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Before the hail, lightning, gust and rain, it was Sri Lanka who were bossing it at the Shere Bangla National Stadium. Their fielding, bowling and decision-making pushed West Indies on the back foot for 13.5 overs of the chase.Dinesh Chandimal’s decision not to play in the semi-final can be seen as a defensive move, especially coming from the team’s appointed captain himself. But it was daring of the man not to play, and let the winning combination stick. And it worked, with his replacement Lahiru Thirimanne hitting a crucial 44.It was only fitting for Angelo Mathews, the only Sri Lanka player to have played all 17 games of a long stay in Bangladesh, to play a major role in taking them a stage they would have targeted when they landed in Bangladesh. And he was quick to praise Chandimal for stepping aside for the team’s benefit, a rare occurrence but one that made complete sense.”It was a collective decision,” Mathews said. “The selectors, management and Chandimal [decided]. We have to do what is best for the team all the time, regardless of who you are. I think he opted out because he wanted the best XI on the park. So I think it was a great and brave decision.”Angelo Mathews showed off his finishing skills•Getty Images

For the second game running, Sri Lanka has showed the importance of bowling tight and backing it up with strong fielding. They have been doing it in Bangladesh since January 27, when they started their long sojourn in the country. They have been beaten the home side 1-0, 2-0 and 3-0 in the Tests, T20s and ODIs respectively as well as winning the Asia Cup. But despite playing 17 matches so far, Sri Lanka’s fielding standards have hardly dropped and they have looked even better at the fag end of a very long tour.Mathews praised the effort of his team-mates as well as the coaching staff for the unflagging levels. “It is all the hard work that the boys do. I think they have been managed pretty well. When you play the intensity every other day, it takes a lot out of you. You need to manage yourself and still work really hard.”Fitness, fielding and skills, we were consistent in the last couple of months in these areas. It will be ideal to win the title and go back home.”After Sri Lanka posted 160 for 6, Dwayne Smith began with a bang, caning Nuwan Kulasekara for 17 runs in the first over. On cue, Sri Lanka started to bowl better lengths, drying up the runs. By the time Chris Gayle was put out of his misery in the fifth over by Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka had put a foot on the door that had started to slam on them. Smith was gone in the same over, and from then on, the fielding came to the fore.West Indies are generally not the most athletic side between the wickets, preferring to dealing more in big shots. So it was important that the boundaries were cut off, and it started with Tillakaratne Dilshan in the eighth over when he slid to save a boundary, and repeated it in the 10th over. Apart from these two, there were several other mini-stops and slides that cut off whatever the West Indies were trying to add.Mathews said it was important to pick up wickets when they got wind, quite literally, of rain nearing Mirpur. It prompted Malinga to bowl more in the first six overs, instead of keeping most of his quota for the death.”After the first half, we heard there might be bit of rain. We just had to keep them tight because they have some big hitters who can’t be stopped if they got going.”We had to take wickets to push them back. Lasith came to bowl in the first six overs which he doesn’t do normally, but we needed our best bowler to come and take wickets”Sri Lanka could have been expected to be tired against New Zealand in their last group game and in the semi-final, but they sprung up at the right time and look on the way to a perfect ending to their stay in Bangladesh.

Ravindra Jadeja led India’s spin attack with four wickets, before Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan’s half-centuries helped them complete a comfortable win against Afghanistan

The Report by Devashish Fuloria05-Mar-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
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Agarkar: India achieved little in win

