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Results on the field have remained inconsistent, but Delhi Daredevils have the ingredients in place for a bigger push next season

Arun Venugopal16-May-20153:54

We need to find a winning culture – Duminy

Tournament overview

Ahead of IPL 2015, Delhi Daredevils had more than one challenge confronting them. Firstly, they had to up their game on the field. After two consecutive years of finishing last, Delhi Daredevils’ big buys had misfired in 2014. Secondly, with the team not being taken seriously enough as a championship contender, their profile needed a boost.The owners decided to do something about it and made a statement of intent four months ahead of IPL 2015 by offloading 13 players, including Kevin Pietersen, Ross Taylor, Dinesh Karthik and M Vijay.With their purse fattened they splurged money on Yuvraj Singh, the costliest buy in the auction at Rs 16 crore, as much to strengthen their squad as to attract advertisers, perhaps more of the latter than the former. There were other big investments in the form of Angelo Mathews (Rs 7.5 crore), Zaheer Khan (Rs 4 crore), Amit Mishra (Rs 3.5 crore), Shreyas Iyer (Rs 2.6 crore) and Gurinder Sandhu (Rs 1.7 crore).As Daredevils’ campaign winds down, they will perhaps have mixed feelings. If they were to strictly go by the bottomline – Daredevils will finish seventh – then things haven’t improved a great deal.But a closer look would reveal that they have made incremental gains to their performances and, with a bit of luck, could have been placed higher. What also hurt them was their inability to string together consistently good performances, their graph an alternating pattern of wins and losses. Captain JP Duminy conceded that his team fell short when it came to closing out games.

High Point

Going into the season, Daredevils had an embarrassing record to set straight, that of losing nine IPL matches in a row, and two last-ball defeats, against Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, made it 11 on the trot. The long-awaited win finally came against Kings XI Punjab, with Mayank Agarwal and Yuvraj Singh scoring fifties. They followed it up with a four-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad courtesy Duminy’s all-round performance. That was the only instance of Daredevils winning two consecutive games.Shreyas Iyer has justified his Rs. 2.6 crore price tag with over 400 runs in his debut season•BCCI

Low Point

At the end of eight games, Daredevils, after crushing Kings XI Punjab by nine wickets, had won four and lost as many. They were in with a decent shout of qualifying for the playoffs at that point, but then went off the boil, losing four games in a row. Daredevils also suffered a 10-wicket defeat at the hands of Royal Challengers Bangalore after being bowled out for 95.

Top of the class

When Shreyas Iyer was signed for Rs 2.6 crore, there was disbelief and curiosity in equal measure. Iyer, Mumbai’s highest run-getter in the Ranji Trophy, was an investment that appeared to appreciate as the season went on. One of the best young players of IPL 2015, Iyer, 20, is comfortably the leading run-getter for Daredevils with 419 runs* at an average of 34.91, including four fifties.Despite the impressive numbers, Iyer admitted his preparation wasn’t ideal ahead of the IPL. “I wasn’t prepared as I didn’t know where I’ll bat,” Iyer told ESPNcricinfo. “The preparation was not the best but I took the confidence of a good Ranji season.”

Flop buy

At the other end of the spectrum is Yuvraj Singh, who didn’t do much justice to his price tag. He managed 237 runs at 19.75 and didn’t do much with the ball either.

Tip for 2016

Daredevils have in the past been guilty of changing the core of their team too often. This time, as Duminy said, Daredevils are on the “right track”, and have the building blocks in place for next year. If they can ensure continuity and put together some consistent performances, the results might not remain elusive for too long.

How much does Frenkie de Jong make per week playing for Catalan giants Barcelona?

Frenkie de Jong has been a regular presence in Barcelona's midfield ever since his arrival from Ajax in 2019.

Despite struggling with injuries at times, de Jong has eventually won over each manager he's worked with at the Catalan club so far.

Thanks to his dedication, performances, and seniority within the squad, De Jong has been rewarded with a high salary, making him one of the top earners at the club.

Let's take a look at exactly how much the Dutchman earns playing for Barcelona.

GOAL delved into the numbers with Capology and found out!

*

• Frenkie de Jong's wages at Barcelona in numbers

  Under his current contract at Barcelona, De Jong earns £308,130 ($398,203) every week while, his annual salary exceeds £18.5 million ($20m).

  Player	Nationality	Weekly wages in GBP	Weekly wages in USD	Annual wages in GBP	Annual wages in USD
  Frenkie de Jong	Dutch	£308,130	$398,203	£18,546,242	$20,706,538

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  Top earners at Barcelona

  Robert Lewandowski and De Jong acquire the top spots in the wage bill.

  They are followed by a surprise entrant at number three in Ansu Fati. The youngster had a promising start to his career at Barca, however, it has only spiralled downhill since then.

  Meanwhile, making an appearance in fourth place is former Sevilla defender Jules Koundé, who has been highly impressive in recent times.

