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Estevao Willian spoke with the excitement of a Brazilian teenager living out his dream, after the 18-year-old Chelsea winger scored the goal of the night as the Blues put Barcelona to the sword in a statement 3-0 victory at Stamford Bridge. Speaking of this being the best moment of his young career thus far, Estevao spoke of how grateful he is for such a night and emphasised his connection with Chelsea fans since his arrival at the club.

• Estevao elated after stunning goal in huge Barcelona clash

  Estevao spoke to at full-time after the stunning result, which saw Chelsea dominate their esteemed opponents from the first to the last whistle.

  A scrappy own-goal by Jules Kounde opened the scoring in the first half, before Estevao had his moment and doubled his side’s advantage in the second. Skipping past Pau Cubarsi and Alejandro Balde with ease, Estevao rifled the ball into the roof of the net to put a stamp on the score line which reflected the Blues’ dominance.

  Already bagging five goals for his new club, becoming the second youngest-ever player to score in his first three Champions League starts in the process. Behind only Kylian Mbappe, the pair and Erling Haaland are the only three players to achieve the feat before the age of 20.

  His goal on Tuesday night was reminiscent of his strike against Chelsea while playing for Palmeiras in the Club World Cup, and his early performances in west London have indicated that he is still only improving.

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  'I don't have any words' – Estevao speaks on unforgettable night

  Estevao told : "I don't really have any words to sum up how I'm feeling right now. It really was the perfect night. I'm just grateful to God for everything that has happened for me. Onwards and upwards from here."

  On his goal, he added: "It all happened very quickly for me, it sort of happened before I knew it. I just found some space, wiggled my way through and then scored that goal. It was such a special moment for me in my career. I hope to score many more.

  "It was definitely the best moment of my career so far. I want to score many more for many years. I'm so grateful that my family were here watching me.

  "From the moment I arrived here, I felt such a connection with the fans. I'm just so happy that I could score for them and make them happy. I hope to keep making them happy and score more goals for them."

• Estevao clear winner in Yamal showdown

  The comparisons between teenage sensations Estevao and Lamine Yamal have taken a mind of their own in recent days, as fans began to prepare for the huge Champions League showdown. On the night, Estevao was the clear winner as Yamal was bettered by Marc Cucurella and rarely influenced proceedings.

  Maresca spoke in the build-up to the game about Estevao’s immense quality, while ensuring fans keep their feet on the ground.

  "Estevao is already playing at a high level and is starting games for Brazil," Maresca told reporters. "He is very young and for sure can do many things better, but we are very happy with him. It’s nice for people who love football to watch players like Estevao, Lamine Yamal, Pedri. We are happy that Estevao is with us.

  "Estevao is going to be an important player for this club in the future, no doubt. The most important thing for Estevao now is that he has to enjoy his football, he has to be happy, and not think about being better than this player or that player."

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  Estevao's light set to shine even brighter ahead of World Cup

  Estevao’s profile has been rising heavily ever since his arrival at Stamford Bridge, but his decisive contribution against Barcelona has seen him shine on a bigger stage than ever before.

  While he has a way to go in order to match the freakish career progression of Yamal at the same age, Estevao is already well on his way to becoming one of the greatest young players in world football.

  He will undoubtedly have a major role to play for Brazil at the World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico next summer, having already scored five goals in 11 matches for his nation including two goals in the most recent international break. The former Palmeiras star is only just getting started.

