The Lord’s-based Hundred franchise will continue to be known as London Spirit following the sale of a 49% stake to the Silicon Valley consortium known as the “Tech Titans”, with former England performance director Mo Bobat announced as the incoming director of cricket.MCC has been in discussions with its new equity partner for some time and is expected to unveil new team branding – possibly including the club’s famous egg-and-bacon colours – ahead of the 2026 season. But they have opted to keep the name as part of an identity that reflects “the capital’s energy, diversity, and cricketing heritage”.Bobat’s appointment is the first significant move by any of the Hundred teams after six of the eight equity sale deals were signed off by the ECB last month. Bobat, who will retain his role in the IPL as Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s director of cricket, is set to join up with Spirit from October.Related

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“It’s an honour to join London Spirit at such an exciting time,” Bobat said. “The opportunity to shape the cricketing future of this franchise, working with MCC and our new partners, the Tech Titans, is incredibly exciting. I’m looking forward to building something special – on and off the field.”London Spirit chairman, Julian Metherell, said: “Today marks a significant moment for London Spirit. Mo Bobat brings unmatched expertise and vision to the role of Director of Cricket, and we’re thrilled to welcome him. At the same time, retaining the London Spirit name reflects our belief in the identity that’s been built – one that resonates with the capital, our fans, and our values. We now look ahead to a new era, with fresh energy and clear purpose.”London Spirit men, currently coached by Justin Langer, lost their opening game of the 2025 season after being bowled out for 80 in front of their new owners – but bounced back to record victory against Welsh Fire at the weekend.

Tilak, the South Zone captain, is unavailable with the Asia Cup coming up and Sai Kishore hasn’t recovered from injury either

Ashish Pant31-Aug-2025South Zone have named Puducherry allrounder Ankit Sharma and Andhra top-order batter Shaik Rasheed as replacements for Tilak Varma and R Sai Kishore for the Duleep Trophy semi-final, which begins on September 4 at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.Tilak, who was named South Zone captain, has been included in India’s Asia Cup squad and will miss the Duleep Trophy games. As a result, Kerala wicket-keeper batter Mohammed Azharuddeen, who was initially named vice-captain, will now lead the South Zone side. Tamil Nadu’s N Jagadeesan, who was also called up for the fifth Test of the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy last month, has been named vice-captain.Related

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Sai Kishore, meanwhile, hasn’t recovered from the finger injury which forced him to miss the pre-season Buchi Babu tournament in Chennai. He hurt his finger while intercepting a M Shahrukh Khan drive in his follow-through during a first-division club match in Chennai.Ankit, 34, had the second-highest wickets for Puducherry in the 2024-25 Ranji season: 24 from seven matches at 28.95. He also scored 216 runs at 24.00. Rasheed, 20, who also turned out for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2025, was Andhra’s highest run-scorer in the last Ranji season, recording 627 runs in 12 innings at 52.25, which included a double-century against Hyderabad.Both Rasheed and Ankit had originally been named in South Zone’s stand-by list.South Zone will face North Zone in the semi-final, who qualified on the basis of a first-innings lead against East Zone in the quarter-final. In the other semi-final, Central Zone will face West Zone.South Zone squad
Mohammed Azharuddeen (capt & wk), Tanmay Agarwal, Shaik Rasheed, Devdutt Padikkal, Mohit Kale, Salman Nizar, N Jagadeesan (wk), T Vijay, Ankit Sharma, Tanay Thyagarajan, Vyshak Vijaykumar, MD Nidheesh, Ricky Bhui, Basil NP, Gurjapneet Singh, Snehal Kauthankar.

It’s been a turbulent six months for Ademola Lookman, who didn’t get his summer move and has now been told to never speak to Ivan Juric again after a touchline spat with the Atalanta manager.

The Nigerian reportedly handed in a formal transfer request in the summer, but saw his exit blocked by Atalanta. Taking to social media to reveal the news, Lookman said: “I feel I have no choice but to speak out for what I believe is right and I feel that enough is enough. I can confirm I have now handed in a formal transfer request.”

That move never arrived, however, and the former Everton player was forced to stay put at Atalanta as the summer transfer window came to a close. Since then, Atalanta have struggled to get going in Serie A – falling to as low as 11th.

Lookman, himself, has also struggled to find form and has scored just once in nine appearances across the Champions League and Serie A. Compared to last season’s 20-goal total, it’s fair to say that his standards have dropped.

It’s worth noting, though, that his current form has not been enough to dissuade Tottenham Hotspur. The Lilywhites have reportedly made Lookman their top target in 2026 as they look to sign the 28-year-old who is desperate to leave Atalanta.

