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Also: was Travis Head’s 154 not out the highest score by an Australian in an ODI in England?

Steven Lynch24-Sep-2024Was Travis Head’s 154 not out the highest score by an Australian in an ODI in England? asked Michael Carpenter from Australia

That superb innings from Travis Head in the first one-day international at Trent Bridge last week was the highest ODI score by an Australian against England in England, beating Shane Watson’s 143 in Southampton in 2013.But there has been one higher score for Australia in all ODIs in England: David Warner hammered 166 against Bangladesh at Trent Bridge during the 2019 World Cup. The only score higher than Head’s for Australia against England in any ODI is 161 not out, by Watson again, in Melbourne in 2011.Marnus Labuschagne had a remarkable all-round game in the first ODI against England – a fifty, three wickets and four catches. Has anyone done this before? asked Kevin Wilson from Scotland

Marnus Labuschagne saw Australia to victory at Trent Bridge with 77 not out, having earlier taken three wickets and four catches in England’s innings.Two others have added a half-century to three wickets and three catches in the same ODI: Australia’s Greg Matthews, against New Zealand in Auckland in 1986, and Jacques Kallis of South Africa, against West Indies in Centurion in 1999.It’s been achieved in women’s ODIs only by Suzie Bates, for New Zealand against England in Taunton in 2007.Marnus Labuschagne is the only player to score a half-century, take three wickets and four catches in an ODI•AFPIn a recent CPL match, Roshon Primus bowled an over that lasted 13 balls. Was that a T20 record? asked Chris Dowden from Grenada

The ESPNcricinfo database only has ball-by-ball details for about 63% of all T20 matches, but we have unearthed two cases of overs lasting 14 deliveries: by Bhutan’s Thinley Jamtsho against Maldives in Kirtipur (Nepal) in 2019 – the first over of the innings, it contained eight wides – and by Mongolia’s captain Luwsanzundui Erdenebulgan against Japan in Sano (Japan) in 2024. The first over of the match included six wides and two no-balls – and a wicket. In all, Mongolia sent down 21 wides and three no-balls, and were later dismissed for 12.The recent 13-ball over by Roshon Primus came in his only over for Antigua & Barbuda Falcons in their CPL match against Barbados Royals in Bridgetown last week. It was the 12th over of the innings and cost 23: there were four wides and three no-balls – and a wicket, when Quinton de Kock gloved a catch behind.The only other 13-ball over we can find was by Tangeni Lungameni for Namibia v Kenya in East London in 2018. It was his first over, and included seven wides – but he recovered well, sending down no more wides and finishing with 1 for 28 in his four overs.Ravichandran Ashwin has now scored six Test centuries, all from No. 8 or lower, I believe. Is this a record? asked Kiran Mehta from India

Although R Ashwin does now have six Test centuries, following his match-turning effort in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai last week, only four of them came from No. 8 – he scored two while up at No. 6: 113 in Antigua and 118 in St Lucia during India’s series in the West Indies in 2016.Ashwin has scored four centuries from No. 8, which puts him level with Daniel Vettori of New Zealand, and one ahead of the Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal. Vettori scored his first hundred from No. 9. He leads the way with five Test centuries from No. 8 or lower in the order.Was Keacy Carty the first Test cricketer to emerge from Sint Maarten? asked Darrell Walcott from Barbados

The small Caribbean island of Sint Maarten, a constituent country of the Netherlands, is probably best known for its scary airport, whose runway adjoins the beach, meaning that incoming planes appear to be worryingly close to the sea before skimming over anxious holidaymakers. But you’re right, it does now have another claim to fame: batter Keacy Carty, who was born there in 1997, made his Test debut against South Africa in Port-of-Spain in August. In the second innings he batted briefly with Mikyle Louis, the first West Indian Test cricketer from the island of St Kitts.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

He has always been able to bowl these unreal spells, but this one was doubly special

