Gabriel vai bem de novo e recebe elogios de Zé Ricardo no Botafogo

MatériaMais Notícias

Na derrota do último sábado para o Flamengo, um dos destaques do Botafogo foi o zagueiro Gabriel. O defensor vem apresentando desempenhos seguros em campo, conquistando rapidamente a confiança do técnico Zé Ricardo. O treinador, em entrevista coletiva, rasgou elogios ao jogador que chegou ao Alvinegro no início desta temporada.

– Gabriel não é uma aposta, é uma realidade, tenho certeza que vai nos ajudar muito nessas duas temporadas. Fez outra boa partida, já tinha feito partida segura contra o Bangu. Apesar de jovem e há pouco tempo no grupo, já tem liderança. Que bom que fez boa partida, espero que continue bem – elogiou o treinador.

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Zé Ricardo também foi questionado sobre o sistema defensivo em si do Botafogo. O treinador destacou que planeja com os pés no chão:

– A gente trabalha com um planejamento bem pés no chão, porque o Botafogo quer honrar com todos os seus compromissos. Acho que é trabalho que a gente precisa. O sistema defensivo é toda uma engrenagem. Sofremos gol numa bola muito bem batida, e o Bruno subiu muito bem. Foi um bate e rebate no segundo gol, a bola até bateu de forma involuntária no braço do Everton, e o Bruno Henrique fez o gol.

Os jogadores do Botafogo folgam neste domingo, se reapresentando na tarde desta segunda-feira para os treinamentos no Nilton Santos, de olho no jogo de quinta-feira, diante do Resende, em casa.

Chopra, Porterfield open season with centuries

Varun Chopra and Will Porterfield both struck centuries to open the new season in fine style for Warwickshire

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Mar-2013
ScorecardVarun Chopra struck his 11th first-class century•PA PhotosThe annexing of the Champion County match to the Emirates has marginalised its use as a proper warm-up for the County Championship but Varun Chopra and Will Porterfield will take confidence from a pair of centuries on the official opening day of the new season.The fixture will return to Lord’s in 2014 where a stand of 308 will be trickier to compile than the four-an-over stand Chopra and Porterfield put together for the second wicket this year.Porterfield’s innings, from 240 balls, was his first three-figure effort since joining Warwickshire, taking full advantage of a flat pitch and an attack toiling in temperatures more than 20 degrees warmer than Britain.Chopra had been the first to reach a century, his 11th in first-class cricket, from 165 balls. He went on to score 20 fours and three sixes – the pick of which was lifted over long on from a Peter Trego slower ball.”It was a great start to the season for me,” Chopra said. “The wicket was good and we made the most of winning the toss on a decent deck. Playing under the floodlights and with the pink ball was fine. Having two set batsmen definitely helped, especially during the twilight period, which can be a challenge, but I really enjoyed it out there today.”The treble century stand was by some distance the highest partnership of any wicket for Warwickshire against MCC. It came after Ian Westwood fell without a run on the board. He skied a pull from Trego and was taken at midwicket. But that was the most joy MCC enjoyed as their spin trio of Simon Kerrigan, James Middlebrook and part-time leg-spinner Dawid Malan failed to find any control as runs flowed merrily.Kerrigan eventually broke through when Chopra mistimed an attempted lofted off drive. Porterfield also fell playing in the air, driving loosely on the up to hand third seamer Chris Rushworth a wicket. But it was 102 runs later than it should have been; Rushworth having had Porterfield dropped in the slips on 60.

WV Raman named Kings XI assistant coach

WV Raman, the former India opener, has been appointed assistant coach of Kings XI Punjab. This will be Raman’s first assignment in the IPL, and he will work with head coach Darren Lehmann, who oversaw the now defunct Deccan Chargers last season.Raman, who played 11 Tests and 27 ODIs for India, has plenty of domestic coaching experience, having been in charge of Tamil Nadu for four years and is currently the coach of Bengal.”We are pleased to have WV Raman as the assistant coach of our team for IPL 2013,” Kings XI Punjab’s COO Arvinder Singh said. “Given his vast experience as an ex-Indian player and his coaching stints over the years, I am certain that he shall bring another dimension to our coaching staff and help our players perform to the best of their abilities.”Raman said he looked forward to his new assignment. “Kings XI Punjab has the right mix of experienced as well as young players supported by a world class coaching staff and I shall do my best to get the best out of the players.”