  Finally, rounding off the list at number five is Brazilian winger Raphinha.

  Player	Nationality	Weekly wages in GBP	Weekly wages in USD	Annual wages in GBP	Annual wages in USD
  Robert Lewandowski	Polish	£542,525	$698,341	£28,107,307	$36,323,627
  Frenkie de Jong	Dutch	£308,130	$398,203	£18,546,242	$20,706,538
  Ansu Fati	Spanish	$292,365	£292,365	£11,764,084	$15,202,958
  Jules Kounde	French	£219,745	$283,981	£11,426,763	$14,767,031
  Raphinha	Brazilian	£202,717	$261,975	£ 10,541,294	$13,622,722

• Top earners in La Liga

  Lewandowski is not only the highest earner at Barcelona, but also across all of LaLiga.

  Meanwhile, three Real Madrid players in Kylian Mbappe, David Alaba and Jude Bellingham also make the top five.

  The only Atlético Madrid player to make the cut is Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak.

  Player	Nationality	Weekly wages GBP	Weekly wages USD	Annual  wages GBP	Annual wages USD
  Robert Lewandowski	Polish	£528,330	$ 674,908	£27,473,166	$35,095,197
  Kylian Mbappe	French	£498,248	$629,355	£25,908,917	$32,726,459
  David Alaba	Austrian	£356,659	£455,608	£18,546,242	$23,691,627
  Jan Oblak	Slovenian	£330,187	$421,792	£17,169,698	$21,933,182
  Jude Bellingham	English	£330,187	$421,792	£17,169,698	$21,933,182

• Getty Images
  

  Highest paid players in the world

  Although it may seem like players in La Liga earn incredible wages, their salaries don't even come close when compared to the top earners worldwide.

  Currently, all the players in the top-five highest earners globally play in the Saudi Pro League.

  Ranking first and second on the list are former Real Madrid attackers Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, respectively, while Riyad Mahrez takes the third spot. Finally, rounding off the top five are Senegalese internationals Sadio Mané and Kalidou Koulibaly

  Player	Club	Weekly wages GBP	Weekly wages USD	Annual wages GBP	Annual wages USD
  Cristiano Ronaldo	Al Nassr	£3,224,935	$4,166,513	£167,696,622	$215,658,680
  Karim Benzema	Al Ittihad	£1,612,468	$2,083,257	£83,848,311	$108,329,340
  Riyad Mahrez	Al Ahli	£841,708	$1,087,460	£43,768,818	$56,547,915
  Sadio Mane	Al Nassr	£644,987	$833,033	£33,539,324	$43,331,736
  Kalidou Koulibaly	Al Hilal	£559,526	$722,890	£29,095,364	$37,590,281

New captain takes heart from the fight his team showed over 10 hard-fought days against Pakistan in Karachi

Alagappan Muthu06-Jan-20233:03

Southee: ‘Great finish to a tough series’

There was but one member of this New Zealand squad on tour in Pakistan to have ever played cricket in the country, and that was their batting coach. Even so, they were “one ball away from series victory” and the captain Tim Southee took a lot of heart from that.Karachi provided conditions that made batting and bowling a hard graft, so much so that both Test matches only really came alive on the final day. Last week, an odd declaration from Babar Azam gave New Zealand the chance to nick a win after it seemed like they had been batted out of the game. And on Friday, they had Pakistan at 80 for 5 in a chase of 319. They weathered Sarfaraz Ahmed’s brilliant counterattack. And in the dying light, became the only team with any chance of victory.”You play to win Test matches and we got ourselves in, probably, positions to win both of them,” Southee said at the post-match press conference. “It was pretty tough going but the guys toiled away and we were one ball away from a series victory. So yeah, disappointing to walk away [0-0] and I’m sure Pakistan are the same. You walk away, you toil away for 10 days and a drawn series. So yeah. A lot of good cricket was played in and amongst those 10 days.”Related

• Jamieson-like Henry Shipley ready for the big stage

• For Sarfaraz, the job's not done yet, redemption is still just out of reach

• 'The home Test season hasn't gone according to expectations' – Babar Azam

• Fantastic Sarfaraz ton not enough as bad light has final say in Karachi thriller

• Sarfaraz Ahmed rates sensational Karachi century as his best

Southee: ‘Surfaces were tough to score runs on’

When the umpires had to take the players off the field for bad light, New Zealand were one wicket away from victory, and Pakistan needed just 15 runs. Southee, captaining for the first time in Test cricket in this series, was asked whether he had any regrets about the timing of his declaration. He gave his team 93 overs to take 10 wickets. They got in 90, and took nine, before the game was called off.”We felt the surfaces was still a pretty good surface if you wanted to just bat,” Southee said. “Tough if you wanted to score runs. So it was a bit of a balancing act to try and get the right amount of overs left and the right amount of runs. And I guess to get a little dip at them [2.5 overs] last night and get them two down, that was a great start.”I guess you always look back and there’s ways you could improve and you could get better with hindsight. But that was a decision we made at the time. The guys that were batting felt that it wasn’t easy to just go out and hit the ball. So it was one of those ones that you had to weigh up. Last night we declared and made the most of the three overs we had. But it was one of those decisions you make with discussions around how the batters are feeling, what the surface is doing and what you think is right at the time.”

