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Joining the county that had finished bottom of Division Two for three successive seasons was always going to be a gamble but Neil Dexter’s confidence in the future has been rewarded

Jon Culley30-Jun-2016Neil Dexter’s decision to leave a county that finished runners-up in Division One last season to join the one that had finished bottom of Division Two for three seasons in a row might have seemed somewhat perverse looking from the outside.At 31, he could not afford to make the wrong choice, but he says he felt confident from the outset and after half a season in his new surroundings nothing has happened to make him question his wisdom. His contribution already includes two centuries, the second against Gloucestershire this week.Leicestershire’s tight grip on the wooden spoon did not loosen despite the euphoria last June of ending their extraordinary 37-match winless streak in four-day cricket, but they have metamorphosed this season into potential promotion contenders – 15 points off the top with a game in hand and a bedraggled season still to take shape.”It was a hard decision to leave Middlesex,” Dexter admitted. “Things were always good at Middlesex. I enjoyed my time there working with good people.”But I wanted to bat higher up the order than I had been doing with Middlesex and when I sat down with Wasim Khan and Andrew McDonald to discuss coming here they were very clear in their plans and about what they wanted to achieve.”It is a club with clear direction and I was confident that it was going to be a good move. And so far I’ve enjoyed every minute of it here.”Khan and McDonald sold their vision, too, to Essex’s Mark Pettini and Lancashire’s Paul Horton as they moved to add quality, experience and a vital winning mentality to the squad. All three have had a positive impact on the dressing room environment.”We are quite a tight knit bunch already,” Dexter said. “In terms of where we are heading and what we are trying to achieve over the next few years we are already on the right lines.”If anything we have got to where we are as a team and a club a bit quicker than I thought.”There are times when things are tough. The T20 has tested us a team but it shows how strong we are the way the team is bouncing back in the four-day stuff on the back of disappointment.”In cricketing terms, then, it has been a good move. Where Middlesex felt they could make no guarantees of a regular first-team place – even though managing director of cricket Angus Fraser was willing to talk about a new contract – Leicestershire see him as just the right fit.For Dexter, moreover, there has been an unexpected bonus in moving out of the hustle and bustle of live in London. It has reminded how much he appreciates a less frenetic way of life.”I won’t lie, I struggled at times with living in London,” he said. “I think it is a hard place, so busy from the moment you walk out of your front door and until you get out of it again you don’t realise how tough a place it is to live.”Maybe it is the way I’ve been brought up. And I started in Kent, too, where the atmosphere is a bit more relaxed.”I’ve got a young family now and having a bit more of a relaxed life and a bit more family time, time when you can get away and it actually feels like you are away from cricket – it’s really good.”What’s more, he says, Grace Road feels like a proper home ground, something that Lord’s, for all its history and its status as the ‘home of cricket’, can never really be for a Middlesex player.At Grace Road, unlike Lord’s, Dexter feels he has a permanent home•PA Photos”Don’t get me wrong, I loved my time at Middlesex and to play at Lord’s every other week is a privilege I will never forget,” he said. “But Lord’s never really felt like home. When you don’t own your own ground, you can’t ever really call it home.”Here, when you leave the ground you can leave stuff in the dressing room but at Lord’s, although the Middlesex players have lockers, you had to appreciate that the dressing rooms had to be cleaned, maybe for a charity match or something involving other teams and you couldn’t just leave your gear behind.”Inevitably, too, because the area around Lord’s isn’t the cheapest, the players live some distance away, so if you needed something at short notice you couldn’t just nip back to the ground to get it.”And you didn’t know from one day to the next where you were going to be training. Lord’s and MCC have worked really hard over the last few years to try to get the players more time in the Lord’s nets so we didn’t have to go elsewhere but it was always going to happen that you sometimes had to.”You have to accept that, though, and there are many advantages. The people at Lord’s and the Middlesex members were great to me. I left on very good terms, I still follow them closely and I wish them well.”They remember him with affection, too, as the captain of the side that won promotion as Division Two champions in 2011, which is something on his CV, along with more than 6000 runs and over 100 wickets in his first-class career, that commands respect at Grace Road, where he is only too willing to share the benefits of his experience.”People ask me about coaching and I’m not sure,” he said. “I feel I have more to contribute as a player first. But I like working one-to-one with the younger guys, just chatting to them. I love being able to pass on some experience and knowledge and it would be great if I can help them move on to the next level because they are the future of the club.”Leicestershire remain third, with the top two, Essex and Kent, about to meet at Chelmsford. Does he think their recovery can be so pronounced that in a season in which only the winners of Division Two go up they have a serious chance of promotion?”When I was at captain at Middlesex I was never one to make predictions,” he said. “You can look too far ahead sometimes. You can talk but you’ve got to back it up with actions.”All we can do is play good cricket and there are a lot of games to come. I wouldn’t like to say we can’t get promotion but I’m not going to say we will.”What is good is that as well as the matches we have won, we have been competitive most of the time and in the rain-affected games we have won a lot of sessions.”It is what happens now that counts, at the business end of the season. If you can go on a winning streak at the right time you can be away.”

A look at teams’ chances to make the Ranji Trophy knockouts ahead of the last round

Nagraj Gollapudi and Amol Karhadkar04-Feb-2015The final round of the Ranji Trophy begins on February 6, and five quarter-final spots are up for grabs. Only Karnataka, Delhi and Assam are assured a knockout berth, having secured enough points to top their respective groups. Which could be the five teams that join them? Here is a look at the possible scenarios.

