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England Lions tour offers opportunity to leap back into Test reckoning, three years after solitary cap

Vithushan Ehantharajah31-Oct-2025For the last few weeks, Matthew Fisher has been working out how to bowl to his good mate, Harry Brook. The pair came through the ranks at Yorkshire’s Academy a year apart. Their first meeting took place in the Headingley indoor nets, when a 14-year-old Brook played Fisher’s bouncers with annoying ease.”He played it fine, and he started pissing me off,” remembers Fisher. “So I started properly bumping him, and he still played that all right.” Fisher, 15 at the time, had already made his List A debut for Yorkshire.They will lock horns again in Lilac Hill, Perth, on November 13 when, as part of their Ashes preparations, Brook and the England Test squad will take on Fisher and the England Lions in a three-day game. With the Lions on hand to supplement the main squad, on a tour that will run alongside the first two Tests, Fisher – as the most experienced seamer in the group – knows a strong impression in that crucial warm-up match could reap immediate rewards.”In the exact setting four years ago, I bowled lovely and we saw what happened at the end of the winter,” Fisher says, referencing the Test cap he was awarded on the West Indies tour in 2022, after showcasing his skills against England for the Lions in the build-up to the 2021-22 Ashes. “So I know first-hand what bowling in those games can do.”You do have sleepless nights when you dream about bowling at my mate Brooky at the minute. It is good stuff because you’re trying to get out people who you want to impress, so it is quite good that I’m already thinking about how to get him out.”It is over three years since that one Test. Fisher took a solitary wicket – John Campbell, with his second ball – on an unforgiving Bridgetown surface. That appearance came as England sought to move on from James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Unsuccessfully, as it would turn out.England’s then-selectors had leant towards Fisher due to his high release point, as a six-foot-two seamer, and a knack of dismissing accomplished batters. It was a pre-cursor to the preferences that Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes have since put front and centre of their recruitment. Unfortunately for Fisher, he spent the first Bazball summer of 2022 nursing a stress fracture of the back.Matt Fisher claimed 11 wickets for Surrey in this season’s Championship title decider against Nottinghamshire•Getty Images for Surrey CCC”I never felt like I (had the shirt) – playing one game, being on a tour, trying to follow Broad and Anderson,” admits Fisher. “I never felt like that was mine.”On the Lions trip before that trip, I felt like I was building into a Test bowler. But unfortunately you can’t control having a stress fracture sometimes. For anyone who’s had a stressie, it doesn’t just take the time for your back to heal, it’s the time to then trust your body again and think that every time you feel your back, it doesn’t have to be your worst-case scenario.”But in those two years, anything you feel you are worried, because it is such a long injury that you don’t want it to happen again. In terms of intensity and snapping through your action, you’re not quite there, which we all know – if you’re down on that – it makes you half the bowler. It has been nice to build that back up naturally. The lads in that [Ashes] squad are incredible bowlers, but it’s about being ready when an opportunity does come.”Though it’s only a Lions call-up, Fisher, at 27, sees this selection as a reward, and vindication for the moves he has made. He bulked up heading into 2023, and the following year ended what had been a life-long association with Yorkshire to sign for Surrey.Related

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Though Surrey were unable to make it four County Championship titles in a row, Fisher had his most productive first-class summer to date. His 31 dismissals in 11 appearances were the second-most for the club, of which 11 came against Nottinghamshire at the Kia Oval in a thrilling title decider that Surrey lost, ultimately handing their opponents the Division One crown.”I would give all those wickets for us to have won the title, but it was nice personally to click into gear. It was out of the blue.”The chats I had, it was such a difficult decision to move. But everything I’ve moved for – and the reasons – getting selected on this is kind of why I did it.”It was to have a fresh environment, fresh coaches, fresh players – different perspectives. As we know, the strength of Yorkshire is that it thinks it knows what it’s doing, which is great. But there is also a weakness to that sometimes; there is a real DNA to Yorkshire, which is brilliant, and I am proud to have played there, proud to have been capped by Yorkshire.”I still look out for all the lads. But I think sometimes when you broaden your reach, you realise that you hadn’t thought about it like that. Going into a different gym, having gone into the same gym for 12 years, it’s kind of good. It’s been great.”That Fisher excelled during this season’s Kookaburra-ball rounds – 10 wickets in his three goes with it – undoubtedly helped his cause for a spot in Australia. Previous experience using it on Lions and development tours gave him an edge.”It’s a mindset thing for me. That was one of the conversations that we had at Surrey: yes, there’s a stigma around it in English cricket, and the pitches don’t allow for it to have good games of cricket sometimes. But it is also a case of how you become more rounded as a bowler. The purpose of what the ECB brought in and why they brought it in, we are seeing why it happened.Fisher’s early promise was hindered by a back stress fracture•Getty Images”We felt like getting tighter to the stumps was better because, if you think about the science behind it, [the ball] has to do less if you’re in tight. I definitely think that my experiences in the Lions bowling with it in the last four or five years has made me better with it. It’s one of those where, if you’re open to it, commit to it, bowl more with it, you get better at it. It’s like anything in life.”Fisher’s enhanced performances have come through a lot of hard work, and a greater appreciation of his body. Lions head coach Andrew Flintoff and men’s performance director Ed Barney have been impressed with his drive at Loughborough these past few weeks, often in as early as 7am to do strength and mobility work in the gym ahead of bowling sessions later that day.Though Fisher has always been willing to put the work in, an extra motivation came when he lost his pace bowling development contract in 2023.”Keysy [Rob Key, managing director] spoke to me at the end of that contract and said they wanted me to stand on my own two feet for a year and see how I get on. It was nice to get stuck into everything at Surrey last winter after a few winters with the Lions and get to know everyone. I feel like that really helped me settle for the summer. The goal in the back of your mind is to get picked for higher honours, so it was a nice surprise.”

