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Jen Pawol officially made history on Saturday when she became the first female to umpire a regular season game in Major League Baseball.

Pawol was one of the field umpires for Saturday's contest between the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves. She will work both games of Saturday's doubleheader and Sunday's series finale as well, when she will serve as the home plate umpire.

Pawol's ascent to this historic day began in February of 2024, when she became the third woman to ever umpire a spring training game. A year-and-a-half later, she gets an opportunity in a regular season contest.

The spring training game came one year after she became the first woman to umpire at the Triple-A level in 34 years in 2023.

The 48-year-old Pawol played collegiate softball at Hofstra and was a member of the 2001 U.S. women's national team that won the first Baseball Women's World Series.

Highlights from round four of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26

Shashank Kishore02-Dec-2025Hardik returns from injury in styleReturning to competitive cricket for the first time since injuring (left quadricep) himself ahead of the Asia Cup final in September, Hardik Pandya struck an unbeaten 77 off 42 balls to power Baroda home in a tall chase of 223 against Punjab.Hardik put together a crucial third-wicket partnership of 101 with Shivalik Sharma, who was tactically retired out on 47 off 32. This allowed Jitesh Sharma, Baroda’s new recruit, to join Hardik with the side needing 30 off 15 balls. Baroda needed just nine more balls to seal victory.Hardik’s batting performance somewhat made up for his underwhelming returns with the ball. He finished with figures of 4-0-52-1, with much of his early damage caused by Punjab captain Abhishek Sharma who waltzed to an 18-ball 50, before being dismissed off the following delivery.Punjab’s innings went into overdrive courtesy Anmolpreet Singh (69 off 32) and Naman Dhir (39 off 28). Yet, they found the target easily razed down in the end, with Baroda winning by seven wickets.Both sides have two wins in as many matches in Group C, which is currently led by Gujarat, who have three wins in four matches.Shaw’s rapid 66 trumps Suryavanshi tonAfter scores of 14, 13 and 5 in his first three knocks, Bihar’s Vaibhav Suryavanshi, set to be India’s opener at next month’s Under-19 World Cup, made heads turn with an unbeaten 61-ball 108. In the process, he became the youngest player (14 years) to hit a ton in the tournament.Vaibhav Suryavanshi became the youngest batter to score a century in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy•PTI Suryavanshi hit seven fours and seven sixes in Bihar’s 176 for 3. Suryavanshi’s three centuries are the joint-most by an Indian in 2025, along with Abhishek Sharma. Ayush Mhatre and Ishan Kishan have two hundreds each.Suryavanshi’s knock, however, wasn’t enough in the face of an opening onslaught from Maharashtra captain Prithvi Shaw. Hoping to attract the attention of IPL franchises after going unsold for IPL 2025, Shaw laid the foundation of Maharashtra’s chase with a 30-ball 66 at the top of the order. Maharashtra eventually got home by three wickets in hand with one over to spare.This was Maharashtra’s second win in four games, while Bihar continued to remain winless.Sarfaraz slams maiden ton as Mumbai remain unbeatenSarfaraz Khan slammed his maiden T20 century, an unbeaten 47-ball 100, in Mumbai’s 98-run win over Assam. This was their fourth win, which puts them at the top of Group A.The other contributions in Mumbai’s 220 for 4 were Ajinkya Rahane, who made a 33-ball 42 opening the innings; Ayush Mhatre made 21, fresh off two consecutive centuries; the end of the innings also received a finishing kick courtesy Sairaj Patil, who slammed an unbeaten 9-ball 25. In response, Assam were bundled out for 120; Riyan Parag, the captain, bagged a two-ball duck. Shardul Thakur, the Mumbai captain, picked 5 for 23Padikkal century crushes TNDevdutt Padikkal struck his fourth T20 century – an unbeaten 46-ball 102 – as Karnataka bounced back from two back-to-back losses to trounce Tamil Nadu by 145 runs. This is their second win in four matches that keeps their chances of making the Super Fours alive.Sent in to bat, Karnataka raced to a 69-run opening stand between Mayank Agarwal and BR Sharath (53 off 23), before Padikkal took centrestage. He hit 10 fours and six sixes in his innings. The in-form R Smaran, who has made quite an impression so far this season, made 46 not out. TN captain Varun Chakravarthy conceded 47 off four wicketless overs.TN’s chase never got going; they were eventually bowled out for 100 in 14.2 overs with N Jagadeesan’s 21 being the top score. B Sai Sudharsan managed just 8. Karnataka’s legspinning duo of Shreyas Gopal and Pravin Dubey picked up three wickets apiece.Related

