Rangers dealt injury blow ahead of Hearts

Rangers will face Hearts on Sunday in a top-of-the-table clash which could see the Premiership champions and current leaders stretch the gap to their opponents to double figures if they win today.

The Gers travel to Edinburgh this afternoon and will be hoping to continue their unbeaten run to secure yet another three points to strengthen their position at the top of the league.

Hearts fans may be thrilled to hear that Giovanni Van Bronckhorst has had a huge injury blow in his Rangers team, with Ryan Jack out of contention to play at Tynecastle after facing a setback in his injury rehabilitation.

Van Bronckhorst gave an update on the midfielder’s situation, saying: “Ryan (Jack) had a problem in the final training session before Lyon. Hopefully, he will join up with us soon but will miss out on Sunday.

“Of course he didn’t have much game time in the last months through injury so for him personally it is not a good moment and also for us as a club because we don’t have Ryan Jack available for the games.”

Van Bronckhorst had originally hoped that the 29-year-old would be back for his first full game in nine months against Lyon in the Europa League las Thursday, but after the setback in training, Jack has now been ruled out for today’s clash as well, which could leave his manager feeling gutted.

Jack has made 113 appearances for Rangers, with 11 goals and 12 assists from the defensive midfield position, while his value to the squad was illustrated in him ranking in the Gers’ top five for passes and interceptions per game, as well as passing accuracy (WhoScored).

Rangers have lost their last two games at Tynecastle, so another injury blow won’t be welcome as Van Bronckhorst will want to put that right and maintain his strong start to life in the Ibrox dugout.

In other news: Van Bronckhorst faces a blow to transfer plans

Stuart McKinstry can save Leeds millions

Leeds United are heading into January in dire straits.

They are just five points above the relegation zone, with several teams below them having a game or two in hand, and there’s a mounting injury crisis amongst Marcelo Bielsa’s first-team squad.

As many as 11 players missed the 4-1 defeat to Arsenal at the weekend – their third successive thrashing in the Premier League.

It means Bielsa, director of football Victor Orta and owner Andrea Radrizzani will surely go against their usual mid-season transfer window plans to actually sign someone.

Of course, the Argentinian head coach needs widespread additions across the team but there is one role that he may already have a solution to.

It’s no secret that United have missed a creative influence in the final third, having waved goodbye to Pablo Herandez in the summer. Only five teams have scored fewer goals than Leeds (18), two of which occupy a place in the bottom three, whilst a little over 44% of their goals have come from set pieces alone.

Although Bielsa could well discover a new Hernandez in the form of academy gem Stuart McKinstry, who seems primed to save Radrizzani and co millions in the upcoming window.

The 19-year-old dynamo has already made his senior bow, coming on as a substitute during a Carabao Cup clash with Fulham in September this year, where he scored the winning penalty to see the Whites into the next round.

Meanwhile, for the U23s in the Premier League 2, he has provided three assists from 11 appearances, whilst playing anywhere in midfield.

The Athletic’s Phil Hay once labelled McKinstry as Leeds’ ‘next big thing’.

“He’s a very confident ball carrier, he’s physically strong, good upper body strength, excellent feet, good at beating his man and creative. In his head, he probably feels he can play in other positions up front as well,” he said.

That very much sounds like Hernandez and in his hay day, he too was able to play on the wing, as well as centrally.

Elsewhere, McKinstry’s former academy director at Motherwell, Steven Hammell, lauded him as a “fabulous young player” who “will do wonderful things and become a household name in the next three or four years” to the Lanarkshire Live Sport Podcast.

Even some of his academy teammates have spotted his massive potential, likening him to Sergio Busquets and Lionel Messi, so the Elland Road faithful also have plenty to be excited about when it comes to their promising Scottish gem.

As such, Bielsa should turn to the teenage sensation in 2022 because he could well emerge as a solid candidate to replace Hernandez in attacking midfield.

AND in other news, Leeds could sign Bielsa’s next Ben White in swoop for “flawless” £18m-rated colossus…

Corinthians 'virou o ano' contra o Palmeiras. Agora quer virar a sorte

MatériaMais Notícias

O primeiro Dérbi de 2017, ainda no dia 22 de fevereiro, é considerado no Corinthians o jogo “que virou o ano”. Na época visto com bastante desconfiança, o Timão chegou pressionado ao clássico pela primeira fase do Paulistão, porque o rival havia investido muito mais em reforços e estava em melhor fase. Entretanto, a equipe do técnico Fábio Carille venceu por 1 a 0 na Arena, mesmo com a expulsão injusta do volante Gabriel.

