All posts by n8rngtd.top

The NBA has allowed players to participate in the Olympics since the 1992 Games in Barcelona. The NHL followed suit in 1998 in Nagano, Japan. The NFL will permit its players to play flag football in in Los Angeles in 2028.

That leaves Major League Baseball as the final holdout among the four major North American men's sports leagues, despite baseball's three-decade history as part of the Olympic program. On Tuesday, commissioner Rob Manfred signaled that MLB may be willing to change that.

"I think it is a opportunity to market the game on a really global stage," Manfred told reporters via the Associated Press. "Obviously the clubs are going to have to endorse this. I mean, this is a big deal."

The Olympic baseball tournament falls directly in the middle of MLB's season in July. In '28, the event will be staged over six days at Dodger Stadium.

"They put out a schedule. They tell you it's not going to move. We'll see whether there's any movement on that," Manfred said. "It is possible… to play the All-Star Game in its normal spot, have a single break that would be longer, obviously, but still play 162 games without bleeding into the middle of November."

Tottenham Hotspur are a team in transition. But this passage of action, during which Spurs will fully embrace Thomas Frank’s tactics after summer spending and a divorce with Ange Postecoglou, doesn’t have to be unsuccessful.

Because Tottenham won the Europa League last season, Ange making good on a promise, and now they are Champions League competitors once again. In the Premier League, Spurs have had a few hiccups but boast 14 points from seven fixtures, just two points and places behind pace-setters Arsenal.

This speaks of progress, Tottenham making inroads as they look to cement themselves at the front of the English top flight and ensure last season’s triumph does not prove to be a flash in the pan.

Impressive though the Londoners’ start has been, they sit 13th in the xG (expected goals) charts after seven matches. Though 13 goals have been scored, the xG total is just 7.4, which can be used to highlight the need for more fluent and incisive attacking play.

That is to say, Spurs could still do with another top-class striker.

Why Spurs still need a striker

Just one year ago, Tottenham broke their transfer record to bring over Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth for a £65m fee, add-ons included.

Last year was a struggle for Tottenham, and Solanke suffered on an individual level too, scoring only nine times in the Premier League as knee issues disrupted his year.

This term, the 27-year-old featured twice off the bench at the start of the league term before suffering an ankle injury.

Richarlison has been in red-hot form so far this season, but the Brazil international is notorious for his ebb and flow from form and confidence, and his fitness record leaves something to be desired too.

Heung-min Son’s summer departure has taken something from Tottenham; Frank lacks a goalscorer of the highest standard. Even so, Spurs are growing by the game, and when this final piece of the puzzle is found, it could be scary stuff for the rest of the Premier League.

Of course, this doesn’t necessarily have to come in the form of a big-money signing. Harry Kane graduated from the Tottenham academy before going on to become one of the deadliest goalscorers in English football history, after all.

Kane was sold to Bayern Munich two years ago, and perhaps there is still a search down N17 for the England skipper’s successor.

That said, though, some privy to Tottenham’s deadlings at youth level would suggest maybe that signature has already been penned.

Spurs have already signed the next Kane

Kane has been incredible for Bayern Munich, ending his trophy-chasing hoodoo and consolidating his position as one of the best players of his generation. This season, the 32-year-old has scored 18 goals across just ten matches in all competitions.

Replacing him has proved a tough ask, but since Kane originated from the Tottenham academy, some coaches at the club might be excited at the thought of repeating the trick with new signing Mason Melia.

Melia, 18, will join Tottenham in a deal rising to £3m in January 2026, with St Patrick’s Athletic confirming it is the record sale for an Irish Premiership side.

Not technically a part of Spurs’ youth set-up, Melia is sure to cut his teeth at development level before breaking onto the senior stage. But the early readings are promising indeed, with 94 appearances for St. Pat’s and 24 goals and eight assists to his name.

Described as “the Irish Alexander Isak” for his effortless strike of the ball and his ball-carrying ability, there’s no question that Melia has the base qualities to become a success as Frank’s frontman, with Liverpool’s new talisman widely regarded as one of the best strikers in the world.

