يستعد فريق ريال مدريد الإسباني بقيادة مديره الفني تشابي ألونسو، لمواجهة مانشستر سيتي الإنجليزي، مساء اليوم الأربعاء ببطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا.
ويستقبل ريال مدريد خصمه مانشستر سيتي على ملعب “سانتياجو برنابيو” في إطار مباريات الجولة السادسة لمرحلة الدوري بدوري أبطال أوروبا.
ويعاني ريال مدريد من عدة غيابات على الجانب الدفاعي، بعد إصابة إيدير ميليتاو في المباراة الماضية أمام سيلتا فيجو بالدوري الإسباني، بالإضافة لاستمرار غياب دين هويسن وداني كارفاخال وترينت ألكسندر أرنولد.
كما تحيط الشكوك حول جاهزية النجم الفرنسي، كيليان مبابي، مهاجم الفريق، والذي لم يكن في كامل لياقته خلال تدريبات ريال مدريد يوم الثلاثاء.
ويملك ريال مدريد 12 نقطة في رصيده بدوري أبطال أوروبا، ويتواجد بالمركز السادس، ومانشستر سيتي لديه 10 نقاط في المركز 12. تشكيل ريال مدريد المتوقع أمام مانشستر سيتي اليوم
حراسة المرمى: تيبو كورتوا.
خط الدفاع: فران جارسيا، ألفارو كاريراس، أنطونيو روديجر، راؤول أسينسيو.
خط الوسط: أردا جولر، جود بيلينجهام، أوريلين تشواميني، فيدي فالفيردي.
خط الهجوم: فينيسيوس جونيور، رودريجو.
ويمكنكم مطالعة مواعيد ونتائج جميع المباريات لحظة بلحظة عبر مركز المباريات من هنا.
LOS ANGELES — In the end, it was star first baseman Freddie Freeman who ended it at 18 innings, when his third consecutive deep drive to center field was finally enough, but when he crossed the plate, the person he was looking for was an anonymous reliever who barely made the roster: Will Klein.
“MVP of this game,” said Freeman of the pitcher who a week ago was in Arizona, throwing live at-bats in case someone needed him.
On Monday, they needed him. It took 18 innings, six hours and 39 minutes, 45 players, 153 plate appearances and a heroic effort from a pair of maligned bullpens, but finally the Dodgers prevailed 6–5 in Game 3 of the World Series to take a series lead of two games to one.
When it was over, as the fans chanted FRE-DDIE, the players hugged and thanked the reliever who extended the game long enough to give Freeman a ninth plate appearance. “I don’t know how many times a guy hits a walk-off home run and the whole team is jumping around the pitcher,” said third baseman Max Muncy.
Seven years after the Dodgers played an 18-inning World Series Game 3 here, this one matched it for longest in Fall Classic history. (Though thanks to the pitch clock, it took 41 minutes less than the 7:20 slog between the Red Sox and the Dodgers.) The Blue Jays used all eight of their relievers; the Dodgers used all nine of theirs. The Blue Jays used every position player.
So many moments in the game were just a win away from being World Series classics. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. scored from first on a single. Shohei Ohtani tied a 119-year-old record for extra base hits in a Fall Classic game. And then there were the wild ones: A late strike call led to a pickoff at first base. Three good defensive plays in the infield nabbed a runner at third base on a single. Ohtani was caught stealing when he fell off second base. A pinch runner was thrown out trying to score on a double. Ohtani was intentionally walked four times, a postseason record, and the choice was so obvious that fans in the stands began holding up four fingers when the first chords of his walk-up song, “Feeling Good” by Michael Bublé, played. In the end he reached base nine times, shattering the previous World Series record of six. The Dodgers intentionally walked the No. 9 hitter. Seven runners were thrown out on the bases, including two at home. For the first time in his career, Clayton Kershaw pitched in the 12th inning. The bullpens—the weakest area of both clubs—combined for 26 2/3 innings of four-run ball.
Klein, the last reliever on the roster, a 25-year-old fifth-round draft pick on his fourth organization in two years, threw 72 pitches in four innings and allowed one hit. It was his longest outing since, he guessed, his junior year at Eastern Illinois.
