رد النجم السابق لفريق ليفربول، جيمي كاراجر، الصاع صاعين تجاه ريو فرديناند، بسبب ما قاله الأخير له فيما يخص المصري محمد صلاح عقب مشاركته في مباراة برايتون مساء أمس.

واستضاف ملعب “الأنفيلد” مباراة فريقي ليفربول وبرايتون في الجولة السادسة عشر من بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي، حيث حقق الريدز فوزًا بهدفين دون رد.

وشارك محمد صلاح في تلك المباراة كبديل في الدقيقة 25 بعد تعرض جو جوميز للإصابة، وقدم أداءً رائعًا، وتحصل على تحية حارة من جانب الجماهير.

وعقب المباراة، نشر ريو فرديناند عبر حسابه الشخصي بموقع إكس، مقطع فيديو لتصفيق جماهير ليفربول لـ محمد صلاح وغنائهم الأهزوجة الشهيرة الخاصة به.

وطلب ريو فرديناند من كاراجر إبداء رأيه تجاه الفيديو المنشور، في استهزاء واضح ضد النجم السابق لـ ليفربول بسبب تصريحاته القاسية على محمد صلاح مؤخرًا (لمطالعة التفاصيل من هنا).

من جانبه، رد جيمي كاراجر قائلًا: “هذا صحيح، لقد كان محمد صلاح رائعًا عندما دخل إلى الملعب”.

ولكن كاراجر رغب في الثأر لنفسه من فرديناند، حيث استهزئ به قائلًا: “ما رأيك في أسعار تذاكر كأس العالم يا ريو؟ لا شك أن رجلًا من عامة الشعب سينتقد فيفا وإنفانتينو، أم أن راتبك مقابل القرعة (التمثيل) كان من أجل شراء صمتك!”.

And rightly so, he was fantastic when he came on.

Thoughts on the price of the World Cup tickets @rioferdy5
A man of the people would surely call @FIFAcom & Infantino out 🤷🏻‍♂️
Or was your pay packet for the draw (acting 🤯😭) to buy your silence 🤫 https://t.co/TMcV0QhYZ6 — Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) December 13, 2025

وشارك ريو فرديناند في قرعة كأس العالم، مساء 5 ديسمبر الحالي، ولعب دورًا في مقطع تمثيلي تعليمي لإيضاح قواعد القرعة الخاصة بأول نسخة من المونديال بعد تحديث نظامه.

وأكدت تقارير صحفية مختلفة أن هناك احتجاجات كبرى في إنجلترا بسبب أسعار تذاكر مباريات كأس العالم، حيث يبلغ سعر أقل تذكرة لمباريات منتخب إنجلترا 135 جنيه إسترليني.

Justin Verlander is one of the oldest players in MLB, but it doesn't seem as if he's ready to call it a career just yet. Now in the midst of his 20th season, Verlander notched his 3,500th strikeout on Sunday, and is on the verge of moving into the ninth all-time in the category. And despite not picking up a win until his 17th start of the year, he's expecting to be back on the mound in 2026.

Speaking with , Verlander acknowledged his desire to continue pitching in 2026.

"I mean, I'd like to," he said. "At this point in my career, if something goes really wrong, I'm not going to rehab a surgery or anything. I always understand that it could be it, but I think physically, I've shown some good health this season. As I've been on the mound, things have started to get better and better. To me, that's a good sign with all the work I put in after my nerve injury last year, which notoriously takes a long time. The ball's rolling in the right direction, and I would like to continue pitching. You never know. It's a fickle game too, but I think the stuff is still there."

It's not something he's shied away from in the past, and 20 starts into his age-42 season, it's clear Verlander believes he has another year left in him, if not more. Of course, he was ready to admit that a significant injury could change those plans, but if he's blessed with a clean bill of health, he sees no reason why he can't contribute so long as he still has the stuff on the mound.

