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There were geniuses at play in Bridgetown, wearing the India blue as they cruised to victory in their first Super Eight game against Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup 2024. The pitch, once again, was tough to bat on: slow and offering purchase to everyone willing to roll their fingers across the ball. Suryakumar Yadav, though, found a way to prosper as he often does in T20 cricket, helping his team post an above-par total of 181 for 7. That brought Jasprit Bumrah into the fray and he immediately set about dismantling Afghanistan, his two early strikes leaving them indisposed for the rest of the chase.

The old guard

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma did not play a single T20I between the end of the previous World Cup in 2022 and January this year. But they’re here now because they want that medal around their neck. They want to be world champions. And to that end, they’ve been open to batting in a different way. Rohit made only 8 off 13 but he looked to hit a boundary off six of those balls. Kohli was going smoothly but he wasn’t willing to settle for that. He looked to hit Rashid Khan for six and got caught.After being burned in big matches for being too conservative, India have ditched the safety-first approach. And the reason for that played out in the middle overs of this game. When Kohli fell, ESPNcricinfo’s Forecaster had their total tracking down by 18 runs to 171. In the space of a mere six balls, the other batters had it tracking back up by the same number of runs. India were set to reach 189 now. That’s how quickly a game can change in this format. That’s why it’s better to have tried and failed than not try and all.

Surya on song

It’s possible India knew this all along but were holding back because they weren’t comfortable with the options they had down the order. That’s changed now because their best T20 batter mans the No. 4 position.Suryakumar played some special shots – not in the way you usually associate with, where he finds a soft spot in the laws of physics and mercilessly pokes holes in them. But more in terms of just knowing his areas and trusting his skill. Even the one time when he made jaws drop to the floor – dragging Azmatullah Omarzai from somewhere off the wide line to the square-leg boundary – he was just trying to put away a full toss. The legside was the shorter boundary. It just made sense.Jasprit Bumrah struck off his second ball against Afghanistan and finished with 3 for 7•CREIMAS

Suryakumar focused on three things while he was out there. Sweep to mess with the wristspinners. He played four and each of them resulted in a boundary. Smash whenever the quicks went too full. He struck a six that sailed into the three Ws stand and held his pose. Worrell, Weeks and Walcott would’ve loved that. Finally swipe – after making sure to hold his shape – when they went slower ball. First time he tried it, he got beaten. Second time, he nearly hit the ball out of the ground. This was a classic case of an attacking batter paring down his options to just those he knew would succeed in the conditions.Suryakumar was box office, even without bat in hand. In between the innings, he admitted that he was nervous. “I began chewing my gum harder when Kohli got out.” But he knew he couldn’t let himself be bogged down. “It was important to keep the intent up.” India do not want to fall into the same traps as before. This World Cup, they’re going to bat like they have a full ten wickets to spare.

Bumrah on fire

He has twice as many wickets as he’s conceded boundaries (8 vs 4) in this T20 World Cup. Bumrah is undeniably India’s most important player. He came on to bowl after Rahmanullah Gurbaz had struck a lion’s share of the 13 runs in the first over of the chase. He had seen, in the first innings, that slower balls had been mighty effective (five wickets for 30 runs at an economy rate of 7.2). Immediately, he dialled one up and also shifted his line real wide to deny Gurbaz the straight hit that he likes so much. Assessing the conditions and the opposition to that degree that quickly is the reason why he is an all-format great. He gave away only seven runs, the second-fewest by an Indian bowling four overs in a T20I.There were further positives as well. Kuldeep Yadav, back in the XI to exploit favourable conditions, picked up 2 for 32. Axar Patel began with a wicket-maiden in the powerplay. Ravindra Jadeja had a good run out as well. And Arshdeep recovered from a two-over spell for 22 runs to almost pick up a hat-trick in the dying moments.

Birmingham City were viewed as a side continuously stuck in a battle against the drop the last time they were situated in the Championship.

Indeed, the Blues haven’t finished inside the top half of the difficult division since tenth spot was clinched at the end of the 2015/16 campaign. However, that could soon change as Chris Davies’ men return to the testing league now brimming with confidence.

