The ACB withdrew its team from the tri-series after an alleged cross-border attack

Danyal Rasool18-Oct-2025Zimbabwe have replaced Afghanistan in Pakistan’s upcoming triangular T20I series at home next month. The series, which will be played from November 17 to 29 in Lahore and Rawalpindi, will also feature Sri Lanka.Earlier today, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced its withdrawal from the tri-series following the death of three local cricketers in what it alleged was a cross-border attack in the Urgun district of the country.In a post on X, the ACB claimed that several lives had been lost in the attack, including three local cricketers who had been returning home after playing a “friendly” match in Sharana, the capital of Paktika province. “The ACB considers this a great loss for Afghanistan’s sports community, its athletes, and the cricketing family,” it said in a statement.Describing the incident as “tragic”, the ACB said “as a gesture of respect to the victims” it had “decided to withdraw from participating in the upcoming Tri-Nation T20I Series.” The ICC and the BCCI joined the ACB in mourning the loss of life of the cricketers.Related

ICC, BCCI express 'solidarity' with Afghanistan after withdrawal from Pakistan tri-series

The PCB has not made any official comment on the situation following Afghanistan’s statement, but told ESPNcricinfo the tri-series would go ahead as scheduled, with Afghanistan replaced by another side. In the statement announcing Zimbabwe’s participation, the PCB merely said it had been notified earlier of “Afghanistan’s inability” to participate in the tri-series.The series will begin with Zimbabwe taking on hosts Pakistan in Rawalpindi before playing against Sri Lanka at the same venue two days later. All remaining games will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

MatériaMais Notícias

da betobet： Uma presença e uma ausência dentre os nomes mais experientes que fazem parte do elenco do Avaí devem marcar a composição da equipe que vai enfrentar o Brasil de Pelotas, na próxima terça-feira (2), às 16h (de Brasília), pela 33ª Rodada da Série B.

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da doce： >Aplicativo de resultados do LANCE! está disponível na versão iOS

No caso da presença, o zagueiro Betão deve retornar a equipe titular de Claudinei Oliveira depois de ficar de fora na derrota por 2 a 1 para o Operário, em Ponta Grossa. Na oportunidade, ele cumpriu suspensão pelo terceiro cartão amarelo.

Curiosamente, o mesmo motivo obriga o time Azzurra a encontrar uma alternativa para a lateral-direito pelo fato de Edilson, apesar de não ter entrado no último jogo, ter tomado o terceiro cartão do banco de reservas.

Por outro lado, a ausência de Edilson acabará naturalmente dando mais tempo para o jogador melhorar suas condições físicas. Sentindo dores ainda no aquecimento do revés para o Operário na região do púbis, ele deu lugar na equipe para Diego Renan, nome que deve permanecer para o compromisso diante da equipe gaúcha.

Assim, a escalação provável do Avaí temGlédson; Diego Renan, Alemão, Betão e João Lucas; Bruno Silva, Lourenço e Jean Cléber; Jadson, Copete e Getúlio.

The defending champions completed a dominant performance against Tasmania to enter the BBL break in good spirits

AAP07-Dec-2025South Australia secured a Sheffield Shield double against Tasmania, beating them for the second time in four weeks.After winning in Hobart last month, the reigning champions backed it up by completing a comprehensive 10-wicket win at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday.Even without captain Nathan McSweeney (Australia A) and star quick Brendan Doggett (Ashes duty), SA proved too strong for Tasmania at home. The hosts claimed a first-innings lead of 231 after centuries to Jake Lehmann and Liam Scott powered them to 426.Related

• Buckingham claims four to put South Australia on top

• Scott, Lehmann tons help SA dominate Tasmania

Tasmania, missing Test opener Jake Weatherald and allrounder Beau Webster, were skittled for just 195 on day one. They didn’t fare much better in their second innings, but at least were able to force SA to bat again.Tim Ward (66), captain Jordan Silk (46) and a solid contribution from allrounder Nikhil Chaudhary (42) helped Tasmania to 260. Nathan McAndrew ended Ward’s resistance when he nipped one between bat and pad.Jordan Buckingham was the star with the ball, collecting 4 for 49 and 4 for 58. On the third day he trapped Ruwantha Kellapotha lbw with a full toss and had Nikhil Chaudhary pulling down the leg side.SA had no problem chasing down the minuscule target of 30, with Mackenzie Harvey and Henry Hunt completing it in six overs.A win was vital for SA, who entered this round in fourth spot on the ladder, just behind Tasmania. After a drought-breaking title win last season, SA started slowly with three-straight losses, but are in striking distance of another final berth going into the BBL break.

