O Palmeiras enfrenta o Liverpool-URU na próxima quinta-feira no Estadio Centenário, em Montevidéu, e o jogo pode ser muito especial para o lateral Marcos Rocha.
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➡️ Tudo sobre o Verdão agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso novo canal Lance! Palmeiras
Com 299 jogos com a camisa do Palmeiras, se entrar em campo neste meio de semana, o camisa 2 vai completar 300 partidas pelo Verdão e vai alcançar um número que apenas Weverton e Dudu bateram no clube deste atual elenco.
Rocha chegou no Palmeiras em 2018 e já é ao lado de Weverton, Mayke, Gustavo Gómez, Dudu, Junqueira e Ademir da Guia, o maior vencedor da história do clube, com 12 taças.
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Rocha tem contrato até o final desta temporada e pode estar fazendo o seu ano de despedida pelo atual bicampeão brasileiro. Mesmo com algumas críticas de parte da torcida, o camisa 2 é o líder de assistências do time no ano, com cinco passes para gol.
+ A boa do Lance! Betting: vamos dobrar seu primeiro depósito, até R$200! Basta abrir sua conta e tá na mão!
Mais três jogadores históricos desse elenco de Abel Ferreira também estão próximos de alcançar a marca de 300 jogos com a camisa do Palmeiras. Gustavo Gómez (295), Raphael Veiga (290) e Zé Rafael (289) também devem bater a marca ainda nesta temporada.
Liverpool now look a million miles off the likes of Arsenal, sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League.
Only last season, Arne Slot’s runaway Reds finished ten points clear of Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, having won a mammoth 25 clashes along the way to lifting the title.
Now, with an abysmal six defeats next to their name from 12 Premier League clashes, and 20 goals already leaked, the out-of-sorts giants are already 11 points behind the North Londoners, who swept Tottenham Hotspur aside 4-1, on the same weekend Liverpool crashed out to a 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest.
Thankfully, despite Liverpool suffering their worst start to a season since 2014, and Gary Neville chipping in by labelling the current state of affairs as “unacceptable”, the January transfer window opens soon, which could see the Reds spend wildly again to try and get their atrocious campaign back on track.
Liverpool preparing to spend big again
Just one look at the list above gives you a flavour as to how much Liverpool splashed out in the summer, with Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, and Hugo Ekitike all joining the building for an eye-watering combined total of £294m.
While these deals haven’t exactly gone to plan so far, that doesn’t mean more lavish spending won’t do the trick in an attempt to turn out Liverpool’s depressing fortunes, with sources from Spain now alleging that Slot and Co could be willing to drop an earth-shuddering £177m on the services of Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise.
Liverpool have also been tipped to move for the likes of Juventus attacker Kenan Yildiz and Premier League man of the moment Antoine Semenyo to freshen up their attacking ranks, but a new emerging report from Spain also suggests that their central midfield spots might well be given a major facelift, if they can pick up Paris St Germain ace Joao Neves.
Indeed, the report states that the faltering titans have an ‘intense interest’ in adding Neves to their squad after a breakout season in Ligue 1, with a battle for his services perhaps defining a busy January window to come.
It’s further revealed that Liverpool are preparing an offer close to £140m in an effort to persuade Luis Enrique’s men to part ways.
How Neves is a big upgrade on Mac Allister
Liverpool could win themselves a major upgrade on a declining Alexis Mac Allister if the ex-Benfica midfielder does choose to leave the comforts of France behind for a shot in the Premier League.
Unfortunately, the Argentine has looked seriously off the pace this season during Liverpool’s well-publicised struggles.
It’s been a significant fall from grace for the World Cup winner, who managed to bag five goals and collect five assists last season in league action to help Slot pick up the Premier League title in a crazy first campaign at the helm.
Now, however, the waning 26-year-old has an unconvincing zero goals and two assists from 11 league outings this season, leading to one analyst labelling him as a “huge disappointment”, with his once-feared ability to dictate play now nowhere to be found.
Games played
11
7
Goals scored
0
5
Assists
2
0
Shots*
1.3
1.9
Touches*
47.2
67.6
Accurate passes*
31.5 (86%)
55.3 (94%)
Ball recoveries*
2.9
3.1
Total duels won*
2.5 (44%)
2.9 (57%)
While the former Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder continues to decline, Neves has followed up his outrageous tally of three goals and eight assists from last season with five goals already this campaign, as the 21-year-old continues to live up to his billing as being “one of the best midfielders in the world” by European football content creator, Alex Brice.
On top of being a clinical and classy finisher of chances, Neves also blows his competition out of the water in terms of his pass accuracy with an unerring 94% average in tact, alongside also offering up more ball recoveries at 3.1 per Ligue 1 game, which should stand him in good stead to be an energetic partner to Ryan Gravenberch.
A major plus to his game, though, is his ability to fire home chances – as seen in his unbelievable hat-trick earlier this season – with Mac Allister also well-known to fire home a memorable strike or two during his Liverpool peak.
But, it’s his overall package that makes him such a “complete” talent, as he has been labelled by his ex-trainer in Luis Castro, who even said that number 87 can play in “any championship in the world” and “shine”, with Liverpool having to put their money where their mouth is to prove him right.
Of course, between now and January coming into view, Mac Allister might well pick up form again, as could his entire team, as they potentially climb far beyond their current mid-table slump.
