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Kevin Pietersen enlivened another day heavily disrupted by the weather at the Rose Bowl with a positive 85 as England moved into the lead on 195 for 4

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan18-Jun-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKevin Pietersen batted with great fluency on a rain-hit third day•Getty Images

Kevin Pietersen enlivened another heavily weather-disrupted day at the Rose Bowl with a positive 85 as England moved into the lead on 195 for 4. The hosts had quickly wrapped up Sri Lanka for 184, but their reply was a stop-start affair until the skies eventually cleared then Pietersen and Alastair Cook added 106 for the third wicket before Ian Bell added his own swift contribution.It was a day of huge frustration for a good crowd as frequent showers moved across the ground, especially during the afternoon session. Their good humour began to abate when the umpires called tea in bright sunshine only for another heavy shower to delay the resumption of the final session. However, the prospect of Pietersen was enough to keep many in their seats during the rain and they were rewarded as England played positively until the close.Pietersen had looked set for three figures – perhaps even before stumps – and the shot he played to edge Thisara Perera behind, which handed the bowler a notable maiden Test wicket, showed he wasn’t in the mood to hold back. There was a hint of width from Perera as Pietersen threw his hands into a drive and his disappointment was clear, but after a hard-working 72 at Lord’s this was a clear sign that his game is getting back to full working order.He had come in with England wobbling on 14 for 2 as Sri Lanka’s new-ball bowlers exploited conditions and was quickly into his stride with a straight drive that ricocheted off the stumps and beat mid-on. Further sweet drives followed and in the last over before lunch he made a statement by using his feet to Rangana Herath and drilling him through the covers.There was more than a hint of the old Pietersen swagger returning and even his defensive shots carried an air of authority about them. Strangely he wasn’t tested by left-arm spin again until the final half hour of the day by which time he was well past fifty, which had come from a swift 56 deliveries.

Smart Stats

• Chris Tremlett’s 6 for 48 is the third-best bowling performance by an English bowler in Tests against Sri Lanka. The best remains Phil Defreitas’ 7 for 70 at Lord’s in 1991

• Sri Lanka’s 184 is their sixth total below 200 in the first innings in Tests since 2005. Their lowest in the same period remains 141 against England in Birmingham in 2006

• The 106-run stand between Kevin Pietersen and Alastair Cook is the joint sixth-highest partnership for the third wicket for England in Tests against Sri Lanka

• Since the beginning of 2009, this is Pietersen’s 12th half-century. He has two centuries in the same period and averages 43.63

• Dilhara Fernando’s 39 is the third-highest score by a Sri Lankan No. 10 batsman in Tests against England. Chaminda Vaas holds the record with 50 at Lord’s in 2006

England’s intent to make up for lost time was clear and 126 runs came in the 31-overs up to the close. Bell played his part, as he has so often of late, with a breezy innings filled with his usual fine timing. Sri Lanka’s bowlers had begun reasonably impressively but struggled to maintain pressure as they have throughout the series while the fielding didn’t offer great support.Cook, meanwhile, picked up from where he’s been for the last two series with an innings studded with crisp boundaries. There was even a touch of flamboyance when he pulled a boundary on one leg, while he rarely missed an opportunity to drive or cut. His fifty came from 92 balls, equalling the English record of six consecutive Test fifties, and there was a stunned silence when he skewed an outside edge to gully where Thilan Samaraweera held the catch at the second attempt. Shortly after the wicket the successful bowler, Dilhara Fernando, limped out of the action although he briefly returned to the field later in the session.The contrast between Cook and his opener partner is fairly stark at the moment and Andrew Strauss’s problems continued with another cheap dismissal against left-arm quick Chanaka Welegedara. This time it was an edge to slip, instead of lbw, as Strauss pushed outside off to a ball he could have left which meant three single-figure scores in a row and 26 runs in the series. The perils of the new ball is part of the lot of an opening batsman, but Strauss’s lean run can’t be brushed off forever especially now he only has one format to focus on.Jonathan Trott also fell to the new ball when Suranga Lakmal switched to the unusual angle of a right-arm seamer around the wicket to a right hander and Trott played a loose drive. Whether it was a last-ditch gamble against Trott or a well-worked plan from stand-in captain Kumar Sangakkara it certainly had the desired effect for Sri Lanka. That, though, was the pinnacle of the visitors’ day and if England make the most of a good forecast on Sunday it could be a battle to save the Test.

