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Even in the T20 age, Test cricket rewards the patience that underpins success

Nagraj Gollapudi10-Jul-2024Kavem Hodge sunk to his knees in shock. Both his gloved hands were clasped on the top of the bat handle as he looked at Alzarri Joseph, his batting partner, in disbelief.Ollie Pope, standing well in front of the normal point position, had just caught a stunning catch to intercept a fiercely-cut square drive from Hodge off Chris Woakes, who shook his head, too, in disbelief. After staying at the crease for nearly 20 seconds in the aftermath of his dismissal, Hodge would finally start to head back slowly to the dressing room, while continuing to shake his head at what had just happened.Pope had no business to pluck a catch like that and make it look ridiculously simple. He was standing on the outer edge of the third pitch from the Pavilion End when he instinctively put out both hands to his left as soon as Hodge cut a short Woakes delivery which was far outside his off stump for what he thought was a certain four. On reflection, did Hodge think he could have left that innocuous delivery? Or did he feel justified in going after a short delivery?Related

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That kind of scrutiny is necessary because of the state of play at the time: West Indies, having been put into bat, were 88 for 6. The previous over, Gus Atkinson had erased West Indies middle order picking the trio of Alick Athanaze, Jason Holder and Joshua da Silva in four deliveries. Hodge was the last specialist batter. The match was still young: Woakes’ was the 36th over of the match and eighth post-lunch.Test cricket, even in this raging T20 age, rewards good basics. Basics underwrite success in the longest format. Atkinson, making his debut, prospered only because he was disciplined in his line, pitched most on a good length while delivering high speeds closer to 90mph/145kph. The slope when bowling from the Pavilion End, which fast bowlers struggle with at times, didn’t distract Atkinson who used the scrambled seam, which he termed as his stock delivery and the “most dangerous” to trouble the batter.Kavem Hodge was in disbelief upon being dismissed•Getty ImagesAthanaze chased a delivery that was leaving him with hard hands straight to first slip. Holder, who has scored three centuries, including a double ton, in his previous 64 Tests, awkwardly defended a ball that was seaming away from the leg stump, with the edge again heading to the slips. Da Silva was all at sea against the ball that landed on the side of the seam and nipped in, taking an edge into the hands of his counterpart Jamie Smith.In the three-day warm-up West Indies played last week, against a County Select XI, Hodge had scored a century with Athanaze and Mikyle Louis, who made his Test debut, scoring patient 50s. Despite the vast difference in bowling attacks, the three batters had shown composure to convert their starts. On Wednesday, though, impatience crept into the visitors’ mindsets quickly.Take Kraigg Brathwaite, the most experienced West Indies player and their lead batter. Brathwaite had been stranded for two overs at the other end as Louis, the first player from St Kitts to play Test cricket for West Indies, occupied strike. Brathwaite would have been impressed that Louis, who will turn 24 in August, had been obedient about playing the ball late in overcast conditions against the Dukes ball.England’s players celebrate the wicket of Kirk McKenzie•Getty ImagesOn Tuesday, speaking at the pre-match briefing, Brathwaite talked about how he would tell his batters to “trust your defence, whether you’re going to attack or defend the ball, fully believe in yourself, and stay as still as possible.” The captain, though, forgot his own counsel. Struggling on six runs off 31 balls, Brathwaite went chasing the second ball of Atkinson’s first over and played on.Louis, though, looked the most settled of all West Indies batters. Not only did he stay still, he allowed the ball to come him and then played it under his eyes or close to his body. A good defence invariably leads to a positive mindset as Louis picked a fuller delivery on his legs from Woakes to flick over the square leg for the only six on the first day.But, this being his first tour, the tough examination followed soon. Ben Stokes used the crease and mixed the lines to bolt Louis in his crease, starving him of runs. This came in the period just before lunch. You could sense Stokes was setting up the young opener who eventually fell to a good ball, well caught at second slip by Harry Brook.As former West Indies captain Jimmy Adams, who is their assistant coach, said it was a testing first day, the type that most of his young batters need as part of their education. Rest assured Adams and the West Indies coaching staff will remind their players: stick to the basics.

He had a career that achieved more than most and still left you wanting more, which is sometimes just fine

Vithushan Ehantharajah08-Sep-2024Loosely, Sunday’s retirement was Moeen Ali’s third in as many years. But this one, at the age of 37, a week after he, as white ball vice-captain, was left out of both ODI and T20I squads, carries a weight of finality.Test retirement at the end of the 2021 summer was seemingly on a whim before he was parachuted into the 2023 Ashes to cover for Jack Leach as the spinner, then Ollie Pope as No. 3, after which he said he was done for good. All while a staple in the limited overs set-up.It is a weight that has been lifted off the story. Because though Moeen will still be traipsing about the franchise circuit, his England career, outright, is done. Now, a decade after this whole ride began, it is time to get off and remember what was.The glorious cover drive, the pull shot, the flight, the drift, the turn. The way he made the game look effortlessly easy, which lent itself to almost widespread infuriation during the periods of underperformance. He was a role model, and not just for the British Muslim community but the wider working classes.Related

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He won the Ashes in 2015 – the last time England held the urn – and has two World Cup winners medals as a vital cog in Eoin Morgan’s machine that achieved ODI and T20 successes in 2019 and 2022, respectively. And it speaks of Moeen’s character that Sunday’s announcement came with a clear message that the time was right for the team to move on from him, not the other way around.Alastair Cook, Moeen’s captain for 37 of his 68 Tests, regards him as the most selfless player he lined up alongside. Stuart Broad, who played with Moeen for all but nine of those caps, simply referred to him as his favourite team-mate.There is another thing about Moeen that does not matter but still counts: he was cool. And not “cool because he has a great beard” or “cool because he laces inside out over point”. But cool in the way cool is meant to be. A disposition rather than an act.It is little things like somehow being a cult hero and yet adored by everyone you have ever played with, despite the fact cricket is the kind of sport where the two do not go hand in hand. Even last summer, when the England team went crazy for bucket hats, they were all in agreement that Moeen – who flipped the brim to fashion it into a trilby – wore it best. Wisely, none of them tried to copy him, appreciating the fact they simply did not have the capacity to pull off the look.Moeen was a role model, not just for the British Muslim community, but the wider working classes•Philip Brown/Getty ImagesIt’s also the big things, like dropping into an Ashes, batting No. 3, and being the primary spinner despite a slit in your finger that you fix by – checks notes – bathing it in honey. Being a soothing comfort to watch when on full flow out in the middle, or having a knack for skewering tension in a dressing room, which is no mean feat.We might as well stick with that 2023 series against Australia, because it really is the perfect microcosm of his career. Ben Stokes dropped him an SOS “Ashes?” text, and he replied initially with “LOL”, before confirming his attendance officially during a meeting with Stokes and managing director Rob Key, which he arrived at armed with a bag of Sam’s Chicken. Duty called and Moeen answered, though not before getting a chicken burger.He averaged 25.71 with the bat, 51.44 with the ball, yet had a strangely profound influence on matters. There were only nine wickets, but that included Travis Head three times, Marnus Labuschagne twice, as well as Mitchell Marsh and Steven Smith. And arguably his biggest contribution with the bat – probably pipping the 54 struck in a 121-run stand with Zak Crawley in the first innings of the fourth Test in Manchester – came while waiting for his turn to bat in the third Test at Headingley.”Harry Brook played a drive and got out for 3 batting at No. 3,” Broad recalled while speaking to Moeen on Sky Sports at lunch on day three at the Kia Oval. “I was sat next to you, and you’re a bit like ‘I’m not sure I like Brooky at three’ and you went straight to Baz [Brendon McCullum] and went, ‘Baz, let me go three – I’ll go three, get Brooky back to where he scores his runs. I don’t care if I snick off, I’ll go and try and blaze the new ball but get me up at three. Let me take the responsibility.'”Brook, who was at first drop in that innings after Pope injured his shoulder at Lord’s, went on to score 75 from No. 5 on the final day as England chased down 251 to save the series and get on the board on their way to a 2-2 series draw. “And you had such a natural selflessness to you,” mused Broad.

