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“He may be cast in bronze, but he’s still capable of producing truly golden moments”, were the words Jon Champion cried when Thierry Henry scored that goal for Arsenal.

Titi, as he became known, had been there and done it all with the Gunners.

A Highbury legend, the great Frenchman is the club’s all-time record goalscorer, he holds the record for the most assists (20) in a single Premier League season and has countless honours to show for his efforts.

He is a multiple Golden Boot winner, a league winner, an FA Cup winner and he even has a World Cup winner’s medal. He is, arguably, the greatest player never to have won a Ballon d’Or.

So, when he returned on loan from New York Red Bulls during Arsene Wenger’s final years in north London, he was only going to deal in one currency: goals.

While he may have been reduced to a bit-part player, the magic was still there, netting that vintage goal against Leeds in the FA Cup to which we’ve already referred, before scoring a winner against Sunderland.

Henry joins fellow club legends Dennis Bergkamp and Tony Adams in having been cast as a statue outside the Emirates Stadium.

Since those memories were erected, supporters have longed for similar times. They have not won the league since the Invincibles side of 2003/04. How they would love for that to change.

21 years on and there is a sense this is their greatest chance of winning it since. The likes of Bukayo Saka and Co may well find themselves cast in bronze outside the stadium before too long.

Why a statue awaits Bukayo Saka

Has the Emirates era ever seen a more dazzling player than Saka?

The likes of Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez would all have something to say about that but none of them were loved quite as much as Saka.

He is Arsenal through and through. Born in London, raised in Hale End. The winger has been with the Gunners since he was a wee lad and has been the poster boy for Mikel Arteta’s project.

Saka’s emergence came under Unai Emery but it’s Arteta who has helped him become a household name, Arsenal’s talisman and one of the first names on the team sheet for England.

The 24-year-old’s rise to stardom has been quite something. Starting out in the senior ranks as a makeshift left-back, he is now ranked among the best wingers in the world. He’s done it Gareth Bale style and he’s now got the numbers to showcase why he’s quickly becoming an Arsenal legend.

No player has appeared more under Arteta than Saka and overall, he has now been seen decked in Arsenal colours on 272 occasions, scoring 73 and assisting 71 goals.

Arteta’s most used players

Player

Games

1. Bukayo Saka

252

2. Gabriel

221

3. Gabriel Martinelli

218

4. Martin Odegaard

204

5. Thomas Partey

166

6. Ben White

163

7. Eddie Nketiah

149

8. Granit Xhaka

147

9. William Saliba

144

10. Leandro Trossard

133

Saka only has one trophy to his name, an FA Cup, but if Arsenal’s vice-captain can help lead them to Premier League or Champions League glory, then he will surely be immortalised alongside Henry and Co outside the stadium.

Alongside him could well be the club’s new Adams.

Arsenal’s new Tony Adams is heading towards statue territory

Without Saka in recent years, Arteta’s attack would have lacked sparkle. After all, it is in the final third where their biggest problems have been found.

Largely due to Saka and Kai Havertz’s long-term hamstring injuries, the 2024/25 campaign was the first since 1923/24 that an Arsenal player failed to score double figures in the league.

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Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

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So what has the bedrock of Arteta’s success been built on? The defence.

When the Spaniard first took charge of Arsenal, the backline was a mess. His opening match in charge against Bournemouth saw Saka fielded alongside a pairing of Sokratis and David Luiz, while Ainsley Maitland-Niles featured at right back.

Sokratis and Luiz are far from the worst defenders Arsenal have had; think the likes of Rob Holding and Shkodran Mustafi in that regard.

That’s a sign of just how far the Gunners have come under Arteta’s stewardship. For those who criticise them for being boring, just think of what it used to be like.

Mikel Arteta’s first Arsenal XI

GK – Bernd Leno

RB – Ainsley Maitland-Niles

CB – Sokratis

CB – David Luiz

LB – Bukayo Saka

CM – Lucas Torreira

CM – Granit Xhaka

CAM – Mesut Ozil

RW – Reiss Nelson

LW – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

CF – Alexandre Lacazette

The year before Arsenal’s former skipper returned to manage the club, 2018/19, the Gunners shipped 51 goals, the most they have ever conceded across a single Premier League campaign.

