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And which Test captain was married on the same day as his twin sister, but on a different continent?

Steven Lynch20-Aug-2024Shamar Joseph took a five-for in the second Test at Providence. What are the best bowling figures by a Guyanese bowler in a Test in Guyana? asked Ravindra Persaud from Jamaica
Shamar Joseph collected 5 for 33 in the first innings of the second Test against South Africa in Providence last week. Joseph, who comes from the remote village of Baracara in the west, is only the second Guyanese bowler to take a Test five-for in the country, after the great offspinner Lance Gibbs, who did it three times, at the Bourda ground in Georgetown: 6 for 29 against Australia in 1964-65, 6 for 60 vs England in 1967-68, and 5 for 80 vs Pakistan in 1957-58.There have also been 13 five-fors by visiting bowlers: the best figures of all were the Australian captain Ian Johnson’s 7 for 44 at Bourda in 1955. For the full list of the best innings figures in Tests in Guyana, click here.Which Test captain was married on the same day as his twin sister, but on a different continent? asked Bryan Marriott from Trinidad
Your location was useful here, as the answer is Trinidad’s Jackie Grant, a member of the family who owned the Geddes Grant trading company. After studying at Cambridge University, Grant captained West Indies in all his 12 Tests in the 1930s before devoting himself to teaching and missionary work around the world. His brother, Rolph Grant, succeeded him as West Indies’ captain.Jackie Grant married Ida Russell in Southern Rhodesia in 1932, on the same day as his sister tied the knot halfway round the world in Canada. The 1980 book Jack Grant’s Story gives the details: “We fixed our wedding date for 9th May, 1932 – my birthday. It so happened that my twin, Jill, had also planned to be married in May. When she learned that I had chosen 9th May, she decided that her wedding would also be on the 9th. Thus Jack and Jill were married on the same day – Jack in Bulawayo and Jill in Toronto.”Is Tharaka Kottehewa the only man to take two hat-tricks in the same innings in a List A match? asked Nirmal Mendis from Sri Lanka
The Nondescripts medium-pacer Tharaka Kottehewa took his two hat-tricks in Ragama’s innings of 92 at the Moors club in Colombo in Sri Lanka’s Premier one-day tournament in December 2007. Kottehewa finished with 8 for 20, still the fourth-best figures in all List A (senior one-day) matches.You’re right in thinking that no one else has taken two hat-tricks in the same List A game. The Australian fast bowler Graham McKenzie took two for Leicestershire in 1972, about six weeks apart, and the Bangladesh seamer Rubel Hossain took two in the space of five matches in 2013-14, one in an ODI against New Zealand in Mirpur. The Sussex fast bowler Billy Taylor also took two in the space of six weeks in 2002.Only four bowlers have taken three List A hat-tricks during their career: Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga (all in ODIs), the Pakistan pair of Saqlain Mushtaq (two in ODIs) and Wasim Akram (two in ODIs in Sharjah in 1989-90), and India’s left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav (two in ODIs, and one for India A).Apart from those mentioned above, ten others have taken two List A hat-tricks: Trent Boult (both in ODIs for New Zealand, in 2018-19 and 2019), Andy Caddick (1996 and 2000-01), Darren Gough (for Yorkshire in 1997 and 1998), Nantie Hayward (for Eastern Province in 1996-97 and 1998-99), another South African fast bowler in Garth Le Roux (1982-83 and 1985), Sri Lanka’s Farveez Maharoof (in an ODI in 2010 and a domestic match in 2015-16), Bangladesh’s Mohammad Sharif (2016 and 2017-18), Graham Napier (for Essex in 2011 and 2013), Gurinder Sandhu (in Australia in 2018-19 and 2021-22), the West Indian fast bowler Jerome Taylor (in a Champions Trophy game in 2006 and a county game in 2017) and Sri Lanka’s Chaminda Vaas (both in ODIs, in 2001-02 and the other in the 2003 World Cup). For the list of List A hat-tricks, click here.Steve Waugh took 244 Test innings to get to 10,000 runs•Getty ImagesWho was the fastest to reach 10,000 runs in Tests? asked Rajendra Krishnan from India
