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He speaks about his experience in the PSL, returning to Pakistan after a long gap, and what keeps him going despite retiring from international cricket

Umar Farooq12-Mar-2019Shane Watson was a reluctant visitor to Pakistan earlier but this year he made it to Karachi to play for Quetta Gladiators. In this interview, he speaks about his experience in the PSL, returning to Pakistan after a long gap, and what keeps him going despite retiring from international cricket.You’ve been a part of many dressing rooms across the world for different teams. How have Quetta Gladiators been different?This year, even last year, the difference to me is that the best team…their leadership is always incredibly strong and that is a big difference here with Quetta compared to other teams I played with in the past. The owner, Mr Nadeem Omar, is a genuinely incredible, caring and thoughtful guy and you feel that all the way down to the support staff and the players as well. Then this year we have an incredible squad. We’ve got a lot of match-winners through our whole squad which means our dressing room is a bit different to the other ones I’ve played in because not every team has match-winners all the way through.If you have to pick one franchise out of the ones you’ve played for, which one would you pick and why?It’s impossible to pick one franchise because I’ve played with so many. Normally at the start of the season I have always got a sense of whether something special is happening. Whether it’s the people you’ve got around, the calibre of players you’ve got around, the leadership, it’s all the perfect storm and that’s the moment you really cherish and it doesn’t always happen with every team. For reason of injuries, personal viability and that sort of things I’ve been very fortunate to be playing for few franchises where for one year particularly I had that feeling.[With] teams like Sydney Thunder, Chennai [Super Kings], my first year with [Royal Challengers] Bangalore and this year particularly with Quetta as well, who have an incredible squad with so many match-winners and I got a very special feeling. But this never guarantees that you will win the tournament but it means that we are going to play some very very good cricket.What convinced you to come to Pakistan this year?It’s really special to be here in Karachi in Pakistan as I was here last in 2005. My primary consideration this year was having a time with my family, particularly with my son’s birthday around this time. So it was really a family consideration. I had to talk to my wife, about how much it means to my team for me to come to Pakistan and help them get to the final. For me at the end, my wife has been incredibly supportive, she realised how important it is for me to be able to go to Pakistan for Quetta and also for the people of Pakistan. So it worked out very well.PSLHow was the experience in your first game against Karachi Kings the other night? Yes, even from the first time arriving here at Karachi, people have always been incredible, welcoming and warm and that’s what exactly we all received at the ground. Last night it was an incredible atmosphere, a very special atmosphere. The support even Quetta got was unexpected because we were playing against Karachi. It was great not just for me but for every one. I am glad that I helped them in the way I am able to here and get cricket back, get an international standard cricket match back to the people of Pakistan who love the game as much as I do.Pakistan has always been known for its fast bowlers. You’re the leading run-scorer this PSL season. Did you face the heat while facing any fast bowlers this time?Yes, that is one thing that always comes up while playing in the PSL, even from my first year and it continued to be now. There’s always one or two fast bowlers who are bowling way above 140kmh, pushing 150kmh. So every single game I go out and play, I know I have to be absolutely on my game, ready to go, otherwise I can get exposed and hurt facing these quick bowlers. It’s an incredible thing, the depth that Pakistan cricket has over any other country that I have ever played in – real and proper fast bowling. It’s amazing how they continue to come through. Now we’ve got [Mohammad] Hasnain here at Quetta who has come onto the scene and is bowling 150kmh, as it continues to happen every single PSL. So it’s pretty amazing.Have you stopped bowling to extend your playing career?Yeah, at the moment I have stopped bowling from the start of the Big Bash really. I was trying to get ready to be able to bowl in the Big Bash and ended up getting two calf strains in the lead-up to it. So it was just a defining moment for me to put all my energy towards my batting and hold my body together because I absolutely still love playing, I still feel I can contribute with the bat and on the field with the leadership as well, with the experience I have had. I want to keep playing so I’m putting my bowling at the back burner and no bowling means that I can hopefully play for a few more years.How do you keep yourself motivated when you’re not playing for Australia but for different teams around the world?Ever since I retired [from international cricket], I’ve been fortunate to play many different tournaments around the world and the thing that keeps me very motivated is wanting to be successful and wanting to be in a successful team. That is very simple and I love the opportunity to go out and play with so many different people I never would have played with and you never get to know people on the field because you are always on a battle and survival mode and you never really got to see the true person at the field. So that’s the privilege I’ve had to play with so many incredible people from the last three years playing for different franchises.At Quetta, I’ve been able to get to know Sarfaraz Ahmed, for example, someone I hardly ever played against. Last year, I got to know Kevin Petersen by playing with him for the first time for a long time instead of playing against him and it’s been really special for me. And now it’s an incredible opportunity to be with Sir Viv Richards who was one of my idols growing up. So to be with your mentor in the same team and get to know him and I still have a lot of questions to ask about his career, his playing days and it’s something I would never have had without franchise cricket.

