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Waqar Younis, the Pakistan captain, talks about his experiences in England.Why is it that the Pakistani batsmen freeze whenever there is a crunch game?
‘Well, this is the second time it has happened while I have been the captain (the first time in the ARY Cup final at Sharjah and the second at Lord’s in the NatWest Series final). We probably take a bit more pressure than we should, our batsmen are more tense on big occasions. That’s why we lose wickets early on, and then keep on losing them. The same happened in the NatWest final. I would want to work on this aspect, and I hope that in future things would improve and we would be mentally tougher than we have so far been.’

A man can fly after taking 7 wickets in a One Day International – Waqar Younis at Leeds Photo © CricInfo

Are you happy with the way the combinations developed during this tour? Where do you feel the improvements are needed?
‘Well, generally speaking, it was a good tour, and apart from Lord’s and in the NatWest final, most of the youngsters and experienced hands combined well. But we definitely need to improve, and for this I think it is imperative to bring in some young guns, some fresh legs. In my opinion, a lot of work needs to be done in the fielding area. That is one segment of the game where we are well below the international standards.’How big a problem is it that the opening slots remain unsettled, and the one permanent opener, Saeed Anwar, never really comes good in big matches?
‘I think you’re right in pointing out the problem of the openers. That has really bugged us for a while. Partnering Saeed Anwar, Saleem Elahi did reasonably well in the latter part of the NatWest series (he actually scored 70-odd in one game and nothing much in the final). Mohammad Wasim was actually very disappointing and Shahid Afridi too was not getting the runs.As far as Saeed Anwar is concerned, I believe he has played well. Probably he has been unlucky in the finals or maybe he is getting good balls. But he is an asset and can be of real good value to the country in the next two to three years. Hence, he should not be talked about in disparaging terms.I suppose we would all be working on our weaknesses in the break that we’ve got before the Asian Test Championship. There is also a month of camp training prior to that, and it would be a definite help in doing away with the chinks and generally improving our cricket.’

Waqar Younis leads his side to victory in the 1st NatWest ODI of 2001 Photo © CricInfo

But as far as the NatWest Trophy was concerned, Shahid Afridi and Imran Nazir were sent as openers. Imran Nazir never got a game. Not playing him was a bit unfair on the youngster and detrimental to the cause of the team. Don’t you think that logically, if Afridi was not delivering, Nazir should have been tried?
‘Well, I concede that we need to work on Imran Nazir and some other youngsters, such as Imran Farhat. Nazir, we thought, was a little too young for big-time cricket. But Nazir and Farhat are the two future prospects, and we have to stick to them till they are mature enough.’Under pressure all the time, how did you feel about captaining an unpredictable team in a high-profile England season? And wasn’t the finale hugely disappointing?
‘WeIl, losing the First Test inside three days, and then coming back into the series was not easy. It really took some doing, and I really appreciate everybody keeping their heads down and lifting their game to a level where we could wrest back the initiative and draw the series. Trust me, it wasn’t easy. Once we had squared the series we took our form to the one-dayers and I was very pleased with our performance other than the final. In the final, had we scored as many as 230-odd we may have put up a good fight; 150 was just not good enough. It was really very disappointing…’Would it have been slightly better had the team gone over to England a trifle earlier than it did to acclimatise better?
‘Yeah, it may have helped; we were there in the wetter part of the summer, in May. It’s never easy in those parts at that time of the year. If we had some more practice, it may have made a difference in the Lord’s Test. But I suppose that we’ve done well despite the odds being rather tall. When we started the tour the English press was mostly talking about us only being there to provide them with some warm-up for the Ashes. By the time we were through with them we had silenced our critics by proving to them that we still were one of the best sides in the world.’

