The defending champions secured a big win in a rain-reduced game with the captain leading from the front
AAP20-Oct-2025Defending one-day champions South Australia claimed a nine-wicket win over Queensland, banking a bonus point in their rain-marred victory.As rain restricted the match to a maximum 25 overs each, Queensland were bowled out for 128 in 23.5 overs at Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide. The hosts were set 120 to win under the DLS method and won with with 47 balls to spare.Related
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SA, the holders of the Dean Jones Trophy, now have two wins from four games – the same as Queensland.Their run chase was given early impetus by Jake Fraser-McGurk, who blasted six fours in making 27 from 14 balls. Fraser-McGurk’s cameo ended when bowled by a superb off-cutter from James Bazley.But opener Mackenzie Harvey and captain Nathan McSweeney then set about the chase with the bonus point in mind.South Australia needed to win inside 20 overs and Harvey and McSweeney easily reached that goal with an unbroken 80-run partnership.Earlier, Queensland slipped to 13 for 2 inside five overs before a lengthy rain delay. On return, only veteran Jimmy Peirson managed an innings of substance, smacking three sixes and three fours in making 42 from 83 ballsThe only other Queenslanders to reach double-figures were Bazley, Hugh Weibgen and Max Bryant. The visitors failed to bat out their 25 overs as SA skipper McSweeney claimed 3 for 12 from 3.1 overs with his offspinners. McSweeney had initially brought himself on when Wes Agar couldn’t complete his second over.Liam Scott and Lloyd Pope also enjoyed multiple success and paceman Nathan McAndrew returned figures of 1 for 7 from four overs.
Leeds United’s stance on recalling Joe Gelhardt from Hull City in January has now been revealed.
Gelhardt starring at Hull on loan from Leeds
The Whites have been struggling in front of goal in the Premier League this season, with only bottom of the table Wolves scoring fewer than Daniel Farke’s side.
The 49ers Enterprises arguably failed to bolster the final third as well as they should’ve, with free transfers Lukas Nmecha and Dominic Calvert-Lewin joined by Noah Okafor as Leeds’ only attacking additions.
They did decide to loan out Gelhardt to Hull once again, and the 23-year-old has been in fine form for the Tigers in the second tier.
In 15 Championship games, Gelhardt has already scored seven goals and provided two assists, coming in for praise from manager Sergej Jakirovic.
“When I watched him in last season’s games, I begged Mr Chairman (Acun Ilicali) to bring him back here.
“He likes playing here and he wanted to come back here. He has a completely different profile to the players we have. He has the quality to play in a number of positions and is able to pass, shoot and has speed, which is special.
“He’s 23 years old and maybe he can reach the Premier League. But, right now, he’s made the difference.”
As a result of Gelhardt’s form, there has been speculation over a potential recall in the New Year to help Leeds in their Premier League survival push.
The forward played his part in the 2021/22 season as a teenager to help the Whites remain in the top flight, scoring a memorable winner against Norwich City and providing a late equaliser for Pascal Struijk against Brighton in the penultimate league fixture.
Hull want Harry Gray
However, according to TEAMtalk, ‘Leeds have no plans to bring Gelhardt back to Elland Road’ in the New Year.
The Whites are happy for the forward to remain with Hull until the end of the season and Gelhardt’s form could help the 49ers sell him for £4m, which would result in a 300% profit following his move from Wigan in 2020.
As well as keeping hold of Gelhardt, Hull also have their eyes on a potential loan move for Harry Gray after the Leeds teenager penned his first professional contract in Yorkshire.
Gray, 17, is yet to feature under Farke in 25/26 after being handed his debut on the same day Leeds won promotion to the Premier League. He’s also being eyed by Charlton Athletic, Derby County and Swansea City.
Leeds are considering allowing Gray to leave for the second half of the season so he can get regular senior game time, but when it comes to Gelhardt, don’t expect to see him in a Leeds shirt in the New Year.
