Their team Timor-Leste has had a tough start to international cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Nov-2025Timor-Leste’s Suhail Sattar, 50, and Yahya Suhail, 17, are the first father and son duo to play together in an international match. They achieved the unique feat, and batted together, in Timor-Leste’s first international match, against hosts Indonesia in Bali on November 6.Yahya and Sattar, though, are not the first parent and child to play together in an international match. The Switzerland women’s team had a mother-daughter duo – Metty Fernandes and Naina Metty Saju – playing six T20Is together this year.There are other instances of father-son duos playing with each other – as well as against each other – in domestic cricket. Shivnarine Chanderpaul and his son Tagenarine played 11 first-class games together for Guyana, with Shivnarine even captaining his son in a game against Windward Islands at Providence Stadium in March 2014.More recently, in the 2025 Shpageeza Cricket League final, Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi played against his son Hassan Eisakhil.Timor-Leste have had a rough start to international cricket, suffering ten-wicket defeats in each of their first three games.

Ruben Amorim has challenged Matheus Cunha to raise his game after a slow start to his Manchester United career and to avoid being too affected by social media criticism over his lack of goals and assists. Cunha has scored only one goal for the Red Devils following his £62.5m move from Wolves in the summer but will have the chance to increase his account against West Ham on Thursday.

• Cunha set to return against West Ham

  Cunha missed United's last two games against Crystal Palace and Everton due to a knock to the head he sustained in training but was seen back with his team-mates at Carrington on Wednesday preparing for the next game against the Irons. It is the second spell Cunha has had on the sidelines following his big-money move from Wolves and Amorim admitted that the Brazilian forward has a lot more to give.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  Cunha 'thinking too much about numbers'

  Amorim told a press conference: "I think he has more levels to go. He's in the different club, different pressure, but I think he copes with that really well. He was struggling because he was not scoring and because of social media views, he was thinking too much about the numbers, but the influence that he has in the team is so important for us. But I think I think Cunha has so much to grow defensively and offensively."

• Amorim addresses Yoro 'frustration'

  Amorim also addressed Leny Yoro, who was visibly distraught on the sidelines at Selhurst Park on Sunday after being hooked at half-time against Crystal Palace, having given away the penalty from which the Eagles took the lead in United's eventual 2-1 victory. Amorim welcomed Mason Mount giving support to Yoro but he also hinted that the defender is too sensitive. 

  The coach explained: "It's really important [the support from Mount]. Of course, I also spoke with him because he thinks too much. He makes some mistakes in the game, and then he struggles because he's too young and he wants to do everything so well. He’s growing, with games and with setbacks, it’s not easy for him as a young guy. 

  "He cannot give that to the people the way he came to the bench, he understands that but he was really frustrated. On the good side it shows that he cares, he knows it wasn’t his best game but he did some things well and I showed him that also. He’s fit and ready for the next challenge."

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  Cunha has opportunity to boost numbers in coming weeks

  Cunha's only Premier League goal for United came in the 4-2 win over Brighton in October but the Red Devils have a relatively kind set of fixtures coming up in which he can boost his numbers. On Thursday they host a West Ham side who are 17th in the Premier League table and have only one away match all season. Next Monday Cunha faces an emotional return to former club Wolves, who have fallen on hard times since he departed for Old Trafford.

  Wolves have taken just two points all season and are still without a victory. If they continue on their current rate of results they will break Derby County's unwanted record of taking the fewest points in Premier League history.

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.

Getty Images Sport'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."

AdvertisementGetty ImagesUSWNT'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.

Getty Images'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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Getty ImagesWhat 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 20-team tournament will be played at three venues in Sri Lanka and five in India

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-2025The ICC has finalised Ahmedabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai as the venues in India for the 2026 men’s T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Sri Lanka as well. It is understood the ICC has shortlisted two venues in Colombo and Kandy as the three venues in Sri Lanka.The T20 World Cup is set to begin on February 7 and will conclude with the final in Ahmedabad on March 8. According to PTI, the ICC is likely to release the schedule next week, with just about three months to go for the start of the tournament. It is understood that the majority of the participating countries have been waiting for the ICC to inform them about the grouping of teams as well as the schedule. The ICC is also yet to release ticketing information for the tournament.Pakistan will play all their games in Sri Lanka as per the agreement reached between the BCCI and PCB for India and Pakistan to play at neutral venues during multi-nation tournaments hosted by the other country. If Pakistan make the final, the fixture will be held in Sri Lanka.The 2026 T20 World Cup will have the same format as the previous edition – 20 teams split into four groups of five each, with every team playing the others once. The top two teams from each group will progress to the Super-eight stage, where they will be placed into two groups of four. The top two sides from each Super-eight group will then qualify for the semi-finals. The winners of the semi-final will meet in the final.Apart from hosts India and Sri Lanka, the other teams with automatic qualification to the tournament were the top seven teams from the 2024 T20 World Cup – Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, United States of America and West Indies. The three teams that qualified on the basis of their T20I rankings were New Zealand, Pakistan and Ireland.Canada took the lone spot from the Americas Qualifier. Italy, first time T20 World Cup participants, and Netherlands qualified from the five-team tournament in Europe. Namibia and Zimbabwe grabbed the two spots from the eight-team Africa qualifier before Nepal, Oman and UAE made it from the Asia-EAP round.India are the defending champions, having beaten South Africa in the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup in Barbados.