Waqar Younis celebrates the wicket of Alec Stewart Photo © AFP

And the number of injuries too was pretty high, wasn’t it?
‘Yes, it was, but that somehow has been the case for the previous few tours. I suppose the incidence of too many injuries also had an impact.’Are you still looking forward to continuing as a player and captain till the 2003 World Cup?:
‘Well, I’ve got no idea for the moment… I really don’t know. I’ve not spoken to the PCB Chairman, Lt. Gen. Tauqir Zia and I would be leaving for Australia to be with my wife who is expecting our first-born. So hopefully things would be clearer once I come back and have a talk with him.’Thirteen wickets in two matches must have been a great morale booster…?
‘Yes, of course. As a captain it is always important to lead from the front, and provide the team with crucial wickets. As a fast bowler too, it was very satisfying. I think I really bowled well both in the Test Matches and the one-dayers. I am very pleased with the way I’m bowling these days. I just hope and wish to continue like this.’Do you feel the pressures of captaincy have had any effect on your performance as a bowler?
‘Well, on the contrary, my individual performance has picked up. After all, I was named Man of the Series in the NatWest Trophy. In my own assessment, I think I’ve done quite well as a bowler while as a captain, given the circumstances, my performance has been quite good.’Do you believe the crowd behaviour took a considerable bit of gloss off your better displays?
‘Of course, it did. But what could we have done about it? We tried to communicate as much as we possibly could to avert such incidents. I suppose there has to be greater awareness about such things amongst the expatriate Pakistanis. While we greatly value their support, when they indulge in such activities it only ends up giving us a bad name and puts us under unnecessary pressure.’What are your thoughts on the next home season, which is a bit heavy in terms of schedule, as the Test Championship is scheduled in September, followed by home series against New Zealand and the West Indies, and also a quadrangular. Would you demand from the PCB that it make, unlike the previous season, wickets that are livelier?
‘As I told you, we have a month-long camp before the Asian Championship. If I stay on as captain, we would assess where our strengths and weaknesses lie, and also those of our opponents and then decide what our requirements are and take it from there.’

West Ham United are aboard a sinking ship in the Premier League this season, and Nuno Espirito Santo is struggling to get a tune out of this crop of players, whose 3-0 loss at Manchester City kept them in the relegation zone.

It’s not looking good. That’s now back-to-back defeats in the top flight for the Hammers, whose winless run has been extended to six matches.

Falling to Pep Guardiola’s Man City at the Etihad Stadium is hardly a world-ending result, but there’s no question that the manner of the loss, West Ham’s performance, is gravely concerning.

Too many players flattered to deceive.

West Ham's worst players vs Man City

West Ham owner David Sullivan faces overseeing relegation from the Premier League, with Nuno’s crop of players all flattering to deceive.

Against City, there wasn’t much to write home about, though there was something to be said of the cranked-up attack on the hosts’ goal after the interval. As per Sofascore, the entirety of the Irons’ xG total of 0.99 came during the second half.

It was a tough afternoon at the office for homegrown talent Ollie Scarles, with prominent fan voice Martyn Hobbs even asserting that the 20-year-old left-back “is nowhere near Prem standard”.

Scarles is a young and inexperienced player, though, and he was let down by his senior peers, with one in particular doing little to suggest that West Ham shouldn’t have sold him when they had the chance this summer.

West Ham should've sold 4/10 star

There’s no question that Lucas Paqueta is one of the most talented players in West Ham’s modern history, and he’s achieved some high points indeed, but he’s also struggling this season, and isn’t exavctly pulling his weight.

Against Manchester City, he toiled away to little avail without ever playing with the sparkle and drive that we know is within his capacity.

The statistics outlined some success on the Brazilian’s part, but metrics can be deceiving, with this another frustrating display that left much to be desired.

Indeed, the 28-year-old won nine duels and completed two dribbles before being replaced by Tomas Soucek with 78 minutes on the board, but he also ceded possession 14 times, losing the ball every 4.4 touches without crafting much of note. Sofascore data shows that he created two chances.

Paqueta’s Last Two Premier League Seasons

Stats (* per game)

24/25

25/26

Matches (starts)

33 (27)

15 (15)

Goals

4

3

Assists

0

0

Shots (on target)*

1.2 (0.2)

1.3 (0.6)

Accurate passes

33.6 (79%)

35.6 (78%)

Key passes*

1.1

1.3

Big chances created

4

5

Succ. dribbles*

0.6 (50%)

1.0 (38%)

Ball recoveries

4.5

4.4

Tackles + interceptions*

2.5

2.5

Duels (won)*

6.0 (48%)

6.9 (47%)

Errors

6

1

Data via Sofascore

The fact that Paqueta has failed to create an assist since the 2023/24 campaign is telling.

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Claret & Hugh certainly weren’t impressed. The Hammers-focused site were scathing in their criticism of the ‘disinterested’ Brazilian, handing him a 4/10 match rating and remarking that they had had enough of such a talented playmaker continuing to punch below his weight.

How much longer can this continue? Paqueta is quite happy to pull strings when West Ham are firing on all cylinders, but he lacks the tenacity and desire to play a talismanic role when the tide is against him and his team. And the tide has been unkind to United for quite some time now.

