The former Australia batter will take over from Matthew Mott, who was fired after the franchise had lost their last five games in MLC 2025

Tristan Lavalette02-Dec-2025Outgoing Western Australia head coach Adam Voges will take the reins of Seattle Orcas in next season’s Major League Cricket as he furthers his leadership credentials on the T20 franchise circuit.Voges replaces Australian compatriot Matthew Mott, who was fired after Orcas lost their first five games of the 2025 season. Having recently announced that he will step down as WA head coach at the end of the current domestic season, it was widely anticipated that Voges would take up a senior role at an MLC franchise.”I am very excited to be joining the Seattle Orcas for the upcoming season,” Voges said. “The MLC competition continues to grow and I look forward to working with the owners, players and staff to help bring success both on and off the field.”Overseeing an incredible run of success for WA after replacing Justin Langer in 2018, Voges has long been touted as a successor to Australia head coach Andrew McDonald whose current contract runs through to 2027. McDonald has indicated that he is unlikely to seek an extension having been in the job since early 2022.Voges has previously coached Australia A and worked with the national side.In the meantime, Voges has decided to further his coaching development through T20 franchise cricket. As flagged by ESPNcricinfo, Voges has joined Trent Rockets in the Hundred as an assistant coach.WA Cricket are continuing discussions with Voges about staying on as Perth Scorchers head coach in the BBL having led the franchise to back-to-back titles in BBL11 and 12. Voges also twice lifted the trophy as captain of Scorchers.Related

• Seattle Orcas part ways with coach Mott

Assistants Beau Casson and Tim MacDonald will likely be in the mix to replace Voges as WA head coach.Voges, who averaged a remarkable 61.87 from 20 Tests for Australia, will be tasked with lifting Orcas back up the ladder. After making the final in MLC’s debut season, Orcas won just four of 17 games across 2024-25.”We are thrilled to welcome Adam Voges to the Seattle Orcas family,” Orcas chief Hemant Dua said. “He brings a proven pedigree of winning, a distinctive ability to develop world-class talent, and a deep understanding of the nuances of T20 franchise cricket.”His dominant run with Western Australia and the Perth Scorchers speaks to his expertise. We believe Adam’s calm demeanor, tactical intelligence, and commitment to building a high-performance culture will be pivotal as we aim for the Major League Cricket title.”We are building something special in Seattle, and Adam is undoubtedly the right person to lead the charge.”Orcas are co-owned, among others, by GMR Group and JSW Sports, who are also co-owners of Delhi Capitals in the IPL and WPL, and their entities in SA20 (Pretoria Capitals) and UAE’s ILT20 (Dubai Capitals).

Seattle Mariners outfielder Victor Robles was playing for the team's Triple-A affiliates in Tacoma during a rehab assignment over the weekend, when he was hit by a pitch that ran up and inside on him.

Robles was irate, and in retaliation he launched his bat in the direction of the pitcher's mound and had to be held back by teammates and the home plate umpire as he attempted to escalate the situation further. Robles then threw some snacks from the dugout onto the field before making his way to the locker room.

As a result of his bonkers outburst, MLB issued a 10-game suspension to the veteran outfielder on Tuesday. Robles is expected to appeal the suspension. The suspension will be served in MLB, so he'll be docked 10 games once he's eligible to return from IL.

Robles has since issued an apology for his actions.

There's some history behind his irate response, however. The pitcher on the mound was Joey Estes, and he'd already plunked Robles with a pitch earlier in the series. In fact, Robles was hit twice in his first game of the rehab appearance, though only once by Estes. He was then hit again in the first plate appearance of the very next game. Finally, in the third game of the series, Robles was once again hit by Estes, though it was ruled a swing because his bat came around. He lined out in that at-bat, and then came to the plate again in the third inning. For the fifth time in three games––and the third time by Estes in that span––Robles was hit by a pitch from Estes.

All of that, is what sparked his incredibly frustrated and aggressive response to being hit, again, by Estes.

