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Struggling Somerset are waiting to learn whether their plan to re-sign international spinner Abdur Rehman for the final few weeks of the season has been dashed

David Lloyd at Taunton04-Aug-2013
ScorecardLuke Fletcher cut through Somerset’s middle order•Getty Images

Struggling Somerset are waiting to learn whether their plan to re-sign international spinner Abdur Rehman for the final few weeks of the season has been dashed by Pakistan’s re-arranged tour of Zimbabwe.Somerset’s Championship batting currently leaves a lot to be desired, as was evident during today’s grim top-order collapse between the showers. With relegation an all too real possibility, regardless of whether they scrape a draw from this contest, a boost, any boost, is needed – and Rehman’s return to the County Ground would surely fit the bill.The left-arm spinner captured 27 wickets at just 14 runs apiece when he played four Championship matches at the end of last season – and something similar this year might do wonders for the county’s chances of avoiding the drop.All appeared to be in place for Rehman’s arrival well before Somerset’s next four-day game – against Warwickshire, at Edgbaston, starting on August 20 – but now there is considerable uncertainty.Pakistan have scheduled a month-long Test and limited-overs tour of Zimbabwe, from mid-August onwards, to replace a trip that was postponed last year. What they have not done so far is to announce their squad, or indicate whether it will be full strength or largely experimental.”There should be an announcement in the next few days,” Dave Nosworthy, Somerset’s director of cricket, told the West Country’s newspaper. “If Abdur is not picked he will join us straight away because his visa has now been approved.”If he is selected for the Zimbabwe tour he won’t be coming, simple as that. But we have a Plan B in place should that happen. We can only wait and see what happens.”Rehman’s short stay with Somerset last year ended up being remembered at least as much for a failed drugs test as his splendid bowling performances. He was found to have used cannabis when he was tested during a match against Nottinghamshire and served a 12-week worldwide ban.Now 33, Rehman would be welcomed back with open arms, however. He apologised to all and sundry for his “error of judgement” and his contrition was accepted by Somerset.The county, currently third from bottom, could certainly do with a lift, be it through runs or wickets. No side in Division One has achieved fewer batting bonus points than Somerset – and it was easy to see why today as they crumpled to 81 for 6 before mounting a mini-recovery led by Craig Meschede.Nottinghamshire deserve plenty of credit for maintaining pressure throughout a start-stop day of four rain interruptions. And in Luke Fletcher they had a bowler who gnawed away non-stop at the hosts’ fragile confidence by drilling a challenging line and length ball after ball.But while Fletcher followed his splendid late-order half-century with some excellent seam bowling (he had figures of 3 for 7 from 11.2 overs at one stage and produced a spell of 3 for 1 in six overs), some of Somerset’s shot selection was inexplicable.Their problems began during the day’s first over, although Chris Jones can be excused for having his off stump disturbed by an Andre Adams bail-trimmer.Neither Nick Compton nor James Hildreth will want to watch too many replays of their dismissals, however. Compton may have been deceived by a slower ball from Fletcher but, either way, it was wide enough to leave alone and what was ultimately a one-handed shot sent a simple catch to cover.As for Hildreth, a top-edged hook to long leg, against Adams, looked especially horrible given Somerset’s already sticky position.Craig Kieswetter soon fended fatally outside off stump, then Peter Trego edged a good one from Fletcher to give the paceman two wickets in as many balls. Neither of those wickets were gifts, but Jos Buttler’s horribly miscued pull against Samit Patel certainly fell into the ‘thanks very much’ category.At 122 for 7, the follow-on figure of 229 looked hopelessly distant. And when bad light finally ended play for the day, with 49 overs lost to the weather, it still looked out of reach at 188 for 9. But at least Meschede and George Dockrell, with whom he added 53, closed the gap while using up valuable time.Meschede, who lifted Patel for two sixes during an 87-ball stay, was finally undone by an inside edge against Harry Gurney. But his third first-class half-century, and first this season, at least brought a little light to Somerset’s proceedings.

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Faleceu na manhã desta segunda-feira o jornalista Roberto Avallone, aos 72 anos de idade. A morte ocorreu por volta das 9h no Hospital Santa Catarina, por parada cardiorrespiratória.

