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Griffin coached Western Storm to two KSL titles in first of two stints in charge of regional side

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Oct-2024Somerset have appointed Trevor Griffin as head coach of their women’s team. Griffin, who has signed a two-year deal, previously had two spells coaching Western Storm in the women’s regional structure.He oversaw Storm’s two Kia Super League successes between 2017 and 2019, before moving on to coach Sunrisers and London Spirit in the Hundred. He also had a four-season spell in charge of Sydney Thunder in the WBBL.A former district sales manager with Nationwide, Griffin took an unusual route into coaching, via the Devon Cricket Board, Chance to Shine, and the University of Exeter. He worked for Canterbury Cricket in New Zealand before being offered the job of analyst and assistant coach at Western Storm, and was subsequently promoted to head coach when Caroline Foster stepped down.Griffin returned to take charge of Storm in 2022 and will now oversee the reintegration between women’s cricket and the county game at Taunton.”I’m absolutely thrilled. To be the first Head Coach and lead Somerset Women into this new era is a huge honour and I’m really excited for the future,” Griffin said. “Women’s cricket is going from strength to strength, and we’ve seen tremendous growth in the southwest in recent years. To be able to build on this as we move forward with Somerset is incredibly motivating for staff and players alike.”Somerset has a great history of supporting women’s cricket, and I can’t wait to share our knowledge and experience and work alongside their staff and players as we build a women’s squad to compete for top honours, inspire others and entertain the fans.”Somerset director of cricket, Andy Hurry, said: “Trevor is a coach who has achieved domestic success both in England and in Australia. He has a really strong understanding of our domestic structure which will enable him to lead this team into an exciting new era for the women’s game.”He has built and developed key relationships with players and staff across the region during his time with Western Storm and he is someone who shares the values that we at Somerset adhere to both on and off the field.”Trevor is held in high regard by players and staff alike and we very much look forward to working with him as we commence our journey to build a team and a brand of cricket that competes on all fronts and inspires the next generation of players.”

While the addition of a new goalkeeper, some midfield reinforcements, and a potential replacement for Takehiro Tomiyasu are all additions that will strengthen Arsenal, new attackers must remain the priority this summer.

For example, although they ultimately finished last season without a title to their name, Mikel Arteta’s side secured second place in the Premier League and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League.

However, there is every chance they could have found themselves lifting at least one of those trophies had they added some quality to the frontline last summer, or even in the winter.

Fortunately, the club seem intent on adding more firepower to the team, with recent links to Ollie Watkins, and another international who could be his dream teammate.

Arsenal target dream teammate for Watkins

The first link to Watkins this year appeared in the winter window, when it was revealed that Arsenal had made a surprise £40m offer, which Aston Villa turned down.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

Since then, murmurs of the Gunners’ interest in the Englishman persisted in the background, but they remained nothing more than that until quite recently.

However, earlier this week, reports revealed that the North Londoners had once again been in contact with the player, who would “love” to play for the club.

Given his ability – and record against Arteta’s men – picking up the former Exeter City gem could prove to be great business, and what could make it even better are the links to someone who could create an unreal partnership with him: Rodrygo.

Yes, according to a recent report from The Athletic, Arsenal have maintained their intense interest in the Real Madrid star.

What’s more, the report claims that the Gunners have been in talks with the Brazilian camp, and that the Spanish giants would be willing to sell him this summer.

The report makes no mention of the potential cost of the former Santos gem, but according to stories from earlier this summer, the final price might be around £85m.

It would be a lot of money to spend on one player, but given Rodrygo’s ability and potential, it’d be money well spent for Arsenal, especially as he’d be a dream teammate for Watkins.

Why Watkins would love Rodrygo

Now, there are fundamentally two reasons why Watkins would love playing alongside Rodrygo at Arsenal, and the first is his output.

For example, even though the Brazilian international has been played out of his preferred left-wing role for much of the last two seasons for Los Blancos, he has remained a dangerous asset for them.

Since the start of the 23/24 campaign, the “world-class superstar,” as dubbed by Luka Modrić, has scored 32 goals and provided 20 assists in 105 appearances, totalling 7225 minutes.

