After years of setbacks and near-burnout, Rath returns to a familiar place with renewed hope and a joy in cricket he never thought he’d find again

Shashank Kishore07-Sep-2025When Anshuman Rath returned to Hong Kong in early 2023, he was “cooked.” He contemplated a career in insurance, finance or real estate, instead of trying to return to a team he’d captained as a teenager. At 25, a promising cricket career was at the crossroads.Two years of playing for Odisha in India’s domestic circuit had drained him mentally, emotionally, even physically. He was 20 kilos heavier, nursing injuries, and battling a deep sense of disillusionment. The game he loved as a teenager felt like a burden.”I’m someone who enjoys cricket because of the camaraderie, the team environment. In Odisha, I just wasn’t feeling it,” Rath, back as Hong Kong’s batting lynchpin, tells ESPNcricinfo in Dubai ahead of the Asia Cup. “I was questioning myself, doubting every decision I’d made.”Related

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Rath felt stifled by the culture, the regimentation, the senior-junior divide in Odisha. Youngsters would be berated publicly, something Rath, who had grown up in cosmopolitan Hong Kong, struggled to reconcile with.”I remember once being made fun of for eating rice and with a spoon,” he recalls. “It sounds silly, but when you have no one to talk to, no support system, those things hit you hard. No matter what level you play, if you’re not enjoying it or you’re not in the right frame of mind you’re wasting your time.”So I called my dad, literally almost in tears being like, ‘what am I doing here? I just don’t want to do it.’ I had played two years of it, but didn’t have anything more to give.”When I felt it the most, I remember getting injured during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy [2022-23, India’s domestic T20 competition]. Wasim Jaffer was our head coach. He sent me to get a scan in Mumbai. So I went there and started punching myself in the collarbone to make it worse so that I wouldn’t have to play more. It was that bad.”For me, I’m a massive team person. So I love playing with my teammates. That’s why I don’t think of it as work. Whereas when I was in Odisha, the environment wasn’t like that. The coaches had their favourites. I actually played the rest of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with that injury. It was just an awful time.”It was around this time that Rath turned to food for comfort.”When you’re in that state of mind, there are very few things that make you happy,” he says. ‘For me, it was food – eating just to survive, to feel something. It was the only enjoyment I was getting. I piled on 20 kilos. I completely lost the plot.”Anshuman Rath – “No matter what level you play, if you’re not enjoying it, you’re wasting your time”•Getty Images

