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Jules Kounde was the unlikely hero for Barcelona on Tuesday in the Champions League. Eintracht Frankfurt silenced the Camp Nou by taking a shock lead in the first half through Ansgar Knauff. but were pegged back after the break. Marcus Rashford was the catalyst for the hosts, coming off the bench and teeing up Kounde to level matters minutes after the break, and the French full-back then sealed the 2-1 win with his second of the game from a Lamine Yamal cross.

Barcelona have made a habit of conceding first this season and did so again at Camp Nou midway through the first half. Nathaniel Brown clipped a superb ball over Barca’s backline to find Knauff running through on goal, and the winger managed to fend off Alejandro Balde and fire past Joan Garcia to hand Eintracht a shock lead.

Hansi Flick's side enjoyed plenty of possession after the goal, but struggled to create clear-cut chances, meaning it was no surprise to see the German coach tweak his side at the half-time break. The ineffective Fermin Lopez was replaced by Rashford as Flick sought more cutting edge and threat in attack.

The England international made an instant impact after being played through by Pedri down the left. Rashford could have gone for goal himself, but cut the ball back to Raphinha, who could only blaze wildly over the crossbar. Minutes later and Rashford's impact really was felt by the visitors, as the Manchester United loanee's deep cross from the left was headed home by Kounde to make it 1-1.

Kounde may have been an unlikely goal-scorer for Barcelona, but the France international was celebrating again just three minutes later. This time it was Yamal who swung in a cross from deep for Kounde to head Barcelona in front. The goals seemed to drain the belief out of Eintracht as Barca went on to dominate proceedings and secure the win that keeps alive their hopes of automatic qualification from the league phase.

GOAL rates Barcelona's players from Camp Nou…

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Goalkeeper & Defence

  Joan Garcia (7/10):

  Couldn't do too much about the goal but dealt confidently with everything else thrown at him.

  Jules Kounde (8/10):

  Still looks miles below his best form but popped up with two crucial headers to seal the win. He also becomes the first Barca player to score two headers in a Champions League match.

  Pau Cubarsi (7/10):

  Looks far happier with Martin alongside him. Put in a super challenge to deny Eintracht midway through the second half.

  Gerard Martin (6/10):

  Stretched out a leg but couldn’t block the pass to Knauff for the opening goal. Had a great effort in the first half which flew just over.

  Alejandro Balde (6/10):

  Chased back desperately with Knauff but could not prevent him opening the scoring.

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  Midfield

  Eric Garcia (6/10):

  Should have closed down Brown quicker for the opener, but otherwise put in another solid shift. Much better in the second half.

  Pedri (8/10):

  The classiest operator on the pitch by some distance and helped Barcelona take control of the game after half-time.

  Fermin Lopez (5/10):

  Looked lost on his return to the team. Struggled to connect with his team-mates and his usual goal threat was missing. No surprise to see him hooked at half-time.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Attack

  Lamine Yamal (7/10):

  Looked isolated in the first half and lost the ball in the build-up to Frankfurt's goal. He was better after the break and grabbed an assist for Kounde to make it 2-1, but picked up a booking which rules him out of Barca's next Champions League game.

  Robert Lewandowski (5/10):

  Scored an early goal which was ruled out for offside but otherwise offered very little. Taken off for Ferran just after the hour.

  Raphinha (6/10):

  Back in the starting XI but never really got going and was hooked early in the second half.

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  Subs & Manager

  Marcus Rashford (8/10):

  Made the difference off the bench at half-time. Was really lively throughout and bagged an assist for Kounde. Could have scored himself but saw an effort deflected over the bar.

  Ferran Torres (7/10):

  Added more energy and invention to the attack. 

  Frenkie de Jong (6/10):

  Came on to firm things up and help Barcelona see out an important win. Not afraid to attack the box.

  Andreas Christensen (N/A):

  Late sub for Yamal.

  Roony Bardghji (N/A):

  Another late sub.

  Hansi Flick (7/10):

  Made changes to his team and they simply didn't pay off as Barca struggled in the first half. Made the right decision to send on Rashford at half-time which helped spark the comeback.

On the eve of India women’s first Test in Chennai in 48 years, former players Shantha Rangaswamy, Sudha Shah and Shubhangi Kulkarni reminisce about their first Test there in 1976

Sruthi Ravindranath27-Jun-2024The north-east monsoon had just set in when India and West Indies arrived in Madras (now Chennai) in November 1976. It was the second match of the first-ever official women’s Test series in India. For the first Test, in Bangalore, the stadium was almost full. Not that it was something new for the India players: even the matches they played unofficially previously had drawn massive crowds.And the Chepauk crowd? The stadium was three-fourths full, even on days it rained. Ask Shantha Rangaswamy, the captain of that India side, and she falls back on that old chestnut: the “knowledgeable crowd”.Shubhangi Kulkarni, India’s legspinner, who finished as the highest wicket-taker in that series, faintly recollects the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association trying to bring girls from a nearby school in to watch the match.”My first impression was that the crowd knew their cricket,” Kulkarni says. “They were genuinely applauding the performance. They came to watch the cricket, unlike when we played in 1975 in various cities – the crowd [there] came to see whether the girls played in skirts or pants, you know. They [the Chennai crowd] were cheering both teams, cheering good performances.”Related

