The Hyderabad captain was involved in an argument with the umpires following his side’s match against Karnataka in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy earlier this month, after their target had been revised mid-innings

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jan-2018

Hyderabad captain Ambati Rayudu has been suspended for the two games in the Vijay Hazare 50-overs tournament after he was found to be guilty of breaching the BCCI code of conduct during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.Rayudu was involved in an argument with the umpires during the Hyderabad-Karnataka match earlier this month after two runs were added to Karnataka’s total at the end of their innings due to a revised boundary call. With Hyderabad eventually falling two runs short in their chase, the team, under Rayudu, stayed back in the middle and urged the umpires to commence the Super Over. Their contention was that they were batting with the target of 204 in mind, before two more runs were added to revise it to 206. The ensuing agreement about the Super Over delayed the start of the next game between Kerala and Andhra. That match was eventually shortened to 13-overs-a side due to the delay.Since Rayudu admitted to the charge levelled by the on-field umpires Abhijit Deshmukh, Ulhas Vithalrao Gandhe and third umpire Anil Dandekar, and accepted the sanction, there was no need for a formal hearing. He had said at the time that his intention wasn’t to delay the start of the next game. “There was some confusion in the middle at the start of our innings,” Rayudu had told reporters after the match. “What I went and told the umpire was ‘sir you cannot change the score, we are batting for 204 as our target’. That is exactly what I told him and he told me ‘we’ll see it at the end, let the match start’. [Karnataka captain] Vinay Kumar had stopped for nine minutes before the second innings. They had no business to stop the match once the target was declared. Then what we said was we were playing for 204, and that was my exact words.”At the end, we went and asked to start the Super Over. That is exactly our point of contention. We never even thought of stopping the second match. That has got nothing to do with us. We were saying that our match was not complete, we still have to play the Super Over. That is exactly why we went to the middle, we were actually going to warm-up then.”The BCCI is also looking into the role of the Hyderabad team manager in the incident.Rayudu has faced code-of-conduct issues previously. In the 2012 edition of the IPL, he was fined 100% of his match fee for using abusive, obscene language towards Harshal Patel of Royal Challengers Bangalore. He was also involved in a tiff with Mumbai Indians team-mate Harbhajan Singh in 2016.

Manchester United have held "positive" talks to sign a new defender, with Erik ten Hag personally wanting a deal to go through.

What’s the latest Man United transfer news?

The Red Devils appear to be on the search for a new defender to join the three new players already through the Old Trafford door in Mason Mount, Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund. The club need to sell before they can make their next move, though, with midfielders Donny van de Beek and Fred two who could soon be on the way out.

Another player who is on course to leave Manchester is former captain Harry Maguire. An agreement in principle worth around £30m has been reached with West Ham, although the defender still needs to discuss personal terms over a move to the London Stadium.

Read The Latest Man United Transfer News HERE…

A new defender to replace Maguire is seemingly on the cards, and the versatile Benjamin Pavard from Bayern Munich appears to be an option. Fabrizio Romano said on Wednesday that Pavard was one of three names being considered.

“Manchester United have three options in the list for new centre back. Benjamin Pavard, Jean Clair Todibo and Edmond Tapsoba are being considered as possible names to replace Maguire.”

Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg took to X to provide a further update specifically on Pavard, revealing that positive Man United talks have taken place and that the Red Devils are the favourites for his services.

“Man Utd, at this stage the favorite in the poker for Benjamin Pavard! Pavard can really imagine to join #MUFC as Ten Hag wants him.

“Concrete talks are ongoing and positive. Price valuation: Around €30m. Tuchel wants to keep him. Pavard wants to leave Bayern. Would be a massive loss for the club.”

Who is Benjamin Pavard?

Pavard is primarily a right-back but can also turn out as a centre-back and is into the final 12 months of his Bayern contract. The 27-year-old has won the World Cup and Champions League during his career and has made over 250 club appearances during his career, with more than 100 of those coming as a centre-back.

The player also has plenty of self-belief, personally claiming he is better and more complete at right-back than Liverpool’s Trent Alexander Arnold and Paris Saint-Germain’s Archaf Hakimi, but adding that he is naturally a centre-back.

