England winger Bukayo Saka knows he has to bring his club form to the international stage – and his manager Thomas Tuchel agrees.

The 24-year-old, whose early season was curtailed by injury, returned to Tuchel’s side for the 3-0 friendly win over Wales at Wembley and marked the occasion with a stunning goal.

That saw him become the top-scoring Arsenal player in an England shirt with 13, though Tuchel quipped it should be 30, not 13.

Saka has been one of the stars of the Premier League for the Gunners over the last few seasons, recently completing 100 goal contributions, but knows he has to do more in an England shirt.

“I have missed a lot of England games, especially under Thomas and I haven’t scored for a while either, so to come back and put the ball in the back of the net is a special feeling,” he said after he found the top corner with a brilliant effort.

“The way I perform for Arsenal I want to take it into England and perform better in games and be more effective. That is always my plan.

“Last camp I was really gutted I had to miss it, so coming back into the team today is a really nice feeling and to get that opportunity to put the shirt on again and score is an amazing feeling.”

Tuchel challenges Saka to score more for England

Tuchel has challenged the winger to bring more to his side, insisting he has all the conditions to perform.

Tuchel said: “How many goals did he score for England? Thirteen? One three? It has to be more, it’s not enough.

“He needs to keep on going. I thought it was 30, at least, and then I would have said it’s not enough, because I am never satisfied.

“He is such a threat for Arsenal in the most difficult league in the world, so why would he not be at international level?

“We have the position for him, he has the attitude, the stamina, the talent, everything to be a top player at international level, and that’s what he has to show.

“We can just encourage him to be influential, like he was today. Next game, he needs to try to repeat it.”

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has been handed a welcome injury boost amid their statement 5-1 win over Ajax in the Champions League.

Chelsea demolish Ajax with Blues back to winning ways

The Blues have now won four straight games in all competitions — a striking turnaround in form right after their dismal 3-1 loss at home to Brighton nearly a month ago.

Their dominant performance against 10-man Ajax showcased a side that has regained confidence, cohesion and attacking firepower — silencing doubts about their ability to compete at the highest level this season.

John Heintinga’s visitors, who went into the game off the back of a terrible start to 2025/2026, didn’t spark any change in fortune as Chelsea absolutely dominated proceedings with the one-man advantage.

Immediately after Kenneth Taylor was sent off, goals from Marc Guiu, Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernández, Estevao and Tyrique George sealed all three points before 50 minutes were even on the clock, with former Burnley striker Wout Weghorst bagging a meek consolation for the Dutch side who went back to the Netherlands empty-handed.

Jamie Gittens

8.5

Estevao

8.3

Wesley Fofana

7.8

Enzo Fernández

7.6

Marc Guiu

7.5

via WhoScored

From the off, Chelsea played with renewed energy and purpose.

Their attacking players combined excellently, creating numerous scoring opportunities, and Chelsea’s ability to break down Ajax’s defense repeatedly was a testament to their improved movement off the ball and sharper decision-making in the final third.

Chelsea also became the first team to have three teenagers score in a Champions League game, leaving Maresca absolutely thrilled.

With the west Londoners’ forward flair on full display, having now scored eight goals in their last two games, Chelsea are proving they can still be just as effective minus the likes of Cole Palmer and Liam Delap.

Palmer is set to remain out until December with a groin injury that has plagued him so far this term, while reports suggested that Delap could be back in action for Chelsea just prior to the end of 2025.

Enzo Maresca shares big Liam Delap injury update out of Chelsea

While Maresca has found a way to cope without both men for the time being, Chelsea are anxiously waiting for both forwards to be ready for selection again.

Delap, who signed from Ipswich Town in the summer for around £30 million, was brought in to spearhead the side as their number nine target man.

After the former Man City gem’s hamstring injury, Maresca was forced to cut short Guiu’s loan at Sunderland to fill the void, but according to Chelsea’s boss, Delap is now “very close” to returning to full training.

