All posts by n8rngtd.top

With 57 needed in the last four overs and the chase seemingly dead, they teed off to fell England

Alagappan Muthu10-Nov-20213:40

Jayawardene: Daryl Mitchell drank the magic potion

James Neesham contemplated retirement in 2017. He didn’t. Daryl Mitchell never contemplated opening the batting. He did. And together they dragged a New Zealand side adamantly trying to lose all the way to a T20 World Cup final.It was utter madness. And it came from outta nowhere. England, much like they did five years ago on a sparkling night in Kolkata, had the game in their hands. And not one but two big-hitting allrounders took it away from them.

Watch cricket live on ESPN+

Sign up for ESPN+ and catch all the action from the Men’s T20 World Cup live in the USA. Match highlights of the first semi-final is available in English, and in Hindi (USA only).

The equation was 57 off 24. More than two runs a ball. As much as conditions in this tournament have favoured the team batting second, here there was no dew. The single biggest thing that made run-scoring easy on these dry UAE pitches was nowhere to be found.That’s why Mitchell – the best T20 six-hitter in New Zealand’s domestic circuit for the last five years – could find only one boundary in the first 10 overs of a 167 chase.That’s why Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson were dismissed for single-digits.That’s why Liam Livingstone could bowl four overs of his part-time all-sorts for just 22 runs. When he finished his spell – after taking out New Zealand’s then top-scorer Devon Conway for 46 – England’s chance of victory according to ESPNcricinfo’s forecaster was nudging 80%.Neesham has had enough of these games. His Twitter timeline is a tribute to his wit – yes – but also to how badly that 2019 World Cup final broke him. He was out there in the Super Over. He hit Jofra Archer for a six. He ignited New Zealand’s hopes when they really shouldn’t have had any on that night only for them to fall so agonisingly short.Just as Neesham and everyone watching were reeling from the deja vu, Chris Jordan came up to bowl and leaked a monster six over square leg. That shot became the centerpiece of New Zealand’s breathtaking resurrection, 23 runs coming off an eight-ball 17th over – including a relay catch that quickly morphed into another monster six – as one of England’s go-to men just crumbled under pressure.Suddenly New Zealand only needed 34 off 18 balls. And it was Mitchell’s cue to wind up. He set up deep in his crease. His front leg had the good sense to keep away. Chris Woakes missed his lengths. And three brutal hits in the 19th over – two over the ropes and one onto it – brought sweet, unbelievable and everlasting victory.England change it up
This semi-final had all the feels of two heavyweight boxers sizing each other up. But there was no real KO punch.Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow were rather cautious at the top, their gameplan dictated in equal parts by the early swing on offer and the big occasion they found themselves in.England went away from their typical T20 template – attack every ball – to a more nuanced one – respect every ball. For the first time since 2014, they had to wait till the 15th over of the game to pick up their first six.Malan and Moeen adapt

England’s approach protected them from early wickets, but that left a lot on the middle-order’s shoulders. A middle order that hasn’t had too much time in the middle at this tournament.But Dawid Malan controlled things beautifully. If you’re in any doubt about that, pull up clips of his cover drives. With flowing hands and sublime timing, he pushed England forward and was unlucky to miss out on a half-century.Moeen Ali didn’t make that mistake. Playing the world’s most elegant slogs, his 51* off 37 provided the finishing kick that took a good total to a defendable one. With most of England’s batting tonight revolving around left-handed blades, New Zealand’s best spinner Mitchell Santner bowled only one of his four overs.No dew

Guptill was caught off a flick. Williamson was caught off a scoop. Now those shots come off when there’s pace in the pitch. And there’s always pace in the pitch if there’s dew around. New Zealand expected it to come. But it stood them up instead.Woakes – who before this World Cup was left in T20I wilderness for five-and-a-half years – picked up both those wickets and set England on their victory march. This team prides itself in being on cutting edge pf both batting and bowling. But in Abu Dhabi – where cricket takes a time machine back to the 90s – they realised knocking it around for 160 and building on scoreboard pressure with tight Test-match lengths had the better chance of success.And all of that would worked a treat if a big-hitting allrounder hadn’t decided to turn everything on its head. Again.