Sarfaraz made us delay the second new ball, says Southee

The biggest stumbling block in New Zealand’s road to victory was Sarfaraz. Making a comeback to the Pakistan team for the first time in nearly four years, he found a way to score fluently in conditions that weren’t really conducive for that. Sarfaraz finished with 118 runs at a strike rate of 67 and slowing him down was of such importance that New Zealand denied themselves the second new ball, worried that it might come onto his bat better. Pakistan were 267 for 6 after 80 overs, 52 shy of their target.”With the two batters still in, Sarfaraz and [Agha] Salman, we felt that runs could have come quickly,” Southee said, “And I think that’s a build-up of the way Sarfaraz played through the day, which delayed us taking the new ball. If he hadn’t played as positively as he did through the day, then we would’ve been able to take the new ball when it became available and had a lot more runs to play with. So again it was a bit of a balancing act. If you take the new ball, it may come on a bit easier and we were just trying to manage how to get through that partnership, which we did. We were able to take that new ball and get another couple of wickets. So yeah, its a fine line and you go on a bit of a gut feel what you feel is right at the time along with the other leaders in the group.”

Southee happy for the Karachi fans

This was New Zealand’s first tour of Pakistan in 19 years and although the result didn’t go their way, Southee was happy he was part of the entertainment.”Dunno if I rate draws,” he said. “But yeah it was an exciting finish. I hope that the people watching enjoyed the end there. It was nice to see a few people through the gates at the end there, a bit of an atmosphere around. It would’ve been better to win but I guess for the people that were watching, I hope it was exciting.””We’ve really enjoyed our time here so far. It’s a place a lot of the guys haven’t been. We’ve been welcomed very nicely and the guys have enjoyed it and we’re now looking forward to the one-day series.”

West Ham United spent around £120m in the 2023/24 season, bringing five permanent signings to the club, and one loan deal for Kalvin Phillips in the January window.

This was also the same summer Declan Rice was sold to Arsenal for £105m, giving the club that conundrum to replace his midfield output in the team.

The Hammers’ biggest signing of the summer was Mohammed Kudus, signing from Ajax for a fee of around £38m. Since joining, the 24-year-old has made 55 appearances, scoring 16 goals and providing seven assists.

But there was one signing that the Hammers didn’t make in the summer of 2023/24 – one they were heavily linked with – and he’s now outscoring both Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio combined.

Bowen & Antonio's form this season

So far this season, Bowen is leading the way for West Ham, scoring four goals and providing two assists in 13 games so far.

The Hammers captain scored 20 goals last term and their lack of goals from a recognised striker has meant the club rely more on their wide men for attacking output.

Antonio has only got one goal and one assist in his 12 appearances as the 34-year-old still struggles to provide consistent output through the middle, despite his hard work and overall impact on the team. Last season, the Jamaican striker only netted seven times in 32 games, far behind their star man in Bowen.

Unfortunately for the Irons, the man they missed out on last summer not only scored more than Bowen and Antonio combined in 2023/24 but is also outscoring them combined in 2024/25 with data analyst Ben Mattinson having labelled the “on fire” striker when analysing potential strikers for the club.

The striker West Ham could have signed

Reports in June 2023 linked Viktor Gyokeres with a move to West Ham from Coventry, with senior officials allegedly entering negotiations.

David Moyes appeared to be a big fan of Gyokeres, and the Hammers could have made a move in that summer.

One that got away

The transfers that nearly happened but never did. This article is part of Football FanCast's One That Got Away series.

But fast-forward a tad and the 26-year-old made a move to Portuguese side, Sporting CP, for a fee of around £20m, becoming Coventry’s record sale.

In his first season in Lisbon, Gyokeres more than lived up to his billing of an “unplayable” poacher – as dubbed by former teammate Maxime Biamou – scoring a whopping 43 goals and providing 15 assists in 50 appearances, firing Sporting to the title.

Now in his second year, the Sweden international has started in the same red-hot goalscoring form, netting 23 times in 17 appearances, also providing four assists, totalling 1,436 minutes played. This is more than three times the output of Bowen and Antonio combined in this campaign.

The Swedish striker has a complete skillset, with the ability to run the channels, carry the ball himself, link play and create for others, as well as, of course, finishing chances at an exceptionally high ratio. Just look at his hat-trick against Manchester City in the Champions League last week; it’s superb stuff.

Gyokeres betters Antonio in all but one metric analysed above, with the 34-year-old completing 0.15 more progressive passes per 90, but when you put these stats side by side, you can really see how Gyokeres and Bowen would have complemented each other, and West Ham fans will wonder what could have been.

