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Game 3 of the World Series between the Dodgers and Blue Jays was a complete marathon. In some ways, it was two games in one. The game took 18 innings to reach its finale before Freddie Freeman finally ended it all with one swing of the bat. Eighteen innings is tied for the longest World Series game in MLB history.

That was far from the only World Series record fans were treated to Monday night (or Tuesday morning).

Let's take a look at every record that was broken:

Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked four times, the most in a single game in MLB postseason history. He also set the World Series record for the most times getting on base. Ohtani broke the record after his seventh time on base, and he ended up reaching a total of nine times. He also tied MLB's regular season record by reaching base nine times.

That's not all Ohtani achieved. He became the first player since 1906 to record four extra-base hits in a World Series game, having hit two home runs and two doubles before the Blue Jays opted out of pitching to him altogether.

The Dodgers and Blue Jays combined to strand 37 runners on base, the most ever in a postseason game. The two teams also used a total of 19 pitchers, nine for Toronto and 10 for L.A., which is the most in a playoff game in league history. Those pitchers combined to throw 609 pitches, which is—you guessed it—a World Series record.

Additionally, there were a total of 153 plate appearances across the 18-inning affair, also a record for the Fall Classic.

The game took a total of six hours and 39 minutes from start to finish, making it the second-longest World Series game in history behind Game 3 of the 2018 World Series, which spanned seven hours and 20 minutes.

Freeman's walk-off home run in the 18th inning made him the first player to ever hit multiple walk-off home runs in the World Series. He hit a walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series against the Yankees, and once again played hero for L.A. late into Game 3.

This game had a bit of everything. Clayton Kershaw made a 12th-inning relief appearance and worked his way out of a bases loaded jam. Ohtani wasn't retired at the plate a single time, though he was thrown out stealing second. Neither starting pitcher made it out of the fifth inning, and the bullpens, often considered the weakness of both teams, took the reins for more than 13 innings.

Game 3 was an instant classic, and after that gauntlet of showdown, the Blue Jays and Dodgers will try to rest up before they go again for Game 4 on Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Every part of his game is geared not just towards batting, but to the purpose behind it

Sidharth Monga20-Jun-2025

Yashasvi Jaiswal brought up his fifth Test hundred•PA Images/Getty Images

Yashasvi Jaiswal is insatiable. When he is training in Talegaon in Maharashtra at the Rajasthan Royals High Performance Centre, he can go through more than 100 overs of batting in one day. That’s sidearm, normal bowling, manual throwing, all by different people from different angles with little or no break. In a two-hour net session with teams he is with, he can hog one net for upwards of an hour. He has been talked into being more mindful of other players’ needs, which he has respected. So now he just waits for others to finish and takes the deliverers of balls back into the net at the end of the training.A day before the Headingley Test, after all the media work had been done, all the reels made, he was there in the corner net with net bowlers and one sidearm thrower from the team. Those who work with him worry they need to find ways to help him sustain this voracious appetite despite the lean frame, and a historic nutritional deficiency from when he grew up all alone, far away from home in Mumbai.With some batters, this obsessive nature can be detrimental, but Jaiswal has that balance right. He bats for the business of scoring runs not to perfect batting. He knows how to score runs. In a short career, he has played innings of markedly different tempo and method. As Rahul Dravid, the former India coach, told me once, Jaiswal says in almost every innings “I like scoring runs, I know how to score runs and I’ll do whatever it takes to score runs – sometimes bat aggressively, sometimes bat defensively, sometimes play from middle stump, sometimes play from outside leg stump”.Related

• Stokes repents in late spell after India capitalise on England's bowl-first call