Mohammad Rizwan’s 105 not out in 63 balls went in a losing cause as Karachi overhauled Multan’s 234 for 3 in the last over

Rvel Zahid13-Apr-2025An action-packed run fest worth 470 runs that goes down to the last few balls. Every T20 tournament can do with a few of those, and PSL 10 got its on the second day itself. Two centuries too. On a woeful day for bowlers, a 142-run partnership between James Vince and Khushdil Shah separated Karachi Kings and Multan Sultans and took Karachi, the hosts, to the third-highest successful chase in PSL history.Vince, whose purposefulness was evident from the moment he walked out at the fall of David Warner’s wicket in Karachi’s chase of 235, orchestrated the win with a 43-ball 101, while Khushdil, the perfect foil for Vince, kept his end of the bargain with a 37-ball 60 from No. 6. It was a much-needed shot in the arm for Karachi, who missed the playoffs in the last three seasons.Earlier, put into bat, Multan put on a show of their own, posting 234 on the back of Mohammad Rizwan’s fluent century – 105* in 63 balls. Adam Milne struggled to control his swing early on and bled plenty in the powerplay. Hasan Ali drew an outside edge off Shai Hope early in the piece and bowled with superb control in the powerplay, but his two-over spell at the death went for 35 runs.Usman Khan stuck to his chaotic methods and eventually got stumped after getting a start. Kamran Ghulam didn’t let the momentum drop and scored a brisk 36 in 19 balls before holing out in the 15th over. Multan needed a big finish, and they got it from the bat of the in-form Michael Bracewell, who played the kind of innings that he does so frequently for New Zealand, sparing no bowler with a 17-ball 44 not out.Karachi should consider themselves fortunate that even after conceding 22 extras, they kept the target where they could overhaul it. It was a largely an erratic bowling display, especially towards the death.Mohammad Rizwan’s century gave Multan a big total•AFP/Getty Images

In the chase, the spotlight was on Warner and the stage was set for him to get his team off to a flier. Warner opened his account lashing a boundary off David Willey – who had a forgettable day going for 40 in two overs – but his stay was short and streaky. He was undone by Bracewell, trapped lbw, but it was a decision that would have been overturned with DRS, but Warner didn’t opt for it.Tim Seifert attacked from the other end in his pulsating 16-ball 32 and then nicked one through to the keeper off Akif Javed, who bowled the fastest delivery of the day at 147.6kph and finished with 3 for 41.Karachi were in a tricky situation at the end of the seventh over, precariously placed at 79 for 4, but that’s when the foundation of a match-winning stand was laid as Khushdil joined Vince. Together, they took the game away from Multan.Vince raced away to a 23-ball fifty in the 11th over while Khushdil warmed up to the task from the other end. The debutant Shahid Aziz was introduced in the 13th over and was visibly nervous; he was handed the ball at a stage when both batters were well set. Karachi were sitting comfortably at 155 for 4, needing 80 more in seven overs.Chris Jordan nailed his yorkers in the 14th over and pulled things back a bit, and still had two overs left. But for someone with a lot of late-overs bowling experience, he was taken for 21 in the 16th over, and that put the match beyond Multan. Akif lost his control as Vince smashed him for a six and three boundaries in the 17th.Vince and Khushdil weren’t in the middle to hit the winning runs and there was a glimmer of hope that Multan might create some panic, but with only 14 left to score and still some batting to come, Karachi didn’t botch the chase.

His departure comes at a time of increasing speculation about the fate of other four mentors who were appointed along with Malik in 2024

Danyal Rasool15-May-2025Shoaib Malik has quit his position as one of five mentors appointed by the PCB for domestic competitions, citing other commitments. Malik, who said he submitted his resignation to the board two weeks ago, said he would fulfill his remaining contractual obligations, but would not be a mentor for the next season. The other mentors are Misbah-ul-Haq, Saqlain Mushtaq, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Waqar Younis.”This was not an easy choice, but after reflecting on my commitments, I realised that juggling multiple responsibilities would prevent me from giving my best – both to Pakistan cricket and to my other professional and personal priorities,” Malik said. “To ensure fairness to all, I believe this is the right time to transition. Working with some of Pakistan’s most talented cricketers has been an immensely rewarding experience, one I will always cherish.”Malik’s departure as mentor comes at a time of increasing speculation about the fate of all of the mentors. The day Malik made his resignation public, media reports suggested the PCB had decided to let go of all five mentors as they look to scale down what was an unprecedently busy domestic season last year. It is not certain that the Champions Cup, promoted as the jewel in the crown of the domestic season last year, which saw players pulled away from Test preparation ahead of the England series, will take place at all.Related

