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The likelihood of a comfortable 2-0 series win can’t disguise the frailty in the hosts’ line-up

Firdose Moonda04-Jan-2021South Africa knew 621 was a mirage.Their score at SuperSport Park, built on former captain Faf du Plessis’ 199, seemed too good to be true … because it was. A depleted Sri Lanka were down to one frontline bowler for parts of that innings and, although it still took application to get runs on the board, the challenge of scoring them was greatly reduced.But does that mean 84 for 9 is reality?Bearing in mind the context (the collapse came after South Africa had reached 218 for 1, 61 runs ahead with oodles of batting to come) and the circumstances (the Wanderers surface quickened up on day two and the ball was moving around substantially) and you might be tempted to call it an aberration. But look at recent history, and you will have to question whether this showing at the Wanderers simply reflects the true state of South Africa’s batting.Last season, South Africa lost five wickets for less than 100 runs at some point in all 14 Test innings against India and England, and five for less than 50 runs in seven of those. Wickets fell in clumps at every stage of their innings, bookended by the tail folding in Vizag and the top and middle order stumbling at the Wanderers. And there are no mitigating circumstances, such as unplayable surfaces, to justify their performances. The pitches in India were good enough for the hosts to register seven centuries in the series between them, while at home, England scored three hundreds to South Africa’s zero.Lack of confidence appears to be South Africa’s biggest issue at present, with a few players in need of technical tweaks, and it’s something that can only be fixed with form. The domestic competition provides a place for players to re-find their feet, as it did for Aiden Markram and Dean Elgar who both scored first-class centuries (Markam has three) in the lead-up to this series.Related

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It’s not surprising then, that in such a run-desert, Elgar has been the oasis. Since January 2019, Elgar has scored more runs than all the other openers combined and is second only to Quinton de Kock among the rest of the line-up. Take de Kock, Elgar and Faf du Plessis away and no South African batsmen has scored more than 367 Test runs in the last two years, which suggests that the newcomers are not making the step up as well as it was hoped they might.Markram has just made his return from injury (although there had been pressure mounting on him before he broke his hand and then his finger) so we’ll cut him some slack and put the the spotlight on Rassie van der Dussen and Temba Bavuma, who are both being spoken about as candidates for the Test captaincy and have to start converting.Van der Dussen is newer on the international scene and has done better so far, especially in this Test with a knock that started patiently and built promisingly. After waiting 25 balls for his first run yesterday afternoon, he showed his strength on the pull and the drive this morning and though he was dropped on 44, once he got his half-century, it didn’t seem there was too much in the way of him carrying on. Then, he was strangled down the leg-side, attempting one swipe too many. Van der Dussen has now gone 43 international innings across all formats without a century, even though he appears to have the temperament to score many.Bavuma’s drought is much longer – five years almost to the day – since his only Test century and the concern around him now is the ways he has been getting out. After walking at SuperSport Park, he shouldered arms to an in-ducker when he should have offered a shot. By the time Bavuma was dismissed, Sri Lanka were already well into the tail so perhaps there’s little more he could have done, but a handy not-out would have done his average some good and showed a level of responsibility.Vishwa Fernando celebrates his maiden five-wicket haul•AFP via Getty ImagesCredit must go to Sri Lanka’s attack for showing glimpses of what could have been had more of their first-choice players been available to them through this series. Vishwa Fernando, who was the leading wicket-taker when Sri Lanka beat South Africa two years ago built on that with his maiden five-for and has now taken more wickets than any other Sri Lankan seamer in South Africa.Vishwa found seam movement and, for the most part, pitched it up and lured the South African batsmen in the channel outside off. De Kock and Nortje both nicked off that way. Equally impressive was debutant Asitha Fernando, who made good use of the bounce with back-of-a-length deliveries – one so short it sconed Lungi Ngidi – and deserved at least one more wicket. Van der Dussen was dropped off Asitha’s bowling.But Sri Lanka’s find of the tour must be Dasun Shanaka, who last played a Test three years before this series, and was expected to be a bit-part bowler in this series. Instead, he stood up in an injury crisis at Supersport Park, and snagged van der Dussen and du Plessis to open South Africa up here. His set-up of du Plessis, with a lifter on the penultimate ball of his 12th over and a fuller one with the final ball, to have him caught behind for 8, was when the momentum of the innings switched camps. Van der Dussen had fallen four overs before, de Kock went the over after, and Sri Lanka had South Africa by the neck. They went on to force a choke, but it has probably come too late.Dimuth Karunaratne has pushed them into a lead but, with three days left in the match, it will need to swell closer to 300 to raise realistic expectations of an upset. But that doesn’t mean the hosts don’t have things to think about, especially ahead of a visit to Pakistan and three Tests against Australia, in which a collapse will surely have greater consequences than it did here.

