Tag Futebol

Ultra-aggressive approach helps lay ODI World Cup final ghosts, with Adelaide exorcism next on the list

Matt Roller24-Jun-20241:14

Manjrekar: ‘Rohit’s selflessness the most appealing thing about him’

Rohit Sharma has transformed his approach to T20 batting in the last two years but this humid Monday morning in St Lucia was a high-stakes test of his commitment to a new, ultra-attacking mindset.India’s progress to the T20 World Cup semi-finals relied on avoiding a heavy defeat to Australia, a scenario which would lead many players to adopt a safety-first approach even before they slipped to 6 for 1 after two overs. And it was only seven months ago that Rohit’s own dismissal after a fast start changed the course of a World Cup final – albeit in a different format.But Rohit’s response demonstrated his clarity of thought. Rather than obsessing over the cross-wind which howled across the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, he launched the first two balls of Mitchell Starc’s second over for sixes over cover. It led to an overcorrection and a loss of control, with Starc then hammered for four down the ground, six over wide mid-on and six more off an edge which flew over Matthew Wade.Related

• Providence venue guide: Go hard in powerplay, expect sharp turn and low bounce

• Arshdeep: A lot of credit for my wickets goes to Bumrah

• Rohit had to 'open up all sides of the field' to counter St Lucia breeze

• Stats – Rohit rewrites record books with whirlwind 41-ball 92

• Rohit powers India into semis; Australia's hopes take a hit

It was the personification of attacking intent, and the third six merits closer examination. Starc attempted to angle the ball across Rohit, daring him to take on the infield in the covers again, and overpitched slightly. It was a slot ball, but delivered at 90mph/144kph – and Rohit went down on one knee, slog-sweeping him all of 96 metres. It was an outrageous shot.And this was not just any bowler: this was three-format world champion, serial winner Mitchell Starc, bowling with the benefit of a cross-breeze which – in theory – should have helped him to shape the ball back late to the right-handers. “He was trying to get it up and get it swinging,” Josh Hazlewood explained. “We’ve seen that for 10 years: it’s pretty devastating when it’s on.”Instead, Starc’s over cost 29 runs – his most expensive set of six in an Australia career that has spanned more than 4000 overs. He had never previously conceded more than two sixes in a single over, in any format of international cricket: Rohit cracked him for four.Rohit’s plan, he revealed, was to open up both sides of the ground rather than relying on the cross-wind and hitting across the line. “You need to be smart,” he said. “You’ve got to understand, bowlers are smart as well… I was thinking to hit the ball everywhere possible. When you keep an open mind and not think about just playing one shot, you can open [up] and access all sides of the field.”It worked perfectly. As soon as Australia’s strategy of defending the windy side was thrown off, they started to veer between different plans and regularly missed their lengths: Pat Cummins’ slower ball soared 100 metres onto the roof of the Johnson Charles stand at midwicket, with the wind, and his attempted wide yorker was squeezed through backward point.Rohit Sharma raised fifty off just 19 balls•AFP/Getty ImagesRohit was particularly punishing when Mitchell Marsh turned to Marcus Stoinis in the hope of some cheap overs, hitting half of the balls he faced from him to the rope, or over it. He repeatedly used his feet, shimmying down as if to highlight Stoinis’ lack of pace and the time he had to choose a shot, commit to it and nail it: Rohit’s strike rate against Stoinis was 270.He repeatedly felt comfortable hitting him into the breeze, knowing that even a mishit had a good chance of clearing a 66-metre square boundary. “He targeted the boundary with the wind for a while,” Hazlewood said. “Then we reacted, and then he hit a few [towards] the other side as well. He’s a class act, and you expect him to do that a couple of times through a tournament.”Rohit fell in the 12th over for 92 off 41, bowled by Starc’s yorker from around the wicket. It was a credit to him that he continued to swing, knowing that India would need 200-plus on a good batting pitch. “Fifties and hundreds don’t matter,” he said. “I wanted to bat with the same tempo, and carry on playing shots wherever it is necessary; try and put the bowlers under pressure.”Last year’s 50-over World Cup felt like a brush with destiny for Rohit. After missing India’s 2011 triumph, the chance to captain his country to their first major title in a decade on home soil was tantalising. He played selflessly throughout the tournament, striking at 125.94, but his dismissal in Ahmedabad – caught by Travis Head off Glenn Maxwell – prompted his team-mates to freeze.This was not quite retribution: Australia are still mathematically alive, and India are two games away from a trophy. But when Head’s miscue landed in Rohit’s hands at mid-off to effectively seal India’s win, it felt like a small step towards it. “It is quite satisfying [to beat Australia] especially when you play like that,” Rohit said. “We can take a lot of confidence from a game like this.”It has been a remarkable transformation at a late stage of Rohit’s career. In both ODIs and T20Is, his average and strike rate are higher as captain than in the ranks. That demonstrates both the security of a player who knows his legacy is already confirmed and the desire of a captain who wants to set an example to his team-mates, and prove that playing high-risk cricket will not bring repercussions.Rohit’s biggest challenge lies ahead. Two years ago, he made 27 off 28 balls in a T20 World Cup semi-final against England in Adelaide then blamed his bowlers for the 10-wicket thrashing that ensued. In Guyana on Thursday, he will have the chance to make amends by showing that he has changed for good.

