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Chris Sutton admits he is “not sure what has happened” to an “excellent” Celtic player, following the weekend defeat away to St Johnstone.

Celtic suffer disappointing Scottish Premiership loss

Brendan Rodgers’ side produced a strangely below-par display on Sunday afternoon, losing 1-0 away to their bottom-of-the-table counterparts, in a result that few saw coming. The manager himself was livid at what he saw, sharing his unhappy comments after the game and making it clear his players had been read the riot act.

“There’s definitely anger. I’m trying to control it. And listen, I look at my own self first and foremost. I’m proud of my career and how I teach players and how I inspire them and how I motivate them. Am I doing the very best job I possibly can to inspire these and motivate these to get over the line? So that’s my first look.

“But I just think there’s a comfort there I don’t like. And it doesn’t matter if you’re 13 points or three points ahead. It’s not enough. We have to be much better than where we were in our ambition in the game.”

Rodgers sets high standards at Celtic and it is good to see him lambast his players, rather than go easy on them because of the state of the Scottish Premiership title race. The Hoops may be 13 points clear of Rangers, but it is clear that the 52-year-old is taking nothing for granted, not enjoying seeing his players perform with complacency.

Sutton bemused by "excellent" Celtic player's form

Taking to X after Celtic’s loss to St Johnstone, Sutton gave an assessment of the form of winger Nicolas Kuhn, among others, admitting he doesn’t know what has happened to him.

Sutton has every right to question the form of Kuhn, who made such a bright start to life at Parkhead, being lauded by Rodgers upon his arrival: “We believe he is a dynamic player who has an excellent level of quality and all the attributes to fit well into our style of play He has the profile we are looking for, he has a real attacking intent, a player with great pace and ideas, the ability to create and score goals and a player with a great energy and work ethic.”

Worse than Kuhn: Celtic must axe star who lost the ball every 4 touches

Celtic slipped to a shock defeat to bottom side St Johnstone on Sunday afternoon

ByRobbie Walls Apr 6, 2025

The German, thought to be on around £12,000 a week at Parkhead, has only scored twice since early January though, coming in 14 appearances, with a couple of assists also coming his way in that time. A long campaign may simply have caught up with him, but it is clear that he isn’t the force he was.

Kylian Mbappe has been told the "timing is not right" for him to compete for the Ballon d'Or, even if he helps Real Madrid win the Club World Cup.

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Mbappe had prolific debut season at RealBut ended up without a major trophyMalouda suggests 2025 Ballon d'Or is out of reachFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

Mbappe completed a long-awaited move to Real Madrid last summer after leaving Paris Saint-Germain and has enjoyed a prolific first season with the Spanish giants. The France international scored 43 goals in 56 appearances across all competitions for Los Blancos, including 31 in La Liga to clinch the European Golden Shoe for the first time in his career.

AdvertisementGetty Images/GoalTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Mbappe also got his hands on the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Intercontinental Cup, but major silverware proved elusive for Real as they finished runners-up to arch rivals Barcelona in both La Liga and the Copa del Rey, while suffering a painful Champions League quarter-final defeat to Arsenal. It has been suggested that Real's failure on the biggest stages will prevent Mbappe from scooping the 2025 Ballon d'Or, with PSG's Ousmane Dembele and Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal now being billed as the frontrunners for the prestigious individual prize.

Watch every game of the FIFA Club World Cup live on DAZNStream nowWHAT MALOUDA SAID

Mbappe does have one final chance to boost his chances of Ballon d'Or success as Real head to the United States for the first edition of the expanded FIFA Club World Cup. However, former France and Chelsea star Florent Malouda does not think this is the year that the stars align for Mbappe as Los Blancos enter a transitional period under new head coach Xabi Alonso.

When asked whether Mbappe can challenge Yamal and Dembele for the Golden Ball if he fires Real to global glory on American soil, Malouda told GOAL: "Kylian Mbappe is always a Ballon d’Or contender and always will be. When you look at his numbers, his personality and his personal ambitions, it’s his dream to achieve that. He wants to break all records and he wants to compete for these individual awards.