Avallone trabalhou até a noite deste domingo, com publicações em sua conta particular no Twitter e, também, no blog que mantinha no portal Uol, comentando a última rodada do Campeonato Paulista. Em sua última postagem, pedia treinadores específicos para a posição de centroavante, já que enxergava escassez de nomes na função no Brasil.

O jornalista passou mal e foi atendido pelos bombeiros ainda em sua casa, com tentativas de ser reanimado. Foi encaminhado ao Hospital Santa Catarina ao lado da esposa, Valéria, e, mais tarde, chegou o seu filho, Caio. Não foi possível reanimá-lo e o horário de óbito registrado foi 8h59.

Roberto Avallone marcou época, primeiramente, como chefe de reportagem do Jornal da Tarde, nos anos 1970, pelo qual ganhou dois prêmios Esso. Nos anos 1980, foi contratado pela TV Gazeta e passou décadas como marcante apresentador do programa dominical Mesa Redonda.

O jornalista trabalhou nas principais rádios de São Paulo, como Jovem Pan, Bandeirantes e Globo, além de emissoras de televisão como Rede TV e Bandeirantes. Vinha participando frequentemente de programas do SporTV nos últimos anos, além de manter um blog no Uol.

Delhi Capitals, who began the season with four wins on the trot, are now out of contention

Ekanth21-May-20253:05

Rapid Fire: What will be DC’s biggest regret this season?

Mumbai Indians (MI) secured the last remaining IPL 2025 playoffs spot thanks to a late onslaught from Suryakumar Yadav and Naman Dhir followed by crafty three-fors from Mitchell Santner and Jasprit Bumrah. Delhi Capitals, led by Faf du Plessis with regular captain Axar Patel ruled out by flu, were knocked out of contention. Having won each of their first four matches of the season, they have won just two of their next nine.Related

• Aaron: Santner showing his worth in Mumbai Indians colours

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• Opener troubles, missed chances haunt Delhi Capitals' Badani

• Depth over daredevilry: Suryakumar's solo show saves the day for Mumbai Indians

• Du Plessis: MI's counterpunch cost us in last two overs

Put in to bat on a spin-friendly Wankhede Stadium pitch with rain on the cards, MI were in some trouble at 132 for 5 but Suryakumar and Dhir smacked 48 runs off the last two overs to lift them to 180.DC’s chase never got going with Faf du Plessis and KL Rahul falling cheaply. A comeback seemed to be on the cards, with Sameer Rizvi and Ashutosh Sharma putting on 38 as a drizzle began, but Santner ensured that it wasn’t to be.1:49

Moody: ‘DC bowlers should have used the surface more’

MI start steadily on a tricky pitch

MI’s innings started with Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton punishing full balls in the first two overs before Mustafizur Rahman’s angle away from Rohit’s bat found the edge when he tried to drive him.Vipraj Nigam, brought on in the fourth over, found turn but was pulled for two fours by Will Jacks when he dropped short. Jacks hit a four and a six in the next over, off Mustafizur, before Mukesh Kumar undid him by going pace-off in the sixth over, and Nigam completed the job with a good catch running back. MI finished the powerplay 54 for 2.

Kuldeep and Nigam apply the brakes

Suryakumar survived a top-edged sweep that landed safely behind short fine leg but Rickelton was less fortunate next ball as he toed his slog-sweep to deep backward square leg to hand Kuldeep Yadav his 100th IPL wicket.Nigam mixed up his lengths and created two near-chances in the tenth over while Kuldeep bowled consistently and kept the batters quiet. DC gave away just 26 runs in the first four post-powerplay overs, leaving MI 80 for 3 at the halfway mark.The return of pace helped MI release some pressure, with Tilak Varma lapping Dushmantha Chameera for six in the 11th over and Suryakumar stepping out to drive Mustafizur over mid-off for another maximum in the 14th. In between, though, Nigam and Kuldeep conceded just nine in two overs.Suryakumar pulled Mukesh for four to start the 15th over, but Tilak fell four balls later, too early into a pull off a slower ball. When Hardik sliced a lofted drive to short third off Chameera in the 17th, MI were 123 for 5.2:17