South African-born allrounder was isolated 30 overs into one-dayer in Chattogram

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2021

Ruhan Pretorius has revealed he was in “a bit of a weird space” after his positive Covid test result led Ireland Wolves’ first one-day game in Bangladesh to be abandoned after 30 overs, only for him to discover a day later that the result was a false positive.Pretorius, 30, was born and raised in South Africa but has played club cricket in Ireland since 2015, and after relocating permanently, he will qualify for international selection through residency in 2022.Related

Sumon Khan four-for ensures Ireland Wolves leave Bangladesh without a win

Ireland Wolves to cut one T20 on Bangladesh tour and fly back early

Bangladesh Emerging Team vs Ireland A game called off

Bangladesh Emerging Team vs Ireland Wolves back on track

He was not picked for the first-class game against a Bangladesh Emerging Team, meaning that the first 50-over game was his first appearance for an Irish representative team. He had taken one wicket in his first four-over spell as a first-change bowler, but was told to leave the field after 30 overs, with the match abandoned soon after.”It’s been the most bizarre few days, to be honest,” Pretorius said in an interview with Cricket Ireland. “We started the first game all testing negative for Covid – we had to be negative in order to get on the field according to the protocols. Then halfway through the first innings I was pulled off the field and the game was stopped. To then be told I was potentially Covid-positive was a shock.”I was isolated immediately from the team and was told to wear an orange suit – kind of like a sweat suit, but this one was for isolation. I then was taken in an ambulance to the team hotel, where I was immediately sent to the isolation room and spent the evening there.”To be fair, the team management were brilliant in managing the whole situation. I underwent two tests – an emergency test and another along with the rest of the team. Luckily both came back negative, and the medical staff advised that the original test was a false positive, so I was able to resume the tour.”I was in a bit of a weird space after trying to get used to being in isolation, and thinking worst case that I might be there for 14 days if I was positive. To deal with it mentally was challenging – I was preparing myself for the worst. However, after getting the two negative results, I just tried to re-focus and get back in my normal routine.”Pretorius returned to the side to top-score with 90, opening the batting, and then took 1 for 40 in his nine overs as the Wolves fell to a four-wicket loss with two balls to spare. The series continues with the third 50-over fixture on Tuesday.