In 2025, Verlander owns a 4.53 ERA with 87 strikeouts in 99 1/3 innings. He signed a one-year, $15 million deal with the Giants in the offseason, so he'll be back in free agency again in the winter, where he'll be hoping at least one team has interest in adding him to the back end of their rotation for what would be his age-43 season.

After 12 rock-solid years across Major League Baseball, pitcher Alex Wood is calling it a day.

Wood is retiring from baseball, he announced in a Friday afternoon Instagram post. The 34-year-old Charlotte native had not pitched since a stint with the Athletics in 2024.

"Baseball was my first love. Outside of God and my family, nothing else has shaped me the way this game has," Wood wrote. "Even writing this, I can’t help but smile thinking about how much I still love the game after all this time."

Wood, who pitched collegiately for Georgia, debuted with the Braves in 2013. Atlanta traded him to the Dodgers in '15 in a three-team trade after a solid start to his career.

In 2017, Wood surprised the baseball world by opening the season 10–0. The All-Star finished the year 16–3 with a 2.72 ERA, falling just short of qualifying for the ERA title. In the playoffs, he posted a 2.92 ERA and helped Los Angeles win its first pennant since 1988.

Wood's fortunes declined after that, and he bounced around four franchises in his final seven years. He did experience a brief rejuvenation in 2021, going 10–4 with a 3.83 ERA during the Giants' shock 107–55 season.

Arsenal scored four in just 14 minutes as Mikel Arteta’s side put Atlético Madrid to the sword, extending their 100 per cent record in the Champions League, with summer signing Viktor Gyokeres also ending his goal drought.

Viktor Gyokeres bags Arsenal brace in 4-0 win over Atlético Madrid

Diego Simeone’s Atlético set up shop right from the get-go and were determined to make life very difficult for Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

Bar a few promising flashes of play, with both sides hitting the crossbar, Atlético thwarted Arteta’s men in the first half. The Gunners largely struggled to create a clear-cut opening, but past 57 minutes, the floodgates opened for Arsenal.

Gabriel Magalhaes headed home the first of Arsenal’s quartet in a scintillating second period. His compatriot, Gabriel Martinelli, thanks to some great work from Myles Lewis-Skelly, then added a second with 64 minutes gone before Gyokeres landed a quickfire double in the 67th and 70th minutes to leave Simeone’s side shell-shocked.

Atlético had scored seven goals in their opening two Champions League matches but rarely looked like threatening Arsenal’s back line as Arteta’s men recorded a third clean sheet in as many games in Europe and a fourth in a row in all competitions.

Eberechi Eze could’ve got himself on the scoresheet too, having watched a strike loop off David Hancko’s ankle and over goalkeeper Jan Oblak, before the summer signing was denied a first Champions League goal by the bar.

The headlines will belong to Gyokeres, who ended his seven-game run without a goal in all competitions thanks to some expert poaching inside the area.

The Swede, who’s been criticised for his lack of goal involvement lately, breathed a huge sigh of relief after bundling home his first from close range, before feeding off Gabriel’s headed assist to score a second.

The ex-Sporting CP star can now kick on and put his dry spell behind him, but he has serious competition for the crown of Arsenal’s best player against Atlético.

Paul Merson praises "outstanding" Bukayo Saka in Arsenal win

Alongside Gyokeres, £195,000-per-week winger Bukayo Saka also made his mark — particularly in the first 45.

The England international linked well with Jurrien Timber down Arsenal’s right-hand side and proved a constant menace for David Hancko, Koke and Nico Gonzalez to deal with.

While Saka wasn’t rewarded with a goal or assist to show for his efforts, the 24-year-old, who’s held talks over a new deal at N5, was lavished with praise for his attacking display by club legend Paul Merson.

