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MatériaMais Notícias

O São Paulo está pronto para enfrentar o Fluminense, neste sábado, às 19h, no Maracanã. Isso porque o elenco fez o último treino da preparação para o duelo na manhã desta sexta-feira, no CT da Barra Funda e já se dirigiu ao Rio de janeiro, onde já ficará concentrado até o momento da partida. O técnico Cuca aproveitou a oportunidade para ajustar os detalhes finais da programação.

A atividade desta sexta foi dividida em três etapas: primeiro o tradicional aquecimento comandado pela preparação física, depois um exercício técnico em campo reduzido, orientado por Cuca e seus auxiliares, bem como as cobranças de bola parada, que fecharam o treinamento tático que antecede a 12ª rodada do Brasileirão-2019.

Logo após os trabalhos de campo, os jogadores já iniciaram os preparativos para a viagem ao Rio de Janeiro, que aconteceu logo após o almoço no centro de treinamento do clube. A concentração começa assim que os atletas estiverem em solo carioca até a saída para o Maracanã, neste sábado.

Como as últimas duas atividades da semana foram fechadas para a imprensa, permanece o mistério sobre o ataque titular do Tricolor que enfrentará o Fluminense. As dúvidas ficam por conta da escalação ou não de Pato no time titular, e de seu possível substituto. Toró e Everton, que entraram bem contra a Chapecoense, são os candidatos para assumirem a posição.

Sendo assim, uma provável escalação são-paulina seria: Tiago Volpi; Igor Vinicius, Bruno Alves, Arboleda e Reinaldo; Luan, Tchê Tchê e Hernanes; Antony, Alexandre Pato (Everton ou Toró) e Raniel. Ainda estão sob o cuidado do Reffis: Liziero, Rojas e Pablo. O volante Hudson, que era o titular da lateral direita, acabou indo para o banco por preferir jogar no meio-campo.

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Nottinghamshire’s director cricket Mick Newell hailed the finest 10 days since he took the job as his side moved level on points with Yorkshire at the top of Division One and inflicted Somerset’s first defeat

Press Association25-Jun-2014
ScorecardPhil Jaques has punished Somerset’s attack all season•Getty ImagesNottinghamshire’s director of cricket Mick Newell hailed what he regarded as his best 10 days in the job as a six-wicket defeat of Somerset took his side level on points with Yorkshire at the top of the table.Notts remain second by virtue of losing more matches, but that was not about to dampen Newell’s spiirts after they had inflicted upon Somerset their first defeat of the season and taken a maximum 24 points from the game.Somerset’s first defeat of the campaign brought them only three bonus points and leaves them 26 points behind the leaders but with a game in hand.Notts’ win was their fourth in just over a week, following a Championship success against another title contender, Middlesex, last Tuesday and NatWest T20 Blast wins against Leicestershire and Derbyshire which have revived their flagging challenge in the North GroupNewell said: “We’ve been very, very good recently. We knew June was going to be a challenge for us in four-day cricket, playing against the best sides, but we’ve risen to that challenge.”We’ve also also put together some good wins in the T20 Blast competition, so all in all it’s been perhaps the best 10 days of my career in terms of running this team.”Nottinghamshire began the final day requiring only a further 44 runs and needed only a further 40 minutes to race to 111 for 3 to complete their victory.Phil Jaques, who had made 113 in the first innings, ended on 42 not out, with Ajmal Shahzad closing on an unbeaten 23. Jaques, who had made scores of 65 and 150 not out when the sides met at Taunton last month, took his total to 370 in four innings against Somerset this season by finishing on an unbeaten 42 from 65 deliveries, with six fours.Craig Overton had delayed the inevitable on the third evening by making early inroads into the Nottinghamshire top order but he could not inflict any further damage and finished with figures of 3 for 48.Somerset’s best opportunity came from the final ball of the first over. Jaques and Shahzad, who had been sent in the previous evening as nightwatchman, had a complete misunderstanding from the final ball of the opening over.Shahzad pushed Craig Meschede into the off side, set off for a run that was never on and stood helplessly in the middle of the strip as George Dockrell’s shy from 12 yards narrowly missed the unprotected stumps.Somerset captain Marcus Trescothick concluded the damage was done early in the game.”It’s always tough to rebound against a good team after being shot out for 150 or so in the first innings,” he said. You can’t win a game on the first day but you can certainly lose it. Winning the toss and batting was clearly a big mistake but it’s our first loss and we’ve got to take it on the chin and move on.”

