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Twenty20’s potential to be toxic for Australia’s Test match plans has been underlined by the decision to “quarantine” the Boxing Day Test squad from the BBL before the team convenes in Melbourne

Daniel Brettig19-Dec-2012Twenty20’s potential to be toxic for Australia’s Test match plans has been underlined by the decision to “quarantine” the Boxing Day Test squad from the BBL before the team convenes in Melbourne. Of the 13 only Peter Siddle is not presently signed up to a BBL team, but none of the other 12 will take part in any of the matches scheduled between now and the start of preparation for the second Test.Usman Khawaja will have a particularly focused lead-in to the Test, as he steels himself for the possible task of replacing Michael Clarke in Australia’s batting line-up. Clarke’s hamstring strain will be given every chance to heal in time for the MCG match, but in the meantime Khawaja has been seconded to Cricket Australia’s Centre of Excellence in Brisbane for intensive training sessions with the acting batting coach Stuart Law.Australia’s team performance regime has been stretched by the task of finding an adequate balance between the demands of T20 and Tests, especially during the period of the home summer when the national team plays the five-day game without any first-class cricket to buttress the reserves.Pat Howard, the team performance manager, has said that it will likely take at least another two years before teams the world over have found ways to deal effectively with the effects of jumping from format to format, and the coach Mickey Arthur said that there was no alternative to holding the squad out of the BBL this week, noting the injuries to the likes of Ben Hilfenhaus, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood that have already arisen this summer from the T20 riddle.”That’s always going to be a conundrum for us, who do we play, who don’t we play,” Arthur said. “We feel that the Test match is massively important on Boxing Day, we want to quarantine the 13 players. We’re sitting with enough injuries as it is. We want Usman to go back and work really hard on his red ball game. I want him to go and do some work on just tightening his game up again. He’s been practising with a white ball, and we want to give him every opportunity to make it a success if he gets picked.”Johnson didn’t play for Brisbane Heat [on Tuesday night], and that was really an issue between Mitchell and his franchise. Not a bad issue, there was just dialogue between them, Mitchell’s wife has just had a baby, so there was dialogue there. We just think it’s best now that we quarantine those 13 players, because once we start letting one off then there’s always the issue of why’s he playing, why’s he not playing. It’s in the best interests of the 13 to get ready for Boxing Day.”Khawaja’s looming return is a significant vindication for the left-hander, having changed states and worked assiduously at his batting since he was dropped from the Test team for the Boxing Day Test last year. The national selectors have sought improvement in the areas of fielding, running between the wickets and general team ethic, and Arthur said the panel was now convinced that Khawaja had gone a long way to meeting those marks.”I don’t think we would have picked him if he hadn’t shown that continued improvement that we wanted from him. I think Ussie’s done well,” Arthur said. “It’s no coincidence that you sit with Phil Hughes and Usman Khawaja at Nos. 1 and 2 in the amount of Shield runs. They thoroughly deserve their opportunity to come back.”It was just a year ago right here that both of them lost their places. So what they’ve done in a year to get back has been immense, and that’s a credit to both of them. So to welcome Ussie back into the fold is going to be quite exciting.”Should Clarke not be fit, an enormous amount of pressure will be placed on Australia’s recast top four to improve on a largely promising display in Hobart, when only Shane Watson of the quartet failed to pass 50. David Warner reached that tally in both innings of a Test for the first time, while Phillip Hughes looked the part at No. 3.”I thought our top six this game contributed immensely to the win,” Arthur said. “First-innings runs are always massive. We got first-innings runs, four out of six fifties from our Nos. 1, 2 and 3 which for me was really big. That was one area we wanted to be very consistent in, and then as far as Watto goes, he’s got a massive amount of quality, so pretty sure that he’s going to do the job for us at No. 4. So really happy with how our top six stacked up.”Another man likely to benefit from the “quarantine” is the left-armer Mitchell Starc, who showed evidence of his progress as a bowler by scything through Sri Lanka’s tail on the final afternoon at Bellerive Oval after an exhausted Peter Siddle had been withdrawn. Arthur said Starc’s gradually improving consistency was a source of some satisfaction ahead of the tours of India and England.”It’s just experience, just exposing him to situations like he was in Hobart,” Arthur said. “The more he’s exposed to those conditions, the better he’s going to become. There’s a massive amount of talent, and I think he’s just going to get better and better.”

