Category Uncategorized

Andrew Strauss has apologised unreservedly after a stray comment about Kevin Pietersen in the Sky TV box was inadvertently broadcasted

David Hopps05-Jul-2014Andrew Strauss, the former England captain, has made a shame-faced public apology to Kevin Pietersen after he was inadvertently caught on air describing him as a “c***” from the back of the TV commentary box at Lord’s.Strauss, part of the commentary team for the MCC’s bicentenary celebration match against the Rest of the World, thought he was off air, but the feed was still being broadcast on some channels and viewers using the Fox Sports app in Australia caught the expletive.It was not long before Strauss’ faux pas was being gossiped around the world with former England captain Adam Hollioake one of the first to exclaim with surprise on Facebook.”I apologise unreservedly, particularly to Kevin Pietersen,” Strauss said, as his error became public knowledge. “I am mortified and profusely sorry.”His co-commentator, Michael Atherton, another former England captain, remarked: “I think that’s covered it; let’s move on.” But there will be no moving on for a while as Pietersen’s supporters will find just cause to rail against the double standards they perceive to be at the heart of English cricket.Sky TV also felt obliged to apologise for Strauss’ stray remark – although only for the bad language. It tweeted: “Earlier comments were made during a break of play which were heard overseas. We apologise for the language used.”Two years ago, Pietersen famously incurred the ECB’s wrath by texting that Strauss was a “doos”, an Afrikaans word that strictly speaking means “box” but which has similar connotations to Strauss’ remark. Except some linguists might point out that “doos” can also be slang for idiot, whereas c*** pretty much leaves nothing to the imagination.Pietersen’s comment on Strauss came midway through a Test at Headingley against South Africa in 2012, and was made to a South African player who, whether by accident or design, allowed it to reach the public domain. The ECB saw it as evidence of an outright rebellion against an England captain; Strauss has written that he never entirely trusted Pietersen again after that point.Strauss, twice an Ashes-winning captain, retired following South Africa’s 2-0 win in that series. He reflected soon afterwards on the brouhaha in his autobiography, . He wrote: ‘For me, he had crossed the line. He seemed to be at best destabilising and at worst undermining our carefully cultivated team environment.”Both insults were, in essence, private communications that entered the public domain. The difference is that Pietersen and Strauss were team-mates in the first instance, charged with maintaining at least the pretence of unity.Pietersen’s comments effectively cost him his international career. He had to undergo a theatrical “process of reintegration” before he was allowed back into the England fraternity. Then he began to show impatience with the careworn captaincy of Alastair Cook, Strauss’ successor, during a demoralising 5-0 whitewash in Australia and he was removed for good at the end of the series with the ECB stating it wanted to rebuild the “team ethic and philosophy”.Paul Downton, the MD of England cricket, has since called Pietersen “a man of too many agendas” and claimed he did not have a single supporter in the side – a claim furiously dismissed by Pietersen.There were immediate calls from Pietersen supporters for Strauss to suffer the same fate. But Strauss has retired; such an outcome is impossible. ‘Then sack him from his Sky contract,’ will come the cry. Such a taste for revenge would make the response even more disproportionate, but modern life, with every dot and comma analysed on social media, is laced with a desire for blood.Predictably, Piers Morgan, chat-show host, former tabloid editor and Pietersen confidant, was the first to do just that. Prior to Strauss’ apology, he tweeted: “If Strauss story is true then he’ll have to be fired, surely? Or is a commentator calling @KP24 a ‘c**t’ on air acceptable @SkyCricket?”After all, Strauss himself axed KP from his England team for allegedly saying similar things about him that weren’t even broadcast.”That Pietersen and Strauss, despite their shared South African roots, do not get on is not news. Everybody knew as much. That a stray insult was made when Strauss presumed he was off air would also not normally be news. But any suspicion of double standards in this tawdry, overblown soap opera is news and, as such, Strauss’ remarks need to be made public.When Pietersen, to his horror, was outed in 2012, he tried to influence public opinion by issuing a fulsome apology on YouTube, only to make the ECB even more angry because of his presumption.Strauss will suffer his shame privately. There will be shame because he knows his public perception will have faltered as a result. There will be shame, too, because he made his slip during the MCC bicentenary match and because as a natural conservative, a proud believer in tradition, to have slipped up at Lord’s will feel even worse.He can no longer hold the moral high ground. Until today, it is a privileged position from where he has observed this whole, shoddy, tiresome business. He is now down in the gutter, wallowing around with the rest of us.