Melia made his first-team debut in his homeland when he was only 15, and the fact that he is approaching centurion status just three years later, 18 years old, tells much of the high regard he is held in.

Twinkle-toed and innately comfortable in the final third, the Irishman has the potential to be a star. The next Kane? That’s a tough one, but his progress thus far as a professional and the likeness to Isak confirm his potential.

It is just as exciting to note that this is not a transfer target, admired and considered against the backdrop of rival interest, but a Tottenham player in all but his shirt, with the completion date now on the horizon. Melia will touch down in London and establish his craft, developing the skills which have been marked as Premier League-worthy.

And Tottenham, after all, have made landing elite-level prospects their business over the past few years. The academy scouts know when they have sighted a star in the making.

It is too soon to pass judgement on Melia, who has not even officially left his homeland to join the Lilywhites. But the talent is there, with his ranginess, movement and presence in the final third indeed leading to comparisons against Isak, the British record man.

While the Lewis family will be wary about a knee-jerk reaction, spending big on another number nine, it may be that another signing must be made to tide things over.

But, looking through a longer lens, Melia might just prove to be the next superstar in north London.

Forget Richarlison: Spurs flop is their biggest waste of money since Ndombele

Tottenham Hotspur have a player who has struggled to make the desired impact in North London.

1

By
Ethan Lamb

Oct 8, 2025

The New York Yankees acquired three relief pitchers at the MLB trade deadline, yet not even a week later and the team still has a glaring issue in the back end of its bullpen.

Devin Williams, who Aaron Boone said would remain New York's closer despite its recent influx of relievers, has been dreadful in his first season with the organization. The acquisition of Williams was expected to provide some stability to the bullpen following the departure of Clay Holmes. Instead, he's had the worst year of his career and has been a liability in high-leverage situations.

Williams owns a 5.10 ERA with 55 strikeouts, 17 walks and four home runs surrendered across 46 appearances. He has 17 saves in 20 save opportunities, but has surrendered at least one run in each of his last three outings.

One glaring stat from Williams's numbers this year pops out as particularly worrisome, however. During his time with the Brewers, Williams surrendered a total of 48 earned runs across six seasons and 235 2/3 innings. He let up just 26 runs over his last three years with the organization, as he emerged as one of baseball's best relievers. In his first 42 1/3 innings with the Yankees, however, Williams has already been tagged for 24 earned runs.

Per Codify Baseball, Williams surrendered 24 earned runs in his final 145 appearances for Milwaukee, and has now allowed 24 earned runs in his first 46 appearances for New York.

Despite his struggles, Aaron Boone has continued to deploy him as the Yankees' primary closer, and said he intends to continue to do so despite trading for David Bednar and Camilo Doval. Whether that stance changes if Williams' woes continue remains to be seen.

It has not been the season Chelsea fans would have been hoping for in the summer so far this year.

With nine games played in the Premier League, Enzo Maresca’s side are currently sat in ninth, with four wins, two draws and three losses to their name.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom as the club are without several of their star players, and for the most part, those that are fit have looked impressive.

Moreover, one star in particular is starting to embody some of the qualities that the legendary Frank Lampard had, and now, it’s not Moises Caicedo.

Chelsea's greatest players in the Premier League

Chelsea have been blessed with some of the greatest players in Premier League history, and while there are so many to choose from, there are usually three that stand out above the rest.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

The third player on that list is none other than the iconic Didier Drogba.

The Ivorian legend joined the Blues from Marseille in the summer of 2004, left in 2012, and then rejoined for a year in July 2014.

During his time with the club, the sensational striker racked up 164 goals and 82 assists in 381 games and had a real habit of scoring crucial goals in finals.

By the time he left Stamford Bridge for the second time, the 47-year-old had won four league titles, one Champions League, three league cups and four FA Cups.

Now, this is where it might get a little controversial, as while he could easily go down as the club’s greatest player in the Premier League era, Lampard comes in second on this list.

The game-changing midfielder joined the club in 2001 and finally left in 2014, with a tally of 211 goals and 149 assists in 648 games and one UCL, one Europa League, three leagues, two league cups and four FA Cups.

Moreover, the 106-capped Englishman remains the top-scoring midfielder in the league’s history and has more than his fair share of iconic strikes for the West Londoners.

