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An opener making a comeback against the odds galvanised his partner as Bangladesh put on their first century stand for the first wicket since December 2022

Mohammad Isam29-Apr-2025A century stand between Bangladesh’s openers was a long-forgotten promise in Test cricket. Opening pairs have come thick and fast, and, since their milestone Test series win in Pakistan last year, had contributed very little to their team’s totals. The selectors have gone through many options and have scratched their heads over the lack of candidates in domestic cricket.They had, however, ignored one batter for a long time. Anamul Haque isn’t perhaps the most obvious choice given the enigmatic international career he’s had since his debut in 2012. He has been a domestic giant, however, piling up numbers that most openers in the country have struggled to match, even those who have played for Bangladesh in recent years. He is the leading run-getter among openers in the 2024-25 domestic first-class season, and he remains an outstanding performer even if you put together runs from all formats.There are, however, complications surrounding Anamul’s name. Many consider him to be too flashy on social media. He also led a players’ revolt against the owners of his BPL team after they stopped paying the players. Anamul and a few other players also then posed with cash when some payments were finally made.There’s the more legitimate question mark of Anamul’s inconsistency at the highest level, of course, but that can be placed against many of his peers in and around the Bangladesh side too.Bangladesh’s recent struggles to find a strong opening pair in Test cricket can be summed up by the fact that the 118 that Anamul and Shadman Islam put on against Zimbabwe in Chattogram was their first century stand for the first wicket since December 2022. Of the 33 opening stands in between, only two even crossed the half-century mark.Shadman then went on to score 120. It was the first century from a Bangladesh opener since Zakir Hasan’s 100 against India in December 2022, also in Chattogram.Anamul himself made a nominal contribution in Bangladesh’s scorecard on the second day of this Chattogram Test. He made a bigger impact than the scorecard would suggest, though. Anamul batted with a smidgen more positivity than Bangladesh’s recent openers have done. He was a little troubled by short balls in the early stages, but also adjusted quickly to playing the Zimbabwe quicks off the back foot. Anamul was also alert to the possibility of the quick single, which was definitely a distinction between him and Mahmudul Hasan Joy, who tends to rely a lot on hitting boundaries in his strong areas.Anamul’s approach rubbed off on Shadman too. He scored exacly twice what Anamul did (39) during their 118-run stand. In recent Tests, Shadman had tended to get stuck early in his innings, but looked far more assured here, every time he looked for runs. His off-side strokeplay was notable for the ease with which he found the gaps, and his straight-driving easy on the eye. Shadman too found regular ones and twos, especially with Zimbabwe stacking their slip cordon against both openers.Shadman Islam scored his second Test hundred•MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via GettyShadman’s freewheeling batting continued after Anamul’s departure, as he added 76 for the second wicket with Mominul Haque. It was the best Bangladesh’s top-order batting had looked in several months.”I didn’t change anything [as an opener],” Shadman said after the day’s play. “I usually play according to the merit of the ball. I don’t really go out with a lot of plans in my mind. As openers we stuck to our plan. I think we didn’t get a big partnership for a long time but we can make things better in the future.”I felt [Anamul Haque] Bijoy was comfortable in his stay. He didn’t really struggle in the middle. He was connecting the ball quite well. He is a very experienced cricketer. He is always scoring runs. He provided a good start. He was looking good, but he was unfortunate to get out.”That Anamul was playing at all was a bit of a surprise. It wasn’t because Anamul wasn’t scoring runs in domestic cricket. On the contrary, he is the second highest run-getter in Bangladesh in all formats since his last Test three years ago, with 4962 runs at an average of 43.91, with 13 centuries – a hugely significant number from a Bangladesh perspective, with the next-best on that list having scored only eight in that time.Seven of Anamul’s centuries have come in an extraordinary 2024-25 season, which has brought him 2146 runs at 51.09.It’s usually extremely difficult for a Bangladeshi cricketer dropped from the national team, particularly if they are beyond a certain age, to make a comeback. At 32, Anamul had shown the hunger to score runs day in and day out at the domestic level, and made himself impossible to ignore. While Bangladesh were losing the first Test in Sylhet, Anamul was scoring back-to-back hundreds for Gazi Group in the Dhaka Premier Division, virtually forcing the selectors to recall him.Bangladesh aren’t known for giving players a long rope, however, so having made it back, Anamul will know he’ll have to keep scoring runs to keep hold of his hard-won slot.

