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Younis Khan has responded to Pakistan’s first Test series defeat in Sri Lanka by pleading for more time to rebuild the team after “very little cricket over the last 18 months”. Speaking after a game in which Pakistan’s batting collapses tilted the balance towards Sri Lanka, Younis said he didn’t want to put blame on any individual – the team was lacking by just 20%, failing to stay focused throughout the games and while facing pressure situations.”It’s very easy right now to write this team off,” he said, “But how many Tests have we played in the last 14 months? For one full year we didn’t play at all. As and when we start playing more regularly, we will learn to adapt. I think it’s not about the technique, not about the bowling, not about the weather.”Give this team some time, don’t point fingers too early. It will be very easy for me too to blame particular players, even myself. But the reality is, we haven’t been playing any Test cricket. It’s very easy for me to give up, to say I can’t captain this team. But somebody will have to stand up and fix the situation.”Before the start of the series, Younis had said that being undercooked should not be an excuse for international teams. But three heart-breaking collapses later, Younis said it was time to analyse the situation, and that he concluded thus not as Pakistan captain but as an analyst. “Out of the four matches we have played, one was stopped midway, one we drew, and lost two,” he said. “And that too it felt like we were not beaten, we lost them ourselves. So I am not looking for excuses but for reasons. And this is one of the major reasons.”The irony of the situation, though, is that it was not the youngsters, the debutants, who let the team down. It was the experienced pros who failed all three times to arrest the collapses. Younis saw that as one of the positives from the series. “This team is in a rebuilding phase,” he said. “We had three debutants in the last match, and one in this. But if Saeed Ajmal is putting up a fight, if Abdur Rauf is putting up a fight, if Fawad Alam is putting up a fight, if Mohammad Aamer is putting up a fight, that gives me some solace. I will have to give them some time. So too the media and the fans.”Younis reiterated that the problem came from not finishing matches. “There is only 20% that we are lacking. If we play to our potential – everybody knows about us – we will start winning. It is all about concentration and how to adapt to conditions.”Over six and a bit days, Pakistan have had three disastrous sessions, while the other sessions have been full of heartening performances from their youngsters. Their bowling attack looks in good health, especially with an impending comeback of Mohammad Asif, and Ajmal and Danish Kaneria fighting for the spinner’s slot. Yet they have lost the series, which can be a very demoralising experience.Younis, though, wants to look ahead immediately, to the next Test. “What can I do? I can only ask them to focus for longer durations. After Tests we have to play one-dayers too. It will be every difficult if we go 2-0 down or 3-0 down. If we push more, keep pushing, we can win the last Test, which should give us a lot of motivation before the one-dayers. And if we can win both, we will get some satisfaction at least.”

Giovani Lo Celso was snubbed from Tottenham Hotspur’s starting XI once again at the weekend.

It would have been hardly a surprise considering that the Argentina midfielder only returned to this country a day before the trip to St James’ Park to face Newcastle United, but fellow countryman Cristian Romero started, as did Brazil international Emerson Royal.

All three had been on national team duties during the break and played as recently as Thursday and into the early hours of Friday, but it is rather telling that Nuno Santo trusted the latter two to start but not the attacking maestro.

Lo Celso has started just one of his four Premier League appearances, and in that game against Chelsea, he struggled to last much past the hour mark, whilst he did not even come off the bench on Sunday, thus highlighting his struggles under Nuno thus far.

His chances of earning a regular spot in the top-flight appear to be getting slimmer and slimmer, particularly after Tanguy Ndombele’s fine performance up in the northeast.

As explained by The Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick, the French midfielder ‘thrived’ in the 3-1 victory and earned the joint-highest rating in his post-game column.

‘Scored a sumptuous strike to drag Spurs back into the game and looked like a proper No.10. Full of nice touches, flicks and skills, including in the build-up to Son’s goal, and was livelier than usual out of possession,’ the reporter wrote.

This spells trouble for Lo Celso as he will now find it even harder to break into the side. That’s a worry for a £55m signing, one who has seen his value plummet since arriving from Real Betis in summer 2019.

Transfermarkt now value him at £19.8m, a shocking 64% decrease in the space of just two-and-a-half seasons. He’s just 25, so that fee should be ever-increasing as he heads towards the peak years of his career.