The answer to this depends on how you calculate it. The fastest to 10,000 Test runs in terms of time is England’s Joe Root, who needed only nine years and 171 days to reach five figures. He’s the only one to do it in less than ten years. His long-time England team-mate Alastair Cook is next, at ten years 87 days.Probably a better way to look at this is to consider the number of innings each batter took. Of the 14 men to have made it to 10,000, Root and Cook stand 10th and 11th by that measure. There’s a three-way tie for top spot, as Brian Lara (West Indies), Sachin Tendulkar (India) and Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) all got there in 195 innings, while Australia’s Ricky Ponting took 196. The slowest to 10,000 by that yardstick was another Australian, Steve Waugh (244 innings), while the slowest by time was the West Indian Shivnarine Chanderpaul, at 18 years 37 days. For the list, click here (note that the times shown there are from the day of debut to the start date of the match in which they passed 10,000).Who has scored the most first-class runs without ever playing in a Test match? asked Kevin Richards from Scotland
The answer to this one is, oddly, slightly complicated! The Glamorgan left-hand opener Alan Jones piled up 36,049 runs in a 26-year first-class career – but he never played an official Test match. However, he did play for England against the Rest of the World at Lord’s in June 1970, which was marketed as a Test at the time but was later ruled unofficial. Many years later, Jones was presented with England cap number 696, so features in the official list of England Test players.If you include Jones, then the man with the most runs who remained uncapped is Sussex’s John Langridge, who finished his equally long career in 1955 with 34,378. He did later stand in seven Tests as an umpire. For the list of the batters with the most first-class runs, click here.And there’s an update to last week’s question about bowlers taking caught-and-bowleds with successive deliveries in Tests, from James Tiver in Australia
“The Australian legspinner Jimmy Matthews also had two consecutive caught-and-bowleds, in his second hat-trick against South Africa at Old Trafford in 1912. He got the two hat-tricks all by himself – two bowled, two lbw and two caught and bowled!”You’re right that Matthews’ second hat-trick in the match in the Triangular Tournament included successive caught-and-bowleds – South Africa’s Reggie Schwarz (low to the bowler’s right) then the unfortunate Tommy Ward, who marked his debut by becoming the third victim of both Matthews’ hat-tricks. According to the Manchester Guardian: “Ward played his first ball exactly as Schwarz had done, and cocked it up. The ball, however, was hit so gently that for an instant no-one thought of a catch. Then one saw a nimble little figure flying up the pitch and making a frantic dive with both hands for the ball. Matthews went tumbling over, and it was not until he had flung the ball wildly in the air that the onlookers could believe that he had made the catch.”I’m sorry we missed Matthews last week, but it still means there are only three known instances – and none since 1912 – of caught-and-bowleds off successive balls in Tests before slow left-armer Jomel Warrican did it for West Indies against South Africa in Port-of-Spain earlier this month.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Islamabad-Multan diary: While the focus on safety is very understandable, it regrettably drains the travelling reporter’s experience of authentic local flavour

