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Johann Layne, 22, is an uncapped pace-bowling allrounder who was among the wickets in West Indies’ domestic red-ball competition last season

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Sep-2025West Indies fast bowler Shamar Joseph has been ruled out of the two-Test series against India next month because of an injury. He will be replaced by the uncapped pace-bowling allrounder Johann Layne.A CWI tweet confirmed that Joseph had been ruled out and that he would be re-evaluated before the white-ball tour of Bangladesh, but did not mention the nature of the injury. After the Tests in India finish on October 14, West Indies are scheduled to play three ODIs in Bangladesh from October 18, followed by three T20Is from October 27 to November 1.It’s a busy touring season for West Indies across formats as they will then fly to New Zealand for an all-format tour of five T20Is, three ODIs and three Tests. They are currently in the UAE for three T20Is against Nepal starting September 27.Related

• Alzarri Joseph ruled out of India Test series with lower-back injury

• The weight of the maroon cap: West Indies face test of identity in India

• Sammy confident pace attack will help WI pull a NZ on India

• WI drop Brathwaite for India Tests; Chanderpaul, Athanaze recalled

Joseph has played 11 Tests so far for 51 wickets at an average of 21.66, having started his Test career with a five-for on debut against Australia in January 2024.Layne, 22, has played 19 first-class matches for 66 wickets while averaging 22.28 and has scored 495 runs at 19.03. He has four five-wicket hauls and three four-fors in 34 innings in the red-ball format. Layne recently played two four-day matches for West Indies A against the touring South Africa A side in June, where he scored 62 runs in four innings with a best of 34 and took one wicket in each of the three innings he bowled in.But he had a lot more success for West Indies Academy in the last domestic first-class competition, which he ended with a six-for against Windward Islands. Overall, Layne bagged 27 wickets in six matches in that tournament to average an impressive 15.88, with two five-fors and two four-fors.Layne will join Alzarri Joseph, Jayden Seales and Anderson Phillip in the pace attack, which also has allrounder Justin Greaves, with Jomel Warrican, Khary Pierre and captain Roston Chase as the spin options.

Updated West Indies Test squad for India series

Roston Chase (capt), Jomel Warrican (vice-capt), Kevlon Anderson, Alick Athanaze, John Campbell, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Justin Greaves, Shai Hope, Tevin Imlach, Johann Layne, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Anderson Phillip, Khary Pierre, Jayden Seales.

Former Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic has warned emerging superstar Lamine Yamal about the inevitable "downsides" of football stardom, such as injuries and pressure. While praising the teenage winger as a "truly special player," Rakitic emphasised the importance of Yamal following his own path rather than being compared to club legends.

• Barca & Spain star shining bright

  Yamal has rocketed to global fame amid his excellent performances for Barcelona and Spain. After winning Euro 2024 with Spain, the 18-year-old went on to score nine goals and set up a further 13 as Barcelona won La Liga under coach Hansi Flick and played an integral role in their Copa del Rey success. His influence resulted in him coming in second in the Ballon d'Or rankings, losing out to Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembele. He is off to a solid start this season, too, scoring six and assisting five across La Liga and the Champions League as he continues to battle injury issues.

  The astonishing start to the winger's career has sparked praise from across the football world, and ex-Barcelona star Rakitic is the latest to hail his talent.

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• Rakitic warns Yamal of football's pressures and downsides

  The Croatian legend, who played for Barcelona for six seasons and won a treble alongside Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, believes Yamal needs to be prepared for the difficulties that come with top-level football. 

  "It's all going in the right direction, and he has become aware that football has its downsides, such as injuries and the pressure he faces," Rakitic said to

  "I think he has to follow his own path; I wouldn't compare him to the three I mentioned [Messi, Suarez, Neymar]. Barcelona and Spain have something special in him, and we all need to help him learn to handle the pressure. He is a truly special player."

• Yamal's ambitious targets and injury concerns

  Yamal himself has recently outlined his ambitious goals for the future. After receiving the Di Stegano Award from Marca for the best player of the 2024-25 season, the 18-year-old declared his desire to win "everything," targeting a clean sweep of the La Liga title, Champions League, World Cup and the Ballon d'Or in 2026. "I want it all. I hope I achieve it all, and as long as we can play, it's possible," he said.

