The 2017-18 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy’s group stage will see seven matches played in 41 days, with the entire tournament scheduled to last less than three months
Umar Farooq21-Sep-2017The 2017-18 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy will put teams through a back-breaking schedule of seven four-day games in just 41 days. That is the total time allocated to the group stage for 16 teams. Just 86 days have been set aside for the entire tournament, with the final to be played on December 16.The scheduling of Pakistan’s premier first-class tournament was altered twice, before a final decision was made to start on September 26, twelve days later than originally planned. Fifteen venues have been chosen to host the 69 matches. The group stage has been especially compressed, with each team afforded only 13 rest days if their matches last all four days. That is a reduction on an already packed schedule: teams were given 18 and 15 days off in the group stages in the last two seasons. The 2014-15 season saw the entire tournament, comprising 67 games, wrapped up in just 72 days. The ‘rest’ days should also be taken with a pinch of salt, as most of them are taken up travelling to various cities.This year’s scheduling is even tighter, as the tournament has been split into two windows, with the group stage ending on November 5, and the next stage – the Super Eight – starting from November 25. The three-week window between the two dates is being used to play the National T20 Cup, an event which was previously postponed from August.The scheduling of the National T20 Cup has already created other conflicts, as it clashes with the Bangladesh Premier League and the Global T20 in South Africa, events in which up to 20 Pakistan players are scheduled to take part. The BPL lasts from November 2 to December 10, while the Global T20 begins on November 3, with the final taking place on December 16. Further complicating the situation is the fact that the PCB went ahead with a selection process for the domestic tournament last month with a draft ceremony.Pakistan’s domestic circuit has been subject to multiple changes, with schedules varying every year for at least a decade. The first-class format, however, remains intact for the second year running, with 16 teams (eight regional and eight departments), but the selection process was tweaked, allowing eight players to be picked through the draft process.
Ajinkya Rahane has revealed that India have made a conscious effort to attack the spinners on their tour of Sri Lanka, and in particular use their feet against Rangana Herath, the prime threat. As a result they have piled on successive 600-plus first-innings totals, and have all but neutralised the threat of Herath, whose average against India since fashioning the Galle win in 2015 is 53.61, and economy rate 3.58.In all, India’s batsmen have left the crease 84 times when facing Herath in this series, taking 123 runs off those balls while losing two wickets, Wriddhiman Saha the batsman dismissed on both occasions. It is not just the runs scored off those balls, though. There are also the short balls earned in the bargain.”When we played last time here against Sri Lanka, especially after Galle Test match, we decided that using footwork against him was very important,” Rahane said. “Here again in the first Test, Shikhar [Dhawan, scoring 190] batted really well, but throughout against him and their spinners we wanted to use our footwork so we could get more runs on the back foot. Especially on this kind of wicket, it is very slow and dry, so we knew that if we use our footwork we will get more runs on the back foot.”So when I went in to bat with Pujara we decided to change our momentum because Virat [Kohli] got out and we wanted to put pressure back on them, and that’s what we did. So we knew using footwork we would get more runs on the front foot as well as the back foot.”This was Rahane’s first century since Indore last year, but he said he was confident his batting was in good enough shape. “It was important, but for me I was confident,” Rahane said. “Even throughout that time, not getting a hundred for 9-10 Tests, I was confident about myself. I knew that if I get in I will get to a big one. It was all about thinking positive even throughout that period.”Coming to Sri Lanka, I was batting well in West Indies as well so wanted to carry that form forward. And batted well in the first Test. So here I decided if I play positively I will convert it to a big one.”The result was what Rahane called one of his best innings against spinners. He has historically had some issues against spin even though he has proved himself against quick bowling in South Africa, New Zealand, England and Australia. As a No. 5, he often comes in at a time when the ball has begun to turn and reverse. The case here was similar: India had lost two quick wickets, and were 133 for 3 with the ball taking turn. He came out and began to attack the spinners.”My mindset was completely blank coming into this innings,” Rahane said. “I wanted to take my time initially but later on, we thought if we dominate, if we change the momentum, they will be on the back foot straightaway, and that’s what happened. Because the same thinking was in Melbourne [in December 2014] in Australia, wanted to dominate them and that’s what we did.”But here the challenge was slightly different, a spinning-friendly wicket and we knew that if we get a good partnership – because I was talking to Virat in the dressing room before lunch that if we get a 150-200 partnership, one big partnership, they will be on the back foot and that’s what actually happened. Me and [Cheteshwar] Pujara got that partnership.”
