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Former England allrounder Andrew Flintoff has signed with Brisbane Heat for the upcoming Big Bash League season

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2014

Former England allrounder Andrew Flintoff has signed with Brisbane Heat for the upcoming Big Bash League season, becoming the third foreign player to join the side after New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori and West Indies legspinner Samuel Badree.”I’m excited to be coming back to Australia and especially to Brisbane which has always been a favourite spot of mine to play,” Flintoff said. “[The coach] Stuart Law and I have had a few conversations and I’m clear on what we’re looking to achieve in the competition. The Heat squad has some exciting talent and I’m looking forward to catching up with Dan Vettori again.”Flintoff, who turns 37 in December, had previously agreed to play for Queensland in the interstate Big Bash competition in 2010, but was forced into retirement due to a knee injury. At the time he had planned to continue in the limited-overs formats, but The Oval Test against Australia proved to be his last professional match until the recent English season, when he made a surprise return for Lancashire in the NatWest T20 Blast.Flintoff only played three matches due to further injury setbacks, but thumped an eight-ball 20 in the final against Warwickshire, although he could not haul his team over the line.”I really enjoyed my T20 season with Lancs and having the opportunity to keep playing is something I am very pleased about,” Flintoff said. “It’s going to be great heading out to Brisbane and getting into the swing of things for the BBL in December. I’ve seen from afar how the BBL has evolved so quickly to become a world class competition and it’s a challenge that I am certainly up for.”Despite an international career spanning 11 years, Flintoff played only seven T20Is. Overall in Twenty20 cricket, he has scored three half-centuries, and picked up 36 wickets from 32 matches.The Heat coach Stuart Law welcomed having a “champion fella” in the team, and said Flintoff’s vast experience boded well for the side.”I’ve told Fred we signed him to win games of cricket, so that means we want him bowling 140km/hr, hitting sixes and using his experience around the group to get the job done,” Law said. “He’s an enormous competitor and so I know he is coming out for the right reasons.”The Brisbane fans will quickly discover he’s a champion fella and I’m sure they will love having him with the team. He’s a wonderful person and we’re looking forward to having Fred and his family with us at the Heat over the summer.”

Just two days after posting the highest total at Harare Sports Club, 350 against Zimbabwe, Australia’s line-up were at it again, against a much stronger pack

The Report by Firdose Moonda27-Aug-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details South Africa needed 91 runs from 77 balls when AB de Villiers, with 91 to his name and cramp slicing through his hamstring, walked across his crease, got down on one knee and scooped James Faulkner over his left-shoulder onto the open stands for six. In that one shot, all the questions about South Africa’s ability to take on the best were answered.De Villiers saw his childhood friend Faf du Plessis record his first ODI century in his 51st game, scored a hundred of his own and was there to scamper the winning single when JP Duminy called for it with 21 balls remaining.The seven-wicket win in a 300-plus chase was as comprehensive as South Africa could have wanted after Australia controlled most of first half. Aaron Finch’s fourth ODI century saw them through the middle-over squeeze and set up for a strong finish. Australia took 93 runs off the last 10 overs to post 327 but South Africa did not need a similarly swift response. De Villiers and du Plessis shared a record 206-run third-wicket stand, the highest at Harare Sports Club and the highest for South Africa against Australia, to break the back of the chase and put bowling issues on the backburner for now.Both teams would be disappointed with their performance in the field, Australia more than South Africa, because they put down two chances as well as bled runs. Mitchell Johnson let de Villiers off the hook in his follow through when he was on 78 and George Bailey put him down at point on 85. Add that to the knowledge that none of their bowlers held an end and Australia will have some scrutinising to do.Johnson was over-reliant on his short ball, which lacked its usual venom on a surface without much in it. Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson and James Faulkner also struggled to find the right length and the absence of a specialist spinner, with Nathan Lyon benched, was shown up especially against Imran Tahir’s returns.Tahir was South Africa’s best performer with the ball and put the brakes on Australia after Finch and Phillip Hughes gave them a start of 62 runs in the first 10 overs. He removed both Hughes and Mitchell Marsh in his first spell which formed part of a ten-over period in which South Africa gave away just 32 runs and one boundary.That proved vital because they lacked control later on as Finch and Bailey combined to threaten a late burst. Finch went from 80 to a century in 11 balls while Bailey tore into Morne Morkel and Ryan McLaren short balls to leave de Villiers without a banker for the death. Wayne Parnell, who conceded 46 runs in six overs thanks largely to a misdirected line down the leg-side, was used in the final over and cost de Villiers 20 runs. But all that was made to seem minimal when South Africa were at the crease.Quinton de Kock and Hashim Ama were merciless on width in the opening passages and wiped away 44 runs in seven overs before Australia grabbed the upper-hand. Amla was well caught by Steven Smith at point and de Kock top-edged a pull to deep square leg to leave South Africa stuttering.But de Villiers and du Plessis played partly with the watchfulness they employed in the Adelaide Test match almost three years ago and partly with aggression to keep South Africa in the hunt. They ran well between the wickets even when de Villiers was in so much discomfort he needed on-field treatment, they punished anything on a length and did not take risks until de Villiers offered his twin chances.The two drops may have been the turning point because as Australia’s confidence waned, South Africa’s swelled. Du Plessis maiden ODI hundred came up off 95 balls with a crack through the covers, de Villiers’ followed two balls later with a loft over mid-off and as they partnership grew to a double-century, South Africa only had victory in sight even though du Plessis was not there at the end to see it. Fittingly, de Villiers was.

