Category Uncategorized

MatériaMais Notícias

A Chapecoense não cumpriu a expectativa de uma atuação de destaque no retorno do Campeonato Brasileiro. Após o período sem jogos devido a disputa da Copa do Mundo, a equipe catarinense recebeu o Bahia na Arena Condá e viu o rival assumir o controle do jogo e abrir o placar. Entretanto, mostrou sua força em casa e alcançou o empate no final, com gol de Osman.

Em entrevista coletiva concedida após a partida, o técnico Gilson Kleina admitiu que o time não teve um bom desempenho, mas valorizou o ponto conquistado em uma partida difícil para os dois lados.

RelacionadasChapecoenseOsman comemora gol e enaltece ponto conquistado pela ChapecoenseChapecoense19/07/2018BrasileirãoNúmeros da Bola: Estatísticas de Chapecoense 1×1 BahiaBrasileirão19/07/2018Futebol NacionalBahia sai na frente, mas cede empate para a Chape na Arena CondáFutebol Nacional19/07/2018

– Agradecer esse ponto. Pelas circunstâncias, ganhamos um ponto. O desempenho foi abaixo e vamos conversar amanhã. Se for essa postura contra o Santos, vamos ter dificuldade. Em nossos domínios, temos que competir mais.

Depois de apresentar um futebol recuado no primeiro tempo, fruto da pressão de um jogo dominado pelo Bahia, Gilson Kleina promoveu mudanças no time para a segunda etapa: Leandro Pereira ganhou a vaga de Luiz Antonio e a Chapecoense passou a atuar no esquema 4-3-3.

– Conversei com eles no intervalo, o nosso primeiro tempo foi sofrível. Não conseguimos fazer infiltrações. A bola ficou longa, não conseguimos fazer as jogadas por dentro. Eles vêm de resultados ruins, mas têm muita qualidade técnica. A estreia do Bruno e do Gilberto mudou a forma do Bahia, eles jogavam sem o atacante de referência. Aumentou o poderio técnico deles. Não tivemos aproximação e começamos a tocar a bola para trás e fazer bola longa. Melhoramos com a entrada do Leandro. O Osman quebrou o ritmo do jogo. Se jogássemos como nos quinze minutos finais, sairíamos vitoriosos – contou o treinador.

Apesar da mudança, o Bahia continuou dominando as principais jogadas de perigo da partida e a Chape só voltou a aparecer após o gol do Tricolor. Na visão do treinador, faltou competitividade.

– Entendo que faltou mais competitividade. O Bahia dava o espaço, mas nossa bola não encaixou. A gente fica chateado, porque trabalha e quer que tenha performance, mas temos uma linha de crescimento grande. Os jogadores sabem que não tivemos um bom desempenho. Não é questão de força, não estávamos bem posicionados, o Bahia se adonou, mas no fim fomos melhores.

Pelo Campeonato Brasileiro, a Chapecoense volta aos gramados no próximo domingo, quando recebe o Santos, ás 19h, na Arena Condá, em partida válida pela 14ª rodada.

تقدم عبد الله السعيد لاعب بيراميدز، بالهدف الثاني لفريقه أمام سيراميكا كليوباترا، في المباراة التي تجمع بينهما اليوم الأحد بالدوري.

بيراميدز يواجه سيراميكا كليوباترا، في إطار منافسات الجولة السادسة عشر من عمر بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز على ملعب الدفاع الجوي.

طالع | فيديو | رمضان صبحي يسجل هدف بيراميدز الأول أمام سيراميكا كليوباترا

وسجل السعيد هدف بيراميدز الثاني في الدقيقة 58 من عمر المباراة، بتسديدة من داخل منطقة الجزاء بعد تمريرة من مصطفى فتحي، لتصبح النتيجة 2-1. هدف بيراميدز الثاني أمام سيراميكا كليوباترا في الدوري.. عبد الله السعيد:

وكان بيراميدز تقدم أولاً عن طريق رمضان صبحي، وتعادل سيراميكا من خلال محمد إبراهيم.

