There’s plenty of cream in the batting line-up and spin attack, but New Zealand’s seam attack looks a bit squishy

Deivarayan Muthu16-Feb-2025 • Updated on 18-Feb-2025

How do they look?

The previous ICC tournament, the 2024 T20 World Cup, was a nightmare for New Zealand in the Caribbean, but the versatility in their ODI squad and familiarity with the conditions, especially in Pakistan, has had them dreaming big once again.Since 2019, no visiting team has played more ODIs in Pakistan than New Zealand (11). New Zealand also have batting depth down to No.8, where their captain Mitchell Santner is likely to slot in, and eight bowling options in their potential XI, if you include Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell. With the bat, Ravindra and Mitchell could disrupt spin like they demonstrated during the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. Though New Zealand don’t have a wristspinner in their squad, their fingerspin-bowling allrounders – Santner, Michael Bracewell and Glenn Phillips in particular – provide them with immense balance. Among them, Bracewell and Santner himself can bowl in the powerplay.Related

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While there’s plenty of cream in the batting line-up and spin attack, the seam attack looks squishy. Both Lockie Ferguson, New Zealand’s most experienced fast bowler, and Ben Sears have been sidelined from the tournament with injuries. In their absence, Will O’Rourke offers pace and bounce, but he is yet to get a taste of an ICC tournament. This might leave Matt Henry with plenty on his plate.

Who are their opponents

New Zealand will kick off the tournament against hosts Pakistan in Karachi on February 19 before they will face Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on February 24. They will then travel to Dubai to meet India in the last group game on March 2.

Likely best XI

1 Devon Conway, 2 Rachin Ravindra, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Tom Latham (wk), 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 Michael Bracewell, 8 Mitchell Santner (capt), 9 Matt Henry, 10 Jacob Duffy, 11 Will O’RourkeReserves: Will Young, Mark Chapman, Nathan Smith, Kyle JamiesonDaryl Mitchell’s sweeps and reverse sweeps could disrupt spin•AFP/Getty Images

Player(s) to watch

Nobody typifies the more than Daryl Mitchell in this current New Zealand side. In his first ICC tournament in the 2021 T20 World Cup, in the UAE, he fronted up to open the batting and has since established himself as a middle-order mainstay. He is adept at sweeping and reverse-sweeping and pumping the ball down the ground – shots that mess with the lengths and lines of spinners. Mitchell also tends to rise to the big occasions. Cases in point: the 2021 T20 World Cup semi-finals against England and 2023 ODI World Cup semi-finals against India.Mitchell’s childhood buddy Mitchell Santner could also play a vital role with his subtle variations and leadership skills.

Key stats

• Since the 2023 ODI World Cup, New Zealand have the best run-rate among 20 teams between overs 10 and 40. In fact, they are the only team with a run-rate of over six (6.26) during this phase.
• Since the 2023 ODI World Cup, Santner has picked up 26 wickets in 18 innings at an excellent economy rate of 4.57.

Recent ODI form

New Zealand have won two of the three bilateral series they’ve played since making the semi-finals of the 2023 ODI World Cup. A number of the seniors missed all three series – two at home and one away in Sri Lanka – before a near full-strength New Zealand side enjoyed an unbeaten run to the tri-series title in Pakistan. They decimated Pakistan in the final in Karachi, where they will meet Pakistan once again in the Champions Trophy opener on February 19.

Champions Trophy history

In 2000, New Zealand secured their first-ever world title when they won the ICC knockout in Nairobi. The Black Caps haven’t clinched a world title since. They came close to winning the Champions Trophy once again in 2009, when they eventually lost to Australia in a Trans-Tasman final in Centurion.

The exclusion hurt him, but it gave him a break that he perhaps needed after two years of carrying an intense workload. Now he’s back, and back to his best

Sidharth Monga06-Apr-20251:31

Rayudu: Siraj’s comeback since India omission has been amazing

Mohammed Siraj had been doing well for India in both limited-overs formats for some time when he was left out of their squad for the Champions Trophy. Even in Jasprit Bumrah’s absence, Siraj didn’t find a place in the 15-man squad. India wanted a left-arm quick, a tall, into-the-pitch bowler, and the expected conditions put a premium on the extra spinner. There was only one spot left for the traditional seam bowler, which went to Mohammed Shami, who was returning from injury.India were looking for someone who could run through a side when he got on a roll. Siraj had been doing this in 2023, but had gradually become a steady bowler since then. He didn’t have out-and-out bad days, but he didn’t run away with big hauls either. As any proud competitor, Siraj was upset by this exclusion coming hot on the heels of a release from his beloved IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).”To be honest, at the start, I couldn’t digest it,” Siraj said after his second straight Player-of-the-Match performance in IPL 2025, for Gujarat Titans (GT) against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Put together international cricket and the IPL, and he won two in all of 2024. Now he has two in four days.Related