This is a major boost for Londoners, but Delap will take some time to get back up to speed as he looks to eventually play a key role in Chelsea’s top four challenge and hunt for silverware.

The 22-year-old bagged double figures for a side who were eventually relegated last season, which is very impressive in itself given the lack of quality around him, so just imagine what he could do in this Chelsea side lavished with exciting young attackers.

His imminent return is timely with the 2026 World Cup looming, and Delap will have one eye on battling his way into Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions squad.

Shohei Ohtani might not be performing up to his lofty standards at the dish thus far for the Dodgers this postseason, but there was a welcome—and rare—sight at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday night.

For the first time since March, Ohtani was out on the field taking batting practice, and the Dodgers star not only got some extra hacks in, but put on a show in the process.

Ohtani's batting practice session got off to a slow start, to the amusement of his Dodgers teammates.

But it's not how you start, it's how you finish. And on one of Ohtani's last BP swings, he crushed a ball out of Dodger Stadium. The home run caromed off the top of the roof in the pavilion section en route to traveling all the way out of the park.

Even though it came in a practice session, the homer had to be a good sight for the Dodgers, given that Ohtani hasn't gone yard since Game 1 of the wild-card round against the Reds, when he belted two homers. The presumptive 2025 National League MVP has struck out 12 times in his last 25 at-bats, collecting just a pair of hits in that span as the likes of the Phillies and Brewers have been determined to either attack Ohtani with a steady diet of breaking balls or not let him beat them by intentionally walking the slugger.

Perhaps a return to Dodger Stadium, as evidenced by one batting practice swing, will be good for Ohtani. Game 3 of the NLDS is set for Thursday at 6:08 p.m. ET.

Oftentimes, after MLB managers are ejected, the absolute last thing you'll hear from them is some sort of mea culpa:

It just doesn't happen.

But something to that effect occurred following the Red Sox' 4-1 loss to the Houston Astros on Wednesday, during which Boston's manager Alex Cora was ejected in the seventh inning.

Cora's protestations began in the top of the sixth inning with Astros righthander Hunter Brown on the mound. After Brown walked Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran, he was called for a balk. Two batters later, Brown switched from the full windup to the stretch mid at-bat, prompting the Red Sox to object to ultimately no avail.

An inning later, Cora emerged from the dugout to further discuss the call—or lack thereof—with the umpires, who then ejected him. Cora explained what led him to emerge from the dugout and even surprisingly admitted that the umpires were correct in their ruling.

"First of all, they got it right," Cora said. "They got the call right. The only thing for me is that we've seen that situation before, that guys who have a regular windup and they ask the guys to declare. You don’t have to declare if you have a hybrid windup; that’s when you have to declare, because that way you’re not deceiving the runner.

"But throughout the last two years, we’ve seen situations that is a regular windup, and they’ve asked the pitcher to declare, that was the only thing. I went out there to educate myself to be honest with you. That’s what I told him. I want to learn. I don’t know if he took it that I was being sarcastic. I wasn’t. I was walking back, and he threw me out.”

Cora's ejection seemed to stem from a miscommunication with the umpire, as he insisted to reporters after the game that he wasn't trying to get tossed from the contest.

"…I hate getting thrown out," Cora continued. "My job is to be in the dugout and help this team to win games from the dugout. This whole thing about rallying the troops and getting thrown out—that's bull—-. My job is to be in the dugout…"

انضم بول باركر، لاعب نادي مانشستر يونايتد السابق، إلى قائمة منتقدي نجم نادي ليفربول، محمد صلاح، موضحًا أن الدولي المصري لا يستحق أن يلعب بشكل أساسي ولم يحترم فريقه.

محمد صلاح يعيش فترة صعبة للغاية في مسيرته الكروية، وذلك في ظل ابتعاده عن المشاركة مع ليفربول في المباريات وخروجه من تشكيلة الريدز الأساسية.

وخرج محمد صلاح من قائمة ليفربول لمباراة إنتر ميلان، وذلك لحساب بطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا يوم الأربعاء الماضي، بقرار فني من المدرب آرني سلوت.