A look at MS Dhoni’s major achievements as India’s limited-overs captain, including the most runs in ODIs by a keeper-captain, and a staggering batting average in winning causes

Shiva Jayaraman04-Jan-20171 Number of captains to have won all the three major ICC limited-over tournaments. MS Dhoni is the only one to do so. Under Dhoni, India won the 2007 World T20, the 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy. Dhoni’s four wins in the finals of limited-over tournaments involving five or more teams are the joint-highest for any captain. In addition to the three aforementioned events, Dhoni also led India to the Asia Cup title last year.110 ODIs won by Dhoni as captain – the second-most after Ricky Ponting’s 165. Allan Border is the only other ODI captain with at least 100 wins. Dhoni led India to 20 wins more than Mohammad Azharuddin, who is the next India captain on this list.41 Wins for Dhoni in T20Is – the most for any captain in the format. Darren Sammy comes second with his 27 wins as West Indies captain. Dhoni has also captained in 72 T20Is, the most by anyone.199 ODIs in which Dhoni has led – the most for an India captain and the third-highest overall. Only Ricky Ponting and Stephen Fleming captained in more ODIs. Among India captain, Azharuddin is next with 174 matches. He is the only captain to have led an international team on 50 or more occasions in each format.110-74 Dhoni’s win-loss record in ODIs; among India players to have led in at least 20 ODIs, Dhoni’s win-loss ratio of 1.486 is the best. Rahul Dravid’s win-loss record of 42-33 is the next-best.6633 Runs in ODIs for Dhoni as keeper-captain – more than thrice the number of runs scored by the next player on this list. Kumar Sangakkara is a distant second with 1756 runs. In T20 internationals, Dhoni is the only keeper-captain with over 1000 runs. Dhoni has played as keeper-captain in 271 limited-over internationals – the most by any player. No one else has played even 100 matches as keeper-captain in limited-over internationals. Sangakkara’s 67 matches are the next highest.53.92 Dhoni’s average in ODIs as captain – the second-highest for any batsman to have scored at least 1000 runs, after AB de Villiers’ 65.92. Among the seven captains who have scored at least 5000 runs, Dhoni’s average is more than 11 clear of the next-best – Ponting.7-4 Dhoni’s win-loss record in the finals of multi-team ODI tournaments – the best among India captains who led in more than one such final. Azharuddin is second with a win-loss record of 11-8.70.83 Dhoni’s batting average as captain in India’s ODI wins. Among the 32 captains with at least 1000 runs in winning causes, Dhoni’s average is the third-best. Only de Villiers and Sachin Tendulkar averaged higher. Dhoni made 3754 runs in India’s wins, including three hundreds and 29 fifties.12 Number of times Dhoni was unbeaten in successful chases as T20I captain. George Bailey is second with five such innings. In ODIs, too, Dhoni leads the list with 26 such innings.