Aaron: Bowlers’ Plan B is Suryakumar’s Plan A

Dhir, Suryakumar break free

Suryakumar brought up a 36-ball fifty at the start of the 19th over, launching Mukesh over the covers for six. Then Dhir let loose, going 4, 6, 6, 4 to end a 27-run over, as Mukesh, suffering from cramps, missed three yorkers and then offered room when he went into the pitch.The onslaught continued in the final over where Suryakumar dined on Chameera’s pace-on offerings. This time, he farmed the strike and whacked two sixes over deep midwicket and two fours through the off side to finish on a high. A highlight was a dab off a near-perfect yorker that rolled wide of the keeper for four. Suryakumar scored 28 off the last eight balls of his innings, while Dhir walked off unbeaten on 24 off eight.Suryakumar’s unbeaten 73, meanwhile, was his 13th successive 25-plus score in T20s, a joint record alongside Temba Bavuma.

DC lose big guns early

KL Rahul and du Plessis, DC’s most experienced batters, made their intent clear by putting away the first balls they faced to the boundary. But their attack was shortlived as du Plessis holed out to long-on off a slower ball from Deepak Chahar and Rahul – who charged early and made too much room – was caught behind off Trent Boult.Will Jacks spun his first ball square and then got one to go straight, beating Abishek Porel to have him stumped, a close call that went in the bowler’s favour. Jacks then bowled a no-ball, which allowed the promoted Nigam to get off the mark with a six over cover.Nigam hit three more fours in his next four balls, but with DC 49 for 3 at the end of the powerplay with all four of Bumrah’s overs remaining, MI were well ahead.1:51

Moody: Santner a nightmare on pitches like this

Wily Santner wrecks middle order

Santner capitalised on MI’s start and the conditions, ripping the ball away from Nigam’s bat before firing the next one in quicker to have him caught and bowled. Bumrah then got an offcutter to beat Tristan Stubbs’ inside edge to reduce DC to 65 for 5 in the tenth over.DC seemed all but done when a drizzle began and eased things up a bit. Ashutosh whacked loopy deliveres from Karn Sharma for a four and a six in the 11th over, and Rizvi picked up another four in between when Jacks ran too in too far from long-off and overran the ball.Santner then beat Ashutosh and almost had Rizvi caught and bowled but the batters survived, and DC kept chipping away, going past 100 in the 14th over. Their task was still steep, though: 78 off the last six overs.With the drizzle in the background, Santner darted a full ball at Rizvi before slowing the pace down to 77kph to beat his sweep and hit middle stump. The game was effectively over three balls later when Santner had Ashutosh stumped. It was a juicy length ball angling in towards the stumps that spun away a mile and beat the inside-out drive.Santner’s three-for came at the cost of just 11 runs in four overs, the joint-fewest conceded by a spinner in an IPL match at Wankhede. Bumrah and Karn then cleaned up the tail, helping MI qualify for the playoffs for the 11th time in 18 seasons.

يواصل فريق الزمالك تحت قيادة مدربه الكولومبي خوان كارلوس أوسوريو البحث عن مقعد مؤهل لدوري أبطال إفريقيا في الموسم المقبل حيث يأمل في تجاوز فيوتشر وبيراميدز في الترتيب.

وكان الزمالك تلقى خسارة غير متوقعة مساء السبت أمام الإسماعيلي بهدفين لهدف في ملعب الإسماعيلية.

ويبدأ الزمالك الأحد تحضيراته من أجل مواجهة جديدة في الدوري المصري على أمل تحسين ترتيب الفريق في جدول الدوري المصري.

اقرأ أيضا.. فيديو | إصابة حارس الإسماعيلي أمام الزمالك ومغادرته الملعب باكيًا موعد مباراة الزمالك وأسوان في الدوري المصري

يلعب الزمالك أمام أسوان يوم الخميس المقبل 18 مايو وذلك في تمام الساعة الثامنة مساء بتوقيت مصر والسعودية.

وكان الزمالك تلقى خسارة في الدور الأول من الدوري المصري الممتاز أمام أسوان بهدفين لهدف.