Amazingly, the West Midlands outfit lifted the League One title with a stellar 111 points next to their name, meaning they should instantly fit in when moving back up a division, having obliterated all their third-tier opposition.

Whilst the newly crowned champions will prioritise Championship-ready talents when shopping this summer, they will be prepared to gamble with some left-field choices in the hectic transfer market, with a potential new signing going down as their next Christoph Klarer.

​​​​​​Birmingham chasing deal for £2k-per-week star

As per a report by Football Insider, Birmingham are just one of several EFL clubs chasing the services of Arminia Bielefeld defender Louis Oppie.

Hull City and Norwich City are the other second-tier outfits named as taking an interest in the breakout 23-year-old, with the attack-minded left-back playing a key role in Bielefeld’s promotion to the 2. Bundesliga to generate this buzz for his services.

The £2k-per-week defender – as per Salary Sport – could well come in handy for Birmingham as they look to add depth in the left-back spot.

How Oppie could be Klarer 2.0

Klarer is the obvious example that Oppie will attempt to follow as another gem from Germany attempts to swiftly adjust to the demands of the English game.

Klarer’s league numbers for Birmingham (24/25)

Stat – per 90 mins*

Klarer

Games played

43

Goals scored

1

Assists

3

Touches*

91.8

Accurate passes*

68.4 (88%)

Ball recoveries*

3.5

Clearances*

5.6

Total duels won*

7.5

Clean sheets

18

Stats by Sofascore

After all, the former Darmstadt 98 centre-back made his own transition over from Germany look like a walk in the park last season, with the man mountain collecting 18 clean sheets on the way to Birmingham triumphantly lifting the League One title.

Oppie will hope he can follow in the Austrian’s footsteps very soon, with the in-demand Bielefeld number four amassing his own healthy clean sheet total of 16 last campaign in the German third division, away from also notching up a hefty nine goal contributions as an expansive face down the left.

Of course, Klarer only had to adjust to League One as opposed to Oppie now having to make a gigantic leap up to the Championship, but it could go down as another golden deal just based on how easy the coveted defender found the 3. Liga last season, with the exciting 23-year-old clearly in need of a new challenge away from his current employers.

He might well push Alex Cochrane all the way to a starting spot, as previously mentioned, with Cochrane the only left-back option in Davies’ camp currently.

Oppie’s overall numbers for Bielefeld

Season

Games

Goals

Assists

24/25

47

5

11

23/24

42

6

3

Sourced by Transfermarkt

Moreover, when looking at the table above, Oppie has been a standout performer for Bielefeld over many a season now, away from just his sterling 2024/25 output, with Klarer also a dependable figure in Germany too for both Darmstadt and Fortuna Dusseldorf before his EFL adventure began.

Therefore, everything seems to be coming together to suggest that Birmingham winning the 23-year-old’s signature would be a deal that’s looked back at with a lot of glee, especially if Oppie can play some significant role in the Blues competing near the top of the Championship again.

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Posts 1 ByKelan Sarson Jun 17, 2025

It might be over two decades since they won the Premier League, but Arsenal have had some sensational players represent them since then.

The likes of Cesc Fàbregas, Robin van Persie, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and Alexis Sánchez were all near enough unstoppable on their day, even if they couldn’t deliver the club the biggest prizes.

However, perhaps the star who felt most likely to drag the North Londoners back to the pinnacle when he arrived was Mesut Özil.

The German playmaker was an unreal talent, but unfortunately, his Arsenal career fizzled out into nothingness, and now there’s a player in the current squad in danger of having the same happen to him.

Ozil's Arsenal career

On transfer deadline day 2013, Arsenal announced the shock £42.4m signing of Ozil – to fan delirium – and there was a level of hope that the former Real Madrid superstar would be the one to bring the glory years back to N5.

For the first few seasons, while there was no league title or European glory, the World Cup winner certainly delivered on his end of the bargain, racking up 61 goal involvements in his first three seasons and helping the club win some FA Cups.

However, as time passed, and especially after signing a new £350k-per-week contract, the former Werder Bremen gem seemed to become less and less effective.

In fact, once Arteta was appointed manager in 2019, the German superstar eventually saw himself frozen out of the team entirely, with fans and pundits alike lambasting his apparent lack of effort off the ball.