• England the next stop in Jaiswal's audacious journey

By the afternoon drinks break on his first day of Test cricket in England, though, Jaiswal’s obsessiveness had begun to catch up with him. The support staff gave his arm under the arm guard a rubdown. His leading arm was cramping three hours into his innings on a pleasant day in Leeds.It had already been an innings in which he had had to change his method dramatically. Jaiswal was 67 off 112 then, but he had had spurts: 19 off 20, then just 12 off 39, then 26 balls in the 40s. England weren’t great with the brand-new ball, Jaiswal had no qualms flashing at them, but when they started bowling straight at his body, his limitations on the leg side showed up.In the first 20 balls that Jaiswal faced, only two balls swung or seamed in. He relished the room and the angle away. Then they started attacking the stumps more with a leg slip in place: 24 swung in or seamed in off the next 92. Add to it Josh Tongue’s angle from around the wicket, tucking him up, hitting him on the body.Jaiswal’s control percentage was 90 in the first 20 balls, it fell to 71 for the next 92 balls. One of the reasons for low control numbers was that he kept missing the cut, but he was going so hard at it that it is hard to see how an edge would go to hand. Otherwise, he just fought through the period, keeping the pull and fend away even as Ben Stokes moved to one of the Bazball fields.Yashasvi Jaiswal loves to bat and bat and bat•AFP/Getty ImagesAnd then came the cramps. Almost unnoticed, the intent went up as he realised he couldn’t keep fighting all day. The first ball after that drinks break was also the first ball of spin. You would imagine a forward-defensive to this full ball – 4.4m in front of the stumps – from almost any other batter, but Jaiswal hung back and managed to cut it for four. A flurry of runs, not visibly hurried, followed. Tongue was upper-cut for six, Shoaib Bashir lofted back over his head. By the time he reached the 90s, Jaiswal had had medical attention three times.The third of those came after a ferocious attempt at a cut that he missed. The umpires had a quiet word with him. Probably telling him he had to make a choice: play on without regular assistance or retire. Just like that, out came two dismissive shots through the covers to reach 99. Then the single to get to a hundred in his first Tests in the West Indies, Australia and England to go with an 80 in his first in India.It wasn’t a free-flowing innings. It had phases of brilliance, spells of knuckling down, and just the sheer physical battle with himself. Only ten of the 101 runs he scored came on the leg side. The limited range of his strokes on the leg side has always been a focus, but not to this extent. He completely shelved the pull and the hook, and sweated on any room. There were periods he was denied room, but he was prepared to wait it out.It was only when he began to cramp that an element of manufacturing shots appeared. It was just exceptional understanding of how to score runs and manage risk. Managing his body and his voracious appetite for hitting balls is an aspect he will still have to look at.

Aston Villa's Europa League clash with Young Boys was disrupted by ugly scenes on Thursday night at Villa Park. Donyell Malen was hit on the head by an object thrown from the crowd after scoring his side's opening goal of the match, while the game had to be halted for several minutes just before half-time after violence broke out in the stands among the away supporters.

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  Ugly scenes at Villa Park

  Malen headed Aston Villa into the lead on 27 minutes but was pelted with missiles from the crowd as he celebrated his goal. One of objects hit Malen on the head and appeared to have caused a cut. The Dutch star bagged another goal just before half-time which brought more ugly scenes and caused the game to be stopped for several minutes as trouble broke out in the away end. Television footage showed seats being ripped up and fans clashing with police. Young Boys captain Loris Benito was seen running over to the stands to plead with fans to behave, with the game eventually restarting after a five-minute delay.

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• Malen in great form for Villa

  Malen's goals continue his fine form for Aston Villa. He now has six goals so far this season for Unai Emery's side, three of those have come in the Europa League and the other three in the Premier League. Emery had hailed Malen before the game, telling reporters: "Everything he's achieving now you can see it before in the training session. He is helping the team in the structure we have, tactically to do our tasks. He is very important for us."

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  Aston Villa enjoying Europa League life

  Aston Villa have certainly been enjoying life in the Europa League this season. Emery's side came into Thursday's game having won three of their four matches in the tournament so far. After taking on Young Boys, Villa wrap up their group phase with fixtures against Basel, Fenerbahce and RB Salzburg.

