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Match-defining hundred at Lord’s finally shifts narrative away from World Cup head-to-head with Brook

Vithushan Ehantharajah15-Sep-2023Harry Brook was back in the pavilion, a restless 10 off 15 taking his series tally to an unconvincing 37 from three innings. Jason Roy was leaning on the pitch-side bench below the England balcony, a dicky back keeping him out of this final ODI against New Zealand.Meanwhile, Dawid Malan, very much the third party when this selectorial first presented itself a few weeks ago, raised his bat and helmet in their general direction after coming through for his fifth ODI hundred. And just like that, the narrative finally shifted in Malan’s favour.It had been coming. Laments of a Brook-less provisional World Cup squad had gone quiet, partly because the point had been made, partly because of the run of low scores. But the focus on who he might replace fixed strongest on Malan. Roy, a hero of 2019, coming into this series as the team’s leading 50-over run-scorer since that triumph, looked set. Though a loss of T20 form had seen him miss out on 2022’s T20 World Cup, a second successive snub felt unjustified on form, and unnecessarily cruel on feel.Related

• Malan-Brook shoot-out intrigues, but form of England veterans remains the major focus

• Roy loses his England ODI record; will it be his World Cup place next?

• Dawid Malan century cements his status as England seal 100-run win

• Southee fractures bone in right thumb during Lord's ODI

But with Roy unable to take the field once again against New Zealand, an uncomfortable sense of waiting for Malan to fail has dissipated. Malan himself was all too aware of that sentiment. Asked if it had fuelled this absurd run, capped off with 127 off 114 deliveries to give him 277 runs at an average of 92.33 in the last seven days, he offered a telling, “Maybe.”Malan continued: “It’s satisfying from my point of view to be able to silence some people who have always got some negative things to say. But that’s the game – my job is to score runs and as long as I can keep doing that, hopefully I can keep the support from inside the changing room, because I always felt backed from the guys that matter inside there.”I need to be careful – I’m probably going to give another good headline here. It is what it is. I guess when you try and break into a team as good as this white-ball team has been with the Roots, the Stokes, the Bairstows, Roys, Buttlers – it’s incredibly tough and you have to score runs. I guess whenever there is a spot under scrutiny it’s always going to be the guys pushing for those spots, and that’s just the territory because those guys have been so good for so many years. All I can do is score runs and hope that that matters.”Scores of 54 and 96 restated his worth, missing the second ODI in between for the birth of his son. Such was the appetite to not let a moment slip, he made himself available for The Oval after Dawid Johannes Malan V arrived earlier than the September 12 due date. Both Buttler and head coach Matthew Mott offered Malan time at home, but both he and his partner decided against it.”Speaking to my wife as well, we thought it was the right thing to come back and try and push for this, score some runs and secure your spot for that World Cup,” Malan said, having just been handed both the player of the match and the series award, and a Hamley’s bag with a cuddly panda for his son – a gift from a cousin who was in attendance at Lord’s. “Thankfully, it’s come off and I think I’m on babysitting duties when I turn up.”Malan leads the team off after his Player of the Match display•Getty ImagesFriday’s knock ticked plenty of boxes: carrying England to an insurmountable total, taking him past a thousand runs in the format, and getting his name on the honour’s board at Lord’s, which he feels he did not do enough in 13 years here as a Middlesex player. Only three other ODI batters have reached four figures in fewer than his 21 innings, and just Quinton De Kock and Imam-ul-Haq registered five centuries across that same span.”You either have to be an absolute freak or you have to be so consistent you keep your name in the hat,” Malan said of his England status. “I’ve had to be that consistent one, and thankfully I’ve been able to do that at times in my career.”It’s worth noting Malan outshone the freaks this time. Much like the innings at The Oval, he pushed the envelope, this time without Ben Stokes hogging the limelight at the other end – the allrounder safely packed away after emphatically marking his unretirement on Wednesday.The scorecard tells a pretty comprehensive story: the next highest scorers were Glenn Phillips (41) and Rachin Ravindra, while Jos Buttler was the only other English batter to make it past 30. Brook’s laboured final audition did not look as bad set against Joe Root’s peculiar 29 off 40 deliveries. Never has England’s generational great looked so out of touch, dropped twice, on 7 and 8. But it at least served to highlight just how in command Malan was.He was better than a run-a-ball for most of his knock, providing 36 of England’s 56 in the Power Play. The half-century came off 50, the full one off 96, albeit with a fortuitous edge just beyond a diving Tom Latham behind the stumps which took him from 95 to 99. That was one of the few missteps in a dominant knock, until he reached for a wide delivery from Ravindra and edged behind. Even then, it was a minor victory for the left-arm spinner, who had been carted for one of Malan’s three sixes, all swatted into the stands at midwicket.From Buttler and Mott’s point of view, what awkwardness there has been in the build-up to this World Cup has at least given them one dead cert 20 days out from their opener in Ahmedabad against New Zealand. For all the legacy of Roy and limitless potential of Brook, Malan has funnelled the pressure productively to highlight the value of being a man of the present among ones of the past and future.It now seems likely Roy will be added to the Ireland squad to get a hit in the first of three matches, with the first ODI taking place in Leeds on Wednesday. Brook is already part of the squad, setting us up for one last bunfight before the World Cup 15 is ratified next week.”When I got the call I was told ‘you’re going to the World Cup’, you know,” Malan said. “Then obviously there’s a little bit of noise leading up to it, but that’s part and parcel of World Cups and how we’re going to the World Cup. That’s being a professional cricketer. Until you’re on the plane, you never really know if you’re on it or not.”Well, Malan has silenced that noise as far as he is concerned, and can go ahead and print his boarding pass for that flight to India on September 27.