وجاء استبعاد محمد صلاح بعد تصريحاته حول اعتراضه على جلوسه كبديل خلال الفترة الأخيرة مع ليفربول، وهاجم إدارة الريدز موضحًا أنه تم استخدامه ككبش فداء لتبرير سوء نتائج النادي الإنجليزي.

ويرى باركر في تصريحات نقلتها شبكة ليفربول إيكو، أن جناح ليفربول، فيديريكو كييزا، يستحق الفرصة وهو الأجدر باستبدال مكان محمد صلاح مع الريدز.

أقرأ أيضًا .. شيروود لـ توتنهام: انسوا هذه الصفقة.. مكانها في ليفربول لخلافة محمد صلاح

وقال باركر: “لا يمكنك السماح للاعب بالتصرف كما فعل محمد صلاح، لقد خذل زملاءه ولم يظهر أي احترام للنادي، يمتلك ليفربول لاعبين مثل فيديريكو كييزا، الذين كانوا ينتظرون الفرصة وسيغتنمون أي فرصة تتاح لهم”.

وأضاف باركر في حديثه: “كييزا يستحق هذه الفرصة، فهو لاعب مجتهد في مركز الجناح ويتحرك ذهابًا وإيابًا في الملعب، وفي كل مرة يكون فيها بالقرب من منطقة الجزاء يشكل تهديدًا، لن يسجل 25 هدفًا في الموسم، لكن ليفربول في وضعه الحالي يحتاج إلى لاعب مجتهد، خاصًة بعد رحيل لويس دياز في الصيف”.

واختتم باركر في حديثه عن محمد صلاح: “اتخذ آرني سلوت قراره، وبالنظر إلى أداء صلاح فهو لا يستحق اللعب أساسيًا، عندما تتاح لك الفرصة كما أتيحت لصلاح ليصاب بالغرور ولا يوجد من يوقفه، تكون النتيجة هي ما نراه يحدث الآن”.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Bonsucesso estreia nesta quinta-feira (9) no Estadual sub 20. O Rubro-Anil enfrenta fora de casa o Carapebus, às 15h, no Estádio Municipal Carlos Mota da Silva.

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A competição já faz parte do planejamento dos profissionais para a disputa do Estadual da Série B2, que será realizada no segundo semestre deste ano, além da Copa Rio, em julho. As equipes sub-16 e sub-20 também estão jogando a Copa União de Futebol de Base.

Além de buscar o título, o objetivo é que alguns jogadores possam ser aproveitados no time principal. O técnico da equipe sub-20, Vinicius Almeida, também comandará o elenco profissional.

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– Estamos jogado a Copa União de base e o Estadual Sub 20 para conquistar os títulos, mas também vemos como uma grande chance de verificar nos jovens potencial para integrar nosso elenco principal. O Bonsucesso tem a Copa Rio e o Estadual como prioridade e o trabalho já começou. A cada treino que realizo no sub-20, penso na frente e como podemos agregar ao profissional. Sem dúvida é uma motivação a mais para os meninos. Daqui a pouco no segundo semestre podem estar na equipe de cima – disse Vinicius Almeida.

A integração entre as equipes de formação e o time principal é um dos trunfos da diretoria para fortalecer o time e também tornar a operação do clube sustentável economicamente.

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– Hoje podemos dizer para nossos jovens atletas que o clube é visto por todo o Brasil e oportunidades podem surgir. É claro que temos nossas ambições esportivas e o principal projeto do ano é subir de divisão no Estadual. Mas para as finanças também é importante revelar e negociar atletas – explica George Joaquim Ferreira Machado, presidente do Bonsucesso.

Tudo sobre

BonsucessoFutebol Nacional

As the MLB regular season winds down, the races for a playoff spot in both the AL and NL are heating up.

So, here at SI Betting, we are going to share a detailed look at the playoff picture every week so fans can see where their teams stand and bettors can potentially find some value in a team that is just outside the wild card race.

