Tag Futebol

Mitchell Starc has made taking wickets in the first over of an innings a regular habit, the latest being Stephen Cook on the opening day of the WACA Test

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Nov-201619 Wickets in the first over of an innings across all formats for Mitchell Starc, the most for any bowler since the start of 2015. Next on the list, with seven wickets each, are Lasith Malinga, Dawlat Zadran and David Willey.11 First-over dismissals in 27 ODIs during this period for Starc. In Tests, he has taken seven in 23 matches and one in three T20Is.13 Right-hand batsmen Starc has dismissed in the first over of an innings.8 Batsmen caught, six bowled, and five lbw.3 Consecutive Tests in which he has struck in the first over of an innings. He had removed Dilruwan Perera with the fourth ball in Sri Lanka’s second innings in the third Test in Colombo and Dimuth Karunaratne with the first ball in Sri Lanka’s first innings in the second Test in Galle.

Some easy ones were put down, some cost their team a lot, and some came with a second chance. A few drops from the three Tests between Sri Lanka and India

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Sep-2015Saha puts down a sitter
Sri Lanka were already reeling at 66 for 5 in Galle, and it would have become 66 for 6 had Wriddhiman Saha held on to a simple chance after Dinesh Chandimal edged one off Ishant Sharma. Boosted by the drop, Chandimal went on to score 59, putting on a stand of 79 with Angelo Mathews to steer the team to relatively safer shores.Mubarak drop makes Rahul a centurion
Probably the costliest drop of the series. Sri Lanka had taken two wickets within five overs on the first day at P Sara Oval before Dushmantha Chameera had KL Rahul edge one straight to gully, but Jehan Mubarak let this one pop out of his hands. Rahul, then on 11, scored his second Test hundred and earned himself the Man-of-the-Match award.Dhawan drops Silva before catching Silva
A straightforward catch to Shikhar Dhawan at first slip, in Galle, which didn’t cost India much. Kaushal Silva sent an outside edge flying to Dhawan, who tried to pouch it with his fingers pointing up, but did not succeed. Thankfully for India, Silva fell in similar fashion, caught by Dhawan off Varun Aaron, soon after.Rahane’s rare drop
Ajinkya Rahane was having a dream run in the slips. Then, in Sri Lanka’s first innings at the P Sara, Sangakkara edged a ball off R Ashwin that flew to first slip where Rahane tried to grab it with his left hand and then again on second attempt, but failed. Sangakkara, however, added only eight more before edging another one from Ashwin to Rahane.Thirimanne gives Dhawan a life
Dhawan had marched on to his hundred in Galle and was on 122 when he struck a full toss firmly into the covers towards Lahiru Thirimanne. The fielder leapt to his left, went almost parallel to the ground, and got both hands to it, but it wasn’t enough.

Yuvraj Singh was hardly convincing to begin with against Delhi, but a big dose of crowd support and a helping of poor bowling meant he had the opportunity to hint at a possible return to form

