Tottenham Hotspur will feel hard done by after salvaging a draw against Newcastle United on Tuesday evening, having come unstuck after Anthony Gordon dispatched a controversially won penalty for the home side.

There’s a case to be made that Rodrigo Bentancur had infringed play in the box, but the tussle was waged between two players – one of whom was the 6 foot 7 Dan Burn – and there’s also a case to be made that Bentancur was pulled to the floor by the Newcastle defender.

Even as Cristian Romero’s brace rescued his side, Thomas Frank will know the pressure valve has not been released, and he still has much to prove if he is to cement his managerial berth in north London.

Frank's struggles at the Spurs helm

Tottenham have been something of a mixed bag in the Premier League this season. Their home performance woes have spilt from last year into the current term, with the defeat to Fulham meaning three have been lost on the bounce in the top flight.

Tactically, Tottenham are not creating enough. James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski are sidelined, have been since the summer, but this is no excuse for the stunted playmaking quality that has been on show. Spurs’ players are not maximising their own skillsets.

Frank is a more pragmatic manager than Ange Postecoglou before him, but his Brentford side still produced clinical and concise attacking play.

Man City

2nd

26.7

Chelsea

4th

24.0

Arsenal

1st

23.5

Crystal Palace

5th

22.7

Liverpool

8th

22.2

(18) Tottenham

11th

12.6

Now, much has been left to be desired in his Lilywhites team, and ENIC Group could be forced into cutting off their new manager and replacing him with a summer target.

Indeed, Daniel Levy (remember him?) interviewed Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola at the end of the 2024/25 campaign, as per TalkSPORT, who confirm that he has his sights set on a move up the ladder, albeit with a preference to see out the season.

Given the depth of Tottenham’s interest, this could be a deal revisited. And anyway, it’s not like the Spanish tactician has done anything to deter suitors this year.

Why Iraola is a better stylistic fit

Iraola is a young manager, but he has taken to the Premier League with ease, inculcating his aggressive, attack-focused football at the Vitality Stadium and recording Bournemouth’s highest-ever points total (56) last year.

He has transformed Bournemouth from a band of hard-batting, relegation-contending troops to an easy-on-the-eye attacking force, so intense and energetic. The fact he boasts a superior points-per-game record to Frank in the Premier League only adds fuel to the argument.

It’s a style of football that feels tailor-made for a club like Spurs. To dare is to do, after all, and one of the biggest criticisms of Frank’s tactics has been a pragmatism and lack of creative ambition.

The Spaniard has even been generously named “the best coach in the Premier League” by journalist James Horncastle for his impact on the south coast, and though the Cherries are struggling for form right now, with four losses from five outings, there’s little question that he has laid out his credentials at the top.

Talented players like Xavi Simons are struggling. Tottenham are in a rut. Could Iraola provide the solution? His ability to adapt – evidenced after a summer exodus – could also play favourably into a north London outfit who have undergone a fair amount of chopping and changing in recent years.

It is not yet time for ENIC chiefs to push for a managerial change, but Frank will know that he will soon be on borrowed time if unable to prove that his tactical vision is slowly taking root at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Should push come to shove, Iraola may well prove the perfect replacement, his self-defined “rock and roll” brand of football aligning with Spurs’ free-flowing identity.

The new Son: Spurs prepared to pay £65m to sign "world-class" talent

Tottenham Hotspur could be about to fork out a hefty sum to land a new attacker for Thomas Frank.

ByEthan Lamb Dec 3, 2025

Over 200 overs of batting in Delhi, West Indies have shown sparks of what they can do when conditions aren’t treacherous and the right personnel are selected

