All posts by h716a5.icu

Fred was superb once again while his compatriot came off the bench to fire his team beyond the Catalan giants.

It was a Jekyll and Hyde performance from Manchester United as they beat Barcelona 2-1 (4-3 on aggregate) to progress to the last 16 of the Europa League.

Antony's angelic finish completed the massive turnaround from the Red Devils, who were sloppy and turgid in the first half, but smooth and effective in the second to secure a deserved win.

Robert Lewandowski gave Barca the lead in the first half after Bruno Fernandes' recklessness conceded a penalty, but it was the Portugal star who helped set up the fantastic Fred for the equaliser before playing a role in the winner.

GOAL rates Manchester United's players from Old Trafford…

GettyGoalkeeper & Defence

David de Gea (6/10):

Got a hand to Lewandowski's penalty but it was not enough to keep the striker out. Gave Barca a golden opportunity with a horrible pass to nobody in particular. Pulled off a strong save on a Kounde header that proved vital.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka (6/10):

Some wayward passes and crosses in the first half but he grew into the game with some decent attacking moves.

Raphael Varane (7/10):

A decent performance from the centre-back, who looked comfortable defensively and found Antony with an excellent long pass. Made a huge block to deny Lewandowski right at the end.

Lisandro Martinez (8/10):

Solid at the back once again. If Barca managed to get past Shaw on the left, Martinez was there to cut them out. Even recovered from his own initial mistakes, like digging in to stop Kessie after failing to play him offside.

Luke Shaw (5/10):

A poor performance from the left-back. Barca were able to get by him one too many times and he did not offer much going forward.

AdvertisementGettyMidfield

Casemiro (8/10):

Always lingering around the base of the midfield, ready to sweep up and cut out Barca's passes. Saved De Gea's blushes with a vital intervention after De Gea served up a great chance on a plate.

Fred (7/10):

Another strong performance from the Brazilian midfielder, got a well-deserved goal to level the score. Fought hard for every ball that came near him all over the pitch. He's been so often maligned by fans, so this was a big moment for him.

Jadon Sancho (5/10):

Tasked with playing in the number 10 role for the first half and did not look comfortable at all. Moved to the left wing and United immediately reaped the rewards, as he played it into Bruno, who teed up Fred for the equaliser.

GettyAttack

Marcus Rashford (6/10):

Had a rather quiet first half but was more lively in the second as United's attack changed shape. Chased down balls with determination and was more of a direct threat but not as devastating as fans have come to expect.

Wout Weghorst (4/10):

Tried to press the Barca defence but was tame on the ball and unsurprisingly replaced by Antony at half-time.

Bruno Fernandes (8/10):

Let his team down with a silly foul to give away a penalty and got a needless booking for smashing the ball straight at De Jong. Proved important early in the second half when he set up Fred's equaliser, won the ball for to create the winner and was still giving his all until the very end.

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Subs & Manager

Antony (8/10):

Replaced Weghorst for the second half and was trying hard to create some danger, eventually firing in the decisive second goal. His biggest moment with the Red Devils – by far.

Diogo Dalot (6/10):

On in the second half for Wan-Bissaka and was immediately overlapping Antony on the right. Helped United remain threatening for the rest of the match.

Alejandro Garnacho (6/10):

Replaced Sancho to provide a more direct threat and looked more lively than his predecessor.

Scott McTominay (N/A):

Took Rashford's place late on but did not have enough time to make an impact.

Erik ten Hag (9/10):

Made some key half-time changes to inspire his team's turnaround in the second half. They were second best for the first 45 minutes but he corrected his mistake by moving Sancho from a central position to the left and Fernandes to the right. Bringing Antony and Garnacho on for the underwhelming Weghorst and Sancho proved perfect calls, too.