  However, these ambitions are currently tempered by an injury concern. Yamal is navigating a recovery from pubalgia, a chronic groin issue that forced him out of Spain's recent World Cup qualifiers. Barcelona have implemented a cautious treatment plan involving radiofrequency therapy and rehabilitation. The treatment resulted in him withdrawing from the Spain national team a day after the team gathered ahead of the recent World Cup qualifying matches. The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) was left surprised, claiming Barcelona were late in notifying the governing body about the issue. 

  "I've never experienced a situation like this before. I don't think it's very normal. It has surprised us all. You don't have any news, you don't know any details, and on top of that, it's a health issue, so you're left surprised," coach Luis de la Fuente said last week.

  While he has since returned to partial group training, his participation in Barcelona's upcoming historic return to the Camp Nou against Athletic Club remains uncertain and would likely be minimal.

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  What next for Barcelona?

  Barcelona are preparing for their emotional return to Camp Nou this Saturday against Athletic Club in La Liga. Yamal's involvement is in doubt due to his ongoing recovery from pubalgia, while Marcus Rashford is also a doubt after coming down with illness. However, Flick has confirmed goalkeeper Joan Garcia will start and Raphinha is also available again having recovered from injury. 

  The club hope to ensure Yamal and Pedri are fit enough to start in the crucial Champions League encounter against Chelsea, which follows shortly after. Barcelona's medical team will continue to monitor their progress closely, alternating between individual work and controlled group sessions, with a focus on avoiding any setbacks that could lead to a longer lay-off.

If you didn’t believe that Manchester City were bona fide title contenders, well, you surely do now.

On Sunday, the serial champions crushed the reigning champions 3-0 at the Etihad, doing so with plenty to spare.

Despite the fact Erling Haaland saw an early penalty saved by Giorgi Mamardashvili, this merely momentarily delayed the Sky Blues onslaught.

Haaland headed home the opener soon after, before Nico González’s deflected shot deservedly doubled the Citizens’ advantage in first-half injury time, with Jérémy Doku curling home a clinching third; more on the brilliant Belgian in a bit.

The match marked Pep Guardiola’s 1,000th match in management and took his tally to 716 wins, which isn’t bad.

Now eyeing a seventh Premier League title, Manchester City are just four points adrift leaders Arsenal, after Mikel Arteta’s team were denied victory at the Stadium of Light on Saturday night by Brian Brobbey’s last-gasp equaliser for Sunderland.

if Man City are going to become champions of the land once again, they’ll need two of their stars from Sunday to continue to perform.

Jérémy Doku's performance against Liverpool

As noted by Opta, Jérémy Doku won 11 duels, completed seven dribbles, created three chances and registered three shots on target against Liverpool.

If you think that sounds impressive, well, that’s because it is. He is the first player to rack up such an impressive figure in a single Premier League game since Eden Hazard against West Ham in April 2019.

Doku’s thunderous strike capped off the victory as well as his own sublime display, with Gary Neville, speaking during commentary for Sky Sports, saying never before had he awarded the player of the match after 62 minutes, until today.

David Hytner of the Guardian asserted that the winger was ‘unplayable’, praising his ‘blur of tricks and direct running’, with Doku tormenting Liverpool right-back Conor Bradley, the Northern Irishman having pocketed Vinícius Júnior just a few days before.

This was Doku’s 100th appearance in sky blue, scoring just his 17th goal for the club, previously netting against Napoli and Swansea this season, his previous Premier League goal coming at Portman Road against Ipswich in mid-January.

Now though, perhaps the 23-year-old is showing signs of realising his full potential so, while he was the obvious star of the show, an under-the-radar Man City player also deserves to be heralded for their display.

Pep Guardiola's unsung Man City hero

12 months ago, when Manchester City were in complete free fall, all the talk was about how this team cannot win without Rodri.

Well, despite enjoying a brief cameo off the bench against Bournemouth last weekend, the Ballon d’Or winner was not even in the matchday squad against Borussia Dortmund nor Liverpool subsequently, which was one of the major talking points prior to kick off on Sunday.

Nevertheless, Guardiola once described Nico González as like a “mini-Rodri”, and the midfielder helped ensure his compatriot was not missed.

Nico scored the second goal, a hammer blow for Arne Slot’s team coming on the cusp of half-time, and put in a generally imperious performance, as the numbers support.

