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يستعد الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي النصر السعودي، بقيادة جورجي خيسوس المديرالفني، لمواجهة استقلال دوشنبه من الطاجاكستاني، في بطولة دوري أبطال آسيا 2.

ومن المقرر أن يلعب النصر أمام استقلال دوشنبه الطاجاكستاني ضمن منافسات الجولة الأولى من بطولة دوري أبطال آسيا 2، على ملعب “الأول بارك”.

طالع| قرار مفاجئ من مدرب النصر تجاه رونالدو قبل مواجهة استقلال الطاجاكستاني في دوري أبطال آسيا 2

ويشارك نادي النصر، في بطولة دوري أبطال آسيا 2، بعدما احتل المركز الثالث في الدوري السعودي الموسم الماضي، حيث لم يتأهل للمشاركة في بطولة دوري أبطال آسيا للنخبة البطولة الأكبر في آسيا.

ويلعب فريق النصر السعودي في المجموعة الرابعة من بطولة دوري أبطال آسيا 2، إلى جانب كل من الزوراء العراقي، استقلال دوشنبه الطاجاكستاني، وجوا الهندي. موعد مباراة النصر السعودي واستقلال دوشنبه في دوري أبطال آسيا 2

تنطلق مباراة النصر واستقلال دوشنبه في دوري أبطال آسيا 2 اليوم الأربعاء، الموافق 17 سبتمبر 2025، في تمام الساعة التاسعة والربع مساء بتوقيت مكة المكرمة والقاهرة. القناة الناقلة لمباراة النصر السعودي واستقلال دوشنبه في دوري أبطال آسيا 2

تنقل مباراة النصر واستقلال دوشنبه عبر شبكة قنوات بي إن سبورتس 2.

ويمكنكم مطالعة مواعيد ونتائج جميع المباريات لحظة بلحظة عبر مركز المباريات من هنا.

Aston Villa fans will be concerned about the amount of outgoings currently being talked about at Villa Park.

Indeed, every passing day seems to throw up another rumoured casualty from the West Midlands giants, with Ollie Watkins the next high-profile name to be linked with an exit as Arsenal show an interest in the lethal Premier League goal machine again.

Emiliano Martinez’s name is also in this constant conversation, with a move to Manchester United reportedly lined up.

But why is this all happening? Well, Unai Emery’s men are trying to balance the books by whatever means necessary to comply with stringent PSR rules.

Aston Villa chasing £30m signing

Martinez and Watkins aren’t the only key members of the Villa squad who could depart the Midlands this summer with Arsenal also allegedly eyeing Morgan Rogers.

If the England international does exit, presumably for a colossal fee, they would need a replacement.

Well, according to reports from Spain, via Sport Witness, Villa are continuing to hunt the signature of Real Betis starlet Jesus Rodriguez this summer.

It is stated that several clubs are looking at the teenage sensation, with Cesc Fabregas’ Como said to be accelerating their efforts to tempt the Spanish hotshot to Italy, alongside Monchi also powering ahead with Villa’s own advances.

Betis are reportedly willing to sanction a move for Rodriguez to leave when he returns from international action with Spain U21s at the ongoing Euros tournament, with a £30m price-tag also above his head if he does seek out a new home shortly.

Villa could well have that amount in the bank if a major sale is signed off on, with this going down as a worthwhile investment if Rodriguez can instantly acclimatise to his new environment.

Already, the Seville-born attacker has made waves in the senior picture at Betis, as seen in this coolly tucked away chance in European action.

How Rodriguez could become Emery's next Rogers

Much like Emery managed with a once wide-eyed Rogers, Rodriguez could soon be transformed into a far more impressive forward player under the ex-Arsenal manager’s expert guidance.

After all, Rogers was only two years older than Rodriguez is now when he was first handed a senior shot at Villa, having cost £15m to obtain from Middlesbrough.

Now, Rogers is spoken about as a player worth around £100m, and for good reason too when you consider his whirlwind rise at Villa Park from promising youngster plucked out of the EFL, to one of the key first names on Emery’s teamsheet.

Rogers wasn’t an overnight success, however, with only four goal contributions coming his way from his first 16 Villa first-team outings. But, the rest is history now for the “unstoppable” attacker, as Jamie Carragher glowingly labelled him last season, with a spellbinding 29 goal contributions next to his name during his second campaign at Emery’s men.

Rodriguez will hope he can be turned into a similar superstar under the Spaniard’s tutelage, with the 19-year-old already being described as “explosive” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, even as he’s still navigating the fledgling stages of his career.

