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Hampshire finish as runners-up again, one day after the men fell short against Worcestershire

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay21-Sep-2025

Gaby Lewis acknowledges her hundred•ECB via Getty Images

Lancashire bookended their season with trophies as Gaby Lewis’ century secured the inaugural Metro Bank One-Day Cup women’s competition over Hampshire.Ireland international Lewis led a brilliant chase of 289 with 141 off 143, helped by an exceptional 72 from Seren Smale – with whom she put on 144.Lancashire started the season by winning the Vitality T20 Women’s County Cup, and added a second piece of silverware of 2025 when Ailsa Lister sprinted through a single with nine balls to spare.For Hampshire, whose total was underpinned by Maia Bouchier and Georgia Adams’ fifties, it was a double One-Day Cup heartbreak – after they lost to Worcestershire Rapids in the men’s competition final on Saturday.Chasing 289, Alice Clarke was run out by a Freya Kemp direct hit in the fifth over, but it was a blip before Lewis and Smale seized the initiative and put their side on the winning march.Despite never pulling away from the required rate, the pair oozed control as they both serenely scored half-centuries as they added 144 together to break the back of the chase.Both survived strong run-out shouts in their 60s before Smale was brilliantly caught at short midwicket by Kemp, and then Fi Morris was undone by a Naomi Dattani direct hit from the boundary.Threlkeld copied Smale’s low-thrills approach to guide Lewis to three figures – brought up after 121 balls and celebrated with a modest fist pump the moment the ball left her bat for a single.Lewis never looked in trouble, blocking where appropriate but also finding the ropes in all areas of Utilita Bowl – striking 16 fours in total.Lancashire skipper Threlkeld got her side even closer to the winning line before flailing to midwicket – handing former England bowler Freya Davies the final wicket of her career before retiring.But Lewis and Lister ticked the final 46 runs off with relative ease to spark the celebrations.Earlier, having been stuck in, Bouchier and Rhianna Southby got Hampshire off to a flier as they found the boundary at will in a 70-run opening partnership.Southby was caught at mid-on, but Adams continued to keep the momentum with Bouchier – the pair putting on 48.Bouchier came into the season with low confidence after a nightmare Women’s Ashes campaign, but has been crucial for Hampshire at the top of the order.She passed 1,000 runs across the Vitality Blast and One-Day Cup on her way to a run-a-ball fifty – her eighth of the season – in an innings of high-quality.Bouchier chipped to mid-on, but again it didn’t impact Hampshire’s impetus, as Freya Kemp bashed a quick-fire 41, with Adams supporting in a 75-run alliance.Even when Kemp squirted to cover, Abi Norgrove found runs flowing with Adams – who followed her semi-final century with a classy 77.With 300 on the cards, Lancashire pulled Hampshire back with regular wickets at the death. Grace Potts had already dismissed Southby, and added Norgrove and Nancy Harman to take three for 47.

كلّف مجلس إدارة النادي الأهلي، برئاسة الكابتن محمود الخطيب، عضو المجلس برئاسة بعثة الفريق الأول لكرة القدم خلال رحلته إلى المغرب، استعدادًا لمواجهة الجيش الملكي في الجولة الثانية من دور المجموعات ببطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا، والمقرر إقامتها يوم 28 نوفمبر الجاري.

وتولى طارق قنديل رئاسة البعثة، ويتابع كافة التفاصيل التنظيمية المتعلقة بالسفر، بالتنسيق الكامل مع جهاز الكرة، لضمان توفير أعلى درجات الراحة للاعبين والجهاز الفني طوال فترة التواجد في المغرب.

طالع أيضًا | الأهلي يعلن قيد 3 لاعبين جدد في القائمة الإفريقية

يدخل الأهلي مرحلة دور المجموعات هذا الموسم بطموحات كبيرة، وسط رغبة قوية في تحقيق انطلاقة مثالية تعزز مسيرة الفريق نحو اللقب القاري الـ13 في تاريخه.

ويستهل الفريق مشواره بمواجهة قوية أمام شبيبة القبائل الجزائري على استاد القاهرة الدولي، قبل التوجه إلى الرباط لملاقاة الجيش الملكي في الجولة التالية.

