Tag Futebol

	Chris Gayle will participate in a six-day training camp despite not having fully recovered from his groin injury © AFP

Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, will join a six-day training camp starting May 12 despite not having fully recovered from a groin injury which he picked up during the one-dayers against Sri Lanka last month. Gayle subsequently missed out on taking part in the Indian Premier League, though he travelled to India to briefly join the Kolkata Knight Riders, who had signed him on for US$800,000.West Indies’ manager, Omar Khan, said Gayle’s fitness will be assessed by team physiotherapist CJ Clarke before a final decision is made regarding his availability for the first of three Tests against Australia, which begins on May 22 in Sabina Park. “Chris will be part of the camp and the physio will do a full assessment to see how quickly he will be able to rejoin the team and play again,” Khan told CMC.”We are happy that he will be at the camp because he is a very experienced player and would be able to share his knowledge in the various planning sessions we will have,” he said. “We are hopeful that Chris will be ready to face the Australians. As we know this will be a very important series for us. We are confident of doing well, and we hope to continue the good work we have started.”Gayle will join 17 other players in the training squad which does not include Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo – all of whom are taking part in the IPL. West Indies will announce their 14-man squad for the first Test after the end of the camp.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) have issued a fresh warning to the Indian players threatening them with severe action if advertisements involving them and flouting the ambush marketing clause continued.On Friday, lawyers representing the ICC’s commerical arm brought to the Indian team-management’s attention ads being aired by Samsung India Electronics Limited, a rival of LG Electronics, an official sponsor of the 2003 World Cup.”It is extremely regrettable that the IDI (ICC Development International) has been compelled to interrupt the Indian players and management during the tournament to address this problem,” ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said in a statement issued to explain the action.He went on to add that their was clear evidence that Samsung is blatantly flouting the World Cup agreement between ICC and the Board of Control for India (BCCI).”This is a pre-meditated campaign designed to infringe and devalue the rights secured by IDI’s commercial partners. It cannot and will not be tolerated,” Speed observed.The Indian players who feature in Samung advertisement are Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Mongia, Ajay Ratra and Javagal Srinath.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Andrew Flintoff was simply unstoppable as England ran away to a famous win © Getty Images

Missing six frontline players, dogged by injury and health problems, England defied all odds and pulled off a magnificent series-levelling 212-run win, their biggest victory in the subcontinent since that memorable performance in Karachi in 2000-01. Requiring 313 for an unlikely win, India were never in the hunt in the face of a superb bowling performance, and capitulated to 100, losing seven wickets for 25 in a manic 75 minutes after lunch, as England quite emphatically ended their 21-year winless streak in IndiaAndrew Flintoff, England’s talisman throughout the series with bat, ball, and in the field, starred on the final day as well with spells of sustained hostility, taking 3 for 14. But the bowler who finished with most wickets was the one who was reckoned to be the least threatening of the lot. Shaun Udal, who turned 37 on the first day of this Test and who had a tally of three scalps in three matches before this one, found appreciable turn and bounce from the fifth-day pitch and spun out four batsmen, including the most crucial one of them all, Sachin Tendulkar, to set the Indian innings into a tailspin and hasten England’s march to victory.A target of 313 was never likely to be an easy one, but till lunch, which India took at 75 for 3, the contest was on, with Tendulkar – showing signs of returning to form with a fluent 34 – and Dravid putting together 42 after two early setbacks. After the break, though, the contest turned in a mere 15.2 overs of breathless action.Flintoff, with two innings of exactly 50 and a wicket in the Indian first innings, started the slide. Having already bowled two outstanding spells in the morning, troubling Wasim Jaffer no end and then finally putting him out of his misery, Flintoff now came back and removed the batsman who was most capable of batting India to safety. He got one to pitch perfectly in the corridor, and forced Dravid – whose 100th Test went horribly wrong – to nick it to the wicketkeeper.That was the third delivery after lunch, and it set the cat among the pigeons. Next over, Tendulkar offered a bat-pad catch to short leg off Udal, stunning the crowd into silence and effectively ending the Indian resistance. James Anderson then did his bit, winning an lbw verdict against Virender Sehwag, who was clearly hampered by back spasms.