Afghanistan’s batting, apart from a match-winning partnership against Bangladesh, has been ordinary, particularly against spin. In a dead rubber against India, and in what was also their last chance to make an impression on this trip, Afghanistan’s batsmen collapsed at the first sighting of turn. Ravindra Jadeja picked up two wickets in his first over, and then added two more to run through a middle order that was clueless against India’s spin trio.The three of them – Jadeja, Amit Mishra and R Ashwin – bowled unchanged from the 12th over until the 36th with combined figures of 25-3-73-7 during that period. Was it not for another Samiullah Shenwari riposte, Afghanistan could have folded well inside 50 overs.Batting at No 8, Shenwari brought up his second half-century of the tournament and added 64 runs with the last three batsmen to avoid a capitulation. He farmed the strike, took vital runs off India’s seamers during the Powerplay and despite appearing in trouble against the spinners, he was prepared to attack the loose deliveries. On a day when boundaries were hard to come by, he hit six fours and a six to take Afghanistan past 150.The Indian team management had decided not to tinker with their playing XI, which meant there was still no place for Cheteshwar Pujara or Ishwar Pandey, the only two in the touring party not to get a game. Kohli, at the toss, mentioned it was important to be patient with the team. But contrary to that logic, they asked Ajinkya Rahane to open the innings with Shikhar Dhawan, instead of Rohit Sharma. The captain, though, couldn’t have asked for more as the openers added 121 runs to set up the chase that India completed in the 33rd over.Ravindra Jadeja set the tone with two wickets in his first over•AFPLike most teams, Afghanistan showed they were enjoying the challenge of facing the Indian seamers as they collected 52 runs in the first 11 overs for the loss of one wicket. But facing quality spin on these slow and low pitches is a different challenge altogether. The other day, Afghanistan had scored only 40 runs in 16.4 overs of spin from Sri Lanka and lost five wickets. Today, the story was no different. Kohli introduced Mishra, who had been impressive in the match against Pakistan, in the 12th over and immediately, it became apparent the batsmen were out of their comfort zone. Noor Ali Zadran, who had been impressive again the seamers, survived an lbw appeal against a googly first ball. And the next over derailed the innings.Jadeja’s first delivery – a quick slider that often buys him wickets of batsmen who are slow to come forward – beat Rahmat Shah’s inside edge and thudded on to the pad. His third delivery would have pleased him more; it was slower, loopy, and dipped and then bounced to catch the shoulder of Noor Ali’s bat for Kohli to take a simple catch at slip.Jadeja’s next over worsened Afghanistan’s position as Asghar Stanikzai slapped possibly the only bad delivery the spinner bowled limply to mid-on. Stanikzai left disappointed, because he knew he could have hit the half-tracker anywhere. What followed was a period of play where a wicket never seemed too far. Like Jadeja, Ashwin had a wicket off his first ball, in the 18th over; Najibullah Zadran heaved at a flighted delivery but top edged to mid-on.Mohammad Nabi, the Afghanistan captain, was caught behind for 6 off Jadeja in the 21st over and Mohammad Shahzad, who had been pushed down the batting order, scored 22 runs that were not enough to alter the script. When Shahzad was trapped plumb in front by Ashwin, Afghanistan had slumped to 95 for 7.Mishra, who had figures of 10-1-21-1, was possibly the most impressive of the spinners, beating the bat with metronomic regularity. His legspinners gripped the surface to turn past the outside edge numerous times, while his googlies were unread. After seven overs of bamboozling the batsmen, he too had something to show for his efforts as a googly took Mirwais Ashraf’s inside edge and lobbed to Kohli at slip.However, he still ended with a wicket less than Mohammad Shami, who had dismissed Nawroz Mangal after a wayward start and then trapped Shenwari lbw in the 46th over to end the innings.On a slow pitch that required extra application from the batsmen, Rahane and Dhawan adopted the ideal game: there was no attempt to play fancy shots and the two relied primarily on maneuvering the ball in the gaps. In the nine overs before the 45-minute break, the openers added 34 runs, hitting only two boundaries. They continued in the same vein after the break, nudging singles to lift the total to 76 in 18 overs. Again, only two boundaries came in that period.The tempo changed from the first ball of the 19th as Rahane hit consecutive boundaries off Shenwari. He stepped out first ball and clipped the full delivery over extra cover, a shot to which he can now lay claim as his own just because of the ease with which he pulls it off – he takes it low on the bat and punches it without any follow-through. The second one, a wristy flick against the spin beating mid-on, was even better. Dhawan caught the urgency bug too, hitting consecutive boundaries off Rahmat in the next over, the second bringing the century of the stand, India’s first in 14 ODIs. It was also the first time Afghanistan allowed such an opening partnership, highlighting the strength of their attack.India’s smooth glide momentarily hit turbulence as they lost both openers in quick succession – Rahane played across the line to be lbw and Dhawan was bowled by Nabi. Rohit Sharma, who walked in at No. 3, and Dinesh Karthik added the remaining 37 runs to complete the formality.

