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.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Palmeiras saiu na frente na final do Brasileiro sub-20 com a goleada por 4 a 1 sobre o Vitória, no Barradão. O centroavante Aníbal fechou o placar com gol por cobertura, quando o Verdão já tinha um jogador a menos. Para ele, a atuação alviverde foi quase perfeita.

– Fizemos um excelente jogo. Trabalhamos muito bem durante a semana, foi um jogo pensado. Conseguimos a vitória muito importante e agora a gente vem com um pouquinho mais de tranquilidade para o segundo jogo – pontuou o camisa 18.

-O resultado foi excelente, mas nada está concluído. Sabemos o potencial do Vitória, por isso não podemos achar que tem nada definido. Vamos entrar quinta com força máxima para conseguir dar esse titulo para os torcedores e nossos familiares – completou.

Logo depois do gol de Aníbal houve uma confusão generalizada, inclusive com invasão de torcedores do Vitória, o que obrigou o árbitro a encerrar o jogo em Salvador (BA). O atacante preferiu valorizar o lance, considerado um dos mais bonitos de sua carreira.

-Se não foi o mais bonito é um dos mais bonitos. Entrou para a galeria. Esse aí eu gostei bastante.Sensação inexplicável marcar um gol bonito desse numa final. Estou muito feliz, ainda mais por ser uma final de brasileiro na qual toda a minha família estava assistindo ao jogo- comemorou.

-Ainda posso melhorar bastante. Tenho mais 2 anos de sub-20 para trabalhar bastante e conseguir chegar ao profissional com condições de me adaptar o mais rapidamente possível – encerrou.

A partida de volta está marcada para a próxima quinta-feira, às 19h15, no Allianz Parque. O Verdão busca o título brasileiro sub-20 pela primeira vez em sua história.

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South Africa levelled the one-day series with a resounding seven-wicket victory at Trent Bridge after England’s batting had subsided

The Report by Andrew McGlashan 05-Sep-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAB de Villiers made his highest score of the tour•PA PhotosSouth Africa levelled the one-day series with a resounding seven-wicket victory at Trent Bridge after England’s batting had subsided to a collection of poor strokes. The visitors wobbled briefly in their chase, but Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers put the quality of what had gone before in the shade with the classiest batting of the day in an unbroken stand of 169 for the fourth wicket.In keeping with the trend of the series it was not a gripping contest the match was completed well before the scheduled time. At least that meant the spectators did not have to sit through the autumnal chill. Day/night cricket is not made for an English September. The one period where the game did spark into life was the start of the chase when South Africa were reduced to 14 for 3, but it was a short-lived high point for England who were as poor as they were in Southampton. It must be hoped Andy Flower was not watching the TV on his rare day off.The performance will again raise questions about England’s ability to set defendable targets, where they appear significantly less comfortable than knowing what they have to chase. Only Ian Bell, who fell lbw to Robin Peterson when the left-arm spinner was smartly given the new ball, can be said to have not gifted his wicket away and 28 balls of the innings were unused when Jade Dernbach wafted at Wayne Parnell rather than at least trying to stick around with Chris Woakes who has significant pedigree as a batsman.With so few runs on the board England’s only chance was to run through South Africa and for a short while it looked possible. Graeme Smith flashed to second slip, where James Tredwell held the catch with a juggle, then James Anderson collected a brace in a superb display of pacey swing bowling.Faf du Plessis, who has had a lean series, was the latest option to be tried at No. 3 but edged a rising delivery to Craig Kieswetter then Dean Elgar was given a working over. Showing exemplary control of the ball, Anderson probed away at Elgar’s outside edge before the left hander could not resist pushing at one.Amla, though, was not being shifted and this time had not even been offered a life. He had to be on his guard against Anderson and Dernbach, but without Steven Finn, who picked up a back injury, England did not quite have the pace resources to maintain the pressure although Woakes did find Amla’s edge only for it fall well short of slip.De Villiers had not scored an international fifty on the tour but got himself going with a back-foot drove, then drilled Anderson through mid-on before back-to-back pulls off Dernbach. The introduction of spin brought aggression from Amla as he drove both Samit Patel and Tredwell for boundaries – the latter with an effortless loft over mid-off – and the match was back under South Africa’s control.Amla reached his latest half-century from 63 balls and de Villiers moved through the 40s with a string of trademark drives straight and through cover. As England’s intensity dropped runs came at a canter and, in the blink of an eye, Amla finished with 97 to his name. His tour-de-force shows no signs of halting as he ends the series with 335 runs – the next best was Bell with 181.This was just England’s second defeat of the year in 50-over cricket – and a drawn series against South Africa is no disgrace – but it will leave a bitter taste for Alastair Cook that it was handed away so easily on a plate. South Africa’s bowlers – seven of them were used as de Villiers juggled his options effectively – shared around the wicket-taking.The biggest bonus for them, especially in light of strengthening the batting, were the scalps taken by part-time spinners JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis. The stuffing was knocked out of the innings as England gifted away three wickets in six overs after Cook and Jonny Bairstow had started a recovery from 24 for 2 with one of the early losses that of the struggling Ravi Bopara for a second-ball duck. Bairstow, who had replaced the injured Jonathan Trott, could not have picked out deep square-leg with more precision when he flicked Morne Morkel off his pads straight to Justin Ontong.Then in the next over, Duminy’s first, Eoin Morgan tried to clear mid-on and offered a simple catch and England’s most dynamic one-day player had gone without scoring. Moments after the halfway mark of the innings it got worse for England when Cook, having reached a steady fifty from 69 balls, punched a low full toss back to du Plessis also in his first over to leave the home side tottering on 99 for 5.There was little option but to just try and bat out the innings, but each time a partnership was starting to form, a lose shot gave it away. Patel got into a tangle against a slower-ball bouncer from Dale Steyn – who bowled beautifully throughout – and gloved a catch to the keeper while Kieswetter, after showing promising signs, tried to clear the infield in the Powerplay but could only sky a catch to mid-off.The generous nature of the batting continued with Tredwell missing a charge at Peterson and Anderson trying to launch him down the ground first ball and did not get further than mid-off. It suggested that minds were not entirely focussed.However, there is no doubt who has the most frazzled mind of England’s batsmen right now. Bopara had been promoted to No. 3 in the absence of Trott and, after leaving his first delivery from Steyn, was drawn into pushing at his next and edging to de Villiers. It was a good delivery, moving away late from the right hander, but Bopara did not offer much footwork and it was a carbon copy of his previous two dismissals, meaning he ends the series with scores of 16, 0, 6 and 0. He, more than anyone, needs a change of fortunes in the Twenty20 series.

