Tom Alsop makes 72 as Matt Critchley’s legspin chips away for visitors

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay24-Jul-2025Sussex 204 and 245 for 7 (Coles 99*, Alsop 72) trail Essex 504 (Harmer 53) by 55 runsJames Coles led Sussex’s resistance with an unbeaten 99 but his efforts seem unlikely to deny Essex victory over Sussex at Hove.Coles was on the verge of a third successive Rothesay County Championship century when rain arrived at 5.20pm and play was abandoned shortly afterwards with Sussex 245 for seven in their second innings, still trailing by 55 after conceding a first-innings deficit of 300.Coles is Sussex’s man in form. He made 148 not out at Durham and 150 in Sussex’s last home match against Warwickshire and he top scored in their first innings with 52. Only five batters have scored more Championship runs this season than the 21-year-old, and he didn’t offer a chance here after arriving in the seventh over with Sussex 33 for 2.While he and Tom Alsop (72) were adding 141 in 72 overs for the third wicket Sussex harboured hopes of stalling Essex’s push for victory.But Alsop was lbw to Matt Critchley in the leg-spinner’s second over and after tea Sussex lost four wickets for 26 in 40 balls including their leading run scorer John Simpson, calamitously run out going for a second run on an overthrow.At the start of the day Essex skipper Simon Harmer clubbed three sixes to reach a half-century before he was last out for 53 as Essex’s first innings ended on 504, a lead of 300.Essex’s new-ball pair Sam Cook and Jamie Porter soon made inroads. Tom Haines nibbled fatally at Cook’s first ball and edged it to third slip beforePorter struck in the seventh over to remove Daniel Hughes, courtesy of a fine low catch at second slip by Harmer.But from 33 for two Coles and Alsop rebuilt patiently. Alsop’s fourth fifty of the season came off 104 balls and the normally more attacking Coles took 117 deliveries for his, but neither offered a chance as the Kookaburra ball quickly lost its effectiveness and Essex had to settle for containment.Having had little success himself, Harmer turned to Critchley in the 47th over and with his first ball he nearly won an lbw verdict against Alsop. But the fourth delivery of his next over straightened enough to beat Alsop’s defensive push. He faced 150 balls and hit nine fours.Essex had a breakthrough and after tea they rammed home their superiority, aided once again by some pretty poor shot selection by the Sussex middle and lower order.Dan Ibrahim (19), who’d helped Coles add 48 for the fourth wicket, got a leading edge in the first over after the resumption and Khaleel Ahmed took the catch in his follow through, while Simpson was run out by Sam Cook’s throw looking for a second run on an overthrow after a moment’s fatal hesitation between him and Coles.Critchley then struck in successive overs. Fynn Hudson-Prentice’s mistimed drive was caught well in the covers by Harmer and Jack Carson tamely picked out mid-wicket aiming to hit Critchley over the top.As the clouds rolled in, Ari Karvelas defied Critchley and Harmer for 33 balls but it would need a lot more resistance from him, Coles and Sussex’s tail to keep Essex at bay on the final day.

Rangers invested heavily in the summer but, given their current predicament, expect plenty more signings in January too.

During the summer transfer window, led by manager Russell Martin and sporting director Kevin Thelwell, the Gers signed 13 new players, splashing around £30m, a huge amount for a Scottish club.

The most expensive of these additions was striker Youssef Chermiti, arriving from Everton for £8m which could rise to £10m, their second-most expensive signing of all-time, but the Gers still appear light in attack, so could new manager Danny Röhl demand the addition of a new centre-forward he knows rather well.

Rangers' search for reinforcements

Even before appointing out-of-work Röhl, Rangers had taken advantage of Sheffield Wednesday’s predicament, signing winger Djeidi Gassama for a cut-price £2.2m in July.

Transfer Focus

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

The EFL Championship club entered administration this week, usually a dark day for any football club, but on this occasion it was a day of celebration, because it means Dejphon Chansiri is no longer running the club.

Supporters rushed to Hillsborough to buy tickets and merchandise, having been boycotting both, but there are serious ramifications, given that the Owls were slapped with a 12-point deduction, more could follow for failing to pay staff, meaning relegation to EFL League One appears inevitable, while a new owner still has to be found, all why Röhl walked away in July.

Thus, for as long as the administrators remain in charge, their task is to raise as much cash as possible, which includes selling players.

