أعلن بيرلويجي كولينا رئيس لجنة الحكام في الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم “فيفا” عن موقفه بشأن استخدام تقنية الفيديو المساعد “الفار” في الركلات الركنية خلال كأس العالم الصيف المقبل.

وأفادت “ESPN” العالمية أن كولينا أعرب عن تأييده لاستخدام تقنية الفار في الركلات الركنية خلال مونديال 2026.

وقال كولينا إنه سيكون من المؤسف أن يحسم خطأ غير مقصود من أحد الحكام نتيجة مباراة.

وكانت تقارير قد انتشرت هذا الأسبوع وذكرت أن الاتحاد الدولي “فيفا” يحرص على توسيع نطاق بروتوكولات تقنية الفيديو المساعد لتشمل الركلات الركنية في نهائيات كأس العالم في الولايات المتحدة وكندا والمكسيك.

اقرأ أيضاً.. ميسي مشيدًا بـ سكالوني: شخص رائع.. ويتعامل مع اللاعبين بشكل مثالي

ويجب أن يتم اعتماد هذا النظام كتجربة من جانب مجلس الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم لكي يتم تطبيقها في هذه المرحلة المتقدمة وسيعقد اجتماعه السنوي لاتخاذ القرار النهائي الشهر المقبل.

وذكر كولينا خلال مؤتمر صحفي في واشنطن قبل ساعات من قرعة كأس العالم حول هذه التقنية: “أعتقد أنه يجب أن يكون لدينا هدفاً جماعياً باتخاذ قرارات صائبة في الملعب”.

وأضاف: “سيكون من المؤسف أن تحسم نتيجة أي مسابقة ليس بناء على أداء اللاعبين في الملعب بل بناء على خطأ فادح ارتكبه صانع القرار”.

وختم: “هذا ما أقنعنا قبل 13 أو 14 عاماً بالتفكير في كيفية دعم الحكام بالتكنولوجيا لذا إذا تمكنا من تحقيق ذلك سيكون إيجابياً لي، سنناقش الأمر وسنرى ما ستكون عليه النتيجة لأنني أعتقد أن الهدف يستحق العناء، لا يجب أن نضطر لدفن رؤوسنا في الرمال”.

Test captain says he “would much rather have our own competition” in the summer than see his compatriots play in overseas T20 leagues

Vishal Dikshit09-Dec-2025

New Zealand Test captain Tom Latham believes the NZ20 – the country’s first proposed T20 franchise tournament – is a “great initiative” and will be “hugely beneficial” for cricket in the nation. Even though the NZ20 idea is yet to get approval from New Zealand Cricket (NZC), plans are underway to launch the six-team competition for men in January 2027 and for women later in the same year. Once underway, it will replace the Super Smash, New Zealand’s domestic T20 competition.”I think you look at the NZ20 possibility, I think that’s a great initiative,” Latham said in Wellington a day before the second Test against West Indies. “When you look at the way that cricket’s moving around the world – I think we’re the only Test-playing nation that doesn’t have a franchise competition. But what it will bring to the country, to cricket here in New Zealand will be hugely beneficial, having international players to boost the standard of cricket. I think we’ve got a great standard of cricket here and I think the Super Smash has produced great cricketers for us up to this point. But I think being able to push the game forward here in New Zealand will only do great things for the cricket here.”The proposed tournament originated from former New Zealand players such as Stephen Fleming who then engaged with the New Zealand Players Association (NZPA] to check the feasibility of a franchise-based competition in New Zealand. The tournament model is set to be based on that of the CPL in the Caribbean and is looking to get private investment as one of the sources of funding.Related

