Marnus Labuschagne will captain Queensland as he continues his push for a Test recall to face England

Alex Malcolm30-Sep-2025Test opener Usman Khawaja has been named to play in Queensland’s Sheffield Shield opener against Tasmania alongside Marnus Labuschagne who begins his quest to regain his Test place in the Ashes.Khawaja is likely to open alongside with another former Test batter in Matthew Renshaw at Allan Border Field on Saturday, with Queensland captain Labsuchagne likely to bat at No. 3 despite being one of the candidates to open with Khawaja in the Ashes.Related

• Australia's Ashes 'bat-off' begins: Who could open against England?

• Labuschagne launches with a century: 'Nothing else matters but runs'

• CA to trial injury subs with tactical twist in Sheffield Shield with eye to Test cricket use

Elsewhere, fast bowler Brendan Doggett, another Ashes contender, will miss South Australia’s opening round clash with Victoria in Adelaide due to a slight hamstring niggle. They are hopeful he will be available for the second round which starts on October 15. Australia quick Scott Boland is a certain starter for Victoria.Khawaja, 38, has not played any cricket since the third Test of the Caribbean tour in early July. He has a top score of 47 in his last ten Test innings. Heading into last summer he played club cricket for Valley as well as three One-Day Cup matches for Queensland and three Shield games before the first Test.It remains to be seen whether Khawaja plays two or three Shield matches before the first Test in Perth but he is unlikely to play all four. Following the drama of last summer when Khawaja and Queensland high performance manager Joe Dawes traded public barbs late in the season over his hamstring issue and unavailability in the final round of the season, Queensland Cricket stated on Tuesday that they “will work with Cricket Australia and support their plans for Khawaja’s individual playing preparations between now and the opening Test of the Ashes series on 21 November.”Queensland have also named exciting former Australia Under-19 World Cup winning captain Hugh Weibgen in their squad and he looks likely to make his first-class debut following a superb start to the season in the Dean Jones Trophy where he made a stunning 115 not out from 94 balls to chase down 322 against Western Australia.Former New South Wales allrounder Hayden Kerr is also in line to play his first Shield game for his new state having not played first-class cricket since October 2023.Queensland are without Xavier Bartlett who is in New Zealand with Australia’s T20I squad while Tom Staker and Lachlan Hearne are unavailable due to Australia A duty in India. Callum Vidler (back) and Mark Steketee (hamstring) are also unavailable.Queensland squad: Marnus Labuschagne (capt), Hugo Burdon, Jack Clayton, Benji Floros, Hayden Kerr, Usman Khawaja, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Gurinder Sandhu, Mitchell Swepson, Hugh Weibgen, Jack Wildermuth

A brief recap of the second round of games in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26

Shashank Kishore28-Nov-2025

Mhatre’s maiden ton studs Mumbai win

Ayush Mhatre continued his exciting initiation into top-flight cricket with a 53-ball 110 in Mumbai’s convincing win over Vidarbha as they made it two in two. Mumbai chased down 193 with 13 balls to spare and seven wickets in hand.Named India Under-19 captain for the Asia Cup earlier in the day, this was Mhatre’s maiden T20 century. His knock contained eight fours and eight sixes. Mhatre’s knock paved the foundation, while Suryakumar Yadav (35 off 30) and Shivam Dube (39 off 19) polished off the chase. Mhatre’s century made him the youngest man (18 years, 135 days) to get hundreds in first-class, List-A and T20s, shaving more than a year from Rohit Sharma’s record (19 years, 339 days). He also became the third-youngest to hit a men’s T20 century, after Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Vijay Zol.Dube also continued to be relied on as a handy seam option, picking up 3 for 31 off his four overs. He has now bowled seven overs across two matches for four wickets.

Shaw half-century gives Maharashtra first win

Prithvi Shaw marked his captaincy debut for Maharashtra with a sparkling 36-ball 66 in an eight-wicket win over Hyderabad. It was Maharashtra’s first win in the competition, as they hunted down 192 with eight balls to spare. Arshin Kulkarni anchored the chase superbly, finishing unbeaten on 89 off 54 deliveries to seal victory.

