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Out of almost nowhere, Chelsea have emerged as Arsenal's closest challengers for the Premier League title this season as the London rivals prepare to lock horns at Stamford Bridge this weekend – but is this another false dawn? After all, Enzo Maresca's side found themselves in a similar position midway through 2024-25 only to fall away dramatically in the second half of the campaign. Ahead of Sunday's showdown, though, there is reason to believe the Blues could have staying power this time around.

After grinding out wins against Wolves and Burnley, following the customary defeat of Tottenham on the road, Chelsea have – – risen to second in the Premier League table ahead of hosting Mikel Arteta's early-season champions-elect, albeit they are still six points behind their cross-capital foes.

Serious doubts, though, remain over their ability to stay the course for the long-term – which are justified given the Blues haven't mounted a sustained title challenge since they last lifted the trophy nine seasons ago, and the backdrop of the club's tumultuous recent history since the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital takeover three years ago.

It's not long since Chelsea were in a similar position, either; around this time last season they surged into second place behind eventual league winners Liverpool, before failing miserably to deal with the packed festive schedule and sliding back down the standings amid a winter of discontent.

This time, though, things feel slightly different, with Maresca's side showing the kind of mettle and big-game aptitude that suggests they could have staying power for the season. However, the visit of the Arsenal juggernaut will be the ultimate test of their credentials at the top of the table.

Getty Images SportWinning habit

Chelsea's start to the season was inauspicious as they picked up just two wins from six league games, leading many to believe that another top-four finish would be the best that they could hope for. Since the start of October, though, there has been a shift.

The sensational late victory over Arne Slot's toiling champions has proven to be the catalyst for a run of eight victories in 10 matches in all competitions, with the alarming home defeat to high-flying Sunderland late last month proving to be an anomaly in what could prove to be a defining period in the west Londoners' campaign.

Having dropped points in clashes they were expected to win earlier in the season against Crystal Palace, Brentford and Brighton, the Blues have defeated Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Burnley with relative ease, as well as notching another victory over Spurs in north London in one of the most one-sided 1-0 wins you're likely to see.

Of course, Chelsea's young squad reached the latest significant milestone in its progression in the Champions League in midweek, as they utterly dominated the 10 men of Barcelona at Stamford Bridge in a mightily impressive 3-0 thumping that sets them up very nicely for Sunday's top-of-the-table showdown.

AdvertisementAFP'There is only one way'

For Maresca, this developing winning habit is vital to his side's chances of success: "Last year, we were playing in the Conference League, and I said many times that for me personally, if you want to build a winning mentality, there is only one way: winning games. Because otherwise, if you don't win games, it's difficult to convince the players, 'guys, we are building a winning mentality'," the Italian tactician said after Tuesday night's dismantling for the Catalan giants.

"But when we don't win, it's difficult. So the only way in any competition, Conference League, Champions League this season, Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, is to win games. It's the only way to build the winning mentality. And I think the Conference League and the Club World Cup last season helped a lot.

"And now we are trying to do exactly the same. For sure, the players are better players in this moment compared to last season, because we spent more time together."

Getty Images SportRotation, rotation, rotation

In downing the mighty Barca by exploiting their recklessly high line, Maresca served up another timely reminder of his tactical acumen, but what has been even more impressive of late is his ability to utilise his whole squad without results and performances suffering.

No Premier League manager has made more changes to their starting XIs than the Italian so far in 2025-26, with the five he made for the Barcelona game from his team that eased past Burnley taking his tally for the season to a remarkable 102, and it's only November.

While he has a core of guaranteed starters in bigger games, Maresca has been able to lean on the likes of Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Jamie Gittens, fit-again Liam Delap and academy graduates Josh Acheampong and Tyrique George in lower-stakes situations – either from the start or as substitutes.

They have handled remarkably well without the talismanic Cole Palmer, too, who has made just four appearances this season due to a groin issue and subsequent broken toe. He has, though, been passed fit to play on Sunday. Meanwhile, defensive midfielders Romeo Lavia and Dario Essugo – whose imminent returns will strengthen the group again – have also been sidelined, as well as long-term absentee Levi Colwill.

