Glasgow Rangers have officially confirmed that they have parted company with both CEO Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell, less than 12 months on from both of their arrivals at Ibrox.

Chairman Andrew Cavenagh reveals that the Light Blues ownership made the decision to move Stewart and Thelwell on as they believe that they need different people running the project moving forward.

This decision comes after Thelwell arrived from Everton in April and made numerous less-than-well-received decisions, including the appointment of Russell Martin and the signing of Youssef Chermiti for £8m from Everton.

Fraser Thornton has been made the acting CEO and it will be interesting to see what the club do with the sporting director position, given that the January transfer window is on the horizon.

Rangers submit offer to sign exciting winger

Despite the decision to part ways with Stewart and Thelwell, it appears as though there has been work going on behind the scenes to bolster Danny Rohl’s squad.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

Expand Collapse

According to a report from Kazakhstan, via Scouts in Eurasia, Rangers have submitted an offer to sign 22-year-old Yelimay Semey left winger Galymzhan Kenzhebek, ahead of the January transfer window.

It claims that the Scottish giants have made the most attractive offer to the young starlet, and that has made them the frontrunners in the race for his signature.

Dundee United and Olympiacos are also said to be interested in a deal to land the Kazakhstan international in the winter window, but they are yet to make an offer that is more attractive than the one that Rangers have put down.

Whoever has the final say on transfers in January, which remains to be seen after Monday’s events, could make a better signing than any move Thelwell made in the summer by getting a deal over the line for Kenzhebek.

Why Rangers should sign Galymzhan Kenzhebek

The Gers should push to bring the 22-year-old winger to Ibrox because his form for club and country this season suggests that he could be an exciting addition to the squad.

With 12 Scottish Premiership matches played, none of the summer signings made by Thelwell have delivered more than two goals or one assist in the league, per WhoScored, which illustrates how ineffective his additions have been.

Kenzhebek is a forward who could come in and light up Ibrox in the second half of the season if he can adapt to Scottish football, which would make him a better addition than any of the signings that Thelwell made.

Galymzhan Kenzhebek’s form this season

Stats

Kazakhstan Premier League

World Cup qualifiers

Appearances

11

8

Goals

6

2

Big chances missed

N/A

0

Key passes per game

1.7

1.0

Big chances created

N/A

1

Assists

4

1

Dribbles completed per game

8.6

1.4

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, the young forward has been on fire domestically with ten goals and assists in 11 appearances, whilst also showing his class on the international stage with three goal involvements in eight outings.

Rangers-supporting writer Kai Watson described his dribbling numbers as “incredible”, and it is hard to disagree with that assessment when you consider that no Rangers player has completed more than 2.0 dribbles per game in the Premiership, per WhoScored.

Whilst supporters may question the level of the Kazakhstan Premier League, it is worth pointing out that Hearts signed Claudio Braga from the second division in Norway and Alexandros Kyziridis from the Slovakian top-flight, and they have combined for 14 goals and assists in the league, per WhoScored.

Perhaps dipping into a lesser-known market to sign Kenzhebek, instead of signing experienced Championship players and Premier League flops, could serve them better.

If the 22-year-old attacker can arrive at Ibrox and deliver the kind of attacking quality he has shown for his current club, he would be an even better and more effective signing than any of the moves that Thelwell made during his short stint in Glasgow.

Related The new Ryan Kent: Rangers can unearth "electrifying" Gassama upgrade

Rangers have a possible upgrade on Djedi Gassama who could be their next Ryan Kent, but he has not played any minutes this season.

Posts ByDan Emery Nov 23, 2025

Thomas Frank’s position as Tottenham Hotspur manager is under scrutiny following the 4-1 North London derby defeat against Arsenal.

Tottenham’s humiliating defeat at the Emirates Stadium was arguably the low point of the Frank era so far, hardly laying a glove on their bitter rivals, with their only goal coming from a piece of Richarlison magic and just 0.07 expected goals (xG) recorded by the visitors.

