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Joe Root and Chris Silverwood speak with Javagal Srinath after on-field exasperation

George Dobell24-Feb-2021England’s captain and coach have asked the match referee to ensure “consistency” in the process by which the TV umpire comes to decisions after more contentious moments on the first day of the third Test in Ahmedabad.Joe Root and Chris Silverwood went to see Javagal Srinath, the ICC match referee, after the end of the first day’s play to register their frustrations after two decisions – both of which went India’s way – were made, in their view, unusually quickly.In the first instance, Shubman Gill was reprieved by the TV umpire, C Shamshuddin, when replays suggested Ben Stokes, at slip, may have failed to complete a catch cleanly. In the second, Rohit Sharma was adjudged not out after an appeal for a stumping.On both occasions, Shamshuddin appeared to come to his decision surprisingly quickly and without recourse to the numerous angles which usually accompany the decision-making process. At one stage, Root could be heard on the stump mics asking the on-field umpires why only one camera angle had been utilised when he felt a different one could have provided more certainty.By contrast, when Jack Leach edged a low chance earlier in the day, Shamshuddin was provided with various angles – including one from a stump camera – before coming to his decision.These incidents follow those in the second Test where Ajinkya Rahane survived a review for a bat-pad catch when the TV umpire on that occasion, Anil Chaudhary, failed to review the correct passage of play. Rohit also survived another close call for a stumping with only one angle of the incident available to the TV umpire, while the on-field umpires chose to review Virat Kohli’s dismissal after he was clean bowled.Related

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As a result, Root and Silverwood went to see Srinath after stumps. “The England captain and head coach spoke with the match referee after play,” an England team spokesperson said.”The captain and head coach acknowledged the challenges the umpires faced and asked respectfully that in making any decisions there was consistency in the process. The match referee said the captain was asking the right questions of the umpires.”The ICC have been contacted for comment.England have clashed with Shamshuddin previously. He stood down – reportedly due to ill health – from a T20I series decider between England and India in 2017 after Eoin Morgan expressed “extreme frustration” with his performance.Zak Crawley, the one England batsman who emerged from the wreckage of a poor batting performance with any credit, admitted his side’s “frustrations.””When we batted, Jack Leach had a similar sort of one [low catch, similar to the Stokes dismissal] where it didn’t quite carry and it seemed like they looked at it from five or six different angles,” Crawley said. “When we were fielding it seemed like they looked at it from one angle.”That’s where the frustrations lie. I can’t say whether they were out or not out, but I think the frustrations lie with not checking more thoroughly.”The ICC have decided to dispense with neutral umpires during the Covid-19 pandemic in light of the difficulties with international travel. They have attempted to compensate for any possibility of unconscious bias by providing teams with an extra review per innings.

Currently, it feels like Trent Alexander-Arnold’s decision to leave Liverpool at the end of his contract last year and sign for Real Madrid has benefitted nobody.

The Spanish giants have yet to find a starring role for the right-back in Xabi Alonso’s system; Trent is out in the cold vis-à-vis Thomas Tuchel’s England; Liverpool keenly miss their starboy’s creativity and flair.

All of this is premature. Much can change, and it has only been three months since the 2025/26 campaign kicked off. But Arne Slot’s Liverpool are lacking ideas at the moment; and just as importantly, they cannot find the answers to their opponents’ tactics.

Slot sought to reorient Liverpool’s creative focus to a more typical area, working with Anfield sporting director Richard Hughes to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for what stood as a record-breaking £116m fee for a few months.

Now, Liverpool are looking into new attacking midfielders to rival Wirtz for a place in the Reds’ starting line-up.

Why Liverpool are looking to sign Wirtz rival

Liverpool have landed a generational talent in Wirtz. The 22-year-old proved across years of age-defying quality in his homeland that he is destined for greatness.

However, we cannot deny it’s been a rocky road since the start of the season.

Wirtz is yet to register a goal involvement in the Premier League and he has not scored in any competition. However, his struggles stand against the backdrop of Liverpool’s wider issues this season. Slot’s side are worryingly imbalanced and sapped of confidence, having lost five of their past six top-flight fixtures.

But Wirtz has demonstrated his skill for Germany during the current international break, with analyst Raj Chohan saying his “creative passing has been insane”.

