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Scotland captain Preston Mommsen said the feeling in the Scotland camp ahead of the Australia match was one not of trepidation, but excitement

Brydon Coverdale in Hobart13-Mar-2015On Saturday, Scotland will take on Australia in a one-day international. Last time that happened, Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh put on 246 for the opening wicket, still a record ODI opening partnership for Australia. Finch made 148, Marsh scored 151, Australia posted 362 for 3 and Scotland were bundled out for 162.It does not make pleasant reading for Scotland fans, knowing that a rematch at Bellerive Oval provides Scotland with their only remaining chance for victory in this World Cup. But captain Preston Mommsen, who made 8 that day at The Grange in 2013, said the feeling in the Scotland camp ahead of Saturday’s match was one not of trepidation, but excitement.”We were under-strength that day, missing quite a few county players, and we probably had the wrong mindset going into that game,” Mommsen said. “In the end, that probably cost us, and we were nowhere near our best. I think the guys who played in that game have learned from that experience, and there will definitely be a shift in the mindset as we approach tomorrow’s game.”The match means plenty to Australia, who must win to qualify in second position in Pool A rather than third or fourth, and Mommsen knows the Australians will show no mercy. Scotland are also without their most experienced ODI player, offspinner Majid Haq, who was sent home after an incident that followed his being dropped for Wednesday’s game against Sri Lanka.”The mood is actually pretty good still,” Mommsen said. “We know we haven’t won a game, which is very disappointing for us. But we know we still are relatively young when it comes to World Cup experience, and apart from Majid, no one had played in a World Cup before.”We’ll leave this tournament as a stronger and better team, even though we haven’t yet had a victory with one game to play. We’re still very positive. The guys are in a good frame of mind. Obviously, the incident, that’s disappointing from a team point of view. But I can’t really say too much more. It is disappointing, but these things do happen, and they’ll be dealt with. As a group, we’re focused on tomorrow.”Mommsen and Freddie Coleman showed some fight with the bat against Sri Lanka and put on the second century partnership of Scotland’s World Cup, after Mommsen and Kyle Coetzer added 141 together against Bangladesh in Nelson. But there have been other encouraging signs for Scotland, including the form of seamer Josh Davey, the second-leading wicket taker this World Cup.”He’s one of these guys who has a knack for taking wickets in difficult situations,” Mommsen said. “Just gets thrown the ball, and could easily have a spell where he picks up two or three in the space of two overs. You know, you want guys like that in your bowling line-up. So it’s been a brilliant tournament for him.”Wicketkeeper Matthew Cross has also had an excellent campaign, his nimble footwork behind the stumps and sharp glove skills helping him to equal third on the wicketkeeping dismissal tally behind Denesh Ramdin and Luke Ronchi. Cross was at his best with a slick stumping against England, when up to the stumps he collected a Davey delivery wide outside off and whipped the bails off to find James Taylor short.”His stats are very, very impressive if you look at his catches and stumping behind the wickets,” Mommsen said. “I think if you look at his overall career and his strike rate, so to speak, of dismissals per innings, it is very good, up there with the best in the world. I think his stumping against England was up there with one of the best plays in the tournament.”

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has said the way his side fought back against Pakistan in the third ODI was an indicator of their growth as a team