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Sharjah18-Apr-2014″I’ve got a feeling,” sang the PA system at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, not long after Yuvraj Singh had walked in to bat. Before the song could proceed any further, and declare that Thursday night was going to be a good night, the DJ stopped it abruptly. He or she was a Yuvraj fan, perhaps, and didn’t want to put a jinx on him.This was Yuvraj’s first innings since that 21-ball 11 in the World T20 final, and his first innings since a group of fans had reacted unreasonably to that 21-ball 11. It was also his first innings for Bangalore, who had paid a not untidy sum of money to buy him at the auction, despite the fact that he hadn’t made a half-century in his last 19 IPL innings.The man at the other end, meanwhile, was Virat Kohli, whom he had denied the strike during that 21-ball 11. Kohli, Bangalore’s captain, had played a persuasive role in signing him.This, then, wasn’t just another innings.Yuvraj couldn’t have chosen a more congenial setting in which to begin such an innings. He had the crowd’s sympathy, yes, but he would have had that at any stadium; only a tiny fraction of sports fans, surely, are mean enough to revel in a player’s house reportedly getting stoned. Sharjah, though, was also showing itself to be a stronghold of Bangalore fans.In India, it’s often hard to get an accurate picture of the extent of home support at the league’s venues. At most stadiums, someone has placed a home-team flag on your seat well before you’ve parked your car. Most emcees, meanwhile, only ask the crowd to cheer for the home team. If you support the other team, you seldom get a chance to voice it. Here, given equal opportunity to cheer for either side, the Sharjah crowd voted with their vocal cords.Granted, for the most part, the spectators did or chanted whatever the emcee asked them to, no matter how ridiculous it made them look or sound. What they didn’t do, though, was chant “Delhiiiiiiiii, Delhi!” Each time the emcee tried to get them to follow his lead, they drowned him out with shouts of “R-C-B! R-C-B!”It was as much a show of approval for Bangalore as it was a sign of Delhi’s lack of appeal. They haven’t tasted too much success in past seasons, and, perhaps because of that, haven’t retained an easily identifiable core group of star players. For Bangalore, on the other hand, the signing of Yuvraj added yet another highly marketable name to an already swollen roster. It cost them a lot of money to sign him and that may well have caused gaps to form in other areas of their squad, but Sharjah didn’t seem too concerned. As soon as Yuvraj had swung Rahul Sharma over long-on for his first six, a bearded man in a red T-shirt held up a hand-drawn banner. “More risk = More profit,” it said. “Great bid Mr Mallya.”There is no doubt Bangalore and Yuvraj had all the support they could possibly hope for. It is far too early to say with any certainty, though, that Yuvraj has turned a corner with his unbeaten 52.At the start of his innings, he was late on a couple of short balls from Mohammed Shami, both of which went whistling off his top edge. Right after that over, Dinesh Karthik, Delhi’s captain, took Shami off when he still had an over left. Having survived those few discomfiting deliveries, life became much easier for Yuvraj, with Jimmy Neesham serving up length balls and Rahul Sharma dropping his legbreaks right into his hitting zone.Sometimes, though, you want bowlers to feed Yuvraj’s strengths, just to marvel at the way he strikes the ball. One pick-up shot off Neesham left you missing your TV, left you wanting to watch slow-motion replays from 15 different angles. Since that wasn’t possible in the West Stand at Sharjah, you wanted the DJ to at least play the rest of that song.

Hashim Amla has scored several different centuries this year. His latest at the WACA was compiled in one-day mode

Firdose Moonda at the WACA02-Dec-2012Hashim Amla may not like it but he is quickly becoming the Madonna of cricket, because of his ability to reinvent himself with every hundred he scores.There have been four of them in Tests this year. There was the epic 311 at The Oval. South Africa’s best Test score. There was the century at Lord’s, to ensure Amla left his mark on the mace. There was the 104 in Brisbane, which was more about risk than rhythm. Now, there’s the 196 at the WACA, where Amla brought his one-day game to Test cricket.The 50-over game is played in vastly different conditions and to implement short-form batting strategy in long-form cricket can be, in the words of one journalist, “unsettling.” Amla and Graeme Smith did just that.Amla arrived at the crease in South Africa’s second innings when Australia’s bowlers had begun to relax. He was offered width and he saw no point in wasting it. Both Amla and Smith walked a long way across their stumps to play into the on-side, which Australia had left unprotected because they did not expect such tactics.”They were a few loose balls that we managed to get away and that gave us bit of momentum,” Amla said. “We managed to manipulate the field a little bit, wherever there are gaps to try and hit the ball, so that’s why there were a few one-day shots coming in. If the team is in a good position, it gives you the freedom to look for those shots because if you do make a mistake, it’s not a train smash.”As the top-ranked ODI batsman, Amla’s limited-overs game is no longer a target of inquisition. His ability to pace an innings without looking rushed has become his most admired trait and, in a Test, it’s all in his placement and angles.Amla played the ball to fine leg or third man acutely enough to beat any fielder, and regularly eluded point and cover. He appeared in total control, deciding whether to go left or right of the fielder and usually managing to avoid them. Amla’s timing is a less obvious asset because some of his shots don’t make the final cut of a highlights package. It’s the nifty cover drive to run three, the flick to fine leg for a couple and the tuck for a single.He also has no problem with changing pace and mindset, as he did three times in this innings. On the second day, with Smith, the scoring-rate was close to seven runs an over and that dropped considerably later on. With Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers, the rate was 4.1 in both partnerships but the runs came in a different fashion. The adjustment was easy each time because of the “unique chemistry” with each of his partners.”With Jacques, because of his hamstring problem, we had to be a bit careful with running. We tried to pick up a quick three and he pulled up short so I kind of got the message,” Amla said. “When AB comes to the crease, it’s a lot more intense. We are always looking for quick ones. Jacques and I bat at a similar tempo and we like to walk our singles if we hit the sweepers.”With Amla at his side, Kallis has scored almost double the number of centuries he had before there was a stable No.3 in South Africa’s line-up. De Villiers has been able to bat in situations where a platform has already been laid. He began four of his last five centuries before today with South Africa already having scored 250, and he has been able to build on that.Amla has fed off Kallis’ experience and de Villiers’ exuberance. As a result, his innings have covered the spectrum, and even though he will probably end the year with fewer runs than Michael Clarke, Amla is probably the most in vogue batsman of 2012.