Arsenal 4-0 Atlético Madrid – most shots	Total
Bukayo Saka	5
Gabriel Magalhaes	3
Viktor Gyokeres	3
Julian Alvarez	3
Eberechi Eze	2
via WhoScored

Merson was overseeing the Arsenal clash on Sky Sports News, providing commentary on each of the goals, and he was thrilled with a delightful piece of interplay which threatened to expose Atlético in the first-half.

Saka was at the heart of it, with Merson calling Saka “outstanding” and “by far the best player on the pitch”, adding that the Hale End sensation had Koke “on toast” [20:28].

As per usual, Saka played his part massively, and Arteta will be thrilled that the player’s hamstring injury woes are well and truly behind him.

The forward also captained Arsenal on a night to remember for the north Londoners, who reached the semi-finals of the Champions League last season, only to be knocked out by eventual winners PSG.

Watching Arsenal sweep aside their European opposition thus far, it’s very fair to suggest they could reach that stage again, or even go one further.

Arsenal join PSG and last season’s beaten finalists Inter Milan on nine points from the nine available, with Arteta seriously on course for the knockout rounds.

The most valuable player on a pitch is a striker, and nowadays, being a world-class centre-forward is more than just scoring goals.

Starting the press without the ball and linking up play are also two important attributes, but more often than not, a striker is judged by their goal to game ratio.

Currently, Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane are viewed as some of the best strikers in world football.

The Best 15 Strikers in World Football Ranked (2025)

Who is the best number nine right now?

ByCharlie Smith Nov 20, 2025

Here is a list of 20 of the most iconic centre-forwards football has ever seen, factoring in longevity and consistency at the highest level, while also looking at their personal accolades and honours they have won.

20 Hristo Stoichkov

An all-rounded forward and the greatest Bulgarian player in history, Hristo Stoichkov kicks off the countdown.

The powerful left-footed striker was famously signed by Johan Cruyff at Barcelona when he was at the top of his game and made the Catalan giants even better.

Stoichkov won five La Liga titles at the Nou Camp and collected the Ballon d’Or in 1994 after picking up the 1994 World Cup Golden Boot.

19 Kenny Dalglish

Arguably Liverpool’s greatest ever player, Kenny Dalglish wasn’t just a goalscorer and could run games of a football as a centre-forward.

‘King Kenny’ starred in the 1970s and 1980s, scoring more than 200 goals and winning 24 trophies during an iconic career.

18 Gabriel Batistuta

Argentine powerhouse Gabriel Batistuta was a goalscoring machine in the 1990s for Fiorentina, outscoring every other Serie A player in that decade.

Named by Pele in the FIFA 100 list in 2004, Batistuta was known for his aerial ability and physical presence, but when he had the ball at his feet, he was an excellent dribbler and clinical in front of goal and had an unbelievable World Cup record.

17 Harry Kane

Harry Kane is one of the most clinical strikers around, and he’s been finding the back of the net on a regular basis for Tottenham, Bayern Munich and England since 2014.

In fact, Kane has scored 17 or more league goals in 12 successive seasons, and his goalscoring record is remarkable. Now England’s all-time top scorer, Kane may not have the trophies to match his individual brilliance, but he is more than just a goalscorer with an incredible passing range.

16 Karim Benzema

One of the most underrated strikers in recent times, Karim Benzema often hasn’t got the plaudits he’s deserved after starring at Real Madrid for 14 years.

Finally lifting the Ballon d’Or in 2022, Benzema has won 33 honours during his career and scored more than 350 goals during his time at the Bernabeu.

Whether it be in the air or with the ball at his feet, the Frenchman was a nuisance for centre-backs and was often overshadowed by a certain Cristiano Ronaldo.

15 Jimmy Greaves

Part of the England side that won the 1966 World Cup, Jimmy Greaves was nominated for the Ballon d’Or on six occasions in the 1960s and starred for Chelsea and Tottenham during his career.

A Spurs legend with two FA Cup triumphs, Greaves also won Serie A with AC Milan. He finished his career as the highest scorer in England’s first tier of football with 357 goals, highlighting how much of a prolific goalscorer he was.

