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Liverpool have ended 2025 on the front foot, reclaiming agency and focus after Arne Slot’s side got lost for much of the first half of the 2025/26 campaign.

After winning the Premier League title and spending record-breaking numbers on new signings, Liverpool were billed as odds-on favourites for a back-to-back trophy, but many things have gone wrong for the Reds this term, tactically imbalanced and unable to defend against this new direct culture in the English game, evidenced by their shocking defensive record against set-pieces.

Most Set-piece Goals Conceded 25/26 (Top 5 Leagues)

Club

Games

Conceded

Liverpool

18

12

Bournemouth

18

12

Nott’m Forest

19

12

FC Koln

15

11

West Ham

18

11

Fiorentina

17

10

Data via ThisIsAnfield

Liverpool stare at the imminent January transfer window with centre-back signings in their eyes. But it’s not only defensively that the Anfield club have struggled, with attacking issues leading to a flurry of speculation over Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo, who now looks like he’s joining Manchester City.

Liverpool's transfer plans in attack

Alexander Isak broke his leg this month, aggravating an already struggling frontline. This might have prompted Liverpool to follow up on their November calls with Semenyo’s representatives, but FSG have decided against matching the intensity of City’s interest.

Could this be because sporting director Richard Hughes has been tasked with signing an even more exciting attacking talent?

Well, this week, Anfield Watch have confirmed that Liverpool have registered their interest in Eintracht Frankfurt winger Jean-Mattéo Bahoya, with the 20-year-old making waves in the Bundesliga.

This won’t be an easy one to pull off. Arsenal also have a vested interest, and Frankfurt don’t want to let him go, pricing the up-and-coming talent at around £71m.

Why Liverpool should sign Bahoya

Bahoya is exceptionally fast and intelligent in his movement and decision-making.

After leaving Angers for his current German employers in 2024, the snappy winger has only gone from strength to strength, starting eight league games this season and proving that he has the kind of quality to see him succeed at a top club in the Premier League.

Given that Liverpool have spent so much money on new forwards recently, Bahoya’s younger and less experienced presence might actually bear dividends for the overall fluency of Slot’s frontline.

Analyst Spencer Mossman has even said that he’s “like a younger Bukayo Saka”, and that bodes well for the France U21 international’s potential on the grand stage, given he shares with Arsenal’s talisman (and Semenyo) a combativeness and energy to match his final-third potency.

Though he has not yet found the kind of clinical form Semenyo is riding in the Premier League, with nine goals and three assists to his name this season, there is much to like from an underlying perspective.

Bahoya vs Semenyo (League Form 25/26)

Stats (per 90)

Bahoya

Semenyo

Goals scored

0.29

0.39

Assists

0.19

0.17

Touches (att pen)

4.33

4.78

Shots taken

1.73

2.60

Shot-creating actions

3.46

3.57

Pass completion (%)

75.1

72.2

Progressive passes

2.31

3.34

Progressive carries

4.04

3.70

Successful take-ons

1.88

1.60

Ball recoveries

4.33

4.20

Tackles + interceptions

3.75

1.82

Data via FBref

As per Sofascore, Bahoya has completed 62% of his dribbles and won 64% of his ground duels in the Bundesliga this season, with a precision to his movements that bespeaks his prodigious physical skillset.

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He’s also intelligent and coded for success in Liverpool’s frontline. Analyst Ben Mattinson singled out Hugo Ekitike’s “link-up prowess” for Frankfurt last season after setting up a Bahoya goal. There’s a combination that could wreak havoc on the Premier League next season.

There’s a sense that Liverpool opted against signing Semenyo because they have bigger plans shelved. Bahoya could become a bona fide superstar in the Premier League, surpassing the kind of level Semenyo would offer Slot’s side.

Related Bigger talent than Gabriel: Liverpool in bid to sign £35m "monster"

Arne Slot knows his Liverpool squad is flawed heading into the January transfer window.

