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Unwillingness to shelve natural flair for the hard grind and inability to assess conditions quickly cost Bangladesh

Mohammad Isam16-Jul-2018After their dismal showing in the Test series in West Indies, where they failed to cross 200 in four attempts and were beaten in just over five days combined, ESPNcricinfo has identified four factors that Bangladesh failed to address.Anticipating wrong lengths
Out of the 28 times Bangladesh’s top seven were dismissed, only once was it because of a genuine short ball. The rest unravelled to mostly length or full-length deliveries. The Antigua pitch had plenty of grass around good length and further up, but that wasn’t the case in Jamaica. Yet, even Bangladesh’s most experienced batsmen – Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah – were found wanting.Kemar Roach removed Tamim, Shakib (twice) and Mahmudullah in Antigua with deliveries that moved away a hint from around the offstump. Bangladesh generally kept playing for the short ball, even though West Indies seem to have planned the full deliveries. When the bowlers mixed it up, Bangladesh couldn’t adjust.Poor starts lead to mini-collapses
Recovering from two wickets in quick succession can be hard, but when it happens thrice in one innings, it takes the sting out of the batting line-up, as Bangladesh found out.together a promising partnership with Bangladesh chasing 335. Mominul, meanwhile, got out twice by walking into a shot.ESPNcricinfo LtdMushfiqur, Shakib and Mahmudullah fell to Roach in Jamaica as he completed his five-wicket haul in just five overs. In the second Test, Mominul, Mahmudullah and Nurul Hasan fell in double-wicket overs. Among them, Mahmudullah played back to a full delivery, perhaps expecting Jason Holder to bounce him out. Hasan, meanwhile, got a golden pair in the Test.Repeating mistakes
Mushfiqur out bowled through bat and pad on three of the four occasions in the series. In the first innings in Antigua, he was trapped lbw by Roach’s delivery that swerved into him from wide of the crease. In the second innings, Shannon Gabriel sent his middle-stump for a toss after Mushfiqur had left the gap open again. Holder exploited that gap in the second innings in Jamaica after Mushfiqur and Shakib had putNatural game v circumstances
This has been a long-drawn debate in the country. Batsmen swear by their “natural game” even if the situation demands caution. Former captain Mohammad Ashraful was a master of this mindset. Now, Liton seem to be the latest fan of this notion.In the first innings in Antigua, he kept slogging after seeing five wickets fall quickly at the other end. He eventually fell to a rash shot. In the second innings in Jamaica, when he looked set, he played away from the body and fell to Keemo Paul’s outswinger.Shakib too fell to a similar mindset. In Antigua, he was squared up by deliveries that straightened after angling into him. In the second Test, he fell playing loose cuts to deliveries that came back in alarmingly. The shots may have fetched him runs at home, but once that could have been shelved in seaming conditions. Mahmudullah too was guilty of approaching batting with a similar mindset.

Australia and Pakistan have both slipped from the top Test spot this year. Now both teams are coming after series losses and will have lots to do under lights at the Gabba