Ryder out of induced coma, on road to recovery

Jesse Ryder is out of his induced coma and has begun talking again as he embarks upon the road towards a full recovery from his assault in Christchurch

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Mar-2013

Jesse Ryder is out of his induced coma•Associated Press

Jesse Ryder is out of his induced coma and has begun talking again as he embarks upon the long and arduous road towards a full recovery from his assault in Christchurch on Wednesday night.Ryder’s manager Aaron Klee said the New Zealand batsman was also now breathing without the assistance of a ventilator, though he is still battling the effects of his coma and the drugs used to aid his fight against serious head and lung injuries.”Jesse’s condition has improved to the extent that he is now out of the induced coma and off the ventilator,” Klee said in Christchurch. “Jesse is awake and talking to us, but he is obviously still working through the immediate effects from being in the coma and the drugs the medical team have been using.”Naturally we are thrilled with this progress. This is only the start of the recovery process for Jesse and there is still a big battle ahead to full health, but the progress is positive. Again the family wishes to extend their sincere thanks to everyone for their messages of support and love. They mean a lot and will help Jesse no end in his journey ahead.”Klee said that Ryder had no recollection of the events that left him in hospital, his last memory of the day being his dismissal for a duck during the Wellington Firebirds’ season ending loss to Canterbury in the afternoon.”It’s not like it is in the movies where they wake up peacefully and they give everyone a big hug. It takes a while, there’s a lot of confusion and he’s dazed,” Klee said. ”[But] he knows where he is, he knows what’s happened and he knows I’m here now talking to you. It’s leaps and bounds from 24 hours ago.”He’s still got quite serious lung injuries and they’re keeping an eye on that because there’s a lot that potentially can go wrong with the lungs, so monitoring that very closely but at this stage they don’t need to support his breathing, which is a great milestone.”It was great to have him order us around again.”Ryder had gone with teammates to Aikmans Bar in Merivale where around 12.30am, while making his way to join other Wellingston players at a nearby McDonalds, he had been attacked twice in the space of a few minutes, suffering heavy blows to the head and chest that left him with a skull fracture and a collapsed lung.Police have arrested two men in connection with the assaults, a 20-year-old Christchurch resident and a 37-year-old relative who was visiting the city. They have been bailed to appear in the Christchurch District Court court on Thursday, April 4.

Hopeful Royals meet dangerous drifters

ESPNcricinfo previews the match between Rajasthan Royals and Pune Warriors in Jaipur

The Preview by Sidharth Monga04-May-2013Match factsSunday, May 5, 2013
Start time 2000 (1630 GMT)Out of the Indian side, Yuvraj Singh will want to prove a point•BCCIBig PictureBeware the team with nothing to lose, even if their own player is ripping into the team management for having made changes to the winning combination. Pune Warriors are out of the race for playoffs. They have been easier to beat than others, but you can bet teams will be approaching a match with them with slight trepidation too. For a team like Rajasthan Royals, who are in with a chance to make it to the playoffs, and who have provided Warriors’ one of their rare wins this season, this becomes a crucial game. They need to win three out of their remaining six to reach nine wins, which all but assure their progression.This is one of Royals’ last three home games, and they haven’t lost one in Jaipur this year yet. They will be wary of individual brilliance, which the visiting side is well capable of, despite the results’ stating otherwise. Yuvraj Singh will be miffed at having been left out of the India team for the Champions Trophy, and might have a point to prove. Nobody wants to be at the receiving end of his ire.Form guideRajasthan Royals LWWLL
Pune Warriors LLLLLLWatch out for…Like Yuvraj, Ajinkya Rahane must be smarting too. That he hasn’t got many chances playing for India is well documented, but now even the bench has been pulled from under him. He is not part of the India squad for the Champions Trophy, and his bat might have a thing or two to say about it.Angelo Mathews’ first taste of captaincy in a big tournament hasn’t been great. He has presided over losses, he has been dropped, and he has taken just one wicket and scored 84 runs, but before he leaves to lead Sri Lanka in the Champions Trophy, he will hope to bring about a turnaround.Stats and trivia Robin Uthappa, Pune Warriors’ wicketkeeper, has only five dismissals to his name in 11 matches. It gives you an impression of how penetrative their bowling has been. The three worst bowling analysis for an innings this year belong to Warriors bowlers. Ashok Dinda features twice, and Mitchell Marsh once, when he bowled just three overs for 56. His captain saved him the record for worst analysis by not bowling him out. Quotes”We’ve never stuck to a winning combination. It was pretty disappointing for me, as a player. When we beat a strong team at their home ground [Chennai Super Kings], we came back and changed the combination, and I think that kind of shook things up for us a little bit.”
“There is something about Sanju Samson that is reminiscent of the young Sachin Tendulkar. Fabulously talented, wide-eyed, honest, #thefuture”
Former Glamorgan left-arm quick, and now a commentator, Alan Wilkins, on Twitter

