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A recap of what’s happened with the pink ball at the Gabba, and someone overall numbers for Australia in day-night Tests

Andrew McGlashan24-Jan-2024 vs Pakistan, 2016-17Asad Shafiq almost pulled off a miracle for Pakistan, getting them to within 40 of what would have been a world-record chase. Adding 71 with Yasir Shah into the final afternoon, Australia were getting nervous before a brute of a delivery from Mitchell Starc removed Shafiq for a brilliant 137.For the majority of the game, it never looked like being so close. Australia were in the early stages of rebuilding their batting order after the series loss to South Africa a few weeks earlier. Peter Handscomb had scored a maiden Test century in a stand of 172 with Steven Smith, while fellow newcomer Matt Renshaw made 71.In reply, Pakistan were blown away under lights on the second evening as Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Jackson Bird wreaked havoc. Hazlewood was on a hat-trick when he removed Babar Azam and Younis Khan.After opting not to enforce the follow-on Australia quickly built their lead before leaving a target of 490. There was more top-order resistance this time, but at 220 for 6 a comfortable victory was on the cards, particularly with another night session to come. That wasn’t how it worked out.vs Sri Lanka, 2018-19Pat Cummins and Jhye Richardson enjoyed themselves against Sri Lanka five years ago•Getty ImagesDespite Australia coming off a series defeat to India, Sri Lanka were predictably overwhelmed by their pace attack. Pat Cummins led the way with what remains his career-best match figures while Jhye Richardson made a mark on his Test debut.It was Nathan Lyon who claimed the first wicket of the Test, but from then on it was the home side’s quicks who got to work. Sri Lanka were bundled out in little more than two sessions on the opening day, although Australia didn’t initially have it all their own way with the bat.Early on the second day they were 82 for 4 before Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head – at the time junior members of the team – added 166 for the fifth wicket.Cummins struck with the final ball of the second day and Australia did not even need the assistance from the night-time session to complete victory with Cummins taking the first four wickets of the innings.Key statsAll of Australia’s bowlers have formidable records with the pink ball, led by Starc in terms of the wicket tally.Australia have never lost a day-night Test with their batters finding a way to score enough runs, and sometimes filling their boots. Labuschagne and Head have been particularly profitable.Although the sample size is small with just the two matches, the third session of the day has the lowest bowling average in day-night Tests at the Gabba. In Adelaide, which has hosted seven day-night Tests, it’s the first session of the day.

ESPNcricinfo’s Sri Lanka correspondent tries to make sense of the latest mismatch between these two teams

Andrew Fidel Fernando06-Mar-2022A scene from a principal’s office, somewhere in IndiaAh yes, you. Come. Come. Sit down, please.You know why you’re here, no?, please. Of course, we both know why we’re here.It is fine for you to be good at cricket. Something to be proud of even. That we can understand and allow. But why must you always take it to this extent? Why can you not sense when enough is enough?What do I mean? WHAT DO I MEAN? Thrashing that poor Sri Lanka team is what I mean. This is not the first time. Or the second time. Don’t think we have not noticed.Related

