Tag Futebol

Four Bangladesh players have been included in the Rest of Asia squad to take on Pakistan in two limited-overs exhibition matches to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on May 25 and 26.”Shahriar Nafees, Mohammad Rafique, Aftab Ahmed and Shahadat Hossain will represent Rest of the Asia,” Faruque Ahmed, the Bangladesh chief selector, told .Faruque said that Nafees was included primarily because the organisers requested them to send a specialist opener for the matches. Nafees enjoyed a good series against Australia at home recently, scoring a century in the first Test at Fatullah.The other members of the squad include Anil Kumble, Ajay Jadeja, Gautam Gambhir and VVS Laxman from India, along with Romesh Kaluwitharana and Kumar Dharmasena from Sri Lanka. Sanath Jayasuriya was in the original list, but had to be withdrawn, as he is now with the national team on the tour of England. Jayasuriya recently reversed his decision to retire from Tests.A full-strength Pakistan team will be led by Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Australia 474 and 4 for 127 (Katich 39) lead India 246 (Patel 46, Ganguly 45, McGrath 4-55) by 355 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

India waged a grim battle in the face of a near-hopeless cause, first through their tailenders who hung on with gumption, and later through their bowlers, who prised out four Australian wickets on an absorbing third day at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. However, despite that grit, Australia were still overwhelming favourites to go one up in the series as they led by 355 runs when stumps were drawn.It wasn’t a day of pretty cricket, but it was utterly compelling nevertheless. Only 223 runs came in the day, but India fought an admirable trench war, keeping Australia at bay in the first half and then holding them on the leash after they had got off to a rollicking start. Harbhajan Singh bowled beautifully, much better than his figures (1 for 43) suggest, varying his length, pitching the ball on the stumps, and keeping the batsmen tentative.Seen in isolation, it was India’s day, but Australia have taken far too much ground in the first two for India to feel any degree of comfort. They will have to bat out of their skins for around five sessions on a wearing pitch to save the Test.Unlike the top order, the Indian tailenders gritted it out against some testing bowling and used up valuable time in the process. Parthiv Patel and Irfan Pathan led the defiant batting display, putting on 60 invaluable runs for the seventh wicket, as India extended their innings midway into the second session. They played out the opening spell from Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie with assurance – singles were cheered like centuries, and every ball negotiated prompted rapturous applause. Patel nudged and glided behind square, while Pathan made sure he played as straight as possible.The short ones were left alone – Patel weaved and ducked, refusing to be lured into the hook trap – while most of the balls outside off stump were left untouched. Patel tackled Shane Warne with soft hands, and waited for the ball to come on after turning slowly off the pitch.At the other end, Pathan showed streaks of aggression against Warne, dancing down the track and hoisting him for two fours. He fell to Warne immediately after the second of those lofted drives, given out for 31 to a dubious caught-behind decision as the ball deflected off the pad and sneaked through to Adam Gilchrist (7 for 196).Patel continued his obdurate ways as Anil Kumble, promoted ahead of Harbhajan , kept him company. Kumble, who was the first to walk out for a net session after India’s miserable batting display last evening, battled bravely in the face of a menacing spell from Michael Kasprowicz after lunch. He was rapped on the pads on a number of occasions before missing one that came in late and squirted away for four byes.

However, the new ball put an end to the tailend resistance: Gillespie gated Patel for 46, with one that came in late and uprooted middle stump (8 for 227). Kumble fell soon afterwards, and India finished with 246, nursing a slim hope of saving the game.That hope was slightly enhanced with the fourth ball of the Australian innings, as Irfan Pathan trapped Justin Langer in front with one that cut back in late. Replays showed that the ball might have gone marginally over the stumps. Simon Katich began with a flurry of fours, including an almost-perfect back-foot straight-drive off Pathan, and, with Matthew Hayden driving powerfully at the other end, the runs came in a rush.Harbhajan helped India stem the flow with a splendid piece of fielding at point. He charged towards the ball once Katich had pushed it to his right, picked up and threw down the stumps to leave Hayden (30) inches short of the crease (2 for 65). That proved to be a crucial point in the day, as Australia managed just 62 more in the last 26 overs, while losing two more wickets to the slow bowlers.India’s game-plan tomorrow will be similar to the final hour today, as they will want to delay Gilchrist’s declaration as long as possible. It might well turn out to be another absorbing day.