Josh Hazlewood has called for Cricket Australia to organise more T20 internationals in the lead-up to such big-ticket events

Arun Venugopal in Kolkata12-Mar-2016Australia’s record in World T20 events is a rather curious anomaly for a team that has generally bossed ICC events. The general perception – no doubt a result of holding Australia to the exalted standards they have set for themselves in the 50-over World Cup – is they have flopped in each of the five previous editions of the World T20, but in reality they have been hit or miss. Australia have managed two semi-finals and a final but have not made the knockouts in their other two attempts; in fact, their campaign in 2009 lasted a mere three days.Some would suggest that Australia have rarely taken Twenty20 cricket seriously enough, despite their players being highly sought after in leagues across the world, not to mention the recent popularity of the Big Bash. The players disagree with such a notion but, undoubtedly, there is recognition that they need to play a greater number of T20Is.In the last 12 months Australia have played only seven T20Is; among the eight top-ranked teams only England (7) and West Indies (2) have played that number or fewer. Pakistan (17), India (15), Sri Lanka (13) and South Africa (11) have played a considerably higher number of matches, with India and Sri Lanka stacking their calendar to such an extent that they have played eleven and nine matches respectively since the new year.Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood reckoned his team would do well to adopt a similar approach and called for Cricket Australia to organise more T20 internationals in the lead-up to such big-ticket events.”We obviously don’t play as much T20 cricket as some of the other nations, and even in these conditions we don’t play as much,” he told journalists in Kolkata.”I think we definitely could play T20 a little bit more leading into big tournaments like this and probably in conditions that we are going to face in the tournament. In the future that’s something that we have to look at. It [India playing many games] is smart leading into a T20 tournament, to play a lot of that format that you are going to play. I think we are getting better at it but I think we still need to improve it.”John Hastings, Hazlewood’s pace-bowling partner, agreed with the observation of their captain, Steven Smith, that the absence of many regular players from the Test and ODI side hurt Australia. He also felt that the heavy turnover of players didn’t afford them much time to figure out their roles in the team.”I think mainly it’s because we haven’t probably had a settled line-up over the years where the guys are resting at the back of a Test tour or a one day tour,” he said. “There’s been a lot of different players coming through and making their debuts for Australia in T20 cricket. So when you are always chopping and changing, it’s difficult to have a really defined role in the side on what you want to get of it and what the team needs you to do.”Smith, however, was confident about Australia’s chances given the number of players in the team who had knowledge of Indian conditions.”Traditionally we haven’t done as well as we would have liked in this format. This is a tournament that has eluded us so we’re here to try and win it,” he said. “We have all certainly played a lot of T20 cricket. We know how to play the game and if we do it to the best of our ability we are going to be a tough side to beat.”I think IPL has been great in the development of a lot of players from all around the world. The experiences we have had from the IPL will hold us in good stead for this tournament. A lot of us know what to expect, what the conditions are going to be like. What it’s like playing in front of big crowds here in India. We’re really excited.”Hastings said Australia’s 2-1 win in their recent T20 international series against South Africa was an injection of positive energy just ahead of the World T20. “It’s been great that this last two weeks in South Africa we have had a pretty settled team,” he said. “It’s the same fifteen that are going to be with us right through for the next three weeks. I think that will hold us in better shape now [since] we know our guys inside out. Now it’s about going out and executing our skills.”

In his final Test, in a series New Zealand cannot win, Brendon McCullum has floated the possibility of playing an all-pace attack on a pitch he deemed ‘not pleasant’ for the batsmen

