Brazil legend Ronaldo is aiming to become CBF president and appoint Manchester City's Pep Guardiola's as the Selecao's new manager.
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Using his height, action and intelligence, Tim Southee has set himself to become New Zealand’s long-term leader of the pace pack
Aakash Chopra02-Sep-2012It’s not often that a fast bowler takes seven Indian wickets in an innings, especially if the match in question is played on slow, low Indian tracks. The chances of achieving these figures become even slimmer if you are asked to bowl on the usually dull second and third days of a Test. Though the pitch at Bangalore for the second Test between India and New Zealand isn’t a typical Indian dustbowl, it is still a far cry from being a fast bowler’s haven. So the efforts of Tim Southee, who was picked in place of Chris Martin, become more creditable. While the other New Zealand bowlers were effectively blunted late on day two, Southee shone as the sole redeemer.A potent bowler with the new ball and quite threatening at the death with his strict and accurate yorkers, Southee looks like he is being primed for the role of New Zealand’s premier bowling prospect.What is it that makes Southee a tremendous possibility? More importantly, what did he find in the pitch on the second day of the Test that the likes of Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadav couldn’t find on the first day?For starters, Southee has the distinct advantage of height over his Indian counterparts, which helped him extract a bit more bounce from the surface. His high arm action also accentuated that advantage by a couple of feet. His biggest strength in this Test, though, has been the lines he operated in. Thanks to the lack of bounce, pace and lateral movement off the surface, the margin for error on subcontinental pitches is really small. The moment you offer a bit of room, Indian batsmen force the ball through the off-side. If you try to bowl straighter and drift the ball slightly towards leg, they quickly bring their supple wrists into action to dispatch it. Hence it is imperative to operate in the fourth-fifth stump line to keep the batsmen honest.That’s exactly where Southee remained for the better part of his bowling stint. In addition to the teasing lines, he pitched the ball a foot fuller and brought the batsmen forward. Since there’s very little movement available off the surface, bowlers must make the most of the time the ball spends in the air. The longer it stays in the air, the better the chances of doing something. Good wrist position and near-perfect release allowed Southee to swing the ball in the air, which deceived the batsmen.
Of the 145 balls Tim Southee bowled in the Indian innings, 101 landed on a good length, in which he took 4 for 32.
Against right-handers, Southee took 4 for 50 off 122 balls, dismissing Pujara, Kohli, Dhoni and Zaheer; against left-handers, he had figures of 3 for 12 in 23 balls, dismissing Gambhir, Raina and Ojha.
In 110 balls that Southee bowled to the top seven batsmen in the Indian line-up, he conceded 34 runs and took 5 wickets; against the bottom four, he conceded 28 from 35 balls and dismissed two batsmen.
Southee did something else very smart that many bowlers usually ignore, which was to use the width of the crease to create different angles. Once he was able to shape the ball away from the right-hander in the air and get his bearings right, he started changing his positioning on the crease. He increased the frequency of his visits to the corner of the crease once the ball got a little older and didn’t swing it as much in the air. If the ball isn’t swinging much, it’s relatively easy to cover the swing if bowled from closer to the stumps. But the same movement can trouble the batsman if bowled from the corner of the crease, for the angle lures you into believing that the ball is heading into you, which forces you to play inside the line and hence even the tiniest away movement becomes too much to handle.In addition to using the crease astutely to make the away-going ball far more threatening, Southee also bowled a very effective off-cutter. Most of those off-cutters were also bowled from the corner of the crease with a slightly scrambled seam. The one that got Virat Kohli was the prime example of out-thinking a very well-set batsman. Many bowlers try to bowl with a cross-seam instead of seam up to scuff up the ball in Indian conditions; however, those deliveries are not only easier to pick but also rarely do something off the surface except holding up or bouncing just a tad higher. Southee has induced the off-cutter by putting more pressure on the index finger at the point of release and by bringing the non-bowling arm down a fraction earlier than normal. The change has been too subtle for the batsman to pick and if the batsman fails to acknowledge the scrambled seam in the air, he is doomed.If Southee can stay fit and maintain the pace, attack and swing he showed through his 24 overs at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, the role of New Zealand’s pace spearhead seems his – with potent support from Chris Martin, Trent Boult and Doug Bracewell.