Spurs have fallen to ninth in the Premier League table, but they are still within touching distance of the Champions League places, despite picking up just one point in their last three games.

It is the manner of the loss that will be particularly concerning, however, with Frank’s side once again looking extremely poor going forward, having also struggled to create any opportunities in the 1-0 home defeat against Chelsea.

As such, the manager is undoubtedly under pressure, and there has now been a new update on his future in north London.

Tottenham players concerned by Frank's tactics and lineups

In a report for The Telegraph, journalist Matt Law has revealed the Tottenham hierarchy are determined to give the Dane time to put things right, despite the disappointing loss against the Gunners, but some players have two very worrying concerns.

Indeed, some members of the squad believe the 52-year-old has been focusing on the opposition too much, instead of concentrating on the strengths of his own players, with sources around Spurs also of the belief he has chopped and changed his forward line too much.

Only Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea have rotated their starting XI more often than the Lilywhites this season, which is named as one of the reasons for the inconsistent results, but Frank seemingly remains safe in his job for the time being.

Games

19

Wins

8

Draws

5

Losses

6

Points per game

1.53

It would be a little early to relieve the manager from his duties, given that Spurs are within touching distance of the play-offs, but the negative approach has to be called into question.

When asked whether he was surprised by Tottenham’s defensive approach, Leandro Trossard said: “Yeah, maybe a bit. Because as I said, it’s still Spurs. But we have been facing a back five a lot of times this season, so we’re kind of used to it.”

It is understandable not to play an extremely high line away against Arsenal, given that they have the joint-best attacking record in the Premier League, but the lack of attacking threat is inexcusable.

It is a short turnaround for Tottenham, who face another tough test away against reigning Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night.

Where Thomas Frank ranks among the 20 current Premier League managers Every current manager in the 2025/26 Premier League ranked

Every current Premier League boss ranked from best to worst.

ByCharlie Smith Nov 8, 2025

Leeds United boss Daniel Farke has accused Gianluigi Donnarumma of "faking" an injury to allow Pep Guardiola to deliver a Manchester City team talk when the game was hanging in the balance. The Italian asked for treatment in the second half when Leeds had made it 2-1 and were in the ascendancy. The visitors got it back to 2-2 before Phil Foden's stoppage-time winner secured all three points on Saturday at the Etihad.

Man City survive Leeds scare

City were 2-0 up and cruising at half time thanks to goals from Foden and Josko Gvardiol but the second half was a very different story. Goals from Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha, after his penalty was saved, gave the lowly visitors a great chance of an upset. But Foden's second in the 91st minute eased the home team's nerves as they went second in the Premier League. 

After the match, City boss Pep Guardiola told BBC Sport: "After Daniel [Farke] changed shape, long balls to Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha running behind, it was always a struggle. That emotion is part of the football. We had the chances and at the end finally we found our goal."

AdvertisementGetty Images SportLeeds boss wants rule change

While Farke was deflated after the loss, one moment from the game stuck in his craw. Just before the hour mark, City goalkeeper Donnarumma motioned to the medical staff to tend to him. During this break in play, Guardiola called the other 10 City players to him to deliver new instructions after Leeds changed their shape. While the Whites went on to equalise, City secured the win, but Farke was not happy with the Italian stopper's actions. The German, who stopped short of criticising Guardiola, said a rule change needs to be sworn in to stop things like this happening.

"Everyone knows why he went down, right? It’s not like the elephant in the room. You can ask me what I think about it, why he went down, I think it was obvious," he said. "It’s within the rules. It’s smart. If I like it, if it’s in the sense of fair play, if it should be like this, I keep it to myself and leave it to the authorities to find solutions to it. It’s within the rules. I asked the fourth official if he wanted to do something, he said, 'No, our hands are tied, we can’t do anything'. If we don’t educate our players in football what to do in terms of fair play, sportsmanship, if you try to bend the rules to your advantage, and you can fake an injury in order to do an additional team talk, I think it’s not something I personally like, but if it’s within the rules I can’t complain about it. 