“My position is a central defender. It always has been, this is where I feel most comfortable, where I take the most pleasure. This is where I find myself the best. I think we see more of my qualities in this position.

“If the great coaches put me on the right side, it is because they have confidence in my abilities. With Deschamps I have always been a holder. If he trusts me it’s not for my beautiful eyes or my hair. He is aware of my qualities. After that I have to improve in certain areas: I have to take more risks, more initiatives, I am aware of it and I work on that on a daily basis.

“A defender must first defend well. On paper, Pavard may be less sexy than Hakimi, Arnold, but I find that defensively I am more complete.”

Therefore, a Man United move for Pavard could be a shrewd one, as not only would he provide an option to rival Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez, but the France international could also challenge Diogo Dalot and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and by the looks of things, the Red Devils are working on a deal.

Sunderland’s Championship season began in frustrating fashion as they lost 2-1 to newly promoted Ipswich Town at the Stadium of Light.

It was a damaging lack of potency and end-product that robbed the Black Cats of any points. In the match, they managed 66% possession and 20 shots, but just four of those were on target.

Sunderland began the affair with recently-signed Luis Semedo up top, but to place an over-reliance on a 19-year-old who has never played English football before is a questionable strategy and they must look to dip back into the market.

This was recognised by manager Tony Mowbray, who said:

“Hopefully there will be some more attacking options in the building in the next week or two, they'll have to settle into the environment and get used to everybody.”

Therefore, another attacking option that Sunderland could possibly turn to is Tom Cannon.

What’s the latest on Tom Cannon to Sunderland?

According to The Sun journalist Alan Nixon, several second-tier sides including Preston, Stoke, Birmingham, and Sunderland are interested in signing the 20-year-old.

However, that bid has not been formalised due to Ross Stewart’s presence at the club. The Scot is currently out injured and Mowbray expects him to return to action in “six or seven weeks”, but if he does leave then Cannon can be considered as his replacement.

Would Tom Cannon be a good signing for Sunderland?

Cannon is a youth product of Everton and has been at the club since 2012, before signing his first professional contract in 2021.

For the Toffees’ U18 and U21 sides, the striker has registered 65 goal contributions in 97 outings. However, despite forming a spectacular reputation, the Irishman has been limited to just three appearances for the senior team.

The £7.5k-per-week man may feel especially overlooked when you consider Everton’s rotten goal-scoring record.

Last term, the Merseyside outfit only bagged 35 times in the Premier League and dramatically avoided relegation on the final day.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin only started 15 games due to persistent injuries, whilst Neal Maupay has netted just once in his Everton career.

Meanwhile, Cannon was sent out on loan to Preston in January 2023 and scored eight goals in 19 starts.

Hull City boss Liam Rosenior described the youngster as “outstanding”, with Preston midfielder Ryan Ledson extending this praise, saying:

“Tom Cannon has been absolutely brilliant. He’s a credit to himself and Everton Football Club. Since the second he’s come through the door he’s worked hard, got his head down and he’s a nice kid.

“He’s 20 years of age, has the world at his feet and all he needs to do is focus on himself and scoring goals because he can go wherever he wants to be.”

If Sunderland moved for Cannon, it could see a repeat of their Ellis Simms trick.

Last summer, the Wearside giants signed the Englishman on loan from Everton, and he notched nine goal involvements in 14 starts.

Whilst in impressive form, he was recalled by Everton to aid their relegation battle. He admirably deputised for Stewart, who has missed 38 games for the club through injury.

If Simms had spent the whole season at Sunderland, he could've allowed the Black Cats to formulate a more threatening promotion bid, paving an interesting storyline for Cannon if he follows suit.

Therefore, counting on Stewart and his patchy fitness record is a risky strategy and with Cannon waiting in the wings with the promise of more regular minutes, it could be an inspired piece of business.

The FIFPRO Women's World Best XI was announced at The Best awards on Monday with England and Spain players dominating.

