All posts by h716a5.icu

Michael Clarke was the first of Australia’s Test players to make good use of their current round of Sheffield Shield outings, but he will need to turn his 71 into a big hundred after Andrew McDonald’s century put Victoria on top

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Nov-2010
Scorecard
In a rare Sheffield Shield appearance, Michael Clarke finished the day unbeaten on 71•Getty ImagesMichael Clarke was the first of Australia’s Test players to make good use of their current round of Sheffield Shield outings, but he will need to turn his 71 into a big hundred after Andrew McDonald’s century put Victoria on top. New South Wales were relying heavily on Clarke at the end of the second day, after the rest of their star-studded top order faltered.Shane Watson, Phillip Hughes, Usman Khawaja and Phil Jaques all made starts but failed to capitalise, and at stumps the Blues were 5 for 171, still trailing by 207 runs. Adding to their problems, they had just lost Brad Haddin, bowled by Clint McKay for 2, late in the day, and Steven Smith was fresh to the crease on 4.However, Clarke’s form was a positive not just for New South Wales but also for the Australian side, after his struggles during last month’s Test series in India. He has spent much of the past fortnight worrying about his captaincy and batting in the shorter formats, but he enjoyed the return to the red ball two weeks away from the Ashes opener.He struck only three boundaries but his cautious tempo was justified after the Blues wobbled to 3 for 75. Peter Siddle, who is aiming to win a spot for the Brisbane Test, collected the first wicket when Hughes played on for 12, and in his first game for New South Wales, Watson scored briskly but was caught in the gully off the bowling of John Hastings for 20.That left plenty of attention on Khawaja, who began the season with a double-century and is viewed as the next in line for a Test call-up should the selectors run out of patience with Michael Hussey or Marcus North this summer. However, Khawaja departed for 23, snapped up at first slip by Cameron White off the spin of Jon Holland.Clarke began the rebuilding process with Jaques, one of eight Test cricketers in the line-up, who was batting in the unfamiliar No. 5 position. His innings ended on 28 when he was caught behind off McDonald, who bowled tightly to end the day with 1 for 11 off nine overs.It was a happy day all-round for McDonald, who still holds a Cricket Australia contract but has slipped well down the pecking order after playing four Tests in 2008-09. McDonald became the first man to post two centuries this Sheffield Shield season, when he built on David Hussey’s 122 to help drive Victoria to a strong total of 378.McDonald was eventually caught off the bowling of Smith, but the catcher, Nathan Hauritz, had another disappointing day. On the traditionally spin-friendly SCG, Hauritz finished with figures of 0 for 74 from 15 overs, while his main challenger for a spin position in the Test team, Smith, grabbed 2 for 45.

The BCCI has sent a notice to all 10 IPL franchises instructing them to refrain from approaching uncapped India domestic players until notified to do so

Nagraj Gollapudi21-Dec-2010The BCCI has sent a notice to all 10 IPL franchises instructing them to refrain from approaching uncapped India domestic players ahead of the 2011 tournament until notified to do so by the board. “The circular states the franchises can only sign players once the IPL lets them know the timing,” a franchise official told ESPNcricinfo.Under league rules, the domestic players have been broken down in to three categories, depending on how much first-class cricket they have played. The lowest tier of players can sign for Rs 10 lakhs (US$21,500) per year, the middle tier for Rs 20 lakhs ($43,000) and the top tier – those who have played at least five seasons of Ranji Trophy – will be paid Rs 30 lakhs ($64,500) per year. According to the official, a shortage of good domestic players is the reason why franchises are reportedly pursuing deals already.However, not everybody is happy. Another franchise official said that the IPL’s closed-door method is only hurting them. “How can the IPL do this and not announce the date when we can start signing the talent? Otherwise we might lose on fetching a good buy.”

The IPL has asked the franchises to submit a list of players they would be interested in the auction by December 24. This will help them strike out the names nobody wants, helping smoothen the two-day auction process

The domestic players that are not signed by the franchises after the BCCI gives the go-ahead will remain unsold, and will not be a part of the auction

IPL 4 has been dogged by controversy since the then chairman Lalit Modi was suspended by the BCCI in April. Modi was later removed from the administration of the league altogether, while two teams with alleged links to him- Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab – were terminated by the board. Both teams have since been reinstated by the courts and will take part in the player auction in January.There seems to be another viable reason why the IPL is being strict on the signings of uncapped domestic players. “The BCCI is wary. What if both Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals sign uncapped players, and then falter on the guarantee money the Bombay High Court asked them to raise by January 3 as a condition for restoring their status after they were terminated?,” an IPL official told ESPNcricinfo.

