Following their recent dip in form, Celtic have reportedly expressed their first interest in signing a Champions League-winning defender for Brendan Rodgers.

Sutton can't "see things improving" at Celtic

It’s been a frustrating few weeks for those at Celtic Park. So used to dominance in the Scottish Premiership, the Bhoys have recently been forced to get used to the taste of defeat. Hearts, meanwhile, have taken full advantage to form a shock five-point lead at the top of the league in what could yet result in a shock victory come May.

Whilst there is still plenty of football left to be played, former Celtic striker Chris Sutton admitted that he can’t “see things improving” at the club, claiming that the Bhoys are “bang average” going forward.

It’s a damning verdict and one that Celtic must work to reverse, starting this Thursday against SK Sturm Graz in the Europa League. Searching for the first victory of their European campaign, there’s no time like the present for Brendan Rodgers’ side.

That said, what hasn’t helped their current form is the big question mark surrounding Rodgers’ future. The former Liverpool boss has less than a year left on his current deal and is yet to put pen to paper on fresh terms. As things stand, he’s set to leave as a free agent at the end of the season.

"Brilliant" ex-Premier League manager seriously considering replacing Rodgers at Celtic

This would be quite the move…

By
Tom Cunningham

Oct 22, 2025

That uncertainty mixed with poor form has created a toxic mixture, but the addition of a Champions League-winning defender may yet prove to be the perfect cure when the January transfer window swings open.

Celtic express January interest in Andy Robertson

As reported by SportsBoom, Celtic have now expressed interest in signing Andy Robertson from Liverpool in January. The Scotland captain has less than 12 months left on his Anfield contract and will likely be available for a bargain price this winter as a result.

Given his love for Celtic and his position outside of Arne Slot’s strongest line-up even amid the Reds’ recent struggles, a move back to Scotland and back to Celtic for the first time since he was a teenager would arguably be the most ideal move for Robertson. The Bhoys, meanwhile, would be landing a complete serial winner and one of the best left-backs in Liverpool history.

Previously described as “outstanding” by Scotland manager Steve Clarke, there’s some that would argue that Robertson should still be in the Liverpool side – that’s the level he’s still capable of – and Celtic would be foolish not to take advantage of his current predicament.

For the 31-year-old, it would be a full-circle moment after being released by the Bhoys at just 15 years old. It would be a move of redemption for a player who went from that release to Scotland captaincy and Champions League glory.

Everton have battled their way out of relegation-threatened status in the Premier League.

After several years of low-table fortunes, things have changed, with David Moyes lifting Goodison Park on its swansong up to a mid-table finish last season.

Now, he’s targeting an ambitious push for Europe, with the signings made across the summer propping up these ambitions.

At the forefront is Jack Grealish, and he is back in contention to play this weekend as the Toffees welcome Tottenham Hotspur to the Hill Dickinson, having missed last weekend’s defeat at Manchester City due to ineligibility.

Jack Grealish could be the game-changer

Grealish joined Everton from Man City on loan this summer, having fallen by the wayside across the past couple of years in Pep Guardiola’s squad.

He’s back. Four August assists served Grealish the Premier League Player of the Month award, and he’s maintained a talismanic presence, lifting the spirits and the belief of his teammates.

If Everton surpass expectations this summer, expect the plaudits to rain down at the 30-year-old’s feet.

His playmaking quality was sorely missed last weekend, but he can play once again, and it’s a good thing too, for Tottenham have many high-level players and have improved defensively since Thomas Frank replaced Ange Postecoglou this summer.

Grealish can’t do it alone, but luckily, Moyes has another talented midfielder who could share the load and maybe even outperform his senior peer on the afternoon.

The Everton star who could outshine Grealish

Last season, Tyler Dibling emerged as one of the brightest teenagers in the Premier League, and there was a swarm of interest in his signature. Everton won the race, signing the 19-year-old in a £42m deal.

However, he has only featured four times in the top flight this term, hooked at half-time on his sole start against Crystal Palace.

In fairness, this was a poor display, but for a teenage talent performing in new territory to flatter to deceive during such a scenario is hardly unheard of.

Minutes played

45′

Goals

0

Assists

0

Shots (on target)

0 (0)

Accurate passes

6/7 (86%)

Chances created

0

Dribbles

0/3

Tackles

1

Duels won

3/10

There’s a real player in there, to be sure, with Dibling having already been on Tottenham’s radar, Spurs having pushed for a deal this summer before Everton won the race.

As per FBref, he ranks among the top 17% of positional peers for pass completion, the top 20% for successful take-ons and the top 26% for tackles per 90, with this robust array of skills leading the data-driven platform to list Iliman Ndiaye as one of his most comparable players.

But there’s no denying more is needed after a slow start on Merseyside. Luckily, Dibling has all the talent in the world, and Moyes needs only to bring his confidence and balance in this new team to the fore.

And his match sharpness will have improved after two winning performances with England U19s this month. He drew praise for his performances, with data scientist Michael Green hailing the youngster for being “incredibly positive with every action”.

With Grealish sure to slot back into that left-sided berth, the competition for places is thick, but Dibling could use this chance as a springboard, having endured a testing start to his Everton career, no doubt about that.