Vithushan Ehantharajah09-Dec-2022It was probably when heading outside for my first cigarette in Multan that I realised the true nature of this tour.Islamabad was fine, the spectre of heavy security easy to ignore given the scale of the Serena Hotel, the drives to the ground, and the occasional manufactured dalliance into the real world. But lighting up and seeing four police officers form a square around you as if they are about to start up an impromptu game of rondo was a reminder of the lengths local law-enforcement people need to go. Everyone here harbours a collective responsibility to do their bit for this England tour of Pakistan. They thought I might try and leave my hotel, but I knew better than that after the way they panicked when a colleague tried to go for a wander. No one can leave without police presence and getting out at night is a straight no-go. Hopefully that softens, but I’m not holding out much hope.Related

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Since arriving in Pakistan at the end of November, the sense of local pride at hosting England for a first Test tour since 2005 has been abundantly clear. But in Multan, you can feel the anxiety.Cricket has only just returned to this city after 14 years, following a few ODIs against West Indies in March, and it is clear the PCB isn’t keen to take the training wheels off the place just yet. And fair enough. These international tours, costing US$ 2 million a pop, are so reliant on Western sensitivities. If the choice is between making your guests feel frustrated and safe and liberated and exposed, then, yeah, why wouldn’t you choose the latter?There is a sense among the travelling press corps that those who have never been to Pakistan before, like myself, won’t get to see the real Pakistan before we leave. As important as the cricket is on this occasion, it largely defeats the point of touring.The previous week in Islamabad was heavily cricket – one-of-a-kind cricket, to be fair – but for a visit to the British High Commission. It was pegged as one of the few places to openly consume alcohol in the city, and barring the plush setting and three levels of security clearance required, it basically ended up with all the English media packed into what was a glorified cricket club bar talking loudly, playing pool and asking if they had anything else other than BrewDog (they did – plenty). Just as that night was winding down, an invite came for a jaunt into Islamabad. Specifically, a house party.No, this was not simply another manufactured Anglo comfort rouse. A friend of a friend had an in, and three of us were cool by association. An hour later, we found ourselves in the kind of house that would be the final boss on MTV Cribs.If the choice is between making your guests feel frustrated and safe and liberated and exposed, then why wouldn’t you choose the latter?•Getty ImagesIt was surreal for many reasons, but perhaps the most heartening was the breadth of those in attendance. The kind of bolshy creative types responsible for layers of culture among younger generations. Quite apart from being made to feel totally welcome was the gratitude of getting an opportunity to glimpse into a side of Pakistan that is rarely considered. This, we were told, was the start of Islamabad’s party season. Many in attendance were prominent members of niche yet thriving industries, some of whom were back from abroad to catch up with old friends in their old haunts. All older, worldlier, and a little more appreciative of home and how it forged them.During the 3am ride back to the hotel through the dark empty streets of Islamabad, the glee at finally seeing something real beyond those who come to cheer in the stands reinforced something: there are many personalities of Pakistan, but they will only reveal themselves to you if you’re willing to meet them more than halfway.As I recall that thought now, on the eve of the second Test, maybe a cricket tour is one of the worst ways to do that, especially with England? None of this is inauthentic, but also none of this is real. Perhaps other opportunities to embrace the real Pakistan will come before I head home, especially with Karachi on the horizon. My aim for now is to at least shake its hand in Multan.

Wells was released by Sussex and did not play a game in the Bob Willis Trophy this summer

Matt Roller18-Nov-2020Luke Wells’ association with Sussex spans far longer than his 10 years on the club’s books as a professional. He played for their age-group teams since he was a boy, while his father Alan and uncle Colin scored nearly 30,000 first-class runs for the county between them.As such, it is no surprise that it is still yet to sink in that he is now a Lancashire player. “In 2019, we played them and they completely killed Sussex,” he recalls via Zoom, before tailing off and correcting himself. “I need to get used to saying ‘we’. completely killed Sussex.” It may be some time before that becomes second nature.It can only be hoped that the nature of his exit will not ruin Wells’ memories of his time at Hove. He scored 18 first-class hundreds in a Sussex shirt, all of them in first-class cricket. While the runs dried up somewhat in his final years at the club, it is only so long since he was being talked up as a potential England opener.”I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed with the manner in which it ended,” he admits. “I know the financial situation was difficult and tough decisions had to be made [but] it potentially could have been handled a bit better. But look, I’ve been associated with the club since forever. I’ll always have a connection with this place, and I’ll always remember the good times.”ALSO READ: Luke Wells signs for Lancashire on two-year deal after Sussex releaseIf the response on social media was anything to go by, then Wells’ release came as a surprise to many. “Surely someone must sign Luke Wells,” tweeted Rob Key. “Proper player,” noted Jofra Archer, “and can bowl too.”

“I felt quite helpless and stuck. It was challenging, there’s no doubt about it. My fiancée and I have got a little boy who will be three in February, and there’s mortgages and all the normal stuff”Luke Wells didn’t play a game for Sussex in the Bob Willis Trophy

