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Cricinfo previews Pakistan’s chances at the World Twenty20 in testing times for the nation

Osman Samiuddin02-Jun-2009

Few sides really need to win – or do very well – the World Twenty20 as badly as Pakistan. Few sides will be as rusty as Pakistan. And few sides are as capable of them of pulling off something special, especially in this format.Pakistan’s travails on and off the field need no repeating. Suffice to say, on the field, they have lurched closer and closer to what was once thought to be unthinkable: a team you have no particular opinion about, a team that doesn’t set any pulses racing. For Pakistan, that is a fate worse than defeat, or death. So a triumph here – a good run even – would be as significant a boost on the field as winning a battle against militants off it.It won’t be easy given their rustiness – nobody, not even Bangladesh, has played less international cricket since January 2007 than Pakistan. And they were the only country whose players weren’t represented at the IPL; instead they warmed up with a conditioning camp and a hastily-arranged domestic Twenty20 tournament. But for Pakistan, Twenty20 is like finding yourself back in the galli you have played cricket in all your life. The angles, the run-stealing, the yorkers, the spin, the-poor-fielding-with-crucial-moments-of-quality, the big-hitting, clarity emerging only from chaos; as in South Africa two years ago, there is a natural familiarity and comfort with the format.Additionally, the draw seems so kind to them, it can only be a trick. You would think England – averse as they are to the format and obsessed in this summer of all summers – and Netherlands should be negotiated (though Dirk Nannes on a bouncy, green pitch has headlines written all over it). And, if all goes to form, they avoid Australia, India and South Africa in the Super Eights. Sri Lanka and New Zealand are proper threats where a semi-final place is concerned, but given their records against them, there is no question Pakistan would face them, rather than any of the big three. Once you’re in the semis, strange things begin to happen.StrengthsThe variety in their bowling attack: Shahid Afridi’s leg-spin is as effective as it has ever been, in restricting runs and taking wickets, and Saeed Ajmal’s strangely-trajectoried off-spin and doosra is an unexpectedly useful foil. In Umar Gul, Pakistan have one of the format’s very best bowlers, pace or slow. Now they only need for Sohail Tanvir to break free from the shackles of indifference that have gripped him since the start of the year.WeaknessesAround Pakistan’s batting swarm an uncomfortably high number of question marks. Is Salman Butt really a Twenty20 opener (a strike rate of 94 and one fifty in 13 internationals), given his inability to at least rotate the strike when not finding the boundary? Is Younis Khan cut out for this format – he himself seems unsure about it, hinting recently it may be his last Twenty20 assignment – and if so, what position is best? What is Shahid Afridi’s best position, and Kamran Akmal’s?X-FactorDepending on whether or not they play, Shahzaib Hasan and Mohammad Aamer: Hasan is an explosive opener, mostly unseen, but highly recommended by Rashid Latif. Aamer is the whippy left-armer with Wasim Akram’s stamp of approval: a fantastic first-class debut season that has seen his confident rise, his time may come if Sohail Tanvir continues to misfire. Pakistan’s history of thrusting unknown names into the mix is long and established.Key PlayersIf Pakistan end up doing well here, a number of things will have to have happened. Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi must’ve taken a fair few wickets, Kamran Akmal must’ve scored some runs, Misbah-ul-Haq must’ve played a few remarkably cool hands and Afridi must’ve played at least one madcap, match-changing innings. Given the form and mood he is in, Afridi could be the real key.Twenty20 form guideThey looked rusty in the warm-up loss to South Africa but too much should not be read from the defeat. They looked up for it in decimating an admittedly weakened Australia before that, but missing the IPL, crucially, could go either way for Pakistan’s players: they may not be as tired as some, but neither might they be as attuned to competitive Twenty20 as others.Squad: Younis Khan (capt), Salman Butt, Ahmed Shehzad, Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal (wk), Fawad Alam, Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamer, Yasir Arafat, Saeed Ajmal, Shahzaib Hasan

كشف المُهاجم الفرنسي، كريم بنزيما، لاعب ريال مدريد، أنه لا يعتبر نفسه أفضل لاعب في العالم، مُشيرًا إلى أنه يبذل قصارى جهده فقط من أجل النجاح مع النادي الملكي.

وردًا على “هل يعتبر بنزيما نفسه أفضل لاعب في العالم؟”، أجاب: “لست مُهتمًا بذلك، لكنني أبذل قصارى جهدي لهذا النادي كل عام، ريال مدريد هو أفضل نادٍ في العالم، ولكي نستمر كل عام، علينا أن نتطور”.

