Attempting to shake off any disappointment from their 2-2 draw against Leicester City last time out, Nottingham Forest are now reportedly plotting a summer swoop to sign a rising star.

Nottingham Forest's UCL frustration

At one stage, it looked as though Nottingham Forest were destined to finish as high as third in the Premier League. Now, ahead of the final two games, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side face the prospect of missing out on Champions League qualification and a place in the top five, with their fate out of their hands. Those at the City Ground will still have hope, but the reality is that Chelsea and Aston Villa must now slip up.

Premier League’s UCL race	Points	Goal Difference
Liverpool (Champions)	83	46
Arsenal	68	33
Newcastle United	66	23
Manchester City	65	24
Chelsea	63	19
Aston Villa	63	7
Nottingham Forest	52	12

On a day which saw Nottingham Forest secure Europa League qualification, there was a feeling of disappointment rather than celebration around the City Ground, with fans now desperate to reach the Champions League.

Espirito Santo spoke about the frustration of two points dropped against a relegated Leicester side, telling reporters: “Of course, it was a day that we put a lot of energy in to achieve the win. It’s frustrating when you don’t do it. It was our game to get.

Nottingham Forest now "ready" to make move for "talented" £17m Milan star

He has won 10 caps for England and played at the World Cup.

By
Henry Jackson

May 12, 2025

“Easy to say, we need to be solid especially when we were controlling the game and being dominant. The goal was avoidable, we should have done much better. That’s the frustration we have.

“No matter what happened to Leicester, they have quality players and showed that today to make it hard to beat them. Honestly, I think we should have won this game today. It’s a bad day today.”

With or without Champions League qualification, however, it looks as though Evangelos Marinakis is set to back Nottingham Forest in the summer transfer market yet again.

Nottingham Forest plotting Bischoff move

According to The Boot Room, Nottingham Forest are now plotting a summer swoop to sign Clement Bischoff after Marinakis sent Reds scouts to watch the Brondby winger in action. Taking full advantage after Brighton & Hove Albion failed to agree terms with the 19-year-old following a £6m agreement with Brondby, Forest could land a future star.

Those in the Midlands aren’t the only side interested, though. Alongside Forest, Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have also reportedly watched Bischoff in Denmark since March to potentially spark a hectic Premier League race for his signature.

Earning plenty of praise from U23 scout Antonio Mango, who described the teenager as “explosive” and “flamboyant”, Bischoff is certainly one to watch ahead of the summer transfer window. All signs point towards a future star that Forest will not want to miss out on.

Huge lead with two days remaining, as Derbyshire face prospect of saving innings defeat

ECB Reporters Network01-Jul-2024James Wharton and Jonny Tattersall shared a record-breaking stand before rain frustrated Yorkshire on the second day of the Vitality County Championship match against Derbyshire at Chesterfield.The pair shared a partnership of 241, Yorkshire’s highest for the sixth wicket against Derbyshire, as the visitors moved to 416 for 6 when play was abandoned shortly before 4.30pmWharton faced 241 balls for his career-best 188 which contained 23 fours and six sixes with Tattersall 93 not out off 151 balls to give Yorkshire a lead of 340.Yorkshire had been unrelenting with the ball on day one and there was no respite for Derbyshire as Wharton and Tattersall batted through a rain-shortened first session.With Derbyshire bowling spin from both ends to improve their over-rate, they did much as they pleased to eclipse a record which had stood for more than a hundred years.Wharton twice dispatched the leg spin of Mitch Wagstaff for six and after surviving a difficult chance to deep cover on 147, he reached 150 off 180 balls, 104 of them coming in boundaries.Tattersall’s contribution was not as eye-catching but was just as valuable in putting Yorkshire into a near impregnable position and the pair eased past the county’s previous highest sixth wicket stand against Derbyshire of 178 set by Emmott Robinson and Cecil Burton in 1921.Derbyshire eventually claimed a second new ball after 89 overs and after Wharton drove Daryn Dupavillon through the covers to bring up the 400, rain brought another prosperous session for the visitors to a close.When play resumed after lunch, Dupavillon finally broke through by having Wharton caught at second slip for the 12th highest individual score against Derbyshire in Yorkshire’s history.He departed to a standing ovation and warm congratulations from the Derbyshire fielders who recognised how well he had played in far from straight-forward conditions.Jordan Thompson announced his intentions by hitting two fours before more rain stopped play with Tattersall seven short of a century.and that proved to be the final action on a day when only 35.1 overs were bowled.

