Newcastle United are in the hunt for a striker this summer and Eddie Howe may be growing in confidence that he can land a proven Premier League marksman, according to a report.

Newcastle United's search for reinforcements

Eddie Howe has become something of a recruitment specialist at St James’ Park, producing an excellent track record that means more additions become hits than not when convinced to move to Tyneside.

Hoping to continue that feat, Keith Wyness reckons Newcastle may sacrifice some stars to expand their potential to spend even with the threat of PSR being a live consideration to ponder.

He stated: “It used to be that when you sold a big player, you had loads of money to spend. Newcastle are going to have to work hard in this window.

“I think there will be some disposals. Sean Longstaff may have to move on, and there will be others going too. Anything that will allow Newcastle to spend as big as they can, they will do.”

That much may be true, but where do Newcastle plan to strengthen their arsenal? According to reports, Manchester City star Jack Grealish could move to Tyneside, potentially adding a sprinkle of European pedigree as the Geordies prepare for a return to the Champions League.

Nottingham Forest now want to sign £8.5m Spaniard if Elanga joins Newcastle

Nottingham Forest have now identified a player who could be seen as a replacement for Anthony Elanga.

By
Brett Worthington

Jun 13, 2025

Brentford’s Mikkel Damsgaard is also wanted by Newcastle, demonstrating that they mean business in a summer that could produce a fair amount of incomings and exits in the North East.

Evaluating their forward line, the Geordies now have one of the Premier League’s hottest properties on their radar and confidence is growing over their chances of landing his services.

Newcastle United accelerate move for Joao Pedro

According to The Telegraph, Newcastle are confident they can strike a deal for Brighton & Hove Albion’s Joao Pedro as his future on the South Coast becomes increasingly uncertain.

The Brazilian forward is open to a move to the North East and is admired by Howe and his coaching staff due to a degree of versatility than can see him feature through the middle or on either flank.

Labelled “amazing” by Billy Gilmour, Pedro registered ten goals and seven assists in 30 appearances across all competitions this term as the Seagulls narrowly missed out on a place in Europe.

Internally, there is now a feeling that Newcastle can complete a deal to sign the former Watford striker, though there is still plenty of work to be done before that dream can become a reality.

Alexander Isak is the main man in attack for the Geordies. Nevertheless, Pedro is a force to be reckoned with at full flight and could be another dangerous asset against opposition domestically and on the continent.

Support from coach and captain helped spinner rediscover his enjoyment for the game

Matt Roller21-Oct-2024Jack Leach believes that being dropped by England during their home summer enabled him to fall back in love with cricket, aided by an unexpected phone call from Ben Stokes in the aftermath of a Test win.Leach is the leading wicket-taker in England’s series in Pakistan with 14, but had only played two Tests in the 18 months before the tour and failed to complete either due to back and knee injuries. He had returned to full fitness after knee surgery by the time England picked their first Test of the summer in June, but they selected his Somerset team-mate Shoaib Bashir instead.Bashir earned widespread praise after his match-winning five-wicket haul against West Indies at Trent Bridge, and was preferred throughout the rest of the summer. But when England returned to their Nottingham hotel after that win, Stokes called Leach to tell him that Bashir’s success did not mean he had been forgotten.”I felt really happy and proud,” Leach recalled on Monday, speaking at England’s hotel in Islamabad. “He just wanted to tell me how great I was, basically, in the way that he does, and just recognise how I’ve dealt with the situation. That gave me a chance to say some nice things back to him about what he’d given me, probably going back to 2019 at Headingley.Related

Pakistan deploy fans, heaters in bid to produce Rawalpindi turner

Brendon McCullum plays down England spin concerns as Pindi decider looms

Shoaib Bashir's raw returns turn spotlight on England's spin gamble

Switch Hit: Spinner, spinner, chicken dinner

“There’s just a mutual respect there, so it was a nice conversation to have for sure. It just reminded me that I was going about things in the right way, and gave me confidence I still had something to offer the team and I was a part of it, in a small way. That gave me good motivation for the remainder of the summer… a nice reminder that there was still a chance to play.”Leach admitted that he briefly feared that his England career would be over when he initially learned of his omission. “You always do,” he said. “After a long time out with injury, I maybe felt that might be it… I really understood the situation. If you’re not able to stay fit, then other people come in and do well, and Bash certainly did that.”But he was happy with the level of communication from England’s management throughout, and received a similar call from Brendon McCullum the day after speaking to Stokes in July. “I was really happy with that – and in a way, not surprised, because of what I’d experienced when I was there [in the squad],” he said. “I’m very thankful for that, and my relationship with those guys.”After a slow start to the season which saw him take nine wickets at 50.44 in his first four appearances for Somerset, Leach thrived at the end of the year with 36 at 15.86 in five matches. He said that the secret was as simple as “remembering what I’m about, and being happy with that” rather than worrying too much about making minor technical changes.

