All posts by h716a5.icu

While rumours of his future career moves continue to swirl, Andrew Flintoff has admitted that he is one injury away from calling it quits

Cricinfo staff04-Oct-2009While rumours of his future career moves continue to swirl, Andrew Flintoff has admitted that he is one injury away from calling it quits. Flintoff is to spend the next three months in Dubai to aid his recovery from the latest operation to his right knee and make a return to England’s one-day team as their star allrounder, but did not mince words when assessing himself.”The next time I get injured, I will be gone,” he was quoted as saying by . “Realistically, with the operation I’ve had, I have a limited shelf-life. I’ll try to draw that out for as long as I can.”But if the knee or anything else goes, that will pretty much be it. I’ve been injured since I was 13. Me and bowling have never actually gone together.”Flintoff, 31, retired from Test cricket at the end of England’s Ashes-winning summer, and 24 hours after helping them regain the urn he underwent arthroscopy to his injured right knee. He admitted in a newspaper interview last month hat there is a chance he may never play again, but his main ambition remains to play in another World Cup and has targeted the one-day leg of England’s tour of Bangladesh next February as a realistic date for a comeback.His latest bout of rehabilitation suffered a minor setback in early September when it was revealed that he was afflicted by deep vein thrombosis in his right calf, though the ECB was quick to release a statement describing it as “a common complication of surgery”.

Somerset allrounder Alfonso Thomas was left virtually speechless after sealing a nerve-wracking last-ball victory over Deccan Chargers in Hyderabad

Cricinfo staff10-Oct-2009Somerset allrounder Alfonso Thomas was left virtually speechless after sealing a nerve-wracking last-ball victory over Deccan Chargers in Hyderabad. Somerset seemed down for the count at 99 for 7 – they had lost six for 49 – chasing 154, but Thomas put on 50 for the eighth wicket with James Hildreth and then hit the winning runs off Scott Styris, who had turned matters around with two wickets in the final over.”I cannot believe I’ve done that. It’s still not making sense … I just had Peter Trego saying he can’t hug me enough,” said an overawed Thomas, who followed 2 for 25, a catch and a run out with a crucial, unbeaten 30. “The job’s not done, because we have a very big game on Monday.”This win was down to teamwork, a trait Somerset have shown on numerous occasions over the past few seasons in county cricket. “Myself and James [Hildreth] were saying to each other, ‘let’s just keep taking it to the last over and then it becomes a batsman versus bowler thing’,” said Thomas, 32. “Fidel Edwards got taken off which was really unfortunate for them but it worked in our favour.”Both Deccan and Somerset stumbled after quick starts, which was credit to the bowlers on either side. Deccan seemed on track for victory after reducing Somerset to 110 for 7 but, after a 13-run over from Pragyan Ojha in which Thomas hit a six and Hildreth a four, suffered a big blow when Edwards was taken off the attack for sending down his second beamer, down the leg side, first ball of the 17th over. “He was going for a full yorker first ball and that slipped, then the ball got damp so that’s just unfortunate,” said Adam Gilchrist, captain of Deccan. “But that’s the rule. A lot goes through your head when your strike bowler can’t bowl his two last overs.”Justin Langer, the Somerset captain, credited the squad being a tight unit as a key factor in their success. “That is one of our advantages. We’re coming off a lot of county cricket and have had a couple of fantastic years,” he said. “Ironically, we’ve won a lot of close games like this so it is a great tribute the character of the club. For most of our guys to play in front of a crowd like this and in an excellent stadium was a great thrill, and then obviously to win a very close contest goes to show the character of the club.”Somerset will hardly have time to soak in this amazing win, because they have an early morning flight to Bangalore, where they play Trinidad & Tobago on Monday. “It’s a big game and we’d like to win that,” said Langer, who, yesterday, had commented that by around 11pm tonight he would know where Somerset were placed. “We’ve got a lot of areas where we can improve, but to beat Deccan Chargers at their home ground is a great booster for us. We’ve got to make sure our preparation is just as good.”Gilchrist received a loud ovation after the match despite Deccan failing to win a match at home; they lost all their Hyderabad fixtures in the 2008 IPL. “We can’t seem to break that duck here,” he said, “But we played really well. We had tough conditions and the rain but we fought back really well. All credit to the Somerset guys; they pegged us back really well. I felt we were short about 40 on this wicket. It was an absolutely beautiful wicket.”Gilchrist turned to thank the crowd before signing off for the night. “They kept supporting us even after a tough first IPL but we came home winners after taking the title the next year,” he said. “I promise you, we’re trying.”

