Tag Futebol

There is a bit of fire about Liam Smith. Perhaps it was the pent up adrenaline after completing his first hundred at the under-19 level, or maybe even cramps on his leg that was bothering him. Or it just could be that South Africa’s 43-run loss to Bangladesh was hurting him even more.Standing few meters away from Smith was Nazmul Hossain Shanto, whose sparkling 73 set up Bangladesh’s win. He wasn’t beaming, but his body language had a mild strut to it. Upright, almost cocksure.Smith wasn’t exactly seething, but it was evident that the loss didn’t sit right with him, like it didn’t with Tony de Zorzi, the captain, and the rest of his team.It was a challenging day for the defending champions, and Smith played well throughout his nearly three-hour stay. His suppleness at the crease caught the eye, considering a lot of the cricket he’s played in his flourishing career has come on surfaces with more pace and bounce.He was good at using the depth of the crease and on occasions looked to dominate during his 146-ball innings that had nine fours and a six. Forty-seven singles and two twos punctuated his effort which could have been a match-winning effort had there been a couple of big partnerships.Smith was left to mostly play the anchor role before trying to up the ante at the end, but his innings was cut short courtesy a brilliant catch at cover by his counterpart Mehedi Hasan. Smith said the weather conditions were a bit challenging, even as he seemed to have worked out Bangladesh’s bowling quite well.”It is extremely hot,” Smith told ESPNcricinfo. “You do get tired quite quickly. The bowlers are playing at their home ground so they know how to bowl here, so it was quite difficult. We played against Bangladesh before (the two teams played two seven-match series in 2015), so we were well prepared. However, he was left to rue the lack of partnerships.”Only one of their bowlers has changed and we knew the pitches when practicing here. We did try [to build partnerships] so I can’t blame us. We would have won the game if we built bigger partnerships.”For Bangladesh, who displayed tremendous energy on the field and were on cruise control with the bat, this had been a highly anticipated game. Shanto, who was also part of the 2014 Under-19 World Cup squad, said he urged the rest of his teammates to not get overawed by the occasion. After all, they had beaten the same opponent in 11 out of 14 games last year.”There was a bit of nervousness today because we have some new guys in the team,” he said. “But at training yesterday and before we took the field, the only thing we talked about was to play our normal game. We can’t think of it as a World Cup game.”The experience of playing against them helped us. We knew where they would bowl and the strength of their batsmen. The wicket was for a 240-250 score batting first. The ball did stop a bit and scoring runs freely wasn’t easy but I think my own experience at this level helped me today. I knew what to do in this situation,” he said.Shanto said that he initially tried to base his innings on ones and twos, but didn’t hesitate to put the bad balls away. He struck four boundaries and three sixes in all during his 82-ball innings. “My first thought was to rotate the strike and only latch on to the bad balls,” he explained. “When we lost a couple of wickets, I thought I wouldn’t go for the shots but go ahead with singles. But it was hard to pick singles because the wicket was stopping a bit and they were fielding very well.”Bangladesh’s technical advisor Stuart Law said while Shanto stuck to the task expected of him, it would have been better if one of him, Pinak Ghosh and Joyraz Sheik carried on to make a big score. “This is Shanto’s job. He has instructions to bat through. He took his time but once he got in, he played some beautiful shots,” Law said. “It was disappointing that one or two others weren’t able to push on and get a really big score. We thought 241 would be tough to get if we bowled well.”I think South Africa bowled and fielded well to restrict us to 240. Their cover and midwicket cut off a lot of runs. I think we did what we could. We saw Smith get a 100. If we get one of our top-order to do that, we will get close to 300 runs.”It would be easy to think that Smith’s 100 went in vain but he hardly had anyone supporting him. Shanto however had Sheik and Mehedi at the other end making sure he didn’t have to do all the running.It was ultimately the difference in outcome between two splendid batting efforts.

