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Play was halted for 15 minutes while the field was fumigated but the effect seemed to be temporary

Andrew Fidel Fernando05-Oct-2025

Bugs stopped play after 34 overs•ICC/Getty Images

The India v Pakistan fixture in Colombo was stopped for 15 minutes while the playing area at Khettarama was fumigated, to clear it of a swarm of insects. Play had been paused once before this, as less intensive insect-clearing methods were tried.The fumigation appeared to work only briefly. The insects – likely a variety of winged termite attracted to the stadium floodlights – seemed to return less than 10 minutes after play resumed. They continued to cause delays in play. Pakistan offspinner Rameen Shamim appeared to need to have an insect picked out of her eye in the 38th over.The bugs had begun to appear roughly 20 overs into India’s innings, just as the sun was setting. The insects were seen causing problems for the India batters and the Pakistan bowlers, with Nashra Sandhu particularly irked by the swarm. Five balls into the 28th over of the innings, Sandhu and captain Fatima Sana called for what appeared to be bug spray, and they applied it around the bowling crease, and on parts of their clothing.The drinks break was taken early during that first insect-related stop, but the insects continued to swarm near the centre of the playing area.After 34 overs, play was stopped, the cricketers left the field, and a man wearing a gas mask entered the playing area with a fumigation machine (fogging machine). Within minutes virtually the entire playing area was covered with anti-insect smoke. Play resumed after the smoke had cleared.”To be honest, you had to concentrate a lot more,” Jemimah Rodrigues said after India scored 247. “Couldn’t see much when the bugs were coming through.”Insect-related stoppages are uncommon in Sri Lanka, but are not unknown. Some species of termite swarm after rains, and during the wetter months of the year. This ground had seen rain on Saturday, when the Sri Lanka v Australia fixture had been washed out without a ball being bowled.

Starc is available to play up to three matches plus finals depending on how he recovers from the five-match Ashes series

Alex Malcolm09-Oct-2025Mitchell Starc is set to play his first BBL match in 11 seasons in January after signing with the Sydney Sixers but remains adamant that any changes to the competition should not come at the expense of Test cricket.Starc played six matches in the first season of the BBL back in 2011-12, the same summer he made his Test debut for Australia, including taking two wickets in the final which Sixers won. He played four more games over the next three editions but has not featured since, having long prioritised the international summer with Australia.Related

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But after retiring from T20I cricket this year, Starc will not have any commitments with Australia following the completion of the fifth Ashes Test on January 8. It presents an opportunity for Starc to play upwards of three BBL matches on January 11, 16 and 18, depending on how he has recovered physically after a gruelling five-Test series, as well as the BBL finals if Sixers qualify.”I’ve got no cricket scheduled between the fifth Test and the IPL at this stage,” Starc said.”An opportunity to play some BBL cricket, I’ve obviously been a part of the small part of the Sixers throughout the 15 seasons, so it’s nice to return to potentially a playing role. Obviously, we’ve got the five Test matches to focus on, first and foremost. But post that, it’s obviously my intention to be available to play some part if called upon.”While Starc was excited about the possibility of returning to play with the Sixers, he was adamant that Australia’s Test summer should remain untouched regarding any future scheduling decisions to do with the BBL which are likely to come amid the privatisation discussions.”I’m fine with BBL windows,” Starc said. “The only view I have on it is the Test cricket schedule is not to be touched. Test cricket is the pinnacle. I don’t think Test cricket should make way for T20 cricket at all. Whether it’s the BBL, the IPL, anything, the Test summer is the Test summer. I would hate to see that change for domestic cricket.”So that is not a snipe at anyone. That’s just my opinion of Test cricket and where it sits on my priority list. Whether you move the Big Bash into a smaller window and play back-to-back, it’s T20 cricket. It’s not as physically demanding as Test cricket. I know they’ve shortened the schedule already. I think that’s been a positive impact.”Starc’s signing is another significant boost for the BBL in what is expected to be a massive season for the competition. Former India spinner R Aswhin is set to play the whole season for Sydney Thunder and there is a potential that Ashwin, Starc, David Warner, Steven Smith and Pakistan batter Babar Azam (provided the PCB’s NOC suspension is overturned) could all play in the same match on January 16 between Sixers and Thunder at the SCG.The Sydney Sixers with the inaugural BBL trophy•Getty ImagesHead of the BBL Alistair Dobson was thrilled that Starc had made himself available for the BBL. “To have Mitch signing off for Sixers it just shows that it’s still a comp that everyone wants to play in,” he said.Despite Starc’s retirement from T20I cricket, his availability in the BBL may be short-lived because Australia have Test commitments in January of 2027 in India, with Starc on record saying he wants to push his international career through until the 2027 ODI World Cup.The BBL is still yet to create a clear window for Australia Test players to be available, which has been a key talking point among potential investors interested in being involved in the league as Cricket Australia continues to investigate the possibility of allowing private investment into the competition.”Global scheduling is a really challenging topic,” Dobson said. “It’s only getting more complicated. And the ability, not only for the BBL to grow, but the Australian team to continue to play great cricket around the world, is really important. How you combine all those things is part art, part science and a little bit of luck probably along the way. So the future FTP is a little way away, but as we look at the future of the BBL it will be part of those discussions.”

Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann has issued a concerning update on Arsenal star Kai Havertz. The German forward has not played for the Gunners since picking up a knee injury in a training session following their season opener against Manchester United. Havertz subsequently underwent surgery, but no firm return date has been set, and his recovery could take longer than expected after this new setback.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Arteta's last update on Havertz

  In October, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta provided an update on Havertz's condition, telling reporters: "With Kai, we know that it will be months with him. I don’t know if it can be weeks, you never know because this is Kai and he’s a different specimen. We really miss him. Hopefully, he will be back, and back for the long term as well, so it is very important to look after that knee. So far, he’s progressing pretty well."

  Havertz has struggled for fitness throughout the year. He missed the last few months of the 2024-25 season with a hamstring injury. He took part in Arsenal's pre-season, but the knee issue then cropped up to send him back to the treatment room.

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• Getty Images
  

  Nagelsmann delivers relapse news

  Nagelsmann issued a new update on Havertz this week, and his Germany team-mate Jamal Musiala, who is also recovering from surgery. The Germany boss said: "Kai (Havertz) had a minor relapse, but overall he’s doing well. Jamal no longer has any major problems. But like Kai, he first needs to get back into rhythm with his club. They have until March to get fully fit, but they obviously need to stabilise now."

• Arsenal's injury crisis deepens

  The Gunners have had injury problems in their squad since the start of the 2025-26 campaign. Captain Martin Odegaard and summer signing Noni Madueke are both currently sidelined, while star defender Gabriel picked up a knock while playing for Brazil in an international friendly against Senegal last week at Emirates Stadium. 

  He has already undergone scans and according to , more tests on his right thigh will be done, but the fear is that he could miss two months of action while he recovers. That would mean the 27-year-old Selecao star sitting out the remainder of the calendar year and perhaps not returning until the latter half of January. The best-case scenario is that Gabriel is only sidelined for one month, which at least means he returns to action before Christmas.

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  What comes next?

  Despite their injury woes, Arteta's men have displayed tremendous form and are currently leading the Premier League title race, four points above Manchester City. After three successive runners-up finishes, Arsenal are being tipped to win the title for the first time since 2003-04. The Gunners next face arch-rivals Tottenham in the north London derby this Sunday. 

Yankees slugger Aaron Judge is making his seventh All-Star Game appearance on Tuesday night in Atlanta, and he showed up rocking quite the dazzling accessory.

When the American League starters were announced at Truist Park on Tuesday, Judge was seen wearing a diamond chain of a gavel, paying homage to his last name. Turns out, this chain was a gift from his Yankees teammate Giancarlo Stanton. And, it cost a whopping $20,000, according to the .

The piece of jewelry isn't just of a plain gavel. The chain includes 14-karat white gold, 12 carats of diamonds and three bands of amethyst. Additionally, the chain has details of Judge's daughter's name Nora, and her birthday on it, his wife Sam's name and the names of his two dogs Gus and Penny. It also has "2x" written on it to honor Judge's two MVP awards. What an extremely generous gift.