واصل منتخب الأردن تألقه في بطولة كأس العرب 2025، بعدما حقق فوزًا جديدًا ومستحقًا على نظيره الكويتي بنتيجة 3-1 في المواجهة التي احتضنها استاد أحمد بن علي مساء اليوم السبت، ضمن منافسات الجولة الثانية من دور المجموعات.

ودخل “النشامى” اللقاء بثقة عالية بعد انتصاره في الجولة الأولى على الإمارات، فيما كان المنتخب الكويتي يبحث عن فوزه الأول عقب تعادله أمام مصر.

بدأ المنتخب الأردني المباراة بضغط هجومي واضح، تُوّج بتسجيل الهدف الأول في الدقيقة 17، حين أطلق مهند أبو طه تسديدة قوية من خارج منطقة الجزاء بقدمه اليسرى، لتستقر الكرة في الزاوية اليمنى لحارس الكويت الذي اكتفى بالمشاهدة أمام جمال ودقة التصويبة.

ومع بداية الشوط الثاني، وتحديدًا عند الدقيقة 49، عزز الأردن تقدمه بهدف ثانٍ حمل توقيع سعيد الروسان، وجاء الهدف بعد ركلة ركنية نتج عنها ارتباك واضح في دفاع الكويت ومحاولة تشتيت غير مكتملة، لتتهيأ الكرة أمام الروسان الذي سددها بقوة مباشرة نحو الشباك، معلنًا الهدف الثاني بطريقة رائعة.

وفي الدقيقة 84 استطاع منتخب الكويت تقليص الفارق وتسجيل هدف رائع عن طريق اللاعب يوسف ناصر، الذي استقبل عرضية متقنة من الجبهة اليمنى ارتقى إليها ناصر وأسكن الكرة الشباك.

وسجل المنتخب الأردني الهدف الثالث عن طريق ركلة جزاء في الدقيقة الأخيرة من الوقت بدلًا من الضائع من أحداث المباراة، سددها اللاعب علي علوان بطريقة رائعة على يمين حارس الكويت.

طالع أيضًا | المنتخبات المتأهلة إلى دور الـ8 من كأس العرب 2025 (محدث باستمرار)

بهذا الفوز، رفع منتخب الأردن رصيده إلى 6 نقاط محققًا العلامة الكاملة، ليضمن بذلك التأهل رسميًا إلى الدور التالي قبل خوض مباراته المقبلة أمام منتخب مصر في قمة مرتقبة.

أما منتخب الكويت، فتجمد رصيده عند نقطة واحدة، وينتظر باهتمام نتيجة مواجهة مصر والإمارات التي ستلعب لاحقًا، والتي سيكون لها دور كبير في تحديد شكل المنافسة داخل المجموعة. أهداف مباراة الأردن والكويت في كأس العرب

Manchester United are now preparing a huge bid for a “sensational” midfielder, who is now their priority target, with Ruben Amorim personally keen.

Man Utd readying move for midfielder after Scholes' Mainoo comments

Paul Scholes has recently made it clear he believes Kobbie Mainoo needs to leave his boyhood club, given a lack of game time this season, saying: “For his football career he has to leave Man United. He has lost 18 months of development.

“I hope he goes abroad, it is embarrassing if he goes to Chelsea. They might go and get him, as they are putting together a very good young squad. They keep buying young players and the right good young players.”

Mainoo is still yet to start a Premier League game, although he did impress after coming on as a second-half substitute in the 4-1 rout of Wolverhampton Wanderers last time out.

The Englishman’s most recent display may give Amorim something to think about, but with his future up in the air, the Red Devils have now set their sights on a new central midfielder.

That is according to a report from Spain, which states Man United are now preparing a €100m (£87m) bid for Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton, who has been identified as their ‘absolute priority’ target in the middle of the park.

Amorim is personally keen on signing the England international, with bringing in a new central midfielder deemed essential, given that Casemiro is likely to leave upon the expiration of his contract next summer.

Crystal Palace are reluctant to sell one of their prized assets, but there is now growing interest, with Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur also keen.

