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Zimbabwe will host Afghanistan for one Test and three T20Is in October, a reduced itinerary from the two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is that were on the FTP.All four matches will take place at Harare Sports Club, which will host a Test for the first time in four years. Zimbabwe’s last nine home Tests have been played in Bulawayo, and they have lost them all. Zimbabwe have played Afghanistan in four Tests between 2021 and 2025, with one win, two defeats and a draw. Their most recent fixtures were in December-January 2024-25, when Afghanistan won the two-Test series 1-0. They also beat Zimbabwe 2-1 in the T20I series and 2-0 in the ODIs.The Test from October 20 to 24 against Afghanistan completes a busy year for Zimbabwe, who are not part of the World Test Championship but are playing 10 matches in 2025. They were initially scheduled to play 11 but ESPNcricinfo understands the second Test against Afghanistan, and the ODIs, will be moved to 2026. The three T20Is will be played on October 29, 31 and November 2.Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has chosen to prioritise T20Is, as the team may need the fixtures to prepare for the 2026 T20 World Cup. Zimbabwe are in the semi-finals of the Africa Regional Qualifier, currently underway, and if they beat Kenya on Thursday, will qualify for the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka in February and March. Zimbabwe missed the 2024 T20 World Cup after losing to Uganda in the qualifiers. They have played in only one of the last three T20 World Cups – in 2022 – where they reached the Super 12.Should Zimbabwe secure their spot at the 2026 T20 World Cup, ZC will also seek additional fixtures, with nothing on Zimbabwe’s calendar between November this year and April next year. With all Full Members, except Ireland, occupied over that period, Zimbabwe may look to engage a team like Namibia (also in the semi-finals of the T20 qualifier) and are understood to be considering teams like Netherlands and Nepal for fixtures. After a torrid run earlier in the year, when Zimbabwe lost five T20Is on the bounce, they have now won six of their last nine games.

Aaron Judge has not been himself this postseason. The All-Star slugger that led MLB with 58 home runs in the regular season went a combined 1-for-11 (three walks) in the first three games of the ALDS after a New York Yankees Wild Card bye.

Finally, New York's captain came alive in Game 4, a 3–1 Yankees win over the Kansas City Royals that punched their ticket to the ALCS. Judge walked twice, doubled and appeared settled into a more comfortable lane than the one he had occupied most of the series.

He didn't drive a run in himself but put himself in position to be driven in by Giancarlo Stanton, who has played well all series, in the top of the sixth, a run that pushed the Yankees win percentage up to 87.3%.

Judge spoke to Jon Morosi after the game and gave a very simple explanation for his return to form at the plate:

"It's just timing, you know. You just gotta, you've got to be ready to hit. You know, if you're not ready to hit, you're not going to have a good chance."

The series underscored career-long struggles from Judge in the postseason, who is a career .201 hitter in the playoffs.

Judge's next opportunity to put those struggles behind him will be in the ALCS. The Yankees will go up against the winner of a winner-take-all Game 5 between the Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers on Saturday.

Lancashire coach Steven Croft believes a “stupid” schedule contributed to a hamstring injury that will sideline Liam Livingstone for the rest of the T20 Blast group stages, as counties weigh up a potential reduction in the volume of cricket that they play for 2026.Livingstone pulled his hamstring during Lancashire’s win over Derbyshire on Saturday afternoon, their second T20 fixture in the space of 24 hours after winning at Northamptonshire on Friday. Their team bus only arrived back in Manchester at 3.30am on Saturday morning due to traffic on the M1, and they were back on the field at 3pm later that day.Saqib Mahmood also left the field during Saturday’s game, and Croft – who took over from Dale Benkenstein on an interim basis in May – said that the schedule was “a bit of a mess”. He told LancsTV: “They’re some of the world’s best players out there… It feels pretty stupid and silly, and is putting the players at risk. We saw two players walk off the field through injury.”Related