Yorkers galore, and a bucket put to good use at the WACA

Scott Hazebroek13-Dec-2012Choice of game
The Big Bash match between the Perth Scorchers and the Melbourne Stars was not one to be missed. A good rivalry developed between the two teams last season after their semi-final clash, and who doesn’t want to see Shane Warne in action? I felt before the match the game could go either way, but my gut feeling was the Stars in a close one.Team supported
I was supporting the Scorchers, hoping they could snatch their first win of the season.Key performer
Who else but Lasith Malinga the slinger? Second-best figures in Twenty20 history – 6 for 7. It was a stunning spell of bowling from one of the most devastating fast bowlers in the game. He also got a good round of applause from the crowd when he left the field.One thing you’d have changed
I would have not had the rain, because I had to wait around for about an hour not knowing what would happen, only to see one final ball… which was left through to the keeper. It would have been nicer if the Stars could have just chased down the target without the long delay.Face-off you relished
Malinga v Scorchers! It was always going to be fascinating watching Lasith bowl, and he tore apart the Scorchers line-up. The Scorchers had no answers to his often brutal, sometimes clever, deliveries.Wow moment
Any of Malinga’s wickets would have been okay, but his sixth was breathtaking, especially once the general hope was, “he’s taken five, that’s enough”. Instead he delivered a stunning slower yorker to Joe Mennie, who played all around it and the ball hit off stump. And the next ball he almost had seven, with Michael Beer playing and missing a yorker that just skidded past off stump.Close encounter
Malinga was in front of me for a time, and I tried to get a wave from him, but all I got was a subtle smile. Also in front of me were Clint McKay, Rob Quiney and Nathan Coulter-Nile at different stages of the match. Only Brad Hogg gave autographs and was duly filmed while doing so.Shot of the day
After going for a couple of fours, Mennie bowled a half-volley which Luke Wright lofted with class into the crowd. It symbolised the Stars’ utter domination of the Scorchers.Crowd meter
For a wet, cold Wednesday afternoon the crowd (at least before the rain) was pretty decent. Over 8000 people turned up but were silent for a large portion of the match, due to the shock of seeing the Scorchers collapse. Most people left during the rain break, but some die-hards braved the weather to ultimately see one ball. Fancy dress index The butterfly ladies were back and strolled around the ground. There were people wearing buckets and watermelons on their heads and a lot of orange around the ground. The other noticeable fashion trend was some players wearing their baseball-style caps backwards. The main offender was Glenn Maxwell.Entertainment
Music was played between balls and over the rain delay, although there were no songs of note. The Scorcher’s opening batsmen were greeted with fire and fireworks when they went out to bat, as was the whole team when they entered the “Furnace” to field. There were some fire-shooters near one bank that were activated whenever the Scorchers hit a four (which didn’t happen very often!). There was not much on offer during the delay, apart from my bucket which I was using to collect drips from the roof in front of the dressing rooms. People pointed to it and laughed when they passed it. One guy said, “That’s putting those buckets to good use”. It was so popular a cameraman even filmed it! The entertainment for the kids during the delay was trying to get on camera in the background of TV interviews with a variety of players and coaches.Confusion of the day
No one had a clue what would happen when the rain first bucketed down onto the WACA field. Would we get any more play, how many overs needed to be bowled, what the target would be. Eventually the word was that the cut-off time was 7:52pm and five overs needed to be bowled to constitute a match. The rain slowed down at about 7:35pm. The umpires inspected the ground, and, to the Scorchers despair, decided we could play. Then the target was the subject of confusion. Surely, if the Scorchers scored 69 then the target would be about 15, which the Stars were well past? So why do we need to play? In the end, the target was six runs. However, the ruling was one ball needed to be bowled. There was a lot of warming up by both sides (for one ball), and at 7:53pm Hilton Cartwright bowled a ball outside off, which Quiney calmly left. The crowd booed the umpires off the field, for having to stay an hour to see just one ball. It was called “ridiculous” and “farcical” by members of the crowd (and, as I later found out, by Scorchers captain Simon Katich). Everyone shook hands and that was it.ODI v Twenty20?
Still T20 for me. I like ODIs, but T20s just have a great atmosphere, big crowds, entertainment for everyone, and, best of all, exciting cricket. This all adds up to a better experience. Overall It was a superb performance by the Stars, led by Malinga the slinger. The Scorchers just couldn’t stand up to them on a cold, wet night. The confusion during the rain delay was frustrating, but I feel privileged to have seen one of the best T20 spells ever.Marks out of 10
7.5.