That ability to rotate, and doing so successfully, could well prove to be vital for Chelsea as they fight on four fronts over the notoriously hectic winter period. If they require a two-legged play-off to reach the Champions League last 16 and make progress in the domestic cup competitions, then they face a brutal schedule of as many as 32 games in the next four months.

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Getty Images SportAnother false dawn?

There will, of course, still be question marks over whether Chelsea have the staying power to go the distance and truly challenge Arsenal – who look ominously capable of becoming runaway leaders – all the way until the final day of the campaign, especially given the young group's lack of experience in that department.

If we zoom out, the Blues are only one point better off than at the same stage last season, and they have certainly benefitted from unrecognisable champions Liverpool and, to a lesser extent, disjointed Manchester City underperforming considerably to this point.

As we've touched upon, their title challenge completely unravelled over the winter period last term before they managed to steady the ship in time to secure a top-four finish on the final day. Even when they were second, Maresca was consistent in his messaging that his team were 'not ready' for a title challenge, although that led some to question whether he had manifested their downturn in form with his pessimistic outlook.

It will be very interesting to see how Chelsea contend with the relentless nature of the schedule this time around, but there is a sense that things are different one year on in terms of cohesiveness, togetherness and strength in depth – something the manager has recognised, albeit he maintains it is too early to predict what they are capable of.

After an 11-year Major League career that included two Gold Gloves, longtime St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong is retiring.

The Cardinals announced Wong's career decision on social media on Monday.

The 34-year-old Wong played eight of his 11 Major League seasons with the Cardinals. He also played two seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers, and spent the 2023 season with both the Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Dodgers. He did not play a season ago.

Wong won two Gold Gloves as a second baseman in St. Louis, one in 2019, and another in '20.

He finishes his career with a .256 batting average and 86 home runs, 405 RBI and 120 stolen bases.

Leeds United are now set to push to sign a Barcelona forward in the January transfer window, having already made persistent enquiries over a deal.

Leeds looking to bolster attacking options this winter

Earlier this season, Danny Murphy suggested Leeds’ lack of top-quality forwards could put them at real risk of relegation, saying: “I still think Leeds and Burnley will go.

“I think the biggest problem for Burnley and Leeds is firepower. I agree with what we talked about earlier. I think all the newly promoted sides doing well is great for the Premier League. I’d like to see them all stay up, actually. But I don’t think it’ll be the case.”

Since then, however, the Whites have displayed they have what it takes to cause some of the Premier League’s biggest clubs real problems, defeating Chelsea 3-1, before going on to draw 3-3 with Liverpool courtesy of a last-gasp Ao Tanaka equaliser.

That said, with Daniel Farke’s side still just two points above the relegation zone, they remain interested in improving their forward line during the January transfer window, and they have now made contact over a deal for Barcelona’s Roony Bardghji.

That is according to a report from Spain, which states the Whites have lodged persistent enquiries to sign the Barca forward on loan in the January transfer window, as they believe he would be perfectly suited to their style of play.

Leeds are unwilling to give up on securing the 20-year-old’s signature, despite his recent emergence as a first-team player for the La Liga club, and they are set to push for a January deal in the coming weeks.

Bardghji could play major role in helping Leeds avoid the drop

The Sweden international hasn’t featured particularly regularly so far this season, but he showed exactly what he’s capable of in Barca’s most recent La Liga match, scoring one goal and setting up another in the 5-3 triumph against Real Betis.

Romano: Leeds make contact to sign "outstanding" £21m attacker in January

The Whites have received a response after making an approach for a new attacker.

ByDominic Lund Dec 7, 2025

It was an impressive all-round performance from the Kuwait-born forward, who completed two dribbles and won two duels, and Hansi Flick will be delighted he is now coming into his own in La Liga, having also previously put in some eye-catching displays for FC Copenhagen.

With Daniel James recently suffering a hamstring injury, and receiving criticism at times this season, it would be ideal to bring in a new forward in the upcoming transfer window, and the Barca ace would be a like-for-like replacement, given that his main position is right-wing.

