All posts by h79snht.top

The experience of Callum Ferguson guided the Thunder over the line

Andrew McGlashan22-Dec-2020An eye-catching debut from Ollie Davies and a notable comeback by Adam Milne were two of the standout performances for the Sydney Thunder as they marched to victory against a Perth Scorchers side who never really hit top gear.The Scorchers labored to 3 for 56 at the midway mark of their innings and though Mitchell Marsh and Cameron Bancroft did a good job to take them above 150 it felt as though they were always playing catch up.The chase had some tricky moments at the start, but the partnership of 75 in seven overs between 20-year-old Davies and captain Callum Ferguson put the Thunder on course before Ben Cutting played his part in closing out the game.Ollie Davies brings out the switch hit for six•Getty Images

Heated TyeThe Thunder had not gained much early impetus to their chase having lost Alex Hales for a first-ball duck – bowled by a beauty from Jason Behrendorff – and Usman Khawaja heaved into the leg side shortly after being given a life courtesy of an awful umpiring decision when he hit the cover off a drive against AJ Tye. The Scorchers, and especially Tye, could barely believe the decision with the umpiring telling the bowler he thought the bat had hit the ground. Tye was still ticking at the end of the over and had to be told to calm down. However, it was far from the first poor decision in this tournament that will reignite the debate over the lack of the DRS. Youth and experienceThere are 16 years between Ferguson and Davies who combined for the stand that turned the game in the Thunder’s favour. Two years ago, Davies came into the spotlight when he struck six sixes in an over during an Under-19 tournament and it was that sort of intent he put on show here. Against Behrendorff, an international fast bowler, he used his feet to launch a six over midwicket and then struck a massive one-handed hook out of the ground – the enjoyment evident in his face. He showed that same positive approach against the spin of Fawad Ahmed, slog-sweeping him for his third six, before having one dip too many and being stumped. But it had been a joyous little innings.Ferguson, given a life on 2 when Josh Inglis missed a difficult chance, had certainly not been left behind by his young team-mate, tucking into Aaron Hardie’s third over as the game swung the Thunder’s way. He went to his half-century from 39 balls then Cutting tucked into Jhye Richardson during the first over of the Power Surge to bring the required rate under a run-a-ball although good overs from Tye, which included Ferguson being dropped by Marsh, and Ahmed brought a modicum bit of pressure.Milne’s comebackMilne was playing his first game since August 2019 after another run of injuries. He has opted for the BBL against of New Zealand domestic cricket in a bid to push his credentials for the next T20 World Cup. After being eased into the tournament, his first outing was impressive as he conceded just 17 from his four overs and did not concede a boundary, often hurrying the batsmen for pace. However, there would have been a few hearts-in-mouths early in his second over when his spikes did not take in the delivery stride and he slid through the crease, very close to doing something nasty to his ankle. He finished flat on his back, but in a relief for everyone quickly managed a smile before dusting himself down.Power Surge pinch-hitterThere was some out-of-the-box thinking from the Scorchers as they tried inject life into their innings when they called the Surge. Ashton Turner, who again struck the ball well, had fallen to the last delivery of the first of the two overs and Richardson walked out at No. 6 with a license to swing. It was a qualified success as he heaved his first ball to the midwicket fence, faced a dot and then got a single with 30 runs in total off the Surge. Knowing his job wasn’t to waste deliveries, Richardson carved his next delivery to backward point.

Leeds United have opened preliminary talks over signing a replacement for their £13 million player, as his Elland Road exit potentially beckons.

Players who could still quit Leeds after mass exodus

There has been somewhat of a mass exodus out of West Yorkshire since the Championship high-flyers ultimately failed to secure promotion back to the Premier League last season.

Related Bye Bye: £40k-p/w man on verge of leaving Leeds United with medical booked

Daniel Farke is already eyeing up a replacement.

Posts ByBen Browning Jul 19, 2024

Daniel Farke's side lost 1-0 to Southampton at Wembley in the play-off final in May, ending their hopes of an immediate climb back up to the top flight, with many Leeds players opting against the possibility of playing second-tier football next season.

Left-back Rasmus Kristensen is the latest man to wave goodbye to Leeds, at least temporarily, with the Danish ace joining Eintracht Frankfurt on loan for the 2024/25 season.