واصل باريس سان جيرمان نتائجه السيئة في بطولة الدوري الفرنسي، حيث سقط أمام ليون في مباراتهما اليوم.

واستضاف ملعب “حديقة الأمراء” مباراة الفريقين في إطار منافسات الجولة التاسعة والعشرين، حيث خسر باريس سان جيرمان بهدف دون رد. هدف فوز ليون أمام باريس سان جيرمان

كان ليون قد حصل على ركلة جزاء، في الدقيقة 36 من عمر الشوط الأول، بعد تعرض أحد لاعبي الفريق للعرقلة من قِبل الحارس جيانلويجي دوناروما.

ونفذ الفرنسي ألكسندر لاكازيت ركلة جزاء ليون، ولكنه لم يكن محظوظًا حيث أهدرها بعدما اصطدمت كرته بقائم المرمى.

وتمكن ليون من تسجيل هدفه في الشوط الثاني، وتحديدًا في الدقيقة 56، وذلك عن طريق برادلي باركولا، بعد استغلاله لعرضية سايل كومبيدي.

وحاول باريس سان جيرمان الضغط على ليون من أجل تسجيل هدف التعادل، عن طريق الثنائي الهجومي ليونيل ميسي وكيليان مبابي، ولكن لم يحدث ذلك، ليواصل الأمراء نتائجهم السيئة.

وتُعد تلك الهزيمة هي الثانية على التوالي لـ باريس سان جيرمان في الدوري الفرنسي، بعد سقوطه أمام رين بثنائية نظيفة.

بتلك النتيجة، تجمد رصيد باريس سان جيرمان عند 66 نقطة في المركز الأول، في حين ارتفع رصيد ليون إلى 44 نقطة في المركز التاسع.

Will Young, from Central Districts, has been named captain of New Zealand’s Under-19 squad for the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Queensland this August

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Apr-2012Will Young, from Central Districts, has been named captain of New Zealand’s Under-19 squad for the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Queensland this August. Thirteen of the 15 players were part of the squad that played the recent Quadrangular Series in Townsville, Queensland, while Arnie Yugaraja of Canterbury and Robert O’Donnell from Auckland are the new inclusions.New Zealand Cricket will name 15 more players as cover to fulfil the 30-player squad ICC requirements.New Zealand have been pooled in Group B in the 16-team competition along with Pakistan, Scotland and Afghanistan. They will play warm-up matches against South Africa and Nepal before their first group match on August 12 against Scotland.Squad: Will Young (capt), Ben Horne,
 Michael Davidson,
 Joe Carter,
 Robert O’Donnell, Henry Walsh, 
Arnie Yugaraja,
 Connor Neynens,
 Cameron Fletcher,
 Sean Davey, 
Jacob Duffy,
 Matthew Quinn,
 Edward Nuttall, 
Theo van Woerkom, 
Ish Sodhi.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Conselho Deliberativo (Code) do Vasco foi alvo de mais polêmica na noite desta sexta-feira. Em reunião que durou até o início da madrugada deste sábado, por apenas um voto de diferença – 89 a 88 -, a votação do empréstimo de R$ 38 milhões junto ao Banco Daycoval foi adiada – sem previsão de nova data. Na saída da sede náutica do clube, onde ocorreu o encontro, o detalhe ficou por conta de o presidente Alexandre Campello e o presidente do Conselho de Beneméritos Eurico Miranda terem falado em fraude na apuração do resultado da votação.