وأضاف في تصريحات نشرتها صحيفة “آس” الإسبانية: “في العام الماضي كان لدي موسم جيد للغاية، لكن اختيار لقب الأفضل في العالم هو أمر يعود لأشخاص آخرين، وأنا أركز على واجباتي فقط”.

وبسؤاله حول ما إذا كان رحيل رونالدو سمح له بإظهار إمكانياته الكاملة؟” قال: “مُنذ رحيل كريستيانو، لقد سجلت المزيد من الأهداف، هذا صحيح، ولكن عندما كان هُنا، قدمت المزيد من المساعدة، وقمت بأعمال أخرى، وأنا كنت أعلم أنه يمكنه فعل المزيد وعندما غادر، افترضت أن دوري قد حان لتغيير اللعبة والطموح”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. أنشيلوتي: ريال مدريد سيُقاتل من أجل السداسية.. ولن ننخدع بهزيمة فرانكفورت أمام بايرن ميونخ

وردًا على “هل بنزيما بجاجة إلى مهاجم بديل؟”، أجاب المهاجم الفرنسي: “لا أعلم! فيوجد المدرب والرئيس هما من يُقرران، هناك العديد من اللاعبين في الفريق الذين يمكنهم اللعب كمهاجمين، أنا لا استطيع مساعدتك”.

واختتم تصريحاته: “عندما وصلت إلى ريال مدريد، كان عمري 21 عامًا وأردت أن أنجح، واليوم كوني قائدًا للفريق، فأنا أشعر بسعادة كبيرة وفخور بعملي، لكن لم يتغير شيئًا، في العام الماضي عملت أيضًا كقائد الآن أنا الأول، لكن الأمر لا يُغير كثيرًا، سأساعد زملائي في الفريق على النجاح وتسجيل النقاط على أرض الملعب”.

Issa Diop has now handed David Moyes a massive selection headache at West Ham.

The 24-year-old centre-back has long struggled with consistency at the London Stadium since his then club-record £22m move from Toulouse in June 2018.

Last campaign, he was largely third-choice behind Angelo Ogbonna and Craig Dawson, having played only 18 times in the Premier League, of which just 15 were starts, via Transfermarkt.

His position in the pecking order will have undoubtedly been hampered by the arrival of his fellow Frenchman, Kurt Zouma, this summer and whilst he’s yet to feature in the top-flight this term, he has delivered with solid performances in both the Europa League last week and the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.

It now leaves the Irons boss with plenty to ponder as Diop’s form simply cannot be ignored.

He was colossal in Croatia against reigning champions Dinamo Zagreb despite a serious lack of game time, as outlined by Football FanCast previously, and then at Old Trafford, he was a key cog in keeping United’s frontline quiet all night.

Just days after late heartbreak against the Red Devils in the Premier League, Moyes rotated his squad for the third-round clash and it paid off, with the 6 foot 4 titan putting in another defensive masterclass.

As per SofaScore, Diop was graded as the Hammers’ highest-rated outfield player (7.7) as he recorded a whopping seven clearances, three interceptions, two tackles and one block, whilst he also won 100% of his duels, both on the ground and in the air.

What a display.

He was an absolute rock against the likes of Anthony Martial, Jadon Sancho and last season’s loan hero Jesse Lingard – even when Bruno Fernandes and Mason Greenwood entered the pitch, it didn’t faze the £18m-rated beast.

Diop earned the praise of assistant manager Stuart Pearce, who told reporters (via The Athletic):

“But I thought Diop was absolutely magnificent. The longer the game went on the more of a colossus he looked at the back and he’s still in relative terms, a very young man for a central defender so we’re absolutely delighted to have Issa at this club.”

It comes three years after former Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho dubbed the West Ham star a “monster” for another standout performance at the back.

Moyes now must think about what is best for this Hammers side. You cannot ignore the recent outings from Diop and the potential partnership of the two Frenchman in the heart of their defence must be a rather tempting prospect right now.

Diop must remain when the Irons head to Leeds on Saturday.

