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Edwards had been frontrunner after Jon Lewis’ sacking in wake of 16-0 Ashes whitewash

Valkerie Baynes01-Apr-20251:27

Edwards as England head coach ‘clear cut’ call

Charlotte Edwards has been appointed England Women’s head coach. Edwards, the former England captain who represented her country over 300 times, takes over from Jon Lewis, who was sacked following England’s 16-0 thrashing at the hands of Australia in the Women’s Ashes in January.”I am so delighted to once again be part of the leadership of the England Women’s cricket team, and I cannot wait to take this team forward and drive us to success,” Edwards said in a statement released by the ECB on Tuesday. “It means the world to me to have the three lions on my chest once again. Leading England as captain was my life for 10 years and I will forever be passionate about this team and our legacy. We have such a talented group of players, and I am excited about working with them and improving them both as individuals and as a team.”During her 20-year playing career, Edwards won two World Cups and the Ashes five times. Since retiring in 2017, she has enjoyed a decorated coaching career, including two titles in three seasons with Mumbai Indians in the WPL and five titles with Southern Vipers, including two in the Charlotte Edwards Cup, the domestic T20 competition named in her honour.She has also coached Southern Brave to three Women’s Hundred finals, winning the competition in 2023, and led Sydney Sixers to the WBBL final in her first season in charge in 2022-23. Edwards will now leave her role with Sixers.Related

• Charlie Dean: 'Whether I'm ready for leadership, I'm not sure'

• Kate Cross: Cultural change required as England women seek to rise from Ashes

• How 'Happy Hampshire' came to be part of a multi-million dollar international cricket franchise

• Where it went wrong for Jon Lewis and where to now for England Women

• Heather Knight's captaincy ends but her work as a leader goes on

Her first competitive task with England Women will be a home series against West Indies in May followed by India, ahead of the World Cup in India later this year and a home T20 World Cup in 2026.Before that, she must repair team morale after not only the Ashes whitewashing but a surprise group-stage exit at the T20 World Cup in the UAE last October. Speaking last month, Kate Cross, the senior England seam bowler who was part of the Ashes touring party but didn’t play due to a back injury, said the team had work to do to make cultural changes after their humbling in Australia.The Ashes defeat was the final straw that prompted an ECB review, announced by Clare Connor, the ECB’s deputy CEO and managing director of England Women’s cricket, in the immediate aftermath of that tour result, which also cost Heather Knight her job as England captain.Connor described Edwards as a “proven winner”.”She has the experience, passion and expertise to lead this team to success,” Connor said. “The results she has achieved as a head coach in multiple environments, since retiring as one of the greatest ever England players, is testament to her relentless drive and the standards she sets for those around her. She possesses a deep knowledge of the game, both in England and across the world, and she understands the importance of creating an environment that is both challenging and supportive.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Edwards’ appointment means she will leave her post as Hampshire Women’s head coach ahead of the start of the season, the first under the ECB’s new three-tier structure for women’s cricket.Edwards moved to Hampshire in 2017 having previously played for Kent, and became director of women’s cricket at the club in 2018 before taking over as Southern Vipers’ head coach in 2020.”I’ve had an amazing eight years at the club and am so grateful for the support I have received from the players, staff and supporters,” Edwards said. “It has been a truly special time, and it will be very difficult to leave the place that has become my home. I’m sure that Hampshire will continue to enjoy success on and off the field and look forward to returning to Utilita Bowl with the England team.”Knight will continue to play for England, while her successor as captain is yet to be announced.Nat Sciver-Brunt, whose wife Katherine has just given birth to their first child, a son named Theodore Michael, is favourite to be promoted from her role as vice-captain.Edwards and Connor will address the media at Lord’s on Wednesday, where their plans for taking the England team forward will be discussed.Fielding proved key to England’s downfall at the T20 World Cup, where a rash of errors compounded the loss of Knight to injury while batting during their decisive defeat to West Indies.England’s fitness levels were called into question following that loss, with former spinner turned commentator Alex Hartley suggesting that a handful of players were “letting the team down” in that respect. The issue reared its head again in Australia when the hosts proved superior in all departments during the multi-format Ashes, winning three white-ball games by more than 50 runs and the Test by an innings.