Brydon Coverdale in Brisbane14-Dec-2016Against South Africa in Adelaide, Australia made five changes and named three debutants in one of the most comprehensive overhauls of the national side since World Series Cricket. They won, but a dead rubber only, and now face the expectation of winning a series against Pakistan. But Steven Smith’s men have much schooling ahead of them in international cricket, with many lessons to learn. And if Mickey Arthur has taught the Pakistanis anything, they will punish Australia if they haven’t done their homework. So, here are six subjects that Australia’s new-look squad might (or might not) benefit from studying.Ancient historyOne of the most enduring records in Australian cricket is the team’s unbeaten run at the Brisbane Cricket Ground – nicknamed the Gabbatoir for their slaying of opposition dreams at the venue. Last time Australia lost a Gabba Test was in 1988. Smith wasn’t even born then, and nor were half of his team. Not to mention this will be the first Gabba Test played with a pink ball under lights, and the first Gabba Test full-stop for up to five of Australia’s XI. And so, like most students, Australia’s cricketers will view this ancient history as irrelevant. We might as well be discussing who won the Punic Wars.”We’ve got a great record here and hopefully we can keep that up, but it’s a little bit different this year – the pink ball compared to the red ball,” Smith said. “I’m not really paying much attention to that, it’s about going out here and making sure we’ve got our processes right and we’re playing good cricket. And if we’re doing that then hopefully the result will take care of itself.”Modern historyAustralia and Pakistan have both been ranked No.1 in Tests this year, but have fallen to No.3 and 4 respectively after losing campaigns. Australia lost away to Sri Lanka and at home to South Africa, and Pakistan lost on the green seaming pitches in New Zealand. It is also worth noting that only four in Australia’s side – Smith, David Warner, Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc – have played Tests against Pakistan. By comparison, 10 of Pakistan’s squad have played Australia. One of those is fast bowler Mohammad Amir, who skittled Australia for 88 at Headingley in 2010. That Test marked the beginning of an era in which Australia’s batsmen often suffered humiliating collapses against swing – an era that remains ongoing. Under lights with the pink ball, Amir could be a serious threat.”I remember watching out in Australia in 2010 he bowled with really good pace,” said Smith, the only current Australia player to have faced Amir in Tests. “I think he was hitting 145-150 and in England he slowed it down and got his wrists right and swung the ball, so it’s great to have those sort of gears and those skills. No doubt he could potentially be a handful if it’s swinging around. Guys are just going to have to identify those difficult periods and adapt and show some resilience and things will get easier from there.”GeographyIn 2014, Australia learnt a lesson about deserts. On the dry pitches of the UAE, Pakistan’s batsmen handled Australia’s fast men with ease, and their spinners with contempt. Pakistan’s slow bowlers were dominant, including legspinner Yasir Shah. On debut in that series, he claimed 12 wickets at 17.25 across the two Tests, more wickets than all of Australia’s spinners combined. But in Australia, where the pitches will offer far more bounce and pace, Smith hopes that the threat of Yasir will be diminished.”I guess the Gabba, you’ll get a bit of extra bounce as a spin bowler,” Smith said. “I guess that can play in your favour, and can also play against you. Your length has to be spot on. Generally there isn’t too much turn – it’s more bounce, so length is crucial. And if you’re slightly off your length, you can really cash in down the wicket and square of the wicket as well. So he’s going to have to be pretty accurate.”Steven Smith is the only current Australia player to have faced Mohammad Amir in Tests•Getty ImagesPhysical educationAustralia’s new-look side boasts some fine fielders – Peter Handscomb pulled off a super catch at gully in Adelaide – but some aspects of working together require improvement. Australia will, for example, hope that wicketkeeper Matthew Wade and first slip Matt Renshaw have no further disagreements over who should go for a catch. Still, Australia will likely have the edge over Pakistan in the catching department. Pakistan’s batsmen might also find themselves up against some bouncer barrages as Australia’s fast men try to exploit the pace and bounce in the pitches, although the likes of Wahab Riaz are more than capable of returning the favour.”We’ve watched a little bit of the New Zealand series, just recently, and I think traditionally sub-continent sides that come over to Australia don’t handle the pace and bounce, or aren’t as comfortable with the pace and bounce of our wickets,” Smith said. “You need to try and find ways to exploit that as much as possible and at times I’m sure we’re going to see some short-pitched bowling to mess with their feet and be possible ways to get them out as well. We watched New Zealand pretty closely and they obviously did a good job, so hopefully our bowlers can replicate that.”MathsCalculations are always important for a captain, whether setting targets or juggling bowling spells. But in day-night Test cricket an extra dimension is added, with the knowledge that batting can become harder as the floodlights kick in. In Adelaide, Faf du Plessis even declared South Africa’s first innings before the close of the first day, such was his desire to test Australia under the lights.”I think if you look at all the pink-ball stats that have come out, most wickets have been lost in that final session so I guess it adds another dimension to the game,” Smith said. “Captains have to be switched on and possibly figure out different times to have a crack. If we get the opportunity and it might be about going out and trying to score a little bit quicker to get 10 overs with the new ball under lights, because we’ve seen it can do quite a lot. It throws some different strategies into the game.”ScienceThis is where the lessons get complicated. At about 5pm on match eve, the Australians gathered around the 22-yard strip in the middle of the Gabba and tried to work out how it would perform. At Adelaide Oval, the curator had left six millimetres of grass on the surface to help protect the pink ball; at the Gabba, only two millimetres will be left on. Perhaps only in cricket do agriculture and sport combine to hold the attention of so many. The Gabba curator, Kevin Mitchell jnr, believes the pitch will perform like a typical Gabba Test surface. Whatever the case, Australia’s uncertainty was such that Smith was unable to confirm whether spinner Nathan Lyon would play.

