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Pakistan will look to create consistency and work on their batting ahead of the big event

Firdose Moonda15-Sep-2024Pakistan’s problems: Inconsistency from a team in transition
Pakistan are on their third captain in the last 18 months since last year’s T20 World Cup and their latest, Fatima Sana, will take the reins for the first time in this series. The 22-year-old bowler takes over from Nida Dar, who succeeded Bismah Mahroof, and has the job of creating consistency, especially at major tournaments.Pakistan have only won one match each in the last three T20 World Cups and will go into this tournament with tempered expectations of what would represent success. In a group that includes two tournament favourites – Australia and India – and the in-form Sri Lanka, getting to the semi-finals will take some doing, especially given their recent form.Related

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Since last year’s T20 World Cup, Pakistan have played 23 T20Is, won nine and lost 14 but among their victories have been series wins over South Africa (at home) and New Zealand (away). They’ll fancy themselves against New Zealand in the group stage, and other wins will be a bonus.Pakistan would also like to see an improved commitment to professionalisation from their board. In its 2022 women’s report, global player body FICA (now called WCA) said “fundamental changes are required to create a recognised pathway for female cricketers in Pakistan to make a viable living out of playing professional cricket,” and as recently as this week, that was evident. Players did not receive daily allowances at their training camp which has left some players low on morale ahead of an important event.Muneeba Ali is Pakistan’s leading run-scorer this year•Asian Cricket CouncilPakistan’s focus in this series should be on run-scoring, which is an area they have underperformed. Muneeba Ali is their highest run-scorer in T20Is this year with 280 runs from 12 matches. Their bowlers have enjoyed the bulk of the success with left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal collecting 18 wickets at 14.33 in T20Is this year.South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt said she “expects Pakistan to bowl a lot of spin so we are prepared for that,” both in the series and when they get to the UAE. South Africa’s stunning slide at home South Africa’s long-running search for an ICC trophy came the closest it ever had last February when the women’s team became their first senior side to qualify for a World Cup final, and that too at home. But a perfect opportunity to build on their success was squandered. There were delays in appointing a new coach and they will travel to this World Cup with an interim appointee Dillon du Preez on the back of a string of poor results.Since reaching the 2023 final, South Africa have played 18 matches in the format, won five and lost 10 with three no-results. They have not won one out of the six series they’ve played and lost series to Pakistan, Australia (both away) and Sri Lanka (at home) as well as a match to Bangladesh for the first time in a T20I.None of that will matter to a fan base desperate for a major trophy and ever-expected after both the men’s and women’s sides reached the last T20 World Cup final. South African supporters will need to be reminded that women’s cricket has grown especially strong in India since the last T20 World Cup, and with Australia and England always a step ahead, their team will have to find something or someone special to challenge for the trophy.Marizanne Kapp and Laura Wolvaardt are crucial players in SA’s top order•Getty ImagesHappily for South Africa, their new all-format captain Wolvaardt is among the best players on the global stage and leads with bat and on the field. She is their leading run-scorer in T20Is this year, followed by No. 3 Marizanne Kapp and her opening partner Tazmin Brits. All three of them have more runs than Pakistan’s Muneeba this year. While that speaks to the strength of the top order, it also points to problems lower down, especially as former captain Sune Luus has struggled. In the last 18 months, she averages under 20 with the bat, which makes South Africa extra reliant on allrounders Nadine de Klerk and Chloe Tryon for middle-order firepower.Both those players have the additional concern of their bowling attack, which has been underwhelming since Shabnim Ismail’s retirement. De Klerk is South Africa’s highest wicket-taker with eight wickets in nine matches this year and South Africa will be expecting more from the likes of Ayabonga Khaka, Tumi Sekhukhune and young Ayanda Hlubi at the World Cup.Their spin contingent features a newcomer, 18-year old Seshnie Naidu, who could make her debut against Pakistan in this series, as she prepares for the big time. “It will be awesome for her to get a game and a taste of international cricket. I’ve faced her a bit in the nets and she has good control for such a young legspinner,” Wolvaardt said.Advantage Pakistan? Mostly, Wolvaardt wants to use the series as a barometer for whether South Africa have progressed since being blanked 3-nil by Pakistan a year ago in Karachi. “It will be a great judge to see if the work we have done behind the scenes is working,” Wolvaardt said.In that series, South Africa scored 150 batting first twice and failed to defend it and then could not chase 151 in the third match. “We’ve been talking a lot about finding that extra 10 to 20 runs,” Wolvaardt said.It’s unclear whether those runs will be needed at Multan Stadium, which will host a T20I for the first time. Wolvaardt described the experience of being the first international T20 side to play at the ground as “special.”

