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Middlesborough welcome in-form Everton to the Riverside Stadium this weekend as Aitor Karanka’s side will be looking to bounce back from their recent 1-0 defeat at the hands of Tottenham.

Boro have struggled since the turn of the year, failing to win a Premier League game – a run of form that has seen them fall to 15th position and only one point above the relegation zone.

The visitors, on the other hand, have had a very different start to the new year. The Toffees have won four of their six fixtures in 2017, including their recent demolition job against Bournemouth in which Romelu Lukaku scored four in a thrilling 6-3 encounter.

Everton now sit comfortably in 7th position and only six points behind the top four.

If Boro are to have a turn in fortune, they will have to be back at their very best in order to topple Ronald Koeman’s rampant Everton, and will certainly not want a repeat of the same fixture earlier in the season where they were beaten comprehensively 3-1 at Goodison Park.

These are the three key battles that will decide the match…

Romelu Lukaku vs. Bernardo

What a game this boy had against Bournemouth. Not only did he score four goals, but he scored four fabulous goals. The big Belgian looked at it right from the off, and continually tore the Cherries defence to pieces all afternoon as they failed to cope with his physicality and movement.

The Premier League’s in-form striker will be a hard man to stop for Boro centre back Bernardo, who has been part of a defence that has failed to keep a clean sheet in their last three outings. Expect Lukaku to give the Colombian a runaround he won’t be forgetting any time soon.

Adama Traore vs. Leighton Baines

One of Boro’s main weaknesses this season has been their lack of goals. Top scorer Alvaro Negredo has seven, and behind him is Christhian Stuani with four. If they continue in the same vein, Aitor Karanka and his men are destined for the drop.

While he hasn’t scored at all this season, their main threat going forward is young Adama Traore, who was singed from Aston Villa in the summer. Pacy, explosive and confident, Traore is brilliant when running at the defenders.

Leighton Baines will be tasked with the job of keeping the former Barca winger quiet and preventing him from supplying the dangerous Negredo with balls into the middle of the box. However, the former England man is a dangerous attacking asset himself and Traore will have to track back.

Marten De Roon vs. James McCarthy

It wasn’t long ago there were calls for the departure of James McCarthy from Goodison Park, as his form last season dipped and his displays for Ireland during the Euro 2016 campaign were poor. The Irishman didn’t have a brilliant start to the season either, but he’s shown his resilience with some good performances recently.

His opposing number Marten De Roon has been one of the stand-out performers for Boro so far this season, looking calm and composed in front of the back four whilst being able to burst forward and bag himself a goal too.

With Chelsea closer to the relegation zone than the top four, Manchester City incapable of defending in the absence of orchestrating skipper Vincent Kompany and Manchester United stuck in a purgatorial search for their post-Alex Ferguson identity, this should be the season in which everybody’s talking about Arsenal winning the Premier League title.

Except, they’re not. Five points ahead of the pack with just 13 fixtures left to go, the talk of the town is the miraculous rise of Leicester City and whether it will be completed by claiming this year’s crown.

That’s no disrespect to the Foxes, who deserve every credit for ignoring the imposing tide of history to disrupt the established order at the Premier League’s summit. Clearly, they’re a more talented side than most people realised, with a more capable manager than many assumed. But if Claudio Ranieri’s ordinary boys beat them to the title this season, what does that say about Arsenal?

It not only condemns their failure to capitalise on the inconsistency of their divisional rivals this term, but also the decade they’ve spent in the wilderness of fourth-placed finishes. Perhaps most importantly of all, it confirms what many have argued for some time; that Arsene Wenger will never lead the club back to its former glories after somehow missing his best chance to do so since 2003.

Of course, until the title race is mathematically over, we’re talking about a hypothetical scenario and momentum could swing drastically next week when the Midlands side travel to the Emirates.

But nonetheless, the notion that Arsenal have spent the last ten years on the fringes of the title race because of their inability to compete with Chelsea, City and United in the transfer market has already been undermined by a Leicester squad that cost less to assemble – just £60million – than the north Londoners paid for Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez.