exposes how neo-liberal economics threatens the game, while also hinting at worse lying beneath the surface, leaving you feeling disillusioned and angry

Jonathan Wilson29-Jul-2015When Sam Collins and Jarrod Kimber set out to make , their aims were vague. They wanted to make something that asked why Test cricket, the form of the game they prefer, was in decline. They ended up with something far more explosive, a shocking account of the process by which world cricket was carved up to ensure the domination of three nations: India and, to a lesser degree, England and Australia. They outline a nexus of self-interest at whose heart stands N Srinivasan, chairman of the ICC, former president of the BCCI, and the managing director of India Cements, which owns the Chennai Super Kings franchise.The basics of the story, of course, are familiar to anybody with the slightest interest in cricket politics: the financial might of the IPL and India’s exploitation of that, the craven submission of England and Australia as they gratefully gobble the crumbs from India’s table, the weakness of the other boards unwilling or unable to fight for a greater share of cricket’s revenues for fear of upsetting India and so missing out on the tours they depend upon.How, for instance, can India’s decision to reduce the length of their tour to South Africa in 2013-14, costing CSA an estimated US$20m, be seen as anything other than the worst kind of bullying, driven by the BCCI’s dispute with the CSA president Haroon Lorgat? And that, perhaps, is the most shocking aspect of the refusal of anybody at the top of the game even to pretend they are placing the wider interests of cricket first. As Gideon Haigh asks, does cricket make money in order to exist or is it now the case that it exists in order to make money?As other sports look to expand, cricket seems determined to contract. Far from investing in the Affiliates – Chinese cricket, the film points out, receives only $30,000 in funding – and seeking to become a truly global sport, the ICC has reduced the size of the World Cup.The team interviews Rahul Dravid•Death of a GentlemanThat may ensure bigger television audiences for each game in the short term, but it means cricket remains the preserve of a tiny elite – which is, of course, why so many of its squabbles are still couched in an unhelpful post-colonial framework.The contrast with FIFA is telling: blatantly corrupt as it may be, nobody doubts that football’s governing body has, over the past 40 years, diverted huge sums from the top of the game to the bottom. There would have been more, of course, had it not been for all the kickbacks and backhanders, but at least some sort of intent was there. Cricket doesn’t even have that. India revels in its role as a superpower without ever acknowledging the responsibilities that entails – and England and Australia blinkeredly go along.There’s a damning moment at which the ECB’s Giles Clarke, asked about his opposition to cricket’s possible inclusion in the Olympics, draws himself up to full sneer and proudly announces, “I’ve got every right to put my board’s interests first.”There are a lot of damning moments with Clarke. You suspect it didn’t require particularly selective editing to make him look bad: going in to the announcement of the Big Three carve-up, he walks by Collins and Kimber standing in a media area in the car park, then scoffs, “That idiot Sam’s outside”, apparently unaware he’s being filmed the whole time by the ICC’s own cameras. Yes, you think, that’s definitely the sort of person English cricket wants representing it.What’s also revealing is the shiftiness of those Collins and Kimber approach: they act guilty, implying a recognition that what they’re doing doesn’t bear scrutiny. Clarke tells the pair that their fears for Test cricket are “straight out of 1909”, which suggests a worrying level of complacency: just because disaster has been predicted frequently before doesn’t necessarily invalidate present fears.Ignoring the film because they deemed it worthless would be one thing, but cricket’s authorities seem actively to have tried to scupper it. When a trailer was released to try to raise further funding, the ECB delayed* Kimber’s press accreditation, while various interviewees were warned off. What were Clarke and the ICC so scared of?And that perhaps is the most alarming aspect, the sense that there is something that is more than just murky going on just out of sight. The film might not quite get to the bottom of what that is, but it is a passionate film that asks the right questions. At the very least it exposes how neo-liberal economics threaten the game, making the rich richer at the expense of the poor, but it also hints at something far, far worse.Perhaps these questions have been asked in various forms for over a century, but Collins and Kimber convince that they are as pertinent and as pressing now as they have ever been. It’s hard to imagine how anybody who cares for cricket and has a sense of its values beyond parochial nationalisms could watch and not feel disillusioned and angry.Death of a Gentleman
Produced and directed by Sam Collins, Jarrod Kimber, Christopher Hird and Johnny Blank
Dartmouth Films
96 mins; 2015
*07:41:37 GMT, July 30, 2015: The review originally said the ECB blocked Kimber’s accreditation