"Regarding Real Madrid, they are in a transition. They lost the manager and for a number nine it all depends on the balance of the team and how confident they are. He is in a new position in that nine and he is playing in a competitive environment when it comes to Barcelona, in which they lost all four times.

"They are competing against top European teams, world-class teams and they still look vulnerable. I don't think it's the right timing for him to compete for individual awards at the moment. The goal will be about being involved in building a strong, strong team for next year."

Getty ImagesDID YOU KNOW?

Mbappe played down his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or this year after starring for France during the latest international break. The Real superstar scored in Les Bleus' Nations League semi-final defeat to Spain and their third-place play-off victory over Germany, but he still feels Golden Ball recognition is out of his control.

"I'm not the one who gives it (the Ballon d'Or) out. I have opinions, and I've had different opinions about the last winners, by the way," he said. "The only trophy that depends solely on my feet is the Golden Shoe. The rest, I don't vote for."

MatériaMais Notícias

da betway： Ao longo da convocação da Seleção Brasileira para partida diante do Marrocos, Ednaldo Pereira foi questionado sobre as polêmicas de arbitragem no jogo entre Sergipe x Botafogo pela Copa do Brasil. O presidente da CBF revelou que não assistiu ao duelo, mas afirmou que se reunirá com Seneme para analisar os acontecimentos. Assista ao vídeo acima.

– O Seneme e sua comissão técnica têm procurado fazer sempre um trabalho de excelência. Eu tenho certeza que é um ponto isolado em relação a aquilo que a arbitragem vem apresentando. Eu particularmente não vi o jogo, mas soube de todos os acontecimentos. Estou aqui na convocação e, durante o dia, vou ter uma reunião com o Seneme afirmou Ednaldo.

RelacionadasFora de CampoRizek detona arbitragem de partida entre Botafogo e Sergipe: ‘Um vexame absurdo’Fora de Campo03/03/2023Fora de CampoPC Oliveira minimiza polêmica dos acréscimos na partida entre Sergipe e BotafogoFora de Campo03/03/2023Fora de Campo‘Difícil justificar tanto acréscimo’, diz Mauro Cezar após Sergipe x BotafogoFora de Campo02/03/2023

da esoccer bet： +Após início positivo, sistema defensivo do Botafogo apresenta fragilidades

– Eu respeito o posicionamento dos atletas e dirigentes. No momento eloquente de uma partida, eu procuro respeitar. Depois, avaliar aquilo que possa ser uma situação de resposta para CBF. O atleta está de cabeça quente. Eu prefiro dar pelo menos 48 horas para que a pessoa possa refletir. Não se combate violência com violência – completou.

Os oito minutos de acréscimos aplicados por Braulio da Silva Machado no segundo tempo geraram muita repercussão. Depois do jogo, dirigentes e torcedores colorados agrediram o árbitroe precisaram ser contidos por policiais. Durante uma entrevista na beira do gramado, Dida, goleiro do Sergipe, chamou a CBF de “vergonha”.

Com gol de Adryelson aos 54 minutos do segundo tempo, Botafogo empatou com Sergipe e se classificou para segunda fase da Copa do Brasil. O time de Luís Castro entra em campo no próximo domingo, diante do Resende, às 16h, no Espirito Santo, pelo Campeonato Carioca.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is preparing for life without out-of-favour defender Jakub Kiwior next season, and it is believed the Gunners have identified a potential marquee replacement for the Poland international.

Arsenal transfer plans with players likely to leave this summer

Both Thomas Partey and Jorginho are set to leave Arsenal this summer with their contracts expiring in July, prompting the club to be heavily linked with an array of top-class midfield replacements.

£58m forward has privately told Arsenal that he'd like a move to London

His club could be open to doing a deal.