Vithushan Ehantharajah18-Feb-2023We were all thinking it.The Barmy Army had awoken from their early evening slumber on the third day of this Test, pushing right up to the picket fences at the City end in Mount Maunganui, a thousand corner men hyping their prize fighter. The hums were deafening, yet no words among them. You could swear you heard the knowing looks cast into every set of eyes that looked back.But no one dared to say it. Not out loud. Not even when Devon Conway (2) and Kane Williamson (0) had their stumps rearranged in the two overs from that end. The knees were pumping, the tail was up. And as Stuart Broad set off for his third over of demonic hour, even though you knew he was in the midst of it, you wouldn’t want to be the one who jinxed it. Form the words “one of those Broad spells” in your mind, sure. But don’t risk speaking it.With the second ball, a drop. Zak Crawley, for the second time in the match, shells a regulation slip chance. Someone’s said it, haven’t they? Tom Latham scampers away for two. Couldn’t help themselves, could they? It’s hard to begrudge, to be fair.Related

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• Stuart Broad runs riot through the night to leave New Zealand in tatters

Australia at The Oval in 2009. India at Trent Bridge in 2011, South Africa at Headingley in 2012, New Zealand at Lord’s in 2013. Australia at Chester-le-Street in 2013. Australia at Trent Bridge in 2015. South Africa in Johannesburg in 2016. Why not New Zealand at Bay Oval in 2023? Why wouldn’t you want to turn to the person next to you and tell them you were living the next one?No doubt that chatter has happened more times than during the seven above, all of which saw Broad take five or more wickets unchanged. You here reading this might have been one of those jinxes. Baseball has its “perfect game”, where pitchers go for no base hits and those two words must never be uttered until it is done. Maybe it’s the same deal with “one of those Broad spells”, or words to that effect. Don’t utter it to yourselves, each other and certainly not to the player at the centre of it all. They, of course, wouldn’t dream of it.Except that Broad did. As Crawley cursed under his breath and Latham breathed a sigh of relief, Broad stomped back to his mark. James Anderson joined him for part of the stomp, the pair now out in front as the most prolific bowling duo in Test history thanks to Broad’s early inroads. “Pfff, you know – what if that had been taken?” Broad said he told Anderson. “I feel it could’ve been my day.”Four deliveries later, Latham’s off stump was knocked back.ESPNcricinfo LtdOf course, Broad is immune to universal whims. How could he not be? Three overs later, first-innings centurion Tom Blundell had his middle stump knocked back. New Zealand were reeling on 28 for 5 in pursuit of what now looks an unlikely fourth-innings chase of 394 – Broad clean bowling four of them for just 15 inside 6.2 overs. “I can’t think I’ve done that before,” he said cycling through spells in his head like Springsteen being asked for his favourite lyric. As it happens, he became the first Englishman to bowl the top three since Fred Trueman against West Indies in Kingston in 1960.There was no over-complication in Broad’s mind, because there has never been when he is in this groove, and he knew he was. No thoughts on swinging one way or the other, mixing up lengths, or lining up a batter’s movements. There was no one else there. It didn’t matter if he spoke of what was to come – all there was to him were three sticks in the ground.There would be no fifth. Broad reluctantly went as far as a tenth over, eventually closing out on 4 for 21 with five maidens. “I was buggered,” he admitted, explaining he had lost the snap and energy in his delivery that made the most of the movement on the pitch accentuated by nightfall. “I didn’t want a tenth but Stokesy wouldn’t have it.”It seems like the captain himself was saying it aloud, too. Which matters far more than what the rest of us were or weren’t.Over the last couple of years, it has been hard not to talk of Broad’s powers dwindling. It was at its loudest in 2021 when he returned just 12 wickets from 13 innings – comfortably his worst from a calendar year in which he has played more than one Test. The emergence of Ollie Robinson and the prolonged brilliance of Anderson made it a little easier to fathom. Even when both he and Anderson were dropped for the West Indies series last March, it looked terminal for one, and it wasn’t the bloke about to turn 40, even if both had thoughts about retiring altogether. The natural consequence of being a great in a greater great’s shadow. The breakdown of their combined dismissals has Anderson over a 100 in front, despite Broad’s effort to even the scales here.But since Ben Stokes became captain, Broad has bowled the third-most overs after Jack Leach and Anderson, while taking 34 wickets. His time is clearly not up, his purpose not served. The one new factor to consider is that a starting berth is no longer guaranteed, which he acknowledges: “I can’t control whether I play or not, but I can control whether I’m fit, fresh, in rhythm and hungry. And my competitive spirit is high.”Of course, without the requisite stage, there would not have been an opportunity for Broad to own it. England’s Super Smash Bros blitzed 158 for 4 in the first session before a more subdued 112 for 2 from 27.5 overs in the second. A brief flurry after the second interval allowed them to reach 374 in their second innings to lead by 393 and, importantly, give them what turned out to be 23 overs against an accomplished top order.”The way we set the whole game up throughout the day, we were sort of building towards wanting to bowl as much as possible under the lights, with the harder pink ball,” Broad said. “It’s drier than it is in the first innings but we found it nips pretty quickly under lights.”As it happens, Broad thought he could be in play in a big way long before he took the field on day three. Tim Southee had just nipped a few through Joe Root in the morning session, and it was at that point, he says, the bowlers looked at each other. Each of them knew they had a part to play. And for all the talents of the other two, only one could have played it like this.Agony and ecstasy: Kane Williamson bows his head while his conqueror Stuart Broad wheels away•Getty ImagesThere’s something to be said for regarding this spell as something of a throwback. Yes, it has all the trappings of the modern era: fast-paced, mind-melting exhilarating, hitting fast-forward on the match itself. But that it has transferred into one of the most Bazball fixtures of the 11 so far, not just given the scoring but the fact Ben Foakes batted above Stokes because the skipper was sat on the toilet, speaks to something greater. Aspects of what made the old era great are being allowed to flourish in the new.Which brings us neatly to the Nighthawk. Coined by Stokes last summer as a byproduct of an environment cultivated by the coach Brendon McCullum where no idea is too ridiculous, and given to Broad, the role and its purpose are relatively straightforward: go out and swing in the moments when a traditional nightwatcher may block.The original Hawk swooped into our lives on Friday night (Sorry Rehan, but you were an understudy) after McCullum tipped Broad off the physio table and into his pads at 8.45pm on day two. It didn’t work, of course. Six off 13 overnight, then 7 off 17 three overs into the day was neither the 30 off 10 nor the 0 off 1 regarded as success for the role. But that’s not the point. Maybe it never was.The Nighthawk could just be a way to coax the chaos out of Broad which, truth be told, has been missing. Perhaps since the last of “one those Broad spells” in 2016. And lo and behold, this Frankenstein’s monster made up of one-part tactic and two-parts banter has given Broad a new lease of life.As he strode out to assume the role for the first time, the 13-hour time difference was such that those at home had roused themselves enough to get #NightHawk trending in the UK. A day later, his real name was top of the viral pops. The man himself proving once more that no alias, mask or cape is required for him to arrive in the nick of time.Time moves faster when you’re 36, and each day brings us closer to when his powers will truly dissipate. It was hard not to wonder if it was approaching sooner rather than later after 1 for 72 in 17 overs of the first innings.Does Mount Maunganui 2023 ranks alongside the Oval 2009, Trent Bridge 2011, Headingley 2012, Lord’s 2013, Chester-le-Street 2013, Trent Bridge in 2015 and Johannesburg in 2016? Broad replied, “If I would have got five tonight then maybe.”Suddenly panic. Could we say the next one was coming on Sunday to bump it up, as England close in on victory? “Not yet,” he added. “Always room for improvement.”

