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As Sri Lanka stretched their lead in Galle after another Australian surrender to spin bowling, stump microphones picked up a touring player using the words ‘f*** you guys are lucky’. How so?

Daniel Brettig in Galle05-Aug-2016F*** you guys are lucky.Lucky that when Joe Burns failed to make contact with Vishwa Fernando’s first ball in Test cricket, a wide long hop he could barely reach, the opener redoubled his effort with a hook shot straight to square leg second ball. Burns’ technique and mindset are drawn from a batting upbringing with Queensland at the Gabba, Australia’s fastest and truest pitch. He has so far looked lost in Sri Lanka, despite being given plenty of exposure to Asian conditions via an Australia A tour last year, a pre-tour visit to the same country this year, two weeks in Colombo before this series, and countless hours batting on spinning wickets prepared at the National Cricket Centre. If there was any doubt left about Burns’ addled state of mind, he confirmed it by pushing Herath weakly to cover in the final half hour.F*** you guys are lucky.Lucky that in the last over of day one, David Warner pushed hard at an off break and edged it to slip, ending his most promising innings of the tour. Warner is now into his 12th overseas Test match without a hundred, when the manner of his innings means he is arguably Australia’s most dangerous batsman. His angry howl upon being dismissed suggested that he had a fair idea of what was to come next, and also that he is increasingly resembling the team for which he is vice-captain – a hero at home, a humble traveler away.F*** you guys are lucky.Lucky that in the first three overs of the second morning, Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith, the captain, were both bowled playing for spin that wasn’t there. Smith had made mention of this multiple times between the Pallekele and Galle Tests, to the point of sounding almost Michael Clarkesque in his repetition of the fact that he would not look kindly upon batsmen getting beaten “on the inside of the bat”. Yet, Khawaja and Smith both did this in quick succession, ignoring the earlier suggestion that if the stumps are guarded, then the spinning ball will almost certainly do too much. Khawaja then compounded his earlier error by leaving a ball that hit off stump as stumps drew near. At Galle, this seemed the height of heedlessness, for the pitch has offered spin without spite. There have been plenty of far worse surfaces prepared here.F*** you guys are lucky.Lucky that Adam Voges, he of the pseudo-Bradman batting average of late, has contrived to get himself out three times in as many innings. On day two in Pallekele, he had the rare distinction of being dismissed by pace after making a start, and in the second, he bunted a half-volley back into the hands of Rangana Herath. This time, he again looked more secure than smoothers, before chipping another half-volley to cover. Voges looks technically well-equipped for these conditions and bowling, helped by a succession of slow surfaces in England earlier in the year. But his mental errors have resulted in cheap dismissals, and not making Sri Lanka’s bowlers work anywhere near as hard as those of West Indies, New Zealand or even England.With an average of 22.40 midway through his 14th Test, Nevill, who bats higher up for New South Wales, is not contributing the sort of runs his technique and level-headed demeanour suggest he should•AFPF*** you guys are lucky.Lucky that Peter Nevill, a better batsman than Test match watchers have so far seen, was late and crooked on another stumps-seeking first ball from Herath, again playing for turn rather than down the line of the ball. In the second innings at Pallekele, Nevill fought bravely in a lost cause, much as he did at Edgbaston last year against England. Most of the times he has batted in Tests, Nevill has quickly found himself short of specialist batting partners, and his busy, strike-rotating and odd-boundary style has not resulted in big partnerships with the tail. With an average