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Labuschagne’s recall looks certain but debate remains about where in the order he will bat

Andrew McGlashan21-Oct-2025

Steven Smith on Marnus Labuschagne: “I think my advice to him was stop thinking so technically, just go and play the game”•Getty Images

Steven Smith has revealed that Marnus Labuschagne told him before the season that he would be back in the Test side by the start of the Ashes.Though that decision has yet to be rubberstamped by the Australia selectors, Labuschagne is all-but certain to earn a recall having made two Sheffield Shield centuries in two matches – and four hundreds in five innings across the early domestic season – in a prolific return to form after being dropped in the West Indies earlier this year.”I sent him a message a couple of days ago saying how proud I was of him,” Smith said. “He’s just gone back and he’s got his fourth hundred in five hits. It’s a pretty big statement. He said to me at the start of the summer, he goes, ‘I’ll be in that Test team come the first [Ashes] Test’. He’s backed up his words, probably. He’s obviously not selected yet, [but] he’s done a lot of things right.”Related

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During the first ODI against India, Labuschagne spoke about some of his struggles having come from getting “too deep” into his technique and “trying to be too perfect”, which echoes advice Smith had given him.”We’ve all been there [dropped] at some point in our careers and it’s difficult to hear it,” Smith said. “But I think he knew he probably wasn’t batting as well as he had been over probably four years ago when he was scoring a mountain of runs.”I think my advice to him was ‘stop thinking so technically, just go and play the game; watch the ball and react’. I think he’s been doing that really beautifully and he’s played so nicely.”While Labuschagne’s return looks certain, a significant question remains about where he bats in the order amid the ongoing debate around who opens alongside Usman Khawaja with Sam Konstas’ challenges continuing. Labuschagne was promoted to the top in the World Test Championship final against South Africa and there remains a realistic chance he will be asked to do it again.Steven Smith has been prolific since returning to No. 4•Associated Press

A large part of the final decision may revolve around how many overs the selectors are confident in Cameron Green getting through and whether Beau Webster’s bowling is also required.”He can open, as we saw in the Test championship final,” Smith said. “He can bat three. He’s versatile. We’ll see where it all stands when the team gets picked. I mean, it’s not too different to batting three, to be honest. He could be in first ball. So, it’s essentially the same thing.”I don’t think he needs to change anything if that’s the case. Just play the game, play how he has been, and see the ball hit it, and trust his instincts.”Smith, who had a four-Test stint as opener in early 2024 before returning to No. 4 last season where he averaged 53.27 against India and Sri Lanka, may also become part of the batting-order debate over whether he returns to No. 3.”I’m not too fussed, to be honest,” Smith said. “I’m happy kind of wherever. But, yeah, we’ll see what happens when the team’s picked where we’ll talk to the coaches and Patty [Cummins] and see where everyone fits in best, I suppose, and keep it as simple as that.”Sam Konstas is struggling to retain his Test place•Getty Images

With regards Konstas, who has made 4, 14, 0 and 53 in his four Shield innings of the season having scored a century for Australia A in India last month, Smith said there was a balance to strike for young players between overloading them with advice and allowing them to problem solve.”He’s obviously going through a bit of a period right now where he’s trying to figure out how he wants to play,” he said. “I think at times you’ve got to let these young players figure it out for themselves and find the way that they want to play. I think back to when I was young, I had to figure it out.”There were people that I could speak to, but ultimately you’re the one out in the middle playing. It’s your career and you need to figure out how you want to go about it. He’s so young, he’s got plenty of time to figure out how he wants to go.”From what I’ve seen, he’s got so much time as a batter when he’s facing fast bowling. That’s something you can’t really teach, so that’s a good starting point. Then there’s a few things that he has to obviously work on, but he’s a bright talent as we’ve seen and he’s got a bright future.”

One of the biggest troubles for Leeds United this season is how poorly they have performed in front of goal. Daniel Farke’s side find themselves in a relegation battle, which many people expected would be the case. ESPN journalist Bill Connelly said they need “random bursts of quality attacking” to help them stay up.

Well, things haven’t worked out that way so far for the Whites. They’ve found the back of the net just nine times, better than just two sides, including bottom of the league Wolverhampton Wanderers. Leeds’ expected goals tally is just 12.94xG, the 12th best in the top flight.