Rodriguez’s G/A numbers for Betis

Age bracket

Games played

Goals scored

Assists

First team

32

3

2

Betis B

36

9

3

Sourced by Transfermarkt

Everything is pointing in the direction of the Betis number 36 going on to live up to his hype, with Rodriguez ahead of Rogers’ development already by showing immense flashes of his quality at the very peak of Spanish football.

To add context, when Rogers was only 19 years of age himself, he was attempting to cut his teeth in the Championship with AFC Bournemouth, while Rodriguez is already confidently scoring in the Conference League.

Patience will need to be exercised on the ends of the Villans like they offered up to a growing Rogers, but with their depleted numbers down the left wing clear for all to see, Rodriguez might be immediately chucked into the deep-end, with a hope he doesn’t sink under all the pressure and instead excels.

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This summer simply has to be a seismic one for Tottenham Hotspur.

Ange Postecoglou and his squad turned what could have been an utterly disastrous campaign into an iconic one with their Europa League triumph in Bilbao last week, and now it’s Daniel Levy and Co’s turn to deliver.

With Champions League football secured, the Lilywhites board should be able to push the boat out that bit more in the transfer window and bring in the right stars to ensure their Premier League campaign next year can be just as memorable as their European one this year.

Fortunately, that seems to be happening, as recent reports have linked the North Londoners with one of the most exciting players on the continent and someone who could send Son Heung-min packing.

Tottenham transfer news

Before getting to the young superstar in question, it’s worth looking at some of the other impressive players who have been linked with Spurs in recent weeks and months, such as Marc Guehi and Leroy Sané.

Transfer Focus

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

The former could cost up to £50m, and while that is a lot of money, he’d bring plenty of experience at the domestic and international level while also potentially being the perfect replacement for Cristian Romero should the World Cup finally move on this summer.

Sané, on the other hand, would be completely free thanks to his contract expiring in June, and while he’s nearer to the end than the start of his career, he’d undoubtedly add something to the Lilywhites attack, as in just 45 games this season he has scored 13 goals and provided six assists.

However, another more exciting major target for Tottenham has now entered the picture: Xavi Simons.

According to a recent report from ESPN, Spurs are interested in the RB Leipzig star, although they are certainly not the only ones.

Other stories from earlier this month have also credited the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United with an interest in the Flying Dutchman, who could cost around £67m.

It could be a complicated and costly transfer to get over the line, but given Simons’ incredible ability and potential, it’s one well worth fighting for, especially as he could be the perfect Son upgrade.

How Simons compares to Son

So, the first thing to say is that one of Simons’ biggest strengths is that he can play off the right or in attacking midfield with relative ease, but considering Brennan Johnson has been in fine form in the former and James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski occupy the latter, it seems likely that he’d come in as a left-wing option.

Therefore, one of his primary competitors for game time, and the man he’d ideally be the long-term heir to, is Son, so who comes out on top when we compare them?

Well, when it comes to their raw output, it’s the former Pairs Saint-Germain gem, with 11 goals and eight assists in just 33 first-team appearances, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.73 games.

In contrast, the former Bayer Leverkusen star has scored 11 goals and provided 12 assists in 46 appearances for the North Londoners this season, which comes out to a goal involvement every other game.

Okay, what about their underlying numbers from this year? Which winger comes out on top when we take a look under the hood?

Unfortunately for the Chuncheon-born icon, this is another battle he loses, as in most relevant metrics, bar a few here and there, the 22-year-old “game-changing signing,” as dubbed by respected analyst Ben Mattinson, comes out comfortably ahead.

These metrics include, but are not limited to, non-penalty goals plus assists, progressive passes, goals per shot and shot on target, passes into the final third and penalty area, expected assists, tackles won, interceptions, blocks, clearances, successful take-ons, aerial duels won and more, all per 90.

Finally, the Amsterdam-born “superstar,” as dubbed by Mattinson, is a decade younger than the captain, so there is every chance that he’ll continue to get better and better in the coming campaigns, which is a scary thought indeed.

Ultimately, Son has been an incredible player for Spurs over the years, but Simons looks to be better than him in practically every way, so Levy and Co should be doing all they can to sign him this summer.

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Now preparing for European football next season, Nottingham Forest have reportedly joined the race to sign a Premier League rival who is valued at around £29m this summer.

Nottingham Forest qualify for Europa League

Although their afternoon centred around the disappointment of a 2-2 draw against Leicester City and Taiwo Awoniyi’s injury last time out, Nottingham Forest still had Europa League qualification to celebrate. No matter what happens in the final two Premier League games, those at the City Ground will be back on the European stage next season, and that in itself is certainly worth applauding.

