances to warrant starting a game of this magnitude.

In contrast, White has been Mr reliable during his time at Arsenal and has yet another chance to show why his £50m price tag was more than justified all those years ago.

His agents will be in London: Arsenal step up move for £58m Sesko upgrade

The “complete” striker would be incredible for Arsenal.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Apr 7, 2025

Who, what, where and everything else you need to know about CPL 2024

Deivarayan Muthu28-Aug-2024

So, the biggest party in cricket is back?

Indeed, the six-team CPL 2024 will start on August 29 and will run until October 6, with seven venues set to host 34 games. The top-four teams in the league phase will qualify for the playoffs, which will be held at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. Just like the IPL, the top-two teams will get two tilts at the final.

Okay, how many countries are hosting the tournament?

CPL 2024 will be played in six countries: Trinidad, Guyana, Barbados, St Lucia, St Kitts, and Antigua.Related

• Theekshana: 'I've been bowling the carrom ball since I was 12'

• CPL 2024: Nortje, Shamsi signed up by Patriots

• Amir, Fakhar, Imad signed up by Antigua & Barbuda Falcons

• CPL 2024 draft: St Lucia Kings sign USA star Aaron Jones

• Antigua & Barbuda Falcons unveiled as new CPL franchise

Tell me, what’s new this season?

For starters, Shamar Joseph is now a global phenomenon. After having started CPL 2023 as a mere net bowler for Guyana Amazon Warriors, Joseph moved up the ranks and bowled West Indies to their first Test victory in Australia in nearly 27 years, and has broken into the IPL and West Indies’ T20 World Cup squad since. He is poised to play a more prominent role for Amazon Warriors, the defending champions.Plus, there’s a new team: Antigua & Barbuda Falcons. They will replace Jamaica Tallawahs, the 2013, 2016 and 2022 CPL champions. Kris Persaud, a Guyanese businessman based in Florida, owned the Tallawahs franchise but had sold it back to the CPL. The CPL intends to relaunch a Jamaica-based franchise in the years to come.Falcons’ home base will be the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, which last hosted a CPL game in 2014 when Antigua Hawksbills were active in the league.Falcons have absorbed the core of Tallawahs, with Brandon King, who is currently recovering from injury, Mohammad Amir, Fabian Allen and Imad Wasim all part of the new franchise.

You mentioned that Amazon Warriors are defending champions…

Yep. After falling short in five finals previously, Amazon Warriors clinched their first title under Imran Tahir’s leadership last season. Tahir, 45, is still going strong in franchise T20 leagues, and will return to captain Amazon Warriors in their quest to defend the crown. Left-arm fingerspinner Gudakesh Motie and offspinners Kevin Sinclair and Junior Sinclair will complement Tahir’s wristspin on the slow, low pitches at Providence.They will be bolstered further by the return of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who was the leading run-getter in the T20 World Cup 2024, and the addition of left-arm seam-bowling allrounder Raymon Reifer.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Which are the other strong teams?

You can’t look past the star-studded Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) side, who have Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Nicholas Pooran and Sunil Narine in their ranks. Russell, who had been rested from West Indies’ most recent home T20I series against South Africa, is set to return to action in the CPL.If TKR’s big guns fire in unison, they have a strong chance to mark their tenth year in the league with a fourth title. TKR last won the silverware when they enjoyed an unbeaten run to the title in 2020.St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, who finished bottom last season with just a solitary win in ten games, look much stronger this season, at least on paper, especially after having signed the South Africa trio of Tristan Stubbs, Anrich Nortje and Tabraiz Shamsi. They have also recruited big-hitting allrounder Odean Smith, who was transferred from Amazon Warriors. Opener Evin Lewis will look to prove a point after having last played for West Indies in the 2022 T20 World Cup. He is set to open the batting with allrounder Kyle Mayers, who was Patriots’ first pick at the draft.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

How many overseas players can be part of the XIs at the CPL?

As such, four. But it’s mandatory for the teams to field an emerging player in five games, and in those games, they can field an additional overseas player. But once the quota is done, they can’t pick a fifth overseas player even if they field that emerging player.

Tahir is the oldest player in this CPL, but who is the youngest?

