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Arsenal beat German champions Bayern Munich 3-1 on a night to remember in Europe, and one Gunners star absolutely stole the show with his performance.

Mikel Arteta’s side were handed one of their toughest tests on paper tonight against a Bayern side who are still unbeaten in the Bundesliga and one of the favourites to win the Champions League, but they were no match for the Premier League frontrunners in north London.

Jurrien Timber

7.7

Bukayo Saka

7.4

Riccardo Calafiori

7.4

Lennart Karl

7.4

Declan Rice

7.3

via WhoScored

Bayern had also won all but one of their matches in all competitions this season heading into their trip to the Emirates, with Arsenal handing Vincent Kompany’s side their first defeat of 2025/2026.

Second-half goals from Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli ended up firing Arsenal to victory in their heavyweight clash. Madueke, back after two months out with a knee injury, scored his first Gunners goal before fellow sub Martinelli pounced on a mistake from Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer to stretch Arsenal’s perfect record in the competition to five victories from five matches.

Earlier, Jurrien Timber had headed Arsenal into the lead and, with former Tottenham striker Harry Kane unable to add to the six goals he has scored at the Emirates, it was left to Bayern’s 17-year-old star Lennart Karl to grab the first goal Arsenal have conceded in the competition this season.

This glamour tie was arguably the least important of Premier League leaders Arsenal’s three matches this week, sandwiched between the 4-1 derby demolition of Spurs and Sunday’s trip to second-placed Chelsea.

Nevertheless, it is still one to revel in, and the result perhaps hands Arsenal the status of Europe’s best team right now.

While Timber, Madueke and Martinelli were the heroes on paper, it was a complete midfield performance by club-record signing Declan Rice, who absolutely bossed proceedings in the middle of the park with one of his best ever displays in red and white.

Ally McCoist hails 'out of this world' Declan Rice in Arsenal win

Covering the game for TNT Sports, commentator Ally McCoist repeatedly waxed lyrical about the England international — branding him Man of the Match for his “first class” outing against the Bavarians.

Rice was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet as well on 60 minutes, with the former West Ham captain storming down the left only for veteran keeper Manuel Neuer to deny him just reward for his imperious showing.

McCoist called Rice “magnificent” and “out of this world” for the run, which just about summed up what was a possessed performance from one of Arsenal’s leaders.

Tonight was a massive statement from Arsenal, who not only showed they can cut it against Europe’s toughest opponents, but also sent a very clear message that they’ve got absolutely zero intention of letting up.

Next up, a fierce London derby awaits against Chelsea this weekend — a match which could send Arteta’s side nine points clear at the top of the table and cement their status as overwhelming title favourites.

Rice will be a massive part of that, and tonight shows just how vital he is in Arteta’s quest to end the club’s 22-year wait for a Premier League trophy.

Barcelona’s long-awaited Camp Nou rebirth has stretched a full year beyond schedule, yet the club will not enforce the €1 million-per-day penalty clause against construction firm Limak. Between bureaucratic hurdles, structural surprises, financial strain, and internal dissent, Barca now prioritises finishing the stadium over reclaiming hundreds of millions in fines as fans grow increasingly frustrated.

• Multiple delay's in Camp Nou's renovation

  Barcelona’s Camp Nou renovation, once positioned as a flagship achievement of the Espai Barca project, spiralled into a saga of delays, criticism and missed milestones. The project has now drifted a year beyond the original November 29, 2024 deadline, yet the club will not enforce the €1m-per-day penalty clause included in Limak’s contract, reports.

  This decision arrives after months of concerns surrounding the project’s management. One of the earliest internal ruptures occurred when Jordi Llaurado, the board member overseeing Espai Barca, resigned following president Joan Laporta’s choice of Limak as the construction partner. Llaurado opposed the selection – he believed Camp Nou’s reconstruction warranted a top-tier, perhaps publicly traded firm subject to strict regulatory oversight. Limak, in contrast, submitted its bid late, failed to meet certain formal criteria, and reportedly scored the lowest in technical evaluations. The former board member also refused to attend the vote, signalling his disapproval, and resigned weeks later in protest.

  Now, the club face the consequences of that choice. Camp Nou remains partly closed, its phased reopening far slower than promised. Having just returned to Camp Nou for their first game last week, Barcelona continue to play matches in a stadium still surrounded by cranes, incomplete roofs and unfinished concourses, undermining the initial pledge of a sparkling return for the club’s 125th anniversary. And despite the long delay, Laporta has made it clear that invoking the penalty clause is “out of the question,” insisting that the project’s setbacks stem from circumstances beyond Limak’s control.

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• AFP
  

  Why Barcelona refuses to demand the fines

  Barcelona argue that many of the delays arose from factors that no contractor could have fully prevented – bureaucratic bottlenecks, permitting challenges, and labour inspections that caused repeated stoppages. The City Council’s prolonged approvals forced work to halt for weeks at a time, while EU safety requirements and municipal restrictions on continuous construction shrank operational hours.