“I was just going to go until I couldn’t,” he said. “There were times when you’re starting to feel down and you feel your legs aren’t there or your arm’s not there, and you just got to be like, So I had to dig deep, do it myself.”
Dodgers pitcher Will Klein earned his third career big-league win by pitching the final four innings. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
If he had faltered, manager Dave Roberts would have had to turn to Game 2 starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who spent several innings lobbying for a chance to pitch on one day of rest after his second straight complete game.
“Guys will do anything to win a championship, and they’re laying it out there,” said Roberts.
Missed chances aplenty
By the end of the night, it was hard to remember the missed opportunities, but both teams had them.
In the second inning, Daulton Varsho took what just about everyone in the ballpark thought was Ball 4 with Bo Bichette on first. Home plate umpire Mark Wegner made a late strike call, by which time Bichette had wandered off the bag and was picked off. Varsho eventually walked, and Alejandro Kirk singled him to third, but Glasnow struck out Addison Barger and induced Ernie Clement to line to center to end the threat.
In the sixth, Kiké Hernández bounced a ball to the shortstop with Teoscar Hernández on first. Shortstop Andrés Giménez ranged to his right to get the ball and fired to first, where Guerrero saw that he had no play—but Clement might. Guerrero made an awkward throw, which Clement saved to tag Teoscar Hernández for the third out. And the teams combined to leave 37 runners on base. No one scored between the seventh inning and the 18th.
And worse, each team has reason to worry about one of its stars: In the seventh, leadoff hitter George Springer, who is tied for third in postseason home run history and in many ways is the heart of the team, appeared to tweak his right oblique on a foul ball. He left the game and hobbled down the dugout steps. In the 11th, Ohtani appeared to slow as he dashed to second base. Roberts offered to remove him and let him rest. Ohtani declined. He took a practice run into center field and remained in the game.
A lifetime ago, this seemed like a normal game. The Dodgers struck first, when Teoscar Hernández, true to form, redeemed his four-strikeout Game 2 with a solo homer in the second. With one out in the next inning, Blue Jays starter Max Scherzer challenged Ohtani—if you can call it that—with a 94-mph fastball up and in. Ohtani missed it. Three pitches later, Scherzer threw nearly the same pitch. Ohtani did not miss it.
The lead lasted 18 minutes. The Blue Jays pride themselves on their ability to score a lot of different ways—no team struck out fewer times this season—and the fourth inning featured nearly all of them: Guerrero walked, Bichette broke his bat on a sinker that second baseman Tommy Edman could not glove and finally Kirk drilled a curveball just over the center field wall. For good measure, Barger and Clement each added singles and Giménez launched a sacrifice fly to center to make it 4–2.
Scherzer, who memorably barked at Schneider when the skipper tried to remove him in Game 4 of the ALCS, could only nod in the bottom of the fourth when his manager appeared with a runner on first, one out and Ohtani striding to the plate. Fair enough. It may not have mattered who the pitcher was. Facing Toronto’s best lefty, Mason Fluharty, Ohtani doubled to drive in a run. Two batters later, Freeman brought him in to tie the game.
For a while, it seemed like the pair of sons of big leaguers who had been anointed the future of the Blue Jays would save them. With two outs in the seventh, Guerrero waved at a pitch his father would have appreciated, some six inches outside the zone, and knocked it into center. Up came Bichette, still hobbling around on the left knee he sprained two months ago. Guerrero was not running on the 1–2 pitch, but somehow when Bichette lined it into right, where it ricocheted around, the 6’ 0”, 245-pound first baseman barreled around third base and slid into home, where he slammed his hand on the plate just ahead of the tag.
But the Blue Jays still had to face Ohtani in the bottom of the frame. Seranthony Domínguez left a fastball in the middle of the plate and Ohtani launched it into the opposite-field stands. That gave Ohtani—in an October in which he has struggled enough that his manager has several times expressed concern that his performance might help cost his team the title—eight home runs this postseason, tied for first in a single season in franchise history, and four extra-base hits in a game. The only other person who has ever done that is Frank Isbell of the 1906 White Sox.
