South Africa move up a spot to fifth place after beating India; New Zealand retain second spot
ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2022
Pat Cummins missed a Test but led Australia to 4-0 in his first series as captain•Getty Images
Australia have overtaken India and New Zealand to reclaim the No. 1 ICC Test rankings spot after their 4-0 Ashes win at home, pushing India down to third spot. South Africa’s 2-1 win over India at home took them one spot up to fifth place, whereas New Zealand retained their second position.Full rankings tables
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Australia thumped England in the Ashes, starting with a nine-wicket win in Brisbane, followed by a 275-run win in the day-night Test in Adelaide. They then sealed the series at the MCG in just three days by claiming an innings-and-14-run victory in the Boxing Day Test. England hung on to a thrilling final-over draw in Sydney but Australia dominated in Hobart as well, in another three-day finish.Related
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India lost the top spot by losing the second and third Tests after winning the first in Centurion. South Africa’s series win took them past India and up to fourth place in the WTC table.New Zealand, the inaugural WTC winners, remained in second place after their 1-1 drawn series at home against Bangladesh, which included the hosts’ first ever loss to Bangladesh at home across formats.Pakistan went down one spot to sixth place, whereas Sri Lanka, West Indies, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Ireland retained their positions.
da winzada777： Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has personally contacted a "world-class" player over the possibility of joining Arsenal this summer, as the north Londoners attempt to get a third senior signing over the line before deadline day.
Arsenal take on Wolves in first Premier League game of the season
da realbet： Arsenal take on Wolves in their opening Premier League game of the new season, and it's an opportunity to kick-start the campaign in head-turning fashion as Arteta attempts to loosen Man City's stranglehold on the title.
Arsenal have looked into signing £205,000-per-week Real Madrid star
He’s very highly thought of.
2 ByEmilio Galantini Aug 16, 2024
City have reigned supreme in each of the last four seasons, with Liverpool being the last side to beat Pep Guardiola to England's domestic crown. Arsenal pushed the Sky Blues right to the final day last term, scoring 89 points and conceding the fewest goals out of every team in the top flight, but their near-perfection wasn't quite perfect enough.
They have an opportunity to make it third-time-lucky with another title challenge this campaign, and their manager has admitted that the whole Arsenal squad are just brimming with anticipation.
"We are really excited," said Arteta ahead of Arsenal's clash with Wolves. "We’ve been missing the competition for many weeks, it’s too long for us. We are so willing to start and so enthusiastic about it.
"We had a really challenging pre-season but we have managed to adapt and it was a great challenge for everyone to adapt with different groups, different stadiums, different conditions. We took it as an opportunity and a good challenge and the team has looked really sharp."
While Arsenal gear up for what will be an atmospheric first home game of the new season, sporting director Edu Gaspar and the club's hierarchy are busy working on both incoming and outgoing transfers before the window shuts on August 30.
Arsenal's opening fixtures of the new Premier League season
Team
Date
Wolves (home)
August 17
Aston Villa (away)
August 24
Brighton (home)
August 31
Tottenham (away)
September 15
Man City (away)
September 22
So far, the Gunners have signed just David Raya on a permanent deal from Brentford, which was seen as a formality, and Italy international defender Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna.
Arteta personally contacts Mikel Merino over joining Arsenal
Arsenal have actively been trying to sign Real Sociedad midfielder Mikel Merino for weeks, though, and the Spaniard looks likely to be their next man through the door – if all goes to plan.
Merino is believed to have agreed personal terms with Arsenal, and according to GiveMeSport reporter Ben Jacobs, this may well be down to their head coach.
Jacobs writes that Arteta has personally been in contact with Merino over joining Arsenal, and Edu has travelled to Spain in an effort to speed along their talks with Sociedad.
The transfer saga has been a long and drawn out one, with Arsenal holding talks to sign Merino for weeks now. The 28-year-old, who helped Spain to Euro 2024 glory earlier this summer, impressed at club level over his 45 appearances in all competitions last season – earning praise from Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney during his loan spell there.