  Beyond the red tape, the site itself produced new complications, according to various reports. Construction teams discovered high-voltage cables requiring a full rewiring, hazardous materials that mandated specialised removal, and significant drainage issues in the pitch area that pushed the turf regrowth back by months. Meanwhile, global disruptions, from a major steel supplier’s bankruptcy to shipping delays linked to geopolitical tensions, further slowed progress.

  Extreme heat waves in Catalonia brought mandatory labour stoppages under new Spanish regulations, and noise-control laws blocked the possibility of 24-hour shifts that could have accelerated work. Subcontracting delays in the VIP zones, still incomplete and without final facades or luxury seating, extended the timeline further. The enormous roof which required 1,400 tons of steel cabling remains one of the biggest components now pushed into 2026.

  Laporta insists these conditions make litigation unwinnable, and that pursuing over €200 million in fines would damage the relationship with Limak and jeopardise completion. The club argues that its priority must be guaranteeing the stadium’s full 105,000-seat reopening by mid-2026, not entering a lengthy legal battle that could stall progress.

  Adding to the controversy, the Catalan Labour Inspectorate recently fined an Extreme Works subcontractor €1m for employing 79 undocumented workers on site, an incident that has sparked further scrutiny of oversight standards and casts another shadow over the project’s execution.

• Fan outrage and internal pressure mount

  Barcelona has repeatedly missed the self-imposed return dates. From the 2024 anniversary target to the 2025 Joan Gamper Trophy and a planned reopening for the Valencia match that was abruptly transferred back to the Johan Cruyff Stadium over last-minute permit complications. Montjuic’s Estadi Olimpic, the temporary home since 2023, has offered little comfort: reduced capacity, muted atmospheres, and away supporters frequently out-chanting the home crowd.

  Frustration reached boiling point when a viral video showed a fan confronting Laporta directly, accusing the leadership of making empty promises. Online forums have produced forensic breakdowns of the delays, with some analyses attributing a majority of setbacks to preventable planning errors rather than uncontrollable externalities.

  Internally, the strains are equally evident. Fixture scheduling for La Liga and the Champions League has become a logistical ordeal, with multiple departments forced to react to each shift in construction timelines. VIP clients are now voicing dissatisfaction due to unfinished lounges and premium zones, jeopardising key revenue streams.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  Financial consequences for Barca and the road ahead

  Reduced capacity at Montjuic has cost Barcelona tens of millions annually in lost matchday revenue – money desperately needed amid ongoing debt and salary-cap constraints. Delays also erased potential earnings from events such as Champions League openers and commercial activations tied to the stadium’s reopening. Overrunning material and labour costs have inflated the renovation budget well beyond initial projections, intensifying the strain on a club already navigating a €1.3 billion debt.

  By waiving over €200 million in possible penalties from Limak, Barcelona has sacrificed a potential revenue buffer. Meanwhile, the €1m government fine over undocumented workers added yet another financial burden to a project already plagued by unforeseen expenses.

  Yet the Espai Barca renovation is not without progress. Partial reopening has allowed Barcelona to host select La Liga and Champions League matches at Camp Nou once more, and an open training session earlier this month offered a glimpse of life after the cranes are gone. Sustainability objectives, such as 18,000 square metres of solar panels, large-scale material recycling, and water-reuse systems, remain on track despite delays to their installation. Still, the road to full completion stretches into 2026.

Lahore Qalandars

Draft picks: Ahmed Danyal (supplementary), Maaz Khan (emerging), Mohammad Faizan (silver), Joe Denly (supplementary), Rashid Khan (platinum), Samit Patel (gold), Tom Abell, Salman Ali Agha (both silver), Zaid Alam (emerging), Zeeshan Ashraf (silver)Retained: Ben Dunk (gold); David Wiese (diamond); Dilbar Hussain (gold); Fakhar Zaman (diamond, brand ambassador); Haris Rauf (diamond); Mohammad Hafeez; Shaheen Shah Afridi (both platinum) and Sohail Akhtar (silver, successful relegation request)Potential First XI: Fakhar Zaman, Sohail Akhtar, Zaid Alam, Mohammad Hafeez, Ben Dunk, Samit Patel, David Wiese, Rashid Khan, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi, Dilbar HussainHasan Ali has been in fine form in the QeA trophy•PCB

Islamabad United

Draft picks: Hasan Ali (platinum)*, Ahmed Saifi Abdullah (emerging), Akif Javed (supplementary), Chris Jordon (supplementary), Iftikhar Ahmed (silver), Lewis Gregory (diamond), Mohammad Wasim Jnr (emerging), Phil Salt (gold), Rohail Nazir, Reece Topley (both silver)Retained: Alex Hales (Platinum, traded from Karachi Kings), Asif Ali (gold), Colin Munro (diamond), Faheem Ashraf (diamond), Hussain Talat (gold, brand ambassador), Musa Khan (silver, successful relegation request), Shadab Khan (platinum), Zafar Gohar (silver, successful relegation request)Potential First XI: Alex Hales, Colin Munro, Shadab Khan, Hussain Talat, Asif Ali, Phil Salt, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Zafar Gohar, Musa KhanMohammad Nabi has found yet another T20 franchise interested in him•Cricket Australia via Getty Images

