Speculation about surprise comeback had been rife, but ultimately Australia opted for discretion

Andrew McGlashan04-Dec-2025Pat Cummins became a genuine option for a recall in Brisbane over the past week as he surprised everyone with the speed of his recovery. However, Australia’s selectors ultimately decided there was too much risk attached in playing a bowler whose overs would still need to be managed, but are very confident in him being ready for Adelaide.Chair of selectors George Bailey said his panel had not been “playing silly buggers” in leaving Cummins out of the squad but refusing to officially rule him out of contention in the lead-up to the second Test. However, he did admit a hug between Cummins and Andrew McDonald during a pitch inspection on Wednesday had been “for laughs”.Bailey said that there had been no expectation of Cummins being available when the group was selected but it became a realistic prospect as he ramped up his training in Brisbane, which included two spells on Monday and his first bowls on back-to-back days.”We weren’t playing silly buggers with him not being in the squad and in the mix. But I think once we got up here, saw his training, got as much of the background medical information as well, it became a live possibility,” he said. “Then it was just working through the permutations of what would that look like in terms of the amount of overs, what would it look like going forward from that as well.Related

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“I don’t think we thought he was going to be as close, it really changed through the week. Then risk tolerance became the conversation around what could he take on. Yes, he could have played. There would have been some restrictions around the overs and then obviously just the permutations [around that].”There was also consideration into what bringing Cummins back for this Test could mean going forward, and the added pressure it could leave on the rest of the attack. “Being in a really controlled environment [in] the nets where you can be really structured around the breaks and how you want it, then it’s just that risk of maybe going into a game,” Bailey said. “There’s some things you can control and probably some things that do get taken out of your control.”Meanwhile, Bailey said that the selectors had not got to the stage of debating whether Usman Khawaja would retain his place for the Gabba because he had never been passed fit to play. Khawaja batted on Tuesday before being ruled out of the Test the following day, having not recovered from the back spasms he suffered in Perth. He returned to the nets on Thursday. Travis Head, who made 123 in Australia’s chase in the opening match, will continue in the opening role during the second Test.”He hadn’t got his back back to baseline,” Bailey said. “And if you’re not back to the starting point then it’s obviously a heightened risk. There’s obviously your own performance, but when you’re injured and you feel like you’ve let the team down, I think that was something he was just conscious of; if it happened again, it would be an awful feeling. So sitting this one out buys time.”For now, Head is not being locked in at the top beyond this Test, and there has even been discussion of having in-match flexibility to batting orders.”We’ve gone into this series so far very much with a Test-by-Test focus,” Bailey said. “I imagine we’ll get another look at it here and see what that looks like and see that combination. We can cross that bridge [and] make that decision as and when we need to make that decision, but it’s an interesting one. What’s the threshold now for it to be a specialist opener, what’s that look like?”

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been dealt another blow with an injured star now facing several weeks on the sidelines.

Arsenal navigate plethora of injuries to top Premier League table

Considering the sheer number of key first team players who’ve been sidelined at various points already this season, Arsenal’s position at the top of the Premier League table is all the more impressive.

The Gunners have endured a torrid season with injuries, much like last campaign, which has severely tested Arteta’s squad depth.

While Arsenal have still begun the campaign very strongly, and are unbeaten in their last 18 matches across all competitions, their relentless succession of fitness problems has affected big-name personnel across multiple positions.

Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest

Athletic Bilbao 0-2 Arsenal

Arsenal 1-1 Man City

Port Vale 0-2 Arsenal

Newcastle 1-2 Arsenal

Arsenal 2-0 Olympiacos

Arsenal 2-0 West Ham

Fulham 0-1 Arsenal

Arsenal 4-0 Atlético Madrid

Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace

Arsenal 2-0 Brighton

Burnley 0-2 Arsenal

Slavia Prague 0-3 Arsenal

Sunderland 2-2 Arsenal

Arsenal 4-1 Tottenham

Arsenal 3-1 Bayern Munich

Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal

Arsenal 2-0 Brentford

August proved particularly damaging, with Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Ben White and William Saliba all sustaining injuries.

Odegaard’s MCL knee injury against West Ham in early October proved especially problematic, keeping the captain out for nearly two months and robbing Arsenal of their creative heartbeat during crucial fixtures.

Gabriel Magalhaes remains absent for weeks following a thigh injury sustained during Brazil’s November friendly against Senegal. His regular partner Saliba has battled recurring problems, missing recent matches against Chelsea and Brentford due to an unspecified knock.