It’s even more disappointing when you consider the kind of praise he has received during his time in north London.

Harry Winks described him to The Guardian as a “technically gifted player” who is “not afraid to get stuck in”, whilst his former Spurs manager Jose Mourinho dubbed him “phenomenal.”

One figure who must be fuming with the situation is chairman Daniel Levy, as the signing is a mark of his credentials. Usually known as a tough negotiator, the Spurs supremo splashed out a joint club-record fee on a player who has failed to impress much at all in N17.

Indeed, the Argentina international has only contributed eight goals and five assists across 73 appearances, via Transfermarkt.

Levy has endured a nightmare so far with the signing of Lo Celso – the only positive is that the Argentine still has plenty of time to turn around his Spurs career, but whether or not he can very much remains to be seen.

AND in other news, Alasdair Gold drops exciting Spurs transfer claim ahead of January…

Stuart Clark and Brett Lee are not yet assured of places in the starting XI for Cardiff, but that has not prevented them placing Andrew Strauss in the crosshairs for the summer

Alex Brown and Andrew Miller24-Jun-2009Stuart Clark and Brett Lee are not yet assured of places in the starting XI for Cardiff, but that hasn’t stopped them placing Andrew Strauss in the crosshairs for the summer. Australia’s senior pacemen, who began their quest for Ashes selection in Hove on Wednesday, applied the pressure on the England captain in a less demonstrative, more insidious manner to the naming-and-aiming approach favoured by their predecessor, Glenn McGrath, however the intent was just as clear.Clark and Lee have dismissed Strauss a combined nine times in 10 Tests, but their battles pre-date their international careers. Clark remembers Strauss as a batsman short on confidence in his days playing for Sydney grade club, Mosman, and hinted the Australians have uncovered modern-day glitches in his technique they will aim to exploit over the summer.”Andrew Strauss, being the captain, if we put some pressure on him early I reckon we can make some real inroads,” Clark said. “I’m not going to say I’m going to target him individually, but I think being captain there’s a lot of pressure on him now, if we can really get after him early on in the series we can maybe create some extra pressure that he maybe doesn’t need with his batting.”I played against him in grade cricket when we were much younger. I think he was a lot younger and didn’t believe in his batting as much then. He’s very good in English conditions, where probably the bounce isn’t as quick off the wicket as you get in Australia. He probably got found out a little bit in Australia in 06-07. I looked at some footage earlier and there are some definite things that we as a bowling group have talked about and we’re going to keep talking about.”Lee played alongside Strauss for Mosman between 1999 and 2001, and described him as a “class act”. But, like Clark, he also applied pressure on the England captain by reliving memories of past Ashes successes. Clearly, the summer’s phoney war has commenced.”I won’t choose any batsman as a bunny, I hate that, but I’m happy with the record I’ve got against Straussy,” Lee said. “I’ll be looking forward, if I get the opportunity, to play against him again. He’s a hard batsman to bowl to, but hopefully the success I’ve had against him, I’ll put that in the back of my memory bank and hopefully use it.”Clark and Lee are both returning from injuries that curtailed their Australian summers, and will be desperate to impress the selectors at Hove and Worcester. Clark has played a handful of Sydney grade and one-day international matches since undergoing surgery to his right elbow last November, while Lee has been limited to Twenty20 cricket for Australia and Kings XI Punjab after returning from an ankle operation.Both men recognise, however, that they are likely to be regarded as support acts to the main man of Australia’s current attack. “I think Mitchell [Johnson] is by far and away No. 1 and the rest of are competing, and it will depend up on what make-up they want to go with,” Clark said. “I will say that they need someone to bowl into the wind, and I have done that for 13 years.”We’ve all been doing this for a long time. I’ve been in and out of the team a few times at state level. It’s just the way it is. It’s the job. I’m getting to the stage now where the young guys want my spot. I suppose they had it in South Africa and I want it back.””Mitch and I complement each other well,” said Lee. “We’re a left and right-arm combination, two opening bowlers who can bowl over 150kmph. It’s a scary thought for any batting line-up, because no batsman likes facing a fast bowler on song, no matter what they say.”But if you’re not on the right spot, it’s money for jam, because the ball comes off the bat quicker, and goes to the fence quicker. You’ve just got to be confident and back yourself, and I’ll be giving myself every chance in my preparation.”

