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James Anderson had tormented Lahiru Thirimanne on their previous meetings but the roles were emphatically reversed in Wellington

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Wellington01-Mar-20152:37

‘Sangakkara’s innings eased pressure’ – Thirimanne

The best bowlers in the world have a way of scrambling young batsmen’s brains. In the last English summer, James Anderson eroded Lahiru Thirimanne’s game so intensely, it sometimes seemed he only needed to sneeze in Thirimanne’s direction to reduce him to dust.Thirimanne by then was no easy target. This was a man who had won his team an Asia Cup months before, and played crucial innings in a World T20 win – including a top-score in the semi-final. But as Anderson sent poison down that fifth stump line that would later enfeeble Virat Kohli as well, Thirimanne’s belief grew frailer and frailer. Sri Lanka persevered with him till the end of the tour but, not long after, he was dropped.

***

Nine days after Tim Southee’s swing had eviscerated England on the same pitch in Wellington, Thirimanne is crouched and tense as Anderson steams in. The first ball – a short one on the hips – is defused into the leg side.Anderson himself is not at his best this World Cup. But if there is a top-order batsman in the world he would fancy throwing him a cheap wicket, it would be Thirimanne. Across all internationals, he has had his scalp 10 times. So he begins pushing it across the batsman next over, trialling a variety of lengths, but staying largely on the same line, like a fisherman angling at his lucky spot on the river.For now, Thirimanne doesn’t bite. He is back and across to defend with the full face when Anderson drops short. Forward and across when he is full. For four balls he does this, then something strange happens. Thirimanne is the man suddenly waiting for Anderson to stray. He gets one on the pads. He works it away.

***

Daryl Cullinan despises being known as Shane Warne’s bunny. For batsmen, being repeatedly dismissed by a bowler is so much worse than simply having a weakness against a particular team. Fans begin to talk about it. Worse, they begin to joke about it. This is the batsman’s livelihood. For young cricketers especially, batting is also an integral part of their identity. It cuts close to the bone when you become an incompetent in the public imagination.There were whispers early in England’s ODI tour of Sri Lanka that Moeen Ali’s offspin had a hold over Kumar Sangakkara. At this stage of his career, Sangakkara is in no mood to suffer this. He worked the spinner out and top-scored in that series. In the Tests against New Zealand, when suggestions that he was weak against Trent Boult began to emerge, Sangakkara went to the nets again. He would hit a first-innings double ton against New Zealand in the next match.

***

Thirimanne is on strike again as Anderson begins his third over. The ball is full, just wide of off stump again but, once more, Thirimanne has his foot to the pitch of the ball, and this time meets it with a drive. It travels briefly in the air, but it’s too straight to interest the mid-off fielder. He gets his first intentional boundary. The belief grows again. There is an ambitious lofted drive two balls later, which fetches the batsman two. Next over Anderson is picked away on the leg side for another couple.It is in the ninth over – Anderson’s fifth – when the battle really begins to turn. Anderson is coming around the wicket now. How many times in his career has he straightened balls down the line to left-handers, and caught them plumb in front? Yet, even with only 13 runs having been scored off his first four overs, he feels the need to change his angle, and virtually rule out a mode of dismissal. The pitch is not helping. The angler is growing impatient.Lahiru Thirimanne became the youngest World Cup centurion for Sri Lanka•AFPThe first ball is full, wide and juicy – exactly the kind Thirimanne was getting out to at Old Trafford and Edgbaston – but he is on bended knee in Wellington now, creaming this one through a crammed cover field. The shoe is switching feet. The tables are turning. Anderson is under fire now. Thirimanne has got him on hook.Four balls later, he pitches one up to Thirimanne again, angling it slightly, hoping to shape it away. Thirimanne batsman sees it is too wide. Out comes the drive again, but this it is an even bolder rendition. He opens the face and cracks it square. It’s coming out of the middle. It’s scorching a line to the fence. Thirimanne admires the shot, stands tall and looks toward the southern stand. Sri Lankan flags are billowing. Thirimanne is winning this one.That over, which cost 10, would be the final one in Anderson’s spell. Anderson would come back during the Powerplay and almost have Thirimanne caught, but the batsman was already on 98 at that stage. In the end, Anderson would bowl exactly half of his 48 deliveries at Thirimanne, and Thirimanne would hit him for more than a run-a-ball.Another England tour is scheduled for Sri Lanka in 2016 and Thirimanne will meet his nemesis again. But he has hit a hundred against Anderson now. He is the youngest batsman to make a World Cup hundred for a country that has seen a lot of batting talent bloom at these events. Next time they meet, fans might remember Thirimanne’s immense role in this outstanding chase. Next time they meet, no one will be laughing.