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Look here. Nagpur 2017 – an innings and 239 runs. Pallekele 2017 – an innings and 171 runs. Galle 2017 – ah, there you won only by 304 runs. Verrry kind. Do I have to go on? Ah, you want me to check the ODI file?You know what Sri Lanka has to deal with, don’t you? This, you should know by now. Their home circumstances…Lowers voice. Listen, they haven’t kept a coach for more than two years. It’s a very pathetic situation. More than ten coaches in ten years. Like a revolving door only…Let’s not even talk about their board. In this match, you hit 574 runs in the first innings. Between all of their top-level officials, they can’t even muster that many brain… I feel so unkind to even say these things. But you get the picture.And your Ravindra Jadeja. My god. By himself, he is scoring 175 not out. You’re not letting them score even that much for the whole team in the first innings. As if that wasn’t enough he takes nine wickets. NINE. Can you imagine? In more than 129 overs, all of Sri Lanka took eight, . Can you possibly explain this behaviour? These people are your neighbours. Some dignity they must have, no?Scoring all these runs even after they obviously chose the wrong attack for this pitch, and their fast bowler Lahiru Kumara broke down on the first day. Three times in the last three years he has injured himself in the middle of a Test. For years we know they’ve had these problems, no? Did you know they have banned bum-pats in their team because they are worried they will do a career-ending injury?What are India going to do after this? Throw rocks at puppies? Please stop•BCCIHey. Do not laugh. Do NOT laugh. This is not funny.We have also got news today from our sister school that the women’s team has also thumped a neighbour today. Niiiice little operation you have got going between the two of you, no? Well done.Look, just have some mercy, no? Even your No. 8 has five Test centuries. Their No. 7 – this Dickwella fellow – has collected four more ICC demerit points than centuries.Look at your attack, also . You have R Ashwin who is the best offspinner India have produced. You have this crazy Jadeja fellow. Then if that’s not enough this wicked Bumrah character who will bowl full overs full of yorkers, and send some nasty bouncers, and if that wasn’t enough, bowl his vicious little cutters and slower balls. What a twisted mind this fellow must have. And fast-bowling uncle Shami to skid balls into the pads also. You saw, no? How he bowled one at off stump and got the Sri Lankan captain – their best batter – into such a tangle he edged it to the keeper?What will you do after this match? Go and throw some rocks at some puppies? Get together and poke fun at chubby children? Please stop. Please, please know when to stop.What?You’re doing what in the next week?You’re going to play them in a pink-ball Test?!With your attack? Against their top order? Get out. I can’t bear the sight of you. Get out of my room immediately.

LOS ANGELES — Two hours after the best player in the history of baseball played the best game in the history of baseball, he headed home from the office. Shohei Ohtani was not holding the National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player award or the 2025 World Series swag he had earned that night; the half-dozen members of his agency and his security team trailing him could handle that. And besides, his hands were full: He was pushing a Nuna stroller containing his six-month-old daughter and, in the basket below her, his Nederlandse Kooikerhondje. 

Almost more impressive than the feats Ohtani achieves on a nightly basis—the devastating splitters, the towering home runs, the fact that sometimes, as on Friday, three minutes pass between the two—is this: He is both the most and least normal person at the ballpark. 

The former posture helps him attain the latter performance. He spent two weeks listening to reporters, fans and his own manager question whether his pursuit of pitching greatness was hindering his mastery of hitting greatness. After an excellent regular season—a league-leading 1.014 OPS, plus a 2.87 ERA in 47 innings—he scuffled at the plate in the playoffs. In the National League Division Series, he was 1-for-18 with nine strikeouts, and his swing decisions mystified his bosses. 

“We’re not going to win the World Series with a performance like that,” manager Dave Roberts lamented before the NLCS began. 

India go into the next T20I World Cup as strong favourites, but their captain isn’t fully buying into that talk

Sidharth Monga08-Nov-20254:36

It was fire and fire today: Abhishek on his stand with Gill

India have now won each of the seven T20I series they have been part of since winning the 2024 T20 World Cup. They hold a 26-4 win-loss record over this period. They still have two bilateral series at home, where they will defend their crown in about three months. Surely they are favourites given their strengths, experience and current record, but their captain Suryakumar Yadav is aware you can never say all the bases are covered.”I’m very lucky to have all these boys with different-different skills,” he said after the Brisbane washout when asked if India had all bases covered. “They bring very different-different things to the table. When we chat around about the bowling, batting, and fielding… You must have seen a lot of energy on the ground. People enjoy when they go together on the ground.”But yeah, from a batting point of view, definitely what we’ve been doing in the last six to eight months, I think we’re sticking to that, not changing anything. These guys are doing it really well. The way they bat at the top of the order, it puts a smile on everyone’s face when they’re batting together.Related

