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Arsenal have now reportedly joined Liverpool in the race to sign Jean-Philippe Mateta from Crystal Palace, as contract talks continue to drag on between the striker and the South London club.

The Gunners return from the international break looking to get back to winning ways after entering it off the back of a dramatic 2-2 draw against Sunderland and it doesn’t get much bigger than the North London derby. Up against rivals Tottenham Hotspur, Mikel Arteta’s side will be aiming to prove their title credentials once again and at least maintain their four-point lead at the top.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the derby, Arteta reiterated just how big a rivalry it is, saying: “It’s just different. it’s a big city, but it’s a big rivalry; it’s a part of London that we want to conquer, and they want to do the same.

“There’s been a lot of shifts as well over the years, we’ve been more dominant and it’s just beautiful, especially when we play at home in front of our people, we know what it means to them.

“The energy that they’re going to bring, the energy that the team is going to bring in every single action, it’s just a privilege to play those kind of games. We cannot wait to get to Sunday.”

Arteta must axe Eze & unleash Arsenal star who's "very similar" to Bergkamp

With Eberechi Eze failing to catch fire at Arsenal, Mikel Arteta could seek a replacement against Spurs.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Nov 22, 2025

It marks the beginning of a crucial week for Arsenal, who have the small task of playing host to Bayern Munich just days after the Tottenham clash before then travelling to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea. Three points from three in such a run would highlight just how serious the Gunners are about winning major honours.

In their current run, it would also be difficult for many players to turn Arsenal down and that may even be the case for Palace star Mateta.

Arsenal join race to sign Mateta

According to Caught Offside, Arsenal have now joined the race to sign Mateta from Crystal Palace in what could be their second major signing from the Eagles following their recent move for Eberechi Eze.

The Frenchman is set to become a free agent in 2027 and with contract talks yet to reach a resolution, the South London club may be forced to cash in sooner or later – allowing the Gunners to make their move.

A player who’s already been on the scoresheet at the Emirates in the past, Mateta could yet get the chance to wheel away in celebration every week in North London. Such a move would certainly be well-earned, too. From initial struggles, the 28-year-old has become one of the best strikers in the Premier League.

Minutes

959

800

Goals

6

4

Assists

0

0

Expected Goals

8.1

4.6

There’s a reason why Palace boss Oliver Glasner has dubbed his star striker “excellent” in the past and the comparison with Gyokeres shows the level that he’s operating at. If Arsenal want to ensure that their goalscoring problems are ended for good, then they should sign the Palace star.

Arsenal hold talks with £71m ex-Man Utd star after post-Old Trafford transformation

Only 9.4 overs of play was possible in the T20I series opener between India and Australia

Andrew McGlashan29-Oct-20251:53

‘Baffling’ – Chopra on Arshdeep’s non-selection in the XI

Rain in Canberra ruined the opening T20I of the five-match series between Australia and India, also cutting short an eye-catching display from captain Suryakumar Yadav who was beginning to rekindle the form he had showed at the IPL earlier this year.Suryakumar and Shubman Gill had carried India to a promising 97 for 1 in the 10th over of a contest already reduced to 18 overs per side by an earlier stoppage when heavier rain came through and eventually forced the call-off shortly before 10pm.Moments before the rain returned, Suryakumar had tucked into Nathan Ellis’ second over with two fours and a six. He had been given a life on 18 when Josh Philippe couldn’t hold onto a tough chance running back from mid-on and was able to pass 20 for just the second time in his last 15 T20I innings – a period which, of course, sandwiches the prolific IPL.Mitchell Marsh had continued his impressive run with the coin, and unsurprisingly, opted to bowl as he had done on all 18 previous occasions in T20Is when he has had the choice.India’s intent was clear from the very start when Abhishek Sharma, facing Australia for the first time, charged at Josh Hazlewood’s opening delivery. Abhishek ended the first over by again using his feet and carved Hazlewood through point.Gill survived a close lbw shout against Ellis on 11, when he was beaten by a back-of-the-hand slower ball, which Australia reviewed and the replays showed it was clipping the top of the bails. However, Abhishek’s powerplay was cut short when he drove a catch to Tim David at mid-off to hand Ellis a wicket on his opening over.The fifth over brought a terrific mini-contest between Suryakumar and Hazlewood, who is only available for the first two matches of this series before turning his focus to Ashes preparation.The first ball, a bouncer, whistled past Suryakumar as he considered a ramp to deep third, the second was unplayable as it nipped away from back of a length to beat an ambitious drive, but then Suryakumar responded with an audacious flick over deep square leg for six. Two dots followed before Suryakumar ended it by working a single.Gill, meanwhile, had played briskly between the stoppages and shortly before the final stoppage had slog-swept Matt Kuhnemann powerfully over deep midwicket.Despite conditions being a world away from Dubai, India retained the three frontline spinners they used in the Asia Cup final with Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy all finding spots in the XI. Jasprit Bumrah was set to lead the pace attack which also included Harshit Rana. Allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy was ruled out of the opening three matches as he recovers from quad and neck problems.From a likely first-choice side, Australia were missing Cameron Green (Shield cricket), Glenn Maxwell (available from game three) and Adam Zampa (personal reasons).

Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto came about as close to a no-hitter as a pitcher can get.

Yamamoto pitched 8 2/3 innings of no-hit ball at Camden Yards against the Baltimore Orioles, looking for all intents and purposes like he was going to pitch the first no-no this season.

That's when former 2022 No. 1 overall pick and Orioles outfielder Jackson Holliday stepped up to the plate. Holliday worked a 2-1 count, then sent a 94-mph cutter deep to right field. Initially, it appeared to be a double, but the umpiring crew ruled it a home run. The point was moot, though.

Yamamoto had lost his no-hitter.

Yamamoto finished his day with 8 2/3 innings of one-run ball, 10 strikeouts, a pair of walks and one hit allowed. But at least Yamamoto could take solace in the fact that he'd be leaving the park with a win, right? Right??

Unfortunately, that was not to be either.

The Dodgers bullpen, which has been shaky at times this year, couldn't hold up its end of the bargain. After the homer, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts removed Yamamoto from the game in favor of righthander Blake Treinen. Treinen allowed a double to his first batter, right fielder Jeremiah Jackson, plunked Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson, allowed the runners to advance on a wild pitch, then walked first baseman Ryan Mountcastle to load the bases with two outs still on the board. After Treinen missed wildly with four of five pitches to walk in a run and make it a 3-2 game, Roberts had seen enough.

The Dodgers skipper brought in closer Tanner Scott, who allowed a walk-off two-run single to Orioles third baseman Emmanuel Rivera. The Orioles, improbably, had won.

It was unfortunate enough that Yamamoto lost the no-hitter. Even worse that the Dodgers couldn't manage to hold on and win the game after getting two outs in the inning. But perhaps the worst part?

It was the Dodgers' fifth straight loss. Los Angeles's lead in the National League West has now dwindled to 1.5 games.

England’s captain said he had a feeling on an auspicious date, and so it transpired

Vithushan Ehantharajah14-Jul-20250:55

Manjrekar: Stokes always makes things happen

Ben Stokes had a hunch when he woke up on Monday morning.On the sixth anniversary of England’s 2019 ODI World Cup win, on the final day at Lord’s, with six wickets to get before India achieved the remaining 135 to win this third Test, Stokes felt there was only one man who should start the day with the ball.It was not from the end from which Jofra Archer bowled that famous Super Over against New Zealand. Stokes still had two deliveries left after taking out nightwatcher Akash Deep with what became his final ball on Sunday. But the Pavilion End, from where Archer, on Thursday, had taken his first Test wicket since February 24, 2021, would do just fine. Especially when fate was calling.Related

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Ben Stokes on final-day bowling efforts: 'Nothing was stopping me'

Six balls and a lifetime later, Archer returns with a bang

Memories of the 2019 World Cup final Super Over

Stats – England clinch the narrowest Lord's win

So it proved. A six-over spell produced a pearler to send Rishabh Pant’s off stump for a walk, then a stunning reflex catch – Archer sprawling to his right in his follow-through – did for Washington Sundar. Since 2006, when such records started being kept, Archer’s was the sixth fastest day-five spell recorded.”It felt right in my tummy that Jofra was going to do something this morning to break the game open,” Stokes said. “Gut feel doesn’t always work, but those two wickets he got this morning swung the game massively in our favour.”Undoubtedly, it was Stokes’ dismissal of KL Rahul, sandwiched by Archer’s strikes, that was top of the podium. England’s three wickets in the first seven overs of play had put them out in front. And just when it looked as though India were creeping back into the picture with their ninth-wicket stand, Stokes returned to prise out Jasprit Bumrah, even if the No. 10’s shot selection was curious given the situation.England’s heroes in that 2019 final – both the man who dragged them to that Super Over, and the one who held his nerve to defend 15 therein – were back at it in 2025. Cricket is a sport that, more often than not, baits romance rather than serves it up. However, for Stokes to bowl as much as he did, and for Archer to be back bowling in a Test match at all, provided a moment – as was the case six years ago – that English cricket will not be able to take for granted.Then and now: Six years on from the 2019 World Cup final, Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer were centre stage at Lord’s•Getty Images

