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They beat Sri Lanka and Bangladesh respectively, but not in the most convincing ways

Valkerie Baynes05-Oct-20244:01

Takeaways: Australia and England off to winning starts

Australia and England safely navigated their opening contests of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 but the path ahead shimmered into perspective in the Sharjah heat with neither side fully exerting their dominance and both left with some work to do.India’s shock loss to New Zealand on Friday night had fuelled Australia’s status as trophy favourites and England’s as their closest challengers.And while Australia defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets with 34 balls to spare, they were less polished in the field than has been their trademark for eons and Beth Mooney’s unbeaten 43 off 38 balls represented the bulk of their successful 94-run chase.Related

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• Sharjah's lack of pace key to England, South Africa's fortunes

• Linsey Smith on being recalled: My mindset has completely flipped from six years ago

• Schutt and Molineux set the tone for Australia, Mooney gets the job done

• Wyatt-Hodge, Smith to the fore as England grind past Bangladesh

England enjoyed the better of the conditions in their night game against Bangladesh, who restricted them to 118 for 7 before succumbing to a four-pronged spin attack in which Linsey Smith and Charlie Dean took two wickets each and Sarah Glenn one with spearhead Sophie Ecclestone going wicketless.England’s 21-run victory put them at the top of Group B with a superior net run rate to South Africa, who thumped West Indies by 10 wickets on Friday. Australia remained behind New Zealand on net run rate at the top of Group A.England team in a huddle ahead of the chase•ICC/Getty ImagesIt took England until the fourth over to find the boundary at the vast Sharjah Stadium. But when Danni Wyatt-Hodge struck two fours in three balls from Fahima Khatun and Maia Bouchier added back-to-back fours immediately before she was dropped on 16 slicing Marufa Akter to point, it looked like England’s attacking style was coming to the fore.By the end of the powerplay, England were looking good at 47 without loss but Bouchier fell in the seventh over. And while Wyatt-Hodge’s 41 at slightly better than a-run-a-ball propped up the innings, the loss of 5 for 37 in 8.2 overs gave Bangladesh a chance.Left-arm spinner Smith, in her first appearance at a World Cup since 2018, took 2 for 11 from her four overs and ran out Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana while off-spinner Dean accounted for top-scorer Sobhana Mostary, who made 44, and opener Dilara Akter.”First game out, a few nerves with the bat, I thought we adapted quite early, which was good,” Wyatt-Hodge said. “Then with the ball, I thought the girls did a fantastic job. Linsey Smith was outstanding, her first game for England in a World Cup for a while, really happy for her.”Hopefully we can kick on, learn from tonight and put out another display the next game.”

“It was warm out there, it’s tough. And we probably could have done that a little easier with the bat, but conditions were tough out there.”Megan Schutt

For Australia, Megan Schutt opened with a maiden and by the end of the third over, Sri Lanka had only six runs on the board – half of them because Schutt overstepped twice – for the loss of one wicket, Vishmi Gunaratne pinned in front on the last ball of Schutt’s second over.Then Ashleigh Gardner struck with her eighth ball of the match to remove great hope Chamari Athapaththu, whose lean tournament with the bat continued when she fell lbw for just 3, having scored only 6 in Sri Lanka’s first loss to Pakistan.Australia’s start wasn’t blemish-free. Having opted for the pace of Darice Brown over another spin option, she endured a torrid first over with three front-foot no-balls, a wide and clubbed for four through extra cover by Harshitha Samarawickrama.After seven overs, Sri Lanka were 27 for 3 and it could have been more after 12 had Alyssa Healy not missed a chance to stump Samarawickrama and had Brown not put down the same batter running in from extra cover.Schutt led the way with 3 for 11 including back-to-back wickets in the final over but it was a less-than clinical performance in the field by Australia’s standards in an innings punctuated by soft dismissals.The early loss of Healy, and Georgia Wareham had Australia looking shaky but then Mooney marshalled their pursuit expertly, although she was dropped on 22 to Athapaththu’s disgust.Megan Schutt now has the joint-most wickets in Women’s T20 World Cups•ICC/Getty ImagesSchutt described New Zealand’s win against India, which came off the back of Australia’s 3-0 sweep of their series with New Zealand last month, as “pretty cool”. Australia play New Zealand next up on Tuesday back in Sharjah.”It opens up the tournament completely and shows if you have a lot of intent at the start, what that can do in the powerplays,” Schutt said. “It’ll be a great match. Obviously we’ve just come off a series against them in Australian conditions, so it’ll be even a tougher match-up here.”Defending champions doesn’t really mean anything in a new tournament. The slowness of the pitches brings in every single team to this tournament. It actually evens it out really nicely.”It was pretty exciting to go out there. We were pretty nervous to play at 2pm in terms of the heat and I think we handled that really well. We probably worked ourselves up a little bit more than what it was out there. The breeze was lifesaving. So I think we’ve acclimatised nicely to that and now we’ve moving into night game, which should be much more pleasant.”Australia also understood they had work to do ahead of their next game.”We probably could have been cleaner in the field,” Schutt said. “It was warm out there, it’s tough. And we probably could have done that a little easier with the bat, but conditions were tough out there and credit to them for getting the job done.”

