كشف فرناندو سانتوس، المدير الفني السابق لمنتخب البرتغال، عن متابعته للكرة المصرية منذ فترة طويلة، مشيرًا إلى أن مانويل جوزيه يعد أفضل مدرب برتغالي عمل في مصر.

وقال سانتوس في تصريحات عبر برنامج رقم 10 المذاع على الفضائية الأولى: “كنت أتابع مانويل جوزيه وكارلوس كيروش لأنني كنت أتوقع أنني سأكون في مصر يومًا ما لتدريب فريق”.

بشكتاش يعلن إقالة فرناندو سانتوس من تدريب الفريق

وأضاف: “جوزيه كان عنيدًا ومخضرمًا، وحقق نجاحات كبيرة، وكان الأفضل في مصر من وجهة نظري”.

وعن بطولة كأس العالم للأندية، تابع سانتوس: “البطولة مهمة جدًا، ومشاركة 32 فريقًا قرار مناسب ويزيد الحماس”.

وأشار: “الأهلي في مجموعة قوية تضم أربعة فرق كبيرة، وأي مواجهة ستكون صعبة، ولا يمكن توقع الفائز لأن الأمر يعتمد على الحظوظ”.

وتابع: “بالميراس هو أصعب فريق يواجه الأهلي، لكنه فريق قوي وصعب التغلب عليه إفريقيًا، ونحن في أوروبا نسمع دائمًا عن الأهلي ونشاهد فريقًا بشخصية قوية في مبارياته”.

واختتم سانتوس تصريحاته قائلاً: “تلقيت عروضًا للتدريب في مصر بعد رحيلي عن تدريب منتخب البرتغال، وسأدرس الخيارات المتاحة”.

لا جديد يذكر ولا قديم يعاد، لا يزال اللاعب والمهاجم آرون بوبيندزا يفتعل المشاكل في كل فريق يذهب إليه وآخرها رابيد بوخارست المنافس في الدوري الروماني.

وانتقل بوبيندزا إلى رابيد بوخارست في الصيف الماضي بعد أزمة كبيرة للغاية مع الزمالك، حيث أعلن الأخير عن ضم اللاعب ولكن الجابوني لم يحضر إلى القاهرة.

اقرأ أيضًا.. خاص | لاعب الزمالك يجمع متعلقاته ويخطر جروس بالرحيل

ونفى بوبيندزا في تصريحات صحفية في رومانيا أنه قد وقع أي عقود مع الزمالك وأن موقفه صحيح، لكن القلعة البيضاء قررت أن تقدم شكوى ضد اللاعب أمام الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم “فيفا”.

المفاجأة، هي من خلال صحيفة “GSP” الرومانية التي تتابع معسكر رابيد بوخارست في دبي، وأكدت أن اللاعب لم يحضر التدريبات وسيرحل عن الفريق وهناك فريقين يتنافسان على ضمه.

وبحسب التقرير أن اللاعب يتدعي الإصابة في الكاحل في محاولة للضغط على رابيد من أجل الرحيل، حيث أغرته العروض التركية من ناديي سيفاسبور وبودروم.

سقط فريق ليفربول في فخ التعادل الإيجابي مع خصمه فريق نوتينجهام فورست، مساء يوم الثلاثاء، في إطار منافسات بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

واستضاف ملعب “سيتي جراوند” مباراة الفريقين في الجولة الحادية والعشرين من البطولة، حيث تعادلا بهدف لمثله.

وشارك نجم فريق ليفربول محمد صلاح في المباراة بأكملها، ولكنه فشل في تقديم أدائه المعهود عنه، حيث لم يسجل أو يصنع.

اقرأ أيضًا.. تقييم محمد صلاح في مباراة ليفربول ونوتينجهام فورست بـ الدوري الإنجليزي

وكشفت رابطة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز عن هوية رجل مباراة ليفربول ونوتينجهام فورست.

