Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has opened up on why he left Andre Onana out of the squad for Sunday's Premier League game at Newcastle.

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Bayindir starts against MagpiesFirst time Onana has missed a PL gameCoach says under-fire goalkeeper needs to 'disconnect'Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Onana was absent from the squad for the Red Devils' trip to St James' Park after he was at fault for both of Lyon's goals in Thursday's 2-2 draw in the Europa League quarter-final first leg. It is the first league game Onana has missed since joining United in 2023. He was replaced by Altay Bayindir, who was handed his Premier League debut.

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"You have to see the context," Amorim told . "Sometimes you have to push the player to play again, sometimes you have to let him disconnect a little bit. Tomorrow he will be in training to prepare for [Lyon] so I felt that it was a good time for Andre to disconnect. I think he was ok because I explained. You don't need to like it but you understand because I explain everything. You have to manage everything. Sometimes people just look at the physical aspect but the mental aspect is really important. It's just one game and tomorrow is a new life."

GettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Amorim made five changes to his starting line-up from the 0-0 draw with Manchester City. As well as giving a first Premier League appearance to Bayindir, the coach gave 18-year-old Harry Amass his full debut.

Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR MAN UTD?

Former Man United captain Roy Keane said he expected Onana to return to the line-up for the second leg against Lyon on Thursday. "He is obviously under pressure, and of course, football is about making mistakes, but of course, if you're a goalkeeper and you make a mistake and it leads to a goal, then obviously, you're going to be criticised," Keane told . "It'll be interesting if he is left out today because I think it's also difficult for another goalkeeper to come in to get up to speed so quickly. Maybe he'll just leave him out for the weekend and almost recharge the batteries for the game coming up on Thursday, you know, we'll see. But that's the manager's job is to make big decisions."

England Lions produced an astonishing display of batting in their recent tri-series, further evidence of the belated evolution in the limited-overs game in English cricket