A combination of faulty technique and temperament meant they didn’t make it to the final of their own tri-series

Garth Wattley12-Jul-2013There was sunshine unabated for the Celkon Mobile Cup final at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad. That was no small thing given that in the island chain, tropical storm warnings had been in effect up to Wednesday, and that Dominica was still counting the cost of the passing of Tropical Storm Chantal. That was the somewhat ludicrous context in which the tri-nation one-day series between India, Sri Lanka and West Indies was played in the Caribbean.Disadvantageous as the ICC programme has made scheduling matches in these parts – smack in the hurricane season – this tournament was about seizing opportunities when you had the chance. MS Dhoni and India used the good conditions in a gripping final to win this tournament of very dubious importance, coming so soon after the best teams in the world had just battled in England for the Champions Trophy.The team that really could have done with putting its hands on the Celkon Mobile trophy was not even in the final. For the West Indies side, this was yet another opportunity lost.On Wednesday, the same day Virat Kohli and Angelo Mathews were talking to the media about their sides’ chances in the final, Dwayne Bravo was candidly owning up to another failure in 50-over cricket for West Indies.”The performance of the team reflects on the captain,” Bravo said. “I myself , whether it is due to injury or slow over rates, have some key things I need to work on as a leader.” Credit to him for, as they say, calling a spade a spade. It is a refreshing aspect of his captaincy that Bravo plays it straight as he sees it. But no one will need to remind him that talk without the appropriate action to back it up is as useful as a shredded umbrella in an afternoon downpour. The tri-nation series did not give any indication of improvement in the way West Indies are playing their 50-over cricket. Again the problems were the same old ones, and plain to see.Shaky batting that just about held up over the first two matches in Jamaica fell flat over the final leg in Trinidad. West Indies did not come close to making a serious contest of chasing the revised Duckworth-Lewis target of 274 in their third match, and lost so badly – by 102 runs – that India gained what proved a decisive bonus point. In the next make-or-break match, against Sri Lanka, the home side fell 39 runs short of their D/L target. Substantial partnerships, especially in the top order, were few.After starting the series with a century at home at Sabina Park, the runs dried up for Chris Gayle. Marlon Samuels did not cross 15 in four matches, Kieron Pollard notched 0, 4, 0 and 0, and the captain, in the two games he played, did not reach 20. In their loss to Sri Lanka, West Indies’ bowlers conceded 31 extras, including 24 wides – simply sinful in limited-overs cricket. And general waywardness and Kumar Sangakkara’s classy 90 not out rallied Sri Lanka to their match-winning 219.Bravo’s absence for one match because of injury and for another because of suspension for a slow over-rate, and key spinner Sunil Narine being limited to five expensive overs in the second match against India because of a finger injury that also ruled him out of the following game against Sri Lanka, were factors incidental to this latest disappointment. The two defeats that turned a table-topping position into a bottom-of-the-table slump had all the markings of similar West Indies failures over the last year. It may be bold to say it about a squad of players where all but two – Gayle and Tino Best – are below 30 and filled with so much natural, athletic ability, but maybe this is as good as it will get for this West Indies team.