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A luta para que o sonho da Copa América não escorra entre os dedos fará a Seleção Brasileira se reencontrar com um adversário que traz lembranças recentes para lá de indigestas. Há três anos, a equipe canarinha via a vaga à próxima fase ficar nas mãos da seleção do Peru (literalmente).

No duelo de 12 de junho de 2016, pela Copa América Centenário, Ruidíaz usou o braço e estufou a rede para os peruanos. Algumas coisas mudaram de lá para cá. A atual edição conta com o auxílio do VAR. já o árbitro uruguaio Andrés Cunha conversou com o auxiliar e quarto árbitro e, após quatro minutos de espera, equivocadamente, validou o gol que eliminou o Brasil comandado por Dunga.

Entretanto, três anos depois, o panorama do duelo traz semelhanças para o Brasil (a começar por ter uma vitória e um empate). Também em seu segundo ciclo, Tite não desfruta da unanimidade que outrora já tinha. A pressão se acentuará caso a Seleção quebre a tradição de vencer o torneio como anfitriã.

Tite ainda traz entre seus titulares remanescentes da eliminação vexatória. São nove, sendo quatro que começaram aquela partida: Alisson, Daniel Alves, Filipe Luís e Philippe Coutinho (veja abaixo a lista dos remanescentes).

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Quatro atletas que atuaram naquele jogo seguem como titulares com Tite

A atual Seleção Brasileira se depara ainda com o mesmo obstáculo interno de 2016: mostrar que pode ir além de Neymar. À época, o Barcelona anunciou que liberaria o camisa 10 apenas para a Rio-2016. Desta vez, o jogador de 27 anos foi cortado devido a uma lesão.

O técnico ainda lidará com outro desafio. Mantido após a eliminação no Mundial-2018, Ricardo Gareca trouxe para a Copa América muitos dos jogadores que atuaram na vitória por 1 a 0. Além de Ruidíaz seguir como alternativa, nomes como Gallese, Trauco, Yotún, Tapia, Cueva, Andy Polo, Flores e Guerrero continuam na seleção peruana.

A luta da Seleção Brasileira para reencontrar-se com seu futebol passa por virar a página definitivamente de um fantasma. Cabe aos comandados de Tite saberem em campo contar uma nova história.

REMANESCENTES DA COPA AMÉRICA CENTENÁRIO DE 2016

ALISSON

Titular absoluto de Tite, o goleiro era questionado na meta da Seleção Brasileira no torneio. Ele vinha de uma falha clamorosa contra o Equador, mas foi “salvo” pela arbitragem que, equivocadamente, anulou o gol e garantiu o empate em 0 a 0.

