MatériaMais Notícias

Em busca de um final de temporada positivo, o Flamengo conta com uma torcida do outro lado do mundo. Trata-se do atacante Diego Maurício, revelado na Gávea e que hoje defende o Gangwon FC, da Coréia do Sul. O jogador de 27 anos “luta” contra o fuso-horário para, quando possível, acompanhar as partidas do clube onde foi criado.

– É difícil por causa do fuso-horário, mas sempre que dá eu acompanho sim. Tenho acompanhado bastante, fui criado lá dentro, desde os meus oito anos e tenho uma identificação muito grande – afirmou o jogador ao LANCE!.

Autor de sete gols e cinco assistências na Liga, Diego Maurício é um dos destaques na equipe, que está no meio da tabela: o Gangwon FC é o sexto colocado entre os 12 clubes da K League.

Depois de sair do Flamengo em 2012, o atacante já atuou em cinco ligas estrangeiras. As experiências na China, Coréia do Sul, Portugal, Arábia Saudita e Rússia são positivas, avaliou Diego Maurício.

– Não teve o pior país. Todos foram bons, tempos de muito aprendizado, não só pra mim, como pra minha família. E todos os países que passei e que eu estou hoje, só tiro coisas boas – afirmou o atacante, antes de comentar que há tratativas por sua permanência:

– Espero chegar aos 100 jogos pela minha equipe. Sou muito feliz aqui, todos do clube e os fãs me respeitam e me tratam super bem – finalizou o brasileiro.

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Led by a Virat Kohli classic, India are now within 82 runs of the New Zealand first innings total

The Report by Sharda Ugra01-Sep-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSuresh Raina’s fifty had aggression mixed in with an urgency to find security around his No. 6 spot•Associated PressLed by a Virat Kohli classic, after staggering somewhat at two points of their innings, India find themselves within 82 runs of the New Zealand first innings total of 365. Plus a healthy chance in this Test match. At stumps on day two, India were 283 for 5 with Kohli seven short of his century and MS Dhoni four short of his fifty.Kohli formed the core of two middle-order partnerships that ensured that the Indians kept moving ahead. Just after lunch, India had wobbled at 80 for 4, before Kohli became the fulcrum of the Indian resistance even as New Zealand’s impressive seam bowlers threatened to get their teeth into the Indian lower order.A fifth wicket stand of 99 with Suresh Raina took control of the Indian innings after the loss of the top four. A sixth-wicket unbeaten 104-run partnership with Dhoni had made the most of the softer old ball. New Zealand’s triumvirate of leading quick bowlers, Tim Southee, Doug Bracewell and Trent Boult had an outstanding day of purpose, energy, swing bowling and wickets, more than ably aided by their fielders. In the final count, though, New Zealand were held off by these two partnerships.At stumps, the Indian response was centered around Kohli’s most intelligently compilied knock. He came in at 67 for 3, at the fall of Virender Sehwag’s wicket. In the early part of innings, he gave the bowling due respect and with two aggressive partners at the other end, Kohli played at his own pace. He was neither over-defensive or overdosing on the aggro. His strokemaking was of the highest calibre, his first boundary only off the 21st ball. He stepped out confidently to hoist Jeetan Patel over midwicket for six and hitting Boult, Bracewell and James Franklin down the ground for straight boundaries. A controlled pull off his face to Bracewell was sufficient proof of his calibre.Raina’s 55 was a different kind of fifty. It had aggression mixed in with an urgency to find security around his No. 6 spot. He was the prime mover in the partnership with Kohli, given enough opportunity to go onto his front foot. His three boundaries in the second over he faced from Bracewell, however, included a cracking pull shot. When Patel tossed one up, Raina struck a sweet six over extra cover. He was given a reprieve on 48, stumped off a no ball off Patel. His innings came to an end quickly after tea. Like Hyderabad, he was caught trying to tickle one down the leg side, this time to Southee.Much like Raina had done on his arrival during a crisis, Dhoni led his innings with big-hitting strokeplay. He took maximum benefit of the fact that his counterpart had offered him Patel’s off spin at one end for as many as eight overs. Dhoni charged down the wicket against Patel, taking on the fielder at long-on and belted two sixes over his head. That kicked off his innings and got the partnership with Kohli going at a good clip.Smart stats

Pragyan Ojha’s five-for is the third of his career and his first against New Zealand. The previous two came against West Indies.

