Supercomputer predicts every 2025/26 Premier League game and final table

With nine games played in the 2025/26 Premier League campaign, we’ve already seen the champions’ crown slip, two sackings from one club and one Manchester United fan may just be closing in on a much-needed haircut.

But there’s still plenty more to come and an AI Supercomputer has now predicted how the final table will look come May, using data from the first nine game-weeks to predict every result and the final standings.

Relegation battle

It’s been a refreshing season down at the bottom. As things stand, none of the three promoted sides sit inside the bottom three and all have reached 10 points or above already.

For context of just how important that achievement is, Southampton finished bottom with 12 points after 38 games last season, whilst it took Ipswich and Leicester City all season to reach 22 and 25 points respectively. Sunderland have particularly thrived and sit as high as fourth in the Premier League with 17 points to their name. After nine games, it’s hard to see a world in which they don’t avoid the drop.

The Supercomputer seems to agree with how impressive the promoted sides have been so far this season and believes that, for just the fifth time in Premier League history, all three will avoid the drop. That leaves West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest – the current bottom three – in the dropzone at the end of the season.

Position

Club

Points

15

Fulham

40

16

Leeds United

34

17

Burnley

33

18

Nottingham Forest

30

19

Wolves

27

20

West Ham

26

Bottom half

Away from relegation trouble, the supercomputer has predicted some comfortable campaigns for Brentford, Everton, Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace. Opinions will differ around those clubs whether a mid-table finish would be satisfactory, but Brentford should certainly take hold of that with both hands.

In their first season without Thomas Frank in the Premier League, many predicted the Bees to go down and although there’s still every chance that happens, victory over Liverpool proved just the positive direction that Keith Andrews is taking them. Not only has he steadied the ship, but he has also added his own pragmatic style in West London.

Position

Club

Points

11

Crystal Palace

50

12

Brighton

48

13

Everton

47

14

Brentford

42

Top half

Look away now Chelsea fans, because your top four spot is up for grabs. According to the Supercomputer, the Blues are in for another frustrating campaign after spending big once more in the summer.

Despite impressing at times, Enzo Maresca’s side have largely remained inconsistent and that could leave them scrapping away to stay in the top six altogether. The same can be said for Newcastle United, who have impressed defensively but remained blunt going forward in the absence of one of the world’s best forwards in Alexander Isak.

Manchester United, meanwhile, have been on the up lately and are just two wins away from five on the bounce. After finishing in the bottom half last season, the Supercomputer believes that Ruben Amorim’s side will earn their place back inside the top six and above Chelsea.

Position

Club

Points

5

Man Utd

65

6

Chelsea

63

7

Aston Villa

62

8

Bournemouth

60

9

Newcastle

59

10

Sunderland

52

Top four and Premier League winners

From the glory of champions, the most glaring prediction that the Supercomputer has made centres around Liverpool’s fall from grace. It does believe that the Reds will finish inside the top four, but as many as 17 points behind league leaders Arsenal in a title defence to forget for Arne Slot. Given that they’re currently winless in four league games, however, the Dutchman may just take that final table.

As for Tottenham Hotspur, from the chaos of Ange-ball, they’re expected to rise to as high as third in the league under Frank. The Lilywhites have started in excellent fashion under the Dane and could yet continue that to earn their way back into the top four.

For the Gunners, meanwhile, glory may finally be on the horizon. They’ve waited over two decades to lift the Premier League title again and have been forced to applaud both Liverpool and Manchester City in recent years. Now, at long last, it could finally be Mikel Arteta’s year. The Supercomputer has even gone as far as to predict that they’ll win it by 13 points.

Position

Club

Points

1

Arsenal

89

2

Man City

76

3

Tottenham Hotspur

74

4

Liverpool

72

بقيادة حسام البدري.. الأهلي طرابلس يفوز على أهلي بنغازي ويتوج بكأس ليبيا

تُوّج فريق أهلي طرابلس بقيادة المدير الفني المصري حسام البدري، بلقب كأس ليبيا بعد الفوز على نظيره الأهلي بنغازي بثلاثة أهداف دون مقابل، في المباراة النهائية التي أُقيمت مساء اليوم الخميس على استاد القاهرة.

وكان من المقرر إقامة المواجهة مساء الأربعاء، قبل أن يتم تأجيلها بسبب أزمة تقنية تتعلق بكاميرات البث التابعة للقناة الناقلة. 