Posts ByAngus Sinclair

	Matt Johnston had a painful 2007-08 but he was rewarded for his efforts with a full state contract © Getty Images

Western Australia have named a fresh looking 20-man squad for 2008-09 after a year of change during which several of their senior players departed. Liam Davis, Paul Davis, Arron Crawford, Wes Robinson and Matt Johnston earned their first full contracts, while four new rookies were also included.The list of departures is extensive and includes the recent retirees Adam Gilchrist, Justin Langer, Mathew Inness and Darren Wates. Brad Hogg has not officially given up state duties but has been left out while he contemplates his future, while Chris Rogers has moved to Victoria. The Warriors also axed the allrounders Sean Ervine and Shawn Gillies and the left-arm fast bowler Danny McLauchlan.Among the new rookies is Mitchell Marsh, 16, a younger brother of the Cricket Australia-contracted batsman Shaun Marsh and the son of former Australia opening batsman Geoff Marsh. A right-hand batsman, the youngest Marsh has represented his state at Under-17 and Under-19 level and this season broke the record for most runs in the Perth schools competition, the Darlot Cup, where he scored 739 runs at 105.57.Liam Davis was bumped up from a rookie deal after an impressive start to his first-class career in 2007-08. An opening batsman, Davis played three matches and scored a century and a fifty and will become a key player with the loss of Langer and Rogers.Johnston also received a promotion from the rookie list having shown promise in the FR Cup last summer until a wayward throw broke his jaw and forced him off for surgery that disrupted his season. The fast bowler Paul Davis, 27, made his limited-overs debut in February while Crawford was welcomed back to the list having lost his rookie deal last year.Robinson, 27, was included following an outstanding club season during which he made 865 runs at 61.78 and collected 12 wickets at 17.80. He also picked up the Olly Cooley Medal as the best player in Perth’s grade competition.The new rookies include Nicholas Death, a former ACT under-age representative who grabbed 46 wickets in club cricket in 2007-08. The batsman Marcus Stoinis and the bowler Chris Thompson also picked up their first rookie contracts. Josh Mangan, Michael Johnson and Christopher Wood held on to their rookie deals while Chris Hansberry and Patrick Molinari were omitted.Tom Moody, the Western Australia coach, said the youthful group would help the Warriors look to the future. “We are very fortunate to have a wealth of local talent in Western Australia and I am thrilled that we have managed to secure some of that talent on our contact list,” Moody said. “Our main focus in the selection process was to reward performances while also keeping a keen eye on youth so we can continue to develop for the future.”Squad David Bandy, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Arron Crawford, Liam Davis, Paul Davis, Brett Dorey, Theo Doropoulos, Ben Edmondson, Aaron Heal, Clint Heron, Michael Hussey (Cricket Australia contract), Matthew Johnston, Trent Kelly, Steve Magoffin, Shaun Marsh (CA), Marcus North, Luke Pomersbach, Wes Robinson, Luke Ronchi, Adam Voges (CA).Rookies Nicholas Death, Michael Johnson, Josh Mangan, Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Thompson, Christopher Wood.

Conditions at New Road won’t be easy, even for Graeme Hick © Getty Images

Worcestershire are preparing to host their scheduled County Championship match against Kent on July 8 at New Road, barely a week after the flood waters finally subsided following the torrential rain in late June.”This has been a tough and risky decision but all my colleagues have ‘bought’ into the desire to see cricket being played on Sunday at 11am,” said chief executive Mark Newton. “The flood water is still on some of the outfield and car parks and in the marquee but we are able to get into the buildings and start the clean up.”The most difficult piece of the jigsaw is the wicket but we think a decent wicket can be prepared. I am told by those who know that the normal recovery period is two to three weeks but we have just six days. The entire infrastructure may not be ready but we owe it to our members and supporters to show what we can achieve.”Newton added that the smell around New Road was still fairly strong and said he would be calling on members to help with the clean-up operation later this week to get the ground ready.This was the first summer flood at New Road since 1969 and the second worst ever after 1924. The club has already announced costs and lost revenue of around £150,000 to £200,000 due to the disruption to their Twenty20 programme. One home match was cancelled while others have been moved to Kidderminster and Himley.