DANIEL ALVES

Capitão do Brasil nesta edição, já era titular sob o comando de Dunga. Vinha tendo desempenho bom, mas não evitou que Ruidíaz surgisse na área e desviasse com a mão para estufar a rede.

FILIPE LUÍS

Assim como na atual convocação, estava “bancado” pelo treinador. Tinha bons momentos ofensivamente, mas, no segundo tempo, deu brecha para Andy Polo avançar como quis pela direita, chegar à linha de fundo e cruzar até Ruidíaz concluir.

PHILIPPE COUTINHO

Esperança de qualidade da equipe comandada por Tite, o meia teve um início promissor na partida realizada em Boston. Contudo, aos poucos foi caindo de produção.

MIRANDA

Atualmente opção de Tite, o defensor era titular no duelo contra o Peru em 2016. Ele também se deixou envolver pela marcação e abriu caminho para a jogada decisiva da vitória peruana.

CASEMIRO

Assim como no ciclo de Tite, era titular absoluto em 2016. No entanto, estava cumprindo suspensão diante do Peru.

WILLIAN

Escolhido para ser o substituto de Neymar na atual edição da Copa América, foi outro jogador designado como titular da partida contra o Peru na edição de 2016. Também teve atuação oscilante.

EDERSON

O goleiro não entrou em campo nos três jogos da Seleção em 2016. Hoje, segue como alternativa a Alisson.

MARQUINHOS

O zagueiro do PSG, que estava entre os convocados de Dunga por ser um dos jogadores com idade olímpica, atualmente é titular de Tite.

ELIMINAÇÃO CAUSOU MUDANÇAS NA SELEÇÃO

A frase “se perder, sou demitido”, proferida por Tite ao falar sobre a disputa da Copa América, tem amparo especialmente pelos desdobramentos na Seleção Brasileira após a eliminação em 2016. Dias após a derrota por 1 a 0 para o Peru, a CBF oficializou a demissão de Dunga do cargo de treinador.

Gilmar Rinaldi também foi afastado do cargo de diretor de seleções da CBF.

À época em seu segundo ciclo (já comandara os canarinhos no Mundial de 2010), Dunga vinha de resultados pouco expressivos em sua nova chance.

Além de a derrota para os peruanos render à Seleção uma incomum eliminação na primeira fase (feito que não ocorria desde a edição de 1987), as Eliminatórias para a Copa do Mundo não traziam um início muito animador para a equipe.

Sob o comando de Dunga, o Brasil também amargava a sexta colocação na busca pela vaga do Mundial-2018.

Após a chegada de Tite, a Seleção engatou uma sequência de vitórias. O fato de garantir a classificação antecipada credenciou o técnico a seguir no cargo após a Copa.

NO PERU, OTIMISMO É POR ‘REPETIÇÃO DE HISTÓRIA’

As lembranças da noite daquele 12 de junho de 2016 também contribuem para contagiar os jogadores do Peru às vésperas do reencontro com a Seleção Brasileira. Um dos jogadores que atuaram na Copa América Centenário, Yoshimar Yotún contou suas lembranças sobre o duelo vencido por 1 a 0:

– Eu me lembro da partida contra o Brasil que eu entrei. Foi uma partida boa. Espero ter mais oportunidade e que a partida termine como nos Estados Unidos. Vamos tratar de fazer o que sabemos, de gerar, trabalhar com nossas forças e fazer um bom jogo contra o Brasil.

‘Encontramos um gol meio polêmico, mas nos deu a classificação’, lembra Yotún

Na partida, Yotún foi lançado por Ricardo Gareca no lugar de Balbín. A equipe, que já havia subido de produção na partida, chegou ao gol logo depois, de maneira irregular.

Questionado sobre a possibilidade de a Seleção Brasileira ver o jogo com ares de “revanche” devido à polêmica, Yotún afirmou:

– Não sei, creio que sim, se fosse ao contrário obviamente teria isso de ter perdido com um gol como todos sabem – e, em seguida, valorizou o desempenho peruano:

– Neste jogo fomos muito bem, defendemos bem. E, nas ocasiões que tivemos, tratamos de terminá-las, o que temos que fazer. Encontramos com um gol meio polêmico, mas nos deu a classificação.