Group A

Seven out of nine teams are still in the hunt. Sitting second behind Karnataka on 23 points, Tamil Nadu can make it with just one more point in their away match against Baroda. If Baroda win, they will go through, leaving Tamil Nadu to fight it out with other teams. A Mumbai bonus-point win will edge Tamil Nadu out in that case.If Baroda win, six points against Karnataka for Mumbai and bonus-point wins for Madhya Pradesh and Railways will see four teams tied on 23 points. In such a case, teams with more outright wins will finish higher. This would mean that Tamil Nadu and Mumbai will pip the other two teams. Tied at three wins apiece, the last qualification spot will then be decided on higher quotient [(runs scored/wickets lost) / (runs conceded/wickets taken)].

Knockout venues finalised

The BCCI has decided that the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals will be played in Cuttack, Indore, Jaipur and Lahli. The venues have been finalised based on the pitch reports submitted by all the match referees. The semi-finals are to be held in Bangalore and Kolkata, with the final in Mumbai.

But if Baroda were to lose or gain just first-innings points, they will be waiting for the outcome of other matches. If Baroda lose, Mumbai, MP and Railways will all be in the mix to take the last spot from the group. Both MP and Railways have 16 points, and are playing home games against Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, who are at the bottom of the group. Victories will take both to 22, which will then mean that Mumbai and Baroda will also have to win their games.If Baroda secure the first-innings lead then nothing less than an outright victory would be needed for Mumbai, MP and Railways.Bengal have an improbable chance. They will need a bonus-point win, Baroda and Mumbai losses, and also require Railways to not win.

Group B

Despite an embarrassing innings defeat at the hands of Vidarbha, Delhi are through. But that dominating victory has bettered the odds for Vidarbha, who travel to Pune to play Maharashtra. Both teams have a strong chance; Vidarbha have 24 points compared to Maharashtra’s 20. A win for either will help them finish second in the group. A first-innings lead for Vidarbha will be enough.

Race to escape relegation

There would be plenty at stake for five teams who are in danger of being relegated to Group C. The teams that finish at the bottom of Groups A and B are relegated to the lowest rung.
In Group A, Uttar Pradesh (9), Bengal (12) and Jammu & Kashmir (12) are in the danger zone. Since J & K are done with all their league games, Bengal will only have to avoid losing to Madhya Pradesh to retain their place in the top rung. For UP, the first-innings lead will be enough to pip J&K on the basis of quotient and avoid the ignominy of being relegated.
In Group B, the two bottom-placed teams – Odisha (14) and Saurashtra (10) – will be up against each other in Cuttack. Odisha only have to avoid a loss to save themselves. Saurashtra, on the other hand, will have to beat Odisha if they are to remain in the top flight.

If Maharashtra take first-innings points, they will have 23 and will then need to hope that Punjab, the fourth-placed team, do not beat Delhi in Patiala. But if Maharashtra lose, Punjab can qualify as the third team from the group even with three first-innings points, unless the Gujarat-Haryana match produces an outright winner. A Maharashtra win will make it mandatory for Punjab to defeat Delhi.Also in the mix are Gujarat (18) and Haryana (17), who play each other in Ahmedabad. A win for either could put them in contention, depending on other results. A first-innings lead could be enough for Gujarat if Maharashtra and Punjab lose.Like Bengal, Odisha have a tiny chance with a bonus-point win over Saurashtra, if Maharashtra and Punjab lose, and the Gujarat-Haryana match is drawn.

Group C

Assam, with 35 points, will make their second entry into the knockouts. The race for the other slot from this group will be between Himachal Pradesh and Andhra. Himachal have 27 points while Andhra have 22. But Andhra also have three wins compared to Himachal’s two and that will be decisive in case both teams finish with the same number of points.If Himachal get an outright win or even the first-innings lead in their away match against Hyderabad they will qualify. An Andhra win will only be effective if Himachal lose, or concede the first-innings lead.

From legalised player dissent to big-screen reviews, international umpires are now on a hiding to nothing but humiliation

Brydon Coverdale at Chester-le-Street11-Aug-2013The DRS is meant to help umpires, not humiliate them. But Tony Hill was humiliated on the third morning at Chester-le-Street. There can be no other word for it. When Stuart Broad rapped Ryan Harris on the pads dead in front, Hill declined the appeal. Presumably, he felt Harris may have nicked the ball. It was not a ridiculous supposition, for the ball had struck both pads, creating two noises. Whatever the case, Hill felt there was doubt and gave the benefit of it to the batsman, as Test umpires have done for 135 years.England asked for a review, as is their right under the DRS. The replays showed that Hill had erred; Harris was plumb lbw. The process played out on the big screen at the ground. Ripples of laughter went around as Hill’s mistake was not only shown but magnified, replayed, every angle leaving him further exposed to ridicule. The final indignity came when the third umpire relayed the decision to Hill, who raised his finger to an empty pitch. The players had seen enough on the big screen and were halfway inside.It was impossible not to sympathise with Hill, who trudged off with all the haste and enthusiasm of a newly-dismissed Shane Watson or Jonathan Trott. He looked sapped of all confidence. There is no avoiding the fact that Hill’s call was wrong, and that the final outcome was correct. But the process left him embarrassed and must surely have compounded the existing doubts in his mind. How is that good for cricket, or for this match, or for Hill? How does that help anyone?”Throughout my career I never had a batsman dispute my decision,” Dickie Bird said in 2010. That may be a slight embellishment, or perhaps it’s true, but one thing is certain: Bird was never made to look a fool. Bird was a renowned “not-outer”. If in doubt, say not out. That’s what Hill did here. But in Bird’s day, what the umpire said was final. Had he given this same decision – and he would’ve done countless times over the years – the bowler might have felt aggrieved, the viewers curious, but all would have moved on.Nobody remembers the right calls, even the controversial ones. Kevin Pietersen’s caught-behind at Old Trafford will be recalled for Pietersen’s rudely-requested review and reluctance to accept the outcome, not for Hill’s correct decision to trust his ears in the first place. Or Australia’s unsuccessful review when Harris rapped Trott on the pads. Hawk Eye predicted the ball would have clipped leg stump on an “umpire’s call” margin. Rightly, Hill had given Trott the benefit of the doubt.Of course, Hill has made mistakes. He is human. Every umpire in this series has erred. Every umpire in every series throughout history has probably erred. Dickie Bird erred. David Shepherd erred. Tony Crafter erred. But commentators did not forensically dissect every aspect of a decision. That’s out, they said. Not, that’s out unless he hit it, and let’s see if he did, and unless it pitched outside leg, and let’s see if it did, and unless it was sliding down leg, and let’s see if it was.