Karthik Krishnaswamy13-Oct-20252:43

Chopra: Credit to WI for taking Test into day five

After 15 successive innings in which they failed to get as far as the second new ball, West Indies did so twice in the second Test against India in Delhi, batting for nearly 200 overs across their two innings. After seven successive century-less Tests, they scored two in Delhi, with John Campbell and Shai Hope getting into three figures and putting on a rousing 177 as West Indies, made to follow on, erased a 270-run first-innings deficit and set India a target of 121.What does any of this mean for a West Indies Test team – and in particular a West Indies batting line-up – that has been under fire from every direction over the last few months?First things first: conditions, conditions, conditions. India have moved away from the square-turner template of most of the last four years and have stated that they are looking to play on traditional home pitches that start out flat and give batters the opportunities to score hundreds. This was largely the case in the first Test in Ahmedabad, the pitch there had an even covering of grass that provided seam movement early on. That red-soil surface also began to break up towards the end of day two. West Indies, choosing to bat first after winning the toss, ended up batting both times when conditions were at their most helpful for the bowlers.Delhi’s black-soil surface has been different. It began flat and slow, and has only seemed to slow down further as the Test match has progressed. India enforcing the follow-on gave West Indies the chance to wear down an attack that was contending with both unresponsive conditions and tiring legs.The efforts of Campbell and Hope and the unbeaten 50 from Justin Greaves in the second innings, and the resistance of West Indies’ lower order in both innings, must, therefore, be viewed against this backdrop.Related

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India 58 runs away from 2-0 sweep of West Indies

Equally, however, West Indies’ barren run with the bat leading into this Test match has to be viewed against the conditions they were having to face all year.They began 2025 on the dustbowls of Multan where they drew 1-1 with Pakistan in a series where the two teams passed 200 once each across the two Tests.Then they played Australia, the world’s No. 1 Test side, which boasts the world’s most potent pace quartet, on seaming pitches at home, and competed through the first two or three innings of all three Test matches thanks to their own fast bowlers. They had the misfortune of batting last in all three Tests, however, and collapsed in all three fourth innings.The last of these, of course, was 27 all out in the pink-ball Test in Kingston. It sent Cricket West Indies (CWI) into crisis mode. It heightened the frequency and volume of conversations about the World Test Championship (WTC) potentially splitting into two tiers in the future, with West Indies, of course, dropping into the bottom tier. It put West Indies’ Test team in a position where everything they did or did not do took on a significance beyond individual records and team results.3:56

What made Campbell and Hope stand out?

Now this question hasn’t been asked too often, but it bears asking. Put aside the financial issues CWI faces and the pressures that West Indian players face thanks to the state of cricket’s calendar and political economy. If you put all that aside, was the reaction to 27 all out, purely from a cricketing perspective, perhaps a touch overblown?Look through the ranks of today’s Test teams. Plenty of others would likely lose 3-0 to Australia on those West Indian pitches. And of those teams, how many possess pace attacks comparable to West Indies’ and capable of landing as many counter-blows as they did through that series?And how many of those teams would you back to go to India next, lose two key fast bowlers to injury, and compete?And how would you view West Indies’ results and batting returns over these last few months if they’d been bowled out for, say, 127 rather than 27 at Sabina Park?And before you answer that question, here’s the full list of double-digit all-out totals in Test cricket in the 2020s. You might recognise some of them. There are two India innings in that list: 46 all out last year in Bengaluru, which kickstarted a shock 3-0 home defeat to New Zealand; and, of course, 36 all out in Adelaide in 2020. Ravi Shastri, India’s head coach on that Australia tour, told his players to “wear [that total] like a badge.” You know what happened next.

“In Delhi, you could see that, given time to grow into their roles and get used to the rhythms of Test cricket, West Indies’ batters could begin to make a mark.”