How can it take longer to purchase tickets to a day’s cricket then it can to watch it? Cricket Australia has done extremely well to alienate the Australian public. Couldn’t they have staggered the release of tickets to avoid such a debacle? I guess that is too logical. Ticketmaster isn’t entirely blameless either; it is a regular occurrence for its website and phone lines to get overloaded when they sell tickets for a major event.Ben MaroneyAt 9.01am I made the first of probably 100 phone calls to Ticketmaster, it was busy. At 11am I was annoyed, but not angry at the non-loading web page and busy phone line. But by 1pm, I was angry and now, at FOUR O’CLOCK, I am not one step closer to having a ticket and feel like tearing my hair out. I must say a big warm-hearted thank you to Cricket Australia for inviting me into their family. How about next year we, the fans, organise the family banquet? Surely we couldn’t do any worse of a job.Morgan GibsonI’ve had to give up after nearly six hours of busy signal and servers down. How on earth did other people get through? Sadly, I don’t like my real family much, but my newly adopted one doesn’t like me! Absolutely ridiculous, Cricket Australia. I doubt I will ever try to attend a match again thanks to you. Not just a disappointed cricket fan.Chris WrightI don’t think I’ve ever been as upset about anything as I have with this experience. The anticipation and excitement of having an opportunity to book in advance remained unabated until around 10am. I was ready and had done all my homework and from 9am I was consistently, non-stop, trying the phone and the internet. I think I now have RSI. After 60 minutes of `pages not available’ and Ticketek’s irritating message I got through …YES! I was delighted. I could see celebrations in the street and much adulation from my wife. I eagerly put in my membership number and got through to the Venue Tix page – yes you read correctly, I had ended up in Adelaide, but of course I didn’t know till my membership number had been accepted. The end result was good though – well, fairly good. I did eventually get on to the Sydney booking and I even was able to use my membership number. The only problem nothing was that nothing was left.Paul BuckinghamEvery year I purchase tickets day-night ODI in Sydney and the event is used as a family reunion. This year I was again “hanging-out” to purchase tickets. Can you imagine my surprise and disappointment to find out about the new “cricket family” system and not being able to join and take advantage of this system because I missed the deadline. The deadline I didn’t know about. Cricket Australia has alienated me and others like me. I do attend other first-class cricket matches during the course of the season as well. Maybe I should organise my annual family event at the Adidas International tennis event in Sydney. It’s hard to remain loyal to cricket when you’ve been slapped in the face.Michael LangleyAfter waiting so long and being sold out within hours, I won’t be watching cricket anymore. If that’s the best the administration can do they don’t deserve Australian supporters.Ken MangravitiWhy did we bother registering if we can’t get tickets for the Ashes? I will naturally look towards the ODIs, but it’s the Ashes that we all want to see. I am going to keep trying, but I am going to be spitting chips if I don’t get two tickets for my wife and I to go together.Steve BrayIt’s the greatest failure in Australian cricket history. I gave up after our hours of trying to get onto the website to purchase tickets. It’s easier to fly to England and wait for the next series there than it is to get any tickets here. I’d saved my work leave and fully intended travelling interstate to all the test matches. But its impossible to get tickets.Ian KenyonI will be extremely annoyed if on the second of January I sit down on my lounge chair to watch the game and see the Barmy Army watching the game live at the SCG. I guess time will tell.Glen GallagherObviously there were a lot of sickies today as getting tickets are impossible. Mind you I did get through once only to find there were no tickets on that day – then the next, then the next. Obviously I was doing something wrong else there is some unfair advantage somewhere. David Flint I skipped my second last day of university, when I should’ve been studying for final exams, to sit in front of a computer with a phone in my hand all day. After hours of an engaged phone, “Ticketmaster busy” error screen and even my mum making a last minute ditch to go to an actual Ticketmaster store, I was greeted by an “Allocation exhausted” message. My mates have gone to every opening day of the Gabba Test since we could legally drink. This year was going to be our first five-day experience. I am annoyed. They’ve been touting this for months and constantly reminding us to get in early. You think they would’ve been ready for the response they we’re boasting about.Allan AllportI called Ticketmaster at 8:58am exactly to see if the lines had opened up early, but they were shut. I rang back three minutes later and it was engaged, and I heard nothing but that engaged