New Zealand fast bowler set to be available for first eight games of group stage

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Feb-2025

Will O’Rourke has been capped nine times in white-ball internationals for New Zealand•Getty Images

Yorkshire have signed New Zealand fast bowler Will O’Rourke for the Vitality Blast. He will be available for the first eight group games, with an option to extend his deal depending on international commitments.O’Rourke, 23, has played all formats for his country with impressive returns since first being capped in 2023. In all T20 cricket, he has taken 35 wickets at an average of 24.94 and an economy 7.82.His stint with Yorkshire will be his first in domestic cricket outside of New Zealand, and he spoke to Kane Williamson, who played for Yorkshire between 2013 and 2018, about the move.”I spoke with Kane [Williamson] about the prospect of signing for Yorkshire and he was effusive in his praise for the club and the Yorkshire supporters,” he said. “Everyone around the world knows of Yorkshire CCC and I’ll be proud to wear the white rose when I arrive.”Related

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Yorkshire announced the signing of Will Sutherland for the entire Blast group stage earlier in the week, but O’Rourke’s availability was reduced by the fact New Zealand are touring Zimbabwe in July and August, playing all three formats. He could, however, return for the Blast knockouts in September, if Yorkshire qualify.Anthony McGrath, Yorkshire’s head coach, said that O’Rourke, at 6ft 4in, would provide a “point of difference” to the team’s attack in T20.McGrath said: “As soon as we were aware that there was potential to bring Will into the club, we knew we wanted to confirm it as soon as possible.”With his frame and height, he has a release point which will provide a key point of difference for our attack. He’s young, hungry to succeed and able to extract both pace and bounce from all types of pitches.”Gavin Hamilton, Yorkshire’s general manager of cricket, said: “Signing a player of Will’s calibre is signal of our intent for this season. He was one of the standout stars of the last year and he showed his ability against England over the winter.”A bowler like Will who can hit the deck hard complements the rest of our squad well. This is a signing that should really excite all our members and supporters, and I’m delighted he will be joining us this year.”

Liverpool’s ambitions of landing a move for Alexander Isak have dragged on throughout the summer transfer window, with a deal to land the forward not yet on the horizon.

The Reds tabled their opening offer last week for the Newcastle United striker, but their £120m offer for the Swedish international was quickly rejected by Eddie Howe’s side.

It’s thought that a fee in the region of £150m could be enough for the Black and White army to part ways with their talisman, who found the net on 23 occasions in the Premier League last season.

With less than a month remaining in the transfer window, Arne Slot’s side don’t have long to complete their business ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.

As a result, they may be forced to turn their attention to other targets in the coming days to provide the boss with the depth and quality needed to regain their league crown.

The latest on Liverpool’s hunt for new attackers this summer

There’s no denying that Isak remains Liverpool’s number one target for such an area of the pitch, but other options are constantly being looked at should they fail to agree a deal for his signature.

Luis Diaz has already departed Anfield, with the likes of Darwin Núñez and Federico Chiesa also touted with moves to Serie A to raise added funds for their pursuit.

The money raised from such departures could go towards a move to land Real Madrid star Rodrygo, with the Brazilian once again in their sights, according to Football Insider.

The report claims that the Reds’ hierarchy have identified the 24-year-old as an alternative to Isak, potentially going back in for a move to land the forward in the near future.

However, the article also states he could command another huge fee from Slot’s side this summer, with the LaLiga giants currently demanding over £80m to offload him in the next few weeks.

Why Liverpool’s latest target would be their answer to Mbappé

Kylian Mbappé is a forward who has constantly tormented backlines across Europe in recent years, cementing himself as one of the best attackers in world football.

The 26-year-old joined Real Madrid last summer on a free transfer from PSG, after enjoying a seven-year spell in Paris, which saw him net 235 goals in his 264 appearances.

It all could’ve been so different for the Frenchman, with Liverpool previously interested in his signature before he completed a free transfer to join Real Madrid last summer.

His move to the Santiago Bernabéu has seen him continue his magnificent goalscoring record, finding the net 44 times in his 59 appearances during 2024/25, ending his first season in Spain as the division’s top scorer.

