He was serving in the role on a temporary basis for over three months and was officially handed over the responsibilities on Monday
ESPNcricinfo staff22-Feb-2022Former middle-order batter Noor-ul-Haq has been named chief selector of the senior national team by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB). He was serving in the role on a temporary basis for over three months and was officially handed over the responsibilities on Monday, an ACB statement said.Related
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“Malikzai has had quite an impressive tenure as the acting chief selector and has shown great spirit during the selection of the teams for the U19 Asia Cup & World Cup as well as for our recent squad selections for the Netherlands and Bangladesh series,” ACB CEO Naseeb Khan said in a statement. “I would like to congratulate him and wish him all the very best for the future.”The most recent squads Afghanistan’s selection panel picked was for the T20Is and ODIs in Bangladesh. They left out some big names like Mohammad Shahzad, Gulbadin Naib, Hamid Hassan and Hashmatullah Shahidi for the T20Is. For the ODIs, they left out Sharafuddin Ashraf and Usman Ghani, who were part of the squad for the series against Netherlands in January.Noor said he would be keeping an eye on both the short-term and long-term needs of the team.”We have a busy 2022 year ahead and as a team, we will be working on to not only address our short-term needs but also achieve our long-term goals,” he said. “We have enormous talent in the country and it is important that they are provided with proper opportunities.”Noor played two ODIs for Afghanistan in 2010, one against Scotland and another against Kenya, but scored only 12 runs overall. He also featured in two editions of the Under-19 World Cup, in 2010 and 2012. Through his career, Noor played 18 first-class matches, 13 List A games and eight T20s.The ACB had also named Stuart Law as their interim head coach for the Bangladesh tour. The board has started the recruitment process for hiring a new permanent head coach.
Perhaps more than any other team in the traditional ‘big six’, Tottenham Hotspur seem to have had the most mixed fortune in the transfer market over the last decade or so.
For example, for every incredible player they’ve signed, like Christian Eriksen and Heung-min Son, they have signed several unmitigated flops, like Tanguy Ndombele, Vincent Jansen and Ryan Sessegnon.
However, the North Londoners have also welcomed in a number of stars who don’t quite fit into either camp, including one signed by André Villas-Boas, who was at one point compared to the iconic Paul Gascoigne, only to leave for free years later.
Gascoigne's Spurs career
After growing to prominence with Newcastle United in the mid-1980s, Gascoigne secured a £2.2m move to Spurs in the summer of 1988, which was both a British record fee and a shock for Sir Alex Ferguson, who thought the talented Englishman would be coming to Manchester United.
In his debut season for the Lilywhites, the Gateshead-born star made 36 appearances across all competitions, in which he scored seven goals, provided one assist and entertained fans up and down the country with his mercurial ability before scoring another seven goals and producing one more assist in his second season in North London.
However, it was in his third and final campaign with the club that the former Newcastle ace cemented himself in Spurs history, as despite going off injured in the 16th minute in the final, he played in every round up to that point and racked up six goals in the process, including an iconic free-kick against fierce rivals Arsenal in the semi-finals.
The 57-capped international was then sold to Serie A side Lazio for around £5.5m that summer, with a final tally of 33 goals and six assists in 111 appearances for the club. While Gascoigne wasn’t a Spurs player for long, he remains a legendary figure among the fans, so eyebrows were raised when someone was compared to him in 2018.
Erik Lamela's Spurs career
Yes, the former Spurs player who was once compared to Gascoigne was Erik Lamela, and before the pitchforks come out, we weren’t the ones that made it. That honour belongs to another former Spurs great, Glenn Hoddle.
Erik Lamela
Surprisingly, the former England manager made the comparison quite late into the Argentine’s stint in North London, as he argued that the way he held off defenders in 2018 was similar to Gascoigne’s sometimes combative nature.
However, that is where the comparison ends, as while the former Roma star showed real moments of quality during his time in North London, like that Puskas winning goal against Arsenal, he was far too injury-prone and inconsistent to go down as a great.
That said, despite costing around £25m in 2013, he probably did just about enough during his eight years at the club to not go down as a flop either.
