Wrexham are being advised to splash more cash in the January transfer window, despite seeing Hollywood co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac oversee a record-breaking recruitment drive in the summer of 2025. Phil Parkinson has suggested that calls to spend again may be ignored, with the Red Dragons not expecting to be particularly busy in the new year.
Seamers share eight wickets as table-toppers face awkward final day at Grace Road
ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay10-Sep-2025If Leicestershire’s vision was to clinch promotion to Division One with a resounding victory, it looks unlikely to come to pass this week after a truncated third day of their Rothesay County Championship match left them trailing Gloucestershire by 150 runs.Shan Masood compiled a typically elegant 111 to mark his first-class debut for the county with the 30th hundred of his career but Leicestershire then lost their last six wickets for 22 to trail by 140 on first innings, bowled out for 342 as Gloucestershire seamer Matt Taylor finished with five for 70, backed up by new-ball partner Ajeet Singh Dale’s three for 78.Gloucestershire – who need a victory to keep their outside chance of promotion alive – were eight without loss from four overs in their second innings before a three-hour interruption due to rain, adding just two runs before a resumption at 5.30pm was curtailed after just 13 deliveries due to bad light. With earlier rain having delayed the start by 70 minutes, just 30 overs and one ball were bowled in all.Even if a win eludes them, Leicestershire’s lead in the division is so large that a top-two finish can still be confirmed this week if this match ends in a draw and the clash between third-placed Derbyshire and fourth-placed Middlesex at Lord’s is also drawn.Masood faced 176 balls and hit 13 fours on the way to his eighth first-class hundred in county cricket, having previously made them for Derbyshire and Yorkshire. The left-hander will be 36 next month but retains the capacity to produce moments of sublime skill at the crease, which he underlined with some beautiful strokeplay in this innings.After his 152-run partnership with Lewis Hill on Tuesday had seemed to set up Leicestershire for a substantial reply, there seemed little to suggest that would not happen as a second batting bonus point was secured in a morning session reduced to 50 minutes with Masood and Steve Eskinazi, also making his Championship debut for a new county, having added 82.But that all changed with the last delivery of the session, which resulted in Masood being given out leg before, the former Pakistan Test captain’s body language leaving no doubt that the decision did not meet with his approval.Masood’s dismissal was the catalyst for an unseemly collapse from 320 for four to 342 all out, with the follow-on only just avoided.Having put off taking the second new ball until after lunch, Gloucestershire took it immediately after the break and needed only 10 overs’ use of it to claim the remaining five Leicestershire wickets.Taylor, who had three wickets overnight, beat Ben Cox for pace and had Ben Mike nicking behind to complete his first five-wicket haul in two years.New-ball partner Singh Dale, bound for Lancashire at the end of the season, gained deserved rewards as ex-Middlesex batter Eskinazi’s county debut innings ended on 34 with a catch at second slip. Logan van Beek and Chris Wright became the fourth and fifth batters in the innings to fall leg before, Wright having at least hung around long enough to ensure that the visitors would bat again after the ninth wicket had gone with still one run needed.
Wolverhampton Wanderers are offering a loan-to-buy deal to make an international goalkeeper Rob Edwards’ first signing back in charge at Molineux.
The Old Gold announced Edwards’ return as manager on Wednesday, paying Middlesbrough £3m in compensation to name him as Vitor Pereira’s long-term successor.
Talking after a deal was announced, Wolves chairman Jeff Shi said: “I know Rob very well and I have seen his growth in different jobs. He’s a very good person, he knows the club very well, he knows the city, the fans and he is very talented.
“When he was a youth coach here, he showed his tactical awareness, but after he took first-team jobs he started to grow his own identity, character and leadership.
“We need to refresh the whole club with a new coach’s philosophy, bringing his own identity and ideas, and we can build on that. We are at a new chapter for the club and Rob will be a key piece of that.”
Edwards has also now spoken out following his return to Molineux, releasing a statement on social media.