AB de Villiers and Ashwell Prince dug in to scupper a West Indian fightback by Sulieman Benn and put South Africa in a position of control in the deciding Test

The Bulletin by Siddhartha Talya27-Jun-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Hawk-eye
Kemar Roach’s appeal against AB de Villiers was turned down, and West Indies opted against the review•Associated Press

AB de Villiers and Ashwell Prince dug in to scupper a West Indian fightback by Sulieman Benn and put South Africa in a position of control in the deciding Test. Benn’s probing left-arm spin had given the hosts a massive boost with the wickets of Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis, who had forged a threatening stand, but an approach combining patience and determination from de Villiers and Prince, backed up by a bit of luck, helped South Africa lay the stage for a potentially decisive lead on a track expected to deteriorate.The West Indies spinners were able to extract both turn and bounce in good measure, keeping the close-in fielders interested throughout. Smith and Kallis, however, ensured a steady flow of singles and found the boundary by employing the sweep. The pair had settled in well after seeing off the early pressure created by the loss of nightwatchman Paul Harris and a phase where Dwayne Bravo frustrated South Africa with four consecutive maidens. But Benn kept on creating chances, and a wicket remained in sight.He altered his lengths to Kallis, who was rapped on the pads while attempting the sweep and given out by Simon Taufel. A review resulted in the decision being overturned for height. His persistence was rewarded when Smith, surprised by the sharp turn and extra bounce from the footmarks, offered a catch to short leg. Benn’s victory against Kallis would have been more satisfying. Given the ball in the first over after lunch, Benn beat the outside edge with one that spat away and followed it up with a delivery that just angled in, didn’t turn and crashed into the off stump with Kallis shouldering arms. South Africa were 145 for 5, and the game had evened out.While reflecting on their performance today, West Indies will perhaps look back at three opportunities they squandered, enabling South Africa to recover. Twice could they have had AB de Villiers dismissed, but erred in judgement and opted against the review. When on 8, de Villiers bottom-edged Kemar Roach to the wicketkeeper as he tried to leave the ball, and the appeal was turned down by umpire Steve Davies. A long discussion followed, and the decision went uncontested. There was a chance again after tea, when de Villiers, now on 42, appeared to be trapped in front by debutant Brandon Bess, but the umpire’s call again stood. And, once more, when the two had been well set, Prince’s call for an ill-judged single could have resulted in his run-out, but Brendan Nash at point missed by a mile.It was slow going initially by de Villiers and Smith, cautious against Benn who kept attacking with five fielders around the bat. Prince was beaten more than once with the extra bounce, while de Villiers’ uncertainty was evident in his initial attempt to constantly step out of the crease irrespective of the lengths. But time spent in the middle brought with it more confidence. When there was width available, they pierced the field through point and cover and turned the face to work the ball through square and midwicket when the line was straighter. de Villiers broke a 135-ball boundary drought, driving Shane Shillingford past mid-off, and Prince brought up the half-century partnership with a push to point in a post-lunch session that yielded just 58.The challenge from the hosts appeared to be tapering off after tea, with the spinners doling out long hops, promptly dispatched for boundaries, and Bess adding to the frustration with his indiscipline with the second new-ball. He bowled seven no-balls, provided width, strayed on the pads and dropped short to be dealt with by the batsmen who gradually had begun to loosen up. de Villiers’ drive to point, which resulted in a missed run-out and overthrows, raised his half-century and took South Africa into the lead; Prince reached his own with a sweep off Benn.However, just as West Indies seemed to be drifting out of contention, Benn struck again to remove de Villiers shortly before stumps, nicking one straight to Denesh Ramdin. West Indies may have pulled things back slightly, but they still need to confront the depth of South Africa’s lower order to limit the damage already caused.

With his reputation as someone who makes teams notoriously difficult to beat, Jose Mourinho will be keen to ensure Tottenham’s defence is up to scratch for next season.

The Lilywhites have conceded 40 goals in the Premier League in just 29 games, meaning they have the joint-worst record along with Burnley in the current top ten.

And with Jan Vertonghen looking set to leave the club on a free transfer when his contract expires, Mourinho will surely be looking to strengthen his defence.

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Reports in recent days have suggested that Spurs are set to rival both Manchester United and Liverpool for the signing of Napoli powerhouse Kalidou Koulibaly this summer, and if Daniel Levy is able to fund a big-money move for anyone amidst the current circumstances, then signing the Senegal international has to be the absolute priority.

Standing at an imposing 6 foot 2, Koulibaly has developed into one of the world’s elite defenders, with praise coming from those who have managed him, and those who have played alongside him.

His former boss at Napoli, Carlo Ancelotti, mentioned him in the same breath as the likes of Paolo Maldini and Sergio Ramos, whilst Pepe Reina insisted that the defender who gave him the most “security”, was the “extraordinary” Koulibaly.

And speaking back in 2018, ex-Liverpool midfielder and Senegalese compatriot, Salif Diao, waxed lyrical about the 28-year-old’s abilities, and insisted that he is ready-made to play in English football.

He said: “He’s got all the qualities to do well in the Premier League. He’s strong, can play hard when needed, can read the game very well and is not scared to get stuck in. Moving to England will be his natural progression. He can test himself in a league where the game is a lot quicker, and he will get personal satisfaction playing against the very best.”

