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The Afghanistan coach looks back at his side’s World Cup campaign and ahead at what lies in store

Interview by Himanshu Agrawal07-Dec-20233:15

Trott: Want to see Afghanistan build on their success

Afghanistan made waves in India last month under head coach Jonathan Trott, nearly making the World Cup semi-finals. They beat top sides England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka on the way and were on the verge of doing so against Australia before Glenn Maxwell played perhaps the most extraordinary innings in the history of ODI cricket. Trott spoke about the World Cup experience and the challenges of coaching Afghanistan during the tournament.How would you describe your time with Afghanistan so far?
Obviously very new and different. Though I went in not knowing a great deal about the side, I was straightaway impressed with the talent, as also the ambition. Then you have the challenges that you would assume you would normally have with developing nations. It’s a blend of the two.What has impressed you the most about the players? And where would you like to see some changes?
The talent is obviously there, and that’s evident when players go and play in franchise leagues. The Afghan players have always been very entertaining and dynamic with the way they play.Related

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But the things that I wanted to change – and I think we could start seeing the changes in the way they approach the batting – are with the method. What is the method behind whatever you’re trying to do? Have you thought about it? Have you planned for it? They need to have a bit more of an understanding of what they are trying to do, instead of leaving it to by hook or by crook. [They need to think] let’s plan to win, let’s plan to be successful, and let’s not just rock up and compete. It’s that mindset of being ambitious, but also at the same time thinking: how is it going to happen?We are doing okay so far, though the players could be helped a little bit more off the field with regards to the support they get in the organisation of things. But again, that happens, that comes with developing nations and sides. You’ve got to remember where Afghanistan cricket comes from, and how long they’ve been around for compared to the other subcontinent teams.So I would just like to see them building on the success of this World Cup. Stage by stage getting better and more competitive. I know from now that Afghanistan is not going to be seen as [just another] match, they are going to be seen as a competitor and are never going to be taken lightly. I’m not saying they were taken lightly in the World Cup, but people are now starting to recognise the talent that the side has. And if they start playing together as a unit and have a bit of a plan, we’ll see what’s attainable.As the team’s coach, what did you learn during the World Cup?
My learnings were about the difference sometimes from when you go inland [in India] to when you are on the coast. It’s a bit more humid with regards to the dew, and also how the pitches change in night games. In India, the pitches are very difficult to read and very difficult to get right – certainly they were in the World Cup – and at that time of year especially.”What I can make sure is I try and leave Afghanistan cricket in a better place, and set the standards as high as possible”•Matthew Lewis/ICC/Getty ImagesThere are so many things that it is dependent on in India, but I think that’s what made the World Cup so entertaining and exciting. [It was] not necessarily the fact that if you won the toss, you had a huge advantage. Sometimes, I reckon, it was better if you didn’t win it because the pressure was off. You didn’t have to make a decision, so the players just got on with it. Sometimes when you make a decision – and, for example, say, you want to bowl first – there’s pressure to bowl a team out for maybe 250, or to limit them. Whereas if you didn’t win the toss, there was a sort of release of that pressure.Also, the learning for me was that there is still time for the old-fashioned way of playing. There need to be partnerships, building an innings, and being able to consolidate when things have not gone your way. You’ve got to be able to play in a number of ways: defend, attack, or rotate. So it was a good World Cup from that point of view. But yeah, just wish we’d been able to beat Australia!Who do you think are the Afghanistan players to watch out for in the next five years?
Ibrahim Zadran is obviously a fantastic player. The way he played as a batsman, and how he is as a person, means he’s a part of the future of the Afghanistan side.Azmatullah Omarzai, as an allrounder, is also going to be a very good player, I believe. Being promoted to No. 5, and not only taking that responsibility but also being able to excel and bat in tricky situations was fantastic. We saw the way he played in the South Africa game; he should have got a hundred but unfortunately just missed out.I was also impressed with the way that Ikram Alikhil kept wicket, as well as how he played as a batsman. We had Noor Ahmad come in as well, and it made selection really tricky. We were playing extra spinners, and so Fazalhaq Farooqi had to miss out.Allrounder Azmatullah Omarzai topped the batting averages for Afghanistan at the World Cup, with 353 runs at 70.60, and took seven wickets•Alex Davidson/Associated PressThere’s a good nucleus of players getting a lot of experience by playing franchise cricket around the world, being coached by the best coaches, and playing with the best players in the world. The side can only get better. So right now it’s exciting. Afghanistan is getting those players together and using those experiences, and making sure we compete on the world stage.What about Afghanistan’s fast bowlers, like Naveen-ul-Haq and Farooqi? Is the dependence on spin bowling lessening?