The retiring Tim Southee’s Test career, in numbers

Sampath Bandarupalli17-Dec-2024391 – Wickets for Tim Southee in his 107-Test career. He signs off as the second-highest wicket-taker for New Zealand, next only to Richard Hadlee’s 431.15 – Southee’s five-wicket hauls in Tests, the third-highest for New Zealand, behind Hadlee (36) and Daniel Vettori (20).234 – Wickets for Southee in home Tests, the most on New Zealand soil. Hadlee (201) is the only other bowler with 200-plus Test wickets in New Zealand.ESPNcricinfo Ltd5 – Bowlers with more wickets in Test cricket than Southee’s 391 since his debut in March 2008. Only two of these are quick bowlers: James Anderson (635) and Stuart Broad (600).47 – Test wins for Southee, the most for a New Zealand player. Ross Taylor, Tom Latham and Kane Williamson follow him with 44 wins each.His 107 Test appearances place him in fourth place for New Zealand, behind Vettori (112), Taylor (112) and Stephen Fleming (111).280 – Wickets for Southee across the 63 Tests he played between August 2012 and November 2021. He averaged 25.45 and struck once every 53.3 balls in this period. Only R Ashwin (388 wickets at 23.69 and a strike rate of 51.7) picked up more wickets in that period than Southee with an average below 26 and a strike rate of under 55.ESPNcricinfo Ltd98 – Sixes hit by Southee in his Test career, which is a tie for the fourth-highest. He finished with the same number as Chris Gayle and only behind Ben Stokes (133), Brendon McCullum (107) and Adam Gilchrist (100).His 98 sixes are by far the most for any player while batting at No. 8 or lower.He hit nine sixes in his debut Test against England, which is the highest by any batter on Test debut.82.68 – Southee’s batting strike rate in Test cricket is the third-best for any batter with 2000-plus runs (where balls-faced data is available). Only Harry Brook (88.37) and Ben Duckett (85.88) have better strike rates.29 – Balls Southee needed for his half-century in his debut Test, against England in Napier in 2008. It is the fastest-recorded fifty by a batter in his debut Test, bettering Desmond Haynes’ record, off 38 balls.Two players since then have made quicker half-centuries on debut than Haynes – Luke Ronchi and Jacob Bethell, both off 37 deliveries – but no-one has come close to Southee’s mark.

Cristiano Ronaldo has been sent home by Portugal following his red card against the Republic of Ireland on Thursday. Ronaldo received his marching orders on the hour mark, his first dismissal of his international career, having elbowed Ireland defender Dara O'Shea, as the Selecao crashed to a surprise 2-0 defeat at the Aviva Stadium. Portugal remain top of World Cup qualifying Group F despite the loss.

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  Ireland claimed huge win over Portugal

  However, the Selecao's progression to the 2026 World Cup isn't quite so cut and dry following Thursday's reverse. Troy Parrott bagged a first half brace for the Boys In Green as Ireland made it back-to-back wins to give their play-off hopes a much-needed shot in the arm.

  Ireland now face Hungary, who sit one point above Heimir Hallgrimsson's side, on Sunday afternoon needing to win in order to leapfrog the Magyars into second place. Hungary may yet finish first if they win and Portugal lose to Armenia, though even without Ronaldo, that seems unlikely.

  The 40-year-old won't be hanging around to watch Portugal's game at the Estadio do Dragao in Porto on Sunday afternoon after the experienced striker was 'released from the national team' according to Portuguese publication . Ronaldo had put in a sluggish performance up until his dismissal in what proved a frustrating evening for the Portugal captain.

  Before the game, Ronaldo had promised to be a 'good boy' upon his return to Ireland, stating: "I really like the fans here. The support they give to their national team is lovely.

  "For me, it's a pleasure to play here again, I hope they don't boo me too much tomorrow – I swear that I'm going to try to be a good boy."

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• 'There's no violence'

  Ronaldo's red card was met with disbelief by the experienced striker, who turned to sarcastically applaud the home crowd before trudging towards the tunnel. And the Al-Nassr hitman had to be held back by former Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho after the Portuguese hero appeared to mouth 'well done' in the direction of the Irish dugout.

  Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez came to the defence of Ronaldo after Thursday's defeat and argued that the captain's outburst was not 'violent'. "Of course, we spoke I think it's difficult for a player like Cristiano, who's in the box. And today he had two defenders constantly in physical contact," Martinez said.

  "There's no violence. He tries to push the defender away and he was unlucky that the VAR… the angle of the images [makes it look] worse than what happened. It's Ronaldo's first red card for the national team, it's incredible."

  A straight red card on the international stage tends to carry a two-match ban, which means Ronaldo may miss Portugal's World Cup opener if they to get the job done against Armenia and avoid needing to jet stateside next summer via the play-offs.

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  'He knows he made a mistake'

  Manchester United captain and Ronaldo's Portugal team-mate Bruno Fernandes has admitted that the frontman made a mistake but that his dismissal made things more difficult in Ireland last week. Fernandes, who sat out the game against Ireland owing to a ban of his own, said: "That happens in football, a moment where Cris had a reaction that cost him dearly.