Tim Wigmore29-Jul-2016England Lions have been easily ignored this summer, given an enthralling Test series and the turbulence in the wider world. But those who have cared to notice were treated to a side that entered the record books by eviscerating the Pakistan and Sri Lankan A attacks, like overzealous dads dismantling children’s bowling.Four matches spread over a week were all the Lions needed to become The History Boys. By the end, they had set a litany of records: the 11th highest team score in List A history; the most individual scores of over 150 made by any team in a one-day series; the second highest partnership in List A history. Of all the towering numbers, one stands one: 220 not out, the score made by Ben Duckett against Sri Lanka A at Canterbury on Monday. It was the second highest score ever made by an Englishman in List A cricket, after Alistair Brown’s record 268, and the eighth highest of all time. And Duckett only arrived at the crease in the 12th over.**”It’s an amazing feeling. To score a double hundred in a 50-over game is very special,” Duckett reflects. “It was a crazy week. Everything came off.”Indeed it did. Along with his double century, Duckett also scored an unbeaten 163 to help England waltz to their target in the opening game of the tri-series. The Lions won all four of their games emphatically, attesting to the talent bubbling under beneath the full ODI side.Duckett is shaping up as one of the standard-bearers of the new generation, uninhibited by convention, and liberated by the spirit of self-expression permeating all levels of England’s limited-overs sides. “When I’m playing my best I’m fearless and not afraid to try things. If there’s a gap in the field I’ll try and hit that gap. I back myself to play any shot.” And he means every shot: Duckett is a 360-degree player willing to pay the scoop and reverse sweep, often seen in the form of a slog sweep, at any point in his innings.It is a reflection not just of Duckett’s multifarious skills, but also of something greater: how far English limited-overs cricket has come on from the stultifying, paralysing conservatism that was once wired into the side.Encountering a used pitch at Canterbury on Monday, Duckett and the team reckoned that “280 was par and 300 would have been a good score.” England’s whole strategy would once have been predicated on this idea; famously, the side were delighted to reach 229 against Sri Lanka in the 2011 World Cup quarter-finals, only to lose by ten wickets.This approach has now been thrown out. “When two guys are in and batting well, it’s fairly easy,” Duckett says. Certainly it seemed that way when he and Daniel Bell-Drummond were adding an undefeated 367 for the second wicket, falling only five runs shy of the all-time partnership record in List A cricket.Yet, if there is a sense of bravado to Duckett’s batting, this does not come at the expense of nous. At Canterbury, he took 45 balls over his 50 – risk-free accumulation at better than a-run-a-ball, the way of the modern age – before going berserk, scoring 170 off his next 86 balls. “I just got to 50 by batting normally and ticking over, and then I played a few more shots and got to my hundred. After I got to my hundred I just said I’m going to keep going. I just kept hitting the gaps.” Six times he cleared them, too.Duckett’s approach to batting has been likened to that of Eoin Morgan, and with good reason. The similarities are obvious: both are left-handers who find power to belie their ostensibly unremarkable frames, have a penchant for spin bowling that is seldom found in the county game, and delight in working the ball into unusual angles, often playing the ball so late it seems virtually in the wicketkeeper’s gloves.’When I’m playing my best I’m fearless and not afraid to try things. If there’s a gap in the field I’ll try and hit that gap. I back myself to play any shot’•Getty ImagesTalking to Duckett, it is clear that the similarity extends to their methodical, clinical approach to limited-overs batting: not merely calculating how to score runs off the next ball, but how to shift the field.”If the seamers are bowling with the fine leg up, I’m not afraid to scoop over fine leg. Then they’ve got to drop fine leg back and maybe bring mid-off up. It’s just playing around with the field, that’s why I try and do.”Against spin, the worth of Duckett’s reverse sweep lies not only in the runs it brings him, but the scoring opportunities it opens up elsewhere. “I’ve been playing it for years and it’s a fairly low risk boundary option for me. When I can get the ball past point they’ve got to stick two guys there. And then I can play a normal sweep, or hit the ball back over their heads. With the extra man in the circle it’s tough for spinners.”Perhaps not coincidentally, these skills against spin have been honed at Wantage Road, traditionally one of the county circuit’s most receptive grounds for spin bowling. “I’ve got my spot in the Lions because of the chances I’ve had at Northants,” he says.But it hasn’t been an easy path. At the start of last summer, Duckett was dropped from a pre-season tour to Barbados last year, then consigned to the 2nd XI for a period, because of fitness and last July was also handed a ban for drink-driving. It was not the first time Duckett’s girth had been a problem: as England U-19 captain three years ago, he was dropped for failing to meet minimum fitness standards.Northamptonshire’s response was enlightened: they pushed Duckett, then aged only 20, up the order to open. He responded with four centuries in eight Championship matches, and became a more complete cricketer although, for now, his wicketkeeping has been put on hold.”It’s made me a better player against seam bowling. I was always fairly strong against spin, but I’ve learned how to hit the seamers to the boundary. I’ve also learned how to score hundreds and double hundreds now. Rather than getting a hundred and out, I know that I can kick on and get a big 150+ or even a double hundred.”And Duckett believes that his recent run of scores, including an unbeaten 282 in the County Championship against Sussex, has shown that he is “fit enough to play cricket,” though he plans to focus more on conditioning work this winter.**He can already count Andy Flower, the England Lions coach, as a fervent admirer. “Ben’s got very fast hands,” Flower reflects. “This might sound really obvious but he hit the ball in the middle of the bat a lot. He’s got a big array of shots but he also held his composure really well. His choice of shot and execution were outstanding. And he concentrated for long periods.”Duckett’s unbeaten 163 in his first ever game for the Lions “showed the other players what was possible if you’ve got a bit of confidence and aggression,” Flower says.How the rest of the top order followed. Dawid Malan, Sam Billings and Bell-Drummond all scored innings of over 150 of their own while Liam Livingstone, who Flower says “hits the ball as hard as any in world cricket,” also provided a glimpse of his pyrotechnics in the middle order.Of all the signs of England’s ODI renaissance, in a sense the Lions’ batting was the most significant: evidence of how the change in attitudes to limited-overs batting extends to the next generation.”They’ve seen the senior team lead in the aggression,” says Flower. “I was surprised by the level of depth and power, yes. They displayed quite an amazing array of shots and some serious talent – it’s really exciting for English cricket to see this amount of talent. Innovation and hitting balls in areas where it previously wasn’t imagined has just become normal.”In his 15 year involvement with the English game, as a player for Essex and then a coach, Flower believes that England have never had such depth in power hitting. This has engendered fierce competition.This is evident not just in all the runs England’s second string scored. It is evident in how, when it looked like injury would rule him out of the squad, Bell-Drummond called up a selector to request more time to prove his fitness. And it is evident, too, in how Duckett chastises himself for giving away starts in his last two one-day games for Northants: scores of 46 and 86 are useful enough, but Duckett knows he needs even more to get his chance for the full ODI squad.”You have to make sure when you’re in form you really cash in. I’ve been disappointed a few times in the last couple of days about getting myself out when I’m in such good nick. I’ve got to score as many hundreds as I can while I’m in form.”

