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The India opener equalled Wasim Akram’s world record of 12 sixes in a Test innings

Sampath Bandarupalli18-Feb-202412 – Number of sixes in Yashasvi Jaiswal’s unbeaten 214 against England in Rajkot, equalling Wasim Akram’s record for the most sixes in a Test innings.1 – Jaiswal is the first Indian batter – and seventh overall – to convert his first three Test hundreds into 150-plus scores (171, 209 and 214*).22 years 49 days – Jaiswal’s age at the start of the Rajkot Test, making him the third youngest player to score two double-tons in Test cricket. Vinod Kambli did it when he was 21 years and 54 days old, while Don Bradman was 21 years and 318 days old.3 – Indian batters with double-centuries in consecutive Tests, including Jaiswal against England. Kambli scored double-hundreds in successive Tests against England and Zimbabwe in 1993, while Virat Kohli did it against Sri Lanka in 2017.28 – Number of sixes India hit against England in Rajkot, the most by any team in a Test match. They broke their record of 27 sixes against South Africa in the 2019 Vizag Test. Eighteen of the 28 came in the second innings, the second most in a Test innings after New Zealand’s 22 against Pakistan in the 2014 Sharjah Test.48 – Sixes for India so far in this series against England, the most for any team in a series, surpassing their 47 sixes against South Africa in 2019. Twenty-two of those 48 came off Jaiswal’s bat, the most by a batter in a Test series, going past Rohit Sharma’s 19 against South Africa in 2019.4 – India batters with 50-plus scores in both innings on debut in men’s Tests, including Sarfaraz Khan in Rajkot. Dilawar Hussain against England in 1934, Sunil Gavaskar against West Indies in 1971, and Shreyas Iyer against New Zealand in 2021 had two 50-plus scores on debut. Sarfaraz’s strike rate (94.2) is by far the highest among the 43 batters with two fifty-plus scores on debut in men’s Tests (where balls-faced data is available).2009 – The previous instance of a team scoring 400-plus totals in both innings of a Test match – India against Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad. Overall, this was only the eleventh time a team had scored 400-plus totals in both innings of a Test.6.53 – Run rate during the partnership between Jaiswal and Sarfaraz, the seventh highest for any stand of 150-plus balls in men’s Tests (where data is available). It is the highest and the longest partnership scored at more than run-a-ball for India in men’s Tests.557 – The target set by India in Rajkot is the second-highest for them in Test cricket, behind the 617 against New Zealand in the 2009 Wellington Test.434 – India’s winning margin in Rajkot is their biggest by runs in Test cricket. Their previous biggest such win was by 372 runs against New Zealand at the Wankhede in 2021.
This is also the eighth-biggest win by runs in Test cricket and the second-biggest for anyone against England, behind the 562-run win for Australia in 1934 at The Oval.9 – Player-of-the-Match awards for Ravindra Jadeja in home Tests – the most for an Indian, equalling Anil Kumble. Since his debut in December 2012, no other player has won as many Player-of-the-Match awards in home Tests as Jadeja. Jadeja has 10 Player-of-the-Match awards in Test cricket overall – the joint-third most for India in the format, behind only Sachin Tendulkar (14) and Rahul Dravid (11).2 – Instances of a century and a five-wicket haul in the same Test by Jadeja – he’d done it against Sri Lanka in Mohali in 2022 before this game. Only Ian Botham (5) and R Ashwin (3) have recorded this double more often than Jadeja in Test cricket, while Gary Sobers, Mushtaq Mohammad, Jacques Kallis and Shakib Al Hasan have also done it twice.11 – Test hundreds for Rohit Sharma – all of them have come in a winning cause. No other player has ten or more hundreds in this format with all coming in a victory. Travis Head (7), Warwick Armstrong (6), Darren Lehmann (5) and Ollie Pope (5) are the other players with five or more Test hundreds all of which have come in wins.122 – England’s total in Rajkot is their lowest in Tests under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. Their previous lowest (smaller chases aside) was 141 all out in their first innings of the Lord’s Test against New Zealand in 2022, which was the first of the 21 Tests they have played under the Stokes-McCullum duo.33 – Test wins for India against England – the most for them against any team, surpassing their 32 wins against Australia. Twenty-four of the 33 wins against England have come at home, also the most home Test wins for India against any team, going past the 23 versus Australia.