• India head into Chennai Test with an eye on 2025 Women's ODI World Cup

• Sudha Shah: We don't want to be compared to the men

• Shanta Rangaswamy: 'No one can take the pride away from us' (2017)

Madras, however, would not see another women’s Test for 48 years. Since that Test, India have gone on to play 39 more, 22 of them in India – four in Lucknow, three in Mumbai, three in Delhi, and the rest in various other cities. But none in Chennai.They will be returning to Chennai for the first time since 2007, when they played an ODI Quadrangular Series there, to face South Africa in a one-off Test starting June 28.Current India head coach Amol Muzumdar acknowledges the significance of playing at the venue. “It’s a historic ground and we are aware of the history that this place carries. Even though a lot of cricket has not been played on this ground [by women’s sides], we are still aware of what the demands are, the pitch and the ground. We’ll try to cater to that in the coming days.”There’s barely any information out there about the 1976 Test played at Chepauk, barring a basic scorecard. It is evident that the match wasn’t completed; West Indies and India played an innings each. India declared at 218 for 9, Rangaswamy and Diana Edulji both top-scoring with 57.Sudha Shah, who has played the most Tests for India, was the Madras local in the squad. A regular at the stadium for long, she had her entire family cheering for her from the stands in that match. She made 18 runs, getting out to Patricia Whittaker.A newspaper reports on the first day’s play of the first official women’s Test in India, in Bengaluru”It’s a punishment to make me recollect what happened 48 years back,” she says, breaking into laughter. But it doesn’t take long to jog her memory.”I played the ball, it looped out and it ricocheted off the slip fielder’s head… the gully took the catch. Everyone was saying, ‘What luck!’ None of us top-order batters scored , if I remember.”Shah remembers correctly. India’s top three were dismissed for 15, 7 and 18. Then Rangaswamy came in.”I played to build the innings, Diana played the finisher’s job,” says Rangaswamy. “Diana went hammer and tongs. She got a quickfire 50-odd, while I had to build my innings to get my fifty.”Not only did Rangaswamy anchor the innings, she also got two wickets with the ball in the game. Remarkably, she also remembers how she got the two batters out.”Pat Whittaker was caught at slips by Sudha,” she says. “I dismissed Beverly Browne with an inswinging yorker.”The match was not telecast live but there was press coverage for the entire series. Rangaswamy remembers a description of the reception she got from the Chepauk crowd in a newspaper report, in the .”It went: ‘Her arrival was greeted with cheers as is normally given to the Nawab of Pataudi and Ajit Wadekar, the other captains of India. She got a rousing send-off after her half-century’, and things like that.”West Indies ended up playing just 29 overs in the rain-hit game, making 41 for 4. Kulkarni did not bowl in the game owing to a finger injury, but the five-for she picked up in the drawn Bangalore Test had given India the hope that spinners could be crucial in keeping West Indies quiet.”We sensed that the gap wasn’t that big and because our spinners were so good, and particularly because we were playing on our wickets, which wasn’t really suiting them, we had a positive mindset that we could go for a win,” Kulkarni says.Sudha Shah (leftmost) and Shubhangi Kulkarni (rightmost) would go on to occupy important roles in the coaching and administrative setup of women’s cricket in India•Getty ImagesThe historic first Test win came in Patna, in the fourth Test of the series. The players were floored by the fans’ reaction to the win. “Right from the ground to the hotel there were crowds and even when we went to the hotel, there were people outside,” Shah says. “So we went to the balcony to wave to them. It was a thrill at the time because we’d never come across anything like that.”With the women not getting paid to play, they were treated to food or juice by the manager after a good performance.”We never got paid, in my entire cricket career,” Rangaswamy says. “Our love for the game was more. We did it for passion, not money. But I remember in Chennai, I think both the captains – Louise [Browne] and I – got a gold chain with a pendant shaped like a ball from Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers or someone.”On Friday, Shah, who is a Chepauk regular, will be at the stadium, cheering for India from the stands. “A few of us [former team-mates] are planning on going to watch the game together,” she says.Rangaswamy, who’s currently in the US, says she’ll be watching the match on TV despite the odd timings. She watched all three ODIs India played against South Africa last week, and she’s looking forward to watching her favourite, Smriti Mandhana, and her recent favourite Shubha Satheesh, play in the Test.

