The forgotten war No, we’re not talking about Afghanistan or ME Waugh. The Royal Challengers’ song has the line, Khel nahin, yeh jang hai [It’s not a game, it’s war]. Presumably, they took a leaf out of the Mike Marquesee book, War Minus the Shooting, because their top stars have been firing nothing but blanks all tournament.Almost perfect In the middle of a terrific opening spell, Sreesanth produced a yorker homing in on middle stump. Misbah-ul-Haq backed away, went on bended knee and carved the ball past point for four. A stunning stroke, but the effect didn’t linger long as he stepped on to his stumps soon after.Empty scoop Misbah will never live down that attempted paddle over short fine leg in the Twenty20 World Cup final. On Monday night, his team-mate, Vinay Kumar, gave it a go, moving well outside off stump to try and scoop the ball fine. He didn’t even make contact though, and VRV Singh made a mess of the stumps. Surely a percentage shot left to the Tendulkars of this world.Dry zone With local elections round the corner, Mohali is a dry area [no alcohol] on Monday. The few who have followed the Royal Challengers up north would have been justifiably miffed. Watching them play at the moment would drive even a teetotaler to the bottle.The faster you bowl the farther you go Dale Steyn had conceded 12 in his opening over, and it got worse when Rahul Dravid recalled him for a second chance. The more Steyn strained the sinews, the faster the ball disappeared to the rope. Three fours and a six came from the first four balls, and when hethen followed up with a slower one, it was wide down the leg side.Australian Job: Punjab’s run chase had a very Australian feel to it. Shaun Marsh and James Hopes started the fun, and after Hopes went, Luke Pomersbach kept his Western Australian team-mate company on the cruise to victory. Marsh now has an amazing 295 runs from just five matches, 97 more than Bangalore’s leading run-scorer in the tournament [Dravid].
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsOn a slow Harare surface, India wrapped up the ODI series with a performance that was pragmatic if never thrilling. The batting struggled to get out of third gear, but an opening partnership of 112 between Ajinkya Rahane and M Vijay ensured the bowlers had a solid total to defend. A target of 272 may have produced a tighter contest against a stronger batting side, even on a pitch as sluggish as this one, but it was more than sufficient to beat this Zimbabwe side by a handy margin.The approach of Rahane and Vijay looked dour, even dull at various points during their partnership, but the reasoning behind it was sound. The wisdom of it became apparent when Zimbabwe batted. At the 20-over mark, they were 79 for 3. India had been 78 for 0.Chamu Chibhabha had batted like the India openers, playing the percentages and going after only the loose balls – such as when he cut and flicked a wayward Dhawal Kulkarni for three successive fours. Three other top-order batsmen had fallen to unwise shots – Vusi Sibanda had driven away from his body; Hamilton Masakadza and Elton Chigumbura had pushed hard at the ball outside off stump.Bhuvneshwar Kumar had dismissed the latter two, finding a bit of away nibble and a bit of extra bounce. He hadn’t swung the ball as extravagantly as he sometimes does, and had mostly only moved it away from the right-handers, but he had probed insistently in the corridor in a first spell that produced figures of 6-3-19-2. He came back and took the last two wickets to finish with his second four-wicket haul in ODIs. The wicket of Masakadza was his 50th.Needing close to six-and-a-half runs at the 20-over mark, Zimbabwe’s chase slowly fell away. Chibhabha went on to make 72, but there was little else that genuinely challenged India. The biggest partnerships of the innings were both worth 52 – the first between Chibhabha and Sean Williams when Zimbabwe needed to recover