His speed and technical quality and athleticism suggest he has what it takes to shine the brightest for Moyes’ Everton side, and there’s no doubt that this is a “world-class talent”, as has been said by his former youth coach Andy Goldie, having thrived in an abject Southampton side.

Should Dibling make an impact against Frank’s Tottenham, who lack fluency in attack right now, all eyes will be on him. In this, he could outshine the ever-impressive Grealish.

Not Keane: Moyes can fix Branthwaite blow by unleashing Everton "revelation"

Everton’s star centre-back has suffered a complication in his injury recovery.

ByAngus Sinclair Oct 21, 2025

Roberto De Zerbi is now in the frame to replace Pep Guardiola, amid a new update on the Manchester City manager’s future at the Etihad Stadium.

Guardiola’s contract isn’t due to expire until the summer of 2027, having penned an extension last season, and Man City fans will no doubt be hoping he stays for the foreseeable future, given the unprecedented success he has brought to the blue side of Manchester.

However, Jurgen Klopp resigning as Liverpool manager at the end of the 2023-24 campaign due to fatigue displayed just how draining it is to be a Premier League manager for a sustained period of time, and there will come a point where City need to start seriously thinking about successors.

At the moment, the former Barcelona boss will be focusing on closing the gap to Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table, while also attempting to win a second Champions League, but there has now been a new update on when he could leave the Blues.

Man City targeting De Zerbi amid Guardiola future update

According to reliable reporter Paul Hirst, in a report for The Times, an exit at the end of the 2026-27 campaign is on the cards as the 54-year-old has won everything there is to win since arriving at the Etihad Stadium back in 2016.

The three-time Champions League-winning manager is expected to see out his current contract, but Man City may then be faced with the difficult task of bringing in a successor, and De Zerbi is in the frame, as the former Brighton & Hove Albion boss has admirers within the club.

Guardiola is personally a fan of the Marseille manager, who has made a fantastic start to the 2025-26 campaign, with his side currently second in Ligue 1, just two points behind Paris Saint-Germain at the top of the Ligue 1 table.

Not only is the 46-year-old impressing in France, but he was also hailed by Statman Dave for the work he did during his first year as Brighton manager.

The Italian is well-known to favour a possession-based style of football, so he may not need to make wholesale changes at Man City, which is another bonus, alongside his experience in the Premier League.

The only concern will be that De Zerbi is yet to lift many major trophies, winning only the Ukrainian Super Cup with Shakhtar Donetsk in the 2021-22 season.

In truth, whoever replaces Pep will find it almost impossible to eclipse what the Spaniard has achieved at City, and supporters will be hoping he extends his stay beyond the end of next season.

Every current manager in the Premier League has been ranked

Every current manager in the 2025/26 Premier League ranked

Every current Premier League boss ranked from best to worst.

By
Charlie Smith

Nov 8, 2025

There’s a strong case to be made that Arsenal are the best team in Europe right now. Certainly, the win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday evening underlined the credentials of Mikel Arteta’s multi-title challengers.

The Gunners have mastered their game. Some have ridiculed Arteta and his side for finishing second in the Premier League three seasons in a row, but this has only hardened their resolve and will to win, concurrently deepening the tactical layers Arteta has spent so much time developing.

This is the result of everything coming together over multiple campaigns. Hard work and perserverance. Now, Arsenal have the luxury to add elite quality to an already fearsome outfit, and technical director Andrea Berta has found his man.

Arsenal's transfer plans

After such an impressive summer transfer window, table-topping Arsenal aren’t expected to be all that busy in the January transfer window. However, the Londoners will react if the right opportunity presents itself.

Juventus playmaker Kenan Yildiz remains a long-standing target, and attacking midfield is indeed a position the Emirates outfit is likely to target in the coming windows.

However, a recent report from Caught Offside suggests Berta is gearing up to launch a move for Newcastle United full-back Tino Livramento, with the 23-year-old also attracting strong intrigue from Manchester City and Manchester United.

Livramento has been one of the Magpies’ standout players this season, and his club know it, having responded to growing interest in his name by listing him at £80m.

What Tino Livramento would offer Arsenal

Livramento has made 90 appearances for Newcastle since first arriving on Tyneside, having joined the club from Southampton in a deal rising to £40m in 2023.

Last season, he played an instrumental role in securing the Carabao Cup title, something Gunners fans might remember after his tremendous performance at the Emirates in the first leg of the semi-finals.

A modern and dynamic full-back, Livramento’s positional versatility has seen him play ample on his unnatural left flank for United, with his surpassing technical quality leading Newcastle-focused content creator Kendall Rowan to hail him as a “superstar” of a prospect.

Given that Manchester City also have a vested interest, you could say that Livramento would emulate Declan Rice by completing a big-money move from a title-winning Premier League rival like Newcastle, Rice having completed his £105m transfer to north London from West Ham United in 2023, since transcending his role as a superstar.

Right-back

91

1 + 6

Right wing-back

37

3 + 11

Left-back

24

0 + 2

Left wing-back

6

1 + 1

Right wing

1

0 + 0

As Arteta’s troops march their way through the campaign, indomitably, irrevocably, Rice is the most trusted lieutenant, now one of the best central midfielders in the world after several years lauded as an elite talent with room for growth.