– O resultado foi fraudado. Votei pela aprovação. Não vai depender do Conselho Fiscal p… nenhuma. Contagem foi fraudada, mas esse empréstimo será aprovado com toda certeza – afirmou Eurico Miranda, que disse ainda que na semana que vem acontecerá outra votação, apesar de não ter tido confirmação de previsão por parte de Roberto Monteiro, presidente do Deliberativo, responsável pelas convocações.

– Foi uma decisão política. Quem votou contra não pensou no Vasco. As exigências que foram feitas foram descabidas, o Conselho Fiscal pelo estatuto não deveria se pronunciar. Entendemos que há um desejo de atrapalharem a nossa gestão. Temos dados sugestões para todas as adversidades. Há um questionamento do resultado, na nossa contagem houve uma diferença de votos. Contamos 90 a 81. Mas não tem problema não. Entendemos que na semana que vem voltaremos aqui e esse empréstimo será aprovado – destacou Alexandre Campello.

Desde o início da semana a expectativa nos bastidores era por um resultado apertado – como acabou acontecendo. Eurico Miranda votou pela aprovação, indo contra aos membros do grupo “Casaca” – no fim do encontro, ocorreu um bate-boca entre os próprios partidários. O grupo “Sempre Vasco”, liderado pelo ex-candidato à presidência Julio Brant – que não compareceu por estar em viagem fora do Brasil -, votou majoritariamente pelo adiamento – Nelson Sendas foi um dos que optou pela aprovação. Foi o grupo, inclusive, que protocolou o pedido com este fim (veja abaixo).

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Grupo "Sempre Vasco" protocola pedido para adiamento da reunião para votação do empréstimo desta noite. Ainda não saiu decisão. Espia #lanceVAS pic.twitter.com/q22LoAKmgk

— David Nascimento (@daviddcn) 17 de agosto de 2018

Com primeira convocação às 20h e segunda às 20h30, a reunião acabou atrasando, começando depois das 21h. A primeira pauta do dia era a aprovação das atas dos encontros anteriores do Deliberativo. Rogério Peres, vice-presidente jurídico do Vasco, acabou renunciando ao cargo de 1º secretário do Code justificando que as atas foram adulteradas, expondo, inclusive, este fato aos conselheiros presentes. De acordo com o dirigente, este ato foi a gota d’água para a renúncia ao cargo, já que não concorda com medida desta forma.

Depois de superado o assunto das atas, Alexandre Campello apresentou aos conselheiros, em slides, toda a situação financeira do Vasco. Foi enfatizado que o empréstimo bancário do Vasco teria juros de 0,96% ao mês, menor do que a taxa cobrada pelo mesmo banco para o Flamengo – 1,03%. Foi detalhado, também, a garantia dada pelo Cruz-Maltino para esta operação – cotas referentes aos direitos de transmissão dos jogos do Vasco na televisão junto ao Grupo Globo, de 2019 até 2023. Projeções e fluxo financeiro também foram apresentados por Alexandre Campello.

Diretoria de Alexandre Campello enxerga como fundamental a aprovação do empréstimo para o equilíbrio financeiro do Vasco até o fim do ano. Na decisão, ficou-se a alegação é de que ainda se faz necessários esclarecimentos sobre a forma como o dinheiro do empréstimo será gasto. Nova tentativa de votação deve acontecer apenas depois que o Conselho Fiscal (CoFi) analisar os documentos financeiros da atual diretoria, com o comando de Edmilson valentim, presidente do órgão do clube. Um aprofundamento sobre o tema deve ser realizado pelo dirigente do CoFi.

Os ânimos exaltados também foram vistos na saída da sede náutica do Vasco. Um conselheiro afirmou que “ganhou a falência do Vasco”. Outro disse querer “ver fazerem vaquinha para pagar salário de setembro”, sobrando até pelo pedido de quem irá assumir o cargo de técnico do Vasco – um conselheiro afirmou “depois querem que contratem o Abel Braga”. Representante do Conselho Fiscal, Otto Carvalho afirmou que ficou claro na apresentação que a partir de setembro o Vasco não terá mais dinheiro para honrar os seus compromissos devido ao adiamento da votação do empréstimo.