غادر فريق برشلونة الإسباني منافسات بطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا لموسم 2023-2024، بهزيمة ثقيلة أمام باريس سان جيرمان الفرنسي.
وتغلب باريس سان جيرمان على برشلونة بنتيجة 4-1 وحسم تأهله لنصف نهائي دوري أبطال أوروبا.
وشهدت المباراة حصول رونالد أراوخو مدافع برشلونة على بطاقة حمراء، وكذلك المدير الفني تشافي هيرنانديز.
وبحسب صحيفة “موندو ديبورتيفو” الإسبانية، من المؤكد أن أراوخو سيغيب عن مباراة للإيقاف، وذلك في النسخة المقبلة من دوري أبطال أوروبا.
اقرأ أيضًا | الكلاسيكو يحسم مصير تشافي مع برشلونة
ويوضح التقرير أنه إذا تضمن تقرير الحكم إيماءة يد أراوخو أثناء مغادرة الملعب، قد تعتبر لجنة الأخلاقيات والتأديب التابعة للاتحاد الأوروبي لكرة القدم هذه الإشارة باليد، بمثابة “سلوك غير رياضي”.
وبالتالي سيعاقب أراوخو بالإيقاف مباراتين، من المرحلة المقبلة من دوري أبطال أوروبا في الموسم الجديد.
وبالنسبة لتشافي إذا كان الأمر مجرد احتجاج، فستكون العقوبة إيقاف مباراة واحدة فقط، لكن إذا تضمن تقرير الحكم أن هناك لغة مسيئة أو حتى إهانة من مدرب برشلونة للحكم، يمكن أن تزيد عقوبة الإيقاف إلى مباراتين أو ثلاث.
Kings XI Punjab v Mumbai Indians Indore, April 20, 2017 Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)2:17
Hogg: Pollard is starting to become a mentor
Form guide
Kings XI Punjab (Fifth): lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad by 5 runs, lost to Delhi Daredevils by 51 runs, lost to Kolkata Knight Riders by 8 wickets
Mumbai Indians (Third): defeated Gujarat Lions by 6 wickets, defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by 4 wickets, defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 4 wickets
Head to head
Overall:After 18 matches, both teams are deadlocked at nine wins apiece. But Mumbai Indians have a 6-3 lead in the last nine matches.Last season:It’s another deadlock. Marcus Stoinis set up Kings XI Punjab’s win in Visakhapatnam, taking 4 for 15, while Mumbai’s win in Mohali was headlined by a 137-run second-wicket partnership between Parthiv Patel and Ambati Rayudu.
In the news
Mumbai are off to their best start in IPL history with four wins in five matches and would hope to better that record considering Kings XI have lost all three of their most recent games.Manan Vohra’s sublime 95 almost papered over Kings XI’s overseas players – Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, Eoin Morgan and Hashim Amla – scoring only 24 runs in the last match and it is this area that has been letting them down. Miller has the second-lowest strike-rate (103.75) among the 30 batsmen who have faced at least 65 balls this season and he might lose his spot if Shaun Marsh and Martin Guptill are match fit,Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma has not been opening because he feels his experience is needed in the middle order. That strategy works with Nitish Rana doing so well at No. 3 that he is the team’s top scorer.
Kings XI bowlers could look to bowl wide of off stump to the left-handed Rana, and get KC Cariappa to bowl more offbreaks than carrom balls at him. Rana has scored 127 runs off 77 balls on the leg side while only scoring 66 runs off 60 balls on the off side.
Rohit should expect to face Axar Patel, Cariappa or even Maxwell as soon as he comes in. He has been dismissed by spin bowling four times in four innings this season, scoring 13 runs off 21 balls. Rohit would still back himself considering he averaged 54.28 against slow bowling in the previous two seasons.
Stats that matter
In the two IPL games at the Holkar Stadium this year, batsmen have clobbered as many as 36 sixes, and only 39 fours.
Fast bowlers have the worst average in Indore out of all the venues this season. They have taken nine wickets at an average of 50.33 and an economy rate of 9.24. By contrast, spinners have taken seven wickets at 24.57 and an economy of 7.02.
Nitish Rana has hit a half-century in each of the three times he has batted at No. 3. He made 70 against Gujarat Lions in 2016 to go along with his two fifties this year. Rohit Sharma, in comparison, scored 3, 4 and 0 the last three times he was at No. 3. Rana is also excellent against left-arm bowlers: he has scored 63 runs off 34 balls without ever being dismissed. Against right-arm bowlers, he has made 130 runs in 111 balls.