Appearances

52

53

Minutes

3777′

3448′

Goals

18

14

Assists

9

11

Goal Involvements per Match

0.51

0.47

Minutes per Goal Involvement

139.88′

137.92′

In other words, the 33-capped international has averaged a goal involvement every 2.01 games, or every 138.94 minutes across two seasons.

Just imagine the sort of numbers the Villa ace, who racked up 31 goal involvements in 54 games last season, could produce with someone as effective as the Real ace alongside him.

Finally, on top of the output, the 24-year-old would be a dream teammate for the Torquay-born poacher, as he has already reached the peak of club football.

Not only that, but he has also played an essential role in Real winning the Champions League and La Liga.

So, he’d have the mentality to help the Gunners finally get over the line as well, and in turn, help the Villa star pick up his first piece of major silverware.

Ultimately, while it wouldn’t be cheap, Arsenal should do all they can to sign Watkins and Rodrygo this summer, as together, they could provide the fire Arteta’s side have been crying out for.

Gyokeres will love him: Arsenal preparing bid for £43m "superstar" winger

Viktor Gyokeres would enjoy playing alongside this £43m superstar at Arsenal.

1 ByJack Salveson Holmes Jul 4, 2025

Harry Tector could be a doubtful starter after injuring his thumb against India

Ashish Pant06-Jun-20248:17

O’Brien: Ireland want to right some wrongs

Match detailsCanada vs Ireland
June 7, New York, 10.30am local, 2.30pm GMT, 8.00pm ISTBig picture – All eyes on New York pitchIt’s been a rough start for cricket in New York with more focus on the pitches than the cricket that has been played on them. No team has gone past 100 at this venue in four innings, with uneven bounce and prodigious movement up front bringing about plenty of criticism.The fast bowlers have so far held sway here, having picked up 18 of the 26 wickets to fall while going at an economy rate of 5.46. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 77 here on June 3 and South Africa took 16.2 overs to chase that down. On Wednesday, India rolled out Ireland for 96 and while their chase was slightly more comfortable, Rohit Sharma retired hurt after being struck on the upper arm, while Rishabh Pant was also hit on his elbow and required some attention.Just two days later, as Ireland gear up to play another fixture in New York against Canada, the build-up has entirely centred around the pitch.Related

