All posts by n8rngtd.top

Manchester United are pursuing new reinforcements in January and could now be set to submit a bid for one of Europe’s most high-profile midfielders.

Man Utd looking towards the January window

Admittedly, the Red Devils have enjoyed a mixed start to the Premier League season and will now look to take advantage of the chance to move up a few places within a tight collective of sides all vying for a spot in the European slots.

On Monday, Manchester United’s frustrating defeat at home to Everton brought back some old scars that have been a feature of Ruben Amorim’s tenure at the club, with his side unable to break down a spirited Toffees outfit despite having a man advantage for most of proceedings.

Falling flat in attack, Joshua Zirkzee’s emergence after failing to earn a regular place in the side this season was questioned by BBC Radio Manchester’s Gaz Drinkwater, who believes Kobbie Mainoo and Mason Mount should’ve been brought into the starting side instead.

He said: “Bring Mount and Kobbie Mainoo into the starting XI. He obviously doesn’t see Mainoo as a midfielder because he can’t get in the team in that position. Amorim sees him as a number 10 or maybe even a false-nine type player where maybe they [the front three] interchange a bit.

“I don’t understand the logic of bringing in a totally cold Joshua Zirkzee into the game, who has basically had zero minutes this season, and he did nothing.”

Man Utd plotting "bargain" deal to sign "imposing" Ligue 1 defender who scouts love

He could complete Amorim’s back three.

By
Tom Cunningham

Nov 27, 2025

Without doubt, the Red Devils will need to recruit wisely in January as they begin to feel the effects of a hefty schedule, and they could now be set to lodge a bid for a high-profile midfielder.

Man Utd ready bid for Federico Valverde

According to reports in Spain, Manchester United are preparing a £87m bid for Federico Valverde, and he may be allowed to depart amid a spate of up and down performances for Real Madrid.

The Uruguay international may now be set for a change of scenery and would be open to a move elsewhere, potentially re-establishing himself as the central part of a project at Old Trafford.

Labelled “superb” by Thibaut Courtois, Valverde has registered four assists in 17 appearances across all competitions this season. Overall, he has scored 32 times and laid on 35 goals for his teammates in 340 appearances for Los Blancos, cementing himself as a fan favourite.

Amorim is confident that his versatility, quality and combativeness could form a new dynamic in the engine room as they look to reclaim their place among the elite of English football.

Real Madrid aren’t totally closed off to selling Valverde, creating a scenario that could work out for all parties if the 27-year-old makes a headline-grabbing move to English shores.

Pat Cummins joined the list when he went 6, 6, 6 against Shardul Thakur in Hyderabad in IPL 2025

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Mar-2025Pat Cummins vs LSG, 2025
Cummins walked out to bat at the end of the 16th over with SRH 156 for 6. He got on strike in the next over, and hit back-to-back sixes off Shardul Thakur’s last two balls to get going. The first ball was short and wide, which he thrashed over point before dumping a juicy full toss over the sight-screen next ball. He faced his third ball in the next over, off Avesh Khan, and deposited the length ball straight down the ground again. He was dismissed next ball, steering one to short third, for a four-ball 18.MS Dhoni vs Mumbai Indians (MI), 2024
Wankhede roared as MS Dhoni made his way to the middle with just four balls left in the innings against MI. They got their money’s worth when he showed no mercy to MI captain Hardik Pandya. He started by clobbering a length ball over long-off, much to the delight of the “away” crowd. The next ball was again on a length, which Dhoni deposited over long-on. Hardik next went for the yorker but dished out a low full toss that was flicked over deep square-leg. Dhoni finished unbeaten on 20 off four with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) winning the game by that exact margin.MS Dhoni hit three sixes off his first three balls against MI in IPL 2024•BCCINicholas Pooran vs SRH, 2023
Nicholas Pooran found himself in the middle with LSG needing 56 off 27 in a chase of 183. Abhishek Sharma had just broken a 43-ball 73-run partnership by dismissing Marcus Stoinis. It mattered little for Pooran, who slog-swept the left-arm spinner over deep midwicket to open his account. The next ball was full, and he powered it straight over the bowler’s head. The third ball – the last of the over – was also full and Pooran got down on his knees to bash it over deep midwicket. In all, five sixes were hit in that over – Stoinis had hit two earlier.Sunil Narine vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), 2021
In the eliminator of IPL 2021 in Sharjah, Sunil Narine went out at No. 5 when Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) needed just 60 off 54 balls. He hit three successive sixes off Dan Christian to set about his task of injecting momentum to the close. Two of his sixes came to the shorter leg side – first a pull over fine leg against a short ball and then a slog over midwicket to a full ball on his pads. When Christian provided him the width on his third ball, he powered a one-handed six over long-off. Narine had earlier picked up a four-wicket haul to restrict RCB, and his 15-ball 26 ended Virat Kohli’s tenure as captain in the IPL.

