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Real Madrid were expecting Eduardo Camavinga to return from his injury setback against Real Sociedad this weekend, but he won't be a part of the squad.

Camavinga nearing full recover from ankle injuryWill not travel with Madrid squad to SociedadCould mark his return against Marseille next weekFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Eduardo Camavinga injury update: Return delayed for Real Madrid

Real Madrid will travel to the Anoeta for this weekend's La Liga clash against Real Sociedad without the services of Camavinga, who is currently recovering from an ankle injury he suffered in August. However, have revealed when the French midfielder could mark his return to the pitch.

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Camavinga was expected to be available from the start ahead of the commencement of La Liga last month, but suffered an ankle injury during training. While Los Blancos have full faith in the former Rennes prodigy's talent, the midfielder has become extremely injury-prone. Although he will most likely miss the clash against Real Sociedad, efforts are being made to ensure he completes full recovery in time for the Champions League opener against Marseille on September 16. Given Camavinga's recent fitness history, Madrid are being extremely cautious and are unwilling to rush his return. 

DID YOU KNOW?

Camavinga could make only 35 appearances across all competitions for Real Madrid last season. He suffered four different injuries in the 2024-25 campaign, forcing him to miss 33 games. This season, he has already missed the first three games. As surprising as it may seem, he is yet to play under new head coach Xabi Alonso.

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Madrid are currently leading the league with nine points from their first three games. They are tied with Athletic Club, the only other team to register maximum points in August. Alonso will hope his troops can maintain the early momentum against Sociedad on Saturday. 

“When you have a mega auction you are bound to have a reset. But you try and maintain as much of the core as possible,” Sanjiv Goenka says

Sreshth Shah28-Aug-2024

Will he stay, or won’t he? Sanjiv Goenka did not shed much light on KL Rahul’s future with LSG•AFP/Getty Images

Sanjiv Goenka, the Lucknow Super Giants owner, did not give much away about his team’s retention plans and captain KL Rahul’s future with the franchise, but admitted that the upcoming mega auction will mean the team “resets” in some aspects ahead of IPL 2025.Speaking to the media in Kolkata alongside newly unveiled mentor Zaheer Khan, Goenka said LSG’s retention decisions will not be made with a short-term view.”All decisions are medium-term and need to be thought of carefully,” he said. “When you have a mega auction you are bound to have a reset. But you try and maintain as much of the core as possible. The coach Justin Langer continues, [support staff] Lance Klusener and Jonty Rhodes will also be there. So it is a question of improving and going further from where you are now.”Rahul, the LSG captain since the team’s first IPL in 2022, was in Kolkata this week and met Goenka. Goenka did not get into the details of their conversation, but called Rahul “family”.”I have been meeting KL on and off regularly over the last three years,” Goenka said. “Frankly I am surprised this meeting is getting a lot of attention [in the media]. He is integral [to LSG]. He has been here since the inception. For me personally and for [my son] Shashwat [Goenka, who is also involved in running LSG], he is like family.”After two playoff appearances in IPL 2022 and 2023, LSG missed the playoffs for the first time in the 2024 season, finishing seventh on the table because of a poor net run rate. It was the first time the franchise did not have the services of mentor Gautam Gambhir, who had moved to Kolkata Knight Riders. In the coming season, Goenka believes Zaheer’s presence “will do wonders” for the team.”Beginning of a new relationship. Zaheer has impressed me as a player, coach and strategist,” Goenka said. “His hunger for success is something that attracted me to bring him into the LSG franchise.Zaheer Khan was formally named Lucknow Super Giants’ mentor on Wednesday•Sreshth Shah/ESPNcricinfo