England assistant coach reflects on mental health journey that began in Multan on 2005-06 tour

Vithushan Ehantharajah08-Dec-2022The Multan Cricket Stadium has not changed much since Marcus Trescothick was last here in 2005. The vast expanses beyond the ground remain as empty, while the inside has been refreshed without losing its enclosed, hot-box qualities. Full to the brim, it will be raucously loud, especially if Pakistan can put one on England in the second Test to square this series.The nets, Trescothick says, are as they were. As for the pitch, well he is expecting much of the same from the opening Test match of the 2005-06 series: “It did spin, and it did reverse going into day four or five. It was a Pakistan pitch you expected back then. I think this one will play similar, it might be good for a day or so but it might break up and take more spin.”Little might have changed here in 17 years, but the fact Trescothick is on this tour as England’s assistant coach shows plenty has for him. It was that tour of Pakistan that Trescothick believes triggered his depression and eventually saw him finish up as an international cricketer a year later.It began well when, as stand-in captain for the injured Michael Vaughan, he scored 193 (a 12th of 13 Test hundreds) in the first innings of the Multan Test. It was a strong response to Pakistan’s first effort, helping England to a lead of 144, though it would eventually flip to a 22-run defeat and eventually a 2-0 series loss. Sadly for Trescothick, that first day with the bat was as good as it got for him.Related

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On the evening of day two, news came through that his father-in-law had fallen off a ladder and suffered a serious head injury. The next evening, his wife, Hayley, asked him to come home. Bound by a sense of duty, Trescothick stayed, evening captaining the ODI series that followed. It was during the latter that Hayley’s grandfather also passed away. Upon returning at Christmas, his guilt was exacerbated by the fact his eight-month-old daughter did not recognise him.That snowballed into mental health issues that saw him unable to tour India and Australia with England, and pull out of a pre-season camp to Dubai with Somerset, and remains something he continues to deal with. But the progress over the years has been encouraging, allowing him to assume a year-round role with the Test side. Standing on the outfield having helped oversee England’s final practice before the second Test begins on Friday, the way he speaks about how the last couple of years have been for him is heartening.”It is great,” he says of his mental wellbeing at present. “I remember [the effects of the 2005 tour] and I talked about it a lot. Parts of touring I loved doing, even to parts of the world that were tough. Pakistan and India are different, tougher types of tours but I still loved it.”With the illness and struggling with anxiety it made it hard to enjoy those tours. Since that point I can get back on the road and enjoying it like it used to be because it is great. We have good times in the team room, eating together every night, playing a bit of golf when you can. Chilling out together it is very much what I used to expect from touring. It has taken a journey and a period of time, I still work at it, I still work on myself on various bits and pieces but it is a much better place than where I was 15 years ago.”His memories of the match itself are still fresh, and the annoyance at how the result slipped away from England on the final day just as raw. Especially given the expectation on the team after the high of the 2005 Ashes.”We chased, what 190 [198] was it, and got 170 [175]? Off the back of where we had been and going into that we all felt really confident it was going to be a walk in the park. Danish Kaneria got wickets and Shoaib Akhtar mopped up the tail. When you have a Shoaib in your attack, he continued on in the rest of the series, you have someone who can turn a game on its head and mop things up pretty quick. We were disappointed. It really hurt us going into last two games as it made us realise we were a bit more fallible than we thought in these conditions. The rest is history. We did not perform well enough.”Trescothick captained England in Multan in 2005•PA PhotosThere are some parallels between Trescothick’s group then and this one now. Primarily the sense of momentum, though that side were much longer in the tooth. And in many ways, they serve as a reminder for the current generation not only to push on but to enjoy where things are at right now.”The difference here is that going back to 2005 that team was coming to the end. We all thought it was going to carry on but it fell away pretty quickly whereas this team is only getting started. It is the start of a good long journey we are going to have for a period of time when we are going to have some exciting cricket and you will see some young players really flourish and stand out, ones on the up considerably at this stage.”For a couple of years before pinnacle of 2005 we built a different style of play, a more aggressive style. We knew we had to come up against Australia and play in that fashion. But scoring at 6.7 an over for 130 overs in a Test match is ridiculous. We have pushed it again. The boundaries have been opened, they have moved on the style of play and what they can achieve and it has gone away from 3.5 an over being good. I remember the Edgbaston game when we got 400 in 80 overs and it was ‘that’s incredible.’ These boys nearly got 600 in a day. Clearly they are finding more opportunities and different ways of pushing the boundaries.”As someone who throws regularly to the batters in the nets, he knows just how good this crop are. He occasionally wears a helmet and has even been hit in the chest by Liam Livingstone, of all people. Thankfully, it was “not too hard”. From his view, he notices the fundamentals have not changed much: balance, technique and head position. The mindset, however, is something that has clearly shifted, likewise the indulgence of players’ natural attacking verve.These are all characteristics Trescothick had, by the way. At his best, he was a destructive left-hander who would never let bowlers settle, picking the right moments to shift the scoring along. That his style was akin to the modern-day wedding of red- and white-ball skills is evident by the fact he was the No. 1-ranked ODI batter in June 2003, and was as high as sixth in the Test rankings in November 2005. Thus, it is no surprise his response when asked if he would have enjoyed slotting into this team comes almost immediately: “I would have loved to.””Any batter would have loved this apart from probably Paul Collingwood. We would have loved this environment because it is so free. It is enjoyable, the methods and way talking aout it in the changing room is exciting. You want to come out here every day, walk out with them and have the opportunity to bat. It’s still great watching from the balcony and what they do.”