The tri-nation series did not give any indication of improvement in the way West Indies are playing their 50-over cricket

Ad nauseam, Bravo and his stand-in, Pollard, spoke during the tournament about their side’s “inconsistency” which they had to put right. This was the same bugbear that confronted Darren Sammy before he was relieved of the ODI captaincy. The problem with this West Indian inconsistency is that it is constant. What could be the reason?Well, if batsmen do not have the adequate technique for different conditions then they will be found out at some stage. In the Trinidad leg of the Celkon Cup the teams were confronted with pitches that favoured seam bowling. But against India – the best bowling unit on performance in the series – no West Indian was able to weather the early pressure or settle the innings down later on. Rising deliveries around off stump caused the downfall of Gayle, Samuels and Pollard. Generally in this series, they got out in basically the same fashion.In contrast, Kohli produced a Man-of-the-Match performance to take his side from 210 for 5 to 311 for 7 over the last ten overs of the innings. He was able to build on the 123-run opening stand by Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma. In the Sri Lanka game, Sangakkara, like Kohli, took the time to play himself in before attempting to accelerate. Then in the tournament decider, Dhoni, playing despite a not fully healed hamstring injury, marshalled his side’s chase masterfully.That kind of measured approach was not displayed often enough in the West Indian camp. And sometimes when it was – for instance by Darren Bravo and Lendl Simmons in their century stand in the chase against Sri Lanka – neither player was able to see the innings through. Johnson Charles at the top of the order did some good things with 97 and 45 against India, as did Bravo against India and Sri Lanka. But West Indies’ batsmen collectively did not play the conditions or the match situations well enough to put their side in the final.Repeatedly they have been found wanting by the combination of faulty technique and temperament. Against better teams, natural ability and good team spirit will not always win the day. But that is what West Indies have been relying on for some time. The compact T20 format covers those shortcomings somewhat. Solving those problems in ODIs may be a task beyond even the ever optimistic.

South Africa are hoping that Johannesburg, their traditional first stop of an international season, will bring about a chance in their fortunes

Firdose Moonda in Johannesbug15-Oct-2011Nevermind the game parks, the wildlife and the wide open spaces, South Africa’s favourite holiday destination is Cape Town. A mountain, pristine beaches and a city that combines the delightfulness of Europe with the authenticity of Africa, it’s an ideal spot for a holiday or an adventure but it proved an unhappy place for South Africa’s start to the international season.It’s an unusual venue for an incoming tour to start, with bustling and busy Johannesburg usually the first stop of an international season. “This used to be the starting point for the tour and the guys have started well here,” Johan Botha said at the Wanderers, where South Africa were preparing for the second Twenty20 against Australia on Sunday. “Hopefully we can start our winning ways for the season here,” Botha said.After more than six months away from the international game, South Africa looked like an undercooked lot. While they achieved a par score at Newlands, their batting stuttered along the way, their bowling lacked incisiveness and even their fielding was a little off colour. The lack of energy culminated in an ultimately rusty performance, with one of the guiltiest parties being the man with the same name as the team’s showing.Rusty Theron, who made his name as a death-overs specialist, bowled three and a half overs and was hit for 42 runs. He was ineffective, wayward and expensive, a far cry from the bowler who was selected as part of the World Twenty20 squad in 2010. “He probably was a little off the beat in the Champions League and it showed on Thursday,” Botha said. “He shouldn’t just look at pace but he is probably five or six kilometres per hour down from where he has been in the past. Bowling yorkers at 133 kph to where he was at 140 kph is quite a difference. He will have to lift his game to stay in this team. That’s just honest.”Despite his obvious potential, Theron has only featured in four ODIs and six Twenty20s during his year as an international cricketer. Lack of opportunity appears to have pushed him back and he is likely to make way for Warriors team-mate Wayne Parnell. “Wayne should definitely get a go. He has got that little bit of extra pace and flair,” Botha said. “He is not scared to try things. In Twenty20 you need to be a little unpredictable sometimes.” Parnell has battled injury in recent months but is still considered the best back-up, in terms of pace, in the case of one of Dale Steyn or Morne Morkel breaking down, and has been looking to cement a more permanent place in the team.On a pitch that will offer more pace and bounce, South Africa may leave out one of their spinners, Botha or Robin Peterson. Botha was their best bowler in the first match, his place should be safe. An experienced Twenty20 campaigner, Botha also captained the team in the past and is regarded as one of their trump cards. He said he has based his game in the shortest format on unpredictability. “I am probably not your classical offspinner who lands it on the same spot all the time, I do try different things,” he said. “You have to try and stay one step ahead and use your fielders cleverly.”It was those creative and innovative elements of his game that made Botha a respected leader. Although he no longer holds that role, he is still part of the think-tank and Hashim Amla was seen consulting with him on numerous occasions on Thursday night. Botha was pleased with the way the team fought, although he felt the ability to close out the game was lacking. “We did really well. There was a period towards the end of the innings where we almost got 50 in four overs and in the field, our general energy was really good,” he said. “We did well to get it that close but obviously we would have liked to take more chances.”Another former captain, Graeme Smith, was guilty of letting one of those chances go begging when he dropped Shane Watson off Morkel’s bowling. He also failed with the bat; after facing six awkward balls from Doug Bollinger he was bowled off the inside edge. JP Duminy said it was just a matter of Smith rediscovering his form. “Obviously he hasn’t played much competitive cricket of late. A few of us have been involved in Champions League which helped. He has been only involved in club cricket,” Duminy said. “It’s about him just finding his feet again and with him not being captain he can focus more on batting and fielding.”Richard Levi, South Africa’s only new cap in the squad, missed out on playing in front of his home crowd on Thursday and would slot in ideally in Smith’s place. Although it is unlikely Smith will be dropped, Levi would not be wrong if he was hopeful of a chance. Botha said Levi could provide a little extra oomph at the top. “He is a very explosive player and we could maybe use that in the first six overs.”

