Three of the four Associate qualifiers for this year’s World Cup descend on Dubai on Thursday for some much needed fixtures ahead of the main event. Afghanistan, Ireland and Scotland would probably prefer to get some pre-World Cup opportunities against Full Member opposition instead of playing amongst themselves. Yet, they can be grateful for the fact that they now have a bit of a leg up on preparation over Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, both of whom are starved of ODIs from December 1 through the start of the World Cup.Each team arrives in Dubai with their World Cup 15 already chosen, so the main objective of the tri-series for the three Associates will be to establish their best eleven by the time they leave the UAE, so that they land in Australia and New Zealand next month ready to stir the pot with as many upsets as possible. Here’s a look at each team’s approach for the double round-robin series, which begins with Scotland taking on Afghanistan at the ICC Global Cricket Academy on January 8.Afghanistan
The de facto hosts won four of eight contests on their pre-World Cup tour to Australia and New Zealand in September and October, but had their confidence dented by a humbling 3-1 ODI series defeat in November at the hands of fellow World Cup qualifiers UAE. Former captain Nawroz Mangal has been superb since moving to the top of the order but his opening partner is yet to be confirmed. Both Javed Ahmadi and Usman Ghani will be eager to present their respective cases to join Mangal.The team management will be keeping its fingers crossed that fast bowler Hamid Hassan can make it through the series injury-free. Hassan took 5 for 45 against UAE on December 4, in only his second match back since pulling up lame in Afghanistan’s Asia Cup win over Bangladesh in March.Afghanistan’s chances of excelling in both the tri-series and the World Cup will be greatly enhanced if Hassan remains on the field instead of in the physio’s room. New bowling coach Andy Pick will be licking his lips at the chance to work with Hassan and the rest of Afghanistan’s pace troupe, including Shapoor and Dawlat Zadran.Squad: Mohammad Nabi (capt), Javed Ahmadi, Aftab Alam, Mirwais Ashraf, Izatullah Dawlatzai, Usman Ghani, Hamid Hassan, Nasir Jamal, Nawroz Mangal, Gulbadin Naib, Hasmatullah Shaidi, Samiullah Shenwari, Asghar Stanikzai, Dawlat Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Shapoor Zadran, Afsar Zazai (wk)Ireland
The darlings of the last two World Cups had a hit and miss autumn tour of Australia and New Zealand. The team suffered collectively due to the absence of Paul Stirling, Ed Joyce and Tim Murtagh, and it showed in the results.A silver lining on the batting side was that the absence of Stirling and Joyce offered an opportunity for Andy Balbirnie to seize an opportunity to force his way into the World Cup squad. The former Ireland Under-19 captain made three fifties in his last four matches on tour then followed it up a month later with a century against New Zealand A in Dubai. The challenge now for Balbirnie is to force his way into the starting eleven, now that the first-choice players have returned.On the bowling side, youngsters Craig Young and Peter Chase started off their acclimatisation tour down under with promise, but ended it with mental scars at the hands of opening onslaughts from Ronnie Hira and Jesse Ryder. Young claimed a five-for on ODI debut in September against Scotland and will be happy to see them again in an effort to rediscover the form he had at the end of the northern summer. The return of Murtagh should also ease pressure off the younger parts of the pace unit.Squad: William Porterfield (capt), Andy Balbirnie, Peter Chase, Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, Andy McBrine, John Mooney, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien (wk), Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Gary Wilson, Craig YoungScotland
Despite coming away with just two wins on their September tour down under, Scotland turned in some encouraging performances including a nail-biting one-run loss to a virtually World Cup strength New Zealand XI. Scotland’s improved depth over the past year was evident in the fact that they nearly chased down New Zealand XI’s 263 despite Kyle Coetzer and Preston Mommsen scoring no runs on the day.Aside from that blip, the decision to switch the captaincy from Coetzer to Mommsen has continued to have a positive impact for both players. However, Scotland needs more incisive contributions from their fast bowlers.The last time a Scotland pacer took four or more wickets in an innings in an ODI was Iain Wardlaw’s 4 for 43 against Kenya in June 2013. They will struggle to beat their fellow Associates, let alone Full Members, unless big hauls are taken on a more regular basis.Squad: Preston Mommsen (capt), Richie Berrington, Kyle Coetzer, Freddie Coleman, Matthew Cross (wk), Josh Davey, Alasdair Evans, Hamish Gardiner, Majid Haq, Michael Leask, Matt Machan, Calum MacLeod, Gavin Main, Safyaan Sharif, Rob Taylor, Iain Wardlaw