India seal T20I series 2-1 after Brisbane washout

“And also from a bowling point of view as well, people are taking responsibility. Having an experienced bowler like [Jasprit] Bumrah around in the team and everyone chatting with him, learning a lot of skills, tricks and trade of the game, I think that’s a good thing. So there’s good friendship building up in that as well.”So we are trying to get there. There’s never anything like all bases covered. We always learn from this game, every game we play. Yeah, till now things look good, touch wood, let’s continue that.”Abhishek Sharma became the fastest batter to 1000 T20I runs by balls faced•AFP/Getty Images

One of the top-order batters responsible for putting said smiles on faces sat next to Suryakumar as the Player of the Series. During the course of this Australia tour, Abhishek Sharma became the quickest to 1000 T20I runs in terms of balls faced. He also played a more sedate innings when he judged the pitch to be a tricky one. India defended 167 successfully in that match.Suryakumar was impressed with that aspect of Abhishek’s game, joking that sometimes even a tiger has to turn herbivorous. “If the wicket is difficult, the quicker you adapt the better it is,” Suryakumar said. “The wicket was good today so they went back to normal, scoring 50-plus in four-and-a-half overs. But it was important in the last game to read the wicket well. These two [Abhishek and opening partner Shubman Gill] did that well. At this level, you only learn from experience. The way he adapted so quickly, if in the future also if we get such a wicket in the subcontinent, it won’t be something new for him.”They communicate well. They run well. They are learning quickly. Yes, there are just 120 balls, but often you have more time than you think. Sometimes if they take four-five balls extra to figure out the conditions, they are so skilled they can cover up easily.”Abhishek credited all his success to the absolute freedom given to him by the team management, who, he said, told him he will still be in the side if he scores 15 consecutive ducks. “I knew there’s gonna be extra bounce and pace, but, from a team point of view, I had a plan that I have to play the same way I’ve been playing. Because as an opening batter, it’s very easy for you to understand your role.”But I feel when you’re playing like this, when you want to dominate the opposition, you have to have that confidence and that ability. I think the captain and coach always backed me in that. I practised really hard on this because it’s not easy to come to Australia and beat them in white-ball cricket as well. So I wanted to play the same brand of cricket because we have been following that since before the Asia Cup.”

Head coach believes 50-over struggles are in a category of their own as attention shifts to Perth

Cameron Ponsonby01-Nov-2025Brendon McCullum conceded that England “clearly need to improve” in one-day cricket after they fell to a 3-0 clean sweep against New Zealand. ‘Go harder’ has been the mantra of this England team, with Harry Brook imploring his side to double down in their efforts with the bat after his side’s first collapse in Mount Maunganui a week ago. Two matches and two further batting failures later, however, McCullum has reset the party line and called for England to adopt a more considered approach.”Harry’s said before that we need to put pressure back on the bowlers, and there are times when we do need to be a little braver and put some pressure on the bowlers,” McCullum said following the defeat in Wellington. “And then there are other times where we’ve got to adjust to their lengths and lines.”Not necessarily in a high-risk sort of way but just by being brave enough – whether that’s coming down the wicket or moving around the crease – just get things going a little bit more and bounce off one another.”Across the series, England lost 11 wickets in the opening 10 overs of the innings, compared to New Zealand’s four, and were bowled out in all three matches. Their innings in Wellington was their longest of the trip, batting for 40.2 overs before they were all out.”I think when we’re confronted with good, flat wickets, we’re a very, very good cricket team,” McCullum said. “I think we play a high-octane style of cricket and those conditions suit us. When the wickets have a little bit in them and they’re a bit more challenging, whether that be spin or seam or swing, we probably can’t quite adapt our tempo quick enough.Fewest runs by a team’s top four•ESPNcricinfo Ltd”We’ve got some talented players but, unfortunately, our performances at the moment in this form of the game aren’t quite up to scratch and we need to rectify that.”England’s top order combined for an historically poor series, managing just 84 runs between the top four, the lowest tally in one-day international history. Of the top six, only Brook, Joe Root and Jos Buttler made a score of 20 across the three matches.McCullum, however, does not believe it is a concern heading towards the Ashes, where Australia are expected to serve up similar styles of wickets. In the longer format, he argues that England have been able to counter different conditions well.”I like to separate it,” McCullum explained. “I think in T20 cricket we’re going really well and in Test cricket we have a pretty decent idea of where we’re at – and I think we’ve performed reasonably well, albeit we have a huge challenge ahead of us.Related

