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Plus, mind-boggling stats from the Australia-India series

Andy Zaltzman15-Jan-2015I am delighted to announce that, after a four-month sabbatical, which involved watching a harrowingly, unhealthily small amount of cricket, The Confectionery Stall is back. The World Cup is just one month away, and Test cricket has been locked in its cage for a few months to think about its career goals and ambitions for the future, in an age when a top-level cricket match has increasingly become an evening’s entertainment rather than a week’s obsession.The T20 juggernaut jaunts along with characteristic pizzazz, but the stage will soon be clear for the 50-over game to state its case for continued relevance. The knockout stages will be gripping; the month of shuffle to reach them may test the patience of the uncommitted. The quarter-finalists in 2011 could have been predicted at least 20 years before the tournament started (although England selflessly tried to enliven the tournament’s early stages with their barking-mad campaign of dramatic wins, startling losses and a pulsating tie with India in Bangalore). Four more years of T20 entrenchment could result in a public less tolerant of the elongated preamble of a predictable group stage.England have played oddly little cricket since September – no Tests, and a one-day series in completely different conditions to the ones they will face in the World Cup – but played it sufficiently poorly to lose a captain.Thus, their plans for the World Cup are going exactly according to plan. Having realised that they had no prospect of winning it by conventional means, they have devoted themselves to concocting the perfect plot for a Hollywood sports movie about a team that had been written off, with seemingly no chance of success, defying the odds and surging from the depths of hopelessness to clinch a dramatic triumph.The narrative has been perfectly structured – the team in disarray, with its captain, for whom the star player was sacrificed and in whom four years of planning for the tournament was invested, now himself despatched, and supplanted by an out-of-form replacement whose own struggles indirectly contributed to the sacking of his predecessor, and who must now coax the best from a team of largely untested greenhorns plus a couple of stalwarts returning from injury. The team will have to defy not only horrible recent form but also two decades of gloriously unalloyed uselessness at World Cups. All overseen by an opinion-splitting coach still unproven in his second incarnation. In the country where the team suffered one of its greatest ever humiliations a little over a year previously. With the shadow of the aforementioned sacked player still pootling around in the background. MGM must be frothing at the mouth with excitement, ready to cast Daniel Craig as Man of the Tournament James Tredwell.The level of planning that has gone into making this fairy-tale ending so outlandish as to render it inevitable is truly astonishing, and those involved deserve considerable credit. The only potential fly in England’s ointment is that, of the hundreds of similarly plotted sporting campaigns in which glory was supposed to emerge from chaos and disarray, around 99% end in failure. Not even heroic failure. Abject failure. The kind of failure you would expect to emerge from chaos and disarray.However, England’s chances of being among the 1% are, as these things go, good. The plots for such movies often take licenses with history in order to make their outcome seem even more unlikely. In England’s case, they can point to the reunion of Stuart Broad and James Anderson for the first time in ODIs since they spearheaded a very-nearly-successful Champions Trophy campaign 18 months ago. They have match-winners with bat and ball (although not as many as the leading contenders do). They will be unburdened by public expectations. And, above all, they will be emboldened by the format of the tournament, which requires not the consistent performance of hardened winners but a two-phase campaign involving (1) a month of not screwing up too disastrously, followed by (2) a ten-day, three-game microstreak of form and luck. Admittedly, successfully completing phase one is not a certainty, the seven other teams in phase two will also be one hot streak away from unstoppability, and the consistent performance of hardened winners is generally a useful asset when trying to pull off a three-game microstreak of form and luck. But the point stands. England could win it.Confectionery Stall England Prediction: Quarter-Final exit.After the World Cup, the rest of England’s 2015 stretches out like the idiotically planned festival of excessive cricket that it is – they will play 17 Tests in the nine and a half months from mid-April this year until January 2016. Miraculously, only a measly five of those matches will be against Australia (I assume whichever fool failed to book in a second Ashes series this year has been rightly fired). It is as if England are embarking on a sponsored one-nation Test marathon to preserve the primacy of the five-day game by playing so much of it that it becomes diminished and devalued – thereby reminding its distressed fans why it is so special and must be protected at all costs from the ravenous gullet of the international schedule. Whatever happens, at least 2015 will probably involve less upheaval and fewer provocative autobiographies than 2014. And hopefully it will involve a large amount of Moeen Ali batting.And now, some stats emerging from Australia’s comfortable, run-drenched series win over India, which featured a record seven centuries by captains, and suggested that India’s next win outside Asia could possibly happen at some point within the next 100 years. The expansion of this site, and the cricket media in general, has made finding stats that have not already been found by others increasingly challenging. But that is a challenge I am more than willing to embrace. Albeit at some cost to my social life and mental equilibrium. There were 44 scores of 50 or more in the four Tests. At 11 half-centuries per Test, this series broke the all-time series record for most 50-plus scores per match, previously held by the batsman-overfriendly Gooch-and-Azharuddin-inspired runfest between England and India in 1990 (32 fifties in three Tests, at 10.66 per match). Only six previous series have featured more than 44 fifties (three of which were six matches long, the other three were five-game series). Despite losing 2-0, India averaged 37.76 runs per wicket – the highest average by any team in a series loss to the Baggy Greens, and the third highest average ever recorded by any of the 287 teams that have lost a Test series by at least two matches. India were the first team ever to pass 400 four times in a losing series. Only twice in the previous 90 years (and five times in total) had a team posted even three 400-plus scores in a series defeat – India in their 1-0 loss in England in 1990, and Pakistan, also in England, in 2006. The two teams’ combined first-innings average of 52.9 runs per wicket is the highest in a series of at least three Tests in Australia, and the seventh-highest anywhere. Virat Kohli became the second player to score four hundreds in a series after failing to post a single half-century in his previous series. He scored 134 runs in 10 innings in England, followed by 692 in eight in Australia. Jacques Kallis scored four centuries against West Indies in 2003-04 after failing to reach 50 in South Africa’s preceding series, against Pakistan, although that was only a two-match rubber. Kallis averaged 25 in that series – the lowest by a player who went on to score four tons in his subsequent series, until Kohli smithereened the record with his spectacular megafailure-to-hypersuccess statistical somersault in England and Australia. (A full list of players with four centuries in a series is here.) Suresh Raina became the second Indian top-order batsman to bag a pair in two Test matches. Mohinder Amarnath also did so, recording two double-zilches in the series against West Indies, in 1983-84. Raina has played four innings in the fourth Test of a series, and been dismissed four times in 46 balls, whilst scoring precisely zero runs. Of the 51 batsmen who have batted 25 or more times in India’s top six in Tests, Raina has the third-worst average. Of the 63 batsmen who have batted 25 or more times in their country’s top six in Tests this decade, Raina has the worst average (25.78), and the most ducks (8). Of the 1225 bowlers to have sent down at least 60 overs in Test cricket, Varun Aaron has the worst economy rate (4.90), eclipsing the record figure of 4.64 held by England’s Chris Cowdrey for more than 25 years. Aaron’s series economy rate of 5.64 was the worst by any bowler who has bowled at least 40 overs in a series (out of 6431 instances). Umesh Yadav’s series economy rate of 4.62 was the second-worst by the 306 visiting bowlers who have bowled 100 overs in a series in Australia. The only more expensive performance was by a promising young Indian bowler called Umesh Yadav, three years ago (4.66 per over, but with a better average). Those are, respectively, the fourth and third most expensive series (of at least 100 overs) ever bowled in Tests. Yadav’s career economy rate of 4.33 is the worst of the 610 bowlers who have bowled 300 overs or more (and third worst, behind Aaron and Bangladesh’s occasional tweakster Mohammad Ashraful, of any bowler with more than 150 overs under his belt). Mohammed Shami, at 3.80 per over, has not achieved quite such illustrious heights of lack of control, but can still claim to be the seventh most expensive bowler with more than 400 overs in Tests. In ten Tests in 2014, India conceded nine century partnerships for the sixth to tenth wickets. The previous record for most 100 stands conceded to opponents’ last five wickets in a calendar year was seven (India in 1983, in 18 Tests). Against India in 2014, teams’ top five wickets added on average 41.9 runs per dismissal. Their last five wickets then averaged a staggering 47.6 runs per dismissal. Only once has a Test nation had a statistically worse year against opposing lower orders – Bangladesh, in 2001 (56.4 runs per wicket in eight Tests) (minimum 20 lower-order partnerships in the year). In fact, in 2014, India dismissed their opponents’ top order more efficiently than South Africa (43.3), Australia (47.3), Pakistan (44.2) or New Zealand (44.7). However, those four teams,collectively finished off their opponents’ last five wickets for, on average, 23.3 runs per partnership. India conceded more than 250 after the fall of the fifth wicket in five innings last year, having not done so since 2009. They conceded five stands of more than 130 for the seventh to tenth wickets in 2014, having suffered only four such partnerships in the previous 12 years. And finally, some complete irrelevancies: The Sydney Test provided the first ever instances of both teams’ Nos. 2 and 4 all scoring first-innings centuries (Warner and Smith; Rahul and Kohli). The first innings of the Brisbane Test provided the second instance of a team’s No. 6, 7 and 8 all being dismissed in the 30s in the same innings (Rohit, Dhoni and Ashwin; Australia’s middle order had done the same in the MCG Ashes Test of 1911-12). It also provided the second instance of a left-handed No. 8 and 9 scoring half-centuries in the same innings (Johnson and Starc, who followed Harris and Vettori for New Zealand v Zimbabwe in 1997-98). Will 2015 throw up a trio of stats as unstoppably meaningless as those? Watch this space. Please..