Rohan Bhosale, the Railways batsman, was hospitalised after he was hit on the back of the neck while fielding at forward short leg against Tamil Nadu

Amol Karhadkar30-Dec-2014

Rohan Bhosale, the Railways batsman, was hospitalised after he was hit on the back of the neck while fielding at forward short leg against Tamil Nadu in their Ranji Trophy match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Bhosale turned his back to the ball when R Sathish hit a full-blooded sweep off the left-arm spinner Ashish Yadav, in the 63rd over of the innings.Bhosale was stretchered off the field and taken to Apollo Hospitals in an ambulance, but Syed Zakaria Zuffri, Railways’ batting coach, later confirmed that Bhosale was out of any serious danger.”Rohan is absolutely fine. All the scan reports are normal,” Zuffri said. “There is nothing to worry. Just as a precautionary measure, he will spend the night in the hospital and will be discharged in the morning.”Bhosale is unlikely to play any further part in the match.

MatériaMais Notícias

Os últimos anos do Santa Cruz tem sido de muita exigência tanto dentro como fora de campo nos aspectos técnico, tático e, porque não, emocional. Algo que acabou se refletindo, aliás, no quadro clínico do presidente Constantino Júnior.

Antes do compromisso onde o Santa acabou derrotado por 3 a 1 para o Náutico que custou a vaga na fase mata-mata do Brasileirão da Série C, o mandatário do clube Coral teve de ser hospitalizado na capital pernambucana.

Com mais esse “susto”, já que em 2017 ele passou por um problema ainda mais sério, ficando quatro meses internado, agora a prioridade do dirigente também tem sido considerar melhor o equilíbrio das ações entre sua função e a sua saúde.

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– Tenho buscado cuidar da saúde. Sabemos do estresse que é o futebol. Às vezes, as doenças são consequência dessa rotina. Estou me cuidando e preservando. Não é fácil. Temos famílias e outras pessoas que estão a nossa volta. Eles ficam tristes pela falta de cuidado. Estou tentando melhorar nisso – disse em declaração ao Jornal do Commercio.

– Em 2017, tive um ano muito duro. Passei quatro meses internado. Claro que a gente que entra no futebol sabe que não existe amigo. Desde o início da Série C deste ano, tenho realizado uma bateria de exames. Não irei tomar nenhuma atitude que não seja com base na decisão médica e na minha família – agregou Constantino.

Former Sri Lanka offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan has been named Sunrisers Hyderabad’s bowling coach and team mentor for the Indian Premier League 2015 season.Muralitharan, 42, played 66 IPL games across seven seasons for Chennai Super Kings, Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Royal Challengers Bangalore, taking 63 wickets at an average of 26.92. During his time with Super Kings, from 2008 to 2010, he claimed 52 scalps from 46 matches, helping the team win the IPL as well as the Champions League Twenty20 in 2010.In 2011, Muralitharan called time on an illustrious international career which yielded a record 1347 wickets across all three formats. He continued playing franchise cricket for a number of teams across the world including Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League, and Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League.After a disappointing season with Royal Challengers in 2014 in which he played only five matches, Muralitharan decided to end his playing career. In June last year, Muralitharan joined Australia as a coaching consultant ahead of the team’s series against Pakistan in the UAE.Sunrisers finished sixth last year and missed out on the playoffs, having lost eight of their 14 games.