Last week, it was pretty clear where each division leader stood, but a huge winning streak by the Seattle Mariners has flipped some things in the American League.

Meanwhile, the New York Mets and New York Yankees are struggling, and the teams trailing them in the wild card picture are starting to make a real push to enter the top three.

Let’s break down the odds for every team that still has a shot to make the playoffs at this point in the MLB season. 

American League Playoff Odds

Division Leaders

• Toronto Blue Jays: -3000
• Detroit Tigers: -3000
• Houston Astros: -1400

The AL division leaders have remained the same week over week, but the Seattle Mariners are making a real push in the AL West.

Seattle, which is -1100 to make the playoffs, has won seven games in a row and nine of its last 10 to pull within half a game of the Astros in the standings. Houston still has the inside track to a playoff spot (-1400), but it could end up in the wild card picture if it loses its early-week series with another wild card team – the Boston Red Sox.

Meanwhile, Detroit (six-game lead in the AL Central) and Toronto (four-game lead in the AL East) both have pretty comfortable margins – for now – atop their divisions. An 8-2 stretch by the Cleveland Guardians has tightened things for Detroit, which has a worse record than Toronto in the 2025 season. 

Wild Card Race

• Seattle Mariners: -1100
• Boston Red Sox: -370
• New York Yankees: -330
• Cleveland Guardians: +200
• Texas Rangers: +275
• Kansas City Royals: +700
• Tampa Bay Rays: +1800
• Minnesota Twins: +1800
• Los Angeles Angels: +5000

Last week, I wrote about the Yankees fading in the AL playoff picture, and they’ve continued to do so by losing a weekend series to the Astros.

New York has a half-game cushion on the surging Guardians and just a 2.5-game cushion on the Texas Rangers in the standings. So, it’s very possible the Yankees could find themselves behind multiple teams if they don’t turn things around sooner rather than later.

Texas has lost four in a row, allowing the Guardians to leapfrog it in the standings. Cleveland may be the team to bet on right now, as it’s peaking at the right time and has a shot at both a wild card spot and the division lead. 

New York and Texas are both third in their respective divisions. 

National League Playoff Odds

Division Leaders

• Milwaukee Brewers: N/A
• Los Angeles Dodgers: -20000
• Philadelphia Phillies: -10000

The Milwaukee Brewers have been so good, winning nine games in a row, that their odds to make the playoffs are off the board, a sign that oddsmakers expect them to be in the playoffs no matter what.

Milwaukee could move to 30 games over .500 with a win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night. 

Meanwhile, the Dodgers’ lead in the NL West is just two games, as the San Diego Padres (7-3 in their last 10 games) are making a serious push. As of now, it seems like the team with the best record in MLB will come out of the NL, but a lot could change over the final weeks of the regular season.

Wild Card Race

• Chicago Cubs: -2500
• San Diego Padres: -1200
• New York Mets: -280
• Cincinnati Reds: +320
• San Francisco Giants: +550
• St. Louis Cardinals: +650
• Arizona Diamondbacks: +3000
• Miami Marlins: +50000

The Chicago Cubs have the best odds to make the playoffs of any wild card team, but I think the Padres may be the safest team here since they are still within striking distance of their division lead.

Chicago is six games back in the NL Central, while the Mets, who have lost seven in a row, are 5.5 games back in the NL East.

If New York continues to struggle, there is a real path for the Cincinnati Reds (1.5 games back in the wild card) to make the playoffs.

Cincy doesn’t have as talented a roster as the Mets, but it did go all in at the trade deadline by adding Ke’Bryan Hayes, Zack Littell, and others. The Reds are +320 to make the playoffs, which is good for an implied probability of 23.81 percent.

However, with the Reds just 1.5 games out of a playoff spot, they may be undervalued at this price.