Além de moral, o Corinthians ganhou o apoio dos torcedores. A partir do Dérbi, a Arena passou a receber sempre bom público e sem críticas ao desempenho da equipe. Outro fator importante do clássico do dia 22 de fevereiro foi a confiança em Carille, que admite que poderia ter sido demitido em caso de derrota.

Agora, Corinthians e Palmeiras voltam a se enfrentar em uma situação semelhante. O Timão está pressionado porque pode ver a vantagem na liderança cair para apenas dois pontos, enquanto o rival vem de cinco jogos sem perder e embalado com o técnico Alberto Valentim.

– É difícil falar (sobre as diferenças de momentos). Ali era começo de temporada, muita coisa foi falada antes do jogo em cima de alguns resultados ou investimentos feitos nos clubes. Então hoje é uma situação diferente, reta final de campeonato, muita coisa aconteceu durante o ano. Vejo dessa forma – comentou o lateral-direito Fagner, ao ser questionado sobre o primeiro Dérbi de 2017 na entrevista coletiva da última terça-feira.

Embora Fagner tenha tirado o peso, o Dérbi em Itaquera novamente pode ser um divisor de águas para o Corinthians, que busca mudar sua sorte. Como canta a Fiel, domingo será “o jogo da vida”!

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Tudo sobre

CorinthiansDérbiPalmeiras

مواعيد مباريات اليوم الخميس 22-9-2022 والقنوات الناقلة.. مواجهات قوية في دوري الأمم الأوروبية وتونس أمام جزر القمر

يشهد اليوم الخميس 22-9-2022 إقامة عدة مباريات ضمن منافسات بطولة دوري الأمم الأوروبية والمواجهات الودية في ظل فترة التوقف الدولي والمقررة حتى نهاية الشهر الجاري.

وتقام عدة مباريات ضمن منافسات بطولة دوري الأمم الأوروبية وأبرزها مواجهة كرواتيا ضد الدانمارك وبلجيكا أمام ويلز.

كما يلتقي منتخبا هولندا وبولندا مساء اليوم، وتقام مباراة قوية بين فرنسا والنمسا.

ويخوض منتخب تونس مباراة ودية أمام جزر القمر ضمن استعداداته للمشاركة في بطولة كأس العالم 2022 في قطر والمقرر انطلاقها في نوفمبر المقبل. مواعيد مباريات اليوم الخميس 22-9-2022 والقنوات الناقلةمواعيد مباريات دوري الأمم الأوروبية اليوم

كازاخستان أمام روسيا البيضاء وتنطلق المباراة في تمام 04:00 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، 05:00 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، وتذاع عبر قناة Uefa.tv

كرواتيا ضد الدانمارك وتنطلق المباراة في تمام 08:45 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، 09:45 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، وتذاع عبر قناة Uefa.tv

فرنسا أمام النمسا وتنطلق المباراة في تمام 08:45 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، 09:45 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، وتذاع عبر قناة Uefa.tv

بلجيكا ضد ويلز وتنطلق المباراة في تمام 08:45 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، 09:45 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، وتذاع عبر قناة Uefa.tv

هولندا ضد بولندا وتنطلق المباراة في تمام 08:45 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، 09:45 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، وتذاع عبر قناة Uefa.tv

تركيا أمام لوكسمبرج وتنطلق المباراة في تمام 08:45 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، 09:45 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، وتذاع عبر قناة Uefa.tv مواعيد مباريات ودية دولية

تونس أمام جزر القمر وتنطلق المباراة في تمام 08:00 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، 09:00 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية.

يمكنكم مطالعة مواعيد ونتائج جميع المباريات لحظة بلحظة من مركز المباريات من هنا.

Conte dealt further Spurs injury setback

Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a further setback to Cristian Romero ahead of their Premier League clash with Brentford this evening…

What’s the latest?

Spurs boss Antonio Conte is set to be without the Argentina centre-back until the New Year at the earliest as he delivered a fresh update on the situation to reporters during his pre-game press conference on Wednesday.