Karachi Kings

Draft picks: Chadwick Walton (gold), Dan Christian (diamond), Danish Aziz (silver), Joe Clarke (silver), Mohammad Nabi (diamond), Mohammad Ilyas (silver), Noor Ahmed (supplementary), Qasim Akram (emerging), Zeeshan Malik (silver)Retained: Aamer Yamin (gold); Arshad Iqbal (emerging); Babar Azam (platinum); Colin Ingram (platinum, traded from Islamabad United); Imad Wasim (diamond, successful relation request); Mohammad Amir (platinum); Sharjeel Khan gold) and Waqas Maqsood (silver, brand ambassador)Potential First XI: Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Colin Ingram, Dan Christian, Imad Wasim, Chadwick Walton, Mohammad Nabi, Aamer Yamin, Mohammad Amir, Waqas Maqsood, Arshad IqbalMohammad Rizwan will now play for Multan Sultans•Getty Images

Multan Sultans

Draft picks: Adam Lyth (silver), Carlos Brathwaite (supplementary), Chris Lynn, Imran Khan Snr (supplementary), Mohammad Rizwan (silver), Mohammad Umar (emerging), Shahnawaz Dhani (emerging), Sohaib Maqsood, Sohaibullah, Sohail Khan (all silver)Retained: Shahid Afridi (platinum), Imran Tahir (diamond, mentor); James Vince (gold); Khushdil Shah (diamond); Rilee Rossouw (platinum); Shan Masood (gold, successful relegation request); Sohail Tanvir (Diamond, brand ambassador); Usman Qadir (gold)Potential First XI: Chris Lynn, James Vince, Shan Masood, Rilee Rossouw, Mohammad Rizwan, Khushdil Shah, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Sohail Khan, Imran Tahir, Shahnawaz DhaniMujeeb ur Rahman will up Peshawar Zalmi’s mystery spin quotient•Getty Images

Peshawar Zalmi

Draft picks: Abrar Ahmed (emerging), Amad Butt (gold), David Miller (platinum) Imam-ul-Haq (silver), Liam Livingstone (gold), Mohammad Amir Khan (supplementary), Mohammad Irfan Snr, Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Imran Randhawa (all silver), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (diamond), Ravi Bopara (supplementary), Saqib Mahmood (silver), Sherfane Rutherford (diamond), Umaid Asif (silver)Retained: Haider Ali (gold); Kamran Akmal (diamond, successful relegation request); Liam Livingstone (gold); Shoaib Malik and Wahab Riaz (both platinum)Potential First XI: Haider Ali, Liam Livingstone, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Ravi Bopara, Amad Butt, Wahab Riaz, Umaid Asif, Mohammad Irfan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammad ImranChris Gayle is set to open the batting for Quetta Gladiators•BCCI

Quetta Gladiators

Draft picks: Abdul Nasir (silver), Arish Ali Khan (emerging), Cameron Delport (silver), Chris Gayle (platinum), Dale Steyn (supplementary), Qais Ahmed (silver), Saim Ayub (emerging) Tom Banton (platinum), Usman Khan (supplementary), Usman Shinwari (gold) and Zahid Mahmood (silver, brand ambassador)Retained: Anwar Ali (silver, successful relegation request); Azam Khan (gold); Ben Cutting (diamond); Mohammad Hasnain (diamond); Mohammad Nawaz (diamond); Naseem Shah (gold); Sarfaraz Ahmed (platinum) and Zahid Mahmood (silver, brand ambassador)Potential First XI: Chris Gayle, Tom Banton, Azam Khan, Cameron Delport, Ben Cutting, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Zahid Mahmood, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Arish Ali*

Deepti Sharma, India’s 26-year-old “senior”, opens up on the progress of the women’s team and the unfinished business at global events

Ashish Pant19-Sep-20232:55

Deepti: ‘I enjoy the finisher’s role because it puts responsibility on you’

It’s an early August afternoon in Bengaluru. The sun is trying to peek through the clouds, and a gentle breeze is around – the famous Bengaluru weather is showing off. Meanwhile, the infamous peak-hour traffic has just about eased. Away from all the hustle, WPL franchise UP Warriorz are holding a week-long off-season camp at a private sports complex in the eastern suburbs of the city.That a women’s cricket team is conducting a camp of this kind is a rarity in India. It merely underscores the importance of having a professional structure, which makes opportunities trickle down to the grass roots.More than a decade ago, Deepti Sharma was a starry-eyed kid trying to make her way up the ranks, a path strewn with hurdles, the lack of opportunities and exposure foremost among those. Today, Deepti is a veteran trying to help unearth young talent at a scouting trial, apart from fine-tuning her own skills, which have made her a key member of the India team.Related

• Harmanpreet pleads guilty to ICC charges

• More misses than hits for India on tour of Bangladesh

• BCCI contracts: Deepti in the top bracket

• Can WPL make women's cricket in India mainstream?

