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MatériaMais Notícias

O Fluminense apresentará uma novidade no clássico diante do Botafogo. O clube anunciou neste sábado que fechou acordo com o Hotel Nacional. A marca do conglomerado estampará a frente dos calções do uniforme tricolor a partir deste domingo, às 11h, no Nilton Santos.

O vínculo será válido até o final do Campeonato Carioca de 2021. Mandatário do Fluminense, Mário Bittencourt exaltou que o acordo é feito em meio ao momento desafiador causado pela pandemia de Covid-19.

-Essa será uma importante parceria, com uma grande empresa do segmento de turismo. Mostra que, nesse momento, o clube está se movimentando e mantendo sua marca valorizada no mercado. Esse é nosso segundo contrato conquistado dentro do período de pandemia, deixando claro que continuamos no caminho certo – declarou.

CMO de Marketing do grupo WAM, detentora da administração do Hotel Nacional,Marco Gonzaga valorizou a relevância de selar parceria com o Tricolor das Laranjeiras.

-Sabemos da nossa responsabilidade e a nossa meta é ajudar no que for possível para o desenvolvimento do Rio de Janeiro. A parceria com o Fluminense é mais uma etapa deste pensamento do grupo e que, com certeza, não irá parar apenas neste ano do campeonato – e, em seguida, frisou:

– O Tricolor vem agregar ao grupo a paixão dos brasileiros pelo futebol e demonstrar que nosso objetivo, juntos, é o bem-estar do povo – completou.

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MatériaMais Notícias

Com mais de 16 atletas infectados pela Covid-19, além de dirigentes e membros da comissão técnica, como Domènec Torrent, o Flamengo tem problemas para formar um grupo para atuar contra o Palmeiras, em jogo agendado para domingo. Assim, um grupo de sete atletas do Sub-20, que estavam em Porto Alegre para a estreia da categoria no Brasileirão, foram convocados e, de volta ao Rio de Janeiro, reforçarão o elenco profissional.

Os convocados pelo futebol profissional do Flamengo foramItalo (LE), Noga (Z), Otavio (Z), Milani (Z), Richard (V) e Yuri de Oliveira (M) e João Fernando (G).

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Com estas desfalques, o Sub-20 do Flamengo entra em campo às 15h30 desta quinta-feira para enfrentar o Internacional pelo Campeonato Brasileiro Sub-20.

Com a indefinição sobre a realização do jogo entre Palmeiras e Flamengo – o clube da Gávea pediu o adiamento e a CBF não se pronunciou -, o Rubro-Negro tem 10 nomes do elenco principal à disposição neste momento: César, Hugo, João Lucas, Ramon, Gerson, Thiago Maia, Arrascaeta, Pepê, Lincoln e Pedro.

A atividade do Flamengo está marcada para às 16h no CT do Ninho do Urubu.

Newcastle United have dipped into the market this summer to bolster their squad during the summer transfer window.

Who have Newcastle signed this summer?

The Magpies have snapped up three frontline first-team options to improve Eddie Howe’s options in defence and midfield before next month’s deadline.

Central midfielder Sandro Tonali has joined from Italian giants AC Milan, right-back Tino Livramento has arrived from Southampton, and Harvey Barnes has added to the attacking arsenal on a permanent move from Leicester City.

Read the latest Newcastle transfer news HERE…

That does not appear to be the end of the club’s business before next month’s deadline, though, as Dan Ashworth and Howe are reportedly eyeing up a central defender, alongside a move for Chelsea's Lewis Hall.

The Daily Mail’s Craig Hope recently claimed that Newcastle are looking at a host of players in that position; including Nice star Jean-Clair Todibo.

How good is Jean-Clair Todibo?

Newcastle played a masterclass last summer by bringing Sven Botman in from Ligue 1 side Lille and Howe could repeat that trick by dipping back into the French market to sign the ex-Barcelona ace.

The former Ajax titan was named in pundit Jamie Carragher’s Team of the Year after he won 67% of his duels and averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.99 across 36 league clashes.

This came after the left-footed brute made 25 Ligue 1 appearances for Lille during the 2021/22 campaign and came out on top in 66% of his battles. He used his physical ability to dominate attackers in England and that is a blueprint that the Magpies target could copy.