“The news is not positive, not good. The injury is serious and I think it will take time before to see him again,” the 52-year-old admitted (via football.london).

“Surely next year and we need to check his injury week by week but the injury is serious.

“Now he is trying to recover, he needs a long time. He needs time to recover. It’s a pity because he’s an important player for us but the injury is very serious.

“January, February I don’t know but 2021 is finished to play. We have to wait to recover well but the injury is serious.”

Meanwhile, the Italian provided some encouragement on Romero’s international teammate, Giovani Lo Celso, who also returned from the break with a problem – and whilst it was more positive, he will not be available tonight either.

“The situation with Gio is much better than Romero,” he added. “My expectation is to see him the day after we play Brentford.”

Devastating setback

This is hugely worrying news as Spurs’ defensive fragility was once again exposed last week as they were defeated by the Europa Conference League’s lowest-ranked side, Slovenian minnows NS Mura, in the competition.

In the absence of Romero, who joined on loan from Atalanta this summer, Conte is limited on reliable and experienced options to partner Eric Dier, and most likely left-back Ben Davies, at the back.

Davinson Sanchez is the most senior of the remaining choices but he has failed to cement his place in the squad since joining in a £42m deal from Ajax back in 2017.

[snack-amp-story url = “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/tottenham-hotspur-latest-team-injury-team-news-updates-transfers-gossip-rumours-antonio-conte-thfc” title=”Read the latest Spurs news, transfer updates and much, much more!”]

And then there are two younger prospects in Japhet Tanganga and Joe Rodon.

The former was withdrawn just after an hour in his first start under Conte and similarly, the latter was taken off after just 54 minutes during last Thursday’s humiliation, so it is rather telling that the Spurs boss misses Romero.

Indeed, as Conte suggests, the 23-year-old colossus is “an important player” for the north Londoners this season – per WhoScored, he is their highest-rated defender in the Premier League, averaging a rating of 6.75.

He has won more aerial duels (2.4 per game) than any other defender and isn’t too far behind for tackles (2.3 per game) and interceptions (1.7 per game) either.

Romero’s teammate at both Atalanta and here in north London, Pierluigi Gollini, dubbed him an “animal” who is “perfect for the Premier League” to the Evening Standard back in September, whilst Serie A expert Conor Clancy believes he’s a “phenomenal” talent.

On that evidence alone, it’s clear to see that he’s crucial to the squad and Conte will be bitterly disappointed and perhaps fuming heading into kick-off this evening.

To not have either of Romero or Lo Celso available is incredibly bad news for the manager.

AND in other news, Conte could make his first big Spurs mistake over “flawless” £18m-rated star…

Nuno Leal Maia relembra carreira em campo e dá palpites sobre novos rumos do futebol

MatériaMais Notícias

O talento de Nuno Leal Maia não ficou restrito aos seus trabalhos no teatro e na televisão. Além de se destacar em personagens como o professor Fábio de “A Gata Comeu”, o Gaspar Kundera de “Top Model”, e o Professor Pasqualete de “Malhação”, o ator lidou também com as várias faces do futebol. Com lembranças como jogador e técnico, Nuno já vê os gramados como espectador, e agora pensa em uma rotina mais calma para conciliar com seus trabalhos:

– Estou tranquilo. Mais no mar, meu negócio agora é nadar. Bola agora só se for para jogar com Messi… (risos). Não sou mais de ter essa “bala” toda, acho difícil voltar ao futebol – relembra o ator, que participou recentemente da série “Juacas”, da Disney Channel, que será em breve reexibida pelo SBT.

Em entrevista ao LANCE!, o ator evidencia que não pensa o futebol apenas na memória. Nuno Leal Maia dá palpites sobre a Seleção Brasileira e o futebol mundial. Com a autoridade de quem já esteve em campo ao lado de grandes craques, mas não tornou-se profissional.

– Joguei no juvenil e também no máster. Na época de juvenil, eu fazia muita musculação e por isso era muito “pesado”. Como eu jogava na lateral esquerda e precisava marcar, para mim era muito difícil. Eu era a “avenida Nuno Leal Maia” (risos), por isso não virei profissional, e acabei indo para o teatro. No máster, jogando no meio, me achei mais, especialmente porque tive a sorte de jogar com Gerson, Ademir da Guia, Paulo César Caju… Inclusive, lá eu reencontrei com o Clodoaldo, que foi meu colega no juvenil.