As such, Leeds should definitely look to sign Bardghji, off the back of some impressive showings in both La Liga and the Champions League, grabbing an assist in Barca’s 6-1 victory over Olympiacos.

Get up to speed with all you need to know as the clock ticks down to the first ball in Perth

Alan Gardner19-Nov-2025So this Ashes is a big deal, is it?
As the oldest rivalry in cricket (yes, we are deliberately overlooking USA vs Canada) the Ashes is always a big deal. But the 2025-26 series has been amped up to what feels like a new level – and this despite England’s woeful record in Australia, which reads P15 W0 L13 over their last three tours of the country.Why’s everyone so excited then?
There are a number of factors at play. Foremost is the style of cricket England have adopted – dubbed “Bazball” by one of ESPNcricinfo’s own – and the sense that they will come and have a go in a manner than few English teams in Australia have managed this century. There is also the hangover from the last Ashes, in England in 2023, which ended 2-2 but sparked all sorts of back-and-forth over “moral victories” and who really came out on top.Related

Will this Ashes be the making of Bazball 2.0?

The Ashes: the sun is hot, the spiders are large, the trash talk is garbage

England's Ashes squad have pace in abundance, but do they have the miles?

They didn’t manage to Bazball Australia at home, then?
No, but they did come back from 2-0 down, and were arguably only denied victory in the series by rain in Manchester. But let’s not go over all that again. England have been planning for the next campaign down under ever since, and have assembled what might be their fastest-ever bowling attack in a bid to win in Australia for the first time since 2010-11.So should Australia be worried?
Not on the face of it, given England have rarely even come close to winning a Test in the (Un)Lucky Country in the intervening period – and have particularly painful memories of a grueling visit, wreathed in Covid regulations, in 2021-22. Australia, meanwhile, have won five of their last seven Test series, including four in a row, and last experienced defeat in India in 2022-23. At home, they haven’t been beaten since 2020-21 (again by India). They also reached the final of the World Test Championship, although lost out on the mace to South Africa.I sense a ‘but’ coming here…
You guessed it. But Australia, who have picked a squad with only one player under the age of 30, are in the rare position of having significant question marks over their XI. Notably, it looks like they will field a debutant opener, while the man at the other end, Usman Khawaja, might be on borrowed time. They have also been beset by untimely injuries: captain, Pat Cummins, will miss the first Test as he continues to rehab from a back stress reaction, while another of Australia’s “Big Three” seam attack, Josh Hazlewood, is out with a hamstring strain.All eyes are on when Pat Cummins could play a role in the Ashes•Getty ImagesSo England will be taking on a weakened opposition?
On paper, yes, although Scott Boland (Test bowling average in Australia: 12.63) is a more than capable back-up for Cummins, while Brendan Doggett, another likely debutant, has both form and pedigree after his long wait for a baggy green. Steven Smith won’t miss a beat as stand-in captain, either. Whether this is the “worst Australia side since 2010-11” is up for debate, but their selection quandaries have certainly added to the intrigue around the build-up.Ah yes, the old ‘phoney war’…
As daft as ever, and impossible to get away from. But at least it’s almost time to take out the trash talk.Any other reasons for optimistic Englishmen to stay up through the night?
Well, Australian pitches have certainly made for entertaining viewing over recent seasons and might help level the playing field. Whether England have brought the right attack for the conditions is another debate.Will this be Joe Root’s Ashes?•Getty ImagesThey do arrive with the No. 1 and No. 2-ranked Test batters, Joe Root and Harry Brook (the latter for the first major Test of his supreme away record), as well as a fit Ben Stokes, after a shoulder tear sustained during the English summer. They’ve been lucky with injuries (so far), with Mark Wood surviving his own hamstring-knack scare over the weekend. And the only major talking point around their batting order – the identity of No. 3 – was put to bed during the warm-up game against England Lions by Ollie Pope making scores of 100 and 90.All aboard the Bazball bus, then!
At least until the wheels fall off. The series starts in Perth, where England have only ever won once (at the old WACA Ground) – with Optus Stadium hosting an Ashes Test for the first time. Then it’s on to the pink-ball day-night game at the Gabba in Brisbane, followed by Adelaide, which last hosted England for a daytime Test in 2013-14. If the Ashes are still alive come the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, we should have a series on our hands.Sounds like the chances are good?
Let’s see. It’s certainly their best shot in a long while. At the very least, it’s to be hoped that England won’t have conceded the contest inside 12 days’ cricket.Fingers crossed! Anything else I should know?
Regardless of whether England can be competitive/win a Test/not suffer complete embarrassment, let’s hope that Root finally scores a hundred on Australia soil. Otherwise Matthew Hayden’s middle stump is going for a walk – and not in the good way.