As the table highlights, the midfielder ranked in the top four when it came to a wide variety of statistics, registering more touches than any other player in sky blue, winning five of the six ground duels he contested as well as completing 51 of 58 passes. Truth be told, this was probably his best display in blue, dominating one of the best sides in the division.

The Manchester Evening News awarded him an 8/10 for his performance, noting that the Spaniard took ‘charge of the game’.

This, in truth, should not be overly surprising.

The midfielder joined from Porto back in January for around £50m and did so with a big reputation, given that he is a La Masia graduate, breaking into the Barcelona team with fellow mononymously known midfielders Pedri and Gavi, rated as highly as both when they were teenagers.

Nevertheless, it is still invaluable for Man City that Nico is able to take a step forward in his development and has the quality to operate as a one-man midfield, allowing their attacking stars, namely Doku, Haaland and others, to shine.

With Rodri and his obvious back-up Mateo Kovačić both struggling due to ongoing injury issues, while Tijjani Reijnders appears ill-suited to the role, Nico has been thrown in at the deep end in the number 6 position, but is gracefully swimming like a swan, rather than sinking like a heavy stone, to continue that analogy.

When Manchester City return to action after the international break, they’ll do so with a tricky trip to St James’ Park, but victory over Newcastle would cut the gap at the top to just one point, ahead of the North London derby the following day.

For the here and now, on the occasion of Guardiola’s 1,000 match as a manager, it was probably fitting that a diminutive Spanish defensive midfield shone.

Pep's £230k-p/w duo look like becoming Man City's new De Bruyne & Sterling

Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling are one of the most deadly duos in Man City’s history, but which current pairing could replicate their success?

By
Ben Gray

Nov 8, 2025

Nottinghamshire wicketkeeper strikes his highest professional score in rain-affected match

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay05-Aug-2025Tom Moores smashed a career-best 148 from 93 balls as Notts Outlaws launched their Metro Bank One-Day Cup campaign with a comfortable victory over Essex.It is the 28-year-old wicketkeeper-batter’s highest score in senior cricket, eclipsing his first-class best of 106. He hit five sixes and 18 fours, sharing a 137-run sixth-wicket partnership with Daniel Sams (45 off 42) as the Outlaws recovered to 283 for 9, having been 41 for four inside the first hour thanks to Essex seamer Jamie Porter taking a List A career-best 4 for 29.Robin Das (46) and skipper Tom Westley (43) gave the Essex a solid start as they chased a revised target of 286 after squally showers had limited the home side to 46 overs in their innings, but from 101 for one they collapsed to 156 for 6, former Lincolnshire left-arm spinner Joe Pocklington taking 3 for 53 on his Outlaws debut, and despite an excellent unbeaten 46 from 41 balls (two sixes) from wicketkeeper Simon Fernandes, still fell for 234, seamer Rob Lord finishing with 3 for 30.After Westley won the toss and asked the home side to bat first in typical outground conditions at the John Fretwell Sports Complex, just outside Mansfield, Porter bowled his 10-over allocation in one spell to have Notts struggling.Having picked up a gift wicket when Outlaws skipper Haseeb Hameed chipped to mid-off, he found movement with the new ball to bowl Ben Slater and the 18-year-old debutant Sam Seecharan before Jack Haynes was caught behind off a thin edge.The hosts stumbled further to 74 for 5 as Lyndon James cut straight to cover, but with Porter bowled out, an Essex attack lacking Simon Harmer (on paternity leave) looked much less menacing.Moores was dropped at deep backward square on 21 off Noah Thain but responded by launching the same bowler over the same boundary for the first of his sixes in an innings that showcased his strengths square of the wicket. His first fifty came off 35 balls, his hundred from 69. His previous List A best had been 76 against Leicestershire in 2018, although this was only his 30th match in the format.Sams – available for Notts until he begins a Caribbean Premier League stint later this month – cleared the rope three times before top-edging to midwicket. Essex’s 19-year-old seamer Charlie Bennett, on his List A debut, recovered from a wobbly start to pick up the wickets of both Sams and Moores, who was eventually held at long-on.After losing Matt Critchley early, Essex looked well placed at 101 for 1 in the 16th over but after Das, who made a match-winning century for his county at Trent Bridge last summer, had miscued Lord to mid-on, Essex were never able to regain full momentum.Westley was well taken at short midwicket as Lord struck again, before 24-year-old Pocklington – handed a contract only this week after call-ups to The Hundred and Matt Montgomery’s move to Derbyshire left Notts with effectively no spinners – marked a memorable debut by bowling Luc Benkenstein, snaring Charlie Allison with a return catch and having Nick Browne caught behind off a botched reverse sweep.Lyndon James had Noah Thain and Bennett both caught at midwicket and Shane Snater caught behind as Essex – who have won just seven of 25 One-Day Cup fixtures since they reached the semi-finals in 2021 – were bowled out for 234.

