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How the Phantom’s unbeaten 282 in a Melbourne club final made a mockery of the opposition’s declaration

Wayne Robinson08-Oct-2016I opened the batting with Bill Lawry when he scored 282 not out for Northcote against Essendon to win the 1965-66 Victoria Cricket Association Premiership final.I was a 22-year-old in my fourth year of grade cricket. Bill had just come off a hundred at the MCG against England that helped Australia retain the Ashes.He batted for 509 minutes and faced 454 balls. It was a two-innings match, supposed to be played over two weekends. But the rules were that if there was no chance of getting both innings in, the match would be decided on whoever scored the most runs in their first innings. The first innings had to be played to a finish, though.It took three weekends to finish this game. Essendon scored 514 for 9 declared, batting first. That’s a lot of runs, someone said in our dressing room, after we’d come off. Bill didn’t think it was enough, though. The wicket was good and he couldn’t understand why they’d declared. “This is a grand final,” he told everyone.Earlier in the season, he had made a duck against Essendon. He’s got a memory like an elephant, forgets nothing, and was determined to make up for this rare failure. Straightaway he started accumulating runs. Nothing flash, just like he was playing in a Test match.That’s what stood out about Bill. He played club cricket just as seriously and carefully as if he was playing for Australia.I was dropped at third slip first ball, but was still there at the close of play. We had 98 by then. Bill said that if I didn’t get out in the first hour the next day, we’d win the game. He also told me not to play back to their legspinner. The next day, just after the hour, I played back to the legspinner and was out lbw.Bill didn’t give a single chance in his 282, in almost two and a half days of batting. It was the same whenever he batted. Never looked like getting out.

Earlier in the season, Lawry had made a duck against Essendon. He’s got a memory like an elephant, forgets nothing, and was determined to make up for this rare failure

Bill saw the ball much earlier than the rest of us, and at club level didn’t appear to have any weaknesses. He judged the ball perfectly outside off stump. Even when the opposition had their state players, Bill dominated, simply by having complete mastery of his game.Playing with someone that good inspired you to play better yourself. Our middle-order batsman Tom Ryan was a bit of a hitter, but for the final, Bill just said to him. “Cut that out today.” Tom scored 82 and put on nearly 200 with Bill.As a captain, Bill was a hard taskmaster, but people listened to him. He dropped me to No. 11 for one game because I questioned one of his decisions.The final against Essendon was played at the Albert Ground in Melbourne, the Melbourne Cricket Club’s second ground. I’d never seen it so full. As Bill closed in on the target, there was a 70-metre queue outside to get in.

Anyone who does not know Steven Finn’s backstory has probably been living under a rock but now he wants to put the past behind him and become the fast bowler England craves