When Judge first revealed the present Stanton gave to him in June, he shared that he's been wearing it every day. Showing off the chain at the All-Star Game was no different.

Let's see if the gavel brings Judge good luck during the All-Star Game.

England batted against type and belatedly produced a rearguard, but it was in vain as seamer Michael Neser justified his contentious selection with a five-wicket haul to lead Australia to a crushing second Test victory.Just six days in, Australia have a stranglehold of an Ashes series that is quickly becoming decidedly one-sided. But they were made to work on day four with England skipper Ben Stokes and Will Jacks stonewalling for almost half a day in a 96-run seventh-wicket partnership lasting almost 37 overs.But Neser, surprisingly selected ahead of offspinner Nathan Lyon, dismissed both batters as England quickly fell away much like they have done numerous times in this series. Neser was sensational on the back of a deadly spell with the pink ball under lights on day three.Related

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He was aided by outstanding fielding, a notable contrast between the teams after England dropped five catches in Australia’s first innings.Skipper Steven Smith snatched a stunning one-hander low to his left to end Jacks’ 92-ball grind, while wicketkeeper Alex Carey completed a stellar effort with the gloves by holding on to a nick up at the stumps to dismiss Stokes.Any hope of a miracle ended with the sight of a forlorn Stokes trudging off the Gabba having given his all with 50 off 152 balls.Needing just 65 runs for victory, Travis Head came out blazing as Australia raced to 33 for 0 after five overs but dinner was still taken despite fears of stormy weather closing in on the Brisbane area.Head could not carry over the momentum on resumption, chopping on to Gus Atkinson who also nicked off Marnus Labuschagne. There were unexpected late fireworks when Smith and Jofra Archer had a war of words.But Smith, fittingly, came out on top with a hooked six off a 150 kph Archer bumper before sealing the victory in style with a huge blow over deep square off Atkinson. Smith finished 23 not out off just nine balls to ensure England left the field in need of plenty of soul searching ahead of the third Test in Adelaide.England will rue several passages of brainless play earlier in the match as their hopes of regaining the Ashes appear shot. Had they batted with the application and grit that Stokes and Jacks exhibited earlier than the match might have taken a different course.But Australia thoroughly deserved their victory after such an even team performance. They outclassed and outsmarted England in another impressive effort without quicks Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.Jofra Archer and Steven Smith exchanged words•PA Photos/Getty Images

Smith continues to provide an excellent stand-in for Cummins as Australia’s mastery and experience of day-night cricket overwhelmed a ragged England.The main question at the start of the day was how long would play last with the result basically a formality. England resumed their second innings in dire trouble at 134 for 6 and still 43 runs from making Australia bat again. With the knives out, a beleaguered England’s only hope seemingly rested on Stokes replicating his Headingley-esque heroics.Going against type, a backs-to-the-wall approach was needed. Unlike a slew of his team-mates, Stokes had been very watchful late on day three to survive Australia’s onslaught and finish unbeaten on 4 from 24 balls. Under the baking sun, Stokes encountered far easier conditions with minimal swing on offer in a sedate start to the day’s play.He crawled to 12 off 50 balls before cracking a superb cover drive off Brendan Doggett in the highlight of a dour 28-run opening hour. There wasn’t much out of the ordinary apart from when Stokes backed away anticipating a bouncer and proceeded to forehand smash the ball, forcing Doggett to do his own fielding to the boundary at long-off.Australia’s quicks bowled excellently without reward and they tried different tactics in search of a breakthrough. In what had seemed unlikely at the start of the day, England hauled in the deficit prompting a standing ovation from the Barmy Army.The 50-run partnership between Stokes and Jacks was brought up a run later to a ripple of mostly ironic cheers from the terraces. They scored at 2.45 – the slowest scoring rate of the 164 partnerships of 50-plus in the Bazball era.Stokes had a nervous moment just before the elongated tea break when a short delivery from Scott Boland hit the shoulder of his bat and flew over a leaping Cameron Green in the gully.With a wicket proving elusive for the quicks, Smith might have wished he could throw the ball to Lyon but, instead, he gave Head’s part-time spin a go. Labuschagne also unfurled his seam bowling in the last over before tea as Stokes and Jacks defied the odds in the first wicketless session of the series.It was much the same early in the second session with Stokes digging in while Jacks, playing just his third Test, looked composed and balanced at the crease. Jacks brought up his first boundary of the day when he clipped beautifully through midwicket as he passed his previous Test high score of 31.Smith had started to look frustrated in the field, but his mood brightened considerably when he took it upon himself to produce a moment of magic to end Jacks’ resistance.Stokes had barely acknowledged his hard-fought half-century, knowing there was so much work still to do. But he soon walked off disappointed after falling to Neser, throwing his head back in agony with the bitter realisation that the match was effectively over.England lost their last 4 for 17 in their latest collapse as Neser claimed his first five-wicket innings haul of his brief Test career when he dismissed Brydon Carse.Smith equalled Rahul Dravid to sit second all-time in outfield catches and he celebrated with gusto knowing Australia were on the brink of another big win over their hapless opponent.

