Sri Lanka also pick uncapped quick Eshan Malinga, who bagged 13 wickets for SRH in IPL 2025

Madushka Balasuriya07-Jul-2025Former captain Dasun Shanaka and bowling allrounder Chamika Karunaratne have been recalled to Sri Lanka’s T20I squad for the upcoming three-match series against Bangladesh. Also part of the 17-member side is the uncapped right-arm quick Eshan Malinga, who has played six ODIs for Sri Lanka. Dunith Wellalage, too, returns to the fold after being left out for the T20Is in New Zealand late last year.Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Chamindu Wickramasinghe and Asitha Fernando were among those who missed the cut.Shanaka had last turned out for Sri Lanka in July 2024, but has been a frequent presence on the franchise circuit – most recently with Dubai Capitals in the ILT20 this February, when he impressed in his role as a lower-order finisher during the side’s run to the title.Related

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Karunaratne, who last played for Sri Lanka in November 2023, has focused his efforts solely on domestic cricket since being dropped. In the last two years, only Wanindu Hasaranga, Karunaratne and Wellalage have scored at least 300 runs and taken at least 20 wickets across all domestic T20 tournaments conducted by SLC, including the Lanka Premier League (LPL).Malinga, meanwhile, is the latest seam-bowling property out of Sri Lanka, having put in an impressive performance for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2025. His 13 wickets across seven games at an average of 18.30 was only below Pat Cummins (16) and Harshal Patel (16) for SRH, though they played twice as many games as Malinga. Since making his T20 debut in 2022, Malinga has gone wicketless only once in 27 innings.Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwan Thushara and Binura Fernando made up the rest of what is a varied pace contingent for Sri Lanka. Apart from them, both Shanaka and Karunaratne provide seam-bowling options. On the spin-bowling front, meanwhile, there were no surprises, with Jeffrey Vandersay serving as back-up to Maheesh Theekshana and Hasaranga, while Wellalage, Kamindu Mendis and Charith Asalanka were available as well.There are plenty of batting options with Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Avishka Fernando, Kamindu, Dinesh Chandimal and Asalanka making up the top- and middle-order options, while Shanaka, Karunaratne, Wellalage and Hasaranga are all capable with the bat down the order.The T20I series against Bangladesh starts on July 10, with the next two matches on July 13 and 16.Sri Lanka’s T20I squadCharith Asalanka (capt), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Avishka Fernando, Kamindu Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Dasun Shanaka, Dunith Wellalage, Chamika Karunaratne, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwan Thushara, Binura Fernando, Eshan Malinga

Tim Robinson has only done it once (maybe twice if you consider this game) but already, he can tell he won’t be able to get enough of being the player that seals the deal for his team.”It’s a great feeling contributing to a win for your country and it’s an addicting feeling and one that I hope to replicate later on,” Robinson said after his career-best 75 not out contributed to New Zealand’s 21-run win in the Zimbabwe T20I tri-series.Related

• Robinson, Duffy, Henry step up as NZ subdue South Africa

Robinson and debutant Bevon Jacobs shared a sixth-wicket stand of 103 – New Zealand’s second highest in that position – and took the innings from a stuttering 70 for 5 for a competitive 173 for 5. While the Harare Sports Club is known for being fairly flat and conducive to run-scoring, Robinson credited South Africa’s four-seam attack with making things difficult for New Zealand upfront.”The Proteas bowling was exceptional,” he said. “Their lengths and the use of the long side was really impressive and they bowled really well with the newer ball. It was hard to find momentum when we were continuing to lose wickets but as we got on and took it deeper and deeper, we could capitalise.”Bevon Jacobs and Tim Robinson gave New Zealand late impetus•Zimbabwe Cricket