Test cricket should be taken to venues outside the south-east of England if it should inspire the next generation

Sam Blackledge, UK03-Sep-2013There was a time in England when the old favourite grounds of Edgbaston, Lord’s, Old Trafford, Trent Bridge, Headingley and The Oval held the monopoly on five-day matches every summer. Then in 2003 Chester-Le-Street, now unfortunately known as the Emirates Durham International Cricket Ground, broke the cycle by welcoming Zimbabwe. The visitors were bowled out for 94 in their first dig and lost by an innings and plenty. The Riverside embraced its big moment and a change appeared to be coming – Test cricket would surely now reach more far-flung parts of the country.Over the last decade, there have indeed been matches played at Cardiff’s Swalec Stadium, Hampshire’s Rose (or Ageas) Bowl – and that’s it. Bristol has hosted ODIs, but none of the other 13 main first-class grounds get a look-in.
When I was growing up, I saw a lot of cricket. I was lucky to live just down the road from Edgbaston, and my love for the game was fuelled by the all-conquering Warwickshire side of the mid-1990s. But the real thrill was Test cricket. My first Test was England v West Indies in 1991. I was six years old. On the third day, Patrick Patterson and Curtly Ambrose demolished a decent England batting line-up on their way to a seven-wicket win. Gooch, Atherton, Hick, Lamb, Ramprakash, Russell – all gone in the blink of an eye.I squinted across at the blurry city-end scoreboard showing the not-out scores of Derek Pringle and Chris Lewis, the latest pair in a long line of contenders for the role of ‘The New Botham’. I could never have known that I was in for another ten years of watching England lose in ever more inventive ways. But I knew Test cricket was for me.
Next summer, India will play Tests at Trent Bridge, Lord’s, The Rose Bowl, Old Trafford and The Oval. That’s three games in the south-east, two of which are in London, and just two in the rest of the UK. Edgbaston may yet be awarded a Sri Lanka Test earlier in the summer, but it misses out on the main series for the second year running, despite being home to one of the highest populations of British Indians.Between 2010 and 2011, the pavilion end of the ground was completely redeveloped, bringing the capacity to 25,000. A handful of ODIs and a season of one man and his dog watching county cricket is in danger of wasting a top-class sporting venue.I can make my peace with Edgbaston losing out. This season they were compensated with the pick of the Champions Trophy games and a sparkling T20 county finals day. Trent Bridge is not so far away, and I know several Brummies who gladly made the trip to Nottingham for this summer’s Ashes and may do the same next year. But the south-east bias shows a disappointing lack of vision.Every overseas cricketer dreams of playing at Lord’s. Of course, a Test summer would not be complete without a visit to the home of cricket, and The Oval is always a fitting venue for the final Test of the summer. The ECB will perhaps argue London is the most densely populated area of the country and is easy to access. But adding Southampton means three of India’s five Tests will be played within a 100-mile radius.Not all county grounds are up to scratch, of course. In order to host a high-profile Test between two of the best sides in the world, you must be more than just a pitch and a pavilion. But Durham, formerly a forgotten northern outpost, is a prime example of what can be done with investment and support.Not everyone can afford to travel to see Test cricket. From where I live in Cornwall, it’s 200 miles to the nearest Test venue. Add in the spiralling cost of match tickets, and parents and children will drift away from the game, or decide not to explore it at all. The ECB must look beyond the capital and take a punt on some developing stadiums to inspire the next generation of English cricketers.If you have a submission for Inbox, send it to us here, with “Inbox” in the subject line