of 22.40 midway through his 14th Test, Nevill, who bats higher up for New South Wales, is not contributing the sort of runs his technique and level-headed demeanour suggest he should.F*** you guys are lucky.Lucky that the presence of the DRS meant Mitchell Starc’s front pad plonked down the wicket could not deny Herath a hat-trick, on the way to Australia’s lowest-ever total against Sri Lanka. Three more wickets before close made it 11 for 77 for their day. Herath’s wiles have so far accounted for 14 wickets in three and a bit innings, and the Australians seem further away from working out his subtle variations than ever. More broadly, Sri Lankan spin is now responsible for 30 out of 33 Australian wickets for the series, at an ever diminishing cost. While the tourists have spoken of every player needing a plan for dealing with spin that they must stick to rigorously, there has been little evidence of anything beyond hopeful prods down the wicket or from the crease. Tellingly, no batsman has shown much interest in persisting with the sweep. Smith played Australia’s longest innings of the series in Pallekele, feeding himself on a diet of leg-side deflections and refusing to attack much down the ground or through the off side. This is as close the Australians have got to the Asian method, something for the team performance manager to keep in mind when he chooses the team’s next full-time batting coach.F*** you guys are lucky.Lucky that Kusal Perera getting foxed by a couple of Lyon off breaks, followed by a flatter delivery that skidded through to hit the stumps, was virtually the first time all series that a Sri Lankan batsman has fallen this way. By comparison, as many as 14 Australian dismissals have arisen from balls beating the batsmen on the inside as they have failed to cover the stumps adequately or have a second line of defence when coming down the pitch. This discrepancy, more than any other, explains the fact that on this tour, Australia’s spin bowlers have claimed fewer than half the wickets taken by their counterparts, at far greater cost. The use of sweep shots, solid forward defences and calculated dashes down the wicket by Sri Lanka’s batsmen have played their part too.Without meaningful progress, Australia’s current stay at No. 1 will be brief•AFPF*** you guys are lucky.Lucky that the maturing Mitchell Starc has been given precious few runs to defend, just as he appears to be growing into a dominant Test match bowler. Starc has been little short of brilliant in this match, fully deserving match figures of 11 for 94 after a rhythm-finding effort at Pallekele. His set of skills has grown, his pace is undiminished, and vitally, he is pain-free after recovering from a round of ankle and foot surgery. But no fast bowler, no matter how destructive, can be expected to fire his team to victory when he has only been given 33.2 overs to rest his feet between innings. Sadly for Starc, what has, by far, been his best performance in Test cricket is looking like an increasingly fruitless one.F*** you guys are lucky.Lucky to know that Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann, who has just signed a contract extension to take him through to the end of the 2019 Ashes in England, does not think that the team’s increasingly ugly record in Asia will define his tenure. “I think you’re judged on results most of the time all around the world, not just on the subcontinent. I think you’ve got to play well and win a lot of games of cricket, basically, as a coach,” he said this week. Lehmann has done a lot of good for Australian cricket so far, but a live streak of nine Tests in Asia without a single victory, and seven defeats in a row, cannot be ignored forever. The last victory came in 2011, at Galle, of all places, under the guidance of Lehmann’s former team-mate Tim Nielsen. At the time, he had already been asked to reapply for his job due to the Argus review. At the time, the team was ranked fifth in the world. Without meaningful progress, their current stay at No. 1 will be brief.F*** you guys are lucky.Lucky to be playing Australia.