Minutes played

90′

77′

Goals

0

0

Assists

0

2

Shots (on target)

4 (2)

2 (0)

Accurate passes

46/56 (82%)

72/77 (94%)

Chances created

1

6

Crosses

0/5

2/5

Dribbles

5/6

1/3

Recoveries

5

9

Ground duels

8/10

3/5

But, with Harvey Elliott struggling out on loan with Aston Villa and bound to depart for good in the near future, Liverpool have lined up 19-year-old midfielder Kees Smit as a potential rival for Wirtz in Slot’s system.

According to Soccer News, the AZ Alkmaar talent is emerging as a serious candidate for a transfer to Liverpool, and FSG are further drawn to the player after Slot’s personal advocacy, having worked with the young prospect during his stint with AZ back in 2019/20.

The teenager is valued at around £22.5m, and Barcelona and Real Madrid are among the circling sharks.

What Kees Smit would offer Liverpool

Smit is young and inexperienced, but the word on the Dutch streets is that he is one of the nation’s most exciting up-and-comers. Indeed, analyst Ben Mattinson has acknowledged Smit for his “superstar potential”, not just naturally gifted but intelligent, industrious and strong in defensive phases.

The Netherlands U21 star has made 50 senior showings already, scoring four goals and supplying six assists. Increasingly important in the Eredivisie, he’s started all 11 matches this term, notching two goals and two assists apiece while completing 88% of his passes, creating two chances on average each game and recovering six balls a match.

He’s so energetic, mobile and athletic while bearing the shrewdness to apply himself in the correct phases, never over-exerting. This is a rare trait for one so young, and emphasises the midfielder’s potential for success in the Premier League.

As per FBref, Smit ranks among the top 14% of midfielders in the Dutch top flight this season for pass completion and successful take-ons, and the top 8% for shot-creating actions per 90.

Should Wirtz be worried for his starting berth? While all of the above is true, stepping into the harsh English footballing climate is no easy task. Wirtz would testify for that argument.

But Smit is less of an out-and-out attacking midfielder than his older counterpart, and in this, he could be a glove-tight tactical fit under Slot’s management, instilling more creativity while adding to the steel and compactability of the engine room.

His more balanced approach differs from Wirtz’s own. The new Merseyside recruit has faced criticism for a perceived lack of physicality in the Premier League. Some pointed fingers regarding this matter have been unfair, but there’s no question that Wirtz needs to be more active in the duel, more combative when pitted against defenders.

The aforementioned Mattinson has singled Smit out as a “duel monster”, further underlining his potential in Slot’s Liverpool set-up.

The Reds have options in midfield, and they have creative players too. But it doesn’t take someone with Slot’s football-tuned mind to conclude that something isn’t working for the Premier League champions, who need to find a way out of this present rut, else a concerning start will devolve into a disastrous campaign with far-reaching ramifications.

If Liverpool succeed in sealing Smit’s signature this winter, there’s every chance that the perfect dimension would be added to ease the offensive issues at the club.

Who knows, perhaps the competition would help Wirtz grow into his Liverpool skin and begin to show that ability that was promised when Liverpool spent a staggering sum on bringing him over from Germany.

But if not, Smit has the potential to stand proud as one of the world’s best, and this could give Liverpool’s German maverick cause for concern.

Forget Ngumoha: 19-year-old star is Liverpool's new Luis Diaz in the making

Liverpool could now be brewing their next Luis Diaz in this rising 19-year-old star.

ByKelan Sarson Nov 18, 2025

They hadn’t conquered Asia since 2014, and following their series win in Bangladesh, South Africa are setting sights on higher honours

Firdose Moonda31-Oct-2024It still matters. Winning away from home matters. Winning in the subcontinent matters. Doing both those things as a country that is now seen as one of the Test nations matters most of all, as South Africa have just experienced.Don’t buy into the talk that it’s only Bangladesh, a place where South Africa have never lost a Test and look at the bigger picture. For the last ten years, the subcontinent has been all but insurmountable. Between September 2014 and September 2024, Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies collectively played 35 series in the subcontinent and won just six. Of those, England were responsible for three series (Sri Lanka 2018 and 2021 and Pakistan in 2022) while South Africa lost all four series they played.To be able to finally change that is something South Africa’s stand-in captain Aiden Markram described in an understated way as “very special,” while also recognising the significance it has in serving as a marker of progress.”For us as a group of players, we’ve never won a game or a series in the subcontinent so that makes it very special. It’s been a tough journey at times and to slowly be progressing is a really good thing for us,” he said.Related