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The result puts TN in the bottom half of Group D, with their domestic season going from bad to worse. After finishing the first half of the Ranji season winless and going through a coaching reshuffle for the white-ball leg, they’ve now managed just one win in four matches and are in danger of not progressing beyond the group stages.Bishnoi, Tendulkar make an impressionReleased by Lucknow Super Giants ahead of IPL 2026, Ravi Bishnoi offered a timely reminder of his quality with a three-for in Gujarat’s emphatic win over Puducherry. The result – their third in four games – keeps Gujarat well-placed for a Super Four berth. Bishnoi now has six wickets in four outings, at an economy of 7.62.File photo: Ravi Bishnoi goes through his bowling drills•PTI Choosing to bowl first, Gujarat skittled Puducherry for just 83 in 13.1 overs before cantering to the target in nine overs. Opener Aarya Desai sealed the chase with an unbeaten 53 off 30 balls. The defeat was Puducherry’s second in four matches.Freshly traded to LSG, Arjun Tendulkar starred in Goa’s impressive win over a formidable Madhya Pradesh side. Tendulkar returned figures of 3 for 36, including the late wicket of Venkatesh Iyer for 5 to restrict MP to 170 for 6.Goa then cruised through the chase, sealing victory with seven wickets in hand and nine balls to spare. Abhinav Tejrana’s brisk 55 off 33 and Suyash Prabhudessai’s composed, unbeaten 75 off 50 ensured there were no hiccups along the way.Both MP and Goa have two wins in four games in Group B.

Sunderland’s extremely impressive start to life back in the Premier League has been built on a very strong defensive spine.

Indeed, the well-drilled Black Cats have only given up 11 goals across the 12 games they’ve played since dramatically returning to the big time, with five wins also coming their way.

Robin Roefs, in particular, has stood out as a top-drawer summer recruit in between the sticks, while Daniel Ballard has made the jump to the top-flight look routine, too, winning a commanding 6.3 duels per match across his seven Premier League starts.

This defensive doggedness is very unlike-Sunderland, when you look back at the woes they are used to experiencing at the foot of the top-flight table.

Still, even when times were consistently tough and bleak, previous club captain John O’Shea managed to stand out as a commanding force.

O'Shea's hero status at Sunderland

The Black Cats would have felt they’d won themselves a coup when O’Shea arrived through the door in 2011, having picked up 394 appearances for Manchester United during Sir Alex Ferguson’s heyday as a manager, before coming to the Stadium of Light.

The revered manager would even hail him as a “great professional”, despite his importance to the Red Devils’ cause sometimes slipping under the radar, with the Wearside outfit managing to win the five-time Premier League winner for just a reported £3m.

He would turn into a relegation fighter quickly, though, in his new surroundings, with his determined displays, matched by his knack of being in the right place at the right time to pop up with a big goal, making him a fan favourite from the get-go.

One of his former Sunderland bosses in Martin O’Neill, would go as far as to say he had “enormous” respect for the veteran defender, with the Irishman only absent from 18 league contests during his first four seasons at the club, all of which ended up in Sunderland surviving.

Unfortunately, the latter years of his Black Cats journey would culminate in a relegation down to the Championship, but he is still fondly remembered to his day for being a dependable giant.

In the current Sunderland ranks, it could be argued that the forceful Ballard – coming in at a 6-foot-2 frame – is most similar to O’Shea in his Stadium of Light prime, with two important goals already next to his name this season.

However, a different member of Le Bris’ rigid backline has caught the eye in this regard…

Sunderland's new John O'Shea

Sunderland might not be struggling against the drop this season, but that doesn’t mean certain members of Le Bris’ camp don’t still evoke similarities to heroes of the Black Cats’ recent past.

