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Planning for a career after football is always wise, but that usually comes in the form of punditry or coaching. Gary Neville famously did one far more successfully than the other, whilst Mikel Arteta is now one of the best managers in the world.

Alfie Whiteman has done neither after leaving Tottenham Hotspur, however.

The 26-year-old has retired from football to pursue an entirely different dream. The goalkeeper was part of Ange Postecoglou’s Europa League-winning squad just last season, providing backup for Guglielmo Vicario and Antonin Kinsky, but failed to get a single minute on the pitch.

In fact, the goalkeeper’s last senior appearance came on loan at Swedish side Degerfors IF in the 2021/22 campaign. Playing 21 games in the Allsvenskan, Whiteman kept just two clean sheets and conceded 40 goals in a difficult spell.

Life as a goalkeeper and as a professional footballer, Whiteman admitted, was not the dream that he had imagined. The goalkeeper, who left Spurs as a free agent in the summer, recently told The Athletic: “I signed for Spurs at 10 years old. Then I left school at 16 and went straight into this full-time life of football.

“When I was around 17 or 18, living in digs, I just had this feeling inside of, ‘Is this it?’ Getting on the mini bus, going to training, doing the Sports Science BTEC (he also did an A Level in Economics) and going home to play video games. I realised, ‘Oh, I’m not happy here’ from quite a young age.

“The stereotype of a footballer is generally quite true. It’s the golf, washbag culture. I was that young footballer. I wanted the Gucci washbag and I drove the Mercedes. You all just become a reflection of each other. You’re a product of your environment. It’s the way football is in this country; it’s so shut off from anything else. You go to training and then you go home, that’s it.”

Unfulfilled and released from his boyhood club, Whiteman has since gone in pursuit of happiness in the film industry.

Whiteman swaps the football for the camera in stunning change

After earning £1.5m in wages at Spurs, Whiteman has retired from football at 26 years old to become a film director and photographer. The former goalkeeper now works for Somesuch – an award-winning production company – where he plans to take a much more fulfilling career path.

It’s been a long time coming too. During his time sitting on the Spurs bench, Whiteman was working as a runner for directors, photographers and producers in preparation for his dream role. Although the expectancy is for footballers to retire in their 30s, he didn’t wait until then to make the jump.

Although many goalkeepers can boast careers at the highest level, you’ll struggle to find a shot-stopper who’s got his hands on a European trophy and an Oscar, but that’s the dream for Whiteman.

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Bangladesh opener hit 67 off 69 balls in the second ODI but wants to “play long innings”

Mohammad Isam07-Jul-2025Parvez Hossain Emon doesn’t like throwing his wicket away after a good start, but he will not step back from his natural instincts in the third ODI against Sri Lanka on Tuesday. Parvez made a rapid 67 in the second game, which Bangladesh won by 16 runs. It kept them in contention going into Tuesday’s match, and also broke their eight-match losing streak.Parvez rued getting out after making 67 off 69 balls, when Wanindu Hasaranga beat him with a subtle googly.”I didn’t bat long in the last match,” Parvez said on the eve of the third ODI. “I was feeling guilty after getting out because I was set and the wicket was beautiful. I could have scored a hundred that day, and I felt bad about it. [Towhid] Hridoy was unfortunate; he got run-out. We have been talking about it. If we get set, we need to play long innings. We have to be consistent. If we score runs early and consistently, it will be easier for the team to do well.”Related

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Batting first in the second ODI, Bangladesh were bowled out for 248 with Parvez and Towhid Hridoy getting fifties. The visitors have shown a tendency to play a high-risk shot much before getting to a decent score in this ODI series.Parvez said that he is hopeful of getting a good start in the third ODI at the Pallekele International Stadium, a ground which is regarded as one of the better batting wickets in Sri Lanka. Parvez himself has looked in good form, particularly after his breakthrough century against UAE in the T20I series in May.”I try to assess the situation, and play accordingly, and I try to play my natural game,” he said. “I don’t have any set target. I spoke to the guys who have played here earlier, and everyone is saying this wicket will be good for batting. I will try to play a big innings if I get a start.”Parvez also talked about his dismissal in the second ODI, when Hasaranga beat him with a lovely delivery. He said that he missed the line of the ball, but generally felt comfortable playing the Sri Lanka legspinner.”He is a good bowler, but he didn’t give me much trouble,” Parvez said. “I just missed the line on that delivery. Legspinners are important in world cricket, and Rishad [Hossain] is also doing well for us. I am sure if he gets a chance, he will do well.”Bangladesh’s players have a bit of their confidence back after Saturday’s win in Colombo. Parvez said that they are eager to grab the opportunity for the series win.”This is a big chance for us. If we win the match tomorrow, it will be a great series win,” he said. “Everyone is feeling confident. After the win in the last match, the confidence has been building among us, so we will try our best to win tomorrow.”

