#but like getting guptill out..... that's the game

[fazcinatingblog]

how is it a COMEBACK for pink sydney??????? they've been on top the entire game???????

[x-for-a-y]

re: my last post (again) here are my thoughts on what kind of reasonable lasting or short-term effects being goners would have on the doatk cast in a post-canon revival setting:

jake: i already headcanon him as being disabled, something akin to chronic fatigue or insomnia or POTS. so getting all the wires out... either his preexisting conditions make recovery harder or the lasting effects themselves are mainly just exacerbating his old issues. but regardless. rollator jake real guptill: the main thing he'd have to deal with is just being fucking Out Of It. getting used to having direct, normal control over his body again. like in the long-term he'll be alright it's just going to be a rough first few days being back in his body edmund: this would be easier to determine if he were less ambiguously human from the get-go so. fuck it. heightened allergen sensitivity acquired star warriors: kirby bounces back fine, he just needs a few days to relax some, and his friends like bandana dee notice he's more tired & give him some help & kindness. meta knight also probably could use some time off but he's not going to give himself any, & his crew certainly can't get him to, so eventually dedede's the one who buckles down and makes sure all his buddies are feeling well again demo: she's fine. i don't have anything else to say hamood: now on one hand that's a fucked up transformation. on the other hand that's a lot more to clearly get reset back to normal. & on the other hand he's, what, 5? i think he does end up with slightly out-of-whack proportions from all this- his wings in particular turn out on the side of too large -but it'd probably take another 8 years for stuff like corrective surgery or just physical therapy & shit to be considered at: unfortunately i never watched this show so while the long-term effects are pretty up in the air i don't think the short-term effects are any worse than what can be covered in, like, a couple episode's time. like maybe jake needs a good pep talk or two from people to feel comfortable in his body again & finn has to learn to not run away from his issues. something like that kebian + will: will goes home and vents a little about the experience to his partner(s? i don't watch all his stuff). kebin, meanwhile, only turns to a bit of introspection out of competitiveness for what ian does, and thinks to himself that maybe the wall is a little fucked up then goes no further; ian takes up yoga/other mindfulness-focused athletics in order to feel more at home in his body. korone: probably spends the first few days aching like a motherfucker, the sort of full-body soreness you only get from like climbing a mountain or a way-too-intense workout. once it stops hurting to breathe she probably goes back to gaming just to keep her mind off stuff & maybe picks up streaming again not long after but it's at least a couple weeks before she's at base physical performance again. morty: dude i don't know. i think it makes the most sense for him to fuck off & resume a lifestyle of peaceful hedonism & self-care. no way he's going to start being introspective about stuff until he's like. 40. i don't watch the show dreem himself i have nothing to say about but, going with the assumption that the puppet, me, & you are all versions of the same person: physically i can just say they deal with generally reduced stamina, mentally meanwhile. for their own health & safety they log the fuck off most places and try to enjoy the music they like without getting bogged down in the awkwardly online social kinds of things and then. i don't know, some kingdom hearts shit happens to it- it spends time offline & otherwise with friends trying to figure out its own emotions -and it regrows a heart/soul. mozart: he got hit with the hypermobility beam! oh shit! knee braces wrist braces a brace for the spine, you name it he uses it. bonus roommate: two dimensional in the adam ruins everything animated insert way. yeah it's fucked up. yeah he'll never fully be, like, a regular human.

[stokesy55]

anon who sent in the ask about wanting to have a discussion about the vk-jos debate here. thank you for answering that!

yeah, you're right it pretty much boils down into what you consider the definition of impact! to me there isn't really a standard definition, because so many external factors come into play, but what i usually do is take a certain player's innings out of the equation while keeping the rest of the stats the same and see what the scores look like after that. also what my broadcast often shows is stats like "x team won this many percent of times when y batter from their team scored a certain no. of runs or y bowler took a certain no. of wickets. and that stood out as very interesting to me, there's some water in that argument there.

which is why i rate vk so high, because more often than not, take vk's runs out of the equation and india 9 times out of 10 wouldn't have won that match. this final is the prime example of that, reddit dudebros were at vk's throat to up the ante, but imo he played exactly as the situation required. in that scenario, vk getting stuck in was the best bet for us to be able to win that match, and we did! imagine instead of scoring 76 off 59 he scored something like 50 off 20 or a 30 off 15. yes he scores at a higher rate, but then we end up with a 20-40 less runs to defend, which is a more difficult job, and dareisay a different result for us.

also I feel like the debate about take vk out of the equation and we lose might be influenced by team combination? this is absolutely not an insult to england or jos, in fact it's a compliment. jos has rarely been needed to be a one-man army for england, because his teammates have hardly ever left him in that situation. vk, on the other hand, has dragged the team to wins with almost no support, and that honestly reflects worse on the other players on our team. i promise you, rohit wasn't always the batsman you've seen in this world cup 🥴 back in 2014/16, he used to be veeery hit and miss, and very often the openers would depart on ducks, and leave vk with a job to do. and madlad actually did get it done most of the times.

that's why i often get annoyed when people call vk selfish or a stats merchant or a statpadder. like yes, he plays slow, but the others didn't really give him an option apart from conserving his wicket? if he too gets out searching for the big shot, who's gonna bat deep and take us home? also, not to mention that vk is probably the best pacer of an innings of the current generation; he's so ruthless at the death, and can find the boundary at will. mohali and melbourne was proof of that.

and again vk is so devastatingly consistent and reliable in t20s. it's like whenever i watch rohit, or surya or even jos play, i have no idea whether they are gonna score 0 or 20 or 30 or 50 or 100, but whenever vk is batting, 9 times out of 10, i can count on him to score at the very least a 20. the big-hitters aren't really as consistent as him. jos definitely is one of the more consistent hitters, as are gayle and guptill, but to me, personally, nobody comes close to vk's consistency in t20s.

i think for me, the consistency is what cements vk as the best T20 batter of this generation to me, because i can't recall anyone else who has sustained their form and their ability to come clutch when necessary the way vk has.

(side note: i hadn't thought about this until this debate came up, but thoughts on a vk/jos opening partnership? it would really work out in my opinion, they complement each other perfectly 😋)

Yeah agree with a lot of what you said, and to reiterate I’m not denying he’s one of the best white ball batters to have ever played the game. I would still say Jos is more impact than VK though, but that’s all down to what I believe is an impact player.

Like I said before, VK sits with Joe and Steve and Kane as the Big 4 for a reason, but to me they’re not impact players. As you’ve said, you want them staying in, batting deep, holding their end of the wicket, slowing the game when it needs to be slowed or speeding it up when it needs to go faster, having that match awareness and that confidence that they’re not going out even when they get set.

That’s just not an impact player to me, that’s a high order batsman or an incredibly good batsman. Impact players, as you said, are a bit more inconsistent with what they score because of the way they play. Jos gets a solid 80 odd against USA with an incredible destructive innings so much so we didn’t even really need a second player, but in other games playing the same way he goes for 10 or less. Ben is the same - if he gets his eye in he’s an absolute machine but he can just as easily score 10 as he can 110.

A Jos and VK opening pair… yeah I’d pay good money to see that 😮‍💨

[theuniversitychallengereview]

UC 49.1 - Lancaster vs Glasgow

I don’t know about you guys but I haven’t answered a question for three months. Responding to a colleague’s ‘how was your weekend’ seems futile when there’s nothing at stake. And if I were to bang my table and shout random numbers out, as Robbie Campbell-Hewson did to win April’s Grand Final for Edinburgh, I wouldn’t get a trophy would I, so whats the point? 

Most games of cricket are basically pointless too (disclaimer: I’m going to slag off cricket a lot here, but know that I know very little, if anything, about it). Club cricket is basically just nonsense, because all the best players spend most of their time playing internationally. And then you have the international sides playing each other in random sets of three or four games that last five days each, with no apparent reason to who’s playing who, like glorified friendlies. Even if you just slap a name on one of these series’, like with the Ashes, you can add a bit of weight to them. 

But then you occasionally have a tournament that contains more than two teams, and you can start rubbing your hands together (though make sure there’s not some sandpaper and a ball between them, because that will get you banned). Phil Neville, manager of the England women’s football team, once said that he had an individual groupchat for each one of the players in his squad. And that’s what cricket feels like most of the time. Or maybe Phil Neville just doesn’t know what a groupchat is.

Anyway, once every four years you get a proper knockout tournament featuring games that only last one day. Well, there were only really three knockout games, and one of those was stretched over two days, but at least it felt like there was some logical reasoning behind the matches that were played. So effectively there was a month’s worth of foreplay, building up to the two semis that were reasonably exciting, before England faced New Zealand in yesterday’s final.