Owner Evangelos Marinakis sent a similar reminder to fans whilst clarifying his conversation with Nuno Espirito Santo on the pitch following the Leicester game. The Greek owner said in a statement: “Today is a day for celebration, because after 30 years Nottingham Forest is now guaranteed to be competing on the European stage once again – a promise I made to our supporters when we achieved promotion!

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“With two more games to go in the Premier League, we must keep believing and keep dreaming, right to the final kick in the final game. We are extremely proud and close to Nuno and the team, and we must all celebrate the historic achievements of this season.

“Everybody – coaching staff, players, supporters and including myself – we were frustrated around the injury of Taiwo and the medical staff’s misjudgment on Taiwo’s ability to continue the game This is natural, this is a demonstration of the passion we feel for our club. Let’s all be grateful, passionate and keep on dreaming!”

Nuno will certainly be hoping to see his side put last weekend behind them when they square off against West Ham United on Sunday. Meanwhile, with European football secured, Marinakis has already reportedly set his sights on signing a midfield rival.

Nottingham Forest racing to sign Pereira

According to TNT Sports Brasil, as relayed by Sport Witness, Nottingham Forest are now racing to sign Andreas Pereira from Fulham this summer and will have to offer around €35m (£29m) to get any deal over the line.

Of course, it’s not the first time that the Brazilian has found himself on Forest’s radar. As per reports, Marinakis and the Midlands club entered talks to sign Pereira last summer only for Fulham to turn their proposal down. With European football to offer these days, however, Forest could now push on and secure their year-long target.

Whether the Cottagers remain reluctant to sell Pereira remains to be seen, though. Manager Marco Silva will certainly be keen to keep the 29-year-old, having previously told reporters when asked about the Fulham star in 2022: “He has been outstanding this season. I know a lot of people had doubts when I decided to sign him but I knew his qualities and his character.

“Even last season we had a conversation about his future, but it wasn’t the right moment for him to join us. He’s a key player on and off the ball and with set pieces. Two assists this afternoon. A top professional who is enjoying himself at the moment in a white shirt.”

Following the news that Mohamed Salah has put pen to paper on a fresh Liverpool deal, Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr have reportedly turned their focus towards signing another Anfield star.

Salah signs new deal, Van Dijk next

The panic was officially over last week when Liverpool’s Egyptian King was seen sat on his throne at the home of his iconic reign, having signed a new two-year deal. Clubs tried to go in pursuit of his signature, but Salah always wanted Liverpool and, eventually, any complications in negotiations were solved. Now two wins away from Premier League glory with Salah sealed, Virgil van Dijk looks likely to make sure that the good news keeps coming by signing a new deal of his own.

Meanwhile, Salah was just as delighted as those around Anfield after signing his deal – telling Liverpool’s social media channels: “Of course I’m very excited. We have a great team now. Before also we had a great team. But I signed because I think we have a chance to win other trophies and enjoy my football.

“It’s great, I had my best years here. I played eight years, hopefully it’s going to be 10. Enjoying my life here, enjoying my football. I had the best years in my career. I would like to say to [the fans], I am very, very happy to be here.

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“I signed here because I believe we can win a lot of big trophies together. Keep supporting us and we’ll give it our best, and hopefully in the future we’re going to win more trophies.”

However, whilst both Salah and Van Dijk are set to stay put, the same can’t be said for another Anfield star amid interest from Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr.

Al-Nassr readying Luis Diaz bid

According to reports in Spain, Al-Nassr are now readying a bid worth €60m (£52m) to sign Luis Diaz from Liverpool this summer. The Colombian has been in superb form as of late, but with just two years left on his current deal at 28 years old it remains to be seen whether those in Merseyside decide to cash in on his talents this summer.

Throughout the current campaign, the former Porto winger has often been among those in Liverpool’s frontline criticised – if it’s not Salah taking responsibility, their forwards have struggled. However, after scoring twice in two games, Diaz has sent a reminder of his quality at exactly the right time.

Arne Slot has been the benefactor of that quality at times this season just as Jurgen Klopp was in the past. The latter wasn’t shy in recognising that quality either, describing Diaz as “insane” in 2022.