The new Wolves manager will now be preparing his side for a busy period of Premier League fixtures, starting at home to Crystal Palace following the international break.
The January transfer window is also just around the corner, and by the looks of things, Wolves and Edwards already have their eyes on one player.
According to reports relayed by Sport Witness, Wolves are looking into a move for goalkeeper Christos Mandas.
It is claimed that the club attempted to sign the Lazio shot-stopper in the summer and are once again eyeing a move in the New Year.
Mandas is yet to play in Serie A this season and wants to leave the Italian club, with Wolves ‘offering an initial loan deal with an option to buy’.
A package worth £8m could be enough to sign Mandas, with Lazio identifying Venezia’s Filip Stankovic as a replacement for the Greece international.
So far this season, Sam Johnstone and Jose Sa, who are both 32 years of age, have shared the Premier League load. Johnstone has made seven appearances, conceding 14 goals, whereas Sa has turned out four times, letting in 11 goals.
Wolves have the worst defensive record in the league, so making a change in goal could help Edwards’ side in 2026.
Mandas, 24, has conceded 27 goals in 32 games for Lazio, keeping 12 clean sheets, and by the looks of things, a deal is one to keep an eye on.
The Padres continued to make moves on Thursday ahead of the MLB trade deadline. And the Royals finally got on the board.
San Diego traded right-handed pitchers Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek to Kansas City in return for catcher Freddy Fermin, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported.
The Royals were in dire need of more pitching, especially after they recently lost starter Kris Bubic for the season with an injury. This hole in the pitching lineup caused the Royals to make somewhat unfortunate history on Wednesday by using nine pitchers in their shutout win over the Braves. The Padres landed two pitchers earlier on Thursday as they acquired closer Mason Miller and starting pitcher JP Sears from the Athletics in a trade.
Bergert is a rookie pitcher who's started in seven games and appeared in 11 for the Padres this season. He's posted a 2.78 ERA through 35.2 innings pitched. He's thrown 34 strikeouts, and he's had 24 hits and 11 runs on him.
Kolek is in his second season with the Padres and jumped up to the starting pitching lineup this year. He's started 14 games and posted a 4.18 ERA. Through 79.2 innings pitched, he's thrown 56 strikeouts and had 78 hits and 40 runs on him.
Fermin's spent his entire MLB career in Kansas City. Through 67 games this season, the catcher has 49 hits, 17 runs, 12 RBIs and three home runs. He's averaging .255/.309/.339. Fermin is expected to replace catchers Elias Diaz and Martin Maldonado for the starting role.
He will take over the position from Jon Lewis at a franchise that has struggled since reaching the playoffs in WPL’s inaugural season
Nagraj Gollapudi and Ashish Pant25-Jul-2025UP Warriorz (UPW) have appointed former India allrounder Abhishek Nayar as their head coach for the next edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL). Nayar’s appointment comes after the franchise parted ways with Jon Lewis, who had been at the helm for the last three seasons.Nayar comes to the set-up with an extensive coaching background. A Mumbai stalwart in first-class cricket, Nayar also played three ODIs for India before his retirement in 2019. Since then, he has transitioned into coaching. He was the lead coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders academy in 2018 and then joined the KKR support staff as assistant coach. Nayar also served as the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) head coach in CPL 2022.While Nayar has never coached a women’s team, he oversaw a week-long off-season camp with UPW in August 2023 in Bengaluru. He has also worked on a one-on-one basis with several international and uncapped Indian players over the years.”I really enjoyed my time working with the UP Warriorz before and I’m thrilled to take on this new role,” Nayar said. “WPL is a fantastic platform for women’s cricket and I’m looking forward to working closely with the management to build a strong team for Season 4. UP Warriorz already have a strong foundation in place, and I believe we can build something truly special. There is incredible potential and I will give it my all to help win their first-ever title this season.”During his stint at KKR, Nayar built a rapport with mentor Gautam Gambhir, and their partnership helped the franchise lift their IPL third title in 2024. When Gambhir was appointed the head coach of the Indian side the same year, Nayar joined it as assistant coach, but his contract was terminated less than a year into the job. He subsequently returned as KKR’s assistant coach for IPL 2025, having been a part of their backroom staff from 2018 to 2024.Related