With another accomplished performance with bat and ball, he may have leapt above Jadeja, Vijay Shankar and Washington Sundar in the T20I pecking order

Sruthi Ravindranath05-Aug-20191:38

Quite happy with the way I’ve bowled – Krunal Pandya

Keemo Paul is running in to bowl the first ball of the 20th over. He bowls a full toss, which Krunal Pandya flicks over deep square-leg for a six. The next ball, he stays deep in his crease and lofts a full delivery straight over the long-off boundary.Those, and another six that Ravindra Jadeja, his partner for the sixth wicket, launched a couple of balls later turned out to be match-defining hits. And following this cameo, Krunal starred with the ball as well, and bagged the match award in India’s DLS win.In November last year, India were in trouble while chasing a modest 110 against West Indies at Eden Gardens, and out came Krunal, on debut. India were 83 for 5 after 15 overs, and with 27 more to get, he took a couple of balls to settle in, and took charge of the chase almost all by himself, winning the match with more than two overs to spare with a nine-ball 21. Earlier in the match, his frugal spell of 1 for 15 in four overs had kept West Indies in check. It was a memorable international debut.In Lauderhill on Sunday, Krunal’s consecutive sixes off Paul came when the pitch had slowed down considerably during the second half of India’s innings. He finished with a 13-ball 20, having come in at No. 6 after India’s middle order had failed for a second successive match, and day.Krunal has been a consistent contributor for India in T20Is. Of course, there has been the odd blip – for instance, when he gave away 55 runs in his fourth match, in Brisbane last year, just weeks after his debut. But he bounced back just four days later in Sydney, when he picked up the best T20I figures for a spinner in Australia.Krunal made his IPL debut in 2016, and his career-defining moment came in the 2017 final, when he established himself as a valuable middle-order contributor with a 38-ball 47, which helped Mumbai Indians recover from 78 for 6 and win a low-scoring game. As a lower-order hitter, partnership-breaker and a reliable wicket-taker, he has been indispensable for Mumbai. At IPL level at least, he is no longer just the lesser-known Pandya brother.It does not stop there either. Just before the T20Is in Lauderhill, he impressed against the West Indies A team, picking up seven wickets in three games, including a five-for, and scoring a 56-ball 45 in the second unofficial ODI. He bats up the order – usually at No. 3 – for Baroda in domestic one-dayers, averaging 39.22 at the position.Krunal Pandya’s twin strikes derailed West Indies•AFPWhich is why, on being asked how he is enjoying his role with the bat, Krunal said that it wasn’t new to him.”I guess that role I’ve been doing for my team in IPL as well,” Krunal told the host broadcaster after the match. “I’ve been playing domestic cricket and, for India A, I guess that’s my role and when you bat at No. 6 and 7 sometimes you click sometimes you don’t. But it’s important to be in a good frame of mind and work on your game.”So I guess today I was lucky to go there and hit two good shots, I was happy with the way I bowled, especially, because it helps when you score some runs. You carry some confidence to your bowling, so it goes together.”On the two-paced pitch, Krunal kept Rovman Powell and Nicolas Pooran in check just when they had begun building a promising stand in a chase of 168, and snared both of them in the same over.”This was our second game [at this ground] so I knew the pace of the wicket well,” Krunal said. “I was trying to bowl outside off stump to left-handers because the wicket was double-paced. Some were sticking and some were skidding, so I thought I’d make sure I won’t bowl in the arc and just bowl outside off stump and that worked.”India’s long-standing middle-order issues are now creeping into the T20I side as well, with Rishabh Pant not cashing in on his chances yet in the absence of MS Dhoni. With the T20 World Cup just over a year away, India’s main focus would be to hunt for the perfect middle-order fits, one of whom is a second allrounder alongside Hardik Pandya.At the moment, it seems like Krunal’s closest competitors are Washington Sundar, Jadeja and Vijay Shankar. The injury-hit Vijay might get more opportunities when he is back to full fitness, while Jadeja’s return to the T20 side hasn’t been noteworthy so far. Washington, meanwhile, is yet to prove himself with the bat for India. At the moment, with the kind of performances Krunal has been putting up for all his teams, and his regular inclusion in the India side, it seems like the second allrounder’s role is his for the taking.