Like O’Shea, Nordi Mukiele would have been viewed as a statement deal for Sunderland to secure this summer when leaving Paris St Germain behind, having accumulated a hefty 200 appearances in both the Bundesliga and Ligue 1, before embarking on a fresh Premier League challenge.

For just £12m, too, Mukiele has now gone down as a steal similar to O’Shea, only costing £3m, with the Frenchman visibly at the peak of his career, donning Sunderland red and white.

The £100k-per-week fighter has jaw-droppingly beaten Ballard in the duels won count total so far for the season, with a mighty 7.6 duels won on average to date, among other impressive numbers, making him a regular from minute one of his Stadium of Light stay.

With a goal and assist also next to his name, alongside collecting three clean sheets, Mukiele has managed to stand out as a well-rounded performer for Le Bris and Co. so far, away from just being seen as a “colossus” in physical duels, as per the words of Sky Sports’ journalist Andy Sixsmith.

Mukiele will be aiming for a long career in the Premier League now, past just a standout debut season, to become even more like O’Shea, with his levels never dropping for the Black Cats so far, already putting him on the same pedestal as the “always solid” Irishman, as both Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves labelled him recently.

It could also be argued, like O’Shea, Mukiele’s determined performances have gone somewhat unnoticed to the neutral, next to Granit Xhaka stealing the spotlight for his equally combative showings.

But, if he were to be a vital part of the defence that saw Sunderland pick up a mid-table finish, or even higher, right after promotion, he would surely be handed his flowers, as a new batch of heroes begin to emerge on Wearside.

Le Bris can end £7m star's Sunderland career by signing Guendouzi

This Sunderland leader will surely be shown the exit door if Matteo Guendouzi does join Regis Le Bris’ ranks.

By
Kelan Sarson

Nov 26, 2025

MatériaMais Notícias

Desde a chegada de Germán Cano, em 2022, a torcida do Fluminense se acostumou a celebrar os gols da equipe tricolor fazendo o L com as mãos, em homenagem a Lorenzo e Leonela, filhos do Rei da América. A partir do momento em que o argentinochegou, foram 86 comemorações de gol que receberam a marca do artilheiro em 138 partidas. Com média de 0,62 gols por partida, a torcida campeã da América se condicionou a comemorar gols “fazendo o L” jogo sim, jogo não, e por isso vem sentindo falta da homenagem do atacante que convive com jejum de gols.

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A falta de gols de Germán Cano vem afetando diretamente na capacidade do Fluminense em vencer os seus rivais do Rio de Janeiro. O último gol de Germán Cano em clássicos aconteceu na final do Carioca do ano passado, em 9 de Abril, quando o tricolor derrotou o Flamengo por 4 a 1, em épica virada que garantiu o bicampeonato. Desde então, quase um ano se passou, e o tricolor fez 12 clássicos sem conseguir a vitória nenhum deles.

Para conseguir se classificar à sua quinta final de Campeonato Carioca seguida, o Fluminense precisa repetir o feito atingido no ano passado diante do mesmo rival. Com desvantagem nos critérios de desempate da competição, o tricolor precisa vencer pelo menos por 3 a 0 caso queria seguir sonhando com o tricampeonato.

Para derrubar a vantagem conquistada pelo Flamengo no primeiro jogo, o atual campeão Carioca conta com a quebra da seca do artilheiro que convive com uma sequência de 5 jogos sem marcar. Nesse período, Germán Cano atuou em 3 clássicos com a camisa tricolor e voltou para casa com duas derrotas e um empate, resultados que não podem se repetir caso o Fluminense ainda queira ser campeão.

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FluminenseFutebol BrasileiroGermán Cano

Dominique Janssen's sublime free-kick allowed Manchester United to avoid a first-ever three-game losing streak in the Women's Super League on Sunday, with a hard-fought and important 2-1 win over West Ham seeing them bounce back from losses to Aston Villa and Man City. The Red Devils, who have lost significant ground in the title race over the last few weeks, needed to get back on track here and they did exactly that, despite Shekiera Martinez's stunning overhead kick getting the Hammers back on level terms for a while in the second half.

