Category Uncategorized

Allrounder admits he could miss depending on the make-up of Australia’s top six but is hopeful he can play a part in the Ashes if selected

Alex Malcolm28-Oct-2025

Beau Webster took a wicket on return•Getty Images

Allrounder Beau Webster agreed that he could be squeezed out of Australia’s XI for the first Ashes Test depending on the make-up of the batting line-up, but he feels that he can contribute in the series if given the opportunity.Webster’s role in the Australia side has been a topic of discussion despite being one of the most reliable performers over the past seven Test matches. Webster had played as the sole allrounder in the XI across all of those matches since replacing Mitchell Marsh in January.But Cameron Green’s return to bowling, after playing as a batter only at No. 3 in the last four Tests, as well as Marnus Labuschagne’s return to form and questions around the need to pick another specialist opener, have created uncertainty about the make-up of the top six for Perth.Related

Weatherald falls for 0, Webster claims a wicket on return

Marsh has a route to the Ashes; Khawaja backs Renshaw

What does Pat Cummins' absence mean for Australia?

Australia's top order: What are the selectors' options?

George Bailey, the chair of selectors, guaranteed Webster would be in the squad for the first Test, saying “everyone can relax.” But there is a way Webster could be squeezed out of the XI if the selectors opted to reinstate Labuschagne at No. 3, either retain Sam Konstas or pick another opener in his place to partner Usman Khawaja, and move Green back to No.6, given he is expected to be fit to bowl again despite a slight setback in his workload progression.Webster had missed the first two Sheffield Shield games of the summer due to an ankle injury, which only added to the speculation. Speaking after day one of his return for Tasmania against Victoria at Junction Oval, where he took 1 for 26 with the ball from 12 overs, Webster hoped that “I’ll be thereabouts”.”We’ve obviously got a potential hole around the top of the order there, and see who fills that,” Webster said. “If they see me as a pure middle-order [batter], then I’m probably going to get squeezed out. That is what it is. I hope I’m still in the conversation, certainly as a batter only, and if not, if it’s just the makeup of the team I’ll plug the way back in first-class cricket. There’s a there’s a lot of Test cricket coming up in the next two years. I hope I’ll be thereabouts.”Webster, 31, has done very little wrong in his first seven Tests. He has four half-centuries from 12 innings, averaging 34.63, which does not do him justice given the difficulty of the surfaces he has played on. He also has eight wickets at 23.25 with the ball, striking at 45.1, and has taken 12 catches in the field, where he has been a huge asset, especially in the slips cordon.Beau Webster has done little wrong since his Test debut•AFP/Getty Images

He said it was nice to hear Bailey guarantee his spot in the Perth squad, but he had not been given the same guarantee about being in the XI.”That depends who you ask,” Webster said. “I’d obviously love to be in the XI. I think I’ve got a lot to contribute there, and especially this Ashes series, I feel like I’m playing the best cricket of my life at the moment. So I certainly want to be there. Sometimes it’s the make-up of the team and the balance and the overs and who bats where. It feels like this series has probably got more questions over that than any before.”Webster admitted he felt some rust on return for Tasmania. He took the new ball to front end his overs having come into the game on a 16-over limit from Cricket Australia’s [CA] medical staff. He used 12 of those on day one in four spells. He picked up the wicket of former Test opener Marcus Harris with a delivery that pitched back of a length outside leg and nipped sharply across the left-hander to scratch the outside edge. Webster later took a sharp catch at slip but dropped one he would normally take.”If I could sum my day up today, a few no-balls and a drop catch at first slip, it probably felt like I was five or 10% off what I usually am,” Webster said. “I mean, that comes when you have probably three weeks of not playing. I felt like I was probably just slightly off it. But to get out there today and bowling 12 overs and get some more time in the slips is always beneficial.”Webster said the time off was helpful to freshen up mentally and also to do some strength work in the gym, having played nearly a full winter with Australia and Warwickshire in the county championship.”I think there’s some benefits, no doubt,” Webster said. “I think looking back, I did play a lot of cricket in England, and that’s by choice. I play my best cricket when I’m constantly playing. To have a three-week gap there, it was nice to get back in the gym and do some running and probably freshen the body up physically, ready to go for a big summer.”