وحسبما نُشر، فإن كريس وود لاعب فريق نوتينجهام فورست، هو رجل مباراة ليفربول في تلك الجولة من الدوري الإنجليزي.

وتمكن كريس وود من تقديم أداء جيد رفقة كتيبة نونو سانتو، وسجل هدف التقدم لصالح نوتينجهام في الدقيقة التاسعة.

أتم مجلس إدارة نادي الاتحاد السكندري، برئاسة محمد مصيلحي، إجراءات التعاقد مع المدافع الدولي محمود علاء، لاعب الزمالك ومنتخب مصر السابق.

ووقع علاء على عقد انضمامه لصفوف الفريق، والذي يمتد لموسم ونصف، بعد جلسة عقدها مع الأستاذ محمد مصيلحي رئيس النادي، بحضور محمد سلامة عضو مجلس الإدارة، وطلعت يوسف المدير الفني، واللواء عبد الجليل إمام مدير الكرة.

طلعت يوسف بعد الخسارة في الظهور الأول: الاتحاد السكندري سيعاني إذا استمر بنفس اللاعبين

وجاء التعاقد مع اللاعب بعد موافقة طلعت يوسف، الذي أشاد بالقدرات الفنية بـ علاء، واصفًا إياه بأنه أحد المدافعين المميزين.

وكان علاء، نجم نادي الزمالك السابق، قد أنهى خلال انتقالات يناير الحالية مشواره مع نادي السويحلي الليبي، مؤكدًا أنه سيعلن عن خطوته القادمة خلال أيام.

وكشف علاء في وقت سابق أن تأخر انطلاق الدوري الليبي كان سببًا في فسخ تعاقده مع السويحلي، كما أن الدوري الليبي أصبح يضم 36 فريقًا، والأمور ليست على أفضل نحو، لذلك قرر إنهاء مشواره معهم.

New Zealand’s performance on the second day at Trent Bridge was when their resolve finally betrayed them, but also one that exposed a bold gamble as a failure