Brydon Coverdale in Christchurch19-Feb-2016Brendon McCullum is renowned for his relentless attack, whether hurling himself into the advertising boards in a desperate attempt to save a boundary, or setting Test-like slip cordons during one-day games. So it should be no surprise that on the eve of his final Test match, McCullum floated the possibility of another aggressive move: four fast men and no spinner. It would be a bold bid to level the series with Australia at Hagley Oval.It would also be a significant gamble, but then McCullum loves a punt. He will now never lift the Trans-Tasman Trophy but why not go all-in as he eyes 1-1? How he would love to win the toss and send the Australians in if the selectors give him Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Matt Henry and Neil Wagner. Having seen the pitch on match eve, McCullum declared that “it’s not going to be necessarily a pleasant time out there with bat in hand”.New Zealand’s selectors will need to make at least one change to the attack due to Doug Bracewell’s shoulder injury, but McCullum said they were considering whether to make a second change as well. McCullum has been a vocal supporter of offspinner Mark Craig throughout this summer but it cannot be ignored that he has struggled for impact against Australia, and in four Tests against them he has 10 wickets at 66.60.”Matt Henry will come in for Doug Bracewell,” McCullum said on Friday, “and it’s just trying to work out whether we play Mark Craig or Neil Wagner and that’s the decision we’ve got to make.”Last time New Zealand entered a Test without a frontline spinner was at the Basin Reserve against India two years ago: legspinner Ish Sodhi had played in the victory in the first Test in Auckland, but was left out in Wellington. The move did not work for New Zealand, who were sent in to bat, got rolled for 192 and needed a second-innings triple-century from McCullum in order to battle out a draw.The first two days at Hagley Oval are sold out, and most members of the crowd would be pretty happy if McCullum could replicate that triple-hundred for his farewell to Test cricket. It will not be that simple, especially if Australia win the toss again. But one thing observers should expect is a typical McCullum innings: he won’t die wondering in conditions that should favour the bowlers.”Maybe it’s one of those times when fortune favours the brave,” he said. “We’ll see what unfolds. I think it will go around for a while … It’s probably not quite as hard as the Basin. I thought the Basin was a really good cricket wicket. It did a lot in that first session and then dried out a little bit quicker than what a team who’s been bowled out for 180 wanted.”In fact, not much of the Test summer against Australia has gone as New Zealand wanted, home or away. After New Zealand reached the World Cup final and then drew a Test series in England – a better result than Australia achieved during the Ashes – expectations were high for a competitive Trans-Tasman summer. McCullum acknowledged that his men had not played to their potential in losing three of the four Tests against Australia this season.”Probably trying too hard,” he said. “Sometimes when you want something so much, you start to tighten up a little bit. Australia, if you give them an inch, they know how to take it. That’s why they’ve been such a good team for such a long period of time. If we look at the first Test matches of both series, they’ve started brilliantly and we’ve struggled to keep up.”As the series has worn on, we’ve started to get ourselves back into it. The nature of games these days is that the majority of them are reaching results so you can’t be behind the eight-ball as far as what we have been in those two Test matches. It’s a combination of us being a bit tight and a bit keen to do well and also Australia being ruthless when they get the opportunity.”Despite that, the era that comes to an end this week has been a successful one for New Zealand. They have still not lost a Test series at home since McCullum and coach Mike Hesson came together in 2012, and McCullum’s leadership has galvanised the country behind the cricket team in a way that usually only the All Blacks can achieve.On Thursday night, the All Blacks were named Team of the Year at the Halberg Awards for New Zealand sporting excellence, but Kane Williamson was Sportsman of the Year, Grant Elliott’s six to win the World Cup semi-final was voted Sporting Moment of the Year, and McCullum won the Sport New Zealand Leadership Award. It was a case of success in black tie; this week they want success in black caps.

James Whitaker will have gleaned little that he did not already know from his visit to New Road. Ian Bell made a century, the 50th of his career in first-class cricket, and Worcestershire collapsed miserably to an innings defeat, which is sadly not a rar