In 2005 Andrew Flintoff and his band of reverse-swinging hitmen outgunned the great Australian team in the most memorable cricketing summer of a generation. Back then Flintoff provided inspiration, these days it’s all about perspiration

Sahil Dutta14-Sep-2011Of all the characteristics to propel a team to No.1, earnest endeavour wouldn’t often be top of the list. Yet that is exactly what has worked for this current England side. Rather than the magic that makes most top teams magnetic, England possess more earthly qualities – as exemplified by Jonathan Trott and Alastair Cook, the two batsmen who scooped the top prizes at the ICC Awards in London on Monday night.It is a far cry from the last time England had a team challenging for the top spot. In 2005 Andrew Flintoff and his band of reverse-swinging hitmen out-gunned the great Australian team in the most memorable cricketing summer of a generation. Back then Flintoff provided inspiration, these days it’s all about perspiration. However, he feels the difference between the teams comes from England’s current standing in the game.”In 2005 we weren’t the best team in the world, Australia were,” Flintoff told ESPNcricinfo. “We could go out and play and we weren’t expected really to beat them, we surprised a few. The pressures on this side are different, they’re head and shoulders above everybody else. With that comes a responsibility to win.”Alongside Simon Jones, Steve Harmison, Marcus Trescothick, captain Michael Vaughan, not to mention a more carefree Kevin Pietersen, the England side in which Flintoff starred was packed with show-stopping frontmen. But after the Ashes success, the dream unravelled in a slew of injuries and complacency.What emerged, eventually, was a squad of fastidiously prepared, cautious and professional cricketers that have made England the finest side in the world. Comparisons may be tricky but the differences between the Strauss and Vaughan vintage throws up interesting questions as England now look to maintain their No. 1 position. No player captured the joie de vivre of the Vaughan side better than Flintoff, but even just six years after that Ashes achievement, he feels his instinctive approach belongs to a different era.”The game has got more professional, so I possibly wouldn’t fit in,” he said. “The shape of the cricketers have changed, the fitness, the approach to the game is different. I think I would have enjoyed playing in the 1980s more than now. If I was starting my career now I’d be a very different person and a very different player.”Flintoff was also part of the crossover period, playing seven Tests under Andrew Strauss, including four in the 2009 Ashes win. That difference between 2005 and now, in Flintoff’s eyes, is epitomised by the mentality of the two captains. Preparation has been a hallmark of England’s landmark series wins against Australia and India, and where Vaughan seemed more prepared to go with his hunches, Strauss leans towards caution and planning.”Michael was more of a free spirit [than Strauss] as a captain, probably more aggressive. He’d do things slightly different with his field places. He approaches players slightly differently too, I think one of his key strengths was he knew his players inside-out. He’d treat me, for instance, differently to how he’d treat Ashley Giles or Marcus Trescothick, he knew how to get the best out of each player.”Strauss is safer as a captain. He’s more calculating. I wouldn’t say he’s negative, but safe. Some of his declarations, you’d have to bat about three weeks to get them!”Though Strauss has often been criticised for being too reluctant to attack, the results he has compiled puts him in the highest echelons of England captains. His unwavering groundedness may also help England avoid the pitfalls that undid Vaughan and Flintoff’s side. From the moment the No. 1 position was confirmed after the third Test win against India at Edgbaston, the England players and management were keen to drum out their mantra of preparing hard for the next challenge.”I think we’ve learned from what happened in 2006,” said Flintoff. “It’s alright beating a side and becoming No. 1, but it’s about maintaining it. In 2005 we weren’t the best team in the world. Now, England are the best out there. It’s all about complacency, you’ve got to keep pushing and keep working hard, but if you look at them that’s what they’re doing. I think we’ll dominate Test cricket for the next five years or so.”It is the management team of Strauss, alongside head coach Andy Flower and England’s squad of backroom staff, that has instilled England with the hard-working values that underpins their success. Yet Flintoff feels Peter Moores, Flower’s predecessor, deserves credit for laying the groundwork.”Flower probably pinches himself at times to get the chance to coach England, which is one of the biggest jobs in cricket. Peter Moores laid the foundations for that. He brought Flower in as his assistant pretty much from nowhere. We knew Andy played and was probably one of the world’s best batsmen but as a coach he was unproven and got brought in by Peter.”Flower obviously took over and moved the side forward but he would be the first one to admit that he can only do so much and then it’s down to the players and how they work and their attitudes. At the moment, those players have it spot on.”That question over attitude is something the India coach, Duncan Fletcher, may be questioning after his side slumped to defeat after defeat this summer. Having played the best years of his England career under Fletcher as coach, Flintoff was surprised with what he saw this summer.”I saw the way in which England prepared I watched them doing their slip catching practice. Balls were fizzing everywhere, they were catching, they were diving diving. Next to them was India and the ball spent more time on the floor than it did in their hands, and Duncan was taking that. I used to do it with Duncan and he used to go mad if you dropped a ball. So I don’t know if coaching is a young man’s game now.” Andrew Flintoff is a Titans of Cricket Ambassador

