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India have never been swept in a bilateral ODI series against Australia as they aim to bounce back in Sydney

Tristan Lavalette24-Oct-2025

Xavier Bartlett dismissed Virat Kohli for a duck•Getty Images

Big Picture – Can India avert a clean sweep?

In an anti-climax, considering the rivalry and general fanfare, the third ODI at the SCG will be a dead rubber after Australia clinched the series with a two-wicket victory in Adelaide.The final result probably flattered India, who fought to the end but were mostly up against it through the game. While valid excuses could be made for the truncated rain-affected opener in Perth, India were generally outplayed in the second ODI and could never quite recover from the early wickets of captain Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli, who bagged a second consecutive duck for the first time in his legendary ODI career.India’s top-order has been completely pinned down by Josh Hazlewood, the standout quick across the two games as England watch on ahead of the Ashes. The much-hyped returns of Kohli and Rohit Sharma have not quite gone to plan, although Rohit top-scored with 73 in Adelaide, and there remains an unknown over their futures with some pushing for Yashasvi Jaiswal to freshen up the top-order.Related

• Calm and composed Connolly showcases his worth

• Edwards called up for Sydney ODI, Beardman added to T20 squad

• Shreyas Iyer begins new chapter with old stance in Australia

• Josh Hazlewood and the beauty of a wicketless spell

• Short, Connolly, Zampa guide Australia to series victory in Adelaide

Without Hardik Pandya, India have looked unbalanced and they trotted out the same XI across the two games to no avail. There are clearly teething problems for Gill as he looks to start moulding his preferred line-up.In a notable contrast, Australia feel rejuvenated especially with fringe players Matt Short, Cooper Connolly, Mitch Owen and Matthew Renshaw making valuable contributions in their successful run chase in Adelaide.Their performances would have pleased Australia’s hierarchy as they look to bed down a batting-order after the ODI retirements of Steven Smith and Glenn Maxwell.Australia have never swept India in a bilateral ODI series, providing further motivation for a group that is currently in good spirits after a patchy run in 50-over cricket.Like in the previous two games, a pro-India crowd is expected amid a sold-out SCG.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia WWWLL
India LLWWWShubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir talk during a training session•AFP/Getty Images

In the spotlight: Matt Renshaw and Shubman Gill

Having waited nine years into his international career to play ODIs, Renshaw has fitted in seamlessly after finishing the job in Perth with an unbeaten 21 off 24 followed by a run a ball 30 in Adelaide. He has publicly spoken about shutting out the external noise and exuded composure after coming to the crease in Adelaide with Australia wobbling at 54 for 2. Renshaw helped change the momentum with a brisk 55-run partnership with Matt Short, but would have been annoyed to not make a big score after being knocked over by a looping delivery from left-arm spinner Axar Patel having attempted to launch over mid-off. Renshaw is set to get another chance in Sydney as competition hots up in this transitioning batting-order. There is also the Ashes hovering, with Renshaw considered an outside chance of being in the selection mix.There has been a lot of attention on the returns of Kohli and Rohit, which has somewhat deflected the slow start to Gill’s ODI captaincy. Gill has been unable to set the tone like he spectacularly did in Test cricket. He has made just 10 and 9 although hasn’t been helped by Rohit holding up an end early in the innings, putting pressure on Gill to counterattack. He will face some heat early in his captaincy reign if India succumb to just a sixth ODI series whitewash in their proud history, underlining the importance of this game.

Team news: Hazlewood/Starc may opt for rest

Australia (possible): 1 Mitchell Marsh (capt), 2 Travis Head, 3 Matt Short, 4 Matthew Renshaw, 5 Alex Carey (wk), 6 Cooper Connolly, 7 Mitch Owen, 8 Xavier Bartlett, 9 Mitchell Starc/Jack Edwards, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Nathan Ellis/Josh HazlewoodWith the match a dead rubber, Australia might be tempted to rest Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc with there being just one day of rest between games two and three. Nathan Ellis, who performed well in game one, might be recalled while allrounder Jack Edwards has been named in the squad on the back of strong form on Australia A’s tour of India. Left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann has also returned to the squad after an impressive effort in the first ODI but two spinners in the XI seems unlikely.Josh Inglis has joined the squad in Sydney after missing the first two but is unlikely to play as he continues to recover from a calf strain, which means the top seven will likely remain the same.Josh Hazlewood could be rested•CA/Getty Images

India (possible): 1 Shubman Gill [capt], 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Axar Patel, 6 KL Rahul (wk), 7 Washington Sundar/Kuldeep Yadav, 8 Nitish Reddy, 9 Harshit Rana/Prasidh Krishna, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Mohammed SirajIndia decided to stick with the same XI in Adelaide but it did not do the trick and changes are almost certain. There has been a lot of debate over whether left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav should be in the side with the attack lacking some bite so far in the series. India have preferred the more conservative option of allrounder Washington Sundar, who has taken three wickets in the series but failed with the bat. Seamer Prasidh Krishna could be in the frame to replace Harshit Rana, who has been expensive in the series. It is also interesting to see if they find a way to give a game to Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Pitch and conditions

Clear and pleasant conditions are expected in Sydney on Saturday. While turn has not been as notable at the SCG in recent times compared to previous decades, spinners have still played a vital role on flat surfaces. Australia’s batters have feasted in the conditions, piling on huge scores during their current six-game winning streak in ODIs at the ground.

