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Mitch Swepson took three wickets and Lachlan Hearne scored his first Sheffield Shield century as Queensland closed on victory

AAP17-Oct-2025Alex Carey holds the key to South Australia’s hopes of manufacturing a draw on the final day of their Sheffield Shield match against Queensland.The Test wicketkeeper is the last realistic hope for the hosts, who lead by 68 runs with five wickets in hand at Adelaide Oval.The run out of Jake Lehmann in the last session was disastrous and the hosts went to stumps at 238 for 5. Carey is 37 and Liam Scott has made 20.Lehmann hesitated when he went for a quick single and a sharp throw by substitute fielder Hugh Weibgen to bowler Mitchell Swepson dismissed him for 12.Every other South Australia batter made a start, but so far Jason Sangha’s 55 is the only half-century.Swepson bowled superbly to take the first three wickets. The spinner trapped Henry Hunt lbw for 26, breaking up the opening stand of 57.He then bowled opener Conor McInerney for 46 and Usman Khawaja took a sharp chance at slip to dismiss Nathan McSweeney for 26.Michael Neser found the gap between bad and pad to bowl Sangha, who hit four fours in his 116-ball stay.Earlier, Lachlan Hearne scored his maiden Shield ton as Queensland made 398 in their first innings.They resumed at 319 for 6 and Hearne reached 106 before he was the eighth Queensland batter to fall.McInerney bobbled the sharp chance at first slip off Wes Agar’s bowling, but Carey took the catch to remove Hearne. It was Agar’s fifth scalp of the innings, giving him his sixth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.

Bowling for the first time since the Old Trafford Test, having put fitness concerns behind him, the fast bowler looked on the road back to his best rhythm

Srinidhi Ramanujam05-Sep-2025Every few minutes, a flight takes off from the airport just beyond the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) ground on the outskirts of Bengaluru. There’s a steady hum in the background, easy to tune out, and constant enough to notice if you’re paying attention. On the field, Anshul Kamboj’s bowling had a similar feel: there was an unhurried, deliberate rhythm to it, as he returned to action far from the spotlight that had briefly found him in England.After a challenging Test debut in Manchester in July, when he toiled for 18 overs for a solitary wicket, this Duleep Trophy semi-final for North Zone (NZ) against South Zone (SZ) marked a quieter, more controlled step forward.”I’m just trying to get into rhythm, focus on the present, and push myself without thinking too far ahead,” Kamboj had told ESPNcricinfo after the first day’s play. After missing NZ’s quarter-final due to a fitness concern, acknowledged that two weeks off from bowling had made this match just as much about rebuilding his body as it was about performance.Related

• From injury to comeback: Gaikwad's masterclass in patience, power

“I felt really good this morning,” he said, reflecting on his first competitive match since the Test debut. “It’s been a month since I’ve played, so I’m just trying to get into the rhythm of playing a match again. I’m trying to push myself without thinking too much about what’s ahead, [and] just focusing on the present.”For Kamboj, the pre-season preparation is “just a matter of intensity”. It isn’t something that simply turns up on match day – it must be cultivated in the days leading up to it. That intensity was evident in his opening spells on the first and second days against SZ, when he steamed in with pace. His actions were sharp, and his focus clear.”For a fast bowler, loading [the body] during the off-season is crucial for the long season ahead,” Kamboj said. “You can’t train too much during the season; it’s about maintaining yourself. If you load your body well in the off-season, it helps you sustain performance over time.Anshul Kamboj picked up just the solitary wicket in 18 overs on Test debut in Manchester•Getty Images”When in competition, you focus more on refining your skills since you can’t train heavily. But in the off-season, you can build up gradually [by] working on both fitness and skills. The key is not to rest [for] too long, but to keep your body fit through shorter, focused training sessions. If you’re prepared in the off-season, you’ll just need to maintain it during the season, making it easier to perform consistently.”On Thursday, the first day of the Duleep match, Kamboj bowled a seven-over spell and almost had a wicket, forcing N Jagadeesan, on 9 at the time, to nick a length ball to the keeper only to be no-balled for overstepping. It turned out to be a costly mistake, as Jagadeesan went on to score 197 and pushed SZ’s total to 536. Kamboj, however, got on the wickets column soon after, getting Devdutt Padikkal caught behind just as tea approached.On day two, with 15 overs already under his belt, Kamboj’s workload was lighter, with spinners Nishant Sindhu and Mayank Dagar shouldering most of the responsibility, with Sindhu picking up a five-wicket haul. Kamboj still set the tone early on, however, running in hard, hitting the deck, and getting Mohammad Azharrudden caught at first slip with his second ball of the day.Kamboj, who finished with 2 for 67 in 24 overs, underscored the role of mental fitness in sustaining match intensity.”If you maintain the intensity of the match in practice, it puts a lot of pressure on the mind,” he said. “If you’re mentally fit, you can sustain that intensity in practice. But if you’re not, it becomes very difficult, and you might give up halfway. It’s about pushing yourself extra, even when it feels tough, because that’s how you build long-term results.”Last season, Kamboj was the highest wicket-taker in the Duleep Trophy. That followed a haul of 34 wickets in six matches for Haryana in the Ranji Trophy. These performances fast-tracked his road to that India cap.Now, after that difficult Test debut, the selectors were at the CoE, watching him closely. As the new season progresses, Kamboj will hope his preparation, both mental and physical, will enable him to keep putting up these performances of quiet control.