Fewer touches than Fabianski: Lopetegui must now axe 5/10 West Ham star

West Ham United had to settle for a draw during their Premier League clash against Everton

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By
Ross Kilvington

Nov 9, 2024

Potentially handing Ruben Amorim the perfect welcome gift, Manchester United and INEOS are reportedly keeping tabs on a Champions League winner in what would instantly be the deal of the summer.

Man Utd transfer news

It’s been a hectic week at Old Trafford following the news that Erik ten Hag was shown the exit door to make way for Sporting CP boss Amorim, who will officially join the club on 11th November.

The new manager becomes the latest to be tasked with turning things around at Manchester United in what has been mission impossible for every single candidate who has attempted to bring success since Sir Alex Ferguson.

Before Amorim’s arrival, the task has been handed to club legend Ruud van Nistelrooy to take interim charge. The Dutchman has already secured one victory, smashing Leicester City in the Carabao Cup, and will be looking for the biggest win of his short tenure when the Red Devils square off against Chelsea this weekend.

Amorim could have had his own Beckham at Man Utd, but Ten Hag sold him

Manchester United may have allowed the youngster to leave too soon.

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By
Ethan Lamb

Nov 2, 2024

Three points could be a sign of positives to come before INEOS potentially hand Amorim a summer transfer window to remember. According to Spanish outlet Relevo, INEOS and Manchester United are keeping tabs on Vinicius Junior alongside Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea as he commences talks over a new contract at Real Madrid.

Vinicius, of course, stole the headlines recently after missing out on the Ballon d’Or to Manchester City midfielder Rodri in a decision that saw Real Madrid opt out of travelling for the ceremony.

Not exactly taking the news of defeat well, the Brazilian could quickly become the ultimate thorn in City and Rodri’s side by joining Manchester United, becoming the catalyst behind their attempted return to the top of English football.

7 Future Premier League Ballon d'Or winners

Rodri was the Premier League’s first Ballon d’Or winner since 2008 – who could be the next to do it?

By
Barney Lane

Oct 24, 2024

"Crazy" Vinicius would be INEOS' best signing

Whilst it seems as though Manchester United have an outside chance of luring Vinicius away from Real Madrid, stranger things have happened in the Premier League. Of course, if they did manage to pull it off, the Brazilian would instantly go down as the best signing of the INEOS era – and perhaps one of the best in Premier League history if he brought his Real Madrid form with him.

To go from Antony to Vinicus would be a dream in itself for those at Old Trafford. From a player who’s struggled to make his mark to a Ballon d’Or nominee – some would argue deserved winner – would be a sensational move.

Former Man Utd man Owen Hargreaves is among those to have praised Vinicius this season, telling TNT Sports after he watched the £337,000-a-week Real Madrid star score a hat-trick against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League: “That’s been the big difference now, his finishing is crazy. His decision-making in front of goal is amazing. He looked very angry in the second half. I don’t know what Carlo [Ancelotti] said to him, but if he plays like that, he’s definitely unstoppable.”

Luis Enrique sent out a fiery warning for Liverpool after Paris Saint-Germain's thumping win over Rennes in the Ligue 1 on Saturday.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Enrique issued a warning for Liverpool
• PSG beat Rennes 4-1 on Saturday
• PSG face the Reds in the second leg on Tuesday

• AFP
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  After a demoralising 1-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 fixture at home, PSG returned to winning ways as they crushed Rennes 4-1 in the Ligue 1 courtesy of a brace from Ousmane Dembele and goals from Bradley Barcola and Goncalo Ramos. Against the Reds, the French champions were the more dominant side, but Alisson's terrific goalkeeping and Merseyside club's unbelievable luck prevented them from picking up a victory at Parc des Princes.

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• WHAT LUIS ENRIQUE SAID

  Manager Luis Enrique is now prepared to turn around the Champions League tie as he fired a warning towards Arne Slot's side. At his post-match press conference, the Spanish coach said: "We are in the best possible conditions to challenge Liverpool, we have nothing to lose and we will give everything to qualify. After the defeat against Liverpool (1-0, Wednesday), we were sad but we recovered, we regained our spirits. We played a good match against Rennes, who also played well, particularly at the start of the second half."

• AFP
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The PSG boss added: "It was difficult but we played seriously and that allows us to have a lot of hope for Liverpool. With the staff, we have to evaluate the conditions, we trust the players, their feelings, it's up to us to manage the load and the distribution of minutes so that it is as balanced as possible. I lied to you, of course we were thinking about Liverpool, as we have been since the draw."

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT?

  PSG and Liverpool are all set to lock horns in an exciting Champions League round of 16 second leg fixture on Tuesday night at Anfield.