It also undermines the idea that ‘the right players’ weren’t available last summer or during the January transfer window, when Wenger made just one signing apiece at a combined cost of £18million. There’s an obvious hypocrisy in suggesting Arsenal couldn’t have addressed their insufficiencies up front, in defensive midfield and at the heart of defence during the last two windows, when Leicester picked up N’Golo Kante, who has averaged more ball-winning actions than any Premier League player this season, for just £6million, and the ever-industrious Shinji Okazaki for a club-record £7million.

Don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t just reflect badly on Arsenal. In fact, it says a great deal about the Premier League’s culture of ever-escalating transfer budgets, shared by pretty much all twenty clubs. But if Wenger’s spent the last few years delicately assembling this current Arsenal squad with incredibly precise additions and the last decade refusing to spend big because he knew a chance like this would eventually come along, then he won’t have a leg to stand on come the summer if the Gunners somehow pass it up.

After all, every other major Premier League club is amid major structural change, but Wenger’s Arsenal remain a beacon of continuity. Their starting XI has been exactly the same since the start of last season, barring a marked improvement between the sticks in Petr Cech, their style of football has been exactly the same for around a decade, most of their players have been at the club for four terms or more and Wenger’s reign is encroaching upon its 20th anniversary.

A familiarised team in familiarised surroundings should be carving up the league this year as the rest of the title-contenders do some soul searching. It’s not a question of quality. Leicester City are testament enough, but this Arsenal squad is talented enough to claim the title anyway and in stark contrast to recent seasons, they’ve actually survived this year’s injury crisis with relatively strong results.

Yet, there is still a lack of ruthlessness about Arsenal – particularly evident during draws with Southampton and Stoke and yet another defeat to a now 13th-placed Chelsea – and considering it’s been a recurring criticism of the north Londoners throughout the last decade, for me, it can only be traced back to the man in the dugout.

Wenger is a great manager but when compared to the rest of the beautiful game’s modern greats – Sir Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti – he is not a great winner. Likewise, if Arsenal can’t win the title when Chelsea, United and to a lesser extent, City are out of the picture, it’s abundantly clear that firstly, he has not managed his squad effectively enough this season and secondly, he’s taken the club down the wrong path since their last title in 2003.

If Leicester City claim this year’s crown, Arsenal will require some soul-searching of their own and it should start with a change in management. After all, if Wenger’s not going to claim the title this year, he never, ever will.

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Lionel Messi does not need to be rested by Inter Miami as he “walks around most of the game”, says former USMNT star Alexi Lalas.

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• Argentine has made an immediate impact
• Figured in eight games so far
• Coach has hinted at a giving him a break

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Argentine superstar has been busy since making his way to the United States as a free agent, with eight games taken in for new employers. Inter Miami have emerged victorious in all of those fixtures – allowing them to capture the Leagues Cup crown and progress to the final of the U.S. Open Cup.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Tata Martino has suggested that he may need to hand his talismanic captain a break, saying of Messi’s workload: “Leo and many other players are reaching an important physical limit and from today we will start to evaluate this – how do I face at least the next three games. You also have to take into account the large number of games that we played in 45, 50 days.”

• WHAT THEY SAID

  Lalas, who represented the New England Revolution and LA Galaxy in his playing days, is not convinced that Messi – who has mastered the art of conserving his energy – needs to be taken out of the firing line, posting on : “Load management? Messi walks around most of the game! Don't be so insecure. Messi has always walked…until it's time not to walk.”

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  WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

  Messi is due to make his MLS debut for Inter Miami against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday, with the Florida-based franchise hoping to see the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner deliver a reversal in fortune that lifts them off the foot of the Eastern Conference.

A 93rd-minute winner from substitute Scott McTominay saved Manchester United from an embarrassing home draw to Omonia Nicosia.

For the second week in a row, the Red Devils only just squeezed past their Cypriot opposition in the Europa League.

In both games, substitutes brought the winning goals and it was Scott McTominay's turn to steal the headlines as he provided the difference after replacing Casemiro with 10 minutes left.

The goal came from Manchester United's 34th shot which just highlights the performance of Omonia's stand-in goalkeeper Francis Uzoho who had the game of his career between the sticks for the visitors.

Below, GOAL takes you through the winners, losers and Manchester United player ratings from another narrow, but important, win in Europe's secondary club competition.