Professional contracts bring pressure to perform – how one side is meeting that challenge

Valkerie Baynes13-May-2021When Kate Green starts working with an athlete, the conversation usually begins with her asking a question and goes something like this:Green is a trained practitioner specialising in performance psychology and personal development. She works with the Lionesses in football and was recently appointed as Psycho-Social Lead for the Sunrisers cricket team who, regardless of her fascinating job title, just call her “Kate”.It’s all part of normalising conversation about the mental aspects of being an elite sportsperson as much as the physical side of training and it is an area Green and Danni Warren, Sunrisers’ Regional Director of Women’s Cricket, are passionate about.”It’s really about helping each individual in a young team, an inexperienced team, in a world that no one’s been in before,” Warren tells ESPNcricinfo.”We’ve gone from having a purely amateur game to professionalising it and expecting players and staff to be able to deal with those pressures.”Sunrisers are one of eight teams which contested the inaugural Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy last year. The same eight teams will play in that competition again in 2021 as well as the new Women’s Regional T20 after 41 women signed professional contracts for the coming season. Those contracts are awarded in addition to the 17 centrally contracted England Women’s players as part of the ECB’s restructure of domestic women’s cricket.Sunrisers encompass the London & East Region, including Middlesex, Essex and Northamptonshire. Their squad ranges in age from 17-29, five of whom – Naomi Dattani, Cordelia Griffith, Amara Carr, Jo Gardner and Kelly Castle – hold professional regional contracts.”I think back to around this time last year where I had the opportunity to ring a handful of girls and tell them that they were going to get a full-time professional contract,” Warren recalls. “They had worked for many years to get this, and it had been what they were about.”Speaking with some of them it was, ‘we’d achieved what we set out to do’, you felt a weight lifted off your shoulders. Then about a week later you realise now you’ve got to live up to the expectations of that contract.”Cordelia Griffith is one of five Sunrisers to earn a full-time professional domestic contract•Getty ImagesDriving Warren’s vision for helping players develop as people and athletes was the fact that most of the women and girls in the new structure won’t have been through an academy system that supported their personal and professional development in the same way as their male counterparts. That will gradually change with Sunrisers last month announcing a 14-strong academy intake.”In the men’s game, by the time you get a full-time contract at 19, 20, 21 you’ve had six, seven years of support,” Warren says. “So I was really keen and Kate being available gave us the experience level that we needed for this.”During her 18 years in the field, Green has worked extensively with the boys’ academy system, county professional teams and England at U17, U19, Lions and elite level. She held a senior performance role at UK Sport working with Olympic and Paralympic athletes before heading into football and then, last year, setting up her own consultancy.”What we were really keen to do was offer the girls support for them as a person and as a player, and so that’s why it is this more holistic and well-rounded psychological and personal development support,” Green says.What became clear from her early days helping academy players 15 years ago was that these young people needed help as they grew into adulthood in the tough environment of elite sport.”They’re people navigating the world, making sense of life, and then you add in all this complexity of performing under pressure and all the weight that that brings, both in expectation from the badge but also that you put on yourself,” Green says.”I just try and help people navigate that and then try and help teams work better together to try and create that psychological safety that enables you to perform under pressure.”So if the desire for guidance has been there for so long, why is there still a stigma attached to psychology?”In my opinion it’s been not funded equally alongside the physical and technical and tactical development within the games,” Green says. “So we’ve always been the last one at the table.”Psychs are consultants normally or part-time, they’re not a full-time