Jon Culley at New Road15-Jun-2015
ScorecardBoyd Rankin helped rip through Worcestershire•Getty ImagesJames Whitaker will have gleaned little that he did not already know from his visit to New Road. Ian Bell made a century, the 50th of his career in first-class cricket, and Worcestershire collapsed miserably to an innings defeat, which is sadly not a rarity either.What the national selector wanted to see, you supposed, was a little more of Moeen Ali bowling, given that the purpose of the England offspinner’s return to red-ball county duty was to get in some overs. Yet Moeen’s ration, curiously, in a Warwickshire first innings spanning almost 92 overs was limited to six.This might look like an odd state of affairs, although Daryl Mitchell, the Worcestershire captain, should be cut some slack. He had Saaed Ajmal back for his first Championship match of the season, and having reaped the benefits of the Pakistan offspinner’s 63 wickets in nine matches last year he was hardly likely to ask him to play second fiddle to Moeen.In the event, Ajmal bowled 17 overs and conceded 82 runs without taking a wicket, which raised immediate questions over whether the powers he could summon up before his action was deemed illegal have gone. The remodelled version appeared to hold no mysteries for anyone.Moeen might have been given another chance in the second innings but none was required after Worcestershire were bowled out inside 33 overs for 80, the lowest all out total for the county since the match against Warwickshire in 2012 when they were dismissed for 60 and Warwickshire clinched the title.Bell, who made 111 before he was leg before to Jack Shantry as one of five wickets for the left-arm seamer, looked in good order. To say he has been dropped by England is not really accurate. His omission from the one-day series is more a case of allowing him a break from the treadmill after a relatively lean run of form in the Test side and to suggest he is fighting for a place in the Ashes series is an exaggeration.In any event, this was an impressive statement of his wellbeing. The way this match concluded may give the impression of a one-sided contest but Warwickshire had been 35 for 4 on Sunday evening before Bell had settled in and on the second morning a difficult opening session had to be negotiated.Bell was hit on the hand by one that jumped off a length from Shantry, who had Tim Ambrose caught behind by Ben Cox, standing up, and should have seen off Rikki Clarke by the same method when the allrounder was on 9, only for the wicketkeeper to let the ball slip through his hands. Clarke had a second escape before lunch, dropped at second slip off Charlie Morris. But Bell, a model of concentration and exemplary footwork, completed his hundred from 181 balls with three to midwicket off Ajmal in the fourth over after lunch.The evidence is that returning to county cricket usually brings Bell back into form. In his last nine appearances for Warwickshire, he has not failed to make at least a half-century in one innings and four times gone on to make a hundred, something he acknowledged afterwards.”Yes it has been a tricky few Tests but it is not that long ago that I made my last hundred for England and I hope to be part of that for a while to come,” he said. “I have been through highs and lows with England and you go in and out of form and it is nice sometimes to step away from the spotlight, work hard in the nets and hopefully with a bit of form I can get into the Ashes and hit the ground running.”Bell shared partnerships of 71 with Ambrose and 135 with Clarke, as Worcestershire’s optimism of Sunday evening began to dissolve. After Bell and Clarke had ensured that Warwickshire would have a lead, Keith Barker stretched it to 97 with an unbeaten 50 off 54 balls.It was a good lead on a pitch that you felt was likely to help Jeetan Patel as the sun grew in intensity but Worcestershire must have felt they could make a game of it, at least. Instead, they were abject and most of the damage was done even before the New Zealand offspinner became involved. Chris Wright, later to hold a very good catch from a steepler put up by Shantry, removed Mitchell and Richard Oliver in his second over. Moeen pulled him for six but was the bowled pushing at one from Barker and a sense of impending doom seemed to descend in that moment.Resistance was almost non-existent as Boyd Rankin bowled Tom Fell and then Alex Gidman, gaining a third success when Joe Clarke prodded at one outside off stump that Bell caught at third slip. Barker added a couple more to give him seven in the match and Patel wrapped things up, the match ending in the 33rd over of the innings when Charlie Morris hit Patel tamely to mid-off.Warwickshire, for the moment, climb to second in the table. Worcestershire, who have lost eight times in a row now to their nearest neighbours, have been competitive in several matches so far and have that win over Somerset in the bank. but they will need to shake this out of their system quickly.

The striker has been generating a huge amount of excitement in Italy for some time now and looks destined to achieve great things

There were still seven minutes remaining in AC Milan's Serie A clash with Fiorentina when Stefano Pioli decided to make a change up front. "Off goes Luka Jovic annnnnnnd…." the stadium announcer said, his voice rising along with the excitement inside the Giuseppe Meazza, "FOR THE FIRST TIME…. NUMBER 73… FRANCESCO CAMARDA!"

The crowd at San Siro erupted, the Curva Sud chanting his name while Camarda's mother burst into tears. As for her son, he simply puffed out his cheeks and smiled. It was, Camarda admitted afterwards, "something unique that I will never forget".

Nobody will, in fairness, because this was history in the making; Camarda made his first appearance for Milan at just 15 years and 260 days old – making him the youngest player Serie A has ever seen.

A combination of injury and suspension had forced Pioli's hand but nobody was in the least bit surprised that the Rossoneri coach had, in his desperation, turned to Camarda. He was being tipped for greatness even before he made his first appearance for the Primavera (Under-19s) earlier this season. Indeed, the feeling at San Siro has long been that Milan have already found their next great goalscorer…

Where it all began

Camarda was born in Milan and began playing organised football with Afforese, a small but famous club located in the north-west of the city.

Despite being just six when he joined, his incredible potential was immediately obvious to Piero Colangelo, who was responsible for the lowest age groups at the time.

"He was three years younger than some of the kids but he was doing the training exercises better than anyone," he told .