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  The Winners

  Francis Uzoho:

  A monster performance from a man who isn't even his side's number-one goalkeeper. He dealt brilliantly with everything that was thrown at him and was unbelievably unlucky to finish the game on the losing side.

  His 12 saves showcased a number of different ways to keep a football from going into the back of the net. He saved long-range strikes, point-blank efforts and a couple of one-on-ones. Had it not been for his heroics, United could have scored five or six goals in the first half alone.

  He won't be short of potential suitors if he's unhappy playing second fiddle in the Cypriot top flight!

  Scott McTominay:

  Maybe a surprise that he didn't start the game given the fact he is suspended for the visit of Newcastle on Sunday. However, he came into the action with 10 minutes left and made the vital difference right at the death.

  For the majority of his cameo, McTominay frustrated the home fans with speculative, hopeless long shots but he stayed cool when it mattered most. A good finish from the Scotsman to ultimately earn his side an extremely important win in the context of their Europa League group.

  The Omonia supporters:

  In the absence of any real stand-out performers from the winning team, the travelling supporters were phenomenal throughout the match. They travelled in their considerable thousands and didn't stop singing for the whole match.

  They get an extra shout out for a special Manchester City chant during the half-time break!

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  The Losers

  Marcus Rashford:

  It wasn't necessarily one of his worst performances but the sheer amount of shots he took without scoring cements his place at the top of the losers section. He had 10 shots throughout the 90 minutes which equalled 1.5 xG!

  It's worth mentioning that Uzoho made a couple of excellent saves from his efforts but that doesn't excuse Rashford. The biggest chance of his lot came relatively early in the first half and, had he taken that one-on-one opportunity, it would have more than likely led to a comfortable evening for the hosts.

  Jerome Brisard:

  The referee looked a long way out of his depth at Old Trafford. He made several questionable goal kick and corner decisions which he then had to level out with even more confusing calls.

  He really should've sent Moreto Cassame off in the second half for a shocking two-footed, full-bodied lunge on Casemiro. Although, VAR did him no favours as they agreed with his decision.

  Erik ten Hag:

  It seems odd to include the manager of the winning team in this section, especially as one of his substitutions won the match. However, it is another Europa League game in which he has selected an almost full-strength starting XI and only just scraped past significantly inferior opposition.

  This was a game he should have been able to win with a rotated squad but he nearly failed to get all three points with his best players on the pitch. With Newcastle the visitors to Old Trafford on Sunday, any fitness issues for the Red Devils will certainly be punished.

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  Ratings: Defence

  David de Gea (6/10): A very quiet night for United's goalkeeper. Had one save to make and completed all 18 passes he attempted.

  Diogo Dalot (6/10): Not his best performance but far from his worst. Made a mistake that could have led to a big chance or a goal for Omonia but made up for it with a couple of great deliveries into the box.

  Victor Lindelof (5/10): Never looks particularly confident in the heart of the defence and seems to inspire a lack of confidence in whichever centre-back he partners. Was terrorised by the opposition on a couple of occasions.

  Lisandro Martinez (5/10): Perhaps his worst performance since joining United. His passing wasn't anywhere near as accurate as it usually is and he was fortunate not to concede a foul – which could have led to a red card – when he barged one of the opposing forwards away from the ball.

  Tyrell Malacia (6/10): An indifferent performance. Didn't particularly stand out but didn't put a foot wrong either. His brightest moment of the match saw him beat his opponent and get to the byline but his low cross was hit far too hard for Ronaldo to divert it goalwards.

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  Midfield

  Casemiro (7/10): He just exudes class does the Brazilian. He's not spectacular in the way that other £60m midfielders are but he's so solid in the middle of the park. The highlight of his performance was a fantastic lofted ball for Rashford to run onto but he fluffed his lines in front of goal.

  Fred (5/10): Another performance that showed why he shouldn't be a regular fixture in the midfield for the Red Devils. Missed a huge chance in the first half and was often caught on (or under) the ball by the visitors. Deservingly substituted midway through the second half.

