England captain “very frustrated” with his own form after averaging 13.87 at World Cup

Matt Roller08-Nov-2023

Jos Buttler will tell Rob Key this week that he wants to continue in his role as England’s captain in both ODI and T20I cricket, starting with their tour to the Caribbean in December.Buttler’s England side ended a five-match losing streak on Wednesday evening when they beat Netherlands by 160 runs in Pune, a result which leaves them seventh in the World Cup’s group stage heading into the final round of fixtures.The margin of victory was enough for England to move from the foot of the table, leapfrogging the Netherlands, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on Net Run Rate (NRR). They may now qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy even if they are beaten by Pakistan at Eden Gardens on Sunday, an outcome which would alleviate the pressure on both Buttler and coach Matthew Mott.Related

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Key, England’s managing director of men’s cricket, spent two weeks with the team earlier in the tournament and has now returned to India. He will meet with both Buttler and Mott in Kolkata, where selection for three ODIs and five T20Is against West Indies next month will be on the agenda.Buttler has been unable to pin down the causes of England’s struggles at this World Cup and has taken significant responsibility himself, having endured an abject tournament with the bat. He has managed 111 runs at an average of just 13.87 in eight innings, a sequence extended on Wednesday by a tame chip to mid-off for 5 off 11 balls.But he confirmed his intention to continue as captain in both white-ball formats after England’s win. “I’d like to [lead in the Caribbean],” Buttler said. “I know Rob Key arrives in India today. We can have some good conversations with him and the coach and everyone, and make a plan for that tour. But yeah, I’d like to.”Buttler conceded that he was “very frustrated” with his own form. “You want to lead from the front and do that in your own performance,” he said. “I’ll stick to the stuff that’s served me well over a long period of time when I’ve had these little runs of form and hopefully I’ll come out the other side of it very soon.”England are likely to make several changes to their ODI side for the Caribbean tour. Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed are among the young players expected to feature in a squad that will bear close resemblance to the one that beat Ireland 1-0 in late September.The T20I squad will be stronger, with England only due to play four further matches in the format before the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the US next June, where they will attempt to defend the title that they won – under Buttler and Mott’s leadership – in Australia last year.Eoin Morgan, Buttler’s predecessor, described England as “a sinking ship” on Wednesday afternoon but Buttler insisted that the squad have “stayed really close”. He said: “If you watched training yesterday, the guys probably trained as hard as they have trained all trip, which shows the level of commitment and desire to put things right.”It would be easy for us to tail off… credit to everyone for still putting [effort] in and showing how much it means to play for England and the pride in our performance. Of course, the Champions Trophy is something we’re very focused on and determined to make sure we’re there.”

Liverpool have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Marc Guehi, after Crystal Palace agreed a deal to replace the defender.

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• Liverpool handed Guehi boost
• Palace agree deal for replacement
• Defender could move this summer

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Liverpool hope to sign the England defender this summer and their cause has been helped by Palace striking an agreement with Sporting to sign centre-back Ousmane Diomande. A Bola report the FA Cup winners will pay £47m for the 21-year-old.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Guehi has just one year remaining on his deal at Selhurst Park and the Eagles could be keen to cash in rather than lose him on a free transfer next summer. They fended off interest from Newcastle last summer, but having won the FA Cup could see this as the opportunity to make a huge profit on him.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Signing Guehi could take Liverpool's spending close to £250m for the summer, with Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez already through the door. The Reds are set to make some of that money back by selling Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR LIVERPOOL?

  Liverpool will want Guehi through the door in time for the start of the new campaign, when they kick off the Premier League season against Bournemouth on the Friday of the opening weekend.

أجرت رابطة الأندية المصرية، قبل قليل، مراسم قرعة بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز لموسم 2025-2026، وذلك بمقر مشروع الهدف بمدينة السادس من أكتوبر، وسط حضور ممثلي الأندية المشاركة.

ومن المقرر أن تنطلق منافسات الموسم الجديد يوم 8 أغسطس المقبل، على أن تُختتم في مايو 2026، وفقًا للجدول الزمني المُعلن.