One man who has struggled for his best goalscoring form is Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Calvert-Lewin’s struggles in front of goal

Leeds secured the signing of Calvert-Lewin in the summer on a free transfer, after his contract at Everton expired. He was brought in with the aim of bolstering their Premier League goalscoring stocks, although it hasn’t really worked out that well so far.

The experienced 28-year-old, who has 11 caps and four goals for England, has not quite hit the ground running in a Leeds shirt.

In nine games for the club so far, Calvert-Lewin has only found the back of the net once, against fellow strugglers Wolves.

It was a good finish, too, from the new Leeds number nine. He got on the end of a loopy cross from Jayden Bogle, finding space between the Wolves defenders and heading home. That is the kind of striking instinct Leeds fans may have expected.

However, it hasn’t really worked out for Calvert-Lewin, aside from that goal. His underlying numbers are surprisingly low, averaging just 2.8 shots per 90 minutes, with an expected goals per game of 0.33xG. That places him in the 25th percentile for Premier League strikers.

With a huge game against Nottingham Forest next up, Farke may decide to rotate the striker out of the side in favour of a man who knows where the back of the net is.

Leeds’ Calvert-Lewin alternative

Ultimately, Leeds need to start finding the back of the net more consistently soon. Goals win you football matches, and right now, they could do with a few victories to help propel them up the table.

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Well, Farke could well make the decision to axe Calvert-Lewin against Forest this weekend, and bring in Joel Piroe.

The Dutchman is someone who knows where the back of the net is, and Farke even called him the “best finisher” he’s ever seen as a manager.

With strikes like this one against Bristol City in the Championship last season, it is easy to see where the Whites’ boss is coming from.

Piroe bagged from quite a tight angle outside of the area, which takes some doing.

Indeed, he has put up some impressive numbers in a Leeds shirt so far. In 102 games for the club, the striker has 33 goals and ten assists. Last term in the Championship, Piroe was the main man up front and bagged 19 goals with seven assists in 46 games.

His underlying stats showcase how deadly he can be, too. During the league-winning 2024/25 season, the Dutch striker averaged 0.56 goals per 90 minutes, with an expected goals tally of 0.49xG. Both of those stats placed him in the top 5% of Championship strikers.

Piroe – 24/25 Championship

Stat (per 90)

Number

Percentile

Goals

0.56

95th

Shots on target

1.14

89th

Expected goals

0.49xG

95th

Shot-creating actions

2.43

84th

Goal-creating actions

0.38

91st

Stats from FBref

Bringing Piroe into the side for the trip to the City Ground could be a stroke of genius from Farke. He has a point to prove, having fallen out of favour this season. He’s only played 164 top-flight minutes, but would surely love to get more regular game time.

Calvert-Lewin has been out of form this season. With someone who Farke himself has admitted is a deadly finisher waiting in the wings, he could be the difference in helping find the back of the net more often.

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With the January transfer window only a few weeks away, Glasgow Rangers head coach Danny Rohl will already be thinking about the positions that he wants to strengthen in.

There are several areas of the squad that could do with improvement ahead of the second half of the season, given that the Gers are nine points adrift of first place, and attacking midfielder is one of those positions.

Thelo Aasgaard was brought in from Luton in the summer transfer window, as one of 12 arrivals, and the number ten has failed to deliver regular quality on the pitch, with as many red cards (one) as goals (one).

The Norway international has produced one goal and one assist in 22 appearances, per Transfermarkt for Rangers, and his assist was a simple pass to Djeidi Gassama, who raced forward and scored from distance against Dundee.

Rangers told to sign Championship star in January

Now, the Light Blues have been predicted to make a move to re-sign one of their former players, who would arrive at Ibrox as an upgrade on Aasgaard.

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Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

Speaking on Clyde Superscoreboard, as relayed by The Scottish Sun, Livingston first-team coach Marvin Bartley has tipped Rangers to bring Joe Aribo back to the club in the January transfer window.

When asked about a possible deal, Bartley said: “I think that is one that could happen.”

“When a player enjoys somewhere, and obviously he had to leave because it was a really good offer that he got down the road, and he has not played as much football as he wanted to play. He is still a really, really good footballer and did well for Rangers. I wouldn’t be massively shocked if he came back in January.”