They built on learnings from a less clinical performance than expected against Sri Lanka and are looking unstoppable

Valkerie Baynes09-Oct-20243:16

Clinical Australia complicate NRR matters for others

Good teams learn quickly.So when Australia’s top order all found themselves set on a now notoriously difficult pitch in Sharjah, they set the blueprint for what was already shaping as a crucial match on Sunday for them and, even more so, India.Australia’s 60-run thumping of New Zealand was their second match at the ground while India will play their first and only group game in Sharjah against them. But it wasn’t all bad for India, who stand to gain from New Zealand’s net run rate sliding into negative territory as they prepare to play Sri Lanka in Dubai on Wednesday.India’s upset at the hands of New Zealand followed by their cautious approach in the chase against Pakistan, whom they beat by six wickets with seven balls to spare, leaves them fourth in Group A with a net run rate of -1.217.ESPNcricinfo LtdIf India bat first and score 130 on Wednesday, they need to restrict Sri Lanka to 84 to go ahead of New Zealand’s NRR and to 81 to convert their NRR into the positive. If Sri Lanka score 100 batting first, India need to chase it down in 12.4 overs or less to go ahead of New Zealand’s NRR and in 12.1 overs or less to turn their NRR positive.Australia’s latest victory was built on learnings from a less clinical performance than expected from them when they defeated a struggling Sri Lanka by six wickets with 34 balls to spare at the same venue on Saturday. Beth Mooney’s unbeaten 43 from 38 balls was then the standout performance of an innings where no other batter passed 17.On this occasion, against New Zealand, Alyssa Healy, Ellyse Perry and Mooney – again the top-scorer with 40 off 32 balls – all got themselves in and found the boundary with greater authority to take Australia to 148 for 8, comfortably eclipsing the previous best total in Sharjah during this tournament: England’s 125 for 3 the previous evening.This too was a night game and the Australians looked more comfortable than they had in the searing afternoon heat of the Sri Lanka game. With New Zealand’s spinners offering more pace than the Sri Lankans, Australia’s top-order batters capitalised.Healy signalled her intent, repeatedly clearing extra cover to make the vast outfield look manageable for arguably the first time in six games at the ground en route to 26 in 20 balls and helping her side to 43 for 1 in the powerplay.More was to come, with Perry skipping down the pitch to despatch Eden Carson into the fence at long-on and muscling the next ball through square leg for four.Mooney managed just two fours but her knock was crucial in an innings where Phoebe Litchfield’s run-a-ball 18 was the only other score in double figures after the top three.”We spoke this morning and yesterday that it looked a little bit better than the wicket we were on the other day, still very different to conditions to back home and a bit of a hard slog at times with the slow outfield and the big boundaries and the slow wicket itself,” Mooney said.”We know throughout this tournament we’re going to have to dig pretty deep with the bat and try and find a way to score runs and sometimes that’s going to look pretty ugly and sometimes it’s going to be okay. If we just find a way to make it work, that will hold us in good stead, which is what we did tonight.”Being able to get out there in that first game and get an understanding of the conditions was always good and to bank that sort of data is always helpful moving throughout the tournament. But I think the natural dialogue is that it’s going to be pretty tough and you’ve got to really be composed at the crease and make good decisions and be really clear on what options you have and where to hit what holes.”She also said the performance was “not far off” Australia’s best in recent times. In the lead-up to the tournament they hosted New Zealand and won their T20I series 3-0 but twice suffered batting collapses and were bowled out once, for only the second time since early 2020.”If we’re being really critical, we’ve probably missed out on a few with the bat towards the middle and the back-end there with a few wickets in a row, but certainly really pleasing with that we’ve got ourselves into at this tournament,” she said.That was in no small part down to the legspin of Amelia Kerr, who snared 4 for 26. Having removed Mooney and Perry, she took two more wickets, bowling the big-hitting Grace Harris for a first-ball duck and ending Georgia Wareham’s knock, caught by Lea Tahuhu.But Australia had also learned with the ball.Megan Schutt, Player of the Match with 3 for 12 against Sri Lanka, opened the bowling again and, with Healy standing up to the stumps, offered no width for New Zealand to work with and bowled Georgia Plimmer with a beauty dipping in, beating the attempted pull and rattling the woodwork.That made Schutt the leading wicket-taker in Women’s T20 World Cups with 46 but she wasn’t done. Returning in the 12th over, she had Kerr caught by Annabel Sutherland, running in from long-on, and then bowled Carson to complete the rout, and a miserly return of 3 for 3 from 3.2 overs as New Zealand were bowled out for 88 in the final over.For New Zealand, Kerr maintained that their destiny was still in their own hands: “First, you want to win the game, that’s the key. You don’t want to go out there thinking you’ve got to beat them by X amount of runs… if we win both [remaining games], we give ourselves the best chance to qualify.”Australia next play Pakistan on Friday in Dubai and New Zealand play Sri Lanka on Saturday, followed by Pakistan.

