David Warner has urged Australia’s selectors to stick with Sam Konstas for the first Ashes in Perth believing he has the game to take on England’s fast bowlers.Australia have been through a revolving door of partners for Usman Khawaja since Warner’s retirement in early 2024. Konstas, who is the incumbent but made just 50 runs in six innings against West Indies earlier this year, is one of five options used across the last 15 Tests.The selection race will resume this week with the second round of the Sheffield Shield, where Konstas will feature for New South Wales against Victoria at Junction Oval, facing an attack including Scott Boland and Fergus O’Neill.Related

• 'Stripped back' Labuschagne takes leap towards Ashes recall

• Ashes tracker: Labuschagne shines as Konstas stumbles

• Who will be the spear to Usman Khawaja's shield for Australia?

Konstas endured a difficult first outing of the domestic season with scores of 4 and 14 against Western Australia in Perth on what Nathan Lyon termed a “naughty” WACA pitch while NSW coach Greg Shipperd also urged context around Konstas’ returns.Meanwhile, Marnus Labuschagne peeled off 160 for Queensland, which came between two one-day hundreds as he makes a compelling case for a recall and looms as another opening option.”I’d like them to try and probably stick with Sam and give him a crack,” Warner said at Kayo Sports’ Summer of Cricket launch in Sydney. “He scored that hundred in the Australian A series [in India last month]. He batted outstanding there.”I don’t think we’ve seen exactly what we know Sam Konstas can do. Last year… he probably got overwhelmed by the occasion and we saw some very highlighted cricket. But I’ve seen him build innings, I’ve seen him play some fantastic innings and I’d like to see him go back to just doing that.” When Konstas made his debut at the MCG against India he was picked with the specific role of disrupting Jasprit Bumrah, who had dominated Australia’s top order. He was an immediate success in that role with 60 off 65 balls and then produced two cameos at the SCG. However, he was left out in Sri Lanka, when Travis Head opened in a conditions-specific selection, before being tasked with taking on difficult batting conditions in the Caribbean.Warner believes his early salvos in Test cricket left him uncertain about the tempo needed for sustained success but, while acknowledging England have a stock of fast bowlers, does not see their attack needing such a left-field approach.”They don’t have a Jasprit Bumrah so he doesn’t have to worry about that,” Warner said. “They’ve got some fast bowlers but he can tackle that.”Last year, I felt like he just got caught up in the occasions. He got caught up in thinking it was the only way to play that way against Bumrah and then did it to the other players.Marnus Labuschagne brought up a century in his first Shield innings of the season•Getty Images

“I don’t think he needed to change his game to the other bowlers. He could have just stayed there and played the normal way. There was one guy that was getting a lot of people out and… [Konstas] just didn’t want to get out to him because he was bringing the ball back in.”He countered that and he could have went back in and just batted normally. So I think if he can work out that and identify those periods, I think he’ll go a long way.”Warner added that Labuschagne had probably already done enough to return to the line-up but was less convinced about him opening. “I think when you’ve got a lot of Test cricket under your belt, you know what he’s capable of and know what he can do,” he said. “If someone’s averaging 50 in Test cricket, you’ve probably got to go back to that. Does he open? I wouldn’t like to see him open. I’d like him to shuffle back down to three.”If Labuschagne did return at No. 3, it would mean pushing Cameron Green down the order and would leave Beau Webster struggling to retain his place. Webster has been forced to sit out the opening two rounds of the Shield with an ankle injury but, barring a major form slump on his return, is expected to be part of the squad for Perth.

Rest of India lost a wicket off the first ball of the third day of the Irani Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Oct-2025