Celtic enjoyed a comfortable afternoon in the Premiership as they strolled to a routine 2-0 win on Sunday to send them six points clear at the top of the table.

Kyogo Furuhashsi opened the scoring in the first half and then Jota, who set up the first goal, sealed the three points with an 87th-minute strike.

The Hoops dominated the match as they ended the game with 74% of the ball and 22 efforts on goal, with Ross County fortunate that they only conceded twice.

Whilst Jota scored and assisted a goal in the match, the real star of the show for Ange Postecoglou was central defender Cameron Carter-Vickers.

It is easy to point at the attackers and praise them for scoring the goals to win the match but all of their work is built on the back of a strong platform. The solid defence allows the likes of Jota and Kyogo to go and do what they want to do without worrying about constantly needing to drop deep to win the ball back – allowing the opposition to press up on them.

Carter-Vickers was outstanding in central defence as he stood strong at the back and was reliable in possession. He played a major role in Celtic’s dominance throughout the game and the forwards should be thanking him for making their lives easier.

As per SofaScore, he won 85.7% (6/7) of his individual duels and made five clearances, one interception and one block to help his side to a clean sheet. This shows that he was superb defensively as he won the vast majority of his battles with Ross County players and did not allow himself to be beaten by the opposition – keeping them away from Joe Hart’s goal.

On the ball, he completed 85% of his passes from 62 touches and created one chance from centre-back. He is not expected to do anything special in possession from his position but Postecoglou will be delighted with his assuredness on the ball.

The £20k-per-week defender continues to impress at the heart of the defence and fans will surely be wanting to see him back at Parkhead next season on a permanent basis.

In the Premiership this season, the on-loan Tottenham man has averaged a sublime SofaScore rating of 7.36 across 29 matches. Celtic have kept 16 clean sheets in those games and the latest one came with the help of his sublime display against Ross County on Sunday.

AND in other news, Source: Celtic on course to seal “immense” summer signing, Ange will be buzzing…

India emphasised that they are poor travellers no more by pulling off a series-levelling win in Durban, where they had suffered one of their worst Test defeats in 1996

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran29-Dec-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Jacques Kallis failed to survive a vicious bouncer from Sreesanth•Getty ImagesIndia reiterated that they are no longer poor travellers by pulling off a series-levelling win in Durban, the scene of one of their worst Test defeats in 1996. Monday’s victory at Kingsmead, after a humiliating loss in Centurion, joined other famous successes over the past decade on some of the world’s fastest tracks – Headingley, Jamaica, Nottingham, Johannesburg and Perth.The match was even at the start of the fourth day but India’s bowlers barely sent down a bad ball in the morning session to seize control of the Test. A Sreesanth snorter to Jacques Kallis started South Africa’s slide, before two lbws – one a marginal decision and the other a howler, both sure to refuel the UDRS debate – hurt them further. Ashwell Prince tried to resist but India plugged away to remove the tail an hour into the second session and set up a decider in Cape Town next week.The ebb and flow of the match was matched by Sreesanth’s bowling form. The wayward, antic-loving Sreesanth was missing in the morning as he sent down an accurate spell of sustained hostility. The highlight was in the day’s seventh over – an unplayable bouncer that reared up sharply and jagged in towards Kallis, who had no way of avoiding it. He jumped and arched his back in an attempt to get out of the way but could only glove it to gully. It was the snorter needed to remove the kingpin of South Africa’s batting. There was no over-the-top Sreesanth celebration either, just a fist pump before getting back to business.That wicket put India slightly ahead, and there was no doubt who the front-runners were when AB de Villiers offered a half-hearted forward defensive against a Harbhajan Singh delivery from round the wicket. He was struck in front of middle, looked lbw and the umpire agreed, though Hawk-Eye suggested the ball would have bounced well over the stumps.Mark Boucher has, over a decade in international cricket, built his reputation as a scrapper and, with Prince also around, it wasn’t yet lights out for South Africa. Boucher, though, made only 1 before he was given lbw to a delivery that was angling across him and comfortably missing off stump .South Africa had lost three wickets, and there was still no boundary in the morning, a testament to the scarcity of bad deliveries. When the first four did come, from Dale Steyn, it was an edge to third man. Steyn had pinged Zaheer Khan on the helmet with a quick bouncer on Tuesday, and was the target of a string of short balls. After three of those, Zaheer slipped in a fuller delivery, which Steyn duly nicked to slip.At 155 for 7, with lunch 45 minutes away, the game looked set for a quick finish. Prince and Paul Harris, however, resisted with some dour batting and a couple of confident boundaries from Prince. They saw out the 10 overs to the break but a pumped-up Zaheer, chatting with the batsmen after almost every ball, ended the stand in his first over after the resumption with a peach that clipped Harris’ off stump.Prince and Morne Morkel then stood firm for an hour, reducing the required runs to double digits. India’s wait seemed to have ended when Ishant Sharma had Morkel wafting to gully, but that turned out to be his regulation wicket off a no-ball. In his next over, though, Ishant didn’t overstep when he found the edge off Morkel to Dhoni. Two balls later, an alert Cheteshwar Pujara threw down the stumps from short leg, catching the No. 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe short, and sparking celebrations. The Indians were ready to grab the stumps as souvenirs, when they realised the third umpire had been called for. The dismissal was confirmed moments later and there was no stopping the celebrations this time.India came into this Test with their No. 1 status questioned after the clobbering in Centurion and doubts over whether they had the bowling to take 20 wickets. They provided answers to both in Durban, handing South Africa their third straight defeat at the venue.