It is unlikely without Abbas’ miserliness that Mominul and Mahmudullah would have gone chasing to Afridi’s wider deliveries

Danyal Rasool in Rawalpindi07-Feb-2020There’s an irresistible poignancy to the honours board at the Pindi Cricket Stadium which pays tribute to all fast bowlers to have taken ten wickets in a Test here. The wooden board nearly spans the length of the entire wall, unfurling like parchment to reveal what you might at first expect to be a who’s who of household names to have plied their trade here. Instead, there’s just a single name on an otherwise blank board, perhaps a mute tribute to a man who, if life was fair, would have appeared on it, and other honours boards, with much greater frequency. “1996, Mohammad Zahid, 11-130”, is all it says.The story about Zahid’s career-ending back injury soon after that debut Test is almost too depressing to recall, yet it must never lose its use as a reminder of the consequences of mismanaging a young fast bowler. Especially at a time when, over the last few years, several in the Pakistan squad appear to be struggling with confidence, pace and form. Hasan Ali’s back injury, and a drop of form before that, has seen his development stall, while workload issues played a prominent part in Mohammad Amir choosing to walk away from the longest format at 27 last year. With the other quick bowlers Pakistan are counting on to fill the void – mainly Naseem Shah and Mohammad Musa – still not out of their teens, what Mohammad Abbas and Shaheen Afridi would be able to offer was always crucial on a day Azhar Ali put Bangladesh in to bat.While Faheem Ashraf – who Azhar had indicated might play as Pakistan look to develop a fast-bowling allrounder – was absent from the side, that decision to bowl was in line with what the Pakistan captain had said at the press conference the previous day. His conviction that home advantage for Pakistan meant greener, quicker, bouncier pitches that favoured the quick bowlers might have been somewhat startling, particularly since Yasir Shah was the bedrock of much of Pakistan’s success in the UAE for the best part of the previous decade.But with Yasir sitting out in Rawalpindi against Sri Lanka and taking just two out of the 20 wickets Pakistan snared in Karachi, the decision to bowl meant one thing: Azhar was challenging Abbas and Afridi to make early inroads on a surface that still retained plenty of grass. It was imperative Pakistan take advantage before it began to brown from activity and bake under brilliant winter sunshine.Azhar’s patience wouldn’t be tested for long. Three balls in, Afridi angled one in across the right-hander debutant Saif Hassan, the ball acquiring enough movement to take the outside edge through to Asad Shafiq at second slip. Abbas wouldn’t be left far behind; he took just four balls to make his first breakthrough, with Tamim Iqbal, fresh of a triple-hundred last week, managing just 3 as he fell over playing one that came back in, with Pakistan’s review rewarded.It’s easy to be blasé about the nascent talent of Afridi enjoying success against Bangladesh at home, but even easier to forget he is still only 19. This is just his eighth Test, and against his wishes, he has been thrust into the role of a senior bowler due to Amir’s retirement. Pakistan can neither afford to drop nor rest him at present, and while it is easier to be forgiving of Naseem having an off day, Afridi is expected to deliver regularly, despite only having played four more Tests.Shaheen Afridi is overjoyed after picking up a wicket•AFPAnd for the most part, that’s what he continues to do. On Friday, he persisted with the fullish length that brought him Hassan’s wicket in the first over, possessing the maturity to be patient outside off stump, comfortable in the knowledge sooner or later they would be forced into a prod they weren’t in the best position to execute. It is, to a tee, what happened to Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque, who would feel for a ball he was best off leaving, giving Pakistan a breakthrough just as a fifty partnership between Mominul and Nazmul Hassan looked like it might start to turn the morning in the visitors’ favour.Even when it became palpably clear there was little swing or seam on offer, Afridi stuck to his plans. In the first two sessions, he would bowl just 17 balls short of a good length, while the overwhelming majority – 58 out of the 90 he bowled, were on a length or fuller outside off stump. That type of delivery would bring him his third wicket of the morning, too, Mahmudullah chasing a wide one wildly outside off, giving Shafiq the opportunity to pull off a screamer to make further inroads into Bangladesh’s middle order.It helped that Abbas was back to his metronomic best once more – his inefficacy for large parts of the last few Tests has been the cause of much angst in Pakistan – applying the squeeze that intensified the pressure on Bangladesh. It is unlikely without Abbas’ miserliness from the other end that Haque and Mahmudullah would have gone chasing to Afridi’s wider deliveries, and Afridi would acknowledge Abbas’ presence helped him learn much about Test match bowling.Abbas’ line and length map is far easier to understand; all but five of his deliveries were pitched on a length, either just outside off stump or in line with the stumps. He would bowl two deliveries fuller, and none shorter, than that; his pitch map might as well have been a pound coin placed bang on a length around off stump. Only Abbas could have a day where he registered figures of 17-9-19-2 and not come away with too much attention. It is no coincidence when he has a good day, his fellow bowlers tend to, too.The final wicket, fittingly, was a combined effort between the two, Afridi bowling the ball Abu Jayed deflected to Abbas on the leg side. He lurked outside the crease as his concentration slipped, and Abbas’ direct hit caught him short. It was a wicket that would be credited to neither, but credit wasn’t in short supply for either bowler on the day.Zahid may soon have company on that honours board, but Pakistan will do well to ensure it is only the positives that Zahid and Afridi end up having in common.