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“One-day cricket is clearly the area we need to improve, and my comments are more directed at one-day cricket. I think when we do come across the trickier conditions in Australia and Test cricket, we have a pretty good understanding of how we’re going to go about it. It doesn’t guarantee us anything but it gives us a level of confidence going into that series.”He also believes that, despite a number of players experiencing a poor run of scores, the likes of Jamie Smith, Ben Duckett and Root will be “better for the run” after getting a number of games under their belt.”They’ve marked centre a few times and gone through the process and I’m sure they’ll be better for it. With the prep that we’ve had with the other Test guys who’ve been here for a while too, we’ll have no excuses come Australia.”McCullum identified Jamie Overton as England’s “huge win” for the tour, after the bowling allrounder contributed with the bat in all three matches and put together his finest performance in ODI cricket in Wellington, scoring 68 runs and taking two for 32 with the ball.”I think there’s times when we think he’s a better player than he does,” McCullum said. “And on this tour he’s fully believed in the player he can be at this level. There’s not too many players around the world who can bowl 140kph, field the way he does and hit the ball as cleanly. It’s been a huge series for Jamie…he’s incredibly well liked within the group and we’re all delighted for him.”England’s next competitive fixture will now be in Perth, with the long-awaited Ashes series finally around the corner after years of build-up.”I’m proper excited,” McCullum concluded. “We’re incredibly respectful of the challenge Australia is going to present us and we know how hard that tour is going to be.”It’s going to require a team to stay together right throughout, to be as strong as we can to try and block out any of the outside noise. But we’re very respectful of who we’re coming up against, we’re so excited to get over there and we can’t wait to get started.”

Liverpool look more and more unlikely by the game that they will retain the Premier League title.

Of course, collecting the top-flight trophy two seasons on the trot is a difficult feat even when you’re all guns blazing.

But, it’s definitely made more tricky when you assess how quickly the wheels are falling off Arne Slot’s title defence right now.

The Reds are already up to five defeats in league action this season, with newly promoted Sunderland only on two losses, in stark contrast.

Slot was also significantly backed in the summer, with the summer transfer business at Anfield no doubt catching the eye, when you consider a jaw-dropping £415m was splashed out by the Merseyside giants.

The likes of Alexander Isak and Milos Kerkez have really struggled to get going, having cost a substantial £165m alone to get through the door.

But, there is one high-profile name that is in very real danger of becoming Slot’s own Naby Keita. Yes, things really do look that bad at the moment.

The numbers behind Keita's Liverpool disaster

When Keita arrived at Anfield in 2018, there was a lot of fanfare surrounding his high-profile signing.

After all, Jurgen Klopp boldly announcde that the Guinean was the “best player in the league” in the Bundesliga when leaving behind RB Leipzig for a shot in England for a whopping a whopping £48m.

In Klopp’s defence, Keita had collected 16 goals and assists combined across all competitions for Leipzig during his swansong campaign and the former Reds number 8 did score some beautifully taken goals during his stint on Merseyside, as can be seen watching the entertaining highlight reel above.

But, with all the hype that had surrounded the capture at the time, it would have been Keita’s constant in-and-out presence in the treatment room that would have irritated Liverpool fans the most, with a staggering 122 games missed through injury for club and country across his five seasons in England.

In the end, he was let go at the expiry of his contract with Werder Bremen, with just 11 goals and seven assists to shout about.

Slot will pray he doesn’t have another Keita-like situation unfolding right now as Liverpool struggle for consistency, with another mega-money signing at risk of fading into the background.

Liverpool's Naby Keita repeat

The failed signing of Keita still stands as Liverpool’s eighth most expensive signing of all time.

Thankfully, above the hot-and-cold 30-year-old’s name in the rankings are the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai, Alisson, and Virgil Van Dijk, who are all figures Slot knows he can rely on.