signal for the rest of the day. Somehow, with two computers operating at a furious pace pressing refresh every five seconds, we were able to, in the space of six hours, book the tickets that myself and my group required for this summer’s action. Strangely enough, I encountered no problems booking tickets for the Adelaide and Sydney Tests. However, Ticketmaster were a disgrace. I would sometimes stand with the phone to my ear and press on, redial, end, on, redial, end for twenty minutes or half an hour at a time without a break at all, and all I would hear is the engaged signal. My arms started to cramp! Not happy Cricket Australia, or Ticketmaster.David GallichioFolks, Ticketmaster have dropped the ball. Absolutely useless. I have missed hours of work today attemping to buy Melbourne test tickets and I haven’t even got close. They knew exactly how many people were going to apply and they didn’t take any steps to ensure good service. How are we meant to support our country when our own ticketing companies obviously don’t want us to be there? They should lose their contract for this debacle.Dan McMahonAfter reading the stories from other not so lucky buyers, I consider myself fortunate to have managed to get tickets to all five days of the Adelaide Test. I too started at 9am and by virtue of a work phone conference was able to keep clicking till about 11:30am, when I was finally able to get in and purchase day five. Not so lucky were my friends in Sydney who didn’t manage to get a single ticket for their annual day at the Sydney test. I’ve suggested to them that they come to Adelaide. Peter KelleyAfter patiently waiting in front of the computer screen for 9am to roll around, I was met by a sequence of “unavailable” screens. I managed to proceed through to the purchase tickets page after 30 minutes, only to have the system go down and an ultimatum of having to start again! Forty minutes further and two glorious day-one Boxing Day reserved tickets are now mine! I can assure you that they will be going nowhere near ebay!JacqeleneFrom the CA web site: “The Australian Cricket Family is a new initiative from Cricket Australia that aims to reward loyal cricket fans” … I don’t think so! After wasting the day with mouse in one hand and phone in the other, I’m left wondering if CA will help me purchase one of the many Ashes tickets already listed on Ebay for $550! Some reward!Andy Chambers, former Australain Cricket Family memberYou would think after the problems faced by Football Australia, who were unable to cope with demands for tickets to the Fifa World Cup, Cricket Australia would have learnt a thing or two. But no. After six hours of trying, the only page I managed to get to says that Ticketmaster’s system is currently busy. If they couldn’t cope with this, then perhaps a bigger company should have been put in charge of selling the tickets, because quite frankly this is just amateur stuff. Cricket Australia and the method used by their ticketing agencies amounts to nothing more than a lottery that rewards neither the loyal customer who has been turning up for years or new members who have been caught up in the post 2005-Ashes bandwagon. Life just isn’t fair.Ganesh BalendraThe ACF’s been a great initiative by Cricket Australia – the only two things I could suggest could have been improved is that the ticket releases for each match could have been scattered, and the limit of ten tickets per day could have been reduced to six or eight to stop scalpers. It was a great initiative in order to give more Australian fans a chance to get to the games. At the end of the day, demand exceeded supply and there was never going to be a situation where everyone could be pleased. I may be a little bias now that I have my tickets.Matt CossI have no problem with the system chosen to get tickets out to Australians – I think the cricket family was a good idea. But I cannot understand how CA and the ticketing agencies have not been able to cope with the demand. They knew before today that they were going to have to cope with 128,000 people accessing the system, potentially at the same time, and had plenty of time to prepare their systems to cope. I have been trying to access the system both via computer and phone for five hours and 20 minutes today without luck. I’m sure a creative lawyer out there could have a field day with this! Oh well – the best seats in the house will be at my house. Andrew HornWhen I got through to Ticketek, I was told the ACF allocation had been exhausted. However, I was also told that the majority of seats will be on sale when general public sales commence. Thus, at the SCG, some 22,000 tickets (or more) remain per day.For the fair dinkum Aussies who are desperate to catch even one day of the Ashes, and registered with the family, why haven’t more tickets been allocated to us? Now we have to either jam the phone lines, crash the internet, or line up in the wee hours of the morning all over again, along with the rest of the public. I am disappointed now, but will be even more so if I miss out to someone who never bothered to register with the ACF, and just got lucky.Andrew Rutherford