This time around, the Italians may have no choice but to let the Nigeria international leave after his public spat with manager Juric. The former Southampton manager took hold of Lookman after he decided to substitute the winger in a 1-0 win over Marseille in the Champions League, before the pair exchanged heated words.

Fans flocked to social media in the aftermath to request a transfer on the winger’s behalf.

Lookman told to never speak to Juric again after touchline spat

Several pundits have had their say on the incident since the full-time whistle was blown in Italy, including former Premier League forward Troy Deeney.

The former Watford star went as far as to suggest that Lookman should never speak to Juric again, saying: “When you physically put your hands on somebody, at that point me and you are not going to have a conversation again. There’s nothing you can say today, tomorrow, next week, that makes me forget you did that to me in front of everyone.”

The one benefactor to the argument may well be Spurs. If those in North London were watching, then they’ll be well aware that things have reached boiling point in Italy – allowing them to take full advantage.

Ever since being denied a move in the summer, both Lookman and Atalanta have struggled to find top form. It begs the question as to whether they made the right decision to block the exit of an unhappy player.

Only Everton Weekes and Herbert Sutcliffe have scored 1000 Test runs in fewer innings

Sampath Bandarupalli27-Sep-20242 – Players to complete 1000 Test runs quicker than Kamindu Mendis, who got there in 13 innings. Both Everton Weekes and Herbert Sutcliffe needed 12 Test innings to reach 1000 runs, while Don Bradman got there in 13 innings.The Sri Lankan record was previously held by Roy Dias, Michael Vandort and Dhananjaya de Silva, all in 23 innings.1 – Kamindu became the first player with a fifty-plus score in each of his first eight Test matches. The previous longest streak of fifty-plus scores in consecutive Tests from debut was seven by Saud Shakeel.2 – Sri Lankans with fifty-plus scores in eight or more consecutive Test matches. Kumar Sangakkara is the other, with fifty-plus scores in nine successive Tests in 2014.13 – Innings needed for Kamindu to score his fifth hundred in Test cricket. Only three batters needed fewer innings – Weekes (ten), Sutcliffe (12) and Neil Harvey (12). Bradman and George Headley also scored their fifth in 13 innings.The Sri Lanka record – in 38 innings – was previously held by Aravinda de Silva and Dinesh Chandimal. The most number of hundreds any Sri Lankan had in their first 13 Test innings before Kamindu was three by Vandort.ESPNcricinfo Ltd5 – Test hundreds for Kamindu, all while batting at No. 5 or lower, and all in 2024. Only two other batters have scored five or more centuries while batting at No. 5 or lower in a calendar year in Tests – six by Jonny Bairstow in 2022 and five by Michael Clarke in 2012.3 – Number of Sri Lanka batters with five or more Test hundreds in a calendar year before Kamindu. Tillakaratne Dilshan was the last one, with six in 2009. Aravinda had seven centuries in 1997, while Mahela Jayawardene also had five in 2009.91.27 – Kamindu’s batting average in Test cricket is the second-highest among players with 1000-plus runs, behind only Bradman’s 99.94.His average is also fourth-highest after 13 Test innings, behind Harvey (106.56), Bradman (99.67) and Sunil Gavaskar (91.80).6 – Number of century partnerships involving Kamindu in 2024 for the sixth (or lower) wicket. Only one batter was part of more century stands for the sixth (or lower) wicket in a calendar year in Tests – seven by Bairstow in 2016.

Playing just his fourth IPL game, he took on an attack boasting 732 international caps and tore it to shreds

Karthik Krishnaswamy08-Apr-20252:37

Jaffer: Hope to see Arya in India colours soon

Virender Sehwag was a cricketer of many extraordinary gifts, but the thing that made him so different from other players with similar gifts in his era was an ability to distil the complex art of batting into a pursuit of crystal-clear simplicity. His philosophy could be condensed into two maxims: “forget the previous ball” and “see ball, hit ball”. The philosophy existed even before anyone needed to put words to it. He didn’t need to repeat the words to himself as the bowler ran in. They were already part of his very being.When Priyansh Arya, another opening batter from Delhi, took strike Tuesday night, he could have been excused if his previous ball was playing on his mind. That ball was a jaffa from Jofra Archer that had snaked from leg to top of off at 144.6kph and bowled him for a golden duck.From all available evidence, that ball occupied no part of Arya’s mind when he faced up to his first ball on Tuesday. From all available evidence, his only thought was some verbal or non-verbal version of “see ball, hit ball”. Khaleel Ahmed’s length was okay, and he even got a bit of swing away from the left-hand batter, but he gave Arya width, and he wasn’t going to stand around and let width go unpunished. He took a short step forward, but not across, so he could extend his arms fully and carve the ball high over backward point for six.Related