Root becomes the only England captain to score more than one double-century in away Tests

S Rajesh16-Jan-20211 – England batsman who has reached 8000 Test runs in fewer innings than Joe Root’s 178: Kevin Pietersen got there in 176. Four other England batsmen reached the mark in fewer than 200 innings. In all, 19 batsmen have made it to 8000 runs in fewer than 178 innings, of which Kumar Sangakkara’s 152 is the lowest.7 – England batsmen with 8000-plus Test runs. Among these players, Root’s average of 49.09 is the best, while Alec Stewart’s 39.54 is the lowest.ESPNcricinfo Ltd5 – Double-centuries by England batsmen in Asia. Root’s 228 is the second-highest among them, after Alastair Cook’s 263 against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in 2015. Mike Gatting and Graeme Fowler scored their double-hundreds in the same innings, against India in Chennai in 1985.4 – England captains who have scored double-hundreds in an away Test (including neutral venues); the others are Cook, Len Hutton and Ted Dexter. Root is the only England captain to achieve it twice: he also scored 226 against New Zealand in Hamilton in 2019. Among all captains, only Graeme Smith (four) and Stephen Fleming (three) have more than two double-hundreds as captain in away Tests.3.65 – England’s run-rate in their last seven innings in Sri Lanka, since the start of the 2018 series. Their run-rate in the first innings here was 3.59. Before 2018, their scoring rate here was 2.58.7 – Instances of Sri Lanka conceding a first-innings lead of more than 250 in a home Test. They have lost each of the six previous matches. The last time they batted first in a home Test and fell behind more than 250 was way back in 2000, against Pakistan also in Galle. Three of the seven instances were in one series, against India in 2017; each time India batted first and piled up huge totals.