Bangladesh failed to capitalise on a strong start provided by Tanzid

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Sep-20252:27

Jaffer: Bangladesh should have stuck to their previous XI

A wicketless powerplay at a shade under 10 an over allied with a Tanzid Hasan fifty gave Bangladesh the ideal platform, but Afghanistan’s death overs mastery restricted Bangladesh to 154 for 5 in Abu Dhabi.The spin twins of Noor Ahmad and Rashid Khan were exemplary once again, the pair sharing four wickets between them, while going for just 49 runs in their combined eight overs.Related

'Belief is key' – Mushtaq rallies Bangladesh

Why are Sri Lanka and Bangladesh so poor at T20I batting?

For AM Ghazanfar, the future is now

Their impact meant Bangladesh struggled to effectively utilise the platform afforded them by a strong opening stand worth 63. Saif Hassan, drafted in for this game struck 30 off 28 balls, but it was Tanzid who really propelled the early stages.Of his first 12 deliveries, half went to the boundary or cleared it. He brought up his seventh T20I fifty off just 28 deliveries. At the halfway stage of the innings, Bangladesh were well set on 87 for 1. But the middle overs proved to be their downfall as the Afghanistan spinners took control of proceedings.Four wickets were lost for 65 runs through the middle overs period, while just 30 runs were mustered at the death.

One Serie A star is believed to be strongly considering joining Chelsea as talks slow down over a new contract, according to one media source.

Sticking to the pitch, Enzo Maresca is looking to put that disappointing 2-2 draw against Qarabağ in Azerbaijan behind him, with Chelsea preparing for their second meeting against the Premier League bottom side in just 11 days.

Qarabağ 2-2 Chelsea – best players

Match Rating

Estevao

8.2

Alejandro Garnacho

7.5

Leandro Andrade

7.4

Matheus Silva

7.0

Marko Jankovic

7.0

via WhoScored

In late October, Chelsea came out the other side of a thrilling seven-goal thriller at Molineux with a 4-3 victory in the Carabao Cup, but Maresca will be hoping for a much more routine win this time round as he looks to kickstart a consistent run of form.

Managerless Wolves remain the only team in the league without a win, making Maresca’s side the overwhelming favourites, and the statistics paint a very grim picture for the visitors.

The Old Gold have picked up just two points in 10 top flight games this season from two draws and eight losses, and every single Premier League side in history with two or fewer points at this stage of the campaign has gone on to be relegated.

Chelsea, meanwhile, are likely to extend their unbeaten streak across all competitions to three games, with Joao Pedro looking to impress once again, having been involved in six goals in his last nine Premier League appearances. His next game will be his 100th in the competition, becoming the 31st Brazilian to reach that milestone.

However, while Chelsea are expected to pick up all three points against Wolves, there are still gaping holes in the team that Maresca needs to address.

Defensively, it is believed that Chelsea are prioritising the signing of a centre-back in January after Maresca appeared to demand one in the summer window, but they could also sign a new goalkeeper.

Robert Sanchez committed five errors leading to goals last season, more than any other Premier League shot stopper, and Chelsea attempted to bring in AC Milan star Mike Maignan as an alternative earlier this year.

The 30-year-old, who’s poised to leave Milan as a free agent in 2026, is still attracting serious interest from Stamford Bridge heading into the new year, and Chelsea could offer Maignan a pre-contract in January ahead of a Bosman move next summer.

Mike Maignan "quite firmly leaning" towards Chelsea move next year

According to journalist Marco Pasotto, speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Milan News), Maignan himself is pretty keen on the idea of joining Chelsea.

The Rossoneri had wanted to extend his deal, but those talks have apparently slowed down, opening the door for Maresca’s side to move for him.

Maignan is among the best goalkeepers in world football and France’s undisputed number one, captaining Les Bleus in their last game against Iceland, so signing him on a free would be one of the biggest transfer snips of next year.

Chelsea haggled over Maignan’s price in the summer and couldn’t reach an agreement before September deadline day, but with Milan soon to be out of the equation, the only worry for BlueCo is rival interest from abroad.

Liverpool keeper Alisson has branded him an “elite” shot stopper and one of world football’s finest too, so it could be deemed a no-brainer to at least attempt finally getting him over the line.