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Aug-2015Vijay was trapped lbw by Tharindu Kaushal for 82, but Rahane’s fluency did not suffer•AFPHe brought up his fourth Test hundred off 212 balls•AFPAlthough erratic, Kaushal’s threat was clear. He removed Rahane for 126…•AFP… after which Dhammika Prasad picked three quick wickets to prompt India’s declaration with a lead of 412 runs•AFPAshwin took out Kaushal Silva in the third over, and out walked…•AFP… Kumar Sangakkara. He was given a guard of honour by the ball boys and the Indian team. But his innings was cut short for 18 and Sri Lanka went in to stumps at 72 for 2, still trailing by 341 runs•AFP

Plays of the day from the game between Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders

Rachna Shetty11-May-2014The start
Playing a match when the temperature is hovering around 40 degrees is never easy, but despite the heat Jacques Kallis had a few problems warming up. Coming on to bowl the first over, he offered a gift to Virender Sehwag – a full, slightly wide ball that was duly flayed over cover’s head. Searching for swing, he overcompensated down the leg side and Sehwag took another three fours. The 17-run over turned out to be the second most expensive opening one this season.The effort
He did not have his best day with the ball but Kallis was as good as ever in the field. In the 13th over, fielding on the fine-leg boundary, Kallis sprinted to stop a sweep by David Miller, and in one move, executed a sliding save and tossed the ball to Umesh Yadav.In luck
With three 40-plus scores behind him, Robin Uthappa once again looked in imperious form, smacking Sandeep Sharma for three fours and Mitchell Johnson for 18 runs in successive overs. When spin was introduced in the form of Akshar Patel’s slow left-arm, Uthappa played a reverse-sweep straight to point. Two balls later, he tried another reverse sweep. The ball ballooned off his glove and helmet and fell just out of reach of a diving Wriddhiman Saha.Chawla’s rewind
In the last match between the two sides in the UAE, Piyush Chawla finished with figures of 3 for 19 in four overs, accounting for the wickets of Virender Sehwag, David Miller and George Bailey. He finished with the same figures in this game, too. Virender Sehwag was bowled by the legspinner for a second time, and he dented the Kings XI innings with the wicket of Glenn Maxwell. His third scalp was Rishi Dhawan. Incidentally, Sehwag was the top-scorer in Abu Dhabi, too, where Kings XI recorded their lowest total batting first in the IPL this year.The regulation miss
Bailey is not usually sloppy in the field but he had a forgettable moment during the Knight Riders chase. In the 17th over, with Knight Riders needing 15 off 21, a well-set Gautam Gambhir top edged a pull and it came straight to Bailey at midwicket. The Kings XI captain got his hands under the ball, which promptly popped out and landed on the grass. Bailey, who normally has a smile ready for most occasions on a cricket field, wore a slightly sheepish one this time.

Plays of the day from the fifth day of the second Test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand at P Sara Oval

Andrew Fernando at the P Sara Oval29-Nov-2012The mix-up
Sri Lanka’s overnight pair had negotiated the early overs without much worry, but they concocted trouble of their own to see the downfall of one of their most experienced batsman. Thilan Samaraweera pushed a Doug Bracewell delivery to cover and set off immediately for a quick single. Perhaps not expecting to scamper runs at this stage in the game, Angelo Mathews was slow to respond at the other end, and as he saw Jeetan Patel swooping in on the ball, he decided to send Samaraweera back. By that stage though, his partner was too far down the track, and his cause was not helped by an extremely slow stop-and-turn that resembled the Titanic trying to avoid the iceberg. Samaraweera was run out by a good two metres.The eager cricketers
Knowing conditions were unlikely to allow them to bowl all the scheduled overs in the day, New Zealand’s cricketers were extra eager to resume their hunt for wickets after lunch, and took the field minutes before the scheduled restart. They had even assumed their fielding positions before the umpires arrived. Sri Lanka’s batsmen were predictably last to come to the middle, two minutes late.The delivery
When Mathews was batting alongside Prasanna Jayawardene, it seemed as though only the new ball would be able to part them. New Zealand’s seamers struggled to get much out of the aging ball on a wearing pitch, and the spinners didn’t get much help from the surface either. But almost out of the blue, debutant Todd Astle produced the ball of the day to dismiss Jayawardene, when he drifted one in then got it to leap off the pitch, turning away. Jayawardene presented a firm defence, but as the ball had bounced more than he had anticipated, it took the edge, high up on the bat, and broke the partnership.The double dive
So keyed up were New Zealand to complete the win that when no. 11 Rangana Herath gloved a short ball from Trent Boult into the off side, two fielders came in and leapt forward, despite the fact that neither of them had a hope of getting there. Brendon McCullum ran forward from third slip and Tim Southee from backward point and the pair performed a futile synchronised dive almost side-by-side, before getting up and smiling it off.