“The glorious cover drive, the pull shot, the flight, the drift, the turn. The way he made the game look effortlessly easy, which lent itself to almost widespread infuriation during the periods of underperformance”

Moeen almost shrugged off the thanks. “A lot of the time, whatever the team needs, I’m prepared to do that.”That brief period of Moeen in the time of Bazball carried a hint of sadness as he walked off at The Oval. You wonder how he would have fared had he played the guts of his Test career under McCullum’s stewardship.At the same time, he was very much of his era. And though this is usually the point in a tribute piece where you sneak in the flaws, Moeen’s entire career was punctuated by frustration. He certainly wasn’t clutch enough and there was no legitimate reason why he did not make more of his batting talent. That he only has five Test centuries is ludicrous and, ultimately, a blight on him rather than anyone else – as is the Test average of 28.12.Yet, his 204 wickets put him behind only Derek Underwood and Graeme Swann as England’s most productive spinner. Only 17 other players in the history of Test cricket have scored 3000 runs and taken 200 wickets. And even in an era when England’s white-ball batting stocks are through the roof, he still possesses the team’s fastest T20I half-century at 16 balls.Moeen’s was a career that achieved more than most and still left you wanting more. Sometimes, even in a sport wedded to numbers, leaving people wanting more is just fine.

England’s multi-talented stand-in is about to be handed a chance to seize the spotlight

Cameron Ponsonby29-Oct-2024He’s a confident lad is Jordan Cox. During training he wears his cap backwards in the way only the cool kids can. And then you remember he isn’t just the kid who’s best at school anymore but he’s playing cricket for England. And then you remember that, when he’s not playing cricket for England, he’s on the golf course playing off his better-than-scratch handicap. If anything, it makes you sick.Cox is on the cusp of becoming England’s master-of-all-trades. Although he only has two T20I appearances to his name, he will be a lock for the upcoming ODI series as a specialist batter and he is in line to keep wicket in all three Tests against New Zealand.England like Cox. He’s multi-skilled, brash, hits bombs, hits fairways and probably sinks pints too. The business world would call his elevation to the national set-up a successful culture hire.”It can come across so rude or arrogant,” Cox said of his attitude towards cricket. “Or that I don’t really care. But I do care. I really do. I care about doing well. I care about winning.”Cricket is such an up-and-down sport…I’m just trying to stay as level-headed as I can.”When I was younger, I didn’t care. I was having fun with friends. I did well then, so why would I change? Now I’m having fun with new friends.”Those new friends are the likes of Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook and Brendon McCullum, for whom he has been carrying drinks for for the best part of three months.Cox was first called up to the Test squad as batting cover for the Sri Lanka series, before playing in both the completed T20Is against Australia, being unused across the ODIs and then unused in the Tests against Pakistan.Cox made his T20I debut against Australia in September•Getty ImagesCox, along with Rehan Ahmed, will be one of only two players to be on all three tours of Pakistan, West Indies and New Zealand.”I was speaking to my old man on the golf course the other day,” Cox said. “And he asked me how I was feeling. ‘Pretty fresh,’ I said. The thing is you have to bide your time.”I think being 24 I can juggle that. I think if selected to play all three [formats] I’ll never say no.”In his own words, just being around the international set-up breeds rapid learning. Two years ago he was part of the squad that travelled to Pakistan for a seven-match T20I series, a month which, despite not playing, he says taught him “more than my five years at Kent”.”I’m learning really quickly,” he added.Related

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Part of what he’ll have to learn again is keeping. A gruesome finger injury in the 2023 Hundred has meant it is 15 months since Cox last kept wicket and, with Phil Salt set to have the gloves during this ODI series, Cox will be going in cold at Christchurch in four weeks’ time.”Keeping is something that I absolutely loved,” Cox said. “I’ve kept since the age of 11 and then obviously had that nasty injury so now it’s about building up.”I’ve probably been three, four months of keeping again, so not long. But you know, as people say it’s like riding a bike.”Cox spent much of his time in Pakistan practicing keeping with McCullum, but he also credits the absence of the gloves for contributing to his finest year with the bat as a professional. Across the 2024 season with Essex, he made four centuries and averaged 65.57.”It’s made me cherish my wicket a lot more because you’ve only got one skill to change a game,” he said.”Because of my finger, I can’t stand at slip so I can’t take good catches and change a game like that so I’m standing at mid-off falling asleep!”Cox enjoyed his best summer in first-class cricket with Essex•Getty ImagesThe conundrum with Cox is whether he’s about to take over English cricket or if this is a gap-year fling.Currently, he is not in any of the three formats’ first-choice XIs, but he is in all three formats’ first-choice squads. His opportunity in New Zealand is in effect a three-match loan deal. Look after the gloves for Jamie, who’s absent on paternity leave, and then wait your turn.But with Ollie Pope under pressure, that equation is no longer so simple. Cox is naturally a top-order batter and an avalanche of runs could force England into a change.”It’s professional sport, you never know what will happen,” Cox said. “Let’s say Popey goes and scores three hundreds, let’s say I score a hundred and win the Test match, what happens there? The media are always going to say different things but everyone’s trying to make a living and have fun.”Obviously, I don’t want someone to get injured, for me to get in their spot. But I’ve got an opportunity in New Zealand to put a stamp on potentially keeping in all three Test matches and scoring some runs.”And if anyone’s to bet on Cox to do exactly that, it will be the man himself.