In-form captain has team-mates running out of superlatives and home crowd loving every moment

Andrew Miller14-Aug-20216:00

Root or KP – England’s greatest batsman?

We cannot keep asking more of our star players. That has been the message from the ECB high command in recent months – including on the eve of this Test, when Tom Harrison, the chief executive, insisted the board were committed to a “people first” policy, for the remainder of England’s summer campaign and, most significantly, on into this winter’s Ashes.”It’s no longer acceptable to go ‘once more unto the breach dear friends’,” Harrison said, with Covid restrictions foremost in his thoughts, but with England’s insane itinerary right up there at the top of everyone else’s. For despite such stirring rhetoric, there really is no other way. The reality for England’s cricketers, in the sport’s post-pandemic panic, is that every day is Groundhog Day, every next-biggest occasion ever is just another day on the treadmill.But just as Bill Murray discovered while hanging out in Punxsutawney, some days can still be better than others if you can find it within you to seize the moment. And when you’ve ploughed on for as long as Joe Root has, willing yourself to perform in empty echoing stadiums for months of bubbled-up existence, then to emerge into a sunlight Saturday of a Lord’s Test, in front of a packed and enraptured crowd, with your own family looking on from their box in the Grandstand … well, there couldn’t really be a more perfect stage for a masterpiece.Related

• Stats: Joe Root reaches 9000 Test runs as superb 2021 form continues

• Joe Root's flawless 180* helps England edge 27 ahead

• India refuse to go on the back foot thanks to Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah

Root has had plenty reason to wave his bat in triumph in the course of his extraordinary 2021. But few milestone moments have dripped with more glee than his jab into the covers off Jasprit Bumrah, armed with the second new ball on Saturday afternoon. He scampered the single then veered abruptly towards his family in the stands, punching the air with a delirium that only the most devout can know.For Root isn’t just going to the well for England, time and time again. He’s living in the well. He’s so immersed in the day-to-day pressures of carrying the fortunes of his team that he’s become at one with his surroundings, at peace with the pressure of treading water for hours at an end, knowing that if he dares to stop swimming, everyone is liable to sink. Today he soared, and it was glorious.”Joe and I, when we were walking out, we were just smiling at each other,” Jonny Bairstow said at the close, after an innings of 57 that ended up being less than a third of his captain’s tally, but is still, remarkably, the only other half-century to have come from one of his team-mates this series.”How good is it to walk out on a Saturday at Lord’s, with one of your best mates?” Bairstow added. “That’s exactly what it was. Our partnership was about having fun while we were out there, and to have a full crowd back at Lord’s, with the new stand, with family and friends, was really special. That Lord’s buzz, or hum, or however you want to phrase it, was most definitely back.”Mohammed Siraj congratulates Joe Root on his unbeaten 180•Getty ImagesMuch like James Anderson’s first-innings five-for, hindsight confers an inevitability on Root’s magnificence that circumstance really shouldn’t allow. It was a point put to him in the lead-up to this match – as he opted once again to do his captain’s media duties two days out from the Test, in a bid to cocoon his game-brain and filter out the noise for an extra 24 hours.”How are you Joe?” was the gist of the final question, almost as an afterthought at the end of a 20-minute interrogation, featuring topics including the return of Moeen Ali and the wider failings of a team that had been outplayed in each of their first three Tests of the summer, the longest they’d been made to wait for a home victory since their struggles against Sri Lanka and India back in 2014.He insisted he was fine – but then so too, you suspect, did Ben Stokes last month, when he fielded that SOS after the white-ball Covid outbreak, and broke off his recuperation to lead out a squad of reserves. Today, however, Root offered up the most ringing affirmative he could muster, an innings so serene it was as though the solitude of his supremacy had bought even his classically tailored game an extra yard of response time.Soft hands, calm choices, unhurried strokeplay – at least until his white-ball savvy surged to the fore as Anderson got peppered in the day’s frantic closing moments. He barely presented a straight bat through the V at any stage of his innings, relying instead on nudges off his legs for the balls that veered too straight, and needle-threading judgement on his favoured off-side, which made a mockery at times of Virat Kohli’s attempts to bung up his options with a trio of short covers and two slips to check his dab to third man.And in keeping with the need to think happy thoughts to haul England through this summer’s predicament, Root’s running between the wickets was able to step up an extra notch once he had linked up with sidekicks in whom he could fully trust – Bairstow in the first instance, but Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali too, a trio whose white-ball world-beating counts for more than perhaps it ought to in the cramped confines of this itinerary. In the end Bairstow was bested by the short ball – a method he cannot really plan for when ruling the roost in one-day cricket – while Buttler and Moeen made just 50 runs between them. But they between scratched out half-century stands, and gave Root the ballast he needed to drag the match towards parity.None of this is sustainable. It’s barely even credible – much as in 2018, when India’s 4-1 losing margin was a travesty, it beggars belief that they are not already 1-0 up from Trent Bridge, and pushing for a second. But like a high-wire act over Niagara Falls, Root’s progress is both utterly compelling, and so inexorable, you start to believe he might just get to the other side without looking down.

“I run out of superlatives, to be honest”Jonny Bairstow marvels at the feats of his captain

For his achievements in 2021 are already sensational. In the course of this innings, Root first skittered past Graham Gooch’s former England record of 8900 Test runs, then pushed on past 9000 too, and at a younger age than anyone bar the one Englishman ahead of him in the run-charts, Alastair Cook.By the time he’d run out of partners on 180 not out, Root’s tally for the year was close to double that of any other batter in world cricket – 1244 to Rohit Sharma’s mid-match tally of 669 – and while England’s overloaded itinerary is a contributory factor, the comparison with his peers is even more revealing.By the end of England’s innings, Root had scored almost four times as many runs in 2021 as his next most prolific team-mate, Rory Burns (353), and more runs than the rest of England’s top six in this match combined.He’s made five of their six centuries this year, including each of their four 150-plus scores, and is only one shy of England’s all-time record of six in a calendar year. And, as if further proof was needed of the burden he has carried for his side, in this match he even had to see off two hat-trick balls in the same innings. His first ball came in the wake of Haseeb Hameed’s golden duck on Friday; and his 277th came 152 runs later, as Ishant Sharma started a new over, fresh from delivering Sam Curran his own first-baller.”I run out of superlatives, to be honest,” Bairstow said at the close. “He means a heck of a lot [to the team], like he does to English cricket.”To go into second place in the leading run-scorers in the history of the English game is very special, to pass 9000 Test runs in this game is extremely special, to score another 180 not out at Lord’s is great, isn’t it, and to see him in the form that he is, playing the way he is, it’s awesome to be out there with him, putting on partnerships with him, and enjoying every single moment of it.”And as a consequence, he’s on the brink of his masterpiece now. A year to stand comparison with any of the greats that have gone before. Richards in 1976, Ponting in 2005… even the most prolific of them all, Mohammad Yousuf, whose 1788 runs in his annus mirablis in 2006 included nine centuries in 19 innings. That’s as many as Root himself has now played, but he’s still got 12 more scheduled before the New Year. As might have been mentioned once or twice, England’s itinerary really is something else.But more immediately, Root’s got the chance to prove a point about his contemporary credentials. The mutterings in recent seasons were that he had slipped out of the fabled “Fab Four” of modern batting – his century at Trent Bridge last week had been his first on home soil since India’s last tour in 2018, notwithstanding the fact that his role in England’s World Cup triumph had caused a wavering in his Test focus.But now it’s Kohli who’s feeling the heat for his own relative dip in standards. In consecutive series against England in 2016-17 and 2018, he amassed the small matter of 655 runs at 109.16, and 593 at 59.30. Likewise, Steve Smith racked up 687 runs at 137.40 in Australia’s 4-0 rout in their last home Ashes in 2017-18; then followed that up with 774 more at 110.57.Root, right at this moment, has 353 runs at 176.50, with potentially seven more innings to come. The same, in fact, as his next most prolific colleague for the entire year. It may not be fair to expect Root to keep giving more to the cause. But when you’re in a zone quite like this, who would ever wish it to end?