Australia icon looks to broaden her horizons during transformative stint at WPL

Vishal Dikshit14-Mar-20232:47

Healy: I like to lead from within the group and empower players

Captain Alyssa Healy gathered her UP Warriorz team-mates one day in the team hotel and asked each one of them to write down their answer to the question: “What do I want to get out of this season?” whether on or off the field. Many overseas players wrote about learning the Indian culture, someone wrote about enjoying every moment of the WPL, one about sharing her experiences and another about learning from the seniors, and so on.The objective of this exercise was break the ice between the players, get them to trust each other, and form a well-knit unit, and not just a squad of 16. Even though Healy does not take the credit for this – it was suggested by the team owner Jinisha Sharma – she says “it was a little tough initially” for them to get together and form relationships quickly, because the squad didn’t have much time to know one another between the T20 World Cup, which ended on February 26 in South Africa, and the WPL, which began on March 4 in Mumbai.Now that the team has been together for two weeks and a few games, Healy is unflinchingly working towards her own objective for the WPL: to get the most out of the Indian domestic players.

These players are amazing and it’s not about us, it’s almost about them and helping grow the sport hereHealy on the young Indian players within the UP squad

“I feel like sometimes we forget that this is the WPL, and this is the Indian league and we’re the foreigners coming in to play a part and play a role and do our job,” Healy told ESPNcricinfo. “But this is more so about growing the game in India and seeing these young, amazing Indian players get a chance on a big stage to show everyone what they can do. I think sometimes the international players come in and sort of overshadow that fact.”There’s a lot of talk about all the international players making all the runs and taking all the wickets, but what the UP Warriorz in particular have as a strength is we’ve got some really good Indian players within our squad that are really going to shine at the right times, and our job as international players is to complement that and do our job where we can.”Warriorz have won only two of their first four games, but they can boast a line-up that covers most bases, if not all. They have the fastest bowler in the world, Shabnim Ismail, who has already bowled 127.5kmh; their spin duo of Sophie Ecclestone and Deepti Sharma has picked 13 wickets together with economy rates of 7.03 and 8.20 respectively in a high-scoring tournament; Grace Harris is a belligerent finisher, and Tahlia McGrath has struck two half-centuries already, with an overall strike-rate of nearly 160.Alyssa Healy has been leading from the front for UP•BCCIIt is the Indian names, however, that Healy wants to focus on. Twenty-eight-year-old hard-hitting batter Kiran Navgire, allrounder Devika Vaidya who is now opening the batting for them with the captain, middle-order batter Simran Shaikh, and Under-19 star Shweta Sehrawat, who opened initially but has been moved down the order now.”A Deepti Sharma, a Raja [Rajeshwari Gayakwad]…everybody knows them already, they’ve played for India, but there’s players like Devika, to come in and do what she did [making 36 not out in a ten-wicket win against RCB] and just remind everyone that these players are amazing and it’s not about us, it’s almost about them and helping grow the sport here,” Healy elaborated further. “I’ve been trying to communicate that to them and that’s where the trust is being formed, that I’m here for them, I’m here to promote them, I’m not here to promote myself and give myself the best opportunities to go out there and make runs or take wickets. I want them to do that and them to be really proud of themselves at the end of the tournament.”Healy has, after all, already played nearly 250 international games for Australia, plus all eight seasons of the WBBL (including two titles), and she also featured in the last season of the Hundred as well, for Northern Superchargers. She will be 33 later this month, and with the kind of maturity that often comes with age, exposure and experiences, Healy wants to give back to the game, even if it means to players of another team, who have been coming close to beating Australia in recent finals.”A big thing is that cricket is such a small part of our lives and at the end of the day it’s not everything in our lives either, and we sort of forget that, we get wrapped up in how important cricket is and it’s the be-all and end-all,” Healy explained. “But at the end of the day, you’re going to retire and you have your whole life ahead of you so if you can learn some skills or learn how to be a well-rounded person in your cricketing career, I think that’s going to be beneficial for the rest of your lives, so an exercise like that (about achieving something from WPL) is really exciting for the group to think, ‘ok, what do I want to get out of the WPL?’Meg Lanning, Beth Mooney, Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, and Healy unveil the WPL trophy•BCCI”It’s not just about runs and wickets and being the best player in the competition. A lot of them have written out there that they want to dive in and experience our culture and get to know me, and for me, mine is like to dive in and experience the Indian culture a little bit more and get to know some of these girls and their families outside of cricket, and things like that. Making a commitment and putting it on a board means that you’re accountable for that and you walk in there every day and say, ‘am I living that?’ So that was a big push from Jinisha [Sharma, the owner], which I was really excited by, because it’s sort of one of my life mottos as well.”According to Lisa Sthalekar, the Warriorz mentor, Healy went to Deepti, the vice-captain after joining the squad to say, “I’m here to help you, this is your side, you’re from UP, I’m the outsider, let me help you guide this team, because you’ll be in this team for as long as you want whereas I’m here for a small amount of time.” Sthalekar has known Healy for well more than a decade from her domestic cricket days and was Healy’s team-mate in each of her three debuts in international cricket, back in 2010 and 2011. She says Healy has always been about the bigger picture “for as long as I can remember”.Related