Twice in a row, Glenn Maxwell and David Miller made light work of a massive target, this time 140 runs off 64 balls between them

The Report by Sidharth Monga20-Apr-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
7:56

Maxwell and Miller – masters of the chase

Lightning has struck twice. After they made mockery of a 200-plus chase in their first match, Kings XI Punjab captain George Bailey said this was not going to happen every day, and that his bowlers needed to turn up. The bowlers failed to turn up again, but Glenn Maxwell and David Miller made light of another massive chase. The numbers there were staggering: between them Maxwell and Miller smashed 140 off 64 balls, smoked 12 sixes and reverse-hit and caressed eight fours. What made it better was that this came against the best defenders in the IPL: this was the first time Rajasthan Royals lost after posting 190 or more.Kings XI had got off to a sluggish start, their promotion of Wriddhiman Saha had backfired, and the asking rate was 10.5, to be maintained over 17 overs, when Maxwell walked. The ask would cross two a ball as soon as in the 10th over, and a struggling – by T20 standards – Cheteshwar Pujara would make it more difficult for Kings XI. Maxwell, though, turned it into a ‘me’ v ‘them’, farmed the strike to the tune of 45 balls to Pujara’s 23 in the partnership between them, and ran away with the game with 89 off 45.The innings was full of incredible hitting, preying on one considerably shorter side boundary and the short straight ones. He began by going after Kane Richardson in the fifth over, moments after Richardson had failed to latch onto an incredibly difficult return catch to his right. The first ball of the next over he smacked Pravin Tambe over square leg, and then eliminated – for the time being – the other big threat, James Faulkner. It began with the first ball of the over again as he flicked a low full toss for six, but he stunned Faulkner with the fifth ball of that seventh over. Faulkner had every reason to believe he had done Maxwell in with a slower bouncer, but from almost halfway down the pitch Faulkner adjusted and upper-cut him for six.Tambe and Rajat Bhatia pulled things back with their non-turning legrollers, and not much pace to work with. The asking rate shot past 12, and Bhatia began the 11th over with fielders deep on the leg side, and three men behind and around point in the circle. This is when Maxwell in the Mirror made his appearance.Two reverse-sweeps either side of short third man and one reverse-flick over cover later, Maxwell had gone well past his fifty, and had also brought the asking rate back under control. The next over from Dhawal Kulkarni had a similarly strong leg-side field, and Maxwell produced his touch play again. One upper-cut, one flick, and two gentle pushes past the man at cover brought him 16 runs. And when Maxwell manhandled Bhatia for two sixes in the next over, time had come for Royals to go back to the big guns.On came Richardson, too much elevation got Maxwell, another century was missed, and Rajasthan were breathing again. They had little clue they were about to jump from the frying pan into the fire, the fire of Miller’s 51 off 19. Miller came in with 66 required off 36, which became 60 off 30 with a canny Stuart Binny over, and three quiet deliveries from Tambe compounded it even further, but now Miller began to pick his deliveries to hit. Even though Tambe bowled the next ball short, Miller smashed him over long-off for six. Pujara sort of took care of the next over with a four and three, and now Kings XI needed 37 from the last three.Richardson and Faulkner had one each left. Royals went to Kulkarni for the third. They could have gone to Binny, who had cut off all pace, and had conceded just four in his only over. They could have kept Kulkarni back for later, and given him a slightly softer scenario if Faulkner had bowled the 18th and got the asking rate even higher. But these decisions have to be made fast, and Kulkarni it was. Kulkarni’s idea was right: he was going full, he was going low, but Miller was murderous. Kulkarni didn’t miss his yorkers by much, but Miller hit him for four merciless sixes to end the contest then and there.Bailey will be pleased he has been proven wrong that such chases don’t come about every day, but he will want more from his bowlers and fielders. The bowling was listless, they dropped two catches too, and Sanju Samson and Shane Watson feasted on them. Mitchell Johnson, the leader of the attack, looked dull again, bowling just the one bouncer, with which incidentally he hit the batsman. Looking back, they will think that they had triumphed in not letting them score big fifties, but Bailey is right, these chases don’t happen every day. Except when Maxwell and Miller are at their best.