طالع.. رئيس البنك الأهلي يكشف لـ”بطولات” حقيقة بيع ياو أنور إلى أهلي طرابلس الليبي

في الدقيقة 67 افتتح عزو المريمي أهداف اللقاء برأسية بعد ارتداد الكرة من القائم بينما في الدقيقة 89 سجل البديل عمران سالم الهدف الثاني بعد استقبال عرضية متقنة من الجهة اليسرى.

وفي الدقيقة 95 تمكن الأنجولي كريستوفر مابولولو من تسجيل هدف احتسبه الحكم بعد العودة إلى تقنية الفيديو.

وتمكن حسام البدري من قيادة فريقه لتحقيق الثنائية هذا الموسم بعد الفوز سابقًا بلقب الدوري الليبي الممتاز.

يذكر أن أهلي بنغازي يقوده فنيا المدرب المصري طارق مصطفى، وطارق يحيى مديرا رياضيا. 

موعد مباراة برشلونة القادمة بعد الهزيمة أمام تشيلسي في دوري أبطال أوروبا

خاض فريق برشلونة الإسباني بقيادة مدربه الألماني هانز فليك، مباراة مساء الثلاثاء، في منافسات بطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا، أمام تشيلسي الإنجليزي بقيادة إنزو ماريسكا.

واستقبل تشيلسي خصمه برشلونة على ملعب “ستامفورد بريدج” في إطار مباريات الجولة الخامسة لمرحلة الدوري لبطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا.

وتعرض برشلونة للهزيمة أمام تشيلسي بثلاثة أهداف دون مقابل، ليتجمد رصيده في دوري الأبطال عند 7 نقاط، في حين أن خصمه رفع رصيده لـ 10 نقاط.

ويطوي برشلونة صفحة دوري الأبطال مؤقتًا، حيث يعود لمنافسات بطولة الدوري الإسباني “الليجا” يوم السبت القادم.

ويلاقي برشلونة نظيره ألافيس، وذلك في إطار مباريات الجولة الرابعة عشر للدوري الإسباني موسم 2025-2026.

ويحتل برشلونة وصافة ترتيب الدوري الإسباني، متأخرًا بفارق نقطة واحدة عن متصدر الترتيب ريال مدريد. موعد مباراة برشلونة وألافيس

تقام مباراة برشلونة وألافيس يوم السبت القادم الموافق 29 نوفمبر الجاري، وذلك في تمام الساعة الخامسة والربع مساءً بتوقيت مصر، السادسة والربع مساءً بتوقيت السعودية.

Mexico 2026 World Cup draw reaction: Son Heung-min and South Korea pose toughest test in otherwise straightforward group

Mexico now know their path for the 2026 World Cup. El Tri will open the tournament at the Estadio Azteca against South Africa (61), marking the first time an opening match from a previous edition has been repeated. South Korea (22) and the winner of a European playoff round out a Group A that also spares Javier Aguirre’s squad from several higher-profile opponents.

  • Getty Images Sport

    Group stage opponents: South Korea, South Africa and TBD

    Aguirre and the Mexican delegation that traveled to Washington, D.C., can feel relieved with the Group A draw they received for the long-awaited home World Cup. The Pot 2 pairing worked in their favor: Mexico avoided heavyweights such as Colombia and Uruguay. Instead, El Tri will face South Korea – still a difficult opponent, but far more manageable than those top contenders.

    Mexico will open the tournament against South Africa, No. 61 in the FIFA rankings – a significantly easier matchup than Norway, who were also in Pot 3. Their final group-stage game at Estadio Azteca will be against the winner of a playoff between Denmark, North Macedonia, Ireland and the Czech Republic, a spot that will be decided in March.

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  • Getty Images Sport

    Must-watch TV: South Africa

    The opening match between Mexico and South Africa will undoubtedly draw global attention, even if it’s arguably the most manageable opponent will face in the group stage. Despite the pressure that comes with playing in a World Cup opener, Mexico should be expected to start the tournament with a victory.

  • Getty Images Sport

    Dangerous matchup: South Korea

    Against South Korea, Mexico will face their toughest match of the group stage. It’s the second game on the schedule and will be played in Guadalajara. If fail to pick up a victory in the tournament opener, the clash with the Asian side will largely shape the trajectory of their World Cup campaign.

    The two teams already met during the September FIFA window, a match that ended in a 2–2 draw after Mexico salvaged a point in the final minutes thanks to a late goal from Santiago Giménez.