An injury expert has been left wowed by what he has now heard from Leeds United before they play Manchester City at home in the Premier League.

The Lowdown: Bamford return close

Speaking in his pre-game press conference ahead of the match, Jesse Marsch has revealed that Patrick Bamford is expected to be ‘on the pitch next week’, after seeing his return from injury cut short back in March.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-updates-2/” title=”Latest Leeds United updates!” poster=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/cropped-2022-03-10T184055Z_1834933207_UP1EI3A1FW561_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-ENGLAND-LEE-AVA-REPORT-1-scaled-1.jpg” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

He also said that the striker has been using an anti-gravity treadmill at Thorp Arch, in order to hurry his rehabilitation.

The Latest: Dinnery reacts

Speaking to Football Insider, Ben Dinnery, renowned injury expert who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in both medicine and data analysis, was left wowed by Bamford’s use of the anti-gravity treadmill, claiming that it is a ‘phenomenal’ piece of equipment:

“The anti-gravity treadmill can reduce your body weight by up to 100 per cent.

“That allows players to maintain their fitness without compromising the body’s biomechanics.

“You can effectively train and run more or less pain-free. Then you transition to increased body weight and eventually onto the field.

“It makes the process a lot quicker. They are a really phenomenal bit of kit.

“The pressure has lifted on Bamford given that Leeds have all but secured their top-flight status.

“But he probably has something to prove to himself and will want to finish the season on a high.”

The Verdict: Big boost

Of course, the fact that Bamford is seemingly speeding up his recovery is no doubt a big boost for Marsch and his team.

Before he first injured his ankle in September, he had scored one goal and made two assists already in the top flight, and scored again on his first return from injury in the 2-2 draw at home to Brentford in December (Transfermarkt).

He has not been able to put a consistent run of games together, but when he has played, more often than not he has contributed.

Nonetheless, with the Whites still fighting off relegation, Bamford could be crucial for the run-in.

In other news, find out what huge LUFC injury blow has now emerged here!

An exciting Newcastle United injury lift has emerged over the weekend regarding two first-team players…

What’s the talk?

Magpies boss Eddie Howe has reacted to Kieran Trippier and Callum Wilson both making their long-awaited returns from their respective knocks.

Both players came off the bench in what turned out to be a disappointing afternoon for the Toon army as they lost 5-0 to Manchester City at The Etihad in the Premier League.

After the match, The Chronicle quoted Howe as saying: “Massive boost for everyone connected at Newcastle to see them back. We have missed them.”

Supporters will be buzzing

The supporters will surely be buzzing with both of them being back in action for the Magpies for multiple reasons.

Firstly, it means that Trippier and Wilson can both have a say in where Newcastle finish in the league table. They are currently one point off the top half of the table and this means that they are in with a realistic chance of landing in the top-10 if they can pick up results against Arsenal and Burnley.