As a result, Sports Boom are reporting that Röhl is targeting a move for Sheffield Wednesday striker Bailey Cadamarteri, with the new boss telling the Glasgow side to put together ‘a proposed deal” for the youngster.

They add that Röhl is ‘eager to bolster his attacking options’, while adding that the German coach was an ‘influential figure in Cadamarteri’s development’, thereby potentially set to take advantage of the financial crisis in South Yorkshire by snapping up a bargain

So, could the 20-year-old soon be swapping Owlerton for Govan?

What Bailey Cadamarteri would bring to Rangers

Born in Leeds, Cadamarteri joined Sheffield Wednesday as an eight year old, making his senior debut in the EFL Trophy against Leicester City’s under-21s in October 2022.

He did not then feature for the Owls’ first team again for over a year, largely due to surgery, handed his league debut by Röhl against Millwall in November 2023, before scoring his first senior goal during a 3-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers a few weeks later.

He then also netted against Norwich, QPR and Swansea, before spending last season on loan at Lincoln City, scoring eight times in 31 outings for the Imps, his campaign at Sincil Bank cut short by a groin injury suffered mid-way through the season.

Now back at Sheffield Wednesday, given that many of the Owls’ senior players departed during the summer due to financial turmoil, he has started nine of their 12 EFL Championship matches, with the table below documenting his importance to Henrik Pedersen’s side.

As the table emphasises, Cadamarteri has been an integral figure for Wednesday this season, scoring during a 2-2 draw with Wrexham at the Racecourse in August.

He has though had the most shots of any Wednesday player, missing two Opta-defined big chances, while over 18% of his total touches have come in the opposition penalty area, showing that he offers an attacking presence.

Meantime, the 20-year-old has also made an interesting choice when it comes to international football.

After representing England at youth level, he switched his allegiance to Jamaica earlier this year, debuting for the Reggae Boyz in Bermuda in September, scoring against Trinidad & Tobago in Kingston a few days later.

Thus, if Steve McClaren’s team collect four points from their two qualifiers in November, again Trinidad & Tobago and then Curaçao, they’ll be heading for a first World Cup since France ’98, which could give Cadamarteri a platform to increase his exposure and market value, currently valued at around £1.1m by Football Transfers.

Ali Maxwell labels the young striker a “finisher” while Röhl, when the pair were still together in South Yorkshire, described him as “dangerous”.

A report by Total Football Analysis agrees, noting that he ‘consistently moves around to find pockets of space’, while praising his ability to ‘occupy spaces intelligently’ and excellent penalty box positioning.

Thus, it is clear that Cadamarteri is a talented young player, one who could well be available for a slashed price, while he may be eager to re-untie with Röhl north of the border.

Summer signing Chermiti has scored only once for Rangers to date, his first goal for anyone since May 2023, looking very unconvincing overall, while fellow centre-forwards Danilo and Bojan Miovski have only two goals to their name so far this season.

Given the dearth of quality in Rangers’ striker department, the young Jamaican international could come in and be first-choice from the word go, firing the Gers up the table.

Rohl could now turn "exciting" Rangers star into his own Shankland at Ibrox

Following Rangers’ 3-1 home win over Kilmarnock on Sunday, has Danny Röhl unearthed an “exciting” attacker who could be their own Lawrence Shankland?

By
Ben Gray

Oct 28, 2025

Dewald Brevis scored South Africa’s highest individual T20I score, their second-fastest T20I hundred off 41 balls and became the youngest South African to hit a century in this format as they put on their best score against Australia to square the series at 1-1 in Darwin with the decider to come in Cairns on Saturday.Brevis, who already holds the South African domestic record for the highest T20 score of 162, put on a mesmerising display in only his ninth T20I. He hit 12 fours and eight sixes for a total of 96 runs in boundaries and was excellent down the ground. More than half of his runs – 66 – were scored in the ‘V’, including six sixes and all but single-handedly built South Africa’s total. Brevis, who was dropped on 56, scored 91 of the 126 in a fourth-wicket partnership with Tristan Stubbs.Related

• Bosch handed demerit point for Dwarshuis send-off in second T20I

• Breathtaking Brevis betters du Plessis to smash SA's highest score in T20Is

• 'It's close to all guns blazing' – Australia plan to power through any T20 scenario

