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It’s a mismatch India are primed to exploit, and Australia will need to find ways to stop that happening

Andrew Fidel Fernando03-Mar-20252:26

Manjrekar: Australia always India’s toughest opponent

Australia’s second string has for many decades been the best second string in cricket. But on Tuesday that second string will be up against one of cricket’s modern-day ODI powerhouses: India’s top order.Between them, seamers Nathan Ellis Spencer Johnson and Ben Dwarshuis, who all played in Australia’s most recent match against Afghanistan, have 20 ODI appearances. Between India’s top three, they have… uhh… 91 ODI centuries.Yes, Australia tend to roll through oppositions in big tournaments. Yes, they get to semi-finals, and somehow find the knack of winning big games. But you look at these three guys in yellow, and those three guys in blue, and it is difficult to come to any other conclusion: this is a mismatch. The biggest one there is in this semi-final.Related

• 'We guessed right in the end' – Smith relieved fixture tangle worked in Australia's favour

• Connolly replaces Short as India's spinners loom for Australia

• Rohit: 'Dubai not our home, it's new for us as well'

• Unfamiliar Varun a 'tempting' option against Australia in semi-final, says Rohit

• Favourites India enter Australia's territory in semi-final

Some caveats, before we get ahead of ourselves. Ellis has been unlucky to play as few as 11 ODIs, given his exploits in Australia’s T20 circuit, of which the Big Bash League is the main component. His style of bowling – bustling medium-pace with an array of variations – is likely to be suited to the dry Dubai surface on which the match will be played. Expect fingers to be rolled over the ball when Ellis is bowling on Tuesday.Johnson is tall, left-armed, and quick, but no one is yet making serious comparisons to that other Johnson, this new one having only played 13 internationals. Expect sharp Johnson spells to come through the middle overs, which in the latest iteration of the ODI game have become a glorious canvas for strategy, after having been derided as boring for decades.Where batting teams still want to see those overs through without much damage, bowling sides send their wicket-taking bowlers to the frontlines, and frequently these prompt either collapses or counter-attacks. Can Johnson be one of those big middle-overs’ bowlers? Right now, he averages 59 after five ODIs.Dwarshuis, meanwhile, is the least likely to play. He has only four ODIs on his record, and even fewer T20Is. On a Dubai surface which is likely to favour spin, Australia may pick legspinner Tanveer Sangha, who has played three ODIs. There is perhaps caution in the India team against Australia, a longtime nemesis, and a perennial ruiner of everybody else’s big-tournament plans. But if there is a softness to this Australia side that opponents can exploit, it’s their bowling.Will Australia bring in Tanveer Sangha to shore up their spin resources?•AFP/Getty ImagesOn top of this, India can hardly be better-placed to bear down on Australia. Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill already have hundreds in this tournament. Shreyas Iyer has more cumulative runs – 150 – than any other India batter. In the match against New Zealand, even Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel contributed encouraging innings.”The last match was brilliant for us in terms of the middle order getting an opportunity to try and set up the target,” captain Rohit Sharma said ahead of the semi-final. India had been 30 for 3, before Iyer struck up partnerships with Axar and then KL Rahul to revive the innings. Hardik then contributed a run-a-ball 45. “The middle order is very experienced in terms of the number of games they’ve played, but just to get some time in the middle, and to get those runs, and get that fighting total, was very important from our standpoint. In all, I think it was the perfect game we wanted.”Australia now have decisions in front of them. They had played Dwarshuis perhaps on the theory that England are suspect against left-arm pace. Dwarshuis took 3 for 66 in that high-scoring game, and also took three wickets against Afghanistan to complicate things for the selectors. If they play only two seamers on Tuesday, whom do they drop? Ellis is the proven domestic performer, and Johnson brings the left-arm pace. Do they risk playing a third seamer? Dwarshuis has slower balls and variations too.Tall, left-armed and quick, but no one is as yet comparing this Johnson to the other one•ICC via Getty ImagesWhoever plays, India are primed to be effective. Perhaps primed to maul them into oblivion, even. Adam Zampa is around, but he can only control a fifth of Australia’s overs. Where are the other 20 overs of spin going to come from (you probably need about 30 all up)? Glenn Maxwell is good for seven or eight. Travis Head could bowl a few. Steven Smith no longer fancies rolling his arm over. If Sangha plays, or left-arm spin bowling allrounder Cooper Connolly plays, it does not solve the issue of inexperience.If there is an Australia vs India match that India should dominate, this is the one.That other teams believe India have notable advantages in this tournament is no secret. And so far, India have crushed all three oppositions, to such an extent that they have created selection dilemmas for themselves: if only three spinners can play against Australia, will they really leave out Varun Chakravarthy?But it is through their batting that India are best-placed to knock Australia out of this tournament. Kohli, Rohit, Gill and Co coming up against Ellis, Johnson and Dwarshuis. There are clear imbalances here for India to exploit, whatever the history.

Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma began SRH’s 2025 season with another rocket-propelled opening partnership

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Mar-20253:14

Cricinformed – SRH’s six-hitters set for a new IPL high?

125 for 0, Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Delhi Capitals, IPL 2024
Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma had one thing in mind – like they did when they rocketed Sunrisers Hyderabad to 277 for 3 and 287 for 3 earlier in the season – to maximise the powerplay. Head faced 26 of the 36 balls and smashed 84, which would make a good team score. Hard to wrap your head around that, yeah? Well, Abhishek Sharma struck at 400 at the other end. Yep, ten balls, 40 runs, five sixes and two fours. The first over was the least expensive, and that went for 19. Sunrisers finished their innings at 266 for 7.107 for 0, Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Lucknow Super Giants, IPL 2024
Travishek? Again? Yeah, and it won’t be the last time either. For a change, this didn’t come while batting first. Lucknow Super Giants had set them 166 to win, a par score in general, not if Head and Abhishek could help it, not even if K Gowtham gave away just eight runs in the first over. Of course not, 99 runs came off the next five overs, Gowtham’s following over went for 22. Five bowlers were tried, all of them were taken down for 13 fours and eight sixes in the first six. The target was chased down with 62 balls to spare with ten wickets in hand.105 for 0, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL 2017
Chasing 159, KKR sprung a surprise by opening with pinch-hitter Sunil Narine, who many thought would drop back down the order with Chris Lynn returning from injury and Gautam Gambhir still around. It led to RCB being under attack from both ends. Lynn scored 14 runs in the first over and another 14 in the third, and then Narine smashed the fourth over for 26. By the end of the Powerplay, Narine had reached his fifty, the joint-fastest in IPL, while Lynn was on 49.100 for 2, Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab, 2nd qualifying play-off, IPL 2014
The first 36 balls of Super Kings’ chase of 227 in a knock-out game featured the following – 87 runs off Suresh Raina’s bat alone, including 12 fours and six sixes, apart from two wickets in between. It was the first three-figure Powerplay score in IPL history, but it wasn’t enough as CSK lost by 24 runs.94 for 1, Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2025
New season, same old Travishek. It didn’t matter that they weren’t batting deep as they did the previous year. Coach Daniel Vettori had said SRH would be aggressive and that promise was delivered on day one. This was coming, and Rajasthan Royals, who had won the toss and chose to field, helped SRH’s cause. Head hit six fours to six different directions, and the sixes came over cow corner, long on, and backward point. Abhishek hit Fazalhaq Farooqi for five fours, Ishan Kishan hit five fours off Mahesh Theekshana.

He’s 38 and was coming into this series without a fifty in his 13 previous Test innings, but he’s roared back with a 163 against one of his favourite oppositions

Andrew Fidel Fernando18-Jun-2025We didn’t, in truth, learn a lot about Mushfiqur Rahim across the first two days of the Galle Test. That is except to say that he’s still here. That he is not going away. That he can still do this. Which actually, when you’re 38 and by a distance the oldest member of the squad, this is more important than you might think.Mushfiqur is the last remaining Test combatant from Bangladesh’s first generation of greats, Tamim Iqbal, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasan, and Mahmudullah no longer appearing. There is a level of respect and space afforded to players who have given as much as Mushfiqur has, but also the threat of the companion accusation of hanging on for too long, too selfishly. Against this, there is no better antidote for a batter than runs. “You think I’m past it? Oh yeah? Say that to this 163.”Related