Todibo enjoyed an impressive 2022/23 campaign with Nice and his performances suggest that he has the potential to follow the Dutch international in making a smooth transition to Premier League football.

He averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.94 across 34 league appearances and showcased his physical strength with a duel success rate of 65%.

This shows that the central defender is capable of dominating opposition forwards on a regular basis by utilising his physicality to win possession back for his side, as Botman did for the Magpies.

The 23-year-old enforcer showcased his ability to cut out opposition attacks in order to win possession back for his side on a regular basis. He made 3.4 tackles and interceptions per game for Nice, which is 0.7 more per outing than any Newcastle central defender managed in the Premier League.

Todibo, who was once described as being "solid as a rock" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has, therefore, shown impressive physicality and defensive awareness at the top level in France.

This suggests that the talented battler, who has been valued at up to €50m (£43m), has the ability to follow in Botman’s footsteps to enjoy a successful transition to life in England.

Therefore, Howe must target a swoop to sign the Ligue 1 ace before next month’s deadline in order to bolster his defensive options whilst possibly landing a player who could emulate the current Newcastle star’s impressive displays.

At the age of 31, right-sided Toon defender Fabian Schar is at the opposite end of his career to Todibo and the pair could compete for a starting spot before the Frenchman eventually takes over the role on a permanent basis as the Switzerland international’s powers wane with age.

Jammu & Kashmir lost 16 wickets on the third day – all of them to the Saurashtra spinners – to lose by a gargantuan innings and 212 runs in Rajkot. Saurashtra bagged seven points by taking six first-innings wickets and then rolling out J&K for 256 across 98.1 overs on the third day. They now have two bonus-points win in as many matches.Ravindra Jadeja followed his double-century with seven wickets on the day, joined by his namesake Dharmendrasinh – also a left-arm spinner – who took 6 for 68 in the first innings. When J&K batted again, offspinner Vandit Jivrajani dented them with his best figures of 6 for 79.J&K started the day on 103 for 4 and slid immediately as Parvez Rasool added only one run to his overnight score of 23 as the two Jadejas took the last six wickets for a mere 48 runs, with only Puneet Bisht resisting with an unbeaten 34. While Ravindra ended with 4 for 40, Dharmendrasinh took his seventh five-for in first-class matches.J&K were asked to follow-on with a massive deficit of 468 but the story changed only a little. Two of their batsmen struck half-centuries – Bisht (55) and No. 9 Ram Dayal (56) – as Jivrajani struck thrice in as many overs before Ravindra joined him with three wickets. But the deficit was too big to overcome for the visitors.Defending champions Gujarat have a strong chance to start the new season with a win as they were set a total of 105 by Kerala in Nadiad. Gujarat already scored 22 of those for the loss of one wicket and have an entire day for the remaining 83 runs.After Gujarat failed to add anything to their overnight 307 for 9, 17-year-old left-arm spinner Siddharth Desai bagged six wickets on debut to add to his first-innings figures of 3 for 90, to not let Kerala take a big lead. Once Piyush Chawla dismissed two of the top four batsmen, Desai dented their middle and lower order even as Sachin Baby and Arun Karthik struck half-centuries. But Kerala managed only 203 in all, as Chawla ended with 3 for 66 and Desai with 6 for 80.A combined bowling effort from the Rajasthan bowlers, led by Pankaj Singh, made Jharkhand follow-on on the third day, giving the hosts a slim chance of a win in Jaipur. Even though Jharkhand opener Nazim Siddiqui steadied them with an unbeaten 71 in the second innings, they still trailed by 56 runs with nine wickets in hand.Resuming on 97 for 2, Virat Singh and Saurabh Tiwary added only 25 more to their partnership before Pankaj dismissed Virat for 47. Even though Tiwary survived almost 20 more overs to score 83, the rest of the line-up could not capitalise much. A sixth-wicket stand of 85 between Ishan Kishan (50) and Kaushal Singh (42) took them close to 250 but they lost their last five wickets for just 19 runs to be asked to bat again. Siddiqui’s fifty helped them score 102 for 1 in their second attempt.

