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All the key numbers as West Indies secure a series victory in thumping style

Sampath Bandarupalli13-Aug-20251991 – The previous instance of West Indies winning an ODI series against Pakistan – a three-match series in Pakistan, which they won 2-0. Pakistan were unbeaten in 11 series before losing the latest one, including winning their previous ten series.West Indies have now won each of their last four ODI series at home, having defeated Bangladesh last year and England in 2023 and 2024. Only once before had West Indies won four (or more) consecutive bilateral ODI series at home – nine between 1981 and 1990.2011 – West Indies also registered their first series win against Pakistan in any format since winning the one-off T20I at home in 2011. Pakistan went undefeated in 16 series against West Indies across formats in this period.The previous instance of West Indies winning a series consisting of more than one match against Pakistan was back in 2000, during a Test series at home. Pakistan won 20 of the 24 series in between, while another four ended in a draw.202 – West Indies’ win margin in the third ODI against Pakistan. It is only the fourth instance of West Indies winning by a margin of 200-plus runs in men’s ODIs. It is also only the fourth such defeat for Pakistan in the format.6 for 18 – Jayden Seales’ bowling figures at Tarouba are the third-best for West Indies in ODIs. The two better efforts came in the 1980s: 7 for 51 by Winston Davis against Australia in the 1983 World Cup, while Colin Croft took 6 for 15 against England in 1981.Seales’ figures are also the best by any bowler against Pakistan in this format, surpassing Dale Steyn’s 6 for 39 in 2013.Four of the six batters that Seales dismissed bagged a duck. Only one West Indies bowler had four batters dismissed for a duck in an ODI before Seales: Joel Garner against England in the 1979 World Cup final.18 – Hundreds for Shai Hope in ODIs, the third-most for West Indies, going past Desmond Haynes (17), and is now behind only Chris Gayle (25) and Brian Lara (19).Hope required 137 innings to score 18 hundreds in ODIs. Only Babar Azam (97), Hashim Amla (102), David Warner (115) and Virat Kohli (119) got there quicker.13.46 – Run rate of the partnership between Hope and Justin Greaves, who added an unbeaten 110 in only 8.1 overs. It is the second-highest run rate for a century stand for West Indies in ODIs – where balls faced by a partnership data is available.The unbeaten 110-run stand between Hope and Greaves is also the third-highest for West Indies for the seventh or a lower wicket in ODIs.92 – Pakistan’s total in the third ODI against West Indies, the tenth instance of them being bowled out under 100 in an ODI; four of those against West Indies.Pakistan’s previous sub-100 total in an ODI was 74 all out against New Zealand in 2018, while the last sub-100 total against West Indies by any team was 70 all out by Bangladesh in 2014.28 Difference between Pakistan’s total and Hope’s score in the third ODI. Only one West Indies batter had a higher difference between his score and the opposition’s total in an ODI: 54 by Richie Richardson, when he scored 109 at Sharjah in 1986 against Sri Lanka, who were later bowled out for 55.

Arsenal take on Chelsea this weekend in a blockbuster Premier League clash which could help to define this year’s title race, and Mikel Arteta has provided some team news ahead of the clash.

Arsenal take on Chelsea in mouth-watering Sunday encounter

Arsenal’s emphatic 3-1 victory over Bayern Munich on Wednesday evening has catapulted the Gunners into Sunday’s London derby with serious momentum.

Arteta’s side complemented their 100 per cent Champions League record with a dominant display that overwhelmed the Bundesliga champions, who were unbeaten in all competitions before their defeat at the Emirates.

It was a massive performance by Arsenal on a real night to remember, but attention now turns immediately to Stamford Bridge, where the league’s top two meet in what represents a genuine six-pointer.

Arsenal arrive at Chelsea’s home ground boasting a formidable recent record against their London rivals.

The north Londoners are unbeaten in their last seven matches against Chelsea, recording five wins and two draws over that mightily impressive run.

