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Amid a sea of red celebration at Anfield on Sunday, the cameras panned for a moment on Liverpool head coach Arne Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes, locked in conversation.

Have the conversations relating to improvements already begun? What, indeed, do these discussions pertain to? Are Liverpool now focusing on the additions which will surely rain down on this incredible Reds squad, which has been so dominant in the Premier League yet clearly needs reinforcing across a range of positions?

With Darwin Nunez expected to leave at the end of the season, much has been made of Liverpool’s conundrum at number nine. Alexander Isak would be a golden ticket toward the next level in Slot’s project, but Newcastle United will demand north of £150m for their talisman. It might not happen, sadly.

A robust midfield could do with another part, and Andy Robertson’s waning influence and athleticism has seen Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez placed at the top of the shopping list, report The Times.

Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk have renewed their contracts but Hughes will no doubt be thinking about signing understudies who could bloom into superstars down the line.

Then there’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, whose resolution to a protracted saga feels right around the corner.

The latest on Alexander-Arnold's future

No one can dispute Alexander-Arnold’s passion as he capered around after Liverpool defeated Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, sealing the Premier League title for the second time in his career.

However, it’s also becoming increasingly difficult to argue that the 26-year-old will be playing his football in a Liverpool shirt next season, now on the eve of free agency.

Salah and Van Dijk have committed the final few years of their primes to Anfield, but Alexander-Arnold has stayed radio silent with Real Madrid working tooth and nail to bring him to La Liga.

Reds supporters have attempted to theorise scenarios in which Trent is staying, flashes of hopeless hope, however, with those such as Fabrizio Romano revealing that a deal is all but done, it seems this is one pill that the club will have to swallow during an momentous achievement.

However, it’s frankly unlikely that Romano is simply acting as a mouthpiece for Los Blancos. The esteemed transfer journalist has repeatedly stressed that the England international’s Bosman move is in the final stages, with all parties confident that a deal will be struck.

Moreover, the word on the street is that Liverpool are scouring the market for a successor; Conor Bradley is an exciting talent but he missed out with injury once again on Sunday and cannot, surely, be Slot’s only real option next term.

With that in mind, Liverpool appear to be aiming for the stars.

Liverpool chasing exciting Trent replacement

According to transfer insider Graeme Bailey, Liverpool are among clubs interested in signing Jules Kounde and are being kept informed on his situation at Barcelona, though Chelsea appear to have the lead at this stage.

The Frenchman, who scored the winning goal in Saturday’s hotly-contested Clasico Copa del Rey final, is about to enter the penultimate year of his contract at Camp Nou, and his future is up in the air.

With Liverpool potentially in need of a high-class right-back, this could be a dream deal for Slot’s side, though Kounde wouldn’t come cheap, with Chelsea reportedly willing to offer €80m (£68m).

What Jules Kounde would add to Slot's squad

Barcelona signed Kounde from Sevilla for a reported £42m fee in 2022, beating Chelsea to the France international’s signature.

He’s since amassed 140 appearances for La Blaugrana, scoring seven goals and providing 18 assists for his teammates. A regular dynamo, Kounde is versatile, balanced and robust in his performances, having actually been described as “one of the best defenders in the world” by his former boss Xavi.

This season, for example, he ranks among the top 11% of full-backs in La Liga for pass completion, the top 3% for passes attempted and the top 7% for progressive passes per 90, as per FBref.

Such metrics highlight, clearly, the ball-playing ability that Slot would make fantastic use of. He differs from Alexander-Arnold, but you can see that his passing game would still add a dimension to and enrich Liverpool’s defence.

Though the 26-year-old has only supplied three assists across 29 league fixtures under Hansi Flick this term, it’s clear this is a more stylistic choice, indeed completing 89% of his passes, as per Sofascore, working tirelessly toward promoting build-up play, funnelling the ball into the danger areas, where the likes of Lamine Yamal and Raphinha can wreak havoc.

That’s not to say he’s averse to his playmaking duties, of course. See below.

They can be a tad frustrating at times, but you can’t deny FSG know their stuff. Replacing Klopp was an impossible task, and so they opted not to.