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It will not quite be fair to call his exclusion a blessing in disguise, because there is no guarantee Siraj wouldn’t have done well in the Champions Trophy, but the break it gave him seems to have done him good. Through that break, Siraj followed the classic arc of struggling to come to terms with it before putting in the hard work to try and come back better.”I reached a point when I had to convince my mind that my cricket is not over,” Siraj said. “That I have bigger plans. Okay, this [Champions Trophy] was not in my destiny, but what can I do now? I got my mindset right, I worked on my fitness. I was playing non-stop, so I didn’t have time to reflect on what mistakes had crept into my game. So I worked on it. Now I am enjoying my bowling. The body is fresh, I am not overthinking, I am staying in the present.”It is important to remember that as Shami and Bumrah grappled with fitness issues, Siraj was the one constant in India’s team. He was perhaps denied the break that fast bowlers need to carry out running repairs. Since the start of 2023, only Ravindra Jadeja has bowled more overs for India than Siraj.Mohammed Siraj won his second Player of the Match award in a row•AFP/Getty ImagesNow Siraj already has more powerplay wickets in this IPL – six – than he managed in the entirety of the 2024 season. Again, just looking at wickets is neither accurate nor fair when it comes to T20. It’s his control that has been impressive. In this game – played on a slow and low pitch – Siraj bowled three straight overs in the powerplay. Only five deliveries went fuller than good length. Three of them were just a fact-finding mission in the first over.Once he knew there was no swing, Siraj bowled almost robotically to capitalise on the lack of pace in the pitch. There was no anxiety to go looking for wickets. The result was 11 dot balls to Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, and both their wickets.With the old ball, Siraj drew a hint of reverse swing – he acknowledged the use of saliva to maintain the ball – which has been reinstated in this IPL – helped him pick up two more wickets at the death.In his last game, against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Siraj started the match with a sharp bouncer that nearly got Phil Salt out first ball. Only a handful of games in the 18 years of the IPL have started with a short ball bowled in anger. That Siraj was sharp enough from the get-go to bowl one with both venom and direction perhaps said something about his state of mind and body. There is perhaps a freshness to Siraj that makes a case for regular breaks. But now that Siraj finds himself on a roll, GT – and India? – won’t want to miss a thing.

And does Sunil Gavaskar hold the record for scoring the lowest percentage of career runs in wins?

Steven Lynch26-Aug-2025Matt Breetzke just scored his fourth half-century in his fourth ODI. Has anyone else done this? asked Harvey Osborne from South Africa

By scoring 88 against Australia in Mackay last week, South Africa’s Matthew Breetzke became the first man to reach 50 in all of his first four one-day internationals: he started with 150 against New Zealand in Lahore in February, added 83 against Pakistan two days later, and then started last week with 57 against Australia in Cairns.Although Breetzke is the first to reach 50 in his first four ODI matches, there is another man who did it in his first four innings: India’s Navjot Singh Sidhu started his ODI career during the 1987 World Cup with innings of 73, 55, 51 and 55 – but that run included a match against Zimbabwe in which he did not bat.Only two other men have scored half-centuries in their first three ODIs, and both were representing Netherlands: Tom Cooper and Max O’Dowd.Australia’s top three all made centuries in the recent ODI in Mackay. Was this a first? asked Mike Roberts from Australia

Australia’s huge total of 431 for 2 against South Africa in Mackay last weekend included 142 from Travis Head, a round 100 by captain Mitchell Marsh, and an unbeaten 118 from Cameron Green. It was the fifth ODI innings to contain three centuries, but only the second time these had come from the top three in the order, after South Africa (439 for 2) against West Indies in Johannesburg in 2015, when Hashim Amla made 153 not out, Rilee Rossouw 128 and AB de Villiers 149 from 44 balls at No. 3. De Villiers’ century needed only 31 deliveries, the ODI record: Green’s 47-ball ton in Mackay puts him joint 11th on that list.Here are some more statistical highlights from the weekend’s match.No batter is repeated in Kraigg Brathwaite’s (left) haul of 29 Test wickets so far•AFP via Getty ImagesWhen Sam Konstas made his Test debut he was the youngest player in the side by about 11 years. Was this a record? asked Dean Harrison from Australia