Daniel Vettori calls it “New Zealand cricket’s greatest achievement”, while Shane Bond says “New Zealand have done an India on India”

Raunak Kapoor04-Nov-20247:20

Bond: ‘Sweeping India 3-0 is NZ’s best result ever’

Shane Bond: Delight is the first reaction. New Zealand coming off the back of that series in Sri Lanka where they played pretty well, probably could have won the first Test, but lost the series 2-0. I don’t think anyone, anywhere, especially at home, thought we could win this series, let alone a 3-0 sweep. I gave a little fist pump when Ajaz [Patel] went through the gate to get that last wicket [of Washington Sundar] and I’m absolutely delighted for the players, for Gary [Stead], the head coach.It’s always nice to see history created and for a team like New Zealand to beat India and become the first team to sweep them in a three-match series at home is something pretty remarkable.Related

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Ross Taylor: Like most of the country, I’m just in awe of the team. I think the way they played throughout the whole series… I think we hoped more than thought we were going to win. But a clean sweep – think it still hasn’t quite sunk in among the New Zealand public, probably for the players as well.Cricket is fighting for an audience [in New Zealand]. It’s a rugby nation, now there’s an extra football league in our local competition, so cricket after losing in Sri Lanka, the press after that has changed around completely. I don’t think we’ve had scenes like this since winning the [last] World Test Championship and I think it just tells you how high the New Zealand cricket public holds the Indian cricket team and what it’s like to go and win over there.After winning the first Test [in Bengaluru], it gave the team as well as the public some belief, but I don’t think even in our wildest dreams we imagined a clean sweep and such a convincing performance from Tom [Latham, the captain], Gary and the boys.Daniel Vettori: I think the excitement built from the first Test match. The expectation for any touring team that goes to India on these types of wickets is that it’s going to be incredibly difficult. We understand the challenge and in a lot of ways it’s just how are you going to compete against them. And for New Zealand to then go there, put in such an amazing performance in the first Test… people around New Zealand saw the excitement knowing how hard it is, given the history with two Test match wins in almost 80 years and a lot of trying.You have to go back to the great Sir Richard Hadlee’s era, and he could only get one win. So for this team to come here and get that first one and then to win a series is probably New Zealand cricket’s greatest achievement.8:53

Vettori: ‘New Zealand’s win is great for Test cricket’

How did New Zealand put it all together?

Taylor: After the Sri Lanka series loss just before [the India series]… what I found when I was playing was a New Zealand team that has nothing to lose and everyone writing them off is a dangerous New Zealand team. I think that’s where this team was at the start of the series. Obviously, you come to India after being completely outplayed in Sri Lanka, probably only the players in that dressing room and the support staff gave themselves a chance, and I think anytime you’re giving New Zealand the expectation to do well, that’s when I think we’ve struggled in the past. But a New Zealand team that’s got their backs against the wall is a pretty dangerous side.You need a little bit of luck as well. Bengaluru was a good toss to lose. And then winning the toss in the next two Tests [in Pune and Mumbai] after New Zealand knew they are likely to play on turners after India went down in the first Test was significant.Bond: I think if you look at this New Zealand team, they have a really nice blend of experience and youth. You’ve got players who’ve played in the IPL and in Indian conditions. You got contributions from everybody. Everyone through different Test matches stood up. It was Mitchell Santner in Pune, Ajaz in this one. And you’ve got a team that has had success in the last ten years, so they believe they can win and compete. Obviously that first Test match in Bengaluru, to start the series well was massive, and they’ve sort of just ridden the wave and ridden that experience through the series as well. New Zealand have had a great period over the past ten years, and this is just the perfect way to cap it off.And I think Tom Latham talked about it. They’ve come with a clear game plan. They understood how they wanted to play and how they thought they could win, and they’ve executed it. And for longer periods of time, they’ve been better than India. They’ve sort of done an India on India and they’ve done it over three Tests, which is a hell of an effort.Vettori: Obviously a lot of planning has gone on. I think the hardest thing going to India is the ability to score runs against [Ravindra] Jadeja and [R] Ashwin, and on this tour you had Kuldeep [Yadav] in the first Test and Washington [Sundar] in the last two. So the gameplan to score runs against bowlers like those was impeccable, and allowed New Zealand to put pressure on India, which is so rare.When you go to India, you feel like you’re hanging on for dear life most of the time. But it felt like in all three Tests, New Zealand made the running, and that’s really so unique in that part of the world.I think it was the batting. When you tour India and come up against Ashwin and Jadeja in particular, with their immense home record, the planning goes into firstly negating their wicket-taking ability and then secondly how you’re going to score runs. It just looked like New Zealand had such a good gameplan to be able to take on those two and find ways to score runs and actually put some pressure back on India.3:41

Young’s success formula in India: ‘Have the courage to back your methods’

On the success of Devon Conway, Will Young and Rachin Ravindra with the bat

Vettori: It was so nice for New Zealand to go through Devon’s lean patch and trust him and allow him to keep going, because he’s a quality player and has performed ever since he’s come in to the side, and they backed him and got the reward in this series.Rachin, in a short period of time, has proven how successful he can be in all formats, and in particular in the subcontinent. So to have those two players and a Will Young as well as the others contribute meant that India couldn’t put pressure on the batters and New Zealand were aggressive, they took really good options. [Daryl] Mitchell as well in the last Test. So the batting group came together and stood up and put up six really good performances with the bat and that’s what you have to do against India. It can’t just be a one-off, it has to be consistent.

On doing it without Kane Williamson

Taylor: All the batters contributed at different times. Will Young trusted his defence a bit more than all the other players, and he looked at ease. When you’re coming up against Jadeja and Ashwin, you can sort of put them on a pedestal and try and survive. I think we tried to hit 360, and the way all the batters tried to reverse sweep meant Ashwin and Jadeja weren’t able to settle on a length.When you do let those two bowl over after over on the same spot, you’re going to get a ball with your name on it, but I think Will Young set the tone. A lot has already been said about it but winning 3-0 without our best batter – and Will Young had to step in to fill those big shoes of Kane Williamson, which can be quite intimidating – but he handled it with calmness. It would’ve been easy to give that position to someone else, but for him to win Player of the Series is a fantastic accolade.Bond: We were missing our best player. That’s probably the most remarkable thing, that Kane Williamson wasn’t even there.So I think for a group to go, ‘no one is irreplicable, we can still perform without one of our best players’, and the fact that they managed to play the way they did – especially Will Young who was brilliant – that’s a real credit to the group and to Gary Stead, who has done a great job with the team.1:24

Manjrekar: Have to take your hats off to Ajaz

How did Mitchell Santner and Ajaz Patel pull it off?