GOAL counts down the greatest Reds of the past quarter-century, based on talent, trophies, impact and longevity

After struggling terribly during the tail end of the 21st century, Liverpool have re-established themselves as one of the best clubs in world football over the past 25 years, winning two Champions Leagues and a UEFA Cup.

Gerard Houllier and Rafa Benitez played pivotal parts, with both men enjoying success in continental competition. However, it was only after the arrival of Jurgen Klopp, after yet another slump, that the Reds really reclaimed their place among the elite. Under the German, Liverpool not only ended their 30-year English title drought, they also won a sixth European Cup.

Of course, none of these things could have been achieved without top-class players, and Anfield has witnessed an awful lot of them over the past 25 years. Who are the best, though?

Below, GOAL counts down the 25 finest footballers to have lined out for Liverpool this century, with their inclusion and rankings taking a variety of factors into account, including talent, trophies, impact and longevity (only those to have spent at least three seasons at the club have been considered for selection).

As always, let us know in the comments section who should be higher, who should be lower, who shouldn't be there at all and who's been criminally overlooked!

• Getty Images Sport
  

  25Joel Matip

  It was such a pity that Joel Matip's Liverpool career ended on such a low, with the Cameroonian suffering an ACL injury in December 2023 that ruled him out for the remainder of his final season at Anfield. If Klopp had remained as manager, Matip may well have been offered a new deal, given the German rated the defender so highly. After all, Matip had joined on a free transfer from Schalke in 2016 and went on to form a formidable centre-back pairing with Virgil van Dijk that provided the foundation for the 2019 Champions League success.

  Injuries became an issue thereafter, but Matip still managed to become a cult hero on the Kop, as much for his character as the quality of his defender. As Klopp said, his assist against Spurs in Madrid "detonated an explosion in the LFC family. What a moment. What a player."

Advertisement

• Getty Images
  

  24Daniel Sturridge

  It's often forgotten just how good a player Daniel Sturridge was when fully fit – primarily because he could never stay fully fit for long. The former England international was plagued by injuries throughout his time at Anfield – he never managed to play more than 29 league games across a single season – but when he was in peak physical condition, he was sensational.

  Sturridge was an atypical English forward in that he was technically gifted and blessed with a flair for the spectacular, making the partnership he formed with Luis Suarez, which so nearly propelled Liverpool to the 2013-14 title, box-office viewing. His injury issues prevented him from becoming a true Anfield great but he still scored 67 goals – some of which were utterly sublime.

• Getty
  

  23Javier Mascherano

  Javier Mascherano upset Liverpool fans with the way in which in went about securing a move to Barcelona and he knew it too. He even went so far as to dedicate the Blaugrana's 2011 Champions League final win over Manchester United to the Reds who supported him so enthusiastically during his time on Merseyside.

  Mascherano had been easy to embrace, as he was the kind of snarling presence in the middle of the park that Liverpool had been so sorely lacking. With his aggression and underrated technical ability, he played a pivotal role in the run to the 2007 Champions League final. "He's a monster of a player," as Rafa Benitez famously enthused.

• AFP
  

  22Diogo Jota

  Plenty of Liverpool fans will freely admit that they were puzzled by the club's decision to pay £41 million ($55m) for Diogo Jota in September 2020, but the recruitment team knew exactly what they were doing. This was a hard-working and technically excellent attacker capable of playing anywhere across the forward line, making him an ideal signing for Klopp.

  At the time of writing, he's scored 59 goals for Liverpool in all competitions, but it would have been so many more had he not been repeatedly sidelined by injury over the years. Indeed, Jamie Carragher has repeatedly argued that Jota is the best finisher the club has ever had during the Premier League era – which is quite the compliment when one considers the quality of his rivals for that particular title.