Yeah, it’s fantastic when you have got two skilful bowlers in Naveen and Farooqi. They are not express pace, and that’s the one thing we perhaps need to work on if we want to compete in all formats and in different conditions, or if we want to go and take on the bigger sides – certainly when the ball doesn’t spin or there isn’t any assistance for swing.That’s the one thing I have challenged the coaches [about]. I have challenged the high-performance centre too. We need some pace bowling. It’s exciting that we have two seamers now. And Azmat is obviously doing that job as well, but we need more seamers because injuries do happen with the amount of cricket the players play.Talk us through the planning that went into the England game.
I don’t think there was any special planning. It was just a case of the players executing the way that they wanted to, and the way we had spoken about.Against Bangladesh we had a bad game first game. Maybe we put a bit too much pressure on ourselves because it was the first game, and we came unstuck. We then saw a bit of progress against India in Delhi. The fact we had played in Delhi before gave us a bit of insight into how to play [against England].Gurbaz had got off to an absolute flier. We then had a bit of a wobble where we had a few wickets falling, including a run-out, but then Azmat steadied the ship with Ikram and we got ourselves to a defendable total.The coach who writes: Trott with his whiteboard, on which he broke games down into a series of small goals for his team to achieve•Darrian Traynor/ICC/Getty ImagesI think it was just the perfect game for us, with the way we bowled with the new ball, and with how the spinners bowled obviously. The win – and the manner in which they won what was only their second victory in a World Cup ever – gave the players a huge amount of confidence.Your dressing-room whiteboard, where you put down targets for ten-over blocks during the World Cup, became pretty famous. The obvious conclusion is that you helped break the target down, but what went into it in terms of the method?
It’s a case of just explaining it to the players, certainly for those who don’t have the huge experience of playing under pressure in World Cups, having not played as much ODI cricket as other sides. It’s predominantly T20 where they would’ve played under pressure a lot of the time – certainly in franchise [cricket]. So it helps just to break it down to smaller targets. We had to chase 283 against Pakistan, and when you’re starting on nought for nought, that can be quite challenging and seem quite far away. But just by breaking it down slowly, with those little targets, we were able to obtain it and win by eight wickets.And that’s the most amazing feeling. The players were able to put pressure [on the opposition] by just doing the small things really well. We had a great start from Ibrahim Zadran, and Gurbaz also played really well. That, I think, gave us confidence. Then [it was about] our ability not to panic, and not to feel like we had to slog our way to victory. We could actually just occupy the crease.It’s very hard for the opposition to stop our players because of their attacking nature. But sometimes our players have been guilty of perhaps going from gears one and two, skipping three and four, up to five and six straightaway – because of the excitement or perhaps because of a bit of clouded judgement. So we saw what was achievable with little things like the whiteboard, by just chatting about the different stages of the games or getting to drinks and breaking the game down and keeping it really simple.How do you ensure Afghanistan don’t get carried away after beating better teams like England? For instance, Afghanistan lost heavily to New Zealand in the game just after winning against England.
That was because it’s such a new and exciting thing for Afghanistan [to beat England]. It’s great when you win, but the challenge, like I always say, is to back it up and do it again. If you lose, the great thing about cricket is, you get another opportunity with another game to try and correct what happened in the last game. So the challenge is always to win back to-back games.Fazalhaq Farooqi (centre, with black wristband) after the win against England. Players like Farooqi have been changing Afghanistan’s reputation of having a spin-dominant bowling attack•ICC/Getty ImagesIf you look back at the New Zealand game, we dropped four simple catches. We dropped two players that went on to get over 50, and also two catches in the powerplay after choosing to bowl first. I feel that decision was the right one. If we had executed it, we could have bowled them out for quite a low score. But New Zealand also played fantastically. [Glenn] Phillips and [Tom] Latham had a really good partnership after being about 115 for 4. We were in a good position there, but then they batted for something like 25 or 26 overs.And that’s what I mean when I say there’s still room for old-fashioned cricket; not typically old-fashioned, but different types of cricket – like consolidating. New Zealand did that really well and showed our players just how important partnerships are, and how important it is to have impact players going into the last ten overs. And it’s very hard to stop those players.That’s something our players saw when we were batting against India. And then they were able to do that against Pakistan. So that shows to me the players are learning from playing in World Cups like this one, and by playing against better opposition. They’re starting to see the traits and the habits of the top players and teams. So the New Zealand game was obviously very disappointing, but I think we learned how ruthless international sport is.How did you motivate the players after the loss against Australia?