“You have world-class players like Martín Zubimendi, Mikel Merino, Brais Méndez," said the Scotsman. "It’s not that people don’t think they’re good, it’s just that if you’re only watching the Premier League every week, it’s hard to know. They’re world class."
da dobrowin： Juazeirense e Vasco jogam, nesta quarta-feira (08), pela segunda fase da Copa do Brasil. Em 2019, os times se enfrentaram e o Gigante arrancou um empate no final da partida, que foi suficiente para garantir a classificação. O zagueiro Emílio, da equipe de Juazeiro, esteve presente no confronto e, dessa vez, projeta um desfecho diferente.
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da premier bet： > Confira a tabela da Copa do Brasil
-Em 2019 eles tinham a vantagem do empate, agora o jogo não terá nenhum tipo de vantagem para ninguém. Buscaremos impor o nosso jogo e fazer valer o nosso mando de campo para poder conseguir a classificação – projeta o atleta.
Na última temporada, o time baiano fez a sua melhor campanha na história da Copa do Brasil. Conseguiram chegar até às oitavas de final, deixando pelo caminho Sport e Cruzeiro. E o xerife da Juazeirense quer repetir o feito.
– Na temporada passada, a Juazeirense conseguiu fazer a sua melhor campanha na história da Copa do Brasil. Lógico que o nosso pensamento é jogo após jogo, mas entramos com esse objetivo de fazermos uma boa campanha como foi na temporada passada – declarou.
South Africa captain says lack of match awareness and match fitness also played a role coming into the series
Firdose Moonda30-Dec-20212:29
Cullinan: SA ‘not following the basic principles of Test cricket’
Lack of runs in their first innings rather than leaking runs in India’s first cost South Africa the opening Test against India, according to captain Dean Elgar. After conceding 272 for 3 on the first day, thanks largely to a wayward morning with the ball, South Africa went on to take 7 for 49 on the third to bowl India out for 327. They were then dismissed for 197, where Elgar said the match was lost.”You need runs to compete and it’s safe to say we didn’t get that in our first innings,” Elgar said. “They bowled well with the new ball and the nature of Test cricket is that you’ve got to compete against the new ball. The way they started was something we struggled against. We know what it’s like scoring 250-plus runs here.”Just last year, South Africa piled on 621 runs on this ground, albeit against an under-strength Sri Lankan attack, and in four of their last five Tests here, they scored over 250 in the first innings. That they went on to win all those matches makes clear the importance of first innings runs, but for that you need a strong and somewhat reliable line-up, which can only be achieved with regular competitive game time against quality opposition.South Africa have only played six Tests this year, the last one six months ago. There have only been four rounds of domestic first-class cricket and of this squad only Duanne Olivier and Keegan Petersen played in all four.There is an obvious lack of match time, which both vice-captain Temba Bavuma and Elgar recognise as a weakness.”Playing four or five-day cricket is something you can’t replace but the schedule doesn’t allow for our players to play a lot of first-class cricket,” Elgar said. “So there’s a little bit of (a lack of) match awareness and match fitness. It’s by no means an excuse. We knew that coming into the series. There’s a lot of learning for us that the basics of the game still applies. I don’t think we had that with regards to the batting.”You may immediately ask why Petersen, the only one who played in this Test who has sufficient match practice to his name, was not more successful but there’s a reason for that too. South Africa’s opening stand has been particularly poor and has not crossed double figures in the three Tests Petersen has played.”KP has come in and played in three Tests matches and the three batting conditions that he has experienced have been relatively tough,” Elgar said. “He has had a bit of a rough start and it doesn’t reflect on him as a player. He is an extremely talented player – one of our better players in the first-class system. The stats don’t reflect his ability. I feel for him. I know he wants to make a play and is maybe a little bit anxious. We need to, as a leadership group, try and give him a better opportunity to try and contribute.”Dean Elgar: “In Test cricket facing the new ball and opening is not easy”•AFP via Getty Images