India’s batting line-up is famed, but real spunk comes from Yuvraj Singh and the captain himself, Mahendra Singh Dhoni © AFP

As with all the greatest sporting derbies, matters are never routine when India and Pakistan come together. Strange things, not always clasped to the fortunes of form, class and temperament, happen.A match is stolen off the last ball with a mighty six, a match is won off the third last ball with an equally grand stroke; 350 is nearly chased down yet 126 proves too far; a fast bowler of repute is smashed for 40 runs in two overs but an opener with a tidy line in slow-medium wobblies cripples a side; people flock to see them play in deserts, against abackdrop of windmills and even in Canada, a country as au fait with cricket as India and Pakistan are with ice hockey.And we should be glad for it. Such previews generally carry all the weight of a feather floating in space but for what its worth, here is a punt. Home advantage and a stodgier feel to their personnel tips the balance in India’s favour, albeit gingerly. Then again Pakistan don’t mind the other tag, one they wore so ebulliently on their last tour two years ago. Does that tip the balance back?Citizens of two nations they may be, but certain truths are shared. One, Bollywood cuts across the Line of Control as does indigenous Pakistani classical and pop music. Two, democracy works for one, maybe not the other. Lastly, and most importantly, India’s batsmen have always been unchallenged kings of the region and Pakistan’s bowlers its’ undisputed lords.

If and when India falter at 15 for 2 with nothing to lean back on, Pakistan will be happiest to not see Rahul Dravid walking out

Much like the Rolling Stones, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly roll on. They don’t surf the zeitgeist as they once did, but like the band, they still provide solid value. Suresh Raina may be yesterday’s news, but Rohit Sharma might be tomorrow’s. The real spunk, however, comes from Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa and the captain himself. Mahendra Singh Dhoni may command Shahid Afridi-like fan fervour and he may have the strike-rate to match, but he is a cerebral giant by comparison.The Wall is resting, fatigued no doubt from the support it has provided in recent times. But if and when India falter at 15 for 2 with nothing to lean back on, Pakistan will be happiest to not see Rahul Dravid walking out. It leaves the middle order thin rather than lean, especially given the presence of five openers in the squad.Perhaps they can pass on the surplus to Pakistan. New era, new captain and coach, same opening strife: Pakistan went through five openers and three combinations in five matches against South Africa and are still likely to draw names from a hat come the first ODI. In fact, their batting has rarely been as brittle as this, relying essentially on Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf, with a little help from Shoaib Malik, the captain.But even as it has become a pre-tour ritual for at least one Pakistan fast bowler to drop out from injury, drugs or bust-ups just before the series, on their bowling still rests the winning and losing of this. In Mohammad Asif’s absence, Shoaib Akhtar will carry much the attack and though he is eminently capable, never before has it been as important for him to remain fit and preferably confined to his hotel room with no possibility of mischief.

Shahid Afridi’s bowing record in India may be poor, but his craft is at its peak and strong enough to make up for his batting © AFP

Just in case, the force is strong with Umar Gul and Iftikhar Anjum presently, especially the latter who provides, as first change, an adept, thoughtful option. India hasn’t suited Afridi the bowler, but his craft is at its peak and strong enough to make up for his batting. As vital as the fast men will be Afridi’s middle-overs spread.For once, however, India’s pace is in comparably rude health. Zaheer Khan and RP Singh’s bowling is a different game from when Pakistan last played them in an ODI. Zaheer is leaner and wiser, more rounded and a better bowler. RP is broader, quicker, bouncier, spikier and altogether more dangerous. Behind them, Sreesanth will dance, pump fists, sledge, stare and occasionally bowl mean spells. But it says much for their strength that India choose to play without Munaf Patel, who is possibly the most gifted of them all.Will fielding make a difference? Both sides are bad enough for it to cancel itself out, as Sanjay Manjrekar points out in Cricinfo’s Round Table. But leadership will. Both captains are young, both have had their honeymoons and both have been brought back to earth swiftly by vastly superior sides.Dhoni feels the more settled, if only because his place in all forms is unquestioned. Malik, meanwhile, is still gamely battling off lingering doubters. It is also easier to be a young captain of India than to be one of Pakistan. Malik’s calm will come in handy in times of stress, as will Younis as deputy. Dhoni’s feistiness, his wily, upmarket bravado will serve him likewise.As parting, heed this: if this were on paper, you would be wise to crumple it and chuck it away. So turn off the monitor instead, for come tomorrow all of it and none of it will matter.