• Hesson named as Pakistan's white-ball head coach

• 'Prevailing security condition' forces PCB to postpone three domestic tournaments

However, a spokesperson at the PCB said an official decision had not been communicated by chairman Mohsin Naqvi to the board. ESPNcricinfo spoke to three of the four other mentors, each of whom said they had not been informed about any changes to their role. All five mentors were appointed on three-year contracts running until 2027.The appointment of the mentors in August last year was controversial, particularly when reports of their financial remuneration came to light. Each of the five are believed to be on three-year contracts, earning in the range of PKR 5 million (approx. USD 18,000) per month. Those salaries have raised eyebrows because they are higher than what is paid to all but the most elite Pakistani cricketers – the category A players Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan, in the central contracts pool.Besides, the vague nature of their job descriptions left the question of what they would actually do unclear. Initially appointed as mentors for each of the sides in the Champions Cup, the roles are separate from coaching. Each side had a separate coaching set-up – and the mentors did not require coaching qualifications.In a statement to ESPNcricinfo last year, the PCB had said that it “as a responsible organisation, never discusses in public salaries of its staffers and consultants, which remain a matter between the employer and the employee”.The PCB has not yet announced a replacement for Malik, or whether they intend to replace him.

Stalemate beckons at Old Trafford with marathon innings set to resume on final day

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay04-May-2025 Ollie Price scored a career-best 253 not out and became only the third Gloucestershire batter in history to score a double-century against Lancashire to help his side take a 139-run first-innings lead in the Rothesay County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford.Replying to the home side’s 450, the visitors were 589 for eight at the close and their total is the highest in first-class matches between these sides. However, barring collapses on this flat pitch, the game looks very likely to end in a draw shortly after tea tomorrow.None of which should detract from the achievement of Price, who reached his 200 with a cover-driven two off John Turner 40 minutes into the evening session and was congratulated by his elder brother Tom, with whom he put on 72 for the seventh wicket.Ollie Price had faced 358 balls and hit 28 fours to reach his landmark and follows in the illustrious footsteps of Charlie Barnett and Wally Hammond in making a double-century against Lancashire. Hammond was the last to achieve this feat in 1938 and also hit two other double hundreds against the Red Rose.But it was hard day in the dirt for Lancashire’s bowlers. Tom Bailey took two wickets during the day, George Balderson collected his second wicket of the innings and Tom Hartley finished with two for 149 from 44 overs
In the morning session, Gloucestershire scored 112 runs in 29 overs for the loss of Miles Hammond, who lost his middle stump to Bailey when he was three runs short of his century.That dismissal ended Hammond’s 203-run partnership with Ollie Price, who had reached three figures two overs earlier with a single off Bailey. Price had faced 208 balls and hit 14 boundary fours on the way to his century and was 114 not out at lunch, when Gloucestershire were 296 for three.Lancashire took three more wickets during the afternoon but could not prevent their opponents ending the session just 17 runs in arrears on first innings.Cameron Green was bowled by a fine ball from Bailey for eight, James Bracey was caught at slip by Keaton Jennings off Luke Wells for 44 and Graeme van Buuren was caught by a diving Marcus Harris off Balderson for 13. But Price was unbeaten on 181 at tea after a 35-over session in which Lancashire had used seven bowlers.The evening session was dominated by Ollie Price reaching his double century but his brother Tom was eventually dismissed by John Turner for 32 when he could only glove a well-directed bouncer into the hands of Jennings at slip. In the final hour of the day, Price and Zaman Akhter and Price flogged the tiring bowlers to all parts, Akhter making 25 before he was bowled by Hartley.Gloucestershire’s huge first-innings total means that all three visiting teams to Old Trafford have scored over 490 in their first innings this season and none have yet been required to bat a second time.