Arsenal handed Declan Rice injury twist after pre-Aston Villa update

The England international has been their arguable player of the season.

ByEmilio Galantini 6 days ago

Summer signing Cristhian Mosquera compounds Arteta’s concerns after suffering a ‘complicated’ ankle injury that will require further testing to determine his recovery timeline.

Declan Rice provided fresh worries after limping off late against Brentford with a calf problem, and while the England midfielder insisted he felt “fine” ready to play against Aston Villa this afternoon, Arteta suggests he’s subject to a late fitness test.

Leandro Trossard has missed matches with muscular issues but should return within ‘days’ according to Arteta’s latest briefing, with the same going for Saliba.

Havertz suffered a setback in his knee rehabilitation and won’t return until possibly late December, while Gabriel Jesus finally returned to contention recently after missing nearly a year recovering from an ACL tear.

Summer signing Noni Madueke was out for two months after knee damage against Man City in September, though scans cleared him of cruciate ligament damage. The winger has since returned to action, providing Arteta with a renewed attacking threat.

That is a staggering 10 first-team stars who’ve been sidelined at various points, or still are, with a pretty concerning update now coming to light on Mosquera’s condition.

Cristhian Mosquera facing eight weeks out after Arsenal injury blow

The Spaniard was forced off early doors during Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Brentford in midweek, and according to BBC journalist Sami Mokbel, Mosquera now faces ‘at least’ six weeks out through injury in ‘another blow’ to Arsenal.

The key phrase there is ‘at least’, and it could be as long as two months, with Saliba’s fitness now becoming more crucial than ever.

If the Frenchman is still unable to start, then Arteta will have little choice but to play Jurrien Timber alongside Piero Hincapie for this afternoon’s crunch clash against Villa in the Midlands.

White would then likely be handed his second consecutive league start at right-back for the first time since May, with Arsenal’s strength in depth now set to play an even more pivotal role in their quest to win a first league title in 22 years.

It is important to note that the timeframe for Mosquera’s injury lay-off are initial concerns from within Arsenal, with the ex-Valencia starlet set for further testing to determine his exact recovery timeline.

It is a blow for the centre-back personally after his fine start to life at N5, despite having to contend with being a back-up to Arteta’s first-choice centre-back pairing.

Arsenal believe Mosquera could become one of the best centre-backs in world football in a few years, according to some reports, and nothing we’ve seen so far disproves that theory.

Ben Stokes, Will Jacks show application in 96-run stand but crushing defeat was in the post

Tristan Lavalette07-Dec-2025

Michael Neser walks off with the ball raised•Getty Images

England batted against type and belatedly produced a rearguard, but it was in vain as seamer Michael Neser justified his contentious selection with a five-wicket haul to lead Australia to a crushing second Test victory.Just six days in, Australia have a stranglehold of an Ashes series that is quickly becoming decidedly one-sided. But they were made to work on day four with England skipper Ben Stokes and Will Jacks stonewalling for almost half a day in a 96-run seventh-wicket partnership lasting almost 37 overs.But Neser, surprisingly selected ahead of offspinner Nathan Lyon, dismissed both batters as England quickly fell away much like they have done numerous times in this series. Neser was sensational on the back of a deadly spell with the pink ball under lights on day three.Related