MS Dhoni said India suffered several misfortunes during the first Test at Lord’s which made their job difficult

Nagraj Gollapudi at Lord's25-Jul-2011No confirmation on Zaheer availability

There is no final word on Zaheer Khan’s availability for the second Test. Asked if Zaheer was expected to be fit for the match, which starts on July 29, Dhoni was skeptical. “We have three days but I am not 100% sure if we will play him or not. It is a long series and we don’t want to risk any individual if he is only 90% fit as that only increases the chances of him getting injured further. It is very important to get the guys fully fit.”

So who’s to blame for India’s defeat? MS Dhoni, for putting England in to bat? India’s senior batsmen, for playing shots that, to the distant eye, seemed unnecessary? Harbhajan Singh, for yet again failing to have an impact on a match? Or even the under-preparedness of the India players, most of whom were struggling to come to terms with conditions at the practice match in Somerset?Dhoni himself blamed the loss of Zaheer Khan, his strike bowler, to a hamstring injury on the first afternoon. He blamed the absence of a third fast bowler to assist Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar. He blamed a surface that did not assist turn on the first two days and relegated his lead spinner Harbhajan to playing the role of a sandbag for Kevin Pietersen in the first innings. He blamed the circumstances that forced the batting order to be completely reshuffled in the second innings.”Most of the things that could have gone wrong in the game went wrong. It was tough for both the bowlers and the batsmen,” Dhoni said with a resigned look at the media conference. The turning point in the Test came on the first afternoon, when Zaheer stopped mid-stride and then walked off to the dressing room with a hamstring injury. It was a bad setback for Zaheer, who was starting to dominate the England batsmen and had dismissed openers Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook.England’s confidence rose and Pietersen rode roughshod over an Indian bowling attack comprising two fast bowlers who were playing their maiden Test in England, and a spinner who had been rendered impotent by the conditions.”It became quite tough for us after losing Zaheer Khan on the first day,” Dhoni said. “It was very difficult to bowl with three bowlers. The pitch did not take too much turn on the first two days and we did not have too many options. So it was quite difficult in terms of resources.”Praveen and Ishant toiled hard in Zaheer’s absence, and improved as the game went on. Praveen recovered from first-morning-Lord’s nerves to bounce back with controlled swing and bag a maiden five-for in the first innings, and Ishant injected a renewed sense of purpose into India with an energetic spell of seam bowling on the fourth morning. India missed out on a third seamer, though, which Dhoni said made all the difference. “We just needed that one extra bowler and things could have been different but it is something that you can’t really do anything about as injuries happen.”An injury to Zaheer Khan meant MS Dhoni was forced to bowl himself during the Test•Getty Images

Harbhajan, India’s most experienced bowler, wore a deflated look for most of the Test and his match figures of 56-4-218-1 only raised questions about his position as lead spinner. Dhoni, though, did not appear too bothered. “I saw a lot of improvement [in Harbhajan]. He bowled a lot slower in this game. It was slightly tough on him, especially when Pietersen was set and began going after him. There was no turn to deceive the batsman. But I was really impressed with the pace at which Harbhajan bowled. As the series progresses, it will be really interesting to see him bowl at some of the venues that are known to assist spin.”With their bowling in a shambles, India’s chances of escaping the first Test with a draw hinged exclusively on their vaunted batting order. No batsman, barring Rahul Dravid, lasted long enough in the first innings. On the last morning, India were 378 runs adrift of the huge target set by England. In the absence of Virender Sehwag, a victory was unimaginable. A draw, though, was possible, especially in conditions that were tough but not unplayable.Yet the highest partnership in the second innings was 75 runs, between Dravid and VVS Laxman for the second wicket, closely followed by the 60-run alliance between Dhoni and Suresh Raina for the sixth wicket. While England had three 100-plus stands in the match, India had none. Dhoni defended his batsmen, pointing to the fact that an injury to Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar’s illness had forced a reshuffle in the batting order.”Yes, we could have done with one more partnership from the top-order batsmen. But it was tough because most of our batsmen were batting in slots different to their original number. Rahul opened, Sachin batted at a different number, Gautam batted at a different number. That also added pressure.”The India batsmen also struggled to come to terms with the inconsistent bounce, he said. “As the Test progressed, what we saw was variable bounce, which meant we couldn’t really leave deliveries on length saying it was a three-quarter length delivery and would go over the stumps. So, more often than not, we were forced to play deliveries and we chased them.”Comparing the current Lord’s track to what he encountered on India’s tour in 2007, when he helped save the first Test for India with an unbeaten half-century, Dhoni claimed the bounce was more even four years ago. “This time there were many occasions when the ball did not comfortably travel to the keeper so the variable bounce did have an impact.”