Just how did Sri Lanka manage to lose? They ticked nearly every box required for victory, and put up all the right numbers

Andy Zaltzman at the SCG18-Mar-2015Modern international teams are resourced with support staff in a way that their predecessors could only have dreamed of. Or had nightmares about, depending on the way they liked to prepare for and play their cricket. South Africa’s backroom includes, one assumes, a fortune teller. Not to have one would seem counter-intuitive in a sporting world where nothing can be left to chance.If South Africa’s in-house soothsayer had informed them that today’s SCG quarter-final would be a close-to-perfect replica of the 2011 quarter-final in Dhaka, the players would have stuck their fingers in their ears, sung a medley of their favourite songs as loudly as possible, and whimpered a nervous prayer to any available deity. That soothsayer, however, would have been proved right – almost eerily right.Fortunately for South Africa, there were two quarter-finals in Dhaka four years ago. South Africa’s notorious rapid-onset meltdown against New Zealand was one, but the other, between Pakistan and West Indies, took an almost identical path to today’s Sydney showdown.That day, West Indies won the toss, chose to bat, lost early wickets, (including being 16 for 2 in the sixth over) and rebuilt slightly before subsiding catastrophically in the middle order and setting a trifling target which their opponents chased with ease. As sporting imitations go, today’s game was uncanny. South Africa were superb, but for the neutral, it was a similar anticlimax to West Indies’ supine subsidence in 2011.Before the tournament, Sri Lanka’s lower middle order looked to be a potentially fatal flaw, the statistics suggesting it was the weakest of the major contenders. As it was, the damage on Wednesday was largely done by the failings of the top six, in particular the careless terminal strokes of Mahela Jayawardene and Angelo Mathews. However, the rapid disintegration that followed confirmed the suspicion that if Sri Lanka ever found themselves in a position where they needed significant runs from their number 7 to 11 in a crucial match, they would be effectively checking in to the next available flight home.You might be tempted, after a walloping such as this, to ask whether there was anything Sri Lanka did right. The answer is: yes. There was plenty. Every team has keys to success, statistical goals which are all, incontrovertibly, key to achieving success. I do not know what the officially sanctioned keys to success were for this game, but Sri Lanka might consider that they succeeded in achieving the following keys so successfully that the keys opened the wrong door.Kumar Sangakkara – Cricketing giant, statistical phenomenon, creator of dreams, and most humble man in the history of the universe•AFP1. Keep South African pacers down to a maximum of three wickets: ACHIEVEDSouth Africa have lost 74% of the ODIs in which their pace attack has taken fewer than four wickets. At 4 for 2, with Abbott and Steyn probing relentlessly and Morkel still to come, Sri Lanka must have feared the worst. But they lost only one more wicket to pace, thus decisively creating the opportunity to use their finely-honed subcontinental skills to make hay against the historically less threatening South African spinners.2. Numbers 3 and 4 to both score at least 40: ACHIEVEDThe noble science of Cricketostatistics shows that teams whose numbers 3 and 4 both reach 40, win 78% of ODIs, and 74% of World Cup matches. Lahiru Thirimanne flayed some glorious off-side boundaries in his 41, and Sangakkara painstakingly accumulated his way to 45. Regardless of the clatter of wickets at the other end, victory had been 78% and/or 74% assured – even more so when their South African counterparts failed even to come close to the hallowed 40-run threshold. Faf du Plessis managed only 21, whilst Rilee Rossouw failed even to get off the mark.3. Stop South Africa hitting sixes: ACHIEVEDSouth Africa hit no sixes against India, and lost. They hit six against Pakistan, and lost. They hit seven, 11, 12 and 14 sixes in their other four games, all of which they won. Sri Lanka needed to follow their Asian predecessors and keep South Africa below seven maximums. As it was, they entirely prevented South Africa from clearing the ropes. Not one single South African six. Against a batting line-up containing the likes of Rossouw, AB de Villiers and Miller, that was a notable performance.4. Keep de Villiers down to less than 50 runs: ACHIEVEDArguably too well.5. The recalled Nuwan Kulasekara not to concede too many runs: ACHIEVEDThe medium-pacer had been in horrible form for months until his 3 for 20 against Scotland, but the stats showed that Sri Lanka had won 75% of the matches in which Kulasekara had conceded no more than 25 runs. South Africa could only muster 13 runs off the fading swingster. That they did so in the one over he bowled was surely immaterial – another three-quarters of a win was in the bag.6. Make South Africa think about their previous failings: ACHIEVEDSouth Africa had lost 100% of the World Cup knock-out games in which they had bowled first and had the opposition 16 for 2 after six overs. Admittedly, this is from a statistical sample of one. In 2011, South Africa began their quarter-final by reducing New Zealand to 16 for 2 in the first six overs. So, when Sri Lanka were 8 for 2 after 5.3 today, Thirimanne knew exactly what was needed. He laced Abbott for two sumptuous fours, then blocked the sixth ball. 16 for 2 after six. Bang on target. Book the flights to Auckland, this goose was in the oven.Thanks be to the stats.Also, a contender for the title of Most Modest Press Conference Response of the World Cup.Kumar Sangakkara, a cricketing giant, a statistical phenomenon of increasingly staggering proportions, a creator and fulfiller of sporting dreams for his nation, a player whose craft, art and steel have brought delight to cricket fans of every allegiance over the past decade and a half, and now a former one-day international cricketer, asked how he would like to be remembered. His reply: “If anyone can say they’ve enjoyed playing against me and playing with me, I’ll be more than happy.”

England have won six of their last seven Tests at this ground, while Panesar has 25 wickets from three Tests

S Rajesh31-Jul-2013The last time England lost a Test at Old Trafford was in 2001, against Pakistan; since then, they’ve won six out of seven, and were only a wicket away from winning the one that got away. Australia haven’t lost here since 1981, winning three out of five since then, but they were lucky to get away in 2005, when they were nine down for 371 chasing 423 for victory. Australia have no recent memory of Test defeat at this ground, but given the gulf between the two teams in this series, it’ll require plenty of work from them to keep it that way after the next five days.For England, Old Trafford is, results-wise, their best home venue over the last decade and more: among venues where they’ve played five or more Tests since 2001, their win-loss ratio of 6 at Old Trafford is the highest. They’ve been utterly dominant here during this period, averaging more than 40 with the bat and less than 28 with the ball. They’ve scored 13 hundreds and conceded only six to opposition batsmen, and their bowlers have a strike rate of 50 balls per wicket, compared to 74.2 for the opposition bowlers.Australia will need to draw inspiration from Ricky Ponting’s heroic 156 in the fourth innings in 2005, the fifth-highest score by an Australian batsman in the fourth innings of a Test. Despite that effort, Australia almost lost the match, which further illustrates the level at which England have been playing at this ground.

