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The allrounder will be available for selection for their first Super Four match against Bangladesh on Saturday

Andrew Fidel Fernando19-Sep-2025Sri Lanka allrounder Dunith Wellalage rejoined* the squad at the Asia Cup on Saturday morning after having returned home following the death of his father Suranga Wellalage on Thursday. Sri Lanka Cricket said he will be available for selection for Sri Lanka’s first match in the Super Four round on Saturday evening, against Bangladesh in Dubai.He was accompanied on his journey from the UAE to Sri Lanka and back by team manager Mahinda Halangode.Suranga Wellalage died on September 18, the same day that his son Dunith played in the Group B match against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi. Wellalage, 22, only learned of his father’s death after the match, which Sri Lanka won by six wickets and eight balls remaining to qualify for the Super Four round. Soon after the match ended, he left for home.The match between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan was only Wellalage’s fifth T20I and his first in this tournament. He took figures of 1 for 49 and did not bat. Wellalage has played 31 ODIs, with his career best of 5 for 27 coming in the third ODI against India in Colombo in August 2024. He also took 5 for 40 against India in a 2023 Asia Cup match, when the tournament was played in the ODI format. He was the joint second-highest wicket-taker in that tournament, claiming 10 dismissals at an average of 17.90.After Saturday’s fixture against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka’s next two Super Four games are against Pakistan on September 23 and India on September 26.

Hetmyer scored his first T20I fifty since August 2023 but it wasn’t enough

Andrew McGlashan28-Jul-20251:29

David, Owen pepper the stands with sixes

Australia put on a final display of their batting power to secure a 5-0 T20I whitewash over West Indies. Tim David and Mitchell Owen launched seven sixes between them, as the overall series tally ended as the second-highest for a bilateral series, with Aaron Hardie then finishing the chase after Akeal Hosein had kept West Indies’ hopes alive.The victory was set up by an excellent performance with the ball after Mitchell Marsh had won his fifth toss – making it all eight for Australia on the tour – and declining the opportunity to have his side set a target. They claimed three wickets in the powerplay to set West Indies back and kept chipping away each time a stand threatened to turn the game. Shimron Hetmyer and Jason Holder added 47 for the fifth wicket and the former went to his first T20I fifty since August 2023 but fell the ball after reaching the landmark.Nathan Ellis was again excellent in the closing overs, including a very sharp piece of work off his own bowling to end the innings as he under-armed into the stumps, while Adam Zampa claimed a wicket in his 100th T20I – the fourth Australia men’s player to reach that milestone.Australia’s powerplay was hectic as Holder struck twice in his first over, Mitchell Marsh was cleaned up by a beauty from Alzarri Joseph and David bludgeoned 30 off 12 balls with four sixes all inside five overs. From there, the asking rate was never an issue, it was just a question of whether West Indies could keep taking wickets. Their chances took a blow when Joseph limped out of the attack and while Hosein was excellent, there were not enough runs to work with in the end.2:13

Australia clean up West Indies for 170

Dwarshuis’ powerplay inroads

Ben Dwarshuis is building a handy record for Australia as the left-arm pace option in this attack. He may well have pushed himself to second in the pecking order ahead of Spencer Johnson, who missed this series through injury, and behind Mitchell Starc.Having been rested for the fourth match, he returned with a brace of early inroads, responding to a pair of boundaries from Shai Hope by spearing one through him, then having Brandon King taken at midwicket to bag West Indies’ in-form openers.His figures were dented in his final over that cost 19, including a big full toss to Hetmyer which resulted in a free hit that was sent for six. Next ball, Hetmyer went to his half-century from 30 balls but couldn’t stay to finish the innings when he was well caught by Sean Abbott running in from long-off to give Dwarshuis his third wicket.