Signing "sensational" Wharton would soften blow of Mainoo leaving

It is always bitterly disappointing when an academy graduate leaves, especially one as talented as Mainoo, with the 20-year-old playing a major role in United winning the 2024 FA Cup, scoring against Manchester City in the final.

That said, it would be understandable if the youngster wanted to leave, amid interest from reigning Serie A champions Napoli, given that his development is being stifled by a lack of game time, featuring for just 183 minutes in the Premier League this season.

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Signing Wharton could soften the blow of losing Mainoo, however, with the Palace star a similar age to the Stockport-born midfielder at 21, and he has put in some top-quality performances this season.

Most recently, the Englishman chipped in with an assist as Palace won 2-1 away at Fulham, while he has also impressed at international level, making three key passes and maintaining a 91% pass-completion rate in the Three Lions’ 2-0 win against Albania last month.

Having proven himself for club and country, Wharton could be an excellent addition for Man United, and it is exciting news that a bid is being prepared.

Celtic were saved by their captain yet again on Saturday night when they were heading for a drab 0-0 draw away at St Mirren before Callum McGregor stepped up with seconds remaining.

The Hoops skipper picked the ball up from range in the 95th minute and unleashed a screamer of a shot that nestled in the top corner to secure all three points for the visitors.

Up until that point, Martin O’Neill’s side had struggled to show much in the way of quality against St Mirren, despite holding 73% of the possession, per Sofascore, which is why the game was tied with seconds remaining.

The hosts even created a ‘big chance’ from one of their 13 shots on goal, but, thankfully, they were unable to convert any of the opportunities that they created on the night.

Celtic, meanwhile, did not create a single ‘big chance’ from their 16 efforts against St Mirren, per Sofascore, which is why they needed a long-range strike from their captain to win the match.

Whilst McGregor’s sensational strike from distance bailed the club out in general, the skipper also bailed out several of his underperforming teammates on the night.

Celtic's worst performers against St Mirren

It would be remiss of us to speak about the worst performers on the night without starting with the player who was withdrawn from the match after 45 minutes, Johnny Kenny.

The Ireland international, who scored four goals in four matches for Celtic before Saturday’s game, won just one duel and lost possession six times from 17 touches in the first half, per Sofascore, as he failed to provide a focal point up front.

Kenny’s withdrawal meant that Daizen Maeda moved into the centre-forward role, after starting out wide. However, he ended the 90 minutes with two out of seven duels won, no key passes, and no shots on target, per Sofascore, which illustrates his ineffectiveness in the final third.

As you can see in the table above, Sebastian Tounekti and Maeda both struggled out wide, and the latter up front in the second 45, throughout the game against St Mirren.

These statistics show that all three of the forwards who started on Saturday night failed to do enough to suggest that O’Neill should keep them in place for the club’s trip to play Feyenoord in the Europa League on Thursday evening.

Tounekti, Maeda, and Kenny were not the only underperforming Celtic players who failed to provide enough quality on the pitch against the Saints, though, as one Hoops flop is now looking like the new Luis Palma.

Chalkboard

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

Supporters will likely remember Palma, who is currently on loan at Lech Poznan, as a player who made a fast start to life in Glasgow before falling off and eventually being deemed surplus to requirements.

The Honduras international produced seven goals and nine assists, with 14 ‘big chances’ created, in 28 Scottish Premiership games during the 2023/24 campaign for the club, per Sofascore.

Unfortunately, though, the winger followed that up with a return of zero goals and zero assists in eight league matches the following season before being sent out on loan to Olympiacos for the second half of the campaign.

Whilst his fall-off this term may not be quite as drastic as Palma’s was, Celtic central midfielder Reo Hatate appears to be heading in the same direction.

Why Reo Hatate should be dropped by Celtic

The Japan international was a sensation in the middle of the park for the Scottish giants in the 2024/25 campaign with a return of nine goals and 14 ‘big chances’ created in 37 outings in the Premiership, per Sofascore.

Hatate provided regular quality at the top end of the pitch with his ability to make a difference as both a scorer and a creator of goals, as evidenced by his statistics, and that made him a vital player for Brendan Rodgers.

This season, however, the 28-year-old star has failed to deliver consistent quality in midfield for Celtic, with the clash against St Mirren being his latest underwhelming performance, which is why he should be ruthlessly dropped by O’Neill.