But, with Curtis Jones the only real other figure Slot can fall back on in the defensive midfield ranks – away from the South American and Gravenberch – dropping £140m on Neves could be a fantastic, if costly, investment to make, as the big spenders hope the Portuguese superstar can enter the starting XI and push his new team back into the top positions in the tough division.
Semenyo alternative: Liverpool preparing £177m bid to sign their new Diaz
Liverpool are gearing up to open their purse once again this winter.
Questions surround some of the long-term futures of Arsenal’s stars, with Mikel Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta poised for tough decisions.
The Gunners are preparing for a relatively quiet January transfer window, as is usually the case for them, following their hefty £267 million summer spending spree, but a few notable first-team players could still depart the Emirates Stadium as Arteta continues refining his squad.
Gabriel Martinelli, who’s currently racing to be fit for Arsenal’s looming North London derby on Sunday, has emerged as the most high-profile potential departure.
The Brazilian winger has slipped down Arteta’s pecking order following the summer arrivals of Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze, according to The Mail, with Arsenal apparently prepared to entertain significant offers for Martinelli.
Arsenal haven’t actively pushed for Martinelli’s departure, but there’s been little in the way of contract extension talks, suggesting the club are open to different options.
Arsenal’s unbeaten run in all competitions since defeat to Liverpool
Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest
Athletic Bilbao 0-2 Arsenal
Arsenal 1-1 Man City
Port Vale 0-2 Arsenal
Newcastle 1-2 Arsenal
Arsenal 2-0 Olympiacos
Arsenal 2-0 West Ham
Fulham 0-1 Arsenal
Arsenal 4-0 Atlético Madrid
Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace
Arsenal 2-0 Brighton
Burnley 0-2 Arsenal
Slavia Prague 0-3 Arsenal
Sunderland 2-2 Arsenal
His current deal runs until 2027 with an option for a further year, meaning Arsenal hold a strong negotiating position. Interest from Saudi Arabian clubs and Bayern Munich has been mooted, though Martinelli himself has shown little desire to leave the Emirates, and even stated back in 2022 that he’d stay his “whole life”.
Meanwhile, it is believed that Arsenal would be open to offers for Ben White, despite Arteta’s admiration of the right-back. The competition for places at full-back, combined with his fitness woes, has limited White to just one Premier League game all season.
Leandro Trossard penned new and improved terms at Arsenal recently, but this didn’t include an actual extension, so with his deal expiring in 2027, the BBC suggest that Arsenal could decide to sell the 30-year-old, despite him being one of their best attackers this season with four goals and four assists in all competitions.
Another player who could leave Arsenal in January is Ethan Nwaneri, though the club has zero intention of letting him go permanently.
The 18-year-old wonderkid has managed just 163 Premier League minutes this season despite his obvious talent, with Eze’s arrival limiting opportunities further. A temporary loan move could be sanctioned to accelerate his development, though Arsenal remain extremely high on his long-term potential following the five-year contract he signed last summer.
Then, there is the matter of Gabriel Jesus, who is out of contract in under two years.
Gabriel Jesus makes Palmeiras admission amid doubts over Arsenal future
Jesus is back in training and working his way back from an ACL injury he picked up against Man United at the start of 2025, and Arteta has expressed how he cannot wait to welcome their ‘unpredictable’ weapon back on the field.
However, the 28-year-old has also confirmed his interest in joining Palmeiras after his spell at Arsenal, with Jesus making another admission to Globo Esporte.
The Brazil international told the South American media outlet, via Standard Sport, that he’s informed Palmeiras players of his intentions to eventually join them.
Interestingly, The Mail reported recently that Arsenal could be open to bids for Jesus in the new year, so his return to Palmeiras may even come sooner than he’d expected if they can foot the bill.
The former Man City star is currently on £265,000-per-week in N5, so the Brazilian Serie A side would need him to take a dramatic pay decrease for this move to be possible.
If not, it is certainly one to watch for the future.
TORONTO — Remember, Shohei Ohtani wanted to remain an Angel. Freddie Freeman all but begged to stay in Atlanta. Mookie Betts thought he would spend his entire career in Boston.
Max Muncy was released by the A’s. Tommy Edman was traded while on the injured list. Blake Snell was available to anyone on the open market—twice.
And it’s the who are ruining baseball?
Sure, the money helps. The team that is headed to its second straight World Series, and fifth in the last nine years, with a chance to win three in that span, boasts, at $329 million, the highest payroll in the sport. After winning the World Series last season, they added $450 million worth of new players. Their local TV deal pays them $334 million a year, and this year they launched a paid fan club in Japan, with membership tiers ranging up to $500 per person.
But the No. 2 Mets ($323 million) didn’t make the playoffs. The No. 3 Yankees ($288 million) were bounced in the American League Division Series. And 48% of that TV money and 97% of that fan club money goes into revenue sharing, so everyone else is benefiting from it, too.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers have given out only three of the top 30 most lucrative deals, and so far all three look worth it: $700 million over 10 years for Ohtani (and that is an unusual case, because 97% of the money is deferred, so the contract functions as a credit card), $365 million over 12 years for Betts and $325 million over 10 years for Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Ohtani is the biggest star in sports. Betts is a three-time World Series champion, twice for the Dodgers, an eight-time All-Star and a finalist for this year’s National League Gold Glove at shortstop—a position he never played professionally before last season. Yamamoto is their ace and just threw a shutout in the National League Championship Series.
Mostly the Dodgers excel at evaluating players, and then they excel at developing them. And then, once they’ve done all that, they excel at keeping them.