New Zealand 38 for 1 (Seifert 23*) vs England – match abandoned England claimed the spoils in their T20I series against New Zealand, after the third and final match at Auckland went the same way as the series opener in Christchurch – lost to the weather as steady early-season rain swept in to curtail the contest after just 3.4 overs.In the limited time available, Tim Seifert made the running for New Zealand with an enterprising knock of 23 not out from 11 balls. He launched his innings with two fours off Luke Wood in the three balls that were possible prior to the evening’s first hour-and-a-half-long delay. Then – after the match resumed as 14 overs a side – he struck two sixes off the extra pace of Brydon Carse, including an outrageous reverse-scoop over fine leg that was well caught in the crowd.Carse did hit back at the other end, removing Tim Robinson for 2 as Jacob Bethell clung on well to a top-edged pull at deep midwicket. Wood then bowled an effective over to the left-handed Rachin Ravindra, finding sharp late movement in the seam-friendly conditions. Ravindra got going with a pulled six off Carse, but moments after Seifert had landed the second of his sixes off the same bowler, the rain returned once more.Despite a planned resumption at 10pm local time – with the match further reduced to eight overs a side – the grim weather returned just as the players were preparing to take the field, and the match was abandoned soon afterwards.It completed an unsatisfactory early-season foray for New Zealand, whose curtain-raising series against Australia at the start of the month had similarly been affected by the weather. They had made the running in the series opener, limiting England’s hard-hitting line-up to 153 for 6 on a seaming wicket at Hagley Oval, but were blown away in the return fixture two days later, losing by 65 runs after England had smashed the ground record with their total of 236 for 4.England chose to bowl first having named an unchanged XI for this decider. Despite the grey weather and unusually short boundaries at Eden Park, they decided to trust the balance that had impressed in Christchurch, with Liam Dawson retained as a second spinner ahead of an extra seam option.New Zealand, meanwhile, made one change – Zak Foulkes coming in for Kyle Jamieson. But in the end, it was all academic, as attention now turns to the ODIs which get underway in Mount Maunganui on Sunday.”It’s very frustrating,” Brook said at the post-match presentation. “The weather hasn’t been ideal. But great for the boys to get some time out there.”It’s a great place to tour, we’ve had an amazing time so far. We’ve got the ODIs coming up and we’re looking forward to it. We’ve got a few big names coming back and hopefully we can keep that momentum in the next few weeks.”Mitchell Santner, New Zealand’s captain, rued his team’s missed opportunities, both with the weather and their own performances: “I guess this time of the year it (rain) is always a potential. It’s always nice to play England, no matter what time of the year you play.”The way we bowled in that first game [was good], especially on a Hagley wicket that did give us a little bit. The second game, we were put under a lot of pressure on a good wicket, so when we come across that again, we’ll have learnings from that.”

The third-highest all-out score (381) in the domestic competition’s history proved too much for the visitors in Brisbane

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff19-Sep-2025Matthew Wade’s powerful best and more Mitchell Owen fireworks have propelled Tasmania past Victoria in a One-Day Cup triumph that threatened the history books.Tasmania were all out for 381 at Brisbane’s Allan Border Field after No. 6 Wade (105) brought up a century off 65 balls and opener Owen made 53 off 21 and Beau Webster 81 off 95.The third-highest all-out score in the domestic competition’s history – only 17 short of South Australia’s benchmark 398 two years ago – proved too much for Victoria despite the late efforts of Sam Harper (88 off 51).Form batter Owen hit four sixes and five fours to post his half century in the fifth over before collecting 4 for 57 with his handy seamers. That included three wickets in one over, with Glenn Maxwell (0) the final scalp as he blazed away unsuccessfully two days after smashing a hundred of his own in a loss to Queensland.Wicketkeeper Harper was the last man out in the 41st over in a chase that never looked likely after Owen’s triple-strike.Earlier, Wade leaned back on anything short of a length to pepper the square boundaries and post a 10th List A hundred. The 37-year-old is retired from international cricket, doesn’t have a state contract and has been working with Australia as a consultant assistant coach over the past 12 months.Wade struck six sixes while Nikhil Chaudhary (67 off 49) provided the late fireworks as Mitch Perry (4-101) avoided conceding the most runs in a one-day cup innings by one run.NSW host South Australia in Sydney on Saturday before the Bulls host Western Australia on Sunday.