Ireland’s hefty loss showed that for their bowlers, every possible advantage must be stolen by their fielders in order to avoid a lopsided scoreboard

Daniel Brettig in Canberra03-Mar-20151:52

Trott: Ireland attack lacking in variety

“I suppose he’ll make a hundred now.”These words, immortally uttered by Durham’s wicketkeeper Chris Scott after turfing Brian Lara early in an innings that would balloon into 501 not out, could just as easily have escaped the lips of Ireland’s Ed Joyce when he put down Hashim Amla at Manuka Oval. Certainly they must have run through Joyce’s mind, for he has seen enough of Amla’s skill to understand what was likely to follow.South Africa’s subsequent destruction of Ireland provided a reminder of how adept they have always been at disposing of lower-ranked opposition in World Cup fixtures that do not possess quite the same level of intensity or pressure witnessed during marquee group matches or the knockout rounds. But it also showed that for Ireland’s bowlers, every possible advantage must be stolen by their fielders in order to avoid a lopsided scoreboard. It was a familiar tale for an Associate nation against more favoured opposition – the early optimism, the error, the deluge.On a pitch ideal for batting but likely to slow up later in the evening, the early overs offered a slim window for Ireland to take enough wickets to limit South African ambition. John Mooney started with impressive parsimony, and sufficient nip off the seam to beat the bat. In the case of Quinton de Kock it was just enough to kiss the outside edge, though a referral and overturned decision by the third umpire Ian Gould was required to send the ‘keeper on his way.Mooney had been let down to some degree by the looser offerings of Max Sorensen, who bled runs even as his fellow new-ball seamer delivered maidens. It was to be the beginning of a damaging theme that ran through the innings – not enough partnerships were formed between bowlers and fielders as Amla and Faf du Plessis formed a union that would be defining.But there had been hope of a manageable chase up to the moment that Kevin O’Brien replaced Sorensen. The first ball of a spell can occasionally bring a chance or at least an instance of re-adjustment for the batsman. William Porterfield posted a short midwicket for O’Brien, and a ball on the stumps was met with Amla’s trigger movement across and an obliging flick to Joyce, right there.But just as Amla did not seem fully conscious of the man in his vicinity, Joyce was not fully alert to the ball hurtling towards him, and his hands failed to close around it in time. Around Manuka, a largely Irish inclined crowd groaned, while Joyce looked ruefully towards the ground. Amla would, indeed, make a hundred now, to become by a distance the fastest man to 20 ODI centuries.Ireland did get one more chance to split Amal and du Plessis, albeit a far harder one. Paul Stirling’s unpretentious offspin has a knack for finding outside edges, and did so again when du Plessis leaned back to cut. O’Brien, having come up in expectation of the sorts of chances usually offered by the stroke, was unable to readjust when the edge flew lower between him and Gary Wilson. Whatever the subtlety, two opportunities missed left the Irish feeling they had missed the boat.This became evident in a bowling display that lacked the cohesive adherence to plans Porterfield had so hoped for on match eve. His words about the need to bowl consistently to fields and steadfastly to plans, even when AB de Villiers is at his most destructive, were sound but went largely unheeded as Amla and du Plessis were able to manoeuvre the ball all too easily, helped by deliveries that veered too often into their hitting zones on either side of the wicket. The batsmen made this more damaging through their contrasts, Amla favouring the off side and du Plessis the leg.In the end, de Villiers’ threatened assault barely eventuated, though a tally of 24 from nine balls would be startling enough coming from any other batsman. Instead, it was Amla who made the bowlers look foolish, contributing to some truly ugly analyses for the bowlers. After Mooney’s first five overs went for nine, his last two cost 43. Sorensen gave up 76 runs from six, and the cost of Joyce’s drop to O’Brien was an unsightly leak of 95 runs in seven.Ireland’s pursuit was thus made in an atmosphere of idle curiosity rather than any genuine ambition of passing a distant 411. Dale Steyn and Kyle Abbott ensured that another sensation began to emerge fairly rapidly in the early evening – that of futility. The rearguard put on by George Dockrell and Sorensen provided South Africa with their only frustration and offered something for Irish spectators to cheer, but it was relevant only to the margin, not the outcome.The gulf between the sides was such that by the close of the night it was possible to imagine that Joyce would not have been the only Irishman empathising with Scott after he dropped Lara that early June day in 1994. They had been well beaten, but what will grate is that they did not take every chance to avoid it being so.

