Tag Futebol

In which a measure is proposed to introduce further arbitrariness into decision-making in cricket

Andy Zaltzman25-Feb-2013MS Dhoni has had little to complain about of late. If he had eaten a fried breakfast every time he had received a trophy, an accolade or a blast of public adulation this year, he would now be the size of 18 Inzamams. However, he received a minor setback in the current Barbados Test, when a blooper in the TV umpiring box led to him being dismissed on the rogue evidence of the wrong ball.As an Englishman, I cannot help but regret that this new strain of dismissal was not available to umpires during my nation’s dark days of Ashes humiliation in the 1990s and early 2000s. “That’s out, Hayden. Technically, you smashed that wide long hop for four, but I’m going to judge you on the evidence of the ball Warne bowled to Hussain yesterday afternoon. Out. Plumb in front. Hitting the middle of middle. On your way, sunshine. 0 for 1.”The prancing stride of technological progress is supposed to be ridding the cricketing world of the vicissitudes of umpiring error, yet it frequently adds an entertaining element of random injustice to proceedings. Players are given out or not-out when technology suggests they were in fact respectively not-out and out, on the grounds that they were only marginally not-out and out, and therefore should remain out and not out. Players are given not-out despite technology suggesting they were definitely out, because someone in a suit somewhere doesn’t like one of the bits of technology used. Players are given out when they were clearly not-out, because one of their team-mates had earlier pretended he was not-out even though he must have known he was out. Catches are denied because the tip of an unusually curious blade of grass could theoretically have been protruding through a fielder’s fingers. And now Dhoni has been despatched back to the pavilion because someone put the wrong roll of cine film into the projector in the TV umpire’s private cinema (I admit I am not entire up to speed with what technology the ICC is using these days).The spirit of randomness at large in the adjudication of cricket could and arguably should be extended further. The Confectionery Stall fervently believes that there should be scope within the game of cricket for a fielding team, once an innings, to decide summarily that an opposition batsman is out. This would add another fascinating level of tactical intrigue to the great game – do you save the AutomaticOutTM to dismiss the opposition’s best player as soon as he walks to the wicket, or do you wait to see whether or not he is in form, in case you need to get rid of a lesser player who is proving more dangerous on the day? In a tight game, do you hold on to your AutomaticOutTM as long as possible, saving it for when one or two wickets are left and just a few runs are needed to win, or do you play it early in an effort to turn the momentum of the match at a critical juncture? Does a captain merely use it to settle his own personal vendettas against opposition players – in a game meandering towards a draw, a fielding captain could wait until his nemesis is on 99 before calling the AutomaticOutTM and depriving his loathed opponent of personal glory, whilst running around punching the air and shouting, “Got him, got him, yes, he’s gone.”Throughout cricket history, some umpires appear to have unilaterally applied their own version of the AutomaticOutTM, triggering innocent and baffled batsmen with a proud waggle of the finger and an internal giggle. For the sakes of consistency and fairness, the system must be formalised, and the AutomaticOutTM is clearly the best way to do this.Of course, the AutomaticOutTM, whilst providing huge interest for spectators, players and pundits alike, would further undermine the authority of the umpire. Amidst the squibbling squabbling over the DRS, with both sides claiming to have emerged victorious and having clung on to their precious principle that some decisions should remain wrong, no matter what system is used.Ultimately it seems inevitable that umpires as we know and intermittently love them are an endangered species. In time, they will be replaced either by omniscient robots or by grim-faced, shaven-headed, bicep-twitching, tattoo-headed nightclub bouncers employed to stop players scuffling through a mixture of intimidation and growling. Or, in an ideal world, by omniscient robot nightclub bouncers armed with flamethrowers and an overriding sense of justice.Aside from the Dhoni controversy, the second Test has been another intriguing low-scoring game on another pitch whose jaunty behaviour might have been annoying if it was a noisy teenager on a crowded train carriage rather than a cricket pitch, but which makes for good and interesting cricket. Such surfaces may be an unintended and happy by-product of the pitifully low crowds that attend Test matches in most parts of the cricketing universe these days. Ground authorities no longer need to worry about losing gate money on non-existent days four and five if no one is coming through that gate on days one to three.In fact, the evidence of this game suggests that, for the good of Test cricket, administrators should do absolutely everything in their considerable powers to dissuade spectators from attending Test cricket. Thus freed from the constraints of financial necessity, the groundsmen would be free to prepare pitches that produce the kind of Test cricket that spectators would happily pay to watch.Meanwhile Alistair Cook’s England established themselves as odds-on favourites to win the 2015 and 2019 ICC World Cups by thrashing Sri Lanka in the Sanath Jayasuriya Testimonial match on Tuesday. If they can replicate the form they showed at the rain-splattered Oval – decisive and positive batting, followed by incisive bowling and sharp fielding, all leading to a thumping victory ‒ in every match of the tournament in Australia in just 45 months’ time, they will fly home with a sparkly new trophy.New captain Cook set a blazing tempo, clattering away at a super-Sehwagian 160 runs per 100 balls at the start of the innings. Admittedly he blazed and clattered for only three balls, but he evidently inspired his troops. If he can maintain that scoring rate for the rest of his captaincy career, and, ideally, rectify the getting-out-third-ball problem that has bedevilled him throughout his current one-match tenure as ODI skipper, he will silence any press-box sceptics.It might be a little presumptuous to draw too many conclusions from any one game – as England’s World Cup campaign proved on a match-by-match basis ‒ but it was a good beginning, particularly given that, in the Colombo quarter-final at the end of March, England had been unceremoniously heffalumped by Sri Lanka, after curiously deciding not to risk disturbing any rare birds that might have been nesting in the proximity of the boundary rope. They were aided by the fact that, unlike in the World Cup, key bowler Jimmy Anderson is no longer running in to bowl as if he has just finished a 36-hour-shift as a junior doctor in a busy hospital’s accident and emergency department.Sri Lanka were perhaps encumbered by the fact that, whilst they showed their support for the ICC’s democratisation drive by selecting a member of parliament to open their batting, England, by unsporting contrast, did not send Cook in alongside Debbie Abrahams, the Labour MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth.