The Scottish Sun explains that Aribo is reportedly set to leave Southampton, whom he joined from Rangers for £10m in 2022, and could be available for a fee of £1.5m, amid interest from teams in Turkey.

Why Rangers should bring Joe Aribo back to Ibrox

For a fee of £1.5m, a deal to bring the Nigeria international back to Ibrox seems like a no-brainer on paper, because he still has plenty left to give at the age of 29 and has already proven himself in a Rangers shirt.

Plenty of players, most recently Steven Davis, Leon Balogun, and Allan McGregor, have returned for second spells in Glasgow, so it is not out of the ordinary for the club to re-sign one of their former stars.

Aribo’s current availability, as he has not started a league game for Southampton this season, provides the Light Blues with the perfect chance to bring him back for a fraction of the fee they raked in for him in 2022.

The left-footed star is a proven performer in Scottish football. During his time at Ibrox, the 29-year-old midfielder scored 26 goals and provided 25 assists in 149 appearances in all competitions, per Transfermarkt.

This shows that the £70k-per-week ace offered a regular threat at the top end of the pitch as both a scorer and a creator of goals for the Ibrox giants, whilst playing as a central midfielder, as an attacking midfielder, or on the right wing.

21/22

8

6

20/21

7

4

19/20

3

8

Total

18

18

As you can see in the table above, Aribo was as impressive at scoring goals as he was at creating them in the Premiership during his three season stint in Glasgow, which shows that he knows how to deliver quality in the top-flight.

Aasgaard, however, has failed to show that he has what it takes to be a consistent and reliable performer for Rangers in any competition, let alone the Premiership, which is why Rohl should be looking for an upgrade on him in January.

Aribo, who Ezri Konsa said has a “languid” style, has scored nine goals in 111 matches for Southampton to date, per Transfermarkt. He has not been as prolific as he was for the Gers, but 53 of those games came in the Premier League against high-quality opposition.

However, returning to the Premiership could reignite his career because it is a level that he is comfortable at and knows how to perform in, as evidenced by his time with the Gers before he moved to England.

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Therefore, Aribo could return to Ibrox as a big upgrade on Aasgaard in the number ten position as a player who can deliver goals and assists, to win crucial points for the team, on a regular basis, whilst the Norwegian has struggled on both fronts.

One player still on the books at Manchester United has been told that his Old Trafford “career is over” by a former Red Devils midfielder.

Players who could leave Man Utd in 2026

2026 could be another busy year at Old Trafford in regards to incomings and outgoings, with Ruben Amorim and INEOS continuing to make their mark in Manchester.

The Red Devils have four players out of contract at the end of the season, one of which is midfielder Casemiro.

Players out of contract at Man Utd in 2026

Harry Maguire

Casemiro (option until 2027)

Tom Heaton

Tyrell Malacia

Man Utd have the option to extend that by a further 12 months, however, Amorim and INEOS seemingly clashing behind the scenes regarding the Brazilian. Amorim wants to keep Casemiro whereas INEOS want him to take a pay cut from his current £350,000-a-week wage.

There are also numerous loanees away from Man Utd who could seal permanent exits at the end of the season. Rasmus Hojlund is at Napoli, Marcus Rashford is at Barcelona, Jadon Sancho is at Aston Villa and Andre Onana is with Trabzonspor.

United could look to move the quartet out on a full-time basis, with options to buy inserted in Rashford’s move to the Nou Camp and Hojlund’s move to Napoli. Now, another one of the four has been told he has no future at the club by a pundit.

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ByTom Cunningham Nov 21, 2025 Strachan tells Onana his Man Utd “career is over”

Former Man Utd midfielder Gordon Strachan, speaking to Esports News relayed by The Manchester Evening News, feels that Andre Onana “has played his last game” for Man Utd and would be “shocked” if he played for the Red Devils again.

Onana’s Man Utd contract is worth £120,000-a-week and there is no option to buy for the Turkish side at the end of the season, with the ‘keeper’s Manchester deal not expiring until 2028.

United forked out just under £50m on Onana back in 2023, but after numerous errors at Old Trafford and Amorim now having Senne Lammens, a permanent exit could make sense for all involved next year.

Forget Anderson: Man Utd in talks to sign "world's most underrated footballer"

Which was the better Test – Sri Lanka beating South Africa in Colombo in 2006 or India thwarting Australia in Kolkata in 2001?