Death bowling proves decisive as Vince, de Kock, Whiteley threaten in chase

Alan Gardner27-Jul-2021Welsh Fire 165 for 4 (Bairstow 72, Duckett 53) beat Southern Brave 147 for 7 (Vince 40, Neesham 3-5) by 18 runsLed by a second consecutive half-century from captain Jonny Bairstow, Welsh Fire maintained their position as the surprise pace-setters in the Men’s Hundred, seeing off Southern Brave in a high-scoring encounter in Cardiff. Bairstow smashed 72 from 39 during a century stand with Ben Duckett and although Brave started aggressively in their chase, a clatter of wickets during the second half left them short.Fire’s batting continued their impressive start to the tournament by making the third-highest 100-ball total – just eight runs shy of their own record, set during a pulsating opening win at Headingley on Saturday. Tom Banton set the tone by striking two of his first three balls for six on the way to 34 from 23, Bairstow picked up the pace after a slow start to become the leading run-scorer in the men’s competition, and Duckett was particularly severe on Brave’s mystery bowler, the left-arm wristspinner Jake Lintott making his first appearance of the campaign.As well as bringing in Lintott and Craig Overton, after a supine defeat in their opening fixture away to Trent Rockets, Brave were buoyed by the arrival of Quinton de Kock from international duty with South Africa. But although de Kock made a frenzied start to the chase and James Vince kept them on track with 40 from 27, Fire held their nerve and closed out the game via impressive spells from Jake Ball and Jimmy Neesham, who finished with exemplary figures of 3 for 5 from his 15.Opening gambit
As the women’s match earlier in the day reiterated, Sophia Gardens is not a particularly hospitable ground for slow bowlers – particularly fingerspinners. When England play in Cardiff, Adil Rashid is usually the only specialist picked; the two T20I internationals this summer saw them rely on a battery of pace bowling supported by Rashid’s legspin, which tends to be held back (and has the added advantage of the batter not being certain which way the ball will turn).But when Brave walked out to bowl after winning the toss, Vince threw the ball to Danny Briggs. A left-armer, Briggs might have had the benefit of turning the ball away from Fire’s openers, Bairstow and Banton; but both are right-handers of aggressive demeanour and more than capable of targeting the short, straight boundaries if Briggs erred. Vince’s decision prompted the England analyst, Nathan Leamon, to tweet: “That is Southern BRAVE!!!”Banton duly took a look at Briggs’ first ball, decided there wasn’t much to fear, and popped the next two back down the ground for sixes, before following up with a boundary swept behind square. Sixteen runs from three scoring shots and Fire were cooking.Bairstow bides time
With Banton sounding the bugle, Bairstow was left searching for the spark that had ignited Fire’s opening win at Headingley. In that game, Bairstow creamed 39 out of an opening stand of 43 with Banton; here it was the younger man who took charge, scoring 30 out of Fire’s 38 for 0 in the Powerplay.Even after Banton was dismissed, bowled by Lintott’s first delivery in the competition, Bairstow remained subdued. His only boundary in the first half of the innings was an inside edge for four off Tymal Mills, but he resolved to turn over the strike and allow his partner to attack – Duckett picked up the Banton baton by twice reverse-sweeping fours off Lintott and then using the pace of Overton to ramp a six over the keeper. From the end of the Powerplay until the 67th ball, Fire managed only four boundaries as the second-wicket pair took the game deep.But nobody puts Jonny in the corner for long in white-ball cricket these days. Having been 20 from 21, a pulled four off Overton helped him find his range, before another moment of fortune saw a miscue off Mills fly for six over the keeper’s head. Then he was away, hitting two sixes and two fours in a set from Colin de Grandhomme that cost 22 as Bairstow raised his half-century from 31 balls.Duckett had also sensed the moment, carting four consecutives boundaries off Lintott via a selection of sweeps, while Briggs was twice fetched into the stands by Bairstow, making his last appearance before going on Test duty with England. The damage for Brave would have been worse had he not picked out long-on with six balls remaining.James Neesham sealed victory with figures of 3 for 5•Getty Images