Além disto, mostrou expectativa sobre o duelo:

– É sempre lindo enfrentar uma seleção de alto nível, espero que as coisas nos saiam favoráveis e que a gente siga avançando.

O NASCIMENTO DE UMA NOVA SAFRA

COM A PALAVRA

‘Aquela vitória mudou rumo da seleção peruana’

JOSÉ LUIS SALDAÑA

Repórter do Depor (PER)

Por mais que tenha chamado atenção o tema do gol de mão do Ruidíaz, aquela vitória do Peru sobre o Brasil foi muito importante para dar um rumo definitivo à seleção.

Graças ao desempenho na Copa América, o técnico Ricardo Gareca abriu espaço para firmar uma geração. Nomes como Edison Flores, Andy Polo e Trauco se firmaram de vez. Tanto que, após um início ruim nas Eliminatórias, os peruanos consolidaram seu retorno ao Mundial.

O atual grupo vem ainda melhor. Não só pela motivação da vitória sobre a Bolívia. A equipe está há quatro anos com Gareca. Conseguiu maior ordem tática e conta com o poderio ofensivo de Farfán, Cueva e Guerrero em alta.

Os peruanos darão trabalho à Seleção Brasileira. A esperança é de um jogo acirrado.

OverviewThe World T20 is UAE’s return to big time cricket after 18 years, and although they have had to continue on the back of semi-professional cricketers, they have been pulling their weight in Associates cricket over the last 12 months.They were the fourth team to qualify for the World T20 in last November’s qualifier in the UAE, after losing to Nepal in the third/fourth place playoff. They have also qualified for the 2015 World Cup after finishing runners-up in the qualification tournament in New Zealand earlier this year.It has been a successful turnaround under Aaqib Javed who joined in April 2012 and vowed to ensure qualification in the Under-19, T20 and 50-over World Cups. He has delivered on all three fronts through a combination of diligent fitness and training planning plus the commitment from the players.UAE’s batsmen have the ability to put pressure on good bowling attacks, but at times they need to curb their strokeplay. This all-out aggression with the bat is possibly their approach. They seem to bat around one or two of the senior batsmen, ensuring the run-rate is always up.Success for the UAE team will be the perfect dose ahead of a more important tournament, the ODI World Cup, less than 12 months away. That could be the pinnacle, after which UAE hope to usher in a more professional era. The World T20 could be the start for those back home to realise that UAE can be viable in cricket.Key playersKhurram Khan was UAE’s highest scorer in both qualifying tournaments, World Cup and World T20. He is the team’s best batsman and will be expected to hold the key to their batting push. He is a left-hander and is likely to be comfortable on the Bangladesh pitches that he has claimed to be similar to the ones in the UAE.Surprise packageEighteen-year-old Moaaz Qazi is the youngest player in the UAE team. An off-break bowler, Qazi featured in the recent Under-19 World Cup played in UAE. He took eight wickets in six matches in the tournament. The bowler could have a surprise value, so he might be given a go in the three first-round matches.WeaknessApart from the inexperience, UAE have the tendency to be over-aggressive with their batting. They will need to find the right balance against tougher competition.World T20 historyThis is UAE’s first appearance in World T20s, having ended up fourth in the qualification tournament.Recent formAlthough UAE lost their last two Twenty20 games, they have won eight of their last 13, which means they are getting a grasp of the format. Earlier this month, they beat Hong Kong in a practice game in the UAE too.

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Uma pressão já antiga vem ganhando mais força no Conselho Deliberativo (CD) do Palmeiras. Membros do órgão vêm protocolando requerimentos para que o presidente do CD, Seraphim Del Grande, recoloque em discussão a redução de conselheiros vitalícios, algo que já foi alvo até de votação no ano passado.

Em 16 de abril, oito conselheiros solicitaram a reabertura da discussão sobre a redução do número de conselheiros vitalícios de 148 para 100, em movimento que ganhou adesões e, agora, tem um total de 23 apoios. Em outro requerimento, apresentado em 23 de abril, quatro conselheiros também solicitaram a diminuição de conselheiros vitalícios, mas para 120 cadeiras.