وكان الأهلي قد حسم تأهله إلى دور المجموعات بعد تخطي فريق إيجل نوار البوروندي ذهابًا وإيابًا في دور الـ32، ليضع نفسه على رأس المجموعة الثانية التي تضم: الجيش الملكي المغربي، شبيبة القبائل الجزائري، يانج أفريكانز التنزاني.

With nine games played in the 2025/26 Premier League campaign, we’ve already seen the champions’ crown slip, two sackings from one club and one Manchester United fan may just be closing in on a much-needed haircut.

But there’s still plenty more to come and an AI Supercomputer has now predicted how the final table will look come May, using data from the first nine game-weeks to predict every result and the final standings.

Relegation battle

It’s been a refreshing season down at the bottom. As things stand, none of the three promoted sides sit inside the bottom three and all have reached 10 points or above already.

For context of just how important that achievement is, Southampton finished bottom with 12 points after 38 games last season, whilst it took Ipswich and Leicester City all season to reach 22 and 25 points respectively. Sunderland have particularly thrived and sit as high as fourth in the Premier League with 17 points to their name. After nine games, it’s hard to see a world in which they don’t avoid the drop.

The Supercomputer seems to agree with how impressive the promoted sides have been so far this season and believes that, for just the fifth time in Premier League history, all three will avoid the drop. That leaves West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest – the current bottom three – in the dropzone at the end of the season.

Position

Club

Points

15

Fulham

40

16

Leeds United

34

17

Burnley

33

18

Nottingham Forest

30

19

Wolves

27

20

West Ham

26

Bottom half

Away from relegation trouble, the supercomputer has predicted some comfortable campaigns for Brentford, Everton, Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace. Opinions will differ around those clubs whether a mid-table finish would be satisfactory, but Brentford should certainly take hold of that with both hands.

In their first season without Thomas Frank in the Premier League, many predicted the Bees to go down and although there’s still every chance that happens, victory over Liverpool proved just the positive direction that Keith Andrews is taking them. Not only has he steadied the ship, but he has also added his own pragmatic style in West London.

Position

Club

Points

11

Crystal Palace

50

12

Brighton

48

13

Everton

47

14

Brentford

42

Top half

Look away now Chelsea fans, because your top four spot is up for grabs. According to the Supercomputer, the Blues are in for another frustrating campaign after spending big once more in the summer.

Despite impressing at times, Enzo Maresca’s side have largely remained inconsistent and that could leave them scrapping away to stay in the top six altogether. The same can be said for Newcastle United, who have impressed defensively but remained blunt going forward in the absence of one of the world’s best forwards in Alexander Isak.

Manchester United, meanwhile, have been on the up lately and are just two wins away from five on the bounce. After finishing in the bottom half last season, the Supercomputer believes that Ruben Amorim’s side will earn their place back inside the top six and above Chelsea.

Position

Club

Points

5

Man Utd

65

6

Chelsea

63

7

Aston Villa

62

8

Bournemouth

60

9

Newcastle

59

10

Sunderland

52

Top four and Premier League winners

From the glory of champions, the most glaring prediction that the Supercomputer has made centres around Liverpool’s fall from grace. It does believe that the Reds will finish inside the top four, but as many as 17 points behind league leaders Arsenal in a title defence to forget for Arne Slot. Given that they’re currently winless in four league games, however, the Dutchman may just take that final table.

As for Tottenham Hotspur, from the chaos of Ange-ball, they’re expected to rise to as high as third in the league under Frank. The Lilywhites have started in excellent fashion under the Dane and could yet continue that to earn their way back into the top four.

For the Gunners, meanwhile, glory may finally be on the horizon. They’ve waited over two decades to lift the Premier League title again and have been forced to applaud both Liverpool and Manchester City in recent years. Now, at long last, it could finally be Mikel Arteta’s year. The Supercomputer has even gone as far as to predict that they’ll win it by 13 points.

Position

Club

Points

1

Arsenal

89

2

Man City

76

3

Tottenham Hotspur

74

4

Liverpool

72

Leeds United head coach Daniel Farke is slowly showing supporters and the wider footballing community that he has what it takes to manage in the Premier League.

It is hard to blame anyone for having doubts over whether or not the German tactician could lead a team to safety in the top-flight, given his record in the division with Norwich City.