Samson misses out; Kerala lose

Kerala stumbled against Railways, losing by 32 runs after failing to chase down a modest 150 in Lucknow. Sanju Samson, who opened the tournament with a half-century, was out for 19 off 25 balls, while Rohan Kunnummal, his opening partner who made an unbeaten 60-ball 121 in Wednesday’s win over Odisha, managed just 8.

Chahal, Sindhu shine; Haryana clinch Super Over

Haryana edged out Punjab in a tense Super Over finish to claim their first win of the tournament. Punjab’s chase of 208 was driven by Anmolpreet Singh’s 37-ball 81, but Yuzvendra Chahal turned the tide with a vital double-strike, removing Salil Arora and Nehal Wadhera in quick succession.Related

• Rajat Patidar cleared to play after knee injury

• Sairaj Patil – the six-hitting, seam-bowling man to watch out for

• Ayush Mhatre to lead India at the Men's Under-19 Asia Cup in Dubai

Punjab’s chase grew increasingly chaotic: Gurnoor Brar was retired out after a scratchy 8 off 10 balls, before Sanvir Singh (30* off 16) and Harpreet Brar (10* off four) somehow stretched the game into a Super Over. There, Punjab mustered only a single run while losing Abhishek Sharma and Sanvir. Haryana needed just one delivery in response, striking a boundary first ball to clinch a dramatic win.Nishant Sindhu top-scored for Haryana in regulation time with a 32-ball 61. He had also played a key role in their opening game, hitting a cameo 33 while also picking up 2 for 28.

All-round Anukul stuns Karnataka

After returning figures of 2 for 13 in three overs to restrict Karnataka to 157 for 9, Anukul Roy, the left-handed allrounder, single-handedly took Jharkhand home in a tense final-over finish.With no other batter scoring more than 15, Jharkhand’s chase came down to how long Anukul could steer the innings, and he did that by scoring an unbeaten 95 in 58 balls. Wickets kept tumbling around No. 5 Anukul, with seven batters returning single-digit scores, but his nine fours and five sixes earned Jharkhand their second win in two games to move atop Group D.

Venkatesh shines; Jitesh, Suryavanshi fall cheaply

Released by KKR after being bought for a hefty INR 23.5 crore last year, Venkatesh Iyer offered a timely reminder of his value in the middle order with an unbeaten 55 off 34 balls in Madhya Pradesh’s 62-run win over Bihar. This was their first win in the competition.Set 175, Bihar collapsed for 112. Fourteen-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, almost certain to feature in the upcoming Under-19 World Cup, has so far made 14 and 13 in his two outings. With one win from two matches, MP will also be lifted by the return of Rajat Patidar for their third game on Sunday.Vaibhav Suryavanshi started SMAT 2025 with a couple of low scores•PTI

Meanwhile, Jitesh Sharma’s stint with his new team Baroda hasn’t started the way he would’ve liked. After making 4 on debut in a defeat against Bengal, he managed just 5 in Friday’s loss against Puducherry. Baroda have now lost both their games. Adil Ayub Tunda, the fast bowler from Jammu and Kashmir who has impressed several talent scouts, picked up 4 for 30 for Puducherry.

Losing players due to injury has never been considered a positive thing but when you lose all three of your main forwards, two of which are Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, then the bad news quickly takes a more alarming turn.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel for Blaugrana, so the latest tweet from Barcelona’s official account would lead us to believe.

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The club have officially confirmed that the Uruguayan has returned to training as they announced this big good news on their social media and Twitter accounts on Wednesday, a post you would anticipate to evoke widespread enthusiasm ahead of his return.

But many of the fans simply couldn’t care less about Suarez and all they wanted to hear about was what’s going on with Messi.

Many were also quick to label this news as “bad” and even “miserable”, while one fan labelled Suarez a “clown”.

You can see some of their reactions to the club’s official announcement in the collection of tweets down below.

Check them out…

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

After getting back to winning ways against Leicester on Saturday, Manchester United open up their Europa League campaign with a clash against Ukrainian side Astana on Thursday night.