So hot was Ohtani on Monday that he barely made it to the plate in the bottom of the ninth before Schneider gave the sign to walk him intentionally. With Mookie Betts at bat and one out, Ohtani—who chartered the 50-50 club last year—took off for second. He beat the throw, but he fell off the bag long enough for second baseman Isaiah Kiner-Falefa to apply the tag. Betts flied out to right for the final out.
The top of the 10th offered even more drama. Ty France, a light-hitting, slow-footed first baseman who was replacing Springer, singled to left with two outs. Schneider immediately pinch ran Davis Schneider (no relation), the last non-catcher on his bench. The Dodgers played the lefthanded Nathan Lukes to go the other way; he lined a ball into the ocean of space in right field, and third base coach Carlos Febles sent Davis Schneider. But Teoscar Hernández got to the ball quickly and Edman made a perfect relay throw to catcher Will Smith to send the game to the 10th.
The Blue Jays loaded the bases with two outs in the 12th, and Roberts summoned Kershaw, who has weathered so many devastating moments in situations like this one. But the best lefty of his generation, among the best of all time, kept Lukes off-balance with sliders that broke just outside the zone, and Lukes eventually grounded to second. Kershaw punched his glove and roared as he strode off the mound. In the dugout, Roberts gave the lefty a high-five, then went back for a bear-hug. In the stands, Kershaw’s wife, Ellen, sobbed.
Again and again, the Dodgers nearly allowed fans to leave the park by leaving the park. Edman doubled to lead off the bottom of the 13th, and two outs later, the Blue Jays intentionally walked Ohtani and Betts. Freeman flied 379 feet to center. In the 14th, Smith launched a ball 383 feet to center and flipped his bat in celebration, but Varsho caught it against the wall. In the 15th, with Ohtani on first yet again, Freeman flied lined a ball 358 feet to center. In the 16th, a change of pace, with no one on, it was Teoscar Hernández’s turn: 383 feet to center.
In the 17th, with a runner on first and lefty Brendon Little on the mound, the Blue Jays let Ohtani hold his bat, but Little walked him on four pitches anyway. It was Ohtani’s ninth time on base. They did not get a chance to face him for a 10th time. Freeman—and Klein—took care of that.
Pep Guardiola compared his Manchester City star playmaker Rayan Cherki to Lionel Messi after the Frenchman pulled off an audacious rabona in his side's 3-0 win over Sunderland. Cherki produced his second assist of the game to set up Phil Foden with an outrageous piece of skill and Guardiola, who coached Messi for four years at Barcelona, claimed the Argentine had never produced a moment like it.
Classy Cherki assist crowns big City win
Cherki helped City open the scoring against a stubborn Sunderland by laying the ball off to Ruben Dias to score a thumping goal from long range. Josko Gvardiol's header doubled the Cityzens' advantage but Cherki stole the show with his cheeky cross for Foden. Cherki now leads the assists chart in the Premier League, setting up five goals in his debut campaign following his £30m ($40m) move from Lyon last summer.
Guardiola praised his player and brought up Messi's name although he also urged Cherki to follow one key lesson from the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner.
Guardiola told a press conference: "Rayan is an exceptional player, he is so young, he has a huge personality, he proved it against Fulham in the toughest moments. He had the ball at 5-4 and every time gave us an extra pass, he is not scared and has self-confidence. In the final third he had something special. What I admire the most about Rayan is not the skills.
"I never saw Messi play a cross like he has done. Messi is the best player to play the game but I never saw these kind of crosses. Crosses are fine, right or left or which part of your feet, it doesn't matter. If it is effective it is fine but I like the simplicity because I learned from Messi that I never make a mistake with the simple things.
"The simple things he does perfectly then he dribbles past four or five players. I want players to do the simple things well and after that you have special talent and he can do whatever he wants but if he doesn't work now it will be a problem. He will be in trouble."
Cherki 'so proud' after helping City beat Black Cats
Cherki told: "Really proud. We worked many weeks for that, we played very well. Defended and attacked really well. Very proud. I worked for that, I know my quality, my quality is my technique, when I play with Phil [Foden], Erling [Haaland], Omar [Marmoush], it's very important to give the good balls for them. Phil is a great player, he works for the team, runs for the team."
"It's difficult when the team come to defend with 10 players in the box, it's complicated. For Ruben [Dias] it's a first time and a last because the goal was unbelievable. We want to win all the games. We don't want to concede goals. Important for us to defend well because then we attack better. We are very proud to give the pleasure to the fans. We will work all week for the next game."