“This summer actually provided a really good opportunity to go back to play for Somerset and simplify everything; just do what I was good at, and build the confidence that that was good enough”

“I just felt like I needed to rediscover that kid-like mentality of why you play the game,” Leach said. “You have that on the journey up to playing for England, that nothing-to-lose mentality. Then it’s like, ‘I’m here now, I want to keep that’. That’s tiring, it’s stressful, it’s not enjoyable… You forget what your main strengths are.”This summer actually provided a really good opportunity to go back to play for Somerset – which is what I always wanted to do as a young boy – and to just simplify everything; just do what I was good at, and build the confidence that actually, that was good enough… I’ve discovered that again: just being myself, and actually really enjoying that.”Leach has outbowled Bashir in England’s first two Tests in Pakistan, but said that reclaiming his status as first-choice spinner is “not important” to him. “That’s not really in my thoughts,” he said. “I just want to keep building on what I’ve done in the summer and what I’m doing out here… For me, it’s all about the team. Maybe I’m at an age where that’s all that really matters to me.”The pair have worked closely together in Pakistan. “He’s just done so well,” Leach said of Bashir. “He’ll just be learning so much, so quickly. He’s quality. We have a good relationship, good fun, and try to work together. I try to help where I can. I don’t want to overload him with stuff: I feel like he’s just learning through playing, and it’s all going to come quite naturally.”The series decider starts on Thursday in Rawalpindi, with another turning pitch in prospect after Pakistan’s 152-run win last week. Two years ago, it was the scene of a famous England win: they racked up 657 in 101 overs in their first innings, and Leach applied the finishing touches when trapping Naseem Shah lbw on the final evening to seal the victory.”That’s probably my favourite wicket: just the pictures of the appeal, and then just after of everyone celebrating,” Leach said. “It was just such a good game to be part of.” England will hope for something similar this week, in their bid for a 2-1 series win.

Mohammed Shami’s three-wicket burst carried Bengal to an eight-wicket win over Hyderabad in Group A of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Monday.Shami, who is playing his first white-ball tournament after last year’s ODI World Cup, took 3 for 21 in 3.3 overs as Bengal bowled out Hyderabad for 137 in 18.3 overs.He received good support from Karan Lal and Shahbaz Ahmed who bagged two wickets apiece.India batter Tilak Varma made a 44-ball 57 but he could not guide his side to a bigger total.In reply, Bengal faced little trouble in scaling down the target in 17.5 overs.Openers Abhishek Porel (41) and Karan (46) made 84 runs in 9.5 overs and Bengal never let the momentum slip from there.Meanwhile, India middle-order batter Rinku Singh made an unbeaten 24-ball 45 as Uttar Pradesh breezed past Himachal Pradesh’s 100 in just 13.3 overs to register a seven-wicket win in Group C.Former India legspinner Piyush Chawla took 4 for 12, while pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who on Monday was bought by Royal Challengers Bengaluru for INR 10.75 crore in the IPL mega auction, chipped in with wicket.

The ball is the fundamental unit of cricket, and with Warne, each one was a universe of possibilities

Osman Samiuddin10-Mar-2022If Shane Warne never took another wicket after Mike Gatting’s, he would still live on. Not in as many minds, and certainly not as rich a figure, but a ball like that has its own life. It does not go forgotten. The reason it endures and that it was so instantaneously acclaimed is for what it did in the milliseconds of its existence, the mad physics around it, but also because it was legspin as a platonic ideal.This is, of course, a truism. How else do all the great deliveries become great if not by doing something great? But that ball speaks to a fundamental often overlooked in cricket, which is that, broken down, the game is only the sum of the self-contained vignettes each of its individual deliveries represents. Only when stitched together do we then have a match, unto a series, unto a career. Each ball is a world by itself, of limitations and possibilities, and when you walked into the world of a Shane Warne delivery, you walked into a world with no limitations, where possibilities abounded. In this world the ball could, and did, behave in ways unlike any before Warne existed.Think of the circumstances leading to that ball. It was Warne’s first in a Test in England. Hardly anyone at Old Trafford that day would have seen him before. They might have heard of a new blond leggie who had helped win a Test in Colombo and run through West Indies, but few would’ve seen him. Then, without warning, he did .Related

