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Shahid Afridi entertained us with his unique brand of cricket and surely left a lasting impression on the game. He was cricket’s greatest entertainer. Boom Boom is irreplaceable

Uzair Rizvi25-Mar-2015As I sat down to write a tribute to Boom Boom Afridi, I wanted my typing to match the speed at which Shahid Afridi played all his life, but unlike his cameos, my emotions and love for Afridi grew bigger and it took me a lot of time to pour out my heart and feelings as the charismatic allrounder bid farewell to ODIs.I am one of those from the generation of late ’90s, when cricket had gathered real pace and velocity. ODI cricket began scaling new heights in the 1996 World Cup with the Sri Lankan opening pair of Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana exploiting the field restrictions with aggression.This style of play really excited me and, as an Indian, I was looking for someone of a similar kind in my own team.And then a few months down the line something happened, something that changed the cricketing world, something that changed my life: an innings played by a 16-year-old unknown player from Pakistan. I personally did not see the match as I did not follow Pakistan cricket much in those days. However, the breathtaking knock in Toronto captivated me.It was a Eureka moment for me, I found my hero, I found someone in cricket that I could cheer for, and I started to keenly follow Pakistan cricket. Coming from a cricket-crazy Indian family, it was very difficult for me to single out one player from Pakistan and cheer for him even when he played against India. I was elated, so much so that I forgot that he actually scored a century against my country. Watching such a blitz in those days was enough for me to get drawn to Afridi.For me he was all hitting and power but for my elder sister he was more than that, I remember how she would often ask me to get his posters from sports shop and stick them in her room. Without a doubt, I could say that she had found her hero too. I also found another friend who would always accompany me to watch Pakistan play.I got more attached to Afridi and started to follow every move of his. I became a fan of his bowling too.Then came Sharjah – Afridi was on the rise – he was mesmerising. I would say it wasn’t just joy and thrill that drew me to an Afridi innings. It was the notion that this crude form of batting could succeed in international cricket, albeit sporadically, and that this player was being allowed to bat with unrestrained freedom. For purity I had Rahul Dravid’s drives, but for adrenaline it was always Afridi.Patience was never a virtue for Afridi. He liked speed and he thrived on entertaining fans with power. At the crease he was always in a hurry, whether he was batting or bowling.After many years the Pakistan team toured India in 2005. And Afridi was at it again. He simply blew India away in Kanpur. Mr Boom Boom came to open the innings and slammed 102 off 46 balls as Pakistan chased down 250 in less than 43 overs. I forgot that he was playing against my team, I forgot how storied the India-Pakistan rivalry was, because my love and passion for Afridi’s style of batting knew no boundaries.In 2008 I watched Afridi’s 37-ball ton on YouTube and the pain of not witnessing this innings subsided. The picture quality was grainy, but watching Afridi smoke six after six was exhilarating.And how could I forget the Asia Cup in 2014, with India at the receiving end again. I realised that there were several moments that gave me both pleasure and heartbreak whenever India and Pakistan played. Sometimes I was left frustrated and cursed the partition, dreaming that Afridi and Sehwag could have opened in the same team.He may be overrated, he may be impatient, he may not have the statistics on his side. But he is an explosive package.He remained a hero to millions, a reason for smiles and a crowd favourite. Perhaps he is the most-loved Pakistan player in India. I have seen the spark in our eyes whenever the he came to bat.I know he’s not done yet, he will ply his trade in T20s, so there’s something for me to look forward to, but I have always associated him with ODIs, and yes being stuck on 395 ODI wickets is unfortunate.For me he still is that 16-year-old lad, ready to take the opposition on. He entertained us with his unique brand of cricket and has surely left a lasting impression on the game. He was cricket’s greatest entertainer.Boom Boom is irreplaceable. Thank you for the memories, Lala.If you have a submission for Inbox, send it to us here, with “Inbox” in the subject line.

While Dinesh Chandimal has shown the aptitude to captain Sri Lanka, he seems to be shackled by it, and this has badly affected in his limited-overs batting of late