  "Something he didn't want to do, but it ended up happening. He knows he made a mistake and unfortunately couldn't help us, but it doesn't change the fact that we were already behind in the game.

  "It made things a little more difficult, because we were playing with 10 men and didn't have a player who could score a goal at any moment."

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• Portugal expected to breeze past Armenia

  Portugal are still expected to finish top of Group F on Sunday as they gear up to take on Armenia on home turf. Armenia have lost four of their five World Cup qualifiers, including a resounding 5-0 loss to Martinez's men at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium back in September.

  Ronaldo scored twice in that resounding victory, while Joao Felix – twice – and Joao Cancelo also got on the scoresheet earlier in the year.

The Yankees' busy trade deadline continues.

New York is trading for Rockies reliever Jake Bird in exchange for second baseman prospect Roc Riggio and left-handed prospect Ben Shields, Jeff Passan of reports.

The right-hander heads to the Yankees after spending the first three and a half years of his career in Colorado. This season, Bird is 4-1 with a 4.73 ERA and 62 strikeouts over 53.1 innings. He notably had a 2.48 ERA at home compared to a 7.40 ERA on the road this season.

This marks the latest move for the Yankees, who added more help to bullpen earlier on Thursday by trading for David Bednar from the Pirates. On Wednesday, they brought in White Sox outfielder Austin Slater for Gage Ziehl, and traded for Ryan McMahon last week.

The center midfielder, who was a mainstay for the USMNT during the 2022 World Cup, is in danger of missing out on the 2026 tournament on home soil. Could a new manager at Atalanta change his fortunes?

On Aug. 26, Yunus Musah made it clear that he had big plans for the 2025-26 season at AC Milan.

"The nearest goals and achievement for me are winning trophies here at Milan," he told ESPN. "This season we have the possibility to win three trophies [Serie A, Coppa Italia, Italian Supercoppa]. I'd love to win all three of them. And also then go to the national team and win more trophies as well."

That all sounded good. There was confidence, gusto, the idea that Musah believed that all of those things were possible Milan and the USMNT. A week later, he was holding up an Atalanta shirt, grinning, after agreeing to a year-long loan to Milan's direct rivals. Just over two months after that, he is out of the U.S. squad after barely playing for his new club. 

It is impossible to speculate on the minutea here. But some things are true. The first is that Musah has played just under 300 minutes of football this season. He has also played for two different club managers and is about to play for a third after Atalanta sacked Ivan Juric on Monday. And, according to insights offered by U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino, it is playing time, not injury, that has seen him dropped from the U.S. squad. Piece it all together, and this looks like a footballer who made one of those rare, truly poor decisions in his career. His move may have come late, but the destination was also frightfully ill-judged, with Musah now stuck in a spot where he is unlikely to play more, and without a steady parent club to return to. 

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  Allegri didn't rate him

  The state of tension between Musah and Allegri was perhaps a bit overblown. But the eye test certainly didn't help. There were, in fact, two significant incidents in the game between Milan and Lecce that suggested that something was up. The first came in the second half, when the American was on the ground after being on the receiving end of a hefty challenge. Allegri didn't "kick" him, per se, but there was, to be sure, contact between the manager's foot and Musah's body. 

  Later in the game, Allegri berated him for trying to take a throw in quickly with his side leading 2-0 in stoppage time. Musah dropped the ball and looked away without even looking at his coach. It must be acknowledged here that managers and players are allowed to disagree. Allegri, too, isn't exactly the most fun guy. He is a strict disciplinarian who plays intense, testy football. He was famously denied a job in the Premier League when he outlined his playing style: "I don't have one." 

  Allegri also made it abundantly clear to Milan's hierarchy that he wanted a center midfielder who could offer a little more control in his side. The solution? Veteran Frenchman Adrien Rabiot, one of Allegri's favorites at Juventus, and a regular for Didier Deschamps in the French National Team. The reality was that Musah was always going to be a bit frozen out. 

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  Decision to join Atalanta

  And so it proved. Things accelerated rapidly on Musah's move. There had been some scattered talk for a few weeks that his long term future might not lie with the , but the pace at which his loan move was tracked through was remarkable. All of the reporting all summer suggested that Musah was set to be an important player for Milan. But then, on Aug. 27 – less than a week before the transfer deadline – Serie A transfer guru Matteo Moretto reported that a move to Atalanta was gaining traction. The club was reportedly prepared to pay €25 million for his services. Eventually, the two sides agreed on a loan with a club option to buy. 