Academy star who's never played a senior minute for Leeds could replace Bijol
Um velho conhecido vai voltar à Cidade Tricolor neste mês de dezembro. Trata-se do atacante Rafael Ratão, de 30 anos, que pertence ao Bahia e estava emprestado ao Cerezo Osaka, do Japão. Ele tem contrato com o clube baiano até dezembro de 2026, mas a diretoria não descarta uma nova negociação.
continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasBahiaFrustração no fim do ano mostra que a régua elevou para o BahiaBahia08/12/2025Futebol NacionalBahia empresta promessa da base para o Santa CruzFutebol Nacional08/12/2025BahiaTorcida do Bahia elege Everton Ribeiro como craque e avalia campanha na Série ABahia09/12/2025
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A previsão é que Rafael Ratão desembarque no Brasil no dia 12 deste mês depois de uma boa passagem pelo Japão, com 23 gols em 44 jogos, sendo titular na grande maioria deles. Ele ainda foi o artilheiro do Cerezo Osaka na J-League (primeira divisão japonesa), com 18 bolas nas redes e três assistências em 36 jogos. Ainda há, inclusive, a possibilidade de Ratão estar na seleção do campeonato, já que foi eleito um dos 30 melhores atletas da liga. O resultado será divulgado nesta quinta-feira.
Apesar dos números, o Bahia ainda não definiu se Rafael Ratão vai se reapresentar junto com o restante do grupo para a pré-temporada, a partir do dia 5 de janeiro, no CT Evaristo de Macedo. O clube cogita negociar o atleta novamente.
continua após a publicidadeA passagem de Ratão pelo Bahia
Contratado na segunda janela de transferências de 2023 junto ao Toulouse, da França, ele chegou para ser mais uma opção de versatilidade para o ataque, com possibilidade de jogar como um camisa 9 ou até mesmo ponta. Ratão, no entanto, teve dificuldades para conquistar a titularidade no time de Rogério Ceni e não convenceu a torcida do Bahia.
O jogador fez, ao todo, 54 partidas com a camisa tricolor, com dez gols marcados e quatro assistências.
➡️Frustração no fim do ano mostra que a régua elevou para o Bahia
So with Dodgers pitcher Alex Vesia sidelined for the World Series due to a "deeply personal family matter,” his fellow Los Angeles relievers have been playing with the No. 51, Vesia‘s uniform number, written on their caps to honor the relief pitcher. But it wasn‘t just the Dodgers.
The Blue Jays bullpen, in solidarity with its Dodgers counterpart, also donned the No. 51 on their World Series caps during Los Angeles‘s Game 6 victory.
And the gesture was not lost on the Dodgers.
"I didn't notice until [Chris] Bassitt—actually after Bassitt struck me out and then I was looking up at the board to see the replay, and that's when I saw that he had 51," Dodgers outfielder Kiké Hernández said. "And instead of being mad that I struck out, I was kind of going back to the dugout thinking, 'Did Bassitt play with Vesia at some point?' And then after the game I saw that everybody had them."
The gesture clearly meant a lot to Hernández and the Dodgers.
"For those guys to do that, it's incredible," Hernández said. "They're trying to win a World Series, but they understand that this is—life is bigger than baseball, and baseball‘s just a game. For them to do that with the stakes—where we were at with the stakes, hat‘s off to them. And I want them to know that we appreciate them.
"Regardless of what happens tonight, we appreciate what they did."
Vesia was left off the Dodgers’ World Series roster
The Dodgers had said as part of a statement that Vesia, who appeared in 68 games for the Dodgers in the 2025 regular season and another seven contests in the postseason, "is away from the team as he and his wife Kayla navigate a deeply personal family matter."
The veteran lefthander was one of the Dodgers‘s most reliable relievers this season, posting a 3.02 ERA and 0.99 WHIP while recording 80 strikeouts in 59 2/3 innings pitched.