The stadium in Pallekele is designed to look and feel like the SuperSport Park in South Africa

02-Nov-2010Kandy has long been one of the major centres of cricket in Sri Lanka, where the sport has been nurtured by the rivalry between the city’s many prestigious schools, such as St Anthony’s, Trinity and Dharamaraja. Much of the high-level cricket in the city used to be played in the grounds of these schools. Trinity’s Asgiriya was developed into a major international venue around the time Sri Lanka gained Test status in 1981. The new stadium, built for the 2011 World Cup in Pallekele, about 30 minutes away from the heart of Kandy, has since displaced Asgiriya as the international venue of choice in the region.The venue
One of the two new stadiums built in Sri Lanka for the 2011 World Cup, the Pallekele stadium hsa been designed along the lines of Centurion’s SuperSport Park, and replicates the South African venue’s famed grass banks. After the World Cup, the venue was handed to the navy indefinitely because the cost of constructing it and the stadium in Hambantota, and redeveloping the R Premadasa in Colombo, left Sri Lanka Cricket financially crippled.Ground page | Fixtures | Map | PicturesGreat players
Muttiah Muralitharan, Kumar Sangakkara, Ruwan Kalpage, Ranjan Madugalle, Chamara Kapugedera andTB Kehelgamuwa.Home team
The Pallekele Stadium is the base of Kandurata, the team which represents Central Province in Sri Lanka’s domestic tournaments. Almost everyone in the current first XI has international experience, which helped them win the one-day tournament in 2009-10.

Cricinfo takes a look at Sri Lanka, West Indies, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh’s prospects, and some of the names to look out for

06-Oct-2006

Chris Gayle can endure long periods of lull before breaking away © Getty Images
Brian Lara’s third stint as captain has seen a transformation in West Indies’ outlook. Home series wins against Zimbabwe and India, when they stopped a rollicking juggernaut on its tracks, set the tone before an impressive performance in the recent DLF Cup in Kuala Lumpur proved that their graph was going upwards. Their Champions Trophy record has veered between extremes – finalists in 1998 and champions in 2004 in contrast to early elimination in 2000 and 2002 – and it comes as no surprise that they start this series, once again, as the dark horses. They boast a batting firepower that can match any, but their penchant for the collapse always leaves them vulnerable, while bowling strengths are built around nagging accuracy. The fielding often toggles between electric and pathetic and, as it’s often the case, only one side is capable of causing their undoing, West Indies themselves.One to watchHe averages 45.35 in the last 15 games, including four fifties and a hundred, hurries through vital overs in the middle stages and pouches catches in the slips. When Chris Gayle strikes, West Indies usually run away with the contest. Unlike earlier, when he used to try to whack every ball into the car park, he’s developed a more tempered side now and can endure long periods of lull before breaking away. The two gears in which he bats have confused several teams and very often he’s picked up the rate when least expected, and that too at breakneck speed.New kid on the blockWhen Lara gushes about a young prospect, you have no option but to take him seriously. Jerome Taylor may not have the intimidating frame of his famed fast-bowling predecessors but he certainly possesses the pace and bounce to hustle top-quality batsmen. A return of 25 wickets in 16 one-day games may not sound great shakes but there is no doubt that he can summon up lethal spells even on dead tracks. Just ask the Indian batsmen, who ran into an energised Taylor on their recent Caribbean tour. His pacy burst on the lifeless surface in St Kitts showed his class and his deadly five-wicket haul at Kingston underlined his worth.Current formWest Indies will have fond memories of their last tour to India, in 2002, when their rampaging top-order tore through the bowling. Two batsmen stood out: Gayle at the top of the order and Sarwan a little lower down. While Gayle ransacked 455 runs in seven games, including three centuries, Sarwan picked off 436. The fact that Sarwan finished off several games meant that he ended with a sensational average of 109. Both have performed creditably off late and could be the key to West Indies’ fortunes in this tournament.
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

