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This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets… 

Queens Park Rangers were handed their first defeat in four Championship games on Saturday afternoon as they gifted West Brom all three points.

They started the afternoon just one point behind the west Midlands club and managed to keep them quiet throughout the first half, restricting them to only two shots – none of which were on target, per SofaScore.

But in the second half, two errors handed the Baggies a 2-0 victory.

The first came within eight minutes as young full-back Nathan Ferguson was allowed so much time and space on the ball before he fired in from 25 yards.

And then less than ten minutes from time, Yoann Barbet received his marching orders as he was adjudged to have brought down substitute Hal Robson-Kanu whilst being the last man.

Matheus Pereira stepped up and slotted the free-kick underneath the wall to stun goalkeeper Joe Lumley.

QPR struggled to cope with the dangerous width that Slaven Bilic’s men had at their disposal, nowhere more so than on the right flank where Todd Kane was particularly underwhelming.

The former Chelsea graduate had to face the goalscorer Ferguson as well as West Ham loanee Grady Diangana all afternoon, and he struggled to cope.

Kane lost possession a massive 25 times which would have only invited the pressure straight back onto the home side with the aforementioned duo a key threat throughout the game, recording four shots between them.

The 26-year-old also conceded one foul, won just half of his six ground duels, and registered a poor 66% passing success rate, per SofaScore.

Ferguson was allowed time and space in the exact area in which Kane should have been defending – if he had put some pressure on the youngster then maybe he wouldn’t have been able to pull the trigger from range.

The game could have gone a different way if that were the case, making Kane a significant factor in the Rs’ downfall.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

Aston Villa’s start to life in the Premier League has been far from easy – an opening day defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur, who made the Champions League final; three losses in four; VAR controversy.

So the international break probably came at just the right time, allowing Dean Smith and his men time to step back and see what is going so wrong.

It’s hard to put the finger on exactly what the problem is; against Spurs they held their own for the best part of an hour before crumbling; the scoreline certainly flattered Mauricio Pochettino’s men. They should have also picked up a point against Crystal Palace after referee Kevin Friend wrongly disallowed their injury-time equaliser.

Next up is West Ham on Monday night which is a chance to put the rest of the league on notice – that Villa aren’t here to mess around and that they certainly aren’t another ‘Fulham’. There were glimpses against Everton; it needs to happen again – but how?

On the Chalkboard

One of the keys to success for Smith’s side will be how well their midfield can get on top of the game – Jack Grealish and John McGinn are likely to be instrumental in gaining all three points.

According to WhoScored, one of the Hammers’ biggest weaknesses is defending against through ball attacks whilst the same website lists one of Villa’s major strengths as creating chances using through balls.

That should be music to Wesley’s ears, provided the midfield pair are up to the test of providing him. His strike against Everton springs to mind when thinking about how they’ll breach Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna.

Watch Aston Villa Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

McGinn, returning from Scotland duty this week, averages the second-most through balls per game at 0.3 – but that sort of output is going to need to be increased to have success against this West Ham backline.

Grealish, on the other hand, is averaging 2 key passes per game, the most in the Villa squad, with McGinn close behind at 1.5 per match, via WhoScored.

Around 42% of goals conceded by Manuel Pellegrini’s men have come from through balls, so it is certainly something that needs to be exploited.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Writing in The Daily Mirror, Stan Collymore has suggested Marcus Rashford risks becoming the new Theo Walcott if he doesn’t nail down a position in the near future.

What did he say?

The England international has previously admitted to favouring the number nine role, but has often been deployed from the left-hand side in his time with Manchester United.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate re-opened the debate over Rashford’s best position after the game against Bulgaria, and now, Collymore has insisted the time has come for the 21-year-old to define what he is.

He said: “If Marcus Rashford isn’t careful then, sooner rather than later, he is going to find himself cast as the modern-day Theo Walcott. Someone who isn’t seen as an out-and-out winger or straight-up No.9 but a Jack of all trades as a forward and master of none.

