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Nicholas Pooran scored his maiden hundred but was unable to be West Indies’ saviour

Sharda Ugra at Chester-le-Street01-Jul-2019The slender young man standing in front of the mixed zone was looking his age and revealing his limited experience. He’d just scored his highest international score for West Indies, a century in the World Cup in his ninth ODI, but couldn’t get out of his mind what had just transpired. He was asked to dissect his innings and his dismissal off the first ball from an ageing, creaking allrounder who hadn’t bowled a single ball for eight months.When Nicholas Pooran was out for 118, it signalled the end of West Indies’ stirring chase of a World Cup record target of 338 against Sri Lanka at the Riverside Stadium in a match that was deemed a dead rubber but had turned into an afternoon of high-pitched high drama. Yet all that Pooran in response, over and over again, could say was, “this is cricket” with a wobble in his voice.”It is unfortunate at the end of the day. I felt I had to capitalise in that over but it didn’t happen for me.” His eyes were faintly red but he was holding back a full-scale blubber, yet his words kept coming. “I’m just disappointed for us today. You know we were so close to win the game and … we just find ourselves some situation to lose our game… I was thinking of winning the game. The focus today was just on winning the game and it’s just so disappointing for me today.”ALSO READ: Fernando: The craziest ball of the 2019 World CupNinety minutes earlier, the same batsman had the Riverside crowd on their feet, West Indians hollering and hopeful, Sri Lankans in a state of panic as Caribbean batsmen by names other than Christopher Henry or Carlos Ricardo or Andre Dwayne, had begun the charge. It was the 35th over and by the time Pooran and Fabian Allen had got to the 45th, they had carved out 83 runs in 58 balls.”I knew once myself and Fabian was batting, we was in control,” Pooran said of the partnership. “Actually the bowlers didn’t know where to bowl and it got easy. Unfortunately then Fabian got run-out there and I felt a bit responsible for that, but we were in total control of the game and it just slipped.”As tough as Pooran was being on himself, West Indies couldn’t have imagined being where he had taken them. Coming in at No. 5, Pooran took control of West Indian aspiration and strung together partnerships for the fifth, sixth and seventh wickets that had put West Indies within 30 runs of victory with three overs to go. When Pooran arrived, it was 71 for 3 in the 16th over, at the fall of Chris Gayle’s wicket, and what looked like the end of any West Indian flamboyance in the pursuit.WATCH on Hotstar (India only) – Nicholas Pooran’s hundredPooran’s scores at the World Cup so far had read, 34*, 43, 64, 25, 1, 28, his failure to convert being singled out for attention. He has always been a batsman of inventive strokeplay and a range of shots, easily fitted into white-ball cricket with quicksilver feet and eyes able to pounce early on opportunity or a wavering of length. At the Riverside, Pooran batted above the chaos that had preceded him and beyond the crisis that appeared to be around the corner.He made his task simple, building partnerships with whoever was as the other end, “I had to control myself, build partnerships, which was the most important thing and try to go as deep as possible. I felt like I worked a lot harder for my runs [in] other games, I was getting good starts but just today I carried it on.”Pooran switched the tempo of a partnership to match his partner’s scoring shots and ensured he cut out risk when Allen was carving up the field. It was his skittishness against Kusan Rajitha in the 90s that was to lead to the mix-up and Allen’s run-out. Once Allen was gone it was clear, everything depended on Pooran before Mathews turned up.Nicholas Pooran played superbly to get his maiden ODI hundred•Getty ImagesWhen he was asked about the dismissal again, the young man crushed by the experience spoke. “One of them days,” he said, “I felt like, it was his day. First ball I got out, it’s cricket. Anything could have happened I could have hit that ball for six or four…” Matthews, all the wiser for his years, said: “Pooran was the man we needed. I was lucky to get him first ball before he clobbered me for a few sixes. He nearly got them through.”WATCH on Hotstar (US only) – SL v WI – Super knocksPooran has dealt with several nearlys in his life before this one. Four years ago he was close to nearly never playing cricket again, after a serious car accident that required two surgeries on his legs to have him up and walking again. He wasn’t a certainty to play in the World Cup XI but became a late induction into the team following injury to Evin Lewis and played the first match against Pakistan.What there has never been any reservation about, however, is his talent or what is expected of him. Pooran has already been given large boots to walk in. Captain Jason Holder said Pooran has, “the ability to change gears, he has every shot in the locker and the best we can do for him is to make sure we have things in place to help him develop.” Last week, Chris Gayle was lavish and described him as a “savage youngster” a “mini universe boss” and a “world record beater”. Pooran’s response was phlegmatic: “I know a lot of people say a lot of things about me but at the end if I can’t peform on the field then it makes no sense.”The world cup and the several crushing defeats he has been a part of could be the making of Nicholas Pooran. “It just wasn’t a successful tournament for us but every good sportsman knows you, you fail more than you win… Each day I want to get better and better.” He has spent a good number of his teenage years watching Brian Lara videos, “but I don’t want to be like anyone else. I just want to be Nicholas Pooran.”After his experience on a bitter Monday, of all the compliments he’s been paid there is a chance he would like one particular descriptor added onto his name. Nicholas Pooran, match-winner.

