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According to Portuguese outlet Record (via Sport Witness), Porto and Glasgow Rangers are not in negotiations over a transfer for Alfredo Morelos.

The Lowdown: Morelos linked with Porto

The Colombian has been heavily linked with a move to Porto, with the 25-year-old even reported to have agreed personal terms with the club (Antena 1).

There had been reports of a €17m (£14.6m) agreement (A Bola), but there has now been another update on the 25-year-old which very much appears to contradict that stance.

The Latest: No deal agreed

As per this latest update from Record (via Sport Witness), the two clubs have not come to an agreement at all in regards to the Colombia international – as of yet, there have not even been any negotiations.

While Morelos is said to have opened the door to a move, Porto have not made a concrete approach to sign the forward.

The Verdict: Who knows what to believe?

Every day there appears to be an update on Morelos’ situation. Many supporters may well have been resigned to losing him this summer after it had been suggested that he was close to a move, but they will now have been given hope that he could remain at Ibrox.

One thing is for sure – this is a saga which is likely to go on throughout the summer, just like it did last year when he was said to be on the way to Lille (Sky Sports). That comes with the territory of being one of his club’s most dangerous players, and all Steven Gerrard and the Ibrox hierarchy can do is make sure that the speculation does not damage the Gers’ plans for the new season.

In other news, Steven Gerrard has provided an update on this 24-year-old.

MatériaMais Notícias

Há oito anos trabalhando em clubes do interior do Rio Grande do Sul, o técnico Beto Campos, de 53 anos, alcança neste início de temporada o período de maior destaque de sua carreira. O treinador comanda o Novo Hamburgo, que lidera o Campeonato Gaúcho de forma isolada, mesmo tendo um elenco modesto se comparado aos de Grêmio e Internacional, as grandes forças do futebol do estado. Inspirado por grandes treinadores gaúchos como Luiz Felipe Scolari, Tite, Dunga, e Mano Menezes, Beto mantém a humildade para tentar atingir o sucesso que estes alcançaram. Admirador de todos estes profissionais gaúchos, ele revela, porém, ser fã de um profissional de fora, que brilhou no comando do Inter.

– Eu tenho em especial uma admiração também pelo trabalho do Muricy Ramalho. Ele não é gaúcho, mas sempre apresentava muito bem o que é a nossa maneira de trabalhar. Sempre gostei muito dos times montados pelo Muricy. Foi um grande treinador – afirma Beto, destacando que tenta aprender e crescer observando os grande nomes do estado:

– Eu estou sempre atento aos trabalhos de todos os grandes treinadores. Aqui no nosso estado nós temos tradicionalmente revelado grandes técnicos, que têm demonstrado muita qualidade, tanto que chegaram à Seleção Brasileira. Me encontro sempre com o Felipão, com o Mano Menezes, por exemplo, quando estão por aqui. Temos o Tite, que é o atual técnico da Seleção, o Dunga, que esteve lá recentemente… Eu joguei futebol também e conheço muitos técnicos aqui do interior que têm muita qualidade. Tento inserir coisas boas de todos estes profissionais ao nosso trabalho.

Apesar de ser a primeira vez que alcança destaque em nível nacional, Beto Campos já realizou trabalhos bem sucedidos por equipes menores, tendo, por exemplo, comandado o Caxias na campanha vitoriosa na segunda divisão do ano passado. Para o treinador, o sucesso dele e de sua equipe neste início de ano é fruto de um trabalho forte coletivamente.

– Eu venho desde 2009 fazendo bos campanhas em times da Série A do Campeonato Gaúcho, e também na divisão de acesso. Com essa campanha do Novo Hamburgo temos alcançado notoriedade, principalmente por estarmos na liderança. Os jogadores aceitaram e entenderam bem o nosso plano de trabalho. Estão sempre atentos ao que passamos, em um curto espaço de tempo. É um conjunto de fatores, passando pelo trabalho de toda a comissão técnica, pela qualidade dos jogadores, ao empenho da direção e de todos os funcionários do clube para nos proporcionarem as melhores condições para desempenharmos um bom trabalho. Temos uma das menores folhas de pagamento do campeonato, mas mostramos que, com qualidade e com determinação, é possível fazer uma bela campanha – destaca Beto.