“That’s why now is the perfect time for him to decide whether that’s the way he wants to go. Or would he rather be a player who lives or dies as a No.9.

“If he’s happy to play anywhere if it means being an England regular then that’s his call. But if that is the case over the next five to 10 years then I worry about the negative impact such a decision could have on his club career because of the message it sends. There’s no way Rashford can toddle off with England every few months and play out wide and then go back to Old Trafford and play like Ruud van Nistelrooy. So there’s a potential problem brewing for him.”

Jack of all trades

Being as versatile as Rashford is, there are always going to be times where he gets shunted out of his preferred role in order to accommodate one of his teammates. As Collymore says, it may be the perfect time however for the United academy product to take a stand.

If Southgate intends to use Harry Kane as England’s out-and-out centre-forward and only sees Rashford as someone to use off the flanks, then it may be in the latter’s best interests to put his foot down.

Making a definitive statement that he is a number nine would allow him to hone his craft far more effectively than if he were to stand by his versatility. This promises to be a crucial juncture in the 21-year-old’s career, and it’s important he thinks of the long-term rewards rather than the short-term pain of possibly sitting behind Kane for a while.

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Between them, Hardik and Santner bowled just four overs, possibly because of Shreyas Iyer’s presence in the middle

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jun-20252:30

Why didn’t Hardik and Santner complete their quota of overs?

In the end, Mumbai Indians’ (MI) 203 was not even enough to take the Punjab Kings (PBKS) chase into the last over. And that could well have been because of a couple of errors in judgment on the part of Hardik Pandya and the MI think tank in crunch moments in the IPL 2025 Qualifier 2. Why didn’t Hardik himself bowl more than the two overs he did? Why did Mitchell Santner bowl just two overs? Why did Reece Topley bowl the 13th over?All this is in hindsight, of course, and while Santner being kept away because spin-destroyer Shreyas Iyer was batting might make sense, Hardik not bowling after the tenth was a puzzle.”First of all, Hardik, Santner and [Jasprit] Bumrah were going to be the three main bowlers, who had to bowl 12 overs together,” Varun Aaron said on ESPNcricinfo’s Time Out show. “But Hardik and Santner have just bowled two overs each. I don’t know why Hardik didn’t bowl four overs in this game. This wicket, he has bowled so much on this wicket playing for GT, he had to bowl four overs.”Related

• The night MI felt the full force of Shreyas' ire

• Stats – A captain's innings from Iyer ends MI's proud record

• Sensational Shreyas Iyer powers PBKS to second IPL final

Hardik bowled the eighth over, giving away just two runs and picking up the wicket of the big-hitting Josh Inglis. The tenth went for 17. Nothing Hardik bowled was further up than a length, and five of the 12 balls he bowled were pace-off. He seemed to be doing the right things even if Iyer and Nehal Wadhera got runs off him in that second over.”He looked very difficult to get away, especially in his first over,” Aaron said. “Yeah, he went for a few in his second, but he should have still persevered because his plans were right, and he executed them really well: back of length, bouncers, slower bouncers…”Tom Moody, Aaron’s fellow panelist, felt that Trent Boult dropping Wadhera off the last ball of what turned out to be Hardik’s spell might have forced a change of plan.”Hardik should have had a two-for. That second over, that catch that you’d expect Trent Boult to take 99 times out of 100. He fresh-aired it. Not even a firm glove on it,” Moody said. “He should have bowled. He was executing what was required on that surface. And that was an opportunity that was missed. He should have had a two-for, and I agree, he should have come back and grabbed the bull by the horns, and said, ‘right, okay, I’m going to bowl in here’.”1:26

Moody: Dhir should be batting ahead of Hardik

If Hardik had bowled more, Topley, playing his first game of the season after two months of bowling in the nets, might not have come on for a third over – the 13th – and been carted for 19 runs, mainly by Iyer.”Topley looked like a bowler that was conditioned for nets but way off the mark for real, high-pressure, competitive cricket,” Moody said. “That’s what he was missing. It’s very hard to come from being on top of your game, feeling you’ve got rhythm, bowling good areas in the nets, to suddenly transferring that to a pressure-game situation.”It might have been the over that turned the game, Iyer’s hat-trick of sixes bringing the required run rate from 11.87 after the 12th to 10.85 after the 13th.

