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PNG’s bowlers gave some hope after they folded for their lowest T20I score ever, but Uganda held their nerve in the end

Mohammad Isam05-Jun-2024A hard-fought three-wicket win on a challenging pitch gave Uganda their maiden win at the T20 World Cup. They beat Papua New Guinea (PNG) in a low-scoring game in Guyana where both teams vied for their first win in the competition. PNG’s batting crumbled to 77 all out after being put to bat, before Uganda, themselves in trouble at 26 for 5, reached home in the 19th over.Riazat Ali Shah, one of Uganda’s rising stars, used a low backlift in his careful 33 off 56 to shepherd them through the tricky chase, falling just three runs shy of Uganda’s target. PNG were left to rue their poor batting, but they also conceded 15 wides, the second-biggest contribution on the scorecard.But the story of the evening was Uganda’s bowling in the first innings, set up by the pair of 43-year old Frank Nsubuga and 21-year old Juma Miyagi.Both vindicated their inclusion in this game with superb spells. Nsubuga bowled the most economical spell (minimum four overs) in T20 World Cup history, with figures of 4-2-4-2. He also became only the second bowler to bowl 20 dot balls in a T20 World Cup game, after Ajantha Mendis in 2012.Ugandan pace rocks PNGAlpesh Ramjani gave Uganda a wicket on the second ball when left-hand batter Assad Vala played back to the left-arm spinner, who angled the ball from around the wicket and on to the stumps. Miyagi and Cosmas Kyewuta then kept PNG on the back foot with their pace.Left-hand batter Sese Bau couldn’t clear Miyagi over mid-off where Roger Mukasa took a tumbling catch going backwards. Kyewuta then got the big one when Tony Ura, PNG’s highest run-scorer in T20Is, also holed out to Mukasa. Lega Siaka was run out for 12 in the seventh over, trying to take a second run as he felt under pressure playing out dots against the two fast bowlers.Nsubuga on targetWhen Nsubuga slid one through Charles Amini’s leg stump in the 11th over, he became the second-oldest bowler to take a wicket in the T20 World Cup. Nsubuga then had Hiri Hiri lbw although on first view it looked like the batter had come too far down the wicket. The review, though, went in Uganda’s favour.Ramjani’s second wicket came when he also trapped Kiplin Doriga lbw for 12. Captain Brian Masaba then got into the act with a topspinner that went through Chad Soper’s defences. Miyagi and Kyewuta took the last two wickets, as PNG were bowled out with five balls to spare.Frank Nsubuga, 43, bowled back-to-back wicket maidens•ICC via Getty ImagesNao hits backAlei Nao gave PNG an identical start to PNG when he removed Mukasa in the first over for a second straight duck. Norman Vanua then removed Robinson Obuya who holed out to mid-on where Vala didn’t have to move to complete the catch.Nao then had Simon Ssesazi lbw in the third over as PNG slipped to a perilous 6 for 3. Ramjani then struck a nice boundary through the off side as he and Riazat tried to get Uganda out of trouble. Soper, though, got the seam-up delivery to scissor through Ramjani in the sixth over. When PNG captain Vala had Dinesh Nakrani caught and bowled, PNG were on the ascendancy.Riazat’s calmness prevailsWhen Uganda were 35 for 5, Amini dropped Riazat when he was on 8. It was a simple chance at point after Riazat had played a false shot, but it turned out to be the turning point in Uganda’s chase. Riazat registered his only boundary in the 11th over when he struck a nice cover drive against Vala.He added 35 runs for the sixth wicket with Miyagi, but the latter was run out after a mix-up in the 14th over. Riazat kept calm despite the dismissal, though PNG also kept helping Uganda. Bau dropped Kenneth Waiswa on 4, although Riazat finally fell in the 18th over. John Kariko took a good catch at deep third, though it was a little too late for PNG.

Manchester United have a huge summer ahead of them to right the wrongs of the 2024/25 campaign, which has seen the club register their worst ever Premier League points tally.