Slot is cut from a different cloth. His tactical expertise aligns in some lanes with the German’s, but he’s a different character, cooler, more businesslike. Fist pumps after exhilarating victories, there are not.

In the same way, Liverpool simply won’t succeed in replacing a one-of-a-kind star such as Alexander-Arnold. Kounde is different, but bears some similarities.

Kounde’s “enormous potential” was sounded out by talent scout Jacek Kulig before he got his big Barcelona move, and the defender has proved ever since that he has the capacity for greatness.

It’s exactly what Liverpool need at right-back, and if the finances are there, he should be signed this summer.

Liverpool's incredible title winner is now as undroppable as Mac Allister

Liverpool’s stars shined as they thrashed Spurs to seal the Premier League title at Anfield.

By
Angus Sinclair

Apr 27, 2025

Sheffield United head into the Championship’s latest round of fixtures later today keen to get back to winning ways and eager to ensure Burnley’s stay at the very summit is premature.

Indeed, the Blades fell to an unexpected 1-0 defeat at the weekend away at relegation-threatened Oxford United, with a Siriki Dembele strike for the U’s the difference between the two sides.

Now, it’s up to Chris Wilder to inspire his troops to a win back on home turf, with Scott Parker’s Clarets only one point ahead at the top.

Millwall will be a stern opponent in South Yorkshire, but the United boss will know if he can get the very best out of certain key individuals, a much-needed three points will be heading their way.

Best summer signings at Sheffield United

Wilder should be commended – regardless of what happens this season – with how quickly he’s got his team back believing in themselves, considering they dropped out of the Premier League bottom of the pile last campaign.

Of course, he was helped last summer by a whole host of positive new additions entering his camp, with the £2m signing of Michael Cooper in-between the sticks proving to be a particularly inspired pick-up.

The former Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper has settled in swimmingly to his fresh South Yorkshire environment, with Cooper conceding just 28 goals from 38 Championship encounters, leading to a high 19 clean sheets piling up.

Moreover, away from how few goals are being conceded, Tyrese Campbell – who entered the building last summer on a free transfer – is ensuring there are plenty of strikes hitting the back of the opposing nets, with the ex-Stoke City attacker boasting ten Championship goals.

Whilst Campbell and Cooper are both undoubtedly transfer success stories, the South Yorkshire outfit have fallen foul to some blunders in this department, with one high earner often in the treatment room instead of playing on the Bramall Lane pitch.

The "outstanding" United striker who could be axed

Wilder would have expected this signing to be a rip-roaring success, considering the striker in question’s glittering goal record in the EFL.

Before joining the Blades, Welsh talisman Kieffer Moore had tallied up 56 career goals in the Championship alongside 33 League One strikes, but his time with the promotion chasers to date has been bumpy.

Games played

23

Goals scored

5

Assists

0

Games missed through injury

17

Days missed through injury

82

Wage per week

£25k-per-week

Looking at the table above, it’s clear to see that the ex-Cardiff City striker’s stay at Bramall Lane has been severely disrupted by injury, with Moore out of action for both club and country this season for a bumper 17 clashes.

Annoyingly, the experienced EFL head has shown spurts of his obvious quality when injury-free – with his five goals this campaign even seeing Wilder herald the 6 foot 5 attacker as “outstanding” – but Moore’s long absences from the side still fail to justify his steep £25k-per-week pay packet.

The United number nine’s wage looks even more extortionate when you consider both Campbell and Cooper earn less at £15k-per-week and £17.5k-per-week respectively, despite being concrete parts of Wilder’s starting XI during these last few crunch months in the tricky league.

With Moore not getting any younger either, it could be time for the Blades manager to consider the Welshman’s long-term future, with the signing so far going down as a slight misfire, despite some promising early performances from the unlucky centre-forward.

Sheffield United already sold their own Cannon who has "massive potential"

Sheffield United could well have dropped a clanger getting rid of their own Tom Cannon.