Stats highlights from South Africa’s historic run-chase against Australia in Perth

S Rajesh21-Dec-2008

The last quarter of 2008 continues to be an excellent one for fourth-innings run-chases: New Zealand started the trend, chasing 317 against Bangladesh in Chittagong exactly two months ago; India raised the bar even further with an outstanding chase of 387 against England in Chennai last week; but South Africa did something even more incredible in Perth today, coasting to 414 to inflict a six-wicket defeat upon Australia and bring up the second-highest successful run-chase in Test cricket. It also means three of the top five such chases have come in the last five-and-a-half years, and two of them in the last ten days.As was pointed out in last week’s Numbers Game column, successful fourth-innings chases have been far more common in the 2000s than in previous decades, and this becomes the 32nd 200-plus chase in these nine years. No wonder, then, that the fourth-innings runs-per-wicket figure in this decade is 29.21, higher than it had been in any decade since 1950. AB de Villiers’ match-winning 108 was the 46th fourth-innings century during this period; add 242 fifties to it, and you’ll get a good idea of how good this decade has been for batsmen in the last innings.The pitch in Perth stayed pretty good throughout the five days, which isn’t so unusual these days either. The Chennai track had a mean look to it but wasn’t particularly spiteful on the final day, which was one of the reasons why India’s fourth-innings total was the highest of the match, as was the case in Perth. Till October 2008, this had only been achieved 17 times in the entire history of Test cricket. In the last two months, however, three more instances have already been added, with New Zealand, India and South Africa all getting the highest total of the game in successful run-chases. South Africa have successfully chased 200-plus targets seven times since 2000, the most by any team during this period.What’s also incredible is the apparent ease with which most of the highest run-chases have been achieved – in four of the top five such cases, teams have won losing fewer than five wickets: Don Bradman’s Invincibles chased 404 for the loss of only three wickets at Headingley in 1948, while India lost only four in chasing 406 and 387.More numbers

• Graeme Smith’s century yesterday was his third in the fourth innings of a match, and all of them have led to wins. Most batsmen struggle in the last innings of Tests, but Smith seems to relish the challenge, averaging 56.40 in 26 fourth innings. His last five such innings have been 85, 62, 3*, 154* and 108. Among batsmen who have scored at least 1000 fourth-innings runs, Smith’s average puts him in third place in the all-time list, behind two legendary openers, Geoffrey Boycott and Sunil Gavaskar.
  

  Best fourth-innings averages in Tests (Qual: 1000 runs)

  Batsman	Innings	Runs	Average	100s/ 50s
  Geoff Boycott	34	1234	58.76	3/ 7
  Sunil Gavaskar	33	1398	58.25	4/ 8
  Graeme Smith	26	1128	56.40	3/ 6
  Ricky Ponting	35	1187	53.95	4/ 3
  Gordon Greenidge	38	1383	53.19	3/ 6

  Limiting the results to just wins in fourth innings, Smith’s stocks go up even higher – with 844 runs from 15 innings, his average is an incredible 84.40, next only to Ricky Ponting’s 92.77 (with a cut-off of 500 runs). They are the only two to score three hundreds in fourth-innings wins.