• Hazlewood out of Ashes, Cummins confirmed for Adelaide

• England at breaking point as Ashes dreams dismantled

• 'We'll leave it out there' – Steven Smith on Jofra Archer confrontation

• McCullum: England 'over-prepared' in second Test build-up

• Smith praises 'exceptional' Neser and 'freak' Carey

He was aided by outstanding fielding, a notable contrast between the teams after England dropped five catches in Australia’s first innings.Skipper Steven Smith snatched a stunning one-hander low to his left to end Jacks’ 92-ball grind, while wicketkeeper Alex Carey completed a stellar effort with the gloves by holding on to a nick up at the stumps to dismiss Stokes.Any hope of a miracle ended with the sight of a forlorn Stokes trudging off the Gabba having given his all with 50 off 152 balls.Needing just 65 runs for victory, Travis Head came out blazing as Australia raced to 33 for 0 after five overs but dinner was still taken despite fears of stormy weather closing in on the Brisbane area.Head could not carry over the momentum on resumption, chopping on to Gus Atkinson who also nicked off Marnus Labuschagne. There were unexpected late fireworks when Smith and Jofra Archer had a war of words.But Smith, fittingly, came out on top with a hooked six off a 150 kph Archer bumper before sealing the victory in style with a huge blow over deep square off Atkinson. Smith finished 23 not out off just nine balls to ensure England left the field in need of plenty of soul searching ahead of the third Test in Adelaide.England will rue several passages of brainless play earlier in the match as their hopes of regaining the Ashes appear shot. Had they batted with the application and grit that Stokes and Jacks exhibited earlier than the match might have taken a different course.But Australia thoroughly deserved their victory after such an even team performance. They outclassed and outsmarted England in another impressive effort without quicks Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.Jofra Archer and Steven Smith exchanged words•PA Photos/Getty Images

Smith continues to provide an excellent stand-in for Cummins as Australia’s mastery and experience of day-night cricket overwhelmed a ragged England.The main question at the start of the day was how long would play last with the result basically a formality. England resumed their second innings in dire trouble at 134 for 6 and still 43 runs from making Australia bat again. With the knives out, a beleaguered England’s only hope seemingly rested on Stokes replicating his Headingley-esque heroics.Going against type, a backs-to-the-wall approach was needed. Unlike a slew of his team-mates, Stokes had been very watchful late on day three to survive Australia’s onslaught and finish unbeaten on 4 from 24 balls. Under the baking sun, Stokes encountered far easier conditions with minimal swing on offer in a sedate start to the day’s play.He crawled to 12 off 50 balls before cracking a superb cover drive off Brendan Doggett in the highlight of a dour 28-run opening hour. There wasn’t much out of the ordinary apart from when Stokes backed away anticipating a bouncer and proceeded to forehand smash the ball, forcing Doggett to do his own fielding to the boundary at long-off.Australia’s quicks bowled excellently without reward and they tried different tactics in search of a breakthrough. In what had seemed unlikely at the start of the day, England hauled in the deficit prompting a standing ovation from the Barmy Army.The 50-run partnership between Stokes and Jacks was brought up a run later to a ripple of mostly ironic cheers from the terraces. They scored at 2.45 – the slowest scoring rate of the 164 partnerships of 50-plus in the Bazball era.Stokes had a nervous moment just before the elongated tea break when a short delivery from Scott Boland hit the shoulder of his bat and flew over a leaping Cameron Green in the gully.With a wicket proving elusive for the quicks, Smith might have wished he could throw the ball to Lyon but, instead, he gave Head’s part-time spin a go. Labuschagne also unfurled his seam bowling in the last over before tea as Stokes and Jacks defied the odds in the first wicketless session of the series.It was much the same early in the second session with Stokes digging in while Jacks, playing just his third Test, looked composed and balanced at the crease.
Jacks brought up his first boundary of the day when he clipped beautifully through midwicket as he passed his previous Test high score of 31.Smith had started to look frustrated in the field, but his mood brightened considerably when he took it upon himself to produce a moment of magic to end Jacks’ resistance.Stokes had barely acknowledged his hard-fought half-century, knowing there was so much work still to do. But he soon walked off disappointed after falling to Neser, throwing his head back in agony with the bitter realisation that the match was effectively over.England lost their last 4 for 17 in their latest collapse as Neser claimed his first five-wicket innings haul of his brief Test career when he dismissed Brydon Carse.Smith equalled Rahul Dravid to sit second all-time in outfield catches and he celebrated with gusto knowing Australia were on the brink of another big win over their hapless opponent.

With conditions in Guwahati nowhere near as bowler-friendly as Kolkata, India were skilful enough to keep South Africa in check on day one

Karthik Krishnaswamy22-Nov-20252:46

Did umpires stretch play despite fading light?

