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A number of batsmen mark themselves out as suitable for this new England age under Trevor Bayliss. Jason Roy is foremost amongst them

Tim Wigmore at The Oval01-Jun-2015
ScorecardJason Roy gets a hug for his century•Getty ImagesOne of the reasons for Trevor Bayliss’s appointment as England coach is his track record in limited overs cricket. The hope is that, after 23 years of largely anaemic ODI cricket, England can discover a dynamism and effervescence befitting the T20 age. The first ODI squad of the Bayliss era will be announced at the conclusion of the Headingley Test. While Bayliss will only take charge once New Zealand leave England, he has already let it be known that he would like a limited overs squad brimming with youthful vitality, unencumbered by World Cup failures.A number of batsmen mark themselves out as suitable for this new age. Jason Roy is foremost amongst them. His rare talent has long been recognised at The Oval. One of the most intoxicating aspects of sport is the sense of a glorious talent being fulfilled. It is becoming ever more tangible with every Roy innings.This was, by his own estimation, Roy’s finest innings in first-class cricket yet. While he is not a batsman whose impact is easily measured by numbers, it was his highest score to boot, surpassing his previous best set a fortnight ago at Northampton. Arriving at 74 for 4, Roy departed having made 143 of the 236 added with Steven Davies.The assault on Simon Kerrigan’s left-arm spin was particularly spectacular. Attacking him with all the ferocity of Shane Watson in Kerrigan’s last appearance at The Oval in the 2013 Ashes Test – or indeed Kevin Pietersen at Guildford in 2012 – Roy needed just nine balls to progress from 77 to his century. Twice he took a step down the wicket and lofted Kerrigan for straight sixes. He then showed off his range of shots by scything Kerrigan through point for four to reach his century, celebrating with a punch of the air before the ball had even gone over the boundary.Still, there was more to come. As Roy’s assault on all bowlers intensified – his ferocious, gun-barrel straight hitting was a particular hallmark – he surpassed 100 runs in the morning session. It was the first time that a Surrey batsman had added a century before lunch since Ian Greig against the same opponents 25 years ago. In the circumstances it felt churlish to complain when Roy lashed Kyle Jarvis straight to backward point just after the second new ball had been taken.Rather like Virender Sehwag, Roy’s first-class batting is imbued with self-belief and a refusal to over-complicate. “When I’m batting I’ve got no real plan of what I want to do, I just bat,” Roy said, a philosophy rather reminiscent of Sehwag’s, who once said: “If the ball is there to be hit, you just hit it. Don’t worry that this is a Test or one-dayer or T20. You just hit it.”But, for all Roy’s effervescence at the crease, there was much else to enjoy in Surrey’s batting performance before a combination of bad light and forecast rain forced an early truncation to the day’s play. Steven Davies showed maturity in not attempting to keep up with Roy in the morning – he added 16 runs to his overnight score in the time that it took Roy to add 87. Such was his serenity at the crease that it was a matter of considerable surprise when he nicked Tom Bailey to slip 14 shy of his third Championship hundred of the season.No matter. With Davies no longer keeping, a decision fully vindicated by 633 runs at 90.42 apiece, and Gary Wilson on Ireland duty, Ben Foakes excelled on his Championship debut for Surrey.In recent years the spectre of former Essex players – Varun Chopra, Tony Palladino, Adam Wheater and Chris Wright – excelling away from Chelmsford has become a familiar one. The departure of Foakes, unable to get wicketkeeping opportunities in lieu of James Foster, was a particular source of regret to Essex.Compact, well organised, strong on the drive and with a flourishing pull, Foakes’s unbeaten 60 contained enough to suggest that he will be a regular source of runs at The Oval for the next decade: he is just 22. Undemonstrative and calm at the crease, Foakes added 78 with Gareth Batty to secure full batting points before a truncated end to the day. Rain and gloom might well defeat Surrey in this game, but they could not override the sense of excitement at what their middle order can produce for the rest of 2015 and beyond.

Ashwell Prince, Arron Lilley and Kyle Jarvis all starred as Lancashire wrapped up a three-day win over Leicestershire at Old Trafford by an innings and 157 runs.