Callow batting no match for captain in a hurry to wrap up England’s summer

Firdose Moonda11-Sep-2022You’ve got to hand it to England: this Bazball thing sort of works. Even if you don’t like it, or what it’s called, and you feel it undermines the pillars of patience and pragmatism on which Test cricket is built, you have to admit that it gets things moving. For example, if you had any concerns about this match being drawn when it was reduced to three days, you needn’t have.But for the late-summer fading light, it would have been done in two days and, even if that isn’t the best advertisement for Test cricket, it is a nod to entertainment, and Ben Stokes’ stated aim to put “bums on seats”. He and his team have delivered on that front.The capacity crowd got almost everything they paid for over the last two days, except the opportunity to see England raise the series trophy – and they noisily objected to the umpires taking the players off for bad light at 6.40pm. But they would not have had any other complaints, especially not with Stokes. He has emerged after this summer as the captain both colleagues and his crowds can get behind, because he actually does, as his opposition captain Dean Elgar says, “walk the talk”.With the bat, Stokes changed the tone of the series at Old Trafford, with his century and partnership with Ben Foakes. And with the ball, Stokes has taken on the enforcer role despite, or perhaps even because of, his knee problem, which seems to have persuaded him to bowl longer spells than may be sensible to avoid not bowling at all, in case the knee seizes up in a shorter spell and takes him out of the attack. That’s the Stokes that showed up on the second day.South Africa had chipped away at the rock of certain defeat and created a small crack of a comeback through Elgar and Sarel Erwee. It was some of the nerviest and ugliest batting that we’ve seen – Elgar survived an Ollie Robinson delivery that seamed past the shoulder of his bat as he tried to get forward, before hacking at a short, wide delivery from James Anderson to send it over the slip cordon for four – but the pair erased the deficit and posted South Africa’s fourth half-century stand of the series.Nothing came easily but they were using up overs and time, and England don’t play like that. So, in the 16th over, Stokes brought himself on and with his third delivery, drew Erwee forward, just as others in the attack had done, but found late swing, just as others had not done. He found the edge too, and Joe Root took a fine catch at first slip to start South Africa’s slide.That’s swag. That’s superstar quality. All South Africa have is stardust.Dean Elgar’s failure to review an lbw against South Broad was a key moment•Getty ImagesAs their captain, and also their most successful batter, Elgar’s actions unfortunately had the opposite effect on proceedings. Elgar was walking for an lbw appeal against Stuart Broad even before Nitin Menon raised his finger, and he didn’t once consider a review. Broad had earlier appealed twice against Elgar in that over, which may have rattled him, but in failing even to get a second opinion from his partner, Elgar gave the impression that he just wanted to get out of the firing line, rather than run towards the danger. And that was a mistake.Replays later showed the ball was missing Elgar’s leg stump significantly, and that he would have survived. For how long, who knows? But South Africa went on to lose their next nine wickets for 86 runs, and set England a total that they will reach in almost T20-like speed.South Africa will have to blame a lack of first-innings runs for their defeats in the second and third Tests, but they will also look at other missed opportunities, such as the chance to build more of a lead in this match. After Elgar’s dismissal, Khaya Zondo and Wiaan Mulder (promoted above Kyle Verreynne, who has not produced enough in this series) formed a steady but very slow partnership. They faced 87 balls for the 25 runs they contributed, allowing pressure to build, especially when that man Stokes brought himself back at one end.Related

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In a marathon 11-over spell, Stokes constantly reminded South Africa of the threat he can pose. He made the ball dance this way and that as Mulder tried to navigate around his two left feet, while he stalked Zondo’s outside edge relentlessly. Robinson removed both men, but it was Stokes who took out South Africa’s best middle-order batter of the series, Marco Jansen, which ended any real opportunity for South Africa to set a challenging target. Stokes should have had Jansen in his eighth over when he edged an outswinger to fourth slip, only to be called for a no-ball. But he got him in his ninth instead, bowled by the inswinger.Superstar quality, when all South Africa have is stardust. And they know it.”I was a bit star-struck in the beginning,” Keegan Petersen said, a few days before the Test match, when he spoke about the time he spent with Stokes at Durham earlier this season. “He is a great guy. He is a good guy to have in the change-room, on the field and off, and he is a good human being. I am only new to international cricket so to walk into a change-room with one of the best allrounders in the world, it was nice.”It was also a first-hand illustration of the gulf between South Africa and Stokes. In their first match together, Petersen scored the first fifty of his county career. It took him almost two-and-a-half hours and he faced 118 balls. By the time Stokes came in to bat, Durham were 360 for 4 and the foundation was laid for him to Ben-ball the match beyond Worcestershire. Stokes smashed 161 off 88 balls at a strike of almost 200, and he did it in just over two hours. Petersen was right to feel dazed.Alex Lees goes down the ground as England made a fast start to their chase•AFP/Getty ImagesThe next time they played together, Petersen scored 78 off 123 balls in 193 minutes. Stokes scored 82 off 110 balls in 150 minutes. Even in their final match together, when Petersen outscored Stokes with 48 and 5 against Middlesex, Stokes 19-ball 15 only took him a quarter of an hour to score. England were two weeks away from their first Test of the summer, so perhaps Stokes was prepping for that.In the dissection of this series, we will eventually talk about the disappointing lack of application shown by batters on both sides and wonder if we should blame T20, fast-food, the Hundred or climate change. But we will have to remember that the contest was fought between two fine bowling attacks. England have the two most successful seam-bowling wicket-takers in the history of Test cricket in their XI, while South Africa possess a pace attack which, if they played more Test cricket, might be able to climb the ladder and challenge for those positions. Both sides have some fragility in their batting but England’s does not have a lot of fear.Though South Africa believe they are getting closer to being properly competitive as a Test team, they can still look clueless on the days when it all goes wrong. For all their pre-series jokes about tequila, and their semi-serious remarks about not labelling their approach, this series has shown that they don’t really have one. Their Test-cricket blueprint is to scrape together runs and hope it’s enough for the bowlers to work with. That’s not a style of play; it’s a survival guide. And against Bazball, that’s not an option.”At no stage is there any talk about draws or surviving,” Broad confirmed at the close. Bazball is about being emphatic, and England are about to win the match and the series in exactly that fashion.