AND in other news, 5 tackles, 3 interceptions: £13m-rated West Ham monster stole the show at Old Trafford…

Mahela Jayawardene was a very relieved captain at the end of the fifth and final one-day international when his team eventually got the better of India and avoided a rare 5-0 whitewash

Sa'adi Thawfeeq in Colombo08-Feb-2009
Mahela Jayawardene: “Today we showed that we had a team doing well but had a bad series. ” © AFP
Mahela Jayawardene was a very relieved captain at the end of the fifth and final one-day international when his team eventually got the better of India and avoided a rare 5-0 whitewash. Sri Lanka’s 68-run victory in the last match stopped India’s run of consecutive wins at nine, but Jayawardene was all to aware that his team needed to up their performance.”We had to get it right in the last game and we managed to do that. I am pleased with the guys, but disappointed with the series,” said Jayawardene. “We played to our plan batting first … we always wanted to get a good start. Sanath [Jayasuriya] and [Tillakaratne] Dilshan gave us a really good start and from there onwards we created a platform where we could accelerate.”It was much easier for the guys to score on the wicket today. It wasn’t’ turning that much and we managed to get 300, which we knew was always going to be tough. With a long Indian batting line-up we had to take wickets upfront and when they were going for their shots we managed to create opportunities and hold onto the catches and play a really good game.”Summing up the series, Jayawardene said Sri Lanka didn’t play to their potential. “Today we showed that we had a team doing well but had a bad series. After every game we lost we had chats about how we could improve and get back into the series. Hats off to everybody, they tried their best. Unfortunately we couldn’t get into the series where we made mistakes in some of the matches and were outplayed in the others.””Credit should go to the Indians the way they handled the third and the fourth ODIs, whereas we had our opportunities in the first two games. In the last game we always knew we had the quality to get together and show what we’ve got. I am pretty happy for the guys the way we came back today,” said Jayawardene.Jayawardene had lost all four previous tosses in the series, and Sri Lanka had been blanked 4-0, but he didn’t feel losing the toss was a massive factor in a poor performance. “The toss might play a crucial part but after the toss you know the realities that you have to chase runs down. So we had to make sure we kept them under a decent score and then chased it down to the best of our ability,” he said. “It was tough to bat under lights and the wicket gets slower helping the spinners do get a bit of purchase off it. On hindsight I think we still should have played much better cricket and pushed the Indians a bit more.”The last time India played Sri Lanka in an ODI series, at the end of the 2008 summer, the scores had been much lower than this series. Jayawardene recognised that Sri Lanka’s batting had been poor then too, and called on the middle order to be more consistent. He also said Sri Lanka needed to clean up in the other departments.”We made a lot of mistakes in the series with our fielding, bowling and in batting as well in particular games,” he said. “If you are playing top teams we know we have to get it right all the time. That’s what good teams do. We have to take whatever the positives from this series and learn not to make the same mistakes again from the negatives and move forward. We got some really good cricket coming up, so we need to keep pushing ourselves to be better cricketers.”Sri Lanka finish the series with a Twenty20 international on Tuesday, the first to be held in the country, and then return to Pakistan for the Test leg of their split tour.

MatériaMais Notícias

Former chief operating officer of the PCB, Shafqat Naghmi, has said the renovation work at the Gaddafi Stadium may still be completed for Rs 184 million (around $2.3 million) and that the figure had not spiralled to Rs 471 million as the board claimed.

Cricinfo staff12-Jan-2009Former chief operating officer of the PCB, Shafqat Naghmi has hit back at claims of financial irregularities by the PCB, claiming that the renovation work at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium may still be completed for Rs 184 million (around $2.3 million). Naghmi said that the figure had not spiralled to Rs 471 million as the present board had earlier claimed.The PCB stopped work on the project at the stadium – which is also the cricket board’s headquarters – on Friday after they discovered “massive irregularities” in the construction of the far end pavilion. Further, the architect behind the project was also believed to be a “buddy” of Naghmi’s.”It’s true that the initial cost was Rs 142 million, but it was revised to Rs 184 million and not at what the PCB is now claiming,” Naghmi told . “It’s an exaggerated revised figure and I have no idea from where this has come.”The present PCB regime had termed the project as a “monumental disaster” and “fraudulent tender”, with chairman Ijaz Butt placing the blame fully on the men they replaced last August in a strongly-worded, no-holds barred statement.According to the PCB statement, the project had to be stopped after the cost more than tripled to Rs 471 million from an initial Rs 142 million.However, Naghmi said the PCB had paid the contractor Rs 142 million and now only Rs 42 million remained to be paid to complete the project. “I talked to the contractor today and even he is willing to complete the project, but I don’t know why the PCB has stopped the renovation work,” he said.