Will Luke at Trent Bridge07-Jun-2008
Brendon McCullum was put in the firing line at No. 3, a waste of one of New Zealand’s main assets © Getty Images
New Zealand’s performance on the second day at Trent Bridge was when their resolve finally betrayed them, but also one that exposed a bold gamble as a failure. From the moment Brendon McCullum dropped Stuart Broad at second slip at the start of the day, England – not without the occasional slice of good fortune – dominated in the manner they have threatened but failed all year. New Zealand are renowned for their plucky resistance with the bat, but no longer can the cracks in their top-order be masked by lower-order doggedness.That they slipped to 96 for 6 was due to James Anderson, who picked up all six wickets in a breathless 15-over spell of outswing bowling, but it hasn’t always required brilliance for New Zealand’s ambitions to be shattered. Their top six have simply not delivered. In England’s tour during the winter, Jamie How averaged 33.5, Matthew Bell an unconvincing 19.5 and Mathew Sinclair 11.83. For New Zealand’s return tour here, How has begun more promisingly, with scores of 68, 64, 29 and 40, but the others have continued to flounder. Aaron Redmond (52 runs at 10.40), Daniel Flynn (42 at 21.00) and James Marshall (52 at 13.00) have all been in the firing line, consistently picked off by England’s four-man attack.Though they are quick to dispel the notion of being scarred by the loss at Old Trafford, it was their reaction to being dismissed for 114 which provides the key to understanding today’s batting failure. McCullum, shunted up the order to No.3, had his off stump pegged back for 9 by Anderson, and New Zealand’s most dangerous and talented batsman had departed with the score on 14 for 2. In theory, McCullum’s promotion was precisely what New Zealand needed – a touch of class to give succour to the raw recruits at the top of the order – but in practice, it was a disaster in the making.Like a football team that is forever being pinned in its own half by superior opponents, New Zealand’s cricketers are more than capable of springing regular surprises, but they invariably do so by taking their licks and hitting their opponents on the break. Using McCullum so far up front leaves him woefully out of position, because it is from No.6 backwards that New Zealand have been able to mask the frailties and failures of their top-order.In Hamilton during the winter, McCullum (51) and Daniel Vettori (88) helped lift New Zealand from a tricky 191 for 5 to a match-winning 470. Likewise in Napier, though they lost the Test, McCullum and Vettori again spared their team’s blushes with pairs of forties, helping New Zealand to recover from 172 for 5 to 431 all out. For a long time now, New Zealand’s batting line-up has been the wrong way round – but the solution to rebalancing cannot lie in promoting their most prized asset, McCullum, into the disaster zone.How provided a window into New Zealand’s mindset when, after the second day’s play, he spoke of his side’s confidence in light of the precarious position they find themselves. “We take heart from Old Trafford,” he said. “That game turned on its head pretty quickly, so hopefully that trend will continue. So hopefully we’re only a couple of partnerships away from posting a good score, and anything can happen.” Bold words indeed, but New Zealand are conditioned to believe that their tail will save them. More’s the pity that, on this occasion, it has already been docked.But then again, New Zealand’s tried-and-tested formula – top-order debacle, tail-end revival – has been rudely challenged this summer by the emergence of Ross Taylor. Though he fell for 21 today, Taylor has displayed plenty of the star quality that New Zealand have lacked since the retirements of Stephen Fleming and Nathan Astle. His audacious 154 at Old Trafford was an innings of supreme quality, all the more so because it paid little heed to the familiar failings all around him – aside from How, no-one else in the top eight passed 40.In truth, their hands were forced. In trailing the series 1-0, they need to win. And with McCullum’s back injury forcing the call-up of their replacement keeper, Gareth Hopkins, New Zealand understandably chose a five-man attack, but in doing so have further weakened an already flimsy top-order.Right now, New Zealand are caught between two mindsets. Taylor’s successes – and, to a lesser extent, How’s reliability – have persuaded them that there may yet be a future in following convention, and playing their best batsmen in their rightful position. But somehow they’ve lacked the courage of their convictions. Oram, for instance, appeared to be back to his best after his Lord’s hundred. Since then, however, England have hounded him with bouncers, leaving him questioning his very worth. And in picking only five batsman, too great a responsibility rested on McCullum’s shoulders.Where is the logic in promoting McCullum but hiding Oram behind not only Gareth Hopkins, the debutant wicketkeeper, but also the grievously injured Daniel Flynn, who has far more of a right to be unsettled by the short ball after his experiences at Old Trafford? Vettori, who averages 40.83 in his last 10 Tests, might want to consider easing his way up from No. 8 as well if the McCullum experiment is to be continued, because right now it’s not clear whether New Zealand are searching for leaders or followers.

Jayasuriya’s return, after a terrific Indian Premier League and his Asia Cup final century, makes a massive difference to Sri Lanka, as he is the only real power player they have

Jamie Alter in Dambulla17-Aug-2008

	Sanath Jayasuriya’s performance has had a big impact on Sri Lanka’s sucess-loss ratio © AFP