"My recommendation is if this happens, then every 50-50 to the away team rather than the home team. After 90 minutes at 2-2, I would have blown the whistle rather than all the time added on. There are tools you can use to make sure this doesn’t happen. There’s a reason why the goalkeeper goes down and not an outfield player; an outfield player would have to go off. I think for the authorities to find a solution, in the sense of fair play, I have my doubts. I don’t criticise my colleague. It’s not that he (Guardiola) went down. If he has time to do that and if there’s an injury, I would do it. We have such a great relationship, and Pep is by far the best manager in the world. To tweak something in a game, there is nobody better. There’s not one per cent criticism of Pep. The fact that this happens, everyone knows it."

Leeds show much-needed fight

While this was Leeds' fourth defeat in a row, heaping more pressure on manager Farke, the way the Yorkshire side came back into the game will encourage many connected to the club. But, ultimately, they came away pointless from Manchester.

He told BBC Sport: "We came here not for compliments or warm words, we came here for points. We had the worst possible start to this game. Normally, if you want points here, you have to win the set-pieces. I have to give many compliments to my lads. We deserved to equalise. Both teams could have won it. Heartbreaking for my lads. We’re disappointed because we deserved something but my boys should be proud of how they reacted to the worst possible start. They should take lots of confidence out of this."

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

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

Getty Images SportCrunch games for Leeds

Leeds, who remain 18th in the Premier League, have just begun a particularly tough run of games in the English top-flight. After the City match, they host third-placed Chelsea on Wednesday, before entertaining out-of-form Liverpool next weekend. A trip to high-flying Brentford and then a home match against a confident Crystal Palace round off a difficult run of fixtures before Christmas.

Leeds United are on the lookout for attacking potency in January and could be set to back Daniel Farke in his pursuit to bring a talented forward to Elland Road.

The Whites find themselves embroiled in a fight against the drop, and not everyone is feeling wholly confident in the former Norwich City boss, even if his side has produced some encouraging moments this term.

All too often, fine margins determine the outcome of Premier League matches, and Farke’s side has been on the wrong side of them, leading some to question his ability to lead the Whites forward.

With that in mind, Leeds are keen to source proven quality in the form of Chelsea winger Raheem Sterling, even if his £325,000 wages may prove to be a stumbling block in negotiations.

Signings or no signings, Farke has vowed that his side won’t change as they aim to secure top-flight football for next term, claiming that their approach to being successful will pay off in the long run.

He said before his side took on Aston Villa: “If you follow our way of working over the past two and half years, you know exactly what we are doing, how we try to approach a game and try to be successful. This won’t change at all.”

Sticking by your principles can be the defining choice that determines whether a manager is successful in keeping their job. Farke has been a nice fit for Leeds since arriving at Elland Road, though he has routinely come under scrutiny and is now back under the spotlight.

Either way, the January transfer window is creeping closer, and the 49ers could now be set to back their man as they pursue an exciting striker.

Leeds in pursuit of Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Garcia

According to The Mirror, Leeds are willing to sign Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Garcia on an initial six-month loan with a £20 million mandatory purchase option in the summer as the 49ers aim to back Farke in the New Year.

However, there has been a twist as Los Blancos boss Xabi Alonso is said to have blocked the move, notifying the forward that he is still part of his plans both in the immediate term and further down the line.

Gonzalo Garcia at Real Madrid – all competitions

Appearances

21

Goals

5

Assists

3

Intriguingly, Leeds were confident that they could lure Garcia to England before the ex-Liverpool star’s intervention, and the Spain Under-21 international was also said to be keen on a move to the Premier League after finding regular minutes at the Santiago Bernabeu hard to come by.