Manchester United have eight representatives at Euro 2024 this summer, of which three players have so far been eliminated. Rasmus Hojlund and Christian Eriksen’s Denmark side were knocked out of the round of 16, and Scott McTominay and his Scotland team were eliminated from the group stage in heartbreaking fashion.
The remaining five United players still in the tournament will be hoping their triumphant FA Cup campaign can help spur them on to go all the way in Germany. Turkey goalkeeper Altay Bayindir has featured once so far for Turkey, as his side prepares for a quarter-final clash against the Netherlands as they hope to continue a memorable campaign.
Sadly, Luke Shaw is yet to kick a ball all tournament, with an injury keeping him out of action, after a setback in his recovery a few weeks ago. However, talented midfielder Kobbie Mainoo started his first game at a major tournament last Sunday against Slovakia.
Bruno Fernandes made his third start of Euro 2024 and scored in Portugal’s penalty shootout which helped them through a tough round of 16 game against Slovenia. Diogo Dalot was an unused substitute but did start their opening game of the tournament.
Now, with players impressing left right and centre, United have been linked with one star who they could push to sign this summer at the end of the tournament.
The player in question here is Bologna and Switzerland’s versatile attacker Dan Ndoye. His performances under Thiago Motta last season for the Italian side, as well as his displays during the Euro 2024 campaign have led him to be linked with a move away.
At least, that is according to a report from Swiss news outlet 4-4-2, who report that Ndoye is a target for the Red Devils this summer. The news story states that United have 'signalled a concrete interest' in signing the youngster during the transfer window.
However, Erik ten Hag’s side are not thought to be the only club interested in signing the 23-year-old during the summer window. Italian giants Inter Milan have also shown an interest in the attacker, but they have to sell Denzel Dumfries, first. This means United are thought to be in 'pole position'.
In terms of price, Bologna are asking for around £21.1m to sign Ndoye this summer and United have already made contact with the Italian side to find out that valuation, ahead of making a potential move for him.
In terms of sheer goals and assist numbers, the 2023/24 season was not the most profitable for Ndoye. He only scored twice in 34 games for Bologna, as well as registering two assists. He also played four games for Basel before leaving them last summer, scoring once and grabbing three assists.
One of the biggest selling points about signing Ndoye this summer is his versatility. The Red Devils are thought to be chasing a versatile forward who can play right across the frontline, and the Bologna man certainly ticks those boxes.
He played six different positions for his club last season and has also slotted into three positions in four games for Switzerland at Euro 2024, a tournament where he grabbed one goal against Germany.
|
Ndoye stats by position 2023/24 (min 45 mins played) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Position |
Games |
Goals |
Assists |
|
Right-wing |
24 |
1 |
2 |
|
Left-wing |
9 |
1 |
0 |
|
Centre-forward |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Left midfield |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Second striker |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Right midfield |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
Stats from Transfermarkt |
|||
The 23-year-old could be a great alternative to Xavi Simons, another versatile attacker United are linked to. Simons is another player who can play a multitude of positions and has the numbers to back up his quality. In 43 games for RB Leipzig last season, the Dutchman scored 10 goals and registered 15 assists.
However, a move for Simons is not assured, with Bayern Munich the favourites to sign him. Last summer PSG wanted £50m for the Dutchman and Ndoye could be a good alternative at almost £30m cheaper if the price is the same this time around.
The gulf in quality between the two players based on their Fbref statistics is clear to see. When looking at their creative stats, the Bologna man averages just 1.83 progressive passes per 90 minutes and 1.12 key passes, compared to Simons’ 6.34 progressive passes and 2.68 key passes.
Whilst both are silky ball-carriers, the PSG attacker slightly edges it again. The Swiss international averages 4.47 progressive carries and 1.73 successful take-ons, compared to Simons’ 5.12 progressive carries and 2.85 successful take-ons per game.
