Starc reflects on his growth as a Test bowler, his relationships with Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, his physical challenges, and his commitment to Tests over franchise cricket

Andrew McGlashan11-Jul-20251:08

Starc stars from around the wicket

“It makes me feel old,” Mitchell Starc joked as he was asked to reflect on playing his 100th Test.While last week Kraigg Brathwaite became the 82nd player to reach 100 Tests, only 12 have done so as what would be considered a frontline pace bowler. Starc will join that group against West Indies at Sabina Park, nearly 14 years after his debut, and he also stands five short of 400 wickets.”I don’t like it,” he said about the attention that comes with his looming milestones. “Just get on with the cricket.”Related

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But Starc was able to reflect on the journey to reach this point. “Growing up I was always wanting to pull on the baggy green. I didn’t think I’d play one game, but to have 99 chances to do that has been a real privilege.”Despite only taking up bowling at the age of 14, once he reached the professional level Starc knew he had the ability to bowl quickly and swing the ball but didn’t always have the “tools” to master a variety of conditions and match situations. He credits the long-standing alliance and friendships with Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins in helping him develop, including adopting the wobble seam.”I didn’t have a lot through the period where the ball didn’t do anything,” he said. “I obviously had the ability to reverse swing it, but that portion through the middle [of the game]. To grow up in international cricket with two of my closest mates who are two of the world’s best, to learn from them along the way and develop a bit more to my game over the years has probably certainly helped me in the long run.”Then to be able to bowl in different facets of the game, different conditions around the world. It’s probably helped me get as far down the track as I have.”The bond between the three quicks, and overlapping nature of their careers in which they have played 37 Tests together, has also helped each of them. “It’s not lost on myself or the three of us how lucky we are that we’re all from the same place,” Starc said. “We train together, we sit in rehab rooms together over the years. The ability to push each other along the way, whether it’s a flat week or a Test week. I think that contributes to the longevity of the three of us, in particular.”

“Test cricket was probably the hardest format to either feel like I was good enough for or felt like I was capable of doing. To get that opportunity, I wasn’t going to let that pass at all. The years that I did miss franchise cricket, I don’t regret that at all. To get my body in as good a spot as I could for Australia to play 99 games, spend some time at home, spend some time with Alyssa [Healy] and family. That’s the reason why I did those things.”Mitchell Starc on why he missed so many IPL tournaments

Starc himself has not missed a Test through injury since damaging a finger against South Africa in late 2022 which forced him out of three matches, although he still bowled through it in the game itself at the MCG.”There’s a few scars and a few sore bits most days,” he said of the toll of fast bowling. “Whether it be jabs or pain killers along the way, I know what I can and can’t get through. I’m never going to go into a game that I don’t think I can get through.”Whether it’s the growing pains or your body adapting to different modes of bowling. Working out what good pain is, bad pain is, [or] just general soreness. They all contribute to the progression of a young cricketer or a young bowler. I certainly had to learn those pretty quickly, otherwise I was probably going to be at the back end of it pretty quick.”There’s a fair bit of stubbornness along the way. Maybe some stupidity at times. As long as I’m continuing to play my role, no matter how the body’s feeling, then that’s the best thing I can do for the team.”Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood have played 37 Tests together•Ryan Pierse/Getty ImagesWhile in recent times Starc has been able to cash in at the IPL, for a number of years he opted not to put his name forward when he could easily have done so to prioritise Test cricket.”I wouldn’t change it,” he said. “Test cricket was probably the hardest format to either feel like I was good enough for or felt like I was capable of doing. To get that opportunity, I wasn’t going to let that pass at all.”The years that I did miss franchise cricket, I don’t regret that at all. To get my body in as good a spot as I could for Australia to play 99 games, spend some time at home, spend some time with Alyssa [Healy] and family.”That’s the reason why I did those things. Whether it’s paid off now, being a couple of days away from playing 100, or the series wins or the Test match wins, looking back at it, I wouldn’t change it.”In terms of the future, Starc didn’t want to look past the upcoming summer which includes the Ashes. As an all-format bowler he will be involved in next year’s T20 World Cup, with the 2027 ODI version a potential further carrot. In terms of Test cricket, which Starc has always said is his No. 1 format, Australia have a bumper period starting next August through to mid-2027.”Andrew [McDonald] said something the other day, [about] we’re not a young bowling group,” he said. “Whilst having a little bit of an eye on what’s to come, it’s also having a mind on making sure we’re as fit and impactful as we have been when we were younger. What that looks like going forward, I’m not sure. I’ll have a few weeks to think about things along the way this year, but obviously we’ve got a big summer coming up.”

Zak Foulkes made a huge impact in New Zealand’s 3-0 sweep of England and Peter Fulton expects him to be an all-format allrounder soon

Deivarayan Muthu04-Nov-2025The OG swing kings Trent Boult and Tim Southee are done with their New Zealand playing careers. Matt Henry is currently on the sidelines with an injury, and is approaching the wrong side of 30. But there’s a new swing bowler in New Zealand cricket. Meet 23-year-old Zak Foulkes, who is “almost Trent Boult-ish,” according to New Zealand bowling coach Jacob Oram.In his first ODI bowling innings in Mount Maunganui against England last month, Foulkes made the world sit up and take notice of his swing, more specifically his late swing, when he stormed through the defences of Joe Root with a hooping inswinger in his first over. It was full, but not a drive ball, and veered back in late to make a world-class batter look like an amateur. The wind was blowing from left to right and Foulkes harnessed it to his advantage like Southee and Boult used to do back in the day. Then, in the third ODI in Wellington, Foulkes bested Root with another booming inswinger, this one rapping his pads.Foulkes made a huge impact in New Zealand’s 3-0 sweep of England, coming away with seven wickets in three innings at an average of 14.42 and economy rate of 5.05. Only Blair Tickner took more wickets than Foulkes.Related

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Foulkes’ stock ball to the right-hand batter is the inswinger and to the left-hand batter, it’s the outswinger. After his 4 for 41 in the first ODI, Oram was so impressed with Foulkes that he likened his skills to Boult’s.”It’s his talent and composure,” Oram said. “We know he can swing it at a decent enough pace – mid-130s – and he’s got a bit of a funky release point, which is a bit different for batters to get used to. The fact that he swings it and swings it late is so handy and you saw that ball to Root that went late through the gate and also to left-handers. It’s tough to play, almost Trent Boult-ish with the swing away from the lefties to play and when he gets it right, it’s hard for batters to overcome.”Late swing is Foulkes’ forte, according to former New Zealand batter and current Canterbury head coach Peter Fulton, who has had a front-row seat to Foulkes’ rise from domestic cricket to the New Zealand team.