– Votação tumultuada. Tenho mais de 30 anos de Conselho de Vasco. Pela primeira vez vi uma apresentação de números para obtenção de empréstimo. O Conselho Fiscal, pelo estatuto, não tem que dar parecer sobre empréstimo. Isso foi uma votação política. Claramente foi mostrado que a partir de setembro não tem mais dinheiro. Campeonato Brasileiro é difícil, imagina se faltar dinheiro para jogador no fim do ano? – indagou Otto Carvalho (assista abaixo a íntegra da declaração do dirigente).

Otto Carvalho, membro do Conselho Fiscal, fala aqui na saída da reunião. Siga a batida e play para assistir! #lanceVAS pic.twitter.com/7aBxxC5btt

— David Nascimento (@daviddcn) 18 de agosto de 2018

No início da madrugada deste sábado, a “Sempre Vasco” se posicionou em nota oficial. Confira abaixo.

“É importante lembrar que o revanchismo rasteiro nunca nos guiou, o que foi demonstrado ao votarmos “não” para o processo de abertura de sindicância contra Alexandre Campello, como também ao aprovarmos o empréstimo do Carlos Leite com condições ruins, mas que se tratava da única alternativa naquele momento.

Nos últimos dias, pedimos a apresentação da operação financeira para a obtenção de empréstimo de R$ 38 milhões. Foi realizada uma reunião com slides e números que não detalharam dados importantes para uma operação financeira com tamanha complexidade. Reiteramos o pedido de demonstração destes dados, mas não recebemos. Slide é uma narrativa e detalhamento documentado é responsabilidade.

No papel de contribuir para buscar soluções efetivas para os problemas financeiros do clube defendemos o adiamento da decisão.

Conforme carta apresentada ao Conselho Deliberativo é preciso TRANSPARÊNCIA e, portanto, que se apresente os DOCUMENTOS básicos (Balanço auditado de 2017, Demonstrativos trimestrais de Março e de Junho de 2018,…) e CONTRATOS que demonstrem a necessidade e as condições do referido empréstimo, além do PLANO ORÇAMENTÁRIO oficial contendo TODOS OS DESTINOS E USOS DOS RECURSOS.

Com a fragilidade e a superficialidade da estratégia financeira apresentada na reunião prévia existe o eminente risco do DESCUMPRIMENTO do PROFUT, o que trará graves e irreparáveis consequências para o futuro do Vasco. O Vasco ficará quase inviável.

Portanto, para aumentar o grau de FISCALIZAÇÃO E CREDIBILIDADE do uso dos recursos, solicitamos a criação de um COMISSÃO PARITÁRIA cujo o objetivo será acompanhar o destino dos R$ 38 Milhões, garantindo que o Plano Orçamentário seja realizado e disponibilizando as informações para todos os Poderes do Club, Conselheiros, Sócios e Torcedores.
Não reprovamos o empréstimo. Demos uma solução para aprová-lo com responsabilidade, transparência e fiscalização.
Só com boas práticas de governança poderemos avançar.

E que fique, definitivamente, CLARO que ilações irresponsáveis e avulsas antes de momentos de tanta importância para o futuro do Vasco da Gama tumultuam o ambiente do clube e apenas ajudam aos que lucram com o caos”

Assista a seguir a íntegra da declaração de Alexandre Campello na saída da reunião!