ECB/PA16-Jun-2015
ScorecardKyle Jarvis helped bring about a Leicestershire collapse•Getty ImagesAshwell Prince, Arron Lilley and Kyle Jarvis all starred as Lancashire wrapped up a three-day win over Leicestershire at Old Trafford by an innings and 157 runs.Prince completed a fourth century of the season during a morning session which saw Lancashire score 169 runs in 29 overs to advance their first innings from 314 for 4 to 483 all out. Prince, the veteran South African, moved from 74 not out overnight to 104 off 171 balls, while offspinner Arron Lilley’s 59 off 41 marked his second successive fifty after one against Derbyshire at Southport last month.Lilley then took three wickets in 13 balls shortly before tea as Leicestershire, faced with a first-innings deficit of 276, slumped to 90 for 6 inside 32 overs. He finished with 4 for 28 from 15 overs. The visitors were bowled out for 119 inside 49 overs as Jarvis finished with 5 for 44 from 15.4.While Prince is the country’s leading Championship run-scorer with 939 runs, Jarvis is the leading wicket-taker with 55 from nine matches, six of which the Division Two leaders have won. Here, they claimed 23 points to move to 167, and it is difficult to see how they cannot achieve an immediate return to Division One.Seventh-wicket pair Prince and Lilley shared 57 in 8.2 overs during the morning, with six of Lancashire’s first seven wickets all sharing half-century partnerships as Leicestershire toiled. Offspinner Jigar Naik claimed all of the six Lancashire wickets to fall during a 9.3-over spell which cost him 53 runs. He finished with a career best 8 for 179 from 44.3 overs, including getting Prince, Tom Bailey and Lilley all stumped.Jarvis trapped Niall O’Brien lbw and bowled Angus Robson with an in-ducker as he offered no shot, leaving the score at 47 for 2 in the 12th over. James Faulkner had Mark Cosgrove caught at deep point in the 19th with 58 on the board.Lilley then had Umar Akmal caught behind on the sweep, with the ball ricocheting up off the batsman’s boot, Ned Eckersley caught at first slip and Ben Raine caught at second slip, the latter two in the 32nd over – 90 for six. Jarvis trapped Naik lbw and bowled Taylor with successive balls in the 41st over as Leicester slipped to 107 for 8.Lilley had Andrea Agathangelou caught behind in the 48th before Jarvis got Charlie Shreck lbw in the next to wrap up the win. Leicester have now lost five of their eight matches.”That was a great week,” Lancashire cricket director and head coach Ashley Giles said. “I guess at the start of the season, you identify these two games against Leicester, with all due respect to them, as games you really want to win. We’ve done that home and away. There might be a bit of weather around tomorrow, so we stressed the importance this morning of trying to force a result today if we could. That meant batting well this morning and bowling well, and we did exactly that. All credit to the guys.”Leicestershire head coach Andrew McDonald bemoaned his side’s performance: “We were pretty poor over these last three days, in particular with the batting efforts. Collectively, in two innings just over 300 runs, we’ve got to get better and we’ve got to improve. We were never in the game, and we’ve got to get back to the drawing board. We won the toss on a nice surface, good for batting, and we threw away the opportunity to drive the game. 207 on a good wicket after winning the toss was well below par. It’s really disappointing to have this game over before the end of day three.”

Trent Johnston, the former Ireland captain, has been named as the new coach of New South Wales