Stats and trivia

• Kohli still needs 54 runs to move past Kumar Sangakkara and into second place on the ODI runs list.
• India have lost the toss a record 17 times in a row in ODIs dating back to the 2023 World Cup final.
• India have not lost three consecutive ODIs since a four-game skid to Sri Lanka and South Africa in 2021-22
• Australia have a commanding 16-2 (1 no result) record over India at the SCG. India’s only victories were six-wicket wins in 2008 and 2016.

Quotes

“We’ve got a lot of depth in Australian cricket. With Smudge [Smith] and Maxi [Maxwell] retiring from one-day cricket earlier in the year, there’s room for some younger guys to come through.”
“It definitely hurts [to lose the series]. I personally feel the way Australian bowlers bowl on such wickets, they have a fair bit of an advantage at the start and they utilised it pretty well.”

When Andrea Berta arrived at Arsenal towards the beginning of 2025, the transfer plan for the summer was abundantly clear.

The fact of the matter was that during his first window in charge, the squad needed more firepower and, chiefly, a striker was a necessity.

While there were links to the likes of Alexander Isak and Benjamin Sesko, both of whom got big-money moves elsewhere in the Premier League, the Gunners concluded a deal for Viktor Gyokeres.

The Swede had only spent two prolific seasons in Portugal with Sporting but he was already on the move and deservedly so.

Yet, while the centre forward has done a lot to improve the overall attack, there is a sense that they could do better in future windows.

Arsenal looking to sign new striker

Gyokeres may well have signed but Arsenal still do require a little bit more in attack.

Gabriel Jesus is back in full training but it’s wild to expect him to be at a productive level for a good few months yet after recovering from an ACL injury. Even if he did recover, he’s been linked with the exit door as he approaches the final 18 months of his deal at the Emirates Stadium.

Kai Havertz has also been a long-term absentee which has left Arsenal with only one fit centre forward for much of 2025/26 to date.

So, while Arsenal’s options in several areas now are deep, another striker wouldn’t go amiss.

Transfer Focus

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

That’s where Borussia Dortmund frontman Serhou Guirassy comes into the equation.

According to reports in Spain, it suggests that Arteta and Co are vying with the likes of PSG for the striker’s services.

The report notes that Arsenal are ‘seriously considering’ a move but it’s likely they’ll have to pay around £44m in order to conclude a deal.

The Guinean has a release clause in his contract of that amount, meaning that like Gyokeres, he wouldn’t cost the earth to bring to England.

It’s said that Arsenal are thought to be willing to pay the required amount to get him out of Germany.

How Guirassy compares to Viktor Gyokeres

When Gyokeres signed for Arsenal while the club were on their pre-season Asia tour, there was much fanfare.

At last, Arteta had a proper goalscoring centre forward to add to his ranks. Last term, the former Coventry City star scored 54 goals in 52 games. It was a breathtaking campaign, one that saw him take home the Gerd Muller trophy for the best striker in the world during the last Ballon d’Or gala.

Yet, in Arsenal colours, Gyokeres has not had it all his own way. He’s been wasteful in front of goal and went on a barren run of seven games without scoring at one stage.

That said, he’s not been a complete flop. The Sweden international still has six goals to show for his efforts and has particularly pleased Arteta with what he’s offered to the team.

While he did not score during Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Olympiacos in the Champions League, Arteta summed up why he’s been so delighted with what the centre forward is offering. “I think he did the rest of the things you ask for from a striker. The way he’s linking with his teammates, the way he’s opening spaces, the way he’s threatening constantly the back line.”

However, while it does seem unlikely Arsenal will sign another striker, Guirassy could be an upgrade on what they already have.

Described as “one of the best centre-forwards in the world” by one notable football analyst on X, the 29-year-old has been in the form of his life over the last year. Crucially, he’s also demonstrated that form in a top-five European league, something Gyokeres had not done before touching down in London.

In 2024/25, Guirassy found the net on 38 occasions in 50 games, bagging a remarkable 13 goals in 14 Champions League matches. That included scoring five times across two outings with Barcelona.

But what separates him from Gyokeres? Well, a scorer of seven goals this term, the numbers showcase why.