MatériaMais Notícias

da casino： O Palmeiras recebeu com indignação a punição do STJD a João Martins. Na segunda-feira (7), o auxiliar de Abel Ferreira foi suspenso por três jogos por conta de sua declaração sobre o “sistema”. Segundo apuração do Lance!, o clube, que vai recorrer da decisão, entende que houve um exagero na decisão e uma diferenciação em julgamentos semelhantes.

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da bwin： + Veja tabela e classificação do Brasileirão-2023 clicando aqui

No entendimento palmeirense, o Tribunal julgou Felipão pelo mesmo motivo e puniu o treinador do Atlético-MG com dois jogos, um a menos do que Martins. O fato gerou indignação na cúpula alviverde, que espera maior isonomia do órgão para essas questões.

Outra situação que gerou indignação do Palmeiras com o julgamento foi a postura de Rafael Carneiro Machado, procurador do STJD, que apontou comportamento xenofóbico de João Martins na declaração sobre o sistema após o duelo com o Athletico-PR, pelo Brasileirão. O clube acredita que houve certo preconceito do procurador em relação a esse tema. O que reforçaria o sentimento de perseguição aos portugueses.

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Tal declaração do auxiliar português gerou uma nota oficial da CBF o acusando de xenofobia, que foi imediatamente rebatida pelo Palmeiras. João acabou sendo denunciado no artigo 243-F do Código Brasileiro de Justiça Desportiva (CBJD), por “ofender alguém em sua honra, por fato relacionado diretamente ao desporto”.

+ João Martins recebe punição do STJD por fala sobre o ‘sistema’ e vai desfalcar o Palmeiras

Apesar de ter se defendido em vídeo na sessão e dito que não questionou a lisura da competição, João Martins acabou punido com três partidas por não ser réu primário. A pena, segundo o CBJD, vai de um a seis jogos.

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O auxiliar de Abel Ferreira ainda pode ter uma outra complicação nas próximas semanas, uma vez que diante do Fluminense, no sábado (5), ele foi expulso por reclamação e, ao sair do campo, disse a seguinte frase para a câmera da transmissão “Hoje está condicionado”.

+ Palmeiras fecha balanço do primeiro semestre com déficit de mais de R$ 2 milhões

Com isso, oportuguês pode ser enquadrado artigo 258 do Código Brasileiro de Justiça Desportiva (CBJD), que fala sobre “assumir qualquer conduta contrária à disciplina ou à ética desportiva não tipificada pelas demais regras deste Código à atitude antidesportiva”. A punição prevista para os condenados pelo código em questão é um a seis jogos de suspensão.

At 37, in his first full Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) season, R Ashwin is expanding his range as a batter. He has always been good at finding boundaries down the ground, a skill that Rajasthan Royals leverage when they send him up the order in the IPL in order to provide their finishers a more suitable point of entry. But at this year’s TNPL, Ashwin has been working on playing boundary shots square of the wicket, and it’s paying off.In the Qualifier 2, against Idream Tiruppur Tamizhans at Chepauk on Friday, Ashwin dismantled left-arm fingerspinners R Sai Kishore and S Ajith Ram with a number of reverse sweeps. He was particularly severe on Sai Kishore, scoring 28 off nine balls at a strike rate of over 300. In all, Ashwin has 200 runs in eight innings in this TNPL at a strike rate of 166.66, with five of those innings coming right at the top or No. 3 for Dindigul Dragons.”Look, everything is work in progress, right?,” he said on the eve of the TNPL final against Shahrukh Khan’s Lyca Kovai Kings in Chennai. “You can even ask Shahrukh Khan about it. How does he do power-hitting… how do you hit the ball through the off side and leg side? It’s all about repetitions, and understanding angles and triggers.”Obviously, in the last IPL, I felt like I needed to widen my game and widen my horizons square of the wicket because I know I can hit the ball down the ground, and I can use my feet. Do I want to explore other options is something I had to ask myself. So if I can ask that question and if I can find an answer, it gives me a new avenue to explore and keep myself interested in the game.”Dindigul’s rookie left-arm fingerspinner P Vignesh had missed the Under-19 World Cup cut for India earlier this year but has been particularly impressive with his accuracy and control in this TNPL. In Qualifier 2 against Tiruppur, he came away with figures of 3 for 8 and the Player-of-the-Match award. Like Vignesh, Tiruppur’s offspin-bowling allrounder Mohamed Ali was excluded from India’s Under-19 World Cup squad but has made a mark in the TNPL. Ashwin has urged the next generation of cricketers to embrace setbacks and keep upgrading their skills.”Look, firstly I think missing the Under-19 cut is not the end of the world. Looking at how fragile our next generation can be, I really urge people to look at this game as a part of life,” Ashwin said. “Failure and success is very, very normal, and people become better only through failures. So I know P Vignesh, he has been coming to the Indian team nets, and I think he has improved every day. And this sort of a tournament gives these guys opportunity to be able to express and expand their game. I really hope that they’re ready to expand it constantly, and find answers to the questions that are going to be asked.”Lyca Kovai Kings captain Shahrukh Khan with the TNPL trophy•TNPL/TNCA