It was a tricky one because New Zealand beat Sri Lanka, which then almost eliminated us. But, you know, we had to play against South Africa, which is a fantastic side, in the amazing stadium in Ahmedabad. So there was really no need for me to motivate them. What I said to them was, “Let’s make sure that we try and leave here with five victories, because that sets the standard for the Afghanistan side playing in the next 50-over World Cup.” It’s always about the process. You’re not going to play for Afghanistan forever. I’m not going to coach Afghanistan forever. But what I can make sure is I try and leave it in a better place, and set the standards as high as possible for the next person and players to take over.Unfortunately, we didn’t quite get there. Rassie van der Dussen just played a really good innings, and we didn’t bat as well as we could. Azmat didn’t have as much support as he could have had. But the Australia game was tough and we saw something very, very special from Maxwell to beat us. If people are going to have to play like that to beat us, then as long as we are doing as much as we can, you can’t complain too much. But I still complain a little bit!”I think it’s good when international cricket is catching the headlines. It’s good building towards a World Cup, whereas franchises seem to be together for a month and then there’s another franchise in another country”•Matt Roberts/Associated PressWhat did the ODI Super League mean for Afghanistan in the lead-up to the World Cup?
It’s a good case of seeing how you’ve gone over the course of quite a long period of time. That’s how qualification is done, and all sorts of things are taken into account. So every game and series, you’re playing against good opposition, every game’s important, and there’s always something on the line. For me, there are lots of benefits to that. And there’s also the case that the major playing nations get to play against sides that perhaps they previously wouldn’t play against. Sometimes South Africa, Australia or whoever, played a game in Ireland or in the Netherlands, it was as a sort of warm-up game, but with the Super League there was importance to it.A year ago we saw England go and play three games [against Netherlands] in Amsterdam. The cricket was not only very important to the side, it also took cricket to the Netherlands, who saw a world-class side playing there. And the players got to test themselves. So whenever we get the opportunity – like how we’ll be going to India in January to play T20Is – it’s fantastic and really exciting.So does the absence of the Super League now take some motivation away? Added to it, nowadays ICC tournaments alternate between ODIs and T20Is. And though Afghanistan have qualified for the next Champions Trophy, it’s more than a year away.
For me, world tournaments are good because they get everyone’s attention onto the game. It gets the world’s imagination, really. I think it’s good when world cricket or international cricket is catching the headlines. Maybe that’s just me being old-fashioned. I like it when there are tournaments and trophies to be won. And it’s always good building towards a World Cup, whereas franchises seem to be together for a month and then there’s another franchise in another country. And I think the meaning and the feeling behind winning a World Cup or a Champions Trophy brings a lot of happiness and joy to whole nation instead of just to people supporting a region because they’re from that city or area. I think when you can bring countries together, that’s very powerful.What are the challenges now for Afghanistan looking to the T20 World Cup next year?
The one thing I would say is, we need to make sure that we start the T20 World Cup having taken the positives from what we learned [during the ODI World Cup], and deal with the pressure and the anticipation. The spotlight has suddenly been thrust on the players, so [it’s about] making sure that we don’t just rock up because we won four games and did well in that World Cup.We can’t think we’re going to be just as successful, or are entitled to win games. We’ve got to go out there and beat opposition. Oppositions are going to be more ready for us. They’re going be more wary, and they’re going to expect us to play better cricket. So it’s about managing those levels of expectation from the players to make sure that we can go one step further. That’s the ambition, or the challenge.Would you like to continue as Afghanistan coach if you were given the chance?
Yeah, I’d like to, obviously. But I’m still waiting to see if they want me to stay on or not. I’m not sure what the process is or what’s going on, but I know there are matches in January against India and UAE. Obviously I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time with them so far. It’ll be nice to be able to build on the success we had at this World Cup.