Flamengo tried to sign Paqueta this summer after he was cleared of misconduct charges, and Manchester City were said to have revisited their interest earlier in 2025 too.

Now, Paqueta’s stock has diminished, and will diminish further still if West Ham are relegated. Unfortunately, all is not well at the London Stadium.

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Canada have joined the Twenty20 bandwagon and will host their first tournament in Toronto on May 17 and 18. Eight teams from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia will compete.”In the light of what is happening in the IPL in India at the moment, what we are undertaking in Canada is a major step to restore this sport to its former glory which it enjoyed till ice hockey replaced it,” the board’s CEO Atul Ahuja said.Ahuja was present at the launch of the IPL in Bangalore last month and said that the owners of the franchises had indicated a willingness to send teams to Canada. “All of them … promised to send Twenty20 teams to Canada in the summer to help us groom players. We have a huge talent from the South Asian and Caribbean communities in Canada.”However, if they do, the sides are unlikely to bear much resemblance to those playing in the IPL at the moment and most of the high-profile players will be on international duty elsewhere.

Scorecard

Neisha Pratt and Keenu Gill guided Hong Kong to a six-wicket win © ACC

Hong Kong booked their place in the semi-final of the ACC women’s tournament with a six-wicket victory over Thailand at Johor.Thailand put up a gutsy performance, but Hong Kong’s class and composure saw them through.Winning the toss, Hong Kong captain Neisha Pratt put Thailand in under cloudy conditions. The Thai top order confidently negotiated the new ball and scored runs against one of the best attacks in the competition. Hong Kong were guilty of bowling short on the rather slow ‘moonchong clay’ surface.Pratt got an early breakthrough for Hong Kong, after which Chan Sau Har picked up the critical second wicket in the 14th over, of opener Arissa. From then on, the Hong Kong bowlers dominated, with the last eight Thai wickets accounting for only 12 runs. Fifteen-year old Godiva Li bagged three wickets in her second spell, all three deliveries being yorkers.In reply, Hong Kong had a jittery start, losing an early wicket. The Thailand team, marshalled by captain Sornnarin Tippoch, were enthusiastic in the field as they defended their total of 40. The shuffled Hong Kong batting line-up looked wobbly against the Thai attack, and wickets tumbled.At the fall of the fourth wicket came Pratt – who had to change in a hurry after opting not to open – and she steadied the chase with Keenu Gill to eventually take them home.Lal Jayasinghe, the Hong Kong coach, said after the win: “All of our bowlers with the exception of Neisha Pratt are under 18 and their lack of experience of bowling on turf showed at the beginning but once they worked things out, they made things happen.”

Excerpt of Kent v Lancashire at Canterbury, 1906 by Albert Chevallier Tayler © Kent CCC

One of cricket’s most famous paintings – Albert Chevallier Tayler’s picture of the Kent v Lancashire match at Canterbury in 1906 – has been sold at auction for £600,000.I was purchased by Andrew Brownsword, whose Charitable Foundation buys selected works of art in order that they can be retained for public viewing.The painting, which was commissioned by the county to commemorate their first Championship in 1906, hung in the pavilion at Canterbury until 1999 when it became too expensive to insure. It was then loaned to MCC and displayed at Lord’s.”The decision to sell the painting was a difficult one, but the finances of county cricket clubs are becoming increasingly fragile and, since it was no longer possible to display it at Canterbury, we took the view that the proceeds should be used to help to ensure the longer-term future of the club,” Carl Openshaw, Kent’s chairman explained. “From Kent’s point of view, this is the ideal outcome, since I understand that this unique painting will in the short-term at least continue to hang at Lord’s where it can be seen by future generations of cricket lovers.”Click here for the story of the painting’s origins.