• Counties agree to cut in men's Vitality Blast games for 2026

On Livingstone, Croft said: “It might have gone at any time, but getting minimal sleep and such a quick turnaround to play elite sport is a tough one… I probably wouldn’t say it’s all down to the schedule – it might be – but it’s not helped one bit for that player who’s walked off, and looks like it might be a bit of a lengthy time on the sidelines.”It is something that seriously needs to be looked at… We’re aware that we’ve got four competitions in the country, so you can’t really extend the season any more. That is the county grind, as people say… You feel like if something doesn’t happen, we’re not going to get the best players on the park.”The Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) has lobbied for a reduction in back-to-back T20 fixtures, where the same team plays twice on consecutive days. But they are still commonplace in the Blast, in which the majority of fixtures are played from Thursday to Sunday, and there are signs that any changes to the men’s domestic schedule for 2026 will only be incremental.The Blast appears set to return to three groups of six – rather than two groups of nine – next year, with each team playing 12 matches (including two inter-group fixtures) rather than 14. The quarter-finals and Finals Day will also be brought forward to July from September, meaning the competition will finish before the Hundred rather than being split in half by it.There is less clarity on the future of the County Championship: counties are discussing a handful of options for next year’s format, some of which involve a reduction to 12 matches per team while others maintain the existing number of 14. Somerset and Surrey have both publicly backed a 14-match season, with an eight-team Division One and a ten-team Division Two.”There is so much potential for the competition to grow its fanbase,” Surrey’s chair, Oli Slipper, and chief executive, Steve Elworthy, said in a joint statement, noting the strong attendances at The Oval this year. “The red-ball game needs all the counties to get behind it, to prioritise it and to promote it. It is a unique and historic sporting competition, and we should embrace it for the benefit of the whole game.”The review into county scheduling is being run by the Professional Game Committee, a subcommittee authorised by the ECB board and chaired by Warwickshire chair Mark McCafferty. A decision on the 2026 schedule is anticipated later this month, and any changes would require the support of 12 out of the 18 first-class counties.

Despite beating Brentford away over the weekend, Manchester City got some bad news on the injury front. Key midfielder Rodri had to be taken off with just 20 minutes gone due to a suspected hamstring issue.

Of course, the 29-year-old has struggled with injury issues since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament last season.

Thankfully for City fans, the former Atletico Madrid star gave an encouraging update, explaining that the injury “seems like it’s not that much,” and suggesting he could even be fit for the first game after the international break against Everton. Surely Pep Guardiola will want to make sure his first-choice number six is 100% fit before playing him again.

Frustratingly, one of City’s former academy stars, Romeo Lavia, could have softened the blow of Rodri’s absence.

Why Lavia could have replaced Rodri

As they have tended to do with academy stars over the past few years, City did an excellent job of selling Lavia. He joined Southampton back in 2022 for a fee of up to £14m, despite only playing once for the first team at the Etihad Stadium.

He impressed so much on the South Coast that the former Anderlecht academy star got a big move to Chelsea the summer after. At Stamford Bridge, opportunities have been scarce for Lavia due to injury problems of his own.

However, he’s worked hard to build back to full fitness and is now looking to cement himself as a key part of Enzo Maresca’s midfield.

In total, the Belgian has only made 25 appearances for the Blues, with just two coming this season. The majority of them have come at the base of Maresca’s midfield, where he’s been able to screen the back four and show his excellent progressive carrying skills.

Lavia showed what he is all about in Chelsea’s recent 2-1 win over Liverpool. He came off the bench at Stamford Bridge last weekend, and his cameo was enough to earn him a 7/10 rating from The Standard journalist Dom Smith. He said the 21-year-old put in a ‘good display’ against the Reds.

Yet, with the amount the injury-prone starlet has featured for Chelsea, he may not have been the right player to operate as Rodri’s understudy. They recently let the perfect backup slip through the cracks.

Man City sold the perfect Rodri understudy

Standing in for Rodri in the City squad is certainly no easy task. Lavia has the quality, but his injury issues mean his availability might not have been what City needed. At the club, the likes of Nico Gonzalez and Kalvin Phillips are at Guardiola’s disposal.