USMNT boss Mauricio Pochettino has admitted to harbouring a desire to make a Premier League return after coming "so close" to winning the title with Tottenham. The Argentine has confessed that he still feels the pull of the English top flight, even as he prepares to lead the United States men’s national team at the 2026 World Cup on home soil.

Pochettino's love affair with Spurs

The Argentine, now quite well settled into his new role as the manager of the USMNT, revealed that he still dreams of returning to the English top flight, a league where he came agonisingly close to winning major honours with Tottenham. His tenure in north London ended abruptly in November 2019, just months after guiding Spurs to their first Champions League final. His five-and-a-half years at the club yielded 293 matches, significant progress and a squad that, for a brief period, seemed capable of redefining Tottenham's modern history. Yet his departure left a lingering sense of what might have been.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportPochettino on English football’s unique pull

Speaking in an interview with thePochettino – who also managed Chelsea – admitted that he still watches the Premier League religiously. When asked whether he misses it, the 52-year-old said: "Yeah, I watch a lot. The Premier League is the best in the world. Of course, I miss it. I am so happy in the USA, but I am always thinking about returning one day. It is the most competitive league, and of course, I would love to come back again."

Pressed on what remains at the top of his personal wish list as a coach, Pochettino’s answer revealed a hint of longing. He said: "Talking about the Premier League, and we are in London… to win the Premier League and the Champions League. We were so close in Tottenham. I want to achieve this. I am still young, I have the energy, experience and motivation to try in the future. Outside, to make my family feel proud – my sons, my wife, my dog, my horses, my mum and dad, my granddaughter…"

The manager revealed that he is still in touch with Daniel Levy, the former Tottenham chairman, who vacated his post earlier this year. "I was very surprised (by Levy's exit). We still keep in touch," he said. "Our relationship was always good. His legacy is there. It's amazing what he did for the club. We're in contact and one day I'd like to share a coffee with him. He made it a possibility for me to manage a club like Tottenham – one of the best clubs in the world with an amazing fanbase. I'm very grateful to him and proud to be part of the family of Tottenham."

Pochettino REALLY wants to come back!

This is not the first time that Pochettino has spoken about his desire to return to the Premier League. Back in March, he told of taking in a second spell at Tottenham: "To be honest, the day that I left the club always I was thinking one day to come back. It's not that I was thinking before the offer from the USA national team, I was thinking to come back.

"The day that I left I was thinking I would love to one day come back to Tottenham because like I told in the past, I said for me, I felt empty in the moment that I left. It was like an unfinished job and that is why. It's a feeling, it's a feeling, it's a dream.

"I don't know how you can take or I can explain or describe but I think for sure it's a club that is always going to be special for me. And I would like to one day to have the possibility again to try to arrive in a situation that we are back to finish in a different way."

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GettyA work in progress with the United States

Since taking charge in September 2024, Pochettino has tried to reshape a USMNT side that holds massive potential to shine on the global stage. There will be pressure on him to deliver the goods at the World Cup next summer at home after being drawn in Group D along with Australia, Paraguay, and a third team, which will be one of Turkey, Slovakia, Kosovo or Romania. However, his contract is due to expire following the World Cup, and given the constant managerial turnover in the Premier League and Pochettino’s proven track record of elevating young squads, the prospect of him returning feels increasingly plausible.