Back on home soil, United started this game well, creating chances aplenty from the get-go, but they found West Ham goalkeeper Kinga Szemik in fine form, with the Poland international making a flurry of strong stops to keep the scores goalless for as long as possible. It felt like it was going to take something special to break the deadlock and, fortunately for the hosts, Anna Sandberg delivered, firing in a perfect cross that put the ball on a plate for Elisabeth Terland, who easily converted her 10th goal of the season.

West Ham, however, didn't lose hope. Martinez miscued her attempt when on the end of a great chance just before half time to level the scores but she made amends shortly after the restart when she looped a remarkable overhead kick up and over the returning Phallon Tullis-Joyce to get her side back on level terms. United, though, showed similar resilience and produced an encouraging response, with Julia Zigiotti Olme hitting the post and Melvine Malard heading over the bar before Janssen's brilliantly executed free-kick, which secured all three points for the Red Devils and allowed them to leapfrog Arsenal back into third in the WSL table.

GOAL rates Man Utd's players from Leigh Sports Village…

• Getty Images
  

  Goalkeeper & Defence

  Phallon Tullis-Joyce (6/10):

  Showed a few moments of rust on her return from injury, after missing the last three weeks due to a fractured eye socket, but was generally solid despite adjusting to playing in a mask.

  Jayde Riviere (7/10):

  Showed plenty of endeavour up and down the right, delivering some great crosses to create chances.

  Maya Le Tissier (7/10):

  Carrying plenty of confidence into this game from a positive England camp, this was another strong display from the United captain, who helped nullify the lively Martinez.

  Dominique Janssen (8/10):

  Produced a moment of brilliance to win the game, capping off a good defensive performance with that attacking quality.

  Anna Sandberg (8/10):

  Another excellent display from one of United's best players this season. Her cross for Terland's goal was sublime.

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• Midfield

  Julia Zigiotti Olme (7/10):

  A lively and effective performance in midfield, with her pressing, passing and movement all making her a tough opponent to deal with.

  Hinata Miyazawa (7/10):

  Superb in possession while holding things down in the deeper midfield areas so that Zigiotti could roam.

  Ella Toone (7/10):

  A tidy display in which she was so often involved in United's best passing moves.

• Getty Images
  

  Attack

  Jess Park (6/10):

  Had a lively game down the right but did lack the end product she normally produces, with only one notable chance created.

  Elisabeth Terland (7/10):

  In the right place at the right time to break the deadlock, though could've scored a couple more with the opportunities she had.

  Melvine Malard (6/10):

  Movement was great but she was surprisingly wayward with her finishing, considering the form she has been in. Should've got on the scoresheet at least once.

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• Subs & Manager

  Hannah Blundell (N/A):

  Gave Riviere a breather for the final 10 minutes or so.

  Simi Awujo (N/A):

  Injected fresh energy into the midfield for the closing stages.

  Fridolina Rolfo (N/A):

  Another late sub who helped United see the win out.

  Marc Skinner (7/10):

  Put out a team that created chances aplenty and trusted in that XI to get the job done, not making subs to disrupt the flow of the game just because United hadn't got themselves into the commanding lead that they could have.

Leeds United are interested in signing Atletico Madrid and England midfielder Conor Gallagher, but they are far from alone in the race to snap him up with as many as 16 Premier League clubs eyeing up a move.

Daniel Farke is feeling the heat at Elland Road after Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at home to Aston Villa in the Premier League, even though he was in defiant spirits after the game.

Farke would love new signings in the January transfer window or next summer, should he still be in charge of Leeds at that point, and either way the 49ers Group are expected to be active this winter.

Leeds in 16-club battle to sign Conor Gallagher

According to a new report from Sky Sports, Leeds are one of 16 Premier League sides making enquiries for Gallagher from Atletico Madrid in 2026.

It is claimed that Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City are the only top flight sides not showing interest, meaning the Whites could look to seal a deal for the England midfielder, who cost the Madrid outfit £34m last summer.