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur23-Apr-2015Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has said the way his side fought back against Pakistan in the third ODI was an indicator of their growth as a team. He said the more tough situations Bangladesh get out of, the better they will be.The home side triggered a collapse from Pakistan, who were comfortably placed at 203 for 2 in the 39th over. Bangladesh then took eight wickets for 47 runs in 11.3 overs, conceding only 39 in the last nine overs. Mashrafe rotated his bowlers effectively, particularly using Shakib Al Hasan and Rubel Hossain at the right moments and bringing Arafat Sunny on for timely short spells.”From a professional point of view, the happiness comes from seeing the team come out of a tough situation,” Mashrafe said. “There was a time in this game when it seemed they would score more than 300 runs, but we turned the game around. Every time we turn around in this manner, we are most likely to win the match.”It is natural for the captain to get credit when the team does well. The players have been wonderful. A captain can’t really change how a player goes about his work. He can only guide them. Now the players think that they will work even harder. We can change more. We are yet to be complete performers. But if we keep performing in this manner, we can continue to go up.”The day’s best performer was Soumya Sarkar, who made an unbeaten 127. It was his maiden ODI century in only his tenth game after making his debut on December 1 last year against Zimbabwe.”Babu bhai (a Bangladeshi expatriate in Australia) said during the World Cup that at the rate Soumya is going, he will get a century in the next World Cup,” a laughing Mashrafe said. “He batted sensibly today. It is important to remain yourself when you know that you haven’t made full use of your starts in the previous two games. Credit to him for batting the way he does. But this is just the start of his career. I hope he goes very far, but only if he plays like this and works hard.”What was more vital, according to Mashrafe, was the five rating points Bangladesh gained in the ICC ODI rankings through the 3-0 win. They are currently ninth in the table with 81 points, below Pakistan who have slipped to No 8.”I would have to say that this is currently our best team. There were few changes during and after the World Cup but that’s due to injuries,” Mashrafe said. “I wouldn’t belittle any of our opponents but whenever we won in the past, we had needed those wins. Similarly, we needed this 3-0 win, more so now because of the ODI rankings.”I trust every player in my team. The bowling changes didn’t mean that I didn’t like what they were doing. The match situation called for such changes. I gave the ball to someone who was bowling well or someone against whom the opposition batsmen didn’t feel comfortable.”

Ben Stokes credited the belief the England coaching team have shown in him after thumping a fluent 92 in the first innings of the Investec Test at Lord’s

George Dobell21-May-2015Ben Stokes credited the belief the England coaching team have shown in him after thumping a fluent 92 in the first innings of the Investec Test at Lord’s.Stokes was promoted to No. 6 in the batting line-up and told to go out and play his natural, aggressive game. And he feels the added responsibility helped as he and Joe Root rescued England from a perilous position.”Batting at No. 6 is important to me, because I feel it gives me more responsibility,” Stokes said. “It’s nice to be given the confidence by the coach and the captain. Hopefully I can make it my spot.”Paul Farbrace said today ‘Do what you do; everyone backs you in the changing room, so don’t change anything just because you are in the Three Lions.'”International cricket doesn’t always last as long as you want it to. While I’m here I want to play the way I want to and know that I can be successful. Whenever I put an England shirt on, I try to play the same way I do for Durham, as that’s what got me here.”The last time Stokes played a Test a Lord’s in July last year he suffered a pair against India to round off a run of three successive run-less innings. He didn’t play another Test for nine months.He was naturally delighted to score his first Test runs at Lord’s and reflected that he was a far more mature player than the man who missed the World T20 in 2014 having broken his wrist punching a locker in exasperation at another cheap dismissal.”I bagged a pair last time I was here, so things couldn’t have got any worse really,” Stokes said. “It’s always nice to come back to a place where it hasn’t gone too well and then put a performance in for the team.”Punching the locker was a stupid moment and something, I hope, I’ll never do again, because lockers are generally harder than bones and wrists.

Cricket Association of Mizoram has sent a formal request to the BCCI to seek affiliation, which could place Mizoram on par with other cricketing states

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jun-2015Cricket Association of Mizoram has sent a formal request to the BCCI to seek affiliation, which could place Mizoram on par with other cricketing states. Jagmohan Dalmiya, the BCCI president, has forwarded the matter to the affiliation committee members for consideration. If the affiliation committee recommends that Mizoram be admitted as an affiliate member, the lowest rung of BCCI membership, the AGM, will take the decision in September. For a new member to be introduced, the proposal needs to be passed with a 3/4th majority.If Mizoram, the only state in the north-eastern region that is not under the BCCI umbrella, is admitted as an affiliate member, it will receive financial support of up to Rs five million per annum for five years. More importantly, it may benefit from expert advice and help with regards to creating infrastructure and coaching structure in the state. After five years, an affiliate member can apply to be promoted as an associate member.Financial grants may vary depending on the BCCI’s assessment of whether an affiliate is using its funds effectively at grassroot levels. But if the association fails to submit annual accounts by July 31 every year, the financial support may be discontinued.With respect to promotion of cricket in the North-Eastern states, Dalmiya has already sent his recommendations to the New Area Development Committee, which included preparation of more turf wickets, conducting coaching programmes, development of one full-size cricket ground, and one indoor coaching facility per state.Besides its 30 full members, Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh, Sikkim Cricket Association, Manipur Cricket Association and Bihar Cricket Association (not Cricket Association of Bihar which has been in litigation with the BCCI) are BCCI’s associate members. Meghalaya, Nagaland and Arunachal, three of the seven north-eastern states, happen to be affiliate members at the moment.The New Area Development Committee, with a specific eye on the north-eastern region, was set up by Dalmiya in 2003 during his first stint as BCCI chief. The idea then was to provide all the support required at grassroots level in neglected regions. It was disbanded by his successor Sharad Pawar, but revived in 2012 by N Srinivasan. However, none of the affiliates have so far been granted promotion as an associate member, which makes them eligible for more financial grants.The BCCI conducted a tournament featuring all the seven associate and affiliate members till 2013. It was cancelled last year when it was learned that some of the associations were importing players from other states instead of promoting talent in their region.