“I can clearly feel there’s still a lot of cricket left in me,” says fast bowler after guiding Bengal to a second straight win in the Ranji Trophy

Shashank Kishore28-Oct-2025Mohammed Shami served a reminder of his fitness on Tuesday with a match-winning spell to deliver Bengal’s second consecutive win in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy.At Eden Gardens, Shami finished with 5 for 38 – his 13th first-class five-for – as Bengal beat Gujarat by 144 runs. He finished with eight wickets in the match across 28.3 overs. Shami currently sits third on the Ranji season’s wicket-taker’s leaderboard, with 15 wickets at an average of 10.46 after four innings.”When you perform like this, it feels good both mentally and physically,” Shami said. “Coming out of a difficult phase and performing well gives a lot of satisfaction. The time after the [2023] World Cup was tough and painful.Related

• Shami five-for leads Bengal to second win

“But then I played the Ranji Trophy, white-ball cricket, the IPL, Champions Trophy, Duleep Trophy [since his comeback late last year]. Now my rhythm is back to where it was before. I can clearly feel there’s still a lot of cricket left in me.”Shami has been open about his hurt of missing out on India selection for the England tour. When asked during the squad announcement for the West Indies Tests about Shami’s availability, chief selector Ajit Agarkar stated that the fast bowler hadn’t played enough cricket.Since then, there have been a few back-and-forths in the media between the two, even if not directly at each other. It’s perhaps with all this in context that Shami was asked if this felt like another comeback, a suggestion he dismissed.”This was not a comeback match for me,” he said. “If you had said that last year, maybe it would have made sense. But yes, in terms of this match, what we did was a special comeback.”We decided to bat for 8-10 overs today, we had already taken three points [first-innings lead]. The situation was tough, but the boys put in their full effort. To turn the game in this manner is rare, especially on this kind of wicket. It’s a great job by the boys.”Amid chatter that this sets him up well for the South Africa Tests, Shami chose to distance himself from social media speculation, while reiterating he was focused on delivering his best wherever he plays.”Yes, I knew this question would come,” Shami said with a wry smile. “Controversy follows me. What else can I do or say? In today’s world, social media twists everything. My job is to perform well. Wherever I get an opportunity, I’ll give my best. The rest is up to god. Bengal is my home. Every match I play for Bengal is special.”Coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla was effusive in his praise for Shami’s discipline, underlining he was fully fit and in great rhythm.”You all saw how Shami bowled. There’s nothing for me to add,” he said. “His performance said it all. There’s no question about his commitment. The entire world knows what Mohammed Shami is. He doesn’t need a certificate from anyone, his bowling is the certificate. He’s completely fit.”That said, Shukla also wanted to tread a cautious path in terms of Shami’s workloads. “We can’t make Shami play all seven matches, though he keeps saying he’s fit and wants to play every game,” he said. “The way he’s running in is unbelievable.”If you compare his run-up and rhythm from when he played for India with now, you won’t find any difference. Even after 500 wickets, he’s in fantastic rhythm. He’s playing with complete calmness now.”

Manchester City are probing in the hunt for reinforcements and could now lodge a record bid for a star who is keen to work under Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium.

Coming back from the international break, the Citizens would’ve been keen to continue their recent winning form in the Premier League as Arsenal and Chelsea continue to push for title glory, though a defeat away to Newcastle United probably wasn’t in the script.

Despite having their fair share of openings, Manchester City couldn’t make them count and were punished by Harvey Barnes, leaving Guardiola’s men third in the table and seven points behind Mikel Arteta’s Gunners.

Of course, there is a long way to go before any prizes are handed out. However, Ruben Dias believes the Citizens will recover swiftly after their frustrating defeat, citing Newcastle’s excellent home record as a factor behind the result.

He told BBC Sport: “It was difficult in all ways for both teams. It was a very intense game and chances both sides. We had loads of chances and didn’t score more and we have to do better there. They scored theirs and we have to do better.