Imrul Kayes said he had to fine-tune his mental make-up more than his batting technique to forge a comeback to the Bangladesh Test team after more than two years

Mohammad Isam24-Jan-2014Imrul Kayes said he had to fine-tune his mental make-up more than his batting technique to forge a comeback to the Bangladesh Test team after more than two years. Imrul is one of two openers picked in the 14-man squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka starting in Dhaka on Monday.Imrul was not expecting the call-up to the Test squad and was preparing for the National Cricket League, the season’s second first-class competition, after having played the Bangladesh Cricket League earlier in the year.”Actually I was not even too sure if I would do well in the Bangladesh Cricket League, but I had targeted to play well in the National Cricket League,” Imrul said. “I was very serious in the Dhaka Premier League as I felt that it is a big tournament from our point of view. I was eager to perform there, and I did decently.”Perhaps this is the change in his mentality as he began focusing more on domestic cricket, keen to put in the big scores, instead of paying too much attention on getting back into the senior team.Shamsur Rahman is the likely candidate to make his Test debut at the Shere Bangla National Stadium but, having received the surprise call-up, Imrul is pushing his case too. He has a century and a half-century in his last five innings, enough to keep him excited that he might get the nod to open with Tamim again.”I had made some technical changes but, importantly, I changed my mentality that is required to play Test cricket,” Imrul said. “I had to put in a lot of hard work and that is the reason I could be successful. Obviously it feels nice to be back again but the enjoyment would be bigger if I get a chance in the Test matches.”Like any other person, I was also going through the ups and downs of life. But I had the belief that I can make a comeback if I can play some good innings. And I have done that. I am always ready to grab the chance if I can return to the national team on the back of some good form.”But Imrul’s Test record isn’t too encouraging. He averages 17.15 in 16 Tests since 2008 and lost his place in the Test side after the series against West Indies in 2011. Despite the below-par personal record, Imrul is one half of Bangladesh’s most successful opening pair. But his poor personal form caught up, and the selectors decided to try the likes of Nazimuddin, Junaid Siddique, Jahurul Islam, Shahriar Nafees and Anamul Haque instead.Imrul has batted decently in the first-class competitions over the last two years, and has peaked at the right time, notching an average of more than 74 in the Bangladesh Cricket League this season. He has also scored 655 runs at 43.66 in the Dhaka Premier Division that concluded in December last year.At the same time, Imrul also had to correct the balance in his batting stance and while playing certain shots, and he took the help of a senior coach. Like any other Bangladesh cricketer dropped from the national team, Imrul, too, had to deal with the lack of proper practice facilities at the club and division level. However, it was not enough of a deterrent for a man keen to make the comeback.”I worked with [BCB’s game development manager Nazmul Abedeen] Fahim sir, as I had some problem with my balance. Now, as that is removed, I am batting more comfortably and easily. When you are batting well, you can play any stroke. He told me that if my batting is in the correct order, I can play any stroke. It becomes easier that way.”You usually don’t get facilities that the national team does in other places in the country. Despite that, whenever I got a chance I tried to complete my individual practice at the Mirpur indoor facilities, or the National Cricket Academy.”

The South African half of the four-match Twenty20 home and away series between these two teams has arrived but the promise it could have been accompanied with, has not