14 Alan Shearer

The Premier League has been regarded as the best league in the world over time, so Alan Shearer, the divisions all-time top scorer, had to be in the list.

The Englishman netted 260 times in the English top flight for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United, winning the title once.

Long range strikes, in the air or from the spot, Shearer could score any type of goal and came third in the 1996 Ballon d’Or.

13 Luis Suarez

Despite plenty of controversies during his career, Luis Suarez’s footballing ability at his peak for Ajax, Liverpool and Barcelona was incredible.

The Uruguayan has scored goals on a consistent basis for 20 years now and was named the IFFHS World’s Best Goalscorer in 2010, 2014 and 2016.

Suarez has proven he can score all across the world and his 2013/2014 season with Liverpool is arguably one of the best individual seasons the Premier League has ever seen.

12 Wayne Rooney

One of four English strikers on the list, Wayne Rooney is Man Utd’s all-time leading goalscorer and had every attribute an iconic centre-forward required. From physicality to pace and world-class technical ability, Rooney scored 253 times for the Red Devils and netted 53 times for England.

Dropping deeper in midfield throughout his career, Rooney was unstoppable in his prime as a striker, winning 16 major honours.

11 Josef Bican

Josef Bican represented both Austria and Czechoslovakia on the international stage and was one of the most prolific forwards during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

Capable with finishing with ease with either foot, Bican scored more than 800 goals during his career despite making just over 600 appearances.

A ridiculous goal to game ratio, Bican has rightly gone down as a Slavia Prague legend.

It was crucial that Everton put the brakes on their season for a third time with a win. And win the Toffees did. The Hill Dickinson returned to form as David Moyes oversaw a professional victory over Fulham in the Premier League.

The 2-0 win marked the end of a three-match winless run for Everton, lifting them to 11th in the standings. It’s all rather congested in the middle of the table right now, but Everton know they need to make improvements if they wish to beat off mid-table competition and push for a place in the top half.

And it’s becoming apparent that external solutions will be needed, thus turning our attention toward the looming January transfer window.

Where Everton are looking to strengthen

Everton’s winter transfer plans are currently rather nebulous, but that’s only natural given there is still a month and a half until the January market opens for business.

What is clear is that Moyes will be looking to strengthen, and the Friedkin Group are ready to back him in this endeavour. More detailed plans might be unknown, but it’s obvious that the Toffees will look to sign a striker, with Beto and £27m summer recruit Thierno Barry both toiling this term, one goal between them in the Premier League.

Were the Merseysiders playing their football with a reliable bagsman at number nine, it would not be unreasonable to suggest that European contention would already be a conversation.

That could still be the case, with a few tweaks. It’s not just up top where Everton need to remedy their tactical creases. Both full-back berths have been focus points of criticism this season, with Jake O’Brien industrious at right-back but out of position nonetheless, naturally a centre-back.

Let’s have a look at how Everton could shape up after a window of dealings.

Moyes' dream XI after January

Jordan Pickford will, of course, remain between the sticks for Everton, having extended until 2029 last month.

The return of Jarrad Branthwaite to fitness will also feel like a new signing for side who have had to make do at the rear this term. Praise must be placed at Michael Keane’s feet, the English defender having completed a U-turn before the end of last season, signing a new deal and starting every Premier League match of the campaign.

It is indeed the wide defenders who need changing, and Everton could act on their interest in Sevilla’s Juanlu Sanchez, with an October report suggesting the Blues have prepared a £17m bid ahead of January.

Sanchez, 23, is a powerful and balanced player, and in La Liga this season, he ranks among the top 14% of positional peers for progressive carries and the top 16% for successful take-ons per 90, as per FBref.

This would be an interesting deal to add width and dynamism down Everton’s right side, but it could be a move that is overshadowed by a loan bid for Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly.