David Hopps04-Aug-2015″To be quite frank I am sick of talking about the past,” said Steven Finn. It sounded like a watershed. No more will he feel obliged to reflect upon that calamitous last Ashes tour, of the reasons his bowling action malfunctioned, about his kneeing of the stumps, the yips that weren’t really yips, the shortened run-up and “unselectable” comment by Ashley Giles that was delivered more sympathetically than some have supposed, and the long road back to fulfilment.You know the story. Bookmark it. If things go to plan, you may never read it again.As fast bowlers go, though, Finn is a courteous chap. He was 6 minutes 57 seconds into revisiting the past before he dared to draw the line. He makes a gory story sound anodyne. Move on, Steven, you could have been forgiven for pleading. There is no point to this anymore. Especially when you tell it like you just popped down to the shop for a pint of milk. At least invent something implausible like your body was briefly inhabited by Martians. Draw your lesson from Australia: you can always rely on Mitchell Johnson to say something like that.And then Finn put the past behind him, which is where the past most properly belongs. “That has been and gone,” he said. “Every time I have sat down I have talked about what has happened in the past. ‘How did you do this, how did you do that?’ Like that is not even in my head any more. All I am thinking about is what is happening in the future and trying to keep that going; that’s the only thing that is occupying my mind at the moment.”So the past is cancelled. Apart, that is, from the memory of Edgbaston, when he felt 6ft 7ins again, when he was roared so loudly into the crease on a hat-trick ball to Mitchell Marsh that he might almost have soared over the batsman’s head to the sightscreen with the thrill of it all, and when his best Test return of 6 for 79 (8 for 117 in the match) dismissed Australia for a second time and forced home the victory that put England 2-1 ahead in the series.’I don’t want to talk myself up too much because it could bite me in the backside but my rhythm felt good and it still feels good and hopefully I can take that into this Test match’•Getty ImagesEdgbaston is different. Edgbaston is a piece of the past that counts as the future. Funny thing, time, as Stephen Hawking almost said. One minute, Finn is in danger of disappearing into his own self-analytical black hole, the next minute he once again looks as if he can be English cricket’s Big Bang – the fast bowler, at 26, who can still have his best years in front of him, an exciting champion of the attack, awarded the new ball without a second thought. He might get it temporarily – he has done it a couple of times before in Tests – at Trent Bridge.The prospect of the new ball excites him.”That’s a massive ambition of mine,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to be a dead cert in an England team. My driving ambition has been to get to that place. At the moment I’m very much a support player I suppose, but over time, as guys phase out of the team, it will be a matter of trying to take that extra responsibility when it comes.”Edgbaston was not a flash in the pan. He asserted that more than once. Then, as if it sounded overly confident, he also reminded himself: “It’s only one Test match.” With Finn, you sense that to land in a psychologically good place remains an intricate business, needing pilot and co-pilot at the controls and the latest in technology to alleviate the crosswinds. Overload Edgbaston with too much significance and things could get bumpy.”I’m not looking too far in the future, just build on my performance last week and keep building so it comes to a stage where you are a name on a team sheet rather than a bloke with a question mark against you.”That is just the sort of optimistic thought England need when the absence of James Anderson because of injury – on the ground, too, where he has been so destructive – is a reminder of his advancing years, and where his preferred replacement, Mark Wood, is not certain to return because of the ankle trouble that ruled him out at Edgbaston. Wood is a bowler of talent and he might own an imaginary horse but he has never been a jockey resilient enough to go through the card.”Obviously, we are missing Jimmy this game so there’s more responsibility,” Finn said. “We’re all as a bowling unit going to have to step up because he will be sorely missed to try to limit the effect of missing Jimmy and that’s everyone’s responsibility in the attack, not just mine.”He jokes: “I’ve nicked his place in the dressing room so there’s a bit of pressure on me to take the wickets he’s taken.”Before Edgbaston, Finn was approaching 100 Test wickets with a reputation as a fast bowler who leaked runs. Perceptions can quickly change. If he achieves that landmark at Trent Bridge – he needs two – he could be extolled for having a strike rate that bears comparison with the best of them. Finn is a bowler who makes things happen in an England side that dares to play fast and loose and shares his unpredictability.”The strike rate is a nice thing to have by your name I suppose,” he said, “but I would like to get that run rate down if I’m being really honest. I’ve got below three an over for Middlesex this season. I have been a little bit expensive in the past but I was inexperienced then as well and a combination of the two would be lovely but at the moment it encourages you to go out and try to get wickets I suppose.”I don’t want to talk myself up too much because it could bite me in the backside but my rhythm felt good and it still feels good and hopefully I can take that into this Test match. I have felt in good rhythm all summer.”Rhythm is important to every bowler, but it has been a less trusty companion to Finn than some. The way he fibs about his height is instructional. At 6ft 7ins, he feels normal. At his real height – 6ft 8ins – he feels gangly, unreliable, unrhythmic. Knocking an inch off brings his body back under mental control.Neither is there much sign of a fast bowler’s malevolence to sustain him. “I like my skills to do the talking, I try to play with a smile on my face. There is a time to impose yourself but I try to let my bowling do the imposing and not necessarily scowling. That’s just something you learn when you are younger – you learn a style that brings the best out of you.”Invited to recall a time when he did something really nasty, he exclaimed “bloody hell” and proposed “I pulled a spider’s legs off when I was younger?”At his worst in Australia, life must have felt like that for Finn, except he was the spider whose legs were being yanked in all directions.Days no longer lingered upon. Not now. Maybe not ever.

Rajasthan’s fast bowler Pankaj Singh on the desperation to represent India, and the pain of being ignored by national selectors despite consistently strong performances