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This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.Rath’s journey had already taken him through the heartbreak of visa denials in England – which ended a near-signed deal with Middlesex – and a tough, lonely stint in Christchurch as he tried to qualify to play for New Zealand in late 2018.Canterbury Cricket had sponsored Rath a three-year work-to-residence visa for him to potentially qualify for New Zealand. He’d put his studies on hold for it initially, but found the move harder than he’d thought.”Because I was 21 at the time and the whole Middlesex thing had happened, I hadn’t really processed the whole thing yet,” he says. “The trauma of going through the Middlesex visa stuff, the ECB visa stuff. I didn’t really want to do more qualifying.”To spend another three years, it was kind of daunting. Obviously, they’re lovely people in New Zealand. But, it was the other side of the world. You know, you wake up in the morning, you don’t know who to call. Because all the people you know are asleep.”Rath eventually didn’t sign the document to pledge himself to New Zealand via the qualifying path. He chose something that was slightly easier. At the time, though, he didn’t know that too would be quite be, what he says, was an “un-ending nightmare.””So, then I made the decision. I had an Indian passport, so I thought I might as well use it, so we decided to test the Indian waters,” Rath continues. “I had to start from scratch but I was fine. As long as I didn’t have all these three-year qualifying rules again. I knew I had to serve a one-year cooling off period, and I was fine with that.”After trying with a few teams, Rath identified Vidarbha as his home in India. And for a while, it seemed like the perfect environment. He was received warmly and he thrived in the club cricket ecosystem alongside the likes of Jitesh Sharma, Faiz Fazal, Atharva Taide, and Harsh Dubey among others.”Every time I walk on the field now, I’m smiling, I’m laughing. And I think that shows in my cricket too”•Peter Della Penna”It reminded me of the systems in the UK. Structured, professional, with a clear pathway to the senior team. I loved it,” he remembers.But administrative roadblocks derailed his plans. A registration issue with the BCCI – according to the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) – meant he couldn’t be picked despite completing his cooling-off period. Rath later checked with a lawyer contact in the BCCI if there were issues with his paperwork. He was told there wasn’t any, and he was green lit.”That was a real sinking moment,” he says. “I don’t like politics. I’ve always believed in letting my bat do the talking. To be told I couldn’t play despite doing everything right was hard to take.”What followed was a downward spiral that eventually took him to Odisha, his home state, where his grandparents live. It should have felt like a homecoming. Instead, those three years drained him.”No matter what level you play, if you’re not enjoying it, you’re wasting your time,” he says. “I was just going through the motions.”On a cold January morning in 2023, when Odisha were put in to bat on a green top in nondescript Nadaun (in Himachal Pradesh) in a Ranji Trophy fixture, he finally took a decision that had been simmering underneath for months.”I was like I don’t even want to play on a flat track, let alone here,” Rath says. “I walked up to the coach on day two and told him, ‘please book me a flight back to Bhubaneswar.’ I knew that was that. I spoke to the association people, they said, you’re doing fine, stay back. But I was like no, that was it.”For Rath, a prodigiously talented left-hander who once nearly helped Hong Kong pull off a giant ODI upset against India at the Asia Cup in 2018, it was the closest he’d ever come to turning his back on the game.When Rath returned to Hong Kong in February 2023, he was ready to walk away from cricket entirely.”I told my dad I was never touching a bat again,” he says. “I was ready to try my hand at the corporate world – finance, real estate, insurance, whatever. Just something different.”

“I don’t like politics. I’ve always believed in letting my bat do the talking. To be told I couldn’t play despite doing everything right was hard to take”Rath on his turbulent time in India

That’s when Mark Farmer, Cricket Hong Kong’s High Performance manager who’d known Rath from his younger days, stepped in.”He sat me down and said, ‘Let us know what you need. We’re happy to give you a contract right now.’ I hadn’t even played,” Rath says. “And they were willing to give me that love, that faith. It was the first time I’d felt something like that in five or six years. I almost teared up.”Rath eased his way back, found his rhythm, his fitness, and most importantly, his love for the game. “I wake up in Hong Kong now, have meals with my family, and enjoy the vibe of the city. There’s a sense of freedom I hadn’t felt in so long. I laugh more on the field. I banter with teammates. I enjoy touring again. I’m just grateful to be playing.”For Rath, who once captained his country at 20 and chased professional cricket across three continents only to nearly give it all up, his return to Hong Kong has been a second coming.”This isn’t going to last forever,” Rath says. “So every time I walk on the field now, I’m smiling, I’m laughing. And I think that shows in my cricket too.”

With a squad full of inexperience, they will need to be at their best to compete in a group that includes India and Pakistan

Abhijato Sensarma06-Sep-2025How did they make it?Oman’s qualification pathway for the Asia Cup began at the ACC Men’s Premier Cup, played in April last year.They topped their group table with four wins out of four, finishing ahead of UAE, before defeating Hong Kong by five wickets in the semi-finals. UAE got their revenge on Oman in the final, but both teams had by then secured their place at the Asia Cup along with Hong Kong, who won the third-place playoff.This will be Oman’s first appearance at this tournament.Recent resultsOman have travelled all around the world since their appearance in the T20 World Cup last year, where they showed glimpses of promise but ended up winless.Related