The series opener between England and India already has a storyline worthy of its 2000th Test status, and a compelling final day awaits

Sambit Bal at Lord's24-Jul-2011Their miracle workers remain in the middle, but India face a mighty struggle to save this Test. The hope of victory has long been snuffed out; their batting order has been disrupted by injury and illness; and they have toiled on the field for close to three days with three bowlers. While Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman have bailed India out of more hopeless situations in the past, batting on the last day at Lord’s against England’s bowling attack will test their skills, if not temperament, more than Kolkata and Adelaide, where they mounted their legendary 300-run partnerships.Sachin Tendulkar, who was off the field for two sessions with a viral infection, cannot bat until half an hour before lunch or till five wickets are down. Gautam Gambhir, the regular opener and the hero of a couple of gritty draws, has suffered a sickening blow to the elbow. But Dravid, who is yet to be dismissed in this Test, and Laxman – who it seems cannot summon his best unless a crisis beckons in the final innings – have managed to survive, with some luck and plenty of fortitude and skill, a tough final session to keep India afloat in a contest worthy of the 2000th Test.In Test cricket, the journey is often more interesting than the outcome. At tea on the fourth day, the match stood where everyone, including both the teams, would have expected it to be – England then declared with a lead of 457 and India faced the prospect of surviving more than 120 overs to go to Trent Bridge with a clean slate – but what a route it took.For about half an hour before lunch, India, chasing the match almost all through the Test, turned predator, and England bore the look of the hunted. Ishant Sharma breezed in, the ball zipped around, catching men waited expectantly, and the Indian fans found their voice as England lost four wickets for eight runs in 5.2 overs.From what was meant to be a smooth and routine passage to a point from where England could declare safely with time in hand to bowl India out, there arrived the prospect of an Indian chase of around 330 runs; still mighty tough, but not beyond the realm of achievable. It was Test match cricket at its most sensationally unpredictable.Among the many wonderful things about Test cricket is that it offers the prospect of redemption within the course of a match. Ishant Sharma, after his high in the West Indies where he was the Man of the Series, was so listless and out of sorts in the first innings that India were effectively reduced to a one-man seam attack after Zaheer Khan’s withdrawal. With its pronounced slope, Lord’s is a difficult ground to adjust to for a first-timer, but life generally rewards those who learn from mistakes, and the key change Ishant made in the second innings was adjusting his length.Just as Stuart Broad had proved in the Indian innings, this track rewards those prepared to pitch it up. Even the wickets Ishant got with the shorter balls were the result of his having bowled fuller earlier. Kevin Pietersen was already pressing forward when he got a snorter, and Eoin Morgan was almost surprised by the bouncer that forced a mistimed pull.Inevitably, though, India’s three-man attack ran out of juice and India’s intensity in the field dropped as Matt Prior built two vital partnerships to drive England into the ascendancy again. The match returned to script again in the final session as the Indian batsmen began their struggle against three high-quality pace bowlers of contrasting styles.Throughout this match there have been discussions about whether Prior is the world’s best wicketkeeper-batsman in Tests and, purely on the evidence of this Test, Prior has sealed the case. As the full package, MS Dhoni is among the most influential figures in world cricket, but Prior has been a match-turner for England at the vital position of No. 7, and twice in this Test he has swung the innings coming in after the loss of quick wickets.He has a well-organised defence and the confidence to play his strokes even in tough conditions, and while square on the off side is his favourite scoring area, he is accomplished enough to tuck away to leg when the bowling is straight. England have scored 327 runs while Prior has been at the crease in this match, and while Dhoni has shown his versatility by running in to bowl, Prior has comfortably won the battle of the wicketkeepers.Dhoni has had a poor match behind the wickets, and while it is always a challenge to keep at Lord’s, he got himself into tangles with his footwork, leading to two missed chances. He managed to pouch an edge from Ian Bell in the first innings by diving to his right, but today he simply let an edge from Stuart Broad fly past with a whimper of an attempt. He did save a Test here with his batting in 2007, and he might yet have the opportunity to redeem himself on the fifth day.This Test could end in a hurry on the final day, with the scorecard presenting the picture of a one-sided affair, but the truth is that barring the second day, when India were ragged with the ball and in the field, this match has already provided everything that you could want from high-class Test cricket: an absorbing contest between bat and the ball, swing and seam, batsmen fighting through tough periods, strokes of the highest pedigree, dramatic turnarounds, one double hundred and two hundreds, a five-for and two four-wickets hauls.There is still the possibility of a draw, but it will hardly be a dull one. If you happen to be in and around London, queue up early at the counters tomorrow. A contest beckons and tickets are available at a bargain. And if it counts for anything, it’s the last chance to watch Dravid, Laxman and Tendulkar in Test whites at this ground.