With Ojha’s five-wicket haul, the number of five-fors for India in the series went up to three. It is only the fourth time that India have had three five-fors in a series of two Tests.

The opening stand between Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir yielded just five runs. In the last ten innings, the pair has not been involved in a single fifty-plus stand.

The 104-run stand between MS Dhoni and Kohli is the sixth century stand for the sixth wicket for India against New Zealand. Dhoni has been involved in four of them.

The fifth-wicket stand between Suresh Raina and Kohli is only the fifth 99-run partnership for India (broken stands only). The last such stand was between Syed Kirmani and Sunil Gavaskar in Chennai in 1979.

Sachin Tendulkar was bowled for the second consecutive innings in this series. He became the third batsman after Rahul Dravid and Allan Border to be bowled on fifty or more occasions.

Regardless of what was happening to Patel, Boult, Bracewell and Southee got the ball to move at good pace, even if they were a bit lenient by not putting enough short ball queries to Raina. Like he had done in Hyderabad, Ross Taylor overbowled Patel at a time when his three seamers were – between them – asking constant questions of the batsmen. Rather than use Franklin’s very medium pace to wobble the ball around, Taylor chose to fall back on Patel.Until then, New Zealand had given themselves the best chance in this Test, Southee instantly justifying his selection over Chris Martin, not only because he’d hit a six during his brief time at the crease. Within ten overs of the Indian innings, Southee had the wickets of Gautam Gambhir, shouldering arms and having his bail disturbed, and Cheteshwara Pujara, mistiming a hook leaving the hosts at 2 for 27.At the other end, after a watchful start, Sehwag lashed at the bowling. At the lunch break he was on 39, with seven boundaries, an surviving an appeal for leg before and two nicks through the slips. His partner Sachin Tendulkar played at a subdued pace, searching for touch and timing.In his first over after lunch, Bracewell’s leg stump line to Sehwag was meant to eliminate the width and room he gobbled up on his way to 43. The third ball was whipped to the square leg boundary. The fourth ball, slightly straighter, was hit uppishly and ended up in the hands of the flying Flynn at short midwicket.When Tendulkar hit a classic straight drive off Bracewell, it offered the clue that he may finally have settled in. One ball later, came the bowler’s denouement: Tendulkar played all over a straight one and was bowled through his defence. It is the second time that Tendulkar was bowled through the gate in this series. Within eleven balls after lunch, India were tottering at 80 for 4 before Raina and Kohli got together.Play had started half an hour early and New Zealand lost their last four wickets for 20 runs, within 45 minutes. The two overnight batsmen, Kruger van Wyk and Bracewell who added 99 for the seventh wicket, met with contrasting ends. van Wyk fell to a sustained spell of inquiry from Zaheer Khan, trying to guide one through to third man, Gambhir-style, but instead edged it to a diving Raina at second slip. Bracewell was unlucky to be the non-striker who ended up backing Southee too far. Ojha finished with 5 for 99, when he had Southee leg before for a lusty 14.Overall, it was a tight day’s Test cricket; New Zealand have kept throwing the challenges, Southee finishing with 3 for 35 and Bracewell 2 for 66; the control of the game will, however, depend on what India’s last batting pair do on Sunday morning.

Daniel Vettori is unlikely to make the upcoming India tour due to a groin strain

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Aug-2012

Daniel Vettori is unlikely to make the upcoming India tour due to a groin strain. The injury had kept him out of New Zealand’s second Test against West Indies last week as well. Vettori has been New Zealand’s lead Test spinner for over a decade and would have been a key member of the attack in the India series.”‘[There’s] a 90% chance that he won’t be there,” Ross Taylor, the New Zealand captain, said. “So we’ve got to look forward to seeing how the next spinner gets on over there.” New Zealand are yet to announce their squad for the series, but the frontrunner to take Vettori’s place is legspinner Tarun Nethula, who had been the second slow bowler on the recent West Indies tour.The India series starts on August 23, with the first of two Tests. There are also two Twenty20s lined up. New Zealand have just completed a difficult tour of the Caribbean, where they were comprehensively beaten in all three formats.