Following on from their latest Premier League fixture that saw Liverpool blow a 2-0 lead at home against Brighton & Hove Albion that ended with a 2-2 result, Jurgen Klopp’s side are back in Champions League action on Wednesday with another group clash against Atletico Madrid.

On the chalkboard

One player that did not feature in the draw against Brighton that we feel should be in the starting XI to face Diego Simeone’s side in midweek is defender Joel Matip, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £100k-per-week according to Spotrac.

In the draw against Brighton, Klopp went with Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate as his two centre-backs, with neither being particularly impressive on the day, ultimately conceding twice and failing to hold on to a 2-0 lead they had after 24 minutes.

Specifically, with Konate earning himself one of the lowest overall match ratings of any Liverpool player on the day according to SofaScore, we feel that Matip should replace the Frenchman in midweek to see if he can help the side secure another win in the Champions League.

So far this season, Matip has played in seven of Liverpool’s ten Premier League games and has earned himself an overall season rating of 7.22/20 for his performances according to WhoScored, making him their sixth-highest rated player and highest-rated centre-back.

In Liverpool’s previous game against the La Liga club last month, Matip started alongside Van Dijk and was seriously impressive. He managed to make two clearances, interceptions and tackles each, won seven out of the eight duels he was involved in and racked up a passing accuracy percentage of 95%. That meant he earned himself a solid overall match rating of 7/10 according to SofaScore.

This highlights that Matip has shown he has what it takes to go up against Atletico’s attacking stars and frustrate them and prove himself as a solid defensive option, which is what we feel Liverpool need for this game given how they’ve conceded five goals in their previous three Champions League outings.

Moving forward, we think Matip, who has been dubbed as “incredible” by Klopp in the past, should be included in the starting XI in midweek to see if he can help replicate the same sort of defensive performance he put in against the Spanish side last time.

In other news: FSG could secure Jota 2.0 at LFC with “outstanding” £67.7m star, fans would be buzzing – opinion 

India are a loss away from just their third bilateral one-day series defeat since 2006, but MS Dhoni was not letting the pressure get to him

Cricinfo staff07-Nov-2009India are a loss away from just their third bilateral one-day series defeat since 2006, but MS Dhoni was not letting the pressure get to him. India surrendered a 3-2 series lead in Hyderabad, where they fell three runs short of a target of 351, to arrive in Guwahati needing to win to prevent their first bilateral series defeat since Australia toured two years ago.”It [the Hyderabad loss] was hurting and disappointing. But we have left everything in the dressing room,” said Dhoni. “We have two more games to go and that’s what count now. Whatever has happened has happened. You cannot change much about it. It’s important to concentrate on what lies ahead and stay fresh mentally.”Every game was a pressure game in the series and the remaining two games also. Our first priority is to be in the series, so we have to win the next game and not looking too far ahead.”India’s middle order has not produced a lot of runs over the last two matches and that was a major factor in their current series position. As he most always does, Dhoni patted back criticism of two bad outings from the middle order, himself included. “We rely on a good start but every now and then your openers don’t score and the pressure comes to the middle order,” said Dhoni. “This is one of the series where the middle order has not performed consistently.”It’s not a worrying thing. But of course it’s good if we get a good start so that the middle order and lower order capitalise on that.”The young allrounder Ravindra Jadeja has bowled decently in the series as support to Harbhajan Singh but has not done much with bat, prompting questions of his viability in the side. Yet without an alternative allrounder option in the squad Dhoni backed Jadeja to perform. “He is doing well but when it comes to selection, we don’t speak too much about it,” he said. “But every individual, if he is doing well he deserves a chance to be in the side. Jadeja is bowling well, as series goes he will turn up more as a batsman.”

After Southampton duo James Ward-Prowse and Valentino Livramento were forced to drop out of international duty earlier this week, it seems as though the south coast club have now been handed some good news regarding the fitness of one of their other key senior players.

What’s the news?

