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In the Los Angeles Dodgers' lengthy, bicoastal history, designated hitter and pitcher Shohei Ohtani stands alone.

On an 0–2 count Tuesday against Milwaukee Brewers fireballer Jacob Misiorowski, Ohtani turned an 88 mph curveball into a 431-foot home run—his 31st home run of the season. That gave him the Dodgers' all-time record for home runs before the All-Star break.

The mark was previously held by first baseman and outfielder Cody Bellinger, who smashed 30 in the first half of 2019 on his way to a career year and the National League's MVP award.

Ohtani, who has played in 91 of his team's 93 contests so far, is on pace for 54 home runs on the dot—his exact total from 2024, which broke right fielder Shawn Green's 2001 franchise record of 49.

Los Angeles currently sits in first place in the National League West division—six games clear of the second-place San Francisco Giants.

So far, the Dodgers' $700 million investment is paying off handsomely.

Leeds United head coach Daniel Farke will surely be pleased with how his side has adapted to Premier League football after their promotion from the Championship.

The last six teams to have come up from the second tier have all been relegated at the first time of asking, and the Whites, Sunderland, and Burnley are hoping to avoid making it nine from nine.

Leeds have racked up eight points in seven matches in the Premier League so far this season, lifting them above the relegation zone, in what has been an impressive start to the campaign.

They lost 2-1 to Tottenham Hotspur last time out in the top-flight at Elland Road, but they had a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth and a 3-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, which included a stunning goal from Anton Stach, prior to that.

The German central midfielder smashed his free-kick right into the top corner for his first goal for the club after his move from Hoffenheim in the summer window.

Another signing from the summer transfer window who has impressed since his arrival at Elland Road is exciting wide attacker Noah Okafor.

Where Noah Okafor ranks among Leeds United's attackers

It may not be unfair to suggest that the Switzerland international is the best and most effective attacker within Farke’s first-team squad in the Premier League this season.

Okafor, who was signed from AC Milan, has hit the ground running in English football with two goals in four starts in the Premier League, per Sofascore, which is twice as many goals as any other player in the team has managed.

He is the only Leeds player who has scored more than one goal this season in the top-flight, with his strikes against Wolves and Spurs, and that suggests that the forward is, at the very least, the most effective goalscorer in the attacking ranks.

As you can see in the table above, Okafor ranks either first or second in a host of key attacking metrics for the Whites in the Premier League, which speaks to how influential he has been at the top end of the pitch in the early stages of the campaign.

The Swiss speedster, who scored in the 2-1 defeat to Spurs last time out, is an electric dribbler who can score goals and create chances for his teammates, which makes him an invaluable part of Farke’s attack.

Despite that, Transfermarkt have Okafor as the 13th-most valuable member of the squad, at £11m, and the seventh-most valuable winger or striker, even below Jack Harrison at £12m.

Market Movers

Football FanCast’s Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club’s star player or biggest flop worth today?

Another player who is worth even more than the Switzerland international, despite his impressive form in the Premier League, is central defender Pascal Struijk, whom the Whites have hit the jackpot with since his move to the club from Ajax.

Leeds have hit the jackpot with Pascal Struijk

The Dutch central defender joined the club at U21 level on a free transfer at the start of 2018, as his contract with Ajax was due to expire, and he was able to rise through the ranks at Thorp Arch.

Struijk made seven appearances for the U21 team before he emerged as a regular first-team squad member in the 2020/21 Premier League season under Marcelo Bielsa, playing 27 times, per Transfermarkt.

The left-footed star has since racked up 166 appearances for the first-team in all competitions for the West Yorkshire outfit, and has started all seven of the club’s league matches this season.

Struijk was particularly important to the club’s promotion to the Premier League last season, scoring five goals in 35 appearances, as he formed a reliable partnership with Joe Rodon.

The 26-year-old titan, who scored two late goals in a dramatic comeback against Sunderland, kept 14 clean sheets in 31 starts in the second tier last term, per Sofascore, which speaks to how defensively solid the team were with him in it.

Farke has kept his faith in both Rodon and Struijk, despite the signings of Jaka Bijol and Sebastiaan Bornauw, in the Premier League so far this season.

The German boss described him as a “crucial” player back in 2023, and he still relies on the Dutchman, even if his performances this term have not quite been up to scratch.