In fact, he had seen it coming a long way off. At the start of lockdown, Wells had raised his concerns to this website about the possibility of the whole season being lost, knowing that after two lean years, he was not guaranteed a contract extension. “Normally it’s black and white: you’re judged on performance, runs and wickets are your currency,” he said. “But if we play no red-ball cricket whatsoever, what happens?”Three months later, in the days before Sussex’s first Bob Willis Trophy game, he was asked to come into training earlier than usual. “I had a sit-down meeting on the square with Ben Brown, Jason Gillespie, Jason Swift and James Kirtley,” he recalls. “I was basically told I wasn’t playing and the numerous reasons why – technical, and all sorts of other things.”That was only for the first game, but there was no second-team cricket this year. I was coming to the last year of my contract and hadn’t gone that well previously, so I needed an opportunity to prove myself. I asked: ‘What can I do to get back into the team? Am I in your plans?’ I was told: ‘Unfortunately, with such a short season, we’re unlikely to change the team’.”I felt quite helpless and stuck. It was challenging, there’s no doubt about it. My fiancée and I have got a little boy who will be three in February, and there’s mortgages and all the normal stuff [to worry about]. The lack of control and not knowing what would happen was the most difficult thing. You’re planning for when it ends, but when your career is potentially cut in half in the midst of the economic situation we’re in now, it’s scary and stressful.”Luke Wells shovels into the leg side•MI News/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesWells is studying for a history degree at the Open University and doing his coaching badges, but had not banked on the prospect of finding himself without a club at the age of 29. Various counties were interested in signing him before Lancashire ramped up their pursuit, but there were stumbling blocks due to the obvious financial uncertainty.”I was staring down the barrel of having played my last game, given the situation with Covid, all the uncertainty, finances, budgets… A lot of counties were coming back to me saying: ‘We’d love to have you, but finances [are the problem]. After staring the reality of not playing again in the face, I’m so excited now to be able to continue doing what I love for a living.”Wells would normally be playing grade cricket in Melbourne at this time of year, but has instead been packing boxes ahead of his move up north at the end of this week. His first day in pre-season training is on Monday, and after signing a two-year deal, he has some level of security at the club.He will have something to prove when he pulls on the red rose for the first time. After piling on over 1,200 Championship runs in 2017, Wells averaged in the mid-20s in both of the following two seasons, and admits that his performances “haven’t been at the level I would expect of myself”.He recalls a “eureka moment” in the nets while out of the Sussex side this summer, when he worked out that a technical flaw had crept in, and insists he can get back to his best after becoming “potentially a bit stale, without really realising it”. Following two seasons without a white-ball appearance, Wells’ cause may be helped by the anticipated absence of several Lancashire players during the One-Day Cup next season due to their involvement in the Hundred, and his legspin could come in useful, too.But for now, he is simply looking forward to playing the game again. “I don’t usually say stuff like ‘things happen for a reason’ – I’m not that type of guy. But I suppose going through something like this will, hopefully, give me a fresh lease of life and a challenge to embrace at Lancashire.”It’s very doubtful that I could come across a more stressful year than what this one has been, so I’m just going to try and enjoy every moment: the ups and the downs.”

The Dodgers and Blue Jays delivered a thrilling 2025 World Series that came down to the wire, with Los Angeles coming from behind late Saturday night to capture a winner-takes-all Game 7 for their second straight crown. was on site throughout the Fall Classic in both Los Angeles and Toronto. Here are some of our favorite images from the World Series.

1. Dodgers Win Back-to-Back World Series Titles
2. All Eyes on Shohei Ohtani
3. Blue Jays In First World Series Since 1993
4. Epic Game 3
5. Fans Pack Rogers Centre and Dodger Stadium

Dodgers Win Back-to-Back World Series Titles

Tottenham manager Thomas Frank has confirmed that an injured Spurs star won’t be back in action for a ‘long time’, with the Dane currently minus a few key first-team players.

Tottenham battle Slavia Prague in the Champions League

Spurs welcome Slavia Prague to North London tonight seeking to reignite their automatic Champions League knockout round hopes with a victory that would edge them closer to securing a coveted top-eight finish.

Frank’s side need all three points against the struggling Czech outfit to maintain momentum after Saturday’s morale-boosting 2-0 win over Brentford ended their miserable six-match winless streak.

The Lilywhites currently sit 16th in the Champions League standings with eight points from five matches, sitting just two points behind the automatic qualification places.

Saturday’s Premier League victory will give Spurs more confidence following the chaotic 5-3 defeat to PSG in their previous European outing, with Richarlison and Xavi Simons securing all three points against Frank’s former employers last weekend.

Despite their lacklustre home form overall this year, the hosts actually boast a formidable home record in European competition, remaining unbeaten in 22 consecutive European games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

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Spurs have won both their Champions League home matches this campaign without conceding, defeating Villarreal and FC Copenhagen.

History also favours Frank’s side, having never lost to Slavia Prague in four previous European meetings, recording three victories and one draw.

Slavia arrive in desperate circumstances, languishing in 31st with just three points from five matches and facing the genuine prospect of early elimination.

The Czech champions have endured a torrid European campaign, failing to register a single victory while remarkably going four consecutive Champions League fixtures without scoring.

Their attacking struggles represent their most significant weakness, with just two goals across the entire league phase.

Despite domestic dominance — sitting five points clear atop the Czech First League following Friday’s 2-1 victory over Teplice — Jindrich Trpisovsky’s side have repeatedly failed to translate that form onto the continental stage.

Their 3-0 home defeat to Arsenal highlighted the gulf in quality when facing elite opposition, while goalless draws against Atalanta and Athletic Bilbao demonstrated defensive resilience without much threat going forward.

Frank faces several selection concerns heading into the clash, though.

Destiny Udogie is sidelined with a hamstring injury which will keep him out until January, while Randal Kolo Muani is doubtful after limping through Saturday’s victory.

Brennan Johnson is also ‘touch and go’ for the encounter, according to Frank, but one significant positive looked to have emerged from Monday’s training session.