Leeds United boss Daniel Farke has described out-of-favour Joel Piroe as “the best finisher I’ve ever worked with” and says the striker has a crucial role to play this season.

Farke paid tribute to Piroe before Saturday’s lunch-time kick-off against Tottenham at Elland Road having left the Dutchman out of his side’s previous four starting line-ups.

Piroe’s 19 league goals helped fire Leeds to promotion last season, earning him the Sky Bet Championship’s Golden Boot, but he did not even make Farke’s squad for last month’s defeat at Fulham.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin has emerged as Leeds’ first-choice striker, while Farke has given fellow summer signing Lukas Nmecha the nod off the bench ahead of Piroe in recent matches, with the Whites boss going into Piroe’s versatile ability.

Farke also described Piroe as a “top professional”, adding: “I’m pretty sure that we will see him on many occasions on the pitch and hopefully he can deliver.”

Leeds will bid to extend their unbeaten home league record to 24 matches on Saturday against Tottenham.

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Farke’s side last lost a league game at Elland Road in September last year – 1-0 against Burnley – while a third Premier League win of the season could lift them into the top half of the table.

Tottenham, who have won five of their last six encounters with Leeds, sit fourth after last week’s 1-1 home draw against Wolves and drew 2-2 in Norway against Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday in the Champions League.

Speaking on Michael Clarke’s Beyond23 podcast, he looked forward to India’s contest against England’s batters

ESPNcricinfo staff30-May-2025Jasprit Bumrah, the world’s No. 1 Test bowler, is keen to get his hands on the Dukes ball and play in swinging conditions during India’s upcoming tour of England, which starts with a warm-up game from June 13 to 16 followed by the first Test in Leeds from June 20 to 24.”Playing in England is always a different challenge,” Bumrah told former Australia captain Michael Clarke on the YouTube channel. “I always love bowling with the Dukes ball.”But I don’t know how much the Dukes ball is doing right now because there’s always constant changes to the ball. But the weather, the swinging conditions. And then when the ball becomes soft, there’s always a challenge. So I always look forward to playing in England.”This will be Bumrah’s third bilateral Test series in England – he also played the World Test Championship final there, against New Zealand. His previous eight away Tests against England have brought him 37 wickets at an average of 23.78. He is the most experienced member of an India pace pack that also includes Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh; he felt all of them have the ability to run through oppositions, especially when they bat aggressively like England do.LA 2028 a target

“Now, I’ve heard there’s Olympics in cricket coming as well, so that is something I’m really looking forward to. Who would have thought cricket would become an Olympic sport? So, yeah, that’s something that excites me”

“They’re playing an interesting style of cricket which is interesting because I don’t really understand it too much,” Bumrah said. “But as a bowling unit, we always feel confident that when the batters are being ultra-aggressive, on a given day, anybody could run through and get wickets.”The five Tests in England will be played over 46 days from June 20 to August 4, in Leeds, Birmingham, Lord’s, Manchester and The Oval. Bumrah is unlikely to feature in all five Tests, though, with chief selector Ajit Agarkar having indicated that his worload may need to be closely managed.Related

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With India set for a packed next nine months, which include a T20 World Cup in February 2026, Bumrah said he would play all three formats but pick and choose his games to keep his body fresh.”Obviously, it is tough for any individual to keep playing everything for so long,” he said. “I’ve been doing it for a while, but eventually you have to understand where your body is going, what is the important tournament.”You have to be a little selective and smart about how you use your body. As a cricketer, I would never want to leave anything and always keep on going. But I don’t set goals or look at numbers. Whenever I have [set goals], I’ve never been able to fulfil them.”I just try and enjoy because that’s why I started [playing] this sport. Take one day at a time and collect memories because, at the end of the [career in] sport, that’s all I’ll remember.”

Can Rangers start their Europa League campaign with a victory at Ibrox?

For those who don’t believe the Europa League to be the highest-quality competition around, well, on this occasion, they’d be right, given that Rangers sit second bottom of the Scottish Premiership, while visitors Genk are third bottom of the Jupiler Pro League.