Zimbabwe A will look for inspiration from last month’s T20 series win as they look to stop an unbeaten South Africa A in the final of the tri-series on Saturday.South Africa A have been dominant in the tournament, largely due to some responsible middle-order batting. In all four of their league games, there has been at least a batsman who has looked to bat throughout the innings to try to eliminate any slip-up. Colin Ingram, the highest run-getter in the series with 179 runs, right-hand batsman Reeza Hendricks who follows him with 163 runs, captain Faf du Plessis and opener Richard Levi have all played their part.In the third match, the only tight game South Africa have played in the tournament, No. 3 batsman Ingram and No. 9 Rory Kleinveldt managed to steer their side to a tight victory when the chase looked improbable at 114 for 5, and later 182 for 7, chasing 243. The match, according to Zimbabwe commentator Dean du Plessis, could have been won by the hosts. “Had Zimbabwe A held on to their catches and fielded better, the outcome may have been different,” he said in a Zimbabwe cricket media release. The win could have meant three wins in the tournament for them, and the same for South Africa.While batting has been the advantage for South Africa, Zimbabwe’s bowling has been the best of the three teams. Left-arm fast bowler Brian Vitori has been the most prolific wicket-taker with nine wickets, including a spell of 5 for 37 against Sri Lanka A on July 14. Elton Chigumbura, who has played 142 ODIs for Zimbabwe, took a match-winning spell of 6 for 24 in his second game of the tri-series, against Sri Lanka A on Thursday.South Africa have the benefit of the experience of players who have played for the national side like Wayne Parnell, who took 3 for 10 in their opening match in Harare, and captain du Plessis, but the hosts can topple the favourites if top-order batting performs.”Yes, there has been some good bowling at times, but all the batsmen have been very reluctant to express themselves and to up the tempo,” Dean du Plessis said. “Strong teams such as South Africa are very good at tightening the screws while applying pressure, but they are also only human and once you take the game to them by playing attacking and aggressive cricket, they will begin to feel the pressure like any other team.”Zimbabwe have defeated Sri Lanka twice in the tournament, including the convincing eight-wicket victory on Thursday courtesy Chigumbura. Having already eliminated one of the stronger teams, Zimbabwe will hope to add another big scalp in the final.

اختار روبي سافاج لاعب مانشستر يونايتد الأسبق، قائمة من 6 لاعبين للمنافسة على جائزة أفضل لاعب في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز للموسم الجاري 2022-2023.

وخلت قائمة سافاج من لاعبي فريق ليفربول الإنجليزي، بما في ذلك المصري، محمد صلاح.

اختيارات سافاج اعتمدت على الفرق المنافسة على اللقب، وجاءت أغلبية القائمة المختارة بين لاعبي آرسنال ومانشستر سيتي.

وعبر صحيفة “ميرور” البريطانية، أوضح سافاج: “بالنسبة لي، يتلخص الأمر في هذا، إذا فاز آرسنال باللقب، فإن القائد مارتن أوديجارد يستحق، بسبب القيادة على أرض الملعب، وغالبًا ما كان العنصر المفقود لآرسنال منذ موسم 2003-2004، تحت قيادة أرسين فينجر”.

وأضاف: “وإذا قام مانشستر سيتي بتجاوز آرسنال في جولة للحصول على لقب الدوري الإنجليزي للمرة الخامسة في ست سنوات، فلا تنظر إلى أبعد من إيرلينج هالاند، بتسجيل 42 هدفًا في جميع المسابقات ولا توجد علامة على التوقف”.