“Everyone knows how strong they are at home. First game after internationals is a tricky one and we fought as well as we could. It’s always a period of adaptation. We simply have to do better.”

In the face of a frustrating evening, Manchester City face a swift turnaround before clashes against Bayer Leverkusen and Leeds United this week, offering two chances for redemption after a rude introduction to life after the international break.

With the Premier League title race hotting up, Guardiola may now have an ace up his sleeve as the Citizens look to make up ground with their competitors at the top of English football.

Man City willing to submit record Desire Doue offer

According to reports in Spain, Manchester City are willing to submit a record offer for Desire Doue worth over £158 million and they see him as an ideal solution to provide pace and creativity within their forward line.

Intriguingly, the France international is keen to work with Guardiola due to his ability when developing talent, and contact has already been made with his representatives to try and open lanes to complete a deal.

Making a solid start to the campaign, Doue has registered three goals and three assists in eight appearances across all competitions, though his contract in Paris is set to run until 2029, meaning his current employers hold the cards in negotiations.

Man City are brewing their own homegrown Erling Haaland

Manchester City appear willing to smash their transfer record to land the man in question and are said to be in an encouraging position, though it remains to be seen whether they can edge themselves past Luis Enrique’s hardball stance to bring in another premium option in the wide areas.

Glasgow Rangers head coach Danny Rohl has experienced almost every emotion in his first four matches in charge of the Ibrox giants since his move to the club.

The German tactician has lost 3-0 to Brann in Europe, won back-to-back games in the Scottish Premiership, and lost a League Cup semi-final in extra time.

Rohl has been thrown in at the deep end at Ibrox after replacing Russell Martin in the dugout, as the Light Blues had only won five games in 18 matches in all competitions at the start of the season after, what now looks like, a dismal summer window.

Russell Martin's worst Rangers signing

Working with sporting director Kevin Thelwell, the worst signing of the summer transfer window, with Martin in charge, currently looks like Youssef Chermiti.

Rangers reportedly paid £8m to sign the Portugal U21 international from Everton, which made him the club’s most-expensive signing since Tore Andre Flo arrived for £12m in 2000. The second-most expensive signing of the summer was Oscar Cortes for £4.5m.

Unfortunately, the Light Blues have not been rewarded with much output for that outlay, with one goal and one assist in 11 appearances for the club, per Sofascore.

Chermiti missed two huge chances to find the back of the net against Celtic on Sunday, which caused commentator and pundit Michael Stewart to describe him as being “so poor” in front of goal.

Given the money spent and the return on their investment so far, it is hard to argue against the young striker being the worst summer signing from Thelwell and Martin.

Another summer signing who should be in contention for that award, though, is central midfielder Joe Rothwell, who currently looks like he should be sold in January.

Why Rangers should move on from Joe Rothwell

The Gers signed the Englishman from Premier League side Bournemouth for an undisclosed fee to bolster their options in the middle of the park.

First Impressions

What did pundits and fans alike think about their new star signing when they arrived? Football FanCast’s ‘First Impressions’ series has everything you need.

At the time of his arrival, Martin described Rothwell as a “huge asset” who would “bring a real winning mentality to the group”, which was an exciting statement from the head coach.

Unfortunately, though, that has not played out on the pitch. Instead, the experienced midfielder looks like he should be sold in January because his performances have not been good enough.

As you can see in the table above, Rothwell has struggled to deal with the intensity and physicality of Scottish football, losing more than half of his ground duels and failing to make at least one tackle per game on average.

The Englishman has been an unused substitute in the last two Premiership matches, which resulted in two of the club’s three league wins this season, but did come on in extra time against Celtic.

That cameo did little to help his case to return to the team in the Premiership, though, as Heart & Hand content creator David Edgar described him as “rotten”.

Rothwell, at this moment in time, does not look suited to playing Scottish football, because of his lack of physicality and intensity, which seems unlikely to change, given that he turns 31 in January.

