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Georgia Plimmer’s 53 off 44 and an all-round show from Amelia Kerr secured a eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka in Sharjah, though the margin of victory was not enough to move New Zealand up to second; they remain third in Group A behind second-placed India on net run rate. For Sri Lanka, it’s a fourth defeat in four despite this being their best showing of the tournament with the bat; they finish bottom of the group.Set a target of 116, Plimmer and Suzie Bates gave New Zealand the ideal start with a 49-run opening stand, before Kerr joined Plimmer for a 46-run partnership to put the result beyond doubt. Sophie Devine then put the boosters on to close out the chase, finishing the game with monster six over cow corner.Kerr had earlier notched figures of 2 for 13, including the prize scalp of Chamari Athapaththu, as Sri Lanka were restricted to 115 for 5 in their 20 overs. Plimmer was named Player of the Match for breaking the spine of the chase, though Kerr’s impact cannot be overstated.Assured Plimmer kills them softlyThere were only four boundaries in Plimmer’s half-century but yet she ended her innings striking at 120. That was largely down to the learnings several sides are now internalising about how to play on the low and slow tracks in Sharjah.Georgia Plimmer set the pace in New Zealand’s chase•ICC/Getty Images

Her innings was replete with 26 singles and four twos, as Sri Lanka’s bevy of spinners were negotiated expertly. This wasn’t death by killer blow, rather one by a thousand cuts. At the end of the power play New Zealand were 35 for no loss, just one more than Sri Lanka, but by the 10th over the run rate had risen to 6.9 per over.Plimmer eventually fell holing out to deep midwicket, but at 95 for 2 at the end of the 15th over her work was largely done.Athapaththu drives Sri Lanka’s best startAfter three successive failures, Athapaththu finally managed to get some runs on the board, and with it provided Sri Lanka with their first good start of the tournament with the bat.Chamari Athapaththu ably held up her end•ICC/Getty Images

Her 35 came off 41 deliveries, not express by any means, but understandable considering the conditions in Sharjah as well as the shaken confidence of Sri Lanka’s batting unit. With the ball still holding up in the surface and keeping low, Athapaththu was forced to wait for the bad deliveries to notch any quick runs, with a couple of exquisite cover drives the pick of her five boundaries.During her stay she put on stands of 26 and 48 with Vishmi Gunaratne and Harshitha Samarawickrama, to give Sri Lanka their best poweplay of the tournament – 34 for 1, which in itself speaks towards Sri Lanka’s batting troubles – and left them on a decent platform of 57 for 1 at the halfway point of the innings.Can’t keep Kerr out of the gameWith the Athapaththu-Samarawickrama partnership blossoming, a pair of boundaries off Eden Carson and Lea Tahuhu in the 12th and 13th overs signalled Sri Lanka’s intent to up the scoring rate. Enter Amelia Kerr.Amelia Kerr followed up her 2 for 13 with 34 not out off 31•ICC/Getty Images

The legspinner was coming of the back of a four-for in her last game, but here she had to wait until her third over to make any significant impact. But what an impact that was as, following a period of concerted pressure, Athapaththu looked to drag one over cow corner from outside off only to find her off stump knocked back.That wicket in hindsight was the first thread to come loose in Sri Lanka’s unravelling. At the fall of Athapaththu’s wicket Sri Lanka had 74 runs on the board and a little over six overs left in the innings – but they were just unable to push on from there, spluttering to 115 for 5 by the end of the innings.Kerr was a major factor in this as her four overs gave up just 13 runs and also included the wicket of the dangerous Kavisha Dilhari. And if Sri Lanka thought they’d seen the last of her, she struck an unbeaten 34 off 31 with the bat to ensure the win that she herself had set up.

What would India’s last two Test tours of Australia look like without Cheteshwar Pujara? The man who copped blow after blow, batted hours on end, and made Australia’s bowlers sick of the sight of him is no longer part of India’s set-up. But as far as former Australia allrounder Shane Watson is concerned, India’s newer-looking Test side, with its dynamic batting options, will continue to make life difficult for Australia when they make the trip for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy later this year.”I don’t see it [India’s batting dynamic] changing a lot,” Watson said on the sidelines of the launch of the International Masters League in Mumbai on Tuesday. “The thing when you talk about Pujara, for example, is he just doesn’t make a mistake. Whereas you’ve seen so many of these incredible batters for India – top-order batters, someone like [Yashasvi] Jaiswal, he’s scored runs very quickly, but he hasn’t made a mistake.”Pujara tallied 792 runs – and, more vitally, faced 2186 deliveries – in 15 innings across the two tours in 2018-19 and 2020-21, as India did in back-to-back visits what they had never done before: win a Test series in Australia. Although Jaiswal would appear to be from a very different school of batting – as evidenced by a strike rate of 71.67 after 11 Tests, and fifties at better than a run-a-ball in both innings of India’s most recent Test – Watson reckons the 22-year-old’s ability to bat long will challenge the Australian bowling attack.Related