If I am a good county bowler for the rest of my career, I am fine with that as a baseline. Anything else above that is perfect for what I want to achieve.Fisher on his ambitions after switching from Yorkshire to Surrey

He has enjoyed working with Flintoff, who he believes can take him from a decent county bowler to the next step. “Maybe going to a place that I’ve not been before”, as Fisher himself puts it. “What Fred is really good at is trying to get the last five or 10 per cent out of people. I think that’s something he can help me with.”He may well have to access that this winter if a further promotion comes. Friends and family have encouraged him to dream of barging his way into the Ashes squad this winter. But Fisher, through his own experiences, wants to keep his feet on the ground.”From 17 (when he made his first-class debut for Yorkshire) to 23, I was probably obsessed about playing for England. Because I achieved stuff quite young and people were talking about it, you get obsessed with it.”I have got to the point of accepting that, if I am a good county bowler for the rest of my career and hopefully win a couple of Championships with Surrey, then I am fine with that as a baseline. Anything else above that is perfect for what I want to achieve.”Accepting that as a baseline is not me not pushing boundaries to make myself better. I think it’s a healthier way of looking at it.”

Full-on and full-scale, England vs India was a series so packed with events and excitement that you’ll struggle to remember more than a handful looking back

Osman Samiuddin06-Aug-2025You know what? Let’s go there right away. Of course you want to. You probably already have. It’s an entirely human urge. As good as ’05? Better than ’23 surely? Does it beat any BGT from this century, even the three-match epic that kick-started the modern rivalry? No, spare yourself and don’t go down that rabbit hole. Or down that cloying path of self-congratulation, where we collectively phew and pat ourselves on the back because Test cricket has been saved. Again.Stay in the present. Let this Anderson-Tendulkar series take over your head. Let it swirl through your veins. Let it be the natural dopamine rush you didn’t have to exercise for. Process what you have seen. Digest it. Take your time – no, actually the time to go back and pore over every bit of it, to make sense of how, nearly every day – every , and sometimes every ball – this series dragged you one way, then yanked you the other and finally wrung out every drop of emotion from you like you were some wet tea towel.Did so much really happen in this one series? Could so much really happen in one series? So much that no matter how much you recall, there’ll always be that much you won’t because, the human brain. Shubman Gill really did go for Bradman’s record. As hard as he went for Zak Crawley’s masculinity. Jofra Archer really did return to Test cricket and Jofra Archer really did bowl those two deliveries to Rishabh Pant. England really did chase down their second-highest total ever and it felt a little underwhelming and quite inevitable. England did really want to be humbler and not so nice and also not d***heads, all in the same series.Related

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KL Rahul really did become the Test batter he has for so long promised to be, the absolute picture of old-school judiciousness. Mohammed Siraj, for all the big stuff he did, really did take that catch at Edgbaston, arguably the catch of the series. There really was a brouhaha over handshakes. There was definitely one over the Dukes balls. Personally, this would be incomplete without mention of Washington Sundar and his entirely unexpected gatecrashing of this series. He saved one Test with old-school stonewalling, won the last with new-age freewheeling, and got such wicked, deceptive drift with the ball, it should rightfully be labelled grift: as in, 5.369 degrees of grift on that one to Ben Stokes at Edgbaston. He has some of the gait and bearing of R Ashwin, with less genius to be sure, but also, thankfully, less uncle; the Ashwin you fret your daughter will bring home, not the one you want her to be with.There’s still so much that hasn’t made it here, but will no doubt make your lists. Every moment, for instance, when Stokes was involved, was a moment in which Test cricket was an Extreme Sport, with his body on the line. Or, of his 481 runs, the six that Harry Brook swept while falling over off Siraj at The Oval, which, despite Pant having normalised the shot and Brook’s own electric range, was entirely abnormal nonetheless. Or Joe Root who, like Rahul, hummed along, the James Earl Jones (or Morgan Freeman) voiceover to the series, imparting deep and sensible authority unto a fraying, steaming silliness. And imagine, all these feats of memory and none for the very first wicket India took in this series.That was 46 days ago, occurring both like yesterday as well as a lifetime ago. Which is the thing about five-Test series. In more ways than we might think, they are actually perfect for the modern age. Watching seven hours a day more or less. Five days at a stretch. Over six to eight weeks. There’s a term for this you might be familiar with, which made its way into the dictionary officially a decade ago, when streaming platforms truly began to take over our screens, but describes the preferred, and only, mode of following Test cricket since 1877. That’s right: binge-watching.4:04

How do you move on from such an epic series?

Like any bingeable series, a great Test series also becomes our world for a while. We obsess over its plays and ploys, plots and subplots, heroes and villains and their character arcs. We move to its pace and speak its language and live by its logic. We live by its episodic highs and lows and lulls, its continuity, although we can never really know what comes next. And there can never be spoilers.Simply watching one is never enough. We must obsess over it online, listen to all the podcasts, read all the pieces, snigger our way through TikToks, and yes, exult and outrage and hot-take all over everyone else’s feeds. A long Test series enforces an element that is the opposite of the binge-watch: the stinge-watch, when you hoard episodes and space them out for your viewing convenience. Barely a break to breathe between some Tests, but a week or more to meditate between others, and yet somehow the arrhythmia feels normal.Here we were doubly blessed to have, on the final day of the series, a 56-minute recap of every sensation of the 24 days that preceded it. The two boundaries off the first two balls, one authoritative, one unintended, cutting the target down by a fifth; the wicket off the seventh multiplying it back again by five; a chance missed, another turned into a six, a review upheld, one overturned; the breathless, relentless surge and counter-surge of an entire series. England, now India, England again, India again, compressed into under an hour. A recap, but also it hit you like that tool so beloved of the auteur, the long one-shot take, always fraught, always tense, always building to more fraughtness and tension, and never hiding its fragility, of how easily and suddenly everything could go south.Main men: Washington Sundar finished with seven wickets and 284 vital runs, and Shubman Gill averaged 75-plus in his ten innings•Getty ImagesIt was the perfect tribute to the inseparability of the two sides, a closeness that a couple of comfortable-looking results and a comfortable-looking draw don’t necessarily convey (neither does the generally bat-dominated look of the stats tables). Three of the five Tests, after all, were essentially one-innings shootouts, where often the second innings felt like different Tests altogether from the first. But for a catch here or a drop there, a collapse or a call at the toss, a timely ball change or an untimely run out, or just the simple physics of backspin after a perfect back-foot defensive, but for all of this and so much more, who knows? And yet, who cares, because at the end, at two-all, it landed exactly right.As right as it was that Chris Woakes and his sling were on the field at the end, a reminder of how non-fiction this entertainment was, of the unquestionable, unscripted authenticity of this drama. In this series alone, Pant returned to play with a broken foot, Shoaib Bashir took a match-winning wicket with a broken finger, and Stokes bowled an eight-over spell on the final morning at Old Trafford with a torn shoulder muscle of unpronounceable provenance.All four were game-related injuries that could have happened in a shorter series, but there’s no doubting that a five-Test series takes a toll like little else. This one has been almost uniquely exacting. When the sides came out for the final day on Monday, it was only the third time this century that each Test of a five-match series had gone into the final day. It was uncharted territory for all but Root, England captain during the 2017-18 Ashes, when it last happened.It cost the final Test four of the biggest names in the game in Stokes, Archer, Jasprit Bumrah and Pant. But it says everything about the series that their absence was barely noticed, that without these stars, it produced its best game.