Highlights of the fifth round of the Ranji Trophy’s Super League and Plate matches

Cricinfo staff05-Dec-2008

Too moved, and too honest
Mahesh Rawat, the Railways and Rajasthan Royals wicketkeeper, had landed in Mumbai for the Champions League the night terror struck the city. He declined to go to the hotel, spent the night at the airport, and took the first flight back. Two days later, he was training for the Ranji match against Uttar Pradesh. At a time when everybody questioned the relevance of cricket, but nobody spoke openly of it, Rawat had different views. “If I was in any position of authority, I would’ve stopped this match from happening,” Rawat told the . “It’s been over 48 hours and Mumbai is still burning. How can we, as Indians, concentrate on playing, when one of the biggest tragedies is being played live on TV even as we speak?”He’s injured, he’s not
Plantular faciatis. Forget the pronunciation – it is a type of a heel injury, the kind that was supposed to have kept VVS Laxman out of Hyderabad’s game against Mumbai. If Kanwaljit Singh, Hyderabad’s coach, and Vijay Bharatiya, the physiotherapist, are to be believed, that is. Apparently Laxman had aggravated the injury during the game against Rajasthan, where he cracked 224; Kanwaljit also talked about how Laxman had used a runner during the final leg of his long innings. Sounds fairly straight, but for the small matter of Laxman’s not agreeing to these facts.Miffed at media reports, he called a few journalists for an explanation of what they had reported. And lo and behold, the next day Kanwaljit and Bharatiya apparently didn’t know of any such injury or comments made. The rule of the thumb is, when in hot soup, say you were misquoted.Laxman, meanwhile, explained the reason for him missing the game: “I had written to the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) about my unavailability for the match as I wanted to be with my wife during the delivery of my second child. I had missed the birth of my first one, and hence wanted to be with the family, particularly because it turned out to be a premature delivery.”All in the family
If you have UP playing Railways at the Karnail Singh Stadium, it all gets a bit mixed up. Take the case of Mohammad Kaif’s father, Mohammad Tarif, who is an absolute legend at the Karnail Singh Stadium. Tarif moved to Railways from UP in the intial stages of his career. Then there’s Aamir Khan, the UP wicketkeeper who works for Railways. And you have Karan Sharma, the Railways middle-order batsman and legspinner, who is from Meerut, and played Under-14s for UP. All you need to do is to throw in a few Railways fan, who are from UP, and mixed loyalties are not far away.Bose’s double
With a devastating five-wicket haul in his first spell in the Plate League Group B match against Tripura, Ranadeb Bose became the 84th man to have taken 200 wickets in the Ranji Trophy. It is a spin-dominated club, with the most wickets taken by a pace bowler being Madan Lal’s 352. Madan has 11 spinners leading him and Rajinder Goel’s 637 wickets look almost untouchable.”I owe this success to my coach Gopal Bose, and my father,” Bose told the Kolkata-based Telegraph. “I want to continue playing… My job is to take wickets, and I’d love to go on doing that.”Fernando? Absent
Dilhara Fernando, the Sri Lankan fast bowler, has been ruled out of Baroda’s Ranji Trophy campaign for this season because of an injured ankle. Fernando was set to play for Baroda following Sri Lanka’s tour of Zimbabwe, but now the Baroda will have to find a replacement. Their selection problems increase with Munaf Patel’s inclusion in the Indian squad for the Tests against England. “They [selectors] will think over combination of team in next two days,” Bardoa Cricket Association chairman Atul Bedade told Sri Lanka’s newspaper. “They have to think over replacement for Munaf Patel.” With only one win from four games, Baroda are currently placed fifth in their Super League group, but have a match in hand.What’s up with the Karnail Stadium?
It is situated in one of the busiest localities, but once you get there it’s pretty peaceful inside. Which makes it quite surprising that people lose their cool so easily at the Karnail Singh Stadium. Two weeks ago it was Irfan Pathan flinging a ball dangerously towards Sanjay Bangar’s head, after having fielded it in his follow-through. That earned him a 100% match-fee fine.Now, the Railways-UP game was full of incident too, though only two walked away with 50% match-fee fines this time: RP Singh and Murali Kartik for showing dissent to an umpire’s decision. Wonder whether the slow, lifeless pitch had something to do with it. And if that is the case, Railways’ opponents stand no chance, as the home team have in their ranks two of the broadest bats and most patient heads, those of Yere Goud and Bangar. The good news is, they are yet to put together a big partnership at the Karnail Singh Stadium this year.Surprise surprise
A day before their postponed match against Hyderabad, Mumbai got a surprise visitor to their nets: none other than Mumbai’s most famous son, Sachin Tendulkar. He was there for his indoor training session when he decided to surprise his Mumbai mates.”I did not expect him to be here. Obviously, his presence is an inspiration to our players,” Wasim Jaffer, Mumbai’s captain, said. “If the Test series is not taking place I would speak to both Sachin and Zaheer [Khan] to play the game against Punjab [later this month]. In fact, it will be good for Indian cricket if all the players are available to play in Ranji Trophy. It will make it more interesting.”Not that Mumbai missed the two when playing Hyderabad, whom they beat by an innings and 108 runs.Brother power
Baroda haven’t really had the Pathan power this year. First Yusuf was taken away for national duty, and then Irfan too. Result: three matches, three draws, five points. But for their fourth match, they got both of them back, an upshot of the cancellation of the England one-dayers following the attack on Mumbai.And what a difference they made. Irfan’s 5 for 54 bowled Maharashtra for 228. Then the brothers scored fifties to take Baroda to a 77-run lead. The game wasn’t over yet, as both of them took a wicket each in the second innings, and Maharashtra set them 227. Soon they were 75 for 5, bringing together the brothers of destruction again. Yusuf smashed 100 off 109 balls, Irfan scored an unbeaten 50, and Baroda kept themselves alive in the Ranji Trophy.Shane Warne’s boys’ corner
Rawat and Yusuf kept the Rajasthan Royals flag flying high. In the first innings, against Railways, Rawat scored 39, and in partnership with Goud, took them just past the follow-on target. Railways hadn’t yet assured themselves of a point from the match. In the second innings, they were 77 for 7, chasing 297 with close to two sessions still left in the game. Out walked Rawat, suffering from viral fever, with his concerned father in the stands. Rawat’s partnership with Bangar lasted 40 overs, and they saved the match and earned a point for Railways.