Fast forward to the present day and there is arguably no better defensive side in Europe. They are yet to concede across their three Champions League ties and have conceded just three goals in the Premier League, only one of which has been scored from open play. That came courtesy of Erling Haaland and we can excuse that. The man is a machine.

As a result, they are on course to concede just 14 league goals, thus bettering that remarkable campaign by Chelsea in 2004/05 when they let in only 15. That statistic still defies belief.

Arteta has strengthened his backline enormously and in Gabriel Magalhaes, he has found a player who may well be worthy of a statue once all is said and done. Indeed, he is the Tony Adams of the present day.

A ferocious leader, a damn good defender, and a scorer of goals, there isn’t a lot the Brazilian can’t do.

To think he once cost only £27m is incredible. He now looks every bit a £100m centre-back.

Over the last few years, it’s William Saliba who’s gained the most vocal praise from pundits. The French superstar is a Rolls-Royce defender but onlookers are quickly realising that it is indeed Gabriel who is the glue of this team.

Saliba oozes class and composure but Gabriel is certainly more of a leader of men. He not only does that with his talking but his actions speak a thousand words.

It was Jamie Carragher who admitted last season that the French defender looks a little lost when his partner in crime isn’t playing but the same cannot be said for Gabriel who is becoming Mr Reliable.

To rubber-stamp just how good the former Lille star is, he has won 77% of his ground duels in the league this season. For context, of English top-flight defenders to win more than ten ground duels, he ranks joint-fifth for percentage of ground duels won, sitting level with the great Virgil van Dijk.

But, it’s Gabriel’s offensive record that is the most striking. If a corner or free-kick gets swung, you can bet your house on the fact that the big Brazilian is likely to score a header from it. As Arsenal writer Adam Keys put it, he is a “colossus”.

He was involved in two of the goals against Atletico Madrid during the 4-0 win earlier in the week. Declan Rice’s swinging free-kick was nodded home to open the scoring and Gabriel then provided the assist from Rice’s corner for Viktor Gyokeres to bag his second of the evening.

The simple fact of the matter is that Gabriel is a clutch player. No centre-back in Europe’s top five leagues has scored more goals than his tally of 22 since 2020/21.

In league football alone, he has scored 18, a tally that places him second behind Laurent Koscielny (22) for goals scored by an Arsenal defender in the Premier League.

He is a modern-day great, a pillar of solidity, a warrior, a leader, a titan. Should Arsenal go on to create a title-winning dynasty, then Gabriel will surely be in with a shout of being cast in bronze. He is that good.

Former midfielder Jamie O’Hara has slammed two Tottenham Hotspur stars in the wake of the 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa on Sunday, branding their performances “painful”.

Spurs fall to sixth after Aston Villa defeat

Tottenham suffered their second Premier League defeat of the season at the weekend, suffering a 2-1 loss at home against Villa, which means they have now fallen to sixth in the table.

On the balance of play, it was a relatively even game, with very few big chances being created by either side, but the visitors were ultimately more clinical, and Morgan Rogers’ first-half goal was particularly eye-catching.

Thomas Frank admitted the loss was a fair result in his post-match interview, saying: “I don’t think we did enough. If we’d done enough we wouldn’t have lost this game. I don’t think we gave too much away, they scored two goals from outside the box. But I think we can also create more for ourselves.”

As you’d probably expect, O’Hara was a little more scathing in his assessment of Spurs’ performance, taking to X to single out two players in particular for heavy criticism.

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The former midfielder said: “We’re so frustrating to watch it’s painful, why is Tel playing? Why is Odebert starting? They are not good enough, we need more than just long throws, our home form needs to be million times better.”