Key wicket opens door for England, but figures take a dent in tricky return to action

Alan Gardner13-Jun-2022Early in Jack Leach’s first spell on this fourth day at Trent Bridge, with New Zealand having lost an early wicket and hoping to avoid a Tricky Third Innings wobble, a delivery bowled from over the wicket to Devon Conway brought excited gasps from the crowd. What was it that had got them going? Turn and bounce from the rough outside the left-hander’s off stump? A devilish new variation that Leach had been working on back at Taunton, aka Ciderabad?Not quite. Conway had been done, all right, going back to one outside off – but it was the classic “straight-onner”, skidding past the outside edge and into Ben Foakes’ gloves. The ball may have actually turned a fraction, but to all intents and purposes it carried on through on its original path, whether by design or otherwise (Leach isn’t really known for his arm ball). Bit of flight, some natural variation. “Bowling, Nut!”To get to the rub: England doesn’t really do spinners, and slow left-armers don’t really do mystery. But Leach isn’t the sort to be deterred; persistence in the face of adversity is basically his calling card. In Barbados over the winter, he ploughed through 94.5 overs – the heaviest workload by an England spinner in 60 years. Leach took six wickets in the match, but his side were still five short of forcing victory when time ran out.But Leach has had plenty of success overseas – particularly in Asia, where he averages 27.32. At home, he struggles to get a game. This match in Nottingham was his first Test on UK soil since 2019. Well, technically, Lord’s last week was, but having concussed himself chasing a ball to the boundary in the sixth over of the game, that probably doesn’t count as a fair crack.Ben Stokes then chose to bowl first, on what England were soon to discover was one of the flatter Trent Bridge surfaces of recent memory (although that perception was aided in no small part by the number of missed chances in the first half of the match). One of the less-remarked-upon aspects of England’s decision at the toss was that Leach, who averages 80 in the first innings of Tests, was going to be asked to perform another thankless task. Only one of these sides picked a specialist spinner, and the one that did wasn’t about to do the guy any favours.Still, Leach plugged away, doubtless not helped by his inability to train properly in the build-up due to concussion protocols. He saw catches put down off both Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell, New Zealand’s two centurions, and finished with 2 for 140. Hard yards in the holding role, struggling to hold much at all.Devon Conway’s reverse-sweeping was a feature of his strokeplay against Leach•Getty ImagesBack to the New Zealand second innings. No great wear and tear to the deck, although Michael Bracewell, New Zealand’s debutant allrounder got one or two to turn (Bracewell is 31 but only took his first first-class wicket in 2019). There’s a little bit of rough outside the left-hander’s off stump from the Pavilion End, where Leach has tended to operate, and it is into that patch that he loops the ball up to Conway.Another fact to note: Leach’s Test bowling average against left-hand batters is 52.29, compared to 28.43 when bowling to righties; New Zealand’s top seven includes four left-hand batters.Despite the departure of Tom Latham, bowled while leaving, there is no sense New Zealand are going to allow themselves to be tied down once Leach is introduced to the attack in the 16th over. Conway brings out the reverse-sweep in Leach’s fifth over, the first of four that he will send rattling off the middle of the bat to the cover boundary; in Leach’s seventh, Will Young, ostensibly the preferred target, twice sashays down to launch the ball over mid-on.Conway looks increasingly at ease, another reverse for four bringing up his half-century. But Leach tosses one up again, perhaps a little higher and wide of off stump. There’s just enough dip and bounce as Conway looks to sweep in orthodox fashion for the ball to take the top edge and sail gently towards Jonny Bairstow at deep square leg. After a century stand the pin has been pulled, triggering the first of a series of detonations in the New Zealand top order.Related

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Leach ended his spell with figures of 11-2-53-1 – not the work of a defensive spinner, you’d say. But the data suggests Leach has been bowling both faster and shorter since his first came into Test cricket in 2018, rather than throwing it up and seeing what happens. Getting the right balance was something Foakes touched on afterwards.”There seemed to be a bit of turn and bounce when it was slower, so it’s just trying to get that pace right,” he said. “I thought he did a good job and adapted well, and picked up a reward. It’s just trying to make the most out of the wicket, it’s obviously a nice wicket and fast-scoring ground and when a batter attacks you, and you’re trying to also attack, it’s a tricky balance. But once it was slightly slower it seemed to bite a bit more.”Later in the day, as New Zealand’s slide towards jeopardy gathered pace, Leach thought he had struck again when turning one past Blundell’s outside edge – but DRS chalked off the wicket. Bracewell then dented his figures with a couple of bludgeoned fours down the ground. The fact that Bracewell found greater degrees of drift and turn with the ball would probably have hurt more.Leach is already an England cult hero, as attested by the fans at Trent Bridge wearing t-shirts printed with a wagon wheel of his 1 not out at Headingley. But if he is going to stay the course as England’s No. 1 Test spinner, then it will be on the back of his bowling. Work to be done, but still time for “Nut” to crack it.