Before Monday, Karun Nair had almost joined the list of players who failed to replicate a successful first season in the second

AMOL KARHADKAR IN MUMBAI09-Mar-2015Dhawal Kulkarni. Abhimanyu Mithun. Suryakumar Yadav. All of them had exceptional maiden first-class seasons. All of them failed to replicate their success in the next. At the end of the Ranji Trophy semi-finals, Karun Nair had almost joined the list. Then came Monday.On the second day of the Ranji final, Karun showed his skills as a middle-order batsman. He was patient and persevered to remain unbeaten after batting for more than seven hours to emphasis Karnataka’s dominance.Naturally, Karun was relieved and elated with his effort. “I think this is the best and most special because it has come in a Ranji final and I hadn’t got any hundreds in this season. I was really looking forward to and hoping that I get one, so this is the most special,” he told reporters after his unbeaten 130 against Tamil Nadu.”I’ve been working hard so I was looking forward to such an opportunity. I think I was getting a lot of 30s, and I was getting out on one wrong ball.”So what was hampering him this season? Failing to cope with expectations? Being found out by the opposition teams? Trying too hard?.”Not so long ago, he was trying to cement his place in the Karnataka team. Suddenly he scored those three centuries and he was picked for India A. For a guy who was trying to cement his place in the Ranji side, it was too much to handle the pressure on the young shoulders of suddenly being in the selectors’ contention,” J Arunkumar, Karnataka’s batting coach, told ESPNcricinfo.”At some stage, many youngsters start wondering whether they should do something different. But Karun is a confident cricketer. He was quite relaxed since he knew he was hitting the ball well.”Karun made his debut midway through the 2013-14 season and made headlines by scoring centuries in successive games against Delhi, Uttar Pradesh in the quarter-final and Punjab in the semi-final. That was followed by a successful stint with Rajasthan Royals in the IPL – 330 runs at an average of 33 and strike rate of 142.24 – and Karun was in Australia with the India A squad last July.Since then, however, his form has slumped. After only one fifty in the first seven games, Karnataka decided to rest him for the last league game against Mumbai. Karun was asked to play the CK Nayudu Under-23 Trophy quarter-final and the move paid off as he scored a century and regained confidence.It reflected in his performance in the Ranji semi-final against Mumbai. His unbeaten 49 in the first innings was crucial in Karnataka digging themselves out of a hole and he has followed it up with a remarkable innings in the final. He came to the crease at 16 for 3 last evening, saw off the day and built an innings that could end up being match-winning.If he continues in the same vein, Tamil Nadu will be forced to field for three days, just like they did in their last final appearance, against Rajasthan in 2011-12.

A round-up of the Group C Ranji Trophy games on February 1, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Feb-2015
ScorecardShahbaz Nadeem took a match haul of six wickets in Jharkhand’s first win of the season•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Left-arm spinner Syed Mohammad’s 5 for 27 set up a simple win for Assam, and kept them on top of the Group C table with 35 points.Andhra had started the day on 116 for 6, but were bowled out for only 198, Naren Reddy was their lone source of resistance with 51 of 163 balls, his maiden first-class fifty.With just 24 runs required for victory Assam reached the target in 13 overs without losing any wickets. Arun Karthik and Pallavkumar Das were unbeaten on 9 and 16 respectively.Assam’s Swarupam Purkayastha was adjudged the Man of the Match for his unbeaten 108 off 248 balls and six wickets in the match.
ScorecardJharkhand wrapped up their first win of the season in Porvorim and kept Goa winless. But the result did little help as both teams were knocked out.Following on, Goa entered the final day at 161 for 5, needing nine runs to take the lead. But they folded for 223, eight more than their first-innings total. Suraj Dongre was the first to depart for 12, perishing to Shahbaz Nadeem. Keenan Vaz, the other overnight batsman, top-scored for Goa with 45 off 111 deliveries, ensuring that Jharkhand had to bat again. No.10 Sagar Naik made 19 off 18 deliveries, but Goa could only extend the lead to 53.Legspinner Samar Quadri ended with figures of 5 for 82, extending his match tally to nine. Left-arm spinner Nadeem took three of the five Goa wickets to fall on the final day to end up with 4 for 60.Jharkhand had the opportunity to pick up seven points, but were reduced to 4 for 2 with Virat Singh and Shiv Gautam getting bowled by seamer Sagar Naik inside five overs. However, Ishan Kishan and Kumar Deobrat added 51 in 14.4 overs to help Jharkhand to an eight-wicket win.
ScorecardHimachal Pradesh allrounder Rishi Dhawan followed his career-best 7 for 43 with 4 for 92 as the visitors collected three points against Tripura in Agartala.Tripura began at 20 for 0, but openers Bishal Ghosh and Samrat Singha fell in quick succession. Thirty-nine for 2 soon became 59 for 4 before Rajesh Banik and Kaushal Acharjee added 55 runs for the fifth wicket.Offspinner Ankush Bedi broke the stand, but No.8 Manisankar Murasingh clubbed a rapid 47 in a 56-run eighth-wicket partnership with Saurabh Das and Rana Dutta made 28 off 30 deliveries to take Tripura towards 200. They were eventually bundled out for 239 as the game ended in a draw.Man-of-the-Match Dhawan went to the top of the bowling charts with 39 wickets this season, while Vikramjeet Malik and Pankaj Jaiswal bagged two wickets apiece. Allrounder Bipul Sharma, who claimed the last wicket to fall, had figures of 13.1-4-11-1.Himachal Pradesh are now placed second on the Group C table with 27 points, eight behind Assam. On the other hand, Tripura finish the season winless.Kerala v Services: Kerala wrap up first win of season

