Leeds United have now submitted a proposal for an “insane” forward, who is now keen on a move to Elland Road this summer, according to a report.
Leeds eyeing new forwards amid Joseph and Bamford uncertainty
Daniel Farke has now made it clear that Mateo Joseph has expressed a desire to move on this summer, with the manager saying: “With him the situation is quite clear. We really value and rate him – otherwise we wouldn’t have played him, especially in the beginning of the last successful campaign ahead of a golden boot winner in Joel Piroe and an experienced striker like Patrick Bamford.
“Nevertheless, he came to me and asked for a new challenge and would like to move. He has also hinted that he prefers a move to Spain due to his Spanish roots. That was his call.”
It is starting to look increasingly likely the striker will leave, given that Farke has no plans to stand in his way, and he is not the only Leeds centre-forward that could be on the move, with widespread reports suggesting Patrick Bamford’s time at Elland Road could be over.
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As a result, one of Farke’s main tasks will be to bring in a new striker this summer, but the manager is also keen on bringing in a new winger, with Tottenham Hotspur’s Manor Solomon recently re-entering the frame as a potential option.
Feyenoord’s Igor Paixao has also emerged as a target for the Whites, and there has now been a promising new update on their pursuit of the forward, with The Yorkshire Evening Post revealing he likes the idea of playing for Leeds in the Premier League.
The newly-promoted side have now submitted an official proposal to the representatives of Paixao, and his entourage were impressed by Leeds’ presentation, indicating that a deal could be possible.
In a further update, it has now been revealed the Whites have submitted a formal €35m (£30m) offer for the forward’s services, which is close to Feyenoord’s asking price.
Feyenoord's IgorPaixaoshoots at goal
"Insane" Paixao could be statement signing for Leeds
Having only just achieved promotion from the Championship, Farke’s side would be making a real statement if they were able to sign the 25-year-old, given the level of his performances for Feyenoord last season.
The Brazilian was the driving force behind his club recording a third-place finish in the Eredivisie, collecting 16 goals and 14 assists in 34 appearances, while also picking up seven goal contributions in 11 Champions League outings.
Scout Ben Mattinson has also likened the Eredivisie star to Real Madrid’s Rodrygo, in light of his “insane” ball striking ability, and he is very impressive at dribbling in tight spaces.
It is clear that Paixao could make a real impact in Leeds’ battle for survival next season, so it is exciting news that a deal could very much be on the cards.
Jos Buttler has been ruled out of the Hundred with a calf injury, after missing Manchester Originals’ first three matches.Buttler, who has been backed to continue as England’s white-ball captain by managing director Rob Key, took a short break from the game after the T20 World Cup and is understood to have sustained the injury while preparing for the Hundred. An initial scan was inconclusive, raising hopes he would be available towards the end of the competition, but his withdrawal was confirmed on Saturday.Key confirmed earlier this week that Buttler would continue as captain after Matthew Mott lost his job as England’s white-ball coach, with Marcus Trescothick due to fill that role on an interim basis during September’s series against Australia. At this stage, he appears likely to be fit in time for the first T20I on September 11.Related
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“Gutted to be missing the Hundred this year,” Buttler wrote on his Instagram story. “Best of luck to the Manchester Originals for the rest of the campaign. Working hard to be 100% fit asap [as soon as possible].”Buttler has suffered several calf injuries in recent years, including a strain two years ago which ruled him out of England’s seven T20Is in Pakistan and briefly threatened his participation in the T20 World Cup 2022.The Originals were losing finalists in the last two editions of the men’s Hundred but are winless this year in Buttler’s absence. Phil Salt, his opening partner, has deputised as captain but has managed only 23 runs in three innings, and their batting line-up has looked noticeably short at the start of the season.Simon Katich, the Originals’ coach, had initially lined up Keaton Jennings, Lancashire’s club captain, as a replacement but the move stalled amid confusion over Buttler’s status, and Jennings has since signed for London Spirit. The Originals are yet to confirm a new replacement ahead of Sunday’s match against Northern Superchargers.
Manchester United now want to “advance” a move for a £85m striker, who’s a “mix” between Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, according to reporter Ben Jacobs.
Man Utd's striker pursuit heating up
Signing a new striker is on the agenda of a number of the Premier League’s biggest clubs, and Man United are no exception, but they will have to be willing to spend big to lure one of Europe’s top centre-forwards to Old Trafford this summer.
Target
League goals in 24/25
Asking price
Viktor Gyokeres
39
£68m
Victor Osimhen
26
£50m+
Moise Kean
19
£44m
Jonathan David
16
£0
The pursuit of a new striker comes amid widespread criticism of United’s current first-choice option, Rasmus Hojlund, with the Stretford Paddock’s Adam McKola singling the Dane and Andre Onana out for criticism during the 2-2 draw away at Lyon in April.
With Inter Milan now making progress in their pursuit of Hojlund, there may be funds to bring in a top-level replacement, and a “new name” has now emerged as a potential target, Jacobs has revealed to The United Stand, via GiveMeSport.
The reporter said: “They’re running data on some other names as well, including Hugo Ekitike, which is a new name that I can bring to the mix too.
“Liverpool are very interested, Chelsea have held some talks as well, but nothing’s going to happen in the next days with Hugo Ekitike either and Frankfurt want €100million, so he’s actually more expensive than Viktor Gyokeres.
Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike
“So right now, I’m told, if Manchester United can do Gyokeres, they would like to advance on it, but it will all depend on the overall cost and other suitors, and that’s why some of these other names are also concurrently being discussed.”
Free-scoring Ekitike likened to Neymar and Mbappe
Ekitike failed to make the same impact at the Parc des Princes as his former teammates, but having kicked on since leaving Paris Saint-Germain, he has been compared to Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
Wesley Sneijder said: “I think he’s a mix between Neymar and [Kylian] Mbappé. I sincerely think so. He has the grace of Neymar, but also the movements of Mbappé.
“To suddenly accelerate, that’s something that Mbappé also has. And he’s only 22 years old. There’s really a lot of potential in this boy.”
Top 1% for dribbling: Man Utd ready to make bid for "world-class" £68m star
The Red Devils have now expressed a willingness to make a bid for a forward.
By
Dominic Lund
Jun 11, 2025
The high praise from Sneijder came during a fantastic 2024-25 campaign for the French forward, during which he amassed 22 goals and 12 assists in 48 matches in all competitions for Eintracht Frankfurt, putting himself in the shop window for a summer move.
That said, while the Frankfurt star certainly caught the eye last season, a fee of €100m (£85m) is a tad high off the back of one prolific season, so the likes of David, Gyokeres and Osimhen could be preferable options.
It’s been a tough campaign to take for Arsenal fans this year.
Instead of going on to lift the Premier League title for the third time of asking, Mikel Arteta’s side are set to finish in a distant second place while also failing to pick up any silverware in the cup competitions.
Now, injuries have undoubtedly played a part in the North Londoners’ lacklustre season, but it has to be said that much of the Gunners’ attack has seriously underwhelmed, including Gabriel Martinelli.
Unfortunately for the Brazilian, the board might be running out of patience with him, as recent reports have linked the club with someone who’d be a massive upgrade.
Arsenal's winger search
Before getting to the superstar in question, it’s worth going over some of the other wide players who have been touted for moves to Arsenal in recent weeks, like Daizen Maeda and Leroy Sané.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
The former could be a real bargain this summer, as in 50 appearances for Celtic this year, he has scored 33 goals and provided 12 assists, and could be available for just £25m.
On the other hand, Sane wouldn’t cost a penny, as his contract expires at the end of the season, and with a pretty impressive haul of 13 goals and six assists in 45 games for Bayern Munich, he’d certainly improve the North Londoners’ attack.
However, to ensure they get a significant upgrade on Martinelli this summer, Arteta and Co might want to sign a genuine superstar near the top of his game, someone like Rodrygo.
According to a recent report from Spain, Arsenal are incredibly interested in signing the Real Madrid winger.
More good news: The report claims that an exit for the Brazilian is a very real possibility and that, as things stand, the Gunners are leading the race for his signature.
The story does not mention a potential price, but reports from earlier this week claimed that an offer of around £85m could be enough to get the deal done.
While that is a lot of money, it’s a transfer Arsenal should be looking to complete, especially as he’d be a massive upgrade on Martinelli.
How Rodrygo compares to Martinelli
So, while Rodrygo has spent much of his time at Real off the right, he is a natural left-winger, and as Bukayo Saka has the right nailed down, it’s almost certain that the Brazilan would play on the opposite flank were he to make a move to the Emirates.
Therefore, one of his primary competitors for game time next season and beyond would be Martinelli, so how do the pair compare to one another?
Well, when it comes to their raw output, it is the two-time Champions League winner who comes out ahead, as in 50 appearances, totalling 3290 minutes, he has scored 13 goals and provided ten assists, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 2.17 games, or every 143.04 minutes.
In contrast, the Gunners’ number 11 has scored ten goals and provided six assists in as many games, totalling 3493 minutes, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 3.12 games or every 218.31 minutes.
Unfortunately, the one-sided nature of this comparison only continues when we take a look under the hood at their underlying numbers.
Rodrygo vs Martinelli
Statistic
Rodrygo
Martinelli
Non-Penalty G+As
0.51
0.49
Progressive Passes
5.05
1.98
Progressive Passes Received
11.8
11.4
Progressive Carries
5.28
4.86
Shots
2.52
2.07
Shots on Target
0.93
0.89
Passing Accuracy
85.9%
71.2%
Key Passes
2.29
1.50
Expected Assists
0.20
0.18
Passes into the Penalty Area
1.21
1.38
Passes into the Final Third
3.08
0.45
Shot-Creating Actions
4.95
2.71
Goal-Creating Actions
0.42
0.24
Successful Take-Ons
2.29
1.30
Ball Recoveries
3.32
3.08
Aerial Duels Won
0.33
0.65
All Stats via FBref for the 24/25 League Season
Here, the “terrifyingly good” Real ace, as dubbed by journalist Sam Tighe, comes out ahead in almost all relevant metrics, such as non-penalty goals plus assists, progressive passes and carries, passing accuracy, shots and shots on target, shot and goal-creating actions, key passes, successful take-ons and more, all per 90.
Ultimately, Rodrygo is a far superior winger to Martinelli in practically every measurable way, so while the latter could still be a valuable squad player next season, Arsenal should be doing all they can to sign the former this summer.
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Consistency is key. No doubt, maintaining a decent baseline across the campaign is something that Arne Slot will have demanded of his Liverpool side at the start of the season, but the squad have surpassed expectations.