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“People may love her or hate her, she does polarise people, but one thing is that she’s always seen the game broader than just her own experience in that one moment,” Sthalekar said. “A prime example is that T20 World Cup [final in 2020] at the MCG. She could have had blinkers to the World Cup final thinking ‘it’s in my home country, we are expected to win, we only just got into the final’. But what does she and all the rest of the players do? They open the blinkers up and go, ‘this is actually bigger than us. This is about past players, it’s about volunteers, it’s about women’s sport in this country’. She took all of that on and went, ‘I’m just going to live this moment and enjoy it,’ and she had a smile from ball one, even before she hit a four, and then just soaked it up.”Healy took India down in that 2020 final with a momentous and brutal 75 off 39 that gave Australia an 85-run victory. Exactly three years later, she is now leading a side full of Indians – some experienced and many raw – to share her experiences with them, to groom and chaperone them, and prepare them for the big stage where she has lifted many a trophy.

For England it’s been about all-out attack for a while; India seem to want to adopt more of that approach for more of their innings going forward

Sidharth Monga23-Mar-20212:54

Manjrekar: Amazing how Dhawan has added shots to his repertoire

The World Cup is still two years away and India have been on the record saying that ODIs are their lowest priority this year, so it is not surprising for this ODI series to have the feel of a space filler before the IPL. However, there was enough on display on Tuesday to see two sides working on how they want to play this format.England are the leaders of change in this format. India are not quite aping them but they are looking to catch up without taking the kind of risks that can result in the kind of defeat England tasted on the night: a collapse from 135 for 0 in 14 overs to 251 all out when some might call for a more circumspect approach to chasing a sub-par total.The difference between these two teams is stark, and best summed up by the opening combinations. England’s is a once-in-a-generation dream team of Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow. Their opening partnership averages 60.45 and goes at 7.04 an over. They are an upgrade on the only two other opening combinations who managed to average 50 and score at over a run a ball: Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir (50.54 per dismissal and 6.42 an over) and Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder (50.9 and 6.4).More importantly, Roy and Bairstow are well above their contemporaries, giving England a significant head start. The two came together as openers in September 2017. During the Roy-Bairstow era, India have been among the top three ODI sides, but their openers – Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma – average 41.88 and go at 5.29 an over.Consequently England kill many ODIs early in the game. During this period, their average 10-over score has been 60 as against India’s 50. The difference is starker when the sides are batting first, which is trickier than ever when you run the risk of aiming too low. England’s average 10-over score when batting first has been 59 as opposed to India’s 46. With a target guiding them, India close this gap: it’s 53 India and 62 England when chasing.India tend to take fewer risks early, like to take games deep and then score big at the end. England spread the attacking duties and want to break open games earlier than in the final overs. In this ODI, 39 for 0 in 10 overs from Dhawan and Rohit was in part owed to tricky conditions – Dhawan said the ball swung and seamed early – but it is not like India were going to bat the way Bairstow and Roy did later in the day. However, there were signs later that India are looking to shed the conservatism.Virat Kohli is the most efficient run machine in ODI cricket: he has finetuned his game to score reasonably quickly while taking no risks at all. That is why he has a great conversion rate and is destined to go past Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI centuries. He tends to leave his aerial hits to the end, but here he tried to slog in the 33rd over, perishing for a typically efficient 56 off 60. He could have sleepwalked to a run-a-ball hundred here, but that would have risked what India have been criticised for in the past: leaving runs out there.In Kohli’s approach was acknowledgement that India are looking to change the way they are playing ODI cricket and that the start had been slow. Kohli still said the 317 they got despite a sensational 112-run stand between KL Rahul and Krunal Pandya in 9.3 overs was sub-par.Related

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The collapse that followed Kohli’s wicket might have given them reason to question the new approach, but the unlikely win in the end will keep those questions at bay. The questions instead were pointed at England. Could they have been more conservative after the start they got? For England and Eoin Morgan, the answer is no. They will keep attacking the way they did, but will just look to get better at it than on the night.”When we have bad days with the bat, it can potentially look worse than it is, but we play an aggressive brand of cricket,” Morgan said. “We just need to get better and execute better than we did today. When you look at our top seven, we all have scored 60-ball hundreds. It is something we pride ourselves on. To be able to take the attack to the opposition. And that is the way we want to play.”White-ball cricket as a rule is always on the upward slant: total scores, individual scores, strike rates are always increasing. With an eye on the World Cup, we want to continue to try and push the envelope in that regard. Sometimes that doesn’t work because we don’t get it right, but for us losing like that is way better than losing by 10 runs playing in a completely different matter that doesn’t suit us. It’s important for us to reinforce the method that has worked for us over the last five years.”Expect England to wipe this defeat from their memories and set themselves up for another assault come the next ODI. For India there are two ways to look at the result. Some might be thankful they won because otherwise they might have possibly ended up shelving their bolder approach in the middle overs. Others might have hoped for the 40-over defeat that looked likely because that might have forced a more dramatic change to their approach to opening ODI innings. The two remaining ODIs will tell us a bit about how India plan to approach their ODI cricket in the next two years.