Nesta segunda-feira, o Novo Hamburgo, líder invicto, com 15 pontos, enfrenta o Passo Fundo, no Estádio do Valle, no complemento da sexta rodada do Campeonato Gaúcho. Após empates de Grêmio e Caxias, em seus respectivos jogos, Beto destaca que a confiança é grande para o confronto desta noite, mas destaca que a seriedade dá o tom no trabalho do líder.

– Temos uma grande expectativa para o jogo contra o Passo Fundo. Tivemos uma ótima semana de trabalho, com todos os nossos jogadores trabalhando. E a rodada foi boa para nós, principalmente pelo empate no Gre-Nal. Estamos quatro pontos à frente de Grêmio e Caxias, segundo e terceiro colocados, respectivamente. Vamos enfrentar uma equipe forte, a qual conheço bem. Vão tentar nos surpreender, mas vamos trabalhar com seriedade para realizarmos mais um grande jogo e somarmos mais três pontos na tabela – disse Beto, que tem contrato com o clube até o fim do Estadual.

The Bangladesh opener, who has hit a major dip in form, has turned to the former national team coach for help

Mohammad Isam30-Jul-2019Tamim Iqbal should focus on being more patient after negotiating the tough initial periods, according to Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh coach between 2007 and 2011 who is credited in Bangladesh cricket circles for having helped the likes of Shakib Al Hasan, Muhsfiqur Rahim and Tamim become quality international batsmen.Tamim, the mainstay at the top of the Bangladesh batting circles, has endured a dip in form in recent times. At the 2019 World Cup, he averaged just 29.37, and has been dismissed for 0 and 19 in the two ODIs in Sri Lanka. Tamim has also been bowled out six times in a row now, making it eight for the year.Tamim had said after Bangladesh’s first three matches in the World Cup that he was feeling the pressure, especially after having a lean run at the 2015 World Cup, where he scored just 154 runs in six innings. Most recently, he has usually started well, but then failed to kick on.Tamim recently got in touch with Siddons, currently head coach at South Australia, for help.”From what I have seen of him in the Sri Lanka series, Tamim looks comfortable until he gets out,” Siddons told ESPNcricinfo. “He got a great yorker in the first game (from Lasith Malinga) and then the shot he got out to in the second game, he just didn’t need to play. He is trying to force balls that he doesn’t need to. He is ticking the score along okay. He probably is getting a bit impatient.

I would probably straighten up his front foot a little, but he looks like the great player that he isJamie Siddons on Tamim Iqbal

“Teams are bowling well to him and limiting his boundaries. He needs to be a little bit more patient to let the game unfold a bit more. He should look to bat 50 overs, not try to score all the runs in the first 20.”Siddons hasn’t spotted a major deficiency in Tamim’s batting, but did say a slight technical tweak might help. “Tamim is technically fine. I would probably straighten up his front foot a little, but he looks like the great player that he is,” Siddons said. “He has made some amazing innings for Bangladesh. He will keep doing the same. I watched nearly every ball from the Sri Lanka series because he sent me the footage to see what I thought…”He needed to get through the first ten overs, and there would have been less movement in the ball. He would have been able to build an innings. He would then be able to play outside his off stump to good-length balls. Most bowlers bowled short to him in the World Cup too.”Siddons feels that Tamim is putting too much pressure on himself, the high expectations from himself weighing him down.”I think the expectations about Tamim, Shakib and Mushfiq is that they are the dominant players in the team. His expectations would have been just as high as the public,” Siddons said. “From my point of view, Tamim is as disappointed as anyone. I just think it is coincidental that he has had couple of bad World Cups.”But opening the batting is a tough position to bat in. The ball is moving around more than it does in the middle order. It is a tough position to hold down, and he has done it so well for a long time for Bangladesh. I just think he has had a bit of bad luck with a few play-ons and couple of good balls. All of a sudden your World Cup is in a bit of a spiral.”Tamim has endured such dips in form in the past, and has successfully bounced back each time. He will need a spot of luck to go his way, but more than that, he needs to be patient. Bangladesh need their premier opener to be back at his best, after all.

Which of these young players who have impressed in this IPL season will be playing for India by the 2019 World Cup?

ESPNcricinfo staff09-May-2017Several young players who have not played ODI cricket for India have caught the eye during this IPL season. Some have been consistent throughout, while others have produced moments of brilliance. Some are new names, while others have been impressing in the IPL for a few seasons now. But which of these players will kick on and become part of the Indian XI for the next World Cup. Swipe right for those you think will and left for those you think will not go beyond the IPL.

