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Tottenham Hotspur may have been knocked out of the League Cup by Newcastle United on Wednesday night, but they have had a strong start to life under Thomas Frank.

The Lilywhites are third in the Premier League after nine matches, with five wins and just two defeats, and their recruitment in the summer has played a significant role in that.

Spurs splashed out £55m to sign winger Mohammed Kudus from West Ham United to bolster their options at the top end of the pitch, and he has hit the ground running in North London.

The left-footed star has scored one goal and provided four assists in nine appearances in the Premier League this season, per Sofascore, which shows that he has made a big impact in the final third.

Spurs eyeing repeat of Mohammed Kudus transfer

With the January transfer window on the horizon, the Europa League champions are reportedly keen on a star who could be Kudus 2.0 for the club.

Transfer Focus

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

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A report from Spain explains that Tottenham Hotspur are preparing a move to sign West Ham United and England forward Jarrod Bowen to add to their options at the top end of the pitch.

Fabio Paratici has identified the Hammers star as a player who can add fluidity to their squad, as he can play out wide as a winger or through the middle as a centre-forward.

It adds that Spurs are willing to make a move to sign the 28-year-old attacker in a deal that could be worth £53m, but it remains to be seen whether or not that would be enough for West Ham to sanction his departure.

Why Jarrod Bowen would be a Mohammed Kudus repeat

If the Lilywhites are able to convince the Hammers to sell Bowen to them in January, the English star would come in as a Kudus repeat, for several reasons.

The obvious similarity would be that the attacker would be another left-footed forward joining Spurs from West Ham for a fee of more than £50m.

However, the main reason why Bowen would be a Kudus repeat for Tottenham is because he is another Premier League-proven star who could come in to hit the ground running for Frank.

The former Hull City star, who was dubbed a “game changer” by reporter Roshane Thomas, scored 14 goals and provided eight assists in all competitions for the Hammers in the 2024/25 campaign, per Sofascore, and has started the current season in impressive form.

Jarrod Bowen (Premier League)

24/25

25/26

Appearances

34

9

xG

8.64

1.01

Goals

13

3

Big chances created

11

2

xA

6.47

1.17

Assists

8

1

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, the £53m-rated attacker has outperformed his xG since the start of last season, showing that he is clinical and reliable in front of goal, unlike Dominic Solanke, who scored nine goals from 10.97 xG for Spurs last term.

To date, Bowen has scored 59 goals and assisted a further 44 in 209 appearances in the Premier League for West Ham, per Transfermarkt, which shows that he has proven himself over a significant period of time.

These statistics show that he has the quality to deliver consistently at the top end of the pitch in the English top-flight, as he has provided a regular stream of goals and assists for the Hammers throughout his time at the London Stadium.

This suggests that he would be able to hit the ground running in North London as a signing who could slot straight into the team and make an impact in the final third, as he knows the division and has proven his quality.

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Therefore, signing Bowen in January would be a Kudus repeat for the Europa League champions because he is another ready-made Premier League star who could bolster Frank’s squad as an upgrade on Solanke as a finisher up front.

This will be his first captaincy stint at any level

Edited PTI copy13-Nov-2025India spinner Varun Chakravarthy has been named Tamil Nadu captain for the 2025-26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, beginning November 26. Narayan Jagadeesan will be the vice-captain.Varun played a handy role in India’s recent T20I series win in Australia, taking five wickets across three completed matches. This will be his first captaincy stint at any level. He replaced M Shahrukh Khan in the role and was appointed ahead of R Sai Kishore and Jagadeesan, both of whom have prior captaincy experience.India left-arm seamer T Natarajan is also part of the squad, as is his fellow left-arm seamer Gurjapneet Singh. Two more left-armers, Sai Kishore and M Siddharth, will lead the spin attack.Tamil Nadu are having a modest run in the ongoing Ranji Trophy and are placed sixth in their group after two losses and two draws in four games.In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, they are in Elite Group D alongside Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Tripura, Jharkhand and Saurashtra. They will open their campaign against Rajasthan in Ahmedabad.Tamil Nadu squadVarun Chakravarthy (capt), Narayan Jagadeesan (vice-capt, wk), Tushar Raheja (wk), VP Amit Sathvik, M Shahrukh Khan, Andre Siddarth, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, Shivam Singh, R Sai Kishore, M Siddharth, T Natarajan, Gurjapneet Singh, A Esakkimuthu, R Sonu Yadav, R Silambarasan, S Rithik Easwaran (wk)

Manchester City fans arriving at the Etihad on Tuesday evening might well have been somewhat perplexed by the lineup that was announced.