MatériaMais Notícias

Na penúltima colocação do Brasileiro com três pontos, à frente do Vasco apenas por ter um saldo menos negativo (-5 contra -8), o Avaí segue fazendo avaliações no mercado em busca de reforços e, nessa linha, o técnico Geninho se mostrou contente na última entrevista concedida.

Isso porque chegou a ele a informação sobre as palavras ditas pelo presidente do clube, Francisco Battistotti, indicando que o clube pode fazer uma concessão em pelo menos três nomes de reforços ao plantel pensando na questão do teto salarial.

– Bom saber que o presidente bate na mesa para um jogador com salário alto aprovado por nós. Bom saber porque vamos procurar em outro nível, e não no que estamos procurando. Estamos buscando em um nível um pouco menor. Vamos procurar em outro nível, já que o presidente aprovou, fica mais fácil achar um jogador e um nome. Temos duas semanas para, de repente, trazer alguém – afirmou o técnico do Leão.

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Apesar da nova possibilidade que surge com o aumento das possibilidades de salário a serem oferecidos para reforços, Geninho alertou que isso também precisa ser visto como um aumento da responsabilidade por parte dos dirigentes em avaliar o real potencial da contratação “para não errar”:

-Acredito que vão trazer atletas de qualidade. A única exigência é que não podemos errar. Tem que vir, vestir a camisa e ser titular. Se errar e ficar no banco, vou cobrar de quem errou. Temos um orçamento enxuto. Tem que vir para vestir a camisa e jogar. O dinheiro está na mão deles. Com exigência de não errar, vão ter de analisar. O erro de um jogador de três dígitos, para ficar no banco, é crucial. Está liberado, mas quem contrata tem que saber que não pode errar. Eu cobro. Sou consciente, não quero deixar o clube do jeito que eu peguei quando eu sair.

Provavelmente ainda sem os reforços desejados (inicialmente dois atacantes rápidos são o foco com um zagueiro e um volante sendo metas secundárias), A Azzurra terá mais uma chance de acabar com o jejum de vitórias na Série A recebendo no sábado (8) o São Paulo na Ressacada às 21 h (horário de Brasília).

Match facts

January 26, 2014, Adelaide
Start time 1350 (0320GMT)

The Big picture

Witnesses to the celebrations that followed the 1987 World Cup Final tell of their delight at watching years of worry and wrinkles disappear from the glowing face of Australia’s captain Allan Border as he was hoisted on the shoulders of Craig McDermott and Dean Jones in the aftermath of victory. While a lone ODI win is nothing by comparison, the effect the Perth result had on England seemed similarly transformative. Certainly Alastair Cook was suddenly speaking a lot more positively about the team, cricket and life itself having finally led his men to a win, albeit over a weakened Australian side.Now, having spent most of the summer toying with England, the hosts have a far chirpier and enthusiastic opponent for the final match of the series at Adelaide Oval, played on Australia Day. They will be fortified by the returns of the captain Michael Clarke and the allrounder Shane Watson, a pair of inclusions that will also add some incentive to England’s quest for a promising end to a wretched tour. Having beaten Australia at the WACA Ground, they would dearly like to repeat the trick against a stronger home line-up in Adelaide, on a pitch that will offer little in the way of pace or lateral movement.For the first time this summer, the Australia must find a way to regain the momentum they had previously ridden across all eight previous encounters, a tidal wave of confidence and accomplishment that was hinted at during the ODIs in England and India but which truly began during the first Test in Brisbane. There was a profligacy about Australia’s bowling in Perth that suggested a slight loss of focus, and it is the most pressing concern for the coach Darren Lehmann ahead of this fixture.

