Erling Haaland suffered a freak accident while on international duty with Norway that left the striker needing three stitches.
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Fast bowler Naveed Zadran has been ruled out with a side strain
ESPNcricinfo staff06-Sep-2024
Riaz Hassan has played five ODIs but is yet to make his Test debut•AFP/Getty Images
Afghanistan have named three uncapped players – opening batter Riaz Hassan, offspin allrounder Shams Ur Rahman and fast bowler Khalil Ahmed – in their 16-member squad for the one-off Test against New Zealand in Greater Noida, starting on September 9.In Rashid Khan’s injury-forced absence, Zahir Khan and Zia-ur-Rehman will lead the spin attack. Rashid had not played Afghanistan’s previous Test as well, against Ireland in February-March.Fast bowler Naveed Zadran, who picked up five wickets in the Test against Ireland, has been ruled out with a side strain. He has been advised to “rest for three-four weeks hoping that he gets better before the South Africa ODI series in the UAE”.ESPNcricinfo Ltd
Naveed is one of the four players to miss out from the 20-member preliminary squad announced last month. The others are Gulbadin Naib, Fareed Ahmad and Yama Arab.Ikram Alikhil and Afsar Zazai will compete for the wicketkeeper’s position in the Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side.”The squad is finalised based on players’ performance in the preparation camp,” the ACB said. “It is worth mentioning that 19 players participated in the preparation camp for around ten days in Greater Noida and eventually, after consultation with the captain and coaching staff, the 16-member squad was finalised.”Afghanistan squad for New Zealand TestHashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Abdul Malik, Riaz Hassan, Afsar Zazai (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Bahir Shah, Shahidullah Kamal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Shams Ur Rahman, Zia-ur-Rehman, Zahir Khan, Qais Ahmad, Khalil Ahmad, Nijat Masood
Manchester United are now in a transfer race with arch-rivals Manchester City in a bid to sign a “world-class” Paris Saint-Germain player, according to a recent report.
Man Utd ready to cut losses to make room for new signings
The first week or so of the summer transfer window has seen United agree a move for Matheus Cunha and work on a deal to sign Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford. But while Ruben Amorim wants to strengthen his team over the coming months, the Portuguese also wants to move players on, as the club looks to bring in money and cut the size of the squad, given there is no European football next season.
ÂŁ84m Garnacho upgrade: Man Utd in talks for 'one of the best in the world'
Man Utd appear to be seeking a statement replacement for Alejandro Garnacho this summer
ByRobbie Walls Jun 8, 2025
The likes of Antony, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Andre Onana have been tipped for exits, but the two most high-profile departures from Old Trafford this summer could be Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho.
That is because Inter Milan are keen on signing Hojlund, reportedly looking into signing the Dane on loan before getting him on a permanent basis for ÂŁ38 million next year. The fee is considerably lower than the ÂŁ72 million United paid in 2023, but his departure could fund a move for a more prolific number nine.
Meanwhile, an exit has been on the cards for Garnacho in the last six months, and now Fabrizio Romano has confirmed the Argentine will be leaving Old Trafford. Since that news, Saudi team Al-Nassr are interested in a deal for Garnacho, should they be unable to agree a deal with Liverpool to sign Luis Diaz.
Man Utd trying to beat Man City to Donnarumma
An exit for both Hojlund and Garnacho would free up money for the Red Devils, and they may already know how to spend it. According to L’Equipe, Man United have expressed an interest in signing goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma from PSG.
The Italian is under contract in Paris until June 2026, but the French and European champions want to extend that deal and have been trying to do so for the last few months. However, a positive outcome has yet to be reached. Donnarumma has an offer on the table from PSG, but he is said be unhappy with what the current terms.
That has now left the door open for United and City, who are both interested in a deal, and the report claims the goalkeeper has already spoken to some of his teammates about possibly making a move to England.
Apps
154
Goals conceded
152
Clean sheets
51
The 26-year-old, who has been dubbed “world-class” by Carlo Ancelotti in the past, was sensational for PSG in the Champions League. He kept six clean sheets in 15 games and played a crucial role in them getting past the likes of Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Liverpool in the knockout stages.