Plans being developed for NZ20 league in January 2027

When asked if Latham was hopeful of the tournament getting off the ground, he said: “Certainly hopeful. I would love to see it happen and I’m sure you talk to a lot of the players that will be in the same camp. A lot of the guys have played franchise cricket around the world these days and been able to mix with overseas players that have had great international careers that don’t play international cricket now but still play in franchise cricket…To learn off the likes of those sort of guys will be hugely beneficial not only to the guys that play cricket for New Zealand but also to the younger generation coming through here in New Zealand.”You talk to a lot of guys that play franchise cricket around the world, they have a lot of fun, they learn a lot from different players and in different conditions. So as I said earlier it’s a great initiative and hopefully one that can get off the ground.”Latham himself has not featured in any T20 franchise tournament around the world but did play for Birmingham Bears in the Vitality Blast in the English summer this year, which was the off season for New Zealand. In his last game there, he smashed a 51-ball 104 against Derbyshire. However, it is during the New Zealand summer that a lot of top players from New Zealand choose to play T20 franchise cricket – such as the BBL, SA20 and ILT20 – over the Super Smash back home.”I would much rather see have our own competition here where we’re using all of our talent as best we can to boost cricket here in New Zealand,” Latham said. “And I think that’s a really good opportunity to do that.”The ILT20 and SA20 – both into their fourth season – already face a calendar clash with the BBL. The ILT20 started early this time to be played from December 2 to January 4, while the SA20 will run from December 26 to January 25 and they both will overlap with the BBL from December 14 to January 25.

Given the hyperbole, with unseasonal weather adding another layer of drama, there is much intrigue over an expected fast and bouncy Perth Stadium surface ahead of the first Test.However, Australia quick Mitchell Starc remains pessimistic of a pitch which the local tabloid newspaper, in its latest effort to needle England ahead of the series has dubbed a ‘Green Monster’.The teams in recent days have been preparing in the nets behind the massive ground, with the practice sessions notable for sharp and rapid bounce. Whether conditions can be replicated on a drop-in surface that was put in just four weeks ago remains unknown, although the groundstaff do remain hopeful.”The wickets out the back have had a bit of sideways, and up and down,” Starc told reporters. “I’m not going to pretend I know how to read wickets until they’re played on.”A fair bit has been made about the colour of it and that it’s going to be a green mamba. I think it’s probably ready to go now, so I don’t expect to see it do as much as you all anticipate it to do.”Having opened in 2018, and missing two international cricket seasons due to Covid, Perth Stadium is still a relatively new Test venue with no consistent trend established yet.In last year’s India Test, similarly played in late November, both first innings were over within four sessions before the pitch then flattened on days two and three, before unevenness started to come through via large cracks. The year before, against Pakistan, batting was treacherous in the fourth innings thanks to those same cracks, although that Test was played in the oppressive conditions of mid-December.While the WACA’s lore has been rekindled at times, Perth Stadium has been the best batting surface in Australia across the last four years since the new Kookaburra and greener surfaces have made conditions much more difficult on the east coast. Only five overseas batters have scored centuries in Australia in that time and three of them have come in Perth”We’ve had five different wickets in the sense,” Starc said of surfaces at Perth Stadium over the years. “We got a pretty slow, flat wicket against the West Indies [in 2022 which went deep into day five].”The first Test here [in 2018] was one where it cracked up and played a bit like the WACA used to. Last year saw all those wickets on the first day and then it got pretty flat.”You can look at trends and you can look at what’s happened. In the end you got to play what’s in front of you.”Related

• Will this Ashes be the making of Bazball 2.0?

• Australia expects as Golden boy Green aims for Ashes peak

• Bazball has made England believers, whether Australia buy into it or not

• Switch Hit: Time to Urn

• Ashes FAQ: Do England really have a chance?

Adding to the intrigue, there has been some stormy weather in the metropolitan area in recent days, while rain is forecast this weekend on the back of a wetter winter and spring in Perth.Wet weather in Perth this deep into spring is unusual, with the famously sun-drenched Western Australia capital usually almost totally dry from November through to April.But WA Cricket head curator Isaac McDonald does not believe the elements will change the expected characteristics of the surface.”You look historically at every Test through both venues here in the west, pace and bounce is a mainstay, and that’s not going to change any time soon,” said McDonald, whose on-field press engagement was pushed back due to lightning strikes close to the ground.”This forecast has been hit and miss. The temperatures have been varying by a few degrees here and there every day. Taking lessons learned from last year, we started prep a day earlier…..really trusting to get our moisture and firmness right.”McDonald said 9mm of grass is currently left on the drop-in pitch, a similar amount to recent Tests at the ground. “The cracks will be present later in the game. What I’ve really knuckled down this preparation is ensuring the pace and bounce is spot on for day one, to ensure an even battle,” he said.”Previous years, I think we’ve been on the flatter side. But last year, being the exception, we were probably a day early in preparation.”So we tried to tackle that with giving ourselves an extra day in preparation to try and even out that balance.”