يرى خبير في لغة الجسد أن محمد صلاح قد حسم أمره بالفعل بشأن مستقبله مع ليفربول، بعد تحليل تصريحاته التي أدلى بها في أعقاب تعادل فريقه مع ليدز بالدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.
محمد صلاح تواجد على مقاعد البدلاء للمباراة الثالثة على التوالي، وانتهت المباراة بالتعادل الإيجابي بنتيجة 3-3، حيث استقبل ليفربول هدفًا في الدقائق الأخيرة.
وانتقد محمد صلاح مدربه سلوت في تصريحاته عقب المباراة، وأشار لانقطاع العلاقة بالمدير الفني، وألمح لإمكانية الرحيل عن النادي (طالع تصريحاته من هنا).
وفي حديث حصري مع “OLBG”، بحسب ما نشر موقع “Goal” قال خبير لغة الجسد دارين ستانتون: “محمد صلاح شخصية مثيرة للاهتمام، إنه معبر للغاية، أعتقد أنه صادق ويؤمن تمامًا بما يقوله، لدرجة أنه يشعر وكأنه قد تم التضحية به بسبب مشاكل ليفربول”.
وأضاف: “يبدو واضحًا شعوره الحقيقي بالغضب والإحباط، شفته السفلى مُعبّسة، وهي علامة على القلق والإحباط، نرى بعض الابتسامات من صلاح أيضًا، لكنها ليست حقيقية، إنها ابتسامات مزيفة للتغطية على نفسه”.
اقرأ أيضًا | كوكا يدعم محمد صلاح: في فئة مختلفة مثل ميسي ورونالدو.. ولا يصلح لمقاعد البدلاء
وواصل: “أعتقد أنه حسم أمره بالفعل، لن أتفاجأ إن كان يخطط لرحيل سريع، من طريقة كلامه وتعبيراته، أعتقد أنه يعتقد أن وضع هذا الفريق وهذا المدرب والنادي خاسر، من الواضح أنه اعتاد على النجاح في ليفربول، والآن لديه مشاكل مع الفريق، سواءً مع المدرب أو زملائه، لم يعودوا يلتزمون بما يريده صلاح، أو ربما بما يُوجّهه لنفسه”.
وأتم: “من الواضح أن صلاح يشعر أن المسؤولية تقع عليه فيما يتعلق بمسيرته المهنية، لذا أعتقد شخصيًا أنه يبحث الآن عن مخرج، بغض النظر عما يحدث مع الإدارة”.
Let’s lead off with a spoiler alert. The documentary—not unflawed, but quite a good one, on balance—is titled, provocatively, But the demise of Canada’s beloved National League team was not a murder (who) so much as it was a death from natural causes (what).
The film depicts a cast of heroes, including the universally beloved Felipe Alou, a very cool Pedro Martínez, Canadian star Larry Walker and an assortment of beleaguered fans whose loyalty wasn’t reciprocated. And there are villains—cloying David Samson and his former stepdad, owner Jeffrey Loria, and, to a lesser degree, the hapless Claude Brochu.
But above all, there were immutable, unsentimental forces at play. That is, the usual suspects: An unfavorable exchange rate meant that the Expos took in revenue in Canadian dollars, but paid players their ever-escalating salaries in stronger American dollars. A provincial government that—agree or disagree—took a stand that other cities did not, and refused to commit public money to funding a new sports venue. There were the revenues lost and revenues spent maintaining the old venue—Olympic Stadium, a charmless white elephant on the wrong side of town, built to host a few events for the 1976 Summer Games, not 80-plus baseball games a year in a flourishing pro sports sector decades later.
Rule of thumb: When you play in a domed stadium and still face rain delays because the roof springs leaks, you know you’re in trouble. The Expos’ death? Olympic Stadium wasn’t the scene of the crime so much as it was the proximate of the crime.