Shahrukh: GT helped improve my game against spin

Shahrukh has often struggled against spin, especially at the start of his innings, but he has been working on a technical tweak – a trigger movement where he pushes his weight forward – and he believes this will help him be a more rounded batter.”When I was with the Gujarat Titans, we had a camp for about a couple of months there, so I started working a lot on my spin game because they wanted me to bat up the order,” Shahrukh said. “And when you bat up the order, obviously for a batter like me having my concerns against spin bowling, especially, opponent teams would bring in spin when I come out to bat.”So their role was to help me improve my spin game, and it really helped. The front press I’m doing [in the TNPL] is quite obvious now, and it has helped me to score off the front foot and off the back foot as well.”While Shahrukh’s overall strike rate against pace in the IPL is 161.11, it falls sharply to 112 against spin. But in IPL 2024, he managed to lift his strike rate against spin to 168.75 while maintaining a similarly high strike rate against pace. And when Kovai met Dindigul in the league phase in Tirunelveli, Shahrukh took on mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy and left-arm spinner Vignesh on his way to an unbeaten 51 off 25 balls.Having lost that game to Dindigul, Shahrukh has called his team to put together their “best cricket” in their quest for a three-peat in the TNPL.”I really don’t know [about the law of averages]. We’re taking it as just another game,” Shahrukh said. “The law of averages and the hat-trick [of titles]… all these things on social media are there, but we aren’t focusing on that. Out of the eight games we’ve played, only in two games we’ve stepped up to the expectations we have as a unit.”I hope even in this game we try and bring it out. As far as I’m concerned, we still haven’t played our best cricket this year, and we will try and do that.”

A £2.5m Rangers player has agreed terms with a new club to leave Ibrox as he doesn’t feature in Russell Martin’s plans.

Rangers announce Martin as new manager

The Gers finally brought their long-running search for a new permanent manager to an end on Thursday, with Martin unveiled to the media as Philippe Clement’s successor.

Martin, who had a brief spell on loan at Rangers during his playing days back in 2018, has signed a three-year deal in Glasgow and is confident he can silence the critics.

Looking to win just Rangers’ second Scottish Premiership title in 15 years in 2025/26, Martin has plenty of work to do in a short space of time, with the Gers’ first Champions League qualifier scheduled for July 22/23.

With the transfer window now temporarily open, Rangers will be looking to make their mark in the window, having recently been linked with a move to sign South American midfielder Vicente Pizarro as the first signing of the Martin era.

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However, there could also be a number of Ibrox departures ahead of the new season, and an update has emerged on Robin Propper amid claims he is looking to leave the club.

Propper agrees three-year deal to leave Rangers for FC Twente return

According to reports in the Netherlands, relayed by Sport Witness, Propper, who joined Rangers last summer from FC Twente, could be about to make his return to the Eredivisie side.

The Gers paid £2.5m to sign Propper, however, they are now ready to sell the centre-back for half of that figure, with the player himself already agreeing a three-year deal to return to Twente.

An agreement between Twente and Rangers is expected to be finalised quickly, with Propper not in Martin’s Ibrox plans.

Games

40

Goals

2

Yellow cards

9

Red cards

1

Tackles per game

1.4

Clearances per game

3.9

As can be seen, Propper featured regularly under Clement and interim boss Barry Ferguson, but his days in Scotland look numbered.

A move will be one to keep an eye on, especially as the transfer window is set to shut on June 10 and re-open again on June 16.

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has offered the Red Devils some transfer advice and has one key target in mind.