Maxwell’s match-up win

It wasn’t quite as memorable a night for Glenn Maxwell. He dropped a sitter at mid-on to reprieve King (although it did not prove costly) and would later collect a first-ball duck when he edged Holder to short third. However, he did have one key moment when he won his brief match-up with Sherfane Rutherford as the left-hand batter, who has struggled for form since last year’s T20 World Cup, was threatening to turn the innings around.Rutherford had moved to 35 off 16 balls, lifting West Indies from 32 for 3 inside the powerplay, when he exposed the stumps to Maxwell against a delivery that slid on. He was aiming too square with his stroke and the ball cannoned into middle stump. With one of the left-hand batters gone, Maxwell’s work with the ball was done for the night.0:53

Hetmyer streak ends with Dwarshuis’ third wicket

Only one way in the powerplay

It is pretty much all-out aggression for Australia with the bat. After Maxwell’s early departure – courtesy of a juggling catch by Jediah Blades – Josh Inglis missed a reverse scoop first ball and collected two boundaries before finding mid-on in the same Holder over. Marsh, who has had a lean series, found the boundary twice off the middle and once off the inside edge before Joseph produced a terrific delivery to nip past the inside edge to leave Australia 25 for 3 in the third.David’s response was to take 16 off four balls against Holder then two further sixes against Joseph as he threatened a repeat of the record-breaking 37-ball hundred in the third match. But for once, he couldn’t get enough elevation on an attempted six as he was well taken at deep square leg.

Hosein’s late entry

Owen picked up where David left off, taking consecutive sixes off Matthew Forde and sent another onto the roof against Blades. Hope had held back Hosein, no doubt conscious of what Australia’s hitters could do, but when he was introduced in the 10th over, he removed Owen second ball when he skewed to short third.Cameron Green, later named Player of the Series, was shaping as though he would finish another chase but found long-off with 30 still needed to give West Indies a glimmer. However, Hardie produced a composed hand and by the time Hosein removed Dwarshuis it was too late.

England’s senior batter prepares to return to ODI action, but talk of his technique for Australia’s pitches dominates

Cameron Ponsonby25-Oct-2025Little known fact. Joe Root has never made a hundred in Australia.It will be the sub-genre of the summer. A much anticipated Ashes series, in which one of the greats of the game has the chance to complete a caveat-free career. An away win, and a full set of centuries in every Test-hosting nation he has played. Except for Bangladesh and the UAE. They don’t rate him in Dhaka.Matthew Hayden confidently made the claim that if Root didn’t end the Aussie summer with a Test ton, he’d strip nude to run around the MCG. But others aren’t so sure.”Wrists limper than a French handshake,” former Aussie legspinner and broadcaster Kerry O’Keeffe said on Fox Sports. “It doesn’t work in Australia.””The first two Tests are huge for Joe Root. They’re nickers’ Tests. Perth? They nick for fun there. And Brisbane day-night? Everyone nicks in Bris.”Joe Root is a nicker. When he was last here, in his first eight innings he nicked off. Australia knows this. What will be his defensive set-up? I’m very bearish about Joe Root.”O’Keeffe’s argument is that Root previously chose to stay inside the ball, as he was of the belief they wouldn’t target him with the offcutter, only for a different weakness to appear, that meant he was playing away from his body.It is a rare technical examination of a player who has averaged 58.00 since Brendon McCullum took over, but a prescient one given Australia’s recent tendency to produce pitches that favour their seam bowlers. Since the start of the 2021-22 Ashes, top-seven batters in Australia have averaged 30.22 per dismissal, compared to 38.14 in the four-year cycle before that. By contrast, England’s pitches have gone the other way. The average in the four years before McCullum’s appointment was 30.90; it has since been 38.94.”England play pretty well on the flatter wickets, the way they play,” Steve Smith said recently. “So, if there’s a bit in it like there has been the last three or four years, with our bowling attack, it certainly makes things a lot more difficult for their batters.”Nevertheless, Root sees no need to tamper with his technique. Arriving in New Zealand ahead of England’s three-match ODI series, it will be the final three hits he has before lining up against Australia in Perth.”A lot of that prep’s already started back home,” Root said, explaining how he’s balancing his preparation for an ODI series today with the carrot of the Ashes starting tomorrow.”I think how I’d prepare now is different to how I would have done 10 years ago. A lot more mental. I’ve clearly played against a lot of their guys now. Know how they operate, know what they’re likely to try to bring to the series.”I used to be very technical in how I prepared. I’d want to make sure that everything felt lined up and my feet were in the right place, my head was in the right place, whereas now I’m a little bit more concerned about how I’m looking at the game, how I’m going to approach different situations, whether that be the surface, whether that be different bowler types, different angles, and being able to manage those different angles when they come wide of the crease. Things like that.”Related

