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The New York Yankees have a glaring need at third base, and not too much time to figure out a solution.

MLB's trade deadline is rapidly approaching, looming just three weeks away, and the Yankees find themselves in a bit of a rut. The team limped through the month of June, going 12-14, before getting swept in a four-game series at the start of July.

With Jazz Chisholm Jr. set to return to his more trained position of second base, New York is set to deploy Oswald Peraza at the hot corner. He has an OPS of .487 and an OPS+ of 37. For a team hoping to contend for a World Series, that won't suffice.

Finding the right third baseman within the organization seems unlikely at this point, so a trade feels like the best route to address the position. There could be a few third baseman available on the market, and the Yankees should absolutely be making phone calls in the coming weeks in order to get a deal done.

Here are a few players they could target:

Eugenio Suarez, Arizona Diamondbacks

It was an unfortunate toss to win, but India will look back at how they faced up to the challenge and question their methods

Sidharth Monga17-Oct-20241:53

Should India be worried about Australia after 46 all out?

If you were to fantasise a scenario in which New Zealand, coming off a 2-0 loss in Sri Lanka, were to challenge India in India – unbeaten for 18 straight series at home – the fantasy would have looked quite close to, if not exactly like, what happened in Bengaluru. It had been raining in the lead-up to the Test, the first day was washed out, overcast skies were expected, and as the final piece in the fantasy, you would expect New Zealand to insert India and run through them.The last bit of it, in fact, changed a little. New Zealand wanted to bat first, but were denied the death wish by India. That’s because of the dry pitch. If anything, India were clearer in what they wanted to do: bat first and play three spinners. New Zealand’s second spinner was Glenn Phillips, and they still wanted to bat first.With that stroke of luck, New Zealand put India through the wringer of good length and consistent seam movement. In the first session, Matt Henry drew an average seam movement of 1.3 degrees, Tim Southee 1 degree and Will O’Rourke 0.8. Himanish Ganjoo, analyst and cricket writer, tweeted it was not just the seam – 0.87 degrees median seam in 30 overs compared to 0.5 degrees in the last three years in India – but also 20% extra bounce compared to the last three years.Related

• 'Relentless' Matt Henry revels in the gloom

• Rohit Sharma 'hurting' after misjudging Bengaluru pitch

• Pant stays off the field after picking up knee injury while keeping

• Stats – India plumb new lows on their way to 46 all out

• India 46 all out as Henry and Conway create New Zealand's dream day

Once both the sides misjudged the conditions and India were the unfortunate ones to win the toss, the New Zealand seam bowlers were just perfect for the conditions. No drive balls, about half the balls on good length, and the extra bounce for O’Rourke.That said, India will look back at how they faced up to the challenge and question their methods. This was not like the 36 all out, the closest such event in recent memory, where the ball actually seamed less that morning and India were bundled out in just 32 false shots. Here India batted almost out of muscle memory and hoped to just hit the bowlers off their length. It took 75 false shots for India to be bowled out, which is not a million miles away from about the 10 it usually takes for a wicket on an average in Test cricket.Yashasvi Jaiswal started off leaving the ball, but drove loosely to just the 12th ball he faced. There was no reason why he should have drove at that ball in particular: it was neither overpitched nor wide. He tried to walk at the bowlers to cut down the movement, but there were 21 false shots in his 63-ball stay, 10 of those drives and aggressive shots. He could just as easily have got out to a shot that looked ugly.Rohit Sharma was not so lucky. He was bowled the first time he tried to hit out. Rishabh Pant enjoyed Jaiswal-like luck, surviving 20 false shots and a dropped catch before nicking to second slip. Sarfaraz Khan, asked to bat higher than he does in domestic cricket, took the attacking option third ball with no luck.KL Rahul was out for a six-ball duck•Getty ImagesWhile it sounds brave and selfless of Virat Kohli and Sarfaraz to bat out of position, India will also question if KL Rahul was not the best man for No. 3 in these conditions. Rahul is one of only two Asian opening batters to have scored a century in all three of Australia, South Africa and England. Rahul’s resolute old-fashioned grinding down of England, in partnership with Rohit, was the reason why India drew 2-2 in England.If India had a week to prepare for the conditions they got in Bengaluru, chances are they would have buckled down similarly. Instead they did what came to most of them instinctively: counterattack. There is logic to that too, as you don’t want to be sitting ducks on a seaming pitch. You can’t dismiss this thought process straight off the bat, but as the control figures and the final score shows, you are leaving a lot to luck if you keep on attacking in these conditions and if the bowlers are not erring in length at all.Traditional wisdom suggests you try to ride out the period of extravagant seam movement and hope that you still have one or two specialist batters left when the seam becomes softer and the sun comes out. Here, India didn’t trust the traditional wisdom, either because things were so different to their expectations that they were too shocked to respond or because they consciously decided not to do so. The ones who did – Kohli and Rahul – were unlucky to get out before they could get in.You can still get out for 46 or 36 doing that, but you can look back and say you tried to give yourselves a chance and then move on and hope for better luck another day. India did just that in Australia after 36 all out. This day, you suspect, won’t be so easy to erase from memory.