Form guide

(Completed matches, most recent first)
Australia LWWWL
England WLLLL

Watch out for

The only member of Australia’s bowling attack to excel at the WACA Ground, Glenn Maxwell is developing his offspin in a handy and timely manner. But it is his livewire batting that has brought Maxwell most of his career advancement to date, and he continues to wrestle with the competing instincts to attack or build. His overeager dismissal in Perth drew sharp criticism from Lehmann, who made the rare step of deliberately criticising his player in public. Given the array of strokes he possesses, and the power with which he can play them, it will take only the merest hint of better “course management” to have Maxwell frightening the life out of England’s bowlers in Adelaide, and those in the series beyond.Ben Stokes has often been at the centre of what little good cricket England have produced this summer•AFP

Not unlike Darren Gough on the 1994-95 Ashes tour, Ben Stokes has been the ebullient centre of what little good cricket England have played this summer. So it was altogether fitting that he dominated the match that finally brought victory for Cook’s team, his improvement in the No. 3 position after a halting first attempt in Sydney proving just as vital as his four wickets. As England’s “find of the tour”, Stokes will keenly want to finish off on a note of foreboding for any Australians thinking of crossing him again in 2015.

Team news

Michael Clarke and Shane Watson are back in Australia’s squad for Adelaide, meaning Steve Smith and Daniel Christian are the two men expected to make way. Clint McKay is a likely inclusion in place of Mitchell Johnson, who has stayed home in Perth, while Xavier Doherty can also expect a recall.Australia 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Shaun Marsh, 3 Shane Watson, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 George Bailey, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 James Faulkner, 9 Clint McKay, 10 Nathan Coulter-Nile, 11 Xavier Doherty.Having finally won an international match on tour, England can be expected to try to maintain their new-found confidence with an unchanged team.England (possible) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Ben Stokes, 4 Gary Ballance, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Ravi Bopara, 7 Jos Buttler (wk), 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Chris Jordan, 11 James Tredwell.

Pitch and conditions

Adelaide’s drop-in pitch should be brimful of runs though it will lack the pace of Perth. The forecast temperature for Australia Day is a dry, dusty 35 degrees.

Stats and trivia

• A victory for England would move the tourists up to third in the ODI rankings behind the other members of the “big three”, India and Australia, surpassing South Africa
• Australia have hosted England four times in ODIs on Australia Day in Adelaide, winning three times. England were the victors on the most recent occasion however, in 2011.

Quotes

“He (Maxwell) is a great young kid, and he realises his mistake last night. He owned up to that and he realises he’s got to get better. He’s an all-rounder but he’s batting in the top six, so you’d say he’s a batting all-rounder. But he’s got to show the responsibility of that (role) at six. We know he’s got that excitement and that flair and we love that about him, but we want him to understand the game better.”
“We always took the positive option, which in these conditions I think you have to do. There’s always a bit of risk with that but you have to be good enough as a top-order batsman to make those shots.”

Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, has stressed the need for his batsmen to apply themselves more, especially if they continue with the five-batsman combination