Both players being fit and available will be a boost because they have proven that they can put in top performances for the club. Trippier has averaged an exceptional SofaScore rating of 7.42 since arriving from Atletico Madrid in the January transfer window and has scored two goals for the club to date, showing that he can make an impact in the final third whilst putting in sublime all-round displays from full-back.

Wilson, on the other hand, has scored 18 Premier League goals since the start of last season. He has found the back of the net six times in 14 starts this term after managing 12 goals and five assists in 23 starts in 2020/21, which shows that he is capable of being a match-winner for the Magpies with his knack for scoring goals.

Therefore, both players have the requisite quality to have a major say in Newcastle’s last two matches of the campaign. They can help the team to finish in the top half and that would be an exciting way to end Howe’s first season at the club.

The fans will also be buzzing with their availability as it means that they will be getting game time under their belt ahead of 2022/23. It means that they will not be arriving for pre-season with more work to do than the others as they have been fully integrated back into the group this month.

AND in other news, Forget Dubravka: £23k-p/w NUFC lightweight who lost 75% duels let Howe down badly…

In the immediate aftermath of the opening Twenty20 international Chris Woakes had been calm enough to suggest the chase was always “under control” at the Adelaide Oval

Andrew McGlashan in Melbourne13-Jan-2011In the immediate aftermath of the opening Twenty20 international Chris Woakes, the England debutant who hit an unbeaten 19 to secure a one-wicket victory, had been calm enough to suggest the chase was always “under control” at the Adelaide Oval.After having a day to reflect on his achievement, which included pulling Shaun Tait for six, he admitted he was still trying to digest the game but didn’t seem overawed by the new attention and said he had more nerves with the ball than the bat.”It was a matter of trying to stay calm,” he said. “I knew we batted all the way to No. 11. It hasn’t really sunk in yet. I was just happy to make my debut, it was a huge honour for me. It was a great achievement for myself and the team to win the game.”I was a bit nervous before my first ball but I think it would be wrong not to have a few nerves on your debut. I thought I did okay, I could have gone a bit better, but overall I was pretty pleased.”Woakes was even laid back about his strong blow off Tait which reignited England’s chase after the loss of Eoin Morgan and Michael Yardy in consecutive deliveries from Shane Watson. “He’s one of the quickest bowlers in the world so I was just trying to watch the ball out of his hand,” he said. “There wasn’t much going through my mind except to get bat on ball.”Although one Twenty20 performance doesn’t make a career, it was an impressive beginning for a player who wouldn’t have been selected if Stuart Broad was fit and was a surprise selection ahead of Chris Tremlett for the opening match against Australia. But not for the first time in recent months England’s selectors made the right call.Woakes joined the tour in the wake of England’s Ashes success and the afterglow of that victory has helped make life easier for the 21-year-old. “The lads have been really welcoming,” he said. “Winning the Ashes was a great achievement so the lads are full of confidence and it’s a great changing room to be in at the moment.”Although unlikely, there remains a chance that Woakes could push himself into contention for a World Cup berth. The squad has to be named by January 19, three days after the opening one-day international in Melbourne. Most of England’s final 15 are secure, especially if Broad regains fitness, but one spot could be up for grabs and, even if Woakes doesn’t make the cut, he’s will be one of the first reserves.”I don’t think too far ahead,” he said. “Before Christmas I was with the academy here in Australia so was just focussing on that. Anything else that came was just an added bonus. There are guys out injured who will come back into the side so I can’t think about that [World Cup] right now.”

Everton reporter Tony Scott has been left in ‘disbelief’ by a video of the club’s travelling supporters at the weekend. 

The lowdown

Everton beat Leicester City 2-1 on Sunday to further boost their Premier League survival hopes.

Since a 3-2 defeat to relegation rivals Burnley on 6 April, The Toffees have picked up 10 points from a possible 15. The run includes unlikely victories against two top-six sides in Manchester United and Chelsea.

Frank Lampard’s side have now lifted themselves out of the relegation zone and up to 16th, a point ahead of Leeds United and Burnley. They travel to Watford on Wednesday night with the opportunity to extend that gap to four by winning what is a game in hand.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/everton-news-5/” title=”Everton news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The latest

The Liverpool Echo’s Scott reacted to footage of the Blues faithful celebrating their win at The King Power Stadium. The fans can be heard chanting in unison in an otherwise empty ground after the final whistle.