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jul-2015Trent Johnston, the former Ireland captain, has been named as the new coach of New South Wales. Johnston had joined New South Wales last September as an assistant to coach Trevor Bayliss, and has now been handed the top job after Bayliss was appointed to lead England.Although best known for his work with Ireland, for whom he played at the 2007 and 2011 World Cups, Johnston was also a former New South Wales player and made his first-class debut for the state in March 1999. After he retired as a player in December 2013 he moved into coaching, initially as head coach of the Ireland women’s team.”The NSW way is to back young talent and we are delighted to offer Trent the opportunity to lead the NSW Blues,” Cricket New South Wales chief executive Andrew Jones said. “I am confident he will be an outstanding success.”Trent is an emerging coach who has performed as a NSW assistant coach and a head coach at the youth, club and inter-provincial level both here and overseas. He is past Blues player with substantial playing and leadership experience and he has formed strong relationships and established credibility with our players since returning to Cricket NSW.”Johnston had taken over in an interim capacity after Bayliss departed, and he said he was looking forward to continuing his work with the squad.”The NSW Blues are about producing Australian players and winning national titles,” Johnston said. “We have a very talented squad ranging from experienced international players to rookies who are at the start of their professional careers. I look forward to helping all of them to achieve our team goals, as well as their personal ones.”This is a very exciting opportunity for me and I am ready to take this next step in my career. I am passionate about cricket, I am passionate about coaching and I am passionate about NSW.”Cricket New South Wales is still searching for a new Sydney Sixers coach, with an announcement expected in August.

Pakistan have replaced batsman Khurram Manzoor with Ahmed Shehzad in their World T20 squad

Umar Farooq07-Mar-20164:14

Bazid: No alternatives to Shehzad for Pakistan

Pakistan have replaced batsman Khurram Manzoor with Ahmed Shehzad in their World T20 squad, with chief selector Haroon Rasheed admitting that Manzoor’s inclusion was a gamble that “backfired” in the Asia Cup.Based on the Asia Cup performances, there had been a lot of deliberation among the selectors at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. The top order was the main concern with Mohammad Hafeez, Manzoor and Sharjeel Khan combining for just 94 runs in Pakistan’s four games in the tournament. To address the batting issues, the selectors brought back the experienced Shehzad, who was earlier dropped for his inconsistency. He won his place back with his performance in the Pakistan Super League, where he scored 290 runs in ten games at a strike-rate of 143.56, including a half-century in the final.Pakistan’s World T20 squad

Shahid Afridi (capt), Ahmed Shehzad, Anwar Ali, Imad Wasim, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Nawaz, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Sharjeel Khan, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Wahab Riaz

“The inclusion of Khurram backfired and as a chief selector I take full responsibility,” Haroon Rasheed told ESPNcricinfo. “Call it an error of judgement or whatever, but we all have seen him scoring runs in domestic cricket and we gave him a chance. He didn’t grab it, it’s up to the player to justify his selection and in his case he didn’t. We gambled on [Shoaib] Malik last year and it paid off.”Now when we look around for who is going to replace Khurram, we don’t really have a serious contender, but Ahmed at least has some experience under his belt. He did show some form in PSL too, otherwise we haven’t seen any other [impressive] opening batsman.”There were suggestions that Salman Butt might be added to the squad but the idea was shot down; the board is not ready to reintegrate the former captain into the squad so soon after the end of his ban for spot-fixing in 2010. Butt, though, is “eligible” to play international cricket and recently scored 536 runs at 107.20 to finish second highest run-scorer in the National One-Day Cup behind Kamran Akmal. But captain Shahid Afridi opposed Butt’s selection and that along with the PCB’s lack of interest in bringing him back at this point meant Shehzad got the nod.There were also murmurs of Afridi’s place in the team being in question but he has been retained. He is set to call time on his international career at the end of the World T20 and his form was another major worry to come out of the Asia Cup; he scored only two runs in two innings there, and claimed two wickets from three bowling innings, continuing his year-long dip in form (17 T20s for 173 runs at 12.35 and 12 wickets at 35.41). During the Asia Cup he remained a mere shadow of his former self, reportedly skipping team meetings, training sessions and press conferences as well as having his on-field captaincy scrutinised, especially the way he used his bowlers.PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan had previously hinted at a change in leadership for the World T20 but with just a few days left for Pakistan’s tournament to begin the board decided against such a move. “I understand there is a lot of criticism but I am not going to change anything one week before the major tournament in India,” Khan recently said. “Afridi will remain captain unless he himself pulls out of the job. He has been serving Pakistan from the last 15 years. There are problems in his captaincy which can’t be mended, especially at a time when his career is about to be end.”