There's a Warne-shaped hole in this Ashes

Legspinners look back at Shane Warne's ball of the century: 'That delivery will always be the pinnacle'

Facing Warne: the magic, the theatre, and the whole shebang

Shane Warne: the showman who could do hard graft

Shane Warne's greatest hits

And if he could do that, then what couldn’t he do every time he walked up to bowl?In the days since his passing, scouring YouTube for his best moments has been a comfort. Quite likely this has been a universal response. A connoisseur will argue that 90-second videos of only wickets falling is to miss the point of Warne. That experiencing Warne without what Gideon Haigh calls the pageant of Warne is to know of Warne but not to feel Warne.That theatre essential. That walk back to his mark, the occasional pause to fix the field or to let doubts fester in the batter, to make them think something is amiss when nothing is. Then the amble in, so utterly lacking in foreboding it was as if Jaws was coming to shore to the title music of . Then there were the traps, with ball but also with manner. The appeals, the gradual massaging of an umpire into his decision; the bluff of the oohs and aahs and smirks and sneers when he beat a bat, but especially when he found the middle of one. As much as Warne’s wickets, everything before and around them is the eulogy.But these videos make two points, the first a complementary one, that these grand and elaborate ploys and plots needed denouements to match and Warne delivered them with truly freakish quality and consistency. But second, that even as one-off deliveries that may never be bowled again, with no build-up or backstory or history, that only ever exist in bite-sized social media clips, these deliveries work. And how.Look back and weep: MSK Prasad is bemused at what has befallen him in Adelaide in 1999•Hamish Blair/Getty ImagesNot long after Gatting at Old Trafford, Warne would bowl Graham Gooch behind his legs at Edgbaston, coming in round the wicket. It is less iconic but notable because it became a leitmotif in the Warne canon: which other bowler, before or since, has bowled as many batters around their legs as Warne?In a way this dismissal is a legspinner’s ultimate flex. Sneaking in behind a batter is peak deception. And to do it, the ball must do what all leggies are supposed to make it do: spin leg to off and preferably big. The conceit is in treating the batter as if he is not there as an opponent: he’s there as a marker, an obstacle around which to find the best route to the stumps. The calibration needs to be so precise, it’s unfathomable: the angle, the spot where it must land, the degree of turn, all so that it misses pads, bat, and backside. In this instance the angles are even more outrageous because Warne, unusually, runs in from between the umpire and stumps.There’s an over to Craig McMillan that is priceless for how Warne sets his trap (Adam Gilchrist’s cackling provides an assist). But the wicket ball is an absolute WTF for the lengths to which McMillan has gone to prevent being bowled behind his legs. Ultimately, as he bat-pads to short leg, he appears to be playing a forward-defensive to a delivery bowled by the square-leg umpire.In no other sport is there an obvious equivalent to what is happening here. A fleeting kinship with football’s nutmeg? There’s greater consequence and a more acute geometry here, as when Warne famously nutmegged Basit Ali. Typical Warne that the tease – chatting with Ian Healy about whether to have pasta or Mexican for dinner (as if he wanted anything other than pizza) to stretch out the tension of the day’s last ball – is as sweet.Something of this mode, of the wrong-way-round-rightness, is elicited by the epic Roberto Carlos free kick against France in 1997. Carlos eschewed the obvious angle for his left foot by swerving the ball like an outswinger round the outside of the defensive wall, rather than curling it like an inswinger round the other side. That free kick was a one-off: Warne did it repeatedly.The best of the genre isn’t strictly of the genre. Poor MSK Prasad receives a Warne delivery from the wicket that doesn’t drift as much as get caught in a late and sudden patch of violent turbulence, pushing the ball down and to the leg side.A quandary. Prasad has taken leg-stump guard and instinct is telling him to pad this away. Training and tradition are telling him to get real, because balls delivered from there are not padded away. That’s not how cricket works. From flight, fight or freeze, Prasad chooses the last.Even as the ball then hits the stumps behind him and Healy is starting to celebrate, Prasad is unmoved, staring at the spot the ball landed on – around a sixth-leg-stump line. How did it land there, his mind is failing to process, and where has it gone, it is asking. And how did it get spun the ball. Somebody who had never seen cricket could watch a big legbreak from Warne and understand immediately it was an elite athletic feat, sexy and dangerous, compelling and superior, unique and evolutionary. A single Warne legbreak was the game’s gateway drug.As time passed that spectacle became rarer, though not extinct. The most vivid occasions were