Former SA batter will share those responsibilities with Justin Sammons, who has been with the team on their tour of Sri Lanka

Firdose Moonda10-Sep-2021South Africa’s leading run-scorer in T20Is, JP Duminy, has been named as one of two specialist consultants for the upcoming World Cup. Duminy, along with Justin Sammons, who has been with the team in Sri Lanka, will fill the void left by former assistant coach Enoch Nkwe. Cricket South Africa are in the process of identifying Nkwe’s long-term replacement.Both Duminy and Sammons are part of the current provincial coaching set-up, Duminy very recently so. He was appointed head of the batting department for the Johannesburg-based Lions over the winter, his first coaching job. Sammons, who has previously worked with the Lions, is the coach of North West province.”Justin previously worked with the Proteas during the first part of our current tour of Sri Lanka so he has already developed a good working relationship with the players,” CSA’s director of cricket Graeme Smith said. “JP is a perfect fit for T20 cricket. His record as a player speaks for itself and he will bring specific skills in all three disciplines of batting, bowling and fielding.”South Africa’s entire backroom staff will include head coach Mark Boucher, bowling coach Charl Langeveldt (who did not travel to Sri Lanka as he recovered from Covid-19), fielding coach Justin Ontong, Duminy and Sammons, who will share the batting coach responsibilities.South Africa have not had a batting coach since they used Jacques Kallis in a short-term role in the 2019/20 season. Since then, CSA hired Neil McKenzie as a batting lead, but his role encompasses the national men’s, women’s and under-19 teams as well as the development pipeline, and he has not traveled with the men’s team.

Mohammad Hafeez has suggested that the decision to leave out R Ashwin, India’s leading limited-overs spinner, for the first Twenty20 helped Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Dec-2012Mohammad Hafeez has suggested that the decision to leave out R Ashwin, India’s leading limited-overs spinner, for the first Twenty20 helped Pakistan. India opted to go in with left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja ahead of Ashwin for the match in Bangalore, which Pakistan won by five wickets.”This is the combination, they knew very well what they (wanted), Ashwin was not there in this team,” Hafeez said. “So our plan was that if we play out the new ball, then their spinners are not world-class; I know Yuvraj is in great form, but when you don’t have a world-class spinner then we can dominate.”Jadeja bowled 2.4 overs, including the final one of the game, and was taken for 29 runs, and he contributed only two runs with the bat. “It was a surprise for us that they didn’t play [Ashwin], at the end we are happy that we won the game.”Dhoni, though, defended the decision saying Ashwin was more of a threat with the new ball. “Ashwin has been one of our main bowlers, he had to bowl in the first six overs a lot,” Dhoni said. “Once we had three seamers, we wanted to give Jadeja a chance also, and once the field has opened up in the last two games Ashwin has also gone for runs, [though] he has bowled beautifully in the first six overs.”Only one of Pakistan’s top seven batsmen was a left-hander, another reason Dhoni provided for the decision to leave out the offspinner Ashwin. “They had lots of right-hand batsmen, and if we needed an offspinner, we had Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina. If we needed an option of a left-arm spinner in case Yuvi had a bad day, we wouldn’t have any option in the XI [if Jadeja was left out].”This was only the second Twenty20 match Ashwin has missed since his debut against Zimbabwe in 2010; the other one was the meaningless fixture against England in the World Twenty20. Ashwin himself was philosophical about his omission: “Even Fernando Torres has to sit out for Chelsea.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the second Test between India and England in Mumbai

David Hopps22-Nov-2012Match factsNovember 23-27, 2012
Start time 0930 local (0400 GMT)Monty Panesar could return for England but Stuart Broad is a doubt•AFP