Former Premier League star Kevin Doyle, who represented the likes of Wolves and Reading in his playing days, has been caught on camera appearing to call Dominik Szoboszlai a “Liverpool c***”. Said words were allegedly uttered during the wild celebrations which accompanied the Republic of Ireland’s dramatic World Cup qualifying win over Hungary.

• Luck of the Irish: Parrott hat-trick secures play-off berth

  Ex-Ireland international Doyle was helping to cover that game for RTE Sports. The 42-year-old lost his composure after seeing Troy Parrott complete a historic hat-trick at the Puskas Arena. Said effort was recorded in the 96th minute of an epic encounter that saw Ireland trailing a must-win contest with just 10 minutes remaining.

  One-time Tottenham striker Parrott, who is now plying his trade in the Netherlands for AZ, helped to turn that tie on its head. With the Irish going on to prevail 3-2, they have now booked a World Cup play-off berth – presenting them with a shot at qualification for the 2026 finals.

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• What ex-Ireland star Doyle said during wild celebrations

  Jubilant Doyle was left wheeling around the RTE studio after seeing Parrott land himself a match ball in Budapest. An edited version of his celebration was posted by RTE, but the full scenes were captured off camera – with an uncut video making its way onto social media.

  In that, Doyle appears to bellow in the direction of current Anfield star Szoboszlai: "Suck on that you Liverpool c***!” He then apologises to former Reds midfielder Dietmar Hamann, who was also on punditry duty.

  Doyle hung up his boots in 2017 having finished his career in MLS with the Colorado Rapids. He has moved into media work since then, while also stepping up his long-standing interest in horse racing.

  While he was left beaming at the end of Ireland’s stunning victory over Hungary, Szoboszlai – who has been putting his versatility to good use at Premier League champions Liverpool this season – said when asked how much his heart aches after missing out on a World Cup berth: “Very much.”

• Emotional Parrott reacts to historic hat-trick for Ireland

  Ireland hero Parrott – who also bagged a brace when downing Portugal in a game that saw Cristiano Ronaldo sent off – told as emotion spilled out of him on the back of becoming the first man to net a hat-trick away from home for The Boys in Green: “I'm really really emotional right now…sorry. They're tears of joy. What a night. What a night.

  “I'd rather have that pressure on me and whatever happens will happen, rather than put it on somebody else and leave it out of my hands. I can't believe it. I really can't believe it. This is why we love football because things like this can happen.

  “Look, I love where I'm from. So this means the world to me. My family is here…this is the first time I've cried in years as well. It's unbelievable. Everyone's crying. I said against Portugal that this is what dreams are made of but tonight, I don't think I'll ever have a better night in my whole life. It really is a fairytale. You can't even dream about something like that. Honestly, I have no words to describe the emotions right now.