MatériaMais Notícias

O vice-presidente de futebol do Flamengo, Marcos Braz, esclareceu boatos sobre a contratação de um trio de reforços de peso para o clube: o meia Oscar, o lateral Danilo e o atacante Michael. Segundo o dirigente, não há negociações em andamento com os respectivos atletas.

continua após a publicidade

➡️ Tudo sobre o Mengão agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso canal Lance! Flamengo

De acordo com Marcos Braz, nunca houve proposta do Flamengo por Oscar, Danilo ou Michael. Contudo, isso não anula que, no futuro, o Rubro-Negro possa tentar uma investida.

— Não tem nada, nunca teve. Nem de Danilo e nem de Oscar. Todo jogador que seja qualificado, que a gente possa analisar, a gente sempre vê. É muito ruim falar que tem interesse ou não. O que posso dizer é que nunca teve nada em relação a esses jogadores, que são grandes jogadores. (Michael) Também não teve nada, absolutamente nada. Não vou ficar repetindo para a imprensa que não tem nada, porque em tese, em algum outro momento, acontece ou se inicia algo. A gente procura, nesses momentos, não se posicionar — disse, após a goleada sobre o Vasco neste domingo (2).

continua após a publicidade

Em fim de contrato com o Shanghai Port, da China, Oscar já teve negociações com o Flamengo nos últimos anos, mas não houve acordo. O jornal chinês “Sohu” noticiou que o meia teria acertado com o Rubro-Negro para atuar na equipe a partir de julho, quando estará livre no mercado.

Enquanto isso, Danilo ainda tem contrato com a Juventus, da Itália, até junho de 2025. Michael é considerado negociável no Al-Hilal, da Arábia Saudita, e pode sair para que o clube abra novas vagas de estrangeiros.

continua após a publicidade

Tudo sobre

FlamengoOscar

The fast bowling duo were in the nets in Sydney on Tuesday as focus turns to the second Ashes Test

Andrew McGlashan25-Nov-2025In an encouraging sign for Australia, Josh Hazlewood returned to the nets on Tuesday as he recovers from the hamstring injury that kept him out of the opening Ashes Test in Perth.Pat Cummins, meanwhile, was pictured bowling with a pink ball as he continues his push to return for the day-night Test at the Gabba following his back injury.The pair trained at Cricket Central in Sydney while New South Wales were playing their Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania.Related