against left-handers, where, because Warne was at them from round the wicket, and that TV cameras mess up depth perception, some of those balls looked like they were breaking at right angles.Like with Andrew Strauss at Edgbaston, which nearly made it as the ‘s ball of the (21st) century. It would have done, probably, had Strauss not appeared as discombobulated as Prasad had been. Granted, Strauss did not freeze, but in displaying the worst footwork since Elaine Benes hit the dance floor, he tarred the delivery a smidge with his own cluelessness.Not that better positioning helped, as Shivnarine Chanderpaul once discovered at the SCG. He understood the ball’s intentions from the line, so preposterously far outside off that Chanderpaul would need a visa to play it. He knew this was going to spit back into him. Having figured out the length and leaned forward, he changed plans and nimbly shifted his weight on to his back foot. Until this moment – 71 off 67 balls – Chanderpaul’s plans against Warne had worked. Until ball 68, when Mike Tyson’s famous musing about plans came to mind: “Everybody has a plan until they get hit.” Or bowled by Shane Warne.This was a central truth about Warne. Not only did he always have a ball that punched through the opponent’s plans, he had one that punched through his own. As when he pulled off a near-exact replica of the Chanderpaul delivery in bowling Saeed Anwar in Hobart three years later.Like Chanderpaul, Anwar was set. Like Chanderpaul, Anwar knew as soon as the ball left Warne’s hand what it was going to do. Like Chanderpaul, he half stepped out but smartly leaned back, with aspirations to cut. Like Chanderpaul, those aspirations were swiftly turned to crud. Like Chanderpaul, he was bowled. Unlike Chanderpaul, this was the one time Anwar looked inelegant with bat in hand.Hobart heist: in 1999, Saeed Anwar was bowled by one that torpedoed in at a right angle almost, after pitching way outside off•Getty ImagesThere’s an even more cartoonish quality to this ball, an unreal defying of natural laws. For starters, it breaks the width of the Thames to hit leg stump. And ordinarily, when a ball lands on a pitch, it loses speed. This is science and we all signed up to science to understand how the world works. All except this ball. This ball springs off the pitch faster than it landed, so fast that it doesn’t hit leg stump, it knocks it clean out of the ground. A ball produced by a spinner, with the consequence of one produced by a fast bowler.What elevates this ball, though, is Richie Benaud. Prior to it, there’s a commentary preamble from Mark Taylor about the plans Warne might be working on against Anwar. Those plans are binned as Warne switches to round the wicket and bowls this ball. Only Benaud can process and articulate: “Whatever Warne was planning, he has suddenly produced a ball entirely different from the others he has bowled and it has ripped back.”Which is to say, whatever else you had been watching, or not, whatever Warne plan you might have intuited, however much you knew about the game, if you watched this one ball, then you saw everything you needed to and you didn’t need to know anything else.Except this last thing: the flipper. In later years when Warne stopped bowling it, he started relying on the bastardised slider. Not the legbreak that didn’t turn – let’s call that the bluffer – which did for poor Ian Bell at Lord’s and fooled even Benaud. The real slider got Andrew Flintoff later that same innings.Neither was a patch on the flipper, which seemed a hellish delivery to bowl, let alone bowl well. The flipper, Warne would explain, required the ball to be released from an actual snap of the fingers, which was difficult but totally apt because it was presaging magic. Unlike Warne’s big, showy legbreak, this was proper illusion. Batters saw that Warne had dragged it down, except he hadn’t. Batters saw a long hop, or one short enough to cut or pull, except it wasn’t. Batters saw it go straight and it did, except straight never felt so pretzelian.It would be cruel to pick any of Daryll Cullinan’s malfunctions; candy from kids Benaud said of one. It would also be impossible to pick just one. The one that got Richie Richardson, the world’s introduction to it? Cullinan one, two or three? Ian Bishop, ’96 World Cup, a place in the final on the line? Let’s go Alec Stewart, usually such an expert judge and executor of the cut, getting it so wrong at the Gabba. Not as short as he saw, not the legbreak he saw, not as slow as he saw.The flipper also didn’t care for science, such was its acceleration on landing. This question sounds wrong, but it isn’t: has a ball ever beaten batters for pace so comprehensively and so consistently as Warne’s flipper?Nothing does justice to the world of Shane Warne – to the world of a single Warne delivery – as watching these deliveries again the last week has made clear. Maybe they bring some succour. Maybe from them we see that even if Warne had lived long beyond last Friday, these deliveries could not be bowled again by anyone other than him. That even if he is now no longer of this world, we live on gratefully, eternally in his world. Rest in Peace, King.