“His action is just a little bit unusual – he doesn’t quite bowl off the wrong foot, but I think just the nature of his action means he rushes on to guys a bit quicker than probably what the speed gun shows”Peter Fulton on Zak Foulkes

“Look, he swings the ball late, which is a really good attribute to have,” Fulton tells ESPNcricinfo. “Probably, there’s not too many players in international cricket that swing it into the right-hander the way or as much as what he does. So I guess that gives him a little bit of an advantage because it’s not that common.”Foulkes usually operates in the lower 130-kph range, but has the tendency to get the ball to skid off the pitch and hit the bat hard.”Probably the other advantage he has is his action is just a little bit unusual – he doesn’t quite bowl off the wrong foot, but I think just the nature of his action means he rushes on to guys a bit quicker than probably what the speed gun shows,” Fulton says. “So yeah, he’s certainly a little bit quicker than probably what he appears to be.”There was a bit of a running gag that Foulkes could only dismiss left-hand batters – “[Mitchell] Santner was leading that charge,” Foulkes had joked at a press conference – but the twin dismissals of Root provided ample proof of his ability against right-hand batters.Zak Foulkes can bat too, but hasn’t got too many chances to prove that internationally yet•AFP/Getty Images”There’s strengths and weaknesses for every bowler,” Fulton says. “He’s been very, very dangerous to left-handers [in domestic cricket], especially with the ball swinging from around the wicket. But there’s no reason why he can’t be equally as threatening to right-handers. He’s got Joe Root twice now, who is obviously one of the top batsmen in the world. So, Zak is certainly not a one-trick pony.”In his first full Super Smash season, Foulkes was entrusted with the responsibility of bowling the difficult overs and he responded by emerging as Canterbury’s joint-highest wicket-taker, with 12 strikes at an economy rate of 7.36 in their run to the final. Two years on, he took a match haul of nine wickets on Test debut in Zimbabwe and made a striking impression against England in his first ODI innings.Club and T20 stints in England have contributed to his development as a bowler. Besides playing for Warwickshire and Durham in the T20 Blast, Foulkes has turned out for Lytham, a club that Fulton had also played for in the past, as an overseas professional.

“I have no doubt in the next two or three years, if he gets those opportunities with the bat, then hopefully he can be the guy that maybe bats at seven in all three forms for New Zealand”Peter Fulton on Zak Foulkes’ batting

“It [playing in England] definitely helped,” Foulkes said at his press conference after the first ODI against England. “Just being around the type of guys like… played a few games with Jacob Bethell a couple of years ago and played with Matt Potts at Durham. Familiar with a few players, which is cool, and you just learn as much as possible from those guys and hopefully holds me in good stead to go forward.”Foulkes hails from a cricketing family – his father Glen and his brothers Liam and Robbie have all represented Canterbury country. Robbie also played for New Zealand in the 2024 Under-19 World Cup in South Africa.Fulton reckons that Foulkes’ time away from his family in New Zealand and taking on the responsibility as an overseas professional in England have also shaped Foulkes as a person.”It was probably just a good life experience for him to be away from friends and family,” Fulton says. “I suppose, you have to sort of stand on your own two feet. I was happy to obviously send him to a club where I knew people and knew he was going to have a good experience. Then he picked up some county opportunities with Warwickshire and with the [Birmingham] Bears. So, those sorts of experiences have probably also helped him as a cricketer. I’m sure it’s definitely helped him as he’s made that transition to international cricket.”Foulkes is also a capable batter. He had slotted in at No. 3 for St Andrew’s College in the Gillette Cup, a one-day competition for secondary schools boys, before bowling became his primary skill. In the third ODI against England in Wellington, he showed his batting chops with an unbeaten 14 off 24 from No. 9, which helped seal New Zealand’s 3-0 series win. Fulton believes that Foulkes’ ceiling is so high that he can bat at No. 7 and become an all-format player for New Zealand in the future.Ben Foulkes’ emergence will give New Zealand’s selectors a happy headache when the likes of Will O’Rourke, Lockie Ferguson, Ben Sears and Adam Milne are back•Getty Images”I think all through age-group cricket and high school cricket, Zak was probably more of a batsman,” Fulton says. “He probably bowled medium pace. He finished school and maybe just got a little bit fitter and stronger and decided to run in a little bit harder and try to bowl a bit quicker. Yeah, the part about his game that really excites me is his batting; there’s a lot of potential there.”He’s shown glimpses of that at first-class level for Canterbury, but he just hasn’t had the opportunities in international cricket yet. I have no doubt in the next two or three years, if he gets those opportunities with the bat, then hopefully he can be the guy that maybe bats at seven in all three forms for New Zealand.”Foulkes’ immediate challenge is a five-match T20I series against West Indies, who are coming off a 3-0 sweep of Bangladesh in Bangladesh.”They [West Indies] are obviously a great team and they have been in Bangladesh recently,” Foulkes said on the eve of the first T20I in Auckland. “We know they’re going to come pretty hard with the bat, especially in this T20 stuff. Things I’m expecting as well, which is quite cool.”Foulkes’ emergence will give New Zealand’s selectors a happy headache when the likes of Will O’Rourke, Lockie Ferguson, Ben Sears and Adam Milne are fit. It’s also a reflection of New Zealand’s depth despite a limited talent pool.