There are 20s, 30s and 40s, and there are 20s, 30s and 40s. On a pitch like in Kolkata last week, getting that far felt like a triumph. Not so on an entirely different surface in Guwahati, where South Africa’s batters kept getting out for similar scores.This was the classic first-day Indian pitch. A small window of help for the seamers at the start, and bits of encouragement for the spinners to keep coming back for another ball, another over, another spell. But the batters could trust their defence, and feel fairly secure if they had spent a bit of time at the crease.This was a pitch where converting starts felt like, A: a meaningful phrase, and B: a reasonable expectation. And yet, six South African batters fell for scores between 13 and 49.Related

Kuldeep three-for gives India edge on flat pitch

Stubbs has 'worked a lot' on his defence and it's showing

It’s natural temptation, while looking at such a scorecard and watching some of the dismissals — two batters caught at mid-off while looking to clear that fielder — to conclude that the batters threw away promising starts and only had themselves to blame.That scorecard and those dismissals, however, were also products of relentless excellence from an India attack of high quality and depth. For over after over, hour after hour, they gave South Africa only so much, and as avoidable as some of the dismissals looked, they didn’t come about from rash shots as much as errors committed by humans under pressure.This wasn’t the pressure of survival that batters faced in Kolkata. It wasn’t the pressure of slow, low pitches that cut off scoring options. It was the incremental pressure of spending time in the middle, surviving good bowling, getting through good spells, and even scoring runs, but somehow not feeling like you’re getting ahead in the game.India have done this many times to visiting teams over many years, but not so much in recent months. For at least a year now, India have not bowled in these sorts of conditions at home, against strong opposition.And finally, here it was, at 1-0 down in a two-Test series, with the toss lost and the opposition probably getting the best batting conditions of the match. This was India’s attack reminding viewers of its greatest strength: not just high levels of skill, but the ability to execute skills at a high level, with exacting control over long periods, as a collective.2:45

ten Doeschate: ‘These sorts of wickets suit us better’