2 ByKelan Sarson Apr 7, 2025

The latest Stump Mic podcast with Sidharth Monga and Kaustubh Kumar

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jun-2024Between Texas, Florida and New York, how did USA react to the men’s T20 World Cup 2024? What was the vibe like for India vs Pakistan in Nassau County (compared to the MCG)? Who is really the audience for cricket in America?Sidharth Monga, who is traveling to cover the tournament in the US and the West Indies, joins Kaustubh Kumar to answer these questions and more.

After a turbulent 12 months, can he produce the magic that once made him so instrumental in Pakistan’s Test domination?

Danyal Rasool15-Jul-2022There was a time when it felt like Pakistan Test cricket subsisted largely on series against Sri Lanka.Between 2009 and 2015, there were no fewer than seven Test series between the two sides, with Pakistan visiting Sri Lanka four times in six years to play 11 Tests. Only one player from each side is still part of the squad that began that cycle in 2009. For Sri Lanka, it’s the relatively ever-present Angelo Mathews, and for Pakistan, whatever the opposite of that is in Fawad Alam. While Fawad’s redemptive narrative arc has already been exhausted, it is another Pakistan player who might be looking to script his own over the next fortnight. He played just the final of those quickfire series in Sri Lanka, but the impact he would make provided Pakistan with a template for short-term Test domination.Yasir Shah had only made his Test debut following Saeed Ajmal’s bowling-action issues, and this excitable, gregarious legspinner was only seven months into his international career. Sure, the run-up needed sorting, an aspect none other than Shane Warne helped him fine-tune, and he needed to bowl slower to allow natural drift and spin to have its maximum impact, but there was something here to work with. Even so, having him shoulder the responsibility of matching Sri Lanka on their own turf in a spin-bowling shoot-out seemed excessive. For all of Ajmal’s brilliance, there was a reason Pakistan had ended up on the wrong side of the previous three Test series results in the island nation.Related

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What Yasir achieved was nothing short of historic. With seven, six and five-wicket innings hauls in each Test respectively, he would top the wickets charts with 24. Dhammika Prasad was a distant second with 14, and no other spinner managed double digits. Of the 52 Sri Lankan wickets to fall, nearly half came off Yasir’s bowling. Pakistan would go on to seal a first series win in Sri Lanka since 2006, and in the sub-continent at least, Misbah-ul-Haq’s Pakistan had the player to build the Test side around.It wasn’t just Asia either. In London the following year, Yasir would take apart England with impressive hauls at Lord’s and The Oval, deploying the one that went straight on with just as much venom as the one that spun prodigiously. Pakistan rose to the top of the Test rankings off the back of that; a year later it would be West Indies in their own backyard who bore the brunt of this cricketer at the top of his game, cleaning up Shannon Gabriel with his last ball of the series to give Pakistan their only Test series win in the Caribbean. How indeed did he do that?Part of the answer lies in faith and timing. Yasir was at his best when Pakistan had worked out how to go about making the UAE, their adopted home, a fortress, and his game style was perfect for it. In Misbah as captain, he was blessed with a leader who could perhaps watch his beard grow in real-time without losing patience. As a man who only became captain when he was on the verge of quitting the game at 36, he was an ardent believer in good things coming to those who waited. And so Yasir, a rhythm bowler par excellence, operated from one end to devastating effect, handing out the UAE drubbings like they were going out of style. He became the quickest man to 200 Test wickets in another epic series against New Zealand, when, for a surreal week or so, a Dunedin-born Australian legspinner who played in the years between the two World Wars called Clarrie Grimmett became something of a household name in Pakistan.All this, remember, had happened over the span of barely four years, and just as quickly as it occurred, the unravelling began. Misbah, Yasir’s strongest backer, had stepped away from the game, and Pakistan now had a no-nonsense fitness enthusiast in Mickey Arthur as coach. Yasir was the first man he cited as an example of laxity in this department in the Pakistan side. Besides, consecutive series in South Africa and Australia followed. He was especially ordinary, and missed games in both series. In fact, in the Southern Hemisphere, Yasir’s 20 wickets have come at 87 apiece at an economy rate of 4.37.Yasir Shah’s numbers haven’t been particularly impressive since Pakistan moved back home from the UAE•Associated PressMost of all, however – and this must be a particularly bittersweet one to acknowledge – Pakistan finally moved back home from the UAE, both his kingdom and his comfort blanket. In Pakistan, pace bowlers are at the top of the food chain, with wickets tailored to their desires. Azhar Ali, then Pakistan’s captain, euphemistically referred to his “changing role” in the side, but few were in any doubt as to what that meant.The fast bowlers did indeed take over, and Yasir dropped off. His average in Pakistan was 36.50; in the UAE, he had taken wickets at 24.56 apiece. The fitness issues began to pile up, as well as a criminal probe in Pakistan that at the time saw him become a person of interest for the police. The charges against Yasir were later dropped, though.Pakistan thought they had spin talent coming through the Quaid-e-Azam trophy, with Sajid Khan and Nauman Ali topping the domestic bowling charts last year, and gently, Yasir was phased out. But despite an encouraging spin-dominated series win in Bangladesh, Pakistan were reminded of what they missed in an insipid, uninspiring series for its spinners against Australia. Seven years after that Sri Lanka series, the challenge ahead of Pakistan loomed large, and in punting for Yasir, the visitors have gone to the well once more, praying it hasn’t completely run dry.Seven years on, age isn’t on his side, and neither, tragically, is Warne, one of Yasir’s most generous supporters. Sri Lanka have younger, hungrier spinners, who are also in better form, having cleaned up Australia last week. But this is, therapeutically, what Yasir perhaps needs most. It was the place where he proved his doubters wrong, his answer so resoundingly emphatic they wouldn’t utter a peep for years to come. Now, they swarm once more in Sri Lanka, a country that has, over the past few weeks, shown limitless generosity in their love of this game. It might have one last gift for Yasir in store.