Pakistan won the toss in each Test, rebuilt after one early wicket for a big second-wicket stand, and benefitted from SA’s largesse in the field

Danyal Rasool20-Oct-2025The sun was all orange and prepared to turn in for one more day. The supporters had thinned out long ago; having clustered into the Pindi cricket ground to watch Babar Azam bat, most had filtered out when his now-habitually brief stay at the crease came to a tepid conclusion. On the field, it looked as if the Test match was tying up loose ends to leave things in shape for tomorrow. But in the last half hour on day one, Pakistan and South Africa were locked in a battle to claim just enough of the spoils to each declare victory.Kagiso Rabada, second new ball in hand, had brought it in masterfully to trap Mohammad Rizwan, whose review had the jeopardy of appeals to higher courts in an autocracy. Pakistan had demonstrated themselves vulnerable to lower-order collapses in each innings of the first Test, losing their last five wickets in 55 balls in the first innings, and their last six in 36 in the second. With 37 balls still to go following Rizwan’s dismissal, both sides recognised the importance of what would follow.Ultimately, Salman Ali Agha and Saud Shakeel held out for an uneasy stalemate, sending the sun down the sky without further damage, but it illustrated how, initially almost imperceptibly, the tenor of the day had changed. For the best part of it, Pakistan appeared to have stuck day one Gaddafi into a high-quality photocopier for the resemblance between the starts of each Test is uncanny.They won the toss both times, rebuilt after one early wicket for a huge second-wicket stand, and benefitted from South Africa’s largesse in the field, who dropped chances for fun. With the wicket invariably worsening for batting with each passing hour, Pakistan looked to be sealing South Africa’s fate once more.That remains, odds on, the likeliest outcome. Keshav Maharaj spoke of the need to break the sixth-wicket stand in the first session on Monday, which he called, moving session. But, as long as this Test appears to hold faithful to its predecessor, Pakistan did find themselves on wobbly ground at the fall of their fifth wicket in Lahore – on 199 – before a 163-run sixth wicket stand took the game away from the visitors.Related

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But South Africa did learn the value of not going searching from that game. When they took the fifth wicket in Lahore in the 60th over, they went on to concede those 163 in 42.1 overs, just a shade under four runs per over. In that evening session, Agha and Rizwan had fed off South Africa’s urgency, plundering 114 runs before stumps were called. In Pindi, the visitors would not make that mistake, using Maharaj to hold up an end even before the wickets came. The final two sessions cost just 164 at under 2.7 runs, South Africa choosing patience over keenness.It is an approach Pakistan have adopted for their opening batter Abdullah Shafique, whose lack of form for over two years has not been punished with the same alacrity as the PCB can deploy in such matters. Shafique, in turn, chose to return the favour by trying to focus exclusively on time at the crease rather than run-scoring, his strike rate of 39.04 the lowest of any batter on Monday. He finished with a half-century but that did not necessarily mean he has a foundation to build on now. Shafique had three chances put down during a painstaking innings that should have had him back in the first half hour when he inexplicably chose to shoulder arms to Marco Jansen coming around the wicket, the ball tickling the off stump without rousing the bails.”You have to be slightly lucky on the day in international cricket sometimes,” he would later say, somewhat understatedly.Abdullah Shafique rode his luck and also made a half-century•Associated PressThat the day ends even is, in itself, something of a victory for South Africa. Pakistan had the fortune of the toss and their opponent’s generosity in the field all while batting in the best conditions. Shafique said the pitch hadn’t quite slowed up and yet, his team finished the day without having utilised that template to pull clear.It may all not matter in the bigger picture: hot takes on first day tend to be ice cold by the fourth day. Pakistan are within ten runs of the highest total of this series outside their own first innings effort in Lahore; all this may mean is they get there a little later than they might have planned or preferred.But for all that, this purported to be carbon copy of Lahore’s opening salvo could just as easily be seen as an extension to the end of the first Test: South Africa continuing to understand the conditions better, constantly making the tweaks that keep Pakistan reined in for as long as possible. The visitors have refused to give up, and in that sense, perhaps today in Pindi closely resembled not just the first day in Lahore, but every other day on this tour.One year ago, in the second Test against England in Multan and the first Test which kicked off Pakistan’s ongoing experiment with spin-friendly surfaces, they finished with the same slight uncertainty that has characterised on Monday. Pakistan’s score, as the two sides walked off, was 259 for 5, precisely what it was on Monday.Perhaps all days, as Pakistan look to whip every home surface into spin-worthy shape, are rather alike in Pakistan after all.

Can India take down an unbeaten and seemingly unbeatable Australia side in Thursday’s World Cup semi-final? We asked a former India captain

Raunak Kapoor27-Oct-202516:57

‘You don’t have anything to lose, Australia have lots to lose’

India versus Australia in a semi-final. The worst-kept secret in women’s cricket is, you have to beat Australia, and they are a standard above most other teams. Is there a psychology involved here where players are also intimidated when it comes to Australia?I think it’s because, for years, they have been the dominant team in women’s cricket. And year after year, they qualify for the finals of whether it’s a T20 World Cup or a one-day World Cup, and you expect them to. That sort of reputation they carry. But then, with the exposure of WPL, I think things have really changed for Indian women’s cricket.So can you relate this to, say, 2017 and 2022, the two World Cups that you were most recently part of, where it was a little different before an Australia game? You felt like these guys are going to be tougher than other teams to beat. And now, since then, the fact that you yourself have spent time in [WPL] franchises, you’ve actually seen these Australian players, when you get to interact with them, know them, does that humanise the player to a point where you’re not as intimidated by them in a contest?I think it does help if you spend some time in and around them, especially during WPL, because the players then get to know what they think, how their mindset is, what their preparation is in certain situations, while playing in the same team. How do they approach those situations? Do they have a back-up plan? Or how do they take it forward from there?Related