On days like this, reward doesn’t always come in explicable ways. Jasprit Bumrah had bowled as good a new-ball spell as you can hope to see in these conditions, inducing nine false shots and conceding just seven runs in six overs, without reward and with one chance dropped in the slips. When he finally broke South Africa’s opening stand at 82, he did it with a ball that didn’t seem to do much at all; Aiden Markram seemed to play ever so slightly down the wrong line, and inside-edged his drive onto the stumps.For most of the second session, India bowled with a grim sense of purpose, looking to make the most of a little bit of help. The spinners extracted bounce from the red-soil surface, and the seamers were beginning to get a vague hint of reverse swing. But the bounce also encouraged the batters to use their feet and hit over the top, and the ball was coming on nicely enough for them to find the boundary by transferring their weight into checked drives and pushes and placing them into gaps.And yet, India went at under three an over through the session despite taking just one wicket, despite Temba Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs going to lunch having put on 74.Hard Test cricket involving deep, skillful attacks can be like this. Batters can get in and build partnerships without moving the game through any great distance or at any great speed. This is the long game.And if you’re batting on 41 in these circumstances, and you see a ball that looks vaguely hittable, when mid-off is up saving the single, you can end up doing what Bavuma did in the third over after lunch, off Ravindra Jadeja. This was a bowler who had conceded just 21 in his first nine overs, and here was a ball that seemed to be right in the slot. Why wouldn’t you go after it?”I think we kept pressure on for long periods of time,” India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said after the day’s play. “And when scoring’s not that easy, when you can only really score off bad balls, it sort of adds pressure onto the batting units. And maybe that’s the reason for guys getting in and no one getting a big score yet.”The other reason was that India have at least two bowlers who don’t need a lot of help from the conditions to be a constant threat. Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav.Kuldeep Yadav took three wickets on a flat first-day surface•BCCIKuldeep’s dismissal of Stubbs was probably the highlight of the day, coming off a brilliantly conceived delivery, the first of a new spell. On Indian pitches with lower bounce, Kuldeep attacks the stumps relentlessly. On this surface, though, Kuldeep often hit the sticker of the bat when batters defended him off the front foot. This bounce broadened the possibilities of dismissal, bringing the right-hand batters’ outside edge into play.Stubbs tends to stride forward down the line of leg stump regardless of the line of the ball, with his front leg seldom going across to the off side. From this position, he relies on his reach, hands and head position to do a lot of work.So Kuldeep dangled the ball wide of off stump, well outside Stubbs’ eyeline, and drew his hands fatally towards the ball. It turned a little less than Stubbs probably expected, and KL Rahul caught it at slip. Stubbs was on 49; did the possibility of a pushed single to get to fifty play a role in the dismissal?”No, not at all,” Stubbs said. “To be honest, I’ve faced him quite a few times on his first ball [of a spell], and that was I think the best one he’s bowled. From my angle, it sort of beat me in the drift.”That’s why my hands got away … On a day-one wicket, that’s probably how he’s trying to get you out, but for him to bowl that first ball of his, coming back, I thought it was quite impressive.”A spinner needs to be able to beat batters in the air, as Kuldeep did with his drift away from Stubbs, to be able to threaten wickets constantly on normal day-one pitches. It helps if he can get the ball to turn sharply too, as Kuldeep did with the one that dismissed Ryan Rickelton at the start of the second session, inviting the drive, beating the batter with dip and turn, and finding the edge to the keeper.And Kuldeep has done these things many times when he has bowled on flat or flat-ish surfaces, whether it be his four-for on debut in Dharamsala in 2017, the first-day five-for against England at the same venue last year, or his eight-wicket match haul against West Indies on a slow, low Delhi pitch last month.Ravindra Jadeja drew a false shot from a vigilant Temba Bavuma•Associated Press”We know Kuldeep’s strike rate is phenomenal as it is,” ten Doeschate said. “He’s a wicket-taker and that’s why we’re picking him … But maybe the fact that he sort of gets overspin, and with the red soil and a little bit more pace in the wicket, maybe it was slightly more effective in the conditions today.”I think later on the fingerspinners are going to come into it. But certainly in terms of strategy and how we wanted to set up the first day, it’s a real bonus for him to pick up three wickets and get us a foothold in the game.”A foothold, but there is a long way to go, though India must count themselves in a good position with South Africa 247 for 6. Their anxiety about toss advantage, which has often led them to be suspicious of traditional home pitches, isn’t entirely unfounded; if this pitch begins breaking up early on day two, India will start their first innings in very different conditions.”I don’t think there was any evidence to suggest that it’s deteriorating quite yet,” ten Doeschate said, when asked how the pitch evolved through day one, and what they expect over the next couple of days. “I thought it played really nicely, particularly with the seam bowlers, it didn’t look like they could extract much from length or back of a length. So hopefully it stays in this sort of shape for at least an even amount of period for both teams to sort of cash in on the first-innings scores.”There’s some footmarks and some tiny ball marks, but nothing to suggest it’s dry or cracking at the top. So fingers crossed that it lasts and plays well for the next few days.”India’s efforts with the ball on day one could be making their team management wonder if these pitches may not, after all, suit them better than surfaces like Kolkata’s that weaponise the opposition’s bowlers too.”It’s a really tough one,” ten Doeschate said. “And my personal point of view is that the wicket very rarely determines who wins the game. If we’d played better in Kolkata, I feel we could have won the Test on that surface.”But having said that, you’ve got to introspect and look at recent results. I think these sort of wickets maybe suit us a little bit better. You’ve got to be prepared to fight really hard and this game is going to go deep. And the only thing I would say is maybe the toss becomes even more important in these conditions.”So if you are going to be prepared to lose the toss, you have to put on a display like that today and really fight for every run. Make sure you stay in the game. And at some point the pressure is going to come. It’s just going to come later in this game.”But that’s a very fair question. And yeah, the template for us is probably closer to this than, you know, playing on some of the wickets we have played on.”As big an achievement as it was, then, for India’s bowlers to keep South Africa to 247 for 6 on this pitch, it was perhaps an even bigger one to get a member of their coaching staff to make this statement.

كشفت تقارير صحفية تطورات حالة النجم أشرف حكيمي، لاعب الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي باريس سان جيرمان ومنتخب المغرب.

ويحاول الظهير المغربي الدولي التعافي من التدخل العنيف الذي تعرض له من جانب لويس دياز خلال مباراة باريس سان جيرمان ضد بايرن ميونخ.

كان حكيمي قد علق على إصابته ومدى سعيه في اللحاق ببطولة كأس أمم إفريقيا المقبلة والتي ستحتضنها بلاده، (للتفاصيل).

ووفقًا للصحفي الشهير فابريس هوكينز، فإن أشرف حكيمي سيسافر إلى المغرب لمواصلة تعافيه والاستعداد لكأس الأمم الإفريقية.

وأفاد أنه سيرافقه أحد أعضاء الجهاز الطبي لناديه باريس سان جيرمان لمتابعة تطور حالته.

وذكر أن الهدف هو أن يكون اللاعب المغربي جاهزًا للانضمام إلى باريس سان جيرمان فور عودته من كأس الأمم الإفريقية وأن يكون في حالة بدنية رائعة، وتتمتع إدارة باريس سان جيرمان بعلاقة جيدة مع الجهاز الفني للمنتخب المغربي.