Daniel Farke’s Premier League record with Norwich
Stats	19/20	21/22
Matches	38	11
Wins	5	1
Draws	6	2
Losses	27	8
Points	21	5
League position	20th	20th
Stats via Transfermarkt

As you can see in the table above, Farke won six of his 49 matches in charge of the Canaries in the Premier League before he was sacked after 11 games in the 2021/22 campaign.

However, he has been backed financially in a way that he was not at Carrow Road, which has allowed the Whites to enjoy a solid start to the season.

The West Yorkshire outfit are 15th in the table with eight points in seven games after two wins, two draws, and three defeats, which is a respectable return for the newly-promoted outfit.

Farke is now hoping to emulate the success that Marcelo Bielsa had in the top-flight in the 2020/21 campaign after his side were promoted to the big time.

Ranking Marcelo Bielsa's best Leeds United teams

The Argentine head coach initially joined the club in the summer of 2018 and led the team to a third-placed finish in the Championship, but watched his team lose to Derby County in the semi-finals of the play-offs.

It was a terrific first season at Elland Road for Bielsa, even if it ended in disappointment for the club in the play-offs, but the best was yet to come for the manager.

In the 2019/20 campaign, Leeds racked up 93 points with 28 wins and nine draws in the Championship, ten more points than they managed in the previous season, to earn promotion to the Premier League and the second tier title.

It is, therefore, fair to say that Bielsa’s team in his second season was better than the one he had in his first, as they won ten more points to earn promotion.

However, that promotion-winning team was not the best side that the Argentine tactician had during his time at Elland Road, because of what was achieved in the Premier League the following season.

20/21 Premier League	Leeds	League rank
Points	59	9th
Non-penalty xG	52.5	4th
xG	55.6	6th
Goals scored	62	6th
xGA	57.9	16th
Goals conceded	54	14th
Stats via FBref

As you can see in the table above, Leeds were fun to watch as a free-scoring newly-promoted side that fired their way to a top-half finish in the top-flight, which turned out to be Bielsa’s best achievement in his time in West Yorkshire.

He was sacked after picking up 23 points from 26 Premier League games in the 2021/22 season, which should rank as his worst team, followed by his first season, then his second one, and the ninth-placed finish in the top-flight as his best side.

The team in the graphic above was his most-used starting line-up in the 2020/21 campaign in the 4-1-4-1 formation, including stars like Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha.

With Farke and his team looking to emulate the success that Bielsa’s team had in their first season in the big time, would any of the club’s current stars make it into that best XI?

Chalkboard

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

As good as Luke Ayling was, and as much as he was a terrific servant for the Whites, there is a case to be made for Jayden Bogle walking into that Bielsa side in the 2020/21 campaign on current form.

Why Jayden Bogle would walk into Marcelo Bielsa's best team

There were some question marks raised over the English full-back’s ability to make the step up to the Premier League this season, because of the Sheffield United team that he was a part of in the 2023/24 season.

Bogle played 34 of his side’s 38 league matches at right-back as the Blades conceded a staggering 104 goals, per Sofascore, the most by any team in a 38-game top-flight season.

However, the 25-year-old star’s start to the current campaign suggests that he is more than capable of delivering quality performances in the Premier League, winning the club’s Player of the Month award for August.

Bogle has started all seven of the club’s matches in the Premier League this season and Leeds rank fifth in the division for xGA (7.9), per FBref, which shows that he is currently part of one of the best defensive units in the division.

Whereas, as aforementioned, Leeds were 16th in the top-flight for xGA with Ayling as their first-choice right-back in Bielsa’s best team at Elland Road.

Premier League	Luke Ayling (20/21)	Jayden Bogle (25/26)
Appearances	38	7
Assists	0	0
Tackles per game	2.9	3.0
Interceptions per game	0.9	1.6
Clearances per game	2.0	2.9
Dribbled past per game	1.0x	1.1x
Possession lost per game	18.6x	11.7x
Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, Bogle’s current defensive numbers topple Ayling’s in the 2020/21 campaign, which may be part of the reason why Farke’s defence is performing better than Bielsa’s did.

On top of that, Ayling did not deliver any assists in that season in the Premier League, which means that Bogle’s current lack of assists in the top-flight should not go against him in this debate.