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• England seek clarity for seam attack as ODI reboot gathers pace

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• Kyle Jamieson out of ODIs against England with side stiffness

• Williamson and England's Ashes players in focus as ODI series kicks off

This will be Root’s fourth Ashes tour. His individual record is respectable, averaging 35.68, but not befitting of a player of his own calibre. England’s record across that time, however, is diabolical: 15 matches, 13 defeats, two draws, zero wins.”They’re all different,” Root said of how the build-up to this series has compared to previous tours. “I look at it at this time and I’m in a completely different stage of my career. I’m no longer captain, I’m playing some really good cricket, and so are we. We’re playing in a really exciting way. We’ve got a great group of players that we can go there and hit them with different tools than we’ve had on previous tours, so when you look at it like that, it’s a really exciting prospect.”Clearly, Australia are really good in their own conditions, with a great record at home, especially against us, but that’s the exciting bit right? There’s an opportunity there to do something a bit different and hopefully achieve something really special.”Despite the ODI World Cup being two years away, these three matches against New Zealand are not without complete jeopardy. England are currently ranked eighth in the world after winning only eight of their last 23 fixtures. Failure to automatically qualify for the World Cup remains unlikely, but only if they nip in the bud a continued slide in the format.”I don’t think that’s necessarily anyone’s fault of what happened before,” Root said of the ODI group’s relative stability under Brook and McCullum, compared to previous leadership.”You look at the number of crossovers of Test series and one-dayers, it was physically impossible to get there. There was a one-day series against the Netherlands when we were playing a Test match at Old Trafford. You think how can that happen?”New Zealand themselves haven’t played an ODI since April, but remain ranked third in the world. The weighting of points in the ICC rankings is such that it presents a major opportunity for England to win some matches, and lift themselves away from any potential future problems.”I don’t think it’s arrogant to say you look at the quality that’s within our squad, and we’re not an eighth-in-the-world team,” Root said. “We should be competing and jostling for that top spot.”New Zealand are a very good team and if you try to sleepwalk into it or you’re preoccupied with what’s around the corner, then they’ll hurt us really badly. We want to keep making strides under Brooky after what was a difficult Champions Trophy. This is a great opportunity to build on what we started over the summer.”

Jamie Vardy’s new family home in a picturesque part of northern Italy was broken into by three burglars over the weekend, while the former Leicester City and England striker was playing for Cremonese in a home Serie A clash with Roma, with wife Rebekah in attendance at the game. Cremonese were soundly beaten 3-1, but that was the least of Vardy's problems.

• £80,000 worth of valuables stolen

  The has reported that three men gained entry to the Vardys' £2 million property by the shores of Lake Garda in the town of Salo – around an hour's drive from Cremona – via a window. The break-in happened on Sunday, when Cremonese were hosting Roma at the intimate Stadio Giovanni Zini.

  The report states that £80,000 worth of valuables, including jewellery and cash, were taken from the house. However, security cameras are believed to have picked up the thieves, who are likely to have scouted the house to learn when it would be empty, coming and going via their chosen entry point.

  Local police captain Giacomo Tessarolo told the: "We have CCTV which shows the individuals entering the house through a window that was left open. They were on the premises for several minutes before escaping with the [Patek Philippe] watch and several other high value items. There was a woman inside, not his wife but the baby sitter. The theft was discovered when some of Vardy's friends returned to the house and found items on the floor and it had evidently been broken into."

  Rebekah Vardy was at the Cremonese game when the incident took place.

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  Serie A raises awareness of domestic violence

  Over the weekend, Cremonese were among a handful of Serie A clubs given permission to promote the 'A Red to Violence' campaign, dedicated to fighting domestic abuse. Each player was able to change the name on the back of his shirt to that of an important woman in their life. Vardy opted to have 'Becky' printed above the number 10 on his jersey, in tribute to his wife. Players also took to the field with a streak of red face paint, again to raise awareness and put the issue of domestic violence in the spotlight.