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    Key opposition player: Son Heung-min

    The biggest threat on the Group A will be South Korean and LAFC star Son Heung-min, which says plenty about how fortunate Mexico were in the draw. Despite leaving European football for MLS this year, Son remains a world-class force. Should Denmark emerge from the playoff bracket, Mexico could also meet Christian Eriksen — but even then, they would have avoided several far more dangerous stars from other national teams.

'We won that last hour' – Crawley hails England's 'perfect' end to the day in Brisbane

Australia’s Mitchell Starc, meanwhile, lamented the state of the old pink ball and his team-mates’ lack of situational awareness

Matt Roller04-Dec-2025

Jofra Archer played a valuable hand batting at No. 11 for only the second time in Test cricket•Darrian Traynor/CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images

England believe that the chaotic final half-hour at the Gabba swung the opening day of the second Ashes Test in their favour, after Joe Root and Jofra Archer’s unbroken tenth-wicket stand of 61 took them to 325 for 9 under lights.At the scheduled 9pm close, England were 269 for 9 after 68 overs, with Root unbeaten on 111. It was a remarkably similar situation to the opening day of the 2023 series between these teams in Edgbaston, when Ben Stokes declared with Root on 118 to give England four overs to bowl at Australia before the close.The added element of the pink ball – and the opportunity to bowl at Australia under floodlights – strengthened the case for a declaration, prompting David Warner on Fox commentary to say he was “absolutely baffled” that Stokes had not pulled the plug on England’s innings.Related

  • Root ton, Starc six as England reach 325 for 9 on opening day in Brisbane

  • Crawley settles the nerves as he bounces back from Perth pair

  • Starc on left-arm wickets record: Wasim still the GOAT

Steven Smith, who had floated the prospect of opening the batting with two nightwatchers in such a scenario, was at pains to slow the game down as much as possible, and Root remonstrated with umpire Sharfuddoula at Australia’s apparent time-wasting when Travis Head got padded up to spend a single ball under the helmet at short leg.But Root and Archer seized the opportunity to tee off, adding 56 runs in the final six overs of the day in a partnership that Zak Crawley said had changed the mood of the day for England’s players, who watched on from the viewing gallery outside the away dressing room. “We definitely won that last hour,” Crawley said. “We’re positive going into tomorrow.”Joe Root and Jofra Archer added an unbeaten 61 off 44 balls before stumps•Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

Archer, batting at No. 11 for only the second time in Test cricket, started the carnage by charging Scott Boland and swiping him over square leg for the first six of the day off the first ball of an over that cost 19 runs. He then swung Mitchell Starc’s full toss over the sprawling Brendan Doggett at long-on, and Root reverse-scooped Boland over deep third in the following over.By stumps, Archer had registered a new Test best of 32 not out, while Root reached 135 overnight. Their stand was England’s first half-century partnership for the tenth wicket since Jonny Bairstow and James Anderson added 66 in the drawn Old Trafford Test in the 2023 Ashes, and their first in Australia since Norman Cowans and Derek Pringle in 1982.Starc, whose six wickets had put Australia firmly on top, was exasperated not only with the state of the old pink ball, but with his team-mates’ lack of situational awareness. “If you have a look at that ball, it’s basically bowling with a tennis ball,” he told SEN radio. “They chanced their arm, there were a few that dropped short. I think there’s a little bit of tactical nous in there as well.

“Hopefully, we take that tenth one early tomorrow and get batting with the sun out. We saw that it [the ball] didn’t do a whole lot, and day two is generally a good day to bat on. If we can get stuck into batting early tomorrow when there’s sun on the wicket – and their balls go soft as well – it could be a good day’s cricket.”Crawley, who had briefly changed back into his whites in anticipation of fielding, said that the situation had been “perfect” for England. “There was no talk of a declaration,” he said. “We were just saying, ‘Go really hard,’ and it was a win-win: if it comes off, then we’ll get 50 runs like we did, or if you got out, then we could have a crack at them under lights.”They’re valuable runs and it would’ve worked out either way… We were pretty happy with [being bowled out for] 260 and having an hour at them at that point, to be honest. We were quite optimistic about that last hour, and then it turned out we batted for all of it. It felt like it was a great chance for us either way – with bat or ball – to seize that last hour.”Australia only bowled 74 overs out of the scheduled 90 on the first day, which Simon Katich described as “an absolute joke”. They risk being docked World Test Championship points if they fail to bowl England out inside 80 overs. “The over rates are what they are,” Starc said. “If we keep taking the wickets, they won’t worry about it.”