Tuesday's MLB All-Star Game will feature a change that baseball fans have been longing to see.

The Automated Ball-Strike System will be in place for the Midsummer Classic as the league continues to test the system out before officially bringing it to MLB. And it seems that implementation may be just around the corner.

During a Monday appearance on , MLB commissioner Rob Manfred let slip that Tuesday's use of the ABS system will be a major test ahead of its potential introduction in MLB in 2026.

"This year the emails about bad balls and strike calls have gone up like crazy, because [fans] have now seen that you can do it better, and the sort of theme of the emails is 'What the hell are you waiting for?'" Manfred said.

"We're going to use [the ABS] tonight. It's been used in the minor leagues for several years and we tested it with big league guys in spring training last year. We're in a process directed at bringing it to the big leagues next year," he added.

Manfred made clear that while the league is hoping to implement the ABS in MLB by 2026, it fully intends to "preserve" the roles of umpires in games, and he even denounced the term "robot umpires" when discussing the Automated Ball-Strike System.

The 17-year-old made his maiden first-class century playing his third game, against Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy

Vishal Dikshit18-Oct-2024The Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) isn’t like the rest of Mumbai. In a city where poverty and opulence co-exist without any tangible borders, the BKC is an upmarket commercial hub embellished with offices of multinational companies, high rises adorned by modern-day reflective glass, five-star hotels, upscale restaurants and lavish offices of some of the top banks of the country. Against the backdrop of a metro, its chaos and congestion, this place feels as if it was planted there like a drop-in pitch.And in the middle of this swanky complex stood a 17-year-old boy on Friday who was a bit different to everybody that was around him too. He had been toiling in the scorching sun for close to four hours, sweating to earn each and every run for his team, getting his whites dirty, and physically proving his worth surrounded by people much older – some twice his age.Ayush Mhatre’s face still has a boyish roundness to it. It was hard to miss when he took his helmet off after scoring his maiden century in only his third first-class game and held his arms aloft facing the Mumbai dressing room.Mhatre is the latest from Mumbai’s production line that rolls out promising youngsters ever ready to step up when the first-choice players are unavailable. Two years ago, when the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan were away for national duty for the last couple of seasons, a 17-year-old Musheer Khan made his Ranji Trophy debut. And now when Musheer is out injured after a car accident last month, another 17-year-old has stepped in in his place, almost like he was packed and ready in a warehouse in BKC.Mhatre embodies the struggle of the average Mumbaikar. To chase his cricket dreams, he has had to travel nearly 80 kilometers one way by train from Virar (outside Mumbai) to Churchgate (next to Wankhede Stadium) to access the famed and cricket coaches. He was always supported by his parents to pursue this dream, and it was his (maternal grandfather) and then his (father’s younger brother) who chaperoned him on his journey into the city so he could have it all.Mhatre took the game up when he was five, but it was at 15 that he really began to think that the runs he was piling up in school and club cricket could be done professionally. His personal highest score stands at 254 not out, in a private tournament, and he “gained a lot of confidence” in playing the Kalpesh Koli Under-16 tournament in Mumbai. By December 2023, he had made it to Mumbai’s Under-23 squad for the CK Nayudu Trophy and was also named in MCA’s Under-19 team of the year for 2023-24.Ayush Mhatre is unbeaten on 127 against Maharashtra•PTI At the start of this season, still in Class XII, Mhatre had an inkling that a Mumbai call-up was coming. He was asked to take part in the red-ball KSCA Thimmappiah Tournament, which several players use to tune up for the start of a new Ranji season. There, he smashed 173 against Gujarat and 52 in the next game opposite Andhra. He also started prepping for the challenges fast bowling could throw at him in first-class cricket by batting against plastic balls on tiles with Prashant Shetty, who has coached many Mumbai players including Prithvi Shaw and Jemimah Rodrigues. Eventually, when the call came for the Irani Cup clash against Rest of India, after Musheer had met with an accident, Mhatre was mentally ready.”I was surprised, but there was no pressure, I was excited,” he said on Friday.Mhatre scored 19 and 14 against the likes of Mukesh Kumar and Yash Dayal, and as soon as the Ranji Trophy season started, he took no time to register his maiden first-class half-century against Baroda, top-scoring with 52 on a spicy surface in Mumbai’s first innings when only one other team-mate crossed 30.On Friday, batting on his home turf, after Maharashtra had been bowled out for just 126, Mhatre saw off the new ball while Shaw and Hardik Tamore fell cheaply, and he stitched useful partnerships with his captain Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer to power the score past 200.He reveres his Mumbai senior Rohit Sharma – also from the suburbs – for his trademark pulls and timing, and almost as a tribute to him, Mhatre pulled a short ball so handsomely towards the Bank of America building towering over the ground that the Mumbai dressing room erupted in applause. He seems comfortable off both the front and the back foot – the straight bat drives and the confident cuts showed as much. There was rarely a lull when he was at the crease, his strike rate hovering around 75 as he brought up a half-century off 63 balls and his century off 133 balls. Eighty of his 127 runs came on the off side.”The first hundred is always special,” he said after the day’s play. “I was confident which kept building in this innings.”Mhatre said Rahane coached him through a 99-run stand for the third wicket by setting “small targets of five runs at a time,” before he batted “calmly” with Iyer in an unbroken partnership of 97 as the field spread out and the baking sun made the pitch more batting friendly. Even at this nascent stage of his career, he understands he can’t get carried away even if he loves to attack.”I have to play with control, play according to what the situation demands, that’s what the team expects from me.”Mhatre has started with a bang, he has lived up to the promise he had shown in age-group cricket, and now he will want to stay true to the character of a promising Mumbai batter and really make it big.