In the months after the World Cup, Sri Lankan cricket went through a transition of sorts, as experienced cricketers like Marvan Atapattu and Russell Arnold retired and younger talent was brought in. All throughout Mahela Jayawardene called for the need to give the newer players more time and for the seniors to take up more responsibility.Now as the World Cup finalists they currently sit at No. 7 in the ICC ratings for one-day international sides, having won two out of six series. Immediately after the World Cup, Sri Lanka lost to Pakistan 2-1 in Abu Dhabi. A 3-0 whitewash of Bangladesh was followed by a rare home loss, and that to England, hardly the best ODI side in the game. After a poor CB Series in Australia Sri Lanka were beaten 2-0 by West Indies, ranked eighth in the world. It really couldn’t get much worse than that.The most consistent problem was a deficiency in the batting department, which failed to function as a cohesive unit. Sanath Jayasuriya blew hot and cold, Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara sparkled intermittently, and a lack of fire power in the middle and lower order hurt Sri Lanka. The middle order revolved around a mix of bits-and-pieces cricketers and one-day specialists, and no one stood out. One or two batsmen performed in each game, but that is rarely enough.In the last year Tillakaratne Dilshan averaged 29.76; Chamara Silva 24.42; Chamara Kapugedera 33.07; Maharoof, restricted to seven games due to injury, averaged 11.25. Chaminda Vaas failed to chip in with runs and the most successful lower-order batsman was Nuwan Kulasekara, who averaged 26.75. In one-day cricket you need runs on the board. Sri Lanka failed to always put those up.Like all sides searching for a settled team, they also experimented. Upul Tharanga and Mahela Udawatte opened the batting at times, with mixed success. In Pakistan Sri Lanka bumped Sangakkara up to open the innings because it was felt they needed another bowler. Kapugedera was shuffled around and injury to Maharoof only compounded their woes.Sri Lanka failed to bat well consistently against England at home and in Australia, where they only won two games. The 3-1 scoreline against England should have been the wake-up call to spur them into a period of intense development and progress as a team, but the CB Series was equally disappointing. Their highest total was 238 and the batsmen averaged just 22.44 runs per wicket – that doesn’t win you games. Sri Lanka failed to get big knocks from Sanath Jayasuriya and Sangakkara, like they played in last two games of the Asia Cup, and that has a huge effect on their performance.In the few games of the CB Series that two of the top three got starts, the rest were unable to work a way out when the opposition tightened its line. In a sense the senior Sri Lankan batsmen ignored the very lesson they had been stressing to their younger team-mates, of staying out in the middle as long as possible.Jayawardene admitted a few personnel changes also attributed to this dip in form, but he gave no excuses. “We did not consistently lift our standards since the World Cup,” he said. “We certainly are not there but we’re maintaining it. We turned it around a bit in the Asia Cup, where we were consistent with the bat, ball and on the field. That’s the toughest thing for international sides.”In a sense the Asia Cup marked a revival. Sri Lanka batted consistently well, but there was one massive factor – Ajantha Mendis. His success, come in such a short period, gives them the option – momentarily – of scrutinising their batting combination.Jayasuriya’s return, after a terrific Indian Premier League and his Asia Cup final century, makes a massive difference to Sri Lanka, as he is the only real power player they have. A well-rested Jayasuriya can offer dimension to Sri Lanka’s unit, but the fact is that plenty of responsibility falls on Jayawardene and Sangakkara. The middle order needs to come good.Sri Lanka have been able to fall back on a bowling unit which picked up a lot of wickets recently, but Jayawardene wants to move on from what happened in Australia. He recognised Mendis as a trump card, an attacking option, but called on others to contribute. Sri Lanka need to re-learn a lesson taught to them before the World Cup – when you cruise, you often cruise downwards.

The pitch was as bare as any in the preceding matches in the tropical Caribbean and just as heartbreaking for the bowlers