Russell Martin is yet to oversee a league victory in five attempts, but did at least lead his side through to the League Cup semi-finals at the weekend, as the Gers defeated Hibernian 2-0 at home.

Key to that success was Nicolas Raskin, heading home the opening goal, back in the team following a two-match exile, which was both baffling and mystifying, considering he was, by some distance, the club’s best player last season.

If the Light Blues are going to make a winning start in the Europa League, Raskin will be a central figure once again, but Martin must also start his “creative” summer signing in attack.

Djeidi Gassama's start to life at Rangers

The unquestionable star of Rangers’ Champions League qualifying campaign during the summer was Djeidi Gassama.

After arriving from Sheffield Wednesday for £2.2m, the Frenchman announced himself by scoring home and away against Panathinaikos, doubling their advantage at Ibrox, before lashing home the clincher in Athens eight nights later.

In the following round, Gassama scored twice during a 3-0 demolition of Viktoria Plzeň in Glasgow which remains, by a landslide, the club’s best performance of the season.

Manager Martin said that the winger “really excites us”, labelling him a difference maker, while Nick McPheat of BBC Sport highlighted his excellent dribbling and goal-scoring statistics, concluding that he adds an extra dimension to Rangers’ attack.

So, while Gassama is yet to get off the mark in a domestic setting, a return to European competition could help to bring the best out of him, but who should start alongside him across the forward line against Genk?

Rangers' creative attacking star

Rangers signed a total of 13 new players during the summer, but the £3m paid to secure the signature of Oliver Antman could prove to be the best business of the lot.

The 25-year-old was outstanding at Go Ahead Eagles last season, scoring six goals and registering 16 assists across all competitions, helping them win the KNVB Beker, defeating AZ Alkmaar in the final on penalties at De Kuip, securing the club’s first major silverware since 1933.

The table below documents Antman’s impressive output in the Eredivisie.

Antman – 24/25 Eredivisie

Statistics

Antman

Eredivisie rank

Goals

6

38th

Assists

15

1st

Expected assists

9.1

1st

Big chances created

16

1st

Key passes

50

10th

Shot-creating actions

96

13th

Goal-creating actions

19

4th

Progressive carries

96

10th

Touches in the box

125

11th

Stats via Sofascore and FBref

As the table notes, Antman ranked first for assists, expected assists and big chances created in the Eredivisie last season, impressively doing so for the team that finished seventh in one of the most unbalanced leagues in Europe.

Well, just 24 hours after he arrived, Rangers supporters got a taste of what was to come, with Antman providing this assist, part of a free-flowing team goal, for Gassama during the aforementioned 3-0 annihilation of Viktoria Plzeň.

The Finnish international actually registered two assists on debut in that game, but is yet to notch either a goal nor an assist subsequently, left on the bench for all three matches in September so far, with Martin favouring Tottenham loanee Mikey Moore.

Nevertheless, his quality is unquestionable, with Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout labelling Antman a “creative winger”, while his numbers at Go Ahead Eagles, as well as at international level, scoring seven goals for Finland to date, speak for themselves.

Thus, we have already seen Gassama and Antman link up well on the European stage this season so, alongside new striker Bojan Miovski, that is surely Rangers’ best front three, one that is capable of defeating a struggling Genk on Thursday.

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Acknowledging the hurt their fans must be feeling, Hussey suggested this was the time “where you really find out who are your true supporters”

Deivarayan Muthu11-Apr-20252:05

Is this the worst CSK have ever looked in the IPL?

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are hurting after losing five games in a row for the first time in an IPL season, but they are “not putting the white flag up” just yet. That was batting coach Mike Hussey’s reaction soon after CSK were blown away by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their IPL 2025 match at Chepauk on Friday.”Well, this one hurts a lot. I mean, it really does,” Hussey said at his post-match press conference. “The players are hurting, and the support staff are hurting. And, as I said earlier, the fans, I’m sure, are hurting with this one as well. This is a time where you really find out who are your true supporters.”We’re certainly not putting the white flag up just yet. You only have to get in to scrape into that fourth [and final playoffs] place. And in a big, long tournament like the IPL, it is about momentum. Now, certainly the momentum is not with us at the moment whatsoever. We haven’t been playing good cricket consistently. We definitely acknowledge that, put our hands up, and say that is a fact at the moment. But that’s not to say things can’t turn around and can’t turn around quickly.”Related