Chelsea currently sit six points behind Arsenal, meaning victory for the hosts would reduce that gap to three and reignite their title challenge.

However, a triumph for Arsenal would establish a potentially insurmountable nine-point cushion over their closest challengers, effectively ending Chelsea’s realistic hopes of catching the leaders barring a miracle.

Both sides enter the fixture riding waves of confidence following midweek European statements.

Arsenal hold 'initial talks' to sign Real Madrid target who Arteta thinks is 'ideal'

The Gunners are moving in ahead of January.

By
Emilio Galantini

Nov 28, 2025

Chelsea demolished Barcelona 3-0 with teenager Estevao producing a moment of magic to live long in the memory, while Arsenal’s dismantling of Bayern demonstrated their credentials as genuine Champions League contenders.

Captain Martin Odegaard made his long-awaited return from injury after coming on as a late substitute, gifting Arsenal a major boost ahead of Chelsea after both Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli also made their comebacks recently.

Supporters are now waiting for updates on Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Magalhaes and Leandro Trossard, with the latter subbed off against Bayern after picking up a knock.

Mikel Arteta shares Gabriel injury update out of Arsenal

Now, speaking in his pre-match press conference, Arteta has provided some news.

Arteta confirms that Gabriel will miss Arsenal’s trip to Chelsea after a further scan, with the Brazilian still not ready to take part.

Being without the “underrated” star for a little while longer is unfortunate, but there is some positive updates.

The Spaniard says that there is a ‘potential chance’ that Trossard could be available to play Chelsea, and refuses to rule out Gyokeres and Havertz playing a part too, with all three subject to late fitness tests.

When asked about Havertz and Gyokeres, Arteta explained:

As things stand, the Arsenal trio all have a chance for the matchday squad tomorrow, it would seem, which comes as a massive boost given their real shortage of attackers in the last two months.

Havertz hasn’t played since the start of the season due to a knee injury, while Gyokeres has been sidelined since Arsenal’s 2-0 win away to Burnley.

Christian Pulisic hailed Mauricio Pochettino’s effort to instill a more combative, unity-focused identity in the U.S. Men’s National Team, saying that emphasis on fighting for one another is already showing in camp. The AC Milan forward added that the 2026 World Cup continues to fuel both his personal ambitions and the team’s desire to inspire the next generation of American players.

Getty Images SportPochettino’s culture change

Pulisic framed Pochettino’s influence as cultural and tactical, arguing the Argentine coach wants the USMNT to mirror the collective toughness seen in elite international teams. 

“I mean I would say when we’re in camp and leading up to games, I think he has a real focus on just the fighting spirit of the team,” Pulisic told CBS Sports Golazo. “I think kind of with the South American background too, the Argentinian is very, I mean, you can see when they play. They have the best player, potentially ever, but they have 10 other guys around them to run through a brick wall and do all those things.

“And I think that’s kind of what he wants to instill within the team. And that fighting kind of nasty spirit, and I think that’s his main focus.”

While Pulisic acknowledged it is hard to measure a wholesale transformation without a steady run of competitive matches, he believes the seeds of that identity are beginning to take hold.

 “I think it has, it’s tough without the competitive, the more competitive games. [of World Cup qualifying] to really know," Pulisic said. "I think even in some of the friendlies we’ve played, I feel like the team does have a togetherness about them. And I feel very positive about where we are going.”

AdvertisementWorld Cup as motivation

Beyond tactical change, Pulisic described the 2026 World Cup as a personal driving force: a chance to help elevate the game in the United States and to give young American players tangible role models to emulate. 

“Like truly, it’s one of my biggest inspirations is to kind of push the game back in the US and especially to inspire the next generation,” Pulisic explained. “I mean, like we talked about, having an American player in Europe and being able to look up to a guy who’s doing incredible things, it pushed me so much to want to do that, to want to be that much better. To believe and see, ‘Okay, he’s done it now, I can do it too.’