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Archer was at midwicket when the final ball of the match trickled agonisingly onto Mohammed Siraj’s leg stump. As Shoaib Bashir charged off towards the Grandstand – where Archer himself had been enveloped by Bashir after removing Jaiswal four days earlier – Archer fell to the floor.His resting place was more or less the same patch of grass onto which he had sprinted and dived after Jos Buttler had run out Martin Guptill from Jason Roy’s throw. But the significance of that moment is probably a little overblown, considering Archer could not recall why July 14 was special when Stokes broached it with him”You know what day today is, don’t you?” Stokes had asked before the start of play, looking to stir the 30-year-old. It turns out, Archer thought this was the anniversary of India’s two-wicket win over England at Lord’s in 2002’s NatWest series final. “You know that highlight package of India knocking off 300-odd back in the day with Ganguly?” Stokes explained to the media, referencing the then-India captain windmilling his shirt over his head on the away balcony. “He thought that was a World Cup final. He thought that was six years ago today.”The confusion was broadly understandable. That fixture actually took place on July 13, and highlights of that 325-plays-326 slobberknocker were on the television screens on Monday morning when England arrived at the ground. When Stokes informed Archer he meant the World Cup “we won”, Archer responded with, “oh, that one”.Ben Stokes at the centre surrounded by the rest of England•Getty Images

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Archer will have known which one, of course, and confusing it with a match that took place 23 years ago suggests 2019’s final feels more recent than it actually is.The memories from that summer have kept Archer going, and kept England so invested – literally – in getting him back to this point. He had followed his World Cup haul of 20 dismissals at 23.05 (the third most in the tournament) with 22 more at 20.27 in the men’s Ashes, all of them underpinned by express pace. Few players have had such a sweet first taste of international cricket, and fewer still have nailed their own involvement so spectacularly.Archer’s problems have come ever since. From that summer into this one, his nine Test caps brought just 20 further wickets at 42. When people doubted that Archer could return as the bowler he had been back in 2019, they had their reasons.During this period, England did overbowl him, most notably on a flat pitch in Mount Maunganui, where he sent down 42 in a single innings. The link between his elbow and lower-back stress fractures was easy to make.Even on his thrilling Test debut at Lord’s against Australia, England were already playing recklessly with their new toy, as he sent down 44 overs in the match. And though he did get into a 40th on this comeback, the breakdown of his work suggests lessons have been learned.In 2019, there was an eight- and seven-over spell, along with six other spells at least four. This time, there were only six spells of four or more across the four days England spent in the field, with his two longest at five when opening the first innings, and six on this final morning.Much of that is down to the fact Stokes shouldered the longest burdens. Going into stumps on day four with 4.4 overs, he resumed in the morning for 9.2 more, and then later in the day for 10.While Archer did the post-match media rounds, looking fresh and beaming from ear to ear, an exhausted Stokes, carrying his bowling boots in one hand, blood seeping through the sock on his left foot, began his session for the written media with a simple request: “Any chance you can just do ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions?”2:32

Stokes: I was going to decide when I stop bowling

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The connection between Stokes and Archer truly began in 2019, bound by that World Cup win.Stokes was the first to go over to Archer in the moment of victory, putting his arms around him during those celebrations on the outfield. They have gone on to become good friends, gaming together, even becoming business partners. And as Test captain, with Archer trending towards full fitness throughout Stokes’ tenure, the 34-year-old has been his biggest cheerleader and defender during various setbacks.Despite all the affection, Stokes did lose his cool with Archer on Sunday evening.During Archer’s third over, after Karun Nair had hit him for a second boundary through the covers in four deliveries, he gestured for a man to be placed out as insurance. Stokes refused.At the start of the 16th over, Rahul’s bunt out to deep square-leg was not immediately attacked, resulting in Stokes throwing his arms out at Archer, who was stationed back on the leg-side boundary. As the players walked off after Stokes had taken out Akash Deep’s off stump, Sky cameras caught Archer trying to speak to Stokes, who gave him short shrift.This is not Archer’s first Test in which Stokes has been captain, but it is his first since his regime officially began in 2022. Though Archer has been with the team since the second Test, this was the first time he was really “in it”. It is not a total surprise he is not up to speed with some of the non-negotiables.One insistence he seemed to fall foul of was asking for negative field settings – Stokes believes every fielder should be affecting a dismissal, something he reiterates by telling his bowlers he simply does not care about their economy rates. The other “must” is giving your all in fielding. No dawdling or escorting. A great example was Bashir, an over before he took the final wicket. Nursing a broken pinkie on his left hand that has ruled him out for the rest of the series, Bashir slid along the point boundary to intercept the ball inside the rope – scooping it with his right hand, then cradling it in the pit of his right elbow.Archer, by Monday, had clearly got the memo, diving about in the field, and letting his captain set whatever field he demanded. In return, he maintained his express pace throughout, including when he struck Siraj on the shoulder with a fierce bumper clocking in at 88mph. It turned out to be his final delivery of the match.Ben Stokes celebrates after sending back Jasprit Bumrah•Getty Images