Nagraj Gollapudi02-Jan-2014With 39 scalps, Pankaj Singh is the leading wicket-taker in the top tiers of the Ranji Trophy this season•ESPNcricinfo LtdOn Wednesday, immediately after the day’s play, you walked into the box where Roger Binny, the national selector, was watching the match from. Why did you do that and, though Binny had already left, was it the first time you had done something like that?It was the first time I had wanted to go and talk directly to a selector. I knew this was Rajasthan’s last match of our Ranji season, and so I knew we would not be able to meet anywhere else. I wanted to know what are the things I should do (to get picked for the national squad), what is going wrong with me. That was because I wanted to get an answer as to what else I could do to get there because I want to be there (in the Indian team).How tough is it to keep performing and yet not get to know what exactly the selectors are thinking?Ultimately I want to play for the country, a dream, a goal virtually every domestic player aspires to at some point. Now steadily as my age is increasing, I have started to doubt whether I would be able to reach that dream. Also the criteria which are needed to make the India team, which I have been achieving in domestic cricket in the last four years, and still if the selection is not happening then I would obviously like to know what more I should do.The other option is to keep silent and continue playing which I have been doing. But my intention was to understand exactly why I am being sidelined or if they have given up on me. Then if that is the case I do not need to fight within myself or with people/things, then I can just calm down and plan my future. And if the selectors say that we have seen enough of you and we are not going to select you then I don’t need to put myself under pressure each time hoping my name would be included every time a selection meeting happens.I know that every year I cannot perform the way I have in the last four years. I am going to turn 29 so the age is going to soon turn against me. I know I can still play for four to five more years. And if I am just left to play domestic cricket, then my goals would not be that strong. And without goals I would not be able to put in this kind of effort, hard work and perform.But in 2010-11, when Rajasthan won their first Ranji Trophy I was 26. I had taken 53 wickets that first-class season. I had many expectations considering India were going to tour many places like West Indies and England. So many other fast bowlers were picked and replaced others who were injured or unfit. But I never was included. So now I have reached a stage where I have started to think: (if not now then maybe never). If it is (end) then maybe I could even leave playing cricket possibly in two years. So these were the questions I wanted to ask.Was it a mix of fear and anger that drove you to take that call to meet the selector?Possibly. The Indian selection system has predominantly never given chances to a bowler over 30. Since four years I have waited (My chance would come. It has not come). So even if I speak to someone it might not come and the selector might even get angry, or someone might inform me the areas I am falling short of. At least this way I could improve or at least I would tell myself that I did my best and only then I left.Were you optimistic about a call-up for the New Zealand tour?Definitely. Not just this time, but last year when we were playing in Kolkata against Bengal in our Ranji season opener, I picked nine wickets. A national selector, who was present, walked upto me and said I had bowled really well. I was expecting a call-up for the home Test series against England but I did not get included. Till now I have no idea where I fell short. Even the selector appreciated my performance. Then in Mohali, against Punjab, the same selector said I was doing well. Even this season I started slow but started to get wickets steadily. At the start of this season I did not believe my name would be discussed. I knew I was not being counted in the top 10 fast bowlers in the country considering I had not been called for any A tour or Emerging Trophy series or even a national camp for fast bowlers.But the selector might have just said that to encourage you?I know that is not bad. But if a selector is encouraging me, I am doing well, and I am (still) nowhere. These are the people who are going to pick you in the team, make your career. Even this season, in Chennai against Tamil Nadu I took a five-for, all top-order wickets. Sandeep Patil (national selection panel chairman) while taking a walk said, “very well bowled. Good bowling.” I did not say anything. As a player I can only perform and that I am doing from the last four years.

“Why would I like to continue to play if I am not going to play for India. I am not going to play just for money. I have earned enough and invested in the right places. Every player has a reason to continue playing”

Say if a selector calls up and informs you that you are not part of our plans. What will you do?I will play maximum of one or two years then. Simple. Why would I like to continue to play if I am not going to play for India. I am not going to play just for money. I have earned enough and invested in the right places. Every player has a reason to continue playing. A good player does not hang in just to earn money. The main thing is dedication towards the job. Say if I had been picked and not performed then I would be angry to prove myself and play for another four or five years.Can you talk about the challenges a player like you goes through when not part from the Indian set-up?The biggest challenge is you are unable to decide what you should. You doubt whether your state association is weaker and not promoting you. Then sometimes you doubt if selectors are backing a player(s) from a particular zone. No player wants to think such questions. When you are performing you do not want to raise such doubts in your head. But if the same questions keep repeating in my mind then I am bound to doubt the system.So how do you motivate yourself?It because of the meeting my dream, the (stubbornness). Having come from a small place, Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, to this place where I am now, I do not want to give up.What are the things you have worked on in the interim?Many times I heard I was not quick, so I worked on my pace. But importantly started first by working on my fitness and strengthening to make sure I was bowling at lively pace. In the last two years even I felt I was bowling quick – consistently 135kph. Barring Umesh Yadav, show me one fast bowler in India who has bowled consistently over 140kph. I have tried to tick every checkbox a selector thinks with regard to a fast bowler.There is a feeling that your age was a factor, as you could not be picked for an A team where opportunities need to be given to youth primarily. But is it not unfair on you considering you are almost the same age as some players who have been on A tours in recent years?Yes. But right from when I was 26, I have never been considered or included. There are other players like Vinay Kumar and RP Singh, Dhawal Kulkarni who are around my age and still have played or been included in the squad. I am not nitpicking. Some of these guys have played more cricket than me, but my numbers show I am doing much better than many other fast bowlers.

West Indies captain says his side have competed against India and Australia and now need to start winning