Sam Konstas made his Test debut for Australia in Melbourne last year at 19: unusually, there was no one in their twenties in that Australian side; the next youngest was Marnus Labuschagne, who was 30 at the time.The age difference between Konstas and Labuschagne (about 11 years three months) is indeed a record for the youngest member of any Test side. Previously the record was nine years four months, between Aaqib Javed (aged 16) and Saleem Malik (25) for Pakistan against New Zealand in Wellington in 1989.There are a few bigger gaps between the most senior member of a Test team and the next oldest. The biggest of all is 17 years nine months, between Miran Bakhsh (aged 47) and Pakistan’s captain Abdul Hafeez Kardar (30) in two Tests in India early in 1955.In the very first Test, against Australia in Melbourne in 1877, England’s James Southerton – the oldest Test debutant of all, at 49 – was nearly 14 years older than his team-mate Tom Emmett, who was 35.Although Sunil Gavaskar scored more than 10,000 Test runs, only 1671 of them came in winning causes. Is that the lowest in terms of percentage in a career, among players who scored a minimum of 3000 runs? asked Kumar Bhagat from the UAE

You’re right that only 1671 of Sunil Gavaskar’s 10,122 Test runs came in victories. That’s 16.51%, which actually isn’t too bad for a time when India won rather less often than they do now. Among those who scored 3000 Test runs, there are 11 men whose percentage in wins is lower than Gavaskar’s: they include four other Indians – Vijay Manjrekar (270 out of 3208, or 8.42%), Polly Umrigar (456/3631, 12.56%), Ravi Shastri (492/3830, 12.85%) and Chandu Borde (504/3061, 16.47%).Lowest of all is Bangladesh’s Habibul Bashar: he scored 3026 Test runs, but only 149 (4.92%) came in wins. Two famous names come next: Hanif Mohammad made 3915 Test runs for Pakistan, but only 285 (7.28%) in wins, while John Reid’s 3428 runs for New Zealand included just 297 (8.66%) in victories.Who has taken the most Test wickets without ever dismissing one batter more than once? asked Ayan Ghosh from India

The leader here is a current player, although he’s out of favour at the moment and so might not get the chance to add to his tally. The West Indian opener Kraigg Brathwaite has taken 29 Test wickets so far, all of them different batters.Mohammad Ashraful of Bangladesh dismissed 21 different batters, and Sajeewa de Silva of Sri Lanka 16. Travis Head of Australia has dismissed 16 different men so far. The Surrey and England pair of Mark Butcher and Gareth Batty both took 15 Test wickets, all different people.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

A naturally aggressive batter, Abdul Samad has become choosier with his shot selection, and is hoping to see the results in the upcoming Ranji Trophy season

Deivarayan Muthu04-Sep-2025Jammu and Kashmir’s Abdul Samad, a naturally aggressive batter, is hoping that a more measured approach brings him a big output in the upcoming Ranji Trophy season.Samad, 23, had scored twin centuries against Odisha in J&K’s second game of the 2024-25 Ranji season, becoming the first J&K batter to achieve this feat in a first-class game. However, he couldn’t sustain his form, and managed only 158 runs in his other eight innings in the season.”Scoring two hundreds in a game obviously gives you a lot of confidence, and carrying forward from that, we got to play on the green tracks back home,” Samad said on the sidelines of the pre-season Buchi Babu tournament in Chennai. “[I] didn’t get to capitalise on those two hundreds and [convert] it into a big season like a 700-800-run season, but still I’m working on my batting. Hopefully, this season will be a good one for me.Related