Opener Cameron Bancroft scored his sixth first-class century to give Western Australia a 195-run first-innings lead in Perth

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-2016
ScorecardFile photo: Cameron Bancroft stroked his sixth first-class hundred•Getty ImagesOpener Cameron Bancroft scored his sixth first-class century to give Western Australia a 195-run first-innings lead in Perth. New South Wales, however, hit back, courtesy an unbroken 86-run partnership between Daniel Hughes and Kurtis Patterson. The steady stand had come after Nick Larkin was dismissed by Joel Paris for 11.The hosts remained in control for most of the day, Bancroft leading the way and pushing for an Australia berth with 144 off 340 balls, spanning 444 minutes. He was assisted by Ashton Turner and Hilton Cartwright who stroked fifties each. Western Australia eventually declared at 8 for 511 in 136 overs.New South Wales were crippled by left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe’s finger injury, which he had sustained while batting. Gurinder Sandhu ditched his medium-pace for offspin, something he had done during the A tour to India last year, and removed Sam Whiteman and Ashton Agar in successive balls. Sandhu finished with figures of 3 for 110, one of the three bowlers to concede more than 100 runs.Hughes and Curtis then combined well in New South Wales’ second innings to trim the deficit to 88 runs.

Queensland made a firm start in their pursuit of Western Australia’s 6 for 436 declared on day two of the Sheffield Shield match at the WACA ground

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Feb-2016
ScorecardFile photo – Nathan Coulter-Nile bowled tidily on his return to the Western Australia side after injury•Getty ImagesQueensland made a firm start in their pursuit of Western Australia’s 6 for 436 declared on day two of the Sheffield Shield match at the WACA ground.Currently second on the Shield table, the Bulls were left chasing a considerable tally due to a patient 171 by Cameron Bancroft and support down the order, including handy up-tempo efforts by Hilton Cartwright (44) and wicketkeeper Sam Whiteman (30).The allrounder, James Hopes, who is set to retire at season’s end, had a rare wicketless outing for the Bulls, leaving Mark Steketee to claim three victims.Nathan Coulter-Nile bowled tidily for the Warriors on his return to the team after injury, an important staging post given his selection in Australia’s World Twenty20 squad. However he was unable to take a wicket as the Bulls dug in.Marnus Labuschagne stonewalled to 76 by the close, with stubborn support from Chris Lynn. Given their position on the table the Bulls will be eager for maximum first-innings bonus points and a draw if they are unable to force a win over the next two days.

Samuel Badree has said that he is enjoying his new role of bowling during the middle overs and containing the flow of runs