Nagraj Gollapudi10-Nov-2013Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, was expecting to spend Sunday watching his team fight in front of a full house as the light faded at Eden Gardens, as the first Test went into the fifth day. Instead, he was overlooking a three-hour training session under a harsh sun at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The innings-and-51-run defeat in Kolkata was West Indies’ first inside three days during Gibson’s tenure. He was unimpressed.”There is only so much talking any coach can do,” Gibson said, after his batsmen had wasted starts in both innings of the first Test. “When you play five batsmen, and you sit down and stress the importance of those five batsmen, and you set yourself a challenge of batting a day and a half in the first innings, it is then up to those five batsmen to negotiate whatever the opposition bowlers throw at them and hang around for five days.”(But) When you have a run-out and a couple of soft dismissals within those five batsmen then it puts pressure on everybody else. That is exactly what happened. We have to get better. We have to learn those mistakes and try not to repeat them.”Marlon Samuels scored the only half-century for West Indies in the first Test. He was also the only batsman with a valid reason for his dismissals. In the first innings, Samuels was bowled by Mohammad Shami after the ball was changed and suddenly began to reverse swing. In the second, he was hit on the pad by another reverse-swinging delivery from Shami and was given lbw by umpire Nigel Llong, though the ball appeared to be going down leg side. The other batsmen had no such excuses.The top-order batsmen Kieran Powell, Chris Gayle and Darren Bravo paid for playing loose shots. Shivnarine Chanderpaul was ineffective in the absence of stable partners. As for Denesh Ramdin, did he even turn up in Kolkata?”Try and bat three days,” Gibson responded, when asked how the West Indies batting could improve. “We won the toss in good batting conditions and we batted 70-odd overs. That is just not good enough. We know in India you have to bat long, put runs on the board, 400 minimum in the first innings really. So the 234 that we made was pretty average.”We were little bit rusty coming in but we are not going to use that as an excuse. We still had our opportunities to make scores – we had six or seven guys who got starts and did not carry on. Only one guy got a half-century. When India batted only one or two of those guys got starts and made hundreds. And that was the difference.”According to Gibson, the five-batsman strategy is a recent one and it has worked for West Indies. Its success, however, depended on every player sticking to the plan, Gibson said. “When you look at the result you sort of want to think that way (whether the five-batsmen plan works). That line-up is the one with which we have played the last three or four Test matches. We backed those guys and they did not perform as well as they did in the past. It is a two-match series so we have to look at the combination to make sure we still believe strongly that we can win here.”

ScorecardDavid Willey made the fastest half-century of the season before taking a hat-trick to seal a memorable evening•Getty Images