The Red Devils ended the season on just 42 points, sitting in a measly 15th place, with Ruben Amorim needing an overhaul of the squad this summer if he’s to be a success at Old Trafford.

He had the opportunity to end the year on a high in the Europa League final, but his side suffered a 1-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur – topping off the dismal campaign for the club.

However, work already appears to be underway for new additions, with Matheus Cunha edging closer to completing his £62.5m switch from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The Brazilian certainly won’t be the last addition to join the club during the off-season, potentially being joined in the North West by multiple other talents in the coming months.

The latest on United’s pursuit of new additions this summer

In recent weeks, striker Viktor Gyokeres has been linked with a move to join United, linking back up with Amorim after the pair spent time together at Sporting CP.

However, updates have since emerged which have stated that a move for the Swede may now be off the table this summer, with fellow English side Arsenal also in the race for his signature.

It would likely be disappointing for the supporters if he were to move elsewhere, but it has allowed for other deals to advance, including that of Liam Delap, according to ESPN.

The report states that the Red Devils have agreed personal terms with the Ipswich Town striker ahead of a £30m deal after the Tractor Boys suffered relegation to the Championship.

It also claims that United are trying to move the deal quickly to avoid missing out on the 22-year-old given fellow interest from the likes of Chelsea and Everton over the last few days.

Why United’s latest target would be unplayable alongside Mbeumo

Despite the recent activity in the market, United’s transfer business doesn’t appear to be slowing down, after making advances in a deal to sign Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo.

Over the last few days, it’s been reported that the club have held talks with the Cameroonian international, with the Bees demanding a fee in the region of £50m this summer.

The 25-year-old has registered 20 goals and seven assists in his 38 league outings this season, being one of five players to reach such a figure in 2024/25.

Whilst such a deal would likely be another huge investment, it’s one that would massively bolster the options at Amorim’s disposal – potentially moving the side in the right direction next campaign.

Alongside his goal tally, Mbeumo has registered a tally of 1.8 chances created per 90, along with 1.4 successful dribbles per 90 – handing Delap the tools to succeed within the final third.

The talisman, who’s been labelled “phenomenal” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has that all-round presence at the top end of the pitch that the side have been missing over the last few months.

He’s scored 12 goals this season, whilst registering 1.1 shots on target per 90, offering a clinical edge that could drastically improve the current goalscoring tallies at the club.

Arnaud Kalimuendo

Stade Rennais

33

17

Hugo Ekitiké

Eintracht Frankfurt

33

15

Emanuel Emegha

Strasbourg

27

14

Benjamin Sesko

RB Leipzig

33

13

Mika Biereth

Monaco

16

13

Liam Delap

Ipswich Town

37

12

Thierno Barry

Villarreal

35

11

Joao Pedro

Brighton

27

10

The former Manchester City star has also completed 1.4 dribbles per 90, along with two aerials won per 90 – handing the side the focal point to play off in attacking areas.

He loves to play on the shoulder of the defender, able to make key runs in behind, something that could see him link up with Mbeumo given his own tally of chances created.

Whilst Delap may not be the supporters’ first choice this summer, he would provide a young and talented option that is only going to develop further in the years ahead.

The prospect of the pair combining at Old Trafford is certainly an exciting one, with the pair able to work together under Amorim’s guidance to try and bring the glory days back for the club.

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Leeds United will have to be ruthless in the upcoming summer transfer window in order to create a squad that can survive in the Premier League next season.

The Whites, who clinched the Championship title with a win over Plymouth Argyle on the final day, know that it will be difficult because the last two sets of promoted teams have been instantly relegated from the top-flight.

Daniel Farke and his staff will have to be ruthless when it comes to deciding which players are up for the task of making the step up to the Premier League, and one star whose future remains up in the air is Sam Byram, as his current deal is due to expire this summer.

Speaking to The Athletic, the English full-back said: Now we’ve achieved the final target, I’m sure they’ll speak as a team, investors, everyone, and make a plan for the future. Hopefully, I’m part of that, and, if not, I’ll watch on and always be a supporter.”