تمكن نادي الشباب من زيادة أوجاع الاتحاد حامل اللقب بالفوز عليه بهدف دون رد في الدوري السعودي لموسم 2023-2024.

ولعب الشباب أمام ضيفه الاتحاد مساء اليوم الجمعة على ملعب الملك فهد الدولي في العاصمة السعودية الرياض وذلك في إطار الجولة السادسة من دوري روشن السعودي.

ودخل الاتحاد اللقاء بتشكيل مكون من: “مارسيلو جروهي، لويز فيليبي، حسن كادش، مهند الشنقيطي، زكريا هوساوي، سلطان الفرحان، نجولو كانتي، فيصل الغامدي، رومارينيو، حمدالله، كريم بنزيما”.

بينما اختار الشباب التشكيل التالي: “كيم سيونج جو، فواز الصقور، نادر الشراري، رومان سايس، حمد اليامي، جوستافو كويلار، حسين القحطاني، إيفر بانيجا، فهد المولد، يانيك كاراسكو”.

إقرأ أيضًا.. 4 قرارات صارمة من الاتحاد الآسيوي بشأن مباراة الاتحاد وسباهان

وجاء هدف اللقاء الوحيد عن طريق لاعب الوسط البرازيلي كارلوس جونيور في الدقيقة 14 من عمر المباراة.

وبتلك النتيجة بات الشباب في المركز التاسع برصيد 15 نقطة بينما تجمد الاتحاد عند 21 نقطة في المركز السادس.

وينتظر أن تستكمل مواجهات الجولة 12 من بطولة دوري روشن السعودي للمحترفين، غدًا السبت بإقامة 3 مباريات. هدف مباراة الشباب والاتحاد في الدوري السعودي

Darren Stevens has spoken openly for the first time about the circumstances that caused him to become embroiled in the Bangladesh anti-corruption enquiry which saw Mohammad Ashraful banned for eight years