"Let me be clear: I don't want to take any credit. Everything Francesco has done is exclusively thanks to him. The first time I saw him, I was shocked: he already looked like a miniature footballer. So, his case is absolutely unique. I have never met boys with his qualities since.

"He scored loads of goals even with the older players; there was no way to stop him. He already had a powerful physique, he played forward or as a winger and was clearly superior to everyone: he was a hurricane, a pain for all his opponents."

Unsurprisingly, his exploits at Afforese attracted the attention of Milan, whom he joined in 2015.

AdvertisementThe big break

There was no containing Camarda at Milan either. The 'hurricane' laid waste to every defence that had the misfortune to be placed in his path, obliterating one record after another, reportedly averaging five goals a game as he progressed from one under-age team to another.

He struck 22 times in 25 appearances for Milan's Under-15 Italian champions, including the winner in the Scudetto final against Fiorentina.

By that stage, the hype surrounding Camarda was already building and he inevitably began to attract the attention of rival clubs, particularly as Milan were not in a position to tie him down to a long-term professional contract until he turned 16.

However, in one of his last moves before being ruthlessly sacked by Milan, Paolo Maldini went out of his way to assure Camarda and his family that his future would be best served by staying at San Siro, revealing that he would be added to the Primavera (Under-19s) squad for the 2023-24 season.

How it's going

On his UEFA Youth League debut, Camarda scored two goals and created another in a 4-0 rout of Newcastle. In his most recent outing, against Paris Saint-Germain on November 7, he helped Milan to a 3-2 win with a stunning scissors-kick.

So, when Pioli realised that he would be without both Rafael Leao and Noah Okafor for Saturday's game against Fiorentina due to injury, as well as the suspended Olivier Giroud, he decided to call up Camarda.

The youngster had already trained with the senior squad several times, even featuring in a pre-season friendly against Trento.

Consequently, Pioli had no doubts that Camarda was ready to make the step up.

"Talent has no age," the coach told reporters on the eve of the match at San Siro, "and Francesco undoubtedly has it."

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GettyBiggest strengths

Camarda is considered a complete No.9, an all-action, all-round attacker blessed with excellent technique who is strong in the air and boasts a fearsome strike. However, what really stands out is his character.

As Pioli has commented, Camarda is "very mature" for his age – which is why he had no qualms about throwing him at the deep end on Saturday.

He's also a fiercely competitive character. Famously, in a match against Bayern Munich in 2018, he was forced off with an ankle injury after 15 minutes only to ask his coach to be sent back on (which is allowed in the lower age groups) with 10 minutes remaining because Milan were trailing by two goals. Despite still being in serious pain, Camarada was directly involved in three goals, scoring two himself, as the Rossoneri came from behind to win.

It is that will to win, mixed with his obvious prodigious talent, that has got Camarda to this point in his professional career at such a ridiculously young age.

It’s that time of the season when the middle of the table is a logjam, with a constant churn in the teams’ positions after each match-day