It remains to be seen whether or not the Whites will look to extend his contract beyond this summer, or if they will allow the former academy graduate to move on from Elland Road for the second time in his career.

Why Leeds should allow Sam Byram to leave

The 31-year-old defender has been a useful utility player for Farke to call upon since his return to West Yorkshire on a free transfer in the summer of 2023, thanks to his ability to play at right-back, left-back, and sometimes as an emergency centre-back.

He has made 75 appearances for the club in all competitions in the last two seasons, which shows how much the manager has relied upon him, but his recent availability is an outlier in comparison to the rest of his career.

24/25

38

23/24

37

22/23

16

21/22

18

20/21

0

19/20

18

18/19

7

17/18

10

16/17

18

As you can see in the table above, in the seven full seasons he played, after leaving Leeds in January 2016 to join West Ham, Byram did not play more than 18 games in a single campaign for the Hammers, Nottingham Forest, or Norwich City.

That included missing the entire 2020/21 season for the Canaries through injury, as well as 39 games in the 2018/19 campaign and 40 matches in the 2019/20 term through injury, which shows that there are still concerns over his long-term availability.

Therefore, Leeds should consider releasing Byram when his contract expires this summer, instead of attempting to extend his deal, and use that space to bolster their squad with a new signing.

In fact, there is reportedly an active full-back target for the West Yorkshire outfit who could come in as a big upgrade on the former Norwich defender ahead of next season.

Leeds make contact to sign Premier League defender

According to journalist Graeme Bailey, Leeds United have made contact with £15m-rated Southampton full-back Kyle Walker-Peters to discuss a potential move to Elland Road.

The reporter claims that the Whites are one of a number of clubs in the race to sign the English defender, whose contract at St. Mary’s is due to expire at the same time as Byram’s.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

Speaking to Leeds United News, Bailey said: “I’m told no decision just yet. Leeds have had contact, but as we know they’re one of many clubs to be in touch with him. West Ham, Spurs, Everton… there’s loads. And some foreign clubs are lurking too. Can Leeds get him? Of course. But from what I can make out it’s going to be tough.”

This suggests that Leeds have a fight on their hands to get a deal over the line for the two-time England international, as they line up a move for him alongside a host of other, more established, Premier League sides.

The 49ers must, now, push to win the race for Walker-Peters when his contract at Southampton expires this summer because he could arrive at Elland Road as a big upgrade on Sam Byram.

Why Leeds should sign Kyle Walker-Peters

Perhaps most importantly, the England international is not injury-prone and unreliable when it comes to being available for his team throughout a season.

Walker-Peters has never missed more than eight games in a single campaign and has only been absent for 24 matches through injury in his entire career to date, which suggests that the club could be far more confident of having him available week-in-week-out than they would be with Byram if they extended his contract.

The 28-year-old star has also proven that he can handle the intensity of the Premier League, when it comes to avoiding injuries, as he has played 148 times in the top-flight, which is the main reason why he would be a huge upgrade on Byram, given his availability.

Walker-Peters, who was once described as a “beautiful” footballer by former manager Russell Martin, is also similar to Byram in the sense that he can competently play as a right-back or a left-back, with over 50 appearances in his career as a left-back.

The English defender could also come in to provide Jayden Bogle with some strong competition for his place in the side, despite being part of a dismal Southampton team this season, as evidenced by his form in the Championship in the 2023/24 campaign.

Appearances

43

44

36

Goals

2

6

1

Big chances created

12

11

5

xA

7.43

5.87

1.50

Tackles + interceptions per game

2.9

3.0

1.5

Dribbled past per game

0.4x

0.8x

0.1x

Ground duel success rate

60%

55%

60%

As you can see in the table above, Bogle offers a great goal threat, but Walker-Peters is more creative and harder for opposition wingers to beat with attempted dribbles.