The fact that Sri Lanka and Jayawardene have hit a purple patch together is not a coincidence © Getty Images
One of the grandest ironies of this ironical tournament is that Sri Lanka will be playing qualifying matches to just find a place in the main draw of Champions Trophy. A terrible showing in India last year cost them a place in the starting eight. While that series proved to be only a blip (they edged South Africa en route to the VB Series finals and they cleaned up England in England), the damage had already been done.What is interesting is that there is no drastic change in the personnel from their previous Indian tour, a disaster from most angles. Yet, they arrive this time far more upbeat. Their batting has started showing shades of the dangerous line-up of the mid-90s, Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan are still a dangerous combination and their fielding continues to be better than most. The closest they came to a Champions Trophy crown was at home in 2002 – when they shared the trophy with India due to a rain-disrupted final – but they could well upset several calculations in this one.One to watchThere was a time not long ago when, given the amount of talent, Mahela Jayawardene was considered an under-achiever. But, like it’s done to a few others, captaincy changed the man. With Marvan Atapattu was injured, Jayawardene took over a team in tatters and lifted them from the morass. As a captain he averages 49.76, as opposed to his career average of 32.33. The fact that Sri Lanka and Jayawardene have hit a purple patch together is not a coincidence. As a captain, he has won 14 one-day internationals, and lost only four. The pitches in India will be to his liking – he likes to play on the up, loves to hit inside out, and is fantastic against spinners.
New kid on the blockLast last year – with Romesh Kaluwitharana gone, Marvan Atapattu injured, and Sanath Jayasuriya out of form – Sri Lanka’s opening woes got compounded. But in England, Jayasuriya solved half the problem and Upul Tharanga put his hand up and completed it. It was Tharanga who starred with a century at Lord’s and began Sri Lanka’s rampaging run. Tharanga is strong through the covers and backward point but is vulnerable against the short ball. Through the Champions Trophy, Tharanga would like to carry forward the transformation that started in England: from a cautious batsman unsure of his place in international cricket to an attacking one who began resembling his more illustrious team-mates. With Jayasuriya by his side, the pair looks good enough to carry Sri Lanka through to the World Cup.Current formThe key to winning any tournament in the subcontinent remains the team’s batting and a comparison of Sri Lanka’s performance on the tour of India in the 2006 season, and their form thereafter gives an indication of their improvement. Jayasuriya, their most important one-day batsman over the years, averaged 14.16 in the dismal series in India; since the start of 2006, he’s averaged 79.83. It’s similar for the rest of the top order – corresponding numbers for Jayawardene are 27.66 and 72.40; for Tillakaratne Dilshan they’re 37 and 53; and for Tharanga they’re 17.25 and 62.42.Sidharth Monga