ESPNcricinfo correspondents pick out their names to keep an eye on at the Champions Trophy

27-May-2017Chris LynnAge 27, Right-hand batsman: 16 ODI runs at 16.00Will #Lynnsanity hit the Champions Trophy?•Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesChris Lynn is a six machine whose greatest challenge is staying on the scene. In the past three years, no player has smashed more sixes across all formats in Australia than Lynn’s 94, but the truly remarkable part of this feat is that during that time he hasn’t played a single match in Australia’s domestic one-day competition. The Matador Cup is a standalone tournament at the start of the Australian summer, and Lynn has suffered serious shoulder injuries shortly before the beginning of each of the past three home seasons. Thus, he has not played a one-day game for his state since 2013, and his only 50-over experience since then has come for Australia A. At least, until he made his ODI debut at the Gabba in January. Then came a neck injury, a productive start to the IPL, another shoulder injury, and a productive return to the IPL. And now Lynn finds himself a potentially key member of Australia’s batting order for the Champions Trophy, in the format with which he is least familiar. Still, Lynn’s ability to turn a limited-overs match in quick time – he once struck five consecutive sixes off a Ben Hilfenhaus over in the BBL – may well be transferable to the 50-over version.Key stat
94 – The number of sixes Lynn has hit in BBL history. He is comfortably the tournament’s all-time record holder: Aaron Finch is second with 56 sixes.
Brydon CoverdaleHardik PandyaAge 23, Allrounder: 160 ODI runs at 53.33, Nine ODI wickets at 32.88
Hardik Pandya could be the missing piece in the jigsaw for India•BCCIYou must know about the man who hoards ICC trophies, and his successor who chases targets with a fury somewhere between a jungle cat and a heat-seeking missile of doom. You might also remember the last time this Indian opener came back from injury, he made the highest score in ODI history. But have you seen Hardik Pandya yet? He has the backing of MS Dhoni (his first captain), Virat Kohli (his current captain) and Rohit Sharma (his IPL captain) because he hits big and he hits the deck hard. Pandya is one of only two players below the age of 27 in the squad and, if he goes well, he could be what India are looking for to complete their ODI team – someone who can clear the boundary from ball one. In January , he walked out to bat against England in the 47th over and began his innings with a four and six. He finished 19 off 9, his team won by 15 runs. Three days later, on a pitch that wouldn’t have looked out of place in Headingley, he made his first half-century, in a losing cause. Known for being a show-off, he’ll want to do better with much of the world watching.Key stat
Among those who have faced at least 100 balls for India in ODIs, Pandya’s strike-rate of 119.40 is the second-highest, behind his team-mate Kedar Jadhav’s 121.55.
Alagappan MuthuMark WoodAge 27, Right-arm fast bowler: 15 ODI wickets at 42.66
Eyes will always be on Mark Wood’s fitness•Getty ImagesThe statistics (15 wickets in 13 ODIs) look unremarkable, but Mark Wood’s pace provides some bite and variation to an England attack that can look just a little one-paced. Good enough – and quick enough – to have Joe Root admitting he looked as if he were “batting with my hands and feet on backwards” after the T20 Blast semi-final in which he took four wickets, Wood has the skill to bowl with the new ball or offer a threat once it is older and softer. It’s no secret that England’s batting is their stronger suit but, with Wood, and perhaps Liam Plunkett, England might also have the bowling power to make batting line-ups work harder on the fine surfaces anticipated for the Champions Trophy.Key stat
3 – The number of ankle operations Wood has undergone in the last 18 months. Had he been fully fit, he would surely be a first choice pick in all three formats.
George DobellBabar AzamAge: 22, Right hand batsman: 1322 ODI runs at 55.08Babar Azam has been a batting shining light for Pakistan•AFPPakistan’s batting production line seems to have dried up long ago, with a middle order that used to boast Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan having gone conspicuously barren. Batsmen have come in, Pakistan have made do, and said batsmen have gone out, only for the process to continue to repeat itself. But in Babar Azam, they appear to have found a special talent that most Pakistan fans had lost hope of unearthing in their own country. At 22, he appears to have the lot to prosper at ODI level – a mature mind, a modern strike rate, an astronomical average, and that rare quality among Pakistani batsmen: consistency. Three consecutive hundreds against West Indies last year brought his talents to wider attention, and impressive numbers in Australia even as his side lost the ODI series 4-1 meant he has continued to cement his status as one of the world’s most exciting youngsters. With just 122 runs in five ODIs, he was disappointing in England last year. But he has become a much better player since, and will be eager to make amends in what will be the biggest tournament of his young career so far.Key stat
Babar is the joint-fastest player to 1000 runs in ODI history. He took 21 innings to get there, the same number as Viv Richards, Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott and Quinton de Kock.