Somerset batter is averaging 54.71 in the County Championship this season

ESPNcricinfo staff08-May-2025Somerset’s James Rew has been added to the England Test squad to face Zimbabwe after Jordan Cox was ruled out with an abdominal muscle injury. Rew, 21, is currently averaging 54.71 in the County Championship this season and wins his first senior call-up.Cox had been named in the squad after missing a Test debut over the winter due to a thumb fracture suffered in the nets while on tour in New Zealand. He hurt his side when taking a single to move to 99 in Essex’s game at Taunton over the weekend, and subsequently retired hurt after bringing up three figures.Scans have now confirmed that he will not be able to take part against Zimbabwe. It is a setback that continues a cruel run of injury near-misses for Cox, including a badly broken finger sustained during the Hundred in August 2023, which required surgery and further delayed any prospect of an England debut.Related

• Cox recalled to England Test squad for Zimbabwe

• Cox suffers injury scare while scoring century against Somerset

• Rew hundred, Overton grit help Somerset to first win of season

Instead, Rew – who scored a fourth-innings hundred in the same County Championship match to anchor Somerset’s chase of 321 – will be the spare batter in the group. That innings made him the youngest Englishman since Denis Compton to score 10 first-class centuries.Wicketkeeper-batter Rew has been on the selectors’ radar for some time, having been a key member of the England Under-19s side that finished runners-up at the 2022 U19 World Cup, top-scoring in the final with 95.He scored his maiden century for Somerset that season, and followed up by scoring 1086 County Championship runs at 57.15, with five hundreds, during the 2023 summer. His white-ball numbers are impressive, with two List A hundreds and a score of 62 not out, on only his second T20 appearance, in last season’s Vitality Blast semi-final. He has also featured regularly for the Lions.The England squad to face Zimbabwe are due to meet this weekend in London before taking part in a training camp at Loughborough. They will then be given some time at home before the start of the Test, at Trent Bridge, on May 22.

Pakistan’s T20I captain feels they played the same way in the last two series – against New Zealand and Bangladesh – for contrasting results

Danyal Rasool02-Jun-2025A lot has changed between Pakistan’s last T20I series and this one. That took place in New Zealand in the wake of a disastrous home Champions Trophy campaign, while this one, against Bangladesh, happened at home on the other side of PSL 2025. Pakistan have a new coaching staff, and produced a markedly different result – a 3-0 rout of Bangladesh as opposed to a 4-1 reverse in New Zealand.What satisfies Salman Agha, though, is that Pakistan’s style of play, he feels, did not change. Their commitment to reduce the role anchors play in a batting innings continued, and a number of young players called up for that New Zealand series played starring roles in this one. The ephemeral nature of any game style or philosophy in Pakistan – often dictated by one or two bad results – means this stylistic continuation across these two series is notable in itself.For Salman, the man at the helm for both tours, it is also non-negotiable. “As long as I’m captain this is how we’ll play,” he said after Pakistan’s seven-wicket win in the third T20I. “I think this is the way to play cricket going forward; that’s how the world is playing. You need to put the bowlers and batters under pressure. In New Zealand, this is what we tried to follow, but conditions didn’t allow it. But the boys who went there learned a way to be fearless without being careless. That is something we’ve balanced perfectly this series.”Related

• Pakistan, Afghanistan, UAE gear up for Asia Cup rehearsal

• Pakistan white-ball coach Hesson: Want players who are multi-skilled, not milestone obsessed