Kylian Mbappe made more history on Wednesday night as he took just seven minutes to bag a Champions League hat-trick against Olympiacos. The Greek side had taken a shock lead against Xabi Alonso's side with a brilliant team goal, but were left stunned as Mbappe netted three times in just seven minutes to put Los Blancos firmly in control of the tie.

• Mbappe the hat-trick hero for Real Madrid

  Mbappe has been in stunning form this season for Real Madrid but had headed into the match without a goal in his last three games for Alonso's side. However, the France international was quick to end that particular drought, equalising for the visitors after 22 minutes of the match. Mbappe headed home his second two minutes later to put Real Madrid in front and then had his third before the half-hour mark. Arda Guler's ball over the top found the Frenchman in acres of space, and he confidently despatched a low shot past goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis to ensure he'll be taking home another match ball for his collection.

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• Hat-trick is second fastest in the Champions League

  Mbappe's hat-trick is the second fastest the Champions League has ever seen. The Frenchman's three goals were clocked at six minutes and 42 seconds, just behind Mohamed Salah's treble against Rangers for Liverpool in 2022. Salah was marginally quicker with his hat-trick timed at six minutes and 13 seconds.

  However, the Real Madrid superstar does now have more hat-tricks away from home than any other player in the history of the Champions League. Wednesday's treble was the fourth time he had scored three goals in a game in an away fixture.

• Mbappe to win another Golden Shoe?

  Mbappe won the Golden Shoe last season, beating off competition from Viktor Gyokeres and Salah after netting 31 times in his debut campaign for Real Madrid following his blockbuster move from Paris Saint-Germain. The France star will be hoping to win the prestigious prize again and is certainly in good shape currently. Mbappe has 13 goals in 13 La Liga outings for Real Madrid this season and his hat-trick against Olympiacos takes his tally to eight in five Champions League appearances.

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  Real Madrid up against Girona next

  Real Madrid will return to Spain after their trip to Greece and will aim to get their title challenge back on track after dropping points against Elche last time out. Alonso's side are back in action on Sunday against Girona at Montilivi, with Mbappe likely to take some stopping as he heads into the game in red-hot form.

Tottenham Hotspur have now submitted a £62m opening offer for Athletic Club forward Nico Williams, and they are confident a deal will be finalized soon.

Spurs are now stepping up their pursuit of a new forward, amid doubts over the capabilities of some of Thomas Frank’s current attacking options, with Jamie O’Hara particularly scathing of the frontline after the 1-0 defeat at home against Chelsea earlier this season.

The former midfielder said: “We’ve got a garbage team – going forward at home at the minute is absolutely terrible. “We’ve spent £60m on Xavi Simons, £60m on Richarlison, £60m on Ndombele. The money we spend on some players… our recruitment is an absolute disgrace.”

Not only that, but Dominic Solanke has been unable to overcome his persistent injury problems, with the striker missing 15 Spurs games already this season due to an ankle issue, and Mathys Tel has scored just two Premier League goals so far this season in the Englishman’s absence.