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O Conselho Deliberativo é formado por 300 conselheiros, divididos da seguinte forma: 148 vitalícios e 152 com mandatos de quatro anos. Das cadeiras de vitalícios, 23 estavam vagas e 27 candidatos concorreram a elas em eleição realizada em 21 de janeiro.Para ser eleito era preciso atingir a votação de 50% dos presentes mais um. Como 238 estavam na reunião, seriam necessários 120 votos. Assim, oito se tornaram vitalícios.

Esta eleição gerou divergências desde o início no Palmeiras. Ao se discutir no ano passado a mudança de estatuto, um dos temas em pauta era a diminuição do número de cadeiras para vitalícios. O Conselho brecou esta proposta, e, por isso, a assembleia de sócios votou se concordava, ou não, com a decisão do CD de manter o número atual.

Os associados votaram contra a decisão do conselho, mas não em número suficiente para reverter a decisão e diminuir o número de vitalícios. A expectativa era de que o tema voltasse a ser tratado no CD, o que não aconteceu.Seraphim Del Grande, presidente do órgão, então, convocou a votação, que gerou reclamações de oposicionistas, sob o argumento de que a vontade do associado não foi levada em conta.

– As votações no Conselho e pelos associados demonstraram que há um amplo apoio à redução do número de vitalícios no clube. A tendência é de que mais conselheiros apoiem esta pauta, pois a democratização do Conselho e do clube é assunto fundamental para o futuro do Palmeiras – disse o conselheiroJosé Apparecido.

Assinam o pedido para rediscutir a redução do número de conselheiros vitalícios para 100 cadeiras os seguintes conselheiros: Adauto Ricardo Sobreira de Lima, Augusto Volta D’Alessio, Carlos Alberto Pereira, Emerson da Rosa, Felipe Giocondo Cristovao, João Carlos Minello, José Antonio Apparecido Junior, José Antonio do Rosario, José Corsini Filho, José Luiz Portella Pereira, Luis Henrique Monteiro Fronterotta, Luiz Fernando Marrey Moncau, Luiz Mousinho, Marcio Wilson Severini D’Andrea, Marcos Antonio Gama, Mauricio Vituzzo, Renato Marino, Ricardo Alberto Galassi, Ricardo Spinelli Poppi, Roberto Fleury de Souza Bertagni, Savério Orlandi, Sylvio Toshiro Mukai e Vinicius Feres Zucca.

Tudo sobre

Palmeiras

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Aos 19 anos de idade veio a tão esperada chance para Warley. O lateral-direito, promovido da base, estreou pelos profissionais do Santa Cruz na vitória por 2 a 0 sobre o Confiança, pela Copa do Nordeste, no último fim de semana. E para completar, deu a assistência para o segundo gol coral, marcado por Guilherme Queiroz.

Escolhido o melhor em campo, Warley mostrou versatilidade e soube aproveitar a oportunidade para apresentar suas credenciais ao treinador Leston Junior. O desafio agora é dar sequência e se tornar uma peça frequente no elenco.

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– Muito feliz pela partida e pela estreia no time profissional. O mais importante foi a vitória da equipe. Nunca mais esquecerei esse dia pela importância e atuação. Agora é continuar o trabalho porque se Deus quiser isso é só começo – disse o atleta.

A próxima chance de Warley poderá aparecer numa competição nacional. O Santa Cruz volta a campo na quinta-feira, dia 4, para encarar o ABC, pela Copa do Brasil, às 21h30.

ScorecardChris Dent struck his fourth first-class century on day four•Getty Images