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Stokes revealed the main sticking point he had with Archer on the penultimate evening was not to do with his fielding but where people were stationed. Specifically, Stokes himself.”He wanted me to come to mid-on and Carsey [Brydon Carse] to go to leg slip so he could talk to me,” Stokes said. “But I didn’t trust Carsey at leg slip, to be honest. Honestly, that whole thing was he wanted me to come to mid-on so we could chat about what he’s trying to do.”Even in the heat of this Test match, it was a rare moment of vulnerability from Archer. Public-facing, too. Those chats would have been tactical, but there is something to be said for the extra comfort Stokes would have brought Archer by his side.Stokes was at mid-on for the last ball of the Super Over, collapsing onto his back at its conclusion. His unbeaten 84 had left the match all-square in normal time. But more important even that the eight extra runs he picked off alongside Jos Buttler in setting New Zealand a Super Over target of 16 was his advice to Archer before he took centre stage.Though Archer already had the confidence – he knew he’d have to bowl the Super Over even before Eoin Morgan had confirmed it – he was wary. He would later admit: “I don’t know what I would have done tomorrow” had he been responsible for losing that final.Stokes, however, had experience of that from 2016’s World T20 final in Kolkata. And so, he took Archer to one side and offered the following: “Win or lose, today does not define you. Everyone believes in you.”The irony is failure in this Test may have re-defined Archer. It would have been proof, in the eyes of the doubters, that he was a waste of central contracts. That he has been coddled by the ECB. That maybe he does only care for franchise riches, that he is only good for white-ball cricket. That, you know what, he is overrated. Speaking to Sky in the moment of victory, he railed against the “keyboard warriors” who had been the bane of his rehab for four years.Now, those thoughts can settle down. Of course, much will depend on how Archer recovers from this week’s exploits, though the nine days between now and the fourth Test will help him. A meaningful role in this winter’s Ashes is now a genuine possibility.A lot has happened in six years. And yet here we are, back at Lord’s, with English cricket grateful for Stokes and giddy about Archer all over again. All told, it’s good to be back.

The Milwaukee Brewers, the No. 1 team in baseball, received some unfortunate news on Sunday ahead of the final week of the regular season. Star pitcher Brandon Woodruff landed on the 15-day injured list with a right lat strain.

The IL designation goes back to Sept. 18, meaning Woodruff would first become available for the Brewers in the NLDS when that starts up on Saturday, Oct. 4. That would likely be the Brewers' expected first game in the postseason anyway as they will get a bye in the wild-card series as long as they hold onto the top spot.

It's been an injury-riddled 2025 season for the two-time All-Star. After missing the entire 2024 season while recovering from right shoulder surgery, Woodruff didn't make his 2025 debut until July 6. In May, he paused his rehab minor league assignment with an ankle injury. Then, when he was in the midst of his rehabilitation minor league return in June, he was hit on the elbow by a line drive, which in turn kept him out for another month.

Through 12 starts this season, Woodruff posted a 3.20 ERA over 64.2 innings pitched. He has 83 strikeouts and had 23 earned runs against him.

Harris strained her calf in the final ODI against India on Saturday while fielding

Alex Malcolm23-Sep-2025Australia batter Grace Harris has been ruled out of the upcoming ODI World Cup due to a calf strain, with Western Australia allrounder Heather Graham called up to replace her.Harris injured her calf while fielding in the final ODI of the three-match series against India in Delhi on Saturday. It was the only match that Harris played in the series having been called in when Annabel Sutherland was ruled out with hip soreness.Harris was unlikely to be in Australia’s first-choice XI at the start of the World Cup but was a key reserve player given her lower-order hitting ability. She may have played a part in the tournament as Australia do have some injury issues. Sutherland’s hip soreness was the latest niggle to crop up after Phoebe Litchfield missed the last two matches of the ODI series with a quad issue and Darcie Brown suffered back spasms.Sophie Molineux was unavailable for the entire series as she is still working to full fitness coming off her major knee injury. Georgia Wareham is coming off a groin and adductor strain that saw her miss the Hundred and skipper Alyssa Healy is on return from her major foot problems but both got through all three matches against India.Graham, 28, has only played one ODI for Australia back in 2019 but has been part of many squads since. However, she has not played an international since the last of her five career T20Is in September last year.

Perfection and the England men's national team never were natural bedfellows, but Thomas Tuchel has changed the narrative around the Three Lions by propelling them to a literally flawless World Cup qualifying campaign. England completed their perfect run of results by rounding off their journey to North America in 2026 with a 2-0 victory away in Albania, an eighth successive win without conceding a goal.

England have known for more than a month that they would be going to the World Cup, and to tell the truth they probably knew that as soon as they saw the qualifying draw. Having seen his side destroy Serbia and Latvia 5-0 each on his last two trips abroad, there were just two factors on Tuchel's mind when his squad got to Tirana: Chasing that perfect run of results and chiselling out his starting line up for the World Cup.