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So I think these experiences definitely have helped the current players, because when I’ve seen them play in the bilateral series before the World Cup, I think India won a game and did give a good fight in the other game as well, the third one in Delhi, and that was a very high-scoring [match] on that ground. At one point, I felt India was cruising towards winning that game. So maybe I also feel that Australia could be having those doubts when it comes to the knockouts, especially if they’re facing India.Okay, that’s the other psychology of it. Whether Australia, if you give them a list of opponents, they actually don’t want India more than others. I’ll come to that in a moment. But give me a little more, perhaps your own experience, an example of you would have played against a Beth Mooney or an Ash Gardner, and then you sort of see them as part of your own team. How did that kind of change how you look at some of these formidable Australian players?Well, it also gives you insights as to how they think when it comes to certain games. I personally feel that everybody should have at least three to four plans when they walk onto the ground. There are certain players who stick to the plan irrespective of whether it works or not and there are players who are quite adaptive to changing their plan on the field.So you understand how Australians work in and around that, how quickly they change their plans on the field, the game awareness. When it comes to especially the bowling unit, they quickly read the wicket and they spread the word around. It doesn’t take time for the bowler to come and then get into rhythm, find the spots that they need to.So this is what I realised, being with the franchise team [Gujarat Giants] for the first couple of seasons.Do you sense that players that played with you and are still part of this, they would also look at an Australian opposition slightly differently to how they did maybe even at the last World Cup in 2022?Well, I think now there is this thought that it’s a possibility to beat this Australian side despite all the strengths that they boast: the deep batting line-up, the bowling attack they have, the number of allrounders in the playing XI. And still, with all of those strengths, you still can beat this Australian side, is the thought process in the current Indian set-up. Because of the number of games they’ve won in this calendar year, the form of the players, and how they have built on it.1:54

Should India pick Amanjot Kaur or an extra batter?

What’s a team environment like ahead of an Australia semi-final, which you would have experienced in 2017, but even ahead of playing Australia in a major knockout? How is it different from other big games?Well, when it comes to the World Cups and when you’re in the knockouts, you know you need to have that one good day on that day to get into the finals. Even Australians know that they have to come with the best in a knockout game. Otherwise, you’re packing your bags. So, for India, I know for a fact that they will be all positive and take a lot of strength from the group game that they’ve played in Vizag, for the fact that they were able to post 300 [330] because in the press [conference], I heard Alyssa Healy say that [it’s] not every day that you chase 300. So that itself gives you a little bit [of a peek] into the thinking that, at some point, they felt these runs were a lot more [than they would have been comfortable chasing].Okay, let’s visualise situations against Australia. One of the things we almost get is even if you have them five or six down, you don’t feel like they’re under pressure. They fight back. We’ve seen it from Ash Gardner [against New Zealand], we’ve seen it from Australia against Pakistan when they were eight down [for 115] as well. What’s the one thing this Indian team, Harmanpreet Kaur in the field, will have to keep in mind if you find Australia on top or if you find Australia in trouble? Because we know this is one team [against whom] you just cannot think, “oh, we’ve got them.”Well, one thing going well for the Indian team is that the spinners have done well. But the fact [is] that this venue [Navi Mumbai] has the least spin that it offers from the surface [of the World Cup venues]. So what would be the bowling unit, getting into the semi-finals? Second is that you need to get early breakthroughs. That’s very important when you’re playing Australia because they depend on the start Alyssa Healy and Phoebe Litchfield give. And if you go by the last couple of games, you know that Ellyse Perry is also not among the runs.So it does give a little bit of hope that the middle order, still, with quality bowlers, can be curtailed. The runs can be curtailed in the middle overs if you put pressure on them. But if they get a partnership going, then that’s trouble. You need to have bowlers who can break those partnerships.So what should be India’s best balance? Because we think after the New Zealand game, if it’s only going to be five frontline bowlers, that is a cause for concern. Australia might take down a Pratika Rawal*, might take down one of the main bowlers. What should be India’s balance here, in your view?It can either be three seamers, two spinners, and you can expect Harman [Harmanpreet Kaur] to pitch in, roll her arm [over] as a spinner, to get those four-five overs from a sixth bowler. If you require those overs in the middle overs and you want to keep Deepti Sharma’s overs in the end, you need to fill in that gap in the middle overs. So it could be Harman or Pratika.And if you want to go in with three spinners and two seamers, then you’ll have to find a way to use those seamers, one of them at least in the death overs, because Renuka [Singh] is very good with the new ball, but she’s not as effective with the old ball. Will you keep her overs, or finish her overs in the first ten? And Kranti Gaud, how are you going to use [her]?What is a bigger concern, if I can call it for this Indian team, is that if you have to add a sixth bowler, if you bring Amanjot Kaur in, it has to be for a specialist batter and the only specialist batter now, with the kind of form Jemi [Jemimah Rodrigues] showed in the New Zealand game, is Harleen Deol. But then if you find yourself a wicket down [early]? These are all the kinds of plans I’m sure you think of. So what is the right way to approach such a big game against Australia?If you go by the right approach, India should stick to the combination that they feel is their strength. Sometimes, the psychological thing is also very important. You need to feel confident with the XI that you’re getting in. Irrespective of what the world thinks of the combination.But everything aside, what the team feels confident about. [Is it] having an extra batter, and they can sort of let go of the sixth bowler and manage somehow? Or do they need an allrounder there, so that they can back it up with [a] few overs and batting depth?1:51