“And I hope that some people have watched me play and maybe thought that….I hope that I can inspire a lot of people around the world especially American kids because it’s a an incredible life, an incredible journey that I’ve been on. And I hope that people can see that.”

GettyOut of USMNT’s November 2025 international camp

The American forward won’t be with the USMNT for the November international break as he continues his recovery back to full fitness.

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(C)Getty ImagesU.S. balance expectations

As the countdown to the 2026 World Cup continues, Pochettino faces the challenge of balancing player development with tactical implementation. The November international window represents one of the limited opportunities remaining for the coach to work with his full squad before the tournament begins.

The offspinner has put her career in veterinary science on hold to live her cricket dream

Shashank Kishore16-Oct-2024Eden Carson, 23, imagined being a reel sensation for things more serious than just a sheepish grin. But when she woke up on Monday, her Instagram blew up with “tons of stories” that she had been tagged in for being tongue-tied and grinning away when asked of New Zealand’s semi-final entry at the T20 World Cup.”When that interview [to TV presenter Laura McGoldrick] first happened, I don’t think it really set in that we’d made the semis,” Carson tells ESPNcricinfo. “I was just so proud and overwhelmed with joy that we’ve got this far, because I know a lot of people probably didn’t think we would get here.”Quickly realising the light-heartedness of the question, Carson breaks the seriousness and continues. “I’ve seen that reel a few times. The morning after, one of the girls was like, ‘oh you’ve been in my feed a lot’ and I was like ‘one reel of me giggling in that interview is all over the internet and stories’, so yeah, it’s just been there haunting me [laughs] at the moment.”Related

• 'I want to bowl it' – Bates' final over leaves resurgent New Zealand one step from glory

• Australia to give Healy as much time as possible to be fit for semi-final

• Grounding, poems and bird videos – how Paul Adams is inspiring South Africa

• The Soph and Suze show – New Zealand's hit sitcom seeks one last high

• October 17 at T20 World Cup: Unbeaten Australia take on SA in 2023 final rematch

Carson probably doesn’t realise she isn’t the only one haunted. India were, too, when she damaged them big time in the opening game by picking up the wickets of Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana with her offspin. It helped break New Zealand’s 10-match losing streak, while also throwing India’s tournament hopes into jeopardy.That performance set the tone for Carson, who has been Sophie Devine’s go-to powerplay bowler. Four of her five wickets in the tournament have come in this phase, her economy a miserly 5.44. And of the wickets she has picked up far, Mandhana’s has been her favourite.”I went into that game really wanting her wicket, especially because I was a match-up to her,” Carson says. “I was nervous in that first game because I hadn’t played India before. We knew a lot was riding on that game and if we could beat them, it’d help us big time. One of the girls actually told me ‘hey, you need to remember they haven’t faced you either’, and then I was like, that’s fair. So it’s kind of a two-way street really.”Carson feels like “I belong a lot more” now than she did when she first earned a New Zealand call-up ahead of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022. She celebrated her initiation with a bronze medal finish. Carson now has a chance of better that in UAE, at the T20 World Cup.”I have a lot more of a bowling routine now,” she says. “Like taking deep breaths when I’m at the top of my mark. I know what ball I’m going to be bowling. The outcome I want and the ball that I can’t bowl to my field and things like that.”Through the weight of her performances over time, Carson has been able to justify to herself the decision to put “everything else on hold.” She is a qualified veterinary nurse who also until recently worked at a dairy farm at home in Ranfurly, a town in New Zealand’s south island.Carson’s family runs a sheep and beef farm, but a desire to “prove” to her dad she can be “more than handy” at a farm got her to milk cows and work at a dairy farm owned by a family friend. That gig helped Carson earn extra income while studying and coming through the ranks playing domestic cricket in Otago.”My days would begin really early – I’d milk the cows early, and some days when I had morning training, I’d be like ‘so sorry, can’t get the cows in’ and head off to Dunedin, which is like an hour-and-a-half away from home. Our family friends were really adjusting; even now whenever I’m off cricket I often drop by to meet them.”Eden Carson played a key role in detailing India’s campaign early on•ICC/Getty ImagesIt’s at the farm that Carson’s love for animals grew. It had a massive influence on her choosing to pursue a degree in veterinary science, which she completed recently.”I think being on a farm has really driven that as well,” she says. “Just having lots of pets at the farm is fun. I always say I’m going home to see my parents, but it’s mainly to see my cats [laughs]. I was happy to be able to finish my studying just to have a back-up after cricket as well because you know cricket’s not going to be forever as well.”Carson, who has an annual retainer from New Zealand Cricket, now lives in Dunedin with her aunt to focus on the game. While cricket remains her primary focus, she has also branched out to learn the Māori language to keep up with her roots and culture – her mother is Māori.”I’ve loved it so much and I’ve had a lot of motivation to be able to learn it, even though it is quite hard,” she says. “Also being on tour makes things busy, but I’ve been staying on top of things which is good. But I’m really enjoying it at the moment.”Carson dreams of being the “world’s best offspinner”. Having gone through some technique changes “like getting more body into the ball, because my back was failing me a little bit earlier”, she is confident of ticking off her boxes.”I like Ash Gardner, she’s one of the best allrounders, but recently I follow Charlie Dean as well,” Carson says. “She’s one of the better off spinners as well; some people might not agree but I do. Just like watching her action and the variations she has. She’s also a great fielder and batter, so yeah.”For now, there’s just one thing on her mind. A World Cup trophy.