تشتعل المنافسة على صدارة ترتيب الدوري السعودي للمحترفين بعد انتهاء منافسات الجولة الحادية عشر اليوم السبت.

وتعادل الهلال مع ضمك بهدفين لمثلهما في المباراة التي أقيمت اليوم على ملعب فيصل بن فهد بالرياض.

طالع أيضًا.. بعد رونالدو.. النصر يقدم عرضًا رسميًا لضم مهاجم باريس سان جيرمان

وواصل النصر الانفراد بالصدارة بالفوز على الخليج بهدفٍ دون رد في مباراتهما اليوم على ملعب محمد بن فهد.

واستعاد الشباب نغمة الانتصارات خلال هذه الجولة بالفوز على الاتفاق بثلاثية نظيفة بعد خسارته في المباراة السابقة من الفتح بأربعة أهداف مقابل هدف.

وحقق التعاون فوزًا ثمينًا اليوم خارج أرضه على الرائد بثلاثة أهداف مقابل هدفين.

واستطاع الاتحاد أن يهزم أبها بثنائية اليوم في المباراة التي جمعت بينهما على ملعب مدينة الأمير سلطان بن عبد العزيز الرياضية. ترتيب الدوري السعودي بعد انتهاء الجولة الحادية عشر

1- النصر 26 نقطة.

2- الشباب 25 نقطة.

3- الاتحاد 24 نقطة.

4- التعاون 23 نقطة.

5- الهلال 22 نقطة.

6- ضمك 18 نقطة.

7- الطائي 18 نقطة.

8- أبها 16 نقطة.

9- الفتح 15 نقطة.

10- الاتفاق 13 نقطة.

11- الرائد 12 نقطة.

12- الفيحاء 11 نقطة.

13- الوحدة 9 نقاط.

14- العدالة 5 نقاط.

15- الخليج 4 نقاط.

16- الباطن، نقطة واحدة.

Gareth Rees and Michael Powell both struck half-centuries as Glamorgan batted out for a draw on the final day of their County Championship clash against Surrey at Cardiff