Coach retains optimism after South Africa administer a thumping at Lord’s

Vithushan Ehantharajah20-Aug-2022″Over the next while you’ll probably get used to my optimism as well,” Brendon McCullum said with a smile. “I don’t tend to overreact about anything.”England men’s Test coach was speaking next to the Lord’s Pavilion after the first defeat of his tenure. One of his provisos on media engagements since taking over in May was a preference to speaking after losses than wins: to let the players take the glory while he can front up for the slack. And after South Africa triumphed by an innings and 12 runs, there was plenty of slack going around.Coming after three wins against New Zealand and one against India earlier this summer, the management team are in no mood to overreact. Their foundations of attacking cricket were not installed to be dug up at the first sign of instability. And after Ben Stokes was unequivocal in his stance that commitment to the brand was the issue rather than the brand itself, McCullum reinforced his captain’s view by similarly doubling down.”I guess one of the messages we will be talking about is ‘did we go hard enough with our approach? Could we maybe go a little harder and try turn some pressure back on the opposition as well?'”There’s not much point in hitting the nets as such. For us, we’ve got very good cricketers and they’ve had a lot of cricket over their careers and they know what they’re doing. We just need to tidy up a couple of areas. And one message will be ‘can we go a little harder?'”The idea of going harder when you’ve lost a game inside six sessions, and your 20 wickets inside 83 overs, will naturally jar. The context, which McCullum went on to offer, pertained to the situation England found themselves in from the moment Dean Elgar won the toss on Wednesday – batting first.Victories this season have come through chasing targets of 277, 299, 296 and 378. But the precursors to those were going out in their first innings of these matches after their opponents had their first go. In those first three success, England only trailed by New Zealand once going into the third innings (by 14 runs at Trent Bridge after the Blackcaps posted 553). The 130 they ceded to India during this period of the Edgbaston Test was made up for by dismissing India for 245 in their second effort.In essence, they “chased” throughout the match, not just in the final innings. Their opponents set the pace, and anyone with an appreciation of pursuit, ranging from track running to Mario Kart, will know hunting down the one in front draws a little more focus than constantly looking over your shoulder.The burden of setting the pace, dishing out the banana peels rather than the turtle shells, is an altogether different challenge for this group. Something that England have struggled with for years, long before this first match of three against South Africa when they were skittled for 165 before the visitors established an insurmountable 161-run lead in their one and only bat.Related

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But McCullum sees no reason why the characteristics exhibited so far can’t be applied from the off: “Sometimes, when I think the scoreboard dictates what you’re chasing, we can be a little braver as well. So maybe that’s something for us batting first, maybe we can be a little braver, maybe we can go a little harder than what we did in this Test match.”We did what we could in those conditions but weren’t quite able to get enough runs in that first innings.”He referenced “a few times” during the innings of 165 and 149 where he felt England could have gone “harder”.”We could maybe have been a little braver to be able to turn some pressure back on the opposition – in both innings. But it’s always the way, right? You have to try to absorb pressure at times and get yourself back to a position of parity to then put some pressure back on the opposition. We weren’t able to do that.”Given how exceptional South Africa’s attack was in both innings, it’s hard to pinpoint those exact moments. Perhaps when Ollie Pope and Stokes were a little cautious up to lunch on Wednesday? Maybe when Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes were relatively flat-footed to their respective dismissals on Friday, even if Bairstow was able to lay a couple on Nortje.Indeed, Nortje felt like a different proposition to anything England have faced so far. He served up the fastest deliveries sent down this summer as part of a sharp foursome alongside Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen. As such, 34.4 percent of the deliveries sent down by South Africa in this match were above 87mph. Given England’s percentage was just 0.2 per cent, and with all the possible options to match that pace consistently out injured, the onus is on the home batters working out how to counter rather than expecting the bowlers to mimic.”He’s [Nortje] a very good bowler who bowls good pace,” McCullum said. “But there have been games when our guys have been able to combat that and have done it previously against some of the best bowling attacks in the world. On this occasion we weren’t able to.”I am not going to give any secrets away because we play them again next week, but there were some conversations and we should have been able to react to it.”Anrich Nortje was the main source of discomfort for England in the second innings•PA Photos/Getty ImagesA surprise weekend off is a silver lining ahead of what now is a slightly longer turnaround ahead of the second Test at Emirates Old Trafford on Wednesday. There won’t be any extra training, with some players using the extra time off to return home while others will remain in London and attend the premiere of Stokes’ documentary, “Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes”, which takes place in the capital. The squad as a whole will report to Manchester on Tuesday morning.One of those will be Zak Crawley, who returned scores of nine and 13 to continue what has been a dispiriting summer for the 24-year-old. His average this summer sits at 16.40, with a highest score of 46 as part of a 107-run stand in the victorious chase against India, the only time he has exuded the panache and game-changing qualities the group speak so often about.McCullum felt Crawley’s innings of 13 showed a degree of composure before he was lbw sweeping against Keshav Maharaj. And he reiterated his view that he does not expect a steady run of form from the Kent opener, which will irk some fans as it will top-order batters chalking up scores in domestic first-class cricket, like Rory Burns and Ben Duckett.”I look at a guy like Zak and his skill set is not to be a consistent cricketer,” McCullum said. “He’s not that type of player but he is put in that situation because he has a game which means, when he gets going, he can win matches for England.”We have got to be really positive around the language we use with him and be really consistent with the selections around that as well, and keep giving guys opportunities.”He’s a talent, and there are not too many of those guys floating around. He’s still learning his game at this level and that’s okay, that’s going to take a bit of patience and a bit of persistence as well. There have been some fine players over the years who have had periods where they haven’t quite nailed it as well, but then have ended up as great commodities for their sides. We have just got to work that out but I believe in him, that’s for sure.”It is beginning to feel like the most sensible thing for Crawley is getting him out of the firing line rather than continuously pumping up his morale. The encouragement will soon just be white noise to the right-hander, and perhaps that point has come already. McCullum disagrees, both at the sentiment and the notion Crawley is in any kind of mental turmoil.”He’s a tough fella, Zak. He loves doing what he’s doing, playing for England and you will see him around the group and with the contributions he makes inside the dressing room, there’s stuff that goes beyond runs too. And also, I think selection loyalty is really important because not only does it build loyalty with the guys that are in the side but also it builds loyalty for the guys on the outside, knowing that when their time and their opportunity does come they are going to be afforded the same sort of loyalty.”As for McCullum, the upbeat disposition comes so naturally that the sincerity of his words behind closed doors can no doubt lift those under his care in a short space of time, especially as they have already bought in to this new era. Quite how those same words resonate outside those four walls remains to be seen.”I know we are judged by our results, but for us it’s bigger than that and the approach we try to take to the game,” he added. “The language we use in the dressing room and the confidence that we try to build amongst the group for the style of cricket we want to play. It gives us, we think – the skipper and myself – our greatest chance of being able to win Test matches and become a very good Test side.”But we’re still going to lose Test matches occasionally. And that hurts. We’ve just got to crack on and get yourselves up for the next one.”