Dambulla will play host to all three matches, with the fixtures acting as preparation ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup

Danyal Rasool02-Dec-2025Pakistan will begin their build-up to the 2026 T20 World Cup with a three-match T20I series in Sri Lanka next year, during early January. The Salman Agha-led side will travel to Dambulla in Sri Lanka, where all three matches will be played on January 7, 9 and 11.The short tour is Pakistan’s first white-ball assignment of the new year, and the PCB said it “will provide the side with valuable match practice ahead of next year’s global event”. Pakistan are playing all their World Cup games in Sri Lanka.Over the past six months, the PCB has heavily prioritised fielding the national team for as much T20I cricket as possible. Since the end of the PSL in May 2025, Pakistan have played home and away series against Bangladesh, a series in West Indies, two tri-series, the Asia Cup, and a home series against South Africa. They were victorious in all but the away series in Bangladesh and the Asia Cup, where they lost the final to India.Related

• T20 World Cup: India grouped with Pakistan, England with West Indies

Sri Lanka have just concluded a three-week tour of Pakistan too, which saw them play three ODIs and a tri-series, with the latter also featuring Zimbabwe.Aside from the T20Is in Sri Lanka, Pakistan also have a three-match home series against Australia in the final week of January, before they return to Sri Lanka for the World Cup, which begins on February 7. Pakistan have been placed in Group A for the World Cup and their group fixtures, played in Colombo, will be against India, Namibia, Netherlands and United States.

Borussia Dortmund skipper Nico Schlotterbeck is confident of his team reaching the Champions League last-16 after they thrashed Spanish side Villarreal in the continental competition on Tuesday. The German side ran out 4-0 winners on home soil to keep them fourth in the European table, boosting their hopes of avoiding a knockout play-off tie.

• Dortmund dismantle Villarreal

  Dortmund thrashed Villarreal at home in their fifth Champions League game of the season. Striker Serhou Guirassy found the net twice, while Karim Adeyemi and Daniel Svensson found the net to help their side cruise past a 10-man Villarreal side. The victory keeps them high in the Champions League table and level on points with Chelsea and Manchester City after five matches, with Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Inter just two points above heading into their matches on Wednesday evening. 