India want to give the seam-bowling allrounder game time in home Tests so that he can improve for challenges overseas

Karthik Krishnaswamy08-Oct-20252:05

Is there a role for Nitish Kumar Reddy in home Tests?

Ten years from now, it might be the image you recall most vividly from last week’s Ahmedabad Test: Nitish Kumar Reddy airborne at full stretch, having flung himself to his left at square leg to turn a well-hit pull from Tagenarine Chanderpaul into India’s first wicket in the second innings.You might, however, struggle to recall anything else Reddy did in the Test, because he didn’t get to contribute much to India’s innings victory. He bowled four overs in West Indies’ first innings, didn’t bowl in their second, and didn’t get to bat as India declared first thing in the morning on day three, on their overnight total of 448 for 5, despite there being so much time left in the game.It’s the kind of thing that can happen to a player in such a dominant victory, particularly a player whose skillset can seem surplus to requirements in certain conditions. India want to maximise Reddy’s potential as a seam-bowling allrounder and are hoping to turn him into a player whose presence gives them depth and balance with both bat and ball in overseas conditions. But to help him grow into that player, they recognise he needs game time in red-ball cricket between those tours, which means playing him whenever possible even in home Tests.Related

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“I’d say we’re unlikely to change the combination,” India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said two days out from the second Test in Delhi. “One of the sort of medium-term objectives is to develop a seam-bowling allrounder for India, because it’s very important when we go away on tours that we have that position covered.”We didn’t get a very good look at Nitish last week, so I think it’s a very good opportunity to give Nitish another go and not alter the balance of the team.”In his eight Tests so far, Reddy has shown evidence of his high ceiling in Test cricket, particularly with the bat. He top-scored in low India totals with 41, 42 and 42 in three of his first four Test innings, during the 2024-25 tour of Australia, and followed up with a maiden Test hundred at the MCG. His bowling isn’t yet at that level, but he took key top-order wickets both in Australia and during the 2025 tour of England.”We think he’s a fantastic seam-bowling allrounder, a batter who bowls seam,” ten Doeschate said. “I think the biggest limitation to what his ceiling could be is going to be his body. He is not the first allrounder we’ve seen in this country whom that applies to; to be perfectly honest, Hardik [Pandya]’s in the same sort of character of player where we don’t doubt their skills at all but for their bodies to hold up to Test cricket is a different matter.”Nitish, I think he showed everyone in Australia how good he is as a batter; I think the challenge for him is going to be to make sure that he gets game time in between away series. In a series like this, when you look at the combination, it’s more important to look ahead and see how we can fit him in to make sure that he does get game time and time to develop his bowling. We really like him, we think he’s a quality allrounder.”4:20

Ten Doeschate: India unlikely to change combination due to a medium-term objective

As true as that might be, India have three spin-bowling allrounders in their squad against West Indies, and two of them – Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar – played in Ahmedabad and batted ahead of Reddy, with Jadeja scoring an unbeaten century to extend his 2025 purple patch.”The sort of lucky thing for us is Washy and Jaddu and even Axar [Patel] are pretty much the same sort of players,” ten Doeschate said when asked whether batting behind Jadeja and Washington could potentially hold back Reddy’s development. “We feel they can bat anywhere from five all the way through to eight, and on the most recent evidence of Washy getting important runs in the UK, [and] obviously Jaddu’s form in the last six months has been immense, and unfortunately that means when Nitish does come back into the team right after his injury, he fits in right at the back of that list, and hence the reason why he batted at eight.”The only drawback, or the only sort of downer from last week in that first Test was the fact that Nitish didn’t get to compete in any of the departments, but I think it’s also a strong message to the guys who are fighting for that spot that you need to be versatile, you need to be able to bat anywhere from five all the way through to eight, and we feel that’s a good way to develop players, that they can perform in different scenarios and different positions.”If we’re all disappointed that they’re not batting six or seven that means Indian cricket’s in a good space, and long may that continue.

On Sai Sudharsan: ‘We know he’s good enough’

Another player who had a quiet game in Ahmedabad was B Sai Sudharsan. Unlike Reddy, he got the chance to show what he could do, batting at No. 3, but he was the only member of the top six to be dismissed for a single-digit score. On 7, he was lbw attempting an ambitious pull off the offspinner Roston Chase when the ball may not have been short enough for the shot.It continued a frustrating start to Sai Sudharsan’s Test career. In England, he showed why India rate him highly enough to have given him a debut as a No. 3 despite coming to Test cricket with a sub-40 first-class average: he played the ball late, showed excellent judgment outside off stump, and looked unhurried and in control at most times. But he also fell in unusual ways multiple times after getting a start, including more than once to balls angling down the leg side. Now, after that low score at Ahmedabad, Sai Sudharsan averages 21.00 with just one half-century in seven innings.0:49

Chopra: ‘Sai Sudharsan needs runs or the pressure will mount’