Vettori: I think there’s trust built up with Mitch over a long period of time. He’s a senior player, he’s a captain, and I suppose at the start of the series he was secondary to Ajaz, who has been incredibly successful in the subcontinent.But the way that he bowled when he got his opportunity… the style, the pace, his ability to read the Indian batters, and then to have a surface that really suits him, just shows when you get on that roll, anything’s possible. Everyone knew Mitch had this sort of performance in him but to do it in India, take 13 wickets [in the Pune Test] and set up a series win, that’s incredible.Ajaz Patel is just completely consistent. His action is repeatable. The balls he bowls are repeatable with a lovely seam position and he gets a lot of revolutions on it. He was able to consistently put these great Indian batters under pressure. I thought New Zealand set some great fields to allow that pressure to maintain, so all these things in combination put together another incredible Wankhede performance from him.

On the contribution of New Zealand’s seamers

Bond: Well, you don’t have to worry about the bowling workload, do you, for starters, when you have seamers bowling six overs between them! But if you look at Matt Henry, his Test record has gone from averaging 50 at one point to now being almost in the 20s. That’s how good he’s become over the last few years.That experience of [Tim] Southee at times when everyone else was going around the park, he controls that run rate. Will O’Rourke is a hugely exciting prospect for New Zealand. New Zealand have obviously got the guys who are now in their early 30s and have been around a long time. But it’s that blend now. [Glenn] Phillips at 27, Ravindra at 24 – he is going to be a quality player – and O’Rourke at 23.1:23

Manjrekar: ‘My respect for Glenn Phillips has grown’

The importance of Glenn Phillips…

Bond: I think New Zealand have come to India this time with part-time spin bowlers. In the past, we’ve had the part-time medium-pace bowlers. And now when you look at someone like Glenn Phillips, who has really worked hard over the last four years to develop his bowling, even Rachin Ravindra… just having those options has allowed New Zealand to have much more depth in the spin-bowling department and that’s led to having depth in their batting, which has really helped them.Vettori: He’s the real complementary piece to it all. A No. 7 batter who is as aggressive as he is but can offer a lot of overs. I’m sure he reflects upon his performances in Bangladesh and that ability to perform in those conditions with bat and ball gave him the confidence to come up against this batting line-up and continue on that form. That allows every other facet of the game to come together. So I think when you look at that team, and what Glenn Phillips was able to contribute, that was a key part of achieving the series victory.

A word on Tom Latham’s captaincy…

Taylor: There’s an attacking nature to Tom. He’s had a lot of captaincy experience. He has captained the New Zealand team in all three formats of the game, so it’s not like it has just come to him overnight. But I think all those games that he has captained over the last three-to-five years came to the fore and he was able to show not only his attacking nature but also his discipline and the way he rotated his bowlers… New Zealand outfielded, outbatted and outbowled India. New Zealand’s tactics were definitely better than India’s.Apart from Kane Williamson and Tim Southee losing the captaincy, it’s the same team that lost to Sri Lanka. So there’s something to be said about that. Latham has a calming influence, the leadership will improve his batting and we saw glimpses of that.Bond: Great start to your captaincy reign! I think you’ve got to pay some credit to Tim Southee, who was magnanimous enough to step down and say, ‘look, it’s someone else’s time’, and Tom would have reaped the rewards of a lot of the work that Tim’s done over the last few years. But I know Latham’s a very good captain, good man, and good leader. I thought the innings he played in the Pune Test was the best innings I’ve seen him play, leading from the front.You can sit there and watch TV as you do and pick holes in some of the decisions and go ‘why is he doing this and that’ but at the end of the day he’s won 3-0 and done a brilliant job.1:28

Manjrekar: ‘Calm, composed Latham typifies the New Zealand trait’

Vettori: Latham’s been one of the leaders of this team for a long, long time, and I wouldn’t underestimate the inputs that Southee had in that group as well. Between them and Gary Stead, they were able to formulate a fantastic plan and implement it. A lot of teams have had great plans going into India, but to implement it for three Tests pretty much every day of the Test series is a credit to all of them.

… and on Gary Stead, the man in the background

Bond: I think he was probably under some pressure. There were enough voices at home calling for his sacking after the men’s T20 World Cup and a tough tour of Sri Lanka. But no one works harder than Gary – I’ve played a lot of cricket with him. He coached me as a boy actually. I played with him and then worked alongside [him] as a coach. He’s a great man, very hard working.In New Zealand, if you win the rugby World Cup, you get knighthoods. Gary’s taken this team to World Cup finals, won a World Test Championship, now this series win, and you still won’t see him front and centre. That’s the sort of guy he is. But I’m delighted for him, he’s a top man and should get the recognition for the work that he’s done.Taylor: Gary Stead and Tom Latham have a good rapport. Gary’s been around a long time. We were outplayed on the last trip [to India in 2021], but he would’ve learnt things about how he would want to go about it again. He is quiet, unassuming. Sits in the background. He would have had a big influence on the way that the team prepared, giving Tom some ideas along the way.And not just Gary, you’ve got a pretty accomplished support staff in Jacob Oram and Luke Ronchi there as well. That would’ve had a big influence.

New Zealand’s greatest feat in men’s cricket?

Taylor: This has to be the greatest New Zealand series win in Test cricket. No one has done it. South Africa have won a two-match series 2-0, but 3-0 in India, I don’t think anyone could see this at the start. So this surpasses the 2-1 Test victory in the ’80s against Australia.It’s also great for the World Test Championship and I’m sure the next team that comes to India will travel there with more confidence now, but I’m also sure India are a proud nation and they’ll be trying their hardest to rectify what went wrong here.Bond: In terms of Test matches, it’s our best result ever. No other team has come and done what New Zealand have. When you talk to all the teams about touring India, it almost seems like mission impossible. Even the great Australian team came there and couldn’t win. So for NZ to have won 3-0, I know they’ve made World Cup finals and would have loved to have won an ODI World Cup, but I think in terms of red-ball cricket, alongside the WTC [title win], this is far and away the best series result ever.4:51

Latham on series win – ‘I’m lost for words’

What does this result mean for New Zealand, and Test cricket in general?

Bond: I think Test cricket needs this. It needs a tight championship. It’s good overall for cricket. The game is still going to be challenged by T20 cricket, but I think New Zealand has been lucky over the last ten years to have made it to World Cup finals in men’s ODI and T20 cricket, the Test championship win, and now this. I think it’s always nice to see a game you love at home prosper. With England coming soon, I know it’s already sold out, people are pumped about cricket. And it’s nice in a country that loves the winter coats predominantly, that people will be talking about cricket, and about this performance, because everyone recognises what an effort this is.Taylor: We’re coming up to a big period in our cricket, to be honest. The England series is going to be massive, players are going to head away after that. But this just reminds us that Test cricket is right up there as the ultimate format. And that’ll show in the crowds for the upcoming series. I think it’s going to be something we haven’t seen in a long period of time in Test cricket and that’s a testament to the team and also a testament to where Test cricket is still held around the world. Hopefully this is a good sign for young players that they still want to play Test cricket in the years to come, but we don’t have the money and resources that some of the other teams do, so we have to skin the cat differently. But results like these put it out to the players that Test cricket is still the ultimate form.Vettori: I think this is an exciting time. What you want to see is every team on a level-playing field. Hardest thing to do in cricket is win Tests away from home, and New Zealand have proved they can do that. It’ll give them confidence wherever they go in the world, so I think it’s great for both Test cricket and the WTC, it keeps it wide open.