Após a frustração como atleta profissional, Nuno Leal Maia cursou Escola de Artes e Comunicação na USP, teve seu primeiro papel na televisão em “Estúpido Cupido”, na Rede Globo, e ganhou sucesso anos depois como protagonista em “A Gata Comeu”. Curiosamente, ele reencontrou-se com o futebol na dramaturgia: interpretou o jogador de futebol Bertazzo, na novela “Vereda Tropical”, em 1984, e o personagem fez um teste no Santos, seu clube de coração. E com direito a “contracenar” com Serginho Chulapa.

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GESTOR DO BANGU COM ‘AJUDA’ DE TONY CARRADO

Na “vida real”, o primeiro reencontro com o futebol aconteceu em 1988, e graças a um personagem. Maia revelou que seu cargo como gestor de futebol do Bangu aconteceu com uma “mãozinha” da ficção:

– Foi porque eu fazia um bicheiro em uma novela (Tony Carrado, na novela “Mandala”), e lá no Bangu estavam o Castor (de Andrade) e o Carlinhos Maracanã. Mas, na verdade, no Bangu eu ficava mais com o Neco, que era diretor. Eles gostavam de exibir como um “bicheiro”, não era eu quem decidia as contratações, por exemplo.

Após a passagem na equipe banguense, retomou sua trajetória como ator e destacou-se em novelas como “Top Model” e “Vamp”.

O CICLO COMO TÉCNICO: FRUSTRAÇÕES COM ‘PUXADAS DE TAPETE’ E ATÉ ACUSAÇÃO DE VENDA DE JOGOS

Em 1993, veio sua primeira oportunidade como treinador, para comandar o São Cristóvão. Mas a lembrança não foi das melhores:

– Um amigo meu do time de artistas acabou me levando para comandar o São Cristóvão. Cheguei a armar o time, quando começou a ficar encorpado, vários jogadores tinham saído do clube. Fui perguntar para a diretoria, e eles me disseram que os caras tinham ido para o Vasco. O clube era mais uma “barriga de aluguel”, vinha sempre gente do Vasco, e a diretoria falou que só tinha interesse em contratar meia dúzia.

No ano seguinte, aceitou o convite do Botafogo-PB. E levou um colega de profissão para ajudá-lo: Romeu Evaristo, que interpretou o Saci na primeira versão do “Sítio do Pica-Pau Amarelo” e, mais recentemente, o Angolano do “Zorra Total”:

– Pois é, levei o Romeu Evaristo para lá, mas foi muito complicado. Quando ele ia para a arquibancada, ficava me detonando, me criticando, só funcionava quando a gente estava junto, trocando ideia. Além disto, tinha aquele negócio, de diretor querendo se impor, muita inveja, não deu muito certo – recordou, sobre a equipe que ficou na terceira colocação do Campeonato Paraibano.

Em 1996, Nuno Leal Maia comandou o Londrina (tendo Romeu Evaristo como auxiliar) no Paranaense, em que terminou em oitavo lugar. Aos olhos do ator, o trabalho no Tubarão foi o que trouxe melhores lembranças:

– Foi um trabalho muito bom. O presidente Marcelo Caldarelli era uma pessoa interessante. A gente sabia que ele estava jogando do nosso lado. Isso é muito importante.

Porém, sua rotina como ator chegou a lhe render contratempos. O ator recordou de um jogo no qual não pôde comandar devido a compromissos com a Rede Globo:

– Eu estava terminando “História de Amor”, tinha as gravações da novela e, nos intervalos, eu treinava o Londrina. O pessoal da Globo ficou meio chateado com isso na época. Aí, no último jogo, quando o Londrina já estava desclassificado e eu tive de ir para o exterior apresentar um programa, acabei não comandando a equipe.

O desempenho satisfatório acabou rendendo um trabalho no Matsubara. No entanto, o ator dispara acusações sobre o comportamento do presidente:

– O dono do Matsubara (Sueo Matsubara) vendia todos os jogos. Íamos enfrentar o Corinthians de Prudente, e não eu tinha jogador para eu treinar. Tinha sumido com os jogadores Ele tinha dado uma grana para vender o jogo! Hoje em dia, não sei se tem isso.