انتقد أحمد المحمدي، نجم منتخب مصر السابق، مدرب نادي ليفربول، آرني سلوت، متهمًا الأخير بعدم احترام محمد صلاح، مشيرًا إلى أن إجلاس الدولي المصري ثلاث مباريات متتالية على دكة البدلاء أمر غير مقبول.

وأبقى سلوت محمد صلاح على دكة البدلاء لثلاث مباريات متتالية في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، وكان آخرها أمام ليدز يونايتد أمس السبت، حيث انتهت المباراة بالتعادل 3-3.

وخرج محمد صلاح عقب نهاية المباراة لينتقد سلوت بشكل لاذع، حيث أكد النجم المصري أن العلاقة مع المدرب الهولندي قد انهارت وأن إدارة ليفربول لم تفي بالوعود التي قدمتها له.

وقال المحمدي عبر أستوديو “بي إن سبورتس”: ”قال صلاح، لقد فعلت الكثير لهذا النادي علي مر السنين وخاصة الموسم الماضي، وأنا جالس على مقاعد البدلاء ولا اعرف لماذا”.

وأضاف: ”أساند محمد صلاح فيما قاله، أن يتواجد على مقاعد البدلاء لثلاث مباريات متتالية بعد ما قدمه لليفربول هو أمر غير منطقي”.

وأوضح: ”محمد صلاح سجل 232 هدفًا وقدم 100 تمريرة حاسمة ،هو أحد أفضل اللاعبين في تاريخ ليفربول، وعندما يأتي مدرب ويتعامل معه بالطريقة التي تعامل بها سلوت معه فهو أمر غير مقبول”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. سبورت عن تصريحات محمد صلاح: فقد أعصابه ولا يفهم دوره الجديد

وأردف: ”محمد صلاح يشعر بعدم احترام من قبل المدرب، قال في تصريحاته إن هناك شخص لا يرغب بوجوده في ليفربول وأعتقد أنه يقصد سلوت”.

وتابع: ”محمد صلاح وجه رسالة غير مباشرة إلى المدرب، الأمر واضح، هناك مشاكل عديدة بينه وبين سلوت”.

وواصل: ”قال سلوت إنه أجرى تبديلات عديدة على التشكيلة الأساسية لليفربول، لكن ما قام به مع محمد صلاح وإجلاسه لثلاث مباريات متتالية لهو أمر خطير، هناك علامات استفهام عديدة على المدرب بسبب النتائج”.

واستكمل: ”سلوت لا يريد تحميل نفسه المسئولية، ما جعله يضحي بمحمد صلاح، نجم الفريق من أجل الهروب من الانتقادات”.

وقال: ”يعتقد سلوت أن محمد صلاح سيبتعد عن ليفربول بسبب بطولة أمم إفريقيا، هذا سبب غير مقنع لأن صلاح كان يتواجد مع الفريق باستمرار لآخر دقيقة ومن ثم يذهب للعب في أمم إفريقيا، إذا كان سلوت يفكر بهذه الطريقة فهو مدرب قليل الفهم”.

وأضاف: ”سلوت لا يفكر بشكل ذكي، هو فقد محمد صلاح في المستقبل، فقد اللاعب القادر على منح ليفربول البطولات مثلما حدث الموسم الماضي”.

وأردف: ”قام سلوت بإشراك اللاعبين الجدد الذين تعاقد معهم خلال العام الحالي فظهرت حقيقته كمدرب، بينما الموسم الماضي اعتمد على اللاعبين الذين كانوا مع يورجن كلوب، لذلك فاز بالدوري، وكان محمد صلاح من أهم الأسباب في تحقيق هذا الإنجاز”.

ووجه المحمدي نصيحة إلى محمد صلاح، حيث اختتم: ”سلوت لا يعرف كيفية التعامل مع النجوم، نصيحتي لمحمد صلاح هي التركيز مع المنتخب في أمم إفريقيا ويفوز بالبطولة، ليرد عليه في الملعب”.

In his three years with the Cincinnati Reds, shortstop Elly De La Cruz has repeatedly wowed baseball fans with his combination of power and speed.

On Tuesday against the Kansas City Royals, the former portion of that equation was on full display.

First, in the top of the fourth inning, De La Cruz parked a 95 mph fastball 436 feet to center field. That shot tied the game 2–2—and was just an appetizer for what was to come.

Leading off the top of the sixth, De La Cruz was shown another four-seam fastball by pitcher Taylor Clarke. Making perfect contact, he deposited the ball 451 feet from home plate into Kauffman Stadium's trademark fountain.

Even the announcers calling the game were awed, declaring that they'd never seen anything like it.

De La Cruz, an All-Star and the eighth-place National League MVP finisher in 2024, is slashing .251/.325/.414 with nine home runs and 38 RBIs.