Australia’s batting coach Stuart Law spoke of his desire to return to the nation’s batsmen the sort of collective “ruthless streak” that limited him to one Test in a career that ultimately reaped more than 27,000 first-class runs

Daniel Brettig20-Dec-2012As he set about the task of throttling back Usman Khawaja from Twenty20 to Test matches, Australia’s batting coach Stuart Law spoke of his desire to return to the nation’s batsmen the sort of collective “ruthless streak” that limited him to one Test in a career that ultimately reaped more than 27,000 first-class runs.Law had the help of Ryan Harris, recuperating from shoulder surgery, plus Ben Cutting and Nathan Hauritz to bowl to Khawaja at Allan Border Field, while time was also reserved for the Pro-Batter technology that allowed the left-hander to face up to a bowling machine synchronised with video footage of Sri Lanka’s pacemen and spinners.He defended Cricket Australia’s decision to pull Khawaja and the rest of the Test squad out of the BBL, and spoke with the passion of an unfulfilled international batting talent of the opportunities afforded to batsmen by the retirement of Ricky Ponting, who he debuted with in Perth in 1995.”We’re trying to get a ruthless streak back into our batters that we had going through domestic cricket 20-25 years ago,” Law said. “If we can get that back where players aren’t just scoring 60s and expecting the next step to happen, but they’re scoring 100s, 150s and doing it consistently, not just once or twice but three, four times, that will put their names up in lights.”What an opportunity now? Ricky Ponting, one of Australia’s greatest has retired, you’ve got an opportunity to take over his position – you’d cut your own leg off to have that opportunity, and you want to be doing everything you possibly can to get it. I know Big Bash is a big part of the Australian cricket calendar now, but we’re in the middle of a Test series.”We just got beaten by South Africa, we’ve gone 1-0 up, we want to put everything into winning this next Test match so we can take a series. That’s our whole objective. If that means sacrificing a few players who don’t play in the Big Bash, there’s more games after this Test series to be involved in and surely we’re all for the greater good of Australian cricket – the Test team is the No. 1 team to play for.”Khawaja’s time in Brisbane is geared more towards getting his batting rhythms and routines more right for Tests, after last summer’s disastrous India series for Shaun Marsh, who came back into the national team via the BBL. Marsh made an audacious 99 for the Perth Scorchers in Melbourne, then cobbled a measly 17 runs in six innings against MS Dhoni’s team, a contribution so meagre that it has probably ended his Test career. Law noted that if anything Khawaja’s international shortcomings so far have been more as a fielder, runner and athlete than as a batsman, but that he would benefit from deliberate time to adjust.

We just got beaten by South Africa, we’ve gone 1-0 up, we want to put everything into winning this next Test match so we can take a series. That’s our whole objective.Stuart Law, the Australia batting coach

“He’s one of the better batsmen technically going around, he’s very sound, [but] there’s other things these days to playing cricket,” Law said. “You’ve got to be able to do more than one skill. If you’re not bowling you’ve got to be able to field, and that was pointed out to Usman a while ago that he has to improve in certain areas, as well as going back and scoring runs.”He didn’t really have a problem with his batting, he didn’t get the big scores that would have kept him in the side. Usman’s joined the Australian team for the Boxing Day Test, so we’ve got to get him prepared as best as possible for that to take place. To get him out of Twenty20 mode and back into Test mode is pretty important.”Australia’s team performance manger Pat Howard, meanwhile, has spoken of how fervently CA are seeking ways of reducing the chances of the national team going a man down in mid-Test match. The loss of James Pattinson in Adelaide arguably cost Michael Clarke’s team the chance to defeat South Africa, while injuries to Ben Hilfenhaus and Clarke very nearly did the same against Sri Lanka in Hobart.”Absolutely the reality is the current situation’s not good enough,” Howard said of the injury toll. “We want to be better than that, and I’m really disappointed with where we’re at the moment. I’m not shying away from that, and we’re making sure that any issues we’ve seen come up have been raised. We need to be better.”

قالت صحيفة “موندو ديبورتيفو” الإسبانية، إن نادي برشلونة سوف يتبع استراتجية جديدة، بعد ما حدث مع الشاب بابلو جافي وتسجيل عقده، وبعدما رفضت المحكمة اسئتناف النادي.

وكان برشلونة قد أعلن في سبتمبر الماضي، تجديد عقد جافي حتى يونيو 2026، وبشرط جزائي مليار يورو، ليكون لاعبا في الفريق الأول، لكن رابطة الدوري الإسباني بقيادة خافيير تيباس رفضت تسجيل العقد.