  The Vardy family are said to have immersed themselves in their new Italian adventure, making themselves a visible presence in the town of Salo, population: 10,500, by going out for walks and eating dinner in local restaurants, as well as trying to learn the language. It makes it doubly cruel that they have now been the victims of an unsettling burglary.

• Vardy's Serie A inspiration

  Vardy was linked with other clubs after leaving Leicester in the summer, including Wrexham, but eventually settled on a new challenge in Italy and has adapted quickly to life abroad. "Once I made my decision, that was it. I was coming here," Vardy explained in a September interview. "I'm settling in really well and just can't wait to get going now. It's all about match days and wanting to pick the results up, so now it's about just knuckling down when I get given the opportunity, helping my teammates out as much as I can and hopefully chipping in with some goals."

  He also noted that his favourite Serie A player to watch growing up was Juventus legend Alessandro Del Piero: "You watch him play – he was unbelievable. Watching him score most weeks was really encouraging for me. Having watched that, me coming here and trying to do exactly the same – it’s really exciting."

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  Vardy contract extension looks likely

  Having left Leicester at the end of last season when his contract expired, 38-year-old Vardy signed an initial 12-month deal with Cremonese to cover the 2025-26 campaign. However, the terms of that contract also include a 12-month extension to the summer of 2027 if the club avoids relegation. So far, at least, that looks a plausible eventuality, given their mid-table safety after 12 games.

  The defeat to Roma was a third on the bounce in Serie A, but Cremonese still sit 11th, with a healthy six-point cushion between them and the relegation zone. The team has lost the same number of games as European powerhouse Inter (4), but needs to be able to turn draws into wins, having taken maximum points from only three league matches. Still, for a newly-promoted provincial club navigating just a second season in the top flight in the last 30 years, it has been a strong start.

Time and again at the business end of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, this 21-year-old rode the pressure, read the bowler, and executed with flair to take Mumbai across the line

Himanshu Agrawal16-Dec-2024Twenty-one-year-old Suryansh Shedge seems to have as much clarity when he speaks as he does when he bats.For instance, let’s look at the quarter-final of the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT). Shedge, batting at No. 6 for Mumbai against Vidarbha, is under pressure. His team needs another 60 runs to win off just 24 balls, and he has started with just three runs off as many deliveries. Five of his six innings before this have yielded 1*, 0, 9, 12 and 1* (the other yielded 30* off eight, but more on that later).Here, with Mumbai’s tournament on the line, Shedge despatches offspinner Mandar Mahale for a four and three sixes in a 24-run over. Each time, he is deep in the crease and across the stumps. He finishes with 36* from 12 balls. He had been told coming into the competition that he would be batting at Nos. 5 or 6, and so he had trained for just this situation: teeing off to turn the game around quickly – in one over, specifically.Related

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• Rahane flying in T20s after CSK stint frees him up

“Coming into this tournament, I tweaked my practice sessions a bit. I was playing six-ball sets, [and] trying to score a certain amount of runs in those six balls,” Shedge told reporters. “That kind of helps you. And I was taking breaks after every six balls because when you go into bat, you will only get 10-15 balls to face. I was trying to simulate that in the practice sessions, and that helps. When you practise going from ball one, it kind of becomes a muscle memory, and when you are in the middle, you find it easier.”Shedge often arrives to bat in tricky situations, and has made it a habit to boss the game from there. He wrapped up the match against Vidarbha by sending the ball out on to the road in Alur. Six days earlier, in the first of his string of good performances at the business end the SMAT, he had crashed that 30* off eight balls, this knock aiding a tournament record chase of 230 against Andhra. In the semi-final, against Baroda, Shedge faced only one ball in the chase of 159, but even that landed in the stands.”I’ve always batted like this. Even in my Under-16 days, [when] I was playing [multi-]days games, I’ve scored 196 in 115 balls,” he said. “So if I see the ball, I hit it. And you might make errors when you play in that fashion, so you have to be level-headed to come back from the errors you make. It requires a lot of strength.”Suryansh Shedge got the job done for Mumbai in the SMAT final•Himanshu Agrawal/ESPNcricinfoLevel-headedness. As a finisher, that is one quality which separates the good from the best. Shedge has looked good already. Six of his nine innings at the SMAT were at No. 6. One came at No. 7, in the most important match of the tournament: the final, against Madhya Pradesh.The game could have gone either way when he walked out, with Mumbai 46 runs away, with 32 balls and five wickets in hand. Suryakumar Yadav, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw and Shivam Dube were out. But third ball he faced, Shedge stood tall facing up to a dipping full toss and swiped it for four to deep square-leg. Three balls later, Shedge shifted his weight on to the back foot and guided a length ball for four past the wicketkeeper. His partner Atharva Ankolekar cracked a six last ball of that over and, just like that, Mumbai were favourites to seal the title, which they did, Shedge remaining unbeaten – again – on 36 off 15.