Man Utd linked with more signingsTipped to bring in a striker or midfielderFerdinand reveals his top choice for the Red DevilsFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Manchester United have brought in Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Diego Leon in the summer transfer window but continue to be linked with other targets. Amorim's side are one of several clubs believed to be interested in Benjamin Sesko, while Valencia midfielder Javi Guerra has also been linked with a move to Old Trafford.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Financial issues means that the Red Devils may not go for a striker this summer and could rely instead on Rasmus Hojlund to lead the lead. Ferdinand feels that if his former club can only sign one more player this summer, then they should go all out for 21-year-old Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba.

WHAT FERDINAND SAID

He said on his YouTube channel: "I think you've got to look at the here and now at the moment with Man United. That's what I said about a No 9. I'm not really doubting [Sesko] as a player. I'm saying Man United need experience at the top of the pitch. They've got Hojlund, they've got Zirkzee, they've got Chido. Young, inexperienced players. They need someone to look at and go, "That's how you play as a No 9. That's how you do it. When you're going to buy somebody who hasn't got as much experience as I'd like, I think that's another risk. Is it worth taking with inexperienced players at this level?"

"If I don't get a striker, I'd go midfield. There's only one name I'm thinking about, I've got to be honest, who I think fits the bill for what we need. An Amorim-type player as well. Physically great, can drive with the ball, can take it in all areas, very good tactically, great energy, great legs, Premier League experience, centre midfield. (Carlos) Baleba. That's who I go and get. That's my man. That's the one I go and get. I go and break the bank.

"So if I got the money for the four players that are surplus to requirements now, would I get a No 9 or would I get Baleba? Would I get a No 9 I'm not sure about, who's a bit young, inexperienced, or would I get Baleba with Premier League experience and know what he can do here? I'm going Baleba, sorry. I'm going to go with Baleba. I think he'll have a huge impact on this squad, on this team. You free up a few people in that midfield area as well to have a little less responsibility defensively because I think he's all-action. He can do it all."

Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR MAN UTD?

Manchester United fans will have to wait and see if any more players arrive at Old Trafford in time for the new campaign. In the meantime, the Red Devils are currently in the United States and preparing for a friendly clash against West Ham.

da dobrowin： Glasgow Rangers head coach Russell Martin is set to bring a new style of play to Ibrox when his team takes to the field for the start of the 2025/26 campaign.

da apostebet： The former Scotland international plays a ball-dominant style that will see the Gers look to dominate possession and break teams down next term.

In order to build a squad that is suited to the way that the former Southampton manager wants to play, though, there will be players who have to move on in order to make way for new recruits.

One player who looks set to be on his way out of Ibrox is centre-back Robin Propper, as it was recently reported in his home country that he has agreed a deal to return to FC Twente on a three-year contract.

The Rangers Review also recently claimed that the Dutch giant is ‘expected’ to leave the club, amid interest in Leicester City central defender Conor Coady, who could come in as his replacement.

Why selling Robin Propper is a good move by Rangers

This proposed move back to FC Twente is a good move by Rangers and a good move for the defender because he did not settle in well at Ibrox on the pitch.

Propper did not do enough in his performances to show that he was ready for the physicality of the Scottish Premiership, which was a clear problem early on in his career in Glasgow.

In December 2024, the centre-back lost 100% (2/2) of his duels and was substituted at half-time against St. Johnstone, which led to him being criticised by former Gers midfielder Derek Ferguson.

The BBC Sportsound pundit said: “Propper is struggling. He’s been pretty vocal over the last couple of weeks that he’s finding it tough in our league. He’s been asked the question early on. It’s quite worrying when you see him struggling as bad as that. Look at the body language – he’s looking for a way out already.”

24/25 Europa League

Robin Propper

Appearances

10

Clean sheets

1

Tackles + interceptions per game

1.8

Dribbled past

4x

Ground duel success rate

45%

Aerial duel success rate

44%

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, the 31-year-old centre-back also struggled with the physicality of European football in the Europa League, as he lost the majority of his duels on the deck and in the air.

These statistics and the criticism of his play in the Premiership illustrate exactly why the decision to allow him to move back to the Netherlands is a good one for all parties involved.

Propper may not be the only first-team player to move on from Ibrox before the Martin era officially gets underway on the pitch, though, as another dud is attracting interest from elsewhere.

Five teams eyeing deal for Rangers forward

According to the Daily Record, a number of teams are showing an interest in Rangers winger Ross McCausland during the summer transfer window.