Shahriar Nafees: can be counted on to chip in at the top © Getty Images
Bangladesh play Sri Lanka in the first qualifying match ahead of the Champions Trophy with a record of 0-5 in the tournament. They didn’t take part in 1998, and were brushed aside by the five teams they’ve faced since; they’ve been bowled out for 77, 93, 129 and 131. The three veterans, Khaled Mashud, Mohammad Rafique and Habibul Bashar, are not getting any younger and Mohammad Ashraful continues to baffle more than satisfy. Bangladesh can take heart, however, from the young guns: Shahriar Nafees, a candidate for the ICC’s Emerging Player of the Year, Aftab Ahmed, Mashrafe Mortaza, and Shahadat Hossain, all of whom are capable of matchwinning performances.One to watch
Hands down, Nafees, who is genuinely one of international cricket’s top prospects. Appointed vice-captain for the Champions Trophy after just one year at the top, he also recently won Bangladesh’s cricketer-of-the-year award. Upon being nominated for the ICC’s Emerging Player, award Nafees quickly pointed out that his nomination was not just based on his sublime maiden Test hundred against Australia, “but rather for the whole season where I showed adequate consistency”. Nafees has a strike-rate of 66.52 in one-day matches and has scored four half-centuries, three of them away from home. He had a good series against Zimbabwe in July-August this year, averaging 62 in five one-day matches played in Harare.New kid on the block
Farhad Reza, a middle-order batsman who bowls useful medium-pace, was called up to the national squad for the tour of Zimbabwe in July 2006 after scoring the most runs in the previous year’s domestic league. In his first appearance in national colours he became the only Bangladeshi to hit a fifty on debut. An unbeaten 34 and 41 against Kenya followed – he steered Bangladesh home on both occasions – and backed with his bowling and fielding he looks to be a good prospect.Current form
It’s been a good enough year for Bangladesh so far, statistically at least, with ten of 18 matches ending in wins. They won a match against Sri Lanka, buried Kenya 4-0 at home, fought well against Australia in a 0-3 loss, fell to Zimbabwe 3-2 and beat Kenya 3-0 again. There have been gritty innings from the youngsters, a record bowling performance (Mortaza, 6 for 26), a hat-trick (Shahadat), and an improved display in the field. If the likes of Nafees, Aftab and Ashraful all come together, Bangladesh have the necessary firepower to push Sri Lanka and West Indies.
Jamie Alter

Prosper Utseya leads a bunch of greenhorns well capable of causing a flutter or two © Getty Images
Zimbabwe have yet to open their ICC Champions Trophy account, with a total of six matches yielding six losses. They did come close in their very first outing, way back in 1998 when the tournament debuted as the Wills International Cup in Bangladesh, but were nipped to the quarter-finals by New Zealand – rather, Chris Harris, who smashed the last ball for four – in a Dhaka thriller. It was the nearest thing to a win Zimbabwe have seen in the tournament since. The current crop of pace bowlers are inexperienced and the batting order has a tendency to get bogged down when the pressure is turned up the slightest. Prosper Utseya has led the side admirably, but his inexperience in the subcontinent may go against them.One to watch
There haven’t been many positives for Zimbabwe since the exodus of many of their senior players, but a few have shone now and then. Statistically and aesthetically speaking, it’s been Vusi Sibanda who has looked good over the last few series, with a maiden hundred, two fifties, and a 46. For a batsman who has been given a long run in the side, he has largely disappointed – as an average of 16.12 from 32 innings before his 116 against Bermuda in in May – but since then he has averaged 33.33. He has looked the best of Zimbabwe’s top order batsman against the new ball, and has by and large curbed a front-foot penchant to produce an improved allround game. Zimbabwe will once again look to him for stability up the order.New kid on the block
Chamu Chibhabha lasted just three deliveries on his ODI debut in August 2005, but in the 11 matches that have followed he has looked a good prospect. Two fine half-centuries and a 40 against West Indies, during which he was particularly impressive in playing their quick bowlers, easily made him the success story of the series before he was sidelined with a hamstring injury. On the evidence of those innings and his returns against Bangladesh and South Africa recently, he appears to possess the temperament and the ability to succeed in international cricket and is one of Zimbabwe’s brightest prospects.Current form
Their recent run of form shows Zimbabwe have six wins from 11 matches, but there’s a lot to be desired against top-class opposition. Expectedly, they lifted the ICC Tri-Nation series in the West Indies in May, featuring such heavyweights as Bermuda and Canada, followed that up with a 3-2 series win over Bangladesh at home, and were trounced 3-0 when they visited South Africa. That’s not including a nine-wicket loss to the Eagles in a Twenty20 warm-up. The series win over Bangladesh was Zimbabwe’s 12th since their entry into the international fold in 1983 and their fourth in a bilateral series against that opposition. Zimbabwe outperformed Bangladesh in all departments to win the series with a match to spare, and that did plenty to their confidence. No one expected them to win in South Africa, and the manner in which the bowlers were brought to their knees by Mark Boucher and Co. in the final match was disheartening. The contest effectively ended right there, after South Africa racked up 418 for 5, though to their credit, Zimbabwe batted solidly to complete 50 overs and reach a healthy 247 for 7.
Jamie Alter