In this way, Livramento would mimic him, completing a move to north London and rejecting Pep Guardiola on the way to the Emirates.

Moreover, the likes of Theo Walcott have praised Newcastle’s star full-back for his potential to become something even more, suggesting that his athleticism and ability to play across a range of positions make him someone akin to Gareth Bale.

Bale was a superstar, alright, and this is evidence that Livramento falls into a bracket of world-class players.

Newcastle are bound to play hardball over one of their biggest, most profitable talents, but Arsenal have shaped their stadium into quite the desirable destination, and Livramento would have the chance to emulate Rice in rising the Premier League ladder and becoming a superstar under Arteta’s wing.

He's becoming a Saka & Eze hybrid: Arsenal have signed an "agent of chaos"

The increible international has the ability to be as important as Saka and Eze for Arsenal this season.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Nov 28, 2025

Welcome to the Postseason of the Splitter.

More than pumpkin spice, the split-finger fastball has become the flavor of the month. Its use in the postseason (6% of all pitches, or 17.4 per game) has skyrocketed 81% from the regular season (9.6 pitches per game) and a whopping 138% from the postseason just last year (7.3 per game).

Entering play Thursday—with about 20 postseason games still to come—we’ve already seen more splitters (434), more outs on splitters (94), more strikeouts on splitters (45) and more pitchers throwing them (29) than in any postseason in recorded history (since 2008).

The splitter was the Blue Jays’ secret sauce to knocking out the Yankees in the ALDS. Toronto has thrown the most splitters this postseason: 15.9%, up from its MLB-leading 9.3% in the regular season. The Yankees went 1-for-27 (.037) against the Jays’ splitters.

Toronto essentially took Ben Rice, the fastball-hitting slugger for New York, off the board by feeding him a ridiculous diet of splitters: 43%. He went 0-for-4 against them.

The Detroit Tigers are another team leaning on the split more in October. With their season on the line in ALDS Game 4, they relied on three pitchers with splitters to cover eight of the nine innings of a 9-3 win: Casey Mize, Kyle Finnegan and Troy Melton.

Detroit is feeding splitters as often as possible to Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez, the biggest bats in the Seattle lineup. Raleigh is seeing 27% splitters, up from 5% in the regular season. Rodríguez is seeing 22% splitters, up from 3%. They have adjusted well, going a combined 4-for-8, but with no home runs.

The Tigers are throwing 13.4% splitters, up from 4.8% in the regular season.

Check out the crazy spike in splitters this postseason compared to anything we’ve seen in the past:

Lara on his favourite batsman, four-day Tests, and hopes from West Indies in the T20 World Cup

The Interview by Vishal Dikshit in Mumbai11-Mar-2020Who are your favourites for this year’s T20 World Cup?
In terms of a team, obviously I want to see the West Indies go all the way and win. India, with the fact that they produce so much international cricketers through their league has enhanced every single player who plays for India. I mean KL Rahul is my favourite player in the world, I love watching him and I think India is going to be a force to reckon with. Australia at home… it’s not going to be an easy World Cup for anyone. Australia is going to be worried about India and the West Indies, West Indies are going to be worried about everybody because of their inconsistency sometimes. So it’s going to be a great World Cup to look at.Tell us more about KL Rahul?
His technique and grace is just unbelievable. Of course, up there in the top three you’ve got Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma but every time I see him (Rahul) facing a delivery, I just love it; his head is over the ball all the time, he has a technique that I wish I had.If his technique is that good, does he deserve another chance in the Tests then?
He’s got the technique. I don’t know why he’s not in the squad, maybe it’s because he’s not been performing, New Zealand was a tough series for India. KL Rahul has the technique for all forms of the game and for me more Test cricket than anything else. And if he performs so well in T20s and the 50-overs game, I think Test cricket is really where he’s made for.And Brian Lara’s current favourite batsman is…•Associated PressWho else do you really enjoy watching?
There are a lot of good players around the world. Virat Kohli is someone I have great respect for. Rohit Sharma is a gun and I love to see him bat, I mean five classy centuries in the World Cup was just tremendous. In the West Indies, I like Nicholas Pooran, he’s a left-handed batsman and I think that he’s setting down and understanding his responsibilities more now.Where do you stand on the issue of batsmen being run-out backing up?
I think players should be warned and they should have an appreciation. A guy who is walking out of his crease purposefully because he wants to take advantage is wrong. But eventually ending a guy’s innings, that is also not a great thing. So I believe that players should really and truly respect the spirit of the game, both batsmen and bowlers.Do you think Tests should be reduced from five to four days to accommodate another tournament in the calendar?
I think Test matches should be result [-oriented] every single time. I know that maybe 60-75% or maybe even more Test matches do have a result. But I think it should find a way where that 450 overs that are being played over five days ends in a result some way or the other. I think that’s most important.Winning away Tests has become more and more difficult. How would you rate India as a travelling team?
I think India have been traveling very well in the last ten or so years. What happened in New Zealand, I think it’s more of an aberration, I think coming off so much one-day and T20 cricket, it might have been tough for them in the Test arena outside of India. But I think India is still maybe the best traveling team in the world.