Nevertheless, the Netflix documentary, which premieres Oct. 21, offers both a poignant, locally flavored love letter and an earnest post-mortem for a franchise that deserves better. The Montreal Expos’ last game was held in 2004 after a strange sort of three-way trade that brought MLB franchises to Miami and Washington, D.C., and eliminated one from Quebec. And more than 20 years later, countless fans have yet to work through their grief. Now here comes the film—explicitly geared to the French-speaking locals—that will provide a bit of balm for what remains an open wound.
The timing for the doc’s release works as well. Never mind that the lone remaining Canadian team, the Blue Jays, of course, are amid a deep postseason run. At a time of tariffs, rhetoric over a 51st state and “American betrayal” chilling neighborly relations, the story of a foreign baseball team, brash Americans and the winners-take-all realities of capitalism add resonance.
recently spoke to Montreal-based director Jean-François Poisson and producer Marie-Christine Pouliot.
Felipe Alou was the manager for the Expos from 1992 to 2001. / RVR Photos-Imagn Images
Sports Illustrated: What’s your history with this baseball club?
Jean-François Poisson: I was young when the Expos were here. So mostly it was through my father. He was a big baseball fan, so I was able to watch games on TV.
Marie-Christine Pouliot: Everybody in Quebec, either parents or grandparents, brought them to a baseball game. But for me, actually, my first day [working] in television was at the Montreal Expos. So that’s how I started my career. So I did the four years there, and I was very fortunate to be there on the last game also, and that’s when I saw the impact of when they left, and also with the people with whom I was working. Some of them have worked for the Expos for 30 years. So it was truly, truly heartbreaking.
The five-time IPL champions have decided to invest in youngsters like Mhatre, Urvil and Brevis
Nagraj Gollapudi14-Nov-20258:10
Chatter: Will CSK release Conway and Ravindra?
Five-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are set to release their pair of left-hand New Zealand batters Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra ahead of the auction for IPL 2026. While Conway was picked for INR 6.25 crore at the auction last year, CSK got Ravindra back via the right-to-match card option for INR 4 crore. Both players were expected to play a critical role in CSK’s top order but both struggled through IPL 2025, where CSK finished last with just four wins.Ravindra made 191 runs at a strike rate of 128.18 and Conway scored 156 runs at a strike rate of 131.09. It is understood that the CSK think tank opted to release both batters considering they have decided to invest in the development of the young batters that were added to the squad late last season. That includes South Africa batter Dewald Brevis as well as the uncapped Indian pair of Ayush Mhatre and Urvil Patel, who are likely to be part of the XI for IPL 2026.Both Conway and Ravindra have only played for CSK in the IPL. Conway was part of the team since 2022, and scored 672 runs at a strike rate close to 140 in IPL 2023, which CSK won. Ravindra came on board in 2024, a season in which he struck at 160.86, which was much superior than his T20 career strike rate of 139.78.CSK have now let go of three overseas players from their squad of 2025 – apart from the New Zealand duo, Sam Curran has been traded out, along with Ravindra Jadeja, to Rajasthan Royals.
'Baby Lukaku'. That is the nickname, coined by Romelu Lukaku's former team-mate Kevin Mirallas, that Belgian journalists love to use when they write about Promise David. It's easy to see why, too, with the Union Saint-Gilloise striker one of European football's most unsung talents, a true Hidden Gem.
The striker is physically and mentally strong and is very fast. Weapons with which he can force something in every game. With his profile, it is not surprising that Premier League clubs such as West Ham United are closely following him. And yet David does not dispel all doubts.
David appears clumsy, wild, certainly no clinical finisher, and his lack of concentration is apparent. David is an enigma to scouts. He can't tread water, but he can swim easily from A to B. The black Michael Phelps, he calls himself in Similarly, David can play a terrible game, yet still manage to get his name on the score sheet. That may actually be his greatest quality. It drives his coach, David Hubert, crazy. But Hubert can't ignore him, because his striker can score anytime, anywhere. And his five-year plan? He's ticked that off in a year and a half. Promise David has found his way.