Moody: ‘Hardik didn’t back Santner because of Shreyas’ presence’

Santner finished a high-scoring IPL 2025 with an economy rate of 7.92. On Sunday night, his two overs went for 15 runs. He didn’t bowl anymore. Iyer is a great hitter of spin and Wadhera, the other batter for a large part of the chase – they added 84 for the fourth wicket – is a left-hand batter, making it an unfavourable match-up for Santner. But still…3:14

Rapid Fire review – Shreyas Iyer’s hat-trick of sixes turned the match

“I mean, you can look at it in different ways. I think Hardik looked at it because we knew that there were a couple of match-ups against Nehal and he didn’t want to get the game away from him,” Mahela Jayawardene, the MI head coach, said at the press conference after the game. “Then after that just the game went away from him because they had those two big overs [the 14th, from Boult, went for 14 runs]. After that he was a bit hesitant to bring Mitch back again.”There’s lots of ifs and buts – we could have done this, we could have done that – but I think when we executed those things in the past, it has worked for us and gone our way and today it didn’t. So I think the game is such that you have to make some decisions and sometimes it goes, sometimes it doesn’t, so we will reflect on that, have a debrief.”It wasn’t just Wadhera. Iyer was perceived as a danger for Santner too, Moody suggested.”[Hardik] needed to back Santner. I felt that he didn’t back Santner because of Shreyas’ presence at the crease. Because he is such a good player of spin, [Hardik] felt that Shreyas may take to him,” Moody said. “But I’d be backing the bowler. Santner is a very crafty bowler. International pedigree. He’s been there and done that in those moments. Back him!”

With English conditions in mind, Zimbabwe have replaced legspinner Masekesa with seamer Nyamhuri

ESPNcricinfo staff03-May-2025Sikandar Raza is back in Zimbabwe’s Test squad for their one-off four-day Test against England, which is set to be played in Nottingham from May 22 to 25. The allrounder returns after franchise T20 commitments led him to miss the Bulawayo Test against Ireland in February and the recently-concluded two-Test series in Bangladesh.Raza replaces Johnathan Campbell in the 15-man squad that toured Bangladesh, while Clive Madande returns from injury, replacing Nyasha Mayavo as back-up wicketkeeper to Tafadzwa Tsiga. With English conditions in mind, Zimbabwe have left out legspinner Vincent Masekesa – who picked up a five-wicket haul on debut in Chattogram – and strengthened their seam attack with the inclusion of Newman Nyamhuri.Related

• England to host Zimbabwe for one-off four-day Test in May 2025

• Zimbabwe to receive touring fee from ECB for 2025 visit

• Bethell 'destined for greatness' as IPL stint trumps Zimbabwe Test call-up

“In terms of performance, I expect us to play to a standard that can compete with one of the best teams in the world,” Zimbabwe head coach Justin Sammons said. “I really want to see the guys walking out there believing that they belong, embracing and enjoying the moment.”The Nottingham Test will be Zimbabwe’s first in England since 2003, and their first international game in any format in the country since 2004. Following the four-day Test, the Zimbabweans will also play a four-day game against the South Africans in Arundel from June 3 to 6.That match will serve as preparation for South Africa ahead of the World Test Championship final against Australia, which is set to be played at Lord’s from June 11 to 15.

Zimbabwe squad for four-day Test against England

Craig Ervine (capt), Brian Bennett, Ben Curran, Trevor Gwandu, Clive Madande (wk), Wessly Madhevere, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Newman Nyamhuri, Victor Nyauchi, Sikandar Raza, Tafadzwa Tsiga (wk), Nick Welch, Sean Williams.