India, of course, made a famous, fairytale comeback and won that series 2-1, but the cricketing wisdom of Shastri’s words would have held true even if they’d lost 4-0. His vast experience as a player, broadcaster and coach had informed his understanding that teams occasionally get blown away for small totals when quality attacks meet helpful conditions, and that these outlier events do not reflect the quality of the batting line-up that’s suffered that fate.The West Indies of 2025 are by no means as good a batting team as India were in 2020. There are deep-rooted issues in their system that a) keep much of their best batting talent away from first-class cricket, b) prevent the batters who do play first-class cricket from developing their red-ball game to the fullest, and c) leave their selectors not able to assemble anything like the best possible Test top order they could.The 27 all out split West Indies cricket through the middle, but appear to have turned a corner now•AFP/Getty ImagesBut they aren’t as bad as 2025 has made them look, and from that perspective, the Delhi Test couldn’t have come at a better time. There is inexperience running through this West Indies line-up, but there’s enough evidence of ability when the conditions have given them a chance to show it.What Delhi has also shown is the logic underpinning their head coach Daren Sammy’s strategy of backing players who have shown run-scoring ability across formats – and not just Test and first-class cricket – in the belief that it would do West Indies no good to wilfully limit their selection pool and leave out white-ball players, particularly since those players have typically been the ones with the most natural ability.Sammy’s first Test squad, for instance, included both heavy scorers in recent first-class seasons, such as Campbell and Kevlon Anderson, and white-ball regulars like Hope, who had last played Test cricket in November 2021, new captain Roston Chase, who hadn’t played Tests since March 2023, and Brandon King, who had never played Test cricket. And before this India tour, Sammy even asked Sherfane Rutherford, who hasn’t played first-class cricket since 2019, to consider joining the Test team, with his ability against spin in mind.This idea of broadening the Test selection pool is still only in its infancy, and has already had to hurdle several challenges – the hugely testing nature of these first two assignments, for one, and the unsettling of Test regulars such as Alick Athanaze, who returned for this India tour after being dropped against Australia.In Delhi, however, you could see that, given time to grow into their roles and get used to the rhythms of Test cricket, West Indies’ batters could begin to make a mark.Campbell averages less than 26 after 25 Tests, even after this 115, his maiden Test hundred, but the innings only reinforced the idea that this is an opener with an easy, natural style and range of attacking shots, particularly sweeps, that can unsettle even the best spinners.Hope has been an enigma for a long, long time – a batter capable of scoring twin hundreds at Headingley and of averaging above 50 in ODIs, but also one capable of going 42 Test innings without a half-century – but if the enigma persists, so does the artistry, particularly when he skips back nimbly to punch spinners square on the off side. If he’s permanently unburdened of the keeping gloves in this format, there’s a chance he could have something of a renaissance in his 30s.The man who took over keeping duties in Delhi, Tevin Imlach, already showed in Pakistan earlier this year that he has unusually good hands behind the wicket even on spiteful turners. Here he showed sound defence against both types of bowling and bright footwork against spin, and it mostly wasn’t his fault that all that only amounted to scores of 21 and 12, with Kuldeep Yadav getting him out with misbehaving deliveries in both innings, big turn in the first and low bounce in the second.Justin Greaves’ batting against Kuldeep Yadav showed both technique and temperament•AFP/Getty ImagesOf all of West Indies’ batters on this trip, no one has seemed more certain in his reading of Kuldeep’s deceptive lengths than Greaves, who even in Ahmedabad handled the wristspinner so comfortably off the back foot that he forced him to keep bowling fuller and fuller. On the evidence of his sure-footed defence and the purity of his straight driving against seam and spin, he could be batting well above No. 7 in this West Indies line-up; that position seems more a function of his role as seam-bowling allrounder than his ability with the bat.It’s not unusual for batting line-ups to begin to blossom towards the middle of the second Test of an away tour. It can take two or three innings for batters to figure out how best to score runs against a particular bowler or how best to survive another. For batters from England or Australia in this decade, the middle of the second Test occurs near the start of India tours. For batters from West Indies and other teams that don’t get the luxury of long tours, the middle of the second Test is almost pack-up time. Delhi is West Indies’ ninth Test against India in India since 2011. England have played nine Tests against India in India since 2021.Day four in Delhi has shown there’s promise in West Indies’ batting ranks if it can be nurtured. But day five in Delhi will be the last day of their tour, and who knows what will come next. Given the constant churn in West Indies’ line-ups thanks to the pressure of results and the push and pull of T20 leagues, it becomes hard to say which batters will play their next series, and which batters from this tour will remain when they next visit India, whenever that is.Delhi, then, brought a glimmer of positivity to a line-up that sorely needed it. But no one can begin to say what effect it might have on the future, because what does that future even look like?

The Marlins did not make the playoffs but were still represented in the postseason once again thanks to Marlins Man, the fan who wears a bright orange Miami jersey and matching visor and sits in very good seats behind the plate.

You may have seen him in the background during the Yankees-Blue Jays series where he took a picture with Bad Bunny.

One game Marlins Man did not attend was Game 4 between the Dodgers and Phillies on Thursday night in Los Angeles. And yet some people thought they saw him.

That's right. There is another fan cosplaying as Marlins Man. Many fans were quick to note that the Marlins Man at the Dodgers-Phillies game was not the real Marlins Man, but an imposter. A fraud. A Temu version, if you will.

At least one person did not appreciate the homage.