• Haris stars with 107* as Pakistan complete whitewash

• Bright starts, familiar flaws – Takeaways from Bangladesh's Lahore malfunction

That balance is notoriously difficult to define, let alone achieve; Shane Warne’s famous exhortation to “tee off (not recklessly)” perhaps crystallises the extent to which the final outcome dictates how this approach is ultimately viewed. For Pakistan, it is perhaps the performances of Mohammad Haris across these games which appear to suggest they ended up on the right side of that balance. After a pair of early wickets in the first games, Haris began slowly, scoring seven runs in his first eight balls before adopting that fearless approach Salman mentioned; he would smash 24 in his next nine, and Pakistan ended up scoring over 200.In the next two games, with no such pressure at the outset, Haris would target the bowlers from the get-go, culminating in that memorable unbeaten 46-ball 107 to seal the whitewash. For a player often criticised for rash strokeplay and an inability to build an innings that lasts longer than a handful of deliveries, this series showcased the potential of Pakistan’s new approach applied properly.”Haris gets accused of not using his brain during T20 innings,” Salman said. “In this series, when we were 5 for 2 [in the first game], he took calculated risks, and the same today. I think Haris, Saim [Ayub] and Hasan [Nawaz] are players I’d like to turn into matchwinners in my captaincy. These players can perform wonders for Pakistan cricket.”While Salman promised “the door is not closed for anybody” in his T20 set-up, the message of who is being moved on from is fairly unmistakeable. Pakistan have long tried – and ultimately failed – to shut the door on Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam’s days, as Pakistan’s primary T20 openers feted for their consistency but slated for their conservatism. Even in the recent past, their place at the top was justified due to an absence of players who could construct innings if they fell too early. These three games might not have been against an elite T20 side, but early wickets did not sound alarm bells for Pakistan’s innings as they have in the past, with Salman keen to take encouragement from it.”I’m very happy with this team and the environment we’re creating,” he said. “I think the team has begun to move in [the right] direction. If conditions change, we’ll respect it. Modern-day cricket doesn’t mean disrespecting conditions. For me, modern cricket is beating par by about 10-15 runs – both with bat and ball – so you make it easier for the bowlers or the batters. Whatever the conditions, we’ll follow what we feel the par score is and then try to beat it.Salman Agha said that Pakistan’s batting order, apart from the top three, is flexible•PCB

“Openers’ positions don’t change. Haris is a player at No. 3 for us because he’s a keeper and we like to give him a little rest after that. Hasan is a middle-order hitter, and my number with him is interchangeable. The top three are set, and the rest is situation dependent. I was going to play at No. 4, but we saw we hadn’t lost more than one wicket after 10 overs. And we’ve seen how dangerous Hasan is against spin in the PSL and this series. So we keep the batting order flexible and expect players to be ready to come in.”Salman is well aware of how quickly positions of power within Pakistan cricket can be undermined, but for now, he speaks with the authority and stature of a Pakistan captain who has the breathing space to look beyond just the next game or series. With Mike Hesson, his coach at Islamabad United in the PSL, now Pakistan’s white-ball coach, there is a sense the team and the management are on the same page, with the board having given them license to pursue a fresh start however they choose.”I’m very happy. The young boys performed,” Salman said. “The result doesn’t matter for me, what matters is how we play cricket. We need to play cricket the way we played these games, and to entertain people. If we put the opposition under pressure, we’ll win more games than not.”There’s a year to go for the T20 World Cup, so you can’t say it’ll be the same players. But I think the core will be the same because I’d like to give these boys as much of a chance as possible. We’d like to have a playing XI for the World Cup ready with players who have experience of playing in this team. This is a young side with 25-30 matches to go. But the core is the same.”

He delivered 16 dots in his four-over spell to produce the joint-most economical spell in the IPL at the Wankhede Stadium

ESPNcricinfo staff22-May-20251:51

Moody: Santner a nightmare on pitches like this   

Three wickets for 11 runs. An economy of 2.75. A total of 16 dot balls. These were Mitchell Santner’s returns for Mumbai Indians (MI) in match 63 of their IPL 2025 outing against Delhi Capitals (DC).It was also the most miserly figures by a spinner at the Wankhede Stadium in IPL history in yet another sublime performance for the left-arm spinner this season who now has an economy of 7.60 this season.Related