The Barbados Tridents captain said he had overstepped while looking for the extra effort needed to send down a short ball

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Sep-2017Kieron Pollard has denied he deliberately bowled the no-ball that potentially cost Evin Lewis a record-breaking hundred in St Kitts and Nevis Patriots’ 10-wicket win over Barbados Trident at the Caribbean Premier League.Lewis was on 97 off 31 balls when he took strike with the scores level, a boundary away from the fastest hundred in CPL history and the second fastest in all T20 cricket. But Pollard overstepped the line by a big margin, Patriots had the one more run they needed for victory, and Lewis could not have a crack at the record.Pollard, the Tridents captain, said he overstepped as he was trying to put extra effort into a short ball, his best delivery option. “When I took up that ball in that last delivery, I had one thing in my mind: trying to bowl a delivery, my best delivery – what has been working for me throughout the tournament – a short delivery to see if he [will] have a waft at it, to see if it can go up in the air and we can get him out,” Pollard told Sports Max.”Although we would have lost the game, I was still thinking of getting him out, and using my strength, what I had been doing. Unfortunately, [the] stride went for that extra, I stepped over the mark and I think that has been the talking point, of what actually happened, the actual no-ball itself.”It wasn’t intentional, nothing was intentional at any point in time. I acknowledge that we have lost the game but I am not going to just go there and bowl a ball just for him to hit it for six or four, for him to score hundred in that sense. That’s not my nature, and I don’t think any sportsman will just do something to that effect.”This isn’t the first time that Pollard’s on-field actions have been questioned. In the IPL, he was once ruled to have run one short in a bid to retain strike, and the sportsmanship of that was questioned. In 2014, Pollard was involved in a heated altercation with Mitchell Starc. The Lewis incident triggered outrage against Pollard on social media, but he said his conscience was clear.”What I am a big believer in is I can sit here and I can talk to you and I can tell you untruths and I can make up all sorts of stories,” he said. “But one person I can’t make up a story to is when I watch myself in the mirror. When I watch myself in the mirror, I know what my intentions were in that particular delivery, and my intention was just try to bowl the best delivery.”Pollard, however, said he had a chat with fellow Trinidadian Lewis on the matter, and that things were cordial between them. “I just told him [Lewis] ‘well played and good luck in the playoffs’. He just laughed it off. Evin Lewis… he came up after me in Trinidad to play cricket. We play cricket together. Our whole management is the same sort of management. At the end of the day, [some people may say] Kieron Pollard is jealous of Evin Lewis and things like that. That’s not in my nature. I have been the first one to congratulate somebody. I have been the first one to send him a message and always be there no matter what. And this is not going to stop me from continuing to do that.”Yes I did [talk to him after that]. We had a conversation. I wouldn’t share the exchange of the conversation but we had a couple of Whatsapp messages and it’s all cordial. No, I didn’t apologise to him. To me, there is nothing to apologise for. We just laughed it off.”

Scottish giants Celtic have made some exciting additions to their talented playing squad so far during the summer transfer window.

Who have Celtic signed this summer?

Brendan Rodgers, who replaced Ange Postecoglou in the dugout last month, has officially completed the signings of Marco Tilio and Odin Thiago Holm

The Hoops are also reportedly set to add £2m-rated Hyun-jun Yang and Hyeok-kyu Kwon to their roster as the pair are on the verge of their respective moves to the club.

One of those players – Yang – has been sensationally tipped, by Gangwon president Byung-ji Kim, to potentially become "world class" in the future "like Son Heung-min".

The Northern Irish tactician has proven himself to be capable of playing a huge role in the development of such a talent, with Raheem Sterling possibly being the best example.

Now at Chelsea, the England international had only made three first-team appearances for Liverpool as a teenager prior to Rodgers' appointment in 2012.

The 50-year-old boss worked with the exciting young talent and placed his faith in the winger's ability alongside the likes of Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez for the Reds.

Sterling racked up 23 goals and 25 assists in 126 competitive matches under Rodgers' management, which earned him a £49m move to Manchester City in the summer of 2015.

He went on to directly contribute to 226 goals (131 goals and 95 assists) in 339 games for the Cityzens. In that time, the "world-class" – as he was dubbed by England legend Frank Lampard in 2020 – forward won five Premier League titles, four League Cups, and one FA Cup.

