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.

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

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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.

Liverpool are in uncharted waters, with these deep fathoms threatening not only the future of Arne Slot, who won the Premier League a matter of months ago, but that of Mohamed Salah, one of the greatest players in the club’s history, too.

Where is the respite? At the moment, Liverpool can’t catch a break, fumbling a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 at Leeds United on Saturday after previously drawing against well-worth-their-money Sunderland at Anfield. All told, the Reds have won only two of their past ten league fixtures, losing six.

But Liverpool have sculpted this disaster themselves. They have patented a startling ability to wreak havoc on their own progress, with tactical imbalances sparking crises of confidence, sparking mutiny.

Salah’s flaming interview at Elland Road will go down in the history books, and though FSG have since underlined their faith in Slot’s stewardship, the severity of this crossroads cannot be understated.

The latest on Slot's Liverpool future

Slot is in an unenviable position, with Salah’s outburst proving the latest and most damaging in a long line of mishaps since the summer.

While FSG retain the faith in the 47-year-old, who led Liverpool to the Premier League title last year after Jurgen Klopp stepped down, there’s an acceptance that results are needed quickly if something is to be salvaged from this campaign.

The fact of the matter is that Slot’s Liverpool started wobbling well before the end of the 2024/25 campaign, and he now needs to show that he can sort out the defence and restore balance to the team. He needs to show that quickly.

27

Games

52

23

Wins

26

3

Draws

10

1

Losses

16

2.66

PPG

1.69

73

Goals scored

91

27

Goals conceded

69

Liverpool are in big bother, and though FSG have been steadfast in their backing of the Dutchman, their leniency will only stretch so far, especially when there is such an exciting successor for Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes to consider.

Liverpool could hire Slot upgrade

Last week, it was reported that FSG have been considering Julian Nagelsmann as a candidate to replace Slot, should the Reds coach be sacked, though they will face a tough task in wrestling him away from the German national team, especially with the 2026 World Cup looming large.

Nagelsmann, 38, is among the world’s finest young coaches, having managed Hoffenheim, RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich in his homeland.

Would he be willing to park his international ambitions? Probably not. That’s why it’s anticipated he could be lined up ahead of the start of next season, meaning Liverpool would need to find an interim boss if Slot is dismissed before the end of the term.

What Nagelsmann would offer Liverpool

Nagelsmann has been described as the “best young coach in Europe” by journalist Josh Bunting, and though he’s the junior of practically all of the game’s standout managers, he’s hardly inexperienced, with a keen tactical mind that could be the remedy to a Liverpool team who have fallen by the wayside.

This is a fluid and interchangeable tactician. Nagelsmann employed a counter-pressing system at Leipzig before changing to a more dominant playing style at the Allianz Arena. He recognises the quirks and whims of the players at his disposal, and he crafts a system that caters to his troops.

Journalist Kai Iliev has even named him a “world-class manager” for his ability to fix a range of flaws within Germany’s national set-up. Now they are contenders. Now they believe again.

Liverpool could do with a bit of that, right? The appointment of Nagelsmann might even play into keeping Salah at the club; with the Egyptian King’s relationship under Slot having broken down, something has to give.

Liverpool, of course, will now back Salah over Slot. To do the contrary would result in anarchy. But this latest splinter in an outfit splitting wide open is not the root cause. Slot’s system is in a tailspin, and if he cannot establish form and fluency quickly, he will find that he has exhausted all the credit in the bank, and Edwards and Hughes will be forced into making a tough call.

The German coach’s principal 4-2-3-1 set-up would accommodate new signing Florian Wirtz and allow Salah to arc inwards once more and find passages into the danger area. This season, the 33-year-old has only posted five goals and three assists across all competitions.

Who could have expected this when Liverpool lifted the Premier League title? Salah was not the main man but the author of his long-term outfit’s illustrious success.