from 43 for 3; the second between Richmond Mutumbami and Graeme Cremer for the seventh wicket when the match was already lost, more or less.After being sent in to bat, Rahane had expected early help for the fast bowlers. “There will be slight movement initially and if we take our time [the pitch] will be good to bat on,” he said.The conditions partly explained India’s slow start, as perhaps did their fear of avoiding a collapse like the one that had left them 87 for 5 in the first ODI. But Rahane and Vijay also seemed to be finding their feet against the new ODI field regulations.The removal of the batting Powerplay and the addition of an extra deep fielder in the last 10 overs have added more pressure on openers to score quickly, but it has become more difficult for them to do so, with catching fielders no longer mandatory and fewer gaps to pierce in the 30-yard circle in the first 10 overs.Zimbabwe’s new-ball attack posed little threat to the well-being of India’s openers, but they were accurate, and with Rahane and Vijay showing no inclination to take risks, the scoring-rate remained sedate. Vijay kept playing good-looking drives and punches straight to off-side fielders: till the 10th over, he only scored one run on that side of the pitch.Rahane was a little more brisk early on – he creamed Brian Vitori and Neville Madziva for three fours through the covers in the first seven overs, capitalising whenever he was given width – but he grew becalmed as his innings progressed. Having scored 18 off his first 21 balls, Rahane only scored 45 off his next 62.After Chibhabha dismissed Rahane in the 26th over, finding his leading edge as he looked to work him across the line, Vijay and Ambati Rayudu gave the innings a bit of urgency. Rayudu whipped the legspinner Cremer wide of mid-on and hoicked Vitori to the midwicket boundary; Vijay lifted Chibhabha and Vitori for effortless sixes down the ground in successive overs.The partnership gave India 47 off 45 balls, and the next one, between Rayudu and Manoj Tiwary, 44 off 51. India entered the last 10 with eight wickets in hand, but both set batsmen went within four balls of each other.Rayudu had been lucky to survive so long, having been given not-out to a very good lbw shout from Chibhabha on 16 and dropped at long-on off Masakadza on 26. In the 41st over, he came down the track to Sikandar Raza and holed out at deep midwicket. In the next over, Tiwary flicked Donald Tiripano straight to short fine leg.With seven-and-a-half overs left to play, Robin Uthappa, Stuart Binny and Kedar Jadhav found the boundary with enough frequency to ensure India crossed 250 with wind in their sails, but the momentum fizzled out right at the end, with the last two overs producing only 15 runs for the loss of three wickets.
ScorecardSarfaraz Khan and Ricky Bhui during their match-winning partnership•PTI
A tight bowling performance followed by Sarfaraz Khan’s unbeaten 59 steered India Under-19s to a comfortable seven-wicket win in the tri-series final against Bangladesh Under-19s in Kolkata. Bangladesh collapsed to 116 in 36.5 overs, after which India reached the target in just 13.3 overs.Opting to bat, Bangladesh were rescued briefly by a third-wicket stand of 54 runs between Joyraz Sheikh and Nazmul Hossain Shanto after the openers fell early. The Indian attack, led by left-arm spinner Mayank Dagar, then rocked the Bangladesh middle order, reducing them to 96 for 6 from 67 for 2. As many as four Bangladesh batsmen were dismissed for ducks as they lost their last eight wickets for 49 runs.Jaker Ali’s 24 was the only resistance India faced after the third-wicket partnership, as no batsman apart from Joyraz, Shanto and Jaker crossed double-figures.India chased down the target with rather ease despite losing three early wickets in the space of 12 balls. Ricky Bhui then combined with Sarfaraz to post an undefeated 75-run partnership that saw India through.