Ex-Celtic striker Charlie Mulgrew has told the Hoops exactly what they must offer Jurgen Klopp to become their Brendan Rodgers replacement in what would be a sensational move.

The Bhoys are still looking for their next manager as Martin O’Neill continues to be a success as interim boss. The 73-year-old made it two wins from two on Sunday after defeating Old Firm rivals Rangers 3-1 after extra-time in the Scottish League Cup semi-final.

It was just like old times for O’Neill, who watched on as goals from Callum McGregor and a first goal for Callum Osmand ensured that his side got one over on their biggest rivals once again.

Relieved to earn a place in the final, O’Neill told reporters at full-time: “It was an incredible game. We were terrific and got the goal in front and got one disallowed for offside.

“We were in command, but I was saying to [assistant] Shaun Maloney we needed a goal to kill the game off and six or seven minutes later, Rangers get the penalty. I was 73 on Monday… I’m 94 now!”

Victory against Rangers has done O’Neill’s chances of becoming the next Celtic manager no harm, that’s for sure. Although the Northern Irishman was quick to admit that he’s just keeping the seat warm when first arriving, two wins from two has sparked rumours that he could yet get the job until the end of the current campaign.

With Ange Postecoglou taking a break from football and reportedly pulling out of the race and other candidates such as Nicky Hayen still in a job, O’Neill may make perfect sense. He’s more experienced than most, especially at Celtic Park, and he is already turning things around.

But he’s not everyone’s first choice. Instead, Mulgrew has urged Dermot Desmond to “go big” and turn to a Champions League winner in Klopp.

Mulgrew urges Celtic to "go big" and hire Jurgen Klopp

Speaking on the latest edition of The Warm-Up Show, ex-Hoops player Mulgrew urged Celtic to hire Klopp and offer the former Liverpool manager a contract worth as much as £7m-a-year, which works out at £135k-a-week.

There’s no denying that it would be an incredible appointment. Klopp transformed Liverpool, awaking English giants and taking them back to Champions League glory, but it seems unlikely that he would make a return to the dugout for Celtic.

Not just Osmand: O'Neill has another future superstar for Celtic's next boss

Celtic have another future superstar who is as exciting as Callum Osmand in their academy.

By
Dan Emery

Nov 3, 2025

That said, whilst unlikely, all hope isn’t lost. The Liverpool legend recently admitted on Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO podcast that a return to management is still possible – saying: “I’m 58, that means I could make the decision in a few years, I don’t know. Do I have to make the decision today?

“Then I will not coach again. But thank God, I don’t have to do that. I can just see what the future brings.”

Celtic submit offer for Mark van Bommel

The gloom of the fog hanging over San Francisco could be felt in the Giants' clubhouse after a 2-1 loss to the Pirates in extra innings and the team trading reliever Tyler Rogers to the Mets.

The Giants sent Rogers to the Mets Wednesday in exchange for prospects Blade Tidwell, Drew Gilbert and reliever José Butto. Rogers, who is 4-3 with a 1.80 ERA across 50 innings pitched this season, leaves after spending all six and a half seasons of his MLB career with the Giants until this point.

Giants starter Logan Webb, who allowed 1 run and struck out 11 in the loss, simply said of the Rogers trade, "The Mets got a good one."

"Ty's one of my best friends in baseball," Webb also said. "We live right near each other in the offseason. Our entire big league careers, we've been together. … Sucks we're losing a guy like that, but at the end of the day it's what happens. … He's saved me a lot of times, he's saved the Giants a lot times. He's been one of the best relievers in baseball."

The trade not only signified Webb's close friend moving away, but that the Giants would be sellers—rather than buyers—at the deadline this year. After getting off to a hot start this season, they have lost 10 of their 12 games since coming back from the All-Star break. They are 54-55, and reality is setting in as they currently sit outside of the wild card conversation in the National League.

"It sucks," Giants All-Star third baseman Matt Chapman said. "We lost the last six in a row. We haven't given Buster [Posey] and the front office any reason to add. We did it to ourselves. Obviously you can tell that everybody's pretty upset, and it's not how we saw this thing going. … When you trade one of your best arms in the bullpen, I think it shows where we're headed."