Despite only adding Federico Chiesa to the squad last summer and opting against investment in January, the Reds won the Premier League after beating Tottenham Hotspur two weeks ago.
Federico Chiesa in action for Liverpool
Levelling with Manchester United, given that it was Anfield’s 20th top-flight title, has been the icing on the cake.
Focus has now been turned toward making improvements this summer. With Trent Alexander-Arnold expected to sign for Real Madrid and left-back in need of attention, sporting director Richard Hughes has certainly got his work cut out.
However, his most important job is surely sourcing a replacement for Darwin Nunez.
Why Darwin Nunez needs to go
Nunez has been given ample opportunity to prove himself on Merseyside, but sadly, he’s now completed three seasons as a Liverpool player and each term has been a disappointment.
Darwin Nunez for Liverpool
Liverpool’s club-record signing at £85m, the 25-year-old has scored 40 goals across 146 outings for the club, providing 26 assists for his teammates.
However, he’s regressed since Jurgen Klopp left at the end of last season, with his chequered exploits under the German’s wing now something more colourless, at odds with Slot’s meticulous, cool-headed system.
At the end of the day, he’s failed to score in 38 of his 44 matches across all competitions this season, which is terrible for a high-cost striker tasked with providing goals for a team competing at the very height of European football.
Mohamed Salah
49
33
23
Cody Gakpo
46
17
6
Luis Diaz
47
16
8
Diogo Jota
35
9
4
Darwin Nunez
44
7
7
Federico Chiesa
13
2
2
It’s hardly surprising that Liverpool want a new centre-forward to ease Mohamed Salah’s goalscoring load. Fabrizio Romano has actually said that the plan is for the Uruguayan to be offloaded.
Of course, Liverpool will need to bring in an able replacement.
Liverpool lining up new striker
While Alexander Isak is the dream, Newcastle are confident they will be playing Champions League football next year, thus meaning their £150m valuation will stand strong against the waves of suitors. Liverpool would be forgiven for ceding defeat in that one, along with the rest.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
Well, according to Spanish reports, the champions have turned their attention to Julian Alvarez, with FSG hatching a plan to sign Atletico Madrid’s star forward this summer.
While Alvarez only joined the La Liga side from Manchester City for an £81m fee last year, Liverpool view the Argentine as the perfect profile to front Slot’s system and are lining up a move.
The report concludes by suggesting that the Reds have ‘not officially ruled out a move yet’ for the striker.
It goes without saying that facilitating a deal will be no easy task, although Atletico’s interest in Nunez could see Hughes and co play an interesting bargaining chip to sweeten a prospective deal for both parties.
Why Julian Alvarez is perfect for Slot
Off the bat, Alvarez would be a good signing for Liverpool given his experience in English football, accomplished as one of Pep Guardiola’s trophy-winning stars at Manchester City.
The 25-year-old has hit 55 goal contributions across 103 appearances for City, notably winning the treble in 2022/23. However, he’s gone up a gear since moving to Spain.
Indeed, Alvarez has scored 27 goals and added five more assists across 51 fixtures in his debut season for Atletico Madrid, with his exploits leading journalist Roy Nemer to pronounce him “the best centre-forward in the world” for the 2024/25 season.
That praise alone differentiates him far enough from Nunez’s toils to suggest that Liverpool would be wise to make their move, but there’s more to it than that.
His ever-improving prolific sense is great, but FSG’s technicians tend to look beneath the surface when profiling a potential target, and the dynamic attacker ticks a lot of boxes.
As per FBref, he ranks among the top 6% of positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for passes attempted, the top 12% for progressive passes, the top 9% for progressive carries and the top 16% for successful take-ons per 90.
He’s good with his feet, both in collecting and calmly distributing the ball in tight spaces or indeed navigating away from danger in such enclosed areas, nimbly darting past opponents before finding room to strike on goal.
Nunez does bear a likeness to the Atletico man; electric-paced and multi-faceted, it’s clear to see why Klopp thought he saw something special when plucking a young Nunez from his clinical career at Benfica, but his temperament and decision-making have ultimately let him down.
Liverpool'sDarwinNunezreacts
Conversely, Alvarez is always attentive to the situation he is in, making the right decisions and putting the right weight on his passes, hitting the ball sweetly when shooting himself. One Real Madrid reporter even conceded recently that the £116k-per-week talent is “such an intelligent football player.”
Nunez’s poor finishing and questionable decision in the build-up have ultimately alienated him from a position of pedigree in Slot’s squad. Since Boxing Day, the international has only started once in the Premier League, which makes a pretty damning indictment on how he is viewed by his head coach.
Darwin Nunez in action for Liverpool
He will depart with Anfield’s gratitude and appreciation following the part he has played in recent years, stabilising the ship after an initial team-wide slump, winning the Carabao Cup last year and indeed contributing toward sealing the Premier League title this year.
But Slot is not prepared to watch his flourishing project stagnate, and will happily enforce Nunez’s sale if it means a player of Alvarez’s ilk could be brought in.
It might make all the difference.
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With every passing game, Sunrisers’ opening pair seems to be pushing the envelope further and further
Shashank Kishore21-Apr-20241:56
What has given the Sunrisers batters so much freedom?
You couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought that Delhi Capitals decided to move away from their home ground for the first part of IPL 2024 because they wanted to give pitches time to recover from the WPL games in March.Sunday night must have felt like returning home to see their fortress broken into, the safe ransacked and their CCTV network expertly dismantled. Such was the carnage Sunrisers Hyderabad caused. And Capitals could do nothing about it, except wonder if embracing the “tired pitches” would have been the better option.Perhaps Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma might have adopted a different approach then. Or, maybe, they would have been just as effective – given the form they are in, they seem capable of taking the pitch out of the equation.Related
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125 in 6 overs: Head and Sunrisers shatter T20 powerplay records
There’s been so much written and spoken about Head’s reinvention over the past year. Still, it is sometimes astonishing how he has been able to push the boundaries of the batting powerplay with every passing game this IPL. There’s no slogging, but just proper trust in his methods that he believes will help him unfailingly deliver most times. There’s also the small matter of receiving that backing from the captain and coach.His opening partner, Abhishek, is much younger, but being around the senior circuit for six years now has given him a firm grip on what he needs to do. Sunrisers had raced to 83 without loss in four overs. Head had already brought up a barnstorming half-century and it would have seemed prudent enough to play Kuldeep Yadav out. Abhishek, though, is cut from a different cloth.He welcomed him with three sixes, the last of them bringing up Sunrisers’ 100 inside five overs. This may seem like a bit of daredevilry on the surface, but there’s been a proper mindset change that can only come with maturity because the approach comes with the inherent risk of more failure than success.Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma put on a blazing show in the powerplay•Associated PressThis approach by Abhishek, of going hard in the powerplay may have been stamped and sealed at the IPL, but has taken flight away from the arc lights when he had identified this was the method he had to master to be different. Abhishek spoke about it candidly during the domestic season, touching upon how amid the Gills and the Gaikwads he needed to reinvent himself to be different.At the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s, Abhishek put all of it into practice. He was the second-highest run-scorer. His 485 runs came at a strike rate of 192.46. Abhishek’s runs, more importantly, helped Punjab win their first T20 crown. It’s rare enough to have a few impactful performances when your propensity for risk is that high, but Abhishek had proved he wasn’t just a risk-taker for the heck of it. The consistency since then is merely a by-product of clarity and putting it into practice.Head has been playing outrageous shots every ball, or so it seems, making jaws drop with the approach that has redefined his game across formats. To not just match that but strike better takes something special. Abhishek could’ve been forgiven for rotating strike and watching the best show from the other end, but here he was showcasing himself to the world.Not only did he strike them clean, but he did so with a calm head, superb balance and impeccable timing, bringing a certain insouciance to his stroke play that made it amply clear that this was the handiwork of a proper batter, not a powerplay slogger. And it’s this partnership that has helped the Sunrisers thrive.”I just feel like Abhi’s probably been the standout for me,” Head said at a media round-table a night before Sunday’s fixture. “I know he has come through a really good Under-19 program and that he’s really close with a couple of guys who have excelled and gone on and played [Shubman Gill and Prithvi Shaw]. The way he learns and adapts, he’s confident and trains all those things that I guess you see a lot of now.”Abhishek himself can’t believe he has been able to learn off Head the way he has over the past few weeks. His three sixes in his first over off Kuldeep was just a proper demonstration of not just picking angles but also lengths and the bowler, both in the air and off the pitch.1:58
Rapid Fire review – ‘Head, Abhishek bat as if 260-270 is par score’
In the very first over, Head had given him a blueprint against Khaleel Ahmed, who may have perhaps seen how RCB’s bowlers saw their length balls disappear down the ground at the Chinnaswamy last week. So he went short, but Head was equally effective in transferring the weight back in a jiffy to access the square boundaries with the pull.”We’ve been talking a lot off the field,” Abhishek said of his partnership with Head. “It’s joyful to watch him bat. Our chats are helping. He’s someone I’m looking forward to batting with for the rest of the season. All the Punjab boys know I admire Travis for the way he bats in all three formats. Luckily we got him here [at Sunrisers].”I’m very clear about my mindset and goal. I had a very clear plan in my mind before the IPL. I was clear about my batting style and performance and how I was going to do it. I’m executing well, all the hard work in Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s is really helping me a lot.”Remember that Kuldeep takedown?It was not just a result of a pre-game chat Head and Abhishek had about the endless possibilities against spin in the powerplay, especially on a fresh surface at a venue with short square boundaries as the Kotla offers. It was also down to their planning before the game that involved facing left-arm wrist spinners in the nets.”Personally, I try and plan really well for the spinners as they’re the main bowlers for teams,” Abhishek said. “This match also, I was very careful [in his planning] for Kuldeep. He’s their main bowler. I watched his videos, I try to play similar bowlers a day prior, it could be any net bowler or local bowler, but [the idea is to] try to make sure they’re similar to the bowlers we’re going to face. That helps me a lot.”It’s hard to imagine now that this opening partnership was discovered by accident. Mayank Agarwal’s illness ahead of their fourth game against Chennai Super Kings allowed them the option of pairing Abhishek with Head, who incidentally sat out of the tournament opener. Now it is impossible to imagine them being separated in the near future.