“I’ve watched this video on repeat and shook my head in disbelief at the support we get,” he tweeted. “It’s staggering!

“The fans have dragged this team up off the floor. Seeing parents with their kids in the away end belting out ‘Spirit of the Blues’ is absolutely priceless.”

The verdict

The atmosphere at Everton could be very different right now. They shouldn’t be battling to stay in the division, having finished in 10th place last season.

In these circumstances, the fanbase could easily have turned against the players and the manager, but instead, they’ve rallied behind them and proven to be the driving force behind this potentially season-saving run of form.

Take the win against Chelsea: Lampard called their contribution ‘massive’, The Echo’s Joe Thomas marvelled at the ‘incredible show of unity and passion’ as thousands lined the streets to welcome the team coach and BBC Sport commentator Guy Mowbray said the atmosphere inside the stadium was unparalleled.

There’s no doubt that this has made a difference.

In other news, a Spanish source names a potential defensive target.

Lord MacLaurin, the former chairman of the ECB, has laid into the “crazy” schedule that England’s cricketers have been subjected to in Australia this winter, but believes it will have little bearing on their performance in the World Cup

Andrew Miller07-Feb-2011Lord MacLaurin, the former chairman of the ECB, has laid into the “crazy” schedule that England’s cricketers have been subjected to in Australia this winter, but believes that their 6-1 thrashing in the one-day leg of a four-month tour will have little bearing on their performance in the forthcoming World Cup.The England team arrives back in the UK on Tuesday afternoon, almost exactly a month after retaining the Ashes in style with an innings-and-83-run victory in the fifth and final Test at Sydney.At the time, the achievement was rightly hailed as one of the most meticulously planned successes in the history of English cricket, with the ECB’s planners and the team’s back-room staff earning as much credit for their efforts as the players themselves. However, in the wake of their one-day drubbing, the team’s welcoming committee is unlikely to be as rapturous as might have been the case in the immediate aftermath of the Test series.What is more, the players themselves are unlikely to be particularly high-spirited either, seeing as they will be reconvening at the airport on Saturday after just three days with their families, ahead of their departure for Dhaka and a further seven-week stint at the World Cup. England’s coach, Andy Flower, voiced his own frustration at the end of the Australia tour, and called for a greater say in the team’s future plans.”I think it’s a crazy itinerary,” Lord MacLaurin told ESPNcricinfo. “You are asking a load of guys to go out to Australia for 100 days, and concentrate on a Test series in which they did extraordinarily well, so I’m sure they would say that the one-day series is after the Lord Mayor’s show. Do you really want to go into seven ODIs when you’ve been at high-pitch Test cricket for a number of weeks, especially when they did supremely well?”During his tenure as the first chairman of ECB from 1997 to 2003, MacLaurin was credited with a number of initiatives that transformed the standing of English cricket, including the standardisation of the team’s uniform and a better presentation of the players when at home and on tour. In many ways, the 2010-11 Ashes was the ultimate statement of the team’s new-found professionalism – however, no-one has been able to legislate for an itinerary that has been designed to exhaust.On the morning after the series win in Sydney, the players were sent on a long-distance coach trip to Canberra to prepare for the ODI series, and amid an itinerary that included a further eight internal flights, they have succumbed to a host of injuries – the most recent of which is the broken finger that now jeopardises Eoin Morgan’s participation in the World Cup.”I think we’d all agree that the past seven matches have been a bit futile, and I don’t think anybody’s learnt too much about each other from that,” said MacLaurin. “The Ashes campaign was a magnificent effort from all concerned – it was very, very well planned and all credit to them – but I wouldn’t worry about the one-day defeat, to be quite honest with you. I think the team needs a bit of a break, and I think they will do reasonably well at the World Cup.”The situation mirrors that which England encountered in the winter of 1995-96, shortly before the start of MacLaurin’s tenure as ECB chairman, in which they went to an Asian World Cup on the back of a tiring Test series in South Africa and a subsequent 6-1 ODI defeat, and were humbled by Sri Lanka in a seminal quarter-final in Faisalabad.While MacLaurin maintained that, ultimately, the volume of international cricket was an ICC concern, he believed that the professionalism of the current squad was such that they would be more than capable of rising to their next challenge.”I think the whole thing is better managed these days,” said MacLaurin. “I don’t think anyone particularly wanted these seven matches, but I’m sure there’s a lot of steel in this side, a lot of determination, and a lot of very good leadership, and we probably didn’t have that all those years ago – in fact I’m sure we didn’t have it.”Mike Atherton, England’s captain during that 1996 campaign, reiterated MacLaurin’s faith in the current set-up. “This squad is better able to cope with the itinerary, because they have been very successful over the last two years,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “Beating Australia in the Tests, actually hammering them, will give them a deep well of confidence going into the World Cup.”A pounding in the ODIs is not ideal, but they are better able to come back from that, for a number of reasons,” Atherton added. “They are far more experienced in the subcontinent than our squad was, and these days, they are playing a style of game all year round, in England and abroad, in which they go out and try to whack it from ball one. You just feel it’s not going to affect them as much as it would have done ten or so years ago.””I have huge confidence in the abilities of Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower, and all those associated with the ECB,” added MacLaurin. “I’ve been vocal about one of two things about the ECB since I left office, but you have to give credit where credit is due, and the set-up there now is good, and to win the Ashes is a huge, huge achievement. I still think we might surprise a few people in the World Cup, and I wouldn’t take too much notice of this last 6-1.”