MatériaMais Notícias

da betway： Faltam cinco rodadas para o fim da Série B e a tensão toma conta dos torcedores vascaínos, que estão ansiosos para o retorno à Série A. O Vasco tem 52 pontos, três de vantagem para o Sport, o 5º colocado, e terá pela frente quatro confrontos diretos na briga pelo acesso, o que dificulta qualquer previsão sobre o assunto.

RelacionadasVascoFigueiredo afirma que virada deixou o Vasco mais forte na briga pelo acessoVasco07/10/2022VascoReta final da Série B terá 11 decisões pelo acesso; quatro envolvem o VascoVasco07/10/2022VascoEm podcast do L!, Vanessa Riche projeta jogo do Vasco e conta sobre melhorias da SAFVasco06/10/2022

da betcris： O LANCE! então recorreu ao matemático Tristão Garcia para descobrir se existe uma pontuação mágica para o acesso e, de acordo com os cálculos, ela existe: 61 pontos.

– Pode acontecer de subir com 58, 59 pontos, mas não é seguro. Com 61 pontos, você não precisa depender do critério de desempate, 61 pontos é o garantido. É provável que se consiga com 60, mas o garantido é 61, porque o 5º colocado não vai fazer 61, pois se trata de muitas combinações, o que torna o fato extremamente improvável.

+ Confira a classificação da Série B

Para alcançar essa pontuação, o Vasco precisa de três vitórias, justamente o número de jogos que fará em São Januário.

– Se ganhar os três jogos em casa, ele sobe. Vai chegar na última rodada com 61 pontos e garantido – cravou Tristão Garcia.

O último jogo em São Januário é contra o Sampaio Corrêa, apenas na penúltima rodada. No entanto, Tristão Garcia avaliou que será um risco muito grande deixar para resolver na última rodada, já que o adversário é o Ituano, em Itu.

– Se tudo continuar nesta tendência, o Vasco tem a chance de 70% de conquistar o acesso, mas a possibilidade dele chegar na última rodada dentro do G4 é de 80%. Isso mostra que há uma dificuldade na última rodada. É bom resolver o mais rápido possível.

Por esse motivo, Tristão Garcia apontou o jogo contra o Sport, na Ilha do Retiro, como o mais importante para sacramentar o acesso, já que ele antecede as partidas em casa contra Criciúma e Sampaio Corrêa.

– O jogo mais importante que o Vasco vai fazer na Série B é exatamente esse contra o Sport. Será um divisor de águas. É um adversário direto, fora de casa. Se conseguir pontuar contra ele, o segura, se ganhar, o mata. A vitória fora de casa é o que faz a diferença, ainda mais nas condições da Série B, onde se ganha muito pouco como visitante.

Após o Novorizontino, o Vasco enfrenta o Sport, na Ilha do Retiro, recebe Criciúma e Sampaio Corrêa, em São Januário, e fecha a Série B contra o Ituano, no Novelli Júnior.

أعلنت وزارة الشباب والرياضة، بشكل رسمي، يوم الثلاثاء 8 يوليو، عن موافقة مجلس النواب المصري على التعديلات التي تمت على قانون الرياضة.

وكانت وزارة الشباب والرياضة أجرت بعض التعديلات على قانون الرياضة، ويعد أبرزها اعتماد منع مجالس الإدارات من الترشح أكثر من مرتين متتاليتين.

وقال مصدر لـ بطولات في تصريحات خاصة: “وزير الرياضة أشرف صبحي، استقر على تأجيل انتخابات الأندية التي كان مقررا لها في نوفمبر المقبل، لمدة عام على أن تبدأ في بداية يوليو 2026”.

وأضاف: “هذا القرار لن يشمل الأندية التي لديها انتخابات في عام 2027، القرار يخص الأندية التي ستجري انتخابات هذا العام”.

وأوضح: “يأتي سبب هذا القرار، حتى يمنح الأندية فرصة لتوفيق أوضاعها بعد صدور قانون الرياضة الذي تم اعتماده من مجلس النواب”.
 
وأتم: “القرار قيد المراجعة الآن مع الجهات المختصة من أجل إعلانه بشكل رسمي وإعلان الصيغة النهائية لتأجيل الانتخابات”.