Indeed, for the showdown with Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, Pep Guardiola would ring the changes, with a mammoth ten alterations on display from the 2-1 defeat versus Newcastle United.

Nico Gonzalez was the only player remaining in the XI from that humbling loss.

The Spaniard’s widespread tinkering did not work the way he would have wanted, whatsoever, as City ended up crashing to a second successive defeat in all competitions, with Leverkusen taking advantage of the disjointed feel to the hosts to inflict a 2-0 loss.

While Leverkusen were ultimately clinical and deserving of all three points, several of Guardiola’s reserve personnel did let him down big time against the visitors from Germany, with Savinho – in particular – putting in another poor showing down the flanks.

Savinho's poor performance in numbers

The Brazilian would have been hopeful that he could change Guardiola’s mind about who his starting attacker should be down the left wing by putting in a high-octane performance against Leverkusen, with Jeremy Doku pushing Savinho to one side with ease as of late.

Instead, however, the below-par forward remains on just one paltry goal for the season, with social media account City Chief going as far as to bash his display against Kasper Hjulmand’s men as offering “no end product” again.

The numbers don’t lie in this regard, too, with Savinho coming off the pitch at the end of a frustrating 90 minutes with just one shot attempted at the Leverkusen goal.

Moreover, despite successfully completing four successful dribbles from nine attempts, as per Sofascore, all of the South American’s trickery and flair on the night ultimately went to waste, with just one accurate cross amassed.

On top of that, the hit-and-miss 21-year-old also gave away possession 24 times, with his decision-making labelled as “puzzling” by journalist Amos Murphy.

Guardiola has defended Savinho in recent weeks by calling him an “aggressive” threat in attack at his best, with this criticism rampant when you consider he has put away just four goals from 64 City appearances.

But, even the Spaniard deciding to wear rose-tinted glasses at times can’t defend that shoddy showing against the Bundesliga giants, with the £30m attacker going down the route of becoming the club’s next Jack Grealish, in being another flashy and inconsistent flop.

He isn’t the only struggling star up top where the Grealish comparison rings true, however, as another underperformer begins to worry if he, too, is a high-profile acquisition gone wrong.

The Man City star turning into the next Grealish

At least Savinho, even if his efforts were largely inaccurate and clumsy, got himself involved in the thick of the action, having accumulated a mighty 76 touches of the ball come the full-time whistle.

On the contrary, Omar Marmoush – with his own tally of 18 touches – faded in and out of the contest as an unmemorable focal point, with his £59m price tag now weighing him down, much like Grealish’s excessive £100m valuation would be his dismal undoing.

Yet, Grealish did show flashes of his excellence at City here and there before an Everton loan move came to fruition, with 17 goals and 23 assists to date helping the sky blue half of Manchester to three Premier League titles.

Marmoush hasn’t quite got that in the bank, but he does have a respectable nine goals next to his name from just 36 outings.

Still, football is a fast-paced and fickle game, and for the riches that were splashed out on his services, after amassing a jaw-dropping 50 goal contributions for Eintracht Frankfurt, just one goal this season won’t cut the mustard, with his goal-shy display on Tuesday night further reinforcing how reliant City are on Erling Haaland to get them out of trouble.

Minutes played

65

Goals scored

0

Assists

0

Touches

18

Shots

0

Accurate passes

7/9 (78%)

Possession lost

7x

Total duels won

2/5

From his minimal touches of the ball, despite lasting 65 minutes on the Etihad turf, Marmoush would fail to register a single effort on Mark Flekken’s busy net.

In stark contrast, the constantly dangerous Haaland would manage a colossal four shots, from just nine touches.

With only two duels won, too, it’s unlikely that Guardiola will be keen to utilise the Egyptian as his lone striker moving forward, as he now finds himself in danger of fading into the background, rather than being an impactful statement signing, like the former Aston Villa man.

Time will only tell if he can kick on this season to show he belongs, with injuries not helping him this campaign so far, either.

But, based on his Leverkusen showing alone, he will be pushed back to the bench, alongside Savinho, when Premier League action returns at the weekend.