Vidarbha strengthened their grip on the Irani Cup fixture by taking a sizeable first-innings lead against Rest of India and then extending it to 224 on the third day in Nagpur.The day began with Rest of India on 142 for 5 in response to Vidarbha’s 342, with their captain Rajat Patidar and Manav Suthar at the crease. Vidarbha fast bowler Aditya Thakare struck with the first ball of the day, dismissing Suthar lbw after successfully reviewing the umpire’s not-out decision.Yash Thakur took the next two wickets, bowling Saransh Jain with a yorker and having Akash Deep caught at cover. Patidar had resumed his innings on 42 and got to 66 with ten boundaries before he was the penultimate wicket to fall – caught off fast bowler Harsh Dubey while trying to clear the long-off boundary.Thakur picked up the final wicket to dismiss Rest of India for 214, finishing with figures of 4 for 66 and giving Vidarbha a first-innings lead of 128.Vidarbha’s openers Atharva Taide and Aman Mokhade put on 42 for the first wicket in the second innings before Taide holed out to deep midwicket off Suthar. Mokhade fell for 37 in the 24th over, caught behind while trying to hook Gurnoor Brar. From 64 for 2, Dhruv Shorey and Danish Malewar steered Vidarbha to 96 at stumps, ahead by 224 runs with eight wickets in hand.

MatériaMais Notícias

Deportivo Rayo Zuliano e Athletico-PR se enfrentam nesta terça-feira (7), pela quarta rodada da fase de grupos da Copa Sul-Americana. A bola vai rolar a partir das 19h (de Brasília), no Estadio Nacional Brígido Iriarte, em Caracas, com transmissão da Paramount +.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasCorinthiansCorinthians terá mudanças na Sul-Americana; veja provável escalaçãoCorinthians07/05/2024Onde AssistirAlianza x Cruzeiro: onde assistir, horário e escalações do jogo pela Sul-AmericanaOnde Assistir07/05/2024Futebol NacionalLance! Final: Fortaleza vence o Boca Juniors na Sul-Americana e mantém a liderança no Grupo DFutebol Nacional25/04/2024

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✅ FICHA TÉCNICA
RAYO ZULIANO X ATHLETICO-PR
COPA SUL-AMERICANA – FASE DE GRUPOS -QUARTA RODADA

🗓️Data e horário:terça-feira, 7 de maio de 2024, às 19h (de Brasília)
📍Local:Estadio Nacional Brígido Iriarte
📺Onde assistir:Paramount+
🟨Árbitro:Angel Arteaga (VEN)
🚩Assistentes:Alberto Ponte (VEN) e Freker Colmemares (VEN)
🖥️VAR:Carlos Orbe (EQU)

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⚽PROVÁVEIS ESCALAÇÕES
NACIONAL-PAR (Técnico: Elvis Martinez)
Luis Corredor; Edison Penilla, Hermes Rodríguez e Diego Melean; Kenin Ulises Urueta, Edwin Castro, Albert Barboza e Angel Faria; Gerardo Padron (Yeferson Paz), Saimon Ramírez e Junior Colina

ATHLETICO-PR (Técnico: Cuca)
Bento; Léo Godoy, Kaique Rocha, Gamarra e Esquivel; Fernandinho, Erick e Christian (Zapelli); Julimar (Canobbio), Cuello e Pablo

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Athletico-PRSul-Americana

يستعد فريق ريال مدريد، بقيادة المدرب تشابي ألونسو، لخوض عدة مباريات في بطولتي الدوري الإسباني ودوري أبطال أوروبا، وذلك خلال شهر ديسمبر لعام 2025.

ويمتلك ريال مدريد 33 نقطة حيث يحتل المركز الثاني في جدول الدوري الإسباني، بفارق نقطة عن برشلونة المتصدر، حيث عانى الملكي من 3 تعادلات متتالية مؤخرًا.

اقرأ أيضًا | مواعيد مباريات برشلونة في شهر ديسمبر 2025.. تعزيز صدارة الليجا

في حين يحتل ريال مدريد المركز الخامس في جدول دوري أبطال أوروبا، مرحلة الدوري، حيث يمتلك 12 نقطة بعدما خاض 5 مباريات وخسر في واحدة فقط. مواعيد مباريات ريال مدريد في شهر ديسمبر 2025

أتلتيك بلباو وريال مدريد، مباراة مُقدمة من الجولة التاسعة عشر من الدوري الإسباني، يوم الأربعاء 3 ديسمبر 2025، 8 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، 9 بتوقيت السعودية.

ريال مدريد وأتلتيك بلباو، الجولة الخامسة عشر من الدوري الإسباني، يوم الأحد 7 ديسمبر 2025، 10 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، 11 بتوقيت السعودية.

ريال مدريد ومانشستر سيتي، الجولة السادسة من دوري أبطال أوروبا، يوم الأربعاء 10 ديسمبر 2025، 10 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، 11 بتوقيت السعودية.