Acknowledges errors, says “I will hold myself in check” with respect to reviews

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Mar-2021

R Ashwin was one of the star performers for India in the back-to-back Test series wins in Australia and against England at home. But, even as he picked up 44 wickets at 18.56 in seven Test matches, his expertise (or lack of it) with DRS did raise an eyebrow or two. He knows it, and – tongue firmly in cheek, wide smile in place – shifts the blame to Rishabh Pant for the poor success rate with reviews of late.”I think we need to change the lens with which people are looking at me with the DRS,” Ashwin, a guest at the , said. “Sometimes what people are telling us might not be true, because before this series against England, my DRS was extremely good. Because when you take DRS, you need to rely on the keeper’s resources.Related

Ashwin hits back at pitch critics: 'Who defines a good surface?'

ICC rankings: Pant, Rohit joint-seventh; Ashwin moves up to No. 2

'Given an opportunity, I will make game-breaking performance'

Let's talk about the beauty of R Ashwin's bowling

“Because I ask valid questions in terms of saying… I know whether the ball has struck in line or not, but with respect to the line from the angle that I am bowling and the bounce, the keeper really needs to help.”And then came the light-hearted blame game: “And Rishabh is actually letting me down on a lot of occasions. I took him aside and I said, ‘we need to sit together on a crash course with DRS, because Ravi (Shastri) has a few complaints with me going for DRS’.”Cue a lot of laughs, as expected. Jokes aside, Ashwin does want to fix the issue. “So, honestly, yeah, if there is one improvement I would like to make it’s go for better DRS in the future series, I will hold myself in check.”Since the start of 2018 till the start of the England series, in the 19 Test matches Ashwin played, 20 reviews were asked for by the Indians when he was bowling. Of those, four were overturned upon appeal, five were deemed to be umpires’ calls, and 11 reviews were squandered. In the four Tests against England, India got one review right when Ashwin was bowling, while nine were lost and one was an umpire’s call.Next up for Ashwin, who is not a part of India’s white-ball teams, is the IPL, where he will be a part of the Delhi Capitals again, with Pant as well. There’s something for the two of them to chat about.

da esport bet： Tottenham Hotspur moved up to third in the Premier League table on Sunday night when they travelled to the Hill Dickinson stadium to beat Everton 3-0.

da cassino online： The Lilywhites were not in total control, as they needed Guglielmo Vicario to make two incredibly impressive stops, but they did end the night with a comfortable scoreline.

Micky van de Ven’s first-half performance provided Spurs with a platform to go on and win the match, as he scored two goals to take his tally for the season to five.

Why Micky van de Ven has drawn comparisons to Jan Vertonghen

It feels inevitable that a left-footed centre-back will be compared to Jan Vertonghen at Spurs, particularly when the Belgian star scored five goals from centre-back in his first Premier League season in North London in the 2012/13 campaign, per Sofascore.

Vertonghen scored 14 goals in 314 appearances for Tottenham, per Transfermarkt, so it is easy to understand why some supporters have made the comparison, particularly when van de Ven once revealed that he “learned from” the Belgium international when watching him as a kid.

It was the former Spurs titan’s defensive work that made him a standout star, though, as he earned a place in the PFA Team of the Year on two occasions, without scoring a single league goal in the second inclusion.

That is why Tottenham supporters should be looking to another player to compare to Vertonghen, as Kevin Danso’s defensive efforts against Everton were more Vertonghen-esque than van de Ven’s.

Spurs have unearthed their new Jan Vertonghen

Van de Ven may have scored two goals and impressed at the top end of the pitch, but it was Danso who was the shining light defensively for Thomas Frank against the Toffees.

The Austria international, as shown in the post above, made the most clearances in a game for the club since Vertonghen made 21 just shy of nine years ago.

It was an incredibly impressive outing from the former Southampton man against Everton, as he was consistently in the right place at the right time to make vital defensive interventions to prevent Vicario from being worked even more than he was.