Robles has just been trying to work his way back to Seattle after missing most of the season with an injury. Finally on his rehab assignment after being out since April, the last thing he wants is to suffer an injury at the plate. It's not hard to see why he was so enraged, though his response was certainly still extreme.

Former England striker Gary Lineker has signed a lucrative new deal to take his The Rest is Football podcast to streaming giant Netflix for the 2026 World Cup. The show will run daily throughout the competition in North America, Mexico and Canada and will also feature usual co-hosts Alan Shearer and Micah Richards. It will be filmed in New York but will also feature reports from the England camp and fan zones across the tournament.

New Netflix deal for Lineker and Co.

Lineker has confirmed he will play his part in the 2026 World Cup after agreeing a deal with Netflix to host a daily episode of his popular podcast. The former England captain had been due to cover the tournament for BBC Sport but left the corporation in May amid a row over a controversial social media post. However, he will now be part of the coverage of the World Cup with a daily show that will be produced by Goalhanger Podcasts. The company have promised the podcast will feature "game analysis, special guests, interviews and insights into the world's largest sporting event".

AdvertisementGetty Images EntertainmentLineker tells fans what to expect

Lineker is relishing the new opportunity and has already told fans what they can expect from his daily show. He said: "We can’t wait to bring The Rest Is Football to Netflix for the 2026 World Cup. It’s a fantastic opportunity for the three of us to do what we love — talk football every day — but on a truly global stage. Expect all the usual analysis, honesty and plenty of laughs … just with a few more cameras pointed at us, all from the Big Apple.”

England icon to receive big pay hike

Lineker's new contract with Netflix will see the 65-year-old receive a big hike on his previous salary. According to , Lineker's new "multimillion-pound" deal "will dwarf the £1.35 million salary he earned for hosting on the BBC".

A source told : "It’s a really exciting deal and Gary is thrilled. It means he will be at the World Cup after all. It’s Netflix’s first real foray into football coverage, with a daily show built around the podcast. This will also introduce Gary to a whole new international audience. Netflix first approached his company a few months ago, and his son, Harry, will also be joining Stateside as he’s a producer, so it’ll be a real family affair."

Lineker is also set to host a new game show on ITV next year. 'The Box' will feature celebrities taken to different locations and asked to undertake challenges in giant yellow boxes.

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AFPAll eyes on World Cup draw

Excitement for World Cup 2026 is starting to build, meaning all eyes will be on Friday's draw which will take place at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC at 17:00 GMT (12:00 local time). The glitzy affair will feature performances from legendary group the Village People, British superstar Robbie Williams, former Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger, and Italian maestro Andrea Bocelli and is due to be co-hosted by supermodel Heidi Klum and actor and comedian Kevin Hart.

Actor and producer Danny Ramirez will also be on hand to interview the great and the good at the event. 

A total of 48 nations will feature in the draw and will be divided into four pots containing 12 teams. The competition runs from 11 June to 19 July and is jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

One week after the Boston Red Sox called up top prospect Roman Anthony, the rookie crushed his first career home run on Monday night vs. the Seattle Mariners.

Anthony hit the homer 391 feet with a 104 mph exit velocity in the first inning of Monday night's game.

Even though Anthony's first home run came at T-Mobile Park instead of at Fenway Park, there were still some cheers from the for the rookie, who's had a lot of eyes on him the last few months before he was called up.

This was also just the second hit of Anthony’s time in the majors. His first hit came last Tuesday, in his second game with the Red Sox, which was an RBI double. He didn't make it home from the hit, so Monday night's homer was his first official score in the majors, too.

Anthony's home run couldn't have come at a better time for the Red Sox. This was the first inning for the Red Sox since the team traded Rafael Devers in a shocking move to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday evening. Red Sox fans were likely nervous for what this trade meant for the team's future, but Anthony quickly calmed those nerves a bit by hitting the homer right off the bat in the first game without Devers.