Not only has Guirassy scored more goals per 90 minutes and offered a higher xG, but he excels in bringing others into the game too.

During the 2025/26 season to date, the Dortmund sensation has completed more accurate passes and more assists per 90. It might be Gyokeres who has played more key passes but clearly it’s the former who is more decisive with his final actions right now.

If that wasn’t enough, Guirassy is a better and less chaotic carrier of the ball. Gyokeres resembles something of a raging bull when he’s gallivanting forward but there’s more of a smoothness to Arsenal’s latest transfer target. The fact he averages more progressive carries substantiates that point.

To round things off, Guirassy is also far more likely to win his aerial duels, something that Arsenal have perhaps missed since Havertz’s injury.

To put Guirassy’s numbers into further context, he won more aerial duels (3.77) per 90 than the German did (3.03) in 2024/25.

So, while the Dortmund striker may only be one goal ahead of Gyokeres this term, he offers something of a hybrid situation between Arteta’s two leading marksman. That could well offer the Spanish manager a fabulous balance as Arsenal hunt down their first Premier League title in over two decades.

Smith and Brook went into trance mode and reintroduced a third result to the match when it seemed like England were out of it

Sidharth Monga04-Jul-2025

Jamie Smith was at his attacking best•ECB via Getty Images

Bazball never sounds more like a cult than when Jeetan Patel speaks about it. The press pack half-expected him to say, “we have got them where we wanted” in the press conference at the end of day two. The scores were India 587 vs England 77 for 3.Jeetan is self-aware, give that to him. He acknowledged “you keep laughing at me”. One of the lines Jeetan said might as well be a mantra for a cult: “That was yesterday; today is today; tomorrow will be another day.”The problem with cults usually is that while they can offer light and solace to those needing something to hold on to, their experiments, so to speak, aren’t backed by independent evidence. They need certain, erm, conditions for the believers to find nirvana.Related

• Smith's a keeper, as epic innings goes where England predecessors could not

• Siraj six-for hands India huge lead despite Smith and Brook hundreds

• Smith hails belief to 'do what you feel is right in the moment'

Bazball’s conditions are flat pitches and the recently quick-to-go-soft Dukes balls. Not just flat pitches, but ones that don’t deteriorate, ones that result in progressively increasing averages over the innings of Tests in the Bazball era in England. There is no moisture left because typically on moist pitches the hard Dukes balls leave indentations, which result in uneven bounce over the course of a Test.Even so, at 84 for 5, Mohammed Siraj on a hat-trick in the second over of the day, England 503 behind India, was the ultimate test of this mad belief. England have had their bad days in this era, but they have never been so far behind so early in the game. In comes Jamie Smith, a “made” wicketkeeper, playing ahead of accomplished ones, selected for Bazballing reasons, to face the hat-trick ball. And he smashes it for four through mid-off.In a sensational assault on India in the rest of the session, Smith and Harry Brook reintroduced the third result to the match when it had seemed England were out of it. The fans in the Hollies Stand sang Oasis and “Sweet Caroline”, but the cricket was in keeping with the land of the birth of heavy metal. By two guys who look like they have never contemplated long hair let alone anything as rebellious as heavy metal.To watch that session was to just continuously head-bang for two hours. It was just believers in a trance. They really seemed like they were in a trance. Brook said they didn’t discuss any plans or match state. They just watched ball and hit ball. Brook might have fumbled his lines a little, but Smith went at a strike rate of bazillions with a control percentage of 90-plus.0:59

Brook: Was definitely hungry to get a hundred today

India played their part. They banged on the drums. The ball had gone soft, and they were willing to buy a wicket. Prasidh Krishna was sacrificed for the plan. He bowled two good overs of line and length, drawing an edge that flew through the sparsely populated slips, drew a rare miss from Smith, and then all of a sudden, he started to bang the ball into the middle of the pitch.Two fielders on the hook, Smith went in front of square. Another man went out, and he went over them. Another fielder back, and he went in front of mid-on. Then over mid-on. Not long ago, Bazball was killing Test cricket with lifeless pitches, but now it was reviving it with sensational batting.India had so many runs in the bag they didn’t need to bowl for control, but what do you do with opponents that keep coming at you and don’t seem to care about the match situation or the result? That fear of getting out is the bedrock of batting; it is what makes risk management necessary. No matter the pitches, Bazball is disrupting that fear.In the lunch break, though, India decided to use that bank of runs to their advantage and go hunting only with the second new ball. ODI fields and possibly tiring batters resulted in a slower session following which India struck back just as gloriously with the second new ball, but that one session of mad belief did leave them shaken.Just as well that the new ball created enough jeopardy to restore some balance for those not in on the cult. It still doesn’t seem to matter to the believers, though. There is a second innings to come as well.