As you can see in the table above, Struijk currently ranks among the worst centre-backs in the division in a host of defensive statistics, which suggests that he needs to improve his performances if he wants to remain in the side.

Despite his slightly concerning form at this moment in time, the Dutch star is valued at a whopping £15.6m by Transfermarkt, which means that he is worth more than Okafor (£11m). He is also the joint-fourth most valuable player at the club, per Transfermarkt.

Considering that the Whites picked him up from Ajax’s academy and he started his career in England at U21 level, it is fair to say that Leeds hit the jackpot when they signed Struijk back in 2018.

He has developed into, at the very least, a Championship promotion-winning central defender, and one of the most valuable players in the squad at £15.6m.

Farke struck gold on Leeds star who came from "the school of Haaland"

Leeds United hit the jackpot on this star who Phil Hay compared to Erling Haaland.

By
Dan Emery

Oct 8, 2025

At the age of 26, Struijk also has plenty of time left ahead of him to increase in value, but he must first turn his Premier League form around and show that he is good enough to start week-in-week-out in a top-flight side that can avoid relegation.

The Yankees bullpen sunk to a historic new franchise low in an 11–1 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday.

New York's 'pen surrendered nine earned runs for the second consecutive game, the first time that's occurred in Yankees franchise history, according to Katie Sharp.

Consider this: So poor was the Yankees bullpen on Wednesday night that each of the four relief pitchers Yankees manager Aaron Boone sent to the mound surrendered an earned run—except for outfielder Austin Slater, who entered the game in the ninth inning and slow-tossed 36-mph eephus-esque meatballs as New York waved the white flag.

Wednesday's game eerily resembled Tuesday's loss for the Bronx Bombers, who played Detroit to a 2–2 tie through six innings before the bullpen came undone in a nine-run implosion in the seventh inning.

But as poor as the results have been in the two-game postseason litmus test against the Tigers thus far, Boone, ever the optimist, believes the results are a blip on the radar rather than a concerning trend.

"Track record. Stuff. Who they are," Boone said when asked what gives him confidence the bullpen can turn things around. "Obviously, we got to get a couple guys on track so we can create that depth that we can have down there. A bullpen ERA in short samples like that can be a little misleading, like when you have a handful of games where it really gets away and it gets blown up.

"I feel like through this stretch of games, where over the last month we started winning, we've closed out a lot of good games, too, with guys capable of shutting people down. This is what we have. I've had a lot of confidence in their ability and their stuff, but we got to bring it together. We haven't done that consistently enough yet. Can we do it? That's what we're going to find out. That's what we're going to need to do if we're going to make a big run at this."

The Yankees play one more game against Detroit on Thursday before traveling to Boston for a three-game series against the Red Sox beginning on Friday.

The Yankees beat the Blue Jays on Sunday to take their weekend series and move within two games of the first-place team in the AL East with three weeks to go in the regular season.

Max Scherzer gave up four runs and threw 93 pitches in 4 1/3 innings and took the loss. New York did not score after Scherzer left the game because he was presumably replaced by a bullpen that was not tipping pitches.

During the first inning Aaron Judge appeared to signal to batter Ben Rice at the plate during a 10-pitch at-bat where he fouled off four pitches and ended with a home run.

Toronto manager John Schneider seemed to confirm the tipped pitches after the game as he complimented the Yankees on their ability to identify and relay that kind of information during games.

"Yeah, they were relaying. Yeah, yeah, they're good at it," said Schneider. "You know, Max has got to be a little bit better. It was obvious in the changeups. Rice just missed the one you know, foul, homer. It's fair game. Major League Baseball knows the Yankees are good when they got something. I'm not the only one that's going to say it publicly, but gotta do a better job of making sure we're not giving anything away. At the end of the day you gotta be tight. You gotta make pitches. Yeah, it was pretty clear Bellinger was giving it to Judge and Judge was giving it to Rice."

It's been a notable season for both these teams and they may have to meet in the playoffs to determine which franchise really is a first place team.

“You don’t want that whenever anyone says something you lose the message because you use race as a filter.”