Undercooked pitch could undermine India-Pakistan spectacle

Klaasen on New York pitch: Batters need to suck it up

“It’s tough to adjust when you don’t know what you have to adjust to,” Ireland head coach Heinrich Malan said after their eight-wicket loss against India. “You’ve got to take into account that when you play the game you need a really good surface or as good as surfaces you can get and unfortunately what we’ve seen over the last couple of games just doesn’t necessarily live up to that. So hopefully, over the next day or so it can hopefully flatten out a little bit and we can see some good cricket come Friday.”It is an important game for both Canada and Ireland, who have suffered losses in their opening games. Another loss here and the road to Super Eights becomes challenging. Canada, who played their opening fixture in Dallas where they went down to USA in a high-scoring clash, haven’t been in great T20I form. They have lost each of their last five T20Is, and all the pitch talk here might not bode well for their confidence.”This wicket is a bit, kind of, what you can say, a tricky one. So you cannot play some of the T20 shots. So you have to play conventional cricket. And what I see, it’s playing on the up, it’s a little bit difficult than Dallas,” Canada batter Navneet Dhaliwal, who scored a 44-ball 61 against USA, said. “It’s a lot of lateral movement so there’s a lot of swing comparatively to Dallas so if you kind of want to basically hit the good-length balls it’s a bit difficult.”The Canada-Ireland fixture will likely take place on pitch no. 4, the same one that hosted the India-Ireland clash and the warm-up game between India and Bangladesh. In addition to the surface, the slow, sand-based outfield has also not helped the batters in any way. Which will be the first team to cross the 100-mark in New York?Form guideCanada LLLLL
Ireland LWWWLIn the spotlight – Dilon Heyliger and Mark AdairDilon Heyliger’s all-round abilities could be useful for Canada. He has been in good bowling form this year, having picked up five wickets in as many games while going at a tick over eight an over. His medium-pace and wicket-to-wicket lines might be perfect on this New York surface. So can his lower-order ball-striking. No other Canada batter has a higher strike rate than Heyliger in T20Is since the start of 2023 – 243.75. He’s hammered 117 runs off just 48 balls, with most of them coming in the death overs.Mark Adair picked up the key wicket of Virat Kohli on Wednesday•Getty ImagesMark Adair has been in excellent form this year. He is comfortably Ireland’s highest wicket-taker in 2024 with 18 scalps in 10 T20Is and an economy rate of 8.16. Moreover, he knows the kind of lengths to bowl on this surface having bowled four overs for just 27 runs on Wednesday while also picking up the key wicket of Virat Kohli.Team newsBoth teams might want to go pace-heavy on this surface. Offspinner Nikhil Dutta went for 41 runs in 2.4 overs in Canada’s opening game, so there is a chance they could bring in left-arm fast bowler Rishiv Joshi to boost their pace-bowling resources.Canada (probable XI): 1 Aaron Johnson, 2 Navneet Dhaliwal, 3 Pargat Singh, 4 Nicholas Kirton, 5 Shreyas Movva (wk), 6 Dilpreet Bajwa, 7 Saad Bin Zafar (capt), 8 Dilon Heyliger, 9 Nikhil Dutta/Rishiv Joshi, 10 Kaleem Sana, 11 Jeremy Gordon.There was visible bruising on Harry Tector’s right thumb after he was struck by a rip-roaring Jasprit Bumrah bouncer. Ireland batting coach Gary Wilson said Tector seemed fine after an initial inspection, but a call on his availability for the Canada clash would be taken a bit later. If he does not recover in time, Ireland might bring Ross Adair into the mix.Ireland (probable XI): 1 Paul Stirling (capt), 2 Andy Balbirnie, 3 Lorcan Tucker (wk), 4 Harry Tector/Ross Adair, 5 Curtis Campher, 6 George Dockrell, 7 Gareth Delany, 8 Mark Adair, 9 Barry McCarthy, 10 Josh Little, 11 Ben White.Pitch and conditionsIt’s another early-morning start in New York and the weather looks good for a game of cricket. The temperature is likely to hover around the 29-degree (Celsius) mark. Expect it to be a little humid as well.Stats and trivia Canada and Ireland have a 2-2 head-to-head record in T20Is, but haven’t met since 2019. Their last T20I was back in 2013. Canada captain Saad Bin Zafar has an economy rate of 6.14 against right-hand batters in T20 cricket. Ireland’s line-up is entirely composed of right-handers. Mark Adair is sixth on the wicket-taker’s list in T20Is this year, with 18 in 10 games.Quotes”We were probably a little bit off with our lengths with the ball, but it was going to be very difficult to defend 96. I think very rarely do you see a team get rolled and then the next innings is also very low. Speaking to [India head coach] Rahul Dravid after the game, he said that they were able to manage that so well because they knew they only had to get 96, but he also said if the shoe was in the other foot, it could have been a different story.”
“Drop-in wickets take time to settle down. I think normally it takes around a year or so. It’s not ideal – I think it’s a bit early, but still, it’s a challenge. Like the par for Dallas is what, 180-190, and par for here is 120-130. It’s a different wicket and a different kind of competition, you can say. It’s exciting, basically.”

Iconic Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger once tried to sign a Chelsea star when the player was at Manchester City and even called him “one of the best players of his generation”.

Arsene Wenger’s best signings as Arsenal manager

Wenger transformed the Gunners after arriving at Highbury in 1996, guiding the club to a historic ‘Invincible’ season and taking them to the Emirates Stadium before eventually leaving Arsenal following 22 years in charge.

Champions League football was consistently on the table in north London following regular top four Premier League finishes, which allowed Wenger to sign some exciting players during his tenure, utilising the European market.

Arsene Wenger’s top Arsenal signings in pictures

Talking to Sir Mo Farah about his best piece of transfer business in north London, Wenger named midfield captain Patrick Vieira as one of his greatest signings.

“It depends. If you look at it financially you could say many, many, many. Maybe the credibility I got first was for the first player I brought in which was Patrick Vieira.

“People questioned ‘why do they employ Wenger?’ and after of course we have the following with Petit, Henry, Overmars. [Dennis] Bergkamp was already there, Anelka. You have so many players, you have Kolo [Toure], Lauren. But I think just the first players you bring in you are always judged on.