• Suryakumar, Santner and Bumrah lead MI into playoffs

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After his spell put DC into a chokehold, Varun Aaron and Tom Moody couldn’t help but praise Santner in the post-match segment on ESPNcricinfo’s Time Out show.”The moment Will Jacks bowled, I was thinking if Will Jacks is going to turn the ball this much, Santner is just going to run rigs around the batsman,” Aaron said. “Santner is a quality bowler, just one of those underutilised bowlers, underutilised players at CSK, never really got a long run, but he’s just showing what he’s worth the moment he stepped into Mumbai Indians’ colours.”Ryan Rickelton stumps Ashutosh Sharma off Mitchell Santner’s bowling•BCCI

Santner dismissed Sameer Rizvi and Vipraj Nigam – DC’s top-two scorers on the night – before removing Ashutosh Sharma with a beautiful delivery that left him stumped. But it wasn’t just the uncharacteristically slow Wankhede surface that made Santner so dangerous, Moody added. His variations – sometimes very subtle – played a big part too.”And the beauty of Santner is that, on a surface like that, it’s not so much the turn is the threat, it’s the pitch being slow and his ability to change the arrival of the ball at different paces without the knowledge of the batsman. That’s what makes him lethal, his subtle change of pace without any real sign or cue for the batter is his key,” Moody said. “It’s not like he’s spun the odd one, but let’s face it, Mitchell is not a big turner of the ball, he’s never been a big turner of the ball, that’s why he’s never really grabbed hold of a Test cricket and run with it.”Yes, he had a good series here recently when New Zealand beat India in a three-Test-match series. But his real skill is that sort of change of pace and when you’ve got a slow surface, that’s a batting nightmare.”Aaron also pointed to Santner’s physical attributes that add another layer of deception: “his height and his angles, he really uses the crease well. Generally, when batsmen subconsciously see a tall bowler, they just think he’s going to fire every ball in. But he actually, like Tom says, uses his pace so well.”

The two new signings bossed the midfield at St. James' Park, while Mitrovic came up big for Fulham with a double in the Cottagers' victory

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  1ST | Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace)

  Zaha is now Crystal Palace's top scorer in Premier League history (24), overtaking Chris Armstrong who netted 23 goals in the competition for the Eagles.

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  2ST | Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham)

  Mitrovic has scored 15 league goals since his debut for the Cottagers in February – no player has more in the top four tiers of English football in that time (Mo Salah has also scored 15).

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  3ST | Andre Schurrle (Fulham)

  Andre Schurrle scored his first Premier League goal for Fulham – his goal was the 11th shot he’d had in the match.

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  4CM | Mateo Kovacic (Chelsea)

  Kovacic completed 96 of his 104 passes in Chelsea's 2-1 victory over Newcastle (92.3%) – creating more chances than any of his teammates (3).

The race to finish as the leading scorer at France 2019 is proving to be a thrilling one

The race is on to decide who will join some of the most legendary figures in the history of women’s football by winning the Golden Boot at the World Cup finals.

Michelle Akers, Birgit Prinz, Marta and Carli Lloyd are among those who have topped the scoring charts at the finals in the past, and at France 2019 there is intense competition to join such an illustrious list.

Going into the semi-finals, there are four players all tied on five goals, with Australia’s Sam Kerr the only one no longer active in the competition.

Here is the list of the leading markswomen in the competition:

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  Ellen White – England – 6 goals

  With her trademark spectacles celebration, the Manchester City forward has netted six times. She has scored against Scotland, Japan (twice), Cameroon, Norway and the USWNT.

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  Alex Morgan – USA – 6 goals

  Already had more than 100 international strikes to her name before the World Cup but added another five to her tally against Thailand in a 13-0 win. She scored again in the semi-final against England to help her side to another appearance in the final.

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  Sam Kerr – Australia – 5 goals

  The Perth Glory striker opened the scoring for her country against Italy in their opening game but it was her four-goal haul against Jamaica that propelled her into contention to finish as top scorer.