Tony Cozier at Chester-le-Street15-May-2009It might be the Test match ground nearer to the north pole than any other, with the corresponding chill in the air, but the opening day of the Test between the teams at the Riverside Ground was the Antigua Recreation Ground, Kensington and Queen’s Park Oval all revisited.The pitch was as bare as any in the preceding matches in the tropical Caribbean and just as heartbreaking for the bowlers. There was no bounce, no pace, no movement and, consequently, no excitement.The batsmen, in this instance Alastair Cook and the eager Ravi Bopara, gathered their runs with no fuss, just as Andrew Strauss had done with his three consecutive first innings hundreds in Antigua, Barbados and Trinidad.Ironically, while Strauss went cheaply this time, Cook and Bopara advanced past their hundreds, Bopara joining the elite company of Herbert Sutcliffe, Denis Compton, Geoffrey Boycott and Graham Gooch as the fifth English player with three in a row.The slowness of the surface curbed their more adventurous strokes, except for one over when Bopara lofted Sulieman Benn for four, six and four to move to within two of his landmark. He then apparently recalled Kevin Pietersen’s extravagance in the Sabina Test back in February when he hit four, four, six, also off Benn, and went for the glory of a six next ball to raise his hundred, only to lob a catch to the keeper. Bopara bided his time and got there with a single a few balls later.Even England’s first day scores were almost identical to those in the Caribbean – 301 for 3 at both the ARG and Kensington; 258 for 2 at Queen’s Park; 302 for 2 here.To their credit, the West Indies bowlers were undeterred by this continuing unfairness and plugged away all day, supported by enthusiastic fielding. One chance was missed, a difficult leg-side deflection off Lionel Baker when Bopara was on 51. A few edges were found and passed but there was nothing for the bowlers.More like this and, just as Chris Gayle
has warned, they will all be trooping off to the IPL and other Twenty20 events where four overs is the extent of their allotment. The main point of Gayle’s controversial and widely discussed comments before the match was that, as far as he was concerned, there is now so much cricket that he soon has to make a choice as to what to give up.As one tournament has followed another -Test, ODIs, Stanford, IPL – he, and a few others in the West Indies team, haven’t had a reasonable break for two years now.Gayle himself has been increasingly sidelined by injuries. Not unexpectedly, he said his choice would be for the shortest form of the game which just happens to be the most lucrative.
That inevitably is a threat to what the administrators refer to as the “primacy of Test cricket”, but pitches that contribute to give such bland, uneven contests such as this and those recently in the Caribbean and elsewhere, do so equally.A 101 reasons were put forward for the few thousand spectators sprinkled around stands yesterday – the early scheduling, the cold, the sporting public’s interest in the climax of the football season (in this neck of the woods, especially Newcastle United’s fight to remain in the Premiership), the recession and so on.More days like this, without any drama or tension, and with batsmen indulging themselves, will ensure that crowds, and television viewers, diminish even further.

Stats preview of the second Test between South Africa and Australia to be played in Durban

Siddhartha Talya05-Mar-2009South Africa failed to repeat their Perth heroics in Johannesburg and were beaten comprehensively, but Australia will be aware that the home team has had the experience, quite recently, of bouncing back from being 1-0 down to win a three-Test series. India beat them for the first time in South Africa at the Wanderers in 2006-07 but lost the next two Tests in Durban and Capetown. West Indies caused a massive upset the following year in Port Elizabeth, but the hosts again recovered to take the rubber 2-1 with convincing wins in the subsequent games. South Africa will bank on their excellent record in Durban – since readmission, they’ve won eight Tests and lost two – but they’ll know that their only defeat at the venue in the last nine years came at the hands of Australia in March 2006.

Tests in Durban

PlayedWonLostDrawnW/L ratioSouth Africa (overall)35139131.44Australia (overall)94321.33South Africa (since readmission)168264Australia (since 1991)31111Jacques Kallis has been the most successful among South Africa’s batsmen in the current squad at Kingsmead – he’s 69 shy of reaching 1000 runs at the venue – with four centuries, all consecutive, in five Tests since 2002. In six Tests before that, he had only managed two fifties. The others, though, have mixed records. Graeme Smith averages a modest 31.81 in seven Tests but struck form at the ground with a half-century against India in 2006, and followed that up with an aggressive 147 against West Indies the next year, setting up an innings win. Mark Boucher is next in the list with 30.38 in 10 Tests, but AB de Villiers has impressive figures, averaging 64.20 with a century and two fifties in four Tests. Neil McKenzie and Hashim Amla have struggled in Durban, managing just one half-century between them in 11 innings.