member of staff like others. So it was always seen as an added extra and invariably then it was when there’s a crisis. It’s positioned in a medical framework of when there’s a problem.”For me good, positive psychology and personal development is proactive and it’s done equally to the physical counterparts, so you’ve got a parity between your physical and your mental health. That’s health being the optimal word rather than ill-health. No one wanted to have a problem, and therefore you avoid it or you try and deal with stuff on your own.”And while there’s long been the assumption that this attitude pervades men’s sport, Green has discovered it’s not only among men, or even exclusive to sport.”I think it’s across sport and society,” she says. “If it’s positioned as something you need for help, that’s always [met with], ‘well I won’t go until I need help, until I’m at breaking point’.”So with the Sunrisers and the Lionesses, Green has those conversations about working on mental attributes as well as physical ones. She has agreed with players she works with that regular meetings between them are “normal”.”It’s not like, ‘I’ve been sent to her,’ it’s more, ‘oh yeah you’re catching up with Kate because that’s what we do,'” Green says.Kelly Castle is part of Sunrisers’ innovative set-up•Getty ImagesThe main themes that Green deals with fall into sports and life categories. Issues such as selection and non-selection, injury and performance as well as relationships, education and career options beyond sport. You could call it prevention rather than cure, or simply proactivity and preparedness.”I focus on always be prepared for the unexpected,” Green says. “Never presume if you sit down with a batsman who’s just scored 160 runs, he’s going to be okay. People tend to go, ‘oh he’s scored 160, he must be great, or she must be fine.'”There’s some very secret battles that go on. I’ve worked with numerous players where there’s been all sorts going on and then they still perform, we’re talking about highly functioning people.”That’s where it gets a bit harder for athletes than it does people in society. They’re still functioning in their environment but it is starting to come out. They’re not performing like they want to, or they’re putting their body through the wringer by being sick before every time they go out to bat or bowl, or play a game because the anxiety is so high.”Early on, Green was staggered to discover how common it was for athletes to experience signs of extreme stress and think it was normal.”I do a lot of education on the psych response in the body, so that they understand that if their eyes become a bit more blurry or their sound goes a bit – their hearing – that’s high-level anxiety playing out which is protecting your body under threat,” she explains.”We talk through what is normal but what is also his or her choice. As in, that might be normal in performance, and under stress, but it doesn’t mean you have to live with it.”What I was finding when I first came into the job was more senior athletes have been doing this for years to themselves and thought it was part of performance. I was saying, ‘I know a lot of high-performing people who don’t have to put themselves through that to perform. Is there another way we could do this to make it more sustainable?'”What we don’t want is people putting their bodies and minds through all sorts to get through a career and then have a really difficult time in a big tournament and get sent home, or choose to come home and bow out of the game that way.”Warren is also determined not to see players end their careers in that fashion. On the contrary, she wants to keep them in sport, even after their playing days are over.”In 10, 20 years’ time, I’d like to be able to sit here and see all of these players and staff continuing to be active in the game, continuing to give something back because we gave them the opportunity to survive in the rocky world of professional cricket,” Warren says.And she hopes the benefits stretch beyond the cricket field.”The more we can have these conversations about it, then the general public will be able to hear the stories, they’ll be able to feel comfort in knowing that people that they look up to work very hard at that element of their life,” Warren says.”Hopefully it will make people more willing to reach out when they feel they need to reach out, because they know that you’re not unique, you’re not on your own. Everybody goes through it, whichever walk of life you choose to go down.”

