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Pakistan coach Waqar Younis has expressed concern at the way his side stumbled during their chases in both Twenty20s against Zimbabwe in Lahore, even though they emerged with victories in both games

Umar Farooq25-May-2015Pakistan coach Waqar Younis has expressed concern at the way his side stumbled during their chases in both Twenty20s against Zimbabwe in Lahore, even though they emerged with victories in both games.The Pakistani bowlers conceded over 170 runs twice and despite a solid chase from the top order had to crawl hard to make it. In the first match on Friday their pursuit of 173 was threatened by the loss of five quick wickets and on Sunday Pakistan won by just two wickets with two balls spares.”We were fifth (in the rankings) and remained fifth,” Waqar said after the second win. “We were expecting that we would win this but never thought of such tight matches. We might have won but without the sense of jubilation. We are a better team than this. We actually have to improve a lot and the middle order and should have to take responsibility, so I can say that it didn’t delight me.”A win is a win and I am proud of my boys but definitely there are quite a few loopholes which we have to fix, but overall if you ask honestly I am not satisfied because we are better than this and should have performed well and won it more convincingly.”Mohammad Sami, who surprisingly returned to the national side from nowhere and was making yet another comeback, wavered with his line and length and collected 3 for 36 and 1 for 38 in two games. “In Twenty20 cricket it happens and you got to understand that the Lahore pitch was always flat and it’s not easy to bowl on it,” Waqar said. “But indeed we gave away a lot of runs in both matches, however the good thing was that we fielded well, but if you want to challenge other teams we have to do a lot and get better in many other departments.”Sami should be given more time and any bowler should be given ample time to get settled. I think he bowled relatively well from the previously match. One over might have gone badly but it happens in the slog overs, but overall he started well. Looking forward in Twenty20 cricket I think the role of both (Sami and Malik) important as in middle order I still feel it’s tough to over-rely on youngsters.”In the end, though, Pakistan swept the series, a win that marked the return of international cricket in Pakistan after six years of isolation. “These two matches obviously carried some weight as the way the crowd came in to support us it was just outstanding,” Waqar said. “It was a great response and nothing was hidden we all saw that, so has the entire world. It has cast a positive effect on the sovereignty of the country and gave out a positive message to the other countries. So I am proud of the nation, proud of the government and the crowd who came for us.”Zimbabwean allrounder Sean Williams said his team were short of runs but taking a lot of positives. “Obviously they were a much stronger side than us,” he said. “I won’t say I am satisfied from today’s game but there are a lot of positives taken from these last two games.”I feel we were short of runs in both innings but our fielding and discipline in the bowling haven’t been good. The first game was with no extras, the second we had extras, dropped catches and in the field things were going wrong. Obviously taking catches you win matches and what happened today was that we put down three catches … and smaller things makes a difference at the end.”

Which alterations could the Super Eagles boss make for Tuesday’s make or break World Cup qualifier?

GettyNigeria vs Ghana

Friday’s goalless encounter between these West African giants has set up a hugely-awaited decider in Abuja on Tuesday, with observers closer to finding out which nation will be in Qatar later this year.

Nigeria boss Augustine Eguavoen may have seemed somewhat pleased with the 0-0 result, even though he still hinted a win could have been claimed at the Baba Yara Stadium.

Having assessed Friday’s performance, GOAL suggests tweaks the trainer could make for the reverse fixture.

AdvertisementBackpagepixFrank Onyeka

While there would be a temptation to play Peter Etebo instead, the Watford midfielder’s lack of match sharpness means Eguavoen should opt for the Brentford man from the start.

Whether the trainer selects Onyeka from the off remains to be seen, yet there is unlikely to be another Innocent Bonke experiment owing to the defensive midfielder’s underwhelming showing and subsequent injury in Kumasi.

GettyMore minutes for Ademola Lookman

Having waited so long before introducing the Leicester City winger on Friday, Lookman has to start in the reverse fixture.

The RB Leipzig loanee not only offers his aggressive ball carrying and dribbling ability, but he backs that up with the all-important end product.

With Samuel Chukwueze a doubt for Tuesday, Lookman should be trusted from the off for his home debut.

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Watford.Start Emmanuel Dennis

Kelechi Iheanacho may have fashioned Nigeria’s best chance of the night at the Baba Yara Stadium, but he offered little else for the remainder of the game.

Admittedly, it could be a risk playing Dennis and Victor Osimhen in tandem up front, so Eguavoen may alternatively choose to introduce the Watford man for Moses Simon from the start.

MS Dhoni has said it was very important for India to not trip up in the final of the Asia Cup to hold the critics at bay, and to keep the team’s momentum intact leading up to the World T20

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Mar-20161:26

MS Dhoni on the Asia Cup final

MS Dhoni has said it was very important for India to not trip up in the final of the Asia Cup to hold the critics at bay, and to keep the team’s momentum intact leading up to the World T20. The unit is a balanced one ahead of the showpiece event, he said, with the only question mark hanging over seamer Ashish Nehra who might have to make way for Mohammed Shami.”India losing a final is a bigger headline than India winning a final,” Dhoni said after sealing an eight-wicket win over Bangladesh in Mirpur with a six over midwicket. “It’s like putting in a lot at stake: if you win then they say ‘nothing really’; if you lose to Bangladesh, say people ‘oh, you lost to Bangladesh?'”You’re supposed to win. It’s like a game where a lot is at stake but when you win, you actually don’t take anything forward.”However, Dhoni added, Bangladesh’s recent top form at home – including a 2-1 ODI series victory over India in June 2015 – translated into this victory meaning a lot more. “Things have changed. It’s not like the 2004 Bangladesh team. They have a fantastic squad right now. They have improved a lot, and that’s what is showing in their performance on the field. So it was an important one to win.””As far as staying in the present is concerned, it always helps. If you start thinking about what happened when the last time we were here… of course you feel hurt, but what’s important is to forget all of that and concentrate on the present. You can’t do much about the past, you can only take the learnings from the past and that’s what we did today.”Dhoni said the focus now turned to the World T20 for his team, which is already “in the groove” for the tournament. “If you see the kind of performances that the team has given, they will carry a lot of confidence into the World T20. They know what has been really going well for them, what their strengths are.”While he is satisfied with how the XI is looking, Dhoni said, he is also still waiting to see how Shami’s recovery progresses; Nehra has “done very well” for the team but might be replaced by Shami if the latter can get fit in time. Shami was initially part of the Asia Cup squad, but was ruled out of the tournament after it was found he had failed to fully recover from a hamstring injury that had kept him out of the limited-overs series in Australia in January.”Whether Shami is fit or not, we’ll see. He still has a bit of time,” Dhoni said. “The only reason he was picked was because, he is someone who can deliver with the old and new ball, yorkers being his strength.”I think it’s very difficult to replace [Jasprit] Bumrah. He has the strength of bowling yorkers at will, and with the new ball also he has contributed. Nehra has also contributed. Few games ups and downs happen in T20. Hardik Pandya, he’s a fast-bowling allrounder. If Jadeja or him can bat No. 8 and they can give me three or four overs, then it looks like a better balanced side.”For Shami to replace [someone], it would be Ashish. Ashish is the only slot, but to replace Ashish would be very tough. The reason being he has done very well for us, he has moved the ball around. But Shami will have to prove his fitness in the warm-up games. If he does, he will stay ahead with the team.”Nehra was India’s joint second-highest wicket-taker at the Asia Cup, with six wickets at an average of 16.50. He was the most expensive of their specialist bowlers though, conceding 7.07 runs per over, with his poorest returns coming in the final where he took 1 for 33 in his three overs.

Real Madrid's Joselu and Vinicius Junior celebrated in Jude Bellingham-style after the Spanish striker put Los Blancos 1-0 up.

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Joselu puts Madrid 1-0 upCelebrates with arms awide in Bellingham-styleMadrid hoping to extend La Liga leadWHAT HAPPENED?

Just three minutes into the game against Rayo Vallecano, Real Madrid broke away and Federico Valverde's whipped cross found Joselu who managed to prod the ball over Stole Dimitrievski and into the far corner. The offside flag was raised before a VAR check confirmed Joselu was onside. The striker then proceeded to celebrate for a second time and pay tribute to the injured Bellingham.

AdvertisementWATCH THE CLIPGettyWHAT BELLINGHAM SAID

Clearly flattered by his team-mates gesture, Bellingham took to X to celebrate Madrid going 1-0 up. The Englishman tweeted "SELUUUUU" celebrating both the Spanish striker's goal and celebration.

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THE BIGGER PICTURE

Bellingham is currently out injured with a sprained ankle having been forced off in their last game against Girona. The Englishman leads La Liga's goalscoring charts and as such his trademark celebration has become commonplace in Madrid. It speaks volumes to the impact of the 20-year-old has already had at Madrid that his team-mates are celebrating just like him.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola refuses to believe Manchester United will be easy opponents in Sunday's derby at the Etihad Stadium.

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Guardiola not underestimating United'They have the biggest quality'Red Devils reeling after defeat by Fulham(C)Getty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

United are four places and 15 points behind City in the Premier League and sunk to a disheartening home defeat by Fulham last week. They also are missing key players including Rasmus Hojlund, Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire. However, the Catalan pointed out that United had previously been unbeaten in the new year and insisted he was expecting City's rivals to be a threat.

AdvertisementWHAT GUARDIOLA SAID

"They went to Luton and beat them, Wolves and beat them, Aston Villa to go and win a few weeks ago. They have the biggest quality," Guardiola told a press conference. "From one action they create something special with set pieces, transitions. Always have been demanding, when they play good, they will win. In 2024 they lost just one game, the consistency is there. [We will] prepare tactically, what we have to do to get three points."

GettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

New United minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe has vowed to 'knock City and Liverpool off their perch' and targeted another league title within the next three years. Guardiola refused to comment on Ratcliffe's ambitions but acknowledged how tough it has been for United to reassert themselves at the top since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013. "Big clubs, you have to win. Not easy for United, an incredible period with Sir Alex. It's not easy," Guardiola added. "The big clubs used to have more patience, now there is a lot of pressure. I don't know the reason why, I'm not there."

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DID YOU KNOW?

Guardiola has won 11 of his 20 Manchester derbies, drawing twice and losing seven times, giving him the best record of any City manager against United. He has also turned the Cityzens into the dominant force in English football.

The Indian Premier League itinerary could undergo a minor tweakfollowing the announcement of the dates for Karnataka’s assembly elections

Amol Karhadkar21-Mar-2013The Indian Premier League itinerary could undergo a minor tweakfollowing the announcement of the dates for Karnataka’s assembly elections.India’s Election Commission announced on Wednesday that polling forthe assembly elections in Karnataka will be held on May 5. Thishas put a question mark over the staging of the Royal ChallengersBangalore’s home game on May 4 and 6, to be played at the M ChinnaswamyStadium.ESPNcricinfo understands that the Royal Challengers franchise has been in touch withsecurity officials and has also indicated to the IPL authorities thepossibility of enforcing a change in the schedule. “We are in touch withthe concerned people and hope that the issue is resolved at the earliest,”an RCB insider said.IPL chief executive Sundar Raman confirmed that the tournament organisers are touch with thestate government’s security officials. “In case the security officialsconvey that it would be difficult for them to provide security, we mayhave to make a minor change to the schedule,” Raman said.The RCB are scheduled to host Kings XI Punjab on May 4 and SunrisersHyderabad on May 6.

Former Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson has suggested that the Pakistan Cricket Board should replace the outgoing coach Waqar Younis with a foreigner, free from the influence of Pakistan’s domestic politics

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Aug-2011Former Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson has suggested that the Pakistan Cricket Board should replace the outgoing coach Waqar Younis with a foreigner, free from the influence of Pakistan’s domestic politics.”I said it when I left as well, Pakistan need a foreign coach,” Lawson, who was sacked as Pakistan coach in 2008, told the from Australia. “Whether you come from Karachi or Lahore, the pressure on you from external sources doesn’t let you do the work properly.”A foreign coach won’t have that excess baggage. He won’t worry about politics but will just concentrate on making the best team he can. In my time, language wasn’t a problem. The common language was cricket and that’s all they had to understand.”Lawson, who currently coaches the Kochi franchise in the IPL, stressed that the language barrier wouldn’t be a problem for a foreign coach.”In my Kochi team, some players don’t speak Hindi so they communicate in English,” Lawson said. “It’s just an excuse for not appointing a foreign coach despite all the experience and assistance he can bring to Pakistan cricket.”Waqar recently announced that the upcoming Zimbabwe tour will be his last, citing personal reasons including his and his wife’s health. During his tenure Pakistan lurched from one controversy to another, including the spot-fixing scandal and Zulqarnain Haider’s mysterious disappearance from the team hotel, but they also managed to show a revival in Test fortunes and belie expectations to reach the World Cup semi-finals.Pakistan have changed coaches frequently in recent years, which Lawson said could be a deterrent for potential replacements. “They will have a very, very difficult time [replacing Waqar],” he said. “Not many will be willing to trust them because of how they’ve acted in the past but I’ll still tell the PCB to get a foreign coach even if it’s on a short, six-month contract.”It’s not so much the situation but the chairman’s [Ijaz Butt] reputation just isn’t good enough for him to invite foreign coaches over to Pakistan.”Lawson was highly critical of Shahid Afridi, who announced a ‘conditional’ retirement from the game after being axed as one-day captain.”He’s playing well enough and I’d love to see him in the team,” Lawson said of Afridi. “However, he needs to realise he’s not the most important person in the team. He’s a part and that needs to dawn on him. He doesn’t accept criticism and thinks he’s bigger and better than the team. That won’t lead him anywhere.”

Spinners Monty Panesar and Michael Yardy claimed five wickets between them as Sussex Sharks defeated Gloucestershire Gladiators by seven wickets

05-Jun-2011
ScorecardSpinners Monty Panesar and Michael Yardy claimed five wickets between them as Sussex Sharks defeated Gloucestershire Gladiators by seven wickets in a Friends Life t20 game at Bristol.In a match reduced to 17 overs per side by rain, the Gladiators could only manage 97 for 9 as Panesar (3 for 14) and Yardy (2 for 22) did much of the damage. Lou Vincent (31 not out) and Murray Goodwin (27) then led the Sharks to victory with 15 balls to spare, making it two wins out of two for the south coast county.The Gladiators, though, have lost three times in as many games. The sides had been set to start on time at 2.30pm but further rain swept across the County Ground and play was delayed by 90 minutes.The Gladiators lost skipper Alex Gidman to the last ball of Luke Wright’s opening over when he was superbly caught off a skied drive by Rava Naved-ul-Hasan at wide mid-on. Hamish Marshall and Chris Taylor put on 32 for the second wicket – the biggest stand of the innings – before Marshall fell lbw to Yardy for 16.Taylor was the next to go, trapped lbw when sweeping at Panesar for 22, and no other Gloucestershire batsman could break the stranglehold exerted by the two Sussex spinners. Kane Williamson was bowled around his legs by Panesar, Will Gidman was taken on the midwicket boundary off Yardy and Panesar had Ed Young lbw.Kevin O’Brien struck Wayne Parnell for six over midwicket, but the South African got revenge next ball when Yardy held a skied drive at extra cover. A fine all-round bowling performance from Sussex was completed by Naved-ul-Hasan, who bowled Richard Coughtrie in the 15th over and had Ian Saxelby leg before in the last one.Sussex lost a wicket in the third over of their innings when Chris Nash miscued a pull off Jon Lewis to Saxelby at mid-on. It became 31 for 2 in the fifth over when Muttiah Muralitharan had Wright lbw to claim his first wicket for the Gladiators.But Sussex’s victory never looked seriously in doubt and Murray Goodwin hit 27 from 20 deliveries before he was caught by O’Brien on the midwicket boundary from Williamson’s first ball. Vincent and Yardy took Sussex to victory with an unbroken stand of 37, despite some tidy spin bowling from Muralitharan and Williamson.Vincent provided the finishing touches by reverse-sweeping Williamson for a boundary and then cutting the next ball for three to third man.

Salman Butt told a court how he confronted his agent Mazhar Majeed about text messages he had sent him to fix elements of match at the Twenty20 World Cup in West Indies

Richard Sydenham at Southwark Crown Court17-Oct-2011Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt told a court on Monday how he confronted his agent Mazhar Majeed about text messages he had sent him to fix elements of a Twenty20 match against South Africa at the 2010 Twenty20 World Cup.Butt’s comments came on the afternoon of the ninth day of the alleged spot-fixing trial at Southwark Crown Court. It was the first time he had taken the witness box after the prosecution closed its case.Former opening batsman Butt was questioned about text messages he had received from Majeed, who was his agent from 2006 until 2010, relating to fixing. Butt first gave the background to the messages, which came on the back of a losing tour of Australia when they lost every single match in 2009-10.”He would say before a game ‘give me something’,” Butt told the court. “I didn’t like it and I felt bad about it. We are not what you are thinking of us. We don’t lose intentionally. But it didn’t make any difference to him.”For the match against South Africa, Majeed texted Butt asking, “in seventh and eighth over, one fall (wicket) in each, this will only work if you score in the first two overs and no wickets”. Kamran Akmal opened the batting with Butt. The message was recovered from police on behalf of the prosecution.Butt added, on when Majeed would raise such topics: “I would get rid of the conversations in my own language and say ‘thik he’.” At this stage Butt utilised the services of the female interpreter standing by his side for the first time. She explained that what he was saying meant ‘Okay, let’s move on’.Despite Butt’s intentions to deter Majeed’s messages, they didn’t stop. His lawyer, Ali Bajwa QC, asked him to explain messages found on Majeed’s phone that were sent to him. One such message read: “Give us one in the seventh and one in the eighth.” Bajwa asked Butt if he remembered receiving the messages at that time. He said “Well it is my phone so I must have read them”. But when Bajwa asked him if he knew what the message meant, he responded “No”.In the event, on that May 10 game, Butt was dismissed second ball trying to pull Dale Steyn. Bajwa asked Butt if he was captain at that time so to determine to the jury whether he had any influence on events in the match and Butt said, “No”.The court had already heard from written evidence given by the Pakistan team’s then security manager, Major Khwaja Najam Javed, that Majeed was in the Caribbean at the time for the tournament with his family.Butt then explained that he confronted Majeed on the day of this match and he told him: “We are not like these messages you are sending me. You must understand that I must report these things if they come up. He said I am your friend and I have known you many years and I am just checking if you are doing something dodgy or not.”I took his word for this explanation. He said he was trying to test me with something non-serious. I took his word for that. In four years there was nothing like this – something very serious. Anyone in my place would have had suspicions about it. I did not expect this thing to come up. I had known him many years and he had never done this thing before.”I didn’t report it to the ICC because this is someone I had known for quite a length of time now and he meant what he said to me in his explanation. I had worked with him a couple of years. This is someone I know, if it (happened) the way he explained it to me there was no way the ICC should find out. The only way of working with him was to have good relations so I took his word.”Just before proceedings broke off for the day, Bajwa quizzed Butt on the maiden over that, the prosecution alleged, Butt had agreed to but, subsequently, did not play out at The Oval in the third Test, the match before Lord’s. Majeed said: “You know the maiden yeah, do one more.” Butt, after said saying ‘yeah’ to the initial mention of a maiden, eventually snapped and said, “Bro just leave it”. That was known from the prosecution’s opening.Butt, who told the court “it is not hard to play out a maiden in a Test match at The Oval” after the prosecution suggested he failed to achieve it, said of the latest corrupt question from Majeed: “I just wanted him to leave this conversation. He started the same thing over and over again. The way he was showing off, like he thought I would do him a favour. I was slightly suspicious.”The case continues.

ndia finally broke through for their first win of the tour thanks to a dazzling display in the field

The Report by Brydon Coverdale at the MCG03-Feb-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsPraveen Kumar got things started for India, with two wickets in the third over•Getty ImagesIndia finally broke through for their first win of the tour thanks to a dazzling display in the field. Ravindra Jadeja provided the spark – and did no harm to his chances in Saturday’s IPL auction – with a pair of run-outs as Australia’s batsmen were constricted by intense pressure from the fielders, and were dismissed in the 20th over for 131.That was always going to be hard to defend and so it proved, India reaching the target with two balls to spare and eight wickets in hand to draw the series 1-1. They began the chase needing only a fraction above six an over and as a result spent much of their innings in cruise control, Gautam Gambhir able to amble along at less than a run a ball without ever letting the pressure build.The only time a hint of worry might have entered the Indian camp was when five dot balls came towards the end of the chase, and George Bailey had all his fielders in the ring in the final over with one run required. But Gambhir found a gap at midwicket to strike a boundary off Clint McKay and finished on 56 from 60 balls, with MS Dhoni also unbeaten on 21.Virender Sehwag provided some excitement with one enormous six back over the head of the bowler Xavier Doherty but it was the only one in India’s innings. They didn’t need any more. Sehwag was caught at cover off a Brad Hogg full toss for 23 and Virat Kohli, who made a quick 31, was brilliantly caught when Matthew Wade dived to his right off the bowling of Mitchell Marsh, but they were Australia’s only two moments to celebrate in the field.Australia needed to build more pressure and while their work with the ball and in the field was not bad, it lacked the zip shown by their India counterparts. Four Australia batsmen were run out and another was stumped, the younger men brought in for the limited-overs games providing the energy that India lacked in the Tests.It all started with Jadeja, who got rid of two of David Hussey’s partners with run-outs and then picked up the wicket of Hussey off his own bowling. The big wicket was that of Aaron Finch, who was sent in alongside David Warner at the top of the order and showed his power with six fours, five of which were through the off side.Finch launched drives and cuts at anything wide of off and at one stage he had aggregated more than 100 Twenty20 international runs without being dismissed, but that changed quickly. Finch was caught short when Hussey pushed into the off side and tried for a single that wasn’t there, Jadeja’s throw getting rid of Finch for 36 from 23 balls.The captain George Bailey departed soon afterwards when he overcommitted as Hussey steered the ball to backward point, where Jadeja collected and threw to the bowler’s end with Bailey (3) a long way short. Jadeja then induced a leading edge off Hussey, who made 24 from 29 balls, and that wicket left Australia in trouble at 5 for 93.The fine work kept coming from India. Mitchell Marsh was stumped off Rahul Sharma, Dhoni collecting the ball close to the stumps and with no give in his gloves, he hardly had to move to whip the bails off and find Marsh just out of his ground. That was followed by what was effectively a knockout blow for Australia, when Matthew Wade was run out for 32 off 29 balls.Wade had slog-swept a six and after his outstanding innings on Wednesday, he seemed like the man who might carry Australia to a competitive score. But he pushed to cover and took off only to be turned back by Brett Lee, and Rohit Sharma’s direct hit had Wade short despite his full-length dive.Australia were dismissed with two balls to spare, when Doherty was run out thanks to sharp work from Suresh Raina. They had lost 4 for 10 since the start of the 19th over.Australia’s innings had got off to a poor start with the early loss of David Warner, who was caught at deep midwicket for 8 when he skied a ball off Praveen Kumar. Shaun Marsh’s miserable summer continued with a second-ball duck, his limp prod outside off resulting in an edge to first slip, where Sehwag parried the ball up to Dhoni to give Praveen his second wicket.It was an excellent way for India to begin, and they didn’t let the advantage slip. Now the question is whether they can carry some of this spark into the one-day series.