Their collective tenacity and professionalism has helped the visitors match up to the challenge of playing the world’s No. 1 team

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Nov-2010They were of varying length and in different guises but most of the questions put to Daniel Vettori after the Hyderabad Test was drawn were born from a common sentiment: one of surprise at how a team ranked No. 8, having been humiliated in one-day internationals by Bangladesh, had managed to hold the No. 1 Test side to a 0-0 scoreline after two matches. They sought to determine whether Vettori was relieved at the results, whether New Zealand felt a sense of achievement, and whether they would spend the hour-long bus ride back to their hotel feeling satisfied and contented. The more pertinent question, though, is: how has this come to pass?The bulk of the blame from the Indian camp, and the captain MS Dhoni is the primary finger-pointer, has been slathered on the unresponsive tracks prepared at Motera and in Hyderabad. A fair share of the criticism is justified since the pitches at both venues stayed unreasonably flat on all five days and made bowling as appealing as going to the dentist. A weaker reason is the injury to India’s primary wicket-taker Zaheer Khan on the fourth day of the second Test. He would have been dangerous, but not dangerous.To not credit this New Zealand team as a whole for their collective tenacity, and the individuals comprising it for their strength in overcoming unique challenges, however, would be to ignore the fundamental reasons for their success across time and formats: their whole has always been greater than the sum of the parts.A statistic bandied about in the lead-up to the tour was that the entire New Zealand squad had fewer Test runs than Sachin Tendulkar. At present, seven New Zealand batsmen have more runs in the series than him. And they have been made in adversity.In Ahmedabad, New Zealand were in strife during their response to India’s strong first-innings total when Jesse Ryder and Kane Williamson began their partnership. Ryder was returning to Test cricket after an injury layoff, Williamson was beginning his Test career. Failure at that juncture would have been a disappointment but it would also have been understood and forgiven. In Hyderabad, the heroes were a batsman who had just made a pair, another who had been dropped for the first Test, and a third who was new to the challenges of being a Test opener.Ryder responded by batting with a calmness that had traces of Inzamam-ul-Haq to it. He is unflustered at the crease, and he has all the shots. And speed. Tim McIntosh proved he possessed the temperament to handle a struggle and play aggressively once on the other side of it. Martin Guptill spoke of the preparation he had put in to cope with Indian spin, and though his test wasn’t of the highest standard, his efforts showed. Brendon McCullum used his attacking skills in his new role to wipe out New Zealand’s deficit quicker than most would have expected, and as a result they were under extreme pressure for a shorter duration. And Williamson, whose genial celebration of his maiden century won hearts in this age of aggression, exhibited his forcefulness by striking Sreesanth for three fours in the first over of the final day. Those boundaries effectively signalled the end of India’s victory aspirations, even before Zaheer trudged off the field.”The top order came here under pressure from what had happened in Bangladesh but they’ve responded exceptionally well,” Vettori said. “Particularly the two openers in this game, Brendon in his second Test match as an opener and Tim McIntosh coming off a pair, were outstanding and really set up the platform in both innings to allow us to score some pretty good totals. So the likes of Williamson and Ryder in the first Test, and McIntosh and McCullum in this one, have really allowed us to be at our best.”The batting apart, New Zealand were also expected to struggle to take 20 wickets. They managed it in Ahmedabad, and they’ve also bowled with rigorous discipline that disrupted the pace at which India are accustomed to scoring at home. Vettori didn’t grumble about the pitches either, despite bowling a total of 142.3 overs, the most in the series. He’s toiled manfully, like a captain should, bowling until his arm is sore and has 11 wickets, again the most in the series, to show for his efforts. He granted himself the luxury of a rest when India had a jolly hit during the final session of play in Hyderabad, but has otherwise been the crux of New Zealand’s campaign.