MatériaMais Notícias

Contratado para ser referência do ataque do São Paulo nesta temporada, o centroavante Pablo passará por cirurgia nesta quinta-feira para a retirada de um cisto na região lombar da coluna. A princípio, o jogador lidava com dores nas panturrilhas, mas o departamento médico do Tricolor descobriu que o caso era mais complexo do que se imaginava.

De acordo com José Sanchez, médico do São Paulo, o diagnóstico do cisto na região lombar exigiu uma minuciosa investigação. Isto porque, as dores de Pablo eram nas panturrilhas e, mesmo após a realização do tratamento mais indicado, o problema permanecia.

– O Pablo teve, no dia do segundo jogo do Ituano (27/3), uma queda no solo, sofreu um trauma na região, que é algo comum na atividade dos atletas, e apresentou uma dor naquele local. Como o intervalo do jogo contra o Ituano e do Palmeiras (30/3) era muito curto, ele ficou um dia em repouso e foi para a partida (contra o Alviverde) sem nenhum problema. O Pablo teve uma recuperação plena desse problema (trauma) e foi para o jogo. – explicou o médico em pronunciamento dado no CT da Barra Funda.

– Contra o Palmeiras, ele apresentou, na saída da partida, dores nas duas panturrilhas. Em um dia, ele teve uma melhora importante na panturrilha esquerda, mas manteve o quadro de dor na panturrilha direita. Iniciamos o trabalho de recuperação no domingo. Na segunda-feira, fizemos a ressonância magnética, que apontou o trauma muscular – reiterou Sanchez.

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Passada a semifinal, acreditava-se que o problema do camisa 12 do São Paulo era meramente muscular. Novamente, o tratamento foi iniciado e o clube se planejou para ter seu centroavante no segundo e decisivo jogo da final do Paulistão, contra o Corinthians, no próximo domingo. Novamente, a situação do atacante surpreendeu os médicos e novos exames foram realizados.

– Quando iniciamos o trabalho de fortalecimento, percebemos que ele estava com uma perda de força incompatível com o período que ele estava inativo. Ele estava pouco tempo inativo e estava com muita dificuldade. Isso nos chamou a atenção e nos motivou para fazermos uma pequisa neurológica. Isso foi feito, tivemos o auxílio de uma colega especialista nesta área. Vimos que ele tinha um comprometimento neurólogico. Isso nos motivou para ver a jogada e achamos que poderia ter algum envolvimento com o trauma com o comprometimento de algum nervo periférico.

Somente após todo esse processo e a revisão da jogada contra o Ituano, que gerou o problema inicial, é que o departamento médico do clube conseguiu encontrar o cisto na região lombar da coluna, o real responsável pelas dores. Isto porque, ele dificulta a transmissão de impulsos nervosos para os membros inferiores já que está localizado próxima à raiz nervosa.

– Fizemos uma ressonância da região lombar para ver se tinha algum envolvimento com a raiz nervosa. Nesse exame, visualizamos a presença de um cisto. O problema é que o cisto está em uma região que comprime raízes nervosas. Isso acaba dando problema de transmissão, de dificultar a transmissão do impulso nervoso para o membro inferior. Não poderíamos deixar isso continuar e teríamos que tomar alguma atitude. Decidimos fazer este procedimento cirúrgico – concluiu o médico do Tricolor em conversa com os jornalistas no CT da Barra Funda.

O São Paulo evita falar em prazos, mas a tendência é de que o centroavante fique, no mínimo, seis semanas fora de combate. A cirurgia que será realizada por Pablo no Hospital das Clínicas será feita por vídeo e o atleta poderá deixar o local andando. Em duas semanas, o jogador provavelmente estará realizando alguma atividade física para abreviar seu tempo de recuperação.