The former Blades star, who was dubbed “sensational” and a “massive signing” by pundit Micah Richards earlier this year, also delivered more goals and assists combined (ten) last term than Ayling did in the 2019/20 promotion-winning season (eight), per Sofascore, which suggests that he has more potential to excel as an attacking force.

Therefore, there is a genuine case to be made that the 25-year-old star is good enough in the present day to walk into Bielsa’s best team in the ninth-placed Premier League finish.

The new Phillips: Leeds star has made effortless transition to PL life

This Leeds United star has made an effortless transition to the Premier League in the same way that Kalvin Phillips did.

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Dan Emery

Oct 7, 2025

Hopefully, the current campaign will be a success, with a similarly impressive league finish, and fans will be talking about which players would make it into Farke’s best team in the future.

Mohammed Kudus’ second-half strike earned Tottenham a 2-1 win at Elland Road as Leeds lost a home league game for the first time in over a year.

Ghana forward Kudus fired the winner shortly before the hour-mark after Leeds winger Noah Okafor had cancelled out Mathys Tel’s opener for Tottenham before the break.

It was Leeds’ first home league loss since a 1-0 defeat to Burnley in September 2024 and their third in the top flight this season, while Tottenham notched their fourth Premier League win under Thomas Frank.

The Londoners, who began the day in fifth place, have lost only one of their 11 matches in all competitions since Frank replaced Ange Postecoglou in June, while they have won on their last three visits to LS11.

And Tottenham reporter Alasdair Gold spotted an emotional scene at the full time whistle, as former Elland Road wonderkid Archie Gray finally got the chance to wave goodbye to his boyhood club in person, where he was met with applause from the home support.

Leeds 1-2 Tottenham: As it happened

Leeds, unchanged for four successive matches, quickly showed their intent through Sean Longstaff’s crunching tackle before Joe Rodon’s header from Anton Stach’s free-kick hit a post.

Joao Palhinha was wayward with a first chance for Spurs, who made five changes after Tuesday’s 2-2 Europa League draw against Bodo/Glimt in Norway.

The visitors threatened again as Destiny Udogie’s angled shot was blocked by Leeds goalkeeper Karl Darlow and more incisive play saw them take the lead in the 24th minute.

Kudus slipped Tel away down Leeds’ left channel and after racing to the edge of the box, the French winger unleashed a powerful shot into the top corner via a deflection off Pascal Struijk.

Kudus should have doubled Tottenham’s lead soon after when he fired wide from inside the penalty area as Leeds began to look ragged.

But Farke’s side regrouped. Dominic Calvert-Lewin was wayward after creating space inside the area and 10 minutes after falling behind they hauled themselves level.

Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario was only able to parry Brenden Aaronson’s deflected low effort and summer signing Okafor turned home the rebound for his second goal of the season.

Longstaff lashed over from the edge of the box as Tottenham began to creak, but in a see-saw encounter, the visitors went close to a second when Tel’s header from Wilson Odobert’s cross struck the crossbar before half-time.

The two sides resumed in pouring rain and half-chances continued to flow.

Darlow blocked Pedro Porro’s cross and at the other end Vicario was at full stretch to keep out Calvert-Lewin’s low strike.

A slip by Leeds defender Gabriel Gudmundsson helped Tottenham regain the lead in the 57th minute.

The Sweden left-back was dispossessed near the penalty are by Kudus, who darted inside and arrowed a low left-footed inside Darlow’s near post, via another deflection off Struijk.

But after edging back in front, Tottenham were unable to dictate the tempo and Leeds went close when Longstaff thundered a low shot narrowly wide.

Leeds swept forward in the closing stages, but substitute Joel Piroe was foiled by Vicario’s low save and Struijk’s header was deflected narrowly over.

Heading into this away contest at Molineux, Leeds United had only managed to score one paltry goal all season long in the Premier League.

Obviously, only four games had been done and dusted at that point, which definitely gives some needed context to that worrying statistic, but it would have troubled Daniel Farke and Co. all the same.