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“He hasn’t really given the opposition a chance to be able to get him out,” Watson said. “I think if those type of batters come out to Australia and play aggressively – just put the bad balls away and put pressure on the Aussie bowlers – then they can still have the same effect, and they keep the game moving as well.”Watson clubbed Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant as the Indian batters who could pose serious threats to Australia over the course of the five-match series, which begins in Perth from November 22.”For me, with the calibre of batters that India have got and the skill they’ve got, there’s no reason why they can’t combine that: putting pressure on bowlers, score quickly, but also not make mistakes, which we’ve seen those Indian batters, in particular Jaiswal [do],” Watson said. “And we’ve seen Rishabh Pant come in and do it as well – take the game on, but also don’t give the opposition many opportunities to get them out.”Pant has 624 runs to his name from 12 Test innings in Australia – while maintaining a strike rate of 72.13 – and Watson, unsurprisingly, picked Pant and Jasprit Bumrah as the two players Australia need to be most wary of.Eoin Morgan, Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Jonty Rhodes, Romesh Kaluwitharana and Shane Watson at the launch of the International Masters League•PTI

“He’s [Pant] obviously got great memories from his last tour that he had from a batting perspective in Australia,” Watson said. “That innings he played at the Gabba was something very special. So knowing that he’s come through his challenges in the last couple of years to be able to come back as an even better player than what he left off, I think he’s going to have a big series.”Also, Bumrah is someone who in Australian conditions – well, in all conditions really – he’s so good. [With] his ability to be able to just take wickets and get batters out, he’s going to be very effective in Australia as well. So those two guys, if they have big series, they can really provide Australia some big challenges.”Bumrah has 32 wickets at 21.25 from seven Tests in Australia. He missed the last Test of the 2020-21 series due to an injury, but will head into his third tour of Australia as the mainstay of India’s bowling attack even as they await the return of Mohammed Shami from a long injury layoff.

In what would be the ultimate statement of intent from INEOS, Manchester United are now eyeing a shock move to hijack a Champions League megastar ahead of Arsenal after Real Madrid lowered their asking price.

Who Man Utd could target after Bryan Mbeumo

After launching a fresh bid worth more than £60m to sign Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo, all signs a pointing towards success for Manchester United in their chase to sign the winger. In another big money deal, the Red Devils look increasingly likely to welcome their second attacking reinforcement of the summer following Matheus Cunha.

It always needed to be a big summer at Old Trafford, however, and INEOS may not be done after Mbeumo. Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his team have also set their sights on improvements in goal, in midfield and further attacking additions to round off an excellent summer of business.

On the goalkeeper front, the main name mentioned in recent weeks has been Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez. The Midlands club have PSR troubles hanging over their head and will likely need to sell a player before the June 30 deadline – potentially allowing United to take full advantage.

Meanwhile, when it comes to midfielders it is Ardon Jashari who has found himself among recent headlines. The Belgian Pro League’s Player of the Season has reportedly attracted the interest of United, who could land an instant upgrade on Casemiro.

It’s going forward that INEOS could save their best work once again though, with reports now suggesting that United may yet hijack Arsenal’s move to sign a Real Madrid megastar.

Man Utd eyeing shock Rodrygo hijack

As reported by Caught Offside, Manchester United are now eyeing a shock move to sign Rodrygo from Real Madrid this summer in what would see them hijack Arsenal’s pursuit.

It looks as though the Brazilan’s Real Madrid departure is a realistic possibility this summer as he continues to be overshadowed by the work of Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham.

Arsenal are chasing his signature, which will now cost around €85m (£73m) following Madrid’s price drop from €110m (£94m), but United’s interest could now complicate things for the Gunners.

It would be some statement if INEOS managed to beat Arsenal to Rodrygo’s signature, albeit an expensive statement at that. Not only would United be spending another £73m to secure his signature, but the Madrid man also currently earns around £10.5m-a-year at the Bernabeu to form what would be Ratcliffe’s biggest deal yet.

He's perfect for Mbeumo: Wilcox opens talks to sign £35m star for Man Utd

Manchester United could be about to make a move for another young gem this summer.

ByEthan Lamb Jun 25, 2025

Previously described as a “special” player by former manager Carlo Ancelotti, there’s a strong argument to be made that Rodrygo would be worth every penny of that £10.5m-a-year contract.

The talented winger may be an afterthought at Madrid at times, but there’s no denying that he’d instantly become the biggest star at Ruben Amorim’s disposal if he joined Manchester United this summer.

Being the massive club they are, Arsenal have been blessed with an abundance of world-class players in the past.

The likes of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira were unreal in the early 2000s, while Mesut Özil and Alexis Sanchez were the shining lights of the latter Arsène Wenger years.

However, on top of the bonafide stars, the Gunners also had more than their fair share of those who fell one or two rungs below, those who were still incredibly talented but are now seen as cult heroes more than anything else.

Theo Walcott would likely fall into the category for many fans, as while he never really fulfilled the potential so many believed he had, the former England international was still more than a handful, responsible for some iconic goals and was arguably the club’s best attacker for a season or two.

So, fans should be excited about recent reports linking Arsenal to an international who could be the Mikel Arteta’s own Walcott.

Arsenal transfer news

Before getting to the player in question, it’s worth looking at some of the other talented internationals touted for moves to Arsenal in recent weeks and months, like Rodrygo and Mohammed Kudus.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

The former is reportedly available for around £84m, which might be a fee worth paying, as in 51 games for Real Madrid this season, he has scored 14 goals and provided ten assists.

On the other hand, Kudus might prove even more challenging to pry away from West Ham United as, according to reports from last week, he has a release clause worth up to a staggering £120m in his current deal.

Fortunately, another attacking talent has entered the frame for Arteta and Co: Anthony Elanga.