George Dobell14-May-2012They may be missing several of their leading players, have been beaten in the warm-up game, written-off in the media and up against the No. 1 rated Test team, but West Indies captain Darren Sammy has warned England not to underestimate his side’s chance ahead of the Test series beginning at Lord’s on Thursday.West Indies’ Test record in recent years is grim. They have won only one of their previous 10 series – and that was against Bangladesh – and only two of their last 24 series stretching back to 2004. Indeed, since December 2003, West Indies have played 80 Tests, won just eight – including two against Bangladesh – and lost 45. It is not a record that inspires confidence.But Sammy believes his side is progressing. While he accepts the results do not show it, he insists there have been encouraging signs in recent Test series. Notably, West Indies pushed India hard in Delhi before collapsing against Ravi Ashwin in their second innings and succumbing to a five-wicket loss. Similarly, they came to close to upsetting Australia in Bridgetown, only for another second innings batting collapse to eventually sentence them to a three-wicket defeat.”The only thing that has not been happening is the victories,” Sammy told ESPNcricinfo. “We’ve been playing good, competitive cricket against strong sides like India and Australia and all our Tests have been going five days and down to the wire. Not many teams go to India and give India a run for their money, but we did that.”Coming from where we are right now, we are not going to start winning straight away. We are taking baby steps to the ultimate goal. We are playing well and dominating teams throughout matches.”The problem is that we keep losing key moments in matches. One bad session keeps costing us. Champion teams seize the moment but we keep having a bad session where we might lose five wickets in an hour. We just need to cut that out. Once we eliminate those bad sessions then we’ll make progress.”Sammy also reminded England that the sides did not have to look back very far to the last team his side caused an upset. A young West Indies squad travelled to England to play two T20 internationals last September and, having lost the first game by 10 wickets, they hit back with a 25-run win to square the series. West Indies also won the last Test series between the sides in the Caribbean.”We were a very inexperienced team in September,” Sammy said. “People said we were just on our way to Bangladesh, but we beat England.”Every team that comes here, the media try and bring them down for England. So we know what to expect. We have to handle the distractions – be they the weather or the press – and concentrate on doing our best on the pitch. People don’t expect much from us, but we know that once we play to our potential we can compete very hard against England. If we can put runs on the board, we back our bowlers to take 20 wickets against England.”If West Indies are to do that, it is crucial that they have their best attack available to them. As things stand there are slight injury doubts hanging against all three of their leading seamers – Kemar Roach (foot), Ravi Rampaul (neck) and Fidel Edwards (back) – though it looks as if all three should be fine. As Roach, who is eagerly anticipating his first Tests at Lord’s put it: “Everyone wants to be here; there’s nothing going to stop me playing.”Sammy also said his entire side had been inspired by the documentary Fire in Babylon, which tells the story of West Indies’ domination of Test cricket in the 1970s and 80s. He drew parallels in the challenges facing his team and West Indies team of the early 70s.”Fire in Babylon is my inspiration,” Sammy said. “I have watched it many times. I knew our history – but to see it again, to hear the passion in the voices of the players – it’s got to make you think about how important what we do is to the people of the Caribbean.”All of the guys have seen it and been inspired. The guys are aware of how important West Indies cricket is to the fans. They appreciate the history and they carry the legacy. Some never knew about it – they knew the team had been great – but they didn’t understand what previous teams had gone through and what they had to endure. They didn’t understand about the challenges they had to rise above.”We have different challenges now. We dominated the world for 17 years and conquered all teams. People got used to success. A lot is expected of all West Indies teams since then. It could be a burden – every fast bowler is compared to Ambrose or Walsh and every batsman is compared to Greenidge or Lara – but I prefer to see it as an inspiration. That’s the path we have to follow.”Everyone in the Caribbean wants West Indies to do well. When we are playing well our brand of cricket is very entertaining. The turnout from the public in our last series – in Tests and ODIs and T20s – we’ve not seen that sort of support for our team in a long while. The reason is that they see the team competing. We’re not winning, but we’re playing with passion and if we do that, the victories should be just around the corner. We’re fighting, we’re showing passion: we understand what we have to do.”Darren Sammy was talking at the launch expansion of Sport for Life, a cricket-based community education program that hopes to equip young people with life skills and instil in them a love of sport. For more details visit: https://www.sport-for-life.org/caribbean/

A match that began with the pitch bringing the teams together on the firsttwo days ended by showing the gulf between them