Lionel Messi was reportedly left feeling “deceived and betrayed” by Barcelona after seeing his dreams of making an emotional return to Camp Nou as a player cruelly dashed. The Argentine superstar was forced out of Catalunya in 2021, as he headed to Paris Saint-Germain, but saw an agreement lined up two years later that would have allowed professional steps to be retraced.

• Messi reached out to Barcelona after winning 2022 World Cup

  Having seen Messi – alongside his wife Antonela and their three children – endure a tough time in France, with the South American icon struggling to settle when stepping off his career-long comfort zone, Barca explored the option of re-signing a fan favourite.

  Having left as a free agent, he dropped back into that pool when reaching the end of his contract at Parc des Princes in the summer of 2023. Messi had become a World Cup winner by that point and was on course to collect a record-extending eighth Ballon d’Or.

  Shortly after capturing a global title in Qatar, Messi is reported to have reached out to close friend and former team-mate Xavi – who was Barcelona’s head coach at the time. Contact was made on January 6, 2023. A day later, the Liga giants are said to have “got to work”.

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  Messi left stunned as deal never materialised

  With Messi expressing a desire to head back to his spiritual home, the Blaugrana were confident that a deal could be lined up. Both sides of those discussions were said to be “excited” about a possible reunion. Over the course of six months, Barca were able to gain approval for Messi’s return – with the all-time great prepared to take a sizable wage cut.

  According to , the day after Barcelona won the Liga title at the end of the 2022-23 campaign, the Messi family “received a call from the highest levels” at Camp Nou. They were informed that a “transfer couldn’t be done”. That led to “total devastation” in the Messi camp, with the Argentine GOAT left “deceived and betrayed” for the second time – having previously believed that an extension could be agreed at Barca prior to his tearful departure for PSG.

• Messi return to Barcelona as a player ruled out

  Messi is said to have accepted that he “would never play for the club of his life again”. That remains the case in 2025, with the 38-year-old now on the books of MLS side Inter Miami. He has agreed fresh terms there through 2028.

  Barca president Joan Laporta has said of the club’s all-time leading scorer – who has 672 goals to his name – returning in a playing capacity: “Out of respect to Messi, all the club staff and the club members, it's not right for me to speculate on something that would not be realistic, and it's not the moment to do it.”