تحدث الكرواتي كرونسلاف يورتشيتش المدير الفني لنادي بيراميدز، عن خسارة فريقه أمام فلامينجو البرازيلي، في بطولة كأس إنتركونتيننتال. 

وخسر فريق بيراميدز من نظيره فلامينجو، بثنائية نظيفة، في نصف نهائي بطولة كأس إنتركونتيننتال، في المباراة التي جمعت بين الفريقين مساء اليوم السبت، على ملعب أحمد بن علي بالدوحة. 

طالع.. فيديو.. بيراميدز يخسر أمام فلامينجو بثنائية ويودع كأس إنتركونتيننتال من نصف النهائي

وقال يورتشيتش في تصريحات على قناة “بي إن سبورتس”: “مواجهة كانت صعبة، أهنئ لاعبي فريقي، قدموا مباراة جيدة جدًا، فلامينجو فريق رائع وكبير وأظهروا كرة قدم جميلة”.

وأضاف: “أردنا أن نسجل ولكن هذه كرة القدم، ولكن دخل مرمانا هدفين من كرات ثابتة ولكن هذه هي كرة القدم وهذا يحدث”.

بينما عبر مصطفى زيكو لاعب فريق بيراميدز، عن حزنه من الخسارة أمام فلامينجو البرازيلي، بثنائية، قائلًا: “الحمد لله كنا نتمنى أن نحقق شيئًا لبلدنا وربنا لم يكرمنا، وواجهنا فريقًا كبيرًا ونحمد الله، وسنغلق الصفحة ونركز في المقبل”.

وواصل: “ليس طبيعي أن نخسر بهدفين من كرات ثابتة رغم أننا مميزون، وكنا غير موفقين، لو كنا موفقين كنا سنحقق نتيجة أفضل من ذلك”.

MatériaMais Notícias

Contratado pelo Santos por R$ 5 milhões, na expectativa de ser o principal reforço do clube para a Série B do Brasileirão, o meia Patrick ainda não conseguiu se encaixar no time titular do Peixe. Enquanto isso, o jogador tem buscado a forma física ideal.

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➡️ Vai dar Brasil? Aposte no Lance! Betting e fature com a Copa América

Desde que chegou ao Santos, há pouco mais de um mês, Patrick perdeu 1,5kg. Atualmente, ele pesa 79,5kg. O percentual de gordura, que é de 10,3%, está dentro da média do elenco, que é de 10,7%.

Por outro lado, os números em campo ainda deixam a desejar. Patrick ainda não foi titular pelo Santos, mas entrou no decorrer de cinco partidas, totalizando 159 minutos, média de 32 por jogo.

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➡️ Siga o Lance! Santos no WhatsApp e acompanhe todas as notícias do Peixe

No período em que esteve em campo, o camisa 88 não participou de gols e sequer finalizou. Tanto que perdeu a oportunidade de assumir a titularidade após a lesão muscular na coxa esquerda sofrida pelo atacante Guilherme durante a vitória santista sobre a Ponte Preta, no dia 15 de maio.

Patrick foi escolhido para entrar no lugar do companheiro contra a Macaca, mas não foi bem. No confronto seguinte, contra o Brusque, o técnico Fabio Carille optou por iniciar com Weslley Patati entre os titulares, o que se repetiu na derrota para o América-MG nesta sexta-feira (24).

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➡️ Veja tabela com datas e horários de todos os jogos do Brasileirão

Internamente, as avaliações do jogador são feitas com cautela. O entendimento é que ele ainda está passando por um processo de adaptação ao novo time, mas que será um investimento que dará retorno técnico não só na segunda divisão, como, também, no projeto do Santos para disputar a Série A em 2025.

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Tottenham manager Thomas Frank has confirmed that an injured Spurs star won’t be back in action for a ‘long time’, with the Dane currently minus a few key first-team players.

Tottenham battle Slavia Prague in the Champions League

Spurs welcome Slavia Prague to North London tonight seeking to reignite their automatic Champions League knockout round hopes with a victory that would edge them closer to securing a coveted top-eight finish.

Frank’s side need all three points against the struggling Czech outfit to maintain momentum after Saturday’s morale-boosting 2-0 win over Brentford ended their miserable six-match winless streak.

The Lilywhites currently sit 16th in the Champions League standings with eight points from five matches, sitting just two points behind the automatic qualification places.

Saturday’s Premier League victory will give Spurs more confidence following the chaotic 5-3 defeat to PSG in their previous European outing, with Richarlison and Xavi Simons securing all three points against Frank’s former employers last weekend.

Despite their lacklustre home form overall this year, the hosts actually boast a formidable home record in European competition, remaining unbeaten in 22 consecutive European games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

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Spurs have won both their Champions League home matches this campaign without conceding, defeating Villarreal and FC Copenhagen.

History also favours Frank’s side, having never lost to Slavia Prague in four previous European meetings, recording three victories and one draw.

Slavia arrive in desperate circumstances, languishing in 31st with just three points from five matches and facing the genuine prospect of early elimination.

The Czech champions have endured a torrid European campaign, failing to register a single victory while remarkably going four consecutive Champions League fixtures without scoring.

Their attacking struggles represent their most significant weakness, with just two goals across the entire league phase.

Despite domestic dominance — sitting five points clear atop the Czech First League following Friday’s 2-1 victory over Teplice — Jindrich Trpisovsky’s side have repeatedly failed to translate that form onto the continental stage.

Their 3-0 home defeat to Arsenal highlighted the gulf in quality when facing elite opposition, while goalless draws against Atalanta and Athletic Bilbao demonstrated defensive resilience without much threat going forward.

Frank faces several selection concerns heading into the clash, though.

Destiny Udogie is sidelined with a hamstring injury which will keep him out until January, while Randal Kolo Muani is doubtful after limping through Saturday’s victory.