طالع.. خاص | لعدم تكرار أزمة لاعب الأهلي.. اتحاد الكرة يرسل خطابًا جديدًا للأندية قبل انطلاق الموسم

ويأتي الموسم الجديد بنظام مختلف، بعد أن قررت رابطة الأندية والاتحاد المصري إقامة المسابقة بمشاركة 21 فريقًا، عقب إلغاء الهبوط في الموسم الماضي.

وسيقام الدوري بنظام الدور الواحد كمرحلة أولى، يتبعها تقسيم الفرق إلى مجموعتين: الأولى تضم 7 فرق تتنافس على اللقب، والثانية تضم 14 فريقًا لتحديد الهابطين، حيث سيهبط 4 فرق إلى القسم الثاني، ويصعد 3. منافس الزمالك في الجولة الأولى من الدوري المصري الموسم الجديد

وأسفرت القرعة عن مواجهة الزمالك مع نظيره سيراميكا كليوباترا في الأسبوع الأول من مسابقة الدوري المصري الممتاز 2025 -2026، على استاد هيئة قناة السويس الجديد، يوم 8 أغسطس 2025، في تمام الساعة 8 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة.

يذكر أن الزمالك، قد أنهى الموسم الماضي في المركز الثالث برصيد 47 نقطة خلف الأهلي وبيراميدز.

MatériaMais Notícias

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LA28 director Niccolo Campriani tags the decision “a game-changer for the Olympic movement”, while ICC chair Greg Barclay reiterates cricket is “popular, but we have looked to continue to grow”

Nagraj Gollapudi17-Oct-2023The lure of the US market and the massive diaspora from the Indian subcontinent are the twin factors that convinced organisers that T20 cricket was destined to be part of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics (LA28). That is the collective viewpoint shared by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the LA28 local organising committee and the ICC.For decades the ICC has looked to tap into the US market, which it has identified as being behind only India in commercial terms. That’s why the ICC sold media rights for the 2024-27 cycle separately for the USA last year. While the value of rights – not disclosed – is understood to be significantly below what the ICC had desired, the global body decided to have the USA as co-hosts for the 2024 men’s T20 World Cup along with the West Indies. Three venues in New York, Dallas and Florida will host about 19 matches at the World Cup next year.That was the major step the ICC took to signal how serious it was about getting cricket to LA28. Simultaneously, the successful launch of Major League Cricket (MLC) this summer, in Texas and North Carolina, provided enough indication to the IOC that there is a growing audience for cricket in the US.Related