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BySean Markus Clifford Nov 24, 2025

Fast bowler’s workload to be managed in lead-up to Perth Test, in less than a month’s time

Cameron Ponsonby22-Oct-2025Jofra Archer will miss the opening ODI against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui, as England ramp up their fast-bowling preparations for the Ashes.Archer returned to Test cricket in spectacular style this summer, after spending over four years on the sidelines with injury. There is no suggestion that he is missing the opening ODI through injury, rather that England are continuing their strategy of micromanaging one of their star players’ programmes in an attempt to have him fit for as much of the Ashes as possible.Archer, who had already been rested from the ongoing T20I series against New Zealand, will arrive in the country on Thursday alongside fellow quicks Mark Wood and Josh Tongue as England’s fast-bowling pack begin their conditioning before the Perth Test in just over four weeks’ time.England will face criticism from some quarters for only scheduling one warm-up fixture ahead of the Ashes, against the Lions in Perth the week before the first Test. However, they have been ultra-attentive to their fast bowlers’ preparations, with the entire Test fast-bowling group, Ben Stokes included, set to join up with the Lions from November 2 – a week in advance of the rest of the group.Of the seven fast bowlers in England’s Ashes squad, only Brydon Carse and Archer are playing any role in the white-ball series against New Zealand. However, Gus Atkinson has been with the squad for close to a week, working on his own individual preparations, with Wood and Tongue set to join him in their own training.”We’ve worked so hard to get to this point,” managing director Rob Key said in September about England’s fast-bowling group who – Wood’s final steps towards full fitness pending – are close to reporting a full bill of health. “It is the last little step. So we get this bit right and hopefully we have every option available to us going into that first Test in Perth.”Of England’s battery of fast bowlers, only Matthew Potts will not spend any time in New Zealand leading up to the England Lions camp, with Stokes expected to visit family in New Zealand before the group meets. Potts’ delayed arrival is due to him playing all three of Durham’s final matches in the County Championship in September.Related

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Archer’s absence from the opening ODI in Mount Maunganui means he will not return to the ground which is often associated with the start of his injury problems. In only his fifth Test match for England, Archer bowled 42 overs in an innings as New Zealand racked up 615 for nine. It was a figure that James Anderson only bettered once in his career when he bowled 44 overs against South Africa in 2008, while Stuart Broad only ever bowled a maximum of 36. Archer first reported elbow pain a little over a month later.During that same fixture in 2019, Archer was also subjected to racial abuse by a member of the crowd. The spectator in question was subsequently caught and banned from attending cricket for two years.

England decide against naming XI ahead of final T20

England broke from convention as they opted against publicly naming their XI a day out from the third and final T20I at Eden Park.In both Test and white-ball cricket, England have become accustomed to putting out their team early. However, with plenty of rain around in Auckland, there is doubt over the balance of the XI England will go with.Eden Park, an iconic stadium that is synonymous with All Blacks rugby, is an unusual ground for cricket with the straight boundaries particularly short. This is a factor that, combined with the damp conditions, may lead to England selecting an extra seamer rather than picking two specialist spinners in Liam Dawson and Adil Rashid.”It can sometimes be a bit mickey mouse at Eden Park,” Black Caps wicketkeeper Tim Seifert told the press in Auckland. “250 can be a par score. It’ll be interesting to see what the wicket plays like and we’ve just got to adapt to whatever we play on.”

Eddie Howe suggested Newcastle United have lost their bite after beating Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League this week, and there’s certainly a case that the Toon’s gritty bite has been dulled since the summer.

In many ways, this is only natural. The sale of Alexander Isak to Liverpool. Yoane Wissa’s injury before he could make his debut, a recovery process he is still going through. Only Nick Woltemade’s emphatic introduction to Tyneside has eased the attacking struggles that have spilt over to the flanks.

Newcastle are in the now, and there’s no question that this is something of a transitional period for a club still set on making incremental gains under Howe’s wing.

But the hurdles that have sprung up over the past few months will be overcome, with such exciting signings as Woltemade added to the ranks, St. James’ Park is well set for the future.

Newcastle's new superstars

If Isak’s departure has told us anything, it’s that Newcastle have the capacity to rally against a storm and emerge with their core intact.

Woltemade, 23, is one of the most talented strikers in the world, and while he’s scored six goals in black and white so far, the German has so much more to offer, and that’s an exciting thought.

Against Bilbao, Dan Burn and Kieran Trippier showed off their culture and class down the flanks, but these are hardened veterans of the game, and in Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall, who impressed off the bench, the Tynesiders have a duo to be reckoned with for years to come.

So much quality, but the older average age of this group of players, starting in the Premier League, does emphasise the need for greater promotion of younger talents at the club.

Premier League 25/26 – Oldest Average XIs

Club

Players Used

Av. Age

Everton

19

28.0

Aston Villa

23

27.9

Newcastle

21

27.6

Fulham

22

27.5

Burnley

22

27.1

Data via Transfermarkt

Howe understands the need for a blend, though, but someone like Sandro Tonali is really stepping up and proving he can be an all-inspiring leader for the club. The Italian is 25, and he is “the best midfielder in the Premier League”, according to division great Paul Scholes.

This is all to say that Newcastle have hit the jackpot more often than not in the transfer market since that fateful PIF takeover, and it is for this reason they will continue to fight against the big six hegemony in the Premier League while pressing for European glory each and every year.