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Mar-20154:54

Darren Steven’s Story

Darren Stevens has spoken openly for the first time about the circumstances that caused him to become embroiled in the Bangladesh anti-corruption enquiry which saw their former captain Mohammad Ashraful banned for eight years.Stevens, one of county cricket’s longest-serving players, was charged with failing to report an alleged suspicious approach while he was playing in the Bangladesh Premier League two years ago.He was cleared by a Bangladesh Cricket Board anti-corruption tribunal in February last year but with the assistance of the Professional Cricketers Association he is now warning fellow professionals to report the merest hint of wrongdoing to avoid the “brutal” experience which threatened his future as a professional cricketer.Dhaka Gladiators’ managing director Shihab Chowdhury was banned for fixing, with former New Zealand batsman Lou Vincent and Sri Lanka batsman Kaushal Lokuarachchi banned for not reporting a bookmaker’s approach.Stevens, the Kent allrounder, has now appeared in a DVD, produced by the PCA, which will be shown to all county players before the start of the new domestic season as part of an updated anti-corruption code.He tells how he was playing for the Dhaka Gladiators when he was asked by the owner if he would captain the side in a match against Chittagong but that Mohammad Ashraful would still “run the game on the pitch”. Stevens refused and was later contact by Alan Peacock of the ICC anti-corruption unit.He relates: “Over the phone, he said to me: ‘Can we have a meeting about Bangladesh?’ It wasn’t too bad at the start but then it got worse and worse and worse.”When I got two charges through, I wouldn’t wish it on anybody, it was brutal. The next meeting was a four-and-a-half hour meeting in London. After that, it was hours and hours and hours of meetings with my lawyer going through everything, going through how the next six months up to the trial were probably going to pan out.”The trial in Bangladesh was in a small room in a bank with cameras everywhere: all different lawyers from all over the place in the same room. You just felt claustrophobic. I was there for nearly four weeks, five days a week in court going through everything. Just sitting there in court was more nervewracking than anything I have ever done.”I was on the stand for seven hours, five hours on the day and two-and-half hours on the morning. It was really hard. Cricket is my life and has been for 25 to 30 years. Every day that I was playing, it just felt like it was going to be my last game.”The former Essex fast bowler Mervyn Westfield was jailed for his involvement in spot-fixing, but after his release he participated in a comprehensive education and awareness initiative for the PCA.Stevens, too, hopes that talking about his experiences will help other players to appreciate the implications of failing to report any suspicious approach immediately.”It was horrific. Because I didn’t report at that time a suspicious act I have gone through hell over the last two years,” he said.”There are so many opportunities around the world now and if Bangladesh did come back up again I would not stop anyone going and playing out there. I would encourage them to go and play.”But I don’t want anybody to go through what I actually went through over those two years. In any of these tournaments anywhere around the world if you do come across anything suspicious just report it immediately.”

كشفت تقارير صحفية عن موقف تيبو كورتوا، حارس مرمى ريال مدريد الإسباني، من المشاركة مع منتخب بلجيكا في كأس أمم أوروبا “يورو 2024”.

وعانى كورتوا في بداية الموسم الجاري، من قطع في الرباط الصليبي، وأجرى حراجة ناجحة في الركبة، ويواصل البلجيكي عمليات التعافي بشكل تدريجي.

وتنطلق بطولة “يورو 2024” يوم 14 يونيو المقبل، وستكون المباراة الافتتاحية للبلد المضيف ألمانيا أمام اسكتلندا. 

وبحسب “راديو ماركا” كورتوا أبلغ ريال مدريد أنه لن يسافر إلى ألمانيا مع المنتخب البلجيكي للمشاركة في بطولة أمم أوروبا 2024 الصيف المقبل.

وبدلاً من ذلك، سيبقى كورتوا مع ريال مدريد، وسيعمل مع مدرب حراس المرمى بالنادي للتعافي بشكل كامل من إصابة الرباط الصليبي الأمامي.

اقرأ أيضًا | بيرلو: وقعت مع ريال مدريد.. وجوارديولا أرادني في برشلونة

ومع ذلك، نفى المقربون من كورتوا الأمر، وأشاروا إلى أن مشاركته في البطولة ستعتمد على تعافيه.

وأصيب كورتوا في شهر أغسطس، وتعاقد ريال مدريد مع حارس المرمى كيبا أريزابالاجا على سبيل الإعارة من تشيلسي.

يذكر أن منتخب بلجيكا يقع في المجموعة الخامسة والتي تضم، سلوفاكيا، ورومانيا، بالإضافة إلى الفائز من المسار الثاني في الملحق (الكيان الصهيوني، بوسنة والهرسك، أوكرانيا وآيسلندا).