• Among the three century partnerships in South Africa’s run-chase was the 124-run stand between AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis, who are fast developing one of the most prolific batting pairs for them. In 16 partnerships, the pair has put together 1275 runs, including six century stands, for an average of 85. Their last five partnerships read 112, 5, 256, 124, and 124. Among South African pairs who’ve added at least 1000, de Villiers and Kallis are in second place, next only to Gary Kirsten and Graeme Smith, who averaged 100.36 in 11 innings.
• Of the six South Africans who batted, five of them topped 50, with Neil McKenzie being the only one to miss out. It was only the third instance of five South African batsmen topping 50 in an innings in Australia, but in both previous occasions, the team had been bowled out.
• It was Australia’s second successive defeat in Perth, after their 72-run loss to India earlier this year. Only once earlier have they lost consecutive Tests here – 1984 and 1985, when West Indies and New Zealand beat the home team convincingly. (Click here for their entire result list in Perth.)

Arsenal have confirmed that they will screen their pre-season friendly with rivals Tottenham in Hong Kong at Emirates Stadium.

• Arsenal face Spurs in pre-season game
• Rivals face off in Hong Kong
• Emirates Stadium to screen clash

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Arsenal take on Tottenham on July 31 as part of their pre-season campaign, and now the Gunners have decided to hold a screening of the match on Club Level at their home ground. However, it appears to be only open to Arsenal fans, rather than Spurs ones, which is likely to be a wise move.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT ARSENAL SAID

  A post on the club's website reads: "If you’re looking for the perfect place to watch our pre-season friendly against Tottenham in Hong Kong, then why not head to Emirates Stadium to witness the thrills and spills with a host of fellow Gooners? We are holding a screening of the match on Club Level at Emirates Stadium on Thursday, 31 July, with doors opening at 10:30am and kick-off at 12:30pm (UK Time). Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Red members can purchase tickets for just £5 for adults and £2.50 for concessions. Food and drink will be available to purchase, as well as official merchandise, plus the entertainment continues with a live band roaming around to help build the atmosphere."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Arsenal will have been left smarting after seeing their trophy drought extend to five years this summer, plus, rivals Tottenham won the Europa League to end their 17-year wait for silverware. Both teams will look to start the season with a bang but before then, this match will provide bragging rights for a short time.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Arsenal and Tottenham will contest the first north London derby outside of the United Kingdom when they lock horns in Hong Kong later this month. In the days prior to this encounter, the Gunners also take on AC Milan and Newcastle United.

MatériaMais Notícias

A vitória do Ararat-Armenia, na última segunda-feira (27), pela Armenian Premier League, teve participação direta do lateral-direito Guilherme Alemão. A vitória da sua equipe, por 3 a 1, no clássico contra o Ararat Erevan, deixou o time na segunda posição do campeonato, com 46 pontos conquistados. Motivos de sobra para comemorar, e o brasileiro não esconde a felicidade e importância do resultado positivo.

– Estou muito feliz por ter ajudado a equipe conquistar os três pontos, com um gol e em um clássico. Era muito importante recomeçarmos o campeonato com uma vitória. Sendo um derby, nos deixa ainda mais motivado para o próximo jogo e na sequência do torneio – comemorou Alemão.

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Na temporada anterior, Alemão e Ararat-Armenia brigaram pelo título, assim como vem sendo na atual competição. Em 2021/22, a equipe do brasileiro terminou o campeonato com 74 pontos, apenas um abaixo do campeão Pyunik. A meta para 2022/23 é fazer diferente e terminar no topo, e o brasileiro não esconde isso.

– Estamos na luta. Sabemos que não será fácil até o fim do campeonato, mas o nosso grupo quer muito esse título. Na temporada passada tínhamos tudo nas mãos e, infelizmente, deixamos escapar. Esse ano queremos esse título e vamos fazer de tudo para conquista-lo. Devemos isso ao nosso torcedor e vamos fazer de tudo para terminarmos com o troféu – concluiu.