Kristensen joins a succession of other players, including English sensation Archie Gray, Luis Sinisterra, Glen Kamara, Marc Roca and other big names in sealing moves away from the club.

Leeds United exits so far

Player

Fee

Archie Gray

£35m

Luis Sinisterra

£20m

Glen Kamara

£8.5m

Marc Roca

£3.8m

Charlie Cresswell

£3.8m

Diego Llorente

£2.7m

Rasmus Kristensen

Loan

Sam Greenwood

Loan

Jack Harrison

Loan

Darko Gyabi

Loan

Robin Koch

Free

Jamie Shackleton

Free

Luke Ayling

Free

Fees courtesy of Transfermarkt

As Leeds look to balance the books, trim the squad and make signings of their own, as Farke aims for another promotion push and to bounce back strongly after play-off final heartache, it is believed a few more players could follow the aforementioned out.

One of them is versatile and attack-minded left-back Junior Firpo, who registered eight Championship assists in 29 league appearances under Farke last season and proved himself an effective asset at times.

Reports in Spain have recently claimed that Firpo has agreed personal terms with Real Betis, and a return to his former club in La Liga is well and truly on the cards. Indeed, Firpo is even willing to take a pay cut so he can join Betis from Leeds, so the player's willingness appears evident.

Leeds open preliminary talks over signing Junior Firpo replacement

Football Insider has an update on Leeds' plans for if, or when, Firpo seals a move back to Spain.

The outlet states that Leeds have opened preliminary talks with a host of targets to replace Firpo, with Betis now opening club-to-club negotiations to seal a deal for the 27-year-old.

They add that Firpo is highly regarded by the Whites, who are reluctant to sell but will entertain the idea if they can source an adequate successor. The £60,000-per-week ace cost around £13 million to sign from Barcelona in 2021, but his days in England could now be numbered.

Called "immense" for his form at times by Leeds YouTuber Conor McGilligan, Firpo has gone on to make 84 appearances in all competitions for the club, registering 12 assists in that time.

The Dominican Republic international, who will soon represent his country at the Olympic Games in Paris, is currently preparing to take on Egypt in their opening Group C game – which will kick off in four days.

Shakib Al Hasan returns to preliminary Test and ODI squads after serving his one-year ban

Mohammad Isam04-Jan-2021

Speculation over Mashrafe Mortaza’s retirement has been doing the rounds for two years now•AFP

Bangladesh’s selectors picked a 24-man preliminary squad for the ODI series against West Indies later this month, and the one player they didn’t pick has become the main talking point: Mashrafe Mortaza, the country’s highest wicket-taker in ODIs and longest-serving captain. This is the first time Mortaza has been dropped from the ODI squad since making his debut in November 2001, though he has missed a lot of cricket over the years because of injuries.One high-profile name that did make it, into both the preliminary Test and ODI squads announced on Monday, was Shakib Al Hasan, back in the national reckoning after his one-year ban for not reporting a corrupt approach. Shakib was Bangladesh’s Test and T20I captain before his ban, but now returns as an ordinary member of the side.Those selected will, from next week, take part in a training camp and play two practice matches on January 14 and 16, before the squad is trimmed closer to the ODI series that begins on January 20. This is going to be Bangladesh’s first international series since the Covid-19 pandemic stopped cricket in the country in mid-March. There have been two domestic tournaments but a number of home series and away tours have been postponed. Last month, West Indies agreed to this shortened tour.Bangladesh’s preliminary squads

ODIs: Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed, Shakib Al Hasan, Al-Amin Hossain, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shoriful Islam, Mushfiqur Rahim, Hasan Mahmud, Mohammad Mithun, Mohammad Saifuddin, Liton Das, Mustafizur Rahman, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Afif Hossain, Taijul Islam, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Nasum Ahmed, Soumya Sarkar, Parvez Hossain Emon, Yasir Ali, Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Naim, Rubel Hossain
Tests: Momimul Haque, Taskin Ahmed, Tamim Iqbal, Khaled Ahmed, Shakib Al Hasan, Hasan Mahmud, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mustafizur Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Mohammad Mithun, Taijul Islam, Liton Das, Nurul Hasan, Yasir Ali, Shadman Islam, Saif Hassan, Nayeem Hasan, Abu Jayed, Ebadot Hossain