I was on a train yesterday, frantically trying to get BBC Sport to play either the TV or radio coverage of the Wimbledon final on lagging wifi and intermittent 4G, which kept dropping in and out at the crucial moments, ‘Federer has hit a fantastic passing shot and has that caught the line...’. Too hopped up on adrenaline to eat my overpriced WHSmith meal deal, I was periodically checking in on the cricket score to calm myself down. NZ had started slow, but picked it up to post a reasonable, but not insurmountable total at Lord’s. England lost their top order fairly on, but Ben Stokes in the middle was slowly pulling them back into it

Due to the fact the tennis went on longer than just about every other tennis match ever, the two finals were coming to an end at pretty much the same time. Refresh, refresh! No Service. In a tunnel. What is going on?! I’d clocked the guy across the aisle doing the same frantic tap and scroll motion as I was about an hour ago, but the time had come to engage - you on the tennis or the cricket mate? Back and forth between them. Who’s winning? Tiebreak in the tennis. Djokovic takes it. 

I’m exhausted from riding the Roger rollercoaster, but phew, only one page to try and desperately reload now. What is going on?! England need fifteen from four balls. The guy across the aisle is sputtering some chaos about a Kiwi fielder having caught the ball, but it not counting and instead England having been given a six? And then something else about Stokes diving to the ground and hitting a throw from deep out for another six? None of whats happening makes any sense. 

The guy on BBC Sport is going on about a Super Over, but no one seems to know what it is. Apparenty its just whack the ball as hard as you can. Actually that does sort of make sense. Tiebreak in the tennis. Tiebreak in the cricket. England whack fifteen from their six balls. New Zealand whack fourteen from their first five. Two to win. The only cricket match that actually matters is down to the last ball. 

Toss. Whack. Run. 

If this is a draw again then England win because they whacked it further more times than New Zealand. So they need to run again. At this point I don’t know what would be the crazier outcome, them making it or them not making it. 

There’s one foot in it. Jos Buttler smashes the stumps half a second before Martin Guptil makes it home. Train guy slumps down, shattered. I realise that I’m starving and tear open my sandwich. World Cup England. 

The guy on BBC Sport says that he thinks it’s hoary when people say that you couldn’t write this, and then goes on to say that you couldn’t write this, but you absoutely could. This is exactly how all the books I used to read about twelve year old boys playing football used to end. Why would you write it any other way?

And so England won the Cricket World Cup for the first time ever, in the most thrilling, and definitely possible to write circumstances, just as the University of Edinburgh picked up their first Challenge crown only three months ago. I said in my review of that final that the reason we watch sport is to see people who are the best at stuff playing against other people who are the best at stuff (it has to be the same stuff most of the time. You couldn’t have darts players against polo players, probably), and the last time I felt the same excitement as I did during yesterday’s F5 frenzy was the moment Campbell Hewson clinched it for Auld Reekie. 

So lets answer a question. Are you ready for your first starter for ten?

Its Lancaster vs Glasgow tonight and the Scots start where Edinburgh left off, with Whitcombe doing the honours on the opening question. Paxman pronounces Family Guy like someone who has never heard the words Family Guy before, and we’re up and running. McRobert gets a classic UC starter on words made from the letters of another word, and Glasgow keep whacking the sixes out of the park as they race into a 100/0 lead. 

Ford eventually manages to take a wicket for Lancaster, but already you can see that Glasgow look confident and relaxed, and that they’ll be hard to beat. Ford’s struggle to pull his side back into the match will be made more difficult by the fact that he seems to be the only one on his team who managed to push through the nerves to get down to the buzzer.

With a three figure cushion, the Scottish side perhaps ease off a little bit, allowing Ford to make an impression on the game, but any threat of a comeback is quashed pretty quickly. By the time Whitworth gets Whitman to put the game beyond Lancaster for sure, Glasgow are really enjoying themselves. To wit, Glasgow’s two Whits, Worth and Combe, are having an especially good time, swooping down like owls on their hapless prey. Two Whits, to woo (there’s a better joke in there somewhere, but I can’t find it).

Final Score: Lancaster 95 - 230 Glasgow

Quizzy Mondays are back, baby! Decent showing from Glasgow there, who have perhaps the most balanced team in UC history (Whit-Mc-Mc-Whit). Join me next week (if you weren’t extremely put off by the cricket rhapsodising) for Corpus Christi College Cambridge vs Merton Mollege Moxford.

[unit8fmpjoshb]

Research

Initial research: My initial research consisted of researching character design references on google images. the character references consisted of character drawings, the drawings usually showing the character at different angels or with different expressions. This helped me realize how important different angled shots are and easier ways of drawing the shots. Another part of my research was looking templates for bios in order to get a good place to start for the character biography. 

https://www.deviantart.com/avistella/art/OC-Biography-Template-406830870

Inspirational and art research: Something that really inspired me was games where you can customize your character and make them however you want, it gave you freedom to create whoever you want. Games such as skyrim and dark souls helped me to realize what features and characteristics to focus on when making a character. I now know what to focus on for my characters personality and bio and what i should place more thought into such as important information such as the characters name, personality background. The art gave me inspiration to write and make a character that would grow up, survive and adapt to a world where allies are scarce and everything is out to get him. The art depicts a simply person making they’re way to the top without assistance or guidance and is surpassing they’re own limits, this inspiring me to write and make a character that could thrive in his own world and grow to match the challenges they’ll face.

https://www.cookandbecker.com/en/artwork/2444/high-wall-of-lothric-dark-souls-iii-fromsoftware.html

Artist research: One artist who gave me a lot of inspiration due to his drawings style, characters and the’re unique looks despite using a simple style of drawing is Eiichiro Oda, Japanese manga artist and creator of One Piece. Oda got inspiration from the equally simply design of the Dragon Ball series.  another artist who in inspired me is Hirohiko Araki, a manga artist who made the JoJo manga series. His art, whilst still fairly simple, is more complex than most and adds extra detail into his drawing. What i took from they’re work was the importance of little details that make each character unique and hat goes into making someone unique. the hair, scars, stories, personality, all is used to make a unique character so that nothing is repetitive or boring.

Target audience and practical/development research: I made a survey that lists a number of different questions designed so that the end product, my character and the world he’s in, is the most appealing. The results helped me to narrow down what my character could do and more importantly what the world around him would be like. Another thing i used for research is a comic book that helps with showing how to draw characters, specifically comic book characters and how to draw them at different angles. From the book i was able to get a better, more detailed drawings from the side, something i was previously struggling with. The book i got this from is linked below and features multiple different techniques and ways of drawing. A book that was useful because it showed me a simple way of drawing a full body person and the most effective way of doing so ‘extreme worlds the complete guide to drawing and painting sci-fi art’

https://www.surveymonkey.com/analyze/AudGOUEj1Cg_2FvwDLgogQRctR1cUzw_2FNlvfcUsGCTEqKZorfCeAXvGNFCV6k9a8Ot

Hart, C. (2001). Drawing cutting edge comics. 1st ed. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications.

Legal Research:My research included looking into copyright and ensuring i new the rules of copyright and did a though search for other characters, plots and magic to ensure that my work was not copying off of any other and that it was completely original. The law states that anyone who creates work with skill and labor. 

Stokes, S. (2009). Digital copyright. 3rd ed. Oxford: Hart Pub.

[australiaunwrappedsblog]

List of Double Centuries In ODI

Playing a cricket century in a match is a big deal for every player. Achieving a double century is an even more monumental event. Whenever a cricketer scores a century or a double for that matter, it is considered to be a hallmark moment for a batter and will forever be immortalized in their career statistics.

Centuries occur whenever a cricket player (batter) manages to score a hundred runs or more in a single inning during a match. The whole concept of a century wasn’t prevalent until the tail end of the 19th century when it was becoming an anticipated play. Nonetheless, the earliest known century played was in 1767. During a small match, cricketer John Minshull managed to score 107 runs thereby becoming the first recognized century to be played in a cricket game.

It wasn’t until six years after the first century was made that a cricketer in a top-class match named John Small managed to score his own century with 136 runs. Players for other cricket formats however weren’t as unlucky because runs that qualified as a century or a double didn’t reoccur until the 1800s and onwards. Looking back it was clear that it was such a rarity for even a top player to achieve this feat, even rarer to encounter players that managed to get a double century. For this reason, the accomplishment is truly something worth celebrating and recording for future cricket-playing generations to take inspiration from.