  “Everyone wrote us off at the start of the group. But I couldn't have said it enough, that there's always a chance. And we've taken the chance. Everyone should be proud of the group of players that are over there. To go down twice and come back like that, it's beautiful.”

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  2026 World Cup play-off draw: When is it & who could Ireland face?

  Ireland will now take their place in the play-off draw, which will be held on November 20. The semi-finals are set to start on March 26, 2026, with the finals getting underway five days later. There are 16 teams fighting for just four places at the World Cup finals.

  Having kept themselves in the hunt for tickets, Ireland could be paired with the likes of Wales, Slovakia, Scotland, Czechia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Kosovo. They will fear nobody when looking to complete a fairytale run to another major international tournament.

Manchester City’s victory over Liverpool on Sunday afternoon was a sensational performance which gave Pep Guardiola’s side even more daylight on the 2024/25 Premier League champions.

City put Liverpool to the sword in Guardiola’s 1000th game as a manager, running out 3-0 victors.

The East Mancunian side are still some way off the top of the table, with Arsenal four points clear and comfortably leading the way. Yet, City are finding their best form, having now won four of their last five games, and leading the way for the most goals scored in the top flight.

The main reason for that form in front of goal is Erling Haaland.

How Haaland's start to 2025/26 compares to other seasons

It has got to the point where you watch Haaland now and wonder when, not if, he will score. The Norwegian striker is the most clinical player in the Premier League, and, despite being 108 games into his English top-flight career, is already one goal away from a century.

This season, Haaland has been at his very best. In the Premier League, he’s found the back of the net 14 times in just 11 games.

All of those have come from open play, too, a run which has stayed intact after missing a penalty against Liverpool. Of course, he still got on the scoresheet on Sunday anyway.

City’s striker is in exceptional form, and it does seem nigh on impossible to stop him. But, this is not even his best start to a Premier League season for City. That came in his debut campaign back in 2022/23, when he bagged 15 goals in the first 11 matches.

The following term, 2023/24, was his worst start. That is ironic, given that his 11 goals in as many games would be the ideal way for most strikers to begin the campaign. In 2024/25, Haaland has 12 goals in the first 11 games.

With 19 goals for City in all competitions, it is fair to say the City number 9 is in the form of his life. Yet, there is one of his teammates who could also be in that category.

Man City star is hitting his best form alongside Haaland

Things are starting to click for Guardiola’s side in recent weeks, with Haaland, of course, looking at his very best. Phil Foden is another player who is motoring and has put in some excellent performances in the Champions League.

But it is the man who was player of the match against Liverpool who looks to be in the form of his life. Jeremy Doku shone against the Reds with a dazzling display, capped off with a goal of the highest quality.

It was a performance from the winger which will live long in the memory of City fans. He completed an unbelievable seven out of eight dribbles and was relentless against Conor Bradley.

His goal from the edge of the box saw him drive inside, buy a yard of space and unleash an effort that sailed into the top right corner.

It is not only that game that suggests Doku is playing his best football yet. City’s number 11 has some exceptional underlying numbers, averaging 3.33 key passes and 10.72 progressive carries per 90 minutes. Both of these rank him in the top 1% of positionally similar players in the Premier League.

Described as an “unstoppable” force by BBC Sport analyst Umir, the Belgian winger already has three goals and four assists in 16 games for the Citizens this term. His best campaign saw him get 17 goals and assists across all competitions, so to be 41% of the way to that total is impressive.

With the sort of form the 23-year-old is showcasing this season, it is easy to see how he is in the form of his life. At the current rate, he could easily have his most productive season in terms of goals and assists, whilst helping City push for titles in all competitions.

Man City "genius" looks like the player Liverpool thought Wirtz would be

This Man City star has outshone Wirtz in less minutes this season

1

By
Joe Nuttall

Nov 7, 2025

CSK have now lost five successive games at home, which also ends their playoffs chances

Sampath Bandarupalli30-Apr-20252:10

Is CSK losing five times at home IPL’s biggest shocker?