Pete Crow-Armstrong got off to a hot start in July with four hits in eight at-bats during two Chicago Cubs wins over the Cleveland Guardians at Wrigley Field. It was the kind of performance that deserved a proper tribute from the home crowd and PCA got it on Thursday when he showed up at the ballpark to find 19 fans lined up in a row with his full name painted on their chests.

But there are only 17 letters in Pete Crow-Armstrong you might be thinking. Well, they not only had a hyphen, but they also had someone with no shirt playing the space between his first and last name.

And who is the Test centurion with the lowest batting average?

Steven Lynch07-Oct-2025I heard that Shivam Dube has played 36 T20Is without defeat. Is this a record? What are the equivalent records for ODIs and Tests? asked Nirmal Balaraman from the United States
India actually lost two of Shivam Dube’s first five T20 internationals (against Bangladesh and West Indies late in 2019), but since then he’s played 36 more without tasting defeat: that includes four tied games (all won by India in a super over), a no-result and one match which was abandoned after the toss was made. His 34 successive wins (ignoring no-results and abandonments, but including super-over victories) is easily a record for men’s T20Is: Pascal Murungi of Uganda has not lost any of his last 26 matches (his most recent was in December 2024), while Jasprit Bumrah is currently on a run of 23.There is a longer run in women’s one-day internationals, at least until Dube wins his next three games: the Australian pair of Megan Schutt and Jess Jonassen won 36 and 35 completed matches respectively before a narrow loss to England in Bristol in July 2023. The record for women’s T20 internationals is a run of 23 successive wins by England’s Laura Marsh between January 2011 and October 2012.The record for men’s ODIs is 20 wins in a row, set by four team-mates whose run all came to an end when Australia lost to West Indies in Port-of-Spain in May 2003: Matthew Hayden, Brad Hogg, Glenn McGrath and Ricky Ponting. (Hayden and Hogg missed that defeat, but returned for the next game, which they also lost.) The Test record is also an Australian preserve: McGrath, Justin Langer, Michael Slater and Mark Waugh all won 16 successive matches before March 2001, and that was matched by Hayden, Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Michael Hussey and Brett Lee up to January 2008. Both runs were ended by defeats by India, in Kolkata in 2001 and in Perth in 2008.Which bowler has dismissed most batters out stumped in Tests? asked Nijat Ahmed from India
There are no great surprises in the aggregate numbers: Muthiah Muralidaran, the top Test wicket-taker, leads the way with 47 stumping victims, with Shane Warne second on 36, one ahead of another Sri Lankan, Rangana Herath. The Australian offspinner Nathan Lyon currently has 28 stumping victims, as did Clarrie Grimmett.Grimmett only took 216 Test wickets, so 12.96% of his victims came via stumpings. That’s the most for anyone with over 100 wickets apart from the Indian legspinner Subhash “Fergie” Gupte, whose 149 included 20 stumpings (13.42%). Another Australian legspinner, Arthur Mailey, took 99 Test wickets, of which 18 (18.18%) were stumped.Nine West Indians reached double figures in a recent T20 international against Australia. Was this a record? asked Victor Persaud from Trinidad
The match you’re referring to was the fourth in the series in the Caribbean in July: West Indies made 205 for 9 against Australia in Basseterre, with nine batters reaching double figures. This was actually the third such instance in T20 internationals, and the second this year: Austria (223 for 8) did it against Slovenia in Latschach in May, which followed the first instance, by Tanzania (176) against Uganda in Kigali (Rwanda) in December 2022.The record for women’s T20Is is eight, by Australia (153 for 8) against England in Canberra in 2011.Jerome Taylor, with one hundred and one 50 in 73 Test innings, has the lowest batting average of anyone who has made a Test century – 12.96•Getty ImagesWhich non-wicketkeeper took over 100 Test catches but finished his career without taking a single Test wicket? asked Azweer from India
I think there are actually ten people who fit the bill here. New Zealand’s Stephen Fleming held on to 171 catches in the field, but never bowled in his 111 Tests, let alone took a wicket. He did not take any in first-class cricket either, although he did pick one up in an ODI (Marcel Schewe of the Netherlands during the 1996 World Cup in Vadodara).Brian Lara took 164 catches but no wickets, Matthew Hayden 128, Virat Kohli and Andrew Strauss 121, Colin Cowdrey 120, Hashim Amla 108, Mohammad Azharuddin and Graham Thorpe 105, and Ajinkya Rahane 102. Here’s the list of those with 100 or more catches in the field.Which player who has scored a Test century has the lowest average? And how about ODIs? asked David Collins from England
The lowest career average by a batter with a Test century is 12.96, by the West Indian fast bowler Jerome Taylor, whose 106 against New Zealand in Dunedin in 2008 – which remained his only century – was over 2.5 times his previous-highest first-class score, 40 for Leicestershire against Derbyshire in 2007.He was only the second man, after his namesake Bruce Taylor on debut for New Zealand against India in Calcutta in March 1965, to score his maiden century in a Test having never previously reached 50 in a first-class innings. They have since been joined by Curtis Campher, with 111 for Ireland against Sri Lanka in April 2023 (he still has no other first-class scores of 50 or more).The next-lowest career Test averages by centurions belong to the Pakistan pair of Yasir Shah (14.12) and Saqlain Mushtaq (14.48). Australia’s Jason Gillespie, with 18.73, has the lowest of anyone with a double-century.The lowest ODI average by a man with a century to his name is 16.44, by the big-hitting West Indian Carlos Brathwaite, who slammed a memorable 101 against New Zealand during the 2019 World Cup. He’s just ahead of another West Indian, Xavier Marshall (17.52), and Australia’s Trevor Chappell (17.61).For the record, the lowest in T20 internationals is 15.06, by Slovenia’s Izaz Ali, who scored 118 in one innings and a total of 123 in his 15 others to date.And there’s an update to one of last week’s questions, via Ivan Monaghan from Australia
In the answer to the question about the man with the most Test runs but the fewest nineties, I didn’t spot that Greg Chappell’s only score in the nineties was not out – an undefeated 98 against England in Sydney in January 1980. This means that Greg has the most Test runs without ever being out in the nineties – his 7110 just shades the 6996 of Don Bradman.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