Nagraj Gollapudi23-Mar-20161:14

Match Day – Badree’s consistency with line terrific

Samuel Badree has already seen the best and worst of himself in West Indies’ first two matches in the World T20. In Mumbai, against England, he had the third-most expensive figures in his T20I career. In Bangalore, on Sunday, he silenced Sri Lanka with a three-wicket haul to record his second-best bowling figures in T20Is.Despite finishing with figures of 4-0-12-3, Badree was pipped to the Man-of-the-Match award by Andre Fletcher who, playing his first match of the tournament, surprised Sri Lanka with a strokefull 84. Fletcher ensured West Indies did not feel the absence of Chris Gayle, who was forced to sit out in the dressing room as a precautionary measure, having suffered a mild hammy in his left leg.Similarly, Badree has made certain that West Indies are secure despite the absence of their premier offspinner Sunil Narine, who opted out of the tournament to work further on his remodelled action. Narine has not played for West Indies since being banned last year during a tour of Sri Lanka.”The absence of Sunil is a big blow to the team. You know how dangerous he is especially in these conditions. Yes, we have talked about someone having to step up the fill those huge shoes. I am happy thus far in the tournament I was able to do that quite competently,” Badree said in Nagpur, where West Indies will play South Africa on Friday in their third Super10 match.Badree, one of the most successful spinners in the Powerplay, said though he was forced to adapt to the new role of bowling in the middle overs, he was enjoying it. “We have seen in the first couple of games that I have started then I am held back for a couple in the middle as well. We have seen how important spin is especially after the Powerplay during the middle overs when the ball is a little bit older.”According to Badree, it will be a big challenge for West Indies on Friday when they encounter the “very powerful batting line-up” of South Africa. But Badree wanted West Indies to take confidence from their dominant performance agaisnt Sri Lanka, where they applied pressure right from the start.”It is all about the start. If a team gets off to a flier it is always difficult. But we were able to pick up early wickets of [Tillakaratne] Dilshan and [Dinesh] Chandimal, two of their more experienced batters. So it was a little bit easier to come to bowl at their middle order who were under pressure. Luckily for me I was able to pitch the ball up and pick up wickets as well,” Badree said.Despite his heroics, Badree acknowledged the contribution from left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn. “He must not go unheralded. His spell of four overs for 13 runs was tremendous especially bowling to a set [Angelo] Mathews and Thisara Perera, who was looking to take the mantle of scoring runs at the end.”Badree, however, would not venture into talking about South Africa’s weakness against spin, which has been a talking point in the tournament. He would not also be drawn into the slow nature of the Nagpur pitch, which became the biggest talking point in India’s opening match against New Zealand. The one thing Badree did concede, though, was the importance of striking early.”If the wicket is turning you obviously want to bowl slow and exploit that and takes wickets early. In T20 cricket sometimes people underestimate how important early wickets are in terms of restricting the opposition,” Badree said.”It is fair to say we are strong in our batting department. We haven’t been tested in defending a total. Luckily thus far the captain has been able to win both the tosses. Here in Nagpur it seems as if the pitch is going to turn so we might want to bat first and set a total and defend that.”You never know. That is the captain’s call. At the end of the day the toss is not guaranteed. Whether we bat first or we bowl first we know that at the end of the day we want to win all our games and send a signal to the other teams we here to compete and we are here to win.”

Fast bowler Pat Cummins is expected to use an Australia A series in August to make his return from a long lay-off due to a stress fracture of the back

ESPNcricinfo staff10-May-20162:29

Cummins commences comeback

Fast bowler Pat Cummins is expected to use an Australia A series in August to make his return from a long lay-off due to a stress fracture of the back. Cummins has been named in a 24-man squad for Australia A’s winter games in Queensland, while there were also call-ups for young batsmen Matt Renshaw, Sam Heazlett, Alex Ross, Travis Dean, Kurtis Patterson and Jake Lehmann, the son of national coach Darren Lehmann.Australia A will play a pair of four-day games against South Africa A in Brisbane and Townsville from July 30 to August 9, before a quadrangular one-day series featuring the same two teams, the National Performance Squad, and a fourth international side yet to be confirmed. The one-dayers will be play in Townsville and Mackay, before two more four-day games in September.Cummins is expected to be used in the one-day games, if he continues to recover from the back stress fracture that was diagnosed last September and ruled him out of yet another home summer. Cummins was part of the World Cup-winning squad early last year and remains a Cricket Australia-contracted player, despite injuries having prevented him from playing Sheffield Shield cricket for more than five years.”Pat is tracking along nicely in his recovery from his long term injury and we are hopeful he will be available for the one-day matches in this series,” national selector Rod Marsh said. “However, we will be guided by medical staff on his return.”The list of bowlers in the squad also includes Joe Mennie and Daniel Worrall, the South Australia pair who topped the Sheffield Shield wicket tally last summer, as well as Chris Tremain, and spinner Mitchell Swepson.Australia A squad Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Scott Boland, Cameron Boyce, Pat Cummins, Travis Dean, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Sam Heazlett, Moises Henriques, Jake Lehmann, Chris Lynn, Joe Mennie, Kurtis Patterson, Joel Paris, Matt Renshaw, Kane Richardson, Alex Ross, Chadd Sayers, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Chris Tremain, Daniel Worrall, Sam Whiteman.Four-day matches
July 30-August 2: Australia A v South Africa A, Allan Border Field, Brisbane
August 6-9: Australia A v South Africa A, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville
September 8-11: Australia A v TBC, Allan Border Field
September 15-18: Australia A v TBC, Allan Border Field
One-day series
August 13: South Africa A v NPS, Townsville
August 14: Australia A v TBC, Townsville
August 16: Australia A v NPS, Townsville
August 17: South Africa A v TBC, Townsville
August 20: Australia A v South Africa A, Townsville
August 21: TBC v NPS, Townsville
August 24: NPS v Australia A, Harrup Park, Mackay
August 25: South Africa A v TBC, Mackay
August 27: NPS v TBC, Mackay
August 28: Australia A v South Africa A, Mackay
August 30: Australia A v TBC, Mackay
August 31: South Africa A v NPS, Mackay
September 3: Final 3 v 4, Mackay
September 4: Final 1 v 2, Mackay