It is certainly a choice. Since it is October, the outfit's color is definitely in-season. Plus, this could be a very early Halloween costume debut. And there's the possibility that this has to do with fantasy football punishment. The important thing is that everyone noticed.

Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman will utilize his player option and opt out of the three-year, $120 million contract he signed in spring training with Boston and will test free agency this winter, according to a report from Jon Heyman of the

The 31-year-old Bregman hit .273 with 18 home runs and 62 RBI in his lone season in Boston. The Red Sox are expected to be a major player (and potential favorite) to re-sign Bregman, but Heyman mentioned that he will have other suitors. The Blue Jays and Mariners—the two teams remaining in the ALCS—as well as the Tigers, are expected to be interested in signing the veteran.

Bregman was offered $171.5 million over six years by the Tigers last offseason, which would have reunited him with A.J. Hinch, his former manager in Houston. Instead, Bregman opted for a three-year deal with the Red Sox that included multiple opt-outs.

MatériaMais Notícias

Após a derrota por 2 a 0 para o Fortaleza no primeiro jogo da final, a conta para o CRB ficar com o troféu, na partida deste domingo (9), contra o Laion, é simples: a equipe precisa vencer por três ou mais gols de diferença. Ter uma margem tão grande é uma tarefa difícil, tanto que o clube alagoano não consegue tal feito há algum tempo. Confira!

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➡️ Siga o Lance! no WhatsApp e acompanhe em tempo real as principais notícias do esporte

Faz tempo, CRB!

CRB e Fortaleza já se enfrentaram em 33 jogos na história, com 14 vitórias do Laion, 11 empates e oito vitórias do CRB. Com uma necessidade de vencer por três gols, o Galo conseguiu esse placar apenas uma vez na história, há 10 anos, no Rei Pelé.

Na ocasião, a partida era válida pela Série C do Brasileirão e os gols foram marcados por Magrão, Clebinho e Marcelo Macedo.

Clique e assista final da Copa do Nordeste na Star+

Confira todas as informações que você precisa saber sobre o confronto entre CRB e Fortaleza (onde assistir, horário, escalações e local).

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✅ FICHA TÉCNICA
CRB X Fortaleza
Final – Copa do Nordeste
🗓️ Data e horário: domingo, 9 de junho de 2024, às 16:30 (de Brasília);
📍 Local: Estádio Rei Pelé (AL);
📺 Onde assistir: SBT (Nordeste); ESPN e Star+.
🟨 Árbitro: Emerson Ricardo de Almeida (BA);
🚩 Assistentes: Alessandro Álvaro Rocha (BA) e Daniella Coutinho (BA);
🖥️ VAR: Pablo Ramon Gonçalves (RN).

⚽ PROVÁVEIS ESCALAÇÕES:

CRB (Técnico: Daniel Paulista)
Matheus Albino, Hereda, Saimon, Fábio Alemão e Matheus Ribeiro; João Pedro, Falcão e Gegê; Facundo Labandeira, Léo Pereira e Anselmo Ramon.

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Fortaleza (Técnico: Juan Pablo Vojvoda)
João Ricardo, Brítez, Kuscevic e Titi; Yago Pikachu, Matheus Rossetto, Zé Welison, Moisés e Bruno Pacheco; Lucero e Pochettino.

Tudo sobre

Copa do NordesteCRBFortaleza

تحدث النجم السابق لنادي ليفربول، دانييل ستوريدج، عن أزمة محمد صلاح داخل أروقة الفريق الإنجليزي، بسبب التصريحات اللاذعة التي أدلى بها السبت الماضي ضد الإدارة والمدرب آرني سلوت.

جاءت تصريحات محمد صلاح إثر تهميشه في 3 مباريات متتالية في الدوري الإنجليزي، حيث تواجد على دكة البدلاء ولم يشارك إلا في شوط واحد، مما أدى إلى انفجاره في الحديث.

وقال ستوريدج، في تصريحات نشرتها شبكة “givemesport” الإنجليزية: “بالنسبة لي، عدم مشاركته في المباريات هو ما دفعه للقيام بهذا، تذهب إلى مباراة وست هام، حيث تعاني من خسارة مباراتين وهو ما لا يتمناه أي لاعب للنادي، تستقبل شباكهم سبعة أهداف في مباراتين”.