“I think we [West Indies] have got a great chance [at the T20 World Cup] and my biggest worry is that every other team will be worrying about the West Indies, and they’re going to put their best foot against the West Indies. I hope that the guys are up for the challenge.Brian Lara

What do you think of Kieron Pollard as a captain, and the fact that he just played his 500th T20?
It’s a tremendous achievement first of all to play so many T20 games, it’s unbelievable. Kieron Pollard has been around for quite some time. I remember his first game was in 2007 for the World Cup. Obviously he’s played a lot of franchise cricket around the world and I think the experience he has gained under different captains and by captaining teams in franchise cricket around the world, he brings a lot of experience. What he also has is cohesiveness in the bunch of players that he is in charge of. I think everyone respects him, which is important and he has a very good head on his shoulder. [He’s a] fair guy as well so I expect him to do very well for West Indies and I expect everyone to rally. The most important thing is a captain is as good as his team, and if he has support from his team – and a very talented team at that, especially in the T20 version of the game – I think he’s going to get the best out of them.West Indies have two important series coming up this year – the England tour and the T20 World Cup.I think mentally we’re still struggling in the longest version of the game. Looking at the standings [in the World Test Championship] I noticed that West Indies got no points and we have a series coming against England in England, that’s going to be tough for us to get points. I don’t think we’re mentally ready for that level of the game.Traveling later in the year for the T20 World Cup I feel the kind of squad that we have – Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Pollard himself, Dwayne Bravo, I see Andre Russell is back, [Evin] Lewis, I think we’ve got a group of players in which any one or two or three of them can turn things on and beat the best in the world at what they do. I think we’ve got a great chance and my biggest worry is that every other team will be worrying about the West Indies, and they’re going to put their best foot against the West Indies. And I hope that the guys are up for the challenge. I don’t think we are going to be dark horses in the World Cup. I think everybody is going to look at the West Indies as the team to beat.Shai Hope chats with Brian Lara during West Indies training•Getty ImagesDarren Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer are both talented, but they haven’t been too consistent. Bravo just came back to the ODI squad but couldn’t get a big score and Hetmyer was recently dropped for fitness issues. What should they do to live up to their potential?
That’s the challenge that everyone should take. People have challenges in different ways and Hetmyer, obviously, is a very talented cricketer, someone who plays all forms of the game for the West Indies. If he is unfit, as they say he is, he has to see it as a personal challenge. Fitness levels are so very important, and not just that, the fact that if you can face those – things that you see as a negative in your approach in your life, it’s so very important. So if fitness is his problem, I would like to see him face that challenge himself and he’ll be a much better cricketer. You’ve seen pictures of Virat Kohli as a young man, before he turned things around and he actually says that this is the reason [why he’s performing well now]. That is an example for Hetmyer.Darren Bravo is someone who started his career with great potential, someone that everyone in the West Indies was looking forward to and see in terms of blossom into someone who can be one of our greats. [He] fell a little bit backwards but I still believe he has what it takes. I think he’s struggling a little bit not in self-esteem but in terms of his confidence. I think he needs to get back that confidence, that borderline arrogance that you need as a batsman against all these tough bowlers around the world. And the minute he captures that, I think he’s got the technique, he’s got time on his hands to get back and really make a statement in world cricket.Who are the younger players who excite you?
You called one name, Hetmyer, and I like Pooran as well. Shai Hope has done very well and I think he could play a part in the T20 World Cup, being that solid guy with a great technique that can hold the innings together. Those are the three players I’m really looking forward to seeing. Alzarri Joseph is someone who I look at and say ‘this guys has got potential, he’s a wicket-taker’. He is someone who I’d like to see do well.Do you see Dwayne Bravo and Gayle playing the T20 World Cup?
I think the IPL is going to be a huge point or signal for who is actually who’s going to carry on. It’s still going to be five months after the IPL for the World Cup. Fitness levels are very important, but a gruesome tournament like the IPL is going to tell the West Indies selectors who are the players that they really need going into the last four months of preparation for the World Cup.

Rain hits as you captain an ODI World XI in a chase of 310, and you now need 171 to win off 19.5 overs with nine wickets in hand. Who bats at No. 3?