Being gracious in defeat but scathing in self-examination is a Misbah-ul-Haq speciality and he was on top form with it again today

Firdose Moonda in Harare14-Sep-2013Being gracious in defeat but scathing in self-examination is a Misbah-ul-Haq speciality and he was on top form with it again today. The Pakistan captain was sincere in congratulating an opposition who outplayed his own team and stern in his assessment of a group, specifically a batting unit, who did not play well enough together.”Our batting was the culprit on a pitch which was good for batting,” he said. “In both innings we couldn’t cross 250. We only crossed 300 once in the four innings on this tour. How can you win a Test match without scoring 300 runs?”Pakistan were bowled out for 230 and 239 in this match and 249 in the first innings of the previous Test, in which they also piled on 419. But it was the inability to chase on a surface Misbah deemed “at its best” on the final two days which irked him most.The demons in the mind far outweighed the almost non-existent demons in the surface, which was feared underprepared because the groundstaff only had two-and-a-half days to get it ready, but actually provided a good contest between bat and ball. “It’s all about the pressure,” Misbah said.”There was nothing wrong with the pitch. We were playing shots and drives which were not there for the first three days because the ball was stopping. So it was all in the mind of the batsman. Chasing in the fourth innings, the pressure makes you make mistakes and panic. That’s what happened.”More than careless strokeplay, Pakistan’s batsmen succumbed to frustration against an attack that kept them quiet and tired them with consistency. “They had a set plan in bowling and asked questions of the batsmen which we could not answer,” Misbah said. “To do well against bowlers who are good in their own conditions you need experience, patience, technique and a lot of hard work.”With Younis Khan and Misbah leading the run-charts, the value of old hands is obvious but it also brings to the fore the problems Pakistan’s young crop are having. Azhar Ali showed good temperament in the first Test and Khurram Manzoor was promising with his two half-centuries but Asad Shafiq and Adnan Akmal battled, particularly Shafiq against bounce and movement.Concerns over the next generation are well-founded and shared by Misbah, who insists they will only learn through experience. “These youngsters were really performing well in pressure series against Sri Lanka and England, but at the moment, they are struggling,” he admitted. “Zimbabwe really exploited our inexperience. This morning, we were positive right from the start and decided wherever we can attack them, we’ll do it. That’s how we approached it but nobody could stand.”One of the players who put up the least resistance was Mohammad Hafeez, who much earlier in the innings had been dismissed cheaply and scored only 59 runs from four innings. Misbah conceded there was a worry over his performances in the longer format but he was not certain it would lead to changes. “It’s a big concern because he was in good form in the ODIs and he did not contribute in Tests,” he said. “It’s not my decision, it’s a board decision so let’s see.”Perhaps the only thing he was pleased about was his own leadership which was, once again, formed by example. But Misbah said his undefeated 79 gave him little joy. “It matters when your team performs. If your team is losing, you really hurt as a captain. You don’t want to lose or tie these sort of series. You win matches as a team, you can’t win matches as individuals. You really need to stand up as a team.”By “these sort of series”, Misbah was referring to the opposition who he said “won most of the sessions” but who Pakistan were expected to beat. Their inability to do so has seen them slip from fourth to sixth on the Test rankings and are certain to cop even more criticism from their fans.Misbah resigned to that and said when the fault-finding begins, he will be ready to hear it. “Actually, we’ll have those guys for some solutions,” he said. “It’s easy to say things but not that easy to find solutions.” Judging by the numbers already being proposed, Misbah may find himself with a lot to consider before Pakistan host South Africa next month in the UAE.

MatériaMais Notícias

O meia Jadson voltará a ser relacionado pelo Corinthians no clássico deste domingo, contra o Santos, na Arena, pelo Paulistão. Em contrapartida, o centroavante Gustagol está fora do duelo. As confirmações foram feitas por Fábio Carille durante entrevista coletiva nesta sexta-feira, após o treino no CT Joaquim Grava. O treinador fez mistério e ainda não quis revelar qual será o time titular para a partida.

Vagner Love, Mauro Boselli, Ramiro, Clayson, Pedrinho, Sornoza… Todos brigam por uma vaga entre os titulares. Depois de treinar diferentes formações durante a semana, o treinador preferiu manter a cautela sobre quais serão os escolhidos para o clássico.

– Durante a semana, de terça a quinta, treinei três ou quatro situações, até com os mesmos jogadores. Com Love de móvel, com Sornoza no 4-2-3-1 à frente de Ralf e Urso, no 4-2-3-1 que talvez encaixe melhor. Hoje (sexta) assisti o vídeo dos treinos, ainda vou reunir com a comissão para definir. Está treinado, não sei qual vamos usar. No 4-1-4-1 ou no 4-2-3-1, aí mudo algumas peças, como Ramiro por lado e Pedrinho por dentro. Enfim, vou definir e amanhã vou a campo – ponderou Carille.