Peter English at the Gabba23-Nov-2008
Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor appear to be the only New Zealand batsmen who can stand up to Australia’s attack © Getty Images
A match that began with the pitch bringing the teams together on the firsttwo days ended by showing the gulf between them. While Australia’s rankingis being seasonally adjusted after a decade of dominance, New Zealand’sspot at seventh, one ahead of West Indies, accurately reflects theirposition in the game.The visiting bowlers are bright and lively on favourable surfaces but asthe series heads to Adelaide for the second game their opening has closed.In the moist conditions at the Gabba they shocked the home batsmen,dropping them for 214 in the first innings and 6 for 131 at stumps on thesecond day. As the pitch dried out New Zealand’s hopes quickly evaporatedand the 149-run defeat was confirmed before lunch on the fourth morning.With their under-qualified batting order, they will do well not to finishthe two-game series with another loss in Adelaide.Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder appear to be the only ones who can stand up toAustralia’s improving bowling attack. The openers Jamie How and AaronRedmond combined for 27 runs in the game, which immediately exposed themore talented middle and once it departed there was no room for arecovery. With such slim resources, New Zealand need to manage them wellif they are to compete, but there is unlikely to be much change.The defensive Daniel Flynn contributed in both innings, but is not someonewho can alter the plans of the attack, while Grant Elliott’s selection asa specialist batsman at No. 7 is a strange option. Brendon McCullum, aplayer capable of changing a game, should slip back a spot or two from No.5 to gain the most from his powers, but it is not something Daniel Vettoriwill consider for long before Friday.”Probably mid-series it might be a tough one to change, but certainly it’ssomething you always have to reinvestigate,” Vettori said. “When you makechanges you want them to work and we had an initial period when Brendonbatted really well in England, but he hasn’t had good results since then.”Starting the day at 6 for 143, the tourists were dismissed in 48 minutesas Australia won their first game since beating West Indies in July. Thefeeling was of relief following the troubles of India, but it was not aperformance that could eliminate the growing doubts over their long-termpath.”By no means are we getting carried away with the win,” Ricky Pontingsaid. “It’s been a good win, but we’ve still identified that there aresome areas we need to improve.”Australia did well to recover so strongly after losing the toss on achallenging surface, but they have their own form issues with the bat,starting with Matthew Hayden. He will go to Adelaide to play his 100thTest and it will help determine how long he stays with the side. Australiastill need his strength at the top of the order, but there is an urgencyto know whether his powers faded fully following his winter spentrehabilitating from an Achilles injury.Ponting is not in doubt over the value of his team-mate and expects him tobe in England for the 2009 Ashes. Hayden scored 8 and 0 at the Gabba, butPonting was pleased to turn up to the ground on the third day and seeHayden had been batting for an hour in the nets. “Skills-wise andhunger-wise, Matthew Hayden is definitely our best opener and will beuntil he wants to finish,” Ponting said.Shane Watson has been dropped from the squad and the offspinner Jason Krejza should come into the side for the second Test while the wicketkeeper Brad Haddin will also come underincreasing scrutiny following another subdued performance. Despite the individual questions, Ponting was content to register some success to boost the team morale.”It will be great for us,” Ponting said. “For a lot of the younger guyscoming back from a long, hard tour of India and probably having theirconfidence knocked around a little bit. And even some of the more seniorguys … But we can’t get carried away with this result. If we didn’t takewickets with the new ball last night we could have had a real tough gameon our hands.”

The WA captain led from the front but the home side collapsed during the final session to leave the game well balanced

Tristan Lavalette03-Feb-2024Western Australia captain Sam Whiteman compiled a brilliant century on a grassy WACA surface, but New South Wales hit back late on day one as the Sheffield Shield resumed after the mid-season break.After being sent in, Whiteman and Cameron Bancroft overcame the tough conditions with a century partnership as they batted into the second session.Back to his favoured format, Whiteman shrugged off a lean BBL and a first ball duck in Thursday’s Marsh Cup against NSW with 107 off 188 balls. He was particularly fluent driving the ball and ruthless against short-pitched bowling.Related

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But WA collapsed to be bowled out for 256 after being well positioned at 164 for 2 with wicketkeeper-batter Josh Philippe left stranded on 52 not out.Bowling tirelessly from the Lillee-Marsh end, veteran seamer Jackson Bird hauled NSW back into the contest to finish with 3 for 37 off 20 overs.Two-time defending champions WA’s only defeat of the season was a 10-wicket thrashing to NSW at the SCG as they sit fractionally behind Tasmania on the table. NSW, who were winless last season, had built momentum before the break to be in striking position of an unexpected final’s tilt.Captain Moises Henriques had no hesitation to bowl on a green-tinged surface and in notably cooler weather than the teams experienced in Thursday’s Marsh Cup, where temperatures hit 43 degrees in Perth.But Whiteman and Bancroft expertly navigated the bowler-friendly conditions with the occasional delivery rearing off the surface. Bancroft was cautious and scored just one off his first 12 balls before he settled with a beautiful cover drive as Whiteman also flourished through the off-side.They judged the length superbly and pounced on stray deliveries from NSW’s quicks, who often bowled too full or short. Chris Tremain and Jack Edwards were unable to consistently bowl in dangerous areas outside off stump with Henriques turning to speedster Liam Hatcher for a spark.He delivered with a vicious spell before lunch and hit speeds of around 140kph, but Bancroft and Whiteman held firm. Offspinner Chris Green was carried away with the surface’s bounce and repeatedly bowled too short as NSW toiled in a barren first session.Batting appeared easier after lunch with Whiteman at ease against Edwards’ rather pedestrian short bowling to rattle past his half-century. Whiteman sped past Bancroft, who edged through slips against the luckless Hatcher.A desperate Henriques turned to Bird, who ended the 107-run partnership by having Bancroft well caught by Edwards at second slip. Bird found a trademark groove as he relentlessly hit a menacing spot outside off-stump to torture Jayden Goodwin.Goodwin, the son of former Zimbabwe Test batter Murray Goodwin, has impressed this season and was preferred at No. 3 over Teague Wyllie, who for much of the past couple of seasons has batted in that position. But Goodwin was all at sea against Bird and nicked off on his 13th delivery for a duck.Once Bird went out of the attack, Whiteman capitalised and charged towards his century on the stroke of tea. He whacked a tiring Hatcher for three consecutive boundaries to move to 97 before guiding him over the slips for six to notch his second Shield ton of the season.But NSW fought back in the final session with WA losing 4 for 8, including Whiteman who was brilliantly run out from a direct throw by Ryan Hackney at square-leg. Whiteman attempted a second run back to the striker’s end, but Hackney charged in from the boundary and left him stunned having just one stump to aim at.NSW were on a roll when Wyllie fell lbw to Edwards for a golden duck, but they rued Green dropping Philippe before he had scored in a sitter at third slip. In a late twist, Matt Kelly and Corey Rocchiccioli were dismissed on the last two balls of the day’s play as WA were bowled out.Having played in the Marsh Cup following an indifferent BBL, left-arm spinner Ashton Agar was overlooked with WA sticking with offspinner Rocchiccioli, who has been a mainstay in their Shield team in recent seasons. Nathan Lyon is not playing for NSW after a hectic Test summer.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Palmeiras não vivia os tempos de vacas gordas como vive, pelo menos, nos últimos oito anos, mas, ainda assim, era favorito na semifinal do Paulistão de 2014, contra o Ituano. Para muitos, inclusive, o Estadual era a grande, quiçá a única, chance do Verdão conquistar um título no ano do seu centenário.