The KKR seamers pitched the ball “a touch fuller, which maybe allows for just a little bit of extra swing, which was their [SRH’s] undoing,” says Boucher

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-20252:53

Boucher: Arora’s length and swing caused trouble

IPL 2025 started with expectations of the 300 mark being breached in the competition, and after the second game of the season, where Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) scored 286 against Rajasthan Royals (RR), the expectations didn’t seem misplaced either. Five matches in, we at ESPNcricinfo looked at the trends, which suggested IPL 2025 would break all big-scoring records. But after the fifth game, 200 has been crossed touched once, and we’re 15 games in.One-dimensional, wham-bam batting plans? Pitches? What is it?Well, maybe the bowlers have had something to do with it.Speaking on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut show after Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat SRH by 80 runs at Eden Gardens – they were the team to touch 200, by the way – Mark Boucher, the former South Africa wicketkeeper-batter and Mumbai Indians (MI) head coach, said, “The one thing I did pick up is they [the KKR bowlers] bowled a touch fuller. I think the first three or four [SRH] wickets went out off the front foot: nick-offs, balls going up in the air. So that’s one thing they did learn: bowl a touch fuller. Which maybe allows for just a little bit of extra swing, which was their undoing.”Related

• The Arorana stumbling block in Travishek's rumbling road

• Venkatesh: 'Aggression does not mean tonking every ball for six'

• Rahane: Batting unit needs to learn from this game

• IPL 2025 vs 2024: Bowlers fight back, slog-overs runs take a hit

Travis Head fell first, to Vaibhav Arora, to a ball pitched up and swinging away. Harshit Rana got Abhishek Sharma next with a slower one. Arora then got Ishan Kishan with a full delivery again, though Kishan smashed it, only for Ajinkya Rahane to take a screamer at cover. Fourth out was Nitish Kumar Reddy, flicking an Andre Russell length ball to Sunil Narine in the on-side inflield. So, as Boucher said, the first four batters to fall were done in by full or length balls.But what’s changed?”I think a lot of bowlers got it in their minds that they [have to be] defensive, they hit that back-of-a-length nice and hard. On certain pitches, that works. On certain wickets that are fairly flat, you’ve got to ball the opportunity to swing,” Boucher said. “It’s not going to swing for the entire day, it’s going to swing for the first couple of overs. We saw [Mohammed] Siraj bowl in the powerplay [for Gujarat Titans (GT) against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)], he also got a lot of balls right up there and he got good results for it as well [3 for 19].Vaibhav Arora came in as an Impact sub and picked three wickets•BCCI

“If the ball is swinging – there’s only one way to find out if the ball is swinging, that’s to get a couple up there, that’s the braveness that we’re talking about. Let the ball shape. If it’s there for three of four overs, try to get one or two up, and that’s exactly what happened.”Boucher and his co-panellist Sanjay Bangar also gave away a little secret from their time as head coaches of IPL teams – Bangar has been head coach at Punjab Kings (PBKS) apart from holding coaching positions at a few other franchises.”The top orders, as far as batting is concerned, are a little bit headless at the moment, [going by] the kind of approach that is being seen. Whereas the bowlers [have been] rigorous, as usual,” Bangar said. “We have been through those bowling meetings; those seem to last longer. Maybe an hour, hour-and-a-half. Because we need to plan against each and every batter.1:10

Do SRH need to rethink their batting approach?

“But batting meetings, if at all there are any, are either during practice sessions or maybe a five- or ten-minuter. So clearly, I think, bowlers [are] putting more thought and getting more skilful as well.”Boucher wanted to wait for a few more matches – especially those featuring SRH, since, well, they are the ones tipped to be the 300 men – before passing judgment, but said, “The bowlers have had to get to that point where they start questioning themselves about certain things. Sanjay mentioned the bowlers’ meetings, and he’s 100% right. You spend hours with bowlers and each individual goes through each batter. So there’s a lot of education about where to bowl and all that type of stuff. I think bowlers have got better.”But the batters too… the game is set up for batting, let’s be brutally honest. So it’s still early doors to talk about whether bowlers have caught up.”What has happened for certain is that SRH have gone from 286 for 6 to 190 for 9 to 163 to 120, the last one chasing, the others batting first. The first one is the only one they have won. And, yes, 300 looks quite far away at this stage.