“It’s a great time to be playing for England,” says captain after securing 3-0 whitewash in Pakistan

Vithushan Ehantharajah20-Dec-2022Ben Stokes said he has never had more fun in an England shirt after guiding the men’s Test side to an historic series win in Pakistan.Victory in Karachi, achieved in 67 deliveries of day four of the third Test, confirmed a 3-0 scoreline. England have bossed at least 12 of the 13 days of play and have now won nine of Stokes’ first 10 matches since becoming captain at the start of the summer. This was their third series win to boot.Stokes was there at the end, not out on 35, alongside Ben Duckett who struck the final delivery of the series for four to move to 82 not out. The pair embraced before walking off to join their team-mates, all with beaming smiles across their faces. The guts of the work had been achieved before Tuesday, thus the celebrations in the changing room – then back at the team hotel – were far more expressive than on Monday.Nevertheless, with a night to comprehend becoming the first team to sweep Pakistan in their own conditions, a week after they confirmed just their third series win in the country, the captain was under no illusions. In 12 years at international level, across both red- and white-ball codes, he has never enjoyed his cricket more as part of a winning side focused on entertaining the masses.Related

• T20s might be the future, but they won't thrive without bilateral cricket and its ecosystem

• McCullum admits Ashes 'a big carrot' – but tells England to 'enjoy' Pakistan success first

• The three best Tests I watched this year

• Brendon McCullum talks up Rehan Ahmed ahead of IPL auction

• Babar feels lack of experience hurt Pakistan

“Yeah, definitely,” Stokes answered, almost immediately, when asked if this was the most fun he has had as an England cricketer. “[We are] just going out and enjoying every moment we can, whatever situation we find ourselves in.”The first Test pitch [in Rawalpindi] was very, very flat and we just said, ‘enjoy the flatness boys – let’s just enjoy this challenge and see what we can do.’ We’ve had Jimmy Anderson smiling, which is an impressive thing in and of itself down on the field.”It is a great time to be in this dressing room and a great time to be playing for England. I’m just encouraging everyone to turn up every day and enjoy what you’re doing. Obviously, it is easier to do when we are winning the way we are at the moment.”The real test will be when things don’t go so well and that will be the time to make that even more of a thing for us to take out there. But I hope we don’t come to that.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Stokes, alongside head coach Brendon McCullum, have been responsible for instilling that sense of fun throughout the squad and backroom staff. In turn, players have become more expressive, bursting out of their shells to reach new heights. England’s two leading run-scorers, Harry Brook (468) and Duckett (357), have come in and assumed responsibility with ease.Meanwhile, 18-year-old Rehan Ahmed turned in a stellar performance at Karachi’s National Stadium to take seven wickets on debut, including a maiden five-wicket haul. Similarly Ollie Pope, who kept in the first two Tests having originally established a role as a No. 3 under Stokes, scored 238 – at an average of 47.60 – while also taking 12 catches, and a stumping with the gloves.”When you take that burden off individuals and the team, you see players excelling and showing more within themselves,” Stokes explained. “The ambition to win and play an entertaining brand of cricket, that over-rides any fear of failure.”You just accept [that] getting out is part of batting. I think just releasing that fear of failure is why we’ve produced the results.”There has also been a reinforcement of the togetherness off the back of circumstances encountered on this trip. A return to restricted living arrangements harked back to the Covid era of bubbles, but the most consistent challenge was illness. It began more or less as soon as they arrived in Pakistan, with half the squad struck down by a virus to such an extent there was a chance the start of the first Test would be delayed by 24 hours.While that was the worst it got as a collective, the bug has remained around the group with players having to be managed by both medication and leaving the field for impromptu comfort breaks.Mark Wood, who was ill during the first Test, which he sat out primarily because he was recovering from a pre-existing hip injury, emerged to play a vital part in the second in Multan, bowling England to a series-clinching 26-run win on the final day. It was his first match with a red ball since March of this year, having only returned from two elbow surgeries at the end of September.Ollie Robinson was the worst affected in this final match, leaving the field after three overs on day one when nature made an untimely call. Having known he was struggling before the teams were confirmed, he reiterated to the management group that he wanted to play, regardless.Mark Wood has struggled with illness throughout the tour•Matthew Lewis/Getty Images

“I was pretty crook the first day,” Robinson said, “but I said to Baz I really wanted to play to prove a point to everyone here, and back home, that I can play three Test matches. I got through it in the end and the 3-0 win makes it all worth it.”That commitment to the cause from individuals under duress has been a point of pride for Stokes. “When we’ve turned up the ground, we just crack on with the cricket, and everyone’s put that to one side and concentrated on what they needed to do to win the game at the time,” he said. “I don’t know if being ill and winning games has any correlation to us going any further, it just shows the way we crack on and get on with things.”I’m so proud of everyone. They got through the external stuff, with the illness that’s been floating around, and everyone’s put the effort in. We’ve had some days out in the field when the bowlers have come off drained and not feeling great. But they’ve rested up and then they’ve all turned up against the next day. Woody in particular, the role he’s played while not feeling great, is a huge effort, running in and bowling as fast as he does.”Stokes believes it will take a while for the achievement of winning in Pakistan to hit home, let alone through winning all three matches. It is a sentiment shared by his teammates.Though they are keen to live in the moment – to “be where our feet are”, as Jack Leach put it during the series – the temptation to look at the next frontiers are too great to ignore. A two-Test tour of New Zealand awaits in February, followed by a home summer with a one-off Test against Ireland and then the headliner of an Ashes series against Australia.While reticent to be drawn on specifics, particularly on how this style of play might fair against their biggest rivals, Stokes admitted a degree of excitement at what 2023 will hold. He hopes, above all else, that they face those challenges with exactly the same bravado and character they have shown so far under his watch.”I obviously have my eye on the Ashes and have got little things about that in the back of my head,” he said. “We will just continue to grow as team, spend more time here as a unit, and keep enjoying having fun, playing cricket with a smile on our face and win as much as we can.”