“A couple of weeks ago, I realised he wasn’t with any cricket franchise. I called him up. We spoke. He agreed. And he’s here. It’s as short and as quick as it gets. We are very excited to have him on board.”Zaheer, who had been associated with Mumbai Indians from 2018 to 2022 as director of cricket and head of global development, said he will serve in a similar role at LSG. He said he was particularly impressed with the “building blocks” put together by a “young franchise in only three years”, and felt that he shared the owners’ vision.”Yes it happened exactly in the same words how Mr Goenka explained. We got on a call and realised we have a similar stance on many topics about cricket,” Zaheer said. “We discussed the direction, the culture, the brand the team wants to play. The building blocks are already in place. It’s a relatively young franchise but it doesn’t seem like that. Reaching playoffs in this fiercely competitive league isn’t easy and [seeing their progress] gives me confidence.””It is a team game, so I will be serving the team in every capacity possible, and yes, it includes bowling. If I am there in the set-up, does the team need another bowling coach?” he said with a smile. “When you see LSG, their journey is only three years but they are as comparable to the teams who have played the IPL for 17-18 years. The building blocks are in place and we need to take them forward. Decision-making will be something we’ll work on, since it is something that can differentiate teams.”As it stands, LSG’s roster includes Rahul, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Quinton de Kock, Naveen-ul-Haq and Devdutt Padikkal, among others. The teams are expected to know the IPL’s retention rules in early September, after which they will decide on whom to retain, possibly with a late-November deadline, before the mega auction leading into IPL 2025.

Tottenham Hotspur’s summer recruitment drive hasn’t quite got off the ground yet, mainly due to uncertainty surrounding Ange Postecoglou and his long-term future, but that hasn’t stopped some transfer plans being made.

Tottenham transfer plans after vital Europa League triumph

While Postecoglou is set to learn his fate as soon as this week, according to ESPN and other reliable media sources, technical director Johan Lange, chairman Daniel Levy and the incoming Fabio Paratici will be debating ways to improve the Spurs squad regardless of who is in charge next season.

Tottenham hold "multiple meetings" with £8m manager after Guardiola praise

Daniel Levy’s got a key decision to make on Ange Postecoglou’s future.

1 ByEmilio Galantini Jun 3, 2025

Their triumph in the Europa League final has opened many doors for Spurs, with the Lilywhites set to compete in next season’s Champions League as one major positive of their victory against Man United in Bilbao.

Son Heung-min

7.00

James Maddison

6.98

Pedro Porro

6.95

Dominic Solanke

6.84

Dejan Kulusevski

6.83

via WhoScored

The greater transfer market pull and financial windfall that comes with competing in Europe’s most prestigious competition will undoubtedly assist Levy when it comes to bolstering the team this summer, with Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge reporting that Spurs want to strengthen the entire squad in all areas bar goalkeeper.

“Spurs don’t have to sell to buy, with Champions League qualification huge for the club,” said Bridge.

“All areas, apart from the goalkeeping department, will be looked at. Midfield and forward would be the priority if Cristian Romero stays.”

Dejan Kulusevski’s lengthy injury lay-off, combined with uncertainty surrounding the long-term futures of Richarlison and even Mathys Tel, means a new attacking player or two could be highly likely at Spurs.

Tottenham are considering the sale of Richarlison after another season marred by injury for the Brazilian, while there are some reports that Tel could return to Bayern Munich if Spurs make significant progress on a deal for Leroy Sane.

Sane has been heavily linked with a move to N17 in the last week, with the Bayern winger out of contract at the end of this month. He recently employed super-agent Pini Zahavi to help negotiate a new deal with Vincent Kompany’s side, but no agreement has been reached, so the representative could assist in finding him a new club instead.

Leroy Sane "wants a move" to Tottenham from Bayern Munich

Spurs face competition from north London rivals Arsenal, who are also believed to be in talks with Zahavi, but Levy has been handed a fresh boost in their rumoured pursuit of the 29-year-old.

Once valued at £137 million by Man City, the winger could soon be available at zero transfer cost, with Tottenham News sharing an update on the Lilywhites’ chances of beating Arsenal to his signature.

The outlet reports that Sane “wants a move” to Tottenham after they qualified for the Champions League, and they’re current favourites to win the race in light of the forward’s fresh stance on joining.