وأضاف: “تذهب إلى وست هام، وتفوز، وهو لم يدخل الملعب في تلك المباراة، ثم تأتي المباراة الثانية، ضد سندرلاند، وتدفع به بين الشوطين، نفسيًا، كلاعب، تفكر (رائع، هذه لحظتي الآن)”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. محمد صلاح يثير تعجب مخيتاريان بعد فوز ليفربول على إنتر ميلان

وواصل: “كمهاجم، أنا متأكد من أنك ستوافق، وتقول (حسنًا، سأكون الحل هنا، سأصنع الفارق)، لكن الأمور لم تسر على هذا النحو، تعادلت 1-1، في المباراة القادمة ربما تفكر (قد أبدأ هذه المرة)، أنا لا أفكر، بل أفكر من وجهة نظره حيث وجد نفسه على الدكة مجددًا، أعتقد أن هذا هو ما شكّل مفاجأة بالنسبة له”.

واستكمل: “رد الفعل كان سيئًا للغاية، كيف فعل ذلك، وكيف قاله، كان سيئًا للغاية! أشعر بخيبة أمل تجاه صديقي، لكن في النهاية، كما تعلم، أعتقد أنه قادر على العودة بقوة، هذا هو المهم”.

واختتم: “أعتقد أننا ننظر إلى الأمر في لحظة جنون، المهم هو ما سيحدث بعد هذه المباراة، وما إذا كان سيشارك ضد برايتون”.

Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy was left to rue missed chances after his team lost 2-1 to Hearts at Parkhead in the Scottish Premiership in his first game in the dugout.

Speaking after the match, in the clip below, the French boss blamed a lack of ruthlessness in front of goal and a lack of combination play in the final third after a bright first-half showing.

With the January transfer window just around the corner, the former MLS boss may already be thinking about the areas of his squad that he wants to improve ahead of the second half of the season.

Celtic plotting move to sign Premier League player

In fact, the Scottish Premiership champions are already looking at a possible move for a player who could be a dream first signing for Nancy at Parkhead.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

Expand Collapse

According to Football Insider, Celtic are plotting a move to sign Manchester City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega to be their long-term replacement for Kasper Schmeichel.

The report claims that the Hoops are looking at the £90k-per-week shot-stopper because he could be available with his contract expiring at the end of the season, which could make him an option in January for a cut-price fee or on a free next summer.

It adds that the Scottish giants are in the process of identifying a replacement for Schmeichel because the 38-year-old veteran’s deal is also due to expire next year.

Football Insider states that there are also immediate concerns about the Dane’s current performance levels, which is why Ortega could be a dream first signing for Nancy.

Why Celtic should sign Stefan Ortega in January

Instead of waiting to sign him on a free transfer in the summer, Celtic should push to land the Manchester City outcast on a cut-price deal in January, as he is currently behind both Gianluigi Donnarumma and James Trafford in the pecking order at The Etihad.

As Football Insider outlined, Schmeichel’s performance level has not been particularly high for the Hoops this season. Per FotMob, the experienced stopper has conceded 1.34 more goals than expected in the Premiership and 0.50 more than expected in the Europa League.

This suggests that the Denmark international has not been up to scratch as a shot-stopper in domestic or European action for Celtic, which is why signing the City goalkeeper immediately could be a shrewd move.

Ortega, who once left Guardiola on the floor with a save against Tottenham Hotspur, may only be a third-choice option in England, but he is playing for serial Premier League winners and has proven his quality in the English top-flight in seasons gone by.

Whilst Schmeichel has struggled as a shot-stopper for Celtic this season, the German star has largely been an excellent shot-stopper in the Premier League and the Bundesliga in the past five years.

Stefan Ortega in Bundesliga & Premier League

Season

Games

Goals (xG) prevented

25/26 (Premier League)

0

N/A

24/25 (Premier League)

13

-0.7

23/24 (Premier League)

7

+2.0

22/23 (Premier League)

3

+3.1

21/22 (Bundesliga)

33

+4.8

20/21 (Bundesliga)

34

+3.1

Stats via FBref

As you can see in the table above, the 33-year-old has conceded 12.3 fewer goals than expected across his top-flight career to date, which is an exceptional statistic that highlights how impressive his shot-stopping is.

Ortega, who was hailed as an “exceptional goalkeeper”, has shown that he can be a reliable shot-stopper at the top level, whilst journalist Pete O’Rourke noted that he is “very effective” with the ball and would “fit” the style that Nancy wants to implement at Parkhead.