According to a recent report from journalist Graeme Bailey, Arsenal are one of several teams interested in the Nottingham Forest star ahead of the transfer window reopening next week.

The report claims that, alongside the Gunners, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Aston Villa have all been watching the Swedish international ‘closely.’

However, on top of dealing with the potential competition, the North Londoners would have to stump up a hefty fee of around £60m to get their man.

It could be a costly and complicated transfer to get over the line, but given Elanga’s ability and the potential for him to improve further, it’s one Arsenal should be fighting for, especially as he could be their new Walcott.

Why Elanga would be Walcott 2.0

Okay, while there are certainly numerous reasons why Arsenal would want to, and probably should, sign Elanga this summer, let’s first address just why he could be the club’s new Walcott.

The first is that, like with the former Southampton gem, it would be another example of the Gunners signing an exciting and dynamic right-winger who can play in other positions from a fellow Premier League side.

Moreover, while the Swede is a fair bit older than the Englishman was when he moved to North London, the fact he’s still just 23 years old means there is plenty of time for him to further develop and grow in N5.

However, there is another, even more significant similarity between the two players: their pace.

While he was playing under Wenger, the former Arsenal star wasn’t always necessarily the most technical of footballers, but he was blisteringly quick, as shown by the Castol Football Index calculating his top speed to be 22.72 mph in March 2014, which converts to about 36.56 km/h.

In comparison, the Forest star reached an even higher speed of 22.78 mph this season, which is about 36.66 km/h, but did even better and hit 22.93 mph last season, which is around 36.91kmph.

Impressively, that is currently the fourth-fastest sprint since Premier League records began and more than justifies his statement that he’s “one of the fastest players in the league.”

Appearances

43

Minutes

2752′

Goals

6

Assists

12

Goal Involvements per Match

0.41

Minutes per Goal Involvement

152.88′

Finally, on top of being absurdly fast, the “special” talent, as dubbed by manager Nuno Espírito Santo, is also a potent threat, scoring six goals and providing 12 assists in just 43 appearances, totalling 2752 minutes this season.

That comes out to an impressive average of a goal involvement every 2.38 games, or every 152.88 minutes.

Ultimately, Arsenal need to add more attacking talent to the squad this summer, and someone who’s a genuine threat while also being incredibly fast sounds like just the player they should be signing.

He's like Mbappe: Arsenal submit offer to sign £68m "powerhouse"

The prolific international would be a sensational and game-changing signing for Arsenal.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Jun 11, 2025

Sunderland are already finding their glorious promotion up to the Premier League to be a double-edged sword.

Indeed, the dust hadn’t even settled on the Black Cats’ Championship playoff final success before goalscoring hero Tommy Watson was heading down to the south coast to Brighton and Hove Albion, with Jobe Bellingham now the next expected departee.

The 19-year-old could now follow in his esteemed brother’s footsteps by joining German giants Borussia Dortmund, with the teenage sensation’s last ever match for the club now bittersweet, having just experienced the unbelievable high of promotion glory at Wembley.

The latest on Bellingham's future

This is one glaring negative attached to promotion – the fear that your best players will be snatched away from you after so much success.

Bellingham is reportedly on the cusp of calling Dortmund his new home for a bumper £32.8m fee, meaning he will go down as Sunderland’s heftiest ever sale when the move is officially completed.

This will, of course, be a major knock to Regis Le Bris and Co. ahead of their daunting top-flight adventure getting underway, with Bellingham’s seven goals and assists combined last season standing him in good stead to take to the Premier League confidently.

Instead, the Bundesliga will soon see what the much-talked-about Black Cats’ number seven is all about.

But, Sunderland can instantly address these gaping wounds by landing this ideal Bellingham replacement, with the star in question already well accustomed to the testing environment of the Premier League.

Sunderland's "outstanding" Bellingham replacement

Le Bris will need figures dotted all around his starting XI that know the difficult division to try and give his team a fighting chance at survival.

Tommy Doyle certainly ticks that box, considering he has amassed 51 top-flight appearances across his playing days to date, with the Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder now reportedly attracting the attention of the Stadium of Light side as per a report from TEAMTalk earlier this month.

But, away from boasting plenty of experience for a 23-year-old, Doyle can also pick out a fine strike – much like Bellingham – from the midfield areas, with his senior career so far seeing him collect eight goals for Wolves, Sheffield United and Cardiff City, on top of reaching double digits with 11 assists.

The “outstanding” midfielder – as he’s been labelled previously by former youth coach Mark Kennedy – will hope the goals and assists keep flowing if he relocates to Wearside soon, with Doyle’s overall numbers last time out in the Championship with the Blades further backing up his status as an ideal replacement for the Dortmund-bound ace.

Games played

33

40

Goals scored

3

4

Assists

4

3

Touches*

43.3

56.0

Accurate passes*

24.5 (78%)

34.0 (86%)

Key passes*

1.1

1.2

Big chances created

6

4

He might well have fallen down the pecking order under Vitor Pereira at Molineux in recent times – as seen in his three minimal starts last season in the league – but his wealth of top-flight experience will still be a major plus, away from his standout loan stint at Bramall Lane reinforcing his similarities to Bellingham, as seen when glancing at the table above.

There will be a lot of pressure on Doyle’s shoulders to succeed, but the 23-year-old has managed to forge a memorable career for himself at the top for some time now, with that hopefully continuing at the Stadium of Light.