ByEmilio Galantini Mar 7, 2025

Arsenal are contending with PSG for soon-to-be free agent Joshua Kimmich, but the Bayern Munich and Germany legend could yet attract more interest as we slowly approach the summer transfer window.

Man Utd (away)

March 9th

Chelsea (home)

March 16th

Fulham (home)

April 1st

Everton (away)

April 5th

Brentford (home)

April 12th

Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi and Eintracht Frankfurt star Hugo Larsson are other top targets being considered by Arteta’s side, with the north Londoners plotting a potential overhaul in the engine room (Florian Plettenberg).

Arsenal are not actively looking to sell Gabriel Martinelli, despite some reports, but they would be more inclined to listen to offers for Leandro Trossard, considering the Belgian is about to enter the final 12 months of his contract at the Emirates (Ben Jacobs).

Defensively, uncertainty surrounds the future of Oleksandr Zinchenko given his lack of game time under Arteta, while fellow left-back Kieran Tierney is poised to join Celtic when his Arsenal contract expires this summer.

Kiwior, who hasn’t played a single Premier League minute since mid-December, is also facing his final few months as an Arsenal player.

Arsenal identify Marc Guehi as potential replacement for Jakub Kiwior

That is according to website Just Arsenal, who claim Arteta’s side are preparing to sell the 25-year-old for a price of up to £25 million.

The versatile centre-back isn’t exactly short of admirers, with Sevilla, Villarreal, Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Napoli, Atalanta, Fiorentina, and Bologna all expressing an interest in signing Kiwior during the last transfer window.

Unnamed clubs from England have also inquired over Kiwior’s availability, so this could be one to watch. In terms of potential replacements for him, it is believed that Arsenal are weighing up a summer move for Crystal Palace star Marc Guehi.

The England international was subject to a surprise £70 million bid from Tottenham in January, with Chelsea also viewed as firm contenders to re-sign Guehi after letting him join Palace in 2021.

Arsenal are apparently considering a move for Guehi, though, and have identified him as a strong candidate to reinforce their backline. As well as the Eagles defender, it is believed that Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen and Ajax’s Jorrel Hato are other options being thought of.

Despite Guehi’s deal being set to expire in 2026, Palace could demand as much as £75 million to let him go this summer.

Chelsea’s activity in the transfer market has caught the eye in recent years, splashing the cash to try and return to Premier League glory in the near future.

Todd Boehly has certainly invested big money into the first-team setup, handing Enzo Maresca the tools to be a success at Stamford Bridge, with the Italian having a wide selection of players to choose from.

The 46-year-old has often relied upon Moises Caicedo at the heart of his midfield, with the Ecuadorian starting every single game in the league since his appointment.

He may have cost an English record £115m back in the summer of 2023, but given his regularity in the first team, it has been money well spent, looking to be worth every penny.

The same can’t be said for another player, who’s massively failed to deliver in West London after his own big-money move to join the Blues a couple of years ago.

Raheem Sterling's stats for Chelsea

Back in the summer of 2022, Chelsea forked out £50m to sign winger Raheem Sterling from Manchester City, looking to inject added quality into the club’s front line.

However, the move has been a disaster for both parties, struggling to make the desired impact – ultimately leading to his loan move to Arsenal for the current campaign.

The Englishman scored nine times during his debut campaign at the Bridge, going one better with 10 in the following campaign – but after the arrival of Maresca, he ended up falling down the pecking order.

During his three-year period in West London, the 30-year-old has scored just 19 times in 81 appearances, an average of just one goal in every 4.2 matches – simply not at the level for a top-level attacker.

Given his £325k-per-week wages, coupled with his lack of impact for the Blues, it would be a surprise to no one to see him moved on in the summer, with another player also needing to be shipped out.

The player who should never play for Chelsea again

Given the influx of transfers made over recent years, it was always likely that sales were going to be needed, with Sterling just one player who has to be sacrificed after his lack of positive impact.

However, it’s made the jump much harder for academy players to stake their claim in the first team, with the club desperately wanting success after such high spending.