However, whilst Ndoye’s stats are less impressive than that of Simons’, he is still a promising player, who was described as a “sensation” by football scout Antonio Mango.
For more than half of the price that Simons would cost, plus someone who can play in multiple positions and rotate with plenty of players, it could be too good of an opportunity for United to miss out on this summer as a dream, cheaper, alternative who can be an excellent squad player for ten Hag.
“If people who have a platform and who are able to reach out and get people to listen and understand say nothing, then who will?”
Reuters02-Dec-2021West Indies bowling great Michael Holding wants more sportspeople to step forward and speak out against racism because they have an important platform.In an interview at the conference on Wednesday, Holding said it was important that public figures used their celebrity status to get across important messages, particularly on racism.”If people who have a platform and who are able to reach out and get people to listen and people to understand say nothing, then who will?” Holding asked. “There are sportspeople who are well known throughout the entire world. If they get up and say something, people around the world will want to hear what they have to say and will want to try to understand what they had to say.”And that’s the reason why people with a platform, people with a name, people that are recognised all over the world, need to speak up about things that affect them and affect the world.”Holding has spoken out extensively on racism since an emotive plea for society to change its attitudes following the death of George Floyd in May 2020 in the United States. Floyd’s death led to the Black Lives Matter movement going global.Holding has published a book “Why we Kneel, How We Rise” which covers racism in sport and has contributions from several high profile black athletes. He said athletes should not have to confine their opinions to sporting matters.Related
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“When they leave the arena, or the basketball courts, they have to go back into society to live a normal life. If they are affected by society, they have to speak up and use their platform.”Holding also said there was a danger that the recent accusations of racism in English county cricket would be compartmentalised into “small boxes” when they were part of a larger societal problem.”We know it’s a cricket problem, because it’s happening now in cricket. But don’t put it in a little box because it’s comfortable to put it in a box. It’s not only football or cricket has a [racism] problem. It’s a society that has a problem. And that is what we need to fix, that’s we need to start. If we can accept that it’s society and not try to put it in small boxes, then we can get somewhere.”Holding said education ensured unconscious bias and required urgent review, with governments needing to take the lead. “The history of mankind has not been taught, what has been taught is what suits our particular narrative. And that narrative is white superiority. Everything taught, even in Africa, in the Caribbean, where I’m from, highlights what white folks have done.”But what about what people of colour have done? They don’t teach that. And that is why I highlighted in my book, so many discoveries, so many innovations, so many things that people of colour have done, that they need to teach.”People must recognise that it’s all folks from different denominations and from different sectors and different parts of the world have done great things.”
But how about a little more imagination when composing team anthems?
Nikhil Jha08-May-2012Choice of game
It was blockbuster night at Kotla, with the top two teams facing off. I have been lucky enough to watch all but two of Delhi’s home matches, a consistent run matching Virender Sehwag’s streak of half-centuries. But with Kevin Pietersen, the man behind Delhi’s resurrection, gone, I had a sneaky feeling Kolkata would win.Team supported
This IPL has been strange, in the sense that I have found it very difficult to associate myself with a team. The geographical proximity v favourite-players conundrum is a tough one to crack. That said, the Daredevils have not got their due in the past editions of the IPL and I would like them to go all the way this season.Key performer
