Ireland spinner was suspended from bowling earlier this year after her action was found to be illegal

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Aug-2025

Aimee Maguire has played 11 ODIs and nine T20Is for Ireland•BCCI

Ireland left-arm spinner Aimee Maguire has been cleared to resume bowling in international cricket with immediate effect.Maguire, 18, was suspended from bowling earlier this year after being reported during the first ODI against India in Rajkot on January 10. Her action was deemed suspect under the ICC’s Illegal Bowling Regulations.Maguire has since remodelled her action and subsequently underwent an independent re-assessment at an ICC-accredited testing centre where she was cleared.”An independent assessment of Maguire’s remodelled bowling action at an ICC accredited testing centre concluded that the amount of elbow extension was within the 15-degree level of tolerance permitted under the ICC Illegal Bowling Regulations,” an ICC release said.Maguire made her ODI and T20I debut against West Indies in July 2023. She has so far played 11 ODIs, where she has picked 16 wickets, with best bowling figures of 5 for 19 against England last year. Maguire has also played nine T20Is, where she has nine wickets at an economy rate of 7.20.The 18-year-old is not part of the Ireland squad that faces Pakistan in a three-match T20I series, which begins in Dublin on Wednesday.

It would be fair to say that this season is going about as well as any Arsenal fan could’ve hoped for back in the summer.

Mikel Arteta’s side are three for three in the Champions League without conceding a goal and currently sit atop the Premier League, seven points ahead of defending champions Liverpool.

However, the North Londoners have to shift their focus from the major competitions ahead of their League Cup clash against Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday night.

The Gunners must do better in the domestic cups this season, but even so, Arteta should look to replace Declan Rice in the lineup with another international star.

Changes Arteta should make to the team

While this isn’t a game Arteta should take lightly, it is nowhere near as important as the league, and therefore, with the squad he has at his disposal, he should be looking to make some changes.

Chalkboard

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

Starting in goal, Kepa Arrizabalaga should be given another start, and to ensure William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães are given a rest, Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie should start together for the first time.

Likewise, Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber are in need of a rest, and in their place, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ben White should come back into the side.

At the base of midfield, Martin Zubimendi should be replaced by fellow summer signing Christian Nørgaard, and while there is an argument to also rest Eberechi Eze, it might be good for him to stay in the team following his goal on the weekend.

Moreover, by keeping the former Crystal Palace star in the lineup, Arteta can start Ethan Nwaneri on the right in place of Bukayo Saka, who was reportedly unwell against the Eagles, and therefore shouldn’t be anywhere near the team on Wednesday.

Finally, injuries once again leave the manager with few options when it comes to changing the striker and left-wing setup.

For example, while it would be great to hand Viktor Gyokeres a rest, the fact that Gabriel Martinelli is now out means he’s unlikely to get one.

This is because Leandro Trossard will now have to stay out wide instead of starting down the middle.

With all that said, there is one more regular starter who should be replaced: Rice.

The Arsenal star who should replace Rice

Like many of the other stars in the team, Arteta simply must drop Rice to the bench for the game against Brighton on Wednesday for a couple of reasons.

First of all, he just needs a rest as he’s already played 937 minutes of football for Arsenal this season, and he came off with a slight knock on the weekend.

Second, his importance to the side is massive, as on top of everything he does in open play, his deliveries are also one of the main reasons the team have been so utterly incredible at set-pieces.

With that said, who should come in to replace him?

Well, with Norgaad replacing Zubimendi and Eze potentially keeping his place in the team, the most obvious and best option would be Mikel Merino.

The Spanish international might be just a step below the former West Ham United captain, but he remains a top-level midfielder and someone who is capable of impacting the game in all phases of play.

For example, FBref ranks him in the top 1% of midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for aerial duels won, the top 2% for non-penalty goals and touches in the opposition’s penalty area, the top 11% for through ball and more, all per 90.