Alonso is aware he will need to utilise his whole squad, potentially offering more openings for the 21-year-old to feature as Real Madrid chase more silverware both domestically and in Europe.

Leeds are also eyeing an alternative £20m forward

Bursting onto the scene at the Club World Cup, Garcia would certainly be a viable option in the Leeds attack if they were able to complete a deal, though any chance of that now looks to be unlikely unless circumstances change.

Pakistan captain says he has “no issues” with his fast bowlers wanting to make a mark on the game and on the opposition

Danyal Rasool27-Sep-20252:25

Mumtaz: Fakhar, Shaheen, Abrar key for chance of victory

There is no sign that Pakistan’s fast bowlers will rein in the aggression they put on display during the side’s most recent game against India last week. On the eve of the Asia Cup final, captain Salman Agha said he fully supported his team-mates’ right to impose themselves on both the game and the opposition so long as things don’t go too far.”If someone wants to be aggressive on the ground, then why not,” Agha said at a press conference. “If you deprive a fast bowler of their aggression, then what’s left? Every player knows how to deal with their emotions. I give players license to react the way they want at the ground. As long as they’re not disrespecting anyone and stay within the line, I have no issues with that.”That sets the stage for another charged-up India-Pakistan game – their third in as many weeks, this one for the title. After their last meeting on Sunday, Haris Rauf and Sahibzada Farhan were pulled up for breaches of the ICC’s code of conduct. Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav was similarly penalised for comments he made following the group game between the two teams.Related

An India-Pakistan final that carries more weight than a title

The myth and math of Saim Ayub

Abhishek 2, Afridi 0 – the duel that could decide the Asia Cup final

How can Pakistan turn it around against India in the Asia Cup final?

India vs Pakistan – a look back at five memorable tournament finals

That day, India also refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts, either before or after the game, reflecting the state of affairs between two countries who were in military conflict earlier this year. Agha said he had “never before” known that to happen at a cricket match.”I’ve been playing cricket since 2007 professionally. I’ve never seen no handshakes between two teams. My dad is a huge fan of cricket and used to tell me about its history. He never told me about any game where there’s not been a handshake. I’ve heard it’s never happened before.”When India-Pakistan games took place in even more tense situations, handshakes always happened. Not to have handshakes is not good for cricket. If someone wants to be aggressive, whether they’re from my team or their team, I have no issues with that, but you should shake hands at the end of it.”As things stand, it is almost certain that there will be no handshakes before or after the final.India have, over the past fortnight, attempted to distance themselves from the idea that a game against Pakistan is any more significant than others. Agha’s outlook was different.”It would be wrong to say a Pakistan-India match doesn’t carry more pressure,” he said. “It’s the final. There’ll be a similar amount of pressure on both sides. The pressure of a final is different, of course.2:53

Chopra: Abhishek vs Shaheen could decide the game

“We can’t control what’s happened out of the ground. One of our philosophies is to not worry about what we can’t control. We are not focused on what people on the outside are saying. We’re here to win the Asia Cup and that’s our only focus.”Agha himself has had a near-negligible impact on the tournament. Thirty-one batters have scored more runs than him in the competition, with all of them getting those runs at more than a-run-a-ball. Agha’s strike rate, meanwhile, is 78.04.Agha admitted this tournament has been a struggle for him personally, even as he led his side to just their second Asia Cup final in 11 years. “My performance hasn’t been up to the level it should have been and I am working on that. In T20 cricket, strike rate is important, but at the end of the day, you have to see what the situation demands and the team needs. It’s not necessary to play with a strike rate of 150 if the pitch or the situation doesn’t demand it. You should play according to the situation.”Pakistan have gone with the same side over the past three games, not that there aren’t issues with the playing XI. Saim Ayub continues to search for form with the bat, having now scored four ducks in six games. The bowling, in general, has bailed out the batting, particularly when they’ve had to take first strike, which is all but one game this tournament.In just about each of those they produced below-par totals; the two lowest totals defended this edition have both been by Pakistan. Now they’re in the final and when it turns out this way, Pakistan fans start to talk about destiny. Agha too seems to have been made a believer. “Everyone knows we haven’t batted to our full abilities this tournament, but maybe we’re saving the best for the final,” he laughed.