It has also been an issue for him on the European stage. Rothwell lost 100% of his duels and failed to win a single tackle in 64 minutes against Brann in the Europa League recently, per Sofascore.

Rohl has already opted against using him in the Premiership and waited until extra time to bring him on against Celtic, which suggests that he has not been overly impressed by his levels in training.

Rangers flop who was even worse than Butland is now on borrowed time

This Rangers flop who was worse than Jack Butland may be on borrowed time in the starting line-up.

By
Dan Emery

Nov 3, 2025

Therefore, Rangers should look to immediately move on from Rothwell when the January transfer window opens for business, unless he can finally start to show why Martin was so excited to sign him in the summer.

Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs and Wiaan Mulder made merry as South Africa dominated the Chattogram Test

Sampath Bandarupalli30-Oct-2024575 for 6 South Africa’s total in Chattogram, their third highest in Tests in Asia. Their two bigger totals are 584 for 9 against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in 2010 and 583 for 7 against Bangladesh in Chattogram in 2008.2020 Previous instance of South Africa going past the 500-run mark – 621 all out against Sri Lanka in the Boxing Day Test in Centurion. South Africa’s 575 for 6 in Chattogram is their highest total away from home since the 637 for 2 against England at The Oval in 2012.Related

• South Africa's batting close to finding the 'sweet spot' again

• Sweeping success – Stubbs and de Zorzi put the heat on Bangladesh

• Rabada's strikes, Mulder's century pile on the pain for Bangladesh

South Africa scored 95.83 runs per wicket in Chattogram, the highest by them in a Test innings since 2017, when they posted 573 for 4 against Bangladesh in Bloemfontein at 143.25 runs per wicket.3 Batters to score their maiden Test hundred in Chattogram – Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs and Wiaan Mulder. Only once before have three batters scored their maiden Test tons in the same innings – Gerry Gomez, Robert Christiani and Clyde Walcott for West Indies against India in Delhi in 1948.144.2 Overs batted by South Africa in their first innings in Chattogram, the most by them in a Test innings since their 146 overs against Bangladesh in Potchefstroom in 2017.1 Chattogram marked the first instance of three South Africa batters scoring hundreds in the same Test innings in Asia. It was also the first instance of three South Africa batters scoring a century in the same Test innings since 2017.Stubbs made the first century by a South Africa No. 3 since 2018•AFP/Getty Images201 Partnership between de Zorzi and Stubbs for the second wicket. It is South Africa’s first 200-plus partnership for any wicket in Tests since October 2017. South Africa had two 200-plus stands in the same innings against Bangladesh in the 2017 Bloemfontein Test.3 Century partnerships for South Africa in their first innings, the joint-most by them in a Test innings. They had 16 such instances previously, but only once since 2017 – against Sri Lanka in the 2020 Centurion Test.17 Sixes hit by South Africa in their first innings against Bangladesh, the most they have hit in a Test innings, surpassing their 15 against West Indies in 2010. Only two teams have hit more sixes in a Test innings – 22 by New Zealand against Pakistan in the 2014 Sharjah Test and 18 by India against England earlier this year in Rajkot.9 Sixes were hit off Taijul Islam’s bowling, the joint-second most conceded by any bowler in a Test innings. Rangana Herath was hit for ten sixes by India’s batters in the Brabourne Test in 2009.Paul Strang against Pakistan in Sheikhupura in 1996, Ray Price against South Africa in Harare in 2001, Dane Piedt against India in Visakhapatnam in 2019, and Ben White against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2023 have also conceded nine sixes in a Test innings.2018 The last instance of a No. 3 batter scoring a Test hundred for South Africa before Stubbs – Theunis de Bruyn scored 101 against Sri Lanka in the 2018 Colombo Test.