• Tamim: Mushfiqur's 100th Test 'should be celebrated by every Bangladesh cricket lover'

• 'These are not easy runs' – Mushfiqur reflects on 'special' century

• SL's newest spinner brings two arms to a format with one foot out the door

• Sri Lanka claw back after Mushfiqur 163, Litton 90

• Galle becomes Bangladesh's happy place again as top-order finds form

Still, there was little in this innings that was not Mushfiqur treading ground he had already trod. We already knew he could make runs on Sri Lankan tracks. Before this innings, he averaged 62.63 on the island (it’s up to 71 now). In fact several of his most memorable cricketing moments came here. In 2013, he hit Bangladesh’s first-ever double ton at this venue. In 2017, he was at the crease when Bangladesh claimed their first Test win against Sri Lanka at the P Sara Oval, having made a fifty in the first innings of that match. Next year, he’d bossed a Nidahas Trophy chase, his mocking celebration becoming a crucial staging post in the Naagin rivalry.Now that they have been made, these essentially seem like unsurprising runs from an unsurprising source. Mushfiqur has rocked it against better Lankan attacks, on much harder Lankan pitches. And he has always had the game to succeed in these conditions. He sweeps well and cuts even better, tends to read the direction of spin out of the hand, and has strong wrists, which, as several flicks through and over midwicket on day two proved, remained in good condition.And yet there was the big problem of his having arrived in Sri Lanka having not made a fifty in his 13 previous Test innings. Where in younger years this kind of lean stretch may have been viewed as a dip in form, when you are a couple of hops from 40, the accusation is that this is probably a terminal decline. At this stage of his career, Mushfiqur doesn’t need to show growth. Summoning a vintage performance? That’s the stuff.Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das added a century stand•Associated PressNajmul Hossain Shanto was the first to triple figures, and later Litton Das scored his runs more rapidly, but there was no more assured innings in this mammoth Bangladesh batting performance than Mushfiqur’s. There were no early jitters, no periods of the innings in which he appeared to get stuck, no bowler against whom he laboured, and even though he said he felt he got stuck on 99 a little, he only faced four scoreless balls before taking the single that took him to the hundred. It was no big deal, which was essentially the theme of Mushfiqur’s entire innings. A flat surface, an inexperienced opposition attack – why shouldn’t he be scoring runs here?”Mushfiqur has come back strongly and shown his character,” said Mohammad Salahuddin, Bangladesh’s assistant coach after Mushfiqur hit his 163. “He can inspire the team. He has great work ethic, and he is trying to improve all the time. It’s what you want from any senior player.”With the World Test Championship now introducing a “cycle” into the Test cricket consciousness, retirements now require a little more thinking about. “Can I last two more years?” is essentially the calculation Test cricketers in their mid-to-late 30s have to make now. On the Sri Lankan side, 37-year-old Dimuth Karunaratne had quit at the end of the last cycle, and 38-year-old Angelo Mathews is retiring at the very start of this one.Mushfiqur has shown no intention to bounce during this cycle, which is why, for him, at 38, and with 13 straight underwhelmings on his record, 163 is a pretty good number, it doesn’t matter that no new ground was broken.

Stats highlights from the first Test between India and West Indies, which India won by an innings and 140 runs