Ao fazer um balanço sobre sua passagem como técnico, Nuno Leal Maia revelou sobre como seu trabalho como ator lhe ajudou em outra área:

– De conhecer o ser humano, saber como personalidade, de ter um trabalho de grupo. Claro que tem de entender um pouco, e aprendi muito mais no time de máster. Além disto, eu trabalhava como técnico do mesmo jeito que fazia no teatro. Repetição! Repetição de jogadas, de táticas a cada treino.

CONSELHOS A TITE E ARGENTINA VISTA COMO FAVORITA NA COPA-2018

Longe dos gramados, o ator vê com ressalvas o futebol jogado atualmente no Brasileirão:

– Está devagar. Acho mais legal, por exemplo, como os jogos são disputados na Série D, porque são todos aguerridos. Mas os jogadores do futebol brasileiro, de várias divisões, são muito pretensiosos, Têm muitos erros de passes. O brasileiro não tem aquela coisa de trabalhar em grupo, de futebol coletivo. Falta humildade. Mas o nível de futebol mundial também caiu… Você vê um Neymar, um Messi, um Cavani, um Marcelo, mas não forma 11 jogadores craques. O Zidane valorizou o Casemiro, que já era um bom jogador, e se tornou ainda melhor com ele.

O atrito entre Neymar e Cavani no PSG é visto com naturalidade pelo ator:

– Isso é normal. São jogadores muito ricos, e vai dar esse problema de ego. É isso que falo, em qualquer lugar tem de administrar. Vi isso também em outros lugares.

Ao falar de Copa do Mundo de 2018, Nuno Leal Maia traz um alerta para Tite. Aos seus olhos, nem tudo está perfeito na Seleção Brasileira:

– Tite faz um trabalho bacana, mas ele precisa abrir o olho com a defesa. Porque Miranda e Thiago Silva, eu não sei não! Além disto, faltam substitutos de Casemiro e Paulinho, que são grandes jogadores. Agora, tem Coutinho, Willian, que são grandes jogadores.

Entre as demais seleções, o ator confessa que a Argentina é a que mais lhe preocupa:

– Espere que você verá! A Argentina vai chegar com tudo. Sampaoli sabe muito bem o que faz. A Argentina é tão forte quanto a Alemanha nesta Copa.

Intuição de quem já lidou com vários cenários do futebol.

Ponting wary of dangerous Roach

Any bowler who can regularly send down six consecutive 150kph rockets is a man to respect. Kemar Roach is one of them

Brydon Coverdale09-Dec-2009

Head down, speed up: Kemar Roach lets fly in Adelaide•Getty Images

Any bowler who can regularly send down six consecutive 150kph rockets is a man to respect. Kemar Roach did exactly that at the Adelaide Oval, where his speed was as impressive as Sulieman Benn’s bounce. Although he finished up with slightly disappointing match figures of 3 for 159, Roach gave the Australians plenty to think about as they battled out a draw.Had he converted a couple of his tricky second-innings deliveries into wickets, Australia might not have escaped a defeat that ensured they will hold the Frank Worrell Trophy at the end of the series. As it stands, Australia head to Perth for the third Test with a 1-0 advantage but the captain Ricky Ponting said Roach would be a serious challenge on what is traditionally Australia’s quickest surface.”He’ll be a handful in Perth,” Ponting said. “As you can see, every spell he’s bowled, almost every ball he’s bowled, is hovering around 150kph. We knew that he was capable of that. He’s hit his areas really well. He hasn’t sprayed the ball around too much. He’s bowling well for them at the moment.”Roach doesn’t have the height of the great West Indies fast men of yesteryear like Curtly Ambrose and Joel Garner, but his skiddy action is still tough to face. Ponting had trouble against him in the first innings and was hurried up by a quick delivery that he tried to pull, but only managed to send a catch to Dwayne Bravo at midwicket.”Someone who is pretty short at that pace can get the ball to skid onto you pretty quickly off the wicket with not much bounce,” Ponting said. “We’ve played him pretty well here [in Adelaide]. The ball reverse-swung for them in both innings. He’s a handful, there’s no doubt about that. He’s someone who could play a fair bit of Test cricket for them in the future.”The WACA might not be the fast-bowling paradise it once was, but Roach stands out as the most fearsome of the seamers in an attack otherwise made up of medium pacers like Bravo and Darren Sammy, and the medium-fast Ravi Rampaul. Roach is only 21 and is still learning his craft, but Ponting said the Australians would need to continue to show him plenty of respect.”Anyone that’s bowling that sort of pace will trouble any batter, especially later in the game when the bounce gets a bit variable,” Ponting said. “That’s when you’re at your most vulnerable against guys who bowl at that sort of pace.”