Few cricketers have as many subplots to deal with as Bavuma, but you would hardly know it watching the breezy innings South Africa’s captain put together in Gqeberha

Andrew Fidel Fernando05-Dec-2024When you’re Temba Bavuma, an innings is not just an innings, a fifty is not allowed to only be a fifty, every hundred heaves with meaning, and a career playing a bat-and-ball sport has to feel like a tightrope maze over a river teeming with crocs. This is the lot of the trailblazer. And as far as trails go, this is a pretty rough one to blaze. Test batting, in the imagination of many, is among the most cerebral endeavours in sport. And you need not go hunting in especially dark corners of the internet to encounter the vile opinion that pursuits that require brain power are best handled by certain types of people. Bavuma likely falls outside these descriptions.Bavuma didn’t really ask for any of this. Ahead of this match, questioned on how he got through tough times in his first ten years in Test cricket, he focused his answer on his “love for the game”. He’d rolled up to that press conference driving the team mini van himself through the gates of the stadium, like a dad popping down to the hardware store to pick up some new screws in whatever family vehicle was available. No drivers, no security, no hangers on. Why complicate life?Related

• Pathum Nissanka 2.0 – Quiet, disciplined, and just a little greedy

• 'You discover yourself in hard times' – Bavuma reflects on his Test journey

• Rickelton's maiden ton propels SA but Asitha, Kumara ensure opening day is evenly shared

• Test centurion Rickelton proves to himself that he belongs on international stage

The innings he played the next day was awash in this simplicity. Though South Africa were 44 for 3 when he arrived at the crease in Gqeberha, he himself was clearly judging length beautifully. Fifth ball, he slid back against Prabath Jayasuriya and flicked one effortlessly off his pads for a four through midwicket. Not long after that, he dabbed a shortish, slightly wide ball, perfectly in the gap between slips and gully. A third boundary, riding the bounce of an Asitha Fernando delivery to deposit him through point, came off the 20th ball he faced.Off 30 deliveries, Bavuma was on 27, having just launched Jayasuriya so powerfully over deep midwicket, the ball was briefly lost over the corner wall. This was the over before lunch, so he have hunkered down and done the responsible thing. Not in this innings. Bavuma had been by a distance the best batter in the first Test. In this kind of form, no outside context was required. The bowler had pitched short and runs were on offer. “Those screws are on sale? Yeah, I’ll take them.”Temba Bavuma revealed that this upper cut was fully improvised•Gallo Images/Getty ImagesAt the other end, Ryan Rickelton had laboured to 29 off 74 balls, having flirted with plenty of balls outside off stump, where Bavuma had been more compact in defence.”For Temba to come in at 40-odd for 3 and not counterpunch but just kind of change a bit of momentum our way was very important,” Rickelton, who top scored with 101, said after play. “He’s moving really well, playing the ball really late as well, and hitting it where he wants it to go.”If there is a little surprise in Rickelton’s voice, it is because Bavuma has a reputation. Frequently his innings are weighed down by all sorts of contexts. Not for nothing is Bavuma’s Test match strike rate a shade under 50.”Usually, I think out of the two of us, people expect me to be scoring quickly. And it was nice to have the shoe on the other foot and sit and watch from the other side. He took a lot of pressure off me. He played just really good cricket shots on a wicket that isn’t the easiest to score on. He opened up the game and he wore them down quite a lot.”

“Usually, I think out of the two of us, people expect me to be scoring quickly. And it was nice to have the shoe on the other foot and sit and watch from the other side.”Ryan Rickelton on Temba Bavuma’s knock