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Be it cheering the opposition even when their own team loses, or turning out in massive numbers just to watch their favourite cricketer practice, you can’t talk about Chepauk without mentioning the crowd.For Radha and Parth, members of the Bucket Hat Cult, a fan group dedicated to women’s sport, it doesn’t get better than watching their favourite team play at the iconic venue for the first ever time. The group – identified by their “uniform”, the bucket hat – has been a notable presence whenever the women’s team has played in Mumbai since India’s Test against England there in 2023.Their catchy chants and songs – one of them goes, “Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle all the way. Oh what fun it is to watch Deepti play all day” – even got players to notice them. “Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues wanted to meet us after the game and appreciated our support,” Parth says.Members of the Bucket Hat Cult, a group of women’s sport enthusiasts, will be at the first Women’s Test in Chennai in 48 years•Bucket Hat Cult Considering how strong the Chennai Super Kings fan base is, Radha thinks it won’t take too long for women’s cricket to pick up in the city. The TNCA has made tickets free for the match, and there are hopes a sizeable crowd will turn up, especially on the weekend.”Just look at what RCB [in the WPL] has done for the Bengaluru crowd,” she says. “From a fan’s perspective, it is pretty evident that women’s matches are just scheduled in Mumbai or neighbouring stadiums without much thought for growing the fan base across the country.”Away from the stadium, 84-year old Vijaya Subramanian, a cricket aficionado who lives in Chennai, will be cheering the women on from her home. Her father introduced her to the sport when she was around six years old and even taught her how to create a cricket scorecard. From the age of 11, she started keeping a cricket diary, in which she meticulously jotted down scores off TV or radio commentary.”She lived for a while in Kolkata, where she never missed a game – be it men’s or women’s – before moving back to Chennai,” her son, Karthik, says. “She watches all the games irrespective of the time. Her memory isn’t great right now. We remember names like Shantha Rangaswamy, Sudha Shah and Diana Edulji now because she used to talk about them so much.”Vijaya’s face lights up when she hears the players’ names. “I’m sure I heard the radio commentary for this match in Kolkata,” she says. “I remember they played well in that series. Rangaswamy used to play so consistently.”Will she be watching the one-off Test starting Friday?”,” [I’ll definitely watch] she says.

Captain still adamant his team is the best in the country, as key players struggle for best form

Alan Gardner13-May-2021Halfway through the group stage of the Championship, and Essex have got it all to do. The defending champions are currently fifth in Group One – albeit only 15 points off a top-two spot – and in need of a run of good form in order to make sure of qualifying for Division One when the competition splits. If Tom Westley, Essex’s captain, had been hoping a return to Chelmsford would spark an uplift after two defeats and a draw on the road, then a washed-out first day against Derbyshire only served to dampen the mood.Westley admits it has been a “strange start” to the season. Having scored 490 for 9 declared in their opening game, only to be held to a draw by Worcestershire, Essex then recovered from being skittled for 96 by Durham to defend their manor in the manner to which most observers have become accustomed – scrapping hard in the second innings to post a target of 168, and then defending it ruthlessly on the back of another Simon Harmer ten-for.But defeats at Edgbaston, by seven wickets, and Trent Bridge, by an innings, either side of another stalemate away to Worcestershire have left Westley puzzling over how to get what he views as “the best team in the country” playing like they can.”Things definitely could be going a bit better,” he tells ESPNcricinfo. “It’s been quite challenging, a bit disappointing for the standards that we set at Essex. We’re used to winning lots of games of cricket, which hasn’t been the case this year. Halfway through, still a lot of games to be played and the group is tight – if you win a couple of games all of a sudden you’re right back up there.”It’s been quite strange, in that we’ve been bowled out for less than 100 twice, and we’ve also got 500 twice. We haven’t been able to piece the whole game together with bat and ball. Certain games we’ve batted really well and bowled not as well, and in other games we’ve bowled well and not batted well. Which is the crux of cricket, I suppose.”It’s immensely frustrating not being able to piece it together. It’s been a reminder of how hard four-day cricket is, especially when the some of the surfaces have been either way – very flat or [doing a bit]. It’s a strange start for us.”Related

• Westley takes pride in 'massive' Essex victory as Bob Willis Trophy adds to red-ball legacy

• Dan Lawrence resets his sights as Chelmsford beckons after maiden England winter

• Tom Westley lays a marker for Essex with double-century ahead of Sam Cook's late surge

Nevertheless, and despite the bleak scene through the rain-spattered windows of the Scrutton Bland Premier Suite, Westley remains visibly chipper, confident that Essex’s recent history suggests they are more than capable of turning things around – before the loss to Warwickshire, they had gone two years and 21 first-class games without defeat, winning 14 of them.”The spirits have been quite good around the place, considering how poorly we’ve started by our standards,” he said. “We have been so used to winning, sometimes you get a bit expectant of that. Many factors go into not winning, I think this is probably the first time in a few years when we’ve had more than one or two guys a little bit struggling for form – which can happen.”But we’ve got to be mindful that when it does turn, and we start playing our best cricket, I firmly believe we are the best team in the country so there’s no reason why we can’t get on a roll. We’re a team that have shown in the past that once we do get on a roll, we can go on for a long period of time. That’s what we’re focusing on.”Of the players who have struggled so far, perhaps of chief concern is Jamie Porter, the spearhead of the attack, who has so far managed just six wickets at an average of 65.83; meanwhile, batting stalwarts Alastair Cook and former captain Ryan ten Doeschate have managed one hundred and one fifty between them.But while there has been some rotation of the bowlers in an attempt to manage workloads, and Essex expect to lose Dan Lawrence imminently to the England Test bubble, there is no mood to make wholesale changes. “Form is temporary, class is permanent,” Westley says. “That is the message that we say in our changing room. You don’t become a bad team overnight, you can’t forget all the hard work and success we’ve had in the last four-five years.”Alastair Cook, pictured with Westley, has not yet found his most indomitable form•Getty Images

Westley does admit that questions will be asked if Essex can’t hustle their way into Division One, and thereby keep alive their twin defence of the County Championship and Bob Willis Trophy. The visit of Derbyshire, winless and bottom of Group One, ought to represent a chance to burnish their credentials once again, though it may need some canny captaincy reminiscent of the Keith Fletcher era to pull off victory in the equivalent of three days (or fewer, given the weather forecasts). Just don’t tell the Chelmsford scriptwriters it can’t be done.”It would be a huge disappointment if we don’t get into that top division, especially given the success that is expected of us at the club. But I’m an optimistic, positive person. I believe we are the sort of team that can win the next four games and then you look back and think ‘Oh, what was the issue?’ But we have to do that first. It would be bitterly disappointing but, if for whatever reason we don’t make that, it’s our own fault and we’ve got to accept that.”It’s frustrating, losing a day to the rain isn’t ideal when you know you have games to win. And because we’ve lost the toss, it probably makes it a little bit harder to win while batting first. But I think the script that Essex generate for themselves over the last few years, you never know what’s going to happen.”

