South Africa’s Marco Jansen is ranked fifth in the Test bowlers’ charts and second among the allrounders

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Dec-2025

India batter Virat Kohli has moved one spot up to fourth in ICC rankings for ODI batters while Pakistan allrounder Saim Ayub regained the top spot among T20I allrounders.Kohli scored his 52nd ODI century in Ranchi where India beat South Africa by 17 runs. He made 135 off 120 balls, and was involved in a 136-run partnership with Rohit Sharma, who is the No. 1-ranked ODI batter. Kohli now has 751 rating points and is only 32 behind Rohit’s 783.Ayub was the top-ranked allrounder in October before Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza overtook him. But Ayub’s Player-of-the-Match effort in the tri-series final in Rawalpindi, where Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by six wickets (Zimbabwe being the third team), helped him reclaim the top spot. He dismissed Sri Lanka’s top-scorer Kamil Mishara to return figures of 1 for 17 off four overs before scoring 36 off 33 to set the tone for Pakistan’s chase.Apart from Ayub, Pakistan legspinner Abrar Ahmed moved up to fourth in the T20I bowlers’ rankings led by Varun Chakravarthy, while India’s Kuldeep Yadav moved up to sixth in the ODI bowlers’ charts.Marco Jansen also gained in the Test rankings following South Africa’s clean sweep over India in the two-Test series. Following his 12 wickets in two games, Jansen moved to fifth in the Test bowlers’ charts while he gained four spots to be placed second in the Test allrounders rankings. His team-mate Simon Harmer, who took 17 wickets in the series, jumped up 13 places to be the 11th-ranked bowler.

County Championship 2026 will be played in three blocks of matches starting in April, June and August

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2025Player representatives have reiterated their fear of burnout in the wake of the full fixture release for the 2026 domestic season in England and Wales.Following the announcement of the County Championship and One-Day Cup schedules on Thursday, the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) was particularly critical of the period from late August to late September, which comprises six rounds of Championship fixtures and the 50-over final.The 2026 Rothesay County Championship will be played in three blocks of matches – with each side playing a total of 14 times after counties rejected a proposal earlier this year to cut the number of first-class games to 13, a decision which had already raised the ire of the players’ union.Related