Many Indian players from small towns with little to no cricket facilities have made it big recently. One of them is India’s Under-19 captain, Vijay Zol

Kanishkaa Balachandran13-Feb-20140:00

‘Familiarity with conditions gives us an advantage’

When Vijay Zol was in class nine, he had had enough. The promising left-hand batsman was busy playing matches in his district, but at the expense of his school attendance, which had fallen well below the minimum 75%.”My school timings were from 8am to 5pm. I would be up at 5, practise in the morning, head to school, practise again in the evening for a couple of hours, head to tuitions, and then return home only at 9,” Zol says. “It was difficult and I did that routine for a year. But despite that, I wasn’t allowed to sit for the exams. I was quite pissed”.Juggling cricket with studies was clearly proving to be unmanageable, so Zol decided he had to quit one. He hasn’t been back at school since.It was a decision driven by his passion for the game and a determination to succeed. His parents supported his move, which, in academics-obsessed India, is unimaginable. The most common reason for cases of students dropping out of school is a cash-crunch at home, but in Zol’s case, money was not the issue.Zol’s father, a criminal lawyer in Jalna, Maharashtra, where the family lives, had the resources to prepare a cement wicket in their backyard so his son could practise. The small town, hardly a nerve centre of sport, had barely any cricket facilities to speak of. The only ground was used for football and there were no turf wickets.

“I remember Sachin [Tendulkar] telling us that come what may, when the chips are down, you need to deal with it as a team. We really back each other when someone fails or is feeling down”