This week, we’re looking back at the World Series in all its avatars

Mohammad Isam25-May-2020First, some music
Packer’s marketing mantra was to package cricket as entertainment. Like every TV show in the 1970s, World Series Cricket had an opening theme. In the second season, the promotional song, “C’mon Aussie C’mon”, went on to top the Australian music charts. While this song accompanied broadcasts of subsequent WSC games and Test matches in coming years, the intro for Channel 9’s cricket broadcasts, a tune originally known as “New Horizons”, composed by Brian Bennett, went through several iterations.The rebels
If you’re looking for the origins of World Series Cricket, go all the way back to December 2, 1977 when the revolution began with the first Supertest. Andy Roberts, Michael Holding and Wayne Daniel blew away the WSC Australians, and the West Indians won by three wickets inside three days. Here, meanwhile, you can watch some classic Barry Richards pulls and drives from the 1978-79 SuperTest final, a day-night game with coloured clothing and balls.The bad blood of the 1980s
Much of the world has watched Trevor Chappell rolling the ball underarm towards Brian McKechnie with New Zealand needing six to tie off the delivery, but check out the build-up and reactions. Greg Chappell shows him how to do it, Rod Marsh shakes his head in disbelief, McKechnie throws away his bat, and New Zealand captain Geoff Howarth confronts the umpires. Richie Benaud sums it up, calling it “one of the worst things” he has ever seen.Dennis Lillee and Kim Hughes both played for Western Australia, but they never really got along. Here, the two of them get into an on-field disagreement during a WSC match against New Zealand. And as much as Lillee’s bowling was about pace and swing and accuracy, it was also about theatre, which usually came to the fore when he bowled to Viv Richards: watch some of their confrontations here, including a little shoulder bump.The decade ended as it began – with controversy. In an extraordinary presentation ceremony after a match with on the scorecard, captains Imran Khan and Viv Richards both went after the umpires.But there were great cricketing moments in those 1980s triangulars too. Rare batting feats such as Lance Cairns hitting six sixes against Australia, Allan Lamb winning a match for England when they needed 18 off the last over, and Viv Richards slamming an unbeaten 60 off 40 balls in the rain-shortened third final of the 1989-90 WSC.Pakistan and West Indies played out one of the best games of the decade at the Gabba during the 1981-82 season, when the No. 11, Joel Garner, struck the winning runs in another rain-affected game. A couple of seasons later, Garner bowled a thrilling last over, this game ending in a tie after Jeff Dujon ran out the Australian non-striker off the last ball. And if the Australia-South Africa semi-final from the 1999 World Cup produced arguably the greatest finish in ODI history, how about this one, from the 1980-81 season, when Australia needed three off the last ball to beat New Zealand?Muttiah Muralitharan and Arjuna Ranatunga argue with umpire Ross Emerson after the no-ball incident•PA Images via Getty ImagesThe edge-of-the-seat 1990s
From the sublime to the slapstick, there were so many different types of finishes in the World Series tournaments in the 1990s. The decade began with New Zealand’s Chris Pringle keeping Bruce Reid on strike throughout the final over, defending two runs. He was lucky to get away with a leg-side delivery that could, and maybe should, have been called a wide, but Pringle forced several swings-and-misses before Reid was run out attempting a bye off the last ball.India pulled off a tie against West Indies in a low-scoring game at the WACA in 1991, when Sachin Tendulkar picked up the final wicket with nine overs to spare. There was an even more improbable tie the following year, when Steve Waugh bowled a full toss with Pakistan needing seven to win off the last ball, with Asif Mujtaba on strike.Then came the 1996 classic that became known as the “Michael Bevan Match” after he hit Roger Harper for an ice-cool straight four off the last ball to complete the first of his many chasing masterclasses.In 1997-98 came another last-ball finish: Dion Nash on strike against Shaun Pollock with New Zealand needing three to win a high-scoring epic. What happened next? Well, watch it here.And no account of triangular tournaments in Australia can be complete without the England-Sri Lanka game in Adelaide in January 1999. You’ll remember Arjuna Ranatunga coming close to pulling his team out of the match after umpire Ross Emerson called Muttiah Muralitharan for chucking, but the match itself was a nail-biter, with Sri Lanka eventually winning by one wicket, thanks to a brilliant hundred from a young Mahela Jayawardene, who when he began the innings, had an ODI average of 15.21. During Sri Lanka’s chase, the stump mic picked up Alec Stewart going after Ranatunga for his “behaviour” earlier in the game, but the commentators would have none of it. They backed the Sri Lanka captain fully, with Ian Chappell noting that he had “a touch of John McEnroe” about him.What We’re Watching here