Warwickshire retire Birmingham Bears moniker for revamped T20 Blast

Counties reject plan to cut Championship fixtures

Each county will play six matches during the first seven-week block, with all matches during that period starting on a Friday. A mid-summer block will be staged in June with each county playing twice while the third block of matches begins on August 20 with each team playing six times. The final round begins on September 24.Daryl Mitchell, the PCA Chief Executive, said he “feared” for that latter part of the season.”Unfortunately, the County Championship schedule does raise concerns with player burnout with mental and physical dangers attached to an overly intense end to the season following the conclusion of The Hundred,” Mitchell said.”The reduction of just one game could have gone a long way to resolving a period that does not look manageable for the majority. I already fear this section of the season.”This is through no fault of the schedulers, but the decision by the county Chairs to not allow for sufficient minimum standards regarding time between games has meant we have a period of 12 days of Championship cricket in just over two weeks with some lengthy travel for the majority.”Nottinghamshire will open their County Championship title defence at Somerset while Leicestershire and Glamorgan, both back in Division One for the first time in more than two decades, host Sussex and Yorkshire respectively in the opening round from April 3.Nottinghamshire won their first Championship trophy for 15 years and seventh overall when their South African wicketkeeper, Kyle Verreynne, hit a six to secure a batting bonus point and top spot in Division One on the penultimate day of the 2025 season.Lancashire, winners of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup Women’s Competition and the Vitality T20 Women’s County Cup, will begin their 50-over title defence away to Durham on April 11 ahead of a historic first professional Roses clash with Yorkshire at Emirates Old Trafford on April 25.Yorkshire, the 2025 Metro Bank One-Day Cup Women’s League 2 champions, begin life as a Tier 1 side away to Somerset after their elevation to the top flight was brought forward by one year following a restructure of the women’s domestic competition ahead of last season.Men’s One-Day Cup champions Worcestershire Rapids will begin their 2026 campaign at home to Derbyshire Falcons on July 24, with groups randomly drawn and each county playing once against every team in their group.Gloucestershire, Kent Spitfires, Lancashire, Leicestershire Foxes, Northamptonshire Steelbacks, Notts Outlaws, Somerset, Surrey and Warwickshire make up Group A while Group B comprises Derbyshire Falcons, Durham, Essex, Glamorgan, Hampshire, Middlesex, Sussex Sharks, Worcestershire Rapids and Yorkshire.The One-Day Cup Women’s final will be played at the Utilita Bowl in Southampton on Saturday, September 19 followed by both the men’s final at Trent Bridge and the Women’s League 2 Final at Seat Unique Stadium in Bristol the following day.Ellie Threlkeld holds the One-Day Cup aloft•ECB via Getty ImagesThe second season of the Vitality T20 Women’s County Cup will involve 37 counties vying for a place on finals day at Emirates Old Trafford on August 29, including inaugural champions Lancashire Thunder.The opening round, from April 26, features 28 counties before the nine Tier 1 counties – Durham, Essex, Hampshire, Lancashire Thunder, Somerset, Surrey, The Blaze, Warwickshire and Yorkshire – enter the competition in Round 3 from June 21.Two all-Tier 1 ties have been confirmed for Round 3 with The Blaze at home to Durham and Yorkshire hosting Somerset.The PCA noted favourably a significant reduction in back-to-back games across men’s and women’s T20 fixtures, announced on Tuesday, down from 54 in 2025 to just six next season.Olly Hannon-Dalby, the PCA Chair, believed that holding the men’s Blast Finals Day ahead of the Hundred along with an improved schedule and less travel represented significant progress.”For the first time in a number of years, I feel the men’s Blast will have the energy and priority within the schedule to show everybody just how great this competition is,” he said. “The Vitality Blast lining up on an equal platform with men’s and women’s teams is something I’m very passionate about and is absolutely the right way to grow the game. We’ve seen the success in The Hundred and double headers should be an opportunity to attract bigger crowds for all.”But he echoed Mitchell’s concern over the Championship schedule.”At a time when many counties have threadbare squads, to start six four-day games and a 50-over final in the space of five weeks is so far from optimum it is something that needs addressing,” Hannon-Dalby said.”We will actively be canvassing opinion on how we could avoid this congestion in the future with options such as starting the season slightly earlier or ending it later. Conversations need to continue to prioritise the wellbeing of its players.”

The U.S. women’s national team will close out January with a friendly against 45th-ranked Chile in Santa Barbara, Calif., marking the program’s first international match in the city. The USWNT will face Chile at UC Santa Barbara, the same campus where the team first held a training camp in 1991 before winning the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup in China.

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  'Not a common occurrence'

  While Santa Barbara is new for a match, the USWNT have frequently held training camps at the college campus and even played the UCSB women's soccer team that same year they went on to win the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup title. 

  “Playing in a city for the first time is not a common occurrence at this point in our history," Hayes said, "So I know our players will enjoy being in beautiful Santa Barbara and our staff are really looking forward to January camp and these matches against two tough South American countries."

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  USWNT's history with Chile

  While the USWNT do not have a long history with Chile, the teams have met before – just three times. Chile are ranked 45th in the world and fifth in CONMEBOL, behind Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and Paraguay. Their last meeting came in the group stage of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, when the U.S. won 3-0. Before that, the sides played two friendlies in 2018.

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  'Focused on maximizing every minute'

  It’s no surprise that 2026 will carry plenty of weight for the USWNT, who will soon enter the countdown toward the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. To set the tone early, Hayes’ side will play two January friendlies – first against Paraguay and then against Chile.

  The Americans enjoyed a historic 2025, finishing with a 12-3-0 record. Hayes also capped her first full calendar year in charge with 25 wins.

  “This is the start of an important year for our team, and as always, we’re focused on maximizing every minute we get with the players,” Hayes said.

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  What will 2026 bring?

  The USWNT finished the 2025 calendar year with back-to-back victories over Italy. Hayes once again experimented with new players and personnel to close out the year, and admirably gave 43 players their senior debuts in 2025, the most in a single year since 2001. 

  There will likely be a shift to more familiar rosters through 2026 as Hayes fine-tunes her playing pool.

