LOS ANGELES – Standing in the 15^th fairway, Joel Dahmen was about to settle into his shot when a ball skittered past.

It was the tee shot of the Genesis Invitational leader, Adam Scott.

“We were in plain sight,” Dahmen said after the round. “If you get around the (fairway) bunker you can’t see anything. But sometimes when you’re leading, the adrenaline is going and you just the ball. I don’t know. I wasn’t bothered by it.”

Clearly not. Dahmen went on to birdie the hole, then tacked on another on 16 to finish in a tie for fifth, three shots back of Scott.

But it still was odd, the sight of a group being hit into late in the final round of a Tour event. Typically, marshals or a member of the TV crew will signal when it’s clear to fire away.

“We raised our hand to make sure that they saw us,” Dahmen said. “I looked around and there were 15 people in the fairway, so I don’t know what it was.”

Scott said that he couldn’t see anyone in the group – he couldn’t see Russell Henley in the left rough, getting relief, and couldn’t see Dahmen or Harold Varner III in the middle of the fairway, 300 yards out.

“That might sound funny, they’re standing in the middle of the fairway, but it just looked like they were part of the gallery,” Scott said. “I wasn’t really giving them a hurry-up, although it was pretty slow out there today.”

LOS ANGELES – Rory McIlroy’s bid for a statement victory came to an abrupt end Sunday at Riviera.

Tied for the lead early in the final round, the new world No. 1 caught a flier from the left rough on the par-4 fifth hole. Instead of landing his ball on the front third of the green, his second shot from 162 yards pitched about pin high and rolled off the back of the green, into a shaved collection area.

“Obviously not the place you want to leave yourself,” he said.

It was the mistake that cost McIlroy the tournament.

With little green to work with, he tried to bump his chip shot into the hill in front of him. But he caught the chip a groove low on the clubface, and his ball expired into the hill and rolled back toward him.

“If I had carried that (depression), it probably could have trundled its way onto the green because I’ve played those shots well this week,” he said. “I’ve had a pretty good feel with those. It just didn’t carry as far as I need it to.”

McIlroy tried to flop his next attempt from a tight lie, and his ball ran out 20 feet past the cup. That’s when he compounded his error – three-putting from there, including a miss from 3 feet. He carded a triple-bogey 7, putting him two off the lead.

McIlroy would never get closer, ultimately finishing in a tie for fifth, three shots behind Adam Scott, after making birdie on the 72nd hole.

Scott made a similar mistake on No. 5, walking off with double bogey, but he rebounded on the next hole and rolled in a 20-footer for birdie.

An alleged racist incident marred a Portuguese league match on Sunday as Porto forward Moussa Marega walked off midway through a match due to abuse from fans.

Marega left his team's 2-1 win at Vitoria Guimaraes in the 69th minute, pointing to the crowd and raising his middle fingers to the stands. Players and staff from both teams tried to console Marega to stay on the field.

The player was also given a yellow card by the referee as he walked toward the tunnel.

Marega, a French-born Mali international who had previously played for Guimaraes on loan in 2016-17, scored Porto's game winner before the incident.

In an Instagram post after the match, Marega said: "I would like to only say to those racist idiots in the stands, go f--- yourselves."

The 28-year-old also criticised the game's referees, saying: "I appreciate the officials for not defending me and for giving me a yellow card for defending the color of my skin. I hope to never find you on the football pitch again. You're an embarrassment!"

The league's organising body Liga Portugal condemned the chants.

"Liga Portugal does not agree and never will with acts of racism, xenophobia or intolerance that jeopardize the dignity of footballers or any human beings," said a statement on the organisation's website.

"Liga Portugal will do everything to ensure that this episode and all other racist incidents do not go unpunished.

"We believe this is a fight where your team's colours do not matter and everyone must come together to eradicate this scourge on the game."

Guimaraes said it would investigate the incident.

"[The club] will not fail to censor any and all manifestations of violence, racism or intolerance,'' it said.

It added that the club "will verify what happened during the game played at Estadio D. Afonso Henriques, acting firmly and consequently, in full cooperation with the competent judicial entities.''

Porto boss Sergio Conceicao called the incident "unfortunate" after the match.

"We are a family regardless of nationality, skin colour, hair colour. We are human, we deserve respect," Conceicao said. "We are completely indignant about what happened. I know the passion that exists for Vitoria and I think most of the fans do not see themselves in the same attitude of some people who have insulted Moussa since the warm-up."