The fourth edition of UAE’s T20 tournament is also beginning earlier than usual to avoid clashes with the BBL and SA20

Abhijato Sensarma01-Dec-2025When does it start?The finalists from last season – Dubai Capitals and Desert Vipers – meet in Dubai to kick off proceedings on December 2. Most of the fixtures begin at 6.30pm local time, with the afternoon fixtures – on double-header days – starting from 2pm.The last time these two teams met, Capitals chased down a target of 190 thanks to a 38-ball 63 from Rovman Powell, and a bruising 34 off 12 from Sikandar Raza, in a thrilling last-over finish.Sikandar Raza took Dubai Capitals to their maiden title win last year•ILT20Is there a clash with BBL and SA20 this time too?To avoid a major clash with these two tournaments, in fact, the ILT20 has decided to start this season earlier than the January window in which it has been previously played: the matches are being played between December 2 and January 4. This gives players more leeway to appear for the entire duration of the competition, before the new year brings around a hectic franchise calendar with it.Australia’s Big Bash League is starting on December 14, and a few players might leave the tournament midway through to fulfill their commitments down under. The SA20 starts on December 26 which means former MI Emirates captain Nicholas Pooran might head out, among others, to appear for the MI franchise on another continent.The tournament runs on for a total of 34 matches – 30 league games, followed by the knockouts. The teams that finish first and second will meet in Qualifier 1, in Abu Dhabi on December 30 – the winner of this encounter proceeds to the final. Then, the third- and fourth-placed teams from the group stage face off in the Eliminator, on January 1 in Dubai.Related

Kieron Pollard to captain MI Emirates in ILT20

ILT20: MI Emirates sign Pooran, Pollard as wildcards

R Ashwin goes unsold in inaugural ILT20 player auction

ILT20 games in future seasons could be held in Saudi Arabia

The Eliminator’s winner then takes on the loser from the opening knockout match in Qualifier 2, on January 2 in Sharjah. The final will be played two days later.How are the teams shaping up this year?The same six teams as the previous season form the line-up for this edition: Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Desert Vipers, Dubai Capitals, Gulf Giants, MI Emirates and Sharjah Warriorz.The tournament has had healthy competition so far: Gulf Giants won the inaugural title, MIE dominated during their second season run, and Capitals joined them as a third new winner during the competition’s first three years.Kieron Pollard will be MI Emirates’ new captain•ILT20And their captains?There’s been quite a shuffle this year, in fact: Kieron Pollard takes over from Pooran as MIE captain. Dasun Shanaka takes over from Sam Billings to lead defending champions Capitals, while Jason Holder takes over from Sunil Narine as the captain of Knight Riders.On the other hand, Lockie Ferguson continues as captain for Desert Vipers – he is on a comeback trail after an injury layoff, and his performances here will be crucial to his roadmap to playing for New Zealand in next year’s T20 World Cup. James Vince stays on as Gulf Giants’ captain too, while Tim Southee will continue leading Warriorz.Who are the other players to watch out for?ILT20 had its first player auction in October, and the squads are stacked with exciting talent. West Indies wicketkeeper-batter Andre Fletcher fetched a record bid of USD 260,000 from MIE, who retained him for a fourth successive season of explosive batting at the top of the order.Muhammad Waseem, Sikandar Raza, and Waqar Salamkheil pose with championship belts during the previous edition•ILT20Emirates opted to retain Muhammad Waseem too – he is a compulsive six-hitter from UAE, having hit 187 T20I sixes, trailing only Rohit Sharma (205).Pakistan-born UAE pacer, Junaid Siddique, was also part of a bidding war at the auction – Warriorz eventually snatched up a bowler who has been in great form, finishing as the third-highest wicket-taker at this year’s Asia Cup.Development players at ILT20

From Saudi Arabia: Usman Najeeb (Dubai Capitals), Abdul Salam Khan (Sharjah Warriorz), Zain Ul Abidin (MI Emirates), Abdul Manan Ali (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders), Faisal Khan (Desert Vipers) and Ishtiaq Ahmad (Gulf Giants)

From Kuwait: Mohamed Aslam (Sharjah Warriors), Mohamed Shafeeq (MI Emirates), Bilal Tahir (Desert Vipers), Meet Bhavsar (Gulf Giants), Adnan Idrees (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders), and Anudeep Chenthamara (Dubai Capitals)

Matheesha Pathirana was released by CSK last month, but this has freed him up to slot in as a replacement player for Warriorz. England batter Jordan Cox – who scored 367 runs at an average of 61.16, and an explosive strike-rate of 173.93 at The Hundred – will fly in to play for Capitals.Moeen Ali – will be turning out for Giants alongside Vince, while Sunil Narine and Andre Russell, who recently retired from the IPL, will continue to lend their services to Knight Riders in the ILT20.Jordan Cox has been in great T20 form this year•Getty ImagesWait… …R Ashwin isn’t playing?Nope, your notes are quite correct. He went unsold, as the only player with a base price in six figures at the auction. However, that doesn’t mean there is a dearth of Indian action at the tournament: Dinesh Karthik is the biggest name on this roster, heading to Sharjah Warriorz as their keeper-batter.Former Under-19 captain, and current USA player, Unmukt Chand will be turning out for Knight Riders. Piyush Chawla, meanwhile, was announced as a wildcard for Knight Riders.Anything else to keep in mind?Yes – Vipers bid for Pakistan players Fakhar Zaman, Naseem Shah, and Hasan Nawaz, but their availability for the tournament was in jeopardy after PCB declared that they would not be granting NOCs to their players for tournaments outside Pakistan. However, it is understood that PCB has granted the certificates to these three players, and they will now appear at the tournament.The ILT20 has started to expand its footprint in the Gulf and has cobbled tie-ups with the cricket associations in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Six young players each from each country were bought by the six ILT20 franchises as development players at the auction recently.

Manchester United are scaling up under Ruben Amorim and may now find themselves in the driving seat to land an England international on one condition.

Man Utd dig deep to see off Crystal Palace

Despite Crystal Palace’s recent form and a loss for the Red Devils at home to Everton on Monday, Manchester United rallied from a goal down to defeat the Eagles courtesy of goals from Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount.

Bruno Fernandes was the architect for his side and a major driving force behind their victory, which has moved the English giants further up the Premier League table as they look to qualify for European competition.

Speaking post-match, Amorim praised his side for the control they had over proceedings after they managed to break their duck in a notoriously difficult fixture encompassing years gone by.

He stated via BBC Sport: “It was small details that helped. The pace and intensity was better in the second half. I could see that Palace were getting tired at the end of the first half and knew they would suffer if we scored.

“We went on to control the game well away from our goal and in the opposition half. We controlled the game well but just have to be careful about what we did in the first half.”

There is no time for rest at Manchester United, who will now prepare for a quickfire double header against West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers, offering the prospect of more points in their mission to scale the table.

Either way, their squad has started to be stretched, and the next window or two will be pivotal for the long-term future of Amorim’s tenure, and he could now be set to raid a Premier League rival to sign an England international.

Man Utd confident they can sign Adam Wharton under one condition

According to The Mirror, Manchester United are confident they can sign Adam Wharton from Crystal Palace if they achieve continental qualification this term.

Amorim believes the 21-year-old is an ideal fit for his vision at Old Trafford, though it is said the former Blackburn Rovers man is likely to snub a move should the Red Devils fail to achieve their goal of European football.

Adam Wharton vs Man Utd (Fotmob)

Chances created

1

Accurate passes

23/28

XG + XA

0.18

Defensive contributions

13

Passes in the final third

9

Part of this focus comes from the fact that he is ready to take a step onto the biggest stage. Should a summer move come to fruition, he would likely be keen to consolidate his name at one of the elite after playing a part for England at the World Cup.

Joao Gomes, Conor Gallagher and Elliot Anderson are also on the Red Devils’ list. However, Wharton, valued at £70m is their number one choice and has previously been labelled “incredible” by Eberechi Eze.

With two assists under his belt in 18 appearances across all competitions this term, the Three Lions man has imposed himself on the top-flight and would likely be a premium grade long-term replacement for Casemiro if a deal were to go through.

Man Utd now told they can sign "intense" want-away England star for £26m in 2026

The Red Devils could land a bargain deal.

ByTom Cunningham Nov 30, 2025

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