Bruno Fernandes has been accused of playing out of his usual position because he wants to do "too much" as Manchester United captain. Former United defender Patrice Evra said Fernandes had carried United on his back in recent years with the numbers of goals and assists he has contributed to the Red Devils but he believes he could do with exerting more control on the team.

• Fernandes having mixed season with Man Utd

  Fernandes rejected a highly-lucrative offer from Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in the summer to stay at United but has experienced mixed fortunes in a hit-and-miss season for the Red Devils. Fernandes has contributed to 10 of the team's 26 goals in the Premier League, scoring twice and getting an assist in their last game against Wolves. 

  The captain, however, has been blamed for United's inconsistent results such as losing at home to 10-man Everton and failing to beat a poor West Ham side in the last three weeks, having pulled off impressive wins over the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Crystal Palace.

  And former United left-back Evra said Fernandes' tendency to play all over the pitch rather than focus on his central midfield role is preventing him from controlling the team's play as he should.

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  Evra: Hard to tell where Fernandes is playing

  Evra told GOAL, via : "It’s always sensitive to talk about Bruno. It depends what people call a real captain. With a captain, sometimes you can have someone like Roy Keane or a different one. Bruno is giving assists and scoring goals, this has never been the issue. The issue for me is for him to control the team and the tempo when he gets the ball.

  "You couldn't tell me where he's playing because he's everywhere. So sometimes maybe as a captain, you want to do extra, you want to do too much. And at the end, you're not even at your right position. But United wouldn't be where they are in the table if Bruno wasn't playing."

• Evra: Maguire a better player since losing captaincy

  Evra said he has no issues with Fernandes being United's skipper. But he noted how Harry Maguire had a burden lifted from him when he had the captaincy taken off him by Erik ten Hag in 2023. Maguire – who is currently out injured – has changed the narrative around him in the last two seasons with much-improved performances in defence, proving well-suited to Amorim's back three. 

  He has scored six goals since the start of last season, including handing United their first victory at Anfield in 10 seasons and grabbing the famous last-gasp winner against Lyon in the Europa League. 

  Evra explained: "I don't question the fact about Bruno being a captain – he deserves to be captain because Amorim has chosen him. Look at what's happening to Maguire. They got rid of the armband and he now plays like a United player. You saw how people were bullying him on social media or whatever. But he said, I'm staying here."

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  United can't afford to not return to UCL

  United climbed into sixth place in the Premier League after beating Wolves and the challenge is to move into the top four and return to the Champions League after a two-year absence. Evra said United should have no excuse for not qualifying for Europe's top competition, which they did in all but one of his nine seasons at Old Trafford as a player.

  "Under the previous manager, we won the FA Cup and EFL Cup, but you lose a lot by not being in the Champions League," Evra said. "It’s going to be tough. You’ve got Arsenal, City, Chelsea and Aston Villa giving it a real go. If United do not finish in the top four then it’ll be a massive disappointment – a failure. 

