diff --git a/testnet/virtual.go b/testnet/virtual.go
index c44b430db3e99e69a91aca2edfdb7a4507aa0799..48ef7b435eab1b0cacdb7cfede421ad816a4aeee 100644
--- a/testnet/virtual.go
+++ b/testnet/virtual.go
@@ -184,11 +184,13 @@ func (n *network) SendMessage(
 }
 
 type networkClient struct {
+	// These need to be at the top of the struct (allocated on the heap) for alignment on 32bit platforms.
+	stats bsnet.Stats
+
 	local peer.ID
 	bsnet.Receiver
 	network            *network
 	routing            routing.Routing
-	stats              bsnet.Stats
 	supportedProtocols []protocol.ID
 }