يرغب ماركوس ألونسو ظهير تشيلسي الإنجليزي، العودة إلى إسبانيا ووجهته المختارة لمواصلة لعب كرة القدم هي نادي برشلونة.

بعد 12 عامًا في الخارج، تسعة في إنجلترا (بين بولتون، سندرلاند وتشيلسي) وثلاثة في إيطاليا (فيورنتينا)، لا يفكر ألونسو إلا في العودة إلى الليجا، وبالتالي يكون قادرًا على أن يكون قريبًا من عائلته.

الدولي الإسباني هو اللاعب الذي اختاره تشافي هيرنانديز للتنافس مع جوردي ألبا، الذي لم يجد منذ رحيل لوكاس ديني في 2018 أي شخص يحل محله.

ماركوس ألونسو واضح جدًا بشأن مصيره، لكنه يواجه في الوقت الحالي رفض تشيلسي.

ونظرًا للعقبات التي يواجهها تشيلسي لتسهيل رحيله، عندما يتبقى عام واحد فقط على عقده في ستامفورد بريدج، لا يستبعد ألونسو اللجوء إلى “طلب الانتقال” ليتمكن من مغادرة فريقه بحسب ما أفادت صحيفة “موندو ديبورتيفو” الإسبانية. 

على الرغم من حقيقة أن ماركوس ألونسو يفضل ترك تشيلسي بطريقة ودية، لكن العقبات التي يواجهها قد تجعله يعيد التفكير.

اقرأ أيضًا | توتنهام يستعلم عن إمكانية ضم مهاجم برشلونة

“طلب النقل” هو وسيلة الضغط المتاح للاعبي الدوري الإنجليزي الذين يرغبون في مغادرة أنديتهم ومن خلاله يتدخل الاتحاد الإنجليزي للتوسط مع النادي المعني واللاعب لمحاولة وصول الطرفين إلى حالة مرضية.

حتى الآن، في كل مرة يحاول فيها وكيل ألونسو إيجاد مخرج مع تشيلسي، كان يواجه دائمًا رفضًا، لذلك إذا لم يكن هناك تغيير في الأيام القليلة المقبلة – فسيعتمد ذلك أيضًا على الرافعة الاقتصادية الثانية التي يتم تنشيطها في برشلونة. 

At 2.31pm on a hot Mohali Friday, Sachin Tendulkar steered Peter Siddle towards the third-man boundary for three runs to break Brian Lara’s record for most Test runs. The record stood for nearly two years after Lara played his final Test and it was inevitable that Tendulkar would eventually break it. As the day progressed Tendulkar scored his 50th half-century and became the first player to cross the 12,000-run mark.The disappointingly small crowd, built largely of school kids, immediately got on its feet to salute the feat, and fireworks, which continued for three minutes, went off at the PCA Stadium. Tendulkar raised his bat in the air, took his helmet off, and looked up at the sky, as is his routine when he gets to a hundred. Almost all the Australians, wherever placed in the field, came to congratulate him. Ricky Ponting, the man most likely to challenge his status of being the top run-getter, was the first man to shake his hand. Sourav Ganguly, Tendulkar’s partner at the nonstriker’s end, reminded him that he was there when he scored his record 35th Test century.This also brought an end to the soap-opera-type frenzied anticipation for the record. Tendulkar was expected to overtake Lara in Sri Lanka recently, but he endured a poor series with the bat, scoring just 95 runs in three Tests. Then in the series-opener in Bangalore, during a fine match-saving effort in the second innings, it seemed he would get to the record, but he gifted his wicket when 15 short.Even today the anxiety around was palpable. During the time he got to 15, India lost two wickets in moving from 146 to 179 in 10.2 overs. While he scored at a fair rate, he didn’t get nearly as much strike during the period as he would have wanted. While he played 23 balls, VVS Laxman and Ganguly faced 19 each. It was fitting, in a way, that he achieved the record against Australia, a team he has tormented several times in the past.Coincidentally, Lara too achieved the world record against Australia, when he went past Allan Border’s tally of 11,174 runs during the Adelaide Test in 2005. They remain the only three players to cross the 11,000-run mark in Tests. Though it is uncertain how long Tendulkar will prolong his Test career – which has lasted 19 years – the two players who stand the best chance of beating his eventual tally are Rahul Dravid (10,302) and Ponting (10,239).