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A tendência é que Mauro Boselli seja referência no ataque do Timão contra o Santos. Mesmo assim, ainda não dá para cravar a titularidade do argentino. Na última formação esboçada na frente da imprensa, foi possível observar que quem perdeu a vaga entre os titulares foi Vagner Love para Clayson.

– Gustagol está fora, não sou de lamentar. A gente trouxe Boselli, tem Love também. Nada de lamentar, é dar moral para quem vai para o jogo. Jadson vai ser relacionado, semana muito boa, tivemos cuidados com ele que vinha atrapalhando, nem questão física, mas técnica. Passou por fortalecimento, um processo a parte, teve semana muito boa. Devo tê-lo por 25 ou 30 minutos – completou o treinador.

O Timão volta aos treinos na manhã deste sábado, no CT, e vai a campo no domingo, às 16h, para enfrentar o Santos, na Arena, pela décima rodada do Campeonato Paulista.

Shane Watson has stood down as Australia’s vice-captain across all formats, declaring that he wants to focus his attention on his own performance

Brydon Coverdale20-Apr-2013Shane Watson has stood down as Australia’s vice-captain across all formats three months out from the Ashes, declaring that he wants to focus his attention on his own performance. Watson’s role as Michael Clarke’s deputy was the subject of significant public debate during the recent Test tour to India when he was one of four players suspended for a match for failing to complete a task set by the coach Mickey Arthur.Later the same day, Watson flew to Sydney for the birth of his first child and while checking out of the team hotel said he would use his time at home to weigh up his cricketing future. However, a few days later Watson committed himself to the team in the long term and rejoined the squad in Delhi, where he captained Australia in the fourth Test when Clarke was unavailable due to his back injury.But during that match, Watson’s disappointing run of batting form continued and he finished the tour with 99 runs at an average of 16.50, a miserable return given that he had chosen to embark on the trip as a batsman only. Watson has not scored a Test century since October 2010 and since becoming vice-captain in 2011 he has managed only 627 Test runs at 24.11.”Making the decision to step down wasn’t easy but it’s something I’ve been thinking about since the Test series against India ended,” Watson said. “I think it’s the right time for a change for both the team and me. I’ll be honest and admit I wrestled with the decision for some time, however once I made up my mind, I informed Cricket Australia so the selectors could consider their options for the Ashes given the squads will be announced soon.”I want to be the best Test player I can be for Australia and think I can do that by stepping down from the vice-captaincy to focus my attention on scoring runs, taking wickets and doing whatever is necessary to help the team achieve success. I won’t be the vice-captain in title but I think I can still be a leader and strong contributor around the group.”Yesterday I rang John Inverarity, Mickey Arthur and Michael Clarke to advise them of my decision and they respect that decision and agree with me that this is the best outcome for me and the team. I thank Cricket Australia for the leadership opportunity over the past two years and I’m really looking forward to this next phase. In my conversations with Mickey and Michael I reaffirmed my commitment to the team and support for them as we fight to win back the Ashes and get back to being ranked number one in the world.”John Inverarity, the national selector, said: “Shane Watson should be commended for making the tough call to step down from the vice-captaincy to focus on playing. Regardless, he will still be an important senior leader within the team. The national selection panel will now consider and then put a vice-captaincy recommendation to the Cricket Australia Board for its approval.”Watson was named vice-captain to Clarke in March 2011 after Ricky Ponting stood down as the team’s leader. He filled in as Australia’s captain in nine one-day internationals for five victories as well as leading in the Delhi Test.