UP Warriorz and coach Jon Lewis part ways
“Bringing Abhishek Nayar on board as head coach feels like a natural and exciting step forward for UP Warriorz,” Kshemal Waingankar, COO and director of cricket UPW, told ESPNcricinfo. “When someone of Abhishek’s calibre became available, it was a no-brainer. Few in Indian cricket bring the same depth of experience when it comes to shaping players and shaping winning cultures.”In just the past 18 months alone, Abhishek has been part of three championship-winning campaigns, each in a different role, each leaving a lasting impact. We are thrilled to have him lead a Warriorz side that’s united, fearless and hungry to grow. With Abhishek at the helm, we believe this group can do something truly special.”Nayar played a crucial part in unlocking Dinesh Karthik’s potential as a finisher in T20 cricket. At various times, Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer and Angkrish Raghuvanshi have also credited Nayar for their batting resurgence.More recently, KL Rahul also thanked Nayar: “I’ve worked really hard on my white-ball game the last year or so. Big shoutout to Abhishek Nayar. I’ve worked a lot with him ever since he’s come into the Indian team.”UPW haven’t had the best of times at the WPL so far. They made it to the playoffs in the inaugural season in 2023, where they lost to eventual champions Mumbai Indians in the eliminator. Since then, they have finished second to bottom and bottom of the five-team points table, in 2024 and 2025 respectively.UPW have played 25 matches in the WPL across seasons, of which they have lost 15 games and won ten. Deepti Sharma was named their captain for WPL 2025, after Alyssa Healy was ruled out of the tournament due to injury.
Joao Pedro has promised to do one thing for Chelsea team-mate Moises Caicedo after he helped end his nine-game goal drought in Saturday’s 1-0 victory at Tottenham.
Summer recruit Pedro started life at Stamford Bridge with two goals in his first three Premier League games, but had failed to find the net since August before his 34th-minute winner in north London.
Pedro, who was thwarted on three other occasions by Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, was indebted to Caicedo after he won back possession from Micky van de Ven and teed up the Chelsea forward to fire home.
Caicedo was later described as two of the best defensive midfielders in the world by boss Enzo Maresca along with Manchester City’s Rodri.
Brazil attacker Pedro echoed that sentiment and reflected on the importance of his goal in a period where he has struggled to train due to unspecified fitness problems and plans to take Caicedo out for dinner following his assist.
Chelsea’s fifth straight win at Tottenham helped them bounce back from a shock 2-1 home defeat to Sunderland on October 25.
It helped rebuild momentum for Maresca’s talented but youthful squad ahead of a midweek trip to Qarabag in the Champions League and Saturday’s visit of bottom-of-the-table Wolves.
Pedro added: “I think it was a big game, a derby and we know they are a good team.
“We knew we had to do 100 per cent to win this kind of game and we did. We won the game and now we need to look forward.”
Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank has major issues to solve in attack after they registered an XG (expected goals) figure of 0.05 – the lowest the club has recorded since records started in the 2012-13 season.
What will not help Frank’s cause is the likely absence of Lucas Bergvall for Tuesday’s visit of Copenhagen after he was forced off with suspected concussion early on during the loss to Chelsea.
“That was a concussion, so he totally couldn’t stay on and I think the medical team did a good job in that aspect,” Frank reflected.
“And even if he wanted to stay on, it’s the right decision.
“Of course, we would have loved to have him continue. That’s why we picked him in the starting XI.
“Unfortunately, that couldn’t happen. So others will step in. Xavi (Simons) knew the game plan.”