  But it was an odd call, all said. There were, admittedly, some things to like about playing for Atalanta. They needed a little midfield depth. They play attacking football. They are in the Champions League this season. There seemed to be plenty of minutes to go around, then. 

  Tactically, too, the fit was intriguing. Atalanta play a 3-4-2-1, with two disciplined, defensive center midfielders and proper runners on the wing. Musah, at his best, is an energetic, box-to-box No. 8. But he can also play on the right or left. He even admitted, after playing well in a 4-3-3 for the USMNT, that he could play on the wing if needed.

  "It's more of a position where you're supposed to be that guy that takes the risks, you're supposed to be that guy that takes on a man and creates [scoring] chances," Musah said. "So ultimately, when the coach tells you to play free, then it gives you even more of a chance to do those things."

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  Needing a position

  Musah's versatility, in a way, cannot be questioned. But it might have also held him back a bit. In Milan in the 2023-24 campaign, he played nine different positions. But 42 percent of his minutes came in central midfield, where he was genuinely excellent for spells. The rest? Well, there was some time spent out wide, a bit as a defensive midfielder, and even as a right winger. But the point was, largely, he was a center mid doing center mid things. 

  The year after, Milan changed managers, and thereby removed the role that Musah had excelled in. Under Paolo Fonseca, he operated mostly as a right attacking midfielder. The Portuguese did not set up in a system that offered his preferred position. And even if he finished the campaign with 1,600 minutes under his belt and 19 Serie A starts, Musah didn't quite offer a sense of specialization that he needed. 

  And Atalanta have, in a way, capitalized on that. Musah has perhaps a similar problem to Weston McKennie in that he can do a little bit of everything – but is caught in a system that doesn't truly excel in his greatest area. 

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  A nightmare of a start to the season

  The result is a limited role. It was always, perhaps, going to be tough to crack the XI. In Ederson and veteran midfielder Mario Pasalic – a similar profile of player to Musah – they have two established center midfielders. Davide Zappacosta is a mainstay out wide. Raoul Bellanova has impressed on the other wing. Musah isn't a good fit in either of the No. 10 positions. 

  So, yes, the tactical fit is an awkward one. But what is perhaps even more surprising is just how few minutes he might get. Ederson is a star midfielder who plays nearly every minute. But Pasalic is aging. Zappacosta, too, could do with a rest here and there. Rotational minutes may not be ideal, but even they should still be attainable – especially for a player of Musah's potential. Instead, Musah has played just six times in Serie A, totaling 145 minutes. His one start came not for Atalanta, but Milan – where he played all 90 minutes against Lecce. He has only played five of Atalanta's last 10 games, despite being fit and available for all of them. 

  His performances, meanwhile, have been agreeable. It is admittedly hard to make much of an impact when minutes are sparse. But Musah assisted in the Champions League, and his efforts when on the pitch cannot be questioned. His dribbling and ball-carrying stats are as strong as ever, too.

Thomas Frank slammed 'unacceptable' Tottenham Hotspur fans after their Premier League defeat to Fulham on Saturday. The fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium booed goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario after his howler helped Fulham take a 2-0 lead within the first six minutes of the match. Spurs are now winless in their last four games across all competitions and have lost three in a row.

• Spurs' winless run continues

  Tottenham have won just one out of the six matches they played in November, which includes one draw and three losses in the Premier League. Their only win this month came against Copenhagen in the Champions League. Spurs headed into the Fulham clash after conceding nine goals in their last two matches against Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain. They hoped to regain some confidence by beating London rivals Fulham at home, but they were off to a disastrous start as Vicario's howler helped the visitors take a two-goal lead at the start of the match.

  The Spurs shot-stopper was punished by Fulham after going walkabout in the build-up to the second goal as Harry Wilson doubled his team's lead after Kenny Tete broke the deadlock in the fourth minute. Mohammed Kudus then pulled one back for the hosts around the hour mark but the Cottagers eventually walked away with the crucial three points. 