Doyle’s addition could become key to Le Bris’ men keeping their heads above water, with Sunderland likely to be submerged in a relegation battle all season long, whilst Bellingham plies his trade at the luxurious summit of the Bundesliga.

Enzo Le Fee repeat: Sunderland considering deal for "outstanding" star

Sunderland are eyeing up a move for a star who would be an Enzo Le Fee repeat.

ByDan Emery Jun 7, 2025

Player ratings via Sofascore

Well, last night’s Premier League game just about summed up Tottenham Hotspur’s season.

Ange Postecoglou’s side came into the match against Nottingham Forest likely still ecstatic off the back of their Europa League quarter-final triumph away to Eintracht Frankfurt, but instead of building on that momentum, they fell back into old habits.

It took all of five minutes for the visitors to go one-nil up courtesy of a long-range effort from Elliot Anderson that rebounded off Rodrigo Bentancur.

Then, just 15 minutes later, Chris Wood doubled the Tricky Trees’ lead with a well-taken header helped by some terrible goalkeeping from Guglielmo Vicario.

While it wasn’t the worst performance of the Lilywhites’ season, there were still plenty of starters who left a lot to be desired, including Richarlison.

Richarlison's game vs Forest

Now, before the pitchforks come out, it’s only fair to commend Richarlison on the goal he scored in the 87th minute – a lovely header from a pinpoint Pedro Porro cross.

However, if we are being honest, that was pretty much the only good thing he did in the entire game, and had he been on song, he could and probably should have got, at the very least, a couple more.

In fact, aside from a few missed chances, he was practically anonymous for the majority of the game and offered very little in the way of build-up play or support for his teammates.

Performance in Numbers

Want data and stats? Football FanCast’s Performance in Numbers series provides you with the latest match analysis from across Europe.

It was a display in stark contrast to what we saw from Dominic Solanke on Thursday night.

It might sound harsh, but London World’s Toby Bryant shares this opinion, as he gave the Brazilian a 6/10 match rating at full-time and wrote that he ‘needs to be available to receive the ball so much more.’

Minutes

95′

Expected Goals

1.48

Goals

1

Expected Assists

0.00

Assists

0

Touches

21

Key Passes

0

Big Chances Missed

3

Passing Accuracy

3/6 (50%)

Dribbles (Successful)

4 (0)

Duels (Won)

9 (0)

Crosses

0

Fouls

2

Lost Possession

10

His statistics don’t make for pleasant reading either, as in 95 minutes of action, he scored just a single goal from an expected goals figure of 1.48, didn’t even register 0.01 expected assists, missed three big chances and failed in 100% of his dribbles.

Player ratings via Sofascore

In short, it wasn’t a great night for the former Everton star, although he did at least get on the scoresheet, which cannot be said about another of the starters who put in a terribly disappointing display.

The Spurs star worse than Richarlison

Unfortunately, you could name quite a few players here, from Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero to Bentancur and Pape Matar Sarr.

Still, when it comes down to it, Dejan Kulusevski was potentially the most disappointing of the lot.

Like Richarlison, the Swedish international was mostly a passenger last night, but unlike the Brazilian, he wasn’t able to pop up with a goal, as his effort in the second half was cleared off the line.

Moreover, apart from that one effort, it’s hard to think of a single positive thing the former Juventus star did, which is made all the worse by the fact the North Londoners had 70% of the possession.

Again, this is an opinion shared by Bryant, who awarded the midfielder just a 5/10 match rating at full-time, writing that he was ‘generally sluggish,’ which is not what you want to hear about someone considered to be one of your very best players. Truth be told, it was perhaps one of his poorest nights of the campaign.

Minutes

67′

Goals

0

Assists

0

Touches

38

Key Passes

1

Big Chances Missed

1

Dribbles (Successful)

2 (1)

Duels (Won)

11 (3)

Crosses

0

Long Balls

0

Unsurprisingly, his statistics from the night back up this assessment, as in 67 minutes of action, he amassed a combined expected goal and assists figure of just 0.10 to rubberstamp how mediocre a night it was for one of their star men.

Furthermore, his touch count of only 38 meant he had 15 fewer than Van de Ven and six fewer than Romero, a stat that’s made worse by the fact the defensive duo left the field at the interval.

Ultimately, Richarlison and Kulusevski looked like players who were still getting back to full fitness, but with a must-win game coming up next Thursday, they need to get there quickly, especially the Swede.

Solanke upgrade: Spurs scout "one of the best strikers in the Bundesliga"

The goalscoring machine would be an excellent addition to Spurs’ squad.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Apr 18, 2025

Celtic are currently 13 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership table with six matches left to play before the end of the 2024/25 campaign.

Brendan Rodgers’s side are on course to win the top-flight title for the fourth successive year, since the old enemy won it in the 2020/21 season, but it has not been a perfect season by any stretch at Parkhead.

The Hoops have already lost more games (four) than they did in the entirety of the 2023/24 Premiership term, with their most recent defeat coming against St. Johnstone last weekend.

Celtic have lost two of their last three matches, having lost 3-2 to Rangers before the international break, and that is something Rodgers will be concerned about heading into the summer.

The Hoops boss will not want it to become a habit heading into next season and, so, will be looking at what has gone wrong in recent games to make adjustments and improve the team.