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It took Shedge “a lot of hours” with coaches Abhishek Nayar, Monty Desai and Manish Bangera to build up his awareness and power-hitting.”You gain a lot of perspective when you spend time with them. Rather than practicing, you talk to them a lot. At the end of the day, when you go out and you need a certain amount of runs in certain balls, it all comes down to your mental game,” Shedge said. “So how positive you are, it signifies a lot. And hard work over anything. I have put in a lot of hard yards; so have my parents and people who are my well-wishers. Practicing, I wouldn’t say it makes you perfect. But trying to practice perfectly makes you perfect.”As Mumbai edged closer to the title, Shedge brought out the cherries to top the cake, swatting a short-of-a-length ball outside off from Venkatesh Iyer over deep midwicket and then – in SKY mode – exposing all his stumps and sweeping a full ball around seventh stump into the top tier over fine leg. He said he took inputs from Suryakumar , and that certainly showed.

“Before the bowler is in the run-up, I don’t think of any shots. When he starts running, then my brain starts working. And then I just commit. There are no second thoughts in my head.”Suryansh Shedge

“I saw two fielders [inside the circle] behind [square], and he bowled a wide ball [outside off]. I knew he was going to back that ball. So all I needed to do was get into position, and time it,” Shedge said of that sweep for six. “If you react a bit early, he might see you and go further away from you. So as soon as he was going to release the ball, I came into the position and that happened.”Before the bowler is in the run-up, I don’t think of any shots. When he starts running, then my brain starts working. And then I just commit. There are no second thoughts in my head.”All this points to a lot of maturity, a quality that would have been especially useful when, last year, Shedge had to deal with a stress fracture in the L4 region of his spine. The injury was a double blow: it ruled him out of SMAT 2023-24, and because of it, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), his IPL franchise, released him.It got to him, but then his competitive streak kicked in. “First two months [after the injury], I was just going through the motions. I wasn’t in the zone, but I kind of got out… But me as a person, personally, I like competition. And I like pressure because it tests me. At the end of the day, when my head hits the pillow, I want to feel that satisfaction of doing something for the team in whatever department it may be.”Now he can tick impressing at the SMAT off his list, with 131 runs at a strike rate of 251.92 – the highest strike rate for anyone who faced 20 or more balls this season. And soon enough, he’ll have another go at the IPL, this time with Punjab Kings, where he will also have his Mumbai captain Shreyas Iyer for company. For now, though, celebrating his team’s SMAT triumph will take centre stage.

Wolverhampton Wanderers are now targeting Brendan Rodgers as a replacement for Vitor Pereira, amid boardroom doubts about the Portuguese manager, who has made a very poor start to the campaign.

Indeed, Pereira is arguably fortunate to still be in a job, given that West Ham United and Nottingham Forest have already made changes, with the Old Gold sitting bottom of the Premier League, having failed to win any of their opening nine games.

Wolves have amassed just two points, which means they are currently six points adrift of safety, and the most recent result is likely to be particularly concerning, suffering a 3-2 defeat at home against newly-promoted Burnley.

Pereiera had to be dragged away from an altercation with the fans after the full-time whistle, before going on to urge the supporters to stick with the team in his post-match interview, saying: “We understand the frustration of the people and supporters but what I must say, if we fight united with them, we can win games and compete and achieve our targets – without them, it is impossible,”

“If we win two or three games in a row, things will change.”