ESPNcricinfo staff22-May-2025Update: This poll has ended. The IND-AUS 2001 Kolkata Test moves into the quarter-finals.Sri Lanka come out on top after final-day drama – Colombo (PSS), 2006The Test swung this way and that, till it came down to Farveez Maharoof, more than competent with the bat, and Lasith Malinga, not quite as adept, needing to score two runs to win the Test. They did, to earn Sri Lanka a one-wicket win and make it 2-0 for the series.South Africa chose to bat – who would want to bat last on a Sri Lankan pitch? And they got the biggest total of the match, 361. The fifth-wicket stand between Ashwell Prince and AB de Villiers, worth 161, made it possible, despite Muthiah Muralidaran’s five-for.Sri Lanka didn’t stop too far away, at 321, but they had the century stand for the eighth wicket between Maharoof and Chaminda Vaas to thank for it even as Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini combined for nine wickets.When South Africa batted again, Muralidaran got seven, and South Africa got to 311, setting Sri Lanka 352 to win.Then, in a Test where all four innings crossed 300, Mahela Jayawardene scored the only century. But when he fell, Sri Lanka still had 11 runs to get, with three wickets in hand, but hope since Maharoof and Vaas were around. Vaas and Muralidaran fell, though, and then it was over to Maharoof to get the scores level, and Malinga to avoid a tie. He did. Driving Nicky Boje, who had taken four wickets in the innings, down the ground to finish the job.Australia fall at the Eden final frontier – Kolkata, 2001If someone came up with a script detailing this Test before it happened, it would have probably been rejected for being too unrealistic.A Test hat-trick against the world’s top side at the age of 20. A follow-on. A historic partnership to turn the tables. A record individual score by an Indian. And a thrilling end in front of packed stands to level the series and end Australia’s streak of 16 wins.But all of it did transpire.After Harbhajan Singh hurt Australia with a hat-trick on the first day, Steve Waugh scored his maiden Test century on Indian soil to lead his team to a strong 445. In reply, India were bundled for 171 and asked to follow-on.They were then 232 for 4 – still 42 behind – when VVS Laxman was joined by Rahul Dravid and the two of them played out the entire fourth day with strips of iced towels around their necks to beat the heat and humidity; they still needed attention from the physio from time to time.The two ended up seeing off nine bowlers with innings that were instantly stamped in the game’s history. Laxman’s 281 lasted ten-and-a half-hours, and Dravid’s 180 nearly seven-and-a-half. They set Australia a target of 384. Australia succumbed on the last day against India’s spinners as Harbhajan finished with a tally of 13 for 196.

It's no wonder Camilla Kuver can't stop smiling. After making her Champions League debut only a couple of weeks prior, the 22-year-old has just won her first and second caps for Germany, starting both games against France over the last international break to help her country qualify for the Nations League final. These would be milestones worth celebrating for any player, but they are particularly special for the Wolfsburg defender, given the incredible bad luck she has had with injuries over the past four years.

“I’m not even really sure how I handled it all,” Kuver admits. Coming into this season, Germany’s new centre-back had made just five first-team starts since tearing her ACL in November 2021, at the tender age of 18. In fact, she didn’t get onto the pitch once in the 2024-25 campaign, that her second season with Wolfsburg, the two-time European champions and the most successful club in the history of German women’s football.

But after enduring setback after setback, Kuver looks to finally be on the other side and back on track in a career that still has so much promise. After all, despite all of those injuries, her goals in football were never really gone. “They were just postponed,” she notes.

Now, as huge Champions League encounters with the likes of Chelsea, Real Madrid and, on Wednesday, Manchester United loom, Kuver has plenty of opportunity to show everyone just why she remains one of the most highly-rated young defenders in the game.

• Getty Images
  

  Injury hell

  As GOAL walks through Kuver’s injury history with her, it’s no wonder she admits there were times where there would be questions in the back of her mind asking, ‘Is it even worth it?’ After coming through the youth national teams as a talented and versatile full-back, and breaking into the Eintracht Frankfurt first team as a 17-year-old, an ACL tear during her second senior season would spark the beginning of an incredibly difficult few years.