“I think he is under no illusion and he can’t hide away from the fact that you do fight for a spot in this environment, where you saw Karun Nair get four Test matches in England [before getting dropped for the West Indies series]. There are a lot of good players fighting up the hill to whoever has possession of that spot,” ten Doeschate said. “So Sai just needs to focus on believing in himself. We’ve obviously got a lot of belief in him to give him that No. 3 spot. He is playing pretty nicely, probably a tactical mistake the other day, which he’ll be aware of – playing back to a ball so early in an innings.”We know he’s good enough; and now he has to find a way of scoring runs and showing the rest of the country and the rest of the team that he’s good enough to hold that spot. But certainly no panic or no worry – particularly in a winning team you can absorb that in a series like this, where he knows he’s going to get four knocks.”The rhythms of the Test calendar, ten Doeschate felt, is another challenge for players like Sai Sudharsan who are still finding their feet in the format. “It’s probably a little bit early to be worried or panic-stricken. Doesn’t help that you have five Test matches in the UK and then you wait six weeks to play the next Test match, and the same thing will happen now after this Test next week – we don’t have another Test match for the next three and a half weeks. There’s no string of fixtures to get your rhythm and to get yourself going, but again that’s the nature of Test cricket in this era, and he has to find a way to do it.”

On Jurel: ‘We were trying to squeeze him into our plans even in Australia and England’

In Ahmedabad, Dhruv Jurel – playing as wicketkeeper in the absence of the injured Rishabh Pant – batted at No. 5, scored his maiden Test hundred, and left a lot of viewers theorising that he could potentially remain in the XI as a specialist batter even after Pant returns.”I’d imagine it does [put pressure on Sai Sudharsan],” ten Doeschate said. “I think Dhruv showed last week just what a good player he is. We’ve known that all along, how well [he could] fit into the middle order, and in addition to that, there are other good players who are fighting for a top-three or top-four spot – obviously Shubman [Gill]’s got four nailed down.2:02

Chopra: Jurel making a strong case for No. 6 spot

“Sai’s aware of that, and look, I don’t think you pursue a career of playing cricket in India if you don’t expect that sort of competition and people clawing at you, the media clawing at you, that’s part and parcel of it, and we know Sai is tough enough to deal with that.”Jurel had already enjoyed an impressive debut series in Test cricket, against England last year, when ten Doeschate joined the coaching staff under new head coach Gautam Gambhir. He has since played one Test in Australia, one in England after Pant suffered his injury, and then in Ahmedabad. He has also been part of the T20I squad as back-up wicketkeeper, and has now been picked in the ODI squad that will tour Australia later this month.”We’re really happy with the way he is tracking,” ten Doeschate said of Jurel. “He’s someone, even in England, even a little bit in Australia, we were trying to squeeze him into the plans because we know how good he is, and obviously, with Rishabh now being injured, it’s worked out quite nicely to get Dhruv some game time.”[In terms of] his development, what we saw at the back end of last year, leading into this year, we were really hoping he would kick on in the IPL, and he maybe didn’t have quite the IPL he would have hoped for and we would have hoped for, but to come into the team now like he has and to score a proper hundred like that, hopefully it gives him a bit of runway, and if you look at it in a positive way, it’s good that he is putting pressure on other players in the top order as well.”

Andy Robertson has now reportedly made his decision on returning to Celtic with Parkhead chiefs already preparing to commence talks with the Scotland captain as early as January.

The Hoops could certainly do with his experience on the European stage, having been well-beaten once again in midweek. This time, it was Midtjylland who reaped the rewards, easing to a 3-1 victory in a game that saw them take a three-goal lead before half-time. Whilst Martin O’Neill has managed to turn things around so far domestically, he could do nothing to stop the rot in the Europa League.

The defeat laid bare the task that the next permanent manager has on their hands and those at Celtic Park are yet to even discover who that will be.

O’Neill once again distanced himself from the job when questioned, telling reporters: “I will be here as long as the football board wants me, it’s as simple as that. That could be at the end of the week, it could be after the Kilmarnock game. I just don’t know.”

Celtic schedule first interview with 37 y/o manager who dreams of Hoops job

The Bhoys are still on the hunt for their Brendan Rodgers replacement.

ByTom Cunningham Nov 6, 2025

Whoever is next in the hotseat – whether it be Nicky Hayen, Kieran McKenna or another name – must turn towards the transfer window to welcome some much-needed experience and quality.

Andy Robertson makes Celtic return decision

As reported by TeamTalk, Robertson is now open to making a return to Celtic and signing a pre-contract agreement as soon as January. Sources told TeamTalk that “it’s a move that would make total sense for him personally” and the Hoops are now ready to swoop in to strike an early deal.

If the Scottish giants are after experience and quality, then Robertson is their man. The iconic Liverpool left-back arguably still deserves the starting spot over new man Milos Kerkez at Anfield, but has less than 12 months remaining on his current contract. Given that the Reds bought Kerkez to act as Robertson’s successor last summer, a new contract seems unlikely at this stage.

That, as things stand, should allow Celtic to seal a bargain deal for a Champions League winner who, even at 31 years old, would take the Scottish Premiership by storm.

Once dubbed the “complete player” by former Liverpool left-back Fabio Aurelio, Robertson would be one of the signings of the summer if the Bhoys secured his arrival on a free deal.

Their academy graduate has won it all in English football and is now open to coming full circle and returning to end some unfinished business in Scotland.

Celtic now considering McKenna move

With India’s next WTC fixture slated for August 2026, here are five ways they can bounce back after the bruising at the hands of SA, and earlier, NZ

Karthik Krishnaswamy28-Nov-20251:38

What are the remedial steps for team India?