Netherlands let themselves down with four run-outs and batsmen not converting starts into big scores. The regular fall of wickets meant Netherlands could never really use the batting Powerplay

Sidharth Monga in Chittagong14-Mar-2011There is an image that kept repeating itself, and summed up Netherlands’ game today. Their batsmen often found the length and width to cut, but kept hitting the ball in front of square, to cover-point. It resulted in a statistic that sums up their game: 185 dot balls out of the 278 they faced. In their first game of the tournament, when Netherlands scored 292 against England they faced 150 dot balls out of 305. Not only did they not last their full 50 overs, Netherlands scored off 35 balls fewer.It wasn’t easy for Netherlands. They were playing in Bangladesh for the first time, and no matter how much training you do on tailored pitches, batting on such slow tracks against pretty accurate and smart spinners is tough. More often than not, you don’t succeed in your first attempt, as Netherlands found out. They tried to manufacture shots against the seam bowlers when the ball was new and hard and the fields up. They even sent in a pinch hitter at the fall of the first wicket. It didn’t work.”Our ratio between runs and dot balls, and singles and boundaries was too low today,” Peter Borren, their captain, said. “We need to rotate the strike better. It is difficult here in these conditions, on this wicket, against the spinners, not as easy to rotate the strike as what we normally find. So this is something we have really tried hard to work on, and we came out short today.”It’s hard to practise for those conditions that we came out against today. Three left-arm spinners on a very, very slow wicket, trying to rotate the strike – I think the guys found it difficult, and if guys get in, they find it a little easier. It’s always difficult to start with. Once you are in, it’s easier. Today we got in a little bit, and then got out. Struggled to rotate the strike a bit.”The steady loss of wickets denied Ryan ten Doeschate the opportunity to take the batting Powerplay earlier than the 44th over•Getty ImagesNetherlands let themselves down with four run-outs and batsmen not converting starts into big scores. They would find it hard to blame themselves for two of those run-outs. One was a deflection off the bowler’s hand onto the non-striker’s stumps, and the other came out of confusion, with Ryan ten Doeschate trying to farm the strike with the No. 11.”What happens is it takes time to get in against the spinners on slow wickets,” Borren said. “It takes a little bit of getting used to. Today, every time we looked like getting a little bit used to it, we lost a wicket. Four run-outs, which was pretty crucial. It was hard work, the wicket was hard with their bowlers.”The regular fall of wickets meant Netherlands could never really use the batting Powerplay. On the face, it might have seemed ten Doeschate missed a trick by not calling for the Powerplay earlier than he eventually did, in the 44th over with nine wickets down, but to be fair to him there never were two batsmen set enough to utilise it. It could be argued that big batsmen take the risk and the responsibility alone in these situations, but perhaps the need to last the full 50 overs played on ten Doeschate’s mind. He stayed unbeaten on 53.”We kept losing wickets at crucial times,” Borren said. “You try and form a partnership between a couple of guys so they are both comfortable, and then you might take the Powerplay. We left the Powerplay till too late, we were nine down when we took it. The reason we didn’t take it earlier was, we were trying to build partnerships, and just kept failing to do that. Run-outs, a couple of poor dismissals – four run-outs, it’s pretty criminal at this level, and something we are really disappointed with.”