One player who’s been unfortunate in his development is striker Armando Broja, who at one stage looked as though he could lead the line for the Blues going forward.

The Albanian international joined the club at the age of nine, developing through the ranks, before getting his first-team opportunity in the 2022/23 campaign.

The 23-year-old only managed to score three times across his two seasons in the first team at the Bridge, eventually losing his place due to an ACL injury.

Broja has since spent two separate spells out on loan at Fulham before linking up with Everton for the current campaign – but injuries have once again reared their head.

The striker, who earns £40k-per-week, has only made six appearances for the Toffees, with his last outing coming back in January after not featuring until December following his summer move.

After just one start and zero goals at Goodison Park, people have started to voice their displeasure at his lack of impact, with one writer claiming he’s been a “complete waste” of a loan addition.

Games played

6

Minutes played

179

Goals scored

0

Touches

77

Shots taken

4

Chances created

2

Passes completed

27

Given his continuous struggles away from West London, coupled with his lack of action when fit, Maresca needs to brutally part ways with the forward this summer to cash in while the 23-year-old still has some value.

Broja and Sterling need to be the first two players out of the door, with their subsequent departures handing the boss the funds to build on his impressive first season in charge of the Blues.

Chelsea sold "exceptional" star in 2021, now he's a big upgrade on Colwill

Chelsea made a huge mistake in allowing one player to depart Stamford Brideg back in 2021.

ByEthan Lamb Mar 4, 2025

Says he relies on his hands for placement and gives himself “a few options for different lengths”

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-20234:00

Harmison on Maxwell’s 201*: ‘It has to be the greatest innings in ODI cricket’

One of the reasons why Glenn Maxwell’s hardly-believable double-century against Afghanistan in Mumbai is being billed as the greatest ODI knock of all time is because of how he was suffering from back spasms and severe cramps in the lower half of his body, and he still managed to hit a total of 21 fours and 10 sixes to lead Australia to victory, mainly by using his arms and upper-body strength.Maxwell attributed that ability to a pre-match batting drill he used to practice around eight-nine years ago in the BBL, to hit some big boundaries.”One of the things I used to work on before every BBL game – going back about eight or nine years – was foot drills where the first 12 balls I’d face I’d stay dead still but try and hit them as far as I could,” he told the . “Whatever the length, I basically had to hold my top body for as long as I could to get the right trajectory to feel like I hit a six. Working on that upper-body movement without using your legs is actually a good way of finding out where your ideal heave point is. Going back to that [innings against Afghanistan], I obviously had to tinker a little bit with actual bowlers not just bowling half-volleys outside off stump but bowling different areas. Jut relying on stuff I had worked on in early years and try to adapt as quickly as I could.”Related

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Cummins hails Maxwell's 201* as 'the greatest ODI innings that's ever happened'

When asked what helped him prepare for such unorthodox shots, Maxwell said: “I think it has a lot to do with the positions I get myself in on a golf course where I’m stuck behind a tree and I’ve to throw my wrists around or flick it around. It’s little things like that. I feel like it allows you to be inventive and tests the boundaries.”Maxwell also revealed on the podcast that the worst cramps in his body were in his calf muscle, and that at one point the middle toe on his right foot “starting to bend back” and combined with the back spasms, his “body was starting to shut down”.When he fell to the ground at one point and lay flat because of cramps just after completing a single, he was attended to by the team physio who said that going off the field would be worse because Maxwell’s body would cool down and coming back down the long staircase from the dressing room at the Wankhede Stadium would become very tough. The physio then advised Maxwell to slow things down since the batter also “couldn’t control my breathing,” and told him to hydrate himself more and bat on.Not only against Afghanistan, but during his record-breaking 40-ball century against Netherlands, and further back in the past in white-ball cricket, one of Maxwell’s trademark ability is to find the gaps in all corners of the ground, irrespective of the line and length of the ball, and the bowlers.”Once I get in, I feel like I can set myself early enough in my mind and have a good idea of where I’m trying to hit it,” Maxwell explained. “I feel like my hands can get me out of trouble if the ball is not quite in that areas and do I give myself a few options for different lengths.”