وأوضح: “لقد جمعت قائمة مختصرة من ستة لاعبين للحصول على الجائزة، وأبرز ما فيها هو غياب لاعبي ليفربول، قبل اثني عشر شهرًا، كانوا يطاردون أربعة ألقاب بصورة غير مسبوقة وفازوا بكأسين محليين بعد موسم قاسِ في الدوري الإنجليزي ودوري أبطال أوروبا”.

وأشار: “هذا مقياس لمدى السرعة التي يمكن أن تتحول بها كرة القدم، قبل بداية الموسم، لم ير أحد أن آرسنال بطل محتمل، ربما يكون من المتنافسين الأربعة الأوائل، ولكن ليس الفائز باللقب”.

اقرأ أيضًا | جوارديولا: رأيي في ليفربول لا يتغير.. ونقاتل من أجل 3 ألقاب

وأردف: “ولا يمكن لأحد أن يتصور التراجع المفاجئ في حظوظ ليفربول، حتى لو لم يكن الوصول إلى المراكز الأربعة الأولى بعيد المنال بعد”.

وتضمنت قائمة سافاج لجائزة أفضل لاعب في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز 2022-2023:

مارتن أوديجارد (آرسنال)

يوضح سافاج: “أوديجارد قائد آرسنال الهادئ، مع 10 أهداف وسبع تمريرات حاسمة في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، وإذا نجح المدفعجية في الوصول إلى اللقب فسيكون ذلك أحد أكثر الألقاب إلهامًا لقائد في كرة القدم الحديثة”.

إيرلينج هالاند (مانشستر سيتي)

يقول سافاج: “إنه لأمر مثير للسخرية أن يتمكن من تسجيل 50 هدفًا، متجاوزًا 49 هدفًا لكلايف ألين مع توتنهام في 1986-198، ولم يفز بعد باللقب والأكثر سخافة أن بعض الناس كانوا يقولون، منذ وقت ليس ببعيد، إن مانشستر سيتي كان فريقًا أفضل بدونه!.

بوكايو ساكا (آرسنال)

وأفاد سافاج: “12هدفًا، 10 تمريرات حاسمة، بالتأكيد الاسم الأول في تشكيل آرسنال وربما إنجلترا الآن، هو جوهرة في تاج آرسنال، أتساءل كم سيكلف توقيعه الآن، 100 مليون جنيه إسترليني سيكون بالتأكيد السعر المبدئي في المزاد”.

ماركوس راشفورد (مانشستر يونايتد)

أشار سافاج: “لا يبدو أنه فقد الثقة، خلال التراجع المروع في الموسم الماضي خارج المراكز الستة الأولى، مع 25 هدفًا بالفعل هذا الموسم، يبدو أنه أكثر وضوحًا من أي وقت مضى”.

الكسيس ماك أليستر (برايتون) 

يتابع سافاج: “حتى لو لم يستمر برايتون في المنافسة بين الأربعة الأوائل أو الفوز بكأس الاتحاد الإنجليزي، فسوف يتذكر هذا الموسم لبقية حياته، الفوز بكأس العالم مع الأرجنتين لا يمكن أن يكون سيئًا، واتساقه مع مويسيس كايسيدو في خط وسط الفريق كان جزءًا كبيرًا من دفعهم نحو المنافسة في أوروبا”.

ليساندرو مارتينيز (مانشستر يونايتد)

أتم سافاج: “بعد بداية صعبة في مانشستر يونايتد، أثبت نفسه كمفضل لدى الجماهير، فائز آخر بكأس العالم مع الأرجنتين، على الرغم من أنه كان بديلاً لم يعتمد عليه في المباراة النهائية ضد فرنسا”.

MatériaMais Notícias

Defendendo as cores do São Paulo desde os 11 anos de idade, o volante Luan renovou seu contrato com o Tricolor nesta segunda-feira. Depois de subir ao profissional e ganhar espaço com o técnico Diego Aguirre, o jovem jogador, de apenas 19 anos, estendeu seu vínculo até o fim de 2022. O antigo contrato do meio-campista ia até setembro do ano que vem.

Promovido ao time de cima no meio desta temporada, Luan estreou como profissional diante do Corinthians, no Morumbi, no dia 21 de julho. De lá para cá, passou a ser elogiado por todos no CT da Barra Funda e teve seu trabalho reconhecido pela diretoria, que lhe ofereceu um novo contrato.