This is also regardless of whether Postecoglou is at the club next term, so it appears Sane is pretty keen on a switch to Spurs.

That being said, the former Schalke star was thought to be after a £192,000-per-week base salary plus £2.5 million in bonuses to remain at Bayern, so Spurs may have to offer him a similar pay packet to join them instead, which would make him their highest earner above Son Heung-min.

Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta has now personally spoken to a £145m star about a summer move to the Emirates Stadium, according to a report.

Gunners eyeing new winger amid Martinelli criticism

There have recently been suggestions that Gabriel Martinelli may not be at the level required to take the Gunners to the next level, with journalist Kyle Bonn implying that Mikel Arteta should look to bring in a new winger in the summer transfer window.

Those thoughts may also be echoed by club legend Thierry Henry, with the Frenchman suggesting the winger still has plenty of areas in which he needs to improve after the 2-0 victory against Manchester United earlier this season.

As we approach the summer transfer window, the north Londoners have been stepping up their pursuit of a new winger, with the likes of Nico Williams and Rodrygo believed to be of interest, while they have now made contact over a deal for a different forward.

Indeed, according to a report from Foot Mercato, Arsenal have now shortlisted AC Milan’s Rafael Leao as a summer target, with Berta speaking to the Portugal international on the phone around ten days ago.

The Gunners hold a real interest in Leao, who is considering an exit this summer after a mixed campaign at the San Siro, but he is not their priority target, and they are yet to make a final decision about whether to make a move.

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ByEmilio Galantini May 24, 2025 "Incredible" Leao could be expensive signing for Arsenal

According to reports from Italy, Milan could hold out for as much as £145m for the Portuguese winger, so a deal is likely to be on the expensive side, but there are clear signs he could be an upgrade on Martinelli.

The 25-year-old has averaged more non-penalty goals, assists and successful take-ons than the Arsenal winger over the past year, during which time he has also been lauded as “incredible” by CBS’ Matteo Bonetti.

Statistic

Gabriel Martinelli

Rafael Leao

Non-penalty goals

0.29

0.34

Assists

0.14

0.26

Successful take-ons

1.48

2.84

While Milan have underperformed throughout the 2024-25 campaign, currently sitting in seventh place, the Almada-born winger has remained consistent in front of goal, picking up 12 goals and 13 assists in all competitions.

As such, should Arsenal decide to bring in a new winger this summer, Leao should be right near the top of the list of targets, but signing a new centre-forward is arguably more important, with Arteta being left very short on options at striker throughout the campaign.

Tottenham Hotspur are looking to finish the season on a high and could land a summer coup involving one of Europe’s highly-rated young defenders, according to a report.

Tottenham Hotspur prepare for Europa League date with destiny

There are no two ways about it; Spurs face arguably the biggest week in their modern existence as Ange Postecoglou prepares his side to take on Manchester United in Wednesday’s UEFA Europa League final.

Financially, the winners of the competition stand to earn £10.95 million for a victory in the final, which has created a unique sense of jeopardy between two of England’s most reputable clubs.

Factor in money accumulated across the course of their run to Bilbao and subsequent qualification for the Champions League, there could be a bounty exceeding £80 million in store for either Tottenham or Manchester United.

However, Spurs may have to navigate the showdown without Pape Matar Sarr after he was taken off during their 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa last Friday.

Speaking about his latest injury scare, Postecoglou stated: “Pape felt something in his back, so we took him off as a bit of a precaution. I don’t think it’s anything too significant, speaking to him afterwards but he just felt something in his back.”

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Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison will miss the final for Tottenham, who know the implications of Wednesday’s final and what it could mean when it comes to attracting potential recruits this summer.

Ultimately, having the Champions League carrot ready to dangle could be a key advantage in the race for talent, though they are now reportedly looking at signing a Paris Saint-Germain star who has earned intriguing recognition.