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“I think from last year to this year, I’ve become a bit choosy [with my shots]. Like I wait for the ball to land in my area and I keep waiting for that one and when it pitches in my zone, I go for it.”On Tuesday, against TNCA President’s XI in the Buchi Babu semi-finals, Samad batted on a turning track at the CSK High Performance Academy ground. He was fairly selective in his strokeplay and showed good judgment against spin. He was right forward or right back to defend, and deployed the reverse-sweep only when the lines of the spinners didn’t threaten the stumps. During his 75 off 96 balls, he also took some trips down the pitch and made sure he met the pitch of the ball while doing so.”Yeah, I’ve changed something in my technique while playing spin and that thing is helping me – I’m trying to apply myself, especially against spin bowling,” Samad said. “I’ve been working with our head coach Mr Ajay Sharma for the last two years and my batting has changed a lot after that. He always says one thing while playing spin: ‘Keep your head down and try to reach the ball’. And that’s working for me.”Samad has also drawn confidence from his stint with his new IPL team, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). He faced 93 balls in 12 innings for them, hitting 164 runs at a strike rate of 176.34.”A new team was a good changeover for me,” Samad said. “Changing from SRH [Sunrisers Hyderabad] to LSG… I got to see new people and new team-mates. Last season was good for me [but] I couldn’t finish well in the last three games. But I felt good [with my personal form]. I really like Rishabh Pant’s mindset and he doesn’t bother much when batting. See the ball hit, the ball. If it’s there, [he] hits it.”On moving from SRH to LSG: “A new team was a good changeover for me”•BCCIIn the previous season, J&K had made the Ranji knockouts for the first time in five seasons, following wins against Mumbai and Baroda. They nearly advanced to a maiden Ranji semi-final, and have now tuned up for the new season by making the Buchi Babu semi-finals.To Samad, J&K are among the top Ranji sides at the moment.”I think at the moment, we will be in the top three teams in the Indian domestic circuit,” he said. “If you see the batch we have, the potential in the guys and experience, I see my team in the top three. I think this batch is playing from the last five years with each other and now we’re getting that combination and coordination. We know what the guys can do, so the combination is very good at the moment.”Samad’s occasional legspin gives J&K an extra bowling option, especially on pitches that aid slower bowlers. He has been working behind the scenes on his secondary skill, and sees himself performing a support role for frontline spinner Abid Mushtaq and offspin-bowling allrounder Sahil Lotra.”I think my job is to do what is required for the team,” Samad said. “So, I keep working on my bowling at the nets. Whenever there’s a requirement, whenever a partnership builds, I come and give my team a breakthrough.”

And how many women have fifties from No. 10 in a World Cup match?

Steven Lynch14-Oct-2025Who’s scored the most runs at the women’s World Cup over the years? Is it Mithali Raj? asked Anjuli Desai from India

That’s a decent guess, as Mithali Raj is currently second on this list with 1321 runs in all editions of the women’s one-day World Cup. But she’s some way behind the leader, New Zealand’s Debbie Hockley, who made 1501 runs in 45 World Cup matches between 1982 and 2000.The leading current player is another New Zealander, Suzie Bates, who started this year’s competition with 1179 runs. Nat Sciver-Brunt’s 117 against Sri Lanka in Colombo last weekend – a record fifth World Cup century, passing the four of Bates and England’s Jan Brittin – put her in sight of four figures with 974 runs.How many women have scored a half-century from No. 10 in a World Cup match, as Alana King did against Pakistan? asked Melanie Crozier from Australia

Alana King’s staunch 51 not out against Pakistan in Colombo last week, which helped Beth Mooney rescue Australia from 115 for 8 and take them to a match-winning 221 for 9, was not only the highest by an No. 10 in the women’s World Cup – previously 42 not out by Yulandi van der Merwe for South Africa against India in Christchurch in 2000 – but also the highest in any women’s white-ball international (Kim Garth also made 42 not out for Australia vs South Africa in North Sydney in 2024).There have been three bigger scores from No. 10 in women’s Tests, the highest being Shelley Nitschke’s unbeaten 81 for Australia against England in Hove in 2005.I noticed that Ricky Ponting scored more than 1000 Test runs at four different grounds. Has anyone else done this? asked Michael Chesterton from Australia

Ricky Ponting scored 1743 Test runs in Adelaide, 1480 in Sydney, 1338 in Melbourne and 1335 in Brisbane. The only other man to reach 1000 on four different grounds is Jacques Kallis, with 2181 in Cape Town, 1267 in Centurion, 1266 in Durban and 1148 in Johannesburg.Seven men made more than 1000 Test runs on three different grounds: Hashim Amla, Allan Border, Greg Chappell, Javed Miandad, Brian Lara, Kumar Sangakkara and Steve Waugh. Sangakkara’s long-time Sri Lanka team-mate Mahela Jayawardene only did it at two grounds, but made it count with 2921 at the Sinhalese Sport Club in Colombo (his home club) and 2382 in Galle. Those are the two highest aggregates at any single venue: Jayawardene is the only player to make 2000 Test runs on two different Test grounds.Rather surprisingly perhaps, the England opener Jack Hobbs didn’t make 1000 Test runs on any home ground, but he did amass 1178 in Melbourne: he’s still the only man to pass 1000 at an away venue.Jacques Kallis has over 1000 runs at each of four grounds in South Africa, including 2181 at Newlands, Cape Town•Getty ImagesHarry Brook has a healthy Test average of 57 after 30 matches. Where does he rank among batters after their 30th Test? asked Vinod Nair from India