Danyal RasoolMorne MorkelAge 32, Right-arm fast bowler: 181 ODI wickets at 24.60Morne Morkel brings vast experience to South Africa’s attack having recovered from injury•Getty ImagesMorne Morkel’s limited-overs career seemed to end at the 2015 World Cup semi-final, where he crumpled to the floor in inconsolable disappointment after South Africa’s dramatic defeat. He only played in nine ODIs in the 16 months after that and was left out of the 2016 World T20 squad before sustaining a back injury that threatened to force him into premature retirement. A lengthy rehabilitation period culminated in Morkel playing two List A games for his domestic franchise, Titans, in the latter part of the home summer before being picked for the Test leg of South Africa’s tour to New Zealand in March, where he made a stirring comeback. Morkel was not only the quickest bowler in the South African pack, but also their most successful seamer. He bowled with renewed focus, increased aggression, impressive variety and excellent control. That performance resulted in Morkel being included in South Africa’s Champions Trophy squad despite not playing an ODI in almost 12 months, since the triangular tournament in the Caribbean in June 2016. With Dale Steyn out injured and Kyle Abbott having become a Kolpak player, Morkel may find himself tasked with opening the bowling alongside Kagiso Rabada as South Africa look to end their major tournament trophy drought.Key stat
Of the bowlers South Africa have at their disposal in the Champions Trophy, Morkel is the country’s leading wicket-taker. He needs five scalps to leapfrog Dale Steyn and 27 more to rack up 200 ODI wickets for South Africa.
Firdose MoondaTrent BoultAge 27, Left-arm pace bowler: 87 ODI wickets at 24.85World Cup reprisal: can Trent Boult start at another one-day tournament?•AFPExtra pace, a wristspinner, or a different angle. Those are the attributes that a captain is looking for in a one-day attack where wicket-taking is often the only way to slow the scoring. Trent Boult ticks that last category as one of the premier left-armers in the world. He is the leader of New Zealand’s attack – a more consistent performer than Tim Southee – and at 27 should be coming into his prime as a bowler. In terms of one-day cricket, it was a rapid rise too. He was not a fixture before the 2015 World Cup having played eight ODIs from his debut in 2012 until the start of the 2014-15 season in New Zealand but is now one of the first names on the team sheet. He has only played two ODIs in England, but his returns in them were notable as they came during 2015 series which at the time was highest scoring five-match series. At Edgbaston and The Oval, where England made scores of 408 and 365, he returned combined figures of 6 for 108 from 20 overs before injury ended his tour.Key stat
22: Boult was the joint-leading wicket-taker at the 2015 World Cup alongside Mitchell Starc
Andrew McGlashanTamim IqbalAge 28, Left-handed batsman: 5,385 runs at 33.24Tamim Iqbal so often sets the tone for Bangladesh at the top of the order•AFPTamim Iqbal has been one of Bangladesh’s pillars over the last ten years. And he goes in to bat when the challenge is at its highest – facing the new ball. He was a standout performer since the 2015 World Cup, making four of his eight ODI centuries during this period. He has been a consistent opening batsman, a rarity in Bangladesh until a few years ago. Tamim has set the standard for openers in Bangladesh, as selectors and scouts now look for solidity instead of only flamboyance. He has been quite good in the conditions he could encounter, scoring freely in Ireland during the preparatory tri-series competition. In 2010, he took Lord’s by storm with a stunning century, and through form dips and highs, remained Bangladesh’s flag-bearer opening the batting – a tough ask for many before him.Key stat
Tamim is Bangladesh’s leading run-getter in Tests and ODIs.
Mohammad IsamLakshan SandakanAge 25, Left-arm wrist-spinner: 5 ODI wickets at 51.40Lakshan Sandakan has the variations to flummox batsmen•Associated PressIt is in the longer format that Lakshan Sandakan made his first impression in international cricket, the ball whirring out of his hand, then bursting in either direction off the pitch, while Sri Lanka whitewashed Australia in Tests at home. But as he arrives at his first global tournament as his team’s lead spinner, even he might reflect that in ODIs, he has got the job by default – Rangana Herath having retired from the format, Sachithra Senanayake having been diminished since being reported for throwing, and Ajantha Mendis continually ailed by injury. Still, and though he lacks the control of the best limited-overs spinners, Sri Lanka hope Sandakan will become one of their primary wicket-takers during the tournament. Deployed in the middle overs, Sandakan’s big turn and well-disguised googly have the potential to disrupt an opposition charge, and to break the match open for his team. Useful too are his two straighter deliveries, which are used less often. For now, Sandakan has largely prospered when more experienced bowlers are building pressure at the other end. The Champions Trophy may be his opportunity to seize greater responsibility.Key stat
Sandakan is the first left-arm wristspinner to play for Sri Lanka, in any format.
Andrew Fidel Fernando