His ability on the ball, which is a prerequisite to playing in goal in a Guardiola side, means that he will suit a team like Celtic, who are expected to dominate possession and play out from the back, making him a good stylistic fit for the club.

Ortega, though, also has, as evidenced by his statistics in Germany and England, the shot-stopping quality on top of that to ensure that the Hoops do not concede cheap goals with the few shots that they do give away.

Related Worse than Maeda: Nancy must drop Celtic flop who lost the ball 23 times

Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy must drop this flop who was even worse than Daizen Maeda against Hearts.

Posts ByDan Emery 4 days ago

Therefore, the board must back Nancy by making a move for Ortega in January, instead of the summer, because a player of his quality could immediately improve the team and improve their chances of enjoying a successful end to the 2025/26 campaign, making him a dream first signing.

It feels like Chelsea’s momentum is starting to build this season.

Enzo Maresca’s side had a few poor results earlier in the campaign, but have just come off a week that saw them demolish Barcelona in the Champions League.

Then, a few days later, they held Premier League leaders Arsenal to a 1-1 draw, despite being a man down for over half the game.

One of Chelsea’s best players in this uptick in form has been Marc Cucurella, but if reports are to be believed, he could soon have some extra competition for his place in the team.

Chelsea target Cucurella rival

With the winter transfer window now so close, Chelsea have unsurprisingly been linked with a huge number of players.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

For example, the West Londoners have been one of several sides linked with an audacious move for Juventus’ Kenan Yıldız, and if that wasn’t exciting enough, Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga has also been touted for a £70m move to Stamford Bridge.

However, while these two players would most certainly improve Maresca’s squad, if not his starting lineup, they cannot really be described as competition for Cucurella, unlike Castello Lukeba.

Yes, according to a recent report from Caught Offside, Chelsea are one of a number of teams interested in the French defender.

Alongside the Blues, the report claims Liverpool, Manchester United and Newcastle United are all keen on the 22-year-old, but the good news is that it is the West Londoners who are leading the race at the moment.

Interestingly, while he has a release clause worth up to €90m in his contract, which is about £79m, the report has revealed that RB Leipzig may be willing to let him leave for around €60m, which is just £53m.

It could still be a complicated transfer to get over the line, but with how talented Lukeba is, one Chelsea should fight for, especially as he could provide more competition for Cucurella.

How Lukeba compares to Cucurella

Now, the first thing to say is that it feels incredibly unlikely that any defender would come into this Chelsea side in January and immediately displace Cucurella.

After all, the Spaniard is one of the first names on the team sheet at the moment.

However, all great teams need serious competition in all areas of the pitch, and by signing Lukeba, Maresca would be ensuring that he has that at left-back and extra cover at centre-back.

Yes, the Frenchman has spent most of his career playing in the centre of a defence, but he has got some experience out on the left, and players like Jorrel Hato, Jurrien Timber and even Riccardo Calafiori all prove that centre-backs can transition to become more of a full-back.

Moreover, respected analyst-turned-Como scout Ben Mattinson has even described the 22-year-old as a “perfect LB/LCB hybrid for the modern game.”

Mattinon goes on to describe the Frenchman as “defensively exceptional,” pointing out his “outstanding timing of last man tackles” as one of the reasons why.

However, he’s not just a lockdown defender, as u23 scout Antonio Mango has described him as someone who “excels on the ball” and has “that line breaking ability” so many managers want from their full-backs and centre-backs.

With all that said, his most significant advantage over Cucurella, and the reason he could seriously challenge him for game time, is his defensive solidity, and the numbers back that up.

According to FBref, the Leipzig star outperforms the Blues ace in most defensive metrics, including ball recoveries, aerial duels won, blocks, interceptions and clearances.

Blocks

1.91

1.42

Interceptions

1.45

1.00

Clearances

5.82

3.33

Aerial Duels Won

1.18

1.00

Ball Recoveries

5.73

3.83

Ultimately, Cucurella’s place in Chelsea’s starting lineup is guaranteed at the moment, but were Maresca to get his hands on Lukeba, he could have some serious competition.