Brave attempt
Cardiff’s dimensions come into play for teams defending, particularly as the ball gets old, with pace off and cutters bowled into the pitch forcing batters to take on the long, square boundaries. If they were going to be successful, Brave would likely have to go hard early on and try to get ahead of the rate against the new ball and with fielding restrictions in place.Fire started with an over from Glenn Phillips, perhaps with the left-handed de Kock in mind; but Vince took strike and carved out two boundaries. Matt Critchley’s legspin was then hit straight back over his head by de Kock, who also launched David Payne for a brace of sixes in his opening set, before pulling to deep backward square for 21 off 7. But Vince and Devon Conway, who successfully reviewed after being given out caught behind off Qais Ahmad, kept a decent tempo as Brave finished their Powerplay on 55 for 1 – significantly ahead of Fire’s mark earlier in the day.After 50 balls, Vince and Conway had taken the score on to 85 for 1 and Brave were more than halfway to their target. But Fire claimed three wickets for 11 over the next three sets of five and the required runs per ball hit 2 for the first time. Vince was Neesham’s first victim, as the New Zealander’s variations in pace and length proved particularly effective, and when he had Ross Whiteley playing on for 25 off 14 from the 89th, Brave’s challenge was as good as over.

Gary Neville called Manchester United an "absolute disgrace" after their 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Tottenham on Sunday.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• United embarrassed by Tottenham 3-0
• Erik ten Hag's third league defeat of the season
• Gary Neville berates his former team

Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Gary Neville did not hold back when analysing United's woeful performance against Tottenham on Sunday afternoon. Brennan Johnson's early strike, which was set up by a marauding Micky van de Ven run, set early disappointment among the Old Trafford crowd, which was added to by Bruno Fernandes' dismissal just before the break.

  The second half started in the same vein with Dejan Kulusevski getting a quick goal two minutes after the restart and Dominic Solanke killed United off with a third. Neville was on commentary and he let his feelings be known as it played out.

Advertisement

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT GARY NEVILLE SAID

  Former United captain Neville even suggested the players should have a meeting on Monday morning without Ten Hag to "decide what they want to do". He added to Sky Sports: "They need to get a grip on that dressing room. The first half was as bad as it gets. This is a shocking day, a sobering day. This is a really bad day for Ten Hag."

  The former United defender was also critical of club captain Fernandes after he saw red for a high challenge on James Maddison.

  Neville said: "That sums up Manchester United in the first half. They have been an absolute disgrace. It's one of the worst performances I have seen under Ten Hag. And that is saying something. It is really bad. Today has shocked me about how low they have gone."

• WHAT JAMIE REDKNAPP SAID

  It wasn't just Neville who laid into United and Ten Hag, former Tottenham and Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp was also pointing fingers at the Dutchman for the collapse against Spurs.

  He said to : "It gets to a point where you almost feel sorry for the manager as well. He looks completely out of his depth, he looks like he's struggling to motivate his team. Man Utd and Ten Hag are going backwards. You can't complain anymore, he's got his back four in place, he's got all the players at his disposal – there's no excuses. They are rock bottom right now. I just don't see where they can go from here. They're as bad as I've seen a United side. It's embarrassing. A club of this stature shouldn't be producing performances like that."

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR TEN HAG AND UNITED?

  The games don't get easier, as United face Porto in the Europa League and Aston Villa in the Premier League after that. Kobbie Mainoo and Mason Mount could be doubts for the European game after coming off against Spurs due to respective knocks. For United's trip to the Midlands, they will be without Fernandes through suspension. The pressure is piling on Ten Hag and if he is unable to get this side purring the calls for his sacking will get louder and louder.

Pakistan had plenty of chances to record a much higher second-innings score than they did, but “same mistakes” let them down

Danyal Rasool29-Dec-2024Pakistan may have a reputation for unpredictability, but followers of the Test side in South Africa know exactly what’s going to happen. It is the tale of the person who bangs their head against a brick wall every day, only because they fantasise about how good it’ll feel the day they stop.There were some tantalising moments when Pakistan wondered if day three of the first Test in Centurion would be that day. But then again, if you’ve been banging your head that long, perhaps it feels that way every day. And yet few innings clip onto them the sense of destiny that Babar Azam’s did overnight. A contribution of note, especially if it helped Pakistan win their first Test in South Africa since 2007, would be a contender as his magnum opus. It may herald his comeback, help his career pick up a second wind. It was a lot to saddle on an innings that had largely been compiled by scratching and scraping his way to an unbeaten 16 in the late summer twilight of the second day.The extended wait thanks to the morning rain added yet more gravitas to the innings, and once play began, you could see whatever you wished to see. Babar’s punch behind square leg off Kagiso Rabada was followed by a slap past point, so did that mean he was back to his best? You’d have to ignore the flatness of the pitch or the fact that on the few occasions Rabada found his line outside off stump, Babar’s struggle with the bounce was hard to miss.Related