Australia will also host Pakistan for white-ball cricket in November while schedule has also been drawn up to boost the BBL

Alex Malcolm26-Mar-2024Perth Stadium has dethroned the Gabba as Australia’s preferred first Test venue with the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy to begin in Perth on November 22 this year before the series moves to Adelaide for the day-night Test, Brisbane, Melbourne for Boxing Day and Sydney for the New Year’s Test.Cricket Australia unveiled their international schedule for next summer with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as the summer’s showpiece event. After Perth, the second Test will be a day-night pink-ball encounter played at Adelaide Oval from December 6-10. The third Test will be in Brisbane from December 14-18. The fourth Test will be at the MCG in the traditional Boxing Day slot on December 26 and the fifth Test will be at the SCG starting January 3.Australia has an unblemished record at Perth’s newest venue having won four out of four Tests there including the first one against India in December 2018, although India went on to claim the series. Perth did not host a Test between Australia and India in the 2020-21 series, which India also won when the final Test was held in Brisbane.Related

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Peter Roach, CA’s head of scheduling, said the decision to award Perth the first Test over Brisbane was due to a range of factors with the friendly broadcast timezone for both Australian east coast audiences and India viewers being the final tipping point.”The clear advice from our national team is that there is a preference to start series strongly at venues where they’re really comfortable and Perth and Brisbane they believe are somewhat comparable in terms of the advantage they get out of that,” Roach said. “They’re the hardest and bounciest pitches in Australia. They also believe that playing day-night Tests in Adelaide is a significant advantage and the stats there are pretty conclusive too.”So they will look at this schedule and some will say Gabba first would have been better than Perth. Others will say Perth then Gabba. I think that gap has really closed in recent times and the way our players think about that, and having Adelaide as the day-night Test, they’ll be really buoyed about that again. So we’re really comfortable that this gives us a great opportunity to compete with a really strong Indian team.”ESPNcricinfo LtdOutgoing WA Cricket CEO Christina Matthews is hopeful of a big crowd in Perth after disappointing attendances in recent years, although her preference was to host the pre-Christmas Test.”I would be looking at crowds of 30-35,000 on day one [for India],” Matthews told ESPNcricinfo as part of an interview to be published later this week. “Getting a space in the calendar is really important. Our preference is the last Test before Christmas. But if it’s the first Test, as we’ve had [the past two years], if we know that’s when it’s going to be then it makes it easier for everybody to plan. If we can know if it’s the first Test of every summer or the third Test every summer, that’s the important thing.”While Australia hope to maximise their advantage by starting with Perth and Adelaide, a nine-day gap has been scheduled between the first two Tests. It is understood the BCCI are keen to use that period for India’s players to get some specific pink-ball practice and options are being explored as to whether some form of match practice will be scheduled. A Prime Minister’s XI match in Canberra is on the cards but whether it is before or after the first Test remains to be seen.BBL window, but availability issues to remainTest players look likely to miss the BBL finals due to a tour of Sri Lanka•Getty Images and Cricket AustraliaThe decision to start with Perth and then the day-night Test also means there is a clear window for the BBL to begin after December 10, as those matches are played at night while the Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney Tests are played during the day. CA had to halt the BBL for five days early in the season last summer while the Perth Test between Australia and Pakistan was played in late December. Then the Adelaide Test against West Indies was a day game in mid-January before the day-night Test was held in Brisbane after the BBL had been completed.The BBL will likely start during the three-day break between the Adelaide and Brisbane Tests and will run through until Australia Day on January 26, with Australia’s Test players set to be available for a few weeks after the Sydney Test is completed on January 7.However, Australia have a two-Test tour of Sri Lanka scheduled for late January and early February which could mean some players are withdrawn from the BBL finals as there is a preference for a seven to 10-day build-up for that series to acclimatise to conditions. The dates for the Sri Lanka tour are yet to be announced. Australia’s ODI players will likely head straight to the Champions Trophy after the Sri Lanka tour, with the tournament likely to start on February 19.Pakistan return for white-ball cricketAustralia will host Pakistan in three ODIs and three T20Is in early November before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy begins. The ODIs will be part of both teams’ preparation for the Champions Trophy and is likely to be Australia’s last official ODI series before that tournament begins in Pakistan.The ODI series will start at the MCG on Monday, November 4, the night before the Melbourne Cup public holiday in Victoria. The series will then move to Adelaide on November 8 and finish in Perth on November 10.The T20I series will run close to the Test series against India and will likely mean that none of Australia’s Test players will feature. There is set to be significant turnover in Australia’s T20I side by the time the November series starts following the T20 World Cup in June and Australia will likely use the series to develop younger T20I specialists for future World Cups.The final match of the series takes place in Hobart on November 18 with the first Test against India starting in Perth just four days later.There is no men’s international match in Canberra next summer although there will be a women’s T20I during the multiformat Ashes in the lead-up to a historic day-night four-day Test at the MCG between Australia and England starting on January 30, which will celebrate the 90-year anniversary of women’s Test cricket.Australia Men fixtures for 2024-25 seasonODI Series vs Pakistan
4 November: MCG, Melbourne (D/N)
8 November: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (D/N)
10 November: Perth Stadium, Perth (D/N)T20I Series vs Pakistan
14 November: The Gabba, Brisbane (N)
16 November: SCG, Sydney (N)
18 November: Bellerive Oval, Hobart (N)Test Series vs India
22-26 November: Perth Stadium, Perth
6-10 December: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (D/N)
14-18 December: The Gabba, Brisbane
26-30 December: MCG, Melbourne
3-7 January: SCG, Sydney

Two coaches who have previously managed in the Italian top-flight are on top of Fenerbahce's shortlist as they seek a replacement for Jose Mourinho.