Finally, when it comes to the number one player for Chelsea in the PL era, it’s impossible to ignore Mr Chelsea himself, John Terry.

The legendary defender made 717 appearances for the side between 1998 and 2017, and despite playing as a centre-back, racked up a tally of 67 goals and 27 assists.

Moreover, his trophy cabinet is the most impressive of them all, containing five league titles, five FA Cups, one UCL, one UEL and three League Cups.

However, while Terry remains the greatest Chelsea player of the modern era, the legend being emulated by one of Maresca’s current players is Lampard.

The Chelsea player emulating Lampard

Now, there will be plenty of you who’d make the assumption that the player in question is Caicedo.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

After all, while he’s not as attacking as Lampard was, the Ecuadorian is a sensational midfielder who has a brilliant strike on him.

However, the current Chelsea star who is starting to emulate Lampard’s game is Reece James.

The first significant area where the 25-year-old overlaps with the Blues legend is leadership.

He was named club captain in the summer of 2023, at just 23 years old, and since then has fought tooth and nail to overcome constant injury problems and is now consistently demonstrating that he has what it takes to lead this squad.

Moreover, thanks to his coming up through the academy, he has a closer connection to the fans, which is something the legendary midfielder also had during his time at the club, even though he came up through West Ham United’s Rush Green.

Furthermore, so long as he remains fit, he now feels like a shoo-in for that right-back position in England’s World Cup squad, and could therefore go on to become as important to the Three Lions as Lampard was during his day.

With that said, the Redbridge-born monster could also see himself pick up some minutes in the middle of the park, as he’s no stranger to filling in there for the West Londoners, thanks largely to his having a decent shot on and sensational delivery on him.

Now, he’s never going to be as prolific a goalscorer as the former Blues star was, but that ability to whip a ball into the mixer and cause chaos is something he certainly shares with him.

Finally, aside from a loan spell with Wigan Athletic, the “joke of a footballer,” as dubbed by reporter Felix Johnston, has spent his entire career with the Pensioners, already racking up an impressive tally of 205 appearances.

Therefore, so long as he keeps performing and staying fit, he could end up finishing his career with a huge number of games played for the Blues and become a legend himself, just like Lampard.

Ultimately, there is a long way to go, but in James, Chelsea have an international superstar who could end up joining the pantheon of greats who have come before him.

Forget Guiu: Maresca can unleash Chelsea's "new Drogba" in 18-year-old star

The incredible youngster could become a world-beater like Drogba for Enzo Maresca and Chelsea.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Oct 28, 2025

Chelsea take on Burnley this weekend as Enzo Maresca looks to spearhead a possible Premier League title challenge, with the Blues lying just six points behind table-toppers Arsenal.

Chelsea travel to Turf Moor on Saturday looking to maintain their impressive form against the top flight newcomers.

The Blues currently sit third in the Premier League table, having enjoyed an unbeaten run of four games in all competitions before the international break. Despite some criticism, perhaps overblown at times, Chelsea are in pretty good stead right now, having lost just three times in their 12 outings.

The visitors will be strong favourites against a Burnley side languishing in 17th, with the Clarets enduring four defeats in their last six league games. They haven’t even kept a clean sheet in their previous three, and even more concerning for Scott Parker’s side, Burnley now have the third-worst defence in the division this campaign with 22 goals conceded in 11 matches.

However, Chelsea’s title challenge has been hampered by injuries, particularly to their talismanic forward Cole Palmer.

Palmer has been plagued by a niggling groin issue which even caused him problems at the Club World Cup, limiting him to just four appearances in all competitions this season. Maresca confirmed Palmer would miss another six weeks before the 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest last month, though Chelsea are hoping the England international will be back from injury to face Arsenal on November 30 (Simon Phillips).

Injuries and absentees have been a key theme of their campaign so far, with Palmer, Levi Colwill, Benoit Badiashile, Enzo Fernández, Pedro Neto, Roméo Lavia, Dario Essugo, Liam Delap, Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Tosin Adarabioyo, Trevoh Chalobah, Andrey Santos and Josh Acheampong all missing games at various points so far.