The 57-year-old appears to be safe for the meantime, with the board not taking any drastic action after the Burnley defeat, but the club’s hierarchy are starting to have doubts about their manager…

Wolves targeting Rodgers to replace Pereira

According to a report from The Boot Room, Rodgers has now emerged as a target for Wolves, with the 52-year-old now available after resigning from his position as Celtic manager earlier this week.

Transfer expert Graeme Bailey adds: “Wolves, as it stands, are sticking with Vitor Pereira, but I understand the club’s hierarchy is split. Some wanted Pereira out after their weekend defeat to Burnley, so they are one to watch.”

As such, the former FC Porto manager may get a few more games to save his job, but if results don’t improve, the Northern Irishman could be brought in to replace him, having decided moving back to England is his “number one priority”.

After such a poor start to the season, the Old Gold may need a special manager to guide them to safety, and the ex-Celtic boss, who has managed 34 Champions League games, could fit the bill.

Gabriel Agbonlahor once lauded the former Leicester City boss for the work he did at the King Power Stadium, describing him as a “world-class” manager.

During his time with the Foxes, Rodgers, who often utilises a 4-3-3 formation, secured two fifth-place finishes and won the FA Cup, showcasing that he is capable of punching above his weight with a smaller club.

Despite signing a new three-year contract last month, there is only so long Wolves can stick with Pereira if results don’t improve dramatically, and the former Leicester manager could be the ideal replacement.

Could Jorgen Strand Larsen save Vitor Pereira's job? Wolves' "phenomenal" star looks like another Cunha-type player for Pereira

The talented international could be another Cunha-type star for Wolves this season.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Oct 18, 2025

Those of a Liverpool persuasion are no doubt braced for the imminent return to action, with Arne Slot’s struggling champions hosting Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

It’s been anything but plain sailing for the Reds this season, and with only three points gained from their past six outings in the top flight, title-defending aspirations have devolved into fears that the Reds will miss out on Champions League qualification for only the second time in a decade.

Last season was nearly flawless until Slot’s champions eased standards toward the final stretch, save for Forest’s shock win at Anfield early in the campaign.

Liverpool will need to be at their best to ensure Sean Dyche does not heap more misery on his side. Set-pieces and long balls have been among the cruxes of this issue-ridden campaign, after all.

And they will have to make do without the creativity of Florian Wirtz, who has been ruled out with a muscle injury sustained with Germany.

The latest on Florian Wirtz's fitness

Wirtz is ruled out this weekend, having checked in after international action with a muscular problem. Conor Bradley is also sidelined, and for a longer period than the 22-year-old. However, Alisson Becker could make his anticipated return from injury.

Wirtz has been at the epicentre of Liverpool’s struggles this season, routinely hounded for his tough integration period after completing a £116m transfer from Bayer Leverkusen in July. The playmaker has yet to score across 16 matches in all competitions, and he has not registered an assist in the Premier League.

Though he struggled during the defeat at Manchester City two weeks ago, Wirtz has shown signs of progress in recent games, and his creativity will be sorely missed against a resilient Forest backline whose low block and resilience under pressure will prove a tough nut to crack at Anfield – last season bears testament to that.

While Cody Gakpo will fancy a return to the starting line-up in Wirtz’s stead, Slot may want to consider a more dynamic option for this one.

And Slot may have just the solution in Liverpool’s new version of Divock Origi.

Slot must unleash Liverpool's new Origi

Origi has achieved cult status at Liverpool. The Belgian striker only scored 41 goals across 175 appearances for the outfit, but his catalogue of big-game moments is something to behold.

His goal in the 2019 Champions League final over Tottenham Hotspur immortalised him on Merseyside.

Now, Liverpool find themselves enjoying the skill of a new version in Federico Chiesa, who has been unable to nail down a starting role in Slot’s team since completing a £12.5m transfer from Juventus in 2024.

Chiesa toiled through his first year in England, but he’s played a bigger role since the summer, having notched two goals and three assists across all competitions this season. He has played 12 times, yet only two of those appearances have come from the opening whistle.