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The last time South Africa conquered Asia was in 2014, at the latter end of a dream run that saw them go nine years unbeaten on the road. At the time, Markram was fresh off captaining the under-19 side to the age-group title in the UAE and the future looked bright. They didn’t know it then, but things were already changing.Big-name retirements started with Jacques Kallis in 2013 and every year since then someone else who was considered essential to success stepped away. As recently as last December, former captain and stalwart opener Dean Elgar called it a day which means South Africa have been in transition for almost ten years. The subcontinent became an impossible place to win as South Africa experienced in India in 2015 and 2019, in Sri Lanka in 2018 and in Pakistan in 2021. Of course, it’s not as though SENA countries hadn’t been making use of their own home advantage for decades so they had nothing to complain about, but it didn’t make the losses hurt any less.South Africa’s batting has paid the highest price for that. Since May 2018, they do have a single Test batter with an average over 40 which includes all of the current squad. Tony de Zorzi, thanks to his 177, and David Bedingham, with a hundred and three fifties, are close but both have only played eight Tests.What that means is that South Africa didn’t often have hundreds, which is something they had to play down and Markram is still singing from that hymn book.”As for numbers, it’s all quite relative. You look at different surfaces that you play on, wickets around the world are so different from each other and have so many different types of challenges that you face as a batter so it can be tough to pump that average up but we don’t speak about numbers,” Markram said. “We just speak about making an impact on the game and there can be a time where scoring 60 or 70 is match-winning and then there will be times where big hundreds runs are match-winning.”In this series, the latter was the case. From Kyle Verreynne in Mirpur to de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs and Wiaan Mulder in Chittagong, South Africa’s wins were built on big runs which gave their attack a lot to work with. And while there is some sense in what Markram said in that an individual stacking up hundreds may not necessarily equate to a successful team, he also recognised the need for a collective progression in performance.”I’m certainly not too fazed about numbers and I don’t think the rest of the guys are either. It’s one of those things that will take care of itself if you put in good performances consistently. Naturally the numbers will lift. We’re all definitely striving towards that but trying to be more consistent and trying to have a good impact on the game.”With South Africa’s batters focused on the efficacy and not the amount of their runs, it was hardly surprising to hear the leader of their attack, Kagiso Rabada, also play down his own importance. Asked about being back at No.1 on the ICC rankings or taking 300 wickets in his post-match interview, Rabada glossed over that the game “moves on”.Aiden Markram believes South Africa have the players required to reach the WTC final•AFP/Getty Images”You have to keep working hard. don’t look at where I am on the rankings,” he said, acknowledging it is a “good motivator to keep going.” His highest praise was for his team-mates, who he said are all “willing to put their hands up,” to drive success.And they can see the rewards in front of them. Despite playing fewer Tests than almost anyone else in this cycle, they’re in with a chance of making the final. They see the potential to make that happen as brimming with possibility. “We don’t really know what the ceiling is because we haven’t managed to lift the trophy,” Markram said.That’s also one way of South Africa looking at their empty accolades cupboard and wondering whether it will ever fill up. They’ve taken the approach that the things they are capable of are still coming and this year has shown them that.They reached the final of the T20 World Cup in June and now their chance to reach the WTC final lies in their hands. It’s proof that something is working, that the talent pool is starting to play to their potential and that maybe, the impossible could become possible.”We believe that we have the players in the country to be able to do so but by no means will it be easy,” Markram said. “The journey itself has been incredibly difficult but worth the fight, worth the hours, worth the sacrifice. That’s pretty much how we see it.”

Real Madrid have provided an injury update on Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Jr following their setbacks against Villarreal.

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Real Madrid beat Villarreal 2-0Carvajal and Vinicius suffer injuriesLos Blancos issue update on pairFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Both right-back Carvajal and winger Vinicius came off in Madrid's 2-0 win over Villarreal on Saturday, with the former later confirming he had suffered a serious knee injury. Now, Los Blancos have confirmed just how bad the Spaniard's setback is and the 'cervical' issue that has befallen the Brazil international, too.