Now, however, the Whites have shrugged off that monkey on their back in style with a first-half flurry of goals, going on to hand Leeds a mighty 3-1 win away at bottom of the table Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin would kick off the goalscoring with an expertly put-away header, but it was the other goalscorers on the day in Anton Stach and Noah Okafor, that really stole the show, away from the former Everton man finally opening his Whites account.

Okafor & Stach's performances vs Wolves

The goal-shy number nine would, thankfully, set the tone for a spirited Leeds comeback, though, with a Jayden Bogle cross being gobbled up by the ex-Toffees marksman with just half an hour on the clock.

Leeds had plenty of time, therefore, to fight back from Ladislav Krejci’s early opener, and the fight back was complete when Stach showed off his class when hammering home a free-kick just nine minutes after the contest was levelled.

Away from bagging his first-ever Whites strike in some style, the former Hoffenheim star also showed off a battling edge during the rest of the clash, with the number 18 winning five ground duels to be a commanding presence centrally, as per Sofascore.

He also got in on the act again when teeing up Okafor for the game-clinching strike at 3-1, with the Swiss international played perfectly into space just moments after Stach beat Jose Sa to put the game beyond doubt, even for Leeds’ nervy standards.

On the stroke of half-time, the tricky number 19 would confidently place an effort past the busy Old Gold number one, with Okafor then going to successfully complete a wild six dribbles across the rest of the contest as a livewire presence on the right flank.

With three new signings all scoring, Farke will believe Leeds’ near future is bright, with another fresh purchase also standing out defensively to make Leeds’ widespread summer spending look even more worthwhile.

The 9/10 sensation who is Farke's "best player"

Leeds desperately needed this pick-me-up on their travels, having succumbed to a late defeat last time out on the road to Fulham by the cruellest of last-ditch goals.

Indeed, it was a Gabriel Gudmundsson own goal that would separate the two sides on the day. However, you couldn’t tell in the West Midlands that the Swede was entering into this away affair with this moment weighing heavily on his mind, with the number three one of Leeds’ best performers overall.

Gudmundsson vs Wolves

Stat

Gudmundsson

Minutes played

90

Goals scored

0

Assists

0

Touches

74

Accurate passes

44/51 (86%)

Accurate long balls

3/7

Successful dribbles

1/2

Clearances

8

Interceptions

2

Total duels won

4/11

Stats by Sofascore

That was the glowing assessment given by journalist Beren Cross, anyway, who stated during the action-packed first-half that Gudmundsson was “Leeds’ best player” for both his defensive grit and his passing range, with the table above certainly backing up Cross’ compelling argument.

As noted above, the reinvigorated Scandinavian would see out the frantic affair with eight clearances registered on top of four duels being successfully won to snuff out many a Wolves foray forward in the second half.

But, the impressive left-footer also only misplaced seven of his 51 passes on the day, which was a better tally than Stach managed – who came in at 31 accurate passes – despite pulling the strings in the middle.

Gudmundsson’s compliments aren’t over here either, with Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Graham Smyth also hailing the 26-year-old’s showing as an ‘excellent all-round’ display, leading to a deserved 9/10 post-match rating coming his way.

While there were many smiles from ear to ear at full-time regarding both Okafor and Stach getting off the mark, the biggest grin of them all might well come from Gudmundsson’s display, after the horror show he endured at Craven Cottage.

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After losing Dominic Calvert-Lewin on a free transfer over the summer, Everton will be hoping that Beto and new signing Thierno Barry can provide them with a rich source of goals. Already, Beto is off the mark this season, having bagged in the 3-2 win away to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

As for Barry, he is only a young player, so there should be far less pressure put on him. Yet, the Frenchman is a talented centre-forward who scored 11 goals in 35 La Liga games for Villarreal last term. He can certainly become a top-level striker in the future.

David Moyes would surely love for the strikers to have the same impact at Everton as Romelu Lukaku did.

The numbers behind Lukaku’s Everton success

Initially a loan move before the Toffees made it permanent, Lukaku’s time at Everton was excellent. He lit up Goodison Park for four seasons before joining Manchester United after the stellar performances he put in.

In 166 games for the Merseysiders, he found the back of the net 87 times and chipped in with 27 assists. His minutes-per-goal ratio was strong, too. The Belgian scored once every 160 minutes in an Everton shirt.