Kyle Schwarber Made Intriguing Comments About Reds Ahead of Free Agency

Kyle Schwarber is currently set to become one of the top free agents available this offseason. Schwarber, who is entering the final months of his four-year deal with the Phillies, made his third All-Star Game and leads the National League in both home runs and RBIs this season.

If Schwarber doesn't re-sign with the Phillies and instead enters free agency, could he join his hometown team, the Reds? Schwarber grew up within an hour drive of Cincinnati and rooted for the team as a kid.

"There's so many different aspects that go into free agency, everything like that," Schwarber said on Monday before the Phillies defeated the Reds 4–1. "Especially where you're playing at now and you feel like you wanna just keep winning with the group here. There's unknowns, there's a business, and whatever happens happens, but if you asked the childhood Kyle that, yeah, you know, why wouldn't you want to play for your hometown team."

Schwarber's future after this season appears to be up in the air, but it looks like he hasn't ruled out joining the Reds if he doesn't return to Philly. Schwarber did notably offer some positive thoughts on the team the Reds have been building.

"I think they're young," Schwarber said. "I know that they made some moves at the deadline. Made some trades for some pieces that will be here for a while. I think that there's a lot of things Cincinnati should be happy about. I think the future here will be bright for them. … I think there are a lot of things that are looking up here in Cincinnati."

Phillies managing partner John Middleton did express last month that they want to retain Schwarber. Staying in Philadelphia would make sense for Schwarber, who has helped the Phillies make three consecutive postseason appearances since joining the team in 2022. The Phillies lead the National League East by 5.5 games, and are in the thick of World Series contention.

If returning to Philadelphia doesn't work out though, joining a rising Reds team seems like a good option for Schwarber.

فيديو | بمشاركة ميسي.. إنتر ميامي يكتسح نيويورك سيتي بخماسية ويتأهل إلى نهائي الدوري الأمريكي

خاض فريق إنتر ميامي، بقيادة النجم ليونيل ميسي، مباراته في إطار منافسات بطولة الدوري الأمريكي نسخة 2025، في الساعات الأولى من صباح يوم الأحد، وذلك ضد نظيره فريق نيويورك سيتي.

واستضاف ملعب “لوكهارت” مباراة فريقي إنتر ميامي ونيويورك سيتي، في نهائي مرحلة البلاي أوف للقسم الشرقي، حيث حققت كتيبة خافيير ماسكيرانو فوزًا بخمسة أهداف مقابل هدف.

وتمكن إنتر ميامي من تسجيل الهدف الأول، في الدقيقة 14 من عمر الشوط الأول من المباراة، عن طريق اللاعب تاديو أليندي، الذي عاد لتسجيل الهدف الثاني في الدقيقة 23 بعد تمريرة من جوردي ألبا.

وقلّص نيويورك سيتي الفارق بعدما سجل هدفًا في الدقيقة 37 عن طريق جاستن هاك، ولكن إنتر ميامي سجل الثالث في الدقيقة 67 عن طريق ماتيو سيلفيتي بعد أسيست من ليونيل ميسي.

وفي الدقيقة 83 سجل تيلاسكو هدف إنتر ميامي الرابع، في حين سجل أليندي الهدف الثالث له، هاتريك، والخامس لفريقه في الدقيقة 89.

بتلك النتيجة، تأهل إنتر ميامي إلى نهائي بطولة الدوري الأمريكي نسخة 2025 حيث سيلتقي مع الفائز من نهائي مرحلة البلاي أوف للقسم الغربي، الذي سيجمع بين فريقي سان دييجو وفانكوفر وايت كابس، التي ستُقام بعد قليل.

وستُقام مباراة نهائي بطولة الدوري الأمريكي لذلك الموسم مساء يوم السبت المقبل، 6 ديسمبر.

Mets Announcer Roasted Team’s First Baseman After His Embarrassing Mistake

The New York Mets lost at home to the Cleveland Guardians, 7-6, on Monday night and now sit 1.5 games back of the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East.

The Mets had Mark Vientos at first base against the Guardians, which was just the second time this season he has played that position. He was immediately tested in the first inning when Cleveland's Angel Martines hit a lazy foul pop up between home and first.

This looked like it should have been an easy out but Vientos overran it and could only watch as the ball fell to the ground behind him.

Mets announcer Ron Darling didn't hold back, saying: "I don't know what to say. I mean, c'mon. It's a pop up. Let's go!"