Os palmeirenses, no entanto, não contavam com Ituano, do meia-atacante Marcelinho. Revelado pelo Corinthians, o jogador, na época com 24 anos, estava emprestado pelo Karpaty Lviv, da Ucrânia. Reserva no duelo contra o Palestra, o atleta entrou aos 30 minutos do segundo tempo e nove minutos depois marcou o gol que eliminou os alviverdes do Paulista, colocando o Ituano na final.

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+Palmeiras chega à décima semifinal de Paulista seguida; relembre o retrospecto

Nove anos depois, o Ituano pode repetir o feito e eliminar o Palmeiras em uma semifinal de Paulistão. As equipes vão se enfrentar neste domingo (19), às 16h (horário de Brasília), no Allianz Parque. O momento palmeirense é completamente diferente. As vacas engordaram, e de um time quase rebaixado para a segunda divisão do Campeonato Brasileiro em 2014, hoje o Verdão vem de conquistas em sequência. O time é o atual campeão paulista e brasileiro, além de ter vencido a Libertadores em duas das últimas três temporadas.

Marcelinho não joga mais pelo Ituano desde 2019, mas segue acompanhando o clube, até porque conheceu a sua esposa na cidade e se estabeleceu por lá. Como um morador de Itu, ele naturalmente costuma acompanhar o Galo e, embora reconheça a superioridade palmeirense no confronto deste fim de semana, acredita que a equipe rubro-negra pode surpreender novamente. Para isso, na visão dele, é importante tirar como inspiração o São Bernardo, que encarou o Palmeiras de frente nas quartas de final e deu trabalho, ainda que tenha sido eliminado com a derrota por 1 a 0.

+ Confira a tabela do Campeonato Paulista e simule os jogos da competição

– Às vezes um time pode ser superior tecnicamente, mas o outro taticamente, e cumprir o que tem que ser feito e em questão de disposição de cada atleta, você às vezes consegue igualar o jogo. Eu acredito que se fosse o meu time, eu tentaria armar uma estratégia para fazer próximo ao que o São Bernardo fez -disse o jogador em entrevista exclusiva ao LANCE!.

Independentemente da estratégia que será adotada pelo Ituano para encarar o Verdão, uma coisa é garantida: a torcida de Marcelinho para o Galo.

– Eu vou torcer pro Ituano! Eu não sei quanto vai ser o jogo, mas vou torcer pro Ituano. Que eles consigam passar, fazer história de novo – destacou.

RELEMBRANDO GOL HISTÓRICO

Nas ironias da bola, se dependesse do técnico Doriva, que comandava o Ituano em 2014, Marcelinho poderia não estar na intermediária ofensiva para chapar no canto esquerdo. Isso porque o treinador queria que o atleta, que havia entrado em campo havia poucos minutos, recompusesse a marcação.

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– No lance do gol, o Doriva me deu uma dura porque eu não tinha voltado para recompor na marcação. No momento que você entra no jogo da uma abafada, você dá um pique, outro pique, você abafa mais até que a galera que já tá no jogo. Eu lembro que o Doriva tava gritando muito na lateral pra eu voltar e tal – relembrou Marcelinho.

– Foi quando o Dick roubou a bola saiu dando uma arrastada pelo lado direito, tentou a finalização, não me lembro o zagueiro que pegou a bola. Como eu já estava acompanhando a jogada, sobrou pra mim, na intermediária, e aí eu vim dei uma chapada, pegou um pouco no chão, na velocidade, e entrou bem no cantinho no lado esquerdo do goleiro. Foi sensacional, maravilhoso aquele momento – acrescentou.