England at each home venue in Tests since 2001

VenueTestsWon/ LostW/L ratioBat aveBowl aveOld Trafford86/ 16.0040.3927.85Lord’s2614/ 43.5043.1030.72Edgbaston116/ 23.0038.1532.31Trent Bridge128/ 32.6732.4227.27The Oval126/ 32.0040.3140.40Headingley105/ 41.2536.1135.15In the days before the Test, much of the talk has been around the nature of the pitch, which is expected to offer more help to spinners. England have already suitably tweaked their squad to prepare for such an eventuality, bringing in Monty Panesar as the spinner to support Graeme Swann, while there’s even been talk of Australia playing both Nathan Lyon and Ashton Agar.The table below shows the performance of pace and spin here in the last eight Tests, and there’s little to choose between the two. Fast bowlers have taken more wickets, but there’s negligible difference in the averages. During this period, though, spinners have averaged better at two other England venues – Trent Bridge (81 wickets at 31.41) and Edgbaston (89 wickets at 31.59). England’s spinners, though, have a better record here than the fast bowlers, averaging less than 25 runs per wicket.

Pace and spin in Old Trafford in the last 8 Tests here

WicketsAverageStrike rate5WI/ 10WMPace18632.1356.97/ 1Spin7333.7568.16/ 1The reason why the spin stats for England are so good here is because of Panesar: in three Tests at Old Trafford, Panesar has taken 25 wickets at 16.72, and a strike rate of 34 balls per wicket. In each of those three Tests, he has taken five-fors in the second innings – 5 for 72 against Pakistan in 2006, 6 for 137 against West Indies the following year, and 6 for 37 against New Zealand in 2008, which was also the last time he bowled in a Test at Old Trafford. Overall, Panesar’s haul of 25 Test wickets is the third-highest by any bowler at this ground: only Alec Bedser (51 in seven Tests) and Jim Laker (27 in five, including the famous 10 for 53 and match haul of 19 for 90 in 1956).James Anderson has only ten wickets from three Tests, though at a pretty good average, while Swann took six in the only Test he has played here, against Bangladesh in 2010.

England bowlers at Old Trafford

BowlerTestsWicketsAverageStrike rate5WI/10WMMonty Panesar32516.7234.13/ 1James Anderson31027.103.920/ 0Graeme Swann1618.3329.31/ 0Stuart Broad10–0/ 0Among the current England batsmen, Ian Bell leads the way with two hundreds and three fifties in eight Test innings, and an average of 81. Alastair Cook has enjoyed success here too, with centuries in each of his first two Tests at Old Trafford, but Kevin Pietersen has an aggregate of 268 in eight innings, with a highest of 68 despite going past 20 six times.Among the current Australian lot, Michael Clarke is the only one to have played a Test here – he scored 7 and 39 in his two innings in 2005.

England’s batsmen in Tests at Old Trafford (more than one Test)

BatsmanTestsRunsAverage100s/ 50sIan Bell548681.002/ 3Alastair Cook436961.502/ 1Kevin Pietersen526833.500/ 2Matt Prior213344.330/ 1The captain winning the toss here has chosen to bat in the last 14 Tests. The last time a team fielded first was England in the 1993 Ashes, and it didn’t work out well for them: though they dismissed Australia for 289 in the first innings, they lost the Test by 179 runs. However, batting first hasn’t always worked in the last 14 Tests either – the teams winning the toss have a 5-4 win-loss during this period.For a venue which is regarded as one of the better ones for spin bowling in England, the fourth-innings scores at Old Trafford have been remarkably high – the average runs per wicket in the fourth innings in the last eight Tests is 44.47, the highest among all innings. In the last four fourth innings, England scored 231 for 3 to beat West Indies, Australia finished at 371 for 9 to draw in 2005, West Indies scored 394 when chasing a target of 455, and England scored 294 for 4 to beat New Zealand.With the pitch likely to be drier this time, though, fouth-innings batting could be a lot more difficult in the third Ashes Test.