The ICC is considering increasing funding for Associate and Affiliate nations as part of the ongoing review into its governance and structure

Tim Wigmore08-Mar-2016The ICC is considering increasing funding for Associate and Affiliate nations as part of the ongoing review into its governance and structure. The news will go some way to appeasing Associate representatives aggrieved by the effects of the ICC’s 2014 financial and administrative restructuring, informally referred to as the Big Three takeover.Funding for the 95 Associate and Affiliate nations from 2015-23 has currently been agreed at $299 million, only a slight increase in real terms from the $252 million awarded to Associate and Affiliate nations in the preceding media and commercial rights package from 2007-15. Had the ICC rights for 2015-23 been distributed according to the previous revenue model (2007-2015), Ehsan Mani, the former ICC President, estimates that the Associate nations could have received over $550 million.Under the new model, Associate representatives believe that the majority of the ICC’s 95 non-Test members face a real terms funding reduction. “Over 50 Associates and Affiliates [out of a total of 95] are likely to be worse off in 2015-16 compared to 2014-15,” said Simone Gambino, the Italian Cricket Federation president. The claim was backed up by a number of other representatives, who expressed grave concerns about the future of the game beyond the Full Member nations.”I worry how some countries will recover from the crushing reduction in funds. All that we have achieved is at risk,” said Ken Farmiloe, the Chairman of Cricket Belgium. “As far as I can see, Ireland are the only country in Europe who are better off in 2016. Most countries seem to be worse off as, in addition to a reduction in funds, there will be no financial support from ICC Europe for projects.”When contacted by ESPNcricinfo, the ICC privately denied that such a large number of nations will be worse off, saying that the number who have suffered funding reductions in 2015-16 is no higher than in a typical year. According to the ICC’s rules, funding is determined by a combination of on-field performance and the ICC’s “scorecard” tally which takes into account a myriad of development factors to rank associates and determine funding. The ICC were unwilling to specify how many countries are better or worse off in 2015-16 compared to 2014-15, but said the new funding model for Associates and Affiliates was designed to prevent sides that maintain their position in the rankings from being financially worse off.Shashank Manohar’s recent comments have been a boost to the Associates•AFPIt is however understood that, when the discontinuation of the Targeted Assistance and Performance Programme (TAPP) is taken into account, a number of leading Associates will receive less ICC funding. Cricket Scotland are understood to be over $200,000 worse off comparing 2014-15 and 2015-16. The Netherlands, UAE and Kenya are other prominent countries that have suffered an overall funding reduction.Privately, senior ICC figures say that they are looking for a more efficient funding scheme to replace TAPP, perhaps called an ODI or Cricket Fund. They also stressed that TAPP was only introduced in 2012, midway through the last rights cycle, and expect an equivalent scheme to be implemented much quicker in the current rights cycle.Given the ongoing review into the ICC’s funding distribution model. David Richardson, the ICC chief executive, said: “It would be pointless to speculate further at this stage as to whether any particular group of members will be better or worse off financially than before.”Associate nations have been encouraged by Shashank Manohar’s words since taking over as ICC chairman. One senior source said they were hopeful that India’s share of ICC revenue would be reduced, perhaps from 22% to 16%, as previously reported, and this could lead to the overall pot for Associate and Affiliate nations increasing from $299 million to $325-350 million from 2015 to 2023. Another figure said that Manohar has been surprised that Zimbabwe receive over $5 million more than Afghanistan and Ireland from the ICC, and hoped to close this gap substantially. Funding shortages are expected to have made Ireland, for example, unable to commit to some ODIs they have arranged in 2016 and beyond.Any increased funding towards Associate members is likely to follow the recent trend of Associate spending being targeted more aggressively towards the highest-ranked nations like Afghanistan and Ireland. Because of their inclusion on the 12-team ODI rankings table, Afghanistan and Ireland receive an extra $1.7 million a year from the ICC, and around $2.5 million annually in total from the ICC. “Their funding success has come at the expense of other Associates and Affiliates,” Malcolm Cannon, the chief executive of Cricket Scotland, said in December.Countries in the World Cricket League Championship, the competition for the next rung of Associates in ODI cricket, receive only $300,000 a year for participation in the tournament, and none currently receive more than $1.2 million in total a year.Richardson explained why the ICC was committed to prioritising spending towards the strongest performers among Associate nations. “One of the objectives arising from the recently approved ICC Strategic Plan for the period 2015-19, which is relevant to the development of the game, is achieving more competitive teams at the highest level. To achieve this we need to be more targeted in the allocation of resources – money and services – to the members that have the potential to be competitive at that level, i.e. to deliver the desired return on investment.”The objective is therefore to provide more funding to the likes of Ireland, Afghanistan and others who have the potential to compete successfully at the highest level, preferably without reducing the level of funding available for distribution to the other members from what they collectively received before.”This marks a continuation of the process in 2008, when Associate and Affiliate nations decided to pool their funding and divide it up according to the scorecard, thereby rewarding countries making progress. Several representatives stressed that they supported the increased funding for the top Associates but felt the overall funding pot for Associates and Affiliates was insufficient given the rise in the value of ICC commercial deals.Ultimately some in the ICC hope to move to a model in which funding for all nations, including Full Members, is based more on performance and less on status. Proposals for two divisions in Test cricket (comprising seven teams in Division One and five in Division Two, with promotion and relegation) and a ODI format pitting the 12 leading nations in groups (perhaps two with six teams each) to form the basis of World Cup qualification are being advocated by Richardson and other senior figures at the ICC, as part of the ongoing review into the structure of cricket. It is envisaged that the ICC would fund the costs of matches within any such structure.Some Associate representatives remain unconvinced. “Whether the changes will affect the smaller Associates and Affiliates remains to be seen,” Farmiloe said. He also expressed his concern that World Cricket League Six has been scrapped; in total, since 2012, the number of divisions in the World Cricket League has fallen from eight to five. “The cutting of WCL excludes many countries vying to better their cricket. Also, the big question is what the ICC regional offices will do without a budget.”Spending on department services – money largely allocated to regional offices who then provide grants and support to members – has fallen from $81 million from 2007-15 – to an estimated $56 million under the current 2015-23 funding model.