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  Frank blasted Spurs fans

  Vicario was jeered at by the home fans after his costly mistake led to Fulham's second goal, as the goalkeeper was booed while the match was going on. The gesture of the fans did not impress the manager as he told : “I didn't like that our fans booed at him [Vicario] straight after and a few times he touched the ball. They can't be true Tottenham fans because everyone supports each other when you are on the pitch. And we do everything we can to perform. After, fair enough, boo, no problem. But not during. That's unacceptable in my opinion."

• Vicario's message to fans

  Taking responsibility or the second goal, Vicario addressed the Spurs fans as he told : "The second goal was a mistake of mine, I take responsibility for that. The intent was to clear the ball long and I just hit the ball in a bad way. It was an even bigger mountain to climb. I’m a big man, what can I say? We cannot be influenced by the situation in the stands. The fans have the right to do what they think. It's on us to stay more calm, to focus on ourselves. We are lacking in composure and calmness to overturn results. Today is a bad defeat and it's tough to accept."

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  Spurs need to pick up form soon

  Spurs started the 2025-26 campaign on a bright note under Frank after a forgetful 2024-25 season. But the sudden dip in form, which saw them collect just one point from their last four league clashes, has seen them drop to the 10th position in the Premier League table.

  Frank was brought in place of Ange Postecoglou to bring organisation and a calmer head to a young team. However, so far in the season, the team has continued to struggle. The manager, who made Brentford a real force in the English top-flight, has his work cut out in the next couple of months to turn things around at the north London outfit, although the club do not have any plan to part ways with the Danish manager. According to , the club's owners, the Lewis family, are targeting long-term success under the Dane, which suggests that no short-term decisions are being considered. 

  They next face Newcastle United in a difficult Premier League fixture on December 2. 

Teams to play one Test and three T20Is, instead of a second Test and ODIs as well

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Oct-2025Zimbabwe will host Afghanistan for one Test and three T20Is in October, a reduced itinerary from the two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is that were on the FTP.All four matches will take place at Harare Sports Club, which will host a Test for the first time in four years. Zimbabwe’s last nine home Tests have been played in Bulawayo, and they have lost them all. Zimbabwe have played Afghanistan in four Tests between 2021 and 2025, with one win, two defeats and a draw. Their most recent fixtures were in December-January 2024-25, when Afghanistan won the two-Test series 1-0. They also beat Zimbabwe 2-1 in the T20I series and 2-0 in the ODIs.The Test from October 20 to 24 against Afghanistan completes a busy year for Zimbabwe, who are not part of the World Test Championship but are playing 10 matches in 2025. They were initially scheduled to play 11 but ESPNcricinfo understands the second Test against Afghanistan, and the ODIs, will be moved to 2026. The three T20Is will be played on October 29, 31 and November 2.Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has chosen to prioritise T20Is, as the team may need the fixtures to prepare for the 2026 T20 World Cup. Zimbabwe are in the semi-finals of the Africa Regional Qualifier, currently underway, and if they beat Kenya on Thursday, will qualify for the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka in February and March. Zimbabwe missed the 2024 T20 World Cup after losing to Uganda in the qualifiers. They have played in only one of the last three T20 World Cups – in 2022 – where they reached the Super 12.Should Zimbabwe secure their spot at the 2026 T20 World Cup, ZC will also seek additional fixtures, with nothing on Zimbabwe’s calendar between November this year and April next year. With all Full Members, except Ireland, occupied over that period, Zimbabwe may look to engage a team like Namibia (also in the semi-finals of the T20 qualifier) and are understood to be considering teams like Netherlands and Nepal for fixtures. After a torrid run earlier in the year, when Zimbabwe lost five T20Is on the bounce, they have now won six of their last nine games.

A broken bat, a crazy run out, and a multiple Grand Slam winner. What else makes the list?