The team is currently paying the price for basing their selections on a tour of Bangladesh which was heavily disrupted by rain, and left them with more questions than answers

Firdose Moonda in Nagpur26-Nov-20152:05

What should be South Africa’s batting approach?

Let’s put aside Nagpur’s nastiness for a second. There are several other stories scrutinising it. This is about turning the spotlight on South Africa, whose slump to their lowest score since readmission, is the result of more than just a snake pit of a surface and shrewd spinners for opponents. A spaced-out schedule, questionable team selections, and a gulf in skills are the factors mainly responsible for their implosion, and should have been mitigated against before they embarked on this tour.South Africa knew they were set for a Test tour of India many months ago, but this series would only have entered their sphere of focus when the fixtures were confirmed on July 27. Then, the attention was on the duration of the tour – 72 days – rather than the content of it.Once the idea of ten weeks away from home was fully internalised, emphasis turned to the content. The trip would start in October with three T20s, which would serve as good preparation for next year’s World T20. Five ODIs followed, and then the main course, a first four-Test series in six years. That the Tests were last was seen as a positive because most touring teams get better with time, which would mean South Africa would be as well acclimatised to conditions as they could hope for by November. It did not quite work that way.The limited-overs matches were played on entertainment pitches which provided plenty of runs. South Africa’s only experience of red-ball cricket was a placid two-day practice match in Mumbai where everyone but AB de Villiers meandered through the motions. They should have known they needed more than that as preparation, especially given the gap between the Tests.South Africa’s last completed five-day Test was in the first week of January, eleven months before the first Test in India. In between that, South Africa went to Bangladesh but only had four days of Test cricket out of a possible ten in a series where weather was the winner. That small sample only served to show them there were snags in their long-form play, but it seems they ignored them.The Bangladesh Tests were played without de Villiers, who was on paternity leave, or any great intensity from South Africa. Only Temba Bavuma, the reserve batsman, managed a contribution of significance with a half-century in the first innings of the first test. South Africa totaled an unremarkable 248 and then conceded heavily against a spirited Bangladesh. They were 61 without loss in the second innings when rain ended play, trailing by 17 runs, and regarded that as proof that their new top two could take shape.The reality was far removed from that. Stiaan van Zyl, the opener on trial, was promising but hardly convincing enough to be promoted permanently. The lower middle-order received a new layer of uncertainty after wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock was dropped on batting form and Dane Vilas, an outside candidate for the job, debuted. South Africa returned from Bangladesh with more questions than answers and no game time to find alternatives.Stiaan van Zyl has looked completely out of his depth in this tour•BCCISo they had to turn to the last time they played competitive Test cricket, against Sri Lanka in mid 2014 – the three home Tests against West Indies were extremely one sided – to mentally prepare for this series. That visit would have brought back good memories. Dean Elgar scored a century, Dale Steyn found reverse swing to win the first Test, and a blockathon in Colombo secured the series. That was South Africa’s first series since the retirement of Graeme Smith and first under Amla, and it was successful enough to convince them their transition was taking place as planned.Now all of that had been throw into disarray. South Africa look under-prepared and unsure. The above would explain why they may not have been ready enough. Their choice of players may explain why they have not been competitive enough.In an attempt to follow protocol and give players a proper chance to prove themselves, South Africa stuck with the men they promoted in Bangladesh. Van Zyl kept his spot at the top, Dane Vilas kept his behind the stumps, and Simon Harmer remained the first-choice holding spinner. Of those, only Harmer is doing the job better now than he was then.Van Zyl appears completely out of his depth, inexplicable for the player who led the domestic first-class run charts two summers ago. Vilas has struggled behind and in front of the stumps and South Africa have been left wondering if they should have turned to more experienced players for a tour of this magnitude and left the blooding for later. Stephen Cook could have been an option for the opener’s spot, Thami Tsolekile for the keeper’s role, and Morne van Wyk could have done both jobs, opening a space for another player lower down the order.These issues would not be so glaring if South Africa’s most experienced batsmen were doing what is expected of them, but Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, de Villiers and JP Duminy are not. De Villiers and Duminy, to a lesser extent, have at least shown signs of form but du Plessis is more present when he is providing advice to Amla and the bowlers on the field than he is with bat.Amla himself is preoccupied. He is captaining in fast-forward – he has to because the game has been moving so quickly – but he is batting that way too. His rush to get runs is not working and his footwork has suffered as a result.The only player who has evoked some memory of Galle is Elgar. He has shown staying power through the struggle, but then something slips. If he is the class of player he is suspected to be, he will push through that ceiling soon. But for South Africa, soon needs to be very soon.Elgar and Amla carry their last real hope of squaring the series. If they fall early on the third morning, India will be able to see straight through. Even if they survive a little bit, the ask may still become too much. South Africa not only have to score their highest total of the series, but the only one over 300. On a crumbling pitch, perhaps even the South Africa of old could not do it. But few thought they could do what they have done before – like draw in Adelaide, win in Perth, beat the clock in Port Elizabeth and stage a coup in Galle – and they will have to remember that now.