Unfortunately, the same is yet to be applied to Florian Wirtz, who comes in as the Reds’ second most expensive capture at an astronomical £115m fee.

The German’s arrival from Bayer Leverkusen met with the same Keita-level hysteria, having been dubbed a “generational” talent by sports media professional Christian Nyari just last season.

With 57 goals and 65 assists under his belt for Leverkusen, it can be rationalised as to why Liverpool blew such a large chunk of their budget on Wirtz instantly coming good.

Indeed, Reds journalist Bence Boscak pleaded in the summer that Slot and Co needed to land his signature “whatever” the price may be.

Games played

16

Minutes played

1119 mins

Goals scored

0

Assists

3

Yet, much like they found out with Keita, blistering form in the Bundesliga doesn’t necessarily mean they will instantly hit the ground running on English shores, with Wirtz still yet to collect a single goal or assist in Premier League action.

Wirtz was particularly ineffective last time out as Liverpool were reminded of how far they’ve fallen in such a short space of time against Manchester City, with an unmemorable 39 touches of the ball seeing the German fail to amass one single key pass.

It’s even clearer from the graphic above how much the number 7 has been “struggling” – as journalist Mark Ogden has noted – in his new surroundings, with both his take-on success percentage rate and duels being won per ninety minutes success rate taking a significant hit.

Analyst Darnish Iqbal has even branded the deal as a “disaster”, with it not being a stretch to state that it is Liverpool’s biggest disappointment in the transfer window since Keita joined way back in 2018. Perhaps the Reds should avoid the Bundesliga for now?

Wirtz, hopefully, won’t fall victim to Keita’s same fate in leaving for cheap though, with glimmers of his quality here and there – as seen in the playmaker amassing five key passes against Real Madrid – meaning Liverpool will hold onto him for the time being, praying he hits his Leverkusen heights on a consistent basis down the line.

Not Wirtz or Isak: Liverpool's "nervous wreck" at risk of becoming Nunez 2.0

Liverpool have fallen by the wayside under Arne Slot’s leadership this season.

ByAngus Sinclair Nov 12, 2025

MatériaMais Notícias

O Internacional acertou a contratação de Fernando, que deixa o Vila Nova apenas 42 dias após ter assinado com o clube goiano. O Colorado irá pagar uma compensação financeira ao Tigre e terá o volante até o fim de 2025.

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

O Inter tentou a contratação de Fernando no início de janeiro, quando o brasileiro havia rescincido seu contrato com o Sevilla, da Espanha. O jogador, no entanto, optou pelo retorno ao Vila Nova, clube onde foi revelado, após 17 anos no futebol europeu. A justificativa era de ficar mais próximo da família, que teria pedido sua presença em Goiânia.

Desde então, Fernando entrou em campo em seis partidas do Vila, todas pelo Campeonato Goiano e como titular. O retorno do volante gerou surpresa e enorme expectativa no clube, que disputou até a última rodada da Série B o acesso a primeira divisão de 2024. O jogador seria a principal peça do Tigre para buscar uma vaga na elite neste ano.

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➡️ Entenda o interesse do Vasco na contratação de Carlos De Pena, do Internacional

Fernando deixou o Brasil em 2007, rumo ao Porto, de Portugal. Passou por Manchester City, Gatalasaray e Sevilla, em 17 anos de carreira na Europa, antes de retornar ao Vila Nova para a passagem relâmpago. Agora no Internacional, o volante não pode ser inscrito no Gauchão, pois o prazo se encerrou na última sexta-feira (16). Ele estará disponível nas demais competições (Copa do Brasil, Brasileirão e Sul-Americana).

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InternacionalVila Nova

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has been handed a positive injury update on new signing Benjamin Sesko after the Slovenia international hobbled off during their thrilling 2-2 draw with Tottenham. Amorim had expressed concerns for his striker after the match, but initial investigations have offered hope Sesko won't be sidelined for an extended spell.