🚨🇲🇦Achraf Hakimi va se rendre au Maroc pour poursuivre sa réathlétisation et préparer la CAN. Un membre du staff médical du PSG l’accompagne pour assurer son suivi. L’idée étant que le Marocain puisse être opérationnel avec le PSG dès son retour de la CAN.
Bonne entente entre… pic.twitter.com/gqkGTf19Gv — Fabrice Hawkins (@FabriceHawkins) December 9, 2025

MatériaMais Notícias

Nesta terça-feira foi realizada a última audiência pública para a aprovação do projeto de potencial construtivo para a reforma de São Januário, estádio do Vasco. Realizada no ginásio da Colina Histórica, moradores da Barreira e comerciantes locais mostraram a importância da modernização do estádio.

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➡️ Tudo sobre o Gigante agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso canal Lance! Vasco

Com a aprovação da ncomunidade ao projeto, mas um passo foi dado para que o sonho dos vascaínos saia do papel. Agora é partir para os trâmites finais: a última votação em segunda discussão na Câmara dos Vereadores e, finalmente, a sanção do prefeito Eduardo Paes. Após a audência, o presidente Pedrinho falou sobre o sentimento de ver a Colina Histórica se renovando durante a sua gestão.

“É muita história que tem aqui dentro, né? Quando você muda tudo você tem aquele sentimento de saudade, porque está muito próximo disso acontecer. Mas era muito necessário, pela questão estrutural, da capacidade. A gente sabe que não dava para colocar um estádio maior ainda pela questão do entorno. A gente sabe que isso vai ter um impacto direto em todos os aspectos de receita para clube. A gente sabe do engajamento, a gente sabe do potencial da torcida do Vasco. É tudo muito emocionante para mim, e quando começar as obras, que a gente spera que seja no final desse ano ou no iníco de janeiro, é ter paciência e segurar a ansiedade até o estádio ficar pronto.” – disse o ídolo vascaíno, que chego à Colina aos seis anos e começou no futsal.

O projeto foi recebido bem na Câmara, o que contribuiu para a agilidade do processo. Na primeira votação o projeto foi aprovado em unanimidade. Na audiência na Barra da Tijuca, os moradores da Barreira falaram sobre a importância da reforme e deram o sinal verde para a modernização e integração do entorno.

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Um dos principais pontos do ‘Novo São Januário’ é integrar a Barreira do Vasco ao estádio, derrubando os muros que separam a favela e a casa do Cruz-Maltino. A fachada histórica será preservada, mas o entorno será aberta à comunidade.

AMPLIAÇÃO DO ESTÁDIO
Área do terreno atual: 70.000,00M²
Área construída: 379.531,84M²
Custo da construção: R$506 milhões

OBJETIVOS DA REFORMA
Preservação da fachada
Ampliação da capacidade
Integração ao entorno
Modernização, conforto e segurança
Sustentabilidade

A partir da aprovação dos próximos dois passos, a diretoria já poderá procurar um comprador para o potencial construtivo no terreno da Barra da Tijuca. Segundo Pedrinho, já existem interessados. Além disso, também já há conversas para vender os naming rights do estádio.

“A gente tem que muita tranquilidade, valorizar o naming rights, por tudo o que representa o estádio de São Januário, um simbolismo histórico, social e esportivo, e a melhor decisão será tomada.”

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Tudo sobre

OriginalSão JanuárioVasco

The New York Yankees woke up just in time to mount a furious comeback to overcome the Blue Jays in Game 3 of the American League Division Series on Tuesday night and a likely hero provided the big blast. Aaron Judge's mammoth three-run homer managed to stay fair and collide with the foul pole, sending Yankee Stadium into a frenzy. Aaron Boone's much-maligned bullpen was stellar and held on for a 9-6 victory to set up another brink-of-elimination test on Wednesday night.

If New York is able to come back and win the series then Judge's homer will be replayed in highlight packages for years to come. But the blast is already surely being replayed on countless computers in the Tri-State area and will probably hinder workplace productivity.

Especially when those pinstripe enthusiasts see this alternate angle shared by the team.

It is pure cinema.

Man, that looks like fun. Imagine being in that exact seat and seeing the ball slowly make its way in your direction, hoping against hope that it would be a game-changing dinger and not simply a loud foul ball.

Magic.