Tottenham Hotspur looking to sign PSG defender Axel Tape

According to Sports Zone, Tottenham are circling for Paris Saint-Germain defender Axel Tape this summer amid his reported decision to leave the French giants on a free transfer.

Bayer Leverkusen are said to be in ‘pole position’ to sign the 17-year-old, while Bournemouth and Chelsea are also in the hunt to offer a Premier League avenue to the youngster.

Likened to Dean Huijsen by Rising Gems, Tape has made three first-team appearances for Paris Saint-Germain this campaign and primarily features as a central defender.

Daniel Levy is well-known for his penchant to facilitate the arrival of young talent to develop into first-team stars, which is a brief Spurs could look to fill once again should the Bondy-born man arrive in London.

Prodigious figures such as Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Mikey Moore have all been given senior minutes this term, even if the root cause of their frequent involvement has been an injury crisis.

Looking to the future, Tape could be the latest to join a conveyor belt of youthful assets who are only going to multiply in value under Postecoglou’s watch.

Liverpool are on the verge of winning their second-ever Premier League title in the coming weeks, as they sit 13 points clear at the top of the table with just six games left to go.

The Reds have only won the Premier League once in the history of the competition, winning under Jurgen Klopp in the 2019/20 campaign, and are not set to secure their second.

Arne Slot is on course to claim the title in his first season as a manager in England, having arrived from Feyenoord last summer, and he will go down as the latest in a long line of impressive recruits from the Eredivisie.

Liverpool have tapped into the Dutch market for players in the past, whether that has been directly from the Eredivisie or not, and have now done so to find a brilliant manager, having been successful in the past on the playing side of recruitment.

One Dutch recruit, who did not come directly from the top-flight in the Netherlands, was integral to the first Premier League title success, as central midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum played a key role.

Why Wijnaldum was integral to Liverpool's title win

The Netherlands international played 37 of the club’s 38 Premier League matches that season, starting 35 of them, as part of a regular midfield trio of himself, Jordan Henderson, and Fabinho.

Of the players to start at least one game, no Liverpool star completed a higher percentage of their passes than Wijnaldum (90.8%), which shows how reliable he was with the ball at his feet.

He also averaged 4.20 progressive passes and 2.27 progressive carries per 90 to build up play from a midfield position, which shows that the Dutch ace did not always play it safe with the ball at his feet.

Wijnaldum’s development at Anfield was interesting because he was signed from Newcastle United in the summer of 2016 off the back of a return of 11 goals and five assists in the Premier League for the Magpies during the 2015/16 campaign.

The Dutch star arrived at Liverpool as an attacking midfielder who had proven his quality at the top end of the pitch in the top-flight for his previous club, but Klopp developed him into an all-round midfielder who could be a solid option as a number eight.

He ended his Liverpool career with just 22 goals, four of which came in the Premier League in the title-winning campaign, in 237 matches, which illustrates his change in style from Tyneside to Merseyside.

That change in style, however, made him integral to Klopp’s title-winning team because Wijnaldum was a consistent performer, hence his 35 starts, who offered reliability and progression in possession, putting in the hard yards whilst providing quality on the ball.

Instead of being a consistent goalscorer or constantly creating chances, the former Newcastle star did his job in the middle of the park without too much fuss, chipping in with the odd goal here and there, to make himself a reliable figure for the German head coach.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Liverpool have, now, unearthed their new version of Wijnaldum in the current squad, and it is not Alexis Mac Allister – despite his impressive form of late, with a goal and an assist in his last two matches.

Liverpool have unearthed their new Georginio Wijnaldum

Mac Allister did arrive at Liverpool off the back of scoring ten goals in the Premier League for Brighton & Hove Albion in the 2022/23 campaign, but six of those strikes came from the penalty spot.

This meant that the Argentina international only provided four goals and two assists in the top-flight outside of penalties before his move to Liverpool to become a well-rounded midfielder at Anfield.

Whereas, Dominik Szoboszlai scored ten goals and provided 13 assists as an attacking midfielder for RB Leipzig in all competitions during the 2022/23 campaign before his switch to England, and only two of those goals were penalties.