ScorecardMichael Lumb’s onslaught set the base for Sydney Sixers’ highest ever successful run chase•Getty Images
A record century partnership between Moises Henriques and Michael Lumb engineered Sydney Sixers’ successful run chase to inflict Melbourne Renegades’ first loss of the BBL at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne.Chasing a daunting total of 173 on a two-paced pitch conjuring inconsistent bounce, Sixers’ chances of victory looked forlorn when they lost dangerous duo of Brad Haddin (caught behind for a golden duck) and Nic Maddison (17) early to slump to 2 for 21 in the 4th over. But Sixers captain Henriques (62 off 38 balls) and English import Lumb (63 from 35 balls) combined for a 101-run partnership off 57 balls to drastically alter the match’s complexion. It was the highest third-wicket partnership in Sixers history.Henriques’ dismissal with just 20 runs needed triggered a Sixers collapse, as they lost 4 for 12 in a dramatic 12 balls to be delicately positioned at 7 for 165 with two overs remaining. But Trent Lawford and Sean Abbott calmly guided the Sixers to victory with seven balls to spare in the team’s highest ever successful run chase.Renegades paceman Nathan Rimmington tried valiantly and finished with 4 for 26. But the match-winners proved to be Lumb and Henriques, who scored a staggering 50 runs from three overs in the middle overs to turn the game on its head. Lumb looked especially menacing throughout, hitting five sixes in his innings, including three off one Xavier Doherty over.Henriques played the anchor role during the partnership but shifted gears when Lumb was dismissed. He struck the ball cleanly and seemed likely to guide his team to victory before throwing his wicket away with a heave.The successful chase was what Henriques envisioned when he won the toss and elected to bowl. No Renegades batsman made a half-century but an even spread ensured they mustered an imposing 4 for 172 amid somewhat favourable bowling conditions. Tom Beaton and Dwayne Bravo provided the late fireworks in a devastating 40-ball 78 run partnership, blasting 68 runs off the final five overs to regain the initiative after Sixers dominated the middle overs through tight and disciplined bowling.Beaton was particularly impressive in his late cameo of 41 from 23 balls, which included two sixes. Bravo started slowly and struggled with his timing before finding his rhythm towards the end, punctuated by a huge six over midwicket off Sixers paceman Doug Bollinger in the last over of the innings.It was a highly impressive comeback after the Renegades had earlier slumped to 4 for 94 in the 14th over when Matthew Wade was bowled playing on to a Sean Abbott delivery. Renegades lost 3 for 20 in the middle overs after starting briskly as dynamic West Indian opener Chris Gayle threatened to produce a trademark assault. Looking uncertain against hostile bowling from Bollinger, Gayle started slowly scoring just six from 11 balls and was lucky to survive a skied miscued pull shot that somehow landed between two fielders.Renowned for his brutish batting, Gayle was content nudging the ball around for singles early in his innings before bludgeoning pacemen Sean Abbott for consecutive towering sixes in the eighth over, with the latter smashing into the second tier over long-on.Gayle dominated a 56-run second-wicket partnership with Cameron White (15), and seemed intent on a big score that alluded him in the Renegades’ opening match against the Heat. Despite teasing, Gayle could not produce a substantial score falling for a 33-ball 46 in Johan Botha’s first over, the 11th of the innings.Left-armer Steve O’Keefe, who has played Test cricket for Australia, was not used, while Botha only bowled two overs. The Sixers missed Nathan Lyon, who returned to the Test squad fresh from his five-wicket haul against Hurricanes in the last game, but were still able to produce a thrilling victory.
ScorecardAlex Blackwell’s 39 laid the platform for Sydney Thunder’s win•Getty Images