Australia batter reflects on his journey ahead of landmark match at Headingley

Andrew McGlashan04-Jul-2023As he prepares to play his 100th Test, Steven Smith, among the greatest batters to have played the game, has picked out the moment when he gained the belief that he would be a successful international cricketer.Smith’s story of beginning as a legspinning-allrounder against Pakistan at Lord’s in 2010 is well-told. His first Test century came three years later, against England at The Oval but, despite two more against the same opposition in the 2013-14 Ashes, it was a month after that when he had his own personal breakthrough moment.Facing an attack that included Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander at Centurion, Smith struck an even 100 batting at No. 6 having walked in at 98 for 4, which set up a convincing Australia victory.”I probably didn’t feel like I could make it until my fourth hundred, which was at Centurion against the South African line up of Morkel, Steyn, Philander and [Ryan] McLaren,” Smith said. “Particularly the first three, they were tremendous bowlers. They had great careers. And to be able to score a hundred against them gave me a lot of confidence to know I belong at this level.”That was probably the first time I felt it. From there I was pretty confident in my ability. I knew what I wanted to do and how I wanted to play. It was just playing the game and enjoying it and trying to score as many runs as I can.”Smith has now scored 32 Test hundreds, putting him level with Steve Waugh and only behind Ricky Ponting for Australia, the latest of which earned him the Player-of-the-Match award at Lord’s as Australia went 2-0 up in the Ashes. Few would bet against him marking his century with another century, something David Warner did last year with a double ton against South Africa.”Proud is the word I suppose,” Smith said of his landmark. “The longevity I have had in the game and what I have been able to achieve across those 100 [games]. I have been lucky to play with some tremendous players in the dressing room. Some great teams. I think our team right now is right up there. It’s been a hell of journey. I have enjoyed every bit of it.”His run-scoring feats have been remarkable. Since the maiden hundred in 2013 he has barely had a slump, indicated by the fact that from the moment his average hit 50 – which came against India in 2014 – he has never slipped below that mark. When challenges have presented themselves, he has found solutions, most recently demonstrated by moving to a stiller, side-on stance last year when he felt he was getting closed off, then returning to a more pronounced back-and-across trigger in the Ashes.”That’s my job isn’t it? To score runs,” he said matter-of-factly. “And something I pride myself on is being able to solve problems out in the middle and get through different scenarios of how people are trying to bowl at me and things like that. Over the years people have come at me with so many different plans, and the majority of the time I have been able to navigate myself through those.”File photo: Steven Smith, the Don of the 2019 Ashes•Getty ImagesHis average has topped out at 64.81, achieved during his prolific 2019 Ashes where he made 774 runs in four matches following his year-long ban from the game. The ban, for his part in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa, will forever be part of Smith’s career – you only need to listen to the crowds at this Ashes to know that. “Everyone can say what they like, it doesn’t bother me,” he said of still being booed. “I am comfortable in my own skin.”Smith added the only time he had not enjoyed cricket was shortly before his ban ended, in early 2019, when he underwent elbow surgery and had his arm in a brace.”I don’t know why for some reason I didn’t enjoy the game or want to play the game,” he said. “The moment I had my elbow brace off I was suddenly in love with the game again back in 2019. Outside of that I am grateful for everything the game has given me.”Headingley, the scene of his 100th Test, is where he made his first Test half-century, 77 batting at No. 8 against Pakistan in 2010, in a hint of what was to come. “[I’ve] got myself pushed up the order a little bit,” he joked. It is also the ground where he was absent four years ago following the concussion he suffered at Lord’s, which means this will be his first Ashes appearance at the venue as he becomes the 15th Australian to reach a century of Tests.”I didn’t enjoy that at all,” he recalled about 2019. “Just sitting and watching the Ben Stokes show, that almost occurred again [at Lord’s].”At 34, Smith could have a good few years ahead of him to keep churning out runs. He made some headlines earlier this year when asked during the Sydney Test against South Africa whether it could be his last home appearance, and he responded with “we’ll see”. He has since flat-batted talk of what his career timeline will look like, although this will likely be his final Ashes tour, but added that enjoyment was a key factor.”I will take it game by game. Just enjoy myself out in the middle,” he said. “And while I am enjoying myself and feel like I can improve and contribute to the team, and feel good about helping the team, then I will keep playing.”There isn’t much Smith hasn’t achieved in the game, but winning an Ashes series in England is still to be added to the accolades. Having slipped up four years ago, Australia are already just one win away this time.”I have said it for a long time, it is something that has been on my bucket list to win an Ashes series in England,” Smith said. “What a way to top it off, if I could do it in my 100th game, it would be special for sure.”

Should Hong Kong chase the target down, it would be their highest successful T20I chase

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Sep-2025Sediqullah Atal and Azmatullah Omarzai struck half-centuries each to carry Afghanistan to 188 for 6 in the opening match of the men’s T20 Asia Cup. Hong Kong had their moments, their spinners in particular harnessing slow conditions well enough to frustrate their more pedigreed opponents. But the gulf in class eventually showed as Yasin Murtaza’s side dropped catches and committed misfields to hurt their own chances.Sediqullah has brought up each of this three T20I fifties in his last four innings, and as well as he looked out in the middle, standing tall at the crease and largely coping with the lack of pace, he benefited from three missed chances. A man who could’ve been dismissed in the very first over in the end batted through to finish on 73 off 52.Murtaza was involved in all three lives Sediqullah got – twice dropping the catch himself and once having to watch it go down off his own bowling. He did the best he could to make up for it, the three Hong Kong spinners giving the ball such little pace but so much air that this game looked straight out of the 90s. As such, the more modern day T20 batter wasn’t able to adjust. Murtaza, Ehsan Khan and Kinchit Shah picked up 3 for 75 in 11 overs.However, the arrival of pace in the 17th over changed the game with Atal and Omarzai targeting Ayush Shukla. Afghanistan scored 69 runs in the last four overs with Omarzai raising his first T20I half-century. From the simple clear-the-front-leg slog to the cheeky ramp past the keeper, the Afghanistan allrounder has shown impressive range on a difficult batting pitch and finished with a strike rate of 252.38.Should Hong Kong chase the target down, it would be their highest successful T20I chase.