At 17, Jewel Andrew, who was snapped up by Falcons, could well become the youngest player ever to feature in the CPL (if he makes his debut before the playoffs). Pooran was previously the youngest player to make a CPL appearance at 17 years and 300 days.Andrew, who was West Indies’ highest run-getter in the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year, with 207 runs in four innings at an average of 69 and strike rate of 109.52, has been tipped to become the next big thing in Caribbean cricket. So, well, remember the name!ESPNcricinfo Ltd

USA’s Aaron Jones is part of this CPL, right?

Yes, you have been paying attention. The USA batter, who made a splash at the T20 World Cup earlier this year, was picked by Daren Sammy’s St Lucia Kings at the draft, but he will play as a local player through his Barbados passport. Jones has previously played in West Indies’ regional set-up for Barbados and Combined Campuses and Colleges and was an unused member of the Patriots squad in CPL 2019.

Any unknown players to keep an eye on?

Quite a few, including fast bowlers Isai Thorne (Barbados Royals) and Nathan Edward (TKR) who have both represented West Indies at the Under-19 World Cup.Also, heard of Mikkel Govia?The Kings allrounder is the son of Russell Latapy, the former Trinidadian footballer. Govia, 22, hasn’t played an official T20 yet, but has made regular appearances in T10 cricket in the Caribbean. With West Indies searching for their next offspin-bowling allrounder after Roston Chase, there might be some interest around Govia and Falcons’ Kofi James.

Does the CPL clash with any other T20 tournament?

Of course. What’s a T20 league without a schedule clash these days? It overlaps with the knockouts of the Vitality T20 Blast in England. Chris Green, for example, will turn out for Falcons in the CPL and will not be available to Lancashire. The CPL, however, has avoided a clash with the Hundred after holding talks with the ECB earlier this year.

How can fans outside the Caribbean catch the action?

Every match of CPL 2024 will have ball-by-ball commentary right here on ESPNcricinfo. Fans in India can watch the CPL on the Star Sports network or Fancode. USA and UK viewers can watch it on Willow TV and TNT Sports respectively. Sky Sport will be broadcasting in New Zealand and Super Sport in South Africa.

Bangladesh have a different captain for each format and only one of them had a successful tour of the West Indies

Mohammad Isam17-Jul-2022For a Bangladesh captain, being compared to Mashrafe Mortaza is high praise indeed, and with a fifth consecutive ODI series win at the helm, Tamim Iqbal is entering Mashrafe territory. Mashrafe was the last captain to lead Bangladesh through such a streak, winning six series in a row between 2014 and 2016. The two are close friends but extremely different individuals. While Mashrafe is a cult hero who gave expression to his passion to inspire his players, Tamim is a quiet tactician who seizes even the smallest advantage.Under Tamim’s leadership, Bangladesh were able to turn around a disappointing tour of the Caribbean. They did not win a game during the Test and T20I series – making mistakes in every discipline – but bounced back to sweep the ODIs 3-0. The victory also ended a winless run from March to June, after they had done so well on preceding tours to New Zealand and South Africa.Tamim’s performance as ODI captain is noteworthy considering Bangladesh’s uncertainty under different leaders in the other two formats. Shakib Al Hasan took over the Test captaincy shortly before this tour of West Indies following Mominul Haque’s resignation after the series defeat to Sri Lanka. Shakib, however, has been a reluctant Test cricketer, having played only seven of 15 Tests since his return from suspension in January 2021. While the BCB had the right idea when making Shakib the Test captain, the board knows he will want to skip tours every now and then.Related

• Tamim becomes first Bangladesh batter to reach 8000 ODI runs

• West Indies ODI win was in spinning conditions, 'should not go to our heads', says Tamim