  Bruno Fernandes (7/10): Ran the show for the hosts once again. He created seven chances for his teammates and deserved at least a couple of assists. He almost opened the scoring in the first half as well but his curling effort just dropped wide of the bottom corner.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Palmeiras conta com uma dúvida para enfrentar o Santos, às 16h deste sábado, no Pacaembu. Rony foi inscrito no Campeonato Paulista e treinou na sexta com os titulares – Willian, que ao longo da semana estava na equipe principal, é o concorrente do camisa 11.

Vanderlei Luxemburgo falou sobre a disputa, mas não anunciou qual será o seu escolhido. De acordo com o técnico, o reforço chegou em boas condições físicas e pode ser escalado desde o início, caso necessário.

– A chegada do Rony foi providencial, um jogador que se encaixa no perfil do futebol de hoje, de velocidade, agudo, vertical. Já jogou na equipe principal, existe a possibilidade de ele começar, ou manter a equipe que estava jogando. Se eu quiser escalá-lo, ele está bem treinando, não tem problema nenhum – afirmou, em entrevista à TV Palmeiras.

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O treino tático desta sexta, com Rony, foi basicamente de bolas paradas, especialmente defensivas. Na quinta, Luxemburgo comandou um trabalho com os titulares, sem a presença de jornalistas. Até antes desta atividade, Willian vinha treinando com o time, e o reforço estava na reserva.

Sem nenhuma dúvida nas outras posições, o Palmeiras deve ter no jogo da oitava rodada do Campeonato Paulista: Weverton; Gabriel Menino, Felipe Melo, Gustavo Gómez e Viña; Bruno Henrique, Zé Rafael e Raphael Veiga; Dudu, Willian (Rony) e Luiz Adriano.

– Vamos ter de agora até o jogo contra o Corinthians, o penúltimo (da primeira fase) do Paulista, uma sequência muito pesada. Importante preparar bem a equipe em conceitos táticos. Está tudo muito bem definido e estamos preparados para enfretarmos o Santos, a sequência do Paulista e da Libertadores – avisou Luxa.

– Se ganharmos, vamos liderar a competição. É decisão para nós, porque passamos nos critérios de desempate o Santo André – completou.

A growing number of people sated by the Twenty20 entree have compelled Cricket Australia to go back to work on the main course. Disappointing levels of spectator “graduation” from T20 to international cricket were a major reason for CA’s decision to significantly cut prices for Test and limited-overs matches ahead of the next summer.A review of ticket pricing and availability was undertaken by CA’s commercial department after a series of disappointing international crowds at various points of the past two summers, a trend in direct contrast to the burgeoning attendances for the Big Bash League.

Cricket Australia’s tickets review

• Extensive consultation process internally

• Comprehensive review of ticket prices from other sporting and major entertainment events

• Market research involving surveying a representative sample of people across Australia to assess propensity to attend cricket at different price points

• Referred to learnings from other cricket events, including the 2015 World Cup and BBL