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Before Friday, CSK had never lost three successive games in Chennai in an IPL season, but Hussey has backed their leaders to navigate the team through the unfamiliar terrain.”I just know Stephen Fleming, obviously, he is a great coach,” Hussey said. “And MS Dhoni… he’s been a great captain for a long time as well. Ruturaj [Gaikwad] is still going to be around the team. I think they’ll really try and bring this team as tight and as close together.”They will make sure there’s no fractures, make sure we’re still sticking tight because I’m sure we’re going to cop plenty of criticism from the outside and, look, we deserve it. We haven’t performed as well as we would have liked so far in the tournament. But from an inside, internal side of things, we’ve got to stick really tight.”CSK have cycled through 18 players this season, including all their overseas players, but are still searching for a winning combination. On Friday, they hit a new low by struggling to 103 for 9 in 20 overs, their lowest IPL total at Chepauk. Even before KKR began their chase, parts of the stadium began to empty out. Hussey hoped CSK would be able to change the mood of the fans and give them some joy.”The fans we have for the Chennai Super Kings have been absolutely phenomenal ever since day one, really,” Hussey said. “We hope they continue to keep turning out and supporting us. And I know the guys will be really hurting from this and will want to turn it around for the fans as much as for the dressing room and for each other as well, but more for the fans. Because they have stuck tight with us for a lot of the good times. And we hope they stick with us now when things haven’t quite gone to plan just yet.””The guys will be really hurting from this and will want to turn it around for the fans as much as for the dressing room and for each other”•Associated Press

Hussey disagreed with the suggestion that some of CSK’s Indian players were past their prime, and hoped to bring the best out of them in the upcoming games. He pointed out that a number of players had previously enjoyed late-career T20 revivals at CSK.”I don’t agree with that,” he said. “You know, we’ve had players in the twilight of their career come and play at CSK in the past. I think of Shane Watson. I think of Ajinkya Rahane. And they’ve performed really well for CSK. So I still think that the players that we’ve got still have some good cricket in front of them and can still offer us a lot. So, I don’t necessarily agree that, you know, they’re beyond their best. I still think we can find their best and see some great performances from them.”Despite considerably low output from Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tripathi and Deepak Hooda, CSK have preferred them over IPL rookies such as Delhi’s Vansh Bedi and Tamil Nadu’s C Andre Siddarth. While Hussey acknowledged that CSK had some talented youngsters on the bench, he said the team management wouldn’t fast-track them into the team until they were ready for the challenge.”With regards to blooding youngsters, we want to pick guys when they’re ready to perform as well,” Hussey said. “We’ve got some very good players that are waiting for their chance. No question about that. But sometimes I think when teams give up the ghost and think, ‘oh well, we can’t win the tournament anymore; well, we’ll just try the youngsters now’. We’re still here to try and progress in the tournament as far as we can.”

Ipswich Town have had a torrid start to life in the Championship following last season’s Premier League relegation. Kieran McKenna’s side currently sit 18th in the Championship and were knocked out of the first round of the League Cup following the loss of a number of star players.

Omari Hutchinson and Liam Delap both secured their Premier League futures with moves to Nottingham Forest and Chelsea, respectively. So far this window, Ipswich have actually made a profit of over £50 million.

They have brought in some players such as Kasey McAteer and Azor Matusiwa on permanent deals, Ashley Young on a free transfer and Chuba Akpom on loan. However, these signings are yet to bring McKenna’s side a win.

While there is still time left in the transfer window, Ipswich are pushing to bring in another signing to help reinforce them defensively.

Ipswich close to finalising Furlong

Ipswich Town are close to signing a deal with West Bromwich Albion for Darnell Furlong. The deal for the defender will initially cost the Tractor Boys £3.5 million.

The agreement also includes a unique clause that means Ipswich will be required to pay West Brom a further £500,000 if they secure promotion. However, given their start to the season, this clause currently looks unlikely to be achieved. West Brom are set to make an impressive profit on Furlong as he only cost them just over £1.4 million when he joined from QPR back in 2019.

Ipswich have recently worked with Furlongs agency, New Era Global Sports Management Limited, as they represent Corbin Mthunzi, who joined their academy from Brighton in April.

"One of the best full-backs of the Championship"

With Furlong, Ipswich will have a capable defender on their hands who ranked highly among his peers in the second tier last season. In the 2024/25 campaign, Furlong ranked in the top 3% of players for both aerial duels and ground duels won.