The Japanese midfielder, who was described as “sloppy” by ex-Hoops boss Neil Lennon during the game against Sturm Graz in the Europa League, ended the night with no shots on target, no ‘big chances’ created, and a duel success rate of 20% (1/5), per Sofascore.

This shows that his performance was lacking in both quality and physicality, as he lost 80% of his physical tussles without providing any moments of genuine quality on the ball, and that has not been a rare occurrence for him this season.

As you can see in the table above, Hatate’s performances have dropped off since the end of last season, as he is scoring and creating goals far less frequently for the Premiership champions.

The Japan international’s last league goal for the club came against Aberdeen on the 10th August, and he has only produced two goals – including one penalty – and one assist in 18 appearances in all competitions this term, per Transfermarkt.

His concerning drop-off in form this season suggests that he may be on the road to becoming the next Palma, as a once supreme talent who now looks too inconsistent to be reliable to the Celtic manager.

Therefore, O’Neill should ruthlessly drop the central midfielder from the starting line-up to face Feyenoord away from home, as the Hoops may need quality and physicality to beat their Dutch opponents, and Hatate did not show either against St Mirren.

Nancy can forget Maeda by making £325k-per-week star his 1st Celtic signing

Celtic’s potential new manager could forget about Daizen Maeda by signing this reported transfer target.

By
Dan Emery

Nov 18, 2025

The Minnesota Twins honored their six-time MLB All-Star and 2009 American League MVP Joe Mauer with a statue outside of Target Field in Minneapolis on Sunday.

Mauer, 41, is a St. Paul native and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2024 as a first-ballot entry. Now, he's enshrined in his city, steps outside of the Twins' ballpark.

“To think I’m bronzed here at Target Field in Minnesota, it means more to me than you guys will ever know,” Mauer said to a crowd as he stood beside his new statue Sunday via MLB.com. “Obviously it was a big summer last year, going into Cooperstown—that was just an unbelievable experience. But to see myself here, this isn’t going to be moving for a long time. Here in my home state of Minnesota, I was always proud to put on this uniform, to play for this club, and to go out there and try to win every night with my teammates. So this just means the world to me.”

In a heartwarming moment, the statue was unveiled to the large crowd by Mauer's children:

And the statue is extremely well done, too:

Before the Twins played the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, Mauer threw out the ceremonial first pitch to his longtime former teammate Justin Morneau, another Twins legend.

Mauer's signature No. 7 was retired by the Twins in 2019, one year after he retired following 15 MLB seasons, all in his home state of Minnesota. Now, he's forever commemorated right outside of Target Field.

Sachin Tendulkar has hailed the efforts of some of the India players who played a key role in the five-match Test series against England that ended 2-2 after a heart-stopping finish on the final day. Tendulkar heaped praise on “unbelievable” Mohammed Siraj, talked about how KL Rahul tightened his game around off stump with “precise footwork”, how Yashasvi Jaiswal showed a lot of character and maturity during his twin hundreds, and how Shubman Gill remained “calm and composed” as a captain.Apart from the high-octane finish and the inaugural Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy being shared, the series saw a number of twists and turns, dramatic face-offs and some extraordinary individual efforts, such as Rishabh Pant and Chris Woakes walking out to bat with injuries. Pant played four of the five Tests and scored two centuries and three half-centuries, the last of them with a fractured right foot to average 68.42 with a strike rate of 77.63.”The sweep shot that he played, he likes to get under the ball to scoop it with some elevation,” Tendulkar said on Reddit. “People think he has fallen, but it is intentional so that he can get under the ball. The secret to play those shots is to be able to get under the ball. So it’s a planned fall, he doesn’t go off-balance. All that depends on the length of the ball.”Related

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While calling Pant’s strokeplay and the “punch” he adds to them a “god’s gift”, Tendulkar said, “There were occasions where people felt he doesn’t have to play that shot, it’s not the right time, but someone like Rishabh should be left alone. But when he’s looking to save a match, he has to have a different approach, like in the last 15-20 overs of a match. But he has figured out [how to approach an innings] depending on the match situation.”