Matt Roller07-Jul-2020Given the extent to which he is associated with Ian Bishop’s famous line – ‘Remember the name’ – it comes as no surprise to hear who Carlos Brathwaite has sounded out for advice ahead of his first experience in the commentary box.Brathwaite’s experience behind the microphone extends to a few appearances as a pundit during the Regional Super50 – “20 minutes here or there” – but he is now preparing to cover West Indies’ Test series in England for the BBC, as part of the Test Match Special team and as a guest on their new highlights show.”Bish was fantastic. I reached out to him for some words of advice and encouragement, and he made me feel a little bit more confident in myself to be honest,” Brathwaite tells ESPNcricinfo. “I’m still nervous. It’s like preparing to face your first ball – no matter how many balls you’ve faced in the nets, those nerves are always there.”Brathwaite travelled down to the Ageas Bowl on Tuesday afternoon after spending lockdown in Oxford, where his wife Jessica works at the John Radcliffe Hospital. Because of her ethnicity, she worked from home throughout lockdown, but would still go to see low-risk patients, and he admits that it “hit home a lot harder” being so close to the NHS and knowing the risks that his wife’s friends and colleagues faced.He has used his public profile to help raise awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement during lockdown, speaking at a march in Oxford and attending protests in London last month. He made headlines last week when he described taking the knee as a “cosmetic” reaction to an issue that requires a legislative and societal response.This month, Brathwaite will be the new face in a BBC commentary box that has until recently been home to Geoffrey Boycott – who was forced to apologise during West Indies’ last tour to the UK in 2017 after suggesting he would have been knighted if he had “blacked up” – and has for some time been a space dominated by white men.

“I know in sport that it is prevalent. Black players are seen as players that can give you height, steel, strength. But when it comes to guile, you look more towards white players.”CARLOS BRATHWAITE

Last week, a report was published which revealed a “clear and significant” problem with racial bias in English football commentary, which has already led to introspection within the industry through unconscious bias training. The study found that white players are substantially more likely to be praised for their skill and intelligence compared to black players, who are reduced to pace, power, and other physical attributes. Brathwaite says he recognises a similar phenomenon in cricket.”I don’t want to speak out of turn just for the sake of saying it. Obviously there’s Bish, there’s Pommie Mbangwa who I rate very highly as a commentator, but there aren’t that many black commentators you can single out. With Michael Holding, I could probably count three.”I don’t know the space of commentary and media well enough to speak to their pathway or their individual rise, but I know in sport that it is prevalent. Black players are seen as players that can give you height, steel, strength. But when it comes to guile, you look more towards white players.”As a football fan, it’s something that I see. How many No. 10s or creative players do we see in the Premier League who are black? A good example would be John Obi Mikel, who came from Nigeria and the Under-20 World Cup as a No. 10 and got turned into a defensive midfielder by Chelsea. I can’t say exactly why, but my perception of it is: big, tall, strong, and black – you should run long and hard.”There is that perception and stereotyping in sport. Hopefully with the Black Lives Matter movement and the awareness of the racial bias that’s happening in the world today, it’s brought that to light and more black players will be seen as intelligent as well.”Carlos Brathwaite shapes to throw a ball•BCCIIn English cricket, there has been a noticeable, but often uncomfortable shift in the tone and language used by fans and in the media since Jofra Archer’s first international call-up at the start of last summer; never before has a player’s “body language” been up for discussion to such an extent.”Jof is laid back, but this all boils down to respect,” Brathwaite says. “I’ve heard it myself: I’ve been at franchises where I’ve tried to work my socks off as best I could, but as soon as you sit down they say: ‘ah, you’re resting, you’re relaxing.’ You might be early for a team meeting and they’ll be like: ‘I’m surprised to see you early’. Well, I’ve been early for the last 25 team meetings. Why is it a surprise?”It is a stereotype. It isn’t always racial, but traditionally persons from the Caribbean are more laid back than elsewhere. In England everything moves so quickly, so everyone is just on edge to do, do, do. In the Caribbean we relax and take more time out. I don’t always think it’s racially biased, but it’s about using those bits of information to then listen to the follow-up remarks and retorts in the conversation.”I don’t think every single thing that’s said about Jofra – positive or negative – has a connotation to his race or his colour. But it’s about listening to how people speak and what they follow up with when they speak about him.”And what about another trope that will inevitably come up on this tour whenever a West Indies batsman hits a six: ‘natural Caribbean flair’? “If you unpack it, it can be considered a stereotype, [the idea that] we just walk out of the womb, pick a bat up and hit sixes,” he says. “That we didn’t do the same amount of running, pumping weights that other guys do, that we’re just born with biceps and muscles to hit the ball out the park.”It doesn’t have to be racially motivated: if you can say there’s ten Caribbean players in the IPL and nine of them hit sixes or bowl fast, then fine. But it’s when that conversation continues and goes down a path of subjecting the person because of race. You don’t want that whenever anyone says something that you lose the message because you use race as a filter. It’s important to be aware of that potential filter, and to be cognisant of it, but not to always use it as a yardstick to shy away from criticism.”