Vs Everton

Kevin Danso

Micky van de Ven

Minutes

90

90

Tackles won

1/1

0/0

Clearances

18

7

Blocked shots

2

0

Ball recoveries

3

2

Ground duels won

2/2

1/2

Aerial duels won

4/4

1/4

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, Danso offered far more to the team defensively than van de Ven did, with 11 more clearances, two more blocks, and a higher success rate in his duels on the ground and in the air.

These statistics show that the 27-year-old colossus, who was described as “quick” and “aggressive” by Jamie Redknapp, was the defensive cornerstone for the Lilywhites, and carried the Dutchman to a degree.

The £20m signing from Lens may not be a left-footed centre-back, or a huge goal threat, but he has shown that he has the impressive defensive instincts and qualities to be a Vertonghen-esque figure at the back for Frank.

If he can continue to put in performances like the one he showed against Everton, Cristian Romero may have a job on his hands to find a way of getting back into the starting line-up, as Danso currently looks undroppable.

Related Worse than Simons: Frank must drop 2/10 Spurs flop who lost 88% duels

Thomas Frank must drop this Tottenham Hotspur flop who was even worse than Xavi Simons.

Posts ByDan Emery Oct 26, 2025

Frank appears to have unearthed his own Vertonghen in the defensive monster, who has won 100% of his ground duels in the Premier League this season, and long may it continue as Spurs look to climb up the table.

Продолжение: Халява: Ubisoft дарит на ПК еще одну игру, но придется постараться

Ubisoft запустил бесплатную раздачу ПК-версии Splinter Cell Chaos Theory. Забрать игру можно до 25 ноября.

В российском Ubisoft Store стелс-экшен до сих пор продается за 419 рублей, однако его можно без проблем забрать в лаунчере Ubisoft Connect. Для этого откройте вкладку «Игры», найдите Chaos Theory в разделе «Бесплатные игры» и добавьте ее в библиотеку.

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Chaos Theory — третья часть серии стелс-экшенов о специальном агенте Сэме Фишере. На данный момент это самая высоко оцененная игра во франшизе — 94 балла на Metacritic и 93% положительных отзывов в Steam.

Обновление: Также в японском Ubisoft Store можно забрать Splinter Cell: Double Agent.

Следить за скидками на игры и халявой можно также в нашем Telegram-канале.

🥳 Project Zomboid получила официальный мультиплеер в 42-м билде

+3

Поделиться:

PC Новости Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos TheoryНовости Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double AgentНовостиИгровые новостихаляваUbisoftизображения

Australia batter has been in discussions to play “three or four games” of county cricket at start of summer

Vithushan Ehantharajah13-Jan-2023Steven Smith is moving closer to a County Championship deal with Sussex in pole position to acquire the Australia batter on a short-term deal for the start of the 2023 season.A report in the on Thursday cited Hove as the likeliest destination for Smith, who has spent the last few months in discussions with county sides over a possible stint of “three or four games”. ESPNcricinfo understands Smith was ideally looking at joining a club in Division One, with Kent seen as an ideal given his links to the county following a stint in club cricket at Sevenoaks Vine CC in 2007, which led to a one-off second-team appearance at Canterbury. However, the club’s situation and Smith’s availability did not align. No contract has yet been signed with Sussex, who play in Division Two, with a decision expected in the coming week.The short-term deal would allow Smith to acclimatise to English conditions ahead of Australia’s likely appearance in the World Test Championship final at the Kia Oval in June, along with the Ashes series that follows, beginning at Edgbaston on June 16. The 33-year-old is forgoing this year’s IPL, a period he will use to return home after Australia’s four-Test series in India which finishes in the middle of March.Related

• Steven Smith signs for three Championship games with Sussex

• Sussex bring in Shadab Khan for Vitality Blast

• Neil Wagner signs up for Yorkshire Championship spell

• Smith on his future: 'I really can't say how long I'll play for'