England’s new vice-captain Harry Brook goes into the Ashes with a batting average of 57.55 after 30 Tests. It turns out there are 40 men who averaged 50 or more after 30 matches, and Brook lies 18th among those, not far behind Jack Hobbs (57.77), Viv Richards (58.21) and Steve Smith (58.52).Way out at the top, as regular readers will probably already have guessed, is Don Bradman, who averaged 92.30 after 30 Tests. Next comes England’s Denis Compton with 64.10, just ahead of another Australian, Michael Hussey (64.05). Six other men averaged over 60 after 30 Tests: Javed Miandad (62.38), Herbert Sutcliffe (62.33), Everton Weekes (61.21), Neil Harvey (60.92), Marnus Labuschagne (60.82) and Adam Gilchrist (60.38).I noticed that David Warner scored exactly 100 in a T20 international on his 33rd birthday. Has anyone else made a birthday ton in a T20? asked Kyle Morton from Australia

Australia’s David Warner hit 100 not out against Sri Lanka in Adelaideon October 27, 2019, his 33rd birthday. He was the second (and last to date) to score a T20 international century on his birthday, after Afghanistan’s Mohammad Shahzad, who hit 118 not out against Zimbabwe in Sharjah on January 10, 2016, his 29th birthday.Seven men have scored a birthday century in a one-day international: Vinod Kambli, Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar of India, Tom Latham and Ross Taylor of New Zealand (against Pakistan in Pallekele during the 2011 World Cup), Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka (on his 39th birthday in 2008, against Bangladesh in Karachi) and Mitchell Marsh of Australia.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Can England’s gamblers shelve their instincts to survive the cut and thrust of crucial pink-ball contest?

Vithushan Ehantharajah03-Dec-20250:54

Clarke: Australia going to a venue where they play well

On Wednesday, at around 4pm Brisbane time, the Gabba was emptied by a fire alarm.Australia had already left following their final training session, and England were yet to arrive for their last practice under lights. The only evacuees were journalists and stadium staff.It felt like a moment for all to take stock. Because, in 24 hours’ time, this ground will be filled to the brim. And by the end of the first day-night session of the second Ashes Test, the state of the series could have already changed immeasurably.Pink-ball Test cricket tends to move quickly and undulate wildly. And for an England team who do both themselves, this may be a heady mix. A cocktail, no doubt, but will it prove to be a Negroni or a Molotov?The occasion has not been lost on the players, or indeed the state of Queensland. Police have been out and about pulling over helmet-less e-Scooter riders after Ben Stokes and a handful of England teammates were papped whizzing through Brisbane’s CBD without them. Stokes was even asked to apologise to Queenslanders for the crime in his press conference. He decided against it. As trivial an offence as it was, now is not the time to be sorry. No time for regrets.The reception England will receive tomorrow will be unlike any this team have heard before. Nearby pubs have primed themselves for an influx of punters priming themselves for a 2pm start. Not that the Gabba needs more of a run-up to dive into an Ashes Test. This is the most febrile of venues at the best of times when the English are in town, and they have the receipts to prove it.Stokes has insisted history holds no fear for them. But nor does it instinctively contain breadcrumbs to success, even if Australia’s sole pink-ball defeat came at this venue last year, against West Indies. “You don’t try and read into too much around what happened in a result the last time a team played there,” Stokes said, very much in business mode.The scrum before the storm: Ben Stokes speaks to the media at the Gabba•David Gray/AFP/Getty Images”We have grounds in England where you know you turn up there and have that extra boost of confidence because of, not necessarily your record there, but how the crowds are. We’ve got Edgbaston and Headingley – I feel like the Gabba is sort of like their Edgbaston or Headingley to Australia.”In truth, Birmingham and Leeds – for all their merits as home-Test strongholds – do not come close to Brisbane. The signage is everywhere, the sentiment skewed towards taking British pounds on their way to breaking English hearts. The air is thick enough to chew, the heat harsh enough to, well, ride an e-scooter without a helmet. The locals … well, England will get the full brunt of that over the coming days. You can understand why no England side has won here since 1986. The odds are in favour of an Australia triumph again, and a 2-0 scoreline will more or less confirm a fourth Ashes victory on home soil.To keep this alive, to make this all worthwhile, Stokes’ England – for all their parking of history – will have to at least mimic aspects of the last time England left this venue with their tails up.It might only have been a draw in 2010-11’s series opener. But the manner in which it was achieved was as bombastic as English cricket used to get. Facing a first innings deficit of 221, Andrew Strauss’s England side – arguably the greatest to win in Australia – put on 517 for 1 to kill the game but keep alive their Ashes hopes.They arrived on that final day at 310 for 1, leading by 89. But the most telling statistic was the crowd; a 42,000-seater with only 7,088 taken. Most of them were English. No fire alarm this time. The message was clear – Australia did not believe. If England did not already know they were onto something going into that final day, they did when they turned up and saw that lack of home faith.That may end up being the most telling marker over the coming days – local disinterest. Since 2022, Stokes has implored his players to err on the side of entertainment. Now, they must be no things to no men or women with Southern Crosses in their hearts.Related