Brennan Johnson is also ‘touch and go’ for the encounter, according to Frank, but one significant positive looked to have emerged from Monday’s training session.

James Maddison was spotted working on the grass for the first time since rupturing his ACL during August’s pre-season friendly against Newcastle, with Frank providing an update on the Englishman.

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Regrettably, while the £170,000-per-week playmaker sparked excitement when he was clocked in training, Frank has confirmed in quotes relayed by The Press Association, that Maddison still won’t be back for a ‘long time’.

The 29-year-old, who bagged 22 goals contributions in all competitions last term (12 goals, 11 assists), has been a sore miss for Spurs as they heavily rely on the likes of Mohammed Kudus and Simons for their creativity.

Simons’ phenomenal solo run and goal against Brentford will have done the Dutchman a world of good for his confidence following real criticism since his marquee move from Leipzig in the summer.

The pressure is on him to deliver in the ongoing absence of both Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, with Frank also remaining vague about the latter’s recovery timeline.

After Slavia, Tottenham travel to struggling Nottingham Forest on Sunday, and only a win will do there too.

If you are of an Arsenal persuasion, then it’s likely you’re sitting very happy right now. The Gunners are top of the table, and Mikel Arteta’s side have just dispatched their fierce rivals. Life doesn’t get much better, right?

The sequence of events that played out at the Emirates made their 4-1 victory all the more sweeter.

Speaking in the build-up to the game, Thomas Frank jokingly replied to a reporter’s question about Eberechi Eze by saying, “Who’s Eze?”

The England international infamously rejected a move to Tottenham in the summer despite everything looking as though it was agreed. He joined their rivals instead, heading to his boyhood club, the club of his dreams. The club that rejected him when he was just a boy in the academy.

Well, let it all work out. Frank certainly knows who Eze is now. Draped in Arsenal red, following a few slow months to start the season, he is now a hero.

Arteta’s men strengthened their grip at the top of the Premier League table by recording a remarkable win and much to Frank’s dismay, Eze was the man of the moment, scoring a quite breathtaking hat-trick.

How Eberechi Eze downed Spurs

Wow, just wow. What a moment this was. A few years ago Eze revealed that he cried in his room when he was rejected by Arsenal.

It was always his dream to play for the club and well, that dream became a reality in the summer. Never in his wildest dreams, however, did he expect what played out on Sunday, even if he did pray for such a moment to occur.

This was one of the finest individual performances from an Arsenal player that we can remember. To recount more recent memories, it’s up there with Declan Rice’s performance against Real Madrid last term, with Andrey Arshavin’s four-goal haul at Anfield. Sometimes a player delivers a performance that is so perfect it gets talked about for years to come. This was that moment.

Eze has had to work hard to find form this term, playing a mixture of games on the left flank and in the middle. With skipper Martin Odegaard out injured, he’s had a chance to showcase why he was purchased for £67.5m in the summer.

Yet, before that clash with Spurs, the former Crystal Palace man had scored just once in the league. How quickly things change in football.

Each goal Eze scored just seemed to get better. The first was supplied by Declan Rice and perhaps rather fortuitously, he managed to get a shot away amidst a bunch of Spurs players. It rifled past the goalkeeper to make it 2-0 after Leandro Trossard had opened the scoring.

Eze’s night got better in the second half when, minutes after the half-time interval, he darted onto Jurrien Timber’s pass and found the corner of the goal with his left foot.

His third and final goal came late on when Spurs had thrown players forward. Trossard was at the centre of things again, playing the ball into Eze, who was standing inside the area. He took a touch to set himself and then lashed it home. It capped off an incredible performance, one that will live long not just in his memory, but in the memory of supporters.

Still, he’s not the only one in red and white who had their best game in Arsenal colours.

Not just Eze: Another Arsenal star had his best game for the club

There was a primary reason Arsenal signed Eze in the summer. They needed more depth and they needed more quality on the left flank.

Noni Madueke had already been signed from Chelsea but in Gabriel Martinelli and the aforementioned Trossard, they lacked spice. Between them, they scored eight goals each in Premier League action last term.

Chalkboard

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

The Belgian was perhaps questionably handed a summer pay rise to keep him at the club but when Eze signed, his career at the Emirates Stadium looked as good as done.

Well, how wrong were we? Trossard, in the words of Arsenal writer Connor Humm, has “arguably been the best winger in the Premier League this season.”

Always a man for the big occasion, the 30-year-old rose to the mark again and put in a performance that was equally effective as Eze’s.

Trossard opened the scoring in the first half in brilliant fashion. It was a run from out to in, one that was said to be “like Robert Pires” by Gary Neville on Sky Sports commentary, that made the goal.