Ave runs per wkt in each innings at Old Trafford since 2001

1st inngs2nd inngs3rd inngs4th inngs39.0130.1224.6444.47

Faulty technique and a lack of concentration from batsmen on both sides mean low scores have proliferated in this series – but the cricket has been more watchable as a result

George Dobell in Dubai03-Feb-2012In years to come, when people look at the scores from this absorbing series in the UAE, they may well conclude that it was contested on pitches offering the bowlers copious assistance. After all, no one has yet made a century (Alastair Cook’s 94 in Abu Dhabi remains the highest individual score) and no team has registered a total of 350 (Pakistan’s 338 in Abu Dhabi is the highest to date). Furthermore, England and Pakistan have both been dismissed for under 100. Only two men in England’s top six have even made a half-century and 16 wickets on the first day of this Test tells its own story.The answer is not so simple. Indeed, Mohsin Khan, the 56-year-old Pakistan coach who played 48 Tests, referred to the day as the most “crazy” he has seen, because there was so little in the conditions to justify a tally of just 203 runs against 16 wickets.While this pitch, like all the others in this series, has offered a little encouragement to seamers and spinners, and the slow outfield has made run-scoring difficult, there has been nothing untoward in any of these surfaces. The players on both sides have described the pitches as “good cricket wickets”, providing just enough assistance to the bowlers to maintain the balance between bat and ball.So, why the low scores once again?Firstly, let’s give credit to the bowlers. England’s opening pair of Stuart Broad and James Anderson bowled beautifully here, maintaining a perfect length and a probing line. They gained just enough movement to trouble the batsmen and were well supported by England’s two spinners.Pakistan, too, have a well-balanced attack. Umar Gul, generating decent pace, made the early breakthroughs before the Pakistan spin pairing of Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman once again demonstrated their excellent control and skill levels.So the bowlers of both sides bowled well. And the pitch provided the seamers, at least, with a little assistance. But 16 wickets in a day? Even the bowlers would admit they did not perform that well. As James Anderson said: “There was a little bit of swing, but not a huge amount of movement. Looking at the pitch before play, I wouldn’t have said it was a 16-wickets-in-a-day pitch.”The batsmen were certainly partially culpable. Confronted with a little swing or some gentle turn, the batsmen of both sides failed to cope. Mohsin, while acknowledging the good bowling, used the words “unnecessary”, “irresponsible” and “bad” to describe some of the shots he witnessed. Misbah-ul-Haq, for example, missed a straight one, while Younis Khan fenced at one he could have left. Then, when England batted, both Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan simply missed straight balls – the former when he brought his bat down as if he were drawing curtains and the latter when he attempted to turn across the line and missed. These are basic technical errors.

The learning experience of modern batsmen has been homogenised, leaving them unable to adapt when they find themselves in foreign conditions

Geoff Boycott, speaking to ESPNcricinfo this week, reasoned that the techniques of modern batsmen were not able to cope with adverse conditions. While batsmen of his generation were brought up on uncovered pitches, causing huge variety in batting conditions, today’s learn to play on well-covered, well-rolled surfaces. As a consequence, Boycott believes, they do not build a technique that can withstand the moving ball. Their learning experience has been homogenised, leaving them unable to adapt when they find themselves in foreign conditions.There may be something in that. Taking an extreme example, we saw how, in 2010 and 2011, the teams touring the UK struggled to deal with the movement generated by England’s seamers. Similarly England’s batsmen, for all their success at home, look deeply uncomfortable in Asian conditions. Forget the idea of flat-track bullies; home-track bullies would be more apt.Perhaps the influence of Twenty20 cricket is also relevant. We see fewer draws in Tests these days, despite the fact that, decades ago, over-rates meant there was more cricket packed into each day. There is a theory among some former players that modern batsmen do not so much suffer for a lack of technique, but a lack of concentration.The increasing influence of the Decision Review System is certainly a key development. The advent of DRS has encouraged umpires to be far less cautious in giving batsmen out and, with just one day of the third Test played, the series has already surpassed the record for the most lbw dismissals in a three-match series.That has, undoubtedly, made life harder for batsmen. While there was a time they could hope to lunge forward and exploit the umpire’s uncertainty over the distance the ball might have to travel, now there is no hiding place. In times past, Pietersen might well have escaped in this Test, with the umpire concluding that the ball was passing down the leg side. Asad Shafiq, too, would probably have escaped with the umpire unsure whether the ball hit his glove or pad first. Batsmen used to enjoy the benefit of the doubt; now there is little.That is not to say the DRS is a negative development. As Mohsin said: “I am very happy with this system. One bad decision can change a whole scenario, so I am totally in favour of it. At times, I feel things have got much easier for the batsmen. We don’t see the same bowling attacks that I faced in my day.”There was a time, not so long ago, when Tests were drenched in runs and bore draws occurred frequently. Thankfully such days are largely gone and, while life might be tougher for batsmen, it is a great deal more pleasurable for spectators.