Hugo Ekitike

16

6 + 1

Mohamed Salah

16

5 + 3

Cody Gakpo

16

4 + 3

Federico Chiesa

12

2 + 3

Alexander Isak

8

1 + 1

Florian Wirtz

16

0 + 3

Rio Ngumoha

7

1 + 0

In the words of reporter Lewis Oldham, “Chiesa has undoubtedly been a flop for Liverpool”, but he’s simultaneously emerged as a “Divock Origi regen” in that he is a rare trump card off the bench and a popular figure besides.

Because for all the hardship Chiesa has been through since joining Liverpool, he has enjoyed some big moments in red. It was the 28-year-old who bagged a consolation in the Carabao Cup final, and he ensured Slot’s side made it a winning start to the current campaign after restoring Liverpool’s lead over Bournemouth back in August.

Chiesa’s wizardry on the ball and natural striker’s instinct could see him slot right into Wirtz’s berth, playing off the left and drifting centrally to accommodate Liverpool’s tactical flow.

Given that the Italian has also won 55% of his ground duels and averaged 0.8 tackles per Premier League fixture this term in spite of not having started a game, he might even be an apt fit for the physical battle that comes with a clash against the Tricky Trees.

Liverpool cannot afford another slip-up at the moment and must secure three points against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League. Given that Chiesa has been among the most coherent and dangerous forwards in Liverpool’s squad, surely it is time he earns a rare starting role in the big league?

Liverpool have a "ruthless" 19-year-old striker who could surpass Ekitike

Liverpool may have found the next big thing in their academy system.

ByAngus Sinclair Nov 20, 2025

Not every transfer has panned out the way they planned, but Chelsea have built themselves a brilliant squad over the last few years.

The likes of Moises Caicedo, Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernández, Marc Cucurella and Joao Pedro wouldn’t look out of place in any other Premier League side.

Moreover, while it’s still early days, it looks like Enzo Maresca and Co have a genuine world-class superstar in the making with Estêvão.

The Brazilian has been incredible so far this season, so Chelsea fans should be delighted about reports linking them to someone who could end up being another Estêvão.

Chelsea target their next Estêvão

There has long been a lot of hype around Estêvão, so much so, in fact, that respected analyst Ben Mattinson labelled him a “future Ballon d’Or winner” a few months before Chelsea even signed him.

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Now, there is still a long way to go until the teenager reaches that level, but he has already been sensational for the Blues this season.

For example, in 17 appearances, totalling 740 minutes, he has provided one assist and scored five goals, including a stunner against Barcelona on Tuesday night.

Therefore, it’s hardly a surprise that the club are now interested in another young star, Assan Ouédraogo, who could potentially emulate the Brazilian.

Yes, according to a recent report from Sky Sports Germany, Chelsea are one of a few clubs keen on signing the RB Leipzig gem.

Alongside the West Londoners, Manchester United have been credited with an interest in the 19-year-old, whose contract runs until 2029.

Unfortunately, there is no release clause in that deal, so the fee needed to sign the German could end up being rather significant, as much as £50m according to further reports out of Germany in the last few months.

Even so, given Ouédraogo’s ability and potential, this is a transfer Chelsea should pursue, especially as he could be another Estêvão.

Why Ouédraogo could be another Estêvão for Chelsea

So, the first thing to point out is that, yes, the two youngsters primarily play in different positions.

Ouédraogo has spent this season playing as a central and attacking midfielder, while Estêvão has spent most of this year on the right.

However, while the pair do not necessarily operate in the same areas of the pitch, both are highly rated youngsters who seem destined to reach the top of the game.

For example, while Chelsea fans are more than familiar with the Brazilian’s exploits so far this season, they likely don’t know that the German has been even more productive.

In 12 first-team appearances, totalling 561 minutes, the Leipzig gem has scored three goals and provided four assists, which comes out to a sensational average of a goal involvement every 1.71 games, or every 80.14 minutes.

Moreover, the Mülheim an der Ruhr-born prospect has already made quite the impression at the international level.

After blitzing his way up through the various youth levels, he was handed his first senior cap for Germany earlier this month, and instead of just coming on and focusing on not making a mistake, he scored.

Finally, on top of already producing goal involvements for fun, the £22k-per-week gem has some unreal underlying numbers to back up exactly why content creator Neal Gardner has described him as a “powerhouse.”