Zol may not yet have transformed his town’s reputation as a cricketing backwater, but he has certainly put Jalna on the map while still in his teens. An aggressive batsman who initially shot to fame with a monumental 451 in a Cooch Behar Under-19 game in 2011, he is now India’s U-19 captain, hoping to defend their World Cup title in the UAE. He was part of the previous World Cup as a player, and is now in charge of the most successful U-19 team in the world, on current form. India have won all four series they have played in the lead-up, defeating Australia and South Africa in two finals. Zol’s century in the Asia Cup final, against Pakistan, showed his big-match temperament.Aside from junior cricket, his impressive CV includes a century on first-class debut – against an international attack – and a double-century on Ranji Trophy debut for Maharashtra. His rise coincided with Maharashtra’s in this year’s Ranji Trophy, in which they finished runners-up. His unbeaten 91 helped beat defending champions Mumbai in the quarter-final, and though the U-19 camp was gathering steam ahead of the World Cup at the time, he was asked to play in the final. Though he wasn’t as successful in Maharashtra’s last two knockout matches, he remained a player to watch.On paper, Zol’s transition from U-19 cricket to first-class may appear seamless – with an average pushing 50 after 11 games – but he says it has been a humbling experience. “I learnt how to react if things don’t go your way. In U-19 cricket you sometimes dominate, but the Ranji Trophy is a different league in which you have to be very patient. I have played well in patches.”Zol was fast-tracked into the India A side before his Maharashtra debut. Against a New Zealand A attack that included Mark Gillespie and Doug Bracewell, he smashed 19 fours in his 110. Recounting the innings, he says he told himself not be overwhelmed by the occasion or the bowlers. “When I went in, the ball wasn’t doing much, but I was still nervous. I just focused on facing the ball, not the bowler. I attacked their legspinners.”Zol’s father can take some credit for his son’s achievements. It was when Zol was recovering from a knee surgery a few years ago that his father had the cement wicket made. There are shades here of the Yuvraj Singh story, but unlike Yograj Singh, Zol’s father only mentors his son, leaving the technical aspects to Zol’s childhood coach.”He [my father] is a big follower of the game and understands the game really well. We never discuss technique much, he mostly advises me on the mental side of the game, boosts me when I lose confidence, tells me to stay balanced and not let success get to my head. Even when I achieve something, I don’t feel as happy. I would rather see my father happy, and that’s not always easy, I know,” Zol says with a chuckle.”So long as I work hard and smart, the facilities don’t really matter. The hunger was always there to play for India. My dedication and motivation always made up for it”•ICC/GettyWhen he scored his quadruple-century against Assam in December 2011, his father refrained from gushing about the innings. Zol understood then that while it’s good to toast a headline-grabbing innings, you’re only as good as your last knock. “On day one I was on 261. I got a call from my dad and he told me to chill and play [according] to the merit of the ball. When I passed 400 my coach called my dad. He was happy but he didn’t show it. He just told me to concentrate on the next game. [That innings] has a special place in my heart.”That knock, and his latest exploits, have underlined the fact that small-town players have taken Indian cricket by storm of late. Zol insists there was no temptation for him to move to a bigger centre like Mumbai or Pune for the sake of his cricket. In fact, he says the lack of facilities in his town fuelled his determination to grab every opportunity.”So long as I work hard and smart, the facilities don’t really matter. The hunger was always there to play for India. My dedication and motivation always made up for it [lack of facilities]. But cricketers have to face certain difficulties or you don’t get there very easily. There are so many players from the bigger cities who have the best of facilities and still don’t make the cut.”The squad Zol will lead has a blend of players from cities and towns of varying sizes and cricketing pedigree. He says the sense of “togetherness” has been carried forward in every series and that has made his job easier.”I remember Sachin [Tendulkar] telling us that come what may, when the chips are down, you need to deal with it as a team,” he says. “We really back each other when someone fails or is feeling down. We enjoy each other’s success. I don’t feel any pressure, because we understand each other’s roles.”While Zol will look to take his cricket forward after the World Cup, he insists that he hasn’t abandoned his books for good. His brother is also a lawyer and his sisters are teachers. “I come from that environment, so I have to study,” he says with a smile, shrugging his shoulders.

ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day from the fourth day of the third Test in Dominica