A near-home run from Miami Marlins catcher Agustin Ramirez was prevented in unusual fashion by Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Blake Perkins.

In the top of the first inning, Ramirez hit a shot deep toward center field. The ball was set to fall just outside of the back wall for a home run before Perkins managed to reach over the fence and briefly get the ball in his glove. Perkins could not secure the ball for an out, but his efforts did enough to keep the baseball from going over the wall. Instead, the ball bounced on the top of the wall before landing back on the field.

The play was originally called a home run by the umpires, before it was overturned and finally ruled a double.

Though Perkins failed to catch the ball and record the out, he still did enough to prevent the home run, and the Brewers managed to keep the Marlins from scoring in that inning.

Each team would later score on solo home runs, and the game is tied 1–1 through six innings. The Brewers will look to pull off the win and hold onto the best record in MLB.

The Houston Astros will have a familiar face on the mound for Sunday's tilt against the Chicago White Sox, as veteran right-hander Lance McCullers will be starting for the first time in three years.

Injuries have derailed McCullers's career, having kept him out of game action since the 2022 season, when he last made a regular-season start on October 3 of that year. He started three games in the postseason during Houston's run to a World Series title, but has since been sidelined after undergoing surgery to remove a bone spur and repair his right flexor tendon in 2023. A setback in his recovery ended his 2024 season, and he's now finally ready to return to game action.

In his last full season back in 2021, McCullers made 28 starts and pitched 162 1/3 innings while recording a 3.16 ERA with 185 strikeouts. An All-Star in 2017, McCullers will hope to recapture some of the success he experienced earlier in his career.

Having missed the previous two seasons, McCullers admitted that the mental toll of missing so much action had impacted him, and he had even experienced doubts about his ability to get back to the mound, especially considering he'd also previously undergone Tommy John surgery.

"Well, I don't think quitting would be the word. Yeah, I definitely felt at times that my body wasn't going to be able to handle the necessary volume to get back to this point. I've had Tommy John, and sometimes guys, if they do come back, don’t come back very long. I was very successful after my first one and had another one with a full flexor. It’s been a long road for me," McCullers said in late April, via Leah Vann of Chron.

He's finally set to return to action, and he'll be hoping to put on a worthy display on the mound against the White Sox on Sunday.

Fast-bowling allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy’s return to action has been set back by neck spasms, which has “impacted his recovery and mobility”, according to a BCCI update on Wednesday morning.Reddy, 22, had sustained a left quadriceps injury during the second ODI against Australia on October 23. He missed the following ODI in Sydney, which India won by nine wickets to cut down the series margin to 2-1.India are already without their premier allrounder Hardik Pandya, who is recovering from a quadriceps injury of his own. Without Hardik, India have looked unbalanced, but the good news for them is that Shivam Dube, the other seam-bowling allrounder in the touring party, is fit and was picked in the XI for the first T20I in Canberra after being sidelined from the opening round of the Ranji Trophy with back stiffness.Reddy has had a difficult time with injuries, especially this year. In July, he had been ruled out of the fourth and fifth Tests in England with a knee injury. He had suffered the injury while training in the gym before hurting his quadriceps in Australia.He has played 15 internationals for India so far, since making his debut in the Perth Test in November 2024.In the first T20I in Canberra, India picked three spinners in Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel, sticking to their successful template from the Asia Cup, which they won in late September.