Goals

0.48

Top 1%

Assists

0.48

Top 1%

Goals + Assists

0.97

Top 1%

Yellow Cards

0.00

Top 1%

npxG: Non-Penalty xG

0.31

Top 1%

Shots Total

2.90

Top 1%

Shots on Target

1.45

Top 1%

Goal-Creating Actions

1.13

Top 1%

Touches (Att Pen)

4.83

Top 1%

Successful Take-Ons

1.77

Top 1%

Carries into Penalty Area

0.97

Top 1%

According to FBref, he ranks in the top 1% of midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for goals, assists, shots on target, goal-creating actions, successful take-ons, carries into the penalty area and more, all per 90.

Ultimately, while it’s still early in his career, it’s hard to disagree with Mattinson’s assessment that Ouédraogo is a “beast ready to be unleashed” and therefore capable of being another Estêvão for Chelsea.

Chelsea have already signed another exciting star who's "just like Estevao"

Chelsea have already signed another youngster who could become another Estevao for Enzo Maresca.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Nov 26, 2025

Toss The toss in Dubai turned out to be a formality with Pakistan surprisingly choosing to bat first after Salman Agha called it right. Dubai has usually been a venue for chasing under lights. The chasing team has won the last three T20I meetings between these two sides at this venue – Pakistan twice and India once. Yet Pakistan have decided to bat first and trust their spinners to defend the total.India were looking to bowl anyway. And they have retained the XI that they used in their first game against UAE, which meant Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy were both part of their attack again. Pakistan also stuck with their XI from their game against Oman, meaning Haris Rauf remained on the bench.Pakistan: 1 Sahibzada Farhan, 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Fakhar Zaman, 4 Salman Agha (capt), 5 Hasan Nawaz, 6 Mohammad Haris (wk), 7 Mohammad Nawaz, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 10 Sufiyan Muqeem, 11 Abrar Ahmed.India 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Sanju Samson (wk), 4 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Varun Chakravarthy.

Veteran opener steps away from the game after 16 seasons at Bristol

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jul-2025

Chris Dent, Gloucestershire’s long-serving opening batter, has announced his retirement from professional cricket with immediate effect.Dent, 34, represented Gloucestershire in 356 matches, scoring over 15,000 runs across all formats, including 11,237 at 36.01 in first-class cricket, placing him 28th on the club’s all-time list.Born in Bristol, Dent joined Gloucestershire’s Pathway at the age of 12, and made his senior debut in 2009 during a Pro40 match against Nottinghamshire. He passed 1,000 first-class runs in a season on four occasions, most recently in 2019, when he captained the side to promotion to Division One, their first such appearance since 2005.This season, however, he struggled for form in the opening round of Championship games, and had not featured for the first team since April.”After 16 memorable seasons playing professional cricket, I’ve decided that the time is right to step away from the game,” Dent said. “It’s hard to put into words what cricket has given me, but I will always be truly grateful.”I want to thank Gloucestershire CCC for giving me my opportunity 16 years ago. The support and faith you’ve shown me have been a huge part of any success I’ve had over the years.”To the fans – your encouragement throughout my career has meant everything. What stands out most, especially over these last few difficult years, is the love and kindness you’ve shown me. That support helped me more than you’ll ever know.”The biggest thank you goes to all the players. You guys are what made the last 16 years so memorable. I feel incredibly lucky to have shared the field with so many brilliant people. When I look back on my career, my favourite memories are special because of the people I shared them with. Even though my time as a cricketer is over, I hope there are still more memories to be made with you all.”Mark Alleyne, Gloucestershire’s head coach, said: “Reaching the end of a first-class playing career is always a daunting time, but I am sure Denty will look back with brilliant memories of his time with Gloucestershire.”I remember him in his teenage years, knocking around in the Academy, and I am not surprised he became one of our most valued players to come through our Pathway.”Batting at the top for most of his career in England is an unenviable task, but once again he managed to impact games from that position on a regular basis. His presence there kept him perennially in England’s shortlist, though he never quite got the call. I believe the international stage could have seen him flourish.”Although still in great physical shape, it has been more challenging mentally, and on that sad note, his appearances have been somewhat restricted.”The last few years will not define what has been a stellar career with the Glorious, and I would like to thank him for his immense contributions over the years.”