The Preview by Firdose Moonda19-Nov-2013

Match factsWednesday, November 20, 2013
Start time 1800 local (1600GMT)Big PictureThe South African half of the four-match Twenty20 home and away series between these two teams has arrived but the promise it could have been accompanied with, has not. Pakistan were outplayed in the UAE, in both matches, although the result of the second’s suggested it was much closer than it really was.Batting collapses at the top and tail of their innings have left Pakistan with plenty of repair work to do. They spent two days after their arrival in South Africa training at the Wanderers but decided to take the day before the match off. Still, they’ve had more preparation time than South Africa, who only regrouped on Tuesday.South Africa could afford to take the extra day off. They don’t have many areas of concern with a batting order that is settling into its roles and bowlers firing even in conditions that are unfamiliar to them. Their main conundrum ahead of the match has been caused by a case of too much choice and they will have to decide who to leave out.While the hosts will aim for consolidation of the gains they have made in the shortest format with an eye on the No. 1 ranking, the visiting team will focus on rectifying their mistakes, the weather could have other plans. Rain is forecast throughout Wednesday for Johannesburg.Form guide(Last five completed games, most recent first)
Pakistan LLWWW
South Africa WWLWWIn the spotlightPakistan’s batting has been their Achilles’ Heel throughout the series against South Africa and it’s not going to get any easier for them. The conditions and the opponent’s attack on their home turf will mean Pakistan’s line-up have to brace themselves against the short ball. The Wanderers track will facilitate good bounce and carry, Dale Steyn and co will be baying for blood and Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez will have to have made swift improvements to play the pull shot. All three have been susceptible to getting out when it’s banged in short and will have to ensure they are better equipped for what could be a barrage in South Africa.Team newsWith Mohammad Irfan ruled out of the tour, Pakistan will have to look for other quick options. Junaid Khan and Sohail Tanvir will do the bulk of the seam-bowling duties and they will have to make a decision on whether to include Anwar Ali – who also offers a bit with the bat down the order – or hand Bilawal Bhatti, who has only played 10 T20 games domestically, a debut.Shoaib Malik will not be able to bolster the middle order after he was ruled out of the series with a finger injury. That will open the door for either Umar Amin or Asad Shafiq. There’s not too much else Pakistan can do. Hafeez will likely not fancy opening against Steyn which may give Nasir Jamshed another opportunity. Abdul Razzaq has also been ruled out of the series with a hamstring niggle.Pakistan: (likely) 1 Nasir Jamshed, 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Mohammad Hafeez (capt), 4 Sohaib Maqsood 5 Asad Shafiq/Umar Amin, 6 Umar Akmal (wk), 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Sohail Tanvir, 9 Saeed Ajmal, 10 Junaid Khan, 11 Bilawal Bhatti/Anwar AliWith an unchanged squad, South Africa will use this as another opportunity to try different combinations. If they choose to retain Henry Davids, he should bat higher up the order than he did in Dubai. Hashim Amla may be rested as a result. JP Duminy could slot back into the middle order but it may be difficult to make room for Morne Morkel unless one of Wayne Parnell or Lonwabo Tsotsobe sits out. On surfaces that are unlikely to offer much to the spinners, South Africa my opt for the holding spinner in Aaron Phangiso.South Africa: (likely) 1 Henry Davids/Hashim Amla 2 Quinton de Kock (wk) 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 AB de Villiers, 5 JP Duminy 6 David Miller, 7 Ryan McLaren, 8 Wayne Parnell/Morne Morkel, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Lonwabo Tsotsobe 11 Imran Tahir/Aaron PhangisoStats and trivia Despite a lean patch in Tests and ODIs, Faf du Plessis is the sixth-highest run-scorer in T20s this year, 76 runs behind the leader, Ahmed Shehzad. The Wanderers has a reputation for bounce and carry but has also provided some of the best surfaces for batsmen. It has a fairly even record in T20s with the team batting first winning nine of the 20 matches played here.Quotes”When team management decided to rest a couple of the senior players, it provided opportunities and I think that a lot of the players have responded positively to that.”
believes the absence of the likes of Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis and the rotation of bowlers has helped South Africa explore its depth.”We are just resting.”

Darren Stevens hit a sumptuous unbeaten 205 to edge Kent over the line for a two-wicket Championship win and condemn champions Lancashire to their first defeat of the campaign

27-Sep-2013Kent 260 (Key 134, Harmison 59) and 418 for 8 (Stevens 205*, Northeast 70, Ball 69) beat Lancashire 284 (Prince 134) and 393 for 5 dec (Prince 108, Horton 106, Agathangelou 51) by two wickets
ScorecardDarren Stevens flayed a double-century to complete Kent’s second-highest fourth-innings chase•Getty Images