Both captains couldn’t have predicted how much a contentious DRS decision could affect the entire flow of a day’s play and, possibly, the course of the Test

Melinda Farrell in Adelaide28-Nov-2015In the lead up to this pink puzzle of a Test, both captains were asked about strategies they could employ to take advantage of the varying conditions as day turned into night and floodlights replaced sunshine.Brendon McCullum mused about over-rates and controlling the tempo, while Steven Smith who acknowledged the pink ball’s behaviour would vary, was less forthcoming on whether or not tactics would stray too far from those favoured in red ball cricket.But neither captain would have predicted how much a contentious DRS decision could affect the entire flow of a day’s play and, possibly, the course of this match.The Test was progressing at a rapid rate when third umpire Nigel Llong gave Nathan Lyon a controversial reprieve.Up to that point New Zealand’s bowlers had done an admirable job of suffocating Australia, as their seamers bowled tightly and patiently through the afternoon – when conditions were favourable for batting. The impact of McCullum’s tactic of spin from both ends was immediate as Mark Craig accounted for Smith and Peter Siddle in his second over, while Mitchell Santner bowled Josh Hazlewood soon after.Australia had slumped to 8 for 116 from 5 for 109 when Lyon joined Peter Nevill at the crease. With uncertainty surrounding the fitness of Mitchell Starc, New Zealand must have been confident of coming in to bat with a decent amount of sunlight remaining when Santner’s delivery appeared to graze Lyon’s bat.After Llong’s decision, in the second over after tea, Australia added 106 runs and, of equal – if not greater – importance, ate up valuable hours of sunlight. Nevill and Lyon, who swept with the freedom of a condemned man given a last-gasp pardon, dismantled the attack, and once Lyon was removed, a hobbling Starc was even more devastating.”That was the first time we knew Starc was going to come in, when Nevill stayed out there,” said Ross Taylor. “We always thought we would try to hang in there and we were only a couple of wickets away. The new ball does a lot under lights if we were able to a bit longer in that middle session it might have made things a bit easier.”Taylor denied that New Zealand had dropped their heads, but it was evident their rattled attack fell flat and were perhaps guilty of not searching for wickets in their eagerness to avoid facing the new ball under lights. “We have got limited knowledge of the pink ball but we know it’s going to do a bit more under lights and there’s a bit of a glow around it,” said Taylor. “It’s a little harder to see at the start of your innings. Everyone knows it’s going to do a little bit, how much, no one really knows.”The timing for the start of New Zealand’s second innings could hardly have been worse and, as for Australia the previous night, the final session was a test of survival skills.”We haven’t really seen an older ball at that time of night,” said Taylor, who managed 32 before being trapped lbw by Hazlewood. “If you have a 60-70 over ball, it won’t do as much. When it got to 60 overs, when we bowled, it didn’t do a lot. Anything upto 40-45 overs there’s still quite a good shine on the ball and the bowling team has a pretty good chance of getting wickets. Survival is a big thing but you’ve also got to score some runs too.”Timing and light are likely to be just as crucial on day three, and New Zealand will be clock-watching as they attempt to build a defendable lead, whatever that may be.”[There’s] definitely no figure, but whatever we end up with we’ve got to get wickets,” Taylor said. “Getting that new ball as close to twilight as possible. If we can keep our bowlers from not bowling as many overs tomorrow we give ourselves the best chance. Regardless of what happens we’ve got a couple of fighters out there and Hazlewood has to come back and bowl a few overs, hopefully he’s not as potent. No team’s been able to get to that second new ball.”As with so many factors in this experimental Test, while some pieces of the puzzle are falling in to place, the full picture has yet to emerge.

Alastair Cook’s qualities as England captain have been widely debated. England’s five-Test series against India is about to determine his future

George Dobell08-Jul-2014Amid all the advice and criticism heaped towards Alastair Cook in recent weeks, one truism has shone out: he needs to score more runs if he is to be an effective captain of England.Cook may never be a Churchillian orator or a Napoleonic strategist. He may never shock or inspire with his words or his tactics.But leadership comes in many forms. And the Cook who scored back-to-back centuries in Ahmedabad and Mumbai, the Cook who insisted that Kevin Pietersen was recalled at the end of 2012, the Cook who made seven centuries in his first 11 Tests as captain and the Cook who won nine and lost only one of his first 15 Tests as captain, did inspire and lift his team.He might not offer genius, but he does offer hard work, commitment and determination. He led by example.Whether such qualities are enough to succeed at this level remains to be seen. Indeed, the next seven weeks may define Cook’s rein as captain; if England lose, it is hard to see how he can continue in the role.But Cook’s successes as captain seem to have been air-brushed out of history in recent times. To win in India, particularly having been a Test down, is a fine achievement. And, less than a year ago, he led England to a 3-0 Ashes victory. The complacency with which that result was greeted now seems incredible.He has obvious limitations. His inability to find a solution to the Pietersen dilemma has not only weakened his side, but instigated a saga that continues to weigh him down. Equally he has struggled to integrate some characters – the likes of Nick Compton, Simon Kerrigan and Boyd Rankin – into a set-up that, if it were a little more hospitable, might coax the best out of more players.But most of the criticism he has attracted has been for more mundane factors. It has been for his conservative field placings and safety-first declarations. It has been for a continuation of the tactics employed by Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower in taking England to No. 1 in the Test rankings and factors that constitute a relatively small fraction of the role of captain.He knows he has to improve. He knows that his seamers will have to be utilised in shorter spells if they are to remain effective. He knows he has to find a way to cope without Graeme Swann’s control and he knows there may be times when he has to be more inventive in the field.But many of his faults have been exaggerated. While England certainly did not cover themselves in glory at Leeds, Shane Warne’s suggestion that Cook’s leadership was the worst he had seen in 25 years was hyperbole. In that period, we have seen captains urge players to underperform for money and to manipulate games for a leather jacket. In the grand scheme of things, Cook’s decision to persist with a deep extra cover rather than a third slip does not amount to much.Cook does not necessarily have to change his attritional style. It worked for Strauss and, if it comes naturally to Cook, it is better he sticks with it rather than trying to reinvent himself as an aggressive, risk-taker. It is just not his way and, in truth, it has rarely been the England way.Besides, Cook was let down by his senior players as much as his own decision making against Sri Lanka. Many of the tactical failings for which he has been blamed would have been masked if his seamers had bowled fuller and his wicketkeeper taken a couple of chances. The fact that four players have registered centuries in their second Tests in recent months might even suggest that the team environment is improving.It is hard to recall a time when England have had a captain that has not attracted an almost unbearable amount of criticism. Certainly Andrew Strauss, who even with his team at No. 1 in the Test ratings, faced calls to step down, knows how Cook is feeling. So does Mike Gatting, whose side won none of his final 14 Test in charge.Even the best of recent vintage such as Mike Brearley, whose Test batting average of 22.88 would have seen him under immense pressure in the modern era, and Michael Vaughan, who was captain when England lost the 2007 series against India, had to deal with similar issues at one stage or another. Like the manager of the England football team, it is becoming a job in which it is impossible to please.But, in the short term, the fact remains that many of the problems Cook currently faces will fade away if he can only rediscover his form with the bat. Without a century in 24 innings and averaging only 25.04 in that time, Cook knows he is not pulling his weight at a batsman. With little tactical acumen to compensate, that weakness is exacerbated.There is no reason to suspect his dip in form – prolonged though it is – should be terminal. Anyone capable of making 25 Test centuries by the age of 28 has proved they are an exceptional player and, aged 29 now, the best may be ahead of him. The suggestion that bowlers have only just started testing him outside off stump seems naïve; it was always the default angle of attack.”I’m desperately keen to lead from the front,” Cook said on the eve of the Trent Bridge Test. “I know how important it is at the top of the order to do that.”I’m in there because I’m one of the top six batters in the country. My job is to score the runs and set up the game for England. It doesn’t matter whether you’re captain or not.”I haven’t been doing that over the last year or so and no one is keener than me to put that right. I’ve worked very hard over the last 10 days. I’ve just got to make sure my mind is totally clear so that when I go out there I can concentrate on the most important thing, which is that ball coming down.”The India management, to their immense credit, have not sought to capitalise on Cook’s difficulties. After the coach, Duncan Fletcher, backed him to recover his form at the start of tour media conference, their captain, MS Dhoni, utilised his pre-series media conference to urge Cook to ignore the criticism.But other critics will be relentless and Cook admitted that he had required a “thick skin” in recent weeks. But he also reiterated his determination not to step down from the role whatever happens in the next 42 days.”You have to be determined and stick to your guns. We all know you are judged on results and results have not been good enough. If we turn it round and win games of cricket things will be different.”I’m incredibly proud to be England captain. I have thrown everything into it and continue to. Until that day the selectors decide I’m not the right man for the job I will continue to. It is a huge honour to do this and I can go to sleep knowing that I’ve thrown everything I’ve got into it.”Cook’s hard work and determination have never been in doubt. The next seven weeks may well determine whether they are enough.