Chris Dent struck an unbeaten century as Gloucestershire’s County Championship match against fellow promotion-chasers Northamptonshire at Wantage Road drifted to a tame draw.Dent’s 128 not out off 211 balls, including 17 fours and one six, eased Gloucestershire to 227 for 1 as they batted through the day with their captain Michael Klinger contributing 78 from 181 deliveries.As a result, the visitors go up to third in the Division Two table, two points clear of Essex having played a game more. But with second-placed Northants coming out of this match with three more bonus points than their opponents the gap between them is now up to 27 points.Gloucestershire began the day on 31 without loss, 178 runs behind their opponents, with Klinger resuming on 21 and Dent, who went for a four-ball duck in his side’s first innings, on 10. But, for the second day in a row, the start of proceedings was delayed – on this occasion due to a wet outfield caused by overnight rain.Play eventually got under way at 12:15pm after 20 overs had been lost but what went on thereafter was a total anticlimax as Klinger and Dent easily batted through to lunch on a lifeless wicket. Runs continued to come easily in the afternoon with Klinger to first to go past 50 off 112 balls with a boundary through fine leg off the bowling of Steven Crook.The pair made their fourth opening partnership of 100 plus of the season with Dent also completing his half-century off 102 deliveries by smacking James Middlebrook through square leg for four. Dent, 22, then accelerated to his fourth century in first-class cricket and his second of the season off 159 balls by sweeping a four behind square leg off Cameron White.But Klinger was to fall on the final ball before tea when he edged his attempted sweep off White went to Andrew Hall at slip to finally break the stand on 190. He became the first wicket to fall since White himself was dismissed at 2:30pm yesterday, but it understandably only drew subdued celebrations from Northants.With the evening session not bringing any further incident, the two captains shook hands at 4:50pm with Gloucestershire wicketkeeper Gareth Roderick unbeaten on 11. Northants come out of this contest with 11 points and Gloucestershire eight and both sides now have five games left to try and secure their place in Division One next season.

India’s sports minister Jitendra Singh, who is “embarrassed and sad” about the alleged spot-fixing in the IPL, has said the sports bill that is currently being drafted should be ready in full by June 30. Speaking to television channel CNN IBN, Singh said: “I feel it’s very important for a very strict law, that processes are implemented not only in cricket but in other sports also. Cricket has just been exposed, but there might be things happening in other sports too. I think it is very important to put in safeguards against these.”The International Olympic Committee (IOC), Singh said, had been roped in to help draft the bill. “The biggest achievement we have done is we have got IOC on board to help us draft the sports bill. The sports bill is being drafted, Justice Mudgal is drafting it.”For the first time we’ve brought in sportspersons, we’ve brought in lawyers who fight for sport, we’ve brought in people from all walks of life into the committee to draft the sports bill. And we’ve given them a deadline – June 30 – to draft the sports bill.”In wake of the alleged fixing, India’s law minister Kapil Sibal had met Singh earlier in the week to discuss the bill. Then, Sibal had said past instances of fixing in sports in India, where attempts to prosecute the perpetrators failed due to lack of legislation dealing solely with the issue, proved it was necessary to work on such a law.The three Rajasthan Royals cricketers currently in custody – Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan – have been charged under three sections of the Indian Penal Code that deal with cheating, criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust.In other developments, the income tax department of India has reportedly initiated a probe into the and illegal cash transactions involved in the alleged spot-fixing, and will interrogate the cricketers and bookies being detained about the same.

Bangladesh believed they fell 60 runs short due to the slow outfield at the Premadasa

Mohammad Isam at the Premadasa16-Mar-2013

Bangladesh believed they fell 60 runs short due to the slow outfield at the R Premadasa Stadium. The visitors were bowled out for 240 on a wicket that did not hold its reputation as seamer-friendly, as was predicted ahead of the second Test.”The outfield is not good, we couldn’t get around 60 runs,” Mominul Haque said at the press conference. “If the outfield was good, our score could have been 300-320. The outfield is not in our control. It was hard work to run a lot in the heat.”We probably didn’t read the wicket correctly. The ball came normally on to the bat. There wasn’t any extra bounce from the fast bowlers.”ESPNcricinfo understands that match referee David Boon has directed the curator to keep the length of the grass identical for the rest of the Test match. There has not been any official complaint from either team so far.Despite the slow outfield, Mominul top scored with 64 off 98 deliveries so perhaps his view on the wicket would vary from the rest of the batting order. They struggled to put together the same effort as they did in Galle, where they racked up 638, lacking in confidence, as it was certain from the first over itself that boundaries would be hard to come by.Bangladesh were 62 for 2 in the first session but as soon as Rangana Herath settled into a good rhythm, they lost three wickets in the middle session to be 155 for 5 at tea. They scored another 85 runs in the final session but lost their last five wickets.The approach at the beginning was cautious but it somehow translated into a poor second session and ultimately the side getting bowled out on the first day. Mominul said the first hour belonged to the bowlers here but conditions eased out.”The first hour is difficult in any conditions,” he said. “Our plan was to survive the first hour so we tried doing it. The wicket eased up in the second session, and it’s still good. I enjoyed batting out there, the ball was coming nicely on to the bat.”