In front of more than 90,000 fans at the MCG, India prevailed over Pakistan in a nerve-racking finish

Alagappan Muthu23-Oct-20225:51

Rohit Sharma on Virat Kohli’s 82*: ‘One of India’s best knocks’

That front foot…Just the way it lunges at the ball…Even in this game…Even against these guys…Virat Kohli isn’t a man. He is a feeling. It’s why every time he walks out to bat, he lifts the entire world with him. Or at the very least roughly around one billion of its people.On a day where only the extraordinary was allowed into the MCG, one of India’s greatest played an innings that may be their greatest ever in T20 cricket. It has to be because, in the end, they beat Pakistan, and it brought a tear to his eye.Related

• Wounded Pakistan still 'feeling the pain and hurting', but morale remains intact

• Rohit on Kohli's innings: 'His best for sure, one of India's best too'

• Kohli: My best T20 innings because of the 'magnitude of the game and the situation'

• Drama at the death – a ball-by-ball account of a cracking finish

• 'Virat Kohli, what are you?'

How it ended
India went into the final three overs needing 48 runs to complete a chase of 160.And they were facing a bowling attack that was drawing every bit of venom available on a pitch that offered scary pace and seething bounce.Haris Rauf was more bolt of lighting than flesh and bone. He was the one who brought Pakistan back into this riotous game. So naturally he had to go.All night Kohli was batting at a level that shouldn’t be possible. Like a 27th letter of the English alphabet. It was preposterous. Just like the two sixes he hit to end the 19th over.The first one was a back-of-a-length slower ball climbing up above his waist. The only way he could have hit it straight over the bowler’s head is if his willpower actually bent the laws of physics.How can you clear the biggest cricket ground on the planet when there’s no pace on the ball, and when it was meant to get big on you? How?!An equation that read 28 off eight balls became 16 off six. And still mayhem lurked.On the other side of ecstasy, there’s agony – Mohammad Nawaz after the final over•Getty Images

Spin was the price this match paid to be this awesome. Anyone that couldn’t put pace on the ball was being dispatched. And Mohammad Nawaz knew the same fate awaited him when he fronted up for the final over.He started it well enough, with the wicket of Hardik Pandya, but when he ran into the day’s unstoppable force, everything changed.Kohli launched Nawaz over that giant square-leg boundary, and long before the ball landed, he was signalling for a no-ball. Pakistan didn’t like that. Babar Azam and the umpires were involved in a long, animated and emotional discussion. It was a marginal call, a full toss perhaps over waist-high, and in the end, India got what they wanted.A free hit, which Nawaz used to break Kohli’s stumps, but that didn’t matter. You can’t get bowled off a free hit. And, as the ball wandered away, Kohli sprinted three runs. Cue dissent from Pakistan once more. They felt the ball should’ve been dead once it had hit the stumps, but the umpires disagreed again. Rod Tucker signalled byes.India needed two off one, but Kohli was at the non-strikers’ end. And somewhere in the midst of all this Dinesh Karthik had been stumped.Two off one with R Ashwin on strike. Who writes these scripts?Nawaz ran in… and bowled a wide down the leg side. WHO WROTE THIS SCRIPT?!Ashwin, one of the cleverest going around, just sidestepped that ball, and then with one needed off one, he casually chipped the ball over mid-off. The sound barrier broke as 90,293 people at the MCG – and countless millions at home – all roared as one. Some in ecstasy, some in agony.Virat Kohli took a moment for himself after his incredible knock•Getty Images