Matthew Hoggard gave England their first wicket of the morning © Getty Images

The Indian innings was now spiralling downwards rapidly, but Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who had resisted the England attack for more than three hours in the first innings, was in no mood to repeat that performance, offering two chances, before being out to the third, all within nine deliveries. After being reprieved in the slips off Anderson, Dhoni faced up to Udal, and was clearly intent on demonstrating his ability to hit the ball far and wide. The first slog hovered over mid-off for an eternity, before Monty Panesar, easily England’s weakest link in the field, made a complete mess of it – the ball actually landed three metres to his right. Satisfied that Panesar wouldn’t hold on to any offering, Dhoni charged again when he next came onto strike, miscued again, but this time – shock, horror – Panesar did latch onto the ball.Yuvraj Singh attempted to bat sensibly, playing all of 46 deliveries for 12 runs, but on this day England, and Flintoff, were not to be denied. A waft outside off ended safely in the slips cordon, before Udal wrapped it up even as the Indians seemed in a tearing hurry to get the match done with and leave the field. And when Matthew Hoggard pouched another miscue off Munaf Patel to give Udal his fourth of the innings, England had pulled off a result which had seemed impossible only five days ago.

IndiaAnil Kumble lbw Hoggard 8 (21 for 2)
Wasim Jaffer lbw b Flintoff 10 (33 for 3)
Rahul Dravid c Jones b Flintoff 9 (75 for 4)
Sachin Tendulkar c Bell b Udal 34 (76 for 5)
Virender Sehwag lbw b Anderson 0 (77 for 6)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni c Panesar b Udal 5 (92 for 7)
Harbhajan Singh c Hoggard b Udal 6 (99 for 8)
Munaf Patel c Hoggard b Udal 1 (100 all out)

Geraint Jones: not guilty © Getty Images

England’s wicketkeeper, Geraint Jones, has been cleared of a breach of the ICC Code of Conduct after a hearing relating to the dismissal of Bangladesh’s opener, Nafees Iqbal, during the second Test at Chester-le-Street on Sunday.Jones, whose nine dismissals was a record for an English wicketkeeper in a home international, was called before the ICC match referee, Alan Hurst, after claiming a controversial catch to end a spirited 50-run opening stand between Iqbal and Javed Omar.With the match already in the bag and Bangladesh fighting to avoid a two-day defeat, Nafees walked after gloving a low catch off Andrew Flintoff, but stopped and attempted to resume his innings after the TV replay screen suggested that Jones had taken the catch on the bounce.The Bangladeshis lodged an official complaint through their tour manager, Col Latif Khan, but Jones was found not to have breached Rule C2, Level 1 of the ICC Code which relates to conduct that brings the game into disrepute.”On the evidence presented, the actions of the player did not breach the ICC Code of Conduct,” said Hurst. “Video evidence of the incident was inconclusive, and the player’s intent was not proven.”The hearing was attended by Jones, Latif and Nafees, along with Dav Whatmore and Duncan Fletcher, the respective coaches. All Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand and a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player’s match fee.

Bushrangers opening bowler Mathew Inness has this morning been ruled out of Victoria’s Pura Cup match against the SpeedBlitz Blues starting at the MCG today.Inness has a mild case of glandular fever and is expected to be sidelined from between one to four weeks.Shane Harwood who has recovered from a side strain replaces Inness in the 12.