If India can score another 80 runs, Bumrah and Shami may have just enough to bowl with

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Christchurch01-Mar-20201:31

In our team culture, we don’t look at blaming anyone – Bumrah

It isn’t often that Ravindra Jadeja prowls the fine-leg boundary, but that’s where he was when BJ Watling came to the crease. Was he there to ensure that the fleetest pair of feet on the ground was in position to get under the swirling, top-edged hook?There was a fielder at leg gully too, as Watling took strike to Jasprit Bumrah.The field was set for the bouncer, but Bumrah wasn’t bowling any. Instead, he kept bowling good-length balls angling into the stumps.Watling isn’t the sort of player who takes a big front-foot stride towards the ball. He can get stuck on the crease, sometimes, and he was getting stuck on the crease now, with Bumrah’s field possibly putting the thought of the bouncer in his head.There were two lbw appeals in successive overs, just before lunch, off big, booming induckers. Then, after lunch, came the sucker ball. The field was the same, but Jadeja had by now moved to point. It probably wasn’t designed to work out as perfectly as it did, but Watling failed to get his front foot moving quickly enough, or far enough, to drive the full tempter outside off stump, and he ended up slicing the ball squarer than intended, in the air, and Jadeja flew to his left to complete the catch.It’s no surprise to anyone that Bumrah can set up a dismissal, but if he was trying to bowl to these sorts of plans last week in Wellington, he hadn’t quite been able to execute them, failing to achieve the requisite level of precision with his lines and lengths.Bumrah was a different bowler on Sunday at the Hagley Oval. This was more like the Bumrah we had gotten used to, and almost taken for granted, in the months before his stress fracture.Getty Images

****

You know Mohammed Shami is bowling well when his follow-through extends almost all the way to the batsman, curves outwards right at the end, towards the slips, and finishes with a hands-on-head skip.The Hagley Oval saw this sight all morning and all afternoon on Sunday, particularly either side of lunch, when Shami bowled an unbroken 12-over spell, during which he never seemed to drop in pace or intensity. The last ball of the spell clocked 144.7kph.Shami had probably bowled with as much intensity in Wellington too, but the pitch there was on the sluggish side, offering bounce but not too much pace. Taller, hit-the-deck bowlers and swing bowlers could still prosper on that surface, but it wasn’t quite the pitch for his seam and skid. Rather than retreat to a holding strategy, Shami kept looking for ways to beat batsmen with attacking lines, and compromised on his control.This pitch was significantly quicker, and Shami’s natural length and line were made for it. As he usually does, he kept landing the seam perfectly, and the ball jagged this way and that, and occasionally swerved prodigiously after passing the batsman, causing Rishabh Pant all kinds of problems behind the stumps.Not needing to search too hard to find his ideal length, Shami was on the money right from the start, more or less. Like Bumrah, he was able to vary his lengths with precision. When Tom Latham began leaving him on length, for instance, he almost lulled him into a false sense of security by grouping a series of deliveries around a spot just short of a good length, outside off stump, before producing the fatal, fuller indipper that Latham failed to pick up.