  "When I played for United, the goal was winning four trophies per season and now we’re talking about qualifying for the Champions League. Our wages went down by 30 per cent if we didn’t qualify for the Champions League, but we never had that issue."

After finishing the series with an average of 151, Kohli said he wants to push his boundaries and see where he goes

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Dec-2025Virat Kohli feels his “whole game is coming together nicely” and is batting at a level he hasn’t in the last two-three years. Kohli stayed unbeaten on 65 in the ODI series decider against South Africa, which India sealed by a comfortable nine wickets with more than 10 overs to spare in a chase of 271.Kohli’s half-century came after he struck back-to-back centuries in the first two ODIs to finish the series with a tally of 302 and a staggering average of 151. Kohli now has four straight 50-plus scores after he had bagged two consecutive ducks in the ODIs in Australia, which was his first series since the IPL finished in June.”Honestly, just playing the way I have in this series has been the most satisfying thing for me,” Kohli said at the presentation. “I don’t think I’ve played at this level for a good two-three years now and I feel really free in my mind and just the whole game is coming together nicely, [it’s] very exciting to build on. And something that I’ve always tried to do as a player, maintain my own standards that I’ve set for myself and play at the level that I can make an impact for the team. I know when I can bat like that out there in the middle, then it of course helps the team in a big way because I can bat long, I can bat according to the situation and just being confident makes me feel like any situation out there in the middle, I have what it takes to handle that situation and bring it in favour of the team.”Related

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Kohli took home the Player-of-the-Series award for a record 22nd time in international cricket, and 12th in ODIs. He also smashed a record 12 sixes in the three games, easily his personal best in any ODI series, including World Cups. His series strike rate of 117.05 was also his best in an ODI series since January 2023.”Well, you know, when I play freely then I know I can hit sixes,” he said. “So I just wanted to have some fun because I was batting well, just take a bit more risk, just push my own boundaries and see where I go. There’s always levels you can unlock and you just need to take a risk.”Kohli further said that since he has been around for more than 15 years in international cricket, he has gone through “many phases where you doubt your ability” because as a batter it comes down to making one mistake. It is, he said, “a whole journey of learning”.”You tend to go into a space where you feel like maybe I’m not good enough, the nerves take over and that’s the beauty of sport, especially a skill like batting where you have to keep overcoming that fear every ball that you play and eventually play long innings and get into a zone again where you can start playing confidently. It’s a whole journey of learning and getting to know yourself better and becoming better as a person along the whole way. I can surely vouch for the fact that being a batsman and realising so much about myself, what kind of negative thinking patterns I have, where I can get into a zone where I don’t feel confident or when I’m feeling like myself, what are those small little details, it just improves you as a person in general and your whole temperament becomes much better and balanced over so many years. So, yes, I’ve had many phases where I’ve doubted myself and I haven’t been shy to admit that.”

AC Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri has been warned that he will soon be "finished like Jose Mourinho" by Antonio Cassano, who has brutally claimed that the Serie A leaders play "dreadful" football. Although the Rossoneri have lost only once this season, on the opening weekend against Cremonese, and have since collected eight victories and four draws to rise to the top of the table, Cassano remains entirely unconvinced with their style.

Getty ImagesCassano in fierce critique of Serie A leaders

Cassano drew a stark comparison between Allegri and Mourinho, arguing that both coaches have become relics of another era. He lamented what he views as a betrayal of Milan’s traditional values, which are attacking flair, elegance, and expressive football. In his eyes, the current iteration of Allegri’s Milan stands in direct conflict with those ideals.

Speaking on the podcast, Cassano issued a blistering assessment of Milan’s approach, suggesting the club’s identity is being eroded under Allegri’s watch.

"Remember what I said about Mourinho being finished and that sooner or later he would end up being forgotten. The same will happen to Allegri," he said. 

"I can’t imagine Milan in 2025 playing dreadful football because of their coach: Milan are history, beauty, aesthetics and quality. And what do they do? Everyone sits in front of the goalkeeper; there’s no depth, then you win the ball back, counter-attack and score."

For all the criticism, Milan’s numbers are strong. They have scored 19 goals and conceded just nine in their 13 Serie A fixtures. The team boasts of a defensive solidity characteristic of Allegri’s coaching style. But Cassano contends that results alone should not shield the manager from scrutiny, especially at a club built on decades of artistic football.

AdvertisementAFPMourinho's fall from grace

Cassano’s comparison to Mourinho arrives at a time when the Portuguese manager’s recent struggles remain fresh. Mourinho left Fenerbahce earlier this year following a difficult stint lasting just 62 games, as he was dismissed after a Champions League play-off defeat to Benfica. The former Chelsea and Inter boss, who has two Champions League titles to his name, endured a testing time in Turkey was fraught with frustration, particularly with officiating, and he openly admitted upon returning to Portugal that he had chosen the wrong project.