Average Shot Distance

11.10

Top 1%

SCA (Shot)

0.39

Top 1%

Aerials Won

3.08

Top 1%

Non-Penalty Goals

0.32

Top 2%

Touches (Att Pen)

3.92

Top 2%

Goals

0.32

Top 3%

Goals + Assists

0.49

Top 3%

npxG: Non-Penalty xG

0.24

Top 3%

Shots on Target

0.74

Top 3%

GCA (Shot)

0.07

Top 3%

xG: Expected Goals

0.24

Top 5%

npxG + xAG

0.35

Top 6%

Goals – xG

+0.08

Top 6%

Goals/Shot

0.17

Top 7%

Non-Penalty Goals – npxG

+0.08

Top 7%

Progressive Passes Rec

4.52

Top 8%

Shots Total

1.82

Top 8%

npxG/Shot

0.13

Top 8%

Tackles (Att 3rd)

0.56

Top 8%

Penalty Kicks Won

0.04

Top 8%

Shots on Target %

40.4%

Top 11%

Through Balls

0.42

Top 11%

Moreover, he has also transformed into a lean, mean goalscoring machine for club and country this year.

Since the start of 2025, he has scored nine goals and provided three assists for the Gunners.

On top of that, the 6 foot 2 titan has scored eight goals and provided one assist for Spain this year, which is a run of form that has seen his manager, Luis de la Fuente, claim he is “on the same level as Pedri and Rodri.”

Ultimately, Merino has proven himself to be an excellent player in most areas of the pitch, and therefore, he should be the one to come in for Rice against Brighton.

Arteta's £120k-p/w "wild horse" looks like this season's Timber at Arsenal

Just like Timber, the international monster is having an incredible season at Arsenal this year.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Oct 28, 2025

Taskin starred with the ball, Litton led the way with the bat, and comeback man Saif contributed a fine all-round display

Abhimanyu Bose30-Aug-2025Taskin Ahmed, Saif Hassan and captain Litton Das played starring roles as Bangladesh eased to an eight-wicket win over Netherlands in the first T20I in Sylhet.Taskin took four wickets and Saif, playing his first T20I since October 2023, bagged his first two T20I wickets as Bangladesh restricted the visitors to 136 after asking them to bat. Saif completed his comeback with a quickfire cameo to support Litton’s brisk half-century as Bangladesh won with 6.3 overs to spare.Taskin keeps Netherlands quietMax O’Dowd started well for Netherlands, driving and flicking Shoriful Islam for three fours in the second over. He then launched Mahedi Hasan, who opened the bowling, for a six down the ground in the third.But Taskin struck with his first ball, getting O’Dowd to spoon a catch to cover off a leading edge.Netherlands managed just nine more runs from the 2.5 remaining overs in the powerplay, with their only boundary coming through another leading edge from Teja Nidamanuru that just evaded a leaping cover fielder.Then, Taskin struck again with the first ball of his second over, the eighth of the innings. Vikramjit Singh looked to switch gears and go down the ground, but could only pick out long-on.Saif ends Netherlands counterattackNidamanuru counterattacked, pulling Taskin for a six later in that over before squeezing one past short third for four. That began a stretch that brought Netherlands 27 runs off just 11 balls, before Saif nipped the counterattack in the bud with his maiden international wicket.Netherlands captain Scott Edwards tried to sweep the offspinner but couldn’t get distance on his shot, and Jaker Ali ran to his right to take a brilliant diving catch at long leg. Two balls later, Saif had Nidamanuru holing out to deep midwicket.Mustafizur Rahman got on the board when a short ball drew a top edge from Shariz Ahmad’s attempted pull to leave Netherlands five wickets down in the 13th over.Taskin picked up two more wickets in his remaining two overs, and Netherlands added just 52 to their score over their last eight overs.Saif Hassan struck twice in an over•BCBEmon starts strong, Litton continues the momentumParvez Hossain Emon got Bangladesh off to the perfect start with two fours and a six off the first three balls of the innings, from offspinner Aryan Dutt. He put away two shortish balls either side of point, and when Dutt went fuller, Emon slog-swept him over midwicket.Tanzid Hasan also started with a boundary, clipping Kyle Klein through backward square leg, but Dutt applied the brakes next over when he slid a quick one through Emon’s defences.Litton, however, ensured Bangladesh didn’t let the pressure build. In the fifth over, he drove Dutt through point before flicking him over midwicket next ball. In the last over of the powerplay, Litton crashed left-arm spinner Daniel Doram through the covers before launching him down the ground for his first six.Tanzid did a good job in a support role while Litton kept going after the bowling. He welcomed Shariz Ahmad with back-to-back boundaries in his first over, and punished Klein for straying onto his pads, whipping him fine on the leg side for another six.By the time Tanzid picked out long-on off a full toss in the tenth over, Bangladesh needed just 45 off 65 balls.Saif completes perfect comebackLitton brought up his 13th T20I half-century, off just 26 balls, in the 11th over. Then Saif, having got his eye in while scoring seven off nine balls, let loose, coming down the track to loft Tim Pringle over long-on.Saif then swung Paul van Meekeren into the leg side for a four before sealing the win with back-to-back sixes off Vikramjit in the 14th over.Litton contributed just 10 runs to an unbroken 46-run stand for the third wicket, with Saif finishing unbeaten on 36 off just 19 deliveries – a knock that will encourage the returning batter, whose career T20I strike rate jumped from 81.25 to 106.02after this match.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Palmeiras não demorou a rebater as novas acusações de John Textor, sócio majoritário da SAF do Botafogo, contra o clube. Segundo comunicado enviado à reportagem nesta segunda-feira (1), o Verdão está tomando todas as medidas judiciais cabíveis contra o “dono” do Glorioso.