King sees the absence of the two players as an opportunity for players like Marlon Samuels to step up to the plate © Getty Images

Despite the absence of Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo in the five-match ODI series against Pakistan, Bennett King, the coach of West Indies, was confident of his side coming good. “It’ll test us as a team without two of our key one day performers over the past six to 12 months in Sarwan and Bravo,” he told WindiesCricket.com.Sarwan was ruled out with a minor hairline fracture of the right foot, sustained when he was hit by an Umar Gul yorker during the Karachi Test, while Bravo was released from the squad to return home “to be with persons close to him who are unwell”.Both have been key to West Indies’ recent successes, but King was forced to see the prospects that their absences threw up. “It allows opportunity to others trying to stake their claim for World Cup berth,” he said. “The players coming in [Ian Bradshaw, Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Smith] bring with them freshness and energy after what’s been a long tour for us.”Sarwan is considered one of the leading batters in the one day game and he has proved that over a long period of time and has been a key to our past successes,” King added. “Bravo was adapting to different roles within our side and it’s unfortunate that we can’t build on those but where one door shuts another one opens.”Despite dropping the Tests 0-2, King looked forward to the challenge of the one-day series. “Every game gives us opportunities to move up the rankings of the ICC points table and to build our one day reputation,” he said. “Pakistan presents formidable opponents especially at home, they beat us 3-0 in the West Indies [in 2005] but we feel that we’ve improved since our last meeting both individually and as a team.”

Phil Simmons: ‘There was no way I could listen to people who don’t even know which side of the bat is up’ © AFP

Zimbabwe Cricket has formally terminated Phil Simmons’s three-year coaching contract, almost two months after he was removed from the post and replaced by Kevin Curran.After his sacking on August 17, Simmons continued to be paid by the board as it sought to redeploy him in other areas. But at the end of last week Simmons was written to by ZC’s lawyers and told that he was being dismissed. Under the terms of his contract, Simmons will be entitled to six months’ salary, but he was instructed to leave the board-owned accommodation he received as part of his package as well as returning his car and other perks.As late as Friday, Simmons was insisting that he was contesting his dismissal, maintaining it was illegal as it had not been carried out in accordance with the board’s own constitution. On Thursday, Simmons and Curran both attended the selection meeting for the forthcoming series against Kenya.”I never went to school to study human resources, or anything else … cricket is my profession,” Simmons told the Zimbabwe Standard. “That is why I fell out with ZC because they always wanted to tell me how to do my job, yet the same people never even came to see us practice. There was no way I could listen to people who don’t even know which side of the bat is up.”

A 14-man Sri Lanka academy squad – called the Development Emerging Team – has departed for a short tour to Sharjah. The tour will include threeone-dayers and two two-day matches against the United Arab Emirates national team between December 2 and 11.Sri Lanka’s academy – previously called the Sony Max Academy but nowreferred to as the National Development Centre in a recent media release – was started in 2003 after the development of a special training centre at Premadasa International Stadium.The academy runs for approximately six months each year and is currently looked after by the head coach, Jerome Jayaratne, who is also assisted by the cricket board’s specialist bowling, batting and fielding coaches.The cricketers are usually selected soon after finishing school, although slightly older promising players are also admitted for an intensive programme that includes off-field training, from advice on handling the media to computer studies, in addition to specialist cricket coaching and fitness training.Full squad Harsha Eranga Vithane (capt), Amila Sadaruwan Manana Dewage, Tuan Mohamed Ishan Mutaliph, Chanaka Gimhana Wijesinghe, Gihan Trevor de Silva, Damith Indika Ginewela Dewage, Rachinda Dunil Kumar Abeydeera, Chanaka Asanga Welagedara Udawalawve Mahim Bandaralage, Chaminda Wijaya Kumara Vidanapathirana, Gangabada Arachchige Chinthaka Rasanga Perera, Kanchana Deshapria Gunewardena, Jeremy Christopher Rodrigo Saverymuthapulle, Udara Waruna Hewa Wellalage, Dushan Dinushri Nirmal Wickremarathne