Jacques Kallis has been surprisingly subdued this IPL, and it was time he came to the fore. The Daredevils were off to a great start, with their explosive openers, David Warner and Sehwag, racing away to a 40-run partnership inside four overs. Enter Kallis, who removed both in his first two overs. The Daredevils never really recovered from that jolt.Kallis also batted calmly at Gautam Gambhir’s dismissal and prevented the middle-order collapse that the Kolkata Knight Riders have been so prone to over the seasons.One thing you’d have changed about the day
I would have sent a chartered flight to get KP back to Kotla for the match. But if I could have had changed something on the field, I would have loved for Sehwag to carry his form and score his sixth successive half-century in a row.Face-off I relished
I really wanted to witness Lee v Sehwag, but Warner played (and missed) most of his early spell, leaving Sehwag with just one ball to negotiate.Narine, the spin sensation, against the Daredevils batsmen was another face-off I enjoyed watching. They just could not score off him, which re-affirmed his tag of the mystery bowler.Wow moment
I may be a bit biased here, but Varun Aaron, my hometown lad, features in the moment of the match for me. Brought into the attack to break the Knight Riders’ ominous opening partnership, he celebrated almost immediately as Gambhir skied one to Umesh Yadav… only to be dropped. Aaron took matters into his own hands then, bowling Gambhir off the next ball.It did not have a big impact on the result, but I was really happy for Aaron who bowled an economical spell and could have had another wicket had Irfan Pathan not dropped a simple catch that reprieved his brother, Yusuf.Shot of the day
Brendon McCullum, who wears the #42 jersey, had the answer to life, the universe and winning last night for the Knight Riders. In the 15th over, by Morne Morkel, McCullum displayed the disdain that is so characteristic of his batting. Morkel dug one short, and McCullum, anticipating it, clobbered a powerful pull to the square-leg boundary.Close encounter
For the entire Daredevils innings, Brett Lee fielded below the 1st tier stand where we were sitting. He is one of the most popular cricketers, and that showed in the way crowd were shouting and cheering for him. He acknowledged intermittently with a smile and a wave.Crowd meter
The big match and an 8pm start brought in a lot of supporters to the ground. The vocal support, however, wasn’t as loud as in the past few matches. The only time the stadium came alive was when Umesh Yadav was on a hat-trick. A lot of Knight Riders’ fans were also present, sporting confident smiles that grew into grins as the match drew to a close.Entertainment
The music was the same old stuff, except that the local band that performed in the earlier matches seemed to be absent.One a side note, on the day Rabindranath Tagore, one of the greatest poets, was born, it was appalling to hear the official song of the Knight Riders, who also belong to his city. Tagore fans will cringe at the mention of him and the IPL in the same sentence, but the point I am trying to make is that the city of creativity should come with something better than: “We’re hot, we’re cool, we’re Kolkata, we rule”.Twenty20 v ODIs
In our generation that feeds on products providing instant gratification, Twenty20s score over ODIs.Star-spotting
It was a Knight Riders match so I think a lot of spectators had come to spot stars. The king of Bollywood, Shak Rukh Khan, was in the house, and he did not make any effort to hide the fact. He paraded near the boundary ropes, waving at the screaming fans, and at times the match seemed like a backdrop for this frenzy. My view of the game was repeatedly blocked when the others rushed to the front every time Shah Rukh was visible to our stand.Overall
The Daredevils’ start had ignited hopes of it being another high-scoring encounter, but the batting faltered in the middle overs and changed the course of the match. The Knight Riders’ batting was as solid as usual, and local boy Gambhir gave his hometown fans little to cheer as he set about scripting a comfortable chase. The quality of cricket was top-notch, if we discount a couple of dropped catches by the Daredevils.Marks on 10
8. It was an easy victory for the Knight Riders. A closer match would have fetched more points.
Liverpool will face competition from Bayern Munich in the race to sign forward Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt.