James Franklin: New Zealand’s hat-trick hero© Getty Images

The storms are done and the floodwaters have abated, but lightning still struck for the second time at the Bangabandhu National Stadium today, as New Zealand’s James Franklin emulated his idol, Wasim Akram, by claiming cricket’s equivalent of the hole-in-one, the prized hat-trick.Five-and-half years on from the Asian Test Championship final at Dhaka, where Wasim skittled three Sri Lankan batsmen en route to victory, Franklin’s precision line proved too much for three helpless Bangladesh tailenders, who found themselves in the record books for all the wrong reasons.And the comparisons don’t stop there. Like Wasim, Franklin is a left-armer seamer, and he too had to wait until the first ball of his next over to claim his crowning glory. Now it’s up to Franklin to go on and take hat-tricks in consecutive matches as Wasim did in March 1999. Appropriately enough, the man himself was looking on from the commentary box today.Franklin’s hat-trick was only the second by a New Zealand bowler in Test history, 28 years after Peter Petherick spun his way into Kiwi folklore on debut at Lahore. Franklin himself is in just his fourth Test, after being cast aside by the New Zealand selectors in 2001 following his first two Tests against Pakistan when he was just 20 years of age.That Franklin is even on this tour is fortuitous. He was overlooked for the winter tour of England, and instead headed to Lancashire to play club cricket where, after a string of injuries in the New Zealand team, he was drafted into the side for the third Test at Trent Bridge. Six wickets later, he had effectively booked his ticket to Bangladesh.The seamers had failed to fire for most of the first day, so there must have been some temptation for Stephen Fleming to open from one end with the left-arm spin of Daniel Vettori. He didn’t and, as they say, the rest is history.Spectators and media alike were just finding their seats when Manjural Islam Rana, so disciplined yesterday afternoon, drove loosely at Franklin’s fifth ball of the morning and gave Brendan McCullum a simple catch behind the stumps. Mohammad Rafique received a beautifully angled delivery first-up, and the edge that flew to Scott Styris at second slip was unavoidable.Jacob Oram then completed a tidy over from the other end, whereupon Franklin returned to rip out Tapash Baisya’s off stump with a delivery that the great Wasim himself would have been proud of. Tapash had elected to play no stroke, but at the last minute, the ball swung in just enough to find the ultimate target.Andrew McLean is a presenter on The Cricket Club, New Zealand’s only national cricket radio show.

Mark Vermeulen is led off after sustaining the fracture to his skull © Getty Images

Zimbabwe batsman Mark Vermuelen has undergone surgery at the Mater hospital in Brisbane to repair a skull fracture sustained in the VB Series match against India on Tuesday. The operation, which lasted three-and-a-half hours, was a complete success.”Mark’s recovering well from the surgery and should make a full and complete recovery from the injury,” Brad Robinson, Zimbabwe’s physiotherapist, said. “He will stay in hospital for the next few days at least while his progress is monitored.”In addition to reconstructing the impact area above his right eye, the surgery also repaired damage he had sustained in a previous fracture incurred while practicing during the World Cup.”Vermuelen will travel to Perth to spend some time with his family before returning to Zimbabwe.

NEW DELHI, Jan 27 AFP – The Delhi High Court today overturned a five-year ban on Indian cricketer Ajay Jadeja on match-fixing charges, saying there was no proof he was guilty.Jadeja was banned from official cricket two years ago by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after he was named in a match-fixing investigation by federal investigators.The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in its report, claimed that Jadeja hobnobbed with alleged bookmakers and cited phone records to link his association with them.But the arbitrator appointed by the High Court ruled the probe was one-sided and he was not given a chance to prove his innocence.There was no reaction yet from Jadeja or the BCCI, which has the option to appeal against the ruling in the Supreme Court.It is unlikely that Jadeja, who turns 32 on Saturday, will be reinstated immediately in the Indian team since he has not played cricket officially for two years.Regarded as one of India’s finest limited-overs cricketers, the stylish middle-order batsman played 196 one-dayers in which he scored 5,359 runs with six centuries and 30 half-centuries.Jadeja also played 15 Tests, scoring 576 runs averaging 26.18.His last international engagement was the Asia Cup match against Pakistan in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka in June, 2000.Former captain Mohammad Azharuddin, slapped with a life ban following the CBI probe, is also fighting a legal battle in an Andhra Pradesh court to clear his name.