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Seven Lionesses make cutAitana Bonmati and Sam Kerr also includedMorgan the sole USWNT representativeWHAT HAPPENED?

awards ceremony kicked off Monday afternoon, and the top 11 footballers around the world in the women's game were represented in the XI. England and Spain dominated the XI, while Alex Morgan was the sole representative from the USWNT.

AdvertisementGettyWHO MADE THE 2023 FIFA FIFPRO WOMEN'S WORLD 11?

England and Manchester United star Mary Earps was named as the team's goalkeeper alongside team-mates Lucy Bronze, Alex Greenwood, Ella Tone, Keira Walsh, Alessia Russo and Lauren James. Spain's World Cup final goalscorer Olga Carmona and Aitana Bonmati were also included, as were Australia hero Sam Kerr and USWNT's Alex Morgan, who is named in the team of the year for the sixth time.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

It is no surprise to see the XI dominated by players from England and Spain after the two teams made it to the World Cup final in 2023. Spain went on to lift the crown with a 1-0 win in Sydney. England manager Sarina Wiegman was named The Best FIFA Women's Coach while Earps took home The Best FIFA Women's Goalkeeper prize.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT?

England and Spain will hope to build on their excellent performances at the 2023 World Cup when they compete in the 2025 European Championship. The draw for the qualifying phase will take place on March 5 before the competition kicks off in Switzerland in July next year.

Mark Goldbridge has been reacting to news that Dean Henderson could be set to stay at Manchester United to provide support for Andre Onana, despite previous rumours suggesting he could be set to leave Old Trafford.

Is Dean Henderson leaving Manchester United?

According to The Manchester Evening News, Henderson could now be set to stay at Manchester United following an injury to Tom Heaton that is expected to keep the veteran stopper out for a few weeks.

Henderson had been expected to join Nottingham Forest on a loan deal with an option-to-buy amid discussions between the Tricky Trees and Manchester United, yet his future plans could now be taken out of his hands due to a lack of available options between the sticks.

Kicker via transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Matej Kovar, who is another one of Erik Ten Hag's understudies at Old Trafford is expected to join Bayer Leverkusen, as he stated on Twitter X: "Bayer Leverkusen sign Matěj Kovář from Man United on permanent deal. Fee will be €9m, as per Kicker. First part of medical tests will take place today."

Last term, £100k-a-week earner Henderson made 20 appearances on loan at Nottingham Forest and managed to keep six clean sheets in total, as per Transfermarkt.

Last year, Manchester United goalkeeper Henderson famously blasted the Premier League giants after they were believed to have failed to follow through on their promise of allowing him to replace David De Gea as number one stopper at the club after the EURO 2020 Championships.

Cited via talkSPORT, the England international said some time after joining Nottingham Forest on loan: "The conversation I had coming out of the Euros squad was 'you're coming back here to be the No.1. I got COVID, came back, so I should have still been the No.1, but then unfortunately nobody followed through with what they had told me. It was frustrating because I turned down so many good loans last summer for that reason, and they would not let me go. To sit there and waste 12 months, it is criminal really, at my age, I was fuming."

Nottingham Forest have also moved to bring in USA international goalkeeper Matt Turner this window on a four-year contract and it remains to be seen if any knock-on effect will be had with regard to Henderson's potential return to the City Ground as the window drags on, as per BBC Sport.

United in Focus cite that Red Devils boss Ten Hag has signalled that Henderson will not be available to take part in Manchester United's Premier League opener with Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday, with the Dutchman stating the following: “All the others (players struggling with injuries), like Henderson and Hojlund, are quite short but it will take a few weeks."

What has Mark Goldbridge said about Dean Henderson?

Speaking on The United Stand YouTube channel, Goldbridge thinks that there is 'no chance' Henderson would be able to upstage first-choice goalkeeper Onana if he is to be kept on at the club.

Goldbridge said: "There's a very big chance that Dean Henderson will have to stay and be the understudy and he has got no chance of being the goalkeeper ahead of Onana unless Onana gets injured and then if Onana comes back, he'll be out anyway. I don't really care if Dean Henderson stays as a backup goalkeeper, because he's a good goalkeeper and as a backup, that'd be absolutely fine, but it's 100% not what he wants to happen and also, it's another player really we needed to sell to bring some money in.