Glasgow Rangers head coach Danny Rohl got off to the worst possible start in charge of the Ibrox giants with a 3-0 defeat to Brann in the Europa League on Thursday night.

The Light Blues boss arrived at the club earlier this week to replace Russell Martin in the dugout and got a firsthand look at the issues that have plagued the season so far.

Three avoidable goals were conceded, only one ‘big chance’ was created, no goals were scored. Rohl will be struggling to come up with positives to take away from the game, beyond the performance of Jack Butland.

Why Jack Butland is already undroppable for Danny Rohl

The former England international showed his class against Brann, in spite of the result, with some excellent work between the sticks to help his side out.

Butland made an excellent early save down to his right after Nasser Djiga was caught out, but had no chance for the opening goal that was converted from close range.

Per Sofascore, the experienced shot-stopper completed all three of his run-outs, which shows that he was proactive in sweeping up behind his defenders to prevent the hosts from creating even more chances.

Despite conceding three goals, Butland only conceded 0.45 more than expected, per Sofascore. This means that there was little more that he could have done to affect the result.

Whilst Butland may already be undroppable for Rohl, because of his strong display in the loss, Joe Rothwell is one of the players who should be immediately dropped.

Why Danny Rohl should drop Joe Rothwell

The German tactician should immediately drop the central midfielder from the starting line-up because the Russell Martin signing failed to impose himself on the game in midfield.

Chalkboard

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

As aforementioned, Rangers were too easy to create chances against and they did not create enough quality chances of their own to get back into the game.

Rothwell’s performance played a part in their struggles in and out of possession, as the experienced Englishman offered little to the team aside from composure in his passing game.

As you can see in the table above, the central midfielder did not create any chances for his teammates in 64 minutes on the pitch, and he failed to win a single duel in the middle of the park.

These statistics show that the summer signing from Bournemouth did not get about the field to disrupt the opposition, who strolled to a 3-0 win, and he did not show enough creativity in his use of the ball to drag Rangers back into the match.

Rothwell had fewer touches (31) than Butland (48) did between the sticks, per Sofascore, which further speaks to the lack of influence that the 30-year-old midfielder had for the Light Blues.

Rohl, therefore, should brutally ditch the central midfielder from the starting XI ahead of the club’s trip to face Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday, because he did not show enough on or off the ball.

"Disgrace" – Cavenagh told who to "fire" after Rangers defeat to Brann

Gers fans are furious after Danny Rohl’s first match in charge.

1

By
Ben Goodwin

Oct 23, 2025

It is a concerning trend for Rothwell, signed by Martin, because he has also lost 54% of his ground duels and assisted one goal in eight appearances in the Premiership, which shows that he has not been outstanding domestically or in Europe.

The 30-year-old midfielder may need to show Rohl more, on and off the ball, to prove to the manager that he deserves a regular place in the starting line-up.

Former Arsenal and Manchester City star Samir Nasri believes Mason Greenwood shouldn't be "judged" on his past rape allegations. The Marseille forward had charges of attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour, and assault dropped in February 2023, at which time he was still on the books at Manchester United.

• Greenwood's past 'mistakes'

  Nearly six months after charges against the forward were dropped, Greenwood admitted to "making mistakes" as Man Utd confirmed he would not be reintegrated into the squad following their own internal investigation into his conduct away from the pitch. 

  He said in August 2023, shortly before joining Getafe on a season-long loan: "I want to start by saying I understand that people will judge me because of what they have seen and heard on social media, and I know people will think the worst. I was brought up to know that violence or abuse in any relationship is wrong, I did not do the things I was accused of, and in February I was cleared of all charges. However, I fully accept I made mistakes in my relationship, and I take my share of responsibility for the situations which led to the social media post. I am learning to understand my responsibilities to set a good example as a professional footballer, and I'm focused on the big responsibility of being a father, as well as a good partner. Today's decision has been part of a collaborative process between Manchester United, my family and me. The best decision for us all, is for me to continue my football career away from Old Trafford, where my presence will not be a distraction for the club. I thank the club for their support since I joined aged seven. There will always be a part of me which is United. I am enormously grateful to my family and all my loved ones for their support, and it is now for me to repay the trust those around me have shown. I intend to be a better footballer, but most importantly a good father, a better person, and to use my talents in a positive way on and off the pitch."

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  Greenwood defended by Nasri

  United sold Greenwood to Marseille outright in the summer of 2024, and he has since become a key player for the club, while also welcoming two children with his partner, Harriet Robson. The topic of the ex-United man has sprung up again in light of Marseille hosting Newcastle United, a game the French side won 2-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday. Before that, former Marseille star Nasri gave his thoughts on the public perception of Greenwood, who was forced to rebuild his career abroad after the lengthy legal case.