There’s no denying Mbappé is one of Europe’s leading talismen, being a player many sides around the world wish they had at their disposal – but unfortunately, that honour goes to Xavi Alonso’s side.

Whilst a move for the Frenchman to Anfield this window is off the cards, they could sign their own version of him in the form of Rodrygo, with the Brazilian labelled as a similar player by FBref.

When comparing their respective stats from last season, the 24-year-old managed to outperform the world beater in numerous key areas, potentially being a superb addition to Slot’s star-studded side.

Rodrygo, who’s been labelled “world-class” by analyst Ben Mattinson, registered more progressive passes and carries per 90, showcasing the threat he possesses with the ball at his feet.

He also managed to complete more key passes and more passes into the final third per 90, able to provide new signings Hugo Ekitiké and Florian Wirtz with added opportunities, should he also move to Merseyside.

How Rodrygo & Mbappé compare in LaLiga (2024/25)
Statistics (per 90)	Rodrygo	Mbappé
Games played	30	34
Goals & assists	11	34
Progressive carries	5.3	4.6
Goals per shot on target	0.3	0.3
Pass accuracy	86%	82%
Key passes made	2.5	1.3
Passes into final third	3.1	2.3
Carries into final third	4.1	2.9
Crosses completed	3.8	1.1
Progressive passes	5.1	4.3
Stats via FBref

His dominance over his teammate is further reflected in his higher pass completion rate, whilst completing more crosses per 90, having a superb creative nouse within his arsenal.

Isak will rightfully be the main target for Liverpool over the next few weeks, but it still remains to be seen if a deal can be completed before September 1st.

However, the fanbase shouldn’t worry, with the Brazilian proving he’s more than capable of being a top-quality addition who could provide Slot with an Mbappé-like talent at Anfield.

Van Dijk's new Matip: Liverpool scouting "one of the most exciting” CBs

Liverpool still need to sign a centre-back this summer.

By
Angus Sinclair

Aug 2, 2025

Liverpool enjoyed a barnstorming summer transfer window, with an estimated £415m outlay marking the most ambitious and expensive spending spree in European football history.

Rarely had Liverpool shown even a measure of the willingness to fork out such sums across a condensed period, but the careful construction of a superpower under Jurgen Klopp’s wing hit new heights last year in Arne Slot’s system, winning the Premier League and earning a windfall from finishing first in the Champions League group phase.

Twice the Reds have broken the British transfer record this year, first signing Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen before winning the interminable battle with Newcastle United for their free-scoring forward Alexander Isak.

But it didn’t all go the Anfield side’s way, having missed out on top defensive target Marc Guehi on transfer deadline day, with the Three Lions star’s announcement earlier in the day thought to be a formality.

Liverpool's miss out on Guehi

Guehi remains at Crystal Palace. The 25-year-old centre-half, who has entered the final year of his contract, had come within a whisker to making a career-changing move to Slot’s Liverpool, but lost out after his club failed to sign a fitting replacement and Oliver Glasner reportedly threatened to walk if his sale was green-lit.

However, Guehi’s arrival was never going to be the be-all and end-all for the Merseysiders, who had already welcomed Giovanni Leoni to their ranks from Parma in Italy for a £26m fee plus add-ons.

The Italy international is only 18, but he has already showcased prodigious potential and is considered to be one of the most talented young defenders in the world.

Liverpool also resisted interest in Joe Gomez last month, and thus have a range of options at the rearguard, with skipper Virgil van Dijk still performing at the top of his game despite turning 34 in July.

In short, there’s not much to worry about, even if Guehi is one of the best on English shores.

Palace might of reneged on their initial agreement with Liverpool due to internal strife, but the league champions have options aplenty to get them through the campaign, with Van Dijk not the only one who might consider himself an upgrade on the England international.

Liverpool already have a Guehi upgrade

Guehi has the makings of a top-class defender, but perhaps he’s not quite there yet. The one-time Chelsea prospect has captained Palace to FA Cup and Community Shield titles in 2025, but it’s perhaps fair to say that he hasn’t yet lived up to the heights of Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate.

Konate, 26, hasn’t enjoyed the best of starts to the season, caught out in both of Liverpool’s opening Premier League fixtures, but the Frenchman is typically immense beside Van Dijk, hailed by analyst Josh Williams as a “monster at covering ground and dealing with one vs one situations.”