In and out: Simon Katich listens to the advice of Stuart MacGill, who is out of the second Test against Zimbabwe

If Zimbabwe had any reason to think that the list of Australian injuries might make their job in tomorrow’s second Test a little easier, then they should think again. Newcomers in any side want to make an impression, and so rarely do opportunities come in the Australian side that Brad Williams, Simon Katich and Brad Hogg have everything to play for at Sydney.Stuart MacGill’s calf strain was the latest in a line of injuries for the Australians, who have been forced to make three changes to the previous side which walloped Zimbabwe by an innings and 175 runs at Perth. MacGill aggravated his calf while bowling in the first Test but had hoped to be fit in time. However, he failed to pass a fitness test and Hogg steps in to take his place.Williams makes his debut in place of the injured Jason Gillespie, while Katich, set to play only his second Test after a two-year gap, replaces Darren Lehmann, out with a sore achilles tendon. Katich has played 100 first-class games and averages 49.02, including 21 centuries, while Williams has taken 181 wickets at 30.34 in 51 matches. It can be a long wait for international recognition in Australia.Steve Waugh, in his 53rd Test in charge, gave Katich the thumbs up before the match. “He’s ready made for Test match cricket. He’s got a great temperament, a very determined cricketer. I thought he batted very well towards the end of last season. He’s had a good season for Hampshire too.”On Williams, Waugh said: “He’s come back from serious back injuries. He was a tearaway four or five years ago, probably the quickest in Australia, he’s still pretty quick now, but he knows his game better now. He’s worked hard, he’s been 12th man a number of occasions. He’s looking forward to it so it’s a great opportunity for him.”Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s aim will be to improve their top-order batting and be more competitive in this Test, their first at Sydney. They are expected to name an unchanged team, but were encouraged by Douglas Hondo getting through a full training session yesterday. However, he is still woefully short of match practice. There was also a slight concern over a knee strain to Sean Ervine, but it is not bad enough to prevent him from playing tomorrow.If, as expected, Australia secure another innings victory, it will be their fourth in succession. But one of the most interesting features of the match will be how the Zimbabwe bowlers shape up, how much hunger Matthew Hayden has after his record-breaking innings at Perth, and who, among the other Australian batsmen, can cash in on their opportunity.TeamsAustralia 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Justin Langer, 3 Ricky Ponting, 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Simon Katich, 6 Steve Waugh (capt), 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Andy Bichel, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Brad Hogg, 11 Brad Williams.Zimbabwe (probable) 1 Dion Ebrahim, 2 Trevor Gripper, 3 Mark Vermeulen, 4 Stuart Carlisle, 5 Craig Wishart, 6 Craig Evans, 7 Heath Streak (capt), 8 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 9 Sean Ervine, 10 Andy Blignaut, 11 Ray Price.

India’s external affairs ministry has approved a proposal to issue visas to cricket fans in the border city of Amritsar, The Times of India reports. "We have today conveyed to Pakistan our approval of the proposal for a visa camp in Amritsar to facilitate people from that region who wish to go to Pakistan to watch cricket matches," a ministry spokesperson said.* * *India’s players have been forbidden from accepting gifts during their tour of Pakistan, an official from the home ministry told The Times of India. Accepting personal invitations was prohibited, and only official receptions could be attended. The regulations laid down were to ensure there was no security risk. For the higher risk factor in Peshawar, the ministry advised that the team would not step outside the ground and the hotel.* * *Khawar Rabbani, a computer analyst and Javed Miandad’s friend, has been hired to assist the Pakistan team for the forthcoming series against India. Part of a four-man computer team, Rabbani’s duties will include preparing and passing appropriate footage on to the bowlers. Speaking to Press Trust of India, Rabbani said, "The wing has been given the task to cast a web around the Indian batsmen and pinpoint their weaknesses and strong points."Pakistan’s last effort to spin a web ended with last year’s unsuccessful World Cup campaign, and the analyst, Sikander Bakht, was promptly sacked. Even Intel gave up their plans to establish a computer lab at the Pakistan cricket board after the administrators made their disinclination clear.But back to Rabbani. People weren’t too happy with his inclusion by Miandad. Sources said, "Rabbani does not know much about computers and the other experts feel that in the presence of a lesser knowledgeable man, the system cannot be used to the best effects."* * *According to The Times of India, during India’s tour of Pakistan in 1982-83, the media had more than a few problems with the facilities. One problematic area was the scorer – in Lahore and Karachi the scorers were inaccurate, while in Faisalabad there was none.* * *Just as Parthiv Patel and Irfan Pathan were giving up all hope of taking their 12th standard exam, the Gujarat cricket association has come out fighting for their cause, according to PTI. The cricket association appealed to the state government to allow the two players to take their exams at a later date. "Unfortunately, Parthiv has been missing his board exams for the last three years due to his selection in the Indian squad," Narhari Amin, the cricket association’s president, said. "If the government could conduct exams in two phases when the earthquake occurred, why not for these cricketers who are playing at the international level?"These were misplaced but welcome words for Parthiv, who said, "I feel awkward remaining in the 12th standard for the last three years. It would be good if the state government considers my request for a retest, as a special case."* * *The Pakistan cricket board said it had not yet decided whether to introduce a Kapil-Imran trophy for India-Pakistan contests, according to The Times of India. Zakir Khan, a manager for the Pakistan board, pooh-poohed media reports, saying, "Reports appearing in the media are apparently based on speculations."* * *The Pakistan cricket board has spent a large amount on Andy Atkinson, an English curator, who will remain in Pakistan for a month and direct pitch preparation for the upcoming series against India. Nothing wrong in that, except that a source who spoke to The News said that Atkinson was brought in to prepare pitches desired by the Inzamam-ul-Haq and Javed Miandad. But any budding conspiracy theories were popped when a board official declared Atkinson’s appointment was to ensure result-oriented pitches.* * *The ICC’s special investigators will watch every ball of India’s tour of Pakistan with keen interest, and keep an eye out for any signs of betting and matchfixing. According to a report in The Times of India players have been barred from using mobile phones and email on match days, and close-circuit cameras will monitor the dressing rooms. The level of betting during the series was expected to hit $15 million, and The Guardian reported that security officials would be employed to discourage feelers from potential matchfixers during the upcoming series. The officials will accompany the players constantly, and visitors will be screened. Besides the officials, regular security guards would also be present.* * *Hemang Badani, picked for the one-day squad, said the contest was between India’s batsmen and Pakistan’s bowlers, The Times of India wrote. "Playing Pakistan in Pakistan is never going to be easy," Badani said. "We have good bowlers and good batsmen, so it’s like more of [our] batting against their bowling." He admitted it was tough to live up to the expectations of well-wishers, but said the team would give it its all."We cannot say we will come back with a 5-0 win," he said. "When we play Pakistan we are going to put in that much extra – that’s what we as players can do and we will be surely doing that. Playing Pakistan means a lot for every cricket team no matter whatever way it is. I have been in the team for four years but I never got a chance to play against them," Badani continued. "It has been years since we have played each other. We haven’t really gone there and played any cricket – for that reason it should be a very good tour.”* * *To end on a cheery note, the chief minister of Sindh has declared a holiday in Karachi for the opening one-day clash Saturday, March 13. Acknowledging the cricket match was an honour for Sindh, Ali Muhammad Mahar said the holiday would allow people to watch the match live at home.