O Ituano ainda foi além naquela temporada e conquistou o título paulista duas semanas após deixar o Palmeiras pelo caminho. E o triunfo veio batendo um outro grande do Estado, o Santos. O duelo foi vencido pelo Galo nos pênaltis. Marcelinho foi um dos atletas que converteu a sua cobrança.

Emilio Gay’s 88 from 110 balls was the day’s most eye-catching batting performance

ECB Reporters Network26-Apr-2024

Emilio Gay drives on his way to fifty•Getty Images

Northamptonshire 337 for 6 (Gay 88, Bartlett 71*, Procter 64) vs LeicestershireHalf-centuries from Emilio Gay, George Bartlett and skipper Luke Procter enabled Northamptonshire to shade the opening day of their Vitality County Championship match against Leicestershire, where they finished on 337 for 6.Gay’s 88 from 110 balls was the day’s most eye-catching batting performance but Bartlett’s unbeaten 71 and Procter’s 64 from 164 had much to commend them for grittiness as the home side’s bowlers, while expensive in the morning, did eventually make them work hard for their gains.Scott Currie and Tom Scriven finished with two wickets each but on-loan seamer Ben Green was unlucky not to have any success, while England leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, returning to county duty for his second appearance of the season, was impressively difficult to score against.Gay was the dominant figure in a morning session in which Northamptonshire were the clear winners. Leicestershire, who also recalled Matt Salisbury for the injured Ben Mike, made only one breakthrough after skipper Lewis Hill had won the toss.The home attack struggled with length and line at times and both Gay and opening partner Ricardo Vasconcelos, both of whom have started the season well, hungrily took advantage. If there was something for the bowlers in a green-tinged pitch it largely proved elusive. Northamptonshire were 60 without loss inside the first hour.By lunch they had 128 on the board but had surrendered one wicket, Vasconcelos losing his off stump to an inswinging ball from Scriven but Gay, though a little streaky on two or three occasions, particularly against Scriven, had looked in serious trouble only when Currie backed up a brilliant stop at third slip with a shy at the stumps that would have run him out for 41 had it hit.The 24-year-old left-hander cashed in two matches ago with a career-best 261 against a Middlesex attack struggling with the Kookaburra. He reached 52 from 61 balls and looked good for a sixth career hundred here. However, after increasing his boundary count to 16, he fell on 88 soon after lunch when Currie pushed one through with some extra pace and bowled him off an inside edge.The visitors suffered another blow when their Indian Test batter Karun Nair, who also has a double-hundred under his belt this season, was dismissed for 18, Salisbury finding a thin outside edge to have him caught at first slip, via the gloves of ‘keeper Ben Cox.Leicestershire bowled with better control in the middle session than they had before lunch, with Currie in particular bowling some impressive spells that deserved more success. Yet they found themselves up against two solid adversaries in Procter and winter signing Bartlett, who had added 66 in a little under 20 overs when tea arrived at 242 for 3, Procter having posted his fourth fifty-plus score in five innings.With Ahmed growing to his task as a foil, giving little away from the pavilion end, and Currie continuing to bend his back at the Bennett End, pressure continued to build on the fourth-wicket pair after tea and it was Ahmed who eventually split them, bowling Procter with a ball the left-hander shaped to cut but did not sit up for the shot.Leicestershire made the visitors work hard for their runs but not once in the day did a breakthrough prompt a flurry of quick wickets. Bartlett now had James Sales for company, and another 46 runs were chipped out before the new ball brought a second wicket for Scriven, who found the edge with a beauty, Louis Kimber taking a good, low catch at first slip. Bartlett, meanwhile, had completed his first half-century for his new county from 114 balls, but Northamptonshire lost Saif Zaib before the close, well taken by Cox off Currie.

Match details

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (10th; P6 W1 L5) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (5th; P5 W3 L2)
Bengaluru, 7.30pm IST (2pm GMT)

Big picture – Can RCB withstand SRH’s power at the Chinnaswamy?

After making the playoffs for three seasons in a row and then narrowly missing out last year, RCB are having a horror campaign, having slumped to five defeats in their first six games. Their bowling has been a major area of concern, with captain Faf du Plessis admitting they “don’t have as many weapons” with the ball. In RCB’s last game, they saw Mumbai Indians chase 199 inside 16 overs. And on Monday, they will be up against another batting juggernaut in Sunrisers Hyderabad.With Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma at the top, Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen in the middle and the power of Abdul Samad and Pat Cummins, Sunrisers have a batting line-up that’s not just explosive, but also runs deep. Earlier in the season, they posted the highest total in IPL history (277), beating RCB’s 263, and are the second-quickest scoring team in IPL 2024. Sunrisers’ big-hitters will be licking their lips at the prospect of playing against RCB at the Chinnaswamy, where the boundaries are short and the ball flies a long way.In contrast, RCB have the third-worst economy rate this season with the ball. With Mohammed Siraj having a below-par season, and a spin attack that has failed to be a threat to opposition batters, RCB know they have a huge challenge on their hands when they go up against Klaasen and co.Du Plessis has already said that the onus is on their batters to do the heavy lifting, and the positives RCB can take is that their skipper and Rajat Patidar found some form in the last game, and Dinesh Karthik continued to be impactful as a finisher.Virat Kohli, who is the leading run-scorer in the IPL, also has an excellent record against Sunrisers, scoring quicker against them than any other team in the competition.