This has prompted Maresca to make the most squad rotations of any Premier League manager so far this season with 93, and it could well be a symptom of their extensive fixture schedule last campaign.

Their current injury list includes Palmer, Essugo, Colwill, Badiashile, Lavia and Neto, with Fernandez ruling himself out of Argentina duty as well.

The latter, who has dazzled since Maresca’s arrival as a key linchpin of Chelsea’s midfield, has now become a crucial player for the west Londoners.

Fernandez is attracting interest from Real Madrid as a result, according to some reports, and supporters have been waiting for an update when it comes to his condition.

Chelsea given Enzo Fernández update ahead of Burnley

According to journalist Simon Phillips, the situation is fairly positive.

While Fernandez has been struggling with knee pain, it is believed that the 24-year-old is expected to be available for Chelsea’s trip to Lancashire this weekend in what is a big boost for Maresca’s side.

Fernandez has emerged as a ‘leader’ at Chelsea who has ‘a bit of everything’, as per Sky pundit Micah Richards, and he’s poised to play a crucial role in Chelsea’s hunt for major silverware.

With Barcelona in the Champions League just days after Burnley and Arsenal the weekend after, having Fernandez fit and firing will be absolutely pivotal.

The midfielder has been deployed in an attacking position when Chelsea are in possession, but drops back alongside Moises Caicedo to defend without the ball, creating a hybrid role that has seriously unlocked Fernandez’s true potential after initially failing to justify his £107 million price tag.

Remarkably, Fernandez is the only player at Chelsea to have 20 direct goal contributions in 2025, scoring 10 goals and providing 10 assists, with Maresca describing him as an ‘example’ to the team.

Bumrah did Bumrah things. Australia wobbled. Catches went down. Australia rallied. And, to close things out, Bumrah overstepped. It was a day of promise and pain for India and their relentless spearhead

Alagappan Muthu29-Dec-20241:34

Are India bowling Bumrah into the ground?

Jasprit Bumrah buckled.He was the only one still pitch side. Everybody had left. He wasn’t moving.One-hundred and forty overs in the series. Nine spells in the day. Bumrah had shouldered that burden like it was nothing. He kept pushing himself and pushing himself – because his team needed him, and he often answers that call – and he ended up overstepping. Nathan Lyon, instead of becoming the final Australian wicket to fall, hit him for four to end play.Related

• Jaiswal dismissed as third umpire sees 'conclusive evidence' to overturn not-out decision

• Labuschagne digs deep to handle Bumrah's heat

• Bumrah gets to 200 wickets with best average in Test cricket

• Advantage Australia as batting gets harder at the MCG?

• Allrounder Reddy wants more: 'Not happy with my bowling'

Bumrah slowed down in his follow through. He came to a full stop halfway down the pitch, just off to the left, dropped both of his hands down to his knees and just stood there, slumped over.It took a while for India to notice something was off. Nitish Kumar Reddy was the first to do so. He went up to the umpires, who had also begun to make their way off the field, to collect his team-mate’s cap and glasses. KL Rahul then came over. Rishabh Pant too. And Mohammed Siraj. All of them had reason to believe things might have turned out differently.India had Australia at 91 for 6 at the MCG.Bumrah, in his second over, made sure they couldn’t touch half the balls he bowled. In the next one, he lined ’em up. And Usman Khawaja was beaten back to back to back.One good ball just wouldn’t do.Jasprit Bumrah put in quite a shift on day four at the MCG•Quinn Rooney/Getty ImagesRohit Sharma wound his bowlers up with everything from sweet talk to telling offs. On his way back to first slip after these conversations, he would obsess over his field, pulling cover straighter, or midwicket closer. Once, he pointed at the exact spot where he wanted silly point to be.Everything had to be perfect. Marnus Labuschagne and Rahul could have shook hands if they weren’t so distracted by playing some of the best cricket seen in ages.Virat Kohli was liberal with his thoughts about various field placements. There was constant chatter between the former captain and the current one. One of those chats took place as Kohli traced a curious right-angle path from leg slip to Rohit at first slip. It brought him almost face to face with Khawaja who was walking off towards square leg in between deliveries.India didn’t want the batter getting any respite.But it did come. Australia’s last four wickets added 137 runs to push their lead up to 333. Their No. 10 and 11 enjoyed five straight overs of spin towards the end of the day on a pitch barely taking any. Their top-scorer could’ve been dismissed for 46 instead of 70. Their first (of two) fifty-run stand of the innings would never have happened if Yashasvi Jaiswal had been a little more alert at gully.