Ajax’s turbulent search for a new technical director has taken an interesting turn after a leaked photo revealed a secret meeting with Jordi Cruyff in Barcelona. The son of club icon Johan Cruyff spoke with Ajax chiefs Menno Geelen and Marijn Beuker as the Dutch giants accelerate plans to rebuild their collapsing football department.

• Cruyff meets Ajax top brass in Barcelona

  The race to find Ajax’s next technical director intensified this week after Geelen and Beuker were photographed holding talks with Cruyff at the Torre Melina a Gran Melia hotel in Barcelona. The meeting, initially intended to be discreet, became public when an observant Dutch resident living in Spain captured the photo of Cruyff and his manager with Ajax bosses, the image was shared by .

  Ajax more or less acknowledged that negotiations are underway. When approached, Geelen said: “It's true that we're working on important projects. We'll comment on that when there's news to report. That's not the case yet.” Cruyff also declined to go into details, insisting: “This isn't the time to say anything.”

  The secretive nature of the meeting highlights Ajax’s urgency as the delegation flew from Amsterdam early on Monday despite the club preparing for a Champions League match against Benfica the following evening. It signals that Cruyff is not only a leading candidate, but potentially the leading candidate to replace departing technical director Alex Kroes.

Advertisement

• Kroes' exit and club crisis push Ajax toward a new era

  Ajax’s pursuit of Cruyff comes amid institutional chaos as Kroes, who was originally hired to stabilise the sporting department, announced earlier this month that he would step down after taking responsibility for the team’s alarming decline. Prior to this, he had been suspended following a Supervisory Board ruling that he purchased up to €190,000 worth of club shares one week before officially taking office.

  Although he later returned in a technical capacity, his decision to leave has forced Ajax to scramble for solutions. At the club’s annual stakeholders’ meeting, Geelen confirmed that recruiting a technical director takes priority over appointing a permanent manager.

  Ajax explored several options, reportedly including former sporting director Marc Overmars, but he dismissed the approach, calling his Amsterdam chapter “closed.”

  Cruyff, meanwhile, arrives with a notable resume, he previously held technical roles at AEK Larnaca, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Barca, where he assisted Xavi Hernandez during the club’s squad rebuild. Since early 2024, he has served as an advisor to the Indonesian FA. In the Dutch press however, he is now viewed as a serious contender to restore direction to a club drifting both on and off the pitch.

• The legacy weight

  Should Cruyff accept the role, he would inherit a challenge reminiscent of his father Johan's famous Velvet Revolution. In 2010, the elder Cruyff wrote that “Ajax was no longer his Ajax” and declared the situation “even worse than the period before Rinus Michels joined the club in 1965.” His intervention triggered a structural overhaul that led to seven Eredivisie titles, a Europa League final and a Champions League semi-final run.

  Ajax have since disintegrated in recent years and failed to arrest their decline this season. They brought back former player and coach John Heitinga to lead the team for a second time this season, though he was recently sacked. They are currently sixth in the Eredivisie following a shock defeat to Excelsior at the weekend and sit bottom of the Champions League with zero points, one goal scored and 14 conceded from four matches.

  Jordi would now be tasked with rescuing Ajax from a similarly bleak state. Like his father, Jordi is known to value the presence of club DNA, and many within Amsterdam believe he could help restore the familiar Ajax identity that has faded since Overmars' departure.

  Cruyff’s network also allows for modern solutions. While he respects Ajax traditions, he may not hesitate to appoint a foreign coach if required, “a Spanish coach from his network,” as Dutch reports put it, pointing to success stories such as Francesco Farioli in the Eredivisie.

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• AFP
  

  Why Ajax are moving fast?

  This week’s Barcelona meeting shows that Ajax are not willing to wait until the January window to put the club back on track. With the team tumbling down the league and European results inconsistent, the management believes the new technical director must arrive before the winter break so he can immediately initiate structural reforms.

  Cruyff is seen as someone who understands both Ajax’s traditional principles and the demands of modern football. And. the fact that Geelen and Beuker travelled personally, despite the Champions League fixture against Benfica looming, underlines that the Amsterdam giants want a resolution quickly. If Cruyff is appointed, he will oversee managerial recruitment, squad planning, youth integration and long-term strategy.

  Ajax aim to make an appointment before the winter break, and Cruyff is firmly among the frontrunners, if not the favourite. The Supervisory Board will now evaluate the Barca discussions before deciding whether to proceed to the final negotiation phase.

Trolling is a part of sports. Oftentimes, it's the athletes doing it, but every so often, a celebrity will join in on the fun in the name of supporting their favorite team. That's what Canadian rapper Drake did when he playfully trolled Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani in the midst of a thrilling, back-and-forth World Series that was eventually won by Los Angeles in seven games.