The decision on 37-year-old Mortaza has come at a significant time as the Bangladesh team builds towards the 2023 ODI World Cup. Chief selector Minhajul Abedin said the decision on Mortaza was a collective one, taken by the selectors and the team management.”We respect him, he has done a lot for the country,” Abedin said. “I have spoken to him in detail, so there’s not going to be any misunderstanding. It was a tough decision but we have to consider the reality, and keep looking forward. We took a combined decision after long discussions with team management, and considering everything [decided to] to put off Mashrafe. We discussed everything. We didn’t leave anything out. Everyone participated in the discussion including the fitness trainer and bowling coach. For the player who replaces him, it will be a fresh start. We have to expose our young players.”Abedin also said that the decision on whether to retire or play on lay with Mortaza. “Whether he continues playing or not, is entirely up to him. We cannot really say anything about what his performance is going to be.”Speculation over Mortaza retiring has been a long-running affair, with the topic first cropping up during the 2019 World Cup. But Mortaza has been adamant about continuing to make himself available in ODIs, even though he resigned from captaincy last February following Bangladesh’s 3-0 ODI series win against Zimbabwe, their last international series before the pandemic-forced lockdown.Related

Mashrafe Mortaza unfazed by ODI snub: 'Everything has an end'

Life in the time of Mashrafe Mortaza, by Tamim and Mahmudullah

Mortaza left 'embarrassed' by BCB plan to 'remove' him

As recently as in the Bangabandhu T20 Cup last month, Mortaza took a five-wicket haul after joining Gemcon Khulna belatedly in the tournament. But there have been growing calls from within the BCB and the team management for him to retire from international cricket. Bowling coach Ottis Gibson even said in a interview that Mortaza was no longer in head coach Russell Domingo’s plans for the ODI side.Shakib Al Hasan returned to competitive cricket at the Bangabandhu T20 Cup•Getty Images

“I think if Russell is now trying to build a team for the future, then I don’t know what part Mashrafe will have to play in that. Perhaps now is his time, with all that’s going on in the world, to move on,” Gibson had said. “He can find other ways to pass on his vast knowledge and experience to the young guys. I don’t think he has to be on the field to be able to pass on what he has learned over his career. He needs to find other ways to pass on that message.”More recently, BCB president Nazmul Hassan held a similar view when asked about Mortaza’s potential selection for the West Indies series.”If his fitness is taken into consideration, he is unlikely to be selected,” Hassan told the Dhaka-based Ekattor TV last week. “But he loves taking on challenges. Whether he will play or retire, only he can decide. I haven’t had any discussions with him about it. I think he is having indecision, which is a surprise because as long as he was the captain, his decision-making was clean and clear.”Even if he is in the squad, I think it will be difficult for him to be in the playing XI. We are building towards the future, so don’t really know how long we will get his service. There’s no guarantee that if he get him in one series, whether we will get him in the next one. We also have to consider who we are going to drop to make room for Mashrafe, so these are not easy decisions.”Abedin said that the selectors had decided to take a look at a larger pool of players for the ODIs with the 2023 World Cup very much in mind. “We are focused on the 2023 World Cup. We have a lot of ODIs from this year, in all formats, which is why we made a bigger pool.”The selectors have called up Shoriful Islam and Parvez Hossain Emon in the preliminary ODI squad, following performances in last year’s Under-19 World Cup and recent domestic games. There were no such rookies in the 20-man Test group, which instead focused on tried-and-tested first-class performers.

MatériaMais Notícias

Depois de ter rescindido seu acordo de empréstimo junto a Chapecoense, O atacante Fabinho foi anunciado como reforço do Vitória, também em regime de empréstimo, tendo seus direitos ainda ligados ao Athletico-PR.

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>Aplicativo de resultados do LANCE! está disponível na versão iOS

O jogador de 21 anos de idade, aliás, já está devidamente registrado com seu novo contrato no Boletim Informativo Diário (BID) da CBF. Logo, tem condições burocráticas de estrear na próxima rodada do Brasileirão da Série B onde o Nego jogará diante do Goiás, em Goiânia.

A chegada de Fabinho ocorre justamente após uma espécie de “desabafo” feito pelo técnico Wagner Lopes onde ele entende que os jogadores não vem aproveitando oportunidades que tem sido dadas por ele pensando em um maior controle emocional dos atletas.