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Bowling attack will rely on “supreme accuracy” in absence of Jofra Archer, Olly Stone firepower
Alan Gardner10-Oct-2021England will have to fall back on Plan B in Australia – and that is not ‘B for Ben Stokes’, with head coach, Chris Silverwood, stressing that no timeframe has been put on the talismanic allrounder making his comeback.In the two years since Silverwood took over from Trevor Bayliss with a brief to regain the Ashes, England had dedicated much of their planning to having a group of 90mph fast bowlers – Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Olly Stone – ready to deploy in Australia. But with Archer and Stone ruled out by elbow and back problems respectively, as well as Wood’s well-documented fragility, Joe Root’s attack will prioritise “supreme accuracy” in their attempts to regularly take 20 Australian wickets.Silverwood believed England will be “very competitive” after picking what amounts to a full-strength squad, given the expected absences of Stokes, Archer, Stone and Moeen Ali, who retired from Test cricket last month. Only three of England’s top-order batters have played Tests in Australia before, and although Root is currently ranked No. 1 in the world by the ICC, the next-highest in the squad is Rory Burns at No. 24.Stokes’ return would strengthen England in all departments and it is not impossible that he could join the tour at a later date. For now, Silverwood stressed that the player’s mental well-being remained the priority, as he continues to work back to fitness after another operation on his finger earlier in the week.”Ben is moving forward, the communications I have had with him he is definitely more upbeat,” Silverwood said. “But what I will say is there will be no pressure from me for him to rush back. I’ve said, ‘When you’re ready, you call me and we’ll make a plan from there’. So there’s no pressure from me and no date on it.Related
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“I’m not going to tell him when he comes back. I’ll be led by him and my concern first and foremost is his well-being. And when he does come back we’ll make sure he’s in the right place.”Although the loss of Archer, who shook up the 2019 Ashes by taking 22 wickets at 20.27, was a particular blow to England, they have capable fast-bowling stocks to draw on. Ollie Robinson’s first summer in Test whites could scarcely have gone better – historical social media indiscretions aside – and he will look to provide key support to the veteran pair of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, who is set to return to bowling at Loughborough next week after a torn right calf ruled him out of three Tests against India.England can still call on Wood’s pace, even if his workload is likely to be managed. With Chris Woakes, England’s player of the summer in 2020, having previously made steps to improve his record with the Kookaburra ball, and Craig Overton, whose fighting spirit was one of the few highlights of the 2017-18 Ashes tour, impressing on his return to Test cricket in the win over India at Headingley, Silverwood remains upbeat.”I think we can [take 20 wickets],” he said. “Every plan has got to be adaptable. We have got one 90mph bowler in there in Woody. But I think the one thing that we have got in the bowling attack is supreme accuracy. You look at the bowlers that are there and the one thing they are very good at is hitting the stumps and bringing the stumps into play time and time again. We watched how India performed in Australia [last winter] and we tried to learn lessons from them.”I am very curious as a bloke so I am constantly watching, as are my bowling attack. What we will be doing is looking back over the plans India used and adapting any of those to our bowling attack. How do we get the best out of the bowling attack we have got rather than worrying about what we haven’t got? There is nothing we can do about that so it’s pointless. We will be using the skills we have in the best possible way and I do believe that we can make it work.”I think we’ll be very competitive, we look at the fact Australia have been very strong over the years and we have to respect them. But we have over the last 6-7 months played the top two teams in the world, learned a hell of a lot. We look at India, how do they go about their business? There is a strong belief we can [also] do something very special. They’ve shown a game plan that was successful over there and so we will be learning from them.”Ollie Robinson was England’s standout fast bowler during the summer•Associated Press
After making strides as a Test team between 2019 and early 2021, England will head for Australia having won just one of their last nine – beaten heavily in India and at home against New Zealand, then trailing 2-1 before India’s withdrawal from the Old Trafford Test last month. By contrast, Australia’s Test team has barely played, with just a home defeat to India on their record since January 2020. Despite a tough recent run, Silverwood was happy with his team’s preparation.”I think we are battle hardened, we’ve had some success along the way and we’ve proven we can compete with India. The important thing for me is our players have seen what the best in the world look like, they’ve played against it, they’ve felt what it is to have them push against us. We’ve also tasted success against them, look at the Headingley Test when we came back very strong, which showed that we have got the skills within the ranks to take 20 wickets and push the best. So I see that as a real positive, a real galvaniser to the group, to better handle pressure now that they see it more and more, which is great.”Silverwood also praised Root for the “class and empathy” he had displayed during lengthy and at times tense negotiations with Cricket Australia about the conditions England would tour under, before the ECB gave a tentative green light for the tour last week.”His players have got behind him and will follow him, so will I and my staff,” Silverwood said. “I think we’ve got to a good place before what should be a very competitive series in Australia.”It is an iconic series, every young cricketer growing up wants to play in it and as a coach, they want to coach in it. It is massively exciting that this series is going ahead, that we are at the point that everyone is committed and we are all going. I think the mindset now will shift towards performance. That’s how it has got to be. I will be speaking to the players and the staff and making sure when we turn up in Australia, whether that be the red-ball specialists and the Lions who arrive first or the multi-format [players] arriving from the World Cup here, we will make sure we are in the right mind space to come out there and compete.”