Deepti is at the front and centre of the camp, where the coaches have set out specific tasks for the players. Deepti, who was signed at the auction ahead of the inaugural season for INR 2.6 crore (US $312,000 approx.), may have been back in rainy Agra training on cement surfaces. Instead, she’s going through the paces, both fitness- and cricket-wise. Be it timed sprints or precision-specific range-hitting topped with a technical breakdown of what she did right and what she didn’t.Such critical feedback from coaches in women’s domestic cricket, heavily dominated by the star-studded Railways team, is rare. Which is why the camp is already a massive step-up for the players who have assembled.As lunch time nears, Deepti gears up for a fresh round of match simulation. Many starry-eyed youngsters, who have been called up for trials, are keenly watching the team’s vice-captain. There’s a sense that everyone involved is keen to see what she does.Of course, the Warriorz are looking to get out as much as they can from the week-long camp. For Deepti, personally, this is a welcome opportunity to push herself hard ahead of a busy few months, having not played much since the WPL. All India have had in the interim is a short tour of Bangladesh, a low-scoring series marred by talk about the surfaces and the fracas over the umpiring.It starts with the Asian Games in Hangzhou, where India have secured direct entry to the quarter-finals beginning September 21. Having fallen short of the final hurdle several times, India have an opportunity to push for gold and establish themselves as the Asian powerhouses they are. It will set them up nicely for incoming tours from England and Australia in the coming months.Though just 26, Deepti Sharma is already something of a veteran•BCBDeepti has been part of all the recent heartbreaks, including T20 World Cup final at the MCG in front of 86,174 spectators. “Earlier, we never used to even qualify [for big-tournament finals]. Now we qualify, play the semi-finals, finals… it’s not easy,” Deepti tells ESPNcricinfo. “The more matches we play, the more experience we gain. We are falling short by a small margin. I am hopeful that we will cross the line very soon.”The experience bit is pertinent, because that is exactly what the WPL aims to achieve: to give Indian players a platform to train and play with the world’s best, adopt best practices and introduce them to modern training methods. This could go a long way towards bridging the gap from being second best to best.”We were waiting for so long for this [WPL], and it finally started. It has been great, experience-wise,” Deepti says. “We have played against some of the [overseas] players for so long, and now we are playing in the same team. It feels nice – different, because everyone backs each other. That is one good thing. You just need that support from the team. I feel this will go to a completely different level and it’s going to be a lot of fun going forward.”Deepti is only 26, but already a senior in Indian cricket. She made her ODI debut as a 17-year-old in 2014 against South Africa before getting her T20I cap 14 months later against Australia. No other Indian bowler has picked more wickets than Deepti since her debut in T20Is (105) and ODIs (93). In February this year, she became the first Indian bowler across men’s and women’s cricket to get to 100 T20I wickets.Deepti was part of the team that lost the 2020 T20 World Cup final•Getty ImagesDeepti’s numbers with the bat are decent too – 1912 runs in 74 ODI innings at 34.76 and 955 runs in 68 T20I innings at 24.48. What makes Deepti a perfect fit in any line-up is her versatility. She can bowl with the new ball and at the death in T20s and is often used to choke the opposition in the middle overs of an ODI. With the bat, Deepti has batted in every position from No. 1 to No. 9 in ODIs and No. 3 to No. 9 in T20Is. It’s this prospect of taking up new challenges that drives her.”Whatever the situation, if have to bowl or bat I like taking up the challenges in front of me,” she says. “These challenges help me get my mind stronger. It’s not easy to play in any condition, but if your preparation is strong, you can overcome any challenge.”I do my practice sessions in a way that I remain mentally strong, so that whatever I have in front of me gets easier.”

****

Hrishikesh Kanitkar, who will be travelling to Hangzhou as the head coach of the women’s team, had recently spoken about how Deepti keeps her “training levels very high”. This is one aspect Deepti says she focuses on keenly.”The mindset I have during a match, the same mindset I try and carry when I practice,” she says. “I have been trying to increase the number of balls that I face during a practice session. If I used to face 500 balls, now I am trying to up that by 100 to 150 so that I get better at my shot-making.”My preparation is always keeping in mind a match scenario. I keep practicing with the new ball, old ball, semi-new ball. Those sessions help me during a match. In a match situation, I can be asked to bowl at any given time, so I try to keep myself ready and try to replicate whatever I have done in practice in a match scenario.”Deepti Sharma celebrates a wicket during the WPL; her batting during the tournament, however, was below-par•BCCIWhile Deepti has had success with the ball, she had a below-par WPL with the bat, scoring just 90 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 83.33. Her overall T20 record too points to her having underachieved with the bat. In 107 innings, Deepti has hit just two fifties, and her career strike rate reads 105.71.With the likes of Shreyanka Patil, whose stocks have risen rapidly in recent months, breathing down her neck, Deepti knows her T20 numbers with the bat need improvement. She has recently been the designated finisher for both India and her franchise. And she needs to work on her power-hitting, which she reckons she has been doing at training.”Power-hitting is an ongoing part of my practice routine,” she says. “I have started practicing with heavy balls. I make sure when I am facing the bowling machine, I try to step out and practice my lofted shots.”The balls are a bit heavier than the normal Kookaburra balls. So when you practice, say, ten balls with the heavier ones and then switch back to the Kookaburra, the shot-making becomes a bit easier.”I like playing as a finisher as it requires more responsibility and finishing a game for your team is a feeling on a totally different level. There is so much positivity within you when you finish a game for the team.”The next T20 World Cup is still a year away and Deepti remains a key part of India’s plans for now. The Asian Games presents a good chance for her to maximise her potential and build on her off-season gains. It could set her and India up nicely for the next several months.