Bin the rank turnerWhat is the ideal home pitch for India? What is the best type of surface to heighten their relative strengths over their opposition? This debate has made India go back and forth between square turners and true batting surfaces multiple times over the last decade, and the two pitches against South Africa, in Kolkata and Guwahati, only showed that neither kind can neutralise the threat of a strong opposition.Two things must be noted, though. South Africa’s victory came on the back of all-timer performances by a visiting fast bowler (Marco Jansen) and a visiting spinner (Simon Harmer) in India. Not too many touring teams can call on attacks that good; most times, India are likely to have the better attack for Indian conditions. It remains in their interests, notwithstanding what happened in Guwahati, to broaden rather than narrow that gap in skill and depth between their attack and the visiting attack. This, as this in-depth study from the analyst Himanish Ganjoo shows, is best achieved on pitches with balance between bat and ball.Related

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There will be losses to good teams, and times when losing the toss hurt India. But those things can happen on sharp turners too.More importantly, good batting pitches with true bounce are better for India’s long-term development. They incentivise the team to pick batters who have the all-round game to score hundreds against good bowling, and fast bowlers and spinners who aren’t just putting the ball on a spot and expecting the pitch to do the rest.On these pitches, players can believe that good processes will beget good outcomes in the long run. This is particularly important for batters; it becomes extremely difficult to trust your processes if you are doing everything right and averaging 20 over a season because the pitches are treacherous. Selection also tends to become more reactionary in these situations.6:22

‘Gambhir took the blame because he felt curators should not be blamed’

For a team in transition, selection will need to be anything but reactionary. India need to pick their best players and give them time to prove themselves. This is definitely a more straightforward process when pitches allow you to judge players properly.Ensure allrounders tick the primary-skill boxAxar Patel’s selection in Kolkata made a lot of sense in theory. A fast, accurate left-arm spinner on a turning pitch against a team full of right-hand batters. An excellent lower-order batter with multiple gears, particularly against spin.India starting day three of the match with Axar and Ravindra Jadeja in tandem also made sense in theory.But watching Corbin Bosch play out Axar comfortably, and watching Axar struggle to test the right-handers’ outside edge right through that spell, showed that theory can only go so far. This was clearly a bowler who had played his last Test match in February 2024, and his only first-class match since then in September 2024. This was clearly a bowler who hadn’t taken more than two wickets in a first-class innings since December 2022.

If Axar is too valuable a white-ball asset to give him time to develop his red-ball game, India should perhaps not pick him for Tests

Axar is a fine cricketer, but he hasn’t been a genuine Test bowler for a while. He gets into India’s home squads because he’s never expected to be the lead spinner, because he usually only plays as a third spinner — in Kolkata he was one of four — and is picked as much, or more, for his batting than his bowling.Being able to call on three spin-bowling allrounders in Jadeja, Axar and Washington Sundar at home can be a luxury. The batting depth provided by R Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar proved to be a cheat code for India during their 2023 home series against Australia, rescuing them from a number of hairy situations.Axar barely bowled during that series, though, even though the pitches were extremely spin-friendly. Even on those pitches, the gaps in his bowling were clear when you watched what Ashwin and Jadeja did from their ends.Axar only played four first-class matches between that series and this one against South Africa. It’s not his fault, because he’s a white-ball regular, but India will have to figure out what to do about this situation. If he’s too valuable a white-ball asset to give him time to develop his red-ball game, India should perhaps not pick him for Tests.1:07

What’s the verdict on Washington Sundar at No. 3?

Washington presents a different case. He has had an extremely unusual early-career trajectory — batter at junior level, new-ball spinner when he broke through in the IPL, white-ball specialist who hadn’t played a first-class match in three-and-a-half years when he made his accidental Test debut at the Gabba in January 2021 — which is now mirrored by his shifting role from Test match to Test match. He batted only once in the two Tests against West Indies, and batted at No. 3 in his very next Test match, in Kolkata. He bowled just the one over in that game, followed by 48 in Guwahati.The thing about Washington is that he is capable of doing everything he’s asked to do, and do it competently. He is a cricketer of frightening ability. Whether it’s the match-saving century at Old Trafford, the crucial wickets in England or the long hours of high-control batting in Kolkata, the things he’s done are impressive but never surprising.But sometimes he can look like an offspinner who’s only taken 99 wickets in 46 first-class matches. He goes through a fair share of tidy but unthreatening spells, and spends long hours out of the attack when two right-handers are at the crease — imagine that ever happening to Ashwin. He often looks like the third spinner in a three-spinner attack, and in Kolkata like the fourth spinner in a four-spinner attack.3:45

Did India pick one spinner too many at Eden Gardens?

What do India do about a player like him? Perhaps the obvious answer is what they did in Kolkata. Washington has the game to bat in the top order, so India may be best served picking him as a batter, and using his bowling regularly but not counting him among their bowlers when they pick their XIs. This would ensure they don’t look short of wicket-taking options in conditions that don’t suit him, but always have his offspin around should they need it.The third young — or youngish; Axar is in his early 30s now — allrounder in India’s squad, Nitish Kumar Reddy, presents the most straightforward case. After two series of batting behind the other allrounders and barely bowling at all, it must be clear to India that he does not merit selection in home Tests — not yet anyway. And while he certainly has the potential to be a Test allrounder in the future, are India really developing that potential by playing him in home Tests, and not using him, when he could be getting innings and overs under the belt in domestic cricket?Develop genuine spinnersAnyone bowling in the same match as Harmer in Kolkata and Guwahati was at a disadvantage. Even spinners as good as Jadeja and Keshav Maharaj looked inadequate in comparison.For India, though, Harmer was a reminder of a bowler who had been an ever-present in home Tests until this season, Ashwin, a fingerspinner who could take wickets in a variety of ways across a variety of conditions, with old ball and new, by bowling quick and attacking the stumps on turning pitches, by beating batters with drift and dip on flatter tracks.The predominant trend of square turners in Ashwin’s final years possibly led to India losing sight of the difference between him and Jadeja on the one hand and Washington and Axar on the other. Ashwin and Jadeja, as good as they were with the bat, were automatic picks in India’s home XIs even purely as bowlers.2:55

‘Harmer in India better than Lyon, Swann’

This is not the case with Axar and Washington, and it becomes clearer when they bowl on flatter tracks.Who are India’s best genuine red-ball spinners after Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav?Running through the list of spinners who have played for India A in recent years presents a slightly concerning picture, with all three non-Test spinners selected this year — Harsh Dubey, Tanush Kotian and Manav Suthar — falling under the allrounder category.These may well be the best domestic spinners India have, but if not, Harmer’s displays should make the selectors ask themselves whether they are prioritising utility or all-conditions wicket-taking skills.Identify the best middle-order candidates, and stick with themIt was no accident that Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma took over India’s middle order from Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman. Even two or three years before the old guard began to exit the Test stage, these were the younger names tipped to take over by most seasoned watchers of Indian cricket.Now, with all of Pujara, Kohli, Rahane and Rohit (who finished as an opener) done with Test cricket, there is no obvious next generation of specialist middle-order batters, barring Shubman Gill at No. 4. Shreyas Iyer, whose back issues have put his red-ball career at an impasse for the moment, was perhaps the last batter other than Gill who was widely tipped to have a long stint in India’s middle order.Since Iyer’s debut in 2021-22, India’s middle-order debutants have been Suryakumar Yadav, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Devdutt Padikkal and B Sai Sudharsan. Sarfaraz is the only one of the five to average above 50 in first-class cricket.4:14

Are India selecting Test players based on their white-ball performances?