His potential arrival at Old Trafford would be an expensive one, as the goalkeeper earns €244,808 a week, which is roughly £206,000. It would also depend on what happens to Onana, as he’s been linked with a move away, but as of yet, no team has made a significant offer.
Leeds United will be looking to offload some deadwood ahead of venturing back up to the Premier League.
Indeed, Daniel Farke will know he needs everyone singing off the same hymn sheet to be a success in such a daunting division, meaning personnel such as Illan Meslier and Maximilian Wober could soon be on the chopping block, following Junior Firpo – who headed for Real Betis – out of the exit door.
Patrick Bamford could also be another reserve figure that the German is tempted to part ways with this summer.
But, if the injury-prone 31-year-old was to stay put, he might well be a valuable option for the Whites still, based on his flashes of brilliance in the Premier League previously.
Bamford's previous form in the Premier League
The long-standing Leeds servant did let the entire 24/25 campaign pass him by without scoring a single strike, but he has displayed signs of his class in the big time before.
Bamford has netted all but one of his 24 top-flight strikes donning Leeds white, with the wonderfully taken goal above one of three strikes he managed against Aston Villa to bag a Premier League hat-trick all the way back in 2020.
Of course, it would be extremely bold to expect the 31-year-old to recapture his Premier League best, especially as a goalless season under Farke’s wing is still so fresh.
Yet, he could still be utilised as an impact option off the bench if necessary, with the four goals he bagged the last time he was at the intimidating level, coming about from just 18 starts.
Whilst the veteran still has some credit left in his bank, this other attacker has been stuck on the periphery at Elland Road for some time now without ever looking likely to redeem himself, with a loan exit this summer looking to be nailed on.
The Leeds star who is worse than Bamford
Leeds supporters will always possess a soft spot for Bamford, considering he has two Championship titles under his belt now with the West Yorkshire outfit, away from his favourable output of 60 strikes when at the peak of his powers.
In the curious case of Joe Gelhardt, however, his excellent displays at Elland Road have been even more fleeting than the 31-year-old’s, with the Liverpool-born forward last powering home a strike for the club way back in August of 2023 against Shrewsbury Town. Bamford, on the other hand, last scored in April of 2024 when Farke’s men were hunting down promotion.
24/25
3
0
0
23/24
13
1
0
22/23
19
0
3
21/22
22
2
4
That goal against the Shrews didn’t even come about in league action either, meaning Gelhardt hasn’t actually fired home a meaningful strike in the bread and butter of league football for Leeds since the 21/22 season.
The 23-year-old did amass a promising collection of five goals last season out on loan with Hull City, but Farke will hold zero confidence in Gelhardt being able to transition to Premier League life smoothly. Whereas, with Bamford, he will at least have some crumbs of comfort on his side that he can compete, even if it’s from a bit-part role.
Therefore, instead of killing the 23-year-old’s confidence even more, Leeds will likely loan Gelhardt back out to the Championship, with journalist Graeme Bailey revealing that Wrexham and Birmingham City are interested in the out-of-sorts striker’s services.
The reporter claims that the Premier League side have told the forward that he is free to move on from Elland Road this summer, which has attracted interest from the second tier.
It will be intriguing to see what happens past this next step for Gelhardt, with Jamie Carragher once branding the former England U20 international as a “special” when he was making a name for himself in the senior side while Jamie Redknapp suggested he was “really exciting.”
Now, his future at Elland Road is arguably on even more unstable ground than Bamford’s, even as Farke begins to eye up some fresh stars up top to help Leeds adjust back to their unnerving new level.
Farke's own Phillips: Leeds schedule talks to sign "phenomenal" ÂŁ30m star
Leeds United could be about to land themselves a top-level Premier League talent.
ByEthan Lamb Jun 13, 2025
Looking to put their champions status to instant use, Liverpool are now reportedly set to submit a concrete proposal to sign a serial winner who is available at a bargain price this summer.