  He said on Canal+: "If she (Harriet Robson) has forgiven him… who are we to judge? That's the point… If your wife has forgiven you, we can forgive you. If she hadn't forgiven him and he had been found guilty and had received that sentence in England, she would have said it was normal."

• 'What happens to him saddens me'

  Marseille boss Roberto De Zerbi has also come to the aid of the 24-year-old. The Italian called the forward a "good person", who paid a "heavy price" for what happened.

  "I never delve into the players' private lives. But what I can say is that he's a good person. He paid a heavy price for what happened. He arrived in the right environment and behaved well. He has a very reserved personality. It saddens me what happened to him because I know a very different person from the one portrayed in England," said the former Brighton head coach. 

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  What comes next for Greenwood?

  After a prolific season at Marseille last term, Greenwood is continuing to impress this season for the French giants. He has scored 11 goals and added four assists in 17 appearances and will hope to add to that when Marseille, who are second in Ligue 1, host Toulouse on Saturday. The ex-Red Devils man was linked with some top European clubs earlier this year, and while a big-money move may happen one day, for now, he will be focusing on delivering for De Zerbi's side – who are just two points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain.

Still on the hunt for their next manager, Rangers and those at Ibrox are now reportedly targeting a manager who’s made history in English football.

Rangers shortlist growing

A number of names have been mentioned since Steven Gerrard’s unexpected decision, but the Gers remain without a replacement for Russell Martin. With Rangers back in action against Dundee United this weekend, to say that their current situation is far from ideal would be an understatement.

The 49ers still have a number of options, however. They could still turn towards the likes of Danny Rohl or perhaps even Hearts manager Derek McInnes. The 54-year-old is doing an excellent job at Hearts right now and has them top of the Scottish Premiership, two points above champions Celtic. For many at Ibrox, he would be the next Rangers manager in an ideal world.

Whether the 49ers can lure the Hearts boss away from his current role is another question entirely. Instead, they may be forced to look elsewhere and towards English football.

Whether that means turning to Rohl will be interesting to see. The former Sheffield Wednesday boss is one of the most exciting managerial prospects around and did an admirable job in a difficult position at Hillsborough. The 36-year-old wouldn’t be the safest choice given his inexperience, but he could be worth taking a gamble on.

It’s not just McInnes on the list, though. Former Young Boys manager Raphael Wicky has also emerged as a potential candidate. A title winner in Switzerland, the 48-year-old may not be a well-known name, but he is someone who has had impressive success in recent years.

The same can also be said for a Championship manager, who even has some historic moments on his side if Rangers come calling.

Rangers now targeting Kieran McKenna

According to TeamTalk, Rangers are now targeting Kieran McKenna. The Ipswich Town boss has emerged as one of the candidates for the job after impressing during his time at Portman Road, with Ashley Young calling him a “winner”.

One of just five managers to achieve back-to-back promotions from League One all the way to the Premier League, it’s hard to doubt McKenna’s ability to transform a club. And whilst Ipswich have since been relegated back to the Championship, the manager’s reputation is still more than intact, with many full of belief in his expertise.

Rangers left impressed after Ibrox talks with "amazing" 4-2-3-1 manager

Is he the right man for the Ibrox job?

By
Henry Jackson

Oct 12, 2025

The biggest task for Rangers will be prying McKenna away from Ipswich. The 39-year-old has been at the club since the 2021/22 campaign and still has work to do as those at Portman Road eye an instant return to the Premier League.

If the 49ers did manage to lure the former Manchester United coach away from Suffolk in the coming weeks, then the transition could be smoother than ever. McKenna plays the same 4-2-3-1 system as Russell Martin, albeit without the clear weaknesses that the former manager had.

But having now presided over two losses, his task is cut out. And his batting is bound to come under more focus as the season progresses

Shashank Kishore29-Mar-2024The crowd was torn between their loyalty to Rajasthan Royals and their love for Rishabh Pant. They willed him to hit sixes, yet belted out a collective roar when he was out caught behind off Yuzvendra Chahal.The scorecard will tell you Pant made 28 off 26 balls. It could make you believe there was an element of struggle on his part in a tall run chase. But for much of his knock, he simply needed to play a supporting role as long as David Warner was around.That comes with a solid understanding of situations and of your own game smarts that Pant amply displayed. It also came with the belief that he could change the game later.Related

• The still feet and knee-flex of Rishabh Pant

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• A landmark day in the life of Rishabh Pant

• Pant on his comeback to cricket: 'I was pretty nervous'