Across his four seasons at Liverpool, Konate has grown stronger and stronger, both on the field and from a fitness slant, with his title-winning performances last season bearing a likeness to Guehi’s own efforts across the year. It’s clear, then, why Liverpool want to land a player who is comparable to their athletic defender.

Goals scored

0.09

0.04

Assists

0.06

0.07

Touches

62.70

76.82

Pass completion

83.5%

90.2%

Progressive passes

3.94

4.04

Progressive carries

0.65

0.88

Goal-creating actions

0.15

0.25

Tackles

1.79

1.41

Interceptions

0.82

0.60

Clearances

4.80

4.68

Blocks

1.62

1.02

Aerial duels won

2.00

2.60

Like Guehi, Konate is staring at the end of his contract, and despite lengthy efforts to reach a breakthrough, Liverpool have as yet failed to convince the £70k-per-week defender to extend.

However, reports from recent months have suggested that there has been something of a narrative shift, with reporter DaveOCKOP revealing that talks are ongoing underneath the ominous backdrop of Real Madrid’s persisting interest.

And class, as they say, is permanent, with Konate putting in a phenomenal shift against Liverpool’s title rivals, completing all 44 of his passes and standing strong against the waves of Gunner offensives.

Liverpool may feel that they have an exciting prospect in Leoni – and indeed, they are probably right in viewing him as a potential superstar – but Konate has been chiselled into one of the best in the business, and his track record suggests Guehi wouldn’t have so easily displaced him if a deal was done on deadline day.

All this is to say that while supporters might be understandably frustrated by the failed effort to sign Guehi, there is little, if any, cause for panic.

Konate is at the top of his game right now, and if Liverpool do find a breakthrough in negotiations to extend his stay on Merseyside, the tough-tackling giant might just find himself reaching new levels, especially when the time comes for Van Dijk to bow out.

Sofascore’s data even reveals that Konate won a whopping 71% of his aerial duels in the top flight last term, whereas Guehi, much shorter at just 6 feet tall, came out on top just 54% of the time for the Eagles.

After all, it’s hardly a coincidence that Konate won his first Premier League title the same year he sorted his fitness levels out, starting 30 times in the Premier League.

25/26 – 3 (3)

–

1

24/25 – 31 (30)

3

11

23/24 – 22 (17)

–

5

22/23 – 18 (17)

–

7

21/22 – 11 (11)

–

4

Liverpool will still need to sign a centre-back at some stage in the not-too-distant future, and Guehi may well remain at the top of the shopping list as he approaches free agency.

Not Ngumoha: Liverpool's exciting 17-year-old could become the next Isak

Liverpool have refined every level of their squad this summer, from youth to senior standard.

ByAngus Sinclair Sep 4, 2025

MatériaMais Notícias

Com a aproximação da chegada de Lionel Messi para o Inter Miami, o nome de Luis Suárez voltou a ser ligado à franquia da Major League Soccer (MLS). No entanto, em entrevista ao veículo uruguaio ‘Referí’, o atacante do Grêmio fez questão de não dar qualquer margem para possibilidade de deixar o Tricolor,

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– É falso, é impossível. Estou muito feliz no Grêmio e tenho contrato até 2024 – afirmou Luisito.

>Todos os jogos do Brasileirão você encontra no Prime Video. Assine já e acompanhe o seu time do coração!

Suárez tem feito ótima temporada pelo Grêmio até o momento. Em 25 jogos, marcou 14 gols e foi campeão do Campeonato Gaúcho. A multa rescisória do atacante ´de 70 milhões de euros, R$ 367,8 milhões na atual cotação.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is crossing his fingers that Erling Haaland will bounce back in time for the weekend after the striker hobbled out of Sunday’s bruising 1-1 draw with Arsenal due to injury. The Norwegian powerhouse shocked fans at the Emirates when he signalled to the bench after 76 minutes, complaining of sharp pain in his back. Guardiola had little choice but to hook off his star man, raising alarm bells just days before another relentless run of fixtures.