رئيس الاتحاد السعودي: رونالدو أضاف قيمة لدوري روشن.. وسنعلن صفقة ميسي في الوقت المناسب

تحدث ياسر المسحل، رئيس الاتحاد السعودي لكرة القدم، عن تأثير النجم البرتغالي كريستيانو رونالدو على منافسات الدوري السعودي، وإمكانية انتقال ليونيل ميسي للعب في المسابقة، وارتباطه بنادي الهلال.

وأعلن باريس سان جيرمان الفرنسي رحيل ميسي رسميًا بعد عامين من انتقاله للفريق مجانًا من برشلونة.

وفي مقابلة مع صحيفة “الموندو”، قال المسحل: “نعمل على زيادة مشجعي كرة القدم في جميع أنحاء المملكة والترحيب بمشجعين جدد لزيادة الاهتمام وتطوير كرة القدم الوطنية على جميع المستويات”.

وأضاف: “أكثر من 2.6 مليون شخص دون سن الثلاثين يلعبون كرة القدم و80٪ من السكان يلعبون ويشاهدون ويحضرون المباريات”.

وواصل المسحل: “نريد أن يصبح الدوري السعودي للمحترفين أكثر إثارة وتنافسية وأن ينمو الاهتمام وأن يكون الدوري أكثر جاذبية لمشجعينا وبقية العالم، لهذا السبب أصبح توقيع نجوم العالم العظماء أحد أهدافه الرئيسية”.

وأشار: “وصول كريستيانو رونالدو إلى النصر قد أضاف قيمة كبيرة إلى دوري روشن والسعودية، وعندما وصل 28 ألف مشجع خرجوا لحضور مباراة النادي المقبلة على أرضه رغم غيابه”.

واستطرد المسحل: “لقد ألهمت شخصيته الملايين من الفتيان والفتيات في البلاد، مما قد يؤدي إلى جيل جديد من مواهب كرة القدم في المستقبل، لقد دعم وصوله استراتيجيتنا لإثارة الاهتمام وزيادة المشاركة، بفضل ملفه الشخصي ومكانته كأيقونة”.

وشدد: “رونالدو نموذج يحتذى به، وله سجل قوي من الاحتراف، وهو مدرك تمامًا لالتزاماته داخل وخارج الملعب، مثل جميع لاعبي الدوري السعودي، كان لانتقال رونالدو إلى السعودية أثر إيجابي على كرة القدم في المملكة”.

وعن فرص انضمام ميسي للدوري السعودي، علّق المسحل قائلاً: “ميسي لاعب رائع وأسطورة كرة قدم، أي دوري سيرحب بوصوله، وبصفتي مشجع لكرة القدم، سأكون سعيدًا بالطبع لأنه سيلعب يومًا ما في المملكة العربية السعودية”.

وأصر: “بمجرد اتخاذ القرارات، ستصدر السلطات المختصة الإعلانات الرسمية في الوقت المناسب”.

اقرأ أيضًا | رونالدو يوجه نصيحة للاعبين المرتبطين بالانتقال إلى الدوري السعودي

وأفاد المسحل: “بحلول عام 2025، هدفنا هو زيادة عدد اللاعبين المسجلين من 21000 إلى أكثر من 200000”.

كما أفاد أن الهدف في السعودية، ضم لاعبين شباب رفيعي المستوى وأوضح: “رؤية النجوم الصغار يلعبون في بطولاتنا هو أحد تطلعاتنا الرئيسية ونعتقد أنه يمكن تحقيق ذلك من خلال استراتيجيتنا لتحسين كرة القدم”.

وأتم: “في الوقت الحالي، هدفنا هو توفير البنية التحتية المناسبة ومنصات التطوير للمواهب المحلية لتصبح أفضل النجوم الشباب في العالم وتلعب في المملكة العربية السعودية”.