James Maddison was spotted working on the grass for the first time since rupturing his ACL during August’s pre-season friendly against Newcastle, with Frank providing an update on the Englishman.

Thomas Frank shares James Maddison update out of Tottenham

Regrettably, while the £170,000-per-week playmaker sparked excitement when he was clocked in training, Frank has confirmed in quotes relayed by The Press Association, that Maddison still won’t be back for a ‘long time’.

The 29-year-old, who bagged 22 goals contributions in all competitions last term (12 goals, 11 assists), has been a sore miss for Spurs as they heavily rely on the likes of Mohammed Kudus and Simons for their creativity.

Simons’ phenomenal solo run and goal against Brentford will have done the Dutchman a world of good for his confidence following real criticism since his marquee move from Leipzig in the summer.

The pressure is on him to deliver in the ongoing absence of both Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, with Frank also remaining vague about the latter’s recovery timeline.

After Slavia, Tottenham travel to struggling Nottingham Forest on Sunday, and only a win will do there too.

Jack Leach has signed a contract extension with Somerset after revealing that he has been released from his England central contract.Leach has played 39 Tests for England, most recently on their tour to Pakistan a year ago, and was the only spinner to take 50 County Championship wickets this season. But he has slipped down the pecking order to the extent that England have opted to take the allrounder Will Jacks to Australia as their back-up spin option ahead of him.He has been centrally contracted since the start of the 2021-22 winter but will fall back onto his county deal with Somerset next year. Leach was already under contract with his hometown club until the end of next season, but the county announced on Monday that he has now signed a two-year extension until the end of 2028.Related

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England have not yet announced their central contracts for 2025-26, but Leach told the BBC last week that he had been informed by managing director Rob Key that his deal would not be renewed. “My contract was up, so he obviously told me that and at the same time, said about the Ashes squad and that I wasn’t going to be in it,” Leach said.”I was gutted about that. That was really my aim for the summer, and it wasn’t to be, so [now] it’s time to reflect and try to keep getting better and get myself back in there… I don’t know from their point of view whether they have completely moved past me, but I believe I’m still getting better and I need to keep showing that in county cricket.”Shoaib Bashir, who has leapfrogged Leach to become England’s first-choice spinner, is widely expected to leave Somerset after he did not feature for them in any format this season. He is likely to retain his central contract for 2025-26, meaning that the ECB – rather than whichever county he joins – will pay his salary.Elsewhere, Sussex have announced the signing of batting allrounder Jack Leaning from Kent on a three-year contract, while legspinning allrounder Calvin Harrison has signed a permanent deal with Northamptonshire after impressing on loan from Nottinghamshire earlier this year.

GOAL’s writers break down a solid USMNT showing as Mauricio Pochettino looks to build momentum ahead of the World Cup.

There you have it: a win. The USMNT are not, once again, at full strength. They're missing a few faces, falling short of a few pieces. This is probably half, generously, of what a starting XI might look like in seven months. But the results are good. They beat a pretty good Paraguay side, 2-1, at home. Winning is nice. It fuels momentum. It gives Mauricio Pochettino reasons to praise rather than a need to rant. 

Gio Reyna was the headline, of course, handed a surprise start, and got himself on the scoresheet. This wasn't him at his best, but he did show that there's still a player there. Leading striker Folarin Balogun grabbed another goal – and he looks in good form for his country. There were mistakes here and there, but this was otherwise an agreeable Saturday night.]

So, what do we make of all of this? Are there sweeping conclusions to be drawn about Reyna? Is Joe Scally now the center back of the future? And who might have played their way of the squad next summer? GOAL's writers get far too reactionary in the latest edition of… . 

ImagnHow significant was Gio Reyna's performance?

Tom Hindle: Immensely. It has long been said in this space that Reyna is the U.S.'s most talented player whose last name is not "Pulisic." He has struggled immensely for three clubs over the past few years now, and needed a forum to show that he can still contribute. He wasn't exactly spellbinding against Paraguay, but there were glimpses of what he can be. If Reyna's fit, he should start at the World Cup. But that is a pretty significant "if".

Ryan Tolmich: Very. It showed that, even when he isn’t at his best, he can make a difference. Does that translate to a starting gig? Unlikely given the other options. Does that give him a really strong case to make a 26-man roster? You bet, even if that means coming off the bench as an emergency option. There’s a caveat, of course, with his fitness but, as long as that goes in the right direction, Reyna has his chance.

AdvertisementGettyIf Reyna were to make it to the World Cup, who would he replace?