• Worrying end to match for Sesko

  It was an afternoon of high drama in north London after United secured a vital point against Spurs. The visitors took the lead courtesy of Bryan Mbeumo's header in the 32nd minute, but the hosts staged a late comeback with goals from substitute Mathys Tel in the 84th minute and Richarlison in the first minute of stoppage time, which put them in front and, seemingly, on course to earn the hosts all three points. But the match ended in chaos, as United defender Matthijs de Ligt headed home an equaliser from a corner in the 96th minute, salvaging a draw for his side.

  The closing stages saw Sesko pick up an injury. He entered the match in the 58th minute but was forced off late with a knee problem, casting a shadow over United’s hard-fought draw. His performance featured a couple of missed chances and came before he was taken off following a robust challenge from Micky van de Ven. The forward has scored two goals in 12 appearances and has struggled for form and confidence.

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• Amorim fears for Sesko

  The United boss was asked after the match if he thought the injury was serious, he said: "I have no idea. Because it's the knee, we never know. I'm concerned with the injury because it's in the knee. We need Ben to be a better team. We have to check everything, we have to check what has happened with him."

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Encouraging Sesko update offered from home country

  But in the hours after the match there was an update coming from Sesko's native Slovenia, where local media reports say the initial tests show that the injury was not serious and shouldn’t rule him out for a lengthy spell. There was the additional detail from , which says the full extent of the injury will only be revealed after an MRI scan, which will take place in the coming days. 

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• AFP
  

  Missed opportunity for Red Devils

  Speaking after the match, Amorim offered a mixed review of his team's performance also revealed his plan for the players who aren’t heading off on international duty. 

  Amorim said: "In the end, I think if you see the game you feel that the three points were there to take home, but then with everything that happened – Harry (Maguire) has to come out, Casemiro has to come out, (so does) Ben. We suffered two goals again in a short period of time, but managed to score again, so it's a point. When you cannot win, you don’t lose and once again we managed to do that. If you look to the game and if you feel the environment, we have so much to grow as a team, because today was our day to win this game.

  "I think it's more we need to look at ourselves. We were not pressing with the same intensity, because we felt comfortable. We need to understand that but to feel also that if we have a little bit more bravery, we can kill this game. Sometimes it's like that: you have a first half better than the second."

  He added: "It’s a little bit frustrating but also a little bit pride of the response of the players after the second goal of Tottenham. Then to look at the team. I understand that this is just the tip of the iceberg. So we are just in the beginning of becoming a very strong team. We have a lot to do and we are going to work with the guys that are not going to the national team, and we are going to evaluate everything, trying to see also games from the kids. So try to use this space on evolution of our club, not just the first team."

The two former RCB players were at the ground to celebrate their first title in 18 years

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jun-20252:28

Aaron: Kohli has been king of the castle for 18 years

For Virat Kohli, winning IPL 2025 was made more special by the presence of two former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) talismans, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle. The trio, dubbed RCB’s holy trinity when they played together, couldn’t hold back their emotions as they revelled in the afterglow of a maiden IPL triumph, beating Punjab Kings (PBKS) by six runs in Ahmedabad.As the three got together for a quick chat with the broadcasters, they belted out a new version of the old RCB chant. From ” (this time the cup will be ours) to “!” (This time this cup is ours).””What he’s done for the franchise has been absolutely tremendous,” Kohli said of de Villiers, his RCB colleague for a decade, with whom he had scripted many memorable batting performances. “I told him that before the game as well that this one is as much yours as it is ours and I want you to celebrate with us when we lift that trophy at the end of the night. Because what he’s done for RCB is so very special.Related

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“He’s got the maximum number of Man-of-the-Match awards and he’s been retired for four years now. That tells you the impact he’s had on this team, on this league, for me as a person, our friendship.”What he means for the people of Bangalore, to this team, to this franchise is something I cannot describe in words, so I said he deserves to be on that podium, lifting that cup with all of us tonight.”De Villiers stood just outside the boundary, waiting to begin his broadcasting duties after the game, as Josh Hazlewood began the final over with 28 runs to defend. Kohli revealed watching de Villiers standing there made the winning moment even more special.