Venkat Sundaram has been named secretary

PTI17-Oct-2025

Shantha Rangaswamy was the first captain of India women•Annesha Ghosh/ESPNcricinfo

Former India women captain Shantha Rangaswamy has been elected president of the Indian Cricketers’ Association (ICA), and former Delhi men opener Venkat Sundaram named secretary.Sundaram had served as the ICA’s president since December 2024, when he was elected unopposed following the death of the former president Aunshuman Gaekwad.Deepak Jain is the treasurer, while the member representatives are Jyoti Thatte and Santhosh Subramoniam.The ICA board has nominated former India women captains Sudha Shah and Shubhangi Kulkarni as its representatives in the BCCI’s Apex Council and the IPL Governing Council.The male representative to the BCCI Apex Council is V Chamundeswara Nath from the Hyderabad Cricket Association.”This election marks a notable moment for the ICA, with two women now serving on the ICA Board, and for the first time, a female president and a female nominee to the IPL Governing Council – reflecting the Association’s commitment to inclusive representation and progressive leadership,” a release stated.

Nottingham Forest travel to Brentford this afternoon looking to make it three consecutive Premier League wins in a row at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Nuno Espírito Santo’s side have claimed wins against Manchester United and Aston Villa in the last two matches, pushing them up to fourth in the table.

Late goals from Nikola Milenkovic and Anthony Elanga secured the win for the Reds, showcasing their never-say-die attitude under the former Wolves boss.

However, today’s prospect against Thomas Frank’s side will be a difficult one, with the Bees yet to taste defeat on home soil this season, dropping just two points in the process.

Both sides will be hoping to maintain their impressive starts to the 2024/25 campaign, with the hosts holding the edge in recent clashes in London.

Forest’s record at the Brentford Community Stadium

Brentford only moved to their new stadium back in August 2020, with Forest facing the Bees three times since its opening after multiple years in the top flight whilst the Reds lingered in the second tier.

The first clash came back in the 2020/21 season, drawing 1-1 after Filip Krovinovic cancelled out Ivan Toney’s opener from the penalty spot in the first half.

However, the last two meetings haven’t gone to plan for the East Midlands outfit, losing both games by an aggregate score line of 5-3 following 2-1 and 3-2 defeats.

Brazilian midfielder Danilo will miss the clash in the capital as he continues to recover from his long-term injury, but he has managed to score on both visits to the Gtech, with Nuno undoubtedly wishing he was available this afternoon.

Chris Wood also scored in the last clash between the two sides, hoping to repeat a similar feat today, and looking to add to his goalscoring tally which has already seen him find the back of the net on ten occasions.

However, if Nuno is to continue the recent run of form, he may have to brutally drop one player who’s started each of the last two matches.

The player who Nuno needs to drop against Brentford

Forest’s backline has been up there with some of the very best in the division, conceding just 19 times – the joint-third-best record in the league after the first 16 matches.

Neco Williams has featured in each of the last two victories but could find himself back on the bench with Alex Moreno available for selection once again after missing the meeting with parent club Villa last weekend.

The Spaniard has provided stability at left-back in recent months, with Nuno often switching between Williams and Ola Aina in recent times, both unnatural situations for the right-sided players.

However, dropping the Welsh international may seem harsh after his recent displays, with one analyst dubbing him “incredibly reliable” in the absence of Moreno.

Whoever does feature at left-back this afternoon will be tasked with keeping winger Bryan Mbeumo quiet, which could see the loanee have the edge, given his ability to keep Mohamed Salah quiet earlier in the campaign.

Games played

11

13

Goals & assists

1

0

Touches

51

49

Passes completed

28

27

Tackles won

2.1

1.9

Interceptions

1.6

0.7

Take-ons attempted

2.1

1.8

The 31-year-old has also won more tackles per 90 this season, showcasing he has the defensive quality to restrict the Cameroonian international from causing any problems.

It’s another exciting prospect for Nuno’s side this afternoon, chasing another win to help maintain their impressive away form since the start of August.

However, if the 50-year-old is to secure another three points to maintain their unexpected league standing, he may have to opt for Moreno, offering that added cover to stop the Bees’ dangerman.

Nottingham Forest and Marinakis now tracking £50m star with PSG and Bayern

Nottingham Forest are interested in signing a winger but face a transfer battle to secure his signature.