Tottenham must improve ahead of tricky run of fixtures

Frank’s side’s fixtures have been relatively kind on paper so far this season, but things are about to get more difficult, with upcoming Premier League opponents Everton still undefeated at home since their move to the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Tottenham’s next five Premier League fixtures

Date

Everton (a)

October 26th

Chelsea (h)

November 1st

Manchester United (h)

November 8th

Arsenal (a)

November 23rd

Fulham (h)

November 29th

As such, Spurs must start showing signs of improvement soon, and O’Hara is right to be concerned about Odobert’s performances, with the winger still yet to register a single goal or assist in eight Premier League games this season.

Tel has also disappointed since his arrival, scoring just four goals in 28 outings, and the 20-year-old struggled once again on Sunday afternoon, receiving a 6.1 SofaScore match rating before being withdrawn on the hour mark.

Consequently, Frank could do with Dominic Solanke returning sooner rather than later, and the Tottenham boss recently provided a promising update on the centre-forward’s return from injury, saying: “The good thing is it’s positive, he’s progressing now. But he’s still training on his own. I don’t want to be too excited or too negative either way, so I’m actually taking it a little bit day-by-day and week-by-week to see how quick he progresses.”

تعرض منتخب الإمارات تحت 17 عامًا، للخسارة أمام كرواتيا، في المباراة التي جمعت بينهما في دور المجموعات من بطولة كأس العالم تحت 17 عامًا. 

وواجه منتخب الإمارات نظيره كرواتيا، في الساعة الخامسة وربع مساء بتوقيت القاهرة، في إطار منافسات الجولة الثانية من دور المجموعات من بطولة كأس العالم تحت 17 عامًا، التي تقام في الدوحة. 

طالع.. ترتيب مجموعة تونس في كأس العالم تحت 17 عامًا بعد الخسارة أمام الأرجنتين

وتلقى منتخب الإمارات الخسارة بثلاثية نظيفة، وأحرز أهداف المنتخب الكرواتي كل من تينز كوزانوفيتش في الدقيقة 30 من الشوط الأول، وجابريال سافيتش في الدقيقة 36، ورادوس في الدقيقة 89. 

وبهذه النتيجة رفع منتخب كرواتيا رصيده إلى 4 نقاط في صدارة ترتيب المجموعة، بينما توقف رصيد منتخب الإمارات عند نقطة وحيدة في المركز الأخير. 

يذكر ان منتخب الإمارات يقع في المجموعة الثالثة في كأس العالم تحت 17 عامًا، مع منتخبات كرواتيا والسنغال وكوستاريكا. 

وتقام بطولة كأس العالم تحت 17 عامًا في قطر خلال الفترة من 3 إلى 28 من شهر نوفمبر الجاري.  أهداف مباراة الإمارات وكرواتيا اليوم في كأس العالم تحت 17 عامًا 

 

“It was a big moment,” as Stephen Fleming put it, and CSK lost it because of their batters – Dewald Brevis and Ravindra Jadeja – not being alert enough

Ashish Pant04-May-20253:10

Brevis’ late review down to lack of game awareness?

On an evening where the contest ebbed and flowed all the way through, there was also a contentious decision, which led to a long argument in the middle at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.The incident took place on the third ball of the 17th over of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) chase of 214 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Lungi Ngidi bowled a knee-high full toss on middle and leg stump. Dewald Brevis missed, and was hit on the pad. The umpire’s finger went up in a jiffy. As per the rules, the ball became dead at that point, and the 15-second timer kicked off.However, Brevis and his partner Ravindra Jadeja, seemingly unsure of what was happening, continued running the single, and the fielder fired in a direct hit at the non-striker’s end from the point region. After a bit, Brevis chatted with Jadeja and asked for a review only to be told that the 15-second time limit had elapsed.Related