Liverpool just getting started with big summer ahead
It was Mohamed Salah’s words which sparked motivation after last season’s third-place finish and those words now have a place in Anfield history after Liverpool went on to achieve exactly what he promised.
The Egyptian took to social media last season to say: “We know that trophies are what count and we will do everything possible to make that happen next season. Our fas deserve it and we will fight like hell.”
Liverpool could now be offered instant Robertson heir in stunning swap deal
The Reds would instantly benefit.
ByTom Cunningham Apr 30, 2025
Fast-forward less than 12 months and Liverpool did, in fact, fight like hell and they did, in fact, become champions once again. The Egyptian King more than lived up to his promise, enduring his own historic season to make sure that his side are back where many believe they belong. But he’s not done there.
Salah once again took to social media this week to reiterate that his focus is already on repeated success next season, albeit whilst taking time to celebrate Liverpool’s 20th league title.
FSG could yet share that sentiment too, with recent rumours suggesting that Liverpool could be in for a summer of spending. The likes of Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike are just two players who have already been linked with a move to Anfield this summer and now the Reds are reportedly preparing a concrete offer for a serial winner.
Liverpool preparing Coman proposal
According to Caught Offside, Liverpool are now preparing a concrete proposal to sign Kingsley Coman from Bayern Munich this summer. The Premier League champions are reportedly frontrunners for his signature in a deal that would cost them just €40m (£34m) in the coming months.
The Frenchman has won it all throughout his career, from the Champions League, to several Bundesliga titles as well as league titles in both France and Italy. Now, at 28 years old, he could attempt to add another to his set by joining Liverpool and helping them to make it two from two under Arne Slot.
Whilst Coman has struggled for starts in the Bundesliga this season, he may get a starting role at Liverpool if Luis Diaz does leave the club this summer, which is a rumoured possibility. It’s then that his task would be to replicate or improve on the South American’s success within Slot’s front three.
Starts
12
26
Goals
5
12
Assists
4
5
Key Passes per 90
2.38
2.19
Once dubbed “brilliant” by former Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann, the numbers show that there’s still a talented player in Coman, who has simply been denied key game time at times this season.
While things look somewhat bleak at the moment, the future could be especially bright for Tottenham Hotspur.
It might be true that Ange Postecoglou is currently overseeing the club’s worst domestic campaign for over a generation, but one thing is undeniably true: the squad has some seriously exciting young talents in it.
The likes of Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert and Mikey Moore all look like they could develop into sensational players down the line, and if Mathys Tel makes his move permanent, then that is yet another mega prospect on the books.
Moreover, Hotspur Way is brewing a handful of exceptional talents, including one youngster who could be their best since Harry Kane and a future superstar for England.
Harry Kane's rise
Now, practically everyone knows that when he was a child, Kane was a part of Arsenal’s Hale End academy, but in what might be one of the worst decisions the Gunners ever made, they let the future superstar go at just 12 years old.
A few years later, the Lilywhites decided to bring him to Hotspur Way, and about five and a half years after that, he was sent out on his first loan move to Leyton Orient, where he scored five goals in 18, mostly substitute appearances.
Over the next few years, the incredible goalscorer would go out on further loans to Millwall, Norwich City, and Leicester City while also making more appearances for the U21 side, where he netted nine times and provided nine assists in just 13 appearances.
While he did play the odd first-team game here and there during this period, the Walthamstow-born marksman was given his first proper opportunity in the first team in the 14/15 season under then-new boss Mauricio Pochettino.
Across 51 appearances, totalling 3682 minutes, the future superstar found the back of the net on 31 occasions and provided another six assists to boot.
While some labelled him a one-season wonder, we all know what happened next, and by the time he left for Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023, the Spurs legend had amassed a haul of 280 goals and 62 assists in 435 games, becoming the club’s all-time top scorer in the process.
So, with all that said, fans should be seriously excited about a certain youngster who might be the club’s most exciting prospect since Kane.