Rodgers could now unearth his next version of Sterling by working with Yang at Parkhead over the coming years to unearth the potential that Kim sees in him.

How many goals did Hyun-jun Yang score for Gangwon?

The 21-year-old Gangwon winger, who is capable of being deployed on the left or the right, scored nine goals across 71 competitive matches for the South Korean club and his form throughout 2022 suggests that he could be an excellent option for the Bhoys.

Yang racked up eight goals and five assists in 33 K League 1 starts, which works out as a direct contribution every 2.54 games on average. Meanwhile, only Liel Abada (ten), Jota (11) – who has since departed – and Kyogo Furuhashi (27) scored more league goals for Celtic last term.

This is a slight improvement on Sterling's return of a goal or assist every 2.62 outings under Rodgers during their time together at Anfield at the start of his career.

The South Korea U23 international also created six 'big chances' for his teammates in 2022 – as many as current Hoops left winger Daizen Maeda managed in 35 Scottish Premiership appearances last season.

These statistics indicate that the ability is there for Yang to provide quality as a scorer and creator of goals from a wide position, if he is able to translate that form from 2022 over to Scottish football next season.

However, it is down to the exciting whiz and Rodgers to work together to help him to fulfill his potential over the years to come, as the ex-Liverpool boss did with Sterling, in order to make Kim's "world class" prediction a reality.

Chelsea are believed to be interested in signing Montpellier attacker Elye Wahi this summer, rivalling Wolves for his signature in the process.

Who is Elye Wahi?

The 20-year-old is an exciting young footballer currently making a name for himself in his homeland of France, catching the eye with his performances for Montpellier over the past 12 months or so, in particular.

Wahi proved to be one of the standout attacking players in the whole of Ligue 1 last season, scoring a hugely impressive 19 goals in just 29 starts. He also chipped in with five assists for good measure, showcasing his potential and no doubt making various clubs take notice.

The youngster is also a three-cap and one-goal France Under-21s international, and he has represented his country at Under-20, Under-19, Under-18, Under-17 and Under-16 level, too, showing that he has been considered a prospect for a number of years now.

Wahi is contracted with Montpellier until the summer of 2025, and while that is still two years away, the French club may start to become wary that they are slowly running out of time when it comes to receiving the biggest amount of money for his signature.

With Chelsea eyeing up attacking signings ahead of the new Premier League season, it looks as though the French ace could be seen as a potential acquisition in the summer transfer window.

Could Chelsea sign Elye Wahi this summer?

According to a new report from French outlet L'Equipe, the Blues are interested in signing Wahi this summer, and have been negotiating with him over a move for a number of days. Wolves have been in the conversation for the Montepellier man, but it looks as though the English team mooted recently is Chelsea.

A bid of around €30m (£25.6m) could be enough for the west Londoners to get their man, as Mauricio Pochettino looks to turn his side's fortunes around after a dire 2022/23 campaign, with new signings vital for that to happen.

Wahi could be a brilliant signing by Chelsea before the new season starts, having been described as "a powerful, athletic and fast player with a range of dribbling skills where only he knows what he is going to do next" by former Caen academy director Francis de Taddeo in the past.

At just 20, he has already shown that he can excel in one of Europe's big five leagues, and while the step up to the Premier League is still great, he has all the time in the world to mature as a player and adjust to life in the division.

Chelsea are absolutely crying out for a young centre-forward who can spearhead the attack for many years to come, with the departed Kai Havertz and the ageing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also not the long-term solution moving forward.

Granted, there is still a rawness to Wahi's game that means another more experienced striker could also do with coming in, but he looks to have maturity beyond his years already, as highlighted by the relentless goal scoring form he produced in a Montpellier shirt last term.

Aston Villa have started to make early moves in an attempt to bring Juventus star Federico Chiesa to the Premier League, according to reports.

What happened to Federico Chiesa?

Chiesa is a left-sided winger who currently plays his football at the Allianz Stadium, having permanently moved there last summer following a successful loan from Fiorentina.

Across both spells, he’s been a regular feature of Massimiliano Allegri’s squad when fit, making 94 appearances to date but missing large parts of the last 18 months due to a nasty ACL injury suffered mid-way through last season.