New Zealand captain Sophie Devine was left “extremely frustrated” after their second washout in as many matches in Colombo and has asked for better work in organising matches at ICC events.”You wait four years for a World Cup and to have rain play such a massive part in it is disappointing,” she said at the presentation. “I hope that in future editions they think about playing the games earlier in the day. We’ve obviously seen here that the rain usually comes in the afternoon, so [there is an] opportunity to potentially play these games at 10-11am in the morning and try and get a game in. Because that’s what all these teams want, is to be able to play cricket. You’ve waited for so long and you want to test yourself against the best and to be scuppered by rain, it’s a real shame for me.”All games barring one at this World Cup have a 3pm local time scheduled start, and four of the nine matches so far in Colombo have been washed out, including three of the four last four. While their washout against Pakistan on Saturday kept them fifth on the points table, New Zealand thought they were “in a decent position” after reducing Pakistan to 80 for 5. The points eventually had to be shared because of rain.”I thought we had a little bit of hope seeing the South Africa game [against Sri Lanka] the other night, where they were off for five hours, and managed to squeak a game in,” Devine said. “Look, we thought we were in a decent position, we just needed the rain to hold off and unfortunately it didn’t happen for us today.”Rain has played spoilsport in Colombo at the Women’s World Cup•AFP/Getty Images

New Zealand had opted to bowl in pretty overcast conditions on Saturday afternoon. Despite putting down two catches, they took five wickets within the first 20 overs. With two must-win matches coming up, against India (Navi Mumbai) and England (Visakhapatnam) as the semi-finals race heats up, New Zealand would have fancied their chances against Pakistan, who remain winless in the tournament.”Oh, look, to be honest, it’s pretty flat,” Devine said of the mood in the dressing room. “I mean, we wanted to play today, we were really up and about for today’s match. We just want to be playing cricket, so for us now, we know that the situation’s extremely clear. We just need to win both games, starting with India in Mumbai – so, a real big challenge for us – but we’re really excited about it. I know that the girls don’t need to be pumped up anymore to be able to take them on so, we’ll head back to India tomorrow and look forward to those challenges.”Related

• New Zealand in must-win territory with rain in the Navi Mumbai air

• Road to the semis: Five teams in contention for one spot

• Another washout for Pakistan; SA through to semis

When asked if New Zealand have had any time to prepare for their next two games, Devine said: “Not yet. We’re probably so focused on these games here in Colombo that we really wanted to make sure we gave it that full focus for us. So luckily, we’ve got a few days now [till] our next game against India [on Thursday]. So we’ll certainly prepare really well and we’ve had some good experiences against them of late in terms of the [T20] World Cup last year and we’ll be calling upon those. We also know that they’re huge favourites playing at home, in conditions that suit them, and they’ve got threats throughout, but again, this is what you want to be doing.”You want to be playing against the best teams at home and putting yourself under pressure, so we’ll really look forward to that challenge.”New Zealand had started their campaign with two matches in Indore, which they lost, before going across to Guwahati for their first points of this World Cup, against Bangladesh. They then flew down to Colombo, where they got only 75 overs of action across two matches. Two more matches remain in Colombo, on October 21 and 24, when Pakistan will take on South Africa and Sri Lanka respectively.

Aston Villa are now plotting a £18m bid for a “tremendous” defender, who is also being targeted by Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, with Emiliano Martinez a big fan.

Villa keen on strengthening despite resurgent form

Villa have made major improvements over the past month or so, having won six of their last seven matches in the Premier League, which has propelled them to fourth in the table, and Unai Emery has been impressed by his side’s recent performances.