The Mariners are one win away from the first World Series appearance in franchise history after their 6-2 win over the Blue Jays in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series Friday.

Third baseman Eugenio Suárez, who Seattle acquired from the Diamondbacks at the trade deadline, hit two home runs on the night, including a massive grand slam in the eighth to break a 2-2 tie. Star catcher Cal Raleigh, Major League Baseball's home run leader, hit a homer to tie the game to lead off the inning. The bases were loaded for Suárez after walks to Jorge Polanco, Josh Naylor and Randy Arozarena.

It was Suárez's night, as he provided Seattle fans with a moment they won't forget any time soon with a 351-foot grand slam to opposite field.

A view from the stands captured the incredible crowd pop at T-Mobile Park after Suárez's franchise-changing swing:

The MLB posted a bird's-eye view shot of the moment that showcased the madness:

And another angle from center field that shows the pure elation from the Mariners' base runners:

And one more awesome view from the field level posted by the Mariners' social team:

Suárez was 2-for-3 with a walk on the night and drove in five of Seattle's six runs. His teammates gave him a well-deserved celebratory bath in his postgame interview following the win, knowing he just gave the city and himself a moment to remember, calling it the biggest home run of his career.

"For our fans, they have been waiting a long time for this moment and we are here to give it to them," he said via FOX Sports. "We're here to fight for a World Series. We want to give it to them. We want to stay in the fight and we needed them to stay with us in the fight."

Now, Seattle heads back to Toronto for Game 6 Sunday, where they need to win one of their next two games to give their fans what they've waited for.

Former England Women’s head coach reunites with Heather Knight at Hundred franchise

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-2025

Jon Lewis and Heather Knight will reunite for the Hundred•PA Images via Getty Images

Jon Lewis, the former England Women’s head coach, will reunite with Heather Knight, their former captain, at London Spirit after his appointment as Women’s head coach at the Hundred franchise.Spirit last week announced Knight’s appointment as women’s team general manager. As part of that non-playing role, she will work closely with Lewis on staff appointments and squad selection before and during the player auction in March as well as advising the on-field leadership group.The pair last worked together during the Ashes at the start of this year, where England’s winless performance led to Lewis losing his job as coach and Knight the captaincy, although she remains a pivotal player for her country, ending the recent 50-over World Cup as their leading run-scorer as the team reached the semi-finals.Related

Jon Lewis leaves role as England Women's head coach

Heather Knight departs as England captain after nine-year reign

Jon Lewis returns to Gloucestershire as new director of cricket

Heather Knight appointed London Spirit Women's general manager

At London Spirit, Lewis will be responsible for team selection and performance.”This is a really exciting opportunity to play a part in shaping the future of this franchise,” Lewis said. “I am looking forward to building a team packed with talent and character, playing cricket that Spirit fans coming to Lord’s will get behind as we aim to win a second title this summer.”Early in Lewis’s tenure with England Women, the team reached the semi-finals of the 2023 ICC T20 World Cup and defeated India in an away T20I series before an unbeaten summer against Pakistan and New Zealand in 2024. He also oversaw England’s 2023 home Ashes series in which the hosts came back from a 6-0 points deficit to draw 8-8.But a group-stage exit at last year’s T20 World Cup ultimately signalled the beginning of the end for his time with the team, which came after England were thumped 16 points to nil on the subsequent Ashes tour.Lewis has also been involved in franchise cricket, having led UP Warriorz since the inception of the Women’s Premier League until earlier this year.Having represented England in all three international formats as a player, Lewis was the ECB’s elite pace bowling coach, working with England Men on their 2021-22 Ashes tour of Australia, and previously coached the Young Lions.He was recently appointed director of cricket – overseeing the performance structure across men’s and women’s teams and pathway programmes – at his former county, Gloucestershire, who agreed to Lewis adding the Hundred role to his duties.Mo Bobat, London Spirit director of cricket, was delighted to welcome Lewis to the franchise, which was valued at £295 million – by far the most expensive in the competition – during the recent private equity sale of Hundred teams.”I know first-hand his capabilities as a coach and his qualities as a person,” said Bobat, who worked previously with Lewis in the England Men’s set-up. “He has a fantastic breadth of experiences, across both the women’s and men’s games, which will stand us in good stead in our pursuit of sustained success.”It’s particularly exciting to consider the potential of his professional partnership with Heather, whom he obviously knows well from his time with the senior England women’s team.”