يذكر أن النادي الأهلي هو أحد أبرز الأندية التي كانت ستقام انتخاباتها في شهر نوفمبر المقبل للعام الحالي 2025.

Nottingham Forest and Olympiacos owner Vangelis Marinakis is reportedly set to face trial in Greece for his alleged ties with criminal organisations.

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• Forest owner Marinakis set to face trial in Greece
• Accused of criminal ties in sports violence
• Marinakis believes his is a target for the Greek government

Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Greek billionaire Marinakis, who is currently the chairman and co-owner of football clubs Olympiacos and Nottingham Forest, is set to face trial in Greece along with four other board members of the Super League side as per multiple reports.

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• AFP
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Following a ruling by a Greek judicial council, legal sources announced on Thursday that Marinakis will go on trial for misdemeanour charges as part of an investigation into sports violence. The investigation was started by authorities when a riot police officer was killed by a flare during altercations with a group of Olympiakos supporters outside a volleyball match between Olympiakos and Panathinaikos in December 2023.

• AFP
  

  WHAT MARINAKIS SAID

  Marinakis released a statement soon after the announcement and took to blaming the Greek government for 'targeting' him and Olympiacos. The statement read: “This is a coordinated effort to silence me, but a hopeless one. It is not, after all, the first time that such an attempt has been made. Political and economic interests have unsuccessfully tried the same thing in the past through fabricated cases and accusations that fell with a bang.

  "The obvious target is me and Olympiacos. But what they really seek is to harm Freedom of the Press, the independence of the media and ultimately Democracy itself.

  "The message I am sending is one and clear: I am not afraid, I am not blackmailed, I am not negotiating, I am not giving in, I am not surrendering. The truth will shine again. Democracy will prevail. In the end, we will (as always) be victorious."

• WHAT NEXT FOR MARINAKIS?

  The Greek shipping and media tycoon who also owns English Premier League club Nottingham Forest, and the four board members, have denied any wrongdoing. However, the trial will go on as the legal system continues to try and lockdown the growing sports violence in Greece.

Rangers are considering letting a player who started in their 3-3 game against Hibernian on Sunday leave on loan this month, according to a new report.

Rangers transfer news

Given the fact that Rangers are 13 points behind leaders Celtic and still have work to do to make the knockout stages of the Europa League, Philippe Clement is probably pushing the club’s board to complete some much-needed transfer business this month.

6-cap defender keen to join Rangers and discussions have now taken place

Philippe Clement has his eye on a new defender, as Rangers look to solve their injury crisis in defence.

ByBrett Worthington Jan 8, 2025

Signing a new central defender will be very high on the list, if not the priority, as the club are enduring an injury crisis in their backline, as Leon Balogun, John Souttar, Neraysho Kasanwirjo and James Tavernier are all currently injured.

Reports have emerged that the Gers are interested in signing Jonny Evans from Manchester United. The board want to bring the Northern Irishman to Ibrox before the close of the transfer window, but Clement is said to be wary of a move for Evans, given his age, and he would like the club to bring in a younger option.

As well as looking at Evans, Rangers are also interested in signing Grant Hanley from Norwich City and Nikola Katic, who has played for the club before. Hanley has only started one league game for the Canaries this season and therefore could be available for a move this month. Meanwhile, Katic is said to be keen on rejoining Rangers, and discussions have taken place over a possible return.

Rangers considering dumping player for £0 this month

Incomings will be the priority for Clement this month, but an exit could also be on the cards for the Gers, as according to Yenicag Gazetesi, relayed by Sport Witness, Besiktas are interested in signing Ridvan Yilmaz from Rangers.

The 23-year-old has been with the Scottish side since July 2022, when he joined from the Turkish club. The left-back, who can also play as a left-winger, has been in and out of the starting XI for Rangers since joining the club. He played 22 times in the Scottish Premiership last season, scoring one goal and recording one assist in the process.

Yilmaz has played 10 league games so far in this 2024/25 campaign, but only five have come as starts, the latest being in the 3-3 draw with Hibernian on Sunday. Despite him being called back into the starting XI and being under contract until 2027, Rangers are considering letting the player leave this month.