There’s another man we haven’t yet mentioned, and who perhaps deserves a big handful of praise. After all, this shrewd summer signing has been described as Newcastle’s future.

The Newcastle signing who is the future of the club

Newcastle have completed a wave of business in recent years, and while it is the attacking additions who often take the spotlight, we must pay credit to Malick Thiaw’s stunning start to life in England’s north east.

The German centre-half was signed from AC Milan in August for a fee just shy of £35m. It helped push United forward during a difficult summer transfer window, and he has repaid the faith over the past few months.

Howe eased the 24-year-old into the Premier League, benching him four times in a row to start things off, but he has since started the outfit’s past nine fixtures across the top flight and the Champions League, thriving alongside Sven Botman or Fabian Schar and perhaps even outshining the pair of them.

He has even been described as “the future of this club” by Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes, and if that doesn’t make a conclusive comment on the skillset Howe has added to his ranks, what will?

Malick Thiaw for Newcastle

Stats (* per game)

PL

UCL

Matches (starts)

7 (6)

4 (3)

Goals

0

0

Assists

0

0

Touches*

54.0

57.0

Accurate passes*

37.3 (87%)

43.8 (91%)

Recoveries*

4.0

4.8

Tackles + interceptions*

2.7

1.8

Clearances*

3.7

3.3

Ground duels*

1.6 (73%)

1.5 (55%)

Aerial duels*

3.3 (74%)

3.3 (76%)

Errors made

0

0

Data via Sofascore

His success rate in the duel is absurdly high, especially having just stepped into the English game. What’s more, Thiaw is a confident distributor and he boasts awareness and intelligence to rival the mightiest defenders across England the the wider European scene.

As per data-led platform FBref, Thiaw ranks among the top 11% of central defenders across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for pass completion and the top 13% for progressive passes per 90, illustrating his quality on the ball.

Given that Howe enforces a system rooted in transitional fluency, Thiaw’s presence will only enrich the tactical flow. He has, after all, been hailed as an “absolute steal” of a signing by one Magpies content creator, who went on to marvel at his “Saliba-esque” qualities.

To think that Newcastle are only just beginning to enjoy the fruits of this signing is to understand the calibre of player still yet to develop and grow at St. James’ Park.

Thiaw is a sensational defender, and he will form the bedrock of Howe’s Newcastle for many years to come, perhaps even establishing himself as one of the continent’s finest down the line and leading the side to even more illustrious heights than have been reached over the past four years.

Woltemade and Tonali are sensational players, and will define Newcastle’s central and offensive thirds throughout this new chapter, but Thiaw is on a level with such stars, and he is very much shining.

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West Ham winger Jarrod Bowen has been subject to serious reported interest from London rivals Tottenham, and his exit stance has now come to light.

Nuno Espírito Santo’s side are currently in deep, deep trouble — sitting second bottom in the Premier League table after conceding more goals than any other club in the division.

Sunderland 3-0 West Ham

West Ham 1-5 Chelsea

Nottingham Forest 0-3 West Ham

West Ham 0-3 Tottenham

West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace

Everton 1-1 West Ham

Arsenal 2-0 West Ham

West Ham 0-2 Brentford

Leeds 2-1 West Ham

Beyond the stats, West Ham’s disjointed and uninspiring performances this term have stretched beyond Graham Potter’s dismissal, with Nuno still searching for his first win since taking charge.

The Hammers’ 3-0 win away to Nottingham Forest, which turned out to be Nuno’s final game in charge of his former club, seems like a very distant memory.

After a lot of tinkering with his first-team in the last two matches, with Lucas Paqueta used as a false nine to combat the absence of Niclas Füllkrug, Nuno is still yet to discover the winning West Ham formula.

It doesn’t get any easier for West Ham either, with high-flying Newcastle, who’ve won five out of their last six matches in all competitions, awaiting them next at the London Stadium.

January is set to be a lifeline for West Ham, and Nuno has reportedly urged the club’s hierarchy to make three signings in the form of a new defender, midfielder and forward (GiveMeSport).

Nuno has also been told that funds will be available for West Ham to spend (Sky Sports), but a more pressing issue could be convincing their current star players to remain at Rush Green.

The Times reported this week that Paqueta is keen to leave West Ham in January.

That being said, the player himself quickly put a cryptic post on social media following the rumours, which looked like an attempt to quash this noise in its tracks.

After Paqueta, some murmurs over a potential exit for Bowen are beginning to intensify.

The Irons captain is absolutely vital to Nuno and their superstar player by some distance, and West Ham rewarded the ex-Hull City winger with a long-term deal running until 2030 over two years ago.