The Knight Riders have won Super Fours, the ECB competition for elite women’s cricketers, securing four wins from five matches.Captained by Charlotte Edwards (Kent) and coached by Neil Rider, The Knight Riders defeated last year’s champions, The Braves, by five wickets on the final day to take the title.The V Team caused an upset by defeating title challengers, The Super Strikers, by 66 runs to record their first win of the competition. The Super Strikers were the only team to defeat The Knight Riders. England and Lancashire batter Arran Thompson (Lancashire) was run out on 98 for The V Team, but Captain Clare Taylor (Yorkshire) secured the victory with an unbeaten 23.The Final Table:

Played Won PointsThe Knight Riders 5 4 48The Super Strikers 5 3 36The Braves 5 2 24The V Team 5 1 12

The Knight Riders made an exceptional start to their title challenge, with England’s world-record breaking bowler, Lucy Pearson, taking four wickets for 20 runs in her 10 overs; three wickets coming in her first three overs.Mandy Godliman (Sussex) and Sue Redfern batted intelligently to form a partnership of 119 for the sixth wicket to leave the Knight Riders chasing a total of 164. The Champions made steady progress but lost regular wickets until the young England batter, Lydia Greenway (Kent) came in at six and remained not out on 87 at the close.Gill McConway, ECB Director for women’s cricket, said: "I’m delighted that Super Fours has been a success again this year. It is especially heartening to see the number of youngsters, particularly at U19 level, coming through with impressive and, in some cases, outstanding performances."Without Super Fours, these young players would not have the opportunity to show they can excel against some of the best players in the country."England’s star bowler, Lucy Pearson, heads the bowling table with 10 wickets at an economy rate of 2.83 and an average of 13.6. Pearson equalled a world-record 11-wicket Test haul against Australia in Sydney in February and has continued her devastating form.Young England and Yorkshire bowler Laura Spragg took nine wickets at an average of 15.56 to finish second and fellow England players Isa Guha and Captain, Clare Connor, finished with eight wickets each.For the second year in succession Charlotte Edwards (Kent) topped the leading batters table, making 199 runs with an average of 49.75 and ensuring that The Knight Riders had the competition’s best batter and bowler.England all-rounder Laura Newton finished with an average of 45 and Lydia Greenway, England’s young find of the winter, accumulated 162 runs with an average of 54 – the only batter to average over 50.England batters Claire Taylor and Arran Thompson also finished in the top seven, with Hannah Lloyd making fourth place and England U21 players Beth Morgan and Rosalie Birch securing places in the Top 10.On Tuesday July 8, the England women’s selectors will name the England squad to face South Africa this summer in the npower Women’s Test Series and NatWest Women’s ODI Series taking place in August.The Knight Riders will defend their Super Fours title in May/June 2004.Full results and statistics can be found at www.Super4s.play-cricket.com

The ACT President’s XI has made an impressive start against the touring New Zealanders to be 2-177 at tea on the first day of the three-day match at Manuka Oval, Canberra.The ACT side, which includes five New South Welshmen, has made the most of an injury to Test spin bowler Daniel Vettori which forced him to leave the ground in just the 18th over.Vettori twisted awkwardly when trying to retrieve a full-blooded drive off his own bowling by ACT batsman Matthew Phelps on the last ball of the 18th over.He was stretchered from the ground and taken to Canberra Hospital, where his right leg was x-rayed.He was discharged and while he is doubtful to take any further part in this game his injury might not be as bad as first thought.A report from a specialist on his injury is expected soon.For the ACT, Matthew Phelps was out shortly after lunch for 51 and Jack Smith (82) and David Hazel (37) are the not out batsmen.