23-Apr-2011
Scorecard
Gareth Rees and Michael Powell both struck half-centuries as Glamorgan batted out for a draw on the final day of their County Championship clash against Surrey at Cardiff.At the start of play Surrey still had hopes of registering a win and were able to enforce the follow-on, but Rees and Powell frustrated them for nearly two and a half hours in a third-wicket stand of 129 in 42 overs.Surrey had to make do with nine points to Glamorgan’s eight.Glamorgan went into the final day looking to knock off the 49 runs required to save the follow-on, but survived just 6.1 overs. After resuming on 377 for 9, the home side scored 18 runs until Dean Cosker was bowled by Stuart Meaker, who claimed figures of 5 for 86.James Harris was left stranded on 43 to end a last-wicket stand of 38, leaving Glamorgan 31 runs short of the follow-on target of 426.Forced to bat again, they needed 181 to avoid an innings defeat and had to bat 87 overs to survive and secure a draw.They did not make the best of starts when captain Alviro Petersen fell tospinner Gareth Batty in the 15th over, edging to Zander de Bruyn at leg slip to leave Glamorgan 40 for 1. And that became 44 for 2 when Will Bragg fell for two from Chris Schofield’s first ball.Rees and Powell survived until lunch with the home side still 136 runs adrift, and continued their resilient stand for the whole of the afternoon session. Rees brought up his fifty in 109 balls with six fours, while Powell, who was in desperate need of runs after a barren start to the season, showed positive intent typified by a superb straight six over long-on from Gareth Batty before reaching his 50 in 79 balls.Surrey effectively gave up the pursuit for victory with captain RoryHamilton-Brown bringing himself and then Tom Maynard into the attack beforetea.After the interval Powell suffered cramp in his forearm and shortly afterwards chipped Batty to Rory Burns, the substitute fielder, at mid-wicket. It ended a stand of 129 in 42 overs with Rees, who in the final over skied a catch to Hamilton-Brown at slip off Batty. Shortly afterwards the players shook hands on a draw.

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.”

MatériaMais Notícias

Zagueiro recém-contratado para o Guarani já preocupou departamento médico. Anderson sofreu uma entorse no tornozelo direito e não tem previsão para retorno. Com isso, o técnico Umberto Louzer terá que ajustar outra jogador para posição.

-Atleta teve entorse de tornozelo, e a gente não tem a precisão de quanto tempo vai ficar fora dos gramados. Era um atleta que a gente estava em busca no mercado, infelizmente teve esse problema, sujeito a todos os atletas. A gente tem que concentrar nossas energias nos atletas que estarão disponíveis – disse o treinador.

A resposta do departamento sobre o grau da lesão e o tempo de recuperação do atleta sairá nesta quarta-feira.

Com esta preocupação, a dupla de zaga será formada porLucas Kal e Philipe Maia. O primeiro vem recendo muitas críticas, mas seguirá na equipe.

RelacionadasGuaraniVolante do Guarani alerta sobre descuido nos minutos finaisGuarani05/03/2018GuaraniEx-Grêmio, zagueiro Anderson chega para reforçar o GuaraniGuarani02/03/2018

Round-up of the third day’s action in the Faysal Bank T-20 Cup 2010-11

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Oct-2010

Azeem Ghumman starred in Hyderabad Hawks’ win•AFP

Azeem Ghumman’s quickfire 59 set the Hyderabad Hawks on their way to a seven-wicket victory over Lahore Eagles at the Gaddafi Stadium. Chasing a stiff 178, Ghumman, who captained Pakistan Under-19s at the World Cup earlier this year, blasted nine fours and two sixes and added 91 in seven overs for the first wicket with Sharjeel Khan.Hyderabad briefly lost their way after the opening stand, losing three wickets cheaply and had Faisal Athar retired hurt. Thirties from Rizwan Ahmed and Aqeel Anjum, however, safely carried them to their first win of the tournament, with two balls to spare.Lahore seemed to have the upper hand after their captain Taufeeq Umar, who last played for Pakistan in 2006, played through the innings for a 78. No one else from the top seven provided him much support, but No. 8 Junaid Zia smashed four sixes and two fours to raise 47 from the final 14 deliveries.In the day’s second match, Rawalpindi Rams beat Karachi Zebras by 28 runs. The defeat knocked Karachi out of the tournament and left Rawalpindi facing a knock-out clash with Sialkot Stallions to determine who will progress from Group B.Rawalpindi were struggling at 30 for 3 when 36-year-old Naved Ashraf, in his 19th season of first-class cricket, provided them the momentum with a quick 45 which included four sixes and two fours. There were no other big contributions but a string of twenties pushed Rawalpindi to a challenging 172.Four boundaries from Khurram Manzoor in the first two overs gave Zebras’ chase a brisk start, but he fell to left-arm fast bowler Sohail Tanvir for 19. No. 3 Babar Rehman perished in the third over, and following a burst of hitting from Hasan Raza -now 28 years old but famous for being the youngest Test debutant – there was another slew of wickets which left them at a hopeless 73 for 5, a position from which there was no comeback.Lahore Lions eased to a 36-run win over Peshawar Panthers at the Gaddafi Stadium after their openers, Nasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shehzad, had propelled them to a challenging total. Asked to bat, the Lahore openers gave their team a solid foundation in a 113-run stand in just 11.2 overs. Jamshed smashed eight fours and two sixes in his 79 while Shehzad’s innings was laced with six fours and one six. That wasn’t all. Umar Akmal came in and played a typically aggressive knock, carting eight fours in his 52. Thanks to his onslaught, Lahore reached 206 and it proved adequate.Peshawar, in their reply, failed to emulate the start provided by the Lahore openers, with the first wicket falling on 16. The Lahore bowlers struck at regular intervals and while there were contributions that promised much, the highest, unfortunately for Peshawar, was 35 from Zohaib Khan at No.8. Wahab Riaz shone with the ball for Lahore, taking 3 for 15 as Peshawar folded for 170. Points Table