ألافيس وريال مدريد، الجولة السادسة عشر من الدوري الإسباني، يوم الأحد 14 ديسمبر 2025، 10 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، 11 بتوقيت السعودية.

ريال مدريد وإشبيلية، الجولة السابعة عشر من الدوري الإسباني، يوم السبت 20 ديسمبر 2025، 10 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، 11 بتوقيت السعودية.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are calling up top pitching prospect Bubba Chandler, who will make his major league debut this weekend against the Colorado Rockies, according to a report from Alex Stumpf of MLB.com.

Chandler, who is the No. 7 overall prospect in baseball and the top amateur arm in the game, is thought to be used as a reliever at the outset this season, but as a starter in the rotation long-term.

The 22-year-old Chandler was selected in the third round of the 2021 MLB draft, and has cruised through the minor leagues. He has spent all of this season in Triple A, posting a 5-6 record with a 4.05 ERA over 100.0 innings pitched. He's also walked a career-high 53 batters this season, as he has struggled a bit with his command.

Regardless, the Pirates view him as a significant piece of their future.

Longtime first baseman and designated hitter Eric Karros had the Rockies' number over the course of his 14-year career—slashing .320/.380/.619 with 37 home runs and 108 RBIs in just 129 games.

On Tuesday, Colorado began to return the favor for all the damage the Karros family has done to it over the years.

With two out in the bottom of the sixth inning of the Rockies' game against the Dodgers, Colorado third baseman Kyle Karros—Eric's son—launched his first big-league home run over Coors Field's left-field wall. Eric was in the stands to witness the blast.

Kyle, a rookie out of UCLA, entered Tuesday having played in 11 games with the Rockies. He's slashed .273/.400/.364 with three runs batted in.

Eric, on the other hand, slashed .268/.325/.454 in 1,755 games played with Los Angeles, the Cubs and the Athletics. His 284 home runs rank 189th in history.

Though more of a doubles hitter than a home run hitter, Kyle has swatted six dingers in the minor leagues this year—so it was only a matter of time before he began his pursit of his dad.

Eight matches into his Rangers tenure, is Danny Röhl any closer to figuring out which players he can trust and who he cannot?

On Thursday night, the Gers were held to a 1-1 draw by ten-man Braga at Ibrox, despite taking the lead through James Tavernier’s spot-kick in first half stoppage time; the fact that only 38,014 spectators were in attendance encapsulates the mood.

So, with just one point on the board after five games, a frankly pitiful effort, unless they somehow manage to beat Ferencváros, Ludogorets Razgrad and then Porto, which seems unlikely if we’re being honest, the Gers’ Europa League adventure will be coming to a premature end in January, having got all the way to last season’s quarter-finals.

This will allow them to concentrate on domestic matters, which may be a good thing, given that they’ve slipped down to fifth in the Premiership table, despite having won all four league matches since Röhl’s arrival in Glasgow.

So, ahead of a visit from Falkirk, who would actually leapfrog their hosts with a shock victory at Ibrox on Sunday, what changes should the German head coach make?

Youssef Chermiti's uninspiring form

Back on Monday, it was announced that both chief executive Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell had been sacked, after overseeing a chaotic summer of recruitment, with the £8m, potentially rising to £10m, paid to sign Youssef Chermiti among the more egregious and baffling of their decisions.

So far, he has scored just one goal for the club, on target against Kilmarnock last month, already surpassing his tally of zero goals during two seasons at Everton, also brought to Merseyside by Thelwell for £14m when he was working at Goodison.

Aside from his lack of goals, the striker simply isn’t offering enough, often allowing matches to pass him by and putting in anonymous performances.

Following this week’s draw with Braga, Mark Atkinson of the Scotsman asserted that he is driving supporters ‘demented’, adding that he ‘spurned a couple of presentable’ opportunities and is so far proving to be a mere baffling expensive purchase.

So, ahead of a sequence of three Premiership matches in seven days, facing Falkirk, Dundee United and then Kilmarnock, Chermiti should be stood down and Röhl must instead deploy the “best player in the league” up front.