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➡️ Tudo sobre o Verdão agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso novo canal Lance! Palmeiras

O Alviverde definiu o empresário como um “caricato cartola”. Além disso, classificou as atitudes dele como “tentativas bizarras de justificar a perda do título brasileiro de 2023”.

➡️ Aposte R$200 no Lance! Betting e fature mais de R$400 se o Internacional superar o Belgrano

– O Palmeiras vem adotando todas as medidas jurídicas cabíveis contra o dono da SAF do Botafogo, John Textor, e não pretende se manifestar novamente sobre a bizarra tentativa do caricato cartola de justificar a perda do título brasileiro de 2023. Confiamos que as autoridades competentes tomarão as providências necessárias com a urgência que o tema exige – afirmou o Palmeiras, sobre John Textor, em nota.

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O comunicado surgiu porque Textor novamente acusou, sem apresentar provas, que o Verdão teria sido beneficiado por um esquema de manipuação de resultados através da arbitragem, nos últimos anos.

– Ano passado foi turbulento. Não vou deixar o que aconteceu ano passado ir desmarcado. Estamos em uma nova temporada por vir. Temos provas pesadas, 100% confirmadas de que o Palmeiras vem sendo beneficiado por manipulação de resultados por pelo menos duas temporadas. Desculpe se isso vai criar barulho, mas tenho provas, vou mandar aos procuradores. Estou aqui para defender a honra do meu clube. Os jogadores têm que jogar, os torcedores, torcer. Mas isso é uma luta, e estamos juntos. Podem ter certeza que ninguém vai mexer nas nossas partidas desse ano. Prometo a vocês – disse o empresário, em entrevista ao “Canal do Medeiros”.

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COMO TUDO COMEÇOU

Textor começou sua “batalha” contra o Palmeiras quando o Botafogo foi derrotado por 4 a 3, de virada, ainda pela última edição do Brasileirão. Eledefiniu a partida como “roubo”, fez acusação de corrupção e pediu renúncia do presidente da Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (CBF), Ednaldo Rodrigues. As falas culminaram em sua suspenção por 30 dias.

➡️ Palmeiras ‘ignora’ acusações e espera que John Textor apresente provas de corrupção

Desde então, o dono da SAF do time carioca fazacusações de casos de corrupção na arbitragem brasileira, mas nunca apresentou provas.

Tudo sobre

BotafogoJohn TextorPalmeiras

Tottenham Hotspur may have been knocked out of the League Cup by Newcastle United on Wednesday night, but they have had a strong start to life under Thomas Frank.

The Lilywhites are third in the Premier League after nine matches, with five wins and just two defeats, and their recruitment in the summer has played a significant role in that.

Spurs splashed out £55m to sign winger Mohammed Kudus from West Ham United to bolster their options at the top end of the pitch, and he has hit the ground running in North London.

The left-footed star has scored one goal and provided four assists in nine appearances in the Premier League this season, per Sofascore, which shows that he has made a big impact in the final third.

Spurs eyeing repeat of Mohammed Kudus transfer

With the January transfer window on the horizon, the Europa League champions are reportedly keen on a star who could be Kudus 2.0 for the club.