Two comprehensive victories over the last week have seen the CLEAR Black Caps move up the ICC Test Championship ladder.The Test in Hamilton produced a magnificent wicket considering that when we turned up two days before the Test the groundsman had not even cut it!Hamilton is I believe the best cricket wicket in New Zealand and Doug Strachan has to take all the credit for giving the players a surface to play attractive, aggressive cricket on.Gone are the days of the low slow New Zealand wickets and it will be better for our game if all major grounds can follow the Hamilton example.Mark Richardson and Craig McMillan dug us out of a hole in the first innings in Hamilton and the way they went about their run scoring was highly entertaining. I know Macca loves playing at Hamilton and his fifth Test hundred was great.After getting a couple of starts in Aussie Richie was also happy to convert into a hundred.We knew when we bowled that patience was required but the Bangladesh batsman came out and surprised us with their cavalier attitude. After a slight hiccup we managed to force the follow-on, then reach a comprehensive victory on the fourth morning.It was pleasing for me to get a haul of wickets in this Test and to close in on the 200 Test wicket/2000 Test run double. I felt the ball was coming out well and I am getting the bounce back in my bowling which was lacking in Australia.We flew down to Wellington knowing that the outdoor practice facilities were non-existent as the rain that had fallen made it impossible for the ground staff, and getting a Test match wicket was going to be hard enough.Christmas Day was spent with our families at the hotel and we were treated to a beautiful lunch. The Boxing Day Test has made Christmas a little different for us now as the normal frivolities Christmas Day brings are a distant memory.Christmas Day for us is now about preparing for a Test match the following day, but we all love playing this Test as there is a great feeling during the game because of the support from the Wellington public and the history that the Basin Reserve provides.Considering the rain, the wicket wasn’t too bad but ill discipline from the Bangladesh batsmen meant that their first innings collapsed to open the door wide open for us to secure a big first innings lead and put the pressure back on. This is exactly what happened and we managed to wrap up the Test in just over two days for the second successive time.I think the Bangladesh side faces some tough times in the next few years but their plight could be helped by the host countries by agreeing to give them more warm-up games prior to any Test matches. This will give their players exposure to foreign wickets and will help them learn how to go about playing the longer version of the game.In New Zealand I felt they were pretty much thrown in the deep end, good luck to them and it won’t be too many years I’m sure before they are competitive.For the CLEAR Black Caps the attention turns to the one-day game with a big diet of One-Day Internationals over the next two months. The VB Series in Aussie is shaping up to be a beauty. While in the past Aussie have dominated their own competition and rightly so will be favourites for this one there will be two very good sides biting at their heels. On their day each side is capable of winning and the shorter game brings sides closer together. The New Zealand selectors have for the first time in ages the hard task of selecting a team with lots of candidates and there are some exciting players out there. Personally I can’t wait for it to start.

Port-Of-Spain – The West Indies all but let the first Test slip fromtheir grasp yesterday.Once more obliged to defend an inadequate first innings total, theyhad dropped the opposition’s captain and best batsman twice on thesecond day and proceded to put him down twice more.The left-handed Andy Flower duly made the most of the let-offs – and alucky umpiring break before he had scored on Friday – to accumulate adetermined, unbeaten 113 and lead Zimbabwe to a total of 236 and alead of 49.It threatened to be substantially more until Chris Gayle, an unlikelydestroyer with his steady off-breaksanddrifters, despatched threeof the last four wickets that fell for four runs to round off anotherentralling, if rain-shortened, day reduced to 52 overs by two earlyinterruptions.The pitch, slow from the start, is still in relatively good shape butcan be expected to be increasingly inconsistent in bounce. A winninglast day target of anything over 220 would not be straightforward butit means the West Indies have to total at least 280 batting a secondtime, not a figure they have consistently managed of late.Zimbabwe would have been nowhere without their solid captain and thelargesse of the West Indian fielders.Jimmy Adams at gully and substitute Ricardo Powell at third slip hadmissed just possible chances on the previous afternoon with Flower 14and 38.The morning was only a few minutes old when he had his third life. Awicket had fallen in the first over on each of the first two days butShivnarine Chanderpaul at third slip broke the sequence, missing acatch high to his right off Courtney Walsh’s fourth ball before Flowerhad added to his overnight 52.He had scored only eight more when Gayle at first slip, possibly putoff by wicket-keeper Ridley Jacob’s initial movement, let an easieredged offerring off Curtly Ambrose burst through his grasp immediatelyon resumption from the second break for rain.Flower had also gained umpire Steve Bucknor’s favourable verdict theprevious day on a palpable catch at the wicket off the glove fromWalsh before he had made a run but such alarms never distracted himfrom his purpose.He is by no means a fluent strokemaker and, with its edges and misses,this was a resolute, rather than classical, innings. Yet theZimbabwean’s record cannot be questioned. This was his seventh hundredin his 40th Test and only Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Steve Waughand Saeed Anwar of contemporary batsmen can claim a higher averagethan his 46.Flower’soff-side strength was evident by the accumulation of 11 ofhis 12 boundaries between third man and mid-off.It was, in the real sense of the term, a captain’s innings.He entered just before tea on the second afternoon in the potentialcrisis of 27 for three and shared two vital partnerships.He and the right-handed opener Trevor Gripper extended theirfourth-wicket stand from 82 at the start to 117 before a slip catchfinally stuck, allowing the persevering Curtly Ambrose to dislodgeGripper for 41 that occupied five-and-a-quarter hours and 212 balls.Ambrose immediately found another outside edge on the other side toremove the inform left-hander Alistair Campbell, second ball, toJacobs’ low catch and bowled Stuart Carlisle with a breakback in thelast over before tea with Zimbabwe still 23 short of the modest WestIndies effort.It seemed the West Indies had seized the advantage, especially as thesecond ball was taken immediately on resumption. But they suddenly andinexplicably went flat.Their earlier unstinting efforts had sapped the energy of Ambrose andWalsh, Reon King posed few threats through a spell of ten consecutiveovers and with Franklyn Rose off the field for a treatment to a toeinjury, Flower and Heath Streak were able to bat comfortably in astand of 68 that lasted just under two hours.Faced with such realities, Jimmy Adams opted for defensive tactics andturned to the off-spin of Gayle in the hope of a bonus wicket.The 20-year-old Gayle has proved a valuable find in his debut Test.He batted confidently for 33 on the opening day, seems settled atfirst slip inspite of his miss and now had Streak neatly taken byCampbell at slip, edging a drive at a ball that floated away.In the next over, Rose, back after a precautionary check at a clinic,had a deserving wicket, Brian Murphy lbw, and Gayle cleaned up thingsby bowling Henry Olonga and Pom Mbangwa with successive balls.Flower walked wearily off, disappointed that his dedication had notcreated a more favourable position.He was followed by Adams and his team, all of whom must be aware thatthere is still a lot of cricket left in the match.