Wides, lbw calls, swing – plenty of things were different in white-ball cricket back then

Sidharth Monga30-Mar-2020 #RetroLive Last week, we at ESPNcricinfo did something we have been thinking of doing for eight years now: pretend-live ball-by-ball commentary for a classic cricket match. We knew the result, yes, but we tried our best to go in as ignorant about the actual match as possible, so as to react “naturally” to what was happening. The odd joke aside, we stayed in character and didn’t let our knowledge of cricket’s evolution since then inform our commentary.However, we can break kayfabe now and talk about what we learnt from how cricket was back then, which in this case is the World Cup final of the year 1992.Are we not calling wides?
Wide calls back then seemed to be based more on the umpires’ judgement of the bowlers’ intent than on how wide the ball was of the batsman’s stumps. There were no tramlines for starters (yes, it is easy to forget such a time existed in limited-overs cricket). Quite regularly balls outside leg were not wided: be they wrong’uns starting from within the stumps, inswingers gone wrong, or full tosses outside leg from a left-arm spinner. Just as regularly, the umpires were too harsh on wides outside off.The only explanation for this – other than it being a residue from amateur limited-overs cricket where umpires were lenient in order to complete matches before it got dark – is that they saw it as being the same as in Tests: nobody would intentionally bowl down the leg side, which would be bad bowling, but they might intentionally bowl wide outside off to restrict scoring. As a result, the bowlers had a much bigger margin for error if they bowled straight, but on the flip side, they couldn’t use the space outside off tactically.Wide calls are much less subjective today, except when the batsman has moved around in the crease or changed his stance before the ball has been delivered. The tramlines, introduced just as a guide, have now become an objective parameter in most cases. Going down leg is a strict no-no, but those tramline yorkers are fascinating to watch.Who do I have to kill to get an lbw?
Yes, pitches have got flat, bats heavier, and rules are loaded in their favour, but to really appreciate modern batsmen, you have to watch a rerun – not highlights – of a 1992 World Cup game. Let alone getting a positive reaction from the umpires, the bowlers were so conditioned to receiving apathy that they didn’t even appeal for lbws that were so plumb that even Virat Kohli might not have reviewed them. Batsmen back then hardly ever got out if they so much as got onto the front foot, and often they just pretended to play a shot if they were in trouble. Mad respect for modern batsmen.ALSO READ: Twenty-five things from 1993 that are no longer aroundWhite doesn’t swing? Says who?
It is hard to believe but that was a time when the white ball swung more than the red one. This is not a view based on watching just one rerun; it is based on the first-hand experience of commentators and cricketers.To make it worse for batsmen – and bowlers who struggled to control their swing – one new ball was used at each end in the 1992 World Cup. This is why teams, especially the winners, Pakistan, developed a strategy of batting the first 30 overs almost as if in a Test match. Imran Khan promoted himself to perform just that role. Bowlers struggled too: over the course of the tournament Wasim Akram, for example, went from being a quick bowler to trying to bowl within himself, to once more going all out when cutting the pace didn’t have any impact on the wides.It is amazing how we have a reached a stage where the same manufacturers are struggling to manufacture a ball that will swing.The wrist is history: Mushtaq Ahmed’s success in the 1992 World Cup heralded the age of the wristspinners•Getty ImagesNon-strikers stole ground then too
In the 24th over of the chase, Aamer Sohail pulled out of his delivery to warn Allan Lamb – who had just taken a quick couple the previous ball – against stealing ground before the ball was delivered. Boos punctuated the confused hush that fell over the MCG. Umpire Steve Bucknor called it a dead ball. Sohail ran in again, saw Lamb moving again and pulled out again. This time Bucknor had to intervene and break off a conversation between the two.After the over, the transmission cut to the studio in Hong Kong. Sunil Gavaskar was the expert in the studio, weighing in with analysis and comments between overs and during drinks breaks. The anchor said, “Running a batsman out who has left the bowler’s end is not considered cricket. You’d normally expect a warning first.” Not in limited-overs cricket, where every run is vital, said Gavaskar, whose tone suggested annoyance at Sohail being questioned.The lines were being drawn already: Asian sides were much more serious about limited-overs cricket, and wanted the law enforced over the spirit. Later in the year, Kapil Dev would go on to run Peter Kirsten out after warnings, only for ugly scenes to play out thanks to South Africa’s righteous indignation.ALSO READ: Retroreport: The 1992 World Cup finalImagine Gavaskar’s and Dev’s annoyance then, when 27 years later, exactly on the same day as that 1992 final, R Ashwin ran Jos Buttler out without a warning, only to be lambasted and ridiculed the world over. However, it is not a losing battle anymore, and people are beginning to realise the batsman is gaining an unfair advantage and needs to live with the consequences. Without a warning.Wrist and reward
Pakistan were a horribly balanced side. They had a specialist batsman, Ijaz Ahmed, playing at No. 9, with his utility being only part-time seam-up overs. Sohail was called upon to bowl his full quota. Imran Khan was injured, so he played mainly as a batsman whose job was to fast-forward the game to the 30th over without losing wickets. If other sides had slightly more urgency, they would have punished the bowling lightweights in the Pakistan side, but in one respect, Khan’s team was also ahead of its time.There was only one specialist wristspinner, and he wore the iconic light-green jersey. There was only one spinner in the top 19 wicket-takers in the tournament, and it was the same man, Mushtaq Ahmed. Khan insisted he wanted a legspinner in his side as Abdul Qadir reached the end of his career. Ahmed’s impact was clear not just from his numbers but visibly too, with batsmen finding him as illegible as modern batsmen do left-arm wristspinners. Ahmed, the second highest wicket-taker of the tournament, was, as is known these days, the point of difference between others and the champion side.The time was ripe for Shane Warne and Anil Kumble to rule the world.Other lessons Imran Khan could come to the toss wearing what looked like an undershirt and not be fined. The world still didn’t know much about reverse swing. The stage was set for a testy summer in England. A bouncer above the head was a no-ball even if you touched it. Nowadays it is called a wide, and if you happen to play it, it becomes a legal delivery. RetroLive

ساهم محمد صلاح نجم ليفربول في فوز فريقه على حساب برايتون، بثنائية نظيفة، على ملعب “آنفيلد” في الجولة السادسة عشر من الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وعلى الرغم من أنه لم يبدأ بشكل أساسي، إلا أنه شارك بديلاً في منتصف الشوط الأول بديلاً لجو جوميز وصنع الفارق بعرضية رائعة ليحرز إيكتيكي هدف الفوز أمام برايتون.