Transfer Focus

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

A report from Spain explains that Tottenham Hotspur are preparing a move to sign West Ham United and England forward Jarrod Bowen to add to their options at the top end of the pitch.

Fabio Paratici has identified the Hammers star as a player who can add fluidity to their squad, as he can play out wide as a winger or through the middle as a centre-forward.

It adds that Spurs are willing to make a move to sign the 28-year-old attacker in a deal that could be worth £53m, but it remains to be seen whether or not that would be enough for West Ham to sanction his departure.

Why Jarrod Bowen would be a Mohammed Kudus repeat

If the Lilywhites are able to convince the Hammers to sell Bowen to them in January, the English star would come in as a Kudus repeat, for several reasons.

The obvious similarity would be that the attacker would be another left-footed forward joining Spurs from West Ham for a fee of more than £50m.

However, the main reason why Bowen would be a Kudus repeat for Tottenham is because he is another Premier League-proven star who could come in to hit the ground running for Frank.

The former Hull City star, who was dubbed a “game changer” by reporter Roshane Thomas, scored 14 goals and provided eight assists in all competitions for the Hammers in the 2024/25 campaign, per Sofascore, and has started the current season in impressive form.

Appearances

34

9

xG

8.64

1.01

Goals

13

3

Big chances created

11

2

xA

6.47

1.17

Assists

8

1

As you can see in the table above, the £53m-rated attacker has outperformed his xG since the start of last season, showing that he is clinical and reliable in front of goal, unlike Dominic Solanke, who scored nine goals from 10.97 xG for Spurs last term.

To date, Bowen has scored 59 goals and assisted a further 44 in 209 appearances in the Premier League for West Ham, per Transfermarkt, which shows that he has proven himself over a significant period of time.

These statistics show that he has the quality to deliver consistently at the top end of the pitch in the English top-flight, as he has provided a regular stream of goals and assists for the Hammers throughout his time at the London Stadium.

This suggests that he would be able to hit the ground running in North London as a signing who could slot straight into the team and make an impact in the final third, as he knows the division and has proven his quality.

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Thomas Frank’s side have been tipped to replace Richarlison.

ByEmilio Galantini Oct 31, 2025

Therefore, signing Bowen in January would be a Kudus repeat for the Europa League champions because he is another ready-made Premier League star who could bolster Frank’s squad as an upgrade on Solanke as a finisher up front.

His double-century in Multan give him 1000-plus Test runs in a calendar year for the third time since 2021. Now, the question is, can he catch Tendulkar?

Graphics by Ashwini Adole10-Oct-2024At the end of 2020, Joe Root saw his average dip below 48.00. He had averaged less than 40 between 2018 and 2020, scoring just four centuries in 60 innings. There were questions about whether he still belonged in the Fab Four along with Steven Smith, Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson. But since the start of 2021, Root has outperformed those three by a significant margin.ESPNcricinfo LtdA ton every five innings
Root began 2021 with a mammoth double-ton in Galle and followed it up with a daddy hundred in the next Galle Test and then hit 218 in Chennai. Overall, since 2021, Root has 18 centuries in 91 innings. Smith (6), Kohli (2) and Williamson (9) have 17 combined in that period.ESPNcricinfo LtdTwice as good as the pack
Root’s closest competition in the past four years has actually come from outside the Fab Four, but even the next highest run-getters of the period have just over half the runs Root has scored in this time.ESPNcricinfo LtdBack to the 50-plus group
While you could put the volume of Root’s runs down to how many Tests England play – he has played 50 in the past four years, 16 more than Smith and Labuschagne and 30 more than Williamson – he has got those runs at an ever-increasing average. While he was below 48.00 at the start of 2021, he went past the 50-mark in the same year, and with his 262 in Multan, has gone past 51.00 for the first time since 2018.ESPNcricinfo Ltd1000-plus in a year, five times
Root’s 262 in Multan also took him past 1000 runs in 2024. This is the third time in the past four years he has scored 1000 in the year and the fifth time overall. Only Sachin Tendulkar has more 1000-run years in Tests, with six. Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara, Matthew Hayden, Alastair Cook, Brian Lara and Jacques Kallis have also done it five times.ESPNcricinfo LtdChasing Yousuf?
Root now has 1248 runs in 2024 and still has, potentially, five Tests to play: two more in Pakistan and three in New Zealand. If he bats at his 2024 average of 65.68, he will need nine more innings to overtake Mohammad Yousuf’s record of 1788 Test runs in a calendar year.ESPNcricinfo LtdTendulkar in Root’s sights
Having outstripped his contemporaries in the past four years, Root is now chasing all-time records. He is now fifth on the Test run-getters list and sixth on the centuries list. If he maintains the average he has scored at in the past four years, Root will need 56 more Test innings to pass Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 15,921 Test runs. At the rate England play Tests, Root could get there within three years, before he turns 37. Oddsmakers are already giving Root as good as a 33% chance to haul down Tendulkar’s tally.ESPNcricinfo LtdESPNcricinfo LtdESPNcricinfo LtdHammond’s doubles being run down
Root had already gone past Alastair Cook to become England’s all-time leading run-getter in Tests on day three of the Multan Test. On day four, he made his century a double, his sixth in Tests. Only Wally Hammond has more doubles for England, with seven. This was Root’s third Test double-century in Asia, making him the first visiting batter to achieve this feat.ESPNcricinfo LtdESPNcricinfo Ltd