With three teams already through, the final spot will go to one of Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants

S Rajesh18-May-20252:40

What could DC have done differently?

Mumbai Indians

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DC’s loss to GT means there will be plenty riding on their next game, against MI on Wednesday. A win for MI will almost certainly ensure qualification, as DC can then only finish on a maximum on 15 points. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) can still get to 16 if they win their three remaining games, but their net run-rate (-0.469) is so far behind MI’s that it is near-impossible for them to catch up: even if they win their matches by a combined margin of 300 runs and MI beat DC by just one run, MI will still need to lose their last match, against PBKS, by about 70 runs for their NRR to slip below that of LSG’s (assuming first-innings scores of 200). Plainly put, MI can consider themselves through to the playoffs if they beat DC.If they lose, though, qualification will be out of their hands as DC can then beat PBKS and reach 17 points and clinch the fourth spot. If DC lose to PBKS then MI can still qualify with 16 points if they beat PBKS.If MI lose both matches, they will be out.

Delhi Capitals

As explained above, LSG’s run rate is so poor – and MI’s so good – that they can’t win that battle. Hence, LSG will have to not only win their three remaining games but also hope that both MI and DC stay below 16. That’s asking for a lot, especially from a team that is struggling for form, having lost three in a row and four of their last five matches.If one of their matches is washed out and they finish on 15, their only chance will be if MI lose both and DC finish on 15. Even then, any NRR battle is highly unlikely to go in their favour.

England read Jaiswal like a book, quickly catching on to his weakness and setting up the perfect trap

Sidharth Monga02-Jul-20250:53

Aaron: Marked improvement by the English bowling unit

Stop the press. Yashasvi Jaiswal has a weakness, y’all. It’s the filthy short and wide ball.Bazballing Ben Stokes is a genius. You won’t get it.In his short but illustrious career, Jaiswal has tried to cut fast bowlers 94 times. He has mis-hit or completely missed 42 of those. Since Jaiswal’s debut, 12 batters have attempted cutting fast bowlers 50 or more times. Nobody’s control percentage is worse than Jaiswal’s.Jaiswal has just been lucky to have got out only twice when cutting a fast bowler. Until today. And Stokes should know. Since 2020, he has played 61 false shots on the cut to the fast bowler and has got out only once. So let it be said that we are not accusing England of following data. This is their feel for the game. From personal experience. You study data. They data. You won’t get it.Related

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How long can Jaiswal be lucky, eh? He thinks he can keep throwing the kitchen sink at it in the false belief that there is no way an edge off such hard hits is going to go to hand. He doesn’t know the power of stringing together good balls. In this series alone, fast bowlers have made Jaiswal cut 24 times. That edge was the result you saw, the previous 23 were the hard work you didn’t.Not to forget the bluff. After any century with just ten runs on the on side, you will naturally expect the bowlers to bowl straight and make you play into the leg side. Jaiswal would have spent hours in the nets working on his leg-side game. Only to be tested on his real weakness: the short and wide delivery.Wash your mouth with soap already if you think you are going to tell me Shoaib Bashir gets only boundary catches as dismissals. There is word going around India are not ruthless enough. In Hyderabad, it is said, all of the top-five India batters got out in non-traditional ways, giving up a chance of batting England out of the game.Tradition is not what you think tradition is. Tradition is what they do out in the middle. Once you do it long enough, it becomes tradition. Do you think Stokes has forgotten Hyderabad? No amount of data can give you this instinctive feel for the game.2:06

‘Frustrating’ – Woakes on the DRS decisions that went India’s way

Boundary riders are catching fielders. Especially if they are right behind the umpire or another fielder where the human in the foreground can hide the one behind him. How many times is Rishabh Pant supposed to keep tabs on field changes and funky fielders? There was a time when Stokes was moving them around every ball. Like chess pieces. Without apparent rhyme or reason to the undiscerning eye. His endgame was overs away. When he settled on the long-on exactly behind the mid-on, and retained him for more than one ball.Pant had so many reasons to not be aware of the deep fielder. He could have assumed Stokes is so fickle he would have moved him by now. He could have not seen him. The fielder might have moved so wide that he would have got out of his eyeline.And then Bashir bowled the sucker ball. Stokes even bowled Bashir with the wind so this hit could get caught in the wind. It is not called lucky boundary catches; it is called bowling to your field, which the batter possibly doesn’t even know.By now India should be saying, “How do we even compete with these guys?”

Fast bowler shows worth in match-turning performance, but will sit out final round on England’s orders

Vithushan Ehantharajah18-Sep-2025Josh Tongue’s final act of the 2025 English summer was taking Nottinghamshire to the cusp of the Divison One County Championship title.Tongue’s 5 for 100, his fourth five-wicket haul of the first-class season, completed a thrilling victory against Surrey. Chasing a remarkable four titles in a row, the defending champions now trail Nottinghamshire by 14 points heading into the final round.The new Division One leaders host Warwickshire at Trent Bridge next week, hoping to seal their first Championship since 2010. But they will have to do so without Tongue, who also took 3 for 43 in the first innings, with England erring on the side of caution to preserve Tongue for the Ashes, which begins on November 21 in Perth.Related