However, the threat of relegation is prompting reports of rival clubs looking to tempt Bowen away.

Tottenham are apparently prepared to pay £53 million for Bowen’s services, but a lot will depend on the player’s own stance on leaving a club he clearly adores.

Jarrod Bowen's stance on West Ham exit amid Tottenham interest

According to TEAMtalk and journalist Dean Jones, the 28-year-old’s feelings about a departure are pretty cut and dry.

Jones reports that while the east Londoners have zero interest in selling him, Bowen could be open to leaving West Ham if they’re relegated at the end of the season.

Losing the England international right after dropping to the Championship would be a very bitter pill to swallow for West Ham supporters, and it makes January all the more imperative.

Right now, Nuno’s side quite simply do not have the quality or depth in each position to wrangle their way out of the bottom three, with the Portuguese seemingly aiming to keep them afloat long enough to strengthen his ranks.

West Ham have looked outgunned in every department, particularly in defence, with Lille star and Brazil international Alexsandro apparently Nuno’s top centre-back target for January.

Further forward, West Ham have internally talked about signing Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos as Nuno scours for a box-to-box midfielder, while many strikers are being considered already.

West Ham hold discussions over signing two Brazil strikers with 35 goals between them this year

The game mourns the loss of an iconic figure who epitomised cricket in the pre-technology era