The formidable former South Africa bowler talks about swing and seam, the particular arts that set the medium-pacer apart

Interview by Yash Jha30-Jul-20252:41

‘Seam movement is a bigger threat than swing’

Vernon Philander is not the most archetypal presence in South Africa’s pantheon of quick bowlers, but though far from Allan Donald and Dale Steyn in methods and attributes, he was up there with those more storied practitioners as far as results went: he was the second fastest to 50 Test wickets, and finished with a little under four per match from his 64 Tests, at a phenomenal average of 22. A master of cut and movement – both early and late – he speaks here about what sets a skillful medium-pacer apart from a pace merchant.What does it make you feel when you see a generation that is obsessed with the speed gun and fast bowlers only talking 140-plus or 150-plus?
I feel as a medium-pacer, your biggest asset is obviously control, number one, but you have to keep adding some elements to your game. So for me, I obviously have fantastic control in trying to get the ball to shape away from the right-hander, but you also need to bring in the element of doubt, you know, where you’re going to nip one back and challenge batters, the way they think, the way they set up. It’s finding out what is going to make you effective as a bowler and you have to implement that into your skill set.Being a medium-pacer, it takes a great deal of training. It’s playing around. Because you’re a touch slower, it means that you have to sharpen your skill set in different ways, and for me, it is challenging the batters in terms of the way they’re thinking.These days we see that batters come out of their crease [against medium pace], so, you know, dragging the keeper up from time to time in order to shift those batters back. Develop a sharp bouncer. Those are little skill sets that you add, and then you’re going to have to go and execute it.Related