The Australian opener of the 1960s and ’70s was a tenacious batter who could also hammer the bowling when required

Ian Chappell02-Dec-2024Australia lost one of its great team men when Ian “Redda” Redpath died this weekend aged 83.Redda had a genuine team mentality. The selectors had often unwisely left him out of a few Australian sides but fortunately chose him in the squad to travel to New Zealand in 1974. We were struggling in the opening spot when I went to Redda, telling him he’d be in the Test side no matter where he batted, but I’d appreciate it if he’d bat at the top of the order. Without a second’s hesitation Redda said he’d be happy to open.He was also tenacious. When he was incorrectly given out caught off the bowling of “Deadly” Derek Underwood on a damp pitch in the 1974-75 Ashes, he sat with his pads on by his locker in the dressing room. After what seemed like an eternity he suddenly leaned forward and spat on his bat. That was the extent of a Redpath protest.Following the 1974-75 series Redda, who had been a stalwart as an opener, informed me that unfortunately he couldn’t afford the time away from his antiques business in Geelong. Knowing we were a better side with the much-loved Redpath in the team, I asked if he had anyone who could look after the business if he travelled with the squad. He replied that he had a bloke whom he trusted, who would look after his business for A$40 a week. When I approached an Australian Cricket Board member to try and get Redda selected in the 1975 touring party, he replied “No, as it would set a precedent.” What precedent? I wasn’t going to tell anyone and only one ACB member knew about the proposal.Despite being a fierce competitor, Redda was one of the soft-spoken members of our team. Imagine my surprise in the 1974-75 Test against England when I came back into the SCG dressing room after the toss to find ACB secretary Alan Barnes pinned to the dressing-room wall by Redpath.

I was upset when I joined Redpath with Australia not making quick progress. In no uncertain terms I told him to get on with it and he blasted 32 off the next over

Barnes had upset all the players when, after our agitation for better pay and conditions, he was quoted in the paper as saying; “Five hundred thousand would play for Australia for nothing.” After pinning Barnes to the wall Redpath firmly told him: “Of course 500,000 would play for nothing but they wouldn’t be a very good side.”Redpath especially enjoyed his time with the strong Australian team in the seventies. The “desperate dozen” was his nickname for the players, and he was a great contributor to the team’s success.Redda wasn’t just a very good cricketer. He was also an accomplished Australian Rules footballer and an extremely keen golfer. I got to know him properly in 1966-67 while playing golf with him in East London, South Africa. We’d play 18 holes in the morning and then follow the South African Open golf in the afternoon. Despite our vastly different personalities, we had a terrific time.The South Africans regarded Redpath as technically Australia’s best batter. In addition to being technically correct, he could also hammer the bowling.As stand-in captain during a tour game against Orange Free State in 1969-70, I’d promised to move the game along quickly to ensure an early finish. Consequently I was upset when I joined Redpath with Australia not making quick progress. In no uncertain terms I told him to get on with it and he blasted 32 (four sixes and two fours) off the next over. That put Redda into – for scoring most runs off an over by Australian – and I took great delight in winding him up by claiming a part in his achievement.Redpath bats on the 1968 Ashes tour. In 23 Tests in all against England, he scored 1512 runs at an average of 38.7, with two hundreds and ten half-centuries•PA Photos/Getty ImagesI only played one club game against Redpath but it was a memorable match. I was playing for North Melbourne on a wet pitch at South Melbourne’s home ground. As the opposing captain, Redda brought himself on to bowl while I was facing. I was desperate not to be dismissed by him but one ball spat off a good length and just flicked my glove on the way through to the keeper. Redpath, a notorious appealer, only uttered an aborted squawk. At the end of the over I confessed to him that the ball had just flicked my glove and, with his typically wry sense of humour, he chastised me for not walking.Redda played many fine and important innings for Australia but two really stand out in my mind.In 1973-74 he made a marvellous 159 not out in Auckland, carrying his bat on a tricky pitch. Despite his being known for his solid defence and ability to survive tough conditions, he still managed to hit 20 boundaries.Then in 1975-76 on a stifling hot day at the MCG against a strong West Indies attack, he batted virtually the whole first day to score a stubborn century. It was Redpath at his technical best – defying the bowling and the heat to score his third century of the series.Just before he passed away I spoke to Annabel, one of Redda’s daughters, and said, “Could you please tell your father it was a privilege to play with him and to be his friend.”

Lucas Paqueta has detailed how the betting scandal that he became caught up in ultimately "strengthened his marriage" and delivered benefits off the field. The West Ham playmaker has also explained how he reacted to seeing a proposed transfer to Manchester City break down, while admitting to being approached by teams in his native Brazil across more recent windows.