Apps

63

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2

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5

This report states that Besiktas are showing an interest in Yilmaz once again, as they were also keen on him during the summer but were unable to agree on a deal with Rangers. The Turkish side are continuing to monitor the left-back, and the Gers are open to letting Yilmaz leave in this transfer window, and that option would likely be a loan deal. There is no indication that talks have begun between the two clubs, but it could be one that gathers pace as the transfer window goes on.

Cricket West Indies also approved a new committee to work towards achieving equality for women’s players

ESPNcricinfo staff19-May-2023West Indies women will now fly business class for long-haul international flights and stay in single rooms for international games, bringing them level with the travel policy for the men’s teams, according to Cricket West Indies (CWI).These decisions were made at the first CWI board of directors meeting following the election of new president Kishore Shallow in March.”The women’s game in international cricket continues to evolve, and CWI must keep apace and, where possible, lead,” Shallow said. “Introducing these policies and adding a second female to the board as an independent director are monumental strides in the right direction.”CWI also approved a new committee – the Women’s Cricket Transformation Committee – to work towards achieving equality for women’s players.”The committee’s remit will include but not be limited to recommending strategies geared towards increasing the interest and participation of women and girls in the sport, as well as proposing cricket competitions, events, and pathways that foster competitive women’s and girls’ cricket,” CWI said in a statement.”We welcome this move by CWI in the quest to achieve greater equality within our work environment among our cricketers,” Wavell Hinds, the president and CEO of the West Indies Players Association, said. “We look forward to achieving similar goals in our ongoing negotiations on the renewal of our MOU for another four-year period.”West Indies women play Ireland in June and July, followed by a tour of Australia in October, where they will play three ODIs and three T20Is.

The death overs was where this game came to life and Kings scoring 96 off their last five made a big difference

Hemant Brar22-Apr-20231:15

Moody: Arshdeep a threat in the powerplay and at the death

Punjab Kings’ innings was going nowhere. After 14 overs, they were 105 for 4 with Harpreet Singh Bhatia batting on 15 off 16 and Sam Curran on 8 off 12. But in the next six overs, they ransacked 109. Bhatia ended with 41 off 28, Curran 55 off 29, and Jitesh Sharma 25 off just seven. That lifted Kings to a formidable 214 for 8.In response, Mumbai Indians were always in the contest, thanks to Rohit Sharma’s 27-ball 44 and Cameron Green’s 43-ball 67. Suryakumar Yadav then threatened to snatch the game from Kings with his blazing half-century. That’s when Arshdeep Singh rose to the occasion. He dismissed Suryakumar in the 18th over, and then with 16 required from six balls, he conceded just two while breaking the middle stumps of Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera with back-to-back deliveries.The 13-run win took Kings to fifth position with eight points from seven games. In fact, the top five teams all have eight points each, only the net run rate separating them.Rohit and Green keep Mumbai on trackBefore his heroics at the death, Arshdeep dealt Mumbai an early below by sending back Ishan Kishan in the second over of the chase. Rohit and Green didn’t let that deter them and kept finding boundaries at regular intervals. They hit five fours and three sixes in the powerplay to take Mumbai to 54 for 1 after six overs. The pair added 76 off 50 balls before Rohit spooned a return catch to Liam Livingstone in the tenth over.Green and Suryakumar press on furtherWith Mumbai needing 127 in the last ten overs, Suryakumar didn’t waste any time. He swept his third ball for a four before hitting Livingstone for a hat-trick of fours. It was a typical Suryakumar innings – he hit a 26-ball 57, with 33 of those runs coming behind square on the leg side.At the other end, Green too switched into the next gear. In the 15th over, he hit Rahul Chahar for a six and four, bringing up his half-century in the process and reducing the equation to 66 needed from 30 balls.It was even stevens when the last over started, but Arshdeep Singh made sure the result went his team’s way•BCCI