Also See: A Closer Look at Martial Arts and Boxing Competitions

When it comes to the ODI cricket format, getting on the One Day International’s list of cricketers is a dream for a lot of players. Even though getting on the list is challenging, it has not discouraged cricket athletes from wanting to conquer a double-century milestone. Aside from setting it as a goal, attaining a double century requires a lot of skill, patience, energy, endurance, and incredible strength. Currently, there are only a total of eight cricketers who have succeeded in appearing in the Double Century List for the ODI format.

Out of those eight players, only one cricketer has managed to record a double century to his name. Cricketer Rohit Sharma managed to score a double century not just one time, but three times so far. His achievements are currently unmatched but this does not mean that the other seven cricketers are not just as worthy of recognition. Besides Sharma, there are several men and women cricket stars who have gotten a spot in this distinguished spot. These are the cricket sports stars who have scored 200 runs in their ODI matches.

List of ODI Cricket Players with Double Centuries 

 Superstar captain Belinda Clark

Former Australian national women’s cricket team captain, and international cricketer Belinda is one of the fortunate players to have made her mark in the cricketing world. This talented sportswoman scored a double century that has surprised fans and fellow players. Her amazing 229 runs in a game against Denmark in 1997 have earned the admiration of many. This role model to many aspiring young cricketers was instrumental in many matches won by the national team throughout her 14-year professional participation.

Striking while it’s hot with Chris Gayle

Jamaican native Chris Gayle’s record 200 run or more popularly known as the highly coveted double century was a result of his energetic and explosive performance in the ICC World Cup. Regarded as one of the best batsmen in the history of Twenty20 matches, Gayle is in fact a top-notch ODI player who has a 146.25 strike hit. Like many cricketers, he was able to achieve his centurion dreams, and at the same time becoming a record holder as one of the select number of cricketers to have gotten an impressive ODI score.

Martin Guptil

An opening batsman for the New Zealand international cricket team, Martin played one of his best games. This monumental game against a West Indies team in 2015 led to him batting at the opening and scoring with 163 balls, a total of 237 runs. This kiwi batsman executed a spectacular 145.39 strike rate which is a leading score in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. At the moment, Martin’s double century win has him as the second-highest recorded ODI player.

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[xtruss]

Which Players Have Been The Biggest Losses to Cricket This Century?

Mohammad Asif, patron saint of what-could-have-beens Getty Images (A Boak Bollock who involved himself in a match fixing crimes and killed his own promising career. Otherwise he would be the most fiercest, formidable, intimidating and dangerous fast bowler of the Cricketing World.)

— Jul 9, 2020 | ESPN Staff

In this edition of Rabbit Holes, Osman Samiuddin, Andrew Fidel Fernando and Sidharth Monga gather for a round of lamentation and breast-beating over cricket's greatest unfulfilled talents and shed tears over what might have been.

Andrew Fidel Fernando, ESPNcricinfo's Sri Lanka correspondent: So, the biggest losses to cricket this century. I think given the people involved in the conversation, this will quickly degenerate into a Mohammad Asif support group. But there are so many others who've not had the careers we all wanted them to have.

Osman Samiuddin, senior editor: Wait, what? This is not the Asif Anonymous Group already?

Fernando: "Hi, I'm Osman, and it's been ten years since I last watched Asif bowl. (breaks down sobbing uncontrollably)"

Sidharth Monga, assistant editor: And the thing is, Asif don't care. Or at least doesn't seem to care.

Samiuddin: Although the thing is, I think Asif does care. In that interview with Umar Farooq it was clear he cares about how people remember him. Maybe just not enough to get bogged down by it.

Monga: He has moved on better than us. Which is him being kinda, "Yeah, this is life, what are you going to do about it?" But I also like that he is turning out in domestic cricket despite there being no hope that he will ever bowl at the highest level again. This is every ball of his first two spells of the QeA final in 2017-18. Cruelly, captained again by Salman Butt, who chose to field first, which is something you don't do in Test cricket these days. And the first two comments on the video!

Samiuddin: For the longest time - and even now - I believe that the careers of Kumar Sangakkara and AB de Villiers would have turned out different had they had to play Asif often.

Fernando: Sanga would have got out cheaply to Asif five times in a row one series and retired in shame in 2012 - that's how your fantasy goes, right?

Samiuddin: Earlier, ideally.

Monga: Hashim Amla, AB and Kevin Pietersen didn't even play him that much, but the little that they did was enough to convince them he was the best bowler they faced. Ahead of all the other legends of the time.

Samiuddin: But with the advances in batsmanship - though, I guess mostly in white-ball cricket - how would Asif have responded? It's not a bad time to be a Test bowler though, so he probably would have been okay still.

Remember when Asif took 6 for 41 in Sydney in 2010, in a losing cause? Getty Images

Fernando: I do think Asif would have loved some of the tracks Pakistan have played on in the last five, six years.

Samiuddin: The UAE? I mean, imagine Misbah captaining Asif - would he have turned him into an offspinner?

Fernando: Hah, true, but I meant more outside the UAE. Those New Zealand greentops where you can only see the batsman from the helmet up, because of the grass cover. He would also have adored a lot of the tracks Pakistan played on in Sri Lanka, in the middle of the last decade, when they were visiting every other weekend.

Samiuddin: Also can't help but think how he would have gone in Australia. He had one great Test there - in Sydney - but that surface was green that first morning and it had rained and clouds were around, so it was ideal. I think that's probably the last time Australia had anything other than a flat track. His set-ups were like Warne in conception - this one of Clarke especially. He bowled four-five balls to Clarke before this, all good length, on off-stump line, either not seaming or seaming away. Two-three he left alone to keeper. One he drove. This one he tried to drive again and it was the first one that seamed in. So, so, so simple.

Monga: Did you say set-ups? And he did it all without a perfect upright seam the way Mohammed Shami's is. Or maybe bolt upright is not perfect, who knows. Also, Marcus North getting out in three balls reminds me of Asif once saying he is sometimes disappointed with batsmen who don't let him set them up properly and get out before the payoff.

Samiuddin: There was also a great set-up of Shane Watson in a previous Test, where Asif bowled to an 8-1 off-side field for a couple of overs and well wide of off stump. Like, really wide outside. Almost unnoticed he was pulling Watson further and further out to the off side. And then suddenly, when literally nobody was expecting it, he bowled one a little straighter, quicker, it swung in a fair bit. Watson had moved out to off stump in anticipation and the ball ended up missing Watson's leg stump by millimetres. I don't think I would ever have seen a dismissal like that. All that work for one ball and it only narrowly didn't come off.

Fernando: I feel like we could be on Asif all day.

Samiuddin: The point of all of which is that I don't think I have regretted not seeing more of any cricketer than Asif. So that's decided. How about some others?

Though, I mean, Pakistan could put out three XIs of these players who were lost and they could play a pointless tri-series among themselves. Like Mohammad Zahid. Fastest four balls Brian Lara faced in his life.

Monga: Would Umar Akmal qualify?

Fernando: And if we're doing a long Pakistan lamentation, is Fawad Alam in the mix?

Samiuddin: Hundred per cent. Not lost so much as ignored. Overlooked. Spat upon. Trampled.

Monster on a monstrous pitch: Jesse Ryder cut, drove and hooked to 83 in the 2011 World Cup quarter-final in Mirpur, while other batsmen struggled Getty Images

Monga: But we're drawing the line at Ahmed Shahzad?

Fernando: I'd like to throw two Kiwi names into the mix. Both of whom played 18 Tests. Both players of extreme quality. Lost to the game for reasons very different to Asif.

Samiuddin: Martin Guptill?

Fernando: Hah, no one so painfully vanilla. The first I'm thinking of, of course, is Jesse Ryder.

Samiuddin: Did you not once spend an entire six-month period of your life trying to chase him down?

Fernando: For a potential feature, yes, highly unsuccessfully. He was still playing. And still burning bridges. It was like the story hadn't actually stopped unravelling, so no one really wanted to talk about it.

Ryder just had such an instinctive feel for the game, whichever format he was playing. A rock-solid defence, a brutal pull shot, threw all of himself into those drives. When he middled it, you couldn't actually see the ball before it reappeared outside the boundary rope.

Monga: Underrated bowler and exceptional catcher to go with it. And he sold out stadiums. People came to watch Jesse Ryder.

Fernando: He was a monster at backward point.