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jul-2020Scenario: You are captaining an ODI World XI against a team of aliens in a day-night game in Mumbai and have been set 310 to win. Rohit Sharma and Jason Roy are your openers and you reach 50 for 0 after ten overs. Off the next ball, Roy falls, but before the No.3 can come in, the umpires stop play for rain. When the game resumes, the DLS target is 221 in 30 overs. So the equation is now 171 to win off 19.5 overs. You can pick any active ODI cricketer to come in at No.3.Danyal Rasool:
This is no longer an ODI chase but a T20 one. And for a T20 chase in Mumbai, it is hard to look past Buttler, whose recent IPL record is irresistible. He has averaged 47.72 and struck at 153.94 over the past two seasons. In the 2016 and 2017 seasons, he played for Mumbai Indians, so he will be familiar with the conditions. Also, it helps that he often comes to the crease in situations where there’s little time to get settled, and with the asking rate fast approaching 9, that ability should pay off. He played a couple of important cameos at the Wankhede in the 2016 World T20 too. While his side will need more than that against an, ahem, unfamiliar bowling attack, a flying start after the resumption should help keep the asking rate in check for the middle order.Karthik Krishnaswamy:
Rain has turned a steep ODI chase into a fairly straightforward T20 chase. I’m not sure what the field restrictions are, but I’m assuming the second powerplay – with only four fielders outside the 30-yard circle – will be in place until the last four or five overs. I’d want the batsman coming in to be able to read fields and bowlers’ plans and pick off a boundary every now and then without taking too many risks. So step forward Shreyas Iyer. Over the last year or so, Iyer has more or less solved India’s long-standing No. 4 issue in ODIs with a clear head, fast hands, and a great understanding of which bowlers to target and when. This situation is tailor-made for his game.Nagraj Gollapudi:
This has to be treated like a T20 chase. Sharma plays the anchor, so the No. 3 needs to be someone who can both attack and bat long. If I had to pick a young Indian player, I would go with Shubman Gill. He has the temparament, skills, and the right technique to attack and rotate strike, but I will put him at No. 4. At three, how about ABD? The experience and the aura will come in handy. With both him and Sharma able to play strokes that others can only marvel at, there would be constant pressure on the aliens, who might need to grow brains to figure out a way to stall the assault that will come from nowhere and everywhere. Good luck, aliens!Alan Gardner:
After a relatively sedate start, this World XI is going to have start tearing things up pretty quickly. This is basically a T20 chase, albeit with the fielding restrictions off, so I would turn to a man who oscillates between opener in the shortest format and finisher in ODIs. Buttler is also used to being bumped up the order if England have made a good start, so he’ll be primed for the challenge. As a white-ball batsman who combines power with innovation, he has few peers, while his IPL experience should stand him in good stead to steer his side home under the Wankhede lights.Send your answers to the scenario to [email protected].More Hot Seat

Narine’s high-impact contributions with both bat and ball make him one of the top performers in IPL history

Saurabh Somani07-Sep-2020

When Sunil Narine was bought for US$ 700,000 in the 2012 IPL auction, it felt like Kolkata Knight Riders had overpaid for a player who was, till then, only a promising talent. Hindsight has shown they got him for a steal for he would have been worth more for his bowling alone. Add to it his value as an opener and Narine now makes it to any conversation about T20’s greatest players.He is one of only two bowlers to bowl more than 400 overs while conceding runs at less than seven per over, and he has achieved this economy rate while maintaining a very good average and strike rate.The average IPL match performance of Narine the opener is 21 runs off 11 balls and Narine the bowler is figures of 1 for 26 in 3.5 overs. While these numbers are great, they are enhanced when you look at the context in which he got them. He began opening the innings in the IPL three years ago and has a strike rate of 183.90 at the top, higher than any other opener since 2017 by a distance. Among those who have opened in at least ten IPL innings in this period, Jos Buttler is a distant second with 157.96.With the ball, 51% of Narine’s total deliveries in the IPL have been bowled either in the Powerplays (27%) or the last four overs (24%). In both these periods, his economy rate is second (among bowlers who have bowled at least 50 overs in each phase). It is common for spinners to bowl a large chunk of their overs in the middle of the innings, but that isn’t the case with Narine.Narine is perhaps not as glamorous a name as other T20 superstars like Chris Gayle, Andre Russell or AB de Villiers, but according to Smart Stats, he has been the most impactful player in a match once every 7.9 games, which is fourth-best among all players who have played at least 60 IPL matches.ESPNcricinfo LtdHere are a couple of instances to illustrate his impact.Towards the end of the league phase of the 2018 season, with a playoff spot on the line, Narine led the Kolkata Knight Riders to victory against the Sunrisers Hyderabad with understated brilliance. His 1 for 23 in four overs had a higher bowling impact than Prasidh Krishna’s 4 for 30, and his 29 off ten balls upstaged half-centuries from Shikhar Dhawan and Chris Lynn.Those watching intuitively knew that Narine had been the central figure in the game, and Smart Stats puts numbers to that intuition.Sunrisers had made a handy 172 for 9 after winning the toss, the bulk of the scoring done by their top three. Dhawan came good, Shreevats Goswami played an attacking cameo, and Kane Williamson – playing his best IPL season – outdid them both. Narine bowled 18 of his 24 balls at the top three, who combined to score at only a run a ball from him while scoring at nearly ten an over against other bowlers in that period. Despite that, Narine conceded less than a run a ball in a match where no other bowler did the same (minimum two overs bowled). Three of Krishna’s four wickets came in the last over, which is significantly different from taking three wickets, say, in the powerplay.Narine gave KKR a good start to their chase too. He was out in the fourth over, but by then he had brought the asking rate down from 8.65 to 7.41. He scored at a strike rate of almost 300 in a match in which only one other player (Williamson) even crossed 150. Dhawan and Lynn’s half-centuries were valuable, but Smart Stats puts into perspective Narine’s contributions: his match impact of 132.78 was more than 70% higher than that of the next best performer – Williamson with 77.53.ESPNcricinfo LtdWhile Smart Stats illuminates how effective Narine has been when it’s not immediately obvious from the scorecard, it can also paint a picture of his dominance when he has been a clear match-winner. Take the 2017 match between KKR and Royal Challengers in Bengaluru, the first time Narine hit a half-century in senior competitive cricket. He had taken 2 for 29 and was now opening the batting, chasing a target of 159. In 6.1 overs, KKR put on 105, with Narine thumping 54 off 17 balls. He made his big-hitting opening partner, Lynn (50 off 22), look slow.Narine was among the top three batsmen and the top two bowlers in the game. His batting impact of 93.49 was considerably higher than that of Lynn (81.07) and Travis Head, who was the top scorer in the match with an unbeaten 75 off 47 balls (impact 89.67). Umesh Yadav was the best bowler, with 3 for 36, which included the wickets of Gayle and Virat Kohli, and had a bowling impact of 112.85. Narine was second, with a bowling impact of 87.41. Any one performance on its own would have been noteworthy but together they were priceless.