What went wrong in Celtic's loss to St. Johnstone

There were several reasons why the Premiership leaders ended up on the wrong side of a result against the team rooted to the bottom of the table last weekend.

One of them was that Auston Trusty, who came in to replace Maik Nawrocki, gave away a cheap free-kick that presented the home side with a chance to put pressure on the goal, resulting in a header that made it 1-0.

That gave the Saints something to hold on to and they did exactly that for the rest of the match as they sat deep and defended the box for their lives, needing their goalkeeper to make nine saves in total.

Celtic were unable to break them down to get the equaliser, and a subsequent winner, because they did not offer enough quality in the final third, due to their top performers failing to step up.

Minutes

76

61

45

Goals + assists

0

0

0

Shots on target

1

2

0

Key passes

2

0

1

Big chances created

0

0

0

Pass accuracy

76%

73%

72%

Duels won

7/11

2/6

3/10

As you can see in the table above, the front three that Rodgers selected to the start did not do enough at the top end of the pitch, with zero ‘big chances’ created combined.

Nicolas Kuhn, in particular, struggled as the German forward delivered zero shots on target, one key pass, and lost 70% of his duels in the first half before being withdrawn from the action at the break.

It has been a frustrating time for the 25-year-old attacker, whose form has dipped from his early season heroics, and Rodgers may be thinking of ways to get the left-footed whiz back to his best.

Nicolas Kuhn's recent struggles for Celtic

After the defeat to St. Johnstone, Kuhn has now been substituted at half-time in two of the last three matches, having also been hooked at the break in the loss to Rangers.

Chalkboard

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

The German winger has only scored one goal in his last ten appearances in the Premiership and has been substituted by the 72nd minute in all five of his most recent starts in the division, which suggests that Rodgers has not been overly pleased with what the forward has produced on the pitch.

Kuhn had scored nine goals in his first 17 outings in the Scottish top-flight, which shows that there has been a clear drop-off in his output in the final third from the right wing.

The former Bayern Munich and Ajax youngster was the star of the show for the Hoops in the first half of the season, as evidenced by his exceptional goal return, but he now needs to find a way to reignite that flame.

Whilst there are things Kuhn could do to get back to his best, like delivering more quality in his actions at the top end of the pitch from the right flank, there is also something that Rodgers could do to put the forward on the right track.

Why Celtic must play Nicolas Kuhn in a new role

36 of the 25-year-old star’s 37 starts in all competitions this season have been on the right flank and the Hoops manager could brilliantly revive the winger’s form by unleashing him in a brand new role for the club.

The ex-Rapid Vienna star has never played in a central position for Celtic but he has played as a centre-forward at previous clubs, scoring an eye-catching 29 goals in 43 matches in his career in that role.

Kuhn is currently struggling for goals, making little impact at the top end of the pitch, and a spell in the team as a striker could help him to rebuild his confidence, before going back out to the wing.

With the league all-but-secured – 13 points clear with six games to go – Rodgers can afford to experiment and try new things with the team, which is why unleashing the German in a brand new role could be worth trying.

Appearances

27

10

xG

9.59

2.09

xG per 90

0.53

0.24

Goals

10

3

Big chances created

10

5

Assists

8

1

As you can see in the table above, the Celtic star has outperformed his xG in both the Premiership and the Champions League this season, which speaks to his ability to efficiently finish chances that come his way.

This suggests that the potential may be there for him to be an effective centre-forward with the team creating chances for him in central positions, rather than him needing to create openings for himself by coming in off the right flank.

The Celtic star, as shown in the clip above, is capable of providing exceptional finishes and Rodgers must, now, offer him the chance to showcase his finishing quality as a centre-forward in one of the team’s upcoming matches, in an attempt to help him get back to his goalscoring best for the Scottish giants.

Rodgers must finally get rid of Celtic dud who earns more than Maeda

Celtic must move on from the forward who earns even more than Daizen Maeda.

4 ByDan Emery Apr 9, 2025

Ellyse Perry keen to get started under new head coach Ali Maiden, who steered Bears Women to Blast runners-up spot

Alan Gardner06-Aug-2025Ellyse Perry says Birmingham Phoenix will be approaching the new women’s Hundred season with “very much a clean slate” as they look to make significant improvement on last year’s seventh-place finish and reach the knockouts for the first time since the competition began in 2021.Perry is back for a third campaign in Phoenix orange, and second as captain, but there have been extensive changes throughout the set-up at Edgbaston, with a new head coach – Ali Maiden replacing Ben Sawyer – and significant turnover among the playing group.Perry’s Australia compatriots, Megan Schutt and Georgia Voll – the latter a £65,000 (US$86,350) signing in March’s draft after her stellar rise – will help fill the overseas slots, with former Phoenix captain Sophie Devine having moved to Southern Brave, while the core of the squad that Maiden, who was on the coaching staff of title-winners London Spirit last year, has assembled features an increased number of the players that he works with in his joint role in charge of Bears Women.Stir in another international recruit in Emma Lamb, who arrives from Manchester Originals having returned to England colours in recent weeks, and with Sterre Kalis, the Netherlands batter who was a key cog of the Bears side that reached the final of the women’s T20 Blast last month, leading the social side of things and Phoenix will hope to begin their season on Friday against Trent Rockets in buoyant mood.Related

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Maiden named head coach of Birmingham Phoenix women