In The Pipeline
Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.
Spurs' most exciting prospect since Kane
So, while there are several promising prospects at Hotspur Way at the moment, such as Tyrese Hall, the youngster in question is Lucas Williams-Barnett.
While few fans would have been aware of the 16-year-old at the start of the season, he has now become potentially one of the most talked-about players in youth football.
It’s not hard to see where the hype has come from, though, as in just 18 appearances, totalling 1465 minutes, the Luton-born prodigy has scored a whopping 19 goals and provided nine assists.
Appearances
18
Minutes
1465′
Goals
19
Assists
9
Goal Involvements per Match
1.55
Minutes per Goal Involvement
52.32′
In other words, the goalscoring machine, who’s set to be one of the club’s future “superstars,” per analyst Ben Mattinson, is averaging 1.55 goal involvements every single game, or one every 52.32 minutes.
On top of his unreal club form, the teenage “cheat code”, as dubbed by Spurs’ expert John Wenham, is also performing for the national side.
For example, in just six appearances for the England U17 team, he’s already scored two goals, despite being just 15 when he made his debut.
Ultimately, Williams-Barnett is, without a doubt, Spurs’ most exciting prospect since Kane, and just like the striker, he looks like he’s going to be a superstar for club and country.
Worth more than VDV: Spurs have struck gold on their "Swiss army knife"
The incredible talent will be a superstar for Spurs.
ByJack Salveson Holmes Apr 25, 2025
England legspinner on hopes for Glamorgan loan and proving he is still a force in all formats
Alan Gardner01-Apr-2024It is just over two years since Mason Crane put Hampshire within touching distance of their first County Championship since 1973. “I had two balls to win the title,” Crane says, reflecting on his dramatic five-wicket intervention against Lancashire at Aigburth in the final round of the 2021 season. “I bowled really well in that innings. But you know, obviously then things change and a new summer comes around and it’s all part of playing in England really. There’s always going to be things in the way of the spinner.”Had Crane managed to dismiss fellow leggie Matt Parkinson with one of those two deliveries, Hampshire would have pipped eventual champions Warwickshire by half a point. Instead, their wait goes on, while Crane has had to go back to biding his time, too – in the manner experienced by many a young English tweaker. Now in the final year of his contract, and after playing just five Championship games over the last two seasons (two of them for Sussex), he has agreed to spend the summer on loan at Glamorgan.The move covers all formats, which seems significant given Crane has played a big part in Hampshire’s white-ball success – helping them to the One-Day Cup in 2018 and another Blast title in 2022, as well as featuring in two more 50-over finals. But he kicked his heels through much of 2023, playing just six Blast games and once in the Hundred for London Spirit before returning to Hampshire for the Metro Bank Cup.Related
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With Liam Dawson covering off Championship spin duties with aplomb – even while being disregarded by England – and contributing top-order runs into the bargain, Crane began to look at his options. “It just reached a point where it felt to me like I’m going to have to go elsewhere, at least temporarily, to try and get some cricket,” he tells ESPNcricinfo.”I’ve sat and watched a bit over the last couple of summers, as a team wins a tight game with a certain make-up of the XI, and then you stick with it. It’s tough, to be right on the cusp of winning it all one minute and then yeah, in game time, only five games later to be not involved at all. But I’m used to it now as part of being a spinner in England. You’ve got to accept it.”Obviously, it’s always frustrating. I just really want to play cricket and I feel like I’ve made some strides in the last couple of years but haven’t been able to show it whatsoever. So it’s important I play, everyone is in agreement really. I’m obviously grateful Glamorgan have given me an opportunity to do that. I’m very excited actually that I don’t have to turn up and constantly think about how I’m going to maybe get a game here and there, I can just settle in and play as much as I can.”In Cardiff, Crane will be reunited with his former Hampshire team-mate, Sam Northeast. The two had remained in contact and Northeast knew of Crane’s desire for game time. After Glamorgan confirmed Grant Bradburn as the successor to Matt Maynard in the head coach role, wheels were set in motion to bring Crane along the M4. Northeast has subsequently been named red-ball captain and is confident that Glamorgan have signed a player who can make a significant impact in their bid for promotion from Division Two.Crane is hoping for a more consistent run in four-day cricket•Getty Images”We needed something a little bit different, a wicket-taker, and we think he’s the man to do it,” Northeast says. “A couple of times [last season] we had teams eight- or nine-down at the end and missed that magic touch really, that little X-factor. He’s definitely someone who can provide that for us. We want him to settle in, not to put huge pressure on him. We want him to be part of the squad and I’m sure he’ll play his part through the season.For all that county cricket remains a tough nut for spinners to crack, Northeast believes that Cardiff is one of several venues on the circuit that increasingly requires “something different” for teams to force victory. He puts this down to the ECB’s decision in 2019 to sanction the use of the heavy roller across all four innings, which has begun to negate the traditional impact of an all-seam attack.”Day four in Cardiff can be one of the best days to bat,” Northeast says. “There’s a bit of grass and then four heavies and it flattens out, and you don’t get the up-and-down nature that you did in the past. We felt that we definitely needed a real classy spinner and that’s what Mason will bring.”