The disdain with which Kevin Pietersen called for a review in the third Test was downright contemptible. Where was his respect for the umpire or for the game?Daryl Harper on the demands of the modern umpire

But technology creates unrealistic expectations. Mistakes are unjustly magnified, wrongly made to appear proof of complete incompetence. How could an umpire get wrong? That decision that we’ve just seen six times in slow-motion from four angles and with the help of technology? What a buffoon!”The DRS has certainly increased the pressure on umpires to get virtually everything right,” former Test umpire Daryl Harper told ESPNcricinfo on Sunday. “The high performance experts would tell you that an umpire must put a poor decision out of his mind and focus wholly on the next ball. Sure, it sounds easy enough. I haven’t known a single umpire who can do it.”In the eighties, the general television coverage of cricket was very basic. In the nineties, the quality of technology improved, but even then, decisions were not scrutinised to the degree that we see today. It was common practice to give the batsman the benefit of the doubt to any ball that was drifting towards the leg stump.”After the turn of the century, umpires made their lbw decisions, only to see replays on the big screen at the ground that suggested that the decision was wrong, before the batsman had even left the field. It isn’t a good feeling and definitely gnaws away at one’s confidence. After seeing so many replays of balls clipping leg stump in particular, umpires began to widen the target and gamble more often on that count.”And in modern times, our administrators have now legalised dissent. The disdain with which Kevin Pietersen called for a review in the third Test was downright contemptible. Where was his respect for the umpire or for the game? Having been told to go a second time after the review, how did he possibly escape a sanction for his parting words? I can lip read as well as anyone.”All of these factors can gradually erode the confidence of an umpire. An umpire like Hill, who by the ICC’s judgement is one of the best 12 in the world, a man who has made enough good decisions to get himself here, is made to look foolish. Yes, umpires choose this well-paid career. Yes, they accept the pressure that goes with it. But the expectations of players and viewers must remain realistic.Umpires are not machines. They are men, and men who do their job in increasingly trying circumstances. Once, they were inconspicuous, but never infallible. They never will be, yet cricket has reached a point where decisions and umpires and reviews and technology the story. It is an unhealthy situation for any sport, and it breeds self-doubt in men whose very job relies on backing their judgement.”With this respect for officials being stripped back to the bone, I have great sympathy for my former colleagues who are on a hiding to nothing,” Harper said. “Our administrators have snatched at the television dollars and sold the officials up the river without a paddle. As often as American sports are unfairly maligned, Major League Baseball allows its officials to make decisions, good and not so good. Replays of missed calls are shown but life goes on.”Life will go on for Tony Hill, and Aleem Dar, and Kumar Dharmasena, and Marais Erasmus. They have all made mistakes in this series. Some have been howlers. But none deserve ridicule. No official should have to raise the finger to an empty pitch. Respect must return. And unless it does, who’d be a Test umpire anymore?

The limited-overs leg has reinforced the state of flux both teams find themselves in, and the Test series could be won by the side that handles the uncertainty better