• Comfort of ODIs brings Bangladesh much-needed respite

• Bangladesh, West Indies and their contrasting progress in ODIs

• Tamim Iqbal announces retirement from T20Is

The T20I problem is more severe. Under Mahmudullah’s leadership, Bangladesh have won just one of their previous 13 matches, and there is little optimism around their prospects in the shortest format.So here’s a deeper look at Bangladesh’s recent performance under their different leaders in each format.The perfect ODI handover
The BCB appointed Tamim the ODI captain ahead of a couple of other contenders in March 2020, but it was only in January 2021 that he led the team for the first time in his latest stint at the helm.Tamim’s pedigree as a batter was excellent: he had been the rock at the top for more than a decade and had become the first Bangladesh batter to score 7000 ODI runs. He was one of Mashrafe’s closest deputies and had also benefitted from Mashrafe’s leadership during a difficult period in 2015.Tamim also plays an important role off the field, particularly on overseas tours, where he takes younger team-mates under his wing. It was not uncommon to see them spend time with him when they were in unfamiliar cities. Tamim has enjoyed this role for a while now, even more so after he lost the vice-captaincy in 2011 and was overlooked for the captaincy in 2014.So when his tenure as ODI captain began in January 2021, Tamim had plenty of experience to draw from as Bangladesh began their Super League campaign. He began with a 3-0 win against West Indies at home, but lost his second series 3-0 in New Zealand.Ahead of Bangladesh’s next series against Sri Lanka, Tamim backed Mushfiqur Rahim despite the veteran wicketkeeper having dropped straightforward chances at crucial moments in New Zealand. With the support of his captain, Mushfiqur has had a good run behind the stumps since then, with 16 dismissals and only one dropped catch in his next nine games.Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka 2-1 in that home series, and then won 3-0 in Zimbabwe. Tamim played that series with an injury, to ensure that Bangladesh bagged crucial Super League points that would aid their direct qualification for the 2023 ODI World Cup.The crowning moment of Tamim’s captaincy came when Bangladesh won an ODI series 2-1 in South Africa this March. He was the top-scorer in their maiden triumph in that country.While the win in South Africa was a milestone result, the ODI series win in West Indies will be remembered for Tamim’s man-management skills and conviction as a leader. He attacked with all his bowlers, with a slip in place almost all the time even when West Indies tried to go on the charge.Mahmudullah has had a tough time as T20I captain in recent months•AFP/Getty ImagesMahmudullah’s false dawn
While Bangladesh’s 50-overs fortunes improved under Tamim, their T20I prospects also brightened under Mahmudullah, with series wins against Australia and New Zealand in August-September 2021. But those wins were in spin-friendly home conditions, and after that Bangladesh suffered a winless campaign in the Super 12 round of the 2021 T20 World Cup. Since then they have won just one of their next eight games against Pakistan, Afghanistan and West Indies.Mahmudullah’s own form during this period has been poor: he’s scored 103 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 102.Bangladesh have lacked the power-hitters other teams possess, and they have also suffered from instability at the top. They have had 10 different opening combinations in 29 T20Is since July 2021, leading to confusion and a lack of confidence among the team’s key batters. The rigidity of using only left-arm spinners against right-hand batters and offspinners against left-hand batters, often with poor results, is fast becoming a Mahmudullah trademark too.What can Shakib do with the Test side?
It’s early days yet in Shakib’s latest stint as Bangladesh’s Test captain, and his tenure began with the 2-0 defeat in the West Indies. Shakib, like Tamim, wants to take wickets as a fielding captain and he tried to be positive in the Caribbean. He also batted aggressively when the Bangladesh line-up collapsed on his first day back at the helm.The bigger question is the road ahead for Shakib the Test captain. It was a surprise when he was appointed last month, because while the BCB might have been keen to make Shakib captain, the allrounder has been reluctant to play all of Bangladesh’s Test series in the recent past. The question is whether his new responsibility will result in Shakib prioritising red-ball cricket over the white-ball formats.

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 Milwaukee Brewers suddenly find themselves with one of the best records in baseball, and they are reportedly acting the part.

The Brewers are finalizing the acquisition of catcher Danny Jansen from the Tampa Bay Rays, according to a Monday afternoon report from Jeff Passan of ESPN. Jansen, a 30-year-old native of Elmhurst, Ill., has spent his entire eight-year career in the American League East division with the Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox and Rays.

Jansen has played in 73 games for Tampa Bay this season, slashing .204/.314/.389 with 11 home runs and 29 RBIs. He remains better known for his glove, with his 1.2 defensive bWAR exceeding his 1.1 offensive bWAR.

According to Will Sammon of , the Rays will take back High-A infielder Jadher Areinamo in the deal. Tampa Bay is also reportedly acquiring catcher Nick Fortes from the Miami Marlins to spell Jansen, per Ken Rosenthal of .

His current one-year contract carries a mutual option for 2026. The Rays are 53-53, and sit three games back of the AL's final wild-card slot.

Milwaukee, on the other hand, is on a protracted tear that has the team tied with the Chicago Cubs for the NL Central lead.