Sri Lanka’s new Test and ODI captain, Angelo Mathews, has said he aims to arrest the team’s slide in the ICC rankings

Andrew Fidel Fernando14-Feb-2013Sri Lanka’s new Test and ODI captain, Angelo Mathews, has said he aims to arrest the team’s slide in the ICC rankings, and hoped to count his side among the best in the world in both formats in the next few yearsMathews succeeded Mahela Jayawardene, who stepped down after the tour of Australia, after spending almost two years as vice captain in all formats. Dinesh Chandimal was named his deputy in Tests and ODIs and captain of the Twenty20 team. Sri Lanka have been the top-ranked Twenty20 side in the world since their run to the World Twenty20 final in September, but slipped down the Test and ODI rankings after having been second on both tables in 2009. They have also failed to win a Test series away from home since 2008, and have won only four Tests since Muttiah Muralitharan retired in 2010.”My main ambition now is to see the Sri Lankan cricket team in the top three in the next few years,” Mathews said. “We’ve dropped down to sixth place in Tests and fifth in ODIs. It won’t be easy, and it will take some time. Myself, Chandimal and the selectors will have to work closely to achieve that.”Mathews had been Sri Lanka’s Twenty20 captain since the end of the World Twenty20 in 2012, but the new selection panel, headed by Sanath Jayasuriya, opted to give that position to Chandimal instead. Chandimal has not showed great promise in the Twenty20 format, but Jayasuriya said the selectors split the captaincy in order to help build a young leadership core, as well as to ease Mathews’ burden.”We thought that it would be too much for Angelo to give him the Twenty20 captaincy as well, as we wanted to allow him to concentrate on the Tests and ODIs,” Jayasuriya said. “We thought the best person for the Twenty20 captaincy was Dinesh Chandimal, who has a long future in the game. He will also get some experience of captaining Sri Lanka in case Angelo gets injured.”Mathews’ first assignment as captain will be the two-Test home series against Bangladesh, for which the selectors named a 20-man preliminary squad. The selectors sought to create a break from the past by selecting a young squad for their new captain, but Mathews was grateful for the presence of some senior players, most notably Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan, who have all captained Sri Lanka in the past.”I think you need both experience and youth in a team, because you can’t have XI new players in a match. I think the selectors had that balance in mind when they chose the team, and they’ve done a good job of that.”Of the older players the selectors omitted, Thilan Samaraweera and Prasanna Jayawardene were the most notable exclusions. Jayasuriya was non-committal on whether there was an avenue back into the side for these players, but focused instead on the opportunity to develop fresh talent. He also said the 20-man squad would be whittled down to 15 in the lead up to the first Test.”We need to start giving the youngsters an opportunity, and a series against Bangladesh is a good one to give one or two new players a place,” he said. “Players like Kithuruwan Vithanage and Ashen Silva have been making runs in domestic cricket, and Jeevan Mendis has also scored well recently.”We want to make sure these young cricketers to experience the atmosphere in the Sri Lankan team, and this is a good opportunity to allow that, because it’s a home Test series. They can work with the Sri Lankan team until about 10 days prior to the Test, when we will name the 15-man squad.Chandimal, 23, was impressive in Tests and ODIs, but failed to make himself a regular in either side throughout much of 2012. He acknowledged the added responsibility more leadership would bring, but suggested that his new roles would be a boon to his development, rather than a hindrance.”There’s pressure every time you play a match, but I think the captaincy is a boost for me personally, and a validation of my past performances,” Chandimal said. “I’ve been a captain in Under-19 at school level as well. I didn’t think I would be captain this early in my career, but that’s a source of pride for me.”