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Their form since then has been compromised by their first-choice players being engaged in a pay dispute with their national board, which had not paid them their share of the World Cup prize money.Oman hosted Netherlands for a T20I series in November last year, and lost 2-1. They then played in the Gulf T20I championship in December 2024, finishing with wins over Bahrain and Qatar but not qualifying for the final. Most recently, they hosted USA for a T20I series in February and lost 3-0.Key playersThe pay dispute is resolved now, but the Asia Cup squad wears a completely different look to the one Oman took to last year’s World Cup, despite the return of some of the veterans. As many as four members of the Asia Cup squad are uncapped.Against this backdrop, a lot of the team’s run-scoring burden could fall upon experienced opener and captain Jatinder Singh, who has 125 international caps and 3103 runs across formats. How he starts at the top of the order might determine where Oman finish in the tournament.Among their bowlers, Shakeel Ahmed is bound to play an important role. The left-arm spinner only made his T20I debut in September 2023, but has played 34 matches since then. Control is his biggest asset, which his economy rate of 6.67 reflects.The 20-year-old Aryan Bisht is an exciting package, a middle-order batter who bowls handy offspin. He has only played two ODIs and is yet to make his T20I debut, but he has shown signs of his potential at junior level, finishing as the second-highest run-getter in the Under-19 World Cup Qualifier Asia Division Two in 2022 while also picking up seven wickets in five games.Who do they play?Oman have been placed in Group A. They start their campaign on September 12, when they take on Pakistan in Dubai. They then move to Abu Dhabi for their remaining two matches: against familiar foes UAE on September 15, and India on September 19.Oman squadJatinder Singh (capt), Hammad Mirza, Vinayak Shukla, Sufyan Yousuf, Ashish Odedara, Aamir Kaleem, Mohammed Nadeem, Sufyan Mehmood, Aryan Bisht, Karan Sonavale, Zikriya Islam, Hassnain Shah, Faisal Shah, Muhammed Imran, Nadeem Khan, Shakeel Ahmed, Samay Shrivastava.

Two of India’s best young players ticked off a few records in the second Test against West Indies in Delhi

Sampath Bandarupalli11-Oct-20255 Test hundreds for Shubman Gill in 2025, the most by a player in the year they first began captaining their country. Gill also equalled the Indian record for most Test hundreds as a captain in a calendar year, held by Virat Kohli with five tons each in 2017 and 2018.12 Innings for Gill to score five hundreds as Test captain. Only two players took less time to get to this mark – Alastair Cook (nine innings) and Sunil Gavaskar (10). In terms of matches, Gill took the same as Don Bradman (seven) to score five Test hundreds as captain, while Cook (five) and Gavaskar (six) got there quicker.ESPNcricinfo Ltd84.81 Gill’s average as captain, second only to Bradman’s (101.51) among those who have led their teams at least seven times in Test cricket. This Test against West Indies in Delhi is Gill’s seventh Test as captain.5 Number of 150-plus scores for Yashasvi Jaiswal in Test cricket. Only Bradman (8) had more 150-plus scores before turning 24.7 Hundreds for Jaiswal in his 26-match Test career, the joint-most by an opener before turning 24. Graeme Smith also had seven tons as an opener before his 24th birthday.Overall, only Bradman (12), Sachin Tendulkar (11) and Garry Sobers (nine) scored more than seven hundreds in Test cricket before turning 24.Yashasvi Jaiswal has turned five of his first seven hundreds into 150-plus scores•AFP/Getty Images2 Number of players before Jaiswal to convert five of their first seven Test hundreds into 150-plus scores – Bob Simpson and Brian Lara.3 Instances of India having a fifty-plus stand for each of the first five wickets in a Test innings. The previous two instances were against England in 1993 in Mumbai and against Australia in 2023 in Ahmedabad.518 for 5 India’s first-innings total in Delhi is the highest in Test cricket without a bye or leg bye. The previous highest such score was 513 by Bangladesh against Sri Lanka in Chattogram in 2018.ESPNcricinfo LtdIndia’s innings featured only two runs through extras – both being wides – the second-fewest in a Test total of 500-plus. Australia’s 549 for 7 against South Africa in 1950 featured only one extra run, a bye.318 Balls were bowled by West Indies’ pace bowlers in India’s first innings without taking a wicket. Only twice before had West Indies’ pacers gone wicketless in a Test innings despite bowling 300-plus balls – against New Zealand in 1972 at Georgetown (540 balls*) and against Pakistan in 2016 at Dubai (432 balls).*Sobers, who bowls spin and seam, bowled 42 wicketless overs in addition to the 540 balls at Georgetown