Prenelan Subrayen is, in every sense, a marathon man. How else does one describe a cricketer whose spirit refuses to be dimmed, even after the repeated heartbreak of being reported for a suspect action? Each time he has been forced to rebuild, he has returned with more fire, more resolve, more love for his craft than before.At 32, Subrayen’s career is just two Tests old. Earlier this month in Pakistan, he played the first Test in Lahore, and made way when Keshav Maharaj returned from injury for the second Test in Rawalpindi. Then, last week, he learned of his non-selection for the India tour.Related

• Temba Bavuma named in South Africa A squad for India tour

• Bavuma to return as South Africa captain for India Tests

• 'He told me you'll play' – Sai Sudharsan on Gambhir's 'impeccable' support

• Kotian leads India A's fightback after Hermann brothers hit fifties

But in his first outing since that disappointment, Subrayen reminded everyone of his qualities. On Friday in Bengaluru, he wheeled away tirelessly, bowling 22 overs unchanged to rip through the heart of India A’s batting order and restore South Africa A’s advantage by stumps on Day 2 of the first unofficial Test. From 90 for no loss, India slumped to 234 all out as Subrayen picked up 5 for 61. Having pocketed a 75-run first-innings lead, South Africa A ended the day 30 for no loss.Subrayen’s five scalps included some noted names. He deceived Ayush Mhatre in flight as he advanced, forcing him to chip to midwicket for 65, the highest score of the India A innings. Devdutt Padikkal mistimed a lofted hit to mid-off as he stepped out, and Rajat Patidar was bowled through the gate attempting to drive against the turn.Subrayen employed as many as four catchers around the bat at most times. Tanush Kotian, who has bailed Mumbai out of tough situations time and again, was out jabbing to one of them, short leg, and Khaleel Ahmed mistimed a slog to long-on to give Subrayen his 13th five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.While Subrayen did the bulk of the damage, others had moments to remember too. Okuhle Cele is likely replay his ball to dismiss Rishabh Pant over and over.Midway through the second session, when Pant walked out to bat for the first time since returning from his broken foot, there was a sense of anticipation around the ground among the handful present. He charged down the pitch first ball, and swung hell for leather, only to connect with thin air.Cele then bowled short at Pant, attempting to target his ribcage, not wanting to give him any room to drive or slash. And on 17, the tactic found its reward, Pant jabbing to Zubayr Hamza in the slips while attempting to fend one away.The only India A batter to make an impression with the bat was young Mhatre. He fearlessly drove on the up, played a few delightful straight drives, and took on spin from get-go. All of this brought him a 46-ball half-century. He was eventually out for 65, his knock containing 10 fours.B Sai Sudharsan, his opening partner, was edgy for much of his 94-ball stay. Early on, an attempt to pinch a single to mid-off nearly had him run out on 2; he was saved by a full-stretch dive at the non-striker’s end. Sudharsan alternated between denying himself outside off and poking at deliveries that left him. Eventually, Tshepo Moreki worked him over with an away-going delivery that he nicked behind for 32.This was when Subrayen stepped up and began his marathon spell, which has now put South Africa A firmly in the driver’s seat with two full days remaining.

Scott Boland says he’s not driven by comments that England’s batters don’t fear him

Alex Malcolm17-Oct-20252:25

Mitchell Starc backs Australia’s fast-bowling depth

Scott Boland could not hide the smirk on his face.Not long after he had scythed through New South Wales to take a match-winning 5 for 67 to go with his 3 for 59 in the first innings to help Victoria claim a thrilling Sheffield Shield win at the Junction Oval, Boland was asked the obvious question in his post-match conversation with a group of reporters.Boland was asked if he had seen former England captain Michael Atherton write in the that he “holds no fear” for England’s batting line-up based on how they played him in England two years ago.”I saw it. My cousin sent it to me. He [Boland’s cousin] was taking the piss,” Boland said. “I’m sure there’s going be so much banter between the former players in between now and the first Test and even the end of the summer.”Related

Konstas wins the battle, Boland wins the match for Victoria

Stuart Broad: 'Worst Australian team since 2010-11'