If Memorial Day is the first serious checkpoint of the MLB season, then the Fourth of July qualifies as the second. The regular season is now past its midpoint as teams hanging around .500 must soon decide whether they’ll be buyers or sellers with the trade deadline less than a month away.

As our long-term views on the 2025 season continue to crystallize, let's recap what's gone on thus far and what could lie ahead.

1. Which team has been the pleasant surprise of the season?

Tom Verducci: The Tampa Bay Rays. The schedule is a bear. Only 16 home games in July and August. A minor league ballpark for a home. An ace (Shane McClanahan) still not back. But this is the hardest throwing staff in recorded history and Junior Caminero swings one of the two fastest bats in baseball. They have the best record in baseball against winning teams. They have one of the most athletic teams in the game, even if they tend to be careless on the bases. Believe it. The Rays are for real.

Stephanie Apstein: The timing of this question is funny. A few weeks ago, I probably would have said the New York Mets or the San Francisco Giants, but a couple of losing streaks later, they're in danger of becoming the answers to question 2 (see below). So I think I'll go with the Tampa Bay Rays. In one sense their success is unsurprising, because this is what they do most years, but keep in mind that most years they don't have to do it in an open-air minor league ballpark where game-time temperatures regularly hit the mid-90s. 

Nick Selbe: The Toronto Blue Jays seemed to be nearing the end of a contention window with last season's 74-win campaign and a core group of players that seemed closer to the decline phase than their primes. Instead, Toronto doubled down, signing Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a 14-year extension worth half a billion dollars and adding Anthony Santander to a five-year deal worth nearly $100 million. The latter hasn't worked out so far, but it hasn't prevented the Blue Jays from keeping pace with the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East, Pythagorean record be damned. Toronto might not have the pitching depth at present to keep up this pace, but its offense looks dangerous enough to remain in the division hunt throughout the second half.

Ryan Phillips: The Chicago Cubs have arrived a year (or more) earlier than expected. While the pitching has been suspect, Chicago's offense has been relentless. Pete Crow-Armstrong has become a legitimate star and leads the National League in WAR, while Kyle Tucker is second. The Northsiders are a ton of fun and are baseball’s biggest surprise for their dominance (MLB’s best run differential) if not for their division standing. 

Will Laws: Perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that the Rays have figured out how to stay competitive with a bottom-five payroll. Nevertheless, SI predicted them to finish 76–86 after they missed the playoffs last year for the first time since 2018. Instead, they're just a game out of first place in the AL East with the AL's third-best run differential thanks to a strong, balanced offense and anold-school rotation that leads the junior circuit in innings pitched.

2. Which team has been the biggest disappointment?

England's centre-back room looks almost unrecognisable this month to how it has for the majority of Sarina Wiegman's tenure. With Millie Bright having recently retired, Leah Williamson still injured, Alex Greenwood ruled out for a few weeks and Jess Carter granted a period of rest, Wiegman is set to name a starting defence without any of that quartet for just the second, and third, time in her four years in charge of the Lionesses when her side take on China and Ghana over the course of the next week.