1 ByBrett Worthington Dec 17, 2024

Tim Paine has accused South Africa of ball tampering in the Test match immediately after Australian cricket was rocked by the sandpaper-gate scandal, claiming the act was covered up by match broadcasters.Paine made the explosive claims in his autobiography , with the former Test captain becoming the first player lift the lid on the 2018 Cape Town Test in a tell-all book.Paine denies any suggestion of a team meeting around the plan for Cameron Bancroft to use sandpaper on the ball during the third Test of the series against South Africa.And he says he was stunned and his heart sank as replays showed Bancroft hiding the sandpaper in his pants before being spoken to by umpires.”I was thinking ‘what the f**k’,” Paine wrote. “A sense of dread came over us all.”In a lengthy chapter on the 2018 tour, Paine went to great lengths to point out that ball tampering was commonplace in cricket and that it was the sport’s dirty little secret. Faf du Plessis, who was South Africa captain at the time, makes similar claims in his upcoming book.Related

• Bancroft: 'Self-explanatory' that bowlers were aware of ball-tampering tactics in Newlands Test

• Faf du Plessis says breakdown in relationship with coach Mark Boucher pushed him into Test retirement

• Tim Paine: I was hung out to dry by Cricket Australia

But Paine conceded using sandpaper was “next level” and “shameful”, with traditional tampering usually via means such as throwing the ball into the ground.Regardless, he says he was left furious when he spotted South Africa allegedly pulling apart the seam of the ball in the following Test.”I saw it happen in the fourth Test of that series,” Paine wrote.  “Think about that. After everything that had happened in Cape Town, after all the headlines and bans and carry on.”I was standing at the bowlers’ end in the next Test when a shot came up on the screen of a South African player at mid-off having a huge crack at the ball.”The television director, who had played an active role in catching out Cam, immediately pulled the shot off the screen. We went to the umpires about it, which might seem a bit poor, but we’d been slaughtered and were convinced they’d been up to it since the first Test. But the footage got lost. As it would.”Paine said it felt like Australia were being “provoked” throughout the series amid crowd abuse of players’ families with David Warner a particular target.The wicketkeeper also claimed Warner had every right to be upset after he thought Quinton de Kock had made a comment about his wife Candice before the infamous stairway confrontation in Kingsmead.”I was the one holding them apart and I know how it unfolded,” Paine said.Tim Paine believes David Warner was unfairly treated•Getty Images

Paine has regularly called for Warner’s lifetime leadership ban to be lifted, claiming Cricket Australia seized an opportunity to punish him after the previous year’s pay talks.And he admitted he felt as if the side had let the opener down before the Cape Town debacle.”I don’t know how [Warner] kept his cool in those situations and on reflection I feel the team let him down by not offering him more support,” Paine wrote. I can see now he was masking a lot of pain and we should have known it.”Meanwhile, du Plessis has said that South Africa were suspicious that Australia were tampering with the ball earlier in the series before the controversy erupted at Newlands, specifically referencing how much reverse swing there was in the opening match in Durban, referencing “borderline unplayable” deliveries from Mitchell Starc.”We suspected that someone had been nurturing the ball too much to get it to reverse so wildly, and we watched the second Test at St George’s through binoculars, so that we could follow the ball more closely while Australia was fielding,” he writes in .”When we noticed that the ball was going to David Warner quite often – our changing room must have looked like a birdwatching hide as we peered intently through our binoculars.”Australia’s pace attack from that series have always denied any knowledge of the ball being tampered with and last year issued a joint statement after Bancroft gave an interview where he indicated they must have been aware.The two teams will meet in a Test series for the first time since the 2018-19 encounter when South Africa travel to Australia for three matches in December and January.

أعرب برونو فرنانديز وجواو نيفيز وجونزالو راموس ثلاثي منتخب البرتغال، عن سعادتهم بالتأهل لنهائيات كأس العالم 2026، بعد الفوز ضد أرمينيا بتسعة أهداف لهدف واحد.

وكان منتخب البرتغال قد حقق الفوز ضد أرمينيا في تصفيات أوروبا بفضل أهداف ريناتو فيجا وجونزالو راموس، وأحرز جواو نيفيز وبرونو فرنانديز هاتريك، وسجل كونسيساو الهدف التاسع.

وقال جواو نيفيز في تصريحات نشرتها “A Bola” البرتغالية: “قدمنا مباراة رائعة وجاءت الأهداف نتيجة لما بنيناه، لقد خضنا عدة مباريات سنحت لنا فرص لتسجيل هذا العدد من الأهداف لكننا لم نستغلها، هذا نتيجة لعملنا في التدريبات وما قدمناه في هذه المباراة”.

وأضاف: “نلعب دائماً بنفس الأسلوب، من البداية إلى النهاية، لا نهتم بالنتيجة بل بأسلوب لعبنا، نعمل بجد ونطبق ما تدربنا عليه بدقة”.

وحول أهدافه الأولى بقميص منتخب البرتغال واصل نيفيز: “كانت مباراة مميزة، نظراً لأهميتها وارتداء قميص أوزيبيو ثم أهدافي الأولى، أول هاتريك لي مع المنتخب، هذا شيء للذكرى”.