• Khawaja: Australia's stability will serve them well in India

This would be Smith’s first red-ball experience in county cricket, and the pull of a player of his undoubted quality is all too clear. He averages 60.89 in Test cricket – a figure that only drops to 59.55 across 16 Tests in England – and has 30 centuries in the format. His previous dalliance with the English domestic game came in 2010 when he played five T20 matches for Worcestershire.However in 2007, Smith was presented with the opportunity of forging a long-term future in English cricket when Surrey offered him a full-time contract after he was scouted by their first team coach at the time, Alan Butcher. Smith has British citizenship through his mother, Gillian, who was born in London, and ended up playing two matches for Surrey 2nd XI, but turned down the offer with a view to continuing his progression at New South Wales. His one-off appearance for Kent 2nd XI came earlier that summer. As it happens, Paul Farbrace, the new head coach at Sussex, was Kent’s academy and 2nd XI coach at the time.Smith’s presence in the English domestic game will present a concern for the national team, offering vital preparation for a rival ahead of their attempts to reclaim the Ashes. Such a dilemma was put to Ben Stokes on the recent tour of Pakistan, and England’s Test captain was conflicted on the matter.”It’s good for the county game to see players of Steve’s calibre want to come over and play,” Stokes said. “But I don’t know. It’s one of those where you probably prefer them not to get any game time in England before the Ashes. It is what it is.”However, Mo Bobat, ECB’s performance director, insisted that the benefits of Smith’s presence on the county circuit would cut both ways.”You end up being fairly split,” he said. “Any good player coming to our domestic system will raise the standard of it. In many ways it’s good. It’s good for our bowlers to bowl at Steve Smith. It’s good for young batters to bat with him. There is upside.”Specifically with the Ashes. Yeah, you could say it helps him prep and that could be a disadvantage to England. I don’t spend too much time thinking about that. We just try to control what we can do. I think, and I’m sure that Brendon and Ben would be the same, if we play to our potential we know we are a match for anyone and can beat anyone, the way we are playing our cricket. We will focus on that.”At times it’s disappointing that our players aren’t afforded the same opportunities overseas,” Bobat added. “I’d love to get more of our players in first-class cricket overseas. It’s notoriously difficult. It’s not particularly easy in Australia, can’t really do it in India, we’ve done it at times before in Sri Lanka. It’s not an easy thing to do, but it would be nice if our players could sample a bit of that in red-ball cricket. It’s not easy, though.”Should Smith sign for Sussex, he will be a replacement for Jayden Seales. The West Indian quick was due to be the club’s second overseas player alongside India batter Cheteshwar Pujara, but has been ruled out of the start of the English summer after requiring surgery on an injury to his left knee.It is understood Sussex, who went through a turbulent period under the joint coaching team of Ian Salisbury and James Kirtley before the appointment of Farbrace, are also looking to bring in Australia allrounder Sean Abbott on an all-format deal, and Pakistan legspinner Shadab Khan for the Vitality Blast.

Shane Watson, the former Australia allrounder, has parted ways with the San Francisco Unicorns after a three-year stint as head coach of the Major League Cricket (MLC) franchise.The Unicorns have not announced Watson’s successor yet. “In an effort to strengthen the Unicorns’ long-term strategy, the organization is shifting to a year-round coaching model,” the franchise said in a statement. “Watson’s ongoing commentary commitments and the rapid growth of his acclaimed performance coaching brand, BEON Performance, prevent him from taking on a full-time role with the Unicorns.”Under Watson, the Unicorns finished fifth out of six teams in the inaugural edition of the MLC in 2023 before reaching the playoffs in both 2024 and 2025; their best finish came in 2024 when they lost the final to Washington Freedom.”It has been a true privilege to lead the San Francisco Unicorns over the last three seasons,” Watson said. “I’m proud of what we accomplished, and am grateful for the opportunity to have worked with world-class stars and incredible young talent in Major League Cricket, which continues to be an exciting new frontier for the sport.”Apart from the Unicorns stint, Watson has also coached in other franchise leagues; he was assistant coach of Delhi Capitals in the 2022 and 2023 seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and head coach of Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in 2024.”Shane was the natural choice to be our first Head Coach, and he played a key role in building the Unicorns from the ground up,” Unicorns CEO David White said. “We are eternally grateful for Shane’s dedication across his three seasons in charge, and the Unicorns wish him every success in his future endeavors.”