A look back at the Packer revolution, three decades on

Gideon Haigh03-Dec-2007

Packer with key accomplice Greig: he didn’t spend $12 million buying the game; he spent $12 million turning it into something that could be bought © The Cricketer International
From the late 1960s, the minutes of Australian Cricket Board meetings feature a recurrent phrase, always repeated with a mixture of dread and disapproval. “Private promoter” might sound innocent enough; at the time, the sight of one was like the distant flutter of the skull and crossbones.The first of these merchant venturers, theatrical impresario Jack Neary, was allowed a trial of his World Cricket (Doubles) competition before being denied permission to restage it. Others didn’t even make that amount of progress. The DJ Foynes Organisation suggested an “Australia v the World” Test at the MCG, with cuts for Greg Chappell and Tony Greig as well as the board: it got nowhere. William Hollins & Co, representing the Viyella (Shirt) Company, proposed a “World Cricket XI”s to play games against first-class opposition: it was dismissed. Even an annual invitation game at Drummoyne Oval for the benefit of the Spastic Centre of New South Wales caused discomfiture.Flirtations, meanwhile, only ended in confusion. In August 1976 former Australian captain Bob Simpson mooted a revival of the Cavaliers XI concept, killed off in England by the rise of the John Player League. After a cordial reception, Simpson recalled, “suddenly, out of the blue, the Australian Cricket Board withdrew their approval of the venture” and ‘the whole concept was put in moth balls”.So where the public saw Kerry Packer’s first Supertest at VFL Park on December 2 1977 as a bold innovation, cricket authorities regarded it as a nightmare made real – something, in fact, fit for mothballs, if they’d had any say in it. Yet it’s not hard to understand why. Cricket run on commercial lines shows just how uncommercial is cricket’s reality, with a tiny international treasure chest bankrolling a massive loss-making support structure. The Australian Cricket Board 30 years ago was acutely vulnerable to competition, deriving the bulk of its revenue from gate receipts on inbound Ashes tours and profit guarantees on outbound Ashes tours. Other tours barely covered their costs; first-class, junior and club cricket ran at significant losses; broadcasting rights and sponsorship had yet to make a significant impact on the national cricket exchequer.Kerry Packer, by contrast, owed no fealty to anyone – even the players were mainly a means to his end of securing exclusive television rights for Australian international summers. At the height of the dramas surrounding World Series Cricket, Packer vouchsafed in a press conference that cricketers had long been exploited by authorities, and that they deserved better pay and conditions because of the pleasure they gave to millions. A journalist took up the thread for his remarks and wondered if the businessman was saying that his enterprise was “half-philanthropic”. Packer’s realism was too embedded for him to agree. “Half-philanthropic?” he said. “That makes me sound more generous than I am.” Now with Twenty20 the game’s manifest destiny, the drive among administrators is to develop the game before someone else develops it for them – if anything, a reverse of the attitude that prevailed 30 years ago The freedom to define his own sphere of operations became an especially obvious advantage in the second summer of World Series Cricket. In the first season Packer tried to replicate the structure of a conventional summer by playing five-day and one-day cricket in each mainland capital. In the second he stuck to the two most profitable centres, Sydney and Melbourne, with a few matches at the Gabba when it happened to become available. Where the ACB in 1978-79 lumbered itself with two Tests in Perth, forgettable and poorly-attended, WSC was busy expanding the number of limited-overs fixtures, and pushing ever deeper into nights. The ACB was constituted by 14 representatives representing their states in proportions almost unchanged in three-quarters of a century; Packer was, of course, the proverbial committee of one. The ACB could theoretically have run its own cricket along Packer lines for a limited time, scheduling games only in the most populace centres, disbanding the Sheffield Shield, abandoning grassroots cricket to its own devices, relying on the existing players to provide a non-stop cycle of international attractions. But a generation in action without a generation in