Angels owner Arte Moreno, incredibly, reportedly balked at the deal structure Ohtani offered. Atlanta GM Alex Anthopoulos didn’t want to give Freeman the sixth year he sought. Red Sox owner John Henry—estimated net worth: $5.7 billion—wasn’t interested in coughing up the $350 million or so it would take to lock up the franchise’s best homegrown young player since Ted Williams. Those were all mistakes of evaluation.
Freddie Freeman is among the key members of the Dodgers who didn’t receive the offer he wanted with his former team and opted instead to make way for L.A. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Muncy had a good eye in Oakland but no power and no defensive home. The Dodgers adjusted his swing and played him everywhere. Now he’s perhaps their fourth most important hitter. Anthony Banda had a 5.69 ERA in parts of seven seasons all across the league. The Dodgers fixed his slider and told him to ditch his changeup. Now he’s a key left-handed fireman. Roki Sasaki came to L.A. in part because he had lost fastball velocity in Japan and wasn’t sure why. After a dreadful start to the season, the Dodgers told him to flex his back leg. Now he throws 100 mph again and gets nearly every crucial late-game out. That’s development.
And as for keeping players, they’re turning them away. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman says he gets so many calls every winter that he could fill more than one roster—and that number only increases as the team continues its success.
“In 2015, our goal was to create a destination,” he says. “Somewhere our players don’t want to leave and other players are looking longingly that they want to be. It’s fragile, and it’s something that you have to continue to get better at every year, but that is the thing I’m most proud of—the inroads we’ve made on that front.”
Right fielder Teoscar Hernández, who signed a one-year prove-it deal with the Dodgers before 2024, all but begged to come back. Yamamoto essentially told other teams to stop offering him more money; he wanted to be in L.A. Relievers Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates took less money for a better shot at a ring. Across the league, players perk up when they hear the Dodgers are asking about them; they know they’re about to get a lot better, and, as outfielder Alex Call put it shortly after he was dealt from the Nationals at the deadline: “I’m going to the World Series!”
The Phillies’ Bryce Harper had it right. “Only losers complain about what they’re doing,” he said this spring.
And that’s because they’re doing it the proper way. Betts turned himself into a Gold Glove–caliber shortstop by sheer force of will—and thousands of ground balls. Freeman, a 36-year-old father of three who has made almost $300 million, plays every day and scolds anyone who doesn’t. Clayton Kershaw treats February bullpens like World Series games.
“You can come early at Dodger Stadium or when we’re on the road, and watch our star players out here early, taking ground balls out in the field, doing everything to try to help them gain some edge for that night,” says Friedman. “And you can look across the field, and the team we’re playing—their players are not out.”
They’re not ruining baseball. This is what baseball is supposed to look like.
TORONTO — The inside story of how the Toronto Blue Jays won the American League pennant begins where most stories do about the peskiest, most annoying and toughest-to-kill team to make it to the World Series in a decade: the batting cage.
It was about two hours before Game 3 of the AL Championship Series at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. The Blue Jays trailed the Mariners two games to none, having fallen so flat in two home losses that they lost to two pitchers on short rest. Of most concern was the rare clunkiness of the swing of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the heartbeat of the offense and, at a freshly invested $500 million, of the entire franchise.
In going 0-for-7, Guerrero grounded out six times, three times in back-to-back games for the first time all year. Toronto is 19–33 when Guerrero is held hitless.
“Time to go to work,” hitting coach David Popkins said to Guerrero.
When Guerrero is right, he wields a Lamborghini of a swing. It is long (7.5 feet), fast (76.7 mph, eighth fastest in MLB) and sleek (at 1°, he has the flattest attack angle in MLB). He shifts smoothly through many gears to get it on time: step back, bat tilt, stride and crescendo. But it kept misfiring oddly in Games 1 and 2.
On the off day before Game 3, Popkins looked at the diagnostics and discovered the problem. It wasn’t the swing. It was a timing issue. Guerrero was making contact only a few inches or so farther in front of his body than ideal, turning line drives and long flyballs into turf-hugging grounders.
What Popkins needed to do was the equivalent of replacing the timing belt, chain and tensioner. Don’t overhaul anything; just re-set the timing.
Popkins brought Guerrero into the cage to hit against the curveball machine.
“It slows him down,” Popkins says. “Let’s him get a little confidence in his path.”
After Guerrero left the shop, he hummed through the remaining five ALCS games by slashing .526/.609/1.158 to win the ALCS MVP and continue one of the most sublime hitting performances in postseason history. Guerrero is the first player to slug as many as six homers in a postseason while striking out just three times. Barry Bonds (2002) and Albert Pujols (’04) whiffed a previous-low six times while banging six homers.
The story is instructive because of how the Blue Jays play offensive baseball as designed by a hitting coach who went undrafted out of college, played six minor league seasons without reaching Triple A, including three seasons with the Wild Things (of Washington, Pa.) and the Canaries (of Sioux Falls, S.D.), and who, after being fired by the Twins, was hired by Toronto manager John Schneider after meeting him for the first time. Turning 36 next month, Popkins is two months younger than Toronto DH George Springer.
“I’m a big fight fan,” Popkins says, “and you’ve got to be able to win different ways. You’ve got to be able to wear out the body … You’ve got to be unpredictable. And that's what we pride ourselves on.