Durham 433 for 8 (Lees 195, Clark 82) lead Gloucestershire 316 by 117 runsAlex Lees gave the England selectors a gentle nudge after scoring his third century in as many innings to guide Durham into a strong position against Gloucestershire in their LV= Insurance County Championship clash.Lees anchored the innings with a flawless knock of 195, posting his highest score as a Durham player since his move to Seat Unique Riverside in 2018. Graham Clark provided the perfect complement with 82 as the two shared a stand worth 195 after the hosts were reduced to 109 for four in reply to Gloucestershire’s 316.The two batters rebuilt the innings and propelled Durham ahead in the game, having skittled the visitors’ tail within the first half-hour of day two. It allowed Brydon Carse to tee off late in the day to push the hosts into a 117-run lead at the close with two first-innings wickets remaining.Resuming on 280 for six, Gloucestershire put their foot down before the arrival of the new ball. Zafar Gohar smashed three boundaries off Carse’s first over, while Josh Shaw cleared the rope with a huge strike over long-on against Parkinson to earn a second batting bonus point.Durham answered fire with fire as Carse responded with a hostile spell to make the breakthrough. Shaw could only glove behind to Robinson down the leg-side and the next ball was too good for Matt Taylor. Zaman Akhter survived the hat-trick ball and another barrage from Carse before the arrival of the new ball.Ben Raine then wrapped up the innings within three deliveries with the new Kookaburra in hand by bowling Gohar and pinning Dominic Goodman lbw, securing maximum bowling points for the hosts.Shaw made quick inroads for the visitors to remove Michael Jones, but Lees responded by taking the attack to the Gloucestershire bowlers. The left-hander shared a stand worth 67 with Scott Borthwick before the Durham captain picked out substitute fielder Jack Taylor as he aimed to clear the short boundary, presenting Shaw with his second wicket.Lees worked his way to his fifty from only 56 balls, but Durham had issues at the other end when David Bedingham emulated his captain’s dismissal falling three balls before the lunch break. Ollie Robinson continued the procession after the interval as fell caught and bowled to Goodman, leaving Durham in trouble at 109 for four after losing three wickets for 32.The home side required patience at the crease and Lees duly delivered without taking any risks on his march to three figures. He showed composure in a slow grind through the nineties before bringing up his third hundred of the term after striking Gohar straight down the ground to the fence.Clark offered a useful foil at the other end to support the former England opener. After a period of consolidation, the two batters upped the ante and cranked up the pressure on the Gloucestershire bowlers.James Bracey turned to a variety of options, but could not stop the onslaught from the fifth-wicket stand, especially from Lees who powered his way to his highest score of the season by passing 150 with three-straight pulls to the boundary against Akhter.Ben Charlesworth took the ball in the 70th over and finally broke the stand for 195 when Clark drilled the ball straight to Chris Dent at short mid-wicket, falling narrowly short of a deserved century. Carse and Lees guided the hosts to their third batting bonus point before the new ball.Matt Taylor found his rhythm from the off with the new ball to end Lees’ brilliant knock for 195 and then Raine first ball to give the visitors hope of skittling the hosts late in the day. But, Carse stamped his authority in the final hour, reaching fifty from 45 balls and smashing three sixes in the process, ensuring Durham ended the evening in command closing in on maximum batting points.