Porto director of communications Francisco Marques added on his own Twitter account: "Marega was fed up and left the pitch and Porto was forced to make a substitution due to racism."

Portuguese newspaper A Bola reported that no Porto players spoke to the media after the game in solidarity with Marega.

Vitoria coach Ivo Vieira said he did not want to comment on the incident as he was not certain what had happened.

"I prefer not to speak about a situation without being aware of all the facts. But if the player was provoked, then he should not have been," he said.

Porto are second in the Portuguese top flight, trailing leaders Benfica by a point after 21 games.

Information from Reuters was used in this report.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta expressed symapthy for his mentor Pep Guardiola amid the shocking news that Manchester City will be banned two seasons from European competition.

Arteta worked for Guardiola at City as his assistant for from 2016-19 before taking over at Arsenal in January. Arteta addded that he'd been in touch with his former boss following last week's announcement.

"I just want the best for City. The admiration and love that I have for Pep, the players and staff, I just want the best for them. I know how hard they work and hopefully a positive thing can come for them."

While Manchester City stated they will fight the ban in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the club's potential exclusion from Champions League would mean the fifth-place team would take their spot.

While Arsenal sit in 10th place and remain aways from a top-four spot, Arteta said he'll keep his side's focus on their tasks at hand.

"I don't think about it, I just want the best for Manchester City because that's the way I feel and now I have to do not the best, the very, very best for Arsenal to try and maximise everything we have here to bring the club as high as possible again."

Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho, a notable rival of Guardiola from their epic La Liga battles, also said he wasn't going to start analysing the table and what it would mean for Spurs. The north London side beat Aston Villa on Sunday to reach fifth place.

"My view is that I didn't lose one single minute analysing what UEFA and FIFA, they have to analyse. If I go into that, I have to ask if the [Spurs side] that finished second in 2018 is going to be champions, yes or no? That would be interesting but joking apart, I just wait calmly. Fourth or fifth, I just think about doing the best we can," Mourinho said after the win.

"The more points we can get the better position we can get," he added. "At the end of the season we'll see where we are. If we are sixth or seventh then it doesn't matter if the fifth goes to Champions League.

"So when we speak about the fifth spot, I think for sure Wolves, Sheffield United, Man United, Arsenal, Everton, everyone looks to the table and week after week they say we can do it and they can. It's going to be very hard."

LONDON -- When the great history of Mikel Arteta's time at Arsenal is written, there will be many more convincing performances than Sunday's 4-0 win over Newcastle. At least, Gooners around the world will hope so.

The score line didn't reflect the overall flow of the game, as Arsenal racked up a couple of bonus goals at the end as Newcastle gave up on the concept of defending and waved their opponents through. But viewed another way, Sunday's thumping victory might be looked back on as the game when things started to click, that the work Arteta has been doing with this Arsenal squad has translated into something tangible. Maybe, just maybe, the theory is beginning to become practice.

- Report: Arsenal 4-0 Newcastle
- Arteta on Man City: I want best for my former boss, Guardiola

Before this fixture, Arteta had taken charge of seven Premier League games, winning only once. In most of those games there were small signs of what Arteta is trying to do, glimpses of progress with ultimately little to show for it. For all the reports about a squad re-energised behind the scenes, it was easy to simply write this all off as improvements on paper, not on grass.

Speaking to Sky Sports this week, Arteta seemed aware of the problem. "It's down to us to accelerate the process as much as possible, without killing the process, but by winning as many games as we can," he said.

Will Sunday's win accelerate the process? There were certainly enough signs to suggest so. Their second goal, in particular -- swept home by Nicolas Pepe after brilliant work by Bukayo Saka on the left -- felt like exactly the sort of goal Arteta's Arsenal have been working toward: rapid and decisive. Pepe also added a pair of assists, the translation of his clear promise into something more commensurate to his hefty price tag edging closer.

"Hopefully," said Arteta after the game, when asked whether Pepe's performance was a sign that things have clicked with the winger. "We just need consistency from him, which from talented wide players in this league is not easy to get, because the most difficult thing to do is to create.

"There are certain things Nico needs to maintain, game by game, but he knows that. The way he applied himself defensively -- things he wasn't doing in the past -- he was top-drawer. When he does that, the rewards in the other box come. He made the difference today."