Andrew Fidel Fernando20-Nov-2013When Sri Lanka appointed Tillakaratne Dilshan captain in 2011, he rushed back mid-IPL to accept the post. The man that appeared before the press shortly after was unlike any Dilshan that had been seen before. The designer beard had been replaced by a plain goatee, the earring had vanished, and he spoke and behaved in a manner he felt was fitting for an international captain.Yet, despite his efforts, there was something amiss about his new public avatar. Beneath the weight of all that responsibility, Dilshan had lost something of himself. A man who struggles to get his point across in any language was suddenly wading through scores of interviews in his second language, stumbling over rote-learned lines, slipping on generic phrases.There were occasional outbursts of mirth, like when Sri Lanka won their first Test in South Africa, but Dilshan mostly caged his mischief, and the team and his own form could not wear his feigned virtues well. It was not until he was relieved of the reins that he truly regained himself. The two years since have been among the most productive of his career, in limited-overs cricket in particular.Dilshan’s tale should inspire caution in Sri Lanka’s selectors and the young men they are grooming for leadership. Angelo Mathews had two years as vice-captain before he was placed in charge, and perhaps thanks to that incubation period, there has been no serious slip in his cricket – though there have been no substantial gains either.Dinesh Chandimal has not been so fortunate. In 23 limited-overs innings since March, Chandimal has not hit one fifty. In ODIs he averages 16.81 and has scored his runs at a strike rate of 62. In four Twenty20 knocks, his average is in the single figures.There is no doubt that he is batting woefully out of position, and is often tasked with finishing the innings – a job which his cricket is patently not suited to. But even so, his returns have been appalling. Worse, he must now seek to build a side for the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, where he, ostensibly, will lead the campaign.There can equally be no doubt in Chandimal’s ability. On Test debut, he withstood Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Jacques Kallis and Marchant de Lange, to produce two half-centuries that were vital for Sri Lanka’s innings, and their eventual, famous win. In his first ODI at Lord’s he arrived at No. 3 to lead the chase, and hit a hundred in what he feels is still his best cricketing moment. In Sydney this year, and in Colombo, he has played Test innings that have required considerable fortitude in tough situations. In the longest format, he still averages 58.But, like Dilshan, there is something clearly amiss with Chandimal now. He has allowed leadership to curb his spirit. The big, extravagant strokes replete with the high follow-through, the deft trips down the pitch, the exuberance – even in defence – have all given way to cautious prods and unsteady footwork. He had quickly gained a reputation as team mischief-maker soon after he arrived at the top level, but now he is fretful and afraid, at the crease and in public.After Tuesday’s washout, a journalist had jovially asked him what he did on wet, miserable nights. Conceding a smile, but turning around to the team manager to confirm that he should answer, Chandimal launched into a 90-second description on how he and his young team-mates spend their time extracting nuggets of cricketing wisdom from the older men, on how to face certain balls and particular bowlers.Not only that, he said, they cluster together and go from senior player to senior player, like ascetics learning at the feet of enlightened gurus. It was the most correct thing to say, perhaps, and exceptionally uncontroversial, but unless Sri Lanka’s youngsters are the most hideously boring 20-something-year-olds on the planet, it probably wasn’t completely true either.Unlike Dilshan, Chandimal has already proven to be a gifted captain. He is rarely short of ideas, thinks laterally and has the makings of a fine record. Accordingly, Sri Lanka’s selectors are unlikely to strip him of the captaincy, particularly considering the potential for damage to Chandimal’s confidence.As a leader, though, he has not learnt to feel comfortable in his own skin. Unless he rediscovers the verve that once propelled his cricket and made him such a joy to watch, his batting may continue to be a poor reflection of his personality and his talent.

The South Africans hope that Alviro Petersen’s calm, no-frills demeanour will translate to results with the bat, in Graeme Smith’s company at the top of the order

Firdose Moonda in Cape Town02-Jan-2012Very few people believe a problem can be solved through talking, rather than doing. Last week, Sri Lanka showed that sometimes it can. After their innings-and-81-runs humiliation in Centurion, it emerges that a team talk was one of the key factors that sparked Sri Lanka’s exponentially superior determination and commitment in Durban.Members of the Sri Lankan think tank had spoken – frankly, honestly and even harshly – about the reasons for their underperformance. They discussed areas that needed improvement, they tried to map out plans to ensure that improvement and they addressed other concerns, mostly mental ones, about playing in a foreign country. They also held two extra training sessions, gruelling as always, to get themselves ready for Durban. The result was a famous win, and now South Africa are trying to mirror the visiting team’s methods.South Africa’s first step towards recovering from a loss that Graeme Smith termed “embarrassing”, has been to address the concerns in the mind and the worries in the heart. “It’s been a pretty tough time. We needed to overcome a few emotions. You go through the down time where you start reflecting and then you start picking yourself up as a team,” Smith said. “We’ve had some really good chats about areas where we feel we’ve been poor.”South Africa held an extended three-and-a-half hour training session on Sunday but had to cancel their practice on Monday because of a nagging drizzle. The team spent the best part of two hours in their change room, chatting. The main topic of conversation was the mental shift that needs to be made when playing on wickets that are not tailor-made for the attack and are more like brown house snakes than green mambas.The Durban pitch fit that category, since it provided a more even contest between bat and ball rather than overly favour of quicks. South Africa’s batsmen fell apart, unable to adjust to slightly uneven bounce while their bowlers battled to make use of a pitch that did not assist them as much as they hoped. “We played on fairly juicy wickets throughout the season and then we got on one wicket that was a little different to that and we didn’t adapt well enough,” Smith admitted. “It’s more of a mental shift. When we are thrown out of the loop with a wicket that is not like that [green] we need to make that mental shift quicker.”Although dotted with tinges of green, the Newlands pitch is likely to be another good cricket wicket and South Africa will have to be ready for a five-day duel, instead of a straight shoot-out. One of the players who could assist them in getting accustomed to the long haul is the recalled opener Alviro Petersen. Since being dropped, Petersen has scored three first-class hundreds, the most notable of them against the touring Australians on a spicy pitch.The South Africans hope that Petersen’s calm, no-frills demeanour will translate to results with the bat, in Smith’s company at the top of the order. The two have a fairly solid record together. They have eight fifty-plus stands, including two century-partnerships, in the nine Test matches they have opened in together. Although Petersen has not progressed much after making a century on debut in India, he has shown immense development in the domestic game. Smith hoped they could resume their relationship successfully.”Opening the batting, you both front up to a lot of things so you need to be there for each other and understand each other,” he said. “We’ve got to know each other pretty well and we need to resurrect that pretty quickly. He is carrying some terrific form at the moment and hopefully we can gel that together.”When Petersen was dropped, he was thought to be a victim of another’s prolific form, since Jacques Rudolph stunned the SuperSport Series with 954 runs in his comeback season. Now, there is a perceived sense of justice in Petersen’s recall, after Rudolph’s failure to push on from his domestic successes. Rudolph and Smith opened together in four matches, with only one half-century partnership and Rudolph managed a top score of just 44. Petersen’s return means Rudolph will bat at No. 6 in Cape Town.Another player whose frame of mind could be important for this Test is Imran Tahir. After debuting in a cloud of hype, Tahir has not lived up to his domestic form and was substantially less successful than Herath in Durban. He is expected to make a bigger impact at Newlands, and Smith said the team management had put a lot of work to help him make the step up to international cricket.”It’s more that he needs an understanding of how to be successful at Test cricket. It’s not that he doesn’t have the ability,” Smith said. Paul Adams has spent a lot of time with him, talking about spin bowling so if he can have a mentor in that way to talk to about how to be successful, it will help. We’ll give him as much as time as possible to develop and to grow.”While time may on Tahir’s side, it is not on South Africa’s. This Test will be their last opportunity this season to break their jinx at home – they haven’t won their last four home series. Smith said he hopes all the talking will pay off. “We can play tougher cricket,” Smith said. “We can make Sri Lanka earn a few more things than what they earned in Durban.”