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Goal ARCity have Arsenal in their sights
City are just two points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal, having trailed the Gunners by five points just two weeks ago following their defeat at Newcastle. City can put Mikel Arteta's side under more pressure when they visit Crystal Palace on Sunday although first they will play Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday, looking to respond after their 2-0 loss at home to Bayer Leverkusen in their last European fixture.
"It is better to be closer to the top of the league but from my experience it is consistency," Guardiola said on the title race. "Consistency comes from the way you play, not from the results or being two points in front or four behind. it is how you perform and how much you grow. Today has been one of the best performances of the year. We had good momentum for the second half.
"Wolves [on the opening day of the season] the first half was good and the second half we suffered. We were not consistent and we talked a lot about the reason why. We did really good things against Fulham in the first half and stopped doing it in the second half. It's not about specific movement defensively or offensively.
"Today against a team who had have top results so far we gave away one chance but apart from that it was a good performance. With the Premier League I have the feeling that Arsenal are going to drop few points and if we want to be there we have to win games and games and games come from the way you perform, not just a lucky action."
Are Tottenham Hotspur finding their feet under Thomas Frank’s stewardship?
Certainly, we have seen green shoots in recent matches. After that dismal home defeat to Fulham at the end of November, Spurs battled to a 2-2 draw at St. James’ Park before beating Brentford in the Premier League and Slavia Prague in the Champions League.
Two clean sheets from two games, but Tottenham still could do with reinforcements in the rearguard. Namely, ENIC Group are planning to help Frank piece together a lasting project with a new left-back.
Destiny Udogie picked up a hamstring injury against Newcastle United and will be out until the New Year. But the Italian defender has been out of sorts this season anyway, and Tottenham are ready to take action.
Spurs' search for a left-back
Udogie quickly established himself as one of the most dangerous up-and-coming full-backs in Europe after joining Tottenham from Hellas Verona. Better known for his time on loan with Udinese across multiple years, the Italian was hailed as “the best left-back” in the country by Clinton Morrison on BBC Sport a few months into his arrival under Ange Postecoglou’s wing.
Destiny Udogie for Tottenham
However, Udogie’s persistent injury issues have stunted his growth, and the 23-year-old has been told he “needs to wake up” by one coach this term, lacking awareness and dynamism. With Ben Davies getting on – and rarely getting off the bench – competition is needed, especially with the Lilywhites making headway in the Champions League.
That’s why Fabio Paratici and Johan Lange are circling in on Eintracht Frankfurt star Nathaniel Brown, with TEAMtalk revealing that the 22-year-old German international is on Tottenham’s wishlist ahead of the winter window.
A versatile wideman with no qualms about playing further upfield, Brown would add depth and new dimensions to Frank’s team, though this is a sentiment shared with rivals, Arsenal and Manchester United also among the suitors named.
He would cost upwards of £50m, but Brown has the potential to become one of the best in the business, and he would slot right into Frank’s set-up.
What Brown would bring to Spurs
Brown, a German-born player with American heritage, boasts blistering pace and a desire to progress play whenever he can. However, he is also defensively sound, mixing between duties seamlessly.
As per FBref, Brown ranks among the top 9% of full-backs across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for assists and the top 3% for tackles per 90, underlining his dynamism and ability to mix defence with attack.
In this, he has something of a likeness to Udogie, the finest iteration of the Italy star, and while Spurs’ talented wide defender has fallen by the wayside of late, his profile remains tailor-made for a starring role in one of Europe’s top outfits.
Brown, moreover, is on an upward trajectory, with analyst Spencer Mossman claiming earlier in 2025 that he is “one-two years away from being the most coveted left back” in the world. Already, several of the Premier League’s biggest sides want to bring him over, suggesting that he is indeed ahead of that prediction already.
Frankfurt has a rather porous defence this season, and that is a concern, but Brown is one of the standouts, showcasing an impressive mix of qualities. Furthermore, he rode the crest of a wave into the current campaign, having played so well in the Bundesliga last year.