However, the man who could have seamlessly slotted into the starting lineup in Rodri’s absence, which is a regular occurrence these days, was sold in the summer for just £13m. Maximo Perrone made the permanent move to Serie A side Como after a season-long loan in Italy.

After joining City in 2023 from Argentine side Velez Sarsfield, Perrone never really managed to nail down a place in the side. He only made two appearances for the first team at the Etihad Stadium in the treble-winning season of 2022/23, before moving on loan to Las Palmas and then Como, where he now plies his trade.

So far, the 22-year-old has made 33 appearances for Cesc Fabregas’ side. The defensive midfielder has cemented his spot in the starting lineup, playing 90 minutes in each of the last three games and scoring his first goal for the club last weekend.

Perrone would have been “an ideal Rodri back-up,” according to football analyst Ben Mattinson.

Well, his underlying numbers from last season show just why. For example, the midfielder averaged 2.81 tackles and interceptions per 90 minutes, ranking him in the 63rd percentile of Serie A midfielders.

Passes completed

58.84

92nd

Key passes

1.45

84th

Tackles won

1.31

75th

Interceptions

0.97

71st

Clearnaces

2.08

88th

Perrone certainly feels like one that got away from this City squad. With his profile, a progressive ball-winner in the middle of the park, he could have seamlessly fitted into the City side in Rodri’s absence.

Letting him go for such a cheap fee in the summer could be a big error by City, especially with Rodri’s persistent injury issues.

Man City goal machine who's out on loan could be Pep's next Erling Haaland

As Haaland rediscovers his best form, Man City’s striking future looks secure.

ByWill Miller Oct 7, 2025

Luis Reece led Derbyshire’s victory charge as they rolled over Kent before lunch on the final day of the Rothesay County Championship Division Two match at Derby. The allrounder picked up two wickets to claim outstanding figures of 3 for 21 from 10 overs with Derbyshire beating the visitors by an innings and 14 runsAfter Zak Chappell struck with the first ball of the day, Kent folded in feeble fashion, losing four wickets in eight overs, to slump to 247 for 9, the injured Jake Ball unable to bat.It was Derbyshire’s second win of the season which takes them above Glamorgan to second in the table while Kent have now lost four matches in a row.Kent’s slide to another defeat started when Tawanda Muyeye was caught behind taking on a short ball from Chappell. Muyeye clearly thought it had come off his shoulder but given his side were still 104 runs behind with three wickets already down, it was not a great shot for the situation.That was a straightforward catch for Brooke Guest but the wicketkeeper took a much sharper one five overs later standing up to Luis Reece when Chris Benjamin pushed forward and edged into his gloves.Kent’s hopes of at least frustrating Derbyshire now rested with Jack Leaning and Harry Finch but the pair were quickly parted with Reece celebrating a second success of the morning. Leaning failed to get over a drive and substitute fielder Nick Potts took a good tumbling catch diving forward at deep mid-off.Derbyshire were now all over the visitors and in the next over, Finch went to turn Anuj Dal off his legs but the ball came off his thigh pad and onto the stumps.Matt Parkinson had resisted well as nightwatcher in the first innings but this time he lasted only seven balls before he went half forward to Jack Morley and was lbw. Grant Stewart struck some muscular blows , pulling Pat Brown for six, but the end came 15 minutes before the interval when he sliced the fast bowler to third man where Potts pulled off a superb diving catch.