And when we’re not all agog for Trent Boult vs James Anderson, we’re waiting to see whether Jay-Z will bring Brooklyn’s finest PR skills to our game
Alan Gardner15-Jun-2022The conclusion of the IPL means we can finally turn our attention back to cricket for a little while – the apotheosis of which is, of course, the pursuit of glory in the Test match arena. Nothing beats the timeless verities of the five-day game, the crucible of white-hot competition between the greatest, most-skilled practitioners of our beloved sport.By which the Light Roller means the extremely important race to determine who is the best worst batter of all time.For those with a kink for tailender nonsense, England versus New Zealand has decent history – from Caddick, Mullally, Tufnell, Giddins and ignominy at The Oval to Monty Panesar swimming for his ground in Auckland. But the Trent Bridge Test, which, to be fair, had one or two things going for it, featured a slice of history to truly be cherished.Tallying up the most runs ever scored by a No. 11 is very much in keeping with the you-don’t-have-to-be-crazy-to-work-here-but-it-helps mood that sets cricket apart from most other sports. There don’t seem to be too many people keeping track of the most goals scored by a right-back in football, or most aces served in first-round defeats in tennis grand slams.But Trent Boult has, by his own admission, spent his ten and a half years as a Test cricketer slowly reeling in Muthiah Muralidaran’s record, finally getting there amid the familiar flurry of jabs, squawks and feints that makes his batting a piece of performance art. The whole spectacle could only have been bettered by the sight of James Anderson, who has spent almost twice as long on the trail of Murali, vengefully reverse-sweeping his way past Boult’s mark later in the match (and that could still happen in the final Test of the series).Frankly, it was a more innocent age when players could be so good at one aspect of their job that they were allowed to be laughably bad at another (while still allowing for the development of an appropriate hierarchy). The Light Roller was just about starting to feel better about the world when we heard that Nicholas Pooran had taken a four-for.
****
Cricketers, as we all know, love to take the positives. Your team might have spent five sessions in the field, and dropped as many catches, but hey, lads, the bum pats were on point. Now Ben Stokes, in his role as England’s Test captain, has moved on to talking the positives, too. “The message from me to everyone is to look to be even more positive than we were last week. Let’s just always try to be better,” he said ahead of the aforementioned Trent Bridge Test. “I don’t know how you make positive more positive but I think you know what I mean.” Hmm, yeah. Not exactly Churchillian, eh? Although it seems Jonny Bairstow got the message.
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Well done to anyone who foresaw that Cricket South Africa’s next move on the “journey of rebuilding trust” with the fans would be to bring in Jay-Z as a consultant. South African cricket may have 99 problems but a PR link-up with a millionaire rapper’s entertainment agency ain’t one. “We are not bringing them in as cricket development partners. We understand that we are experts in developing talent and in cricket,” said CSA CEO Pholetsi Moseki, placing the definition of the word “expert” under all sorts of strain. But anyway, good luck to them. It’s a hard-knock life if you’re not a member of the Big Three. And while the self-proclaimed Eighth Wonder of the World might think lbw stands for Lil Bow Wow, cricket has always gone well with an empire state of mind. If they are not rolling out branded Hova covers next time it rains at the Bullring, then it’ll be an opportunity missed.
****
In the latest failing-to-read-the-room ICC pronouncement, chair Greg Barclay has had his say on how to grow Test cricket in the women’s game. The answer? You don’t. Never mind the climate of optimism around women’s sport generally, from increased professionalism, prize money and prestige; or campaigns such as “This Girl Can”, “Close the Gap” and “We Know Our Place”. No, no, ladies. The ICC knows your place, actually. “I can’t really see women’s Test or long-form cricket evolving at any speed at all,” Barclay said. “Men’s Test cricket represents the history and legacy of the game – it is what makes the game unique.” Keep sidelining 50% of the population and pretty soon that’ll be another reason why cricket is unique.
Charlie Parker was a giant of county game who took 3278 first-class wickets – but only once played for England
Paul Edwards28-Apr-2020 Odd Men In, “The Boxer” – Simon and GarfunkelThe number of first-class matches played in England has declined so markedly in the last half-century that some records stand like monuments from antiquity. Likewise a few giants of the past have become shadowy figures, their achievements mentioned by current historians but seldom properly investigated. What might be said, for example, about the third-most successful bowler in the game’s history, a slow-medium left-arm spinner who took 3278 first-class wickets in 635 matches but bowled in just one innings of Test cricket? Well, for a start do not be fooled by his three faintly distinguished first names: Charles Warrington Leonard; or by his fine reputation as a golfer; or by the fact that he was born in Prestbury, Gloucestershire, and died in Cranleigh, Surrey, both of them apparently affluent locations. Charlie Parker was the son of a general labourer, an admirer of the Russian Revolution and a gut radical who, in 1929, nearly stuck one on Pelham Warner, the former England captain and an epitome of his country’s cricketing establishment.Immediately there is a danger that our subject’s fondness for communism, if not pugilism, will overshadow an appreciation of his skills. (This is not a frequent hazard for students of English county cricket.) Let us therefore allow Grahame Parker, Gloucestershire’s historian and someone who played with his namesake for three seasons in the 1930s, to give us a picture of Charlie in his pomp:”Lithe