Peshawar Zalmi fall short by 23 runs despite Babar Azam’s 94 in a match where 451 runs were scored

Danyal Rasool17-May-2025There were fireworks during the innings break to celebrate the resumption of PSL 2025, but the pyrotechnics in each innings pushed that somewhat into the background. A high-scoring thriller of a contest saw Karachi Kings seal qualification to the playoffs, edging out Peshawar Zalmi in a game where 237 played 214. While batting seemed almost insouciantly straightforward – as it often is in Rawalpindi in T20 cricket – David Warner’s 50-ball 86 had just enough support from his team-mates to outshine Babar Azam’s 49-ball 94.The first ball of the contest was a false dawn, when Luke Wood produced a ripping inswinger to clean up Ben McDermott. Warner and James Vince picked up where they had left off in the earlier part of this tournament as they flayed the Zalmi bowling. Wood, who bowled three powerplay overs to register 1 for 14, found none of his team-mates able to maintain the pressure from the other end; the other three overs in the first six went for 43.An eight-run seventh over suggested Zalmi would come back into the game, but once more, it was misdirection. Ali Raza and Ahmed Daniyal copped further punishment before Saim Ayub and Hussain Talat bore the brunt of Warner’s onslaught. While Wood returned to produce another brilliant over, breaking the partnership by dismissing Vince, his 2 for 19 stood in sharp contrast to the carnage around him.It was about to get decisively worse as Zalmi lost their discipline completely in the final two overs. Raza, who endured a horror day, bowled a no-ball in the penultimate over, one that was littered with inaccurate bowling and decorated by six after six. Khushdil Shah and Mohammad Nabi smashed four of them before two fours and as many sixes in Daniyal’s final over saw 52 runs come off the final two. Khushdil smashed an unbeaten 43 off 15, Raza and Daniyal combined to concede 126 in eight overs.Babar Azam scored 94 off 49 balls•PCB

Zalmi were expected to come back hard, and they did. The early dismissal of Mohammad Haris was followed up by a second-wicket onslaught from Babar and Ayub, Zalmi getting 59 in the powerplay. They were ahead of Kings at that stage, and would remain so right up until the start of the penultimate over, but the suffocating pressure of an ever-increasing asking rate never quite let up. Ayub’s return to form was welcome, Babar’s sensational knock at a strike rate his talent should allow him to replicate more frequently was a delight. However, the death overs’ runs in the first innings always coloured the chase with a sense of heroic failure rather than unlikely glory.The first sign of the wheels coming off was in the form of a breakthrough Abbas Afridi produced, his slower delivery undoing Ayub three runs short of a half-century. It brought Tom Kohler-Cadmore to the crease, whose second-ball six belied the stuttering innings he would eventually produce. The partnership with his captain yielded 62, but Kohler-Cadmore only managed 20 in 15 deliveries, even as Babar was turning on the style from the other end, having raced past Warner’s score, sitting imperiously on 87 off 45.But three wickets fell in the next 11 balls. Mir Hamza snared Kohler-Cadmore before Afridi returned to get rid of Max Bryant. Three balls later, defeat was all but confirmed when Babar desperately scrambled back in a bid to get on strike, and ended up short of his crease, and six runs short of a deserved hundred.Zalmi soldiered on bravely, producing 28 in the final two overs, but Kings had secured victory, and a ticket to the playoffs in Lahore. Zalmi, meanwhile, go into a virtual knockout against Lahore Qalandars on Sunday night.

After the Frenchman announced his departure on Thursday, a look at some of the names who could take over at the Santiago Bernabeu next season

• Getty Images
  

  ANTONIO CONTE

  The Italian will be available as he is set to leave Chelsea imminently after two years in London. A serial winner, he would be likely to guarantee success in La Liga but his style of play may not attract Madrid fans. His record in the Champions League is also disappointing.