It was, in fact, against South Africa’s seamers that Robinson and Jacobs found runs. Robinson took 27 runs off 20 balls he faced from Corbin Bosch, including five fours, and 23 off 15 balls from Gerald Coetzee, off whom he hit both sixes, but that was only once they were together for some time and had worked out their run-scoring strategy.”The way we thought about it was that the longer we spent at the crease, the easier runs would come,” Robinson said, “and we couldn’t quite afford to lose many more wickets. We tried to take it as deep as we possibly could and then run hard to the long side.”New Zealand ran 29 singles and six twos to what Robinson referred to as the longer side, compared to South Africa’s 21 singles and three twos, which was ultimately the difference between the two sides. They both hit 13 fours and six sixes but New Zealand’s fielding kept South Africa quieter than they would have liked when they needed to counterattack with quick singles. New Zealand also managed to finish their innings strongly, with 95 runs from the last nine overs and 43 from the final three.The composure shown by Jacobs, in his first match, was a highlight and Robinson was full of praise for his batting partner. “He’s an amazing guy. You look at him and he’s quite the big guy and you think he should hit a big ball and he sure does,” Robinson said. “It was fantastic batting with him. What stood out for me was when he came out he was very calm and looked to really enjoy it. He looked completely comfortable out there and played a really really good knock. He’s going to play a lot of cricket and it’s very exciting watching him bat.”New Zealand will next play hosts Zimbabwe, who lost to South Africa in the series opener on Monday, in two days’ time and expect they will have to change their approach slightly.”Zimbabwe are going to pose a different challenge on Friday and we pride ourselves on trying to adapt as quick as we possibly can,” Robinson said.

Tanvir’s five-for helped Bangladesh break an eight-game losing streak in the format

Mohammad Isam06-Jul-2025

Encouraging words from the captain and reverting to his original bowling action helped Tanvir Islam take the five-for against Sri Lanka in the second ODI in Colombo. Tanvir’s 5 for 39, in only his second ODI, proved decisive as Bangladesh roared back into the series with the 16-run win.It also helped break Bangladesh’s eight-match losing streak in the format, dating back to eight months. They had faulted on many junctures of this match, even repeating a bit of their batting collapse from the first game, but one or two players got them out of the jam. Tanvir made the biggest contribution with his five wickets, although he started off poorly in the powerplay. Kusal Mendis had struck him for two fours and a six in a 17-run over that nearly derailed Bangladesh.Related

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“When I conceded 22 runs in the first two overs, the captain stood next to me and said something,” Tanvir said. “He said that a bowler is bound to get hit. He told me I don’t have to bowl defensively. I have to do wicket-taking bowling. Thankfully, I listened to my captain. He kept telling us that we can defend the (248-run) total.”Taking inspiration from his captain’s words, Tanvir bowled more into the stumps in his third over. He removed Nishan Madushka in his next over, caught at point trying to slam him over the covers, before the left-arm spinner removed Kusal in the following over. Bangladesh need the DRS to get the lbw decision in their favour, a telling moment in the game given how Sri Lanka slowed down for the following 30-odd overs.Tanvir said that he tried a new bowling action against the UAE during the T20I series in May, but it wasn’t a successful move. He was dropped after two outings, both times he was quite expensive. He didn’t play against Pakistan, and was almost a non-starter in this ODI series before legspinner Rishad Hossain fell sick on the eve of the first ODI on July 2. Tanvir said that he returned to his original action after speaking to teammate Towhid Hridoy.”I was working on my bowling action during the T20I series against Pakistan. I got a lot of negative feedback for it. I was bowling with the same action since 2013. I was speaking to Towhid Hridoy who told me to return to my old action. He said that the old action made me who I am. That’s why I returned to my old action,” he said.Tanvir also said that he had to wait a long time for a Bangladesh selection. He made his debut at the age of 28, which is well advanced, to say it nicely, in Bangladesh’s context. “I don’t consider age to be a factor. I always considered performance as the key. I never played age-level cricket. I kicked things off from the Dhaka league. I always believed I could take my career forward through this route. I kept trying and finally Allah has smiled at me. I have a five-wicket haul at the international level,” he said.Tanvir also earned his captain’s praise as Mehidy Hasan Miraz said that Tanvir was one of four players who turned things around for Bangladesh.”Every time the momentum shifted, it was a turning point for us,” Mehidy said. “Tanvir made regular breakthroughs. He bowled really well. Shamim gave us the advantage with those crucial nine overs. I thought the way he batted and bowled in his return to the team, was just unbelievable. Emon also contributed with quick runs at the top.”I also want to give credit to Tanzim’s batting towards the end. The way he attacked Hasaranga, those were important runs that made the difference for us. 220 and 250 are two different scenarios.”He however remained guarded about Bangladesh’s overall performance in the game. Mehidy said that they couldn’t bat the 50 overs in both ODIs so far, which also had two run-outs that hurt Bangladesh at crucial stages. Bangladesh also dropped four catches in this game, which could have been costly.”We can now focus on which areas to improve, before the third match,” Mehidy said. “We haven’t been able to bat fifty overs in the first two ODIs. There were couple of run-outs, which definitely shifted the momentum from us. We also lost a cluster of wickets in the last few ten overs. I hope everyone is looking for improvement.”