وترددت عدة تكهنات خلال الفترة الماضية، أن محمد صلاح قد يلعب آخر مبارياته أمام برايتون بقميص ليفربول، وأنه سيودع الجماهير حيث أصبح من المحتمل أن يرحل في يناير المقبل.

اقرأ أيضًا.. ليفربول إيكو تشيد بـ محمد صلاح بعد تألقه أمام برايتون في الدوري الإنجليزي

وسئل إبراهيما كوناتي مدافع ليفربول في تصريحات نشرتها “Anfield Agenda” حول ما إذا كانت هذه المباراة الأخيرة لمحمد صلاح: “بصراحة، لا أعرف”.

وأضاف: “لا أعتقد ذلك، الجميع شاهد كم يحب محمد صلاح ليفربول وبهذا القدر، أحياناً عليك أن تتفهم الإحباط والجميع يحب بعضهم في النادي، لن أتحدث في التفاصيل، لكنه لاعب يحبه الجميع وأتمنى ألا تكون مباراته الأخيرة”.

The league has survived exile, spot-fixing, Covid, bad anthems, different board heads, four different prime ministers and two caretakers. Yet here it is in all its glory

Osman Samiuddin12-Apr-2025On the flight home after he had bought the PSL’s most expensive franchise, Karachi Kings, Salman Iqbal, the business and media tycoon, remembers being told by everyone he had made a mistake. A massive mistake. His employees at the ARY Group continued to tell him much the same. For days afterwards he couldn’t sleep, disbelieving of what he had done. Biggest mistake of his business career? His life?It’s easy to forget the fraught, fragile place in which Iqbal had bought those rights in December 2015, for US $26 million (over 10 years). Talk of a Pakistan T20 league had been going on since 2008. Chairmen had come, chairmen had gone, opportunities peaked, opportunities troughed, but a league remained absent. The IPL was already booming, Bangladesh had started the BPL, West Indies the CPL. Pakistan was nearly seven years into its exile era. Even with a league, there was no timeline for when it might come home and no chance foreign stars would come to Pakistan. The PCB had not fully recovered from a period of leadership turbulence (between Najam Sethi and Zaka Ashraf). The BCCI was ignoring them, the Big Three had cast them aside.Actually, it shouldn’t be so easy to forget because, tenth season upon us (PSL X does have a zeitgeisty, and kind of adult, zing to it) and look around. Pakistan cricket is again – still? – a pretty fraught place. Struggling on the field. Not fully recovered from a period of administrative turbulence (featuring Najam Sethi and Zaka Ashraf). The BCCI ignoring them harder than ever (other than when it’s making life difficult for them), the big three (now small-capped because they’re more disingenuous about it) casting them aside.Related