"It's bad news in that sense, it's horrific news for the player, but apparently Tom Heaton's got a bit of an injury so Dean Henderson may well end up staying now."

Henderson may well have to stay put for now and undoubtedly is a more than able deputy for Onana when necessary; however, you can't help but feel that his own career trajectory may suffer if he isn't gaining regular first-team involvement at Manchester United.

The tri-series, involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, will be followed by two Tests and two T20Is between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2017Bangladesh will host a tri-nation ODI series involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, beginning on January 15. It will be the first tri-nation series hosted by Bangladesh since January 2010.

SL tour of Bangladesh fixtures

Tests:
1st Test: January 31-February 4, Chittagong
2nd Test: February 8-12, Dhaka
T20Is:
1st T20I: February 15, Dhaka
2nd T20I: February 18, Sylhet

A Zimbabwe XI will take on BCB XI in a one-day warm-up match on January 13 at the BKSP 4 Ground. Bangladesh will then take on Zimbabwe in the tri-series opener in Dhaka where all seven day-night matches, including the final on January 27, will be held. Each side will face each other twice during the league stage before the final.Sri Lanka had won the previous tri-series involving the same teams in Bangladesh in January 2009.After the tri-series, Bangladesh will host Sri Lanka for two Tests in Chittagong and Dhaka respectively. The first Test will be played from January 31 to February 4 and the second match from February 8 to 12.Sri Lanka’s tour will end with two T20Is – the first on February 15 in Dhaka and the second on February 18 in Sylhet.

Doug Bracewell has been ruled out of New Zealand’s first two ODIs against Pakistan with a hamstring problem. The 27-year-old fast bowler had only just returned from a hiatus of nearly a year in the recently concluded series against West Indies, playing five out of six limited-overs matches to pick up six wickets. On Wednesday, though, he hurt his right leg in the field and will now undergo medical assessment to determine his recovery.

New Zealand ODI squad

Kane Williamson (capt), Todd Astle, George Worker, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Colin Munro, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.

Opening batsman George Worker has been called up as replacement. He struck back-to-back ODI fifties against West Indies and has also played well for the Central Stags in the ongoing Super Smash T20 tournament. Having hit 75 off only 38 balls, and coupling that with a wicket as well, the 28-year-old will join the national squad in Wellington on Friday.New Zealand coach Mike Hesson sympathised with Bracewell, considering the fast bowler had battled a difficult knee-injury over the previous season. “Doug’s worked really hard to make it back into the side after a pretty serious injury last year and he’s impressed in the opportunities he’s had. We know he’s a hard trainer and back him to rehab well and be available for selection in the not too distant future.”Colin de Grandhomme, who took time off after the death of his father, is expected to be back in action for Auckland from Sunday. Hesson hoped the 31-year old allrounder would then be available for the final three ODIs of the Pakistan series, the squad for which is yet to be picked. The first out of five ODIs will be played on January 6 at the Basin Reserve.

Time is running out for Jason Holder’s team to identify combinations for the World Cup Qualifiers next year, even as Tom Latham’s men seek to close out 2017 with a 3-0 sweep