In order for that to happen, Elgar and Aiden Markram have to start better, which they know but can’t guarantee. “In Test cricket facing the new ball and opening is not easy. You get a good ball and you go and sit and watch the rest of the game. That’s the nature of the beast,” Elgar said. “Aiden and I have had the rough of the green but we are very mindful that we need to start well.”Another option is to swap Petersen with the (slightly more) experienced Rassie van der Dussen. “It is something that will be a conversation,” Elgar said.So will changes to the lower order. Olivier should be available for selection and should be an automatic pick at the Wanderers. Ordinarily, that would mean leaving out his replacement Marco Jansen. But the 21-year-old acquitted himself so well in his first Test that the discussion will turn to whether Wiaan Mulder, playing as an allrounder but not really contributing with the bat, should be benched to give Jansen the chance to stake a claim in that position.”Wiaan had a pretty good game with the ball. He is not living up to his standards with the bat which is something we will chat to him about,” Elgar said. “In this environment you have to have those open conversations in order for this environment to grow and for individuals to grow. Marco had a brilliant debut. He was our player of the game. And he came into a really tough situation. He didn’t shy away from his responsibilities within the side.”And Elgar is not hiding from his – as captain of a team that has to turn the corner soon and is feeling more and more sure that they can in three days’ time. “I don’t think we’ll lack any confidence heading into Johannesburg but it’s never nice losing a game especially when we know where we went wrong,” Elgar said. “It’s difficult to correct those wrongs during a game, but building into the second Test, we’ll have some time to reflect around what has happened.”
Pakistan will have to overcome an opposition with better personnel, and with their own prep having been hit
Danyal Rasool23-Oct-20210:56
Talking Tactics – Should Kohli or Kishan open? What is India’s ideal bowling attack?
Big pictureYou could go with Albert Einstein reminding you madness is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. You could try a variant of Richard Feynman’s famous quote about quantum theory and apply it to Pakistan cricket: if you think you understand it, you probably don’t. But it doesn’t take a genius of any sort to figure out that at present, India’s dominant record over Pakistan stems no longer from voodoo, superstition, jinxes, or even spooky quantum mechanical equations. When Virat Kohli’s men walk out against Babar Azam’s on Sunday, they’re heavily fancied to maintain their perfect World Cup record because of the rather boring, plain fact that they possess the better players.It’s worth acknowledging the elephant in the room: a Pakistan win tomorrow would be good for cricket. The longer India’s streak continues, the weaker this fixture’s claim to being an elite, top-tier contest becomes. An India-Pakistan contest that no longer commands the same prestige cannot be good for a sport that desperately needs this rivalry to deliver every chance it gets because – to acknowledge the second elephant in this rather overcrowded room – these games don’t come around as often as they should. The reasons for that are not cricketing, but it’s the sport that bears the brunt of it.Worryingly, games between these sides at ICC tournament level of late haven’t produced engaging, high-quality cricket for the best part of the last decade. The contest has owed its jeopardy for the most part to the historical rivalry between the Indian and Pakistan camps – on and off the field – rather than to finely poised matches between two evenly matched sides. Since the 2011 ODI World Cup semifinal, five World Cup games between these two sides have all produced comprehensive Indian wins, by eight wickets, seven wickets, 76 runs, six wickets and 89 runs respectively. India pulled ahead early in all those games, and stayed there until Pakistan were eventually ground out.For India, there seems to be little to worry about. Their two warm-up games against England and Australia tells the story of a side in complete control of their preparations, settled despite the various combinations and personnel they can choose to deploy on any given day. The second half of IPL 2021 concluded last week in the UAE; India could scarcely have enjoyed a better lead-up to the tournament. Their T20 record against Pakistan reads seven wins in eight games. On paper, there’s little to worry them, and for all of the drama and theatre of an India-Pakistan fixture, no World Cup game has ever been quite as predictable as this.If all of that seems confronting for Pakistan, that’s because it is. That Pakistan go into their opener such heavy underdogs isn’t captain Babar’s fault, but