New York Mets outfielder Jesse Winker went viral for a hilarious moment in Tuesday’s 6-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays at Roger Centre.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Winker picked up Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s line drive to left center and threw the ball to Eddy Alvarez at second base to get the out. Guerrero collided with Alvarez at the base and appeared to be safe, according to the initial call.

However, after a Mets’ challenge, the call was overturned and Guerrero was confirmed to be out. 

As Guerrero stood there shaking his head in visible disbelief, Winker walked over, looked him in the eyes and stuck out his hand, offering what seemed to be an olive branch.

Guerrero flashed a wry smile, shook Winker’s hand, and that was that.

It wasn’t exactly the most thrilling moment in baseball, but it still gave fans a good laugh.

The Baltimore Orioles were bounced from the 2024 MLB postseason in the wild-card round in a narrow 2-1 defeat against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.

There's one moment the team, and Colton Cowser in particular, will surely look back on in agony.

After Seth Lugo loaded the bases and was relieved by Angel Zerpa, Cowser stepped into the batter's box in a crucial spot during the bottom of the fifth inning. With one out and the bases full, Cowser was hit by a pitch right on the hand, but it was ruled a strikeout because he swung at the pitch.

It was undoubtedly one of the most painful strikeouts of the 2024 season, and it couldn't have come at a more dire point in the game.

Had Cowser not swung at the pitch that clipped his hands, he would have been awarded first base and the go-ahead run would've come across the plate. Instead, he was called out on strikes for the third time in three at-bats.

Adley Rutschman was up next and grounded out to shortstop to end the inning, leaving all three runners stranded.

The Orioles did not score again in the game, as their season came to an unfortunate end with just one run scored throughout the entirety of their brief stay in the postseason.

As New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe prepares to play in his first World Series in just his second MLB season, his father Michael posted quite the memory on Instagram to get fans pumped up.

Volpe is a New York native and grew up as a Yankees fan, and he happened to be present at the team's last World Series parade in 2009.

The shortstop was eight years old in the picture his dad posted of him standing in the first row watching the Yankees celebrate their 27th World Series title.

His dad captioned the photo "2009 World Series parade. 4 more wins!!"

Volpe could be present at this year's World Series parade, but this time on a bus with the rest of his teammates instead of standing as a fan in the crowd. Talk about a (potential) full circle moment.

The Yankees will play the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2024 World Series beginning on Friday, Oct. 25 in California.

Tottenham Hotspur face Monaco in the Champions League tonight, looking to return to winning ways after the defeat to Aston Villa on home soil over the weekend.

Thomas Frank’s side will have huge expectations placed upon them in Europe this season, understandably so given their successes in the Europa League last campaign.

The Dane has already made an impressive start to life in Europe’s biggest club competition, winning one and drawing the other of their first two outings in 2025/26.

However, the meeting against the Ligue 1 outfit will present a tricky challenge, with Sebastien Pocognoli’s side holding Manchester City to a 2-2 draw at the start of the month.