Group A

Teams Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net RR

Lahore Lions 22 0 0 0 4 +0.975Tigers 2 2 00 0 4 +0.963 Falcons 2 0 2 0 00 -0.335 P Panthers 20 2 0 0 0 -1.718

Group B

Teams Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net RR

S Stallions 11 0 0 0 2 +2.945R Rams 1 1 00 0 2 +1.400 Zebras 2 0 2 0 00 -2.252

Group C

Teams Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net RR

Wolves 1 1 0 0 02 +2.550 Quetta Bears 10 1 0 0 0 -2.550

Group D

Teams Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net RR

K Dolphins 11 0 0 0 2 +1.000Hawks 2 1 10 0 2 -0.350 L Eagles 1 0 1 0 00 -0.303 <!–

* Top three IPL teams will qualify for Champions League

–>

Newcastle United are reportedly ‘open’ to selling Allan Saint-Maximin in the summer.

The Lowdown: Contract disputes

As per 90min, the 25-year-old has been pushing for an extension to his contract at St James’ Park for much of the season, but Eddie Howe is ‘concerned’ about his wage demands.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/newcastle-news-4/” title=”Newcastle news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Frenchman earns a reported £93,000 per week already in the northeast, and the Tyneside outfit are currently ‘unsure’ over giving him a significant rise in his salary, bearing in mind that he still has four years left on his contract.

The Latest: Premier League interest in Saint-Maximin

Taking to Twitter, transfer insider Graeme Bailey has expanded on his article, claiming that the Magpies are now ‘open’ to selling Saint-Maximin this summer, with both Wolves and Everton ‘interested’ in his signature.

He tweeted: “Newcastle open to Allan Saint-Maximin summer exit with Wolves interested.

“The French wing wizard still has over four-years left on his current deal, but he wants a pay-rise…to get one he might have to leave.”

The Verdict: Keep him

Saint-Maximin is simply far too important to Newcastle to let him go now, especially to a rival club in the Premier League.

The 25-year-old has played in best-performing players in the top flight.

Aside from his five goals and three assists, Saint-Maximin has also received no fewer than six Man-of-the-Match (MotM) awards, far more than any of his teammates, and no Newcastle player averages more shots, dribbles or through balls per match than him (WhoScored).

Therefore, the St James’ Park board simply have to sort out his contract situation and get him hungry for next term.