– Agradeço ao clube e ao Aguirre, porque confiaram em mim. O André Jardine também foi importante, porque me deu suporte neste processo de transição da base para o elenco principal. O Diego Souza também me acolheu, passou tranquilidade, assim como os meus outros companheiros – reconheceu o jovem volante tricolor.

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Luan é mais um dos nomes de Cotia que ganharam espaço no Tricolor. Além dele, Liziero, Brenner, Caíque, Igor Gomes, Helinho, Anthony, Shaylon, Araruna, Rodrigo Caio, Lucas Perri e Lucas Paes integram o elenco profissional do São Paulo. Todos eles foram formados na base do clube.

– Estou orgulhoso e cada vez mais preparado para defender o clube. Sempre quis jogar no São Paulo, e desejo títulos para que a realização deste sonho seja completa. Esta renovação representa mais um degrau, porque passo a passo quero fazer história com esta camisa – agradeceu Luan, que tem cinco jogos como profissional e nem uma derrota sequer.

ESPNcricinfo’s preview of the one-off ODI between Afghanistan and Australia in Sharjah

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale25-Aug-2012Match factsThis will be the first match of any format between Australia and Afghanistan•UAE Cricket BoardAugust 25-26, 2012
Start time 1800 (1400 GMT)
Big PictureTen years ago, the idea of a one-day international between Australia and Afghanistan seemed about as plausible as playing cricket on the moon. But Afghanistan’s cricket progress has been one of the most remarkable success stories in the game’s recent history and now they have a chance to play Australia for the first time. The one-off match will be Afghanistan’s second ODI against an ICC full member and Cricket Australia’s chief executive James Sutherland said when he announced the fixture last month that he hoped it would help the development of the Afghanistan team.”Everyone in world cricket have been really impressed with how cricket has flourished in Afghanistan, despite its pressing national problems,” Sutherland said at the time. “As an ICC member, CA strongly supports world cricket’s ambition for cricket to continue to develop as a global sport and that, combined with the strong relationships between our two countries, encouraged us to look at how we might recognise and encourage Afghanistan by playing them on the field.”Australia are expected to win the match but their captain Michael Clarke was careful not to underestimate Afghanistan before the game, noting that they would be more familiar with the conditions, whereas Australia have just come from a tour of England and a cold winter back home. The Afghanistan captain Nawroz Mangal said the match would be “a huge moment” for all of his players.There is another reason this fixture is significant: it is rare, if not unprecedented, for a one-day international to be played across two days. The extreme heat in the UAE forced a rethink of the playing times for a 50-over contest and to avoid the worst of the sun, it was decided that Australia’s ODIs against Afghanistan and Pakistan would start at 6pm and would be scheduled to finish at 1.45am. It is not so much day-night cricket as night-morning cricket.Form guide (Complete matches, most recent first)Afghanistan LWLLW
Australia LLLLWWatch out forThe legspinner Samiullah Shenwari is Afghanistan’s leading wicket taker in one-day internationals, with 27 victims at 26.66. He also doesn’t mind the conditions in Sharjah, where he has played five of his 22 ODIs, and where he picked up his best figures of 4 for 31 against Canada. The Australians will be a stiffer challenge, but on a pitch expected to offer some turn he could prove a tricky customer.Glenn Maxwell will become Australia’s 196th one-day international player and the sixth man to debut for them in the format this year. In 2010-11, he broke the record for the fastest half-century in Australian domestic one-day history, with a 19-ball effort for Victoria, and he will provide some strikepower in the lower middle order. He is athletic in the field and will enjoy bowling on the turning Sharjah surface.Team newsAfghanistan have named a 15-man squad, with their captain Nawroz Mangal back in the mix after he missed their most recent matches in Ireland in July.Afghanistan (possible) 1 Karim Sadiq, 2 Javed Ahmadi, 3 Mohammad Shahzad (wk), 4 Nawroz Mangal (capt), 5 Najibullah Zadran, 6 Mohammad Nabi, 7 Asghar Stanikzai, 8 Samiullah Shenwari, 9 Gulbodin Naib, 10 Dawlat Zadran, 11 Shapoor ZadranAustralia have named their starting XI ahead of time. Maxwell will make his international debut and Clarke has promoted himself to No.3. The four players to miss out from within the squad were Callum Ferguson, Daniel Christian, Steven Smith and Alister McDermott.Australia 1 Matthew Wade (wk), 2 Dave Warner, 3 Michael Clarke (capt), 4 Michael Hussey, 5 David Hussey, 6 George Bailey, 7 Glenn Maxwell, 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 James Pattinson, 11 Xavier DohertyPitch and conditions”The wicket looks quite hard, there’s no grass on it at all,” Clarke said on the day before the match. “I think as the game goes on there’ll probably be a bit more spin throughout the game.”The weather can be summed up in one word: scorching. Even late at night the temperature is not expected to dip below 34C.Stats and trivia This is Afghanistan’s second ODI against a full member of the ICC; they lost their first by seven wickets to Pakistan in Sharjah in February Although most of their games have been against fellow associate members, Afghanistan have an impressive ODI record, having won 12 of the 22 matches they have played The No.3 position has been a problem for Australia in ODIs recently; in the past year they have used six batsmen there for a combined average of 21.13
Quotes”This will be a huge moment for every single one of us, playing against the mighty Australians.”
“They’ve played a lot of cricket over the last couple of weeks in preparation for the T20 World Cup. It’s an opportunity for them to come out with nothing to lose and plenty to gain.”