  Spanish journalist has reiterated that stance, posting on social media: “Leo Messi, under no circumstances is considering a return to Barcelona as a footballer. That chapter is closed. He has a long-term contract in Miami. He goes season by season. If he returns, it would be more for the offices, in the sports area. He is Barcelona's heritage and hopefully he returns someday.”

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  MLS star Messi will move back to Barcelona in retirement

  Messi has admitted as much, telling of his plans to move back to Catalunya once he has finished chasing the American dream: “I really want to go back there, we miss Barcelona a lot. My wife and I, the kids, are constantly talking about Barcelona and the idea of moving back. We have our house there, everything, so that's what we want. I'm really looking forward to going back to the stadium when it's finished because since I left for Paris, I haven't been back to Camp Nou, and then they moved to Montjuic.”

  Messi recently took in a secret visit to Camp Nou, as that iconic venue undergoes a serious redevelopment project. Even Laporta claims to have been unaware that the mercurial No.10 was back in familiar territory, with it still being suggested that a friendly or exhibition game could be lined up that allows Messi to grace the field in Barcelona one last time.

It seems as if the Athletics have an unhappy passenger aboard the team bus.

Marquee offseason acquisition and franchise record signing Luis Severino has not masked his frustrations over the lackluster ballpark in Sacramento the Athletics will call home until their move to Las Vegas. He's struggled pitching at home at Sutter Health Park, and he's made clear that he feels the environment on the road, pitching at actual MLB stadiums, has enhanced his performance when away from home.

According to MLB insider Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY, Severino's latest comments about the team's stadium haven't sat well with the front office, who Nightengale indicates, "can't wait" to find a trade partner for the disgruntled starting pitcher. The report indicates that Severino is "agitating the organization" by bashing the environment in Sacramento.

The numbers don't lie, however. Pitching at home this season, Severino has made 10 starts and hasn't recorded a single win. He's 0-7 with a 6.79 ERA, 45 strikeouts, 71 hits and 20 walks across 57 innings. The 31-year-old looks a completely different pitcher on the road, where he's logged a 2.27 ERA across seven starts and has struck out 23 batters while walking 11.

Still, to publicly bash the stadium that will be the team's home through the 2027 MLB season is not a good look for Severino, and it may be one that sees him shipped out of town before long.

Severino signed the largest total money contract in Athletics history this offseason when the organization inked him to a three-year, $67 million deal in free agency.

Over a transformative year, India’s chosen one has learned to find joy in the struggle

Alagappan Muthu02-Nov-20240:47

Manjrekar: Gill’s innings showed he cares for Test cricket

He walked off with the bat trailing in his wake, scraping the turf. A slow climb up the Wankhede Stadium stairs took him into the dressing room. It was the last place he wanted to be in.Shubman Gill was playing the kind of innings that makes a top-order batter. It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t scratchy. It wasn’t a hundred. It wasn’t easy. But it was so very necessary.Related