“I’ve been at franchises where I’ve tried to work my socks off as best I could, but as soon as you sit down they say: ‘ah, you’re resting, you’re relaxing.’ You might be early for a team meeting and they’ll be like: ‘I’m surprised to see you early’. Well, I’ve been early for the last 25 team meetings. Why is it a surprise?”CARLOS BRATHWAITE

After this series, Brathwaite will travel to Trinidad for the CPL, after being signed by Jamaica Tallawahs in last week’s draft. He hopes to use the tournament as “a springboard” to get back into the West Indies’ T20I team, having lost both the captaincy and his place in the side at the end of last year.He has not been in regular contact with Phil Simmons, the head coach, and says instead: “It’s been up to me to go on a journey where I’ve been self-reflecting, and get to a place mentally and physically where I’m happy. I’m ready and raring to go, and I want to make it back into the team to represent West Indies at another World Cup – and hopefully help us defend the cup.”For now, though, his focus is on the Test series. He is reluctant to take any kind of credit for Ben Stokes’ journey from that night in Kolkata to captaining England for the first time this week, but says that cricket “needs Ben Stokes-type characters, who ruffle feathers and are there with bat or ball in the 90th over of a day’s play”.And while he does not think that the Stokes v Jason Holder narrative will necessarily determine the series, he hopes that West Indies’ captain can demonstrate why he is the No. 1-ranked allrounder by the ICC with the world’s eyes on him.”I don’t think they consider it to be: ‘oh, Jason made 70, I need to make 100′ or anything. It’s just two very good players trying to be the best they can for their teams. But it’ll be a good rivalry: Stokes’ story has been told and he’s received all those accolades, but I don’t think Jason has received the recognition that he should.”It’s important in this series for him to come onto Stokes’ turf and show off, and prove why he’s No. 1. People in the Caribbean will have seen why he’s risen to No. 1, but I don’t think the wider world has appreciated it. The stage is set.”

The statistical highlights from a day that England dominated in Galle

S Rajesh15-Jan-2021168* – Joe Root’s score at the end of the second day in Galle. It is the highest by an England batsman in Sri Lanka, going past Kevin Pietersen’s 151 in Colombo in 2012. There are only three instances of an overseas captain scoring more runs in an innings in Sri Lanka: Stephen Fleming’s unbeaten knocks of 274 and 174, and Mushfiqur Rahim’s 200.ESPNcricinfo Ltd2 – Test hundreds for Root in Sri Lanka, making him the first England batsman to score more than one Test century in the country. Eleven England batsmen have a solitary hundred here.173 – The partnership between Root and Dan Lawrence, who made 73 on debut. It is England’s highest stand for any wicket in Sri Lanka, going past the Nasser Hussain-Graham Thorpe partnership of 167 for the third wicket in Kandy 20 years ago. It is also sixth-best for the fourth wicket by an overseas team in Sri Lanka.52.53 – Root’s average in Asia: he has scored 1366 runs in 15 Tests, with three hundreds. He is one of only three England batsmen to score more than 1000 runs at a 50-plus average in Asia; the other two are David Gower and Alastair Cook.ESPNcricinfo Ltd5 – Non-Asian batsmen who average more than 50 in Asia since 2010, with a 1000-run cut-off. Neither Steven Smith (1200 runs at 48) nor Kane Williamson (1545 runs at 46.81) are in this club.ESPNcricinfo Ltd73 – Lawrence’s score in his debut innings, which is exactly what Root scored on his Test debut in Nagpur eight years ago. In the last 69 years, only five England batsmen have made more runs when making their Test debut in Asia: Keaton Jennings (112 in Mumbai), Ben Foakes (107 in Galle), Cook (104* in Nagpur), Owais Shah (88 in Mumbai) and Haseeb Hameed (82 in Rajkot).