Perry joins Hampshire for Vitality Blast and One-Day Cup

“I’ve chatted to Ali for the last six months or so, since he has come into the role, and he’s obviously also taken on Warwickshire over the summer, and I think it was really clear the way that they wanted to play, especially in the Vitality Blast,” Perry said at a KP Snacks event in Charlton Park, helping to celebrate their achievement of installing 100 all-weather, grassroots community cricket pitches across England and Wales.”It’s a really positive brand of cricket, which I know is spoken about all the time in the shorter format, but I think he’s got a real emphasis on athleticism, and creating opportunities with bat and ball through that. So that’s really exciting for us. He’s obviously had some really great success with Warwickshire in the first season of the new competition, and he just brings some great energy and enthusiasm to the group. I know the girls are really excited to play under him.”Perry led both the batting and bowling averages in 2024 but lacked support, notably in run-scoring, with Kalis, Devine and Amy Jones the only other Phoenix players to aggregate more than 100. Although the team finished second from bottom, their tally of three wins was three more than the season before, when they came last in the group.Perry said that recruitment for the upcoming campaign had focused on building “some really strong batting depth, which is something we’ve spoken about a lot in terms of being able to take the game on earlier, probably something that we struggled with last year”.”When you build depth, it gives you a little bit more leeway to do that [bat aggressively] and confidence and sort of buy in from the entire group, knowing that we’ve got a lot of weaponry in the cupboard to do that right throughout. So yeah, it will definitely be a focus for us, and I think we’ve got the blend to do that.”Joining Kalis in the squad are fellow Bears, Em Arlott, Hannah Baker, Phoebe Brett, Bethan Ellis and Miller Taylor. Alongside confidence built from the team’s Blast form, as they narrowly lost out to Surrey in the final, Perry said the group would benefit from Maiden’s “clarity” in the way he wants to play.”Ali is quite distinct and prescriptive about how he wants us to play in some respects, which is a really nice thing with when you see that be effective. And, yeah, I thought the Bears played some really great cricket across the Vitality Blast, and got some girls in some really good form. But equally someone like Emma Lamb’s had a great summer so far. It’s just nice to have that real clarity and confidence in the way that you want to play and know that it can be effective.”I guess every season in a franchise competition is really very much a clean slate. You look at how much changes across the board, whether that’s personnel or, in particular in women’s cricket, the depth of the competition and just and how close teams are now becoming in terms of lists.”So we’ve got a really fresh team this year, new staff, right across the board. So I think it’s probably just a really great opportunity to lay a new foundation, play a style of cricket that we’re really keen on playing. In terms of results, the things that you can control are really just the effort that you put in and how you want to play. The rest of it is kind of a bit of madness in franchise cricket, and to see how that pans out.”Perry was able to observe Maiden’s Bears at reasonably close quarters, having spent the last month playing for Hampshire; she made 58 off 44 balls before falling to Phoenix team-mate Baker when the Hawks were beaten at Utilita Bowl. The switch to lining up alongside those same players is one that regulars on the franchise circuit such as Perry are used to.”In this day and age, that’s not really a foreign concept. You play against and with team-mates all the time across various competitions. I had an absolutely amazing time at Hampshire. Was a really great experience, and a wonderful group of people. And just really lovely to be able to make new friends.”In terms of the Phoenix girls, we’ve got a pretty fresh group, not too many players from last year. So there’s quite an air of excitement around the group, some nerves, but in a good way, and just lots of energy, which is really cool. I know some of the girls from various instances, and then there’s some girls I don’t know as well. So it’ll be really cool to bring all that together.”KP Snacks, the Official Team Partner of the Hundred, are celebrating the installation of 100 new community cricket pitches across England and Wales. To find out more and search for your nearest pitch, visit: www.everyonein.co.uk/pitchfinder

At just 22, the India batter has played two World Cups, the Commonwealth Games, and won the inaugural WPL title, but she’s just getting started

S Sudarshanan07-Jul-20231:21

“Wicketkeeping has helped me pick deliveries out of bowlers’ hands better while batting”

Yastika Bhatia has featured in only 13 of the 35 women’s T20Is India have played since the start of 2022. Two of those were crunch matches – the Commonwealth Games final in August 2022 and the Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final in February this year. While it said a bit about how Yastika fit into India’s T20I plans, it also revealed the management looks at her as someone who can hold her own under pressure.”I am still learning about how to play in that situation,” she says, ahead of India’s white-ball tour of Bangladesh. “That usually comes only from experience.”In the CWG final, Yastika walked out to bat at No. 9, with India needing 17 off 11, as a replacement for the concussed Taniya Bhatia, and was the last player out for a five-ball 2. She was trapped lbw when she missed a reverse sweep against Australia’s Jess Jonassen, and India fell short by nine runs.Related