England still have a couple of NatWest Series matches left but few could blame the players if their minds are already turning to the Ashes series.England have been outclassed in the triangular one-day competition by Pakistan and Australia, losing all four of their games so far. This renders their two remaining games meaningless as it will be the tourists who will contest the final.There is a worry that any psychological scars picked up during the NatWest Series could be carried over into the Tests but England paceman Darren Gough dispelled such concerns.”It will be a totally different side that will turn up at Edgbaston for theFirst Test,” he said. “We’ve got three days’ preparation, you’ll see a hard-working unit who will not be thinking about what happened in the one-day games.”We are a side who have come off a good trot; we got outplayed at OldTrafford, we had a couple of spells which cost us the game, but we’ve playedsome great cricket over the last 18 months and we are confident we can put up agood show against them.”As soon as I arrive at Edgbaston on the Monday before the Test. I won’t havemy blue kit any more – that’s gone for another six months. They are favourites,but if we play like we did at Lord’s, like we did in the winter, we can win it,and we all believe we can.”I’ve got my theories about Australia; all you do is find out the strengthsand try to keep away from them. They’ve got some great batsman – you have to beup for it, and don’t get down.”There will be days when you get none for a hundred, but there are days whenyou can really believe as a bowling partnership you can bowl them out. If we cando that in two Tests and win two, we’ve a chance of winning the series.”There are two good bowling attacks; it’s going to be the team that bats thebest that wins the series. We’ve got some experienced players to come back inHussain, Thorpe and White.”Looking beyond the Ashes series and towards 2003, the year of the next World Cup, Gough is optimistic about England’s chances despite the current run of nine consecutive one-day defeats.”The last two World Cups have been disasters,” he said. “We won the gamesleading up to them, but as soon as we got to a World Cup, we didn’t play verywell. There are young players coming in now and when we bring back men who areimportant to us such as White, Hussain, Giles and Thorpe and we’ve a good sidewith experience and youth.”It is disappointing when we keep losing, but these guys are getting capsunder their belts and when we go into the next World Cup we need everyone inthe squad to have played around 30 One-Day Internationals.”Owais Shah has come in and showed skill, and the fielding in the last threegames has been the best I’ve been part of. We’ve got something to work on. Iwouldn’t judge it until we get the team all playing together.”This one-day series was always going to be hard with the injuries we’ve had.We’ve missed Hussain and Thorpe, he’s our finisher, our Michael Bevan. All weneed is experience in playing more games.”

Crystal Palace have now joined the race for a “technically skilled” Champions League player, who could be brought in as an alternative to Sacha Boey.

Palace eyeing new right-back despite Munoz's impressive form

Daniel Munoz has established himself as one of Palace’s most important players over the past three seasons, with the Colombian full-back particularly impressive from an attacking point of view, chipping in with three goals and two assists in the Premier League already this season.

Oliver Glasner has also singled the right-back out for high praise, saying back in April 2024: “Daniel has an outstanding training mentality. Every training session he’s the guy who’s running most, who’s sprinting most.”

However, in light of his impressive showings for the Eagles, Munoz is starting to attract interest from some top clubs, with it recently being revealed that Manchester City have been making moves to secure his signature, while Chelsea have also been credited with an interest.

The South Londoners remain in a strong negotiating position, with the 29-year-old contracted until 2028, but they are now looking at signing a new right-back, who could push for Munoz’s starting spot.

Sacha Boey was named as a potential target earlier this month, and there is a belief a January deal for the Bayern Munich man wouldn’t break the bank, but he is not the only option, with Juventus’ Joao Mario also on the shortlist.

That is according to a report from Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness), which states Crystal Palace have now joined the race for Mario’s signature, alongside some unnamed clubs in Spain.

It is deemed very possible the Portuguese full-back leaves the Italian club in the next month, and a deal would be inexpensive, as Juve are demanding a fee in the region of €12m (£10m).

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Sport Witness relay a previous report, which makes it clear Boey is the priority target, but the 25-year-old is viewed as a ‘reliable alternative’, despite being unable to make much of an impact in the Serie A this season…

Mario hasn't hit the ground running in Italy

It may be a gamble to sign the three-cap Portugal international, who has made two Champions League appearances this term, given that he hasn’t made a flying start to life in the Serie A, after joining from FC Porto in the summer, predominantly being limited to appearances as a substitute.

Subscribe for in-depth Palace transfer and right-back coverage Gain deeper transfer insight by subscribing to the newsletter for expert coverage of Crystal Palace’s right-back hunt. Subscribers get in-depth looks at targets like João Mário and Sacha Boey, tactical fit and transfer-market context. Subscribe Subscribe for in-depth Palace transfer and right-back coverage Gain deeper transfer insight by subscribing to the newsletter for expert coverage of Crystal Palace’s right-back hunt. Subscribers get in-depth looks at targets like João Mário and Sacha Boey, tactical fit and transfer-market context.

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However, manager Luciano Spalletti was full of praise for the former FC Porto man earlier this month, saying: “Joao Mario is technically skilled. He’s a good player, who knows how to make decisions and how to build confidence with the team and on the ball.”

The Juventus ace would also be a versatile option for Glasner, given that he is able to play in a multitude of positions, including full-back, wing-back, and further forward on both wings.

Having averaged 0.26 assists per 90 over the past year, which places him in the 98th percentile, compared to other full-backs, Mario could be a similar type of full-back to Munoz, and it may be worth Palace taking a risk, given the low asking price.