Presidente do Vasco, Alexandre Campello fala por aqui. Play! #lanceVAS pic.twitter.com/vdd45Eazld

— David Nascimento (@daviddcn) 18 de agosto de 2018

Mais declarações de Alexandre Campello. Play e siga a batida para assistir! #lanceVAS pic.twitter.com/9W9Pvk0ZXW

— David Nascimento (@daviddcn) 18 de agosto de 2018

Sri Lanka’s Test squad have arrived in South Africa with an obvious weakness – their bowling. Tillakaratne Dilshan, their captain, chose to say almost nothing about it.”Any fast bowler who comes to South Africa likes to bowl here,” Dilshan said in Benoni, where Sri Lanka are preparing to play a warm-up match against an Invitation XI starting on Friday. And that was that.He made no reference to their missing quintet of seamers that includes Suranga Lakmal, their carrying of the perennially under-performing Dilhara Fernando, the responsibility that will sit on the shoulders of Chanaka Welegedara or the adjustments Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath will have to make to be effective in South Africa. He made no comments about the need to take 20 wickets to win a Test – something Sri Lanka have never done in South Africa.Instead, Dilshan’s plans for success in a country with some of the most seamer-friendly, pacy and bouncy pitches in the world did not involve the ball at all. “If the batting unit can put some runs on the board, we will do well in South Africa,” he said.Except that even in the batting department, Sri Lanka have not been their usual powerful selves. Only Kumar Sangakkara scored a century in their recent three-Test series against Pakistan, which they lost 1-0. Sri Lanka were bowled out in five of the six innings, three times for less than 260. “We know in the last few series, batting didn’t click,” Dilshan admitted.Yet when asked to identify the area which could prove match winning for Sri Lanka, Dilshan was adamant that it would be batting. If the line-up could use Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara as their kingpins and perform around them, Dilshan predicted they would do well. “The batting unit is experienced; Mahela and Sanga have played a little bit in South Africa. Those are experienced guys. We can build around them. Thilan [Samaraweera] has come back into the side, he is experienced guy in the middle order. Myself and the youngsters, like Chandimal, have to put their hands up.”Jayawardene and Sangakkara are two of the three players (the other being Fernando) to have played a Test in South Africa before, Sri Lanka last toured the country nine ago, in 2002. Dilshan admitted that his team will have to make a speedy adjustment to the conditions that are foreign to them. “We have played on and off one-day series in South Africa and that has helped a little bit,” he said. “But, everyone should get ready for these conditions as soon as possible.”The warm-up match will be Sri Lanka’s only opportunity to acclimatise to conditions and the pitch in Benoni should provide them with a good introduction to South African surfaces.Although not a particularly spicy pitch, it has recently produced a match in which wickets fell heavily. The SuperSport Series contest between the Titans and the Cobras in October saw the Titans dismissed for 112 in their first innings and nine wickets fell on the second day.Dilshan did say that some of his batsmen, including him, are already comfortable with such pitches. “Sanga, Mahela and myself really like bouncy tracks,” he said. “If we get runs on the board as a batting group in this three-day match and everyone can come into form, that will be important for us. We have to play our brand of cricket. If we can play our brand of cricket we can beat South Africa.”At the same time, Dilshan recognised that Sri Lanka had no room for mistakes. “We can’t make any mistakes. We have to be at 100% commitment for this series. Everyone should put their hands up and take responsibility.” Hopefully, that includes the bowlers as well.

أصدر نادي الترجي التونسي بيانًا، اليوم السبت، بشأن الحضور الجماهيري خلال مبارياته في بطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

الترجي يلعب في المجموعة الرابعة بدوري أبطال إفريقيا، رفقة الزمالك والمريخ السوداني وشباب بلوزداد الجزائري.

وأوضح الترجي في بيانه أن الاتحاد الإفريقي لكرة القدم كاف قرر غلق أجزاء من ملعب رادس الذي سيستضيف مباريات الترجي في دوري أبطال إفريقيا، بداعي عدم الجاهزية توافر الشروط.

طالع أيضًا | محمود فايز يتوجه بطلب لجماهير الزمالك قبل مباراة فيوتشر

وأشار الترجي إلى أن هذا القرار سيحرمه مما يقرب من 30 ألف مشجع في كل مباراة، خلال منافسات دور المجموعات الإفريقي.