It’s not controversial to suggest that many, many Liverpool supporters would be dejected if Salah were to leave this winter, and it would be sure to put more than just a dampener on Slot’s reign at the Anfield helm.

If results do not continue over the coming weeks – with Salah off to AFCON after Liverpool host Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League this weekend – FSG will have to face the reality of theirt spiraling situation and make a change.

Could that prompt Salah to stay? Working under Nagelsmann on Merseyside, it just might, though whether the Reds are able to keep the African legend appeased and reach a decision that would see him remain at the club he has served so well over the past nine years remains to be seen.

In any case, this is a staggering, stomach-sinking situation, one that nobody could have foreseen, and Liverpool’s powers that be need to make sure an upswing is found – quickly.

Sell him before Salah & Konate: FSG must bin Liverpool's "major issue"

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1 ByAngus Sinclair 3 days ago

Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario did not enjoy his best evening in North London during the team’s 2-1 defeat to Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday.

It was his significant error when trying to clear the ball near the corner flag that ultimately lost the Lilywhites the match, as Harry Wilson’s long-range finish turned out to be the winning goal.

Per Sofascore, Vicario had 30 touches of the ball and conceded two goals from three shots whilst making one error that directly led to a goal for the Cottagers, which was the error in the clip above.

Whilst it was a disappointing display from the Italy international between the sticks, Thomas Frank’s goalkeeper was merely one of a number of poor performers on the night.

Ranking Tottenham's worst performers against Fulham

Vicario, because of the nature of his error and the fact that he only made one save, was the team’s worst performer on the night. It is hard to get away from that conclusion.

Destiny Udogie, though, rivalled him with a disappointing showing. The Italian full-back lost four of his five ground duels, per Sofascore, and deflected Fulham’s opener past his goalkeeper as he failed to block Kenny Tete’s shot from distance.

As you can see in the table above, Archie Gray, who won one of his four duels in 60 minutes on the pitch, and Pedro Porro, who was bailed out by Micky van de Ven after a Vicario-esque error, were also among the worst performers for Spurs.

Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Bergvall, who linked up for a brilliant goal in the second half, were the only players who did anything of note offensively for the Lilywhites as they looked to get back into the match.

That is why Richarlison was also among the worst performers on the night for Spurs, as the Brazil international is becoming the new Roberto Soldado in North London.

Why Thomas Frank must drop Richarlison

The Spurs boss must ruthlessly bin the former Everton centre-forward from the starting line-up for the trip to St. James’ Park to face Newcastle United on Tuesday night, due to his dismal showing on Saturday.

Per Sofascore, the Brazilian forward failed to register a single shot on goal from his 21 touches of the ball, fewer touches than Vicario had in goal, and he did not create a single chance for his teammates.

Richarlison has scored six goals in 21 appearances in all competitions this season, including some stunning strikes like the ones against Burnley and Arsenal, but that is still an underwhelming return for the money that was once spent on him.

Tottenham paid a whopping £60m to sign the striker from Everton in 2022, which made him the club’s most expensive striker signing since they broke their transfer record to sign Roberto Soldado from Valencia for £26m in 2013.

The Spanish marksman scored 16 goals and provided 11 assists in 76 appearances, per Transfermarkt, which worked out as a goal contribution every 2.8 games on average. That was a solid return in front of goal on paper for the attacker, but it was not worth the club-record transfer fee.

As shown in the statistics above, Richarlison currently has a worse goals per goal contribution rate in his Tottenham career than Soldado managed during his time in North London.

This speaks to how underwhelming the £60m signing has been on the whole for Spurs, even if he has had his moments of magic, which is why the Lilywhites should be looking for a long-term replacement in the number nine position.

With this in mind, Frank should give Randal Kolo Muani, who scored twice against PSG in the Champions League, a run of matches as a lone centre-forward to see how he fares in that role.

Tottenham looking to offload Spurs regular in January, Frank doesn't want him

The Lilywhites are planning to get rid.

1

By
Emilio Galantini

Nov 29, 2025

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