The World Series between the Blue Jays and Dodgers will conclude in dramatic fashion with a winner-take-all Game 7 Friday night.

Los Angeles had their backs against the wall as they traveled to Toronto facing elimination, but pulled off an epic win in Game 6 after a dramatic ninth inning to force the decider. Rogers Centre will play host to the final game of Major League Baseball’s season, giving the Jays home-field advantage as the franchise tries to secure its first title since 1993.

MLB.com’s Sarah Langs dove into postseason history to find how teams in the Blue Jays and Dodgers’ positions have fared based on prior results. According to her research, teams playing any winner-take-all game in their home park are 69–67, including 31–29 in a best-of-seven series. That gives an ever so slight edge to Toronto, but L.A. certainly secured the momentum in the series by taking Game 6 on the road.

In best-of-seven series that follow the current 2-3-2 format, teams that have won Game 6 to force a Game 7 ended up winning the series 35 of 56 times (62.5%), also according to Langs. When the Game 6 winner has forced a Game 7 on the road, that road team has won the series 14 of 22 times (63.6%).

Langs’s always useful findings indicate the Blue Jays get a small bump for playing at their home park, but the Dodgers get a slightly bigger bump for taking Game 6, especially doing so on the road. If this year’s Fall Classic has taught us anything, it’s that Game 7 could go either way. Baseball fans are certainly in for a treat with the last game of the season as Shohei Ohtani and Max Scherzer toe the rubber for their respective sides.

Newcastle United’s wait for a first away win of the season is now over.

On Saturday night, the Magpies demolished Everton 4-1 on Merseyside, enjoying their first-ever visit to Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Malick Thiaw broke the deadlock inside 60 seconds, with Lewis Miley lashing home a second and then Nick Woltemade making it three in first half stoppage time, before Thiaw bagged his second shortly after the interval, rubber stamping victory.

Before this, Eddie Howe’s side had failed to win any of their six Premier League away games this season, losing each of their last three on the road, their most recent away league victory coming at a hopeless Leicester in April.

Now, ahead of back-to-back home games this week against Tottenham and Burnley, which Newcastle player put in an excellent performance at Bramley-Moore Dock, suggesting he may be the club’s best young talent?

Can Lewis Miley break into Newcastle's midfield?

For so long, the backbone of Newcastle’s rise, twice qualifying for the Champions League and winning last season’s EFL Cup, has been their midfield trio of Bruno Guimarães, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton.

However, attempting to balance both domestic and continental commitments, Howe has started to rotate his team a bit more, ahead of a jam-packed December featuring eight fixtures, so could Lewis Miley force his way into the starting lineup on a more regular basis?

Still a teenager, Miley started in the Premier League for just the second time this season on Saturday evening, scoring his first goal since netting during a 4-3 victory over Nottingham Forest in February.

Dominic Scurr of the Shields Gazette awarded him a 9/10 for his performance against Everton, stating that it was ‘so good to see him shining’ having been handed a rare start, getting the nod over Tonali.

For a long time now, Miley has been viewed as the brightest young talent in this Newcastle squad, becoming the second-youngest player in the club’s Premier League history to both score and record an assist in a single match, behind only Charles N’Zogbia.

Meantime, almost two years ago, Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout asserted that he is a “special talent”, labelling him “technical, elegant, composed, and hardworking” who is an “absolute unicorn in midfield”, emphasising that he’s been in the spotlight for quite a while.

However, did another player come to the fore at Hill Dickinson Stadium and underline that he is Newcastle’s brightest young thing?

Newcastle's bigger talent than Lewis Miley

Given their side’s inconsistent form, the Geordie faithful have been calling for Howe to tinker with his lineup, and they may be getting their wish.

Aaron Ramsdale displaced Nick Pope this weekend, while full-back is the other positions supporters have wanted to see a change, with Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall both starting too, and the latter certainly caught the eye.

The 21-year-old has now started back-to-back Premier League games, having been included in the lineup only twice this season in any competition beforehand, and underlined why supporters have been eager to see more of him, as the table documents.

Hall’s stats vs Everton

Stats

Hall

Match rank

Assists

1

1st

Successful dribbles

3

1st

Passing accuracy

91%

7th

Key passes

2

1st

Accurate crosses

2

2nd

Big chances created

2

1st

Ground duels won

5

1st

Tackle win %

100%

1st

Touches

87

3rd

Match rating

7.8

4th

Stats via SofaScore

As the table notes, Hall ranked first in a wide variety of statistics on Merseyside on Saturday evening.