• Cup clash likely to come too soon

  City head to Huddersfield on Wednesday in the Carabao Cup, but the 25-year-old is almost certain to sit that one out. Guardiola admitted that the midweek tie will come too early, but offered a glimmer of hope that Haaland could be back in action for Saturday’s Premier League showdown with Burnley at the Etihad.

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  Guardiola remains optimistic about Haaland

  Sharing an update on Haaland, Guardiola said on Tuesday: "Recovery yesterday [Monday], he didn't train and I didn't see him and the rest of the players yet today. Hopefully he can play at the weekend. It's been such a demanding week, the last game especially, and sometimes the players have problems. I think he will be fine for the weekend. I hope so."

• Pep to make several changes for low-priority game

  Guardiola has run with the same starting XI for the matches against Manchester United, Napoli and Arsenal, but that consistency is about to break. The Catalan confirmed he’ll be rotating heavily at Huddersfield, with Haaland far from the only big name getting a breather.

  "It won't be the same starting XI as the last three games," Guardiola added. "The only problem for the Carabao Cup is we respect this competition but arriving at the competition with no injuries and we have injuries. It will be a mix with academy players to play because the priority is Burnley, Monaco and Brentford. It would have been perfect for [Rayan] Cherki, [Rayan] Ait-Nouri, Omar [Marmoush] but there are many players who can't play because they are injured. We will try to compete and go through."

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  Guardiola braced for crunch run

  With Huddersfield in midweek, Burnley at home on Saturday, Monaco in Europe and Brentford looming after that, Guardiola knows he has little margin for error. The relentless fixture list is already biting, and keeping Haaland fit could define the weeks ahead.

Former Lionesses midfielder Karen Carney banished an 18-year curse by finishing top of the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard on Saturday. The ex-Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder put an end to stereotypes surrounding footballers and their ability to perform on the dance floor with a fantastic performance which has received widespread praise.

Carney wows spectators with jive to Blondie's 'One Way or Another'

Performing to Blondie’s classic hit ‘One Way or Another’, Carney and her professional dancing partner Carlos Gu wowed spectators with a brilliant jive during the first live show of the 2025 edition of the popular dancing programme. So good was Carney’s performance that she earned a score of 31 from the judges, meaning her and Gu topped the table for the evening.

AdvertisementEx-Lioness was overjoyed after finishing top during an 'amazing' show

Speaking after her performance, Carney said live on "Everyone did a great job. Honestly, it’s been an amazing show, hasn’t it?"

Carney joined by fellow ex-footballer Hasselbaink on the night

Carney was not the only former footballer who performed brilliantly on the night, with ex-Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink finishing third with his professional partner, Lauren Oakley. Dancing to The Fratellis’ tune Chelsea Dagger, Hasselbaink received a score of 27 from the judges, meaning he finished third.

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Carney succeeds where other past footballers have failed

Carney’s efforts in particular finally put to bed claims footballers could only perform on the pitch and not the dance floor. Several footballers have tried and failed to reach the top of the leaderboard over the years, including her former Lionesses team-mate Alex Scott. Other footballers who have appeared in the Strictly ballroom include ex-goalkeepers Peter Schmeichel, Peter Shilton and David James, as well as John Barnes, Robbie Savage and Tony Adams.

Southampton are building for a tilt at promotion and could now be at the front of the queue to land a talented defender from the continent, according to Sacha Tavolieri.

Southampton set to replace Mateus Fernandes

With the window drawing to a close, Southampton midfielder Mateus Fernandes is being targeted by West Ham United and Aston Villa, and speculation over his future could well force the hand of Will Still. Nevertheless, the former RC Lens boss praised his star for his professionalism after he featured during Saints’ 1-0 victory over Northampton in the EFL Cup during the week,

He stated: “He’s top, he’s top. I think he’d missed quite a bit of football, which is understandable, but since we’ve brought him back in, he came on and made an impact on Saturday.”

Coventry City midfielder Jack Rudoni could replace Fernandes for a price in the region of £15 million. Nevertheless, he may not be the only body brought in amid further interest in Tyler Dibling.

Recently, Southampton have offered a preliminary contract to Eduard Spertsyan as his contract at Krasnodar is slowly winding down. Albeit, West Bromwich Albion star Tom Fellows could also be on his way to St Mary’s Stadium.