Hazlewood suffers Achilles soreness during hamstring rehab

Hazlewood set to miss Brisbane, Cummins pushes for return

The world where Lyon doesn't play at the Gabba

Bartlett, Sandhu dismantle Victoria under Gabba lights

In what looked like clear evidence of immediate priorities, Hazlewood was bowling with a red ball. He is not expected to be available for the Gabba Test, so his comeback target will be Adelaide, which has reverted to a day Test this year.Speaking on Monday, Australia coach Andrew McDonald was confident that Hazlewood would be available later in the Ashes.”I know that he’ll be available at some point during the series,” he said. “We’ve got a little bit of that early rehab to go through to formulate where he may plug into the series, but we expect him to take some part in the series.”Cummins has been making good progress in ramping up his bowling in recent weeks and looked impressive in the nets in Perth ahead of the opening Test. The selectors will need to be fully confident that he can get through the workloads required for a Test, even if the early indications are that matches in this series may not go the distance.”It looked like a player that was nearing the completion of his rehabilitation,” McDonald said. “The intensity was there, the ball speed was there. There’s a lot of positives, but now it’s just really building that resilience within the soft tissue and making sure that we’re not putting him in harm’s way in terms of accelerating it too much.”The first three Tests of the series are well spaced out – the gap between the first and second now 11 days after the two-day finish in Perth – but the schedule does become more condensed from Adelaide onwards: there is a four-day gap to the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and the same to Sydney if those matches reach the fifth day.Pat Cummins has a go with the pink ball•Getty ImagesWith the day-night pink-ball element thrown into the mix for Brisbane, there is a good chance that it could be another short, sharp Test. In the current round of Sheffield Shield matches, ten wickets fell in the night session of the third day between Queensland and Victoria to hasten the contest to a result, although wickets hadn’t fallen at the same rate on the first two days.In that match, Xavier Bartlett put in an eye-catching performance with 4 for 35 in the second innings alongside a career-best 72 with the bat. Australia may not need further pace reinforcement during the Ashes, especially if Cummins and Hazlewood are available, but Bartlett, who has impressed in ODIs and T20Is, may have moved himself up the queue.Michael Neser was the spare pace bowler in Perth and the Gabba is his home ground. His two previous Tests have been with the pink ball in Adelaide: against England in 2021-22 and West Indies in 2022-23.In the build-up to the Ashes, the selectors also spoke of their hope that Jhye Richardson may become an option later in the series as he returns from the shoulder surgery he had earlier this year.He trained with the Test squad in Perth and then bowled 20 wicketless overs for the Cricket Australia XI against England Lions at Lilac Hill. He is expected to feature for Australia A against the Lions in Brisbane next week.”This game was a lot about physical preparation for me and making sure that we can get through,” Richardson told reporters after the CA XI outing. “I’m sure there would have been a few people seeing a bit of ice on it after the bowling but that’s basically just maintenance. The shoulder’s feeling really good and it’s feeling better and better each bowl.”It’s a decent hit out, the most overs I’ve bowled in a while and it’s all part of the process to building up to be ready for four and five-day cricket.”

Premier League leaders Arsenal will travel to Championship side Portsmouth in round three of the FA Cup, while holders Crystal Palace head to non-league outfit Macclesfield. English giants Manchester City and Liverpool host League One teams Exeter and Barnsley respectively and Manchester United take on Brighton in an all-Premier League affair.

• FA Cup third round ball numbers

  Before the draw was made on Monday evening, FA Cup holders Crystal Palace were given the number 13 ball, while Premier League leaders Arsenal were 2 and 2024 winners Manchester United were 23. National League South side Weston-super-Mare (49) are into the third round for the first time in their entire 138-year history, while Macclesfield (45) and Boreham Wood (51) are the other two non-league teams to reach the third round of the competition. Finally, Brackley Town (58) can join them as they host Burton Albion in the final second round tie on Monday night.

  1. AFC Bournemouth

  2. Arsenal

  3. Aston Villa

  4. Birmingham City

  5. Blackburn Rovers

  6. Brentford

  7. Brighton & Hove Albion

  8. Bristol City

  9. Burnley

  10. Charlton Athletic

  11. Chelsea

  12. Coventry City

  13. Crystal Palace

  14. Derby County

  15. Everton

  16. Fulham

  17. Hull City

  18. Ipswich Town

  19. Leeds United

  20. Leicester City

  21. Liverpool

  22. Manchester City

  23. Manchester United

  24. Middlesbrough

  25. Millwall

  26. Newcastle United

  27. Norwich City

  28. Nottingham Forest

  29. Oxford United

  30. Portsmouth

  31. Preston North End

  32. Queens Park Rangers

  33. Sheffield United

  34. Sheffield Wednesday

  35. Southampton

  36. Stoke City

  37. Sunderland

  38. Swansea City

  39. Tottenham Hotspur

  40. Watford

  41. West Bromwich Albion

  42. West Ham United

  43. Wolverhampton Wanderers

  44. Wrexham

  45. Macclesfield

  46. Grimsby Town

  47. Shrewsbury Town

  48. Swindon Town

  49. Weston Super Mare

  50. Barnsley

  51. Boreham Wood

  52. Milton Keynes Dons

  53. Wigan Athletic

  54. Fleetwood Town

  55. Salford City

  56. Mansfield Town

  57. Cambridge United

  58. Brackley Town or Burton Albion

  59. Blackpool

  60. Walsall

  61. Exeter City

  62. Cheltenham Town

  63. Doncaster Rovers

  64. Port Vale

Advertisement

• AFP
  

  FA Cup third round draw in full

  In the draw, there are four all Premier League ties, with Tottenham hosting Aston Villa, Everton entertaining Sunderland, Bournemouth travelling to Newcastle United and Brighton making the trip to Old Trafford. As mentioned above, former Premier League stalwart Portsmouth get to host Arsenal, a side they played many times earlier this century. Elsewhere, there could be a non-league battle if Brackley beat League One Burton, with the winner facing National League outfit Boreham Wood. 