The Hungary international, as Wijnaldum did when he joined from Newcastle, arrived at Anfield as an incredibly promising attacking midfielder who had the potential to provide goals and assists, and has followed the Dutchman’s path to becoming an all-rounder in the middle of the park.

Szoboszlai has scored eight goals and provided seven assists in 63 appearances for Liverpool in the Premier League to date, which illustrates the shift in style in his game since his time in the Bundesliga.

The Hungarian dynamo has been moulded into a perfect box-to-box midfielder for the Reds since switching Germany for England, utilising his fantastic work rate and engine in midfield more so than his ability to score and create goals.

He has started 24 of his 30 appearances in the Premier League so far this term and, interestingly, offered more than Wijnaldum did during the title-winning campaign under Klopp in several parts of the game as a midfielder.

As you can see in the chart above, Szoboszlai has been far more creative with his use of the ball than the Dutchman was, whilst also doing more out of possession by making blocks, tackles, and interceptions.

That chart shows that the 24-year-old Liverpool star, who was described as “unstoppable” by Fabrizio Romano earlier this year, is a brilliantly well-rounded midfield figure because he can combine quality on the ball with hard work and defensive quality off it, making him a key player for Slot in the middle of the park.

Appearances

30

Goals

5

Big chances created

9

Assists

3

Tackles + interceptions per game

1.3

Duels won per game

2.9

As you can see in the table above, Szoboszlai has still found a way to incorporate his attacking qualities into his game, with eight goal contributions, but they are not as prevalent as they were during his time with Leipzig in the Bundesliga.

Therefore, Liverpool have repeated the masterclass they played with Wijnaldum, turning him from an attack-minded midfielder into an all-round number eight, with the Hungary international, who is now set to have played an integral role in the club’s second-ever Premier League title success.

Liverpool strongly positioning themselves for £68m goalscoring midfielder

He would offer a goalscoring boost from midfield.

ByTom Cunningham Apr 16, 2025

Hopefully, this trophy will be the first of many titles in his Premier League career with the Reds, as they will hope that this season is far from a one-off success.

Thanks to Shaheen Shah Afridi’s reverse-swing heroics, they might just have found the blueprint to win even outside spin-friendly conditions

Danyal Rasool15-Oct-2025Twenty wickets. Pakistan captain Shan Masood has concerned himself with no other number ever since England inflicted a chastening innings defeat on his side a year ago, running up the fourth highest total in Test history in the process. It was, according to Masood, the only way to win Test matches, and thereafter, Pakistan began preparing spin tracks which would just about guarantee the fall of 20 wickets.It has turned around the fortunes of Noman Ali and Sajid Khan, who took almost every one of those wickets in the past four home Tests, but Masood will take those wickets however they come. The denouement to the first Test, which Pakistan won by 93 runs, was dominated by Shaheen Afridi, who exploited the old, reversing ball, taking four in the innings – more than Pakistani pace bowlers have taken in the last four home Tests combined. It included the final three, Afridi trapping Kyle Verreynne before making a mess of the stumps for the final two.Related