AdvertisementGettyWHAT REAL MADRID SAID

A Madrid statement on Carvajal reads: "Following tests carried out on our player Dani Carvajal by the Real Madrid Medical Services, he has been diagnosed with a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament, a rupture of the external collateral ligament and a rupture of the popliteus tendon in his right leg. He will undergo surgery in the coming days."

On Vinicius, the club added: "Following tests carried out on Vinicius Junior, the player has been diagnosed with a cervical injury. His progress will be monitored."

Manager Carlo Ancelotti also said after the match: “Vinicius Jr is in pain and will undergo tests in the next hours. His neck is blocked, he has suffered a problem and that’s something we need to check with the medical staff”.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Carvajal has become a mainstay in Madrid's defence for many years now but this setback could rule him out for the rest of the season. The Spanish champions will hope star attacker Vinicius will be back fit as soon as possible as they try to defend their La Liga and Champions League crowns.

WHAT NEXT?

Following the upcoming international break, second-placed Madrid return to La Liga action on October 19 away to ninth-positioned Celta Vigo. It remains to be seen if Vinicius will be back fit for that match but Carvajal won't return for many months.

Scottish Premiership reporter Ryan Cryle has now shared what he’s heard about Aberdeen’s record move to sign Sunderland midfielder Adil Aouchiche as the attacking midfielder continues to struggle out on loan in Scotland.

The Black Cats sent the Frenchman out on loan in the summer after putting together their own squad full of in-depth quality. Those in Wearside handed Regis Le Bris a squad capable of survival and more and have watched on as he’s taken them to new heights in the Premier League ever since.

Sat as high as fourth in England’s top flight, Sunderland have the chance to move into the top two if they defeat Arsenal and become the first side in eight games to score against the Gunners.

Owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus hasn’t hidden his ambitions for the club after such a strong start either, telling reporters that the Black Cats have set their sights on a top 10 finish in their first season back in the Premier League.

Whilst they continue to benefit from the players that they welcomed, however, Aberdeen are struggling after agreeing a loan deal to sign Aouchiche from Sunderland in the summer.

Reporter shares update on Aberdeen's Aouchiche move

Speaking to Mackem News, Cryle admitted that Aouchiche will have to do more to earn a permanent move to Aberdeen in what would be the club’s record deal at £1.5m.

The Aberdeen reporter said: “In terms of output, Aouchiche’s performances were quite exciting to begin with, without the final pass/shot, but left you thinking: Once he gets going, he’ll be a player.

“However, in what has been a generally dismal start to the season for Aberdeen as a collective domestically and in Europe, it feels like Aouchiche has increasingly struggled to play any active role in games.

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“There’s no rush to do a deal. However, £1.5m would be a club record fee for Aberdeen, and it seems pretty obvious to me that Aouchiche will need to do a lot more over the remainder of the season to justify such an outlay.”

Aberdeen sit as low as ninth in the Scottish Premiership and Aouchiche’s performances have hardly helped. The 23-year-old has scored just one goal and assisted another two in 14 appearances in all competitions. Given the expectations that were placed on his shoulders, there’s no denying that he’s struggling to make his mark.

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“The restrictions need to be put in place to ensure the tournament goes ahead in a safe environment.”

Firdose Moonda03-Jan-2021South Africa’s domestic one-day cup has been rearranged amid rising Coronavirus infections and will be now played in a bio-secure environment with a total of 15 matches, reduced from its original 24.The six franchises have been divided into two groups of three and will play each other twice, with the top two teams from each group competing in the semi-finals. All matches will be played in Potchefstroom.”It is unfortunate that we have to reduce the number of matches being played and move the entire competition to one venue, but the restrictions need to be put in place to ensure the tournament goes ahead in a safe environment in accordance with government regulations,” Graeme Smith, South Africa’s director of cricket, said.Related

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The tournament will be played in two halves, starting on January 16 when Pool A between the Titans, Knights and Dolphins kicks off. Each team will play four matches in the space of seven days before Pool B between the Cobras, Lions and Warriors takes over from January 29.Their matches also take place in a week, with the semi-finals scheduled for February 11 and 12 and the final for February 14. Only the final has been allocated a reserve day.This means significantly less cricket for South Africa’s domestic franchises who were due to play seven matches each. There has been no Mzansi Super League (MSL) this season, but the franchises will play a one-round T20 tournament in April, and the first-class competition has been reduced from ten matches per team to seven, with a final.Fixtures have been culled both because of CSA’s need to cut costs and the Covid-19 pandemic which has already impacted the game in the country. The final round of first-class matches in 2020 had to be postponed after positive cases were detected in two of the three fixtures in the penultimate round. That came after England’s white-ball tour was called off early, with the ODIs yet to be played, because of concerns over the biobubble. The first round of first-class cricket saw one franchise, the Warriors, bench six players for Covid-19 related reasons.All matches will be day games starting at 10am local time and will be televised.