The German made sweeping changes to his XI from Thursday's game against Serbia, only handing repeat starts to Harry Kane, Declan Rice, John Stones and Nico O'Reilly. But this was not just about testing out his second string, but trying to nail down his best team.

Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford managed to prove their worth from the bench, coming on to provide the crosses for Kane to score both of England's goals. Jude Bellingham, meanwhile, reiterated his importance to the team with a dominant display even though he looked furious when he was taken off. And one player made a late claim as an usurper in Dean Henderson, who made his first start since the dismal defeat to Senegal in June but fired out a warning to Jordan Pickford with a terrific performance in goal, proving utterly crucial to pulling off that all-important clean sheet.

GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Air Albania Stadium…

Getty Images SportWINNER: Thomas Tuchel

Tuchel might be a gun for hire from an England perspective, and yet he has hit the target with every single one of his shots. The German has only been in the job for 11 months, working with the players for eight of those, but he has sure left his mark on the team. Tuchel is the first England coach to oversee a perfect World Cup qualifying campaign while his team are the first side from any continent to have played at least six games and won them all without conceding a goal.

The coach decided to experiment by making seven changes to the team that had beaten Serbia, but he was still deadly serious about winning the game and called on his most trusted marksmen from the bench to complete the job. 

The big question about whether England can beat the best sides in the world will remain unanswered until the World Cup kicks-off, quite possibly until the quarter-finals, and cynics will point to the fact that Fabio Capello had a tremendous record in qualifying for the 2010 tournament, only to disappoint when it mattered.

But England's hunger to win Sunday's game in the closing stages is proof that Tuchel has stamped his ultra-demanding personality on the team, and it is hard to not be excited about the culture he has built in his short time in charge.

AdvertisementGetty LOSER: Eberechi Eze

Eberechi Eze had earned his place in the starting line-up with his tremendous strike against Serbia after coming off the bench, but his performance against Albania underlined the sense that he is much more effective as a substitute than as a starter. Eze struggled to create much danger in the first half, and when England's best chance of the game fell to him shortly into the second period after a brilliant ball from Bellingham, he completely blew it as couldn't get the ball out of his feet and scuffed it straight at goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha.

Eze was taken off for his Arsenal team-mate Saka shortly after the hour-mark, making it the third consecutive England start in which he has failed to score or provide an assist. Contrast that with him scoring in his last three matches for his country as a substitute, against Serbia and in both games against Latvia.

Being seen as an effective finisher is no bad thing and it would be no surprise to see Eze have a big impact at the World Cup from the bench. Still, no player likes to be known solely as a super-sub, and Eze passed up a good opportunity here to try and change that reputation.

GettyWINNER: Harry Kane

Kane has a remarkable ability to sail through a match without doing very much at all and then go on to decide it with his killer instinct. This was a textbook example of his knack to have the final say without warning. Before he scored the opening goal, Kane had not had any shots on goal or created any chances for his team-mates. Any other player would have been ripe for substitution.

But Tuchel knows Kane's ability to find the net as well as anyone and his decision to leave the striker on was vindicated when he knocked in Saka's corner and then glanced in Rashford's wonderful delivery. Kane's brace took him on to nine goals in nine matches under Tuchel, having scored in six of the eight qualifiers.

Kane's status as England captain and main man was called into question after his hugely disappointing displays at Euro 2024, but Tuchel chose to make the striker the fulcrum of his team and is being handsomely rewarded for doing so. "The work ethic, the attitude is just outstanding," Tuchel said of Kane. "I almost have no words – he is invested in everything we do. He is a leader and it speaks for itself."

When it comes to scoring in qualifying for World Cups and European Championships, no one can compete with Kane, who has scored 40 goals since 2019. The second-highest scorer in that period is Cristiano Ronaldo on 32.

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Getty WINNER: Dean Henderson

While Tuchel has tried to show that no player is undroppable, Declan Rice, Kane and Jordan Pickford are practically assured of their place in the starting line-up when England kick off their World Cup campaign next June. Henderson, then, has the misfortune to be vying for one of those spots, competing with a player who has been England's No.1 since the 2018 World Cup and has proven to be a formidable force in penalty shootouts. 

But the Crystal Palace goalkeeper did make the most of a rare starting opportunity, delivering a flawless display between the sticks. Henderson made a top-draw save to thwart Albania's main dangerman Arber Hoxha before making a bold yet correct move to charge out of his area and swipe the ball from the feet of Qazim Laci. He would almost certainly have been sent off had he got there a second late, but his timing was spot on and he made sure England kept that coveted eighth consecutive clean sheet in qualifying.