Sure, it didn’t quite materialise the way he would have wanted, but there were plenty of shades of positivity in his innings, especially during his 67-run stand with Warner that brought Delhi Capitals back in their chase of 186.It seemed too far away at 30 for 2 when Nandre Burger breathed fire, dismissing Mitchell Marsh and Ricky Bhui with two beauties. Marsh was beaten for pace by a skiddy delivery that flattened his stumps, while Bhui gloved a short one to Sanju Samson.Watching Pant steer the first ball behind point for a boundary frustrated Burger. Not because he had erred in line ever so slightly, but because of the ease with which Pant found the gap behind square when the field was set in front of it.There was a ferociousness to Pant when he took on Chahal a little later. Chahal drifted one away from the hitting arc. It’s Chahal’s modus operandi – challenging batters by throwing it up full and wide – and the deep midwicket boundary was a long one. But by deciding to take him on, even thought Dhruv Jurel might have caught it in the deep another day, Pant sent out a loud and clear message that he was ready for it.When Kuldeep Yadav came on, Rishabh Pant’s instincts as a wicketkeeper kicked in•BCCIThere was intent in the running that, at times, bordered on over-eagerness. It nearly led to Warner’s run-out at the non-striker’s end in the ninth over. Pant charged down the pitch, only to send Warner back even as R Ashwin couldn’t gather an awkward throw on the bounce.That and the result aside, you couldn’t have picked out any glaring weakness. Pant’s picking of length was top notch. His use of the crease to spin, especially while rocking back to cut Ashwin even when was just fractionally short, pointed to no physical discomfort.In general, there was a sense of industry to his innings that made you wonder when it would snowball into something bigger. But the party didn’t last long enough for that to happen. Pant was out attempting a cut, only managing a thick bottom edge to Samson. Chahal had had his revenge.With the gloves on, too, Pant seemed fairly nifty. Early on, he took cues from where Marsh stood to adjust his position behind the stumps on a relaid surface that provided a lot of bounce and carry.When Kuldeep Yadav came on, Pant’s instincts kicked in. He was, at one point, blinded when Riyan Parag missed a googly, but still managed to grab the ball on instinct. Perhaps briefly excited by the nature of the grab more than the possibility of a nick, Pant unsuccessfully reviewed a caught-behind not-out decision.Rishabh Pant looked comfortable enough behind the stumps•AFP/Getty ImagesThat he was in no discomfort was further reinforcement of the NCA’s decision to give him an all-clear to keep wickets, especially because there had been a slight possibility of him starting IPL 2024 as a pure batter.All through his stay in Jaipur, there has been a sense of absolute normalcy around Pant, a welcome change from all the attention he quite understandably received during the first week of the IPL. Two days out from the game, Pant revelled in the thrill of hitting the ball long and far, and engaged in a six-hitting contest with Australia’s Jake Fraser-McGurk.There was a competitive streak to it as well, each pegging the other’s hit to a certain number they tried to outdo. They were at it until someone actually realised they were quickly running out of old balls.But having now presided over two losses, Pant has his task cut out. And, fairly or unfairly, his batting is bound to come under a lot more focus as the season progresses. For now, there’s enough promise that holds out hope that the bigger and more impactful knocks are just around the corner.

Unbeaten 205-run stand turns the tables as champions endure frustrating day in the field

Andrew Miller10-Apr-2021Worcestershire 350 for 6 (Libby 141*, Barnard 116*, Wessels 54, Cook 4-77) trail Essex 490 for 9 dec by 140 runsThere’s been a fetching pink beanie sitting on the wall by the traffic lights on New Writtle Street for three days now. It’s nearly new, to judge by its lack of contours, although perhaps a touch too Middlesexy in hue for these parts. But much like Jake Libby and Ed Barnard throughout their indomitable seventh-wicket stand of 205, it seems to have hit upon an unlikely strip of Chelmsford real estate, and decided that – come wind, rain or shine – there’s nowhere else that it would rather be.The beanie was still there at the close – of course it was. More improbably, so too were Worcestershire’s incumbents, as they warmed to their task on the coldest, gloomiest day of the season so far, to turn a position of pre-ordained defeat into one from which Sunday’s probable stalemate will feel like a hugely significant victory. A punch of the gloves as the pair strode off at the close underlined the extent to which they had changed the narrative of this contest, and that there’s only one team left that’s likely to derive any enjoyment from its denouement.For Libby, of course, this was business as usual. Of all the batsmen in last year’s Bob Willis Trophy, only Sir Alastair Cook managed more than his haul of 498 runs at 55.33, and Cook only vaulted that tally with his commanding century in the final. But in battling his way to the close on 141 not out from 369 balls, Libby reaffirmed his credentials by putting Cook himself – for much of his innings a chilly onlooker from the slip cordon – through the sort of ordeal that all the best openers should aspire to inflict on their opponents.Barnard, by contrast, came with rather less warning of what was in store. Despite his youthful promise – not least as a white-ball allrounder – a previous best first-class score of 75, and a grand total of four centuries in any representative format (most recently a Birmingham Premier League knock for Shrewsbury in 2017) did not exactly scream of the sort of durability that Worcestershire were crying out for, especially when he arrived at the crease at a listless 145 for 6.Worcestershire were still almost 200 runs shy of saving the follow-on at that moment, and if Libby’s dour half-century was providing a steadfast imitation of Tom Westley’s first-day efforts, no-one other than the been-and-gone Riki Wessels had shown any intention of doing likewise. Wessels had thumped and ground his way to a punchy 54 in a fifth-wicket stand of 89 to hint that resistance wasn’t futile after all. But it was surely going to have to be the second innings, with the threat of imminent defeat to focus the minds, where Worcestershire made their stand.But this was not to be the day that Essex’s frustrated champions had in mind. Not after their surging finish to the second day’s play, when Sam Cook’s biting seam movement had shredded the top of Worcestershire’s reply; not after Cook’s fourth-ball breakthrough on the most bitter, wintery morning of the match had taken his personal tally to four wickets in the space of 12 balls. And certainly not in the first over after lunch, when Ben Cox dropped to one knee for a wild sweep that gifted Simon Harmer the first of what, presumably, will be another bucketload of first-class wickets this season, and brought the diffident Barnard out to join his senior partner.Jake Libby is congratulated by Ed Barnard after bringing up his century•Andrew Miller