Four-wicket hauls from Murphy and Sangha in vain for Australia A

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2025

Prabhsimran Singh’s 68-ball 102 was backed up by half-centuries from captain Shreyas Iyer and Riyan Parag as India A chased down 317 to clinch the three-match unofficial ODI series against Australia A 2-1 in Kanpur.India A were placed comfortably on 262 for 3 in the 35th over during their chase, but they lost five for 39 to lose grip. Vipraj Nigam and Arshdeep Singh then took them over the line, adding an unbroken 21 for the ninth wicket and helping India A win the decider by two wickets.Prabhsimran had set the tone for the victory by adding 83 for the first wicket with Abhishek Sharma in just 11.2 overs. Abhishek and Tilak Varma fell in quick succession but Prabhsimran continued to bat aggressively. He struck eight fours and seven sixes before falling to legspinner Tanveer Sangha in the 20th over.Iyer and Parag launched from the platform Prabhsimran had set, adding 117 off 92 balls for the fourth wicket. While Iyer hit 62 off 58 balls, his second fifty-plus score in three one-dayers ahead of the Australia tour, Parag smashed 62 off 55.However, Sangha dismissed both batters in successive overs, bringing Australia A back into the game. Sangha proceeded to remove allrounder Nishant Sindhu before Todd Murphy struck twice in two balls, sending back Ayush Badoni and Harshit Rana in the 42nd over. Nigam (24*) and Arshdeep (7*), though, ensured that India A closed out the chase with 24 balls to spare.Earlier, Arshdeep and Rana had Australia A in trouble, reducing them to 44 for 4. While Arshdeep removed openers Mackenzie Harvey and Jake Fraser-McGurk, Rana dismissed Harry Dixon and Lachlan Hearne. Cooper Connolly’s 49-ball 64 then resurrected Australia A’s innings, but the hosts found themselves in trouble again at 135 for 6 in 21 overs.Captain Jack Edwards and Liam Scott then added a 152-run stand off 123 balls for the seventh wicket to take Australia A forward. Some useful runs down the order helped Australia cross 300 before they were bowled out for 316 in 49.1 overs. Arshdeep and Harshit picked up three wickets apiece for India A.

One of the best midfielders of his era, perhaps the greatest crosser of a football ever and a free-kick taker to rival the best the game has ever produced, David Beckham was a special player to say the least. And yet due to his off-field impact, one of the sport's great champions of the past 30 years is generally forgotten when it comes to referencing the true legends of the game.

Beckham – or, to give him his newly-minted full title, Sir David Beckham – marked an era both on and off the pitch as he wrote the manifesto for the evolution from footballer to brand. He represents to football what Michael Jordan did for basketball a few years earlier as Beckham became a true global icon who pushed boundaries beyond the sport, paving the way for Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Lionel Messi, among others, to follow in his footsteps.

But that shouldn't overshadow what 'Becks' was able to achieve from a pure football perspective, and what makes him a fine addition to GOAL's Hall of Fame:

• Bend it like Beckham

  Through the late 1990s and early 2000s, Beckham was the sport's poster boy, the player every teenager dreamed of becoming, both from a sporting and style point of view. His ever-changing hairstyles – from his boyband-style blonde highlights to the buzz cut he sported at the beginning of the new millennium, from the mohawk that infuriated Sir Alex Ferguson, to the controversial cornrows and the man bun of his Real Madrid days – were copied around the world. His adidas Predator boots became must-haves for any wannabe footballer; a No.7 Manchester United shirt suddenly the height of fashion.

  A lot of fans wanted to look like Beckham, but everyone dreamed of being able to kick the ball like him. His unmistakable style, with his right arm whipping behind him as he swung another ball into the box, became one of the sport's most famous silhouettes, and even inspired the title of a film that allowed a new audience to find the game: 'Bend it like Beckham'.

  However, no one has ever come close to the absolute perfection of that technical move, with which Beckham was able to trace millimetric trajectories with a class, elegance and naturalness that are more akin to artists than sportspeople.

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• Much more than a pop icon

  Beneath the glossy surface, Beckham was undoubtedly one of the strongest midfielders going, and probably the most underrated champion of his era. He was a victim of the mass media, who were more interested in his relationship with popstar Victoria Adams than his displays at Old Trafford on a weekend.

  For many years, Beckham was talked about more in the front pages of the tabloids than he was in the sports section. As such, the common perception when discussing him being amongst the true elite was inevitably influenced by him being a personality before a footballer, almost as if he were too handsome, too perfect, too stylish to be taken seriously.

  But let's get one thing right: Beckham was a special player. He was not a pure winger who would wow crowds with his dribbling and agility, but with his right foot he managed to leave everyone speechless with his pinpoint passes. He was more of a wide playmaker – although he did try to reinvent himself as a central midfielder at points – a midfielder with refined technique, heavenly vision and extraordinary ball skills. It is no coincidence that he is unanimously recognised as the best crosser of all time and one of, if not the best, free-kick taker in history.