TH: Well, if we run off the assumption that Alejandro Zendejas isn't sniffing it, then it's one of Brenden Aaronson or Diego Luna. Pochettino seems to like Luna a lot, so it'll probably mean Aaronson gets left at home – unless he shows something special for Leeds over the next few months. 

RT: In terms of attacking midfielders, Christian Pulisic, Malik Tillman, and Weston McKennie are locked in. Then there’s that second group of Reyna, Brenden Aaronson, Diego Luna, and Alejandro Zendejas. Only so many of those players can be on a World Cup roster, which means it’ll come down to form and fit when Pochettino ultimately has to balance it out.

Getty ImagesJoe Scally made his long-awaited return, what did you make of him as a third CB?

TH: Uhhhh sure? Scally isn't a starting-level center back in this side, but he's highly rated in Germany, and really should be a part of the U.S. setup. Sometimes you need a guy who can offer cover, and Scally can play in multiple positions. Whether that makes him a starter is up for debate, but there's a strong case to be made that he should be in the squad next summer.

RT: Seems feasible! At the very least, Scally is a good utility guy, which is always welcome in a World Cup squad. He can either start in three positions or be your defensive stopper off the bench in place of the more attack-minded wingbacks. He needs another good performance or two, but, again, there’s a walkable path there.

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Getty Based on current form, what are your expectations for the USMNT at the World Cup?

TH: Please do not be deceived by wins against Australia and Paraguay. Round of 16 exit, as per usual. Sure, you can make the argument about "kind draws" and say the U.S. could imitate a, say, Morocco in Qatar 2022, but the dirty little secret is that Morocco side was really very good. Keep expectations level, and anything else feels like a bonus.

RT: It hasn’t changed much, largely because we still haven’t seen this team in the way it will likely be assembled. Maybe the floor is a bit higher than it was a few months ago, but we still don’t really know this team’s ceiling. As always with a World Cup, though, get out of a group and see what happens.

Mousley leads response with unbeaten fifty but visitors still trail by 462 runs

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Warwickshire 140 for 2 (Mousley 54*, Davies 52) trail Essex 602 for 6 dec (Westley 134, Allison 133, Pepper 107*, Walter 86) by 462 runs Dan Mousley led the Warwickshire fightback to Essex’s mammoth first-innings total with an innings that belied the gravity of the situation facing the visitors in the Rothesay County Championship match at Chelmsford.The imposing right-hander clocked up only his third half-century of the season, but at a rate of more than a run-a-ball. It was in contrast to his more measured captain Alex Davies, who went along at half the rate in a second-innings stand of 86 that pulled Warwickshire back into the game.Though Davies departed for 52 from 116 balls, stumped by the alert Michael Pepper to give Matt Critchley a second wicket of the innings, Mousley was still there at the end with 54 from 53 balls and Warwickshire 140 for 2.It had been a chastening day and a half in the field for Warwickshire after Davies put Essex in as Essex rattled up 602 for 5 declared on an unresponsive, green-tinged pitch. Along the way there were three Essex centurions, curiously all scoring their third three-figure scores of the season. Tom Westley’s 134 was followed by Charlie Allison and Pepper, who combined in a 38-over, sixth-wicket stand of 195, the largest partnership in an innings of large partnerships.Either side of a mid-afternoon rain break, it was carnage as the pair sensed the impending declaration and went for broke. The declaration duly arrived when Allison departed after four hours, caught at deep midwicket, for 133 from 202 balls with 17 fours and two sixes. That left Pepper unbeaten on 107 from just 117 balls, including 11 fours and two sixes.It would not have escaped Warwickshire’s notice that Allison was not even in the Essex XI announced at the toss, but was drafted in at short notice, without argument, when Simon Harmer dropped out for “personal reasons”.Before his partnership with Pepper, Allison also put on 91 for the fifth wicket with Westley. 57 of them in the morning. Westley added 24 to his overnight 124 before he was finally dismissed after a stay of more than six hours, caught at short fine leg turning Beau Webster off his legs. Significantly, the pair had carried Essex to a fourth batting point with four balls to spare.Westley had laced his 278-ball innings with 17 fours, a large portion of them driven elegantly through the covers. At the other end, Allison followed closely in Westley’s footsteps, punching fours through the off-side, though also comfortable enough to reverse-sweep Corey Rocchiccioli for four. He reached his fifty from 85 balls when he turned the Australian off-spinner for a single.The incoming Pepper did not hang about. He swept Rocchiccioli for an emphatic boundary to get off the mark and added four more with a late cut off Webster. The wicketkeeper-batsman went to lunch on 33, at which point he was presented with his county cap; little more than quarter-of-an-hour after the restart he had reached his half-century with a tap into the off-side off Rob Yates.Despite his rate of scoring, Pepper was beaten to his hundred by Allison, who helped a wayward legside delivery from Mousley for his 14th boundary. After a 25-minute rain break, Pepper made it to his century, having taken just two hours and 15 minutes of improvised nudges and paddles. Two balls later he celebrated by driving Yates straight for six. Not long afterwards Warwickshire were put out of their misery.Essex found the Kookaburra ball just as unhelpful when Warwickshire set out with the initial target of 453 to avoid following on. Yates and Davies made a competent start, passing 50 in 21 overs, Davies hammering Jamie Porter for successive boundaries before Matt Critchley made the breakthrough. Given the rare opportunity to take the main spin-bowling role in Harmer’s absence, Critchley had Yates retreating on to the backfoot and lbw to one that turned and reared up.Mousley brought Critchley down to earth when he slammed him straight back down the ground for six and reached his fifty from just 46 balls.