Although the weight of goals he scored only increased the further into his career at Goodison Park, it was that initial loan spell in 2013/14 that really showed how much of a success he could be at the club.

In his first campaign as a Toffee, Lukaku bagged 15 Premier League goals and assisted seven more in 31 games, and also scored in his only FA Cup appearance that season.

Averaging 0.7 goal involvements per game was certainly a strong start to life on Merseyside.

Whilst, overall, Moyes would love his two centre-forwards to recreate Lukaku’s impact at Everton, there might be another loan star who could add similar firepower to the Belgian in his debut season over a decade ago.

Why Jack Grealish is Everton’s new Lukaku

It was a hectic summer transfer window for Everton, who secured several new signings to bolster Moyes’ squad. Of course, they brought Barry to the club and permanently signed the likes of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

However, the marquee signing this summer for the Toffees was surely Jack Grealish. The England international signed on loan from Manchester City and has made an incredible start to life at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

In his two Premier League starts so far, the 30-year-old has already assisted four goals.

Two of those came in the 2-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion, with the other couple away to Wolves, including a pass that set Beto up.

Well, Everton’s supporters have certainly taken to Grealish well, although given the start he has made, that isn’t much of a surprise. Toffees supporter and tactical analyst Matt Smith said he has been a “game changer” so far.

Looking at the match stats from the games against Brighton and Wolves highlights Grealish’s impact so far. In both matches, he created three chances apiece, and away to the Old Gold, his off-the-ball work was clear to see. The 30-year-old won 13 duels at Molineux.

Grealish vs Brighton & Wolves

Stat

Brighton

Wolves

Touches

57

61

Passes completed

29/35

33/36

Ground duels won

5

13

Tackles won

3

1

Key passes

3

3

Assists

2

2

Stats from Sofascore

Just a handful of games into his Everton career, it is easy to see how Grealish can replicate Lukaku’s impact on loan as the Toffees’ newest talisman. The Belgian striker added firepower in attacking areas through goals and assists, and already, Grealish is doing the same thing.

The fact that Moyes has potentially uncovered Everton’s new Lukaku, in that sense, will be a huge benefit for the club. Life at the Hill Dickinson Stadium could not have started any better for Grealish, and he’d surely love to continue this form.

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Pakistan batter suffered an injury while trying to save a boundary off the second ball of the match

Danyal Rasool19-Feb-2025

Fakhar Zaman was bowled for 24 off 41 balls•AFP via Getty Images

Pakistan’s Champions Trophy title defence got off to an inauspicious start, as Fakhar Zaman was forced off the field after two deliveries of their opening game against New Zealand in Karachi.New Zealand opener Will Young drove Shaheen Afridi through the covers to beat the infield, with Zaman setting off in pursuit. He cut it off before palming the ball to Babar Azam to throw it back to the keeper, but immediately appeared to feel discomfort in his lower back or side. He signalled that he needed to be replaced, and went off the field with the physio, though he walked unaided back to the dressing room.”Fakhar Zaman is being assessed and examined for a muscular sprain and further updates will be provided in due course,” the PCB said in a statement shortly after.Fakhar came back on the field after spending a little more than two hours off it, which prevented him from opening Pakistan’s chase of 321. Saud Shakeel opened with Babar Azar and Fakhar only came in at the fall of Mohammed Rizwan in the tenth over. He had been deprived of any batting time with the fielding restrictions in place, when his reputation for power hitting could have come in handy for Pakistan.Almost from the outset, though, it was apparent he would be unable to make that sort of contribution. He was unsteady on his feet and visibly struggling with running between the wickets. On more than one occasion, he slumped to his knees between overs, with the team doctor and physio coming on with painkillers. While he attempted to play the attacking strokes the match situation required with the asking rate ever-rising, it was something of a tortured knock. He managed 24 off 41 before he tried to sweep Michael Bracewell – a shot he a deployed throughout the innings – only to miss completely and see his stumps shattered.Pakistan had been hampered by an injury to Saim Ayub in similar circumstances, one that ultimately kept him out of the Champions Trophy. In a Test against South Africa, he set off in pursuit of a ball to the boundary and ended up twisting his ankle. It resulted in a fracture that will keep him out until at least the middle of March. Fakhar, who until then wasn’t part of Pakistan’s ODI plans, came back into the side as Ayub’s replacement, and made an impressive return, scoring 84 off 69 and 41 off 28 in his first two matches back in the side.Pakistan did, however, get a fitness-related boost before the game with Haris Rauf fit enough to start. He had pulled up with a side strain in the opening game of the triangular series these two sides took part in over the last fortnight along with South Africa. That day had also seen a New Zealand player struck down with injury, when Rachin Ravindra lost the trajectory of a hit while fielding at the boundary, which ended up hitting him flush on the forehead. He needed stitches, and though he trained yesterday and New Zealand have said that he showed no signs of delayed concussion, he did not play against Pakistan. He was seen running drinks to New Zealand’s batters, though.The game marked the return of ICC tournament cricket to Pakistan after 1996, with huge crowds building up outside the National Stadium in Karachi in the hours before the start. The opening ceremony was attended by Pakistan’s president Asif Ali Zardari and had an air force fly-past parade after the toss, which Pakistan won and asked New Zealand to bat.