Northamptonshire claimed their first major trophy since 1992 by winning the Friends Life t20 with a thumping defeat of Surrey in the final at Edgbaston.Having won just three of their last 27 T20s before this season, dating back to their quarter-final defeat in 2010, Northants went into the campaign as rank outsiders. But there was nothing fortunate about this success.After winning seven of their 10 group games – by contrast, they won just one out of 10 in 2012 – they produced commanding performances in the quarter-final, semi-final and final against clubs which, on at least two of those three occasions, boasted significantly larger playing budgets.Indeed, this final pitted Northants – one of the smaller counties with a turnover of around £3.4m a year – against Surrey, the undisputed financial giants of English cricket, with a turnover that was £23.8m last year.But this was far more than a heartening tale of an underdog enjoying their moment in the sun. For so long a county sliding into irrelevance, Northants are providing a fine example of what can be achieved by smaller counties with sound financial management, astute coaching and a refusal to accept a place among the also-rans. Having changed their coach, captain and chief executive in the last 18 months, Northants have also changed the culture of their club. It is surely more than coincidence that David Ripley, who took over as coach in August 2012, was a member of the Northants side that won the NatWest Trophy in 1992.Whereas Northants used to be a cosy club content with its own mediocrity playing in front of dwindling numbers of spectators in a weary ground, they are now a club demonstrating the enduring value of team spirit, unity of purpose, wise recruitment and the development of local talent. Here, in front of a fine-spirited crowd and on an excellent T20 surface, they played cricket bursting with confidence and joy, reflective of a side enjoying their game and each other’s successes. Here they completely outplayed Surrey.David Willey will, quite rightly, take the plaudits. A product of the club’s own system – his father, Peter, was a stalwart of the club for two-and-a-half decades – Willey not only thrashed the fastest half-century of the season, but also claimed a hat-trick to finish the game. Aged 23, his form has recently won England Lions recognition and, with England looking for a left-arm seamer to replicate the role once performed by Ryan Sidebottom, it may not be too long before he goes a step further.But this success was built around an innings that contained three half-centuries. After Willey, only opening the batting due to a wrist injury sustained by Kyle Coetzer in the semi-final, Cameron White and Alex Wakely added 107 in 56 balls to take Northants to the highest total in an English T20 final. Bearing in mind that the innings was reduced to 18 overs by rain and that is some achievement.Northants actually started relatively sedately. Perhaps taken aback by Zafar Ansari opening the bowling with his left-arm spin, Northants scored only one off the first over and six off the second.But a break for rain instilled new urgency. Willey, who scored only one from his first four balls, then thrashed 50 from his next 15 to reach a 19-ball half-century. It was a blitz that included 20 off one Jade Dernbach over – “I don’t particularly like the bloke,” Willey said by way of explanation, “he made an idiot of himself out there” – and 17 off another from Azhar Mahmood.Even when Willey was out, slicing to deep cover, Wakely, the team captain and another product of the club’s own system, took up the challenge, pulling strongly and reaching his 50 off 25 balls. While White was, initially at least, more cautious, he accelerated in the dying overs and completed his own 39-ball 50 with a six off the final ball of the innings.Surrey’s bowling wilted in the face of such an assault. Two international seamers conceded 108 in eight overs as Mahmood, so frugal in the semi-final, was plundered for 53 in four overs, while Dernbach, offering a variety of full-tosses and half-volleys in an oddly off-colour performance, went for 55. Perhaps the damp conditions rendered it tough to grip the ball, but it was a disappointing performance in the field from Surrey.They never threatened to go close in pursuit. While Glenn Maxwell hit an aggressive 29, the required run-rate demanded greater risk-taking than Northants’ well-disciplined attack would allow. Having stuttered to 70 for 4, Surrey lost their last six wickets for 22 runs including their final four without the addition of a run. In the end, it was a rout.But, amid the rubble of a chastening defeat, Surrey should take some confidence from their journey to the final. After a grim 18-months, this was a step in the right direction and suggested that brighter days lie ahead.This was a good day for English cricket, too. In front of a good-natured, full-house crowd and on a pitch ideal for such a high-profile encounter – full of runs and offering encouragement to good batsmen and good bowlers – it was a day that showcased talent and provided a fine advertisement for T20 cricket.

Friday’s weather changed the shape of this match, denying Durham the opportunity to bat Middlesex out of sight and instead requiring Paul Collingwood to make the right decision on when to declare

Jon Culley at Chester-le-Street25-May-2013
ScorecardJoe Denly steered Middlesex to safety•Getty Images