Following on from their crushing 2-1 defeat against Arsenal in midweek, Wolves have another tough test ahead of them this afternoon with a Premier League clash against West Ham United at the London Stadium, who also have aspirations of securing European football this season.

On the chalkboard

In terms of which players Bruno Lage could pick to be in his starting XI to take on the Hammers, one figure that didn’t start in midweek that we feel should be in from the beginning on this occasion is midfielder Leander Dendoncker.

The Belgian was taken out of the team against Arsenal so the Wolves boss could go with a midfield duo of Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho whilst having three attackers of Daniel Podence, Raul Jimenez and Hwang Hee-chan in from the beginning.

Taking into account how the Midlands club ended up losing the match against Mikel Arteta’s side and conceding a total of 26 shots at goal, it could be worth putting Dendoncker back in the team alongside Neves and Moutinho to make the side a bit more defensively solid.

Despite only being on the pitch for eight minutes in total and having five touches of the ball, the 26-year-old still managed to win one duel, block one shot and complete one tackle, showing the defensive capabilities he has.

With David Moyes’ side having scored 21 more league goals than the Old Gold this season, adding a bit more defensive strength to the team could be the way for the away team to secure a positive result on this occasion, which could work out for the Belgian to make a return to the starting XI but maybe not for winger Pedro Neto who may be hoping to get his first league start of the season.

Labelled as an “important” player for his side by Lage, the £27m-rated midfielder could have the chance to show his manager that he should be a regular starter every week if he’s able to help his side pick up three points this afternoon so he doesn’t get dropped again in the future.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Also, with teammate Max Kilman saying about Dendoncker that “nothing phases him,” this is the sort of mindset he would need when coming up against the likes of Jarrod Bowen, who has managed to score five goals in his past six games and could be a threat to Wolves if he’s in the right mood.