Shubh Agarwal04-Oct-20255:49

Bishop: Want WI batters to stop being satisfied with 20s and 30s

An innings and 140 runs – India’s massive victory margin in the Ahmedabad Test is their third-biggest against West Indies. They beat West Indies by an innings and 141 runs in Dominica in 2023 and by an innings and 272 runs in the Rajkot Test in 2018.India’s last five Tests against West Indies in India include four innings victories for the hosts and a 10-wicket win (Hyderabad, 2018).4 – Number of times Ravindra Jadeja has scored a hundred alongside taking a four-wicket haul in the same Test. He leveled with Garfield Sobers and his long-time spin-bowling partner R Ashwin, in terms of achieving this feat most times. Only Ian Botham is ahead with five such instances.Jadeja was wicketless in the first innings but scored an unbeaten 104 and picked four wickets for 54 runs in the second innings. His performance also earned him his 11th Player-of-the-Match award in Test cricket. He equalled Rahul Dravid, with only Sachin Tendulkar (14) ahead on this list.10 – Number of hundreds for KL Rahul as an opener for India. He went past Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma, who have nine Test tons each as openers. Only M Vijay, Virender Sehwag and Sunil Gavaskar are ahead of him.KL Rahul climbed up the ranks•ESPNcricinfo LtdIt was also only Rahul’s second Test hundred at home, after his 199 against England in Chennai in 2016. His wait of 3212 days is the longest between two home Test tons for an Indian batter. Previously, Mohinder Amarnath had to wait for 2885 days between 1979 and 1986.1746 – Number of balls Jasprit Bumrah took to complete 50 Test wickets in India. Among the 30 bowlers to achieve this feat, Bumrah is the fastest in terms of number of balls bowled. He surpassed Mohammed Shami (2267 deliveries) and Harbhajan Singh (2272) by a margin of more than 500 balls. Bumrah has the best bowling strike rate (35.8) and bowling average (17.32) in this club.89.2 – The least number of overs batted by West Indies in a Test against India where they have been bowled out twice. They batted 44.1 overs in the first innings and 45.1 overs in the second. Their previous worst came in their last Test tour of India where they could last only 98.5 overs across both innings in the Rajkot Test in 2018.West Indies have batted 12 times in Test cricket this year, out of which they have failed to last 50 overs on eight occasions.308 – The number of runs West Indies managed across both innings, the second lowest for them against India in a defeat.West Indies have a batting average of 15.60 this year, the lowest among the 12 Full Member nations. Zimbabwe, the second lowest in the table is over five runs/wicket better than West Indies – 20.87.Across Test history, only New Zealand in 1958 had a worse batting average (12.65) among nations that played at least five Tests in a calendar year. West Indies have been bowled out under 300 eight times this year, the most such instances for a Test team in a calendar year.

Exciting finish with Lancashire could be in prospect after rain wipes out much of day three

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay10-Sep-2025An exciting finish could be in prospect on the final day of the Rothesay County Championship between Kent and Lancashire at Canterbury, after the hosts reached 206 for 5 at stumps, a lead of 215.Although rain wiped out much of day three, with only 38.3 overs bowled, Jaydn Denly hit 74 as Kent built their lead, before Mitch Stanley helped rein them in with 2 for 56.With Ben Compton not expected to bat Kent are effectively six down and the game looks fascinatingly poised going into day four.Kent resumed with a lead of 105, on 96 for 0, with Denly on 55 and Ben Dawkins on 35.Dawkins had added just a single when he edged Will Williams to Keaton Jennings at first slip, but the players went off for rain at 10.56 am and six overs were lost.When play resumed Tom Bailey sent Denly’s off stump flying, but a further downpour resulted in an early lunch, with the score 131 for 2.After a two-and-a-half-hour delay, play resumed and George Balderson, switching to the Pavilion End, had Joey Evison caught behind for 26.Joe Denly, in as a concussion sub for Tawanda Muyeye, cracked Stanley for six over midwicket to take Kent to 170 for 3 at tea, but he rarely looked comfortable and was caught behind for 19 after flashing at the same bowler.Stanley then had Harry Finch lbw for 4 before the rain returned at 5.12 pm. With no prospect of a resumption, play was abandoned for the day, with Ekansh Singh unbeaten on 30 and Mo Rizvi, who’s on a pair, on nought not out.