and over six feet tall, he would glide through a day’s bowling with unbuttoned shirt sleeves flapping about his wrists, always with a cap pulled down at a rakish angle over his right eye and a smooth effortless rhythm that did not change as the overs passed. His was a classic action – left arm hidden behind the body as he approached the wicket, brought over fully extended at the moment of delivery in a lazy circular arc that defied analysis from the other end.”ALSO READ: Odd Men In: Ian FolleyBut our observant historian can have seen Parker only after he started bowling spin in 1919. He had joined Gloucestershire in 1903 as a left-arm seamer and for over a decade he left the twirling to George Dennett, a bowler who picked up a mere 2147 first-class wickets in his 19 English summers. Before that first post-war season, however, the 36-year-old Parker informed officials at Gloucestershire – negotiation was rarely his style – that he would be turning to spin. So began a decade or so in which Parker was became one of the finest cricketers in the world, an achievement which RC Robertson-Glasgow (“Crusoe”) assessed in his inimitable style: “On a sticky wicket…[Parker] was the greatest bowler I have seen; for, then, there was no man whom he could not make to look like a child batting with a pencil… Slim and angular, he was a sad-eyed executioner.”The statistics of Parker’s career after 1919 might initially strain the belief of the 21st century cricket lover. In every season from 1920 until his retirement in 1935 he took over a hundred wickets; in each of the three seasons plumb in the middle of the 1920s he picked up over two hundred. In 1925 he took five wickets in an innings and ten in a match more often than Simon Harmer, a very fine current bowler, has managed in his entire career. But such facts burst out from Parker’s career like clothes from an over-filled cupboard. He took five wickets in an innings 227 times and ten in a match on 91 occasions. “He wasted nothing,” wrote Crusoe, “to every ball some stroke had to be offered; and there was Walter Hammond roaming, predatory, at very short slip.”Parker was shrewd enough to choose the Yorkshire game for his benefit in 1922 and then skilful enough to take 9 for 36 in his opponents’ first innings. During the course of that 10.2-over spell he hit the stumps with five successive deliveries, one of which was a no-ball. That sequence included his first hat-trick; two years later he managed three in the same season, including two in the home game against Middlesex, a match Gloucestershire won after being bowled out for 31 in the first innings. (Hammond chipped in with 174 not out in the second dig.) Parker bowled a total of 7719 maidens; James Anderson, a great modern bowler, has so far delivered 8317.5 overs Having taken 467 wickets in nine seasons before 1914 Parker picked up another 2811 after the war until a modest return of 108 wickets at 26.04 in 1935 convinced him it was time to retire. He was 52.The consensus of Parker’s fellow professionals was that on a damp pitch he was the best bowler in the country and on a dry one he was merely among the top three or four. He was unfortunate that the first decade of his spin-bowling career overlapped with Wilfred Rhodes’ last and also unfortunate that his latter seasons coincided with Hedley Verity in his pomp. The very shrewd Bob Wyatt thought him a less dangerous bowler when attacked. “You had to know how to play him,” Wyatt said. “Move down the wicket…and hit the ball over his head. It could affect him. His next delivery might be short, then.”Parker’s great liking for damp English wickets and the availability of other slow bowlers offers an explanation as to why he was not selected for any MCC tours but it is scarcely a satisfactory one. Crusoe was certainly having none of it: “the silly saying went that Parker could not bowl on a plumb pitch; as if so great an artist were a sort of one-pitch man, like some elder who must occupy but one certain chair in the room, and if that be taken, cannot sit down at all.” What defied conventional comprehension, then as now, was that Parker was selected for only one home Test and that he was not picked when conditions suited him perfectly.
Parker’s hands were trembling, and for several seconds it seemed possible he was going to give one of the game’s most eminent men a punch up the bracket
He certainly believed playing for Gloucestershire didn’t help his cause. Even when naming him as one of ‘s Cricketers of the Year, Sydney Pardon confessed: “I have seen so little of Parker that I can say little about his bowling from personal observation.” Yet in 1922, the season for which he was honoured, Parker had taken 206 wickets. One can imagine Charlie bridling in resentment at the editor’s admission before ascribing such ignorance to the fact that he played at least half his games in Bristol, Gloucester and Cheltenham.Other occasions offered him perfect opportunities to publicise his deep grievance. At the county’s annual dinner in February 1926 he was presented with a trophy to mark his achievement in taking 17 for 56 in the match against Essex the previous season. Earlier the same evening Pelham Warner, the principal guest and an England selector, had spoken of his country’s chances against Australia in the forthcoming Ashes series. As recorded by David Foot in Parker concluded his acceptance speech by saying that “the selection committee would do well not to overlook some of the players in the less fashionable counties”.No one could argue the barb was out of character. Parker had a good mind and he frequently spoke it, particularly on his favourite topics: music, politics and cricket. Sometimes the last two subjects could be combined. Foot’s typically fine essay, which itself is based on a series of conversations with his subject’s team-mates and opponents, records several occasions when Parker had execrated the unearned privilege in which inter-war English cricket was soaked. Annual dinners like that held at Bristol’s Grand Hotel were a perfect example of an occasion when the dividing line between cricket’s officers and men was very clear. More often