Mitchell Johnson, Ben Hilfenhaus and Stuart Clark all struggled at various junctures and, if not for a succession of muddle-headed strokes, Australia might have faced a more treacherous path over the coming four days

Alex Brown at The Oval20-Aug-2009It was a day on which England missed a trick, Australia got out of jail and The Oval pitch befuddled all. In this most unpredictable of series, Australia’s bowlers battled as much with themselves as they did the opposing batsmen, conceding boundaries (40) and extras (36, including 17 no-balls) with reckless abandon yet, somehow, almost managed to terminate England’s first innings in a day.Ricky Ponting will be quietly satisfied to have arrived at stumps with England stationed on 307 for 8. Mitchell Johnson, Ben Hilfenhaus and Stuart Clark all struggled at various junctures for accuracy, penetration and footing, and if not for a succession of muddle-headed strokes from the hosts, Australia might well have faced a more treacherous path over the coming four days.At least six England batsmen were left to rue the circumstances surrounding their dismissals, having again failed to convert solid starts into dominant innings. Not for the first time this series, loose strokes outside off-stump proved the downfall of many, eroding much of the foundation work laid by Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell in the first session.Precious little went right for the Australians on Thursday morning, beginning with the coin toss. Ponting called incorrectly for the fourth time this series, allowing England first opportunity to bat on a surface that proved far flatter than most had anticipated. The predicted pace and bounce lasted only as long as the lacquer on the Duke, and Australia may live to regret the decision to omit Nathan Hauritz in preference of an all-pace attack. Footmarks and clouds of dust were noticeable well inside the first session of play and Marcus North, a part-timer who had bowled just 13.3 overs in the series prior to the Thursday, immediately found sharp turn when introduced into the attack after lunch.England appeared well positioned for a final, glorious assault on the urn when Strauss and Bell headed to lunch with 108 runs on the board and only Alastair Cook back in the pavilion. Hilfenhaus, the rock of Australia’s attack entering the fifth Test, was guilty of straying both sides of the wicket in his first spell, but of more concern was the return of Johnson’s directional issues.Certainly, this wasn’t the Johnson of Lord’s, but neither was it the Johnson of Johannesburg. Eight no-balls and three wides indicated a general lack of rhythm, although his setting-up of the dangerous Matt Prior from around-the-wicket and wide on the crease was a worthy effort. Johnson rattled Prior with a shorter delivery, then coaxed him into a rash stroke to a wider, slower offering that flew to Shane Watson in the gully. His earlier bumper barrage to Bell was similarly entertaining, but for the most part,
Johnson’s 15 overs were notable for their errant lines and five-an-over scoring rates.Clark, too, struggled for impact, although he did succeed in drying up England’s scoring. Bowing a fuller line than his standard top-of-off-stump approach, Clark beat the bat infrequently and appeared down on pace, albeit on a pitch that hardly suited him. Still, with three of Australia’s four pacemen shy of peak form, and The Oval pitch flattening by the hour, all seemed in place for a day of English dominance.But, as has so often been the case in this series, conventional wisdom was not applicable. Careless batting, an indefatigable Peter Siddle, and the magnificent run-out executed by Simon Katich at short-leg steadily whittled away England’s advantage over the course of the afternoon. Siddle was an early beneficiary of several of the aforementioned loose strokes, but also produced one of the deliveries of the day – brisk, full and angling – to remove the in-form Bell. His dismissal set-up a final session in which Australia claimed 5-127, and removed their head from what appeared an ever-tightening noose at the lunch break.Undoubtedly the highlight of the day was Katich’s run-out of Trott – a manouvre that required the fast-twitch muscle fibres of Usain Bolt, and the precision of Phil “The Power” Taylor. By that stage, England were acutely aware that the day was slipping from their grasp, and only a dogged eighth-wicket stand from Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann restored parity to proceedings.