A unique area in which Furlong shines is winning fouls. Furlong won 72 free kicks last season, putting him in the top 3% of similar players. These fouls were often won in his own defensive third and are the result of his nous when dealing with pressing opposition players.

These achievements are part of the reason that Furlong has left positive impressions on coaches he’s worked with in the past. Valencia boss Carlos Corberen, who managed Furlong for two years as West Brom boss, was full of praise for the full-back when he was his manager:

Based on these defensive stats and his former manager’s praise for him, Ipswich might be about to recruit the catalyst that can kick-start their season and get them climbing up the table.

Fabrizio Romano reports that Newcastle United have made fresh contact with a club over the signing of a new striker this summer.

Newcastle see Wissa bid rejected

The Magpies remain adamant that Alexander Isak is going nowhere before the end of the transfer window, but that hasn’t stopped them from pursuing others strikers, following the exit of Callum Wilson.

Wissa has been one of Newcastle’s leading transfer targets in recent months, but earlier this week, they saw a £35m bid for the 28-year-old rejected by Brentford, with a deal potentially rising to £40m.

The west Londoners are holding out for nearer £60m for their striker, not wanting to lose him on the cheap after selling Bryan Mbeumo to Manchester United, but it remains to be seen if the Magpies will be willing to pay that much for him.

Should Wissa become unattainable for Newcastle, it is vital that alternatives are looked at, especially as Isak still isn’t certain to stay at the club. Now, a promising update has dropped regarding another potential signing.

Newcastle make contact to sign Nicolas Jackson

Writing on X, Romano claimed that Newcastle have made fresh efforts to sign Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson this summer, making a call to the Blues in the past few days.

Jackson isn’t necessarily the Premier League’s most ruthless attacking player, but he would have plenty to offer Newcastle, and more importantly, unlike Brentford, Chelsea are planning to sell the player.

Chelsea

81

30

12

Villarreal

48

13

6

Villarreal B

27

7

8

CD Mirandes

17

1

1

In fact, former Liverpool and England striker Peter Crouch believes he is an underrated player who merits more “respect” than he is given currently.

“I think he has been unbelievable. I looked at the stats from last year, and if you take penalties out of it, he’s ahead of Mo Salah. There’s only [Erling] Haaland that’s above him. So many technical players with ability, and that have scored a lot of goals – he’s right up there [with them]. He probably needs a little bit more respect.”

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At 24, Jackson is a younger alternative to Wissa, giving him more time to improve further, and while only one of them is needed if Isak stays, bringing in both could be ideal if the Swede ends up moving to Liverpool late in the window.

Glasgow Rangers dropped points for the second time in as many Scottish Premiership matches with a 1-1 draw at Ibrox against Dundee on Saturday.

The Light Blues were held to a 1-1 draw by Motherwell on the opening day of the league campaign, and now have two points to show after two games and are already four points off the top of the table.

Russell Martin will not be happy with the way his team have started the season, and may want more signings to bolster his squad before the end of the summer transfer window to ensure that they are in the best place to kick on and get more points on the board.

Rangers closing in on new defender

The Light Blues are putting plenty of work in behind the scenes to add to the manager’s options across the park, and are reportedly on course to bring in a new defender.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

According to Rangers Review, as relayed by IbroxNews, the Scottish giants are closing in on a deal to sign Real Betis centre-back Nobel Mendy for a fee of £2m.

The report claims that the 20-year-old defender, who typically plays on the left side of the defence, has his heart set on a move to Ibrox, which now appears to be coming to fruition.

It adds that the left-footed defender is poised to put pen to paper on a four-year contract at Ibrox, with an option to extend by a further year, and that his arrival will mean that Ben Davies, Clinton Nsiala, and Leon King are all free to move on.

Why Mendy could be a good signing for Rangers

The Real Betis youngster, who spent most of last season with the B team, could be a shrewd addition to the squad as a talented young player who needs regular game time, much like when the club plucked Mikel Arteta away from Barcelona B.

Back in 2002, the Light Blues signed the Spanish midfielder from Barcelona B after he failed to make a single first-team appearance for the Catalan giants, although he did have two loan spells at PSG.

Arteta failed to make the breakthrough in the first-team in Spain, but then went on to score 14 goals in 65 games for Rangers. He also won the domestic treble in his first year at the club, per Transfermarkt.

This shows that the Spaniard, who moved to Real Sociedad in 2004 before going on to play for Everton and Arsenal most notably, was a big success with what he achieved at Ibrox despite arriving as a player from a B team in Spain.