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It led to an argument with Jadeja and Brevis on one side and the on-field umpires Nitin Menon and Mohit Krishnadas on the other. Eventually, a disgruntled Brevis had to walk back for a first-ball duck. To add to CSK’s misery, replays confirmed that Ngidi’s delivery was comfortably sliding down leg and Brevis would have been saved had he taken the review on time.”Yeah, it was a big moment,” Stephen Fleming, the CSK coach said after the game. “In talking to Jaddu [Jadeja] and Brevis, there was a lot going on with running straight away. I think they saw the ball ricochet and actually went to the boundary for four. And lost in that was whether Brevis took the review in time. I don’t know the answer to that. He wasn’t sure, given that they were running at the time.”As soon as you’re given out, I understand the timer starts. There was a fair bit eaten up with the play still being completed, and whether they just ran out of time… in the umpire’s view, it did. The other part about it, because he was given out, we wouldn’t have got the runs. While we would have maintained the wicket, it certainly wouldn’t have given us the five runs, which would have been nice.”But it’s a big moment in a big game. There was twists and turns all the way through.”According to the IPL 2025 playing conditions, “The total time elapsed between the ball becoming dead and the review request being made shall be no more than 15 seconds. If the on-field umpires believe that a request has not been made within the 15-second time limit, they shall decline the request for a player review.”Dewald Brevis is struck high on the pads off a Lungi Ngidi full toss•BCCI

ESPNcricinfo’s match experts felt that it was a case of “lack of awareness” on Brevis and Jadeja’s part.”Why are you saving your reviews? Do you cash those in? Do you get some money at the end of the game?” Danny Morrison said on ESPNcricinfo’s Time Out show, while suggesting that it was a “mistake” from Brevis and Jadeja to not go for the review right away.Piyush Chawla had a similar view, especially with Brevis being an in-form batter.”You don’t need to discuss. Three-and-a-half overs left, two reviews remaining, you could have gone for the review straightaway,” he said. “When you are batting, with the angles, as a batter you also know it might slide [down the leg side] because of the rule sometimes when it hits directly onto your pads, from there they take it straight with the tracker.”Brevis had scores of 42 and 32 in two innings coming into the game. When he fell, CSK required 42 off 21 balls, but they fell short by two runs in a tense finish.

We are only three games into the season, and there are already so many things to talk about around Arsenal.

One of the more positive developments has been the emergence of Max Dowman, who, after being talked about for almost a year, finally made his Premier League debut against Leeds United in gameweek two.

He looked right at home in senior football, won a penalty and impressed Mikel Arteta enough to earn a substitute appearance away to Liverpool the following week.

It certainly feels like the youngster is destined to reach the top of the game, and it appears that Hale End has another gem on their hands in a 16-year-old who could be the perfect replacement for William Saliba.

William Saliba's Arsenal career

Arsenal signed Saliba from Saint-Étienne in the summer of 2019 – under Unai Emery – but as we all know, he wouldn’t get his chance to play for the club until three years after that.

Instead, the young Frenchman was sent on three season-long loans, to his former club, OGC Nice and then finally Marseille, who even tried to sign him permanently due to his hugely impressive performances.

However, Arteta and Co. very wisely made it clear the Bondy-born monster was not for sale, and as he was named the Man of the Match in just his first game for the Gunners, it was instantly apparent to English fans why he was so highly rated in France.

Since then, the 24-year-old “monster,” as dubbed by content creator Connor Humm, has amassed 137 appearances for the North Londoners, in which he’s scored seven goals and provided two assists.

He has also been named in the PFA Team of the Year for three seasons on the bounce, which just goes to show the level of player Arteta has in his squad.

Appearances

137

Starts

135

Minutes

11968

Goals

7

Assists

2

Points per Game

2.06

However, while a new contract is reportedly in the works, his current deal expires in two years, and Real Madrid have constantly been linked with him over the last couple of transfer windows.

While Arsenal will be hoping Saliba remains at the club for years to come, if that’s not the case, they might already have the perfect replacement brewing in a Hale End talent who could be a bit like Dowman.

Hale End's perfect Saliba replacement

It should go without saying that, at this very moment in time, Arsenal fans shouldn’t expect an academy gem to come in and perfectly replace Saliba.

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Now, that might sound like hyperbole, but we promise you it’s not, as there is an enormous amount of excitement around the youngster from those in the know.

For example, Hale End expert Will Balsam has described him as the academy’s “best defensive prospect in recent memory,” which is almost as bold as respected analyst Ben Mattinson, who’s claimed the 16-year-old is the “best CB Hale End has produced.”