In those eight seasons, before he joined Sevilla for free in a deal that saw Bryan Gil go the other way, the Carapachay-born ace scored 37 goals and provided 44 assists in 257 appearances, which equates to a rather middling average of a goal involvement every 3.17 games.
Lamela’s senior career
Club
Appearances
Goals
Assists
Goal Involvements per Match
Tottenham
257
37
44
0.31
Sevilla
92
16
7
0.25
AS Roma
67
21
14
0.52
River Plate
36
4
6
0.27
AEK Athens
8
0
1
0.12
All Stats via Transfermarkt
Ultimately, while he cost a lot of money for the time and didn’t quite live up to expectations, it would be rather unfair to label Lamela as a complete flop, but one thing we can be sure of is that the comparison to Gascoigne was way off the mark.
Move over Sarr & Werner: Spurs star put in a monstrous 9/10 display vs City
The incredible international was instrumental for Spurs.
Crystal Palace have a major adantage in the race to sign a new forward in January, it has emerged, as the Eagles look to bolster the ranks of Oliver Glasner after a wretched start to the Premier League season.
Crystal Palace ready to back Oliver Glasner
After winning six of the final seven Premier League games in the 2023/24 campaign, big things were expected of Oliver Glasner and Crystal Palace this season. However, their season is yet to really get up and running, with the Eagles having just a single win to their name (Against Tottenham) and currently sitting in the relegation zone, a point behind newly promoted Ipswich Town and safety.
A major part of their problem has been finding the back of the net; they have scored just eight times in 11 games despite the arrivals of big-money signing Eddie Nketiah and former Watford attacker Ismaila Sarr, neither of whom have got off the mark for their new club in the Premier League so far.
In fact, the only summer signing to find the back of the net in Crystal Palace colours so far this season is centre-back Trevoh Chalobah, and only three other players across the whole squad have registered a goal this season.
Crystal Palace’s top goalscorers 24/25
Jean Philippe-Mateta
3
Marc Guehi
2
Trevoh Chalobah
1
Eberechi Eze
1
Own Goal
1
It is clear that more quality is needed in the final third in the wake of Michael Olise’s departure from south London over the summer, and now Palace may well be in pole position to deliver just that for Glasner.
Palace have advantage in attacker race
That comes with Crystal Palace one of several sides in the Premier League wanting to sign Botafogo talent Luiz Henrique, according to a report from CaughtOffside. The Brazilian, who operates largely on the right-hand side of attack, has impressed South American football fans this year and his form was rewarded with a Brazil debut in September, a spot he has kept since and gone on to make four appearances for his country.
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Henrique, who has 16 goals and assists combined this year, is thought to be keen to move to the Premier League, and Palace are one of three Premier League sides who “have had scouts at the recent Botafogo matches against Cuiaba-MT and Vasco da Gama”, where Henrique managed to get himself on the scoresheet.
With the Brazilian season coming to an end ahead of the January transfer window, a midseason move could be a strong possibility, though Botafogo are reportedly holding out for £25m to let their talented forward leave.
Nonetheless, Palace have a clear advantage in the race for his signature thanks to part-owner John Textor, who owns 46% of Crystal Palace but is the majority shareholder of the Brazilian side too, which could make negotiations relatively simple between the two sides.
A left-footed right-winger, Henrique could return balance to Glasner’s side and, though he may lack Olise’s elite end product, he could prove to be a shrewd piece of business as Palace look to avoid dropping back down to the Championship.
Crystal Palace reportedly rejected Tottenham Hotspur's mammoth bid for defender Marc Guehi on January transfer deadline day and here is why.
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Spurs make mammoth bid for GuehiCrystal Palace reject deadline day dealBelieve it would be too late to find replacementFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty Images SportWHAT HAPPENED?
To say 'Tottenham Hotspur are struggling' would be undermining how underwhelming their season has been so far as the Lilywhites are currently 14th in the Premier League as injuries have snacked through Ange Postecoglou's squad. As such, the North London side have been keen on making moves in the winter transfer window and made a move for Crystal Palace's highly-rated centre-back as they made a £55 million ($86.1m) bid with £15 million ($18.4m) in add-ons. However, the Eagles have turned down the mammoth bid for a move on deadline day as per The Athletic, with Spurs then signing Kevin Danso on loan from Ligue 1 side Lens.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE EXPLANATION
As per The Guardian's Ed Aarons, Crystal Palace decided to reject Tottenham's mammoth bid for Guehi as they felt the departure of their captain would be too late in the transfer window. The Eagles believe that they will not be able to sign a replacement this late for Oliver Glasner's squad as they have not had a lot of targets on their shortlist.