“If we were a fighter, we’d be Jon Jones or maybe Floyd Mayweather. That’s the type of offense I say I want. It’s just this dynamic fighter. And we're going to face a great challenge in L.A.”
How the Blue Jays Match Up With the Dodgers
The World Series starts Friday in Toronto, not L.A., because the Blue Jays, fighters to the finish that they are, ground out four wins in their last four games to not only seal the AL East title but also wrest homefield from the Dodgers by one game. The series is blockbuster stuff if only for whatever jaw-dropping unprecedented greatness Shohei Ohtani has in store for us, this time against the Blue Jays, the team that thought it had a shot at signing him before the Dodgers closed the deal. Ohtani loves hitting at Rogers Centre (.288/.417/.610 in 16 games) because it reminds him of the Sapporo Dome, his former home with the Nippon Ham Fighters. In his first trip to Rogers Centre after signing with Los Angeles, Ohtani, for one of the rare times, was roundly booed—to which he responded by smashing a home run.
But for a baseball aficionado, the series is a fascinating contrast—to borrow from Popkins’s love of pugilism—of fighting styles. It’s the swing-and-miss stuff of the Dodgers’ pitchers versus the feint-jab-and-slug peppering of the Blue Jays. It’s an especially delicious matchup for Popkins, who went to minor league camp in 2019 with the Dodgers and coached in the Dodgers’ minor league system in ’20 and ’21.
“It’s going to be great,” Popkins says, “You know, I love those guys. They’re great, great players, a great staff, a great organization. I love those guys over there. And it's going to be a great, great matchup.
“Still to this day I still talk to a good amount of those guys and I can’t wait. I couldn’t be more happy that it’s them. This movie could not have written itself any better than this. I can’t wait.”
The Blue Jays blitzed the Yankees in the ALDS by hitting .338 and they sent Seattle home by putting the ball in play against the Mariners’ steady diet of in-zone fastballs. Toronto struck out only 40 times in seven ALCS games while Seattle fanned 71 times.
The Game 7 sequence for Toronto that turned a 3–1 defeat into a 4–3 win in the seventh inning was vintage 2025 Blue Jays when it came to throwing combinations. Leadoff walk (Addison Barger), 0-and-2 single (Isiah Kiner-Falefa), sacrifice bunt (Andrés Giménez), earth-shaking, roof-raising, drought-killing, jaw-dropping three-run bomb by George Springer. Gnats are less irritating than the Toronto lineup.
Seattle manager Dan Wilson kept bringing in fastball-pumping strike throwers: George Kirby, Bryan Woo and Eduard Bazardo. The Mariners chucked more heaters this regular season than any team (55.5%) and they boosted that percentage in the ALCS (59%). It did not work, not against the contact-heavy, ambush-happy Toronto lineup.
After the Giménez bunt, Wilson had eight outs to cover to get the Mariners to their first World Series. He had one more at-bat each with which to navigate against Springer and Guerrero. He chose to put the lead and those at-bats not in the hands of his closer, Andrés Muñoz, but a rubber-armed Bazardo.
Putting Bazardo on Springer meant Muñoz never faced Springer in the series but Bazardo would get him for a third time. The first pitch was a sinker that missed. Bazardo had thrown Springer eight pitches in the series. Seven were sinkers. Four of those were inside sinkers. What do you think Bazardo would throw at 1-and-0 on the ninth pitch? Yep, sinker inside.
At every turn, the Mariners could not shut down innings and get off the field without stress, if not runs. The Blue Jays struck out 1,099 times this year, the fewest for a full-season World Series team since the 2017 Astros, or, if you dismiss teams that cheat to steal signs, the 2015 Royals.
Dodgers pitchers are averaging 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings this postseason. The Dodgers need only to make 17 plays in the field to win a game. They are not an elite defensive team. Their defensive efficiency (turning batted balls into outs) ranked 11th, their worst showing in a decade. They ranked below average in defensive runs saved. By putting the ball in play and turning the lineup over, the Blue Jays can pressure the Dodgers defense and the trigger of manager Dave Roberts as to when he goes to his bullpen.
The Blue Jays came back from a 2–0 series deficit to win the ALCS. / Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
“I think one of the things that’s so exciting about this group,” says vice president of baseball operations Ross Atkins, “is regardless of the talent or the skill level, we have something to combat it with.
“We’ve shown that that [Seattle staff] was about as good a pitching as you're going to see, and we were able to not just put it in play, but drive it. So that would be the same approach. Really, nothing changes.”
The Positive Effects of Hitting Coach David Popkins
The Blue Jays were a bad offensive club last season. They ranked sixth in fewest strikeouts, 19th in batting average, 23rd in runs and 26th in home runs. Immediately at the conclusion of the season they fired hitting coach Guillermo Martínez. About two weeks later, they flew in four candidates to interview on the same day. Popkins was the last of the four to sit down with Schneider.
“I didn’t know him at all,” Schneider says. “All I knew was that Rocco Baldelli and Jayce Tingler had high recommendations for him.”
“At the end of the interview,” Schneider says, “I got up and walked into Ross’s office and said, ‘I think we’ve got our guy.’ He was that impressive.”
Popkins had been fired by the Twins, where Baldelli managed and Tingler was the bench coach.
Something Popkins told Schneider that day would not only impress the manager but also become the mantra of the Blue Jays’ offense: “We want to be the most creative offense in baseball. We want more ways to score runs than anybody else.”