Visitors cash in after captain lays foundations to build 104-run first-innings lead

Paul Edwards05-May-2023
At its best, the batting of Cheteshwar Pujara reminds one of the building of cathedrals. There is a monumental patience about the business, an alliance of forbearance with time that makes any major achievement all the more admirable. There is purpose, too, and aggression where possible, and these qualities were apparent as Pujara made his third century of the season at New Road this afternoon. But above all there was method and a resolve to ride out the mettlesome duels with Worcestershire’s seamers in the morning session, thereby gaining increasing licence to attack them later in the day.The result of Pujara’s tough-minded devotion was plain in the evening session when he put on 117 in 20 overs with Fynn Hudson-Prentice, who made 59, and a further 38 in six with Ollie Robinson, whose 21-ball 33 came straight from the McCullum-Stokes school of tactical thinking. Those partnerships gave Sussex a lead of 104, which was a fine effort given they had been 213 for 6 when Oli Carter had his off stump rumbled by a fine outswinger from Matthew Waite. Pujara eventually fell for 136 to the worst shot of his innings, a tired waft off Josh Tongue, but by then it was testing to recall the first session of the day when he and Steven Smith had worked hard for 75 minutes to put on 61, a partnership that did little but keep their side in the game after Worcestershire had taken two early wickets.Ah yes, Smith, I wondered when we would get to him. Once again, the interest of sports editors had been sufficiently piqued by the near certainty of the Australian batting to send their very best writers to New Road and perhaps Saturday will be another morning on which Smith will be the context for another international cricketer’s fine achievement. But Pujara made over a hundred runs more than his team mate in this innings and it must be a curious world in which one decides what is important about a day’s cricket before one discovers whether it has truly mattered very much.We only had to wait ten balls before we got our chance to assess Smith’s form, for the day had begun in grisly fashion for Sussex, who lost Tom Alsop leg before wicket to Joe Leach’s sixth delivery of the morning when succumbing to the virus of trying to work the ball just in front of square instead of playing it to mid-on. Next over, Ali Orr was dropped by Jack Haynes off Ben Gibbon and then caught by Gareth Roderick three balls later. Those dismissals more or less restored the game to parity and they also brought Smith out to join Pujara, thus uniting two of the best and most contrasting batters in the world.Pujara and Steven Smith bump fists during their partnership•Getty ImagesSmith’s innings of 30 off 57 balls was interesting but unexceptional, although that latter quality will have little to do with the number of column inches it commands on Saturday. This is an Australian summer, after all, and we should be grateful that still matters amid the slew of competitions that pay riches yet count for nowt. So Smith began with a characteristic light-sabre leave and followed it with a sinless forward defensive. There were five fours but they were balanced with about as many false shots, a lovely ease through midwicket off Tongue making up for a swish to an off-side bouncer off Gibbon. The most typical boundary was a pull off Tongue in which Smith’s whole body pivoted on the stroke and the bat made as if to follow the ball to the rope. The innings itself offered glimmers of unconventional greatness but they might have been apparent only to those who knew this batsman had made 30 Test centuries, some of which had defined Ashes series.Anyway, Smith had batted 88 minutes when he faced the final delivery of the innings’ 39th over, which was bowled by Tongue from the Diglis End. The ball seamed back and hit Smith just above the knee-roll of his pad in line with middle and leg stump at best. Peter Hartley’s decision to give the batsman out was therefore neither a near-formality nor a shocker. In a Test match, the batter would surely have reviewed the decision and the technology might well have suggested umpire’s call. There was, though, an equal chance that Smith would have got away with it.Tongue was untroubled by such speculation. He gave the dismissal a double salute with his clenched fists and was quickly mobbed by his delighted colleagues. Before lunch, James Coles’ ten-cent drive to a ball from Gibbon saw him caught behind for 14 and Worcestershire supporters’ enjoyment of their lunch might then have been enhanced by New Road’s gracious assumption of its May splendour. The horse chestnut in front of the corporate hospitality marquee has been giving it large on the catwalk for a couple of weeks but now the poplars, limes and beeches at the Diglis End and in front of the cathedral are also buying their new-season frocks.The ruthlessness of Pujara’s batting frequently punctures such blithe optimism. During his stand with Smith, he had already eased the ball backward of square off his legs and played a cover drive. Both strokes outshone his partner. Either side of a 45-minute break for rain, he now added back cuts and pulls that took the game away from Worcestershire, one or two of whose bowlers suffered under the strain of it all. Pujara has now reached fifty for Sussex eight times in two-and-a-bit seasons and on each occasion he has gone on to make a century. Nor were his delights quite over. Eight balls before bad light interrupted play deep into evensong, he moved himself to sixth slip and next ball he grabbed a thick-edged catch off Jake Libby, a cricketer whose adhesion is his trademark. Ed Pollock and Azhar Ali took their side safely to stumps, which were finally drawn past seven o’clock, but there is serious work ahead for Brett D’Oliveira’s top order this weekend.