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Minimal footwork, still head, stable base, and a gloriously unconstrained bat-swing. A flashback in a mirror.Over the next four balls Arya faced, the flip side of that lack of footwork began to make itself felt. He was nearly out caught-and-bowled off the leading edge, and another edge lobbed just wide of short third.All this, however, was out of Arya’s mind when he faced up to the fifth legal ball of Khaleel’s over. Here was width again, and another chance to free his arms. The first six had gone behind square; this one went just in front, more punch than carve.This IPL 2025 game between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) kept giving Arya the chance to worry about the previous ball, or balls of comparable recency. Each time, he paid no heed, and chose instead to simply see the ball in front of him and give it a whack.PBKS had just lost their first wicket when he took strike for the first time in the second over. Mukesh Choudhary went short and erred marginally down the leg side, and Arya, standing more or less still but having enough time to shift his weight from front foot to back, hooked him for six.When he faced up in the fourth over, PBKS had just lost their second wicket, that of their captain Shreyas Iyer. It didn’t inhibit Arya in any way – it didn’t even stop him driving at catchable height through the off-side ring as he crashed Choudhary for three successive fours.

Arya’s century, which came off 39 balls, was the joint fourth-quickest in IPL history, and the quickest by an uncapped batter. If those facts didn’t make his innings special enough, throw in the fact that the others in the PBKS top six scored 0, 9, 4, 9 and 1

PBKS kept losing wickets, Arya kept playing his shots, and he didn’t stop even after he had come close to getting out. Another aerial square drive brushed the fingers of the diving point fielder, when PBKS were 49 for 2. They were 114 for 5 when a miscued loft ended up in the hands of long-off, only for the fielder to step on a boundary cushion.Arya’s instincts were keeping PBKS going at ten an over or thereabouts even when they were losing so many wickets. At the time of that fluffed chance at long-off, Arya had scored over 64% of PBKS’s runs. By the time he was out for 103 off 42 balls, he had upped that percentage to nearly 67.The century, which came off 39 balls, was the joint-fourth-quickest in IPL history, and the quickest by an uncapped batter. If those facts didn’t make his innings special enough, throw in the fact that the others in the PBKS top six scored 0, 9, 4, 9 and 1.Interviewed during the break between innings, Arya seemed to suggest that the conditions in Mullanpur demanded that he had to keep batting this way even as his partners came and went. PBKS had just set CSK a target of 220, and this is what he said when asked about the conditions and what he thought of his team’s chances: “The ball is coming on nicely. It is not turning much. We have to bowl in good areas and take as many wickets as we can in the powerplay.”Arya didn’t seem to think PBKS were safe despite the magnitude of their total, and they eventually only won by 18 runs.2:44

Is Arya’s ton the greatest IPL knock by an uncapped player?