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  Megan Rapinoe – USA – 5 goals

  Has made headlines as much for her actions away from the field as on it, but was the USA’s quarter-final hero as she scored twice against France. This added to a double against Spain in the last 16 and a strike against Thailand.

Using the latest live database from FIFA 20, Goal looks at which players are set to receive big boosts to their overall scores in FIFA 21

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  Which players will be upgraded in FIFA 21?

  Using the latest live database from FIFA 20, Goal looks at which players are set to receive big boosts to their overall scores in FIFA 21.

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  Lautaro Martinez – Inter – 83>86

  After netting six goals in his debut season in Serie A with Inter, Lautaro Martinez more than doubled his tally in 2019-20 and scored seven goals in 11 games as the Nerazzurri reached the Europa League final.

  That kind of form saw him become linked with Barcelona where he would be Luis Suarez's successor and will see him become one of the best strikers in FIFA 21.

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  Adama Traore – Wolves – 74>78

  Adama Traore was a 74-rated silver in FIFA 20 but received plenty of in-form and special cards in FIFA Ultimate Team thanks to his fantastic performances for Wolves. 

  He is currently rated 78 in the live database but could get another increase in stats for FIFA 21, where he also should have one of the highest pace ratings in the game.

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  Victor Osminhen – Napoli – 74>78

  At the start of FIFA 20, Victor Osminhen was a 74-rated player at Lille that nobody used in their teams. By the end, he had received a 93-rated Team of the Season edition and earned a move to Napoli in real life, smashing their transfer record.

  His basic player edition received a big bump in ratings up to 78 in the online seasons database, but he could be boosted even higher if he gets off to a good start at Napoli.

Which of the wonderkids featuring in Israel could become big names for African national sides?

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  El Chadaille Bitshiabu

  The towering centre-back will be the rock at the heart of the France backline during the U-17 Euros, where he’ll be keen to bring his outstanding form from Paris Saint-Germain’s Youth League campaign to bear in Israel.

  He’s already featured for Mauricio Pochettino’s side at senior level, although with his route to more playing time with PSG’s first team arguably blocked, the likes of Bayern Munich, ManchesterCity and RB Leipzig are all understood to be monitoring his services.

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  Dario Essugo

  With experience already of having played with Portugal’s U-19 team, Essugo has the potential to dominate contests at the U-17 Euro.

  He’s already become Sporting Lisbon’s youngest ever player—a remarkable achievement at such an institution—and the youngster, who’s also eligible for Angola, should impress with his defensive qualities and work with the ball.

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  Elyaz Zidane

  Son of French footballing royalty, Zinedine’s son Elyaz certainly has some high standards to live up to, although having progressed through the ranks at Real Madrid, he’s well used to demanding environments.

  Eligible for both Algeria and Spain, Zidane jr is turning out for France at the U-17 Euros, and while he’s the youngest of Zidane’s four boys, he may turn out to be the most exciting.

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• Antoni Milambo

  Feyenoord’s youngest ever first team player, Milambo made his debut for the Dutch giants only four months and nine days after his 16th birthday—testament to his maturity and his raw ability.

  Eligible for the Democratic Republic of Congo, but featuring for the Netherlands at the U-17 showpiece, Milambo has the quality to hurt teams between the lines, and there won’t be too many players at the tournament who already have experience of playing in senior level continental club competitions.

Brazil and Santos legend Pele died on Thursday. GOAL remembers the greatest moments of his incredible career.

No player did more to popularise football's reputation as the beautiful game than the immortal Pele.

The only male or female player to win three World Cups, the free-scoring forward also spearheaded one of the greatest club side's footballing history.

His death leaves a devastating void in global sport, and below, GOAL recalls some of the standout moments of a once-in-a-lifetime career.

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  A goal on his debut… twice

  Pele made his professional debut all the way back in 1956. Aged just 15, the legendary forward lined up for Santos – he had only signed a few months earlier following a successful trial – against Corinthians Santo Andre.