"I didn't want to be the one that stepped in and conceded," he said. "Jordan has been excellent. He has had the shirt for a long time now, he has been putting in good performances, which makes it hard to break through." That might be true, but at least Henderson has demonstrated to Tuchel that he is his man should he start to ever question Pickford.

His competitiveness was something to behold, his love for Test cricket infectious, and he had this special ability to take you along on the ride

Sidharth Monga13-May-20251:38

AB de Villiers: ‘I did get a hint that Kohli would retire’

Now I feel old, man. Virat Kohli has run out of the fight to play Test cricket.Virat Kohli.I never imagined a day would come when Virat Kohli would wake up, decide to meet the selectors, and tell them that his body, mind, heart and spirit were not giving him enough to be able to play Test cricket to his standards anymore.Test cricket. The format he lived for. Anyone who has seen Kohli play knew it would take something extraordinary to take him away from “the quiet grind, the long days, the small moments that no one sees but that stay with you forever”. What a beautiful farewell note he has written. Only father time could dim Kohli’s boundless enthusiasm and love for Test cricket.Related

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Kohli has been Indian cricket's most influential figure

Feel old yet?All through my writing career, I have been certain of one thing: the fight in Kohli, especially for Test cricket. It has been the one constant in my time of covering Indian cricket. Don’t get me wrong, he has not been the only one with the fight for Test cricket, but not everyone is blessed with all the attributes required to live every minute of the Test cricket they play: natural physical strength, combativeness, ability to understand and fine-tune a good-enough technique, and the sheer love for Test cricket that makes you work on everything else, that makes success in Test cricket an obsession, a non-negotiable.I have seen and felt this energy and fight across the world. I experienced it first-hand long before Kohli played Test cricket. This was even before he had unleashed his competitive side in the Under-19 World Cup final when India scored just 159 and he took offence at the South African players’ premature dropping of the guard. He was not even a regular in a Delhi team that included Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Aakash Chopra, Shikhar Dhawan, Mithun Manhas and Rajat Bhatia.Delhi were playing Maharashtra in this small hill town of Nagothane in late 2007. This was an Australia tour selection audition for Sehwag and Chopra. Sehwag was proving his fitness, Chopra his worth, and the Delhi batting was too packed to include Kohli in the XI.The Delhi nets were a daunting place, what with all these stalwarts, and Manoj Prabhakar in the coaching staff. The loud laughter from the nets looks and sounds like fun and games from the outside, but it is a seriously competitive place where every newcomer must earn their respect. “These days even Kohli is blocking,” Prabhakar was heard saying when Kohli defended a ball in the nets. Cue laughter all around. What is a 19-year-old kid to make of it? Isn’t he supposed to work on his defence in Ranji nets? He hit the next ball for a six, and went back to defending.There weren’t many lodging options, and we all ended up in the same resort. After a day’s play, with nowhere else to go, a few Delhi youngsters ended up with us in the table tennis room. None of us was playing seriously. Until I happened to beat Kohli. Even in a casual, almost joke of a table tennis match, this 19-year-old couldn’t bear losing to a 24-year-old journalist he was never going to be in competition with.By all accounts Kohli is a chill kinda guy outside cricket. I don’t know him off the field, but everybody says he is funny, an exceptional mimic, and has interests outside the game.2:54