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Tongue is currently on an ECB central contract, which is due to be extended next month, and has emerged as a crucial member of the fast-bowling armoury. His high release point, speed and ability to find movement on flat pitches are vital to England’s hopes of wrestling back the urn in Australia.Though unfortunate for Nottinghamshire and Tongue, who only made his debut for the county in April after right pectoral issues and a hamstring tear kept him out of action having joined at the end of 2023, his performances showed why the 27-year-old is worth the cotton wool treatment.He was the difference-maker on day four of this de facto title-decider, bowling 17.2 of a tense final 55.2 overs of the match. A top speed of 93mph was surrounded by consistent pace in the late 80s, and consistent spells – the longest of six overs after the lunch interval. His removals of Rory Burns (ending an opening stand of 74) and Ben Foakes accounted for two of the top four, before a blistering final 3.2 over burst ended a dogged rearguard effort, taking the final three wickets to leave Surrey 21 short of their 315 target.Nottinghamshire head coach Peter Moores likened Tongue to former England seamer Stuart Broad, for his knack of bending matches to his whim.”The best person I ever coached on sensing moments was Stuart Broad – he knew when to up it,” said Moores, who had two spells working with Broad as England coach, and is on the cusp of becoming the first head coach to win the Championship with three different teams (Sussex in 2003 and 2006; Lancashire in 2011).”The way he [Tongue] impacted the game, it’s reserved for [only] a few people. Bowlers are kings of the game, really, if they have moments like that, because they are the only people that start the process. Everybody else reacts to what they do. But when he’s doing that, and at the top of his mark, we are glued. It’s box office.”Today we saw a player who is enjoying playing the game. He’s talented, he’s got pace and he’s got something I think we should never ignore in a bowler – he’s got an awkward action. You never ignore that. He delivers from past the perpendicular; it looks like it’s coming in but sometimes it’s going away.”England’s caution with Tongue is understandable given his injury history, which includes 15 months sidelined with a potentially career-ending right shoulder issue. That ended up being alleviated unconventionally with botox injections, leading to a Test debut against Ireland in June 2023, followed by an Ashes appearance at Lord’s later that month.Further setbacks kept him out of action entirely in 2024. This year, however, he has delivered the most red-ball overs (382.3) of his career, of which 369.3 have come this summer. Not only was he England’s leading wicket-taker in the Test series against India, with 19 from just three appearances, but he currently has more first-class dismissals (54) than anyone else in the ongoing English season.”I feel like now I’m in a better place physically I can hold that pace for longer periods and longer spells,” Tongue said. “Last year was a tough year for me during my injuries. But I know the hard work that I did over the winter just gone, it’s going to put me in good stead this season.”I did a few long spells during that Test series as well, so I knew I’ll be able to do it for Notts as well. And that’s the main thing, I just want to put all my effort into to winning games of cricket – and thankfully it’s, paid off today.”Tongue is not the only player involved in the title race who will not participate in the final round. Gus Atkinson will also be absent for Surrey’s trip to Hampshire.

Former England great looks forward to return Down Under, with a vital role to play in Ashes challenge

Vithushan Ehantharajah30-Oct-2025Andrew Flintoff played for England in just one Ashes tour, standing in as captain for the injured Michael Vaughan in 2006-07, as Australia regained the urn with a 5-0 drubbing. This winter, 19 years on, he returns in a different role, as head coach of the Lions, and with far more optimism.Arriving in Perth on Monday, Flintoff’s charges will be sparring partners with England as they look to regain the urn for the first time since 2015. They will provide vital opposition in the sole warm-up match at Lilac Hill, a three-day match ahead of the series opener at Optus Stadium on November 21, before embarking on their own tour which runs parallel to the first two Tests.The onus on supplementing the Test squad means the travelling party will feature six players – Rehan Ahmed, Jordan Cox, Matt Fisher, Josh Hull, Tom Hartley and Sonny Baker – with England caps. The Lions will have ringside seats to one of the most high-profile Ashes bouts in recent history – some could even find themselves tagged in for a few rounds.”I think it’s exciting all round,” Flintoff tells ESPNcricinfo at Loughborough, where the Lions have been training in an outdoor tent on pitches tailored to replicate those in Australia. “A couple of injuries and there might be opportunities.”Even for everyone, going to Australia for an Ashes year? Alright, you’re not at the same venues, but you’re going to be in and around Perth for the first Test. In Brisbane for the second. You’re going to experience the atmosphere being in Australia, all the hype around it.”I must admit, when I went and it didn’t go well, it was a bit of a shock. It was completely different to anything. But these lads are going to experience all these things, and they’re going to have the opportunity to practice with the England lads. Me included – I’m going to have a good day at the Ashes and watch England play. It’s all good.”The Lions’ fixtures, by design, will also offer those who miss out on Test selection time in the middle, should it be required. Four-day matches against a CA XI and Australia A begin a day after the start of the Perth and Brisbane Tests, with a fixture against a Prime Minister’s XI sandwiched in between.This is not the first time the Lions have shadowed England at the start of a major series. Next year, a red-ball series has been organised in South Africa ahead of next winter’s tour which features Tests, ODIs and T20Is. It is a continuation of more joined-up thinking throughout the national pathway, with the Lions now more of a bridge than ever before. It is something Rob Key was quick to reinforce when he took on men’s managing director duties at the start of the 2022 summer.Ed Barney has been the ECB’s performance director since 2023•England & GB Hockey”There’s a deep connection from top to bottom,” says Ed Barney, who followed Mo Bobat as men’s performance director in December 2023, a year before Flintoff became Lions head coach. “All credit to Keysy; he’s not a big process man, and I dont think he’d mind us talking to that too much. But one of the things he does believe in is alignment in terms of philosophy … playing philosophy.”There’s a natural level of alignment between Brendon McCullum, Fred and Michael Yardy (Under-19 coach), fundamentally. Some of the skills and attributes that we value and go after, and the understanding of international cricket. That’s unique in international elite sport.””We’re all in this together, aren’t we?” adds Flintoff. “We want the best for English cricket.”I look at the way England operate and I feel so fortunate to be involved in it, with Keysy, Baz, Ben [Stokes] and now Harry [Brook]. It’s a culture which I think is the right way to go about it. It’s all about expression, fun, backing each other, creating an environment, but underpinned from hard work.”Let’s be honest, I tried it every which way as a player. But it was no secret that the way it worked best was hard work, from a physical point of view, from a practice point of view, and also enjoying it. That should never be underestimated. I want these lads to enjoy playing cricket.”Flintoff and Barney have complementary experiences. The former was one of England’s most talismanic cricketers, the latter worked as performance director for England and Great Britain hockey, and was previously at the ECB from 2010 and 2013 as a talent indentification scientist.”Ed’s not from a cricket background, but he’s got an understanding of cricket,” says Flintoff. Barney interjects: “I’ve got a PhD in cricket, mate.””Have you?” comes the reply. “I’ve got an MBE”.Their combination has seen a re-imagining of what the Lions should – and could – be. While previously seen nominally as “England A” – the next-best set of players in the country – it is now a hybrid entity, dexterous enough to facilitate the differing needs of a variety of cricketers.Eddie Jack is one of the ‘high potential’ fast bowlers within the Lions set-up•Getty ImagesAt the start of the year, Shoaib Bashir toured Australia with the Lions to get a head start on what bowling off-spin over there requires. Stokes used an Abu Dhabi training camp in pre-season for some warm-weather rehabilitation as he returned from a second hamstring tear. In the summer, Chris Woakes and Josh Tongue played for the Lions to tune up for the India Test series, while Jofra Archer and Mark Wood were in regular attendance at various training sessions doubling as mentors. Bashir, having been overlooked by Somerset at the end of the season, attended a spin camp held at Loughborough overseen by legendary Sri Lankan batter Kumar Sangakkara.While the majority of the Ashes squad have been training in New Zealand alongside the ongoing white-ball series, Bashir, Ollie Pope and Matthew Potts have been in the UK with the Lions. Woakes, having retired from international cricket earlier this month, was on hand this week to do some coaching.At the other end of the spectrum, there are “high potential” picks and those fresh to the set-up. Six-foot-four quick Eddie Jack features, having come close to joining the full squad in the build-up to the Headingley Test against India before an injury crisis at Hampshire scuppered those plans. Somerset’s precocious 17-year-old batter Thomas Rew is an early graduate of the U19s. Glamorgan’s Asa Tribe, with five ODIs and 26 T20Is for Jersey, is getting his first exposure to the pathway.