Rob Key, the former England batsman, has announced his retirement from professional cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Apr-2016Rob Key, the former England batsman, has announced his retirement from professional cricket.Key, 36, played 15 Tests for England from 2002 to 2005 with a top score of 221 against West Indies at Lord’s in 2004. Overall in first-class cricket he scored 19,419 runs, alongside 6469 in List A and more than 2000 in T20sIn a statement, Key said: “The club and I have come to a mutual agreement, after a long and enjoyable career, to call it a day. It’s time for the younger players to have their chance, and it doesn’t feel right for me to stand in their way anymore.”I would like to say a massive thank you to all who have supported me throughout my career. It has been a great honour to represent Kent. I don’t know what the future holds but I look forward to what the next chapter has in store.”Key has already started to make a career for himself as a well-respected commentator and TV pundit.Key made his first-class debut in 1998 having been part of the England side which won the Under-19 World Cup earlier that year. He made his Test debut against India, at Trent Bridge, in 2002 and played in the 2002-03 Ashes. His final Test was against South Africa, at Centurion, in 2005 when England clinched the series and Key had played an important role in the previous Test when he made 83 in the first innings at the Wanderers.He was briefly recalled to the international fold in 2009 as part of England’s squad for the World T20 but his only outing in the competition was the opening defeat against Netherlands.Key passed 1000 runs in seven English seasons, his best return being 1896 in the 2004 summer which also brought his Test double century.He was appointed Kent captain in 2006 and led them for nine seasons in two spells, which included winning the 2007 T20 Cup.Kent chairman George Kennedy said: “Rob has been an outstanding servant of Kent and England throughout his career.”He is a club man and selfless captain whose records will stand as testament to his ability with the bat. Perhaps more importantly his leadership and loyalty to Kent in some turbulent times has helped lead the club to a much stronger place. The current crop of exciting talent has learned much from his time at the helm.”A Kent side without Rob at the top of the order will look very odd and everyone at the club wishes him all the best for the future.”