These statistics also show that the Saints star would be a huge upgrade on Byram because he can provide the defensive solidity, given his duel success rate and tackles and interceptions per game, that the ex-Norwich man provides, whilst also offering a big threat as a creator from a right-back position.

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Therefore, Leeds could land a big upgrade on Byram, allowing themselves to release him this summer, by signing Walker-Peters, who can offer more quality on the pitch whilst also being less of an injury liability.

Celtic secured their place in the final of the SFA Cup on Sunday with a comfortable 5-0 victory.

Brendan Rodgers’ Hoops, who are also on the verge of winning the Premiership, now have the chance to complete a domestic treble, having already won the League Cup earlier this term.

Rodgers failed to secure the treble in his first season back at Parkhead last summer after his side lost to Kilmarnock in their first League Cup outing at the start of the campaign.

The club’s success in the League Cup in the first half of the current term, however, has provided them with the chance to win the treble by getting the Premiership and the SFA Cup over the line.

Celtic’s form in the second half of the season has been boosted by the arrival of Jota on a permanent deal in the recent January transfer window, joining from Rennes 18 months after his move from Glasgow to Al-Ittihad.

Jota's current market value at Celtic

At the time of writing, the Portuguese forward is currently valued at roughly £7.7m by Transfermarkt. Sky Sports reported that the club paid a fee of £8m to sign him from Rennes at the start of this year, which suggests that they negotiated a reasonable deal for the winger.

That came 18 months after they had sold him to Al-Ittihad for a staggering fee of £25m – a deal that now looks like a masterclass with the benefit of hindsight.

As you can see in the graphic above, Jota had already proven his quality in the Premiership for the Hoops during his first two seasons with the club under Ange Postecoglou in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 campaigns.

The former Rennes speedster has made an instant impact in the division for Rodgers with a return of four goals and two assists in six starts in the league, along with three ‘big chances’ created.

24/25 Premiership

Jota (per 90)

Percentile rank vs wingers

Goals

0.67

Top 3.9%

Expected Goals

0.51

Top 3.9%

xG on target

0.72

Top 1%

Shots on target

1.51

Top 1%

Assists

0.34

Top 17.6%

Expected Assists

0.39

Top 7.8%

Chances created

2.01

Top 21.6%

Stats via FotMob

As you can see in the table above, Jota has been one of the most impactful forwards in the Premiership since his return to Celtic, ranking highly among his positional peers as both a scorer and a creator of goals from a wide position.

Despite his £25m move to Al-Ittihad and his exceptional form on the pitch for the Scottish giants in recent months, there are several players in the current squad who are worth even more than him at this moment in time.

Celtic players who are worth more than Jota

At a market valuation of £7.7m, there are not too many players in the squad who are worth more than the Portuguese attacker, but there are a few of them.

There are six Celtic stars who are worth more than £7.7m, as per Transfermarkt, and the most valuable of those six is Cameron Carter-Vickers, who has a valuation of £11.9m.

Celtic players more valuable than Jota

Player

Age

Market value

Cameron Carter-Vickers

27

£11.9m

Arne Engels

21

£10.2m

Nicolas Kuhn

25

£10.2m

Reo Hatate

27

£9.4m

Daizen Maeda

27

£9.4m

Alistair Johnston

26

£8.5m

Valuations via Transfermarkt

Arne Engels, Nicolas Kuhn, Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda, and Alistair Johnston are all also worth more than Jota at this moment in time, as they are all worth £8.5m or more.

Market Movers

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Celtic have hit the jackpot with these stars, who are currently regulars in Rodgers’ first-team squad, and one player they have played a huge blinder with is Hatate, because of how much his market value has soared over the years.

Why Celtic have hit the jackpot with Reo Hatate

The Hoops struck gold when they swooped to sign the Japanese midfielder from Kawasaki Frontale for a reported fee of just £1.4m at the start of 2022.

Looking back on it, £1.4m was a nominal fee to pay for a player who has provided the quality and longevity that Hatate has during his time in Glasgow to date, with a return of 26 goals and 28 assists in 138 matches in all competitions for the club to date.