Lukaku-esque
If there is one goal that perfectly illustrates just why Mirallas, who now works as USG's attacking coach, compares David to Lukaku, it was his striker against Royal Antwerp in March 2025. In the opening game of the Jupiler League championship play-offs, David was played in behind the Antwerp defence as Rosen Bozhinov pulled out all the stops to fend the striker off.
"As I ran, I felt a claw at my neck," the striker told podcast about a goal that quickly went viral on the internet. "When I took a shower later, it hurt badly because he had literally torn the skin off my neck. I bled throughout the entire match and didn't even realise it."
"I headed straight for the goal, seeing nothing but green," David continued. "I didn't want to dive or fall. Then he grabbed me again. I thought, 'You f*cking dick!' I swung my arms back and my shirt ripped. I was happy about that, because every time he pulled on that shirt, it felt like I was choking."
With only half a shirt left, David finally broke free from Bozhinov, though the defender had slowed him down just enough for a team-mate to catch up. David, though, produced a simple body feint to leave the second defender in the dust before sliding the ball into the net, slapping his chest powerfully and screaming mightily in celebration.
"I was subbed and then took a look at my phone," he said. "The goal had already been posted on social media and it looked horrible. It was just assault!
"Our sporting director has that shirt hanging in our new training facility, alongside all kinds of other historic kits from Union's history. He said, 'This shirt symbolises Union: it's about resilience, strength and not giving up." It is precisely those three things that symbolise David's unusual career path, too.
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Where it all began
As a child, David always was an energetic boy – "My teachers thought I was a good kid, but also that I was a distraction to others," he recalls – as he grew up in Brampton, Ontario, a city that also has links to his fellow Canada internationals Cyle Larin, Atiba Hutchinson and Tajon Buchanan.
However, it was not in Canada, but rather in Lagos, Nigeria, where David discovered his love for football. As a toddler, he lived there with his grandparents, while his uncle was a huge Chelsea supporter.
"I'll never forget him picking me up at my grandmother's house," David told . "I sat on the back of his motorbike and we rode to the bar together to watch the matches."
Upon moving back to Canada, David looked for a hobby to pour his energy into. At first, it was the piano, but when it broke – "That really p*ssed me off!" – David went looking for something else, and soon found his new love: football.
'F*ck you moment'
David initially joined Toronto FC's academy, but at the age of 15 he was let go. He then spent three years with semi-professional outfit Vaughan Azzurri before, having turned 18 in 2019, he was offered a move to Europe to join Croatian third-division side NK Trnje. It proved, however, to be a painful moment in his young life.
"Things happened in Croatia that I didn't even dare tell my parents about," David recalls, before revealing the racist abuse he suffered from his coach in Zagreb. "He didn't want black people, Africans, on his team. He said bizarre things to me.On one occasion, my team-mates didn't translate what he had shouted during a training session until a month later because they found it too awful. Everyone froze the moment he said it. It was something like,God forbid I ever put a black player in my team.'"
David was sent back to the youth team, where he was able to rediscover his love of the game under a different coach, Rajko Vidovic. When Vidovic became the coach of the first team shortly afterwards, he provided the prolific striker an opportunity, one which David took immediately.
"It was the biggest f*ck you momentof my life," David says of the goal he scored moment after coming off the bench for his debut. "It felt like revenge on that one man."
David soon left Zagreb, however, and moved to the United States and USL outfit FC Tulsa. The switch did not prove to be a success, and he soon headed back to Europe, joining Maltese side Valletta.
"I lost a cup final there," David remembered. "That broke me. I've cried three times in my life when it came to football, that match was one of them. My niece Liz was in the stadium at the time and she took a photo of me on the big screen just as I was crying. Man, I'm ugly when I cry."