5 – Defeats for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Chepauk in IPL 2025, the most for them in a single edition. They lost four matches each in 2008 and 2012, including the final.CSK have now lost five games in a row in at home this season since defeating Mumbai Indians (MI) in their opening game. Only three teams have lost more home matches on the bounce in an IPL season. Deccan Chargers, in 2008, lost all seven home games, while Punjab Kings (PBKS) lost six at home after winning their first game in 2023 and 2024. Pune Warriors India also lost six in a row after winning their first two games at home in 2012.3 – Number of players including Yuzvendra Chahal to take multiple hat-tricks in the IPL. Chahal’s first hat-trick came against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2022. Amit Mishra has three IPL hat-tricks, while Yuvraj Singh has two.Related

• 'It's a feel thing for him' – Simons says Pathirana is close to being back at his best

• Ponting: Shreyas 'understands game situations better than ever before'

• Hat-trickster Chahal is still making batters look silly

• Injured Maxwell in danger of missing rest of IPL; Ponting says 'stay tuned' for replacements

• Dhoni says CSK 'need to take some catches' after falling 'slightly short'

1 – CSK have been bowled out in successive matches for the first time in the IPL. They were cleaned up for 154 in their previous game by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). That was the first time CSK were bowled out in an IPL match since the introduction of the Impact Player rule in IPL 2023.9 – Chahal now has nine four-plus wicket-hauls in the IPL, the most by any bowler. He went past Sunil Narine, who has eight.1 – Chahal also became the first bowler to take a hat-trick against CSK in the IPL. Parvinder Awana took a hat-trick against CSK in 2014 while playing for PBKS (then Kings XI Punjab), but that was in a CLT20 match.Chahal’s hat-trick was the fifth for the Punjab franchise in the IPL and the first since Sam Curran’s effort against Delhi Capitals (DC) in 2019. They now share the record with Rajasthan Royals (RR).11 – Number of balls PBKS took to pick the last six CSK wickets, the fewest for any team in an IPL innings. SRH took 13 balls to take the last six wickets of Pune Warriors in 2013, and PBKS also needed 13 deliveries against SRH in 2020.4 – Wickets for Chahal in the 19th over of CSK’s innings. This is the second time that he’s picked up four wickets in an over in the IPL, with the other instance coming in 2022 against KKR when he took his previous hat-trick. Amit Mishra against Pune Warriors in 2013 and Andre Russell against Gujarat Titans (GT) in 2022 are the others with a four-wicket over in the IPL.Yuzvendra Chahal picked up four wickets in an over and celebrated like only he can•Getty ImagesChahal is now one of only three bowlers to take four-plus wickets in an over in men’s T20s on multiple occasions (where ball-by-ball data is available). Russell and Shaheen Shah Afridi also have multiple four-wicket overs in T20s.203 – CSK’s predicted score as per ESPNcricinfo’s Forecaster after 18.1 overs, when they were 184 for 5. CSK lost the remaining five wickets in seven balls to get bowled out for 190.CSK’s 190 is the highest by any team when they were bowled out when batting first in the IPL. RR’s 185 against PBKS in 2021 was the previous highest, although they batted all 20 overs.1 – The CSK-PBKS match on Wednesday became the first in the IPL featuring four uncapped players to open the batting. Shaik Rasheed and Ayush Mhatre opened the batting for CSK, while Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh opened for PBKS.1 – CSK have failed to make it to the playoffs in successive seasons for the first time in the IPL. This is the fourth time that they have failed to make it to the final four – in 2020, 2022, 2024 and now 2025.

As they attempt to hold off the Mariners in a furious American League West race, the Astros may soon have back one of their most formidable weapons.

Houston designated hitter Yordan Alvarez will begin a rehab assignment Tuesday with the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks, Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters Sunday via Chandler Rome of .

Alvarez, 28, has not played since May 2 in what has for the most part been a lost season. He slashed an uncharacteristic .210/.306/.340 with three home runs and 18 RBIs before a lingering hand injury forced him onto the injured list; a July setback delayed his return even further.