Sydney Thunder became the first team to qualify for a Women’s Big Bash League final as they strangled Perth Scorchers to defend an underpar total of 118 in a fascinating finish. Thunder had been the competition’s pace-setters, and are greater than the sum of their parts, while Scorchers had crept into the semi-finals, only for their vaunted batting line-up to let them down.It’s hard to estimate how close the Scorchers came to crashing out in the pool stages. But they went into the final weekend of action in Adelaide having lost two more games than they had won, and knowing that if Brisbane Heat beat Adelaide Strikers, or Melbourne Stars won one of their two games, Scorchers were out. But neither of these eventualities played out, and the Scorchers veritably thrashed the competition’s weakest team, Melbourne Renegades, twice in two days, losing just two wickets in the process, to sneak into this semi-final.This, though, proved a bridge too far. Scorchers had bowled stingily and fielded smartly, but their batting – stuffed with top-order class from around the world – lost its way badly after an impressive start. They had twice lost to Thunder in the pool stages, but six of their seven wins came chasing, so it was something of a surprise when Thunder captain Alex Blackwell won the toss and opted to bat.Katherine Brunt was tough to get away early, and the introduction of Suzie Bates saw Rachael Haynes dismissed as she skied to mid-on. Stafanie Taylor was positive if not fully fluent, heaving Nicky Shaw to leg for six then pulling Bates for four through square leg.Just as Taylor looked to be settling, Nicole Bolton brought Brunt back to bowl her final over. The first delivery was cut behind point for a classy boundary, but two balls later Taylor edged behind when trying to go inside out off a ball too straight for the stroke. Naomi Stalenberg was promoted to push the rate but was gone an over later, slicing to mid-off off Heather Graham.Blackwell and Nicola Carey set about a careful rebuild; boundaries were rare, but the strike was rotated effectively and the pair shared 36. They took 13 from a Bolton over, including a Blackwell straight drive and a Carey flick to leg, both for four, the first of which was the first boundary for 25 deliveries. Erin Osborne was run out by some smart work from Bolton and keeper Jenny Wallace. Blackwell met the same fate off the innings’ last ball, failing to make her ground running a second, but after she and Claire Koski – who struck Bates for a beautiful straight drive – had pushed the score along.Thunder’s innings never got above a run a ball, and a target of 119 did not look enough to trouble this batting line-up.How wrong that proved. Elyse Villani had found form since being dropped from Australia’s squad for next week’s T20Is against India, scoring 72 and a quickfire 43 – both without being dismissed in the romps over Renegades. She was immediately into her work, consecutively pulling, straight-driving and flicking through midwicket for four off Nicola Carey. Charlotte Edwards was in on the act too, cutting Lauren Cheatle beautifully behind point for four more.But Villani was run out by Maisy Gibson, and Edwards struggled to get going as the dot balls piled up and the spinners started the strangle. Edwards tried to hit Osborne over long-on but was caught, before Gibson had Bolton caught at mid-off and Bates offered a return catch, shortly after Gibson had dropping a simpler chance off her own bowling. Gibson’s leggies had produced a mixed bag, often dropping too short or failing to make use of the pitch, but her 2-16 confirmed her status as a star of the future.After a fine performance with the ball, too much was asked of Katherine Brunt with the bat. Fourteen was required off Rene Farrell’s final over, and while Brunt found a lap sweep for four, she was dismissed lbw shortly after. Farrell found a dot to complete a remarkable strangle. It’s taken Thunder’s male counterparts five shots to even reach a semi; the women’s team has a final in the first attempt.
Karnataka‘s Shreyas Gopal took five lower-order wickets to dismiss Hyderabad for 136 on the second day of their Group A clash in Shimoga. Hyderabad returned strongly once again, taking four top-order wickets, all bowled by left-arm spinner Mehdi Hasan, as Karnataka finished the day on 127 for 4, with a lead by 174, courtesy an unbeaten 70-run partnership between Karun Nair (37*) and Stuart Binny (26*).Hyderabad started the day on 51 for 3, trailing by 132, but after Bhavanaka Sandeep (19) and Ashish Reddy were dismissed in the morning, Gopal’s legspin ran through the rest of their batting, taking career-best first-class figures of 5 for 17 in the space of 25 runs. Hyderabad wicketkeeper K Sumanth was the only one to display any resistance with the bat, scoring a 150-ball 68.KL Rahul (23) failed for the second time in the match, the first Karnataka batsman out in their second innings.In Lucknow, Saurabh Kumar added three more wickets to finish with career-best figures of 7 for 110. That helped Uttar Pradesh bowl Maharashtra out for 312 from an overnight total of 274 for 4. Ankit Bawne, who