Eventually, after over a year of barely playing for the club, he left for Fenerbahçe for free in January 2021.

Ozil remains a popular figure with much of the fanbase today and left with an impressive tally of 44 goals and 75 assists in 254 appearances, but there is no denying that he left the club failing to achieve what many thought he would, and on a low rather than a high.

Unfortunately, a current Arsenal player might be falling down the same path this season, a player the boss should look to drop from the starting lineup for some time.

The Arsenal star emulating Ozil

On the back of Tuesday night’s defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, it would be easy to lambast the entire starting lineup for not playing well enough, but in retrospect, it wasn’t quite the battering some may try to portray it as.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Arsenal had their chances to score, and for much of the game, the likes of Declan Rice, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Bukayo Saka and David Raya did their jobs.

However, there was one starter who was as bad as everyone initially said: Martin Odegaard, who was anonymous at best and actively ruining attacks at worst.

The Norwegian fully deserved the 4/10 match rating he received from the Independent’s Jamie Braidwood, and the worrying thing is that it wasn’t a massively surprising performance either.

Yes, even though he picked up his second successive Player of the Year Award last season, the “frustrating” playmaker, as dubbed by podcaster Rohan Jivan, has been seriously poor all season, and as content creator Rimedi pointed out earlier this year, he’s just “not at the level.”

In all, the player who is supposed to be the team’s creative hub has amassed just 15 goal involvements in 39 games this season, which is undeniably underwhelming and feels eerily similar to Ozil’s slow decline.

As this collapse in form is showing no signs of reversing, Arteta should take him out of the team for the next game at least and start Ethan Nwaneri in the middle of the park, as he looked more likely to make something happen in just five minutes of action on Tuesday.

Odegaard’s 24/25
Appearances	39
Minutes	2982′
Goals	5
Assists	10
Goal Involvements per Match	0.38
Minutes per Goal Involvement	198.8′
All Stats via Transfermarkt

Ultimately, Odegaard is an incredibly talented player, but at the moment, he is not showing it, and therefore, he should be dropped and given time to figure out what’s going wrong, lest his Arsenal career end the same way Ozil’s did.

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Jack Salveson Holmes

Apr 30, 2025

Leeds United fans would have entered Elland Road on Monday full of both nerves and excitement, knowing that one more win and Sheffield United failing to win in a showdown with Burnley in the Championship would clinch promotion.

Well, the Whites certainly kept to their end of the bargain in West Yorkshire with Daniel Farke’s hosts hammering a petrified Stoke City side 6-0 in front of their jubilant home masses and after the Blades later went on to lose against the Clarets, promotion to the Premier League was sealed in spectacular fashion at the second time of asking.

Joel Piroe – who has had his fair share of critics in recent weeks for his wasteful showings – staggeringly chipped in with four of the strikes, with the Dutchman a man possessed in front of goal as he became their promotion hero.

Piroe's remarkable performance vs Stoke City

Heading into this big clash against Mark Robins’ visitors earlier today, Piroe was deep in a barren patch of form, with nine Championship clashes passing him by without finding the net.

He more than made up for these lacklustre showings on Monday, however, as the deadly 25-year-old sucker-punched Stoke with two goals inside the first ten minutes.

Constantly in the right place at the right time to tap home, Piroe would go on to secure a memorable hat-trick inside a bonkers 20 minutes after his early brace, before further managing to fire home his fourth of the remarkable day four minutes before the half-time interval.

Now up to a league-high 19 strikes for the season in the second tier, the ex-Swansea City man will be hoping he can be equally as clinical for the Whites if Premier League football returns to Elland Road, with this whirlwind win pulling them ever closer back to the promised land.

But, whilst Piroe obviously delivered a display of the highest order, he wasn’t the only Whites performer against the Potters who was near faultless…

Performance in Numbers

Want data and stats? Football FanCast’s Performance in Numbers series provides you with the latest match analysis from across Europe.

10/10 Leeds star was as good as Piroe

Nobody in Leeds white exactly let the team down in all fairness, with every single player picked by Farke singing off the same hymn sheet to secure a huge three points.