The report claims that FC Cincinnati, Plymouth Argyle, Cardiff City, Basel, and OH Leuven are all eyeing up a potential swoop for the Northern Ireland international.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

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It states that they are all keeping tabs on his situation at Ibrox heading into the summer, which shows that there is plenty of interest from clubs across the globe and in the UK.

The Daily Record adds that McCausland is keen to remain at Rangers and would like to be a part of Martin’s project, but that the Scottish head coach could be willing to listen to offers for the academy graduate.

It reveals that the former Norwich City centre-back is still assessing the squad and that no final decisions have been made either, which means that the attacker’s future is still up in the air.

However, Rangers must take advantage of the level of interest in McCauland, with five teams eyeing him up, and cash in on him this summer.

Why selling McCausland is as important as Propper

As aforementioned, it is a good call to sell Propper because he did not deliver on the pitch and the Light Blues need more strength and quality in that area of the park to be successful under Martin next season.

Since making the breakthrough as a first-team regular under Philippe Clement in 2023, McCausland has failed to prove that he is good enough to be a key player for the Scottish giants moving forward.

The 21-year-old attacker has shown some promise at times, including scoring his first goal for the club in the Europa League in the clip above, but has not delivered consistently enough in the final third.

To date, McCausland has scored three goals and provided six assists in 44 appearances in the Premiership, and racked up seven goals and seven assists in 66 games in all competitions for the first-team.

24/25 Premiership

Ross McCausland

Appearances

13

Starts

4

Goals

0

Big chances created

0

Key passes per game

0.6

Assists

1

Red cards

1

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, the Northern Irish dud ended the 2024/25 campaign without a single goal to show for his efforts in the league, whilst he had as many red cards as goal contributions.

McCausland was once described as an “explosive” player by talent scout Jacek Kulig, but he has failed to kick on since exploding onto the first-team scene at Ibrox. The winger has gone from an exciting young talent to just another one of the players, like Propper, who needs to be replaced.

Put simply, the Gers academy graduate does not offer enough in front of goal to be a key attacking figure for Martin moving forward, as shown by his lack of end product in the Premiership in particular, which is why it is as important to sell him as it is to sell Propper.

This could provide the new Rangers manager with a chance to replace him with another winger in the summer transfer window, with the hope that any new recruit could come in to offer more goals and assists to win vital points for the team moving forward.

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It is now down to Kevin Thelwell and Martin, though, to field offers and work with the interested parties to find the best solution for all parties involved.

What he has achieved since slotting into India’s attack is to make viewers almost forget that Jadeja is out injured

Karthik Krishnaswamy24-Feb-20214:44

Why England have struggled against India’s spinners

The hardest ball to face on a turning pitch is the one that doesn’t turn.It’s an old and overused adage, but there’s a lot of truth to it. It goes a long way to explaining why England have found Axar Patel so hard to negotiate over his first three innings as a Test-match bowler: 2 for 40 and 5 for 60 in Chennai, and now, on day one of the third Test in Ahmedabad, 6 for 38.That’s 13 wickets at an average of 10.61 and a strike rate of 28.9. Some of those 13 wickets have come off balls that have turned and jumped, but most have come via that most deadly weapon, the one that goes on straight.Related

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England's collapse after winning the toss, and spinners dominating a day-night Test

Pink-ball beauty is in the eye of the beholder as India seize control of third Test