"My career so far has been rich; I've coached the biggest clubs in the world, in different countries," he said after taking the reins at Benfica for a second time. "I made the wrong choice; sometimes I don't have the right word in Portuguese… no regrets, because regrets don't help us at all in life, but the awareness of what we did well and what we did wrong exists. I made a mistake going to Fenerbahce; it wasn't my cultural level, it wasn't my football level, it wasn't my level. Obviously, I gave everything until the last day."

Former Fenerbahce president Ali Koc later shed more light on the separation, describing it as "painful" while insisting the club needed a more expansive style to suit the Turkish side’s expectations. 

He said: "Why did we let go of Mourinho? I'm explaining it here for the first time. It was a bitter parting. Our chemistry was perfect, and his accomplishments are evident. Just being able to bring him here was a great achievement. Above all, it was difficult to part with someone I was friends with. We knew our coach was a defensive player when we brought him in. But we talked about the need to play more dominantly at the end of the season. Earning 99 goals and 99 points is our genetic code.

"Being eliminated by Benfica wasn't a problem, but the way we were eliminated was unacceptable. This made me feel like last year's football would continue. We parted ways because we believed this squad would play better football at this point. This kind of football works in Europe, but in Turkey, we have to crush them in most matches. We're struggling to get ahead after falling behind in every match."

A bitter irony in Cassano’s accusations

Cassano himself won the only Serie A title of his career under the same man he now savages. His 2010-11 Scudetto triumph came with Allegri at the Milan helm, yet that shared success did little to soften his message. Mourinho, meanwhile, appears to be steadying himself at Benfica. After a shaky start back in Lisbon, his side have climbed to third place in the Liga Portugal, six points adrift of Porto, and now look far more competitive heading into their clash with Sporting on Friday evening.

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Getty ImagesAllegri unlikely to change his methods

For all the condemnation, Allegri's Milan team remain firmly in the Serie A title race and are defensively robust. Hence, the Italian manager might just stick to his guns, ignoring Cassano's criticism as noise. The Rossoneri resume their campaign on Thursday with a Coppa Italia Round of 16 trip to Lazio. 

أعرب خافيير تيباس، رئيس رابطة أندية الدوري الإسباني عن استيائه من الاتهامات الموجهة له بأنه يضُر ريال مدريد رغم كونه مشجعًا للنادي.

وكان بيريز قد انتقد بشكل خاص رئيس رابطة الليجا بسبب مباراة ميامي، وفشل متحف الأساطير، وتمويل وسائل الإعلام لـ إلحاق الضرر بالنادي الأبيض والاتفاقية مع CVC، والتحكيم الإسباني الذي ساهم في نتائج برشلونة خلال حقبته المميزة في العقد الماضي.

ونشر تيباس عبر حسابه الرسمي على موقع التواصل الاجتماعي “إكس”: “شخص غير مرغوب فيه! اليوم في جمعية ريال مدريد، طلب أحد الأعضاء إعلاني شخصًا غير مرغوب فيه فرد الرئيس “لا أعرف ماذا سنستفيد إن اتفقنا جميعًا” وصفق البعض على ذلك، وأصابني الحزن بشدة”.

وأكمل: “أنا من مشجعي ريال مدريد منذ أن كنت في السادسة من عمري عندما عدتُ إلى إسبانيا مع عائلتي، لم يُجبرني أحد على ذلك، لم أرث بطاقة عضويتي من والدي أو جدي، اخترت تشجيع ريال مدريد”.

وأضاف: “كونك مشجعًا لريال مدريد لا يعني شيئًا يُكتسب بورقة أو تصويت في جمعية أو مقعد في مقصورة كبار الشخصيات، كونك مشجعًا لريال مدريد يكمن في ملايين المشجعين الغير معروفين الذين يعانون ويفرحون مع فريقهم أكثر من أولئك الذين يملكون ورقة ومنصبًا”.

اقرأ أيضًا | تيباس عن تصريحات بيريز الهجومية: “متطرف وعنصري”

وأردف: “أنا مُتهم بمعاداة مدريد وأنا لست كذلك ويؤلمني سماع ذلك، ما زلت من مشجعي ريال مدريد كأي شخص آخر، لهذا السبب تحديدًا أدافع عن دوري قوي وتنافسي ذو قيمة للجميع، لأن لكل نادٍ فيه سواء صغيرًا أو كبيرًا له مكان ولأنه بدون دوري قوي سيتقلص حجم ريال مدريد نفسه”.

واستطرد: “من يُدير ريال مدريد اليوم ليس ريال مدريد كـ نادي ولا تاريخه بل مشاريع ضخمة لمسابقات تُضعف وتُدمر “الوطن” الذي ساعدهم على أن يصبحوا عظماء”.