The seamer picked up 4 for 53 to help India bowl the visitors out for just 219 on the opening day

S Sudarshanan21-Dec-2023First women’s Test at the Wankhede Stadium in close to 40 years. Tenth ball. An early message from India.Ellyse Perry’s faded helmet gives away her longevity in the sport, and how much she loves scoring runs. She gets off the mark with a thick outside edge through the cordon. Surely it is her day? Sun shining, ball seaming – nothing she has not countered in her 11 Tests spanning a 16-year international career.Pooja Vastrakar has other plans, though. She runs in hard, gets a good-length ball at 109.1kph to nip back in to make a mess of Perry’s stumps. Gone for 4, the lowest Test score Perry has been dismissed for. Memories of what Vastrakar did to Nat Sciver-Brunt last week come rushing back.Related

Harmanpreet's double-strike late on day three puts India in the driver's seat

Notwithstanding a 56-ball 50 from Tahlia McGrath, Australia were bowled out for 219 on the first day after opting to bat. Was it a fast bowlers’ paradise? Were the conditions “extreme” like in Navi Mumbai?Just as tea was called, with Australia 180 for 8, Alyssa Healy – with her floppy hat on – wandered towards the pitch with Ashleigh Gardner. Healy was done in by a Deepti Sharma ball that kept low, while Gardner couldn’t resist poking at a wobble-seam length ball from Vastrakar and was caught behind. They looked at the pitch while the ground staff swept the loose soil away and re-marked the batting and bowling crease.McGrath and Beth Mooney had scored most of their 80 partnership runs at a fair clip before slowing down after spin was introduced. Healy and Annabel Sutherland, who added 40 for the fifth wicket, were countering spin easily before Healy’s fall allowed Vastrakar to dismiss Sutherland and Gardner in succession.”Early on, I found the wicket quite nice to play on but then as soon as spin came on, it became quite tricky,” McGrath said later. “I felt reasonably comfortable with pace but as soon as spin came on, it was a big challenge. Partly because we are not used to these conditions; it was shooting low, and the spinners were extremely disciplined.”Sneh Rana, in particular, bowled really well. I struggled a lot with her, but Moons [Mooney] looked slightly more comfortable against her. I constantly felt on edge against Sneh today. She got me in the end, which was a little bit of a poor dismissal on my part.”Pooja Vastrakar was the star of the Indian bowlers on the first day•BCCIWhile Australia may have been spooked by spin – Rana and Deepti picked up five wickets combined – the real damage was done by Vastrakar. She hurried the batters with her pace and always kept the stumps in play. Which is why India didn’t panic when McGrath and Healy were stitching together those partnerships. Vastrakar kept bowling at speeds north of 105kph and got enough lift from a surface that offered uneven bounce. Like when she got a 113.3kph short ball to spit at Mooney, who gloved it to first slip.”Vastrakar bowled extremely well,” McGrath conceded. “The ball she got Pez [Perry] with was an absolute peach. When I was walking out to bat, she was getting sideways movement of the seam both ways, and she just bowls a relentless length that keeps you on your toes and is perfect for Test match cricket.”She was someone we specifically spoke about as a batting unit. Like I said, the length she bowls is perfect for Test cricket. It’s just relentless. And she’s almost robotic. She just runs in and hits the spot time after time and puts so much pressure on the batters. So, for us, it was about capitalising whenever she gave us any width… we had to put it away.”During the domestic T20s, the Indian bowlers were given a task: to clock at least 24 overs in the nets in the first week and 32 in the next. They had to log it and send the data to the bowling coach and the trainers at the National Cricket Academy. It meant they were well-prepared by the time they got to the camp in Bengaluru ahead of the England series.”I bowl outswing naturally, but we saw the videos of both teams [England and Australia] and found that their batters face difficulty with the incoming ball,” Vastrakar, who finished with 4 for 53, said of India’s bowling plans. “Our aim during practice was to bring the ball in with the wobble seam, which makes the ball cut in and makes it tough for the batters.”We saw the pitch during practice and felt it won’t be as easy [for bowlers] as it was at the DY Patil Stadium. Here, we needed to work harder. We had to hit the hard lengths and bowl wicket-to-wicket, set the batters up and get the ball in. I did that and bowled a sharp inswinger to Perry and she got out.”Australia’s last two wickets kept India on the field for over 22 overs. It did not dampen the hosts’ spirit as the openers came out all guns blazing to drive home the advantage by the end of the first day.After stumps, head coach Amol Muzumdar sauntered down from the stairs and walked to the centre. He stood at the striker’s end from the press box end and had a look. No person in either camp knows the conditions at the Wankhede better than Muzumdar. What he thought of the 22 yards was anybody’s guess. But in the two Tests so far during his tenure, India’s message has been loud and clear: underestimate them at your own peril.