• Naseem Shah smiles at Test cricket on a rollercoaster day

• Abbas, Shahzad give Pakistan hope of defending 147

• Jansen urges SA to be 'disciplined' as WTC final beckons

The festive crowd in South Africa can be quite partisan, but even those who braved the uncooperative weather in the morning – and there were a few thousand of them – understood the precipice it briefly felt like Babar’s career hinged on. Every boundary met murmurs of approval from the wider crowd, amplified by a vociferous pocket in the Grandstand who held up placards of support, and chanted his name. Like them, he appeared to be raging against the dying of a career that should have been in its prime at this stage.When he whipped sudden local favourite Corbin Bosch to midwicket for four and got himself off strike with a single, it was his highest score in nearly two years. A nudge into the deep got him past a milestone that once had been a glib stepping stone, a half-century that brought the dressing room to its feet.But hope can bring its own kind of torture, especially when it comes with the gnawing sense of approaching doom. This was not an innings of a turning tide as much as it was opportunistic accumulation. The infuriating, inveterate dab to the slips had not been cut out of his game, the tendency to get caught squared up against seam movement always rendered him vulnerable. This was not a new Babar, just the same man with the same ability, and ultimately, the same fallibility.Babar Azam scored his first fifty in nearly two years in Test cricket•Associated PressAnd it didn’t take much. South Africa had positioned a fielder at deep third all afternoon, so square it barely counted as a catching position. Marco Jansen tossed one out wide to Babar; he would later say one of the plans involved inducing Pakistani batters into playing shots they attempted because of impatience rather than intent. But, really, it was short, wide, boundary fodder.In the past, Babar’s eyes would narrow as he ruthlessly dispatched it along the ground, piercing whatever gap needed to be pierced to find the boundary. Now, his widened eyes appeared childlike, as if the sweets cupboard had been left unlocked, and he snatched greedily without seemingly appreciating the trap it was.He was late; Jansen is quick. His bat face tilted upwards; Jansen is tall. And Bosch at the boundary had a gift, because Pakistan in this Test have exhausted a year’s supply of generosity on the debutant. Babar’s expression suggested disbelief, though the mind can superimpose emotions onto human faces; he might just as easily have been blank.

“When we play outside Pakistan, we’re not able to finish well, whether it’s innings or matches. That is a slight concern. We made some of the same mistakes today”Saud Shakeel

Saud Shakeel, who Jansen would ensnare with an equally inoffensive delivery, spoke openly of Pakistan’s frustrations. “We’re making some of these mistakes; it also happened when we went to Australia. When we play outside Pakistan, we’re not able to finish well, whether it’s innings or matches. That is a slight concern. We made some of the same mistakes today. This 148-run target could easily have been a 200-plus target.”Listening to what might have been, though, is perhaps more painful for Pakistan supporters than the head-banging. Pakistan could have set a higher target in 2007 or 2013 in Cape Town, or 2018 in Centurion. They could have made South Africa work for their wickets a little more on the third day, or been more effective at polishing off South Africa’s last two wickets on the second. They could yet produce a remarkable bowling effort and still salvage it all, with 121 runs still to play with.Or perhaps, because they never do, maybe it never was possible. As Babar’s expression suggested, if you really wanted to read into it, some hopes are always accompanied by doom. Perhaps all there is to Pakistan in South Africa is the head, and that brick wall.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s three-match ban for sustaining a red card in Portugal’s World Cup qualifier against Ireland has been suspended for a year, and the reason why has now been revealed.

Why Ronaldo will be allowed to play at 2026 World Cup

Ronaldo was shown a straight red card for violent conduct in his side’s 2-0 defeat against Ireland this month, having elbowed Dara O’Shea, but he is set to be involved from the start of the World Cup next summer.

FIFA have taken the decision to suspend the final two games of the ban, and with the forward sitting out of his side’s 9-1 drubbing of Armenia, he will be able to take part in all of Portugal’s group games.