Marcus Trescothick has described the current List A domestic structure as “not helping” England’s new era of white-ball players.In Barbados, a severely inexperienced England team fell to their third consecutive ODI series defeat since the 2023 World Cup, and a 13th loss in 20 one-dayers.With the series overlapping with England’s Test commitments, several first-choice players are missing with only Jordan Cox and Rehan Ahmed from the group that toured Pakistan also being in the Caribbean. Cox batted at No. 3 across the ODIs, despite only playing four List A matches before his selection, while the likes of Dan Mousley, 23, hadn’t played a 50-over game in over three years before his debut.When asked if the lack of domestic 50-over cricket was hindering England’s young players, Trescothick said: “Well, it’s not helping because you’re not getting the volume of games that players would like to get and really build an understanding of the game.”But you kind of know why that is and that is the structure we’re given to play, and we’ll make a fist of it and make it work as much as we can.”Currently, England’s One-Day Cup directly overlaps with the Hundred, meaning the top white-ball players in the country do not have any domestic List A cricket available for them to compete in.Related

• Marcus Trescothick defends quality of English white-ball cricket after crushing defeat

• England aren't good at ODI cricket, and they can't help it

• How many new faces are too many for England?

• Alzarri Joseph suspended for two matches following 'unacceptable' behaviour

• Keacy Carty, Brandon King hundreds seal series for West Indies

“I’m not going to speak against any other competition,” Trescothick said, referencing the One-Day Cup’s clash with the Hundred. “But of course we’d want more 50-over cricket somehow. How do we do that? That’s not up to me to try and work out.”Earlier this week, Phil Salt, who made 74 in the final ODI, pushed the case for England’s domestic structure to allow for more one-day opportunities.”I don’t think there’s many players in this team that you could go through and go ‘oh they’re doing a great job right now’,” Salt said. “That’s the reality of it because we’ve not played a lot of 50-over cricket. I’d love something like a domestic 50-over competition. I’d love the opportunity to play in that so you can get the rhythm and it’s not always stop-start.”I don’t think there’s many people that can just walk in and do it after not playing for a while. I know that I’ve not had the most successful time in 50-over cricket and not really been doing myself justice, but the more opportunities I get to play it, the better I will be at it. That’s the bottom line.”It is unclear what shape added List A opportunities could look like for England players, with the only realistic option being a dramatic restructuring of the English domestic calendar.”It’s really challenging,” Trescothick said. “We know how important Test cricket is in England and obviously having the domestic T20 competition and the Hundred, that’s vitally important to our game.”How do we get that balance right? That’s for the powers above to look at, but it’s not going to be easy.”There’s not a massive amount of experience in this current team right now. Of course there’s not. But part of the reason for bringing that youth across was to get the experience into them. It’s not always going to be easy to get games into them.”There’s not a massive amount to play back at home, and most of the white-ball cricket played now around the world is T20. So that is a challenge, and we’re aware of that.”Trescothick also provided an update on Jofra Archer, with the fast bowler successfully completing the series without any injury issues, meaning he has played in seven of England’s last eight ODI matches.The Bajan-born bowler only took one wicket across the series, but Trescothick was pleased with his efforts as England look to build Archer back to potentially playing Test cricket with the visit of India in the summer, before an away Ashes series next year.”He’s gone really well,” Trescothick said. “We’re really pleased with the progression he’s making. He can probably move it on to the next step, whatever that is. I think getting through these three games is important.”

Despite Leeds United having enjoyed a superb 2024/25 campaign in the Championship, this summer is a vital one for their future, desperately needing to get their business spot on.

Promotion to the Premier League brings in huge money for the football club, but there is a huge gap between the two divisions, with additions needed to bridge the gap this window.

Daniel Farke will need signings in key areas of the pitch to allow him to have the best possible chance of securing survival from the Premier League for the first time in his career.

The German has attempted to achieve such a feat with Norwich City in the past, but has so far been unable to do so, with this season crucial for his tenure at Elland Road.

With the new season already less than two months away, work has already begun behind the scenes in Yorkshire to help the manager in his quest throughout 2025/26.

The latest on Leeds’ hunt for new additions this summer

Over recent days, a new striker has been on the agenda for Farke, as he looks to add another dimension to his already potent attack, which helped claim promotion to the Premier League.

The likes of Jamie Vardy, Rodrigo Muniz and Callum Wilson have all been touted with a switch to Elland Road, but no deals have yet been completed this summer.

However, a new name has entered the mix in recent days, with Wolves striker Fabio Silva the latest player on their shortlist, according to ABC Sevilla via Birmingham World.

It’s reported that the Whites have entered talks with fellow Premier League outfit Wolves over a deal for the 22-year-old talisman, who only has one year left on his contract.