Bangladesh have named two new caps in a 15-man squad for their maiden tour of the Caribbean in May and June.Faisal Hossain and Abdur Razzaq, both batsmen who bowl part-time offspin, have been called up in place of Al-Sahariar Rokon and Manjural Islam, who toured Zimbabwe in February but were unable to make an impression.The tour party leaves Dhaka on May 6, with the first of three one-day internationals beginning in St Vincent on May 15. The tour concludes with two Tests in St Lucia and Jamaica from May 28.Bangladesh squad
Habibul Bashar (capt), Rajin Saleh, Hannan Sarkar, Shahariar Hossain, Mohammad Ashraful, Alok Kapali, Mushfiqur Rahman, Khaled Mahmud, Khaled Mashud (wk), Mohammad Rafique, Manjural Islam, Faisal Hossain, Tapash Baisya, Tareq Aziz, Abdur Razzaq.

Greg Blewett is back in Australian colours, this time for the Double Wicket World Championship on the paradise island of St. Lucia. Speaking to Wisden CricInfo after the first day’s play, Blewett spoke about the tournament, his hopes for his forthcoming spell with Kent, and the potential of Aussie new kid on the block Michael Clarke. Along with many of the assembled stars, Blewett was still taking stock of the competition’s format.”It’s interesting to see the tactics needed for the Double Wicket,” he said. “I think they will become clearer as the tournament progresses. You can either go for the aggressive Pakistani approach, or the more careful approach like West Indies. But there’s a definite advantage to bowling first so you can then play accordingly.”Like most of the spectators at Beausejour yesterday, Blewett was impressed with the immediate impact of Shahid Afridi.”The crowd want to see more of the Pakistan-style approach. But given that they lose 10 runs if they lose a wicket, if they lose a couple of wickets early on against some of the better bowlers, it will be interesting to see what they do.”The Double Wicket players were not the only ones on planes to the Caribbean last week. Steve Waugh’s Australians flew in to Guyana to begin their defence of the Frank Worrell Trophy.”Even with a couple of players out, the depth is pretty good. Michael Clarke (who replaces Damien Martyn) is a quality player,” Blewett enthused. “Everyone agrees he is the next Ricky Ponting.”Blewett also rates West Indies an improving side, especially on their home pitches.”I can’t see too many sides beating Australia.” It doesn’t come across as arrogance or a brash statement – simply factual.While the all-conquering Australians are headed for Guyana and the Test and one-day international tour of the West Indies, Blewett will be flying to England after the tournament for seven weeks with Kent – his third county following spells with Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire.Blewett is a like-for-like replacement for Andrew Symonds in the batting order, expected to bat at number four. But the path to a county contract for the forthcoming summer was unexpectedly difficult.”I thought that with counties being able to bring two players in, it would be easier. As it’s turned out, it’s been more difficult,” Blewett said. “Either they’re struggling financially, or they are being careful trying to balance their sides so need a certain type of player.”But Blewett is looking further than his seven-week stay.”Kent haven’t signed a second overseas player, so it’s a motivation that, if I do well, they might ask me to stay. Robert Key will probably be away with England for quite a bit of the summer. If I stayed on, I could move up the order and open the batting while he is away.”Whatever happens, it is a motivating factor for his initial spell with Kent, and the carrot of a longer contract could be just what is needed. Spectators in England this summer could see the best of a player who would walk into most Test or one-day sides.