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The big break
By the time a spell with a different Maltese club, Sirens FC, had also ended in disappointment, David was 21 and his dream of a career as a professional footballer seemed very far away.
"My parents wanted me to come home," he said. "Until then, they had always supported me. But they had lost hope. I asked them for one more opportunity." That opportunity soon arose in Estonia with Kalju FC. At that point, David drew up an ambitious five-year plan that would end with him playing and scoring at a World Cup.
"The idea was to either play football really well, or be a loser," said David when summing up his thoughts at the time to podcast. "I really didn't want to go to school."
Things didn't start well for him in his new home, however. David was regarded as a 'project' and was initially integrated into Kalju's youth team. There, however, he scored a lot of goals and was eventually promoted to the first team. But any suggestion that David was finally on the right track were soon put to bed.
"I remember playing a match," he recalled. "We were 2-1 up at half-time and I was playing pretty well. They lured us in and then played long balls, so as an attacker I didn't put any pressure on them when we were leading. I walked into the changing room and the president grabbed me by the neck and dragged me out before saying, Is this how you want to play? Don't you know what your father does to keep you here? I'm 60 and I move more than you do!'
"In the second half, I scored again and we won 4-3. All my team-mates were celebrating in the dressing room but I was in the shower crying because the president had just called my father and agent and said it was a big mistake to bring me to the club.
"I didn't have an apartment, but was staying in a hostel. At the same time, all my friends from home were graduating. I had my father's credit card with me because I wasn't earning any money from football. That's when I really thought, 'What am I doing with my life?'"
Those emotions eventually subsided and David worked hard to secure a regular role in the first team. In the 2024 season, he scored 14 goals in 16 games, but despite interest in his services from leagues higher up the food chain, Kalju initially refused to let David leave under any circumstances: "It was insane. I begged them, 'Please release me'. Those times made me understand how people feel when they have to work a 9-to-5 job they hate."
David's plea worked and Kalju reached an agreement with USG in the summer of 2024 for David to move to Belgium.
Not every transfer has panned out in the way they would’ve hoped, but Chelsea have built an incredible squad over the last few years.
Whether it’s Reece James, Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana at the back; Estevao and Cole Palmer in attack or Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernández in the middle of the park, there is talent everywhere.
However, for all the incredible players they have signed, the Blues have also famously lost more than a few current superstars when they were still young, players like Michael Olise, Jamal Musiala and perhaps most frustrating of all, Declan Rice.
The Arsenal star would be the dream partner for Caicedo, so fans should be delighted about reports linking Chelsea with an international game-changer who could be their Rice.
Chelsea target their own Rice
It feels like it only just closed, but the transfer window will be open again in under a month, and unsurprisingly, Chelsea have started to be linked with a plethora of brilliant players.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
For example, Juventus’ incredibly exciting young winger Kenan Yıldız has been touted for a move to Stamford Bridge, as has Nottingham Forest’s £79m Murillo.
However, as talented as those two are and as much of an impact as they’d have on Enzo Maresca’s squad, neither could be described as remotely like Rice, unlike Eduardo Camavinga.
Yes, according to a recent report from Spain, Chelsea are one of several Premier League teams keen on the Real Madrid monster.
Alongside the West Londoners, the report has revealed that their rivals, Arsenal and Liverpool, are also interested in the 23-year-old.
However, competition isn’t the only potential barrier to this transfer being done, as Real Madrid value their midfield monster at €80m, which is about £70m.
It could therefore be a costly and complicated deal to get over the line, but given Camavinga’s quality and further potential, it’s one Chelsea should fight for, especially as he could be their Rice.
Why Camavinga could be Chelsea's Rice
So when it comes to what makes Rice such an incredible player, most fans and pundits alike would probably point to his ability as an all-action midfielder.
He’s someone who can play as a six if needed, but also thrives as an eight, someone who can help break up play in the middle of the pitch and then create an attacking move for his side.