His current situation at Molineux remains unclear, but he’s demonstrated his quality over recent times, scoring 10 times in LaLiga this season whilst spending the year on loan at Las Palmas.

Why Leeds’ latest target could be their own Sesko

Beto is another striker who’s been hugely linked with a summer move to join Leeds, with the Everton talisman yet to reach his full potential at his current side, Everton.

The 27-year-old joined the Toffees in a £30m deal back in the summer of 2023, but has been unable to take the starting role on a consistent basis, often having to settle for time on the bench.

He’s managed to score eight times in the Premier League this season, subsequently being outscored by fellow target Silva, with the Whites needing to shift their focus to the Portuguese star.

The 22-year-old has been ranked as a similar player to RB Leipzig star Benjamin Sesko by FBref, with the Slovenian international linked with the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United this summer.

He’s also valued at around £60m this summer, highlighting the impressive nature of Silva’s play if he’s been compared to such an impressive big-money talent.

When comparing the pair’s respective figures from the 2024/25 campaign, Silva has managed to match or better Sesko in various key areas, highlighting how much of a crucial addition he would be to Farke’s side.

Silva, who’s been labelled “generational” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, may have scored fewer goals, but has achieved a better goal per shot on target rate – highlighting the clinical threat he poses in front of goal.

The Wolves loanee has also registered more shot-creating actions and won more aerial battles, offering Farke’s side an all-round option within attacking areas.

His dominance doesn’t stop there, completing more passes and carries into the opposition box, handing other players around him the opportunity to impress in Yorkshire.

Whilst it’s unclear how much a deal for the Portuguese sensation would set the club back this summer, his talents are there for all to see – potentially being a bargain if he can reach Sesko’s levels.

Given the fact he’s outscored Beto, the hierarchy must look to prioritise a move for the Wolves star, with the youngster having the opportunity to improve further given his tender age.

Better than Beto: Leeds set to make bid for "one of the best CFs in the PL"

Leeds United could finally be about to land a talisman to catapult them to Premier League survival.

By
Ethan Lamb

Jun 11, 2025

Legspinner suffered muscle strain during England’s Ashes warm-up fixture at Lilac Hill

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Nov-2025Rehan Ahmed has been ruled out of any further participation on the England Lions tour of Australia after suffering a right lower leg strain during the Ashes warm-up match against England in Perth.Legspinner Rehan batted at No. 5 for the Lions, making 16 off 41 balls on day one before becoming one of six wickets for England captain, Ben Stokes. He played no part with the ball, or in the Lions’ second innings, with the ECB announcing afterwards that he would return home to begin his recovery.Related

• Rehan, Cox and Fisher in England Lions squad for Australia

• Jhye Richardson's return steps up with Cricket Australia XI outing

• Anderson says 'weak' Australia are still Ashes favourites

Rehan had signed up to play for Hobart Hurricanes in the 2025-26 BBL, but the BBC reported that the injury was not expected to impact his involvement in the competition, which starts in a month’s time.England Lions are scheduled to play another four-day match at Lilac Hill, against a Cricket Australia XI, next week, before a one-off unofficial Test against Australia A in December. The Lions are also expected to be involved in a pink-ball tour game between England and the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra between the first and second Ashes Tests.It had been speculated that Rehan, who missed out on selection as the second spinner in the main Ashes squad to Will Jacks, could stay on with England after the Lions programme concluded.

أجريت قرعة دور ربع نهائي بطولة كأس رابطة الأندية الإنجليزية، كاراباو، موسم 2025-2026، وشهدت مواجهات قوية وأخرى متوازنة.

وانطلقت منافسات دور الـ16 من بطولة كأس كاراباو، أمس الثلاثاء، وشهدت ثلاث مباريات، بين جريمسبي وبرينتفورد، وايكومب وفولهام، ريكسهام وكارديف.

واستأنفت يوم الأربعاء، مباريات دور الـ16، والتي شهدت مواجهة بين ليفربول وكريستال بالاس، تشيلسي وولفرهامبتون، مانشستر سيتي وسوانزي سيتي، آرسنال وبرايتون، بالإضافة إلى توتنهام ونيوكاسل يونايتد.

وودع ليفربول المسابقة بعد هزيمته بثلاثية نظيفة أمام كريستال بالاس، وتغلب مانشستر سيتي على سوانزي بثلاثية لهدف، وحقق آرسنال فوزًا أمام برايتون بهدفين دون رد، وتشيلسي تخطى ولفرهامبتون بنتيجة 4-3، وفاز نيوكاسل على توتنهام بهدفين دون رد.