Andrew Miller24-Sep-2025For cricket fans of a certain age, it doesn’t do much for the blood pressure to revisit old umpiring decisions with the benefit of DRS-acquired hindsight. Take any given Ashes series, or crunch passage of play against the mighty 1980s-vintage West Indians, and you’ll doubtless stumble upon a moment when a perfectly pitched English inswinger curls into a presumptuously planted front pad …”Hmm… yes, just missing leg,” Jack Bannister or Tony Lewis will demur, as said toiling medium-pacer allows their appeal to be strangled at birth and trudge forlornly back to their mark. Of course in their heart of hearts they will have known full well that that delivery was smashing all three, but until those stumps are physically rattled, that famously wagging finger shall remain steadfastly buried at the bottom of its ubiquitous white coat.Harold “Dickie” Bird, who died on Monday at the age of 92, was perhaps the most steadfast “not-outer” of the lot. Had he been plying his trade in the punitive modern era of umpiring – in which every contentious decision suffers trial by a thousand replays, and death by exponential retweet – that famously nervous disposition would scarcely have made it to the middle, let alone to Buckingham Palace for services rendered to his beloved sport.Happily, though, Bird’s career did not coincide with the DRS. Shockingly, it is now 30 summers since he stood for the last of his 66 Test matches – at Lord’s in 1996, when he famously wept his way to the middle through a guard of honour (then shelved that hard-won reputation with an emotional first-over triggering of Mike Atherton…). And yet, the extraordinary response to his passing underlines the extent to which his era was judged by different criteria, and that his improbable fame transcended the boundaries of his chosen field.To that first point, cricket in the mid-1990s was still a defiantly amateur occupation, long after the professional era was supposed to have taken hold. Despite the proliferation of cameras (on the field for the most part, but also, at the height of the 1980s tabloid wars, off the field to a degree arguably unmatched to this day), the sport was to all intents and purposes self-governing.Just as captains oversaw match arrangements and training sessions (or not, in the case of David Gower in the Caribbean in 1986), so it was down to the umpires to oversee the ensuing fixtures, and the spirit and conditions in which they were played. In cricket’s potential melting pot of cultures and sensibilities, Dickie’s unalloyed good nature was a language that cut across all potential disagreements. To that end, his idiosyncrasies were arguably crucial to his appeal, in the same way that Norman Wisdom became a cult figure in Albania, or Mr Bean’s brand of physical comedy remains hugely popular to all manner of unlikely audiences. He was, as Matthew Engel once wrote in Wisden, “the first to combine the distinct roles of top-flight umpire and music-hall comedian”.Bird sits forlornly on the covers during the bomb scare at Lord’s in 1973•PA PhotosIrrespective of circumstance, players of all persuasions could recognise and appreciate Bird’s devotion to the duty of his sport, whether that be an apologetic need to raise that dreaded finger (astonishingly, he and Steve Bucknor – another reluctant decision-maker – combined for a record 17 lbws at Port-of-Spain in 1993) or his famous obstinacy when adverse conditions crept into the narrative.The stories about Dickie’s stoppages in play are legendary – from the bomb scare that interrupted his second Test, at Lord’s in 1973, to the reflection off a greenhouse that caused an excess of sunlight in his penultimate home match, at Old Trafford in 1995. More gallingly, there was the Centenary Test at Lord’s in 1980, when, in a premonition of the career that he was spared from having to endure, Bird was reduced to tears by the abuse that he and David Constant received from MCC members as ten hours of play were lost to rain over the first three days.That incident, however, was at least contained to the circumstances in which it arose. Earlier this week, by contrast, the game’s foremost female umpire, Sue Redfern, was subjected to a dyspeptic press release from Lancashire that, on the one hand, decried the abuse she had received when (on the evidence available to her) she had been unable to overturn a crucial dismissal on T20 Finals Day, while also confirming that the club had “formally expressed” its disappointment at the decision to the ECB. A quiet word in the bar would have sufficed back in the day. The extent to which decisions have consequences is these days off the charts.Happily, such scrutiny for Bird and his ilk was a world away. Instead, his career delivered fame and recognition that, even by modern standards, transcends the bounds of most cricketers, let alone sporting officials. In September 1998, when Dickie umpired his last first-class fixture, the internet was still a borderline gimmick, pumping its data down old-school landlines, with the age of instant information yet to be realised. On Tuesday afternoon, by contrast, the news of his death was given top billing on most news websites – even Donald Trump’s bellicose comments at the UN had to play second fiddle.This summer, amid the 20th anniversary of the 2005 Ashes, the notion of English cricket’s modern-day anonymity has been a frequent topic of discussion, and the sport’s disappearance from terrestrial TV is often cited as the principal cause. And yet, Bird’s fame belongs in a different echelon. The timing of his career was a key factor – he was there for the early stirrings of colour-TV coverage in the 1970s, and in turn the beginnings of cricket’s truly global era, including his officiating of the first three World Cup finals (all staged at his home-from-home Lord’s).But also, he epitomised a more egalitarian era, when cricket in England shared a stage and status with football, as, respectively, the nation’s summer and winter sports, and when the money in the latter had not rendered all competition for latent attention meaningless. In his pomp, perhaps only Ian Botham could command more universal recognition among non-cricket fans – and he was arguably the most famous sportsman in the country.Dickie Bird borrows a lady’s hat at the 150th Anniversary of Yorkshire County Cricket Club•Getty ImagesBird was not, however, the most famous player to emerge from his legendary Barnsley youth team of the 1950s. In an astonishing quirk of his two-up, two-down upbringing, he would form lifelong friendships with two men who arguably united his twin passions of cricketing rectitude and people-pleasing. One the one hand there was Geoffrey Boycott, the opening batter that Bird (average 20.71 from 93 matches) with his nervous disposition was never quite able to become. On the other, there was Michael Parkinson, the legendary chat-show host whose appointment-to-view presence in TV’s free-to-air era exceeded even Bird’s seven-hours-a-day screentime during his summer Test outings. A third childhood friend, Tommy Taylor, might even have outstripped them all. But tragically, as a Manchester United footballer, he died in 1958 in the Munich air disaster, at the age of 26.The conditions do not exist for another Dickie Bird to burst forth into the game. He was, as he often protested when quizzed about his bachelor status, “married to cricket”, and it was as enduring a relationship as there can ever have been. But the foibles and embellishments that make up his inimitable story have no place in modern cricket, still less the tales of practical jokes that followed him out to the middle – rubber snakes, mobile phones, firecrackers, etc – all of which would these days attract ICC demerit points, rather than foster a sense of participants enjoying the stage together.There were others who came after Dickie, who brought their own quirks and personalities to the middle – foremost among them, Billy Bowden with his crooked digits and expressive boundary signalling, and Rudi Koertzen with his glacially slow finger of death. But throughout their own careers – overlain as they were with pitch-map graphics and instant feedback on each decision – there was an undercurrent of impatience at their antics, as if any action that wasn’t devoted to the cause of accuracy was, frankly, a waste of energy.Out of this new reality, a different breed of umpire emerged, perhaps best epitomised by Australia’s Simon Taufel, who officiated his first international at the age of 27 and was named ICC Umpire of the Year for five years from inception. His safe, unshowy, middle-manager style has arguably been the template for all subsequent elite-panel appointments, and sure enough, the number of truly contentious decisions has plummeted in recent years.In its place, however, the most enervating modern-day gripe seems to revolve around slow over rates, which is surely a byproduct of a loss of humanity out in the middle. If umpires are meant only to be glorified hatstands, it’s hardly a surprise that they lack the authority to chivvy along the contest of which they used to be in charge.Bird would not have stood for such dilly-dallying, unless of course it related to a burst water pipe at Headingley or an errant pigeon flapping around on a good length. He belonged to an era when cricket still was only a game, and he kept it all the richer by sharing that knowledge with all who crossed his white lines.As David Hopps, my former colleague at ESPNcricinfo and another forthright Yorkshireman, put it: “Whenever I met Dickie, I always felt that I was being invited to reacquaint myself with my inner child. He knew no other way.”