Chelsea are brewing a "monstrous" star at Cobham who's their next James

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ByJack Salveson Holmes Dec 3, 2025

Scores of 54, 88, 18, 100, 85, 9* and 103* in his last seven international innings have led to whispers that Marsh might be an emergency Ashes option if England’s quicks pose problems

Alex Malcolm05-Oct-2025Last Tuesday in Mount Maunganui, 24 hours out from the first game of Australia’s three-match T20I series against New Zealand, T20I skipper Mitchell Marsh was asked by a New Zealand journalist whether his mind was on the Ashes at all in terms of trying to force his way back into the Test team.”Ha. No,” Marsh said.He giggled again as the press pack paused, perhaps taken aback by the emphatic answer, and no more questions were posed on any topic.Five days later he leaves New Zealand with two player of the match awards from the only two completed games, a player of the series award and the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, after scores of 85 off 43 and 103 not out from 52. The latter was one of his finest for Australia, single-handedly guiding them home on a tricky surface where he looked like he was playing a different sport to every other batter in the game. His first T20I century saw him join Shane Watson, Glenn Maxwell, David Warner, and Josh Inglis as the only Australian men with international centuries in all three forms.Related

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In his last seven international innings dating back to the T20I series against South Africa in August he has scores of 54, 88, 18, 100, 85, 9* and 103* and has batted as well as he ever has in international cricket, especially against the pace collection of Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Nandre Burger, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy, Kyle Jamieson and Ben Sears who have troubled some of Australia’s Test batters in the same games.Despite what Marsh says publicly about a possible Test return, which is understood to be in keeping with what he has said privately, his form has done nothing to quell the whispers that have been floating around Australian cricket that Marsh could be called upon as a “break glass in case of emergency” option for the Ashes.It sounds far-fetched, and merely the notion will enrage a large swathe of Australian fans who believe Marsh has had more than enough chances at Test level. But the whispers are real. Chairman of selectors George Bailey had sowed the seeds as far back as April.”I don’t necessarily think that his red-ball career is over,” Bailey said when Australia’s 2025-26 contract list was announced.”I don’t think he was scoring the runs that he would have wanted, or we would have wanted, when we left him out of the Test side. But I still think there’s an incredibly exciting skill-set there with the bat, the way he can rip a game open.”If you look ahead to a team like England, and the way they play their cricket and the way they seem to be framing up their team, I think he’s got a skill-set there that could be helpful.”However, a Marsh Ashes comeback would likely come with a large set of caveats.It would require many of the fears around the form of the incumbent Test top six to come to fruition early in the series. Australia’s batting would have to struggle mightily in the first two Tests in Perth and Brisbane for the possibility to be genuinely entertained. Even then, those struggles would have to be of a very particular variety.Australia’s Test batters would have to be struggling against the pace and bounce of Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Josh Tongue and Ben Stokes in particular.Mitchell Marsh celebrates his stunning comeback century at Headingley in 2023•Getty ImagesIn the 2023 series, England turned to a bombardment of bouncers in the second Test to try and change the course of the series. While unsuccessful at Lord’s, that plan rolled over to the third Test at Headingley where the injection of a fresh Wood at the expense of an aging Jimmy Anderson turned the tide in an instant. Wood took 5 for 34 targeting helmets and stumps exclusively with sustained heat at 145kph plus. His threat at one end helped another fresh man Chris Woakes threaten front pads and outside edges at the other.Marsh not only withstood it, but thrived pounding a run-a-ball 118 in his first Test innings in four years having been called in for the injured Cameron Green. One particular pull shot, from a 146kph Wood bouncer, that sailed over the two men stationed square on the rope and landed 20 rows back among the Headingley crowd is seared in the memory of the Australian team, as is the silence that followed it from a packed Headingley crowd that had been raucous due to England’s morning success.Marsh produced similarly thunderous cross bat shots that landed among a more sparse Bay Oval crowd on Saturday night in a brutal take down of Henry, Duffy, Sears and Jimmy Neesham while Test batters Travis Head and Alex Carey succumbed on a spicy surface that had spent two full days under cover.There is a thought that if the Ashes turns into another bouncer-fest, and Australia’s batters aren’t handling the heat, then there is no one better equipped than Marsh to provide a counter-attack in the vein he did in Headingley.No one runs quite as hot or as cold as Marsh. Right now he is white-hot. This time last year he was entering a run of ice-cold form that saw him return red-ball scores of 9, 6, 6, 47, 9, 5, 2, 4, and 0 that eventually led to him being left out of the fifth Test against India in Sydney for Beau Webster.It is incredible that Marsh, with a Test average of just 28.53 from the same number of innings, 80, as Sir Donald Bradman had in his career, can still be such an alluring prospect at his best when his mean has been clear to see over an 11-year Test career.Mitchell Marsh is strong against the short ball•Getty ImagesMarsh is unlikely to face a red ball before the start of the Ashes. Family and fishing will most likely be his priority over the brief time off after New Zealand ahead of leading Australia in a three-match ODI series and five-match T20 series against India that runs up to the first Test.Western Australia are also unclear on whether Marsh will be available to play Sheffield Shield cricket in November following the India series ahead of the BBL. Marsh also has not bowled a ball since the Boxing Day Test last year having missed the Champions Trophy in February due to a back injury. He has said his bowling remains “offline” until further notice and there is a chance he plays the rest of his career as a specialist batter.Whether the glass is broken in case of an emergency or not, Marsh’s form at the top of order in Australia’s T20I side solidifies their plans heading towards the World Cup.Australia had won their previous two T20I series against West Indies and South Africa without major contributions from the captain, with the powerful middle-order stepping up. In the absence of Inglis, Maxwell and Green in New Zealand it was Marsh who carried his team.It bodes well for when Australia get their best available together for India and Sri Lanka in February and March. Their unrelenting power hitting has won them nine of their last 10 completed T20Is. Winning in spite of a reckless and probably needless wobble in Saturday’s third T20I in Mount Maunganui will only reinforce that the high-octane freewheeling style, branded in Marsh’s image, will be what they stick to when the pressure is ramped up in the World Cup.Whether it’s needed, or called for, should the Ashes pressure reach fever pitch before then, remains to be seen.