وتقام مباريات ربع نهائي كأس رابطة الأندية الإنجليزية، كاراباو، يوم 15 ديسمبر المقبل، وسيعلن لاحقًا عن مواعيد المباريات بشكل محدد. الأندية المتأهلة لربع نهائي كأس كاراباو

برينتفورد.

فولهام.

كارديف.

تشيلسي.

آرسنال.

كريستال بالاس.

مانشستر سيتي.

نيوكاسل. نتائج قرعة ربع نهائي كأس كاراباو

آرسنال ضد كريستال بالاس.

مانشستر سيتي ضد برينتفورد.

نيوكاسل ضد فولهام.

تشيلسي ضد كارديف سيتي.

Arsenal's Oleksandr Zinchenko described the 2024-25 season as the 'worst season' of his career, as he claimed that Mikel Arteta stopped believing in him. The Ukrainian defender started in only five Premier League matches throughout the campaign, including the opener against Wolves, despite limited injury issues.

Zinchenko described last season as his worst everPointed fingers at Arsenal boss ArtetaFulham were eyeing a move for ZinchenkoFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Zinchenko claimed that it was hard for him to digest that he was a regular member of Arteta's starting line-ups only a few seasons ago, but things drastically changed in the 2024-25 season. The defender claimed that the head coach no longer believed in him as he got very little chance to prove himself. 

AdvertisementGetty Images SportWHAT ZINCHENKO SAID

quoted some excerpts from the Gunners star's new autobiography, 'Believe', which read: "Unlike the year before, injuries were not to blame. A small problem with my calf kept me out of action in the month of September. A knock here and there. But I was otherwise fit for most of the campaign. I was basically out of the starting XI altogether, bar a few isolated matches. In pure personal terms, it was easily the worst season I ever experienced as a professional. 

"A player who doesn’t play is nothing. It’s one thing when your body lets you down. That can happen. But going from one of the established play­ers of the side to an unused sub is much harder to deal with. The sense of rejection you feel if your manager no longer believes in you can take the stuffing out of you, even if you’re the most resilient guy on the planet. Sitting on the bench in the Premier League for a very generous wage packet is obviously still a privilege, the kind of problem that billions of people on this planet would swap their much tougher lives for in a heartbeat. Trust me, as a Ukrainian, I’m aware of that. Every single minute. But every footballer started playing because they love to play the game. A big part of your life is missing without it. Imagine this little boy who’s dedicated his entire existence to becoming good at one particular thing and then finds at 28 that he’s essentially no longer needed, that there are others who can do the job for him. It’s not a nice feeling."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

reported last month that Fulham had shown interest in signing Zinchenko this summer. Arsenal were open to selling him, with a reported £15 million ($19.8m) price tag placed on the Ukrainian, however, the Cottagers are yet to come up with a formal bid.

GettyWHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?

Arteta's men are all set to play their first match of the 2025-26 Premier League campaign on Sunday as they travel to Old Traffod to face Manchester United.

The Pakistan left-armer talks about his time at the T20 Blast, and his batting ambitions

Interview by Matt Roller07-Oct-2020Pakistan left-arm spinner Imad Wasim played nine Vitality T20 Blast matches for champions Nottinghamshire this season, taking eight wickets at an economy of 7.21. In this interview, he talks about becoming a new-ball bowler, developing a new delivery, and wanting to be recognised as an allrounder.You arrived in England in June ahead of the Test series and won’t go home until October. How have the last few months been for you?
It’s been great. I worked really hard during the Covid lockdown, so it feels like it’s paying off. I have family with me for this part of the trip, . It was tough for three months not having my family around, but it is what it is for everyone, so no complaints. I’m going back home next week to play domestic cricket – I’m missing a couple of games of the National T20 Cup but then will join my team [Northern], so I’m looking forward to playing that. And then the PSL knockouts – it’s going to be a really tough four or five months, but I’m excited to be back in Pakistan.You’ve had a strong season for Nottinghamshire, with Dan Christian using you as a new-ball bowler in the powerplay. Have you enjoyed it?
It’s been a really good season, my second year with Nottinghamshire. Dan is a really good captain. He’s been playing for a long time and he’s got a good head on his shoulders. He’s used me in different conditions and at different times, depending on the situation and the opposition, but it’s been spot on.You have become one of the world’s most experienced T20 spinners over the last five years. How did that role come about?
When I was playing domestic cricket, sometimes I would bowl an over in the powerplay – the fourth or the fifth. But when I became captain of my domestic team, it came to my mind that I should bowl the first over as well. And in first-class cricket, I would sometimes take the second new ball. It started like that and I was getting wickets regularly, so I thought: why shouldn’t I do that with the white ball as well? I started doing it in white-ball cricket and it paid off. In international cricket they gave me the new ball because I’d had a great Pakistan A tour bowling with the new ball [in 2015 against Sri Lanka]. And from there, you become a new-ball specialist just like that.