Caribbean countries hoping to host matches in the Cricket World Cup 2007 will have the opportunity of experiencing the behind-the-scenes operations, challenges and requirements of staging World Cup matches when an official Windies World Cup 2007 delegation visits the World Cup 2003 in South Africa.Managing Director and CEO of Windies World Cup 2007, Chris Dehring has written to Caricom governments and local cricket associations inviting their countries’ participation in the delegation that he will lead from February 25 – March 11.Dehring explained that invitations were being sent to the heads of government because the leaders and the West Indies Cricket Board had agreed that bids for hosting World Cup 2007 matches would be submitted by each country and not just the cricket association.”We would like Caribbean countries to be able to make the best bids possible for hosting World Cup matches. We are therefore assembling this delegation to offer the unique opportunity of learning from the experience of the only Cricket World Cup before 2007 so that each potential venue can ensure that infrastructure, facilities and arrangements outlined in their bid meet the required standard” Dehring noted.Over the two-week visit Venue Delegates will also benefit from access to a specialist in world games organization, Don Lockerbie who is a consultant to the delegation. Lockerbie has extensive experience in venue assessment and development for events such as the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup.While in South Africa the delegation will tour venues, observe match day operations and benefit from meetings and seminars with venue operators, contractors and other organisations such as the International Cricket Council, the South Africa Cricket World Cup Organizing Committee, the Global Cricket Corporation – the main commercial rights holders for the event and Octagon CSI – an international sports marketing and television production company.