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For Masood, this offered evidence that there was more than one way of breaking through on this surface. “It’s simple for me,” he said after the game. “Shaheen took four wickets [in the fourth innings]. He’s put in the effort and bowled extraordinarily well. He’s shown why he’s in the world’s best fast bowlers. On these pitches, fast bowlers don’t vanish, their role changes.”The World Test Championship will not be played in uniform conditions; they will be played in different conditions against different teams. We can’t look at one Test and extrapolate to the next two years. We have to play in England and the West Indies with the Duke ball. Bangladesh beat us in seam-friendly conditions so maybe they’ll give us seaming conditions there too. Fast bowlers’ role is not being phased out; we’re expanding the ways we can win Test matches. That’s why we played two fast bowlers, and Shaheen showed us exactly how.”On more than one occasion in the fourth innings, Masood admitted to some degree of “anxiety” after Pakistan had repeatedly failed to put the visitors away once and for all. Overnight, Ryan Rickelton and Tony de Zorzi had gutsed their way to an unbeaten overnight stand after the pair offered the most potent resistance in the first dig. Masood started the day with Afridi, who found reverse to bring the fourth ball in, hitting de Zorzi dead in front.Three hours later, South Africa had begun to sneak back into contention with another little stand for the eighth wicket, compiling 29 runs as the target neared double digits. Once more, Afridi’s introduction brought immediate relief; he would need 11 balls to take three wickets.”When we were discussing the game on the field, Shaheen said “I will turn this match around for you”. We waited for the ball to get older. Obviously not bowling him with the new ball is a big decision. We trusted him, and he demanded the ball, and then he delivered for us. The way he bowled, we’re all excited; it was a superb fast bowling display.”Masood also pointed to his team’s composition as evidence that Pakistan were not looking only to spin their way to victory. He said they had unwittingly ended up going overboard in the series against the West Indies, where prodigious turn on surfaces in Multan that broke up right from the outset ended up with the side that won the toss winning the game. Spin operated almost exclusively from start to finish that series, which ended square 1-1.In Lahore, Pakistan believed there was enough in it for the quicks to field two of them, with Hasan Ali also taking part. It is a combination Masood hinted they might stick with for the second Test in Rawalpindi, calling them “the best exponents of reverse swing in Pakistan.””We’ll collectively admit that the conditions against the West Indies were too extreme. The bowling attacks were evened out because of the conditions. Batting was difficult, and the toss and the first innings lead mattered a lot. This pitch was very similar to the Test we played in Pindi. When a batter set himself he had an opportunity to go on and get good runs here. South Africa also showed when batters are set, it looks like batting is straightforward.Shaheen Shah Afridi struck early on day four•Getty Images”When Brevis and Rickelton were batting and the target dropped below 150, that felt like a stressful situation. But the bowler’s always in the game. Our pacers also contributed. Shaheen bowled extraordinarily well. If you want to do well in the WTC and the Test team, we will need performances from all departments, and we got that this Test.”Masood knows the challenge his side has just overcome, and while much of it does come down to the toss, South Africa are coming off the best winning run in their team’s history. They had won 10 Tests on the trot, including two against Pakistan at home as well as the World Test Championship final against Australia, and gave Pakistan the biggest fright of a side losing the toss since Pakistan started preparing wickets of this nature.For the Pakistan captain, it was proof both of the strides he is convinced his side is making, as well as the notion that the toss does not decide the game. “Our focus has always been on how we’re improving as a side. Getting a result is a huge deal. We’ve taken a strong start in the WTC final, and we need to build on it.”In the last year, when we played against England in Multan, we won the toss on a used pitch. When we won the match, England said it’d be interesting what happens when Pakistan lose the toss, and then we still beat them. The toss isn’t in our hands or South Africa’s hands. It evens out in cricket long-term. In Pindi, I challenged the side to reveal their character even if we lost the toss. And we did showcase that with one of our best Test performances last cycle with Saud Shakeel playing an excellent knock and the lower order complementing him. I’ll always tell the side to show how we can play our first innings well even when we lose the toss. If we lose the toss, we’ll have a plan for how to win the next game.”Whatever that plan is, 20 opposition wickets is set to be at the heart of it.

ODIs aren’t a priority for England at the moment, and that’s been reflected in their poor show at the World Cup so far

Matt Roller23-Oct-20231:40

What’s gone wrong for England?

