Raina eager for South African challenge

Raina remains confident of turning in a strong performance in the tough series against South Africa coming up next month

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Nov-2010

Suresh Raina is looking forward to his first Test series outside the subcontinent•Getty Images

Indian batsman Suresh Raina’s hold on the No. 6 spot in the Test side has become less secure after managing only 26 runs in four innings against New Zealand, but he remains confident of turning in a strong performance on the tough tour of South Africa, beginning next month.”It is a very important series, and a big challenge, for me,” he told the . “Though I have played there before, it has been only in the ODIs and Twenty20.”South Africa have a formidable record over the past four years, losing only one series since the reverse in Sri Lanka in July 2006, and Raina wasn’t expecting an easy tour. “Self-belief, confidence and mental discipline will be the key to success in South Africa,” he said. “I am looking forward to the challenge because when you do well against good teams, you get appreciated for having done well. This is also why you want to play international sport.”His Test career got off to a dream start with a debut century against Sri Lanka in July, though he has found the format to be more challenging in the two home series that followed. “To succeed in Tests, your temperament is more important than your technique,” he said. “How you handle pressure situations and how you work your way out of trouble through grit and courage is also important.”

Not easy to manage the Pakistan team – Intikhab Alam

Intikhab Alam, the former Pakistan captain, who has been appointed manager of the Pakistan team has said that managing the Pakistan team is not an easy job anymore in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Oct-2010

Intikhab Alam: “My job will be to make it sure that everything is okay in the UAE”•AFP

Intikhab Alam, the former Pakistan captain, who takes over from Yawar Saeed as manager of the Pakistan team for the series against South Africa beginning later this month, believes that managing the Pakistan team is not an easy job, especially in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal.”My job will be to make sure that everything is okay in the UAE,”Alam told the . “We will try our best to enhance the image of the Pakistan cricket team.”Alam, 68, is not new to the job – he has been a track-suited manager/coach on many Pakistan tours from 1982-92, including the 1992 World Cup that Pakistan won. He was also Pakistan’s coach during their disastrous tour of Australia in 2009-10 where Pakistan lost all their matches – three Tests, five ODIs and one Twenty20 game.Alam had launched a scathing attack on Pakistan’s cricketers after that tour, calling them “mentally retarded” when he was questioned by a PCB inquiry committee. But Alam believed that would have no negative impact on his relations with the players in his new role.”The whole thing was blown out of proportion. During the probe, I just questioned the players’ cricketing sense. As the team’s coach, I think it was my duty to do so.”Alam was replaced by Waqar Younis as Pakistan’s coach after the Australia tour. He was then appointed as the head of Pakistan’s National Cricket Academy. Despite his vast experience, Alam said he would not interfere with the coaching staff. “It will be the team’s coaches who will take care of the cricketing side. I’ll be there as a guiding hand but my main job will be to manage the team and that’s it.”I know Waqar well, I know Aaqib [Javed] well. I’ve worked with the coaching staff before and I have a very good understanding with them.” Former Pakistan fast bowler Javed is the team’s assistant coach.Pakistan play two Twenty20 games, five ODIs and two Tests against South Africa in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Alam warned, that despite Pakistan’s familiarity with the conditions in the UAE, South Africa would not be easy opponents. “South Africa are a very professional side. We will have to do our homework and I’m sure that the coach and captain will ensure that.”The tour begins on October 26 with the first Twenty20 game that will be played on at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Crystal Palace: Luka Milivojevic back in training before Leeds

Crystal Palace midfielder Luka Milivojevic has returned to training ahead of tomorrow evening’s Premier League clash with Leeds United.

The Lowdown: Milivojevic’s absence

The club captain has only played 31 minutes of Premier League action over the last two months and didn’t travel with the squad for the 1-0 defeat to Newcastle on Wednesday.

Milivojevic, who Roy Hodgson labelled as ‘outstanding’, suffered a hamstring injury in the FA Cup semi-final with Chelsea last weekend.

It looks as if he could return to the squad for the visit of Jesse Marsch’s side, though, after a positive injury update emerged days before the game.

The Latest: Back in training

Football.london relayed comments from Patrick Vieira’s pre-match press conference on Friday.

The Eagles boss confirmed that Milivojevic was going to be in training on Saturday, while Michael Olise was also going to be assessed yesterday after he was withdrawn early on at St. James’ Park.