Ellis and Arshdeep show their skillsGreen started the 16th over by hitting Nathan Ellis, Kings’ Impact Player, for a four and six. But Ellis had him miscuing a back-of-the-hand slower one, and Curran settled under it near extra cover.Despite that, Mumbai were very much in the contest. In fact, Suryakumar’s six and four off Curran in the 17th over put Mumbai ahead. With 40 needed from the last three overs, Tim David hit Arshdeep’s first ball – a full toss – for a six but the bowler conceded only three off the remaining five balls. One of those balls also took out Suryakumar. It was a low full toss that the batter flicked towards midwicket, where Atharva Taide leapt to his left to pluck the ball.David still threatened to pull it off for Mumbai. In the penultimate over, he hit an Ellis full toss for a 114-metre six but apart from that, he struggled to middle the ball. In the final over, he took a single on Arshdeep’s first ball, and then spent the rest of the over at the non-striker’s end watching a death-bowling masterclass.Prabhsimran, Taide revive the powerplayEarlier, Kings had a quiet start after being sent in. Matthew Short tried to take on Green in the third over, flicking him over square leg for four. He eyed another boundary on the next ball, but his attempted pull failed to clear Piyush Chawla at short midwicket.After three overs, Kings were 20 for 1. The next three, however, produced 38. Jason Behrendorff bowled a couple of short balls in the fourth, and Prabhsimran Singh duly dispatched them over the short square-leg boundary. From the other end, Taide ramped Jofra Archer for his first six.Rohit introduced Chawla in the sixth over, and the two batters picked up a boundary each off him as well to lift Kings to 58 for 1 by the end of the powerplay.Tendulkar, Chawla drag Kings backIt was a bit of a surprise when Arjun Tendulkar, who swung the new ball, was taken off after just one over. When he came back for his second, in the seventh of the innings, he had Prabhsimran lbw with an excellent yorker, the ball sneaking underneath the bat to hit the back shoe.Chawla hurt Kings further with his double-strike in the tenth over. First, seeing Livingstone come down the track, he slipped one down the leg side to have him stumped. Three balls later, he beat Taide on the sweep. The ball hit the pad and went on to disturb the stumps. That left Kings 83 for 4 after ten overs.The calm, followed by the carnageBhatia and Curran consolidated for a while, scoring only 22 from the next four overs. But then came the acceleration, and how. Hrithik Shokeen’s 13-run over, the 15th of the innings, was a bad omen for Mumbai. But instead of bringing back Chawla, who had figures of 2 for 15 from three overs, Rohit went ahead with Tendulkar. Curran and Bhatia smashed him for four fours and two sixes, taking 31 from the over that also featured a wide and beamer.Two overs later, Green came in for the punishment. Curran started it with two successive sixes. After a single on the third, Green dismissed Bhatia, but Jitesh launched him for two more maximums to make it 25 from the over.Curran brought up his fifty, off 26 balls, with a four off Archer before getting out in the same over. Jitesh wasn’t done yet, though. He hit two more sixes in the final over, bowled by Behrendorff, to take Kings to what proved to be just the winning total.

Three of the top four quicks are currently sidelined, which left the 23-year old with undue responsibility and his inexperience was exposed

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo20-Aug-20150:54

‘Wicket was getting better for batsmen’ – Prasad

In the approach to this match, there had been worries in the Sri Lanka camp that Nuwan Pradeep’s body may not be able to withstand two Tests in a row. Fair to say they were well off the mark. Pradeep’s body could barely withstand one Test in a row. Somewhere between the fourth day in Galle and the first at the P Sara, Pradeep had tweaked a hamstring. Sri Lanka have not said how the injury happened, but no one who has followed the fate of their seamers over the past decade will be surprised if it had been the vibrations from the team bus that proved too much for his thigh.Pradeep is now the third top quick to be unavailable in this series. Shaminda Eranga had spent the entire Pakistan tour on the sidelines thanks to a back complaint, then just as he seemed to be ready for India, strained a muscle in his groin. Suranga Lakmal recovered from a groin complaint himself to play one Test against Pakistan, but in the weeks since, has strained his side.Sometimes it feels like Sri Lanka seamers are on an injury carousel. They come into view briefly, have their few seconds in the spotlight, then move back into the shadows and go unseen for a few weeks at least. To suggest they are made of cardboard doesn’t quite do justice. More likely they are comprised of powder. Every time the wind blows, a little part of the pace attack is carried away with it. If the first homo sapiens had been Sri Lanka seamers, our species would have become extinct 90,000 years ago.The injuries are not the quicks’ fault, of course. Not even a little bit. Almost every bowler in the pace battery was discovered relatively late in life, and as such, had not had the chance in adolescence to prepare their bodies for the rigours of fast bowling. They are also usually from families of very limited means. Only after they arrive in the Sri Lanka team do they begin to get halfway-decent nutrition.But with three of the top four seamers out of action, it came down to 23-year-old Dushmantha Chameera to consolidate Sri Lanka’s early gains on Thursday. Tall, quite quick, and possessing a smooth action, there is plenty about him to be excited about. There is also plenty for him to learn. If the senior bowlers ahead of him had stayed fit for longer, Chameera might have had that ideal, gradual introduction to international cricket – where he would have played as the third frontline quick on the juicier tracks, before eventually taking on more substantial duties. Instead, he finds himself thrown in the deep end.