Tom Lawes took three for six in a five-over spell to lead Surrey’s response with the ball as Warwickshire replied with 132 for four after earlier bowling out the county champions for 246 despite fine half-centuries from Ryan Patel, Rory Burns and Ollie Pope.Leading second-placed Nottinghamshire by nine points with three matches to go in the Rothesay County Championship season, Surrey were particularly indebted to Patel’s superb unbeaten 72 from 67 balls after being put in by Warwickshire at the Kia Oval.And Lawes then whipped out Alex Davies, Sam Hain and Zen Malik in quick succession – all leg-before to fast, swinging deliveries – after Dan Worrall had Rob Yates well held at third slip for seven in his third over with the new ball.Davies made 22, Hain a first-ball duck and Malik eight and, at 47 for four, Warwickshire were in some trouble with 21 overs still to be bowled on day one.But Ed Barnard then joined Will Young, who was dropped on 10 at second slip off Matt Fisher, in an unbroken stand of 85 that meant honours were shared fairly evenly at the end of a gripping first day.Barnard reached stumps on 48 not out, with Young unbeaten on 35 and Surrey’s quicks needing to come back strongly on the second morning. Both batted with great spirit to rally their team after Lawes’ triple strike.Hunting a fourth successive championship title, Surrey were initially powered to 104 for one as Pope hit an eye-catching 50 off 55 balls and Burns reached 52.But Warwickshire, who like Surrey fielded a five-man pace attack, hit back either side of lunch to reduce Surrey to 188 for eight before the left-handed Patel counter-attacked in thrilling fashion and was joined by Fisher in a ninth wicket stand of 58.Patel struck 11 fours and a six pulled over wide mid-wicket off Michael Booth, who finished with two for 52 as Warwickshire’s seam quintet shared all ten wickets.Nathan Gilchrist, on his debut for the county as a loanee ahead of a permanent winter move from Kent, claimed three for 51 while Ethan Bamber took two for 47 and Barnard two for 42.Pope’s aggression provided Surrey with crucial early momentum after the loss of Dom Sibley, well held at third slip off Bamber for six in the morning’s third over.Both he and Burns enjoyed their fair share of good fortune against the moving ball but they also deserved the rewards of their positivity in a second wicket stand eventually worth 97 in just 17 overs.Pope, in particular, knocked Warwickshire’s seamers off their stride with the quality of his strokeplay while Burns produced a number of trademark pulls and square cuts to help to keep the scoreboard moving.At one stage, soon after Burns had thick-edged Gilchrist through a puzzlingly vacant third slip position for a boundary to take him to 38, the Surrey pair took six consecutive fours from the final four balls of a Booth over and then the first two deliveries of Gilchrist’s next over.Pope drove Booth straight and through mid off at the start of this sequence – the shots of the morning – and he had only just reached a 54-ball fifty when he fell to his 55th ball, edging Ed Barnard’s medium pace low to first slip on the stroke of noon.Barnard then nipped one back off the seam to have Ben Foakes leg-before for 11 and beat the new batsman Dan Lawrence with his next ball before Surrey reached lunch on 127 for three.Lawrence, on five, was badly dropped by keeper Davies off Bamber, who bowled a testing spell immediately after the interval and removed a disbelieving Burns soon afterwards when the Surrey captain pulled him straight to deep mid wicket where Malik took an excellent catch tumbling forward.Patel’s arrival kick-started the innings again, while Lawrence continued to struggle at the other end. The pair added 34 but Lawrence, having just punched Gilchrist through mid on for four to reach 20, was leg-before to the next ball as he shuffled across his stumps.Jordan Clark square cut his first ball for four but Gilchrist then made it two wickets in three deliveries when a thick edged carve flew to Young’s left at first slip.And Surrey slid to 188 for eight as Gus Atkinson (6) and Lawes, who bagged a fifth ball duck, nicked Ollie Hannon-Dalby and Gilchrist to second and third slip respectively.Fisher’s resistance, however, helped Patel to haul Surrey up well beyond 200 although they fell agonisingly short of a batting bonus point. Fisher, on 18, was pinned leg-before by Booth, who then produced a beauty next ball to hit the top of Worrall’s leg stump and leave Patel out of partners.

تحدث إسلام سليماني لاعب منتخب الجزائر، عن تعادل فريقه مع منتخب مصر الثاني، على هامش الاستعداد لبطولة كأس العرب.