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.”

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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.

MatériaMais Notícias

da pixbet： Decisivo na vitória por 3 a 1 sobre o Grêmio, no último domingo (31), em Porto Alegre, o atacante Breno Lopes voltou a balançar a rede após quase quatro meses sem marcar. Herói do título da Libertadores em 2020, o jogador projetou a decisão dessa temporada diante do Flamengo, prevista para o dia 27 de novembro, no Uruguai, e destacou a importância de utilizar os jogos do Brasileirão como preparação.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasPalmeirasPalmeiras se reapresenta após vitória sobre o Grêmio, e Mayke treina sem restriçõesPalmeiras02/11/2021PalmeirasApós final da Libertadores, Palmeiras reencontra Santos em situações opostasPalmeiras02/11/2021PalmeirasGustavo Scarpa participará de evento universitário sobre leituraPalmeiras02/11/2021

da betcris： – Sentimos esse gostinho de ganhar a Libertadores ainda esse ano, então sabemos como isso é prazeroso. Estamos usando esses jogos do Brasileirão como uma preparação para a final. Os treinamento estão sendo muito pegados e todos os jogadores já estão com aquele frio na barriga. Vamos nos preparar ao máximo para trazer esse tricampeonato para o Palmeiras – afirmou.

Com o triunfo sobre o Tricolor Gaúcho, o Alviverde chegou aos 52 pontos e diminuiu a diferença para o Atlético-MG, líder da competição, para sete pontos. Com mais nove jogos em disputa, a equipe comandada por Abel Ferreira tem apenas 3% de chances de faturar o título nacional.

O camisa 19 do Verdão, que igualou Gustavo Scarpa como terceiro maior goleador do clube na temporada, com sete gols, explicou como o time conseguiu se sobressair contra um adversário que estava pressionado pelo resultado.

– Muito feliz pelo resultado. Sabíamos que seria um jogo difícil. O Grêmio está em uma situação complicada e era certo que eles jogariam o jogo da vida deles. Nossa equipe foi muito consistente. Saímos atrás no placar, mas conseguimos manter aquilo que o professos Abel nos pediu no começo. Sabemos da responsabilidade que é defender o Palmeiras – finalizou.

O Palmeiras volta a campo pelo Campeonato Brasileiro no próximo domingo (07), às 16h (de Brasília), diante do Santos, na Vila Belmiro.