“There’s a real heartbeat of cricket that it’s our duty to tap into,” says new chief executive Dan Feist

Andrew Miller11-Mar-2025English cricket is rife with new realities as the 2025 season dawns. The success of the Hundred equity sale means that county cricket will soon be awash with untold (albeit one-off) riches, but for some clubs, the implications of a lower-profile but no less significant carve-up are already being felt.In April last year, the ECB embarked on its reboot of the women’s domestic structure by announcing the winning bids for eight professional Tier 1 county set-ups. And, while gender equality had never previously counted for much in England’s domestic circles, the outpouring of reaction from the bid’s winners and losers confirmed that, for several disorientated counties, this process had been their best shot at a renewed sense of purpose.Nowhere has this been more obvious than at Chelmsford – or the Ambassador Cruise Line Ground, as Essex’s HQ will now grandiloquently be known when it plays host to 30 men’s and women’s county fixtures (plus four representative games) in the course of a bumper 2025.In February, that new naming-rights deal was unveiled on board Ambassador’s flagship Ambience, which had just arrived back at Tilbury Docks from the Caribbean and was due to set sail that evening for the Northern Lights. As metaphors go, this one was full steam ahead for the club’s new journey.Related

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• Silicon Valley consortium values London Spirit at £295 million in Hundred coup

• Essex hit with £100,000 fine after being found guilty of systemic racism

• Durham, Essex big winners as top-flight women's teams are named

Dan Feist, Essex’s new chief executive, is keenly aware of the role the women’s announcement played in securing this deal. “It has raised the profile of the region, and our opportunity within it, as well as doubling the number of activation days at the ground,” he tells ESPNcricinfo. “We understand that we’ve got a huge geographical reach in the East of England, in terms of businesses on our doorstep and the sheer weight of population. There’s a real heartbeat of cricket that it’s our duty to tap into.”There’ll be pressures in the season ahead, not least on the Chelmsford groundstaff, but the speed with which the mood at the club has changed is astonishing. In July last year, Essex was still in the throes of perpetual crisis. With further penalties looming from the Cricket Discipline Commission, at the conclusion of a long investigation into historic racism claims, the club embarked on a management restructuring that included the resignation of Feist’s predecessor John Stephenson, and the discontinuation of his role. Though that move was not directly connected to the CDC’s findings, the inference at the time was that a club as financially battered as Essex could not afford to carry on paying for a traditional chief executive.How different things look now – and not simply because Essex, as a partner club of the Hundred’s most valued brand, London Spirit, are due their share of a cool £144 million as and when MCC and their tech consortium bedfellows have worked out the finer details of their new arrangement.Last month, Feist stepped officially into Stephenson’s shoes as Essex’s CEO, having previously overseen the club’s day-to-day operations as general manager, while Chris Silverwood has also returned to the club as director of cricket, eight years after his transformational stint as men’s head coach.On the women’s side, Andy Tennant – the former head coach of regional team Sunrisers – came across to Chelmsford in October, along with 14 of the 16 players who featured in last season’s Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and Charlotte Edwards Cup. And for all that the Hundred’s machinations have reinforced the sense that Essex are lightweights on the London scene compared to their richer neighbours at Lord’s and The Oval, the club’s new brains trust are confident that their traditional homespun strengths can meet the new realities head-on.”Essex’s success has always been built around developing our own players,” Feist says, with some justification. When, in 2017, Essex landed their first County Championship title for 25 years, four of their first XI were born in the same Whipps Cross hospital as the grandee of Chelmsford grandees, Graham Gooch. “The teams that create the best pathway for players tend to be the most successful.”Silverwood was widely credited for reinvigorating those pathways during his first stint as coach, and it was a point he leant back into ahead of his comeback season. “We have to be smart,” Silverwood says. “We’re not going to compete on the money front, but we can be good at what we do. We’re bringing people through that pipeline all the time, and if we can create an over-supply of good cricketers, we get to pick the cream of the crop.”If people go on and make a good career somewhere else, that’s brilliant as well. That doesn’t worry me, as long as we are producing good Essex boys and girls to come and play for Essex.”Essex coach Chris Silverwood poses with fans in 2017•Getty ImagesThis recognition of the club’s place in England’s pecking order could be the remaking of Essex. For all of the success of the Hundred in promoting the women’s game and, as of now, replenishing the sport’s coffers, the relative emptiness of that edifice has arguably been seen in England’s recent performances, across genders.The men’s hapless displays at the Champions Trophy betrayed their lack of familiarity with a format that none of the elite players ever play domestically, while the women’s desperate failures at the T20 World Cup and the Ashes are a warning that – despite the exposure the top players have received in recent years – the women’s game will lack robustness until there’s sufficient pressure for places from a broader base of credible challengers on the domestic circuit.”The wider you can build the pyramid, the higher that has the potential to go,” Tennant says. “We want to be the best player development program in England, and we almost have to build that trading model, because we don’t have the riches of some of the Test venues. But we’re confident that we can punch above our weight and be competitive at the top end of the game.”Essex certainly has the remit to be competitive. As Feist acknowledges, they share a geographical advantage with Somerset and Durham – two other clubs that have been granted Tier 1 women’s status but are not Hundred-hosting venues – in that their catchment area extends into swathes of the country, in this case East Anglia, that are not served by any other first-class county.But there’s the East London factor too – perhaps most keenly felt two summers ago when huge numbers of Bangladeshi fans made the 30-minute journey from Tower Hamlets (and beyond) to attend three sell-out ODIs against Ireland.Essex have been in conversations about similar initiatives in the future, particularly in the lead-up to next year’s Women’s World Cup, and also plan on creating a more dedicated East London supporters’ group to firm up that connection. There is, however, a keen recognition of the need to stay grounded, particularly when it comes to the limitations of a compact venue such as Chelmsford.Bangladesh’s fans get into the spirit of the occasion at Chelmsford•Cricket IrelandWhereas other comparable counties, most notably Gloucestershire and Worcestershire, are assessing their options when it comes to relocation, Feist is confident about leaning into the existing strengths of their existing 5,000-seater home – the smallest on the county circuit, even if it could conceivably be stretched to 10,000 capacity by 2030 if their plans for a redeveloped pavilion can come to fruition.”Chelmsford is our preferred option of where we want to stay,” Feist says. “The benefit here is that we’ve got very limited competitors for the facilities at our ground, whereas if we moved and ended up in the middle of nowhere, it’s quite hard to then get a secondary income. Cricket grounds can sit there empty like white elephants for a while, so we’ve got to make sure our venue is two-way facing, community focused, and representing the region it’s based in.”In cricket, it’s only really the Utilita Bowl [Hampshire] and the Riverside [Durham] that have successfully moved, but they’ve both had their challenges to be financially sustainable, and some of the football clubs have had the same struggles.”You have to be really clear about your business model in the landscape of sport. Whether it’s Brighton or Brentford, or the difference between Bath and Saracens, it’s about knowing your role and how to make the most of it to be successful.”In the short term, however, the excitement for the new season trumps any such long-term considerations – and Essex’s women’s set-up epitomises this mood change. For them, the chance to put down even the most exploratory of roots will be a step up from their previous nomadic experience at Sunrisers. Throughout their five seasons, Chelmsford still hosted more than half their games, but the team’s primary affiliation to Middlesex meant they were only ever passing through.”The regional model was good and of its time, but you did feel as if you were representing everyone and no-one at the same time,” Tennant says. “Having a headquarters will be gold-dust. We’ll be going somewhere that the girls know as their place of work, which is quite powerful, and the fortress Chelmsford moniker is live, isn’t it? It’s a great venue for women’s cricket. It’s a really good size. We’re looking forward to making it into our fortress too.”