After the 2-1 victory away at Leeds United last time out, the manager said: “The second half (was) better, but overall, 90 minutes, I am so happy how we competed. Even the first half, we didn’t play brilliant, but we were always trying to set our gameplan on the field, and progressively we did it.”

The Villans went 1-0 down at Elland Road, with Martinez receiving criticism for his goalkeeping in the build-up to Lukas Nmecha’s opening goal.

However, a second-half Morgan Rogers brace turned the game on its head, with the goalkeeper’s blushes being spared, and Aston Villa have now joined the race for one of the Argentinian’s international teammates.

That is according to a report from Spain, which states Villa are now plotting a €20m (£18m) opening offer for River Plate defender Lautaro Rivero, having tracked the centre-back for months, and Martinez has provided positive feedback on his compatriot.

The Villans believe the 33-year-old’s personal relationship with the River Plate star could give them the edge in the race for his signature, despite rival interest from Man City and Tottenham.

Although the Argentinian has a €100m (£88m) release clause in his contract, River Plate would be willing to sanction a departure for considerably less, and there is a belief he could make an instant impact at Villa Park.

"Tremendous" Rivero has earned big Premier League move

Hailed as “tremendous” by journalist Juan Patricio Balbi, the 22-year-old may now be ready to test himself in England, having performed very well over the past year, placing in the 93rd percentile for tackles per 90, compared to other centre-backs, courtesy of averaging 2.27.

Aston Villa make Emiliano Martinez sale decision amid Unai Emery comments

There has been a key update on Martinez’s future, following the goalkeeper pushing for a move during the summer.

ByDominic Lund Nov 19, 2025

Villa are arguably well-stocked at centre-back, with Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa forming a reliable partnership as of late, but Tyrone Mings has been unable to put his injury problems behind him, and is potentially in the latter stages of his career at 32-years-old.

Tyrone Mings’ injury record

Games missed

12/08/23 – 30/10/24

70

Remainder of 2024/25

7

2025-26

17

As such, Emery could do with bringing in a younger centre-back, and having recently received his first cap for Argentina, Rivero could be capable of pushing for a starting spot.

The news had been widely expected with Cummins yet to resume bowling

Andrew McGlashan26-Oct-20257:05

Advantage England if Cummins misses first Ashes Test?

Pat Cummins has officially been ruled out of the first Ashes Test in Perth due to his back injury but he will return to bowling this week in a bid to be ready for the second match in Brisbane.Steven Smith will captain Australia in the opening Test against England which begins on November 21. The second Test in Brisbane begins on December 4.Cummins’ absence had been widely expected since the news emerged earlier this month that he had not been able to return to bowling after being diagnosed with a lumbar stress injury in September having experienced discomfort after returning from the tour of West Indies.”We’ve run out of time,” head coach Andrew McDonald told reporters in Canberra. “We sort of flagged this a week or so ago that it would take sort of four plus weeks to get him up and running and we’ve run out of time, unfortunately, but really optimistic and hopeful for the second Test match.”So I suppose the next question is what’s the time frame? What does it look like for the second Test? Not really going to be able to answer that other than to say that he’ll be back bowling this week and that’s a huge step. That was the big variable that we wanted to add in and get that information. So we’re on the journey to that second Test and very hopeful that that will be a positive outcome.”How Cummins reacts to his early stages of bowling will now be critical to whether Brisbane is a realistic target or whether a return later in the series will be the aim.”[We’ll] see how he pulls up and then we’ll make decisions moving forward,” McDonald said. “I know that sounds really boring and everyone wants a time frame and what’s the risk associated with it. There’s better people than I to speculate on what that is.”With the nature of this injury, it’s never going to be a clear time frame and I think that’s what everyone here today wants is a time frame to say, this is definitely what will happen. We’re not in a position to do that and I’d never put the medical team under that sort of duress either.”Ashes race: Pat Cummins goes through a running session•Getty Images