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  Schlotterbeck happy for the goal difference

  The victory not only injected confidence into the side, but also provided a significant boost to their goal difference after keeping a clean sheet for the first time this month. With three games to go of the League phase of the competition, Schlotterbeck feels they have a good chance of staying in the top eight.

  "It's not easy, because I think you need 16 to 17 points," he said. "There are now three games left, two of them at home. I think if you win both at home, you're through. We have now also scored four goals. I think such a goal difference can also do good in the end. And for the first time we have now kept a clean sheet, we have already allowed a lot in the Champions League, so today is an all-round successful day."

  Striker Guirassy, who scored on the stroke of half-time and again in the 54th minute, was praised by the skipper. 

  "We came out of half-time better, that was important. In general, we hardly allowed anything and in the second half it was really good. Serhou didn't have an easy time either. He gets the trust from us and you have to stand there as a striker," Schlotterbeck commented.

• Guirassy and Svensson share their thoughts

  Guirassy was the man of the hour for Dortmund, as he piloted them to a crucial continental victory. The Guinea striker said: "It was an important win against a good Villarreal side. We are very happy with this result because it was important to win after the defeat against City. But Villarreal are a strong team. Some situations in the game went in our favour and we are satisfied tonight. It’s always nice to score goals. I’m happy that I can help the team. You can’t always score goals. We have to keep working hard."

  Svensson, who arrived this summer from Nordsjaelland after spending the second half of last season on loan at Dortmund, scored his second goal of the tournament. Delighted, he said: "We had planned to go into the game with a lot of energy. It was still a tough first half, but then we kept up the pressure. In the second half, we were a bit lucky with the penalty and the red card, of course, but overall it was a solid performance. It’s always nice to score a goal."

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  Two successive Bayer games await Dortmund

  Niko Kovac's Dortmund will turn their focus to the Bundesliga for the time being. They have a double-header against Bayer Leverkusen coming up, visiting Kasper Hjulmand's side for a Bundesliga clash on Saturday before hosting them in the DFB-Pokal on December 2. 

  A win would see Schlotterbeck & Co. leapfrog Leverkusen in the table into third place, though they could even end up second if RB Leipzig's result against Borussia Monchengladbach goes their way. Three points will be no easy task, however, given Leverkusen head into the game off the back of the Champions League win against Manchester City this week.

Naman Dhir is Jitesh Sharma’s deputy, while the squad also includes Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Priyansh Arya, Ramandeep Singh, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Suryansh Shedge, Abishek Porel and others

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Nov-2025Jitesh Sharma has been named captain of the India A squad for the upcoming Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Rising Stars Asia Cup, earlier the Emerging Teams tournament, to be played in Doha from November 14 to 23. Naman Dhir has been appointed his deputyThe selectors have also included 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi in the squad, which explains his absence from the four-team Under-19 Challenger Trophy. Over the years, that tournament has been used as a key marker by the junior national selection panel to finalise their squad for next year’s Under-19 World Cup – for which Suryavanshi appears to be a certainty.The 15-member squad, picked by Ajit Agarkar and his senior men’s selection panel, comprises some stellar IPL performers, most notably Punjab Kings and Delhi Premier League (DPL) star Priyansh Arya.

ACC Rising Stars tournament schedule

Nov 14 – Oman vs Pak; Ind vs UAE
Nov 15 – Ban vs HK; Afg vs SL
Nov 16 – Oman vs UAE; Ind vs Pak
Nov 17 – HK vs SL; Afg vs Ban
Nov 18 – Pak vs UAE; Ind vs Oman
Nov 19 – Afg vs HK; Ban vs SL
Nov 21 – Semi-finals: A1 vs B2; B1 vs A2
Nov 23 – Final