waiting was always a finite proposition.At a superficial level the structure of cricket was not much altered by the Packer risorgimento. Even in Australia, ground zero, the hierarchy of international and interstate cricket remained essentially unaltered, and the governance conventions continued unchallenged. The authorities were gifted their game and players back in return for the rights Packer had always coveted.The transaction, however, came with strings attached. The not-so-secret ransom was the agreement that Packer should promote the game in Australia through his PBL Marketing subsidiary: an arrangement that cut the ACB out of perhaps the most important and fastest changing function in cricket administration. The result can only be a matter of speculation, but it is interesting that the 1996 World Cup in India made the 1992 World Cup in Australia look so staid. In hindsight, it may be that India stole the march on Australia in the 1980s and 1990s where the selling of the game was involved. Australia carried on with a single sponsor, Benson & Hedges, and an external promoter, PBL, interested primarily in its own bottomline rather than the game’s.World Series Cricket, however, isn’t simply to be understood by what it accomplished; it should also be assessed for what it made possible. Before Packer, the idea of Australian cricket having a “market value” would have been unthinkable. As Dr Greg Manning observed in Australia, Packer didn’t spend $12 million buying the game; he spent $12 million turning it into something that could be bought. In theory, it could have been bought by others, and the impresarios of the rebel tours were able to make off with key assets. In fact, Packer so skilfully barred and gated the way here that international cricket in his wake was a monopoly more strongly fortified than before. But 30 years after the World Series burglary, authorities have ears cocked for the bump in the night, of other “private promoters”. If anything, players are more susceptible to inducements than they were when they were paid a pittance. Now that everything has a value, nothing is beyond price. And although that discovery would probably have been made anyway, Packer’s nimble recruiting agents John Cornell and Austin Robertson made it a decidedly memorable one.

Where the public saw WSC as a bold innovation, cricket authorities regarded it as a nightmare made real © The Cricketer International
Now with Twenty20 the game’s manifest destiny, the drive among administrators is to develop the game before someone else develops it for them – if anything, a reverse of the attitude that prevailed 30 years ago. The reason is that World Series Cricket also fundamentally changed expectations among cricketers, and that these have continued to rise. Australian cricket now has something it did not have 15 years ago: after the false dawns of 1977 and 1988, the players finally cobbled together their own trade union, the Australian Cricketers’ Association in 1995. It places the players within the system, provides infrastructural support and mechanisms to resolve disputes. As Lyndon Johnson said when he appointed Bobby Kennedy his attorney general: “Better inside pissing out, than outside pissing in.”But it doesn’t answer everything. The best players are not always the most marketable. Jacques Kallis is probably a more valuable cricketer to his team than Brett Lee, but whose services would an advertiser prefer? And individuals and countries are essentially selling into the same market, Brett Lee being every bit as much a media property as the Australian cricket team, and perhaps even superior to it. In a zero-sum game, does not the promotional success of one deprive, potentially even impoverish, the other? One question, too, is seldom asked because the idea seems fanciful – in fact, it is anything but. The game has been blessed by success and public support; if this weakened, how would the burden of sacrifice be distributed? Like most professional sports, cricket has seen its commercial value do nothing but appreciate for the last 30 years. But no market rises indefinitely, and in a game that now provides for so many hungry mouths that is a disquieting thought.Asked to comment on the consequences of the French Revolution, the Chinese premier Zhou Enlai famously replied that it was too early to tell. The same applies to the cricket revolution. It will be little consolation to them looking on from Valhalla, but those Australian cricket administrators of the 1970s were right: the private promoter leaves nothing unchanged.