The Preview by Akshay Gopalakrishnan25-Dec-2017Big PictureA month after arriving in New Zealand, West Indies are still in search of a win on the tour. They were blanked 2-0 in the Tests and have already conceded the ODIs 2-0 with a game to go. These performances are indicative of what has largely been a forgettable 2017 for the team. West Indies have lost 15 out of the 21 ODIs they’ve played this year, failed to qualify for the Champions Trophy in England – a contest between the eight top ranked teams in the world – and they also lost out on a direct entry into the 2019 World Cup.That leaves West Indies to go through the qualifying tournament in March next year, where they will compete with nine other teams for the last two available spots for the next World Cup in England. Given the highly competitive nature of that tournament, the sooner West Indies can identify and settle into a combination that will take them into the tournament and ahead, the better.Poor shot selection, repetitive errors and recklessness plagued West Indies in the second ODI, which they lost by 204 runs after crumbling to 121 all out in a chase of 326. It urged their coach Stuart Law to impel the batsmen to use better discretion. With the kind of firepower that West Indies boast, some degree of application from the batsmen could help them challenge New Zealand for the first time on the tour.New Zealand continue to be without the rested duo of Tim Southee and Kane Williamson, but have enough strength at the bench to make up for their absence. This hasn’t been New Zealand’s most dominant year, with 10 wins and eight defeats, but they are still a formidable ODI side at home. Barring a 2-3 defeat to South Africa early this year, New Zealand have not lost a home series since 2014.New Zealand’s batting depth came to the fore in the last match when they recovered from 186 for 5 to end up with 325 in 50 overs. And each of their pacers is equipped to exploit the swing on offer, led by Trent Boult, who returned career-best figures of 7 for 34 in the second ODI.Form guideNew Zealand WWLLW (completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies LLLLLIn the spotlightOpener George Worker has had a solid start to his ODI career. He is reaping the benefits of a fruitful 2016-17 domestic season, followed by a strong club season in England. Worker has thrived in the absence of Martin Guptill, who is still overcoming a hamstring strain. With a brace of half-centuries already in this series, another strong show will make things interesting on the selection front once Guptill is fit.Shannon Gabriel has been rendered ineffective in seamer-friendly conditions. He hasn’t done justice to his pace and has gone wicketless this series. Besides, he has gone for 132 runs in the 20 overs he has bowled. Coming from one of the strike bowlers in the team, that is a tad underwhelming. West Indies need Gabriel at his best to stop a powerful New Zealand line-up and avoid a 3-0 sweep.Team newsNew Zealand are unlikely to ring in changes. Mitchell Santner has not played a part in this ODI series yet, and that will likely remain the case, with Todd Astle having scored runs and picked up wickets in the two games so far.New Zealand (probable): 1 George Worker, 2 Colin Munro, 3 Neil Broom, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Tom Latham (capt, wk), 6 Henry Nicholls, 7 Todd Astle, 8 Doug Bracewell, 9 Lockie Ferguson, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Trent BoultLaw sounded optimistic about Chris Gayle’s recovery from a bout of viral infection. Gayle has been in belligerent form lately: he struck a record 18 sixes in a T20 innings, in the final of the recently-concluded Bangladesh Premier League that gave his side Rangpur Riders the title. Should Gayle recover, Kyle Hope will sit out.Ronsford Beaton, who was pulled up for a suspect action after the second ODI, is likely to miss out with a side strain, while Kesrick Williams has hamstring troubles. That leaves West Indies thin on the fast-bowling front and they may be forced to pick the left-arm spinner Nikita Miller.West Indies (probable): 1 Chris Gayle/Kyle Hope, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Shai Hope (wk), 4 Shimron Hetmyer, 5 Jason Mohammed, 6 Jason Holder (capt), 7 Rovman Powell, 8 Ashley Nurse, 9 Nikita Miller, 10 Sheldon Cottrell , 11 Shannon GabrielPitch and conditionsChristchurch is known to be a pacer’s paradise, with the greenness of the surface and the swing it offers. But once the new ball is blunted, it does tend to favour batting, as witnessed in the previous game where New Zealand put up 325 from 186 for 5. All that is only if the weather permits. A cold start is expected on Boxing Day, with isolated showers, especially around midday and evening.Stats and trivia Tom Latham needs 133 runs to complete 2000 runs in One-Day Internationals. West Indies’ 204-run defeat in the second ODI was their heaviest to New Zealand in ODIs.Quotes “It’s a little bit different waking up [on Christmas] morning and saying ‘Merry Christmas’ to everybody. Nice to get out of the house [for training] and earn the Christmas ham.”
“Words are cheap. We’ve got to see actions now. I don’t think what we saw in the first two games is a fair indication of how well these guys can play. We were trying to get 300 in 25 overs, when we had 50 overs to get it. Our guys want to be positive and play an attractive brand, but you can’t be reckless with it. You’ve got to be smart in the way you go about it.”

Leah Williamson has been lauded for her return from an ACL injury as Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall hailed the "incredibly hard" work behind the scenes.