Daniel Brettig in Colombo22-Aug-2011Michael Clarke is, so far, providing ample evidence that he is a natural tactician and on-field leader, particularly adept in his management of spin bowlers and Mitchell Johnson. Numerous observers, Trevor Bayliss and Darren Lehmann among them, expected Clarke to add plenty to a team of humble means by marshalling his men with flair and vision. His batting has been quietly efficient, and in the final match there was the determined air of a man preparing mentally for coming Tests. Clarke’s batting, of course, is the greatest question against his name, for he has averaged barely 21 since being promoted to Test match No. 4 in mid-2010.Lasith Malinga is Sri Lanka’s most incisive bowler by a distance, and the Australian dressing room will be thoroughly relieved that they won’t have to factor him into their Test calculations. A hat-trick in the final ODI illustrated Malinga’s capacity to blast out the tail, and his speed and swerve can test the reflexes of top-order batsmen almost as readily. The physical demands of Malinga’s bowling action were bound to cause him to retire from one form of the game sooner rather than later, but it is a most unfortunate state of affairs that arguably the most compelling sight on either side – Malinga in full flight – has been seen for the final time this tour when three Tests remain to be played.Freed from the responsibilities of captaincy, Ricky Ponting is in ominously fluent shape. He now looks the right man to set the course of Australia’s Test batting from No. 3, a role he was all but incapable of during the Ashes, his final series as leader. The release of the Argus review did not cast Ponting’s later years as captain in the most favourable light, as it cited the weakening of a culture that was firmly in his custody. But another observation of the review, that the team has been in decline since 2008, fits neatly with Ponting’s reduced runs output. His success with the bat waned in direct proportion to the amount of time and the worries his captaincy duties demanded. He is now able to focus on his oft-stated task of leaving bowlers with only the merest margin for error, and based on the evidence provided in the ODIs it is not hard to picture a Ponting century in Galle.Australia has a duo of in-form players going home and another pair of out-of-touch cricketers staying on for the Test series. Doug Bollinger and Brett Lee were oddly rested for the final match when they had no longer form cricket ahead of them, and Bollinger’s verve through the series suggested he would have been a useful inclusion to the Test squad. The selectors’ concerns about Bollinger’s fitness were not invalid, but his trim visage and consistent performance in the ODIs suggest Bollinger has made significant steps towards answering those queries. By contrast, the wicketkeeper Brad Haddin is fortunate there is no reserve glove-man on the tour. Told by Clarke to concentrate on his ‘keeping, Haddin’s batting has fallen away, culminating in his demotion from the opening spot. His glove work has varied – spectacular at times but far from spotless. Michael Hussey is another who has so far failed to find the correct gears.Tillakaratne Dilshan has some way to go as a captain. Having made the ideal start in the Twenty20 matches, his team has succumbed to capricious batting habits and diminishing danger with the ball. Test runs will be the best way for Dilshan to lead on the field, and his tactics to unsettle the touring bowlers will be refreshed by the arrival of what is, with the exception of Mitchell Johnson, essentially an all-new Australian bowling attack. Dilshan has also had to contend with the instability of political machinations and the odd baffling selection – Kumar Sangakkara cannot be missing the job all that much.The visiting batsmen are growing more sure of themselves against the wiles of Ajantha Mendis with every innings. Hindsight might have had the Sri Lankan selectors hiding Mendis from the Australians after he had left a distinct aura of danger and mystery during the T20 matches. As it was he retained his place and has gradually diminished in effectiveness, as a tally of five wickets at 34.60 in the ODIs can attest. Mendis’ inclusion in the Test XI will be a matter for conjecture, and he will need pitches to offer him the same degree of spin he was able to find while plucking 6 for 16 in Pallekelle if he is to have similar impact against Australian batsmen with increasingly trained eyes.Much will rest on Thilan Samaraweera’s ability to add spine to the Sri Lankan middle order. His handsome record and measured style will be welcome to a group of batsmen who have struggled for meaningful scores. The pivotal batting trio of Dilshan, Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene are neither wholly in form nor out of it, but haven’t given the impression that it would be entirely beyond Australia to dismiss them cheaply. Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal have struggled for runs, so Samaraweera’s composure is sorely needed.Australia have fared better against Ajantha Mendis as the series has progressed•AFPIrrespective of his coaching record, Tim Nielsen deserves credit for how he has handled the release of the Argus report and the imminent end – for there can be no other possible conclusion – to his tenure as Australia’s coach. Almost as startling as the release of the entire executive summary of the report was the fact that Nielsen stepped up to speak in its immediate aftermath. By contrast, the selector on duty and national talent manager Greg Chappell has declined interview requests until he has met with the Cricket Australia chief executive, James Sutherland, in person this week. Members of the touring party have commented that a difficult situation might have been made worse had Nielsen reacted with more venom towards what amounts to an excoriation of his work. That he has retained his composure says much for Nielsen as a man, and should be recognised by his employers even as they move him on.Shaminda Eranga has been Sri Lanka’s find of the limited overs series. Quick and swinging the new ball, Eranga is not quite the sultan of sling that Malinga has been, but his impact has been striking enough to leave open the possibility of a Test match debut. Eranga’s two wickets were just as important to Sri Lanka’s win in the third match as Malinga’s five, while in the final encounter he swung the new ball through Shaun Marsh and then returned to defeat Michael Clarke with skiddy movement away from the bat. Few regard Sri Lanka’s bowling attack as particularly strong, but it is certainly sharper for Eranga’s emergence.The Test series will be won by the team that responds best to its presently unsettled state. Both Sri Lanka and Australia must contend with forces gnawing at the edges of the dressing room. The Argus review went down like the kind of cough syrup that often comes straight back up, and has left the visitors in an odd state of flux. The head coach is probably leaving, the selector on duty definitely is, and the fielding coach Steve Rixon is now a likely contender to replace Nielsen, his current superior. Added to this is the fact that Clarke and Nielsen now have equal selection rights to Chappell, who is yet to decide what to do with his future. Sri Lanka meanwhile have board unrest and confusing selection to contend with, plus the pressure of maintaining a strong home record against a team not fancied before its arrival. Neither side is flushed with confidence, and defeat in the first Test will only compound the fact.

