Category Uncategorized

Borussia Dortmund will top group

The opening game in Group D tonight was suggested by many as the game that would give us an indication as to which team would finish top. If that is to be the case, then it will make pleasant reading for Borussia Dortmund after they comfortably overcame an Arsenal side lacking ideas, desire and defenders.

Arsenal missing Olivier Giroud

Often a figure of ridicule, however, Arsenal fans would’ve loved to have seen their injured Frenchman leading the line tonight. The jury is still out on Deadline Day signing Danny Welbeck and, after that performance, the former Manchester United striker won’t be keeping Oli G out once he returns from the sidelines.

Mesut Ozil needs to be dropped

When you’re a club’s record signing, the pressure to deliver is greater than anything they will have experienced before.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Since his arrival from Real Madrid, Ozil has been on the decline which has brought out the critics in full force.

Maybe a few games on the bench will help the German international recharge his batteries and rediscover his devastating form?

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini claimed that his side’s 3-2 Premier League defeat to Manchester United was undeserved.

The Sky Blues went behind to a last minute Robin van Persie free-kick after fighting back from a 2-0 deficit.

Mancini felt his team’s efforts over the 90 minutes deserved a share of the points:

“For 20 minutes they didn’t touch the ball and the first chance they got, they scored a goal,” The Italian told SkySports after the game.

“We recovered very well and we dominated the second half.

“We wanted to win the game and we had chances.”

Despite the relatively early stage of the season, speculation had been rife in to the build up to the game that the winners would have a clear advantage in the title battle.

The Red Devils moved six points clear of their rivals at the top of the table, but Mancini feels that the fight is far from over:

“We have showed we are a really strong team and we can win this title again. We can’t win always.

“There is a moment when you lose at home and it happened today. But the season is a long one.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

“We won the league with the last touch of the ball last year. But we didn’t deserve to lose this game. We played very well.”

Wayne Rooney struck twice to give United a 2-0 lead, before goals from Yaya Toure and Pablo Zabaleta levelled.

Van Persie provided the winner as his deflected free-kick evaded Joe Hart.

Jaker’s 91 helped Bangladesh set a target of 287 before Taijul ran through West Indies with a five-for

Mohammad Isam03-Dec-2024Bangladesh posted their first Test win in the West Indies in 15 years when they beat the hosts by 101 runs in Jamaica. It was a remarkable comeback by the visitors after their big defeat in the first Test in Antigua, with the series finishing 1-1. It was cathartic for a side that lost their last five Tests so emphatically, as the likes of Taijul Islam, Jaker Ali and Nahid Rana scripted their third away win in 2024 – their most in a calendar year.

Seales, Sinclair fined for Code of Conduct breaches

Jayden Seales and Kevin Sinclair have been fined 25% and 15% of their match fees respectively, for ICC Code of Conduct breaches in Kingston. Seales also got one demerit point, which will remain on his record for 24 months.
Seales was guilty of making “aggressive gestures” towards the Bangladesh dressing room after picking up a wicket, while “ignored warnings from the on-field umpires and continued using aggressive language at the visiting players”, the ICC website said.
Both players admitted to their offences and accepted the sanctions.

Left-arm spinner Taijul took 5 for 50 in the fourth innings to help bowl out West Indies for 185. It was his 15th five-wicket haul, fourth abroad and a first in the Caribbean after 10 years. Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud and Rana took the other five wickets.Rana took his maiden Test five-wicket haul in the second innings, helping bowl West Indies out for 146.Bangladesh had made only 164 in their first innings, but their revival in the second innings was a notable one too. This was courtesy Jaker, who cracked five sixes and eight fours in a counter-attacking 91. Jaker scored 62 out of Bangladesh’s 75 runs in the morning session of the fourth day.Related

• Simmons praises Bangladesh's 'positive attitude' in bouncing back from first Test defeat

• Mehidy to lead Bangladesh in West Indies ODIs, Shakib continues to miss out

• Greaves, Jangoo called up for West Indies' ODIs against Bangladesh

West Indies will feel they gave away a great start in the Test match when Jayden Seales returned remarkable figures of 5 for 4 from 15.5 overs. A fired up Seales however leaked runs in the third innings as Bangladesh shifted the momentum in a feisty third afternoon.On the fourth morning, Jaker held Bangladesh’s key to grow their lead from 211. It didn’t start well for him, as Alzarri Joseph pinged him on the top of his helmet. The Bangladesh physio Bayezid Islam Khan took a bit of time to clear Jaker, with the BCB wary of his history of concussions.The situation compounded when Bangladesh lost back to back wickets.Jaker Ali posted his Test best score of 91•Athelstan Bellamy