DID YOU KNOW?
Guehi was also at the centre of a lot of transfer rumours last year with Newcastle United having seen major bids rejected. Crystal Palace have been determined to keep the England international at the club until bigger bids arrive.
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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR GUEHI?
The highly-rated 24-year-old's contract at Crystal Palace runs until the summer of 2026 and with their club captain unlikely to extend his contract further at Selhurst Park, the Eagles may be open to bids next summer as they will be keen on not losing Guehi on a free transfer in the summer of 2026.
In a move that would finally provide Mikel Arteta with backup for Bukayo Saka, Arsenal now reportedly have one Borussia Dortmund star firmly in their sights after sending their scouts to watch him in action.
Arsenal transfer news
When looking for a weakness in the current Arsenal side, their frontline instantly stands out. Whilst Saka and Kai Havertz ensure that Arteta’s attack is far from blunt, the Gunners still lack a ruthless goalscorer to lead the line, having failed on the transfer front in the summer. When 2025 arrives, the rumours look set to pick up where they left off on that front though. But whether the Gunners finally solve their problem remains to be seen.
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The likes of Jonathan David have already been linked to the Emirates, with the Lille striker set to leave the French club as a free agent at the end of the campaign. An out-and-out striker, David would potentially transform Arsenal from title contenders into a side capable of finally dethroning Premier League champions Manchester City, especially if another star arrives alongside him.
According to Caught Offside, Arsenal now have Jamie Bynoe-Gittens firmly in their sights after their scouts returned from Borussia Dortmund impressed by the Manchester City academy graduate.
Reportedly valued at €60m (£50m) by Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal and Edu Gaspar will have to splash the cash if they are to beat the likes of Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur to hand the Englishman the chance at Premier League redemption after rising to stardom in the Bundesliga.
Still just 20 years old, the winger is certainly one to watch and a player who may even follow the same path as Jadon Sancho from Dortmund back to the Premier League as a City academy graduate. Of course, however, he’ll want to avoid the disaster that Sancho endured by picking what proved to be the wrong move to Manchester United.
"Superb" Bynoe-Gittens could provide cover for Saka
Whilst he’d eventually be vying for a starting place, £48,000-a-week Gittens could first provide the perfect and much-needed cover for Saka at the Emirates. It’s there that the Englishman could even learn from his more experienced countryman on his way to becoming one of the standout stars, himself.
With four goals and three assists in 10 games so far this season, Bynoe-Gittens is proving the opinion of U23 scout Antonio Mango, who dubbed the winger “superb” last season and claimed that he should be starting at Borussia Dortmund.
The rest of the Premier League watched on as Arsenal were exposed to life without Saka last time out of course, as they suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Bournemouth. It’s an experience that the Gunners will not be keen to experience again anytime soon, making a move for the likes of Bynoe-Gittens in 2025 all the more important.
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou is earmarking a “quality” teenager from the N17 academy for his first team, with the north Londoners having produced a host of exciting young players over the years.
Postecoglou says Spurs need multiple transfer windows to challenge for title
Speaking earlier this year, Postecoglou was forthright in explaining that Spurs may need three or four transfer windows before they can be considered genuine Premier League title challengers.
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Postecoglou did appear to promise supporters silverware during his second season in charge over the summer, but back in March, his consensus on a potential league crown was that chairman Daniel Levy and technical director Johan Lange would need “more than three windows” to get anywhere close.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do still on the squad and I don’t think we’re anywhere near where we want to be,” said Postecoglou on Tottenham’s squad in March.
Tottenham vs West Ham
October 19
Crystal Palace vs Tottenham
October 27
Tottenham vs Aston Villa
November 3
Tottenham vs Ipswich Town
November 10
Man City vs Tottenham
November 23
“It probably will take a little bit more than three windows to get there, for sure. Just in terms of the robustness, adaptability and compatibility of the squad, I think there’s still a fair bit of change we need to do. I certainly don’t think we’re one or two players away from getting to where I want us to be, nowhere near it. Some of that will be natural evolution.”