England must decide whether to accommodate Kevin Pietersen in their squad for the third Test despite a week of damaging headlines

George Dobell11-Aug-2012

The stability that underpinned England’s ascent to No. 1 in the Test rankings is most noticeably absent as they select their side for, arguably, the most important Test they have played since the Ashes were decided at The Oval in 2009.For several years, the announcement of England’s Test squad has been a welcomingly predictable episode. Barring injury or prolonged loss of form, life contained few surprises.But not this time. This time, as England try to select a team that must beat South Africa at Lord’s in order to retain their No. 1 status, the selectors are faced with a major dilemma: do they drop their best player or retain him in the knowledge that his presence risks compromising team spirit. In short, do Kevin Pietersen’s positive qualities outweigh his negative ones?The news that he has exchanged texts with members of the South Africa team comes in the same week that his post-match press conference at Headingley revealed the extent of the tension between the two parties.There can be, at this stage, no doubt that Pietersen’s presence is a distraction in the dressing room. As if the speculation about his possible World Twenty20 inclusion was not enough, there is also doubt about his Test future and his relationship with other players. Whatever the content of text messages sent to players in the South Africa side, the episode has done nothing to diminish the growing division and suspicion building between Pietersen and his England colleagues. Some of them have been ambivalent about Pietersen for some time. This new episode – an episode viewed as a betrayal by some – means that ambivalence is now one of the warmer emotions expressed towards him.He is respected as a player, though. If there were any doubts over his unrivalled skills – in England, anyway – with the bat, they were dispelled in Leeds. Pietersen was magnificent. He played the sort of innings that would demand inclusion in any team.That should probably be the bottom line for the selectors. Rather than over-complicating the process with talk of principle or team spirit, the selectors should stick to picking the best 11 individuals and trust in the players’ professionalism. Just as Pietersen and Andy Flower managed to work together after the debacle that saw Pietersen sacked as captain – and he was sacked as captain whatever revisionist ECB spin may suggest – and Peter Moores sacked as coach, so the players should be mature enough to work with those with which they may not naturally socialise.In truth, recent stories amount to little more than playground tittle-tattle. Does it really matter if a few England team-mates laughed at a parody Twitter account or if Pietersen was mildly mocking of his team-mates in a private text message? It is surely more important that everyone within the England dressing room concentrates on winning the Test and does not use issues from the past week to further their own agendas against rival factions.There is little doubt that the selectors are torn, though. Their appetite for Pietersen-related baggage is more than sated. If they could afford to be rid of him, they would surely take that chance.There are faults on both sides. Pietersen has a legitimate gripe by complaining about leaks emanating from the ECB and it is hard not to wonder if, in a more sophisticated dressing room, he might not have been managed better. Surely Mike Brearley, for example, might have coaxed the best from him as he did such diverse characters as Sir Ian Botham, Geoffrey Boycott and Phil Edmonds. Perhaps a little more carrot and a little less stick might have worked wonders on Pietersen?England, it should be noted, have won without Pietersen before. He played little role in the Ashes success of 2009 and none in the recent ODI victories over Australia. He is no more irreplaceable than any other England player of the past and, just as West Indies managed without Sobers and Australia managed without Bradman, England will manage without Pietersen.Chris Woakes is an option should England want to include an allrounder in the side•Getty Images