Na oportunidade, Wagner analisou, mais especificamente, a expulsão do avante Samuel durante o empate sem gols do meio de semana contra o Botafogo, no Barradão, que manteve o time dentro da zona de rebaixamento com 26 pontos ganhos na 18ª posição.

يخطط نادي الهلال متصدر الدوري السعودي لمزيد من الصفقات القوية قبل المشاركة في بطولة كأس العالم 2025 والتي ستقام خلال شهري يونيو ويوليو بالولايات المتحدة الأمريكية.

وتنطلق بطولة كأس العالم للأندية في 15 يونيو وتستمر حتى 13 يوليو المقبل، بمشاركة 32 فريقًا ويتواجد الهلال في المجموعة الثامنة رفقة ريال مدريد، باتشوكا، سالزبورج.

وبالتالي، يريد النادي السعودي التعاقد مع أفضل اللاعبين وبحسب موقع “Anfield Watch” البريطاني أن أنظارهم على لاعب آخر بخلاف محمد صلاح.

اقرأ أيضًا | بعد رفع اسمه من قائمة الفريق.. وكالة نيمار توضح موقف اللاعب مع الهلال السعودي

حيث كانت هناك أنباء عن رغبة الهلال في ضم محمد صلاح لتدعيم الجناح الأيسر في المونديال ولكن الجديد هو اهتمام النادي السعودي بالتعاقد مع، داروين نونيز، في يناير.

وبحسب التقرير أن الهلال يريد التعاقد مع نونيز ليعود تحت قيادة مدربه، خورخي جيسوس، من جديد والذي دربه في بنفيكا من قبل، واستغلال الانتقادات التي يتعرض لها الأوروجوياني لعدم وصوله للمستوى المطلوب في ليفربول.

ليفربول لن يمانع في رحيل نونيز عن قلعة “أنفيلد” ولكن بمبلغ لن يقل عن 85 مليون جنيه إسترليني، ولكن المشكلة أن الهلال غير مستعد لدفع هذا المبلغ.

Big day for Ahmed Shah Durrani too, as he becomes second Afghan, after Pakteen, to be a TV umpire in a Test match

Sreshth Shah02-Mar-2021

Ahmed Shah Pakteen (R) became the first on-field Test umpire from Afghanistan•Afghanistan Cricket Board

The first Test between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe had four players making their Test debuts. There was another Test first-timer on the field, too, 44-year old Ahmed Shah Pakteen, who became the first from Afghanistan to be an on-field umpire in a Test match. Aleem Dar, the veteran official from Pakistan, was the other on-field umpire for the game.Pakteen made his debut as an international cricket umpire in January 2017. He has previously stood in 15 ODIs and 20 T20Is. In March 2019, Pakteen had become the first Afghan to be a TV umpire during the only Test between Afghanistan and Ireland. Ten months later, in January 2020, he became the first Afghan umpire at an ICC main event when he officiated at the Men’s Under-19 World Cup in South Africa.While there is no Afghan representation in the 12-member elite panel of umpires (the highest category), there are four in the international panel: apart from Pakteen, there are Ahmed Shah Durrani, Bismillah Jan Shinwari and Izatullah Safi.The ongoing Test also marked a debut in Tests for Durrani, who became the second Afghan – after Pakteen – to be a TV umpire in the longest format. Durrani made his international umpiring debut in December 2016 and has been an on-field umpire 19 times in white-ball cricket.Pakteen’s debut now means that Ireland is the only full-member nation to not field an on-field umpire yet. Ireland have played three Tests so far, and the only official from their country has been Mark Hawthorne, who was the TV umpire in their debut Test, against Pakistan in 2018 .

أسدل قبل قليل الستار على مباريات الجولة السادسة عشر من عمر الدوري السعودي للمحترفين “روشن” 2024-2025.

وحافظ فريق الهلال على صدارته لجدول ترتيب الدوري السعودي -بفارق الأهداف- بعد الفوز على الوحدة بنتيجة 4-1.

وكان فريق النصر قد استطاع خطف فوز هام من الخليج بنتيجة 3-1، على أرضية استاد محمد بن فهد.