Since that statement, Tottenham sealed a £65 million deal for striker Dominic Solanke, moving to replace club-record goalscorer Harry Kane, and also struck summer moves for Timo Werner, Wilson Odobert and English sensation Archie Gray in a show of intent.
It is also believed that they’re willing to strengthen Postecoglou’s ranks further in January. Spurs are considering a winter move for Javi Puado, who is currently in fine form for newly-promoted Espanyol in La Liga, and Tottenham also have their eyes on Borussia Dortmund sensation Jamie Gittens.
Mikey Moore tipped for first team role at Tottenham
However, they could also have real quality closer to home as well. Indeed, teenage forward Mikey Moore has stood out at academy level, with Postecoglou recently handing him chances at academy level.
Indeed, the 18-year-old impressed during their Europa League win at Ferencvaros recently, and would’ve got on the board with an assist if it wasn’t for Werner squandering a chance through on goal.
The English youngster could be an ideal long-term replacement for Son, with pundit John Wenham telling Tottenham News that Postecoglou could be about to hand Moore a regular first-team role at Spurs.
“Moore already has a full 90 minutes under his belt in the UEFA Europa League this season,” Wenham said.
“Tottenham have played 10 games and Moore has featured in half of those. He has made fantastic progress. You can see that the club are earmarking him for a permanent first-team role next season. I suspect he will be battling it out with Son to be the starting left-winger next year.
“That is exciting to see. We would have a homegrown, club-trained player of Moore’s quality, who is just 18 years old, starting regularly next season. I think we can see that is what is going to happen.”
Aston Villa’s 3-0 win over BSC Young Boys in the Champions League on Tuesday evening was certainly no fluke, especially considering how well the club have performed since Unai Emery took over.
It was a just reward for their form and the fact they managed to secure a top-four finish in the Premier League last term to reach the group stages of Europe’s elite club competition.
The Spaniard made some tweaks to his side over the summer, selling a few first-team players, while also bringing in several new signings to bolster his senior squad.
It looks as though these moves have paid off handsomely. Might the manager have landed another one or two players, however? There were a few names linked who ended up elsewhere.
The players Aston Villa wanted to sign this summer
The lure of Champions League football enabled the club to sign the likes of Amadou Onana and Ian Maatsen, who could have moved somewhere else.
João Félix was one name that was linked with a move to the Midlands, especially as the window was entering into the final few weeks.
Joao Felix for Barcelona.
Emery was reportedly plotting a swoop for the Atlético Madrid gem, who had spent last season on loan at Barcelona.
Unfortunately, the club missed out as Felix chose to sign for Chelsea instead, proving that money does talk. Emery was also keen on securing moves for the likes of Raheem Sterling, Raphinha and even Nicolas Jackson during the final few days of the window, yet nothing materialised.
On the pitch, it appears that missing out on Felix and a host of other names hasn’t bothered Emery considering how impressive a start to the season they have made.
He isn’t the only manager to miss out on a big name, however, as Paul Lambert will certainly testify…
Paul Lambert’s Villa signings
When the Scot took over the club in the summer of 2012, he went about making a few changes to his side, bringing in Christian Benteke, Ron Vlaar and Matthew Lowton, among others.
It was a deal to sign Crewe captain Ashley Westwood which turned heads, as Lambert shelled out around £2m to lure the player to the Premier League.
He went on to make over 150 appearances for the club between 2012 and 2017, scoring five goals and grabbing 12 assists, but Westwood was hardly a marquee name which the supporters expected during Lambert’s first transfer window in charge.
Christian Benteke
Genk
Ron Vlaar
Feyenoord
Matthew Lowton
Sheffield United
Joe Bennett
Middlesbrough
Karim El Ahmadi
Feyenoord
Ashley Westwood
Crewe
Jordan Bowery
Chesterfield
Brett Holman
AZ Alkmaar
Villa finished 15th in the top flight that season, reaching the semi-finals of the League Cup, but could it have been better if the manager had managed to secure one of his transfer targets during the summer? A certain Kevin De Bruyne was linked with a move at the same time fellow midfielder Westwood arrived.