This is a skill set Camavinga also possesses, and the underlying numbers prove it.
For example, FBref ranks the midfield “war machine” as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, in the top 1% of midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for tackles won and tackles plus interceptions, the top 4% for blocks, the top 8% for progressive carrying distance, the top 12% for passes into the final third and more, all per 90.
Moreover, FBref ranked Rice as the eighth-most similar midfielder to the Frenchman in the 23/24 Champions League campaign.
To understand how this conclusion was reached, you need to look at some of the underlying metrics in which the pair ranked closely.
Camavinga & Rice
Statistics
Camavinga
Rice
Non-Penalty xGoals
0.03
0.03
Expected Assists
0.08
0.06
Passes into the Penalty Area
0.68
0.43
Goal-Creating Actions
0.12
0.11
Shots Blocked
0.68
0.75
Ball Recoveries
5.34
5.81
Aerial Duels Won
1.36
1.18
All Stats via FBref for the 23/24 UCL
These included things like non-penalty expected goals, expected assists, passes into the penalty area, shots blocked, aerial duels won and more, all per 90.
In other words, even back then, the Madrid “duel monster,” as dubbed by analyst Raj Chohan, was showing that impressive balance of attacking and defensive nous he still has today, and that, combined with the fact he’s still just 23, is probably why Xabi Alonso described him as someone with “enormous potential.”
With all that said, there is something the Cabinda-born monster has over the Gunners star: experience of winning the biggest trophies, as he has two Champions League titles and two La Liga titles under his belt.
Ultimately, while it won’t be easy, Chelsea should do what they can to sign Camavinga, as he could become their own Rice.
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Working on perfecting both fingerspin and wristspin, and training for allrounder status, he hopes to make himself indispensable to West Indies cricket
Deivarayan Muthu26-Oct-2025West Indies’ Gudakesh Motie isn’t your average spinner. The 30-year-old, whose primary skill is left-arm fingerspin, can also bowl wristspin with that arm, turning the ball away from left-handers, denying them a favourable match-up. Clips of him bowling left-arm wristspin to left-handers in Guyana’s Global Super League earlier this year went viral.T20 continues to move forward at warp speed, and Motie is expanding his skills and range to keep up. Besides being the second highest wicket-taker in the CPL since his debut in September 2021, behind only Imran Tahir, his captain at Guyana Amazon Warriors, Motie was recently picked by Paarl Royals in the SA20, and is also part of Quetta Qavalry in the Abu Dhabi T20 league. He has previously had stints in the PSL (Multan Sultans) and UAE’s ILT20 (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders) as well.”[Left-arm wristspin] is something I’ve been working on for quite a long time now,” Motie said on the sidelines of a spin-centric camp at the Super Kings Academy in Chennai earlier this month, ahead of West Indies’ tour of Bangladesh. “I think I’m not perfect with it yet and I still have a lot of work to do. That’s something I want to go in the nets and work on, so that I can get it and use it whenever I’m under pressure or bowling to a left-hander.”Related
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Motie's four-for puts Amazon Warriors in third successive CPL final
Whether he’s bowling to a left- or right-hander, Motie sees himself as a strike bowler in T20. The numbers back him up as well. In his four years in the format, he has taken 118 wickets in 104 innings at a strike rate of 17.7, which is better than fellow West Indians Sunil Narine (23.1) and Akeal Hosein (20.60) and comparable with elite T20 spinners like Noor Ahmad (17.3) and Rashid Khan (17.0) during this period.”Well, whenever I’m bowling to a left-hander or anyone, I just look to get them out as quickly as possible, because I see myself as a wicket-taker,” Motie said. “And if they’re coming at me, I just find ways to get them off strike.”At Amazon Warriors in the CPL and the Global Super League, Motie has had veteran Tahir as a sounding board. “Imran is always there to pass on his knowledge to me, so I try to use him as best as possible,” he said. “Whenever we are training, I look at him, look at what he’s doing differently and ask him a lot of