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“Anybody can sit outside and say you should have done this or that,” she reflects. “When you are inside, you know what’s going on and how to tackle the situation.”If that shot had come off and it [had] been a boundary, everybody would have said something else. I just take it in my stride, whatever has happened. My intent was to win the match for the team. That will always be there. I will always put my best foot forward, never anything else.”Tackling pressure at the international level is vastly different from that in domestic cricket, Yastika says. She scored 223 in six matches in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy, 212 in six outings in the Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal Trophy, and 203 in four outings in the Senior Women’s T20 Challenger Trophy in the 2022-23 season. She often stayed unbeaten in tricky chases, including in the final of the T20 Challenger Trophy for India D.Yastika doesn’t rue her missed chance in the CWG final: “If that shot had come off and it was a boundary, everybody would have said something else”•Aijaz Rahi/Associated Press”At the domestic level, if you face four dots and then if you hit a boundary on the fifth ball, you can cover up,” Yastika says. “But at the international level, you don’t get boundaries easily. You have to be on your toes from the first ball and cannot afford too many mistakes. That is what brings the best out of you. If you just play for Baroda, how would you understand your capacity? You understand that only at the international level.”Yastika is coming off a successful Women’s Premier League (WPL), where she was part of Mumbai Indians’ title-winning outfit. She formed a potent opening pair with West Indies’ Hayley Matthews, scoring 214 runs in the tournament. She flourished at the franchise under India captain Harmanpreet Kaur and a coaching set-up that made her feel valued.Head coach Charlotte Edwards’ clear message to Yastika – that she would play all games in the season – helped, giving her a “boost of confidence”, she says.”You must have seen in the WPL how that translated!” she laughs. “She gave me a lot of freedom. [Edwards said] ‘You just go out and play like a youngster would, without any pressure. There are a lot of good batters after you, so you need not just rotate strike. Just play your game and go for fours and sixes.'”At 22 and in only her second year of international cricket, Yastika has played an ODI and T20 World Cup each, the Commonwealth Games, and a Test – a checklist that many aspire to tick over a long career. She is well aware of what works for her and which of her skills she needs to hone.”If I focus on one thing, I more often than not accomplish it. That has been one of my biggest strengths since childhood and I am proud of that,” she says, reflecting on her learnings from the World Cups.”It is not always that [the expectations at world events] get fulfilled because the other team is also there [to win] after [putting in] a lot of effort. Perhaps our efforts may not be enough, and we need to do more. It is about learning from other teams or by looking at players from your own team; what they have done better, we can learn and apply [those lessons]. You only understand these once you go through those situations. Playing World Cups showed me what I am and what I need to do better. That was an important experience for my career.”Yastika was Mumbai Indians’ fourth highest run-scorer in the WPL, with 214 runs from ten games•BCCIAnd for times when things don’t go to plan, Yastika has her support system to lean on.”I vent to my parents – they listen and don’t say much, but I know they are there for me. They don’t judge me at all and are like ” [You have overcome multiple obstacles, so this is also something you can get through]. My coaches Kiran [More] sir and Santosh [Chaughule] sir help me in terms of what’s lacking in my game. For them, I am their kid.”You will treat your child the same, whether they have scored a century or a zero. Their [the coaches’] behaviour is the same and they shower me with a lot of love. That gives me belief that my support will be the same irrespective of results.”The white-ball tour to Bangladesh next month is the start of a busy season for India, one that features Tests against England and Australia, apart from white-ball series against South Africa and New Zealand. One eye will also be on the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh next year. Yastika has had a taste of it all, and she wants more of it.

His record in the tournament, for four teams, has been middling, but on the back of his recent success as a hitter and finisher, he’s looking to change that with RCB