Here's how that played out:

That mistake didn't end up costing the Mets, as Martinez ended up fouling out to the catcher but it was a tough look for Vientos. And it's safe to say Darling wasn't too impressed by it.

Náutico x Sport: onde assistir, horário e escalações da final do Campeonato Pernambucano

MatériaMais Notícias

Náutico e Sport se enfrentam pelo jogo de ida da final do Campeonato Pernambucano, neste sábado (30), às 16h30h (de Brasília), no Estádio dos Aflitos. O jogo terá transmissão da Globo.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasPalmeirasRelembre todas as finais disputadas pelo Palmeiras no Allianz ParquePalmeiras29/03/2024BotafogoBotafogo define favorito e está próximo de contratar técnico portuguêsBotafogo29/03/2024Campeonato PaulistaPalmeiras ou Santos? Torcidas do Corinthians e São Paulo ‘escolhem’ lado na final do PaulistãoCampeonato Paulista29/03/2024

➡️ Siga o Lance! no WhatsApp e acompanhe em tempo real as principais notícias do esporte

Confira abaixo todas as informações que você precisa saber sobre o confronto (onde assistir, horário, escalações e local).

✅ FICHA TÉCNICA
NÁUTICO X SPORT
CAMPEONATO PERNAMBUCANO – IDA (FINAL)
Data e horário: sábado, 30 de março de 2024, às 16h30h (de Brasília);
Local: Estádio dos Aflitos, em Recife (PE);
Onde assistir: Globo;
Árbitro: Diego Fernando Silva de Lima;
Assistentes: Clóvis do Amaram e José Romão;
VAR: Gilberto Castro Júnior.

⚽PROVÁVEIS ESCALAÇÕES
NÁUTICO (Técnico: Allan Aal)
Vagner, Arnaldo, Rafael Vaz, Guilherme Matos e Diego Matos; Sousa, Marco Antônio e Patrick Allan; Luiz Paulo, Kauan Maranhão e Cléo Silva.

continua após a publicidade

SPORT (Técnico: Mariano Soso)
Caíque França; Pedro Lima, Rafael Thyere, Luciano Castan e Felipinho; Felipe, Fabricio Domínguez e Lucas Lima; Barletta, Romarinho e Gustavo Coutinho.

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Futebol NacionalNáuticoSport

Lauren Bell – the footballer who chose fast bowling

Playing for England wasn’t always a goal but she soon realised “pace, swing and bounce” were her true calling

S Sudarshanan09-Oct-2025For Lauren Bell, cricket just happened. Naturally athletic and competitive, she dabbled in multiple sports for the fun of it while growing up. A lot of football and a little bit of cricket. Playing for England wasn’t always a goal. It just happened.”If you asked probably like 7-8-year-old Lauren, she would be in a full football kit running around with the shin pads on,” Bell tells ESPNcricinfo in Guwahati. “My grandad always brought us Manchester United kits and I was always in the garden doing football. Like kids spend their time doing different things, what I found fun was playing sports.”Bell played for Reading FC from when she was eight. She also played cricket at the time, and her parents took her to training for both sports. It was in 2017, after the second edition of the Kia Super League (KSL), that Southern Vipers offered 16-year-old Bell a contract for their winter training programme and to then play for them in the summer. Training was on Saturday mornings, the same time as her football games.”My parents were like, you need to choose because we can’t physically get to these two places,” Bell says. “That was when I made the decision that I’ll follow cricket. I haven’t played football since, which is a bit sad, but I’ve not really looked back since then.”Related

  • Sciver-Brunt ton, Ecclestone four-for help England brush aside Sri Lanka

  • Sri Lanka focus on the present as England challenge looms

  • Unbeaten England prepare for Sri Lanka spin test

  • Beaumont: England ready for hard graft in Colombo

  • Young ones to watch: Kranti Goud, Georgia Voll and Lauren Bell prepare to light up World Cup