A brilliant unbeaten century from Ben McDermott steered Queensland out of trouble to give them a fighting chance in their Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania.Playing against his former state, McDermott smashed 146 not out after coming to the crease with the Queensland reeling at 24 for 3 on day one at the Gabba.Related

• Short ruled out of final ODI with McDermott called up

• Sheffield Shield returns after BBL break with compelling contests in store

• Boland injury scare takes gloss off Victoria's excellent day

The 29-year-old’s third first-class century pushed Queensland to 282, a competitive total considering their start after they elected to bat first. His previous hundred came for Australia A against India before the 2020-21 Test series.At 110 for 5, McDermott put on a crucial 100-run stand with tireless bowling allrounder Michael Neser to rebuild the innings against the ladder-leading Tasmania.McDermott, who hit 17 fours and three sixes, hung in with the tail and was there at the end when legspinner Mitchell Swepson was dismissed by Billy Stanlake.Former Queensland quick Stanlake, playing his first first-class match since May 2021 and first Sheffield Shield match since February 2020, had a good day on his former home ground, finishing with 4 for 50.He had reserve Test batter Matt Renshaw brilliantly caught at backward square leg, broke the century stand by having Neser caught behind and helped run through the lower order.Fellow quick Gabe Bell was also impressive with 4 for 40. He had debutant opener Angus Lovell lbw for a duck.At stumps, Tasmania were 33 for 0, with Tim Ward and Caleb Jewell navigating a tricky 25-minute period before the close of play.

MatériaMais Notícias

Na última semana, um novo problema veio à tona no São Paulo:o atraso de quase três meses dos direitos de imagem dos jogadores. Porém, segundo o diretor de futebol Carlos Belmonte, um destes meses já estaria pago e o clube pretende quitar logo estas dívidas com os atletas.

RelacionadasSão PauloVÍDEO: Centésimo gol de Rogério Ceni pelo São Paulo completa 12 anos; relembreSão Paulo27/03/2023São PauloSão Paulo tem problema com reforço para jogos da Copa do BrasilSão Paulo27/03/2023São PauloAfastado após acusação de violência doméstica, Pedrinho participa de jogo-treino do São Paulo contra o CoritibaSão Paulo27/03/2023

Para contextualizar, os direitos de imagem representam uma boa parcela do valor que cada jogador recebe por mês. Este atraso teria dois meses completos, mas perto de encaminhar para o terceiro. Recentemente, o Conselho Deliberativo também aprovou quatro novos empréstimos, que como o LANCE! adiantou, eram esperados para quitar algumas dívidas com a equipe.

São Paulo reencontra Tigre; Botafogo enfrentará altitude: veja os grupos da Copa Sul-Americana

Veja tabela do Campeonato Paulista

Em entrevista à ‘ESPN’ durante o sorteio da fase de grupos da Copa Sul-Americana, Belmonte destacou que um dos meses em atraso foi pago nesta semana, mas o segundo ainda estaria em aberto. Porém, segundo suas palavras, afirmou que a ‘prioridade é estar em dia com o elenco’.

-Agora nosso foco é pagar os atletas em dia. Estávamos com duas imagens em atraso, agora nessa semana estamos pagando uma imagem, uma ainda está em aberto – afirmou.

O vencimento do terceiro mês ainda não teria acontecido. Entretanto, ressaltou que o São Paulo pretende pagar estes valores ‘o mais rápido possível’.

– No dia 30 de abril, vence mais uma. Queremos fazer esse pagamento o mais rápido possível e sempre buscar ficar em dia com os atletas. Isso para nós é fundamental – completou.