The effects were obvious, even if Toronto ran back mostly the same lineup but for free agent acquisition Anthony Santander, who played in only 54 games because of injuries. The Jays upgraded to second fewest strikeouts, first in batting average, fourth in runs and 11th in home runs.
When it comes to facing swing-and-miss, strikeout-heavy pitching staffs, the Blue Jays are fine with punching above their weight. The Yankees ranked seventh in strikeout rate (23.7%). The Mariners ranked ninth (23.3%). The Dodgers ranked second (24.8%).
The Blue Jays will not see as many challenge fastballs as they did from the Mariners. The Dodgers swept the Brewers by throwing just 40.8% fastballs. Their four starters—Ohtani, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow—threw just 37.5% fastballs. The World Series will turn on how Toronto can defeat, or at least withstand, the swing-and-miss spin and splitters from Dodgers pitchers.
“The guys are really about team at-bats,” Popkins says. “There's no one that’s selfish in our lineup, so it just makes it a tough one through nine. You kind of have to grind through it. Usually with a lot of lineups, you have a breather when you're a pitcher and you kind of just go through and attack them. There’s no stamina that’s wasted on a pitcher.
“But this team? You can really wear guys down mentally and their stamina breaks down. That’s when they make mistakes.”
I tell him that sounds like the line he gave Schneider in the interview about his philosophy.
“The most creative offensive team in baseball,” he says, like a proud parent.
Australia were halfway towards their target to launch a home World Cup campaign with a win before Yadav turned it around
Andrew McGlashan in Sydney21-Feb-20202:47
Spinners can always turn the game for us – Kaur
Alyssa Healy was back in the runs, Australia were halfway towards their target with a run-a-ball needed and eight wickets in hand to launch a home World Cup campaign a long time in the making. Then it all changed.The ball after bringing up her fifty with a six, Healy chipped a flighted leg-break back to Poonam Yadav who held her nerve following a big full toss. From there, Australia’s innings unraveled as she caused havoc with her googly. Yadav, the leading wicket-taker in T20Is over the last two years, picked up three more in her next 11 deliveries and was only denied a hat-trick when wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia made her one mistake on an evening where she was otherwise outstanding behind the stumps.The Law that denied Yadav a fifth wicket
Over 17.3: Poonam Yadav to Gardner, 1 no ball, what was that? Grubber, bounces twice, sneaks through the legs and rattles the timber. Gardner hangs on and chats to the umpire. Since it bounced twice before reaching the crease, it is a no-ball
Law 21.7: Ball bouncing more than once, rolling along the ground or pitching off the pitch: The umpire shall call and signal No ball if a ball which he/she considers to have been delivered, without having previously touched bat or person of the striker…bounces more than once or rolls along the ground before it reaches the popping crease
The fact Australia were all but out of the chase come the last over showed how complete the shift to India had been. In the moment it is easy to overstate the importance of something, but this had the feel of a very significant start to the tournament.With victory in front of a record-breaking crowd for a standalone women’s game in Australia of 13,432 – a healthy proportion cheering for the side in blue – India secured a sizeable step towards making the semi-finals. Conversely, if Australia are going to win a World Cup where there is so much expectation they are going to have to take a much harder route than many envisaged just a few weeks ago. They can’t afford another slip-up now.Not that the result itself should be considered a huge shock. Australia were favourites – rightly so – but only a couple of weeks ago India dusted them up in the tri-series (only to lose a final they probably should have won) and have now beaten them in the last three global events: the match at the 2017 World Cup is famous for Harmanpreet Kaur’s 171, the match at the 2018 T20 World Cup was less significant as it didn’t impact progression for either team – this one feels much closer to the former for impact, although they could yet have to do it again if they want to claim the title.
“She [Poonam Yadav] bowled the first over pretty regulation as a legspinner then slowed it up immensely after that. We probably didn’t adapt well enough.”Alyssa Healy
Yadav had not played in the tri-series earlier this month as she nursed an injured finger on her left hand that remained bandage as she smiled her way through the post-match press conference alongside Kaur. “It is painful, but when I play the match I forget it,” Yadav said. “Bowling-wise I was confident I could bowl at any time.”During her time sidelined, fitness has been her focus which has included a gluten-free diet that hasn’t exactly been to her tastes. “I am surviving on rice which I don’t like at all. [They] scold me saying, “no, you are not allowed to eat gluten.” They take it off my plate, but I understand that they are doing this for the sake of the team.”Poonam Yadav celebrates•Getty ImagesHer absence meant Australia had not seen her recently – last facing her in the group match at the 2018 tournament where she claimed 2 for 28 – and when the injury was referenced to Healy she admitted being unaware, saying she thought the tri-series non-selection may have been tactical. As it’s turned out, maybe it was a useful coincidence for India.”We prepared really well,” Healy said. “She bowled the first over pretty regulation as a legspinner then slowed it up immensely after that. We probably didn’t adapt well enough. We don’t get legspinners coming down at 60kph very often and she’s incredibly skillful.”While Yadav, who was held back until the 10th over, bowled beautifully after the early full toss, the Australians produced some poor batting and were unable to read her wrong ‘un – Rachael Haynes missed by a long way and Ellyse Perry, who slipped down to No. 6 in a curious reshuffle of the batting order, played a loose stroke across the line. Looped up at around 60kph, dipping late on the batters (and even being called no-ball for bouncing twice at one point which denied her a five-wicket haul), it preyed on their eagerness to put bat to ball on a surface that was sluggish and probably aided spinners more than the hosts would have liked.”We went out thinking it was a flat wicket and played some shots we shouldn’t have,” Healy said. “Most of the wickets that fell today were batters playing across the line in both innings, so for us we’ll have a look at that and say we didn’t adapt.””Poonam did a great job for us, credit goes to our bowlers – they trusted themselves and won the game for us,” Kaur said. “She is a very good T20 bowler, she always bowls for the team and it’s not easy to play, she is a little slower in the air. When you have to hit her, you have to show patience and very good skill.”Yadav praised the role played by Narendra Hirwani, the former India legspinner, who is on the team’s coaching staff. “Mentally he helps us a lot. He talks about understanding the bounce. He talks about we all have variations, but when to use them how to use the bounce and the right areas to pitch.”As it is for Australia, this is just one game for India, but given their victory was also fashioned after a top-order collapse, which was repaired by a career-best 49 from Deepti Sharma in the much-criticised middle-order, it was a win that made a statement. The next couple of weeks will show if they live up to it.