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It is now almost a decade since Crane emerged on the county scene as a precocious legspinning talent. Capped by England in T20Is at the age of 20, he made his sole Test appearance six months later in the 2017-18 Ashes before two back stress fractures derailed his progress. But having recently turned 27, and well knowing the received view on how long it takes spinners to mature – “If I had a pound every time someone came up to me and told me ‘you’ll only peak when you get to 30’… I’ve heard it a million times” – his focus for now is on playing consistently and feeling good about his game.”I’m obviously really proud that I’ve played for England but overall not satisfied,” he says. “I was such a young guy, and it all happened so quickly. An injury struck right when I didn’t really need it to, just slightly got my foot in the door. It took me a lot longer than people give credit for really to get back anywhere near where I want to be.”In terms of ambitions going forward, I don’t really know to be honest. All I know is that I’d just like to play some games and feel like a real, integral part of a team. I’ll always believe that on my day, I’m as good as anyone. The problem is, I’ve got to make it my day much more often. And I know that. But hopefully just play some games [with Glamorgan] and see where it takes me.”Crane roars the appeal on Test debut in 2018•Getty ImagesCrane’s Test debut was notoriously grueling, sending down 48 overs at the SCG for figures of 1 for 193. His most-recent England involvement was as a Covid reserve on the 2020-21 tour of India – where he and Dom Bess founded an informal spin-bowling support network, alongside Matt and Callum Parkinson, that still exists as a WhatsApp group today. Did Crane watch the success enjoyed by Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir in India recently and wish he had played in an environment more supportive of his craft?”To be honest, as such a young guy back then, I don’t think I knew what I needed. That’s all part of getting older and gaining experience, you learn more what’s best for you. Back then I was probably in a phase where I was still giving things a try and working out different ways of going about it. I wouldn’t ever turn around and say I was completely thrown under the bus, because I wasn’t. But I think now I’d be able to go into a dressing room and meet a new captain and say, oh, this is this is what generally works for me best and this is a bit of a preference of mine and things like that.”Another crack at Test cricket may seem a long way off, particularly when set against the attraction of winning contracts on the T20 franchise circuit – as well as his success for Hampshire, Crane has performed creditably in the Hundred and in 2023 featured in the first edition of the SA20 – but he has given no thought to specialising in limited-overs cricket.”Even going back to when I was really young, I’ve always seen myself as a red-ball bowler first,” he says. “I’ve always had the ability to get people out. That’s never really been a question and that’s always what I’ve enjoyed doing most, trying to actually get someone out and men around the bat on the last day. That’s always been one of the best things I’ve enjoyed in the game. But ultimately, you’re going to practice more what you’re going to be deployed for in games and for a long time, and for most legspinners around the world, that’s going to be training for white-ball cricket.