There was a level of performance that India expected of themselves on the fourth day of the Boxing Day Test. It doesn’t really have a word for it. Perfection feels a sterile description, particularly because so much of it was driven by emotion. A compulsion to fight. A desperation to win.

Rohit saw it all happen and couldn’t hide his frustration. He spun off to the side and slapped the air. Jaiswal once again had a chance to dismiss Pat Cummins for 21 but couldn’t hold on. Rohit spun off to the side once more with his eyes screwed shut and his hands on his head. He’d teased Jaiswal about not staying low enough at bad-pad positions earlier in the series. Even if he had stayed low here, it wouldn’t have been easy to take it. The ball came pretty quickly to Jaiswal, right off the middle of Cummins’ bat, but creating and converting half chances were India’s way back into this Test match and they seemed so up for it.They made an important tactical change.Akash Deep has been generating false shots more frequently than any bowler on this tour. Thirty per cent of his deliveries have put the batter in trouble, which is more than even Bumrah (29%). So India gave him the new ball. The pressure the two of them created made Australia take chances against the first-change bowler, Siraj.Khawaja tried to drive him on the up and got bowled. There was a little bit of skill involved here, a set up where the left-hander was conditioned to the wobble seam going away from him, and then all of a sudden one straightened against the angle. Steven Smith tried to smash him as well but this time a little bit of extra bounce took the ball past the middle of the bat and instead took the top edge through to the keeper. Siraj has been averaging 33.3 over the first seven innings of this series. With a little help from his friends – and the opposition – he brought that number down to 22.Usman Khawaja was given a life by Yashasvi Jaiswal early on•AFP/Getty ImagesThe crowd at the MCG was only half as strong as the previous three days – 43,867 – but a majority of them were in India blue. So this time Siraj didn’t get booed (as much). He got chants. “D-S-P! D-S-P! D-S-P” Following India’s victory at the T20 World Cup earlier this year, Siraj was offered a government post by the chief minister of Telangana. He was, officially, a Deputy Superintendent of Police.There was a level of performance that India expected of themselves on the fourth day of the Boxing Day Test. It doesn’t really have a word for it. Perfection feels a sterile description, particularly because so much of it was driven by emotion. A compulsion to fight. A desperation to win. And many perceived injustices to set right. Sam Konstas had riled the crowd up against India so Bumrah knocked him over and celebrated it by mimicking his hand-waving. Siraj asked Australia to shush when he struck for the first time. Travis Head was given zero room to work with. He was also bounced first ball.For two sessions, they were as good as can be. And then, for some reason, one of their best bowlers in the game couldn’t bowl until the last 15 minutes, and those two overs seemed like a last resort. Akash Deep rapped Scott Boland on the pads with his first ball of the final session but the ball was just missing leg stump. Their catching let them down. And right at the very end came that gut-punch. Their best bowler, their world-beater securing the mistake they needed to get that last wicket – his fifth wicket – and end the day on a high… only for it to happen off a no-ball.One of many standout things about Bumrah is that he plays with a smile on his face. Hopefully someone’s been able to put it back in place, because there’s still one more day of this Test left and it is not beyond the realm of possibility that he’ll be out there deciding the course it takes.

Shohei Ohtani's greatness is often difficult to comprehend.

But Blue Jays manager John Schneider's strategy in attempting to limit Ohtani—who belted two home runs in Los Angeles's Game 3 marathon victory—by not pitching to him at all may have been a window into understanding just how unfathomably good Ohtani is.

Opposing managers can tell you with a straight face that they would rather deal with a former American League MVP and batting champion in Mookie Betts and a former National League MVP and World Series MVP in Freddie Freeman than pitch to Ohtani. The crazier part is, it makes sense!