Barcelona have received a major lift in their season after UEFA approved their request to return to Camp Nou for the Champions League. The iconic stadium has been closed for major refurbishment since 2023, forcing the team to play at the Olympic Stadium in Montjuic. The original return target was late 2024, but construction delays pushed the schedule back several times.

• Camp Nou cleared for Champions League return

  UEFA granted the club special permission to switch venues mid-competition. The rules normally prevent stadium changes during the league phase, but the European governing body's good relationship with the Spanish club played a role as they accepted Barca’s request after reviewing the circumstances behind the ongoing renovation work.

  The approval means that the December 9 match against Eintracht Frankfurt will be played at Camp Nou. Notably, it will be the first Champions League game at the stadium 1,140 days after the 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich on October 26, 2022. The Catalan giants recently received a local council licence allowing them to host games with a capped capacity of 45,401. Their first match back will be this Saturday against Athletic Club. The second home fixture, against Alaves on November 29, will be inspected by UEFA officials on-site. Their report will finalise the approval process for the Frankfurt clash.

  Announcing that the game against Frankfurt will be played at the renovated stadium, the club wrote in a statement: "This decision comes after obtaining the first occupancy license for Phase 1B, which allows for an increased capacity and includes the entire Lateral area, adding to the already granted license for Phase 1A — covering the Main Stand and South Goal — and takes effect after UEFA accepted the request, considering that all necessary requirements have been met."

  The statement added: "FC Barcelona is pleased to be able to compete again at its stadium and to continue advancing in the comprehensive transformation project of the new Spotify Camp Nou.
  "

Advertisement

• AFP
  

  A timely boost for Laporta ahead of elections

  The timing of the return is also a boost for club president Joan Laporta, who is preparing to run again in the 2026 Barcelona presidential elections, scheduled between March and May. The reopening of Camp Nou is a key achievement for his administration and strengthens his narrative of steady progress at a crucial moment. He will be up against Victor Font, who now has public backing from former Barca coach Xavi Hernandez. 

  Last week, the new Camp Nou grabbed extra attention when Lionel Messi made an unexpected visit and posted photos of the rebuilt stadium on Instagram. His emotional post reignited talk of a possible reunion, but Laporta moved quickly to shut down the possiblity, calling the idea 'unrealistic.'

• Busy fixture list as renovations continue

  Barcelona are stepping into a busy period, and returning to Camp Nou comes at the right time. After facing Athletic this weekend, they will travel to Chelsea in the Champions League before coming back for consecutive La Liga matches against Alaves and Atletico Madrid. These home games will help ease the transition back to the stadium while construction continues around the stands. The rebuild is expected to finish in 2027, with the new Camp Nou set to hold 105,000 fans. For now, the club would be simply happy to be back on familiar ground, playing in front of a much larger crowd than what the Olympic Stadium could offer.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty Images Sport
  

  What's next for Barcelona?

  The next big checkpoint comes on November 29, when Barcelona host Alaves under UEFA inspection. If all operations run smoothly, nothing will stand in the way of the Champions League night returning on December 9 – the first European match at Camp Nou in more than three years. The Blaugrana sit three points behind Real Madrid in LaLiga after nine wins in 12 matches. Playing at Camp Nou again, even with limited capacity, is seen as a timely boost as the title race starts to heat up heading into winter.

Everyone seems to have a different opinion on international breaks. Any Scotland-supporting Glasgow Rangers fans may be loving them at this moment in time, after Scotland beat Denmark 4-2 to qualify for next year’s World Cup.

However, some supporters may not like the break from club football or may not be happy with watching their country play, for whatever reason that may be.

Another reason as to why someone, and possibly Danny Rohl, may not enjoy international breaks is that it means that Rangers stars can pick up injuries without playing for their club.

For example, the German head coach will currently be sweating over the availability of central defender John Souttar, after he was forced out of the starting line-up against Denmark during the warm-up.

The Scotland international picked up an unknown injury before kick-off, after initially being named in the starting line-up, and it remains to be seen whether or not he will be available this weekend.