If Frank is to claim another European victory as the Lilywhites boss, he will likely need one of his current first-team members to be on top form in the South of France.

Xavi Simons’ disappointing start to life at Spurs

During the summer transfer window, the Spurs hierarchy made it clear they wanted to improve the options available to them within the attacking midfield positions.

After numerous failed attempts during the window, they decided to fork out a fee in the region of £52m for the signature of Dutch international Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig.

His tally of 19 combined goals and assists across all competitions generated huge excitement, but it’s safe to say his period in North London has failed to take off to date.

The 22-year-old has only registered one assist in his first eight outings for the Lilywhites, with his transfer now starting to be called into question by numerous pundits.

Simons has only created 1.3 chances per 90 and completed just 40% of his attempted dribbles – with the latter of his two stats ranking him within the 44th percentile of all players in the Premier League.

He’s also demonstrated a lack of physicality in England’s top-flight, only being on the winning side of 38% of his duels – with only 27% of players in the division winning fewer.

He desperately needs to find his form to justify his staggering transfer fee, but Frank can aid him against Monaco by starting one other first-team member tonight.

The Spurs player who can finally get Simons firing

Throughout the first few weeks of his time in North London, Simons has operated in a variety of different roles – with most of his playing time coming in an unnatural left-wing position.

Such a situation would likely have contributed to his recent lack of impact in attacking areas, with the manager needing to utilise him in his natural number ten position.

He created nearly double the amount of chances per 90 at Leipzig last campaign, further showcasing the levels he can produce when featuring behind the striker.

The centre-forward department has also been brought into question as of late, with Richarlison failing to back the faith shown in him by the new manager.

Dominic Solanke will certainly have been the number one option for Frank, but the Englishman’s constant setbacks with ankle injuries have prevented him from consistent first-team action.

Such scenarios should see the manager hand loanee Randal Kolo Muani his first start for the Lilywhites in the clash with Monaco later on this evening.

The Frenchman has only made 24 minutes of action for the club after joining from PSG on deadline day, but a European night under the lights could present an excellent chance to stake his claim for a starting role.

Kolo Muani, who’s been labelled “phenomenal” by former boss Christian Gourcuff, scored 10 goals in just 22 appearances at Juventus last season – highlighting his clinical ability in the final third.

Such talent within attacking areas could hugely benefit Simons, with the Dutchman having the opportunity to boost his assist tally alongside the Frenchman.

After all, this is a player who, in the words of the Bundesliga website, has the “hallmarks of Thierry Henry’s game”. We’re yet to see that since his move but there is no time like the present.

The big-money addition has completed 1.1 crosses per 90, too, with such numbers playing perfectly into the hands of the loanee who scored three headers last campaign.

Both players have ultimately struggled to match the expectations they arrived with in North London, but that could all change tonight if Frank hands them the chance to start together.

The pair could help the side maintain their unbeaten record in Europe this campaign and bolster their chances of claiming another European title.

Their best CF since Kane: Paratici wants Spurs to sign £87m "freak of nature"

Tottenham Hotspur could try and land a new talisman for Thomas Frank in the months ahead.

By
Ethan Lamb

Oct 21, 2025

لا يزال روني باردجي نجم برشلونة يحاول التأقلم مع ناديه الجديد، وقد حصل على أكثر من فرصة للمشاركة تحت قيادة هانز فليك هذا الموسم.

وعبر باردجي عن سعادته بعودة فريقه للتدريب في ملعب الكامب نو، وذكر في تصريحات نشرتها صحيفة “سبورت” الإسبانية: “كان الأمر مميزا وكان حلما، تحول الأمر إلى سحر لا يقارن في ملعب الكامب نو عندما وضعنا أقدامنا في الملعب”.

وأضاف: “مع أن الملعب لم يكن ممتلئاً حتى بنصف سعته، إلا أنه كان مميزاً للغاية، حضر الكثير في المدرجات لذا كان الأمر رائعا وكانت تجربة يصعب وصفها”.