Two narrow victories over Wrexham and Northampton have given Still enough encouragement to work with as he sets out his vision. Either way, further additions will be needed to try and win promotion from the EFL Championship at the first time of asking.

Southampton "interested" in £400k+ defender who's been likened to Van Dijk

The Saints have joined the race for a “dominant” centre-back.

By
Dominic Lund

Jul 15, 2025

The race for Premier League football next term is wide open, and competition on the market is fierce as a result. Still, Southampton retain plenty of appeal and could now be in a good position to land their latest target.

Southampton 'most concrete option' for Louis Patris

According to Sacha Tavolieri on X, Southampton have emerged as the most ‘concrete option’ for Sint-Truiden defender Louis Patris this summer, alongside Italian outfit Sassuolo.

Hoffenheim have turned their attention elsewhere after initially being open to a swoop, leaving Saints in pole position for his signature. However, his £3 million price tag is said to be a stumbling block in negotiations.

Likened to John Stones by scout Jacek Kulig, Patris has made 35 appearances in total for Sint-Truiden, registering a solitary goal and eight assists, predominantly featuring as a right-back.

In addition, the 24-year-old can also operate in central defence, offering cover in what has been a problem position for Southampton after a bruising Premier League campaign last term.

Now, it remains to be seen if Still and company can elbow Sassuolo out of the way to land their target or whether the notion of playing in Italy takes his fancy.

Fast bowler played for Birmingham Bears last season, but has since become regular in New Zealand T20Is

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Mar-2025

Foulkes has become a regular in New Zealand’s T20I team•AFP/Getty Images

Zak Foulkes, the 22-year-old New Zealand fast bowler, has joined Durham for their T20 Blast campaign.Foulkes has made eight international white-ball appearances to date, having made his debut in April 2024. As a tall right-arm seamer, who hits the deck hard, seven of those have come in T20Is, in which he has claimed nine wickets at 26.33, with a best of 3 for 20 against Sri Lanka.Foulkes has previous experience in the Vitality Blast, having played seven games for Birmingham Bears last summer, claiming eight wickets.”I am really excited to be joining Durham for the Vitality Blast this season,” Foulkes said. “I have heard great things about the Club and can’t wait to get involved.”Marcus North, Director of Cricket, said: “We are very pleased to have recruited Zak for our T20 Blast season.”It was important we brought in a player who will provide us with a clear point of difference within our bowling attack and that is exactly what Zak brings.”At only 22, Zak has already shown across the international and domestic game how much of a dynamic and well-rounded player he is in the T20 format.”We look forward to welcoming him to Durham this summer.”

عاد مارك بيرنال، لاعب نادي برشلونة، للحديث عن تفاصيل إصابته بالرباط الصليبي والتي حدثت له خلال العام الماضي أثناء مباراة رايو فاليكانو بالدوري الإسباني.

بيرنال تم تصعيده إلى الفريق الأول لنادي برشلونة الموسم الماضي وحصل على الثقة من قبل المدير الفني هانز فليك، لكن اللاعب أصيب بقطع في الرباط الصليبي خلال مواجهة البلوجرانا ضد رايو فاليكانو، والتي انتصر فيها برشلونة 2-1.

وعاد بيرنال من جديد إلى صفوف برشلونة هذا الموسم، حيث يعمل اللاعب بجد للعودة إلى مستواه.

اقرأ أيضًا .. روي كين منتقدًا راشفورد: كان جزءًا من مشاكل مانشستر يونايتد

وقال بيرنال في تصريحات إلى شبكة ”ARA” عن تفاصيل العملية في ركبته: “أقول الليلة الأولى هي الأصعب في إصابتي، حيث كانت طويلة جدًا. وكذلك بعد العملية لا يمكنك المشي ولا يمكنك فعل أي شيء”.

وأضاف: “لم أستطع حتى تغيير وضعية جلوسي، لقد مر شهر ونصف صعبين للغاية، لقد حذرني جافي بالفعل من حدوث هذا، في البداية كان الأمر صعبًا للغاية لكن لاحقًا في الملعب، والجري، وممارسة التمارين بالكرة. سأشعر بأنني شخص قادر على اللعب من جديد”.