When Aston Villa missed out on Kevin De Bruyne
At the time, the Belgian was just at the start of what would turn out to be an extraordinary career, with his talents earning him a move to Chelsea.
Lambert wasn’t exactly blessed with a financial war chest; therefore, he was keen on utilising the loan market ahead of the 2012/13 campaign.
“When I came into Villa it was clear the loan market was going to be a requirement for us if we wanted to bring quality in,” Lambert said (as relayed by the Birmingham Mail).
“Prior to signing [Christian] Benteke, I spoke to [Romelu] Lukaku, and we also looked at signing [Kevin] De Bruyne on loan – when they were both kids at Chelsea.
“Look at De Bruyne now – he’s one of the best in the world. That’s what happens in football, you get so many you pursue but who slip through the grass for whatever reason.”
Whatever happened to the Belgian midfielder next?
Kevin De Bruyne’s statistics at Manchester City
His spell at Chelsea was unsuccessful, going on to join Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga two years later. It was in Germany that he finally began to showcase his true talents and this caught the eye of Manchester City, who paid a then club-record fee of £55m to prise him away from the continent and back into the Premier League.
During his first two seasons, the club won just one League Cup, but it was the arrival of Pep Guardiola in 2016 which was the catalyst the former Chelsea sensation needed to take his game to the next level.
The 33-year-old helped lead the club to the Premier League title in both the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons, with a further four league titles coming in a row from the 2020/21 campaign.
During his time at City, the Belgian has made a total of 387 appearances, registering 274 goal contributions – 103 goals and 171 assists – across all competitions, winning six league titles and the Champions League.
Former Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers even hailed De Bruyne as “world-class” back in 2019, and he has been arguably one of the finest attacking midfielders in the world since then.
While his market value may have dipped recently, this is due to age and not performance. According to Transfermarkt, he reached a peak value of £126m in December 2019 and De Bruyne is still valued at £42m, which isn’t bad considering he turned 33 in June.
Even though it would only have been a temporary move, if Lambert had signed the midfielder all those years ago, he could have changed the trajectory of his career, no doubt about that.
Instead, the Villa faithful had to settle for someone like Westwood. He didn’t do too badly during his spell in the Midlands, but missing out on De Bruyne is definitely a major what-if moment in the club’s recent history.
Emery’s transfer strategy appears to be paying off so far and the fans will be hoping this can continue for the duration of his stay at the club.
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Matt Roller19-Jun-2021Olly Stone has been ruled out for the rest of the English summer after suffering another stress fracture to the lower back, his third in as many years. Stone was due to be named in England’s ODI squad for their upcoming three-match World Cup Super League series against Sri Lanka, which starts on June 29, but the injury has opened the door for George Garton, the Sussex left-arm seamer, to be included in a full squad for the first time.Stone suffered the injury following England’s second Test against New Zealand at Edgbaston, in which he took three wickets for 97 runs. It is the latest in a cruel run of injuries that has blighted his career, and leaves his prospects of playing in the T20 World Cup and the Ashes this winter in doubt.Related
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Garton has been a regular in England Lions’ white-ball plans since he was 19, and was added to the touring party ahead of the first Ashes Test in 2017-18 as cover after impressing in the nets. He missed the 2018 summer after picking up a side strain while picking a suitcase off a baggage carousel at Los Angeles airport, but has made significant strides since: across the last two T20 Blast seasons, he has taken 22 wickets at 13.54 with an economy rate of 6.93, and has also contributed with the bat as a finisher and in the field.”It is a great shame as Olly was showing real promise with the ball and would have been part of our selection plans for this series,” Chris Silverwood, England’s coach, who will hand over the reins to Graham Thorpe, his assistant, during the ODI series, said.ESPNcricinfo Ltd”We have been monitoring the progress of George Garton for quite some time. He has been a significant part of Sussex’s bowling unit in white-ball cricket for an extended period. His ability to bowl quick, with his point of difference being a left-armer, certainly gives us options in this series, and he deserves his chance at this level.”England are also missing Jofra Archer (elbow injury), Reece Topley (side strain) and Saqib Mahmood (abdominal strain), who Silverwood said were making “excellent progress”.Meanwhile, Ben Stokes is due to make his return to cricket after being out with a hand injury on Sunday, when he plays for Durham against Birmingham Bears in the Vitality Blast. Stokes has not played competitively since the Rajasthan Royals’ opening game of the IPL, when he suffered the injury while taking a catch. Stokes is targeting an international return in the T20I series against Pakistan, which starts on July 16.Jonny Bairstow has been named in the squad despite suffering an ankle injury during Yorkshire’s win at Worcestershire on Wednesday, after which he left the ground with a moon boot. There are only two changes from the T20I squad named last week, with Garton and Joe Root replacing Chris Jordan and Dawid Malan.