With the trade deadline just about a week away, one of the biggest names floated as a potential player on the move is Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr.

The White Sox have lived up to their lowly expectations in 2025, sitting dead last in the AL Central just after the All-Star break. Already 30 games below .500, it's clear that contention isn't in the cards in Chicago.

What's less clear is when their long rebuild will finally start to take shape, and whether Robert is part of those plans at 28 years old. Once heralded as a star of the future, Robert's days with the organization could be numbered, especially given he has a $20 million team option in his contract set to come into play in 2026. Whether they'd be willing to pick up that option remains pivotal to Robert's future in Chicago.

Robert has struggled at the plate this season. Through 83 games, he owns a .636 OPS and just a 0.6 bWAR, though he's shown signs of life of late. Robert has 10 home runs, 40 RBIs and 25 stolen bases on the year, while playing solid defense out in center field.

If he can rediscover his previous form at the plate, as he's just two seasons removed from a breakout 2023 campaign in which he hit 38 home runs and had a .857 OPS, he'd be a sensational addition for a contending team at the deadline.

We're going to look at some possible fits for the outfielder at the MLB trade deadline.

Philadelphia Phillies

Aaron Boone is in the process of rapidly backtracking his latest update of Aaron Judge's injury.

On Tuesday, the New York Yankees manager went on WFAN and said superstar Aaron Judge's throwing could be compromised for the rest of the season due to a right elbow injury.

"I don’t think we’re going to see him back to throwing like he normally does at any point this year, but that’s OK, too," Boone said. "We’ve got to feel like he can go out there and be able to protect himself and represent himself."

Judge seemed puzzled by those comments later in the day. The two-time AL MVP said, "I don't know why he said that. He hasn't seen me throw for the past two weeks, so I'm pretty confident I'll get back to [100 percent]."

For his part, Boone then admitted he may have gone overboard with his comments on WFAN saying, "Maybe I overstated that."

So it's unclear whether we'll see Judge throwing normally this season or not.