It has recently been reported by Lapsi (via Sport Witness) that on-loan Saints striker Armando Broja’s apparent muscle injury that he picked up during the latter stages of Southampton’s 1-0 win over Aston Villa, where he came on as a substitute for Adam Armstrong, is not as serious as originally feared and that he will be available to play for Albania during the current international break.

After only just recovering from an ankle injury before making his return against Villa, this news will surely be a big relief to everyone at the club and have the Southampton fans buzzing.

After all, prior to their 1-0 win over Watford that Broja missed due to his ankle injury, the striker had managed to score two goals in his two previous league starts against Leeds United and Burnley, showing that the on-loan Chelsea man was starting to get into the swing of things in front of goal at St. Mary’s.

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Moving forward, with Albania set to take on England and Andorra in their next World Cup qualifying matches in the coming days, everyone at Southampton will undoubtedly be hoping that the 20-year-old, who is currently valued at £2.7m according to Transfermarkt, can get through these games unscathed.

They will be eager to see him get back to action in Saints colours when their next Premier League game against Norwich City comes around to see if he can get back to the goalscoring form he showed before his ankle injury.

However, with Armstrong managing to score the south coast side’s winning goal against Villa before making way for Broja, it seems as though Ralph Hasenhuttl could have a big decision to make over who he chooses to play up front against Norwich, with Che Adams also in the mix considering he managed to score their goal in the 1-0 win over Watford.

Either way, with Southampton having managed to win three of their four previous league games, Hasenhuttl will be hoping that his side will be able to continue this good run of form. The fact that Broja will likely be available, meanwhile, will only aid their cause as they bid to do just that. This’ll surely delight Saints fans no end.

In other news: £4.5m-rated Saints dud with 0.2 key passes PG has been Ralph’s weak link this season – opinion

A round-up of the opening day’s action of the 11th round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

Cricinfo staff15-Dec-2009Group BMohammad Rameez was the stand-out performer at the Multan Cricket Stadium as his 8 for 46 helped Rawalpindi sink Multan to 108. Rameez’s early strikes reduced the hosts to 15 for 4, not allowing them to recover. Sadaf Hussain chipped in with two wickets before Rameez cleaned up the innings. Mohammad Hafeez was the top scorer with 36 but there was no support from the rest. Rawalpindi lost a couple of wickets but ended the day on a more steady 54 for 2.Waqar Orakzai’s 74, and a series of 40s from the middle order contributed to Abbottabad’s 293 for 6 against Faisalabad at Sargodha . Orakzai and Ehteshamuddin added 85 for the second wicket before Mohammad Kashif and Fawad Khan scored 43 and 48 respectively. The right-arm seamer Zahoor Khan was the most effective bowler of the day, taking 4 for 70.A captain’s knock of 107 by Kamran Younis guided Sialkot to 316 against Karachi Blues at the National Stadium. Younis shared an opening stand of 126 with Majid Jahangir but none of the other batsmen managed to pass fifty. Adnan Butt was the second-highest scorer with 41 as the middle order failed to convert their starts. Tanvir Ahmed took 4 for 102 while Tariq Haroon took 3 for 88.Seventies by Ata-ur-Rehman and Jalat Khan took Quetta to 279 for 9 against Hyderabad in Mirpur Khas . Quetta were off to a shaky start at 63 for 4 before the pair led the recovery with a stand of 120. Jalat’s 78 came off 83 balls while Rehman’s 74 was more sedate by comparison, facing 179 balls. The lower order then chipped in to push the score past 250. Mir Ali and Kashif Bhatti took three wickets apiece.Kashif Siddiq’s 112 led a strong batting display by Lahore Ravi against Islamabad at the LCCA Ground. He received good support from Sohail Ahmed, who made an unbeaten 61. Siddiq’s knock featured 16 fours and a six before he was dismissed by Kamran Hussain with the score at 223. Sohail and Mohammad Asim were unbeaten at stumps as Lahore finished on 276 for 3.Group AHasan Dar’s seven-wicket haul sent Habib Bank Limited capitulating to a sorry 141 at the Gaddafi Stadium. Lahore Shalimar had the opposition on the mat at 30 for 7 before a rearguard effort from Kamran Hussain (54) and Humayun Farhat (38) saved them from further embarrassment. Dar and Mohammad Naved shared the spoils to end the innings within 38 overs. Lahore’s batting was far more assured as they lost just the one wicket and ended their day of domination at 79, with Abid Ali unbeaten on 52.A combined bowling effort by Khan Research Laboratories restricted Pakistan Customs to 197 on the opening day in Rawalpindi. Akhtar Ayub, the right-arm seamer, was the leading wicket-taker with 3 for 42. Jibran Khan was the only batsman who managed to pass 50, his 69 featuring nine fours. The whole innings lasted only 56.2 overs. KRL lost a couple of wickets and ended the day on 72.Honours were even at the Diamond Club Ground as Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), led by Yasir Hameed’s 85, ended at 242 but lost seven wickets against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL). PIA got off to a poor start when they lost Agha Sabir first ball to Iftikhar Anjum. But Hameed played positively at the other end, scoring at more than a run-a-ball. PIA managed half-century stands for the second and third wicket, lost their way a bit in the middle and recovered with a stand of 52 for the seventh wicket. Zohaib Khan, who claimed the wicket of captain Hameed, took 3 for 34.Rizwan Ahmed’s 113 for Sui Southern Gas Corporation was the highlight of the day at the Southend Club Stadium in Karachi. SSGC overcame a poor start at 6 for 2, thanks to half-century stands from the middle order, to eventually post 293. Saeed Bin Nasir, the captain, went on to make 74 and supported Rizwan. The latter hit 17 fours in his knock. Tabish Khan and Ali Muddasir took three wickets. Karachi Whites lost the wicket of Mohtashim Ali and ended the day at 16 for 1.Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), led by Usman Arshad’s 105, were bowled out for 259 on the opening day at the Iqbal Stadium against National Bank of Pakistan. Mohammad Talha and Wasim Khan got the early breakthroughs to keep SNGPL to 106 for 5 before Arshad stepped in and led the recovery. Arshad’s effort featured 12 boundaries. Talha finished with 3 for 67.