Darren Stevens hit a sumptuous unbeaten 205 to edge Kent over the line for a two-wicket Championship win and condemn champions Lancashire to their first defeat of the campaign. Chasing an improbable 418 for victory, Kent eased home with 14.2 overs to spare to record their maiden win on Kentish soil this summer and the second-highest successful fourth-innings pursuit in the club’s first-class history.Stevens, who faces an ICC hearing in the new year for failing to report an illegal approach during this year’s Bangladesh Premier League campaign, proved unstoppable to a Lancashire attack without their three leading wicket-takers. Stevens’ 218-ball innings included 21 fours and three sixes and was his fourth three-figure score in the Championship this year – and it helped Kent avoid an unwanted record of not securing a Championship win at home.Resuming on their overnight total of 32 for 1 – which was effectively two wickets down after Rob Key fractured his left thumb whilst in the field on day three – their position soon worsened when they lost Brendan Nash to the ninth ball of the day, caught behind after an attempted push-drive against Kyle Jarvis to make it 39 for 2.Five overs later Kent’s second top-scorer of the first innings Ben Harmison went back only to offer no shot to a Tom Smith offcutter that trapped him leg before.With little to lose, Sam Northeast went for his shots to post an attractive 54-ball 50 full of rasping drives and with eight fours. Stevens, Kent’s player of the season, marched in to follow Northeast’s lead as the fourth-wicket pair added an eye-catching 82 in 17.1 overs before Northeast (70) was trapped leg-before on the back-foot by a Luke Procter inswinger.Stevens reached a 60-ball 50 before lunch and moved through the gears after the break to add 71 in 17.1 overs with Sam Billings (24) before the understudy keeper edged a back-foot drive against Smith to be caught behind.Adam Ball, playing only his second game of the season, joined forces with Stevens and notched a career-best 69 as the pair posted 148 in 34.2 overs for the sixth wicket. Having reached a 55-ball 50, his first in Championship cricket, Ball perished to the second new ball, leg-before when playing back in defence to Smith.Home skipper James Tredwell went soon after when nudging one to second slip off Oliver Newby and the alarm bells rang for Kent supporters when Mark Davies followed without scoring when Newby trapped him lbw on the back foot. The injured Key then sidled in to add a vital three runs from 11 balls, allowing Stevens to hit the winning boundary off Newby.

MatériaMais Notícias

Atuar na Premiere League é um sonho para qualquer jogador de futebol. A competição é considerada a mais disputada entre as principais ligas do mundo. Mas imagina ser um jovem e depois de ser contratado por um grande clube inglês, estar tão perto de dividir o gramado com os ídolos que antes eram só vistos no videogame, mas por condições impostas pela associação de futebol ser impedido de jogar no futebol da terra da rainha. Situação chata, né? Alguns brasileiros já passaram por isso e acabaram sendo emprestados para vários clubes, e um dos clubes que vem se aproveitando dessa situação de mercado é o Fluminense.

Neste sábado, o volante Allan estreou com a camisa do Fluminense. O jogador revelado pela base do Internacional não tinha atuado ainda em campos brasileiros profissionalmente. O brasileiro é uma espécie de xodó de Jurgen Klopp, o técnico alemão já elogiou Allan algumas vezes mas não pode contar com o jogador, que ainda não conseguiu o visto pra atuar na Inglaterra. Desde 2015 nos Reds, Allan já foi emprestado para uma série de clubes, além do Fluminense, o meia já atuou por: Eintracht Frankfurt (Alemanha), SJK (Finlândia), saint-Truiden (Bélgica), Hertha Berlim (Alemanha) e Apollon Limassol (Chipre).

– É um jogador que lembra um pouco o Caio Henrique. Foi jovem para a Europa, tem um conhecimento tático muito bom e pode ser aproveitado não só no meio, mas em outras opções também. Estou muito satisfeito com a chegada dele. Jogador de nível técnico muito alto, de capacidade física boa. O Fluminense conseguiu trazer dois jogadores de nível europeu, dois jovens que reforçam muito nosso elenco para a temporada – Fernando Diniz já destacou futebol de Allan, que tem um contrato de empréstimo de apenas seis meses com o Fluminense.