“After we have so many players. People never speak about Van Persie or Fabregas who were exceptional players. Van Persie scored 96 [league] goals for Arsenal, not far from Ian Wright. Of course Thierry is 175, I think.”

However, the Frenchman has been known to name numerous legends of the game who he tried to sign while at Arsenal, so many so that you can make a world-class XI of near transfer misses.

Player

From

GK: Gianluigi Buffon

Parma

RWB: Federico Valverde

Penarol

CB: Gerard Pique

Barcelona

CB: Vincent Kompany

Anderlecht

CB: Raphael Varane

Lens

LWB: Gareth Bale

Southampton

CM: Yaya Toure

Beveren

CM: Paul Pogba

Man Utd

FW: Lionel Messi

Barcelona

FW: Luis Suarez

Liverpool

FW: Cristiano Ronaldo

Sporting CP

Arsene Wenger tried to sign Chelsea star Jadon Sancho from Man City

In 2019, Wenger also admitted that he tried to sign Jadon Sancho for Arsenal while the winger was at Manchester City as a teenager.

As we know, Sancho would return to England by signing for Manchester United in a £73m transfer from Borussia Dortmund, and he has since gone on to swap Old Trafford for Stamford Bridge.

Talking about the England international when he was on the books in Germany with Dortmund, Wenger said he tried to tempt Sancho with a move to London.

Sancho’s Transfermarkt valuation was at a career-high €130m in 2020 at the age of 19, but after failing to catch the eye on a regular basis back in the Premier League, that has fallen considerably.

The Englishman still has plenty of time to get his career back on track, and who knows, in the future, Sancho could end up moving across London to Arsenal, following in the footsteps of Willian, David Luiz, Petr Cech and Raheem Sterling.

Chelsea made it two wins on the bounce in the Premier League at a very important time, beating Everton 1-0 at Stamford Bridge. The Blues are chasing down a Champions League spot, and three points goes a massive way towards that in their run-in.

Enzo Maresca’s side kept 55% possession, having a good stamp of authority and control of the game, especially in the first half. Chelsea took 10 shots in the game, generating 0.98 xG and creating one “big chance”, whilst limiting Everton to just 0.52 xG from six shots taken.

There were plenty of strong performers for the Blues against Everton in another must-win game, with Nicolas Jackson getting his first goal in 2025, Noni Madueke thriving in a new position, and Robert Sanchez making some key saves at the back end of the game to secure all three points.

Robert Sanchez's performance against Everton

Sanchez has been criticised heavily this season, making some mistakes leading to goals, conceding 34 goals and only keeping seven clean sheets before the game today. However, the 27-year-old Spaniard was able to add his eighth clean sheet of the campaign against the Toffees, playing his part in a huge victory.

The Spanish shot-stopper only made three saves in the match, but was on high alert after not being tested much throughout the 90 minutes, making a huge save from inside the box and making five high claims, especially important when Chelsea were seeing out the game in the final minutes.

Sanchez being ready to make those saves at the back end of the match was vital to gaining all three points for the Blues, but Chelsea had some even more important performers, especially at the back, to limit Everton to minimal chances throughout the game.

Chelsea's 7/10 star is now undroppable

Trevoh Chalobah was excellent against Everton, earning himself a 7/10 match rating from GOAL, who praised the English defender for ‘picking Beto’s pocket’ in the build-up to Chelsea’s opening goal, regaining possession, allowing for Enzo Fernández to set up Jackson.

The 25-year-old was brilliant against Everton, winning 100% of his ground duels, making sure he made first contact whenever Everton played long balls out to their outlets, allowing Chelsea to sustain pressure and attack at pace.

Chalobah has made 23 Premier League appearances this campaign for Crystal Palace and Chelsea combined, scoring three goals, providing one assist, and totaling 1,809 minutes played. Since returning to the Blues back in January, Chalobah has started eight league games for Maresca’s side, contributing to four clean sheets.

Maresca may have landed on his best centre-back pairing to end this season, especially as Wesley Fofana is out injured, with both Chalobah and Levi Colwill putting in big performances in their last two games together, getting Chelsea two big victories and earning six huge points, which is why he should now be undroppable.

Chelsea reporter reveals Liverpool "sniffing around" shock Cole Palmer move

The Reds are an appealing destination for prospective arrivals…

By
Sean Markus Clifford

Apr 26, 2025

Rangers icon Ally McCoist has been reacting to claims of an Ibrox move for a £15,000-a-week Celtic star.