If he makes his debut, Brendan Doggett will become just the third Indigenous man after Jason Gillespie and Scott Boland to play Test cricket for Australia

AAP16-Nov-2025Seven years after Brendan Doggett was first picked in an Australia squad, the ultimate late-bloomer is poised to become the country’s 472nd Test cricketer.After the untimely hamstring injury to in-form quick Josh Hazlewood, Doggett is set to make his debut when the Ashes gets underway at Optus Stadium in Perth on Friday. The 31-year-old will slot into Australia’s fast-bowling attack alongside Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland, a man with many similarities to his journey.Just two Indigenous men – Boland and Jason Gillespie – have represented Australia in almost 150 years of Test cricket. But Doggett is set to become the third, learning more about his Aboriginal heritage in his 20s after first earning a contract with Queensland Bulls.Related

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Proudly from Toowoomba, the man with 190 first-class wickets has spent the last four seasons helping South Australia rise from perennial battlers to Sheffield Shield champions.Doggett first received a call-up to an Australia squad in 2018, just months after the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa. Injuries slowed him down, but a move to South Australia in 2021 to become the leader of their attack has paid off.He has been consistently named in Australian squads over the past 18 months, stuck behind Starc, Hazlewood and captain Pat Cummins. But with Cummins and Hazlewood both injured for the start of the Ashes defence, the three-time Shield winner should get his shot.”He’s one of the quicker bowlers in Australia,” Gillespie, who coached Doggett for South Australia, told ABC Radio on Sunday. “Got a good motor, he’s a greyhound and is as fit as a fiddle. He’s ready to go.

“His path to a potential Baggy Green is not a common one in the modern game. It just shows the value of our local competitions, plying away and working on your craft”Jason Gillespie on Brendan Doggett

“England will sniff an opportunity [without Cummins and Hazlewood], but I’m confident the Australian seam attack is good enough to get the job done.”Doggett’s selection will only prompt further “Dad’s Army” jibes from England.Like Tasmania allrounder Beau Webster did in January, Doggett will join a small club to have made their Test debuts for Australia without having played a white-ball international in their 20s. Before Webster was brought in for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy decider, Bryce McGain was the only member of that group. If Jake Weatherald is selected to open the batting with Usman Khawaja in Perth, he will also be making his international debut at 31.If Jake Weatherald plays the Perth Test, Australia will have two 30-plus debutants in the same game•Getty ImagesDoggett never made any representative team until he was in his 20s, eventually making his domestic debut for the former Cricket Australia XI that played in the One-Day Cup in October 2016.He was plucked out of local cricket in his 20s, after dominating for Toowoomba Souths.”His path to a potential Baggy Green is not a common one in the modern game,” Gillespie said. “It just shows the value of our local competitions, plying away and working on your craft.”Doggett’s former Queensland team-mate Michael Neser was added to the squad on Saturday when Hazlewood was ruled out. If Hazlewood and Cummins still aren’t fit for the second Test at the Gabba, Neser could join Doggett in the XI.The only two Tests of Neser’s career were with the pink ball, with Australia preferring to play four quicks instead of veteran spinner Nathan Lyon when they last played a day-nighter.

Phil Foden has been warned that he's the attacking midfielder most likely to lose their England World Cup spot, with Jude Bellingham backed to be on the plane. The Real Madrid man's omission from October's squad cast doubt over his place in Thomas Tuchel's setup. His November recall, and especially his starting role against Albania, eased those concerns.

• Bellingham dug out after being subbed

  Bellingham showed clear disappointment when his number went up during the 2-0 win in Tirana. He didn’t erupt, sulk, or storm off, but he didn’t disguise his frustration either. Tuchel admitted afterwards that he hadn’t even noticed it during the match.