SA batsmen in Durban (minimum of three Tests)

BatsmanTestsRunsAverage50/100AB de Villiers432164.202/1Jacques Kallis1193158.183/4Graeme Smith735031.811/1Mark Boucher1039530.384/1Neil McKenzie410717.830/0Hashim Amla37114.201/0Among the Australians in the squad, Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey are the only two to have played a Test at Kingsmead. Ponting has performed splendidly at the venue, averaging 85.50 in two Tests, including a century in each innings in his team’s 112-run win in 2006. In the same Test, and in his only innings in Durban, Hussey made 75.Makhaya Ntini has done well in Durban, averaging 24.62 – his career average is 28.17 – in eight Tests, and taking a wicket in each of his 16 innings. He took eight in the win over India in 2006 to turn the tide in favour of South Africa in the series after they had lost the first Test. On the other hand, Kallis has managed just 15 wickets in 11 Tests at an average of 37.80; he concedes 30.97 runs per wicket overall. Dale Steyn has played just two Tests at the venue, capturing ten wickets – including 6 for 72 against West Indies last year – at 23.80 apiece.Though pace bowlers have taken far more wickets at Kingsmead since 2000, spinners have a better average. South Africa, however, did not play a specialist spinner in their last two Tests in Durban and have relied primarily on pace throughout, but with Paul Harris bowling well, their approach this time might be different.Since 2000, spinners have done well in the first and the fourth innings, averaging 29.37 and 28.72 respectively. For South Africa, they have been relatively disappointing with 17 wickets in over eight years at 39.41 apiece as opposed to the fast bowlers’ 26.50. Overseas spinners have done considerably better, capturing 39 wickets at 26.48, including a matchwinning effort from Shane Warne in early 2006. For Australia, Michael Clarke could be given extended spells.

Pace and Spin in Durban

OversRunsWicketsAverageRuns-per-over5W/10WPace since 20001991.2658019433.913.306/0Spin since 2000565.117035630.413.013/1Pace for SA since 20001090333912626.503.064/0Spin for SA since 2000212.46701739.413.150/0Teams have preferred to field first – they’ve done so in five out of eight occasions – in Durban since 2000, and have won each time. The three times teams have opted to bat first, they’ve won twice and drawn once. Over the last nine years, the pitch has tended to favour the bowlers in the first innings and ease significantly in the second, third and fourth innings.

Runs-per-wicket in each innings since 2000

FirstSecondThirdFourth29.2735.5736.3633.33

A speculative look at what cricket’s next decade has in store – from floodlit Tests to international teams in the IPL

Simon Wilde06-Feb-2009

Teams like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka could conceivably play more one-off Tests against each other in future as longer series become unviable for them © PA Photos

Just how radical cricket’s future might be is clear from looking at the past. Imagine we are back in early 1999 and ask who would have thought then that an as-yet uncapped 20-year-old batsman from Delhi, Virender Sehwag, would over the next 10 years maintain as an opener a scoring-rate in Tests of almost 80 runs per 100 balls while averaging more than 50 per innings. Who would have imagined, either, that an England batsman (having already gained fame for winning the Ashes while wearing a skunk on his head) would have introduced switch-hitting into five-day cricket? And who on earth would have said that 20-over matches would take the world by storm? Logically we are in for one hell of a ride between now and 2019.The advent of Twenty20 will prove one of the seminal moments in cricket history. Its major effect will be the end of internationals as the primary goal of every professional player. Instead many players will essentially be free agents, more independent and wealthy than they have ever been. They will be granted seats, and an influential voice, on national boards and the ICC.There will be several Twenty20 leagues around the world – in India, England, Australia and possibly South Africa – plus more exhibition events, like the Stanford Super Series, sponsored by super-rich patrons. These will enable 100 players a year to earn million-dollar salaries from this format alone. All major international cricket is suspended when these events take place.The Champions League, however, may take several years to take root and, given the exorbitant prices for TV rights paid at the outset, may even be junked as a victim of the credit crunch.The popularity and wealth of these events will force Test and traditional 50-overs internationals into change. Test matches will be condensed to four days because five days will seem too long, the tempo of the games will inevitably get faster due to Twenty20, and everyone will regard the chance to save a day and open up valuable space in a crowded calendar as too good an opportunity to miss.In every country outside England most Test matches will be played under floodlights once manufacturers provide a coloured ball that does not misbehave too much. At a stroke this will revitalise spectator interest in Australia and South Africa, but problems with dew will influence which venues stage Tests and when these matches are played.In England day-time attendances will remain strong but this means England will find it harder to win Tests overseas because they will have less experience of Test cricket at night. Generally Test matches will see faster scoring, with the best batsmen achieving strike-rates in excess of 100, and teams will not blanch at being asked to chase down 450 in the fourth innings.Another seminal event is the decision taken by ICC members that from 2012 they will play the World Twenty20 and 50-overs World Cup every three years. These tournaments make up two of international cricket’s three “majors”, the other being the world Test Championship.The Test Championship is basically run on the existing rankings system but with a playoffs season every third year, the main attraction being two semi-finals and a final. These are “special” Test matches, played as two-innings limited-overs matches of 180 overs per side so that draws are eliminated. These games originally take place in London as this is regarded as the most cosmopolitan centre, though the security bill eats up most of the revenue.In defiance of predictions Tests will continue to provide some of the most enthralling matches and remain much loved by television companies anxious to fill their airtime. Test cricket is exciting because, thanks to the influence of Twenty20, batting sides think almost no task impossible and are prepared to risk losing in the quest for victory.The speed at which batsmen score will help keep a balance between bat and ball, with runs per wicket staying at around 30-35, as it has for many years. Those appearing for the main Test-playing nations will continue to record striking personal aggregates. Among those to reach 10,000 runs in Tests will be Australia’s Michael Clarke and AB de Villiers of South Africa, while Kevin Pietersen will be followed to this milestone for England by Alastair Cook.