The widespread view that ODIs are dying a slow and painful death has not been rebuffed in the first two-and-a-half weeks of the World Cup in India. Halfway through the group stage, the tournament has been characterised by two things: the number of close finishes (hardly any) and empty seats (plenty).It was a theme that emerged as Joe Root spoke to the English press in Bengaluru on Monday. Root stressed that he was not looking to make excuses for England’s disastrous start to their title defence, which has seen them lose three of their first four matches, but the lingering sense that 50-over cricket no longer takes precedence was reinforced.Echoing his coach, Matthew Mott, Root suggested that England’s build-up had been “rushed” after a six-month gap between March and September in which none of their World Cup squad played a single List A game, let alone an ODI. “It would have been nice to have a proper run-in,” he said.Related

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In the four years between the 2015 and 2019 World Cups, England played 88 ODIs and used 34 players, 12 of whom played more than 50% of those games. From 2019-23, they played just 42 ODIs and used 44 players, of whom only eight featured in at least half. The player who won the most caps in this cycle, Jason Roy, is not at the World Cup.Playing a full-strength side more often “definitely would have benefitted” England, Root said. “It would have been nice to [have] a six-month period where you slowly work things through as a group. But that’s just not how it is at the minute, and that’s not how we get to play our cricket as an England player, so you’ve just got to be adaptable.”Since their triumph in the 2019 World Cup, England’s schedule has been dominated by Test cricket: they have played 56 Tests in that period, with Australia and India joint-second on 39. With several tours staged concurrently and their white-ball teams focused on the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups, multi-format players have often been rested for ODIs.The result is that England’s all-format players are simultaneously overcooked after a busy winter of touring, a full IPL season and an exhausting Ashes campaign; and undercooked, in terms of relevant practice in the format they are actually playing at this World Cup.Jos Buttler couldn’t do much to change the script against South Africa•ICC via Getty ImagesRoot is a prime example: he played only 19 ODIs between the 2019 final and the opening game of the 2023 tournament. “We’re in a unique situation,” he said. “We play a huge amount of Test cricket compared to a lot of the other nations, so there’s always going to be overlapping schedules if we continue to play the amount that we do.”England’s next generation has also hardly played 50-over cricket, since the counties’ One Day Cup clashes with the Hundred, which launched in 2021. Gus Atkinson, the young Surrey fast bowler who featured in their 229-run thrashing to South Africa on Saturday, has played more one-day cricket for his country (four caps) than his county (two).Mott admitted that England were “guessing a little bit” in selection meetings due to their inability to compare players’ recent 50-over performances. “When you’re not playing the format, it’s hard to know who the best players are,” Root said. “That being said, I don’t think we’ve got the wrong squad of players here; I just don’t think we’ve performed.”Root has been an advocate of the Hundred, and said that England’s start to the World Cup “doesn’t make me change my mind” about it. “It makes me question whether we should be playing more 50-over cricket [at domestic level] instead of T20 – instead of the Blast, maybe,” he said.But the reality is that England are unlikely to prioritise 50-over cricket again anytime soon. And why would they, given the shifts in the sport’s landscape? They will pick a fresh squad to play three ODIs against West Indies in December, but will then not play another series in the format until mid-September, when they host Australia.

“It shouldn’t be down to, ‘is it bringing the most money for the sport?’ It should be down to what people want to watch, and what’s going to engage the next generation of players”Joe Root