Australian captain Steve Waugh, injured while running a single during the tourists’ victory in the Third Ashes Test at Trent Bridge, has said that he may leave England before the end of the series if he believes he has become a “nuisance” to his team-mates.Waugh, who has a double calf muscle tear, confirmed that he is out of contention for the Fourth Test at Headingley next week, although he is still hoping to be back for the fifth and final Test at the Oval. However, the odds are against him playing again on this tour, as the Australian physio, Errol Alcott, has prescribed seven to ten days’ treatment for an injury that usually takes at least a month to heal.In his absence, vice-captain Adam Gilchrist, scourge of England with bat and gloves, is likely to be promoted to lead the side, and Waugh is keen not to be in the way: “If I am being a nuisance or do not get any value in hanging around then I will decide to go home. Ten days of treatment is the best remedy, and if I feel like I am getting in the road of the new captain or vice-captain then I will go. If I was staying here it would have to have a purpose. You have to be fair to the new captain and give him some space.”One reason for Waugh staying in this country would be to receive the Waterford Crystal replica of the Ashes, presented to the winning team after the final Test and which recently has taken up long-term residence in Australia.Waugh will also have to wait until he is well enough to fly home if he should choose to leave the tour early: “If I go home it is going to be difficult. First of all I have got to fly and then I have to see the physio every day.”And even for a captain whose side have retained the Ashes and are the best Test and one-day side in the world, life still has its challenges: “I have to get to the physio – then I am going to be running around trying to chase the kids."

Normal service has been resumed for Kevin Pietersen. After the longest and most frustrating lean spell of his international career, he crashed back to form on the first day at Napier with his 11th Test century, a superb innings of 129 from 208 balls. The circumstances of the knock, however, were not quite as he had envisaged. In his mind’s eye, he would have been leading England on a run-spree, en route to a memorable series win. In reality, his was a backs-to-the-wall effort that saved his side from humiliation, but not as yet from defeat.Nothing demonstrated Pietersen’s mindset better than the celebration of his century. The shot he brought it up with was streaky, a thick edge through gully off Chris Martin, but the reaction was low-key in the extreme. A puff of the cheeks and a modest wave to all corners of the ground. England were 170 for 6 at the time, and Pietersen rightly said that the match situation, rather than his personal fortune, was foremost in his mind.”I didn’t have it in me to go prance, and jump around like a cake,” he said. “I knew I had to stick in there. It was a really important time for us, and I was working in tens, and trying to get a partnership going. I’m sure if we had been two-down, and in a whole lot better position, I’d have been more extravagant. But my head just wasn’t in that space.”His head hasn’t been in that space for quite some time. Pietersen hadn’t managed even a half-century in his previous ten innings of the winter, and even for a man with his levels of self-assurance, the pressure was beginning to tell. Not least at the start of today’s innings. “At 4 for 3, there was me thinking, ‘crikey, I’ve got to get a score here even more’,” said Pietersen. “It’s been a tough time, but to be honest with you, that’s the cycle of life, these things happen. Hopefully I’ve come through it and I can continue scoring. At the end of the day. I’m pretty happy with 11 hundreds in 30 games.”When he did end the drought, the first person he picked out with his bat-waving was his wife, Jessica, who he acknowledged for her role in maintaining his morale. She had originally intended to fly home on March 12 for a wedding, but remained out in New Zealand for the final two Tests of the series. “She knew I wasn’t in as happy a place as I could have been, and she stayed on,” said Pietersen. “It’s great, I love having family around. I hate being away from home.”He’ll be rather happier with his travels now, regardless of the match situation. “I’m not a robot, I’ve got to go through a patch where I don’t score for a while,” he said. “Hopefully that patch is finished now and the cricket gods are smiling. How fun would life be if everything was hunky dory all the time. I like to fight and be challenged, and I’ve worked harder on this trip than I have done any stage [of my career], because I’ve really strived for success. The cycle of life says the harder you work you’re going to be rewarded.”Pietersen picked out Ricky Ponting, who managed one score in excess of 25 in the recent VB Series, as an example of a cricketer who’s enduring a rough trot that cannot last. “I’ve been playing well in the five Tests leading up to this, and I’ve got a 30 or 40 in every single match. If that’s your bad patch it’s not all bad,” said Pietersen. “It’s frustrating because I’ve let a load of people down who come and watch all the time, and I like to entertain, play good innings, and keep people going.”At 4 for 3, entertainment wasn’t the first thought that crossed Pietersen’s mind, and yet, as he demonstrated so memorably with his incredible 158 in the 2005 Ashes, match-saving and crowd-pleasing needn’t be mutually exclusive. “There was pressure, definitely,” said Pietersen. “But I reminded myself of that big day [at The Oval] in 2005. There was more pressure on that day than there has been on an England team in a long time. And I played okay that day. I just walked out to bat backing myself, because for two nets sessions leading into this game, I’ve played well.”Steve Waugh always said back yourself, because preparation is what you look after,” said Pietersen. “I can’t work any harder, and I’ll continue to work as hard as I have done. It’s how you work through your bad patches that make you a better person. When I got to fifty today, I really wanted to make it count.”