O próximo desafio de Guilherme Alemão com o Ararat-Armenia será no próximo domingo (5), às 9h (horário de Brasília), contra o Alashkert. O confronto será válido pela 22ª rodada do Campeonato Armênio.

LSG head coach Langer felt dropped catches “really killed us in the end”

Abhimanyu Bose18-May-20244:26

Langer: IPL has same pressure as World Cup

Lucknow Super Giants’ win over Mumbai Indians in their last game of the season was not enough to take them to the playoffs, but it was the kind of performance their captain KL Rahul wanted more of throughout the season.LSG finished on 14 points and occupied sixth spot on table – level with fourth-placed Chennai Super Kings, who still have a game to play on Saturday – but their net run rate of -0.667 was not enough to push them into the top four.”At the beginning of the season, I really felt that we had a strong team and had most bases covered,” Rahul said after the game. “[We had] a couple of injuries obviously, which happens every season to every team, but those injuries and the guys that went away really dented us a little bit, and we didn’t play well enough collectively.Related

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Boucher admits off-field noise may have 'clouded' Hardik after MI finish at bottom

Mohsin Khan nearly lost an arm, but he's back to being Lucknow's enforcer

Pooran-inspired win fails to take LSG into the playoffs

“When the bowlers had a good game, the batters wouldn’t have a good game. We just didn’t come together as much as we would have wanted to.”Rahul’s comments were echoed by LSG head coach Justin Langer, who said they wanted to try a few new tricks in their last game, and that included opening with Devdutt Padikkal in place of Quinton de Kock. But the Padikkal move did not pay off – he was trapped lbw for a golden duck by Nuwan Thushara – and LSG soon found themselves in a familiar position of losing early wickets.They were 69 for 3 in the tenth over but Nicholas Pooran’s whirlwind 29-ball 75 revivied them. It also helped Rahul accelerate from 29 off 28 to finish on 55 off 41 and took the side to 214.LSG had come into the season with a reputation for defending totals, and they lived up to it the first three times they batted first. However, their bowling took a hit in the second half of the competition, with injuries to key bowlers like Mohsin Khan and Mayank Yadav, and they struggled to defend totals.But in Mumbai, even after the hosts enjoyed an 88-run opening stand in 8.4 overs, their bowling unit came together to effectively blunt the opposition by the 15th over. Naman Dhir, batting at No. 7, gave them a scare with a 28-ball 62 not out, but LSG got through.Langer acknowledged that they missed the services of Mayank and Mohsin, but felt that their sloppy fielding “really killed us in the end”.”I think dropped catches cost us,” Langer said at the post-game press conference. “If you go back to the Delhi game at home, we dropped [Jake] Fraser-McGurk on 17 [24] off Marcus Stoinis. And I think he hit 26 [21] runs off the next over and it really kickstarted his whole season. I saw a stat today that we’ve dropped a lot of catches. We’ve probably got the best fielding coach in the world [Jonty Rhodes] and we dropped some catches. And often it’s [something] as simple as that to [decide] the outcome of the season.”We missed Mayank, he was huge. Mohsin [Khan] had quite a sore back for some of the tournament. But I think dropped catches is the thing that really killed us in the end.”But against MI, LSG held on to all their chances – five catches taken on the field. Krunal Pandya and Ravi Bishnoi took a brilliant catch each to send Dewald Brevis and Suryakumar Yadav, respectively, packing.”Today was a really good performance,” Rahul said. “This is the kind of game we wanted to play more where batters are scoring, and bowlers are doing their job. Unfortunately, we didn’t do that, so we find ourselves here.”