New Zealand haven’t complained about pitches and the lack of UDRS, or made too much about adjusting to Indian conditions. They’ve played the series in wonderful spirit – heartily applauding Harbhajan’s game-changing innings and not responding to Sreesanth’s prickly behaviour

New Zealand’s pace attack – led by Chris Martin and Tim Southee – has not attempted to overachieve on these deadest of pitches. They’ve bowled to well-set fields designed to save the single and worn India’s batsmen down. An inspired spell from Martin aside, during which India crumbled to 15 for 5 at Motera, they were unlikely to cut through the most-celebrated batting line-up in the world. Instead, they relied on a relentless accuracy and it has brought them steady results. The key to New Zealand’s bowling success, however, has been their fielding and that is one discipline no one expected them to struggle in. The flying Kiwis have taken sharp catches at slip and prevented countless boundaries with precise anticipation, agile movement and a well-timed dive in the in-field. McCullum provides the energy and is at the heart of the fielding effort. On his watch, few shots get past cover.The underpinning factor that has made all this achievable, however, has been their mindset and the utter professionalism with which they prepare and play. They haven’t complained about pitches and the lack of UDRS, or made too much about adjusting to Indian conditions. They’ve played the series in wonderful spirit – heartily applauding Harbhajan’s game-changing innings and not responding to Sreesanth’s prickly behaviour. Their approach has been one of understated grit.New Zealand have now held India to draws in their last four Tests. In two of them, India had to do the surviving. Vettori’s team will still be expected to lose in Nagpur, though. If they don’t, it will be a surprise again. That is the lot of this hard-working team that has punched above its weight.

If anyone should have a handle on what Glenn McGrath’s absence means to the Australian team, Shaun Pollock should. McGrath is, after all, Australia’s own Pollock

Telford Vice04-Mar-2006

Glenn McGrath: missing from Australia’s attack © Getty Images
If anyone should have a handle on what Glenn McGrath’s absence means to the Australian team, Shaun Pollock should. McGrath is, after all, Australia’s own Pollock. Not as a batsman, in terms of which he used to be Australia’s own Courtney Walsh, since he significantly improved. McGrath also isn’t nearly as versatile as the South African in the field. And, of course, we don’t know what sort of Test captain he might have made. But, purely as a bowler, he’s right up there with Pollock.Apologies to readers who have not spent half the southern summer grinding their teeth through the Channel 9 commentary team’s numbing insistence on comparing everything anyone could ever think of anytime, anywhere, to some lofty Australian ideal: “NASA wants to put a man on Mars? Aw, mate, but the view’s so much better from Ayers Rock.” But there can be no argument about McGrath’s status in Australia’s cricket history. He has grooved a place among the very best of their players.Pollock has an illuminating take on what the outback’s own automaton means to the team that owes him so much of its success. “When you’ve got a class act like ‘Pidge’, who’s been around for many years, he is so difficult to replace,” he said. “You might get guys who come in and they do a sort of a job for a while. They have games where they are good and they have games when it doesn’t go so well. That’s all about gaining experience.”People talk about experience and mention a lot of things about experience, but you don’t understand it until you are really out there and doing your job. When you have built up some experience you have a feel for what conditions are like, what you should be doing on that certain day to make things work. You get a good feel because you’ve been there and done it.”Some of the guys who come in, not to say they don’t have the skills, or aren’t as good bowlers, but sometimes they just don’t realise what’s required on the day. That’s the big plus of experience and that’s what they can miss. Some of those young guys have a lot of talent and their actions are good, but sometimes it’s just that experience you gain from playing 50 or 60 one-day internationals that really does help you on certain days.”McGrath has played a few more than 50 or 60 ODIs – 221, in fact. He has also played 119 Tests. But he is not in South Africa with the Australian team, having done the right thing and withdrawn from the tour after his wife suffered a recurrence of cancer.Batsmen who face McGrath must wonder whether he files his toenail clippings in chronological order or according to size. There is no more organised, precise, bloodlessly efficient bowler in the game. It’s a good thing he blows his top every so often, otherwise we would have to put his heart-rate on the scoreboard just to know he’s alive.The continued pursuit of utter consistency, which the more fallible among us tend to regard as “the last refuge of the unimaginative”, as someone once said, has to be McGrath’s only remaining reason for dragging himself to another net practice. And if you happen to see these words, Glenn, please take them from whence they come – a South African who has to stifle a groan of apprehension every time you mark out your run-up in matches against our lot.McGrath’s absence, and with it the injuries to Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds, have stripped Australia of a fair amount of prickle. Gone, it seems, is the team that rebuffed South Africa almost effortlessly Down Under. In its place is a suddenly vulnerable bunch in which an injury to a fringe player like Stuart Clark is immediately upgraded to a “setback”. An Australian Test team sans McGrath might also put the skids under another venerable denizen of the once omnipotent juggernaut. At least, that’s according to Gary Kirsten.