Mithali: Australia ‘less invincible’ than they used to be

Knowing Harmanpreet Kaur on this team, do you sense that that becomes a harder decision when it’s Australia? If there was someone else in the opposition, maybe you would have still said, “right, we can take a punt on one batter light”, but do you sense that India will go in with the extra cushion of batting, because that gives them a better chance?I think so, because this entire year, whenever they’ve posted 300, they’ve always gone with an extra batter, because they feel like there is still batting to come. Even, say, for example, you have an early wicket in the form of Smriti [Mandhana] or Pratika, then you know that you still have batters. I think against England, they felt, despite that, that’s the best combination. I think we sort of let that match go, couldn’t chase down [289]. But that was the best combination.After that, they got in an extra batter. It sort of reflects that they feel they need to have batters.How do you put pressure on Australia during a game?I think Australia will feel the pressure of the opening batters. If our opening batters get the start, if Smriti gets going, they know that she has the ability to sort of stick in there and the entire India batting will revolve around her. That we’ve seen, as I spoke about, [in] the third [match of the] one-day bilateral series when they were chasing [400-plus], and going by Australia, whenever it is a knockout at the big games, they always like to put runs on the board and put the pressure back on to the other team.Do you sense that this is, with the youngish group of bowlers that India have now, Kranti, Sree Charani, there isn’t as much baggage as, say, our senior players who’ve played [for] so many years? Is that a good thing or sometimes you think, “oh, we need experience in a semi-final?” How do you view India’s relative rawness or inexperience versus such an experienced Australian team? Can it be an advantage?It can be an advantage because one thing that you don’t want, as a player, is to get overwhelmed with the occasion that you’re playing a semi-final in front of your home crowd, people are watching, everybody’s tuning in, and then, you’re not up to it. So I think it’s an advantage that there is no bane of that experience one carries. Yes, the load then shifts a lot more on the experienced lot in the team. That is, say, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, who all have played World Cups in the past, Renuka Thakur, all of them have an added job to do then.Are Australia less strong or less invincible than [in] a lot of other ICC events in recent years?I would say, yeah, less invincible is the right way to put it. In this tournament itself, we’ve seen a couple of games where their middle order was tested. Yes, though they bat deep, you know that the top order can be bundled out. You can get their wickets for a smaller total. Teams who’ve got quality bowlers, who’ve been backed with good fielding, were able to put that pressure on Australia. So it’s not like they are unbeatable.Now, the point you made a little while earlier about the other way around. India haven’t beaten any of the other semi-finalists. This tournament has been filled with ups and downs. On the other hand, Australia brushed aside South Africa and finished top [of the points table]. They made light work of England. India still tested them. What do you know of how Australia’s players currently view India? Are they perhaps the trickiest of the other semi-finalists? Do they look at India with any kind of, I wouldn’t say intimidation, because Australia are that good, but this is a team that is likelier to beat us than a lot of other teams – do you think that’s true for Australia?Possibly, yes, because they know that India does have the players in them to take the match away, or the moments to shift during the game. Whether it is batting, they know, “okay, it’s just not Smriti.” Pratika Rawal has [also] got a hundred […] So yes, for them, the first hurdle would be our openers. Every time India have posted 300, I’ve spoken [about] this many times, it is due to the opening pair. So they will be looking at getting them early. That probably will be one big plan from the Australian side.Bat first, if you’re India, because that’s been the template of this team, under Harman and [head coach] Amol Mazumdar. Let’s bat first, let’s get to 300, maybe 330. There’s a chance to get 350, 360 at Vizag. That didn’t happen. But is that India’s best chance still, rather than a chase against Australia?We’ll see. I think, yes, because it’s a big game for both teams, and Australia also play that way. [In] important games, they usually would like to put score on the board, and not take the pressure of chasing, and I’m sure from the last [meeting] in the league, when India have put on that 300-plus runs, it nearly went till the end.So India will be looking at, let’s put a good total on the board, and if you’re going with an extra batter, that would be the right way to look at it.1:08

Mithali: ‘Game awareness’ will be key against Australia

How big a game is this for Harmanpreet Kaur, the captain, in the field, to get her bowling changes right, to make sure that fielders are in the right places? India have set pretty good standards in the field, but then suddenly when Australia come as the opposition, like we saw in that bilateral series, catches go down, run-outs happen. Can you make sense of that, whether a team that’s otherwise of good standards, somehow, is it just pressure against Australia, where they make mistakes happen?Well, I think it is just the expectation of being at your best against this side, because they demand nothing less than that. When we talk about the semi-finals, I think the expectation is a lot more on the Australians, because they have not made it in the T20 World Cup [last year] and so they will be looking [to make up for it], and everybody knows Australia is the strongest team, so they carry that reputation, whereas India have made it to the semi-finals, don’t carry the baggage.I would say, don’t think like, “okay, we are playing at home”, just approach it as if you are playing in England or you are playing in Australia. You don’t have anything to lose; you just go there and play your best. Australia have lots to lose.One bit of advice to this team, if you would like to give it, from your learnings of having played Australia, knowing what can happen to an Indian team in a big semi-final, which I am sure is going to [bring in] a packed crowd. What is the key advice or the pre-team talk that you would like to remind them of?Well, I would just tell them that you have made it to the semi-finals, so it is just that one game, but do not put too much pressure [on yourselves]. If you play well, you qualify; you want to play the finals, everybody does. But right now, today is the day that you have to be at your best, just not your skill, but even your mental preparation has to be the best.There will be things going our way, may not go our way during the game, but the awareness… if you are present, the game awareness is important against the best side. The game gives you moments where you can shift the momentum [towards] you. If you are not aware, then you let that go, and Australia are very good at that. So if you want to beat Australia, you have to pick those moments.What is your gut feeling?My gut feeling says it is going to be a tight game.And the chances of India to prevail in a tight game? 50-50? 60-40? 51-49?I think I will give Australia 60, India 40.*The interview was conducted before Pratika Rawal was ruled out of the tournament with an ankle injury.