Abbas Afridi’s 3 for 20 and Fakhar Zaman’s 45-ball 61 went in vain for Pakistan

Danyal Rasool25-Apr-2024Four days after failing to defend 178 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan failed to chase down the same target in Lahore on Thursday. A disciplined performance from New Zealand’s bowling attack, particularly the pace duo of Will O’Rourke and Ben Sears, saw them edge Pakistan by four runs and take a 2-1 lead in the series.In pursuit of a target of 179, Pakistan lost early wickets, slumping to 46 for 3 before the powerplay was over. Only a spirited performance by New Zealand’s old foe Fakhar Zaman kept the game alive for Pakistan. Fakhar marked his return to the side with a 45-ball 61, lashing three sixes along the way, but when an off-colour Iftikhar Ahmed and he fell in consecutive overs, Pakistan’s fate was sealed.Pakistan kept the game alive till the very last ball, though, thanks to Imad Wasim. A cagey final over from Jimmy Neesham, in which he had to defend 17, ended with Pakistan needing six of the final ball, and a scythed blow behind point was not enough to pull off the heist.Earlier, Pakistan had had put New Zealand in, making five changes to the side as Mohammad Amir, Imad and Zaman Khan all returned. But it was New Zealand who landed the telling early blows as Tim Robinson and Tom Blundell put the bowlers to the sword in the powerplay, racing to 56 in the first five overs.The dismissal of Blundell saw Pakistan rein New Zealand in somewhat, but Robinson’s explosive knock – he smashed 51 off 36 before Abbas Afridi removed him – put New Zealand in a commanding position at the halfway mark.New Zealand did lose their way at the death as Imad and Amir did well, but the efficiency of their bowlers confirmed that they had put up just about enough to keep Pakistan at bay.Abbas Afridi picked up two wickets in two balls in the 19th over•Associated PressAbbas Afridi makes his casePakistan rung in the changes in the fast-bowling department, with Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah both missing out. In came Amir, but it was Abbas who stood out, bowling some of the toughest overs and coming away with both credit and wickets. After a first over where New Zealand targeted him in the powerplay, he returned and provided an immediate much-needed breakthrough as the explosive Robinson miscued him into the night sky.For some reason not called upon for his full quota, Abbas’ final over – the penultimate one of the innings – was the pick of the bunch. A mix of cutters, hard lengths and perfect yorkers saw Abbas take two and concede just five as New Zealand continued to be dragged back. Abbas’ figures of 3 for 20 possibly left Babar Azam wondering why he hadn’t used him for the full four.Tim Robinson played responsibly at the top•AFP/Getty ImagesShadab Khan takes a stunnerIt’s perhaps on-brand for Shadab Khan’s reputation as an allrounder that despite not bowling a single delivery for the first time in a completed T20I innings, he was responsible for the most impressive Pakistan contribution in the field. It took place in the 14th over of the New Zealand innings, when Mark Chapman – Pakistan’s bete noire on tours like these – slapped one over the head of wide mid-off. Or so he thought. Shadab moved to his left and flung himself into the air with feline-like lethality. The speed of the ball knocked his right hand off as he held on to it with his left. It took a disbelieving crowd a few moments to register what had happened, but it hampered New Zealand’s death-overs push.Fakhar Zaman smashed Ish Sodhi for a six early on in his innings•AFP/Getty ImagesSears and O’Rourke hold their ownThere’s a Super Smash feel to the New Zealand squad in Pakistan, and that was particularly true of the seam-bowling duo of Sears and O’Rourke. Sears had played ten T20Is before this tour while O’Rourke was yet to make his debut, but the pair was instrumental in halting Pakistan’s early charge from the get-go.While Pakistan targeted Jacob Duffy, O’Rourke struck in his first over, drawing Babar into a cover drive, and the extra bounce saw him paddle it to cover-point on the full.He also dismissed the other opener, Saim Ayub, who was put down in the first over.Sears kept New Zealand plugging away as he prised out Usman Khan to leave Pakistan in trouble. The pair’s ability to keep the runs quiet at the same time allowed Michael Bracewell to turn to them whenever pressure needed to be applied, a motif that continued right through the innings. The pair was brought later, and gave their captain the wickets of Iftikhar and Fakhar to kill the game off, combining for figures of 8-0-54-5.