Paul Collingwood has been confirmed as England’s captain for the ICC World Twenty20 and will lead a squad including James Foster, Robert Key, Graham Napier and Eoin Morgan as the selectors continue to unveil a new way of thinking

Cricinfo staff01-May-2009Not good enough for the IPL, but Paul Collingwood is England captain again•Getty ImagesPaul Collingwood has been confirmed as England’s captain for the ICC World Twenty20 and will lead a squad including James Foster, Robert Key, Graham Napier and Eoin Morgan as the selectors continue to unveil a new way of thinking.”I am really excited about captaining this squad as it will be in front of our own fans here in England,” Collingwood said. “At the end of the recent Caribbean tour it was well known that I wanted some time to think it over but now I am looking forward to the tournament. We have a talented squad with some new faces and there is the added incentive for everyone of a Lord’s final.”Morgan, the Ireland and Middlesex batsman, earns his first England call-up as does Napier while Foster and Key return after long periods out of the international scene. Foster’s recall for the first time since 2002 means there is no place for Matt Prior in the latest change to the wicketkeeping position.”Foster’s selection is about the pressure you put on as a wicketkeeper behind the stumps,” Geoff Miller, the national selector, explained to reporters at Lord’s. “His glovework is impeccable, and [by standing up] he creates a new kind of pressure for our bowlers, a lot of whom take the pace off the ball. And he’s improved his lower-order batting as well.”Key has been rewarded for his impressive domestic Twenty20 record with a chance to open the batting and selected ahead of his team-mate Joe Denly. Napier, who played his first match in the IPL on Friday, hit the headlines last summer when he smashed 158 for Essex and Sussex.Samit Patel, dropped from the one-day series in the Caribbean for being unfit, has been overlooked again as Miller said he still hadn’t reached his targets. “Samit hasn’t improved from when he was deselected. It’s disappointing but we have rules and regulations and are going to stand by them. We have insisted on fitness.”Tim Bresnan who was named in the Test squad two days ago also misses out, but Andrew Flintoff has been included subject to him recovering from his knee injury and Luke Wright is recalled.Collingwood returns to the captaincy less than a year after resigning alongside Michael Vaughan and just a matter of weeks since he said he didn’t want the job. Although he had some success as one-day captain – notably a series win away against Sri Lanka – he also had his fair share of problems.England’s ‘Big Seven’ at the IPL (as of May 1)Kevin Pietersen Six matches, 93 runs @ 15.50, four wickets @ 21.25, 6.53rpoAndrew Flintoff Three matches, 52 runs @ 31, two wickets @ 52.50, 9.54 rpoDimitri Mascarenhas Five matches, 39 runs @ 9.75, six wickets @ 22.00, 6.82 rpoRavi Bopara Five matches, 138 runs @ 27.60Graham Napier One match, 15 runs @ 15, one wicket @ 27, 6.75 rpoPaul Collingwood DNPOwais Shah DNPDuring the first World Twenty20 in South Africa he miscounted Andrew Flintoff’s overs during one match meaning he didn’t bowl his full quota. The following summer against New Zealand he was at the centre of controversy for not recalling Grant Elliott to the crease after he’d been run out after a collision with Ryan Sidebottom.He has spent the last two weeks unable to get a game for the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL, but there were not many other realistic candidates although there was some thought they should have been adventurous and handed it to Key or Dimitri Mascarenhas. However, his non-selection in the IPL did not concern Miller.”He’s gleaned an awful lot on strategies and techniques at the IPL,” said Miller. “He’s a bright fella and we know his abilities. He’s not played in the middle but he’s been netting and practicing, and done a lot of preparation work. It’s not been about learning to bat and bowl, it’s how to invent and create, and he’s quite excited.One batsman who has continued to develop over the past two seasons is Morgan, who follows in the footsteps of Ed Joyce in swapping the Irish top for an England one. Morgan was short-listed in the 30-man squad three weeks ago while playing for Ireland in the ICC World Cup Qualifiers, a decision which Ireland were understandably frustrated at, but Miller had no doubts as to where the batsman’s loyalties now lie.”He’s always had a passion to play for England. He’s always said right from the start that he wants to play for England, and has shown over the last two or three years that he’s inventive and creative and he’s proved to the selectors – and opposition too – that he’s going in the right direction, this is a mix of experience and youthful exuberance in this side, and he fits into that category so we’re quite excited about it.”Squad Paul Collingwood (capt), James Anderson, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Andrew Flintoff, James Foster, Robert Key, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Eoin Morgan, Graham Napier, Kevin Pietersen, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, Luke Wright