Form guide

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: LLLLW (most recent matches first)
Sunrisers Hyderabad: WWLWL

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Royal Challengers Bengaluru
RCB have chopped and changed, using as many as 19 players this season – only Delhi Capitals have used more (20) – and they have been forced to tweak their combinations due to in-season injuries. RCB had an injury scare when Glenn Maxwell suffered a blow to his thumb and went for scans. But RCB’s director of cricket Mo Bobat said on Sunday Maxwell is “okay at the minute” and “there’s no injury concerns”. Just in case Maxwell is unfit, Cameron Green could return to the XI, having been replaced by Will Jacks in their last game. Saurav Chauhan or Anuj Rawat will likely come in as the Impact Player if RCB are chasing, or go out for a bowler if batting first.Probable XII: 1 Faf du Plessis (capt), 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Will Jacks, 4 Glenn Maxwell/Cameron Green, 5 Rajat Patidar, 6 Mahipal Lomror, 7 Dinesh Karthik, 8 , 9 Akash Deep, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Reece Topley, 12 2:39

Is it time for Sunrisers to unleash Umran Malik?

Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers are unlikely to make any changes to their team as they continue to build momentum around the halfway stage of the tournament. T Natarajan will likely come in as the Impact Player if they have to defend a target, and they can get Rahul Tripathi in as an extra batter if they are chasing.Probable XII: 1 Travis Head, 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Aiden Markram, 4 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 5 , 6 Heinrich Klaasen, 7 Abdul Samad, 8 Shahbaz Ahmed, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Jaydev Unadkat, 12

In the spotlight – Will Jacks and Travis Head

RCB made a big call to bench Green, who they bought in a cash trade for INR 17.5 crore, in the last game and brought on the highly-rated Will Jacks. Jacks showed glimpses of what he can do before chipping a catch for 8, but there are high expectations from him. With a T20 strike rate of 158.60, Jacks can help take the pressure off an under-fire RCB batting line-up.Travis Head is up against the team he made his IPL debut for, and he will be looking for a big score. After a 62 against Mumbai, Head has not really made a significant score and will be looking to make another big impact. He will also be fed plenty of pace, which suits him just fine. The Chinnaswamy may just be the best venue for him to go big again.

Stats that matter

• Sunrisers have won just two of their eight matches at the Chinnaswamy Stadium and have the worst win percentage among all IPL teams at the venue.
• The battle of the finishers: Dinesh Karthik (243.90) and Heinrich Klaasen (263.15) are among the quickest scorers in the death overs this season.
• RCB’s bowling average in the powerplay this year is 91.75 – by far the worst for any team in any season. Kolkata Knight Riders in 2018 had the previous worst powerplay bowling average in a season (68.38)

Pitch and conditions

The Chinnaswamy pitch has not been as batter-friendly as in the previous years. It’s been slightly two-paced, and the average first-innings score has dropped to 180 this season, as compared to 190.8 from IPL 2021 onwards.

Quotes

“So I think you have to keep challenging yourself to try to take wickets because any team can score that 60-70 at the back-end, in the last four or five overs. So I think no score is safe. And you always feel you’re in the game, particularly when you’re chasing. I think most teams will come here and try to chase because they feel it’s easier to navigate the innings when you know what’s in front of you.”

Ansu Fati has joined Monaco on loan after extending his Barcelona deal until 2028 as he aims to revive his career alongside Paul Pogba in Ligue 1.

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• Fati joins Monaco on a one-year loan with €11m buy option
• Barcelona keeps repurchase clause in the deal
• Played just 297 minutes under Flick last season

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Barcelona have officially sent Fati on loan to Monaco for the 2025-26 season. The deal reportedly includes a purchase option worth €11 million (£9m/$13m) for and a repurchase clause in favour of Barca. Alongside the move, the 22-year-old winger has signed a contract extension with the Cataln giants until June 2028.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The 22-year-old has struggled to regain his early momentum since bursting onto the scene in 2019. Multiple injuries disrupted his development, and he featured only sparingly under Hansi Flick last season, making 11 appearances – just three starts – and logging under 300 minutes. His 2023 loan spell at Brighton yielded four goals in 27 games. A move to Monaco, where he’ll compete in the Champions League and link up with Pogba, offers a fresh start.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Fati is Barcelona’s youngest-ever Champions League goalscorer, having netted at just 17 years and 40 days old. That record stands even ahead of rising star Lamine Yamal, who trails by 28 days.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR FATI?

  Monaco now have the chance to assess Fati across a full season, with the option to sign him permanently. For Barcelona, the extension and repurchase clause show they still see long-term potential in the forward if he can rediscover his best form in Ligue 1.