Spin has troubled Mumbai’s batsmen in the Powerplay this season. They have gained only 26 runs in 42 deliveries and have given up five wickets in the process. By contrast, Mumbai have scored 201 off 138 against fast bowlers in the first six overs.
In six innings, Rohit has been dismissed by Sandeep Sharma twice, with the Mumbai batsman managing only 18 runs off 19 balls. Kings XI’s Miller, on the other hand, has been knocked over by Lasith Malinga thrice in four games.
Indore has offered an economy rate of 4.83 to teams bowling first in the Powerplay. At every other venue this season, runs have been scored at a rate of at least seven per over in this phase. Indore makes up with the batsmen in the slog overs though, affording runs at a rate of 13.20, the second-highest among all venues in 2017
Anil Kumble has said India have moved on from the DRS incident that flared up towards the end of the Bengaluru Test
Karthik Krishnaswamy14-Mar-20173:07
We’ve moved on from DRS incident – Kumble
Anil Kumble, India’s head coach, has said he is happy India and Australia have agreed to move on from the DRS-related controversy that flared up in the aftermath of the Bengaluru Test match. He also confirmed that the two captains, Virat Kohli and Steven Smith, would meet match referee Richie Richardson before the start of the Ranchi Test.”I think what was important was to bring the focus back on cricket and I am really glad that the BCCI took a mature call along with Cricket Australia to issue a joint statement that cricket needs to move on and we have moved on from whatever happened in that background,” Kumble said on Tuesday, two days before the third Test in Ranchi.”That’s really important because focus obviously has to be on the game, and I thought we made a fantastic comeback after losing the first Test, especially day two and day three (of the second Test); they (Australia) were ahead and to come back from there and win a Test match was rewarding.”M Vijay missed the second Test match with a shoulder injury – it turned out that the opener had been carrying it since the first Test in Pune, but neither Kumble nor Kohli had mentioned it in the lead-up to the game when asked about the fitness of their players. Now, asked if Vijay was fit to play in Ranchi, Kumble said he was “fine”.”Yeah, he’s fine,” Kumble said. “He is a part of the squad, so he is good.”Ranchi will be the 12th Test of India’s home season – which began soon after a four-Test tour of the West Indies – and Kumble was pleased with the way his players had coped with the physical and mental challenges of playing so many games in a relatively short span of time.”I think they have responded really well,” he said. “It’s been a long season, not easy playing 17 Test matches on the trot. Back to back, especially for the bowling unit. And of course the batsmen, it takes its own toll.”Touch wood we have had very little injuries – of course (Mohammed) Shami is injured as a bowler and he is coming back. So we had some injuries but they have responded well to the challenges that have come about. Lots of overs under the belt and that’s something that obviously augurs well. If you are winning constantly and keep performing the way we have been performing at home that helps. That’s been the hallmark.”You can’t point to just one individual in the whole season that has given us these results. I think every individual has stood up and the captain had led from the front. So it’s really nice and augurs well that each individual has contributed to the success.”We would like to finish the last two Test matches in a very good way, and I am sure it will be something that we will be cherishing at the end of the season.”Kumble praised his bowlers for the intensity they have shown through the season, particularly on day two in Bengaluru, which he called a “fantastic day of Test cricket”.’He may not have a five-wicket haul but every time he has bowled, he has looked like he would pick up a five-for’ – Anil Kumble on Umesh Yadav•AFP”I thought day two was a fantastic day of Test cricket. It was attritional. Only 190 [197] runs were scored in the entire day and we picked up six wickets. But the intensity all the four bowlers bowled with, especially the fast bowlers … It was brilliant. And I think that resulted in the win.”It showed the character and that’s what you want to see in a team… You want to see a lot of character and lot of pride in the way we go about doing things and coming back and winning a Test match.”With Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami missing chunks of the home season with injuries, Umesh Yadav has bowled the most overs – 284.5, with Shami a distant second at 178.1 – among all of India’s fast bowlers in 2016-17. Though his returns – 22 wickets at 39.22 – have not been proportionate to his efforts, Kumble was pleased with Umesh’s bowling through the season. He also hailed Ravindra Jadeja for drawing level with his spin partner R Ashwin at the top of the ICC Test bowlers’ rankings.”We have seen certainly seen what Umesh is capable of.” Kumble said. “Although he doesn’t have the kind of wickets that you would expect, the way he has bowled and the way he has given us those breakthroughs – he may not have a five-wicket haul but every time he has bowled, he has looked like he would pick up a five-for. And that’s the kind of maturity and improvement Umesh has shown.”Yes, the chunk of the wickets have been to the spinners, and I am glad that Ashwin will always be spoken about, but I am really glad that Jadeja has come up and done what he is capable of. Really glad that both of them are currently on top of the ICC rankings.”When asked if the pitch in Ranchi – which has been at the centre of speculation, particularly in the Australian media – would produce a contest lasting five days, Kumble said he didn’t know.”I don’t know. We only hope we will win,” he said. “How many days the Test will last I wouldn’t know. But I only hope there will be a result and it will be in our favour.”Kumble brushed aside reports in the Indian media that suggested the BCCI was looking to appoint him director of cricket and hand over the head coach role to Rahul Dravid.”I have also heard from the media, it is news to me, from the media,” he said. “There is nothing else, no one has spoken about it.”