Moreover, he shares plenty of the same characteristics as the French international, with Balsam pointing out his “composure under pressure and ability to read the game”, which pair brilliantly with his “mix of control and aggression.”

It’s not just outsiders who have high hopes for the youngster, either, as the club has already moved him up the U21s and Arteta gave him a run-out against Newcastle United and AC Milan in pre-season.

Finally, on top of everything we’ve already talked about, one of the biggest strengths of the Gunners’ number two is his passing range, and according to Rising Stars XI, the Hale Ender is also more than accomplished at that.

Ultimately, Arsenal should do whatever they can to keep Saliba on the books for as long as possible, but they can rest assured that in Salmon, they’ll have an ideal replacement a few years from now.

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Australia fast bowler given downtime after South Australia’s qualification for Sheffield Shield final

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Mar-2025Kashif Ali, the Pakistan Test seamer, and South African fast bowler Keith Dudgeon have agreed terms for short-term deals at Kent, to cover for Wes Agar’s absence on domestic duty in Australia.Both Dudgeon and Ali will arrive in time for the start of the 2025 Rothesay County Championship, with Kent’s first game coming at Northampton from April 4, and will stay with the club until the conclusion of their match away to Derbyshire on May 23-26.The deals have been struck to allow Agar to manage his workloads following South Australia’s qualification for this week’s Sheffield Shield final against Queensland in Adelaide. He is now due to begin his third season at Kent when the Vitality Blast commences at the end of May, and will be available for first-class cricket until the end of July.Dudgeon, who has yet to play international cricket, has taken 224 first-class wickets in his career to date, at an average of 25.79. Ali, meanwhile, played his first Test against West Indies in Multan in January, in which he dismissed Mikyle Louis in his first over, and has claimed a total of 110 first-class wickets at 28.01.”We’re delighted to welcome Keith and Kashif to Canterbury for the start of the season,” Simon Cook, Kent’s director of cricket, said. “They are both good bowlers, and both will, we feel, complement our existing bowling unit well during their time here. We acted quickly to identify and secure their signatures as soon as it became clear that Wes Agar would only be available for June and July.”Keith is a proven wicket-taker in South African domestic cricket and has the ability to make a difference. Kashif is a slightly more patient operator and will give us the ability to limit opposition runs and build pressure that hopefully our other bowlers can capitalise on.”We’re looking forward to welcoming Wes back to Canterbury, albeit slightly later than anticipated. He is a big part of our dressing room and has already proven his ability with both the red and white ball.”On joining Kent, Dudgeon said: “I’m extremely excited to be joining Kent and help the side win matches. It’s a county with such a rich history I’m looking to make a big impression.”Playing county cricket is such a big deal for South Africans and I’m looking to take this opportunity with both hands. I’d like to thank the Club for showing faith in me and to the supporters; you will get every inch out of me every day.”Ali added: “I’d like to thank Kent for putting faith in me and giving me the opportunity to play county cricket.”I’m excited to play for this great team and I will always do my best every time I wear a Kent shirt.”

But Bjorn Fortuin warns against counting chickens “too early” after setbacks of the last two seasons

Firdose Moonda25-Jan-2025

Bjorn Fortuin has played five years of T20 franchise cricket for teams based in Paarl•SA20

Paarl Royals have become the first team to qualify for the SA20 2025 playoffs with an 11-run win over Pretoria Capitals by “just doing the simple things well”, according to local hero Bjorn Fortuin. The left-arm spinner, who is from the Boland, has played all his franchise T20 cricket for teams based at this venue, and understands the secret to success is being able to slow things down.”We’ve played here quite a bit now, so I’ve sort of tailored a lot of my game plan towards playing in conditions like this,” Fortuin had said after Royals’ win over Joburg Super Kings earlier this week. “I wouldn’t quite call it subcontinent conditions, but it definitely lends itself towards that type of game plan.”Keeping things simple is a big part of doing well here. In the past, we’ve had quite explosive players. Sometimes they come off, sometimes they don’t. This season, there’s been a lot more consistency, and playing well at home contributes to that.”Related