West Ham legend, Mark Noble, is in the final stages of his career, announcing his retirement from the East London club after 17 years.

The 34-year-old has reached legendary status at his boyhood club, West Ham, with a career spanning 500 appearances, scoring 6o goals and bagging 61 assists for the Hammers in his time.

It has not been confirmed as to what the midfielder intends to do after he finishes his final season with West Ham in May 2022, but David Moyes has shared his thoughts on Noble’s next steps;

“I think Mark has other ideas, maybe a role as a sporting director or a technical director rather than on the footballing side.

“We’re already starting to use Mark in other roles behind the scenes.”

The footballer has become a fan favourite over the years, with his debut for West Ham in 2004, that has seen him a starter for almost two decades, with Noble now taking a more backseat role as a substitute as he sees out the last games of his career.

West Ham have recently had new financial backing from Daniel Kretinsky, who, after securing a 27% stake in the club, is hopeful to take over the entire club in the future and take full ownership.

The Evening Standard reported on the deal and the expectations of Kretinsky’s involvement; “His initial investment will help West Ham pay their debt which stands at £150m and David Moyes is unlikely to spend big in January as the Hammers chase Champions League qualification, though the Scot will be backed to bring in a central defender and a back-up striker to cover for Michail Antonio.”

Noble will surely be interested in continuing to play a part in the new journey West Ham are on, especially after they qualified for Europe in 6th place last season and are now challenging for a top-four spot and a potential title challenge, with the Hammers just four points off the top of the table right now.

Until then, Moyes has suggested that Noble is set to play a big part in the current season at West Ham, as they rotate more players especially around the Christmas period where fixtures will be congested for the club.

The Scottish manager said; “He’s going to have a massive part to play in the period leading up to Christmas particularly, where we will need lots of players for a lot of extra games,”

“I hope that Mark will be in good condition, fit and ready to play, because he can bring experience when he comes on in games. I feel that he can help us set the tempo in certain games.”

Once he’s played his part for the rest of the campaign, it would not be a great surprise if we saw him on the other side of the curtain next term, helping the likes of Kretinsky and GSB to form a better future for West Ham.

Rob Newman will also be involved as head of recruitment but in Noble, a man dubbed “unbelievable” by Declan Rice, they could find a director worthy of finally replacing Mario Husillos in a director’s role.