There were precious few positives for Australia to take from their embarrassing defeat against South Africa in Centurion on Sunday. In fact, there was really only one

Cricinfo staff08-Apr-2009There were precious few positives for Australia to take from their embarrassing defeat against South Africa in Centurion on Sunday. In fact, there was really only one. Callum Ferguson’s 50 from 83 balls was his second half-century in a six-match ODI career and ensured Australia at least avoided recording their lowest one-day international total after crashing to 19 for 5.Ferguson, 24, has stepped comfortably up to international level since making his debut against New Zealand in February. He has been dismissed only three times from his six ODI innings and has continued on his promising path having rounded out the New Zealand series at home with an unbeaten 55 at the Gabba, in a match when Australia were also experiencing top-order wobbles.”It is pleasing from a personal point of view,” Ferguson told after his fifty in Centurion. “It’s obviously not preferable to be 5 for 19 but it was good to be able to get through that and bat for as long as I did and knock a few around. I probably feel a bit more comfortable at this level. There’s probably a bit more self-belief there.”That’s what probably builds up more than anything and you make headway towards improvement. It was disappointing not to see the innings out, which is something I will work on. I will just keep trying to get better in tough situations and go on with starts, which I think I am making progress on.”Capitalising on starts has been an issue at state level for Ferguson in previous seasons. It wasn’t a problem this summer as he broke through for his maiden one-day hundred and added two first-class centuries in the space of three games after managing only two in his previous 40 appearances.But while Ferguson appeared comfortable in Centurion he was the only man – besides maybe Mitchell Johnson – who could be proud of his performance. Brad Haddin, who looked to be settling into the opening role with a confident 53 in the first match, was out in the first over at Centurion and he said it was hard to predict which team would prosper on any given day.”With the whole series, not just here but in Australia also, you’ve seen both teams bounce back pretty quickly,” Haddin said. “It has been stated before but it’s between two pretty even teams. We were hurt the other day so it’s up to us this game to take a bit of responsibility ourselves and fix the problems.”Mickey Arthur, the South Africa coach, said it was important to remove two of Australia’s top three early in the innings. “We’ve got respect for Johnson down at eight so they do theoretically bat down to eight,” Arthur said. “We see that with Mike Hussey at five now, he’s there to marshall the team toward the back end.”I think it’s crucial that we can get amongst Haddin, Ponting and Clarke pretty early. If we can get two of those early, we do expose the middle order to the newer ball which is something that we’ve wanted to do. We were able to do that on Sunday and I think we saw the result.”The series continues in Cape Town on Thursday. The scoreline is 1-1 with three matches remaining before Australia fly directly to the United Arab Emirates to take on Pakistan in a limited-overs series.

A lot Manchester City fans were pleased to see some of their international stars rested on Saturday evening.

Portugal were victorious over Qatar in Hungary with a 3-1 win thanks to goals from Andre Silva, Otavio and Bruno Fernandes.

On Wednesday, City trio Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva all started for their country as Cristiano Ronaldo scored in the 89th and 96th minute to beat Republic of Ireland 2-1 and send Portugal level on points with Serbia in their World Cup qualifying group.

As Saturday’s fixture against the 2022 World Cup hosts was only a friendly, Fernando Santos opted to rest the three City players ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Azerbaijan, as tweeted by @cityreport in the build-up to the match.

Dias was brought on midway through the second half, whereas Silva and Cancelo both sat out out the full match, with the right-back rested after playing every minute of Manchester City’s opening three league games of the season.