His contributions were central in ensuring India didn’t crumble in Melbourne like they might well have done

Ian Chappell03-Jan-2021It was no surprise that Ajinkya Rahane captained India flawlessly at the MCG; anyone who saw him in charge in Dharamsala in 2017 would have recognised a man born to lead cricket teams.There were a lot of similarities between that 2017 match and the one at the MCG. Firstly it was between the same two highly competitive rivals, then there was the valuable first-innings lower-order contribution from Ravindra Jadeja, and finally Rahane aggressively accumulating the required runs in a nervy pursuit of a moderate victory total.Related

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The moment that caught my attention in the Dharamsala match was the time Rahane called on debutant left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav when David Warner and Steve Smith were involved in a century partnership. “This is a brave move,” I thought, and it turned out to be a very smart one. Yadav quickly claimed the wicket of Warner – expertly caught by Rahane at first slip – and this prompted a five-wicket slide.That’s part of Rahane’s success as a skipper: he’s brave and smart. However, there’s much more to his leadership than just those two important qualities. He is calm when things could easily get out of hand. He has earned the respect of his team-mates, one of the most important aspects of good captaincy. And he gets runs when they are needed, which adds to the respect his team has for him.India knew they would be missing the highly valued skills of Virat Kohli following the first Test. Adding to the weight on Rahane’s shoulders, they suffered an abysmal collapse in Adelaide. As if that wasn’t enough, Rahane was responsible for Kohli’s run-out in the first innings in that game, when India were easing into a dominant position.Despite all those deflating factors, India strode onto the MCG a week later – after Tim Paine had won the toss – as though they were leading 1-0. In part that was because they were aware the Australian opening partnership was in turmoil. They also knew that one man couldn’t replicate the supreme deeds of Kohli and it was going to take an extra effort from all concerned to overcome his absence. And finally, there was the captain they greatly respected; they wanted to play well for Rahane.4:58

Ajinkya Rahane – from the sidelines to the centre

And boy, didn’t they do that. There was Jasprit Bumrah, excelling as usual at the MCG, ambushing batsmen regularly. R Ashwin, with his new-found confidence in Australian conditions, exerted his influence over Smith, a vital early wicket that further boosted India’s confidence. Inspired by the seniors, the debutants, Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj, made significant contributions as they adjusted quickly to Australian conditions.Despite those valuable performances, the one that turned the match firmly in India’s favour was the Johnny Mullagh medal-winning contribution from Rahane. The captain’s century came at a time when India could easily have faded to a two-nil deficit, and it was this performance that gave his team the conviction that victory was attainable.A former resident of Mumbai told me his wife lip-read Rahane say the words “Come on, India,” when he reached his MCG century. That is another thing that defines Rahane’s captaincy: he’s all about the team.At a time when aggressive, proactive international captaincy is in short supply, India are fortunate to have two leaders who both understand the value of taking wickets over containing the opposition.This tantalising series is far from over. India still have concerns with yet another fast-bowling injury and an opening batsman in a quandary. However, despite coming off a disastrous collapse in Adelaide, along with the departure of their best batsman and the loss of two leading fast bowlers, India have fewer selection headaches than Australia.It’s helpful that they have a strong, calm leader and a vibrant spirit that has built up under the Kohli-Rahane-Ravi Shastri coalition.If India do go on to repeat their last tour’s success in Australia, the Mullagh medal won’t be the only gong Rahane receives.

Shahidi and Asghar Afghan also stitched together Afghanistan’s first 300-run partnership in the format