Beau Casson has not given up hope of adding to his one Test cap despite being overlooked for Cameron White as the late spin call-up for Australia’s squad in India

Cricinfo staff06-Oct-2008
Beau Casson collected three wickets in his Test debut but he will have to wait for another chance at the top level © Getty Images
Beau Casson has not given up hope of adding to his one Test cap despite being overlooked for Cameron White as the late spin call-up for Australia’s squad in India. Casson made his debut in the West Indies but the selectors preferred Bryce McGain, Jason Krejza and White for the India trip.”You always want to be the No. 1 whatever you do, whether it’s bowling, batting or fielding,” Casson told the . “I have still got a hell of a lot of work to get there, and I’m still very optimistic to get there. Hopefully I can start sending the ball down well and add to my one Test, which I thoroughly enjoyed.”Casson, a left-arm wrist-spinner, picked up three wickets in the Test in Barbados and, unlike McGain and Krejza, holds a Cricket Australia contract. However, the selectors were keen to have a right-arm legspinner and an offspinner in India, so while White joins the squad in Bangalore as a replacement for the injured McGain, Casson will be playing Sheffield Shield cricket against Western Australia in Perth.”I would love to be in India but it wasn’t meant to be,” he said. “[The selectors] have decided to go with a combination they think will be successful over there.”The decision to add White to the squad was unexpected as he has developed into a batting allrounder whose legspin is used mostly as a backup for Victoria. He bowled only 84 overs during the last Pura Cup season and collected six wickets, although the selectors said they were impressed by his recent one-day form with Australia A in India, where he was the second leading wicket-taker in the tri-series.Michael Hussey said White would be a strong addition to the squad. “In previous years he was probably more of a batsman who could help out with the ball,” Hussey said.”But watching him work out in Darwin against Bangladesh and seeing some of the results against India A in India, he seems like he’s really improved his bowling and is getting a lot more confidence with it. That’s got to be a good sign for our team.”However, the former Test legspinner and spin coach Terry Jenner was struggling to understand why Casson had been ignored. He said White for McGain, who was sent home due to a lingering shoulder problem, was not a like-for-like swap.”Bryce McGain wasn’t going to bowl medium-pace leggies,” Jenner said in the . “I am at a bit of a loss because I go back to what his mentor David Hookes always said, that Cameron was only ever going to play for Australia as a batsman who could bowl a few overs. I don’t think much has changed since then, even though he tries his heart out.”

Fulham winger Fabio Carvalho is being targeted by a number of Premier League teams heading into the new season, according to the Daily Mail. 

What’s the story?

Carvalho has made six appearances in all competitions for Fulham’s first-team, where he’s evidently caught the eye with some strong performances.

The 18-year-old scored his first senior goal against Southampton, and it’ll be interesting to see whether he features in Marco Silva’s plans for the senior squad this season.

The Daily Mail have recently reported that Leeds United, West Ham, Norwich City and FC Porto are keen on signing Carvalho this summer, with that report claiming that Fulham are struggling to keep hold of the winger.

Shahid and Tony Khan reportedly are facing a difficult decision as to whether to cash in on Carvalho this summer or not, if they fail in their negotiations with the winger over a new contract.

‘Really bright’

Carvalho is only 18, and has shown real promise in the early stages of his senior career, which got underway towards the end of the 2020/21 season, where Fulham were already relegated from the Premier League.

He’s shown that he’s a player that isn’t shy on the big stage of senior football, and that’ll be pleasing to see for the Craven Cottage faithful, who will be keen to see Carvalho play his part in the club’s bid for promotion back into the top-flight this season.

Former Fulham boss Scott Parker previously labelled Carvalho as ‘really bright’, and was pleased to see him impress at senior level for the Cottagers, after scoring in the defeat to Southampton last term.

“Massive positive for us because he’s the one who’s going to be here, he’s a player that is really bright and can bring something to this team and you saw that today.

“We’ve seen his quality today, we’ve seen him scoring and assisting at an under-23 level but now he’s been around first-team players, he’s pushed on and done that as well.”

A move to Leeds United or West Ham could tempt Carvalho though, with both teams showing that there is a pathway through from their Under-23s team through to the senior squad, with Pascal Struijk (Leeds) and Ben Johnson (West Ham) being a class example of this.

But if Fulham are to have ambitions of returning to the Premier League at the first time of asking this season, then they’ll be doing all they can to keep Carvalho at Craven Cottage for the foreseeable future moving forwards.

AND in other news…Fulham have been dealt a transfer blow