“A few years ago, I’d have been really against moving but I’ve reached a point where if I need to move, I need to move. I just can’t wait around and keep doing what I’ve done last two years. It just can’t go on”Mason Crane on leaving Hampshire
“I’ve certainly looked at the last couple of years where we’ve been going through the first few weeks of the season and then the T20s are only two weeks away. You’re clearly not getting a game in the four-dayers so you might as well start working on the stuff that you’re actually going to use in a proper game. Before you know it, you spend most of the year just bowling with a white ball. So I have sympathy with everyone that ends up being a white-ball cricketer, but it’s certainly not my ambition to drop the format, because I love bowling in red-ball cricket and I’ve always seen myself that way.”There are a lot of spinners out there that are white-ball based. You can see the way they bowl is all about T20 bowling, and that’s fine. But looking at my style of bowling, it’s centred around red-ball cricket and then I transfer it into white-ball. It just happens I get picked more in white-ball.”
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The experiences of Hartley and, in particular, Bashir – who had only played six first-class games for Somerset before being called up by England – offer a novel form of encouragement to Crane, Bess and their brethren. “You could be in the second team for half a year, play half the games [in the Championship] and then still find yourself playing for England,” Crane says. “That’s not a ridiculous thing to say nowadays.”Crane has not had any contact with the selectors since going on an England Lions tour of Sri Lanka in early 2023, and is under no illusions about his place in the pecking order. An England return would be “amazing” but that is only likely to come from hard yards on the county grind. “I’m very confident in my ability and I think on my day I’m as good as anyone. It’s up to me to make it my day much more often. What will happen after that will happen.”Increasingly, it seems, a move away from Hampshire might offer the best chance of a route back – as difficult as that is to contemplate for a player who became the youngest man to take a Championship five-for for the club, in only his second appearance back in 2015.”As a homegrown player, it’s sometimes … maybe slightly easier to leave [you] out than someone who has been brought in for a purpose. I’ve certainly felt that before, and I’ve seen it all over the place where if someone moves somewhere, the guys higher up want to see what they can do. I think a few years ago, I’d have been really against moving but I’ve reached a point where if I need to move, I need to move. I just can’t wait around and keep doing what I’ve done last two years. It just can’t go on.”
When 146 off 111 balls somehow feels no-frills, no-frolics, you know something special is going on
Osman Samiuddin01-Jul-2022In life there are short straws and writing about a Sensible Rishabh Pant innings is one of those short straws. I’m not being ungrateful. A Sensible Rishabh Pant innings is still worth more than, say, all of Sir Alastair Cook’s most un-boring (the laptop is not allowing me to type “entertaining”) innings. A Sensible Rishabh Pant innings is still more fun than an entire career’s worth of innings by… (no, I’m not going to name Dom Sibley, Azhar Ali, Cheteshwar Pujara, Dean Elgar, Kraigg Brathwaite or Geoffrey Boycott here).It’s not like he didn’t do Rishabh Pant things or have a Rishabh Pant effect on the match. He came in at 64 for 3 in the 23rd over, the run rate dropping to under three. When Virat Kohli fell a couple of overs later, it had dropped a little more and India were in even more trouble. By the end of his innings, in the 67th over, the run rate was near-enough five per over and these days, round these parts, that’s being sold as a wholesale cultural revolution.He ended up with 146 off 111 balls, the second-fastest 100 by an Indian in England, neither of which are necessarily facts from a sensible innings. And yes, he did start the innings by charging at the first ball he faced from James Anderson. He inside-edged it for a single, probably the least-sensible-but-most-entertaining single you will see in Tests this year. And his first boundary was another charge at Anderson and a drive straight past him. For which apologies – in the subcontinent we’re taught from a very young age to show utmost respect to elders and Pant let us down there.Rishabh Pant plays a reverse scoop – but a sensible one•Associated PressOh, also he did try to sweep Ben Stokes one ball but missed. Most batters might show some contrition and double down on defending the next ball; Pant tried to reach a ball so wide he wouldn’t have reached it if he was using Mohammad Irfan as a bat. He ended that over with this one