وأوضح: “نعم، لقد كانت فترة صعبة والآن أحتاج إلى استعادة إيقاع لعبي الطبيعي وهذا ما أعمل عليه حاليًا”.

وأردف بيرنال عن يوم الإصابة ضد رايو فاليكانو: ”هناك من يعاني ويبكي بعد هذه الإصابة ويستطيع مواصلة المشي، مع ذلك شعرت فورًا أن شيئًا ما قد حدث هنا. في الأيام التالية تأكد الأمر”.

وتابع: “أول ما خطر ببالي هو أنني سأغيب عن الملاعب لمدة عام كامل دون أن أفعل ما أحبه أكثر، وهو لعب كرة القدم”.

واستطرد: ”كنت قد لعبت ثلاث مباريات كأساسي في الدوري الإسباني، تعيش تجربة لا تصدق ثم يأتي يوم مباراة رايو التي كانت على وشك الانتهاء، ويحدث لي هذا”.

وقال: “ينتقل المرء من أفضل حالاته إلى شعور رهيب، لا أحد يدرك مدى صعوبة هذه الإصابة إلا بعد اجتيازها. كل ما مررت به كان صعبًا للغاية”.

وأضاف: “عندما خضعت للعملية، مكثت في المستشفى يومًا واحدًا وبالطبع، لم أستطع النهوض من السرير أو المشي، لم أستطع الحركة”.

وأوضح: “في ذلك الوقت كنت أعيش في لا ماسيا، وقررنا أنه من الأفضل الذهاب إلى الفندق المقابل لها، كانت والدتي معي طوال هذه الفترة، التي كانت صعبة للغاية، وكانت تدعمني الكامل، لم أستطع حتى الاستحمام ولم أستطع فعل أي شيء”.

وأكد بيرنال ، أن هذه الإصابة لم تعد تؤثر عليه الآن حيث أردف: “نعم لقد أصبحت من الماضي. عندما ألعب لا أفكر في الأمر. كان أمرًا يقلقني سواء كنت سأشعر بأي انزعاج أم لا، لكن في الوقت الحالي لا شيء”.

وأشار بيرنال، إلى أن فليك دعمه كثيرًا حيث تابع: “كان الأمر يتعلق بالصحة النفسية، كان ذلك بعد العملية الجراحية عندما جاء بعض زملائي لرؤيتي، فليك أيضًا والذي لطالما كان قريبًا جدًا مني، لقد سألني عن سير تعافيي من الإصابة وكان مهتمًا بي كثيرًا. لم أتوقع ذلك”.

واستمر بيرنال في الحديث عن فليك، حيث استكمل: ”لديه عقلية مختلفة عن عقليتنا وقد غير الكثير من الأشياء، لكنني أعتقد أنه جيد في الالتزام بالمواعيد، ويقدم احترامًا للجميع في غرفة الملابس”.

وعن مستوى برشلونة السيء مؤخرًا والهزيمة أمام إشبيلية وباريس سان جيرمان، قال بيرنال: “أعتقد أننا جميعًا قد نمر بأيام صعبة. صحيح أننا يجب أن نتحسن حتى لو حققنا الفوز، لكن في النهاية أعتقد أن فترة التوقف الدولي هذه كانت مفيدة لنا للاسترخاء قليلًا”.

وأضاف: “أنا متأكد من أننا سنتجاوز الأمر. بدءًا من مباراة نهاية هذا الأسبوع، نحن متحدون للغاية، وهذا يتجلى بوضوح في الملعب، كما أن جودة اللاعبين رائعة”.

وعن مركزه المفضل اختتم بيرنال: ”ربما ينظر إلى الأمر من الخارج أنني أحب اللعب كلاعب ارتكاز رقم 6، وهذه هي الحقيقة، اللعب في هذا المركز أسهل بالنسبة لي من اللعب في الجناح على سبيل المثال وأشعر بالراحة في اللعب في هذا المركز”.