Dani Ceballos' performance in the heart of midfield was another plus, particularly in the second half, the Spaniard shifting the ball with purpose from the heart of midfield and being heavily involved in two of the goals. Ceballos' Arsenal career has been a curious one thus far, but against Newcastle, we saw the player Arsenal thought they were getting.

"I thought Dani was ideal for this game in this position today," said Arteta.

The third goal arguably brought the most cheer. The move leading to it consisted of 35 passes, with every Arsenal player involved at some point. That kind of stat can be somewhat meaningless at times, but in Arsenal's case, it points to the sort of control Arteta is looking for. "When everybody is involved and participating towards a goal, it's very pleasing for me," said Arteta.

As always with Arsenal, the necessary caveats should be applied. For much of the first half, they struggled to control the game, not doing a huge amount with the 63% possession they had: technically dominant, but in a pretty passive way. A better team would have scored at least twice before the break and once after it: Allan Saint-Maximin caused chaos in that "he doesn't know what he's doing, so defenders definitely don't know what he's doing" way, while Joelinton and Miguel Almiron passed up opportunities that absolutely should have been taken.

"We found it difficult in the first 20 to 30 minutes," said Arteta. "[Newcastle] are really compact, and when that happens, you can get a bit frustrated. I didn't like [the first 30 minutes], but after that, we started to control situations much better, get into the final third much more continuously, and in the second half, we attacked much better, which allowed us to control the game."

Arsenal also still require a more stable central defence than David Luiz and Shkodran Mustafi. Though this was their second consecutive clean sheet, the first time they've managed it since last March, both of those games (Sunday and against Burnley last time out) had more to do with the wayward finishing of the opposition than their rock-solid defensive shape.

In the end, though, the positive signs will outshine the negatives. The last two goals, which you could argue Arsenal didn't really deserve and were fortunate in their own ways, were important too. Mesut Ozil's jabbed finish, squirming as it did through the uncertain hands of Martin Dubravka, was his first goal of any description since April: Arteta has showed renewed faith in the mercurial German, and just like the win rewarding their general improvement, this provided some tangible justification for his decisions.

Alexandre Lacazette's goal was a slight mishit but, again, could be significant. The Frenchman started the game on the bench with Eddie Nketiah playing as centre-forward, which Arteta portrayed post-match as simply a reward for the youngster's performances in training. Yet, it was also interpreted as a giddy-up for Lacazette, who hadn't scored in his previous nine games. The glee with which his teammates piled on Lacazette after the goal suggested it was a popular one within the dressing room.

It's always easy to apply excessive significance to one result, and in particular with Arsenal, you're always well-advised to err on the side of caution when it comes to predicting good times returning for good. After all, they had a run under Unai Emery last season that suggested the path back to glory was being trod, and look how that turned out.

That said, Sunday's emphatic win might prove to be a crucial win in the development of Arteta's Arsenal. It's always handy not to get too carried away, but for this one, getting just a little bit carried away is justifiable.

Monday's big matchup between Manchester United and Chelsea will serve up several big storylines, but here are some takes on this weekend's action.

JUMP TO: Spurs OK with no Kane? | Villa's Engels feels the curse | Saka a choice for Southgate | Burnley exemplifies weird season | Liverpool are good | Luckiest moment of weekend

The Ighalo gamble begins for Manchester United

The reaction to Manchester United's signing of Odion Ighalo came in waves. First came bafflement, then incredulity, then as ever the backlash arrived, those who stopped and said "actually, he might be exactly what United need."

The only thing that most could agree on was that scrabbling to sign on loan a striker who'd spent the last three years in China, in the final hours of the transfer window, didn't exactly suggest keen joined-up thinking in their transfer department. That doesn't necessarily mean Ighalo will be a failure, and we could start finding out how much impact he will have on this United team Monday.

Ighalo might be included against Chelsea, despite effectively being in quarantine for the past couple of weeks because of fears over the coronavirus, and while it's doubtful that he'll be in from the start, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer floated a scenario in which he is thrown on in the closing stages to get a goal.

It all feels fairly fanciful, and for anyone who still clings to the logic that Ighalo is a "proven" Premier League player should remember that his time at Watford ended three years ago, and that most of his success was over the first half of his first season in the top flight. He barely scored for a year before leaving.

United have known they needed a striker since May, and the need arguably became even greater after the decision to ban Manchester City from the Champions League, meaning that fifth place will now almost certainly be enough to qualify.

