Archive August 5, 2025

Lord’s and Hundred Men’s competition

London Spirit 80 all out (94 balls): Rashid Khan 3-11, S Curran 3-18

Oval Invincibles 81-4 (69 balls): Jacks 24 (24), Dawson 2-9

Six wickets separated Invincibles.

As Oval Invincibles clinched a thumping six-wicket victory at Lord’s, London Spirit were penalized for the second-lowest score by a men’s team in The Hundred.

After choosing to bat first, Spirit quickly found themselves in trouble and duly lost the game after 94 balls to reach 80 all out.

Rashid Khan, the Invincibles debutant, took 3-11, while Sam Curran, the all-around England player, took 3-18, the slowest wicket-taking ball by a seamer in the men’s history of the game.

With a mediocre 10-ball opening set, Jason Behrendorff set the tone for an impressive Oval Invincibles bowling and fielding performance.

In his next five starts, Keaton Jennings had already left before the Australian left-arm seamer made a second comeback to dismiss Spirit skipper Kane Williamson.

In his Hundred debut, David Warner struggled to make up for Jordan Clark’s nine-minute lack of powerplay and his own time was wasted trying to make up for it.

Spirit 26-3 was in trouble, but the damage was not all that bad. Rashid Khan enter.

In a 10-ball set that went for 10 runs, the Afghan leg-spinner, who also had three catches in the deep, used his third ball to show off his full arsenal of deliveries, varying his delivery speed to great effect, before striking again with his third ball to remove Wayne Madsen.

In his next ten balls, he only allowed one more run. As Spirit’s batters attempted and failed to grasp the best T20 wicket-taker of all time, Liam Dawson was stranded in front and Ryan Higgins dolled a catch backward.

Rashid’s deliveries were significantly quicker than Curran’s ultra-slow balls when they were being used.

With a 47.7mph ball before going even slower to bowl Richard Gleeson, the Spirit batters appeared to be completely out of the bag. The left-armer removed Ashton Turner, who had already top-scored for Spirit with 21 and struck out 47.

With only a small amount of time to go, Invincibles were able to take their time on a challenging pitch, and it was only a matter of when, not whether the winners would win.

On Wednesday, Manchester Originals take on Southern Brave in a second double-header at Old Trafford.

The Hundred men’s competition, Lord’s

London Spirit 80 all out (94 balls): Rashid Khan 3-11, S Curran 3-18

Oval Invincibles 81-4 (69 balls): Jacks 24 (24), Dawson 2-9

Invincibles won by six wickets

London Spirit were bowled out for the second-lowest score by a men’s team in The Hundred as Oval Invincibles claimed a thumping six-wicket win at Lord’s.

After opting to bat first, Spirit quickly found themselves in trouble and duly slumped to 80 all out after 94 balls.

Invincibles debutant Rashid Khan starred as he took 3-11, while England all-rounder Sam Curran claimed 3-18 – including a 47.1mph delivery, the slowest wicket-taking ball by a seamer in the history of the men’s competition.

Jason Behrendorff set the tone for an impressive Oval Invincibles bowling and fielding effort with a miserly 10-ball opening set.

The Australian left-arm seamer returned to dismiss Spirit skipper Kane Williamson in his next five, by which time opener Keaton Jennings had already gone.

David Warner, making his Hundred debut, was starved of the strike in the powerplay and in trying to make up for lost time holed out off Jordan Clark for just nine.

That left Spirit 26-3, in bother but the damage was far from terminal. Enter Rashid Khan.

The Afghanistan leg-spinner – who also took three catches in the deep – struck with his third ball to remove Wayne Madsen in a 10-ball set that went for 10 runs, and proceeded to show off his full arsenal of deliveries, varying his pace to great effect.

He conceded just one more run in his next 10 balls. Liam Dawson was trapped plumb in front and Ryan Higgins dollied a catch to backward point as Spirit’s batters tried and failed to get to grips with the top T20 wicket-taker of all time.

Plenty of Rashid’s deliveries were significantly quicker than the ultra-slow balls being deployed by Curran.

The lack of pace seemed to throw off the Spirit batters completely and the left-armer removed Ashton Turner, who top-scored for Spirit with 21, with a 47.7mph ball before going even slower to bowl Richard Gleeson and end the innings.

With such a small total to chase, Invincibles were able to take their time on a tricky pitch and despite Spirit spinner Dawson’s excellent 2-9, it was only a matter of when rather than if the holders would seal the win.