اقرأ أيضاً.. أول رد فعل من كريستيانو رونالدو بعد تأهل البرتغال لنهائيات كأس العالم

بينما قال برونو فرنانديز لاعب خط وسط مانشستر يونايتد بعد اللقاء: “نسعى دائماً للفوز بنفس الطريقة، أن نقدم أداء مقنعًا ونسيطر على المباراة، قد لا يكون هذا ممكناً دائماً لكننا اليوم كنا فعالين وحققنا فوزًا رائعًا، وهذا هو الأهم ونتيجة لذلك تأهلنا لكأس العالم”.

وأضاف: “نحن نعمل على التحسن دائماً في الانتصارات والهزائم، وعلينا أن نتفاعل أكثر في الجزء الأخير من الملعب للتعامل بشكل أسرع مع فقدان الكرة لتجنب الهجمات المرتدة وهذا ما سبب لنا مشاكل ضد أيرلندا والمجر”.

واختتم عن تخطي لاعبي البرتغال السابقين هيلدر بوستيجا وروي كوستا في قائمة هدافي بلاده: “من الجيد دائماً أن تتاح لنا فرصة التسجيل ومساعدة الفريق على الفوز، نحن نتحدث عن اسمين عظيمين في كرة القدم البرتغالية، أحدهما قدوة رائعة بالنسبة لي، نشأت وأنا معجب بروي كوستا وأشاهده يلعب وكذلك ديكو، أنا مجرد لاعب يسعى لمساعدة البرتغال على مواصلة كتابة التاريخ ورفع اسمنا لأعلى المستويات”.

بينما علق جونزالو راموس مهاجم باريس سان جيرمان على منافسة كريستيانو رونالدو على مركز أساسي في خط الهجوم وإذا كان يرغب في الحصول على مزيد من الوقت للمشاركة: “كل منا هنا يقدم المساعدة والجميع يرغب في الحصول على مزيد من الوقت”.

وأضاف: “اليوم لم تكن هناك أمامنا اختيارات، كنا متفوقين بوضوح وأثبتنا ذلك في الملعب، تأهلنا وأظهرنا قدراتنا، تعلق الأمر بفعاليتنا، هناك أيام لا ترغب فيها الكرة بالدخول واليوم صنعنا فرص أكثر من المباراة السابقة، حققنا الفوز العظيم بفضل فعاليتنا وتطبيق خطتنا”.

واختتم راموس أن البرتغال لا تفكر إلا في الفوز بكأس العالم: “في أي بطولة نشارك فيها، نكون مرشحين للفوز بها، الأمر يتعلق بتقدمنا خطوة بخطوة ولا يزال أمامنا مباريات تحضيرية في مارس وموسم كامل للاستعداد لكأس العالم”.

South Africa allrounder Prenelan Subrayen has been reported for a suspect bowling action following the first ODI against Australia on Tuesday in Cairns.The offspinner took 1 for 46 in his ten overs, dismissing opener Travis Head as South Africa went 1-0 up with a 98-run win. This was the 31-year-old Subrayen’s ODI debut, which came almost two months after he earned his first Test cap against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.Related

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Subrayen now needs to undergo an independent assessment of his action at an ICC-accredited testing facility within 14 days which South Africa are hoping he can do in Brisbane at Cricket Australia’s National Cricket Centre where Australia’s left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann was tested earlier this year. Bowlers are permitted 15 degrees of elbow extension while delivering the ball and he is allowed to continue bowling in matches until the results of his test are known. But South Africa coach Shukri Conrad said on Thursday that the team has decided Subrayen will not play until he has completed the testing process.”He’s available to play,” Conrad said. “You are allowed to play until you get tested.””We just felt that less noise and get him out of the public eye, make sure he is okay and focuses on the testing.”The process is to get him tested as soon as we can and we are looking to do it in Brisbane. That suits everyone. We are going to the UK via Brisbane so hopefully we can get it sooner rather than later.”This is not the first time the Subrayen has faced scrutiny over his action. In December 2012, Cricket South Africa (CSA) placed him under rehabilitation after two separate independent tests deemed his action illegal. He was cleared to bowl again in January 2013 after undergoing remedial work and re-testing.Subrayen was reported in September 2014 during the Champions League T20 tournament in India, and once more during a domestic T20 game in November 2015, and suspended from bowling after an assessment of his action found all his deliveries to exceed the 15-degree limit. He failed a re-assessment in January 2016, and was eventually cleared to resume bowling after having his action cleared at the CSA’s High Performance Centre in March 2016.”He has gone through this process before,” Conrad said. “It’s never easy. It’s taken him a long time to make his debut and we are rallying around him. Next week will reveal a lot and we will take it from there.”They’ve [the ICC] flagged 12 balls which they’ve forwarded to us. He has got to emulate those 12 balls during the test. We are going to be sending our bowling coach (Piet Botha) with him for support and for us to gain some knowledge about how these things work.”The second and third ODIs, which are the last two matches of South Africa’s white-ball tour of Australia, will be played on August 22 and 24 in Mackay.