The Washington Nationals selected shortstop Eli Willits out of Fort Cobb-Broxton high school in Fort Cobb, Okla. with the No. 1 pick in the MLB draft Sunday.

Willits, 17, was the fifth-ranked prospect and second-ranked position player per MLB Pipeline's rankings. He's a switch-hitter who can have plenty of long-term upside for the Nationals as they work to reset after their recent turnover with the firings of general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez. Previous assistant GM Mike DeBartolo took over as interim GM.

Willits committed to play college ball at the University of Oklahoma where his father, Reggie, coaches and his older brother, Jaxon, plays. As this year's top pick, Willits is unlikely to play for the Sooners per MLB.com.

As a top-ranked prospect and the youngest player in the class, it's not outrageous that the Nationals went for Willits at No. 1. However, the general consensus was that Washington would go for either LSU pitcher Kade Anderson or top-ranked prospect Ethan Holliday out of Stillwater (Okla.) HS. The Seattle Mariners took Anderson No. 3 and the Colorado Rockies, Holliday's dad Matt's old team, selected him with the fourth pick.

Chelsea got back to winning ways on the weekend.

Enzo Maresca’s side took on Tottenham Hotspur away from home, and as they tend to do in this fixture, left with all three points.

From front to back, the Blues looked back to their best, and more importantly, Joao Pedro got back on the scoresheet.

The Brazilian has the quality to be a hugely important player for Chelsea, and one of the club’s most exciting youngsters could help him one day reach Cole Palmer’s numbers, and no, it’s not Estevao.

Pedro's future at Chelsea

When Chelsea completed the £60m signing of Pedro from Brighton & Hove Albion, there was plenty of understandable excitement, as sections of the fan base assumed the club had their new long-term number nine.

Chalkboard

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

This idea was further reinforced during the pre-season, as Maresca started him up top for three consecutive games during the Club World Cup, during which he scored three goals.

However, things quickly changed once the season began, as following the first game against Crystal Palace, the manager played the 24-year-old as a second striker for two consecutive Premier League games, in which he scored two goals and provided two assists.

Unfortunately, following Liam Delap’s hamstring injury, the former Brighton star was once again forced to lead the line.

So far, in the seven league games he has started there, he has scored just once and provided one assist.

In short, it has become abundantly clear that while hugely talented, the former Watford star is at his very best either as a second striker or a slightly more aggressive ten.

Now, for those fans who watched him on the south coast, this shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise, as while he did make 16 appearances up top last season, he also made 12 between second striker, attacking midfield and left-wing.

Pedro in 24/25
Position	Games
Centre-Forward	16
Second Striker	8
Left Winger	2
Attacking Midfield	2
All Stats via Transfermarkt

So, if Maresca wants to get the most out of Pedro, he’ll have to start him behind another striker, and fortunately, someone who might help him reach Palmer-levels is joining Chelsea for next season.

The player who could help Pedro reach Palmer-levels

Now, while someone like Estevao could help Pedro up his output in the coming seasons, the 18-year-old is undoubtedly at his best out wide.