Aston Villa have got the ball rolling in recent days after winding around PSR sticking points in recent weeks. Douglas Luiz's transfer to Juventus has yet to be concluded but is edging toward completion, with Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea headed to Villa Park.
Circumnavigating financial issues has left Unai Emery unable to enjoy the kind of thrilling start to the transfer window that last season's top-four Premier League finish called for, though a deal in excess of £35m has also been agreed for left-back Ian Maatsen and Everton's Lewis Dobbin is in advanced negotiations with the Lions.
All told, there's a lot going on. Staying within spending regulations and preventing a damaging points deduction next season is paramount, yes, but Villa need to ensure competitivity in the Champions League, with a centre-forward now being considered.
As per i news, Aston Villa are among the clutch of Premier League clubs interested in signing LOSC Lille striker Jonathan David, though currently trail Manchester United, who have made contact with the player's representatives.
Lille president Olivier Letang confirmed last week that the Canada international is available for transfer with just one year left on his current deal – offers in the £25m ballpark will be met with consideration.
Aston Villa boast one of the best forwards in the Premier League in Ollie Watkins, but Chelsea's efforts to sign Jhon Duran would leave Villa Park a little light up front, so signing a replacement is paramount.
It goes without saying that Champions League football will bring thrill to Villa Park but it will also bring rigours that a lack of depth will succumb to, leaving Emery's squad leached and lethargic in the later stages of the campaign. Duran is young but he's been highly effective as Watkins' understudy, with talent scout Jacek Kulig claiming that he has "the potential to become a top striker".
David, who scored 26 goals and added nine assists from 47 matches for Lille in 2023/24, would be the perfect replacement. Still only 24, he's been hailed an "unbelievable finisher" by journalist Austin Ditlhobolo, ranking among the top 17% of strikers across Europe's top five leagues last season for non-penalty goals scored per 90 (FBref).
|
Ligue 1: Top Scorers 23/24 |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Rank |
Player |
Goals |
|
1. |
Kylian Mbappe |
27 |
|
2. |
Jonathan David |
19 |
|
2. |
Alexandre Lacazette |
19 |
|
4. |
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang |
17 |
|
5. |
Wissam Ben Yedder |
16 |
|
Stats via Ligue 1 Uber Eats |
||
Not just a sharpshooter, the Canadian also ranks among the top 3% for pass completion, speaking highly of his technical, staccato-fired distribution, combining and conducting in attacking phase to maintain a fluent, all-together kind of advance.
For Villa, who ranked 16th in the Premier League last season for long balls, this kind of snappy, straightforward passing would prove to be a welcome addition to the build-up structure.
By selling Duran to Chelsea, Villa Park would frankly lose some raw power, and prodigious gusto, that scant few targets could effectively imitate upon arrival, but David is a refined and polished goalscorer who would bring some maturity and experience needed for the forthcoming European campaign.
Duran, aged 20, scored eight goals in all competitions last term and notably dissembled Liverpool's defence in the penultimate game, bagging twice to all but confirm a seat at Europe's elite table.
But starting just three top-flight fixtures, he's clearly still got much to learn. David's 84-goal return from 183 matches for his French club highlights the kind of attacking prowess Emery would be adding to his team, providing Villa with the finished article as opposed to a talent such as Duran, who will likely need several seasons yet before offering the full package.
David would be an excellent replacement for Duran, taking 2.3 shots per game in Ligue 1 last season and missing only 15 big chances despite scoring 19 goals. That's the mark of a clinical striker.