Andrew McGlashan24-Oct-2024

Meg Lanning (and Ash Barty) on opening day

It all began at Junction Oval on December 5, 2015. Melbourne Stars faced Brisbane Heat in back-to-back games on the same day in front of a crowd of 1500. Some players watched on sat in camping chairs. A number of names that remain stars of Australian cricket were on show: Beth Mooney opened alongside Grace Harris for Heat, who had Jess Jonassen at No. 3, while Meg Lanning made 165 off 114 balls across the two matches as Stars came out winners in both. However, in the middle-order for Heat, there is another name which stood out: Ash Barty. Now a retired multiple Grand Slam winner, at the time Barty was also out of tennis, having stepped away in 2014 aged 18 to play cricket. On the opening day of WBBL, she impressed with 39 off 27 balls in the first match before falling to Nat Sciver-Brunt. “It truly was an amazing period of my life,” she said in 2019. “I met an amazing group of people who couldn’t care less whether I could hit a tennis ball or not. They accepted me, and they got to know Ash Barty.” That opening innings would prove to be the high point for Barty who made 68 runs in nine matches – her major sporting success was yet to come.

The first century

This won’t be the only time Grace Harris is mentioned in this piece. In the eighth match of the inaugural season, a few months after her international debut, she struck the competition’s first century with 103 off 55 balls against Sydney Sixers at Aquinas College in Perth. She went from her fifty to her hundred in just 22 deliveries. “I was just after ice cream,” Harris joked after the innings. “When I hit the century, Mooney came down the wicket and it didn’t really click to begin with, and then she said that I had made it because everyone was standing up, and I just said, ‘Ice cream! Ice cream!'” To cap off her day, Harris claimed 4 for 15 from two overs. She remains the only player to have scored a century and taken four wickets in a WBBL match.

Harmanpreet’s landmark signing

It is well-known that India’s premier male cricketers do not appear in T20 leagues outside of the IPL, but that’s not the case in the women’s game – the upcoming season will see a record number of India names in the WBBL. In mid-2016, Harmanpreet Kaur became the first India player to join the league when she signed for Sydney Thunder. “Being the first player from my country to sign a contract for a BBL club is one of my best moments,” she said at the time. During her first season, she made 310 runs in 13 innings which included a 26-ball 56 against Heat. In the 2021 season, she was Player of the Tournament.Harmanpreet Kaur was the first Indian player to join an overseas league•Getty Images

Pushing the boundaries

Here comes Grace again. By 2018, Sophie Devine (48) and Ash Gardner (47) had both gone under the 50-ball mark with centuries. Against Stars at the Gabba, Harris raised the bar further with a blistering 42-ball display which included 13 fours and six sixes. Remarkably, this came in a chase of just 133 as she made 73% of the total herself with Mooney watching on from the other end. With one run needed, Harris was on 95 and set off for the winning run but was sent back by Mooney. Three balls later, she launched Alana King down the ground for six to become the first player with multiple WBBL tons. “I’d told her that we weren’t running again and she finally got there in the end,” Mooney said.

Devine’s double

As mentioned above, Devine had already left a mark on the WBBL but against Stars at Adelaide Oval, she produced what remains a one-off all-round starrer in the competition’s history: the only time a player has scored a half-century and taken a five-wicket haul. She had been within touching distance of matching Harris with two WBBL hundreds when she fell for 95 with an over to go, but that was only half the job done. With ball in hand, she removed four of Stars’ top six and completed her haul by claiming Nicola Hancock.

semi-final run out

It is one of the iconic moments in WBBL history. It had already been a dramatic day with the first semi-final decided by a stunning boundary catch from Haidee Birkett. But the extraordinary three-player run out to force a Super Over in the second match was at another level. With three needed off the last ball, Sophie Molineux, who had batted throughout Melbourne Renegades’ chase, sliced over point and the ball appeared destined for the rope. “She’s got a four,” screamed commentator Jason Richardson. Then came a desperate dive from Erin Burns that flicked the ball back to Sarah Aley, who in turn hurled the return to Alyssa Healy. But the run-out chance was at the bowler’s end. Healy collected and in one motion spun around with a gloveless right hand and threw down the stumps. “In terms of a team play, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more special one in the context of the match and what effect it had on the game,” Ellyse Perry said. Burns added: “It was one of those moments where everything just seemed to fit perfectly. To tap it back but then Sarah to come around and the perfect throw into Midge and then to spin around no look at the stumps and throw down the other end is pretty awesome.”Ellyse Perry celebrates Sophie Molineux’s extraordinary run-out•Getty Images

Mooney, the back-to-back finals hero

Mooney is the WBBL’s leading run-scorer heading into the tenth season. Before her move to Perth Scorchers, she was central in Heat’s consecutive titles in the 2018-19 and 2019-2020 seasons. In the first of those, a week after the epic semi-final mentioned above, in a season where runs had not flowed to her usual standards, she defied a sweltering Sydney day while overcome effects of the flu with 65 off 46 balls to put Heat on course against Sixers. “I plonked myself in the ice bath and was a bit nervous towards the end, I couldn’t really watch,” Mooney said. The following season she was at it again, anchoring a bigger chase against Adelaide Strikers with 56 off 45 balls.