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Iqbal says the decision to buy Kings was not a business decision. It was one he made with his heart. To some extent, most, if not all, those first buyers, were the same. In that sense those decisions ring closer to Malcolm Gladwell’s thesis about the owners of sports teams and the psychic benefits of owning those teams. It’s not too long to read but in short he argues sports team are like works of art: there is a measurable value and then there is a value on top, the bit of owning it that speaks to the owner’s heart: the psychic benefit.Not that the PSL has been bad business. Not at all for the PCB. Indeed, as a report in the Pakistan business weekly made clear last year, the league was the board’s biggest source of revenue for five years until 2022 – essentially from its inception. A period where international cricket had not fully returned to Pakistan the pandemic had upended the game. It is no longer the biggest slice. The ICC’s current revenue distribution model, which has doubled the PCB’s share to about $34 million annually, holds that distinction.But here is a simple gauge of the PSL’s enduring value to Pakistan cricket. The current broadcast deal for the league is worth over $30 million across two seasons, while the PCB’s home bilateral rights, for a comparable period, recently went for approximately a fifth of that.It hasn’t always been so profitable for the franchises, though it wasn’t entirely on them, because a financial model in which they paid franchise fees in US dollars but were earning in Pakistan Rupees was stacked against them. The Pakistan economy has been through a hell of a ride since then, and not a fun one. At the start of 2016, when the franchises came in, the rupee was around 105 to the dollar; it is currently around 280.The 2024 opening ceremony attracted some stars too – singers Ali Zafar and Aima Baig•AFP/Getty ImagesThe franchises did eventually convince the PCB to fix that rate, as part of a new financial model they agreed on in 2021. A considerably bigger slice of the total league revenue is now shared between the franchises. They received financial help for two Covid-battered seasons. That has helped the situation. Not all franchises are consistently in the black, but they do each make approximately $4.5 million every season from their share of that central pool and their own commercial deals. In that time, a couple of the lower-value franchises have shown it is possible to run it as a profitable business and be successful.What of its cricket impact? Well, what of it? It feels necessary to preface this, that the fortunes of Pakistan’s cricket teams – past, present, future – are beholden to the PCB, the PSL. Of course, the PSL helps players to evolve, to add some nous and some sheen. But it is not primarily how or where cricketers are found or, more relevantly to Pakistan, made sustainable. That will – and should – always be the PCB’s job. And Pakistan’s recent downturn in results is quite clearly linked to the actions of successive PCB administrations.Still, if you insist on looking at records pre- and post-PSL, you’ll not be able to make any definitive point. Pakistan are as they have always been. Eerily so, in fact. Here is the Pakistan men’s team win-loss record in all international cricket in the ten years to the first PSL versus the years since: 1.130 (fifth-best among Full Members) vs 1.138 (seventh out of 12). They had the third-best win-loss record in T20Is in the decade before the PSL (1.50), and the fourth-best win-loss record in the years since (1.375). One white-ball trophy before, one since. ESPNcricinfo’s statsguru doesn’t have a metric ratio for talent unearthed against talent wasted, but I think we can all assume with confidence it’s the same pre-PSL as it is post-PSL. Probably down to the last decimal point.But you know what tangible impact? Bringing international cricket back to Pakistan. To that end, has there been a more seminal game than the 2017 PSL final, with eight foreign players at the Gaddafi Stadium? A World XI visit followed later that year, then the PSL’s qualifiers in Pakistan the following season, then more the next and then, bang, normalisation. Inestimably better earnings for a breed perennially among the world’s lowest paid, is also tangible impact. Ditto better opportunities for an army of former cricketers, in coaching roles, or as support staff. And there is probably a fascinating study waiting to be done on the economic activity the PSL generates in the country every year.Fans in Lahore were delighted (even if their expressions don’t say