The U.S. men's national team has learned their World Cup group as Mauricio Pochettino's side was paired with Paraguay, Australia and a yet-to-be-determined European foe to start next summer's tournament. The USMNT's fourth opponent will be either Turkey, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo, who will face off in March's playoff.

Getty ImagesGroup stage opponents: Austrailia, Paraguay and TBD

The U.S. were handed a fortunate draw with their Pot 2 team as they were matched up with a familiar opponent: Australia, who are ranked 26th in the world. That matchup comes on the heels of an October friendly that saw the U.S. defeat Australia, 2-1, at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

From Pot 3, the U.S. were given another familiar opponent: Paraguay, the 39th-ranked team. Like Australia, the U.S. played Paraguay in the fall, defeating the South American side, 2-1, in Philadelphia.

And then finally, from Pot 4, after navigating some conditions, the USMNT were finally paired with one of the winners of the European Playoff C: Turkey, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo. 

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The USMNT's battle with Australia will be a fun one, largely because will no doubt show up. With the game being played in Seattle, Australia's fans should have a presence, as the West Coast is easier to travel to. 

There's also some added juice from the fall, when the U.S. saw star Christian Pulisic injured after a series of hard fouls from Australia in their friendly match in Colorado. 

Getty Images SportDangerous matchup: Paraguay

The game against Paraguay will be dangerous – and, if last month’s clash is any indication, perhaps quite literally. The two teams squared up just before the final whistle after a tense match, and you wouldn’t expect anything less once the World Cup starts.

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Getty Images SportKey opposition player: Arda Guler or Miguel Almiron

This will surely depend on who gets in as that Pot 4 team. Should Turkey qualify, the U.S. would face off with their world-class young stars: Arda Guler and Kenan Yildiz. Should Turkey not advance, the main man to stop would be Paraguay's Miguel Almiron, a familiar face for fans of Major League Soccer as he stars for Atlanta United. 

Even Paul Skenes, whose lengthy pregame routine leaves no stone unturned en route to making the Pittsburgh Pirates ace prepared, gets bored before baseball games sometimes. And what does Skenes do when he gets bored? Become a Pirates groundskeeper, of course.

Before tossing five shutout innings against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday at PNC Park, Skenes was on the field, closely observing the finer arts of groundskeeping while chatting up the Pirates' grounds crew, according to Noah Hiles of .

But this was more than just a way for Skenes to pass the time.

According to Hiles, Skenes would "love to cut grass professionally" when his already-decorated pitching career is done. The days of the 23-year-old Pirates righthander, who currently leads the National League in ERA, trading in his glove for a mower would seem to be far in the future.

But if Skenes gets his wish, you could one day find him mowing lawns after he's finished mowing down big-league hitters.

On Thursday, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dennis Santana made headlines by briefly swinging at a fan in Detroit before being quickly removed from the bullpen by his teammates.

Now, the veteran pitcher is facing the consequences. Major League Baseball is suspending Santana four games "for his aggressive conduct," it announced in a Friday evening release. Santana is appealing the suspension.

The 29-year-old is in his eighth different season with his fifth different team. In 31 1/3 innings pitched for the Pirates this year, Santana has a 2-1 record with a 1.72 ERA and 25 strikeouts. His 1.4 bWAR is already a career high, and he's shaved more than a third of an earned run off his career ERA in 2025.

The incident came during a doubleheader between Pittsburgh and the Detroit Tigers, split between the two teams. The Tigers won one game 9–2, while the Pirates won the other (in which Santana pitched) 8–4.

MatériaMais Notícias

Raphael Veiga marcou para o Palmeiras na decisão do Campeonato Paulista e chegou ao décimo segundo gol em finais com a camisa alviverde.

➡️ Tudo sobre o Verdão agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso novo canal Lance! Palmeiras

De pênalti, o meia abriu o placar contra o Santos, aos 33 minutos da primeira etapa, e ampliou a vantagem na artilharia histórica.