  Pele scored in the 7-1 victory, kickstarting a golden era at the club that would span 18 years. It wasn't his best strike, with the teenager simply tapping home a rebound in the box.

  Then, in July 1957, Pele opened his international scoring account – against Argentina no less. He was far from an established name in the Santos side at this stage, but impressed Brazil manager Sylvio Pirillo in a friendly organised to raise money for Sao Paulo's new stadium.

  A baby-faced Pele still managed to find the net at the Maracana, making it 2-1 to the Selecao.

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  Birth of a superstar

  Pele introduced himself to a global football audience at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. After featuring just once in the group stage, his tournament exploded in the quarter-final stage, when he burst through the Wales backline to secure a 1-0 win and his side's progression.

  Things got even better in the semi-finals when Pele's hat trick helped Brazil down the free-scoring Just Fontaine and France.

  And his legend was secured in the final when he grabbed a brace as the Selecao smashed hosts Sweden 5-2. His first goal in that game was typical of his brilliance. After taking down a deep cross in the box he dinked the ball over brutish Swedish defender Bengt Gustavsson, before watching it drop down from a great height and finding the bottom corner on the volley.

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  Continental champion

  While Pele's relentless touring schedule prevented him from winning the Copa America with Brazil – he only appeared in one tournament (1959) and managed to secure the Golden Boot – the forward did taste continental glory at club level.

  In 1962, with the scores level after two legs in the Copa Libertadores final against Penarol, Pele carried Santos to victory in a Playoff contested on neutral ground at Estadio Monumental. He grabbed a brace, including a game-changing strike just after half time, as Santos earned their first ever South American title.

  A year later, the Alvinegro retained their crown, with Pele scoring in the final against Boca Juniors.

  Victory in these two games booked Santos a place in the Intercontinental Cup against European opposition. They made light work of their opponents both years, first beating Benfica – Pele scored five goals over the two legs – and then getting the better of AC Milan in another playoff.

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• Five in a row

  Throughout the 1960s Pele spearheaded Santos' greatest ever side, appropriately nicknamed Os Santasticos.

  The Dream Team's list of accomplishments is endless, and their diminutive attacking fulcrum was always at the centre of things.

  Winning five Serie A titles in a row between 1961 and 1965 was one of Santos' crowning achievements, with Pele securing the top scorer award in three of these seasons.

  1962 also saw Lula's charges secure the 'first treble in the world'. During this whirlwind year, Pele and Co. won the Copa Libertadores, Campeonato Paulista and Taca Brasil. Not bad.

Called the LeBron James of soccer, Christian Pulisic is a special talent, and here are a few facts you need to know about him.

Christian Pulisic has had an up-and-down Chelsea career so far. With consistent managerial changes, injury issues, and fluctuating form, he hasn't quite realised his potential.

That being said, he has scored goals in a Champions League semi-final and an FA Cup final, while also lifting three trophies in his time in London so far.

Born on 18 September 1998, Christian Pulisic is now a household name in the United States and the majority of Europe now recognizes the winger as the face of the United States in football.

GOAL takes you through 13 fun facts about the USMNT forward.

• Football runs in his blood

  Pulisic is not the only football player in his family.

  Both of his parents played football at George Mason University. His father, Mark Pulisic, was the head coach of the Detroit Ignition of the Major Indoor Soccer League, as well.

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• He has a cousin who plays for Austin

  Pulisic’s cousin Will trained with BVB’s youth teams in 2016/2017 before taking up his place at Duke University. He now plays football in Major League Soccer with Austin FC.

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  First American to score in a Champions League semi-final

  During the first leg of Chelsea's semi-final clash against Real Madrid in 2021, Pulisic became the first American to score in a Champions League semi-final.

  He also became the youngest Chelsea player to score in a European semi-final.

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  First American to play in a Uefa Champions League final

  Pulisic became the first ever American to play in a Champions League final during Chelsea's 2021 final against Manchester City.

  The club managed to win 1-0 and win their second Champions League trophy.

  The win also made Christian Pulisic only the second American to win the Champions League.