The Aston Villa transfer target is also wonderfully two-footed, with 22 of his 71 Ligue 1 goals scored by his weaker left foot (44 with his right, five with his head). Duran, conversely, bagged all five of his Premier League strikes with his left, suggesting David would offer a greater sense of fluidity and more angles in his attacking game.
For a bargain £25m fee, Villa must surely move to snap David up and bolster their frontline with his clinical qualities – especially if Duran is sold to Chelsea for the mooted £40m price.
He's a dream for Maatsen: Villa really interested in signing £40m star
This coveted player is expected to leave his club this summer.
By
Angus Sinclair
Jun 21, 2024
The New Zealand captain felt his side’s total was competitive in tricky conditions
Matt Roller27-Oct-20211:15
Making sense of NZ’s batting order
New Zealand were 90 for 3 after 13 overs batting first in Sharjah on Tuesday night, while Pakistan were 75 for 4 at the same stage in the run chase. But the contrast between the sides’ fortunes at the death with bat and ball – which saw Pakistan complete a five-wicket win with eight balls to spare – was the main difference between them, according to New Zealand’s captain Kane Williamson.”I think at one stage they required about maybe 52 off 30-ish [33],” Williamson said, asked what the turning point had been in a tight, scrappy game on a pitch with low bounce. “It was a tough surface to time the ball on, but someone like Shoaib Malik batting through and finishing off with a couple of lusty blows, and Asif [Ali] as well, who came in and hit the ball beautifully – much, much more sweet than anybody else on a tricky surface.”Unfortunately, it didn’t quite go our way. If we look at the opposition and how clinical they were at the death, not allowing us to time the ball, they were of the highest class. For us, it’s trying to take some of those learnings and move forward.”Related
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From splitting opinions to tearing into NZ: Haris, Asif push Pakistan towards semi-finals
Williamson said that he thought New Zealand’s total of 134 for 8 had been “very competitive” at the interval on a tough batting pitch, but admitted that they might have been below par against a Pakistan side set up to chase that sort of score.”[The pitch] was very difficult to start on,” he said. “You wanted to try and identify some opportunities to have big overs because you’re always going to have dot balls. It was very similar characteristics to what we saw throughout the IPL.New Zealand struggled to increase the tempo•Alex Davidson/Getty Images
“I think we would have liked about another five or ten. To be fair, I thought we had a very competitive total at the first half, but in hindsight, you always want a few more. But there were a lot of really important roles that allowed us to get that competitive total, so I think there was a lot of good to take from it.”It would be nice to cloth another boundary or two, but timing was quite challenging to come by. That’s the nature of the beast. Sometimes you try and adapt to these different surfaces accordingly and try and make contributions for the team, and I think guys went out there today and really gave it a good shot.”Williamson had addressed New Zealand’s last-minute withdrawal from their tour of Pakistan on security measures in the build-up to the match, insisting that there were “good relations” between the two sets of players. He reiterated his point after New Zealand’s defeat, praising the “spirit” that Pakistan had played in and the atmosphere created by a partisan Sharjah crowd.”They played in the right spirit, I believe, and a great spirit,” he said. “They’re a very competitive, proud cricketing nation, and they showed that tonight. They’ve been outstanding in the first couple of games of this tournament. I’m sure they’ll be very, very competitive throughout the back end as well. Their hopes are high, no doubt.”[New Zealand’s withdrawal] was obviously a very unfortunate, disappointing situation for Pakistani cricket fans and the cricketers, a decision that was outside of the players’ control. But all the guys were there looking forward to that series to start, and unfortunately it didn’t happen, so it was very disappointing for all involved.”It was nice to play in front of sort of pretty much a full house… it’s been a long time coming although there weren’t too many Kiwis in there, but still a lot of energy and a lot of enjoyment from the people that were watching. I think the guys enjoyed it. It was a close game and sort of pipped at the end to a large extent by some really high-class batting and sort of finishing in those death overs. That was, I think, the difference.”
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