Appearances

2

13

Starts

1

12

Pass accuracy

87%

85%

Ball recoveries per game

3.5

7.9

Clearances per game

4.5

2.0

Duel success rate

100%

41%

As you can see in the table above, Mendy spent the majority of last season with Real Betis B, starting just one match in LaLiga, which shows that he did not quite make the grade there.

His failure to make a breakthrough as a regular starter for Real Betis does not mean that he is a bad player, though, as evidenced by the success that Arteta had at Ibrox after his move from Barcelona B.

Writer and analyst Kai Watson described Mendy as a “powerful” player with “athletic” qualities, similar to Nasser Djiga, which makes it seem like the Gers are signing a mobile and combative young central defender.

However, it is hard to make predictions on how he will perform for the Gers because, as aforementioned, the majority of his performances have come at B team level, and it remains to be seen how he will adapt to senior football at Ibrox.

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The Light Blues can, though, look to the masterclass that they once played by snapping Arteta up when he failed to make the grade in LaLiga, and know that they may have found their next version of the current Arsenal manager in Mendy, who is another young talent with the potential to develop and enjoy success in Glasgow.

England opener hoping to build on ODI form after Antigua half-century

Cameron Ponsonby04-Nov-2024Phil Salt will keep wicket for England’s T20I series against the West Indies, despite the return of Jos Buttler to the team.White-ball captain Buttler has kept in 106 of his past 108 T20 internationals, fielding only in the two matches that took place in Trinidad during England’s previous tour of the Caribbean in December 2023.”It’s not something I’ve done a lot for England recently,” Salt said in Barbados ahead of the third ODI. “But I enjoy keeping. I feel like that’s where I offer most to the side.”Salt has kept in 13 of his 59 games for England across formats and has been given the gloves in this current ODI series ahead of Jordan Cox, who will fill in for Test keeper Jamie Smith for the upcoming series in New Zealand.Related

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Buttler has been out for several months with a calf strain. Had he been fit to play the T20 series against Australia in September, Salt would have kept wicket with Buttler keen to experiment with captaining from different positions on the field.At the time, Buttler said: “I was going to give up the gloves and commit to being at mid-off and see how that felt. If it will help me with my captaincy it is something I am open to.”Buttler arrived in the Caribbean on Sunday and trained at Kensington Oval on Monday. He is not available for selection for the deciding ODI on Wednesday and will resume captaincy duties ahead of the five-match T20I series that starts on Saturday, making his first appearance since England’s defeat in the T20 World Cup semi-final in June. Essex wicketkeeper-batter Michael Pepper, originally only selected for the ODI squad, has been added to the T20 squad and will remain with the group for the rest of the tour.Of whether his move to keep is a long-term decision, Salt said: “We’ve not had that chat about anything going forward. I’m just glad to be doing it at the moment.”Salt made scores of 18 and 59 in the first two ODIs, with his half-century helping to set up England’s chase of 329 to tie the series in the second Antigua game.After England had been bowled out for 209 in the first match, captain Liam Livingstone had criticised the performance, saying that the team needed to “bat smarter”.Salt made his first ODI half-century in over a year in Antigua•Getty ImagesWhereas Salt has found his feet in T20 cricket, his ODI returns haven’t been as consistent. In his last ten ODIs, he averages 24.30 with only one half-century. A habit of being dismissed in the powerplay limited his output – remarkably, his innings in Antigua on Saturday was the first time he had batted past the tenth over since June 2022.”When anybody’s at their best they’re aggressive and smart,” he said. “They go hand in hand – they have to if you’re going to have any success in white-ball cricket.”I know I could have got more runs. I think for myself it’s how do I drop the strike rate and pump the average… prolonging my innings and extending partnerships. Those are two of the most important things in 50-over cricket.”The ODI series against Australia in September was Salt’s first experience of 50-over cricket since the tour of the Caribbean in December last year. With the Hundred being played at the same time as the One-Day Cup during the English summer, many of England’s new white-ball generation have little List A experience, with Salt explaining the difficulty of re-adapting to the tempo required.”I don’t think there’s many players in this team that you could go through and go ‘oh they’re doing a great job right now’. That’s the reality of it because we’ve not played a lot of 50-over cricket.”I’d love something like a domestic 50-over competition. I’d love the opportunity to play in that so you can get the rhythm and it’s not always stop-start. But that’s what we’ve got. As a player you’ve got to adapt.”