The ECB is to introduce further drug testing as a result of the death of Tom Maynard in June 2012. An inquest on Tuesday heard that samples taken from Maynard’s body contained high levels of alcohol and traces of ecstasy and cocaine consistent with that of a “daily or habitual” drug user. In her summing up at the end of the inquest, the coroner, Dr Fiona Wilcox, urged cricket’s authorities to test hair samples in order to detect drug use.Now the ECB and the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA), the players’ union, aim to increase the amount of drug testing with a view to not just catching drug cheats but also helping those who may be suffering from addiction.The ECB currently carries out around 200 tests a year. That means they test somewhere between 35-40% of the registered professional players in county cricket. Last year one player, Abdur Rehman, who was playing for Somerset, tested positive for cannabis following an in-competition test.Now, however, they appear set to carry out more tests. While they have not committed themselves to hair-sample testing – one of the more effective methods of looking for drug use over a longer period – the ECB, in co-operation with the PCA, has agreed to develop an out-of-competition testing programme to encompass recreational drugs. These measures will supplement the ECB’s existing anti-doping programme, which involves in- and out-of-competition testing through UK Anti-Doping, in compliance with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code, and the financial support provided to the PCA for player education and support programmes.England players are tested, in addition, as part of the ICC’s own anti-doping programme for all international cricketers, which are also WADA compliant. To date, no England player has tested positive under these programmes.”More testing will improve our chances of helping players with a problem which is as much societal as it is sporting,” PCA chief executive, Angus Porter, told the BBC. “We have a comprehensive programme of testing in and out of competition for performance-enhancing drugs – very much in line with the WADA code – testing in competition and also testing for recreational drugs.”What we are now in discussions with the ECB on is whether we need to extend the testing for recreational drugs to out of competition and I think we both think that that is a good idea. We are working on plans for that and investigating the practicality, following sports such as rugby and football which have done similar things.”We all think that the use of recreational drugs out of competition needs to be thought of very differently from performance-enhancing. The purpose of the taker is very different – they are not cheating and need to be thought of differently and it is too easy for people to confuse this.”As things stand, there is no mandatory ban for players caught with recreational drugs – including ecstasy and cocaine – taken from out-of-competition samples. The PCA hopes that would remain the case and, in the first instance at least, a player would be referred for treatment, counselling and support, with suspensions only applied to repeat offenders. In-competition testing is defined as being from 6am local time on the first day of a match up until one hour following the completion of the match.Surrey conducted an internal enquiry following Maynard’s death, which was ruled to be accidental after he was found on the tracks of the London Underground last summer. The club’s chief executive, Richard Gould, told ESPNcricinfo that he was satisfied that Maynard’s drug use was a “one off”. Team-mates Jade Dernbach and Rory Hamilton-Brown both insisted that they had no knowledge that Maynard had ever taken drugs.In a statement following the inquest verdict of accidental death, the ECB said: “While the ECB accepts that recreational drug use is a part of modern society, we do not condone it and will take all reasonable steps to prevent its use within the game. We also believe we have a responsibility to educate all our players and are committed to supporting any player who needs help in this area.”In the light of today’s verdict, ECB and Surrey CCC would like to reiterate that this incident was a terrible human tragedy and again extend our condolences to the Maynard family and to Tom Maynard’s many friends and colleagues within the professional game.”ECB and Surrey CCC would like to end by echoing the statement issued by the Maynard family earlier today. The results of this inquest do not define Tom Maynard or alter in any way the tragedy of his passing. Tom was a great man and a great cricketer and will be remembered forever by everyone who had the privilege to know him.”

Eoin Morgan falls to contentious umpiring decision, before New Zealand batting implodes in second warm-up game

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Oct-2021England’s main batters all found time in the middle, and Jos Buttler made the most of it with a typically stylish half-century, before Mark Wood and Adil Rashid triggered a collapse to a budding New Zealand chase. A last-wicket stand of 47 between legspinners Ish Sodhi and Todd Astle took New Zealand within 14 runs of victory with five balls to go, before Astle was out hit-wicket off Chris Woakes to hand England the win. New Zealand have now lost in both their warm-up games.England captain Eoin Morgan came into the XI after sitting out the game against India and lost the toss. England then lost Jason Roy first ball of the match, before Buttler took charge in a 48-run stand with Dawid Malan.Buttler was happy hitting through the line and over the infield during the powerplay, and even brought out his scoop, as he kept the pace up with Malan scratching his way to 11 off 15 at the other end.Sodhi was the only one to put the brakes on Buttler’s innings, and he went on to get Malan and then Morgan, the latter a fortuitous lbw for which he had barely appealed. Morgan seemed to have got a big inside edge on his attempted reverse sweep but was given out immediately on appeal.Buttler kept his scoring up, eventually falling for 73 after having hit 11 boundaries and two sixes. Jonny Bairstow batted at No. 5 and till the last over, but it was Sam Billings who made a ripple in the death overs with an unbeaten 17-ball 27.New Zealand’s chase took off immediately with Martin Guptill enjoying the pace of the pitch as he got off to his free-flowing best. Much like Buttler, Guptill looked far more comfortable than the batters at the other end as he got his eye in early. He holed out to long-on immediately after the powerplay, but his 41 off 20 had taken New Zealand to 66 by then.Devon Conway’s scrappy innings ended with a run-out and from that point on, England tied New Zealand up through Rashid and Wood, who took seven wickets between them as 81 for 2 swiftly turned to 103 for 9.But Astle and Sodhi made use of the five-and-some overs still left in the innings, with the asking rate not too far out of reach thanks to Guptill’s early exploits. Sodhi played the aggressor, taking a particular liking to Woakes, and Astle managed to get a six off Chris Jordan in the 19th over to leave New Zealand 15 to get off the last over. A scrappy victory wasn’t to be, though, as he stepped on his stumps trying to turn Woakes behind fine leg.