تحدث ديكو، المدير الرياضي لفريق برشلونة الإسباني، عن موقف النادي من التعاقد مع أحد المدافعين، والذي يعد محل اهتمام لعدة أندية.

ويتصدر برشلونة ترتيب الدوري الإسباني برصيد 37 نقطة بعد فوزه أمام أتلتيكو مدريد أمس الثلاثاء بثلاثية لهدف، وقد خاض 15 مباراة في الليجا حتى الآن.

وأدلى ديكو بتصريحات بشأن مارك جويهي لاعب كريستال بالاس، الذي يرتبط بعقد مع ناديه ينتهي في نهاية الموسم الجاري، ولم يصل بعد إلى اتفاق لتجديد عقده، وسيكون حرًا في التفاوض مع الأندية خارج إنجلترا بداية من يناير القادم.

ويعد ليفربول أبرز الأندية المهتمة بالتعاقد مع جويهي، ودخل الريدز في مفاوضات جادة لضمه خلال انتقالات الصيف الماضي واستمرت المحادثات لليوم الأخير من السوق الصيفي، لكن بقى اللاعب في صفوف كريستال بالاس.

اقرأ أيضًا | أولمو يوجه رسالة لجماهيره وزملائه بعد تأكد غيابه حتى نهاية العام

وعندما سُئل عن جويهي، قال ديكو في تصريحات نشرتها صحيفة “ذا صن” البريطانية: “حددنا العديد من اللاعبين كخيارات محتملة، إنه لاعب جيد، نعرف ما نريده، لكننا لن نكشف عن هوياتهم علنًا”.

وأضاف البرتغالي: “نحن سعداء بوجود فريق شاب يضم لاعبين من أكاديمية لا ماسيا، وهو ما يسمح لنا بأن نكون أكثر هدوءًا”.

ليفربول ليس النادي الوحيد الراغب في ضم جويهي، ويعد المدافع هدفًا أيضًا لريال مدريد الإسباني، وبايرن ميونخ الألماني.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Palmeiras está atento ao mercado e pode contratar um substituto para Endrick ainda nesta temporada. Porém, isso só acontecerá se o atleta interessado custar menos de R$ 50 milhões.

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➡️Faça as suas apostas na Libertadores 2024: quem será o campeão? Vem pro Lance! Betting!

O balizador da diretoria alviverde é a contratação de Aníbal Moreno, que custou 8 milhões de dólares (R$ 41 milhões, na cotação atual), já prevendo bonificações por desempenho. O valor negociado foi considerado viável, por um atleta jovem, pronto e com potencial de revenda.

Outro motivo que faz com que o Palmeiras não tenha pressa em contratar uma peça para substituir Endrick são as opções do elenco. Estêvão e Luis Guilherme estão ganhando espaço, e Flaco López passou de “escanteado” a artilheiro do Paulistão. Até mesmo Rony é visto com uma peça útil, que pode retomar a boa fase.

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O departamento de futebol tem alguns nomes mapeados e deseja realizar algumas conversas durante o período em que a janela estiver aberta.

Enquanto isso, opções já são descartadas internamente, até mesmo por conta dos valores envolvidos. É o caso do atacante Luciano Rodríguez, do Liverpool (URU), que agradou à comissão técnica palmeirense no duelo entre as equipes em São Paulo, em abril, mas que custa 15 milhões de dólares (R$ 77,3 milhões, na cotação atual).

Mesmo fora de um radar inicial, o clube alviverde colheu informações após a comissão técnica se interessar pelo atleta. Porém, o preço estipulado pelos uruguaios e a condução até mesmo das conversas por parte do estafe não agradaram os dirigentes palestrinos.