New Zealand fast bowler Jacob Duffy is the new No. 1 men’s T20I bowler. Duffy takes the top spot from West Indies left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein following his superb returns during New Zealand’s T20Is against Pakistan at home.Duffy picked up 13 wickets in five games at an average of 8.38, which also included a career-best of 4 for 14, to help New Zealand seal the series 4-1. He rose four spots, crossing Hosein, Varun Chakaravarthy, Adil Rashid and Wanindu Hasaranga to get to the top. This is Duffy’s first No.1 ranking in any format. He is also the first New Zealand player to hold the top spot in men’s T20I bowling rankings since Ish Sodhi in 2018.Duffy made his T20I debut for New Zealand in 2020 and has 32 wickets in 23 games.”It’s a bit of a surprise [becoming the No. 1 bowler],” Duffy said.”That’s awesome to be among some players on that list. Great recognition, it’s pretty cool. It’s kind of surreal, to be honest.”In the batting charts, Duffy’s team-mate Tim Seifert has climbed five spots up to No. 8. Seifert scored a total of 249 runs in five matches against Pakistan at an average of 62.25. Seifert also scored his career-best of 97* in the fifth T20I in the 129 chase. Seifert’s opening partner Finn Allen gained one place to move to 15th in the batting rankings. Australia batter Travis Head retains his No. 1 position on this list, with India’s Abhishek Sharma and England’s Phil Salt at No. 2 and 3, respectively.Among allrounders, New Zealand’s James Neesham jumped 14 places to 30th on the list following some solid efforts against Pakistan, which also included a career-best 5 for 22 in the fifth T20I.

Jurgen Klopp has explained why he believes Liverpool are at "risk of being exposed" under Arne Slot. The Dutchman's reign has been almost dreamlike since he arrived in England. He guided Liverpool to the Premier League crown last season and opened this campaign with a perfect run of seven straight wins in all competitions. But the first cracks showed at Selhurst Park on Saturday as Crystal Palace beat the Reds 2-1, and Klopp has raised the alarm bell with his observations.

Smooth sailing turns shaky in London

The Reds’ flawless streak hit the buffers on Saturday against Crystal Palace, who delivered a bruising reality check. Ismaila Sarr fired the hosts ahead from a corner after Palace dominated the early exchanges. Liverpool clung on thanks to Alisson’s world-class saves before Federico Chiesa looked to have rescued a point, slotting home after VAR waved away a Mohamed Salah handball shout. But the drama in the Premier League clash wasn’t done. With minutes left, Will Hughes hurled in a long throw that was flicked back into danger, which allowed Eddie Nketiah to control and lash past Alisson. The home crowd erupted, and Liverpool trudged off with their first defeat of the season.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportKlopp’s stark assessment

Klopp, now watching on from the outside, stopped short of outright criticism but made it clear that the high-octane approach under Slot leaves open doors for opponents to exploit.

In an interview with he said: "[Man] City is on the way back, they change a little bit. Managers need that as well… a new way of looking at things to keep it fresh. Liverpool is playing a specific (style), so really, really good. Very offensive oriented. Do they take the risk a little bit of being exposed? Different ways to go, let me say it like that. I’m not the pope of football who tells people what to do. At least not outside the Red Bull world.”

Warning signs for the champions

Seven wins from seven in 2025-26, plus last season’s title, prove Slot has got plenty right. However, opponents will smell blood if they believe Liverpool are vulnerable during set pieces. Selhurst Park was the first real glimpse of that weakness.

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(C)Getty imagesAll eyes on Galatasaray clash

Liverpool travel to Turkey on Tuesday night to face Galatasaray in a Champions League clash that suddenly feels like a test of Slot’s resilience. However, one thing is certain: Klopp’s comments will echo loudly if Liverpool show the same soft underbelly in Istanbul during dead-ball situations.

The home side were promisingly placed after lunch but lost their way before two Mendis’ staged a recovery

Tristan Lavalette06-Feb-2025

Australia’s trio of specialist bowlers toiled manfully during a see-saw day one against a fighting Sri Lanka on a dry Galle surface that did not live up to the hype, but occasionally spun sharply and is expected to deteriorate significantly.By the end of 90 overs, the second Test was intriguingly poised after several shifts of momentum. Sri Lanka’s top-order built a strong platform to reach 93 for 1 before they lost 4 for 34 in a horror period after lunch. But Kusal Mendis and Ramesh Mendis combined for a seventh-wicket partnership of 65 to lift Sri Lanka to what might just be a competitive first innings total.Related