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There will be periods with the pink ball when they must hold firm, whether batting against the new ball, or under lights, or when bowling with the old ball, with the sun still out. They must shield from the danger, not run towards it. Should their opponents attack, they would do well not to respond with equal and opposite force, even if Sir Isaac Newton would not improve.How ironic it is that Bazball comes down to this. As close to a crapshoot you get in Test cricket, against a side whose pink-ball record suggests the dice are loaded in their favour. And one that, by and large, they will have to play safe. Their head coach Brendon McCullum often refers to himself as a gambler, one always willing to twist. Sticking might be the order of this Test. It might be the order of the series.As night fell on Wednesday, the whole team were out in the middle of the Gabba fielding under lights, getting used to the pink ball and taking in the scale of colosseum which could be the site of their rebirth in their series.Spirits are high, belief remains broadly undimmed despite the humiliating defeat in the first Test. As they walked off the field on Wednesday, they embraced their coaches, who were passing the time bowling to one another if they weren’t hitting catches.One by one they filed down the tunnel, taking in the boombox that, for the last few days, has been scoring all their preparation, as has been the case for the last three years. Tomorrow, they will be greeted by much harsher tones, and forced to confront the reality that this could be the start of the end of it all. Or it could be the start of another chance to keep this merry ride going one more time around the block.

The fast bowler has fronted up to bowl the difficult overs and emerged as the leader of the current NZ pace pack

Deivarayan Muthu08-Nov-2025Fast bowler Jacob Duffy had figures of 8-1-40-3 across the first two T20Is against West Indies in Auckland – a big plus for New Zealand on the small straight boundaries at Eden Park.Opener Brandon King tried to access the small boundary over mid-off in the first over of West Indies’ chase of 208 in the second T20I, but Duffy denied him with an outswinger that wasn’t full enough and found his outside edge. When Shai Hope, the half-centurion from the first T20I, attempted the same, Duffy got the ball to move away further and beat the outside edge.Duffy’s first nine balls in the powerplay were all dots after which a fumble in the infield allowed a single. In his third over in the powerplay, Duffy almost had Alick Athanaze chop an inswinger pitched on an in-between length back onto his stumps.Nothing full. Nothing wide. Swing both ways. And the deliveries that went straight on were so tight that batters couldn’t take liberties against them.On most days, Duffy’s new-ball spell might have been enough for New Zealand to defend 207. But on Thursday, West Indies’ power-hitters mounted a late charge. Duffy was needed again at the death.When West Indies required 30 off 12 balls, Duffy conceded back-to-back boundaries to Rovman Powell in dewy conditions at the start of the 19th over. But he managed to regroup and conceded just four runs off the last four balls. A bumper flew past Matthew Forde’s head while a yorker was squirted to short fine leg for a single.Related

