Henry Nicholls hit a fine 68 before disciplined Bangladesh bowlers restricted New Zealand to 247-8 in the opening one-day international in Dhaka on Friday.

New Zealand, who won the toss and chose to bat in what is the first of a three-match ODI series, were tested early by left-arm seamer Shoriful Islam, drafted in at the last minute to replace Mustafizur Rahman due to knee discomfort.

Shoriful, who last played an ODI in December 2024, created an immediate impact, removing opener Nick Kelly for seven and conceding just nine runs in his first five overs, while also creating two further chances.

Nicholls then anchored the innings with a composed 68 off 83 balls, hitting nine fours for his 17th ODI half-century.

The 34-year-old stitched together useful partnerships with Will Young (30) and captain Tom Latham (14) to steady the innings after the early setback.

Young survived an early drop on one off Shoriful but fell to leg-spinner Rishad Hossain while attempting a reverse sweep, edging to slip.

Rishad struck again soon after, dismissing Nicholls with another failed reverse sweep to leave New Zealand under pressure.

Latham and Muhammad Abbas failed to build on the platform, but all-rounder Dean Foxcroft counter-attacked with a brisk 59 off 58 balls, featuring eight fours, to lift the visitors past 200.

He was eventually bowled by Nahid Rana attempting a yorker-length delivery.

Nathan Smith’s unbeaten 21 off 22 balls provided a late boost as New Zealand reached a competitive total.

Shoriful finished with 2-27, while Taskin Ahmed and Rishad Hossain claimed two wickets apiece for Bangladesh.

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Archie Gray is being considered for a summer move by Bayern Munich and Liverpool, while Arsenal are ahead of the pack in the pursuit of Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon. Join us for the latest transfer news and rumors from around the globe.

Transfers home page | Men’s winter grades | Women’s grades

TRENDING RUMORS

– Bayern Munich and Liverpool are exploring a move for Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Archie Gray, the Daily Mail reports. Gray, 20, is one of several players that could be moved on if Spurs suffer relegation from the Premier League this season, with both European giants keeping close tabs on his situation. The report adds that Gray’s teammate Lucas Bergvall could also leave, and the 20-year-old is admired by both Chelsea and Aston Villa.

– Arsenal are leading the race for Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon, according to The Sun. It is reported that the Gunners are in the strongest position to sign the 25-year-old, who would prefer to move to a club in London if he is to leave Tyneside this summer. Gordon is also on the radar of Liverpool and Bayern Munich, and there is belief that a £75 million offer would be enough to persuade the Magpies to part ways with him. The former Everton player scored 10 goals in Newcastle’s UEFA Champions League campaign this season.

– Barcelona, Arsenal, and Napoli are tracking Palmeiras defender Luiz Benedetti. Diario AS reports that all three clubs hold long-standing interest in the 19-year-old, who Como manager Cesc Fabregas has identified as a potential replacement for defender Jacobo Ramón. The Brazilian side are believed to have anticipated interest in his signature from Europe before signing him to a contract extension that secures his future until December 2029 last year, but it is said that they would be willing to part ways with him if they receive an offer worth €25 million.

– Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister is on the radar of several clubs in Europe, according to the Daily Telegraph. The 27-year-old could be offloaded in the summer, with as many as nine players linked with a potential Anfield exit. One of those is Joe Gomez, with AC Milan, Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace are said to remain interested in securing the 28-year-old’s signature, and he could be open to leaving Merseyside to go in search of a new challenge. Gomez joined the Reds from Charlton Athletic in the summer of 2015.

– Barcelona could pass on activating the permanent option clause to sign on-loan Manchester United winger Marcus Rashford, according to Marca. The Blaugrana have the option to sign the 28-year-old for a fee of €30 million, but it is reported that the club’s hierarchy are concerned about his recent drop in performance, with Rashford having scored just two goals in his last 16 matches. They are beginning to explore potential alternatives for the upcoming summer transfer window.

EXPERT TAKE

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Would signing Anthony Gordon make sense for Bayern Munich?

Gab Marcotti & Julien Laurens discuss reports linking Bayern Munich with Anthony Gordon.

OTHER RUMORS

– Manchester United and Fulham have joined Napoli and Inter Milan in the race to sign Benfica’s Colombia international midfielder Richard Ríos this summer. (A Bola)

– Barcelona are exploring a move for Bayer Leverkusen left-back Alejandro Grimaldo. (Ekrem Konur)

– Chelsea defender Levi Colwill is expected to sign a new long-term contract at Stamford Bridge. (The Times)

– AC Milan are weighing up a move for Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic. (Gazzetta dello Sport)

– Chelsea have entered the race for Bournemouth defender Marcos Senesi. (TEAMtalk)

– Sevilla are considering an approach to sign Liverpool goalkeeper Armin Pecsi on loan. (Diario AS)

– Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka has been placed at the top of AC Milan’s shortlist as they look to sign him on a free transfer, offering him a contract until the summer of 2029 worth €5 million a season. (Nicolo Schira)

– Talks remain ongoing between Atlético Madrid and Atalanta regarding a deal for midfielder Éderson. (Ben Jacobs)

– Liverpool have Inter Milan right-back Denzel Dumfries on their radar, having made an inquiry for him in January. (Gazzetta dello Sport)

– Real Madrid have no plans to begin a squad overhaul in the summer despite their elimination from the Champions League and disappointing LaLiga form. (Mundo Deportivo)

– Multiple clubs in Europe are watching the situation of Lens defender Malang Sarr, who is set to become a free agent in the summer. (Foot Mercato)

– Crystal Palace defender Mofe Jemide is attracting interest from PSV Eindhoven and Celta Vigo. (Rudy Galetti)

– Morten Hjulmand‘s agent, Ivan Marko Benes, is confident his client will continue at Sporting CP amid reported interest from Premier League clubs. (Record)

The NWSL’s board of governors is expected to vote later this month on whether to flip the league’s calendar to a fall-to-spring season, multiple sources told ESPN.