The former India bowler and World Cup winner talks about a day in his life as a policeman on the front lines of the fight against Covid-19
Interview by Nagraj Gollapudi09-Apr-2020Joginder Sharma, a deputy superintendent of police in the Hisar district of Haryana, is a recognisable face for most sports fans in India. But the man who bowled India to victory in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, has been politely declining requests for selfies and autographs over the past few weeks. As a senior-ranking police officer, his primary duty right now is to make sure citizens in his jurisdiction follow the safety guidelines put in place by the Indian government to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.Sharma talks to us about how the common man is gripped by the fear of the disease that has infected nearly a million and a half people globally. In these precarious times, he says, cricket becomes secondary.Has this been the most challenging time in your job as a police officer?
I have been actively working as a cop since leaving cricket in 2017, and I have seen many things, encountered different challenges. But this has been the biggest. The toughest thing [to tell people] is that there is no vaccine yet created to fight coronavirus.Right now, despite India being in lockdown, we still need to get out to do our duty. Lives are being lost, and our job is to save lives. At the same time we need to protect ourselves and our police force. That is a challenge.Luckily in Hisar, where I am posted, so far there has been just one case, and even that person has recovered. Touch wood, I hope it stays like that.When does your day begin?
My day starts around six in the morning. Today I started at 9am and am returning home now [8pm]. But I need to be ready for emergency calls, so effectively I am available for duty 24 hours, and I can’t say no.ALSO READ: R Ashwin: ‘There is a lesson in all this: we take the game too seriously’What is your brief for the day these days?
The area that I need to oversee is mostly in the rural belt of Hisar. Right now it involves guarding various checkposts and instructing not just truck and bus drivers but also common people about the virus. The basic message is: do not get out of the house unless you need to. If someone is outside without any purpose, we can sanction them under various legal acts.Of course, if people are out to fetch essential home supplies like groceries or there is a medical emergency, we allow that as long as they are maintaining social distancing, wearing protective gear like masks and respecting the guidelines set by the government.Are there any common misconceptions you hear?
The question I am asked multiple times is: “What is coronavirus? How does it spread?” Most of these questions come from people who are poor, including migrants. Some have young families. Many do not have TV and other means of getting the information the government is trying to put out about the epidemic. But the percentage of people who are unaware is minuscule. Most are aware.Last Sunday, Indians switched their lights off for nine minutes at 9pm to mark the battle against the pandemic. But there were reports that firecrackers were set off in many places at that time. Harbhajan Singh tweeted asking how one could fight such stupidity.
Everyone has the right to express their feelings. Some feel something is right, some feel it is wrong. Having said that, our priority is to end the coronavirus in our country. This is the first battle in our life that can be won by staying at home. If you stay home, only then will it end. By lighting firecrackers it will not end. Yes, I understand that you may be trying to express solidarity, but it is not appropriate.Do people recognise you as a World Cup winner?
Yes, many people do – by reading the name plate on my uniform, since I wear a mask these days. Many want selfies and autographs, but I tell them that they need to wait till this is over.The jobs healthcare workers and others, like you, do at this time is dangerous. Do you feel endangered?
I think the biggest service is being done by the doctors, nurses and cleaners – they have the most high-risk jobs.Personally, one time I got scared was when some groups of migrants were desperate to get back home to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, even though no modes of transport were working, due to the national lockdown. Me and my team had to stop them and explain the situation to them. Eventually they were moved to makeshift shelter homes. Although we were using megaphones, some interactions had to be on a one-on-one basis. It was tough.ALSO READ: Mark Nicholas: This is a time for healing and we are all in chargeIt must be difficult to explain social distancing in a country like India, which is densely populated?
Yes. In these shelter homes we also have to ensure they get bedding, medicines, look at whether the space they are staying in is clean. At those times we have to make sure they maintain the right distance as they gather outside.Is cricket at all on your mind?
Hardly. Most of my day I am busy with police work. Once I am home I need to keep track of the news and the data related to the coronavirus cases. I need to keep tabs on how many cases there are, the number of people who are in quarantine, if there is anyone sick among those in quarantine, and so on. I need to monitor and collate all this data and send it onward.When was the last time you saw your family?
Although I live in Rohtak, which is just 110km from Hisar, about one and a half hours by road, I have decided not to go home. I don’t want to take a chance because I am in contact with people all day and I don’t want go home and put my family at risk.Cricketers and athletes have been making contributions to charity and advising fans to stay at home. What more would you suggest they can do?