Shaun Pollock and Graeme Smith: plotting Australia’s downfall © Getty Images
“Our batsmen can play Shane Warne out,” Kirsten said. “Previously McGrath has been at the other end and he is almost impossible to score off. Naturally batsmen have tried to go after Warne a bit because he is seen as easier to get away than McGrath. Not having him will affect how Australia plays because he and Warne bowl so well together. Batsmen can now try to see out Warne and go after the bowler at the other end.”Australia found out just how valuable McGrath is to their cause in the last Ashes series, when they lost both the matches he missed through injury. Who will dare to step into the space previously occupied by such a giant is not a question to be answered without thorough thought. Do the Australians stick with the men they have on tour, which would mean asking Nathan Bracken to share the new ball with Brett Lee? Or perhaps a recovered Clark? Or do they hark back home and resurrect the career of Jason Gillespie or Michael Kasprowicz?Bracken seems to feel the gravity of the moment, judging by his delicate dance around the subject. “I’d love to take the new ball … I enjoy doing it and it suits my style of bowling, swinging the ball,” he said. “It’s unfortunate for Glenn but it’s a chance for me to keep doing what I’m doing. I’m never going to replace a Glenn McGrath, but if I can come in and give something different to the team then I can do a job.”Over on the other side of the fence, the grass is dazzlingly green. “When we got together [after the tour to Australia] there was a lot of energy,” Pollock said. “We were laughing and joking and there was excitement in the air.” That mood lingers, and it went a long way to earning South Africa victory in the Twenty20 tour opener and the first two ODIs, the second of which was a Makhaya Ntini engineered rout.A month ago many South Africans spoke of their team as if they were discussing a man with a drinking problem. Now they can’t stop toasting their success and talking of winning the one-day series, at least. A major factor in what remains a few wins short of a resurgence is the roaring return to form of Graeme Smith, who smashed 89 not out off 58 balls in the Twenty20 and 119 not out in the first ODI.”I think he’s probably had a good look at his game and had a look at how he got out in Australia, and tried to rectify that,” Ponting said of Smith. “It’s up to us to come back with something different. We’ve spoken about him and we know what we want to do.”A subplot in all this is that, in these times of hysterical crowd behaviour, had McGrath been on this tour he would have been treated with the dignity he deserved. The hype surrounding Australia’s likely hostile reception in South Africa, fuelled by the disgraceful conduct of some of those who blighted Australian grounds this season, has fallen flat. Why? Because South Africa are winning again.Designated baddies like Lee and Adam Gilchrist will always be jeered here, and Ponting should brace himself for a verbal mauling when he returns to fitness, particularly if he dares to ask an umpire a question. But McGrath’s space would have been respected almost as if he were one of our own. He is, after all, Australia’s own Pollock.