Brydon Coverdale at the Wanderers26-Feb-2009
Marcus North was a beacon for Australia in what had threatened to be a gloomy batting card © Getty Images
Rain and runs both came from the north on the first day at theWanderers. As the northern sky lit up with lightning so frequent andbright that it made the tense atmosphere literally electric during theafternoon, Marcus North was a beacon for Australia in what had threatened to be a gloomy batting card. North was one of three men handed his baggy green before play and his cool and calm 47 not out showed his selection was not a gamble.North has been one of the more anonymous compilers of runs inAustralia’s domestic cricket over the past few seasons. MostAustralian fans couldn’t pick him out of a line-up and they would assume he was one of the support staff if they saw him in a team photo . When he bowled his first ball in the warm-up match in Potchefstroom last week, he was introduced over the PA system as Phillip Hughes.And yet there was widespread support for his selection in this touring party. Even those who hadn’t seen much of North knew him by reputation. At 29, he had a decade of solid first-class cricket behind him, including an average of 44, and he was the type of choice that tempered the more uncertain selections of the 20-year-old Hughes and the developing allrounder Andrew McDonald.Specifically North was picked because this season he has made most of his runs on spicy pitches that favoured the fast bowlers. These are the sort of venues Australia were anticipating in South Africa and the opening day in Johannesburg justified those expectations. Deliveries were bending past bats and jumping nastily as the world’s best pace attack enjoyed the first use of the ball.The fifth delivery that North faced was a steepling, accurate bouncer from Dale Steyn that was reminiscent of the 13th ball that McDonald received during his debut at the SCG. Whereas McDonald took his eyes off the short one from Morne Morkel and saw his helmet go flying over the top of the stumps, North watched closely and played his bouncer down into the turf from just in front of his nose.Australia won the Sydney Test but McDonald at No. 6 looked too high and North has proven to be a much sturdier option. Whereas his fellow debutant Hughes tried to get off the mark with a silly slash to a short ball that was edged behind, North waited until he could clip a single safely off his pads. He is not easily fazed. A level-headed state captain at Western Australia, North knows how to assess a situation.Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke had made strong contributions of 83 and 68 but both men fell when they failed to respect the swing. Clarke flashed impetuously outside off to a Steyn outswinger and threw his wicket away just before tea, while Ponting was bowled when he comprehensively misjudged a Makhaya Ntini inswinger that curved like a particularly bendy banana.North learnt from both of those mistakes. Two days ago the touring selector David Boon spoke of how important it was in these swinging conditions for batsmen to use their feet, know where their stumps were and shoulder arms when appropriate. North regularly walked across and covered his wicket to leave but never did he look like losing off stump.”He looks really comfortable,” Clarke said after play. “As much as the team or other people try and let you know that you are a fantastic player and that’s obviously why you’ve made it here … you still need to get that feeling out in the middle as well. Once you get a few runs under your belt I guess that confidence seems to ooze. He’s a very confident sort of guy, he’s a very disciplined fella and it’s working for him out there.”North happily prodded singles through the off side and down the ground and guided behind square comfortably. He wasn’t as fluent as Ponting, who until his lapse pulled and drove magnificently and looked set for a century, nor as flashy as Clarke. But having come to the crease at 151 for 4 in challenging conditions, North’s first day of Test cricketprovided encouraging signs.

Bayern Munich have reportedly withdrawn their interest from Stuttgart sensation Nick Woltemade after seeing their first two bids rejected.