Dickson will join from Somerset as a replacement for the outgoing Glamorgan skipper Sam Northeast

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Sep-2025Glamorgan have moved quickly to replace outgoing captain Sam Northeast with the signing of multi-format batter Sean Dickson.Dickson will depart Somerset at the end of the summer, moving to Sophia Gardens on a two-year deal.The 34-year old has established himself as an accomplished batter on the domestic scene. Glamorgan will be his fourth county, having also represented Kent and Durham across all formats.He underlined those credentials on Saturday with a match-winning 71 off just 26 deliveries against Birmingham Bears to take Somerset through to Blast Finals Day. Dickson also has a first-class best of 318, for Kent in the County Championship. It is one of 14 first-class centuries, of which 13 have come in English cricket. Born in South Africa, he notched a sole hundred for Northerns, in Centurion, before moving over to the UK in 2015.Glamorgan are pushing for promotion to Divison One but will lose Northeast, their captain, as he returns to his home county, Kent, at the end of this campaign.Speaking on Dickson’s impending arrival, Glamorgan director of cricket, Mark Wallace said: “We’re delighted that Sean has agreed to join Glamorgan for the next two years. Sean is one of the most explosive middle-order T20 batters in the country and is a proven top four option in four-day cricket.”With Sam Northeast heading back to Kent, Sean will add to the experience of our batting unit and we’re looking forward to welcoming him to Wales.”