وأوضح: “الدوري الإسباني، الدفاع عن الدوري الإسباني والتعبير عن رأيك لمن يهمه الأمر وفي أي سياق هو دفاع عن البيئة التي سمحت لريال مدريد بأن يصبح ما هو عليه”.

وكشف: “يمكنهم وصفي بالشخص غير المرغوب فيه، يمكنهم محاولة محوي من تاريخ ريال مدريد لكن ما لا يستطيعون فعله هو محو ما شعرت به منذ أن كنت في السادسة من عمري”.

وأتم تيباس تصريحاته قائلًا: “الدفاع عن الدوري الإسباني هو أيضًا على طريقتي دفاع عن ريال مدريد ولا يمكن لأي جمعية أو لقب أن يُبعدني عن ذلك”.

Persona non grata
Hoy, en la Asamblea del Real Madrid, un socio ha pedido que se me declarara “persona non grata” y el presidente ha respondido: “no sé qué ganamos si todos estamos de acuerdo”. Algunos han aplaudido. Yo, sinceramente, sólo he sentido una cosa: tristeza.

Soy… pic.twitter.com/WzMHrSX48E — Javier Tebas Medrano (@Tebasjavier) November 23, 2025

Things are finally looking up for Sheffield Wednesday and three takeover candidates have now reportedly taken a £50m step towards purchasing the club.

The Dejphon Chansiri era is over at long last and those at Hilsborough can finally breathe again. Fans have flocked to the club shop in support of their side and both staff and players have even been paid a day early.

Even when sat on -6 points in the Championship after entering administration, the atmosphere at Hillsborough this weekend is set to represent a club coming together to at least celebrate the end of the worst times.

A statement from Kris Wigfield, of joint-administrators Begbies Traynor, thanked fans for how they’ve supported the club and played a major part in their successful attempt to pay players and staff on time.

Survival on the pitch is largely unthinkable given that they sit 14 points adrift at the bottom of the Championship, but there’s been major concern that the Owls wouldn’t survive off the pitch in recent months. Now, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Wigfield revealed earlier this week: “As always, you get a lot of interested parties that probably aren’t going to meet the criteria, but within the numerous inquiries we’ve had, we certainly think that there are already four or five interested parties that look like the real deal.

John Textor makes Sheffield Wednesday contact as EFL prepare to relax key rule

The Owls entered administration on Friday.

ByTom Cunningham Oct 29, 2025

“There are two criteria that new owners basically need to satisfy to then open dialogue and there to be an opportunity where they can make an offer.”

What’s more, reports are now suggesting that three interested parties have taken a crucial £50m step towards buying the club.

Sheffield Wednesday candidates take £50m step

According to BBC Sheffield’s Rob Staton, three candidates have now given proof of funds to Sheffield Wednesday worth £50m in what is a vital step towards a potential takeover.

It remains to be seen who those three candidates are, but two names that have been mentioned this week are John McEvoy and John Textor.

The latter sold his Crystal Palace shares in the summer and could now make a return to English football after reportedly making contact with those at Hillsborough. That said, the Owls should act with plenty of caution after the American billionaire very nearly took Lyon to Ligue 2 thanks to financial issues.

McEvoy, meanwhile, represents more of an unknown option. The American owns ice hockey clubs and baseball clubs and would be stepping into football for the first time. Alas, with more expected to provide proof of funds, he may have to get in line to buy Sheffield Wednesday.

John McEvoy: Who is the American billionaire looking to buy Sheffield Wednesday?