Sampath Bandarupalli11-Mar-20211 Hashmatullah Shahidi (200*) became the first Afghanistan player to score a double-century in Test cricket. Asghar Afghan briefly held the record for the highest individual score for Afghanistan with his 164 before Shahidi overtook him. Before Thursday, Rahmat Shah’s 102 against Bangladesh in the 2019 Chattogram was Afghanistan’s only hundred in their first five Tests.307 Partnership runs between Shahidi and Asghar for the fourth wicket, the highest for any wicket for Afghanistan. Their previous highest was 139 between Ihsanullah and Rahmat for the second wicket against Ireland in 2019.1 Number of partnerships in Test cricket in the UAE higher than Shahidi and Asghar’s 307. The South African pair of Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers had added 338 for the fifth wicket against Pakistan in 2013. The 307-run stand between Shahidi and Asghar is also the third-highest partnership for any wicket in Test cricket against Zimbabwe.0 Countries before Afghanistan with a triple-century partnership and 500-plus total in their first ten Test matches. The previous record for the fewest Tests required by a team for a 300-plus partnership was 16 matches by Pakistan, while Zimbabwe, with 544/4 in only their 11th match, held the record for the fewest Tests for breaching the 500-run milestone.6 Matches Afghanistan took to record their first individual double-century in Test cricket, the joint-fewest by any team. West Indies had also got their maiden Test double-centurion in their sixth match when Clifford Roach struck 209 against England in 1930.2016 Last instance of No. 4 and No. 5 batsmen scoring 150-plus runs in the same Test innings before Shahidi and Asghar. The Indian duo of Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane had scored 211 and 188 respectively against New Zealand in the first-ever Test at the Holkar stadium in Indore.

Left-arm wristspinner has developed the hard way to seize chance with Birmingham Bears

Matt Roller21-Jun-2021There is no good time to test positive for Covid-19 but for Jake Lintott, Sunday was a particularly frustrating one. He is due to miss at least three Birmingham Bears fixtures in the Vitality Blast while self-isolating, and the fact that the first ended in defeat underlined his importance to the side since the start of last year, during which time he has been their leading wicket-taker.Lintott, a 28-year-old left-arm wristspinner who bowls nearly as many googlies as stock balls, had played three T20s for Gloucestershire in 2018 and a single one for Hampshire the year before, but as he headed into his late 20s, appeared destined for a career playing club, minor counties and second-team cricket, which he combined with a job as director of cricket at Queen’s College, Taunton. His success for the Bears – Warwickshire’s T20 moniker – in the Blast seemed a long way off 15 months ago.Lintott had been due to travel to La Manga on Warwickshire’s pre-season tour last March after Ian Westwood, the 2nd XI coach, had talked him up following some impressive performances the previous summer, but when the UK went into lockdown, he was furloughed from his job and uncertain about what lay ahead.Related

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“I was in a bit of a grey area,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “I didn’t know where counties were going to come out financially at the end of it, and everything was a bit uncertain. When I got furloughed from the school job, I tried to use lockdown as a big opportunity to focus on me and invest as much time as I wanted to in myself.Having struggled to find time to focus on his fitness while working during the week and playing every weekend, Lintott took up running and lost nearly three stone (18kg). “When you’re in a full-time working environment, it can be really hard to find time for yourself. I’ve always moved quite well, even as a biggish lad, but to lose weight, it means the perception disappears and it’s another box ticked. I think it was the last thing I had to do [to earn a contract].”He had spent time on Zoom with Graeme Welch, the club’s bowling coach, working on his action – “it sounds bizarre that he was coaching me through a computer screen” – but turned up to a second-team game before the Blast and left the coaching staff taken aback: “I think I looked like a completely different person, having lost all that weight.”On the first day of the 2020 group stage, he signed a short-term contract to cover the five weeks of Blast cricket, which he combined with his job at Queen’s, regularly driving 130 miles up to Edgbaston and then 130 more back down to Taunton. While the Bears missed out on the quarter-finals after letting a winning position slip against Northamptonshire in their final group game, Lintott’s return – 10 wickets in nine games, with an economy rate of just 6.30 – marked him out as one of the season’s breakout stars.After discussions over the winter – during which time he briefly trained with Jack Leach while working as a pathway spin coach for Somerset – Warwickshire offered him his first professional deal in February, which he is combining with his job at Queen’s this season. He took eight wickets in his first five games in the Blast and since 2020, only three spinners – Matt Parkinson, Danny Briggs and Dan Moriarty – have taken more wickets in the competition; all three have a higher average and economy rate than Lintott.ESPNcricinfo Ltd”I’ve trained a couple of days a week since February up in Birmingham: travelled up, stayed overnight, two days of training, back to the school,” he said. “To be honest, I’ve had no days off since April. It’s tough work but it’s all worth it.”For a while I felt like I’d been a bit unfairly treated. It’s quite hard to break into the county system once you’ve reached a certain age, and that was a good example of it. I felt like I was good enough but my age was holding me back. Because I do lots of coaching I understand that people develop at different ages, but I’m not sure the system here allows players to come in late. The fact I’m different and you see how big wristspin has become in T20 has always kept me going but it has taken a lot of determination. It would have been easy just to give up.”Naturally, he attributes much of his success to his novelty factor. Tabraiz Shamsi, Kuldeep Yadav, Zahir Khan and Noor Ahmad have made reputations for themselves around the world, and the percentage of balls bowled by left-arm wristspinners in T20s around the world has grown fourfold over the last eight years, according to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data. But they remain as rare as Fabergé eggs in England, a graveyard for unorthodoxy: Lintott is already the all-time leading wicket-taker among left-arm wristspinners in the Blast’s history.”I think I’m the only contracted one in the country,” he said. “D’Arcy Short does it for Hampshire on a part-time basis and there are young lads in the academies at Northants [Freddie Heldreich] and Yorkshire [Sam Wisniewski] but there’s really not much of it about. That’s definitely an advantage: it’s just different, isn’t it? And that’s a big thing in T20, being unpredictable. It makes me harder for batters to line up, because they’re not used to it. It’s good fun, as much as anything.”While Lintott has had to put up with various coaches suggesting he revert to bowling left-arm orthodox, wristspin has always come naturally to him. When he was nine years old, he naturally bowled out the back of his hand while masquerading as a seamer, and once he had realised wristspin was a viable option, he pursued it seriously. “It’s nice to be able to spin the ball both ways. That’s the best thing about it: my job is to take wickets and make batters look a bit silly.”