so) when cricket returned to Pakistan in 2017•AFPTo be honest, it would have been enough of an achievement to last 10 seasons, let alone any of this. What, after all, lasts that long in the corrosive environment that is Pakistan cricket? The PSL has survived exile. It has survived spot-fixing. Covid. Bad anthems. Seven different tenures of board heads, a couple of whom have inadvertently cannibalised it with their own vanity projects. More bad anthems. Four different prime ministers and two caretakers. The arrival of new, monied leagues. All of it to become, more or less, a fixture in the calendar which, in a country that daily with such dizzying force and speed, is an invaluable bit of groundedness.The next ten seasons are probably even more important because there is so much still to do. Above all, a women’s equivalent, the idea of which has been paid lip service to by some administrations and ignored by the rest. It may need franchise involvement, or for the PCB to do the initial heavy lifting but there is no doubt it needs to happen. Smaller steps, like taking the league to cities such as Peshawar and Faisalabad, can reap easy but meaningful rewards; and imagine the atmosphere in these venues, starved for so long of top-flight cricket.The league will get bigger, with up to two more teams likely to be added from next season, which is about the right number for a one-sport country the size of Pakistan. Bids will be made once this season is over, and after a valuation exercise of the league has been completed. It’s early but word is that interest is healthy among local businesses, and according to a couple of officials, a little foreign interest too.The existing franchise, whose leases run out this season, will have to negotiate a new franchise fee if they want to continue (with a minimum increase of 25% baked in). Most, if not all, of them do, but foremost on their agendas should be to no longer be leaseholders in the league. They should push for franchise rights in perpetuity. The PSL is the house they have built over ten years, at considerable cost; they should not be treated as tenants.These negotiations will not be straightforward, not least the prospect that existing franchises will have to share revenues with more teams going forward. The league’s media and sponsorship rights are up for renewal and no guarantee there will be more money in the market in the next cycle (that not-fun Pakistan economic ride). And yet, despite this and given the ILT20 and SA20, the PSL will have to find a way to be more competitive for foreign players.There will almost certainly be a push by franchises to have greater say in the running of the league – a common gripe, albeit expressed through varying degrees of frustration. This should be a surprise to nobody, given the PCB’s statist approach to running cricket. As with Mr Tribbiani and his food, so it is that the PCB does not like sharing power or control with any stakeholder.Which is why talk of setting up the PSL as a separate and somewhat independent entity is intriguing and important. It has already been incorporated as a private limited company, wholly owned by the PCB. But that is a first, tiny step. What shape it intends to take is far from certain right now. It could be incorporated abroad (bringing tax benefits). It could go public. Nothing could happen, because it’s not like this separation hasn’t been attempted before. But if it can somehow buffer itself from the instability and politicisation of the PCB that will be the biggest win. If, additionally, any change brings financial advantages, some operational ease, and a separate and long-term strategic vision, then those are significant perks. None of this will be easy, but it will be vital to get much of it right.In light of which is this season’s head-to-head scheduling clash with the IPL. It is in truth a bit of a red herring. The PSL is not competing with the IPL. It can’t. This was a decision they forced upon themselves by the scheduling. A clear space from all the other leagues in that December-March window may yet bring some benefits and they will probably have to do it next season too, given the timing of the T20 World Cup, in February-March. It may be that they find it’s better to move back to their traditional window, right into that leagues crunch.It shouldn’t matter. This next bit of the PSL isn’t about competing with those other leagues. Instead, this bit should be – and apologies in advance for how corny and self-helpy this sounds – the PSL striving to become the best version of itself that it can be. That would be its greatest, most enduring feat.