Ever since the BBL was ushered into existence at the Australian Cricket Conference in 2010, CA and its chief executive James Sutherland have maintained that the tournament was designed to bring new fans to the game who would ultimately take on a love for Tests and ODIs.However, a call to cut prices significantly – each state will offer general admission tickets at a mere $30 for adults while also scaling back the cost of higher grade reserve seats – has been made out of concern that the BBL’s growth has not caused the sort of “trickle-up” effect CA had hoped for.This is largely because while BBL tickets have been kept affordable – general admission tickets around $20 for adults – despite their popularity, international pricing has reflected an era before the emergence of the T20 competition. This has resulted in vast swathes of empty seats at matches where spectators could be hard pressed to find anything for under $50. Sutherland said the BBL’s success had helped encourage a rethink.”Clearly the reason why we’re breaking records in terms of aggregate attendance is off the back of BBL growth in attendance,” Sutherland said when announcing the price changes. “More people attended the BBL last year than attended the World Cup. Over a million people came through the gates to attend BBL cricket.”International cricket is still really strongly supported. And part of our strategy has been for us to bring new people to the game, through BBL cricket and at the same time graduate their interest into international cricket. And part of our pricing review and our research has been with that in mind, to continue to graduate that interest … into the premium form, being international cricket.”I think we’ve learned a lot from the BBL and I think we’ve taken some of the best parts of that and incorporated that into the review. But it’s also a lot about positioning and ensuring that international cricket is the premium format and we continue to bring the best possible teams into the country to play the game, play international cricket over those three formats.”Since selling the BBL to free-to-air television where it has been a major success for Network Ten, CA has faced a balancing act between its two broadcasters. Nine has been synonymous with the game in Australia for nearly 40 years, and the need to build a more compelling international television spectacle has also played a part – it is felt that empty grounds discourage viewers from tuning in.”Certainly our focus is to get as many people into our grounds as possible – we make no bones about the fact that our desired state is full grounds,” Sutherland said. “We face challenges from time to time, certainly with Test cricket to get people into grounds when people have work commitments and kids are still at school but there’s lots of different ways in which we are trying to change that.”Obviously day-night Test cricket is one of the things but also this pricing strategy is taking a lot of those things into account as well. The backdrop for television is always something that looks better. From our perspective the whole thing is greater fan engagement.”Another factor in the pricing changes is the unknown about how much more the BBL can continue to grow. Recent downturns in T20 competitions in England and India’s IPL have suggested that the more youthful Australian tournament cannot be expected to keep building at its current rate.”We don’t see ourselves as a competitor with IPL. We’ve been very, very focussed with BBL as something which is tailored to the Australian market,” Sutherland said. “Coming off the trajectory we’ve had, it’s going to be always challenging to maintain that growth. To some extent it will be cyclical.”But at the same time we lift our sights high in terms of our aspirations with BBL and see no reason why we can’t continue. We’ll continue to develop our event presentation to ensure those who pay good money to come and watch the cricket are entertained, not just when the cricket is being played but in other aspects of what’s offered at venues.”

MatériaMais Notícias

Enquanto analisa o uso de gramado artificial no Allianz Parque, o Palmeiras terá neste domingo um “teste” pensando em 2020, já que visitará o Athletico na Arena da Baixada, único estádio da Série A com campo sintético. Internamente, a mudança é vista com bons olhos no Verdão.

O gramado que o clube foi conhecer na Holanda é considerado uma evolução comparado ao do estádio do Furacão. Ainda assim, a Arena serve de alguma base para o grupo, que tem dois ex-athleticanos conhecedores dos efeitos do sintético: o goleiro Weverton e o meia Raphael Veiga.

– Mais do que ninguém do Palmeiras, sei como é difícil jogar lá, quanto são bastante intensos e fazem com que a velocidade do campo favoreça a equipe – analisou o meia, campeão da Sul-Americana de 2018 pelo Furacão.

Jogadores, comissão técnica e diretoria mostraram-se favoráveis à troca de gramado no novo Palestra Itália, que lida com uma agenda recheada de shows além das partidas do Verdão. Depois da visita da comitiva à Europa, Palmeiras e WTorre tentam viabilizar o processo financeiramente.

Assim como ocorre atualmente no Allianz, o Athletico tinha dificuldades para manter o gramado da Arena da Baixada em perfeitas condições – diferentemente da casa do Palmeiras, porém, os problemas eram mais climáticos do que por seguidos shows.

A Fifa e a CBF dão aval para o uso do sintético, tanto que a empresa que o Palmeiras conversa recebeu a chancela da entidade que rege o futebol mundial. Apesar de críticas comuns quanto à diferença de comportamento da bola na grama artificial, entende-se que a tecnologia mais moderna faz com que a diferença seja mínima em relação ao campo natural.

Desde que trocou o piso da Arena, em 2016, o Athleticocostuma ter melhores resultados em casa do que fora. Neste Brasileiro, venceu sete vezes como mandante, empatou uma, mas perdeu outras quatro – para Corinthians, São Paulo, Avaí e Flamengo.

Vice-líder do Brasileiro com 53 pontos – a oito do Flamengo – o Palmeiras não terá treinos no sintético antes do duelo da 27ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro, marcado para domingo, às 19h. A última atividade do time será realizada na manhã deste sábado, na Academia de Futebol.