While the attack were en song at Elland Road, the two full-backs were in fine fettle too, evoking memories of Ian Harte in his prime, charging forward to contribute in the final third with Junior Firpo finding the net and Jayden Bogle running the Stoke defence ragged.

Minutes played

90

Goals scored

0

Assists

1

Touches

63

Accurate passes

28/42 (67%)

Shots

2

Key passes

1

Successful dribbles

3/3

Interceptions

2

Tackles

4

Total duels won

10/12

He has had a fine season in West Yorkshire to date after dramatically leaving Sheffield United behind for Leeds last summer.

The gung-ho full-back would get in on the act when assisting Piroe’s second of the day, taking Bogle’s assist count for the season all the way up to a weighty four, on top of his stunning six strikes, while he also hit the post in the build-up to Piroe’s fourth.

Bogle would constantly maraud forward and leave Stoke shirts in the dust – seen in his 100% dribble completion rate – leading to Leeds reporter Graham Smyth to remark that the expansive 24-year-old “absolutely mullered” the Potters across a breathtaking first half.

But, the ex-Blades defender also looked strong defensively when infrequently called into action, with four tackles and ten duels won to preserve Leeds’ likely clean sheet.

Unsurprisingly, the aforementioned Smyth dished out a flawless 10/10 rating to Bogle post-match too, waxing lyrical further that he “tortured” Robins’ visitors who just had no answer to the home side’s persistent waves of attacks.

Come the full-time whistle, Leeds simply looked top-flight bound after brushing aside Stoke with ease, with both Bogle and Piroe ready for the challenge of Premier League football.

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ByDan Emery Apr 18, 2025

A lot can change over the next two years, but as Australia and South Africa return to ODI cricket, these are some of key questions that will need answering

Andrew McGlashan and Firdose Moonda18-Aug-2025

Cameron Green will be a key figure in Australia’s ODI side for the next World Cup•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

The halfway point between ODI World Cups is approaching with the next edition to be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia in late 2027. In Cairns on Tuesday, Australia and South Africa play their first matches in the format since the Champions Trophy, when they both exited in the semi-finals.Following that tournament, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell and Heinrich Klaasen have announced their retirements from ODIs – the latter from all white-ball internationals – and, as is often the case during World Cup cycles, there is a sense of renewal and rebuilding ahead of the next edition, where Australia will be the defending champions after their triumph in India.Since the 2023 World Cup, these two sides are at the lower end of the table in terms of ODIs played, and Australia in particular have rarely put their strongest side on the park, either because of workload management or injuries. Pat Cummins, who remains the official ODI captain, has only played two matches since that memorable day in Ahmedabad and will miss this series.A lot can change over the next two years – there is definitely a chance some players available now don’t make it all the way to 2027 – but with an eye on the future, here are some key questions from both sides.Head’s opening partner; Smith’s spotRelated