وتمكن الأهلي من الفوز على الاتفاق بنتيجة 2-1 في المباراة التي جمعت بينهما مساء أمس في اليوم الأول من مواجهات الجولة السادسة عشر للدوري السعودي.

طالع | ترتيب هدافي الدوري السعودي بعد ثنائية رونالدو أمام الخليج

وافتتح الفيحاء مباريات الجولة 16 بالفوز على الخلود بنتيجة 1-0، بينما استطاع الأخدود الفوز بثنائية نظيفة على حساب الرائد.

واختتم الاتحاد مباريات الجولة بالفوز على الشباب بهدفين دون رد، ورفع رصيده إلى 43 نقطة مستمرًا في ملاحقة الهلال. جدول ترتيب الدوري السعودي

1-الهلال – 43 نقطة.

2-الاتحاد – 43 نقطة.

3-القادسية- 34 نقطة.

4-النصر- 32 نقطة.

5-الأهلي – 29 نقطة.

6-الشباب – 26 نقطة.

7-الرياض- 25 نقطة.

8-الخليج – 23 نقطة.

9-التعاون- 22 نقطة.

10-ضمك – 18 نقطة.

11-الاتفاق – 18 نقطة.

12-الخلود – 16 نقطة.

13-الأخدود – 15 نقطة.

14-الفيحاء – 15 نقطة.

15-الرائد – 14 نقطة.

16-العروبة – 13 نقطة.

17-الوحدة – 12 نقطة.

18-الفتح – 6 نقاط.

يمكنكم متابعة ترتيب الدوري السعودي محدث باستمرار من هنا 

MatériaMais Notícias

Após a rescisão de contrato de Marquinhos Calazans ser publicada no Boletim Informativo Diário (BID) da CBF, os representantes do atleta pretendem abrir discussões judiciais para avaliar o distrato que, segundo o staff do jogador, foi realizado de maneira ilegal.

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CONFIRA A TABELA ATUALIZADA E SIMULE OS JOGOS DO BRASILEIRÃO DE 2021!

Em nota divulgada pelos representantes, a demissão por justa causa alegada pelo Tricolor foi questionada. O staff de Marquinhos Calazans nega qualquer insubordinação por parte do atleta perante o São Paulo.

De acordo com os representantes, o motivo que deixou o jogador de fora das atividades da equipe é físico. O staff afirma que Marquinhos segue sem poder treinar com bola por causa de uma cirurgia no joelho esquerdo, da qual ainda não se recuperou completamente.

O São Paulo, porém, buscou a rescisão do contrato justamente após o atleta não ir comparecer ao clube para dar continuidade aos tratamentos para se recuperar desta lesão no joelho.

Em resposta à rescisão, os empresários afirmam que o distrato publicado pelo São Paulo é ilegal, pois não foi feito um acordo para encerrar o vínculo entre o clube e o jogador.

Veja a nota publicada pelos empresários de Marquinhos Calazans:

– Em virtude das últimas notícias veiculadas na mídia informando sobre a publicação da rescisão do contrato de trabalho entre o atleta Marquinhos Calazans e o São Paulo Futebol Clube no BID (Boletim Informativo Diário) da CBF, na última sexta-feira, o atleta vem esclarecer o quanto segue:

1 – O atleta refuta de forma veemente a prática de qualquer ato de insubordinação enquanto vinculado ao clube;

2 – O atleta realizou o tratamento para recuperação da cirurgia a que foi submetido fora da estrutura do São Paulo Futebol Clube por expressa autorização de seu empregador;

3 – O São Paulo Futebol Clube jamais advertiu o atleta ou o convocou para terminar sua recuperação no clube, tendo simplesmente, de forma abrupta, o comunicado de seu desligamento por suposta justa causa, a qual será objeto de discussão judicial;

4 – O atleta não se encontra plenamente recuperado de sua cirurgia e apto à prática do futebol, tendo que realizar nova intervenção cirúrgica para que possa novamente desempenhar suas atividades;

5 – O desligamento do atleta pelo clube ocorreu de forma ilegal, sem ao menos considerar a situação de saúde do atleta no atual momento; e

6 – Não houve, até o momento presente, qualquer acordo entre o atleta e o São Paulo Futebol Clube quanto aos termos e condições da rescisão contratual e do acerto da dívida existente junto ao atleta.