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Speaking in Mumbai on Monday, after the second day of the IOC Session, where T20 cricket’s inclusion at LA28 was confirmed, IOC president Thomas Bach said that the game’s global appeal and growing influence in the USA could not be ignored. “We have to see the first argument and the most important argument is: we have seen the growing international importance of cricket,” Bach said. “The Olympic Games want to represent and want to incorporate the most popular sports worldwide. And here it came together that this sport also has a growing importance in United States. Therefore, this proposal was very much welcome.”On Friday, after the IOC’s executive board had ratified LA28’s proposal to add five new sports including cricket to the roster, Bach had pointed out that Indians provide the second-most hits on the IOC’s social-media handles, highlighting their interest in the Olympics. Indian broadcaster Viacom18 had bought the rights to broadcast the Olympics for US$ 31 million, according to the , between 2022-24.These numbers, which are bound to peak with cricket now part of the Games, have hinted at the financial benefits the IOC could derive from the Indian market, but Bach disapproved of such a claim. “This [financial benefit] is not a consideration which comes there in the first line. This can be the consequence.”ICC chair: ‘We are popular, but we have looked to continue to grow ‘While the ICC has highlighted how boarding the Olympics train will take T20 cricket to untapped destinations, thus enabling the growth of the sport, the question gathering momentum is: how is that possible when only six teams will feature in LA28?ICC chairperson Greg Barclay, who attended the IOC Session on Monday, was confident it would. “I do [believe it will grow the game],” Barclay told the media. “The Olympic movement sits across most countries in the world. So to have cricket there will be a great opportunity to grow the game, particularly in areas that we are perhaps under-represented. It’s a great outcome. And it’s a win-win for both [cricket and] the Olympics – it [the IOC] can see the opportunity to access areas that they’ve maybe been under-represented like here, [in] South Asia. It is very symbiotic.”Considering cricket boasts of an audience of supposedly two-plus billion, with the sport hugely popular in the Commonwealth countries, Barclay was asked why the ICC still wanted to enter the Olympics. “We consider ourselves a sport that is represented globally, but there are areas that aren’t represented as well as they could be,” he said. “The US is one of those, but there are others as well. Joining the Olympic movement will help raise the profile of the sport even further. So yes, we are popular, it’s a fast growing team sport, but we have looked to continue to grow and offer the sport to fans, athletes and members right across the globe. So this helps us to do that.”The inaugural MLC season saw large crowds in attendance•SportzpicsLA28 chair: ‘A mistake if we didn’t include cricket’Casey Wasserman, LA28’s chairperson, has been a fan of cricket ever since he experienced the “electric” atmosphere watching an IPL match in person in 2010. He is convinced that cricket will be a success at LA28.”From the very beginning of [LA] getting the [2028] Olympics, cricket has been on the list of sports we were excited to think about,” Wasserman told the media on Monday. “As we went through the process, it became quite obvious that we’d be making a mistake if we didn’t include it. So we’re happy to engage all 2.5 billion fans, hope they tune in, they watch, they come to Los Angeles and watch the best cricket in the world played in Los Angeles for the first time in the Olympics in a long time.”‘Women’s cricket played a critical role’Wasserman’s colleague Niccolo Campriani, the LA28 director, travelled to Birmingham in the summer of 2022 to watch the Commonwealth Games. A former triple-gold winner in shooting at the Olympics, Campriani, who is from Italy, was keen to watch women’s T20 cricket, which had returned to the Commonwealth Games fold.”The Commonwealth Games was just amazing,” Campriani told the media on Monday. “We all loved it. We got a glimpse of what Commonwealth cricket can be in in LA context. We were not planning to fly to an IPL game. That observation was absolutely critical. So yeah, women’s cricket played a critical role.”Campriani, who has trained with and competed with Indian Olympic legend Abhinav Bindra, could not hold back his excitement about cricket coming to the Olympics. “It’s a game-changer for the Olympic movement. The idea was really to create that perfect combination of American sport to be showcased to the world, but also introducing global sports that are not as developed in the US market. And I feel like the stars have aligned with Major League Cricket that started this year as well as the T20 World Cup coming in 2024.”A lot of finer details – ranging from the qualification process to squad sizes and venues – will be worked out over the next several years. Campriani said he wouldn’t bother about all those questions right now. “As an athlete [myself], it’s going to be life-changing. I don’t know how many young athletes right now are playing cricket in this exact moment. They can chase an Olympic dream now.”

Fenerbahce have denied Allan Saint-Maximin's claims that they tried "tried to dope him" and have threatened legal action against the winger.

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• Saint-Maximin claims Fenerbahce tried to "dope him"
• Turkish team furiously denies allegations
• Threaten legal action against winger

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The 28-year-old spent last season on loan at Fenerbahce from Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli and said in an interview this month that the Turkish team "tried to dope me". Moreover, when he was sick, he alleges they gave him a treatment that's "considered a doping product". Now, Jose Mourinho's outfit have said they will "exercise their legal rights against these misleading statements" from the Frenchman.

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  WHAT FENERBAHCE SAID

  Fenerbahce said in response: "By distorting the facts regarding the medical treatment he received following a health issue, the player has attempted to mislead the public and damage the reputation of our club. As Fenerbahçe Sports Club, we hereby inform the public that we will exercise all our legal rights against these misleading statements and any attempt to undermine our institutional reputation."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Saint-Maximin's allegations are very serious, with doping scandals in other sports, such as cycling, rocking teams to the core. These comments could damage the reputation of Fenerbahce, and that is why they appear to be ready to sue the former Newcastle United star.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Saint-Maximin, who scored four goals and bagged five assists in 31 games at Fenerbahce last season, could be the victim of a lawsuit over his remarks. It also remains to be seen if he will face other ramifications for his comments.