• It was the 1731st ODI in cricket history.
• It was India’s 467th and West Indies’ 426th match.
• It was the 64th match between these two sides. The record now reads:India 22,West Indies 40,tied one and abandoned one.
• Umpires C Coventry and QJ Goosen were officiating in their third andeighth match respectively.
• Harvinder Singh was making a comeback into Indian side after more thantwo years. He had last appeared for India against Australia at Sharjahon April 22,1998 thus missing 110 matches in between. Only AshishKapoor (157) and Robin Singh (146) have missed more matches in betweentwo consecutive appearances for India than Harvinder. Harvinder’s newball partner Debasis Mohanty was also making a comeback into Indianside after missing 35 matches.
• Shivnarine Chanderpaul was playing his 100th match. He became 17thWest Indian and 113th player overall to do so.
• Mohanty, at the end of this match, has a tally of 50 wickets from 35games in `away’ matches with an average of 25.18 and strike rate of30.92 . Interestingly he has taken only 6 wickets in 7 matches at homesoil with an average of 49.00 and strike rate of 55.00 !!
• Mohanty thus became the 11th Indian to aggregate 50 wickets in acareer in `away’ matches. Only Manoj Prabhakar (33) and Ajit Agarkar(33) have completed 50 wickets on foreign soil in lesser matches thanMohanty. However Mohanty now holds the Indian record of being thefastest to capture 50 wickets on foreign soil (1546 till the end ofthis match) The previous record for India was held by Manoj Prabhakarwho had bowled 1700 balls for his 50 wickets. The table `A’ givesdetails of Indian bowlers with most wickets in `away’ matches , whiletable `B’ lists Indian bowlers in terms of ball required.

Table `A’ : Most `away’ wickets by Indian Bowlers

Wkts	Bowler	M	Balls	Runs	Ave	Best	SR	RpO	5W
171	J Srinath	124	6529	4844	28.33	5/23	38.18	4.45	1
168	A Kumble	137	7235	5024	29.90	5/33	43.07	4.17	1
153	N Kapil Dev	140	7137	4228	27.63	5/43	46.65	3.55	1
129	BKV Prasad	113	5718	4395	34.07	5/27	44.33	4.61	1
92	M Prabhakar	65	3244	2209	24.01	4/25	35.26	4.09	0
77	RJ Shastri	93	4281	2875	37.34	5/15	55.60	4.03	1
70	AB Agarkar	49	2648	2250	32.14	4/35	37.83	5.10	0
59	RMH Binny	50	2233	1560	26.44	4/29	37.85	4.19	0
52	SR Tendulkar	181	3510	2863	55.06	4/34	67.50	4.89	0
51	S Madan Lal	39	1946	1220	23.92	4/20	38.16	3.76	0
50	DS Mohanty	35	1546	1259	25.18	4/56	30.92	4.89	0

Table ?B? : 50 ?away? wickets in least balls by Indian Bowlers

Bowler	Mts	Balls	Runs	Ave	SR	RpO	Vs	Venue	Date
DS Mohanty	35	1546	1259	25.18	30.92	4.89	WI	Bulawayo	30-06-2001
M Prabhakar	33	1700	1077	21.54	34.00	3.80	WI	Melbourne	16-01-1992
AB Agarkar	33	1757	1538	30.76	35.14	5.25	Pak	Sharjah	23-03-2000
RMH Binny	40	1774	1255	25.10	35.48	4.24	NZ	Adelaide	25-01-1986
S Madan Lal	38	1892	1195	23.90	37.84	3.79	WI	Sharjah	30-11-1986
J Srinath	38	1963	1406	28.12	39.26	4.30	Pak	Sharjah	22-04-1994
BKV Prasad	40	2025	1605	32.10	40.50	4.76	Pak	Colombo SSC	20-07-1997
N Kapil Dev	41	2240	1336	26.20	43.92	3.58	Pak	Melbourne	10-03-1985
A Kumble	42	2262	1463	28.69	44.35	3.88	Pak	Sharjah	15-04-1996
RJ Shastri	52	2494	1560	30.59	48.90	3.75	SL	Sharjah	25-03-1988
SR Tendulkar	173	3336	2716	54.32	66.72	4.88	NZ	Nairobi Gym	15-10-2000

• Just for the record, Pakistan’s Shoaib Akhtar has taken 50 `away’wickets in least balls ?1283 to be exact. Shoaib also shares therecord of being the fastest with West Indian Andy Roberts in terms ofleast matches. Both Shoaib and Roberts captured their 50th wicket in27th match.
• Mohanty’s figures of 10-1-18-3 (RpO 1.80) equalled the most economicalfigures by an Indian medium pace bowler in a ten over spell againstWest Indies. He equalled India’s Kapil Dev’s figures of 10-3-18-2 inthe Hero Cup final at Calcutta on November 27,1993.
• Ridley Jacobs (53* and three dismissals) was performing the allroundfeat of scoring 50 runs and effecting three dismissals in the samematch for the third time in his career. The other such occasions forhim came against New Zealand. Jacobs made 80* and held 5 catches atSouthampton on May 24,1999.He followed it up with 65 runs and threecatches at Auckland on January 2,2000.
• Sachin Tendulkar won his 40th Man of the Match award in 271st match.This was also his fifth award against West Indies which equalsPakistan’s Imran Khan’s record of most award against West Indies.