Daniel Brettig in Roseau26-Apr-2012Drought-breaker of the day
When Ben Hilfenhaus popped a close-in catch to Kraigg Brathwaite, Shane Shillingford became the first West Indies spin bowler to claim 10 wickets in a match since Lance Gibbs against England at Old Trafford in 1966. The haul of 10 for 219 was a just reward for Shillingford’s persistence, albeit in conditions ideally suited to his art. Since being recalled for the second Test in Trinidad, Shillingford has bowled with consistency, skill and patience, foxing plenty of batsmen with his top spinner though dismissing far more with his offbreak. As a sponsor’s ambassador, Gibbs has been watching it all unfold from the stands.Snare of the day
Commonly posted at short leg, Ed Cowan’s fall-back position is often at square leg, alongside the umpire. He was posted there for Ben Hilfenhaus at the start of the West Indies second innings, and when Adrian Barath flicked a full length ball to the legside with plenty of timing, Cowan swooped to grasp a low, diving catch. It was a particularly good take given that Cowan has been nursing a sore wrist since the second day, when he was struck flush by a screeching stroke when fielding close-in. Barath certainly could not believe his fate, as he waited momentarily at the crease before trudging off.Referral of the day
Brathwaite had made three consecutive ducks entering this innings, but was making a decent start at Windsor Park before Michael Clarke introduced himself to the attack. Though Clarke gained some turn, it was a delivery that whirred through straight that undid Brathwaite, beating his rushed attempt to pull and striking him just in front of off stump. The Australians all went up and so did the umpire Tony Hill, leaving Brathwaite to call for a referral. In keeping with the West Indies’ ill-fortune across the series, replays had the ball striking him in line with the stumps, while Hawk-Eye indicated the ball would have grazed the top of the bails. There was some dismay evident in the hosts’ viewing area as Brathwaite returned to the pavilion.Direct hit of the day
As a partnership developed between Darren Bravo and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, David Warner’s leg spin was brought on in an effort to buy a wicket. Cowan was brought into short leg, though he had spoken on the third evening about the trepidation he felt at times given Warner’s occasional lapses in line and length. Sure enough, Warner served up a delivery to Bravo that was short enough to be on its way back down by the time it reached the batsman, who pulled convulsively and struck Cowan a percussive blow to the helmet. Cowan reeled away momentarily before gathering his composure, but he quickly retreated to deeper on the legside for the next delivery. Bravo offered some apologies for hitting him, but it was Warner who shall owe his opening partner a drink of some description.

On a day when Pakistan offered him a second chance, Ricky Ponting turned to his trusted ally – the pull shot – to take him to safety

Osman Samiuddin at Bellerive Oval14-Jan-2010Time was when a Ricky Ponting pull was the central symbol of Australia’s dominance and the root cause of an opposition’s misery. His pulls were not brutal as, say, a West Indian one might have been in the 80s, but they were as emphatic. In a very different way they were just as good to look at, for the straightness of the lines he drew with his movement.Everything about the shot rubbed it in. Ponting’s movements when batting have always been so decisive, be it the forward lunge or the early backlift, and the pull is no different. The sound of the ball hitting the bat was enough to kill most bowlers; so clean, so middled and just so pulled. If bouncers were door-to-door salesmen, Ponting’s pull would be the door firmly shut on their face.He could hit it in front of square or behind it; up high or along the ground, rolling his wrists to keep it down. But he has always pulled. Michael Clarke reckoned, probably only half in jest, that the one shot has got him 6000 of his Test runs. It is the way Ponting and the Australian team is – no backward step ever taken.”The fast bowler is testing your courage and your speed of reaction and you are trying to hit him either to, or over the boundary,” Viv Richards said of the hook once. “You are telling the bully with the ball that you are not scared of anything he can send down at you.”The inverse applies now. The batsman is the bully and to pull is to be strong. But the heart of the matter with pulling is that as a stroke, it is mostly a consequence of ego. Despite all the talk this summer about Ponting’s susceptibility to the shot, this has fundamentally remained the same. Instinct, which Ponting says drives his pulling, is simply a part of that.Since being hit by Kemar Roach attempting one, Ponting has seemed doubly keen on pulling whatever came his way. He has talked about it almost as much as he has done it. “Keep bowling short to me and I’ll keep pulling,” he has said often. Twice against Pakistan, he pulled and paid the price. When he did it first ball at Sydney, it seemed purely out of conceit.For the first thirty runs of his innings today, Ponting lived off it, pulling relentlessly, trying to prove a point. He should have been out fourth ball doing it of course but such are the gifts Pakistan bring with them. Caution was absent from Ponting’s approach, for that is also weakness. He carried on pulling and doing it poorly; one hit him flush on the helmet, a couple got the bottom edge of his bat, he jerked his head away a few times, got on top of them rarely. He ducked just once. At that moment, Ponting’s shakiness with pulling seemed emblematic of Australia’s decline over the last two years.Perhaps it is the years – and reflexes – and perhaps it is nothing, just one of those freakish phases batsmen, bowlers and cricket is replete with.Mostly today he was early on the shots rather than late, a result he said, of a surface that was holding up the ball. And it isn’t as if he has been succumbing to the pull consistently. He’s been dismissed twice driving loosely too in this series, though no one seems to worry about that much.”I don’t look at it as being a statement,” he said. “It’s just one of those shots that comes more naturally to me than it does to most. It’s a lot to do with the way I pick the bat up and the way my foot movements are, is the reason I play the shot as much and as often as I do.”Fortunately Ponting’s genius is of many shades and resilient, even if in the last few years it has begun to fade. At various stages Danish Kaneria and Mohammad Asif asked him questions and though he stuttered, he answered back. Once he had survived a tricky path to fifty – only his third in 10 innings – the day was his.Thereafter he drove and swept and punched through covers off the back foot as if the summer and the last three years had never happened. There were even a couple of proper pulls, more controlled and played as if he knew he needn’t really have done it, but did so to merely prove a point.A first hundred in 16 innings, a second on his nominal home ground seemed inevitable after the fifty, though Pakistan-watchers sensed it the moment he was dropped on zero. The last two pulls he played for the day rolled the years back, as he kept his eyes on the ball and rolled his wrists over them to bisect two fielders in the deep.”The bottom line with me is if I can’t stop playing it, I’ve just got to play it better. I’ve played it well through my career and it has brought me a lot of runs,” he said. Bowlers will keep bowling it to him, but they are stubborn beasts anyway. The debate is closed for now, but rest assured it will be revisited in time to come.