Former West Ham boss David Moyes has set his sights on strengthening his Everton ranks in January, with reliable insider ExWHUemployee saying he could now spark a reunion.

West Ham are bracing for a significant clear-out during the January window as Nuno Espírito Santo looks to reshape his struggling squad.

With the Hammers languishing in the relegation zone, several high-profile players could be heading for the exit door.

Niclas Füllkrug tops the list of potential departures, after the German striker reportedly told West Ham he wants to leave in January. The £27 million signing from Borussia Dortmund has endured a nightmare spell plagued by persistent fitness issues, missing 28 games for club and country combined last season, and has failed to make any meaningful impact since his arrival.

His agent has even admitted that a move away would be best for both parties, though West Ham insist they won’t sanction his exit until a suitable replacement is found.

Brazilian midfielder Lucas Paqueta is another player reportedly keen on securing a January departure. The Times reported recently that the 28-year-old outright wants to leave, with Fabrizio Romano also confirming in his GiveMeSport newsletter that a Paqueta exit is indeed possible.

Aston Villa came fairly close to signing Paqueta last summer after holding talks, but the move fell through, with West Ham’s star kissing the badge as a show of loyalty after scoring away to Nuno’s Nottingham Forest in August.

Nevertheless, an exit is apparently on the cards for him, as it is for out-of-favour midfielder Guido Rodriguez.

Rodriguez is actively seeking a January exit after a disappointing spell since joining on a free transfer from Real Betis in 2024, with River Plate, Espanyol, Club América and ex-club Betis all vying to sign him for a cheap fee mid-season (El Intransigente).

Young winger Luis Guilherme could also be moved on after failing to establish himself in the first team since his arrival from Palmeiras last year.

ExWHUemployee says David Moyes wants to sign James Ward-Prowse from West Ham

Finally, James Ward-Prowse appears destined to leave after being immediately axed from the squad following Nuno’s appointment.

Despite being a first-team regular and one of the captains under Graham Potter, the set-piece specialist is not in Nuno’s long-term plans and is resigned to departing in the winter.

Sharing an update on the 30-year-old’s future, ExWHUemployee has claimed that Moyes could look to sign Ward-Prowse for Everton after he initially brought him to the Hammers from Southampton during his spell in charge at the London Stadium.

Ward-Prowse actually did well under Moyes, making an impressive start and providing two assists in a 3-1 home win over Chelsea — becoming the first player to register two assists on his Premier League debut for West Ham.

His first season was rather productive. The midfielder, who Moyes called a “team player”, scored seven goals and registered seven assists in the Premier League alone, totaling 18 goal contributions across all competitions in over 50 appearances.

However, it was all downhill after Moyes left.

Ward-Prowse lost his importance under new manager Julen Lopetegui and was sent on loan to Nottingham Forest. The loan was then terminated mid-season by none other than Nuno, who was in charge of Forest at the time.

He returned to West Ham and played regularly under Graham Potter, but when Potter was dismissed and Nuno ironically became West Ham’s new manager, Ward-Prowse was immediately excluded from the squad again.

Now, Moyes is offering him yet another chance to shine at Everton, and he may well be eager to listen.

Neymar and his father are set to to acquire the Pele brand through their company NR Sports. Neymar returned to Santos at the start of January having left the Brazilian side for La Liga giants Barcelona in 2013, where he'd go on to win La Liga and the Champions League. And the Brazil star is prepared to continue Pele's legacy as the player and his father acquire the brand rights.

• Neymar set to acquire Pele 'brand' for €15.5m

  Pele was on the Santos books between 1956 and 1974, where he excelled for the Brazilian powerhouse. Indeed, the Brazil icon scored 643 goals in 659 outings for Santos before spending three seasons with the New York Cosmos and ultimately retiring in 1977.