He is not easy to replace, though. With Ravi Bopara still absent for personal reasons – an episode that may have damaged his own Test career irreversibly – there is no obvious replacement for Pietersen. Jonny Bairstow, fresh from his century against Australia A, might be considered, so might Eoin Morgan, who has the character if not the technique to flourish at this level.Chris Woakes is a more rounded solution. If Pietersen were dropped, Ian Bell, James Taylor and Matt Prior could shuffle up a position with Woakes coming in at No. 7. It is asking a great deal of anyone to come into such an important game against such high-quality opposition but Woakes has the ability, with bat and with ball, to shine. Just as importantly, he has a rock solid character that will not be flustered by the occasion. England will never have a moment of worry about the ego of Woakes.Graeme Swann is sure to be named in the team on Thursday – omitting him at Leeds was a huge error of judgement – with a late choice required over which of Steven Finn, Graham Onions and Tim Bresnan plays alongside Stuart Broad and James Anderson. All are likely to be named in the squad, with home ground advantage likely to favour Finn, despite a disappointing display at Leeds.Whatever is revealed in Sunday’s squad announcement, it seems we are coming to the end of the Pietersen story. In the long term, we may reflect on the episode as one of the great wasted opportunities in the history of England cricket. Talents like Pietersen appear rarely. That the ECB have failed to handle him – a man who must be considered one of their most precious resources – does not reflect well on them.Make no mistake, though. However much England cricket misses Pietersen over the coming weeks and months, he will miss it more. His premature departure, at this point seemingly inevitable, will leave him many years to reflect upon the mistakes that have led him so far along this path. He will surely come to regret that he has allowed his pride and a series of petty incidents to have built up into a career-threatening scenario.Pietersen might also reflect long and hard on his own role in his alienation. As Oscar Wilde almost said, to fall out with one team may be considered unfortunate, but to fall out with Natal, Nottinghamshire, Hampshire and England? You do not have to be a genius to work out the common denominator.