• Paqueta faced no sporting sanctions in spot-fixing case

  Paqueta found himself at the centre of spot-fixing allegations relating to the supposed deliberate picking up of yellow cards. A long-running saga dragged on for two years, casting an unfortunate shadow over the South American midfielder.

  He ultimately faced no financial or sporting sanctions, having only been found guilty of breaching lesser charges regarding cooperation with the investigation, and is free to focus on his football once more.

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• Getty
  

  How betting scandal helped & hindered Paqueta

  Paqueta is relieved to have removed a considerable distraction, but has told of finding positivity in an unfortunate situation that could have broken lesser men and their relationships: "Without a doubt, it was a very difficult time, not only for me but for my family. My wife and I went through two long, painful years, but with a happy ending. This also strengthened our marriage, our history as a family: me, her, and the children. I'm happy it ended the way it did; I fought hard against it, and it's very difficult not being able to speak, to hear various narratives and not being able to tell your side of the story.

  "It was difficult for me; I had psychological support to deal with all of this, with some of the problems. Now it's about enjoying this moment, being able to play a little lighter again, without this weight, without this fear, and being happy on the field."

  Paqueta was heavily linked with Premier League giants City in 2023, but the betting case led to interest being shelved and no deal being agreed. He added on finding himself at the London Stadium rather than the Etihad: "Everyone knows that I really had a transfer to City. I probably would have signed the week I received the letter (from the Football Association). Professionally speaking, I lost that, that transfer, a leap in my career.

  "Psychologically, I think that's where I was most affected, by the fear of this indecision, the uncertainty of my future, despite knowing who I am, what I do, what I've done. But, due to the circumstances of the investigations and the way the federation handled everything, it generated fear in us."

• Flamengo homecoming? Paqueta admits to talks

  Brazil international Paqueta has continued to attract interest since then, with Flamengo making a couple of bids to take him home. The 28-year-old said of those approaches: "The first moment was when (Marcos) Braz was still at Flamengo, there was that contact. I know of Flamengo's desire, and they know of my desire, my passion for the club, so it's something that always happens. As soon as I was accused, and the whole trial process was about to begin, Braz came to my house, made the offer, and asked what I thought.

  "Obviously, I always want to go back to Flamengo, but at that moment I was still a bit undecided about my decision, about what I was going to do, and then I also talked to the West Ham director and said: 'Braz, I want to go back, I know I'll feel good at Flamengo, but I can't be ungrateful to the club that's supporting me so much.' They supported me a lot at all times, helped me in various situations, so I couldn't force an exit from a place where I was being welcomed and respected. They respected me, my wife, my family. So I said: 'I want you to resolve this.' But yes, this exchange with Flamengo did happen."

  He added: "Maybe I shouldn't even be saying this, but I had some conversations with Filipe (Luís), who is a friend, in addition to the work he's doing at Flamengo. I really expressed my desire to return and also showed it to my agents.

  "It was a difficult decision because I'm 28 years old, it's very young, and I still have a lot of market value outside of here. I've been doing my job well, but it was a very strong desire. And I tried very hard, but unfortunately, once again, I decided to respect my club, not to force anything, because it's a club that supported me, that I have enormous affection for. So I let it happen, and it really didn't. I understood that it wasn't the right time, but I know the doors will always be open for me. I know that at some point this return will happen."

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  Paqueta contract: How long West Ham deal has left to run

  Paqueta is a product of Flamengo’s academy system and made close to 100 senior appearances for them before heading to Europe and Italian giants AC Milan in January 2019.

  He has spent time in France with Lyon since then, before joining West Ham for a club-record fee in 2022. He has made 132 appearances for the Hammers, scoring 22 goals, and is tied to a contract through to 2027 that includes the option for a further 12-month extension.

He last played for India in 2017, while his previous competitive fixture was for LSG in IPL 2024

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Sep-2025India legspinner Amit Mishra has announced his retirement from cricket at the age of 42. He played all forms of international cricket from 2003 to 2017 and finishes with 22 Tests, 36 ODIs and 10 T20Is. His last competitive fixture came for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in IPL 2024.”I’ve played cricket for 25 years across three decades with legends like Sachin Tendulkar, under leaders like MS Dhoni, and with current stars like Rohit Sharma,” Mishra told PTI. “Now that I’m slowly stepping away, it’s emotional, of course. Cricket gave me everything – respect, identity, and purpose.”Not everyone gets a grand farewell or big press conference, and that’s okay. What matters to me is that I gave everything I had. I played with heart. I performed whenever I got the opportunity.”