Pujara: Kohli brought a shift in India’s fitness culture as captain

Once the cricket switch was flicked on, though, the lack of chill was something to behold. And it extended to every activity within cricket. Kohli couldn’t help but compete. He had to be the ‘est: the best, the fastest, the loudest, the coolest, the funniest, even the nastiest when nasties were needed. And he had this special ability to take you along on the ride. Not just the players who felt drawn to rallying with him, but those watching and living the game through him.My quintessential visual memory of Kohli the Test cricketer is not from his batting or catching. It’s him at second slip, living every ball bowled by his fast bowlers. In that brief moment after the ball was played, you could look at Kohli and tell what had happened. The little hop if the ball was good. Asking the crowd to cheer when the bowling felt flat. If the edge was taken, he wouldn’t wait for the catch to be completed. He would start running towards the bowler, passing very close to the batter. His sculpted arms swinging in celebration.Kohli would compete anywhere, anytime. If any opponent’s celebration went out of the ordinary, he would outdo them when the time was right. If someone sledged him, he would unleash his fury on them when they batted. When the drunk barrackers in Sydney tried to bully him, he flipped them the bird. When there were calls to drop him when the seniors were failing more than he was, he expressed his anguish at the injustice. When he failed against the seaming ball in England, he didn’t go into a shell; he became intent on meeting the ball even earlier. Even press conferences were a competition. Even when he was injured during the 2016-17 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, he kept on fighting from the viewing area. Even as recently as his last Test series, Kohli was beefing with a debutant.Perhaps nobody knows better than Kohli that batters have limited agency in Test cricket, but his competitiveness made him must-see at all times. Neither spectators nor the opposition could take their eye off him. Even when he was not at his best, Kohli’s wicket brought the biggest celebration from the opposition. Even with a glaring limitation during his last few years, just his presence meant they were in a fight. By being in this aroused, hyper-charged state all the time, Kohli brought the best out of both teams, and elevated the spectacle of Test cricket.It is ultimately a sport of runs and wickets, but Kohli’s presence went beyond. Anyone who watched him felt that energy. The crowds danced to his tune. They hung on to every gesture. He was their conductor, they his orchestra.Kohli lived every minute of the Test cricket he played•Getty ImagesIt was impossible not to be touched by Kohli’s energy. I have been inspired by it. From him I have learnt that it is not about the choice you make, it is about how honestly and committedly you follow through with it. That it can be crippling if you fret on choices, whose success or failure depends on circumstances you can’t accurately predict. That when you look back, you look back not at what you decided to do but how committed you were to doing the thing you chose to do.The relentless pursuit of 20 wickets that asked more of the batters, the insistence on a certain coach that turned the whole fraternity against him for a while, the challenging pitches at home that denied him an average of 50, the team selections – you could argue about their merit, but you could never question his commitment to any of his choices. He never second-guessed himself.Kohli didn’t court instant success. On his first Test tour, West Indies bounced him out, making him question if he belonged. There were holes in his game, but his sheer will and obsession fashioned a highly successful Test batter out of him. Even at his best, most of Kohli’s greatest hundreds came in defeats: twin tons in Adelaide in 2014 to Centurion, Edgbaston and Perth in 2018. He suffered many a heartbreak – from Adelaide 2014 to the two South Africa tours he captained in to the 2018 tour of England – but because he had this ultimate commitment to Test cricket he would bounce back every time and lead the team to more wins than any India captain did. Sachin Tendulkar is the only Indian cricketer with more Test wins than Kohli.Even in his last act as a Test cricketer, Kohli has reiterated the high regard he held Test cricket in. The selectors told him they were going to take him to England. Two relatively easy home series were to follow. He could have easily hung around and completed 10,000 runs. A farewell series at home to boot. His love for Test cricket, though, is purer than that. The moment he realised he was not able to rouse himself to give this format his best, he retired. Test cricket deserved nothing less than his best. It gave Kohli its best in return.May everyone find their equivalent of what Test cricket meant to Kohli.

Hoping to get one over on their rivals, Manchester United have now reportedly joined Arsenal in the race to sign Quinten Timber, whose contract is set to expire next summer.

Ruben Amorim’s midfield has been a topic of discussion ever since his arrival. The Portuguese manager revived Casemiro from a player destined to leave to an invaluable part of his side, but that has also come at a cost for Kobbie Mainoo. In an attempt to find balance, the academy graduate has struggled to get into the side.

As things stand, it looks like Casemiro and captain Bruno Fernandes will occupy the two deeper midfield roles in Amorim’s system when everyone is available for United. But there does lie one problem.

Casemiro is 33 years old and can’t go on forever, no matter how much his form has been revived. And with Manuel Ugarte still unable to find his feet at Old Trafford, Man United could do with a long-term solution.

Now worth more than Anderson: Man Utd star is the "nearest thing" to Zidane

Manchester United have hit the jackpot on a star who’s worth more than Elliot Anderson.

ByEthan Lamb Nov 14, 2025

Rumours centred around Carlos Baleba in the summer as the Red Devils attempted to do exactly that, before the midfielder stayed put at Brighton & Hove Albion, and it’s clearly something that INEOS are looking to address.

It seems as though the Brighton man remains a target, but he’s now not the only one on United’s shortlist. Atlético Madrid’s Conor Gallagher, another name on the shortlist, is now reportedly open to an Old Trafford switch, whilst INEOS could yet land an alternative bargain deal to end their problems once and for all.

Man Utd join Quinten Timber race

According to Caught Offside, Man United have now joined the race to sign Timber and could yet jump ahead of Arsenal in pursuit of his signature.

The Gunners already have Quinten’s twin brother, Jurrien, in their ranks but may be forced to watch on as the two siblings do battle rather than unite in the Premier League next year.

There’s little chance that those at Old Trafford will be priced out of a move for the 25-year-old, too, as was the case with Baleba in the summer. The Dutch midfielder is set to become a free agent at the end of his current Feyenoord deal in June — handing Arsenal and Man United the chance to land a bargain deal.

Dubbed “underrated” by U23 scout Antonio Mango last year, Timber is also attracting interest from Borussia Dortmund, who are leading the race for his signature. Both Man United and Arsenal must first fend off competition from the Bundesliga giants before doing battle themselves next summer.