Matches (starts)
10 (6_
6 (6)
Goals
0
1
Assists
1
2
Touches*
47.5
47.8
Accurate passes*
26.8 (85%)
25.7 (84%)
Chances created*
0.7
1.0
Succ. dribbles*
0.3 (27%)
0.5 (38%)
Recoveries*
3.8
3.4
Tackles + interceptions*
1.5
3.1
Clearances*
1.1
1.2
Duels (won)*
2.9 (46%)
3.8 (51%)
As we can see from the respective left-backs’ Champions League campaigns, Brown is enjoying greater success, with his staggering duel success rate something to note.
Last season, talent scout Jacek Kulig said Brown is “moving to another level”, so perhaps it is the right time for him to take the leap of faith over the channel and down N17 to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
What Tottenham decide to do remains to be seen, but Frank needs a few more instruments in his tactical toolbox, and Brown could mark his crowning signing as improvements start to reveal themselves.
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He was ruled out midway through IPL 2025 for the runners-up while his replacement Owen is likely to be retained
Nagraj Gollapudi14-Nov-2025Punjab Kings (PBKS) are set to release at least seven players ahead of the auction for IPL 2026 with Glenn Maxwell being the prominent name. Maxwell played seven games in IPL 2025 before sustaining a fractured finger midway through the season. He scored only 48 runs in six innings, including single-digit scores in each of his last four games, with a best of 30 for the runners-up, and picked up four wickets.He was replaced by fellow Australian Mitchell Owen, who rose to prominence through his exploits for BBL champions Hobart Hurricanes last year. He topped the run-scoring charts in BBL 13 – his 452 runs coming at a strike rate of 203.60 and featuring two hundreds. However, he had a forgettable IPL debut, scoring a two-ball duck in his only appearance. PBKS, though, are set to retain Owen, who was procured at his base price of INR 3 crore.Related
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Maxwell, who retired from ODIs in June, was bought by PBKS at the 2025 auction for INR 4.2 crore. It was his third stint with PBKS, his fourth IPL team, having played for them from 2014 to 2017 and then in 2021. So far in T20Is this year, Maxwell has 171 runs at a strike rate of 169.30 with a best of 62 not out against South Africa in Cairns.The other players PBKS are set to release include Aaron Hardie, Kyle Jamieson, Kuldeep Sen, Praveen Dubey and Vishnu Vinod. Jamieson had come in as a replacement for the injured Lockie Ferguson and picked up five wickets in the four matches he played. Dubey played just the one game while none of Hardie, Sen and Vinod made any appearance for PBKS in IPL 2025.
Chelsea have been tipped to ‘easily’ sign a ‘top player’ who could become a ‘superstar’ away from his current club.
Chelsea suffer Atalanta blow as Maresca crashes down to Earth
Chelsea’s aspirations of securing automatic Champions League knockout round qualification took a significant hit as they surrendered a half-time advantage to lose 2-1 against Atalanta in Bergamo on Tuesday evening.
Enzo Maresca’s side appeared on course for a crucial victory when Joao Pedro slid home his maiden Champions League goal in the 25th minute, capitalizing on Reece James’s delivery after a VAR review confirmed the captain had timed his run perfectly.
The Blues controlled proceedings during the opening period, with their man-to-man pressing disrupting Atalanta’s rhythm and limiting the Serie A outfit’s opportunities.
However, Josh Acheampong did have to produce a stunning goal-line block to deny Ademola Lookman what appeared a certain opener.
.
Maresca’s decision to withdraw the booked Trevoh Chalobah at half-time appeared to kickstart a dramatic shift in momentum.
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The Blues are short up front.
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James spurned an excellent opportunity to extend Chelsea’s lead early in the second period, firing wide from a promising position on the edge of the penalty area.
Atalanta immediately made Chelsea pay, with Charles De Ketelaere delivering an exceptional cross from the right flank, allowing former West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca to rise completely unmarked inside the six-yard box and nod past Robert Sanchez.
The Belgian forward then completed the turnaround with seven minutes remaining, his deflected strike looping over Sanchez after taking a wicked deflection off Marc Cucurella’s retreating leg.
Despite late opportunities for Alejandro Garnacho, James and Pedro, Marco Carnesecchi’s goalkeeping ensured Atalanta claimed all three points.