The Lilywhites need goals from somewhere if they are going to push for the Champions League places this season, and they have now made their first move to sign a new forward…

Tottenham submit opening offer for Athletic Club star Nico Williams

According to a report from Spain, Tottenham have now submitted a €70m (£62m) opening offer for Athletic Club forward Williams, matching the bid made by London rivals Chelsea, with both clubs confident they will be able to finalize a deal soon.

The 23-year-old’s future at the Spanish club is now up in the air, with Spurs looking to triple his salary, having emerged as serious contenders for the winger’s signature, given that he is viewed as a perfect fit for their forward line.

The north Londoners are trying to get a deal done in the January transfer window, and there is every indication the Athletic Club star could be a real difference-maker in their bid to secure Champions League football for the second season running.

Perhaps the Spaniard’s most impressive attribute is his dribbling, averaging 3.33 successful take-ons per 90 over the past year, which places him in the 99th percentile, when compared to other attacking midfielders and wingers, while also ranking in the 90th percentile for progressive carries.

Lauded as “world-class” by journalist Zach Lowy, the 30-time Spain international has also made a promising start to the season in La Liga, chipping in with two goals and two assists in nine matches for Athletic Club.

With a number of Tottenham’s current attackers struggling, including Simons, who is yet to score since making the move to north London, bringing in a new winger in January might be necessary, and Williams has proven he could be an excellent addition to Frank’s squad.

Nico Williams has been named as one of the best wingers in the world

The Best 15 Wingers in World Football Ranked (2025)

Who is the best wide man in world football right now?

By
Charlie Smith

Nov 28, 2025

West Indies will look to him to anchor their batting against India’s spin challenge on his first tour of the country

Deivarayan Muthu01-Oct-2025Tagenarine Chanderpaul’s square-on stance, crouch at the crease, trigger movement, and his propensity to often mark his guard with the bail all indicate that he is cut from the same cloth as his father, Shivnarine Chanderpaul. And much like Shiv, Tagenarine can soak up balls and wear bowling attacks down.Since his debut in December 2022, Tagenarine has faced 1433 balls, scoring 560 runs in 19 innings at an average of 35. Among West Indies batters, only Kraigg Brathwaite has faced more balls (2376) albeit in twice as many innings (39) during this period. After West Indies dropped Brathwaite for the upcoming two-match Test series in India, Daren Sammy expects Chanderpaul to step into Brathwaite’s shoes. Following West Indies’ first training session in Ahmedabad, Sammy even likened Chanderpaul’s ability to get stuck in to his father’s and Rahul Dravid’s.Chanderpaul is coming off a stint with his father, but in T20 cricket in the USA, where Shiv was the coach of Orlando Galaxy in Minor League Cricket and Tagenarine was captain of the team. He’s cagey when asked about Shiv’s impact on his batting, but he hopes that their training sessions will help him acclimatise to the conditions in India.”About the [Indian] conditions, it’s a bit similar to some pitches back home,” he says. “But just trying and getting some training sessions in and trying to adapt as much as possible…Related

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• West Indies face mission impossible amid future of Test cricket debate

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• The weight of the maroon cap: West Indies face test of identity in India