Bavuma continued to float through the innings, the Gqeberha band piping up through the afternoon to bathe the surrounds in further joy and levity. He passed Rickelton and got to fifty off the 57th delivery he faced, flitting down the track to spin, easing into checked drives, almost as if top-scoring in the last game had untethered a part of him, somehow. Even in that Durban match, batting with the tail after Sri Lanka’s quicks had ripped the top order apart, he still was able to play a shot straight out of childhood fantasy – upper-cutting Lahiru Kumara for six over the slips with both his feet off the ground – a shot he later revealed was completely improvised. Maybe this version of Bavuma has always been there.Three innings into this home season, he has made 70, 113, and now 78 off 109, all outstanding innings, each varying dramatically in texture from the last. With five potential knocks to go, Bavuma now has the chance to write his name across the summer. An opportunity, perhaps, to drive his detractors back further, though they will likely continue to hang that conversion rate around his neck. With Bavuma, there are always these subplots, always things that remain unsaid but widely understood, bubbling beneath the things that are actually said.But perhaps it is best not to peer too far ahead, or look too far sideways. Why complicate life? Maybe it’s best to spend a moment in the spirit of Bavuma’s innings. On day one at St George’s Park, a batter revelled in his own excellent form, and produced the kind of innings so full of fun you couldn’t help but get caught up.

Brandon Williams’ attempts to rebuild his career away from Old Trafford appear to be stalling once again, with Hull City manager Sergej Jakirovic confirming that discussions are underway regarding a potential January departure. The 25-year-old, who arrived in East Yorkshire only in mid-August, has barely had the opportunity to make an impact, and already his short stay looks destined to end prematurely.

• A difficult few years following high-speed crash

  The struggles of the Carrington Academy graduate have been well-documented, particularly since he became embroiled in a serious road incident. In August 2023, Williams was seen driving his Audi A3 at dangerously high speeds along the A34 near Handforth in Cheshire, before losing control and crashing into the central reservation after a collision with a Ford Fiesta. He later admitted guilt to reckless and uninsured driving. The consequences were significant. In May, he received a 14-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, alongside a three-year driving ban and mandatory community service. The legal troubles arrived atop an already challenging period in his football career, which triggered a spiral from which he has struggled to emerge. 

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  Struggling to prove himself at Hull

  Williams has managed just five minutes of senior football since signing for the Tigers, when he was introduced briefly as a substitute during the club’s third Championship match of the season. What followed has been a stretch of prolonged exclusion. He made four appearances as an unused substitute, and in 11 matchdays, his name did not even feature in the squad list. For a player desperate to restart a career once brimming with promise, the stagnation has been a sad sight.

  Despite the optimism surrounding his arrival, Jakirovic’s recent comments suggest Williams’ long-term prospects at the club are uncertain. Speaking to BBC Radio Humberside, the Hull head coach confirmed that the left-back had felt discomfort in his calf and would undergo an MRI scan. He also revealed that the club had mapped out a six-week programme to help him build up match rhythm through Under-21 fixtures.

  He said: "He felt yesterday his calf a little bit so he will go on MRI. We are waiting [for] news and also we made one plan for him, six weeks plan, that he has a rhythm of games. He played for the Under-21s and then together with the club now we will decide what we will do with him in January. [Whether] he will stay with us [or] he will fight for his place, so he will continue forward maybe, to change clubs, but we will see.

  "This is also a question for all clubs. Right now, in those [academy] games he showed something but I don’t know if it’s enough for the Championship. This is something what maybe I need to decide we will do with him. Whether he will stay or he will change."

• A rise under Solskjaer that faded too soon

  Williams’ early years at Manchester United suggested a very different trajectory. He broke through as a dynamic 19-year-old under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, making 51 appearances across two seasons, 50 of those during Solskjaer’s tenure. Representing England at the Under-20 and Under-21 levels, he was widely regarded as one of United’s brightest homegrown prospects. But the momentum faded quickly. A loan move to Norwich City in the 2021/22 season gave him regular playing time, but that did not help him grab the spotlight. He was again sent to Ipswich Town for the 2023/24 campaign, but he failed to reach 1,000 minutes before his stint at Portman Road ended early. When United declined to renew his contract in 2024, Williams found himself without a club for an entire year.

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  What comes next?

  For a player who once looked destined for a long and successful Premier League career, Williams’ decline has been both swift and sobering. Meanwhile, Hull are currently ninth in the Championship with 28 points from 18 matches. They will continue their push for a play-off spot when they meet Middlesbrough on Friday evening.

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

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay14-Aug-2025Somerset 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.