Samiuddin: In that 2011 World Cup quarter-final in Dhaka, pitch like porridge - that was the only time I saw Ryder play and, my lord, if that wasn't the innings of that tournament. His timing that day was freakishly good. On that pitch - and the thing is, it's difficult to articulate - the difference in watching him bat and others that day was just so, so vast that you had to question yourself. Like, were you assessing the pitch wrong and were the rest just crap?

Monga: New Zealand is so not the country for Jesse. I remember him scoring a flawless double-century against India in Napier, and then breaking a chair or something in disgust when he got out. You can guess what got reported the next day.

Fernando: So I remember this crazy Ryder innings, where again, at the end, a chair got smashed (after a lot of Sri Lankan bowlers had also been smashed).

Samiuddin: I'm seeing a pattern here...

Monga: If I were the coach I would carry extra chairs.

Fernando: It was in the 2009 Champions Trophy. Ryder pulls a hamstring or a calf very early in this match. I think he was 7 off 7 or something like that. Basically can't run. And so he just starts blasting boundaries. Ten fours and a six - 74 off 58 balls.

Monga: He wasn't much for foot movement anyway, but somehow always played close to his body.

Forget the batting for a minute: Ryder also took blinders, like this one to dismiss Upul Tharanga in the 2011 World Cup semi-final AFP

Fernando: Opening partner Brendon McCullum, who is supposed to be this shining paragon of Kiwi aggression, ambles to 42 off 74 at the other end. Eventually Ryder gets out, and he's clearly not happy. Just when he thinks he's out of view of the cameras, he absolutely lays into a plastic chair. Just destroys it with his bat. Except, of course, he wasn't out of view. This was seen and replayed many times. I'm sorry but I loved everything about that.

Samiuddin: Actually more than anything else, New Zealand need(ed) Ryder in their team to shed themselves of the "nicest guys in cricket" tag. I mean, yeah, of course, runs and stuff, but they need a guy in that side who does things like that.

Fernando: The New Zealand hill I will absolutely die on is that they would have converted one of their two World Cup finals into a win if Ryder was in the team. I don't blame the people who kicked Ryder out, really, because he's been given chances by many coaches in various continents - both domestic and international - and he's not managed to rein his behaviour in. But if Ryder had managed to improve the behaviour to juuust within that line, I think we would think of New Zealand as one of the great teams of the last decade, instead of just a very good one. And also just the thought of Williamson trying to captain Ryder - there could have been books written and films made just on that relationship.

Monga: I just feel cricket, especially the international variety, is very tough on someone like Jesse. It would have been a miracle if he had survived. Ross Taylor and Ryder were both discovered together. Neither came from a privileged background, but Taylor's privilege was that he had his act together. Mark Greatbatch, one of their earlier coaches, I remember, told me how Ryder was more skilled but Taylor was more rounded as a person. Ryder would throw up in the bin at the nets, Taylor would come home with a bottle of wine.

Samiuddin: Without knowing the details and insider stuff, was he so, so, so difficult to handle that they really couldn't find a place for him in the team at all? Or make it work somehow?

Fernando: They didn't throw him away lightly, tbf. They gave chances. And many people - agents, coaches, mentors - have tried various approaches and it's not worked out.

Samiuddin: I think that is the other point about these players, that they make so much of an impression, you're always left feeling somehow if the others - boards, teams, managers, agents - had just done something else/more he would have been okay.

Monga: More than anything, they also tell us that sometimes you have to accept things as they are. Especially when a team such as New Zealand does all it can get to keep you in. What joy it was to watch him in full flow. But it wasn't meant to be.

Samiuddin: Who was the other Kiwi?

Fernando: Okay, yes, enough Ryder. Someone who was at the other end of the spectrum in terms of temperament, but also glorious to watch in full flow. Guesses?

Samiuddin: Bond. The name is Bond.

Fernando: Nailed it. Like, Shane Bond with his yorkers.

Samiuddin: Bond is long gone as a bowler, but I feel like he's everywhere in the actions of so many modern fast bowlers.

Shane Bond, destroyer of Australia, failed by his own body Getty Images

Fernando: Huge influence on Tim Southee and Trent Boult.

Monga: Strike rate of 38 but couldn't play enough to get more than his 87 wickets.

Samiuddin: Adam Milne, Matt Henry - all their actions. Naseem Shah.

Fernando: And if we agree that aughts Australia had assembled the greatest ODI batting line up, Bond was the greatest destroyer of that top order. Seventeen matches v Aus: average of 15.79, SR of 21.4, economy rate 4.41 - there's no touching that in ODIs

Samiuddin: Bond, in a very different way, is the epitome of what Monga said earlier, about how it's just meant to be for some. No off-field issues (that I can think of), great guy to have in a team. But just had a body that couldn't sustain it.

Monga: In a way I agree, but you can continue working on the body, you can even come back as a bowler with less pace but more wiles, you can still cut yourself a career, but it is different with mental health.

Fernando: Bond just was incredibly, incredibly fragile, though. I'm not sure even turning himself into a medium-pacer - which he has said he was never interested in, btw - would have worked. There were unusual things as well: I remember he once went off the field in a match with a migraine and couldn't bowl, and caught absolute hell on talkback radio in New Zealand for being soft.

Samiuddin: Incidentally, Bond talked about the injuries stemming - ironically - from that action, in this great piece on him by Rahul Bhattacharya, at the 2007 World Cup. He talks here about losing a little of that pace.

Fernando: His last Test, which was a fantastic game against Pakistan in Dunedin, he blew them away with pace in the first innings, iirc.

Monga: It was a great Test. Akmal was unleashed in this game, right?

Fernando: Yes, Asif took 4 for 43 as well. Pity Ryder didn't play. It would have been the poster Test for everything we've talked about.

Monga: Ryder was a veteran of wistfulness by then.

Fernando: Fawad Alam was in that Test as well! Here's the wicket description from the first dig: "Bond's breathing fire here, he hits the deck hard from over the wicket, lands it short of a length on middle and Fawad barely had time to react and fend it off, he fails to drop his gloves down and the ball shaves his glove before landing safely in McCullum's hands."

Underrated, but celebrated: would Ryan Harris have had a greater impact had big names not kept him out of the Australian team early in his career? Getty Images

Monga: While sticking with fast bowlers, I have a name that I am not sure you will agree with. It is more down to having been kept out by big names throughout his 20s, but what we saw of Ryan Harris in 27 Tests in his 30s (also cut short by a back surgery, which he went to after taking a last wicket in the dying moments of a momentous Test) makes me wonder with a little disappointment what a great bowler we lost out on.

Samiuddin: Absolutely, only four more Tests than Asif.

Monga: And what an Asif-like bowler too.

Samiuddin: But I also feel with Harris that Australia celebrated him so much, that he was part of so many big moments against South Africa and England - big series - that he kind of lived a full career… which, of course, he never did in reality

Fernando: And I guess that the injuries came at an age when you expect those things to happen to a quick. Whereas Asif's exit seemed so premature.

Monga: His wrist admittedly did less magic than Asif, but his accuracy was stifling. He lived by the Asif philosophy: if I beat the bat, I should be hitting the pad or the stumps; if I take the edge, it should go to keeper or first slip

Samiuddin: Except, quicker than Asif. Always felt Stuart Clark was the more like-for-like Asif bowler

Monga: We love Asif for the highlights reels his wickets make it to, but arguably Harris has provided us with better seam porn. Have a look at this. This also reminds me, I recently saw Harris seam a ball in the IPL. That I would never have believed had there been no video evidence.

Samiuddin: Asif seamed some balls in the IPL too - 2008.

Fernando: What a trip it is now to think that Pakistan players actually took part in the IPL.

Monga: The greatest loss to cricket: Pakistan players missing the IPL.

Samiuddin: Snap.

Fernando: Genuinely, though, they would have changed the dynamic of that tournament so much. And you suspect the IPL would have changed Pakistan cricket as well.

Samiuddin: But the PSL may not have happened also... Or maybe it would have happened earlier.

Fernando: Umar Gul would have cut it up.

Samiuddin: And Sohail Tanvir as the greatest T20 bowler ever?

Chris Lewis: the blueprint for Jofra Archer? Getty Images

Fernando: Lasith Malinga would still have crushed it, let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Samiuddin: I know I'm being old and boomer-y but Malinga in Tests, I feel, is an unfulfilled thing.

Monga: Malinga would have made a bowler of great spells in Test cricket. Innocuous for long whiles, but then a switch would flick on and he would run through three-four guys in one three-over spell on a humid day at the SSC.

Samiuddin: Yes and that three-over spell would have turned the day, the Test, even the series.