In our country everyone – from cricketers to people in Bollywood to NGOs – is trying to reach out and help in their own way. That is very good.The one message we all can spread is: stay at home till the government relaxes restrictions. Stay at home, enjoy time with your family. Let us remind everyone through social media and all available mediums. I want to say to everyone that the entire world is fighting the coronavirus. Follow the government’s instructions. Do not put your life in danger. Stay home, that is the only solution right now.The entire cricket world is anxious to know whether the IPL will happen.
Until the coronavirus is cleared, it should not happen. Once everything is back to normal, it should definitely happen.If the IPL happens now, it would be a big danger because crowds will come to watch. Even if you restrict it to players, each team will have a minimum of about 15 players. There are team meetings, there is support staff, so about 30-40 people travel with each team. So it should not happen now. Strictly no.
Viv Richards, Australia’s prime minister, Mithali Raj and many more on Australia’s triumph and India’s promise
ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2020A record crowd for a women’s cricket match turned out at the MCG. Hosts and defending champions Australia turned up and bossed the final against India, clinching their fifth T20 World Cup trophy.
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Unbelievable girls!! Amazing effort to win the T20 World Cup after having to face so many challenges. A truly great team, your standards have been world leading and you deserve every bit of success that comes with it!!
A post shared by Aaron Finch (@aaronfinch5) on Mar 8, 2020 at 5:24am PDT
Impressive final performance from @AusWomenCricket saved their best for last. Congratulations to all involved you’ve made Australia proud…again! #AUSvIND #WorldCupFinal
— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) March 8, 2020
Congratulations @AusWomenCricket on winning yet another T20 title. You have brilliant. Savour the moment! #T20WorldCup https://t.co/DT4PF6ebSz
— Sir Vivian Richards (@ivivianrichards) March 8, 2020
Today is #IWD2020. We'd like to start by saluting everyone at the #T20WorldCup. The aim was to #FilltheMCG. 90,000 people, watching women's sport. It looks AMAZING. pic.twitter.com/69gWQMjIZN
— FIFA Women's World Cup (@FIFAWWC) March 8, 2020
So proud of how Melbourne showcases sporting events. @mcg looked a picture. Katy Perry was awesome. And both Teams will never forget such a big day for International Women’s cricket! Congrats to all involved. Women’s cricket has arrived now. https://t.co/YTDUoj5a4m
— Dean Jones AM (@ProfDeano) March 8, 2020
An amazing night at the G. A record 86,174 there to watch Meg Lanning and the Aussies bringing home a fifth women’s title on Int’l womens day. Congrats to Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney on stunning performances. Commiserations to India, have no doubt that @narendramodi is proud.
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) March 8, 2020
Congratulations @AusWomenCricket on winning the #T20WorldCup To the @BCCIWomen team,we all are very proud of your achievement. Really enjoyed the way you all played throughout the tournament. Good luck for your future matches.
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) March 8, 2020
India’s unbeaten run in the tournament came to an end in the final.
Our girls gave their everything, just had one bad day but it was so wonderful to see the way in which they played barring today .Wishing them better luck next time. Congratulations to Australia on winning the #T20WorldCup
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) March 8, 2020
Gutted by the result today . Nonetheless the girls have had a wonderful #T20WorldCup campaign . I congratulate the T20 captain @ImHarmanpreet and the girls. Well done . Request everyone to continue supporting women’s cricket . Only great things are in store.
— Mithali Raj (@M_Raj03) March 8, 2020
India lost only one game in the tournament. So did Australia. Both teams lost to each other. India beat Aus in the tournament opener. Australia beat India in the finals. Such is life…. #WT20WC #AusvInd
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) March 8, 2020
Till a few years ago, nobody could have imagined that a billion eyes would be glued to Women’s Cricket World Cup
Cups will come & go, but today is a victory for each & every INDIAN GIRL who dared to defy odds & societal barriers! #SheInspiresUs
Congrats to Australia!
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) March 8, 2020
Proud of all the efforts put in by the Indian Women's Cricket Team throughout their #T20WorldCup campaign. I'm confident that you girls will bounce back stronger than ever. @BCCIWomen
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) March 8, 2020
I know how tough it is to be so close to that World Cup & not win it. But chin up, girls! It’s not about the result, but about the generation you’ve inspired. You had a campaign you can be very proud of! Also congratulations Australia, a much deserved win.#INDvsAUS #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/5ekr5Y9yvS
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) March 8, 2020
Alyssa Healy set the tone in the final with a 30-ball fifty – a record in a World Cup final – en route to a 39-ball 75. In the stands at the MCG was her husband Mitchell Starc, who had played in the 2015 World Cup final at the MCG .
Instead of being overawed by the expectation of a home World Cup final at a packed MCG, Australia have thrived on it. Healy calmed the nerves early. India looked intimidated unfortunately. They will learn from it one hopes.
— Ian bishop (@irbishi) March 8, 2020
Imagining Alyssa Healy and Mitchell Starc chatting over their cornflakes.
"Oh hey, remember when you dominated a World Cup Final at the MCG, winning it for Australia before the opposition caught breath?"
"Yeah. Remember when you did too?"
"Yeah. More toast?"#T20WorldCup
— Ben Jones (@benjonescricket) March 8, 2020
One of the finest knocks that I’ve seen in a World Cup Final. Men and Women included. Top class. Alyssa Healy #AusvInd #WT20WC
The absence of the experienced duo could open up spots for the uncapped Ruturaj Gaikwad and R Sai Kishore
Deivarayan Muthu18-Sep-20204:11
Will Jadeja be the breakthrough player for CSK this year?