The Verdict: Good news

Although Milivojevic hasn’t been a regular started in Vieira’s first season in charge, it is good news knowing that he appears to be over his muscular problem relatively quickly.

Hopefully, he’ll now be able to give Vieira another central midfield option from the bench against the Whites alongside Will Hughes and Jams McArthur.

Who knows, the Palace boss may even look to shake things up following three successive defeats, and he could be forced into one change, should Olise fail to recover in time.

In other news: Source: Freedman now stepping up Palace move for ‘phenomenal’ left-footed star as news emerges. 

Last-ball six takes Delhi to knockouts

A round-up of the tenth day of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Twenty20 tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Oct-2010North ZoneMedium-pacer Pradeep Sangwan shone with the bat against Haryana, getting Delhi home with a last-ball six•Getty Images

Pradeep Sangwan helped seal a last-ball win against Haryana at the Model Sports Complex with a cameo of 14 off five balls, striking a last-ball six off Joginder Sharma with four required to put Delhi in the knockouts. He came in when Delhi had lost the wicket of Rajat Bhatia, run out for 39, off the first ball of the last over. They needed 12 off five and Sangwan knocked off the runs with a four and then a maximum off the final ball. For Joginder, who snared Misbah-ul-Haq in Johannesburg to hand India the World Twenty20 title in 2007, it was a moment to forget.Earlier, Delhi openers Chetan Sharma and Puneet Bisht had laid a solid platform for the chase of 147, adding 41. Bhatia then supported Sharma in a 36-run stand but Delhi appeared to lose their way when they lost the next four wickets for 25. But Yogesh Nagar revived the innings with a brisk 22 and Sangwan smashed the ball around in the final over to snatch a win. Haryana owed their competitive score to Sunny Singh, who anchored the innings with an unbeaten 74 off 48 balls which, unfortunately for him and his team, proved inadequate as Delhi won their fourth straight game.Services kept their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stage alive with a nervy two-wicket win off the penultimate ball of their game against Punjab at the Model Sports Complex in Delhi. The Services chase of 134 was in tatters at one stage as their top and middle-order batsmen squandered starts to be dismissed and their team collapsed to 69 for 7. Left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma grabbed four wickets but the lower order fought back and how. Ritesh Negi was the star for Services, leading the recovery with 40 off 31 balls and adding 57 with Narendera Singh, who remained unbeaten on 24. Negi fell on the last ball of the penultimate over with the score on 126 but No.10 Suraj Yadav, along with Narendera, knocked off the remaining runs to seal a win with one ball to spare. Services also had to thank medium-pacer Amrinder Singh grabbed his maiden Twenty20 five-for to limit Punjab to a chaseable score, despite opener Sarul Kanwar’s 49.Himachal Pradesh earned their first points of the tournament with a thumping 56-run win over Jammu & Kashmir at the Model Sports Complex in Delhi. Openers Sangram Singh and Manvinder Bisla added 111 in 15.4 overs before Singh was run out for 57. His innings took 51 balls and contained six fours. Bisla was out in the last over, having also made 57, off 53 balls, with three fours and a six.If J&K were to successfully chase 148, they needed to get off to a good start. However, at 15 for 5 in the sixth over, the match was effectively over. Ian Dev Singh and Shashi Kumar made sure J&K played out their full 20 overs with a 52-run partnership, but it was always going to be a bridge too far for a side that has now lost all four of its matches, and gone past 100 just once. Kuldeep Diwan and Ashok Thakur took 2 for 8 and 2 for 9 respectively.West ZoneMumbai finished on top of the West Zone points table with an all-win record, prevailing over Maharashtra by 15 runs in their last encounter at the Reliance Stadium in Vadodara. Aditya Tare and Paul Valthaty steadied Mumbai after fast bowler Samad Fallah had them reeling at 7 for 3. The duo added 63 runs before Valthaty was run out for 37. Ankeet Chavan then dominated a 53-run stand with Tare, who anchored the innings with his 47 off 50 deliveries. Chavan’s unbeaten 44 off 31 lifted Mumbai