Only, the Dodgers didn't see Drake's social media posts as playful trolling. As Dodgers Game 7 hero Miguel Rojas told TMZ in an interview, Los Angeles perceived the Canadian rapper's online jabs at Ohtani to be disrespectful.

Rojas says Drake trolling Ohtani 'didn't go unnoticed'

"… That [Drake's trolling] doesn't go unnoticed," Rojas said. "When you kind of disrespect—a little bit—the best player in the game. Not understanding the quality of the person and what the guy has done for baseball. … You don’t have to do that, man.”

What did Drake post about Ohtani?

Drake decided to have a little social media fun at the Dodgers‘ expense following the Blue Jays‘ Game 5 victory—in which Toronto starter Trey Yesavage dominated Los Angeles‘s lineup. The Canadian rapper took to Instagram and trolled Ohtani, who went 0-for-4 with a strikeout against Yesavage.

Rojas credited Yesavage for his superb pitching, but noted that in the Dodgers‘s eyes, Drake didn't have to go there and troll Ohtani. The Dodgers infielder, who hit a game-tying home run in the ninth inning of Game 7, explained that Drake's trolling is what prompted teammate Kiké Hernández to take a shot at the rapper during the team's victory celebration.

Kiké Hernández fires back at Drake after Dodgers‘ World Series win

Hernández, during his speech at the Dodgers‘ World Series parade, couldn't resist taking a not-so-subtle jab right back at Drake, referencing one of Drake's songs, "Big Rings."

"…Playing the most games in October for this franchise, for this really big team that has a lot of really big rings," Hernández said.

Perhaps the Drake curse lives on?

He’s had a horror run with injuries, but Kyle Jamieson’s return in the Champions Trophy, the PSL and IPL this year has been encouraging

Alex Malcolm26-Sep-2025In between changing nappies and cuddling his newborn son Archie, Kyle Jamieson has had some time to watch cricket as a fan. The New Zealand fast bowler hasn’t played since the IPL 2025 final in June, but for the first time in a while, his absence – from New Zealand’s tour of Zimbabwe in July-August – wasn’t through injury.Like any new dad, he has loved the time at home, but equally, the chance to return to cricket next week against Australia at Mount Maunganui has him champing at the bit. And having had plenty of time to watch Australia’s recent T20I series against West Indies and South Africa, he’s excited for the contest.”They [Australia] are going pretty hard, and it’s been a really entertaining watch as a fan of the game,” Jamieson said. “In a way, it’ll be cool to see it up close, how they’re going about things. And in the same way, it’s a nice little challenge for us to go about forming a plan to maybe try and defuse some of those fireworks.”Related

• Jamieson: 'Screws and wire doesn't make you bulletproof'

• Maxwell out of NZ tour with fractured wrist, Philippe called up

• Jamieson climbs back from the 'bottom of the cliff'

• Rob Walter named New Zealand men's coach across formats

Jamieson, 30, might feel like the new kid at school within his own group as well. He last played for New Zealand in the Champions Trophy in February. Since then, long-time coach Gary Stead has resigned and new coach Rob Walter has come in.The team made a winning start in Zimbabwe, claiming the T20I tri-series involving South Africa and Zimbabwe. The upcoming Australia series kickstarts a massive summer of white-ball cricket for New Zealand, with series against England and West Indies to follow ahead of the T20 World Cup. Jamieson is excited to see what Walter has planned for a group that will change over the course of the summer, given the number of players who will return from injury at various stages.”Having not gone on that tour of Zimbabwe, I’m yet to immerse myself in that new kind of coaching group and see what that direction looks like,” Jamieson said. “Starting next week, we’ve got a huge amount of white-ball cricket back-to-back. So it’ll be the chance, I think, for everyone to kind of sit down and kind of get a read on Rob’s vision, and kind of where he wants to take the group. And we’ll be getting some bodies back as well, and that will certainly help to build towards that T20 World Cup.”There will be a new vision for the New Zealand men’s team with Rob Walter taking over as head coach•ICC/Getty ImagesJamieson’s focus is purely on white-ball cricket at the moment. He has endured a frustrating few years since initially having back surgery to mitigate against recurring stress fractures.Out of all the success stories that New Zealand-based surgeons Grahame Inglis and Rowan Schouten have had repairing fast bowlers’ backs with screws and titanium cables – which include Shane Bond, Matt Henry, Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer – Jamieson is the rarest of cases so far, with the fracture reopening at one of the screws from 2024. “They hadn’t really seen that before or at all, so they were pretty stumped,” Jamieson said.It has led to a slow rebuild. The success of his return in the Champions Trophy, the PSL and IPL this year has been encouraging. The next step is first-class cricket, but it is not a process he wants to rush.”The red-ball stuff is the next piece of the puzzle,” Jamieson said. “How do we put that into the calendar? How do we sort of dip the toes into that, as opposed to jumping in the deep end? So we’ve had a few conversations with different people around what that may look like.