Kings captain Dhawan rues the lack of runs from his top order and the fielded lapses

Shashank Kishore09-Apr-2024

The past week has been unlike any other for 20-year-old Nitish Kumar Reddy. The Andhra allrounder made an unbeaten eight-ball 14 when Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Chennai Super Kings four nights ago. But on Tuesday, he played a bigger role – hitting a 37-ball 64 that lifted a floundering Sunrisers innings from 64 for 4 to 182 for 9, which proved to be match-changing.It wasn’t just his batting contribution that was key. Nitish, who bowls lively medium pace in the mid-130s, dismissed Jitesh Sharma in the 16th over with Punjab Kings looking for a late charge.More than the wicket, it was the manner of his setup, of bowling a slower bouncer into the pitch and having Jitesh hack towards the longer boundary, that was even more impressive. Nitish finished with figures of 1 for 33 off three overs. No wonder Pat Cummins, the captain, was extremely delighted with Nitish’s performance.Related

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“He was awesome,” Cummins said. “Straight to the top of the order [in this game], was fantastic in the field, bowled three overs too. To get us to 180 off his bat, it was amazing.”Nitish himself seems to be a man of few words, but seemed pleased at being able to contribute. It’s likely he only got the opportunity because Sunrisers decided Abhishek Sharma’s form was too good for him to be batting at No. 3. With Mayank Agarwal sick, Abhishek made a splash against CSK with a 12-ball 37 to set the tempo in their chase of 166, which they comfortably achieved with 11 balls to spare.That performance may have tempted the team management to continue with Abhishek at the top with Travis Head, paving the way for Nitish to keep his place even though Agarwal was ruled fit for this match. Nitish repaid the faith with a back-to-the-wall knock in which he hit four fours and five sixes.”For me, it is a big contribution for my team and myself,” Nitish said at the presentation. “I have been talking to myself that I have to believe in myself and that I have to be there [for the team]. The seamers were bowling well, so I did not want to take them on. When the spinners came on, I wanted to attack them and that is what I did.”The game was a lot closer than it looked like it would be at one stage. That was down to a slew of catches going down in the death overs, including two in the final over that were tipped over the ropes for sixes. Needing 29 off the final over bowled by Jaydev Unadkat, Kings fell three short with Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma giving Sunrisers a mighty scare.Cummins highlighted Sunrisers’ approach as he summed up their tight win. “It was a great game of cricket,” he said. “They bowled really well at the start, we did well to get to 182 and then defended it. The beauty of the impact player is that you feel you have really deep batting. We try to be positive, to take the game on.”If you get 150-160, you are going to lose nine out of ten games anyway. We knew the new ball was going to be a key time. We were pretty happy [with our score]. We saw what happened with the new ball for them, so thought if me and Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar Kumar] could start off with a wicket, it would be good. We have plenty of left-armers, right-armers, so just tried to give the bowlers the best chance of success.”Shikhar Dhawan, the Kings captain, lamented their top-order meltdown in the powerplay. Kings were tottering at 20 for 3 in the fifth over with Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh and Dhawan all back in the dug out. That they had a shot at victory was courtesy a late flourish from Shashank and Ashutosh, who added 66 off just 27 balls for the seventh wicket.As the final ball was nailed for a six, Kings couldn’t have helped but look back on the six they conceded off the last ball when Harshal Patel missed an opportunity at the long-on boundary.”Shashank and Ashutosh played great knocks. I feel that we kept them to a good total. Unfortunately, we could not cash in on the first six overs and that is where we lost the game,” Dhawan said. “That pinched us hard. The wicket was not offering that much bounce so every individual has to come up with better plans.”We could have stopped 10-15 runs more and that made a difference as well. As a batting unit, we did not perform. It is important for the top order to perform. Shashank and Ashutosh’s performance gives us confidence and hope for the next game. We have to do better in certain areas and improve.”

From healing wounds within the Australian dressing room to setting and pushing towards long-term goals, the new head coach will have plenty on his plate

Daniel Brettig03-May-20180:46

Langer: Ball-tampering mistakes can be forgiven

CultureOne of Justin Langer’s oft-quoted phrases is “culture is behaviour”, a saying he has personally followed with monastic thoroughness since his earliest days as a fiercely aspirational young batsman. Lacking some of the more outsize batting talents of his contemporaries, Langer worked assiduously at mental and technical improvement, becoming the hardest man to dismiss in domestic cricket while slipping in and out of the national team. When he finally gained a more permanent berth as Matthew Hayden’s opening partner at the conclusion of the 2001 Ashes, Langer unleashed a more shot-laden and aggressive streak. By his career he set an example he has been able to draw upon as a coach. Earnest discipline combined with uncompromising cricket: that will be the culture Langer seeks to impart.What Langer said”I think one of the things that’s really important is we keep looking to earn respect. To me respect is worth more than all the gold in the world. To earn respect on and off the cricket field. Another really important foundation over the last six years in WA cricket is we look to encourage great cricketers and great people. It’s not just about how we play our cricket, it’s also about being good citizens and good Australians. The Australian cricket team, the public will be disappointed if we don’t play hard competitive cricket. That said, we can also modify our behaviours. Over that time, I was lucky to play with great competitors. We talk about Allan Border, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and Steve Waugh. They played hard but they were also outstanding people. We modify our behaviour a bit so that it’s not angry or not over-aggressive but we’re still aggressive in the mindset that we play with the bat and the ball.”