It may not have the same glitz and glamour of the Champions League, but the competition still has plenty of advantages, not least of which is the opportunity for younger players to make their mark.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have plenty of up-and-coming talents just waiting on the side-lines, and the clash against Astana is surely the perfect moment for the United boss to unleash them. And with that in mind, here’s a look at how the Red Devils could potentially line up on Thursday.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Solskjaer confirmed the side’s number two goalkeeper, Sergio Romero, would get the nod ahead of David de Gea. In front of him, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof’s fledgling partnership will be given a rest, with the United boss confirming Axel Tuanzebe will be given a rare start. Alongside him, Phil Jones could make his return from the wilderness for a rare appearance too.

Fred’s impressive cameo against Leicester is enough to get himself a place in the starting eleven, whilst Nemanja Matic has been pretty vocal about his desire to play more this season. Experience in the middle of the park is a must.

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United fans could be most excited about the kind of players Solskjaer chooses to use in the attacking positions. Tahith Chong and Mason Greenwood were two of the stars of the club’s pre-season tour over the course of the summer, and the Europa League no doubt represents their best chance of first-team football.

Solskjaer has already confirmed Greenwood will start from the off, and there will no doubt be hope for someone like Chong to follow his academy teammate into the line-up too.

And with Anthony Martial still having not recovered from his injury, Marcus Rashford looks set for another chance in the number nine role. It may not be a side completely dominated by youngsters, but the likes of Chong and Greenwood would help make for an exciting team should Solskjaer decide to throw them in.

يشعر نجم فريق مانشستر سيتي سيرجيو أجويرو بحالة من القلق بشأن مستقبله في النادي الإنجليزي، وما سيؤول إليه مصيره نهاية الموسم الحالي.

ومن المقرر أن ينتهي العقد الحالي للاعب الأرجنتيني مع مانشستر سيتي في الصيف القادم.

ولا يوجد أي اتفاق حتى الآن بين أجويرو وإدارة مانشستر سيتي حول تجديد عقده.

وذكرت صحيفة “ذا صن” الإنجليزية أن أجويرو يشعر بحالة من الإحباط بعد معاناته من أجل الحصول على وقت للمشاركة، منذ عودته من الإصابة في الشهر الماضي.

وأوضحت أن مصادر مقربة من أجويرو أكدت أن الأخير يشعر بالقلق من أن مسيرته المتألقة في مانشستر سيتي، والتي استمرت لعشر سنوات، قد تنحدر نحو نهاية مخيبة للآمال.

وكانت تقارير صحفية قد أفادت أمس أن أجويرو بدا متذمرًا بعد مباراة مانشستر سيتي وبوروسيا مونشنجلادباخ لعدم حصوله على تمريرات كافية من زملائه (لمطالعة التفاصيل من هنا).

“ذا صن” أفادت أن أجويرو يتطلع إلى البقاء في مانشستر سيتي، ولكن إذا لم يكن هناك عرض وشيك، فهو مستعد للانضمام إلى نادِ آخر في إنجلترا.

وأشارت إلى إنه رغم اهتمام برشلونة وباريس سان جيرمان بضم أجويرو، لكن أن اللاعب يفضل الدوري الإنجليزي ويرغب في البقاء بإنجلترا.

وذكرت أن ممثلي أجويرو ينتظرون عروض الأندية المهتمة بضمه في موسم الانتقالات الصيفي القادم.

واستمرت الصحيفة قائلة إن ممثلي أجويرو يعلمون مدى إعجاب مدرب تشيلسي توماس توخيل باللاعب، منذ أن كان الألماني في باريس سان جيرمان.

ومن ثم، فإن وكلاء أجويرو يترقبون عروضًا كذلك من نادي تشيلسي، حيث أن إمكانية انتقاله إلى منافس محلي لـ مانشستر سيتي تُعد مفاجأة.

Understandably, three Manchester City players make the XI after their incredible win over Watford.

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However, the team is heavily based around West Ham and Leicester players too after their huge wins against Man Utd and Spurs.

Three of the back five come from those clubs, as Lukasz Fabianski, Aaron Cresswell and Caglar Soyoncu get into the team, while further up the pitch James Maddison’s winning goal earns him a spot in the midfield.

[ad_pod ]It must hurt Gary Neville to have to lavish praise on Liverpool and their players every week, but sometimes you just can’t deny the truth.Indeed, Liverpool currently have some of the best players in the world at their disposal, and the Manchester United legend has had to admit that one of the Reds’ star players is world-class.