Rangers and 49ers planning for exciting summer transfer window

The Gers are in the process of being taken over by the 49ers Enterprises, who have agreed a deal in principle at Ibrox. There is confidence a deal will be completed ahead of the 2025/26 season, and the 49ers seemingly have some exciting transfer plans at Rangers.

He's signing for Rangers: Ibrox chiefs now set for talks on fee for 22 y/o

He’ll soon be on his way to Glasgow.

1 ByCharlie Smith Apr 9, 2025

Reports have suggested that the 49ers could give a new Rangers boss more than £20m to spend on new players this summer, and they are aware that they can sign loanee Vaclav Cerny on a permanent transfer.

Rangers have until the end of May to sign Cerny for around £5.5m, and elsewhere, those at Ibrox are set for talks with Dundee over a fee for Lyall Cameron.

The 22-year-old has penned a pre-contract agreement with Rangers, but the two clubs are yet to agree on a compensation package, which could result in a tribunal.

McCoist reacts to Rangers claims of move for Celtic’s Greg Taylor

Recently, Celtic left-back Greg Taylor has been linked with a move to Rangers. Michael Stewart have backed the defender to move across Glasgow when his £15,000-a-week deal at Celtic expires in the summer.

However, talking to the media, relayed by Rangers Review, McCoist said it would be “madness” for the Gers to sign Taylor due to already having Ridvan Yilmaz and Jefte, although he does feel Taylor is good enough to play for Rangers.

“He absolutely could get in the team and play, I don’t have any doubt about that. He’s a good player. In this day and age, it’s probably not as big a deal as it was years and years ago. But I definitely think he could play in the team.

“The only thing I would say is, you have two left-sided players there already in Yilmaz and Jefte. So, for that reason, he’s not a priority. I think Rangers have got far bigger priorities in terms of positions that they should address and will address.

Games

209

Goals

9

Assists

32

Trophies

10

“But if you are asking me if he’s good enough to play in the team? Without a doubt. I don’t see any reason why not. I was around when wee Mo did it, so after wee Mo, anything is possible! It wouldn’t be as big a deal as wee Mo, there’s nothing that would be as big a deal as wee Mo.

“You talk about Elvis, Kenny Miller, Alfie Conn… so I don’t think it’s such a big deal as years gone by. I just can’t see it happening because Rangers have got two left-sided players in that position. It would be madness for Rangers to go and strengthen in that position where they’ve got cover and they need strengthening in other positions.”

The Afghanistan wristspinner has lofty goals and at just 26 years old he has time to achieve them

Nagraj Gollapudi07-Feb-20252:13

Rashid Khan: ‘DJ Bravo called me to congratulate on the feat’

In a batter-friendly format you have managed to create this record – that must give you incredible satisfaction?Definitely, it does. Especially when I look at my career, it’s not that long, where I feel like, say I played 15-20 years and this record has been broken and it’s under my name now. It is just nine years. And that’s how long DJ Bravo held that record for (eight years). But it’s a massive, massive achievement for me because if I look back in 2014-15, I never ever thought that I will play T20 Internationals and (franchise) leagues all around the world. I never ever had that in my mind. I’ll only try my best to continue (growing) and make it as bigger as possible.Has DJ messaged or called you?Yes, we spoke. He messaged me as well. He was so happy and said: “(I know) you are the one who (would) break this record. You totally deserve all this.” He’s always been very supportive and we had some great times and in (2024) T20 World Cup as well when he was Afghanistan bowling coach.Your climb to the top has been incredibly quick. At the end of 2016, your second year in competitive cricket, you had 38 wickets when Bravo was the leading wicket-taker in T20s with 367 wickets. By end of 2024 you had 622 wickets, only nine behind Bravo who retired last year. You did not take the staircase, you are on the escalator.I was thinking the same couple of days back. I was just checking my records: how many wickets DJ Bravo had when I debuted and how much I have now. I read that since I debuted, while I got 600-plus wickets, the difference between me and the next best bowler with most wickets in this period was nearly half (229 – South African legspinner Imran Tahir has 403 wickets). Like I said, it’s hard to believe. What makes it more special for me is the record now belongs to someone from Afghanistan.You should read the piece we did after you surpassed Bravo…I would love to. And keep an eye on which records I could break in the future (chuckles).There’s one you are withing touching distance: you are three wickets short of going past Tim Southee to become the highest wicket-taker in T20Is.That I already have in my mind. I tried my best to cross that in the Zimbabwe series recently, but I took only nine wickets. But hopefully in Asia Cup (scheduled later in 2025)Rashid Khan’s phase wise numbers•ESPNcricinfo LtdLast IPL when we met, you mentioned you have reached this far by sticking to that simple mantra – bowling in the right areas. As you evolve you will continue to stick to that?You never let your strength go away from you. That’s my strength and that’s why I’m more effective when I’m bowling there (points to the spot he wants to pitch) and that’s where batsmen struggle as well. As soon I start bowling here and here (away from the spot intended), maybe it becomes more easier for them. It’s more about that length, that line and that’s what makes it very hard (for the batter). Sometimes as a bowler, if you think a lot, like what will happen if I bowl there, then we forget to bowl in the right areas, then we forget what is our strength.