MAB Gestão

Calazans chegou ao São Paulo em 2019, vindo do Fluminense, que ainda possui 30% dos direitos econômicos do jogador. O atleta assinou vínculo com o Tricolor paulista até o dia 30 de junho de 2022, mas teve o contrato rescindido após jogar apenas quatro partidas pelo clube.

Barcelona chiefs are convinced that their £55 million transfer target is actually prioritising a move to Arsenal this summer, with club officials at Atletico Madrid also holding this belief about the player.

Arsenal targeting next key signing after Riccardo Calafiori

Earlier this week, the north Londoners finally announced their first outfield signing of the summer window, with Italy international defender Riccardo Calafiori joining from Bologna in an initial £34 million deal.

Related £55 million forward would be keen to join Arsenal, Arteta is a big fan

The Spaniard really likes him.

Posts ByEmilio Galantini Jul 31, 2024

The 22-year-old, who helped Bologna qualify for the Champions League and stood out as one of Italy's star players during Euro 2024, is capable of playing as both a centre-back and a left-back – thereby shoring up two positions in Mikel Arteta's defence.

Calafiori has now joined up with his new squad on their pre-season tour of the USA, and his arrival is a big boost for Arteta as the Spaniard seeks to beat Man City to a Premier League title at the third attempt.

Now, focus switches to who else sporting director Edu Gaspar and the Arsenal recruitment team could bring in before summer deadline day on August 30. A new midfielder is rumoured to be on the agenda, and they've been linked with a few interesting names lately.

Arsenal have reportedly held talks with Paris-Saint Germain over Fabian Ruiz, according to some reports, and Football Transfers claim the move could even be agreed as a loan deal.

Emile Smith Rowe's potential £35 million move to Fulham has paved the way for Arsenal to bring in a new creative midfield man, and Ruiz is apparently one of the players who could fit that mould.

Ruiz vs Smith Rowe

Stats per 90

Ruiz

Smith Rowe

Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists

0.25

0.56

Actual Non-Penalty Goals + Assists

0.40

0.19

Progressive Passes

6.24

6.36

Shots on Target

0.40

1.30

Passing Accuracy

89.3%

88.1%

Passes into the Final Third

4.90

3.86

Key Passes

1.44

1.36

Passes into the Penalty Area

1.29

2.95

Crosses into the Penalty Area

0.25

0.00

Live Passes

62.0

55.9

Completed Through Balls

0.25

0.00

Tackles Won

1.33

0.74

Blocks

0.89

0.68

Clearances

1.24

0.23

Successful Take-Ons

1.19

0.68

Carries

59.6

42.0

Ball Recoveries

6.34

5.00

All Stats via FBref for the 23/24 Season

Perhaps the most regularly mentioned midfield target, though, is Real Sociedad star Mikel Merino. The Spaniard's deal includes a £55 million release clause, but his contract will expire next year as things stand, meaning he could leave for much less.

Barcelona chiefs convinced Merino is prioritising Arsenal move

Fabrizio Romano, speaking on his YouTube channel, shared this week that Barcelona chiefs believe Merino is prioritising a move to Arsenal over remaining in his homeland – which would surely make them favourites.

"Atletico had in their list Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad," said Romano. "Atletico and Barca, both clubs are still thinking of Mikel Merino, but both clubs feel that Mikel Merino is giving total priority to Arsenal."

Called a "well-rounded" player and "one of the best" in La Liga by performance analyst Marcus Bring, the 28-year-old impressed for Spain at Euro 2024, scoring the winner against Germany in their quarter-final tie before they went on to win the tournament.

Merino also racked up eight goals and five assists across 45 appearances in all competitions for Sociedad last season.