It’s a culture which is all about expression, fun, backing each other, creating an environment, but underpinned from hard workFlintoff on the ethos that fuels England’s set-up across squads

Crossover with established talent and up-and-comers is encouraged, even on the fly. During one session in the Loughborough tent earlier this month, Kent and England U19 batter Ben Dawkins, who attends the university, was given a surprise hour-and-a-half-long net against Stokes and Wood as part of their Ashes preparations.The malleability of the set-up is held up as a strength, and Flintoff takes pride in the way it has boosted the careers of up-and-coming fast bowlers. Baker and Jack, for instance, were handed first-class debuts by the Lions before they had represented Hampshire in the format. Similarly, Mitchell Stanley’s bowling workload increased from 32 overs in 2024 to 331 in 2025 (all formats and miscellaneous matches). Stanley finished the season by taking 11 wickets for Lancashire against Kent, made up of his first two first-class five-wicket hauls. All three are part of the ECB’s pace project, established last year to mould the next tranche of quicks.”One of the nice things about this job is you give someone their first-class debut in Australia, he takes wickets and then there’s the pride when he makes his England debut,” says Flintoff of Baker.Matthew Fisher is one of the quicks who will be on stand-by for the Ashes•SLC”Eddie Jack, we gave him his debut (against India A) and he gets Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel and Nithish Kumar Reddy. This is a lad that had never played red-ball.”Mitch Stanley, I saw him bowl in the nets at Old Trafford when they signed him a few years ago. He was off a few paces and I thought, ‘wow, look at this’. Then he goes back to Lancashire and takes 11-for. It makes you think, ‘maybe we are doing something right here’.”Barney goes deeper on Stanley as a testament to the program: “That’s an exceptional win in terms of what Lancashire have been able to do and our ability to work collaboratively with them off the back of Australia (at the start of the year). Sitting down and mapping out a plan and seeing that play through.”As ever, collaboration with the counties is a must. A meeting with the respective directors of cricket in London three weeks ago was used as a debrief of how the summer panned out, sharing notes and future plans. After Australia, the Lions head to India for a spin camp that will also feature fast bowlers, before a white-ball series against Pakistan Shaheens in Abu Dhabi that coincides with several counties also being in the UAE for their pre-seasons.It is no secret that there has been a degree of conflict between the county game and the ECB’s high-performance aims, the current example being the mooted binning-off of the Kookaburra ball, originally introduced in the County Championship to promote fast bowling. Barney believes the Lions can facilitate a healthier relationship between the two.”County cricket is where it’s played,” says Flintoff. “But to play international cricket is different. We’re trying to fill that gap, whether it’s using the Kookaburra ball more. Playing on different surfaces. Spin camps where Kumar Sangakkara comes down. Going to Australia where the ball bounces a lot more, and giving them games for what they might face playing for England.”Barney adds: “The reality is, the domestic game has a choice to make, as to whether it wants to align itself with producing future international players, or whether it wants to be more orientated towards a product that is recognised and valued by the game or the membership.Related

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“Lions cricket can adapt and, to a certain extent, respond to that. I don’t think it’s a problem at all. What we want to have is some consistency of contact time, so we’ll talk to these guys about how this is not just an Australia tour, this is a six-month period where we want to work with you consistently.”At the turn of the year, the focus turns to limited-overs cricket with a view to 2027’s ODI World Cup, as England look to reinvigorate their ailing white-ball fortunes.Amid the cultivation of new talent, there will be an eye on three crucial player types – spinners, finishers and seam-bowling allrounders for all formats. The ECB have depth charts on all of them, with Yorkshire allrounder Matthew Revis put forward as an example of the kind of player they are looking to challenge and grow.”There are a multitude of skills and areas we are wanting to succession plan well for,” says Barney. “Whether that is power-hitting and finishing with the white ball and players who are able to thrive in that role for 2027. Who is Adil Rashid’s successor? Or Liam Dawson from a left-arm point of view?”There is a real orientation to who are our pace-bowling allrounders in the future, both in red-ball and white-ball cricket. Revis has got some real strength to his batting, where can we get his bowling to?””It’s not a new thing, is it, searching for an allrounder?” Flintoff says, knowingly. “Geez, we’ve had a few good ‘uns.”

Both teams will hope for better batting support for overburdened talismans Athapaththu and Amin

Andrew Fidel Fernando23-Oct-20252:12

SL vs Pak preview: Chamari Athapaththu’s swansong?

Big picture: Pakistan, SL aim to finish strongly

Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka are out of contention for the semis. Pakistan were out already, following their big loss to South Africa on Tuesday. Sri Lanka’s exit was confirmed after India beat New Zealand on Thursday.This is both Sri Lanka and Pakistan’s opportunity to finish a campaign strongly. Pakistan are winless as yet in this competition, though rain denied them a near-certain victory over England. Sri Lanka batted poorly in the match against Bangladesh, but were bailed out by their captain in the final over. They will, if nothing else, want to put a stronger stamp on this tournament, which they have essentially co-hosted.The problem areas for both teams overlap. Pakistan are over-reliant on Sidra Amin with the bat, and have tended to crumble around her. Sri Lanka are not quite as reliant on Chamari Athapaththu as they used to be, but they are yet to put in a dominant batting performance so far. Hasini Perera hit her first international fifty against Bangladesh, but the likes of Vishmi Gunaratne, Harshitha Samarawickrama and Kavisha Dilhari will have hoped to have had better tournaments.

Form guide

Sri Lanka WLLLL (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
Pakistan LLLLW

In the spotlight: Chamari Athapaththu and Sidra Amin

Chamari Athapaththu will be 36 in February. Unless stars align in extremely fortuitous fashion, Sri Lanka will play their last match of this World Cup on Friday. There is always the chance that Athapaththu will play the next ODI World Cup as well, at age 39. There are certainly no signs that she is slowing down. But realistically, this could be her final ODI World Cup game. She is without a doubt the first woman in Sri Lanka’s cricketing pantheon. If this is her last major game in this format, she deserves a strong finish.Can Sidra Amin finish her World Cup with another strong display?•AFP/Getty Images

Just as an illustration of how far back Pakistan’s batting is from the world leaders, consider this. Alyssa Healy, the top runscorer for this tournament, has hit 294 runs in four innings. Pakistan’s top run-scorer Sidra Amin has hit 138 runs in five innings. Amin and Pakistan have had consistently challenging conditions in Colombo to deal with, of course, but still, there is both a fragility and a stodginess to this top order, which prevents them from even competing in many matches. If they are to impose themselves on the next World Cup, Pakistan need to develop more batters like Amin.