On the same night, Derek Cornelius was forced off after just 30 minutes for Canada in their clash with Venezuela, with what is suspected to be a thigh injury, which makes him a doubt for the clash with Livingston at Ibrox in the Scottish Premiership.

Ranking Rangers centre-backs this season

Losing both Souttar and Cornelius would be a blow for Rohl ahead of Saturday’s match because they were the starting centre-back pairing in the 3-0 win over Dundee at Dens Park last time out.

The Canadian centre-back, who is on loan from Marseille, missing the match would be a significant blow because he has been in impressive form for the Gers this season, particularly since Rohl came through the door.

Cornelius has started all three of the new manager’s league matches and won 21 of his 32 duels, per Sofascore, in those matches, helping Rangers to keep two clean sheets and concede just one goal.

The Marseille loanee, with those dominant displays, has been the top-performing centre-back at the club this season, whilst Souttar has started all 11 of the club’s league matches, under Russell Martin, Stevie Smith, and Rohl, per Sofascore.

Ranking Rangers’ best centre-backs this season

Rank

Player

1

Derek Cornelius

2

John Souttar

3

James Tavernier

4

Emmanuel Fernandez

5

Nasser Djiga

6

Clinton Nsiala

As you can see in the table above, we have placed James Tavernier in third place because he has filled in at centre-back, most recently against Kilmarnock and Roma, and done a reliable job.

Emmanuel Fernandez has started two matches for Rangers since his move from Peterborough. He scored in his start against Alloa Athletic and won 12 of his 15 duels, per Sofascore, in his only Premiership start against St Mirren, which makes it hard to put him too high or too low, as he has impressed in limited game time.

Nasser Djiga, meanwhile, ranks below him in fifth because the Wolves loanee has played 17 times for Rangers this season and was recently described as “rotten” by Heart & Hand content creator David Edgar.

The Burkina Faso international has made several costly errors, including a red card against Dundee in August and an inexplicable mistake, letting his man race clear through on goal, against Club Brugge in the Champions League play-off tie.

Chalkboard

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

Expand Collapse

Finally, Clinton Nsiala has to rank sixth out of the six first-team centre-back options, including Tavernier, simply because he has not played a single minute of football for the Gers this season.

However, if Souttar and Cornelius are both unavailable for selection against Livingston on Saturday because of the injuries that they picked up on international duty, it could finally be time to unleash the left-footed star.

Why Rangers should finally unleash Clinton Nsiala

The former AC Milan centre-back was seemingly not in Russell Martin’s plans at Ibrox, as he did not feature in a single matchday squad, but Rohl has the chance to change that this weekend.

As aforementioned, Djiga has not had the best of starts to life at Ibrox, hence why Edgar dubbed him “rotten”, and his mistakes for the Gers suggest that another player should be given an opportunity to shine.

If Souttar and Cornelius are both unavailable, Fernandez could come in to replace the former as the right-sided centre-back, after his dominant display last time out in the Premiership against St Mirren earlier this season.

That would leave Rohl in need of replacing Cornelius against Livingston and Nsiala could be the ideal player to step in for the Canada international, as he is the only other left-footed senior centre-back option in the squad.

The 21-year-old centre-back played 11 times in the Premiership under Philippe Clement and Barry Ferguson in the 2024/25 campaign, and rarely let the Light Blues down with his performances.

Clinton Nsiala’s Premiership appearances for Rangers

Opposition

Result

Dundee

1-1 draw

St Johnstone

3-1 win

Aberdeen

3-0 win

Dundee United

3-1 win

Ross County

4-0 win

Hearts

3-1 win

St Mirren

2-0 loss

Kilmarnock

4-2 win

Celtic

3-2 win

Aberdeen

2-2 draw

St Mirren

2-2 draw

Per Transfermarkt

As you can see in the table above, the Scottish giants only lost one of those 11 matches in the division, which shows that he was far from a disaster in the senior team.

In fact, former teammate Ross McCausland admitted that he and some of the other players in the squad had described him as “a left-footed Van Dijk” when watching his performances on the pitch for the first-team.

Nsiala, though, has not been given a chance to build on that respectable start to his senior career with the Light Blues, as he has not played a single minute this season.