وتفاعل باردجي مع صور ليونيل ميسي المنتشرة لمتابعة سير أعمال وتجديدات الكامب نو، وواصل: “في الحقيقة لم يكن أحد يعلم بوجوده هناك وكنت أتمنى رؤيته”.

أقرأ أيضاً.. سولشاير: لاعب برشلونة يشبه هالاند.. وحزنت لابتعاده عن مستواه بعض الوقت

وسئل باردجي حول إذا كان يريد عودة ميسي إلى برشلونة وأجاب: “سيكون من الرائع مقابلته يوماً ما وربما اللعب معه بالطبع، هذا كل شيء”.

وتحدث باردجي عن ماركوس راشفورد وانسجامه معه بعد انضمامهم هذا الصيف: “إنه رائع، نحن كأخوة نقضي كل يوم معاً، نلعب ونفوز ونخسر معاً وتجمعنا علاقة ممتازة خارج الملعب، نحاول قضاء أكبر وقت ممكن معاً لبناء علاقة جيدة”.

وأتم باردجي عن لامين يامال الذي يتصدر عناوين الأخبار باستمرار: “نعلم أنه كان يعاني من بعض المشاكل، لا أعرف ما يشعر به، لعب بعض المباريات مؤخراً وربما عاد الألم قليلاً، لا تعليق”.

واتختم باردجي عن علاقته مع هانز فليك مدرب برشلونة: “لدي علاقة جيدة مع هانز، هو مدرب رائع، النادي يثق بي، هذا يعني لي الكثير”.

The upcoming Women’s ODI World Cup will have a prize pool of USD 13.88 million. This marks almost a fourfold rise from the previous ODI World Cup, held in New Zealand in 2022, which had an overall pool of USD 3.5 million, and also marks a significant increase from the USD 10 million pool for the Men’s ODI World Cup in India two years ago.This World Cup, the 13th edition, will have the highest prize money for the winners of a women’s global tournament: USD 4.48 million, a 239 percent increase from the USD 1.32 million awarded to Australia in 2022. The runners-up will receive USD 2.24 million – an increase of 273 percent in comparison to the USD 600,000 England won three years ago. The losing semi-finalists will receive USD 1.12 million each – up from USD 300,000 in 2022 – while the group-stage participants are guaranteed to earn USD 250,000.For each group-stage win, teams will earn a further USD 34,314. At the end of the group stage, the teams that finish fifth and sixth will be awarded USD 700,000 each, while those who finish seventh and eighth will earn USD 280,000.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“Our message is simple, women cricketers must know they will be treated on par with men if they choose this sport professionally,” Jay Shah, the ICC chair, said in a statement. “The uplift [in prize money] underscores our ambition to deliver a world-class ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup and to inspire the next generation of players and fans. Women’s cricket is on a remarkable upward trajectory, and with this step we are confident the momentum will accelerate.”This edition of the World Cup will take place in India and Sri Lanka from September 30. Though the opening match of the tournament, between India and Sri Lanka, is less than a month away, tickets are yet to go on sale. However, the ICC has said that tickets are expected to go on sale online this week.The tickets for the 2022 World Cup were available six months ahead of the tournament.

Newcastle United have won five of their six matches across all competitions in October, and the latest phase in Eddie Howe’s plan is starting to take shape.

It’s another trip to St. James’ Park for Fulham in December, with Newcastle drawn against the Cottagers for the Carabao Cup quarter-final. Tottenham Hotspur were put to the sword on Wednesday evening, and the cup defence moves forward.

Howe made changes after that weekend win over Fulham, whose grit was spilt open when Bruno Guimaraes struck low and true on 90 minutes to seal a 2-1 win and allow United to make headway in the Premier League.

Sandro Tonali was rested for that one, replacing Lewis Miley after the hour mark. Against Spurs, the Italian took centre stage, and he dominated and dictated and took home the Player of the Match award.