It’s safe to say that the club’s current captain would have their best interests at heart, and in knowing the Irons inside out, could provide Moyes and co with some valuable information from behind the scenes.

The thought of him hanging up his boots is a sad one, but providing he can still play his part in West Ham’s success from elsewhere, supporters will surely be happy.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Antonio: WHU can start Kretinsky era with a bang by signing £80k-p/w gem…

Tickets for Ireland’s match against Australia taking place in Dublin on June 17 next year are to go on sale December 14 at 10 am

Cricinfo staff11-Dec-2009Tickets for Ireland’s match against Australia taking place in Dublin on June 17 next year are to go on sale on December 14 at 10 am.It has been 16 years since the sides last met in Dublin and it will be only the second time the teams have met in a one-day international, with Australia winning the previous match, in the 2007 World Cup, by nine wickets.William Porterfield, the Ireland captain, is looking forward to taking on the world champions and feels Ireland have improved since the teams last faced each other.”Obviously it’s going to be a fantastic occasion, not just for the team, but for all Irish supporters,” he said. “We came close to shocking England in our last ODI in Belfast, and if we can up our game for the day, I’m sure we can run Australia close. We’ve played some super cricket over the past two to three years, claiming some huge scalps along the way.”There have been times though when we’ve been in great positions and fallen at crucial moments after being on top for 80% of the game. If everyone plays to their full potential, who knows, we may have another day to remember. Having said that, they’re a super side with players of the calibre of Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey and Brett Lee, so we know it’ll be difficult.”The compact surroundings of Clontarf are sure to provide a wonderful atmosphere, and I’m sure the tickets will sell out quickly. Hopefully the weather Gods will be kind to us, and it should be a super day out for everyone.”Adult tickets will cost 40 Euros, while accompanied children under 16 can get in for 14 Euros. There are also family and club deals available as well as significant discounts for OAP’s and school groups.The match will be sponsored by Royal Sun Alliance (RSA) and Philip Smith, the RSA chief executive said they are looking forward to the game. “RSA are delighted to be the sponsor of this world class event. I’m sure both teams will rise to the occasion and do their countries proud”.

Speaking to Football Insider, Lilywhites ‘insider’ John Wenham has made a claim involving Tottenham Hotspur starlet Harvey White.

The Lowdown: N17 academy thriving…

It is no secret that new Spurs manager Antonio Conte has a wealth of homegrown academy talent at his disposal as the Italian takes on the mountainous task of rebuilding Tottenham.

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Former managers like Jose Mourinho have previously waxed lyrical over the likes of Oliver Skipp and Dane Scarlett, with both players seemingly making serious progress at the club. More recently, the likes of Dilan Markanday have also been turning heads, with the 20-year-old starlet scoring 11 goals and setting up four others over his 12 Premier League 2 appearances this season (Transfermarkt).

Another youngster in Tottenham under-23s captain White, who has also been in impressive Premier League 2 form with five goals and six assists from midfield, looks ready for more senior action, and Wenham believes he could get his wish in January.

The Latest: Wenham makes Harvey White claim…

Speaking to Football Insider, the Spurs insider believes that the 20-year-old is ‘desperate’ for a temporary transfer and more senior minutes, adding that an early January move away is ‘possible’.

Wenham explained:

““He’s desperate for a loan,” 

“I hope Tottenham have something ready to go for 1 January, that’s possible.

“It seems ridiculous to me that when he joined Portsmouth last year and proved himself, he hasn’t gone out again. He’s been stuck playing Under 23s football when he could have been out getting more experience.

“I don’t think that’s good enough. He could easily play for a top League One side or a lower Championship side.

“I think he may have stuck around thinking he would get minutes in the Conference League but that just hasn’t happened.

“I think he will go out on loan in January because staying at Tottenham is doing him no favours.”

The Verdict: Right move?

As White continues to thrive in Tottenham’s academy, that could demonstrate that he is ready for the next step, and another loan move in January could be the solution.

He enjoyed a fruitful stint on loan at Portsmouth last season, making 21 appearances on the south coast and scoring his first professional goal for the League One club against Oxford United.

White guided his sumptuous header past an outstretched and helpless Jack Stevens, an impressive finish and perhaps a sign of more things to come if he is granted another senior spell away from N17.