Every batter who takes the field in the IPL is now having to go through a bat-gauge test. Here is why

Nagraj Gollapudi17-Apr-20255:00

Rayudu: Bat checks done on the field can affect batters’ focus

Why has the IPL started measuring bats all of a sudden during IPL 2025? That has become a significant question ever since April 13, when match officials began using a gauge to measure bats.While the IPL has not put out an official statement on the reasons, ESPNcricinfo has learned the move has been made with an eye on maintaining the balance between bat and ball and ensuring that batters do not derive an undue advantage from using bigger bats.Related

• Essex hit out at 'stupid' ECB after club is docked points for illegal bat

• Narine and Nortje's bats fail the gauge test in PBKS vs KKR game

It is understood that the move was initially discussed by key decision-makers of the IPL before it was ratified by the tournament governing council and formally introduced on April 13. While the IPL has checked bat dimensions in previous seasons, the process involved the fourth umpire measuring the bat dimensions on the day before the match, with players chosen at random. It did not matter, then, if the player would be part of the team on match day. And not all bats of the player were checked, which meant that a batter could have one bat tested and walk in with another on match day.

Why now?

To plug that loophole, the IPL decided during discussions at the start of the 2025 season that it would be better check bats during the match rather than during training. It is understood that some match officials had privately expressed concern over the size of some bats players had been using. So instead of being subjective and selective in their assessment, it was decided a better approach would be to uniformly check the legality of the bats of all players during a live match.Girish TS/ESPNcricinfo Ltd

It is understood that the IPL decided to adopt a rule that was originally used by the ECB. In 2018, the ECB introduced, as part of its domestic playing conditions, checks on bat sizes to make sure they conformed to Law 5 of the MCC’s Laws of Cricket, which restricts the thickness of bat edges to 4cm (1.56 inches), the overall depth of bats to 6.7cm (2.64 inches), and their width to 10.8cm (4.25 inches).

How does the bat gauge work?

The guage is a rectangular implement with a house-shaped cut-out through which the bottom part of the bat is inserted. The cut-out conforms to the bat dimensions permitted under Law 5, which is also part of the IPL playing conditions. To be deemed legal to use, the bat must be able to pass through the gauge, even if it has been fitted with “[p]ermitted coverings, repair material and toe guards, not exceeding their specified thicknesses”The gauge in use at the IPL to test bat sizes•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

When do the checks happen?

It is understood that the IPL informed all teams before mandating the bat checks from April 13. Teams were also given bat gauges so their players could themselves check their bats before the match.On matchdays, on-field umpires carry a bat gauge each to assess the bat of the incoming batter. The fourth umpire is tasked with checking both openers’ bats at the start of each innings. Any bat was found exceeding the specified dimensions is marked and cannot be used during a match. In case a batter asks for a bat change, the new bat is also checked.So far, only two bats have failed the gauge test: they belonged to the Kolkata Knight Riders pair of Sunil Narine and Anrich Nortje.

What are the sanctions?

Just like the ECB has done, the IPL too has put the onus on players to ensure that their bats comply with Law 5. However, there is a significant difference when it comes to sanctions. The ECB has imposed severe sanctions for any breach, as Essex bitterly experienced during the 2024 County Championship season when they were docked 12 points after one of their batters used an oversized bat during the opening match of their season.The IPL has decided not to impose any sanction other than disallowing bats that have failed the gauge test. While the ECB’s bat checks are random, the IPL checks every bat that enters the field of play.It is understood that batters have been caught off-guard by the move. A tailender at a title-winning team was left in a spot when his entire set of bats, numbering seven or eight, failed to pass through the gauge. Such a situation could prove particularly tricky for overseas batters, particularly those whose bat manufacturers are based outside India.Specialist batters usually request manufacturers to design bespoke bats with custom measurements. In the past, since bat checks were only carried out at random by match officials, and usually only on the eve of the match, there was a certain amount of leeway for players to get away with measurements that exceeded permissible limits. Even if a bat or set of bats was rejected on training day, a player could still use a matchday bat that had never gone through the gauge.The IPL has decided to discourage such actions in the quest to maintain the balance between bat and ball.