Chelsea are seemingly starting to build some serious momentum.

On Saturday lunchtime, the Blues swatted aside Nottingham Forest 3-0 at the City Ground; Josh Acheampong breaking the deadlock, Pedro Neto firing home a free-kick and then Reece James making the points secure.

This result saw Ange Postecoglou sacked as Forest manager mere moments after full-time, ending his 39-day tenure.

Meantime, that’s now back-to-back league wins for Enzo Maresca’s team, who will take on Ajax in the Champions League on Wednesday, but the Blues boss will be concerned by his growing list of absentees.

Levi Colwill, Benoît Badiashile, Wesley Fofana, Enzo Fernández, Dário Essugo, Cole Palmer and Liam Delap all missed out due to injury, while Malo Gusto’s stoppage-time red card means he will sit out next weekend’s clash with Sunderland suspended, with João Pedro already banned for the Champions League tie.

Of course, one of these absentees is significantly more noteworthy than the others, so how should Maresca fill the void of his talisman?

The latest on Cole Palmer's injury

In his pre-match press conference on Friday, Maresca confirmed that Cole Palmer will be sidelined “for another six weeks”.

The 23-year-old has been plagued by injury issues throughout this season already, withdrawing following the warm-up at West Ham in August, before hobbling off inside 20 minutes at Old Trafford last month, not seen since.

With fierce London derbies against both Tottenham and Arsenal to come in November, as well as a Champions League clash against Barcelona, not having Palmer available for these games would be a major blow.

Minutes

3,191

2nd

Goals

15

1st

Assists

8

1st

Shots

121

1st

Shots on target

44

1st

Key passes

87

1st

Progressive passes

214

2nd

Shot-creating actions

202

1st

Goal-creating actions

15

2nd

Big chances created

24

1st

Attempted take-ons

113

1st

As the table emphasises, in the Premier League last season, Palmer ranked first for pretty much every available attacking metric; the second and third-highest goal-scorers, namely Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke, have both been sold.

This time round, despite only starting two matches, accumulating 235 minutes, Palmer has already scored twice, on target against Brentford and Bayern Munich, both on the road.

Maresca added, during his aforementioned press conference, that “to replace Cole is difficult, because Cole is a very important player for us, probably one of the best players in the Premier League, so to replace that kind of player is always difficult… we don’t have another player like Cole, because Cole is unique”.

Of course, he is right, no current member of the Chelsea squad is at Palmer’s level just yet, but which player could get there soon and appears best-suited to start in his absence?

Chelsea's perfect Palmer deputy

Against Nottingham Forest, Maresca deployed a starting lineup surely no one could’ve foreseen, with Gusto alongside Roméo Lavia at the base of midfield, while Andrey Santos, Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho were deployed in-behind João Pedro.

He then made a triple alteration at half-time, Moisés Caicedo, Jamie Gittens and Marc Guiu all introduced, but there was still no room for Estêvão Willian, not brought on until the 78th minute, as he continues to be under-utilised.

In the previous game, the 18-year-old had announced himself to the world by scoring the injury-time winner against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge, connecting with Marc Cucurella’s low cross at the back post.

Despite his tender age, Estêvão arrived in West London with a big reputation, not least after he scored against Chelsea during the Club World Cup quarter-finals for Palmeiras in July.

Even before that, he had been touted as a future global superstar.

Respected analyst Ben Mattinson has labelled him a “future Ballon d’Or winner”, while Brazil’s all-time top-scorer Neymar believes the teenager “will be a genius”, adding that he is a “big talent that is surging in Brazilian football”.