The decision has caused plenty of controversy, with talkSPORT’s Andy Goldstein calling it “disgusting”, given that the same rules haven’t been applied to Nicolas Otamendi and Moises Caicedo, who both have one-match bans, meaning they are set to miss the first World Cup game.

Darren Bent also weighed in, saying the only reason FIFA have decided to make an exception is because the Portugal star sells tickets, but the BBC have now revealed that another factor is at play.

According to their sources, FIFA have taken into account that it was the 40-year-old’s first red card in 226 international appearances when making their decision.

The statement put out by the governing body is also relayed, which states: “If Cristiano Ronaldo commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension set out in the disciplinary decision shall be deemed automatically revoked and the remaining two matches must be served immediately.”

How far ahead Ronaldo is of Messi in race to 1,000 goals

The Al-Nassr star has made it clear he wants to reach 1,000 goals before he hangs up his boots.

By
Dominic Lund

Nov 4, 2025

Ronaldo has one last chance at World Cup glory

In truth, the decision is definitely questionable, given that similar exceptions haven’t been made for Otamendi and Caicedo, and journalist Colin Millar has drawn comparisons to Inter Miami being allowed to play at the Club World Cup.

However, Ronaldo will undoubtedly be relieved, given that he has already confirmed the 2026 World Cup will be his last, saying: “Definitely, yes. I will be 41 years old and I think [this] will be the moment in the big competition.”

Should the Al-Nassr star win the competition with Portugal, there is a case to be made for him winning the ‘GOAT’ debate, but it will be a tall order, with the likes of Spain, England, France and Argentina all looking strong.

Left-arm spinner takes 5 for 36 to dismiss WI for 165 in their chase of 324

Firdose Moonda21-Jun-2021
Keshav Maharaj took a hat-trick to help South Africa complete their first series win away from home in more than four years, since they beat New Zealand in March 2017. Maharaj is only the second South African to take a Test hat-trick and put South Africa’s result beyond doubt with a triple-strike in the morning session. They sealed the 2-0 result 33 minutes before tea. This is also South Africa’s first series win on the road under Mark Boucher and second in four series on Boucher’s time in charge, since December 2019.After setting West Indies 324 runs to win the second Test and square the series, South Africa’s attack chipped away at their line-up and rarely allowed a batter to settle. Kagiso Rabada took the first three wickets before Maharaj’s magic came in the 37th over, his eighth of the day, when he sent back Kieran Powell, Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva off successful deliveries. With Roston Chase unable to bat because a quad injury, South Africa only needed nine wickets to win the match, with Maharaj finishing with his seventh five-wicket haul of his Test career. As for West Indies, they have not won any of their last three home series.

West Indies fined for slow over rate

West Indies have been fined 60% of their match fees for maintain a slow over rate against South Africa in the second Test. They have also been penalised six World Test Championship points, even though its final is already being played in Southampton.

West Indies were ruled to be three overs short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration, and the sanction was imposed by match referee Richie Richardson.
As players are fined 20% of their match fees for every over they fall short while bowling, the West Indies side was penalised three times the amount, in accordance with Article 2.2 of the ICC Code of Conduct. In addition, a side is also penalised two WTC points for each over they fall short. “Brathwaite pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing,” the ICC release said.

Rabada and Anrich Nortje began proceedings on the fourth morning and immediately threatened. Nortje almost bowled Kraigg Brathwaite with a delivery that the West Indian captain inside-edged just shy of the stumps and then lured Powell into a drive and beat him. But it was at the other end that the incisions were made.Brathwaite’s defence was breached when he came half-forward to defend a length ball from Rabada but only managed an outside edge. Dean Elgar took the catch at first slip to end a poor series for Brathwaite and a poor series for opening partnerships on the whole. Brathwaite has managed 28 runs in four Tests, with a top score of 15, while the average opening stand across both teams is 8.14. Only three series in the history of Test cricket have had lower averages for the opening stand.Rabada kept up the fuller lengths but two overs later, held his length back against Shai Hope, who could not decide between ducking and fending and ended up lobbing the ball to Aiden Markram at second slip. South Africa appealed and then reviewed, with replays confirming Hope had gloved the ball. Rabada could have had two-in-two when he hit Kyle Mayers on the front pad with a full-toss and umpire Joel Wilson gave Mayers out lbw, but Rabada had overstepped.