The Italy international’s contract with the Serie A outfit isn’t set to expire for another two years, but the level of his performances have attracted the attention of a couple of clubs in England, one of those being Unai Emery's side in the Midlands.

Speaking to Steve Wraith, CBS reporter Ben Jacobs name-checked the Villans as the “ones to watch” in the race for the 25-year-old despite also crediting Newcastle United with an interest, and NSWE already appear to be trying to convince him to join.

Are Aston Villa signing Chiesa?

According to Italian newspaper Tuttosport (via Sport Witness), Aston Villa have made "concrete steps" for Chiesa and are, at present, the most interested suitor in the forward even though he's being targeted by Liverpool and the Magpies.

However, Juventus' star has assessed the project and has decided that it "does not convince" him, nor is he "enthusiastic" to complete the switch, so it doesn't sound like he will be putting pen to paper unless Monchi can do some serious convincing.

Aston Villa and indeed new President of Football Operations Monchi are showing plenty of ambition by targeting a player whose calibre is as high as Chiesa's, having been hailed as "one of the most exciting players around” by journalist Josh Bunting.

And despite the fact he’s not open to the move at this stage, he could be a fantastic recruit should he have a change of heart.

The Italy star, who pockets £153k-per-week, racked up seven goal contributions (five assists and two goals) in 21 Serie A outings last season and was averaging 4.34 shot-creating actions per 90, which was the third-highest total throughout his squad, via FBRef.

The 2022/23 Champions League participant is also an extremely versatile operator having been deployed in seven various positions since the start of his career, including everywhere across the frontline and even three roles in the midfield, so all in all, he would be a great option for Emery to have at his disposal.

Aston Villa target Pau Torres is set to have his medical and complete his move to the Premier League this week, according to Sky Sports reporter Lyall Thomas.

Is Pau Torres an Aston Villa player yet?

The Spain international isn’t out of contract with the Yellow Submarines until the end of next season, but after 90min reported that he is keen to embark on a new adventure during this window, Unai Emery has been eyeing a reunion practically ever since.

Football Insider initially claimed that the Midlands outfit had made contact to enquire about a deal for the centre-back who was highlighted as a top target, and it wasn’t long before a breakthrough in negotiations after Sky Sports stated that the two parties were in advanced talks.

The Athletic’s David Ornstein most recently revealed that an agreement for the transfer of the 26-year-old had been “reached” alongside personal terms, and it sounds like he could be able to finalise the switch within the next few days.

What's the latest Villa transfer news?

Taking to Twitter on Sunday evening, Thomas confirmed that Torres will fly to England to undergo his medical tests this week to seal his move to Aston Villa. He wrote:

“Pau Torres is expected to travel to the Midlands next week to complete an initial £33m move from #Villarreal to #AstonVilla.”

Emery is not only a compatriot of Torres but he will also already know what he’s capable of having managed him during his time at Villarreal, and having been dubbed a “dream” signing for a Premier League club by content creator Ryan Haber, the centre-back would be a fantastic acquisition.

The World Cup participant averaged 4.1 clearances, 1.7 aerial wins and 1.3 tackles per game last season in La Liga, via WhoScored, so was a real rock at the heart of the backline both on and off the ground, but he equally has an eye on making a positive impact driving forward.

The 6 foot 2 titan ranked in the 99th percentile for progressive carries and the 97th percentile for successful take-ons, so he loves to push his team as high up the pitch as possible and take on his marker when playing out from the centre of defence.

Having been crowned winner of the Europa League in 2020/21, Torres will additionally know what it takes to compete and be successful on the bigger stage – which is what Aston Villa will be up against next season – so he could help to create the winning mentality needed to gain results over European opponents.