Alex Carey holds the key to South Australia’s hopes of manufacturing a draw on the final day of their Sheffield Shield match against Queensland.The Test wicketkeeper is the last realistic hope for the hosts, who lead by 68 runs with five wickets in hand at Adelaide Oval.The run out of Jake Lehmann in the last session was disastrous and the hosts went to stumps at 238 for 5. Carey is 37 and Liam Scott has made 20.Lehmann hesitated when he went for a quick single and a sharp throw by substitute fielder Hugh Weibgen to bowler Mitchell Swepson dismissed him for 12.Every other South Australia batter made a start, but so far Jason Sangha’s 55 is the only half-century.Swepson bowled superbly to take the first three wickets. The spinner trapped Henry Hunt lbw for 26, breaking up the opening stand of 57.He then bowled opener Conor McInerney for 46 and Usman Khawaja took a sharp chance at slip to dismiss Nathan McSweeney for 26.Michael Neser found the gap between bad and pad to bowl Sangha, who hit four fours in his 116-ball stay.Earlier, Lachlan Hearne scored his maiden Shield ton as Queensland made 398 in their first innings.They resumed at 319 for 6 and Hearne reached 106 before he was the eighth Queensland batter to fall.McInerney bobbled the sharp chance at first slip off Wes Agar’s bowling, but Carey took the catch to remove Hearne. It was Agar’s fifth scalp of the innings, giving him his sixth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.

She was hit by a Knight drive in her follow-through and was helped off in a wheelchair

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Sep-2025Allrounder Arundhati Reddy suffered a knee injury in India’s warm-up match against England at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground on Thursday, five days ahead of the opening match of Women’s World Cup 2025. The extent of her injury is not yet known.She was struck on her left knee by a drive from Heather Knight, who was back in action for the first time since her hamstring injury in May. It came quickly at Reddy and hit her before she could react to take a return catch. It took time for her to get up, with the physio and reserve players helping her. She couldn’t keep her left foot down and eventually left the field in a wheelchair.Only two balls before, into her fifth over, Reddy had trapped opener Amy Jones lbw for 39 off 46 balls. During the chase of 341, Reddy did not come out to bat. Eventually, India were out for 187.

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