The NWSL season currently kicks off in March and ends in November, but a change — one that has been debated for years and previously voted down — would see the season start in late summer and end in late spring. That would align the NWSL with many of Europe’s top leagues and soon, with MLS, which will make the transition to fall-to-spring next year.

The NWSL’s board has debated changing the season footprint for at least three years, and a flip of the calendar was narrowly voted down in late 2024, ESPN previously reported. Intense debate over the topic has continued within league circles.

Another vote on the calendar could happen at the upcoming board meeting, sources said, although the agendas to such meetings change frequently, and the terms of potential proposals can be altered right up until voting begins, as they did in December with the implementation of the new High Impact Player rule.

Even if there is a vote that successfully passes a calendar change — which is not guaranteed, since support of the idea is not unanimous — it could take years to implement.

An NWSL spokesperson declined to comment on this story.

NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said in November that “our ecosystem is on notice” about the league potentially changing its calendar.

“There are certainly opportunities that can be created with us not overlapping Major League Soccer, in that the schedule congestion for our summer calendar will be mitigated,” Berman said before the 2025 NWSL Championship. “On the other hand, there will of course be other challenges that it creates in terms of understanding and knowing stadium availability.”

Proponents of the change believe that aligning the NWSL’s calendar with Europe will improve transfer business and allow the NWSL to better operate around FIFA international windows.

Sources told ESPN that there is also a belief among some board members that there is less competition for prime TV time in late spring and that the NWSL playoffs could have a larger audience in that window. Maximizing revenue from the next media rights deal is the NWSL board’s current top priority, multiple sources have told ESPN over the past year, and Berman has spoken about the topic frequently.

Critics of a calendar change point to the NWSL’s many cold-weather markets and potential player safety issues around holding games in frigid conditions, although extreme heat is already an issue during the NWSL’s summer months. They are also concerned about how cold temperatures and potential weather delays would impact attendance, which dipped on average last year.

The NWSL’s board of governors will meet later this month. Any potential league vote is likely to result in a narrow decision in either direction, as was the case in 2024.

MLS owners voted in November to flip the calendar and mirror Europe. MLS will make the transition by playing an abbreviated “sprint season” next spring before switching to a full season for 2027-28. MLS will begin its new seasons in July, take a winter break from mid-December through early February and finish the playoffs in late May.

The NWSL could follow a similar path but on a delayed timeline.

The NWSL’s new collective bargaining agreement, which was ratified in 2024, accounted for a potential change by eliminating restrictions to preseason start dates and by adding an entire section (27.9) accounting for a schedule format change. That section requires the league to provide no less than one year’s notice to the NWSL Players Association if it intends to switch to a fall-to-spring format.

After that, the CBA calls for the league and the union to form a scheduling committee and allow for NWSLPA input, as well as bargain over necessary changes that conflict with the current CBA, “but the NWSL retains the discretion to make the format change.”

There are natural breaks in the calendar for the NWSL to attempt a transition. The 2028 Summer Olympics will be in Los Angeles (and the Olympics soccer event spread across the U.S.), and the 2031 Women’s World Cup is expected to be primarily hosted in the United States, although the formal approval of that uncontested bid has been delayed by FIFA.

Changing the calendar has the support of many sporting executives across the league because it will put NWSL contracts at the same cadence as those in Europe, where deals typically expire in the summer. That, executives have said for years, will make player transfers easier.

In ESPN’s first anonymous general manager survey in 2024, one GM said that the intense debate over the calendar was “actually the biggest question facing the league.”

Turning the summer into the offseason would also allow the NWSL to avoid one of its largest headaches: international tournaments. The league tried to play through the 2015 and 2019 Women’s World Cups despite missing swaths of star players before finally taking a five-week break for the 2023 edition.

Between the World Cup, the Olympics and continental tournaments such as the Euros, there are major international calendar conflicts three out of every four summers. (And this year, in the one down summer in that cycle, the NWSL instilled a monthlong break because of the men’s World Cup taking over many of its venues and markets.)

MLS and the NWSL currently mirror each other in operating seasons that start at the beginning of the calendar year (usually February or March) and end with playoffs that run until the end of the year. MLS and the NWSL have both kicked off their seasons early in the calendar year since their inceptions in 1996 and 2013, respectively.

The USL Super League, which is also sanctioned as a U.S. women’s first division alongside the NWSL, launched in 2024 and already plays roughly a fall-to-spring schedule, kicking off in August and concluding in May.