  "I’ll have to review it," he said with a shrug. "We're about standards, commitment and respect to each other. We'll not change our decision just because someone is waving their arms." 

  While all eyes were on Bellingham’s every gesture, Foden was dealing with his own storyline. The Manchester City star had not played for England since March, and his return produced a mix of bright moments and quiet frustration. He delivered an assist for Eberechi Eze in the win over Serbia and injected flair against Albania. But he also began both matches from the bench which is an unfamiliar role for one of the Premier League’s standout performers. 

  The surprise was amplified by Tuchel’s promise that both Foden and Bellingham were being brought back to play central roles. Yet even with that assurance, Foden didn’t start. The manager has openly expressed reluctance to field Foden, Bellingham and Harry Kane together, believing all three operate best in central pockets of the pitch. Against Albania, he relented, but for only 22 minutes. The question now is how long Foden will accept being a rotation option when the World Cup begins. 

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  Foden's patience could be tested in 2026

  Former England forward Emile Heskey has delivered one of the bluntest assessments yet of England’s creative logjam. Asked which attacking midfielder is most vulnerable, he didn’t hesitate.

  Speaking exclusively to , Heskey admitted: "It’d probably be Foden. In my eyes, I think it’ll probably be between Foden and Cole Palmer. Cole Palmer hasn’t played much, so he needs to start playing to get that fitness up, especially for a manager who’s all about aggressive running and intensity, so it’ll be out of them.

  "I think Jude will go [to the World Cup], if I’m honest with you. I don’t know too much about the camaraderie and the governance within the camp that everyone keeps talking about, but if you’re just going off play, I would say Jude has to go because he comes up with vital goals at pivotal times as well."

  But the former striker also highlighted another rising contender in Morgan Rogers, as Heskey could barely contain his admiration for the Bournemouth attacker.

  "But then, I think Morgan Rogers is brilliant," he said. "I love the way that he plays. I love the enthusiasm that he plays with. I love the positions that he gets into. He makes intelligent runs off the ball because he creates space for others as well with his runs. I definitely think he’s pushing as a starter, not just a squad player. I think he’s brilliant in that sense. I just think he gives you so much on and off the ball with intelligent runs, and he’s having a good season for me."

• Can England cope if a big name misses out?

  Heskey believes England could afford to leave one, or even two, high-profile No.10s at home and still challenge for the trophy.

  "Yeah, definitely. They’ve got a togetherness anyway as a squad," he said. "They’ve got some fantastic players. They’re the cream of the crop for me. I can’t see them all not being there, but I could see probably one of them not being there, or one or two of them not being there."

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  The battle ahead for the Three Lions

  England’s fight for creativity is a full-scale power struggle between some of Europe’s most gifted footballers. Tuchel has insisted the World Cup squad will be built on "standards, commitment, and respect."

Harry Brook conceded his side had been “hammered” by New Zealand, with the white-ball captain at a loss to explain England’s struggles in the format.For the first time during Brook’s tenure as captain, he failed to hide his disappointment after England slipped to a sixth ODI series defeat in seven and the second of his brief captaincy career.For all the talk of wanting to entertain, Brook’s disappointment was tangible as he responded to a question as to whether the result in Hamilton was the first time he had been frustrated with his players.”It’s disappointing, isn’t it,” Brook said. “You go round every single player there and you think, ‘bloody hell, there aren’t many teams that they don’t get into in the world’. It’s disappointing we haven’t performed as well as we could. It happens. They’ve played well and sometimes you’ve got to hold your hand up and say they’ve been the better team.”England were bowled out for 175 in the second ODI, three days after they had fallen to 234 all out at Mount Maunganui – a total saved by Brook’s own superb 135.It is a concerning trend for an England side who have been bowled out in seven of their eight away ODIs this year. In a remarkable statistic that was raised on the podcast, in 2025 they have failed to reach 250 in any innings where Joe Root hasn’t made a half-century himself. Furthermore, their commitment to “going hard” is borne out by the fact that when batting first this year, they have either made 350, or failed to bat their overs.Related