The Preview by Karthik Krishnaswamy03-May-2015Match factsMonday, May 4, 2015
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)Big pictureIt’s that time of the season when the middle of the table is a logjam, with a constant churn in the teams’ positions after each match-day. Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad are both in that logjam, and neither team can afford major slip-ups hereon.A Knight Riders win will take them to 11 points but a defeat will leave them outside the top four, with Sunrisers leapfrogging them on the table.The strengths and weaknesses of both teams are fairly well known. Sunrisers have plenty of options with the ball, but not a lot of genuine pace, with only one of Trent Boult or Dale Steyn able to play on most occasions. They have one of the best opening pairs in the tournament, but their middle order is an area of constant chop and change.Knight Riders have a strong bowling attack, and have been able to cope fairly well without Sunil Narine, but the two fast bowlers they’ve preferred – Umesh Yadav and Pat Cummins – have been expensive. Their regular top three have had erratic seasons, and while their middle order packs quite some punch, its ability against high-quality bowling can be questioned. Sunrisers themselves exposed this when Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Praveen Kumar stifled Knight Riders in a truncated run-chase in Visakhapatnam.But Knight Riders know how to win at their home ground. The pitch suits their style of play, and their spinners. Last season, Sunrisers had one of the best spin attacks in the competition, but this year they have let go of Amit Mishra and relied far more on their seamers. It’s only one of a number of potential factors that could decide this match, but Knight Riders will start favourites if the Eden Gardens pitch is anything like its usual self.Watch out forKnight Riders have preferred him to Morne Morkel for their last three matches, but Pat Cummins hasn’t delivered yet. He’s been expensive, giving away 9.70 runs an over, and has only taken one wicket in 10 overs. Cummins will need to step up if Knight Riders are to keep faith in him.A blistering 61 against Chennai Super Kings lifted David Warner above Ajinkya Rahane to the top rung of the IPL run-getter’s ladder. Warner has been extremely consistent for Sunrisers, with five half-centuries in eight matches, and his form has been key to their recovery from a slow start to the season. If he keeps at it, Sunrisers have a real chance of making the playoffs.Stats and trivia Karn Sharma’s numbers have shown a steady decline over his three seasons at Sunrisers. His bowling average and economy rate were 20.90 and 6.60 in 2013, and 25.06 and 7.42 in 2014. This year, he’s picked up only four wickets in eight matches, at 47.75, and has conceded 7.95 runs an over. David Warner needs to hit four sixes, and Robin Uthappa six, to get to 100 in their respective IPL careers. Nine players have reached that mark so far, with AB de Villiers and Kieron Pollard also in the 90s. Quotes”We got four big games to go – we got two home games which are going to be important. We are pretty good at home. We are at the business end of the tournament, so there is going to be a pressure on us.”
“We certainly hope that that is going to turn around. We need to complement the confidence both David and Shikhar give. We know that we need to spring a few wins.”

They may come from very different backgrounds but it seems there's a great deal of respect between Paul Mullin and Wrexham director Humphrey Ker.

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Mullin warm in praise of director KerSays club wouldn't be same without himRecalls famous scene in Welcome to WrexhamGettyWHAT HAPPENED?

Ker was dispatched to Wrexham as the eyes and ears of new owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and has become a key part in the rise of the club. And it seems he's won the hearts and minds of everyone at Wrexham including the club's talismanic striker, who was full of affection for the man who staked his job on bringing him to north Wales. Mullin recalled the famous scene from when Ker urged Reynolds and McElhenney to go all-out for Mullin, while lavishing praise on Wrexham's executive director in his recently-published book .

AdvertisementGettyWHAT PAUL MULLIN SAID ABOUT HUMPHREY KER

"Truth is, Humphrey’s a fantastic bloke," wrote Mullin. "Loved by the players as much as he is by everyone else at the club. In all honesty, Wrexham without Humphrey Ker just wouldn’t be Wrexham. Eton-educated and a seasoned stage performer he might be, but actually he couldn’t be a more natural part of the club – always there wanting to help, making sure the players have got everything they need, just a really positive presence.

"Humphrey’s the complete embodiment of Wrexham FC, a club that might still be battling away at the wrong end of the National League were it not for his little chat with his pal Rob. Humphrey also played a massive role in bringing me to the Racecourse.

"He’s on film putting his job on the line when it comes to assuring the club that signing me will bring promotion. On the night it actually happened, I couldn’t resist. ‘Congratulations,’ I told him, ‘I’ve just saved your job!’"

GettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

A famous early scene in sees the softly-spoken Ker introduce himself to the playing staff shortly after Reynolds and McElhenney take control of the club. As Ker leaves the room, the squad chuckle, giving the distinct impression that he's unlikely to fit into the bawdy world of lower-league professional football. But Mullin's glowing words underline how much a part of Wrexham's success Ker is accountable for and how much affection the players have for him.

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WHAT NEXT FOR MULLIN AND KER?

Ker will be hoping Mullin's goals can fire Wrexham to a second-consecutive promotion and further underline his bold call to go all out to bring the striker to the Racecourse Ground.

Buy your copy of Paul Mullin's brilliant new autobiography My Wrexham Story on Amazon.

How are the continent’s five Qatar-bound stars stacking up ahead of Friday’s draw?

Getty ImagesWorld Cup draw

Following the pulsating—if controversial—conclusion to Africa’s World Cup qualifying campaign, the identities of the continent’s five sides for Qatar are known.

On Friday evening, they’ll learn their opponents for the opening round of the 2022 when the World Cup group stage draw is conducted in Doha.

Ahead of the draw, here’s our Power Ranking of the five sides set to represent the continent at the global high table.