started on 107, was out for 119 as Maharashtra lost their last six wickets for 38 runs.In reply, Uttar Pradesh crumbled from a position of strength to finish the day on 232 for 7, still trailing by 80 runs. Their captain Suresh Raina fell for a two-ball duck.UP started their innings well, with the second-wicket partnership between Almas Shaukat (63) and Shivam Chaudhary (50) producing 101 runs. But Maharashtra offspinner Chirag Khurana – who finished the day with four wickets – pulled the advantage back towards his team. UP stumbled from 131 for 2 to 152 for 6. Saurabh then scored 27 with the bat, assisting Eklavya Dwivedi (40*) to reduce the deficit before stumps.A 144-run opening stand between Saurabh Wakaskar (80) and Shivakant Shukla (86) gave Railways the upper hand against Assam in Guwahati. Railways ended the day on 224 for 2, only twenty runs behind Assam’s first-innings total of 244.Wakaskar and Shukla batted for almost 44 overs, smashing 21 fours and two sixes between them. Shukla was the second wicket to fall, with the team at 179, which was followed by an unbeaten 45-run partnership between Nitin Bhille (18*) and Arindam Ghosh (30*). Assam started from an overnight score of 216 for 8, but could add only 26 more runs to their total. Railways’ Deepak Bansal finished with figures of 4 for 61 after Assam’s innings.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo – Mehedi Hasan Miraz led Bangladesh Under-19s from the front with three top-order wickets and a steady 53•Getty Images
A knock of 53 from captain Mehedi Hasan Miraz and an unbeaten 31 from Jaker Ali helped Bangladesh Under-19s seal a tense chase of 215 against Sri Lanka Under-19s to secure a third-place finish at the Under-19 World Cup.Having dismissed Sri Lanka for 214, Bangladesh were progressing steadily during the course of an 88-run third-wicket partnership between Miraz and Nazmul Hossain Shanto. Sri Lanka bowlers had tied down the big shots early in the chase – Bangladesh went 105 balls without a boundary between 8th and 25th over – but the low target meant that the batsmen could rely on singles and keep the equation in check.Sri Lanka, however, began turning the match around in the 36th over when Miraz was run-out for a 66-ball 53, his fourth successive half-century in the tournament. Two overs later, they lost a well-set Nazmul for 40 in the same fashion. Shafiul Hayet and Mosabbek Hossain consumed 8.1 overs for a partnership of 28 for the sixth wicket and once they fell quickly, Bangladesh were left needing 15 runs off the last two overs.With the score at 200 for 6, Jaker, who had retired earlier in the innings due to cramps, returned to the crease and hit a crucial four in the penultimate over, playing a lap-scoop off Asitha Fernando to ease some pressure. Bangladesh went into the final over needing four runs and sealed the win off the third ball, through another four from Jaker, this time over midwicket.Earlier, Sri Lanka lost their way in the middle overs after a promising start and were held together by captain Charith Asalanka’s 76. Openers Kamindu Mendis and Salindu Ushan, got starts in their 60-run stand, but Miraz dismissed the top three batsmen with his offspin to leave Sri Lanka in trouble at 70 for 3 in the 18th over.That score turned to 131 for 5 before Asalanka rebuilt in the company of Wanidu Hasaranga; the pair adding 55 runs for the sixth wicket. Once the latter was dismissed however, another collapse ensued and it was only Asalanka’s third fifty of the tournament that pushed the score to 214. Miraz had returns of 3 for 28 and won the Man-of-the-Match award for his all-round performance.
Well, it couldn’t be anyone else could it? The parallels between the Red Devils and Lady Madge are uncanny. For consistent periods, both have been definable as the biggest players in their respective fields; United as the undisputed biggest club in the world and Madonna as the biggest artist in the world. Both have reinvented themselves after comparable periods of quiet (displaying what Iain Dowie would refer to as ‘bouncebackability’).
Sir Alex Ferguson has managed to build several different title-winning teams, such as the mid ’90s side of Ince, Kanchelskis and Cantona, the late ’90s side of Yorke/Cole, Giggs, Scholes, Beckham & Keane, as well as the late noughties side of Ronaldo, Rooney, Ferdinand, Vidic et al. After several stints in the musical wilderness Madonna has repeatedly comeback to top the charts, succeeding with her early ’80s music, her mid-90’s ‘Ray of Light’-era return and her early noughties success with ‘Music’.