Braves manager Brian Snitker will be moving into an advisory role in the front office and will not manage the club moving forward, the franchise announced on Wednesday morning.

"The Atlanta Braves and Brian Snitker today announced that the long-time manager will transition into an advisory role within the organization for the 2026 season, and will be inducted into the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame prior to a game next year. …He exits his managerial post with the third-most wins by any skipper in the history of the franchise. Snitker completed his 49th season in the Braves organization in 2025, and his ninth full campaign as the Braves manager. [Snitker] joined the organization as a non-drafted free agent in 1977," the release said in part.

Snitker, who turns 70 later this month, just concluded his 10th season as manager after taking over in the middle of the 2016 season, and has gone 811-668 with two 100-plus win seasons and a 2021 World Series title to his resume.

The Braves went 76-86 this season and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

Nantes owner and president Waldemar Kita has shot down claims that Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold is planning to buy the Ligue 1 side.

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Report claims Trent wants to buy NantesNantes owner shoots down media reportSources close to Trent also turn down the reportsFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty Images SportWHAT HAPPENED?

Earlier this week, L'Equipe reported that Liverpool defender Alexander-Arnold was considering purchasing Nantes through a fund he owned with his father, Michael. The proposal was reportedly worth €100 million (£84 million), with €80 million (£67 million) paid upfront and €20 million (£17 million) in seller credit with an additional €40 million (£34 million) in possible bonuses.

AdvertisementTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Reports from L'Equipe also suggested that the Liverpool full-back's father met with Kita three times, including a video meeting before meeting in Geneva. However, the Nantes owner has fully shot down the claims made by the media of the potential sale of Nantes.

GettyWHAT KITA SAID

Speaking to Presse Ocean, Kita said: "This is all bullsh*t! Where does that come from? How do you expect a serious man who wants to purchase a club to use a journalist? Trent Alexander-Arnold? But I don’t even know him! He told me his father was involved in finance and that they have players as well as agents. I’ve never done any video conference with anyone, ever. It’s nonsense. How can you even in this business, with such sums?"

WHAT NEXT FOR ALEXANDER-ARNOLD?

Sources close to the young Liverpool full-back have already shot down the claims made in the media this week about the potential takeover of the Ligue 1 side, and it is likely that the entire story could turn out to be a whole load of nothing in the end by the looks of it.

The star of India’s ten-wicket win over South Africa in the one-off-Test accepts that she needs to work hard to get back to the white-ball sides

Nikhil Sharma05-Jul-2024In a match where India became the first team to top 600 in a women’s Test cricket and Shafali Verma hit the fastest double-century in the format, Sneh Rana took back the Player-of-the-Match award. It was her 10 for 188 for the match, after all, that led India to their ten-wicket win – their third Test-match in a row. A good time for her to put in her bid for a women’s Test championship along the lines of the men’s event.”Of course women should have a Test championship,” she told ESPNcricinfo in the gap between the end of the one-off Test and the start of the T20I series between India and South Africa in Chennai. “We have started playing red-ball cricket in the domestic circuit too [from earlier this year], and we are playing more Test matches now, and getting good results. I think a championship will come as a big boost to women’s cricket.”Late last year, in December, India played England and Australia at home, and both series had one-off Test matches slotted in. India won both, beating England by 347 runs and then Australia by eight wickets – Rana was the Player of the Match against Australia too. Three Tests scattered across just over six months, after India had played just 13 Tests since the turn of the millennium, stop and start at that. Only four teams – Australia, England, India and South Africa – currently play Test cricket.Related