Indeed, although Neville has a deeply-ingrained hatred for Liverpool through his years of service for Manchester United, he couldn’t help but admit that Roberto Firmino is a world-class player.

This weekend’s performance against Newcastle had a number of players and pundits drooling over the Brazillian.

He provided a sublime assist for Mohamed Salah, and despite only coming on as a substitute he was voted Man of the Match.

Liverpool fans may not like the former England international, but they’ll certainly love this admission from a man who spent so long on the other side of such an intense rivalry.

It’s hard to disagree with Neville too, as Firmino has been a vital player for one of the best teams in Europe for multiple seasons now.

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Some Tottenham Hotspur fans on Twitter have been discussing the potential of Ajax boss Erik ten Hag being their next manager.

It’s fair to say the pressure has increased a little on Mauricio Pochettino following the humiliating 7-2 home defeat by Bayern Munich on Tuesday, and it appears to have led to supporters starting to think about who they would want to replace the Argentine if he goes.

Jose Mourinho is one name that was mentioned in the aftermath of the heavy loss to the Bundesliga giants, and it appears that others are talking about ten Hag.

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The 49-year-old of course led the Dutch side to the semi-finals of the Champions League last season, and they were on the cusp of meeting Liverpool in the final until Lucas Moura’s last-gasp goal.

They have started their current campaign in Europe’s elite club competition with two wins out of two as well – the latest an impressive 3-0 win in Spain against Valencia on Wednesday.

Ten Hag certainly seems to be doing something right then having nurtured the talents of Matthijs de Ligt and Donny van de Beek among others, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed in north London.

While one individual described him as “the closest to Poch in terms of philosophy”, another said he is a “young manager who would easily succeed at Tottenham”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Crystal Palace fans have been left delighted by their climb into the top four.

Roy Hodgson’s men beat West Ham United 2-1 at the London Stadium, as they came from behind in east London.

Sebastien Haller gave the Irons the lead but Patrick van Aanholt equalised from the penalty spot after Declan Rice was adjudged to have handled the ball in the area.

Jordan Ayew gave the Eagles all three points with a late strike, despite initially seeing it ruled out for offside. VAR stepped in and allowed the goal.

The result moved Palace into the top four prior to Arsenal’s clash with Bournemouth on Sunday.

And fans were delighted with the display and the prospect of playing European football next season.

Of course, there remain 30 games of the season, with 90 points for each team to play for.

However, that has not stopped supporters getting carried away; they have lost just twice this term.

Take a look at the best of the reaction below!

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Danny Mills has questioned Liverpool’s midfield, raising concerns over their lack of creativity and goal threat.

What’s he said?

Speaking to Sky Sports (October 2, 11:26am), the former Leeds United and Manchester City man questioned the lack of attacking prowess in Jurgen Klopp’s favoured midfield trio.

“That three as it stands at the moment, with Henderson, Fabinho, and Wijnaldum, is there enough creativity in that?

“Is there enough goals in that? Wijnaldum might get a few, we’ve seen that. Henderson I don’t think is going to score too many. Fabinho is not going to score too many, and also they’re not going to create.”

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Thanks Sherlock

It’s hard to disagree with Mills purely from a factual perspective – Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum and Fabinho combined for just five goals and five assists last season in the Premier League, or ten direct goal contributions.

To put that into perspective, Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne already has two league goals and eight assists this campaign from a position on the right side of the Citizens’ midfield three, matching the Reds trio’s output from all of last year.

However, Liverpool are not designed to get goals and assists from midfield. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson produce most of the chances with 23 league assists between them last term, while the front three do all the goalscoring.

Combining the last two seasons with the beginning of this campaign, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane have scored a truly ridiculous 124 top-flight goals. That’s the equivalent of having two 30-goal strikers each year who have then grabbed two each at the beginning of this season.

So, while Mills is correct, Klopp’s workhorse midfield is poor at creating and scoring goals, that simply isn’t what they are in the team to do, nor do they need to do it to be successful.

Maybe it’s because he’s a former Man City player or maybe he simply hasn’t watched Liverpool enough, but this seems a really pointless and somewhat bizarre observation from Detective Sherlock Mills.