Whether Spurs will have the funds to sign him is another matter altogether, but if Levy can loosen the purse-strings for Mourinho this summer, then there can be no question that Koulibaly should be the man to sign.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks has delivered his latest Premier League Team of the Week, and has urged Everton to give Duncan Ferguson a chance as manager until the end of the season.

What did he say?

Well, the 61-year-old was actually praising two-goal man Dominic Calvert-Lewin for his display in the 3-1 win against Chelsea at the weekend, and Ferguson certainly had a part to play in that performance having partnered him up top with Richarlison in a 4-4-2 formation.

It was clearly a far more committed performance from the players than we have seen in recent weeks under Marco Silva, and Crooks was clearly impressed with what he saw.

He wrote: “I saw more passion, desire and endeavour against Chelsea than I’ve seen in the past six years. It was like Goodison Park back in the ’80s.

“If that is the Duncan Ferguson effect then give him the job at least until the end of the season. You will know then whether he’s up to it.”

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Is he right?

While it was certainly an impressive start for the big Scot, it would be a huge risk to appoint him until the end of the season given the Toffees aren’t too far away from the relegation zone.

How often do we see that instant positive impact from a new face in the dugout, before it quickly tails away after a few matches?

Everton have got many of their manager choices in recent years wrong, and there is no doubt that the next appointment is a hugely important one.

The Merseyside outfit should be aiming higher than Ferguson with plenty of out-of-work managers around at the current time, so Crooks is wrong on this occasion.

In other Everton news, one Toffees player bounced back spectacularly vs Chelsea after enduring a nightmare evening at Anfield…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

Jack Harrison is quickly becoming one of Leeds United’s most important players.

This past month he’s been involved in goals almost every time he’s stepped onto the pitch as he’s scored twice and assisted four times in his last six appearances.

In fact, he’s scored twice in his previous two matches, and after scoring just once in his previous 14 it seems as if he’s figured something out in terms of finding the net.

Watch Leeds United Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

This may be down to one emerging trait in his game which is allowing him to get into more threatening positions.

Harrison’s differing roles

Marcelo Bielsa has been switching between systems that utilise a three at the back as well as a four at the back, but he’s seemingly comfortable enough in either system to be an effective player.

Last week we looked at how Harrison’s tendency to drop back and receive the ball from deep allowed him to craft his own chances and manipulate defenders, but this week he’s shown another aspect of his game that may lead to him finding the back of the net more often.

Coming inside

A look at the 22-year-old’s heatmap against Blackburn shows that he was consistently making the same types of moves into the opposition area.

Indeed, there is a huge flurry of activity just inside of the opposition’s box, and that shows that Harrison has been coming inside more often.

This will, of course, give him more opportunities to have a look at goal, and after managing four shots against the Rovers and grabbing a goal this new style of play could add another element to United’s attack, especially when you consider their recent striking woes.

Marcelo Bielsa recently admitted that he didn’t like how Helder Costa wasn’t drifting inside like Pablo Hernandez. Funnily enough, he hasn’t listened, but Harrison seemingly has.

This has proved game-changing for him in each of his last two matches where he’s scored.

علق توماس توخيل المدير الفني الألماني على دخول راموس قائمة ريال مدريد قبل مواجهة فريقه تشيلسي، مساء الغد الأربعاء، في إياب نصف نهائي دوري أبطال أوروبا.

وغاب راموس قائد ريال مدريد ونجم الفريق عن مباراة الذهاب على ملعب ألفريدو دي ستيفانو يوم الثلاثاء الماضي، والتي انتهت بالتعادل 1/1 في إسبانيا.

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وقال توخيل في المؤتمر الصحفي الخاص بالمباراة: “لا أعرف هل سيلعب راموس أم لا، لكن الأمور لن تتغير لنا، قد يحدث ذلك معهم لأهمية سيرجيو”.

وأضاف: “نحن نتحدث عن قائد الفريق الأكثر نجاحًا عبر التاريخ، في السنوات الأخيرة كانت أهمية راموس استثنائية، لكن أعتقد أنه سيبدأ، وعلينا الاستعداد لذلك”.

وشدد: “سننسى نتيجة الذهاب، وسندخل المباراة وكأنها 0/0، وسنستعد للفوز من أجل النهائي، سنكون مستعدين لـ راموس ولكل لاعبي ريال مدريد”.

واختتم: “أركز فقط على فريقي، لا أعرف التشكيلة التي سيستخدمها زيدان، حول ما إذ كان سيلعب 5/3/2 أو 4/3/3، الأمر لا يتعلق بالتشكيل، نحن في النهاية سنواجه ريال مدريد، علينا أن نكون شجعان”.

West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Sam Johnstone made it back-to-back away clean sheets in the Championship when he kept out Stoke City during Monday’s affair.