“Some of the areas where I played in the US are a bit cooler, but some places are hot as well. Especially in Florida, it could get hot sometimes. It’s just about getting your rest in the evening. Try to get as much sleep and rest and get accustomed to that time change. It’s a different quality of bowling [in India]. For sure, you need to stay sharp and make the most out of the practice sessions to get ready for the game.”Having shaken off the jet lag, Chanderpaul is ready for the red-ball grind and is hopeful of fulfilling coach Sammy’s expectations on his first tour of India.”I’m not much of a flashy player,” Chanderpaul says. “So I just try to take my time and accumulate my runs with the odd boundary here and there. I think [batting time] goes with my [natural] game. But I also spend time batting balls at the nets and hope to replicate it [in a match].”Under Brian Lara’s mentorship, Chanderpaul scored an unbeaten 207 – his first Test hundred – against Zimbabwe in 2023•CWI MediaHis old-school batting owes also to his training sessions with his paternal grandfather and first coach, Khemraj, who too put Shiv through his paces when he was growing up in the village of Unity in Guyana.”Yeah, well, obviously when I was little, my dad would be on tour playing and then he lived in the US too. I grew up in Guyana,” Chanderpaul says. “In the afternoon after school, my granddad would throw balls at me when I was small. And then as I got bigger, he’d take me to the cricket club after school. So, yeah, I grew up practising with my granddad ever since.”I don’t think I was trained on the same cement strip that my father trained on () but granddad would always throw balls at me and he always wanted to hit the ball [along] the ground. So I guess that sort of shaped me into the player I’m today.”During his short career Chanderpaul has also had the opportunity to work with Brian Lara after receiving his maiden Test cap from him in Australia in 2022. Under Lara’s mentorship in 2023, in his third Test, Chanderpaul scored his maiden double-century, against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.”He always tries and gives you ideas about bowlers you can score off and who you need to be defensive against and that sort of stuff,” Chanderpaul says of Lara. “So, [the conversations with him were] about picking your match-ups.”India, though, will not offer West Indies much breathing room. In the two Tests that Chanderpaul played against India in the Caribbean in 2023, he fell three times to the spin of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Ashwin’s dismissal of Chanderpaul in the first Test, in Roseau, was a flashback to his magic ball to Alastair Cook in the Edgbaston Test of 2018. While Ashwin has retired, Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel will pose a threat to Chanderpaul’s defensive technique in the Test series.West Indies dropped former captain Brathwaite and called Chanderpaul up for the India Tests in the hope of him helping see off their spin threat•Cricket Australia/Getty Images”India has a great bowling line-up,” he says. “So you can’t take them for granted. You’ve got to go out there and give them the respect and try and score when you can. In the first Test [in Roseau], I didn’t get too many runs. [In the] second Test, I batted some balls. Kind of threw it away in the first innings. But playing Ashwin and Jadeja… I can take some confidence from the second Test and do the right things going into this Test series.”Chanderpaul also had encouraging numbers on his first and only first-class tour of the subcontinent so far: in 2023 he scored 275 runs in five innings for West Indies A against Bangladesh A in Sylhet, including three half-centuries. Only Joshua Da Silva made more runs (300) than him during that unofficial three-match Test series in Bangladesh. “I had runs against two left-arm spinners and a few offspinners as well,” Chanderpaul says. “It was a fairly good tour for me. I had a few [good] scores. Hopefully I can try and get some runs in the series ahead.”What cues does he look for while facing spin? “You’ve got to try and pick the ball up from the hand, of course,” he says. “Then see what type of delivery and, yeah, where it fits and that sort of stuff. So you know, just try and get in the right positions early and see where you can turn it over and get off strike or pick up a boundary. I have the sweep but you’ve got to play what you see on the day.”It can be fiendishly difficult to pick left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep out of his hand, and Washington, who is now India’s frontline offspinner after Ashwin’s departure, can threaten both edges with turn and drift. West Indies’ presence in future World Test Championships (WTC) is looking uncertain, but there’s a sliver of hope that Chanderpaul’s staying power can make India’s attack dig deep and carry West Indies’ batting, like his father did back in the day.Despite the stint in Minor League T20s in the USA, Chanderpaul is yet to play top-flight T20 cricket, like his predecessor Brathwaite. Is featuring in the CPL somewhere in the back of his mind?”Who knows?” he laughs. “You’ve got to deal with what’s ahead of you right now.” And right now, that’s his first Test series in India.

Manchester United’s topsy-turvy campaign continued on Monday night but fortunately, it was all smiles in the end as they demolished a dreadful Wolves side 4-1 at Molineux.

Bruno Fernandes was in supreme form, scoring twice and registering an assist but he wasn’t the only player on the away side who stood out.

Bryan Mbeumo ended his run of games without finding the net while Mason Mount continued his impressive form as one of the leading men in Amorim’s attack.

Amorim speaks out after Wolves win

There has been a lot of debate surrounding the position of Fernandes this season. The club captain is an attacking midfielder by trade but has been used as a deeper-lying figure under Ruben Amorim.

That said, he’s still impacting things and arguably had one of his finest games under the young Portuguese manager to date when they travelled to Wolverhampton.

Speaking after the game, Amorim was delighted with the performance, although he was critical of the opening 45 minutes.

He told the press: “I think, once again, after we scored a goal we were a little bit sloppy on the ball and that gave a little bit of hope to the opponent.”

Amorim continued: “But, we created a lot of chances in the first half also. We should have finished that half in a different way and then at half-time they understood that we have everything to win the game, to win three points. And they did that.