He registered an assist, created two big chances and completed 91% of his 55 passes, while also winning five ground duels and 100% of his tackles.

For the majority of this season, Dan Burn has been the first-choice left-back, but the 6 ft 7 in hometown hero has been massively exposed in recent weeks.

This was particularly the case when he met Dango Ouattara of Brentford earlier this month, conceding a penalty and being sent off for fouling the Burkinabé winger during a 3-1 defeat in West London.

Thus, against both Man City and now Everton, Hall has proved he has to be Howe’s first-choice going forward, while the same may not yet be the case for his namesake in midfield.

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Since taking the job almost six years ago, Mikel Arteta has got an awful lot right at Arsenal.

He’s completely transformed the culture of the club and shown a level of tactical flexibility that most managers could only dream of.

Something else he perhaps doesn’t get enough credit for, though, is how he has kept the team ticking over and evolving.

GK

Bernd Leno

RB

Ainsley Maitland-Niles

CB

Sokratis Papastathopoulos

CB

David Luiz

LB

Bukayo Saka

CM

Lucas Torreira

CM

Granit Xhaka

RW

Reiss Nelson

CAM

Mesut Özil

LW

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

ST

Alexandre Lacazette

The makeup of his team has changed multiple times since December 2019, and he has pretty consistently found upgrades and replacements for players like Aaron Ramsdale, Granit Xhaka, Kieran Tierney and even Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

It now appears that he and the club are planning for the long term as well, with reports suggesting they are closing in on an incredible youngster who could be Bukayo Saka’s eventual heir.

Arsenal close in on Saka heir

Arteta has built a squad full to bursting with international superstars at Arsenal, some of whom people would consider world-class. Yet, when it comes to the club’s most important player, it’s hard to look past Saka.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

After all, on top of already having a frankly ridiculous tally of 76 goals and 73 assists in 280 games, the Hale Ender is the talisman of this side and has become the face of the project.

In other words, the club are going to need an extraordinarily special talent to come in and be his long-term heir when Saka does eventually call it a day.

Fortunately, it looks like the North Londoners might have just found that special prospect.

At least, that is according to a recent report from ESPN, which has revealed that Arsenal have agreed a deal in principle for the incredible winger Edwin Quintero and his twin brother Holger.

The two 16-year-olds are reportedly in London at the moment to iron out the details of the move, with an official announcement to come at a later date.

However, due to rules around foreign-born youngsters, the pair won’t actually join up with the squad until August 2027.

Even so, Arsenal fans should be excited about the development as both teenagers are very highly thought of indeed, and Edwin Quintero looks like someone who could become Saka’s successor.

Why Edwin Quintero will be Arsenal's next Saka

Now it should almost go without saying that, due to Saka being the player he is and Quintero still only being 16, there is little to no chance that the youngster would come in to instantly challenge the Englishman in 2027.

However, as the years progress, he could start getting more minutes in the first team, and then, when he’s in his early to mid-20s and the Hale Ender is in his 30s, there could be a real battle there.

That might sound absurd at the moment, and like far too much pressure to be putting on someone so young, but based on what those in the know are saying, Quintero could be something really quite special.

For example, respected analyst-turned-Como scout Ben Mattinson has described the teenager as someone with “the ability to run games and create something out of nothing,” as well as “the vision to pick out runners”, which sounds quite a lot like the Gunners’ talisman.

Moreover, U23 scout Antonio Mango has described the winger as an attacker who “is always looking to make a difference”, who “Likes to play with short pass-and-move principles”, but can still be incredibly “dangerous from distance.”

Then, just to take the hype surrounding the prospect to another level, respected talent scout Jacek Kulig has stated that the 16-year-old is “one of the most exciting prospects I have seen in recent years,” labelling him as a “huge talent” in the process.

Now, while it’s clear that his passing, vision and ability to change games make him appear like a younger Saka, he does also have more of one trait than the Englishman: flair.

In fact, this is something Mattinson has pointed out, claiming he “is so skilful and constantly uses flair to fool defenders”, and Mango has also highlighted his “excellent close-control.”

Ultimately, Saka is and will likely remain Arsenal’s most important attacker for quite some time, but the club look like they have found his long-term heir in Quintero.

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The incredible young talent could follow in Saka’s footsteps and become a superstar for Arteta and Arsenal.

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