Young batters Ashley Chandrasinghe and Campbell Kellaway face a winter of developing their skills

Tristan Lavalette26-Mar-2023On the resumption of the Sheffield Shield season last month, an inexperienced Victoria didn’t set outlandish goals or plot a barnstorming title run.Boasting just one win from their first six matches, Victoria were content with backing youth in a bid to mould together a talented core who could help build a foundation for sustained success.”When we came back after the BBL we spoke about how we’re on a journey. We didn’t talk about playing in the Shield final,” Victoria coach Chris Rogers said.Surprising their own modest expectations, with skipper Peter Handscomb and frontline spinner Todd Murphy on Australia’s Test tour of India, Victoria led by 23-year-old stand-in captain Will Sutherland got on a roll.Related

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They won four straight matches to leapfrog into second-place and book a spot in the final against defending champions Western Australia.In a rematch of last year’s decider at the WACA, Victoria had their moments in a see-saw but couldn’t quite get the job done in an eventual nine-wicket defeat.Rather than be battle-scarred, they are hoping to take heed of the adversity experienced amid the cauldron as Victoria aims to chip away at WA’s stranglehold of the domestic competition.”The challenge is to reach the top of the mountain and get past WA. That’s the challenge for everyone,” Rogers said. “With a bit more experience…[we] might have been able to hang in a bit longer. It’s a young group and I think they’ll learn a lot out of it.”As Victoria stared down the barrel heading into day four, Rogers had a frank conversation with 20-year-old batter Campbell Kellaway who had helped spark Victoria’s season turnaround with a half-century against New South Wales in a comeback 69-run victory.His breakout season has him on the radar of the national selectors with Kellaway selected in the Australia A tour of New Zealand next month. But promoted to No.3 in the final, Kellaway was particularly scratchy on a green-tinged surface against WA’s strong attack as he mustered 6 off 23 balls in the first innings before looking somewhat overwhelmed late on day three in a painstaking 7 off 63 balls.”I spent a good 45 minutes with him, talking about these experiences,” Rogers said. “He’s figuring out answers to questions. He tried too hard this game. He was fighting so hard that he wasn’t giving himself a chance to score. He’s going to be a really important player for us for a number of years.”Ashley Chandrasinghe carried his bat for 46 off 280 balls: ‘It’s an extraordinary effort and he’s got attributes to build on’•Getty ImagesIn similar fashion to Kellaway, 21-year-old opener Ashley Chandrasinghe carried his bat in the first innings in a remarkable 280-ball stonewall worth 46 runs.It was a rearguard that polarised the public but made more meritorious with Chandrasinghe, in his Shield debut season, only making the line-up after veteran opener Travis Dean suffered an injury on the day before the match.Chandrasinghe received little support from his more senior players and also copped mocking applause from the typically rowdy WACA faithful. But he remained unruffled to produce an indefatigable batting effort that he can build on in the off-season.”There’s room for improvement in his game,” Rogers said. “He doesn’t want to play that style of cricket, he wants to be scoring runs.”It’s a measure of the man that he can bat a whole day. It’s an extraordinary effort and he’s got attributes to build on. That determination and to never quit is something in-built. I’m so proud of him.”A gallant Victoria remained in the contest largely due to a lionhearted allround performance from Sutherland, who further enhanced his growing reputation with a five-wicket haul and an aggressive 83 in the second innings. But it ultimately wasn’t enough although there is the sense that something is percolating within this emerging team.”It still bloody hurts we lost another final. I don’t want that to be a habit but we’re heading in the right direction,” Rogers said. “To win five games on the bounce is quite exceptional. They’ve played with discipline beyond their years and they had a lot of fun doing it. We are going to get better.”