David Warner and Ed Cowan both made hundreds against South Africa but they have a way to go to make themselves a long-term opening pair

Brydon Coverdale04-Dec-2012Here’s a sobering statistic: in Australia’s 135-year Test history, only one long-term opening pair has had a worse start than Ed Cowan and David Warner. Sounds unbelievable? They’ve both made Test hundreds, they’ve both contributed to victories, but in 17 innings together they have managed only four half-century stands. The only pair with a worse record who survived much beyond 17 innings worked on mud-heaps and matting in the 1950s. But more of that later.The immediate question is, Why does Australia’s opening combination rarely get much further than the first hour? And with an Indian tour and back-to-back Ashes coming up next year, how long can they be given to improve? It might seem a churlish argument given they both scored centuries against South Africa. For now, Australia’s selectors are committed to Cowan and Warner, and want to allow them time to settle into a cohesive coupling. But nearly a year into this arranged top-order marriage, Warner’s wandering eye is a worry.It is easy to forget that Warner is still learning the game, not just Test cricket but first-class cricket as well. Cowan has honed his approach over nine seasons of Sheffield Shield cricket, most as an opener. Warner was given a baggy green after 11 first-class games. Half of his 24 first-class matches have been Tests. He has played roughly the same amount of first-class cricket as Joe Burns and Mitchell Marsh, and about a quarter as much as Phillip Hughes.It is no surprise that Cowan generally survives longer. Twelve times the partnership has been ended by Warner’s wicket falling, only five times by Cowan’s departure. Ten times Cowan has batted for at least an hour and a half in a Test innings, double the amount of times Warner has managed it. At his best, Warner can utterly destroy an opposition, as he did against India at the WACA last summer. But at his worst, his poor shot selection can hand control back to the bowling team.In the first innings of Australia’s loss to South Africa in Perth, Warner’s dismissal was unquestionably a turning point. Australia began the second day in some trouble at 2 for 33. It was a time to consolidate, to build a platform for the middle order to work from. Seven balls into the morning, Warner flashed loosely outside off with his bat at 45 degrees – a cardinal sin at the WACA – and was given out caught behind off Dale Steyn. It brought a tense Ricky Ponting to the crease earlier than he hoped in his final Test.There will be those who argue that Warner plays that way, you take the good with the bad. But in Hobart last year, he showed that he can build a different style of innings. His unbeaten 123 against New Zealand was a perfectly-paced innings. As wickets fell around him, Warner showed good judgment, left plenty of deliveries alone and only started to lift his tempo when he was joined by the tail. Australia fell eight runs short of their target, but that they got so close was down to Warner.It’s an approach he has rarely shown since. It’s as if Warner wanted to prove he could bat carefully, and once he had, he felt free to go back to his natural game. But Test cricket isn’t like that. There are times when a Test opener can cut loose, but over and over and over he must show that he can handle the swinging ball, leave deliveries that tempt him, and give the middle order something to work with. Perhaps Warner has forgotten that, and a lead-up to the South African series spent travelling with the Champions League Twenty20 circus didn’t help.More often than not, the middle order is left mopping up a mess. In their first 17 innings together, Cowan and Warner have managed four half-century stands (and only one partnership that has reached triple figures). The very best pairs have invariably begun well. Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer had nine half-century stands in their first 17 innings together. Michael Slater and Mark Taylor had eight, Taylor and Geoff Marsh eight, Marsh and David Boon six, Bill Lawry and Bob Simpson six.Only three opening combinations have had fewer half-century stands in their first 17 innings than Cowan and Warner. Simon Katich and Matthew Hayden had three; Hayden’s decline and retirement ended that. Graeme Wood and Andrew Hilditch had one; after 18 innings together they were separated.The one combination that lasted a little longer was Colin McDonald and Jim Burke, who had one fifty stand in their first 17. They were given another 15 innings. McDonald and Burke had a tough gig on uncovered pitches in the 1950s. In Manchester in 1956 they opened in the Test in which Jim Laker took 19 wickets, on a surface McDonald described as resembling Bondi Beach in the first innings and a mud-heap in the second. They also had to bat on matting in Pakistan, a surface that made Fazal Mahmood unplayable.Warner and Cowan have faced some good attacks, but they can’t blame conditions for their record together. Over the next three Tests against Sri Lanka, they have a chance to show that they can be Australia’s long-term opening pair. Cowan needs to prove that his Gabba hundred was not a one-off, but at least he is consistently occupying time. Warner must demonstrate again and again that he can judge a situation.Notably, Hughes is piling on Shield runs, and pressure. There is every chance he will join the Test side at No. 3 against Sri Lanka in Hobart, the first of seven Tests before the Ashes. But if he finds himself coming in regularly at 1 for 20, 1 for 30, 1 for 40, he might be a Test opener again by the time Australia visit England.