Pep Guardiola’s side travel to Leicester City next weekend following the international break, and having all their key players fresh available for a busy September, which includes trips to Chelsea and PSG, will be most desirable.

City fans glad to see Portugal trio benched

These City fans on Twitter were glad to see the club’s Portuguese trio benched for the Qatar friendly on Saturday:

“So Portugal is gonna lose this friendly, I’m glad they’re benched, they should rest up for Man City’s next fixture next Saturday”

Credit: @MarohOdiku

“Awesome, good for our club”

Credit: @salliem019

“Sweet”

Credit: @Fredijeh4

“Best place for them, safe and sound on the bench”

Credit: @lang_kev

“Sending them back to Manchester”

Credit: @jgedeon1717

“Dias is finally getting some rest”

Credit: @clinicaljack

In other news, lots of Man City fans are excited about an academy player update. Find out more here.

West Indies batsman Kieron Pollard has been officially reprimanded for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during his third ODI against New Zealand in Wellington.Pollard was pulled up for damaging the glass panel of a dressing-room door, an incident which occurred soon after his dismissal. Adjudged lbw by umpire Mark Benson, Pollard left the field visibly disappointed – swinging his bat in disgust – and ended up venting his frustration in the pavilion. He had scored only 1, which continued his poor run in the ODI series – seven runs in three innings.After a hearing at the end of the game, Javagal Srinath, the match referee, found Pollard to have violated Level 1.2 of the code which relates to “abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, group equipment of fixtures and fittings”.Level 1 offences carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand and a maximum penalty of a fine equivalent to 50% of a player’s match fee. Pollard, 21, was let off without a fine. “The player pleaded guilty to the charge and apologised for his actions to New Zealand Cricket,” Srinath said. “This apology and the fact he is relatively early in his career were taken into consideration.”The incident was brought to the attention of the match referee by both New Zealand Cricket’s cricket administrative manager Tim Murdoch and West Indies manager Omar Khan.Srinath reached his decision after a hearing attended by the player, Omar Khan and Murdoch.

يواصل نادي برشلونة خططه لإنعاش خزينته بالأموال في ظل الأزمة الاقتصادية التي يُعاني منها خلال العامين الماضيين.

برشلونة مُدان بأكثر من مليار يورو، مما دفع النادي لبيع 49.9% من أسهم شركة التسويق BLM التابعة لأصول النادي، لإنعاش خزائن البلوجرانا وحصل على مبلغ يتراوح بين 200 و300 مليون يورو.

صحيفة “سبورت” الكتالونية ذكرت أن برشلونة من المرجح أن يقوم بتفعيل الرافعة الثانية من الروافع الاقتصادية الأسبوع المقبل، من أجل الحصول على مبلغ يتراوح بين 320 و330 مليون يورو مع مكاسب رأسمالية قدرها 400 مليون يورو.

اقرأ أيضًا.. RMC: برشلونة يستعد لتقديم العرض الرابع إلى بايرن ميونخ لضم ليفاندوفسكي

الأموال الجديدة سوف تُساعد برشلونة على حسم الصفقات الجديدة، حيث يتطلع النادي الكتالوني إلى ضم روبرت ليفاندوفسكي من بايرن ميونخ، وجول كوندي من إشبيلية، إلى جانب جناح ليدز يونايتد، رافينها؛ فضلًا عن سيزار أزبيليكويتا مدافع تشيلسي.

برشلونة يُخطط أيضًا إلى بيع 25% من حقوق بث النادي لمدة 25 عامًا، وهي نصف المدة الزمنية المقدمة في مشروع CVC مع رابطة “لا ليجا”.

ويستهدف النادي الكتالوني الحصول على قرابة 600 مليون يورو لحل أزمة ديونه المتراكمة وتوفير السيولة اللازمة للتعاقد مع اللاعبين وتسجيلهم دون خرق قواعد اللعب المالي النظيف.

يذكر أن إدارة لابورتا جاءت في مارس 2021 عقب استقالة جوسيب ماريا بارتوميو في أكتوبر 2020، وقد تسلمت أكبر دين في تاريخ الرياضة بما يفوق مليار يورو.