Therefore, what the former Brighton ace needs is another prolific forward to come in and start ahead of him, someone who will help not only boost his assist numbers, but also his own goal tally.

Fortunately, Chelsea might have just the young talent to do just that, joining in the summer: Dastan Satpayev.

The Khazak phenom is set to join the Blues at the end of this season, and while he’s still young and therefore a long way from the finished product, he looks like a superstar in the making.

With that said, why could he help Pedro put up Palmer-level numbers, though?

Well, simply put, while he can play in several positions, he is primarily a centre-forward, and a seriously exciting one at that.

For example, despite still being just 17 years old, the “future Ballon d’Or winner,” as dubbed by one analyst, scored 16 goals and provided eight assists in 33 appearances, totalling 2409 minutes last season.

That works out to an incredible average of a goal involvement every 1.37 games, or every 100.37 minutes.

Just imagine a forward as dangerous as that competing for a place with Delap ahead of a Pedro who has had a year to get used to life at Stamford Bridge.

Ultimately, it’s still early in his career, but if Satpayev is even half the player many believe him to be, then he could certainly help the former Brighton man reach the creative and goalscoring levels of Palmer in the near future.

Maresca must drop Chelsea star who had fewer touches than Sanchez vs Spurs

Chelsea just about got over the line on Saturday evening as slim 1-0 victors at London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

By
Kelan Sarson

Nov 2, 2025

Travis Head returns to add more batting power but South Africa are able to call on Kagiso Rabada

Andrew McGlashan09-Aug-20252:34

The best of Cameron Green from the West Indies series

Big Picture: International cricket returns to Darwin

There was a little more riding on the outcome when these two teams met a couple of months ago at Lord’s, where South Africa wrote a new chapter in their history by claiming the World Test Championship title. This series is very much a stepping stone to the next global tournament: February’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.Both sides are in T20 mode. Australia have recently completed a 5-0 sweep of West Indies where their batting power stood out – and it’s been strengthened further for this series by the return of Travis Head – while South Africa were part of a tri-series in Zimbabwe where they fell short in the final against New Zealand with an experimental side.Related

• Rabada ruled out of Australia ODI series with ankle inflammation

• Rickelton 'won't change' approach as he looks to make T20I opening spot his own

• Should Nathan Ellis be a first-choice Australia T20I bowler?

• Rabada excited by the new generation of South African players

A few key names have returned for this trip, notably captain Aiden Markram and pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada, but it also continues to be an exploration of South Africa’s depth and potential options ahead of the World Cup alongside getting further games into the likes of Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Dewald Brevis and Kwena Maphaka.”Zimbabwe [T20I tri-series] was a valuable exercise and we obviously want to build on the good things in particular the form of our two young batters and someone like Kwena as well to continue to grow his stocks in T20 cricket,” coach Shukri Conrad said.Australia are staggering the return of their all-format quicks with Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc continuing to rest ahead of the home summer, while Josh Hazlewood is back, although he is likely to have his workload managed. However, Nathan Ellis’ performances are raising the question as to whether it’s time to permanently split up the big three in this format.The other significant aspect of the opening matches of this series is that it sees a return of international cricket to Darwin in Australia’s Top End for the first time since 2008, when Bangladesh were the visitors. The opening match is a sellout with the second on Tuesday heading that way, too. The city is a likely host of a Test match against Bangladesh next year as Australia’s home season extends into the northern summer.

Form guide

Australia WWWWW
South Africa LLWLW

In the spotlight: Mitchell Marsh and Dewald Brevis

Australia’s batting order came together impressively in the West Indies, but captain Mitchell Marsh was the one player to not make a significant contribution, with 81 runs in five innings. It won’t be a major concern with plenty of T20Is ahead for Marsh to hit his stride – and he’s locked in at the top alongside Head – but it would be an unwanted distraction should Marsh remain short of runs, especially given the plethora of top-order options available.South Africa have clearly earmarked Dewald Brevis as a likely World Cup player in the middle order•SA20

There were some promising signs for Dewald Brevis in the Zimbabwe tri-series as he finished as South Africa’s leading run-scorer with 133 at a strike rate 187.32, although he couldn’t quite see them home in the final. Those were Brevis’ first T20Is since his debut, which came against Australia in 2023, a year after he flayed an astonishing 162 off 57 balls in the domestic one-day competition. South Africa have clearly earmarked him as a likely World Cup player in the middle order.