• Jadeja, Ashwin run through New Zealand to hand India the advantage

Wankhede was a beautiful setting for it, with its capacity to be many things at once. It can be loud. Akash Deep flattening Tom Latham’s stumps just before tea on Saturday infused drama and intrigue into an atmosphere that is only supposed to contain nitrogen, oxygen, and trace amounts of other gases. It can be dead. Virat Kohli running himself out on Friday evening rendered the vocal cords of 18,724 people obsolete. It can be hostile. Earlier this year, it made Hardik Pandya want to cry.Mumbai woke up to a post-Diwali haze so thick that whole buildings were lost in it. Rishabh Pant decided he would do the same to the memories of India’s mini-collapse from the evening of day one, belting Ajaz Patel all around the park and preventing him from getting into any sort of rhythm. The runs were a bonus. The quickest fifty by an India batter against New Zealand in Test cricket was a bonus. The objective was to prevent the spinner from hitting the good-length area of a turning pitch.Step out, make room, go inside-out: just one example of Shubman Gill’s range against spin•BCCIGill wasn’t really at his best doing this. A habit of going at the ball with hard hands made him especially vulnerable on the front foot. If New Zealand could get him forward but deny him the half-volley, there was enough help on offer to expect a favourable outcome. Ajaz managed that in India’s 22nd over, the third of the morning session, but the bat-pad went to silly point and there was nobody there. Gill used to find himself in this situation a lot and his average against spin reflected it. Until the start of 2024, it was 33.33. After the first Test against England earlier this year, his place in the XI even came under threat.The ball after he had nearly landed in trouble against Ajaz, Gill showcased some of the gains he has made since that low point. He went down the track – he’s spoken about doing that to counter spin ever since he was a little boy – but there was a little bit more at play too. Something clever. Something that good batters try to do to put the pressure back on the bowler. He had shifted himself inside the line of the ball and made full use of the opportunity to free his arms. He did this and went inside-out over extra-cover for four.There were other examples of his evolution as well. A forward-press trigger movement. Softer hands while defending. A focus on strike rotation. Because boundaries are often just a reprieve, a second’s joy amid hours of struggle, in conditions offering at least four degrees of turn on average. That is Test cricket, and Gill is showing the capacity for it. He had to be woken up to these things after a dropped catch on 45, but when he was, he did everything he could to shut the bowler out. Sometimes he was successful. Sometimes he was not. He rolled with that. And in the end, he was pretty happy with where he ended up.”Yes, definitely it’s one of my better knocks that I have played in Test cricket,” Gill said at the press conference on Saturday, and explained how he has been trying to get better at playing spin.”I was injured in the first Test. Even leading up to that Test I didn’t really practice that much because of the injury. So, I didn’t get that much time in the nets. And before the Pune Test match, I got two net sessions, and I am the kind of person, I like to have long practice sessions so that I feel confident about it. So, just the conversation with the coach [Gautam Gambhir] was just having more repetitions on what I think is the best idea for me to be able to play spin.1:23

Manjrekar: The way Pant started against Ajaz was incredible

“Leading up to this Test match, [my training] was all about me working on the areas that I have worked before,” he said. “The England series that we played, I think when I was batting in that series, I was batting at my best against spinners and just to be able to go back into that mindset and what my positions were while playing spinners and that’s what I was trying to replicate before this match.”Since the start of this year, Gill has averaged 61.55 against spin.Having been anointed the chosen one, the future of India’s batting, the future captain, there had been a sense that things were coming easy to Gill; that the narrative being built around him was disproportionate to what was on his CV. He obviously has no control over that. He also can’t really avoid that. The best he can do is be ready for games like these where his team was behind and they went through a series of brain fades and then had to fight back. Because such times hit different.”I was just having fun,” Gill said. “Even if it was difficult, I was just enjoying the difficult moments because you don’t get to play that many Test matches and I just feel when I am batting there, if I would put too much pressure on myself then I am losing out on the fun of the art of batting and that’s what I was trying to do.”It was fun for Gill, and fun too, judging by its response, for the Wankhede.

Phoenix crawl to 122 as Rockets cruise home with 22 balls to spare

ECB Media08-Aug-2025Trent Rockets kicked off their campaign in the Hundred men’s competition with an effortless victory over Birmingham Phoenix at Edgbaston.122 for 6 from the Phoenix never looked enough, and David Willey’s new-look Rockets side were led to a comfortable six-wicket victory by a strong bowling effort spearheaded by Lockie Ferguson (3 for 20) and a chase fronted by Tom Banton (42 from 29).Asked to bowl first, the Rockets attack made early inroads, removing Phoenix’s top three of Ben Duckett, Will Smeed and Aneurin Donald to leave the home side 24 for 3 after the 25-ball Powerplay.Rehan Ahmed swivels on the pull•Matt Lewis/ECB via Getty Images

Sam Cook’s brilliant work off his own bowling to run out Jacob Bethell left Phoenix reeling, but a defiant Liam Livingstone (39) and Joe Clarke (29) partnership led a rebuild. Livingstone played a captain’s knock, hitting three sixes in his 30-ball stay, while Clarke struggled for fluency; a brilliant set from Ferguson removed them both.Despite some tight Rockets death bowling, a couple of late blows from Dan Mousley and Benny Howell brought Phoenix closer to a respectable total.In reply, although Tim Southee (2 for 36) bowled Joe Root early on, the Rockets began aggressively against the trio of Kiwi quicks. Banton and Rehan Ahmed (25 from 16) struck some lusty blows to quickly bring the runs required to below a run-a-ball.Although Ahmed and Banton were both removed by Benny Howell (2 for 25), who was the pick of the Phoenix bowlers, Max Holden (22 from 13) led the Rockets comfortably home with 22 balls to spare.