“If the ball is moving around 140-145 clicks that has to be more challenging than somebody bowling at 85-90” – Ashwin

Matt Roller14-Feb-20213:57

Manjrekar – I don’t think anyone in his right mind will call this a good pitch

Ben Foakes said that conditions in Chennai were “obviously extremely tough, and probably not going to get any easier” after keeping wicket for 113.5 overs and batting for nearly two hours across the first two days of England’s second Test against India.With Jos Buttler at home in the UK as part of the ECB’s rotation policy for multi-format players, Foakes has been backed by England to keep wicket in the final three Tests of this series, and took his chance in India’s first innings with an accomplished display with the gloves: England did not concede a single extra, while Foakes took two catches off Olly Stone’s bowling and completed a stumping off Moeen Ali.Related

India turn screw as R Ashwin rolls through England with five-for

India in driver's seat because of their method, skill and discipline

R Ashwin: 'I have got better at varying the seam position'

He then performed creditably with the bat, compiling an unbeaten 42 from No. 7 after coming in at 52 for 5 to drag England up to 134 all out, though his keeping was less polished at the start of India’s second innings, as he missed a stumping chance off Moeen’s bowling to dismiss Rohit Sharma and also conceded five byes.”It was extremely difficult,” Foakes told the host broadcaster, Star Sports. “Obviously they [India] are a pretty high-quality spin outfit and the pitch was playing a few tricks, so all in all it was a really tough day. We have just got to try to apply ourselves [in the] second innings.”It’s obviously extremely tough and it’s probably not going to get any easier. Balls are going to spit past us, balls are going to keep low, and so we have to play within our own gameplans, our own limits, and try to put pressure on the bowlers where we can but also back our defence, too.”Foakes highlighted the lack of any moisture in the surface, which he suggested had made the pitch particularly difficult to bat on.Ben Foakes held up his end for a long time for England•BCCI

“I think it’s just spitting so much,” he said. “It’s obviously so dry on the top that a lot of balls are taking the top and really turning, and then you’re getting the odd ball shoot low as well. All in all, it’s quite a difficult pitch to bat on.”I was just trying to play for the ball that wasn’t going to rag, try to play within my limits, and play the ball late, basically – not get too far outside my bubble.”Because the ball is taking the top of the surface, it’s spitting quite a lot, so it was almost [a case of] accepting that if one hit me on the glove or something then it was fair enough. Otherwise, I just tried to stick to my gameplan as if it was a normal sort of wicket and react if possible.”R Ashwin, who took 5 for 43 to help roll through England in their second innings, said that batsmen needed to be “very patient” on the Chepauk surface, but suggested that the pitch was no more challenging than one which would offer bounce and carry for fast bowlers.”I think it’s about being very patient, like when you play on a seaming wicket,” Ashwin said. “You have to dive through the initial phase, and get over it and then put runs on the board. When it comes to spin, unfortunately people don’t expect… they want conditions in their favour, driving, cutting, everything needs to happen. But when it comes to a seaming wicket, you can’t do all those things when you start playing on that kind of a wicket in the morning. The same benchmark needs to be set when you play spin on a challenging wicket as well.”I do not know if they [England] have complaints. If they do, it is quite natural for people to come up against adverse conditions and then feel taken aback by it. In all honesty, the seven days of cricket that they have played so far, they have played really well, competed really well. I haven’t seen any of them complaining or anything like that.”But time and again there are conditions that will challenge, be it spin or seam. The only comparison I can say is if the ball is moving around 140-145 clicks [kph] off the deck, that has to be more challenging than somebody bowling at 85-90. Clearly, the challenges are way greater when you come up against seam. Just the same way when you come up against spin, you have to give it to the bowler, bide your time, and then probably cash in a little later. It is another art. As simple as that.”Graham Thorpe, England’s assistant coach, said that the toss had been an important factor – as it had been in the first Test of the series – and played down any concerns about umpiring. Rohit Sharma survived a review for lbw in the final half-hour after a ball from Moeen struck him outside the line and would have hit middle stump. Umpire Virender Sharma’s ‘not out’ decision was upheld after he had judged that Rohit had attempted to play a shot, despite appearing to hide his bat behind his front pad, which left Joe Root visibly frustrated.”It’s incredibly challenging on that surface on day two,” Thorpe said. “They’re a very skilled spin attack in their own conditions and it was a very good toss to win. Even in the first Test, we believed it was a good toss to win. I think this was just as important. We know that pitches deteriorate here as the game goes on, and this one has gone a little bit quicker.”It’s obviously a canny bit of play by Pujara [Rohit]. The umpire has to make that decision. He has to decide at the time whether he thinks a player has played a shot at the ball and you have to accept it. The on-field umpire has to make that decision and that’s the one he came down on: he thought Pujara [Rohit] was playing a shot.”