than not, the amateurs were placed with the guests of honour and the county’s officials. The professionals sat together and drank their beer.Five months after that dinner England’s players gathered at Leeds for the third Ashes Test. The first two matches had been drawn and all the signs were that the unprotected sections of the Headingley pitch would be wet, “marshy” the called them. They were classic Charlie Parker conditions and there was little surprise he was among the 12 players picked for the game. There was, though, astonishment when he was omitted from the team and disbelief when the England captain, Arthur Carr, then opted to bowl first. Australia made 492 and the game was eventually drawn. The England selectors for that series were Arthur Gilligan, Percy Perrin and Pelham Warner.Charlie Parker•Hulton Archive/Getty Images”Leaving out Parker at Headingley in 1926 was the most extraordinary mistake in all Test history,” concluded Wyatt, who was himself to omit Parker from his own England side at The Oval in 1930. “If it was thought proper to invite him to the ground, it was an act of lunacy not to play him when you had decided to put the opposition in because it was a wet wicket,” wrote Alan Gibson.Charlie Parker rarely forgot a batsman’s weakness and he never forgot a slight. In April 1929 Warner attended Gloucestershire’s annual dinner once again. Once the formal proceedings had ended Parker went to the lift with his team-mate and close friend, Reg Sinfield. The pair were hoping to take some fresh air on one of the balconies. Suddenly an obsequious lift attendant announced that room should be made for “Mr Pelham Warner”, who was approaching the lift and wished to go up to his room. Let us allow David Foot to take up the story:”Parker flung his arms out and grasped Warner by the lapels. ‘I’ll never once in my life make way for that bugger. He’s never had a good word to say for me. This so-and-so has blocked my Test match career. I played once in 1921 – and he made sure I’d never play for England again. He even got me up to Leeds in 1926 and then left me out. Make way for him…? Mr Bloody Warner will go to bed when I’ve finished with him.'”Foot admits that he has heard various versions of the story but none that contradicted its basic elements. (He even toned down some of the language.) Parker’s hands were trembling. For several seconds it seemed possible he was going to give one of the game’s most eminent men a punch up the bracket.”Come on, Charlie. Tisn’t worth it,” said Sinfield. Parker released his grip.Cricket’s historians might do well to pay more attention to Charlie Parker but it would be fatuous to turn him into either a paragon or a martyr. He was sharp-tempered, irascible and quick to criticise other fielders while being fairly inept himself. And for all that he might have argued about politics his career displays the conventional characteristics of the inter-war professional. He admired some of Gloucestershire’s amateur captains – Bev Lyon is a good example – and his benefit brought him £1075 (worth about £50,000 today). After retirement he served the game as a first-class umpire and then as a coach at Cranleigh School. Yet he remains one of the most intriguing characters from an age when the English professional cricketer was notable for his silent deference. And on a warm afternoon at Nevil Road it is wonderfully easy to imagine that rhythmic approach to the crease as Charlie wreaked quiet havoc in the only republic he ever knew. Odd Men In
Burger walked off the field in the first innings after bowling 6.1 overs and de Zorzi pulled up in the dying moments of the chase to retire hurt for 17
Firdose Moonda03-Dec-2025South Africa left-arm seamer Nandre Burger has suffered a hamstring injury that curtailed his participation in the second ODI against India in Raipur and could impact the rest of his season.South Africa suffered another injury scare when Tony de Zorzi pulled up towards the end of their chase and retired hurt for 17 after the 45th over.”It didn’t look too good, to be honest – Nandre not being able to finish his overs and Tony also walking off,” captain Temba Bavuma said at the presentation. “If need be, we do have other guys waiting in the wings come Saturday.”Related
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Burger had started his seventh over when he lost his run-up twice and appeared to struggle to land on his right leg. He held onto his right knee before walking off the field. Aiden Markram delivered the next five balls to complete the over.ESPNcricinfo understands that Burger was assessed and is still experiencing discomfort in his right hamstring. He will continue to be monitored by South Africa’s medical staff. In the immediate term, it affected South Africa in this match, where Markram bowled 5.5 overs in total, and will impact team selection for the third ODI on Saturday. Burger is not part of the T20I squad, where Anrich Nortje will make his return, and he may be called on earlier if South Africa feel they need extra pace. They are already without Kagiso Rabada, who has a rib niggle, and Gerald Coetzee, who was not picked for this tour.Later in the match, South Africa suffered a second injury blow when de Zorzi pulled up as he completed a second run. De Zorzi was on 17 off 11 balls when Corbin Bosch called him through and though he reached the non-striker’s end safely, de Zorzi hobbled the last third of the way. He received treatment on field and decided to continue. But after Bosch hit the next ball for four and de Zorzi had to hop on one leg, he left the field, with South Africa 27 away from victory after 45 overs. De Zorzi walked off unaided, but very gingerly, suggesting the injury is serious. He has an SA20 deal with Durban’s Super Giants.Burger has a long history of injuries, including a lower-back stress fracture which kept him out of the game from October 2024 until September this year. He missed last year’s SA20 but was re-signed by the same team, Joburg Super Kings for this year’s edition for R6.3 million, and they will be sweating on his availability. The tournament begins on Boxing Day, in just over three weeks’ time.