shot, this curious blend of a chop, dab and cut that slipped through point and looked like no shot that had ever been played before. Joe Root was talking about rewriting the coaching manual after reverse-scooping some sixes a couple of weeks ago: meanwhile, Pant’s bashing out a fresh manual every time he comes out to bat.He even tried to reverse-scoop Anderson but by only getting two for it, it felt apposite for the kind of innings this was turning out to be. In a Not-Sensible Rishabh Pant innings, this would’ve for sure landed in someone’s beer cup in the stands (and would have done so via time travel so that he became the first man to do it this summer and not Daryl Mitchell).Jack Leach came on, which, given his record against Pant before this Test – 88 runs off 59 balls – was a sign that even England were also finding this innings a little too sensible. In succession, four, four, six; in sum 59 runs off 32 balls; in between a charge and loft that left Pant flat on his back; also in between, a six with one hand off the handle in an over that cost 22. By then England had blinked and put a man out at long-on and he was still hitting sixes over them. But, I mean, give a four-year old a can of soda at 8pm on a weeknight and see how sensible that leaves them?But when he got to fifty with this unassuming clip off his thighs that looked like it might fetch a single, then two because it was timed well but then the fielder at the deep square leg boundary’s sprawling to stop and can’t because it’s timed so well, that too felt apposite. It was a sensible, no-frills, no-frolics shot. Even at nearly a run-a-ball, this fifty was like here, take this Les Paul guitar, this Marshall amp and just turn the volume down to one when you jam okay?Related
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I swear this really was sensible Pant. Picking his battles, picking his areas, picking his shots (okay, not all the time), running eagerly, not forgetting the easy runs, all the things you can tune out from. In between deliveries he’d walk away with the bat over his left shoulder and to some minds he might have been carrying it like an axe, but really it made more sense to think of it as him carrying a boombox. With the volume down.It took him four scoring shots to get from 92 to 100, when basically he’s the one batter in world cricket who might one day hit an eight. And when he got to the century, he was diving back for the second like he was Steve Waugh, straining like the run’s the most important thing in the world and not at all like a batter who’s been out in the 90s five times. It was percentages cricket.Even after tea when the numbers are telling us this was not a Sensible Rishabh Pant innings but a Pure Rishabh Pant innings (he was 53 off 52 at tea and then scored 93 off 59), Pant wasn’t doing Pant things. He took apart Matthew Potts in a way that was positively well-mannered: a stand-and-admire cover drive, two smart back cuts, a couple of well-behaved pulls, a whip through midwicket. No risks taken, nothing not sensible about any of those shots and yet six boundaries in 17 balls and England’s best bowler this summer had been seen off.When Joe Root bowled him a bouncer and he pulled it for four, it was Root who was not being sensible. Pant played the most sensible shot he could to it. Which is around the point, not long before he got out, that I realised that this wasn’t the short straw at all. Pant’s sensible is just not other people’s sensible.
Phillips: Ranking the Top 10 MLB Trade Candidates This Offseason
Steven Kwan was a name frequently floated at the 2025 MLB trade deadline, but ultimately he wound up remaining with the Guardians, who made a dramatic late push to reach the postseason.
Now that the offseason is here, it’s likely that the trade rumors surrounding Kwan will re-ignite. The 28-year-old is entering his fifth MLB season, and although he’s under control through the 2027 season, Cleveland may be better off looking to flip him now while his value is still sky high.
It’s not difficult to see why teams would be interested in bringing Kwan aboard this offseason. He’s won the Gold Glove at left field in each of his first four seasons in MLB and is a reliable contact hitter. He would be a huge addition for any team looking to add some stability to the lineup, as well as a steady hand in the outfield.
So, what teams would make sense as possible landing spots for Kwan? Let’s take a look at some fits.
New York Yankees
Kwan is the exact type of player the Yankees have been sorely lacking. New York, as is often the case, led MLB in home runs with 274, 30 more homers than the next best team. For all the power they have in the lineup, they lacked a reliable contact hitter. Yankees batters ranked third in MLB in strikeouts in 2025, and although they were first in OPS (.787), the team was 10th in batting average (.251).