It's no wonder Wiegman has described this camp as "an opportunity" for other centre-back options to "step up" then, and for no one does it feel like a greater opportunity than Maya Le Tissier. Fresh off the back of making her first England start in a central position last month, having won all nine of her previous caps for her country as a full-back, the 23-year-old feels well-placed to benefit from what is certainly an unfamiliar situation for the Lionesses.

The timing feels important, too. These are England's final friendly matches before qualifying for the 2027 Women's World Cup begins in the New Year and, with only the group winner to automatically book a spot at the tournament, and the Lionesses having been pooled with Spain, obtaining results is going to be the priority. As such, it's one of the last windows for a while in which Wiegman is going to experiment and hand out chances. Le Tissier will be out to take hers and show that she should be considered as a valuable option at centre-back, not just right-back, moving forward.

Getty Images SportPlenty of debate

Le Tissier has been a lightning rod for debate when it comes to the Lionesses in recent months. "I was expecting that," Wiegman laughed when asked about the Manchester United captain following her start as a centre-back against Australia in the last camp, having been bombarded with questions about her since re-emphasising that she saw Le Tissier as more of a right-back than a centre-back just a couple of weeks prior.

That stance sparked a frenzy on social media, particularly after United, somewhat incredibly, got involved. "Maya Le Tissier has started 104 games for United," a post on the club's official X account read. "103 of them have been at centre-back." Ian Wright, meanwhile, took to Instagram to state that he simply didn't "understand" Wiegman's point of view, calling Le Tissier "the most consistent" English centre-back in the Women's Super League.

"I think it's hard not to see it. It's everywhere," Le Tissier said of the public questioning of her role when talking to . "Obviously I play centre-half at club level every single week and every single day in training. So for me, I love playing centre-back, and full-back is a different challenge. I enjoy that as well, but I don't feel as kind of confident.

"It's hard when you go play a different position that you don't play at all. I just try and do whatever Sarina asks of me, just to get on the pitch, no matter if it's at full-back or centre-half or anywhere else where Sarina thinks I could play!"

AdvertisementGetty ImagesSoftening stance

How Wiegman used Le Tissier during the October camp suggested something of a softening on what had, at times, previously felt like a very strong position. The defender started as a right-back in the first game of that international break, a defeat to Brazil, but ended it at centre-back. Then, three days later, she started at the heart of the defence as England bounced back with a victory over Australia.

"I think in both positions, she has done really well," Wiegman said after the latter outing. "I'll have a review on that. We'll discuss it over the next couple days, because I want to see this game back. But I think she did really well."

Those comments were the cherry on top of what felt like an incredibly positive camp for Le Tissier, in which she went about her business at full-back without any sense of complaint before showing what she could do when deployed in the position she knows best.

Getty ImagesUnfamiliar situation

This week is now a real opportunity to build on that. It's hard to overstate just how different Wiegman's centre-back options are this month when compared to what she has been used to during her four years in charge. In that time, Bright, Williamson, Greenwood and Carter have been mainstays, with at least one of them starting in the defensive line in all of her first 71 games as England manager. That run only came to an end in England's most recent outing, when Wiegman started Le Tissier alongside Esme Morgan for the visit of Australia, in her 72nd game in charge.

Indeed, that became only the 11th time in those 72 matches that the centre-back pairing or the back three – taking into account the period which saw the Lionesses regularly set-up in a 3-5-2 shape – was not exclusively made up of a combination of Bright, Williamson, Greenwood and Carter. However, none are available for this upcoming window, with Wiegman instead to have to pick from Le Tissier, Morgan, Lotte Wubben-Moy and Grace Fisk.

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Getty ImagesChanging pecking order

Previously, it would've felt like an opportunity for Wubben-Moy, who was granted a start in four of those first seven occasions when Wiegman turned to a centre-back outside of her trusted quartet. It could well be this week, too, as after finding game time extremely hard to come by for most of the year, the Arsenal defender is starting regularly again, owing to a devastating ACL injury for rising star Katie Reid that saw the teenager join Williamson on the sidelines for the Gunners.

But it is still the case that Wubben-Moy has fallen down Wiegman's pecking order in recent times. In fact, she was not actually in England's final squad before the Euro 2025 announcement, not until Bright decided to take an extended period of rest that would eventually progress into her missing the tournament and, more recently, retiring.

Instead, Morgan's status in this team has increased steadily in the last couple of years and she has got the nod for those moments of change in the defence, as evidenced by her start in the Euros semi-final clash with Italy. With Fisk uncapped, and rarely called up under Wiegman, Morgan and Le Tissier do feel like the first-choice starting centre-back partnership for this week, with variations dependent on how much Wiegman wants to rotate a spine that is already missing starting goalkeeper Hannah Hampton.