AdvertisementGetty Images5. Tunisia

Unimpressive at the recent Africa Cup of Nations—although they did eliminate Nigeria—Tunisia arguably had the most straightforward playoff draw after being pitted against a Mali side who had never before qualified for the World Cup.

The Carthage Eagles have extensive World Cup pedigree—they’ve qualified successfully for five of the last seven tournaments—but they’re yet to reach the knockout stages for the first time.

The likes of Wahbi Khazri and Youssef Msakni give them a cutting edge, although failure to score home or away against Mali (it was an own goal away that saw them through) isn’t particularly encouraging.

Backpage4. Ghana

The Black Stars are riding high after eliminating fierce regional rivals Nigeria in their playoff, in a triumph that has gone a long way to banishing the memory of their miserable Africa Cup of Nations campaign.

The transformation in the side has been sublime since that disastrous elimination by Comoros in Cameroon, and suddenly there’s optimism around the camp again.

Thomas Partey’s role in the midfield will give Ghana hope against any opposition, even if the likes of Mohammed Kudus, Kamaldeen Sulemana, Felix Afena-Gyan and Abdul Fatawu Issahaku are still at the early stages of their international career.

If the Black Stars can convince Tariq Lamptey and Callum Hudson-Odoi to sign up before Qatar, they could be a dark horse.

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Getty Images3. Cameroon

The decision to replace head coach Toni Conceicao with Rigobert Song looked to have cost Cameroon during the playoffs, with the Indomitable Lions having fallen at home to Algeria in the first leg.

They made amends with a stunning victory in Blida in the second leg—the first time the Fennecs have lost at the venue—with Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting winning the match in 90 minutes before Karl Toko Ekambi netted the late, late winner in extra time.

Of course, they have World Cup pedigree—no one has qualified more often—and they’ll be massively buoyed after eliminating both Algeria and the Ivory Coast during qualification.

Barney Jones, chairman of the USA selection committee, has said that the reason many experienced players were not picked for the ICC Americas Division One T20 tournament was because they did not attend last weekend’s USACA T20 National Championship

Peter Della Penna09-Apr-2015Barney Jones, chairman of the USA Cricket Association selection committee, has said that the reason many experienced players, including national captain Steve Massiah, were not picked for the upcoming ICC Americas Division One T20 tournament was because they did not attend last weekend’s USACA T20 National Championship in Florida.”We can’t afford to pick people just because they played for the US before and they didn’t show up or make the commitment,” Jones told ESPNcricinfo. “We decided that we will select players who made the commitment to come out to the tournament. In order to get a proper team where people can work together, I believe that if we had picked people who didn’t attend the tournament, and everyone knows who was there, that would create some kind of dissension and that’s not what we want. I believe we need to get together, not only USACA but the entire cricket community in the United States, we all need to work together for the benefit of cricket and if we do that I think the US can do well because we have a lot of potential.”The stance taken by Jones and his fellow selectors – Wesley King, Amer Afzaluddin and Vijay Beniwal – is a departure from the past where veteran players were routinely chosen to play for the national team despite not appearing at USACA’s domestic events. As recently as last October’s WCL Division Three in Malaysia, Sushil Nadkarni and Jermaine Lawson were brought on tour despite neither having appeared at August’s National Championship but Jones said that the evidence of USA’s fifth-place finish that brought about relegation to Division Four made it clear that a different approach was needed.”We don’t have to have superstars on the team but if we have a good team where everyone gets along, works together and knows each other’s capabilities, I think we can do well,” Jones said. “As selectors, I think it’s total disrespect that people didn’t show up unless they had a legitimate excuse. If they put it in writing beforehand to the board that they couldn’t get time off work or this happened or that happened, I would go along with that, but from experience in the past I don’t think it’s acceptable. The selection committee agreed, not me as chairman, we agreed we would pick the team based on what we saw over the weekend.”One other area of focus for the selectors was a re-examination of team dynamics based on the ICC’s four-year residency eligibility rule. Teams are allowed to field a maximum of two such players in a starting XI, classified as “deemed nationals”, who have lived in the country for a minimum of 183 days per year for a four-year period immediately preceding an ICC tournament. The rest of the XI must be players who have lived in the country a minimum of seven years or are citizens. USA selected three deemed nationals – Danial Ahmed, Timil Patel and Lawson – in their squad for Malaysia and when Nadkarni was ruled out of the tournament with injury, USA were essentially down to a 12-man squad because one of Ahmed, Patel and Lawson always had to be left out.”Based on what happened in Malaysia, we decided we’re not going to take three of them because it creates a problem,” Jones said. “You have limitations when you do that. So we decided we’re not going to go that way again. There’s some others who didn’t make the reserves because of time eligibility. It makes it very difficult when we have players anything between four and seven years because we can only take two and then you have to look for the best two you want based on the positions.” Ahmed and Patel, a left-arm spinner and a legspinning allrounder respectively, were the two deemed nationals to make this squad.The 14-man squad announced on Tuesday is one of USA’s youngest for an ICC tournament with only two players over 31 and five under 25. The only two specialist fast bowlers in the squad, Jasdeep Singh and Hammad Shahid, are 22 and 23. Jasdeep is yet to make his debut while Shahid’s only two matches for the senior team came in 2012 when he played a T20 and a 50-over game against Canada in Florida during the Auty Cup series. Jones acknowledged that there was a lack of experience in the pace department, but said it was a reflection of two factors: a general lack of depth as well as absence of Usman Shuja and Elmore Hutchinson from the National Championship.”That’s one of the things we’re lacking in this country, genuine fast bowlers across the country. I’ve seen that over the years. We had them before. But we’re going through a period where we don’t have genuine fast bowlers. Looking back at the last three tournaments, USA hasn’t done well. So it’s about time we start rebuilding and try to move forward and give the youngsters a chance to see what they can do. If some of the more experienced players were there in Florida, I’m sure the selection committee would have included some of them, but they weren’t there.”