Russell Domingo, the former South Africa and Bangladesh coach, has been named Hampshire men’s head coach on a two-year contract. He will be joined in the club’s new coaching set-up by another South African, Shane Burger, who previously coached Scotland before moving on to Somerset.Domingo was in charge of South Africa between 2012 and 2017, followed by a three-year stint with Bangladesh. He has been head coach of Johannesburg-based Lions since 2023, and has also worked in the PSL. ESPNcricinfo understands Domingo will continue in his Lions role, splitting his time between the UK and South Africa.He succeeds his countryman Adrian Birrell at Hampshire, with Birrell stepping down at the end of the 2025 summer after seven seasons on the south coast.Burger joins as assistant coach (bowling), while former Hampshire captain Jimmy Adams will continue in his role as assistant coach (batting).Related

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“I’m thrilled to be joining Hampshire Cricket,” Domingo said. “This is a club with incredible history, outstanding facilities at Utilita Bowl, and a clear vision for success both on and off the field.”I’ve been genuinely impressed by the ambition here and the strong cultural values that underpin everything Hampshire does. The combination of developing young talent whilst competing for trophies is exactly the challenge I’m looking for, and I can’t wait to get started.”I’m looking forward to working alongside Jimmy and Shane and getting to know the players as we prepare for what promises to be an exciting season ahead.”Burger said: “I’m really excited to be joining Hampshire Cricket. The quality of young bowlers coming through here is exceptional, Sonny Baker, Eddie Jack and Scott Currie have already earned England recognition, and I’m looking forward to helping them continue that development.”I love the ambition and vision of the club and the future seems bright. I’m excited to be part of that journey alongside Russell and Jimmy and I can’t wait to get started.”Hampshire endured a turbulent finish to last season, losing in both the final of the Vitality T20 Blast and the Metro Bank One-Day Cup. They appeared destined for relegation to Division Two of the County Championship, after suffering a points deduction for a substandard pitch, before being reprieved on the final day by Durham’s collapse against Yorkshire.Hampshire’s director of cricket, Giles White, added: “We’re delighted to announce our coaching team for next summer. Russell Domingo will serve as head coach, with Jimmy Adams and Shane Burger joining him as assistant coaches. Together, they form a strong and experienced unit that will continue to champion the cultural framework that has underpinned Hampshire cricket over the years.”We exist to win and to develop, and I’m confident this team will continue to drive that ethos as we move into an exciting future. It’s a fantastic place to be at this moment in time, and the season ahead promises great opportunities.”