it is his problem to try and solve. Pakistan, too, have had recent practice in the UAE; the second half of the Pakistan Super League took place there in June. But while the Indian squad was taking part in the IPL, Pakistan were watching their preparation plans go up in smoke as New Zealand and England pulled out of tours last-minute. A National T20 Cup pushed forward to give the World Cup squad some competitive practice will have helped, even if it isn’t quite the same thing.India’s only problem, if you can call it that, may revolve around how to fit the hugely talented Ishan Kishan into a top four that will likely comprise of KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav. Pakistan, meanwhile, are more of less settled with their line-up, in the way someone who can’t afford a luxury car doesn’t have to worry about which might be the best one to buy. The only conundrum for Pakistan seems to be how to fit Haider Ali into a middle order currently occupied by Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez, two players who have over the past proven famously difficult to dislodge from the side.Form guideIndia: LLWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first) Pakistan: WLLWWIn the spotlightKL Rahul has mastered the art of getting runs in T20 cricket, but over the past couple of years, the question that has dogged him is whether he has been getting them at the optimum pace. Rahul said at the end of IPL 2021 that he didn’t always bat “the way he wanted to” with Punjab Kings because the team dynamics dictated something else. He ended IPL 2021 with a breaking-the-shackles 98* off 42, and in the warm-ups, he’s hit 51 off 24 and 39 off 31. Will India’s greater depth free Rahul up to be a no-inhibitions T20 batter? It’ll be interesting to see.4:08
Talking Tactics – Where does Fakhar fit in the XI? Is the batting order too fluid?
Pakistan don’t so much have a template for triumph so much as a hope that Fakhar Zaman can hit the heights he did four years ago in a high-stakes game against India. And while India wised after that Champions Trophy final in the way they bowled to him, the left-hander has started to hit form at just the right time. He was Pakistan’s best player in the warm-ups against West Indies and South Africa, smashing 98 in 52 balls without once being dismissed. Batting one drop rather than opener might free him off the pressure of getting his team off to a flyer. With Babar and Mohammad Rizwan masters at setting an innings up, Fakhar has the license to free his arms.Team newsThere isn’t much between R Ashwin and Varun Chakravarthy for the main spinner’s role. The KKR man is perhaps a slight favourite to get the nod based on recent form. Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Mohammed Shami for a fast-bowling berth is also perhaps a toss-up. Neither was brilliant in the warm-ups, though Shami didn’t bowl in the second, so Bhuvneshwar may just edge it.India (probable): 1 KL Rahul 2 Rohit Sharma 3 Virat Kohli (capt) 4 Suryakumar Yadav 5 Rishabh Pant (wk) 6 Hardik Pandya 7 Ravindra Jadeja 8 Shardul Thakur 9 Varun Chakravarthy/R Ashwin 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Mohammed Shami 11 Jasprit BumrahPakistan have named a 12-man squad already. One of Haider Ali or Mohammad Hafeez are likely to miss out.Pakistan (probable): 1 Babar Azam (capt) 2 Mohammad Rizwan (wk) 3 Fakhar Zaman 4 Mohammad Hafeez/Haider Ali 5 Shoaib Malik 6 Asif Ali 7 Shadab Khan 8 Imad Wasim 9 Hasan Ali 10 Haris Rauf 11 Shaheen Shah AfridiPitch and conditionsThe first round of the T20 World Cup saw the UAE fixtures take place in Abu Dhabi, but the pitch in Dubai is expected to favour the slower bowlers. Even the quicks are likely best served by varying their pace and bowling more cutters than express pace, with lower scores likely to be competitive.Stats and trivia India’s current streak of five successive T20 World Cup wins over Pakistan is the joint longest in the competition, along with West Indies over England and Pakistan over Bangladesh. In the last three years, no one has scored more T20I runs than Babar’s 1173. Kohli is second on the list, with 993. Since 2018, Indian have lost all eight T20Is where they posted a first-innings total lower than 160, but only lost 2 of 11 when they set a target between 161 and 180.
da bet7k： O Tuntum fez história na tarde desta quarta (23), ao bater o Volta Redonda por 4 a 2, pela primeira fase da Copa do Brasil. O clube maranhense, de apenas oito meses de história, venceu de maneira tranquila e contundente a equipe do Sul Fluminense. Andrezinho, com dois gols, Vagalume e Maicon foram os responsáveis pela vitória. Pedrinho e Lelê diminuíram para o Voltaço.