Manchester City’s Norwegian sensation Erling Haaland has long been a source of admiration for young footballers across the globe, and the 24-year-old’s influence continues to grow with every game he plays. Among those looking up to him are Brighton’s emerging Greek talents, Charalampos Kostoulas and Stefanos Tzimas, who recently shared their thoughts on the prolific forward during a light-hearted Q&A session.

Haaland idolised by KostoulasTzimas wants his shirtForward being revered by several emerging talentsFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

At only 24 years old, the Norway international has already amassed over 300 career goals, a staggering feat for someone still so early in his playing years. He’s twice claimed the Premier League Golden Boot and has become a key figure in Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Manchester City side.

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Being managed by Guardiola, a coach widely regarded for refining and extracting the best from elite talent, has undoubtedly helped accelerate Haaland’s growth. The duo have already achieved significant success together, lifting both domestic and continental silverware, including the UEFA Champions League and multiple Premier League titles.

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WHAT KOSTOULAS & TZIMAS SAID

Kostoulas didn’t hesitate when asked about the player he most admires. With a grin, he named Haaland as his footballing idol. Next, when he asked if Tzimas would celebrate if Haaland scored against Brighton, the striker laughed and made it clear that he wouldn’t be joining in any goal celebrations. But he cheekily added that he would seize the opportunity to collect a memento. "No," Tzimas said, "But I’ll take his shirt."

This prompted further banter from Kostoulas, who encouraged Tzimas to think big. "Maybe he’ll ask for your shirt if you score. Bro, come on, aim high. Score a hat-trick in that game," he said.

Luis Diaz has revealed he is set to talk to Liverpool about signing a contract extension and has opened up on his plans for the future.

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• Diaz contracted to Liverpool until 2027
• Set to start talks about new deal
• Eager to commit his future to club

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Colombia international's current contract runs until 2027 and there has been speculation the Reds are willing to offer an extension in a bid to keep him at Anfield. The 28-year-old has been linked with a move to Barcelona, if a new contract cannot be agreed, although it remains to be seen if the Catalan giants could afford to bring him in due to their continued financial issues.

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  Diaz scored his 13th Premier League goal of the season on Sunday as Liverpool drew 2-2 with Arsenal in the Premier League. The 28-year-old was then quizzed on his future after the game and made it clear he is eager to join team-mates Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk in continuing his career at Anfield.

• WHAT LUIS DIAZ SAID

  He told Telemundo Deportes: "Yes, happy. From the first day I arrived, I’ve always been happy, calm, enjoying the football played at this great team,” he said.“We’ll be talking about it, we’ll talk about it [about the renewal]. For me, I would stay however many years it takes, it also depends on the club, everything. These are details that are sorted out separately. Very calm, I’m happy and enjoying the Premier League."