“I love the way [David Warner] plays his cricket. Has he got areas to get better at? Yep. Has Steve Smith? Yep. Has Cameron Bancroft? Yep. Every single person in Australian cricket? Yep. If we can keep mentoring and helping them and they want to get better and meet the standards of the Australian cricket team of course they will be welcomed back.”Justin Langer

Track recordLanger was implored to return to the Australian set-up during the 2009 Ashes by then coach Tim Nielsen and captain Ricky Ponting. He would stay on until late 2012, whereupon he accepted the commission to coach a dysfunctional WA. The signal moment arrived a few games into that first season, a tale Adam Voges has recounted. Realising the team had celebrated a win a little too raucously with another match soon to follow, Langer pounced the next morning. “We thought all we were doing was grabbing our bags at the oval on the way to the airport, but it turned very quickly into ‘Get your running shoes on, get your shorts on, and start running’.” From that day forward the WA/Perth Scorchers alliance has become one of the most admired (or envied) in Australian cricket, winning trophies while shaping players.What Langer said”Hopefully the last six years in WA cricket has been a dress rehearsal. When I went into the job back then we were spending more time on the front pages than the back pages. We went about setting some really strong values, some really simple rules. One of the things about leadership it can be quite lonely. You have to be on it every single day. if someone does something well you say well done, that’s how we do it around here. If they don’t, no, no, no, that’s not how we do it. How people view us, that’s none of our business. We know in this world everyone has got an opinion and they’re able to voice their opinion. If we go about our behaviours on and off the field really well those outcomes will look after themselves.”SledgingOn his Test debut in Adelaide in 1993, Langer was targeted by a fearsome West Indian side that, after he was hit on the back of the helmet by an Ian Bishop bouncer, questioned his courage and ability. From that tough school Langer emerged as an advocate for Steve Waugh’s “mental disintegration”, and does not resile from the fact he believes Australian teams should be able to compete with noun, verb and adjective as much as bat and ball. But he is also aware that times have changed and so too do teams – his WA side has been tough in approach but nowhere near as vocally hostile as Australia. A balance will need to be struck.What Langer said”October 3 every year I’ll read the same headline. I’ve laughed about this the last 25 years. Every team that comes over, how are you going to combat the Australian sledging. They go ‘we’re not going to be scared of the Australian sledging’, it’s going to be great headlines. I’ve probably seen two incidents in my whole career where it got really personal and it crossed the line. There was one with Glenn McGrath and [Ramnaresh] Sarwan in the West indies, that was a very sensitive time for Pigeon. It probably crossed the line and there were consequences for that. I saw it one other time, we’ve always played hard. Some of the best banter is among each other to get the opposition thinking about other things. Mental toughness is about being 100% focused on the next ball. If you’re worrying about what you just said to me there’s a distraction. We all know what the acceptable behaviours are. There’s a difference between the competitiveness and aggression and we have to be careful with that.”Spirit of cricketDuring a Test in Sri Lanka in 2004, Langer was caught on camera tipping off a bail at the batsman’s end as he crossed the pitch between overs, leading his captain Ricky Ponting to appeal to the umpires for hit-wicket. While many observers questioned the incident and its implications, Langer always maintained it was accidental and was cleared of wrongdoing by the match referee. By common Australian custom, Langer always awaited the umpire’s decision, famously being reprieved from a caught-behind verdict by the umpire Peter Parker – who had mistakenly given Langer out in the first innings – during the epic fourth-innings Hobart chase of 1999. Those close to Langer have often talked about his tendency to see things in terms of absolutes, right and wrong.What Langer said”Culturally and historically, we look back at the old Anzac spirit we were renowned [for], we were great fighters, we looked after each other, we looked after our mates. Adam Gilchrist, elite sportsman, walked when he got out. I never walked. I loved batting so much I didn’t want to get out. That’s one of the great things about being Australian, we are fighters. Ultimately everyone knows what right and wrong is. We get taught that since when you’re a little kid from your parents, through school. If our players literally stick to that, right or wrong, they’ll be okay.”Getty ImagesSecond chancesLanger found himself on the outside of the Australian team on plenty of occasions, going on almost as many tours as a reserve batsman as he would later do as a member of the first XI. To that end he needed continual improvement to keep himself in contention. In terms of discipline, Langer has dealt firmly with numerous members of the WA squad at times, but kept an emphasis on learning from mistakes. More pragmatic as a coach than he has at times appeared, Langer is likely to be open to the returns of the “Newlands Three” given that Australia’s vaunted bowling attack will be blunted without adequate runs to defend.What Langer said”We’ll learn from what’s happened. Cameron Bancroft and Steve Smith, literally besides Mike Hussey, love the game more than anyone I know. They are cricket tragics, and they’re great kids. That’s why it was such a surprise they made the mistake they did. Davey Warner is the same. He’s a really good young bloke, he made a mistake. I love the way he plays his cricket. Has he got areas to get better at? Yep. Has Steve Smith? Yep. Has Cameron Bancroft? Yep. Every single person in Australian cricket? Yep. If we can keep mentoring and helping them and they want to get better and meet the standards of the Australian cricket team of course they will be welcomed back.”The dressing roomWith WA, Langer’s prime achievement was to forge a singular identity regardless of whether it was the Warriors or the Scorchers. This closeness and sense of shared purpose was something he took from his years in a dominant Australian dressing room, an experience he has often spoken about at a level of hyperbole that can make those who see the team as a representative side somewhat uncomfortable. Nevertheless, Langer will be quick to try to stamp out the divisions that emerged in the aftermath of Cape Town, between bowlers and batsmen, and Warner and the rest. He can also be expected to place a high premium on keeping things in-house, following the “praise in public, criticise in private” attitude that characterised much of Steve Waugh’s Australian captaincy.What Langer said”Elite mateship within the Australian cricket team’s going to be a key value. We’ll have to work on that. If you have that camaraderie, it’s the glue that keeps everything together, particularly when you’re under pressure. I would say, without being in it, that camaraderie wasn’t as tight as it needed to be because we were under pressure. I like us all to be tight, not just the players, the support staff, Cricket Australia. It’s like the great paradox for me, it was so competitive getting into the team, but when you walk through the doors with the baggy green it was like a brotherhood, it was like a nightclub, it was awesome, you’d walk in and they are like my brothers – Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Glenn McGrath – they are literally like my brothers. That’s what we have to keep promoting in the Australian cricket team.”GoalsGiven how badly the team fell apart at the back end of the South African tour, Langer’s first and most urgent task will be to build a competitive side with restricted batting resources. Beyond the forthcoming Australian summer, the prizes are rich – the 2019 World Cup and Ashes double – but befitting his connection to Waugh, Langer’s eyes are on India, which has once again become a frontier for Australian overseas success.What Langer said”If I fast forward it, the Indian tour against India, the Test tour in three or four years time, to me that’s the ultimate. We will judge ourselves as a great cricket team if we beat India in India. I look back on my career, the Mt Everest moment was 2004 when we finally beat India in India. We’ve got to get better at playing away, we’ve got to get better at playing overseas.”