  Kuver was back on the pitch at the start of the 2022-23 campaign, only to suffer another knee injury that would keep her out for eight more months. Then, after making just five appearances during her first season at Wolfsburg, having completed a move to the German giants during her rehabilitation process, she would miss the entire 2024-25 campaign in what she describes as “definitely the toughest” part of an extremely taxing time. Having overcome cartilage damage in her knee that sidelined her for half of the year, a dislocated shoulder and a ligament injury in her foot took care of the rest.

  “At some point I couldn't even take myself seriously, I feel like, because I came back from injury and then the next one came. Then I thought, 'Okay, now I'm really getting back', and then the next thing came,” Kuver tells GOAL. “Looking back on that time, I'm not even really sure how I handled it all. I just kind of did. I mean, I had to. I think that's what makes this time right now even more special.”

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• Getty Images
  

  Fighting through

  A lot of people would’ve given up had they experienced the setbacks Kuver did. Yet, aside from what she describes as the occasional “tiny questions in the back of my head”, the 22-year-old never considered quitting. Why? “Just because I love playing football,” she responds. “It's always been the greatest joy in my life.

  “During rehab, I realised there's nothing that could compare and there's nothing that could give me the same kind of joy. That was something. I just wanted to be back on the field. Also, I had so many goals – for one, the national team goal. I still wanted to prove myself. I still wanted to show what I can do. That was always something, the mindset of, 'I'm not really done yet'. Even though there were all the injuries and stuff, my goals weren't gone. They were just postponed. That was definitely something that kept me going.”

• Getty Images
  

  Helpful factors

  Other factors helped, too. Kuver had several friends who were either enduring or had endured long-term setbacks like hers, meaning she could talk to people who knew exactly what she was going through.

  “I've always felt it was easier to talk to people who have gone through the same thing because, of course, people are trying to support you and be empathetic, and I'm sure they can imagine just how hard it is, but it's different when you've gone through it,” she explains. “That was definitely easier for me to talk to those people with. It was very, very important, actually.”

  School was a welcome distraction during her ACL recovery, while Wolfsburg’s decision to sign her when she was sidelined the following year provided a confidence boost. “It was definitely nice to hear that people saw my abilities and, despite my injuries, they thought it was worth it,” she says.

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  Savouring the 'special' moments

  The hope now is that all of that is well behind Kuver. She speaks to GOAL as a regular starter for the team placed second in the Frauen-Bundesliga table and as someone who, last month, experienced Champions League and senior international football for the first time. The player who ranked ninth in the 2022 NXGN list of the best teenage talents in the world is reminding everyone why she generated so much hype as she broke through. And while the injuries are something she would’ve gladly done without, they have made the recent months all the more sweet.

  Kuver describes playing for Germany as something she thought about during her rehab process, “because it’s not always easy to be motivated to go to rehab every single day”. “That was just one of the big goals and dreams that made it possible for me to even get through it,” she recalls. “It is a very, very special feeling. I think it's also important that I keep reminding myself that it is very special, given the journey that I've been on.”

Not long after India were unable to defend a massive score of 358 against South Africa in the second ODI, captain KL Rahul said the toss “plays a huge part” and makes a “huge difference” in matches where dew heavily skews the match in the favour of chasing sides. India lost their 20th toss in a row in ODIs, and South Africa opted to bowl and sealed a four-wicket victory with four balls to spare to level the series 1-1.”Not really, considering everything – how much dew there is and how difficult it is to bowl in the second innings,” Rahul said at the presentation when asked if the defeat was a tough pill to swallow. “The last game, we did really well, considering everything. All the difficulties for bowlers bowling with a wet ball, and the umpires have been nice enough to change the ball a few times, but still I think toss plays a huge part. So I’m kicking myself about losing two tosses in a row. It’s obviously making a huge difference.”India were asked to bat for a second game in a row under Rahul’s captaincy this series. While India managed a narrow 17-run win in the opening match in Ranchi after posting 349, this time a bigger target didn’t prove to be enough.Related