Fenerbahce scrambling to find Mourinho's successorTurkish side eyeing two coaches with Serie A experiencePresidential elections likely to affect the outcomeFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Following the dismissal of Mourinho, Fenerbahce are actively seeking a high-profile replacement, with a former Italy manager and an ex-Milan head coach emerging as two top candidates, according to . However, the report adds that the decision is closely tied to the club’s ongoing presidential elections, which will significantly influence the final appointment.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

One of those two names is Luciano Spalletti, who could soon make a swift return to coaching, just months after his sacking from the Italian national team. The current administration reportedly favours Spalletti, viewing him as a transformative figure capable of leading the club into a new chapter. On the other hand, there's Sergio Conceicao, who was let go by Milan at the end of the 2024-25 season after a challenging spell. His candidacy has already been endorsed by Sadettin Saran, one of the leading presidential hopefuls, who promised to appoint the Portuguese boss if elected.

DID YOU KNOW?

Since Mourinho's sacking, Fenerbahce's search for a new manager has been intense. Ange Postecoglou, dismissed shortly after Tottenham lifted the Europa League at the end of last season, is being eyed for the role. Reports also indicated that Stuttgart boss Sebastian Hoeness was on Fenerbahce's radar, but he was uninterested in a move to Turkey.

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR FENERBAHCE?

As the Turkish heavyweights continue to find a replacement, Zeki Murat Gole has been appointed as the club's caretaker for the third time in his career. Fenerbahce will be desperate to finalise the new head coach before the international break ends. Interestingly, Turkish sports publication exclusively revealed on Thursday that Fenerbahce had reached an agreement to re-appoint veteran manager Ismail Kartal, who would return to the Yellow Canaries' dugout for the third time. No official announcement has been made regarding the same.

MatériaMais Notícias

Neste sábado, o Maringá visita o Athletico-PR, às 16h, na Arena da Baixada, em duelo válido pela terceira rodada do Campeonato Paranaense. Ambas as equipes estão empatadas, com seis pontos nos dois primeiros jogos. Agora o Dogão quer surpreender o Furacão fora de casa, para lutar pelas primeiras posições.

O volante Iago Santana, de 23 anos, falou da preparação da equipe e das expectativas para o duelo.

RelacionadasGoiásAndrey destaca disciplina tática no Goiás em busca da vaga na final da CopinhaGoiás20/01/2023Atlético MineiroReforço do Atlético-MG, Patrick se coloca à disposição para a estreia: ‘Já estou pronto’Atlético Mineiro20/01/2023CoritibaEmpresário afirma que Maicky pode deixar o Coritiba: ‘Estamos analisando’Coritiba20/01/2023

– Sabemos que será um jogo muito difícil, o adversário tem muita qualidade e por isso respeitamos. Mas nós sabemos da nossa força e não vamos nos esconder do jogo. Desde a pré-temporada, o nosso grupo está em sintonia, trabalhando forte dia após dia, para mostrar um bom futebol. Vencemos os dois primeiros desafios e agora queremos manter a nossa invencibilidade.

Contratado pelo Maringá no final de 2022, Iago falou sobre suas expectativas para o restante da temporada e seus objetivos dentro do clube.

– Eu cheguei para ajudar. Os objetivos do Maringá são as nossas prioridades, e sabemos que teremos grandes compromissos nessa temporada. Minha adaptação foi muito fácil, todos do grupo me receberam muito bem. Tenho escutado e aprendido muito com a comissão técnica, e buscado trabalhar firme. Quero estar pronto para quando surgir a oportunidade, ajudar o clube e os meus companheiros.

Fully immersing himself into the rehab process over the last three months has helped Suryakumar Yadav “grow as a person and athlete”.Suryakumar rewired his “body and brain” to focus on the smaller things as he underwent recovery for sports hernia, an ankle injury and right knee pain at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.”It’s a little difficult to describe the last three months,”Suryakumar told the official IPL website. “It has helped me grow as a person and athlete. For the first two-three weeks. I felt very bored doing the same thing during rehab. From the fourth and fifth week onwards, I realised it is important going forward. It was important to decide how I wanted to come back.”Suryakumar had injured his ankle during the South Africa tour in December and was also diagnosed with a sports hernia that needed surgery in January. Since then, he’s spent much of the past three months in Bengaluru with the NCA’s medical staff.His rehab involved religiously following a schedule, including eating right, giving his body enough rest to aid his recovery process. He also picked up certain things he hadn’t done before, like reading a book.Suryakumar Yadav gets the ramp going in the nets•Mumbai Indians

“When I spoke to my wife, all the people at NCA, they said it has to be the second version of yourself,” Suryakumar said. “You have to be a little different when you come back on the field. I started doing small things, like sleeping on time, following a good diet.”I’d never read a book in my life, but I started doing that as well. Getting up in the morning, spending good quality time at the rehab centre, focusing on everything, connecting myself, my brain and body with the rehab, it helped me really well to recover faster because I had two-three niggles together.”Thursday’s game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium will be Suryakumar’s second since his comeback from injury. Suryakumar was dismissed for a two-ball duck in his first outing in over four months, against Delhi Capitals.Suryakumar admitted to feeling helpless while watching Mumbai lose their first three games from afar, but he is now ready to hit the ground running for his side.”It’s always difficult sitting and watching when your team is playing,” he said. “I watched half the games, because I was sleeping on time, by 10-10.30. I used to watch only half the innings. Of course, I’d watch the whole game next day.”It was difficult, but it gave me a lot go motivation and inspiration looking at them that they’re playing there, and I have to work hard on my recovery to get there as soon as possible.”How did he feel after his first training session last week?”I felt like I was here since the IPL started,” he said. “I always wanted to be a better version of myself. During the injury I realised the things I needed to work on. I had two-three months to work on my fitness and body. There were times I’d feel angry, but thanks to the physios and trainers – they understood how I wanted to work.”