• Bayern step away from Woltemade transfer
• Bavarians fail to land another top target
• Stuttgart remain firm on their asking price

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Bayern are experiencing a difficult summer when it comes to their transfer market activity, with yet another top transfer target seeming to have slipped out of their grasp. After failing to sign the likes of Nico Williams, Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola, reports that Bavarians have now withdrawn their interest from Stuttgart's Woltemade.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The report reveals that Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen and sporting director Max Eberl have "suspended negotiations for the time being", which indicates that while they might have indefinitely stopped the pursuit of Woltemade, they could return for his signature later in the window. Stuttgart have come out as pretty tough negotiators during talks between the two clubs, having sent a fiery email demanding Bayern to stop all communication with the 23-year-old striker. Die Schwaben have already rejected two bids, with the second bid worth €55 million (£47m/$64m) including bonuses.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  further claims that Stuttgart are prepared to turn down a potential third bid worth €60m (£52m/$70m), remaining firm on their stance to entertain offers of at least €65m (£56m/$76m). Chairman Alexander Wehrle recently saidthat he is confident of Woltemade staying at the MHP Arena next season.

  "Nick Woltemade will play football for us next year," he said. "And if something extraordinary should happen, we're professional enough to discuss things at the table. But as I said: I assume he'll play football for us next year."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR WOLTEMADE & BAYERN?

  Woltemade is expected to attend Stuttgart's pre-season training camp between July 28 to August 2, while Bayern will hope that they can catch a break by successfully capturing Luis Diaz from Liverpool, with an eye on Lyon sensation Malick Fofana.

MatériaMais Notícias

A briga generalizada ocorrida no Beira-Rio no último domingo, após o Caxias vencer o Internacional nos pênaltis e avançar para a final do Campeonato Gaúcho, promete dar o que falar nos próximos dias. Em meio à confusão entre os jogadores das duas equipes, um torcedor do Inter, que estava com uma criança no colo, invadiu o gramado e acertou um atleta do Caxias.

+Mauro Beting detona torcedor do Internacional e cenas de violência

O juiz Marco Aurélio Martins Xavier, titular do Juizado do Torcedor, informou que o homem que estava com a criança conseguiu ir embora do estádio sem ter sido preso em flagrante pelo seu ato.

– Nós estivemos em contato com o departamento de segurança do Internacional e me parece que ele não foi apresentado ali porque não chegou a ser contido no momento da ocorrência. Segundo informações que nós obtivemos, a preocupação inicial do clube foi a de apaziguar o tumulto generalizado que tinha se precipitado no interior do gramado e, neste momento, o torcedor sumiu na multidão. E não pode ser apresentado — afirmou o juiz, em conversa com a “Rádio Gaúcha”.

RelacionadasFora de CampoCantora Shakira e mãe de Piqué teriam trocado agressões físicas, diz imprensa espanholaFora de Campo27/03/2023Seleção BrasileiraDepois de interesse do Brasil, Ancelotti afirma que quer seguir no Real Madrid até 2024, diz jornalSeleção Brasileira27/03/2023Seleção BrasileiraJornal português afirma que Júlio César foi enviado pela CBF para negociar com Jorge Jesus; goleiro desmente a informaçãoSeleção Brasileira27/03/2023

Em outro ponto da entrevista, Marco Aurélio afirmou que o agressor tem grandes chances de responder sobre outros crimes por ter entrado com uma criança no gramado e tê-la colocado em situação de perigo.

– Não só a invasão, mas também o crime cometido pelo pai em relação ao filho, ou a filha, parece que é uma menina, pela submissão àquela situação de risco, o que evidentemente torna sua conduta bastante mais grave do que a dos demais, que simplesmente invadiram o gramado. Parece que também há algumas agressões que ele teria desferido contra torcedores e atletas. Tudo isso depende de uma apuração criminal, que deve ser meticulosa, para apurar as responsabilidades e tomar medidas cabíveis.

Santos star Neymar has been criticised for showing a "lack of maturity" after speaking out about a potential return to the Brazil national team.

Neymar criticised for latest commentsSpoke out about possible Brazil returnTold to be more mature in futureFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Neymar scored twice for Santos last time out against Juventude, with his performance coming in front of Brazil national team staff members who were at the stadium to check on the forward. The Brazilian superstar spoke about his international hopes after the match and his attempts to force his way back into the reckoning, bluntly saying he "does not need to prove anything to anyone".

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Neymar has not played for Brazil since suffering an ACL injury in 2023 and new boss Ancelotti has challenged him to prove he can be an "important player" for his country once again. The Santos star is said to be determined to play at the 2026 World Cup but has been told his comments directed at Ancelotti lack maturity and that he needs to be more considerate in future.