A eliminação contra o Água Santa teria contribuído para a complicação da questão financeira. Eliminado nas quartas, o São Paulo deixou de lucrar tanto com bilheteria quanto com o valor que receberia com as classificações – sem contar uma provável premiação na final.

Inclusive, estava previsto nas metas orçamentárias do clube que era esperado que, como aconteceu nos últimos dois anos, o Tricolor chegasse na final do Estadual. Ao todo, foram quase R$ 10 milhões que o clube deixou de ganhar.

Outra derrota que causou um grande impacto foi na final da Copa Sul-Americana, no ano passado, contra o Independiente Del Valle. Visto como o grande favorito ao título, o Tricolor não conseguiu ser campeão, e assim, deixou de lucrar quase R$ 30 milhões – que receberia na premiação.

Este dinheiro estava sendo visto como uma das grandes metas do clube no continental, além de romper o jejum de títulos de grande porte mantido desde 2012.

Esta não é a primeira vez que estes atrasos acontecem. No último ano, foi algo que ocorreu durante todo o segundo semestre.

Legendary former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was spotted catching up with David de Gea ahead of the new season.

Fergie spotted with De GeaFormer United goalkeeper now with FiorentinaNew team visit Old Trafford on SaturdayFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Fiorentina's official X account shared a set of pictures showing De Gea and Ferguson reuniting. The pair sat down together and appeared to engage in something of a trip down memory lane ahead of a pre-season friendly between the Serie A club and United this weekend.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

De Gea was signed by Ferguson in 2011 and played 80 times under the legendary Scotsman. De Gea went on to spend over a decade at the club, making 545 appearances in goal for the club, and could fairly be termed an iconic figure himself.

DID YOU KNOW?

Under Ferguson's management, the Spaniard became a Premier League champion, although that was his only trophy during his reign. Afterwards, he won the FA Cup in 2016, the Carabao Cup in 2017 and 2023 and the Europa League in 2017.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT?

De Gea is preparing for the season ahead. After their clash with United at Old Trafford, Fiorentina face a Conference League play-off against an opponent that is yet to be determined.

Juventus have named Randal Kolo Muani their top striker target for the summer, with Rasmus Hojlund low on the club's priority list.

• Juventus prioritising Kolo Muani
• Hojlund and Castro backup options
• Complete revolution in attack

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Juventus have considered Bologna's Santiago Castro alongside Manchester United's Hojlund as possible summer signings, but coach Igor Tudor has specifically requested the club go after Kolo Muani first, according to

  Juventus have already signed Jonathan David on a free but they want a partner to play alongside the Canadian forward.

Advertisement

• AFP
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Juventus are planning a major overhaul of their attacking unit. With Dusan Vlahovic attracting interest from AC Milan and Timothy Weah nearing a move to Marseille, the Bianconeri hope to reinvest the proceeds to strengthen the squad. While they have secured the permanent signing of Francisco Conceicao, progress on a deal for Jadon Sancho has been limited.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Juventus are also seeking re-inforcements in midfield with links to Sporting CP's Morten Hjumland and Tottenham's Yves Bissouma. Juventus have also expressed interest in Fenerbahce's Sofyan Amrabat.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR KOLO MUANI AND JUVENTUS ?

  Juventus will hope that they can strike a deal with Paris Saint-Germain for Kolo Muani, with the striker not seem to be part of Luis Enrique's plans. He will hope that he can continue in Turin after enjoying a good loan spell at the club in which he scored 10 goals and provided three assists.

MatériaMais Notícias

Um dos grandes destaques do Atlético Goianiense no Campeonato Brasileiro, o atacante Wellington Rato segue acreditando nas possibilidades de o clube permanecer na Série A em 2023.

Com 67 partidas disputadas na temporada, o jogador fala sobre a reta final da equipe na competição.

– Temos três jogos a fazer e precisamos somar o maior número de pontos possível. Nós confiamos nas nossas forças e no nosso poder de reação em momentos difíceis. Vamos a Fortaleza bastante motivados – disse.

A partida a que Wellington se refere é o confronto do próximo domingo às 16h (Horário de Brasília) contra o Fortaleza no Castelão. Além deste jogo, o rubro-negro goiano receberá o Athletico e visitará o América-MG até o fim do Brasileirão.