	Many players will essentially be free agents, more independent and wealthy than they have ever been. They will be granted seats, and an influential voice, on national boards and the ICC

But less Test cricket will be played. Outside the big five who play each other regularly – England, Australia, India, South Africa and West Indies (the latter’s cricket rejuvenated by the disciplines and money brought in through the annual Stanford matches, once Allen Stanford gets the modernised West Indies board he wants) – priorities will lie elsewhere.Under the new Future Tours Programme, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Bangladesh are permitted to play one-off Tests rather than the existing minimum of two.After the disastrous example of Zimbabwe no new countries apply for Test status but several new countries start
playing official Twenty20s, including the United States and a well-funded Chinese team.Sri Lanka and New Zealand among others will be relieved not to play so many Tests because TV companies and
sponsors there had less interest in covering matches and the national boards found the games expensive to stage. Most
of their leading players, in any case, will be happy concentrating on Twenty20s and ODIs. These countries will rarely
deny players a No-Objection Certificate for domestic Twenty20s for fear of losing them altogether.The way for the Pakistani players was led by Sohail Tanvir’s decision in December 2008 to sign to play Twenty20 for South Australia. Pakistan will stage what few home Tests they host in Abu Dhabi or London (security permitting),
as Pakistan itself continues to suffer from a boycott on security grounds. The Pakistan board will fulfill foreign tours, but results are poor as they struggle to put out a full-strength XI.Pakistan also have what are effectively national teams in the ICL and IPL, as do Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. This means that their players can make up for their smaller earnings from Test cricket. Even without so many opportunities against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, Ajantha Mendis, the Sri Lankan spinner, will have little trouble passing 500 Test wickets.The experience of playing so much Twenty20 will help the Asian nations, Bangladesh included, dominate the World Twenty20 and World Cup, thanks to their strength in unorthodox spin, inventive fast bowlers, and greater use of the
muscle-building supplements like Creatin.All round, India, their talent base enlarged through the inspirational effect of the short formats, become indisputably the
best team in the world. They have one of the strongest packs of fast bowlers, several of whom are left-armers. The best of them is Ishant Sharma. India’s new breed of batsmen includes Murali Vijay, who blends a solid technique with the strength to smite big sixes.Australia will win fewer trophies. Their Test cricket will suffer from their board allowing so many leading players time to play in the Twenty20 leagues and their sloth in integrating ethnic minorities, who may follow the example of Moises Henriques, a former Under-19 captain born in Madeira, who signed for the IPL in 2008.