Rangers' superior Chermiti alternative

Of the 13 players Rangers signed in the summer, many are young and inexperienced, hoping to grow and improve in the coming years, but Bojan Miovski was supposed to be a ready-made starter, brought in to produce right away.

The 26-year-old, returning to Scottish football after a season at Girona, is a proven goalscorer at both club and international level, bagging his ninth goal for North Macedonia against Wales at the Cardiff City Stadium earlier this month.

Meantime, at club level, prior to his season in Catalonia, he had been outstanding during two years at Aberdeen, as the table below documents.

Bojan Miovski’s stats for Aberdeen

Stats

Miovski

Appearances

98

Goals

44

European goals

4

Goals vs Rangers

4

Goals vs Celtic

3

Shots on target per 90

1.1

Big chances missed

31

Average rating

6.9

Stats via Transfermarkt & SofaScore

As the table makes clear, Miovski was an elite-level finisher during his time at Pittodrie, scoring 32 Premiership goals, while his strike rate in Europe as well as against the two Glasgow giants underlines his quality.

Then-teammate Nicky Devlin asserted that Miovski was “the best player in the league in his position”, firing the Dons to a third place finish in 2022/23, before being sold for £6.8m, the Dons’ record outgoing transfer.

However, we are yet to see very much of that from Miovski in a Rangers jersey, scoring his first goal for the club against Hibs in the League Cup, while his only Premiership goal came at Falkirk Stadium in October, the day Russell Martin was sacked.

Since the appointment of Röhl, the North Macedonian has featured in all eight matches but has started just once, this coming at Dens Park before the international break, substituted at half time with the Light Blues leading Dundee 2-0.

So, for whatever reason, the German head coach appears to favour Chermiti and Danilo, despite the fact that Miovski is a proven goalscorer at both Premiership and European level, something this team desperately needs given that, 26 matches into this campaign, Tavernier and Djeidi Gassama are the only squad members who have four or more goals to their name.

Thus, when Falkirk visit Ibrox this weekend, surely Röhl has to bring Miovski back into his XI, ditching the ineffective Chermiti, with the former looking to net as he did against the Bairns once again, just as he did in Stirlingshire just last month.

Related Not just Djiga: Thelwell flop who lost ball 17x looks finished at Rangers

Rangers’ wait for a first Europa League victory goes on, held to a 1-1 draw by Braga at Ibrox, and a summer signing was just as bad as Nasser Djiga.

Posts ByBen Gray Nov 28, 2025

Senior seamers Mark Adair and Josh Little fit to return for T20I leg of tour

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Oct-2025

Ireland have named five potential debutants in their 15-man Test squad to tour Bangladesh next month, while Mark Adair and Josh Little are fit to return for the T20I series that follows.Ireland were without their two senior seam bowlers for the recent T20Is against England but have received a boost to their preparations for next year’s T20 World Cup with both available for Paul Stirling’s side. Adair underwent knee surgery in August, while Little had been suffering from a side injury.The Test leg will see Ireland play a multi-match series for only the second time. Top-order batters Cade Carmichael and Stephen Doheny, allrounder Jordan Neill and left-arm seamer Liam McCarthy have all received maiden call-ups, while legspinner Gavin Hoey, who is uncapped in Tests, also returns to the squad.They will be captained by Andy Balbirnie, with Ireland having won their last three Tests dating back to February 2024.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Andrew White, Ireland Men’s selector, said: “It is fantastic to have Test cricket on the horizon again – and with that we are excited to see Cade Carmichael come into the Test squad following his ODI debut against the West Indies earlier this year.”Not only has he had a great season, but he has also demonstrated the qualities required to be an international cricketer in this format. Cade compiled an excellent century against Afghanistan A in a four-day match in the UAE earlier this year, and anyone watching his two ODI appearances against West Indies will have noticed his composure and his technical ability against quick bowling.”Stephen Doheny is another player who has had a good domestic season and demonstrated a number of technical changes that we hope will enable him to be successful going forward.”It is likely that we will need all of our seamers across the back-to-back Tests. Given the recent number of injuries we have been managing, and the volume of cricket in the coming months, we will need to proactively manage the group in what will undoubtedly be hot and humid conditions. This is only the second time we have played consecutive Tests as part of a tour – it’s a challenge I know the squad will relish as they adapt to Asian conditions.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The T20I squad is broadly similar to that which played against England, with the additions of Adair, Little and batter Tim Tector. Neill and seamer Graham Hume were omitted.”In terms of the T20 squad, the likelihood is that spin will play a more prominent role – so Gareth Delany, Matthew Humphreys and Ben White are expected to provide options in this area,” White said. “And with Mark Adair and Josh Little returning to the squad, Graham Hume makes way on this occasion.”On the batting front, the 15-player squad allows us to bring in Tim Tector while retaining Ben Calitz to give us middle-order depth.”Ireland Test squadAndrew Balbirnie (capt), Curtis Campher, Cade Carmichael, Stephen Doheny, Gavin Hoey, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphreys, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Liam McCarthy, Paul Stirling, Jordan Neill, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Craig YoungIreland T20I squadPaul Stirling (capt), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Ben Calitz, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Matthew Humphreys, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Harry Tector, Tim Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig YoungFixturesNovember 11-15 – 1st Test, Sylhet
November 19-23 – 2nd Test, Dhaka
November 27 – 1st T20I, Chattogram
November 29 – 2nd T20I, Chattogram
December 2 – 3rd T20I, Dhaka