Before joining Chelsea for a reported fee of £29m, Estêvão scored 27 goals and registered 15 assists in only 89 appearances for Palmeiras, winning the Brasileirão title in 2024.

At international level, he scored his first senior goal for Brazil during a World Cup qualifier against Chile at the Maracanã in September, before netting twice as the Seleção smashed Korea Republic 5-0 in Seoul just last week.

Across his final season and a half in the Brasileirão, the youngster scored 13 goals, registered 12 assists, created 12 big chances and completed an average of 2.3 dribbles per 90.

Of course, moving to the Premier League is a step-up, but these numbers should not be dismissed because, according to Global Football Rankings, the top division in Brazil is the ninth-strongest league in the world.

Thus, both in terms of the eye test but also the statistics, Estêvão appears to be, stylistically, the best fit to replace Palmer.

His talent certainly warrants more than the four starts from ten matches he has enjoyed to date, not starting any of the last four matches.

So, with Chelsea’s next three games against Ajax, Sunderland then Wolves in the EFL Cup, Maresca must make Estêvão a central figure in his team as he seeks to find a way to fill Palmer’s void.

Worse than Garnacho: Maresca must axe 4/10 Chelsea flop who had 55% passing

Chelsea were 3-0 winners away to Forest but this star struggled

ByJoe Nuttall Oct 18, 2025

Cristiano Ronaldo was left out from Al-Nassr's matchday squad for the trip to Istiklol in Wednesday's AFC Champions League Two encounter, with fans served a reminder that the Portuguese icon is unlikely to play much part in Asia's second-tier continental competition. In Ronaldo's absence, Joao Felix led the charge and starred in an emphatic 4-0 win, continuing Al-Nassr's brilliant start to the season.

Al-Nassr get the job done in Ronaldo's absence

Saudi Arabian heavyweights Al-Nassr travelled to Tajikistan on Wednesday to take on Istiklol at the Markazii Jumhuriyavii Stadium for an AFC Champions League Two encounter. The visitors came away with a convincing 4-0 win and did so without the services of club talisman Ronaldo, who was left out of the matchday squad. 

Head coach Jorge Jesus decided to field a heavily-rotated side for the game, resting the likes of Sadio Mane and Inigo Martinez. What's more, Kingsley Coman, like Ronaldo, was not in the matchday squad. However, that didn't put a spanner in Al-Nassr's works.

Felix, who has been in scintillating form of late, opened the scoring in the 12th minute, firing a perfect penalty past the hapless Istiklol goalkeeper Nikola Stosic. Mohamed Simakan, formerly of Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, doubled the lead just five minutes from the end of first half, ensuring the visitors took a commanding 2-0 lead into the break. 

For long stretches of the second half, Jesus’ men drifted through the game without ever hitting top speed. However, the introductions of Sadio Mane and Ayman Yahya piled further misery on to the hosts. The ex-Southampton, Liverpool, and Bayern Munich forward converted Felix's assist to put the game to bed in the 84th minute, and before full-time Saudi Arabia international Yahya put the cherry on top of a dazzling performance with a stoppage-time goal.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportWhy doesn't Ronaldo play in AFC Champions League Two?

Even though Ronaldo will turn 41 in a few months time, he continues to demand the absolute best from himself and his counterparts. After an underwhelming 2024-25 season, during which Al-Nassr finished third in the Saudi Pro League, they could only manage to earn a place in the AFC Champions League Two, which is a second-tier continental competition in Asia, behind the more famous and prestigious AFC Champions League. 

So far, Al-Nassr have played five group stage matches in the competition, winning all five. Prior to their trip to Istiklol in Tajikistan, they had already travelled to face FC Goa in India and Al-Zawraa in Iraq. Yet despite the flawless start, the all-time great has not been included in a single matchday squad in the AFC Champions League Two this season. With that in mind, it appears unlikely he will feature in the final group fixture against Al-Zawraa next month.

"I thought this was the best time to rest Cristiano Ronaldo," head coach Jesus said last month ahead of an AFC Champions League Two game. "He’s currently 40 years old, and we fear he might suffer injuries, that’s why I decided to exclude him.