It was a humbling night for Chelsea, merely a fortnight after they were being talked about as genuine Premier League title contenders.
There is clearly still work to do before the west Londoners can be discussed in that manner, with Maresca lamenting Chelsea’s defending in a post-match press conference.
With holes still ever present and Maresca constantly rotating his first-team due to injuries, there may still be more work to do in the transfer market next year.
Chelsea spent nearly £300 million in the summer, but they remain pretty light in midfield with the constantly-injured Roméo Lavia sidelined for yet another extended period.
As a result, the west Londoners have been tipped to move for a new midfielder in 2026, and Man United’s Kobbie Mainoo could be available.
Chelsea tipped to 'easily' sign Kobbie Mainoo from Man United
Chelsea have been repeatedly linked with the Red Devils sensation these last 12 months, with Mainoo on the fringes of Ruben Amorim’s first team and potentially poised for the exit door.
Speaking on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast, ex-United midfielder Nicky Butt has tipped Chelsea to sign Mainoo amid his current club’s ‘mind-boggling’ stance when it comes to young stars.
The 20-year-old, who burst on to the scene at Old Trafford in 2023/2024, was once a revelation under Erik ten Hag and one of England’s rising stars.
Mainoo’s excellent form that year, including an FA Cup final goal against Man City, earned him a spot in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for Euro 2024.
He played in all but one of the Three Lions’ games that tournament, including a start in the final against Spain, so finding Mainoo in this situation at United is truly bizarre.
The talented and versatile midfielder seemingly doesn’t fit into Amorim’s tactical blueprint, with Chelsea believed to still be keen on Mainoo amid their search for world football’s most elite young talents.
Fast bowler admits age may be slowing his recovery after recurrence of knee issue
ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2025
Mark Wood admitted that age may be a factor as he seeks a return to match fitness•Gareth Copley/Getty Images
Mark Wood has cast doubt on his availability for the third Ashes Test and admitted concerns that, at 35, his body is no longer coping with the rigours of bowling 90mph/145kph.Wood had surgery on his left knee after hobbling out of England’s Champions Trophy campaign in February, and the series opener in Perth was his first Test match in 15 months. He bowled 11 wicketless overs across the match but was sent to a specialist after reporting more pain and has been wearing a knee brace since arriving in Brisbane.Speaking to Channel 7 at the tea break during the second Test at the Gabba, Wood suggested he was unlikely to be in contention for the Adelaide Test, which starts on December 17: “I think there’s a chance there, but more realistically, it’s probably more Melbourne and then [Sydney] after that… I need to get out of this [brace] first to get moving around.”Related
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Wood said that he has had painkilling injections in his knee since the first Test, and suggested that age is catching up with him. “Throughout my career, I’ve tried to show resilience and keep coming back and keep trying to push it where I can bowl faster and faster, but I’m getting older now.”I don’t know if my body’s not coping with it as well [as it used to] but I’ll keep trying. That’s something I pride myself on, to keep running in for the team and be a good team man. I’m hoping I can get this right and can charge in again.”I’m trying to just get through day-to-day at the minute. Later in the series is what I’m aiming for, but I can’t do that much at the minute. I’ve had a couple of injections, resting up, and slowly but surely, running [will] start soon, then back into bowling.”It’s more mentally difficult than physically. You’ve got to try and build it back up and come back again, and that’s probably the more difficult thing.”Ben Stokes, England’s captain, said on the eve of the Brisbane Test that Wood would do “everything” possible to remain in contention for selection in this series: “We’ve got a lot more time to go on this tour, and we’ll just see how things play out with that.”