ومن المقرر أن الزمالك سيواجه الترجي، على ملعب الأخير، في الجولة الثالثة من دور المجموعات الإفريقي. بيان الترجي

في إطار الإستعداد لمرحلة المجموعات لدوري أبطال إفريقيا للأندية سنة 2023 أدى وفد عن لجنة الـمـسابقات بالإتحاد الإفريقي لكرة القدم زيارة تفقدية إلى الـمـلـعـب الأولمبي برادس قصد تأهيله لاحتضان مقابلات الترجي الرياضي التونسي في هذه المسابقة وقد قرر الاتحاد الافريقي على إثر هذه الزيارة غلق مدارج الـمـنـعـرجـيـن الـجـنـوبـي والـشـمـالـي بسبب عدم وجود الـكـراسي بهما وهو الشرط الذي تفرضه لجنة المسابقات للسماح للجماهير بالدخول إلى هذه الـمـدارج.

وعلى ضوء هذا القرار فإن الترجي الرياضي التونسي سيحرم من حوالي 30 ألف مناصر في كل مباراة ، وعلى هذا الأساس وبوصفه رافع الراية الوطنية في هذه المسابقة فإن إدارة النادي تطلب من السلط المعنية وخاصة إدارة الحـي الـوطـنـي الرياضي تجاوز هذا الإشكال في أقرب وقـت وتوفير الكراسي بالـمـنـعـرجين حتى يـتـمـكـن الـفـريـق مـن الـلـعـب أمام جماهيره في الـمـنـعـرجـيـن الـجـنـوبـي والشمالي خلال لقاءاته القارية وحتى لا تتأثر حظوظ الفريق في هذا الدور الـمـتـقـدم والـهام من دوري أبطال إفريقيا للأندية.

ScorecardTom Maynard propped up Surrey’s second innings with an aggressive century•PA Photos

Tom Maynard’s 67-ball hundred spared Surrey’s blushes at Guildford, where Middlesex took 14 wickets in two sessions of an enthralling Championship match only to then feel the full might of the young Welshman’s bat.The visitors appeared in command after dismissing Surrey for 117 to enforce the follow-on by mid-afternoon, with the hosts well short of their target of 308. Yet by stumps Maynard had reached an unbeaten 105, helping Surrey through to 306 for 6 and a useful 115-run lead going into the final day.The first two sessions had belonged to Middlesex, who made an impressive start through West Indies paceman Cory Collymore. The right-armer initiated Surrey’s first-innings collapse by having Arun Harinath, making his first championship appearance since last August, caught atthird slip for 1.Rory Hamilton-Brown propped forward to go leg-before to the same bowler, then Steven Crook plucked the middle stump of Mark Ramprakash to make it 48 for 3. Zander de Bruyn drove a knee-high return catch to Tim Murtagh and, on the stroke of lunch, Maynard’s first innings ended in a third-ball duck when Murtagh uprooted his off stump.Surrey’s position worsened rapidly after the interval as they lost their last five wickets for 10 runs in the space of only 42 deliveries. Murtagh finished with 5 for 30 to take his first-class tally to 50 wickets for the season, while Collymore chipped in with 4 for 28.Surrey’s total of 117 was their lowest first-innings score since limping to 102 at Leicester in 2001, and their worst first-innings effort at Woodbridge Road since posting 106 against Hampshire in 1958. Although Murtagh needed treatment for cramp and Collymore was carrying an ankle niggle, Middlesex enforced the follow-on by 2.30pm with a first-innings lead of191 in the bank.Steve Finn finally got amongst the wickets when Harinath’s airy drive was well gathered by Jamie Dalrymple at second slip, only for Hamilton-Brown and Ramprakash – playing contrasting roles – to add 74 for the second wicket. Ramprakash erred on the side of caution, while Hamilton-Brown went for his shots to reach a 47-ball 50 before Murtagh broke the stand by snaring Ramprakash leg before for 21.With the last ball before tea, Finn squared up Hamilton-Brown (62) with a leg-cutter that flew to third slip and six overs after the break Steve Davies followed one from Murtagh to edge to John Simpson. Maynard marched in and, with nothing to lose, launched a savage counter-assaultwith shots to all parts. He raced to a 35-ball 50 with nine fours.In tandem with De Bruyn, Maynard added 100 in 12.2 overs to erase the first-innings deficit and ensure Surrey had to bat again. For his part, De Bruyn posted 50 from 64 balls with eight boundaries.It took an incredible one-handed diving catch way to his left at short cover by Chris Rogers to end the partnership for 170 in 132 balls and send De Bruyn packing for 82 as Surrey blasted 209 runs in 32 overs after tea.