Queensland 26 for 0 trail Michael Neser continued his hot start to the summer with he and Mitchell Swepson taking four wickets each to bowl South Australia out for 228.Queensland went to stumps on day one of their Sheffield Shield clash at 26 without loss in reply to South Australia, with Usman Khawaja unbeaten on 22 at Adelaide Oval.Related

• Abbott first to be subbed out under new Sheffield Shield injury rule

• Konstas' Test hopes fade with a duck on 13-wicket day

• Haskett makes an impression as Weatherald misses out

Almost the forgotten man in the great pace-bowling debate ahead of the Ashes, Neser ripped the heart out of Tasmania with 4 for 75 in the opening round. And he backed it up again on Wednesday with 4 for 30, after South Australia had done well to build a base of 133 for 2.After taking the top of Nathan McSweeney’s off stump when the right-hander left a ball after lunch, Neser claimed the last three wickets on day one. He first had a pulling Wes Agar caught at slip, edged off a driving Liam Scott for 44 and also had Jordan Buckingham caught behind.While the wickets came late in the innings for Neser, it still won’t have hurt his push to add to his two Tests for Australia.Scott Boland is all but certain to replace Pat Cummins for the first Test if Australia’s captain does not recover from a back injury in time.But Neser could well be the next option if Cummins does not return for later in the series and one of Australia’s quicks needs resting. That situation appears even more serious after fellow-hopeful Sean Abbott split the webbing on his bowling hand while playing for NSW on Wednesday.While Neser’s wickets could have Ashes implications, former Test spinner Swepson was the pick of the bowlers for Queensland on day one.He took four wickets in South Australia’s collapse from 133 for 2 to 188 for 7, including the crucial wicket of Conor McInerney lbw for 60.The legspinner also had Jason Sangha well caught by Khawaja close to the ground at slip, before the in-form Jake Lehmann hit him straight to square leg.Swepson’s fourth scalp came when Nathan McAndrew drove him on the up to cover, capping a fine day for the Queenslander.

England’s captain said he had a feeling on an auspicious date, and so it transpired

Vithushan Ehantharajah14-Jul-20250:55

Manjrekar: Stokes always makes things happen

Ben Stokes had a hunch when he woke up on Monday morning.On the sixth anniversary of England’s 2019 ODI World Cup win, on the final day at Lord’s, with six wickets to get before India achieved the remaining 135 to win this third Test, Stokes felt there was only one man who should start the day with the ball.It was not from the end from which Jofra Archer bowled that famous Super Over against New Zealand. Stokes still had two deliveries left after taking out nightwatcher Akash Deep with what became his final ball on Sunday. But the Pavilion End, from where Archer, on Thursday, had taken his first Test wicket since February 24, 2021, would do just fine. Especially when fate was calling.Related

• Battered players leave bits of hearts and spirits behind after bruising Lord's Test

• Ben Stokes on final-day bowling efforts: 'Nothing was stopping me'