How hard-hitting batter turned to another sport after injury curtailed his rugby career
Matt Roller16-Sep-2025When Ross Adair walks out to open the batting at Malahide on Wednesday he will complete a rare sporting double.The last time Adair pulled on a green Ireland shirt to face England, his opponents included the future England rugby union captain, Maro Itoje; this time, his opposite number at the top of the order will be Jos Buttler. Even if his encounter with Itoje was an Under-19s fixture, he will surely become the only man to have faced both modern English sporting greats in international competition.The prospect of playing against Buttler makes Adair grin. “I’m a 31-year-old man, and I’m trying not to be too excited about this guy – who is not much older than me – coming over to play cricket against me,” he says, sheltering from the wind on the Sport Ireland campus on the outskirts of Dublin. “To be in the presence of someone who’s done so much in the game will be pretty cool.”It is the latest landmark in a second sporting life that Adair himself admits seemed unlikely when he was recovering from the double hip surgeries that effectively ended his rugby career. “That was life’s way of telling me that I was on the wrong path,” he says. “I didn’t expect to be here, if I’m quite honest. It just sort of happened.”Adair and his younger brother, Mark, juggled both sports as teenagers, but went in different directions. “I got to a stage where there was Ulster Under-20s or the Under-19 Cricket World Cup,” he explains. “Ryan Eagleson (now Ireland’s bowling coach) was the Under-19s coach and he left me out… The cricket door closed, the rugby door was open, so away I went.”Primarily a winger, Adair struggled to break into a strong Ulster backline. “The back three when I was there was [Andrew] Trimble, [Jared] Payne and [Tommy] Bowe – effectively a Lions back three.” He made a single substitute appearance at senior level in the Pro12, scoring a try during his seven-minute cameo, before moving onto Jersey Reds in the English Championship.Ross Adair in action for Ulster’s A team during his rugby union career•Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty ImagesCricket went on the backburner. “We played one-hand, one-bounce in the changing rooms. That kept my eye in… I maybe came back and played a couple of games for Holywood, my local club – [Rory] McIlroy territory. But if I’d gone back to Jersey with a broken finger, they’ve have been like, ‘What are you doing?'”By the time a degenerative hip condition prompted two surgeries in early 2018, he had started to fall out of love with rugby. He returned to play for Ballynahinch and for Ulster’s A team, but recalls clearly when he realised it was time to quit: “The ref blew the first whistle, and I was counting 80 minutes down in my head… I was like, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore.'”Adair took a job in property development and started to play cricket again on the side – though an Ireland call-up was a long way off his radar: “It was just a bit of for me, a bit of fun.” Runs in club cricket earned him opportunities for Northern Knights in the Irish inter-provincial system – initially at No. 7 or 8 – before he blasted a century from the top of the order in 2022.His first Ireland call-up came on a tour to Zimbabwe, with senior players missing playing franchise cricket, and hitting 65 off 47 in his second cap ensured further opportunities would follow. He ran the drinks at last year’s T20 World Cup but marked his arrival at international level in September, launching nine sixes in a 57-ball hundred against South Africa.A combination of injury, bad weather and Ireland’s sparse fixture list means that he has only batted once since in T20Is, scoring 48 against West Indies in June. “I’ve had to watch the highlights of my hundred a couple of times, just to [remind myself], ‘You can still do this, you’re fine.’ Sometimes you second-guess yourself, but that’s all part of sport. It’s very normal.”By his own admission, Adair is a “raw” batter who relies more on temperament than technique. “I’m just glad I’m not one of the guys that go, ‘My head was a millimetre out of position there.’ You’d go insane… I like going with the flow. I could always strike a cricket ball, but I was just very, very raw. That helped me a lot when I came back.”He finds cricket more “mentally challenging” than rugby, particularly given the high-variance nature of his role as an attacking opener: “You could go five or six games in a row without getting any runs and you think you’re shit, but that’s not the case. There’s a score around the corner… It’s live by the sword, die by the sword. For me, it’s an amazing way to live.”Adair was inspired by England’s record-breaking hitting on Friday night, when they racked up 304 for 2 against South Africa: “That’s my kind of cricket. It always has been: see ball, hit ball.” He saw Phil Salt’s series – a first-baller, followed by an unbeaten 141 off 60 balls – as emblematic of the life of a modern T20 opener. “It’s scary… But that’s just the way it is.”When I went back to cricket, once I finished playing rugby, I could just go back and blast it. I wasn’t worried about the consequences… When it did take off a bit, I was trying to keep that mindset: don’t worry about it. If you get out, you get out. It’s fine. You could be 90 off 40, you could also be 0 off 1… That sense of freedom makes it a bit easier for me.”Related
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He believes there are more transferable skills between cricket and rugby than might be obvious – “being in front of a crowd, blocking out the noise… and I’ve taken a lot of high balls” – and sees T20 as the “closest thing” between the two. “It’s just such a good, explosive, aggressive version of cricket… That’s maybe why I love it the best.”Adair won his first central contract last year, shelving his day job to become a professional cricketer aged 30, and has one eye on next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. “Hopefully with these games coming up, I can put my foot down for that opening role… They’re proper cricketing countries – the people there are mad for it – so it’s a very exciting time.”Facing England will be the biggest challenge of his career so far, but he will not be changing his approach. “I respect them so much because of what they do, and the cricket they play, but you have to park that sometimes… I’ll keep coming and trying to take them on, no matter who they are. I’ll park the respect once it comes to the game.”The two nations’ cricketing rivalry is not as deep as in rugby, but Adair is still “incredibly” excited ahead of Wednesday’s series opener. “I love playing England. I’ve had my experience with England before and even then, as an 18-year-old in the rugby sphere, you just want to get stuck in. It’s a bit different in cricket because it’s not as confrontational – but it still means a lot to us.”