Every ball I’m bowling I want to take wicket, I want to bowl the best ball, I want to put the batter in trouble. As soon as you have that in the mind, wickets will comeRashid Khan about his mindset

I have seen so many bowlers, especially at the death, bowling the length ball and they are still hard to hit. I will give you an example of Mohammed Shami – he is bowling length balls at the death and still it’s hard for the batters to go after him because he is pitching on the right line and right length. [Jasprit] Bumrah is the same. He bowls the best yorkers, but at the same time also bowls the length ball which is equally hard to hit. Because he is pitching where he wants it and where he thinks it is hard for the batter to hit. For me it’s the same: it’s just the length and line and as long as I stick to that I don’t think I should change much. Yes, I can think about varying the pace and the grips, but not about change my line and length.Do you still use the bottle tops to sharpen your accuracy and consistency?Yes, sometimes when I face bit of a challenge, when I’m not hitting the right areas consistently, I bring them (bottle tops) and that really helps me. But nowadays when you are playing too much (T20) cricket and back-to-back games, it becomes harder to keep doing that all the time. But yes, in a longer format I still keep train (with bottle tops) like in ODI and Test cricket and it comes handy.I recently played a Test against Zimbabwe. The earlier part of my first spell was harder for me, around the first five overs. But as soon I got used to the rhythm, I pitched the ball in the right areas and I just enjoyed and I just wanted to bowl and bowl. I bowled 55 overs, but I still felt like I hadn’t bowled much. I should have bowled more than that. So that’s how I enjoy my bowling and that’s how I am focussing on hitting the right areas consistently, by challenging myself: can I hit that area now? Can I hit that area with this ball, with a leggie, with the straighter one?Batters have charged you and then played safe. As you have evolved, is your basic aim still taking wickets or you want to ensure you attack by being defensive?Taking wickets is thinking about how it’s going to happen. You can take a wicket on a full toss or on a back-of-length ball as well. But what you have in the mind is important, about how I’m going to get the wicket and that mentality you must have: if I’m bowling the wrong ‘un, because I want to hit him on the pad. Why I’m bowling legspin? Because I want to beat him, I want to get him caught behind, I want him caught in the slip. You need to have that wicket-taking mindset every ball unless you are bowling in death when you are bowling wide yorkers, wide slower ones, when you just need to try and deliver a dot ball. But your mentality should be taking wickets each and every ball. And that’s something which I mostly have in my mind: every ball I’m bowling I want to take wicket, I want to bowl the best ball, I want to put the batter in trouble. As soon as you have that in the mind, wickets will come, dot balls will come and good spells will come.Rashid Khan says making the semi-finals in the T20 World Cup in 2024 is one of the biggest moments of his life•ICC/Getty ImagesPersonally, can you talk about few top spells from your T20 career?I will name three. One was against Bangladesh in the last T20 World Cup where I got four wickets (4 for 23) where we were defending 115. That was a very crucial spell for me. Yes, I got four wickets against New Zealand (4 for 17) as well in the same World Cup, but that was different game and this was different game. Against Bangladesh, I’m defending only 115, which was a tough situation hence I felt that’s why this is a little bit higher. Another is against KKR in IPL 2018 in Qualifier 2 (3 for 19) which totally changed the game. The other I got 6 for 17 for Adelaide Strikers in BBL because bowling in Australia is something harder.Rashid Khan: If I look back in 2014-15, I never ever thought that I will play T20 Internationals•ACBAfghanistan reaching the semi-finals in the 2024 T20 World Cup – was the biggest moment of your T20 career so far?It is 100% one of the biggest moments of my career, in my life, to get to the semi-finals. And I still feel and I still think about that match. How we were (so) near