This is a complete breakaway from the history of selection in Indian cricket. While there has always been the odd exception, an eye-catching first-class record over a decent sample size has generally been a prerequisite for Test selection.There are reasons for the departure from this long-established norm. With the increase of teams in the Ranji Trophy and a possible dilution of talent in consequence, and with pitches often tailored to home teams’ needs at a given point in a season, the selectors have come to view runs and wickets in this tournament as a less reliable barometer for selection than performances for India A.And with the IPL and even state-run T20 leagues pulling the best raw talent in the country towards honing their white-ball rather than red-ball skills, the selectors perhaps also feel the batters best equipped to handle pace and spin bowling at Test level — the ones with the best judgment of length, above all, who give the illusion of having more time — may not have particularly good first-class records or even play that much first-class cricket.Because of this, though, and because India have multi-skilled players such as Jadeja, Washington and Dhruv Jurel who are good enough to bat in the top six, the selectors have ended up having to answer some uncomfortable questions.4:37

Karim: ‘You need specialists to do well in Test cricket’

As good as Washington is, would he be batting at No. 3 ahead of a specialist in a previous era? As good as Jurel is, and as irresistible as his form may be, would he be playing ahead of the specialist middle-order reserve in an India squad from a previous era? And how good is that specialist middle-order reserve if he is getting left out for a lower-order batter simply because he bats left-handed?Having gone through these questions, if the selectors still feel Sai Sudharsan and Padikkal are the best middle-order batters in India other than Gill, this is the time to stick with them. That might, in itself, be the hardest call to make.But beyond the next Test selection, there are broader questions to address. If the selectors and team management feel the Ranji Trophy isn’t a good-enough indicator of player quality, it might be time for the BCCI to turn it into the best tournament it could be. This could mean changing the tournament format, or setting stringent standards for pitches, or – here’s a radical thought – increasing match fees to a point where the best talent in the country is clamouring to be part of it.Don’t take the eye off the red ballBetween now and their next WTC Test in August, India have a T20 World Cup to prepare for and defend. They have ODIs to play, involving Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. There is an IPL season too.White-ball cricket will dominate the domestic scene for a while too, with the Ranji Trophy taking a mid-season break until mid-January.India next play a Test in Sri Lanka and that’s a while away•BCCIIndia have the same coaching staff and the same selectors for white-ball and red-ball cricket, and all of them will have a lot of white-ball cricket to keep their minds on in this period. But they will have reviewed the defeats to South Africa, and identified areas of concern they will want to address by the time India play their next Test. The addressing will have to begin as soon as possible.It could mean finding ways for the best red-ball players in the country to keep playing matches even outside the Ranji Trophy windows. It could mean arranging A tours after the Ranji final in late February, and between the IPL and the Sri Lanka tour.Whatever India do, they will not want to be caught off-guard by a better-prepared and better-equipped Sri Lanka – who might well have brighter prospects of making the WTC final at that stage – when they begin that tour.

Wolverhampton Wanderers are now reportedly prioritising a deal to sign Lazio goalkeeper Christos Mandas, who is now available at a cut-price ahead of the January transfer window.

It’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks for those in the Midlands. After sacking Vitor Pereira, Wolves went on the hunt for a new manager and landed on Rob Edwards, who controversially left Middlesbrough to take the vacant position. He’s since claimed that no other job would have lured him away from Riverside and he now has the chance to keep his dream club afloat in the Premier League.

Fosun in contact to sign £30m Premier League ace who Wolves feel is perfect

The Old Gold haven’t got the reply they’d have wanted.

ByCharlie Smith Nov 21, 2025

Speaking to reporters after arriving, Edwards said: “It feels amazing to be back. I’m really proud. I’m genuinely proud and I’ve told all the staff and players that. I won’t lie about it, it has been an aim of mine since I first got the under-18’s job here 11 years ago. It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do.

“But this was something that I’ve wanted to do for a long, long time, and I didn’t know if this job would ever come up again for me. The opportunity might never, ever come up for me to be the head coach of this club. I didn’t want to look back in 10, 15, 20 years, and think I turned down a chance to manage Wolves in the Premier League.

“I didn’t want to regret that, so here I am. I know the size and the scale of the task, but I’m really enthused by it, I’m excited by it, and this week has been really enjoyable. But now the games start, so let’s see.”

He will be well aware that the task on his hands is far from easy, but Wolves are seemingly willing to back their new manager when the January transfer window arrives – starting with a new shot-stopper.

Wolves prioritising Christos Mandas move

As reported by Ben Jacobs for GiveMeSport, Wolves are now prioritising a move for Mandas in January as they search for a new goalkeeper. The shot-stopper is open to a move away from the Serie A club after going from the No.1 under Maurizio Sarri to without a league appearance all season under Marcos Baroni.

Unlike in the summer, Wolves also have the chance to land a bargain deal. When those in the Midlands previously set their sights on Mandas, they were quoted a £22m fee. Now, as Lazio look to climb out of their financial struggles, he’s set to be available for a maximum of £12m when January arrives.

Described as “reactive” by his agent, Diego Tavano, Mandas arguably needs Wolves just as much as they need him. The one-time Manchester City target would provide Edwards with an instant upgrade on Jose Sa, who is 32 years old and struggling for consistency.

At 24, there’s also every chance that Mandas rediscovers his best form by leaving Lazio. The Italians sit mid-table in Serie A and the goalkeeper still hasn’t been able to win back his starting place.