“I watch someone like Josh Hazlewood bowl and feel like for the most part, he keeps it pretty simple. He may speak a little bit differently about that, but I sort of take a lot of inspiration around what he does and the simplicity, but how he just does it so well”

“But at the moment, it’s very much this next month with a white-ball focus, and then as we hit November, we’ll see where I’m at physically and what we think is the right plan to not just try and get back to red-ball cricket now, but I guess trying to continue to play it over the next however many years.”In the meantime, Jamieson has locked in on becoming the best short-form bowler he can be. His return to the IPL with Punjab Kings was an eye-opening experience after four years away, with the Impact Player rule changing the way T20 batters attack bowlers now.”Just in general, I absolutely loved being back there,” Jamieson said. “I hadn’t been [at the IPL] for four years, and a very different situation to when I went last time for a whole lot of reasons. I just loved being back in that arena and just watching all the world’s best go about it. And I felt like I learned a heck of a lot, even only in the two weeks that I was there.”With that Impact Player, I think teams just come harder. Guys just keep coming. So you’ve got to have a few tools. But you’ve got to, I think, make peace with the fact that what your figures may have looked like three, four or five years ago, is probably not really that relevant to what they’re going to look like now.”Jamieson last played competitive cricket in the IPL•BCCIAustralia’s batting has followed a Sunrisers Hyderabad-type blueprint in some ways, with connections through Pat Cummins, Travis Head and former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori, who is SRH coach as well as Australia bowling coach. Jamieson is taking inspiration from another man in Australia’s camp on how to bowl in modern T20 cricket without trying too many tricks.”Something I got stuck on early in my T20 career was just trying to do everything and doing none of it really that well,” Jamieson said. “So I just stick to my strength. I watch someone like Josh Hazlewood bowl, and feel like for the most part, he keeps it pretty simple. He may speak a little bit differently about that, but I sort of take a lot of inspiration around what he does and the simplicity, but how he just does it so well. And there’s probably a bit of a gold nugget in that you can probably get too carried away.”Just trying to maximise the new ball, a little bit of swing and movement, and if the surface has a little bit of bounce, you try and make the most of that. But it’s still hard to hit from the top of the stumps. And if you just can do that with good energy on the ball, it can be really, really effective.”

The draw delivered clarity, confidence and a challenge. Now Pochettino and his players know the route – and, inspired by Herb Brooks and the Miracle on Ice, they’re daring to dream big.

WASHINGTON – For a little while there, Mauricio Pochettino was just like everyone else. 

He wasn't the head coach of the U.S. men's national team or the de facto face of American soccer; he was part of the audience at the Kennedy Center watching Shaquille O'Neal, Aaron Judge, and Wayne Gretzky struggle to open up ping pong balls that decided fates. There was no coaching to do, no strategy to implement, no adjustments to be made. The fate of Pochettino and his team was, at least for now, in the hands of others.

The moment that final ball was drawn, the USMNT’s fate snapped back into their own hands. Paraguay and Australia were confirmed. A European playoff winner will join them. The waiting stopped the second that envelope was opened. From that moment, Mauricio Pochettino’s preparations could truly begin.

“How did I live the experience? With happiness,” Pochettino said. “Because it is a unique moment, where we see which teams we are going to face in the World Cup, with zero expectations. What it looks like today, in six months, can change – that is the truth for us, in the same way. Yes, I am really happy to have been part of this event, and we really enjoyed it.”

Fans did, too. The USMNT were given a group that, to put it fairly, is navigable. They’ve beaten both Australia and Paraguay in recent months. If Turkey emerge from the playoff, they would be familiar as well, having played the U.S. to a narrow 2-1 win before the Gold Cup. The reaction on social media was swift: this was no group of death. Not even close. Some might even call it a best-case scenario – one that can have the USMNT dreaming about what’s possible in ways they couldn’t before those ping-pong balls bounced their way.

• Getty
  

  'It made it feel like an American event already'

  Pochettino wasn’t the only one watching with intrigue. Millions around the world tuned in to the festivities at the Kennedy Center, including several of the USMNT’s most important players.

  “Just watching, the Americans on stage and the President giving speeches and all of the performances, it made it feel like an American event already,” said 2022 World Cup captain Tyler Adams.

  Added star winger Christian Pulisic: “I knew it was going to take a while before we actually saw who we’d have in our groups, and it did, but it was good. The buildup was good. Now that we know, it’s an exciting time.”

  Pulisic was putting it lightly. It took a while to get to the actual draw. A series of musical performances preceded it. So did an award for President Donald Trump, who was in attendance. There was no shortage of ceremony or spectacle. Then, finally, it got down to business.