The transfer window has seen plenty of comings and goings across the English top-flight, but which new arrival will have the biggest impact?

The countdown to the new Premier League season continues as clubs up and down the top-flight put the finishing touches to their squads and tactical plans before the opening round of games this coming weekend.

That means its predictions season, and here at GOAL we're no different. Our writers have been giving their takes on all the biggest issues, from the the likely Golden Boot winners and surprise packages to the biggest disappointments and those managers who will be hoping to avoid 'winning' the sack race.

It's been a monster transfer window heading into the new campaign, and we've taken a look at the potential best signings of the summer, and which players will prove to be the best value for money over the next nine months:

Manchester City FC'Cherki can fill City's KDB void'

Mark Doyle: Florian Wirtz is likely to be the most popular pick here – and that's wholly understandable. Liverpool may have paid a colossal amount of cash for the German’s services, but the kid is absolute quality, and he should run amok in the Reds' star-studded forward line. However, if we're talking about the best value-for-money signing, Rayan Cherki should prove an absolute steal for Manchester City. The 21-year-old France international is an outstanding young talent, more than capable of filling the creative void left in Pep Guardiola's team by Kevin De Bruyne. City have done so, so well to pick him up for just £34m.

AdvertisementGetty Images'Wirtz one of the world's best'

Tom Maston: After the summer signings of 2024 largely failed to deliver, Premier League clubs haven't held back this time around, with a number of clubs having spent like never before on some of the game's most exciting and talented individuals. I like the look of West Ham's new left-back, El Hadji Malick Diouf, as a potential sleeper hit, while both Martin Zubimendi and Viktor Gyokeres could be game-changers for Arsenal. But it's hard to look past Florian Wirtz being the most impactful new arrival into the league. The Germany international is one of the best players in world football, full stop; him scheming behind Liverpool's new-look forward line promises to make the Reds even more of a handful to defend against than they were last term.

Getty'Gyokeres will take Arsenal up a notch'

Amee Ruszkai: There is understandably some scepticism about Viktor Gyokeres' 39 goals in the Portuguese top-flight last season and just how transferrable that will be to the Premier League, especially given how some other strikers making that same move have fared recently. But he's not new to England and the general nuances of the domestic game, having impressed plenty at Coventry City, and his prolific Champions League campaign also shows he hasn't just been an average striker thriving in a weaker league. I see Gyokeres excelling in north London and taking Arsenal's ability to challenge for the title up a notch.

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Getty Images'Mbeumo's profile has been lacking'

Stephen Darwin: Whisper it, but Manchester United might finally be starting to get their act together, or at least they are in the transfer market. After years of signings that have failed miserably, the additions of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo are a significant step in the right direction. Both are proven in the Premier League and in the Cameroon international, United now have a player who is able to combine power, finesse and an ability to finish chances that's been sorely lacking at Old Trafford. 