An exciting new left-hander of Indian origin may just be the answer to South Africa’s opener crisis

Azad Essa18-Mar-2009Imraan Khan and Hashim Amla were the non-white blue-eyed boys of Durban High School, among South Africa’s premier cricketing institutions, from where the likes of Barry Richards, Richard Snell and Lance Klusener graduated. Together the two tormented bowlers from across the region and later the country.Imraan, a prolific, elegant left-hand batsman, appeared years ahead with his ability to spend hours at the crease, both caressing and bludgeoning his way to hundred after hundred each weekend. The little skinny lad was a quiet riot with bat in hand, and when he decided to turn his arm over one morning, bowling biting offspinners, with ball as well. He would often score a hundred and fetch up to five wickets per game.Immy, as he is affectionately known, is as elegantly murderous on the front foot today as he was as a young lad of 15; a sweet timer of the ball and prolific through the off side, drives and cuts are his weapons of choice. Like Amla, he is blessed with strong wrists that allow him to whip almost any delivery pitched up on the stumps through midwicket with impunity. His occasional tentativeness against short balls is offset by an ability to move inside the line and turn them gently round the corner. In many ways, Imraan’s leg-side prowess is the mirror image of Amla’s; only, his friends say, more stylish.Both boys waltzed through all levels of state cricket, breaking records and announcing themselves as the very future of South African cricket. So talented were these two, even transformation didn’t seem such a daunting prospect after all.Amla joined the KZN Dolphins by the time he completed high school, and thrived in the middle order there. He was soon appointed state captain and then given a fairytale entry into Test cricket in 2004, when he was selected as the first South African of Indian origin to represent the country in a Test match, against, aptly or ironically, India in the bullring of Eden Gardens.Where Amla’s run in first-class cricket was compelling, Imraan’s graduation from the elite youth teams to state level was anything but charming in comparison. As a youngster he had demonstrated immense powers of concentration to regularly bat for long periods of time, but at first-class level it seemed as if he had abandoned his formula and had geared up to merely dominate bowlers, striving for immediate success.Following Amla’s lead proved a little difficult. Since he made his first-class debut for the Dolphins in 2003-04 as an offspinner who could bat, Imraan’s success has been little more than a line of jagged stop-starts marked by unfulfilled promises.The lofted drive was almost always taken at mid-off, the buoyant push to the testing outswinger almost always went to second slip, and a few tight spells of bowling would invariably induce Imraan to self-destruct, wafting at a marginally wide one.While he tasted relative success in the four-day competition – averaging in the mid-thirties for most of the past five seasons – his enthusiasm to dominate often resulted in him looking out of his depth as a reliable opener. Worse still, his once much-lauded offspin, a plus for any South African cricketer, became an abandoned project.But it all changed in 2008.

Like Amla, Imraan is blessed with strong wrists that allow him to whip almost any delivery pitched up on the stumps through midwicket with impunity. His occasional tentativeness against short balls is offset by an ability to move inside the line and turn them gently round the corner

After being selected for the South African Emerging Players tour of Australia, where he top-scored, Imraan turned on the mettle.The 2008-09 first-class season has seen a more patient cricketer, more in touch with his ability and more willing to play within himself. Imraan is among the leading scorers this domestic season, with over 800 runs, an average of above 60, and a tally of five centuries for the season – just one short of the South African record, currently held by Barry Richards, Mike Procter and Peter Kirsten.Imraan says it was just a case of a few technical adjustments. “There is probably a lot more discipline in my game. I used to get a lot of starts and then throw it away, but I am trying really hard to not make those mistakes once I get in.”The Dolphins manager of playing affairs, Jay Naidoo, agrees that the new Imraan is a more mature, focused player: “I think he is older and understands his game better. At Supersport level he has done well previously, but he had this tendency of scoring of seventies and eighties and then getting out. This season it has been his ability to turn those numbers into three figures.”A batting average in the mid-thirties is a basic minimum for wicketkeepers today, not for openers. With South Africa in the midst of an opening-batsman crisis, Imraan knows that this surge in batting form couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. “There was no other opportunity, and it just so happens I’ve been scoring runs. Now is probably the right time,” he says.The Cape Cobras’ Andrew Puttick was an obvious alternative, with a far better career record, but Puttick’s form in the Supersport series this season has been patchy in comparison. The sheer weight of Imraan’s runs these last few months muscles him right to the top of the reckoning. The question remains: is one fantastic season reason enough to select a batsman?”The only thing a player can do is to make runs. And if the opportunities arise, like in this case, where the top order has been struggling, then if you take all the opening bats in the country, he has been in the top bracket,” argues Naidoo.What matters now is that this little Chanderpaul-like figure of a man, having made the runs and earned his call-up, can turn on the magic and grab hold of his destiny rather than seek to chase it. If he does, he stands a genuine chance of becoming Graeme Smith’s long-term partner.Imraan’s unorthodox opening style and yet elegant penchant to bludgeon the ball are exciting, fresh and worth a shot. Now it is up to him to decide how much he wants this chance.

Just when Rajasthan Royals thought they had collected two points by defending 214 and had started to celebrate, their last-ball wicket transformed into a no-ball from Sandeep Sharma (called belatedly by the third umpire), and Abdul Samad smoked a straight six off the free hit to get Sunrisers Hyderabad the four more runs they needed, sparking wild celebrations in the orange camp while the players and home fans in pink were left stunned.Royals were well ahead of Sunrisers almost throughout the chase, with the asking rate rising and wickets falling regularly towards the end. Sunrisers, however, kept fighting back with big hits. The biggest turnaround came when they needed 41 from 12 and Glenn Phillips, in for Harry Brook, blasted three sixes and a four to reduce it to 19 off eight. The chase turned again when he fell on the next ball, and they needed 17 to win from the last over with Samad on strike.Samad was nearly caught twice in two balls, first dropped by Obed McCoy at short third resulting in two runs and then hitting a six just over Joe Root’s fingertips at long-on. Sandeep’s near-yorkers conceded just four off the next three and with five to win off the last ball, Samad found long-on while attempting another straight six, and Sandeep lifted his finger in celebration. But those smiles soon disappeared because Sandeep had overstepped and when he re-bowled the last ball – another attempted yorker, the length off by a few inches – Samad completed Sunrisers’ heist with a successful straight six right over the bowler’s head.Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler put on a rollicking 138-run stand•BCCI

Royals will rue the two dropped catches and a run-out chance in between which meant Jos Buttler’s scintillating return to form with a 95 off 59 and Sanju Samson’s unbeaten 66 off 38 went in vain. Despite their third loss in a row and fifth loss in six games, Royals are still in fourth position on the table, but RCB, Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings are level with them on 10 points and all have a game in hand. Sunrisers lifted themselves off the bottom and pushed Delhi Capitals back to the last spot.