This, increasingly, is the way of T20 – or certainly the way of the IPL. Teams batting first are loath to let early wickets – PBKS lost five in the first eight overs here – curtail their ambitions. Better lose big in the pursuit of possible victory than lose by a respectable margin having given up the chance of winning.Embracing this thinking takes doubt away from players like Arya, and gives them the license to be themselves, no matter what. After the match, PBKS captain Iyer said he had reinforced this message to Arya after his first-baller against Archer.”When I had a chat with him in the last game, he was a bit timid in terms of his decision-making when he faced Jofra,” Iyer said. “Today, when he went out to bat, he was like, ‘I’m just backing my instincts – I saw the ball pitched in my area and I was just free-flowing’. And that’s the mindset I want each and every individual playing in the team to have. One odd day, you don’t have it your way, but today he kept on going, he was fearless, and it basically was one of the top knocks I’ve seen in the IPL so far.”In his post-match press conference, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming noted how Arya’s willingness to take on risk, in the circumstances PBKS were in, had shifted pressure back onto the bowlers.”It’s very brave, when you come off a first-ball dismissal, to look to play a shot like that,” Fleming said. “Our fault was we were too wide. The plan was to bowl straight, at the stumps, and create some pressure that way. The first ball we bowled straight, we created a caught-and-bowled chance, and that [had it been caught] changes the night quite drastically.Priyansh Arya made a 39-ball hundred•BCCI”So we were just a little sloppy. We were put under pressure, and the young man hit some amazing shots. We succumbed a little bit to that pressure by putting the ball in areas that he was stronger in, and we just didn’t adjust quick enough. He countered us, he played some beautiful shots.”When batsmen at the other end are faltering, it’s pretty special to go out and create the innings yourself, and that was what he was doing for a majority of the game.”As Fleming observed, Arya’s innings was special not just for his uncluttered, unfettered mindset but the quality of his shot-making too. PBKS wanted both these things when they fought off furious interest from Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to sign Arya for INR 3.8 crore, more than ten times his base price, at the last auction.At times on Tuesday, Arya deceived you into thinking he was merely putting bad balls away, so simple did he make his stand-and-deliver method look. But every so often he played a shot that made you gasp.He went from 47 to 53, for instance, by exposing all his stumps against a ball that R Ashwin fired towards middle and leg, and flat-batting it over wide long-off.Priyansh Arya hit seven fours and nine sixes in his 42-ball 103•BCCIThen, on 80, Matheesha Pathirana slung a low full-toss across Arya from over the wicket. It was just inside the wide guideline when it reached the batter. It was close to being a well-executed wide yorker, and Arya opened his bat face and sliced underneath the ball to send it flying flat and effortless over the backward-point boundary.And he hit an even better shot next ball. This was a genuinely good ball from Pathirana, skidding towards Arya’s left hip from just short of a length, giving him barely any room to work with and barely any time. Or so you thought until his bat came scything across the ball and slightly underneath it to half-pull, half-shovel it over the midwicket boundary.A relatively regulation pull brought him another six off the next ball, and the century came up off the ball after that, via an edged four to third. He was batting on 102 off 39 balls, and the other six PBKS batters who had batted up to this point had, between them, scored 46 off 40 balls. This 24-year-old playing just his fourth IPL game, with no first-class experience and just 25 domestic white-ball games coming into this tournament, had taken on an attack boasting 732 international caps and torn it to shreds.

West Ham boss Nuno Espírito Santo has lavished praise on a Hammers academy graduate who possesses “so much talent”, and one who ex-midfielder Michael Carrick also holds in very high esteem.

Saturday’s clash between West Ham and Burnley at the London Stadium could be seen as a relegation six-pointer already, with just three points separating the two struggling sides as both are likely to be battling the drop come May.

The hosts sit 18th with just two wins from ten matches, while Burnley sit a place above with just one more victory to show for their efforts since promotion from the Championship.

West Ham finally ended their miserable run last weekend with a morale-boosting victory at the expense of Newcastle.

The Hammers came from behind to defeat Eddie Howe’s side 3-1 at home, with Lucas Paqueta, an own goal from Sven Botman and Tomas Soucek securing a much-needed three points and Nuno’s first win since taking charge.

West Ham’s results in the Premier League so far

Sunderland 3-0 West Ham

West Ham 1-5 Chelsea

Nottingham Forest 0-3 West Ham

West Ham 0-3 Tottenham

West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace

Everton 1-1 West Ham

Arsenal 2-0 West Ham

West Ham 0-2 Brentford

Leeds 2-1 West Ham

West Ham 3-1 Newcastle

Remarkably, over half of West Ham’s shots on target since Nuno’s arrival came in that Newcastle win, nine out of 16, while Burnley have attempted the fewest shots out of any Premier League team this season, according to The Analyst.

Nuno’s side will be desperate to claim back-to-back home victories for the first time since February and climb out of the relegation zone, and history actually favours West Ham.

West Ham are unbeaten in their last six top flight meetings with Burnley, three wins and three draws, but more impressively, the east Londoners haven’t lost any of their last eleven top-flight matches against Burnley when scoring at least one goal (11v11).

Away from the stats, Nuno finally found a winning formula against Newcastle that gifts West Ham plenty of encouragement heading into this weekend.

A key part of their impressive performance last time out was the introduction of highly-rated young midfielder Freddie Potts, who was finally handed his first Premier League start after many calls to do so.

The 22-year-old, who spent the last two seasons playing regularly on loan at Wycombe and Portsmouth, put in an excellent display next to Paqueta at the heart of West Ham’s engine room, and he’s surely in line to start again when West Ham meet Burnley.

Nuno praises West Ham youngster Freddie Potts ahead of Burnley

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Nuno was effusive in his praise for Potts after his Newcastle display, but insists the West Ham gem still has some way to go.

Nuno isn’t the only man to stand up and take notice of Potts’ performance either, with Carrick explaining how “massively impressed” he was by the Englishman on Match of the Day.

Potts looks like the latest in a fairly steady line of exciting West Ham talents to come through in recent years, and going by his last outing, 25/26 could be his breakout campaign.