The Dodgers two-way superstar was intentionally walked four times on Monday night, as Schneider had seen enough of Blue Jays pitchers attempting to get him out en route to Ohtani racking up four extra base hits earlier in the contest.

And Schneider made it clear this wasn't a one-off.

Would Schneider continue to intentionally walk Ohtani?

"Yeah," Schneider said when asked if his strategy towards Ohtani is what "we should expect moving forward." If anyone understands the strategic dilemma that Ohtani presents to Schneider, it's Ohtani's own manager Dave Roberts.

Roberts understands why Schneider won't pitch to Ohtani

"No—It’s—I get it," Roberts said of Schneider indicating he'll continue to intentionally walk Ohtani. "He’s the best player on the planet and he was on the heels of a huge offensive night and John smelled that and wasn’t going to let Sho beat him at all obviously. And even when nobody’s on base and putting him on to make the other guys beat him…

"And fortunately we have other guys behind Shohei that can still do some things…"

Here's how the other guys—Betts and Freeman—have fared against Blue Jays pitching compared to Ohtani through three World Series games.

Certainly seems like a worthwhile strategy for the Blue Jays. But it's not like Schneider is exactly jumping for joy at the prospect of pitching to Betts and Freeman, the latter of who won Monday night's game with a walk-off homer.

"His performance was really good," Schneider said. "He's arguably the best player on the planet. I think you kind of react in real time a little bit. Again, they have a really talented lineup. It's not the easiest thing in the world to just walk him and face Mookie and Freddie… So every situation is different.

"You got to really execute at a high level against him. And I think the first couple games we did. I know he hit the homer off of Fish [Braydon Fisher] in Game 1, but I think that we executed pretty well minus today. He's a great player and he took some really good swings today."

There's a fair argument that the Blue Jays shouldn't pitch to Ohtani again this series. We'll find out how they approach him in Game 4 at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday night.

We pick out the major talking points from South Africa’s upcoming ODI series against India

Deivarayan Muthu10-Mar-2020Focus on India’s comeback men
Hello again, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Shikhar Dhawan. The last time the trio played an ODI together was against Australia in the World Cup in the UK last year. Pandya, India’s premier allrounder, has since undergone surgery for a long-standing back problem, and Kumar too underwent an operation for hernia. As for Dhawan, his World Cup ended after that Australia game, and subsequently, he has had some freak injuries, the latest being a shoulder complaint. But all three players have tuned up for this series by playing in the 20-over DY Patil tournament, an invitational event, in Mumbai.The big question is, can the trio cope with the heavy demands of international cricket immediately on return? Jasprit Bumrah, who had come back from injury against Sri Lanka in January, is still feeling his way back into international cricket. With the IPL to quickly follow this three-match series, Pandya, Kumar and Dhawan will look to prove their fitness and form as the T20 World Cup in Australia nears.Shaw v Gill
Prithvi Shaw got decent starts in all three ODIs in New Zealand, but could not make them count. His recent history of fitness isn’t great, and he was run-out for 40 in the third ODI in Mount Maunganui last month, when a relatively easy double was on the cards. Despite all of that, Shaw will be the frontrunner to partner Dhawan at the top, and might find life easier on the flatter one-day tracks at home against a South Africa attack that is missing both Kagiso Rabada and Tabraiz Shamsi.Meanwhile, Shubman Gill has been out of the ODI side for over a year, having made his debut in New Zealand in 2019. Gill has the game and gears to slot into the middle order too – as he has done for India A and Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL before – but there isn’t enough space there, especially considering the return of Pandya and the form of both Ravindra Jadeja and Manish Pandey. Therefore, Gill might have to wait for his turn at the top.ALSO READ: Middle-order spots up for grabs as SA prepare for IndiaBavuma v Malan
Much like the India’s team management, South Africa’s too will have to make a choice at the top. Temba Bavuma had missed the entirety of the T20I series at home against Australia and was later rested for the last ODIs as he continued his rehab after sustaining a hamstring strain. He has reinvented his white-ball game over the summer, and made some particularly strong contributions opening the batting in the T20Is against England. He had also been in good nick in the Mzansi Super League, hitting 232 runs in six innings at a strike rate of a just a shade under 135 for Jozi Stars.ALSO READ: My brother, the dragon slayer – Andre on Janneman MalanWhen Bavuma was on an injury-enforced break from the South Africa side, Janneman Malan made his ODI debut against Australia, and bagged a first-ball duck. However, in his second outing, he bounced back in spectacular fashion, making an unbeaten 129 in a velvet-smooth chase for South Africa. Malan had a more productive MSL than Bavuma, and was in fact the second-highest scorer in the league, with 358 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of nearly 150.Is Klaasen now the real deal?
Heinrich Klaasen had missed the cut for the World Cup last year, and his ODI record before the recent series against Australia read: 14 matches, 251 runs, a solitary fifty-plus score, at an average of 22.81. Then came the series against Australia, and three fifty-plus scores, including a maiden century, saw his average and international stock skyrocket. Klaasen also has the reputation of being an excellent player against spin; just ask Yuzvendra Chahal. South Africa’s middle order is packed with options – former captain Faf du Plessis and Rassie van der Dussen are back for this tour – but Klaasen has made himself undroppable.South Africa’s inexperienced attack
No Rabada, who is recovering from injury. No Shamsi, who also has IPL experience and is on paternal leave. Keshav Maharaj, the left-arm fingerspinner and a Test regular, has now been thrown into the ODI mix after a chart-topping 16 wickets in the Momentum one-day Cup. Maharaj performed the holding role quite well and even took the new ball against Australia, but might be expected to attack more in India. However, he has played a mere seven ODIs and George Linde, the other specialist spinner, is still uncapped in limited-overs cricket.On the pace front, however, South Africa can count on Lungi Ngidi, who is fresh off a career-best 6 for 58, and his good friend Andile Phehlukwayo, who also has some deceptive variations in his repertoire. It remains to be seen if Anrich Nortje, who can consistently hit speeds north of 140kph and generate steep bounce, can create the kind of impact that Kyle Jamieson did in New Zealand. Lutho Sipamla, the Warriors quick, is another promising prospect, but the overall inexperience in South Africa’s attack is quite glaring.