Sixth-wicket stand of 111 leads response to Derbyshire’s 377

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay30-Jul-2025 Northamptonshire 265 for 5 (Broad 64*, Bartlett 60*) trail Derbyshire 377 (Andersson 105, Procter 71*, Chahal 6-118) by 112 runsGeorge Bartlett and Justin Broad shared an unbroken sixth-wicket partnership of 111 to lead the Northamptonshire recovery in response to Derbyshire’s total of 377 at Wantage Road.Bartlett equalled his season’s best of 60 not out, made in the opening round of the Rothesay County Championship, while Broad struck an unbeaten 64 as the pair batted through the evening session, having joined forces at 154 for five.Northamptonshire captain Luke Procter anchored his side’s innings with a gritty 71 at the top of the order before becoming one of a trio of departures in quick succession prior to tea.Earlier, Indian leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal picked up the final two Derbyshire wickets to register figures of six for 118, his best in the County Championship.Derbyshire resumed on 348 for eight and Ben Aitchison wasted no time in securing their third batting bonus point, clubbing Liam Guthrie’s first delivery of the morning to the cover fence.Aitchison looked on course to reach a first-class half-century for only the second time in his career, but he departed five short of that landmark, chopping Chahal back onto leg stump.The spinner soon wrapped up Derbyshire’s innings as Blair Tickner – having blazed a couple of boundaries off George Scrimshaw – took an ambitious swing and was caught at slip off a thick edge.With ball in hand, Tickner then sent down a fiery opening spell, generating plenty of pace and bounce and earning his reward by removing Ricardo Vasconcelos with a delivery that swung in to hit the left-hander on the pads.Procter and Lewis McManus – who was awarded his county cap prior to the start of play – saw their side through to lunch, not without the odd scare as debutant Joe Hawkins’ first ball found the edge of the skipper’s bat but fell just short of slip.The visitors struck in the first over after the interval, when McManus misjudged the line from Zak Chappell and was caught behind, but James Sales started perkily as he dispatched Hawkins for two cover boundaries.Meanwhile, Procter withstood a barrage of short-pitched bowling from Tickner, emerging unscathed after he ducked into a bouncer and continued to accumulate, guiding Aitchison to the rope at third man to bring up his half-century.Northamptonshire’s third-wicket partnership yielded 74 before Luis Reece achieved the breakthrough, tempting Sales to drive outside off stump and Harry Came clasped the catch at cover.Reece prised out Procter, foxing the batter with a slower ball that trapped him in front and Derbyshire also removed the in-form Saif Zaib on the stroke of tea, caught behind to provide Hawkins with his first senior wicket.Bartlett made a scratchy start but began to open up in the wake of Procter’s exit, lifting Hawkins over the top for four and responding to another pounding by Tickner with a classy straight drive back over the bowler’s head.He was soon overtaken by Broad, whose tendency towards the pull shot almost proved his downfall when he miscued Tickner to leg slip, only for the ball to drop just in front of the stretching Caleb Jewell.However, it was Bartlett who won the race to 50, pummelling Reece for six and four in quick succession and Broad soon followed suit, capitalising on the left-armer’s full toss to find the boundary.

Ligue 1 referee chief Amaury Delerue has defended the controversial decisions made by both the on-field and VAR officials during Paris Saint-Germain’s 3-2 win over Lyon. The last-minute defeat left Lyon players furious but Delerue has explained the process behind the officials' decisions and insisted that each call was made correctly.

Lyon frustrated with calls all in favour of PSG

Lyon were left furious after a series of key moments went against them in their match against PSG. In the 27th minute, Ilia Zabarnyi’s apparent handball inside the penalty area went unpunished. Soon after, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s goal stood despite Vitinha’s tackle from behind on Tanner Tessmann. Just before half-time, a challenge by Kang-in Lee on Nicolas Tagliafico inside the PSG box was ignored. The controversy deepened when Tagliafico was shown a straight red card for a late tackle on Vitinha, leaving Lyon with 10 men. VAR upheld the decision, sparking outrage from the Lyon players and staff.

Lyon’s assistant coach Jorge Maciel launched a scathing post-match rant, claiming that only the four referees on the pitch failed to notice the fouls committed during the game. He said: “I think there are 59,000 people in the stadium, and only four of them didn’t see the fouls we analysed. We don’t even need to watch the replays. When it happens one way, we don’t understand it. When it happens with the arrogance of not even having the opportunity to discuss it, we don’t understand it.”

Maciel went on to accuse the officials of favouring PSG, suggesting that the champions didn’t need to “play with 16 men” as they are already the best team in Europe.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportDelerue defends the referees

In an interview with, Ligue 1 referee association chief Delerue defended the officials appointed for the match and explained the reasoning behind their key decisions.

He clarified why no handball was called on Zabarnyi, saying: “The VAR followed IFAB protocol by reviewing all available angles and images, none of which clearly showed that the decision not to award a penalty was definitely wrong, or whether Zabarnyi actually touched the ball.”

Delerue also justified the decision regarding Lee’s challenge on Tagliafico, stating: “Lee’s intervention is not punishable under the laws of the game. It was natural contact that did not prevent Tagliafico from playing the ball.”

Vitinha finds the loophole

PSG, who were without key players such as Achraf Hakimi, Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, and Nuno Mendes due to injury, took an early lead through Warren Zaire-Emery within the first ten minutes. Lyon quickly equalised through Moreira, but Kvaratskhelia restored PSG’s advantage soon after. Ainsley Maitland-Niles struck again to make it 2-2, and the match appeared to be heading for a draw until Joao Neves rose highest to score from a late corner, sealing the win for Luis Enrique’s side. The result moved PSG back to the top of the table, while Lyon slipped to seventh.

Kvaratskhelia’s goal came right after Vitinha’s foul on Tessman. Delerue admitted that Vitinha took advantage of a loophole in the rules to avoid punishment when he said, “This is a very complex situation on which the DA was unable to reach a 100 percent unanimous decision. The contact affected Tessman’s ability to maintain control of the ball, which is why we would primarily consider it a foul during recovery and disallow the goal. But we are in a grey area, which is why the VAR’s decision not to challenge the central referee is understandable.”