Team news: Hazlewood likely to return, Pretorius may miss out

Matt Short continues his recovery from the side strain he picked up in the West Indies, and will miss the first two games of the series which partly eases the batting squeeze for now. Marsh confirmed he and Head would open – and are set to be the duo for the World Cup – which will see Glenn Maxwell return to the middle order and Mitchell Owen potentially being as low as No. 7. Hazlewood will strengthen the pace attack, although he may not play every match. Matt Kuhnemann is part of the squad should an extra spinner be needed.Australia (possible): 1 Mitchell Marsh (capt), 2 Travis Head, 3 Josh Inglis (wk), 4 Cameron Green, 5 Tim David, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Mitchell Owen, 8 Ben Dwarshuis, 9 Nathan Ellis, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh HazlewoodSouth Africa’s top order is bolstered by the return of Markram and Ryan Rickelton, which may see 19-year Pretorius squeezed out of the XI. Left-arm spinner George Linde took on an allrounder’s role at No. 6 in Zimbabwe and could continue in that capacity.South Africa (possible): 1 Aiden Markram (capt), 2 Ryan Rickelton (wk), 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 Dewald Brevis, 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 George Linde, 7 Prenelan Subrayen, 8 Corbin Bosch, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Nandre Burger, 11 Lungi NgidiMitchell Owen could bat as low at No. 7•AFP via Getty Images

Pitch and conditions

Given Darwin is effectively starting again as an international venue after such a long gap, there is some uncertainty over what the conditions will be like, although there shouldn’t be anything untoward in the surface. The forecast, for both matches, is good with mild, dry evenings.

Stats and trivia

• The last time Darwin hosted an international, Australia were captained by Michael Clarke.
• These two teams have not met in T20Is since 2023, when Australia came out 3-0 winners in South Africa.
• Maxwell needs four wickets to reach 50 in T20Is. He will become just the fourth men’s player to score 2500 runs and take 50 wickets in the format.
• Since the start of 2024, Australia have the highest batting strike rate in T20Is.

Quotes

“They’ve some young guys that have, I guess, burst onto the scene over the last couple of years. That’s always exciting for international cricket, and provides us with a different challenge, but certainly looking forward to coming up against them.”
.”You can see these guys are raring to go. It’s great having the experience back – Aiden’s leadership and then obviously the leadership roles that someone like Kagiso plays. So, really excited about this next couple of weeks. We know it’s going to be a great challenge.”
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Spinner re-establishes himself despite Shoaib Bashir emergence as England’s coming man

Andrew Miller11-Oct-2024After a summer on the sidelines, and the sense that his England days were numbered, a familiar figure snuck back onto centre stage in the closing moments of the first Test in Multan.In a match that will be remembered for Harry Brook’s triple-century and his mountainous stand of 454 with Joe Root, up popped Jack Leach with a final-day four-for and seven wickets in all – which is as many as Pakistan’s entire attack managed throughout their own torrid time in the field.His efforts all Test long were unstinting: changing his line but almost never his length, looping the ball towards the batters’ front pads, nagging and knocking, waiting for the errors that eventually came in a rush in the second innings, or for the miniscule signs of misbehaviour in the surface that were never as forthcoming as Pakistan made them seem in their fraught second innings.Related