Former captain’s prolific form all the more gravity-defying because of England’s recent woes

Andrew Miller06-Jun-2022Composure in midst of deep gloom. As with the latter months of his captaincy, so too with his new beginnings back in the ranks.Lesser players might have drawn back the curtains in north London on Sunday morning, and baulked at the sight of Lord’s enveloped in a thick blanket of cloud – never mizzly enough to prevent play from beginning on time, but seemingly perfectly weighted to the needs of New Zealand’s seamers, as they resumed a dicey contest needing five more wickets before England could tick off their 61 remaining runs.Joe Root, however, is nobody’s idea of a lesser player. With a sense of purpose that might have been grafted from one of his very best white-ball tempo-setters, but in an occasion that dripped with Test cricket’s full pomp and circumstance, Root got busy from the get-go, and New Zealand’s challenge died a death by 10,000 cuts.His first delivery of the day was dinked off the pads behind square – the purity of his angles against an arrow-straight sighter from Tim Southee rendering the stroke as riskless as a dead-batted prod back down the pitch. And if New Zealand didn’t know it for certain at that moment, then that sinking feeling cannot have taken long to manifest. Thirty-four of Root’s runs, but a solitary boundary, came from that soul-sapping nurdle, the most productive stroke of his innings – nay, his career – and on his watch something uncannily similar to calm descended over a restless, undulating match.Related

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For in a contest that seemed destined to be defined by haymakers – “if they throw us two punches, we’ll throw them four”, as Matt Potts, England’s debutant, evocatively put it on day one – it proved to be the deft caresses of Root and Ben Foakes that hurt New Zealand the most.Had Kane Williamson been allowed to choose the manner in which England went about their victory push, he would surely have traded a few swings for the stands for the high probability of a crucial miscalibration – such as that which tipped Ben Stokes from the contest on the third afternoon. And in fact that would have been the plan had a wicket fallen on this final day. Stuart Broad was padded up and ready to go loco at No. 8, the logic being that his madcap methods were better unleashed with wickets in hand rather than at the very last ditch.Root, however, specialises in a more passive brand of aggression. From the moment of Stokes’ departure in the 50th over of the chase, he chipped off his last 81 runs from exactly 81 balls, a startling speed from a man who – aside from a handful of under-edged cuts in the final surge – never once looked rushed in the course of a 170-ball stay.It was a point that Stokes acknowledged afterwards, as he harked back to the wisdom of the last England coach to attempt a fusion cuisine between England’s red- and white-ball mindsets.”As Trevor Bayliss used to say, it’s not all about hitting fours and sixes,” Stokes said. “You can be positive about the way that you leave, positive in the way you defend. It just makes things a lot easier, your decision-making, when you’re looking to be proactive and positive.”

“It was very special to get the hundred and reach 10,000 runs, I can’t pretend it wasn’t, but nothing replicates winning games of cricket”Joe Root