In his maiden IPL campaign in 2025, Arya struck 475 runs at a strike rate of 179.24 – the third-best in terms of runs for the franchise behind Shreyas Iyer and Prabhsimran Singh. Last week, Arya was handed a first-class debut by Delhi in the Ranji Trophy.The other key state and IPL performers include Abishek Porel, currently captaining Bengal in Abhimanyu Easwaran’s absence, and Harsh Dubey, who has been a regular feature across various India A squads over the past few months.The fast bowlers include Gurjapneet Singh, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Yudhvir Singh and Yash Thakur – all of whom are part of BCCI’s targeted pool of fast bowlers. Ramandeep Singh and Suryansh Shedge are the seam-bowling allrounders.Pakistan A and Oman will kick off the tournament, with the showpiece India A vs Pakistan A match slotted for November 16. The teams are divided into two groups: Group A has Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka, while Group B has India, Oman, Pakistan and UAE.This will be the first cricketing exchange between the men’s teams of India and Pakistan since the senior Asia Cup in September, though the senior women’s teams faced off at the ODI World Cup earlier this month.When the men played the Asia Cup, there were no handshakes or any other form of greetings between the players of the two countries, and it ended with India, the tournament champions, leaving Dubai without the trophy.It emerged that they had decided not to receive the trophy from the ACC chief, Mohsin Naqvi, who also happens to be PCB chairman and the country’s interior minister.

India A squad for Rising Stars Asia Cup T20 tournament

Priyansh Arya, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Nehal Wadhera, Naman Dhir (vice-capt), Suryansh Shedge, Jitesh Sharma (capt, wk), Ramandeep Singh, Harsh Dubey, Ashutosh Sharma, Yash Thakur, Gurjapneet Singh, Vijay Kumar Vyshak, Yudhvir Singh, Abishek Porel (wk), Suyash Sharma

Stats highlights from the third day’s play in Hamilton

Sampath Bandarupalli16-Dec-20245 Consecutive Test matches with a century for Kane Williamson at Hamilton’s Seddon Park. He is the first batter to score hundreds in five consecutive Tests at a venue. Fourteen players have hundreds in four successive Tests at a venue, including Don Bradman at two different grounds – Melbourne and Leeds.186 Innings Williamson took to score 33 hundreds in Test cricket. Only two batters got there in fewer innings – Ricky Ponting in 178 and Sachin Tendulkar in 181.ESPNcricinfo Ltd5142 Test Runs for Williamson in New Zealand – the first batter to achieve this feat. His batting average of 66.77 in New Zealand is the highest by any batter with 5000-plus Test runs in a country.4 Number of 150-plus scores for Williamson in Hamilton Tests. Only Mahela Jayawardene (six at SSC, Colombo and five in Galle) and Kumar Sangakkara (five at SSC) have more 150-plus scores at a venue. Bradman at the MCG, Len Hutton at The Oval and Joe Root at Lord’s also have four 150-plus scores at a ground.657 New Zealand’s lead in Hamilton is their second-highest in Test cricket. Their highest lead is 659 against Sri Lanka in the 2018 Christchurch Test.52 Test wickets for Gus Atkinson, who debuted in July this year. He’s taken the second most wickets by a bowler in his debut year, behind Terry Alderman’s 54 in 1981. Shoaib Bashir, who also made his Test debut in 2024, is third with 49 wickets, the same as Curtly Ambrose (49 wickets in 1988).ESPNcricinfo Ltd3 Batters dismissed by a bowler in all six innings of a three-match men’s Test series, including Zak Crawley against Matt Henry in this series. Richard Hadlee dismissed Greg Matthews in 1985, and Matthew Hayden faced a similar fate against Makhaya Ntini in 2006.3.62 Crawley’s batting average against Henry in Tests – eight dismissals in nine innings for 29 runs. Since 2002, only one batter has a lower average against a bowler in Tests – 2.00 by James Anderson off R Ashwin (min: 8 dismissals).

أضاع أحد لاعبي برشلونة السابقين فرصة على النادي الإسباني بجني ثمار رحيله عن صفوف الفريق، بعد خسارته لقب كوبا ليبرتادورس.