Oponente do Santos na Copa do Brasil, Altos brinca com goleada do Ituano

MatériaMais Notícias

Além de torcedores dos rivais locais que entraram em polvorosa com a goleada do Ituano sobre o Santos por 5 a 1 no último domingo (3) pelo Paulistão, quem também resolveu comentar sobre o assunto com uma mistura de zoeira e preocupação foi a conta oficial no Twitter do Altos-PI.

Adversário santista na estreia da Copa do Brasil na próxima quarta-feira (6) às 19h15 na cidade de Teresina, o time piauiense fez uma postagem de resposta ao informativo da conta oficial do Santos quando o placar era de 3 a 0 Ituano com os seguintes dizeres:

– ai (sic), não vem com ódio pra cima se (sic) não.

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Apesar do time ter a sede localizada na cidade que fica a cerca de 38 quilômetros da capital do estado, o jogo será realizado em Teresina por questões estruturais.

A promessa é de casa cheia não só pela atratividade que existe quando uma equipe de Série A visita clubes de divisões inferiores, mas também pela questão do valor dos ingressos acompanhar a política de preços habitual do Altos: R$ 20 para as arquibancadas populares, R$ 30 para as arquibancadas especiais e R$ 50 para as cadeiras.

Raphael Veiga x Zé Rafael: números dos meias pedidos pelos palmeirenses

MatériaMais Notícias

Diante das pouco convincentes apresentações de Lucas Lima e do entorse no tornozelo esquerdo que deve tornar Gustavo Scarpa desfalque por mais dez dias, a torcida do Palmeiras tem pedido mais chances a Raphael Veiga e Zé Rafael. O LANCE! aponta os números de cada um deles para ver se há justificativa para a insistência que já incomodou o técnico Luiz Felipe Scolari.

– Quando eu analisar, vou colocar. Não é o torcedor nem a imprensa que coloca o jogador. Eu é que vou analisar o momento certo de colocar e se está em condições de ser escalado. Essa é a minha função, por enquanto – disse Felipão, no domingo, depois de ficar no 0 a 0 diante da Ferroviária, em Araraquara.

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Cada um dos dois armadores, novidades no elenco para esta temporada, atuou uma vez. Raphael Veiga, que voltou de empréstimo ao Athletico a pedido de Scolari e passou o começo da temporada em tratamento de pubalgia, foi titular na vitória por 1 a 0 sobre o Oeste, em Barueri, em 30 de janeiro, pela quarta rodada do Campeonato Paulista, atuando por 67 minutos.

Já Zé Rafael chegou do Bahia com o Palmeiras gastando R$ 14,5 milhões por 70% e foi o único recém-contratado presente na primeira lista de inscritos no Campeonato Paulista. Foi titular na vitória por 1 a 0 sobre o Botafogo de Ribeirão Preto, em 23 de janeiro, no Allianz Parque, logo na segunda rodada do Estadual, permanecendo por 62 minutos em campo.

Na análise das estatísticas do Footstats, é possível ver que Raphael Veiga vai melhor em ações costumeiramente ofensivas. Zé Rafael, por sua vez, tem números que lhe dão utilidade maior em mais funções no campo, importante na estratégia de Felipão para marcação na frente, mas foi escalado revezando-se com Gustavo Scarpa como armador e aberto por um dos lados, enquanto Veiga somente jogou centralizado.

Zé Rafael deu mais assistência para finalização (uma, contra zero de Veiga), desarme(dois, contra nenhum), lançamentos (dois, sendo um deles certo, enquanto Veiga errou sua única tentativa no quesito) e rebatida (afastou uma bola da defesa, contra zero do concorrente). Além disso, Zé Rafael não cometeu nenhuma falta, não levou cartão nem ficou impedido, enquanto Veiga fez uma vez cada um desses três quesitos.

Por outro lado, Raphael Veiga, na comparação com Zé Rafael, tem números superiores em finalizações(três, sendo duas certas, enquanto as duas de Zé Rafael foram erradas), passes (24, sendo 22 certos, com 91,67% de aproveitamento, contra 21 de Zé Rafael, sendo 18 certos, configurando acerto de 85,71%) e cruzamentos (quatro, sendo dois certos, enquanto Zé Rafael sequer cruzou). Além disso, o ex-jogador do Athletico perdeu a posse três vezes, duas a menos na comparação com o ex-Bahia.