Atletico are unwilling to let Gallagher, who has publicly commented on his need for more game time ahead of the World Cup, leave on loan, meaning the 49ers will have to stump up a significant fee to seal a deal in January.

Gallagher would be a high-profile signing for Leeds, considering he is playing for one of the biggest teams in Spain and is a Europa League winner from his time at Chelsea. The 25-year-old is also a 22-cap England international, scoring once for his country, while Atletico manager Diego Simeone has heaped praise on the tenacious edge to his game.

He wants to join: Leeds choose number one manager candidate as Farke nears sack

The Whites have a Premier League-experienced boss ready to come in at the expense of Farke.

BySean Markus Clifford Nov 24, 2025

Leeds will know that being in a strong position for Premier League survival is paramount if they are to have a chance of signing him, but whether that influences their decision to stick or twist with Farke remains to be seen.

He's a lot like Bielsa: Leeds could sack Farke for "special" 4-2-3-1 manager

The Nationals reportedly have hired their new face of the front office.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Wednesday, citing sources, that Washington plans to hire Paul Toboni as its new head of baseball operations.

Toboni, 35, is currently the assistant general manager of the Red Sox. He was one of the favorites to become Boston's general manager, the No. 2 position in the Red Sox' front office behind chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.

According to Passan, Toboni ran the draft for Boston when it selected highly touted prospects such as Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell.

The Nationals fired president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez in July.

Washington, despite a young core consisting of James Wood, CJ Abrams and Dylan Crews, has struggled to a 64–94 record this season. The Nationals last made the playoffs in 2019—the year they entered the postseason as a wild-card team and won the World Series over the Astros in seven games.

Top-order batter Sadaf Shamas returns to the squad; Gull Feroza and Najiha Alvi are left out but named among the non-traveling reserves

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Aug-2025

Pakistan have picked uncapped 20-year-old batter Eyman Fatima in their 15-member squad, led by Fatima Sana, for the upcoming women’s ODI World Cup. The same squad will also play the three home ODIs against South Africa starting September 16, which will act as preparation for the World Cup starting September 30.This will be the first time Sana will be leading her side in an ODI World Cup. She had also led Pakistan at the World Cup qualifiers held in Lahore earlier this year.Eyman Fatima was not part of the squad for the qualifiers but comes into the new squad along with Sadaf Shamas, in place of Gull Feroza and Najiha Alvi, who are among the five non-travelling reserves alongside Tuba Hassan, Umm-e-Hani and Waheeda Akhtar.Getty Images

Eyman Fatima made her T20I debut earlier this month, against Ireland in Dublin, but got to bat only twice in three games for scores of 23 and 4.The main squad of 15 and the five reserve players will take part in a 14-day camp before the South Africa series, starting August 29 under the coaching staff led by Muhammad Wasim. South Africa are set to arrive in Lahore on September 12.Pakistan will begin their World Cup campaign on October 2 against Bangladesh before taking on India on October 5. Pakistan will play all their seven league games in Colombo and the semi-final as well, if they make it to the knockouts. The second semi-final will be played in Navi Mumbai. The final will be held either in Colombo or Navi Mumbai on November 2, depending on whether Pakistan make it or not.Pakistan Women squad for ODI World Cup and South Africa ODIsFatima Sana (capt), Muneeba Ali (vice-capt), Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig, Eyman Fatima, Nashra Sandhu, Natalia Pervaiz, Omaima Sohail, Rameen Shamim, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz (wk), Syeda Aroob Shah
Non-traveling reserves: Gull Feroza, Najiha Alvi, Tuba Hassan, Umm-e-Hani, Waheeda Akhtar

After starting poorly at the top of the order, the batter moved lower down and began to have spectacular results