Boland's MCG heroics more relevant than 2023 Ashes blip

Cummins 'running out of time' as Perth D-day looms

He was asked if it motivated him at all ahead of the Ashes.”Not really,” Boland said. “I’ve got my own internal motivations for what I want to do for the summer. I’ve never gone into a game where I’m just middling along. I guess there’s always some motivation for me to try and either come into the team and try to put in a really good performance, to try and keep my spot. There’s so many good fast bowlers in Australia that you just don’t want to give anyone an inch. So that’s sort of my goal when I’m playing Test cricket.”Boland, 36, always speaks like a man on the outside looking in. But right now, he is actually an incumbent in Australia’s Test XI having played in their last Test match in Jamaica in place of Nathan Lyon as part of a four-man pace attack. In fact, he took a Test hat-trick in the last Test over he bowled.And it’s looking increasingly likely that he will retain his spot even though Lyon is set to return for the first Test against England in Perth, with skipper Pat Cummins saying it’s “less likely than likely” he will be fit to play as he continues a slow recovery from a back injury.Boland said he had not spoken to Cummins in several months. But he was not expecting the skipper to miss all five Tests.”Patty’s so resilient,” Boland said. “He can play through a little bit of pain if he has some. Those guys play so much cricket there’s bound to be games where someone misses out. But if Pat happens to not play the first game, we’ve got a pretty handy incoming in at some stage during the summer.”

“I just want to find my rhythm as quick as I can in the game. And sometimes it happens in half a spell. Sometimes it takes a bit longer”Scott Boland

Boland is primed if he is called upon for the first Test. Like a prized race horse ahead of the Melbourne Cup, he seems to have timed his preparation down to the minute. He is pain free and without strapping on his knees for the first time in several years after a block of strength work in the gym following the Caribbean tour. His former Victoria team-mate and now Australia coach Andrew McDonald had challenged him to rethink the way he trained to become even more resilient as he ages.He bowled impressively in the opening Shield game of the summer against South Australia at Adelaide Oval last week and then backed it up with eight wickets at the Junction Oval. But he was frustrated with his performance this week having been far more expensive than usual. He conceded a tick over 4.1 runs per over across 30.4 overs in the match as the New South Wales batters looked to attack him, with Sam Konstas reverse ramping him for six in the second innings.With 0 for 54 to his name from 9.5 overs in the second innings, Atherton’s words felt prescient. But Boland found another gear, snaking a stunning delivery back through the gate to bowl the dangerous Oliver Davies for 64. He took 5 for 13 from his final 35 deliveries, including clattering the stumps twice more, to win the game for his state.”I knew the game was on the line,” Boland said. “I didn’t feel like I’d… not that I’d let the team down, but I hadn’t bowled as well as I wanted to for the whole week.”I just think it’s just a minor thing in my run up. I’m probably just stressing a little bit too much from what I usually do. But I know sometimes that just happens. I just want to find my rhythm as quick as I can in the game. And sometimes it happens in half a spell. Sometimes it takes a bit longer. This game just took a little bit longer, but I still felt like I was able to hang in there enough to bowl some spells when I’m getting wickets for the team.”Scott Boland took eight wickets for Victoria in their last Sheffield Shield game•Getty ImagesHe also showed a rare sign of raw emotion. After knocking over Davies, he charged past him and glared at him with a guttural roar. It was out of character for a man who barely celebrated a Test hat-trick and it caught the eye of veteran New South Wales coach Greg Shipperd.”Yeah, interesting, wasn’t it,” Shipperd said. “I don’t know what might have led up to that, but it’s not the Scotty Boland I know.”Victoria coach Chris Rogers said Boland and Davies had some history and that Davies “likes to give as much as he gets” but Boland played a straight bat.”I was just excited to get a wicket,” Boland said. “I hadn’t got one for a while. But I know we’ve had some good contests. I played an Aussie A game with him last year. Really enjoyed his company. So nice fellow. We had some nice words for each other after the game.”Boland is set to rest from Victoria’s next Shield game against Tasmania but will return for round four against New South Wales at the SCG in a game that is likely to feature Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Lyon.”I’ve got two really good games of work into my body now,” Boland said. “My body’s feeling really good. No issues with any my knees or anything like that that have been little niggles in the past. So I’m really happy with how it’s tracking. It’d be nice to have a few days off now and get some strength back in, because I know that when I’m doing that, my body’s feeling great, and I feel like I can get through as many games as needed for the summer.”