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• DID YOU KNOW?

  There were just 87 seconds between Cody Gakpo putting Liverpool 1-0 up against Liverpool and Díaz doubling their lead.

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O São Paulo e o Santos se encontram pela primeira vez neste ano neste domingo (12), no estádio do Morumbi. Porém, existe um tabu em questão: o Tricolor não perde em casa para o Santos há dois anos.

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A última vez que o Peixe venceu o rival no Morumbi foi em janeiro de 2021. Na época, por conta da paralisação do futebol causada pela pandemia da Covid-19, a partida ainda era válida pelo Campeonato Brasileiro de 2020.

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Neste confronto, o Santos venceu o São Paulo por 1 a 0, com gol de Jobson, aos 46 minutos. O time da Baixada Santista era comandado por Cuca naquele ano. Desde então, foram mais três clássicos no estádio do Morumbi.

Destes, o Tricolor paulista venceu dois e empatou um. O mais recente aconteceu em maio do último ano, pelo primeiro turno do Campeonato Brasileiro. O elenco de Rogério Ceni venceu por 2 a 1, com gols de Calleri e Luciano – que devem estar presentes no duelo deste domingo (12). Do lado santista, o único gol ficou na conta de Marcos Leonardo.

Entretanto, o San-São mais recente aconteceu na Vila Belmiro, em agosto de 2023. Desta vez, o Santos venceu por 1 a 0, com gol de Lucas Braga.

O São Paulo vem de uma derrota recente contra o Red Bull Bragantino por 2 a 1, mas mesmo com o resultado negativo, segue na liderança do grupo B, com onze pontos. O Santos, por sua vez, venceu o São Bento por 1 a 0 e está na vice-lanterna do grupo A, com 9 pontos.

Esta será a segunda vez no ano que o Santos jogará no estádio do Morumbi. O Peixe enfrentou o Palmeiras em um clássico, onde foi derrotado por 3 a 1. Por conta de um evento no Allianz Parque, as equipes tiveram que jogar na casa tricolor.

He found it “pretty simple to calculate everything” in a tricky phase during Royals’ chase against Mumbai

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Apr-2024Riyan Parag’s promotion to No. 4 is paying dividends for Rajasthan Royals. It’s a position familiar to 22-year-old Parag, who topped the run-scoring charts – with 510 runs at an average of 85 and strike rate of 182.79 – in the latest edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He has carried that form into IPL 2024.Coming into the game against Mumbai Indians on Monday on the back of a 29-ball 43 and an unbeaten 45-ball 84, Parag, with Royals in just a bit of trouble at 42 for 2 chasing 126, kept his calm and took them over the line with an unbeaten 39-ball 54. With 181 runs in three innings, he also became the joint-highest run-getter in IPL 2024 along with Virat Kohli, but ahead on the list because of a superior strike rate.Related

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“When I play domestically, this is the exact type of situation I go in to bat,” Parag told the host broadcaster after the game. “When Jos [Buttler] got out and Ash [R Ashwin] got out a little after, I was like ‘this is what I do, this is what I’ve been doing for the last six months playing domestic cricket’. So it was pretty simple to calculate everything.”Royals had restricted Mumbai Indians to 125 for 9 but were rocked early by Kwena Maphaka and Akash Madhwal. But Parag carried on unfazed and stitched a 40-run stand with Ashwin to calm down the camp.Parag had been used primarily as a finisher by Royals in the past, and his returns had been patchy.”I have had three to four years of not performing at all,” Parag said. “And you really go back to your hotel room and you think… that when you know you can do something and the performances are not coming, you get back to the drawing [board]. I tried finding what was wrong, and I figured out that I was not practicing at this level enough.”So I went back after the [last] season and practised very hard, and I think that’s showing now. I’ve practiced [against] these types of quick balls and these kinds of scenarios a lot, hence the performances.”