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The Boland, 50 kms inland from Cape Town, is hot and dry in peak summer, and the surfaces get more difficult for run-scoring as the season grows long. Saturday’s pitch, which was slow and low, was a perfect example of that. Fortuin has spent his early domestic career here and has played five years of T20 franchise cricket for teams based in Paarl: two years with Paarl Rocks in the now-defunct Mzansi Super League, and three in the SA20. He has adapted his game for exactly these conditions, particularly with the new ball.Fortuin is often used in the powerplay to put the pressure on upfront and usually also make a few crucial incisions. Across the three seasons of SA20, Fortuin’s economy rate of 6.08 in the powerplay is the best among bowlers who have delivered at least 15 overs in that phase. His 20 wickets in the same period is the joint most with Marco Jansen. It includes the likes of Quinton de Kock, Dewald Brevis and Ryan Rickelton (all twice); Devon Conway, Faf du Plessis, Kyle Mayers and Kusal Mendis; and on Saturday, the destructive Afghan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz.In another country, Fortuin’s record and reputation might see him walk straight into the national squad. But the presence of Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi means he plays infrequently for South Africa, and has also missed out on the Champions Trophy squad. Fortuin said the snub is “not something I can comment on right now” as he focuses on SA20 success, where Royals have set the pace, particularly with their spinners.This season, Fortuin has been joined by offspinners Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Joe Root, and left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage. Between them, they are dominating every bowling stat in the competition so far. Mujeeb is currently the joint-leading wicket-taker in the tournament, while Wellalage and Fortuin have the two lowest economy rates. Root has bowled 16 overs thus far – perhaps more than he expected to – and on Saturday, Royals added legspinner Nqaba Peter in the first all-spin attack in a T20 in South Africa.This season at Paarl Royals, Bjorn Fortuin has been joined by Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Joe Root and Dunith Wellalage•SA 20

Their tactics caught Pretoria Capitals by surprise and helped Royals achieve the second-lowest successful defense in SA20 history.”Looking at their team, we were trying to find the seamers when we saw the line-up,” Rilee Rossouw, Capitals’ captain, said. “It’s definitely something different. It’s something that we are not so accustomed to, especially here in South Africa. Credit also has to go to their bowlers and how they went about their business.”That statement might apply to the tournament as a whole. Royals have only lost one game so far – to their neighbours MI Cape Town – and have won all four at home. This is the third successive season that Royals have made it to the knockout stage, but have yet to make a final. And they will be wary of dropping form at the business end, as they have done in the past.In 2023, they won five of their first eight matches, and then lost two of the last three. Last year, after only losing only one of their first six matches, they finished on a five-match losing streak, including defeat in the knockouts.”So we won’t count our chickens too early,” Fortuin said. “The past two seasons, we’ve had good starts and then sort of fallen away towards the back end. So we’ll take it game by game.”Coach Trevor Penney on Lungi Ngidi: “He was out [with a groin injury] for eight weeks. So he’s on a programme where he’s almost back now”•Sportzpics

The real test will be how they adapt to conditions up country, where three of the four playoffs – including the final – will be played, and the spinners will have less of an impact. Royals have Lungi Ngidi and Kwena Maphaka in their line-up, but neither have played the last two matches (and word from the team camp is that there are no niggles). There are also the likes of Andile Phehlukwayo, Codi Yusuf, Dayyan Galiem and Keith Dudgeon. They will have confidence from beating Capitals at SuperSport Park, and completing the highest successful chase of the SA20 earlier this season, and will travel to Johannesburg next week before the playoffs.There, Royals coach Trevor Penney expects his seam attack, and specifically Ngidi, who has not played for the last three matches, to step up.”We’ve got the balance. We’ve got the seamers that are ready to jump in,” Penney said. “With Lungi, we know big fast bowlers like him, they sometimes needed a couple of weeks to get back into that full flow and the rhythm. It’s a tough thing for fast bowlers. He was out [with a groin injury] for like eight weeks. So he’s on a programme where he’s almost back now. So we played him in the first few games so he could get some game time. And I’m sure when we go to the Highveld, he’s going to be straight back in.”Before that, Royals will sign off from Paarl with a match against Durban’s Super Giants on Monday in a goodbye to a crowd that has ridden the wave of their winning streak.”They’re very passionate. The nice thing is that they’re actually quite knowledgeable as well, so they appreciate small bits of cricket here and there,” Fortuin said. “You certainly hear it when you’re not doing well, which is a bit of extra motivation as well. The vibe here is incredible. And in the future, I do hope that we can play games here at the back end of the tournament. It would be quite cool to eventually have a home final if something like that happens.”With a capacity of 10,000, Boland Park is the smallest of the SA20 venues, and has yet to host a playoff game.