That is why Rohl should finally unleash the left-footed defender against Livingston if Cornelius is unavailable for selection, as he is a left-footed defender who has proven that he can perform in the Premiership.

Related Thelwell let Rangers star go for £0, now he'd walk into the XI over Aasgaard

This former Rangers star who was released by Kevin Thelwell would walk into the current team over Thelo Aasgaard.

Posts ByDan Emery Nov 18, 2025

The 21-year-old, given these new injury blows and Djiga’s disappointing form, deserves an opportunity to show that he can play a role for Rohl moving forward, starting with the game on Saturday.

Como boss Cesc Fabregas highlighted the extreme intensity of Antonio Conte’s training sessions, saying they often left him close to fainting. The former Barcelona and Arsenal midfielder played under Conte at Chelsea during the Italian’s spell at Stamford Bridge between 2016 and 2018. Despite the demanding workload, Fabregas described Conte as a great coach.

• When Conte managed Fabregas at Chelsea

  Fabregas joined Chelsea in 2014 when Jose Mourinho brought him back to the Premier League. Two years later, Conte arrived as head coach and began with a 4-2-3-1 system. But after a run of poor results, including the 3-0 loss to Arsenal at the Emirates, Conte switched to a 3-4-3 formation that completely changed Chelsea’s season. In this setup, Fabregas often found himself behind the preferred midfield pairing of Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante, regularly coming on as an impact substitute.

  Even without being a consistent starter, he remained hugely influential, using his exceptional passing and creativity to break down defences at crucial moments. Under Conte, Fabregas made 86 appearances in all competitions, scoring 10 goals and delivering 23 assists. His contributions were key in Chelsea’s success, including the 2016–17 Premier League title and an FA Cup win, marking a strong and memorable phase in his Stamford Bridge career.

Advertisement

• Getty
  

  Conte's intense training sessions

  Conte’s training sessions were famously brutal, to the point that Chelsea’s then captain John Terry once approached him to reduce their intensity. Although the Italian coach eventually agreed, he later revealed that his former teammates Alessandro Del Piero and Zinedine Zidane had trained much harder than the Chelsea side that won the 2016–17 Premier League title.

  In an interview to , Fabregas praised Conte as a great coach but recalled just how demanding his methods were, saying: “He's great. I really like him. But his training sessions at Chelsea are exhausting.”

  The intensity of those sessions even left Fabregas close to fainting, as he explained: “At the end of the session, I had to lean on a teammate because I was fainting from exhaustion.”

• Fabregas and Conte's career trajectory

  After departing Chelsea, Fabregas continued his playing career with spells at Monaco and later Como, where he eventually transitioned into management in 2023. Despite being a young coach, he quickly impressed with his clarity of ideas and strong tactical organisation. In his first full season in charge, Fabregas guided Como to a solid 10th-place finish in the 2024-25 Serie A campaign, laying the foundations for a more ambitious project. This season, Como have taken a significant step forward, earning eye-catching results such as a 2-0 victory over Juventus and a hard-fought 0-0 draw against defending champions Napoli. These performances have pushed them to seventh in the table, only four points behind fourth-placed Napoli, keeping their hopes of European qualification very much alive.

  Conte, on the other hand, has carved out a distinct managerial journey since leaving Chelsea. He took charge of Inter in 2019, guiding them to a Europa League final in his first season and winning the Scudetto in 2020-21, ending Juventus’ long domestic dominance. In 2024, Conte accepted the challenge at Napoli and immediately delivered their fourth Serie A title, the club’s second in three years. However, this season has been far more complicated. Napoli have struggled for attacking fluency, suffering two defeats in their last five league games and failing to score in three straight matches across all competitions. These issues have placed scrutiny on Conte, who has acknowledged the need for serious discussions with club officials to address the team’s trajectory and avoid repeating the dramatic collapse of the 2023-24 season, when Napoli finished 10th just a year after winning the Scudetto.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty Images
  

  Can Conte turn around napoli's fortunes ?

  With Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis publicly backing Conte and dismissing rumours about his resignation, Conte’s future at the club appears secure. During the international break, Conte would have taken time to assess the situation at Napoli, especially as he faces the difficult task of turning their season around without Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne.