Defense was also a major concern in New York, particularly in the outfield. Jasson Dominguez started the bulk of games at left field, but he had a disastrous year in terms of his defensive production. Dominguez ranked dead last, 33rd of 33 qualified left fielders, in outs above average (-10) and was also last in defensive runs prevented (-9). Plus, with Cody Bellinger potentially leaving in free agency, the need for a reliable defensive outfielder is even more pressing.
Kwan would alleviate the Yankees’ defensive inefficiencies in left field, while also providing them with a consistent hitter who isn’t always swinging for the fences.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers and Guardians nearly agreed to a Kwan trade in July, but the deal never came to fruition. Now, fresh off its second consecutive World Series win, L.A. may circle back around in order to get that deal over the finish line.
The two-time All-Star could fill the Dodgers’ void in left field. Michael Conforto was Los Angeles’s primary left fielder in 2025, and he struggled both on offense and defense. Kwan would be a marked improvement over Conforto, in just about every facet. Last year, Kwan slashed .272/.330/.374 with 11 home runs, 56 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. He struck out at a healthy 8.7% clip, the best mark of his career and fourth-best in all of MLB.
In terms of a return, there’s perhaps no team in baseball better equipped to take on a star-caliber player like Kwan. The Dodgers have the best farm system in MLB and would certainly be able to offer Cleveland a suitable return in exchange for the All-Star outfielder.
Blue Jays
The Blue Jays made their somewhat improbable World Series run by putting the ball in play. Toronto assembled a roster of capable hitters, not many of whom will hit the stitches off the ball. The Jays prefer a more old-school approach, getting runners on base and driving them in, rather than relying on the long ball.
It served them well throughout the season and into October, and Kwan would be another great fit for that style of play. Only the Royals struck out less often than Toronto in 2025, and as previously mentioned, Kwan is rarely the victim of a strikeout. He would also provide the Jays with some much-needed baserunning. The Blue Jays ranked 28th in stolen bases last season with a total of 77 steals. Kwan alone swiped 21 bags last year, so his speed on the base paths would certainly address a need in Toronto.
Matthew Breetzke’s ODI career started solidly as he consistently scored runs from the top of the order. In this ODI series, though – his first both in India and against India – he is performing an entirely different role.Breetzke has been pushed down to No. 4 with senior players Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock and the captain Temba Bavuma forming the top three, and he’s coped well, scoring a match-winning half-century during South Africa’s chase of 359 on Wednesday.”Obviously, I’m just getting more experience now batting at four, which I’m starting to feel a little bit more comfortable in the role,” Breetzke said on the eve of the series decider in Visakhapatnam. “So that helps, and I think the more I play at number four and in this role, hopefully the better I’ll get.”Related
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The two games against India provided him with two different situations to deal with as well. In Ranchi, he went in with South Africa having lost a lot of wickets and in need of recovery. In Raipur, they were chasing a bigger total but had a solid foundation.”Obviously, the first game there was a little bit of trouble that we were in, so I had to sort of build the innings and then in the second game it was about just managing the guys that were coming in.”We lost obviously Aiden [after his century] and then I had to sort of manage [Dewald] Brevis there and then just managing those guys and letting them bat around me, they’ve got the explosive power – it was just about really looking to build a partnership with them.”Breetzke also highlighted the depth and power in South Africa’s batting line-up. “I think we’ve got a nice balance in our side with a couple of guys that are just proper batters, and then you’ve got powerhouses like Brevis and [Marco] Jansen that can sort of change the game on its head.”We’ve seen [Corbin] Bosh in the last two matches play some really special innings, I think as the top four, it gives you a lot of confidence; you can take a little bit more time because, you know, they’ve got that explosive power at the back end. So for us, it’s just about setting that platform up for them to come in at the end and do their thing.”There’s a lot of confidence in the batting group at the moment, but we will have to do it again tomorrow.”