Rogers flies as flu strikes Derby

Chris Rogers hit an unbeaten double hundred to give Derbyshire an excellent platform in their promotion clash against Essex

Andrew McGlashan at Derby23-Sep-2009
ScorecardChris Rogers flayed Essex all around the County Ground•Getty Images

Derbyshire will be crossing their fingers they have a team capable of building on a dominant opening day of their promotion clash. Illness is spreading through the squad, confirmed as swine flu in one player, with the bowling department being worst hit. At least those who remain healthy will have plenty of runs to play with after Chris Rogers, himself understood not to be feeling 100%, hit an unbeaten 204 as the home side reached 368 for 3.Rogers will struggle to add to his single Test cap despite Phillip Hughes’ problems during the Ashes series. However, he can do no more than pile up the runs in domestic cricket and during this innings he passed 2000 for all competitions this season. And if he was feeling any effects from illness, he certainly didn’t show it as he was striking the ball as cleanly at six o’clock as he was when play began.He felt no need to change his game as stumps approached, instead belting two dismissive, on-the-up, cover drives to take him into the 190s. Then he slog-swept Danish Kaneria for six before working a single into the off side to reach a dominant double hundred from 290 balls. It gave Rogers a run of two doubles and two other centuries in seven innings.Unlike Rogers’ uncomplicated approach to batting, however, the maths behind who might join Kent in the promotion stakes is much more taxing. The easiest situation to understand when play began was that Essex held the aces. A 19-point win would guarantee them promotion, but that is now looking a long shot at best. Northamptonshire, currently taking on Leicestershire, are the side to have gained most from today in terms of their promotion chances.Tim Groenewald was ruled out before the game after being diagnosed with swine flu and spending Saturday night in hospital. Tom Lungely, the seamer, was then sent home this morning as a precaution after showing symptoms while four others – Jamie Pipe, Graham Wagg, Greg Smith and Rogers himself – were also struggling. At least the dressing room appeared in good humour as they displayed a poster of a pig and a message to Groenewald on the window.With the home side needing a result they gambled and left plenty of grass on the surface. Essex then won the toss, but couldn’t take advantage as they bowled too short during the opening session, allowing Derbyshire to reach lunch at 110 for 1. The lone breakthrough went to Chris Wright when he trapped Wayne Madsen leg before with one that would probably have clipped leg stump.Derbyshire, though, were able to score at a healthy rate, important for their cause of racking up bonus points as quickly as possible, while the Essex attack continued to forget the basics of how to exploit helpful conditions. The scoreline doesn’t suggest it, but the ball moved all day long. Rogers cut and drove strongly against anything marginally off line – of which there was plenty – and reminded everyone that there is no shortage of batting talent in Australia as he reached his hundred from 154 deliveries.Moments before his century Rogers had lost Garry Park following a second-wicket stand of 121. Park’s eighth half-century of the season came from 82 balls, but his problem has been converting into three figures which he has only managed once. And again he couldn’t capitalise on a solid base when he pushed at a delivery from Wright that moved away and edged a comfortable catch to first slip.Daniel Redfern, a 19-year-old left-hander of immense promise, began with a brace of elegant cover drives and also showed some impressive footwork when he kicked away a ball that was threatening to fall perilously close to the stumps. Rogers, too, had a nervous moment, on 134, as the ball rolled into leg stump without dislodging a ball – but it was the closest Essex came to removing him. The visitors were hampered by a struggling Kaneria, who would normally at least offer control, as he was suffering problems with his Achilles.The third-wicket pair had added 130 when Redfern fell to the new ball, driving loosely and sending a catch to gully to give Wright his third wicket, as the ball was belatedly pitched up on the right line. But there was no further success for a weary attack as Rogers and Wavell Hinds batted out the final session. However, while runs are on the board it remains to be seen how Derbyshire’s bowling attack pulls up and, still, events elsewhere could have the final say.

de Villiers ready for 'massive game'

AB de Villiers is confident South Africa will “come off when the pressure is there” despite their history of falling short in must-win games