Matt Roller23-Mar-2021Dan Christian’s most recent IPL game was a stinker. Brought into the Delhi Daredevils side after two weeks on the bench, he managed 7 not out off nine balls from No. 7, strangled by the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s pace-off options. In the chase, the Sunrisers needed 14 to win at the start of the final over. Christian was whacked for a six and a four by Yusuf Pathan, finishing with figures of 0 for 37 as the game was lost with a ball to spare. He was promptly dropped, and at 35 it seemed as though his unfulfilled IPL career had come to a subdued end.Three years later Christian is back, with success on the global short-form circuit under his belt – including four trophies. He was signed for Rs 4.8 crore (US$657,000 approx) by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in last month’s IPL auction and is looking to add a tenth title to his T20 trophy cabinet.The reason Christian is coveted is simple: he remains one of the best in the world at hitting boundaries at the end of an innings. Since the 2018 IPL final, only Kieron Pollard has scored more runs at the death than Christian around the world, and Christian’s strike rate in the last four overs – 192.69 – puts him in the same bracket as T20’s elite death-over hitters. Throw in the fact that he offers teams a sixth bowling option, the experience of 347 games – including nine wins in finals – and it is obvious why teams like what he brings them.”I’ve no doubt that I’m a better player than when I first played in the IPL – or when I’ve ever played in it,” Christian says from the UAE, where he is preparing for the season with Ben Cutting and Chris Lynn, following the postponement of the second half of the PSL. “I just feel like I’m a really good place with my game.ESPNcricinfo Ltd”I’m confident in what I’m trying to do when I’m out there, and from a batting perspective I’m really happy with how things are going. I just feel confident and comfortable in the role I’m playing in every side. All I’m really thinking about these days is just trying to win, so whatever a team needs at a certain time, I’m going out trying to do that.”The roots of Christian’s late-career flourish can be found in the end of his red-ball career. He lost his state contract with Victoria in early 2018, when he was phased out in favour of younger alternatives, and the result has been the opportunity to focus solely on his T20 skills – and in particular, his six-hitting swing.”It turned out to be a bit of a blessing in disguise, really,” he says. “I got the opportunity to play a few more tournaments and it’s worked out pretty well in the end. I think that the grounding that I got from playing four-day cricket is the majority of the reason that I’m still having some success, but being able to focus my training on T20 skills has helped me quite a lot.”It’s been about five years now of just playing this specific role: it doesn’t really matter where I am in the order, but I’ve been coming in around about the 10th-12th over mark – sometimes a little bit later, depending on which team I’m in – and playing that finishing role with the bat. I’ve been able to specifically train for that. With that grounding, you work out how to do it and what you need to do at what time.Specific training is not always straightforward when you live a nomadic, contract-to-contract lifestyle, but Christian has found a home away from home at Nottinghamshire. Since signing as a replacement for Daren Sammy midway through the 2015 T20 Blast, he has been a key part of the side’s short-form success, and has captained them since 2016.Christian sets specific scenarios for himself to bat to at practice•Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/AFP/Getty ImagesAs a result, Paul Franks and Peter Moores, the club’s assistant coach and head coach respectively, have been key influences. “Those two are the ones that have probably helped me the most,” Christian says. “Generally if I’m playing in another competition and I feel like I need to talk to someone about something, they’re the two that I’d go to.”I do a little bit of scenario stuff, where I’ll set up little games, with a coach who will be throwing balls or using the flingers, and I’ll need x off however many balls. But the main things I do are specific nets, where I’m facing bowlers and treating it like a one-day game – trying not to face any dots, knocking ones around, and then occasionally hitting a boundary. And then separate throwdowns or bowling-machine stuff, where I’m working on grooving my six-hitting swing and trying to hit the ball as far as I can while making sure that my shapes are still good.”I’ve done a lot of research and watched a lot of videos of baseballers and golfers and how they generate their power to help me with that. My personal opinion is that batting at the end, you almost need a completely different swing – a slogging swing – to what you do when you’re batting normally.”Golf has been of particular help for Christian, who plays off a handicap of three. “Watch the way a golfer swings and the way they use the lower part of their body to generate that power, driving up out of the ground – and the way their body coils before they release and then swing through the ball. I’ve tried to bring in a bit of that, just to help with that power.”I know it’s a completely different game – stationary ball versus a moving ball, and the fact there are so many other variables involved with batting – but there are some common themes with the way that you swing. I play a lot of golf – clubs are the first thing I’d pack going on a trip somewhere – and it’s certainly helped me with the general mechanics of it.”Christian was the Player of the Match for his 4 for 23 and an unbeaten 11-ball 21 in Nottinghamshire’s win in the 2020 Vitality Blast final•Nathan Stirk/Getty ImagesThe result is that Christian arrives at the IPL feeling as though he has a real chance to improve on his own mixed record in the competition and propel RCB into the latter stages of the season. Since he was signed for Rs 4.14 crore ($900,000) by the Deccan Chargers in the 2011 auction, Christian has been a semi-regular squad player in the tournament. He feels as though he has unfinished business after the heartbreak of the 2017 final, where he played for the Rising Pune Supergiant and needed to hit the last ball of the innings for four and could only manage two. Now he’s heading back to a franchise that picked him only twice in their XI in the 2013 season.”I’m really excited to be back and hopefully to have some success – both personally, and also trying to win one. I got really close in 2017, which was pretty disappointing and the IPL is one that I’d love to add to the trophy cabinet. I’m really looking forward to being back at Bangalore too – playing under Virat [Kohli] and with AB [de Villiers], Glenn Maxwell, and playing under Simon Katich, who I played with at New South Wales years ago and have known for a long time.”Last time I was at RCB, I was on the bench for the Gayle 175 game. That was extraordinary to watch – as good a show of hitting as you’ll ever see. One of the highlights that season was playing against Mumbai and opening the bowling against [Ricky] Ponting and [Sachin] Tendulkar – two guys that I idolised growing up, and two legends of the game.”I’ve made a bit of a joke on my social media recently that whenever I’ve won something, I put a caption saying ‘That’s why you play’, but it’s the truth. When you’re a kid and you first do something, you want to win – that’s where it all comes from. As your professional career ebbs and flows, you have other [goals] that might sometimes cloud that, but as you get older, you go full circle and go back to thinking about how you started, which for me was always that competitiveness of trying to win.”Girish TS/ESPNcricinfo LtdChristian is not an automatic starter for RCB, with Maxwell, de Villiers, and big-money recruit Kyle Jamieson set to fill three of their four overseas slots for the majority of the season. But as he completes yet another period of quarantine – he has spent more than a month in mandatory self-isolation over the last year travelling for tournaments, playing online chess to kill time – he may reflect that any success he has in Indian conditions could help him press a case for an international recall.For all Christian’s experience as a short-format globetrotter, he has faced a paltry 28 balls in a T20I career spanning seven years, despite the fact that since his most recent appearance, on the 2017-18 tour of India, the finishing role has been a problem position for Australia. With two T20 World Cups looming, it is not completely out of the question that he could yet make a return.”I haven’t had much opportunity with the bat for Australia at all,” he says. “When I’ve played in the past, it’s generally been as a bowling allrounder. I’d love another opportunity – obviously Australia have never won a T20 World Cup, and being part of a World Cup-winning squad is one thing I’d love to do.”I’ve kept in touch [with the selectors]. I played a lot with George Bailey, so we speak a bit, and I’ve talked to Justin Langer a little bit as well – he might send me a ‘congratulations’ text if I’ve done something well.”I think it is realistic – I’m not completely on the outer, put it that way. If I’m putting performances on the board, staying fit, and the teams I’m playing in are winning, then I’d like to think that I’m certainly a chance.”