Taijul edged a short ball on 14, after he and Jaker added 34 runs for the sixth wicket. Mominul Haque completed his second Test pair when he fell off his fourth ball. He looked visibly ill as he walked off, with Bangladesh’s tail now exposed.With his back to the wall, Jaker went after the West Indies attack. He hooked Kemar Roach over wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva for a boundary. Jaker then timed a pull shot off Alzarri for his first six, which took him to his third consecutive fifty in his first three Tests. He is only the second Bangladesh player with the feat after Zakir Hasan.Jaker got on a roll in the next two balls. He flayed at a short ball to get a four over the slips, and then followed it up with a hooked six. Jaker smashed Roach over wide long-on in the next over, but he fought back with two more wickets. Roach removed Mahmud and Taskin in consecutive overs.Jaker however had one more burst of boundaries in him. He smashed Shamar Joseph for two fours in an over, both pull shots, before launching Roach for his fourth six, straight down the ground. His fifth six was off Shamar, hoicked over midwicket, before falling to a catch in the deep later in the over.Kavem Hodge was the only West Indies batter to cross fifty in the match•Athelstan Bellamy

Taijul got to work as early as the fifth over when he had Mikyle Louis in a tangle. Attempting to drive the ball, Louis edged the ball on to his front foot, with Shahadat Hossain claiming a diving catch at forward short leg.Sensing the need to grab the momentum, Brathwaite went after the Bangladesh bowling. He had already picked up a boundary with a square-cut, but after the lunch break, he drove Mahmud through the covers. He launched Taijul over wide long-on for a six, but Keacy Carty couldn’t quite get the bowlers away at the other end.Taskin had Carty caught behind for 14, after a build-up of dot balls, before Taijul accounted for the big one of Brathwaite. He troubled the West Indies captain a few times, before getting one to turn and pop on the shoulder of Brathwaite’s bat. Mahmudul Hasan Joy ran to his right from slip, to complete a tumbling catch. Taijul then got one to pitch on a rough patch and spin back through Alick Athanaze’s huge gap between bat and pad. Athanaze, who went for an expansive drive, looked confused about his approach in his six-ball stay.All this time, Hodge kept his shape, looking sharp as he picked up regular boundaries. He slapped Rana and cut Taskin in consecutive overs. He struck Mehidy for two fours in an over, before going inside out against Taijul before tea.West Indies started the third session on a happy note. Hodge got to his fifty off the first ball after the interval, but he fell shortly afterwards too. Hodge played back to a Taijul delivery that kept very low, trapping him lbw. Keshav Maharaj and Shoaib Bashir have also got him out in similar fashion before.Taskin then cleaned up Justin Greaves with one that kept a little low too, but the batter didn’t make an effort to get low enough to meet the ball. Joshua Da Silva’s miserable series ended when Taijul had him lbw, again another West Indies batter falling lbw to a ball that they could have played off the front foot.When Mehidy brought around Mahmud for a second spell, he made an instant impact. He removed Alzarri and Roach to bring Bangladesh to the brink. Then came the big moment when Rana, who changed the momentum of the game with his first-innings five-for, removed Shamar with a yorker to seal the hard-fought win.

Left-armer takes 4 for 27 to keep visitors in contention despite first-innings collape