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi is confident of beating South Africa on their Champions Trophy debut in Karachi on February 21, especially after having defeated them 2-1 in the ODI series in Sharjah last year. It was also Afghanistan’s first ODI series win against a top-five ranked nation.”Between 2019 and now there’s too much difference and just recently we beat them [South Africa] in Sharjah – 2-1 – so we have that confidence with us and we are not under pressure anyway,” Shahidi said at his press conference on Thursday. “Because right now we are focusing what we can do in this tournament and I believe that our team is more ready for this tournament and we are focusing on our own team. There is no pressure on us.”While Afghanistan will be without teenaged mystery spinner AM Ghazanfar, who has been sidelined from the entire tournament with injury, they have enough spin depth in the form of Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Nabi and Nangeylia Kharote. Afghanistan will also have support from the Karachi crowd.”First of all, about people here – there are a lot of Afghans,” Shahidi said. “They live here in Karachi and in Pakistan and also a lot of Pashtun people, I think, they support us. So yeah, yesterday there was a lot of crowds shouting for us [during training] and it feels good and it give us confidence that we have supporters here and about our performance.”Related

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This will be Afghanistan’s first-ever appearance in the Champions Trophy, but Shahidi made it clear that they are not here to make up the numbers and that their goal is to win the title. Afghanistan can draw confidence from their performances in the recent global tournaments: in the 2024 T20 World Cup, they made the semi-finals while earlier in the 2023 ODI World Cup, they had booked a sixth-place finish and with that a spot in this Champions Trophy.”We are doing very good and, in this tournament, we are here to compete here and our aim is to win the final,” Shahidi said. “We are not here just to participate here in this tournament. We are definitely 100% looking to win this event and at the same time because we played a lot of quality cricket from last two years and it’s a good chance for us because the boys are very experienced and these conditions are also suitable for us. So we have a good chance and let’s start it from tomorrow and hopefully we start with the win and we go with the same momentum throughout the tournament.”Temba Bavuma, the South Africa captain, said his team won’t be underestimating Afghanistan, but having played them in September means South Africa have idea of what to expect.* “Yeah, highly competitive team, Afghanistan. I think they’ve got a lot of experience within their team. Guys who have that international pedigree at least from a skill point of view,” Bavuma said on match eve. “Like you said, we played against them mid to late last year and they were victorious, so they won’t be short of any type of confidence coming into the game tomorrow.”[But] we’ve also had a good look at them – I think probably a similar team that we played against in Sharjah that will be coming again. So, I guess we kind of know what to expect.”Bavuma said the challenge for his bowlers in this tournament would be to keep their discipline on batting-friendly tracks. “I think in terms of the conditions here, we’ve had a nice look at what to expect. Probably batter-friendly wickets and I think quite a nice challenge for the bowlers. Our challenge as a bowling unit is to be one of the more disciplined and precise bowling units. I guess always look for opportunities to take wickets.”From a batting point of view, scoreboard pressure is a big thing. Guys getting in, making sure they go get big so we can challenge for those 330-340-350 type of scores.”

Shahidi on playing in Afghanistan: ‘Hopefully that day comes’

Afghanistan haven’t had a dedicated home venue and since June 2017, when they were granted Full-Member status, they have played their home internationals in the three major cities of the UAE, in Dehradun, Lucknow and Greater Noida in India (which was also home before they became a Full Member). Shahidi, though, talked up the cricketing facilities and domestic cricket in Afghanistan, hoping to play international cricket in country in the near future.”I have answered this in Pashto but let me say it again because in media I heard a lot from other countries that they [Afghanistan] don’t have facilities, they don’t have stadiums, they don’t have academies. It’s totally wrong,” Shahidi said. “We have good facilities. We have cricket academies. We have High Performance Centre in Kabul and Jalalabad and also, we have stadiums in every zone of Afghanistan. So, we have the facilities to call a team to come to Afghanistan but in our country there were some security issues that’s why other countries are not coming but hopefully soon, as soon as possible, one of the countries will come to Afghanistan and you will see the crowd also.”When we play domestic cricket, it’s fully packed. Even people wait outside the stadium and try to come and watch the domestic game, like more than 50,000, 40,000 or 30,000 people coming for the finals of an event. I know that if any team come to Afghanistan, there will be like thousands of people, fans come and arrive to the stadium because there is a lot of craze for cricket. There are a lot of people who love cricket. So hopefully that day comes and hopefully it comes soon.”