Man Utd hold discussions to sign "unique" teen sensation ahead of Real Madrid

Spinner completes memorable match after first-innings hundred as visitors continue upturn in form

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay25-Jul-2025Lancashire 557 (Green1 60, Hartley 130, Hurst 106) and 110 for 1 (Jennings 57*) beat Gloucestershire 381 (Charlesworth 160, Phillips 64, Hartley 6-116) and 285 (Charlesworth 71, Phillips 56, Hartley 5-99) by nine wicketsMan-of-the-match Tom Hartley produced another career-best performance to propel Lancashire to a hard-earned nine-wicket victory over Gloucestershire at Cheltenham and keep alive their hopes of winning promotion back to Division One of the Rothesay County Championship.Having previously staged his highest score of 130 and taken 6 for 116 to put his team in control, the England slow left-armer claimed 5 for 99 on the final day of an entertaining match at the famous old College Ground as the red rose county made it two wins out of three in the red-ball format under the new leadership team of interim head coach Steve Croft and captain James Anderson.Made to follow on, Gloucestershire were dismissed for 285 in 98 overs in their second innings, Hartley finishing with match figures of 11 for 215 after Ben Charlesworth and Joe Phillips had scored 71 and 56 respectively for the home side. Chris Green weighed in with 2 for 62 as spin accounted for seven wickets on a surface offering some assistance.Set 110 to win in 26 overs, Lancashire chased down their target for the loss of Luke Wells with five overs to spare, courtesy of an authoritative unbroken second wicket partnership of 103 between Keaton Jennings and Josh Bohannon. Confronted by four spinners as Gloucestershire dispensed with seam, Jennings top-scored with a brisk 57 not out from 67 balls, while the equally forthright Bohannon faced 50 deliveries in raising an undefeated 45 as the visitors eased to victory in the final hour.Lancashire took 22 points to move into fourth place in Division Two, in the process leapfrogging Gloucestershire, who settled for five points after sustaining their third defeat of the season.Gloucestershire resumed their second innings on 98 without loss, still 78 in arrears and potentially vulnerable to a repeat of the collapse that undermined their first innings. It was incumbent upon openers Cameron Bancroft and Charlesworth to build upon their good start on a pitch that was offering some assistance to spin, but which was not expected to break up.If Gloucestershire’s minimum requirement was to bat two sessions, Lancashire were reading from an altogether different script, Anderson claiming the prized scalp of Bancroft in the opening over, the Australian edging to midwicket without adding to his overnight score of 35.Having seen off Anderson, Charlesworth was no doubt disappointed to then succumb to George Balderson in his first over from the Chapel Lawn End. Attempting a back-foot flick, Gloucestershire’s first-innings centurion found Marcus Harris at short midwicket and departed for 71 with the score 129 for 2. Guilty of poor shot selection, Ollie Price then pursued a wide delivery from Hartley that bounced off a length and edged to Luke Wells at slip, at which point Gloucestershire were 134 for 3, still 42 in arrears, having lost three wickets in the first hour.They came close to losing another in the next over, Miles Hammond standing his ground and being afforded the benefit of the doubt when Jennings claimed a catch at short square leg off the bowling of Hartley. The reprieve proved temporary, Green pinning Hammond lbw for 22 in the final over before lunch, which was taken with the score 168 for 4. Representing Gloucestershire’s best chance of saving the game, Phillips remained unbeaten on 35.He was joined by James Bracey and these two wiped out the remaining arrears early on in the afternoon session, Phillips going to a hard-earned 50 from 91 balls with his eighth four. But Lancashire continued to take wickets, Jack Blatherwick angling a short delivery into the body of Bracey, who was unable to get his bat out of the way and edged behind. His departure was a blow for Gloucestershire, who were in effect 21 for 5 with 57 overs left in the day.An even bigger blow befell the home side when Phillips’ vigil came to an end soon afterwards, the Cornishman held by the safe hands of Jennings at short leg off the bowling of the ubiquitous Hartley. Phillips had faced 110 balls, accrued eight fours and defied the red rose bowlers for three hours. Hartley then extracted additional spin to remove Graeme van Buuren, who stretched forward and was caught behind for 8 to leave the home side between a rock and a hard place at 210 for 7.Todd Murphy led a Gloucestershire counterattack, going for his shots, pushing the field back and sharing in a useful stand of 41 in eight overs with Zaman Akhter, who scored a breezy 20 before offering a return catch to Green as the home side slipped to 251 for 8. Ajeet Singh Dale survived a searching examination at the hands of Anderson and the new ball, he and Murphy digging in to reach tea on 268 for 8. Gloucestershire had a slender lead of 92 with a minimum 35 overs remaining.Lancashire’s go-to man, Hartley returned to bowl Murphy for a 56-ball 33 and complete the first 10-wicket match haul of his career as an enthralling contest entered its final session. He then accounted for last man Marchant de Lange, held at short square leg as Gloucestershire’s resistance with the bat finally came to an end in the early-evening sunshine.