“I’m a really ambitious guy and want to take my cricket as far as I possibly can. That’s shown in how hard I’ve had to work to get here”Jake Lintott

The arrival of Briggs, the slow left-armer who is the Blast’s all-time leading wicket-taker, at Warwickshire has worked in his favour, with their bowling styles and personalities naturally complementing each other. “I’m quite emotional and eccentric and like to get into the battle, whereas he’s chilled and level-headed. He never really gets hit which means players have to start coming hard at me; that brings me into the game, spinning it both ways.”I’ve been working on being more effective to left-handers: generally people think of me as spinning the ball away from them and into right-handers, but I bowl a lot of googlies – near enough a 50:50 split. With right-handers trying to slog me leg-side, I get wickets and dot balls going across them, whereas with left-handers, my legspinner doesn’t rip quite as much as my googly, just because of my angles. I make it a big part of my routine to do analysis on where opposition batters like to hit boundaries, and where I can get dot balls to them.”Things have clicked for the Bears so far, joint-top of the North Group halfway through the group stage, with two players in particular standing out for Lintott. “I’m obviously biased, but how Sam Hain has not played for England is remarkable: he’s easily the best white-ball batter in the country at the moment. Carlos Brathwaite has added a lot to the group as an overseas player, too – in terms of character, and obviously match-winning performances with bat and ball.”It was Brathwaite, a Manchester United fan, who came up with the idea for Lintott’s newly-minted celebration: fists together with the thumb and forefinger pointing out to make a ‘J’ and an ‘L’, evoking midfielder Jesse Lingard’s trademark ‘J-Lingz’ pose. “A few lads got their hair cut before we were on Sky but I don’t need to worry about that… I guess T20’s all about fun, isn’t it?”Propelling the Bears to a top-two finish in North Group after returning from self-isolation is his immediate focus, with a ‘wildcard’ spot in the Hundred or opportunities with Warwickshire in the Royal London Cup potentially down the line. “I know if I keep taking wickets I’ll be in with a shout,” he said. “I’m a really ambitious guy and want to take my cricket as far as I possibly can. That’s shown in how hard I’ve had to work to get here. I’m just happy to finally be settled with a county: I’ve got three years to invest in Warwickshire, because they have invested in me.”

And what is the record for the most overs bowled by a player on debut in his first Test innings?