Sophie Ecclestone was almost unplayable on Saturday night at the Khettarama, suffocating the Sri Lanka batters and squeezing the life out of them

Andrew Fidel Fernando12-Oct-2025

Sophie Ecclestone fizzed through Sri Lanka’s resistance•ICC/Getty Images

Three overs into Sophie Ecclestone’s spell at the Khettarama, there is a three-way dead heat.- of her three overs had been maidens.
– Both those maidens also brought a wicket each, bringing the wickets column up to .
– She had also conceded runs in the non-maiden over, even if one of those was down to a misfield.So 23 overs into Sri Lanka’s innings, they are on 98 for 3, and Ecclestone has figures of 3-2-2-2. Subtract those Ecclestone figures from the overall score, and Sri Lanka are 96 for 1 after 20 – one big over away from being ahead of the required rate, with plenty of batting in hand. Instead, having gone confidently enough through the first 18 overs, they have hit heavy scrub. Ecclestone, the world’s top-ranked bowler, awaits, a rock python on a low branch. Having struck twice, she’s in the process of constricting this innings.Related

• 'For Theo' – a century for Sciver-Brunt, a celebration for the Sciver-Brunts

• Sciver-Brunt and Ecclestone help England brush aside Sri Lanka

There is no batter in this Sri Lanka top order that appears to have the capacity to breathe when they are facing Ecclestone. This track is taking turn, but there is something Ecclestone is doing that no one else had for 68 previous overs in this match. She tosses them up from an already-high release point, puts big revs on the ball, replete with overspin. The lines are impeccable. The bounce is steep.The right-hand batters are finding her especially impossible to play, the ball hanging in the air one moment, then diving and jiving away the next. The best spinners make batters doubt their judgment of length, of line, and of time. Sri Lanka’s batters quickly find themselves entirely unsure of how to handle this spell, stuck between needing to score off Ecclestone because her early overs have put them so far behind the rate, and daring not take on a bowler who is manipulating the ball so skilfully through the air.”Her skill-execution was brilliant, and she got the rewards for what she put in,” Nat Sciver-Brunt said of Ecclestone•Getty ImagesAfter two further overs, Ecclestone’s figures have – incredibly – improved. She has three maidens in five overs. Only two further runs scored off her. Oh, and there was another wicket – Kavisha Dilhari attempting a favoured sweep, only for the ball to sneak under the bat like a skink under the garden gate.The innings continues to be asphyxiated. Ecclestone bowls unchanged for ten overs. Sri Lanka’s innings never takes a real breath again.”She’s No. 1 in the world for good reason,” captain Nat Sciver-Brunt said later. “It’s pretty special to have a player like her. It took her a little longer to come on to bowl today. They had the left-handers in and I thought I’d try and get [offspinner] Alice Capsey into the game a little bit earlier.”Ecclestone’s first over was the 19th of the innings, and she was the sixth England bowler used.”But Sophie bided her time, and made it look very easy,” Sciver-Brunt said. “Her skill-execution was brilliant, and she got the rewards for what she put in. She’s an experienced player in our side, and a leader in our spin attack.”3:19

Sri Lanka undone by Sciver-Brunt’s masterclass

Ecclestone is not the first spinner to prosper at the Khettarama, of course. This track has been one of spin-bowling’s great limited-overs strongholds for more than 30 years now, many epic defences of meagre scores having been staged here. But she is the first England spinner to collude so successfully with this particular stretch of clay.This was England women’s first match at this venue, which has rarely been used for international women’s cricket. But England men, who have played 12 matches here (and won as many as two!), have never had a spinner take more than two wickets in a match. Usually it is the England batters groping unfruitfully outside off stump and blinking in bewilderment at clattered wickets, while Sri Lanka whoop themselves to another victory.To underscore just how sensationally she was bowling, Ecclestone takes out the prize left-hand batter with perhaps her best ball of an excellent evening. Chamari Athapaththu had retired hurt with cramps in the sixth over, and only returned to bat after the third wicket fell. But that meant she was walking into the maws of this Ecclestone spell, and soon found her own innings suffocated, playing out five dot balls out of six against Ecclestone before being bowled by the seventh. This one fizzes its way through outside off, dips, grips, and wriggles its way between Athapaththu’s bat and pad to find middle stump.Ecclestone had just taken out the opposition’s star batter, but as with everything else in this spell, she did this with nonchalance, like she was only mowing a lawn, or painting a wall. By the end, her figures read 10-3-17-4. An England spinner bowling on some sacred spin-bowling turf as if she was born to it.

Tottenham recruitment chiefs have reportedly set their sights on an “elite” talent who Man City boss Pep Guardiola called “unbelievable”, with the looming January transfer window set to be an intriguing one for Spurs and Thomas Frank.

The Lewis family, after parting company with ex-chairman Daniel Levy, have made their intentions to back the club pretty known.

After injecting £100 million worth of new capital into Spurs via ENIC, they sought to re-appoint transfer guru Fabio Paratici as a co-sporting director, where he’ll work alongside Johan Lange overseeing their drive for new signings.

Amid their striker conundrum, with Randal Kolo Muani now sidelined with a jaw problem, Dominic Solanke still recovering and Richarlison largely out of form, Tottenham are exploring the possibility of a new striker arriving mid-season.

Frank has even reportedly held direct talks with Ivan Toney about a potential loan move to N17 with the 2026 World Cup looming and his England place in doubt, while Juventus star Dušan Vlahović is believed to be another Spurs target as his contract ticks down towards expiry.

According to other reports, the Lilywhites also have plans to bring in another winger and centre-back at the turn of the year, even if Radu Dragusin and Dejan Kulusevski are poised to return from their long-term injuries fairly soon.

However, according to a new report from TEAMtalk and journalist Dean Jones, Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott is also attracting their attention.

Tottenham chiefs really want Spurs to sign Bournemouth sensation Alex Scott

The 22-year-old has started nearly all of high-flying Bournemouth’s 11 Premier League games this season and was a surprise inclusion for Thomas Tuchel’s latest England squad to face Serbia and Albania. More interestingly, Tottenham hold an historic interest in Scott, which dates all the way back to 2022 during his Bristol City days.

Once likened to Jack Grealish, the Guernsey-native was dubbed an “elite” level talent on the rise back when he was 18 and making a name for himself at Bristol, with Guardiola confessed to be among his many admirers.

With Scott now making a name for himself in Europe’s most competitive division, Spurs’ admiration for the player hasn’t gone away.

As per Jones, some members of Tottenham’s transfer team are “very hot” on Scott right now, and a move for him in the near future could be on the cards.

According to Opta, no Bournemouth midfielder has made more dribbles than Scott or won more ground duels than the new England international — demonstrating his ability to excel both defensively and in the forward areas.