The likes of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte have been embroiled in wars of words this season, but they are by no means the first to lose their temper

GettyAntonio Conte

Having seen his Chelsea side branded “anti-football” and “embarrassing” by Sky Sports duo Gary Neville and Jamie Redknapp following a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in March 2018, the fiery Italian hit back by saying: “The pundit has to use the head to understand when you speak about tactics. I think you must have knowledge to speak about tactics and not only to speak in a stupid way. You have to accept every criticism but I am not so stupid to play against Manchester City open and to lose 3-0 or 4-0.”

AdvertisementJose Mourinho

Amid the widespread questioning of Paul Pogba’s form and best position at Manchester United, Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness wrote in a newspaper column that a man benched by Mourinho had been playing “like a schoolboy running after the ball in the playground”. Unsurprisingly, the prickly Portuguese took a cheeky dig back at the former Liverpool midfielder, saying: "You ask Graeme Souness. Paul Souness comments and is responsible for his comments, not me."

Getty ImagesMario Balotelli

In 2014, ‘Super Mario’ was hauled off by then AC Milan manager Clarence Seedorf during a meeting with Roma. Balotelli was not too happy at being replaced and decided to aim his frustration in the direction of Sky Sport Italia pundits afterwards. He said: “I didn't understand my substitution. But given that in the studio they say that I'm not a top player, it will have been for that. You always talk about me. When Milan win Mario’s great, when Milan lose it’s all Mario’s fault. I don’t need your criticism, I make my own criticism. You always talk and talk, say I’m precious to Italian football, but there’s no point to saying these things. No point.”

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John Terry

Chelsea were struggling in November 2015, perched 15th in the Premier League, and nobody was spared the finger of blame, not even legendary skipper John Terry. The Blues icon was prepared to accept criticism from most pundits, but not former Wales international Robbie Savage. Terry said: “I’ve come under criticism, individually, from certain players and individuals, players I’ve looked up to and played alongside. I’ve taken that on the chin: Rio, Carra, Neville, the very best I’ve come up against in the game. I take that on the chin. When others speak, maybe I don’t take it on the chin. When players have not had a career, played at a really bad level in their career … Robbie Savage being one. He’s dug me out a couple of times. You take it as a footballer, as an individual. I’ll take it from the Rios, Carraghers and Neville. All day long. From others? Nah.”

With transfer fees growing year on year we take a look at which squads are the most expensively assembled in Europe

Transfer fees have ballooned in the past five years with €50 million (£44m/$57m) now seemingly the minimum you would pay for a top-class player in Europe.

We aren't quite at the first €1 billion squad (£886m/$1.13bn) yet but we certainly are approaching it, with the most expensive squad in the world at the moment costing €800m (£709m/$912m) to put together, with that figure growing 13% in just 12 months.

With the €100m (£89m/$114m) barrier being broken several times in the past couple of years there is no surprise that we are currently looking at the most expensive squads ever assembled.

(Figures are for the 2017 financial year)

Getty20Benfica | €228mAdvertisementGetty19Borussia Dortmund | €233mGetty18Everton | €244mENJOYED THIS STORY?

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Getty17Monaco | €265m