Fernando: If you can hustle a fantastic batsman with a bouncer in Galle, you're a decent bowler. But then with Malinga, it's kind of a double-edged sword. You don't have Malinga if you don't have that action. And you probably can't have that action and a long Test career. What makes him is what breaks him. Unlike, say Bond, who could conceivably have had a long career with a better body.

Samiuddin: Before starting this I had made a list of all the players that would feature here: Shaun Tait, Vinod Kambli, Mohammad Zahid, Asif, Ryder, Wasim Raja, all of South Africa before return, Chris Lewis…

Chris Lewis, man. I watch Jofra and I get strong Lewis vibes. Not in terms of the pace or anything, but in how easily he did things, without showing any signs of the strain and toll it takes on a body. Though who knows how quick Lewis was - no speed guns in his time and he was never celebrated for his pace. But he could bat a bit, great in the field, loose and easy action.

Monga: Did we get enough of Steve Harmison?

Samiuddin: Yes. Harmison played 63 Tests.

Fernando: But I think we've mostly exhausted this chat now. We're dipping into the '90s, and now discussing players who actually had decently long careers. We'll be talking about Kevin Pietersen next. I've just sat in on too many conversations in England about what a loss KP was. And he played 104 Tests.

Samiuddin: In England if you don't play 150 Tests, you ain't nothing.

Monga: And now the rhinos have him. Poor rhinos. Though I think he is actually doing something for them.

Fernando: He's probably trash-talking them behind their backs. Anyway, I think this conversation has degenerated. Like the actions of so many fast bowlers gone before their time.

Osman: Yeah, I think we're done.

Fernando: Let's call it. I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to put on some Asif highlights reels, eat huge quantities of ice cream straight from the tub, and cry myself to sleep.

[boloorsportsmania]

#790 Rahul’s classy century and Chahal’s efforts goes in vain as Indian pacers again couldn’t penetrate into NZ top batsmen; Virat handed his first ODI series whitewash; NZ-SA T20 series tied at 1-1 all going to final match; Both match were last over thrillers; Liverpool win their 25th match of this EPL season of possible 26 matches; Barca win and more..:-)

After having lost ODI series, India had to win final dead rubber ODI to gain some momentum and confidence going into test series. Virat Kohli has never played dead rubber ODI in his 4 years captaincy career. India started off poorly again. Jamison castled Mayank with a beauty in his first over. India 8-1. Virat tried to be over aggressive at the start. He played an upper cut which fell straight into Jamieson’s hands. India 32-2. Virat had a poor ODi series by his standards. Hope he gets back to his best in test series. Shaw and Shreyas took India past 50. Shaw was looking good. Against the run of play, he took 2nd run which never existed and was runout. India 62-3.  India had to resurrect post that and they did. Kl Rahul and Shreyas had century stand before Shreyas fell for well made 62. Rahul then upped the ante. He and Manish pandey had another century stand. Rahul was dismissed for 112. His form at a very different level in white ball cricket. India made 296-7. It looked 20—30 short and that was due to poor start.  India had to make early in roads. But just like in first 2 ODI, Bumrah and co sprayed all over the place. NZ bowlers bowled to the stumps and didn’t give width to batsmen. Indian bowlers bowled outside off stump line which played into NZ batsmen’s hands Bumrah’s yorker has gone missing. Chahal dismissed Guptill for 66. NZ 106-1. Williamson and Nicholls took NZ past 150. NZ had brief phase where they made comeback. Chahal was bowling brilliantly. He dismissed Williamson for 22. NZ were reduced to 189-4 from 159-1. Just when it needed Indian pacers to make in roads, they disappointed again.  James Nesham was dismissed for 19. NZ 220-5. Grandhomme could have been out first ball but Saini didn’t go for the catch. From then on it was all NZ. Grandhomme’s hit 58 from 28 helped NZ win by 5 wickets with 17 balls to spare. Bumrah’s lack of form has hurt India in this series. India need him to comeback to form if they are to make impact in test series. India lost series in 28-40 over phase in first ODI. Had India not allowed Latham to cut loose, India could well have won the series. That 120 runs in 12 overs gave NZ the impetus and they have never looked back since then.

In T20 series, Quinton’s 15 ball 31 and Bavuma’s 27 ball 43 helped SA to 177-8. SA were near 100 at half way stage. England were cruising 132-2 at 15th over. England had a collapse . They were reduced to 171-6 from 132-2. England needed 7 runs from last over. Ngidi kept his calm. He dismissed To Curran and Moeen to give SA a famous 1 run win. In 2nd T20, it went other way round. England made 204-7 thanks to 30 ball 47 by Stokes and 15 ball 39 by Moeen. England hit close to 70 runs in last 5 overs. Bavuma and Quinton took SA past 100 in 9 overs flat. Quinton hit a 17 ball 50. Van Der Dussen  took SA closer to England target. They needed 3 runs from last 2 balls. Tom Curran grabbed 2 wickets of last balls to give England 2 run win.

In EPL, Mane’s 78th minute goal gave Liverpool their 25th win in this EPL off possible 26 matches. They have 25 point lead over Man City. It does look like Liverpool would win EPL with half a dozen games left. In La Liga, Griezmann and Roberto’s 2 goals gave Barca 2-1 lead over Getafe.  They are level on points with Real Madrid though Real have an additional game in hand.

[thisdaynews]

England in New Zealand: Dawid Malan hits century as tourists win fourth T20

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/england-in-new-zealand-dawid-malan-hits-century-as-tourists-win-fourth-t20/

England in New Zealand: Dawid Malan hits century as tourists win fourth T20

Eoin Morgan and Dawid Malan shared an England record 182-run stand in the fourth T20 against New Zealand

Fourth Twenty20, McLean Park, Napier England 241-3:Malan 103* (51), Morgan 91 (41) New Zealand 165:Southee 39, Parkinson 4-47, Jordan 2-24 England won by 76 runs; series level at 2-2 Scorecard

Dawid Malan hit the fastest T20 century by an England batsman as the tourists crushed New Zealand by 76 runs in Napier to level the five-match series with one game remaining.

On an astonishing night, Malan struck 103 from 51 balls to become the second England player to make a T20 ton.

Captain Eoin Morgan made 91 from just 41 balls as England posted their highest T20 total of 241-3.

Leg-spinner Matt Parkinson took 4-47 as New Zealand were dismissed for 165.

The final match takes place in Auckland on Sunday at 01:00 GMT.

In a brutal display, Malan reached three figures from just 48 balls, hitting a ragged New Zealand attack for nine fours and six sixes.

He and Morgan put on 182 runs – the highest stand for England in a T20 international – in just 12.2 overs.

Alex Hales is the only other England international to make a T20 century, having made an unbeaten 116 from 64 balls against Sri Lanka in 2014.

New Zealand could not match England’s hitting as they were dismissed with 19 balls remaining, with all five of England’s bowlers claiming at least one wicket.

How England’s 76-run victory unfolded

England in New Zealand – fixtures, squads & results

Morgan & Malan take top billing

Dawid Malan hit 15 boundaries in his 51-ball innings

England were 18-1 in the early stages of the match but that was a distant memory by the time Morgan was dismissed in the final over.

Napier might be a small ground but Morgan and Malan produced a stunning display of hitting to power England to their match-winning total.

No bowler was allowed to settle. Leg-spinner Ish Sodhi had his final over smashed for 28 by Malan while Blair Tickner, so economical in the third T20, was taken for 50 from his four overs.

The two came together in the eighth over and Morgan showed his intent as he dispatched his sixth ball for six. Helped by New Zealand’s poor discipline, the two plundered the bowling – Morgan hit straight while Malan went square.

They never looked troubled, their hard hitting allowing the ball to evade the fielders. Malan’s half-century came from 31 balls, while Morgan’s, brought up just three balls after Malan, was from 21. From there, the pace only accelerated.

Dot balls were a rarity in the final few overs as Malan moved smoothly towards his century. His sixth six of the evening, brought up off New Zealand’s premier bowler Trent Boult, took him to a superb century.

It looked as though Morgan would match him as he swiped the third ball of the final over for six, but he holed out in the deep to fall nine runs short.

The England captain had said at the toss that he would have bowled first. As he left the field, he may have been relieved that the decision was taken out of his hands.