RelacionadasFluminenseFluminense conquista Copa Xerém Sub-16 após vencer o BotafogoFluminense23/02/2019FluminenseFlu obtém liminar, reduz penhora de TV e quita mais dívidas com o elencoFluminense23/02/2019Núm3ros da bol4Ganso lidera estatísticas em sua estreia pelo FluminenseNúm3ros da bol423/02/2019

Outro jogador que foi impedido de atuar na Inglaterra por alguns anos foi Wellington Silva. Cria de Xerém, o jogador foi vendido para o Arsenal por R$ 10 milhões, quando ainda tinha apenas 17 anos e com a moral de ser promessa do Campeão Brasileiro de 2010. Sem conseguir o visto, o atacante também rodou no futebol europeu. Foram cinco clubes no futebol espanhol: Levante, Alcoyano, Ponferradina, Real Murcia e Almería. Quando finalmente conseguiu o visto, Wellington já tinha perdido toda relevância para os Gunners que resolveram não utilizar o jogador, foi quando o jogador retornou para o Fluminense.

Para conseguir o visto, a associação de futebol exige um número mínimo de jogos pela seleção para ter visto de trabalho. Esse número vária de acordo com a posição do país no ranking da FIFA. Como o Brasil está entre os dez melhores colocados do ranking, o mínimo exigido são 30% dos jogos nos últimos 24 meses. O jogador também pode recorrer apresentando argumentos para sua liberação.

تدخل تشافي هيرنانديز، المدير الفني لفريق برشلونة الإسباني، في مفاوضات إيلكاي جوندوجان لاعب وسط مانشستر سيتي لإقناعه بالتوقيع للفريق الكتالوني.

وينتهي عقد جوندوجان مع مانشستر سيتي في نهاية شهر يونيو الجاري، ولم يصل بعد لاتفاق للتجديد مع فريقه رغم سعي ناديه لذلك.

وبحسب صحيفة “سبورت” الإسبانية، حرص تشافي على التواصل مع جوندوجان من أجل إقناع اللاعب الألماني بالانضمام لبرشلونة.

يوضح التقرير أن تشافي أبلغ جوندوجان بأنه سيكون بلا منازع أساسيًا في الفريق، لأنه يعتقد أنه يمكن أن يحتل أي من المراكز الأربعة في مركز خط الوسط، وأيضًا في المراكز الأكثر تقدمًا، ويرى كذلك أنه الأنسب لخلافة سيرجيو بوسكيتس.

اقرأ أيضًا | تقارير توضح موقف باريس سان جيرمان من ضم برناردو سيلفا وجوندوجان

ويشير التقرير إلى أن تشافي أجرى ثلاث محادثات على الأقل مع جوندوجان وقال له: “لقد لعبت في فرق كبيرة مثل دورتموند ومانشستر سيتي، تحت إشراف المدرب بيب جوارديولا، ولكن عندما تصل إلى برشلونة، سترى أنه لا علاقة له بما جربته، برشلونة مختلف، إنه الأكبر”.

ولفت التقرير النظر إلى أن كلمات تشافي مع جوندوجان كانت مماثلة لحديثه مع روبرت ليفاندوفسكي الذي انضم لبرشلونة من بايرن ميونخ.

وبعد المحادثات الشفهية التي بدأت منذ أسابيع مع جوندوجان، يرغب برشلونة في أن يكن قادرًا على إعلان توقيعه رسميًا لثلاث مواسم، في الأسبوع المقبل، بعد نهائي دوري أبطال أوروبا الذي سيلعب فيه جوندوجان مع مانشستر سيتي ضد إنتر ميلان، وسيكون التوقيع معلقًا فقط حتى يجتاز الألماني الفحص الطبي.

Franchises are working to get their overseas players to return to India, most of whom left the country on Saturday

Nagraj Gollapudi10-May-20254:30

Moody: CSK need to revisit their magic recipe

The BCCI has begun taking steps towards resuming IPL 2025 in May following the announcement of a ceasefire between India and Pakistan that came into effect at 1130 GMT (1700 IST and 1630 PKT) on Saturday.”The war has stopped. In the new situation BCCI office bearers, officials and IPL governing council, will discuss the matter tomorrow (Sunday) and take a call,” BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla told PTI Videos. “We will see which can be the best schedule to complete the tournament.”ESPNcricinfo has learned that all ten franchises are trying to recall overseas players and coaching staff back to India as plans are afoot to restart the tournament as soon as possible. It is understood the IPL could start as soon as the following weekend – around May 15 – subject to Indian government permission.The BCCI had to suspend the tournament for a week on Friday following the escalation of cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan that led to the abandonment of the match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals midway through the first innings in Dharamsala on May 8.The immediate challenge for the franchises is to try and bring back their overseas contingent, most of whom left India between Friday and Saturday. Several franchises have reached out to players and staff asking them to be ready to fly back to India. Some players and support staff who are in transit have been asked to halt further travel for the time being. One of the franchises even asked its coaching staff to postpone travel out of India as they were getting ready to depart on Sunday.Related