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For years, England had the excuse of their frontline players rarely competing in the ODI format, and the consequent difficulties that players face when adapting back to the format. That excuse doesn’t hold this year, with a settled batting line-up who have been available throughout. Furthermore, with five of England’s ODI top six also in the Test squad, the theory is that their natural attacking game should be well suited to the rhythms of one-day cricket, although this has also failed to be the case.”It’s not too dissimilar to the way we play Test cricket, really,” Brook said of the difficulties of switching formats. “We play aggressively in Test cricket and it’s not too far off. Obviously we haven’t played much one-day cricket in the last however many years. I can’t quite put my finger on why we haven’t batted well enough. It’s just one of those things. You come to play the second-best team in the world on their own patch and they’ve hammered us.”Brook also refused to be drawn on losing both tosses against New Zealand, where the chance to bowl first in the opening ODI at Mount Maunganui would have been a significant advantage.”That’s just an excuse,” Brook said. “I haven’t won many tosses, I’d have liked to have had a bowl today [in Hamilton] but that’s just an excuse. Everybody in that batting line-up is good enough to be able to face a swinging and seaming ball, cope with that and score runs against that.”There was one promising sign for England during the second ODI, with Jofra Archer returning to England colours for the first time this winter and producing a fantastic display of bowling where he claimed three for 23 from his ten overs.Having only arrived in the country a few days previously, Archer’s speeds were high as he averaged 88mph across his first spell. There was one moment of concern, when Archer appeared to injure himself diving for a ball in the outfield, but it later transpired that he had merely winded himself heavily, and he returned soon after to bowl out his remaining overs.”He’s gone back-to-back five-over spells there, after just getting off the plane a few days ago,” Brook said. “So hopefully he recovers alright. But thankfully he did run in for me. That’s all I asked from him and he was bowling wheels. He’s going to be good to touch for the rest of this winter.”England will hope to respond to the series defeat in a similar manner to how they bounced back in their last ODI against South Africa in September, where they put on 414 for 5, a game which Brook hopes they can take confidence from.”It’s disappointing for the fans, who want to watch us, we entertain people, because they know that we play such an exciting brand of cricket.”It was only a couple of games ago against South Africa in the summer when we got 400, so we’re not a million miles away. It’s just about a couple of scores here and there and then we nail it down and hopefully we do find that template.”

Tottenham Hotspur have now expressed an interest in signing a “world-class” forward, who Thomas Frank approved signing during the summer transfer window.

Spurs looking to sign new forward amid Tel and Odobert concerns

Frank strengthened his forward line during the summer transfer window, with Mohammed Kudus arriving from West Ham United, and the 25-year-old has emerged as a key player so far this season, chipping in with one goal and five assists in the Premier League.

However, there are concerns about the performances of some of the players who were already at the club, with journalist Andreas Vou particularly critical of the decision to bring in Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert, rather than making one statement signing in attack.

The duo were benched for the 3-0 victory against Everton on Sunday, having picked up just one top-flight goal between them this term, and the Lilywhites have now set out to sign another new forward.

That is according to a report from Spain, which reveals Tottenham have now expressed an interest in signing Real Sociedad star Takefusa Kubo, who has been put up for sale by the La Liga club ahead of the January transfer window.

Kubo is now expected to leave Real Sociedad this winter, which could open the door for a move to N17, and there is a feeling he could now be available for the relatively affordable fee of €40m (£35m).

Manchester United and Everton are also in the race for the winger, and there are indications that Frank could be keen too, having already approved a move back in the summer transfer window.

"World-class" Kubo may need fresh start

The Japanese forward is clearly very talented, having received plaudits from former Barcelona boss Xavi in the past, who said: “(Takefusa) Kubo is a world-class footballer. Not just with the ball, but also without it.”

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The 24-year-old has also impressed at times over the past year, particularly catching the eye with his dribbling ability, ranking in the 94th percentile for successful take-ons per 90, when compared to other attacking midfielders and wingers.