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Getty ImagesPSG using the international break to grow stronger

Enrique will use the international break to recover key players from injury and refine his tactical system. The PSG manager aims to learn from their defeat against Bayern Munich, make the necessary adjustments to avoid similar mistakes in future matches, and further strengthen his team’s overall performance.

They sit top of the French top flight with a two-point lead over Marseille and Lens, while Lyon's defeat – winless in four games – are seventh in the table and seven points adrift of the reigning champions.

Shubman Gill went past Sunil Gavaskar’s 221, a record which had stood for nearly 50 years

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jul-2025

Shubman Gill climbed another peak on this England tour•Getty Images

Shubman Gill, 269, Edgbaston, 2025After the first Test, at Headingley, Gill said his 147 was not enough and that he should have gone bigger. At Edgbaston, he did exactly. In friendly batting conditions, he batted with discipline, relying on minimum-risk caresses for most of his boundaries and offering no chances to bring up his maiden Test double-century. In the middle session of the second day, he recorded the highest score by an India batter in England, going past…Sunil Gavaskar, 221, The Oval, 1979In one of the great fourth-innings knocks of all time, Gavaskar almost got India to pull off the unthinkable and chase down 438 on a fourth- and fifth-day pitch. He batted for more than eight hours against an attack that included Ian Botham and Bob Willis. In a gripping finish, India were ten runs short of the target with two wickets in hand when they ran out of time.Rahul Dravid, 217, The Oval, 2002Dravid already had two hundreds in the series by the fourth Test of India’s 2002 tour. With the series tied 1-1, England scored 515 in the first innings. Dravid led the response with a typically patient innings over days three and four that took him past 600 runs for the series. The match petered out into a draw, leaving the series tied.Sachin Tendulkar, 193, Headingley, 2002In one of India’s famous wins in England, Dravid and Sanjay Bangar set the platform for Tendulkar to play a stroke-laden innings. On the second evening, with the light fading, he went on the charge, hitting three sixes. Though he fell short of a double, India got to 628 and ended up winning by an innings.Ravi Shastri, 187, The Oval, 1990With Krishnamachari Srikkanth dropped, Shastri was given the role of opener on India’s 1990 tour. He got a hundred at Lord’s, and at the Oval went bigger, batting 436 balls as India got 606 in the first innings. England had to follow-on but survived to take the series 1-0.

Virgil van Dijk has slammed the “ridiculous” criticism Liverpool faced before they ended their Premier League losing streak against Aston Villa. The Netherlands defender has hit out at the negative “outside noise” which greeted a run of form which saw the Reds lose successive league games against Crystal Palace, Chelsea, Manchester United and Brentford.

Salah and Gravenberch help Liverpool end losing streak

Liverpool returned to winning ways as they defeated Unai Emery’s Villa 2-0 on Saturday evening. Goals from Mohamed Salah and Ryan Gravenberch helped Arne Slot’s side breathe a sigh of relief after a testing eight-game stretch in which they also suffered defeats against Galatasaray and Palace in the Champions League and Carabao Cup respectively.

AdvertisementAFPVan Dijk hits back at coverage of Reds' loss of form

Such was Liverpool’s worrying run of form that Van Dijk revealed earlier this month that he called a players’ meeting following the 2-1 reverse against United. However, the Dutchman has since criticised the reaction to what was a difficult period for the club, saying the coverage was akin to a side fighting relegation.

Speaking to after his side’s win over Villa, Van Dijk said: "What I have noticed over the last couple of weeks especially is that there is a lot of noise that you have no control over and that we have to deal with as a team.

"Some of those takes are absolutely ridiculous. But you have to deal with that. It's outside noise that can reach certain players, the group. It's about sticking together.

"We're not going out there on the pitch to lose games, we're not going out there to be disappointed after games or leave fans disappointed going home, we want to work our socks off and win games. But there's no guarantee. You play in the Premier League, the highest level, in the biggest league in the world, and it's difficult to stay calm but you have to do if you want to get back to where we want to be. That's up there. But that's something for later in the season to look at.

"Now it's time to keep working, never get too high, never get too low.

"We live in a world now, for footballers at least, because that's the only thing I can speak about, where everyone can have their opinion on so many platforms and everyone knows it better. We have to try to stay away from that and focus on the hard work we've been doing.

"Last season we didn't hear much negative stuff. Everything was sunshine and rainbows everywhere. Now it sounded like, by the outside world, we're going to be in the relegation battle, so that's how it works in the world.”

AFPLiverpool boss Slot hails supporters for sticking with team

Acknowledging that both he and his players had been rocked by their recent wobble, Liverpool boss Slot was keen to pay tribute to the Anfield faithful for getting behind the team when they really needed them against Villa.

Asked how much the supporters helped against Villa, Slot said: "A lot, of course. Especially because it happened at 0-0, so not when you are leading and not when you are top of the league but when you are in a difficult situation as a club, as a team and because I'm definitely a part of that, it's also a difficult situation for me.

"And then to get the support the players got but also I got, that is something that makes this club special, I think. They don't forget if you've been part of something special and they help you especially if things are difficult.