Wolves now want to sign £20m set-piece specialist compared to Declan Rice

Four-wicket hauls from Murphy and Sangha in vain for Australia A

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2025

Prabhsimran Singh’s 68-ball 102 was backed up by half-centuries from captain Shreyas Iyer and Riyan Parag as India A chased down 317 to clinch the three-match unofficial ODI series against Australia A 2-1 in Kanpur.India A were placed comfortably on 262 for 3 in the 35th over during their chase, but they lost five for 39 to lose grip. Vipraj Nigam and Arshdeep Singh then took them over the line, adding an unbroken 21 for the ninth wicket and helping India A win the decider by two wickets.Prabhsimran had set the tone for the victory by adding 83 for the first wicket with Abhishek Sharma in just 11.2 overs. Abhishek and Tilak Varma fell in quick succession but Prabhsimran continued to bat aggressively. He struck eight fours and seven sixes before falling to legspinner Tanveer Sangha in the 20th over.Iyer and Parag launched from the platform Prabhsimran had set, adding 117 off 92 balls for the fourth wicket. While Iyer hit 62 off 58 balls, his second fifty-plus score in three one-dayers ahead of the Australia tour, Parag smashed 62 off 55.However, Sangha dismissed both batters in successive overs, bringing Australia A back into the game. Sangha proceeded to remove allrounder Nishant Sindhu before Todd Murphy struck twice in two balls, sending back Ayush Badoni and Harshit Rana in the 42nd over. Nigam (24*) and Arshdeep (7*), though, ensured that India A closed out the chase with 24 balls to spare.Earlier, Arshdeep and Rana had Australia A in trouble, reducing them to 44 for 4. While Arshdeep removed openers Mackenzie Harvey and Jake Fraser-McGurk, Rana dismissed Harry Dixon and Lachlan Hearne. Cooper Connolly’s 49-ball 64 then resurrected Australia A’s innings, but the hosts found themselves in trouble again at 135 for 6 in 21 overs.Captain Jack Edwards and Liam Scott then added a 152-run stand off 123 balls for the seventh wicket to take Australia A forward. Some useful runs down the order helped Australia cross 300 before they were bowled out for 316 in 49.1 overs. Arshdeep and Harshit picked up three wickets apiece for India A.

Minto stars for England with five-for, but Ratan takes 4 for 9 to seal comfortable victory

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay05-Sep-2025Bangladesh U19 292 (Hossan 100, Minto 5-68) beat England U19 205 (Mohammed 75, Ratul 4-9) by 87 runsRizan Hossan’s authoritative century off 101 balls outdid a five-wicket haul from Durham’s James Minto and a sparkling 75 from Isaac Mohammed as Bangladesh Men U19s beat England Men U19s by 87 runs in the first Youth One-Day International at Loughborough.Despite a confident start, a target of 293 proved too much for the hosts, as England dramatically collapsed from 132 for two to 205 all out. Bangladesh’s spinners combined to take eight wickets. Samiun Basir Ratul stood out with outstanding figures of 4.2-0-9-4.Bangladesh openers Zawad Abrar and Rifat Beg made a brisk start, reaching 31 for none after five overs. Abrar’s brace of sixes over fine leg during an expensive opening spell by Minto typified their approach. Progress was halted when Leicestershire’s Alex Green claimed Beg’s wicket with his first ball, which grazed the leg stump and ended the 44-run opening stand.Bangladesh captain Azizul Hakim Tamim, who was dropped on four, was next to depart, caught by Kent’s Ben Dawkins off Yorkshire new-ball bowler, Matthew Firbank, for 11. England struck again when Abrar gloved Minto down the legside, at 69 for three in the 13th over the Young Lions appeared to gain a foothold in the game.However, a fourth-wicket partnership worth 148 between Kalam Aleen and Hossan allowed the visitors to regain the initiative.Initially Hossan was the main aggressor, he got to his fifty off 58 balls with a stylish boundary over midwicket. Aleen’s half-century, characterised by strong sweep shots, soon followed off 68 balls, as both batters manipulated the field effectively.The partnership was broken by Minto in the 39th over, who took two wickets in consecutive balls, leaving the score on 217 for five. Firstly, Aleen played across the line and was trapped LBW and then Mohammad Abdullah was the victim of another legside strangle, with captain Thomas Rew completing a regulation catch.England’s impressive death bowling meant that only 66 runs were added in the final 9.2 overs of the innings. The late flurry of wickets included Hossan, dismissed by Nottinghamshire’s Hatton-Lowe, one ball after getting to a deserved century. In the final over, Minto mopped up the innings, bagging two tailend wickets in two balls, the left-armer finishing with five for 68.England’s chase of 293 began badly, as Fahad castled Dawkins, in the first over of the reply. Joe Moores followed in the sixth over for 14, a looping top edge offering Tamim a catch off his own bowling.That brought Will Bennison to the middle, the Yorkshire batter in partnership with Mohammed proceeded to dominate the powerplay, accelerating the score to 129 for two after 15 overs. Isaac’s fifty, off only 34 balls, contained a ramped six along with several conventional boundaries.Bangladesh’s breakthrough came via Shadin Islam’s off-spin, bowling Bennison through the gate for 36 off 32 balls. Soon after, Mohammed’s fine innings of 75 ended with a catch to cover, leaving two new batters at the crease and 151 runs needed off 32.2 overs.Skipper Rew and debutant Jack Nelson maintained the pressure until a critical passage saw Middlesex’s Nelson undone by Ratul. The slow left armer also accounted for Rew as England faltered at 189 for six after 26.2 overs.The situation considerably worsened when Ralphie Albert was needlessly run out. The very next ball, Hatton-Lowe was then caught behind off Shahdin.Ratul closed out the game a few overs later with Firbank’s wicket, a sharp catch of his bowling.Mohammed said: “I really enjoyed it to be fair, I just felt good, I’ve doing a lot of training recently and I feel like a lot of that paid off today. At the end of the day the result didn’t go our way but when Sunday comes hopefully we can put it right.”When I’m batting, I like to stay positive, whatever the scenario is, I’m backing my ability.”Speaking about the Bangladesh spinners claiming eight wickets, he added: “At the start it was quite a fresh ball so it wasn’t doing as much. When the spinners did come back on, I’d just got out before that.”But looking at some of the videos, it looked like it was starting to grip, so if we are playing on the same wicket on Sunday, that could be something to look into.”Mohammed, whose Worcestershire are in the men’s Metro Bank One-Day Cup final against Hampshire later this month, to cap a breakthrough season for the batter said: “I’m loving it, and hopefully in the (Metro Bank) final against Hampshire, we can bring home the trophy.”