He really is the difference-maker for the Magpies.

Why Sandro Tonali is Newcastle's main man

It wasn’t always this way. After Tonali joined Newcastle from AC Milan for a hefty £55m fee in 2023, he would struggle to adapt to the Premier League climate before being hit with a lengthy ban for betting breaches, cutting his debut campaign short, with just 12 appearances made.

But he bounced back last year, forming an ever-tighter relationship with Guimaraes and Joelinton in the centre of the park. The synergised midfield charged a wonderful winning run of form and carried the Toon toward Wembley and victory in the Carabao Cup final.

Now, Tonali is “the best midfielder in the Premier League”, according to pundit Paul Scholes. Whether this is true is open to debate, but he’s certainly in amongst the pack, and the fans would not see him swapped for any other number six in the business.

Against Tottenham, Tonali ran the show, effortlessly good as he defended and attacked and guided the flow of the contest where he pleased.

So energetic and enterprising in his central berth, Tonali covered so much ground against Thomas Frank’s side, and it was his whipped delivery that found Fabian Schar’s head in the box and set the home side on their way.

Newcastle have hit the jackpot with this Serie A star, and, while the season is still young, they appear to have done it again.

Newcastle's new version of Tonali

Newcastle are well-stocked across the field. Tonali is the superstar in the centre, but Guimaraes is too, and Howe has recrafted a frontline with talents like Nick Woltemade, who scored against Spurs and has the potential to be one of the best forwards in the country.

But there was a need to reinforce the St. James’ Park defensive line, too, and Malick Thiaw was chosen to join the project this summer, following the footsteps of his former teammate Tonali at AC Milan.

Eyebrows were raised when Newcastle signed Thiaw in a £35m deal this summer. A talented defender, the German international had suffered regular injury setbacks in Milan, never starting more than 19 Serie A games in any one of his three campaigns.

But he has long been regarded as a “monster in the air” by the likes of journalist Martino Puccio, and he has developed one of the most underrated passing games from any centre-back across Europe.

Now, having started Newcastle’s past five Premier League fixtures and having excelled once again in the Carabao Cup against Tottenham, it’s safe to say Howe has got bang for his buck.

Against the Lilywhites, it was an all-encompassing performance, one that has only reaffirmed his quality and potential inside this squad. Marvelling at the display, Sky Sports’ Keith Downie hailed the player as being “an incredible piece of business” for the club.

Minutes played

90′

Goals conceded

0

Touches

50

Shots (on target)

2 (1)

Accurate passes

38/39 (97%)

Big chances created

1

Possession lost

2x

Tackles won

1/1

Interceptions

3

Recoveries

1

Duels won

2/7

Thiaw’s teething problems have been far less painful. Upon arrival, it was clear Newcastle had landed a progressive centre-half with qualities to advance Howe’s vision. As per data-driven platform FBref, the German ranks among the top 9% of defenders across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for pass completion and the top 18% for progressive passes per 90.

He is, quite simply, a cut above, and the Chronicle Live handed the ace an 8/10 match rating after he was done with Tottenham, remarking that he didn’t put a foot wrong.

In truth, that score could have been higher still. Not only commanding defensively, Thiaw also got stuck in from an attacking standpoint, winning the ball and adding to the attack ahead of Woltemade’s second-half strike.

In the Premier League, in fact, Sofascore record that Tonali has won 71% of his duels so far this season, completing 88% of his passes and recovering four balls on average each match.

There’s a long way still to go this season, but Newcastle’s two Milan-schooled talents are shaping up to be two of the key components in a campaign which promises so much for the outfit.

Given that we can reasonably expect Thiaw to polish and refine his skillset over the coming months, there’s a sense that United might even have landed one of Europe’s most talented in their position. And in that, he might soon sit alongside Tonali.

Not just Joelinton: Newcastle's "true legend" may now be on borrowed time

Newcastle may well part ways with this Howe mainstay at the end of the campaign.

ByAngus Sinclair Oct 29, 2025