Tudo sobre

PalmeirasRaphael VeigaZé Rafael

Big names missing in big game

Preview of the opening match of the Champions Trophy, between India and South Africa

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran05-Jun-2013Match factsThursday, June 6, Cardiff
Start time 9.30am GMTIndia’s batting lynchpins will be Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni•AFPBig PictureThe last time India played South Africa in an ODI was in the 2011 World Cup, when India’s top five were Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan and Yuvraj Singh. The bowling line-up consisted of Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel and Harbhajan Singh. None of those players, most of whom are vastly experienced, are in the squad for this tournament.South Africa are also missing some of their legendary names, with Graeme Smith injured and Jacques Kallis skipping the tournament for personal reasons. Their fans might have felt reassured looking at the familiar bowling line-up, but Dale Steyn’s side strain means he could miss the first game.At least they can still rely on the calm guidance of Gary Kirsten, who has had a golden run in his two years as coach. He has already firmly established South Africa as the best Test side in the world, a position they flirted with for a couple of decades without really nailing it down. The next challenge for Kirsten, who will step down as South Africa coach later this month, is to end his country’s painfully long hunt for an ICC trophy to go along with their triumph in the inaugural version of this tournament way back in 1998.While South Africa have at least been able to focus entirely on the cricket, India haven’t. For the past few weeks in India, cricket has dominated newspaper front pages and has been breathlessly reported on round-the-clock by television channels, but almost all of it has been about the corruption in the IPL, and the ensuing turmoil in the BCCI. Even as MS Dhoni was addressing the press in Cardiff ahead of the opening match of the Champions Trophy, the cricket news back in India was about the Delhi Police questioning the owners of Rajasthan Royals in connection with the spot-fixing controversy.Dhoni’s already has a stellar CV as captain, but marshalling this new-look team under these distractions, especially in a short tournament like the Champions Trophy where even one defeat could mean elimination, will be among the biggest challenges of his career.Form Guide(most recent first)
India LWWWL
South Africa WWLWLWatch out for…Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Irfan Pathan and Vinay Kumar are all military medium and liable to be slapped around the park towards the end of the innings while Ishant Sharma’s performances are yet to justify the enormous patience shown by the selectors. Which means India’s quickest bowler Umesh Yadav has plenty to do. As if being the spearhead, despite having played only 17 ODIs, wasn’t enough, Yadav will have it even harder as he hasn’t bowled more than five overs in a match since last November when he suffered a serious back injury.Just a week before Yadav picked up his injury, JP Duminy received news that he would be out of cricket for six months due to a ruptured tendon in his left heel. Duminy’s first competitive match since then came last week against Netherlands, where he laid to rest any fitness concerns by pummelling an unbeaten 150. In the absence of Kallis and Smith, Duminy’s experience will be useful in a batting line-up filled with relative newcomers.Team newsDinesh Karthik seems to have forced his way into the XI after a couple of sparkling centuries in the warm-up matches, which leaves India with two places to decide. One of the openers’ slots is likely to be a toss-up between Rohit Sharma, who had mixed success at the top of the order in the series against England earlier this year, and M Vijay, who has had a poor IPL and is yet to convince in ODIs. The allrounders’ spot is a contest between Ravindra Jadeja and Irfan Pathan, and who gets the nod could depend on whether India are adventurous enough to opt for a four-man pace attack.India: (probable) 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Dinesh Karthik, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Ravindra Jadeja/ Irfan Pathan, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Umesh Yadav”Steyn does not look good at all. It’s touch and go,” AB de Villiers said the day before the opening game. In case Steyn is deemed unfit, it is likely that Rory Kleniveldt will take his place. The rest of the line-up looks fairly settled, with David Miller likely to miss out in the middle order.South Africa: (probable) 1 Hashim Amla, 2 Alviro Petersen, 3 Colin Ingram, 4 AB de Villiers (capt & wk), 5 Faf du Plessis, 6 JP Duminy, 7 Ryan McLaren, 8 Robin Peterson, 9 Rory Kleinveldt, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Lonwabo TsotsobePitch and conditionsBoth top orders struggled in the India-Australia warm-up match on Tuesday in Cardiff, but Karthik and Dhoni showed there weren’t too many devils in the track. Dhoni’s verdict on the pitch was: “There was not much swing for them but there was variable pace on offer.” Though Australia were rolled over for 65 by India, they had comfortably chased down 257 against West Indies on a similar surface on Saturday.Stats South Africa have the worst ODI record in England over the past six years, having won only two matches in 10 Of the players in the squads of the two teams, only AB de Villiers has aggregated 100 or more runs in the Champions TrophyIndia have won both their encounters against South Africa in the Champions Trophy, the last of which was in 2002. Of those who played that 2002 fixture, only Robin Peterson is in the current tournament’s squads. Quotes”A fresh venue a new start, we have to do all the right things again. Just because the stats are in our favour doesn’t mean we will win the game.”