Danyal Rasool11-Sep-20253:12

Jaffer: Pakistan clearly taking a new T20 route

There’s something slightly ersatz about players feted solely for their ability to score big at the top of a T20 batting order. The ball is at its hardest. There are open spaces on the boundary. There’s often no situation-induced pressure, and ample license from the management to go for it. It’s early enough that a first-over dismissal will be too far removed from memory of most viewers to be scapegoated as a match-influencing error.Boasting about big runs at furious strike rates at that stage is a bit like bragging about not being frightened of walking alone at night when you live in a city like Reykjavik. Every possible condition to produce a desirable outcome has been catered for; it’s no surprise there is a surfeit of players eager to move up the order to give themselves the best chance of success.For a while over the past few months, Hasan Nawaz appeared to be exactly that sort of player. In a team beginning to shake off the Babar Azam-Mohammad Rizwan approach to batting for something more volatile, Pakistan gambled on Nawaz, plumping for him in five T20Is in New Zealand earlier this year on what, in retrospect, looks surprisingly scant evidence of his record in domestic cricket. Nawaz later said he had “never played in conditions like [these].”Related

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Aqib Javed was still interim coach of the Pakistan side in March, having been in the role nearly as long as his full-time predecessor Gary Kirsten, and actually overseen more games. Some might argue that punting on Nawaz was a stroke of inspiration. But, in truth, Javed has a penchant for tinkering based on little more than hunches. Weeks earlier, he had promoted Babar to open the batting in the Champions Trophy, a role he had performed only on two occasions a decade ago, and one which bore no fruit.Nawaz’s elevation into the side and up to the top also backfired disastrously; four of his five innings in New Zealand combined to produce a total of one run. In fact, five of his first ten T20I innings were ducks, the most for a player of a Full Member nation. The belief that Nawaz would succeed in New Zealand was rooted solely in the T20 Champions Cup in 2024-25, where he finished as the second highest run-scorer with a strike rate over 142. But as far as more substantial evidence went, there was none: Nawaz’s previous cricket of any pedigree had come a full 13 months before that.Fortunately for him and Pakistan, in the middle of those four low scores in New Zealand, Nawaz produced an astonishing counter-attacking knock – an unbeaten 105 off 45 balls that helped Pakistan win their only game of the tour, chasing down 205 at Eden Park with four overs to spare.Like good films that seed the final reveal early, there were signs of the kind of player Nawaz could become. They lay not in the powerplay, where he appeared as scratchy as he did in the other four innings that series and was fortunate not to nick off more than once early on. Post-powerplay, though, as the field spread out, Nawaz went on a tear, pummelling 77 runs off 28 balls, punishing both pace and spin to rip the game out of New Zealand’s hands.Hasan Nawaz has scored the fastest century for Pakistan in men’s T20Is•AFP/Getty ImagesBoth his PSL franchise Quetta Gladiators and latterly Pakistan took time to work out how to use him, but now having cracked that code, his results down the order have been spectacular. During Gladiators’ run to the final of PSL 2025, Nawaz’s strike rate after the powerplay was behind only Kusal Perera and Sikandar Raza’s for any Gladiators batter to have faced a minimum of 80 balls. But more remarkable was Nawaz’s reliability despite his high-risk game in the tournament. He faced more non-powerplay deliveries than any other batter in the league, and averaged a staggering 121.66 while striking at 166.66.Nawaz’s powerplay numbers are well below average: he strikes at just over a run a ball in the first six overs, ranking 190th of 232 batters who have faced at least 60 balls in the powerplay this year. Despite that handicap, only Abhishek Sharma, Dewald Brevis and Tim Seifert have superior T20I strike rates this year among players with 300 T20I runs. Nawaz’s ranking among those elite batters is due to his big hitting when others typically slow down, striking at over 174 outside the powerplay. It is a number exceeded only by Brevis and Tim David among players from Full Member nations.That potential to go big lower down is invaluable for Pakistan. They may have stocked their lower-middle order with batting potential to have more depth, but true explosiveness is hard to find outside the top order, especially during the horror run Mohammad Haris is enduring in the middle overs. Against less decorated bowling attacks, Salman Ali Agha and Mohammad Nawaz have made valuable contributions, but Hasan Nawaz’s six-hitting ability when the squeeze is on remains unmatched.It may be evident with the eye test, but raw numbers make for equally startling reading. Nearly 60% (34 of Nawaz’s 57 T20I boundaries) are sixes, the highest among players from Full Member teams with at least 50 boundaries in T20Is. While that makes sense on some level – after all, a high strike rate when more fielders are on the boundary means you’ll have to clear them rather than thread gaps – his ability to sustain that number across a widening sample size makes Nawaz’s player profile an almost uniquely exciting one.Hasan Nawaz’s six-hitting ability when the squeeze is invaluable to Pakistan•Emirates Cricket BoardFor context, Nawaz has already hit more sixes than Ahmed Shehzad or Kamran Akmal managed in their entire Pakistan careers, just two behind Saim Ayub, three short of Asif Ali, and four behind Shadab Khan. And though Nawaz favours pace on, those sixes have been split equally between spinners and seam bowlers at 17 apiece.There are, invariably, caveats to each spring of optimism. Nawaz is a 23-year old precocious talent in the hands of a nation with a supremely efficient history of turning such players into a 27-year-old domestic cricketing journeyman. That hundred at Eden Park came at one of the smaller grounds in world cricket. PSL form hasn’t always been a reliable indicator of prolonged success at international level. Pakistan haven’t necessarily played against the highest class of opposition – certainly nowhere close to what they will encounter against India in the Asia Cup on Sunday. And in the three games against Afghanistan, who boast among the world’s best spin attacks – Nawaz’s one clear weakness – he was subdued: 33 runs in three innings at a run a ball, with Noor Ahmad and Rashid Khan dismissing him once each.Pakistan cricket will always give you reasons to curb your enthusiasm. But in a cricket board and a nation that has, of late, come to question the authenticity of everything that happens around them, there is nothing ersatz about Hasan Nawaz.And that, on its own, is perhaps getting worth excited about.