Switch-hitting is set to become as big as reverse-sweeping is now, and the likes of David Warner will see their value rise © Getty Images

South Africa remain strong in fast bowling – led by the world’s best new-ball pair, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel – but pay the price for being unable to produce world-class spinners and lacking imagination when it comes to limited-overs cricket. Their team is bolstered by expatriate Zimbabweans with nowhere else to go.West Indies produce several dazzling strokemakers but their most reliable batsman is likely to be Adrian Barath, a low-wicket player from Trinidad in the style of Shivnarine Chanderpaul. England become a strong Test side thanks to a rich seam of Asian-extraction slow bowlers – led by legspinning allrounder Adil Rashid – who can win them day-time matches at home. These spinners will not be as one-dimensional as Monty Panesar, as multi-faceted cricketers
are strictly de rigueur. Because they continue to play more Tests than anyone else, England lag behind in the shorter forms of the game.Spin bowling will generally have a big part to play as it is seen as the best way of slowing down the scoring. In turn the challenge for batsmen will be to find ways to break the shackles. Switch-hitting will become as common as reverse-sweeping is today. The United States team, in particular, is keen on switch-hitters. In the Twenty20 leagues every team will have at least one switch-hitter, a pattern begun by David Warner of New South Wales, who can bat with almost equal facility left-handed or right-handed. To this end it is common for players to use double-sided bats, which are
currently being developed by Gray-Nicolls in Australia.Wristy batsmen will prosper but what will underpin the games of the vast majority of batsmen will be raw muscle. The open-chested stance will be more common, as batsmen look to free their arms for baseball-style swings. The number of six hits will rise to record levels; in Twenty20s more sixes will be hit than fours, as batsmen go aerial to ensure they elude fielding that is more athletic than ever.Yellow and red cards will belatedly be introduced for slow play, indiscipline and physical contact, all of which will rise in response to the greater financial rewards on offer. The ICC will also consent to on-field umpires acting in unison with the third official.

Stats highlights from the third ODI between Sri Lanka and Pakistan

S Rajesh03-Aug-2009In his 17 previous ODI innings Mahela Jayawardene had scored one half-century, four ducks, and averaged 15.11•AFP The 202-run partnership between Mahela Jayawardene and Upul Tharanga is the third-highest for the first wicket for Sri Lanka in ODIs, and their highest at home. Their highest overall is 286, against England at Leeds in 2006. Of the five 200-plus opening stands for Sri Lanka, Tharanga has been involved in three. It’s also Sri Lanka’s first double-century opening stand without the presence of Sanath Jayasuriya. Jayawardene’s glorious 123 ended a barren run in ODIs: in his 17 previous ODI innings he had an average of 15.11, with one half-century and four ducks. This was also only his second ODI innings as an opener. In his previous effort – against Zimbabwe in Harare in November 2008 – he had failed to get off the mark. Dambulla has traditionally been a difficult venue for batting, but in this game both Pakistan and Sri Lanka scored totals that hadn’t been scored at this ground. In 28 previous ODIs in Dambulla, the highest score had been 282, by Sri Lanka against India in 2004. India chased it bravely, but fell short by 12 runs. Those were the two highest ODI totals here before today. The win also ended a poor run for Sri Lanka in ODI series at home – they had lost their last three, against England and twice against India. (Click here for Sri Lanka’s results in home ODI series.) The pitch was so good for batting that even Muttiah Muralitharan leaked plenty of runs – in ten overs he conceded 64, which is the second-highest number of runs he has conceded in a home ODI. The highest is 66, against India earlier this year. In terms of economy rates, this comes in at third place among his most expensive spells at home. Click here for the full list. It was also a bad game for Shahid Afridi, Pakistan’s most consistent spinner. He leaked 7.50 runs per over, his most expensive spell in almost two years. Against India in Kanpur in November 2007, he had conceded 57 in seven, a rate of 8.14 per over. Since then, in 30 ODIs before this one, only twice did he concede more than six runs per over.