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That has made the victories, especially the ones against England and Australia, who play Test cricket most regularly among women’s teams, worth savouring.”It’s about the mindset, we have shown patience,” Rana said. “The challenges are the same, it’s just for longer. The tricks and strategies are the same, but we need to focus on fitness and those things. India are now doing well in all three formats. India have been doing well in ODIs and T20Is, we have been reaching the semi-finals and finals of the World Cups. And now we have won three Tests in a row. It’s a great feeling to win a hat-trick of Tests.”As such, it’s all the same. Just the colour of the ball is different.”Rana might say it’s all the same, but she hasn’t been able to make an impression in white-ball cricket quite the same way as she has in Tests. Her numbers aren’t bat in ODIs and T20Is – especially in the latter, where she has 24 wickets from 25 games at an average of 21.75 and an economy rate of 6.21 – but she hasn’t been a regular in the national team. She was left out of both squads in the ongoing series against South Africa too.

“He knows how to get the best out of each of us. That’s his biggest strength. One of the things I like most about him is that he motivates us a lot, before and during games”Sneh Rana on Amol Muzumdar

“This can happen – you are in the team sometimes and you are out at other times,” Rana said. “My best wishes to whoever is picked for the T20 World Cup [in Bangladesh in October this year] – I’ll want India to win and support them. I want to return to the T20I team, of course, and I’m working hard for it, and will continue to. Selection isn’t in my hands.”That said, it’s true that she doesn’t have the sort of variations some of the more successful white-ball spinners do. She accepts it, too.”Variations… I have one that goes on straight, and I vary the pace, and that’s what I am working on,” she said. “What are my strengths – everything I do is my strength. But yes, I trust my stock delivery the most, that’s my biggest strength. It’s helped me all these years. You would have seen that most of my deliveries are my stock offspin. I flight it, and it loops in the air, and it lands on the seam. That sometimes gets me extra bounce. It’s worked for me against most batters.”Sneh Rana hasn’t been able to hold down a place in India’s white-ball sides•Getty ImagesBack to the Test set-up, and the appointment of Amol Muzumdar as head coach for all formats, Rana said, has had a big impact. “He has changed our mindset and approach. He knows how to get the best out of each of us. That’s his biggest strength. One of the things I like most about him is that he motivates us a lot, before and during games.”All of this has come at an exciting time for women’s cricket in India. The Women’s Premier League, though much delayed, has come as a boon, and has thrown up promising new faces – Saika Ishaque, Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana among them – and there is the domestic red-ball competition Rana alluded to.”Change has come,” Rana said. “Girls are choosing cricket [as a profession]. Competition has gone up, lots of girls are doing well, some of them have played international cricket too. This will help us.”Along with that, our match fees are at par with the male cricketers. We are getting more support and facilities. It’s all very positive right now.”

Brewers starting pitcher Jacob Misiorowski has been tremendous through the first five starts of his major league career, blowing by opposing batters with an already elite-level fastball. MLB certainly hopes he can continue on to be another Paul Skenes-type young pitching phenom, but his recent addition to the All-Star Game hasn't gone over well with everyone.

Misiorowski was a surprise addition to the National League roster after Cubs pitcher Matthew Boyd bowed out. While plenty around baseball have expressed their excitement to see him pitch in the Midsummer Classic, others have taken issue with the selection.

While he's only 23, Misiorowski seems to understand the situation quite well. When asked about the backlash to his All-Star debut Monday, he kept things in perspective.

"They're not upset with me," Misiorowski said, per ESPN, adding that he was also surprised by the pick.

"The last five weeks have been insane," he added. "I thought the All-Star break would be a chance to sit down and reflect. Now we're here."

While some of the criticism has been biting, with some of the most vitriolic coming from Phillies players going to the mat for their teammates Christopher Sánchez and Ranger Suárez, Misiorowski is spot on. Philadelphia slugger Kyle Schwarber said as much Monday, days after his teammates Trea Turner and Nick Castellanos called out the league.

"It's an honor for him that he's here, and it should be an honor for him. It's not his fault that he's only pitched five games and he got named," said Schwarber.

Misiorowski is 4–1 with a 2.81 ERA and 33 strikeouts in just 25.2 innings pitched. It's a far cry from the traditional statline of an All-Star starter, but baseball is desperate to shine a light on its young stars. For better or worse, it has certainly done that by tossing the largely-untested flamethrower onto one of the game's biggest stages.