“We’ll put a bit of emphasis on the first 15 overs of the game. With the bat in hand, and try and fit the foundation and with the ball be very attacking.”
AB de Villiers

Essex stumble on Bopara's mixed day

Ravi Bopara had a mixed day. It started with him being named in the England Lions squad, then two wickets followed but he failed with the bat as Essex stumbled

Tim Wigmore at Chelmsford29-Apr-2013
ScorecardDavid Masters’ return boosted the Essex bowling attack•Getty Images

It was a day for comebacks. First Ravi Bopara heard he was in the England Lions squad to face New Zealand: a surprise comeback. Then Adam Wheater, returning to the club he left last winter in search of more wicketkeeping opportunities, misjudged a hook to fall for one: a comeback that disappointed. And finally there was Alastair Cook: a comeback innings that Essex will hope is not yet complete.Cook closed unbeaten on 25, playing circumspectly while lashing a couple of trademark cut shots through point. With Essex closing on 72 for 5 and trailing by 125, he will need to do plenty more batting tomorrow.One of county cricket’s many attractions can be, as The Kinks sang, “Lazing on a sunny afternoon”. But when the England captain is batting the chitchat stops; everyone shuts up and watches the game. After all, Essex do not see much of Cook: since his last Championship appearance almost a year ago, he has assumed the Test captaincy and scored three hundreds in England’s series win in India.Yet Cook’s most significant contribution of the day was an unfortunate one when a powerful straight drive was diverted onto the stumps by bowler James Tomlinson to run out Tom Westley, who had been playing nicely for 16. By the close Danny Briggs had trapped Bopara playing half-forward, bringing a sour end to his day, and Sean Ervine’s outswing had claimed two wickets to make Hampshire’s total seem far more significant.After Hampshire had won the toss and chosen to bat few would have expected seeing Cook do anything more than man second slip. Hampshire claimed maximum batting points in both of their first two fixtures. Meanwhile, Essex coach Paul Grayson was so appalled by their innings defeat to Northamptonshire that he issued an official apology.Cook may have had an invigorating impact, but the really significant Essex returnee was David Masters, whose experience and nous were sorely missed at Wantage Road. His pace might barely bother motorway speed cameras, but he troubles the batsmen rather more, nibbling the ball both ways with unrelenting accuracy.After a spell of 5-3-3-0 from the River End – hardly too shabby itself – Masters switched ends and ran through Hampshire’s top order with 3 for 10 in five pre-lunch overs. The most intriguing contest was with George Bailey. Mixing natural intent against the short ball and obvious frailty against seam movement it was possible both to see why he was Australia’s Twenty20 captain and he only averaged 18 in the last Sheffield Shield season. Uncertainly groping forward, Bailey was surprised by an inswinger that he inside-edged into his pads to be taken at second slip.With Bopara celebrating his Lions call-up with two useful wickets, Essex were able to deny Hampshire even the 200 runs necessary to earn a solitary batting point. Only Ervine and James Vince passed 23 against some testing bowling, with Ervine’s crunching square of the wicket shots dragging them to an eminently modest 197.Wheater would have hoped for something rather better on his Chelmsford return. After a warm welcome from the crowd – notably more so than that afforded to Rory Hamilton-Brown at the Oval last week – his natural attacking instincts were strangled by some impressive bowling until he hooked a well-directed bouncer from Reece Topley to long-leg.Topley, bowling a consistently threatening line outside off stump and using the short ball as a weapon of shock rather than stock, deserved his three wickets. They took him to 50 first-class scalps, only two months after his 19th birthday. As his career develops, he will receive much advice. That received from Masters should be heeded more than most.

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