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While operating with the new ball is Duffy’s stronger suit, he can also do a job at the death. With a number of New Zealand’s first-choice fast bowlers on the sidelines, including Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson, Duffy displayed skill and composure to spearhead a young and inexperienced attack. Since April 2024, Duffy has been New Zealand highest wicket-taker, with 36 strikes, and second-most economical bowler for a minimum of 200 balls bowled in the format. Mitchell Santner, the most economical New Zealand bowler during this period and the captain, was impressed.”Duff has been excellent in the last two years,” Santner said after the first T20I against West Indies. “He has taken every opportunity that has gone his way and he’s probably the leader of the pack at the moment, especially in T20 and even in white-ball with Matt Henry as well. I mean three in the powerplay is never a tough gig but he made it look easy. You come up against very strong power-hitters – Rovman Powell, [Romario] Shepherd and [Jason] Holder…”Mitchell Santner: “Duff has been excellent in the last two years”•AFP/Getty ImagesDuffy, 31, made his international debut in December 2020 in a T20I against Pakistan, also at Eden Park, eight years after his maiden T20 appearance for Otago under Brendon McCullum. More recently in August this year, he made his Test debut in Zimbabwe, more than 13 years after his first first-class match for Otago. Duffy reckons his long and hard toil in domestic cricket has steeled him for the challenges of international cricket.”I’ve played a lot of cricket, albeit not at international level but domestically,” Duffy said. “So, that definitely helps. It’s the same game but just that you’re playing against better players, so that is good. I think we all get along very well as a bowling unit and at the same time, we’ve got very different skillsets.”Whenever you look at me, KJ [Kyle Jamieson], Foulkesy [Zak Foulkes] and Smudge [Nathan Smith] on the sidelines, we all do quite different things and we help each other out in our own way. But, at the end of the day, the boys are going to put their own game plan into place but, no, we are all feeding off each other and we’re all helping each other out.”The collective effort from New Zealand’s bowlers helped defend 207, despite West Indies scoring 87 in the last five overs. Duffy stood out, fronting up to bowl the difficult overs in the powerplay and death. It’s not for nothing he was the No.1-ranked T20I bowler until recently. He is strengthening his case for next year’s T20 World Cup – with or without some of the senior quicks.

A Swiss journalist has delivered a brutal verdict on Leeds United star Noah Okafor, claiming that the forward is “not a team player” and that he “prioritises his own interests”.

The £3.7m-a-year man arrived at Elland Road in the summer and has since settled in well, but couldn’t avoid the criticism from media in his home country. Daniel Farke will be hoping that Okafor is able to quiet any of the noise this Sunday when Leeds square off against Nottingham Forest in a crucial relegation six-pointer.

Speaking to the media in his pre-match press conference, Farke urged his players to “enjoy this challenge” at the City Ground this weekend.

It’s the type of challenge that Leeds have already overcome more than once this season. Since returning to the Premier League, those in Yorkshire have picked up 11 points and have done enough to avoid the bottom three at this stage.

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Having been eased aside by Brighton & Hove Albion last time out, however, the pressure is likely to increase with a similar defeat against a struggling Forest side. It’s an early relegation six-pointer and another chance for Okafor to prove any doubters wrong.

Swiss journalist slams selfish Noah Okafor

After the forward was left out of the latest Switzerland squad, Swiss journalist Tobias Wedermann has claimed that Okafor is “not a team player” and “prioritises his own interests” in a shock rant.

The Leeds star has been in an ongoing dispute with Switzerland manager Murat Yakin since Euro 2024 and was once again snubbed for an international call ahead of the November break.

With the 2026 World Cup on the horizon, Okafor hasn’t been called up since last November and recently had his say on the situation, saying: “Since then, I never spoke with the coach, not even a phone call or a message, also with the (Swiss Football Association’s) sporting director Pierluigi Tami.

“They don’t even call me or ask me. For me, it makes no sense. I can say it makes me sad because they don’t even text me or call me to see how I am. For example, when I moved to Leeds, ‘Congrats’ or something like that, because I play now in the best league in the world.”

With two goals in seven Premier League games as one of Farke’s starting attackers, Okafor’s absence for Switzerland continues to become more baffling, and he now faces the prospect of missing the World Cup.

Farke already has his answer to Gibbs-White in "underrated" Leeds star

INEOS are now reportedly prepared to spend more than £100m to sign Raphinha from Barcelona under one circumstance at Manchester United in 2026.

The Red Devils owners have not been afraid to spend big on transfer fees in the last six months, despite their cost-saving measures off the pitch. Sir Jim Ratcliffe continues to back Ruben Amorim, who has shown signs that he could yet turn things around at Old Trafford, and that could yet result in further much-needed reinforcements.

INEOS have already seen the majority of their summer signings settle into life at Old Trafford, with Bryan Mbeumo even picking up the Premier League’s Player of the Month award for October to match Amorim’s Manager of the Month achievement. The former Brentford forward scored three goals and assisted one other to earn the award.

After watching Mbeumo pick up the award and claiming the Manager of the Month prize himself, Amorim told reporters: “The credit is not mine, the credit is for my players. They did really well, and our goal is to win the next one because it means we win football matches.”