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• Williamson back in domestic action
• Appeared as a substitute against Reading
• Eidevall impressed with commitment behind the scenes

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The England skipper returned to the Arsenal squad for their Women's League Cup clash against Reading on Wednesday after remaining sidelined with an anterior cruciate ligament injury since April 2023. She showed little rust upon her return and even registered an assist, setting up Beth Mead for the fifth goal as the Gunners thrashed Reading 6-0.

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• WHAT EIDEVALL SAID

  Eidevall lavished praise on Williamson for her intense perseverance and dedication during the recovery period and said: "She works incredibly hard. I don't think anyone who hasn't had an ACL injury can understand all the work that goes behind that to be able to return, so I’m really happy for her as an individual and really happy for the team to get such a great player back. It was great to see both her and Kim Little able to return to play today."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Although the focus remained firmly on Williamson's return to action, Stina Blackstenius made the most of a rare opportunity with an incredible hattrick that inspired Arsenal to the quarter-finals.

  Eidevall was fascinated with her performance and added: "I mean, every player wants to start games and every player wants to play most of the games, but the best way to get your way into the starting 11 is the actions you do when you're playing and Stina was one of the players today that that did really really well and that was very pleasing to see."

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• WHAT NEXT?

  Eidevall would be keen to hand Williamson a start when Arsenal take on Liverpool on Sunday in the WSL. She looked sharp enough upon her return to competitive action and the Gunners would hope that the 26-year-old gets back to her usual form in the decisive second phase of the season.

Following Division Five in Jersey, teams have had to navigate through Division Four in Los Angeles and Division Three in Uganda. Now, another hurdle in Namibia in their bid for a World-Cup spot

Peter Della Penna in Windhoek07-Feb-2018The Kenya players enjoy a celebratory jig after their 42-run win•ICC/Donald MacLeod

Kenya

Some of the east African side’s results in the WCL Championship – wins over Hong Kong and tournament champion Netherlands – show they are more than capable of being a strong competitor should they advance to Zimbabwe. However, they are playing in Division Two because of their wild inconsistency.The biggest positive for Kenya is that they swept both matches in Namibia during the WCL Championship, giving them a leg up with their experience in local conditions. Captain Rakep Patel, Collins Obuya and Irfan Karim all scored more than 300 runs in the WCL Championship and are expected to have strong tournaments on the traditionally high-scoring pitches of Windhoek.

UAE

The only side with ODI status in this event, UAE are under heavy pressure to make it to Zimbabwe, failing which they lose their ODI status until 2022 at the earliest. UAE struggled early in the WCL Championship trying to recover from the retirement of Khurram Khan, but found their feet midway through the competition and finished by winning four of their final six matches, including a series split in Namibia, a win over Papua New Guinea and a sweep of Nepal in Abu Dhabi. Most recently, they knocked off a target of 300 against Scotland to pull off their highest successful ODI chase.Shaiman Anwar did the bulk of UAE’s scoring for much of the WCL Championship, finishing sixth overall with 431 runs. Adnan Mufti and Ghulam Shabber lightened the burden by coming through with big scores in the most-recent series against Nepal while Rameez Shahzad propelled the record chase against Scotland with his maiden ODI ton. A balanced bowling unit, featuring the opening pace pair of Mohammad Naveed and Zahoor Khan, makes up for the absence of Amjad Javed. The spin combo of legspinner Imran Haider, left-arm spinner Ahmed Raza and captain Rohan Mustafa completes the tournament’s most balanced attack.Sharad Vesawkar and Gyanendra Malla get together•Kaushal Adhikari

Nepal

After scoring two wins at the 2014 World T20 against Afghanistan and Hong Kong, Nepal has struggled to stay afloat in the top tier of Associate cricket. Of their opponents in this event, they can take consolation from the fact that they swept Namibia for half of their four wins in the WCL Championship, though that series win was achieved in Kathmandu. They also have positive memories of the last time they were in Namibia at WCL Division Two in 2015, when they secured a spot in the WCL Championship despite a last-day stumble.While the captain and vice-captain duo of Paras Khadka and Gyanendra Malla often get most of the plaudits for their batting acumen, middle-order finisher Sharad Vesawkar actually led the team in runs during the WCL Championship, with 415 runs at an average of 51.87. On the bowling side, spin has been Nepal’s strength over the years with the left-arm tandem of Basant Regmi and Shakti Gauchan. However, most of the attention at Division Two will be on teenage legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane, who garnered global attention last month after being taken by Delhi Daredevils at the IPL auction.