New Zealand remain on top after taking a 158-run lead

Hemant Brar31-Jul-2025The Zimbabwe bowlers put in a more disciplined performance on the second day of the first Test in Bulawayo, but Daryl Mitchell’s gritty 80 ensured New Zealand kept their advantage intact.New Zealand started the day on 92 for no loss and marched to 158 for 1 before losing five wickets for 42 runs. But Mitchell, with the help of the lower order, steered them to 307, ensuring a lead of 158. New Zealand then removed the Zimbabwe openers before stumps, still 127 ahead.In the morning, Blessing Muzarabani gave Zimbabwe a dream start, removing Will Young with the first ball of the day. It was a short delivery and Young fended it towards Nick Welch, who was slightly deeper than usual at short leg and completed the catch with a dive. Welch was not sure if he had taken it cleanly, but the TV umpire found no issues with it.Devon Conway was fluent at the other end. With Muzarabani and Tanaka Chivanga operating from around the wicket, he used the cover drive to good effect and picked up three boundaries with it in three successive overs. Muzarabani switched to over the wicket to deny Conway but by then he was into the last over of his spell.Henry Nicholls, playing his first Test since December 2023, came in at No. 3 and looked a little uncertain. The Zimbabwe seamers found his outside edge a couple of times but they did not carry to the slip cordon. Nicholls grew in confidence as he spent time in the middle. When Newman Nyamhuri missed his line or length, he pounced on it, taking 22 runs off just 24 balls from the left-arm seamer. During this, he also completed 3000 Test runs.Blessing Muzarabani celebrates Michael Bracewell’s dismissal•Zimbabwe CricketConway and Nicholls took New Zealand into the lead before Muzarabani returned to end the 66-run stand for the second wicket. Seeing Nicholls back away, Muzarabani followed him. Two balls earlier, Nicholls had hit a boundary using the same ploy. But this time, he was cramped and ended up hitting the ball straight to Brian Bennett at gully.That triggered a collapse in which New Zealand lost five wickets for 42 runs.Rachin Ravindra was the next to fall, edging Sikandar Raza to slip, where Craig Ervine completed an otherwise regulation catch on the second attempt.After lunch, Chivanga got the reward for his hard work. His extra bounce had Conway, on 88, miscuing an uppercut to Bennett, who took his second catch at gully. In his next over, Chivanga used the short ball to get rid of Tom Blundell, who pulled one into the lap of deep square leg.Muzarabani, too, used the short ball to have Michael Bracewell top-edging a pull. For a moment, it looked like wicketkeeper Tafadzwa Tsiga had misjudged it but he put in a full-stretch dive in the end to complete the catch near fine leg. That left New Zealand at 200 for 6.Mitchell and Mitchell Santner added 33 for the seventh wicket to lend the innings some stability before Santner chipped one back to legspinner Vincent Masekesa. After that, Mitchell took the lead. In the company of Nathan Smith, he brought up his fifty and added 61 for the eighth wicket. Smith played his part by scoring 22 and resisting for 79 balls, of which he took two on the body. He had to eventually retire hurt.With Matt Henry falling soon after and Smith not coming back, Mitchell was forced to take risks. He moved across his stumps to scoop Nyamhuri but missed and lost his middle stump. By then, though, New Zealand had regained their advantage. They extended it when Henry had Ben Curran hooking one to fine leg and Will O’Rourke had Bennett edging one to the wicketkeeper before stumps.