وجاء الرفض من قبل الرابطة بسبب فاتورة الرواتب، والتي ترى أنها عالية جدا ولابد من تخفضيها أو بيع بعض اللاعبين، من أجل السماح بتسجيل لاعبين جدد، وقدم بعدها برشلونة استئنافا لكن تم رفضه من المحكمة، ليصبح اللاعب في فريق الشباب، وينتهي عقده بنهاية الموسم.

اقرأ أيضًا.. موندو: المصائب تتوالى.. برشلونة مهدد بالحرمان من التعاقدات في الموسم المقبل

وكانت بعض التقارير قد أشارت إلى اهتمام بايرن ميونخ وبعض أندية الدوري الإنجليزي مثل مانشستر يونايتد وليفربول بضم جافي في الصيف المقبل.

وبحسب موندو ديبورتيفو، فإن برشلونة لن يسمح بوصول أي لاعب إلى العام الأخير من عقده دون تجديد، والشباب الذين يريدون أن يلعبوا مع الفريق الأول يجب أن يكون لديهم عقود متوسطة المدى على الأقل.

Mark Ramprakash has been dropped by Surrey for their next County Championship match against Somerset following a poor start to the season which cumulated in a pair against Worcestershire last week.Ramprakash, 42, has scored 62 runs in eight Championship innings and his pair at New Road, completed when he was caught down the leg side off Richard Jones as he was out twice in a day, was just the third of his first-class career.Chris Adams, the Surrey cricket manager, said it was not a decision he took lightly. “We have not selected Mark Ramprakash for the game against Somerset which was a very difficult decision to make,” he said. “Mark has had a tough start to the season and has not made the impact with the bat that he would have wanted to.”But you do not score the amount of runs that Mark has without knowing your own game and I know he will work hard to find his form again. The challenge now for Mark is to push hard to regain his place for the remainder of the season.”The difficult start to this season followed a 2011 campaign that was also below Ramprakash’s usual high standards. He was hindered by injury during the year and made 700 runs at 33.33 in 13 Championship matches with one hundred.

N Srinivasan has said the BCCI’s new deal with Star TV proves the “underlying strength of Indian cricket”

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Apr-2012N Srinivasan, the BCCI president, has said that terminating the board’s broadcast rights contract with Nimbus Communications last year was the right decision in hindsight and that the new deal with Star TV proves the “underlying strength of Indian cricket.””At a time when some felt the popularity of cricket was going down in the country because of some overseas setbacks, the deal [with Star TV] proved the opposite,” Srinivasan told the . “It is a big feather in BCCI’s cap. Now we have two strong broadcasters, one for Indian cricket and the other for IPL. The BCCI is in an assured position.”Star, owned by Rupert Murdoch, won the rights to broadcast Indian cricket for 2012-2018 last week. The deal, which also includes internet and mobile rights, was valued at Rs 3851 crores (approximately $750 million) and covers 96 matches. Multi-Screen Media (Sony) currently owns the rights to the IPL, for which it paid $1.6 billion for nine years starting in 2009.Television ratings for the IPL slumped last year as the tournament began just six days after India’s victorious World Cup campaign ended but Srinivasan expects the league to bounce back and have a successful season. He also denied the tournament led to player fatigue, saying the cricketers are professionals and that most of them do not play all three formats of the game in any case.When asked whether the significance of Test cricket had been undermined because players make more money from the IPL than they do playing Tests, Srinivasan said that wasn’t a valid argument. “The value of a player in the IPL is linked to his performances for the national team. I firmly believe a cricketer’s first priority is to play for his country. And unless a player goes through the domestic grind, he will not be able to sustain his performances in the IPL.”On the plus side, Srinivasan said, the IPL has led to the discovery of new talent and helped the development of Indian cricket by giving young players the opportunity to rub shoulders with established international players on a big stage.One of the constant criticisms of the domestic game in India has been the state of the pitches, which invariably favour batsmen and typically result in an overwhelming number of high-scoring draws in the four-day format. However, Srinivasan said the BCCI is committed to preparing competitive pitches for domestic cricket as that is “at the very heart of India’s evolution as a cricketing nation. We will be holding a workshop for curators on this topic. This is one of the important agendas this year.”India struggled on their two most recent away tours to England and Australia, losing eight consecutive away Tests and their No.1 Test ranking. In addition, the team’s poor form led to reports of a rift between some of the senior players on the tour of Australia but Srinivasan said there was no truth to them, calling the stories “unfounded” and “not fair to the side”.”Almost the same bunch of batsmen had done exceeding well on the previous tours of England and Australia. It’s just that now we are going through a transition phase. We will face the transition. We have a younger generation of players who will step up. We are setting up more specialist academies at the ground level, will focus more on ‘A’ tours.”There is no reason why we cannot be the No. 1 Test team again. As I said, the team is bound to falter a little during the transition phase.”Edited by Tariq Engineer