to 147. Maharashtra’s chase was led by Kedar Jadhav who hit three sixes in his 47 off 30. At 103 for 3, Maharashtra needed 45 from 29 with Jadhav at the crease. However, Ajit Agarkar took two wickets in the 16th over, and left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla removed Jadhav in the next. The lower order found the going tough, and Maharshtra were bowled out for 132.Baroda eased past Saurashtra at the Reliance Stadium in Vadodara, winning by four wickets with one over to spare. Saurashtra were in trouble early at 27 for 3, before Cheteshwar Pujara and Sheldon Jackson steadied the innings with a 44-run partnership. However, it was slow going for the pair, who took 9.5 overs to score their runs. Pujara led with 37 from 49 balls, but it was left to Rakesh Dhurv to provide a finishing kick. Dhurv hit two fours and three sixes in his unbeaten 33, which came off 15 balls, to take Saurashtra to 113.Baroda lost two quick wickets, but a cameo from Yusuf Pathan – he made 17 from 12 balls, with three fours – and a solid 39 from opener Pinal Shah made sure they were never really in trouble chasing a low score. Ketan Panchal and Abhimanyu Chauhan finished the job, putting on 25 for the seventh wicket, to take Baroda to second place in the West Zone points table, behind Mumbai.Central ZoneUttar Pradesh’s on-off chase ultimately ended in a narrow three-run win for Vidarbha at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Faced with a target of 149, Rohit Srivastava started with a six but fell in the first over. UP then raced to 54 in six overs, courtesy captain Mohammad Kaif’s 41 off 25 deliveries. However, Vidarbha struck with a clutch of wickets as UP subsided to a woeful 109 for 8 in the 17th over. Just when it appeared they were out of the game, RP Singh and Kamran Khan brought them back with a 36-run stand in 21 balls. However, with four runs needed, RP was run out off the penultimate ball of the match. Umesh Yadav bowled Sudeep Tyagi off the last ball as UP lost their third game in four matches. Vidarbha’s total of 148 was built largely around opener Amol Ubarhande’s 72 that came in 59 deliveries.Murtaza Ali’s hurricane half-century set up Madhya Pradesh’s crushing 66-run win against Rajasthan at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Coming in after Monish Mishra and Naman Ojha had got MP off to a quick start, Murtaza built on the momentum, smashing five sixes in his unbeaten 67 that came off 35 deliveries. Despite the fall of some late wickets, his assault lifted MP to 165. Dishant Yagnik began well for Rajasthan, but fast bowler TP Sudhindra’s triple strike in two overs reduced them to 35 for 4. They never recovered after that, and Akash Chopra was the only batsman to make more than 20. All the MP bowlers were among the wickets as Rajasthan were dismissed for 99.East ZoneBengal upstaged Orissa by 18 runs at the Sunshine Ground in Cuttack to take the top spot in the East Zone table. Both teams qualified for the knockout stage with wins in their previous games but a collective bowling effort from Bengal helped them make it four in four. The seamers Ashok Dinda and Laxmi Shukla bagged two wickets each while each of the other four bowlers chipped in with a wicket to restrict Orissa in their chase of 133. Things looked upbeat for Orissa when they had raced to 48 for 1 in the sixth over but the middle and lower-order batsmen, while losing their wickets relatively cheaply were also kept quiet and gradually drifted out of contention as the required rate crept up. For Bengal, opener Shreevats Goswami top scored with 43 and added 60 with Anustup Majumdar. Shukla, who starred in an all-round effort, smacked an unbeaten 35, including three sixes, to surge Bengal to 132, a target they defended with ease.Jharkhand slumped to their fourth straight defeat in the competition, losing to Assam by five wickets at the Ravenshaw College Ground in Cuttack. Ishank Jaggi had helped Jharkhand overcome a poor start by top scoring with an unbeaten 61 and steering them to a competitive 138. He was supported in a 57-run stand by captain Rajiv Kumar and later by wicketkeeper Shiv Gautam. In Assam’s response, there were handy contributions from the top and the middle orders, including 46 from Deepak Sharma, who led the chase for the bulk of its duration. Victory was sealed in the final over with four balls to spare, captain Amol Muzumdar remaining unbeaten on 12.