Friday’s awful weather changed the shape of this match, denying Durham the opportunity from a strong platform to bat Middlesex out of sight and instead requiring Paul Collingwood to make the right decision on when to declare, mindful of the last time he had needed to make a similar judgment, against Yorkshire in April, when it backfired.On that occasion, he gave Yorkshire 103 overs to chase 336 and suffered the embarrassment of watching them cross the line at a relative canter, winning by four wickets with 6.1 overs to spare, albeit after a brilliant innings of 182 by Joe Root.This time he was always likely to err on the side of caution. With Scott Borthwick batting well, scoring a half-century for the second time in the match, Collingwood was in a position to wait for his moment, but the offer to Middlesex of 304 from 51 overs would have needed another exceptional performance, from a bowler if not a batsman, to lead to anything but a draw.In the event, Durham’s bowlers gave themselves a sniff of a chance when Mark Wood and Graham Onions picked up two wickets each in a spell that reduced Middlesex from 96 for 1 to 129 for 5 but a solid, measured performance by Joe Denly, who will have to shoulder the responsibility of opening again when Chris Rogers joins up with Australia, steered his side to a draw that leaves them second in the table, a point behind new leaders Sussex. Durham climb above Yorkshire to go third.Collingwood afterwards said in one breath that he felt the decision was “spot on” but qualified the comment to the effect that “spot on” meant that such gains that the bowlers were able to make came with the security of knowing that defeat was out of the equation.”There was always a temptation to pull out a little bit sooner and give the bowlers a few more overs but we knocked off 180 in 20 overs ourselves only a few weeks ago and you don’t want to gift the opposition a win on a flat wicket,” Collingwood said.”Obviously after Yorkshire I’m going to be a little bit negative but I would be criticised for being too bold. I said after that game that I was still learning about how the wicket here behaves and it was pretty flat again.”If we had not lost so much time I’m pretty sure we would have won. But as it was we were going to have to take a huge risk to try to win the game and we did not feel it was worth the risk. Middlesex might be at the top end of the league at the end of the season and you don’t want to hand them that amount of points.”But we kept taking wickets. Graham Onions was terrific and Mark Wood bowled with a lot of aggression and skill. I was proud of the way we stuck at it.”After eight wins in 13 Championship matches since he replaced Phil Mustard as captain, Collingwood’s record generally is impressive and the effort Durham’s bowlers put in to try to force the issue reflected strong morale in the dressing room.It was a tall order for them to take 10 wickets, regardless of the task facing Middlesex. The aforementioned four wickets did, in the space of 11 overs, place uncertainty in Middlesex’s minds and encouraged Collingwood briefly at least to think a win might be possible.Wood, holding down a place at last, claimed the major breakthrough when he trapped Rogers leg before and then nipped one back to bowl Dawid Malan with a ball the batsman mistakenly felt he could leave. Onions, who has looked in good shape throughout, had Neil Dexter caught behind and John Simpson taken at second slip.At this point an hour remained, time enough for the idea of an early handshake to be dismissed and the moment for Denly to show the tenacity that has seemed to be lacking on occasions lately and see Middlesex to the close.Ultimately, Denly dug in for the best part of three hours for his unbeaten 73 and lost only one more ally when Gareth Berg was caught in a leg gully trap set by Wood.”We missed Tim Murtagh,” Rogers, the Middlesex captain, said. “We probably conceded defeat in the first session on the first day when we won the toss in conditions where it was doing a bit and we didn’t make the most of it. I think Tim would have been excellent in those conditions. as he has been all season.”Then we lost momentum in the evening session with the first two wickets going cheaply and we were up against it from that point. In the second innings it was all about getting out unscathed.”

Sri Lanka Cricket’s first election by secret ballot concluded peacefully with Jayantha Dharmadasa and Nishantha Ranatunga being elected uncontested for the two most powerful posts of president and secretary respectively.The majority of office-bearers elected for the main posts last year were retained, with the exception of Asanga Seneviratne, who lost his seat as vice-president to Mohan de Silva. That was the only major upset in an otherwise straightforward contest. K Mathivanan retained his seat as one of the vice-presidents by polling the highest with 113 votes. Nuski Mohamed retained his seat as treasurer when he beat his opponent Eastman Narangoda by 32 votes (87-55).The election was supervised by officials of the Elections Department at the request of SLC because this was the first time a secret ballot was being used to elect the office-bearers. Although all the key office-bearer posts barring the president and secretary were contested, the incumbent office-bearers managed to re-elect themselves for a two-year term. The official term for the previous year’s board was one year, but due to postponement of elections, their term was stretched to 15 months.Jayantha Dharmadasa was appointed the sole nominee for the position, after the three original candidates were disqualified, for three different reasons. Thilanga Sumathipala was first ruled to be contravening Sri Lanka’s sports law, which states no person linked to the betting industry, media or a sports equipment business may stand for SLC presidency, before incumbent president Upali Dharmadasa – Jayantha’s brother – and Badureliya Sports Club president Sumith Perera, were disqualified by the board for falling foul of the SLC constitution.With no legitimate candidates left standing, SLC’s executive then exercised a constitutional right to appoint their own nominee, after Jayantha Dharmadasa expressed strong interest in the role, and had already acquired the documentation that would allow him to stand for election.