Um dos principais nomes do Sport, o volante José Welison, ex-Vitória e Atlético-MG, espera evolução da equipe na reta final da temporada. Segundo o atleta, a meta é fazer uma boa série de jogos nas próximas partidas do Brasileirão.
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– Estamos trabalhando para que a equipe possa fazer uma boa sequência nesta reta final do campeonato. O grupo está muito focado e motivado para conquistar seus objetivos nestas próximas semanas – disse o volante.
Ainda de acordo com o atleta, sua fase tem sido especial.
– Estou motivado e muito focado em continuar melhorando meus números no clube. Estou muito feliz com meu momento no clube – completou.
The Delhi Capitals coach also says his bowlers bowled “a few too many slot balls” to Chris Morris
Sidharth Monga15-Apr-20212:19
Ponting: ‘We didn’t adapt and execute as well as we’d have liked’
R Ashwin bowled the seventh, ninth and 11th overs of the chase. He conceded 14 runs and no boundaries. He had two left-hand batters to bowl at. Neither of them enjoys a favourable match-up against Ashwin. The dew was setting in, and it would have been difficult to get Ashwin back later if the ball had got wet or if he had right-hand batters to bowl to. Rishabh Pant, though, went to Marcus Stoinis, who conceded 15 in that over, and Ashwin ended the night without bowling his quota in what turned out to be a close defeat.The move didn’t make much sense to those watching nor to the Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting. “That’s certainly something that we will talk about when I get a chance to sit down with the team,” Ponting said at the post-match press conference. “He had bowled beautifully. Three overs, none for 14. Hadn’t even conceded a boundary. Look he had a disappointing game in game one, but he has worked really hard in the last few days to make sure he adjusted and got things right in this game. I thought he bowled beautifully tonight. Probably a mistake on our behalf, and something we will be talking about later on.”Something else that Ponting and the Capitals will be talking about is the sheer number of “slot balls” they gave to Chris Morris in the last two overs, who in turn hit four sixes to run away with a game that had looked like it was in the Capitals’ bag. Until the start of the 15th over of the second innings, there hadn’t been a single six hit in the game, but the Rajasthan Royals hit seven in the last 4.4 overs to make it home.Despite conceding only 14 from his three overs, R Ashwin didn’t bowl out•BCCIMorris might have missed out on a couple of these when the Royals lost to the Punjab Kings chasing 222, but he managed to connect enough of them to sink the Capitals.”We probably gave him a few too many easy balls, a few too many slot balls if you like,” Ponting said. “The length wasn’t quite where it needed to be. If you look at the replay of the game, if you bowled a reasonable yorker, he didn’t score off them. If it was back of a length, sort of, above stump high, he didn’t get hold of them either, especially with pace on the ball. We talked about how to bowl to him, but the execution probably wasn’t there.”It is not entirely a coincidence that the errors increased as the dew set in. “The other thing you have got to factor in is just how wet and how dewy the ball was in the second innings of the game,” Ponting said. “It wasn’t easy for the bowlers to grip. You could see it at the end there. There were a few full tosses that fast bowlers bowled with the ball slipping out of their hand a little bit. That’s part and parcel of IPL cricket. We knew coming here that there will be a little bit of dew in the second half of the game. And we didn’t adapt, and we didn’t execute as well as we could have tonight.”Till around the 13th-over mark in our bowling innings, the second innings of the game, everything was going according to plan. We made a few errors coming in the last four or five overs of the game. When you are a little bit off against any team in the IPL, just bowl a couple of bad balls or just a couple of those here and there, it is quite often the difference in the outcome. We didn’t get things right at the back end tonight.”