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Kusal and Dinesh Chandimal made well-compiled half-centuries as Sri Lanka batted through the day’s play to reach stumps at 229 for 9.After Sri Lanka suffered their worst defeat in Test cricket on a slow surface, there had been much speculation that this new surface would produce significant bite and turn. There was sharp turn at times, especially in the second session, but it was the consistency and variations of Australia’s bowlers that led to several cheap dismissals.Offspinner Nathan Lyon was outstanding in his spell after lunch, mixing up his speeds and lengths to bamboozle Sri Lanka as he moved to 549 Test wickets. Left-arm quick Mitchell Starc continued to add to his formidable record in Sri Lanka, conjuring reverse swing during a sensational spell late in the second session before striking twice with the second new ball.Australia were effectively playing with just three specialist bowlers, with Lyon and left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann providing the heavy lifting as they bowled 30 overs each.Stand-in captain Steven Smith worked his resources to good effect with Travis Head bowling eight overs and proving that he might just have a golden arm after taking the wicket of Kamindu Mendis.Nathan Lyon produced a superb spell after lunch•Getty Images

Allrounder Beau Webster bowled three overs of seam having not been required to bowl in the first Test, while left-arm spinning allrounder Cooper Connolly also bowled three overs on his debut after replacing offspinner Todd Murphy in Australia’s only change.Sri Lanka made three changes with Pathum Nissanka replacing Oshada Fernando at the top of the order, while offspinnser Ramesh Mendis and quick Lahiru Kumara were included at the expense of Jeffrey Vandersay and Asitha Fernando.After receiving a long guard of honour on his way to the crease, including from the Australians, retiring Dimuth Karunaratne was tasked with trying to help restore Sri Lanka’s battered confidence in his 100th and last Test match. He also had to confront tormentor Starc having fallen to him nine times previously, including in the first innings of the series-opener. But having overcome a groin injury to take his place, Nissanka mostly faced Starc and had mixed results against speeds touching 145kph.Fresh from his nine-wicket haul in his Test return, Kuhnemann was also handed the new ball and had a loud shout for lbw on Nissanka turned down with the decision upheld on umpire’s call after Australia reviewed.Steven Smith catches record•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Sri Lanka’s openers steadily built despite some nervous moments as Smith reverted to Lyon in the eighth over. Aiming at the footworks from Starc, Lyon produced significant turn and bounce on his second delivery that flew down the legside for four byes.But Lyon wasn’t made to wait long for a wicket after hitting the top of leg stump when Nissanka moved too far across his stumps looking to paddle sweep. Australia were buoyed, but inroads proved difficult against the type of disciplined batting from Sri Lanka that was lacking in the first Test.Connolly was brought in just before lunch having never taken a wicket from the 96 balls he had bowled in his four previous first-class matches. Connolly did develop a knack of taking key wickets in the recent BBL season, but he could not strike as Sri Lanka made it to lunch well placed.Chandimal resumed after the interval with a boundary off Lyon before the game turned on its head.Lyon varied his speeds and slid a faster delivery from around the wicket past Karunaratne’s defence to rattle the stumps. He was in lovely rhythm and went about working over Angelo Mathews knowing he had his number after dismissing him twice in the first Test.Mitchell Starc inroads with the second new ball•Getty Images