Since the back injuries that Cummins suffered earlier in his career, leading to a five-and-a-half year gap between his first and second Tests, he has had a very impressive fitness record.Smith has captained Australia six times as Cummins’ understudy since 2021, winning five of those matches, including once in the 2021-22 Ashes when Cummins was a Covid close contact in Adelaide.Cummins’ absence from Australia’s attack for the first Test means that Scott Boland will likely keep his place from the team’s most recent outing in West Indies where he claimed a hat-trick.”Losing your captain’s not ideal, but when you talk about Scott Boland being the potential replacement, it’s not a bad position to be in,” McDonald said. “Ideally we want the captain available for stability and decision making but…Steve Smith will slide into that position.”I suppose you get excited about when he does come back, what an injection that will be to the group, a fully fit Pat Cummins returning some stage during the Ashes and that’s what we’re hopeful for.”Australia’s squad for the first Test is due to be named next week following the third round of Sheffield Shield matches which begins on Tuesday. Cummins will travel with the team even when he is unable to play.”It’ll almost be one of those things where you’ll see him in work and it’ll almost be a question of why isn’t he playing in Perth?” McDonald said. “That’s where we think he’ll be placed by that stage. So we’re excited by getting eyes on him in a bowling capacity.”

It was a series that nearly went the full distance, and India and England almost matched each other blow for blow (except when they didn’t)

Shubh Agarwal05-Aug-20253:49

Bangar: Series result proves India is growing in stature

Series-defining scoring patterns

It was another series that confirmed the shift in nature of Test pitches in England: from being bowling friendly to helping batters score big. A total of 6736 runs were scored by the batters, the second highest in any series, only 20 runs short of the 1993 Ashes.There were a total of 19 century partnerships too, the joint-most for a series. The 21 hundreds hit were the joint-most alongside Australia’s tour of West Indies in 1955. Had Harry Brook not got out on 99 in Leeds, it would have been a record.The 12 hundreds scored by India were the most for them in a series while England struck nine tons. Interestingly, they had different templates for their success.England looked most in charge until losing their first wicket. Their opening wicket averaged 65.44 versus India’s 34.10. India lost their first wicket within the first 10 overs eight out of the 10 times they batted. England lost it only five times in their nine innings.
Moreover, Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley scored 4.34 runs per over while India scored a run slower in this phase going at 3.36. Even though India’s opening pair of KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal scored four hundreds between them, Duckett and Crawley were more assertive as an opening duo.Jadeja scored 516 runs in the series batting at Nos. 6 or 7. He had the most 50-plus scores (six) and became only the sixth batter to score over 500 runs in a series batting at Nos. 6 or 7. He was out in the second innings only once in these five Tests.

Toil for the bowlers

A record series for the batters means a hard toil for the bowlers. The series had 1860.4 overs, the highest for a series in England in the 21st century. There were 14 350-plus team totals and 14 times an innings lasted over 80 overs – both a record for any Test series.England were in the park for 1052 overs, the most they have bowled in a series since 2000. It was only the second time they bowled over 1000 overs in a series with their Ashes tour of 2017/18 being the other occasion. Their captain Ben Stokes embraced this challenge, sending down 140 overs, the most he has bowled in a series despite missing the fifth Test due to an injury.Mohammed Siraj had a big hand to play here. Playing all five Tests, Siraj bowled 1113 deliveries in the series, becoming only the second bowler in the series alongside Chris Woakes to bowl over 1000 balls. With 23 wickets, he was the highest wicket-taker too, coming at 48.3 balls per dismissal. This is the best bowling strike-rate for an India pacer in an away series (min. 1000 balls bowled).

Butter fingers at big moments

The series also topped the charts for most dropped catches. A total of 41 catching opportunities went down, the most in a series since ball-by-ball data is available for fielding (since 2018). Both sides have also developed a reputation of spilling catches. Three of the top four series for most dropped chances are between India and England, the other two being when India toured England in 2021/22 (37) and in 2018 (32).On this tour, India spilled 23 chances, the most for them in a series – seven more than the time they toured Australia in 2018/19.When it came to reviewing lbw decisions while bowling, both teams could overturn the on-field call only twice each across these five Test matches.