Mascarenhas hit by ban over Twitter

Dimitri Mascarenhas, the Hampshire captain, has been suspended for 14 days from the start of next season following his Twitter outburst against Geoff Miller, the national selector

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Sep-2010

The start to Dimitri Mascarenhas’ 2011 season will be delayed by two weeks•Getty Images

Dimitri Mascarenhas, the Hampshire captain, has been suspended for 14 days from the start of next season following his Twitter outburst against Geoff Miller, the national selector.Mascarenhas, who has played 20 ODIs and 14 Twenty20s for England, pleaded guilty to two charges of the personal attack on Miller being against ECB directives and of bringing the game into disrepute. He was also ordered to pay £500 towards the costs of the hearing.The punishment stemmed from Mascarenhas posting two foul-mouth messages on his Twitter feed earlier this month. “Chairman of selectors came to Liverpool and didn’t even come and say hi…what a p***k. Doesn’t take much to say hello, does it,” he wrote, before added. “Geoff Miller is a complete k**b. He had no clue what he is doing. Fing p***k.”Mascarenhas admitted accidentally posting them during a night out and had already been fined £1000 by his county who didn’t impose a ban because of the long-term achillies injury that has kept him out for most of the 2010 season.His Twitter mistake followed Kevin Pietersen’s own social-media issue when he revealed his one-day omission via his account adding that it was a “f**k-up.” He quickly removed the post and apologised but was fined by the ECB.

Leeds: Marsch handed oe Gelhardt boost

Beren Cross has dropped a promising injury update regarding Leeds United centre-forward Joe Gelhardt.

What’s the latest?

In a recent post on Twitter, the Leeds Live journalist revealed that, having played just 32 minutes of football over Leeds’ last four Premier League fixtures as a result of injury, the 19-year-old striker now appears to be fully fit and firing ahead of the meeting with Crystal Palace on Monday evening, as well as the remainder of the top-flight run-in.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-leeds-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-marsch-raphinha-dest-philhay” title=”Read the latest Leeds news!”]

Concerning the teenager’s current condition, Cross said: “Fully fit for the run-in.”

Game-changer

Considering just how impressive Gelhardt has been throughout his breakthrough campaign in the Leeds United first team, in addition to the fact that the Whites’ first-choice number nine, Patrick Bamford, remains sidelined until at least May, the news that the England U21 international is now fully fit is something of a game-changer for Jesse Marsch.

Indeed, over his 14 Premier League appearances this season – only two of which have come as starts – the £4.5m-rated hitman has bagged an extremely impressive two goals and registered three assists – averaging a direct goal involvement every 97 minutes of football played.

For comparison, Daniel James – who has often been deployed at centre-forward in the absence of Bamford – has registered a direct goal involvement every 333 minutes of top-flight football this term.

As such, while the Whites’ recent run of three wins and one draw over their last four league fixtures has substantially eased the club’s relegation concerns, the fact that Gelhardt now appears to be available for the Palace meeting, not to mention the remaining five games of the 2021/22 campaign, is sure to come as a huge boost to Marsch and his side – as the £16.5k-per-week youngster has already proven he is very much a game-changer in the Leeds’ attack.

AND in other news: Orta plotting Leeds offer for “under the radar” talent, it could be bye-bye Phillips

هازارد: إصاباتي مع ريال مدريد مشكلة نفسية.. و4 منتخبات أفضل من بلجيكا في كأس العالم

أكد جناح الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي ريال مدريد، إدين هازارد، على أن كرة القدم هي من تجعله سعيدًا إذا شارك في أي مباراة رغم الإصابات الأخيرة التي يعاني منها.

ويستعد هازارد مع منتخب هازارد لمباراة ودية أمام مصر قبل مشوارهم في كأس العالم بالمجموعة السادسة التي تضم المغرب، كرواتيا وكندا.

اقرأ أيضًا.. السنغال تحسم موقف ماني النهائي من مبارياتها الأولى في كأس العالم

وأجرى البلجيكي حوارًا مع صحيفة “ماركا” الإسبانية، وقال: “إنه لأمر صعب ألا أشارك كثيرًا في مباريات ريال مدريد، لكن الجميع يعاملني بشكل جيد في التدريبات، إذا كان بإمكاني المساعدة أثناء المباريات سأفعل كل ما لدي”.

وتابع: “لم يحالفني الحظ في آخر 3 سنوات، أرغب في المشاركة أكثر بالمباريات حتى أثبت للجميع أنني أستطيع لعب كرة القدم، لأنه من الطبيعي أن يشك البعض في قدراتي، لا ألعب سوى 10 أو 15 دقيقة، في تشيلسي لعبت 500 مباراة دون إصابة، لكن في خلال عامين فقط تعرضت لكل تلك الإصابات، لا أستطيع تفسير الأمر”.