Shakib Al Hasan strolling past the Wankhede Stadium pitches and towards the North Stand meant that he was going to attend a press conference for the first time at the World Cup. It also meant, more importantly, that he had likely recovered enough to play against South Africa on Tuesday.What happened next wasn’t surprising at all – Shakib was testy, especially when discussing Tamim Iqbal and his own fitness.Shakib was asked whether it was he who had planned to bat Tamim down the order against Afghanistan in July; Tamim had taken it as an affront, especially at being told this over a phone call by a BCB official two weeks before the game.Related

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“How do I relate it with Afghanistan? What is my answer going to be? You want to know who told Tamim? I don’t know who called him. It wasn’t me,” Shakib said.Is he fit, after missing the game against India with a quad injury? Is he ready to play even if he isn’t 100% fit? “What is the fitness parameter? You are just here to ask questions… I don’t know what to say to you. I am pain-free, and if that continues, I hope to play.”Shakib is expected to play, but Taskin Ahmed is out with a shoulder injury.”Taskin is not available for tomorrow’s game. He will be available after tomorrow’s game,” Shakib said. “He has a shoulder issue that he has had for the last two games. The doctor decided a bit of rest will get him fit for the last four games. We don’t want to lose him for the tournament, as he is an important member of this side.”If there’s no problem with running, I can play tomorrow. I wasn’t 100% before the India game. It was also important that I don’t risk the rest of the World Cup. I am in a good shape now. I am pain free.”Bangladesh are at No. 7* on the points table, with just one win – against Afghanistan – in four games so far. Not much has gone right for them, most of all their batting, with Najmul Hossain Shanto, among others, not quite delivering up to expectations yet.1:30

Shanto says team has to make fewer mistakes to survive at the World Cup

“We didn’t come here to play only four matches. We are here to play nine or eleven matches. We know that a player can’t do well in every game,” Shakib said. “When he starts doing well, and can continue for five games, that helps the team. I don’t want to comment on this, but we want to do well as a team. We have room for improvement.”Shakib also defended the team management’s decision to move the batters around in the batting order – Mehidy Hasan Miraz walking out ahead of more established batters like himself, Shanto and Towhid Hridoy, for example.”When Miraz scored that hundred as an opener against Afghanistan [in the Asia Cup], we thought he should do it again in the World Cup,” Shakib said. “He made runs against England and Sri Lanka in the practice matches [at of the World Cup]. He again scored runs against Afghanistan. So you have to give a batter who is doing well more chance. This is why he is batting higher up the order.”I also agree that some of our established batters are going a bit low the order, but is there a guarantee that they will score higher up the order? These are difficult and tricky decisions that we have to take. It has mixed results. I think we still had chances to score 280-290 runs in all three matches. Only [Mahmudullah] Riyad batted well till the end [against New Zealand and India].”I don’t think you can criticise this. Riyad is doing well but if we bring him up and he can’t perform out of his usual position, then we will all feel bad about it.”Taskin Ahmed will miss the South Africa game, but Bangladesh are expecting him to play a role later in the tournament•ICC via Getty Images