The ailment pressed pause on Alvarez's extraordinary, still-young career. In seven seasons, he's slashed .295/.387/.573 and averaged 41 home runs, 119 RBIs and 5.7 bWAR per 162 games.

Houston, which leads the AL West by 1.5 games, will close a series with the Orioles Sunday before heading north for a seismic three-game showdown with the Tigers.

Left-arm wristspinner is returning to India to prepare for the upcoming Test series against South Africa

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Nov-2025Left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav has been released from the T20I squad in Australia to return to India and prepare for the upcoming Test series against South Africa.Kuldeep has now been included in the India A squad for the second four-day game against South Africa A beginning on November 6 at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. India A won the first game on Sunday, with Rishabh Pant scoring 90 in a chase of 275.The BCCI said in a statement that the request to release Kuldeep had come from the Indian team management. Kuldeep had played only one of the three ODIs and the first two T20Is in Australia. He was left out of the XI for the third T20I in Hobart and Washington Sundar took his spot. India play the fourth and fifth T20Is in Carrara and Brisbane on November 6 and 8.Related

• Arshdeep and Washington help India level the series against Australia

• Kamboj, Suthar take India A home after Pant 90

• Arshdeep's career highlights the balancing act T20 cricket imposes on India

India’s first Test against South Africa starts on November 14 in Kolkata.

India squad for last two T20Is in Australia

Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (vc), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar.

India A squad for second four-day game vs South Africa A

Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sai Sudharsan (vc), Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Harsh Dubey, Tanush Kotian, Manav Suthar, Khaleel Ahmed, Gurnoor Brar, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav

GOAL reviews the major takeaways from Americans playing in Europe, including Agyemang getting back to his best.

The USMNT have a few good strikers to work with. What they don’t have, at least not yet, is a great one. This crop is full of ideas, full of talent, but none of them are the finished product. And that in itself comes with a certain appeal: the familiar excitement around what a player isn’t quite yet, but maybe could be. Could Folarin Balogun become world-class? Possibly. But he’ll need a few tweaks – and a sustained run of fitness – before that conversation gets serious.

That uncertainty is what fuels the weekly churn of the U.S. striker discourse, a position where relevance is gained and lost by the game. Patrick Agyemang was barely mentioned a few weeks ago; now, after a well-taken goal in a defeat, he’s back in the mix. Josh Sargent is still struggling to actually put the ball in the net, but a much-needed assist nudged him into the conversation again. And then there’s the mercurial Ricardo Pepi, who scored and assisted for PSV as his manager shifted to a two-striker system just to get him in the side. 

And even in a week in which Christian Pulisic missed action due to an injury, and Chris Richards misfired for Palace, there remains reason for optimism for USMNT hopefuls and regulars alike. 

GOAL looks at the major takeaways from this weekend's Americans Abroad.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  More to come from Agyemang?

  Agyemang's signing with Derby was a puzzling decision at the time. He was scoring goals for Charlotte FC, performing at a high level, and at the very least giving Mauricio Pochettino something to think about. Sure, the money was always going to be better in the EFL Championship, but he had things pretty good in MLS.

  Yet when Derby beckoned, Agyemang answered – and saw his income jump dramatically, from $104,000 at Charlotte to a reported $1.5 million. On the pitch, though, the move hasn’t always made sense. Since returning from the injury he suffered in MLS before the transfer, Agyemang hasn’t consistently looked like a natural fit for John Eustace’s side, alternating between No. 9 and No. 10. He’s a fine footballer, but also a fairly one-dimensional presence.

  Still, the form is coming. And on Saturday against Middlesbrough, he scored a truly lovely goal.

  It was a proper striker’s move – reading the bounce, accelerating away from his defender, and shaping the perfect angle to slot past a helpless goalkeeper. Agyemang isn’t quite the finished product yet, but he’s a regular starter and already has six goal contributions for Derby.

  After the match, Eustace praised him. Odds are, there’s more to come.