وأضاف: “لقد غيرت كل شيء في نظامي اليومي، كذلك الغذائي وتدريباتي الرياضية في صالة الجيم، كان هناك سوء حظ بسبب الإصابات وفيروس كورونا وفترة توقف الدوريات وتأجيل عودتي في الوقت المناسب”.

وواصل تصريحاته: “تعرضت لإصابات كثيرة ليست بسبب مشكلة حدثت في العمليتين اللتين أجريتهما ولكن أعتقد أنه سبب نفسي، لا أتهم أحدًا في النادي أو الأطباء، هناك أشياء كثيرة أثرت في تأخر عودتي”.

وعن المنافسة مع فينيسيوس: “يجب أن أتقبلها، دائمًا ما يأتي لاعب شاب لمنافستك على مركزك، لكنه صديقي مع رودريجو وإذا لم أتقبل تلك المنافسة علي أن أغادر، لكن لا أفكر في هذا الأمر مطلقًا وأريد الاستمرار بقميص ريال مدريد حتى نهاية عقدي”.

وبسؤاله “هل طلب تشيلسي منه العودة من ريال مدريد؟”، أجاب: “لا لم يحدث، ليس لدي أي فكرة عن هذا الأمر، لا أفكر في الرحيل مطلقًا من الفريق خاصة في يناير، أرى الأمر مستحيلًا، لدي عائلة ويحبون مدريد، لكن في الصيف من الممكن أن أرحل، إذا رغب النادي في مغادرتي، يجب أن أتقبل الأمر وقتها”.

وعن أصعب لحظة خاضها أثناء السنوات الماضية: “كانت في بطولة كأس أمم أوروبا مع بلجيكا، كنت أستعد بقوة لخوض موسم جيد مع ريال مدريد، ولكن في دور الـ 16 أمام البرتغال تعرضت للإصابة مجددًا لكنني لدي عائلة تساعدني وتدعمني للعودة من جديد لذلك أراني محظوظًا”.

وانتقل هازارد للحديث عن كأس العالم 2022، وقال: “لدينا فريق جيد في بلجيكا، لاعبين رائعين، لدينا خبرة أكثر مما كنا عليه في كأس العالم في روسيا، لكنني لا ألعب، لوكاكو يعاني من إصابات، بعض الشكوك تدور حولنا”.

والمرشحون للفوز بكأس العالم: “هناك فرق أفضل منا، مثل البرازيل، فرنسا والأرجنتين وإسبانيا كذلك منتخب جيد لديهم لاعبين مميزين ومدرب جيد مثل لويس إنريكي”.

وبسؤاله “هل الفوز ببطولة كأس العالم أهم أم اللقب 15 في دوري أبطال أوروبا؟: “لا يجب المقارنة بين اللقبين، في ريال مدريد إذا قلت المونديال سيعترضون، وفي بلجيكا يصفني الناس إذا قلت دوري أبطال أوروبا بالمجنون”.

Atlético-MG enfrenta Botafogo-PB pela segunda fase da Copa do Brasil

MatériaMais Notícias

Depois da vitória contra o América-MG, no campeonato estadual, o Atlético-MG mira na Copa do Brasil. O adversário da vez é o Botafogo-PB. O confronto será decidido em apenas um jogo. Diferente da primeira rodada, o empate não vai classificar o Galo, mas levará a decisão para os pênaltis.

Vale lembrar que oBotafogo-PB ainda está invicto na temporada. Até agora foram 12 jogos, com oito vitórias e quatro empates até aqui. Os jogadores do Atlético-MG, comandados por Thiago Larghi, sabem que o duelo não será fácil. O lateral Patric projetou o desempenho da equipe alvinegra para conseguir o triunfo.

– Difícil. Acho que é um jogo chave. Primeiramente temos que consolidar para não levar gol, como foi no último jogo, para que o nosso ataque venha a sobressair no momento certo e a gente consiga conquistar a vitória. Respeitando os atletas que estão lá, esse tem que ser o primeiro ponto nosso – enfatizou o jogador.

O jogo contra o Botafogo-PB será no Almeidão, em João Pessoa. A partida está marcada para 21h45.

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