Watch cricket on ESPN+

The WI vs SA series is available in the US on ESPN+. Subscribe to ESPN+ and tune in to the match.

Mayers went on to share a 64-run stand with Powell, the best in the match for West Indies, before top-edging an attempted pull off Rabada, which flew over the slips. Elgar chased it and completed the catch.Powell resisted almost alone from there. He brought up his fifty with an edge through third man and reached his highest Test score since October 2018, nine innings ago, but with his wicket, West Indies unravelled. Powell first swept Maharaj to Nortje at deep midwicket. Maharaj then had Holder caught by Keegan Petersen at short leg off his next ball to deepen West Indies’ troubles. And then came the icing on the cake, when Wiaan Mulder grabbed a one-handed chance at leg slip off a Da Silva fend.West Indies went to lunch on 109 for 6, with only the lower order to come. Kemar Roach and Jermaine Blackwood stayed together for 15.4 overs after the break, with Roach, in particular, playing some aggressive strokes during his 27. Blackwood was the first to go when he pushed at an Ngidi delivery and got an edge that de Kock held on to after diving full length to his right. Three overs later, Roach holed out to long-on, off Maharaj, before Jayden Seales heaved across the line and was caught at deep square leg to finish off a memorable match for Maharaj. With the final wicket, Maharaj became the first South Africa spinner to take a five-wicket haul against West Indies.

Premier League teams are reportedly growing concerned by the 'eye-watering' costs of legal battles – including Manchester City's 115 charges.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Premier League teams concerned by legal bills
• Competition embroiled in 'eye-watering' rates
• Includes Man City's 115 alleged financial breaches

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  This year, Everton, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City and now City have forked out huge funds to fight their corner in court in regards to financial fair play (FFP) and more. So why are other Premier League sides concerned about this going forward?

Advertisement

• Getty Images Sport
  

  THE EXPLANATION

  According to , top-flight teams are worried that the legal bill for these cases will run into the millions and reduce their share of the central funds from broadcast and commercial deals. The reports the Premier League could be left with a legal bill of tens of millions of pounds even if they win their case against City. If those legal funds continue to spiral – with claiming the Premier League spent nearly £50 million ($66.6m) on legal costs last season (six times more than what they budgeted for) – the usual payments issued to top-flight teams could be negatively affected.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  The Telegraph report adds that in the Everton case, where they were docked eight points overall in two court battles for profit and sustainability rule (PSR) breaches, the Premier League applied for the Toffees to pay £5m in costs but were awarded just £1.7m ($2.2m). Plus, they lost the appeal, which added to those costs. Previously, Everton's general counsel, Celia Rooney, said the rates paid by the Premier League for its legal costs were "eye-watering".

• Getty
  

  WHAT NEXT?

  While Everton and Forest were docked points last season and Leicester have seemingly escaped any punishment, City are currently in a legal battle with the Premier League over allegedly breaking financial rules. That case is likely to go on for weeks and will be very expensive.

India allrounder is one of 11 players with the double of scoring 3000 runs and taking 300 wickets

Sampath Bandarupalli30-Sep-20241:19

Jadeja’s special club feat. Kapil Dev, Ian Botham and more

11 – Ravindra Jadeja is now one of 11 players with the double of scoring 3000-plus runs and taking 300-plus wickets in Test cricket. Only two Indians have done this double before Jadeja – Kapil Dev and R Ashwin.74 – Number of Test matches Jadeja took to complete the double of 3000-plus runs and 300-plus wickets. He is the second quickest to the feat by matches, after Ian Botham (72).Jadeja has a difference of 12.72 between his batting and bowling averages, the second highest among the 11 players with this feat, behind Imran Khan’s 14.88.Related

• Rohit Sharma and the sixes that woke up a dead game

• Ravindra Jadeja, the quick and the deadly

2 – Number of left-arm spinners with 300-plus wickets in Test cricket before Jadeja. Daniel Vettori was the first to get there, who finished with 362 wickets, while Rangana Herath topped him with 433 scalps.19.69 – Difference in batting and bowling averages of Jadeja in the first innings in Tests, the highest among the 15 players to have scored 1500-plus runs and taken 150-plus wickets.