Qatar’s Al-Watan newspaper has reported that Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani’s bid to complete a takeover of Manchester United has been completed and will be announced soon.
What is the latest MUFC takeover news?
For months now rumours have circulated about who could be the new owners of Old Trafford, or if the club had even actually been fully put up for sale by the Glazer family.
While the situation is ever-changing, it wasn’t that long ago that Ineos’ Sir Jim Ratcliffe was viewed as the leading candidate as his bid would see two of the Glazers stay put in a partial takeover, though it would still see the British billionaire become majority owner.
However, as reported by CNBC, Manchester United shares surged as much as 30% in premarket trading on Tuesday, before paring gains, after Qatari media suggested Sheikh Jassim was likely to succeed with his takeover bid.
Indeed, a Tweet from the Al-Watan newspaper wrote about the “success of Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Jassim’s acquisition of Manchester United” and said the announcement of deal the will be done “soon.”
On top of that, Zaid Al-Hamdan, who is the Vice Chairman of the Canadian Qatari Business Council and Chairman of Armasite Group – and is followed by Sheikh Jassim’s brother on Twitter – also spoke of ‘successful’ acquisition.
He wrote on social media: “Congratulations to Shaikh Jassim Bin Hamad Bin Jassim on his acquisition of Man Utd.”
How big is Man United’s debt?
In that CNBC report, they also note that a spokesperson for Manchester United was not immediately available to comment and so these reports are only coming from Qatar and have not been confirmed by the English side as of yet.
Last week, BBC Sport stated that Sheikh Jassim had made a final bid for 100% of the club and he will clear United’s debt – reported to be £969.6m – and has a separate fund for the club and local community as part of his offer.
If he is to fail with that bid, the Qatari banker will pull out of the race and so it feels as though we have finally reached crunch time with regard to the whole takeover saga.
It remains to be seen if his offer will be enough to meet the Glazer family’s demands but it seems those outside of England are pretty confident a deal has been struck at last.
Australia will not make any changes to the team chosen for the Perth Test against South Africa, irrespective of the result over the final two days at the WACA Ground.The coach Darren Lehmann confirmed an unchanged squad for the Hobart Test, which starts from November 12, meaning guaranteed tenures for Mitchell Marsh, Peter Nevill and Adam Voges. Australia took a similar approach during the tour of Sri Lanka, making only the injury-enforced change of Jon Holland for Steve O’Keefe for the second Test before introducing more drastic changes in the third.Lehmann reflected on how Australia had let the Perth Test get away, having made such a strong start on the first day and the second morning. He believed that the batsmen had not responded well to South Africa’s loss of Dale Steyn to a shoulder injury, which he had seen as an opportunity to take command of the match.”We spoke about that, probably not playing their natural games at times, especially to the left-arm spinner getting the field back,” Lehmann told . “So we probably were a bit too timid at times and not looking to score and rotate the strike. Having said that they did bowl well, and we didn’t counter it well enough.”They do all the prep, they’re great young men, they’re trying to do as well as they can for Australia each and every time, it’s just a case of little mental lapses at times. Collectively we’re always pretty positive, but stats will show we haven’t batted as well as we would have liked the last few Test matches. There’s no hiding the fact we’ve got to bat better.”There’s always pressure when you’re coaching your country or playing for the country, that’s why the guys have got to where they’ve got to. They’ve been brilliant doing all the work behind the scenes and playing at the level below, now they’ve got to do it at this level. There’s always pressure whether you win or lose, a lot less when you’re winning.”
An update has emerged on Chelsea and their plans to bolster their goalkeeping department in the summer transfer window.
What's the latest on Mike Maignan to Chelsea?
According to L'Equipe, the Premier League side are interested in a deal to sign AC Milan shot-stopper Mike Maignan ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
The report claims that the Blues are pursuing a swoop for the France international and have already initiated contact with the Serie A giants to discuss a deal.
It states that the Italian outfit will not make it easy for a transfer to be completed, though, as they recently attempted to tie the 27-year-old down to a new contract to secure his future in Milan.
Would Mike Maignan be a good signing for Chelsea?
Mauricio Pochettino could finally find the club's replacement for Thibaut Courtois by striking a deal to sign the £59k-per-week ace, who would be an excellent addition to the squad this summer.
The current Real Madrid number one left the Blues in 2018 and has saved the Spanish giants an impressive 17.7 goals, based on the post-shot xG in LaLiga, underlining him as one of the best in the game.
That came following a spell where he won two Premier League titles during his time in England.
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
In five seasons at Stamford Bridge, Kepa Arrizabalaga has conceded 7.6 more goals than expected in the Premier League, which means that he has underperformed between the sticks over half a decade and let his defence down too often in recent years.
Senegal international Edouard Mendy, meanwhile, has let in 5.8 more goals than expected based on the same metric in the top-flight over three years with Chelsea.
These statistics suggest that the club have failed to adequately replace the excellent Courtois, who is a net positive rather than negative with his shot-stopping, and Maignan could finally solve this problem.
The Frenchman has saved 3.6 more goals than expected in his two Serie A campaigns with Milan and prevented an eye-catching 14.8 xG in his final three years with Lille in his home country, which shows that he is similar to the Belgian in that the giant pulls off miracles in goal to keep the ball out.
Maignan, who was hailed as a "monster" by GOAL's Robin Brainer, has stopped 18.4 more goals than the average goalkeeper would be expected to over the last five seasons, a truly astonishing record.
That means that the Frenchman has saved 26 more strikes from hitting the back of his net over the last five years in comparison to Kepa, indicating that the 27-year-old would be a significant improvement on the Spaniard.
The Milan star is able to bail out his defence on a consistent basis with his ability to stop shots that the average goalkeeper would be expected to see sail past them, whereas the current Chelsea number one has underperformed in that respect.
As such, Pochettino could finally find a worthy replacement for Courtois by working hard to convince the Serie A side to part ways with the colossus this summer.
Pundit Lee Hendrie has slammed Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin after he missed a number of big opportunities before picking up a potentially season-ending injury.
What's the latest on Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Everton?
The Toffees travelled away from home to take on Wolves on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League knowing they really needed a positive result if they were to avoid relegation before the final day.
And Sean Dyche's men actually made quite a good start, putting the pressure on the home team as they began to "dominate" the ball in the early stages of the game at Molineux.
However, all that play in the opposition's half came back to bite them before too long as Wolves quickly countered from the edge of their own box thanks to a brilliant run from Adama Traore.
The winger drove up the field, past a number of defenders, and when his shot was saved by Jordan Pickford, Hwang Hee-chan was on hand to finish into an empty net.
Dyche must have been furious with his team for falling behind, especially after having some good opportunities themselves, and while speaking on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday, Hendrie didn't hold back in his criticism of Calvert-Lewin in particular.
He said: "I wouldn't say Calvert-Lewin should have had a hat-trick but he's had three really good opportunities.
"He's got to do better with this one. It's about heading the ball down towards the corner. A really good opportunity for Everton."
And then to make things even worse, the forward then had to come off with an injury.
Hendrie noted: "This doesn't look good. He looks devastated. "What a loss he would be. That could be the end of his season."
How bad is Calvert-Lewin's injury?
In the end, it's safe to say the Englishman really failed to make the most of his 47-minute spell on the pitch as he missed one big chance and had three shots off target, before being subbed off having accumulated an expected goals (xG) ratio of 0.43 all by himself without scoring via Sofascore).
Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
At least he was causing trouble, though, and it would have been a real concern for Dyche and co to see their £100k-per-week first-choice striker head straight down the tunnel after coming off, especially with only one game left to play now before the end of the campaign.
To make things worse, defender Nathan Patterson also was forced off with an injury before half-time, prompting journalist Joe Thomas to say that the first 45 minutes went "about as disastrous as it could have gone".
Yerry Mina may have spared the Toffees' blushes with a late equaliser, but the Merseysiders remain in trouble heading into the final weekend.