“There’s talk of whether this format is relevant anymore anyway, in international cricket,” Root said. “Whether that gets changed, I don’t know. Who knows how things will move in the future? But whether it’s domestically or internationally, I don’t think we play enough of it if we’re going to continue to look to compete in World Cups.”Asked whether he would like the format to survive, Root – who was England’s top-scorer at the 2019 World Cup – did not provide a ringing endorsement. “I think it’s got a huge amount of history and it brings a lot to cricket,” he said. “It will always hold a very special part of my heart for what it’s given me throughout my career.”[But] I think that’s a question that should be posed to the next generation of players, and to everyone watching the game, really. It shouldn’t be down to, ‘is it bringing the most money for the sport?’ It should be down to what people want to watch, and what’s going to engage the next generation of players.”Their answer may become apparent next month, when England select a squad to tour the Caribbean for three ODIs and five T20Is: will players who have been excluded from the list of central contracts that will be published this week turn down franchise deals in order to play in a bilateral tour?While many of the players involved in this tournament still see it as the centrepiece of the international game, that consensus is weakening. Last year, a survey by the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) found that just 54% of men’s players consider the World Cup the “pinnacle ICC event”, down from 86% in 2019.Joe Root has been dismissed six times in the powerplay in nine innings since the start of 2022•Associated PressAnd England’s squad has been surprised by how poor the crowds have been for their matches so far – in particular against New Zealand on the opening night in Ahmedabad.”I know [the stadium holds] 130,000 people but the first game, opening World Cup match, [teams from the] previous final, I expected more people to be there,” Root said. “But when it’s 50 degrees [sic] and you’re sat in the sun all day, and a lot of the time it’s working hours, it’s understandable.”If IPL games, which last up to four hours, can feel too long, the eight-hour ODI matchday is increasingly out of kilter with fans’ demands; the ICC’s slogan for this tournament, “It takes one day”, seems almost apologetic.Root emphasised his belief that England’s squad remain “bloody good players” who can pull off five consecutive wins to reach the semi-finals, starting against Sri Lanka on Thursday. He also played down the idea that, with their legacy as world champions in both white-ball formats secure, England have lacked the hunger of other teams.They are clearly not as bad a side as their performances at this World Cup have suggested, but the trend is clear: England were brilliant at one-day cricket during the four years when it became their No. 1 priority, and have declined in the four years since. Considering the global context, it may never be their priority again.

Numbers since 2019 show that he has found the job of opening a lot trickier in the IPL than that for his country

Gaurav Sundararaman and Shiva Jayaraman12-Apr-2022Among 15 batters to have batted at least 30 times in the top three since the 2019 IPL, only two average less than 30. And among those 15 batters, five strike at less than 130 runs per 100 balls. But only one falls in both categories: Rohit Sharma.Rohit has been way below par in the last few seasons in the IPL. The last time he averaged 30-plus in an IPL season was in 2016. Since then, Rohit has averaged below 30 – in the high twenties – every year. His strike rates in these five seasons have been ordinary too: he has struck at 130-plus only in one of them – in 2018. From the 2019 season, when he began opening for Mumbai Indians regularly, Rohit has averaged 27.9 and struck at 127.7. However, these numbers are not indicative of what he is capable of.In T20Is since April 2019, Rohit has made 982 runs at an average of 32.73 and strike rate of 144. And he has scored these runs mostly as an opener for India, the same position where he bats for Mumbai in the IPL. In fact, Rohit is currently the second-most prolific opener in T20Is after Martin Guptill. His 25 fifty-plus scores are the highest in the format for any opener; four of those have been hundreds, and no batter has score more hundreds in T20Is. So clearly, opening is something Rohit is used to.Related

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Even so, Rohit has found the same job a lot trickier in the IPL. It could be because he feels the need to take on the role of an anchor with Mumbai. After all, he is the captain and a seasoned player of the franchise. Rohit could well have been talking about himself when he said “we want batters to bat deep” after the loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore.India’s batting line-up doesn’t demand that role from him. There has been Virat Kohli to play the anchor. There has been KL Rahul too at times. Rohit is free to play his natural game with India. But perhaps he is not so with Mumbai. Or is he?Unlike Punjab Kings or Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai have had the luxury of having a strong middle order in the previous seasons. While the likes of Rahul, David Warner and Kane Williamson had to take on the responsibility of playing deep into the innings, Rohit has actually had the opportunity to play freely.Consider these numbers. Since the 2019 IPL, with Rohit in the middle, his partners have averaged 50.3 runs per dismissal across innings. Now, that is a privilege no other top-order batter has enjoyed in this period: among the 25 batters with at least 20 innings in the top three, none has had their partners average higher than Rohit’s.Rahul, who is often criticised for playing too slowly and costing his team in the end, has seen his partners getting dismissed every 31.4 runs on an average. Williamson has seen a dismissal every 28.8 runs from his partners. Thus, there is clearly a reason for these batters to drop anchor.