The former Sporting CP boss, more than anyone, will be well aware that there’s still a long way to go, however, and INEOS must still back the Red Devils in the transfer market.

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On that front, those at Old Trafford have already been linked with 2026 moves for the likes of Elliot Anderson and Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic. Anderson would be a particularly impressive signing, given how he’s starred in a struggling Nottingham Forest side as of late, whilst Vlahovic would undoubtedly add depth to Amorim’s frontline.

Neither of those players would be as impressive as Raphinha though, who has scored twice against Man United throughout his career.

Man Utd prepared to spend over £100m on Raphinha

According to reports in Spain, INEOS are now prepared to spend €120m (£105m) to sign Raphinha if Man United qualify for the Champions League this season. Qualification for the competition would hand the Red Devils further financial freedom and the ability to attract stars such as the Barcelona winger.

The Brazilian would instantly become Man United’s record signing at £105m, finally dethroning the £89m fee that they paid to sign eventual flop Paul Pogba in 2016.

Unlike the Frenchman, Raphinha may well prove to be worth every penny after becoming one of the best wingers in the world at Barcelona and finishing fifth in the 2025 Ballon d’Or.

Whether a club-record bid would be enough to lure Barcelona into a sale is the big question. Manager Hansi Flick should be desperate to keep hold of his winger, having told reporters last season: “He has good dynamics with the ball and he has had an extraordinary match. His offensive and defensive dynamics, and his good technique, are something special. I have never had a player like him and he helps us a lot.”

Forget Cunha & Mbeumo: "Explosive" Man Utd star is coded for the Fergie era

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is gearing up for another important Premier League test at home to Brentford on Wednesday, looking to extend the club’s incredible unbeaten run.

Arsenal set for Brentford after 1-1 draw at Chelsea

It’s been 17 matches since the Gunners last tasted a single defeat in all competitions, and a lot has changed since that 1-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield.

Arne Slot’s English champions are now all but out of the title race, despite barely playing a third of 2025/2026, while Arsenal are flying high and five points clear atop the table.

Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest

Athletic Bilbao 0-2 Arsenal

Arsenal 1-1 Man City

Port Vale 0-2 Arsenal

Newcastle 1-2 Arsenal

Arsenal 2-0 Olympiacos

Arsenal 2-0 West Ham

Fulham 0-1 Arsenal

Arsenal 4-0 Atlético Madrid

Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace

Arsenal 2-0 Brighton

Burnley 0-2 Arsenal

Slavia Prague 0-3 Arsenal

Sunderland 2-2 Arsenal

Arsenal 4-1 Tottenham

Arsenal 3-1 Bayern Munich

Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal

10-man Chelsea came the closest to beating Arteta’s side last weekend, taking a 1-0 lead through Trevoh Chalobah at Stamford Bridge, only for in-form makeshift number nine Mikel Merino to equalise with his 20th goal this calendar year.

Arsenal’s imperious early-season has been made all the more impressive when factoring in their extensive injury list this term.

Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Magalhaes, Martin Odegaard, Leandro Trossard, Noni Madueke, William Saliba, Viktor Gyokeres, Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz have all been sidelined at various points, with Arteta doing very well to adjust.

In Havertz’s case, the £280,000-per-week star hasn’t played at all this season since Arsenal’s opening day win over Man United at Old Trafford.

The Germany international, after just coming back from a hamstring problem which kept him out for months at the back end of 2024/2025, sustained a knee injury against United, with Havertz hauled off after just half an hour.

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Havertz required surgery with the former Chelsea star working hard to come back.

Reports suggest that Havertz has impressed Arsenal rehabilitation staff with his recovery, but he still hasn’t been available since August.

Mikel Arteta without Kai Havertz for 'weeks' after Arsenal injury update

The 26-year-old was, at one point, contending to be fit for Arsenal’s 4-1 triumph over Tottenham in the North London derby (Standard Sport).

Havertz was seemingly on the verge of a return to the field, but according to Arteta in his latest pre-match press conference, it will now be ‘weeks’ before the attacker makes his long-awaited return.

News of this setback for Havertz comes as a blow for Arsenal, with Arteta yet to have the desired conundrum of choosing how to fit both him and Gyokeres into his new Arsenal system on a regular basis.

Unable to display his best throughout 2025 due to consistent injury problems, Arteta will be desperate to have Havertz available once again as soon as possible.

With both Gabriel and potentially Saliba unavailable for Brentford too, summer signings Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera will likely partner one another yet again tomorrow evening.