James Anderson has become the latest England player to play down the criticisms made in Kevin Pietersen’s autobiography

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Oct-2014James Anderson has become the latest England player to attempt to defuse criticisms made in Kevin Pietersen’s autobiography. Anderson rejected the idea that a bullying culture was allowed to flourish in the side and said it was “sad” to hear Pietersen’s version of his time with England.The release of this week has been accompanied by controversy at almost every turn of the page, with Andrew Strauss describing the “madness” as potentially damaging to English cricket.Pietersen’s harshest judgements were reserved for Andy Flower, the former team director, and wicketkeeper Matt Prior, who he describes as being part of a bowler-led clique. Despite being part of that group, Anderson is, however, spared opprobrium, described by Pietersen as “the nicest man in the world”, and he in turn only had good things to say about the Flower era.”We’ve got more important things to worry about than someone’s book,” Anderson said, speaking at a sponsor’s event at Lord’s. “The issues that have been brought up are sad really. The dressing room for the seven or eight years we were winning and successful was fantastic. You don’t achieve what we did during that period without all the guys pulling in the same direction.”I can’t get my head round it. He seems like he has not enjoyed it for any of the time he was there, but we all enjoyed it.”Asked if Pietersen’s accusations of bullying were true, Anderson said: “Not at all.” He defended Flower’s record, describing England’s recent successes as the highlight of his career, and suggested that the fallout from Pietersen’s book was beginning to cast a shadow over those years.”It’s overshadowed what we achieved,” he said. “We had a successful time under coach Andy Flower. We won three Ashes series, got to world No. 1 and won in India for the first time in 20-odd years – Andy was the driving force behind that.”That period of time as an England cricketer was the highlight of my career so far, and I’m sure I speak for the other lads when I say it was probably the highlight of their career so far too.”Sitting on the outfield at Sydney, having won 3-1 in 2010-11, sharing a drink, chatting through our favourite moments of that particular tour will stick with me for many years to come. I’m sure that many of the other lads will feel the same. Hopefully what has come out won’t overshadow what we did achieve and what was not just a successful period but a really enjoyable one too.”Anderson added that he would have preferred the issues to “stay in house”. Intriguingly, he also seemed to suggest that Pietersen had not made his problems with team-mates clear and that his sacking by the ECB had denied him the chance to defend himself.”This is not an ideal situation but it’s different with Kev,” Anderson said. “He never got a chance to stand up for himself in the dressing room because the opportunity to be in the dressing room was taken away from him by the powers that be. He is now venting his frustration through a book.”