Scott also started in England’s victorious U21 European Championship final against Germany in June, with Spurs chiefs potentially taking interest in one of the country’s next rising stars who’s perhaps less talked about.

According to another report, though, he won’t be let go on the cheap.

Bournemouth could demand as much as £65 million for Scott, or more, with the Cherries aiming to make a near-triple profit on a player they signed for just £25 million.

Dwaine Pretorius’ late sixes trumped Kieron Pollard’s in a tense chase of 168 to start Guyana Amazon Warriors’ home stretch with a victory and boost their playoff chances. They are fourth now on the points table, just one point behind Antigua and Barbuda Falcons, but with three matches in hand compared to one for Falcons. Trinbago Knight Riders, second on the table and already through to the playoffs, were lifted to a competitive score single-handedly by Pollard’s unbeaten 54 off 18, but it didn’t prove to be enough on a night where batting got easier later on, according to Pretorius.Amazon Warriors were in a spot of bother once their set batters Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer were gone by the 16th over and they needed 38 to win off 18. Pretorius, fresh on the back of his 53 off 34 against Barbados Royals two days ago, ended the 18th over, from Andre Russell, with consecutive sixes to bring it down from 19 to 12, and further eased the nerves in the last over, of which they needed nine, with a hack over wide long-on off Pollard before they reached the target with a ball to spare.TKR got off to a sedate start after they were put in to bat. They kept attempting boundaries, but kept losing wickets in the process as Romario Shepherd rattled Alex Hales’ stumps and Moeen Ali did the same to Nicholas Pooran, leaving them on 40 for 3 at the end of the powerplay. Moeen and captain Imran Tahir slowed them down further with a spin strangle, conceding just 18 in the next four overs with just one boundary. Moeen finished with 4-0-11-1 before Darren Bravo broke the shackles but soon holed out off Tahir for 33 off 35.On 100 for 4 after 16, TKR got a massive late lift when Pollard faced 17 off the last 24 balls and smashed the fastest half-century of the season, off 17 balls, studded with his trademark swings across the line after going back and across. He started with consecutive fours against Pretorius and smashed back-to-back sixes off Shepherd before Keacy Carty retired out for 29 off 34 at the end of the 18th. Pollard took on Tahir too, with a six that travelled 103 metres back over the bowler. The innings ended with a sequence of 6, 6, 4 and 4 as Pollard tore into Shepherd for a 21-run over.Amazon Warriors’ start wasn’t very impressive either, as Akeal Hosein sent back Moeen and Keemo Paul in his first eight balls. Hope, however, broke free with 6, 6 and 4 off Russell before Hetmyer hammered Usman Tariq for three sixes in an over to place them on an impressive 66 for 2 after six overs. But Amazon Warriors, too, slowed down after the powerplay, with the introduction of Sunil Narine. He added to the hosts’ woes by having Hetmyer hole out for 49 and trapping Hope lbw for 53. But Pretorious held his nerve by being prepared for yorkers and variations, and putting a bunch of them away to the ropes to see Amzaon Warriors home.

Northern Superchargers 214 for 5 (Perrin 101, Litchfield 35, Carey 31*) beat London Spirit 172 for 9 (Redmayne 50*, Knott 40, Ballinger 3-22, Sutherland 3-40) by 42 runsJust one delivery stood between 18-year-old Davina Perrin and a personal piece of history, but that became a mere detail when her astonishing 42-ball century powered Northern Superchargers to a record total and into Sunday’s Hundred final against Southern Brave at Lord’s.Perrin fell just short of Harry Brook’s 41-ball record for the fastest century in the competition, but her precocious efforts were more than enough to settle Saturday’s Eliminator against London Spirit at The Kia Oval, as Superchargers won by a thumping 42 runs.”One ball? Damn,” was Perrin’s response to Sky Sports immediately after the Superchargers’ innings ended on 214 for 5, the highest total of the women’s Hundred competition to date. “I’d better hit the gym so I can send those sixes a bit further.”But this was not a moment to dwell what her remarkable innings was not. This is what the women’s Hundred is about, unearthing a star of the future in a show that had first-time viewers and loyal fans transfixed.Perrin usurped the only other century in the history of the women’s competition, scored by Tammy Beaumont off 52 balls in 2023. Ending on 101 off 43, Perrin propelled Superchargers well beyond the previous team best of 181 for 3, set up for Welsh Fire by that Beaumont ton. And Perrin played the leading hand in knocking defending champions London Spirit out of the tournament.Perrin was part of the Birmingham Phoenix squads in 2022 and 2023 without playing a game, before moving to Superchargers last season, scoring 33 runs across four matches. Her previous innings of note this year had been an unbeaten 72 in her second match of the campaign as Superchargers defeated Trent Rockets by eight wickets in Nottingham.Her latest knock was impeccable. Perrin reached fifty off just 25 balls, including three sixes, over deep square leg, over long-off and then long-on all in the space of 13 deliveries.Perrin dominated a 105-run opening stand•ECB/Getty Images