  His free kick against Greece in October 2001, which allowed England to qualify for the World Cup in Japan and South Korea, remains his Mona Lisa, a masterpiece that will remain forever in the annals, as will his fabulous goal from the halfway line against Wimbledon in 1996, which symbolically marked the beginning of his legendary career at United.

• Getty
  

  Appearances can be deceiving

  However, Beckham's greatness on the pitch cannot be limited to the precision of his right foot. The third-most capped player in the history of the Englan national team, Beckham was also captain of the Three Lions for six years, wearing the armband in 58 matches, going from public enemy number one,after his sending off in the 1998 World Cup against Argentina to a symbol of redemption and leadership.

  A charismatic and courageous leader on the pitch, Beckham was always ready to sacrifice himself for his team. He was a true example of professionalism, as repeatedly emphasised by even the toughest coaches such as Fabio Capello, who went so far as to disobey president Florentino Perez's instructions and reinstated Beckham to the Madrid line up, which led to a historic La Liga title triumph before the midfielder left to join LA Galaxy.

  Wherever he went, Beckham left his mark: From titles with United to those in Madrid, from successes in MLS to his short stints at AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain, the Londoner was able to immerse himself in each new environment with a humility that had nothing to do with the image that the tabloids had built up around him for years.

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• Ballon d'Or worthy?

  In 1999, the year Beckham won the treble as a key player for Ferguson's United, Beckham arguably deserved to also take home the the Ballon d'Or, which was instead awarded that year to Rivaldo. The Brazilian had been sensational in La Liga for Barcelona but had been eliminated from the Champions League in the group stages.

  >Beckham, by contrast, had been forced to pick up the pieces after a World Cup in which he was vilified, publicly bullied by English fans, and greeted on Premier League pitches with a soundtrack of boos, insults and verbal abuse. He endured this relentless hostility without ever showing his emotions, responding simply with what he did best: playing football.

  "The more he was targeted, the better he played," his former team-mate Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would later say. Six goals and 12 assists in the Premier League, two goals and eight assists in the Champions League, and a crucial goal in the FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal, Beckham unquestionably made a decisive contribution to the Red Devils' journey to immortality.

  The 1999 Ballon d'Or, which saw Beckham finish in second place, would probably have allowed the English midfielder to enter another dimension in the collective imagination, in the circle of undisputed number ones. Today, 12 years after his retirement, re-evaluating the value, relevance and footballing aura of Sir David Beckham is not a nostalgic gesture, but rather an act of justice towards one of the great icons of the sport.

Seamer Jake Ball chimes in with 4 for 34 as Somerset win by six wickets

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay14-Aug-2025

Somerset 252 for 4 (Vaughan 95, J Rew 53*) beat Yorkshire 247 (Revis 85, Ball 4-34) by six wicketsFour-wicket seamer Jake Ball and opener Archie Vaughan with a career best 95 starred as Somerset ended Yorkshire’s 100 percent winning start to this season’s Metro Bank One-Day Cup by bowling the Group B leaders out for 247 at York and then chasing confidently.Somerset joined their hosts on 12 points at the top of the table at the halfway stage in the group campaign courtesy of this six-wicket win with five balls remaining. Both counties having won three and lost one.Yorkshire still hold sway courtesy of a superior net run-rate, but they were second-best on a used Clifton Park pitch.Yorkshire lost wickets in clusters at either end of a scrambling innings which saw ex-England limited overs quick Ball take an excellent 4 for 34 from 9.4 overs and Matthew Revis top-scored with a middle-order List A best of 85 off as many balls.Ball’s best List A figures in just over six years preceded Sheffield-born teenager Vaughan’s classy 127-ball effort with 11 fours. It was ironic that this senior best should come against the county for whom his father Michael starred.Yorkshire, inserted, slumped to 28 for 3 inside 10 overs.Without injured in-form opener Imam-Ul-Haq (hip), they lost Adam Lyth bowled by a beauty from Ball, Will Luxton run out next ball and James Wharton caught behind one-handed going low to his right by James Rew off Ben Green.Luxton misjudged a push to mid-off, where Josh Thomas misfielded before recovering to throw the non-striker’s stumps down.Revis, who hit nine fours, held things together on the pitch used for Tuesday’s win over Lancashire, with Yorkshire compiling nothing more than a workable total.Fin Bean, on 28, cut 18-year-old debutant seamer James Theedom to backward point with the score on 72 in the 18th over.Revis oozed confidence following three recent Championship centuries and a 69 earlier in this competition. He reached a 49-ball fifty here shortly before Yorkshire reached the halfway-mark in their innings at 115 for 4.He found an ally in fellow all-rounder George Hill. They calmly shared a recovery fifth-wicket partnership of 102.Yorkshire then lost four quick wickets, including Revis and Hill caught pulling, as the score fell from 174 for 5 in the 36th over to 204 for 8 in the 42nd. Green’s second wicket accounted for Revis, 34-year-old Ball’s second was Hill for 41.Tom Lammonby’s left-arm seam also claimed two wickets in that period.Dan Moriarty heaved the only two sixes of Yorkshire’s innings in a career-best 30 before holing out to cover as Ball struck twice in the 49th over to wrap things up.Vaughan, in his first competitive senior career appearance against his birth county, steered Somerset’s stress-free chase.Lammonby was well caught at deep gully by Lyth off Hill en route to 48 for 1 after 10 overs before 19-year-old Vaughan shared a second-wicket partnership of 70 with Lewis Goldsworthy, 30.Vaughan was particularly strong off the back foot on either side of the wicket. He reached his fifty off 65 balls.Goldsworthy fell at 111 for 2 in the 25th over when he top-edged a pull at Revis to long-leg.Vaughan continued on unflustered, sharing 64 with his captain James Rew. But he was bowled looking to go over the top against Dom Bess’s off-spin. Still, at 175 for three in the 38th, Somerset were in a strong position.James Rew finished unbeaten 53 off 62, while brother Thomas also contributed 31.