"For matches outside Saudi Arabia, we decided to rest Ronaldo. We have to make choices and we’ve decided to leave him in Riyadh to prepare for the upcoming matches… We need to preserve his fitness."

Felix has become the new star of Al-Nassr

sAfter experiencing failure at Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, and AC Milan, former Benfica star boy Felix arrived at Al-Nassr with hopes of reigniting his once-promising football career. The 26-year-old could have hardly hoped for a better start. With 14 strikes in 15 games, he has rediscovered his goal-scoring hunger and has even found his team-mate Ronaldo trailing him in the scoring charts across all competitions.

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AFPWorld Cup win the ideal endgame for Ronaldo

In an illustrious career spanning more than two decades, Ronaldo has won it all. Yet his relentless hunger still sets him apart – making him invaluable not only in the opposition box, but also as a leader whose elite mentality elevates everyone around him.

However, the World Cup continues to elude him. Even though he has admitted that lifting the world's greatest trophy won't change his legacy one bit, it goes without saying that he is ultra-motivated to lay his hands on the global crown. It wouldn't get any better than if he could score his 1,000th professional goal while leading Portugal's cause next year.

da 888： It looks as though chairman Andrew Cavenagh was fully invested in hiring Danny Rohl as Rangers’ next manager when everyone thought Kevin Muscat would take charge at Ibrox.

Rangers make Rohl their new manager

da esoccer bet： Things have moved quickly over the past 24 hours or so, with Muscat’s talks with the Gers falling through when it looked as though he was the front-runner to come in as Russell Martin’s successor at Ibrox.

Rohl has been confirmed as Rangers’ next boss instead, with the German most recently in charge at Sheffield Wednesday, and once enjoying a coaching spell at Bayern Munich, working under legendary boss Hansi Flick.

The 36-year-old has constantly been mentioned as one of the favourites to take charge of the Gers, alongside Muscat and Steven Gerrard, with the latter another who decided not to take the job and enjoy a second stint at Ibrox.

After a dire start to the Scottish Premiership season, Rangers fans will be keeping their fingers crossed that Rohl is the right choice, and it looks as though he may have been the leading option for the Scottish giants all along, following a fresh claim.

Cavenagh held secret talks with Rohl during Muscat saga

According to reports, Cavenagh held talks with Rohl last week about becoming Rangers’ next manager, amid constant claims suggesting Muscat would be the man to come in. They did then back away from the discussions when the Australian became the leading target again, prior to his move collapsing.

Only time will tell whether the former Wednesday boss is the right choice for the Gers, but there is plenty to like about him from the off, as he likely prepares to take charge of his first game away to Brann in the Europa League on Thursday evening.

At just 36 years of age, he represents a young and long-term option for Rangers, rather than going with the safer bet of an older manager who knows about getting teams out of trouble rather than adopting an attractive playing style.

As mentioned, Rohl excelled at Wednesday, coming in when the Owls looked destined for relegation from the Championship in October 2023, only to turn their fortunes around and finish the 2023/24 campaign in 20th place.

Related Rohl won't like him: Rangers must drop Ibrox star with "big potential"

It’s unlikely Smith will persist with this Rangers underperformer.

Posts ByBen Gray Oct 20, 2025

Interestingly, it does look as though Muscat’s arrival at Rangers was never as concrete as reported by some, hence Cavenagh’s talks with Rohl last week, and hopefully, the German ends up being an inspired choice who gradually brings the glory days back to Ibrox as the months and years pass.

Chelsea dream of illustrious success, but this project is a work in progress, and there’s no doubting the Londoners’ improvements over the past several years.

Last season’s efforts under coach Enzo Maresca led to Champions League qualification and triumph across two continents, winning the Conference League and then beating Paris Saint-Germain over the pond to lift the Club World Cup in its fresh format.

Since Todd Boehly and co first arrived at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea have recruited heavily, and this summer was no different. But there’s a new level of coherence about the squad, more focus and quality from corner to corner.

Liverpool

7

£415m

Chelsea

10

£285m

Arsenal

8

£255m

Newcastle

7

£250m

Man United

5

£216m

No longer are the Blues so reliant on Cole Palmer to lead the way. And that’s a good thing too, given the 23-year-old’s groin injury was confirmed by Maresca on Friday morning to have been aggravated, extending his spell on the sidelines.