Mikel Merino still had plenty to do, however, but he clipped a pass beautifully into the path of Trossard. He took the ball down, spun and then found the net on his left foot. Advantage Arsenal.

Trossard’s work was not done there. The £27m man registered two key passes, one of which proved decisive as he supplied Eze’s goal that sealed his hat-trick.

As The Standard’s Simon Collings noted when the Belgium winger was substituted late on, it was “probably one of his best games in an Arsenal shirt.” Quite.

Minutes played

78

Goals

1

Touches

39

Accurate passes

11/23 (48%)

Key passes

2

Assists

1

Shots on target

1

Accurate crosses

1/1

Successful dribbles

0/4

Duels won

4/10

It was a tireless performance and one that epitomised the former Brighton forward’s time in London.

In the 32 matches in which Trossard has scored for Arsenal, they have never lost. The games he’s scored the most goals of his career against? Liverpool (6), Chelsea (4) and Spurs (4).

The winger is no Usain Bolt, he’s not the quickest player in the world. He’s no Bukayo Saka either, he lacks the same explosiveness. However, what he lacks in that regard, he makes up for in technical ability and mental fortitude. He is a mental giant and one of the hardest-working players in this team.

Eze certainly stole the show at the Emirates but Trossard deserves his flowers too.

Mikel Arteta might have a squad full to bursting with outrageous talent at Arsenal, but it’s still clear who his most important player is: Bukayo Saka.

The Hale End icon has become the club’s talisman in recent years, and when fit, has more often than not been their best attacking outlet.

For example, in 277 appearances, the incredible game-changer has scored 76 goals and provided 71 assists, which is a return made all the more impressive by the fact he started out at left-back.

In short, Saka is an irreplaceable player for Arsenal, so fans should be excited about reports linking the club to someone comparable.

Arsenal target a Saka-type star

Arsenal finally added to their attacking options in the summer, bringing in Viktor Gyokeres to rival Kai Havertz, and Noni Madueke to cover for Saka.

Transfer Focus

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

However, in the minds of most fans, they didn’t properly reinforce the left-hand side, as while Eberechi Eze can play there, he spent almost all of last season playing in midfield, which is also where he has been playing this year.

Moreover, even though Lenadro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli are playing better this year, it wouldn’t be wise to rely on them to keep up the good form, considering how poor they both were last year.

So, with all this in mind, it’s not all that surprising to see the Gunners want to sign a new exciting left-wing option, someone who could be compared to Saka.

At least that is according to a recent report from Caught Offside, which claims Arsenal are interested in Kenan Yıldız.

The report has revealed that the young attacker’s representatives are ‘demanding’ a wage of around €6m, which Juventus consider to be too much, and this stand-off has opened the door to potential suitors.

According to the story, the Gunners are one of them, with Arteta said to be ‘a huge admirer’ of the Turkish talent and his ability to play outwide or down the middle, who has a price tag of around €100m, which is about £88m.

It would be a costly and complicated transfer to get over the line, but given Yıldız’s immense talent and potential, it’s one worth pursuing, especially as he could be another Saka.

Why Yıldız is like Saka

So, as things stand, it’s not controversial to say that Yıldız isn’t close to being the player Saka is.

After all, the Hale End monster is four years older than the Turkish gem, and as a result has had far more time to develop into the world-class international he is today.

However, even though the Englishman is unquestionably the better player at the moment, that does not mean that the 20-year-old is not similar to him, nor does it mean he can’t reach the same level in four years.

Moreover, he already shares a lot in common with the Ealing-born ace.

For example, like the Arsenal star, he has come through at one of the biggest clubs in world football and established himself as one of the first names on the team sheet at such a young age.

More than that, though, he has practically become Juventus’ talisman over the last year, someone the fans can imagine leading the storied Turin outfit back to glory.

After all, he has already amassed 98 appearances for the Old Lady, in which he’s scored 19 goals and provided 15 assists.

Appearances

98

Starts

64

Minutes

5761′

Goals

19

Assists

15

Goal Involvements per Match

0.34

Minutes per Goal Involvement

169.44

What’s even more impressive is that 21 of those goal involvements came in 52 appearances last season.

It’s not just at club level where the positionally versatile Regensburg-born gem has been making waves, either, as he’s already won 26 senior caps for Turkey, scoring five goals and providing four assists.

When you take all of that into account, it’s not hard to see the similarities between the 20-year-old’s rapid rise and Saka’s, nor does it sound all that outrageous when one analyst describes him as “one of the best wingers in the world.”