The pair delivered doubles for their respective sides and were instrumental in securing hard-fought wins

Getty Images1Danny Welbeck | ArsenalWelbeck scored twice and assisted the other goal in Arsenal's 3-2 victory against Southampton.AdvertisementGetty Images2Ayoze Perez | Newcastle UnitedThe Spaniard was directly involved in both of Newcastle's goals against Leicester, assisting one and scoring the second.Getty Images3Christian Eriksen | Tottenham HotspurEriksen netted both goals and also made two key passes in Spurs' 2-1 win against Stoke, which moved them level on points with third-placed Liverpool. ENJOYED THIS STORY?

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Getty4Paul Pogba | Manchester UnitedPogba netted twice in Manchester United's comeback win at the Etihad over their local rivals, with just 97 seconds between his two finishes.

Liverpool are aiming to be European champions for a sixth time, but how does their current team compare to their last winners?

GettyGK: Dudek vs Karius

Jerzy Dudek edges out Loris Karius here. Karius has impressed since being installed as Liverpool's No.1 ahead of Simon Mignolet, but he has a long way to go if he wants to match the feats of Dudek.

Even though Dudek conceded three goals in the final against AC Milan, he was the hero in the shootout, channelling his inner Bruce Grobbelaar to save three penalties, including the decisive spot-kick from Andriy Shevchenko. 

Winner: Dudek

AdvertisementGettyRB: Finnan vs Alexander-Arnold

Steve Finnan's greater experience gets him in this team over Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Republic of Ireland international Finnan was one of the most consistent full-backs in England during his time with Fulham and Liverpool, earning himself a spot in the PFA Team of the Year in the 2001-02 season.

Alexander-Arnold has shown all the qualities needed to be a top-class defender but, aged just 19, his inexperience means he must give way to Finnan.

Winner: Finnan

CB: Carragher vs Lovren

Hard to argue with this one. Jamie Carragher is a club legend, making over 700 appearances for Liverpool during his career. 

Lovren has improved this season alongside Virgil van Dijk but it would take something special to keep Carragher out of this team.

Winner: Carragher

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Getty ImagesCB: Hyypia vs Van Dijk

In years to come this selection may change as Van Dijk has been immense for Liverpool so far since joining from Southampton in January but Hyypia is a hero on Merseyside. 

Indeed, the Finn is one of the best defenders in Liverpool history but, if Van Dijk keeps playing the way he is, he could surpass his achievements at Anfield.

Winner: Hyypia

With 2020 approaching, Goal has decided to pick out the best players to have lined up for the Catalans over the past 10 years

GettyGK: Victor Valdes

While injury robbed Victor Valdes of a proper Barcelona farewell, he won't be easily forgotten at Camp Nou.

Twice voted La Liga's best goalkeeper this decade (2010 and 2011), the Spain international was a key part of the Catalan side's success prior to his final game for the club in 2014. 

His ability with the ball at his feet can't be discounted either, as he distributed the ball precisely and fearlessly for Pep Guardiola's free-flowing side.  

AdvertisementGettyRB: Dani Alves

Though his time with Barcelona came to an abrupt end in 2016, Dani Alves had been a key part of the Catalans' era of unprecedented success. 

The Brazilian's speed, technical ability and physical strength made him a massive asset down the right flank, forming a fantastic relationship with Lionel Messi. 

While he was named in the La Liga Team of the Year just once, Alves' ability and influence was often underrated and his recent form for Brazil is a reminder the 36-year-old remains a special talent.

GettyCB: Gerard Pique

From a fringe player at Manchester United to a star at Barcelona, Gerard Pique certainly made the right call moving back to his boyhood club in 2008.

A mountain in the Catalans' backline and a rallying figure for the club, the defender has been key to Barca's success over the past decade. 

With a trophy haul including eight Liga titles, six Copa del Rey trophies and three Champions Leagues, his experience makes any backline a whole lot more secure.  

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GettyCB: Carlos Puyol

"I'm like the student who is not as clever, but revises for his exams and does okay in the end."

That's how Puyol described himself in 2010 and it's safe to say he did more than okay in his final years with Barcelona. 

From 2010 to 2012, the iconic defender in fact went an incredible 56 matches without losing a game with his beloved club. 

Tireless and dedicated, Puyol had all the attributes of a world-class defender and didn't lose any of his spirit prior to hanging up his boots in 2014. 