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da betsul： PRIMEIRO TEMPO DOS SONHOS Nem o torcedor mais otimista poderia imaginar tamanho domínio do Tuntum. A equipe chegou a abrir 3 a 0 no primeiro tempo.Aos 10, Andrezinho aproveitou rebote e abriu o placar. O segundo foi aos 30, com Maicon, de cabeça, após escanteio. E aos 38, Andrezinho bateu forte para marcar o terceiro. O Volta Redonda ainda diminuiu com gol de Pedrinho, de pênalti
+Confira o Tempo Real de Botafogo x Flamengo
SEGUNDO TEMPO EQUILIBRADO No segundo tempo, o Tuntum marcou novamente, com Andrezinho, no início. O Volta Redonda ainda marcou o segundo aos 22. A etapa complementar, inclusive, foi mais equilibrada. No fim, o Tuntum avançou de fase, sendo a primeira grande zebra da Copa do Brasil.
da realsbet： Aston Villa have reportedly reached a total agreement to sign a new £325,000-a-week forward for Unai Emery.
Aston Villa summer signings so far
da betsson： It has been an extremely productive transfer window for NSWE and Monchi, with eight new players already signed, sealed and delivered at Villa Park.
More could still be on the way before the deadline at the end of the month, though, and it appears as if a new attacker to rival star man Ollie Watkins is of interest.
Aston Villa summer signings
From
Fee (Transfermarkt)
Amadou Onana
Everton
€59.35m
Ian Maatsen
Chelsea
€44.5m
Cameron Archer
Sheffield United
€16.65m
Jaden Philogene
Hull City
€16m
Samuel Iling-Junior
Juventus
€14m
Lewis Dobbin
Everton
€11.8m
Enzo Barrenechea
Juventus
€8m
Ross Barkley
Luton Town
€5.9m
That’s because the future of Jhon Duran has been a hot topic of conversation in recent weeks, with the Colombian wanted by West Ham and also in the Saudi Pro League. Duran was even spotted doing the Irons sign on social media, but as of now, a move to the London Stadium is yet to materialise.
Should Duran depart, the likes of Hoffenheim attacker Maximilian Beier and Joao Felix of Atletico Madrid have been linked with moves to the Midlands, with the latter even branded Emery’s “dream” target.
Emery can replicate Watkins revival as Aston Villa target PL "magician"
He could be available to join the club this summer
ByJoe Nuttall Aug 1, 2024
However, a brand new name has emerged, and it is claimed that Villa have made big progress on securing his services.
Aston Villa reach Romelu Lukaku agreement
According to reports in Italy, relayed by Sport Witness, Aston Villa have reached a total agreement over a fee to sign Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku.
The Belgian, who picks up £325,000-a-week at Stamford Bridge, is currently training alone as he doesn’t appear to be in Enzo Maresca’s plans.
The price isn’t named in the update, however, Villa may find it difficult trying to persuade Lukaku to join, with the forward having his heart set on a return to Italy, this time at Napoli with former Blues boss Antonio Conte. Napoli and Conte are also keen to do a deal for Lukaku, however, their situation with Victor Osimhen is blocking any deal at this stage.
The pair worked together at Inter Milan, with Lukaku praising Conte back in 2019, saying: “My rapport with Conte is very strong, as he is a coach who really helps me. At the age of 26, I want a coach like this, who helps me every day and gives me motivation. I am very happy to be here and to be working with him. This match is very important for us, but we have another very difficult game coming up against Lazio. We're pleased with the three points.”
Villa could come in the way between a reunion for Conte and Lukaku, making this a potential transfer to keep an eye on.