In other news: ‘Coming from Tottenham’…Journalist makes exciting Spurs transfer claim with big offer on the table, find out more here.

Intikhab Alam has said there is “no doubt” Sarfraz Ahmed will play in Kamran Akmal’s place

Osman Samiuddin in Hobart12-Jan-2010After days of confusion, Intikhab Alam has put an emphatic end tospeculation surrounding Pakistan’s wicketkeeping spot, saying that thereis “no doubt” Sarfraz Ahmed will play as the wicketkeeper in Kamran Akmal’s placein the third Test in Hobart starting on Thursday.Speculation has been rife and silly since the Sydney Test about Akmal andhis role in the Pakistan side. Reports emerged blaming his late-nightbabysitting for the four dropped catches at the SCG and there has beentalk of his younger brother Umar pulling out of the third Test with anallegedly feigned back injury in protest at the axing.The team was given a day off from practice today, but Umar and Sarfraztrained at the Bellerive Oval under the eyes of Intikhab and Aaqib Javed,the assistant coach. There will be a selection meeting the day before theTest begins but Intikhab indicated that if it comes to a vote with thefour-man selection committee (Mohammad Yousuf, Akmal, Intikhab and managerAbdur Raquib form the panel), Akmal will step aside.”Naturally he [Sarfraz] has been sent as a reinforcement,” Intikhab said.”Unfortunately Kamran had a bad game and he is a very goodwicketkeeper-batsman. It can happen to anyone but the fact of the matter isSarfraz has been sent here and we will give him a chance.”It has happened in the past [a vice-captain having a vote on his ownposition in the side]. We were in Sri Lanka, the vice-captain wasMisbah-ul-Haq and he wasn’t having a good time and we decided in themeeting, at times you have to take that tough decision and we’ll take thatdecision. And there is no doubt that Sarfraz will play.”We have a three-member committee but this time the manager will also sitin. We’re sure the right decision will be taken and he will have a vote aswell. I have already spoken to Kamran and I think he understands. Thesethings happen in cricket. I’m sure he’s good enough and he’ll come back.”Younger brother Umar had a longish net session, having sat out practiceyesterday and woken up this morning to stories about the stiff back being merelya ploy to protest at the treatment of Kamran. Intikhab said the back wasfine and talk of protest absolute rubbish.Watson lends support to Akmal

Kamran Akmal has found unlikely backing in the opposition camp as he battles to keep his place in the Pakistan side ahead of the third Test in Hobart. Shane Watson, with whom Akmal played for the Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural IPL in 2008, has come out in support of the wicketkeeper.
“It’s very unfortunate, the media scrutiny on Kamran Akmal,” Watson said. “Considering I played with him in the IPL and he is a very lovely guy and a very talented player too. It’s unfortunate, but hopefully he will get another opportunity to show everyone how good he is.
“I hope he does play, because he is an extremely talented player and it would be nice to see him out there. I am sure he will put on a very good performance.”

“He is ok. He had a sore back. The last few days the guys have beenworking very, very hard, and so I gave them a day off today,” Intikhabsaid. “Umar didn’t practice yesterday, he was sent to hospital and hadx-rays done and the doctors said there is nothing wrong with him. He hashad one painkilling injection but that’s why I brought him here to makesure he is fit and raring to go.”It’s [the stories of his protest] all rubbish. At times I laugh when Iread such stories. He’s one of the emerging cricketers in world cricketand he is capable and has the ability to do that. He is ok.”Training cheerily alongside Umar was Sarfraz, who having played eight ODIsin 2008, finally finds himself on the verge of a Test debut, the first manother than Akmal to don Pakistan’s Test gloves since late 2004.”Of course the pressure is there for representing your country againstAustralia,” Sarfraz said. “But all the coaches, the manager and playershave really supported me and told me to take no pressure and treat it likeyou are playing a normal first-class match.”Sarfraz was part of the same Pakistan A tour to Australia as Umar inJune-July last year and had a similarly successful time, picking up 11victims and three fifties in the two ‘Tests’. And some advice had alreadycome his way on conditions here, he said, from the man he is set toreplace. “Kami supported me and said play your natural game. I arrived twodays ago and he said no pressure. He told me about the pitch here, alittle bounce and some break. He is a very good player no doubt andeveryone goes through a bad patch. I will give my 100% for our team.”