But if there was one clear difference between the approaches of Essex and Worcestershire in their two innings, it was in the willingness of the latter to go from their strokes – the life lessons, no doubt, of 157.4 overs of hard yakka across the first two days. For all of Worcestershire’s seamers – not least Barnard himself, whose 3 for 67 looks even better in hindsight – there had been a distinct lack of April zip off the deck, and what few edges they had found had been falling consistently short of the cordon.So Barnard himself chose the pro-active route, trusting himself to aim through the covers with relative impunity. Sure enough, it wasn’t until late in the afternoon session that Essex chose to plug a third man through which more than 50 runs had whistled in the course of the innings, with not a single catchable opportunity among them, beyond Adam Wheater’s second-ball drop of Daryl Mitchell right at the top of the innings.Essex are not used to being made to toil for their wickets on home soil – in three home fixtures in last season’s Bob Willis Trophy, only one team, Kent, managed to post more than 200 in any of their six innings, and even they were rolled aside for 112 second-time around. And their frustrations were epitomised when Sam Cook, in his penultimate over of the day, attempted a shy at Barnard’s stumps in his followthrough, but shanked his throw so badly that it almost took out Alastair Cook’s shins at slip before streaking to the boundary.Related

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Both men brought up their centuries in near-identical fashions – a pair of flicks off the pads on 98, and a pair of urgent scampers back for the second run that brought a pair of throaty roars from the visiting dressing rooms. Barnard in particular bore a look of wonder in his eyes as he contemplated his achievement. It was, he admitted afterwards, “a monkey off his back” to broach three figures given his obvious talent, and his stated ambition, given his current age of 24, to become a genuine allrounder at 5 or 6 in the order.”When there is someone at the other end who is confident it makes it easier,” he added. “It gives you the calmness and the confidence you can do it as well. It was a case of batting as long as we can and trying to save the game. We saw it was a good pitch and knew it could be done, so we just had to get a head start and get on with it.”For Essex, this likely failure to record their habitual home victory is far from panic stations despite the rejigged format for this season – especially given the ECB’s decision to up the points from five to eight for a draw. But, for all of the resolve shown by Libby and Barnard, the lack of life in the surface is already a concern given the truncated group stage.”We knew leading up to the season that the ground was particularly dry for this time of year,” admitted Anthony McGrath, the head coach.”Firstly, credit to Worcestershire. The partnership between Libby and Bernard was really good. They batted well. But there hasn’t been a lot in the wicket all game. We needed to make in-roads with the new ball, which we managed last night, but as we’ve seen through the three days that if someone has got through that then it is a pretty benign pitch.”People talk about us not scoring enough runs at home but in this match we have scored a lot of runs but haven’t taken the wickets. That’s the way it goes sometimes.”There is still a day left so I wouldn’t be going anywhere yet. As we have seen over the last couple of years anything can happen here. We still have a healthy lead and if we can go bang-bang in the morning then we will be trying to push the game forward.”

Despite earning a convincing victory in the Champions League, Napoli head coach Antonio Conte is concerned with the rising injury concerns inside his squad. As the Italian team prepare for their upcoming battle against Serie A leaders Roma, the coach wants his side to take extra caution as his squad is stretched thin.

• McTominay powers Conte's side to victory

  After a devastating 6-2 loss to PSV and a goalless draw against Eintracht Frankfurt, Napoli returned to winning ways in the Champions League by defeating Azerbaijani heavyweights Qarabag 2-0 on Tuesday. A 65th-minute goal from last season's player of the year, Scott McTominay, and an own goal from Marko Jankovic seven minutes later, decided Napoli's fate, who rose to the 18th position on the continental table. However, fielding his best side was somewhat challenging for Conte, who had to keep two goalkeepers and two young players on the bench. 

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  Conte bemoans mounting injury crisis

  Napoli missed six important figures against Qarabag, including the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, and Leonardo Spinazzola. While Conte expressed delight after the victory, he seemed cautious of the team's injury concerns.  

  He told reporters: "Tomorrow we'll enjoy it, then we'll put the helmet back on because we have Roma on Sunday. Napoli were not dead, it's not a question of being alive or not alive, but of continuing to work always giving everything we have. Then games can be won or not, but we know that we always have to give everything. It is a moment of great difficulty for the availability of the players, we had seven players on the bench, two of whom were goalkeepers and two young players like Ambrosino and Vergara.

  "We have been facing a very difficult period since the beginning of the year, we must start from the assumption that the players go on the pitch. If you don't have any, you have to find different solutions, trying to exploit almost always the same ones because then the risks increase. We are moving forward, we have played two excellent games. Let's not forget the results of Qarabag, in the Champions League there are no easy opponents, I was convinced that by bringing this pace we would direct the challenge."

• Conte sheds light on Spinazzola's return

  While Miguel Gutierrez succumbed to an injury a day before the Qarabag game, Conte expects Spinazzola to return on Friday. Whether he'll be available for Sunday's clash against surprise Serie A leaders Roma still remains unclear, but one of the six key individuals returning to the side will be taken as a positive by the experienced mentor. 