Lewis-Skelly’s reduced role in Mikel Arteta’s title-challenging team this season is not a reflection of his skillset but an emphasis on the Gunners’ remarkable rise in recent years. The 19-year-old was very much a part of that last year, his performances leading The Athletic’s Aaron Catterson-Reid to describe him as a “£100m footballer”.

Arteta has yet to name the prospect from the opening in the top flight this season, and this has given rise to chatter about a winter loan move. A number of unnamed Premier League clubs are monitoring the situation, and it’s more than likely that Everton are among that mix.

Such additions would have a marked impact on Everton’s prospects this season, giving Iliman Ndiaye and Jack Grealish more freedom and security on the attacking wings. Grealish is only a loanee himself, but there are hopes that a permanent deal can be engineered in 2026.

That leaves the big one. One of Beto or Barry could leave the Hill Dickinson this winter, especially when Everton have shown signs of interest in Al-Ahli striker Ivan Toney, who left the Premier League for Saudi Arabia in 2024.

Toney, 29, is one of England’s most talented and dangerous marksmen, and he had been coveted by Chelsea last summer, before the stars aligned for a big pay packet overseas.

The Athletic have confirmed that the former Brentford man is a player of interest heading into the January market, albeit with a host of complications relating to finances and the thick competition for such a signature at the season’s midpoint.

This would be an ambitious move, but one which could pay off handsomely if the Merseyside club play their cards right. The £30m-rated Toney, after all, is intrigued by the possibility of returning to his homeland ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Instrumental in propping the Gtech up in the Premier League, Toney was described by Thomas Frank as being a “monster” of a striker, not only deadly in front of goal but dynamic and intelligent too.

Ivan Toney’s Premier League Career
Season	Apps	Goals (assists)
25/26	17	4 (2)
24/25	33	20 (4)
23/24	33	12 (5)
Data via Transfermarkt

It won’t be easy, wrestling the £400k-per-week Three Lions star from the Gulf region and beating the inevitable competition for his signature, but Everton need a striker, and Moyes may just canvass a compelling proposal to the proven Premier League star.

We can say without question that Everton have enjoyed an upswing in results and performances since Moyes replaced Sean Dyche at the helm. But Everton need more. There’s a bluntness to the squad’s attack, and by reenergising the widths and placing a robust and hungry option at the focal front point, Moyes might just pull off another special success.

0 minutes all season: "Generational" Everton star could be Branthwaite 2.0

David Moyes must consider unleashing this talented Everton youngster in the coming weeks.

By
Angus Sinclair

Nov 7, 2025

If you are of an Arsenal persuasion, then it’s likely you’re sitting very happy right now. The Gunners are top of the table, and Mikel Arteta’s side have just dispatched their fierce rivals. Life doesn’t get much better, right?

The sequence of events that played out at the Emirates made their 4-1 victory all the more sweeter.

Speaking in the build-up to the game, Thomas Frank jokingly replied to a reporter’s question about Eberechi Eze by saying, “Who’s Eze?”

The England international infamously rejected a move to Tottenham in the summer despite everything looking as though it was agreed. He joined their rivals instead, heading to his boyhood club, the club of his dreams. The club that rejected him when he was just a boy in the academy.

Well, let it all work out. Frank certainly knows who Eze is now. Draped in Arsenal red, following a few slow months to start the season, he is now a hero.

Arteta’s men strengthened their grip at the top of the Premier League table by recording a remarkable win and much to Frank’s dismay, Eze was the man of the moment, scoring a quite breathtaking hat-trick.

How Eberechi Eze downed Spurs

Wow, just wow. What a moment this was. A few years ago Eze revealed that he cried in his room when he was rejected by Arsenal.

It was always his dream to play for the club and well, that dream became a reality in the summer. Never in his wildest dreams, however, did he expect what played out on Sunday, even if he did pray for such a moment to occur.