There is nothing like a fine catch – like Jean Symes’ to remove Ramnaresh Sarwan – to give any match a kick up the backside

Telford Vice in Johannesburg19-Sep-2010″There is,” Rodgers and Hammerstein concluded in ‘South Pacific’, in an age when all men were hairy and every woman was a fairy, “nothin’ like a dame.”Similarly, in cricket, in any era you would care to mention, there is nothing like a fine catch to give any match a kick up the backside. That holds true even in the rock ‘n roll format of the game and its current gig, the Champions League T20.You can keep the smashing pumpkins that arch way over the tightly wrapped groupies on the midwicket boundary, as well as the balls of fire that cut an AC/DC zigzag as they clatter through some thunderstruck unfortunate’s stumps. Nevermind those jumping jack flashes, give us a catch to build a dream on. Baby, I like it.’Twas just such a catch that stirred some ziggy stardust into the game between the Highveld Lions and Guyana at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Sunday, bloody Sunday.In the fifth over, Craig Alexander, a bowler who seems to have muddled the order of his alleged “fast-medium” status, steamed in to deliver his first ball of the match. Alexander’s effort spewed wide of off-stump. Ramnaresh Sarwan shaped to drive it square, and he duly connected. But not as squarely as he would have liked, and the fat sound of a thick edge guffawed around the ground.Then it happened. One moment Jean Symes was awaiting anything, as is the wont of those who patrol the no-man’s land of backward point. The next he was presented with the impossibility of catching a ball screaming more than a metre to his right and just as far above his head. A moment after that, Symes did something presumptuous. That’s right, the silly bugger tried to take the catch.But a funny thing happened on the way to Symes making a fool of himself: he didn’t. He spearheaded his dive with both hands, one behind the other, straight out of the Jonty Rhodes manual on how to make the impossible possible. He couldn’t catch it, surely … could he?As it turned out, Symes and the ball were on a collision course, a bespoke pair of vicious vectors. Smack went the ball into the hands. Crash went Symes to earth. Mad went the crowd when it became plain that he had held on to his prize. Sarwan slunk off, stage left, like a scolded sloth as the celebrations soared and then gave way to the Sunday afternoon sleepiness seeping back into the scene.Not that Alexander’s adrenalin would allow him to take a nap. The catch and the audacity of its taking transformed him into a bowler eminently more fast than medium. He zipped through the rest of his four overs at speeds significantly higher than his regular range. It might not sound like a long way from the upper-130s to 148 kph, but it is.Some said they had seen Alexander hit 150 kph before. Others doubted that. But there was no disputing that his blood was aboil as he roared and ripped at his quarry with unvarnished aggression. Clearly, the magic of the catch was at work.A less dizzy analysis of this match might argue that it was won and lost by a Guyana outfit that already had one foot and their kit on the plane home, or by Ethan O’Reilly’s bristling bowling – which earned him career-best figures of 4 for 27 – or by the unbroken stand of 133 between Alviro Petersen and Richard Cameron, in which 96 runs flew and flowed in fours and sixes.But this is no time for sober comment. A catch to conjure with isn’t taken every other day. When it is, the moment deserves to be savoured as sublimely as possible. Stuck in a moment with you, it really is the sweetest thing.

Cricinfo looks at the careers of Jacques Kallis and Shaun Pollock as they reach 100 Tests

Andrew McGlashan15-Apr-2006

1995-96
Pollock made his debut against England, at Centurion Park, claiming Graham Thorpe as his first Test wicket and ending as the pick of South Africa’s attack in the rain-ruined game. Kallis debuted two matches later, at Durban, but was less successful making just 1. Pollock played a key role as South Africa clinched the series against England 1-0. He took 5 for 32 in the second innings at Cape Town, setting up a 10-wicket victory.1996-97
Both players missed South Africa’s next Test series, away to India, through injury but returned in the following home season. Pollock played all season, and scored his first Test half-century against India, at Johannesburg, but Kallis had to wait for the visit of Australia for a recall and still struggled to make an impression.1997-98
Kallis hit his first half-century at Rawalpindi and 1997-98 turned into his breakthrough season when he made his maiden century against Australia, at Melbourne, and guided South Africa to a fighting draw. Pollock, meanwhile, found golden form with the ball with 5 for 37 bowling South Africa to a 53-run, series-levelling win, against Pakistan at Faisalabad then took 7 for 87 against Australia at Adelaide, completing his first 10-wicket haul in Tests.1998
Kallis hit 132 against England at Old Trafford, the Test where England famously hung on for a draw before claiming the series 2-1. Pollock missed that match and was unable to carry South Africa home at Headingley, being left stranded when the last wicket fell.