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I think also because you’re bowling in that sort of 130-135 range, batters sometimes feel they have to be playing at deliveries, and that’s where you can also pick up wickets, because they feel they have to keep prodding at it. You can drag batters wider. So it’s a fantastic pace to bowl at, and if you have the skill set to go with it, it makes it so much more rewarding.In Test matches we still see pitches where the ball will seam, or you’ll have conditions where it will swing, but in white-ball cricket, do you think it’s becoming increasingly more difficult for the medium-pacer to survive?
I think, yeah, we have to call a spade a spade. I think the wickets are a lot flatter in the T20 format as well as the ODI format. So again, I will say as a bowler in that sort of speed range, you have to keep adding to your game. You have the opportunity of playing around on a crease, creating different angles, not having the same release point, because that’s where batters are getting so smart these days – they’re lining you up because you’re releasing the ball from one point.The stock ball is so important. You need to be able to trust your stock ball. You need to be able to trust your action. I do feel a lot more has to be put in in the way that these guys are training, number one, in order to trust [their] action.To be operating in that sort of 130-135 range, I do feel you can bring all the elements of seam bowling into play.Philander took eight wickets in his debut Test, in Cape Town in 2011, including 5 for 15 in the innings where Australia were shot out for 47•Gallo Images/Getty ImagesIn Tests too, how important are surfaces for that speed range? Because when you consider this obsession with speed, it is somewhere linked with the assumption that if it’s a flat surface, the quicker bowlers will be able to get something out of it.
I think the one big key is consistency. And I think if you’re operating in that sort of speed, you need to be consistent. You need to string good overs together.The big [advantage when it comes to] knocking top-order batters over is, after a while they will start playing [at the ball], because they feel it’s a touch on the slower side, whereas guys operating in the 140-plus arena, batters will play them on instinct. So they’ll often just leave a good-length ball [at high pace]. But operating at 130, 135, often batters feel that they have to start prodding at balls.But again, it boils down to the consistency of landing the ball in a good area and asking the same question time and time again. Look, I think also we have to admit that bowling in that sort of speed range it’s going to take a little bit of harder work in terms of knocking batters over. But I do feel once there is a bit of assistance in the surface and you can be consistent, you can be a massive threat and compete right up there with the guys bowling 140-plus.The likelihood of finding flatter surfaces in the time you were playing Test cricket was far greater. In the last few years we’ve seen much more spicy pitches in Test cricket. Can you remember any instances where you found yourself on the flattest deck possible and what you thought to yourself about how you would go about operating there?
Yeah, I certainly feel that I retired a bit too early, looking at the surfaces these days! I think it’s also, you know, being able to identify your particular role within a spell. I had a wonderful opportunity of operating with Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, and it’s understanding what your role within that bowling set-up is. I think when the wickets are getting a touch slower and obviously less responsive, my job then becomes to keep it really tight, to go at two an over, and really do those investment periods for a long period of time.So again, it boils down to understanding what your role is and how you need to adapt your game to make yourself effective in various conditions around the world.The fast and the wily: to Dale Steyn’s fierce pace and movement, Philander added his ball-whisperer’s nous•Hindustan TimesYou stood out for the seam movement you used to create through your Test-playing days. At the pace you operated at, did you feel seam was more important than swing?
Yeah, I think initially when I started out, I used to have this beautiful awayswinger, but I felt that it became less and less effective because batters were so good. They could see the ball moving out of the hand and they can start leaving the ball once it swings early. So I had to go and reinvent or re-adapt my game.And that’s where the seam movement really started – to try and get batters to nick one back. That’s where the element of doubt was planted. And then they start playing it, those ones leaving them right at the end.So yeah, I [switched] more to seam bowling rather than swing bowling. And I also do feel that it was a lot more effective than to watch a new ball swing by. You basically waste a new ball, you know, by not making batters play upfront.When the ball moves off the seam, it leaves batters with a lot less reaction time as [compared] to when the ball is swinging, because they can actually see the ball swinging out of the hand. So I do feel the seam movement is a much bigger threat than the ball swinging through the air.What about workload? While there might be one line of thinking that it’s lesser toll on the body than for an outright quick, you will probably be asked to bowl longer spells than the outright quick. So how did you weigh that up?
You still have to run in, you still have to bowl the ball just like [the faster bowlers] did. It doesn’t mean you’re working less hard than them. But yeah bowling and operating in and around those speeds, you know that you’re going to be bowling more overs than the blokes operating at 140-plus. So yeah, you do prepare yourself to be bowling longer spells.”If you can get your wrist firmly behind the ball, you get the ball to move later through the air as well”•Getty ImagesWhen I started out, our workloads used to be pretty high. We used to bowl overs and overs and overs. So it was a lot less gym back then but yeah, more overs, obviously, in the nets. So we could keep up with the workload required from us. And yeah, in a Test match, if you’re going to be bowling my pace, I’ve got 20-plus overs behind my name at the end of the day. It’s a challenge that you enjoy.Again, I think I thoroughly enjoy the challenge of bowling with the new ball and making life hell for the batters up front, because I do feel there’s a window of opportunity when a batter walks to the crease and [you’re] operating at that sort of speed. If you can get it right, batters always feel that they have to play at it. And there lies the opportunity of picking up wickets.Was there a particular brand of ball that you preferred bowling with? And how much of a difference did it make?
Yeah, I really enjoyed the Kookaburra ball, because it remained quite hard for a long period of time. I think also in South African conditions, Australian conditions, New Zealand conditions, I used to get the ball to jag quite sharply off the seam, as opposed to the Dukes ball. I think I really enjoyed the Dukes ball, but for about probably 20 overs to 25 overs it stays hard and then it loses that and it becomes really soft. So batters can then capitalise. But if you have to ask me a preference of ball, it has to be the red Kookaburra.The thinking is that swing bowling operates at its best at a particular speed, commonly thought to be around that 130kph mark. How accurate was that, in your opinion?
Yeah, I do feel that operating in that 130-135 kilometre range, you extract all the elements of seam and swing bowling that is on offer. And again, I think I can vouch for it, having bowled that sort of speed myself.I mean, if you’re going to be bowling faster, you know, there’s a lot more velocity that goes behind the ball. But it’s also the position that you release the ball from. I think for me, it’s always about that wrist position behind the ball. If you can get your wrist firmly behind the ball, you get the ball to move later through the air as well. So, yeah, I mean, there’s quite a few elements that [are involved] in getting the ball to swing.