Aston Villa had a fairly miserable return to Premier League action this afternoon after losing 2-1 to their Midlands rivals Wolves at Molineux.

The Villans found themselves 1-0 down after just seven minutes as full-back Jonny Otto got his name on the scoresheet. Things then got worse for the away side as Ashley Young, who replaced the injured Lucas Digne just a few minutes after the opening goal, ended up turning the ball into his own net with 36 minutes on the clock.

A late penalty scored by Ollie Watkins ended up merely being a consolation goal as Steven Gerrard’s side left Molineux with no points.

One player in a Villa shirt who had a particularly disappointing afternoon, arguably more so than Young, was right-back Matty Cash.

Having played the entire 90 minutes, the full-back had 55 touches of the ball but could only complete 26 passes. Out of the four crosses he attempted, three of them were inaccurate, in addition to the one and only long ball he played failing to find its intended target.

The defender, who has been slammed in the past by former Villa manager Dean Smith for his “stupid” decision making, ended up losing possession of the ball for his side 15 times throughout the match.

From a defensive point of view, the Poland international lost 71% of his ground duels, was dribbled past on two occasions and failed to make even one tackle, showing how much of a liability he was at the back.

This display ultimately earned the 24-year-old a disappointing overall match rating of 5.9/10 from SofaScore, making him the lowest-rated Villa player on the day – even lower than Digne, who was only on the pitch for 13 minutes.

Birmingham Live journalist Ashley Preece also picked up on the defender’s shaky performance by saying that he was “caught out far too often being high up the pitch as Marcal and Podence had real joy down Cash’s side on the break.”

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“The Polish international was guilty of slipping over in dangerous areas which allowed Wolves to get their tails up,” he added.

Taking all this into account, it’s safe to say that it was a bad day at the office for Cash, and one to forget for him and the team as a whole.

In other news – O’Neill disaster: Aston Villa will surely rue call on “charismatic” 300-goal “tiger”

	Asoka de Silva is set to rejoin the ICC’s Elite Panel after a four-year gap © Getty Images

The Sri Lankan umpire Asoka de Silva and Steve Davis of Australia have been promoted to ICC’s Elite Panel, following the body’s decision to expand the pool from 10 to 12 umpires.de Silva, the former legspinner who played 10 Tests and 28 ODIs between 1985 and 1992, was one of eight full-time umpires selected for the ICC’s Elite Panel when it was first introduced in 2002. de Silva has stood in 33 Tests and 76 ODIs after making his debut in 1999 and has served previously on the Elite Panel between 2002 and 2004.Davis, 56, has stood in 11 Tests, 71 ODIs and three Twenty20 Internationals having made his top-level debut in 1992.”Their promotions are a result of perseverance, hard work and commitment and I am sure these two umpires will serve as an inspiration to the other international umpires who are striving hard to break into the Elite Panel,” Dave Richardson, the ICC’s general manager, said. “For Asoka, it will be his second time in the Elite Panel and he has returned after performing outstandingly on the international panel over the past 12 months.”Asoka brings with him a combination of playing and umpiring skills and that combination is one that we believe will serve him well in the months and years to come.”Steve has served an apprenticeship on the fringes of the Elite Panel and his elevation reflects not only his consistency during recent years but also his excellence over the past year in particular.”I have no doubt that the elevation of these two quality umpires will strengthen the Elite Panel.”de Silva was understandably delighted in his promotion, adding: “It has required a lot of hard work leading to good decision-making on a consistent basis and I am glad my efforts have been recognised. I am now keen to ensure I maintain the high standards I have set myself.””I am thrilled to be appointed to the Elite Panel,” Davis said, “as it has to be the aim of every umpire to be appointed to this select group. I have worked hard for this and now I look forward to concentrating on umpiring on a full-time basis. I have always enjoyed the company of those umpires already on the Elite Panel and now I have the chance to work with them all on a more regular basis. I am really looking forward to the challenges ahead.”