Advertisement

• MAURICIO POCHETTINO

  The Tottenham manager has only just signed a new five-year contract with the north London club, but he has long been admired by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez. His Spurs side beat Los Blancos in the Champions League group stages and he is the current favourite with bookmakers to take over at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2018-19. However, Tottenham would not let him leave without a huge fight.

• Getty Images
  

  ARSENE WENGER

  The French manager turned down Real Madrid in the past out of loyalty to Arsenal, but is available now after leaving the Gunners at the end of the 2017-18 season following 22 years in charge of the north London club. The 68-year-old has said he wants to continue coaching and could be considered by Los Blancos, perhaps as a short-term option.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty
  

  JOACHIM LOW

  The Germany coach extended his contract with the world champions to 2022 recently, but he is another long linked to Real Madrid and admired by president Florentino Perez. Low is currently preparing Germany's World Cup defence after the Mannschaft were crowned champions in 2014, but he could be tempted if things do not go to plan in Russia this summer.

Failure to qualify, untimely injuries and unfortunate snubs mean some of the finest talent on the planet will be absent from a Russian showpiece

• Getty Images
  

  Alexis Sanchez

  The Manchester United forward can focus his full attention of rediscovering his best form at club level this summer following the shock failure of Chile – the 2015 and 2016 Copa America champions – to qualify for Russia 2018.

Advertisement

• Getty Images
  

  Christian Pulisic

  The bright, young hope of American soccer, and a man very much in demand on the back of his showings for Borussia Dortmund, but a 19-year-old talent who crashed and burned as part of a troubled United States side in qualifying.

• Gareth Bale

  He may have lit up the Champions League final with a stunning two-goal showing off the bench, and helped Wales to the semi-finals of Euro 2016, but the Real Madrid star has been denied a global shop window in which to showcase his ability ahead of a possible summer transfer.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty Images
  

  Anthony Martial

  There was always the threat that a lack of regular starts at Manchester United would cost the 22-year-old dear in World Cup year, and so it proved as France boss Didier Deschamps opted to call upon others from an enviable pool of attacking talent.

The full list of nominees for football's most coveted individual prize

Thirty of the world's best footballers were honoured in Paris on Monday as the rankings of the Ballon d'Or were revealed.

The Premier League was heavily represented with 15 names, seven of whom came from Liverpool. Barcelona's Lionel Messi won the Best FIFA's Men award earlier in the year, while Virgil van Dijk collected UEFA's men's player of the year trophy. 

Here are the players in order of where they finished in the voting:

• Getty Images
  

  -28: Joao Felix, Atletico Madrid, Portugal, 20

  The Portuguese attacking midfielder has emerged as his country’s biggest star since Cristiano Ronaldo burst onto the scene.

  Starring for Benfica last season, he helped them to win the league before moving to Atletico Madrid in the summer for €126m (£113m/$140m).

  He made his international debut in June’s inaugural Nations League Finals, a competition he and Portugal were victorious in.

Advertisement

• Getty
  

  -28: Marquinhos, PSG, Brazil, 25

  The PSG centre-back has become one of the best defenders in the world and was instrumental as the Parisians won Ligue 1 yet again.

  He also had success with his national side in 2019 as Brazil won the Copa America for the first time since 2007. 

• Getty Images
  

  -28: Donny van de Beek, Ajax, Netherlands, 22

  Outside of the Netherlands, little was known about the midfielder prior to the start of the year but he was terrific in Ajax’s run to the Champions League semi-finals.

  Forever looking to make forays into the opposition box, Van de Beek has scored 14 times this calendar year, including against Juventus and Tottenham in the Champions League. He helped Ajax win the Eredivisie, too.  

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty Images
  

  -26: Karim Benzema, Real Madrid, France, 31

  The Frenchman is enjoying one of his best years, finding the net on 31 occasions so far. The Real Madrid striker seems to be thriving without Cristiano Ronaldo, even if his team aren’t. 

  At the age of 31, he is showing no signs of slowing down. However, he remains frozen out of the French national team squad. 

The Gunners came back from a goal behind to beat Fulham 2-1 and maintain their 100 per cent start to the season.

Arsenal mounted a stirring comeback to beat Fulham 2-1 on Saturday and make it four wins from four in the Premier League.