“I think the pace, the quality that we showed in the second half, understanding that the moment of Wolves is really hard as a team, as a club, so we took advantage of that.”

Mount receives the acclaim from Amorim

This has been a season of rejuvenation for Mount whose time at Old Trafford has been a difficult one to date, largely due to injury.

However, after scoring against Wolves, it means the England international has now scored three goals in his last seven outings for United. Not jaw-dropping numbers sure, but it’s a return to some sort of prominence for a man who’s been on the periphery for so long.

Amorim was seemingly ecstatic with Mount post-game, telling reporters: “He can defend, he can attack, the quality when he touches the ball is really good, so it’s not a surprise for me,” Amorim said.

The manager continued: “He’s a different type of leader. It’s not like Licha (Lisandro Martinez), for example. It’s a guy that leads by example.”

Amorim concluded by summarising how the former Chelsea man is around the training ground: “It doesn’t matter the situation, Mason Mount is always the same thing – training, talking, dealing with people around Carrington. That is not easy, so he’s a very, very good player.”

While Mount has played as a striker on the odd occasion this term, he featured in an attacking midfield role with Matheus Cunha leading the line instead against Wolves. It seemed to work a treat for United on Monday evening.

100% pass success & 100% duels won: Man Utd star is as undroppable as Bruno

Manchester United have unearthed another star after yesterday’s win over Wolves at Molineux.

By
Ethan Lamb

3 days ago

Former Premier League star Luke Moore has told Wrexham fans that they shouldn't hold their breath over the prospect of promotion, as the club aim to find a way out of the Championship and into the promised land of the top-tier. The Welsh side have enjoyed back-to-back-to-back promotions from the National League, but Moore thinks they will simply run into too much resistance to climb out of the second-tier at the first time of asking.

• Wrexham eyeing promotion

  The Welsh club have enjoyed a staggering rise from non-league to within one more promotion of the Premier League. Phil Parkinson's side, though, have found it difficult as they attempt to adapt to the increased competition in a league that regularly features massive clubs dropping out of the top-flight with immense parachute payments behind them. Thus far this season, they sit 10th, having won six, drawn eight, and lost four of their 18 games. Parkinson's troops are just three points behind Bristol City in sixth, the final play-off spot, and are seven behind second-placed Middlesbrough. Leaders Coventry City are almost out of sight, sitting 17 points clear of Wrexham.

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  Moore's warning

  Moore is unsurprised that Wrexham have found the adaptation period difficult, and believes it would take a "fairytale" for them to win promotion and has praised the "innovation" of Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac.

  He told BetVictor Casino: “It would be really a fairytale if they managed to get promoted this season. But the Championship is so hard to get out of, so I wouldn't hold my breath. But in terms of them as a club, they're doing incredible things. From what I hear, they're quite innovative in terms of how they are getting money through the door as well, which obviously helps them grow.

  “The boys look like they're enjoying playing for the club. I think sometimes that's always the biggest indicator of how well a club's run or how healthy it is. I think it's a good thing and I think we need more team like Wrexham. I wouldn't call them a disturber, but they're making noise and they're making a mark, so you can't knock it.

  “It’s more the merrier in that sense, I think the clubs need to be more innovative of how they get fans to the games and put across their brand, especially in the lower leagues, it needs to be better. People say that football's getting boring so we need every bit of excitement that we can get, honestly. So I'm all for documentaries, I think you have just got to keep pushing a good product out on the pitch so the fans enjoy it.”

• Wrexham's ambition

  Regardless of their results this season, co-owners Reynolds and Mac have firmly set their sights on reaching the Premier League. 

  Mac has confirmed they are going to continue reaching for the pinnacle of the sport, whether they get there quickly, or gradually. 

  He said: "That's the way the pyramid is set up and why not us? Why should that be reserved for other towns, for other cities?

  "It doesn't mean it's going to be easy and it doesn't mean that it's just going to happen quickly. It could take many, many years for it to happen. We're going to make a push to do it as quickly as possible, because we don't know any other way to do it, but we're going to do it the right way."

  He added: "We're going to do it [reach the Premier League] in the same way that we've been doing it from day one, which is asking the town," McElhenney said. "I sort of jumped the gun early on and just assumed that that's what the people of the town wanted for their club, and that that wasn't necessarily the case.

  "I had a lot of very long conversations with people that said, 'Well, we might not be ready for that. The town might not be ready for that and the club might not be ready for that.'