And Axar’s straighter one is particularly tricky to negotiate because it isn’t the classic arm ball, which is delivered with a vertical seam, or any other variation that can be picked out of the hand. Axar’s straighter ball is delivered with pretty much the same grip and release as most other balls he bowls.The traditional left-arm fingerspinner – Jack Leach would fit that description – usually delivers the ball with the seam pointing to a right-hand batsman’s first slip, and with a certain degree of overspin. With most of Axar’s deliveries, however, the seam is almost horizontal, aligned roughly from square leg to point. Because of his low, round-arm release, his palm usually faces upwards at delivery, which means he invariably undercuts the ball.Everything combines to ensure the ball lands on the leather as often as – or more often than – it lands on the seam. When that happens, the ball doesn’t grip the pitch and turn sharply, but, depending on the patch of turf it comes in contact with, either straightens ever so slightly or skids on with the angle.And every now and then, especially on pitches like the ones he’s bowled on in Chennai and Ahmedabad, one ball delivered with the same sort of release will grip and turn absolutely square. Natural variation. On Wednesday, Axar turned at least four such balls across the face of Zak Crawley’s bat.The third ball of Axar’s tenth over turned in this manner to beat Crawley’s defensive push by a distance. It was probably entirely reasonable, therefore, for him to play for turn when Axar bowled his next ball. An entirely reasonable but entirely inappropriate response, because the ball skidded on, kept going with Axar’s inward angle from left-arm around, and brought him his second wicket of the day, and his second lbw.If the pitch for the second Test at Chepauk, which threw up dramatic puffs of dust from beginning to end, was tailor-made for Axar’s bowling, this one at Motera may have been even more to his liking. The ball wasn’t leaping from a length as often to threaten the gloves or the shoulder of the bat. Instead, it was skidding through quickly, which made it more of a bowled-and-lbw pitch than a bat-pad pitch.Axar Patel followed up his five-for in the second Test with 6 for 38•BCCIAnd it’s possible that this also had something to do with the nature of the pink ball, which has more lacquer compared to the red ball.”I feel there’s a little more glare (shine) on the pink ball, because of which the ball was skidding a little more off the wicket, and I got the lbw decisions because of that,” Axar said in his press conference at the end of the day’s play on Wednesday. “Maybe because of this difference between the red ball and the pink ball, I was getting the ball to skid more off this pitch than the one in Chennai.”Given the skid on offer, both of India’s spinners made sure they attacked the stumps as much as possible, finishing with four lbws and three bowleds among their nine wickets.Of the 51 balls R Ashwin bowled to right-hand batsmen, he delivered 33 from around the wicket. From here, he could pitch the ball within the line of the stumps, beat either edge, and still end up within the line of the stumps. He beat Root’s inside edge to get him lbw from this angle, and he beat Ollie Pope’s outside edge to get him bowled.Axar, meanwhile, simply looked to be the most extreme version of himself.1:29

Axar Patel – ‘I was confident in my variations and line and length’

“Basically it’s my usual style, but because it was skidding so much, I was undercutting it even more, and trying to bowl a little quicker than usual too,” he said. “I tried to exploit [the skiddiness] as much as possible [when I came on], because the ball was new, and there was more shine. The older the ball became, the less it was skidding.”Perhaps the most impressive feature of Axar’s bowling, though, and the one that’s likeliest to be taken for granted, was his consistency. We’re used to Ashwin bowling an immaculate length, match after match, and we’re used to Ravindra Jadeja doing the same thing. What Axar has achieved since slotting into India’s attack is to make viewers almost forget that Jadeja is out injured.It’s a remarkable achievement for someone who’d only played 38 first-class matches before this series, in a career that dates all the way back to November 2012. Before this series, Axar had shown he could bowl accurately in white-ball cricket, but it’s an entirely different thing to bowl accurately while bowling Test-match lengths over long spells. On Wednesday, Axar bowled all his 21.4 overs in one unbroken spell.It was like watching Jadeja bowl, or, more accurately, his 2013 version. Over his many years as a Test cricketer, Jadeja has added multiple layers to his bowling, and he now takes wickets on all kinds of pitches. In time, India will hope Axar can get there too. But for now, they’ll be delighted to watch his current avatar wheel away, over after over, firing them in with his low arm, forever threatening stumps and pads.

The third day ended with England only 64 behind Pakistan’s 556 with seven first-innings wickets in hand

Vithushan Ehantharajah09-Oct-2024

Joe Root and Harry Brook have so far combined for 243 runs•Getty Images

Stumps Responding to Pakistan’s mammoth first-innings score of 556 after the best part of two days in the dirt was always going to require something special from England. Not only did they respond emphatically to end day three of this first Test on 492 for 3, trailing by just 64, but they did so in historic fashion.Joe Root became England’s leading Test run-scorer, passing Sir Alastair Cook’s record of 12,473 runs on his way to a 35th Test hundred. It was typical Root, unassuming and busy with just 12 fours, set against Harry Brook’s boisterous 141* from 173 deliveries, picking up where he left off from a Player-of-the-Series performance on the 2022 tour of Pakistan, with his fourth century against them in as many matches.As it happens, this is Root’s first on these shores. And it has come after spending all day at the crease – he was the last England batter to achieve that feat, against Sri Lanka in Galle three years ago – meaning he has been absent for just eight deliveries of the 250 overs of this match so far.Related