  Tom Brady, O’Neal, Judge, and Gretzky drew the teams, with varying levels of success. By the time they were done – concluding a two-hour marathon of a ceremony — the U.S. knew what came next: Paraguay, Australia, and then a European play-off winner, in that order. Depending on the result of that playoff, which includes Turkey, Romania, Slovakia, and Kosovo, the U.S. may be favored in all three games.

  “For ourselves, no matter who we drew in the group, we were going to have that belief that we could make a run and do something special,” Adams said. “I think, just having the draw in general, the excitement grows, and it makes it feel more real.”

  It’s both real and somewhat familiar, as the U.S. now looks ahead to games against teams they know pretty well.

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  Lessons from the past

  Pochettino was in a joking mood when asked about the upcoming opponents.

  "It means less work!" he said with a laugh, "It's fresh. We've already done the work over the last six months."

  He's right. The U.S. played Turkey ahead of the Gold Cup, falling 2-1 after scoring early. They faced Australia in October, earning a 2-1 win of their own in a hard-fought game in Colorado. Then, just last month, the U.S. hosted Paraguay, earning yet another 2-1 win as part of their five-game unbeaten run through the fall.

  Following his initial quip, Pochettino got down to business, explaining the reality of the situation: the teams that meet in seven months won't be the same as the ones that met this year. Players will have gone in and out. Key pieces may suffer injuries or return from them. The squads will look entirely different. Plus, at the end of the day, this is a World Cup; no friendly can fully prepare you for one of those.

  "The reality is that the sequence has changed, or are going to change," Pochettino said. That is why there are different games with different rosters or different players in the starting XI. In six months, things can change. Teams can have a very different system. It's a good reference for us, and also for them, but I think we need to be very focused on the things that can change. I don't believe there will be an advantage. I think these events have no effect on the future."

  All eyes are on that future now, though, and that has sprouted a question: how far can this team go?

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  The scenarios

  The wheels of social media immediately started spinning. If the U.S. wins the group, several teams could be up next. If they win that, maybe they get a rematch against Belgium! That would be fun! Finish second in the group and, oh boy, does it get tougher. Third? Well, we'll figure all of that out later.

  Pochettino isn't one for scenarios. They're fun for fans to think about, sure, but there's no benefit to getting too far ahead. Pochettino knows that more than most, having suffered a stunning group stage elimination with Argentina in 2002. As a result, there's no counting chickens, even if the group is a manageable one.

  "If you are Argentina, the best team and the winner of the last World Cup, maybe you can say, 'Okay, the stage after, what is going to happen?'. Maybe then you allow yourself to see," Pochettino said. "We don't do the same. Our first game is the final of the World Cup. The second needs to be the final of the World Cup. The third, too. We need to see that. The first game is not just another opportunity. That's why we have the mentality that we want to build, the mindset we've talked about before."

  That mindset does call for optimism, though. Pochettino once again called for fans to back this team. He called for those outside of the squad to believe in the players, to push them, and guide them to achieving more than any of their predecessors have. The hope is that they can do that, having now been given a realistic pathway to doing so.

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  'We don’t need the best players; we need the right players'

  Midway through his press conference, Pochettino quoted the legendary Herb Brooks. Under Brooks’ leadership, the USA hockey team defied all odds to create the Miracle on Ice in 1980, still one of the biggest sporting upsets of all time. Pochettino recently watched the movie based on that achievement, . It inspired him.

  “The coach said, ‘We don’t need the best players; we need the right players to make the team a strong team,’” he said. “That’s what we want to provide to the national team: the right players to build a powerful team with the possibility to fight against anyone in the world. Good and right are completely different. What I have explained is that you cannot be only a good player; what we need is the right player.

  “They are going to be more powerful than as individuals. It’s a quality and, if we don’t have this energy, maybe we can win one game, but, for them, in a competition like this, winning the World Cup is impossible.”

  Pochettino doesn’t believe it’s impossible, though. He said so at his very first press conference. Time and time again, he has reiterated the message: the U.S. can win the World Cup. If not, what’s the point of all this? What’s the point of trying this hard if you don’t believe you can actually do it?

  That may still be a step too far. But to get there, the U.S. will first need to navigate their group. That is achievable. They can win this group and, from there, who knows? At that point, Pochettino will be able to see how far the right players can take this team.

  For a few months now, Pochettino has harped on one specific tagline: “Be realistic and do the impossible.” Emerging from the group seems more realistic than ever. Maybe the impossible might be, too.

It was a typical Bruno Fernandes display on Sunday afternoon, with the Manchester United skipper shaking off a stodgy first-half display to ultimately prove the difference-maker yet again for Ruben Amorim’s side.