Afghanistan continue bring joy back home with fourth victory of World Cup campaign

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Nov-2023Hashmatullah Shahidi, the Afghanistan captain, dedicated his side’s seven-wicket win over Netherlands to the thousands of Afghan refugees in Pakistan who are facing the prospect of being deported back to Afghanistan.Shahidi was speaking after a comfortable win in Lucknow, Afghanistan’s third in a row and one which sees them move to eight points and closer to a semi-final spot, albeit with two games left to play against Australia and South Africa.”Right now, a lot of refugee peoples are in struggle so we are watching their videos and we are sad for that and we are with them in this tough time,” Shahidi said after the game. “I dedicate this win to those refugees that are in pain and also to all country peoples back home.”Nearly two million Afghan refugees that Pakistan says are in the country illegally had been told by the government to leave by November 1 or face either deportation or arrest. This week many thousands have rushed to the border between the two countries, trying to beat the deadline but worried about facing an uncertain future in Afghanistan, which has been governed since August 2021 by the Taliban.Related

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Pakistan has a long history of taking in Afghan refugees, dating back to 1979 when the former Soviet Union came into Afghanistan in a new front of the Cold War with the US. A lot of the players from Afghanistan’s earliest cricket sides had grown up and learnt the game in refugee camps in north-west Pakistan. There has been another sizeable influx of refugees into the country after the Taliban took control two years ago. But the order for the refugees to leave Pakistan comes amid tense political relations between the two countries.The issue has been close to the hearts of the cricket team. Following their eight-wicket triumph over Pakistan in Chennai last week, Ibrahim Zadran also dedicated the win to refugees being forced to leave.”I think the players are attuned with everything that’s going on back home, whether it’s an earthquake and other things,” Jonathan Trott, Afghanistan’s coach, said on Friday after the Netherlands win.”So they realise, and I think they’re enjoying the joy that they’re giving to the Afghan people and the smile that they currently have on their face in the changing room, but also the smiles that’s giving everybody else. That’s the great thing about sport and being able to touch people far further afield than just here in the stadium or in this country, but back home as well.”Afghanistan are now fifth on the points table, outside the top four on net run-rate but with the same points as New Zealand and Australia. They take on an in-form Australia in Mumbai first, on Tuesday, and then a rampaging South Africa in Ahmedabad, among their toughest tests.”I think you’ve got to definitely prepare and have a look at how the opposition are going to play, but the thing is with us, I certainly feel that if we worry, we just focus on how we play and what makes us the side that we are,” Trott said.”We’ve got to make sure that we don’t look at the opposition too much and forget about what we’ve got to do well. So that’ll be it and obviously we’ll prepare for Australia, a very good side along with South Africa but right now we’re focused on Australia and what we can do to beat them.”

تحدث عماد النحاس، المدرب العام للنادي الأهلي، عن أولى المباريات الودية للفريق التي أقيمت اليوم الإثنين، ضد الملعب التونسي، في معسكره المقام بتونس.

والتقى الأهلي مع الملعب التونسي، في إطار معسكره التحضيري المقام في تونس، ضمن الاستعدادات للموسم الجديد 2025-2026.

وحقق النادي الأهلي الفوز على الملعب التونسي، بنتيجة 4-1، سجل أهداف المارد الأحمر، محمد شريف “هدفين”، وأشرف بن شرقي ومحمد عبد الله لكل منهما هدف.

وقال النحاس خلال تصريحات عبر قناة الأهلي: “أول مباراة بعد 8 أيام منذ بداية فترة الإعداد، كل اللاعبين شاركوا باستثناء حسين الشحات وسيكون متواجدا معنا في التدريبات غدًا”.

وأضاف: “مباراة تخرج من غير إصابات فهذا شيء جيد، نفكر في توزيع المجهود على اللاعبين، نتيجة المباراة تعطي لك داوفع للمقبل والمكسب مهم بالنسبة لنا”.

طالع.. فيديو | بخطأ من الشناوي.. الملعب التونسي يسجل هدفه الأول أمام الأهلي

وأكمل: “نركز على تنفيذ التعليمات في كل الخطوط، ما زالنا في بداية الموسم ونتمنى التوفيق لكل اللاعبين والجهاز الفني”.

وواصل: “دفعنا بالناشئين وهم إضافة للفريق الأول واستيعابهم جيد جدًا وريبيرو لا يفرق بين اللاعبين، كذلك عاد كريم فؤاد وشارك في مباراة قوية وتنفيذه للتعليمات كان جيدا”.

وأتم: “لو لدينا أخطاء فهذا أمر طبيعي وسنقوم على تعديلها في الفترة المقبلة، الكل مركز ويريد أن يقدم دوره وأكثر، المنافسة ستكون قوية هذا الموسم”.