continua após a publicidade

Adil Rashid four-for ensures New Zealand fall well short in chase of 237

Vithushan Ehantharajah20-Oct-2025

Phil Salt and Harry Brook combined to blow New Zealand out of the water in the second T20I, as England sealed a dominant 65-run win in Christchurch to take an insurmountable 1-0 lead in this three-match series.Both Salt (85 off 56 balls) and Brook (78 off 35) were independently brutal but came together in devastating fashion with a partnership of 129 from just 69 deliveries. England’s 236 for 4 was a new record T20I score at Hagley Oval, comfortably bumping off the previous best of 208 with 10 balls still to go in their innings. New Zealand were eventually dismissed for 171 with two overs to spare.Mitchell Santner’s decision to bowl first upon winning the toss was a case of rinse-and-repeat; both teams opting for the same XIs after Saturday’s washout in the first T20I. Unfortunately for the Black Caps skipper, this was a truer surface than the one which saw England scrape to 153 for 6.Drier with more pace, Santner’s bowlers were up against it from the off, with all six used posting double-figure economy rates. They were not helped by two dropped catches that would have given them a more realistic target.The one that mattered more gave Brook a life on 40, after he had successfully overturned a caught behind decision on 22. The visiting captain was at his destructive best, with 54 runs through boundaries, including five sixes, two of which were carted out of the ground. Despite Kyle Jamieson accounting for both Brook and then Salt in the space of three deliveries, Tom Banton’s unbeaten 29 from 12 added the record-busting cherry on top.Brydon Carse’s twin strikes in the second over clipped the Kiwis’ wings in pursuit of 237. And though Tim Seiffert and Mark Chapman restarted the chase with an engaging stand of 69, their respective demises to the spin duo of Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson all but confirmed the result.Santner did his utmost to inject some late jeopardy with a breezy 36 off 15, before falling to Rashid’s final delivery, the legspinner finishing a solid evening’s work with 4 for 32. Luke Wood then had the honour of capping off victory in the 18th over with two dismissals in four deliveries, with New Zealand losing all 10 wickets to catches.Salt in cruise modeThis new iteration of Salt is developing a knack of cashing in after missing out. His career-best 141 not out against South Africa in September came two days after a first-ball duck. And with as many days since 3 off 4 in the first T20I at Hagley Oval, he looked on course for a fifth century in the format.No doubt Salt will feel he missed out in a different way, falling for 85 when he was caught on the long-off sponge, 15 short of three figures with as many balls of the innings remaining. Once again he spearheaded a record total a month after leading the breaching of 300.He upheld his first-over responsibility by putting Matt Henry’s second ball on to the grass bank at midwicket, then whipping behind square leg along the floor once Henry had corrected. By the time Jos Buttler faced his second ball, Salt had already struck 20 from nine.That was as dominant as Salt was in his stands. Once Buttler was dismissed for 4, he adopted a secondary role during his work with Bethell (scoring 19 of their 44 together) and Brook (46 of their 129). Hardly a passenger but more than happy to cede the driving.Perhaps the best example of his continued intent was his dismissal, attempting a second six (and 13th boundary) two balls after Brook had holed out at deep midwicket. He now has more T20I runs than Jason Roy, despite 22 fewer innings, moving up to sixth for England run-scorers in the format, with a strike rate of 168.12 that is at least 16 ahead of any of those in the top 10.Brook does as he says”We’ve got such a strong batting line-up, we can keep going,” Brook said after a second coin toss of the series had gone against him on this tour. The response came after the England captain seemed nonplussed with being asked to set a total.And how. Arriving in the eighth over, Brook, a straight-talker, got straight down to business. He raced to 19 off six, courtesy of three successive boundaries off Santner, with two sixes – the first into the crowd, the second over the roof at midwicket – sandwiching a craftily ramped four.A second six beyond the confines of this boutique ground allowed him to knock two singles for a 22-ball half-century – his fifth overall in T20Is and first as captain.He celebrated with 21 off the returning Kyle Jamieson in the following over. Earlier, he had provided 14 of the 20 picked off from Jimmy Neesham’s one-and-only over.Both were examples of constantly putting bowlers under pressure, already a well-worn mantra in his six months at the helm. That knack of leading by example is not only why he was handed the keys to the white-ball job but instilled as Test vice-captain ahead of this winter’s Ashes.Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson successfully tied New Zealand down•Joe Allison/Getty Images