  Meanwhile, Como and Fabregas will use the international break to work on new strategies to maximise the output of key players like Nico Paz, whose praises Fabregas sang this week. With the right adjustments, Como will hope to push for a top four finish.

Foot fracture may delay first-class debut, but Smeed targets trophies after club’s triple near-miss last year

Valkerie Baynes29-Mar-2025Will Smeed’s plans for a first-class debut – three years after his retirement from red-ball cricket – have taken a minor stumble, but that has done nothing to deter him from targeting a major role in Somerset’s Championship campaign this year.A foot fracture suffered in South Africa, where he played four games for Pretoria Capitals in the SA20 at the start of the year, could rule him out of the first match of the Division One season, home to Worcestershire from Friday.”I got it scanned when I got back and I’m just trying to make sure it heals properly before we up the workloads,” Smeed told ESPNcricinfo during Somerset’s pre-season media day. “I should be back playing in no time. I might miss the first week, but it should be fine.”It feels fine. I managed to play on it in South Africa so it’s a case of it would be fine to play on, but they just want to make sure I don’t do any proper damage though.”Related

Archie Vaughan: Famous offspring happy to be 'own man' at Somerset

Will Smeed signs groundbreaking white-ball deal with Somerset

Will Smeed signs new deal to play red-ball cricket for Somerset

Those workloads are indeed set to increase after it was revealed earlier this month that Smeed had backflipped on his fledgling career move to become a white-ball specialist.Smeed announced in 2022 that he would play only white-ball cricket as franchise opportunities beckoned, a move considered groundbreaking given that he had just turned 21 at the time. But after a hamstring injury ruled him out of last year’s Hundred, he found himself playing for Somerset in the Second XI County Championship and enjoyed it which, along with opening the door to more cricket, made a reversal “a bit of a no-brainer”.An explosive batter, who became the first player to score a century in the Hundred three years ago, Smeed doesn’t want to smother that part of his game too much when he finally makes his first-class debut. So far, he has played 105 T20s and just one List A game.Smeed is set for a first-class debut this summer•Getty Images”I definitely think keeping [aggression] as part of your game, but you probably have to be a bit smarter with how you use it and when you use it and obviously then tightening up my defence and things like that,” Smeed said. “A lot of red-ball cricket is about adapting to the ebbs and flows, figuring out when to put your foot down, when to hold back and soak up a bit of pressure. So there needs to be a big learning experience this year, but I’m really looking forward to it.”From a mindset, I’m just more keen to score runs now. I’m just desperate to spend time in the middle and I think that’s why the games at the end of last summer went okay. I think I just put more value on my wicket. I’m still figuring out my game in white-ball stuff, so that’ll be even more prevalent in the red-ball stuff. There might be a technical tweak here or there, but I think a lot of it’s just going to be the way I approach it and the mindset and the options I take and figuring out what works for me.”Somerset came close to a trophy in all three competitions in 2024, but ended up with none. Their loss to Lancashire in the penultimate round of the Championship ensured Surrey finished top of Division One and then Hampshire won their final-round game to seal second place, leaving Somerset in third.On Blast Finals Day, Somerset beat Surrey in the semi-finals but then lost to Gloucestershire in the final, with Smeed scoring a duck and 8 in those games respectively. Somerset also lost the final of the One-Day Cup to Glamorgan.Smeed was the first batter to make a hundred in the Hundred•ECB/Getty ImagesNow, Smeed says his main aim is to win trophies with Somerset, with their 2023 Blast title “still the highlight of my career”, while scoring plenty of runs, with four-day cricket offering ample opportunity for that.”It means I’m here all summer,” Smeed said. “That was a big thing I made clear to Somerset, that I wanted to commit to the whole summer here and I wasn’t going to flip off somewhere if the opportunity came about. I’m here now and it means I can just get stuck into the English summer and really get my head down and try and win some games for Somerset.”The last couple of years with my contract, I’ve been able to take anything that came my way, whereas now, having just fully committed to the summer with Somerset takes that distraction away I guess – or it’s one more decision that I don’t have to make should something come up.”It’s just going to be I’m here with Somerset and that’s me for the summer. Then in the winter hopefully there’s opportunities to go away again and play some stuff overseas.”And if the Blast doesn’t fully satisfy those white-ball urges, there is always the Hundred window in August, when Smeed will return to Birmingham Phoenix, who are still searching for their first title.Having gone all-or-nothing down one career path, perhaps now Smeed really can have it all.