Australia coach Andrew McDonald has suggested that Usman Khawaja could be considered as a middle-order option in Adelaide after overcoming the back spasms that ruled him out of the Gabba contest as the selectors face a key decision over the batting line-upKhawaja’s return to fitness will create an intriguing conversation ahead of the third Test. He will turn 39 during the Adelaide Test and will be the first Australian Test player in 40 years to play at that age if selected.However, the success of Travis Head and Jake Weatherald at the top as created a conundrum. The new pair have shared two 70-plus stands in Perth and Brisbane in rapid time to take both games away from England. Australia had only had three half-century stands in their previous 14 Tests since David Warner retired, with Head involved in one of them with Khawaja in Sri Lanka.Related

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“It worked at this point in time,” McDonald said. “Pink-ball Test at the Gabba, we felt like that combination was right for those conditions and the opposition. We will always ask ourselves the question that the selection table as we move in. At our strategy meetings, we’ll continue to ask questions on what the best line-up is for that point in time. And we’re taking this Test by Test.”The assumption is that Uzzie can only open as well. So I think that he does have the flexibility. And we like to think that all our batters have the flexibility to be able to perform anywhere in that order. So we’ve got a collective sort of group of batters there that as a series wears on, the opposition may create some different challenges for us. We’re open to what it will look like for us moving forward.”Usman Khawaja didn’t recover in time for the second Test•Getty Images

Khawaja’s form was under scrutiny heading into the series – he is now averaging 31.84 since the end of the 2023 Ashes with one century in 45 innings – but he had been consistent for Queensland earlier in the season.When Khawaja was recalled to the Test side in early 2022 during the previous Ashes in Australia he came in at No. 5 when Head missed the SCG Test with Covid. Twin centuries made him undroppable and he moved up to open in place of Marcus Harris when Head returned.McDonald said that since that time there had not been consideration given to returning Khawaja to the middle order. Much of the focus after Warner’s retirement in early 2024 has been finding a partner for Khawaja, which was set to be Weatherald until Khawaja suffered back spasms in Perth.”He’s been a stable piece up there, so we haven’t discussed moving him previously,” McDonald said. “But we’re open to what the batting model would look like moving forward should there be any moving parts. Whether Trav opens, whether he goes back to the middle, that will all play out. We’re taking it Test by Test.”One of the themes of this season has been talk, led by McDonald and Pat Cummins, of potentially having flexible batting line-ups with both coach and captain believing set positions are over-rated.If Khawaja was to return it would be at the expense of Josh Inglis who batted at No. 7 at the Gabba where he made an uncertain 23. However, he pulled off a brilliant direct hit run out to remove Ben Stokes on the opening day.Australia’s squad is expected to be confirmed on Wednesday with Cummins set to be added to the 14 who were on duty in Brisbane ahead of a likely return for the captain.

“We aren’t able to create the momentum in our batting, we are trying to figure out how to solve that,” admits Sidra Nawaz

Madushka Balasuriya08-Oct-20250:58

Nawaz: ‘We are not being able to build momentum with the bat’

Pakistan knew they needed to be near perfect to beat Australia, an opponent they had failed to overcome on 16 prior occasions, and for around 22 overs, they were.There were diving catches, lightning quick stumpings, and your proverbial livewire acts of fielding. The conditions, too, were tailor-made; there were a few raised eyebrows when Pakistan opted to bowl first, but with the caliber of spinners they had in their ranks, they were confident of challenging Australia’s batters.That confidence was vindicated swiftly, as a combination of skillful bowling, efficient catching and some uncharacteristic errors in batting from a large chunk of Australia’s batting unit, saw the defending champions stumble to 76 for 7.Related

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Pakistan had never beaten Australia, and now they were closer than ever. But like a car crash in slow motion, the opportunity that had presented itself before them was snatched away brutally.”When they’re [Pakistan are] flying, they’re up and about. If you get a little partnership going, they can get a little bit flat, and you can open the game up that way,” Beth Mooney said after the game.”I sort of knew we had a long time to bat, so we didn’t have to do anything too rash.”That same sentiment was echoed by Pakistan skipper Fatima Sana during the post-match presentation.”We were on top after 20 overs in the first innings. After that, Beth Mooney played well and our girls’ energy came down. We need that energy until the last ball.”Mooney had struck a match-winning 109 off 114 deliveries to take the game away from Pakistan. That 109 was just five short of Pakistan’s eventual tally in their chase.Mooney’s innings also served to highlight the weaknesses prevalent in Pakistan’s batting unit. While Mooney rotated the strike – she took 44 singles across her innings – and shelved her attacking instincts to steer the game back towards her side, Pakistan lost wickets from the get-go.A game that started with ‘how good is this’ ended with ‘how did that happen’ for Fatima Sana•ICC/Getty Images

Sidra Amin struck 35 from 52, but no other batter in Pakistan’s top six reached double digits. While there is the mitigating factor that their last two games have been against Australia and India, and their first match in this tournament was against a Bangladesh outfit that is proving to be dangerous with the ball, Pakistan will know that a high score of 159 across those games is not good enough.”It is quite disappointing for us also because we were batting well previously. We did well in the Qualifiers, we did well in the series against South Africa in the lead up to the World Cup,” Sidra Nawaz said after the game.”Here, we aren’t able to create the momentum in our batting, we are trying to figure out how to solve that, and do well in our upcoming matches.”While Nawaz’s comments hold a modicum of truth – there were two scores of 287 and 255 against South Africa in Lahore – Pakistan’s unreliable batting unit has been a problem for some time now.Across 35 innings since the 2022 World Cup, they have managed a score of 250 or more just five times. Even accounting for low-scoring chases, this has been a fairly worrying record, and it’s something they will need to address sooner rather than later if they are to support the best efforts on the field.