Everton’s stance on selling Tim Iroegbunam in the January transfer window has now been revealed, amid a key decision from manager David Moyes.

Moyes has implemented a 4-2-3-1 system with two holding midfielders this season, giving the likes of Kieran Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye licence to push forward, with the former grabbing his second assist of the campaign against Fulham prior to the international break.

Idirissa Gueye has remained one of the first names on the team sheet, despite being 36-years-old, finding the back of the net in the 2-0 victory against the Cottagers, but Moyes has been unable to settle on a regular partner for the defensive midfielder.

James Garner has predominantly been given the nod, but the Toffees boss has also used the Englishman at right-back, meaning Iroegbunam has slotted in alongside Gueye intermittently, making eight appearances in the Premier League so far this season.

However, there has now been a significant update on the midfielder’s future at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, having seemingly not done enough to impress Moyes…

Everton planning to accept January offers for Tim Iroegbunam

According to a report from Football Insider, Everton are now planning to accept offers for Iroegbunam in the January transfer window, with Moyes making the decision that he is no longer a key part of his future plans.

The Toffees may even be willing to take a loss on the midfielder, who arrived from Aston Villa for a fee of around £9m back in 2024, such is their desire to get him off the books, while the Merseyside club could also sanction a loan move.

Gueye and Garner’s promising start to the campaign has meant the former Villa man has often been limited to appearances as a substitute, with Moyes perhaps not as fond of the central midfielder as former manager Sean Dyche.

Speaking after the EFL Cup victory against Doncaster Rovers last season, Dyche said: “Tim’s slightly different [to the new signings] because he’s had a full pre-season, I think he’s been different class. I think his equivalent minutes in the Premier League last season was about two games so to be having a full pre-season and to be doing what he’s doing – I’m very pleased with that.”

However, it may be a little early to cash-in on the 22-year-old, given that he is still very young, and has impressed from both an attacking and defensive point of view when given the opportunity over the past year.

Tim Iroegbunam’s key statistics

Average per 90 (past year)

Assists

0.34 (99th percentile)

Tackles

3.38 (97th percentile)

Interceptions

2.54 (99th percentile)

Blocks

3.38 (98th percentile)

Iroegbunam may need a consistent run in the starting XI to prove himself, and with Garner moving to right-back against Fulham, he may have a chance to save his Everton career over the next month and a half.

Everton exploring move for James Ward-Prowse amid Tim Iroegbunam uncertainty Related Everton now exploring Ward-Prowse move with January exit expected

The midfielder desperately needs a winter move.

Posts ByTom Cunningham Nov 12, 2025