Big PictureIndia’s victory in the opening Test in Ahmedabad went perfectly to plan. England capitulated against India’s spinners, just as everybody suspected they might, and even Alastair Cook’s wonderfully defiant hundred after England followed on had the air of a new Test captain merely delaying the inevitable.It will all deepen the conviction that India are strong favourites in this four-Test series, poised to avenge their thrashing in England last summer. But Mumbai always has good bounce and urban legend has it that early morning moisture and a final-session sea breeze often keep the seamers interested. England won here in 2006 and, if it was four surprisingly cheap wickets for Shaun Udal’s offspin that attracted the attention, India’s collapse to 100 all out in their second innings had been sparked by the pace of Andrew Flintoff and James Anderson.It would be doubly unfortunate for England if they compounded their error in not playing two spinners in Ahmedabad by opting this time for two seamers just when conditions most favoured pace bowling. But as green as the pitch looked on practice day, it is expected to be shaved bare by the start of play. MS Dhoni, unsurprisingly, wants it to spin.Form guideIndia: WWWLL (Completed matches, most recent first)
England: LLDLD
Players to watchAs Sidharth Monga has memorably observed elsewhere, Virender Sehwag would have liked nothing better than to move from 94 Tests to 100 with a six. Instead, he got there in scratchy fashion, with only one half-century in 10 knocks until his career-affirming hundred in Ahmedabad. No Test batsman performs more audaciously or with such an uncluttered method. Attention will be on him even more than usual.For England, much attention will be focused on Monty Panesar, whose left-arm spin is now seen as their route back into the series. It is hard to imagine a surface in his career that demanded his selection more than Ahmedabad or a time in his career – with tours in the UAE, Sri Lanka and now India – when he should have been more in demand, yet the reality is only three Tests in more than three years and a career that has stalled since the emergence of Graeme Swann.Pitch and conditionsWill the Test pitch last the course? Three weeks ago Mumbai played Railways on the same surface, encouragement for Sachin Tendulkar, who warmed up with a century, and even more so for India’s spinners who can anticipate residual wear.Team newsEngland will surely play Panesar alongside Graeme Swann, while there will be a new face in the middle-order, with Ian Bell returning home on paternity leave. Stuart Broad’s illness could also open up a fast-bowling position. For the hosts, Umesh Yadav’s bad back is likely to hand Ishant Sharma a recall. India’s spinners, Pragyan Ojha and R Ashwin, can anticipate no let-up in their workload.India (probable) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Virat Kohli, 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Pragyan Ojha, 11 Ishant SharmaEngland (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Nick Compton, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Samit Patel, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Monty PanesarStats and trivia England have never lost more than eight Tests in a calendar year. Already this year they have lost seven – and they have three Tests to play.Panesar is expected to return to the scene of one of his greatest fielding escapades – in Mumbai six years ago, he badly missed MS Dhoni at long-off, the ball landing several yards away, before catching a similar opportunity in the same spot minutes later.England won in Mumbai in 2006 to the tune of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”, the dressing room song championed by the captain at the time, Andrew Flintoff.Harbhajan Singh’s 22 wickets at the Wankhede have come at less than 20 runs each.In the last Test at the Wankhede – India v West Indies last November – the match finished as a draw with scores level, only the second such occasion in Test history.Quotes”If it does not turn I can come and criticise once again.”
“I’m not concerned at the reaction of some players. I am concerned about the last game, and that we learn from that, and I’m concerned that we improve on the field.” “

انتهت أحداث مباراة اتحاد جدة والشباب بفوز الأول بهدفين مقابل هدف، في اللقاء الذي جمع بينهما مساء اليوم الخميس ضمن منافسات الدوري السعودي.

الاتحاد واجه الشباب، على ملعب مدينة الملك عبد الله الرياضية في جدة “الجوهرة المشعة”، في إطار مواجهات الجولة الـ24 من بطولة دوري روشن السعودي.

واستطاع اللاعب عبد الرزاق حمد الله تسجيل هدفي فوز الاتحاد على الشباب من ركلتي جزاء خلال أحداث اللقاء، ليرتقي إلى المرتبة الثانية برصيد 17 هدفًا.

طالع | موقف اتحاد الكرة السعودي من توقيع عقوبة على رونالدو بعد مباراة النصر والهلال

بينما أحرز كريستيان جوانكا هدف تعادل الشباب، من ركلة جزاء، ليحتل المرتبة الخامسة في سلم ترتيب هدافي الدوري السعودي. ترتيب هدافي الدوري السعودي بعد مباراة الاتحاد والشباب

1- أوديون ايجالو (الهلال)، عبد الرزاق حمدالله (اتحاد جدة): 18 هدفًا. 

2-أنديرسون تاليسكا (النصر): 16 هدفًا.

3- فراس البريكان (الفتح)، كارلوس جونيور (الشباب): 12 هدفًا.

4- كريستيانو رونالدو (النصر)، كريستيان جوانكا (الشباب): 11 هدفًا.

5- مراد باتنا (الفتح): 10 أهداف.