  "We have to make sure that we're always checking in with the community to make sure that this is what they want. It was a crazy pipe dream four or five years ago where we got laughed at by the media and by the world, but I don't think anybody's laughing anymore."

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  What comes next?

  Mac has accepted that Premier League promotion brings with it its own challenges, but he is not giving up. 

  He added: "We don't want to build something that's unsustainable. As glorious as it might be to be promoted to the Premier League, it would be equally as tragic to be relegated again, because that can very quickly create that spiral downwards.

  "Is the ultimate goal the Premier League? Yes, of course. Is it winning the Premier League? Yes, of course. But that actually isn't the number one goal. The number one goal is building something for the next generation and leaving something behind that is sustainable for the rest of its existence."

The DY Patil Stadium and the Kotambi Stadium will be the two venues

ESPNcricinfo staffUpdated on 27-Nov-2025WPL 2026 will run from January 9 to February 5 and will be played across two cities, Navi Mumbai and Vadodara. The dates for the fourth season was made by the league chairman Jayesh George at the start of the WPL auction in Delhi on Thursday.The DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai – where India recently won the Women’s ODI World Cup final – will start the tournament and host the first leg of the WPL. The league will then move to the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara where the final will also be played on February 5. This is the first time the WPL will be played in the January-February window; the first three seasons were played in February-March just before the IPL. This will also be the first time the WPL will not clash with major international fixtures.Thursday marked the first mega auction for the WPL since the inception of the league in 2023, and the first time right-to-match (RTM) cards were available to teams.Mumbai Indians (MI) are the defending champions of the WPL and have won two out of three editions so far. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) won the title in 2024 and Delhi Capitals (DC) had finished as runners-up in all three seasons. Ten days after the WPL ends, the India women’s team will start an all-format tour in Australia, for three T20Is, three ODIs and a Test from February 15 to March 9.

‘Would love to see home and away format’ – DC’s Jindal

Earlier this year was the first time the WPL was held in more than two cities, when the matches were played in Lucknow, Vadodara, Mumbai and Bengaluru and came closest to a home-and-away format, with UP Warriorz, Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Giants and RCB getting home games. But with the format returning to just two cities for 2026 – as was the case in 2024 – the DC co-owner Parth Jindal hoped the tournament would get a longer window to accommodate a home-and-away format.”Yes, we would love to see the WPL home and away as well. I think this caravan format is okay, but it’s not ideal,” Jindal said during the auction. “And I’m sure that the BCCI is working on it. I think the amount of time that they get is very short and that’s why in order to fit the WPL within this window, this is the best and most ideal format, but I hope we get a bigger, longer window for the WPL as well going forward. And I think it is imminent that either one or two new teams will come in at some point. And that’s why I think the cycle is such a short cycle with only two WPLs over 14 months. So I’m pretty sure that the BCCI is planning on adding a team, and maybe with that addition, we move home and away. That would be ideal for the fans, for the game, and for the growth of the WPL.”The WPL has been expanding to more than one city since the first edition in 2023, when it was co-hosted by the Brabourne Stadium and the DY Patil Stadium in and around Mumbai.

Major League Baseball’s winter meetings are underway, which means rumors are flying and deals are likely to be struck.

On Monday, plenty of reports made the rounds as teams attempted to get a jump on the offseason and best position themselves for 2026. Here are all the latest rumors we’re hearing as the winter meetings heat up.

Nationals listening on CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore

The Nationals have a new head of baseball operations, and he’s looking to reshape the franchise to his liking. Paul Tobobi is MLB’s youngest president of baseball ops, and the long-time Red Sox scouting director and assistant general manager is not wasting any time. Turning Washington around likely means moving on from two young All-Stars.

Shortstop CJ Abrams and lefty starter MacKenzie Gore are being targeted by multiple teams at the winter meetings. The 25-year-old Abrams is an athletic shortstop coming off his best season, while Gore is a 26-year-old with elite stuff who had a brilliant first half but struggled down the stretch. Both came to the Nationals as part of the trade that sent Juan Soto to the Padres. Gore is under team control through 2027, while Abrams won’t hit free agency until 2029.