In that opening 45 at Selhurst Park, both Fernandes and his ageing midfield partner Casemiro were given the run around by Crystal Palace’s boy wonder, Adam Wharton, with United heading in at the break having once again seen their midfield unit woefully exposed.

Fast forward to just past the hour mark, however, and the visitors had completed a creditable comeback, with the captain first teeing up Joshua Zirkzee – à la Anthony Martial in the March 2020 Manchester Derby – before then reacting swiftly to lay the ball for Mason Mount to dispatch what proved to be the winner.

Now fourth on the all-time list for Premier League assists for the Old Trafford side with 56, ahead of Paul Scholes, the 31-year-old remains United’s beloved maverick.

But for how much longer will he be the main man still?

Latest on Man Utd's search for a midfielder

Having been refreshingly open about his discussions with Saudi side Al Hilal over the summer, Fernandes suggested that no further talks would take place over his future until after next summer’s World Cup, with his existing deal set to expire in 2027.

Amorim has already suggested that the Portuguese playmaker may have to adjust to more “rotation” next season, should the club return to European competition, while reports this season have even suggested that INEOS could look to cash in on the club’s number eight to fund a midfield rebuild.

In any case, depth and competition is certainly needed in the centre of park heading into 2026, with the likes of Wharton, Carlos Baleba and Elliot Anderson all deemed to be leading targets.

Transfer Focus

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Equally, however, reports in Spain are even suggesting that United have lodged a bid of around €80m (£70m) for Real Madrid sensation, Federico Valverde, with the Red Devils said to have taken the ‘first step’ toward trying to seal that marquee move.

As to be expected, the LaLiga giants won’t allow their Uruguayan star to depart on the cheap, with the report outlining that Xavi Alonso’s side are likely to demand in excess of €100m (£88m) if they are to even consider sanctioning a sale.

United will then have to up their bid if a deal is to be struck, with Valverde’s existing deal set to run until 2029, although this is certainly a pursuit worth continuing.

How Valverde compares to Bruno Fernandes

If Amorim – and INEOS – is to persist with this much-discussed 3-4-2-1 set-up, then acquiring a figure like Valverde might just be the perfect solution, with the 27-year-old lauded as the “most complete player in football” not too long ago by manager Carlo Ancelotti.

That assessment is certainly warranted considering the versatility that the Montevideo-born talent has showcased in recent times, having frequently flitted between operating in central midfield or at right-back for Los Blancos.

Like Fernandes – who has missed just three games through injury or illness since joining United, as per Transfermarkt – one of Valverde’s key strengths is that he’s “always available”, in the words of Ancelotti, while willing to perform to his best no matter the position he is deployed.

While not a natural creator or playmaker like Fernandes, the one-time Penarol man does still boast four assists in LaLiga this term, only just behind the United skipper’s return of five in the Premier League.

As indicated below, Valverde’s all-round quality can be evidenced in his superior record with regard to pass completion and duels won, in particular, while he is also far less erratic in possession, losing the ball less than half as many times per game as Fernandes.

Equally too, the Madrid man’s physical superiority can be seen in how little he is dribbled past per game in LaLiga, whereas Fernandes – seemingly unsuited to a deep-lying role – is regularly outpaced or outmuscled by his opposite number.

What also sets him apart from Fernandes is his proven, consistent quality at Champions League level, winning the competition on two occasions to date, alongside his three Spanish titles and various other domestic or continental honours.

He may not rank as the outright best midfielder in the world right now, but he seemingly warrants his status as among the top ten – arguably even above Fernandes.

Now approaching almost 350 games for his current side, the 71-cap international is about as proven as they come, while at 27, he would still be an asset for the long-term, were he to arrive in Manchester.

Of course, Fernandes – as was evident at the weekend – is still a majestic, creative genius, but for this system and for this current iteration of the Premier League, Valverde would surely represent the perfect midfield upgrade.

Anderson upgrade: Man Utd set to bid for "the best English CM since Scholes"

Manchester United look set to make a huge move for a new midfielder in the January transfer window.

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By
Ethan Lamb

Dec 2, 2025

The allrounder fell just short of a century but added eight more overs to his match tally

AAP13-Nov-2025Queensland 390 and 187 for 8 (Clayton 54, Renshaw 51, Rocchiccioli 4-41) lead Western Australia 322 for 7 dec (Green 94, Bancroft 76, Hardie 55*) by 255 runsHe fell in the nervous 90s, but Cameron Green gave his Ashes hopes an almighty boost with a determined knock during Western Australia’s Sheffield Shield clash with Queensland at the WACA Ground.In reply to Queensland’s 390, WA started day three at a somewhat shaky 210 for 5 but with Green unbeaten on 49 and holding the key.Green drove spinner Mitch Swepson for four on the first ball on Thursday to bring up his half-century and looked set for a ton before being trapped leg before on 94 by Michael Neser just after lunch.Related