• Six balls and a lifetime later, Archer returns with a bang

• Memories of the 2019 World Cup final Super Over

• Stats – England clinch the narrowest Lord's win

So it proved. A six-over spell produced a pearler to send Rishabh Pant’s off stump for a walk, then a stunning reflex catch – Archer sprawling to his right in his follow-through – did for Washington Sundar. Since 2006, when such records started being kept, Archer’s was the sixth fastest day-five spell recorded.”It felt right in my tummy that Jofra was going to do something this morning to break the game open,” Stokes said. “Gut feel doesn’t always work, but those two wickets he got this morning swung the game massively in our favour.”Undoubtedly, it was Stokes’ dismissal of KL Rahul, sandwiched by Archer’s strikes, that was top of the podium. England’s three wickets in the first seven overs of play had put them out in front. And just when it looked as though India were creeping back into the picture with their ninth-wicket stand, Stokes returned to prise out Jasprit Bumrah, even if the No. 10’s shot selection was curious given the situation.England’s heroes in that 2019 final – both the man who dragged them to that Super Over, and the one who held his nerve to defend 15 therein – were back at it in 2025. Cricket is a sport that, more often than not, baits romance rather than serves it up. However, for Stokes to bowl as much as he did, and for Archer to be back bowling in a Test match at all, provided a moment – as was the case six years ago – that English cricket will not be able to take for granted.Then and now: Six years on from the 2019 World Cup final, Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer were centre stage at Lord’s•Getty Images

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Archer was at midwicket when the final ball of the match trickled agonisingly onto Mohammed Siraj’s leg stump. As Shoaib Bashir charged off towards the Grandstand – where Archer himself had been enveloped by Bashir after removing Jaiswal four days earlier – Archer fell to the floor.His resting place was more or less the same patch of grass onto which he had sprinted and dived after Jos Buttler had run out Martin Guptill from Jason Roy’s throw. But the significance of that moment is probably a little overblown, considering Archer could not recall why July 14 was special when Stokes broached it with him”You know what day today is, don’t you?” Stokes had asked before the start of play, looking to stir the 30-year-old. It turns out, Archer thought this was the anniversary of India’s two-wicket win over England at Lord’s in 2002’s NatWest series final. “You know that highlight package of India knocking off 300-odd back in the day with Ganguly?” Stokes explained to the media, referencing the then-India captain windmilling his shirt over his head on the away balcony. “He thought that was a World Cup final. He thought that was six years ago today.”The confusion was broadly understandable. That fixture actually took place on July 13, and highlights of that 325-plays-326 slobberknocker were on the television screens on Monday morning when England arrived at the ground. When Stokes informed Archer he meant the World Cup “we won”, Archer responded with, “oh, that one”.Ben Stokes at the centre surrounded by the rest of England•Getty Images

****

Archer will have known which one, of course, and confusing it with a match that took place 23 years ago suggests 2019’s final feels more recent than it actually is.The memories from that summer have kept Archer going, and kept England so invested – literally – in getting him back to this point. He had followed his World Cup haul of 20 dismissals at 23.05 (the third most in the tournament) with 22 more at 20.27 in the men’s Ashes, all of them underpinned by express pace. Few players have had such a sweet first taste of international cricket, and fewer still have nailed their own involvement so spectacularly.Archer’s problems have come ever since. From that summer into this one, his nine Test caps brought just 20 further wickets at 42. When people doubted that Archer could return as the bowler he had been back in 2019, they had their reasons.During this period, England did overbowl him, most notably on a flat pitch in Mount Maunganui, where he sent down 42 in a single innings. The link between his elbow and lower-back stress fractures was easy to make.Even on his thrilling Test debut at Lord’s against Australia, England were already playing recklessly with their new toy, as he sent down 44 overs in the match. And though he did get into a 40th on this comeback, the breakdown of his work suggests lessons have been learned.In 2019, there was an eight- and seven-over spell, along with six other spells at least four. This time, there were only six spells of four or more across the four days England spent in the field, with his two longest at five when opening the first innings, and six on this final morning.Much of that is down to the fact Stokes shouldered the longest burdens. Going into stumps on day four with 4.4 overs, he resumed in the morning for 9.2 more, and then later in the day for 10.While Archer did the post-match media rounds, looking fresh and beaming from ear to ear, an exhausted Stokes, carrying his bowling boots in one hand, blood seeping through the sock on his left foot, began his session for the written media with a simple request: “Any chance you can just do ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions?”2:32