Liverpool completed their pre-season tour of the Far East with a dominant 2-0 win over Crystal Palace in Singapore.

Jordan Henderson gave the Reds a first-half lead, sweeping home first-time from Harvey Elliott’s lay-off after only 12 minutes.

Jurgen Klopp named a completely different XI for the second half, with the likes of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Thiago Alcantara and new signing Darwin Nunez all summoned.

And they extended their lead within two minutes of the restart, Salah’s deflected shot squirming through the grasp of Palace keeper Vicente Guaita for 2-0.

Having lost 4-0 against Manchester United in their previous game, in Bangkok on Tuesday, Klopp will have been pleased to see his side end their Asian trip with a victory. Next up comes a trip to Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig on Thursday.

GettySalah gives fans what they want

The loudest cheer of the first half in the Singapore National Stadium was reserved for Salah, and he wasn’t even playing.

The Egyptian’s appearance on the big screen was greeted by huge roars from the local fans, who were clearly desperate to see him in action.

They got their wish in the second half and Salah, one of 11 half-time substitutes used by Jurgen Klopp, wasted little time in giving supporters something else to savour.

He needed just 90 seconds to get himself on the scoresheet, albeit with the aid of a deflection and some questionable goalkeeping from Vicente Guaita. 

Soon after, he was skipping away from Tyrick Mitchell on the byline, setting up a chance for Darwin Nunez that was saved by Guaita.

Having committed his future to Liverpool’s, Salah’s plans are now clear: He wants trophies, he wants goals and he wants glory. 

And if this cameo is anything to go by, you’d back him to get exactly what he wants.

AdvertisementGettyElliott continues to impress

A new shirt number, but everything else about Harvey Elliott so far in this pre-season has been reassuringly familiar.

The 19-year-old is some talent, and if he can remain injury-free, then he should feature regularly for Liverpool this season.

Having been brighter than most against Manchester United in Bangkok on Tuesday, Elliott again caught the eye here. There is something about his game which sets him apart from a lot of other young players; it’s the awareness, the flawless first touch, the way he constantly looks to combine with team-mates.

He did so superbly here, linking up with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner down the Liverpool right.

Elliott set up the Reds’ opening goal, pulling the ball back smartly for Jordan Henderson to sweep home, and should have grabbed one himself, only to snatch at a good chance on his weaker right foot.

GettyMilner the machine marches on

Twenty years and more than 800 games into his career, and James Milner is still going strong.

It says everything about the Liverpool vice-captain’s longevity in the game that he was doing gruelling pre-seasons before some of his team-mates were even born, and that he and Patrick Vieira, the Crystal Palace manager, were colleagues at Manchester City a dozen years ago.

Milner might have left Liverpool this summer, but having penned a new one-year contract, he looks as though he’ll be as useful to Jurgen Klopp’s squad as he’s ever been.

He played right-back in the first half here, and did as he so often does: diligently, competently and with the minimum of fuss.

He isn’t Trent Alexander-Arnold, we know that, but his aggression, energy and smartness will always be welcome in a Klopp team. Even at 36, he has a part to play.

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GettyNunez continues his induction

Another 30 minutes or so in the bag for Liverpool’s new £85 million ($100m) signing, and though Nunez didn’t manage to bag his first Reds goal, the signs are there that he is finding his feet in his new team.

The Uruguayan was again deployed as a No.9, flanked by Mo Salah on the right and fellow newboy Fabio Carvalho on the left. 

And he was regularly in the thick of the action, denied by Vicente Guaita after a fine piece of play from Salah, and then sending another, more ambitious effort into the Palace keeper’s hands.

Again, we saw his willingness to play on the shoulder of the last defender. He was almost found by Van Dijk with one clipped long pass, and then saw Alexander-Arnold misplace an attempted through ball, when it looked like Liverpool were in business.

Later, there was a lovely swept pass into the path of Salah down the right, and by the time he was replaced by youngster Bobby Clark, 12 minutes from time, the 23-year-old could reflect on another worthwhile workout. 

Bigger tests are to come, for sure, but for now Klopp will be satisfied by what he’s seeing from his new centre forward.