A left-arm quick, a six hitter who can bat in the top order, and a couple of mystery spinners are all part of our list

Deivarayan Muthu12-Aug-2025The 13th season of the CPL, which will kick off on August 14, will feature a number of T20 stars from the Caribbean as well as from other parts of the world. Here are five CPL rookies who could make a mark in the upcoming season.Jediah Blades (Guyana Amazon Warriors)Jediah Blades made his T20I debut recently•Randy Brooks/AFP via Getty ImagesHaving moved on from the likes of Sheldon Cottrell and Obed McCoy, West Indies are trialling Jediah Blades in the left-arm seamer’s role ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup. Even before he had played in the CPL, Blades, now 23, was fast-tracked into the West Indies side after impressing with the new ball for Guyana Rainforest Rangers in the inaugural West Indies breakout league, a tournament that was held earlier this year to identify emerging talent in the region.After conceding 40 runs in three overs on T20I debut against Australia, Blades bounced back in his second match, trapping Mitchell Marsh lbw with a sharp inswinger with the new ball before dismissing Mitchell Owen and Cooper Connolly with the older one. A good CPL season could potentially put Blades in T20 World Cup contention.Kofi James (Barbados Royals)Kofi James isn’t really a rookie – he is 27 and has played 12 CPL games so far – but hasn’t fulfilled his potential yet. Could this be James’ season?He showed attacking enterprise at the top for Leeward Islands Thunder in the breakout league, finishing on top of the runs charts (240 at a strike rate of nearly 158) and on top of the sixes chart with 16. With both Rahkeem Cornwall and Alick Athanaze moving out of Barbados Royals, James could be combined with Quinton de Kock and Brandon King in a new-look top order. James also bowls offspin and can be matched up against left-hand batters.Usman Tariq (Trinbago Knight Riders)Usman Tariq has played two seasons of PSL•PCBThe Knight Riders franchise has always been big on mystery spinners across leagues and for this CPL season, they have recruited Usman Tariq, who has had success with Quetta Gladiators in the PSL.Tariq, who is predominantly an offspinner, comes to a near-complete halt as he approaches his delivery stride before firing darts with a slinging, side-arm action. He often slings it in from wide of the crease, making it even more difficult for batters to pick him.The 27-year-old has played ten games in the PSL, taking 12 wickets at an economy rate of 7.64, and the upcoming CPL will be his first stint in a franchise T20 league outside Pakistan.AM Ghazanfar (Antigua & Barbuda Falcons)Afghanistan teenager AM Ghazanfar is another mystery spinner who is set for his maiden CPL stint. He impressed Mumbai Indians with his variations during a trial in the UAE and had them forking out INR 4.80 crore (US$ 570,000 approx.) for him during the IPL 2025 auction.Though Ghazanfar missed the IPL with injury, he reminded the world of his mystery in the T20 Blast for Derbyshire, where he took 16 wickets in 14 games at an economy rate of 7.05. It included a mesmerising spell of 4-2-5-2 against Yorkshire at Headingley. Ghazanfar could be just as deadly and unhittable on the spin-friendly surfaces in the Caribbean.However, he might miss the second half of the CPL if he gets picked in Afghanistan’s squad for the Asia Cup starting September 9 in the UAE.Bevon Jacobs (Antigua & Barbuda Falcons)Bevon Jacobs has a T20 strike rate of 147.31•BCCIBevon Jacobs is another emerging T20 star who is part of Mumbai Indians in the IPL and MI Emirates in the ILT20 in the UAE. He is now poised to make his CPL debut for Antigua & Barbuda Falcons along with Ghazanfar.At over six feet tall, the New Zealand power-hitter has the height and reach to mess with the lengths of bowlers. He has always been good against pace, and this CPL will be a test of his skills against spin on potentially slow surfaces.New Zealand currently have a settled middle order in T20Is, but success against spin in the Caribbean could prompt the team management to include him as a wildcard for next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.