How Chelsea can cope without Palmer

It’s not unfair to say that Chelsea have at times been reliant on Palmer’s brilliance since the Three Lions star transferred from Manchester City for £42.5m in 2023.

Across 101 matches in all competitions for Chelsea, Palmer has scored 45 goals and supplied 29 assists, effortlessly good in attacking midfield.

This season, a low-fitness first few months have put something of a spanner in the works, and that’s now set to drag through to the final month of 2025, striking a vicious blow against Maresca and his men.

However frustrating the setback is, this is no longer such a detrimental blow as it once was. After all, a number of Chelsea’s biggest talents have now grown into their skin.

Some believe Moises Caicedo has taken the crown as the club’s new main man. Truly, the Ecuadorian has come into his own this year, with Sky Sports’ Gary Neville even claiming he is “the best midfielder in the league”.

This is a far cry from the initial noise around his name after joining from Brighton for a record £115m fee in 2023.

But Caicedo’s not alone. Chelsea also broke the bank for Enzo Fernandez after the Argentine’s phenomenal World Cup campaign in Qatar. He has ebbed and flowed and been scapegoated on an occasion or two, but became an increasingly prolific force last year and works tirelessly to connect the thirds.

However, there’s another first-teamer down at Stamford Bridge who flattered to deceive for a time, but now is firing on all cylinders and might actually rival Palmer for the standing as one of the best players in the Premier League.

Chelsea star is now one of the best in the Prem

For as long as he is a member of the Chelsea first team, Palmer will be the poster boy. But the silky playmaker is no longer the head of a one-man outfit.

While the frontline is going from strength to strength, players like Marc Cucurella are finally realising their potential and shaping Maresca’s vision into one of completeness and depth.

In 2022, the 27-year-old joined Chelsea from Brighton for £60m, a staggering sum for a full-back. And for the first year or two, Boehly would have a hard time arguing he had received bang for his buck, even with the Blues’ wider problems exacerbating Cucurella’s own.

Journalist Tom Overend recently acknowledged the £175k-per-week talent “looked lost” during his first foray into life at Chelsea, but has since rebounded and is regarded as “one of the best left-backs in the world”.

The data speaks for itself. Cucurella’s tactical duty has changed since he first arrived from Brighton, inverting more often under Maresca’s wing, contributing to the build-up.

And with such confident passing, Maresca’s decision to use him in this fashion makes sense. As per FBref’s data, the Spaniard ranks among the top 11% of positional peers in the Premier League so far this term for assists, the top 2% for pass completion and the top 11% for passes attempted per 90.

Not only this, but Cucurella has also become more creative in his distribution. Sofascore record that he has averaged 1.4 chances created per Premier League match. On top of this, he has won two tackles on average each match and has won 58% of his ground duels.

Palmer and Cucurella are very different players and at different stages of their careers, but the latter’s meteoric rise is undeniable. He knows what it means to toil and struggle to get up from the wayside. Indeed, Cucurella was once branded a “disgrace” for his performances by the ever-outspoken Jamie O’Hara.

But the “machine”, as he has been called by content creator Terry Flewers, now undroppable, having added goals and assists to his game while reinforcing his defensive skillset and energising his athleticism.

Emphasising the trust his coach has in him, no Chelsea player has featured more often under Maresca’s leadership than Cucurella.

1.

Marc Cucurella

64

2.

Enzo Fernandez

63

3.

Pedro Neto

61

4.

Moises Caicedo

59

5.

Malo Gusto

57

It’s interesting to consider a full-back being among the most influential players within a competitive Premier League squad. Scant few could argue themselves with that standing within a team. Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold would be a good example.

Cucurella might not have the same range of passing, but if he continues in his current rich vein of form over the course of the season and the next few years, he would stake a compelling case for being one of the most complete defenders in the history of the division.

If that’s the case, surely he is shaping into one of the finest in the country.

Forget Gittens & George: Cobham teen is the "future of Chelsea & England"

Chelsea may have found the latest superstar to emerge from Cobham academy.