WHAT HAS BEEN SAID

Former Brazil midfielder Zé Elias said on : "Neymar doesn't have the maturity to understand certain things. That answer is the response of a guy everyone fawns over, pats him on the back, and he's used to that kind of situation. That was the question he was asking to promote himself, to say, 'I'm fine, I'm feeling good, I've played five games without leaving, I'm playing 90 minutes, I'm getting better every day.' But he doesn't have the maturity to understand that kind of question, because he thinks everyone is doubting him, everyone is questioning him, that whole me versus you thing, and there's nothing like that.

"The people working there are doing their job, and many of them are rooting for Neymar to return to playing good football, to understand that he's important. It feels like a world in a bubble. Neymar is 33 years old. It's time to understand his importance to the outside world, not just to himself, because sometimes he only talks to himself. He could be a key player for the Brazilian national team, but he might not be the same as before.

"Neymar, for me, is the last great genius on the shelf of Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Ronaldo Fenômeno, because his ability to improvise is otherworldly. He thinks of a play, executes another in a fraction of a second, but that maturity is lacking in these moments."

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WHAT NEXT FOR NEYMAR?

Neymar and Santos are due back in action on Sunday against Cruzeiro. Brazil's next fixtures are in September when Ancelotti's side take on Chile and Bolivia in World Cup qualifying.

Manchester United are reportedly willing to take a huge loss on Rasmus Hojlund, with a low asking price being set for the misfiring striker.

• Dane moved to Old Trafford in 2023
• Red Devils in the market for more firepower
• Looking to raise funds from sales

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Denmark international moved to Old Trafford from Atalanta in 2023 as part of a transfer package that was worth up to £72 million ($96m) – with a base fee of £64m ($85m) included in that deal. He is just two years into a five-year contract with the Red Devils.

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  It is already being suggested that Hojlund could be moved on. That is because he has registered 26 goals through 95 appearances for United, with only four Premier League goals being recorded in the 2024-25 campaign.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  United have already spent big on Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo this summer, with RB Leipzig frontman Benjamin Sesko said to be in their sights after missing out on the likes of Liam Delap, Viktor Gyokeres, Hugo Ekitike and Victor Osimhen.

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  Funds need to be generated in order to make further additions, with the reporting that Hojlund is among those up for sale. He has been linked with teams in Italy and is said to have seen his price tag dropped to just £30m ($40m).

MatériaMais Notícias

Na tarde desta segunda-feira, o goleiro Weverton, do Palmeiras, apareceu na lista final de 26 jogadores que irão para a Copa do Mundo do Qatar. Chamado para defender a Seleção Brasileira pelo técnico Tite, o camisa 21 agradeceu a oportunidade ao lado de amigos e familiares em sua casa.

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> Saiba o time que revelou cada jogador convocado pelo Brasil para a Copa do Mundo de 2022

– Agradeço a Deus pela oportunidade de disputar uma Copa do Mundo. Minha esposa também tem um papel muito importante nisso tudo e nessa festa hoje. Quero agradecer ao Palmeiras por todas as oportunidades e portas abertas para mim. Representar esse clube na Seleção é uma grande honra. Farei o meu melhor para representar bem o país e os palmeirenses – comemorou.

Em vídeo divulgado pela TV Palmeiras, é possível ver que o atleta também tira um tempo para fazer agradecimentos especiais ao preparador de goleiros do clube, Rogério Godoy, via chamada de vídeo.

> Clique e confira a tabela completa da Copa do Mundo do Qatar!

– Ah, chorão (risos)! Você é o cara! Muito obrigado! Você é o cara! Vamos! Estamos juntos! Não chora, né? Não vai ficar chorando aí (risos)! Obrigado, Rogério! Deus abençoe e obrigado por tudo! – disse o jogador.

Recém-campeão brasileiro pelo Verdão e agora convocado para a Copa, Weverton fez questão de relembrar as origens e também citou a tradição do clube nas últimas conquistas da Seleção Brasileira, falando especialmente sobre outro ídolo e companheiro de posição.

– Olho para trás e vejo aquele menino que veio do Acre com o sonho de ser jogador, que depois virou goleiro por acaso e que hoje está vivendo tudo isso. Não posso dizer outra coisa a não ser obrigado. O Palmeiras tem muita tradição na Seleção Brasileira. O último atleta nosso a representar o país na Copa foi Marcos, né? E ele foi campeão… Espero que eu consiga fazer isso também – concluiu.

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