Even the greatest of them start to decline in their mid-thirties, but Paine seems only to be improving

Daniel Brettig25-Dec-2020When Ian Healy recently tipped that Tim Paine might be capable of going on as Australia’s captain for “three more years”, he did not use those words lightly.Healy, alongside Australia’s other longest-term wicketkeepers Rod Marsh, Adam Gilchrist and Brad Haddin, were all subject to a trend so consistent that it seemed almost an immutable fact of being a custodian behind the stumps for the Test team. Immutable, that is, until Paine came along.No matter how talented or accomplished they were with the bat, whether a left-handed slugger like Marsh, a No. 7 counter-puncher like Healy or Haddin, or an otherworldly talent like Gilchrist, the advance of time and years would inevitably see the wicketkeeper’s supply of runs ebb away to a level that forced the selectors to start looking elsewhere.Marsh had been very much a gamechanger for Australian wicketkeepers, adding the genuine capability of scoring centuries to the repertoire of stumpers called up by Australia, after several generations of handy scorers who nonetheless might find themselves batting anywhere from Nos. 7 through 9 in the order behind an allrounder or two.But once he had scored the last of his centuries, against England in the Centenary Test in 1977, Marsh’s batting returns took a long, slow descent once he returned to establishment ranks after two years of World Series Cricket. His average of 34.30 from 47 Tests at the end of the MCG match dipped to 26.51 by the time of his 96th and final appearance at the SCG against Pakistan in 1984: an average of 19.48 in the remaining 49 Tests.Tim Paine overcame injury, took the hot seat, and found empathy•Getty ImagesFor Healy, the decline was more sudden but no less pronounced. When he fought his way to a fourth Test hundred, eclipsing Marsh’s mark, in the first Ashes Test of the 1988-99 series at the Gabba, he was averaging 29.90, the high-water mark of Heay’s career after 107 matches. His final 12 Tests, however, were a tale of woe: his total average slipped to 27.39 as he cobbled just 170 runs at 8.94. Over the same period, even Glenn McGrath managed to do better than Healy – 111 runs at 9.25 with a higher top score, 39 to Healy’s 36.Gilchrist has spoken frankly of his own struggles over the final portion of his own career, having soared so highly he merited comparisons with the greatest batsmen of any age, let alone other wicketkeepers. Perhaps his most famous innings was the 57-ball mauling of England for a century at the WACA in late 2006, but by that stage Gilchrist’s fade, from an admittedly incredible high point, was well underway.Related