An oddly familiar face peered down the SCG net containing Aaron Finch on Monday, his fiery red hair accentuated by the choice of a cap of the same colour. After a few minutes of speculation, the figure was proven to be Andrew McDonald

Daniel Brettig in Sydney24-Mar-2015An oddly familiar face peered down the SCG net containing Aaron Finch on Monday, his fiery red hair accentuated by the choice of a cap of the same colour. After a few minutes of speculation, the figure was proven to be Andrew McDonald, the former Australia allrounder and soon to be coach of Leicestershire.Apart from everything else in his quite impressive CV, McDonald is a longtime friend and team-mate of Finch for Victoria, and a past source of technical and tactical advice for the younger, squatter opening batsman. Together they have shared considerable success at the domestic level, and it may be argued that Finch is enjoying the sorts of international opportunities McDonald was unlucky – largely through injury – not to have had himself.Australia’s World Cup campaign has been punctuated by knowledgable visitors, from Geoff Marsh and Ian Healy to Steve Waugh and even the former Prime Minister Bob Hawke. But McDonald was there at the behest of Finch alone, his diminishing returns at this tournament providing all the necessary impetus to call in a pair of eyes capable of making sharp observations allied to reassuring words.”It was just a good opportunity, he’s someone I’ve worked with a lot over the last couple of years – for about 10 or years now on my game – and he’s someone I feel comfortable with,” Finch said of McDonald. “And just a different voice and someone I really trust with my game and just to touch base with him was something I really needed.”He’s just someone I really trust, he’s one of my best mates and he knows a lot about the game. He’s been around my batting for a long time and I thought it was a good opportunity to get him up here for a day and have a hit. I feel like I’ve been batting nicely, it’s nice to go back to a couple of checkpoints and make sure that I’m on top of my game and feeling good and hitting the ball nicely.”That’s all I can ask and whatever will happen on Thursday will happen. I’m not someone who over-analyses it a hell of a lot.”That McDonald was there spoke for two things. The first and most obvious point was that Finch has been struggling, from the moment his over-eager attempt to repeat a six off Tim Southee resulted in his off stump being plucked out at Eden Park. The second is that the Australian team’s coaching staff are not given to offering technical advice of too detailed a variety, particularly when it comes to batting.Head coach Darren Lehmann and his batting assistant Michael Di Venuto were uncomplicated figures when they played, and have maintained that sort of visage as mentors. Di Venuto’s advice in early summer that Steven Smith was “not out of form, just out of runs” proved to be the right words at the right time, but there have been other moments and other players who need more.Helpfully, though, neither Lehmann nor Di Venuto are uncomfortable with others coming in to help at times, as evidenced by the use of Marsh, Healy, Waugh and numerous others. As Lehmann has often said “you’d be silly not to” keep an ear out for numerous sources of wise counsel.Finch is helped by the fact that since the Auckland defeat, a reshuffled Australian batting order offers more of a top order buffer zone should the hyper-aggressive openers charge too quickly into the bend. Smith and Michael Clarke at Nos. 3 and 4 can play at multiple tempos, while Shane Watson’s floating commission at No. 5 or 6 sits easily alongside the more outlandish hitting of Glenn Maxwell.”When you’re under pressure you go back to your basics and I think we’ve got some really good ‘basic’ players,” Finch said. “We’ve got a lot of guys with flair, but when they’re under pressure they’ve still got a really good defence to fall back on, a really structured game.”When you look at guys like Steve Smith and Michael Clarke they’re quality Test players and that’s what you tend to fall back on and let the other guys. Guys like Maxwell play with the flair. But saying that, we’re not going to be holding back. We’re an aggressive team with bat and ball. It’s going to be a good opportunity to do it on the biggest stage.”Finch knows that whatever work he does this week, Thursday may also depend on a moment’s fortune. He was dropped before scoring when he made a hundred against England on the tournament’s opening afternoon. Against Pakistan he tried to give himself some luck by chancing an lbw referral for a ball striking middle stump, and must hope things will turn during the semi.”I referred one on middle stump, didn’t I?” Finch said with a rueful grin. “You never know. You hit a couple in the middle at the start of the innings and things seem to flow on sometimes and you get a bit of a roll on. It’s just one of those things – and when you’re not hitting them so well, to get down the other end so Davey [Warner] can take a bit of the strike.”Just try and work your way into an innings in a bit of a different way, as opposed to boundaries and trying to score quickly. It’s just one of those things. It’s not far away. I feel great, it might just be that one shot early in your innings that gets you going to make a big one.”Should Finch find his form on Thursday, it will be another feather in the red cap of McDonald, and a hopeful sign for his looming entrance into the coaching game.