Match facts

February 1, 2017
Start time 1.30pm local (1130 GMT)

Big Picture

Eleven innings into this tour now, Sri Lanka have one major question hanging over them still: when will the top order finally fire together? It had been ground down and blown away in the Tests, before in the T20 series one win was the outcome of Angelo Mathews’ heroic lone heaving, and the other the result of Seekkuge Prasanna’s late blitz – three of the top five having played decidedly modest innings, though Niroshan Dickwella did hit a fine half-century.Prasanna and Mathews have both gone home now, and the opposition are once more envenomed by folks like Kagiso Rabada, Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis. South Africa have sought to set the tone for the series with Saturday’s eight-wicket win, where their top order put on partnerships of 71, 60 and 54*. Sri Lanka are again in the position of needing to make a comeback.Some of Sri Lanka’s problems stem from the instability in selection while inexperienced batsmen attempt to find their roles. In the tri-series final in Zimbabwe – Sri Lanka’s previous ODI – their top three was Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Perera and Dickwella, in that order. On Saturday, Dickwella was moved up to open, de Silva found himself shunted to No. 6, and Perera had been shunted out of the squad altogether. Kusal Mendis – now seemingly the most bankable Sri Lanka batsman in Mathews’ absence – had been Man of the Series batting at No. 4 in that previous tournament, but has now been moved to No. 3 again. After being shot out for 181 in Port Elizabeth, perhaps another minor shuffle will ensue.South Africa may also feel they have their visitors covered on the bowling front. Wayne Parnell has been in penetrative form over the past six months, while Rabada and Imran Tahir are proven matchwinners. Perhaps their only worry will be the recent record of Andile Phehlukwayo, who is yet to take a wicket in four international appearances on this tour.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)

South Africa WWWWW
Sri Lanka LWWLW

In the spotlight

South Africa’s marathons might be renamed “Imran Tahir wicket celebrations” in future, but if you have a top order as completely fooled as he often has Sri Lanka, why wouldn’t you race around the field for joy? In five matches against this opponent, Tahir has 13 wickets at 13.23. On Saturday he gutted Sri Lanka’s middle-order with three different deliveries. The googly weaseled its way into Dinesh Chandimal’s stumps, before the turning legbreak had Mendis caught in front of the stumps. A straighter ball had Upul Tharanga playing for turn that didn’t eventuate. Inside six overs Sri Lanka slipped from 86 for 2 to 102 for 5. Unless Sri Lanka develop a response to Tahir, they risk being floored by him again.On the opposite side, bowling wrist spin with the opposite hand, Lakshan Sandakan has made a promising start to his limited-overs career, just as he had done in Tests. There is an argument that for now, Sandakan should be reserved for Tests in order to safeguard his naturally attacking bowling style from the limited-overs disposition towards economy. If he keeps taking wickets, however, the selectors will find it difficult to be swayed by that contention.

Teams news

South Africa are likely to be unchanged for this match.South Africa (possible): 1. Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 AB de Villiers (capt.), 5 JP Duminy, 6 David Miller, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Wayne Parnell, 9 Andile Phehlukwayo, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Imran TahirIf the surface appears faster than the Port Elizabeth one, Sri Lanka may play an extra seam bowler in place of Jeffrey Vandersay. Lahiru Kumara could be in line for an ODI debut before he has even played a List A match. It is possible the batting will go unchanged, but Sri Lanka’s present top order is as fluid as they come in international cricket.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Niroshan Dickwella, 2 Sandun Weerakkody, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 5 Upul Tharanga (capt.), 6 Dhananjaya de Silva, 7 Asela Gunaratne, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Jeffrey Vandersay, 10 Suranga Lakmal, 11 Lakshan Sandakan

Pitch and conditions

The Durban surface is expected to be faster and better for batting than the Port Elizabeth pitch had been. There is no rain forecast.

Stats and trivia

• It has been 15 ODIs since Wayne Parnell last went wicketless in matches where he has bowled. He has taken 26 wickets at an average of 27.06 in that time.
• Kusal Mendis has scores of 94, 57 and 62 from his last three ODI innings.
• The only time Sri Lanka have previously met South Africa in Durban was for that infamous World Cup tie in 2003, when South Africa got their Duckworth-Lewis sums wrong and failed to qualify for the Super Six stage.

Quotes

“We play Sri Lanka in the Champions Trophy too. Both teams take benefit from playing against each other. Facing their bowling attack, whether it’s the spinners or the seamers, you get a sense of what to expect for the Champions Trophy. They’ve got good spinners and they are a good team. I’m sure they are hungry to bounce back and we are hungry to try and keep our momentum.”