Com 15 gols e seis assistências na temporada, o carioca prefere pensar nos dois rivais apenas mais à frente.

– Até domingo nosso foco está inteiramente no Fortaleza. Depois sim, voltaremos nossas atenções para o Athletico. É necessário ter equilíbrio e paciência neste momento – concluiu.

RelacionadasCruzeiroBrock promete Cruzeiro motivado contra o CSA e revela último desejo na Série BCruzeiro04/11/2022SantosSantos x Avaí: onde assistir, as prováveis escalações e os desfalquesSantos04/11/2022Seleção BrasileiraTite tem ‘reunião final’ com comissão da Seleção para fechar nomes de convocação para CopaSeleção Brasileira04/11/2022

Sri Lanka outplayed Pakistan on a slow and sticky surface in Hangzhou to advance to the final of the Asian Games. Chasing a small target of 76, Sri Lanka took the game till 17 overs to set up the gold-medal contest with India – who beat Bangladesh in a low-scoring, one-sided contest earlier in the day – on Monday.Opting to field first in the second semi-final, Sri Lanka’s bowlers were all over Pakistan’s batters from the beginning. They were restricted to 75 for 9 in 20 overs with right-arm medium pacer Udeshika Prabodhani starring with three wickets and young offspinner Kavisha Dilhari picking up two wickets. Inoshi Priyadharshani, Achini Kulasuriya and Inoka Ranaweera took a wicket apiece to blunt Pakistan. That only three batters crossed double digits showed how Nida Dar’s side struggled to score.On the other hand, Sri Lanka got off to a decent start with Chamari Athapaththu using sweep shots to negate the spinners’ turn. After scoring two boundaries, she mistimed a slog sweep to hole out on 14 off 19 balls. Opener Anushka Sanjeewani also fell inside the powerplay for a 13-ball 15 but Harshitha Samarawickrama at one-drop stitched a 35-run stand in 51 deliveries with Nilakshi de Silva for the third wicket to ensure Sri Lanka didn’t lose wickets in a flurry. Samarawickrama, despite consuming 41 balls, played a crucial knock of 23 while de Silva’s unbeaten 18 saw Sri Lanka chasing down the target with 21 balls to spare and six wickets in hand.Sadia Iqbal, Daina Baig and Umm-e-Hani were among the wickets for Pakistan, but it wasn’t enough to stop Sri Lanka from advancing to the final. They will face Bangladesh for a third-place play-off on Monday.

The wicketkeeper-batter finished as the second-most-capped woman cricketer for Ireland

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jul-2023

Ireland wicketkeeper Mary Waldron has announced her retirement, bringing to a close a 13-year-long international career.Waldron, 39, was ruled out of the third ODI against Australia on Friday because of an injury. She bowed out as the second-most-capped woman in international cricket for Ireland.”It’s obviously a very emotional time but I’m very proud of what I have achieved,” Waldron said in a statement. “I want to say a huge thank you to staff and coaches at Cricket Ireland for the opportunity to represent my country, and to Pembroke and Malahide for shaping my journey and supporting me all the way.”Related

Waldron always wanted to play a World Cup, but didn't think it would be in cricket

Waldron started out playing football for Ireland before making her debut in international cricket in her late 20s. She effected 111 dismissals as a wicketkeeper, the most for Ireland, after being picked to keep wickets for Pembroke Cricket Club. She also led Ireland in two ODIs.”Mary was one of those players you always wanted in your squad – a born leader both on and off the field,” Ed Joyce, Ireland head coach, said. “No matter the situation she could always be relied upon to rally her teammates or be a support during challenging times.”Being someone who came relatively late to cricket, it’s incredible how she learned quickly, and how insightful and incisive she became. Her ability to read the game, quickly analyse a situation or to spot a fielding change was welcomed by successive captains.”While playing in Tasmania in 2015, Waldron got interested in umpiring and, in 2018, became the first woman to umpire in a men’s List A match. She and Eloise Sheridan later became the first women to officiate in men’s first grade cricket in Australia in 2019.”It’s a sad day when a teammate retires – but even more so when that teammate is Mary Waldron,” Laura Delany, Ireland captain, said. “We made our international debuts on the same day and I have loved every minute of playing alongside her.”To have a great wicketkeeper in your side is an asset – but to also have a great analytical brain being able to assess circumstances of the game from behind the stumps is a godsend, and I know she has helped me to become a better leader through our many on-field and off-field conversations.”