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has now made a major decision on Pedri’s fitness ahead of the Champions League clash against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this Tuesday.

The Blues will be looking to return to winning ways in the Champions League on Tuesday, having been unable to overcome Qarabag last time out, drawing 2-2 away at the Azerbaijani side, but they should be heading into the game with renewed confidence.

Enzo Maresca’s side have put together a good run in the Premier League, winning their last three matches without conceding, most recently securing a 2-0 win at Burnley courtesy of goals from Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez.

Maresca was particularly happy with his side’s defensive showing, saying after the game: “The way we competed I am very happy.

“To come here and not concede is very difficult. It’s normal to concede something. But overall they only had one real chance. During the game they didn’t have any big chances and during the game we had loads of chances.”

However, the manager will be well-aware that Tuesday’s opposition will be much tougher, and the west Londoners have now been handed a boost heading into the Champions League encounter…

Hansi Flick set to leave Pedri out against Chelsea

According to reports from Spain (via Sport Witness), Pedri is now unlikely to travel to London ahead of Tuesday’s game, as Flick and his coaching staff believe it is not worth risking the midfielder, who suffered a hamstring injury near the end of October.

The 22-year-old is now a serious doubt for the trip to Stamford Bridge, having missed training on Sunday, which will be welcome news for Maresca & co, who need every advantage they can get heading into the game against the reigning La Liga champions.

Lauded as “amazing” by journalist Muhammad Butt, the Barcelona star has been absolutely integral for Barcelona over the past year, regularly displaying his ability to dictate games, set-up chances for his teammates, and drive the ball forward.

Pedri’s key statistics

Average per 90 (past year)

Assists

0.17 (80th percentile)

Passes attempted

91.85 (98th percentile)

Progressive carries

3.42 (99th percentile)

Successful take-ons

1.40 (97th percentile)

That said, the La Liga side are likely to be just as fearful of Chelsea’s midfield, with Fernandez scoring his fifth goal of the season against Burnley at the weekend, while Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp has waxed lyrical about Moises Caicedo this season.

As such, Chelsea should no doubt fancy their chances heading into Tuesday’s game, taking on Barca in a competitive game for the first time since a 3-0 defeat at Camp Nou back in 2018.

Moises Caicedo and Pedri have been named among the best midfielders in the world Related The Best 15 Midfielders in World Football Ranked (2025)

Some of the best players in the world do their stuff in the middle of the park, but who’s number one?

Posts 5 ByCharlie Smith Nov 20, 2025

Tottenham boss Thomas Frank has been dealt an injury doubt ahead of their crunch Premier League clash with Man United.

Saturday’s early kick-off promises fireworks as Spurs host the Red Devils in North London.

With the two sides coming in off near-identical records of five wins and three losses from their first 10 league matches, with both also scoring 17 goals, this face-off could prove pivotal in the race for European qualification.

Tottenham’s home form has been a significant concern, with the club sitting 17th in the home standings despite topping the away form table this season. Meanwhile, no other Premier League side has lost more home games than the Lilywhites in 2025.

Frank’s side suffered another N17 setback last weekend, registering a lowly expected goals figure of just 0.1 in their 1-0 defeat to Chelsea – the lowest by any Premier League team this season.