Bell is about six feet tall, nicknamed ‘The Shard’. She bowls at good pace and has a mean inswinger. However, she used to lose her footing and fall to her left during her bowling action, which gave her a bit of back pain. Last year, she worked hard to remodel her action, and she can now swing the ball both ways.”I don’t think I was really aware that being this tall is a massive advantage for me,” Bell says. “When I was a kid, I was so much taller than everyone. So obviously as a fast bowler, that’s going to bring its advantages. But I never thought, ‘oh, I’m tall, I’m going to do this’. It just all fell into place.”As I became a professional, I actually started to learn my craft. Before then, you worked on your talent and you’ve already been coached, but you don’t learn about the intricacies of fast bowling and bowling action. Only since I’ve started learning about my skill set and I guess the intricacies of my action, have I learned that obviously my height and the balance I can get in the extra bounce and how I play differently to other seamers. It’s obviously a big advantage for me or it makes me different to other girls and fast bowlers in the game.”Once she understood the advantage her height gave her, she worked hard on improving her speed and controlling swing.”I take the new ball and swinging the ball is a big skill of mine and one of my biggest advantages,” Bell says. “My coaches and I always talk about the three massive things – pace, bounce and movement. If you’ve got them, then you’re going to be a really hard bowler to face. With my height, I can get bounce and if I keep working on my strength, I can increase my pace. I’ve got the ability to swing the ball and hopefully I’ll keep progressing to moving the ball both ways. Swing, pace and bounce is probably where I’m most threatening.”Lauren Bell: ‘Swing, pace and bounce is probably where I’m most threatening’•Getty ImagesIt is not just her bowling that differentiates Bell from most other cricketers. She likes to make a statement with her hairstyle, which has inspired many young players to wear their hair in plaits like she does, and wants to see women cricketers embrace their “girly” side.”I’ve always liked doing my hair,” Bell says. “I remember vividly when I first played with plaits in my hair. I played in a [T20] World Cup with plaits and then played in the Hundred in England and I was meeting these girls and they were obviously there for the cricket. But so many of them had matching hair, like they had their hair in plaits. I was meeting the mums, who were like, ‘I have to do this hairstyle for my daughter every day now’. Stuff like that is part of the reason that I love playing and having the platform to inspire these young girls.”I want cricket to be seen as cool and mainstream, and you can be girly and do your hair and wear whatever you like and play cricket. You don’t have to be like a certain type of personnel. When I was growing up, it was like a boy sport, which has changed over time. This is one thing that I’m passionate about and I care about, and doesn’t affect my cricket in any way. If anything, it reaches an audience that someone else might not reach.”Bell is a graduate in sociology and criminology. She completed her degree before her England debut but worked on her dissertation while being involved in the Women’s Ashes and the 2022 ODI World Cup as a standby.”When I was at school, my parents were really keen for me to go to Bradfield College and do really well at my A levels and study really hard,” she says. “I always wanted to do whatever my sister did and she went to uni, so that was always going to happen. My A levels were good and then I went to Loughborough.”I chose Loughborough with the cricket in mind as well because it made training easier. But when I started at Loughborough, I wasn’t a professional cricketer. I wanted to just study something I enjoyed. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but after uni, if I wasn’t a cricketer, I just wanted to study something that I thought I enjoyed.”

“I want cricket to be seen as cool and mainstream, and you can be girly and do your hair and wear whatever you like and play cricket.”Lauren Bell

With Covid-19 impacting cricket in 2020 and 2021, her first two years at university were relatively easier, in that she did not have to juggle cricket and course work. But her third year was a challenge, when she was picked for England A’s tour of Australia just before the Women’s Ashes.”It was hard, especially on tour when you’re touring such amazing countries like New Zealand and you have a dissertation to write. It’s tricky to turn down the social part and the exploring. It was the first time I’d been to Australia and New Zealand. So you want to obviously see it, but I also knew that I needed to get this dissertation written and I needed to study and keep up with my lectures. Because of Covid, everything was online and I managed to get through. I had a lot of support and few extensions on deadlines. I’m glad I did it and graduated, but it was tricky.”Since her debut in July 2022, no England fast bowler has taken more wickets in women’s ODIs than Bell’s 40. Kate Cross was close with 39 but she was left out of the World Cup squad, elevating Bell as the leader of the pace attack. In England’s first two games at the 2025 World Cup, Bell took 1 for 24 in four overs against South Africa and 1 for 28 in seven overs against Bangladesh, on slightly sticky surfaces in Guwahati.”It is responsibility; it’s how I really thrive,” she says. “When Heather [Knight] was captain and now Nat [Sciver-Brunt] is the captain, I think the more responsibility I’m given and the more clarity I have on the importance of my role, the more I thrive. I really enjoy taking those opportunities, being the bowler to make an impact or leading the seam attack. It gets the best out of me. I really enjoy it and every time I get a chance to do it, it’s great.”As England travel to Colombo to play Sri Lanka on what could be a slow surface, the once-football-crazy Bell will have another opportunity to show off her new-ball skills. England will hope that just happens.

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