Conditions could give Sri Lanka a leg up as they look to pull off an upset over unbeaten visitors

Madushka Balasuriya10-Oct-20252:46

Beaumont: Sri Lanka are a team on the rise

Two of the best batting units in world cricket – India and Australia – have in the Women’s World Cup 2025 struggled to come to terms with the some of the more sluggish pitches, stumbling to 124 for 6 and 76 for 7 against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, respectively.England, one of two undefeated sides in the tournament alongside Australia, meanwhile struggled in their chase against Bangladesh in Guwahati last time out. Now they arrive in Colombo to face a Sri Lanka side that they have lost to just once in 18 WODIs, but on a surface that might bridge the gap considerably.”I think the conditions here, obviously it being a lot more spin-friendly, is certainly bringing all the teams together,” Tammy Beaumont said. “I think that you see a team like Bangladesh playing us in the last game, [they were] so well-disciplined with the ball that it makes life a lot harder when you can’t necessarily trust the spin off the wicket and go to those big release shots; you have to really earn your runs.Related

• Sciver-Brunt ton, Ecclestone four-for help England brush aside Sri Lanka

• Sri Lanka focus on the present as England challenge looms

• Unbeaten England prepare for Sri Lanka spin test

• Knight scraps to help England overcome Bangladesh scare

• Mooney's rescue act for the ages denies Pakistan a historic win

“I think that means that it’s a lot closer together for all the teams, and certainly the standard and depth of every single team has risen in the last four years. And we’re certainly going to see a few upsets in this World Cup, but hopefully not involving us.”Against Bangladesh it was Heather Knight’s 79 off 111 that took England past the finish line, and according to Beaumont the learnings and takeaways from that innings – primarily being patient and taking the game deep – will likely prove crucial in how they handle the conditions in Colombo.”What we spoke about mainly from Heather’s innings was about how patient she was and how precise she was in the balls she went to score off. And almost putting maybe your ego to one side and just trying to really graft one out for the team and be gritty.”I think that’s the kind of words we’re trying to use, to make sure that we’re working incredibly hard. And we might have to sit in for a bit, but we know that the longer you bat, the easier it gets. It certainly seems like a lot of runs have been scored in the last 15 overs in a lot of games, and actually sometimes you’ve just got to try to make it to that point as a batter.”One unique challenge England will face on Saturday is Sri Lanka’s left-hand heavy top order – three of Sri Lanka’s top five bat left-handed.”I think they’re a really well-structured team and certainly a team on the rise. They’re really well-organised. Obviously, they’ve got a lot of left-handers, which is not something we’re that used to. Not having any left-handed batters in our squad, I think makes things a little bit trickier.”With left-arm spinner Linsey Smith the solitary southpaw in the English side, it has forced some out-of-the-box thinking in terms of preparation.”Actually there’s been a few of us that have batted left-handed for her [Smith]. She’s obviously the only left-handed batter we have in the squad, so she’s also getting a lot of batting, but obviously she doesn’t get to practise against left-handers.”Smith has had a good tournament thus far, picking up five wickets across two games. And against Sri Lanka, she is likely going to play a crucial role once more in deciding the direction of the game.”I think she’s someone that maybe hasn’t played that much international cricket, but actually she’s a little bit older. She’s very experienced. She’s played some franchise cricket, so she doesn’t need too much support from us. She knows what she’s doing. She knows her craft so well.”What I love about her is she had a tough couple of games against India in our summer, and she really reflected, worked incredibly hard and has actually upped her game since then in a very short space of time, and I think that’s why it’s paying off out here. Obviously the conditions are helping, but getting the new ball I think really suits her.”