Bernardo Silva has claimed that Arsenal had an "unfair advantage" over Manchester City during their Premier League clash at the Emirates on Sunday. The match ended in a 1-1 draw after Gabriel Martinelli's dramatic 93rd-minute equaliser cancelled out Erling Haaland's early goal in the first half, with the Gunners extending their unbeaten run against City to six matches.

Martinelli spoiled Man City's party with late equaliser

City were just minutes away from securing a crucial win against Arsenal on Sunday but Martinelli spoiled Pep Guardiola's party as the Brazilian winger came off the bench to score a dramatic 93rd-minute equaliser. The result ensured the Gunners stay second in the Premier League table while City are down in ninth.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportSilva bemoans lack of recovery time

Arsenal went into the key Premier League fixture after playing Athletic Club last Tuesday in the Champions League, while City took on Napoli two days later.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News after the match, Silva bemoaned the lack of recovery time for City, saying: "I am saying this because we didn’t lose. If we lost, I wouldn’t say this. But the reality is, we cannot come to one of the most important games in the season with such a disadvantage, in terms of rest. It is not fair to play one of these games like this. It is just not right. They had five days, and we had two-and-a-half days. In one of the most important games, this cannot happen.

"I wasn’t feeling in a perfect condition to play like this, and people who have not played at the highest level don’t know how it feels to play a game like this. You need to be at your best condition. We saw [Abdukodir] Khusanov getting injured because these games demand a lot. I feel it is just frustrating that we couldn’t be at our best level simply because of the decision of someone that thinks it is fair to come away after two-and-a-half less days than Arsenal. But in the end we did well in terms of fighting, resilience and sticking together and sticking to the plan. It is just frustrating we conceded very late in the game."

He added: "I felt the difference in the first half. If you play at the highest level you know that two days playing against one of the best teams in the league, away, with the travel, you need at least one more day to recover. It doesn’t matter if Arsenal had four, five or six days [to recover], just give us one more day, and that gives us three-and-a-half days. Then you make it an even game. Two-and-a-half days is not enough to recover our bodies and to perform at the highest level. It is just not enough."

Calls for 'common sense' to prevail

The Portugal international once again hit out at the congested fixture schedule, which is taking a toll on the fitness levels of players across Europe. "We have tried, they don’t listen to us. It is what it is. We would like to change something, but it never changes," Silva said. "It does not really matter, but for the fans, for the respect of the clubs, and for the fairness of the competition, I don’t think what happened today [on Sunday] was good. Look, the schedule is the schedule and I understand you have different competitions and UEFA, the Premier League, and the broadcasters want to make their money and I understand all those sorts of things.

"What we ask is that we don’t mind playing every three or four days, and we don’t mind playing 60 games because we are used to that. But what we ask for is common sense because this is one of the biggest games of the season. And it is not because of us. I don’t think that they are trying to make us lose a game. It could happen to Arsenal or Liverpool in a few months. But when you are playing an Arsenal vs City or a City vs Liverpool or Liverpool vs Arsenal, you need to have a bit of common sense, and understanding of these situations and in such an important game, the players need to be in the same physical conditions otherwise, I don’t think it is fair. I know it might have happened to other teams in the past. It did not feel like we were in the same physical condition as them."