وكان فيتور روكي قد تألق مع بالميراس منذ انتقاله من برشلونة واستطاع أن يحجز مكانه بشكل أساسي، وقد التقى فريقه مع فلامنجو في نهائي المسابقة وشارك المهاجم بشكل أساسي في المباراة.

وكان روكي يأمل في قيادة بالميراس للقب القاري، ومع ذلك لم ينجح في مساعدة فريقه بهز شباك فلامنجو والذي حصد اللقب بعد تسجيل دانيلو هدف في الدقيقة 67 وخسر المباراة.

ووفقًا لصحيفة “موندو ديبورتيفو” الإسبانية، فإن هزيمة روكي وبالميراس أدت لعواقب وخيمة على برشلونة، حيث حرمته من متغيرات بقيمة مليون يورو كان سيحصل عليها لو سارت الأمور عكس ذلك.

اقرأ أيضًا.. برشلونة يستهدف ضم موهبة الدوري الألماني

وكان هذا الشرط واجب الدفع في حالة واحدة وهي تتويج بالميراس بكوبا ليبرتادورس، وهذا ما لم يحدث، بعد أن حصل برشلونة على 25.5 مليون ثابتة مع إمكانية الزيادة عند تحقيق شروط معينة.

ومع ذلك، فإن برشلونة ما زال أمامه الفرصة من شروط أخرى تم الاتفاق عليها في فبراير الماضي، للحصول على أربع ملايين خلال السنوات الأربع القادمة، حيث يملك فيتور روكي عقداً مع بالميراس حتى 2029.

وتتمثل هذه الشروط بأن يكون فيتور روكي ضمن أفضل ثلاث لاعبين في كأس العالم، أو أن يشارك بشكل أساسي في تشكيل منتخب بلاده البرازيل في 60% على الأقل من مباريات وكذلك الألقاب التي يحققها مع ناديه.

Wolvaardt’s century off just 52 balls, the fastest for South Africa, helped them to their highest score in the format

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Dec-2025

Laura Wolvaardt’s 56-ball 115 and an all-round show from Sune Luus helped South Africa beat Ireland in the first women’s T20I by 105 runs, their joint third-biggest win by runs, at Newlands.Batting at No. 3, Wolvaardt scored a 52-ball century, the fastest for South Africa and the joint sixth-quickest in T20Is, and was involved in a 176-run second-wicket partnership with Luus as the hosts posted their highest T20I total of 220 for 2. Having opened the batting, Luus also took the new ball and struck twice in the first over to dismiss Amy Hunter and allrounder Orla Prendergast. That effectively derailed Ireland early from what would have been an unlikely chase..Luus and Wolvaardt got together after South Africa opted to bat and lost Faye Tunnicliffe in the second over. They started steadily before stepping on the pedal in the last two overs of the powerplay, taking 32 including a 20-run over from Lara McBride. Wolvaardt was the aggressor and she romped past fifty in just 24 balls, beating Lizelle Lee’s mark of 26 balls for the fastest T20I half-century for South Africa.Aided by plenty of misfields from Ireland, South Africa raced past 100 in the tenth over, thanks to another 20-run over, this time from Louise Little in which Wolvaardt went 6, 4, 4, 4. South Africa’s best second-wicket stand ended when Luus, on her career-best 81, tried an ungainly reverse hit against seamer Ava Canning, Ireland’s best bowler on the day, and was bowled.That brought Dane van Niekerk, playing her first international since September 2021, to the middle. She saw Wolvaardt complete her second T20I hundred before unleashing an array of strokes to finish 21 not out of just eight balls, a strike rate of 262.50.Only captain Gaby Lewis and Leah Paul offered a semblance of resistance for the tourists with a 42-run partnership off 39 balls. Once both of them fell in the space of 22 balls, Ireland folded quickly, losing nine wickets to spin. Luus returned as the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 22 while both left-arm spinners Nonkululeko Mlaba and Chloe Tryon took two apiece.