Root’s haste was such that, in sealing the contest inside the day’s first 15 overs, he even secured a full refund for a gleefully receptive crowd – quite the populist’s coup after all the pre-match discussion about ticket prices. Either way, he clearly wasn’t the only national grandee laying on a free party this weekend – and as the players’ kids took advantage of the early finish to turn cartwheels on the outfield while the Platinum Jubilee parade played out on the big screens above them, his glory put the seal on a nationally uplifting four-day weekend.And in the midst of it all, lest we forget, he happened to tick off that 10,000-run mark. How often is it that the quest for landmarks becomes the story, over and above the reason why such landmarks are so sought-after in the first place?For Root, who by a quirk of fate had begun this innings needing exactly 100 runs for five figures, the achievement came packed as if in the bowels of a Russian doll; a milestone within a century, within a run-chase, within the context of a team that had not tasted victory for ten month, within the broader – and soul-baringly-expressed – emotions of his first Test back in the ranks, having freed himself from an “unhealthy relationship” with the captaincy.And once you’d unpacked all those layers, it wasn’t hard to accept Root’s assertion that, all other things considered, he really hadn’t given the achievement a second thought.”I’d been made aware of it, but after the shot I played in the first innings, it felt a long way off,” Root said, recalling the critical stab to gully off Colin de Grandhomme that had set England’s first-day collapse into full motion. “Winning was all I could think about. You pride yourself on winning, and it’s been a long while for this team. It meant a huge amount to get over the line.”It was very special to get the hundred and reach 10,000 runs, I can’t pretend it wasn’t, but nothing replicates winning games of cricket. It’s such a good feeling and one I hope we can replicate through the rest of the summer.”Modesty aside, however, it is a startlingly vast landmark – a pinnacle that seemed so otherworldly back in the late 1980s when Sunil Gavaskar stood there alone, and still remains snow-capped with just 13 fellow greats having since traipsed their way to the top.Root in full flow•PA Images via Getty ImagesAnd while it’s a common theme for England’s record-setting batters in particular to reach such peaks with career records a notch below the highest standards – a reflection both of the number of Tests they get to play compared to their contemporaries, and the difficulties that English conditions can sometimes serve up – there are few criteria by which Root truly pales against his peers.Yes, he is currently one of the few 10kers to average below 50, but he has the time and, clearly, the form to remedy that, while his failure to record that maiden century in Australia clearly hurts – mostly, of course, because Root himself knew that his own runs were the team’s only realistic hope on either of his tours as captain.But the true measure of Root’s achievement will only be known in retrospect, because the history of the era that he is playing through – the pandemic on the one hand, and the real-time disintegration of the Test team that he has so proudly shorn up on the other – has not yet been written. Everything he is doing – for England in the first instance and for his legacy thereafter – is just too up-close-and-personal for a fair appraisal, but the manner in which Root has turned on the afterburners, almost from the moment of his 30th birthday in December 2020, has been legacy-defining.In the space of 17 months, 2192 runs including nine hundreds have tripped off his bat – nine more, in fact, than his most fabled contemporaries, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson combined. Which goes to show, not that he’s suddenly roared into a different league, but that a fluidity exists even in the mightiest careers, and that the very best recognise their moments and seize them with an alacrity that leaves merer mortals astounded.Most extraordinarily, Root has achieved all this in a side that has just won its second Test in 18, and in which his 30 fellow players have scored five hundreds between them, with no other top-order batter averaging more than 31. Even Allan Border in his darkest days in the mid-1980s had a better support cast than that; even Andy Flower, in his gravity-defying era for Zimbabwe in 2000-01, had his brother Grant to hold up an end.In time, the granular details of Root’s batting achievements will begin to hold a greater sway in the imagination, even if for now, all we can do is laud the landmarks as they come. But take it as read that, when his team-mates spilled out of the dressing-room to envelop him in the Long Room during his victory march back through the pavilion, it wasn’t just Root’s runs they were celebrating, but the man himself.

Smart Stats helps explain why Bumrah’s figures of 2 for 32 don’t do full justice to his impact on the match

ESPNcricinfo stats team23-Sep-2020Jasprit Bumrah was strangely off-colour in the first match of the season: against the Chennai Super Kings, he leaked 43 from four overs, and was the most expensive bowler of the match. As expected, though, it didn’t take him long to find his mojo. Against the Kolkata Knight Riders, he was back at his best, and ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats reveals just good he was.