"And that's what it was the last few weeks, things were difficult, we were not winning, by the way, we were losing. And so they felt the players, maybe even me, needed a bit of support and that's what you get from these fans.”

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Getty Images SportAlexander-Arnold and Alonso return to Anfield on Tuesday

Liverpool are looking to build on their victory over Villa when they entertain Real Madrid in a mouth-watering Champions League tie on Tuesday. The match will see former defender Trent Alexander-Arnold return to Merseyside for the first time after switching to the Spanish giants in the summer. Real boss Xabi Alonso – who represented the Reds as a player between 2004 and 2009 – also faces a reunion with his former club.

Leeds United picked up their third win of the Premier League campaign on Friday night with a much-needed 2-1 victory over West Ham United at Elland Road.

Daniel Farke’s side bounced back from their disappointing 2-0 defeat to Burnley at Turf Moor last time out thanks to goals from Joe Rodon and Brenden Aaronson early on in the first half.

The Whites owed some of their win to the performance of Rodon at the heart of their defence, as he earned Sky Sports’ official Player of the Match award.

Why Joe Rodon was crucial for Leeds against West Ham

The Wales international produced a solid display at centre-back for the West Yorkshire outfit against the Hammers, without his usual defensive partner in Pascal Struijk next to him.

Rodon, per Sofascore, completed 92% of his attempted passes, showing his composure on the ball, whilst he also completed 100% of his attempted tackles and made nine clearances throughout the game.

On top of his impressive all-around performance at centre-back for the Championship champions, the former Spurs man also scored from Sean Longstaff’s excellent corner.

Rodon was, therefore, crucial to the team’s result with his excellent display. However, it is his centre-back partner, Jaka Bijol, who deserves the applause.

Why Jaka Bijol should be undroppable for Leeds

The £15m summer signing from Udinese made his Premier League bow against West Ham on Friday, having watched on as Struijk played in his position in previous games, and showed why the club splashed so much money on him.

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It was as assured a performance as you could get from a centre-back making his Premier League debut, particularly against an experienced campaigner and former England international centre-forward in Callum Wilson for most of the match.

Wherever Wilson was, Bijol was. His marking of the former Newcastle United marksman, who Transfermarkt notes has scored 89 top-flight goals, was immaculate throughout the night. In fact, there was one brilliant clearance when it looked like the striker was about to get a shot away in the box in the right channel in the second half.

Pass accuracy

92%

95%

Clearances

9

11

Interceptions

0

2

Tackle success rate

100% (1/1)

100% (2/2)

Ground duels won

2

3

Aerial duels won

2

3

Ball recoveries

4

5

As you can see in the table above, the Slovenia international made more clearances, more tackles, more interceptions, and more recoveries than Rodon, whilst he also won more duels on the deck and in the air.

This shows that the former Udinese colossus was even better than the Welshman defensively, as he made more defensive interventions to prevent Lucas Perri from being worked more than he was.

Neither centre-back could do too much to prevent the goal that was scored, by Mateus Fernandes, as the midfield failed to track the Portuguese star’s run into the box between the two defenders, who both had other men to mark.

Overall, though, it was a brilliant performance from Bijol and one that may make supporters wonder why he has been an unused substitute in every match before Friday night, because he already looks undroppable after just one game.

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The 26-year-old star will be hoping that Farke now keeps him in the starting XI moving forward and he can string together a run of performances in the Premier League to form a formidable partnership with Rodon, after they both excelled against the Hammers.

“There was a bit of confidence in our group when they only got 200 [203], thinking we’ve dragged them back here,” Hopes said

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jun-20251:53

Moody: Shreyas identified key moments to go into the fifth gear

The Punjab Kings [PBKS] batting unit, led by Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten 87 off 41 balls, will get all the plaudits after they topped Mumbai Indians’ [MI] 203 with an over to spare. But bowling coach James Hopes was also effusive in his praise of the PBKS bowling group, particularly the way they “just hung in there the whole night” on a belter of an Ahmedabad surface in Qualifier 2.Sent into bat, MI had raced to 65 for 1 inside the powerplay and regularly went at better than ten runs an over through the middle phase. But the PBKS bowlers struck at regular intervals to prevent the death-overs assault.”There was a stage where I reckon they [MI] were looking at 220, 225 and we just kept pegging them back at the right time,” Hopes said in a press conference after PBKS qualified for their first IPL final in 11 years. “We never went for that big over of 18, 19. We kept pegging them at 10, 11 knowing that we got Arshdeep [Singh] coming at the end and Azmatullah [Omarzai] bowled beautifully as well.Related