Liverpool host Norwich City in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Wednesday night off the back of a thrilling penalty shoot-out victory over Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final.

Jurgen Klopp’s side lifted their first trophy of the season and maintained their hopes of an incredible quadruple quest, and a tie at home to struggling Premier League side Norwich tonight certainly bodes well for their chances of doing a domestic cup double.

But, one man who the Reds boss must surely consider dropping from the starting line-up, is Naby Keita.

The Guinea international was a late call into the team for Chelsea after Thiago’s heart-breaking injury, but looked lost in midfield before being taken off by Klopp late into the second-half.

Writing in his post-match player ratings for The Liverpool Echo, Ian Doyle gave him a six, saying: “Understandably off the pace having been thrown in at the last minute, but gained confidence and one shot saved by Mendy. Subbed.”

With a record of just three goals and one assist in 21 games across all competitions, Keita hasn’t offered anywhere near the kind of attacking quality from someone who is supposedly a more creative player than Klopp’s usually functional midfield three.

Indeed, as per Whoscored, his average match rating of 6.95 ranks him as the 15th-best performing player in this entire Reds squad in the Premier League, and when you look at the underlying numbers behind that, it’s easy to see why.

He averages just 1.3 shots per game (even less than right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold), provides only 0.7 key passes per match (Neco Williams averages more), and lags even behind Joe Gomez when it comes to dribbles too with just 0.5.

Speaking after his performance in a 3-2 win against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League earlier this season, Dietmar Hamann criticised how Keita’s Liverpool career has gone.

He said: “Keita was at fault for both goals. (Jordan) Henderson has been a brilliant leader since taking the captaincy and (James) Milner is 35 giving everything he possesses week in week out. Keita only wants to play when they’re in possession and cost €75m.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

“Hugely disappointing considering it’s his fourth season. Simply not good enough.”

The £27m-rated ace just hasn’t been at the races at all this season, and with Harvey Elliott having recently made his comeback from injury, tonight’s FA Cup clash against Norwich might be the perfect time to see what the actual future of Liverpool’s midfield could do.

Meanwhile, Liverpool must unleash this star vs Norwich…

Tamim Iqbal has urged the younger members of the Bangladesh team to remain hungry for forthcoming challenges at the end of a successful year in international cricket.Bangladesh began 2015 with a maiden appearance in a World Cup quarter-final. They built on that with back-to-back series wins over Pakistan, India, South Africa and Zimbabwe with considerable help from newer players. Left-arm fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman became the first from his country to be named in an ICC ODI team of the year. He took 26 wickets in nine matches with three five-wicket hauls. Batsman Soumya Sarkar impressed with match-winning knocks against quality pace attacks in limited-overs cricket.Although they have won more ODIs in 2006 and their fortunes in Test and T20s didn’t quite improve, the quality of their 50-overs exploits in 2015 were enough to make this their best year in international cricket so far.Bangladesh are likely to play a T20 series against Zimbabwe in mid-January as preparation for the Asia Cup T20 in mid-February and March’s World T20. On January 3, a 30-member preliminary squad will meet for the first time since November.”We really needed the break,” Tamim said. “I don’t think we have played so much cricket over the last five years as we did in 2015. Our next camp starts from January 3 when I am sure everyone will show renewed hunger. Everyone would want to play as well as they did in 2015. We will start preparing mentally from January 3, and our full focus will be on T20s since we will be playing a lot of this format in the coming weeks.”Tamim asked the Bangladesh youngsters to make sure their desire to win doesn’t dim. “All the best cricketers in the world play well in every series, and they can’t do it without being hungry. If we get too bored with it, performance will be affected. This is true for all sectors of life. So we also need a break since cricket has so much pressure attached to it. We have three big events coming up, if we count the Zimbabwe series.”In terms of personal highlights, Tamim felt his bouncing back to form after an indifferent World Cup would help him when he goes through such a rough patch in the future. He averaged 25.66 in six innings in Australia and New Zealand but came back home and struck two ODI hundreds and a Test double-hundred against Pakistan, his 206 in April becoming Bangladesh’s highest score in Tests.”The World Cup was important for us and I got into runs after the tournament. I wasn’t having a great time and I am sure such a time will come again. Now I know how to bring myself back [to form]. My job then will be slightly easier because now I know how to handle such situations.”