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• Adams defies logic

  Have a hit, yeah, Tyler? Sometimes, watching football is hard to comprehend why, exactly, a player does what they do. Sometimes it's a silly decision: a backpass that goes awry, or an ill-advised attempt at a nutmeg. But on Saturday morning, it was Tyler Adams deciding to shoot from 50 yards. And why? It seemed, in real time, a truly puzzling move. But as the ball floated, and the camera adjusted accordingly, his whack down the field looked a stroke of genius. 

  You will see few better goals this season than Adams' long-range clip, the American midfielder recognizing in an instant that the goalkeeper was 15 yards off his line for no apparent reason. It capped off a fine performance in defeat for Adams. He seems to have three lungs these days, a perfect element in the middle of Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth machine, all whirring legs and instinctive moves. Bournemouth lost 3-2 – but if football is about individual moments, then Adams had the best of the weekend, by far. 

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  Richards fails to deliver against United

  Sunday morning's game against Manchester United felt important for Crystal Palace. It will, in all likelihood, be a tricky season forThey secured European football last year, but didn't invest enough over the summer to prove that they can stay there. But big results, such as a late win over Liverpool earlier in the season, showed that there remains plenty of fight here. 

  And Richards will be central to that effort. He has performed wonderfully on the right side of a back three for Oliver Glasner for over a year now, and has been part of a well-drilled defensive system. Man United seemed to be a good test. These are the kinds of games that Palace should win – especially at home. Instead, they were a little mixed. Richards won his headers, but wasn't quite convincing when the ball was on the ground. To be clear, he can't be totally blamed here, but Palace really shouldn't have conceded twice. And the American was part of that letdown. There will be better days…

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  Moments you might have missed

  + Ricardo Pepi scored and assisted in PSV's win over lowly Volendam

  + Brenden Aaronson came off the bench in Leeds' 3-2 loss to Man City

  + Christian Pulisic missed Milan's 1-0 win over Lazio with a knock

  + Weston McKennie played all 90 minutes in Juve's nervy 2-1 win over Cagliari

  + James Sands went the full 90 but couldn't make an impact as St. Pauli conceded a 93rd-minute winner to Bayern Munich 

  + It was a frustrating one for Malik Tillman, who couldn't quite make an impact as Bayer Leverkusen lost 2-1 to Borussia Dortmund 

  + Folarin Balogun was feeding off scraps, but Monaco got the job done in a 1-0 win over PSG

  + Josh Sargent finally found a bit of form and grabbed an assist in Norwich's much-needed victory against QPR 

  + Tim Weah played all 90, but Marseille threw away a late lead against Toulouse 

  + Yunus Musah did not play in Atalanta's 2-0 win over Fiorentina

  + Tanner Tessmann shined in Lyon's 3-0 win over Nantes

Bowling coach Botha is also looking forward to meeting Broad and picking up “one or two new ideas”

Firdose Moonda06-Jun-2025″As a small boy, you want to be involved in Test cricket, and then you want to play against Australia and then you want to play at Lord’s. And then suddenly it happens all at once.”For eight members of the South African squad, this hat-trick of bucket-list items, as described by their bowling coach Piet Botha, will all happen next week. None of Ryan Rickelton, Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Wiaan Mulder, David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Dane Paterson and Senuran Muthusamy have ever played a Test at Lord’s or against Australia. None of the South Africans have ever played in a World Test Championship final before, though five of them, Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj and Kagiso Rabada, were involved in last year’s T20 World Cup final. Everything that happens from here is uncharted territory, which is “big and awesome”, as Botha put it. And which required meticulous planning, which hasn’t happened quite in the way Botha may have envisaged.South Africa bowled only 11 overs at the Zimbabweans on the only day play was possible at Arundel and neither Mulder nor Paterson had the ball in hand. Rabada took the only wicket, Jansen looked particularly threatening, and Lungi Ngidi was sharp. But all of them, as well as Bosch, had lengthy one-on-one conversations with Botha while South Africa batted to fine-tune their ideas for the final.Related

• Boucher: 'Winning WTC final could be the turnaround for Test cricket in South Africa'