Mitchell, Bracewell half-centuries seal four-wicket win in series opener in Mount Maunganui
Andrew Miller26-Oct-2025
Joe Root became the second wicket of Zak Foulkes’ opening over•Getty Images
New Zealand 224 for 6 (Mitchell 78*, Bracewell 51, Carse 3-45) beat England 223 (Brook 135, Overton 46, Foulkes 4-41, Duffy 3-66) by four wickets There was a strong westerly wind blowing across the Bay Oval on Sunday afternoon. If you happened to cock your ear to the breeze during the first hour of play, you would have heard – clear as day – the sound of mocking laughter, floating across the Tasman Sea and down through the shires of Hobbiton.In a contest billed as the official start of the Ashes phoney war, England’s Australia-bound top-order produced a stunning false start. Jamie Smith, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jacob Bethell – Ashes bankers, bolters and, as the Aussies might now contend, bottlers – all found themselves caught up in a catastrophic collapse of 10 for 4 in 5.1 overs that was precisely as serious as the discourse that it will generate.Related
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Jos Buttler soon joined the procession at 33 for 5, and it was a measure of the nonsensical scenario that – when Sam Curran nicked off at 56 for 6, to become the fourth wicket of Zak Foulkes’ remarkable maiden spell in ODI cricket – the time back home in the UK, thanks to the peculiarities of daylight-saving, was 1.59am: in other words, one minute prior to the contest’s original start-time.New Zealand duly wrapped up victory with time to spare as well, by four wickets and with 80 balls left unused, thanks to Michael Bracewell’s run-a-ball 51 and a 91-ball 78 from Daryl Mitchell that had to surmount its own dicey circumstances at 24 for 3, courtesy of Luke Wood and Brydon Carse’s new-ball breakthroughs – including a first-baller on his return to action for the great Kane Williamson, his first in 15 years of ODIs.Harry Brook carried England’s innings on his shoulders•Getty Images
And yet, the game would scarcely have outlasted one of last week’s rained-off T20Is had it not been for Harry Brook – England’s white-ball captain, Test vice-captain-elect, and a man in no mood to let circumstance dictate his game-plan. His response to his team’s extreme adversity was a startling lone-wolf innings of 135 from 101 balls that turned an impending humiliation into an almost serviceable total of 223 in 35.2 overs.It was Brook’s fourth century in the country, following his three hundreds across two previous Test tours, and – given the circumstances – it was more extraordinary even than his 186 at Wellington in 2023 which, for those who witnessed that onslaught, is saying something.Brook scored each of his first 36 runs in boundaries, en route to a total of nine fours and 11 sixes. The latter included three in a row off Jacob Duffy to reach his hundred from 82 balls, and four more thereafter, as he juiced 80 runs from England’s final two wickets in an innings in which just one other batter scored more than 6.That man was Jamie Overton, who contributed 46 from 54 balls in a seventh-wicket stand of 87 that wrested the momentum back from New Zealand, after Foulkes and Matt Henry had rumbled their way through 15 new-ball overs in a row. His performance had distinct echoes of a previous tussle with New Zealand – on Test debut in 2022, when he had arrived at a near-identical 55 for 6 and partnered Jonny Bairstow with a career-best 97.Once again, Overton fell short of a milestone in this innings, as he chipped a Duffy slower ball to cover, whereupon Carse joined the procession of Ashes-bound players by cutting his first ball straight to the returning Williamson at point. Brook, by then, had had one key let-off on 63, when Rachin Ravindra dropped a fast-travelling slog-sweep at square leg, but the power and clarity of his subsequent onslaught took the breath away.And to think Mitchell Santner hadn’t even been sure whether bowling first was the sensible option. Henry’s first ball of the match immediately laid any doubts to rest as he wrecked Smith’s first outing of the winter with a perfect stump-rattling inducker, one that deserved to rouse a few memories of Rory Burns’ catastrophic start to the 2021-22 Ashes proper.Brydon Carse removed Kane Williamson for his first golden duck in ODIs•Getty Images
Foulkes then ripped into the contest with the first-over wickets of Duckett, caught flinching outside off for 2, and Root, who stepped into a wild drive and was also bowled by lavish seam movement. Two Foulkes overs later, Bethell too had his off stump plucked out by a jaffa, and there seemed no earthly way for England’s innings to pull out of its death spiral.Brook, though, had other ideas. His 135 out of 223 comprised 60.53% of England’s innings, a new record that outdid Robin Smith’s legendary 167 not out against Australia in 1993 – which, coincidentally was another mighty knock that was unable to stave off ultimate defeat.England gave it a good crack, mind you. Carse, a star of last year’s Test-series win in New Zealand, matched Foulkes with two wickets in his opening over as Will Young was bowled by an inswinging yorker for 5 before Williamson snicked a first-ball snorter through to Buttler behind the stumps.Luke Wood then did for a free-flowing Ravindra, well caught by Overton at second slip as the bowler – remarkably – claimed his first List A wicket since 2019. And when Carse fired a wobble-seam delivery into Tom Latham’s shin for 24, New Zealand were 66 for 4 and in clear danger of frittering away their unbelievable start.Bracewell and Mitchell turned the tide in a fifth-wicket stand of 92, though they needed some luck along the way. Bracewell was dropped at slip on 2 by Root, in Overton’s opening over, while Mitchell had an even more glaring let-off on 33, when Wood at backward point dropped a sitter of a reverse-sweep off the legspin of Adil Rashid.With the requirement under control, however, New Zealand were able to play well within themselves – at least until Bracewell needlessly ran himself out with 66 still needed, whereupon Mitchell ramped New Zealand’s first six over fine leg to signal the final charge. Santner added two more in quick succession off Rashid before holing out to long-on for 27, but Mitchell launched the winning hit over backward square.The fireworks, and the talking points, however, had long since been and gone.