An all-round performance by Pakistan A resulted in a five-wicket win over Afghanistan in Islamabad, in the first game of the three-match limited-overs series

ESPNcricinfo staff25-May-2011
Scorecard
Mohammad Nabi and Nawroz Mangal were the top-scorers for Afghanistan with 72 and 33•Associated PressAn all-round performance by Pakistan A resulted in a five-wicket win over Afghanistan in Islamabad, in the first game of the three-match limited-overs series.Choosing to bat, Afghanistan lost wickets in a hurry early on, being reduced to 13 for 3 by the left-arm pace bowling of Sohail Tanvir and Sadaf Hussain. They didn’t really recover from the poor start, losing wickets at regular intervals thereafter. The only resistance came from No. 7 batsman Mohammad Nabi. He attacked the Pakistan A bowlers, stroking 72 off 75 balls with seven fours and three sixes to push his side past the 150 mark, something that looked unlikely at 94 for 8. First-change bowler Mohammad Talha finished with the best figures – 3 for 29.Pakistan A built their chase around a number of cameos from their top order. They stumbled briefly, going from 99 for 2 to 123 for 5, due to a double-strike by debutant Dawlat Zadran and a run-out, but the paltry target was never really beyond their reach. They got home with 61 balls to spare.Nabi, who had starred with the bat, and later stifled the hosts with his offspin, going for just 34 in his ten overs was named Man of the Match.The second match is on Friday in Rawalpindi.

Chris Gayle has said that the way he had been treated by the WICB had left him with little choice but to join the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad for the 2011 IPL