Team news

Pakistan might search for ways to strengthen their batting order. Could Eyman Fatima or Sadaf Shamas make it back into the XI as they search for better combinations?Pakistan (possible): 1 Omaima Sohail, 2 Muneeba Ali, 3 Sidra Amin, 4 Aliya Riaz, 5 Natalia Pervaiz, Sidra Nawaz (wk), 7 Fatima Sana (capt), 8 Eyman Fatima/Rameen Shamim, 9 Diana Baig, 10 Nashra Sandhu, 10 Sadia Iqbal.Sri Lanka will likely keep their XI from the win over Bangladesh. Seamer Malki Madara was economical in that match, and will likely keep her spot.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Vishmi Gunaratne, 2 Chamari Athapaththu (capt), 3 Hasini Perera, 4 Harshitha Samarawickrama, 5 Kavisha Dilhari, 6 Nilakshika Silva, 7 Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), 8 Sugandika Kumari, 9 Malki Madara, 10, Inoka Ranaweera, 11 Udeshika Prabodhani.

Pitch and conditions: Can the rain stop, please?

The northeast monsoon shows no signs of easing in Colombo. Expect there to be swing and seam, owing to the rain around. There will also likely be significant turn, so long as the balls aren’t too wet. This is all presuming the rain will allow any cricket to be played at all.

Stats and trivia

• In 19 World Cup innings, Athapaththu averages 37.61 – just slightly better than her overall stats. Her World Cup bowling average of 30.00 is substantially better than her overall average of 40.12.
• Sidra Amin tops Pakistan’s run-scorers’ chart this year, with 656 ODI runs at 59.63. Their next-highest run-getter, Muneeba Ali, has hit 402 at 30.92.
• In 33 ODIs between the two sides, Pakistan have won 11 and Sri Lanka 22.

Quotes

“We’ve seen how the games have tended to go here. There’s been help for the pacers as well. We’ve studied the wicket carefully and are preparing to adjust our game according to the conditions. There’s quite a bit of swing for the fast bowlers, and for the spinners, there’s also good turn.”
Sri Lanka batter Harshitha Samarawickrama on conditions at Khettarama at the moment“I’ve learned quite a lot. This was a huge event – the World Cup – and unfortunately, we couldn’t perform as well as we wanted to. But there’s so much we’ve learned from it, and we’ll go back home and work hard on those areas.  It’s been quite difficult because many of our matches were affected by rain.”
Pakistan spinner Sadia Iqbal on Pakistan’s takeaways from a rainy Colombo campaign

Olympiacos pushed Real Madrid to the brink in a chaotic seven-goal Champions League thriller in Piraeus, but Kylian Mbappe’s four-goal performance proved decisive. Jose Luis Mendilibar praised his team’s fight, admitting Madrid “gave us a lifeline” late on, while offering a tactical breakdown of why Mbappe and Vinicius Junior are so devastating for Los Blancos.

• Mbappe hits four as Real Madrid edge Olympiacos

  Madrid survived a relentless Olympiacos comeback to win 4-3 in one of the Champions League’s most dramatic group-stage matches of the season. Their star striker Mbappe was the difference-maker, scoring all four goals as Los Blancos twice surrendered two-goal leads before hanging on in the final minutes in Piraeus.

  The hosts struck first through Chiquinho after a slick combination with Daniel Podence and Ayoub El Kaabi. Madrid initially struggled to gain control, but Mbappe flipped the game on its head with a devastating seven-minute hat-trick, scoring in the 22nd, 24th and 29th minutes. A brilliant ball over the top from Vinícius sparked the comeback, followed by a textbook header from Arda Guler’s cross, and then a composed finish from Eduardo Camavinga’s through ball.

  Olympiacos refused to fold. Mehdi Taremi and El Kaabi struck in the second half, dragging the Greek side back within touching distance and setting up a frenetic finale. But Madrid held firm for their first win in four games, with Mbappe becoming the first Real Madrid player ever to score four goals in a major European away match and extending his record for most away hat-tricks in Champions League history.

  After the final whistle, Olympiacos manager Mendilibar described the match as “crazy,” emphasising the emotional swings throughout the night.

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  ‘Crazy’ match & ‘lifeline’ from Madrid – Mendi breaks down the thriller

  Speaking to after the game, Mendilibar gave an honest and detailed assessment of a match he believed could have gone either way. His first reaction summed up the unpredictability: "Crazy, it's true, so many things happened, too many. We started very well, they turned the game around in two minutes, they were close to making it 1-4 which would have killed us. They gave us a lifeline and we finished the match pinning Madrid back and creating chances to equalize."

  The Olympiacos boss insisted his players deserved credit for refusing to collapse despite being repeatedly punished by Madrid’s world-class attackers. He admitted the quality gap was visible in certain moments, saying: "Look, it seemed like we were dead and they scored goals on us very quickly with very little effort. That's when you realize you're up against the best players in the world and that there are differences with your own team."

  Even with Madrid threatening to run away with the result, Mendilibar maintained belief that his team could fight back. Asked about his satisfaction with the performance, he replied: "Anything could have happened. The result is what matters; we did what we could and we never gave up. That's the most important thing for us."

• Mendilibar’s tactical explanation

  Mendilibar went beyond simple praise when analysing the impact of Mbappe and Vinicius, offering a tactical breakdown of why Madrid’s two stars are so devastating in transition and so efficient in front of goal.

  When asked what makes the pair so dangerous, he explained: "There are two sides to it. The two up front have caused us a lot of problems, but also because they rest a lot when we have the ball and only eight of us try to defend and run. When they win the ball back, they're fresh to make runs behind the defense, and then, they convert almost every chance they get."

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  Madrid going strong in Champions League

  The result places Real Madrid in a strong position in the Champions League, they now sit fifth in the table and three points behind leaders Arsenal. With 22 goals already this season and nine in Europe, Mbappe continues to be the defining figure of Madrid’s campaign. Xabi Alonso’s side will look to build on this momentum as they chase qualification with matches against the group’s lower-ranked opponents still to come.

  For Olympiacos, the performance, despite the defeat, offers genuine encouragement. Mendilibar’s team fought back against one of Europe’s most powerful squads and created more than enough opportunities to take something from the match.