The big question after the XIs were announced was how India would fare with four specialist bowlers, given that their attack had been expensive in the previous three games when they had played five. After the part-time bowlers took 5 for 112 in 22 overs, though, most were left shaking their heads at the ridiculousness.Sri Lanka had allowed Manoj Tiwary, a batsman bowling steady legbreaks, to take his best List A figures of 4 for 61 while Virender Sehwag got a wicket in eight economical overs of loopy offbreaks. The hosts made 251 for 8 after an opening partnership of 91, and Mahela Jayawardene was left to rue his side’s seventh loss in eight ODI series since the 2011 World Cup after yet another Virat Kohli century.India’s three medium-pacers bowled just six overs each as Sri Lanka struggled against Tiwary and Sehwag, who bowled 12 straight overs from the 31st to the 42nd for a combined return of 3 for 50. Jayawardene said the pitch and the part-timers were both slow and that Sri Lanka lost too many wickets to be able to accelerate.”[It was] probably a 280-290 wicket [so we were] maybe 30 runs short because of the way we batted,” Jayawardene said. “But no excuses, we never handled certain situations well and created a hole which was tough for us to get out of. The plan was to take on the fifth bowler. But it is tough to do that when we were losing wickets. We never had the momentum. We lost wickets in the Powerplays and didn’t have any control.”[We were] trying to build partnerships so that we could have a platform which we didn’t. We had to accelerate as well, we knew the score we were going to post wasn’t going to be enough on this wicket. Trying to take risk didn’t work. We didn’t execute the plan well and credit to the Indians they kept putting a lot of pressure on our guys.”Kohli also commented on the lack of pace in the pitch and praised Tiwary’s performance in his first ODI since December 2011. “It is a slow wicket so even if the part-timers land the ball in the right areas they can do the job if you want to play seven batsmen,” Kohli said. “And it was good for Manoj as well because he hadn’t got a game for a while and he got to play again. It’s all about giving the challenge to the guy who has been sitting on the bench and seeing how he reacts to it. I think he did a brilliant job for us with ball. Couldn’t capitalise with the bat [although] he got a good start. But as I said, the part-timers can be effective if bowled at the right time and if they bowl in the right areas so it was worth taking a chance and it paid off for us today.”Sri Lanka had India at 109 for 4 during the chase but Suresh Raina survived a close shout for caught-behind on 2 and was dropped by Jayawardene on 19, the same score on which he had been put down in the third game. Raina went on to make an unbeaten 58 in a match-winning partnership of 146 with Kohli, who was also dropped, on 100. Jayawardene credited India for handling the pressure better.”They handled those situations better than us. We needed a couple more wickets when they were four down. I thought we got Suresh caught behind but I don’t know how the others felt about it. But that is how the game goes. Things could have probably been different but we move on.”Jayawardene was asked what it would take for Sri Lanka to beat India, against whom they have just two wins from their previous ten meetings. “They have got a good batting line-up. In the last two-three years what we found is to control them we need to pick up wickets and that is what we have been trying to do with five bowlers all the time. I think they win matches with their batting [and] not so much with their bowling so for us to beat them we need to control their batting line-up.”That hasn’t been happening as Sri Lanka have taken just six, five and four India wickets in the three losses in this series. Jayawardene acknowledged the need for an improved showing in the final ODI in Pallekele near Kandy.”The bowling obviously didn’t look penetrative enough and obviously not a good fielding performance in the last four games,” Jayawardene said. “I know a couple of guys are really struggling with fatigue. [We will] see what the options are and try and motivate them to go out and take-up the challenge. Kandy is going to be a different challenge altogether. We need to try and put a decent performance together and see where we are at with India because we haven’t played to our potential in this series.”

كشفت تقارير صحفية أن نادي مانشستر سيتي مستعد لتفعيل الشرط الجزائي في عقد لاعب وسط سيلتا فيجو، لضمه من الدوري الإسباني، خلال موسم الانتقالات الصيفي المقبل.

ويسعى مانشستر سيتي إلى تعزيز مركز الوسط في ظل التكهنات المُثارة حول مستقبل إيلكاي جوندوجان وبرناردو سيلفا في ملعب “الاتحاد”.

وحسبما ذكرت صحيفة “ماركا” الإسبانية، فإن مانشستر سيتي يتطلع إلى الحصول على خدمات اللاعب جابري فيجا من صفوف سيلتا فيجو.

ويستقطب اللاعب صاحب الـ20 عامًا اهتمامًا كبيرًا من أندية أوروبا، ولكن يبدو أن مانشستر سيتي هو من سيفوز في سباق المنافسة على ضمه.

اقرأ أيضًا.. مانشستر سيتي ينتظر قرار لاعبه بعد اهتمام برشلونة بضمه

وأوضحت أن مانشستر سيتي جاهز لتفعيل الشرط الجزائي في عقد جابري فيجا، المُقدر قيمته بـ 40 مليون يورو، لإبعاده عن سيلتا فيجو في صيف هذا العام.

وأشارت إلى أن بطل الدوري الإنجليزي مستعد لمنح جابري فيجا عقدًا لمدة خمس سنوات، مقابل 60 مليون يورو سنويًا، في محاولة لإغرائه والفوز بخدماته وسط اهتمام أندية أخرى.

ويتواجد جابري فيجا على رادار أندية أخرى مثل ريال مدريد وليفربول.