With their sights set on further upgrades, Manchester United have now reportedly leapfrogged Liverpool in the race to sign a Premier League rival who’s worth £70m.

Man Utd's 2026 transfer plans

Victory over Sunderland at least bought Ruben Amorim more time, but there’s no denying that the pressure is still on. Such results should be a formality at a club of Man United’s stature and, simply put, they have been anything but since the former Sporting Club boss arrived. That said, INEOS’ transfer plans suggest that they’re still ready to back their manager.

The impact of their spending has already been on show this season, too. Senne Lammens made his full debut against Sunderland and instantly silenced the noise that has been surrounding United’s No.1 role for a number of years. Meanwhile, Benjamin Sesko has now discovered his golden touch – scoring twice in his last two games.

Those at Old Trafford will be the first to admit that there’s still plenty of work to be done, especially when 2026 arrives. The investment into Amorim’s squad must continue and may yet even feature another shot-stopper.

Aiming to overhaul the position completely with Lammens and one other star, the Red Devils have reportedly shown interest in signing Marc-Andre ter Stegen from Barcelona when he returns from his current spell on the sidelines.

The experienced goalkeeper would come with hefty wages, which should act as a warning sign after previous mistakes, but may add invaluable experience to Amorim’s dressing room.

He’s not the only option in that department, though. United have also been linked with Emiliano Martinez again. The Aston Villa goalkeeper came close to joining the club in the summer, before they chose Lammens instead. Now, after competition for the summer arrival, United could reportedly go back in for the World Cup winner.

Signing proven Premier League players seems like a route that INEOS could look to go down after Cunha and Mbeumo, with Martinez already linked and an attacking star now also on Man United’s radar.

Man Utd jump ahead of Liverpool in Semenyo race

As reported by Caught Offside, Man United now hold stronger interest in Antoine Semenyo than Liverpool and INEOS have identified the Bournemouth winger as a player who is “well worth” paying for.

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The impressive forward has enjoyed an excellent start to the campaign – scoring six goals and assisting another three in seven Premier League games. It’s the type of form that so often leads to a big move, but Bournemouth are unlikely to sell for a bargain price. Reports have even gone as far as to suggest that the Cherries value their star man at £70m.

Naturally, Semenyo’s current form has also earned him some fairly high praise from those around the Premier League. And that includes from Sky Sports pundit and former Liverpool ace Jamie Redknapp.

The pundit said after the Bournemouth winger scored in a recent comeback win over Fulham: “It was a hard night to play football but it didn’t matter to Semenyo. He just glides across that surface. An incredible, unique talent. So fantastic to see.”

Mic'd Up: The former Canadian national team player backed Vancouver for MLS success, but says Miami might have found a groove

Kaylyn Kyle is Canadian and proud. And she finally has something to shout about in MLS. The Whitecaps were supposed to struggle this year. They fired their coach before the season started, and had their star man pick up a serious injury. There are rumors that the team could be sold – and, perhaps even relocated. 

So much for all of that. The Whitecaps are among MLS Cup favorites, and after winning the first of their best-of-three opening round series against FC Dallas, certainly look the part.

"It's such a great organization," Kyle, the Apple TV studio analyst, tells GOAL. "The ownership is amazing. The fan support is amazing. And I think that's the one thing is, they've shown up through the good, the bad and the ugly."

Thomas Muller is their star man. The former Bayern Munich forward has taken to MLS more effectively than most would have imagined. With him pulling the strings and grabbing the goals, they have a real chance. But his presence here alone is far more symbolic, Kyle argues.