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Travis Head, the hero of Ahmedabad, should still be in his prime in 2027 but who will be alongside him at the top of the order is more of a question. Matt Short has had the early running and has shown glimpses, particularly his 63 against England in the Champions Trophy, but will miss this series due to a side injury, which has been worryingly slow to heal.Mitchell Marsh, who will captain against South Africa in Cummins’ absence, enjoyed considerable success opening in the lead-up to, and at, the last World Cup but there is always the lingering question over what his body will allow him to do in the years to come.In the middle order, Smith’s retirement has created a permanent vacancy, which will likely be taken by Cameron Green, who missed the Champions Trophy through injury. Green had a fill-in role at the 2023 World Cup but, providing he has no further setbacks, should be a central figure with bat and ball in 2027.Temba Bavuma has had to defy injury of late•Associated PressCan Bavuma reach 2027?South Africa’s regular ODI captain Temba Bavuma has made no secret of his desire to get to the home World Cup in two years’ time, but often caveats that with a clause about what his body will allow. Bavuma has suffered a spate of injuries in the last three years, mostly involving his elbow and his hamstrings, and was hampered by the latter during the recent World Test Championship final and the last ODI World Cup.He battled through both but continues to bat with heavily strapped elbows and at the age of 35 now, faces the real possibility of not physically being able to get to the 2027 tournament. That could mean his role over the next 12 months or so is a transitional but crucial one. Of South Africa’s squad in Australia, Bavuma has the highest ODI average and while he is not known as a quick run-scorer, he provides stability upfront and will be key to their build-up to the next World Cup.Aaron Hardie is among a group of allrounders in the mix for Australia•AFP/Getty ImagesHow do you replace Maxwell?You don’t find many cricketers like Maxwell, so this is an interesting one for the selectors. There is the loss of his dynamic, match-changing batting but there is also the vital balance he brought to the side with his offspin. In 2023, he was the second spinner alongside Adam Zampa (having been the lone spinner at the 2015 edition) and finding those overs will be important. It makes Short, who is a handy offspinner, a valuable player while the selectors are clearly keen to develop Cooper Connolly’s left-arm spin – he was a late addition to this squad after Mitchell Owen’s concussion. Head’s offspin remains a useful option while Marnus Labuschagne’s legspin has claimed useful wickets in the past year.Owen and Aaron Hardie, another injury replacement against South Africa, will be vying for an allrounder’s position over the next couple of years, while among those outside the current squad, Jack Edwards and Will Sutherland could also come into the mix. They provide seam bowling rather than spin although conditions in southern Africa may work in their favour.The next superstar?•Getty ImagesLife after KlaasenKlaasen’s international retirement leaves a power-hitting hole in South Africa’s middle order, not least because he has the highest strike rate for the team in ODIs and was named their ODI Player of the Year at the most recent Cricket South Africa awards.Though David Miller, who is second to Klaasen on the strike-rate charts, remains available, South Africa need to find someone else with six-hitting skills in the middle order and they may be looking to Dewald Brevis as the next big deal. Brevis was the leading run-scorer in the T20I series and, with only ten caps to his name, already holds the record for the highest individual score by a South Africa batter in the shortest format.His 125 not out in Darwin included 96 runs in boundaries and demonstrated a fearlessness South Africa’s coach Shukri Conrad wants his players to live by. The Miller-Brevis combination will not be on show at this series as Miller is currently playing in the Hundred, but the Australia matches are a good opportunity for Brevis, who is uncapped in ODIs, to show what he can do. To date, Brevis has played 25 List A matches, averages 48.40 in the format with a strike rate of 112.10, and was the second-highest run-scorer in the most recent domestic one-day cup, so there’s plenty to suggest he has what it takes to make the step up.Will it be one more time for this great trio?•ICC/Getty ImagesWill Australia’s big three all be there?Mitchell Starc will be 37 by the next ODI World Cup and Josh Hazlewood, who will play this series, 36. Starc has always said Test cricket will be the format he puts first and Australia have a huge period of that prior to the 2027 tournament. Cummins has tentatively indicated he has eyes on captaining again to defend the title but he, too, will be a key figure in a heavy Test run.Australia’s pace stocks are strong, although Lance Morris’ withdrawal from the South Africa series with another back problem is a concern and Jhye Richardson is still a long way off a potential return.However, Xavier Bartlett has made a very promising start and Nathan Ellis will have the chance to build on his T20 pedigree. It was eye-catching to see the inclusion of Tom Straker and Callum Vidler, recent members of the Under-19 set-up, in the Australia A one-day squad for the India tour next month and it’s possible that generation, which also includes Mahli Beardman, starts to emerge in time for 2027, although the following cycle is perhaps more realistic.South Africa need to fine-tune their bowling combination•AFP/Getty Images Specialist bowlers or allrounders for South Africa?Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi were not part of the T20I series as South Africa placed a premium on allrounders, but Maharaj is back for the ODIs, alongside Senuran Muthusamy and Prenelan Subrayen, which suggests there is still some experimentation on the go.Wiaan Mulder and Corbin Bosch make up the seam-bowling allrounder contingent and will likely compete for one spot in the absence of Marco Jansen, who is recovering from a thumb surgery and is not part of this squad.Jansen’s return will crowd the field even more, which leaves South Africa with a problem of plenty and a question of how to find the best combination. Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Kwena Maphaka and Nandre Burger are the specialist seamers, so there is a lot to work with and getting it right will be key before the title tilt at home.

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