Thunder win in the bubble

Somehow, the 2020 WBBL season was completed despite Covid. Played entirely in Sydney, it was not an edition remembered too fondly by a number of players with all the squads housed in a hotel bubble at the Olympic Park amid tight restrictions. But, as with much in that Australian season, it was a remarkable show of adaptability and resilience. It also concluded with a memorable result in the final where Thunder, who had produced a stunning turnaround in the semi-final against Heat, toppled Stars – one of the standout teams of the competition – by seven wickets having restricted them to just 86. Shabnim Ismail, who claimed the key wicket of Lanning, and Sammy-Jo Johnson combined to take 4 for 23 from eight overs.Broken bat? No worries for Grace Harris•Getty Images

Garth’s powerplay masterclass

Against Thunder in 2021, pace bowler Kim Garth produced one of the more remarkable performances seen in T20s. In the powerplay, she produced figures of 3-3-0-3 to put Stars on course to defend a low total. Garth removed Tahlia Wilson and Phoebe Litchfield in her first over, and then produced another maiden over to Smriti Mandhana. At the start of her third, she had Corinne Hall taken at slip before closing the spell with five more dots. By the time she returned for the 20th over, Stars had breathing space with 25 to defend.

Harris’ broken bat

“Stuff it, I’ll still hit it.” It has gone down as an immortal phrase from Grace Harris. Preparing to face up to Piepa Clearly, Harris noticed her bat handle was broken. But instead of waiting for a new one, she just got on with it. Harris launched the ball over long-on for a 72-metre six, the handle snapping away from the blade in the process to produce an iconic image that went viral. It was part of another astonishing WBBL display from Harris, who piled up a tournament-high 136 off 59 deliveries with a record 11 sixes. “When you get in the zone, you just get in the zone,” she said modestly.

Price century followed by four wickets for departing seamer Zaman Akhter as Derbyshire fall short