Brisk but not the quickest start for SRH

After dropping Mayank Agarwal and Brook, Sunrisers were off to a brisk start with quick knocks from their top three. Anmolpreet Singh opened with the in-form Abhishek Sharma and started finding the boundaries, especially against the experienced Sandeep and R Ashwin. Abhishek joined in as well and with three fours off Sandeep in the fifth over, Sunrisers looked set for a strong powerplay finish except that Yuzvendra Chahal had Anmolpreet caught off a sweep for 33 and the visitors were a middling 52 for 1 after the powerplay.

SRH (seemingly) leave too much too late

Soon after the powerplay ended, the asking rate shot up over 12 but Rahul Tripathi and Abhishek started with the big hits only when they needed 142 from 11 overs. Tripathi started with a six off M Ashwin and Abhishek collected sixes off both Ashwins before edging to short third for 55 when attempting another big shot.With Heinrich Klaasen promoted to No. 4 and the equation at 98 off 42, Samson gave M Ashwin a third over despite his first two going for 23 and despite having other bowling options around, and he leaked another 19 which kept Sunrisers in the game.

Yuzvendra Chahal strikes before Glenn Phillips takes charge

Samson turned to Yuzvendra Chahal, who was taken for a six and a four in the first four balls of his spell before fighting back with wicket of Klaasen for 26 off 12. With 57 to get from 24, Tripathi got a life when Samson dropped him down the leg side off McCoy and he cashed in with a six off the next ball. In his last over, when SRH needed 44 off 18, Chahal landed the big blows when Tripathi found deep midwicket right on the boundary and Markram missed a reverse sweep to be given lbw. Finishing with 4 for 29 after a three-run 18th over, Chahal also went level with Dwayne Bravo for the most IPL wickets and had almost done the job for Royals.The steep equation of 41 from 12 – and having not batted in a match situation for more than a month – didn’t make any difference to Phillips. He belted out three sixes at the start of the 19th when Kuldip Yadav missed his yorkers, and edged one for four before another twist came in the form of Phillips’ wicket when Shimron Hetmyer completed an excellent catch running towards the boundary on the leg side.With Sunrisers needing 17 from the last over, Samad kept going after the straight boundaries and eventually left Royals bewildered.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Another quick start from Yashasvi Jaiswal

Having opted to bat, Royals saw Yashasvi Jaiswal continue his imperious form with a combination of intent and luck. He struck the first ball just over mid-on for four and on the fourth ball he could have been caught at fine leg, but debutant Vivrant Sharma misjudged the catch to concede another four. While Buttler was still searching for rhythm, Jaiswal hit Marco Jansen and Bhuvneshwar Kumar for sixes before collecting back-to-back fours off Jansen in the fifth over.Jaiswal fell for 35 off 18 when his attempt to clear short third off Jansen’s short ball resulted in an easy catch because of the extra bounce.

Jos Buttler flicks the switch on

Buttler was on 20 off 20 at the end of the eighth, but Samson came in and started finding boundaries straightaway. The ninth over, by Mayank Markande, lifted Royals’ scoring rate further and that’s when Buttler got going too. After seeing Samson strike back-to-back sixes, Buttler ended the over with a pulled six to take the over for 21 overall.He brought out straight pulls and flourishing drives off the spinners to bring up a 32-ball fifty and keep the run rate comfortably over 10. Markande came back only to be hit for three more sixes, and Buttler jumped from 78 to 91 with three fours in the cover region, off Bhuvneshwar, in the 17th over.

T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar rein in Royals at the end

Despite the barrage of boundaries, T Natarajan and Bhuvneshwar bowled the 18th and 19th overs – peppered with yorkers – for just 12 runs, even as Samson reached his fifty off 33 balls. Their accuracy also accounted for Buttler when he walked across and Bhuvneshwar’s searing yorker trapped him lbw in front.Expecting more yorkers in the last over, Samson ramped and steered two fours, with a straight six in between, in a 17-run over to finish. It would not be enough for Royals in the end.

حقق منتخب الأرجنتين فوزاً كبيراً على منتخب فنزويلا بثلاثية نظيفة على ملعب مونيمنتال في مباراة الوداع للأسطورة ليونيل ميسي في الملاعب الأرجنتينية ضمن تصفيات كأس العالم 2026.

ولحق نيكولاس أوتامندي المدافع المخضرم لنادي بنفيكا بزميله ليونيل ميسي، ليعلن أن مباراة أمس كانت آخر مباراة رسمية له في الأرجنتين.

وتحدث أوتامندي لوسائل الإعلام بعد مباراة الأرجنتين في تصفيات كأس العالم، مؤكداً أن مباراة فنزويلا كانت الأخيرة له في البلاد.

وعلق اللاعب صاحب ال37 عاماً على مشاركة ليونيل ميسي الأخيرة في الأرجنتين مؤكداً أنها بالتأكيد ستكون مباراته الأخيرة.