The addition of a reliable centre-forward would make it all the more likely that United would fight off the likes of Spurs, Wolves and Sheffield United for that fifth place, but as it is they have gambled on a desperation punt. If it works, they might look like geniuses, but in reality it will be more a victory for luck than judgement.

A Kane-less Tottenham is not the end of the world

The raw statistics perhaps don't represent the quality of his overall play, which has been oddly uneven recently, but Son Heung-min's two strikes against Aston Villa were his fifth and sixth in the past five games.

"I played very bad because I had a couple of chances to score and finally in the last seconds I scored the winning goal," he said afterward.

But even if he is missing chances or his general play isn't great, he's performing a vital role for his team. The absence of Harry Kane is often seen as a sign of impending calamity at Tottenham, and indeed Jose Mourinho used it as justification for his approach on a couple of occasions since his injury.

But Kane has been absent for nine games now, and the only one of them that Spurs have lost was to Liverpool. Clearly, they would rather have him around, but we should probably forget the idea that they helplessly and blindly fumble in the dark without Kane: and plenty of that is down to Son.

Football's curse marks Engels

Football is an incredibly cruel game. Just after Bjorn Engels headed in an equaliser, a range of emotions spread across his face: joy, of course, at scoring his first goal for Aston Villa, but mainly relief that he had redeemed himself after giving away a penalty earlier on in the game, that Son eventually scored from.

Cut to 40 minutes later, a punt upfield, a limp leg hung out by Engels as he tried to clear, the ball slipping underneath his studs and into the path of Son. From that point, there was no way the fates were going to allow him to get away with this one, and what would have been a key point for Villa disappeared into a cloud of dust. It will be of no comfort to him, but this game would have been much less entertaining without his involvement.

Saka for England?

As the English winter turns into spring, thoughts will inevitably turn to whom Gareth Southgate will select in his squad for Euro 2020. While he has a surfeit of incredibly exciting options at right-back -- only two of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker, Reece James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka will make it -- the choices on the left are less mouthwatering. Ben Chilwell, Luke Shaw, Ryan Bertrand and Danny Rose are all fine, but don't exactly quicken the pulse.

Bukayo Saka on the other hand -- now there's an exciting player. "Whoops!" was his reaction when going over his brilliant assist for Arsenal's second in their 4-0 win over Newcastle, observing his nutmeg that will leave Valentino Lazaro seeking the comfort of a cool, dark room if he watches it back, but his game was about more than just easily GIF-able moments of skill. He was a constant menace down the left flank, and although it's inevitable that he will need to improve his defensive work -- he is, after all, not actually a defender by trade -- that is improving too. He could be a live option for the summer.

Burnley exemplify odd Premier League season

It's sometimes tough to work out whether the standard in the Premier League beneath Liverpool is incredibly good or incredibly bad: good because everyone seems capable of winning any game; bad because everyone seems capable of losing any game.

So let's just settle on the notion that most teams are of a similar quality to one another, which is great for the neutral. The Premier League this season has basically turned into a sort of Championship Plus, a richer version of England's second tier which for years has been a far more entertaining division because of its unpredictability, and the ease with which teams can jump up and down it.

Which brings us to Burnley, who a few weeks ago after a rotten run in which they had lost seven from nine, were looking down anxiously at the relegation zone, but who now, following three wins from four, are just five points off fifth place which, as we have established, means the Champions League.

It has been an odd old season but don't for a minute take that as a negative.

Liverpool's dominance, expressed in yet another way

This column is increasingly feeling like a weekly search for ways to emphasise just how dominant Liverpool are this season, so here's another one: after the 1-0 win over Norwich on Saturday put Jurgen Klopp's side 25 points clear, second-placed Manchester City are only two points closer to them than they are to the relegation zone. Every other team in the division is indeed closer to the bottom three than the top one.

Luckiest moment of the weekend

It does feel as if we're pointlessly repeating the same old song, but once more VAR comes to the rescue of a team who defended carelessly. Leicester were saved on a technicality, an element of the law that is tough to argue with on a scientific level because Jota's heel was marginally offside, which thus means that his whole body might as well have been offside. But no tangible advantage was gained, Leicester were not grievously wronged -- they simply defended a corner poorly and were saved by a matter of inches of a boot. They can consider themselves very fortunate.