• IPL 2025 to resume on May 17, final to be played on June 3

• Injury puts Josh Hazlewood's return in doubt if IPL resumes

• RCB captain Rajat Patidar recovering from finger injury

• Overseas players begin to leave even as IPL prepares Plan B for resumption in May

• IPL 2025 suspended 'for one week' amid India-Pakistan border tensions

Some teams are more fortunate than others in this regard: only two Gujarat Titans overseas players – Jos Buttler and Gerald Coetzee – have left the country and the franchise is trying to bring them back.While the franchises remained optimistic earlier on Saturday that most overseas players would return if the tournament were to resume in May, they acknowledged there would be no guarantees if the season extended beyond May 25, when the IPL 2025 final was scheduled to be played in Kolkata. That’s because of bilateral commitments for several players, as well as the World Test Championship (WTC) final between Australia and South Africa, starting on June 11 at Lord’s.A total of 57 matches had been completed in IPL 2025, and the 58th was going on May 8 between PBKS and DC in Dharamsala when it was called off after 10.1 overs of play. The IPL has not yet taken a call on whether that match will be replayed.There are 12 league matches and four playoffs remaining in the season, and one possibility is that these fixtures could be played in three southern cities: Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad. Seven teams remain in the race for the playoffs, with only Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) out of contention.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Vaivém deste sábado foi agitado, com muitas especulações sobre transações no mercado do futebol. O São Paulo demonstrou interesse em Tiago Volpi, goleiro que está no México. Já Marcelo Moreno pode pintar no Corinthians e Cláudio Winck no Vasco. Confira as principais notícias do Vaivém!

RelacionadasVascoCom Winck e Cáceres, Vasco tenta espantar ‘fantasma’ da lateral direitaVasco22/12/2018Atlético MineiroLeonardo Silva é confirmado no Galo até o fim do Mineiro 2019Atlético Mineiro22/12/2018Futebol InternacionalVÍDEO: Veja grandes treinadores livres no mercado do futebol europeuFutebol Internacional22/12/2018

Stuart Meaker has been drafted into the England squad as cover for theinjured Steven Finn.

George Dobell03-Nov-2012

Stuart Meaker has been drafted into the England squad as cover for the injured Steven Finn. Meaker, the 23-year-old Surrey fast bowler, will fly to India on Saturday and is expected to play in the final warm-up game before the first Test, subject to obtaining a visa.Finn suffered a thigh strain in the opening overs of the first game of the tour against India A. While England are yet to announce the results of the subsequent scans, the call-up of Meaker suggests Finn is most unlikely to be fit for the first Test in Ahmedabad on November 15. Graham Onions replaced Finn in the side for the second warm-up game, against Mumbai A, but England have now concluded they require reinforcement.It is understood England are keen to rest Stuart Broad for the final warm-up game, against Haryana at Ahmadabad from November 8, before the Test. Broad also missed the first warm-up game, which raises questions about his match fitness.While Meaker, whose international experience is limited to just two ODIs, does not possess the height of Finn, he does bowl at a similar pace. He remains the fastest bowler recorded at England’s National Cricket Performance Centre at Loughborough.Meaker’s South African background – he was born in Pietermaritzburg – will revive claims that England are reliant on imported talent, but his family moved to England when he was just 12 and he has progressed through the Surrey system. He was Surrey’s leading wicket-taker in the 2012 Championship season – he claimed 44 wickets at 22.56 apiece in 10 games with a strike-rate of a wicket every 38.7 deliveries – and has the ability to swing the new and old ball both ways.Quite how match fit he is at present remains to be seen. He has been resting since the end of the English domestic season over a month ago and only returned to fitness training at Lord’s in the last few days.Whatever happens to Finn, Meaker will remain in India until meeting up with other members of the England Performance Programme squad who leave the UK on November 19.