أقرأ أيضاً.. تصريح غامض من ميسي حول موقفه من المشاركة في كأس العالم

وفي حديثه أمام وسائل الإعلام بعد المباراة قال أوتامندي في تصريحات ل” موندو ألبيسيلستي” :”كنت بحاجة لإنهاء مسيرتي بهذه الطريقة، كانت هذه أيضاً آخر مباراة لي هنا”.

وكان أوتامندي قد ارتدى قميص منتخب الأرجنتين لأول مرة عام 2009 وشارك منذ ذلك الوقت في ثلاث بطولات لكأس العالم وخمس بطولات لكوبا أمريكا وبطولة الفايناليسما وحقق ثلاث بطولات.

وسيستأنف منتخب الأرجنتين استعداداته لمواجهة منتخب الإكوادور يوم الثلاثاء المقبل في الجولة الأخيرة من تصفيات أمريكا الجنوبية المؤهلة لكأس العالم.

Match details

Delhi Capitals (6th place) vs Lucknow Super Giants (7th place)
Delhi, 7.30pm IST (2pm GMT)

Big picture: LSG, DC or neither?

Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants are in a tough spot ahead of their game on Tuesday. DC need to win big, and then hope an improbable sequence of other results falls in their favour to have a shot at finishing in the top four. It’s unlikely to happen, and their last league game is a chance to finish a disappointing campaign on a high at home.LSG have a better chance than DC of making the playoffs, but the huge defeats in their previous two games have severely damaged their net run rate and their prospects. They need a win in Delhi, and another in Mumbai to get to 16 points, and then hope Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad don’t make it to 16 as well because both those teams have far superior net run rates. Fourteen points will not be enough for LSG.The challenge for LSG in Delhi is two fold. They are the second slowest batting side this season, scoring at 8.35 runs per over, so their batters will have to level up at the venue with the highest run rate (11.06) this season. LSG’s bowlers have also taken the fewest wickets in IPL 2024 – 57 in 12 innings, which is less than six per game on average – and they might have to do better than that to rein in Jake Fraser-Mcgurk and co.

Form guide

Delhi Capitals LWLWW
Lucknow Super Giants LLWLW

Previous meeting

Kuldeep Yadav took 3 for 20 in Lucknow, dismissing KL Rahul, Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran, as LSG were restricted to 167 for 7. The IPL then had its first sighting of Fraser-McGurk, who top-scored with 55 off 35 balls in DC’s six-wicket victory.Kuldeep Yadav bowled a match-winning spell in Lucknow earlier this season•BCCI

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Delhi Capitals
Rishabh Pant is available for selection after he was suspended for DC’s previous game against RCB for a third slow over-rate offence. He is likely to replace Kumar Kushagra in the XI. DC had started with three foreign players against RCB, with David Warner coming in as Impact Player for the chase. He is likely to start if they bat first against LSG.Probable XII: , 2 Jake Fraser-McGurk, 3 Abishek Porel, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 5 Shai Hope, 6 Tristan Stubbs, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Rasikh Salam, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mukesh Kumar, 11 Ishant Sharma, Lucknow Super Giants
LSG didn’t use an Impact Player in their previous game against SRH because they managed to stop the collapse when batting first, before getting blown away in 9.4 overs in the chase. While chasing in the two matches before that, they brought in Arshin Kulkarni to open and subbed out Mayank Yadav and Yash Thakur respectively. Mohsin Khan is fit again after hitting his head on the turf against KKR and missing the next game against SRH and he could come in for Yudhvir SinghProbable XII: 1 KL Rahul (capt & wk), , 3 Marcus Stoinis, 4 Deepak Hooda, 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Ayush Badoni, 7 Ashton Turner, 8 Krunal Pandya, 9 Mohsin Khan, 10 Ravi Bishnoi, 11 Naveen-ul-Haq,

In the spotlight: Fraser-McGurk and Rahul

Jake Fraser-McGurk has 330 runs this season, 296 of which have come in boundaries. His boundary percentage of 89.7 is the highest among batters with at least 300 runs in any T20 series across the world. He’s hit 33 boundaries in his first ten balls across eight innings, giving him the highest first-ten-ball strike rate (228) among batters with at least seven innings in an IPL season. And with a cut-off of 75 runs each against fast bowlers and spinners, he’s the only batter to strike at 200-plus against both type of bowlers in any IPL season. Fraser-McGurk has made a sensational entrance in the IPL, and he will want to end the season in style too.KL Rahul could do with some of that McGurk magic. He’s LSG’s top-scorer this season with 460 runs but his average of 38.33 is his lowest in a full season since 2015, and his strike rate of 136 pales in comparison to the pyrotechnics from several other openers in IPL 2024. The lingering image of Rahul after the drubbing against SRH five days ago was the talking to he received from LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka. Rahul led LSG to the playoffs in their first two IPL seasons, but will have to turn his form around to give them the best chance of finishing in the top four once again.

Stats that matter

• DC have beaten LSG only once in four matches so far, but that win was the most recent fixture earlier this season.
• Pant has a strike rate of 184 against the left-arm spin of Krunal Pandya (70 runs off 38 balls) with three dismissals in ten innings. His T20 record isn’t as good against the legspinner Ravi Bishnoi: 54 runs off 47 balls with two dismissals in six innings.
• Axar Patel could be an effective option against Rahul and Stoinis. Rahul has only 30 runs off 39 balls against Axar with two dismissals, while Stoinis’ record is worse: 22 off 38 balls with two dismissals as well. However, DC will want to keep Axar away from Pooran, who scores at a strike rate of 330.76 (43 off 13 balls) with no dismissals against him.