Carnage in Napier

Malan and Morgan hit 29 boundaries between them, including 13 sixes

There were just nine dot balls in the final 10 overs

Malan and Morgan’s 182-run stand is the fourth highest in all T20 internationals

Malan is the first player to register more than four 50+ scores in his first 10 T20Is

Morgan now has the fastest half-century in T20 and ODI cricket for England

Black Caps forced into decider

Blair Tickner, who registered figures of 2-25 in the third T20, went wicketless in Napier

New Zealand had the chance to clinch a series victory and, having dismissed Jonny Bairstow cheaply and trapped Tom Banton lbw just as his innings began to fire after opting to bowl, they were in a strong position.

However, their discipline crumbled as Malan and Morgan attacked, with even the returning Boult unable to stop the boundaries from flowing.

They made a frenetic start with the bat, racing to 49-0 inside the first four overs as Martin Guptill hit Chris Jordan out of the ground, but the innings stuttered along.

Only five players reached double figures and stand-in captain Tim Southee was the top-scorer as he hit out from the number eight spot.

England’s fielding was not at its best, with Pat Brown dropping two chances off Parkinson, but ultimately it was enough to take the series into a deciding match.

‘It was a lot of fun’ – what they said

England batsman Dawid Malan, speaking to Sky Sports:“It’s not often in your career everything comes off, it was a lot of fun out there.

“I felt rusty in the first game of the series but it’s felt smoother and smoother. I said this morning that I felt I had got rid of the rust and thankfully it clicked here.

“Morgs came out and changed the momentum of the game and I piggy-backed that.”

England bowler Steven Finn on Test Match Special:“It was a professional performance from England. They managed to turn the screw when needed.

“Dawid Malan takes pride in being able to pace his innings, judge who to attack and when to attack them and he did that really well today.”

England captain Eoin Morgan:“It was quite a clinical performance. Myself and Dawid have played for a long time together at Middlesex and we know each other pretty well.

“It was enjoyable, we had a lot of laughs out there. It was a beautiful wicket to bat on.”

New Zealand stand-in captain Tim Southee:“That can happen in Twenty20 cricket, in two days time we’ve got another chance to go out and win the series.

“You have to go out and believe when you’re chasing a target like that, we got off to a good start but whenever we looked like getting away they took wickets.”

Read More

[fsl11-blog]

England Vs New Zealand Final Match Prediction, Fantasy Cricket Tips| Playing 11 Updates ENG vs NZ

The ICC World Cup 2019 Final has been lined up and the two best teams of the tournaments have made it. The Final showdown of the World Cup 2019 is going to be played between New Zealand and the Host England at the ‘Mecca of Cricket’ – Lord’s. This epic ground will witness this Sunday, cricket world is going to be blessed with the new champion this time in the 44-year-old history of this game. 

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Team New Zealand confirmed their place in the World Cup finals for the second time in a row. Kiwis defeated team India by 18 runs in the first semi-final at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester. New Zealand is in the tremendous form so far in this tournament with their batting, bowling and fielding weapons and they will have their real fight against the in-form English team. It has been an impressive batting performances by the BlackCaps captain Kane Williamson in the whole world cup. Their Opening pair Martin Guptill and Henry Nicholls have shown the exceptional batting in this tournament so far. Ross Taylor, All-rounder James Neesham and Wicket-keeper batsman Tom Latham have pretty much contributed with the Bat. The New Zealand’s bowlers like Matt Henry and Trent Boult are on a roller coaster ride and pulled out their rivals with their swing deliveries.

Blog Source: England Vs New Zealand World Cup Final Match Prediction

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The English team started its World Cup campaign with a thumping win over South Africa and continued a fire for the opponents throughout this tournament and reached the final after 27 years. England sealed their Final’s seat with an 8 wickets victory over five-times champions Australia. When both the finalists last faced each other in the league stage match of this ICC World Cup 2019, Host crushed the BlackCaps by 119 runs. England team is looking in a high confidence for this crucial encounter. Their dashing and in-form openers Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow are on top of the world in this World Cup edition. English captain Eoin Morgan, Joe Root and all-rounder Ben Stokes are in excellent form. England’s bowling attack in a superb form with their strike bowlers – Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett, Jofra Archer and Mark Wood.

Both teams pulled their socks up for the FINAL contest and want to cliche the maiden World Cup title.

New Zealand Vs England World Cup Final Match Details:Download FSL11 Daily Fantasy Cricket App & Enjoy playing Fantasy Cricket on your Mobile at anywhere and anytime.

Head-to-head in World Cup

New Zealand (5) – England (4)

Battle: New Zealand Vs England, Final on Sunday, July 14, at 3 PM IST

Venue: Lord’s, London

New Zealand’s Probable XI: Kane Williamson ©, Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wk), James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Trent Boult

England’s Probable XI: Eoin Morgan ©, Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood. 

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[crickettipss-blog]

Cricket Betting Tips – New Zealand vs Australia, World Cup Match 37

Cricket Betting Tips

Match: NZ vs AUS, Match 37, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Date: Saturday, June 29, 2019 Time: 12:30 AM GMT Venue: Lord’s Cricket Ground, London

Overview Trans-Tasman rivals, Australia and New Zealand fight with each other the historic Lord’s cricket ground on 29th June. It is going to be a key clash of the World Cup 2019. Australia has already qualified for the semi-finals and New Zealand would like to seal their semi-final berth as well.

Explore the bet365 cricket match prediction, team news, weather, and pitch report, etc.

Team News New Zealand New Zealand is in a good position to qualify for the playoffs but a loss against Pakistan in the last match would have put a lot of pressure on the team. It is a good team and has a lot only one match in the tournament.

Visit here to get more info about cricket tips

Cricket Betting Tips Key Players Kane Williamson has been leading from the front with his fine performances. He has been consistent with the bat and has proved the mettle. At the top of the order, Martin Guptill and Colin Munro need to provide a platform for the middle order. Ross Taylor has been consistent with the bat as well and he is an experienced player in the side.

Trent Boult, Matt Henry, and Lockie Ferguson comprise of their bowling attack. They all are capable of using the pitch and providing subtle bounce and pace to the bowl. Early breakthroughs would be crucial to restrict the opponent. Jimmy Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme could be key all-rounders in the upcoming match.

Click here to know about cricket match prediction sites.

Squad Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wk), Colin de Grandhomme, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry

Australia Australia is the only team to make it to the semi-finals until now. They have only been defeated by India in the tournament. In the last match against the arch-rivals England, they won the game by 64 runs.

Cricket Betting Tips Key Players Their opening pair of Aaron Finch and David Warner got the team to a flying start with 123 runs stand. They both are crucial batsmen in the side and provide strength to the middle order. Finch scored another hundred in the last match. Steve Smith, Glen Maxwell and Usman Khwaja are the key batsmen in the side.

For more info about online cricket betting tips check out here.

Mitchell Starc and Jason Behrendorff took the game away from the English team after taking nine wickets between them in just 87 runs. Patt Cummins has also been impressive with the bowl. Adam Zamapa can turn the bowl.

Squad David Warner, Aaron Finch (c), Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wk), Jason Behrendorff, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa

[boloorsportsmania]

#787 Novak“ The King of Australian Open” Djokovic wins his 8th Australian open; Thiem gives it all in a 5 set epic; India whitewash NZ in T20 but Taylor’s century help NZ fightback to win first ODI; Quinton’s century helps SA start ODI series with a win against England; Liverpool playing on another planet as far as EPL is concerned as they have staggering 22 point lead over City; Barca and Real win and more.. :-)

Djokovic started off as overwhelming favorite in Australian open final. He got early break but Thiem broke back immediately. Djokovic showed his class to win all important first set. Just when it looked like Djokovic would dominate from there on, Thiem upped his game. He hit some sensational winners to win 2nd set 6-4.  3rd set was all Thiem as he broke Djokovic twice to win it 6-2. Its easily the best set Thiem has played all week. Thiem had the momentum . He forced break point in 2nd game of 4th set. Djokovic showed his experience to hit a huge serve when needed.  Once he held serve, he showed his class. He broke in 10th game to level the match. Post that Djokovic showed his class to race ahead in final set. Thiem broke back but only to be broken again. Thiem had chance to break back in 10th game when Djokovic was serving for the match. Serbian legend held his nerve to win his 8th Australian open title and 17th slam. Quite an achievement. Thiem though for sure would win a slam. It remains to be seen if he does it before Big 3 retire.