In 16 previous ODIs against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, there’d been only one century for South Africa; in three matches in this series, there were four

S Rajesh12-Jul-2014 Before the ODI series began, South Africa had played 13 ODIs against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka since 2000, and had won exactly one; their 1-12 win-loss record was as bad as Bangladesh’s in Sri Lanka. With this 2-1 series win, they have improved that record considerably, and also won their first ODI series against Sri Lanka in that country. They had drawn their first series 1-1, in 1993, and then lost the others quite handily. The big difference for South Africa this time was their batting: in three games they averaged 41.15 runs per wicket, and 5.95 runs per over; in their previous series here, they had never gone beyond 25 runs per wicket, and 4.55 per over. Twice in three games they went past 300, whereas their previous-highest in all visits to Sri Lanka had been 264. There were four centuries for them in three games, with Hashim Amla getting two, and Quinton de Kock and AB de Villiers scoring hundreds in the decider. In 16 previous matches against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, they had had only one centurion: Jacques Kallis made 101 in Colombo in 2004. This time, ironically, Kallis was the one batsman who couldn’t buy a run, with scores of 0, 1, and 4 in three games. As a bowling unit, South Africa conceded 5.60 runs per over, which is their poorest economy rate a series in Sri Lanka, but they took wickets regularly, averaging 25.10, and their batsmen outperformed Sri Lanka’s as well. The hosts, on the other hand, were hampered by the lack of big scores from their top-order batsmen. While South Africa’s top seven batsmen scored four hundreds in 21 innings, Sri Lanka’s top order played exactly the same number of innings, but managed only three fifties, with a highest score of 88, by Kumar Sangakkara. Tillakaratne Dilshan’s 86 in Pallekele was their only other score of more than 60.

TeamInngsRunsAverageStrike rate100s/ 50sSouth Africa2175144.1795.544/ 1Sri Lanka2166331.5788.400/ 3 The highlight of the final game of the series was South Africa’s batting. Their total of 339 is their third-best in Asia – the two higher ones were both in India. They also had two centurions in the match, which was the 15th such instance for them in ODIs. For the third time in a row, one of those two batsmen was de Kock: he had also scored centuries against India in the second and third ODIs of the series last season, with Amla in the second, and with de Villiers in the third. The total of 339 ultimately turned out to be more than enough, but in the first ten overs of the run-chase it seemed Sri Lanka might do a repeat of Johannesburg 2012, when South Africa scored 312 with hundreds from Graeme Smith and de Villiers, but lost by two wickets with a ball to spare, as Kumar Sangakkara scored 102 off 97. After ten overs of the chase here, Sri Lanka were 99 for 1, which is the highest ten-over score for any team in an ODI in Sri Lanka since 2001. The next two are both by Sri Lanka against Bangladesh – 93 in Hambantota last year, and 82 in Dambulla in 2010. One of the disappointments for Sri Lanka was also Lasith Malinga’s lack of effectiveness: in 23 overs he returned figures of 4 for 161 – an average of 40.25, and an economy rate of seven. He was the most expensive among all the Sri Lankan bowlers in the series. In Hambantota he went for 85 in his ten overs, the most runs he has conceded in a home ODI, and the second-highest in all ODIs. With two centuries in three innings, Amla was the batting star for South Africa, and finished with an aggregate of 258 runs, the highest for a South African in an overseas ODI series of three or fewer matches (or in a series in which a player has played no more than three games). De Villiers’ aggregate of 212 is the fifth-best. Among the bowlers, Ryan McLaren was similarly outstanding with the ball, taking nine wickets at an average of 13.11, and an economy rate of 4.91. He joined Allan Donald as the only South Africans to take nine in an overseas ODI series of three or fewer matches. Donald took nine in South Africa’s first ODI series upon readmission, in India in 1991-92.