In other news: Sold for £16m, now worth 55% less: Wolves had lucky escape with 28 y/o “massive flop” – opinion

	Sachin Tendulkar: “I have been playing almost non-stop for 20 years and want to focus only on the present. I prefer to take series by series” © Getty Images

Sachin Tendulkar has said winning the World Cup is an “unfulfilled dream” for him and though he said he would like to play the 2011 edition of the tournament he didn’t want to commit to anything that far away.If Tendulkar plays in the tournament that will be jointly hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, it’ll be a record sixth World Cup appearance for him. “I am enjoying my cricket at the moment and don’t want to think too much into the future,” Tendulkar told CNN-Lokmat, a regional language news channel. “I have been playing almost non-stop for 20 years and want to focus only on the present. I prefer to take series by series.”Though he didn’t specify when he would retire, Tendulkar said even after he quit he would like to be associated with the game. “I would like to spend more time with my family, but will in some way be connected with cricket. The only thing I have known in all these years is to play cricket and I would have to be always associated with the game.”Tendulkar missed the second Test against South Africa in Ahmedabad – where India suffered an innings defeat – and is set to miss the third one in Kanpur as well because of a groin injury he picked up during the first Test in Chennai. He said playing cricket had never been for the money.”I never played the game thinking about the money I would make out of it, and neither do the youngsters [think like that] today. This game has given me sleepless nights, just thinking of how I will play the next day. That excitement can never be measured in terms of money. Right from the start, all I wanted was to play well and score as many runs as possible. That has been my motivation, not money.”Tendulkar also denied reports that there were rifts in the Indian team. “These reports of senior-junior rift are totally false. In the team, seniors and juniors respect each other, and we realise the importance of playing for the country. The media is damaging its credibility by giving stories without authentic information.”Asked who he thought was the most inspiring captain he had encountered, Tendulkar said Nasser Hussain, the former England captain, was one who was always two steps ahead of the game.Meanwhile, Lalchand Rajput, the coach of the Mumbai Indians, is confident Tendulkar will be fit in time to lead the franchise in the IPL. “Sachin is a player who does not like to miss any games,” he told . “I am sure the physio will take care of him and he will be all right in time for the IPL.”

Ramprakash: one of the Wisden Five © Getty Images

Three Englishmen, a Sri Lankan and a Pakistani have been named as the Five Cricketers of the Year, cricket’s oldest accolade, in this year’s , published today.Paul Collingwood, Monty Panesar and Mark Ramprakash were chosen alongside the Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene and Pakistan’s prolific Mohammad Yousuf. All were chosen for their influence on the past English season, the traditional criteria for selection.Though four of the five were chosen largely for their impact on the international season, it was Ramprakash’s remarkable form and consistency in the County Championship which earned him the honour, reminding many what he might have achieved in Test cricket. He finished 2006 with 2278 runs to his name and became only the fifth batsman in the history of first-class cricket in England to complete a full season with an average of over 100. Such prolific scoring would earn most England batsmen promotion to the Test side but, at 37, Fletcher wasn’t tempted.Whereas 2006 was a reminder of one man’s lost talent, for Collingwood it was a year in which his tenacity and bottle were recognised. Seemingly forever the “fall guy,” he transformed himself into England’s most undroppable batsman; his maiden hundred against India at Nagpur confirmed his ability, more to himself than the public, and then followed a run of consistent scores, including a memorable 206 against Australia. Truly England’s scrapper.

A bowler’s nightmare © Getty Images

While Ramprakash dominated county attacks, Yousuf controlled the world’s. Pakistan’s run machine notched 1788 in the calendar year, beating Viv Richards’s 30-year-old record of 1710 and, with nine hundreds, he was virtually unstoppable.From one bearded wonder to another and, though Panesar’s statistics don’t gleam as bright as the other four recipients’, his was a year no less successful. Sachin Tendulkar was his first Test victim, prompting the frolicking-like-a-lamb celebration which endeared him to the public. It was no fluke: a five-for against Sri Lanka confirmed his immense ability (and equally plate-sized hands) and, after being dropped for the first two Tests of the 2006-07 Ashes, he responded with eight wickets.Jayawardene was rewarded as much for his captaincy as his batting, helping to save the Lord’s Test with 61 and 119 – before blitzing England in the one-dayers. Then followed an epic 374 against South Africa, the fourth-highest Test score to confirm his status as one of Sri Lanka’s very best.Another Sri Lankan, Muttiah Muralitharan, was named as the Leading Cricketer of the Year.