Shakib: ‘Spinners won’t play a big role’ vs South Africa

South Africa come into the game after bouncing back in style against England following the loss to Netherlands. Shakib doesn’t expect spin to play a big role at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, and is backing his fast bowlers to do the job.”It doesn’t matter if you win or lose your last game in a World Cup, what matters who is performing better on the day,” Shakib said of South Africa. “We saw South Africa flying high. We saw them lose to Netherlands. They played brilliantly against England. We will prepare the way we usually prepare. We will try to play our best cricket and see where we are.”The spinners won’t play a big role in this venue, which is relatively a smaller ground. It is a high-scoring ground. Still, we are planning to restrict them to a low total. We are taking inspiration from how Netherlands restricted them. We have been looking at their weaknesses from the last one or two years.”Bangladesh’s pre-tournament aspiration of making it to the last four is looking shaky. A lot depends on this game against South Africa. Another loss, and it might be all over.”We still have the dream to play the semi-finals. Other teams are helping us also [by beating higher-ranked teams], so if we can help ourselves, it can happen,” Shakib said. “We still have the chance on paper. Let’s finish this campaign first and then you can whole-heartedly feel disappointed.”Combative to the end there, that’s Shakib.

أسفرت قرعة بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز لموسم 2025-2026 عن مواجهات قوية ومتنوعة بين أندية المسابقة، وسط ترقب جماهيري كبير لانطلاق النسخة الجديدة التي ستقام بنظام مختلف وعدد أكبر من الفرق.

ومن المقرر انطلاق بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز الموسم الجديد 8 أغسطس 2025، وينتهي مع نهاية شهر مايو 2026.

وكانت رابطة الأندية واتحاد الكرة، قد أعلنا عن شكل بطولة الدوري المصري الموسم الجديد، حيث تقرر أن يكون 21 فريقًا بعد إلغاء الهبوط في الموسم الماضي. نظام بطولة الدوري المصري موسم 2025-2026

سيقام الدوري المصري هذا الموسم، بمشاركة 21 فريقًا بعد قرار رابطة الأندية واتحاد الكرة بإلغاء الهبوط في الموسم الماضي.

ويُلعب الدوري المصري هذا الموسم من دور واحد، كمرحلة أولى، تتقابل فيها جميع الأندية مع بعضها، ثم بعد ذلك يتم تقسيم الأندية إلى مجموعتين.

وستكون الـ7 أندية الأولى في المرحلة الأولى تتنافس في مجموعة تحديد البطل، والـ14 فريقا الآخرين في المجموعة الثانية لتحديد الهابطين.

ومن المقرر يهبط هذا الموسم من الدوري الممتاز إلى دور المحترفين (دوري القسم الثاني أ)، 4 فرق.

طالع أيضًا | شوبير يوجه تحذيرًا لرابطة الأندية واتحاد الكرة قبل انطلاق الموسم الجديد الأندية المشاركة في الدوري المصري موسم 2025-2026

الأهلي – الزمالك – بيراميدز – الاتحاد السكندري – المصري – فاركو – بتروجيت – زد – موردن سبورت – سيراميكا كليوباترا – حرس الحدود – البنك الأهلي – إنبي – الإسماعيلي – طلائع الجيش – الجونة – سموحة – غزل المحلة – كهرباء الإسماعيلية – المقاولون العرب – وادي دجلة.  جدول المرحلة الأولى للدوري المصري الممتاز 2025-2026

Manchester United are expected to make a bid for the Botafogo goalkeeper John following his impressive performances at the Club World Cup.

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United chasing JohnConfusion over the goalkeeper's release clause remainsBotafogo return to domestic football next weekendFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The 29-year-old impressed for the Brazilian side as they made their way into the knockout stages of the tournament, before eventually being beaten by fellow Brazilian side Palmeiras 1-0. John's displays have alerted a number of European clubs and the Red Devils are now leading the race for his signature. Ruben Amorim is chasing a new goalkeeper after growing frustrated with Andre Onana's hapless displays between the sticks last season and United could make an opening approach for the Brazilian – who could be available for a knock-down price.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

It is understood that John has a release clause in his contract which would allow clubs to wrap up a deal relatively quickly. However, as per Sport Witness, there remains confusion over what the fee required stands at. While some reports coming out of Brazil suggest that as little as £5.8 million ($8m) would be enough to take the goalkeeper to Old Trafford, others believe a far more considerable fee would be needed.

DID YOU KNOW?

While they are seeking to replace Onana, United are yet to find a suitor to take the Cameroon international off their hands. Onana has refused to rule out a departure from the club and is still likely to leave Old Trafford this summer, but given his high wages and United looking to recoup as much of their outlay on him as possible, few clubs may be able to afford his services.