****

When the day began, India needed Bumrah and Shami to be at their very best. They had been bowled out for 242, and New Zealand were 63 for no loss. They were missing Ishant Sharma, their banker, and his replacement, Umesh Yadav, was a bit of an unknown quantity in overseas conditions, having played just two away Tests before this since the start of 2018. They had no fourth seamer, and their spinner, Jadeja, wasn’t expected to bowl too many overs. They were 1-0 down in the series.Finding an ally in a quick, seaming pitch that quickened up even more on day two, Bumrah and Shami gave India exactly what they needed. With a little more luck against the lower order, they could have secured a bigger lead too. Instead, from 153 for 7, New Zealand recovered to 235 all out. By stumps, India’s position had eroded even further, with the loss of six second-innings wickets with just 90 on the board.But India are still in the game, with two recognised batsmen at the crease and another still to follow. Apart from the grass, which is still mostly green and alive, there are also indentations on the surface, caused by the ball’s impact on day one, when the pitch was softer and moister; these have since hardened, and could cause uneven bounce to come into play as well. If India can cobble together another 80 runs on Monday, Bumrah and Shami may have just enough to bowl with.

Holding, Waqar, Nehra, Donald and Mahmood debate pros and cons

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Apr-2020
Not allowing sweat or saliva, murdering the bowlers: Ashish Nehra
What is ball-tampering? When you scratch the ball on one side with your nail, bottle cap, with your spikes or any other means. But that does not make the ball reverse. You have to use saliva, sweat, murray mints etc. to not just shine the ball, but also make the other side heavy. That is how you traditionally get reverse swing.The other significant thing to keep in mind is fast bowlers need to practise using the artificial substances that will be permitted during a match under the umpire’s supervision. You can’t just expect fast bowlers to arrive at a Test match and suddenly start swinging the ball even conventionally.Bowlers need to have the experience of using these artificial substances, like wax or shoe polish, you are talking about to shine ball and understand its behaviour. Also different balls – Kookaburra, SG Test, Dukes – will behave differently on different surfaces. So there are plenty of unknowns as far as I am concerned.How many times am I allowed to approach the umpire to use the artificial substance to shine the ball? When we put saliva, at times I would rub that after every second or third delivery. There are different ways to shine the ball. Sometimes you don’t shine the other side completely, especially if your ball has landed on the seam. Sometimes the ball goes to boundary or into the stands and comes back damaged, then you shine the ball in a different way.You shine a Kookaburra in a different way, a Dukes in a different way and you shine SG Test in a different way. You shine a new ball differently. When the ball is old and it is reversing. sometimes you put more sweat. When the ball is not reversing you are only using spit. When there is a new ball you only put very, very little spit wherever there is a scratch. What I’m trying to say is there are several different ways of shining the ball.Let’s say a Test match is on and the ball, SG Test, is semi-new, about 25 overs old. But it is not reversing and the ball has become a bit soft. Umpire is refusing to replace the ball. Now if you put too much spit on SG Test the ball gets more and more softer. Then you don’t get the zip as a fast bowler or even as a spinner.Also you have to make sure that your team-mates are not using too much sweat or spit in such a scenario. I was told by [Javagal] Srinath when I was young when to shine and not to and similarly I passed the tips to other youngsters – that it is better to keep the run-rate tight and once the ball starts to reverse when it is a bit more old then we can apply sweat or spit to facilitate further swing.So legalising use of some artificial substances to shine the ball under supervision is not suddenly going to help swing the ball. Because you are used to working on the ball naturally using spit and sweat at different points on different balls in different conditions on different surfaces.I feel a better choice could be to allow a team to pick one player who will be specifically in charge of using saliva on the ball when there is a need to shine. That is a much better alternative because that way we can continue to naturally work on the ball.By permitting artificial substances to aid swing, the ICC is going back on its own rules. But as far as I am concerned allowing wax, vaseline etc on the ball is not exactly equivalent to ball-tampering. If it actually says go ahead and rough the ball from the other side, then probably the bowlers will welcome the move. Because with a bit of practice, the bowlers will dominate the batsmen, who are bound to say it is unfair. But if you are saying the artificial substance is allowed to be used only on the shiny side and the other side cannot be touched, then you might see more instances of teams piling huge totals.Personally I feel not allowing the use of sweat or saliva is once again murdering the bowlers.
Bipin PatelI don’t understand the logic: Michael Holding
I have read that ICC is contemplating preventing people from using saliva on the ball due to Covid-19 and allowing them to use foreign substances on the ball to keep the shine on but in front of the umpire. I don’t understand the logic behind that.Before they got to that point they said, if they restart cricket, it has to be played in a bio-secure environment. They were saying cricketers, for instance, would have to isolate themselves for two weeks to make sure that everything was fine for when they got to the venue before the match started. And everyone involved (with the match) will have to do the same thing.Now if you are saying everyone is in the bio-secure environment, you are staying in the same hotel, you are not moving for the length of time you are playing the matches, if that is the case, why are you worried about someone’s saliva? That person, according to what you are doing, should be free of Covid-19. If the ICC thinks that the two-week period to prove that you are free of Covid-19 is not foolproof, then that means you are putting everyone in that environment in jeopardy? Why would you want to play cricket under those circumstances? It’s either safe or it’s not. No guessing, please.