David Moore, the newly-appointed coach of the West Indies team, has said that preparation would be the key to success. “We have the will to do well but we have to have the will to prepare to do well, we need to prepare ourselves to compete consistently well at the highest level,” he said as he took over the reins from Bennett King, who resigned as head coach of the West Indian team after the World Cup.”We are in a situation where we are coming off the back of playing a lot of one day cricket and moving into Test matches which is a real test of one’s skill,” said Moore. “In our last Test series (against Pakistan) we played some respectable cricket without gaining any wins and it now requires that we spend some quality time in preparing for Test cricket against a tough opposition at home.””We do not have a lot of time, but we do have one warm up game and we have to utilize the time effectively and get into the rhythm of Test cricket again,” said Moore, as the team assembled in Barbados ahead of their departure to England where they will play four Tests, three ODIS and two Twenty20 matches. “Traditionally the wickets in England are a bit more fresh and have more moisture earlier in the season and it means the pitches would do a little bit more but having followed the English first class season so far the wickets appear to be a little flatter with a lot of runs being scored.”Moore, who played one first-class match for New South Wales, hoped that the England tour would afford his team the chance to make a fresh start, under a new captain. “We’ve got a brand new captain, the head coach has resigned so from our point of view as team management it’s a fresh start, it’s a good opportunity to move the team forward and we will be looking to all the players to perform at their best levels and looking for each player to move forward on and off the field, in training and in representing the West Indian people in public.”Moore conceded that losing Brian Lara would have its impact, but hoped that his team could look at the positive side of things. “We’ve lost Brian (Lara) which is a major loss and it leaves a big hole but it is a wonderful opportunity for all the batsmen to stake a claim in replacing him in the side.””We’ve got Daren Ganga, who has scored some quality runs, opening the batting, once we get through the new ball and establish a base for us to score runs we then need the middle order to capitalize on that and for players to go ahead to score Test hundreds and there is a chance for those batters to establish themselves.”Moore also looked for consistent contributions from other players, insisting that both the top- and lower-order had roles to play. “Also I’m looking for players like (Dwayne) Bravo and (Denesh) Ramdin to also score runs in the lower middle order, it’s an important area for us in the past and these guys need to perform,” Moore continued. “(Chris) Gayle, (Shivnarine) Chanderpaul and (Ramnaresh) Sarwan are all quality batsmen but they are probably not happy with the amount of runs they have been scoring recently in Test cricket and we are looking to them to contribute in the batting order.””On the bowling side of things I feel Corey Collymore is a key in our attack, he has been frugal with runs scored against him and can get the ball to swing,” Moore said as he discussed the bowling attack. “Overall we have a very good young team who are still learning about all facets of their cricket and I’m really looking forward to working with them during this tour and if they can get their processes right we can certainly compete with the opposition.”