to the final, we could have played the final. I still feel so bad whenever I remember that day that I thought if it was a better wicket, both teams could have done much, much better and it would’ve been one of the best games for us as a team. You know that ground (in Tarouba), we came two, three times for practice and we cancelled the practice because of the wickets.Currently 410 of your overall T20 wickets have come in leagues. You are leading MICT. You also play for two other MI franchises – in ILT20 and MLC. MI now also have acquired another franchise, Oval Invincibles, in the Hundred. From a player’s viewpoint, do you reckon it might be beneficial to you to stick to one franchise across leagues?Yes. It’s something which makes it so easy for you. You already know the set-up, the management, the environment, you feel like you know history of the franchise, how good it is and their mindset on cricket. I feel like that in future you just stick at one place. And that’s something for me personally, it’s quite important. I’m happy to be representing them (MI) all over: New York, here, Emirates. It plays a good role where it doesn’t allow you that okay, if I go a new set-up, how it’s going to be, how I’m going to adjust. But with this set-up, it becomes easier for you that you can adjust yourself quickly and you start focusing and start performing from the day one.This SA20, Paarl Royals became the first team to bowl 20 overs of spin. Do you reckon teams will bowl more spin as T20 evolves?Well, it depends on conditions as well. To be honest, I don’t think so (bowling spin for 20 overs). I still feel in the last few overs, you can still manage to hit one or two boundaries off the spinner in an over unless it’s a very, very, very slow wicket and/or a turning wicket. I feel you still need those skills of fast bowlers to bowl at death, those skills of fast bowlers to bowl with the new ball, swing the ball both ways, I will love to see the ball reverse, I still love to see fast bowlers bowling slower ones, wide yorkers. That is the beauty of this game, of the short format, and it shouldn’t go away. It shouldn’t be taken away where people think about, okay, let’s just go with (only) spinners and it’s easy. No, I don’t think so. It’s going to affect the game and the beauty of the game may just go away.You are 26 and already you are inching towards 700 wickets. If you keep your fitness, guess 1000 wickets is a milestone you might want to work towards?That’s the target (breaching the 1000-wicket barrier). It’s going to be massive to get 1000 wickets. Yeah, if I’m fit and I’m doing well, that’s something which will be a biggest achievement to take: 1000 wickets in T20s. And I can only just think about it, how good it would be and how it will be to have those four digits of wickets. That’s something which is going to be unbelievable. But yes, hopefully, hopefully I’m fit. I feel like if I (continue to) play the cricket I’ve been playing next three-and a-half-to-four years, I feel like I can get there.

Kohli-du Plessis partnership, Klaasen’s attack against spin, and other key numbers from the SRH-RCB game

Sampath Bandarupalli18-May-20232:11

Moody: Margin of error for a spinner against Klaasen is very small

1 During the SRH-RCB game in Hyderabad, Heinrich Klaasen and Virat Kohli became the first opposing pair to score centuries in an IPL match. There have been two previous instances of two centurions in the same IPL innings – Kohli and AB de Villiers against Gujarat Lions in 2016 in Bengaluru, and David Warner and Jonny Bairstow against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2019 in Hyderabad.6 Number of hundreds for Kohli in the IPL. He now has the joint-most centuries in the league’s history, along with Chris Gayle. It was Kohli’s seventh century in all T20s, the most by an Indian in the format, surpassing six by KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma.872 Partnership runs between Kohli and Faf du Plessis this IPL, the most by an opening pair in an edition of the IPL. Overall, their tally is behind only Kohli and de Villiers’ 939 in IPL 2016.187 Target chased down by RCB, their third-highest successful chase in the IPL. They won chasing 204 against Kings XI Punjab in 2010 and 192 against Rising Pune Supergiants in 2016, both in Bengaluru.