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“To reflect back there’s always things that we could have done better,” Rahul said. “With the bat, I know that 350 looks good, but that’s also been the chat in the dressing room even after the last game [about] how can we get that extra 20-25 runs, so that the bowlers find some cushion when they bowl with the wet ball.”Bowlers obviously are trying their heart out, but there are areas to improve. There are a few soft boundaries that we gave away, even in the field. If we can tighten up all three aspects of the game and get a bit more sharper, then maybe those 20-25 runs will go our way and we’ll be on the other side.”India’s tall total was built on the back of centuries from Virat Kohli and Ruturaj Gaikwad. This was the 11th time Kohli hit hundreds in back-to-back ODIs, while it was Gaikwad’s maiden century in the format – the pair adding 195 runs in just 156 balls together for the third wicket.”It was beautiful to watch – Virat, the way he batted. Obviously, we have seen him do this for 53 times now,” Rahul said. “He goes on about doing his job, we’re used to seeing it. Just to see the way Rutu batted was beautiful. [He] took on the spinners, hit his gaps. Once he got past that 50, the tempo that he batted with is I think what gave us that extra 20 runs.”Despite the strong base, India could not finish strong: they added only 103 runs in the last 15 overs with eight wickets in hand; just 74 in the last ten overs. Rahul scored an enterprising 66 not out off 43 at No. 5 after being carded at No.6 in the team sheet at the toss. Washington Sundar made 1 off eight balls while Ravindra Jadeja batted 27 balls and scored an unbeaten 24 with just two fours.”Obviously batting at 5-6-7 [could be looked at],” Rahul said. “If the lower order could contribute a little bit more and hit a couple of more boundaries, then maybe that’s the 20 runs that we would have been happy with.”Today is the first time I’ve been slotted at No. 6 and I’ve walked in at 5. Otherwise, it’s always a decision before the game. The way Rutu and Virat’s partnership was going on, they set a good tempo. So GG [Gautam Gambhir, head coach] and me felt like it would be the right time for me to walk in and keep that tempo going. Obviously [I] got a fifty last game, so, there’s a bit of confidence. Someone who’s batted in the middle, someone who’s high on confidence is probably the right person to go in and take on the bowling and keep that tempo going. That was the plan.

West Ham chiefs are looking to back new manager Nuno Espírito Santo with key additions in January as they attempt to stave off the looming threat of relegation.

The Hammers were gifted a ray of sunshine in an otherwise dismal start to the Premier League season just before this international break, winning back-to-back home games for the first time since October last year against Newcastle and Burnley.

While the two wins provide plenty of encouragement for Nuno after inheriting a squad bereft of confidence and form, reports suggest that the east Londoners will look to January for much-needed reinforcements to bolster their head coach’s squad.

Sunderland 3-0 West Ham

West Ham 1-5 Chelsea

Nottingham Forest 0-3 West Ham

West Ham 0-3 Tottenham

West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace

Everton 1-1 West Ham

Arsenal 2-0 West Ham

West Ham 0-2 Brentford

Leeds 2-1 West Ham

West Ham 3-1 Newcastle

West Ham 3-2 Burnley

According to Sky Sports, Nuno has been told that funds will be available for West Ham to spend when the window reopens, and it is believed they’d ideally like a new defender, midfielder and forward.

With Niclas Fullkrug poised to leave West Ham in January, following a lacklustre spell marred by injuries and underwhelming form when available, it is more likely than not that a striker will be arriving at Rush Green, with Fabrizio Romano confirming their intention to sign one.

Romano also said recently that West Ham are in the mix to sign Man United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo amid his links to Napoli, so a new midfielder remains on the cards, but there are now suggestions that a winger could come in too.

West Ham could strike 'cut-price' January move for Adama Traoré

Indeed, according to Football Insider and journalist Pete O’Rourke, West Ham have been handed the opportunity to secure Adama Traoré on a bargain deal in January, with Fulham willing to accept a cut-price offer rather than lose the winger for free next summer.

Traore is in the final year of his contract and is not going to agree a new deal at Fulham, meaning January is their last chance to cash in if they sell him. The 29-year-old’s contract situation leaves the Cottagers vulnerable to low-ball bids, with Nuno apparently keen to reunite with a player he previously transformed at Wolves.

Before Nuno joined the Hammers, he tried to reunite with Traore at Nottingham Forest too, highlighting his long-standing admiration for the Spain international.

That being said, the forward has never quite reached the same heights he once hit under Nuno’s tutelage at Molineux, which included a failed spell at Barcelona.

During his best Premier League campaign to date, Traore bagged 13 goal contributions in 37 appearances for Wolves back in 2019/2020, finishing that campaign as their best-performing player on average whilst completing a seismic five successful take-ons per 90 (WhoScored).