Mahendra Singh Dhoni played down the praise for his captaincy and attributed the success to his players for responding to the challenges © Getty Images

India started off in this tournament as a strong batting team, but it wastheir bowling that bailed them out more than once. Mahendra Singh Dhoni,the winning captain, recognised that it was the bowling that had won themthe cup.”On paper the batting was much stronger,” Dhoni said. “But the way thebowlers bowled was very good, and if you compare the two, our bowling wasmuch more consistent. Though there were a few good individual battingperformances, the bowling was better through the tournament.” That, hesaid, was also a reason why he chose to bat first on most occasions afterwinning the toss. “The idea was to get a decent score and then try todefend it. Our fielding helped too. We effected a run out in almost everygame. When the total is relatively low – only around 150-155 – run outsand good fielding increases the total by 15-20 runs, and we managed to dothat in most of the games.”Dhoni’s captaincy has come in for plenty of praise, but he chose to playit down, instead praising the players for responding to the challenges.”The captain hasn’t done much. The players who have been given theresponsibility have delivered. There was no [top order] batsman who hadn’t scored runs,the fielding had been very good overall. Yuvraj [Singh] has been very good, whileHarbhajan has made a very good comeback. The best part is everything whohas been given the responsibility has delivered. This side is confident,enjoying each other’s success and backing each other.”Dhoni admitted that he was concerned about Misbah-ul-Haq’s late charge,but said he knew they were only a wicket away from wresting the initiativeagain. “We knew they didn’t have wickets in hand. Pressure becomes a veryimportant aspect in big games. Harbhajan Singh was good though he wentfor a few, Joginder [Sharma] was excellent in the last over. But I always thoughtas the game approached the final stages, our chances would increase.”About the decision to bowl Joginder instead of Harbhajan in the finalover, Dhoni said it was prompted by the form on the day. “That was thebest option available. Harbhajan didn’t bowl his last over very well. Ithought if a medium pacer bowls it would be slightly difficult sinceMisbah was timing it very well against Harbhajan, who was also not 100%sure about his yorkers. And Joginder had had a decent spell till in thematch, so I decided to go with him.”

The practice sessions were planned such that we were always fresh when we took the field for a match

Dhoni admitted that the number of runs they had wasn’t a par score, andpraised Pakistan’s effort in the field. “In Durban it was a lot moredifficult for batting – 170-180 was a very good total there. Here Ithought we should have got 180, as the wicket was not very difficult. Butthe way they bowled was really good. After 12 overs they bowled someexcellent yorkers, so you could hardly score off them.”He also had a special word for Rohit Sharma’s 16-ball 30, which lifted theIndian total to 157. “Rohit’s innings was critical. We looked like getting140, but we ended up getting more than 150. The confidence level went upand with our fielding we increased the target further to 170-175.”Looking back at the tournament, he said the way the team planned thepractice sessions and the periods of rest was critical. “There was atwo-and-a-half month tour to England, so it was tough on the players. Theway we planned this tournament was very important. The practice sessionswere planned such that we were always fresh when we took the field for amatch.”The Indians didn’t practice before the final, despite playing at avenue where they’d played only once before in the tournament.