Centuries from Alex Carey and Jake Lehmann and a devastating spell from Nathan McAndrew have destroyed Queensland’s Sheffield Shield final hopes

AAP16-Mar-2025Sheffield Shield leaders South Australia have shattered Queensland’s hopes of making the final, driving home their advantage at Karen Rolton Oval.After centuries to Test wicketkeeper Alex Carey and Jake Lehmann, the home side declared on Sunday at an imposing 614 for 7. Opening bowler Nathan McAndrew then tore through the Queensland top order to leave the visitors in tatters at 13 for 3.Henry Thornton claimed the key wicket of Test No.3 Marnus Labuschagne to compound the Bulls’ problems and at stumps on day two they were in deep trouble at 110 for 5.Queensland started the last round in second place, but New South Wales, Western Australia and Victoria have the same number of wins and less than five points separate the four teams on the ladder. Barring a miracle over the next two days, Queensland appear out of title contention.SA resumed on Sunday at a healthy 359 for 4, with Carey and Lehmann at the crease. Carey posted his third Shield ton of the summer and Lehmann scored his second in as many innings to pile the pain onto Queensland.When Carey was dismissed for 104 from 100 balls, with 11 fours and two sixes, he and Lehmann had put on 175 for the fifth wicket. Carey would have been frustrated to fall to Labuschagne’s medium pace, chipping a catch to mid-off.Lehmann finished on 130 not out off 182 deliveries, with 14 fours, after combining with Ben Manenti (49) and McAndrew (41) to further bolster SA’s imposing first innings total.Already in dire straits, Queensland had the worst possible start to their innings when McAndrew trapped openers Lachie Hearne and Matt Renshaw lbw in his first over. He also removed Jake Clayton the same way from around the wicket to end the day with 3 for 36.With Labuschagne at the crease, Queensland still had faint hope of a counterattack. But Thornton (2-32) had him caught by Manenti at second slip for 23, before removing Ben McDermott (35) through a skied pull shot that was pouched by Carey.Jimmy Peirson and Michael Neser are the not-out batters, with the visitors still more than 500 runs behind with two days to play.

While PNG lost both their tournament warm-ups, the hosts had a decent build-up to their first game

Shashank Kishore16-Oct-2021

Big picture

October 17, 2021 promises to be the start of new things in Oman cricket. Until three months ago, the stadium in Al Amerat resembled a village ground with park benches to accommodate a few hundred people. On Sunday, the venue that was used as a recreational facility by morning and evening walkers from the neighbouring residential suburb, will witness history when Oman take on Papua New Guinea in the opening game of the T20 World Cup 2021, with 3000 fans expected to be in attendance apart from many others who will watch on TV.Oman’s players, most of whom play on the weekends away from their full-time jobs, spent their first four weeks in August “knocking off extra kilos” before trying to pack in as much cricket as they could to be match-ready for their second-ever big-tournament appearance. PNG, meanwhile, have endured a tough second wave of the pandemic. Having qualified for their first-ever World Cup, they want to use the tournament as a platform to bring smiles back on their people’s faces. After all, they will be playing in front of a televised audience back home for the first time. Ever.Related

• PNG: a close-knit family of ace fielders who never lose their smiles

• Assad Vala wants PNG to become World Cup regulars

• 'No one can tell us we played one World Cup and vanished'