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O Goiás terá um novo patrocinador master para a temporada 2023. Depois de exibir a marca da casa de apostas esportivas Pixbet em 2022, o Esmeraldino fechou com outra empresa do mesmo segmento, a Esportes da Sorte.

Oficialmente, o acordo com a exibição da marca em diferentes espaços além do uniforme (casos do backdrop de entrevistas, Centro de Treinamento, redes sociais e jogos do Goianão) não teve seus valores divulgados. Entretanto, segundo apurou o Futebol Latino/LANCE!, o contrato com validade de um ano teria rendimento na casa dos R$ 5 milhões ao clube do Centro-Oeste.

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>Confira as principais movimentações no mercado da bola

O Diretor de Marketing do Goiás, Tiago Pinheiro, entende que a nova parceira terá papel fundamental na estruturação financeira pensada pelo clube no ano além de simbolizar a retomada do prestígio da marca desde que se iniciou a atual gestão, em 2021.

-Todo o trabalho de reconstrução que estamos fazendo no clube desde quando assumimos em 2021 já vem rendendo importantes frutos e, institucionalmente, a marca Goiás voltou a ganhar valor, ter prestígio e ser desejada por grandes patrocinadores. A entrada do Esportes da Sortes como parceiro coroa essa jornada e inaugura um novo e histórico capítulo que vai contribuir muito com o planejamento financeiro do clube em 2023 – detalhou o dirigente.

Por parte da Esportes da Sorte, o CEO da companhia, Darwin Filho, destacou o processo de expansão vivido pela casa de apostas esportivas dentro do cenário do futebol nacional, já que a empresa também também acordo com quatro clubes que disputarão a Série B do Campeonato Brasileiro este ano: Guarani, Londrina, Novorizontino além do arquirrival do Goiás, o Vila Nova.

-Estamos expandindo a nossa atuação junto ao universo do esporte e do entretenimento. O fato de associar nossa imagem ao Goiás é motivo de grande felicidade. É um clube tradicional, dono de uma marca forte, reconhecida, de torcida apaixonada e que sempre representa muito bem a região – afirmou.

كشفت تقارير صحفية، تطورات جديدة بشأن إصابة الأسطورة الأرجنتينية ليونيل ميسي بعد غيابه عن مباراة بوماس في كأس الدوريات الأمريكي.

وكان إنتر ميامي حقق الفوز على بوماس بثلاثية لهدف واحد، حيث اكتفى الأسطورة الأرجنتينية بمتابعة اللقاء من خارج الملعب وحرص على مساندة ودعم زملائه.

أقرأ أيضاً.. “أمر سري”.. ماسكيرانو يكشف آخر تطورات مستقبل ميسي مع إنتر ميامي

وأستأنف انتر ميامي تدريباته أمس استعداداً لمباراته القادمة، وشهدت عودة ليونيل ميسي حيث تدرب على انفراد بشكل يدعو للتفاؤل على اقترابه من العودة.

وكان ميسي خضع لفحوصات طبية لتقييم مدى الألم العضلي الذي عانى منه خلال مباراة كأس الدوريات والذي أجبره على مغادرة الملعب، ليكشف عن تعرضه لإصابة عضلية بسيطة في الساق اليمنى ضد نيكاكسا.

وسيلتقي إنتر ميامي مع تيجريس أونال المكسيكي في دور ربع النهائي من بطولة كأس الدوريات يوم الأربعاء 20 أغسطس.

جدير بالذكر أن ليونيل ميسي تم استبعاده من إعلان مجلة فرانس فوتبول للمرشحين ال30 المتنافسين على الجائزة، إلى جانب كريستيانو رونالدو مهاجم النصر السعودي.

After reaching the final of this tournament in 2013, the Scandinavian nation have endured over a decade of underperformance on the biggest stage

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Tickets

Women's Euro Tickets

• Secure your Women's Euro 2025 tickets for this summer's international tournament
• Location: Switzerland
• Stadiums: Various, including St. Jakob Park, Stadion Wankdorf, Stade de Genève and more
• Date: July 2 – 27
• Final: July 27, St. Jakob Park

From

€149

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Accommodation

Where to stay

• Book hotels, apartments and accommodation across Switzerland for the Women's Euros
• Search for places to stay near the stadiums, across Zurich, Basel, Bern, Geneva and more
• Look for accommodation based on your dates, number of bedrooms, and budget on Booking.com

From

€49

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Kits

Shop your kit

• New kits from adidas, Nike and Puma have been released for the Women's Euro tournament
• Grab your favourite team's kit to support throughout the games
• Search for your team, including Italy, England, Germany and more
• Available in sizes XS – XXL

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Tickets

Women's Euro Tickets

• Secure your Women's Euro 2025 tickets for this summer's international tournament
• Location: Switzerland
• Stadiums: Various, including St. Jakob Park, Stadion Wankdorf, Stade de Genève and more
• Date: July 2 – 27
• Final: July 27, St. Jakob Park