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.

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• 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.

And which Indian Test bowler has sent down the most overs after age 35?

Steven Lynch02-Sep-2025Mackay in Australia hosted a one-day international again recently for the first time in 33 years. Was this a record gap for a single venue? asked Karthik Ramanan from India

The Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay staged two matches in Australia’s recent off-season white-ball series against South Africa. The ground – formerly known as Harrup Park – had previously held just one men’s international, the match between India and Sri Lanka during the 1992 World Cup. That one lasted only two balls before it rained, so the locals had to wait a long time for some meaningful cricket (men’s, anyway; the ground has staged five women’s white-ball internationals).The 33-year gap between men’s internationals is the second longest for any ground, and the identity of the first one is a bit of a surprise, considering the ground concerned had held its country’s first Test: it’s St George’s Park in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), which saw no international cricket between Tests against England in February 1914 and March 1949, a gap of more than 35 years.Mackay lies second, but there’s another slight surprise in third place: Edgbaston in Birmingham did not have an international match for nearly 28 years between 1929 and 1957. There were only Test matches back then, so no opportunities for occasional ODIs or T20Is.The Bulawayo Athletic Club in Zimbabwe went more than 25 years without staging a men’s international (1992-2018), while Essex’s County Ground in Chelmsford went almost 24 years without one between the 1999 World Cup and Ireland’s transplanted home series against Bangladesh in May 2023.I noticed in On This Day that Richard Illingworth scored 13 in both innings of his Test debut. I’m assuming that two ducks is the most common such double, but what’s the highest? asked David Cohen from Australia

Ten men managed a higher debut double than Richard Illingworth’s brace of 13s against West Indies at Trent Bridge in July 1991. Highest of all was two 36s, by South Africa’s Dan Taylor against England in Durban in February 1914. Dan was the younger brother of Herbie Taylor, one of South Africa’s early greats, and their captain in that series.Syed Abid Ali of India and Bangladesh’s Soumya Sarkar both scored twin 33s on debut, while in the 19th century Bernard Tancred made two 29s in South Africa’s very first Test, against England in Port Elizabeth in March 1889. The England pair of Arthur Carr and Mark Ramprakash both started their Test careers with two scores of 27.You’re right that a pair of ducks is the most frequent (and most unwanted) debut double: in all, 46 men and nine women have suffered this fate.Who has bowled the most overs among Indian Test fast bowlers after 35 years of age? And who has taken the most wickets? asked Chetan Mishra from New Zealand

The fact is there haven’t been many Indian fast bowlers aged 35 or more: top of the list is Lala Amarnath, with 28 wickets, followed by Zaheer Khan with 16 and Umesh Yadav with 12. Amarnath bowled the equivalent of 503 overs, Zaheer 195.3, and Yadav 124. Vijay Hazare bowled the equivalent of 199 overs at a fairly modest pace, and took only nine wickets.If you lump in all Indian bowlers then Anil Kumble leads the way with 154 wickets after turning 35, while R Ashwin took 114 (note that this could exclude wickets taken in matches during which the player celebrated his 35th birthday).Among pace bowlers worldwide, James Anderson took the remarkable total of 224 Test wickets after his 35th birthday, while Courtney Walsh had 180 and Richard Hadlee 116.Lala Amarnath sent down about 503 overs and took 28 wickets after turning 35•Getty ImagesWhich Test ground (which has staged more than ten matches) has the highest average runs per wicket? I’m thinking Adelaide Oval… or perhaps somewhere in Pakistan? asked Andrew Dowling from China

An interesting question, and your first guess is not far off: as this list shows, Adelaide Oval lies seventh overall, with an average of 35.07 runs per wicket, and it has staged many more Tests than the grounds above it – 83 so far, with Georgetown’s Bourda Oval (36.26) next of those higher up, with 30 matches.On top overall is the Antigua Recreation Ground, with an average of 38.47 runs per wicket from 22 Tests: next comes McLean Park in Napier, which just scrapes in with ten Tests, in which the average is 37.99. After Bourda (and not including Adelaide), there’s a run of subcontinental grounds: Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium (36.07), Mohali (35.7), Chattogram (35.16), Lahore (35.05), Kanpur (34.9), Delhi (34.86), the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo (34.73), Rawalpindi (34.71) and Ahmedabad’s Modi Stadium (34.5). The top English ground is Trent Bridge in Nottingham at 32.55.I gather from Wisden that Shane Warne dismissed 236 different batsmen in his career. Is this a record? asked N Ravikanth from India