Namibia

The tournament hosts only managed to win three out of 14 games in the WCL Championship, but two of those – over Hong Kong and Scotland – had a significant impact on the final standings at the top of the table. In particular, the win in Edinburgh showcased what Namibia are capable of when operating at full strength. A rare appearance from Otago allrounder Christi Viljoen severely dented Scotland’s hopes of chasing Netherlands down for the title.Viljoen is back again for this tournament in an effort boost Namibia’s seam bowling and middle-order batting. Stephan Baard offers an explosive weapon at the top of the order while Gerhard Erasmus’ coming-of-age against Netherlands in the final round of the WCL Championship – a fluent 52 and 81 in both innings against the champion Dutch side – shows Namibia’s batting nucleus may be hitting form at just the right time.Oman celebrate after being crowned tournament champions•Peter Della Penna

Oman

Oman is attempting to follow in the footsteps of Afghanistan’s rapid ascent up the Associate ladder that began in Jersey at the 2008 WCL Division Five, by taking an identical journey to the World Cup Qualifiers. Oman secured three consecutive promotions beginning in Jersey in 2015 with a myriad of contributors along the way.In Jersey, it was Zeeshan Maqsood’s explosive batting paired with the swing bowling duo of Rajeshkumar Ranpura and Munis Ansari that took them forward. In Los Angeles, legspinning allrounder Khawar Ali’s Player-of-the-Tournament performance, including 74 and a five-wicket haul in a do-or-die showdown with Denmark, secured another promotion. At Division Three in Uganda, Khawar continued his impact with the ball but it was a host of characters led by Aqib Ilyas with the bat and left-arm swing bowler Bilal Khan who rallied them to the title.Entering Division Two, Ranpura and Ansari have faded out of the squad, but the ICC’s revised eligibility guidelines – which allow players to represent a country after just three years of residency – have opened the doors to two key allrounders: former Sialkot player Ahmed Fayyaz and former Saurashtra player Jayesh Odedra. The lifting of the ICC’s other stipulation, a maximum of two four-year residents in a starting XI, has also allowed for the recall of tall medium pacer Kaleemullah, who troubled batsman with his height and bounce last year at the Desert T20 Challenge. The trio may provide Oman with yet more difference-makers in an attempt to vault into the World Cup qualifiers.

Canada

Much like Netherlands and Kenya, Canada is an Associate that may have once taken a place in the World Cup for granted, having qualified four times including thrice from 2003 to 2011. But Canada not only failed to qualify for the 2015 event but lost ODI status through a poor performance at the 2014 World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand. However, unlike Kenya and the Dutch, who rebounded at 2015 WCL Division Two to earn a place in the WCL Championship, Canada’s bottom-two finish three years ago dropped them back to Division Three.It took Canada more than two years for the opportunity to climb back up, but they’ve produced a triumphant display in Uganda, propelled by the electric batting and canny medium pace of Rizwan Cheema, who was also named the Player of the Tournament. Teenage opening batsman Bhavindu Adhihetty played a strong support role, finishing as the tournament’s leading scorer with 222 runs. Adhihetty’s value to the senior side is such that he stayed away from the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand – having previously captained Canada Under-19 to victory in the Americas Regional Qualifier – so that he could be with the seniors on their Division Three warm-up tour in South Africa.Like Oman, Canada have – for the moment – moved on from someone who helped get them to this point with Cheema not included in the Namibian touring squad. Yet like Oman, they are bolstered by reinforcements that give them an excellent chance of advancing. The recalled top-order duo of Ruvindu Gunasekera, who has spent most of the last two Canadian winters playing first-class cricket in Sri Lanka, and Srimantha Wijeratne provide a fire-and-ice combo that bridges the gap up to captain Nitish Kumar’s class in the middle order.