  The draw is as follows, with the Premier League teams in bold.

  Wolverhampton Wanderers v Shrewsbury Town

  Doncaster Rovers v Southampton

  Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa

  Port Vale v Fleetwood Town

  Preston North End v Wigan Athletic

  Ipswich Town v Blackpool

  Wrexham v Nottingham Forest

  Charlton Athletic v Chelsea

  Manchester City v Exeter City

  West Ham United v Queens Park Rangers

  Sheffield Wednesday v Brentford

  Fulham v Middlesbrough

  Everton v Sunderland

  Liverpool v Barnsley

  Burnley v Millwall

  Norwich City v Walsall

  Portsmouth v Arsenal

  Derby County v Leeds United

  Swansea City v West Bromwich Albion

  Salford City v Swindon Town

  Boreham Wood v Brackley Town or Burton Albion

  Grimsby Town v Weston-super-Mare

  Hull City v Blackburn Rovers

  Newcastle United v Bournemouth

  MK Dons v Oxford United

  Cheltenham Town v Leicester City

  Cambridge United v Birmingham City

  Bristol City v Watford

  Stoke City v Coventry City

  Macclesfield v Crystal Palace

  Manchester United v Brighton

  Sheffield United v Mansfield Town

• Pundits react to FA Cup draw

  Former England team-mates Joe Cole and Peter Crouch did the honours at the third round draw, and now both have given their take on what lies ahead.

  The former winger Cole said on TNT Sports: "Charlton v Chelsea is a good draw. For clubs like Chelsea and all the top clubs, you want a home draw, you don't want to be travelling too far in January. It's a derby, it's great for Charlton, a good London derby."

  And ex-striker Crouch added: "Newcastle v Bournemouth will be a good one. Liverpool as well, I played in one against Barnsley and I think they knocked us out. We played Havant & Waterlooville and then we lost to Barnsley at Anfield."

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty Images
  

  When will the third round FA Cup ties take place?

  The third round fixtures are scheduled to be held between January 9-12, 2026, adding to English teams' busy schedules over the festive period and the new year. 

  Incidentally, Ally McCoist added: "Tottenham against Aston Villa is a brilliant tie, that is the one that stands out more than anything. Charlton v Chelsea a London derby, but there are some great ties. Everton v Sunderland's a big one, Sunderland going well and so are Everton."

The Premier League title race was blown wide open deep into time added on at Villa Park after Emiliano Buendia fired home from close range to sink Arsenal, a defeat which pundits say could've easily been avoided. Gunners legend Ian Wright believes Mikel Arteta got his tactics wrong late in the game as Villa pushed for their winner.

Gunner stunner at Villa Park

Arsenal’s 18-game unbeaten streak ended with a dramatic last-gasp winner in the pulsating clash – and Man City’s winner later in the day cut the Gunners' lead to just two points at the top of the table. The game exploded into life as Matty Cash's clinical finish put the hosts ahead, but Areta’s side roared back after the break, with Leandro Trossard leveling the scores in what was a breathtaking second-half. The match appeared destined for a draw until a chaotic climax. Deep into injury time, Villa launched a final, desperate attack. A scramble in the box saw the ball fall to substitute Buenda, who unleashed a fierce strike that found the back of the net in the 95th minute. But the Gunners’ game management in the final moments has been called into question.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportWright: 'That should have been the signal'

Speaking to Premier League Productions, Wright said: 'I think you’ve got to look at the substitutions Emery made, Malen coming on, offensive, Buendia coming on, offensive, I think that should have been the signal to Arsenal to say, "right, let’s shut up shop now because they’re going for it". I think once you get past 85 minutes I think Arsenal going there, let’s face it, Villa with the chances they had could have won the game, you then say, “let’s take what we’ve got now and get back to London”.'