The noise and, from many, joy from Liverpool’s wretched run of form of late is perhaps a marker of just how mighty Anfield has become over the past decade.

It is ten years since Jurgen Klopp took the reins from Brendan Rodgers, the last Reds boss before Arne Slot to succumb to a four-game losing run.

But Liverpool are vastly different to that long-forgotten iteration, and Slot has within his grasp some of the best players in world football. The 5-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League served as a reminder that this is a team capable of winning all the biggest prizes – again.

However, some individuals are struggling, and the team as a unit has struggled to find fluent form. One of the biggest culprits would be Alexis Mac Allister, whose grace ability and determination in the engine room is crucial for the performance of the Slot machine.

Mac Allister's form for Liverpool

Mac Allister is undoubtedly one of the best midfielders in the Premier League. Certainly, he is among the most complete, the most spirited, the most inventive.

But he hasn’t been quite right this year, with Sofascore recording he has lost 57% of his ground duels in the league thus far, only making one tackle per match.

Whereas the Argentine has been virtually undroppable across his first two years in a Liverpool shirt, he now looks more vulnerable in the starting line-up, and the midweek win over Frankfurt emphasised this, for he was left on the bench after lasting only an hour against Manchester United.

Mac Allister’s form has been a concern this season, but he is an elite player and crucial to Liverpool’s success. The 26-year-old has, in some ways, given Slot his own version of Thiago Alcantara, whose career was cut short right before the Dutchman’s arrival. But, as with Thiago, Liverpool seem to be finding a way to perform without the star in the mix.

The tempo-setting, line-breaking maestro offered something unique in the Liverpool engine room, and in this, Liverpool evolved in that later Klopp team.

The problem, of course, is that the retired 34-year-old was rarely fit. Across four campaigns on Merseyside, the Spain star managed only 98 appearances across all competitions.

But his technical quality, vision and awareness were faculties unlike anything else Liverpool had. In Mac Allister, the Reds have a midfielder with stylistic similarities, but there’s actually another man in Slot’s first team who could be Liverpool’s new version of their former superstar.

Liverpool's new version of Thiago

Sometimes in football, the timings just don’t work out. Steven Gerrard missed the Klopp era by a whisker, leaving for LA Galaxy only months before the German’s historic appointment.

Likewise, Thiago would retire from football prematurely at the end of the 2023/24 campaign, having made only one appearance that year due to non-stop injury setbacks. He was 33 years old.

Thus, he missed the incipient Slot era and the Premier League title that would arrive at Anfield’s doorstep just one year after he hung up the boots.

The greatest travesty of it all is that the stylish Spaniard boasted a playing style which is tailor-made for the calculated, composed build-up Liverpool have developed since Klopp’s departure. Gone (last season, at least) is the frenetic, out-of-control football that Slot’s predecessor employed – emphatically and to silver-laden success.

Thiago is one of the greatest technicians of his generation. He would have been the linchpin for this version of Liverpool. But Slot may have an heir in Curtis Jones.

Yes, you read that right. No, this argument does not centre around the basis that Jones is on the same level as the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich sensation in his prime.

But the Liverpool-born star shares certain qualities with his one-time teammate, with both among the squad’s most reliable players on the ball and bearing combative sides, emphasised through robustness in the challenge and tough-tackling defensive contributions.

Jones graduated from Liverpool’s academy and has been with his boyhood outfit ever since, and though he played a role under Klopp’s wing, Slot’s tactics have given rise to his skillset and seen him become “one of the most underrated players in England”, as said by one Premier League analyst.