Khurram Shahzad chimes in with dynamic six-for

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay23-Jul-2025Worcestershire 333 (Brookes 140, D’Oliveira 57) and 31 for 0 (Roderick 16*, Libby 15*) lead Warwickshire 184 (Smith 68, Webster 57, Shahzad 6-42) by 180 runsEthan Brookes’ dazzling century and Khurram Shahzad’s dynamic six-for left Worcestershire pressing for a much-needed Rothesay County Championship win over Warwickshire at Edgbaston.Brookes’ career-best 140 off 169 balls against the club that released him lifted Worcestershire’s first innings to 333 before Shahzad took 6 for 42 to send the home side all out for 184. Kai Smith struck 68 (100) and Beau Webster 57 (84) to narrowly avert the follow on but Worcestershire closed the second day on 31 without loss, 180 ahead.Bottom of Division One, Brett D’Oliveira’s side is strongly-placed to complete a victory that would open the survival race right up – and have nerves jangling at a few clubs above them.Worcestershire resumed on the second morning on 262 for 8 with Brookes on 80 and the 24-year-old showed no nerves en route to a poignant century at his former home ground. His century, warmly applauded by supporters of both teams, was reached with a six and he went on to strike eight sixes – the second most in an innings by a Worcestershire batter, behind only Graeme Hick’s 11 against Somerset at Taunton in 1988.Brookes and Adam Finch added 88 before the former fell at the end of a strange Dan Mousley over which included four off-side wides, two leg-side sixes, a dot ball and a wicket. Brookes eventually skied the spinner and, two balls later, Finch fell lbw to Tazeem Ali.Warwickshire’s top order was then blown away by Shahzad’s opening burst of 6-2-7-3. Rob Yates left one that knocked out off-stump, Mousley edged behind and Alex Davies dragged on a pull to bag a 25-ball duck.Shahzad had Zen Malik caught at first slip and when Ed Barnard offered Finch the simplest return catch in this fixture since John Cuffe dismissed Billy Quaife at Dudley in 1912, it was 66 for 5.Webster and Smith added 49 but the former’s attempt to bully debutant spinner Bertie Foreman backfired when he chipped to mid-off. After Corey Rocchiccioli pulled Shahzad to deep square and Bamber was lbw, Warwickshire’s last two wickets needed to find 31 to avoid the follow on.Smith calmly and capably ensured they did. He reached an 88-ball half-century with a six pulled off Ben Allison and showed a selectivity of stroke which some of his more experienced team-mates might seek to emulate in the second innings.The follow on avoided by one run, Smith nicked a waft at Finch and Olly Hannon-Dalby drove a full toss to extra cover four balls later. That left Worcestershire 17 overs batting and they quietly increased their advantage – and their chances of recording a first Championship win over Warwickshire in 22 attempts since 2000 and their first at Edgbaston since 1993.

Opener puts difficult start to season firmly behind him

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay 24-Jun-2025

Opener Finlay Bean put a difficult start to the season firmly behind him, compiling a superb maiden double hundred spanning more than nine hours as Yorkshire fought back against Rothesay County Championship leaders Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.Replying to the home side’s 487, Yorkshire – with only one win so far after earning promotion to Division One last season – closed on 414 for 6.Bean batted for 564 minutes for his 224, hitting 30 fours and one six before being caught at slip off spinner Farhan Ahmed, having shared partnerships of 130 with Matthew Revis (54 not out) and 101 with skipper Jonny Bairstow (41), left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White taking 3 for 129 from a marathon 52 overs.Unable to make Yorkshire follow on after having them 154 for 3 overnight, Nottinghamshire look likely to have to settle for a draw, which would see their lead over Surrey cut to six points after the champions won at Worcester earlier in the day.Bean, with five career first-class hundreds against Division Two opposition, had found runs much harder to come by against Division One attacks this season, averaging a paltry 13.66 over his first 12 innings of the current campaign, with a top score of just 31.Although he had a flat pitch and the less bowler-friendly Kookaburra ball in his favour here, he nonetheless had the Test-match quality and know-how of veteran Mohammad Abbas to contend with, not to mention the pace of Dillon Pennington and a couple of decent spinners in Liam Patterson-White and Farhan.Yet he came through each challenge impressively, giving away only one genuine chance before his dismissal when a shot travelling at speed was put down on 170, his return to form timely in that Yorkshire’s next fixture, against Essex starting on Sunday, is being hosted by his own club side, York.His innings here – made barely half a mile from the scene of his Second XI record 441 against Nottinghamshire’s second team in 2022 – was an essay in concentration and patience, one of the longest played by a Yorkshire batter in the county’s history.Having been 86 overnight, he was 50 minutes in the 90s before cutting Farhan to third for his 16th four to reach 102 from 236 balls in the morning session. After tea, he had to negotiate more than 40 minutes in the 190s before going to 200 from 450 deliveries, pushing a single into the leg side with 17-year-old Farhan by then in his 34th over.Yorkshire lost only one wicket before lunch as Dan Moriarty, sent in as nightwatcher after Dawid Malan had fallen in the last over of the second day, went to drive Patterson-White but could only edge to Freddie McCann at slip. Moriarty protected one end for almost an hour.The conditions demanded patience of Nottinghamshire, too, as Bairstow then bedded in with Bean on a pitch that was yielding some help for the spinners, but not as much as they had hoped for. Two bursts with the second new ball before and after lunch could not unseat either and it was an hour into the middle session before another breakthrough came.The introduction of the medium pace of Lyndon James almost yielded a dividend for Nottinghamshire as Bean chipped perilously close to short extra-cover on 152, moments before Patterson-White struck Bairstow on the front pad and had his lbw appeal upheld.Swapping James for Abbas at the Radcliffe Road end likewise almost paid off, Bean surviving a hard chance to McCann at midwicket on 170. Unperturbed, the left-hander drove Patterson-White through the off-side to overtake his previous best of 173 versus Glamorgan last year before he and Revis guided Yorkshire to 320 for 5 at tea.His marathon came to an end 15 minutes before the close as Farhan turned one to have him caught at slip trying to work to leg, almost every spectator in the ground then rising to applaud as he walked back to the dressing rooms.