MatériaMais Notícias

A chuva e o frio não impediram 60 mil torcedores de irem ao Maracanã, nesta quarta, assistirem à vitória do Corinthians sobre o Flamengo, por 2 a 1. A noite, que começou com festa rubro-negra pelo título da Libertadores, terminou com a comemoração paulista, já que o time de Vitor Pereira garantiu vaga na Libertadores de 2023.

RelacionadasFlamengoVÍDEO: Jogadores do Flamengo dão volta olímpica com taças da Copa do Brasil e LibertadoresFlamengo02/11/2022

Com o resultado, o Flamengo, já garantido na próxima Libertadores, ficou com 61 pontos na Série A. Já o Corinthians chegou ao mesmo número de pontos e também confirmou sua vaga na fase de grupos da Copa.Confira a tabela e a classificação completa da Série A aqui!

REENCONTRO E FESTA COM A NAÇÃO

Antes da bola rolar pelo Brasileirão, o Flamengo fez a festa com a Nação no Maracanã, festejando no gramado com as taças da Libertadores e da Copa do Brasil. Filipe Luís, Pedro e Arrascaeta, titulares que não foram relacionados, comandaram a comemoração.

GOLEIROS RESISTEM ENQUANTO PODEM

Os primeiros minutos da partida foram com erros simples de lado a lado, que impediram chances. A primeira aparição de Cássio foi aos 11, com Pablo desviando cobrança de falta de Vidal. No primeiro tempo, o goleiro ainda apareceria bem ao evitar gol de Ayrton Lucas.

A partir dos 20′, o Corinthians cresceu e encontrou boas tabelas pelo lado direito. Yuri Alberto, em jogada individual, exigiu de Hugo Souza pela primeira vez.Minutos depois, Du Queiroz foi ao fundo e cruzou para Giuliano, que chutou de primeira, na trave. No rebote, o goleiro do Flamengo voltou a trabalhar e defendeu o chute de Roger Guedes.

DU QUEIROZ MARCA ANTES DO INTERVALO

Se chegava com mais perigo pela direita, foi em jogada de Vital, pela esquerda, que o Corinthians abriu o placar, com Du Queiroz chegando para completar, de primeira, o cruzamento dentro da área.

RESPOSTA IMEDIATA E GOLAÇO NO EMPATE
​
Na volta do intervalo, Dorival Júnior acionou Everton Ribeiro no lugar de Victor Hugo, mas o Flamengo nem precisou do camisa 7 para deixar tudo igual. Everton Cebolinha deu grande passe para Matheus França, e sobrou categoria para o garoto do Ninho encobrir Cássio.

FLA DOMINA, MAS YURI ALBERTO DECIDE!

A partir do gol, o time de Dorival Júnior impôs o seu ritmo de jogo, ocupou o campo de ataque e, diante de um Corinthians que não conseguia reagir, rondou a área adversária, mas não foi capaz de marcar outro gol. Quando a partida se desenhava toda a favor dos cariocas, Bruno Mendez e Yuri Alberto apareceram para decidir.

O lateral arrancou em velocidade, passou o meio de campo e tocou para o atacante. Com um só toque, Yuri Alberto tirou Fabrício Bruno da jogada e ficou cara a cara com Hugo Souza. A finalização firme passou por baixo do goleiro do Flamengo, que nada pôde fazer: 2 a 1.

Uma vitória que coloca o Corinthians na fase de grupos da Liberta e não acontecia diante do Flamengo, no Maracanã, desde 2017.

FICHA TÉCNICA
FLAMENGO 1X2 CORINTHIANS

Estádio: Maracanã, no Rio de Janeiro (RJ)
Data e hora: 02 de novembro de 2022, às 21h30
Árbitro: Ramon Abatti Abel (SC)
Assistentes: Kleber Lúcio Gil (SC/Fifa) e Thiaggo Americano Labes (SC)
Árbitro de vídeo: Daniel Nobre Bins (RS/Fifa)
Renda/Público: R$ 2.358.262,00 / 57.906 pagantes / 60.369 presentes

Gols: Du Queiroz (0-1, 43’/1ºT), Matheus França (1-1, 2’/2ºT), Yuri Alberto (1-2, 30’/2ºT)

Cartão amarelo: Roni (COR)
Cartão vermelho: Não houve.

FLAMENGO (Técnico: Dorival Júnior)

Hugo, Matheuzinho, Fabrício Bruno, Pablo e Ayrton Lucas; Pulgar, Erick Pulgar (João Gomes,21’/2ºT)e Victor Hugo (Everton Ribeiro, Intervalo); Everton Cebolinha (Rodinei, 37’/2º), Marinho (Matheus Gonçalves, 36’/2ºT) e Matheus França (Mateusão, 36’/2ºT).

CORINTHIANS (Técnico: Filipe Almeida)

Cássio; Bruno Mendez (Gil, 39’/2ºT), Balbuena, Robert e Fábio Santos; Fausto, Du Queiroz (Roni, 27’/2ºT), Giuliano (Fagner, 39’/2ºT) e Mateus Vital (Ramiro, 21’/2ºT); Roger Guedes (Renato Augusto, 21’/2ºT) e Yuri Alberto.