From Debojit Dutta, India

Cricinfo25-Feb-2013Sachin Tendulkar once replaced Mohammad Azharuddin at the centre of Indian cricket’s consciousness; it is but the circle of life that Virender Sehwag is now seemingly taking over that mantle•AFPIt was one of those occasions when deserted by your own vernacular you seek consolation in another’s vocabulary and when even that is found to be depleted, you are left haywire – fixated on fixing a proper adjective to your newfound emotion. That emotion which allures both, but falls neither on the lap of joy or sorrow.As it occurs to me quite often nowadays, I was dumbfounded and then appalled at my loss of words in describing Virender Sehwag’s one-day double hundred.I missed out on the live telecast of the match, (for reasons best known to the people in my office, the television was tuned to an Indian news channel, Aaj Tak) I had to rely on ESPNcricinfo for score updates. “Sehwag reaches his 100 off 69 balls. And runs out Gambhir off the next ball. 176 for 1,” they tweeted.All merry on this side. Viru had, after months of waiting, reached triple figures and keeping the upcoming Australia tour in mind, its timing could not have been better. Moments had passed in my juggling between Twitter and Facebook when someone updated their status pleading, “Sehwag, for heaven’s sake don’t score a double”.The immediate response was to laugh, laugh out loud. I did, and then regretted it. The profundity of the Facebook status was much greater than plainly visible. For what Sehwag was chasing was not a mere figure. For a generation born a couple of decades ago, it was a brutal invasion on their years of growing up.The childhood, the adolescence, there was much to trade; so much to be traded to fill the next generation’s kitty. And, as it often happens in periods of transition, our kin were reluctant to fritter away their remains.And trade but for whom — an impostor of our idol, a porcelain replica?This miserliness did not fall out of nowhere. It’s an inheritance we are carriers to.Somewhere in 1998, if I’m not mistaken, I got into a minor war-of-words with my dad when he dismissed Sachin Tendulkar away (at the pinnacle of his career), calling him a debaucher. In his words, Mohammad Azharuddin was the artist. With a touch of his brush, he had painted many of the older generation’s dreams.While chairman of selectors Raj Singh Dungarpur’s casual offer to Azharuddin over a cup of tea – ? (man, do you want to be the captain?) – in 1989 gave birth to the new-age casualness, Azhar also brought a necessary face-lift to the way India approached the game. The era of Ajay Jadeja and Robin Singh was pioneered by their carefree captain. Much before Mohammad Kaif, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina learned to dirty their laundry, Azhar, one of India’s finest fielders, had mastered the art of mud-mingling.His rise to fame, jostling past the elders to elderliness, extra-marital affair, eventual divorce and remarriage … Azhar gave the fans their first celluloid cricketer, before he himself robbed them off it.Of Azhar, it could be said that he was brash and unpolished. There were stories about him being aloof, allegedly always at loggerheads with the seniors of the team. The media talked about his linkups with bookies. Vinod Mehta in his autobiography recollects an incident during which Azhar, on winning the toss against Pakistan, pocketed the coin and claimed to have lost it to Aamir Sohail.His crimes were fragrant, not that he cared to hide them. And it was this puzzling impunity that separated Azhar from the rest.Rohit Brijnath wrote in his column for ESPNcricinfo: “He (Azhar) was my favourite, because no sportsman ever made me struggle so much, no Indian athlete demanded so much inner debate, no cricketer so confused the senses.” He was liked because he wasn’t perfect; he was liked because he never tried to be liked.However, the turn of the decade changed all that. In the match-fixing fiasco, which still rests like an indelible scar on the face of Indian cricket, Azharuddin was found to be the most culpable of all sinners. This blow was hard to swallow for even the most ardent of Azhar followers.Somewhere between all this, but hardly under anyone’s shadow, emerged a curly-haired kid. His rise was inversely proportional to Azhar’s fall. By the time the fixing scandal broke, he was already an established star. Tendulkar stood in contrast to the former’s frivolity. A complete antithesis, he was more consistent, hardworking and disciplined, and he lacked the petulance that his long-time captain was inebriated with.Our fathers’ invention was fast-slipping out of their own embrace, they knew, still it was shameful to adopt the insignificants’ imagination.To the generation gone by, all things