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After 46 Tests, Gilchrist had been averaging a scarcely believable 61.06 with a strike rate of 83.62 and nine centuries. While Gilchrist would go on to make 17 hundreds in all, his consistency would drop away, and eventually his overall output would suffer too. By the time he retired in early 2008 during the final Test of the “Monkeygate” series against India in 2008, Gilchrist’s average was down to 47.6, even if his revolutionary strike rate had dipped only slightly. An average of 37.56 over Gilchrist’s final 50 Tests was still outstanding, but somewhat more human.This brings us to Haddin, who had two dips either side of an unforgettable 2013-14 Ashes series in Australia. Up until the end of the 2010-11 Ashes, Haddin managed to keep his average near enough to 40 over 32 matches, although he also maintained a record of generally making runs in his side’s bigger totals with at least one other centurion for the innings. However by late 2013, including time out of the side to be with his ill daughter, Mia, Haddin was back down to an average of 33.97.Adam Gilchrist struck the second fastest century in Test cricket, while in decline•Getty ImagesWhen the 2013-14 Ashes concluded, with Haddin having pummeled 493 runs at 61.62, he looked ready for a sustained renaissance. Instead, the late career fade resumed: Haddin’s final 12 Tests would reap just 259 runs at 15.23, seeing his overall record dip to 32.98 and like Healy and Marsh a somewhat unflattering portrait of his contributions for most of the time.Such background was written all over Healy’s comments when assessing how Paine was bucking this trend. “I’m expecting him to play for quite long because he started so late – and it looks like he’s in great shape physically and doing it well,” Healy told the . “He’s got a job to do so that will keep him interested, keep him motivated to get that Australian side on top again and in the hearts of Australians.”He’s led a massive cultural revolution, which has got to be draining, so I don’t have a problem if he does surprise me and finish before I reckon he will because he’s taken on so much, but I think he’s about to reap the rewards and enjoy it a lot more. I’ve got no problems saying three more years.”That revolution has been as true of Paine’s batting as the progress of his team. From moments during the 2019 Ashes when he looked to be over-matched as a batsman, and certainly too conservative, Paine has upped his tempo and his effectiveness: at a time when all of his forebears were trending down, he has compiled 342 runs at 42.75 and a strike rate of 52.29 in eight matches since the end of the Leeds Test in 2019. Healy and Haddin were two of the voices encouraging him to “bat like a wicketkeeper”, in other words, attack.A change in mindset and technique has helped Tim Paine’s batting reach another level•Getty Images”He tried to bat like Greg Chappell all the time,” Healy said. “The batting needs to be natural and free. Bad ball on the legs put it away, cut shot get it on. He was blocking bad balls last year and just surviving very much like a lot of the players did upfront in Adelaide. All I said to him was just put bad balls away, look for them and put them away. If it’s a clip to leg, clip it hard. If it’s a cut shot, go at it. Bat like a keeper and that’s what he’s done.”Add to this the fact that Paine is showing a level of enthusiasm and eagerness for improvement that can be hard to maintain the longer any player continues and there appears a sound formula for him to carry on. Paine’s most recent column outlined how Marnus Labuschagne had helped him tweak his batting technique during the Sheffield Shield games that preceded the India series, adjusting his bat pick-up position to sit closer to his back hip – more or less the same spot Steven Smith, Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson have it.”I’ve felt pretty good pretty much since I made the change during the South Australian Shield game,” Paine said. “So for me it’s been about just having more time to become accustomed to it and make it more second nature rather than having to think about it. I can certainly feel that’s happening now.”I’m someone who needs to write a bit of stuff down to remind myself, particularly when it comes to my batting, but I’ve found the last couple of weeks that little changes now I don’t have to think about, and when that’s the case I can just watch the ball. It’s been a good start to the series but it’s only one innings.”Paine, then, is proving to be a departure from history in plenty of ways. Not only as an Australian wicketkeeper captain, but as a Test match gloveman improving his batting when it would usually be on the slide. His next challenge will be to join Marsh, Healy, Gilchrist and Haddin as Test centurions.