Full list of office bearers

President – Jayantha Dharmadasa
Vice-Presidents – K Mathivanan, Mohan De Silva
Secretary – Nishantha Ranatunga
Asst. Secretary – Hirantha Perera
Treasurer – Nuski Mohamed
Asst. Treasurer – Ajita Pasqual
Tournament committee – Roshan Iddamalgoda (chairman), Kavinda Liyanage (secretary), Manuja Kariyapperuma, Samantha Dodanwela, Upali Seneviratne.
Umpires Committee – ARM Aroos (chairman), Gajaba Pitigala, Jayantha Paranathala, Lal Ranasinghe, Hiran Jayamanne
Tour Organising Committee – One of the SLC vice-presidents (chairman), SLC secretary (secretary), Chandra Rodrigo, Anil de Silva, Roland Perera, Daminda Cooray, Jayantha Jayaweera
Sponsorship Committee – One of the SLC vice presidents (chairman), SLC treasurer (secretary), Sarath Abeysundara, Matheesha Dharmasiri, Eranga Egodawela, plus two to be picked by ExCo.
District Associations – Thilina Tennekoon, Dr Sandasegara
Affiliated Clubs – Jayananda Warnaweera, Sumith Perera
Controlling Clubs – Shammi Silva, Srinath Silva, Irwin Jayawardene
Mercantile CA – Ashley Ratnayake
Nationalised Services CA – Nalin Aponso
Schools Association – president and secretary of SLSCA

Jayantha Dharmadasa was SLC interim president from 2005 to 2007, and is joint managing director of business conglomerate Nawaloka Group, alongside his brother. Ranatunga was elected to the post of secretary without contest for the second year in a row.He had also served in that role in two interim committees immediately preceding the 2012 elections, and has been SLC’s secretary since 2009. Before last year’s election, SLC had been run by a series of interim committees for seven years.Seneviratne, who was one of two vice-presidents elected last year lost his seat by 13 votes to de Silva, a former SLC president. Silva polled 81 to Seneviratne’s 68. Hirantha Perera and Ajitha Pasqual also retained their posts as assistant secretary and assistant treasurer respectively.Perera polled 79 against his opponent Bandula Dissanayake, who managed 51 while 14 votes were rejected. A third contestant, Priyantha Soysa, withdrew. Pasqual won by the thinnest of margins against Irwin Jayawardene (71-68) with five votes being rejected.Outgoing president Upali Dharmadasa will automatically serve in the next Executive Committee as the immediate past president, making it the first instance of two brothers serving in an SLC committee.There were contests for the tournament, umpires and tour organising committees while the sponsorship committee went uncontested for lack of candidates.The new board is another major change in a season of flux for SLC. In the past three months, SLC has appointed a new CEO, two new captains (Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal) and a new fast bowling coach (Chaminda Vaas), while the sports minister named a new selection panel, headed by Sanath Jayasuriya, in February.The elections were conducted amid tight security at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall in Colombo. It commenced at 10.30am and lasted a marathon eight hours.

Hashim Amla believes the second Test against Pakistan in Cape Town was South Africa’s toughest challenge this summer