Meanwhile, Kohli was on his knees – just as he was in Mohali, 2016. He punched the turf. This was new. And when he came up, he was mobbed. He allowed his team-mates their time with him but then wriggled away so he could be alone. Or well, as alone as he could be with a stadium full of people singing his name. He stared at the night sky, with his right hand raised, and his forefinger up. Was he saying thanks? Was he saying, ‘Ah, so this is why I went through that slump in form? Well, fair enough. Good deal.’ And then suddenly his thoughts were broken as the captain of the Indian cricket team hurtled onto the pitch and lifted him clean off his feet. When Rohit Sharma came to the presentation, he had no voice.The other hero
It now seems so long ago but India had another hero as well. His name was Arshdeep Singh. Last month at the Asia Cup, he shelled a catch in the dying moments of a very tight game against Pakistan and was met with the vilest abuse on social media. He’s 23 years old. All he wants to do is help his team win. And today he did just that, by removing Babar Azam lbw with his very first ball in a T20 World Cup.Back then, this game was all swing and hoop and the lurid geometry the white ball is capable of. Pakistan were reduced to 32 for 2 in the powerplay. Then Iftikhar Ahmed and Shan Masood built a partnership. They took down R Ashwin and Axar Patel. Spin just couldn’t catch a break in the game, leaking 107 runs in 72 balls, eight sixes and nine fours.Pakistan recovered to make 59 runs in the six overs immediately after the powerplay, prompting India to bring back their quicks, and within 12 balls Hardik and Mohammed Shami had three wickets. Shaheen Afridi came out at No. 9 and belted one NSFW six over the longest boundary of the ground at deep midwicket, pushing the total up to 159 for 8. And it was game on.Long before the pulsating denouement, Arshdeep Singh made crucial new-ball incisions to remove both Pakistan openers•Getty Images

The best vs the best
Defending 160 is hard work, even for Pakistan. Since 2019, they’ve only managed to do it thrice in 13 matches. This had all the looks of being lucky number four.Rohit and KL Rahul were given the short shrift. Suryakumar Yadav was bounced out. India were 45 for 4 after 10 overs. If they were going to win, they had to score nearly two runs a ball for half of their innings.Talk about goading a genius. Kohli was 12 off 21 then. He would pick himself up with a six off Nawaz – a thundering strike after stepping down the pitch. Hardik at the other end got going as well. India managed 55 runs in the five overs from 11th and 15th and Pakistan knew they had to bring back their big guns.Shaheen came on. But he hadn’t played any cricket since July 2022 and all that rust showed. A would-be leg-stump yorker turned into a low full toss – which isn’t the worst ball to bowl in T20 cricket, it still denies the batter the room they like to hit boundaries. But Kohli somehow managed it. And all it took was a twist of his wrist.That loft over extra cover which beat three fielders – one running back and two converging on it from deep cover point and long-off – was like a catharsis. Not so long ago, Kohli confessed to faking his intensity. Here, he felt its embrace and it was all natural. And it was all good. So good that he actually punched the air even though India still needed 37 off 15 balls.Hardik, though, was still struggling. The pressure to find those sixes was getting to him and he began searching in all the wrong places – like square of the wicket at the MCG. Rauf bowled a brilliant 19th over – the first four balls anyway – to push the equation up to 28 off 8. Then Kohli got on strike. He knew the straight boundaries were shorter. And he went for them. Got one down the ground. Then another behind the wicket. Poof, just like that, 12 off 2. To be that clear-headed, to be that calculative, in that situation, requires…Actually, there’s no real word for it.Kohli said it himself. “I have no words. I have no idea how this happened”.

Ronaldo Nazario is not impressed with Cristiano Ronaldo's recent GOAT claim and has named a host of players who could be considered the greatest.

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• CR7 has declared himself the GOAT
• Ronaldo Nazario disagrees with Al-Nassr star
• Names five players he thinks are ahead of Ronaldo

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Ronaldo has recently declared himself the greatest player of all-time ahead of other legends to have graced the game such as Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona and Pele. The Portuguese superstar has won countless titles with Manchester United and Real Madrid as well as lifting a European Championship with Portugal. He's also banged in 925 goals during an incredibly prolific career and is still going strong at the age of 40 with Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Ronaldo's GOAT claim has, unsurprisingly, generated plenty of debate already. Inter Miami boss Javier Mascherano has disagreed along with Lionel Messi's Argentina team-mate Nahuel Molina. Former Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has also shared his thoughts and feels Ronaldo Nazario is the best the world has seen. The Brazilian legend has now been asked what he thinks of Ronaldo's GOAT claim and named the players he thinks are the best in history.

• WHAT RONALDO SAID

  He told : "I don't really like to get into this, I think people have too much self-esteem. I prefer people to talk about what I did and who I was rather than talking about myself. Cristiano Ronaldo has a fantastic story, he won everything, scored goals in every possible way. He is definitely among the best in history. Now, I don't agree with the best. But I respect his opinion… I would say he is easily in the top 10.

  "Pelé number 1 without a doubt, Messi and Maradona tied together, Zico, Romário, Cristiano Ronaldo, [Marco] Van Basten, [Zinedine] Zidane, [Luis] Figo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho Gaúcho, a series of players, there are many great players on this list, and I'm sure I'm forgetting some. Every time someone asks me about this ranking, I make a different list. Only these first three are definitive."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR RONALDO

  Ronaldo's comments are unlikely to go down too well with his Portuguese namesake, who continues to hunt for trophies in Saudi Arabia despite being in the twilight of his career. However, Ronaldo is yet to win silverware with Al-Nassr and a league title is looking difficult again this season. Ronaldo's team are currently eight points behind leaders Al-Ittihad and have played one game more.