• Maphaka: I always want to come out on top of the fight

Four of Australia’s five bowlers conceded at 11 runs an over or more with Ben Dwarshuis the exception. His four overs cost just 24 runs but it was not enough to keep South Africa to a reachable total, despite their strength in chasing.This was the first time in nine matches that Australia had lost batting second, ending a record run of nine wins in a row, and the first time they had lost to South Africa in seven meetings. They would have required the highest successful chase in Australia to avoid that.There were moments when Australia were threatening, most notably at 104 for 3 in the 10th over, but were always behind the required run-rate. Tim David’s half-century was the only individual score over 26. Teenage left-arm seamer Kwena Maphaka, who was expensive, and allrounder Corbin Bosch were the most successful of the wicket-takers and finished with three apiece. South Africa’s 53-run win was their biggest margin of victory over Australia.

Brevis takes down Maxwell and then gets to a hundred

Brevis led South Africa’s recovery from 57 for 3 in the seventh over. He was on 12 off eight balls when Lhuan-dre Pretorius walked down the pitch and was stumped off Glenn Maxwell but had already sent the offspinner over long-on. Much more was to come. Brevis made his way to 44 off 24 balls by the time Maxwell was brought back on, in the 12th over. South Africa were 99 for 3, Brevis’ partnership with Stubbs had grown to 42 and he was dominating proceedings but then he really stepped it up.Stubbs gave him strike after the first ball and Brevis brought up his fifty when he swung Maxwell over long-on for his fifth six. He barely had time to raise his bat before he lined up a Maxwell full toss and smashed it over cow corner for six more. Maxwell pulled the length back for his next ball and Brevis tried to force it for another six but miscued. Substitute fielder Matt Kuhnemann, on the field for David, was a long way off the rope at long-on and couldn’t hold the catch above his head.Brevis still hadn’t had enough. He sent the next ball over long-on again for a third six in the over. In four balls, Brevis moved from 44 to 66 and Maxwell’s over cost 24 runs. In total, it took Brevis just 16 deliveries to go from fifty to a hundred. He brought it up off Dwarshuis, who he swivel-pulled for four in the 15th over, which also gave Brevis plenty of time to add to his tally.Kwena Maphaka celebrates after removing Cameron Green•Getty Images

Australia limit the damage

At 179 for 3 after 16 overs, South Africa were in sight of a score in excess of 220 but Australia dragged them back a touch. Stubbs was a minor partner in the fourth-wicket stand with Brevis and keen to get going. He reverse-swept Adam Zampa for his third four but then sliced him to backward point where Kuhnemann took a simple catch. In the next over, Rassie van der Dussen holed out off Dwarshuis, whose back-of-a-length deliveries made him the pick of the bowlers. In the over after that, Bosch was castled by a Josh Hazlewood full toss that he tried to send into the stands but dismantled his middle stump. South Africa lost three wickets for 14 runs in 13 balls and had to rely on a strong finish from Brevis in the last 10 balls. They added 21 runs to finish two short of 220.

South Africa’s improved catching display

Australia put down two chances, Pretorius on 1 and Brevis on 56, with the latter proving costly, but South Africa just about learnt from their mistakes in the first match, where they dropped four. Pretorius had the first opportunity when Travis Head could not clear deep midwicket off Aiden Markram and he judged the catch well on the rope.Two overs later, Cameron Green sent Maphaka for back to back fours and was looking for a hat-trick. He pulled Maphaka to midwicket, where Nqabayomzi Peter dived forward to pluck the ball off the ground although lost his grip as he started to celebrate. The catch was checked by the third umpire who determined it was taken cleanly and Peter was in control.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Stubbs is earning a reputation he will not like after he spilled a second chance in as many matches. He was at deep square leg when David toe-ended Lungi Ngidi to him but despite making good ground, could not hold on. David was on 18, and he was also dropped by Stubbs in the first match, on 56. However, Stubbs made up for it when he got under a Mitchell Marsh skier off Bosch and pouched it safely at long-on. Brevis took another impressive catch when he ran to his left at deep midwicket as Maxwell mistimed a slower ball and was dismissed for 16.