وكان منتخب مصر الثاني تعادل بدون أهداف مع منتخب الجزائر، في المباراة التي جمعت بين الفريقين، على ملعب القاهرة الدولي.

طالع.. التعادل يحسم نتيجة مباراة منتخب مصر الثاني والجزائر استعدادًا لـ كأس العرب

وقال إسلام سليماني في تصريحات على قناة أون سبورت: “جئنا للتحضير لكأس العرب، ولاعبين جدد، الفريق المصري قوي ومعروف، المباراة الأولى خسرنا في الدقائق الأخيرة، لكن في المباراة الثانية أدينا بشكل جيد، والمكاسب جيدة، جئنا من أجل أن نتحسن قبل كأس العرب، وسنخوض كأس العرب خطوة بخطوة”.

وأضاف: “كل المنتخبات قوية، هذه النسخة ستكون أقوى من النسخ الماضية، مصر والسعودية والأردن وتونس، نحن كحامل اللقب سنلعب كل مباراة على حدة”.

وتابع: “جئنا هنا لكي نتجانس أكثر خاصة وأن هناك لاعبين جدد، وواجهنا منتخب مصر الفريق القوي، وسنصل إلى نهائي كأس العرب رفقة منتخب مصر”.

From Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane to Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins, MLS has featured some high-octane duos

Major League Soccer is built on star power, but not always on individuals. Sometimes the stars align, quite literally in this case, to create something even better. Throughout the league's history, dynasties have been formed by high-profile pairings, tandems that have helped lead some of the best teams in league history.

From the early days in MLS, some of the league's all-time teams have been led by two dynamic attacking players. And we might just be seeing another league-altering duo emerge. Son Heung-Min and Denis Bouanga are running right through MLS, and not just the regular season. Austin FC were recently put to the sword by LAFC's new duo, who combined for two goals and three assists in a 4-1 MLS playoff win on Sunday.

Like all great duos, Son and Bouanga have a natural chemistry. They're also individually dangerous. Son, of course, has long been one of the best wingers in the world. Bouanga, meanwhile, has blossomed into one of the most fearsome goalscorers in the league, one that was striking fear in defenses long before his South Korean running mate arrived.

GOAL takes a look at the all-time great MLS duos.

Getty Images SportLA Galaxy: Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane

Yes, there was the David Beckham era for the LA Galaxy. But there was another following the English icon's departure: the Donovan-Keane era.

Landon Donovan remains the true face of the LA Galaxy, the star that accomplished it all during his extended run as the guy in MLS. There's a reason the MLS MVP award is named after him. He didn't do it alone, though, as, starting in 2011, he was joined by Irish star Robbie Keane to form a duo that turned winning MLS Cups into something of a habit.

During their four seasons together, they lifted the big trophy three times. Each time, Donovan and Keane were a huge part of it.

"It’s been an honor to play with him," Keane said of Donovan at the time. "The understanding that we’ve both had on the field, the amount of goals both of us have scored and assists we have provided over the last four years has been fantastic. It is definitely up there with the best partnerships I’ve had in the game."

During their run together, they accounted for 174 combined goals and assists, nearly half of the Galaxy's numbers in total in that stretch. It's why, for many, Keane and Donovan remain the gold standard for partnerships in MLS.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportSeattle Sounders: Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins

They were here for a good time, not a long time, and those in Seattle would say it was a very, very good time. In the spring and summer of 2013, the Sounders took two big swings to bring Obafemi Martins and Clint Dempsey on board from Europe. It was, particularly at the time, a massive statement from the club. In truth, the ball didn't get rolling right away but, once it did, there was no stopping it.

In 2014, the Oba-Deuce duo exploded, leading the Sounders to the Supporters' Shield and the U.S. Open Cup. Martins finished with 17 goals, a club record, as well as 13 assists. Dempsey had 15 goals. What made those so special, though, was the manner in which they were scored. 

Throughout their run together, Dempsey and Martins often made it look like they were playing in a recreational league, not in MLS' biggest matches. There was a certain ease and flair to every goal they scored.