That said, there may be concerns about some of the Japan international’s recent performances, given that he has provided just one goal for Real Sociedad in La Liga this term, while failing to pick up a single assist.

Kubo may simply need a fresh start in a new league, having been in La Liga since the 2019-20 campaign, so a move to Tottenham could be ideal, although his recent form means he would be a risky signing.

Mousley leads response with unbeaten fifty but visitors still trail by 462 runs

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Michael Pepper was in the runs for Essex•Getty Images

Warwickshire 140 for 2 (Mousley 54*, Davies 52) trail Essex 602 for 6 dec (Westley 134, Allison 133, Pepper 107*, Walter 86) by 462 runs Dan Mousley led the Warwickshire fightback to Essex’s mammoth first-innings total with an innings that belied the gravity of the situation facing the visitors in the Rothesay County Championship match at Chelmsford.The imposing right-hander clocked up only his third half-century of the season, but at a rate of more than a run-a-ball. It was in contrast to his more measured captain Alex Davies, who went along at half the rate in a second-innings stand of 86 that pulled Warwickshire back into the game.Though Davies departed for 52 from 116 balls, stumped by the alert Michael Pepper to give Matt Critchley a second wicket of the innings, Mousley was still there at the end with 54 from 53 balls and Warwickshire 140 for 2.It had been a chastening day and a half in the field for Warwickshire after Davies put Essex in as Essex rattled up 602 for 5 declared on an unresponsive, green-tinged pitch. Along the way there were three Essex centurions, curiously all scoring their third three-figure scores of the season. Tom Westley’s 134 was followed by Charlie Allison and Pepper, who combined in a 38-over, sixth-wicket stand of 195, the largest partnership in an innings of large partnerships.Either side of a mid-afternoon rain break, it was carnage as the pair sensed the impending declaration and went for broke. The declaration duly arrived when Allison departed after four hours, caught at deep midwicket, for 133 from 202 balls with 17 fours and two sixes. That left Pepper unbeaten on 107 from just 117 balls, including 11 fours and two sixes.It would not have escaped Warwickshire’s notice that Allison was not even in the Essex XI announced at the toss, but was drafted in at short notice, without argument, when Simon Harmer dropped out for “personal reasons”.Before his partnership with Pepper, Allison also put on 91 for the fifth wicket with Westley. 57 of them in the morning. Westley added 24 to his overnight 124 before he was finally dismissed after a stay of more than six hours, caught at short fine leg turning Beau Webster off his legs. Significantly, the pair had carried Essex to a fourth batting point with four balls to spare.Westley had laced his 278-ball innings with 17 fours, a large portion of them driven elegantly through the covers. At the other end, Allison followed closely in Westley’s footsteps, punching fours through the off-side, though also comfortable enough to reverse-sweep Corey Rocchiccioli for four. He reached his fifty from 85 balls when he turned the Australian off-spinner for a single.The incoming Pepper did not hang about. He swept Rocchiccioli for an emphatic boundary to get off the mark and added four more with a late cut off Webster. The wicketkeeper-batsman went to lunch on 33, at which point he was presented with his county cap; little more than quarter-of-an-hour after the restart he had reached his half-century with a tap into the off-side off Rob Yates.Despite his rate of scoring, Pepper was beaten to his hundred by Allison, who helped a wayward legside delivery from Mousley for his 14th boundary. After a 25-minute rain break, Pepper made it to his century, having taken just two hours and 15 minutes of improvised nudges and paddles. Two balls later he celebrated by driving Yates straight for six. Not long afterwards Warwickshire were put out of their misery.Essex found the Kookaburra ball just as unhelpful when Warwickshire set out with the initial target of 453 to avoid following on. Yates and Davies made a competent start, passing 50 in 21 overs, Davies hammering Jamie Porter for successive boundaries before Matt Critchley made the breakthrough. Given the rare opportunity to take the main spin-bowling role in Harmer’s absence, Critchley had Yates retreating on to the backfoot and lbw to one that turned and reared up.Mousley brought Critchley down to earth when he slammed him straight back down the ground for six and reached his fifty from just 46 balls.