It’s up to Old Trafford on Wednesday as Manchester Originals take on Southern Brave in another double-header.

Lord’s and Hundred Men’s competition

London Spirit 80 all out (94 balls): Rashid Khan 3-11, S Curran 3-18

Oval Invincibles 81-4 (69 balls): Jacks 24 (24), Dawson 2-9

Six wickets separated Invincibles.

As Oval Invincibles clinched a thumping six-wicket victory at Lord’s, London Spirit were penalized for the second-lowest score by a men’s team in The Hundred.

After choosing to bat first, Spirit quickly found themselves in trouble and duly lost the game after 94 balls to reach 80 all out.

Rashid Khan, the Invincibles debutant, took 3-11, while Sam Curran, the all-around England player, took 3-18, the slowest wicket-taking ball by a seamer in the men’s history of the game.

With a mediocre 10-ball opening set, Jason Behrendorff set the tone for an impressive Oval Invincibles bowling and fielding performance.

In his next five starts, Keaton Jennings had already left before the Australian left-arm seamer made a second comeback to dismiss Spirit skipper Kane Williamson.

In his Hundred debut, David Warner struggled to make up for Jordan Clark’s nine-minute lack of powerplay and his own time was wasted trying to make up for it.

Spirit 26-3 was in trouble, but the damage was not all that bad. Rashid Khan enter.

In a 10-ball set that went for 10 runs, the Afghan leg-spinner, who also had three catches in the deep, used his third ball to show off his full arsenal of deliveries, varying his delivery speed to great effect, before striking again with his third ball to remove Wayne Madsen.

In his next ten balls, he only allowed one more run. As Spirit’s batters attempted and failed to grasp the best T20 wicket-taker of all time, Liam Dawson was stranded in front and Ryan Higgins dolled a catch backward.

Rashid’s deliveries were significantly quicker than Curran’s ultra-slow balls when they were being used.

With a 47.7mph ball before going even slower to bowl Richard Gleeson, the Spirit batters appeared to be completely out of the bag. The left-armer removed Ashton Turner, who had already top-scored for Spirit with 21 and struck out 47.

With only a small amount of time to go, Invincibles were able to take their time on a challenging pitch, and it was only a matter of when, not whether the winners would win.

On Wednesday, Manchester Originals take on Southern Brave in a second double-header at Old Trafford.

Aston Villa have agreed a deal to sign Nice striker Evann Guessand for £26m plus £4.3m in add-ons.

The 24-year-old Ivory Coast forward scored 12 goals last term and was named player of the season as Nice finished fourth in France’s Ligue 1.

He is expected to have a medical at Villa on Wednesday.

Guessand, who was a target for Crystal Palace, will be Villa’s first major signing of the summer. He follows Yasin Ozcan, who joined from Kasimpasa but has been loaned to Anderlecht, and back-up goalkeeper Marco Bizot who arrived for an undisclosed fee from Brest.

Villa have been looking at striker options since January’s departure of Jhon Duran to Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr left them with just Ollie Watkins as their only senior centre-forward. Marcus Rashford spent the second half of the season at Villa on loan but has joined Barcelona.

Guessand made his way through the youth ranks at Nice and signed a four-year contract last summer.

He made his debut for Ivory Coast in June 2024 and has nine caps.

After receiving citizenship and a Jamaican passport, Mason Greenwood is on the verge of making a comeback to international football.

Greenwood has not captained an international since his only international appearance against Iceland in September 2020. For breaking Covid quarantine guidelines, he and Manchester City’s Phil Foden were both sent home within 48 hours.

For Greenwood to be eligible to play in the World Cup qualifiers against Bermuda and Trinidad and Tobago next month, only a change from the Football Association (FA) to the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) is required.

In February 2023, Greenwood left Manchester United after charges against him, including assault and attempted rape, were dropped.

He went on a temporary loan spell with Spanish club Getafe before signing on a permanent deal with Ligue 1 side Marseille in 2024.

The 23-year-old scored in Marseille’s pre-season 1-1 draw with Sevilla over the weekend and has been linked with moves to Inter Milan and Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.

Greenwood is a part of Jamaica’s renewed effort to recruit players from the UK through their family connections, led by former England boss Steve McClaren.

Rico Henry of Brentford and Tyrese Hall of Tottenham, both of whom have signed for Notts County on loan, both fall under that umbrella.