The shutout against Stoke proved to be just the third time at the former Manchester United stopper had kept a clean sheet in 15 Championship matches this season.

On the face of it, West Brom’s defensive numbers this term are not exactly terrific.

Indeed, the Baggies might be top of the Championship table, but Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday, Nottingham Forest, Brentford, Swansea City and Preston North End have all conceded fewer league goals this season.

Keeping out Stoke would have certainly boosted Johnstone’s confidence, though.

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And some West Brom fans have taken to social media to praise the 26-year-old, who turned out on loan for Aston Villa before completing a permanent move to the Hawthorns in July 2018.

A selection of the Twitter reaction is available to view below:

Newcastle United are having a pretty strange season thus far.They’ve won just two league games, but those have been against Manchester United and Tottenham.Despite the fact that the fans have had a number of complaints this season, there are still some things to be positive about at St James’ Park.Watch Newcastle United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

One of these bright sparks is Allan Saint-Maximin. The French winger was brilliant against the Red Devils this weekend, completing four dribbles two key passes, and his Twitter post after the match will only make fans love him even more.

Saint-Maximin, who joined this summer for £16.5m, said that he feels happy to be playing on Tyneside before signing off his tweet with the hashtag #ProudToBeAGeordie.

The Newcastle fanbase are one of the most supportive and loyal in the country, and Saint-Maximin will earn all the adulation he desires if his performances on the pitch and behaviour off the pitch continue in this way – he has already spent some of his free time contributing at a local fans’ food bank.

It’s fair to say that Saint-Maximin has settled into his new surroundings rather quickly, and if he continues to show this type of commitment to the team he will quickly become a fan favourite.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

Luis Suarez has been an excellent servant to the Blaugrana but with 32 years already on his back, Barcelona have to start thinking about his potential replacement. And AS claim they are keeping an eye on Lautaro Martinez for that very reason.

What’s the word, then?

It seems that the Catalan giants are finally thinking about bringing in a long-term replacement for their Uruguayan Pistolero.

Suarez has no doubt played a major role in Barcelona’s recent success and ever since he arrived from Liverpool, the now 32-year-old has been simply outstanding.

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In the 255 games he played for the Blaugrana so far, he managed to score an incredible 183 goals and also assist further 96 in the process.

By all standards, those figures are rather sublime.

But there comes a time in everyone’s career when their prime years pass them by. For Suarez, this might already be happening despite this year’s tally of four goals in six La Liga games.

For that reason, targeting Martinez is a smart move.

A worthy successor

Martinez is only 22 years of age and yet, he’s already evidently catching the eye of some of the biggest football teams in the world.

And looking strictly at his numbers so far, it doesn’t really come as a surprise.

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In the nine games he’s played for Inter Milan across all competitions so far this season, the young Argentine has already scored three goals and netted one assist as well. Not to mention that one of those goals was actually against Barcelona in the Champions League.

The Nerazzurri ended up losing that game but that was quite an introduction for the forward in front of what could be his own crowd in the not so distant future.

But the best thing about him is that he is quite consistent as well – in the 44 games for Inter Milan as a whole, he scored 12 goals and assisted three and before that, for Racing Club, he scored 26 in 58 games.

By all standards, not really a bad tally at all.

But he is quite young and his ceiling seems to be high.

Now all he needs might be a small push to get to the next level, and then, who knows – maybe Barcelona really do come knocking.

يفاضل نادي فناربخشة المنافس في بطولة الدوري التركي بين مدربين من أجل قيادة الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالموسم المقبل، بينهما مدرب منتخب ألمانيا الحالي يواخيم لوف، بعد إقالة إيرول بولوت لسوء النتائج.

وأعلن لوف قبل أسابيع أن بطولة يورو 2020 هي نهاية مسيرته مع منتخب ألمانيا، مؤكدًا أن عليه منح الفرصة لمدربين جدد قبل نهائيات كأس العالم 2022 في قطر.

ورغم ارتباط اسم لوف بإمكانية تدريب ريال مدريد في حالة رحيل المدير الفني زين الدين زيدان لتدريب منتخب فرنسا بعد نهاية هذا الموسم.

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هناك اسم آخر مع لوف الذي سبق ودرب فناربخشة في موسم 1998/1999، وهو مدرب ريفر بليت الحالي مارسيلو جاياردو، الذي يرغب في خوض تجربة التدريب في أوروبا.

وتلقى جاياردو العديد من العروض خلال الفترة الماضية أهمها من موناكو وأولمبيك مارسيليا، بالإضافة إلى اهتمام من طرف برشلونة.

وسيقود فناربخشة في المباريات المقبلة المدير الرياضي إيمري بلوزوغلو، حتى الاستقرار على اسم المدرب الجديد للإشراف الفني على الكناري.