Jones is an effortless passer. He’s intelligent with his decision-making, and he is tactically disciplined. As per FBref, the Three Lions star ranks among the top 11% of midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues for assists, the top 8% for goal-creating actions, the top 2% for pass completion, the top 12% for progressive passes and the top 13% for progressive carries per 90.

He’s also well-seasoned within this Liverpool team, and when the likes of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk depart, both into their penultimate years on Merseyside, he will be among the leading figures at the club.

Mohamed Salah

33

413

Andy Robertson

31

349

Virgil van Dijk

34

331

Alisson

33

307

Joe Gomez

28

245

Curtis Jones

24

190

Thiago joined Liverpool from Bayern Munich for £20m in 2020 and would ebb and flow. Never in doubt was his technical quality, nor the fact that he could have been a divisional great with better luck on the injury front.

There’s no question that he would have been a sublime component in Slot’s system, but in Jones, the Netherlands native has found a like-styled player who could now take the next step in his development and play a crucial deep-lying role to promote Liverpool’s ball-playing abilities.

At Frankfurt, Jones took a staggering 139 touches of the ball, linking play together and completing 122 of 127 attempted passes. This is his strength, and Slot must give him free rein from the outset to rise to the next level and take Liverpool with him.

Liverpool have signed a Salah-type player who's got the "pace of Torres"

Liverpool are watching before their eyes the birth of a superstar.

ByAngus Sinclair Oct 24, 2025

England boss Thomas Tuchel and his assistant Anthony Barry have opted to skip the chance to watch Jude Bellingham in action for Real Madrid against Liverpool at Anfield in the Champions League in another blow to the 22-year-old just days before the latest England squad is announced. Bellingham was omitted from Tuchel's most recent squad and will have to wait and see if he's done enough to earn a recall.

Another blow for Bellingham

Bellingham is back in England with his Real Madrid team on Tuesday and will be hoping to continue his recent good form. The England star has scored in Real Madrid's last three games and seems to have hit form after returning to action following a layoff after undergoing shoulder surgery. The game offered Tuchel the chance to watch Bellingham live and speak to the Real Madrid man at Anfield after the game, but the England boss is not expected to attend, according to . Tuchel is currently finalising his squad for World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania, and it's not clear yet if he will recall Bellingham to his squad for the upcoming fixtures.

AdvertisementAFPTuchel's complicated relationship with Bellingham

Bellingham has emerged has one of England's most talented players but is no longer guaranteed a place in Tuchel's squad. He hasn't been selected by the England boss since June, while Tuchel has also raised eyebrows by saying his mother is "repulsed" by the midfielder's actions. The German did subsequently apologise to Bellingham but has also warned big stars such as Bellingham and Cole Palmer than he is prepared to leave his 'most talented' players out of his World Cup plans. Tuchel says "the team" is more important than the individual as he aims to guide the Three Lions to glory at the tournament in North America, Mexico and Canada in 2026.

Backing for Bellingham

New Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso has been full of praise for Bellingham after seeing him shine for Los Blancos after being left out of England's last squad by Tuchel. 

"He’s had three very good games," he told reporters."We knew before the last break that he needed time, minutes, to get going. He’s done better than we expected after the last break. Jude is all about feeling, communicating, and connecting. That’s why he’s had some very good games."

Meanwhile, Bellingham has spoken of his desire to kick on from a trophyless season with Real Madrid last year. He told: "I didn't think last year was a disaster. [It was] still 15 goals, 14 assists, but I know the general feeling was that it was worse. But I was a part of that, how we didn't play as well last year. There were still good moments, but not the level I want to play at, not the level like the first year. Now I've had my shoulder surgery, a new manager [Xabi Alonso], he's got that shape, how we want to play. You have to learn from it."

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Getty Images SportTuchel tipped to spring surprises

As England have already qualified for the World Cup, Tuchel is being tipped to experiment with his latest squad. Brighton veteran Danny Welbeck is under consideration for a shock recall after a fine start to the Premier League season. The former Manchester United man has six goals in 10 games, and ex-England captain Wayne Rooney thinks it's a good time to give him a chance.

He told his self-titled podcast : "The next couple of England games, I wouldn’t even call Harry Kane up. Give him a rest. There are not many opportunities from now until the end of the season when he gets a rest. Let him rest and go and look at (Danny) Welbeck, or (Ollie) Watkins or Ivan Toney. Whoever it is he wants to look at, give these players the opportunity to try and play."

England take on Serbia on Thursday, November 13, at Wembley and then head to Albania three days later. Tuchel will announce his squad at 10am on Friday, November 7.