Dawson shows nousThat both teams opted for two spinners owed more to trending towards 2026’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. While New Zealand’s returned 1 for 77 from seven overs, England’s bagged 6 for 70 in eight.The fact both wanted to bowl first showed there was a collective misreading of conditions. And as the lights took over for the second half, the pitch did begin to grip. It was, in more ways than one, a great toss to lose.There is not much more to be said of Rashid, his status as one of England’s most-valuable white-ball cricketers set in stone long before becoming the first visiting bowler to take four or more in a T20I at this venue. But it was Dawson who laid down his credentials to partner the leggie for next year’s global tournament.The left-arm spinner’s wiliness was on show in his first three overs, manipulating his angles to remove Mark Chapman and then the dangerous Michael Bracewell. It took until Dawson’s 16th delivery for New Zealand to find a boundary off him – Jimmy Neesham smearing a four to midwicket – and even then, heading into his final over, the Hampshire allrounder had an impressive 2 for 15 by his name.Twenty-three conceded off a scatty fourth messed up those figures. Two sixes from Santner were responsible the untidy finish, triggering five wides as Dawson bunged a full toss down the leg side in an attempt to hide the ball from the home skipper’s arc. Nevertheless, Santner’s 0 for 41 earlier in the piece highlighted just how impressive England’s own southpaw twirler had been.NZ drop the ballFor all England’s enterprise with the bat, there was unnecessary generosity from their hosts. You do not usually associate slack fielding with New Zealand, but two drops tilted this match against them significantly in Christchurch.Tim Seifert was responsible for missing the first and tougher chance. Jacob Duffy, having pulled out of the previous delivery as Jacob Bethell gave himself room to the leg side, dug one in short with a bit of cut. Bethell, on 7, went for his pull shot, only to top-edge high towards short third.Seifert had tracked it well, but was done by the stiff north-west breeze, ending up on his back, palming the ball just before he hit the deck. Though Bethell “only” managed 17 more before being dismissed with the last ball of the sixth over, his back-to-back sixes off Bracewell lifted England’s powerplay score to 68 for 2.That it was the highest at this ground was a sign of things to come, but that, too, could have been avoided. At the start of the 13th over, Matt Henry returned and was greeted with a lofted straight heave from Brook. Somehow, Neesham, having just bowled an over that cost 20, botched a straightforward catch at long-on allowing Brook a life.They did not have to count the cost of dropping Sam Curran twice on Saturday, the allrounder’s 49 not out hustling England to a respectable total of 153 before the rain intervened. Here, the price of the combined errors was 55 – a figure New Zealand only made up for in their innings with the final ball of the powerplay.

da 888： Paul Merson slammed a Chelsea star after the bitterly disappointing 2-1 defeat against Sunderland in the Premier League on Saturday.

Blues suffer setback against newly-promoted Sunderland

da supremo： Sunderland have surpassed expectations so far this season, but the Blues would’ve been expecting to take all three points against a newly-promoted side, and the 2-1 defeat is a setback, especially after winning their previous four games on the bounce in all competitions.

Alejandro Garnacho opened the scoring for Enzo Maresca’s side after just four minutes, with the winger netting his first goal since arriving at Stamford Bridge, but Wilson Isidor’s equaliser and a stoppage-time winner from Chemsdine Talbi turned the game on its head.

A number of the home side’s players struggled, with Marc Guiu failing to make any impact on the match, and there have since been calls for Maresca to drop the striker, who touched the ball just ten times prior to being withdrawn on the 75-minute mark.

Guiu was given the nod at centre-forward, in order to accommodate Joao Pedro in an attacking midfield role, despite the Brazilian starting almost exclusively at striker so far this season.

Maresca would’ve been hoping the position change would allow the 24-year-old to rediscover his top form, but it wasn’t to be, with Merson left very unimpressed by his performance.

Speaking on Sky Sports (via Metro), the former Arsenal man said: “They need Delap back badly, they need a focal point.

“Guiu played up front and I think he touched the ball nine, ten times. You can’t do that in a team that are supposed to be dominating the ball.