Six of the Blast’s eight oldest teams reached the quarter-finals

Matt Roller30-Sep-2020Chennai Super Kings were mocked as ‘Dad’s Army’ after the 2018 IPL auction, with 11 players over the age of 30 in their squad. They won the tournament that season, and would have retained it in 2019 but for a 35-year-old Lasith Malinga nailing a final-ball yorker.In this year’s BPL, 37-year-olds Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Irfan led the way with bat and ball respectively for Rajshahi Royals on their way to the title, supported by Andre Russell, a spring chicken at 31. In the CPL, Trinbago Knight Riders won every match on their way to the title, with 31-year-old Darren Bravo the youngest of their four leading run-scorers and 38-year-old Fawad Ahmed their top wicket-taker.”Old blokes win stuff,” Dan Christian (37) tweeted to congratulate Dwayne Bravo (36) on reaching 500 T20 wickets, soon after arriving in the UK to captain Nottinghamshire in the T20 Blast. Christian’s Notts side have been the oldest team in the competition so far: they won seven and lost one in the group stage, and go into the quarter-finals as the bookies’ favourites.

Old blokes win stuff @DJBravo47 https://t.co/mAv9jT1NQK

— Dan Christian (@danchristian54) August 27, 2020

If the Bob Willis Trophy provided young players with a platform – there were some 30 first-class debutants across the competition – then the Blast has lived up to the adage that old age and treachery will always beat youth and exuberance. Six of the competition’s eight oldest teams have reached the quarter-finals, and teams are banking on their seniors to step up.”You can’t buy experience,” Imad Wasim, Notts’ other overseas player, said. “The more you play, the more you can deliver in tough situations. We have a lot of players who have played a lot of T20 cricket.”The XIs that Notts have fielded across the tournament have an average age above 30 years old; that figure would have been higher still but for the injury-enforced absence of Harry Gurney, 33. And even their young players are experienced: Ben Duckett (25), Joe Clarke (24) and Tom Moores (24) have 228 T20 appearances between them.