This was one of the finest individual performances from an Arsenal player that we can remember. To recount more recent memories, it’s up there with Declan Rice’s performance against Real Madrid last term, with Andrey Arshavin’s four-goal haul at Anfield. Sometimes a player delivers a performance that is so perfect it gets talked about for years to come. This was that moment.

Eze has had to work hard to find form this term, playing a mixture of games on the left flank and in the middle. With skipper Martin Odegaard out injured, he’s had a chance to showcase why he was purchased for £67.5m in the summer.

Yet, before that clash with Spurs, the former Crystal Palace man had scored just once in the league. How quickly things change in football.

Each goal Eze scored just seemed to get better. The first was supplied by Declan Rice and perhaps rather fortuitously, he managed to get a shot away amidst a bunch of Spurs players. It rifled past the goalkeeper to make it 2-0 after Leandro Trossard had opened the scoring.

Eze’s night got better in the second half when, minutes after the half-time interval, he darted onto Jurrien Timber’s pass and found the corner of the goal with his left foot.

His third and final goal came late on when Spurs had thrown players forward. Trossard was at the centre of things again, playing the ball into Eze, who was standing inside the area. He took a touch to set himself and then lashed it home. It capped off an incredible performance, one that will live long not just in his memory, but in the memory of supporters.

Still, he’s not the only one in red and white who had their best game in Arsenal colours.

Not just Eze: Another Arsenal star had his best game for the club

There was a primary reason Arsenal signed Eze in the summer. They needed more depth and they needed more quality on the left flank.

Noni Madueke had already been signed from Chelsea but in Gabriel Martinelli and the aforementioned Trossard, they lacked spice. Between them, they scored eight goals each in Premier League action last term.

Chalkboard

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

The Belgian was perhaps questionably handed a summer pay rise to keep him at the club but when Eze signed, his career at the Emirates Stadium looked as good as done.

Well, how wrong were we? Trossard, in the words of Arsenal writer Connor Humm, has “arguably been the best winger in the Premier League this season.”

Always a man for the big occasion, the 30-year-old rose to the mark again and put in a performance that was equally effective as Eze’s.

Trossard opened the scoring in the first half in brilliant fashion. It was a run from out to in, one that was said to be “like Robert Pires” by Gary Neville on Sky Sports commentary, that made the goal.

Mikel Merino still had plenty to do, however, but he clipped a pass beautifully into the path of Trossard. He took the ball down, spun and then found the net on his left foot. Advantage Arsenal.

Trossard’s work was not done there. The £27m man registered two key passes, one of which proved decisive as he supplied Eze’s goal that sealed his hat-trick.

As The Standard’s Simon Collings noted when the Belgium winger was substituted late on, it was “probably one of his best games in an Arsenal shirt.” Quite.

Minutes played

78

Goals

1

Touches

39

Accurate passes

11/23 (48%)

Key passes

2

Assists

1

Shots on target

1

Accurate crosses

1/1

Successful dribbles

0/4

Duels won

4/10

It was a tireless performance and one that epitomised the former Brighton forward’s time in London.

In the 32 matches in which Trossard has scored for Arsenal, they have never lost. The games he’s scored the most goals of his career against? Liverpool (6), Chelsea (4) and Spurs (4).

The winger is no Usain Bolt, he’s not the quickest player in the world. He’s no Bukayo Saka either, he lacks the same explosiveness. However, what he lacks in that regard, he makes up for in technical ability and mental fortitude. He is a mental giant and one of the hardest-working players in this team.

Eze certainly stole the show at the Emirates but Trossard deserves his flowers too.

The Phillies' 2025 season ended in the worst way possible on Thursday night.

Just one out away from navigating out of trouble in the bottom of the 11th inning with the bases loaded and the game tied 1-1, Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering induced a slow roller off the bat of Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages that bounced off of Kerkering's foot just as Hyeseong Kim scampered home. Kerkering fielded the ball but, instead of making the easier throw to first, attempted to get Kim out at the plate.