I suppose this is the opposite to last week’s question about the bowler with the most unique wickets. You’re right that Shane Warne dismissed 236 different batters in Tests, but the list is headed – as you might expect – by the overall leading wicket-taker, Muthiah Muralidaran. He’s clearly fond of round numbers, as he took 800 wickets in all, made up of 300 different opponents.Warne actually lies fourth on this list, also behind Anil Kumble, who dismissed 264 different batters, and James Anderson (263). He’s just ahead of Stuart Broad (234).Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Leeds United fans must now be growing impatient with Daniel Farke at the helm, as another disastrous away performance was put in against Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

Heading into this huge tie towards the lower reaches of the Premier League, Forest had managed to collect just one home victory all season long.

Thankfully for Sean Dyche’s men, Leeds felt in a charitable mood defensively as another horror show performance on the road saw the Whites crash to a 3-1 loss, which now leaves the away side just one point above the dreaded bottom three spaces.

While the Tricky Trees have shot up to nine points after the win, and have some much-needed hope now that they can get out of their relegation mire, Leeds seem to be getting sucked more and more into a dog-fight as the season progresses, with several Whites first-teamers letting their under-fire manager down in the dreadful defeat.

Leeds' biggest underperformers against Forest

Minus Lukas Nmecha, who hammered home Leeds’ opening strike of the day before the wheels fell off, not many Leeds shirts can come away from that 3-1 loss with their heads held high.

In particular, the Leeds midfield ranks badly let the German down, as Sean Longstaff looked nowhere near his assured best when squandering possession 13 times.

Moreover, Leeds captain Ethan Ampadu also looked a shadow of his Championship best up against Dyche’s rejuvenated hosts, with the Whites captain failing to provide the away side’s defence with a stern cover, when winning just four of his nine duel attempts.

He was also at fault when Morgan Gibbs-White headed home the game-clinching second goal for the Tricky Trees, as the Welshman – alongside an equally ropey Jaka Bijol – left the England international in acres of room to become Forest’s hero on the day.

Farke will know he needs to make some alterations for Leeds’ next Premier League clash against Aston Villa in a bid to save his job.

Farke must now ditch Leeds' new Meslier-like figure

A certain Illan Meslier is now nowhere to be seen in the Leeds starting lineups, despite once being a regular week in, week out, stretching all the way back to the glory days of Marcelo Bielsa.

He was a consistent starter last season up to a point, too, before far too many error-prone moments started seeping into his game, leaving Farke with no choice but to bring in reserve stopper Karl Darlow to see out the rest of Leeds’ promotion bid.

Former Arsenal winger Perry Groves would put it down to a “lack of concentration” on the ex-Lorient goalkeeper’s end when consistently making errors, which made Leeds move for a new number one stopper in Lucas Perri in the summer.

The Frenchman hasn’t always been dismissed as an accident waiting to happen in between the sticks, though, with 21 clean sheets tallied up last season when at the peak of his powers.

Another scapegoat in the shape of Brenden Aaronson could well be becoming a new Meslier-type figure in the here and now for Leeds.

An unbelievable performance against West Ham United, which saw him bag Leeds’ opener, was then followed up by two forgettable showings against Brighton and Hove Albion and Forest to start November off on a damp note and push him back into the spotlight as an inconsistent individual who lets his side down too often, just like Meslier.

Minutes played

90

74

Goals scored

0

0

Assists

0

1

Touches

41

38

Accurate passes

24/26 (92%)

14/15 (93%)

Shots

0

2

Successful dribbles

0/2

1/7

Possession lost

11x

10x

Ball recoveries

1

10

Total duels won

3/10

8/16

Across Leeds’ last two pitiful defeats on the road, Aaronson has only managed to muster up one successful dribble from nine attempts, which is a far cry from him completing all 100% of his dribbles against West Ham as a reliable livewire.

On top of that, while the American found himself in the thick of the action all night long against Nuno Espirito Santo’s men, he could only amass a lacklustre 38 touches of the ball versus Forest, with the aforementioned Perri even managing more in between the sticks at 44.

These constant hot and cold performances could kill Farke in the long run as he searches for consistent form from all his players to save his skin, with Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Graham Smyth handing Aaronson a 4/10 post-match rating even after he had a minimal part to play in Nmecha’s early strike.

Daniel James and Wilfried Gnonto are available in reserve down the right flank if Farke wants to ditch the attacking midfielder who has been so staunchly loyal to.

BBC commentator drops immediate verdict on Farke amid Leeds sack rumours

Leeds have lost four of their last five Premier League games.

ByJames O'Reilly Nov 9, 2025