In other news, find out who NUFC are now considering selling in a swap deal

Plays of the Day from the third day of the third Test between England and Pakistan at The Oval

Andrew Miller at The Oval20-Aug-2010

England’s slide started when Saeed Ajmal snuck one through Kevin Pietersen’s defences•Getty Images

Shy of the day
“All he needs is a bit of luck,” said Andrew Strauss on the eve of the Test, but given the frame of mind with which he began this pivotal day, Alastair Cook had probably ruled out any charitable donations to his cause, as he battled to emerge from the most chronic slump of his career. Having done most of the hard work, however, on 97 he received final confirmation that his fortunes had come full circle. A casual forward defensive rolled back up to the pitch to Mohammad Asif, who picked it up in a mild huff and flung a wild and wasteful shy straight back over the batsman’s head, and some three feet beyond the reach of the sprawling Kamran Akmal. It wasn’t the most conventional means of saving one’s immediate international career, but Cook was happy to accept all offerings.Let-offs of the day
Brilliantly though he battled – and the full value of his effort was plain to see in England’s dramatic post-tea slump – Cook did indeed get the rub of the green he needed to get his game brain back in full working order. Twice in two balls in the fifth over of the day, he poked outside off to Mohammad Asif and watched heart-in-mouth as the ball fizzed through the slips and away for consecutive fours. But the bigger moment came towards the end of the first hour. A beauty from Wahab Riaz exploded off the edge and headed at a catchable height towards the cordon. But first and second slip gestured limply to one another, and the moment was lost there and then. The three false shots had contributed 12 runs to his cause, and suddenly Cook’s innings was up and running on 27 not out – only two runs shy of his best innings of the summer.Breakthrough of the day
Having watched Cook end his wait for three figures, Kevin Pietersen evidently believed that his own time had come. He looked in prime form in the second hour after lunch as he punched along to 23 not out in a stand with Jonathan Trott that looked likely to define the match. But then, in the first over of the final session, he was stitched up a treat by the spin of Saeed Ajmal, to set in motion the most gripping mini-session of the day. The first five balls of the over were tossed up towards the pads, as Ajmal relied on his doosra to lull KP’s defences. The sixth, however, was a snorter – a ripping offbreak from round the wicket, that pitched on off stump, gripped the turf and leapt through a yawning gate into the top of off and middle. Pietersen looked bemused, as well he might. Spin had once again proved his downfall.Anchor of the day
The jury is out on Trott’s mindnumbing innings. While he was , his go-slow performance seemed brilliantly and belligerently perverse – precisely the sort of Tavaré-esque prod-fest that is sure to get right up the Australians’ wick in the Ashes later this year. So long as he stayed put, England’s slow march towards a defendable total seemed assured, and in the final over before the tea break, he poked Asif back down the wicket to register his century of dot-balls for the innings. But when play resumed, and moments after Pietersen’s departure, Trott undid all his good work by slapping Mohammad Amir straight to Azhar Ali in the gully. It was the type of catch that’s been going down for Pakistan all summer. But this time it stuck, and England were officially on the skids.Delivery of the day
After a hefty workload and concerns about his fitness following a bout of dehydration in the first innings, Amir was used sparingly by Pakistan today, with only two overs in the whole of the afternoon session. It meant that when he finally returned, for a sensational burst after tea, he was buzzing with energy and gagging to make up for lost time. Ever since his exploits against Australia at Headingley, he has been earning comparisons with Wasim Akram, and his delivery to deceive England’s form batsman, Matt Prior, was straight out of the great man’s repertoire. Round the wicket, searing pace, full length and late swing, and just grazing the edge as a flat-footed Prior prodded in vain.Deja vu of the day
From 194 for 3 after 61 overs at tea, England plummeted to 221 for 9 in 15 of the highest-octane overs imaginable, as Ajmal and Amir combined in a spin and swing onslaught to rival Mushtaq and Waqar at Lord’s 18 years ago. But then, with the ground pulsating and England clinging on for dear life, the umpires pulled the plug in light that was fading but far from unplayable. It was a monstrous anticlimax and incredibly frustrating for all but the home dressing room – and the Surrey officials who might have been sweating on refunds for an early finish tomorrow. But it was strangely apposite timing. Four years ago on this very day, Pakistan had refused to come out after tea in protest at Darrell Hair’s umpiring. Had they done so, on this evidence, they could have won the game within an hour.