Mathews crawled to 1 off 25 before succumbing to a slower, wider Lyon delivery and feathering an edge into the gloves of Alex Carey, who has performed well behind the stumps in this series.Lyon seemingly had his 550th wicket when Kamindu was adjudged caught behind on 3 only for the decision to be successfully reviewed with no nick detected. Kamindu could not capitalise and fell relatively tamely to Head’s handy offspin after a thick edge off an attempted cut shot flew to Smith at slip.Head unfurled his now customary celebration, suggesting that his spinning fingers are on fire, as Kamindu’s struggles continued after entering the series with an average over 70.Deploying Head was another move from Smith that worked a treat and his gut instincts were again rewarded when he threw the ball to Starc, who dismissed de Silva for a golden duck after he steered a wide delivery straight to gully.Chandimal’s defiant knock ended on 74 after he was deceived in the air by Kuhnemann and lost his footing before being stumped by sharp glove work from Carey.Australia eyed running through Sri Lanka’s lower-order just like in the first Test, but Kusal provided a counterattack after a collision with Kuhnemann at the non-striker’s left him momentarily shaken.He slog swept to good effect on consecutive deliveries, with the latter sailing over the rope. Kusal received good support from namesake Ramesh, who has been in solid batting form in first-class cricket.They rotated the strike well and picked off the occasional boundary to frustrate a flagging Australia attack. Ramesh has a first-class average of almost 40, with a high score of 300 not out, but his Test mark sits at a disappointing 18 with no half-centuries from 22 previous innings.He played doggedly, striding forward repeatedly to present a firm defence. Australia needed a spark and Starc delivered after taking the second new ball, dismissing Ramesh and Prabath Jayasuriya with consecutive deliveries as Smith claimed his 197th catch to move past Ricky Ponting’s record for Australia.

أنهى الاتحاد المصري لكرة القدم، الجدل بخصوص ترتيب منتخب مصر للشباب تحت 20 عامًا في بطولة كأس العالم المقامة في تشيلي.

وكان منتخب مصر، قد حقق الفوز على تشيلي في الدقيقة الأخيرة من عمر اللقاء بنتيجة 2-1 ليتساوي مع أصحاب الأرض في عدد النقاط.

طالع.. ترتيب مجموعة مصر في كأس العالم للشباب بعد الفوز على تشيلي

وتساوى الفراعنة، مع منتخب تشيلي في النقاط وعدد الأهداف المسجلة وفارق الأهداف.

وكتب الحساب الرسمي لاتحاد الكرة عبر فيس بوك: “بعد التساوي في كل شيء مع منتخب تشيلي وعقب الاحتكام للعب النظيف منتخبنا في المركز الثالث بالمجموعة”.

وفي نفس السياق أوضح موقع pasionporlosdeportes أن منتخب تشيلي تأهل بفضل البطاقات الصفراء حيث حصل لاعبو على إنذارات أقل من لاعبي الفراعنة.

وكان منتخب مصر، قد خسر أمام اليابان ونيوزيلندا وحقق الفوز على تشيلي خلال مشواره بدور المجموعات.

Sweden manager Jon Dahl Tomasson has admitted that leaving Alexander Isak out of Friday’s 2-2 draw against Slovenia was purely down to caution. The striker, who shattered the British transfer record with his £125 million move to Liverpool on deadline day, has barely trained and hasn’t kicked a ball in competitive action since forcing his way out of Newcastle United this summer.

• Isak benched by Sweden over fitness
• Could come on as a sub against Kosovo
• Tomasson not ready to risk his star from the start

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Isak’s switch to Anfield was one of the shocks of the transfer window, completed after weeks of speculation and growing tension in the North East. The 24-year-old effectively sat out Newcastle’s summer fixtures and their opening Premier League games to push the move through, a decision that left a sour taste in the mouths of many Magpies supporters.

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• AFP
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Isak's absence from pre-season has raised concerns about his sharpness. While Liverpool fans are eager to see their blockbuster signing unleashed, Tomasson insisted that Isak is nowhere near peak condition.

• WHAT TOMASSON SAID

  Speaking to , Tomasson said, "He had only done three training sessions with the team. He had no preseason with the team and of course, no playing time. The risk was probably a bit too great to use him today."

  Asked whether the striker could feature in Sweden’s next qualifier against Kosovo on Monday, Tomasson offered a glimmer of hope: “Hopefully, hopefully. He could come in as a game-changer.”

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• AFP
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR ISAK?

  In the midst of the noise, Isak has gone quiet. The striker has reportedly chosen to snub all media duties during the international break, refusing interviews and public appearances. Instead, he wants to focus solely on rebuilding fitness and letting his football do the talking when the time comes. The international break may serve as a reset for Isak, giving him precious time to gain minutes with Sweden before returning to Merseyside. If his body responds, Liverpool boss Arne Slot could hand him his debut against Burnley on September 14.