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EndrickPalmeiras

Newcastle United haven’t gotten going this season, not in the Premier League.

The form on the road is becoming a real concern for Eddie Howe’s side, whose victories this season have been limited to St. James’ Park, and who have lost four on the bounce when detached from that vociferous home support.

Change is needed, and while the turbulence of the summer transfer window has made a transitional period inevitable, it’s clear there are some on Tyneside who must be shipped out for the sake of tactical continuity.

The endangered Newcastle stars

Newcastle are struggling this season, and no mistake. However, Howe has transformed this club in the years since his arrival, and he must be afforded ample time to sort things out.

However, this might mean that several stars need to be shipped out next year, with a stagnancy crawling across the squad’s fabric this season.

Sven Botman was all over the place as United slumped to defeat at Brentford last weekend, but there is surely hope that the 25-year-old, who has endured a series of injury-riddled years, will recover his once imperious Premier League form.

He’s not been helped by the widemen; Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn are limited as a full-back pairing. The veterans do combine, after all, for an age of 68, and the lack of dynamism and width and energy has impeded the Magpies.

Anthony Gordon and Anthony Elanga, for example, have neither scored nor assisted in the Premier League this term, and likely cannot wait for the return of Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento as a duo.

How Howe approaches 2026, the January transfer window and the summer market after that, is anyone’s guess, but it’s clear changes are needed. And one of these changes will sting the Tyneside crowds, but sadly, this Newcastle mainstay is no longer at his best and is a clear weak link in the middle of the park, showing certain shades of Moussa Sissoko long before him.

Newcastle's new Moussa Sissoko

Sissoko is something of a cult hero on Tyneside. The versatile French midfielder played 133 matches between 2013 and 2016, so tenacious and powerful from the centre of the park or out at right midfield.

Now 36 and playing for Watford in the Championship, Sissoko has not played in black and white for a long time, leaving for Tottenham in a £30m deal in 2016, but the case of Joelinton is throwing certain similarities toward the spotlight.

Joelinton, 29, arrived in England but lacked the composure and finishing skills to succeed. He looked to be drifting toward anonymity before being refashioned into a robust midfielder.

It’s delightful to see the Brazil international hailed as a “club legend” by content creator Adam Pearson, having featured 236 times across all competitions and played a defining role in lifting the Carabao Cup last year.

But his performances this season have left much to be desired, and United blogger Thomas Hammond has even suggested that this is “the start of the end” for the stalwart, who isn’t as sharp in his defensive duties as before; neither has he looked that effective in attack.

Sissoko was younger when leaving United for Spurs, but he too was inconsistent during that final, relegation-condemned campaign.

Joelinton has run himself into the ground over recent years, and now it might be time for Newcastle to cash in while they can and replace him with a fresher midfield cog to complement Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes.

1

Bruno Guimaraes

170

2

Dan Burn

165

3

Fabian Schar

163

4

Jacob Murphy

150

5

Joelinton

145

For Joelinton to have been one of Howe’s mainstays at this golden age at Newcastle bears testament to his unwavering belief and drive.

But he can only drive forward for so long and it might be nearing the time to part ways with this all-action star and turn the page toward the new chapter.

They lost the ball 37 times: Newcastle duo must never start together again

Eddie Howe must never play this Newcastle United duo together again when Premier League action resumes.

1 ByKelan Sarson Nov 11, 2025

Everton need to win against Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

It’s a strange thing to say, almost. Clubs seek victory each time they enter the field, but after just one win across seven recent top-flight outings, David Moyes’ side need to return to form at the Hill Dickinson and pause for the November international break on a high.

Crucial in achieving this will be the availability of talisman Iliman Ndiaye, who was withdrawn after an hour against Sunderland on Monday evening with a suspected knock, limping off the field.

The latest on Iliman Ndiaye's fitness

In short, Ndiaye has been cleared to play. The Senegalese winger has been nothing short of brilliant this season, with his return of four goals and an assist across ten matches.

But that hardly paints the full picture. It was the goal that counted at the Stadium of Light, but the manner in which the 25-year-old skipped his way into the box, wrongfooted one man, two, and then struck so sweetly past Robin Roefs, who was not wrongfooted but frozen in place.