However, their midweek 4-0 thrashing of Copenhagen in the Champions League offered a glimpse of their attacking potential, with defender Micky van de Ven bagging a stunning solo goal which drew comparisons to Son Heung-min’s famous Burnley strike in 2019.

Xavi Simons

8.1

Micky van de Ven

8.1

Wilson Odobert

7.9

Pedro Porro

7.8

Randal Kolo Muani

7.6

via WhoScored

In terms of the recent head-to-heads between Spurs and United, the former reigns supreme.

Tottenham are unbeaten against tomorrow’s visitors in their last seven meetings across all competitions, winning five and drawing two, including that historic Europa League final win in Bilbao earlier this year.

What’s more, if they beat them again tomorrow, it’ll be the first time they’ve won three league games in a row against United since 1960.

However, the injury situation adds another layer of complexity for Spurs. They currently have the longest absentee list in the Premier League with 10 players sidelined, including Dominic Solanke, Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison.

In the aftermath of Tottenham’s 4-0 win over Copenhagen, star winger Mohammed Kudus strongly hinted he could be fit to face United after missing their European clash with a knock, and Frank has now provided an update on the Ghanaian.

Tottenham star Mohammed Kudus a doubt to face Man United this weekend

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Frank explained that Kudus is “touch and go” to face United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — meaning he might not be ready on time depending on developments.

Potentially being without Kudus would undoubtedly be a bitter blow for Frank, considering the £150,000-per-week star has stood out as their star attacker this campaign.

No other Premier League player has averaged more takes-ons per 90 than the African this season, and he’s currently among the division’s top five best-performing players overall, according to WhoScored.

United arrive in north London with genuine momentum and are unbeaten in their last four league matches with three wins and a draw, their joint-best run under Ruben Amorim.

They’ve been particularly potent in attack too, netting two or more goals in their last four outings. Bruno Fernandes has been instrumental, with the 31-year-old now looking to assist in three consecutive away appearances for the first time since November 2020.

It is perhaps the worst time to face United right now, so Frank will be hoping that Kudus can indeed take part after his electrifying start to life at the club.

Vote for the best individual Border-Gavaskar Trophy performance by an Indian in Australia since 2000

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Oct-2024Update: This poll has ended. Virat Kohli’s performance goes into the quarter-finals. Check the other polls here.ESPNcricinfo LtdVirat Kohli was only the second batter to score two centuries on Test captaincy debut•Getty Images

Virat Kohli – 115 & 141 in Adelaide, 2014

India lost by 48 runsIn a career full of milestones, Virat Kohli has a very special place in his heart for these two hundreds. He’s made that plain on every subsequent trip to Adelaide. The runs that he made, the way he made them, getting hit on the head by a Mitchell Johnson bouncer early and brushing off the Australians who came up to him to ask him if he was okay just so he wouldn’t have to break out of that bubble he needs to be in to score those big runs, and the path that he put his team on, saying they will not be going for the draw – all played a big role in helping him decide what kind of cricketer and captain he wanted to be.His 114 in the first innings on captaincy debut kept India in the game after conceding 517, and his 141 in the second gave India hope that as long as Kohli was batting, there was a chance of pulling off an outrageous chase of 364. That performance made Kohli the first visiting batter since 1961 to score two centuries in a Test in Australia, and no once has done it since.By Alagappan MuthuWatch the highlights of these performances on the Star Sports network at 10am, 1pm, 4pm and 7pm IST, from October 25 onwards.Sourav Ganguly’s century helped India leave Brisbane with the series level•Chris McGrath/AFP via Getty Images

Sourav Ganguly – 144 in Brisbane, 2003

Match drawn, series level 0-0Ahead of the 2003-04 tour of Australia, the words ‘chin music’ had become so deeply associated with the Indian captain Sourav Ganguly that he departed India early to spend six days with Greg Chappell training to face short-pitched bowling.His preparations were tested immediately at the Gabba, where India slipped from 61 for 0 to 62 for 3, in response to Australia’s 323. In conditions that offered the pace and bounce that are the hallmark of Australian venues, Ganguly displayed remarkable judgement in his handling of the short delivery, and scored his first Test hundred in Australia.The innings was a statement from a leader that his team was to be reckoned with on this trip down under. Ganguly gave India a first-innings lead that helped India leave Brisbane – an Australian fortress – with the series level, an achievement that went a long way to securing India’s first drawn series in Australia since 1981.By Shashank Kishore