Ex-Villa boss Martin O’Neill highlighted Noni Madueke’s performance and questioned his decision to take on a difficult shot, rather than head to the corner to run down the clock. O’Neill said: 'I think some players have to take responsibility. You (Wright) mentioned Madueke should have run it into the corner, these are the types of things, the manager would have been encouraging him to do exactly that. So you’re talking about the game management, sometimes it’s not down to the manager, he would’ve been shouting, Madueke wouldn’t have been able to have heard him, but he would’ve been shouting take it to the corner.'

Wright replied: 'I have to agree with Martin, naturally, as a forward if we’re getting into that stage of the game where they’re putting pressure on, they’ve put two forwards on, then you naturally know, “I’m going to start running it into the corner now”. Because a point at Villa at this stage is good. I think a lot more will lose points at Villa Park, but it would’ve been a good one to take.'

Arteta points blame for damaging defeat

Speaking to reporters after the loss, Arteta said: 'In the second half we started really well. We were very dominant, but then the same issues returned. We allowed certain opponents too much space. We gave the ball away ourselves, to the point where it could have cost us the game, before it actually did. Goal kick long, second ball…clear the ball. Individual actions and a lot of chaos in the box and you end up losing it. So it's painful.'

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

AFPEuropean challenge awaits Gunners

Arsenal don’t have long to wait to move on from the defeat by Villa as they head to Belgium for a tricky tie with Club Brugge. Arteta's team are the only side with a 100 per cent win record in the Champions League this season, winning all five matches and have won six of their last seven away games in the competition.

Two days, two walk-off wins for the Minnesota Twins.

One day after Harrison Bader walked it off in a 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday with a 378-foot homer in the bottom of the ninth, Brooks Lee did the same Saturday. Only his heroic knock traveled about 300 feet less.

With Byron Buxton representing the game-winning run on third base and nobody out in the ninth inning, Lee squared up to bunt on the first pitch he saw from Tampa Bay reliever Garrett Cleavinger.

The Rays weren't expecting it. By the time first baseman Yandy Diaz could field the ball, Buxton was already home. Diaz's only chance to save the game was to let it roll foul—but Lee's bunt stayed about six inches into fair territory all the way to first base.

That's a walk-off bunt for the win.

"I was surprised too," Lee said of the call to bunt in that situation to Twins.TV reporter Audra Martin. "Any way we can get it done. I've been bunting my whole life—West Coast baseball. That's [Cal Poly baseball coach] Larry Lee right there. And it paid off."

That bold call to bunt secured the 500th career win for Twins manager Rocco Baldelli. The 43-year-old skipper is the fourth manager in Twins history to notch at least 500 wins, joining Tom Kelly (1,140 wins), Ron Gardenhire (1,068 wins) and Sam Mele (524 wins).

"It's awesome. I'm sure he doesn't want to talk about it, but we're gonna," Lee said with a smile about Baldelli's milestone.

The Twins climbed to 43-46 with the win over Tampa Bay. They are 12 games back of the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central and 3.5 games out of a playoff spot.

The Atlanta Braves have been without Jurickson Profar since early in the season after the outfielder was hit with an 80-game suspension for violating MLB's joint drug prevention and treatment program.

Profar had only signed with the Braves during the offseason and played just four games before he was issued the lengthy suspension after testing positive for Chorionic Gonadotropin, a performance-enhancing drug.

The 32-year-old isn't eligible to return to game action until July 2, but will be shaking off the rust in the minor leagues ahead of his return to the majors. Profar is set to embark on a two-week minor-league rehab assignment with the Braves' Triple A affiliate in Gwinnett ahead of his return to the MLB team next month.

According to Mark Bowman of MLB.com, Profar will play all nine innings in each of his appearances at Triple A as Atlanta is hoping to get him as many live swings as possible before he returns to the team.

Last season with the San Diego Padres, Profar made the NL All-Star team and slashed .280/.380/.459 with 24 home runs and 85 RBIs. He signed a three-year, $42 million deal with the Braves over the winter.