• Prince says 'all possibilities open' as SA deal with problem of plenty

• Ben Curran faces time on the sidelines with fractured hand

• Zimbabwe quietly help neighbours SA tune up for their biggest Test

“Obviously, we haven’t played a Test match for six months and because people are all over the world, getting together can get a little bit congested in terms of planning,” Botha said. “We did a lot of stuff actually before we came to England, so we’re just backing up on that and getting our plans around with every individual around a specific bat, specific situation, [what to do with the] old ball, new ball, all that type of stuff.”Talk is cheap (and the South African saying goes on to say that money buys the whiskey, which essentially means it’s easier to say things than the effort it takes to do them) and Botha would have wanted to see those plans in action. He got some opportunity when play was called off 20 minutes before noon on Friday and South Africa set up nets on the outfield. For three hours, South Africa’s batters faced their own bowlers and were occasionally humbled. Paterson beat Stubbs with a ball on a perfect length enough to create uncertainty, Jansen bounced Bavuma with no dramas, and Bosch bowled Tony de Zorzi, who shouldered arms to one he should have played. For what seemed like the meat of the session, Rabada, Jansen, Paterson and Mulder ran in to bowl to Stubbs, Bavuma and later Bedingham and Markram. Does that suggest that is how South Africa will line up at Lord’s? Botha wouldn’t say.Lungi Ngidi bowled just two overs but looked sharp•ICC via Getty Images”We’ve got variation,” Botha said. “Left-arm, people who use a different spot of the crease when they bowl, different pace options, so it’s all about analysing the opposition, seeing the conditions on the day, whether it’s overcast, clear skies, and then you make your calls on the day. It’s not like we pre-plan everything. It’s also about leaving room for in-the-moment stuff.”Given that Rabada and Jansen are certainties, and Mulder should be too (he is likely to bat at No. 3), the biggest question is who among Paterson, Ngidi and Bosch will be the additional seamer. Vernon Philander, who took a five-for when South Africa were crowned No. 1 in 2012, has backed Paterson, for offering the kind of pace that will force batters to attack him and moving the ball both ways, but South Africa might want all-out pace in Bosch or the accuracy and variation of Ngidi. They will also wait to get to London, where they will train on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and receive some additional input from Stuart Broad.The former England international will join South Africa on Monday for part of their training session and then meet with the coaching staff who are looking for “one or two new ideas, maybe”, Botha said. “He’s played against Australia a lot, and at Lords, so basically, maybe a fielding place here or there that he might have found effective and a bit of a mental approach to how to play against Australia.”Broad is not their only source of intel. Paterson has played five games for Middlesex this season, including three at Lord’s and has already spent extra time with Botha. “I’ve had my discussions with him and asked for information,” Botha said. “They played on different strips [to the Test strip], but it was just to get an idea of how the ball behaves in certain spaces, certain parts of the innings, when it’s older, or with the second new ball, that type of information. He’s given us a lot of feedback.”South Africa’s bowling coach Piet Botha speaks to Corbin Bosch•ICC/Getty ImagesRabada has both been to Lord’s and under Australia’s skin before. He is coming off a month-long ban for cocaine use, which could attract sledging, but Botha is unconcerned. “He’s a strong personality and he’s 100% fine,” he said. “He’s had a good support structure around him.”Botha had similar complimentary things to say about his other main strike bowler, Jansen, who Zimbabwe’s batters thought was the toughest to face. “He’s really looking forward to this big occasion,” Botha said. “He’s one of those unique bowlers. If he hits his straps, he’ll be a difficult customer and mentally, he’s ready to go.”Perhaps the better person to ask than Botha is the only opposition South Africa have faced since their last Test in January: Zimbabwe. Word from their camp is that they were particularly impressed with how organised and clear South Africa have been, both in the warm-up game and outside. The teams have been staying at the same hotel and Zimbabwe’s players have noticed a closer-than-usual unity in the South African camp. “What stands out for me is how together they’ve been,” Sean Williams said. “They look like they’re peaking.”Next week will tell.