David delivers again, but Rabada halts him

David was injured when he landed heavily on his right shoulder as he unsuccessfully attempted to stop a Brevis drive from going for four and was unable to field for the latter part of South Africa’s innings. However, he had few problems swinging the bat. His first runs came unconvincingly when he gloved Maphaka to fine leg for four but he middled the next two balls and sent them both for boundaries.David brought up a third fifty-plus score in four innings and second successive one in the series headlined by his second six which went all the way out of the ground. It was against legspinner Peter, whose third ball David hit into the crowd, that David launched the ball over deep midwicket and over the stadium’s roof. David put Australia in a promising position on 104 for 3 in the 10th over but was caught at cover off Rabada in the moment that turned the game South Africa’s way.

It will take a lot of rain to stop England from scoring 35 runs or India from taking four wickets

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Aug-20253:37

Root: ‘Amazing spectacle to look forward to’ on fifth day

After the climax of The Oval Test spilled over into the final day because of poor light and rain in what has been a thrilling five-Test series, it’s fair to wonder what the weather on the 25th and last day of the series will be like.There is rain around, but there’s no reason to believe there won’t be time to get a result.Both England and India currently have a clear shot at victory, which keeps the possibilities of 2-2 or 3-1 still open. While England are just 35 runs away from lifting the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, India need another four wickets, including that of Chris Woakes, who is ready to bat one-handed if needed despite a suspected dislocated shoulder, which is in a sling.The weather forecast for Monday in London says it will mostly be cloudy and breezy with a couple of showers in the afternoon, expected around 2pm local time (6.30pm IST). If the first session is clear, with an 11am local time (3.30pm IST) start, the Test shouldn’t go into the afternoon. According to BBC Weather, there is some chance of rain even around 1pm local time, which, again, might not affect the outcome.The weather has been a feature of this Test – it has rained on three of the four days so far. In the dying moments of the final session of the fourth day, it was bad light that forced the players off the field at around 5.30pm local time, when at least half-an-hour’s play was still left, apart from the extended half-hour which allows action to go on till 6.30pm. It started to rain soon after the players went off and stumps were finally called at 6.01pm.

West Ham insider ExWHUemployee has shared some “unfortunate news” out of the club with Nuno Espírito Santo dealt another injury blow.

The Hammers had a rare afternoon of celebration last weekend as Nuno oversaw his first win since taking charge.

West Ham put top four-chasing Newcastle to the sword in a 3-1 victory which was also their first Premier League win at the London Stadium in 248 days.

Goals from Lucas Paqueta, Sven Botman (OG) and Tomas Soucek cancelled out Jacob Murphy’s stunning early opener to gift the east Londoners an absolutely vital three points, with Nuno explaining his plan to make the London Stadium a fortress when asked about the fan protests after full-time.

Nuno tinkered with his team once again at home to Newcastle, but unlike his questionable selections against the likes of Brentford and Leeds, his decisions paid dividends.

Jean-Clair Todibo put in what was one of his better West Ham performances in the left centre-back role, with highly-rated youngster Freddie Potts impressing after finally being given the chance by Nuno.

Despite reports suggesting that Nuno doesn’t fancy Callum Wilson up front for West Ham, the Portuguese elected to start him against Eddie Howe’s side and drop Paqueta back to his preferred midfield role.

The striker conundrum is one of West Ham’s major dilemmas, but ExWHUemployee says Nuno could welcome back Fullkrug pretty soon.

Sharing an injury update, the insider claims that he is on track to return ahead of schedule, as is Konstantinos Mavropanos.

However, he also has some bad news.

West Ham dealt Lukasz Fabianski blow as Nuno takes action

Writing via his Patreon, Ex explains that Lukasz Fabianski has now suffered a back injury which required him to be carried off in training at Rush Green.

As a result, Nuno made the personal decision to recall young keeper Finn Herrick from his loan at Boreham Wood.

The Pole, who was released by West Ham only to be brought back in the summer, played 90 minutes for the club’s Under-21s against MK Dons in the EFL Trophy back in September.

The 40-year-old has made 216 first-team appearances for West Ham and was a more-than capable back up to the likes of Areola and Hermansen, but following this injury, it is unclear what the future holds for Fabianski with his contract up at the end of 25/26.

It's well known that the Yankees are looking to acquire a starting third baseman at the upcoming trade deadline.

One of the top options out there is Diamondbacks slugger Eugenio Suárez, who is batting .250/.320/.569 with 31 homers and 78 RBIs in 95 games. Entering the All-Star break, only Cal Raleigh, Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani have hit more dingers than Suárez.