  Pele is considered to be one of the best footballers of all time with Neymar and his father expected to continue his legacy when they announce a deal to acquire his brand rights later this week. According to UOL, an official agreement worth a reported €15.5m (£14m/$18m) is expected on Wednesday, November 19 to mark the anniversary of Pele's 1,000th career goal.

  The Pele brand previously belonged to American company Sport 10 and relied primarily on appearances at events. However, the brand has been underutilised since Pele's tragic passing in 2022 at the age of 82 due to multiple organ failure, a complication of colon cancer, which was initially diagnosed in 2021.

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• AFP
  

  Santos star out to revive Pele's image

  As a result of the acquisition, NR Sports will be able to use Pele's image and name, license for merchandise, and acquire historical footage as they look to revive and globalise the image of the former Brazil star. Pele's family still attend Santos games, with Neymar recently paying to renovate the box still occupied by the former's loved ones at the Vila Belmiro, which includes new seats, a remodelled bathroom, glass paneling, and air conditioning.

  Neymar has looked to continue his compatriot's legacy by adorning the famous number 10 shirt once worn by Pele for both Santos and Brazil. However, Neymar's return to Santos has been plagued by injuries, meaning the former Barcelona and PSG star has only made 13 league starts for the Peixe.

  Santos are also enduring a difficult domestic season and they head into the final knockings of the 2025 Brasileirao just one point and one place above the relegation zone. They did, though, claim a 1-0 win over Palmeiras at the weekend as Benjamin Rollheiser netted in second half injury time to claim a priceless three points.

• Neymar issued Brazil ultimatum

  Neymar has also been issued an ultimatum by Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti. The Selecao were underwhelming in CONMEBOL qualifying as they booked their 2026 World Cup spot in a bid to land a record-extending sixth World Cup, and their first since 2002.

  Earlier this month, Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti said: "Neymar is on the list of players who can go to the World Cup. He has six months to make the final list."

  The 33-year-old returned to the Brazil squad back in March having last featured for the national team in October 2023, when he suffered a knee injury in action against Uruguay. And Ancelotti has made it clear that any decision for Neymar to return to the Brazil squad will be down to his physical condition after years of setbacks and fitness issues.

  "Neymar has recovered, but he needs to show performance. When the Brazilian league ends he'll have some vacation time, and then he must show his quality and physical condition again," the Italian added.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  Neymar set for January transfer?

  One way for Neymar to maintain his fitness is to secure a January switch, with a transfer away from Santos mooted. Neymar's current deal runs until the end of the year, and Fabrizio Romano has hinted that the Brazilian trickster could be on the move again in the New Year.

  "Neymar is trying to help, but don't forget that Neymar could eventually be available as a free agent from the beginning of January," Romano said. "So an interesting situation to follow because Neymar could consider a move in the January transfer window. Now Neymar wants to be 100 per cent focused on his priority, so to help Santos avoid relegation and to do his best for his club.

  "In this moment Neymar is not having any advanced negotiation, but some calls have started to understand the situation of Neymar. When there is a player of his level available on the market, it is obviously an opportunity. Okay, maybe Neymar is not in the best physical condition now, Neymar is coming from an injury, he had several injuries recently. But now he’s back, he's fit, he’s trying to help Santos.

  "He's trying to find his best condition, and so keep an eye on Neymar because he could be one of the names to watch for the January transfer window on a free transfer, and so that could be an interesting situation to follow."

The Savannah Bananas brought their traveling baseball party to legendary Fenway Park in Boston this past Saturday and brought back some special Boston athletes and former Red Sox players to join in on the fun.

One of those guys was Brock Holt, a former infielder who spent seven seasons in Boston and won a World Series with the Red Sox in 2018.

Holt made a dramatic entrance for his at-bat, walking through the stands before making his way to home plate while the sold-out crowd gave him a huge ovation. Then a few moments later, he suffered the unluckiest of outs as a fan caught his foul ball, which per Savannah Bananas rules counts as an out.

Here's the fan robbing Holt of a chance to get a hit in front of a crowd that wanted to see the best for one of their former players. And yes, this guy was immediately booed for doing what he did:

Not cool, dude!