ECB Reporters Network04-Sep-2023Left-armer Jamie McIlroy led a powerful Glamorgan fightback with the ball to loosen Worcestershire’s grip on the LV=Insurance County Championship encounter at New Road.McIlroy returned career best figures of 4 for 27 from 11 overs to revive his side’s hopes in the top three encounter in which 18 wickets fell on the second day.Worcestershire will resume with a lead of 241 on a wicket still offering assistance and encouragement to the seamers. But the game is much more in the balance than had appeared likely when they reached 81 for 1 before a spell of losing seven wickets for 40 runs.Worcestershire had obtained a first innings lead of 114 after bowling out unbeaten Glamorgan in just 48 overs. Dutch allrounder Logan van Beek followed up his half-century with 4 for 43 and Dillon Pennington continued his recent good form in red-ball cricket with another three wickets.Jake Libby and Azhar Ali consolidated Worcestershire’s position during the early part of their second innings against a Glamorgan attack handicapped by the absence of seamer Timm van der Gugten with a hamstring injury. But their depleted resources stuck to their task during a marathon 50-over final session and most notably McIlroy who picked up the first four wickets and ended the day with 12-3-27-4.Glamorgan resumed on three for nought on a blistering hot day and Worcestershire’s leading wicket-taker Joe Leach struck two early blows to take his first class tally for the season to 43.The second ball of the morning accounted for Ed Byrom who pushed forward and Adam Hose snaffled the opportunity away to his right at first slip. Former Worcestershire Academy player Zain-ul-Hassan departed after a similar stroke with keeper Gareth Roderick accepting the chance.Leach’s new ball partner Pennington got in on the act as nightwatchman James Harris went lbw to a delivery angled in to leave Glamorgan on 27 for 3. It was a similar scenario to the opening day when Worcestershire lost three wickets for 33 on a pitch still offering enough encouragement to the bowlers.Sam Northeast survived a straightforward chance at midwicket off van Beek but added only two more before he prodded at a delivery from Pennington and was pouched by Libby at third slip.Van Beek picked up his maiden Championship wicket for Worcestershire when Colin Ingram drove hard and Libby again made no mistake.Kiran Carlson experienced a difficult time, surviving two hard chances and being hit on the helmet by a short ball from Pennington. But the first over after lunch brought about his downfall as he took one hand off the bat and slapped on-loan Essex seamer Ben Allison to cover.Chris Cooke and Billy Root then featured in the only substantial partnership of the innings in adding 62 in 14 overs before the last four wickets fell for 21 runs. Van Beek ended their resistance when Cooke was caught behind off an away swinger and in his next over Ben Kellaway perished at second slip.Van der Gugten, who needed a runner, departed in the same manner off Pennington before McIlroy was yorked by van Beek to wrap up the innings.When Worcestershire batted, Roderick was caught by keeper Cooke off the first ball of the innings from McIlroy.Libby and Azhar then joined forces and saw off the new ball before their partnership flourished in relatively untroubled fashion. But McIlroy returned to the attack to pick up three wickets in the space of 13 balls to spark a substantial collapse.Azhar provided Cooke with another scalp after attempting to cut to end a stand of 81 with Libby. McIlroy had more joy when Libby was undone by a ball of extra bounce which he nicked to at first slip. Jack Haynes then drove at McIlroy and second slip did the rest.Hose shouldered arms and was bowled by Harris, Zain trapped Kashif Ali lbw and then castled van Beek after he also offered no stroke. Harris took the final wicket of the day when he beat the defensive push of Allison.

Allrounder’s place in first-choice XI for World Cup defence increasingly looks to be in place of Eoin Morgan

Matt Roller21-Jun-2022Liam Livingstone has become such an integral part of England’s white-ball plans that it seems surreal that Wednesday’s fixture against the Netherlands in Amstelveen will be only the sixth appearance of his ODI career. He had two cameos at No. 6 in Pune 15 months ago and filled in as an opener for the injured Jason Roy against Sri Lanka last summer but his 50-over opportunities have been few and far between, with the format on the back-burner since the 2019 World Cup.And yet, it is implausible that England will start the defence of their title in India next October without Livingstone in the side: he is the personification of their ultra-attacking batting style, as proved by his 17-ball half-century in the first ODI on Friday, and his success in Indian conditions earlier this year and ability to bowl legspin and offbreaks in the same over make him an indispensable player.The only question is how England will fit him into their first-choice XI, and the answer increasingly looks to be in place of Eoin Morgan, who has made consecutive ducks in this series and skipped Tuesday’s optional training session at the VRA as he continues to manage his workload amid concerns about his medium-term fitness.Morgan admitted before this series that the 2023 World Cup felt “a long way away” and looks increasingly likely to step down as captain after the T20 World Cup in Australia this year; with Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Livingstone in their top six, England would be overflowing with bowling options without sacrificing their batting depth.Livingstone described his success for Punjab Kings at the IPL this year as getting “the monkey off my back”, having previously struggled in his sporadic appearances for Rajasthan Royals. He was signed for Rs 11.5 crore (£1.125m approx) at February’s auction, the highest sum for an overseas player, and repaid the franchise with 437 runs from the middle order at a strike rate of 182.08, bettered only by Dinesh Karthik and his Lancashire team-mate Tim David.