Steven Lynch30-Nov-2021Bangladesh’s top three were all out for 14 in the Chattogram Test. Was this the highest identical score by the first three batters? asked Azweer from India

The trio of 14s by Shadman Islam, Saif Hassan and Nazmul Hossain against Pakistan in Chattogram last week was the highest such coincidence of scores in a Test. In the 1985 Ashes at Edgbaston, Andrew Hilditch, Graeme Wood and Kepler Wessels were all out for 10 in Australia’s second innings.In all international formats, the highest identical score by the top three is 17, by AB de Villiers, Boeta Dippenaar and Jacques Kallis for South Africa in an ODI against West Indies in Port-of-Spain in 2005.The most identical scores in a Test innings (excluding ducks) is six instances of 2. The first of those was by Australia against South Africa in Durban in 1949-50; India had six scores of 1 against West Indies in Ahmedabad in 1983-84.The highest identical score made by three batters in the same innings (not specifically the top three in the order) is 50, by Easton McMorris, Willie Rodriguez and Wes Hall for West Indies against India in Port-of-Spain in 1961-62. This was equalled by Ross Taylor, Corey Anderson and Tim Southee for New Zealand against Pakistan in Sharjah in 2014-15. In ODIs it’s 64, by Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah for Bangladesh against West Indies in Chattogram earlier this year.In the first Test against India, Tom Latham was stumped by a substitute. Has this ever happened in a Test before? asked Alan Richards from England

Tom Latham was stumped in Kanpur by Srikar Bharat, after Wriddhiman Saha went off with a stiff neck. Latham is the third man to suffer this unusual fate in a Test. The first was the South African Sibley “Tip” Snooke, in the second Test against England in Durban in 1909-10. He was stumped by Neville Tufnell, who was deputising for Herbert Strudwick, who had been hit in the face: “I had a blow just over the eye,” Strudwick wrote. “A ball from [George] Thompson pitched on the leg stump and got straight up!” Tufnell hadn’t played a Test at the time, but he did make his debut in the final match of the tour, in Cape Town, keeping wicket even though Strudwick also played.The second instance came in Lahore in 1964-65, when Bevan Congdon of New Zealand deputised for the unwell Artie Dick against Pakistan, and stumped the left-arm spinner Pervez Sajjad off what turned out to be the last ball of the match. New Zealand’s captain, John Reid, had kept earlier in the same innings, and taken two catches behind the stumps himself. The successful bowler, Barry Sinclair, was turning his arm over for the only time in his 21 Tests, and recalled: “They didn’t bounce a lot.”Who has taken most wickets for England in the Ashes? Is Jimmy Anderson likely to go top in the coming series? asked Michael Roberts from England

Ian Botham leads the way for England in Tests against Australia with 148 wickets, although strictly speaking only 128 of those came in Ashes matches (he played four against Australia in which the urn was not at stake, in 1979-80 and 1980). The lower figure is more likely to fall in the coming series to Stuart Broad, who currently has 118 wickets against Australia in Tests; Jimmy Anderson has 104.In all, 21 bowlers have so far taken 100 or more wickets in Ashes Tests; Shane Warne leads the way with 195. The most likely addition to this list from the upcoming Ashes series is Nathan Lyon, who currently has 85. For the list, which includes all Tests between England and Australia, click here.Stuart Broad needs 11 more wickets to go past Ian Botham’s 128 against Australia in Ashes Tests•Getty ImagesHave New Zealand ever won a Test match in India? I can’t recall one! asked Ahson Atif from India

Before the current series got underway, New Zealand had played 34 Test matches in India. Of those, they had lost 16 (including the last six) and also drawn 16. That leaves the two matches New Zealand have won: by 167 runs in Nagpur in 1969-70 (only their third Test victory away from home, after two in South Africa in 1961-62), and by 136 runs in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1988-89, with Richard Hadlee taking ten wickets.I noticed that Sri Lanka’s Suraj Randiv bowled 73 overs in the first innings of his Test debut. Was this the most by a bowler in his first match? asked Arquam Siddique from India

The Sri Lanka offspinner Suraj Randiv toiled through 73 overs in the first innings of his debut Test, against India in Colombo in July 2010. He finished with 2 for 222, which is the most runs conceded by a bowler in an innings on debut (next comes Australia’s Jason Krejza, with 8 for 215 against India in Nagpur in 2008-09), but one debutant did send down more overs. In his first Test, in the Ashes at Old Trafford in 1964, the England seamer Tom Cartwright delivered no fewer than 77 overs, including 43 on the first day alone. He finished with 2 for 118, and 32 maidens, many of them bowled to Australia’s captain Bob Simpson, who made 311 in nearly 11 hours. Cartwright told his biographer Stephen Chalke: “I was going for under two an over, so I never felt under any pressure. In fact, I rather enjoyed it… It was just a long grind.”Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions