All posts by h79snht.top

Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford said Nuwan Pradeep was unlucky to miss out on a Lord’s five-wicket haul, given the quality of his bowling in the second innings

Andrew Fidel Fernando at Lord's12-Jun-2016

Sri Lanka coach, Graham Ford, said Nuwan Pradeep was unlucky to miss out on a five-wicket haul and a place on the Lord’s honours board, given the quality of his bowling in the second innings. Pradeep finished with 3 for 37 from 15 overs, but had three clear chances missed off his bowling, and was also denied a wicket by an incorrect no-ball call.Pradeep had England’s highest scorer Alex Hales dropped on 19 by second slip on Saturday evening; Hales was reprieved off Pradeep’s bowling again on 39, when a diving Dinesh Chandimal failed to hold on to a tough chance down the leg side. A much easier chance off Steven Finn was then missed by Chandimal next ball. Finally, on Sunday, Pradeep pegged back Hales’ off stump when the batsman was on 58, but umpire Rod Tucker incorrectly ruled that Pradeep had overstepped. Hales said later that the no-ball call had not had a bearing on the stroke he played.”It was disappointing that Nuwan Pradeep bowled so damn well and had such bad luck,” Ford said. “If ever a guy deserved to get a five-wicket haul at Lord’s, it was him. It’s sad for him in many ways.”Pradeep is Sri Lanka’s highest wicket-taker in the series, having claimed 10 scalps at an average of 31.6. Ford said the bowler had improved significantly since Ford’s first, two-year stint as Sri Lanka coach – between 2012 and 2014 – when Pradeep first began to play Tests.”He’s certainly moved on a great deal since then. He’s always been a guy that runs in hard and tries really hard. But he’s now got more skill: he’s got the ability to move the ball both ways. He’s also got the ability to now assess conditions and make a decision on the types of lengths he should be hitting on a particular surface. He’s grown a great deal as a bowler. He’s come on in this series and I can’t say enough about how well he bowled in the second innings.”Ford said Sri Lanka’s seam unit had made gradual improvements during the series, but was nevertheless critical of their consistency. Sri Lanka conceded 17 runs in the first four overs of England’s second innings, then allowed the hosts to move to 45 for 0 after 12 overs before finally breaking through.”The seam group have improved, but there are areas where we’ve let ourselves down, and often the momentum gets lost,” Ford said. “Yes there are one or two catches that could have made a difference as well. The way they went out today and really hit their areas was very, very pleasing. But I have told them that yesterday when we started, we did leak a few release balls that can really ease the pressure and settle the opposition dressing room.”In comparison, England bowled three consecutive maidens to begin day three. They took three wickets in the first eight overs of the day.”We’ve got to be really ruthless at the start of sessions, as England were yesterday,” Ford said. “They gave us nothing up front. After seven overs we had seven runs. That was a four down to third man and a three down to third man. Two nicks – that was all we got. We didn’t get one release ball. That’s why they are such a great bowling unit. We are showing signs of starting to get that sort of thing right.”Rangana Herath, Sri Lanka’s second-highest wicket-taker in the series, had also had a wicket denied him by the umpires – when S Ravi turned down an lbw shout against Alastair Cook in the 49th over of England’s innings. Had Sri Lanka reviewed that decision, it would have been overturned. Herath took 4 for 81 in the first innings.”Rangana’s just brilliant,” Ford said. “He often bowls in conditions that don’t really suit him, and to bowl as well as he did in the first innings here was amazing. I’m sure everyone appreciated watching the great skill and ability he has.”Sri Lanka’s openers survived 12 overs of their second innings unscathed, and the team now requires 330 for victory on the final day. Ford suggested there was more to be gained from attempting the target, than there was to be lost in risking a whitewash.”Very definitely we want to win the game,” Ford said. “That’s why we’re here. Winning a match at Lord’s is very special, and it would be a wonderful achievement and a huge growth within the group if we manage to do it. The boys are going to come in and try very hard.”Great that we got through that really tricky session tonight. Hopefully the weather’s great tomorrow and there are good batting conditions. If we get a good partnership up front, we’ve got the ball strikers to get busy and chase the target. We’ll have to be positive, but that’s the way the boys are going to go about their business anyway.”

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a double swoop for Southampton's Gavin Bazunu and James Ward-Prowse this summer, with the latter player set to be available, according to a report from Football Insider.

What's the latest Tottenham transfer news?

Despite the fact they do not have a permanent manager in place, Tottenham still appear to be active in the transfer market, as they look to replace goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, with FC Porto's Diogo Costa now emerging as a target.

A new creative midfielder is also of interest to Spurs, having been linked with a move for Leicester City's James Maddison, as well as RCD Mallorca's Kang-in Lee, who they are said to be leading the race for.

With strengthening those two positions in mind, the Lilywhites could look to raid recently-relegated Southampton, and a new update has now emerged on their pursuit of Bazunu, having recently turned their attention to the 21-year-old goalkeeper.

According to a report from Football Insider, Tottenham are now hopeful that a bid of up to £15m would be enough to land the starlet in the summer, with the Saints keeper viewed as a strong candidate to replace Lloris.

The youngster fits the profile of a rising star who could develop under the helm of a new manager, and he is not the only Southampton player being eyed by Spurs, as they are also keen on signing Ward-Prowse.

The club captain is expected to leave this summer, with the Saints likely to have a fire sale of their top talent following their relegation from the Premier League.

Should Tottenham sign Bazunu and Ward-Prowse?

It is a little strange that the Lilywhites are now being heavily linked with Bazunu, given that he has not impressed for Southampton over the past year, letting in far more goals than he should have.

The £41k-per-week Irishman ranks in the lowest percentile possible for his save percentage and post-shot expected goals per 90, which indicates he is nowhere near ready to make the step-up to a club the size of Tottenham.

On the other hand, Ward-Prowse would be an excellent addition to the squad, having been hailed as "unbelievable" by manager Ruben Selles for his performances this season.

In all competitions, the Englishman has weighed in with ten goals and four assists, more goal contributions than any other Southampton player, and he could go on to record even better numbers if given a platform at a club like Spurs.

The Supreme Court has asked the Lodha Committee to re-examine the recommendation relating to the presence of two franchise representatives on the IPL Governing Council

Nagraj Gollapudi18-Jul-2016

The Supreme Court has asked the Lodha Committee to re-examine the recommendation relating to the presence of two franchise representatives on the IPL Governing Council. The BCCI had strongly objected to the recommendation, saying that the presence of franchises’ representatives would amount to conflict of interest as the Governing Council takes influential decisions that directly affect the teams.”The BCCI contends that the induction of the nominees from the franchisees is impermissible because important matters like players-retention policy, posting of umpires for IPL matches, etc are deliberated upon and decided by the Governing Council itself,” the two-judge bench of the court said in its judgement on Monday, which made it mandatory for the BCCI to implement virtually all the recommendations proposed by the Lodha Committee. “There is therefore an evident conflict of interest between the nominees of the IPL franchisees on the one hand and their role as members of the Governing Council on the other.”In May, former BCCI president Shashank Manohar had expanded on why the BCCI felt the presence of the franchises’ nominees on the Governing Council amounted to clear conflict of interest. Manohar pointed out that one big reason the BCCI got itself embroiled in a slew of legal issues was the presence of former BCCI president N Srinivasan, the owner of Chennai Super Kings, on the IPL Governing Council. “I should not judge on a matter when I have an interest in it. That is the basic rule of law,” Manohar said.Having the franchise nominees on the Governing Council would amount to violating the principles of “institutional integrity”, the BCCI legal counsel had said during the court hearings.The objective of this particular recommendation, the Lodha committee had said, was to bring more independent voices to the Governing Council. The council, it said, should comprise of nine members: three ex-officio members (the BCCI secretary, treasurer, and the CEO), two representatives of the members of BCCI to be elected by the General Body, two nominees of the franchises, one nominee who is the Comptroller and Auditor General’s representative on the Apex Council (the proposed body that would replace the Working Committee, the BCCI’s highest decision-making body), and one nominee from the players’ association. It was also recommended that the nominees of the franchises rotate annually.The court pointed out that “independent voices” was the objective, but contended that the Lodha Committee was not definitive on whether the IPL franchises needed to have a seat on the Governing Council. “All that is said is that the Governing Council [so far] has denied any role to the franchisee companies, and that there is no independent voice in the Governing Council which is dominated by the full members of the BCCI and two former cricketers,” the court said.The court did concede, however, that there was an element of conflict, as raised by Manohar and BCCI. “The Committee does not appear to have addressed the question of conflict of interest in the event IPL franchisees place two nominees in the Governing Council. There is prima facie a possibility of conflict of interest arising out of [this]. Be that as it may, we do not consider it necessary to finally pronounce on this aspect, which can be better left to the Committee to re-examine in the light of what has been observed earlier.”The court made it clear that if the Lodha Committee were to rule out the possibility of conflict of interest on re-examing the recommendation, it would accept it. “We make it clear that if upon reconsideration of the matter the Committee takes a view that the induction of the nominees of the franchisees will not result in any conflict of interest, it shall be free to stick to its recommendations in which event the recommendations shall be deemed to have been accepted by this Court to be formalised and carried out in such manner as the Committee may decide.”

عزز فريق ليفربول تقدمه بهدف ثاني أمام تشيلسي، في المباراة المقامة بين الفريقين بمنافسات الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

ويستقبل ليفربول نظيره تشيلسي على ملعب “آنفيلد” في مباراة ضمن مواجهات الجولة الثانية والعشرين للدروي الإنجليزي الممتاز “البريميرليج”.

وأحرز كونور برادلي هدف ليفربول الثاني في الدقيقة 39 من عمر اللقاء، بعد تمريرة لويس دياز. هدف كونور برادلي في مباراة ليفربول وتشيلسي

وكان ليفربول قد تقدم بهدف أول أمام تشيلسي، عن طريق ديوجو جوتا وذلك في الدقيقة 39.

ويحتل ليفربول المركز الأول في ترتيب الدوري الإنجليزي برصيد 48 نقطة، بينما تشيلسي في المركز العاشر برصيد 31 نقطة.

Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy appears to have identified a leading candidate to be the club's next permanent manager, following recent reports regarding Feyenoord boss, Arne Slot.

What is the latest on Slot to Spurs?

As journalist Matt Law revealed on Twitter, the Lilywhites are set to push on in their bid to prise the 44-year-old from Rotterdam, with the Eredivisie side facing a challenge to keep hold of their title-winning coach.

The respected insider stated: "Tottenham step up Slot interest with Feyenoord braced for a battle to keep him."

In his attached piece for The Telegraph, Law adds that Spurs are 'keen to speak' with the Dutchman regarding the possibility of taking charge next season, even though the tactician's current side are plotting to offer him a new contract worth around £3m a year.

The report goes on to reveal that while the Premier League outfit would easily be able to better that salary, Slot would also be looking to have 'ultimate control' over the first-team squad if he was to agree to a move.

What type of coach is Arne Slot?

While the former AZ Alkmaar head coach may be something of an unknown quantity to many Spurs supporters, the 4-3-3 boss has only recently come to wider attention after guiding Feyenoord to the league title in the Netherlands, edging out Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven and Ajax in the process.

That remarkable triumph has clearly piqued the interest of Levy and co, with former Tottenham goalkeeper Michael Vorm having only recently suggested that his compatriot would be a "good fit" for the north Londoners having done an "amazing job" in his homeland.

The "ambitious" coach has also been hailed as "unique" by journalist Arno Vermeulen, with it easy to see just why he is receiving admiring glances from those at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

A key factor in Slot's ability to be a success at the club would be his impressive style of play, with the attack-minded coach set to fit well with Levy's quest for "free-flowing" football.

As Dutch journalist Marcel van der Kraan suggested earlier this year, Slot is something of a "maniac" due to his "ultra-attacking" style, having also been described as "very similar to Pep Guardiola."

To be likened to a man who is currently chasing the treble at Manchester City is high praise indeed, with the hope being that the Dutchman can attempt to emulate the impact that Guardiola – who is closing in on a fifth Premier League title – has had over the last seven years or so at the Etihad.

In truth, it looks as if the Feyenoord man could well 'slot' in nicely at N17…

علق لاعب وسط الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي ريال مدريد، توني كروس، على رحيل مواطنه يورجن كلوب من تدريب ليفربول بنهاية الموسم الحالي.

وأعلن كلوب قبل أيام رحيله النهائي عن ليفربول دون تغيير في رأيه، رغم تصدر الريدز جدول ترتيب الدوري الإنجليزي حتى الآن.

ولكن يرى المدرب الألماني أن طاقته قد نفذت ولا يريد الاستمرار مع ليفربول، مع عدم الإفصاح عن خطوته التالية بعد الموسم الحالي.

اقرأ أيضًا | كلوب عن مهاجم ليفربول: سيئ الحظ.. وكان بإمكاننا تسجيل مزيد من الأهداف أمام تشيلسي

وتحدث كروس في البرنامج الإذاعي “Einfach mal Luppen” مع شقيقه فيليكس: “مبروك لمن يستطيع التعاقد مع كلوب الآن”.

وتابع: “لم يشعر أحد بأنه متعب الآن، لم تدرك ذلك، اقترح عليه الكثير من الناس في العام الماضي أن يرحل، عندما كان يمر ليفربول بوقت عصيب”.

وأضاف: “ربما توقع الكثير من الناس رحيله في ذلك الوقت، لكنه ألزم نفسه بإصلاح الوضع في الفريق وبعد ذلك أعلن رحيله”.

واستمر: “ماذا يمكنك أن تقول له؟ فهو يدرب منذ سنوات خارج ألمانيا، الكثير من الاستفتاءات تصفه بالمدرب الأكثر شعبية الآن سواء في ألمانيا أو إنجلترا”.

وواصل تصريحاته: “هذا يعني أن هناك اعترافا بقدرات كلوب، وحتى مع ذلك ليس هناك ثناء يكفي على ما فعله مع ليفربول، كان يتفانى في عمله ولذلك حقق النجاح وهو الآن أسطورة في ألمانيا وكذلك في إنجلترا”.

وعن مستقبل كلوب: “يستحق أن يتخذ القرار بنفسه، فهو شخص ذكي للغاية يعرف كيف يختار، إذا كان يورجن يرى أن هذا هو الوقت المناسب للعودة إلى ألمانيا، سيكون المسئولون يرغبون به في أي دور وهو ما كان يتطلع إليه الكثير منذ عدة سنوات”.

Arsenal are looking ahead to the summer transfer window as their impressive 2022/23 campaign nears a close.

Mikel Arteta’s side fell just before the final hurdle as their title bid took a rogue turn in April that saw Manchester City pounce on their mistakes.

Despite the agony of being so close to their first league title win since 2004, the Gunners have gained entry to the Champions League next season as well as cementing their highest league finish since 2016.

Looking forward, the Spaniard is reportedly ready to be active in the transfer window in the bid to strengthen their few exposed weaknesses this term.

Erling Haaland has been the talisman of the Premier League this season, firing Arsenal’s rivals to a potential treble-winning year, which merely highlights the gap between the league’s top two.

Arteta could have an answer to Pep Guardiola’s forward with reports linking one of Europe’s best to the Emirates.

What’s the latest on Lautaro Martinez to Arsenal?

According to a report from InterLive – as relayed by SportWitness – Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez has gained interest from several clubs including Arsenal.

The report focuses on the Gunners’ reported £200m transfer budget this summer, suggesting the club could pull off a “blitz” to sign the forward and “could do everything” to sign the talisman.

What could Lautaro Martinez offer Arsenal?

Once lauded as an “animal” by his national team coach Lionel Scaloni, the Argentine forward has contributed to 25 goals in Serie A this season, scoring 20 and assisting five as per FBref.

The explosive frontman could be the striker to take Arsenal to further heights next campaign and act as a worthy upgrade to Gabriel Jesus, who is not really known for his free-scoring exploits.

While the Brazilian is well-loved in north London, he hasn’t been the firing figure that Arteta’s team could consistently rely on since joining last summer from City.

The defending champions disposed of the 26-year-old and upgraded to Haaland, which ended in ways that blew the Gunners out of the picture.

Inter’s £184k-per-week striker has averaged 0.58 non-penalty goals per 90 in the past year, placing him in the top 9% of forwards in Europe’s top five leagues over the last 365 days. By comparison, Arsenal's no,9 has averaged 0.36 per 90, highlighting the gap in quality between the two, via FBref.

Martinez is well admired by Argentina superstar Lionel Messi, who has hailed him as “spectacular”, and the 25-year-old helped to rocket his side to the Champions League final last week, having scored three goals and assisted three in the competition.

With Arsenal ready to compete with the very best, a striker that has consistently performed across the continent could prove vital for their expedition to return as an elite figure in world football, in Martinez, they might just find that.

Valued by FootballTransfers at €81.6m (£70m), Gunners chief Edu Gaspar will have to be prepared to spend to lure the forward away from Inter – a big price for an even bigger investment.

A bruising knock of 74 by David Willey against his former club was largely responsible for Yorkshire Vikings beating North Group leaders, Northants Steelbacks

ECB Reporters Network22-Jul-2016
ScorecardDavid Willey starred against his former county with 74 from 46 balls•Getty Images

A bruising knock of 74 by David Willey against his former club was largely responsible for Yorkshire Vikings beating North Group leaders, Northants Steelbacks, by 75 runs at Headingley to boost their chances of reaching the quarter-final stages of the NatWest T20 Blast.Chasing a formidable target of 216, Steelbacks showed plenty of aggression early on but then collapsed to 140 all out in 15.2 overs, Richard Levi being unable to bat after injuring himself while taking a catch.Now the two sides meet with everything to play for in the final match in the group stages at Wantage Road next Friday.For the second time in three days, Yorkshire managed to roar past the 200 mark after winning the toss and batting first and this time in was Willey who inflicted most of the damage with his blistering 74 using up just 46 deliveries with five fours and six sixes.Adam Lyth on this occasion went early to a well-judged catch by Seekkuge Prasanna off the nippy Richard Gleeson but the skipper, Alex Lees, then joined Willey in the major partnership of the innings, the second wicket pair adding 106 together in ten overs.Lees got things moving by striking Gleeson for three consecutive boundaries as 43 came off the Powerplay overs. Willey joined in the spree, taking sixes off Prasanna and Cobb before blasting Graeme White for two sixes and a four, also off successive deliveries.Willey’s first 50 in any domestic cricket for Yorkshire came off 31 balls with three fours and four sixes but the stand ended when Lees was brilliantly caught right-handed by Richard Levi at backward point for 35 from 27 balls with five fours, the fielder injuring himself in the process.Former Yorkshire paceman Moin Ashraf had Willey caught in the deep to make it 137 for 3 in the 14th over and, with the bit between their teeth, the Vikings kept the runs flowing, Jack Leaning smacking 30 off 14 balls with three fours and two sixes while Tim Bresnan was even more punishing near the end, his unbeaten 26 taking nine deliveries off which he smashed three sixes.Once again, Australian, Travis Head, stayed calmly in control and was not out until the final over when he was bowled by Ashraf for 22 from 17 balls with two sixes.Steelbacks showed plenty of pluck when they began their reply, Josh Cobb straight driving Bresnan for six before he gave the bowler a return catch but then Ben Duckett rose to the occasion by slamming the former England bowler for five fours in an over.The pressure eased as Adam Rossington and skipper Alex Wakely departed to consecutive balls from Liam Plunkett and the hammer blow on Steelbacks was inflicted by Adil Rashid who was able to take his place in the side after being left out by England at Old Trafford.Rashid had Duckett stumped by Andy Hodd for 51 from 23 balls with nine fours and a six. There was a brave effort, also, from Steven Crook who hit 43 from 26 balls with six fours and a six but once he fell lbw to Azeem Rafiq the visitors were 133 for 7 in the 14th over and the end came quickly.Northants coach David Ripley said: “I thought we bowled well in the power play but Willey sat in there. Yorkshire have a dangerous combination of pace and spin and we will have to think about how we will cope with it next week because it will be the same situation.”

Liam Plunkett’s four wickets enabled Yorkshire to edge a tense quarter-final against Kent on a dead Canterbury surface

Paul Edwards at Canterbury18-Aug-2016
ScorecardLiam Plunkett pulls off a vital return catch to dismiss Darren Stevens•PA Photos

There is an old cricketing saw that if you want to know how good a pitch is, you need to wait until both sides have batted on it. Like most proverbs, this is a useful saying only when used carefully; trotted out uncritically, it is tripe. This close and noble match, which ended with Yorkshire looking forward to a home semi-final against Surrey, illustrated the point.Between the two innings, as a St Lawrence ground which had brimmed with afternoon sunshine gave itself over to the gentler grace of evening, Kent’s supporters had reason to be optimistic. A Yorkshire side containing seven Test cricketers had managed no more than 256 in their 50 overs, a good score to be sure but self-evidently not the 300-plus the home fans may have feared.Kent skipper, Sam Northeast, may even have half toyed with notions of a Lord’s final. That would have capped a great season for the still youthful-looking Northeast, who has scored runs for the fun of doing so in the Championship. He has also been appointed club captain in succession to the slightly aldermanic figure of Rob Key. Sam Weller has taken over from Mr Pickwick.Eighteen overs into their innings the mood in the home dressing room was probably considerably less sanguine. Although 64 runs had been scored, four prime wickets had been lost, including that of Daniel Bell-Drummond, leg before to a David Willey yorker in the second over and Sam Billings, lbw on the front foot to Steve Patterson when he had made a mere single. Sandwiched between these dismissals, Northeast had gone, too, when he chipped a catch to Gary Ballance at midwicket.Thus did one Old Harrovian send another packing, although this very posh dismissal was moderated a little by the involvement of the bowler, Liam Plunkett, he of Nunthorpe Comprehensive. Maybe we should have known then that it would be Plunkett’s night, just as it had been against Essex at the same stage of the same competition a year earlier.

Alex Lees, Yorkshire captain: “I thought we were 20 runs or so light at the end of our innings, although Adam Lyth played quite beautifully, because we lost our way a bit after he got out. It is such an asset having someone like Liam who takes wickets in the middle overs, because in one-day cricket that is so important. Adil, at the end, bowled with great skill and it was testament to his ability that he got us wickets just when we needed them.”
Sam Northeast, Kent captain: “We lost too many wickets in the first 20 overs. We made a good show of it in the end but we were just not good enough overall today. We pegged them back really well on a pitch that was slower than we expected. Rashid bowled really well at the end, and we came up short.”

Faced with Kent’s grim situation, Darren Stevens and Alex Blake resolved to die with their boots on and their magazines empty, if necessary. The fifth-wicket pair took 61 runs off the next seven overs, most of the damage being done to the spinners, Adil Rashid and Azeem Rafiq, both of whom were lifted for sixes into the crowd sitting in front of the mustard-coloured crane on the Old Dover Road side of the ground.The pair had added 86 in 13 overs when Blake was caught behind by Jonny Bairstow for 50 when attempting to pull a bouncer from Plunkett but only edging a catch. Nevertheless, the later Kent batsmen took their cue from this stand and it needed some outstanding cricket from Plunkett to prevent them winning the game.Northeast’s men needed 109 off 20 overs when Blake was out and the rate was not to drop much above or below five an over for the rest of the innings. Crucially, of course, though, wickets were to fall, the first of them that of Stevens, whose leading edge was clutched one-handed with supreme athleticism by the diving Plunkett. Will Gidman gave the same bowler a much easier return catch two overs later but Kent battled on and the crowd warmed to themMatt Coles took a four and two sixes off a Rafiq over before being stumped off a Rashid googly – his foot raised just for an instant, but exposed by Bairstow’s fast work.Charlie Hartley and James Tredwell maintained a rate of five an over and 37 were needed off the last 48 balls. Yorkshire’s bowlers became nervous, then irritated. But with only 16 needed, Hartley was leg before to Rashid and his 29-run stand with the calm Tredwell was ended. Then a borderline lbw for Willey finally killed Kent’s chances when 12 runs were required, 13 balls were left and most in the 6000 capacity crowd were beginning to think that, just for once, hope was not going to betray them.All this floodlit tension followed a Yorkshire innings which had been dominated more by accumulation than the artillery which Blake and Coles favoured. Although Adam Lyth hit two fours and a straight six in his first 15 balls, the boundaries were not to flow with comparable frequency until the final over of the innings, when Rashid drove successive balls from Mitch Claydon to the Nackington Road for four and over midwicket for six. Claydon had been the early sufferer, too, when he pitched the ball up rather too far to Lyth, who rarely passes up such pleasant opportunities, especially when the deep field is as empty as a gambler’s wallet.But this early fun more or less marked the end of the visitors’ big shots. After Alex Lees had pulled Claydon straight to Blake on the square leg boundary, Lyth and Joe Root added 90 for the second wicket in 19 overs by pushing the ball into gaps, working it around and scampering twos.Root’s innings exemplified the few problems Yorkshire’s batsmen encountered on this pitch. England’s finest batsman is so well balanced at the crease that he is almost incapable of inelegance, yet the accuracy of the Kent attack and the apparent slowness of the wicket prevented him playing any of his straight drives or signature back-foot forces. Instead he and Lyth were content for the most part to milk Tredwell, the off-spinner conceding 52 runs off his ten overs.Root and Lyth’s partnership was by far the best of Yorkshire’s innings. Three other pairs added 27 runs apiece, a statistic which itself rather reveals the absence of rhythm in the visitors’ innings. The batsmen’s problems were caused – some would say merely exacerbated – by the accuracy of Kent’s bowling. The pick of the attack was the medium-pacer, Hartley, who was playing just his fourth List A game and will dine out on his removal of Root, well caught at deep midwicket by Blake for 45, and Bairstow, who drove too soon and chipped a catch to Bell-Drummond when he had only 9 to his name.Although Gidman later removed Tim Bresnan and Willey in the same over, the latter departing to a contentious leg-side catch by Billings when the ball appeared to have hit only the pad, the most successful Kent bowler was Coles. Like Chaucer’s Miller, “a stout carl for the nones” Coles has plenty of pace and perhaps more variations than is sometimes assumed. “Ful byg…of brawn, and eek of bones” he may be but there is craft there, too, and in this game, it was sufficient to account for Lyth for 88 when edging a drive and both Plunkett and Rafiq late in the piece. Coles finished with 3 for 39 and maybe he, too, was pondering spending a September Saturday in St John’s Wood as he ate his tea.Instead it will be Yorkshire’s players who have that chance when they play Surrey in a semi-final at Headingley a week on Sunday. Having set up one semi-final Lees and his players can now travel to Edgbaston to play in another. Kent’s players were left with deep disappointment and the ink-blue glory of a Canterbury night.Matt Coles dismisses Yorkshire’s top scorer Adam Lyth•PA Photos

علق إيكر كاسياس، أسطورة ريال مدريد والكرة الإسبانية، على الانتقادات التي يتعرض لها تشافي هيرنانديز، المدير الفني لفريق كرة القدم الأول بنادي برشلونة.

تشافي زميل كاسياس في المنتخب الإسباني سابقًا، أعلن رحيله عن برشلونة بنهاية الموسم الجاري، في ظل الانتقادات التي توجه له بسبب سوء النتائج.

طالع أيضًا | تشافي: أنصح برشلونة بتمديد عقد قائد الفريق.. ولن ننظر لمباراة ريال مدريد وجيرونا

وقال كاسياس في تصريحات نقلتها صحيفة “ماركا” الإسبانية: “تشافي كان لاعبًا اسطوريًا في برشلونة، وقد تمكن من الفوز بالدوري في الموسم الماضي كمدرب، ولكن عار كرة القدم هو أنها لا تملك ذاكرة”.

وأضاف: “الجميع يطلب منه نفس نجاح الموسم الماضي، والزمن يسير بسرعة في كرة القدم، كل ثلاثة أيام هناك قرار جديد، لكنه اتخذ القرار الأفضل له ولعائلته”.

وشدد: “في الكرة الإسبانية، نحتاج أحيانًا للقليل من الصبر والاحترام لبعض الأساطير، أي شخص في موقف تشافي يحتاج لهذا، يجب على الجميع أن يدركون ذلك”.

وعن وضع ريال مدريد: “الأمر في ريال مدريد هادئ حتى تتعرض للهزيمة وهذا يعني إقصاءك من المنافسة، قبل بضعة أسابيع هذا ما حدث في الكأس وغادرنا البطولة، وهو ما يجعل الجميع يشك أكثر من مرة، ولكن الوضع في دوري الأبطال والدوري جيد جدًا”.

وشدد: “دعونا نرى ما سيحدث في مواجهة جيرونا، لأنه منافسنا المباشر، والفوز سيكون هام جدًا لـ ريال مدريد، من أجل الاستمرار في الحفاظ على النسق”.

وعلق على إصابة كورتوا حارس مرمى ريال مدريد: “أولًا يجب أن يتعافي بصورة جيدة وألا يتسرع من أجل العودة، وأعتقد أنه لابد وأن يفكر في الموسم المقبل وليس ما تبقى من الموسم الحالي”.

واختتم: “أنشيلوتي هو المدرب المثالي لـ ريال مدريد، وهو يظهر ذلك دائمًا، علاقته جيدة جدًا مع اللاعبين ويحصل على أفضل مستوى من كل لاعب، وعمله جيد من ناحية النتائج وكذلك الاستقرار”.