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Víctor Cuesta chegou ao Botafogo em abril do ano passado e rapidamente caiu nas graças dos torcedores. Em entrevista concedida no Espaço Lonier na manhã desta quinta-feira, ele celebrou seu atual momento e afirmou que ainda precisa conquistar títulos para ser tornar ídolo do clube.

– Naquele momento, eu falei que não estava passando por um grande momento. Agora tenho que reconhecer que estou passando por um bom momento. Eu recuperei o futebol que eu queria. Agradeço ao Botafogo pela oportunidade, comissão técnica, meus companheiros e torcida pelo apoio.

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+Leonel Di Plácido chega ao Rio para assinar com Botafogo

– Ídolo eu acho que ainda falta muito. Eu tenho que conquistar títulos primeiro, para se Deus quiser me tornar ídolo. Tento fazer meu melhor, pensando no dia a dia, treino a treino e jogo a jogo. Então, vou continuar treinando para dar meu melhor dentro de campo.

+Botafogo x Flamengo: onde assistir, escalações e desfalques do jogo do Campeonato Carioca

Com Adryelson e Rafael suspensos, Cuesta terá a missão de comandar o sistema defensivo e conter os ataques rubro-negros no fim de semana. O zagueiro afirmou que os jogadores estão preparados para fazer um grande clássico em Brasília.

– Obviamente que um clássico é diferente. Mas nosso grupo encara todo jogo como se fosse uma final. Estamos nos preparando muito bem para fazer um grande jogo. Esperamos conseguir uma vitória para dar sequência ao nosso trabalho.Sabemos que o grupo do Flamengo é muito qualificado, praticamente tem três times de grandes jogadores. É se preparar e pensar em nós.

Botafogo e Flamengo se enfrentam no próximo sábado, às 18h, no Mané Garrincha, em partida válida pelo Campeonato Carioca.

أبدى رافينها، نجم نادي برشلونة، سعادته الكبيرة بفوز فريقه، أمس السبت على نظيره ليفانتي بالدوري الإسباني للدرجة الأولى، موجهًا إشادة خاصة إلى زميله في الفريق الكتالوني.

واستطاع برشلونة قلب تأخره بهدفين أمام ليفانتي إلى فوز مثير بثلاثة أهداف مقابل هدفين، ليحقق البلوجرانا فوزهم الثاني على التوالي.

تابع.. فليك يرفض الانسياق وراء انتقاد التحكيم أمام ليفانتي.. ويتعجب من سؤال بعد ريمونتادا برشلونة

كما استطاع يامال التسبب في هدف برشلونة الثالث والذي جاء بالخطأ عن طريق مدافع ليفانتي في الوقت بدل الضائع من الشوط الثاني.

وقال رافينها في تصريحات إلى قناة برشلونة الرسمية: ”ندرك صعوبة اللعب في مثل هذه الملاعب، لكننا نعلم أيضًا أنه إذا أردنا الفوز بالدوري، فإن تحقيق انتصارات كهذه في ملعب كهذا أمر بالغ الأهمية بالنسبة لنا”.

وأضاف: ”يستمتع الكثيرون بمشاهدة مبارياتنا حيث نعود في النتيجة وما إلى ذلك، لقد قلتها مرارًا وتكرارًا، أحاول أن أكون أفضل مما كنت عليه بالأمس، وعلى مدار المواسم، أسعى جاهدًا لأكون على نفس المستوى أو أفضل مما كنت عليه في الموسم السابق”.

وأوضح الدولي البرازيلي: ”نعم، الفوز مهم، في النهاية كلما حصدنا نقاطًا أكثر، زادت فرصنا في الفوز بالدوري”.

وعن لامين يامال، اختتم رافينها: ”لامين هو ما هو عليه، أنتم جميعًا تعلمون ذلك، لديه القدرة على تغيير مجرى المباراة، وفي النهاية، نثق به وبالفريق، هذا هو المهم”.