"I love playing with Oba," Dempsey said in 2015. "He’s one of the players I’ve enjoyed the most playing with in my career because it reminds me of being a kid playing pickup style, just thinking alike and knowing that if you make the right run, he’s going to find you."

Unfortunately, neither Dempsey nor Martins were around for the Sounders' crowning achievement two years later. Martins had, at that point, headed to China for a massive payday. Dempsey, meanwhile, was sidelined with a heart condition that prevented him from helping the Sounders lift the MLS Cup that winter.

For those who remember that era, though, the Dempsey-Martins combo was just as iconic as the MLS Cup trophy – and they paved the way.

Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY SportsToronto FC: Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco

During the mid-to-late-2010s, MLS was often defined by Seattle and Toronto, who met in the league final three times in a four-year span. Toronto was led by an attacking duo of their own. One big, one small, but Toronto FC's two attackers – Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco – ultimately ended up being a perfect pairing.

“For me, it’s a pleasure to play with Jozy," Giovinco said. "He’s more physical, I’m more technical, so we complete each other.”

After swinging and missing with Jermain Defoe, Toronto FC handed the attacking keys to Altidore and Giovinco, who arrived in January 2015. What followed was nothing short of magic. Giovinco, the diminutive Italian, became the first player to lead MLS in goals and assists in the same season. He was also the first player to record consecutive seasons of 30-plus goals and assists.

Altidore, meanwhile, was right there with him, hitting double figures for goals in each of their first three seasons together. With Altidore and Giovinco leading the line, and Michael Bradley anchoring the midfield, Toronto FC made it to three MLS Cups, winning in 2017. They also won a Supporters' Shield and three Canadian Championships, with Altidore and Giovinco playing definitive roles.

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Getty Images SportD.C. United: Marco Etcheverry and Jaime Moreno

One for the OGs here. Marco Etcheverry and Jaime Moreno were the league's original duo and, to this day, their achievements match up with virtually any other. The two Bolivian stars were the iconic faces of MLS' early years, with Etcheverry so often the creator and Moreno so often the one finishing.

Together, they won three MLS Cups to establish D.C. United's dominance in the league's first years. To take it one step further, they also lifted a CONCACAF Champions Cup, too, to prove that D.C. – and MLS – could compete with the very best in the region.

“I’ve known Marco since my first cap with the national team in the 1991 Copa America," Moreno said in 2013. "Since then, we have always had an amazing friendship. We then met at D.C. and my arrival to the club was so quick, I don’t think he was even expecting it. Marco means titles, and with him, we had the best years in D.C.

"Today, soccer is different and is not as exquisite as it was before. Marco used to put that exquisite touch to the game and to D.C.”

For many, they will be the best on this list, and there's plenty to back that up. Both were named to MLS All-Time Best XI in 2005 and, while MLS has evolved since they ran things in the late '90s, they remain part of the league's foundation.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Botafogo deve apresentar novidades em sua retomada do Campeonato Brasileiro após a pausa da Data Fifa. O técnico Bruno Lage acenou com mudanças no treino com o elenco nos últimos dias para definir a equipe que medirá forças com o Atlético-MG, sábado (16), às 21h.

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A principal é fazer com que Di Plácido retome sua titularidade na lateral direita. O argentino foi preterido para JP Galvão ser lançado como titular na derrota por 2 a 1 para o Flamengo, no Nilton Santos.

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Lage, porém, segue com uma dúvida no setor ofensivo. O comandante ainda não definiu se Júnior Santos ou Matías Segovia será o titular na ponta-direita.

Outra mudança acontecerá no meio de campo. Com Gabriel Pires cumprindo suspensão, Tchê Tchê deve voltar a ser titular.

O Glorioso tende a atuar com: Lucas Perri; Di Plácido, Adryelson, Victor Cuesta e Marçal; Marlon Freitas, Tchê Tchê e Eduardo; Júnior Santos (Matías Segovia), Tiquinho Soares e Victor Sá.

Relacionados para o jogo com o Atlético-MG, neste sábado, pelo Campeonato Brasileiro. ⚽️???? #VamosBOTAFOGO pic.twitter.com/orVkpC4U7Q

— Botafogo F.R. (@Botafogo) September 15, 2023

O Botafogo tem 51 pontos e segue na liderança com folga. O Atlético-MG tem 31.