“There’s definitely not panic stations in our change rooms,” Boland says of the mood in the camp after the Perth reversal

Alagappan Muthu30-Nov-2024Even as the Perth Test was coming to a close, some of Australia’s reserves had begun training for the day-night Test in Adelaide. That might come in handy now, especially for Scott Boland, as he contended with the first day of the practice game between the Prime Minister’s XI and the Indians struggling to get underway. Boland, who got the call about Josh Hazlewood’s side strain “a couple of days ago”, is favourite to make the XI in Adelaide next Friday and play his first Test since the early part of the Ashes in July 2023.”Obviously I haven’t played a heap of cricket in the start of this season, but I feel like I’ve played enough cricket to feel like I’m in a really good spot,” he said on Saturday afternoon. “My body’s feeling really good now. I had a couple of niggles that were a little bit sore, but knee and foot are feeling really good and I’m confident how the ball’s coming out.”Our last net session in Perth was for me and Josh Inglis, we went pink ball for quite a few overs. So getting it in the hand then and then obviously the overs we can get in probably tomorrow by the look of this weather will be valuable as well. Then Adelaide on Monday, then just a normal prep before a game. So have a good bowl two days before the game and then just prepare to play.”Related

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Race to the WTC final: India back on top after Perth win

Undercooked Australia lose the plot in Perth

Australia’s defeat in Perth has set off alarms on the outside – their top-order batters folded pretty quickly in both innings and the bowling was unable to stop India from piling on the runs the second time around. While Boland admitted a need to go back to the drawing board, he said they wouldn’t be making wholesale changes.”There’s definitely not panic stations in our change rooms,” he said. “There’s obviously going to be some chats around individual performances and everyone wants to perform really well every game they play. But yeah, it’s like, we’ve lost one game. It’s not toys out of the cot, I don’t think.”We’ve spoken as a team about our plans for all the different Indian batters. I won’t tell you those, but we’ve got pretty set plans. They might have a little bit of a tweak after the guys have seen them again from Perth, because obviously [Yashasvi] Jaiswal batted really well there. KL Rahul batted well in the second dig as well and really digged in. So we’ll probably have a chat over the next week and our plans might slightly change, but I’m pretty confident what we did in the first games was good.”There was also a suggestion that the workload Australia’s bowlers had to get through made a difference in the outcome of the Perth Test. “I think our bowlers bowled really well as well,” Boland said. “Maybe the only difference was that the Indian bowlers got a really nice long break between their first innings and second innings where our break wasn’t as long.”‘Probably thought maybe the opportunity had passed’The last 15 months have been frustrating for Boland, kept on standby for Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Hazlewood all through the summer, and then suffering an injury in the winter, which cut his county cricket stint at Durham down from four months to just one day.

“I feel like the teams that bat first can sort of time when they want to bowl, if they bat really well on their first day, because if you get a newish ball at night, it can be pretty lethal”Scott Boland, on his pink-ball Test experience