It’s wall-to-wall Cummins watch in the lead-up to the you know what. But there’s some other stuff here as well

Alan Gardner15-Oct-2025Worries abound down under that talismanic Australia captain Pat Cummins might not be fit for the Ashes. Such is the frenzy of speculation that Cricket Australia’s medical department is working around the clock to provide updates…CA spokesman: “It’s not ideal, but we know Patty’s such a trooper. It might be that he’s a bit underdone compared to how we like it, but that’s better than being overcooked. Probably medium-rare, should be fine with a little sriracha. Still pretty hopeful we’ll get him on the barbie in good time.”CA spokesman: “That’s to be expected. We know the timeline is tight. There are known knowns and known unknowns. The problem comes with unknown unknowns. The next step is to get some more variables into his training – some dog-walking, beach frisbee, maybe a little egg-and-spoon. We’ll give him all the time he needs.”CA spokesman: “This is certainly not the outcome we hoped from getting Patty back out on grass. In all likelihood, he’s unlikely to be in the likely XI, but we’ll have to wait and see. We’re confident he’ll still play a big part in the series. Just having him around the group is going to be a big plus for the boys.”CA spokesman: “Look, it’s in the hands of the medicos. Getting his workloads up is going to be the difficult thing, now that he’s been reduced to a greasy smear on the pavement. But Patty Cummins is a champion. Even if he’s only able to operate in the spirit realm, he’s going to be a real handful for Poms.”

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It is not so long since Cummins and his Australia team were being criticised by the local media for being too woke, and the Light Roller was reminded of this after David Warner popped up with his Ashes prediction – copyright all news organisations – the other day. “I think 4-0. There’s going to be a washout somewhere, generally Sydney… If the captain doesn’t play, they might win one game.” All typically bullish from the Bull, you might think, but hold on. What red-blooded former Aussie player worth his Pommie-baiting inner mongrel predicts anything other than a 5-0 whitewash? And as for England winning a Test if Cummins isn’t available… Eesh. Truly they have gone soft.

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Your move, BCCI. It’s not often that the richest, most powerful board in world cricket is stumped, but Mohsin Naqvi’s vigilante methods at the Asia Cup final have put them in a quandary. Neither India or Pakistan covered themselves in glory through the course of the tournament – but Naqvi raised (or lowered) the bar on pettiness by denying India their actual moment of glory. Or forcing India to deny themselves, as the case may be.Either way, India still haven’t got their hands on the cup, which is presumably minding its own business in a cupboard somewhere at the ACC headquarters in Dubai. Naqvi’s last communication on the subject came via X a few days after the final: “If they truly want it, they are welcome to come to the ACC office and collect it from me.” Straight from the schoolyard playbook, but you can’t knock it for effectiveness. At this point, there isn’t much the BCCI can do beyond putting pictures of the Asia Cup on milk cartons and sitting out the next couple of years until Naqvi is no longer president.

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To the Women’s World Cup, where we must discuss the depraved depths to which the ladies have descended. Of course, with the arrival of professionalism and greater scrutiny on the women’s game, we shouldn’t be surprised to see some unsavoury behaviours creeping in. The men are always effing and jeffing, arging and barging, and so we may to have to accept similar from our sisters – but transgressions can’t go unpunished. Which is why we were pleased to see the ICC cracking down after Nonkululeko Mlaba’s egregious send-off for Harleen Deol. Okay, yes, most people might not have even noticed Mlaba’s smile-and-wave-like-you-spotted-a-friend-in-the-queue-at-the-bakery if it hadn’t resulted in a disciplinary charge. But sometimes you have to make an example. Do we want our girls growing up knowing the genteel standards that cricket holds sacred, or not?