Overview

A new head coach heralds a fresh start for England, left chastened by their failed Ashes campaign in which they were shown to be significantly lagging behind Australia. Their sole victory of the series, in the final T20I, gave a glimmer of hope and it falls to Lisa Keightley, the Australian appointed as Mark Robinson's successor, to turn that hope into belief and then results. Aside from the notable retirements of star wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor, Laura Marsh and, before them, Danni Hazell, England have largely stuck with the same core group of players in recent years, so Keightley's focus has been on instilling confidence within the side. Having stated that she wants England "to bowl teams out", expect to see a positive, clear-thinking approach if Keightley's game plan comes to fruition.

Squad

Heather Knight (capt), Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Kate Cross, Freya Davies, Sophie Ecclestone, Georgia Elwiss, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Nat Sciver, Anya Shrubsole, Lauren Winfield, Fran Wilson, Danni Wyatt, Mady Villiers (Coach: Lisa Keightley)

Group fixtures

February 23: South Africa, WACA

February 26: Thailand, Canberra

February 28: Pakistan, Canberra

March 1: West Indies, Sydney Showground

T20 World Cup history

England won the inaugural event in 2009, defeating New Zealand by six wickets at Lord's. Since then they have finished as runners-up on three occasions - each time to Australia - in 2012, 2014 and 2018.

Form guide

Until last year's Ashes, England had enjoyed a strong run in T20Is through 2019. They swept three-match series in India and Sri Lanka before a home win against West Indies in the only one of their three fixtures that were not washed out during the English summer. But then came two comprehensive defeats at the hands of Australia before their consolation win in the final game. More recently, they have had one loss and one win against India in the tri-series which also included a Super Over victory against Australia in Canberra followed by defeat to the hosts by 16 runs, a margin which proved too great to see England through to the final.

Key players

Heather Knight appears to be hitting some timely form. Since leading her side to victory in England's third and final match against Pakistan in December, she struck 67 against India and a career-best 78 against Australia (and the decisive runs in the Super Over with consecutive fours) to be the third-highest run-scorer for the tri-series. Nat Sciver forms part of a three-pronged all-round threat, along with Katherine Brunt and Georgia Elwiss. Her vast experience in the format, internationally and in the WBBL, should come in handy. Sophie Ecclestone may still only be 20 years old and she may be a spinner in a squad which opted for a more pace-heavy attack, but her ability to hold her nerve and turn a match - see that Super Over again - make her dangerous. Fran Wilson is worth watching for her fielding alone. She took one of the best catches of 2019 during an ODI against West Indies and, if you had to pick an England player who could have pulled it off beforehand, her name would have been right up there with Ben Stokes'.

What would be a success at the tournament?

Reaching the final. Keightley, has said that she and her players are "planning to be in the final" with a tone that suggested anything less would not be enough. As they are seeded, England, ranked No. 2 in the world, should not meet the No.1-ranked Australians until the tournament decider, provided both sides finish on top of their respective groups. Australia being arguably in the tougher group, featuring New Zealand and India, helps England but means avoiding any slip-ups in the group stage is crucial to their ambitions.

Ahead of the PSL 2020, we look at each team's strength, weaknesses, squads and support staff details.

Karachi Kings

Team overview

For all the talk of Lahore Qalandars woes in the tournament's history, there is little justification for Karachi Kings to feel any smugness at the travails of their traditional rivals. They've bested them in all four seasons - indeed, everyone has - but pretty much all Karachi have done in the PSL so far is stumble through to the playoffs. They've never finished in the top two, and have consequently gone on to lose three of the eliminators, with a third place finish in 2017 their biggest achievement to date.

The evidence would suggest they haven't got the most from their abilities. For the past few years, Karachi have had the services of arguably Pakistan's best batsman, their best bowler and their best all rounder in Babar Azam, Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim, who will reprise his role as captain for a third season. This year's recruitment has seen them pick up experienced - and successful - PSL campaigners, including Chris Jordan, Alex Hales and Cameron Delport, while Sharjeel Khan is back after a two-year absence, and should be hungriest of all to take up the second chance he has been afforded.

Strengths

For all his superlative abilities, Azam is yet to light up a PSL season. Yet it seems impossible that this won't be that defining season. He comes in on the back of glittering form across formats. In the most recent T20 competition he played, the Vitality T20 Blast, he was top of the run charts, smashing 578 at over 52.5 at a strike rate a smidge under 150. Should he bring that form to this PSL on home soil, he can almost serve as a new signing for the sheer array of brilliance he should sparkle onto this event.