He’s fast, furious and clever in his decision-making. So guileful. There has been concern that he will sit this one out, but Moyes revealed on Friday morning that the winger had trained as usual and is ready to play.

Given that Moyes has been so reluctant to start the 19-year-old Tyler Dibling this season, Ndiaye’s availability is crucial, not least because Fulham are a resilient and well-structured outfit, and his maverick nature could unlock that backline.

However, he’s not the only one who has the skillset to shine. Pitted against Everton at the Hill Dickinson will be their former star Alex Iwobi, and Moyes has found the Toffees’ new version this season.

Moyes must unleash Everton's new Iwobi

Iwobi was a trusty servant across his four years on Merseyside, and it was under Frank Lampard’s wing that he was resfashioned from an electric winger into a robust central midfielder.

Here the Nigerian’s creativity has been allowed to flourish, hitting 15 goal involvements in the league last year. Everton have missed this kind of player, but in Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Moyes might have signed the solution.

Dewsbury-Hall, 27, joined the club from Chelsea for a £28m fee this summer and he has impressed across his nine Premier League starts, scoring one goal, assisting one more, and creating four big chances. Sofascore record that he won 55% of his ground duels and completed 71% of his dribbles, too.

This is a complete midfielder, and while he doesn’t shirk from defensive responsibilities, Dewsbury-Hall’s bread and butter is his passing, and this makes him the perfect solvent of Iwobi’s talent, for he could overpower him in his number ten role.

The pair are considered statistically similar players in the Premier League this season by data-led platform FBref, and the £90k-per-week Dewsbury-Hall could now prove his worth by stepping up and leading the Toffees toward three points.

Premier League 25/26 – Dewsbury-Hall vs Iwobi

Stats (per 90)

KDH

Iwobi

Goals

0.11

0.11

Assists

0.11

0.22

Touches

43.93

57.59

Pass completion (%)

77.2

79.2

Progressive passes

5.19

6.24

Shot-creating actions

3.50

3.56

Through balls

0.56

0.45

Crosses

4.63

2.67

Progressive carries

1.36

4.46

Successful take-ons

1.13

0.56

Ball recoveries

3.05

4.23

Tackles + interceptions

1.47

1.34

Data via FBref

Playing balls in behind is Dewsbury-Hall’s speciality. He has the athleticism to dribble the ball forward, but is designated as the Blues’ conduit between midfield and attack, passing through the spaces and creating for his teammates.

Iwobi has probably enjoyed the better season so far, as the statistics will tell you above, but this is a chance for Everton’s summer recruit to properly announce himself and become the “revelation” that former boss Brendan Rodgers said he was at Leicester City.

Fulham are a tough team, and they thrashed lowly Wolves last weekend after skidding to four successive defeats. One point and one place behind Moyes’ side, they will be hungry to cause an upset.

If Dewsbury-Hall turns up, he could not only stand out and overshadow his opposite number in Iwobi but also take Everton back into the win column.

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This Everton veteran is proving to be the unlikely signing of the summer.

Posts ByAngus Sinclair Nov 7, 2025

Table-toppers bounce back from 0 for 2 to post formidable first-day total against Derbyshire