Sourav Ganguly will represent his home state Bengal in their Ranji Trophy match against Vidarbha starting December 12

Cricinfo staff18-Nov-2008
Sourav Ganguly’s international career is over, and he’s now keen to play for Bengal against Vidarbha © AFP
Sourav Ganguly will represent his home state Bengal in their Ranji Trophy match against Vidarbha starting December 12. Ganguly, the former India captain, retired from international cricket earlier this month but has stated he will play in the IPL and the odd first-class game for Bengal.”We had requested Sourav to play for Bengal in the coming matches of the Ranji Trophy. He agreed, and gave us assurance that he will play in the Vidarbha match, which is good news for Bengal cricket,” said Cricket Association of Bengal joint-secretary Arun Mitra was quoted as saying by the .Ganguly is reportedly yet to decide on whether he will continue playing for Bengal should the side reach the knockout stage of the Ranji Trophy. He was at the Eden Gardens to watch day two of Bengal’s match against Services in the Plate group.

انضم ثنائي الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، ليفربول ومانشستر يونايتد إلى سباق انتقالات البرازيلي رافينها لاعب ليدز يونايتد.

وقد أثار ذلك معركة كبيرة في البريميرليج من أجل توقيع البرازيلي الذي يعد محل اهتمام لعدد كبير من الأندية.

الثلاثي اللندني تشيلسي وتوتنهام وخاصة أرسنال مهتمون بضم رافينها هذا الصيف.

وتم رفض عرض آرسنال الأول ولكنهم عازمون على العودة إلى ليدز بعرض محسّن.

ومع ذلك، كما ذكرت صحيفة “سبورت” الإسبانية ، فإنهم يواجهون الآن منافسة من الثنائي مانشستر يونايتد وليفربول. 

لكن من المفهوم أن رافينها أبقى الباب مغلقًا حتى الآن على صفقة انتقال داخل الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وسيظل انتقاله الذي يحلم به هو برشلونة – لكن صراعاتهم المالية يمكن أن تستبعد الصفقة، خاصة إذا نجحوا في سعيهم وراء روبرت ليفاندوفسكي مهاجم بايرن ميونخ.

يقال إن الشروط الشخصية مع برشلونة قد تم ترتيبها في شهر مارس بفضل المهاجم الذي يمثله بطل نو كامب السابق ديكو.

على الرغم من أنه لا يزال هو ورافينها يأملان في الحصول على صفقة لنقل اللاعب الدولي إلى الليجا.

اقرأ أيضًا | كوليمور ينصح ليفربول بصفقة جديدة: سيضع محمد صلاح تحت ضغط كبير

يضيف التقرير أن برشلونة قد ينهي صفقة بحلول نهاية يونيو – مع حاجة البلوجرانا إلى جمع حوالي 43 مليون جنيه إسترليني.

ومع ذلك، يُعتقد أنه تم إخبار الأندية الإنجليزية أن الرقم المطلوب أقرب إلى 65 مليون جنيه إسترليني.

لم يقم مانشستر يونايتد بعد بأول انتقال له في حقبة إريك تين هاج مع انتقال أنطوني من أياكس حتى الآن بينما زميله جوريان تيمبر ولاعب خط وسط برشلونة فرينكي دي يونج قد يكونان في طريقهما إلى أولد ترافورد.

في غضون ذلك، باع ليفربول ساديو ماني إلى بايرن ميونخ مقابل 35 مليون جنيه إسترليني هذا الأسبوع – وتعاقد بالفعل على داروين نونيز.

إذا انضم رافينها إلى آرسنال، فقد يؤدي ذلك إلى طرح المزيد من علامات الاستفهام حول مكان مستقبل بوكايو ساكا، حيث يبدو أن كلا اللاعبين يعملان بشكل أفضل على اليمين.

ليدز، الذي تجنب بصعوبة الهبوط في نهاية الموسم الماضي، يعمل بجد بالفعل لإحلال بديل، وكودي جاكبو لاعب إيندهوفن البالغ من العمر 23 عامًا هو أحد الخيارات الممكنة.

سجل الجناح 21 هدفًا في 46 مباراة عبر جميع المسابقات مع الفريق الهولندي الموسم الماضي، مما يجعله أحد أفضل لاعبي النادي أداءً.