The Diamondbacks are expected to be sellers at the trade deadline, as they sit with a 47-50 record—11 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West and 5.5 games out of a playoff spot. It appears Suárez can be acquired for the right price.

With all the league's best players meeting in Atlanta this week for the 2025 All-Star Game, Suárez was directly asked about the possibility of being traded to New York.

"Yankees [are the] Yankees. It's a team that wants to win," Suárez said. They're hungry still. If I got over there, I would do my best and try to help them win the World Series."

According to Fangraphs, Yankees have collected just 0.6 fWAR at third base so far this season, which ranks 29th in all of baseball—only edging out the Washington Nationals.

New York has seen five different players start at least one game at the hot corner for them in 2025: Oswaldo Cabrera (30 games), Oswald Peraza (30), Jazz Chisholm Jr. (28), Jorbit Vivas (6) and Pablo Reyes (2).

The 2025 MLB trade deadline is set for July 31 at 6 p.m. ET.

It would be fair to say that the atmosphere around Tottenham Hotspur is not a positive one at the moment.

Thomas Frank’s side might be sixth in the Premier League, but the performances so far this season have been hard to stomach, none more so than the one against Chelsea on Saturday.

Despite being at home, the North Londoners were utterly toothless, bereft of ideas, and the player who best encapsulated their dire display was summer signing Xavi Simons.

It’s still early in his Spurs career, but so far, the Dutch international has been a massive disappointment and should therefore be dropped for another young talent who could perhaps offer a little more urgency.

Simons' start to life at Spurs

Perhaps in part due to missing out on Eberechi Eze, there was a tremendous amount of excitement in the Spurs fan base when Simons was announced.

After all, he’s long been considered one of the most exciting young attackers in European football and, at one point, looked destined to join Chelsea.

Unfortunately, it would be fair to say that the 22-year-old has come nowhere close to justifying the hype so far this season.

In 12 appearances for the club, he has failed to score a single goal and has provided just one assist, which came in his first appearance, away to West Ham in gameweek four.

With that said, while that is a poor return, could it be that the former PSV Eindhoven gem is simply someone who starts seasons a little slower than most?

Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

For example, in his first 11 games for RB Leipzig last year, before he got injured, the Amsterdam-born gem managed to score three goals and provide two assists.

Likewise, the campaign preceding that saw the youngster rack up an even better tally of four goals and five assists in his first 12 matches, excluding the curtain-raising DFL-Super Cup.

Therefore, while it would be nice to say that Simons is doing what he does every season and will therefore eventually come good, that is not the case.

Therefore, Frank should keep him on the bench for now and look towards the academy for a temporary solution.

Spurs' Simons solution

With Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison still out, Frank could and probably should look to the likes of Lucas Bergvall and Pape Matar-Sarr to start ahead of Simons.

Chalkboard

However, there is another, far bolder option, one he could go with for the ‘easier’ games, or as a first option from the bench ahead of the Dutchman.

That option is Hotspur Way’s most exciting prospect since Mikey Moore: Luca Williams-Barnett.

Now, the first argument one might put forward here is that the Englishman is too young.

However, that would carry a lot more weight if the suggestion was to start the youngster in game after game, but that is not the case.

Instead, it might be worthwhile for Frank and the club to use the youngster as a substitute more often, and then potentially against the weaker teams, hand him a start.

After all, at 17 years old, he is two years older than Arsenal’s Max Dowman, and according to respected analyst Ben Mattinson, is “one of England’s best talents”.

Moreover, when you take a look at his form for the youth sides, it’s clear that he’s way beyond that level now and more than deserving of more senior football.

Team

U18

U21

Appearances

30

8

Goals

22

7

Assists

13

5

Goal Involvements per Match

1.16

1.5

For example, in 11 games for the junior side this season, he has scored eight goals and provided seven assists, which is an average of 1.36 goal involvements every game.

Last season, he was even more effective, scoring 20 goals and providing 12 assists in just 23 appearances, which works out to an average of 1.39 goal involvements per game.

Ultimately, even if it is not from the start, Williams-Barnett has earned the right to play some meaningful minutes for Spurs this season.

Moreover, picking him over Simons could be the wake-up call the Dutchman needs to start playing to people’s expectations.

Spurs have signed a frightening young talent who can end Kolo Muani's stay

Tottenham have some painful attacking teething problems under Thomas Frank.

3 ByAngus Sinclair Nov 3, 2025