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay22-Jul-2025Leicestershire 357 for 3 (Hill 132*, Rehan 115, Handscomb 99*) vs Derbyshire Leicestershire displayed the quality and character of promotion contenders to stage an impressive fightback on the opening day of the Rothesay County Championship match against rivals Derbyshire at the Central Co-op County Ground.The Division Two leaders recovered from 0 for 2 to close on 357 for 3 with England all-rounder Rehan Ahmed and Lewis Hill scoring centuries.Ahmed’s 115 was his third consecutive hundred in the championship and his fourth of the season while Hill and skipper Peter Handscomb celebrated personal milestones.Hill marked his 100th first-class appearance with an unbeaten 132 and shared an unbroken fourth wicket stand of 188 with Handscomb who was not out 99 in his 200th red-ball game.Hill also added 169 with Ahmed which turned the tide after Luis Reece and Blair Tickner made such an encouraging start for the hosts before Leicestershire took control.The pitch had been used for three T20 matches which would have influenced Leicestershire’s decision to bat but that looked questionable when both openers were dismissed in the space of six balls.Cloud cover hinted at assistance for the seam bowlers and Reece found enough away movement with the third ball of the day to have Rishi Patel caught behind.When Tickner straightened his second ball to bowl Sol Budinger, the morning was threatening to go badly wrong for the leaders but Ahmed and Hill counter-attacked to dominate the rest of the session.Ahmed scored his maiden century at Derby three seasons ago and he quickly imposed himself on the bowlers to relieve the pressure.When Derbyshire turned to spin in the 15th over, he came down the pitch to dispatch Jack Morley for six before reaching his 50 from 54 balls in the next over.Hill’s role was less eyecatching but just as valuable and by lunch the pair had transformed Leicestershire’s fortunes at 118 for 2.Ahmed quickly closed in on his hundred, reverse sweeping Alex Thomson for his 13th four to move to 99 and then squeezing a single past gully to reach three figures from 118 balls.Hill completed his 50 before Ahmed whipped Zak Chappell in the air to deep mid-wicket where Caleb Jewell took a fine catch on the run.The rest of the afternoon belonged to Hill and Handscomb who accumulated steadily against bowling that lacked the consistency to put them under pressure.The pattern was repeated after tea with Handscomb reaching 50 off 84 balls three overs before Hill raised his bat to celebrate the 9th first-class hundred of his career which had come from 194 balls.Not surprisingly, Derbyshire claimed the second new ball as soon as it became available but although Reece beat the bat several times, could not make the breakthrough as Hill and Handscomb put their side in a commanding position.

Tottenham co-sporting directors Fabio Paratici and Johan Lange have been told a key signing that Thomas Frank wants to make at N17, with Spurs also having made contact over a France international star.

Paratici and Lange set for Tottenham transfer partnership

On Wednesday, Spurs announced Paratici’s long-awaited return to North London, following the Italian’s spell as managing director between 2021 and 2023.

FabioParatici formerly of Spurs and Juventus.

Paratici, after being forced into resigning due to a worldwide FIFA ban from football, worked as a consultant/advisor for ex-chair Daniel Levy thereafter, and took up that unofficial role during the summer window to assist Lange, CEO Vinai Venkatesham and Frank.

Once his FIFA ban expired, Paratici was repeatedly tipped to return to Tottenham as a director, but Levy’s departure after 25 years did briefly throw the move into doubt (talkSPORT).

1. Cristian Romero

£42.5m

2. Dejan Kulusevski

£25.5m

3. Rodrigo Bentancur

£21.5m

4. Pedro Porro

£40m

5. Djed Spence

£20m

Venkatesham eventually decided to appoint Paratici regardless of Levy’s exit, with the 53-year-old now partnering Lange as one of Tottenham’s two sporting directors.

As explained by Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge, Lange and Paratici will have two very different roles, with the former overseeing scouting, the academy and data-driven recruitment analysis, while the latter operates as Tottenham’s proven ‘dealmaker’.

With Paratici and Lange set to back Frank in separate capacities, it is believed the Spurs boss has made one transfer wish crystal clear.

Frank wants new midfielder at Tottenham after approach for Khephren Thuram

According to journalist Graeme Bailey, via The Boot Room, Frank wants Tottenham to sign a new midfielder.

Despite already boasting Rodrigo Bentancur, Joao Palhinha, Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Pape Sarr in the engine room, midfield misfit Yves Bissouma is out of contract at the end of this season and very likely to leave.

The Mali international, partly due to injury, is yet to make a single competitive appearance under Frank and was left out of both their UEFA Super Cup squad and 22-man Champions League list.

Bissouma clearly doesn’t have a long-term future under Frank, with the Dane eager to bring in another player who can potentially replace the African in 2026.

Bailey adds that Tottenham made an approach to sign Juventus midfielder Khephren Thuram in the summer, but he’s going to be very hard to obtain now, with the Old Lady deeming him “untouchable” alongside Kenan Yildiz after an excellent start to 2025/2026.

With Spurs told to move on from the Frenchman, who’s worked his way into Didier Deschamps plans ahead of the World Cup next year, other reports suggest that Rangers star Nicolas Raskin has emerged as a Lilywhites target.

The Belgian is by far their standout player, and Premier League sides are taking note of his exploits, with Raskin’s contract also due to expire in under two years.

The 24-year-old would cost around £20-25 million to prise away from Ibrox — a surely doable price for Paratici and Lange — with a bid in and around that mark poised to make Raskin the Gers’ biggest ever sale.

Whether they go for Raskin or reach out for Thuram again, Frank personally wants to add another midfield technician to his ranks next year.