The Japan international, who recently scored two goals in a 5-1 win over Kilmarnock, has proven himself to be a central midfielder who can chip in with goals and assists to be a difference-maker at the top end of the pitch.

His performances on the pitch for Celtic over the past three years or so have also caused his market value on Transfermarkt to skyrocket up from the £685k it was at when he signed for the club in January 2022.

Reo Hatate’s market value at Celtic

Date

Market value

January 2022

£685k

June 2022

£2.1m

December 2022

£3.6m

March 2023

£5.5m

June 2023

£9.4m

March 2024

£8.5m

December 2024

£9.4m

Valuations via Transfermarkt

As you can see in the table above, Hatate’s market value has soared to £9.4m from the £1.4m fee that the club paid for him just over three years ago, which shows that the initial fee paid for the star was a fantastic investment from the Hoops.

In fact, former Celtic icon Stiliyan Petrov recently claimed that it is “priceless” to have a player of his quality in the middle of the park, because of his ability to score and create goals from a midfield position.

Hatate has scored nine goals and provided four assists in 24 Premiership starts so far this season, which illustrates how effective he has been in the final third, and will be looking to end the campaign in style after his brace against Kilmarnock last time out in the division.

Overall, Celtic have hit the jackpot with the midfielder because they snapped up him for a modest fee and he has developed into a highly-valuable asset, who is worth even more than Jota, as well as being a key player for Rodgers on the pitch with his superb performances n midfield.

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With English cricket awaiting the outcome of the Hundred discussions, an ancient corner of the game endures for another day

Andrew Miller11-May-2024By stealth, but with increasing ubiquity, the old distinction between English cricket’s Test- and non-Test venues has been replaced this season by a more stark, faintly grasping pair of epithets: “Haves” and “have-nots”.The “haves” – as epitomised by the likes of Surrey and Lancashire – increasingly have it all. Test matches, Hundred teams. Corporate banqueting facilities and a clientele willing to splash out in them, and now, with a handful of deferred exceptions, even the prospect of Tier 1 Women’s outfits from 2025 onwards (and how quickly that untapped revenue stream has snowballed in value).The “have-nots”, by contrast, have only the power of their collective bargaining as they cling to the coat-tails of the counties that offer the promised Hundred riches, and to the fading glories of the ancien régime that they continue to represent. Not least, here at the St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury, on the first true day of the English cricket summer.For after five desperately dank rounds in the wettest spring on record – exacerbated by the futility of the Kookaburra’s early migration – here at last was a chance to bask in county cricket as the sport’s forefathers might have intended it.Gareth Roderick’s emotionally charged century was to the fore, as Worcestershire versus Kent served up a day of 308 runs in 96 overs – which seems a brisk enough clip until you recall that, in the IPL on Wednesday, Sunrisers Hyderabad ransacked more than half that many runs (166) in barely a tenth of the deliveries (58 to 576).But this was not a day for such crassly pointed details. This was a day designed to wash over you as a background to your life choices; to exist – as might have been the case when time itself was first corralled at the height of the Industrial Revolution – only as confirmation that this is your moment of leisure, and it’s yours to tailor as you please.Watch the cricket, or don’t watch the cricket – it’ll still be there if you ever look up to check the score. Do the crossword, go for a stroll. Pat a dog, eat an ice cream. Loll on the grass banks while marvelling up at the pointlessness of the floodlights, which on a day like this seem as oblique and immutable as the Easter Island statues.Kent and Worcestershire observed a minute’s applause following the death of Josh Baker•Getty ImagesFor this is what the “Have-nots” have that the “Haves” have not. You simply cannot replicate a scene like this in the high-rise bleachers of Edgbaston or Headingley, which for all the glory that its history confers, remains a carbuncle of a ground whose once-new family stand at the Kirkstall Lane End was memorably said, at its unveiling in 2004, to possess all the charm of “a viewing gallery at a municipal swimming pool”.Nothing about that sentiment, as penned by the professionally dyspeptic former Times man Michael Henderson, has softened one iota in the intervening 20 years. Unlike the once-controversial but now gently massaged rough edges of the St Lawrence Ground, onto which modernity has intermittently dared to encroach, but where – at least when the sun shines – timelessness still manages to shine through.Take the Sainsbury’s supermarket on the ground’s northern corner which, when it first opened in March 2012, was perhaps the most symbolic sell-out in county cricket history. Twelve years later, it’s no longer an affront to the ground’s bucolic sensibilities, instead it’s mellowed to become a convenient – and borderline essential – stop-off for unprepared picnickers, as they make for the ground’s wrought-iron gates, barely five metres from the check-out.Likewise the flats overlooking the square boundary off the Old Dover Road, which were such an affront when the original plans went through a decade ago. They’ve bedded down and blended in since their completion six years ago, with their patios and matured gardens now reflecting the matured residents within, who take in the action with the same keenly ambivalent interest as the greybeards within the gates.And then there’s the replanted lime tree on the boundary’s edge at deep backward point, now 25 years old and an imposing ornament in its own right – albeit not quite as much a feature of the action as its predecessor, which blew down in a gale in January 2005 after 180 years of loitering on the outfield itself. It beggars belief that the Twenty20 Cup began a full two seasons before the death of this monument to amateurism – imagine attempting a relay catch these days, with a three-foot tree trunk waiting to brain you as you dive headlong for the rope. And yet, on this, a day of 26 boundaries in 96 overs, you’d have got reasonable odds that the failure to take on such a half-chance would not have been game-changing.The St Lawrence Ground is, by design as much as circumstance, a ground of ghosts. Everywhere you turn, from the Frank Woolley Pavilion to the Blythe Memorial to the Cowdrey and Underwood-Knott Stands, evokes an era that, once lost for good, will never come close to being recreated.Related