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New Zealand bowled Afghanistan out for 186, becoming the first team to dismiss five opposition teams in the World Cup

The Report by Alagappan Muthu07-Mar-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFive matches. Five teams bowled out. Five victories. New Zealand have been off duty the past week at the World Cup, but their ultra-attacking brand of cricket was as finely tuned as ever. Daniel Vettori made it look even more menacing with a touch of spin and a lot of guile. His 4 for 18 eased him past 300 ODI wickets and left Afghanistan all but out of the World Cup.A target of 187 was not going to be taxing, and it provided opportunity for Martin Guptill to find some touch. A 76-ball 57 included some forceful punches off the back foot and handsome lofts down the ground – both trademarks of the batsman when in full flow. Ross Taylor and Grant Elliott, members of a middle order that had not done much in the tournament so far, too made the most of their time in the middle as the hosts won with 83 balls to spare.Afghanistan’s bowlers were easily handled, especially after Brendon McCullum took the score to 53 in the fifth over, but New Zealand’s were a different story. Trent Boult and Tim Southee had the new ball on a string. As usual. Adam Milne racked his pace up to 150 kph three balls in. Nothing new there. McCullum employed seven catching men when Vettori was on a hat-trick. Yawn. New Zealand have been so intimidating on the field in the World Cup so far that you expected all of that. Afghanistan, having traversed 10,000 kms in the last week, walloped by Australia in Perth and barely surviving a cliff-hanger with Scotland in Dunedin, appeared tired and outclassed.At least until Najibullah Zadran and Samiullah Shenwari used their nervous energy to get a few big hits away and created some breathing space. They came together at 59 for 6 in the 20th over, waited for the swing to fade away, Vettori’s spell to end and the fifth bowler Corey Anderson, to push New Zealand into bowling the most overs they have in an innings in this World Cup.The seventh wicket added 86 runs as Najibullah made a run-a-ball half-century, including a six off Southee that landed on the roof, and Shenwari batted through a nasty blow that left a visible dent on the back of his helmet to make a hard-working 54 off 110. Their application should please Afghanistan as much as the lack of it from the others should displease them.Vettori’s first wicket was a happy accident, although it came off the first ball he bowled. He was sneaked into the attack in the third over to allow Southee and Boult to switch ends and the bonus was Usman Ghani playing down the wrong line to lose his off stump. The delivery, though, was a beauty. Tossed up, drifting with the arm and skidding between bat and pad.But McCullum preferred pace with the new ball. This time Southee and Boult were bowling at the ends that assisted their respective away swingers. Boult heightened his threat by coming round the wicket and his captain encouraged the search for the outside edge by providing two slips and two gullies. But Asghar Stanikzai would feel disappointed that he fell into that trap off a short ball that should have been hammered over Martin Guptill, and not half-heartedly guided into his hands.Vettori returned in the 12th over and squeezed Afghanistan further, not that 35 for 3 needed much work. It was a used pitch at McLean Park. It was dry and expected to play slower than usual. But it didn’t have much turn. Vettori isn’t the kind of bowler who gets the ball to hoop around corners anyway. But Afghanistan’s inexperience meant they kept playing for the ball moving away and were consistently found out. As Nawroz Mangal showed when he was bowled trying to cut an arm ball on off stump.Vettori was nagging, his line barely drifting too far from the stumps, although his pace did flit about between the 80 and the 90kph marks. He dismissed Mohammad Nabi, who was playing his 50th ODI, and Afsar Zazai in successive deliveries to cap off a spell that read 10-4-18-4. It was the first time he’s claimed a four-for since June 2009.McCullum the batsman was smash without substance today, but McCullum the captain might think that a positive – if only in private – considering the middle order got some match practice ahead of the quarter-finals.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Cruzeiro de 2019 foi da esperança de mais conquistas a decepção em poucos meses. Os resultados dentro de campo e a crise institucional que assola o clube ganham contornos de drama para o torcedor celeste, que tem um temor real: uma possível queda para a Segunda Divisão.

A goleada aplicada pelo Grêmio na Raposa, por 4 a 1, abriu mais ainda as fendas que a Raposa tem expostas. O que eram assuntos internos ganham as manchetes de jornais e sites. As mais recentes foram as declarações de Thiago Neves sobre improvisações de Rogério Ceni contra o Internacional, pela Copa do Brasil. Depois foi a vez do treinador pedir mudança de postura, dizendo que, caso isso não acontecesse, não faria sentido permanecer no clube.