Because of his suspension, Profar will not be eligible to play in the postseason if the Braves qualify. At 31-39, they have plenty of ground to make up in the wild-card race, currently 7 1/2 games back from a playoff spot and 13 games behind the division-leading New York Mets. Hopefully, the return of the veteran outfielder can help Atlanta get back on track, even if he won't be available should they reach the postseason.

The Australia captain was especially emotive with the ball in hand as his team responded strongly to their Perth drubbing

Andrew McGlashan08-Dec-2024As Pat Cummins went through India’s lower order early on the third day in Adelaide, it felt like a statement from the Australia captain who had been particularly expressive with ball in hand throughout the contest.Mitchell Starc had already removed the main threat, Rishabh Pant, in the first over. Now a rapid bouncer from Cummins did for R Ashwin as he tried to hook, another rising delivery was fending into the gully by Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy ramped into the hands of deep third to give Cummins his third wicket. He could have finished with six when Mohammed Siraj, who was booed to the crease in rather pantomime-esque scenes after his run-in with Travis Head the previous day, fended at his first delivery but Alex Carey couldn’t gather the edge.Never mind. In the blink of an eye, Australia needed 19 to level the series. It was all done before the first interval, perhaps leaving some of the 33,000 in the ground a little torn between delight at the victory and a lack of cricket for the rest of a beautiful Sunday.For Australia, though, there was only one concern: winning. And they did so in a style every bit as emphatic as India’s victory in Perth.On the opening day Cummins had looked especially emotive – borderline angry – when he bounced out Pant. Late on the second night he produced a peach of a delivery to take Rohit Sharma’s off stump, which drew a few comparisons to the famous ball to Joe Root at Old Trafford in the 2019 Ashes.”This week we were back to our best, the team I remember and how we want to play our cricket so really satisfying,” Cummins said. “I was pretty pumped up. Probably felt like some big wickets in the context of the match. Especially the pink ball, feels like the margins have been quite small so maybe just pretty excited – more so than normal.”1:42

Cummins on Australia’s comeback win: ‘We were back to our best’

It was the fourth-shortest Test in Australia and 81 fewer deliveries than last season’s thrashing of West Indies, although this contest was witnessed by 135,012 across the three days – a record for an India Test in Adelaide despite its brevity.From the very first ball of the match, when Starc removed Yashasvi Jaiswal, it was an excellent two-and-a-bit days for Cummins and his team. That’s all it took to dismantle India twice across a collective 80 overs while Travis Head, not for the first time, produced the defining innings when there was a still a way back into the contest for the visitors.”When Trav walked out to the crease that was the turning point,” Cummins said. “Feels like every time he walks out the game’s in the balance…and within the space of a session or so he really took the game out of their hands. He’s done it time and time again for us in many different formats. So lucky he’s on our side because as a captain I wouldn’t know how to bowl to him, how to set fields to him.”But he also singled out the night session on the opening day, where Nathan McSweeney and Marnus Labuschagne, took Australia to the close just one down, as a key period in setting up the game.”That was really gutsy what those guys did on that first night,” Cummins said. “You look back to Perth, it’s those small moments that if you win them and suddenly you wake up the next day and it’s a different day. Think that was a really good lesson and it was really gutsy to get through that period and meant some of the other guys later on could cash in.”Cummins again spoke of being reasonably happy with how he bowled in first Test in Perth – where he had a match return of 3 for 153 – and that not much changed for him here, but he looked better for the run from the moment he nibbled the new ball around in the first innings.He heaped praise on his pace-bowling colleagues, Starc and Scott Boland, who finished with eight and five wickets in the game respectively. Nathan Lyon sent down the grand total of one over – “He will jump in the ice bath, he has had a big week,” Cummins joked at the presentation – while Mitchell Marsh’s unconvincing four overs in the first innings faded from significance.”Some of the talk this week was around do we have enough bowling,” Cummins said. “Particularly that day one, thought it was a herculean effort from Starcy and Scotty. It was hot, close to 40 degrees, humid and basically just kept rotating the bowlers all day. Huge effort from those guys, showed their class, I feel very lucky as a captain to have those guys and then having someone like Lyno who we didn’t even need to call on. Feels like I’ve got a lot of tools at my disposal.”And so for the third time in a row a series between these two teams in Australia is level at 1-1 after the first two matches. Onto the Gabba.