But he airmailed the throw, allowing Kim to score the winning run, ending the Phillies' season in heartbreaking fashion.

"It just hit off my foot. Once that pressure got to me, I just thought there's a faster throw to J.T. [Realmuto], little quicker throw than trying to cross-body it to Bryce," Kerkering told reporters after the game. "Just a horse—- throw."

Making the moment even more gut-wrenching for the Phillies is that replays showed that Kerkering had time to make the throw to first base to get Pages—and that Realmuto was gesturing for him to do so. But in the chaos of the moment—a pressure cooker of a postseason scenario with thousands of screaming fans, a ball caroming off his foot and baserunners flying around the bases—Kerkering said he didn't hear his teammates calling for him to make the throw to first and didn't see Realmuto's gestures.

As the Dodgers' celebrated the thrilling walk-off win, a distraught Kerkering was comforted by Realmuto and outfielder Nick Castellanos, who ran from the outfield to make sure he got to the young reliever.

"Just keep your head up," Kerkering said his teammates told him. "It's an honest mistake. It's baseball. S— happens. Just keep your head up, you'll be good for a long time to come. Stuff like it's not my fault—had opportunities to score. Just keep your head up."

As Kerkering headed off the field, the first person waiting for him at the dugout step was Phillies manager Rob Thomson, who consoled him and shared a brief message for him.

"Just keep his head up," Thomson said he told Kerkering. "He just got caught up in the moment a little bit. Coming down the stretch, he pitched so well for us. I feel for him [Orion Kerkering] because he's putting it all on his shoulders. But we win as a team and we lose as a team."

The 1992 World Cup semi-final could have had an entirely different hero

Karthik Krishnaswamy01-May-2020The scorecard of the 1992 World Cup semi-final between New Zealand and Pakistan would suggest Chris Harris had an ordinary match: 13 runs at No. 6, and figures of 1 for 72 in ten overs. He took the bulk of the punishment – 25 off 13 balls – from the eventual Player of the Match, Inzamam-ul-Haq, and was at the receiving end of the six and the four that Moin Khan hit, off successive balls, to seal victory for Pakistan.Don’t be fooled, though. Harris was a central figure for New Zealand, a man whose performance could – and perhaps should – have hauled them into their first World Cup final.In an alternate universe, Harris would be remembered for playing a similar role to Viv Richards in the 1975 final, effecting the run-outs that turned the match.In an alternate universe, Steve Bucknor, the square-leg umpire, would have raised his finger when Harris swooped from cover point like a bird of prey, picked up the ball, and flicked it underarm, all in the same motion, to hit the stumps direct at the striker’s end with Javed Miandad stretching to make his ground. Replays showed Miandad clearly short of his crease, even if there was only an inch in it. He had faced five balls at that stage, and scored one run. If he’d been given out, Pakistan would have been 86 for 3, needing a further 177 to win off 161 balls.As it happened, there was no way for Bucknor to give Miandad out based on what he saw from square leg in the hurly-burly of live action, with no recourse to slow-motion replays. Batsmen inevitably – and rightly – get the benefit of doubt in those situations.Miandad would go on to steer Pakistan to victory with a typically crafty 57 not out from 69 balls, shepherding the youthful Inzamam and Moin, constantly offering them advice from his end.Harris could have run Miandad out for 1. Harris did run Inzamam out for 67, when Miandad tapped the ball towards him at extra-cover and called for an unwise single. And Harris could have run Moin out too, in the closing stages, when the match was still alive.Harris had just kept Miandad to a single by quickly closing down a square drive at deep point. With Moin now on strike, John Wright, New Zealand’s stand-in captain, moved him to midwicket. With Pakistan needing 16 off 16 balls, New Zealand pushed their inner-ring fielders close to the bat, to crowd the new man and try to keep him on strike. There were three fielders in a tight ring saving one on the off side, but only one on the leg side. New Zealand put their best fielder there.When Moin flicked Danny Morrison’s next ball out of the blockhole, it was almost inevitable that Harris would appear in its path, springing diagonally to his right to effect a one-handed, single-denying pick-up, which segued into a flick-throw that hit the stumps direct. Once again, replays showed that the hurriedly backtracking Moin was narrowly but perceptibly short of his crease when the bails came off.As with the previous incident, it was impossible for the square-leg umpire to give the batsman out. The evidence of the replays was clear enough, though, and it feels unfair that the multitude of camera angles that now bring a nearly 360-degree view of the field to millions of viewers, and the slow-motion replays that allow them to dissect the action with unprecedented precision, aren’t available to the match officials.Run-outs and stumpings are, by definition, binary: a line divides out from not out. Unlike lbw, there is no subjectivity involved with line calls, and there should be no reason why cricket, at the top level at least, should not employ video umpires to judge them.These decisions can change matches and tournaments, and change the way we remember them. In years to come, you’ll associate this World Cup with the image of a flying Jonty Rhodes running Inzamam out at the Gabba. Just make sure you don’t forget Chris Harris at Eden Park.Postscript: Video umpires came into effect by the end of the year, and the first Test of India’s 1992-93 tour of South Africa, in Durban, was the first international match to feature the third umpire. Cyril Mitchley was the first on-field umpire to send a run-out appeal “upstairs”, where Karl Liebenburg made the historic decision to give Sachin Tendulkar out.