There aren’t many teams that are unable to fit in a fast bowler capable of holding a line and length all day long. Boland averages 20.34 from ten Test matches – but those ten Test matches are only a fraction of what Australia have played (31) in the time since his debut in December 2021.”Obviously those guys [the big three Australia quicks] have been so resilient, they don’t miss too many and no one must give up their spot at any stage,” Boland said. “And they’re so dominant, so last summer they weren’t bowling a heap of overs, but we’re still able to win most of those games.”So yeah, I probably thought maybe the opportunity had passed, but I’ve worked really hard in the off-season to get my body in a spot where I’m confident that if I get another chance I’ll be able to perform it for Australia again.”I just knew if I put the conversations I had with Ron [Andrew McDonald, the head coach] and George [Bailey, the chief selector] over the pre-season – when I was rehabbing a lot was to try and get my body in the right spot – that I didn’t want to rush anything and then re-injure something and then push my return to play back date a while. So we took it pretty slow with my rehab.”Boland’s run-in to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy included a Sheffield Shield game, where he took 3 for 104, and the Australia A vs India A game, where he took 1 for 87 across two innings.”Played the second game for Victoria and then I’ve missed a couple and then played the ‘A’ game. So I’ve had a pretty good prep and then now it’s just about building up, getting the intensity up in this game here and then in the night sessions as well before Adelaide.”Pink-ball rhythmsBoland’s primary skill – getting the ball to nip off the seam – lends itself to pink-ball cricket, especially when conditions start to turn really helpful as day goes to night. He averages 13.71 from two day-night Tests.”Usually there can be two different games in the one game,” he said. “You can bowl during the day when the sun’s out and it doesn’t do a whole lot, and then you get to the night session and the ball starts moving around a bit. So I think it’s just for the bowlers, we just communicate really well together about what the ball is doing and how the pitch is playing and then just sort of flicking between those modes as quick as you can.”Strategy can sometimes be shaped by the pink ball as well. “I feel like the teams that bat first can sort of time when they want to bowl, if they bat really well on their first day, because if you get a newish ball at night, it can be pretty lethal,” Boland said. “If batters are coming in, they’ve batted through the daytime, they get through to the night session. I think it’s been a couple of instances where the ball hasn’t dominated the bat. I think maybe last year at the Gabba [against West Indies] we took the new ball and didn’t get as many wickets as what we would have hoped in that night session.”But now back to Adelaide, I think they produce a really good cricket wicket that really suits the pink ball and helps it last a bit longer because it does get a little bit softer after 30, 40 overs compared to a red ball.”

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A nova parceria faz o Peixe ultrapassar alguns times com os novos ganhos, como Corinthians, Atlético-MG, Internacional e Grêmio. Confira os maiores recebimentos entre os times da elite do futebol nacional:

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An all-round show from Ahmed Daniyal and a three-wicket haul from Khushdil Shah helped Lions keep their campaign alive, as they held on for a 12-run victory in the Champions One-Day Cup Eliminator against Stallions in Faisalabad. Lions will now face Markhors in the second Eliminator on Friday, with the winner facing Panthers in Sunday’s final.Opting to bat, Lions were in a spot of bother at 43 for 3, before Sharoon Siraj (38) and Mohammad Taha revived the innings with a 77-run partnership. However, Stallions kept chipping away, resulting in another slide for Lions, who went from 120 for 3 to 140 for 7 in the space of five overs. With Lions staring at the possibility of a sub-200 total, Daniyal and Aamer Yamin launched a counterattack, their 81-run eighth-wicket stand eventually guiding the team to 263 for 9. While Yamin was run out for 46, Daniyal remained unbeaten on 65 off 59 balls, with two fours and five sixes. For Stallions, seamer Ubaid Shah was the pick of the bowlers, ending with 3 for 46.Stallions began their 264 chase well, courtesy an opening stand of 64 between Yasir Khan (39) and Maaz Sadaqat (27). However, three wickets in successive overs saw the team stumble to 68 for 3, with Khushil accounting for both Sadaqat and Adil Amin. Another threatening partnership – 69 for the fourth wicket between Tayyab Tahir and Hussain Talat – appeared to give Stallions a way back into the game, but Daniyal broke through to halt their momentum in the 30th over.Stallions captain Mohammad Haris and Jahanad Khan provided a late surge, but Lions stayed ahead with regular wickets. Stallions needed 23 off the last two overs, but they only had two wickets in hand, and Lions finally bundled them out for 251. Khushdil finished with 3 for 40 while Daniyal took 3 for 59.