Aaron Judge Elbow Injury Timeline

Judge was placed on the 10-day injured list with a flexor strain on July 27 after initially injuring it on July 22. Luckily for the Yankees, there was no damage to the 33-year-old slugger's ulnar collateral ligament, so he avoided Tommy John surgery.

On August 5, Judge returned to New York's lineup and has been working solely as the team's designated hitter since. He has not looked like his usual self since coming off the IL. While he does have an OPS of .854 in those 11 games, he's only hitting .229 with two home runs and six RBIs.

The injury put a damper on what has been another incredible season for Judge. He currently leads all of MLB in batting average (.333), on-base percentage (.447), slugging percentage (.687), OPS (1.134), WAR (6.9), fWAR (7.4), and wRC+ (200). He's a shoo-in to win his third MVP.

Judge seems confident he'll be able to return to the field this season and now it sounds like someone clued his manager in to that fact.

Ian Bell, Graeme Swann and Mark Butcher go through the talent pool to pick two separate squads each

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jun-2020In the era of Covid-19, the cricket calendar will need be redrawn and there will be a crush to fit in all the fixtures that were deferred. It has even been suggested that two formats could be played at the same time. While that may not actually happen, it throws up some intriguing selection questions.How would the three best-resourced sides in the world – England, India and Australia – fare in having two teams play at the same time in a Test and T20I?England: With the height of the summer already approaching, the onus for England is to fulfil as many of their international fixtures as possible to offset a massive potential financial shortfall. To that end, Ashley Giles, the team’s managing director, hinted strongly last week that two separate squads will be the route they take to maintain the biosecure “bubbles” that the ECB is seeking to create within its chosen venues. An initial training pool of 55 players has been selected, and while several of the key names are already one-format picks, some tricky decisions need to be made about the biggest stars. Former England batsmen Ian Bell and Mark Butcher, and offspinner Graeme Swann are our selectors.ESPNcricinfo LtdIan Bell: With a T20 World Cup on the horizon – well, hopefully, anyway – I’d make that format a priority. And I’d want bowlers – people like Jofra Archer, who, I think, would do really well on Australian surfaces. For the same reason, I’d want Buttler and Jonny Bairstow in the T20 side, which brings an opportunity for Ben Foakes in the Test team. He may well be the best keeper in the country and this would be a great opportunity to see a bit more of him at that level. In English conditions, you want Stuart Broad and James Anderson in your Test side. But I would like a point-of-difference bowler in the attack – someone with a bit more pace – so I’d play either Mark Wood or Olly Stone as the quick bowler and maybe rotate Anderson with Chris Woakes as required. I also see Stone as the type of bowler who could be really valuable in an Ashes series in Australia, so I’d like to see him given more opportunity in Test cricket.ESPNcricinfo LtdMark Butcher: Big call as to which team for Stokes, obviously. Think his impact for the Test team is gigantic – he’s able to shape it for longer. Picking Archer in the T20I team was more about Wood’s relative lack of success in the limited-overs arena, though Wood’s recent Test performances have been outstanding. Tom Abell might seem a little left field, but I’ve seen enough of him to take a punt that he is a special player – great mind under pressure. I could have gone for [Alex] Hales or [James] Vince, but decided to go for a clean slate. Both Bairstow and Buttler are irreplaceable in the T20I XI, giving Foakes a clear run at the Test job. No Anderson is perhaps the biggest upset and I’ll gladly have him prove me wrong and play until he’s 40!ESPNcricinfo LtdGraeme Swann: Jos Buttler has never dismantled an attack in Test cricket. He was supposedly picked to turn games from dire situations and revolutionise the way we play, but it has never materialised. He is the one-day king and always looks more comfortable slaying a white ball rather than prodding a red one. Ben Foakes is the best keeper in the country for me, and I’m a purist, so he has to play in the Tests. Alex Hales has served his time. He’s beyond brilliant on his day and easily merits a place back in the one-day side for me. He needs to show huge remorse and humility on a private level to rebuild his relationship with Morgs. The skipper won the World Cup. What he says goes. He could demand the team all wear moustaches and they’d all turn out looking like Dennis Lillee by the end of the day. The sooner their relationship is patched up, the better for Hales and England!