Mikel Arteta's side looked set for their first defeat of the season when an awful mistake by defender Gabriel Magalhaes gifted Alexander Mitrovic the opener for Fulham early in the second half.

But Arsenal responded well and an equaliser from the excellent Martin Odegaard brought them level on 64 minutes.

And then, with just five minutes remaining, Gabriel made up for his earlier mistake by scoring the winner – prodding home from close range after former Gunners keeper Bernd Leno failed to deal with a corner.

The win maintains Arsenal's 100 per cent start to the season and moved them back to the top of the Premier League ahead of Wednesday night's home game against Aston Villa.

• Getty Images
  

  The Winners

  Winner: Martin Odegaard

  Another excellent display from the captain, backing up his performance at Bournemouth.

  He always looked like the player would make something happen, and while he got a bit of luck with the deflection for the equaliser, he deserved that for the way he played throughout.

  A lack of goals was the one big criticism you could aim at Odegaard, so Mikel Arteta will be delighted that his skipper has now scored three in his last two.

  Winner: Gabriel Magalhaes

  Arsenal's centre-back was a winner and loser in this one.

  His awful mistake early in the second half looked like gifting Fulham the win, but he responded in excellent fashion.

  He kept his head up and was in the right place at the right time late on to score the precious winner for Arsenal.

  At one stage he looked like being the villain, but in the end he was the hero.

  Winner: Eddie Nketiah

  Arsenal's young striker came on just after Fulham had gone in front and he played a big part in turning the game around.

  He got involved straight away and his direct running caused the Fulham defence all sorts of problems.

  Gabriel Jesus has taken all the headlines so far this season, but Nketiah deserves a lot of credit for his cameo during the final half an hour.

  It was a reminder to everyone that he will still have a big part to play this season.

Advertisement

• Getty Images
  

  The Losers

  Loser: Gabriel Magalhaes

  Arsenal's centre-back had an absolute howler early in the second half.

  His costly error gifted Fulham the lead soon after half-time just as Arsenal were starting to dominate.

  It was school boy stuff from Gabriel, who is prone to the odd lapse in concentration like that.

  If he is going to go on to become a truly world class defender, those are the sort of errors he has to cut out of his game.

  At least he made up for it at the other end though.

  Loser: Arsenal's squad depth

  What exactly was going on in Arsenal's training session on Friday afternoon?!

  To lose one key player just before half-time was bad, but to lose two was disastrous.

  Exactly how long Thomas Partey and Oleksandr Zinchenko will be out for remains to be seen, but if it's a long time it will be a major blow to Arsenal. Both players are so vital to the way Arteta wants his team to play.

  Loser: Bernd Leno

  This may be a touch harsh, as Leno actually played very well on his return to Arsenal.

  He made several excellent stops to frustrate his former side and looked like being the Fulham hero.

  But then, with five minutes remaining, he flapped at corner and gave Gabriel a tap in to make it 2-1.

  Leno and his team-mates may have complained to the referee, but deep down the German will know he made a big error which cost his side a draw.

• Getty Images
  

  Arsenal Ratings: Defence

  Aaron Ramsdale (7/10):

  Barely had anything to do in the first half, but made some big saves after the break.

  Ben White (7/10):

  Continues to operate well at right-back, but never really got in behind the Fulham defence.

  William Saliba (8/10):

  Calm, composed, strong. Another fine display.

  Gabriel Magalhaes (6/10):

  A horror moment to gift Mitrovic his goal.

  Kieran Tierney (6/10):

  Brought into the team to replace the injured Zinchenko. Solid enough, but lacked the quality and guile of the Ukrainian.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty Images
  

  Midfield

  Mohamed Elneny (6/10):

  Neat and tidy as always. Kept the ball moving from the defensive midfield position, but there's no doubt Arsenal missed Thomas Partey's passing ability from deep.

  Granit Xhaka (6/10):

  Got forward as he has done all season, but couldn't make much of an impact.

  Martin Odegaard (8/10):

  Always looked the most likely of any of the Arsenal players to open Fulham up. Buzzed around the final third all afternoon with his clever movement and deserved his goal. Excellent showing.