Outro assunto que veio à tona se refere aos atrasos de salários, referentes aos meses de julho e agosto. O diretor de futebol, Marcelo Djian, confirmou os débitos e falou sobre a situação.

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– Tem uma parte de julho que está atrasada e agosto, que venceu na última sexta-feira. Nós estamos trabalhando para regularizar isso o mais rápido possível – disse.

Djian repercutiu a fala de Rogério Ceni. Segundo o diretor de futebol, não há chances de Ceni deixar a Toca da Raposa no momento.

– Não existe risco nenhum. É normal a decepção dele, já que os três primeiros jogos dele nós tivemos bons resultados, conseguimos sete pontos, já na última quarta-feira fomos desclassificados da Copa do Brasil, onde a gente poderia ir para a final – disse o dirigente.

Taking eight wickets in two sessions and seeing out the last 24 overs of the second day would have been pleasing for Zimbabwe. After losing an early wicket, the unbeaten batsmen, Hamilton Masakadza and Sikandar Raza, dominated the Bangladesh bowlers towards the end. But the bottom line remains that Zimbabwe are 390 runs behind Bangladesh’s 503.Raza knows it all too well and is prepared to dig in deep in the third morning. How to go about this job has been shown by the Bangladesh batsmen, who have demonstrated an overall consistency in the last couple of weeks. Raza remains hopeful of a massive turnaround in the game, as every Zimbabwe player should, but Bangladesh have only lost one Test match after scoring more than 500 runs in the first innings.”I do see a result in this game,” Raza said. “It has to go our way. We are definitely playing as though we want to win this game. For that to happen we have to bat out of our socks. Hopefully as the days go on and the ball starts to creep low then you never know. Coming into today, they were 303 for two. No one would have thought they would have been 500-odd all out. Having said that, the last partnership had 50-odd runs on the board so if you take that away it could have been 460. We will keep believing.”I think Bangladesh were hoping for a few more wickets then they had. We will definitely take the confidence from 113 for one. We will take the last session as well. We have toiled hard under the sun and I think the correct way has been shown to us by Bangladesh. They have done it so consistently. To me it is just a matter of time to start clicking, hopefully we can take the momentum ahead in the next day and the day after.”

‘We have to be patient’ – Rubel

Rubel Hossain enjoyed hitting four sixes on the second afternoon but is aware of the hard work that lies ahead as a bowler.
The Chittagong wicket is arguably Bangladesh’s most batting-friendly wicket, evident in the 19 draws out of 43 first-class matches. The last two Tests here have been high-scoring draws, with Kumar Sangakkara scoring 319 and 105 in February.
“Batting is fun,” Rubel said. “It was the last wicket so I played a few shots. I timed the ball well, so I felt really good. Never thought I could bat like that though. It was a good wicket so it worked.
“Our target was to make a big score and play until the tea break. The wicket is very good for batting. There wasn’t much swing or turn. Maybe we can understand on the third or fourth day how much it will break. Tomorrow morning, if we can take early wickets, then maybe we can have some control. The main thing is that we have to be patient here. Getting wickets will be tough, so we have to be patient.”
It is still too early to be negative in a Test match, especially having made 503 runs. Bangladesh remain on course as the only trouble they faced was in the last 24 overs of the day.

Raza hit all his boundaries in the second session in front of the wicket. He drove through the covers at the start of his innings against Shafiul Islam and pulled Rubel Hossain quite easily. However what would please him was his proper use of his feet. He charged Taijul Islam and Shakib Al Hasan at every opportunity, and even when it didn’t come off, he could at least get the ball away as he had thrown his body behind the it.On the third day, he said he will have to bat with more savvy about the pitch and bowling as he expects the ball to start keeping low.”There as a basic plan but the thing is there are things I work hard in the nets when it comes to the game. You don’t really say anything to yourself, you just see and play accordingly. On a track that I thought wasn’t turning, using my feet is part of the plan. The plan will be to see ball and hit ball. I don’t think anything needs to change for tomorrow. My instincts will be slightly to bat smarter, and take where it can take me.”As the sun beats down on the surface, and as the players run on the tracks there will definitely be [breaking in the pitch]. There already are a few cracks and some are actually creeping low and some are bouncing low. I expect it to play slightly differently tomorrow.”