No aspect of the squad stands out as a conspicuous chink in Karachi's armour. Imad has always been handy with the ball, and if Umer Khan continues to develop at the explosive rate that was in evidence last year, Karachi have a potent spin bowling combination. Studious recruitment has seen them snap up genuine world-class talent like Jordan, who comes fresh off a high-quality T20 series against South Africa. Hales was second on the run charts at the Big Bash, and is a previous PSL winner with Islamabad United. Mohammad Rizwan, meanwhile, has gone from a domestic accumulator to Pakistan's number one choice as keeper, and that increase in his profile, not to mention the improvement in his batting, should free up another spot for able overseas talent in Karachi's final eleven.

Weaknesses

Ummm…history? There must be a reason Karachi Kings never appear to be firing on all cylinders at the PSL. At least three of the last four seasons, the only reason they managed to squeak into one of the last play-off spots was the abject ineptitude of Lahore Qalandars. They were shown up immediately by their failure to make much of a splash in the playoffs.

An ageing squad might also be a concern; Umer is the only guaranteed starter under the age of 27, while more than half of the final eleven is almost certain to comprise of people over 30. How Sharjeel, on whom Karachi have taken a bit of a punt, performs is very much up in the air given the lack of relevant recent form to make serious conclusions, and the stalled development of promising players such as Aamer Yamin and Usama Mir does not bode well for a squad already somewhat long in the tooth.

Squad: Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Alex Hales Cameron Delport, Awais Zia, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim (capt), Aamer Yamin, Chris Jordan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Chadwick Walton (wk), Mohammad Amir, Umaid Asif, Umer Khan, Arshad Iqbal, Ali Khan, Usama Mir, Mitchell McClenaghan

Management staff: Salman Iqbal (owner), Wasim Akram (bowling mentor and President), Dean Jones (head coach), Johan Botha (assistant coach)

Peshawar Zalmi

Overview

Peshawar Zalmi is a T20 franchise done right. In terms of final finishes and performances in the group stage, this is probably the most consistent side in the league. Three of the four seasons have seen Zalmi top the group stage en route to the playoffs, and they've made it to the final in the last three seasons. Year in, year out, Zalmi show they are one of the sides to beat, and make it clear doing so will not be easy.

You'd think they value statistics over the eye test, analytics above emotions, and fitness trumps maverick brilliance. And yet, bizarrely, their captain for the past three years is the perpetually injured yet wildly popular Darren Sammy, barely able to break into a jog and generally only good enough for a few lusty blows with the bat at the death. They stuck with Shahid Afridi for longer than the evidence suggested was sensible, while 38-year old Kamran Akmal's fading star in the field hasn't prevented him from being gloriously successful with the bat in the resplendent yellow of Zalmi.

Most of these players are back for another stint in the PSL; perhaps the consistency of personnel across seasons is the secret to this side's success. No team has managed to retain a core group of players as well as Zalmi since the league began; Sammy, Hasan Ali, Akmal and Wahab Riaz have worn no other colour.

Strengths

This is by no means the youngest squad in the league, but something about Zalmi always feels gregariously sprightly. Perhaps it is Sammy's larger-than-life exuberance, but arguably no other side squeezes more out of their fading lights than Zalmi do. For all of Sammy's injury concerns, his strike rate over the last two seasons is 158. No player comes within 170 runs of Kamran Akmal's all-time run-scoring tally in the PSL's history, while the addition of Tom Banton - second only to Babar Azam in the run charts at the Vitality Blast - to a side that's already so joyful to watch is a deliciously exciting prospect. Even the blow of not having Keiron Pollard for the whole tournament has been buffered by replacing him with a reasonably like-for-like Carlos Brathwaite, while Liam Dawson's return brings vital balance, in addition to a seasoned spin option.

The top two wicket-takers in the four seasons of the PSL are, far and away, Wahab Riaz and Hasan Ali, both of whom Peshawar have available again this season. Rahat Ali has proven more than handy for Lahore and Quetta over the years, while Brathwaite and Pollard's ability to sneak in a few overs in the middle may prove handy in a number of games.

Weaknesses

Make no mistake, there are questions this time around. To what extent Hasan Ali has recovered from a back injury that has kept him out since the World Cup is by no means clear, and his absence for any length of time would be debilitating for a side that doesn't appear to have bowling depth of any kind. Dwaine Pretorious, who Zalmi judiciously picked up, would have been excellent as a replacement, but he is now unavailable for the entirety of the competition.