Head coach prepares for title defence with strong idea of England’s XI for opening match

Vithushan Ehantharajah27-Sep-2023As England head to India on Wednesday evening to defend their ODI World Cup title, head coach Matthew Mott says they are close to deciding upon their starting XI for the tournament opener against New Zealand.The defending 50-over champions depart from London with a well-rested group of 15, plus Jofra Archer as the only travelling reserve. A second-string squad contested this week’s three-match ODI series against Ireland, culminating with another Bristol washout on Tuesday. Victory at Trent Bridge in the only completed ODI on Saturday saw the hosts walk away with the most subdued of 1-0 wins.Nevertheless, the performance in Nottingham and Tuesday’s rambunctious start of 280 for 4 after 31 overs before the rain arrived was a serious flex of English depth. Now, it is time for the golden generation to take over again, as Jos Buttler’s squad aims for what would be a legacy-confirming third ICC trophy in just over four years.There are seemingly no fitness issues for England, beyond Archer’s ongoing recovery from a longstanding right elbow issue, and he would only be used from the bench in the event of an injury in the latter stages of the competition. Mark Wood’s heel is said to be fine, likewise Adil Rashid’s calf.The squad convened at Lord’s on Wednesday for a sponsor’s lunch before they headed to Heathrow Airport for their outbound flight. Their journey in this latest iteration of the 50-over tournament begins a week on Thursday in a repeat of 2019’s Lord’s final against New Zealand, this time at Ahmedabad. Their ultimate aim is to return to that venue on November 19 to contest 2023’s showpiece event.After a month of trial and error against the same opponents in a 2-2 T20I series and 3-1 ODI success, Mott believes that he and captain Buttler have a good idea of their teamsheet for that opener on October 5, but given that England will be playing at eight different venues across their nine group games, he anticipates digging deeper into the squad this time, compared to the use of just 13 players four years ago.”We’re close but it’s still a while away,” Mott said. “And we don’t know how guys will pull up, [it is] a quick turnaround when we land in India. We’ve got a rough idea, then it’s about opposition, whether we go batter-heavy, bowler-heavy. The squad we have picked gives us great flexibility.Related

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Williamson aiming to play a part in New Zealand's warm-up games

“I do [expect to use more than 13], because of the venues, the travel, certain players thrive, others don’t go so well. That’s why when you pick the squad, you do a lot of ‘what if?’ scenarios.”England squared off their first uncertainty a week ago when Dawid Malan and Harry Brook were confirmed in the squad. Jason Roy had been the man in possession when the provisional squad was announced at the end of August – and had been told as much – but he found himself nursing a second high-profile snub in a year.And yet, having missed out on 2022’s T20 World Cup, Roy could still have a part to play over the next eight weeks. As a key part of England’s 2019 success and a totem of their overall white-ball revolution, Mott confirmed he remains available and willing to answer any mayday call as an injury replacement for the tournament, even though it seemed his race had been run when he missed the four New Zealand one-dayers with back issues.England’s head selector Luke Wright subsequently suggested that Roy could make an appearance in one of the final two matches against Ireland, and his non-involvement in those games gave rise to fears that he may have been badly burned by the late omission. However, Mott clarified that Roy was “never down” to play against Ireland and confirmed that he is keen to join up with the group if one of the opening spots becomes available.”Yes, absolutely – never in question,” Mott said, regarding Roy’s willingness to be a reserve. “He is strongly keen to get on that plane. He is incredibly disappointed, as you would expect. He is very determined if an opportunity opens up again that he is on that plane.”I know a lot of people speculate about him not playing here [against Ireland], but he was never down to play in this series. So that was not a big thing from our point of view. This time at home for him, if this opportunity does come up, I think it will serve him well.”Mott admitted there are lessons to learn from Roy’s situation, particularly around communication, though insisted the ICC’s desire for teams to hand over a list of players six weeks before the tournament is partly to blame for the awkward situation that arose. “The facts are we were forced to name a side earlier than we wanted to and every team will say that.” Nevertheless, he has faith that Roy’s head will be in the right place if the emergency call comes.Jason Roy remains on England’s radar for the World Cup despite missing the recent ODIS•Getty Images”Observing him from a distance during his career, he’s gone through a number of ups and downs and he has come out and averaged 40 and with a strike rate of nearly 100 for his career. I have absolute confidence if he got that opportunity, he’d come, and he’s got a point to prove as well. We’d love to be proven that we got it wrong. But equally, we’d want 15 fit players, so hopefully that’s what happens.”That last point is particularly pertinent. Roy’s back spasms prevented him from cementing his spot on the plane, ultimately allowing Malan to confirm his ticket with a Player-of-the-Series turn in the New Zealand ODIs. And Tuesday’s century by Ben Duckett, alongside a breakneck 61 from T20 World Cup winner Phil Salt and Will Jacks’ 94 in Nottingham, highlighted the fact that there are a variety of options England could call upon in the event of an injury to one of their travelling batters.Each offers something different, a point that was not lost on Mott after a week on deck with the understudies. “This was a great series to witness, to see the talent level down the pathway. A great reminder of what we have going on here.”In the immediate future, there is no need for England to expressly name their reserves. The three who travelled for the successful T20 World Cup last winter was purely down to logistics, with the 24-hour flight time from the UK to Australia necessitating alternates on the ground. With the route to India more straightforward, Mott made it clear that anyone who played against Ireland should stay sharp.”Everyone in this group here, and everyone on the periphery, should be maintaining their fitness,” he said. “Because you never know what can happen.”I think, all things considered, we’ll judge it with what cards we have got. It depends what injury is down, and what it looks like. But we know you’ve got a proven performer you can call on at any time.”As for ambitions, Mott is downplaying all tags; holders, favourites – the lot. “We don’t have any expectations,” he said with a wry smile. Though he conceded that India are favourites in home conditions, he added the caveat that things can go “either way”.It’s less about kidology, more about Mott keeping his usual quiet counsel. But having been in the job 18 months with one title under his belt already, he knows finishing in the top four of 10 to make the semi-finals is the bare minimum.”The idea is to get out of the group stages and put yourself in a position to be in the finals. There are so many good teams in that competition it’s hard to rule out any team.”We’ve seen enough in cricket in recent times that a lot of teams are going to contest and expect to do well. We are one of them but I don’t look at it as defending champions. We go in with the same points as everyone else.”Once we get on that plane it’s pretty much straight into it. There’s a couple of warm-up games then right into the World Cup. We are in a good spot – we have players in form, players hungry and a good mix. We are really excited about what’s coming up.”