أكد فلوران إيبينجي المدير الفني لفريق الهلال السوداني، أنه لا يخشى الحضور الجماهيري في مباراة الأهلي، موضحًا أنه لديه حماس كبير للمواجهة المرتقبة.

ويواجه الأهلي نظيره الهلال السوداني، غدًا السبت باستاد القاهرة الدولي، ضمن منافسات الجولة السادسة لدور المجموعات بالبطولة القارية.

ويتواجد فريقا الأهلي والهلال السوداني في المجموعة الثانية التي تضم صن داونز والقطن الكاميروني.

وقال المدير الفني في تصريحات للمؤتمر الصحفي: “سعيد أنني متواجد في القاهرة وألعب مباراة مميزة وتاريخية أمام الأهلي ولدينا حماس كبير للمواجهة”.

وتابع: “سعيد باستقبال الأهلي لنا، ولم يكن هناك مشاكل في الاستقبال، جئنا للعب من أجل الصعود، ونعرف إمكانيات الأهلي جيدًا”.

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وأكمل: “وجود 50 ألف مشجع أمر ممتع لنا، وسعيد بهذه الأجواء وأتمنى أن يستمتع اللاعبين بالحضور الجماهيري في مثل هذه المباراة”.

وأختتم: “بالتأكيد اللعب بحضور جماهيري أمر جيد، ولكني لست خائفا من الحضور الجماهيري، المهم المباراة وأدائنا الفني خلال الـ90 دقيقة، وتركيزي منصب على إسعاد جماهير الهلال التي جاءت وكلفت نفسها خلفنا”.

كشفت تقارير صحفية بريطانية، أن لاعبي توتنهام يتوقعون أن رحيل مدربهم الإيطالي أنطونيو كونتي عن تدريب الفريق، هي مسألة وقت فقط.

أنطونيو كونتي هاجم اللاعبين بعد التعادل مع ساوثهامبتون مساء السبت، وكذلك النادي وسياسته في المنافسة على الألقاب.

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شبكة “سكاي” البريطانية، أكدت بأن وصف كونتي للاعبيه بأنهم يتعمدون الأنانية ويفكرون في أنفسهم فقط، جعلهم يفكرون أن رحيله أصبح مسألة وقت، بالنظر لسياسات الرئيس دانيل ليفي.

سينتهي عقد أنطونيو كونتي في الصيف، وإذا لم يرحل خلال الأيام القادمة، لن يكون هو مدرب توتنهام في الموسم المقبل، وسيبحث النادي عن مدير فني جديد خلال الفترة المقبلة.

اللاعبون أكدوا للرئيس أنهم على استعداد لتحمل المسؤولية عن النتائج والأداء، لكن لديهم شعور بأن كونتي تجاوز كل شيء عندما وصفهم بالأنانية في الإعلام، والتشكيك في التزامهم تجاه النادي.

توتنهام لن يلعب قبل أبريل المقبل، بسبب التوقف الدولي، وهو ما جعل دانيل ليفي يحصل على وقت للتفكير فيما سيحدث مع أنطونيو كونتي قبل العودة من جديد.

توتنهام سيعود للتدريبات غدًا الثلاثاء، وهذا ما كان سيحدث بغض النظر عن النتيجة، مع انضمام اللاعبين الدوليين لمنتخبات بلادهم.