From

€149

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Accommodation

Where to stay

• Book hotels, apartments and accommodation across Switzerland for the Women's Euros
• Search for places to stay near the stadiums, across Zurich, Basel, Bern, Geneva and more
• Look for accommodation based on your dates, number of bedrooms, and budget on Booking.com

From

€49

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Kits

Shop your kit

• New kits from adidas, Nike and Puma have been released for the Women's Euro tournament
• Grab your favourite team's kit to support throughout the games
• Search for your team, including Italy, England, Germany and more
• Available in sizes XS – XXL

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Take a look at Norway's squad and, on paper, they could be a dark horse for any tournament. With representatives from Barcelona, Lyon, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Arsenal, among others, and some of the very best players on the planet within their ranks, this is a team that one would expect to be a regular in the knockout stages at major tournaments. Yet, in the words of Caroline Graham Hansen at the 2023 Women's World Cup, Norway "go from championship to championship and underperform".

Those comments from the Barca winger came after Norway had suffered a shock defeat to New Zealand in the opening fixture of that tournament. It was the Football Ferns' first-ever World Cup win. "We can't do anything. Then it's a loss," Graham Hansen added, in one of many short and understandably frustrated answers to .

Drawn alongside New Zealand, Switzerland and the Philippines, Norway were expected to storm out of the group and have themselves a strong tournament for the first time in a while. Instead, they qualified in second and were comfortably beaten by Japan in the last 16.

There are parallels to that World Cup at this summer's European Championship, where Norway will once again, despite recent failures, go into their group as the heavy favourites to finish top. Alongside hosts Switzerland, who have never made it to the knockouts at the Euros; Iceland, who have one win in this competition in their history; and Finland, who haven't progressed to a quarter-final since their home Euros in 2009; this is a big opportunity for a squad boasting players like Graham Hansen and Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg. But will they take it?

• Getty Images
  

  Top quality squad

  It's hard to overstate just how many good individuals are in this Norway team, and it feels important to highlight when discussing their surprising shortcomings. Hegerberg and Graham Hansen are the two stand-out stars, the former a six-time European champion and the all-time top goal-scorer in Women's Champions League history, the latter a three-time Champions League winner who finished as runner-up in the Ballon d'Or voting last year.

  But it's easy to pick out so many other names in Gemma Grainger's squad, too. Frida Maanum and Ingrid Engen are also Champions League winners, Maanum just this year with Arsenal and Engen twice with Barca; Guro Reiten has been a stalwart in a Chelsea side that has dominated England for the last five years, helping them win the treble last term; Tuva Hansen was another player who picked up three trophies this past season, at Bayern Munich.

  Throw in the Atletico Madrid duo of Vilde Boe Risa and Synne Jensen and the Manchester United trio of Elisabeth Terland, Lisa Naalsund and Celin Bizet and there is no shortage of top-level talent in Norway. Signe Gaupset is one of the most exciting teenagers on the planet, too.

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• Getty Images
  

  Over a decade of disappointment

  This has rarely translated to international success, though. When Norway reached the final of Euro 2013, there was understandable excitement about the future. After all, both Hegerberg and Graham Hansen were still just 18 years old, with future Chelsea captain Maren Mjelde, who is still part of the team today, named to the Squad of the Tournament.

  They've struggled to hit those heights since, though. The next two European Championships have seen Norway fail to get out of the group stage, with the lowlight of those two tournaments certainly the 8-0 thumping at the hands of England in 2022. At the World Cup, the last 16 was as far as the Scandinavian nation would go at the 2015 and 2023 editions, with a quarter-final in 2019 the highlight of the last 12 years for a team with the talent to do much more.

• Getty
  

  Chaos and crisis

  The 2023 Women's World Cup was particularly disappointing. Given Norway went into that tournament with Hegerberg back in the squad, having declared herself unavailable until improvements were made within the national team some six years earlier, her return felt like a sign that progress was being made. But the summer was characterised by chaos and crisis.

  There were issues that weren't necessarily under the control of head coach Hege Riise, such as the lack of real defensive depth, but there were decisions made by the former England interim boss that certainly raised eyebrows, such as when she dropped Graham Hansen for Norway's second game, which ended in a draw that put the team in serious danger of going out in the group stages, and her persistence on playing Reiten centrally rather than out wide.

  It all came to a head the day before Norway's final group-stage game when reported that several players in the squad had reacted strongly to Riise's leadership style at the tournament, with them unhappy at the "lack of match management, unclear messages, few concrete measures and feedback when Plan A does not work", among other things.

  Unsurprisingly, despite Norway winning that final group game to progress to the last 16, Riise left her role following the 3-1 loss to Japan in the knockout stages.

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  New guidance

  The identity of Riise's successor was something of a surprise, but Grainger certainly ticked the external box that many Norway players reportedly wanted when Riise was appointed. Having come through the England youth set-up, the 42-year-old had spent the previous three years in charge of Wales, whom she couldn't steer to a first major tournament despite coming close.

  Grainger admitted at the time that she had "no intention" to leave her post with Wales, but that Norway presented her with "an unexpected opportunity" that she "could not turn down". Given the incredible quality in the Norway squad and the potential this team has to take serious leaps on the continental and world stages, her reasoning made sense.