Jaydev Unadkat’s solo act, and other numbers ahead of the Ranji Trophy final

Bharath Seervi06-Mar-202014 Number of times Bengal have reached the Ranji Trophy finals, including their final appearance this time. Only two teams have got to the final more times: Mumbai have done it 46 times and Delhi have reached there on 15 occasions. Karnataka have also appeared 14 times. However, Bengal have won the final only twice, ending up as runners up on 11 other occasions.15.38 Bengal’s win percentage in their final appearances is the lowest among all teams who have played in at least ten Ranji finals. Their last two finals were in successive seasons – 2005-06 and 2006-07 – and they ended as runners-up both times, losing to Uttar Pradesh first, then Mumbai.65 Wickets for Jaydev Unadkat in this season, which is already the second-most by a bowler in a Ranji season. He needs four more wickets in the final to go past the record of 68 wickets by Bihar’s Ashutosh Aman last season. Unadkat has seven five-wicket hauls this season and only two bowlers have more: Nine for Ashutosh and eight for Bishan Singh Bedi in 1974-75. Saurashtra’s second-highest wicket-taker of the season has not even taken half of Unadkat’s tally; Dharmendrasinh Jadeja is second with 29 wickets.51 Wickets picked by Saurashtra’s other fast bowlers apart from Unadkat. While Unadkat has picked up 65 wickets at an average of 12.16, the other Saurashtra quicks have combined for just 51 wickets at an average of 34.19. None of the other fast bowlers has any five-wicket hauls whereas Unadkat has picked up seven five-fors and three ten-fors. Unadkat, who is also Saurashtra’s captain, might want his fast bowling partners to provide greater support to lift a maiden Ranji Trophy title.

Jaydev Unadkat vs Other Saurashtra fast bowlers in Ranji Trophy 2019-20

Bowler Wickets Ave SR 5WI 10WMJaydev Unadkat 65 12.16 25.6 7 3All other Saurashtra pacers 51 34.19 67.0 0 018.44 Average of Bengal’s pacers this Ranji season. Only three teams’ quicks had better average – Puducherry, Haryana and Chandigarh – and none of them were from the combined A and B groups that consisted of 18 teams. Three Bengal fast bowlers have picked up 20-plus wickets at an average of less than 20: Akash Deep (30 wickets, 17.33 ave), Mukesh Kumar (30 wickets, 19.36 ave) and Ishan Porel (22 wickets, 16.81 ave). For Saurashtra, only Unadkat has 20-plus wickets at an average of less than 20.