  He said: "Many times we also judge on the basis of the results of the matches, I think since the beginning of the year we have been chasing having many unavailability. I can control some situations, but I can't manage the sprain that Gutierrez got yesterday during training. It's a shame, because then we immediately talk about a crisis without actually seeing what we are facing. The boys are exceptional, in terms of availability, everyone's responsibility has risen exponentially, because there will be many games that we have to face without being complete. We hope to have Spinazzola with us on Thursday, so we would have another option instead of the Spaniard."

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  Napoli's recent form over Roma a boost for squad

  Defeating Roma will offer Napoli a chance to reclaim top spot in Serie A, depending on AC Milan's result against Lazio on Saturday evening. However, despite many injury concerns, Napoli have one positive to inspire them against Roma. In the last five meetings against the capital club, Napoli have lost to Roma only once, drawing two games and winning three. Conte might want his team to escalate their confidence, keeping this head-to-head record in mind. 

England head coach’s time in Netherlands might have given him his first taste of mentoring a cricket team. Now he comes up against his old side with his future in this role under a cloud

Matt Roller07-Nov-20232:05

Harmison: Batting looking like hard work for England

Four times at this World Cup, a coach has come up against – and beaten – a team that they used to represent as a player: Jonathan Trott (Afghanistan) and Chris Silverwood (Sri Lanka) against England, Grant Bradburn (Pakistan) against New Zealand, and Chandika Hathurusinghe (Bangladesh) against Sri Lanka.Matthew Mott, England’s coach, will hope to extend the streak on Wednesday in Pune. His adopted side face Netherlands with Champions Trophy qualification on the line and Mott’s position under scrutiny: he is 18 months into a four-year contract, but a seventh defeat in eight games would put him under real pressure.Mott is as Australian as they come: he grew up on the Gold Coast and made more than 3,500 runs across a decade-long Sheffield Shield career for Queensland and Victoria. Yet he also played professionally for a third team: Netherlands, who he represented for two List A games as an overseas player.Related

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Long before the days of franchise cricket sustaining players through the off-season, Mott spent several years playing in the Lancashire League, but in 2003, he went off the beaten track and joined Excelsior ’20 in Rotterdam. Most clubs had an overseas player: a young Grant Elliott pipped Mott to the honour of being the Hoofdklasse’s leading run-scorer.Mott enjoyed it enough that he recommended a Gold Coast team-mate named Brett Crichton to Voorburg CC for the following summer. “It meant we had a free overseas player for a year,” recalled Tim de Leede, who represented Netherlands at three different World Cups and whose son, Bas, will feature on Wednesday. “We used to be a very small club, so we were very, very happy.”Matthew Mott and Jos Buttler have a tough job of helping England qualify for the Champions Trophy•Gareth Copley-ICC/Getty ImagesTowards the end of the season, Mott was asked to play in the preliminary round of the following season’s Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy, county cricket’s 50-over knockout competition. On debut for the Dutch, he scored 45 not out in a win over Cornwall to set up a fixture against Gloucestershire; he returned the following summer for it, taking two wickets and then making 41 in a heavy defeat.De Leede, who played alongside Mott in both games, believes that his coaching aspirations may have started that summer. “As an overseas player in the Netherlands, you have to start coaching at your club – seniors and kids. Maybe it started then and he liked it?”Mott referenced his time in the Netherlands during his first interaction with the media in the England job last summer. “I did play cricket many years ago,” he said, looking out over the VRA ground in Amstelveen. “Looking at this ground, it’s come on leaps and bounds.”It was an idyllic way for Mott to start with England: a three-match series in the baking sunshine, with thousands of travelling supporters drinking Amstelveen dry. They racked up a world-record total of 498 in the first ODI and won the series 3-0 while hardly breaking a sweat.Jos Buttler made 162 in the first game – 56 runs more than he has managed across seven innings at this World Cup – and took over from Eoin Morgan as captain straight after that tour. His partnership with Mott brought immediate success in the form of last year’s T20 World Cup in Australia.3:09

Hopkinson: England struggled with executing under pressure

But England’s defence of their 50-over crown has been a mess, with Saturday’s 33-run defeat to Australia in Ahmedabad representing their second-best result. They will need at least one win and possibly two to finish in the top eight and seal a spot in the 2025 Champions Trophy; failure to do so will leave Mott vulnerable.He has found himself under growing pressure as this World Cup has worn on, not helped by Morgan’s suggestion that there is “something else going on” than simply players being out of form collectively. Mott pushed back against those comments and while some react better to defeats than others, there has not been any obvious rift in the squad.Instead, the sense is that England are a team bereft of confidence, without the relevant experience and muscle memory of recent ODI success that helped them get through the setbacks they encountered on home soil four years ago. Mott’s task is to revitalise a group that has played together so often, but will never again.Rob Key, England’s managing director of men’s cricket, will return to India this week and will rejoin the team in Kolkata ahead of Saturday’s fixture against Pakistan. Key holds Mott’s future in his hands but was also ultimately responsible for appointing him; sacking him so early into his tenure would not reflect well on his judgement.There is a simple route for England to quieten talk about Mott’s position: to win on Wednesday, and win well. If Mott’s brief time in Dutch orange was a success, failure in Pune would leave him red-faced.