Traore has enjoyed flashes of brilliant form at Craven Cottage too, with Marco Silva calling him an “almost unstoppable” player on his day.

Three inexperienced seamers tried their best to hold the line but England’s predicament felt like a failure of management

Vithushan Ehantharajah02-Aug-2025Who else but Ben Stokes?No seriously, who else? Any ideas? Anyone? Hello, is this thing on?That’s what it felt like on Saturday. England scrabbling around, looking for something, anything to save them. It was not just day three that was getting away from them, but this fifth Test and a series win.Their regular saviour, their usual captain, their standout bowler, was on the balcony, taking as well-earned a rest as you can have when your right shoulder is hanging by a thread. Meanwhile, Ollie Pope was out there on his home ground stuck in a bad dream.Related

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There he was, sifting through bowling combinations without Chris Woakes, and fields with a cordon seemingly without the ability to catch. At times, it was like watching a man trying to eat soup with his hands, occasionally heading back up to the home dressing room to wash them and ask if anyone had found a spoon, or even a fork, only to be met with big sunnies, white trainers and blank stares.The best you could say of England’s bowlers is that they kept at it in a meaningful way. Not just toiling, but doing so with a degree of hate in their hearts. No one likes being dog-walked in Test cricket as they were for 70 overs. There was plenty of bark and bite to show as much. Reward, too. Or at least souvenirs from the grind. Cool stories for the scars.Josh Tongue bagged his second five-wicket haul in Tests – expensively (5 for 125 from 30 overs) but got them nonetheless. He finishes the series as England’s leading wicket-taker with 19 despite only playing three matches.Gus Atkinson’s 3 for 127 saw him reach into what, for now, are relatively shallow reserves after two months out with a hamstring injury. He came up with 27 overs more work and a few pearlers to add to the first innings five-for. He restated just how good he is by dismissing India skipper Shubman Gill with the first ball after lunch.Jamie Overton doubled his Test tally with two dismissals – as many County Championship wickets as he has for Surrey this season – while bowling at an average speed of 85mph on day two and three. The sprinkling of 89.5mph bolts offered vindication if it were needed (it was) that his inclusion had some merit.

“In seaming conditions, England committed the cardinal sin of being cut more than they were driven. Such a pitch looked prime for Sam Cook, even Matthew Potts. Both of whom have the hardwired game for these surfaces. And yet neither was even considered worthy of the squad”