After winning first 4 games of T20 series, India had chance to do complete whitewash. On a 2 paced pitch, India put a total of 163-3. Rahul was again among the runs with 43. Rohit made 60 of 41 before retiring with calf injury. Later it was announced that he is ruled out of rest of NZ series which is a big blow. India started well as Sundar and Bumrah combined to reduce NZ to 17-3. Seifert and Taylor had 99 run stand before Saini dismissed the former for 50. NZ were cruising at this stage. They just needed 48 of 44 balls.  But NZ choked again. Taylor got out for 53 but again got out at wrong time. Bumrah showed his class in giving India complete whitewash. He had spell of 4-1-12-3. Saini was brilliant as well with 2-23.  He looks a great prospect. This is first ever 5-0 whitewash in bilateral T20 series history. India took this confidence to ODI as well.  Shaw and Mayank made debut. They had 50 run stand before Grandhomme dismissed Shaw for 20. Soon after Southee dismissed Mayank for 32. India 52-2. Virat and Shreyas then started the consolidation exercise. They took India past 1000 and 150 as well. Just when it looked like Virat would get his 2nd ODi century in NZ, Sodhi castled him with a googly. India 156-3 in 29th over. Rahul and Shreyas then tore apart NZ attack. They had 136 run stand in 18 overs to take India close to 300. Shreyas was dismissed after his maiden century . Rahul and Kedhar then played with great freedom. Close to 60 runs came in last 5 overs. India made 347-4.  It looked like a good total but Batting in Hamilton was relatively easy. NZ had chased last 4 matches in Hamilton.  But this would be their highest chase if achieved. They started extremely well when Guptill and Nicholls had 50 plus stand. Thakur dismissed Guptill for 32. NZ 85-1. Kuldeep stumped Blundell soon after. NZ 109-2 in 20th over. India looked like under control. Nicholls was playing a gem. Taylor started off well. They had 50 plus stand in no time. Just when it looked like both would take NZ closer to victory, Virat ran Nicholls out for 78 with a brilliant parallel to ground effort. NZ 171-3. Just when it looked like India had a window open, Latham and Taylor completed closed it with some brutal hitting. They hit 128 runs in 13 overs. Almost every over went for more than 10 runs. None of Indian bowlers could contain runs. When Latham was dismissed by Kuldeep for 69, match was as good as over. NZ were reduced from 309-3 to 331-6 but they had lot of balls left. Taylor hit his 19th ODI ton to give NZ a famous win with 11 balls to spare.

SA who were hammered in test series had a new captain for ODI and it was their keeper Quinton.  England never got going after good start as they were reduced to 131-6 from 51-0. Denly’s masterly 87 with support from tail too England to 258-8. Though Hendricks was dismissed early for 6, Quinton and Bavuma took match away from SA with 173 run stand. Captain hit a brilliant 107and  Bavuma made 98 which helped SA win the match by 7 wickets with 14 balls to spare.  In EPL, Liverpool continued their dream run with 4-0 win over Southampton. Salah hit 2 goals. Chelsea were held by Leicester City. ManU were held by Wolves. City shocking lost to Spurs 2-0 to hand Liverpool a staggering 22 points lead. Liverpool could well win the EPL with 6-7 games pending at this rate.  In La Liga, Benezma’s goal helped Real Madrid win over Athletico Madrid. Fat’s 2 goals helped Barca beat Levante 2-1. Real Madrid lead over Barca by 3 points at this stage with still 16 games pending.

[thisdaynews]

New Zealand beat England by 21 runs to level T20 series

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/new-zealand-beat-england-by-21-runs-to-level-t20-series/

New Zealand beat England by 21 runs to level T20 series

When James Vince was dismissed by Lockie Ferguson, England were 3-2 after 1.2 overs

Second Twenty20, Westpac Stadium, Wellington New Zealand 176-8:Neesham 42 (22), Guptill 41 (28), Jordan 3-23 England 155:Malan 39 (29), Jordan 36 (19), Santner 3-25 New Zealand won by 21 runs; series level at 1-1 Scorecard

New Zealand beat England by 21 runs to level the Twenty20 series at 1-1 in Wellington.

Chasing 177, England slipped to 3-2 after eight balls before being bowled out for 155 despite Dawid Malan’s 39 and Chris Jordan’s 19-ball 36 late on.

The returning Jimmy Neesham made 42 off 22 deliveries and Martin Guptill 41 in New Zealand’s 176-8, with Jordan taking 3-23 and Sam Curran 2-22.

The third game of the five-match series is in Nelson at 01:00 GMT on Tuesday.

England, who have rested several first-choice players, restricted the Black Caps to what felt like a below-par total, despite dropping five catches, after winning the toss.

Although the pitch had more pace than the one in the series opener in Christchurch and the square boundaries were short, it never felt like England were in control of the chase.

New Zealand spinners Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi were impressive, taking a combined 5-62 from eight overs.

England in New Zealand – fixtures, results & squads

Mixed fortunes for England new boys

After handing debuts to three players in the seven-wicket win on Friday, England gave Lancashire pace bowler Saqib Mahmood his first cap in place of Tom Curran.

Mahmood, bowling in the powerplay and death overs, finished with 1-46 from four overs.

Having conceded 15 from his first over, he fought back well in his second by having Tim Seifert caught behind attempting to ramp.

Mahmood’s final two overs, the 17th and 19th of the innings, went for 11 and 15 respectively, although he regularly found the block hole.

Fellow seamer Pat Brown, who took 1-33 on debut in the series opener, conceded 32 from two overs.

After not bowling or batting in the first game, Lewis Gregory struck with his first ball in international cricket as he nipped one back to bowl the dangerous Colin de Grandhomme, who made 28 from 12 balls.

While not new to international cricket, it was only Sam Curran’s second T20 international appearance and he was again impressive in taking 2-22.

England will be disappointed with the quality of their fielding, however. Three of the five dropped catches were fairly routine, with James Vince spilling two simple chances and an extremely tough one.

Guptill and Neesham fire with the bat

Jimmy Neesham hit four of the 12 sixes in the New Zealand innings

Guptill, who made two from seven balls in the first T20, showed glimpses that he was finding rhythm again during his 28-ball innings.

Strong down the ground and through the on side, he gave New Zealand’s innings impetus at the top of the order, something that was missing on Friday.

All-rounder Neesham had not featured in a T20 international since January 2017, but his impressive 50-over World Cup this summer – when he scored 232 runs and took 15 wickets – earned him a recall.

Based on Saturday’s display, New Zealand have to find a way to get him into their side regularly.

Particularly strong on the leg side, left-handed Neesham also played one gorgeous inside-out shot over extra-cover off Mahmood that demonstrated his undeniable quality.

His contribution was integral to the Kiwis posting a target that proved comfortably beyond England.

‘It’s important to make mistakes’

England captain Eoin Morgan:“The Black Caps played really well. We bowled well but they used the dimensions really well.

“We didn’t bat or field anywhere like we did at Christchurch. New Zealand bowled well and made us hit to the longer side, and created opportunities through that.

“A lot of things can happen between now and the next game. Our mindset is important. It’s important to make mistakes. The important part is learning from them.”

New Zealand captain Tim Southee:“It was a better performance in all three areas. We knew England would go hard till the end and we saw how deep they bat with Chris Jordan.

“We executed things a little bit better – you always look at ways to do better. This is a different size ground and so is Nelson again on Tuesday. There’s always subtle changes to grounds and then your plans.

“We’re looking to continue to improve, in all three areas. You can never really play the perfect game but it’s about the brand of cricket we want to play.”

England bowler Steven Finn on BBC Test Match Special:“It was a chaseable target but to lose five wickets in the first 10 overs is a pretty hard place to come back from. England were always one wicket behind.

“Putting down easy chances, and misfields, is a window into how the team is really getting on. New Zealand, on the other hand, were clinical.”

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[pretendingtobeangry]

Cricket asks: all of them

di you are very demanding

BUT FINE

Favourite quirk(s) of the game/following the game? the language and terminology, the utter confusion of people who don’t follow it when i talk about it, and the fact that it can last 5 entire days

What match or moment have you found the most tense to watch? NZ vs SA 2015 world cup semi final. i was literally watching through my fingers and it is the only time i have literally JUMPED out of my chair in celebration

What superstitions do you have when watching the game? i don’t really have any? i mean i do the traditional, lift your feet when a team or player you support is on 111, 222 etc, but i think that’s about it?

Do you and/or the people in your house have any unusual nicknames for players? not particularly, me and a mate started callin martin guptill gipty a few years ago, and kane is very often referred to as the tiny and adorable

Favourite funny cricket moment? when andre adamsgot anil kumble out with a double bouncer. also every time shane watson reviewed one that was hitting half way up middle stump

Your funniest cricket-related experience? i once had a dream that kyle mills bowled the last over of an odi for pakistan against nz

Favourite meme/ongoing joke? jeetan patel to open the batting. and also shane watson and his lbw reviews

Favourite T20 league? i kinda struggle to care much about most t20 leagues, so i guess the super smash kinda by default?