In 2025, Abrams slashed .257/.315/.433 with 19 home runs, 60 RBIs, 92 runs scored, 31 stolen bases, and a career-best 3.1 fWAR. He’s not a good defender at short, but could easily move to second base or the outfield. Gore made 30 starts and went 5-15, with a 4.17 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP, and 185 strikeouts against 64 walks in 159 2/3 innings. But in his first 19 starts of the season, he went 4-8 with a 3.02 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP, and 138 strikeouts against 35 walks. He faded hard down the stretch, which is something a new team would need to figure out.

Given the weak free agent market for shortstops, Abrams could fetch a significant haul. Meanwhile, Gore, a young lefty with ace stuff, could also net a hefty return. Teams will need to meet Toboni’s high price, but both players can be had.

Royals looking for multiple outfielders

The Royals are canvassing the league for help in the outfield and may need to make a trade to fill out the roster. Kansas City missed the playoffs by five games in 2025, as the team surprised the rest of MLB by staying in the race as late as it did. But the team’s outfield is a bit of a mess.

While Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger, and another option like Harrison Bader would all be too expensive for the Royals, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal insists the team is pursuing all options. That could include trading starter Kris Bubic, who is set to make a projected $6 million before hitting free agency after next season. The 28-year-old lefty went 8-7 with a 2.55 ERA, a 1.18 WHIP, and 116 strikeouts against 39 walks in 116 1/3 innings this season. He could fetch a solid return as a rental.

Rosenthal listed Mike Yastrzemski, Adolis Garcia, Max Kepler, and Mike Tauchman as options in Kansas City’s price range. Jac Caglianone is almost certain to have right field locked down, but the two other spots remain open.

Padres entertaining Nick Pivetta trade

Padres general manager A.J. Preller pulled off a coup last offseason, as he waited out the market before signing Nick Pivetta to a shockingly affordable four-year, $55 million deal. The 32-year-old rewarded the Padres, turning in a career-best season in which he went 13-5 with a 2.87 ERA, a 0.99 WHIP, and 190 strikeouts against 50 walks in 181 2/3 innings. That success, and a contract that is jumping to $19 million in 2026 has made Pivetta a trade candidate.

While The Athletic’s Dennis Lin points out that a Pivetta trade isn’t likely, the Padres need multiple starting pitchers and at least one bat. Moving the team’s ace would require a significant return that would improve San Diego at multiple spots, but no one should ever rule out Preller’s appetite for wheeling and dealing.

If Pivetta doesn’t move, San Diego could look to deal second baseman Jake Cronenworth. There aren’t a lot of middle-infield options on the market, and free agents won’t come cheap. The 31-year-old Cronenworth is a steady presence who is under contract for five more years at an affordable $60 million.

As the Padres face a salary crunch and a potential sale, cutting payroll to fill multiple spots makes a lot of sense.

Dodgers looking to get younger

Even the Dodgers have work to do this offseason. While the two-time defending World Series champions will enter 2026 as favorites to win again even if they don’t make a single move this winter, there are areas the team needs to shore up. Most pressing, is the desire to get younger.

Bill Punkett of the reports that L.A.’s president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman, says there’s “not as much heavy lifting required” this offseason. But the team does have an aging core. Andy Pages, Dalton Rushing, and Hyeseong Kim were the only three position players under 30 on the Dodgers’ roster in 2025. While Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki give the team younger starters to build around, much of the roster is leaving its prime.

Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith will both be 31 next season, while Freddie Freeman is 36, and Mookie Betts is 33. The team does have a fairly loaded farm system, but outfielders Josue De Paula and Zyhir Hope are both 20 and have some growing to do. Meanwhile, MLB-ready infielder Alex Freeland doesn’t currently have an open spot to fill with Betts, Tommy Edman, and Max Muncy on the roster.

L.A. is expected to be involved in the Kyle Tucker sweepstakes this winter, but they could also opt to use their farm depth to pursue an outfield upgrade. White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. or Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan would fit the bill and make the team a bit younger.