“I am an allrounder. I’m ranked No. 3 in the world [in ODIs]. I don’t want to be considered a bowler. I just want to become a allrounder”

What are the keys to successfully bowling spin in the powerplay?
With the new ball, you can’t defend. You just have to attack. You try to take wickets early on to put the opposition on the back foot straightaway. If you try to defend, they’ll get away in the powerplay – if not against you then against the other bowlers. So my role is just to go out and attack in the first couple of overs I bowl and to pick up wickets. I don’t worry too much about the runs. The next two overs, you’re looking for defence as well, depending on the situation. But with the new ball, I just try to hit the stumps and leave the rest to the batsmen. If they play a good shot, they play a good shot, but for me, it’s a “you miss, I hit” kind of thing.Even when you don’t take wickets, your economy rate is generally very good. Does that help you create pressure at the other end?
Definitely. Partnerships are the most important thing in cricket – batting or bowling. When you’re out there, your partner has to understand your game as well. Wherever I go, most teams think I’m an aggressive option, so the other bowler might think differently, which is a very good thing. I don’t think there are many aggressive spinners in the powerplay. After the powerplay, yes, there are a lot of aggressive spinners, but in the powerplay, there aren’t a lot around the world, so I’m really happy that teams think I am one of them.Do you think batsmen have started to attack you less, knowing your success in that role, and are instead starting to play you out?
Not really. You make your game plan against any bowler, of course, but the number one thing you should do as a bowler is focus on your strength. Don’t worry about what the opposition will do too much. Just stick to your strength and see how it goes from there. Obviously there will be times when you get smacked, but if you stick to your strength, you’ll be successful 60 or 70 times out of 100, which is a very good ratio in international cricket. My advice: don’t do anything different if something is working for you. For me, that is to take wickets and be aggressive.ESPNcricinfo LtdInside the powerplay, do you think lines and lengths are more important than actually trying to spin the ball?
With the new ball, I try to take the pace off, but don’t try to spin the ball. It’s really hard with the new ball, especially with only two fielders out. I get my basics right. After six overs, I’ll start to spin the ball – and I’m developing a new ball, which hopefully you’ll see next time I play international cricket if I keep working hard on it. I want to learn new balls that make me a different kind of a bowler outside the powerplay.There is more analysis available than ever in T20 cricket in particular. Some players spend hours developing specific plans based on an opponent’s strengths. Are you one of them?
I really don’t care about what’s happening outside of me. Because I’ve played a lot of international cricket, I know what opening batsmen’s strengths and weaknesses are, but I don’t think about that much. I just go out there and bowl. I have my processes, my repetitions, and I don’t worry about the batsmen. If they hit me, they hit me, but I want them to hit me with a good shot rather than me giving them a bad ball. You have to respect good shots, which do happen, but I just try to do one thing with the new ball: hit the stumps.When you were growing up, you would have watched Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis opening the bowling for Pakistan. Did you ever think that would be something you would do?
Never. I never expected it, or even thought about that in my life. Even in franchise cricket – I never expected it. God has given me this. It’s not something spinners usually do.You were stuck down at No. 8 or No. 9 for most of the T20 Blast with Nottinghamshire, and your record with the bat is much better in 50-over cricket than in T20.
I don’t think I’ve got the opportunities I want. I got them in the World Cup. In one-day cricket I’ve had the opportunities and my performances have been not bad. I’m really happy in one-day cricket with where I am, but I want to express myself more. I have more to give my country with the bat. There have been glimpses in world cricket of me doing good things as an allrounder, but in T20, I haven’t got the opportunities like that anywhere in the world. I’m really working hard on my batting. Someday I could win a big game with my batting and then people will start thinking about me as an allrounder in T20 as well as one-day cricket. I’m really hungry to score runs for my country and for franchise teams.So you consider yourself Imad Wasim, Pakistan allrounder, not Imad Wasim, Pakistan bowler?
No, no, no! I am an allrounder. I’m ranked No. 3 in the world [in ODIs]. I don’t want to be considered a bowler. I just want to become a allrounder. I’m working hard and the rest is up to God. Whenever God decides to give me fame as a batsman, just like in bowling, it will happen, .