"He was always going to suit Major League Soccer to perfection, and he's done just that," she says. "He's likable, and the fact that he chose to go to Vancouver tells you everything you need to know. Because no really global superstars ever choose to go to the Vancouver Whitecaps."

Of course, there will be some stiff competition here. Inter Miami made their first game look easy. LAFC will be there. FC Cincinnati look good. But this is the fun of MLS playoffs. They're chaotic. They're unpredictable. But, like with Vancouver, they can also make the unlikeliest of stories come to life. 

Kyle discussed the Whitecaps, MLS playoffs and the Canadian men's national neam in the latest edition of Mic'd Up, a recurring feature in which GOAL taps into the perspective of analysts, announcers and other pundits on the state of soccer in the U.S. and abroad. 

Getty Images SportON MLS PLAYOFFS

GOAL: MLS playoffs, what have you made of them so far?

KYLE: Home teams are absolutely dominating. Eight of the games that have already kicked off, all eight of the home sides have won in dominating fashion. Also the big stars stepping up in big moments. You know, we've seen Kevin Denkey, we've seen Lionel Messi, Thomas Muller. But it's been very entertaining. So it's going to be really interesting to see how these best-of-three-games series go.

GOAL: Were you expecting that?

KYLE: It was funny. Something like 68 percent of the teams usually win if they do have that home field advantage in the best-of-three series. And then there was an amazing stat. The top four finishers in the regular season in their conference, one of them goes on to win MLS Cup. The last time that a team outside of that was back in 2010, which is insane to think and insane to see. But this is what makes Major League Soccer so funny. Obviously, we saw Inter Miami get knocked out last year by Atlanta United. So anything can happen. But so far, the home team is looking pretty good.

AdvertisementGettyON MLS CUP FAVORITES

GOAL: Let's talk favorites. Cincinnati look pretty good, but who have you got?

KYLE: I don't think that's a bad shout. I have Vancouver, I have LAFC, and I have Inter Miami. I had an LAFC vs. Inter Miami final, but I could also see a Vancouver vs. Inter Miami final. Genuinely, the only thing with Inter Miami against Nashville – I'm interested to see how Nashville do in the second game, because they just played really scared in the opening match. Which I wasn't really ready for, because I didn't think BJ Callaghan would come up with that sort of game plan against Inter Miami. And Inter Miami's defense actually looked good for once, which was weird. I'm really interested to see how that looks going forward. 

ImagnON VANCOUVER

GOAL: Talk to me about Vancouver: Is there a little bit of national bias there?

KYLE: It's not even national bias. It's a team that I obviously grew up with, throughout their academy. They took a chance on a small town girl from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, so they have so much love in my heart. It's such a great organization. The ownership is amazing. The fan support is amazing. And I think that's the one thing is, they've shown up through the good, the bad and the ugly.

They win the Canadian championship, but like, they've never really had powerhouses like a Thomas Muller within their squad. Tristan Blackman winning defender of the year. Then you have Ryan Gauld, who's been out injured, but he's back fully fit now. Add Brian White, Sebastian Berhalter, and I think it's a team that finally we can say they have a deep squad. And I never thought I would be able to say those words. 

GOAL: With Muller, did you expect him to be this good?

KYLE: He was always going to suit Major League Soccer to perfection, and he's done just that. He's likable, and the fact that he chose to go to Vancouver tells you everything you need to know, because no really global superstars ever choose to go to the Vancouver Whitecaps. There were inklings about Chicago maybe in the mix for him and other teams in Europe, Saudi as well. And so when the news broke, I'm like, no way. 

And just speaking with people on the ground in the city, former national team teammates, friends, colleagues, are like, "this city's transformed." And even they opened up the upper bowl, which they never do for games. You see it with the Vancouver Canucks when they've gone on big runs in the playoffs in the NHL, that it just galvanizes the city. And Canadians, we love supporting our sports teams. You look at the Toronto Blue Jays right now in the World Series. It's really, really cool to see, and I really hope they do well. Because I love the manager, I love the players, and obviously I love the city.

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ImagnON CANADA AND THE WORLD CUP

GOAL: Lastly, on Canada and the World Cup? What do you make of the prep? And what are your expectations for Jesse Marsch's side?

KYLE: It was interesting, because I've been following them around. I spoke to the manager, and he was like, "If we make it out of our group in a certain situation, we'll end up playing our next two games in Vancouver." So they'll have that home field advantage, which would be huge. I think they're well managed. I think this is the best group of Canadians that we've seen on the men's program.

Now that they've got Qatar kind of under their belt, they have the experience of what it means to play in a World Cup, the different competitiveness of what a World Cup brings. And then obviously having Alfonso Davies back fully healthy and fit will be huge. And then you have, you know, Jonathan David, Cyle Larin, the players in that squad that have that European experience and have that World Cup experience. It's going to be brilliant for our Canadian side to see, and I really hope they make it far.