Liverpool – Guns N’ Roses
Anfield may not resemble ‘Paradise City’ at the minute, but that is not the only reason I have chosen to liken them to hard rockers Guns N’ Roses. Both enjoyed overwhelming success during the late ’80s, but have failed to return to those heady heights since. Band and club alike retain hopes of maintaining their place at the ‘top’ despite intense internal conflict; Liverpool find themselves in the midst of messy ownership, management and personnel problems, whilst Guns N’ Roses have suffered from having a fluctuating line-up and the departure of key members.
Chelsea – U2
Unreasonably successful, intensely disliked and full of old men. This sentiment could apply to both U2 and Chelsea in equal measures. The arrogance-fuelled hatred of Chelsea is not dissimilar to the vitriol aimed at U2’s brash frontman Bono. Since 2005, Chelsea have enjoyed a glorious period of trophy-laden success, whilst U2 continue to sell out the world’s biggest arenas.
Unfortunately for Mr. Abramovich, the club’s failure to land that elusive Champions League crown means that he still hasn’t found what he’s looking for.
Arsenal – Cheryl Cole
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Aside from the reprehensible treatment afforded to them by all-round good egg Ashley Cole, the similarities between Arsenal and Cheryl Cole are unquestionable. Both unequivocally look the part, with Arsenal renowned for their pretty football, and Cheryl adored for her stunning looks. However, both flatter to deceive – Arsenal’s aesthetically-pleasing football has yet to yield silverware, whilst Cheryl Cole has failed to ally her good looks with the ability to sing.
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Jermain Defoe has claimed that Fabio Capello was ‘unlucky’ during England’s dismal World Cup campaign in South Africa. It’s a nice sentiment from the Tottenham forward, but he isn’t fooling anyone.
Defoe argued:
“If you speak to the players, they all say the same – he’s a great manager. He was just a little bit unlucky” (The Sun)
The Three Lions were awful in the group stages following draws with both the USA and Algeria, then got over-excited about a 1-0 victory over the mighty Slovenia. In the second round England were pitted up against Germany and were then soundly beaten 4-1.
Capello was heavily criticised for continuously playing a dated 442, fielding Emile Heskey, wasting Steven Gerrard out on the left of midfield and seemed to upset his squad with his overly strict regime. This is nothing to do with luck, he just made mistakes and he knows this.
However, he was unlucky with some things as players like Wayne Rooney decided not to show up, forget the basics of the game and disappointed on the world’s stage. He was also unfortunate that John Terry decided to air the problems within the camp so publicly, which seemed to cause tension between the Chelsea man and the captain Gerrard.
It’s clear to all that Capello must change his way, but clearly Defoe believes that the Italian is the right man for the job and so do the FA…however, keeping him on may have more to do with the price it would take to sack him.
England were rubbish and Defoe’s words just sound like arse-kissing to me much like his talk of Joe Cole’s “passion and drive” in order to convince the former Chelsea midfielder to sign for Spurs and join him at White Hart Lane.
Alternatively, Defoe is doing nothing more than publicly backing his coach but it is something that did not need saying. The fans want an apology, not meaningless excuses and tales of hard-luck.
Are fans tired of hearing the England players/coach/Football Association come up with these excuses and why is it so hard to get a simple ‘sorry’?
Click on image below to see the ITALIAN babes at the World Cup
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England have risen one place in FIFA's world rankings despite their World Cup debacle.
Fabio Capello's side have moved up to seventh in the world despite failing to make it past the round of 16 in South Africa.
The Three Lions were thrashed 4-1 by Germany in the second round after labouring through a group which included the United States, Algeria and Slovenia.
Elsewhere, Spain have replaced Brazil at the top of the rankings following their final victory over the Netherlands on Sunday.
Holland are up two places to second with Brazil – who only reached the quarter-finals despite being pre-tournament joint favourites with Spain – have slipped down to third.
France and Italy were the biggest losers after slipping 12 and six places to 21st and 11th respectively.
Both the 1998 and 2006 winners failed to qualify from their groups and have fallen dramatically in the rankings.
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Meanwhile, Uruguay are the big winners after moving up ten places to an all-time high of sixth following their impressive run to the semi-finals.
New Zealand, who were the only team not to lose a game during the finals, have rocketed up the standings from 78th to 54th.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email