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Apr-2011Chris Gayle has said the way he had been treated by the West Indies board (WICB) had left him with little choice but to join the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad for the 2011 IPL and miss the home series against Pakistan. A day after the WICB said it was disappointed at how Gayle had handled the IPL issue, the batsman has hit back, claiming the board had not checked on his rehabilitation from injury after the World Cup, and that he had been “stunned” to learn from the media of his omission from the squads for the Twenty20 and the first two ODIs against Pakistan.In a hard-hitting interview with KLAS Sports, a radio station in Jamaica, Gayle also poured scorn on the role of the West Indies coach, Ottis Gibson, dismissing him as a “user”, and blaming him for wrecking the confidence of his fellow veteran batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan during the World Cup. “The coach messed up the man mentally,” he said. “The players were not in the right frame of mind. Sarwan was batting without a free mind. Players told me they lost confidence. A player speaks his mind in team meetings openly… The player said his piece… After that, he never play another World Cup match. But me talk with my mouth and me talk with my bat.””A group of players were selected for a training camp in Barbados, and I never got a call, nobody spoke to me, and I decided to leave it alone,” Gayle said. “I continued my training programme, and I came to find out via the media that a Twenty20 squad was announced, and a one-day international squad was announced, and I was stunned when I saw a big headline in the newspapers, ‘Gayle, Sarwan, Chanderpaul dropped’.”Gayle said no one from the WICB had contacted him before the squads had been named. “The only communication I have had with anyone connected with the WICB was when I sent a text message to (team physio) CJ Clark, and gave him an update about how I was doing,” he said. “I told him I was feeling good, the progress I was making; I was running, I was in the gym, and working. His only response was that he would send a fitness programme, which I did not receive until the IPL offer had presented itself.””I wanted to get back on track as quickly as possible. I wanted to play and represent West Indies. This was my ultimate goal, since I did not have a contract, but I was forced into this decision because teams were picked, I was not informed about what was happening, and I did not know what the future would hold. The matches could be played, and other players do well, and I could still be sitting on the sidelines, so I had no other choice.”I have served West Indies for many years, but I was disrespected a lot, and I have been playing under a lot of pressure. I can’t sleep properly. I need to get this off my chest. I want everybody to print what I said, I want to clear the air and I want them to ease up. WICB… back up offa my back.”Gayle’s explanation, however, was at odds with what the WICB said in a release soon after it granted him the no-objection certificate, clearing his participation in the IPL. The board claimed it had been in communication with Gayle.”At the conclusion of the cricket World Cup, Gayle underwent a medical examination in the UK,” the WICB said. “Following Gayle’s consultation with a UK doctor it was determined that he would require at least two to three weeks of rest before returning to training.”The WICB medical personnel had been communicating with Gayle on the status and management of his injury since his return to Jamaica following the Cricket World Cup, this included arrangements for his rehabilitative programme. Gayle was undergoing rehabilitative work with an appointed physiotherapist and had already attended ten sessions. The next phase was to include sport-specific training along with a running programme.”After the resumption of training the WICB team management would have organised a fitness test to assess Gayle’s fitness and decisions would have then been taken about his selection to the West Indies team to face Pakistan. It is clear that there was no way that Gayle could have been considered for selection for the first two ODIs given the facts outlined above.”The WICB said it was surprised to learn that Gayle had been making arrangements to play cricket in India when it was under the clear impression that he was undergoing rehabilitation work and about to resume training. “In discussing his application for an NOC, the WICB has repeatedly informed Gayle that he is expected to resume training after which he would be required to undergo a fitness test and once passed fit, he will be considered for selection for the remainder of the Pakistan series.”

Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, has said there will be no going back on the decision to reduce the 50-over World Cup to ten teams, despite protests from the Associates

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2011Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, has said there will be no going back on the decision to reduce the 50-over World Cup from 14 to ten teams, despite protests from the Associate countries who are likely to be left out of the tournament in 2015.”We have felt in the past few years that Twenty20 is the best format to develop the game world-wide and it provides a better environment for competition,” Lorgat told . “The 50-over format is more skill-based and suitable for the top teams.”To compensate for the loss of places in the 50-over tournament, the ICC has added four spots to the Twenty20 World Cup, making it a 16-team event, but Cricket Kenya chief executive, Tom Sears, told that the ICC will not be acting in the interests of the game if the smaller teams were locked out of the next World Cup.”If we have to improve on the standards, there is no point of denying us the opportunity of competing at the top level.” Sears said. “We had a meeting with the other Associate countries during the World Cup training camp in Dubai last week, and we plan to raise the matter again at the World Cup. We are disturbed about the whole issue.”In an earlier interview with , Sears, called the decision “scandalous and bloody ridiculous”, saying “I’ve no desire to be diplomatic… Not to let anyone else in is scandalous. It’s all about money, power and votes – and that’s not good for cricket.”Former Kenya captain Steve Tikolo and batsman Collins Obuya also voiced their concerns, saying the World Cup remained crucial for the development of the Associate countries. Kenya famously made the semi-finals in the 2003 World Cup, but remain the only non-Test team to have made it so far into the tournament.Several leading players from the Full Member countries came out in support of the Associates as well, with England offspinner Graeme Swann asking: “Why would you want to take the world out of the World Cup?” He was joined by Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait, who said, “to play against the best players and sides in the world is massive and I wouldn’t want to take that away from anyone,” and South Africa wicketkeeper AB de Villiers, who saw value in the smaller nations’ involvement in major tournaments. “It makes it more colourful and it’s good for the growth of the game.”