Ultimately, while it won’t be cheap, Arsenal should do what they can to sign Yıldız, as he’s clearly a superstar in the making and someone who is undeniably Saka-like.

Arsenal can forget Eze by unleashing the "biggest talent in England"

The sensational gem could be a huge star for England and Arsenal as he replaces Eze.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Nov 18, 2025

Luke Weaver is always an interesting interview.

On Thursday during World Series media day, MLB Network's Lauren Shehadi asked the New York Yankees reliever what he would be doing if he wasn't a pitcher. That's when things got weird.

Weaver's initial reaction was "underwater basket weaver" which he then attempted to explain. He said, "And hear me out, play on words. I was definitely a water kid then, you know, ear troubles, tubes that I had to get out of that."

Then he continued by completely changing course. Weaver said, "So now I think, I would love to be a golfer but realistically I would like to combine some type of drawing slash … I don't know."

So, in the end, the answer is "I don't know." But the journey we took to get there might have been worth it.

Weaver had an outstanding 2024 for the Yankees. He finished the season 7-3 with a 2.89 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP and 103 strikeouts against 26 walks in 84 innings. He has continued that hot streak in the postseason, as in eight appearances he is 1-0 with a 2.61 ERA, a 0.77 WHIP and 12 strikeouts and one walk in 10 1/3 innings.

The 31-year-old doesn't need to know what he'd do if he wasn't a pitcher because he's pretty good at being one.

The Dukes balls were at the centre of attention once again as India were unhappy with the replacement ball for the second new ball, incredibly just 10.3 overs into its life on the second morning of the Lord’s Test.The difference in results was stark. Jasprit Bumrah had wreaked havoc with the original ball, taking three wickets in his first 14 deliveries, but India went the rest of the first session without another wicket despite bowling to England’s Nos. 7 and 9. After plenty of remonstrations the ball was changed once again, 48 balls after the first ball change.The second new ball, which went out of shape in just 10.3 overs and didn’t pass through any of the rings on the gauge, had swung 1.869 degrees and seamed 0.579 degrees on average. The replacement ball swung 0.855 degrees an average and seamed 0.594 degrees. More than the data perhaps it was the softness and the age of the ball that irked India.Bumrah said he didn’t want to invite sanctions but also later said he didn’t remember having to ever get the ball changed on his previous two tours of England.Former England fast bowler Stuart Broad, who has been a critic of the balls used in England since 2020, said on the broadcast that the replacement ball looked like it was 18-20 overs old. He also expressed his displeasure on X.”The cricket ball should be like a fine wicketkeeper. Barely noticed,” Broad wrote on X. “We are having to talk about the ball too much because it is such an issue & being changed virtually every innings. Unacceptable. Feels like it’s been five years now. Dukes have a problem. They need to fix it. A ball should last 80 overs. Not 10.”Former England captain Nasser Hussain said there was a “serious issue with the Dukes ball” but felt they were also changed “too often” as players search for the perfect ball.”The first thing is that there’s a serious issue with the Dukes ball,” Hussain said on . “Both captains talked about it before the game. We’ve seen it in this game: in this session, it’s been changed twice. We’ve seen it in the last few years, really, the Dukes ball going out of shape.”The second point at play here is that I think the ball is changed too often. I think we’re getting a bit precious about cricket balls. In the history of the game, the cricket ball gets old, and the cricket ball gets soft. I think we’re getting a bit addicted to having the perfect cricket ball for 80 overs.”The third thing at play is that they got through in that first hour and Bumrah was unplayable … I looked up from my laptop at the back of comms box and went, ‘They’re changing the ball: why would you change the ball that is doing something to a random box of balls?’ You know nothing about that, you know everything about this … I get why they’re getting upset – it did look older, it did look softer — but why change? Why take the gamble? I thought that was a real bizarre thing to do when you’ve got something, especially in this time when the Dukes ball is so all over the place, when you’ve got something, stick to it. They didn’t.”The Dukes ball has been in the eye of a storm since 2020 as it has been going out of shape and soft too soon. The ECB’s decision to introduce Kookaburra balls for four rounds of County Championship matches has also brought the Dukes ball in focus.This series has featured regular complaints from the fielding captain – starting as early as the first session of a Test – and regular ball changes around the 43rd over. During this series, a combination of pitches and the balls has resulted in dramatic results. Wickets have come at an average of 86.09 between overs 31 to 80, the highest average in England since we have maintained ball-by-ball records. It is also marginally the third highest in all Test series we have ball-by-ball-records for, overwhelmingly behind Sri Lanka’s tour of Pakistan in 2008-09 and trailing Zimbabwe’s tour of New Zealand in 2000-01 by just 0.57.