Where they finished in 2019: Runners-up, losing to Mumbai Indians by just one run in a nerve-wracking last-ball finish.Potential XI: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Faf du Plessis, 3 Ambati Rayudu, 4 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 5 Kedar Jadhav, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Mitchell Santner/Imran Tahir, 9 Deepak Chahar 10 Piyush Chawla, 11 Shardul ThakurBatting: Suresh Raina’s exit has stripped Super Kings of their most experienced batsman and the left-hand element at the top of their order. While Super Kings have Ambati Rayudu, Ruturaj Gaikwad, the Maharashtra and India A batsman, and M Vijay to help fill that void, all of them are right-handers and oppositions might target them with legspinners. MS Dhoni isn’t big on match-ups, but, perhaps, there’s a case for Super Kings to push Ravindra Jadeja or Sam Curran or Mitchell Santner up the order to provide greater balance to the batting line-up.Super Kings’ batting was rickety throughout the 2019 season, and the slow-moving legs may have gotten slower in late 2020. Watson has retired from professional cricket in Australia and the likes of Rayudu and Dhoni himself haven’t played competitive cricket for a year or thereabouts. To add to their concerns, Jadhav had a lean IPL 2019, managing a mere 162 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of under 100. If Jadhav can’t quite break out of the funk this season, his state-mate Gaikwad, who is believed to have impressed Dhoni at the Chepauk camp in March earlier this year, could find a place in the middle order. They could also potentially have Deepak Chahar, Piyush Chawla, and Shardul Thakur at Nos. 9, 10, and 11. All three bowlers can bat and have made match-winning cameos in the IPL in the past.Chennai Super Kings full squad•ESPNcricinfo LtdBowling: Dubai will be the Super Kings’ home base – they will play seven of their 14 league fixtures at the Dubai International Stadium – and the tracks there tend to offer more assistance to spinners than the ones in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah do. The heat could challenge all sides, but the conditions, both overhead and underfoot, might not be too different from those in Chennai. However, Super Kings will likely miss Singh, who has also pulled out of the tournament for personal reasons. With him gone, Super Kings don’t have a specialist offspinner in their squad. The only other specialist Indian fingerspinner in the roster is rookie R Sai Kishore, who was a net bowler for them in Chennai last season.Dhoni, though, has three legspin-bowling options at his disposal – Imran Tahir, Piyush Chawla and Karn Sharma. Curran brings in the left-arm variety while Josh Hazlewood and Lungi Ngidi could be compelling with their extra pace and hit-the-deck style on quicker pitches.Young players to watch out for: The 23-year-old Gaikwad has been a prolific performer for India A – both at home and in overseas conditions. A tall batsman, Gaikwad is adept at driving the ball on the up and piercing the gaps. He also has the reverse-sweep in his repertoire, having rolled that out off mystery spinner Akila Dananjaya during his 187 not out in 136 balls in a truncated one-dayer against Sri Lanka A last year. Then, there’s the other 23-year-old, Sai Kishore, who was the powerplay specialist for Tamil Nadu in their run to the final in the most recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He largely attacks the stumps with drifters and sliders, but can also turn the ball away from right-handers. Singh’s unavailability could open up a place in the XI for Sai Kishore at some point in the tournament.Coaching staff: Stephen Fleming (head coach), Mike Hussey (batting coach), L Balaji (bowling coach), Eric Simmons (bowling consultant), Rajiv Kumar (fielding coach).
Crawley’s innings during the third Test against Pakistan in numbers
Bharath Seervi22-Aug-2020267 – Zak Crawley’s score, the second-highest maiden century by an England batsman and the seventh-highest overall. Only Tip Foster’s 287 is a higher maiden hundred by an England player than Crawley’s 267. Karun Nair’s 303 not out is the only higher maiden century in the last 25 years.ESPNcricinfo Ltd4 – Number of batsmen to make a 250-plus score in Tests at a younger age than Crawley, who was 22 years, 200 days at the start of this match. The four batsmen are Garry Sobers, Don Bradman, Len Hutton and Graeme Smith. Bradman and Smith had made two 250-plus scores before turning 23.3 – Crawley is the third-youngest England batsman to score a Test double century. Hutton and David Gower are the two England batsmen to score a double-hundred at an younger age than Crawley.ESPNcricinfo Ltd1 – Number of higher individual scores by England No. 3 batsmen in Tests than Crawley’s 267. Wally Hammond’s 336 not out is the only bigger innings at No. 3.359 – The partnership between Crawley and Jos Buttler, is the joint fourth-highest fifth-wicket partnership in Test history. For England, there have been only five bigger partnerships for any wicket in Tests than the 359 between Crawley-Buttler. Crawley scored at a strike rate of 70.17 (200 runs off 285 balls) in the partnership whereas Buttler scored at just 49.64 (138 off 278).ESPNcricinfo Ltd1 – Crawley’s 267 is the highest innings in Tests to end by stumping. The previous highest score for someone who was stumped out was Seymour Nurse’s 258 in 1969.28.54 – Crawley’s Test career average in seven Tests, coming into this match. He had made 314 runs in 11 innings with three fifties. After his massive 267-run innings, his average has shot up to 48.41. His first-class career average was just 30.82 before this Test with three hundreds and a highest score of 168.