we found ‘cool’ were scornful luxuries: burgers, pizzas, the new colas, the very word ‘cool’ and every other evil that liberalisation of the Indian economy brought. Sachin seemed to emblemise this change; he scored quickly, his batting was fizzy in a way and he could also be described using word, if I am allowed to use it three times in one paragraph. looked at him with childish cynicism, as if he was the reason why Campa Cola lost its vitality.Our Tendlya would dance down the ground, swat the balls all around, score at run-a-ball (if not more than that) and then endorse everything from Power shoes to ‘Visa power’. The coming generation of engineer-cum-writers, doctor-cum-actors, accountant-cum-singers who were bent on breaking conventional barricades had got their multi-tasker to look up to.For some, Sachin exceeded the game itself. I know people who remember the exact Sachin innings that coincided with the appearance of their first pimple, and also those who would tell you about the time they first parted with the peach fuzz over their physiognomy and Sachin scored a duck, following which, for months, they didn’t pick up a razor again.Amid all adulation and idolisation Sachin kept his conquest going. Undeterred by the flurry of off-field activities, he continued churning out boundaries, waitressing to the insatiable millions. Sehwag showed up and vanished and showed up again.On his debut, which he made in a One-Day International against Pakistan in 1999, much less stouter than he now is, Sehwag looked totally innocuous. He scored only one run, before falling LBW to Shoaib Akhtar, and went for 35 in the three overs he bowled.His positioning in the batting order — at No. 7, below the likes of Saba Karim, Khurasiya and Robin Singh — showed that even to the team management he was rather inconsequential.In his next stint in national colours, which came after almost two years in the wilderness, Sehwag performed admirably. In his fourth match, in a series against Australia, he made 58 (off 54 balls) and then picked up three wickets to bag the Man-Of-the-Match award.So far, so good. Sehwag did shine in the series but so did Vijay Dahiya. Conceiving him to be a utility player, I even made him a regular in my favourite game, book-cricket.With Sachin unavailable for the tour of Sri Lanka that followed, Sehwag was promoted to open the innings. Sehwag delivered a hidden message in his 69-ball century against New Zealand. I failed to decipher. It was the third fastest hundred by an Indian. But accidents do happen, I had said to myself.In every innings thereafter, he started giving tuitions on hard-hitting. The ‘nervous nineties’ were nervous of him. Even when on 99 he would attempt the big hits and when he faltered, there was no shame, no discontent. The from Najafgarh who had hardly envisaged fame would walk towards the pavilion with a self-assured contentment.Blasphemous comparisons to Tendulkar were made. Stance, shots and even physical attributes were measured and, when human vision failed, they resorted to graphics. As if the need was to establish a dummy. During most part of the 90s, when Sachin scored in losing causes, I had seen placards asking for ‘Ten more Tendulkars’. Those statements were laudatory, these comparisons bordered on lunacy.But soon, the dummy started looking livelier, at times shining brighter than the deity. Sehwag soon formulated his own brand of atheism.He preceded a number of players who would wear their heart on their sleeves, cover it with their armbands and advertise it to their fancy. Harsha Bhogle’s tweet after Sehwag reached his double hundred was, “I wonder sometimes if Sehwag achieves these landmarks because he doesn’t worry about achieving them.”It is true. Nothing bothers. Nothing worries him. For ‘seriousness’ and ‘nervousness’, it would appear, had been parted with when he parted with the placenta.Wanting to not fall prey to the rules of evolution, to not allow my dream become a requiem so soon, I have tried various tricks of sustenance. To my little cousin, in eulogies—guised as lullabies, I would preach how great a batsman Sachin was. How much faster he was, still, and how much more responsible and steady.Flashbacks now remind me how, in stages of life, we all are juxtaposed. How, in clockwise alignment, ‘me’ and ‘my cousin’, ‘dad’ and ‘me’, we all stand.My cousin, who was barely four or five years old, at the time of my preaching, soon gave up all I had infused in him. He must have celebrated Sehwag’s double-hundred. Of course, Sehwag, in the process of scoring it surpassed Sachin’s 200, previously the highest individual score by any player in a 50-overs game. But the next time we meet, I will brag about how my hero still remains the first cricketer to reach the landmark. Bring it on.

ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the day of the third day of the Durban Test between South Africa and India

Sidharth Monga at Kingsmead28-Dec-2010The statement
Until Monday, in all the Test innings he had opened with Alviro Petersen, Graeme Smith had taken first strike. Coming up against his old nemesis in the first innings in Durban, Smith let his younger opening partner face Zaheer Khan. He himself lasted just five balls against Zaheer. On Tuesday, though, he made a bold statement by reverting to taking first strike, and that’s not where his intent ended. He faced all 18 balls of Zaheer’s first three overs and cracked five boundaries, hitting his nemesis out of the attack, clearly subscribing to the theory that if he isn’t bowling, he can’t bother me.The reprieve
Not long ago, umpire Steve Davis was on a hat-trick of bad decisions in a Test involving India. Davis missed thick inside-edges, and ruled VVS Laxman and Zaheer Khan out lbw off successive balls against in Ahmedabad. Today he made amends when Dale Steyn thought he had caught Zaheer dead plumb. Davis didn’t call the resultant run a leg-bye, but the replays showed the ball had missed the inside-edge. Zaheer went on to add 17 more, and his crucial partnership with Laxman yielded 37 more.The reprieve … not
Ishant Sharma and no-balls go back a long way. Not only does he bowl many, he was perhaps the first bowler on the receiving end of the new rule where umpires can refer no-ball calls to the third umpire. In Mohali, earlier this year, he missed out on what he thought was Michael Clarke’s wicket when the replays showed he had overstepped. Then, in the first Test of this series, he was the beneficiary of a referral as the replays cut short Morne Morkel’s celebrations of his wicket. Something similar seemed on offer when Davis referred a delivery from Jacques Kallis, a delivery that had got Ishant out. This time, it turned out the ball was legitimate, and Ishant’s relief was short-lived.The lucky break… not
That was not the only time when Ishant tried his luck. Following up on his freak run-out of Kallis on Monday, Ishant once again fielded a straight-drive off his bowling just well enough to get a finger on the ball before it hit the stumps at the non-striker’s end. This time, though, the replays showed Smith was alert and back in his crease well before the ball reached the stumps.The confrontation
Things got heated up between a rampaging Smith and Sreesanth, when the latter hit the former in the finger with a sharp lifter and seemed to have a few things to say to the batsman. The next ball got an inside edge onto Smith’s thigh. When Smith pulled the next ball away, taking a single, he waved his bat at Sreesanth and had a few words of his own. Sreesanth had the last laugh when a Smith top edge settled in MS Dhoni’s gloves.

Spinners have only taken 6% of wickets in Lord’s Tests in May

S Rajesh11-May-2006

May in England normally means wet weather, seaming pitches, low scores, and little assistance for spinners. The weather in London has been unusually clear this time around, and though that and Sri Lanka’s performance here last time around should encourage them, some of the other stats here certainly won’t.In all, Lord’s has hosted just six Tests in May, of which England have won five, four of them by an innings. (That stat, though, needs to be taken with a pinch of salt, for three of those four innings wins were against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.) However, Pakistan and New Zealand have struggled to cope with the seam and swing in the early English season as well. The only team that did manage a draw was Sri Lanka, in 2002, in a game they thoroughly dominated. On that occasion, though, a gigantic first-innings total of 555 for 8 declared was set up largely by Marvan Atapattu’s monumental 185. With Atapattu not around here, one of the others will have to take the lead.England in May isn’t a time for spinners, and that is borne out by the table below: in six Lord’s Tests in May, spin has accounted for just 6% of the wickets, at an exorbitant average, and at a strike rate of 157 deliveries per wicket. In fact, spinners haven’t had that much to do at Lord’s in all Tests played here since 2000. Perhaps a wizard called Muttiah Muralitharan can alter those numbers significantly over the next five days.

England’s domination at Lord’s early in the season is further illustrated by the partnership stats for them and the opposition. And while England have a 42-27 win-loss statistic at the ground, their recent track record is even more impressive – eight wins and three defeats since 2000.

For Sri Lanka to do well this time, they will need substantial contributions from their seniors, and at least two of whom will be keen to wipe out the disappointments of their previous tour to England: Chaminda Vaas managed four wickets in three matches at an exorbitant 108 per wicket, while Kumar Sangakkara had a top-score of 40, and an aggregate of 105, from six innings. England’s current captain will want to improve his figures too: when he last played Sri Lanka at home, Andrew Flintoff averaged 14 with the bat and 52 with the ball – he’ll be mighty satisfied if at the end of this series those averages are interchanged.