Dawson's spin is useful, but Zalmi have no real experience in that department besides him, and it isn't at all clear that Shoaib Malik can be deployed with any real efficacy should another slow bowler be required. Imam-ul-Haq's T20 star has fallen somewhat in the past 12 months, and while Sammy - who is likely no longer captain - does get through more games than his doctors might recommend, that knee is not getting any better. And of course, Brathwaite is good to have in Pollard's absence, but he is by no means the same thing.

Squad: Imam-ul-Haq, Liam Livingstone, Umar Amin, Haider Ali, Adil Amin, Shoaib Malik, Kieron Pollard, Liam Dawson, Darren Sammy, Carlos Brathwaite, Mohammad Mohsin, Lewis Gregory, Tom Banton(wk), Kamran Akmal(wk), Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Dwaine Pretorious, Aamir Ali, Mohammad Amir Khan

Management Staff: Javed Afridi (owner), Zaheer Abbas (President), Mohammad Akram (head coach), Hashim Amla (batting mentor) Grant Luden (fitness coach, fielding instructor), John Gloster (physio)

Ajaz Patel is the only frontline spinner in New Zealand's squad for the two-Test series against India, which begins in Wellington on Friday.

Kyle Jamieson, who was added to the Test squad in Australia last year after Lockie Ferguson's injury, earned a call-up on the back of his displays in the ODI series against India, while the allrounder Daryl Mitchell returned to the squad for the first time since his debut against England in Hamilton in the first half of the summer.

Jamieson is expected to be the back-up quick behind the usual first-choice trio of Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner, unless New Zealand play an all-pace attack at Basin Reserve. Boult is back for the first time since suffering a broken hand during the Boxing Day Test against Australia in Melbourne.

Ferguson had marked his return from injury in the Ford Trophy, the domestic one-day competition, which his side Auckland won. However, according to Stead, his "loads aren't anywhere near for us to be able to consider him for four-day[Test] cricket."

Matt Henry, too, had returned from injury in the Ford Trophy and was available for Test selection, but the management picked Jamieson instead because of his propensity to generate extra bounce.

"Matt was available and it was a tough call we had to make and in this instance we've gone for Kyle over Matt," New Zealand coach Gary Stead said. "And I guess in a squad when you can pick only 13, there is only room for so many and it's a tough call because he does a lot of things really, really well for us. But, Kyle's difference in height and what he does with the bounce is something that could be a point of difference for us in this series."

Patel had last played Test cricket on the tour of Sri Lanka in August 2019, and after that New Zealand had largely entrusted spin duties to his fellow left-armer Mitchell Santner, with Todd Astle - who has since retired from red-ball cricket - and Will Somerville coming in for the New Year's Test in Sydney on the back of an illness crisis within the squad.

Santner is a central member of New Zealand's limited-overs teams, but his recent red-ball returns have been modest, with four Tests in the 2019-20 season bringing him only five wickets at an average of 83.00.

"Ajaz has done really well for us in the past in overseas conditions, but also look back to his domestic form and the way he performs here in New Zealand is very, very good," Stead said. He's been the top wicket-taker for the last three-four years domestically and I guess it's a slight change in role we're looking in terms of that position being one where we can take wickets and focus hard on that."

Mitchell makes his comeback following an impressive bowling performance during the Indians' warm-up match in Hamilton, where he took the wickets of Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill with deliveries that seamed in from a fullish length, before getting Rishabh Pant to nick one that nipped away from him.

"Daryl showed his batting prowess in his Test debut against England in Hamilton and he naturally offers us great versatility with the different roles he can play."

The Women's T20 World Cup will be contested in Australia from February 21 and March 8. This page will keep you up to date with all the snippets of news from the event

February 17

Kulasuriya cleared of serious injury

There was a scary moment during Sri Lanka's warm-up match against South Africa in Adelaide on Sunday when Achini Kulasuriya was struck on the head as she misjudged a catch as the two teams practiced a Super Over following the completion of their full game.

Kulasuriya lay on the ground for a period of time as she was treated by medical staff before being taken off a stretcher and sent to hospital. However, she was released back to the team hotel later in the day without a serious injury.

Speaking at the captain's day in Sydney on Monday, Chamari Atapattu said Kulasuriya would miss Sri Lanka's next warm-up match against England tomorrow but is expected to be fit for the start of the tournament itself when Sri Lanka face New Zealand in Perth.