questions.”Hometown hero: Motie has won the CPL and the Global Super League with Guyana Amazon Warriors•Randy Brooks/CPL T20/Getty ImagesMotie is now one of the faces of Amazon Warriors along with Tahir and is a crowd favourite in Providence. As a homegrown player, Motie relishes the crowd support and hopes to make the country proud.”Well, it’s a very proud moment for me. The people in Guyana really love me,” Motie said. “So every opportunity I get, I just want to go out and do it for my family and my country.”It all began at the Albion cricket club in Guyana. “I started to practice [at the club] when I was six years old,” Motie recalled. “I was very young and from there, I was really committed to whatever I wanted. I know cricket was the only thing for me at that age, going forward. And then, I went on to play for Guyana at the youth level at age ten. And going on from there, I went on to play for the same team, played all ages and made my first-class debut in 2015. I took it forward from there.He had two senior international pros to learn from. “I had Veerasammy Permaul and Devendra Bishoo there with me. They are a very big help to me in my career so far because I learned most of my bowling from those two guys. They were playing for West Indies at the time I was playing youth cricket [for Guyana]. So whatever they know, they’re always passing it on to me and we always work together.”Motie left England captain Ben Stokes dumbfounded with a delivery that exploded out of the footmarks and blew away his middle stump•Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesMotie also draws inspiration from other giants of spin. “Coming through, there were players like [Daniel] Vettori and [Ravindra] Jadeja. I’ve picked up a lot of things from Vettori – the way he uses the crease and the pace with which he bowls.”Like Vettori did back in the day, Motie also brings the traditional skills of a left-arm fingerspinner. He can give the ball a rip and toss it up liberally, daring batters to go after him. When Ben Stokes tried to whip him hard into the leg side in the Lord’s Test last year, Motie got one to fizz out of the footmarks and knock out middle stump. That ball elicited a nod of acknowledgement from Stokes at the time.”I was just trying to hit my length there and there was a rough outside there,” Motie said. “But, fortunately, it spun and went through and hit the stump, which I was very happy with. It was a big wicket for me.”Motie was rested for the recent two-match Test series in India, but remains a crucial part of West Indies’ plans for next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. He is yet to play international cricket in India – he has played a handful of games in Sri Lanka – but he seems to have a fair understanding of what to do in these conditions, thanks to his camp with Keacy Carty, Sherfane Rutherford, Amir Jangoo, Ackeem Auguste, and CWI talent manager Jamal Smith at the Super Kings academy earlier this month.Motie hopes that the experience of bowling for the first time on black- and red-soil pitches in Chennai at the CSK camp will prove valuable in next year’s T20 World Cup•Super Kings Academy”It was a very good opportunity to come to Chennai because you’re bowling on different pitches,” Motie said. “It’s black and red soils, which I haven’t bowled on before. I think it’s a great opportunity for me to gain that experience, going to play a series in Bangladesh and then the World Cup here.”Motie also has ambitions of being an allrounder. He showed his batting potential in his ODI half-centuries against England in 2025 and against Sri Lanka in 2024. Occasionally, Amazon Warriors have also used him as a pinch-hitter in the CPL.”Definitely, that [batting] is something I’ve been working on for quite some time now,” Motie said. “I want to turn into a general allrounder. I don’t want to just be a bowler; I want to contribute with the bat too. I’ve been putting in a lot of work and I came here and put a lot of work into it. So, hopefully, whenever I get the opportunity, I can do it.”West Indies are in the middle of a big block of cricket: their ongoing white-ball tour of Bangladesh will be followed by an all-format tour of New Zealand, with the T20 World Cup being the marquee ICC event in 2026. Motie’s form and multi-dimensional skills could be central to their chances, especially in the white-ball game, during this busy period for them.