Cricinfo staff26-Sep-2009

AB de Villiers: “If we get to 40 overs and we are close to winning the game, then we will definitely up the tempo a bit”•Getty Images

England’s victory against Sri Lanka has added an interesting twist to Group B, where every remaining match is of vital importance. South Africa have to beat England in Centurion in order for their semi-final hopes to not depend heavily on a difficult permutation and combination of results. AB de Villiers, though, is confident South Africa will “come off when the pressure is there”, despite their history of falling short in must-win games.Another victory for England will virtually ensure their semi-final berth. South Africa, on the other hand, have only one win from two games going into their final group match. The pressure on them will be especially severe if Sri Lanka beat New Zealand to record their second group-stage victory.”The most important thing for us tomorrow is to win, to focus on our basics and to carry out our game plan well,” de Villiers said. “We can’t be worrying about run-rates. The important thing for us is to win and to get to four points on the log. If we get to 40 overs and we are close to winning the game, then we will definitely up the tempo a bit.”It is a massive game for us. We normally come off when the pressure is there and we need to win. The same thing happened at the 2007 World Cup when we had a ‘must win’ game against England and we managed to do it then and pull through.”The Centurion pitch won’t be as helpful for England’s fast bowlers as the surface in Johannesburg, where James Anderson and Graham Onions wrecked the Sri Lankan top order on Friday. “The Wanderers wicket suited them. In addition they have just come out of a tough series at home and managed to win the last one there where they had similar conditions,” de Villiers said. “But they played extremely well against a very strong Sri Lankan side and deserved their win. It is going to be a tough group for us and I think it is going to come down to net run-rate.”Andy Flower, England’s team director, said his side’s success against Sri Lanka was “confidence-boosting” but added that it was only one game in a tough tournament. “The guys did brilliantly yesterday against a very good side. We knew they would be tough to turn over,” Flower said. “It was great to see the batsmen see it through after some of our batting travails against Australia.”

Yardy steadies Sussex on rain-hit day

The situation at Old Trafford on the third day of this match was rendered almost farcical at times owing to the constantly changing and often very wet weather

The Bulletin by John Ward at Old Trafford04-Sep-2009
ScorecardThe situation at Old Trafford on the third day of this match was rendered almost farcical at times owing to the constantly changing and often very wet weather. Squalls of rain, short and sharp, occurred throughout the day, which meant only four spells of play, totalling 28.2 overs, were possible, all after tea. The dominating figure of this time was the Sussex captain Michael Yardy, who led his team from the front with the bat, with the valuable assistance of Ed Joyce.Who says county cricket is dying when more than 100 spectators attended a day like this to the bitter end, behaving with admirable patience? Intermittent bursts of rain prevented any play before 3.30pm, when the umpires and players finally braved the elements. Play lasted ten minutes, 17 balls were bowled and no runs were scored. At this point there was another outbreak of rain and they left the field, with Sussex still at 11 for no wicket.At 3.55pm, they tried again. The fielders were just moving to their places when another flurry of rain caused them to turn tail and run. They had scarcely reached the pavilion when the rain passed and they suspiciously returned. This time 25 minutes’ play were possible before the next interruption, and Sussex now showed they were after batting bonus points – all they realistically have to aim for now.Joe Gatting turned the first ball on the resumption, from Sajid Mahmood, for two past square leg, while Yardy pulled a short ball from Kyle Hogg for a spectacular six. Mahmood tended to bowl too short, but possibly it was part of a cunning plan: he suddenly produced a wicked yorker that catapulted Gatting’s middle and off stumps out of the ground. The Sussex debutant retired for 10. Not long after bad light and rain returned at 37 for 1.The next mini-session began at 4.35pm and lasted exactly an hour. Glen Chapple, returned from injury, replaced Hogg and immediately launched into an impassioned lbw appeal against Yardy, but the ball had pitched just outside the line of leg stump. Yardy now settled in with Ed Joyce and the two of them chased runs busily, making hay while the sun shone – sometimes literally, but only briefly. Yardy, strongest on the leg side and through the covers, reached his 50 off 76 balls, while Joyce was finding his fluency just before the next burst of rain hit.Once again the time out was only brief, and a final spell of 20 minutes was possible before play finally came to an end. Both sides will have only bonus points in mind on the final day – during whatever play the turbulent weather allows.

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