Not possible to prevent a bowler using his sweat or saliva – Waqar Younis
As a fast bowler, I reject this because this [using saliva and sweat] is a natural process. A ball exchanges hands all day. You run in, huffing and puffing, so you sweat and that gets on the ball. Also, using saliva is natural rather than on intent. It’s a habit and you just can’t control this aspect.I don’t know how this discussion came up, but I feel people who want the game to be played are frustrated with the lockdown. They are overthinking it. I doubt this new idea of using (artificial) substance instead of saliva is a solution. You can make a bowler use a predefined substance on the ball, but at the same time, practically it’s not possible to prevent a bowler using his sweat or saliva.
AFPInterested to hear what big-name batsmen have to say – Allan Donald
I absolutely agree with legalising ball-tampering. I said so in an article sometime in the 2000s. It happens anyway. We see guys throwing the ball on the ground and umpires say to throw it up and it’s pretty obvious what they are doing.It could work if it is well-monitored. There’s no reason why, if you are really struggling at the SCG and you are looking for reverse swing, you shouldn’t be able to try and get some by working the ball. It evens the game out.I don’t mean you should be able to bring bottle tops onto the field or bite the ball, but I genuinely think there is scope for working on the ball, if it is well controlled. For example, maybe you could throw the ball into the ground for a period of time and that that time elapses. I had never thought of shoe polish. I suppose you’d take a whole box out there and get buffing.When I first started, I had a chat with the great Imran Khan and he told me they used to wet one side of the ball a lot, with moisture, with sweat and get it heavy and keep the other side shiny. It was hard work and it took a long time, so if there’s another way, that might also work. We know in baseball they use something, I think it’s still a mystery, to get the ball to swing in and dip.I’m quite surprised to hear this is being considered. It’s quite enlightening. I’d be interested to hear what the big-name batsmen have to say about this because I am sure there will be a few comments. But I say if there’s anything that can work, we might as well give it a crack.
How will they monitor what substance to be used – Azhar Mahmood
I don’t mind such a move although I am more interested in how they will monitor what the substance to be used is. I think the ball manufacturers could have a big role to play in what is used, as they will know best what kind of substance is best suited to the leather that is being used on the ball. It could be that bowlers are allowed to use a small bottle, like a hand sanitiser bottle, of the substance to use as shine on the ball.”