Unbroken stand of 249 with Chris Benjamin lifts visitors from trouble at 137 for 6

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay16-May-2025Grant Stewart posted a brilliant swashbuckling hundred to inspire a notable Kent fightback on the opening day of the Rothesay County Championship match against Gloucestershire at the Seat Unique Stadium in Bristol.Their backs firmly against the wall after being reduced to 137 for 6, the visitors were indebted to the seventh-wicket pair of Stewart and Chris Benjamin, who staged a revitalising unbeaten stand of 249 in 56 overs to rescue a parlous situation. Stewart registered a career-best score of 173 not out from 174 balls with 19 fours and five sixes, while Benjamin contributed a cautious yet chanceless 82 not out, hewn from 212 deliveries with five fours, as Kent reached the close on 386 for 6.Stewart and Benjamin made history in the Bristol sunshine, establishing a record seventh-wicket stand in all matches for Kent, eclipsing the 248 scored by Arthur Day and Punter Humphreys against Somerset at Taunton in 1908. It was a remarkable turnaround in fortunes after Gloucestershire’s bowlers had dominated the first few hours, Ajeet Singh Dale claiming 4 for 97 and Tom Price and Josh Shaw weighing in with a wicket apiece to justify captain Cameron Bancroft’s decision to bowl first.If Kent mindsets were fragile following defeat by an innings and 161 runs at the hands of Glamorgan last time out, Gloucestershire’s bowlers certainly took full advantage. But the visitors will now feel they have the upper hand after Stewart and Benjamin turned the tables in such comprehensive fashion, banking three batting bonus points which had appeared beyond them earlier in the day.Requiring a solid start, Kent achieved exactly the opposite, Harry Finch pursuing Shaw’s second delivery of the day outside leg stump, offering a tame catch to James Bracey behind the stumps and departing for 1. That set the tone, Tom Price sending down four maidens in five overs that yielded just one run as Ben Compton and Daniel Bell-Drummond fought to see off the new ball.Their resistance quickly crumbled in the face of a fiery spell from Singh Dale, who generated impressive pace to remove both in the space of seven balls from the Ashley Down Road end. Bell-Drummond miscued an attempted drive and spooned a catch to mid-on, while Compton, having taken 19 balls to get off the mark and demonstrated no little application in moving his score to 19, drove loosely at a delivery that pitched outside off stump and was pouched by the diving Bracey as Kent slipped to 36 for 3.Jack Leaning never looked comfortable, was squared up by Singh Dale and sent a looping catch to Bancroft at second slip, at which point Singh Dale boasted figures of 3 for 22 from five overs. The only one of Kent’s top-order batters to play with any authority, Tawanda Muyeye raised 25 from 37 deliveries with four fours before edging a ball that nipped off the seam to the reliable Bancroft at second slip, affording Tom Price the wicket his accuracy deserved. In urgent need of a stabilising influence, the visitors were grateful to Benjamin and Jaydn Denly, who ensured they reached lunch without further loss on 85 for 5.Looking to play positively, England Under-19 batsman Denly helped himself to a sumptuous cover-driven four at the expense of Tom Price to signal a change in momentum as Kent’s first innings realised three figures in the 33rd over. Failing to maintain the tight lines that had characterised their work in the morning, Gloucestershire’s seamers were powerless to prevent the sixth wicket pair adding 63 in 15.3 overs.Singh Dale returned to break the partnership, beating Denly for pace with a ball that ricocheted off bat and pad and hit the top of off stump. Denly had mustered 39 from 51 balls and accrued six fours and was just two runs adrift of his highest first-class score when he departed with the board on 137 for 6.Surviving Singh Dale’s second spell, Benjamin and Stewart found the going easier thereafter as the pitch flattened out and the shine disappeared off the ball. Adopting a forthright approach from the outset, Stewart was prepared to take risks and looked to get on the front foot and drive whenever possible. He was first to 50, attaining that landmark via 51 balls as Kent passed 200. The Italy international pulled Graeme van Buuren for six to add to his half dozen fours as the visitors reached the tea interval on a relatively healthy 225 for 6 at the end of a session that had yielded 140 runs for the loss of just one wicket.Adopting a more circumspect approach, the assured Benjamin raised a half century of his own, carefully crafted from 129 balls, as the seventh-wicket alliance continued to prosper into the final session. The hundred partnership occupied 177 balls, at which point Bancroft recalled the talismanic Singh Dale. Although he went past the bat on several occasions, the 24-year-old paceman was unable to provide the breakthrough Gloucestershire coveted.Strong off his legs, Stewart positively rushed to the second first-class hundred of his career, edging Zaman Akhter to the fine leg boundary to raise three figures via 120 balls with his twelfth four. He hooked the next ball to deep midwicket and was caught by Tom Price, only for the unbalanced fielder to step over the rope and concede a six, an act which saw Stewart improve upon his previous highest score of 103 made against Middlesex at Canterbury in 2018.Gloucestershire took the new ball as soon as it became available, but were unable to curtail Stewart’s lusty hitting, the 31-year-old by now scoring at better than a run a ball to progress to his maiden 150 from 152 deliveries as Kent reached the close resurgent. Stewart and Benjamin had already set a new record seventh wicket partnership for Kent in matches against Gloucestershire, surpassing the unbeaten 151 posted by Derek Ufton and Alan Dixon at the Mount in 1960.