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Feb-2013

Hashim Amla has paid tribute to Pakistan’s spirited performance in the second Test at Newlands, saying the team had pushed South Africa “to our limits in certain respects”.”We were under pressure in our first innings, and then had to chase180 in the second,” he said. “[It] was never going to be an easy total.”Pakistan scored 338 in the first innings, with centuries from Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq. South Africa could have dismissed them for less than 300, when they were 268 for 8, but a 74-run stand for the ninth wicket between Tanvir Ahmed and Saeed Ajmal took Pakistan to a competitive total.After South Africa posted 326 in their first innings, Pakistan had a chance at victory, provided they could put together another substantial total. In the end they were dismissed for 169, leaving South Africa 182 to chase.Amla believed Robin Peterson’s 84 in the first innings helped close the gap on Pakistan, and ultimately proved the difference. “We all know the kind of work Robbie puts in behind the scenes, so it was wonderful to watch him oozing with confidence while he was batting,” he said. “He also made a significant contribution with the ball and has become a recognised player in his own right.”Saeed Ajmal, who picked up 4 for 51 to go with his 6 for 96 in the first innings, along with Mohammad Irfan providing pace and bounce, ensured the chase wasn’t easy and South Africa reached their target with four wickets in hand.Amla was unperturbed about the team’s modest batting performance. “It was not an easy wicket to bat on in the first innings – for both teams – and I wouldn’t read too much into it.”South Africa dismissed Pakistan cheaply in the second innings despite Morne Morkel bowling only 3.1 overs before injuring his hamstring. Morkel will not play the third Test in Centurion, with Rory Kleinveldt slotted to take his place.”Rory has become an integral part of the team, filling in whenever someone has been injured,” Amla said. “Against New Zealand [in January 2013], he bowled really well and he’s a quality performer. It’s a lovely opportunity for Rory to cement his position as one of the leading bowlers in the country.”Despite securing the series with a 2-0 lead, Amla emphasised every game was important as it maintained a winning culture within the team. “A lot of us in the top order have got in, but haven’t made massive contributions, so we’re hungry to do that. The bowlers have enjoyed their wickets, and will want to keep on in that vein, so there is a lot to play for. This country is a very proud nation so we have a duty to uphold in that regard.”

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has denied the PCB’s claims that it had not followed the correct procedure for approaching players for the Bangladesh Premier League

Mohammad Isam18-Jan-2013The PCB’s response

“In order to put the record straight, it is stated that PCB received no request from Bangladesh Cricket Board regarding release of its players for the auction of BPL.
“It should also be noted that the tour of Bangladesh to Pakistan in April 2008 was an FTP commitment and in no way a favor to PCB. It is pertinent to mention here that just before that tour, Zimbabwe and South Africa also visited Pakistan in the same period.
“As far as the first edition of BPL (2012) is concerned, the PCB cooperated with the BCB after then president BCB Mostafa Kamal made long-term commitments and understandings and requested the PCB to support their league. The release of the players on part of PCB was intended to make the inaugural tournament of the BCB a success.”

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has denied the PCB’s claims that it had not followed the correct procedure for approaching players for the Bangladesh Premier League. The Bangladesh board also said that the PCB’s last-minute refusal to give Pakistan players NOCs has caused it to be in a “difficult and embarrassing situation”.”On December 5, 2012, the BCB had formally written to the national cricket associations of all Full Members seeking support and cooperation for issuance of ‘No Objection Certificate’ to the cricketers under their respective jurisdiction who were interested in participating in the 2nd edition of BPL T20,” a BCB media release said.”The subsequent player auction, in which a good number of Pakistani players were bid for and picked up by different franchises, received worldwide media coverage. At no point during the continuous communication between the BCB and PCB on various matters since the BPL 2013 auction on December 20, 2012 did the PCB raise any concern about the NOC issue until January 16, 2013.”The PCB had claimed that the BCB bypassed them and approached the players directly. “This was regrettably felt by BCB when they approached PCB at the last moment for release of the players for their league,” a Pakistan board media release said.”As per practice and procedures in vogue, a home board has to approach the visiting players’ parent board seeking release of its players for their domestic cricket competitions. In BPL’s case, BCB, their representatives or the players’ agents were in contact directly with the Pakistan players and PCB was kept out of this process. Even the auction of Pakistan players at BPL was done without PCB’s prior permission or intimation.”The BCB also reminded Pakistan of their cooperation when Australia had refused to tour the country in 2008. Bangladesh had toured Pakistan in April that year, playing five ODIs and a Twenty20. But over the last year, the relations between the two boards have been poor, culminating in the PCB stopping their players’ participation in Bangladesh’s domestic Twenty20 competition.