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And so, despite the upbeat weather (the type, dare one mention it, that the visitors need even more desperately if their own home at New Road is not to be abandoned to the sport’s rising tides) this was an elegiac day. It began with an emotional tribute to Worcestershire’s young spinner Josh Baker before the start of play, and continued through Roderick’s under-stated pat of the club badge as he reached his century midway through the evening session.Around the boundary’s edge, that sense of transcience continued – from the undercurrent of intrigue about the ECB’s plans for the Hundred, a deal for which seemed to be edging closer with every over, to the chatter in the day’s final hour as word spread of James Anderson’s impending England retirement, a toppling to rival that of even the aforementioned lime tree.It all fuels the sense of a world in retreat, but perhaps that’s simply how county cricket has always framed itself – a sigh of contentment that can’t help but sound like regret to the untrained ear. So much of the talk among the game’s other have-nots centres around the selling-off of their ancient homes and the relocation to purpose-built stadia by motorway junctions in the interests of “future-proofing”. But would it really matter if major-match cricket, whatever that may come to entail, never again sets foot on grounds such as these, just so long as the spaces themselves and the bodies moving within them are saved for the nation, performative-art style, by a deus ex machina equity windfall?Yes, it probably would, as it happens – won’t somebody think of the talent pathways, apart from anything else. But it’s hard to escape the feeling that we are already deep into the throes of this sport’s last stand.Next to the Old Dover Road Entrance, there’s a metal plaque depicting each of the 15 Kent grounds that hosted County Championship cricket between 1890 and 2017, and acknowledging a further 19 that came and went even before then.It’s another parade of ghosts, from the Mote in Maidstone to the Crabble Athletic Ground in Dover, all the way to the Nevill Ground in Tunbridge Wells, which had its most recent festival game cancelled by Covid in 2020 and seems vanishingly unlikely to make a return to the roster. The retreat has already been underway for years, but at least the sun shone. And while it did, this particular have-not seemed to have it all.

Superlative fielding efforts, stunning shots and special hat-tricks find a place in our shortlist

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2022