1998-99
The two allrounders played leading roles in the 5-0 demolition of West Indies. Kallis enjoyed an outstanding series with bat and ball scoring 485 runs and taking 17 wickets. This included a stunning performance at Cape Town where he scored 110, 88 not out and took seven wickets in the match. Pollock was no less impressive as his 29 wickets came at just 16 runs apiece.
1999-00
Kallis’ 105 put South Africa on track to claim the series against England at Cape Town then, in the following tour to India, batted for over seven hours at Bangalore for 95 as they won the series 2-0.
2000
Pollock was thrust into the captaincy after the Hansie Cronje match-fixing scandal and draws his first series, against Sri Lanka, thanks to a seven-run win at Kandy. Kallis contributes a vital 87.2000-01
Kallis started the South African season in style with 160 against South Africa at Bloemfontein and later that summer Pollock struck his first Test century – 111 against Sri Lanka at Centurion. He didn’t have to wait long for his second as he made 106 at Bridgetown, on the tour of West Indies, while Kallis switched the focus from bat to ball with a 10-wicket haul in the same match to seal the series.
2001-02
Kallis began a wonderful run of form with unbeaten scores of 157 and 189 (still a career-best) against Zimbabwe. Pollock scored a century in the Test-that-never-was against India, at Centurion, after the third match of the series was stripped of official status. Pollock had taken 10 wickets in the first match at Bloemfontein.
2003
Pollock lost the captaincy to Graeme Smith following a poor World Cup. Kallis missed the tour of Bangladesh then the first two Tests against England, but returned to take 6 for 39 as South Africa won at Headingley. Pollock took 6 for 39 in a losing cause at Trent Bridge.

2003-04
Pollock becomes South Africa’s leading wicket-taker when he dismisses Michael Papps at Auckland, overtaking Allan Donald’s tally of 330. Kallis amassed four centuries in four Tests against West Indies and added to his extraordinary run of form with an unbeaten 150 against New Zealand at Hamilton.2004-05
Runs continued to flow for Kallis as he struck three centuries against England. However, wickets started to dry up for Pollock although he took 4 for 65 in the second innings at Cape Town – South Africa’s only win of the series. Kallis hit the fastest Test fifty – 24 balls – against a depleted Zimbabwe before two more tons in West Indies, where he became South Africa’s leading Test run-scorer by passing Gary Kirsten’s 7289 in Antigua.2005-06
Both were selected for the Super Series – Kallis made the starting XI for the Test but Pollock was twelfth man. A tough winter of cricket followed for the pair against Australia. Kallis made gutsy centuries at Sydney (111) and Durban (114), while he regained the knack of picking up useful wickets and sustained his place at the top of the allrounder rankings. He was named captain when Smith missed the final Test against Australia at Johannesburg.

MatériaMais Notícias

O início de 2023 encerrou diversos vínculos de jogadores que estavam em final de contrato com clubes brasileiros. Para situá-los sobre as movimentações desta janela de transferências, nós do LANCE! decidimos listar alguns atletas experientes que acabaram de deixar seus times e estão livres no mercado.

+Mercado da Bola – Acompanhe as movimentações dos clubes nesta janela de transferências

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CONFIRA JOGADORES EXPERIENTES QUE DEIXARAM SEUS CLUBES E ESTÃO LIVRES NO MERCADO:

Miranda – Após duas temporadas, Miranda se despediu do São Paulo. Ao longo da carreira, teve passagens pela Seleção Brasileira e atuou em grandes clubes do futebol europeu como Atlético de Madrid e Inter de Milão. O zagueiro tem 38 anos e está livre para assinar com algum clube.

Diego Alves – Goleiro se despediu do Flamengo após cinco anos recheados de conquistas expressivas. Ficou conhecido na Europa por ser pegador de pênaltis. Ele está com 37 anos e ainda não definiu seu futuro no futebol.

Lucas Lima – Com passagens pela Seleção Brasileira e fase espetacular no Santos, Lucas Lima não permanecerá no Palmeiras. O meia de 32 anos esteve emprestado ao Fortaleza na última temporada e também está livre no mercado.

Elkeson – Após disputar a Série B pelo Grêmio, Elkeson está livre no mercado. O atacante teve destaque no Botafogo em 2011 e se notabilizou pelos gols feitos no futebol chinês. Atualmente está com 33 anos.

André – Após disputar esta última temporada pelo Cuiabá, André está livre no mercado. O atacante teve passagens por diversos clubes do futebol brasileiro e atualmente está com 32 anos.

CONFIRA TAMBÉM OUTROS JOGADORES EXPERIENTES QUE ESTÃO LIVRES NO MERCADO HÁ MAIS TEMPO:

Wellignton Nem – O atacante está livre no mercado desde julho. Nem se destacou em 2012 pelo Fluminense e atuou por sete anos no futebol russo. O jogador atualmente está com 30 anos.

Diego Tardelli – Com passagem marcante pelo Atlético-MG, convocações para Seleção Brasileira e carreira na China, Diego Tardelli está livre no mercado desde janeiro de 2022.