While the results this season might suggest otherwise, West Ham United do have a fair amount of talent in their squad.
For example, when he’s not getting himself sent off, Lucas Paqueta can be a magician on the ball, and while he’s still raw, summer signing El Hadji Malick Diouf has an unreal cross on him.
Furthermore, Nuno Espírito Santo seems to be getting more out of Mateus Fernandes and has finally given Freddie Potts a proper run in the team, as fans have been calling for.
Finally, there is the club captain, Jarrod Bowen, who remains one of the best attackers in the Premier League, and therefore, fans should be excited about a young Potts-esque academy prospect who could well be the next Bowen.
Bowen's start to the season
Considering they finished down in 14th place, it would be fair to say that last season wasn’t exactly a great one for West Ham.
Yet, even though those around him were letting him down, Bowen once again proved he was one of the best attackers in the country by racking up a sensational tally of 14 goals and ten assists in 36 appearances, totalling 3148 minutes.
That comes out to a world-class average of a goal involvement every 1.5 games, or every 131.16 minutes.
So, with numbers like those, fans and pundits alike were expecting the former Hull City star to have another stellar personal campaign this season.
However, so far anyway, it hasn’t quite worked out that way.
Bowen’s recent form
Season
24/25
25/26
Appearances
36
14
Minutes
3148′
1260′
Goals
14
3
Assists
10
2
All Stats via Transfermarkt
In his 14 appearances, totalling 1260 minutes, the Hammers’ captain has scored three goals and provided two assists, which is an average of a goal involvement every 2.8 games, or every 252 minutes.
With that said, it’s still early, and the start of the season was such a car crash that it feels almost unfair to judge him.
Moreover, Bowen has proved himself time and time again in claret and blue, so it’s likely just a matter of when and not if he rediscovers his best form and therefore, fans should be very excited about an academy product who could be West Ham’s next version of the Englishman.
West Ham's next Bowen
The good news for West Ham is that they have more than a few seriously exciting young prospects coming up through the academy at the moment.
In The Pipeline
Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.
The likes of Preston Fearon, Josh Landers and Emeka Adiele, for example, could all get their chance with the first team in the coming years.
However, when it comes to a Potts-esque youngster who could go on to be the club’s next Bowen, it’s impossible to ignore Andre Dike.
The 17-year-old gem signed scholarship terms with the club in July 2024, and while he had a good 24/25, he has reached another level entirely this year.
For example, in 12 appearances, totalling 987 minutes, he has already scored six goals and provided one assist, which comes out to an impressive average of a goal involvement every 1.71 games, or every 141 minutes.
This ability to reliably produce goal involvements for his team is one of the reasons he could become the club’s next Bowen, and another is that he does so primarily from the right wing.
Moreover, like the first-team captain, he is more than just an output machine, as he’s got brilliant close control and an ability to create something from nothing, stemming from what Academy Manager Kenny Brown described as his “great technical ability.”
Finally, what makes him a Potts-esque prospect, you may ask.
Well, that is partly due to his impressive output, partly down to him being highly rated within the academy from people like Brown, and then partly due to him already making an appearance with the u21s despite being just 17.
Ultimately, there is still a long way to go for Dike, but West Ham look like they have a real talent in him and someone who could one day replace Bowen.
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