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay05-Aug-2025Ollie Price illuminated the final day of the Towergate Cheltenham Festival, scoring a superb hundred as Gloucestershire beat Derbyshire Falcons by 59 runs to make a winning start to their Metro Bank One-Day Cup campaign.The Oxford-born batter posted 103 from 115 balls and staged stands of 141 with James Bracey and 97 with Ben Charlesworth for the second and third wickets respectively as the home side ran up an imposing 341-8 at the famous College Ground. Promoted to open the innings, Bracey contributed an enterprising 83, while Charlesworth and skipper Jack Taylor weighed in with half-centuries.Brooke Guest raised a brilliant 86 from 88 balls and shared stands of 64 with Matt Montgomery and 76 with Amrit Basra, who scored 42 and 40 respectively, as the Falcons made a decent fist of chasing. But paceman Zaman Akhter returned figures of 4 for 47, including a decisive spell of three wickets in six balls, to swing the contest back in Gloucestershire’s favour and ensure Derbyshire were dismissed for 282 in 45.5 overs.Derbyshire won the toss, elected to field and saw debutant Rory Haydon remove Australian Test batsman Cameron Bancroft lbw in a tidy new-ball spell of 1-16 from six overs with one maiden. Driving and cutting fluently, Bracey and Price found runs easier to come by against Ben Aitchison from the Chapel End. these two matching one another blow for blow as boundaries began to flow. When Nick Potts replaced Aitchison, Bracey hoisted him high over mid-wicket for six to bring up the half century stand, twice repeating the feat with further effortless pick-ups a few overs later to afford the innings added impetus.Bracey went to 50 via 40 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes and then smashed Potts for another six over mid-wicket as the innings assumed three figures. Potts was withdrawn after conceding 42 from three overs, but there was no reduction in the rate of scoring from the Chapel End, Price reverse sweeping Montgomery’s off spin for four to raise the hundred partnership in just 15 overs. He brought up his 50 via 59 balls soon afterwards.Derbyshire desperately required a breakthrough and Montgomery obliged, bowling Bracey via an inside edge with the score 148-2 in the 23rd. Bracey had dominated a stand of 141, his aggressive knock spanning 66 balls, including 8 fours and 4 sixes and affording his side an excellent platform. Price and Charlesworth consolidated thereafter, adding 50 for the third wicket in 63 balls in the face of accurate bowling from Joe Hawkins and Basra.A bumper Festival audience rose to acknowledge Price’s fourth List-A hundred, the 24-year-old reaching the landmark in 111 balls with a swept single behind square off Montgomery. Having hit 10 fours and a six, he was then bowled by Andersson. But there was no respite for the visitors, Charlesworth moving seamlessly to a run-a-ball half century with 4 fours and a six.Aitchison had Charlesworth held at long-on for a 59-ball 60 and Graeme van Buuren caught at the wicket for eight as Derbyshire briefly applied the brakes, only for the experienced Jack Taylor to combine power and deft placement in raising a quickfire 67 from 37 balls with 10 fours and a six to carry Gloucestershire out of sight.Forced to score briskly from the outset, Derbyshire lost Harry Came to scoreboard pressure in the seventh, the opener driving a length ball from Matt Taylor straight to mid-on with 24 on the board. But Caleb Jewell and Montgomery made amends, finding the boundary with sufficient regularity to advance the score to 53 at the end of 10 overs.Returning to Gloucestershire on loan seven years after leaving to join Warwickshire, Craig Miles struck an important blow when persuading Australian Jewell to cut to Charlesworth at backward point for 35 with the score 61 for 2. But the visitors continued to make a fight of it, Montgomery and Guest bringing up 100 inside 18 overs to keep the required rate at around 7.5 an over. The 50 partnership occupied 55 balls, the third wicket pair establishing themselves in a manner which suggested Gloucestershire might not have things all their own way.Having accrued a six and 5 fours in raising a 39-ball 42, Montgomery blotted his copybook, playing back to van Buuren’s slow left arm and chopping on to terminate a partnership of 64 in 11.3 overs as Falcons slipped to 125 for 3. Akhter and van Buuren applied the squeeze during the middle overs and Jack Taylor benefited, having Martin Andersson held at extra cover with the score 152 for 4.Derbyshire were still in with a chance while Guest remained at large, the captain going to 50 from 61 balls, while debutant Basra demonstrated clever improvisation to hit the ground running, plundering sixes at the expense of Jack Taylor, Josh Shaw and Miles to keep the reply on track.Gloucestershire needed a wicket and Akhter responded by taking three in the space of six balls. He bowled the combative Basra for a 31-ball 40, had Guest held at long-on in his next over and then removed Ross Whitely cheaply to reduce the Falcons to 234 for 7 and relieve pressure on his team. Requiring a further 107 from 11.1 overs, Derbyshire were never really in the hunt thereafter, Aitchison succumbing to Matt Taylor for 19 as the chase ran out of steam.

During the All-Star Game last Tuesday in Atlanta, Arizona Diamondbacks star Ketel Marte's home was burglarized back in Phoenix.

This week, Marte shared that around $400,000 worth of items were stolen from his home. He didn't detail what exact items were stolen, but it was previously reported that some jewelry and other big items were taken.

Marte ended up landing on the restricted list when the All-Star break ended on Friday to take some personal time. He returned on Sunday vs. the St. Louis Cardinals and spoke with the media about the home break-in. It understandably shook him up a bit.

“Everyone is clear that it’s not a situation that we can feel good about. I’m losing about $400,000, and I think that’s a lot,” Marte said, via . “It was a bit of a tough situation, but we came back here to try not to think about those things that have happened. It doesn’t feel good. Everyone knows what happened. And we’re hoping that things are remedied.”

Police shared last week that no one was at Marte's home at the time of the burglary. There is an ongoing investigation regarding the break-in, but there haven't been any updates as of the time of this writing.

The incident is just the latest in a series of recent robberies involving well-known athletes across multiple leagues, where players' homes have been repeatedly targeted while they are traveling for events or away games. Among those impacted are NFL stars Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow, as well as basketball bigwigs Luka Doncic and Bobby Portis.