It was tough not to feel sorry for them. The dichotomy between batting and bowling was felt keenly on a day like this: the former set 374, the latter dragged for 396. It felt like that most when Washington Sundar conducted the in the stands with his sixes in the final partnership. And across the six drops – two from Harry Brook, two from Zak Crawley, one from Ben Duckett and one from sub-fielder Liam Dawson – which cost 152 all in.”Going through from yesterday knowing we were going to bowl a few overs out there, it was obviously going to be a tough ask for us bowlers, but I thought we stuck at it really well,” Tongue said at stumps.Truthfully, though, the task of marshalling a series decider was always going to be tough on the three replacements. Particularly given the series had acquired so much feeling and narrative over the last two Tests, at Lord’s and Old Trafford, which featured none of them. You think jumping out of moving car is hard, try jumping a moving one.Atkinson and Overton were coming in cold. Tongue returning a month after being parked for Jofra Archer after two Tests. Each would have dealt with their own pressures, and here they were exacerbated as they were thrown in together.Even with Woakes available, there would have been struggle. The 36-year-old had bowled just 68 of his 161 overs across the first four Tests in the second innings. Slack would have had to been picked up.But his experience might have jolted them out of bad habits. The lack of game-time showed with their collective inconsistency, which was leapt upon by Yashasvi Jaiswal to the tune of 118.In seaming conditions, they committed the cardinal sin of being cut more than they were driven: Jaiswal sliced and diced 72 of his first 100 runs behind square on the off side. Such a pitch looked prime for Sam Cook. Even Matthew Potts. Both of whom have the hardwired game for these surfaces. And yet neither were even considered worthy of the squad.England’s careful planning fell apart ahead of the fifth Test•PA Photos/Getty ImagesBut more broadly, the gamest pitch of the series, certainly the one with the pace and bounce England have craved throughout the summer, has been used by the second string. And that, ultimately, feels like a failure of management.The plan at the very start of this five-match series was for enough changes of personnel to keep the prime quicks refreshed throughout. And even with injury to Mark Wood, Olly Stone and, initially, Atkinson, there was enough to shuffle through.Certainly, for instance, enough to not get to a stage where Brydon Carse, a superior hit-the-deck bowler to Tongue, was running on fumes in Manchester after four appearances on the bounce. Though Archer’s return was well-managed, it was hard not to wonder how much joy he would have got on this surface.Perhaps England could have kept a couple in the chamber? It is only this week that Manchester hosted its first positive result across six first-class matches this summer. Of the venues to protect your quicks, particularly having already established a 2-1 lead, maybe that was it? Understandably, the prospect of clutching an outright series win with a game to spare was too enticing.The pitches should get some of the ire. England have bowled on 19 of the 23 days of play so far, sending down at least 50 overs on 12 of them. But the batters haven’t helped. On day two, for instance, having made light work of India’s last four first innings wickets in the morning, the bowlers were back at it just 51.2 overs later.Rotating bowlers is never an exact science, though science does come into it. The ECB tracks overs bowled and bodies to manage their quicks, keeping tabs on things like “red zones” – when workloads reach a point that the likelihood of injury increases.The current era take on that information and are particularly meticulous when it comes to the real five-star pace merchants, like Archer and Wood. By and large, they have moved away from leaning heavily on those metrics in favour of a more personable approach.It gives players more agency over their fitness, which they prefer. What they can play through, what they know they should not.Though you wonder, in a series as big as this, ahead of an Ashes, if a player would wilfully pull themselves out of the firing line? Especially in a team moulded in the image of a captain who needed head coach Brendon McCullum and medical advice to sit out this one. Stepping aside would also risk losing that spot altogether. Ollie Pope almost found out when he handed the No. 3 position to Jacob Bethell for last year’s tour of New Zealand.There are different strands of the multiverse where Woakes does not damage his left shoulder. Or Brook holds onto Jaiswal for 20. Or even Dawson on 40. Or Crawley and Deep on 21 to nip a nightwatcher innings of 66 before it really ate away at the team’s souls.But the one strand of note, the one that got away well before this match begun, was a more considered plan with this attack. It is something they must get right come the Ashes this winter. Lessons should be learned from the last two months.Then again, they will also hope for some blind luck. Just look at India: they possess the one generational quick in the series, and have not won any of the three matches he has played. And they could not be happier with how things have panned out.

The left-arm spinner had been due to return to the T20I side in Cardiff before the last-minute injury

Firdose MoondaUpdated on 12-Sep-2025South Africa’s left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj has been ruled out of their T20I series against England after tweaking his groin in the warm-up of the first match in Cardiff.Maharaj, the No.1-ranked ODI bowler in the world, had been named player of the series in their 2-1 series win in the 50-over leg of the tour. However, he has now been withdrawn from their squad for the remaining two fixtures, at Old Trafford and Trent Bridge. Bjorn Fortuin, the left-arm spinner who had been preparing to play for Hampshire in the Vitality Blast Finals Day on Saturday, has been called up in his place.After the Cardiff match, which South Africa won on by 14 runs on DLS, captain Aiden Markam confirmed Maharaj had been due to play the game but was forced out with the injury and replaced by Corbin Bosch. Maharaj had been recalled to the T20I squad after being left out in Australia and Zimbabwe.Related

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Earlier on Wednesday, Lungi Ngidi was ruled out of the series with a right hamstring strain. Ngidi returned home on Thursday and faces a race against time to be fit for South Africa’s next assignment – the start of their World Test Championship (WTC) title defence in Pakistan which begins on October 12.Left-arm quick Nandre Burger has been added to the squad in Ngidi’s place and is available from the second match at Old Trafford on Friday.On Tuesday, David Miller was also withdrawn from the squad after sustaining a hamstring strain during the final week of the Hundred. No replacement has been named for him in the squad.In better news, Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Lizaad Williams all returned to action in the rain-affected affair. Rabada did not play the ODIs in Australia or England after suffering ankle inflammation but bowled the opening over in Cardiff.Jansen made his comeback from the thumb surgery he underwent after the WTC final in June and Williams returned from knee surgery, which has kept him out of action for most of the year. Jansen bowled two overs in the match but Williams was not used at all.This story was updated at 5.41pm BST following Maharaj’s withdrawal from the squad