“Chelsea ran out of ideas. They had winger after winger but half of them don’t go past anyone. Joao Pedro looked lost as a number ten. They struggled and were pretty poor.”

Injury may have impacted Pedro's performance

The Blues have been forced to deal with a number of injury issues in the early stages of the campaign, and Maresca revealed the former Brighton & Hove Albion man is one of many players not at full fitness.

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The Italian said: “Joao is not training every day because he is managing an injury problem. Moi is the same, Enzo is the same,

“We have four or five players that have some problems and cannot work every day. They try to make the effort and play the game. Joao struggled a little bit today but all of the players did today, so it’s not just Joao.”

That said, there will rightfully be concerns about the display, with the forward losing possession nine times and failing to get a single shot away throughout the match.

Pedro’s performance levels have been going downhill for some time now, having failed to register a Premier League goal or assist since September, and Maresca will be hoping the £125k-a-week forward can turn the corner soon.

It would be an understatement to suggest that West Ham United have had a bad start to the season this year.

Sure, the Hammers managed to pull off an impressive 3-0 win away to Nottingham Forest before the international break, but they’ve lost every other game.

The East Londoners are currently sitting in the relegation zone with a goal difference of negative seven, and as things stand, it’s hard to see where the next win is going to come from.

However, Graham Potter can certainly make things easier for his side and give himself a better chance og keeping his job by axing a certain player from the starting lineup.

West Ham's underperformers

Unfortunately for Potter and Co, there are more than a handful of players who’ve looked entirely out of sorts so far this season.

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One of those is undoubtedly Mads Hermansen, as even though he wasn’t to blame for the loss away to Sunderland, and even pulled off a fine stop early on in that match, he’s since been a real hazard between the sticks.

For example, according to FBref, his save percentage has fallen from 64.5% for Leicester City last season to just 45% this year.

Another struggling member of the defensive unit has been Max Kilman, who has started all four league games this season, in which the team have conceded a whopping 11 goals.

Moreover, in the game against Spurs, he lost 100% of his ground duels, misplaced five of six long balls, failed in 100% of his attempted dribbles and didn’t make a single tackle or interception.

However, there is another regular starter in the side who simply has to be dropped for the next game, and for Potter’s own future.

The West Ham star Potter has to drop

While there are likely a few other names that could be mentioned here, we are talking about James Ward-Prowse.

The former Southampton captain joined the Hammers for £30m in the summer of 2023, and while there have certainly been some decent performances from the 30-year-old since, it would be hard to describe his move as anything other than a failure.

Indeed, in the words of former Hammers midfielder Martin Allen, when Ward-Prowse arrived, he could have done a job “similar to Mark Noble” in claret and blue but unfortunately it hasn’t panned out that way.

After all, he was sent out on loan to Forest last season, and then even at the City Ground, he was such an afterthought that he moved back to the London Stadium in early February.

Since then, the 11-capped Englishman has been a constant in the team and has started all five games this season, although once again, considering the results, that is not an indication of his quality.

In fact, many fans are now desperate for the manager to remove the former Saints star from the lineup, as while he was once considered “the best in the Premier League” for set-pieces, per Jamie Carragher, he now appears to offer very little.

For example, he has yet to register a goal or assist this season, averaging just 2.5 key passes, creating only two big chances, and being accurate in 50% of his crosses.

Moreover, he does not have the agility or speed to play in a deeper midfield role, so he cannot even really help out with the defensive side of the game either.

A perfect example of his lack of speed came last season when Arsenal’s David Raya beat him to the ball from a corner he had come up for, and if an outfield player is slower than a goalkeeper, that is more than a little worrying.

Finally, it shouldn’t even be a tough decision to remove the Portsmouth-born midfielder from the side, as the highly-rated Soungoutou Magassa just joined the club and would surely do so much more.

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Ultimately, Ward-Prowse is a talented player and someone with a career most players would love to have, but the end of last season and the start of this one have proven that he must be dropped from the side.