• Meet the T20 World Cup hopefuls

• FAQ: All you wanted to know about the T20 World Cup 2021

Oman, the last team to qualify for this event after beating Hong Kong by 12 runs in a sudden-death playoff, have the confidence of beating Indian domestic powerhouses Mumbai 2-1 in the T20s in August. They also competed hard in the three 50-overs matches that followed, losing the series 2-1. They also competed well before going down to Sri Lanka in two T20s earlier this month.PNG too have had a decent build-up, having arrived in Oman early September. They have played eight ODIs in all, two each against USA and Nepal, apart from four World Cricket League Division 2 matches against Scotland and Oman. In between, they had two intense camps and have topped off their preparation by playing in two ICC warm-up games: they were toppled over easily by Ireland, who restricted them to 96 for 8 in the first. In their most-recent outing, they managed to give Sri Lanka a brief flutter before falling short by 39 runs chasing 163.

Players to watch

Kashyap Prajapati, a 26-year-old top-order batter, struck a 138-ball 146 in Oman’s total of 248 against Mumbai last month. The knock paved way for his international debut against PNG later in the month. Apart from offering explosive hitting ability up top, he is also a handy offspinner. Having arrived in the country from India, for work only recently, he has made heads turn in local cricket and is believed to be a clean striker. A T20 World Cup debut can top off what can best be described as a whirlwind journey so far.Tony Ura is PNG’s big-hitter at the top of the order•Peter Della Penna

Tony Ura is PNG’s rockstar. A big-hitter at the top of the order, he is also their leading run-scorer in T20Is, with 768 runs in 26 innings at an impressive strike rate of 140. He is PNG’s only T20I centurion, who also has four of the top five highest individual scores for the team.

Form guide

PNG lost both their tournament warm-ups, by eight wickets to Ireland and by 39 runs to Sri Lanka. They ran Namibia close in a T20I last week, eventually falling short by 14 runs in a tall chase of 175.Oman beat Namibia in their first warm-up and were in control of their chase of 162 against Netherlands before falling four short. Prior to that, they gave Sri Lanka a tough fight in the two T20s before going down.

Stats that matter

• Assad Vala’s chart-topping 197 runs in eight innings at the T20 World Cup Qualifiers in 2019 is one of the reasons why PNG are in their first major ICC tournament. He also picked up ten wickets to go with all the runs he made.
• Norman Vanua, the fast bowler, is PNG’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is with 35 strikes in 24 matches.
• Oman left-arm fast bowler Bilal Khan, who began his first-class career with Peshawar in Pakistan, is the joint-sixth-fastest, along with Dale Steyn, to 50 T20I wickets. He got there in his 35th match. Ajantha Mendis, Imran Tahir, Rashid Khan, Mustafizur Rahman and Yuzvendra Chahal are in the top five. Eighteen of these wickets came in the World Cup Qualifiers two years ago.
• Jatinder Singh, who was part of Oman’s historic first T20 World Cup win over Ireland five years ago, is their leading run-getter in T20Is, with 697 runs in 28 innings. Khawar Ali is second-best with 601 runs.

Quotes

“We believe in ourselves. We want to play to the best of our abilities. We want to express ourselves. We want to make it to the second round to test ourselves against the best teams in cricket. We don’t want this World Cup to be a one-off.”
–

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Liverpool still have some hurdles to overcome before their Premier League opener against Norwich at Anfield on August 9th.

Before they cut the red ribbon of the 2019/20 campaign, the Reds will still have to face Olympique Lyon in a pre-season friendly and then the defending champions of English top-flight, Manchester City, in the Community Shield.

With that in mind, the squad is working hard at their base in France, with some of the new faces rejoining the team after their extended holidays.

Virgil van Dijk has been back with the team for a while now, and he took to

/B0jM9gfFzRh/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link” data-lasso->Instagram to share a video of the squad’s training regiment on the banks of Geneva.

Van Dijk had a glorious 2018/19 season both at club and international level.

The Reds clinched the Champions League trophy after beating Tottenham Hotspur, and the Dutchman’s national side were unfortunately brought down in the final of the Nations League by Portugal.

Still, even with that trophy slipping through his fingers, he seems to be the front runner for the next Ballon d’Or award.

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