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No wonder he struggled with cramps for the last half of the day. Having come to the crease on Tuesday following the dismissal of stand-in skipper Ollie Pope with just four on the board, resuming on Wednesday with England 96 for 1, he will mark his guard with 176 against his name on Thursday morning with his side holding all the aces.The Yorkshire duo of Root and Brook combined for 243 (and counting), a third successive century stand in the innings after Zak Crawley’s 78 and Ben Duckett’s 84 provided the guts for 109- and 136-run stands for the second and third wickets, respectively.As it has been for most of the last 12 years in English cricket, Root was the glue throughout. Starting day three with 32 to his name, he made the final ascent to the top of the England run-scorers’ pile 15 minutes before lunch when, on 67, he leaned into another compact drive for four to march along to 12,473 career runs, overtaking Cook as England’s most prolific Test batter, and the fifth overall, behind only Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid.Root was always going to mark the occasion with three figures, especially on a pitch that remains interminably dull, with just two wickets falling all day, and none in the final session. He moved to a crisp 100 with a reverse sweep off his 167th ball for a fifth century in 2024. It was the third time he has struck as many in a calendar year, after 2021 and 2022. Only Ricky Ponting (four) and Matthew Hayden (four) scored five or more Test centuries in more calendar years.Aamer Jamal was by far the most impressive of Pakistan’s bowlers on the day•Getty Images

Root was finding matters so easy that he even took to batting left-handed against legspinner Abrar Ahmed, who was hiding the ball outside leg stump as much to slow the game down as to protect himself. Two years after marking his Test debut with 11 wickets against England at this very ground, he currently nurses grim figures of 0 for 174 from 35 overs. That Root only struck one of his fours off Abrar – a full toss dispatched through midwicket off the opening ball of the 92nd over of the innings – spoke to the punishment meted out by Crawley, Duckett and, latterly, Brook.Indeed Crawley and Duckett should have got three figures themselves. But within the first hour of play, Crawley flicked uppishly across a full-length delivery from Shaheen Shah Afridi and picked out Aamer Jamal at midwicket. Jamal’s second catch of the innings wasn’t a patch on the screamer with which he had dismissed Pope on the second evening, however. The ball looped straight to him, and he all but dropped it before scooping it up at the second attempt.Either way, Crawley was gone for his sixth score between 60 and 80 this year. Duckett strode in at No. 4 and motored on, showing no ill-effects from a thumb injury that prevented him from opening the batting. He had one life on 37, when Naseem Shah found his outside edge only for the ball to bisect keeper and a wide first slip. But with the ball reversing enough for Jamal to trap the left-hand batter on the crease from around the wicket, Duckett was dismissed for the fourth time between 70 and 90 since his third Test hundred back in February, against India in Rajkot.Brook, however, naturally assumed the mantle of aggressor immediately upon his arrival with the score 249 for 3. It was on the previous Pakistan tour that Brook announced himself to the world with 468 runs at 93.60, with centuries in all three Tests. A guided four to third from his second delivery showed he was back to inflict more upon the hosts two years on.Harry Brook continued his love affair with the Pakistan bowlers•Getty Images

Despite a hint of reverse swing on offer – first with Jamal, then Afridi – Brook’s speed out of the blocks could not be tempered. Afridi felt the full force of that when a short delivery was smashed back down the ground like a tennis forehand for the first of consecutive boundaries. Brook made it to his half-century in 49 deliveries, his fifth 50-plus score in six innings against Pakistan.Brook’s next fifty took a little longer – 69 balls – in part because the field was spread, the bowling lines negative, and his own battles with cramp, which meant neither he nor Root could push for singles or fully commit to attacking strokes that required extra stretching. But having consumed plenty of gels and isotonic drinks, he struck Abrar down the ground in the 83rd over for the first six of the innings, which took him to 98. A misfield for two cut to point brought up his sixth career century.He could have been on his way back on 75 when a block off the impressive Jamal – comfortably the pick of the bowlers – ricocheted off his grille and rolled on to his stumps without dislodging the bails. Root, similarly, could have been seen off on 168 had umpire Kumar Dharmasena raised the finger following a strong lbw shout from Naseem, after rare seam movement pinned the batter in front with the second new ball. Shan Masood opted to use Pakistan’s last review to double-check, which was retained after DRS came back with an umpire’s call on the impact into leg stump.It summed up a torturous time for Pakistan, who conceded 4.83 an over across today’s 82 overs, watching on powerlessly as their opening effort was made to feel under par. With a night’s rest for Root and Brook, and Jamie Smith waiting in the wings, a first innings lead of note feels inevitable.