Stats highlights of a career which has been exceptional, and is still improving

Shiva Jayaraman25-Feb-2021If you fed a selection of R Ashwin’s bowling statistics to a clustering algorithm, chances are that he would be grouped with fast bowlers rather than spinners. Over the years, Ashwin’s numbers in Test cricket have taken a shape that fast bowlers would envy. A career strike rate of 53 puts him between Brett Lee and Morne Morkel among bowlers to take at least 300 wickets in Tests. Out of the 35 bowlers to have taken 300 or more wickets, 24 have an inferior strike rate than Ashwin and 16 of them are fast bowlers. No spinner has a better strike rate than he has. Muttiah Muralitharan comes the closest with a strike rate of 55.0. The race to 400 wickets
Ashwin has taken 21,242 balls to take 400 wickets, which makes him the fourth-quickest bowler ever to the landmark. Only Dale Steyn, Richard Hadlee and Glenn McGrath have got to 400 wickets in fewer deliveries. Rangana Herath is the quickest spinner after Ashwin, having taken 23,835 deliveries.The figure for Richard Hadlee is a range, since exact numbers are not available•ESPNcricinfo LtdIn terms of matches taken to take 400 wickets, only Muralitharan was faster than Ashwin because of having averaged higher number of balls per match than Ashwin. Ashwin has reached the milestone in his 77th match, which is three matches fewer than the next quickest bowler among the 15 bowlers who completed 400 wickets before him.ESPNcricinfo LtdAshwin is also the second-quickest in terms of time taken from making his debut, having reached the milestone in 9 years and 110 days since making his debut (days to the start of the match in which the milestone was reached). McGrath took just 8 years and 341 days, and is the quickest among all bowlers.The new-ball specialist
Ashwin’s effectiveness with the new ball makes him a unique spinner whose utility transcends the limit imposed by the skills of a spinner. He has some nifty tricks up his sleeve, not the least impressive of which is the drift he is able to get with the new ball with the seam upright that – but for the lack of pace – mimics the inswinger bowled by a fast bowler to right-hand batsman. Coupled with intelligent use of the crease, Ashwin is adept at beating both the edges of the bat.With variations like these in his armoury, Ashwin has taken 59 wickets in the first 15 overs of the innings in Tests at a strike rate of 47.4. Among ten bowlers to take at least 50 wickets in the first 15 overs since his debut, Ashwin is the only one with a strike rate under 50. Steyn just misses the cut-off in the period since Ashwin’s debut. But even Steyn – admittedly on the decline in the latter half of this period – took 53.2 balls on an average to take a wicket.ESPNcricinfo LtdAshwin hasn’t been effective with the new ball only in the second innings when the pitches would’ve deteriorated so much that spinners were into play early. He has taken 25 wickets at a staggering average of 16.04 and a strike rate of 41.1 in the first innings as well. No other bowler – pacers included – has taken 20 or more wickets at a better strike rate than Ashwin. Kemar Roach is the next best bowler having taken 35 wickets at a strike rate of 45.9 in the first fifteen overs.Ashwin is the highest wicket-taker for India in the first 15 overs of the innings since his debut. Ishant Sharma, who has taken 50 wickets with the new ball is the next prolific bowler for India in this period. Among spinners, Herath is next with 45 wickets. India’s de-facto spearhead
Since Ashwin made his debut, India’s bowlers have taken 1312 wickets in Test cricket in matches he played. Ashwin has contributed 30.5% of those wickets, which is the fourth highest among 35 bowlers who’ve taken at least 300 wickets in their career. For India, only Anil Kumble has contributed more wickets, but only by a fraction more. Kumble took 30.7% of wickets by India’s bowlers in Tests in which he played.ESPNcricinfo LtdIn fact, before 2018, when India’s fast bowling riches materialized at the Test level, Ashwin had contributed nearly a third of India’s wickets (32.9). That was the third highest ever among bowlers with 300 or more wickets till that time, next only to Muralitharan (40.4) and Hadlee (35.7). Scourge of left handers
Ashwin’s excellent record against left-hand batsmen is well known. No one in the history of Test cricket has dismissed most left-hand batsmen. However, if you think that Ashwin has dismissed as many left-handers just because there are more of them in Test cricket now than ever, then consider the following.There have been 601 innings – till the time Ashwin took his 400th wicket – by left-handers in the matches when Ashwin has played. The 204 dismissals he has inflicted makes that a percentage of 33.94. Among bowlers with at least 200 wickets in Tests, only Alec Bedser has ended a higher percentage of left-handed batsmen’s innings. In the last fifty years, only Muralitharan comes close to Ashwin, having ended 191 of 624 innings by left-handers.ESPNcricinfo Ltd Towering overs others at home
With 278 wickets at an average of 22.19, and a five-wicket haul in every other match in Tests in India he is a champion bowler at home. But helpful conditions don’t guarantee wickets by default. The best bowlers make use of the conditions to the fullest, which Ashwin has done well over his career. In matches Ashwin has played at home, the other bowlers have averaged 34.1. The difference of 11.9 between Ashwin’s average and the match average of other bowlers is the third highest for any bowler to have taken at least 200 wickets playing at home. Only Muralitharan and McGrath have out-bowled other bowlers by a bigger extent.ESPNcricinfo LtdMoreover, Ashwin has built this gap between him and others largely in the presence of Ravindra Jadeja, who himself has excellent numbers in India (Jadeja averages 21.06 in Tests in India). Improving performance in SENA countries
Ashwin’s indifferent numbers in the SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) do take some sheen off a record that otherwise would place him among the pantheon of all-time great bowlers. He has taken 63 wickets at an average of 40.11 in Tests in these four countries, which pales in comparison to his record elsewhere. He concedes nearly 15 runs more on an average to prise out a wicket in these countries when compared with his overall career. Among India spinners to take at least 20 wickets in these countries, only S Venkataraghavan and Venkatapathy Raju have a higher average than Ashwin.However, these countries are tough for all spinners, not just Ashwin: none of the active spinners average sub-30 bowling in Tests in the SENA countries. Among them is Yasir Shah, who has struggled in these conditions: his 46 wickets have come at 55.08 apiece.Any spinner worth the name from India can’t escape comparisons to the likes of Bishan Bedi, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Erapalli Prasanna. Bedi took 90 wickets in England, Australia and New Zealand at an average of 30.98. Prasanna’s 78 wickets came at 29.94 apiece and Chandrasekhar, whose average is closest among the three to Ashwin’s but still a good nine runs better, took 71 wickets at 31.33. Chandrasekhar took six five-wicket hauls in 19 matches in the SENA countries, while Ashwin is yet to take one from 20 Tests.However, to be fair to Ashwin, he hasn’t bowled as much on tours to these countries. He has been on nine tours but has played just 20 Tests – an average of 2.2 matches worth of bowling per tour. In comparison, Prasanna averaged 3.3 matches per tour, Bedi 3.1, and Chandrasekhar 2.7 matches per tour. This discounts the bowling time they would’ve got in the tour matches, which players don’t get in these times of packed cricket calendars.Ashwin has shown that this effectiveness in conditions increases with his experience of bowling in them. It was on evidence in the first Test of India’s England tour in 2018, when he took seven wickets at an average 17.28. He had gained invaluable experience bowling for Worcestershire in the county the previous year.ESPNcricinfo LtdAshwin’s ability to adapt is clearer when we look at his performances in Australia over the years. He has been on four tours to Australia and on evidence from the last tour, has worked out how to deceive batsmen without help from the pitch. He’s played three Tests on three of the four tours. On the first tour in 2011-12, he took nine wickets at an average of 62.77; he improved to 12 wickets at 48.66 on his next tour in 2014-15. On his last tour, Ashwin out-bowled Nathan Lyon – bettering the Australian bowler at the skill of getting overspin and use of the crease on Australian pitches, taking 12 wickets at an average of 28.83. This was against a full-strength Australian batting line-up, in condition that weren’t particularly helpful to spinners.Not too long ago Ashwin wasn’t the first choice spinner when India played outside the subcontinent. Ashwin’s recent track record in Tests has shown he’s coming up with ways to take the pitch out of the equation, and could well prove to be the bowler India would turn to in all conditions.