TODOS OS GOLS DE RAPHAEL VEIGA EM FINAIS

▪️ Libertadores 2021 – 1 gol
▪️ Recopa Sul-Americana 2021 e 2022 – 2 gols
▪️ Supercopa do Brasil 2021 e 2023 – 4 gols
▪️ Paulistão 2022 e 2024 – 4 gols
▪️ Mundial 2021 – 1 gol

continua após a publicidade

O meia tem o dobro de tentos anotados em relação a Evair, segundo colocado da lista. Na sequência, com cinco gols cada, aparecem Arce e Romeiro. Veiga é também o artilheiro histórico do Allianz Parque, com 46 bolas na rede, e o jogador com mais finais disputadas, empatado com Weverton e Gustavo Gómez e Rony, pelo Palmeiras (13).

CONFIRA OS ARTILHEIROS DO PALMEIRAS EM FINAIS NA HISTÓRIA

▪️ Raphael Veiga – 12 gols
▪️ Evair – 6 gols
▪️ Arce e Romeiro – 5 gols
▪️ Edmundo e Paulo Nunes – 4 gols

Tudo sobre

DecisãoFinalFutebol NacionalGolsPalmeirasRaphael Veiga

The Yankees are expected to be buyers at the trade deadline, and it's no secret that the team is in need of some starting pitching.

MLB insider Jon Heyman connected the team to a potential reunion with a veteran pitcher ahead of Thursday's deadline, floating the idea of New York bringing back Nestor Cortes Jr. in a trade with the Brewers.

With Jacob Misiorowski bursting onto the scene, Milwaukee finds itself with an abundance of starting pitching, a favorable position to be in heading into the deadline. With an excess of arms, the Brewers could be an ideal trade partner for the Yankees, who could bring back Cortes less than a season after he left the organization.

Cortes pitched for the Yankees from 2021 to '24, making the All-Star Game in 2022. He made 126 total appearances and 85 starts in New York, boasting a 3.61 ERA throughout his tenure with the team.

In 2025, Cortes has made just two appearances for the Brewers before landing on the 60-day IL. He owns a 9.00 ERA after a rocky start to the campaign. With his return approaching, it's possible his next MLB start won't be for Milwaukee, and Heyman indicated it would make sense for him to wind up back in pinstripes at the deadline.

The Detroit Tigers are fortifying the back end of their starting rotation, striking a deal within their own division in order to acquire another established arm.

According to MLB insider Ken Rosenthal, the Tigers have agreed to trade for Chris Paddack in a deal with the rival Twins. Detroit is sending Minnesota 19-year-old minor league catcher/first baseman Enrique Jimenez in the deal, according to 's Robert Murray.

Paddack, 29, is in his seventh MLB season and has spent the last four years in Minnesota. In 2025, he owns a 4.95 ERA with 83 strikeouts, 27 walks and 17 home runs surrendered across 111 innings.

He'll join a starting rotation in Detroit that currently consists of Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Reese Olsen, Casey Mize and Dietrich Ennis.

The Tigers enjoyed a superb first half of the season but have struggled recently, losing eight of their last 10 games. Now sitting at 61–46 with just a few days until the trade deadline, they chose to strike early and bring in Paddack to shore up their rotation ahead of their postseason push.

علق محمود عبدالرازق شيكابالا، لاعب الزمالك السابق، على تعادل منتخب مصر مع الإمارات بهدف لكل فريق، في كأس العرب.

ولعب منتخب مصر مع الإمارات، في الجولة الثانية من مباريات دور المجموعات لبطولة كأس العرب المقامة في قطر.

وقال شيكابالا لقناة “إم بي سي مصر 2”: “لا يوجد شيء يقال، أدخلنا أنفسنا في مشكلة كبيرة، ما أحزنني أن روح منتخب مصر غير متواجدة”.

طالع | موعد مباراة مصر القادمة في كأس العرب بعد التعادل مع الإمارات

وتابع: “حزين لأننا أفضل من ذلك بكثير، وعندما نتحدث عن المشاكل الناس تحزن منا، نحن بعيدون عن الكرة، أتمنى الناس تصالحنا ويتأهلون للدور المقبل من البطولة”.

واختتم: “سأستشهد بهذا الملعب، حيث أقيمت عليه مباراة الأرجنتين والسعودية في كأس العالم 2022 وخسرت الأرجنتين، وفي النهاية الأرجنتين فازت بكأس العالم، سننتظر حتى المباراة الثالثة لنفوز وبعد ذلك نحصل على الكأس”.