Overlooked in selection but unplayable on the field, his left-arm spin upstaged the pacers and put Central Zone in command of the final

Ashish Pant11-Sep-2025When Central Zone captain Rajat Patidar won the toss in the Duleep Trophy final, he was clear in his decision to bowl first. “Very simple,” he said at the toss. “There are overcast conditions, it is a fresh wicket and has a good grass cover on it.”It had rained relentlessly in and around Bengaluru for most of Wednesday evening, which kept the surface at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence under covers. There was a thick band of cloud overhead on the morning of the final and the pitch had a greenish tinge to it.But despite the favourable conditions, none of the three Central Zone fast bowlers, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Sen and Aditya Thakare were incisive enough. There was lateral movement both off the surface and in the air. They got the occasional plays-and-misses and lbw appeals, but the consistency was missing. The South Zone openers, Tanmay Agarwal and Mohit Kale, also to their credit, left the ball reasonably well.Related

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The run rate was under two an over but with the three quicks going wicketless in their opening spells, Patidar switched to spin, bringing on left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya in the 16th over.Kale, on 9 off 49 balls at the time, thought this was his chance to score. Kartikeya’s final ball of his first over was a gentle tossed-up delivery at 87.3kph, pitching on middle and going on with the arm. Kale’s T20 instincts took over as he eyed a cross-batted swipe. But he missed and saw his middle stump pegged back. A few overs later, Kartikeya sent back left-hander R Smaran with a similar ball. A flighted delivery on middle, which Smaran tried to hoick across the line, managed a top-edge and square leg took an easy catch.Kartikeya then delivered what was arguably the ball of the day. From around the wicket, he pitched a flighted delivery on leg stump, got it to dip and then spun it sharply past South Zone captain Mohammed Azharuddeen, turning him into an S and rattling his stumps.On the opening morning of the Duleep Trophy final, where the fast bowlers were expected to do the damage, South Zone’s top-order had been wrecked by Kartikeya. And he did so by just bowling orthodox left-arm spin and landing the ball in the right areas. By lunch on the opening day, South Zone had been reduced to 64 to 4.”When I saw the wicket, I thought I might not get any help in the beginning because it was the first day,” Kartikeya said after the first day’s play. “I just wanted to land the ball in the right areas and not leak any easy runs.”I realised that keeping a tight economy rate should be my top priority, so that the batter comes under pressure and makes mistakes. I just wanted to do my basics right and not try too much. My main aim was to bowl with patience, because that will eventually benefit us.”With his Madhya Pradesh team-mate Saransh Jain also joining in on the wicket-taking fun, Central Zone ran through the South Zone batting unit. Kartikeya picked one more wicket, trapping Gurjapneet Singh lbw, to finish with 4 for 53 in 21 overs. By tea on the opening day, South Zone had been bowled out for 149.Kumar Kartikeya struck thrice in the first session of the final•PTI Two years ago, Kartikeya was the architect of MP’s maiden Ranji Trophy title win, finishing as their leading wicket-taker with 32 wickets. He followed it up with another 30-plus wicket season in 2022-23 and finished the 2023-24 season with 41 wickets.His 2024-25 Ranji Trophy numbers were also decent: 28 wickets in six matches, but with the emergence of Harsh Dubey and Manav Suthar, two left-arm spin allrounders, Kartikeya was pushed down the pecking order. He didn’t make it to the original Central Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy and only got a chance in the final with Dubey and Suthar leaving for India A’s series against Australia A.But instead of sulking at not being picked in the initial squad, Kartikeya is “taking this as an opportunity”.”I have no control over the selection of the team, but I have control over my bowling, and I want to do that well,” Kartikeya said. “I was waiting for this chance for a long time. My mindset was clear that whenever I bowl, be it at the start, middle or end, I have to pick wickets.”A traditional left-arm fingerspinner, Kartikeya added legspin to his bowling arsenal around three years back. He initially used it only in white-ball cricket, but in the last two years, he has started to bowl the legbreak in red-ball cricket. He bowled a few legbreaks on Thursday as well, and while he didn’t get a wicket, he knows “if nothing is working, I also have the legspin in my armoury.””Legspin is a useful tool to have on any surface,” Kartikeya says. “I get a lot of benefit from that. Earlier, I used to bowl legspin only in white-ball cricket, but in the last two years, I have started bowling legspin in red ball cricket. Whenever I get a flat track, where left-arm spin is not that useful, I bowl legspin.”Central Zone have won the Duleep Trophy just once, in 2014 against South Zone. Incidentally, it was a left-arm spinner Ali Murtaza, who fashioned their title win with seven wickets. Eleven years later, another left-arm spinner has helped Central Zone gain the upper hand on the first day. Can he lead them to a second Duleep Trophy title?