If the first homo sapiens had been Sri Lanka seamers, our species would have become extinct 90,000 years ago

On a P Sara track less helpful to seamers than Sri Lanka expected, Chameera’s first spell eased the pressure on India’s top order. Four boundaries were struck in his first 13 balls, and that first spell of four overs cost 24 runs. Later in the day, he dismissed centurion KL Rahul with the bouncer. But it doesn’t quite eclipse the fact he was largely wayward when he banged it in short and was picked off by Rahul, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.Chameera did have Rahul dropped for 11 in his very first over, and maybe his figures would have been prettier at the end of the day if that chance had been taken at gully. “Had we taken that catch off Rahul, the first session would have been different,” senior bowler Dhammika Prasad said. “We might have been able to take even more wickets, with a new batsman coming to the crease. That did cost us a bit.”As Sri Lanka seem to have introduced a dropped-catch quota of at least three per Test, Chameera might as well get used to having batsmen reprieved from his bowling. He is doing a brave job in a tough situation for now, but he will not want too many more days in which he finishes with an economy rate of 4.53.With Angelo Mathews’ removal of Rohit off the last ball, Sri Lanka have ended day one with some credit. Prasad hoped they could claim the final four India wickets before the total, currently at 319, grew to 350. Even if India get closer to 400, the match remains winnable for the home side.Loaded with undue responsibility, Chameera’s inexperience was exposed in patches. He will probably improve quicker in the national team, than he would have in Sri Lanka’s first-class system. That is unless he gets injured first.

He batted positively in Nagpur, but fell to Ashwin trying one of his favourite shots in both innings

Alex Malcolm14-Feb-2023Alex Carey’s wife Eloise is not a big fan of his reverse sweep as he revealed in Sri Lanka last year. After falling twice to it in Nagpur, he got another stern reminder from his better half and he’s vowed to use it more judiciously in the series.Proactivity has been the buzzword around the Australia batting group both before and after the disastrous innings defeat India inside three days. But Carey admits he probably took it a little too far. He played the most proactive innings of the match in the first innings on day one. He got off the mark with a reverse sweep and raced to 36 off just 32 balls with seven boundaries.But he fell off his 33rd delivery trying a reverse sweep off R Ashwin, only to drag into onto his stumps. It was also his downfall in the second innings having got off the mark with conventionally swept boundaries off his first two balls.Related

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“Maybe the first innings execution [was the problem] and the second innings [I was] just trying to have a different method to the guys before me,” Carey said. “It will be my downfall at times, I’ll have success with it at times. It’s finding the right balance, when is the right time to play like that. My wife’s been onto me quite a bit about it so you might not see it for a little while (laughs).”[I was] maybe a little bit too keen to play a different style, but I guess in my first Test over here that’s not a bad learning to have. Hopefully, I can find that balance along with all our players as well. We obviously want to be proactive, be calm and patient, and we had a pretty good look at that first-hand with a few of their players.”Having reviewed his performance with the bat on Sunday he was back at training at the VCA Stadium on Monday to work on his batting again. After admitting he may have overplayed the conditions, he worked on some conventional strokeplay and his defence.2:12

Alex Carey wants Australia to be calm amid the ‘chaos’

“Probably you can fall into over-playing conditions and certain names and what you see before you when go out to bat as well,” Carey said. “For myself today I went back to batting more than anything else and reacting to what’s being bowled down at me and trusting that method as well.””At times it might be fast-forward mode but also [Ravindra] Jadeja and Axar [Patel] showed as well you can be pretty patient.”While Carey’s batting in India is a work in progress, his keeping was very impressive on a challenging surface. He stood up to the stumps to Scott Boland which played a role in a pivotal spell on the second morning, where Boland was able to dry up the runs and help Todd Murphy bag two wickets. He also took an outstanding leg-side catch off Murphy to dismiss Virat Kohli.”It’s exciting for me behind the stumps,” Carey said. “The ball is going to be up, it’s going to be down. I might have to keep up to some of the quicks even though they don’t like it that much. It was a great first taste of it. Hopefully, we don’t have to do 150 overs too many times and we can get on top of India like they did to us. I enjoyed the experience and [I’m] probably expecting that type of wicket throughout the series.”