Stokes: I was going to decide when I stop bowling

****

The connection between Stokes and Archer truly began in 2019, bound by that World Cup win.Stokes was the first to go over to Archer in the moment of victory, putting his arms around him during those celebrations on the outfield. They have gone on to become good friends, gaming together, even becoming business partners. And as Test captain, with Archer trending towards full fitness throughout Stokes’ tenure, the 34-year-old has been his biggest cheerleader and defender during various setbacks.Despite all the affection, Stokes did lose his cool with Archer on Sunday evening.During Archer’s third over, after Karun Nair had hit him for a second boundary through the covers in four deliveries, he gestured for a man to be placed out as insurance. Stokes refused.At the start of the 16th over, Rahul’s bunt out to deep square-leg was not immediately attacked, resulting in Stokes throwing his arms out at Archer, who was stationed back on the leg-side boundary. As the players walked off after Stokes had taken out Akash Deep’s off stump, Sky cameras caught Archer trying to speak to Stokes, who gave him short shrift.This is not Archer’s first Test in which Stokes has been captain, but it is his first since his regime officially began in 2022. Though Archer has been with the team since the second Test, this was the first time he was really “in it”. It is not a total surprise he is not up to speed with some of the non-negotiables.One insistence he seemed to fall foul of was asking for negative field settings – Stokes believes every fielder should be affecting a dismissal, something he reiterates by telling his bowlers he simply does not care about their economy rates. The other “must” is giving your all in fielding. No dawdling or escorting. A great example was Bashir, an over before he took the final wicket. Nursing a broken pinkie on his left hand that has ruled him out for the rest of the series, Bashir slid along the point boundary to intercept the ball inside the rope – scooping it with his right hand, then cradling it in the pit of his right elbow.Archer, by Monday, had clearly got the memo, diving about in the field, and letting his captain set whatever field he demanded. In return, he maintained his express pace throughout, including when he struck Siraj on the shoulder with a fierce bumper clocking in at 88mph. It turned out to be his final delivery of the match.Ben Stokes celebrates after sending back Jasprit Bumrah•Getty Images

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Stokes revealed the main sticking point he had with Archer on the penultimate evening was not to do with his fielding but where people were stationed. Specifically, Stokes himself.”He wanted me to come to mid-on and Carsey [Brydon Carse] to go to leg slip so he could talk to me,” Stokes said. “But I didn’t trust Carsey at leg slip, to be honest. Honestly, that whole thing was he wanted me to come to mid-on so we could chat about what he’s trying to do.”Even in the heat of this Test match, it was a rare moment of vulnerability from Archer. Public-facing, too. Those chats would have been tactical, but there is something to be said for the extra comfort Stokes would have brought Archer by his side.Stokes was at mid-on for the last ball of the Super Over, collapsing onto his back at its conclusion. His unbeaten 84 had left the match all-square in normal time. But more important even that the eight extra runs he picked off alongside Jos Buttler in setting New Zealand a Super Over target of 16 was his advice to Archer before he took centre stage.Though Archer already had the confidence – he knew he’d have to bowl the Super Over even before Eoin Morgan had confirmed it – he was wary. He would later admit: “I don’t know what I would have done tomorrow” had he been responsible for losing that final.Stokes, however, had experience of that from 2016’s World T20 final in Kolkata. And so, he took Archer to one side and offered the following: “Win or lose, today does not define you. Everyone believes in you.”The irony is failure in this Test may have re-defined Archer. It would have been proof, in the eyes of the doubters, that he was a waste of central contracts. That he has been coddled by the ECB. That maybe he does only care for franchise riches, that he is only good for white-ball cricket. That, you know what, he is overrated. Speaking to Sky in the moment of victory, he railed against the “keyboard warriors” who had been the bane of his rehab for four years.Now, those thoughts can settle down. Of course, much will depend on how Archer recovers from this week’s exploits, though the nine days between now and the fourth Test will help him. A meaningful role in this winter’s Ashes is now a genuine possibility.A lot has happened in six years. And yet here we are, back at Lord’s, with English cricket grateful for Stokes and giddy about Archer all over again. All told, it’s good to be back.