TV or radio or live text commentary? tv. i like seeing things. but bryan waddle is a far superior commentator than most that we get on tv over here, so sometimes radio

Do you prefer watching your team bat or bowl? i really like watchingwickets fall, so (provided we’re doing ok) bowl. but also we have kane so bat

Mystery spinners or firebrand pace bowlers? as one of them myself, definitely mystery spinners. if it was between mystery spin and perfectly controlled swing bowling, it would be a much tougher choice for me

Classical batting strokes or inventiveness and innovation? give me a kane cover drive any day of the week

Whites or pyjamas? whites. both because i prefer tests, and also because too many of the coloured uniforms i’ve ever had have literally felt like pyjamas and that is not fun to play cricket in

Swashbuckling centuries or blocking in defiance? i fucking love watching the last few wickets survive a day or so to pull off a defiant draw

Fast bowlers’ union or the batsmen’s brigade? i’m all about bowlers sticking together

Which cricketer do you want to protect? mustafizur rahman and temba bavuma

Which one is a trashbag that you love anyway? this took a lot of thought, because apparently all of my favourites seem like at least mostly decent and reasonable human beings? so i’m gonna go waaaaay back and say WG GRACE

Which one could you not care about any less? shane watson. also from recent ish nz times, doug bracewell

What player do you think deserves a bit more love? the player who deserves more love from me specifically is definitely tom latham. i just will never be able to like him for sibling reasons. and that is completely unfair on tom

Favourite cricket kit? black caps odi kit from 2013/14 (i think i have that right. maybe)

THERE I DID THEM ALL IT TOTALLY DIDN’T TAKE ME OVER AN HOUR TO GET THROUGH THEM ALL NOPE NOT AT ALL

[aqumansoor98-blog]

From School Boys to Champions

So Pakistan team went into the t20s on brink of a disappointing 5-0 loss in the ODI series against the kiwis the bowling wasnt that bad batting didnt click as much good thing to see was youngster such as shadab khan hassan ali step up shadab getting 2 50s with the bat.

 Coming to the T20s in the first game Pakistan were put into bat by nz on a sluggish pitch none of the top batsmen could clear the inner circle was a pitch where u cant slog from ball 1 needed to survive the difficult phase,and then play ur shots only babar azam and hassan ali could enter double figures as Pakistan got bowled out for a paltry 105. In reply nz also lost early wickets trying to slog like pak did but then munro came in survived the initial phase and got support from new comer bruce at other end munro played a match winning innings and won nz the game comfortably and showed the Pakistani batsmen that this wasnt an impossible pitch to score on, Pakistan had no planning whatsoever sent in nawaz at 3 failed experiment.

 Coming to the next game Pakistan were looking to turn the tables they won the toss and elected to bat on a good batting surface they brought back Ahmad Shehzad. Fakhar and Ahmad got Pakistan off to a solid start both started middling the ball found the gaps and timing and both scored runs at an impressive sr they gave Pakistan a 94 run opening stand in 10 overs Shehzad made 44. Then came in Babar Azam he carried on the good start which openers which the openers gave with support of skipper sarfraz who finally batted at the right number they added 92 for the 4th wicket taking the game away from nz babar making 50 staying not out till the end skipper made 41 Pakistan set nz a mamoth 202 to win the series.

 The wicket wasnt as easy to bat on in 2nd innings as it was in first in reply nzs start was poor munro got out  for 1 no one got going in the batting order only guptill reaching double figures at the top.At one stage they were 6/64 but 30s from santhner and wheeler could get them to 153 but it wasnt enough as Pakistan managed to win by 48 runs Fahim Ashraf pick of the bowlers with 3 wickets.

 With series locked at 1-1 we went to game no 3. Pakistan once again elected to bat first on a good batting surface. Shehzad this time only made 19 as he gave a simple catch to the wk blundell as he tried to scoop. Fakhar once again carrying his form from the previous game batted beautifully scored a 46 with support from babar and sarfraz then some cameos and good hitting from umar amin and aamer yamin helped Pakistan to cross the 180 run mark. NZ batted this time guptill led the charge as williamsons poor run contiuned in this series he got support from kitchen at the other then shadab khan came in and got the big wickets of guptill and kitchen both who were looking dangerous shadab bowled beautifully in this spell only gave 19 runs in his 4 overs and picked up 2 wickets. Then came in taylor and bruce nz were behind the rr and it was too much for the rest of batsmen to do and in the end nz managing only 163 in their 20 overs falling short by 20 runs. It was a remarkabe comeback by Pakistan as they became the no 1 side in t20s Mohammad Amir was the man of the series for his economical bowling Shadab Khan man of the match.

[hsrsports]

This day last year: Most dramatic ODI World Cup final - Click on link to subscribe my channel https://ift.tt/34vXvMA Facebook - https://ift.tt/2Vjiyz6 Twitter - https://twitter.com/HsrSports Pinterest - https://ift.tt/2ywdZIH Tumblr - https://ift.tt/2z5qwmL Blog - https://ift.tt/2VlBDRu #Sports #Sports_News #Tournament England captain Eoin Morgan lifts the World Cup trophy on July 14, 2019. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) On July 14, 2019, many Indian cricket fans would have switched on their telly with a brooding sense of unease. What if Kohli had not fallen over and given out leg-before? What if Pant and Pandya had carried on for a bit longer? What if Dhoni had dived in to make the crease?The same would have been true for the Indians who had purchased tickets for the World Cup final and walked from the St John's Wood tube station to Lord's, the home of cricket, with half a smile to see hosts England taking on New Zealand.The cricket was a slow burner. By each minute, the ache, however, morphed into a pleasant realization of getting to witness a remarkable moment in cricket history. Two ties, one Super Over, one winner and most importantly no loser in a contest which also served as vindication for the 50-over format, the one with a perpetual axe hanging over it in an increasingly crowded calendar.By the time Ian Smith proclaimed England as the winners by 'the barest of all margins', to most neutrals, it had ceased to matter. For, they were all winners on a day when cricket showcased its magical allure to seduce you. For the New Zealanders, though, it was heartbreak. For 102 overs, they were equal to England but the boundary-countback rule -- the team which hit the most number of boundaries in 50 overs and the Super Over to win in case of a tied Super Over -- defeated and deflated them. The hosts prevailed 26-17, a rugby score, for their first ODI World Cup trophy.The widespread criticism, not just from the Kiwi corner but from across the cricketing world, forced the ICC to make a crucial rule change a few months later. Now, in case a situation arises where both teams are tied even after one Super Over, Super Overs will be repeated until one team wins, like the sudden-death in football. A fairer game, after all.The visuals from that manic Lord's evening have been replayed to us a million times since then. A few lead characters feature more prominently than the others. But first, a few unsung heroes of the day.There was Liam Plunkett , with his knack of picking up key wickets, nabbing Henry Nicholls and, crucially, the Kiwi captain Kane Williamson when they looked set. There was Tom Latham who laboured to a priceless 47 helping New Zealand put up 241 on the board. There was Colin de Grandhomme , the allrounder who had appeared to be a misfit till then, strangling the England top-order with his gentle seamers and sucking all the momentum out of the chase.It was then up to the poster boys of England. Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler dragged the hosts back with a partnership paced to perfection. The latter had to perish leaving it all to Stokes. After Nasser Hussain called 'you cannot do that Ben Stokes' for taking a blinder to dismiss Andile Phehlukwayo on the opening day, the allrounder was always threatening to do the improbable. Against Sri Lanka, he was stranded. Against Australia, Starc castled him with a devilish 'Younisian' yorker when another lone-ranger effort was on.Here, Stokes was up against the men from his country of birth who were giving no inch. Until Trent Boult did. The New Zealanders, fielding in their smallish grounds, had made boundary catches an art long before the rest of the world caught on. Boult has his own collection of rope-trick catches but this time he misjudged slightly and stepped on the fences giving Stokes a life and England six runs.Then came the Martin Guptill overthrow that ricocheted off Stokes' bat; it took a night's sleep for the world to realize that as per the law book, Adil Rashid should have come on strike and England should have been awarded only five runs, instead of six.The nerves were jangling for everyone. Mitchell Santner had the option of going to the wicketkeeper's end to run Stokes out on the penultimate ball but he preferred to relay it accurately to Boult at the nearer end to get Rashid out. On any other day, Stokes would have deposited the full-toss on leg-stump over midwicket for a last-ball win. But he ch..