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AFPWHAT NEXT FOR JOHN?

John and Botafogo will return to domestic football next weekend as they take on Vasco de Gama and look to climb further up the Serie A table. The rumours will continue to swirl around the goalkeeper, who supposedly turned down offers from Europe to remain at the club in January, and United will no doubt be interested in making a move – particularly if the release clause is as low as some reports suggest.

India scored the highest total in a World Cup knockout match before Daryl Mitchell scored a scarcely believable 134 off 119

Sidharth Monga15-Nov-20232:35

Is Shami India’s greatest ODI bowler of all time?

2:32

‘Shreyas’ strength and magical wrists make him a handful’

As early as the third over, Trent Boult was around the wicket, suggesting no movement for the fast bowlers. To Boult’s first ball from that angle, Rohit danced down the wicket and lofted over mid-off for his first six of the day. He would add three more in his brief innings to go two each past Chris Gayle’s record for most World Cup sixes and most in a single World Cup: 49 and 26.India’s top five now average more than any side in a single World Cup, but it is in sticking to their roles that they have been the most impressive. Rohit’s job has been to maximise; accumulation can be left to Shuman Gill and Kohli. Rohit’s personal score doesn’t matter. He fell on 47, trying to hit a fifth six but was undone by a Tim Southee slower ball.Twelve years after Kohli carried Tendulkar on his shoulders to thank him for carrying the team, Gill, heir apparent to Kohli, took on the aggressor’s role to allow Kohli time to get into his work. Now these are only relative terms because 29 off 39 is not a bad start knowing how Kohli can accelerate, but in the same time Gill added 59 off 45. However, with a century there for the taking, Gill retired-hurt with what looked like cramps, presumably so as to not jeopardise his participation in the final.For New Zealand, though, this retirement was like jumping from the pan into the fire. Iyer batted with ferocity and touch, taking down Rachin Ravindra after just six sighters. Now in the second half of the innings, Kohli, too, began to up his intent. He went after the returning quicks, Boult and Southee. Iyer made sure they had to take the part-timers out of the attack.The only reason Iyer didn’t get the fastest World Cup century for India was a maiden bowled by Mitchell Santner in the 35th over. Santner was the only bowler who held his own, going for just 51 in his 10.2:59

Hayden: Kohli a great story of resilience and professionalism

India took 110 off the last 10 overs with KL Rahul’s 39 off 20 providing the finishing touches. You wouldn’t have guessed at that point that India would need all these runs, which makes all the starts from Rohit and the intent the new team management has insisted on even more crucial.Those extra runs provide a cushion if the bowlers have half an off day. Jasprit Bumrah had just that kind of a start that proves he is human: 22 runs in three overs, plenty of width, a set of five wides. First-change Shami, though, emerged as the nightmare for the batters. Immediately around the wicket, he toyed with the two left-hand openers, nibbling it just enough to have them caught at the wicket in his first two overs.It gave India some relief and the freedom to introduce Ravindra Jadeja early should there be dew later. Both the spinners found turn from the pitch, but incredibly, Mitchell kept hitting them down the ground, including the biggest six of the tournament. Mitchell and Kane Williamson added 181 for the third wicket, a catch went down, a possible run out was missed as Rahul broke the wicket too soon, faces grew tense, meetings got longer. And when the returning Bumrah was off-driven for six by Mitchell, you knew things had got serious.Shami, though, returned with a double-strike: a slower ball to have Williamson caught at deep square leg, and an absolute peach to seam in and hit Tom Latham’s kneeroll second ball. With Glenn Phillips in, India could go back to the spinners and mount the asking-rate pressure. It went past 12 in the 37th over, and with Mitchell cramping and India smartly keeping the ball out of his reach, it just became a losing battle for New Zealand.Shami came back to take three deserving wickets in the end, becoming the quickest to 50 wickets in World Cups, moving to most five-fors and also registering India’s best figures in the tournament.