كشف الإيطالي كارلو أنشيلوتي، المدير الفني لمنتخب البرازيل الأول لكرة القدم موقف نيمار من المشاركة مع السيلساو خلال كأس العالم 2026.

ويغيب نيمار عن منتخب البرازيل منذ معسكر مارس 2023، إذ عانى من إصابات عديدة جعلته يغيب عن العديد من المباريات.

وقال أنشيلوتي، في تصريحات نقلتها صحيفة “آس” الإسبانية: “نأمل أن يكون نيمار في أفضل حالاته وأن يكون في كأس العالم”.

وأضاف: “السؤال الذي طُرح عليّ أكثر من غيره حتى الآن يتعلق بنيمار، وهذا طبيعي لأنه أسطورة كرة القدم البرازيلية لذلك فهو طبيعي”.

اقرأ أيضًا | رئيس سانتوس يوجه رسالة لـ أنشيلوتي حول مشاركة نيمار في كأس العالم

وأكمل: “أعلم أن الجميع يتمنون أن يستعيد نيمار أفضل لياقة بدنية له، لا توجد أي مشكلة مع نيمار”.

واستطرد: “الحقيقة هي أن كرة القدم الحديثة تتطلب الكثير ليس فقط الموهبة، بل أيضًا اللياقة البدنية والحماس، نأمل أن يكون نيمار في أفضل حالاته”.

وعن تغير مركز نيمار: “أعتقد أنه بحاجة للعب في مركز أكثر مركزية وليس جناح لأن الأجنحة في كرة القدم الحديثة عليها أيضًا المساهمة دفاعيًا”.

وأتم: “اللعب في مركز أكثر مركزيًا يُقلل العبء الدفاعي بكثير من اللعب كجناح، علاوة على ذلك أعتقد أن اللاعب الموهوب جدًا والذي يكون الأقرب إلى المرمى، لديه فرص أكثر للتسجيل، قد يكون مركزه المثالي هو مركز المهاجم الوهمي”.

Plays of the Day from the first day of the first Test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Galle

Andrew Fernando in Galle17-Nov-2012The comeback
Brendon McCullum showed excellent judgement of when to hit out during his 68, but he might regret having incurred Rangana Herath’s wrath when he thumped an overpitched ball from Herath back over the bowler’s head for six. Herath produced the delivery of the day next ball, when he drifted one in from wide of the crease, pitched it on a length on middle and off, then got it to kick away from McCullum sharply, beating the batsman’s prod and clipping the outside of off stump.The waste
With Sri Lanka Cricket seemingly willing to do anything to save a few pennies, the team initially appeared to be supporting the board’s budget pinching when they refused to take the second new ball as soon as it was due, having only one wicket left to take. After just 2.3 overs though, Mahela Jayawardene abandoned his avarice, and called for a shiny new Test match Kookaburra. Nuwan Kulasekara took only two deliveries with the new ball to knock Trent Boult over, and that is $900 SLC will never get back.The drop
Suraj Randiv was the unluckiest bowler on day one, having got sharp turn and bounce for most of the day without the reward of a wicket. In Tillakaratne Dilshan’s absence he is the best fielder on the team, but even his hands let him down today, when he juggled, then shelled a return chance from Tim Southee, diving to his left.The loose stroke
The New Zealand batsmen were not guilty of being too aggressive on day one, except perhaps Ross Taylor, who was the only one to fall unnecessarily. Taylor had watched Nuwan Kulasekara swing the ball prodigiously in towards the right-hand batsmen all through the limited-overs matches, but opted to take on the movement anyway, after having faced only seven deliveries. The ball swung in, predictably, and collected the inside edge of his booming off drive – played away from his body – before taking off stump out of the ground.The recovery
Angelo Mathews didn’t initially pick up the leading edge looping towards him off Tim Southee’s bat, and hung back at backward point, perhaps expecting the ball to carry further than it did. He managed to complete the catch however, diving forward late, hands scraping along the turf to intercept the ball before it hit the ground.