Glasgow Rangers head coach Danny Rohl has experienced almost every emotion in his first four matches in charge of the Ibrox giants since his move to the club.

The German tactician has lost 3-0 to Brann in Europe, won back-to-back games in the Scottish Premiership, and lost a League Cup semi-final in extra time.

Rohl has been thrown in at the deep end at Ibrox after replacing Russell Martin in the dugout, as the Light Blues had only won five games in 18 matches in all competitions at the start of the season after, what now looks like, a dismal summer window.

Russell Martin's worst Rangers signing

Working with sporting director Kevin Thelwell, the worst signing of the summer transfer window, with Martin in charge, currently looks like Youssef Chermiti.

Rangers reportedly paid £8m to sign the Portugal U21 international from Everton, which made him the club’s most-expensive signing since Tore Andre Flo arrived for £12m in 2000. The second-most expensive signing of the summer was Oscar Cortes for £4.5m.

Unfortunately, the Light Blues have not been rewarded with much output for that outlay, with one goal and one assist in 11 appearances for the club, per Sofascore.

Chermiti missed two huge chances to find the back of the net against Celtic on Sunday, which caused commentator and pundit Michael Stewart to describe him as being “so poor” in front of goal.

Given the money spent and the return on their investment so far, it is hard to argue against the young striker being the worst summer signing from Thelwell and Martin.

Another summer signing who should be in contention for that award, though, is central midfielder Joe Rothwell, who currently looks like he should be sold in January.

Why Rangers should move on from Joe Rothwell

The Gers signed the Englishman from Premier League side Bournemouth for an undisclosed fee to bolster their options in the middle of the park.

First Impressions

What did pundits and fans alike think about their new star signing when they arrived? Football FanCast’s ‘First Impressions’ series has everything you need.

At the time of his arrival, Martin described Rothwell as a “huge asset” who would “bring a real winning mentality to the group”, which was an exciting statement from the head coach.

Unfortunately, though, that has not played out on the pitch. Instead, the experienced midfielder looks like he should be sold in January because his performances have not been good enough.

Appearances

8

Starts

5

Goals

0

Assists

1

Tackles per game

0.9

Dribbled past per game

0.4x

Ground duel success rate

46%

As you can see in the table above, Rothwell has struggled to deal with the intensity and physicality of Scottish football, losing more than half of his ground duels and failing to make at least one tackle per game on average.

The Englishman has been an unused substitute in the last two Premiership matches, which resulted in two of the club’s three league wins this season, but did come on in extra time against Celtic.

That cameo did little to help his case to return to the team in the Premiership, though, as Heart & Hand content creator David Edgar described him as “rotten”.

Rothwell, at this moment in time, does not look suited to playing Scottish football, because of his lack of physicality and intensity, which seems unlikely to change, given that he turns 31 in January.

It has also been an issue for him on the European stage. Rothwell lost 100% of his duels and failed to win a single tackle in 64 minutes against Brann in the Europa League recently, per Sofascore.

Rohl has already opted against using him in the Premiership and waited until extra time to bring him on against Celtic, which suggests that he has not been overly impressed by his levels in training.

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Therefore, Rangers should look to immediately move on from Rothwell when the January transfer window opens for business, unless he can finally start to show why Martin was so excited to sign him in the summer.

The Colorado Rockies are trading right-handed reliever Tyler Kinley to the Atlanta Braves, according to a report from Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.

The trade will send a prospect back to the Rockies.

The 34-year-old Kinley has accumulated a 5.66 ERA this season, but advanced analytics suggest he's been a better pitcher than his ERA shows. The Braves are hoping that he can be a reliable righty out of the bullpen for the second half of the season, while also giving the franchise the option to add another year of team control. Kinley is earning $3 million this year in the final year of his contract, but has a $5 million club option that Atlanta could exercise for 2026.

The Braves are a disappointing 45–61 this season, and sit in fourth-place in the NL East.