ByAngus Sinclair Oct 17, 2025

Celtic are no strangers to talented players, and plenty of exciting stars have played their part in helping the club establish itself as Scotland’s dominant force over the years.

In the 21st century, the Bhoys have won 19 Scottish Premiership titles, 12 Scottish Cups, and 12 Scottish League Cups, otherwise known as the Premier Sports Cup for commercial purposes.

Brendan Rodgers is the man responsible for the Hoops’ recent triumphs. However, the likes of Martin O’Neill, Gordon Strachan, Neil Lennon and Ange Postecoglou all take their place in the club’s trophy-laden history, with plenty of special players spearheading the hunt for silverware in Glasgow’s east end.

However, some stars don’t get the credit they deserve, pitted against others, even if their unique ability has drawn comparisons to some of the world’s best.

Paddy McCourt's Celtic ability led to claims he was better than Cristiano Ronaldo

Anyone connected with Celtic will attest to the fact that Paddy McCourt, who spent five seasons at the club before leaving at the end of his contract in 2013, is someone who possessed a unique ability to evade his marker at will.

Nicknamed the ‘Derry Pele’ due to his mesmeric dribbling ability, the winger made 88 appearances during his time at the club, registering ten goals and nine assists.

Despite McCourt attracting interest from Liverpool during the early portion of his Celtic career, it may come as a surprise to hear that the two-time Scottish Premiership winner only made 20 starts over five years at the Parkhead club.

One man who knew all too well about his talents was former Northern Ireland defender Lee McEvilly, who was a teammate of the former Hoops man while at Rochdale.

Speaking to the Football Historian podcast, he admitted his father claimed McCourt had more ability than Cristiano Ronaldo while the Portuguese star was in his pomp at Manchester United.

Paddy McCourt's honest admission regarding his career

McCourt’s time at Celtic was definitely the height of his career, though some may wonder why a player with such natural flair didn’t end up in one of the world’s elite leagues.

Answering that question, the former Northern Ireland international admitted in an interview back in 2022 with Planet Football that the modern game and its growing demand for high-intensity running and raised fitness levels ultimately worked to his detriment.

He explained: “Certainly in the later years, football became a lot more structured, a lot more tactical and a lot more physical in terms of distances covered and high-intensity running. That type of stuff was never my strong point. I was never blessed physically in that sense.”

McCourt, who left Celtic for free in 2013, could glide past defenders like they weren’t there and became a cult hero at Celtic, earning adulation from supporters due to his entertaining style of play.

With the modern game headed in a structural direction where individuality is contained at times, the ‘Derry Pele’ is a shining example to young wingers who are looking to harness their dribbling skills.

Liam Scott made his maiden first-class century and Jake Lehmann also made a ton as South Australia dominate Tasmania

AAP06-Dec-2025Liam Scott had the finest day of his cricket career, scoring a maiden first-class century and helping South Australia to a commanding position over Tasmania.After team-mate Jake Lehmann also made a ton, Scott plundered 147 as the home side surged to 426 and a first-innings lead of 231 at Adelaide Oval.Tasmania then went to stumps at 73 for 3 in reply, still trailing by 158 runs at the end of day two after being all out for 195 on Friday.A win would be vital for South Australia, who entered this round in fourth spot on the ladder, just behind Tasmania.And their dominance was best summed up by Scott’s innings, with the bowling allrounder having shown talent with the bat since his debut in 2019-20.The 24-year-old fired from the moment he arrived at the crease, attacking Billy Stanlake and cutting him for five separate boundaries. He also took to the spinners, bringing up his century and pumping the air in joy after one of two slog-sweeps that went for six off Ruwantha Kellepotha.Another six came when he used his feet and hit Nivethan Radhakrishnan back down the ground, before he later took Jackson Bird and Gabe Bell over the legside boundary.Scott’s innings came with Lloyd Pope (36) offering support in a 76-run ninth-wicket stand that completely took the game away from Tasmania.It came after Lehmann reached his second century of the summer, continuing on a late-career resurgence that began at the end of last season.He reached 100 from 96 deliveries, before being bowled next ball when chopping onto his own stumps off Brad Hope.After being put to the sword in the field Tasmania then slumped to 42 for 3 early in their second innings, with Jordan Buckingham removing both Radhakrishnan and Hope.