Alexandre Pato – Com passagens por Seleção Brasileira, São Paulo, Internacional, Corinthians e gigantes clubes europeu, Pato está livre no mercado. O atacante tem recebido sondagens de alguns clubes brasileiros e avalia um retorno aos gramados na próxima temporada.

أعلن المدير الفني لفريق مانشستر سيتي، بيب جوارديولا، القائمة المستدعاة لخوض المباراة الودية المرتقبة، غدًا، ضد باليرمو في إطار الاستعدادات للموسم الجديد 2025/26.

وسيبدأ مانشستر سيتي موسم الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز يوم السبت 16 أغسطس الجاري بمباراة ضد ولفرهامبتون.

وكان مانشستر سيتي قد خاض مباراة ودية مع فريق بريستون خلف الأبواب المغلقة، وفاز بنتيجة 1-0، وذلك عقب المشاركة في كأس العالم للأندية، يونيو الماضي، والخروج من دور الـ16 على يد الهلال السعودي.

اقرأ أيضًا.. مانشستر سيتي يعلن رحيل لاعبه إلى الدوري الإسباني

وشهدت قائمة مانشستر سيتي لمباراة باليرمو تواجد النجم المصري عمر مرموش، الذي انضم إلى السكاي بلو قادمًا من آينتراخت فرانكفورت في يناير الماضي.

في حين غاب ثلاثة من اللاعبين عن القائمة، دون وجود عذر أو إصابة، وهم ستيفان أورتيجا، جيمس ميكاتي وجاك جريليش، وسط تكهنات مستمرة حول مستقبله. قائمة مانشستر سيتي لمباراة باليرمو الودية

حراسة المرمى: إيدرسون، جيمس ترافورد.

خط الدفاع: ريكو لويس، عبد القادر خوسانوف، ماتيوس نونيز، روبن دياز، مانويل أكانجي، جون ستونز، ناثان آكي، ريان آيت نوري، نيكو أوريلي.

خط الوسط: نيكو جونزاليس، إيلكاي جوندوجان، بيرناردو سيلفا، تيجاني ريندرز، ديفاين موكاسا، ريان شرقي.

خط الهجوم: أوسكار بوب، سافيو، عمر مرموش، إيرلينج هالاند، جيريمي دوكو.

‘That was the slowest pitch a visiting team could ever play on in Australia,” Pakistan team director says

Danyal Rasool11-Dec-2023Pakistan team director Mohammad Hafeez has criticised the pitch and conditions laid out for Pakistan’s warm-up game in Canberra, saying he was “really surprised and disappointed by the arrangements.”Speaking to reporters at the WACA ground following Pakistan’s morning training session, Hafeez said Pakistan were excited by the challenge, but appeared particularly irked by the tour arrangements for game against the PM XI in Canberra, at one point implying it might have been tactical.”That was the slowest pitch a visiting team could ever play on in Australia,” he said. “As a team we are really happy with our preparations because we ticked most of the boxes.”Everyone knew [the pitch wasn’t what we wanted], so there was no point of saying it again and again and raising the issue with Cricket Australia. The disappointment was really high because we weren’t expecting these kinds of arrangements. Maybe it’s tactical but we’re ready for it. We’re not using it as an excuse, we’re absolutely ready for the challenges coming up.”The PM XI game has traditionally been a limited-overs game in the Australian capital city, but has been played as a four-day contest over the past two years. Only three days of play were possible, with a freak storm bringing an early conclusion to the game. Pakistan batted 116.2 overs and scored 391 for 9 before declaring. But on a noticeably slow surface, they toiled for 141 overs, managing just four wickets.Related

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The game being a proper first-class game meant they could only use eleven players, and were further reduced to ten when Abrar Ahmed went off with an injury that has now ruled him out of the first Test.While Hafeez – and Pakistan – were clearly upset by the variance between the conditions they wanted and the ones they got, the weather may have had a bigger say in it than any tactical considerations. There was significant rain in the lead-up to the game, to the extent the ground was underwater at one stage, so preparing a pitch to any particular specifications was always going to be a challenge. In addition, the Manuka Oval has historically tended to offer flat decks, with limited pace on offer. Recently, the outfield was relaid, and was also quite slow.But there were positives to take from the contest for Hafeez, most notably in the form of the new Pakistan captain Shan Masood’s innings. Masood scored an unbeaten 201 in an innings where none of his team-mates managed a half-century. Hafeez was particularly effusive about him and his abilities as a leader.”For me, seeing Shan become captain is no surprise” Hafeez said. “He was always ready for this role, and when you get this sort of opportunity, it shines. He’s a superb player, and as a leader, he’s got a great rapport with the players and a great relationship with the whole team. His experience as a captain and what he’s learned over the years – especially the couple of years he’s played county cricket – have all seen his management skills have come to the fore even more. What’s important is this is a confident unit that’s here and Shan is playing his role very well.Hafeez also insisted he wasn’t pointing out his disappointment with the Canberra surface as an excuse, saying he was confident this team had the ability to walk away with a series win. Pakistan have traditionally found playing in Australia harder than anywhere else, having lost their last 14 Tests on the bounce in the country, spanning five whitewashes.”This Test team is very settled. They’ve all done a great job for Pakistan cricket. Everyone is excited to take the challenge. Performing in Australia would be great for them. We are here to beat Australia, not just to compete.”As a team, we believe we have great talent within the team who can win in Australia. The guys are really hungry to perform in Australia. They wanted to take that excitement and challenge in the right spirit. The message the team conveyed is they want to beat Australia this time.”