Pitch and conditions

In the four matches at the Arun Jaitley Stadium so far, the team batting first has won after scoring 266 for 7, 224 for 4, 257 for 4 and 221 for 8, while the chasing team has responded with 199, 220 for 8, 247 for 9 and 201 for 8. It’s a high-scoring venue with short straight boundaries and shorter square boundaries. The forecast is for a warm evening with temperatures in the mid 30C range.

Quotes

“We would have liked to have been just a bit more consistent. But in saying that, we just need to deal with the fact of where we are now… If we, as a team, want to win the IPL, [we] probably need to win five in a row, which RCB have just done. So that’s proof that for us; it’s absolutely possible. But that’s just the big picture. We need to get over the line tomorrow before we can have any other aspirations.”

يستعد الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالنادي الأهلي، لمواجهة نظيره فاركو، غدًا الجمعة، ضمن منافسات بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز.

ومن المقرر أن يلتقي الأهلي وفاركو غدًا الجمعة، على استاد القاهرة الدولي، ضمن منافسات الجولة الثانية من بطولة الدوري الممتاز.‏

طالع| علي معلول يتوجه بطلب إلى الصفاقسي التونسي بشأن الأهلي

الأهلي الذي تعادل مع مودرن سبورت، بهدفين لمثلهما، في اللقاء الذي جمع الفريقين يوم السبت الماضي، في افتتاح مبارياته ‏بالموسم الجديد، يبحث عن أول انتصار في المسابقة المحلية.

وعلى الجانب الآخر، يسعى فريق فاركو لتحقيق مفاجأة أمام الأهلي وخطف ثلاث نقاط، أو على الأقل خطف نقطة من أنياب حامل اللقب، بعد التعادل أمام إنبي سلبيا.

ويحتل الأهلي المركز السادس في جدول ترتيب الدوري المصري برصيد نقطة، فيما يأتي فاركو في المرتبة 13 بنفس الرصيد.

ويغيب عن الأهلي ياسر إبراهيم مدافع الفريق بعد خضوعه لفحوصات طبية خلال الساعات الماضية قبل مواجهة فاركو، أكدت إصابته بتمزق في العضلة العانية للفخذ اليسرى.

ومن المقرر أن يجري خوسيه ريبيرو، مدرب الأهلي، عدة تغييرات على تشكيل الفريق، لعل أبرزها أليو ديانج لاعب الوسط، على حساب أحمد رضا الذي تعرض للإصابة أمام مودرن سبورت.

ومن المقرر أن تنقل مباراة الأهلي أمام فاركو، على شبكة قنوات “أون سبورتس”، الناقل الحصري لمباريات الدوري المصري.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Corinthians não fez uma boa partida, embora tenha vencido o Santos por 1 a 0, em plena Vila Belmiro, na noite do último sábado (22). Mas o triunfo teve completamente o dedo do técnico Vítor Pereira. As mudanças feitas pelo time no intervalo não mudaram o comportamento do time, mas deram a competitividade necessária para o que se viu no placar ao fim da partida.

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+Em noite festiva para Pelé, Róger Guedes brilha com a camisa 10 em vitória do Corinthians

Vítor já deixou claro por diversas vezes que prioriza sempre um time que propõe o jogo, mas contra o Peixe precisou prezar pela marcação e o fechamento dos espaços. No primeiro tempo, os laterais corintianos estavam tomando um baile dos pontas santistas, principalmente Lucas Piton, que sofria nos pés de ngelo.

Quando o Timão volta a campo para jogar o segundo tempo, as quatro alterações promovidas pelo português tinham o intuito de segurar o adversário que, na ocasião, tinha um atleta a mais e possuía atletas leves, que teriam ainda mais liberdade. É bem verdade que a expulsão do meia-atacante santista Lucas Barbosa, aos com 13 minutos da etapa final, ajudou o Corinthians. Mas isso não significaria grandes coisas se o clube do Parque São Jorge não fosse obediente no ponto de vista tático e defensivo nos 45 minutos finais.

Sem Yuri Alberto, que recebeu o cartão vermelho no fim do primeiro tempo, Róger Guedes passou a ser o atleta com mais liberdade no setor ofensivo, condição essa aproveitada pelo camisa 10. Ele teve todo o caminho pelo lado esquerdo para usar e abusar da sua velocidade e ter calma na definição que resultou no gol da vitória corintiana, já aos 43 minutos do segundo tempo.

Do meio-campo para trás, um time forte e de pegada. Gustavo Mosquito virou um lateral-direito, e o Timão passou a ter uma linha de cinco jogadores na defesa no segundo tempo. Bruno Méndez foi um zagueiro pela direita, o que também fortaleceu o lado esquerdo, pois Robert Renan fazia a sobra de Lucas Piton, que tem dificuldades defensivas e já havia demonstrado isso o próprio jogo contra o Peixe.

+ Confira a tabela do Brasileirão e simule a reta final do campeonato

O meio-campo teve três cães de guarda, com Roni pegando a cabeça da área, Du Queiroz aparecendo pela direita, e Ramiro na esquerda. Esses três atletas agradam o técnico Vítor Pereira justamente pela entrega que possuem. E foi esse meio-campo forte que diminuiu os espaços do Santos, principalmente a parte central, que era usada como válvula de escape que o Peixe tinha na hora de rodar o jogo buscando os atletas mais diferenciados.

Em determinado momento parecia que para o Corinthians o empate estava bom. Mas Vítor Pereira implantou o seu jogo contra o Peixe no segundo tempo e foi premiado com aquilo que só o futebol pode proporcionar: um lance fortuito de gol que, se marcado, define o jogo. E, nesse caso, definiu.