Click here for a list of all events awarded by the ICCEngland have been awarded the rights to host the 2019 World Cup as well as the 2009 Twenty20 World Championships. The announcement was made after the ICC board meeting in Dubai this weekend.”The ECB should be very pleased with the outcome of these negotiations,” said Ehsan Mani, the ICC president. “It produced an excellent submission to host both the World Cup and the Twenty20 World Championship and have earned the right to host both events.”A lot of credit must go to David Morgan for the astute manner in which he handled some very complex discussions. England will be a fitting venue for the Twenty20 World Championships at the climax of our centenary year in 2009.”Morgan, the ECB chairman, was clearly delighted: “We entered into this process with the goal of being awarded a Twenty20 event and a World Cup,” he said. “It’s great news for cricket in England and Wales that these two major events have been secured and we have a wonderful opportunity to build our international calendar around these showpiece occasions.”The full support of the ICC board for the staging of these two important events in England is a clear indication of the prominent role that the ECB continues to hold in international cricket.”England hosted the first three World Cups in 1975, 1979 and 1983 (when Wales also hosted games) as well as the 1999 tournament when matches were also played in Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

The World Cricket Classic, a Twenty20 cricket competition set to feature former leading international players, has been launched in London.The Get Fit Foundation, an organisation which describes itself as the UK’s new national governing body for physical activity, announced plans for an over-35s tournament in Bermuda in April 2006. Among those set to appear include Martin Crowe, Aravinda de Silva, Joel Garner, Mike Gatting and Clive Rice.The organisers said that the event, which would be played on a floodlit all-weather pitch, would feature sides from the Australia, Bermuda, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies, and explained that only players who had played international cricket, were over 35, and had not been banned by the ICC would be eligible.A number of former England and Wales Cricket Board employees are now involved in the Get Fit Foundation.Confirmed: Mike Gatting, Martin Crowe, Joel Garner, Chris Cairns, Dipak Patel, Gus Logie, Maninder Singh, Javagal Srinath, Clive Rice, Richard Snell, Gary Kirsten, Aravinda de Silva, Hashan Tillakaratne, Arjuna Ranatunga, Arun Lal, Danny Morrison, Trevor Franklin, Robin Smith, Madan Lal, Narendra Hirwani, Pat Symcox, Chris Harris, John Wright, Mark Greatbatch, Dion Nash, John Shepherd.

Carib Beer XI won the toss and chose to bat

England can expect a tough contest in their three-day warm-up match against a Carib Beer XI, which started at the 3Ws Oval in Bridgetown today.For the West Indies players, there may well be places up for grabs after the dismal performances in the first two Tests, and even though there are no first-string Barbados or Jamiaca players – the Carib Beer final is taking place elsewhere on the island – it should not be an easy ride for England.England have aimed to give those not in the Test side a chance to stretch their legs, which means that James Anderson, Gareth Batty, Rikki Clarke and Geraint Jones, the reserve wicketkeeper, are all playing – with Chris Read taking part as a specialist batsman, given his lack of runs in the Tests.And Marcus Trescothick has declined the chance to put his feet up, preferring to try and find his touch – in seven innings so far on the tour he has scored 46 runs. “It is a bizarre experience for me,” he admitted. “I’m struggling to find a reason because my preparation has been good, I’ve been hitting it. I feel like I have not had the opportunity to see if I’m in form or not. In the past there may have been times when I’ve been a bit tired but this has been really strange for me. It’s a different sort of feeling altogether.”Daren Ganga, who has so far been overlooked, will lead a Carib Beer XI which includes some quick bowlers with a point to prove. Ravi Rampaul, who played in the recent Under-19 World Cup final, as well as Jermaine Lawson and Dwight Washington all play, and allrounder Omari Banks returns from injury.Carib Beer XI 1 Daren Ganga (capt), 2 Xavier Marshall, 3 Dwayne Bravo, 4 Sylvester Joseph, 5 Tonito Willett, 6 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 7 Omari Banks, 8 Ravi Rampaul, 9 Dwight Washington, 10 Jermaine Lawson, 11 Fernix Thomas.England 1 Marcus Trescothick (capt), 2 Paul Collingwood, 3 Mark Butcher, 4 Rikki Clarke, 5 Graham Thorpe, 6 Chris Read, 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Gareth Batty, 10 James Anderson, 11 Matthew Hoggard.