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In a five-day game of patience, Leach’s match haul of 7 for 190 in 46.5 overs was, quite literally, the matchwinning performance, without which Brook’s and Root’s efforts would simply have been gargantuan acts of stats-padding, rather than integral factors in another of England’s most memorable overseas wins.And Leach has previous for such contributions too. Remarkably, this latest victory was his 11th in 14 Tests in Asia – placing him behind only Shane Warne (13) and his own team-mate Root (12) as the most successful visiting player on the subcontinent. It’s a run that began with his key role in the 2018 triumph in Sri Lanka, and now includes 22 wickets in four consecutive wins in Pakistan, on some of the flattest surfaces ever conceived.Even if it could be argued that his record in the region is enhanced by his absence, through injury, from the sharp end of this year’s 4-1 defeat in India, then the flip-side of that record is worth an airing too. Since 2014, England have played 14 Tests in Asia without Leach in their ranks. They’ve won one, against Bangladesh in 2016, and lost 11 of the other 13.”He fits in like a glove,” Ollie Pope, England’s stand-in captain, told Sky Sports shortly after the match. “Obviously he’s toured here before, he’s toured India before … he knows how to bowl in these conditions. He’s been great to have back around.”ESPNcricinfo LtdIt wasn’t a given that Leach would find a route back into England’s Test plans, however, with England’s thinking currently geared towards the 2025-26 Ashes, and the identification of a bowling attack with the right “attributes” to thrive Down Under. Shoaib Bashir, with his high release point and an ability to drive the ball into the pitch to a degree that Leach cannot hope to match, is one such bowler. For all of his obvious rawness, a degree of fast-tracking has been in order to justify such a selectorial punt in the first place.It’s a point that Leach himself acknowledged last month, when speaking in the wake of his 12-wicket haul for Somerset against Durham in the County Championship – though he also stressed he was ready to answer the call, having demonstrated across 71.4 hard-toiling overs at Taunton that his fitness was fully restored after the knee surgery in February that had delayed his entry to the season.In light of all that has gone before, Leach would be entitled to look slightly askance at the returns in the match just gone. Despite his three five-fors in ten Tests, all before the age of 21, the sense that Bashir is a work in progress was plain to see at Multan, where he claimed a solitary wicket in 38 overs and proved particularly ineffectual in the second innings.Nasser Hussain, on Sky Sports, remarked that Bashir’s line has persistently been too straight in recent Tests, with right-handers finding it all too easy to manipulate his offbreaks through the leg side with impunity, although the dangers of offering width on such flat decks were amply demonstrated by Brook’s and Root’s demolition of Abrar Ahmed prior to his untimely exit from the contest.Leach, by contrast, had no such concerns, with his lower, skiddier trajectory keeping the stumps in play as he dared his opponents to blink first, as was the case with the non-turning delivery that thumped Salman Agha on the pad to prise England’s first opening on the final morning. Two wickets in three balls then mopped up the resistance, to offer Leach’s figures the late massage that his endeavours had earned.”I’m really happy for Jack, taking that last wicket today,” Pope said. “He spent a while out of the team and credit to him for how he’s come back and he’s bowled his heart out. He’s had a bit of bad luck over the last couple of years along the way, so I couldn’t be happier for him.Shoaib Bashir has been preferred to Leach in recent home Tests•Getty Images”I think the way that him and Shoaib Bashir can complement each other throughout the rest of the series is really exciting as well,” Pope added. “They’ve obviously got slightly different skillsets and can challenge batters in different areas as well. I know Shoaib didn’t get his rewards this week, but I’m sure he will over the course of this series.”Leach’s experience is valuable in other ways too. In a team in transition, he is one of the Bazball OGs – the only one left in the bowling attack, in fact, now that James Anderson and Stuart Broad have retired, and with Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood also missing from the team that won 3-0 on these pitches two years ago.Chris Woakes is the nominal leader of England’s attack, and bowled more impressively than his unflattering match haul of 2 for 110 would suggest. But in maintaining the continuity of the team’s approach across conditions, and with Pope continuing to deputise for Ben Stokes, Leach’s status as one of Stokes’ most trusted acolytes should not be under-stated. The lessons that Stokes imparted in his first summer as captain in 2022, when he memorably encouraged Leach to embrace his opponents’ attacking exploits and reaped the rewards with a matchwinning ten-for at Headingley, are all the likelier to be passed onto Bashir with a senior partner to show him the way.”It’s been great to have Jack back in and around the squad,” Pope said. “You know exactly what you’re going to get from him as a bowler. He’s obviously a very experienced bowler. He’s taken a fair few Test wickets now, and played a lot of first-class cricket too. He’s been awesome to have back around.”Woakes added: “For him to come back in and perform the way he has in this Test match is incredible. Again on a flat surface which didn’t offer much for the spinners either. It was amazing for him to do what he’s done – and just show his character but also his skill as well. He’s been there and done it a lot for England and to come back after a bit of time away after not being selected is an incredible effort.”