Gill was ‘so much in control’, Rahul played some ‘magnificent shots’

The two batting stalwarts for India in this series were Gill and opener Rahul, who racked up 754 runs and 532 runs respectively with six hundreds between them. Tendulkar pointed out both batters had “precise footwork” on the challenging conditions in England. Gill’s series aggregate was the second-highest tally of a captain, only behind Don Bradman’s 810 in 1936.”He was extremely consistent as far as his thought process was concerned because it reflects on your footwork,” he said of Gill. “If you’re not clear in your head, your body doesn’t respond accordingly, and his body was responding brilliantly. He looked so much in control, he had so much time to play the ball. The most important thing I noticed was the respect to a good ball where the tendency sometimes is to push the ball on the front foot, even if it’s not close to your foot. He was able to defend there and consistently defend well on the front foot. His front-foot defence was solid.”On Rahul, who scored more than one hundred in a series for the first time in a Test series, Tendulkar said: “He was terrific, possibly one of the best I’ve seen him bat. The way he was defending close to the body, he was leaving in a completely organised manner, he knew exactly where his off stump was and which balls to leave. I got the feeling sometimes he was able to frustrate the bowler, that where should they bowl to him if he’s letting so many balls go. So he got the bowlers to come back to him, and when the ball was in striking range he played some magnificent shots. I thought he looked in that zone, calm and composed.”4:04

How do you move on from such an epic series?

Siraj ‘doesn’t get the credit he deserves’

Among the bowlers, Siraj impressed Tendulkar. Siraj was the only bowler across both teams to play all five Tests and sent down 1113 balls in all, 361 more than anyone, and led the wicket-takers’ list with a haul of 23. He had to do the heavy lifting in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah in two Tests.”Unbelievable. Superb approach. I love his attitude. I love the spring in his legs,” Tendulkar said. “For a fast bowler to be constantly in your face like that, no batsman will like it. And the approach he had till the end on the last day, I could hear commentators also saying he bowled around 90mph (145kph) on the last day after having bowled more than 1000 deliveries in the series. That shows his courage and big heart.”The way he started on the last day was remarkable and he has always been instrumental, playing a key role whenever we need him, whenever we want him to deliver that knockout punch, he’s been able to do that consistently in the past, and so was the case in this series. The way he picked all those wickets and performed, he doesn’t get the credit he deserves.”

Jaiswal was ‘a treat to watch’

Rahul’s batting partner Jaiswal ended the tour with a century at The Oval, just like he had started at Leeds in the first Test. He scored two more half-centuries in between and drew particular praise for his century in the fifth Test, where he stitched a crucial century stand with nightwatcher Akash Deep. Jaiswal finished the series with 411 runs at an average of 41.10.”I was impressed with Yashasvi’s mindset. He’s a fearless batsman and he knows when to accelerate, when to see through a phase, and when to go to the non-striker’s end. He scored a hundred on a difficult track in the first Test where the ball moved around a bit, not as much and not for as long as we expected, but he played an important role there.”In the last Test he scored a magnificent hundred on a difficult track. Before that the tracks weren’t as challenging, but the last one was a difficult one to bat on. He showed a lot of character, maturity and determination. The way he was guiding Akash Deep…a batter’s responsibility is not to score his own runs, it’s also how you build partnerships. He played a role in how to motivate Akash Deep. All in all, a fantastic series for Yashasvi, a treat to watch.”

West Indies’ pace bowlers surged under lights on the second day at Sabina Park as the Test moved at a breakneck speed, with Australia stumbling to 99 for 6 amid a torrid working over in some of the toughest conditions imaginable.Sam Konstas’ miserable series ended with a duck, leaving his Test prospects for the Ashes in jeopardy. Cameron Green, on the other hand, played outstandingly for an innings worth far more than the 42 on the scoreboard, although he could have been run out on 14. By the close of another hectic day, which saw 15 wickets fall, Australia held a lead of 181 which was already considerable in the conditions, but West Indies had given themselves a glimmer.Related

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Earlier, West Indies had been dismantled for 143, with Australia’s bowling sharing the success. Scott Boland, who replaced Nathan Lyon in the XI, finished with three wickets. Australia took a first-innings lead of 82, but it also meant they started their second innings at the beginning of the final session, as the lights took full hold.The passage of play when West Indies took the new ball was electrifying. Konstas wasn’t able to get off the mark as he jabbed at a short-of-a-length delivery from Shamar Joseph and was caught in the gully. It left Konstas, who had been billed as the future of the top order, with 50 runs in the series at 8.33.Usman Khawaja managed to take his balls-faced tally in the series to over 300 – a not-inconsiderable achievement given the conditions – but inside-edged a big drive against Shamar Joseph into his stumps, making it all six dismissals for the series from around the wicket.