FIFA has announced the list of 34 training facilities that will host the 32 clubs throughout the group stage of the Club World Cup

Florida leads with nine training sites selected by clubsMLS facilities will host international teams in six locations32 clubs representing 20 nations will train across 14 statesWatch every FIFA Club World Cup game free on DAZNStream nowGetty Images SportWHAT HAPPENED

FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström confirmed the comprehensive list of Team Base Camp Training Sites that will serve the 32 qualified clubs during the group stage of the first 32-team FIFA Club World Cup.

The training sites span 14 states across America, with Florida (9), California (5), New Jersey (4), North Carolina (3), Virginia (2), Tennessee (2), and Washington (2) hosting multiple teams. European giants, including Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Chelsea, have selected Florida-based facilities, while Inter Milan will train at UCLA in California, and River Plate will utilize the Seattle Sounders training facility in Washington.

“We’re pleased to confirm the Team Base Camp Training Sites that will host qualified clubs throughout the group stage of the first-ever FIFA Club World Cup,” FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström said in a statement. “These sites and more significantly the people and communities that surround them will welcome the world’s best, providing first-class environments and hospitality in support of the teams.

“The clubs, their players, coaches, management, staff and fans will build incredible connections with the local people that support them throughout the tournament. This is a consistently important part of any World Cup, and I can’t wait to learn about the bonds forged throughout this historic event.”

AdvertisementTHE FULL LIST OF TRAINING SITESAl Ahly FC: Nova Southeastern University, Davie, Fla., and The Pingry School, Basking Ridge, N.J.Al Ain FC: Episcopal High School, Alexandria, Va.Al Hilal: D.C. United Training Center, Leesburg, Va., and Nashville SC Training Facility, Nashville, Tenn.Atlético de Madrid: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, Calif.Auckland City FC: Baylor School, Chattanooga, Tenn.Borussia Dortmund: Inter Miami CF Training Center, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.Botafogo: Westmont College, Santa Barbar,a Calif.CA Boca Juniors: Barry University, Miami Shores, Fla.CA River Plate: Sounders FC Clubhouse and Training Facility, Renton, Wash.CF Monterrey: Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, Calif.CF Pachuca: UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, N.C.Chelsea FC: Philadelphia Union Training Facility, Chester, Pa., and Nova Southeastern University, Davie, Fla.CR Flamengo: Stockton University, Galloway, N.J., and Wide World of Sports Complex, Orlando, Fla.Espérance de Tunis: Oakland University, Oakland County, Mich.FC Bayern München: Wide World of Sports Complex, Orlando, Fla.FC Internazionale Milano: UCLA, Los Angeles, Calif., and Seattle Seahawks Training Center, Rento,n Wash.FC Porto: Rutgers University, Piscataway, N.J.FC Salzburg: Melanie Lane Training Ground, Whippany, N.J.Fluminense FC: University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.Inter Miami CF: Inter Miami CF Training Center, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.Juventus FC: The Greenbrier Sports Training Center, Greenbrier County, W.Va., and ChampionsGate, Orlando, Fla.Los Angeles FC: Mercer University, Macon, Ga.Mamelodi Sundowns FC: IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.Manchester City: Lynn University, Boca Raton, Fla.Paris Saint-Germain: University of California Irvine, Irvine, Calif.Real Madrid C.F.: Gardens North County District Park, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.Palmeiras: UNC Greensboro, Greensboro, N.C.Seattle Sounders FC: Sounders FC Clubhouse and Training Facility, Renton, Wash.SL Benfica: Waters Sportsplex, Tampa, Fla.Ulsan HD: Charlotte FC, Charlotte, N.C.Urawa Red Diamonds: University of Portland, Portland, Ore.Wydad AC: Landon School, Bethesda, Md.THE BIGGER PICTURE

This tournament marks the transformation of the FIFA Club World Cup from a seven-team competition into 32-club field representing 20 nations. The selection of diverse training sites across the United States underscores FIFA's strategy to maximize the tournament's national footprint and build connections between international clubs and American communities.

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Getty Images SportWHAT’S NEXT?

The inaugural 32-team FIFA Club World Cup kicks off on June 14 with matches played across 12 stadiums in 11 host cities in the United States, with the first game of the tournament pitting Al Ahly against MLS side Inter Miami on the same date.