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Getty ImagesUp next for City: Huddersfield then Burnley

Guardiola will be expected to rotate his starting lineup heavily for City's Carabao Cup third-round fixture against Huddersfield Town on Wednesday. City are due to host Burnley in their next Premier League fixture three days later.

The India batter has looked good in his two innings this series but will want a few more runs to show for it

Alagappan Muthu13-Dec-20245:07

Gill: We should consider this as a three-match series from now

It didn’t take long for the memories to come flooding back for Shubman Gill. People forget he played a big part at the Gabba in 2021.Only 21 years old, playing his third Test match, he walked out into perhaps the most intimidating stage Australia had to offer – their captain Tim Paine had made a point to remind them of that when they were able to salvage a draw in Sydney earlier – and looked like he belonged.Gill at his best is comes with a volume warning, because when he hits the ball, it just reverberates around the ground. Sometimes you feel like you could pick out his shots with your eyes closed because the connection is so crisp.Early in India’s chase of 329, he hit Mitchell Starc off the back foot all along the ground through cover and on commentary former England cricketer Isa Guha exclaimed, “Crunched! Sound off the bat. Shubman Gill. Wow!” It is unmissable. The 91 he made at the top of the order set India up for the miracle that followed.”Definitely very nostalgic when I came here,” Gill said on the eve of this year’s Gabba Test against Australia. “The whole team was coming and just walking to the stadium again after 2021 win, felt very nostalgic.”Related

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Apart from that natural gift, he seems very well attuned to the vagaries of batting. He understands how things can go wrong and spends ages in the nets trying to fix them. He also understands how things can go right. Former India coach Ravi Shastri recently spoke about how Gill had gone up to Rishabh Pant at tea on the final day of the 2021 Gabba Test and pointed out that Australia might resort to Marnus Labuschagne’s legspin to tide them through to the second new ball and that was a time to cash in. (Labuschagne bowled only one over though)Gill was shaping to be an important weapon for India on this tour, but he injured himself while training and had to miss the first Test at Perth and his return in Adelaide came with a pink-ball handicap. Gill looked good in the first innings making 31 runs, 20 of them through boundaries, and then he missed a straight ball and got lbw.”When you are out there one of the challenges is can you play the game how you want to play the game irrespective of what’s happening on the other end or what’s happening on the scorecard and I think I faltered in the first innings around because of that,” Gill said, “Because what happened on the other end I kind of took that on me.”There was a period where I didn’t get to face, maybe I faced one ball in like four overs and then the next ball that I faced I kind of missed a straight ball, a fuller ball [and was lbw]. But these are the challenges that you face while playing a Test match, you might not get the strike for three or four overs, you might get the strike less or you might face like 18 balls on the trot.”1:52

How can India bounce back in Brisbane?

Looking good but not going on is part of why Gill’s Test average is at 36.45 after 30 Tests. He has crossed 20 in 33 of his 57 innings. So he’s good at getting starts but converting them is a problem. More than half of those 33 innings have ended before he could bring up fifty.In Adelaide, he pointed to the mitigating factor. “Just the dynamics of a pink-ball Test,” Gill said, “We don’t play [it] as much, and just playing at night, it is a little bit harder to gauge the seam position and the hand position at which the ball is released, so it is a bit more difficult to look as a batsman.”Sometimes when you feel like you’ve got the flow going, you start to push things. Playing on the up. On 29 off 27 against England in Chennai 2021, Gill thrust his hands out at Jofra Archer the next ball and was caught at mid-on. He’d hit five boundaries in that short stay, he thought there was one more for the taking. Reaching outside the line of his body. On 36 off 54 in Cape Town in 2024, he got sucked in by Nandre Burger’s left-arm angle and handed a catch to gully. Gill’s stillness at the crease – which is usually a strength because it keeps his head level and really helps him out when he plays his back foot shots – worked against him here.Australia will test him like that too. And in a million other ways. “I think the intensity at which the games are played here, especially Test matches is one of the most difficult things,” Gill said, “To be able to maintain that intensity throughout the course of five days is what makes touring Australia so difficult, and I think more than anything it is the mental intensity and the mental fitness that is required here in Australia, especially here [at the Gabba].”It will be fascinating to see how he comes through an examination like that.