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“We gave them a few extra runs, yeah, but that’s why I was saying I thought they were going to get 220. There was a bit of confidence in our group when they only got 200 [203], thinking we’ve dragged them back here. You could even tell our first over batting the way the ball came off the bat, it was just skipping off the bat a little more and you could tell there was just a little bit of dew, a little bit of wetness out there, that was going to help us, and it did.”Chasing 204 against five-time champions MI, who had never before lost a game defending a score in excess of 200, was going to be a tough ask. Especially when the bowling group was led by Jasprit Bumrah, who was coming into the game with an economy rate of 6.36.But Josh Inglis was determined to not let Bumrah settle down, crashing him for two sixes and two fours in his opening over – the fifth of the innings – to give the chase the momentum it needed.”The way Josh Inglis attacked Boom [Bumrah] up front to get him off his game a little bit… if you’d told us we were chasing 200 at the start of the day and we were going to take 40 off Jasprit, we would have taken that every day of the week and liked our chances,” Hopes said. “Josh has got a pretty good record against him in short-form cricket. He plays him well.”I don’t think it was a conscious decision to go after [Bumrah in that] over. He just got some balls and he put them away, and on another day, those balls go to the fielder and he’s not taking what he did off that over. So doing that to him in the first over not only has a flow-on effect for his bowling but has a flow-on effect for the rest of their team as well.2:31

‘Such a big over’ – Aaron on Inglis taking 20 off Bumrah in the fifth

“We were having the chats at half-time that if Bumrah bowls four overs for 26, what do we need off the other 16 overs? So there’s just an expectation he’s going to be at a certain level every game, and even tonight he bowled well.”Varun Aaron and Tom Moody agreed that Inglis’ assault on Bumrah formed the base of PBKS’ successful chase. That they were all “cricketing shots” and Inglis was not “trying to just hit the cover of the ball” was the highlight.”Big over, such a big over,” Aaron said on ESPNcricinfo’s Time Out. “It was down to someone to take him [Bumrah] on tonight. These are those big games where somebody has to show up and be like, ‘you know what, I’m going to take the bull by the horns and I’m going to take down their biggest bowler’, and that’s Jasprit Bumrah, and he did that so well. Just played cricketing shots.”Moody pointed to Inglis’ technical acumen against Bumrah.”He [Inglis] has got a really good technique,” Moody said. “So when it comes to playing high-quality bowling, like Jasprit Bumrah, he’s got the ability to play proper cricketing shots that have penetration – whether that be the cover drives, the shot down the ground; the six he hit, it was the slower ball, he was technically in perfect position [to play it].Shreyas Iyer led Punjab Kings’ chase with a composed half-century•Associated Press”So it’s not like he is trying to just hit the cover of the ball. Just identified it was an off-pace delivery and hit straight through it. And most batters when they are facing Bumrah, they are more in the defensive position. He is still engaged in the contest – ‘okay, you’re bowling it short, I am still comfortable because I back myself to get into that position; if you’re slightly fuller, I’ll take advantage and cover drive; slower ball, I’m hitting you over the top’.”‘Shreyas a sensational captain, a sensational player’While Inglis’ 21-ball 38 put PBKS’ chase in top gear, it was captain Iyer who formed the spine of the innings with a clinical knock. He measured his innings, rotated the strike well, before going on an all-out attack. Hopes, who has worked with Iyer previously at Delhi Capitals (DC) in 2020, said that his calmness stood out.”He doesn’t get flustered very easily and he knows his match-ups,” Hopes said. “He knows what he has to do at certain times and he’s prepared to take that risk. When he was a younger player in Delhi, he was a little bit more explosive and gung-ho, but he scores at a high strike rate now strictly because he knows when a bowler comes on that that’s his match-up and he’s going to take it and with his captaincy.”Tonight we kept them to 200 when I reckon they could have got 220, 230 and just because the way he pulls the strings out there and manoeuvres bowlers around. We had [Vijaykumar] Vyshak with one over left. He took his gut call to bowl Azmat. He’s a sensational captain and he’s a sensational player.”

Brendan Rodgers is pleased to see the “strength and power” of Alistair Johnston in training as the Celtic full-back moves closer to a return to action.

The 27-year-old Canada international has been out since the goalless draw in the Champions League play-off at home to Kazakhstan side Kairat Almaty on August 20, missing nine games in all competitions.

Johnston returned to training during the international break and ahead of the trip to Dundee in the William Hill Premiership on Sunday, Rodgers told Celtic TV: “It’s obviously a big blow having someone of that quality out.

“But young Colby Donovan has come in and done very, very well, Tony Ralston is always a very capable player for the club and an international player, so it has given those guys a chance to get games.

“But there’s no doubt Ali’s been a real pivotal part of the team for a number of years now.

“His power and the balance he gives both offensively and defensively is very important for the team.

“So it’s great to have him back on the pitch and seeing that strength and power back in training.”

Rodgers excited by Celtic fixture run

After a “reset” during this international break, Rodgers is looking for his players to embrace the tough tasks they face in the seven games before domestic football takes another rest in November.

Amid a busy upcoming schedule, Celtic, who trail William Hill Premiership leaders Hearts by two points, have Europa League games against Sturm Graz and Midtjylland, a trip to Tynecastle in the league and a Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Rangers at Hampden Park.

The former Liverpool and Leicester boss said: “Let’s embrace all the challenges that come our way, both domestically and in Europe.

“It’s a really exciting period. It’s what Celtic is all about, playing these games and playing in the big games. And for us, that collective, being together, is always the attitude that we want to show.

“We’re excited by these games that are coming up and we want to go in and embrace the challenges. Everyone together fighting for the same cause is what Celtic is about.”