S Badrinath, the injured India middle-order batsman, has said he hopes to return to first-class cricket in two weeks

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2011

S Badrinath, the injured India middle-order batsman, has said he hopes to return to first-class cricket in two weeks. He has been sidelined since mid-October, after hurting his shoulder during the Challenger Trophy in Nagpur.”I’m making good progress. I have started batting from this week,” he said in Delhi. “I am aiming to play the upcoming Ranji match from December 6 [against Bengal]. I’ll get to know on Monday whether I would be able to take the field.”Badrinath is set to receive the Madhavrao Scindia award for the highest run-getter in last year’s Ranji season, where he amassed 922 runs at 131.71. “It was something I wanted to achieve. Last year I went into the season with an aim to do something phenomenal and make a statement with what I do on the field. So, I am happy I am able to achieve it and I hope it doesn’t go unnoticed.”He has missed the first three rounds of the Ranji Trophy, a tournament where he has been a heavy scorer over the past few seasons. Despite the early season set back, he has set his sights high this year as well. “I think I will come back and do whatever I can in the rest of the games. My aim is to make an impact. I have not got a triple century yet in a first-class game and that is what I want to do.”Badrinath, 31, last played for India during the tour of the West Indies earlier this year, and though there are several younger candidates for a spot in the middle-order, he remained optimistic of making a comeback. “I have been in the national team for a while, but didn’t get a chance to play [much]. In the back of my mind, I know I haven’t really lost. Maybe the [national] spots would open up soon and I feel I am the best guy to do the job.”

Warriors were the surprise package of the 2010 Champions League Twenty20 in South Africa, overpowering more fancied teams as they stomped to the final. This year, their captain Johan Botha and coach Piet Botha are out to show that the performances of 2010 weren’t a fluke.”Teams know what we are about now, how we play, so it’s going to be tough,” Johan Botha said in Bangalore, a day after the squad arrived in India. “If we can reach the final again it would be a great achievement for the team. It is going to be a bit tougher over here in India, and we would like to prove to people that last year was not just about a home-ground advantage.”The initial target for Warriors is reaching the semi-finals, something which Johan Botha felt could be achieved if they began the tournament confidently like they did last year, when they comfortably chased down 150-plus in their opening game. “The key to such a short and intense tournament is to really start well,” Johan Botha said. “Friday night [September 23] is a really big game [against Royal Challengers Bangalore], you want to start with a win.”Piet Botha agreed, especially as Warriors’ first two opponents this year both made the semi-finals in 2010. “We are playing South Australia and Bangalore first up, it’s going to be massive for us to make sure we hit our straps straightaway,” he said. “It’s about getting through these first two games; we have prepared for them, we have some visual footage, we have watched a lot of RCB in the IPL. We expect a hard game.”Despite their exploits in the previous season, Warriors remain a low-profile unit. Their first media interaction in India was minutes after Royal Challengers Bangalore paraded some of the biggest crowd-pullers in the game, such as Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers. And the first question for Johan Botha and Piet Botha? “Are you two related?”One person who is not underestimating them is Bangalore’s South African coach Ray Jennings. “Warriors have the South African fighting spirit,” Jennings said. “The South African guys have had six months off, and they have worked hard for six to eight weeks. The challenge for me is to see if I can beat a South African side and to beat a good side like Warriors is going to be a challenge, and I am really looking forward to that.”Warriors had their first training session on September 19 evening, and have a practice match against a local side in Bangalore scheduled for September 20.