She clubbed Eva Gray for a second six in one set of five – Perrin’s fourth of five in all – brilliantly over long-on again to leave Spirit in no doubt that hers was the wicket they needed. But she looked unstoppable when she cleared the boundary once more with an 82-metre slog over deep midwicket off Charli Knott.When Alice Davidson-Richards was run out attempting a second run, it ended a 49-ball opening stand worth 105.With the fastest century in the competition in sight, Perrin pulled Sarah Glenn to deep midwicket, the ball landing millimetres short of hitting the boundary cushion on the full, and she followed up immediately with another four cut expertly through backward point.Phoebe Litchfield chimed in with six, four, four off Dean as she built a handy 35 in 19 balls.While extra cover denied Perrin a run off the 41st ball she faced, that did nothing to dampen her celebrations off Gray’s next ball, as a superb late cut for four brought up her century.And she couldn’t remove the smile from her face as she strode off the field amid warm handshakes from her opponents and a standing ovation from the crowd when she was run out off a deflection from bowler Knott, after Annabel Sutherland had driven hard back down the pitch.”It felt pretty brilliant,” Perrin said. “It’s not every day you get to find yourself in that state of flow and in the zone. I’m not thinking a lot when I’m in a state of mind like that. I’m typically looking at taking every ball as it comes.”There was a time when the keeper turned to me and went, ‘Have you thought about your hundred yet?’ and I was like, ‘What, as in the competition?’ Then I was like, ‘Oh no, the hundred.’ That was the first time I glanced up at my score and I thought, ‘Ooh, this is going alright actually.'”Perrin’s innings took her into fourth place on this year’s run-scorers’ list with 243, behind only former Australia captain Meg Lanning, current Australia regular Litchfield, and England skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt.Grace Harris, now sixth on that list after an explosive start to the tournament, had a day to forget. Her only set of five, the last of Superchargers’ innings, went for 22 runs as Nicola Carey powered her way to an unbeaten 31 off just 12 balls.Harris was then bowled for a second-ball duck as Grace Ballinger put an early dent in Spirit’s response with the first of her 3 for 22 in 20 balls. Ballinger followed with the wicket of Dani Gibson, bookending Kate Cross’s dismissal of Kira Chathli as Spirit slumped to 12 for 3 after 12 deliveries.Knott offered a fighting 40 off just 16, which included a 63-run stand for the fourth wicket with Cordelia Griffith, who was caught by Davidson-Richards to give Sutherland the first of her three wickets, and Georgia Redmayne raised an unbeaten 50 off 29. But Perrin had long since broken London’s spirit.

Martin O’Neill may reportedly have taken charge of his last game as Celtic’s interim manager, according to a significant new update that has emerged.

O’Neill is such a popular figure at Parkhead, with the 73-year-old bringing positivity back to the club after a frustrating end to Brendan Rodgers’ time in charge.

The Northern Irishman has addressed his future at Celtic in recent days, still pinching himself at making a return, but admitting he doesn’t know what the next step is.

“I have to go back down to London again, I’m going to go into a darkened room and come out on Thursday and think ‘has this really happened?’ So I should imagine at some stage or another during the course of the next week, whether it be tomorrow, whether it be Saturday or Sunday of next week, that somebody will let me know what’s happening.

“No, I genuinely don’t know. But if they make an announcement in, let’s say, in the next week or something about a new manager, I will take this fortnight and I was nearly going to say rather morbidly, to my grave, but hang about. Well you never know, but it’s been fantastic.”

O’Neill will ultimately know that he isn’t the long-term answer for Celtic, with his appointment only a short-term fix, and now a new update has emerged regarding his future.

O'Neill may be replaced at Celtic during international break

According to a fresh claim from Football Insider, O’Neill’s spell in charge of Celtic could reach its conclusion during the current international break.

A new “development” took place last weekend, with Columbus Crew boss Wilfried Nancy now one of the leading contenders to come in at Parkhead alongside Bodo/Glimt manager Kjetil Knutsen. It is stated that top target Nancy is now “available” and ready to join the Hoops straight away after his current club were knocked out of the MLS playoffs.

As mentioned, O’Neill won’t be expecting to get the Celtic job permanently, despite some good results in charge, but if he has managed his last game for the club, he will depart as popular as ever.

Shock Celtic manager frontrunner receives backing from Parkhead higher-up

The Bhoys may well now have found their preferred choice to succeed Martin O’Neill.

By
Sean Markus Clifford

Nov 11, 2025

Ultimately, the Hoops have to make the right appointment to take the club in the right direction, and if they feel they have found the correct choice during the international break, an immediate change is needed.

Nancy looks to be an interesting option currently, having won 109 out of 209 matches in management in North America, but the one main risk is that he hasn’t proven himself in Europe, unlike Knutsen with Bodo/Glimt.

Approach imminent: Manager with 209 wins to 70 losses excited by Celtic

ESPNcricinfo has learned that the franchise has not yet given him a definitive answer

Nagraj Gollapudi07-Aug-2025

Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson has told the franchise he wants to be released ahead of the upcoming auction for IPL 2026. ESPNcricinfo learned that Samson informed the RR management of his intention immediately after IPL 2025 ended.RR, which had its 2025 season review meetings in June, has not yet given Samson a definitive answer and the option of convincing him to stay with the team is still open. The franchise’s lead owner Manoj Badale offered no comment when asked about the development. The final decision will be taken by him in coordination with RR head coach Rahul Dravid.If RR decide to release Samson, they could either trade him to another franchise or send him into the auction. As per the IPL contract, the final say in such cases lies with the franchise. As far as a trade is concerned, it could be a player swap or an all-cash deal.Samson, 30, first played for RR for three seasons from IPL 2013 to 2015, and then rejoined them in 2018 after two years at Delhi Daredevils. He was appointed captain in 2021 and, in 2022, led RR to the IPL final for the first time since they won the inaugural edition in 2008. However, two of their key players – Jos Buttler and Yuzvendra Chahal, who won the Orange and Purple caps in 2022 – were released ahead of the 2025 mega auction.Related

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R Ashwin asks CSK for clarity ahead of IPL 2026

Samson returns to Kerala cricket with record KCL signing

Samson was one of six players retained by RR ahead of last year’s mega auction; his price was INR 18 crore ($2.14 million approx. then). The other players retained were Yashasvi Jaiswal, Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Sandeep Sharma and Shimron Hetmyer. Samson played only nine of RR’s 14 matches in IPL 2025 due to a side strain, with Riyan Parag standing in as captain.They finished ninth with just four wins.ESPNcricinfo learned that Samson is currently at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru for a routine training programme designed for a targeted pool of players shortlisted by the national selectors. He will likely be picked for the Asia Cup which starts in the UAE from September 9. Before that Samson will play a few matches in the Kerala Cricket League where he was recently picked by Kochi Blue Tigers for INR 26.8 lakh, making him the most expensive player in the tournament.RR have another two months to make a decision on Samson before the IPL’s retention deadline in November.