Frustrating England, but they will bounce back because they can!

“England Test team had been blunted in 2021 and this is very alarming for the longer format. England should not fall for the crazy-money-making models; rather make a model of their own that would help them grow organically and fly the flag of Test cricket with pride”

54 ducks in a Test calendar year!

The most Test defeats in a calendar equaling one of the worst Test teams in the history of Test cricket – Bangladesh!

An average of 24.13 runs per wicket is the lowest for England in any year when they have played at least 10 Tests, and the second-lowest with an eight-Test cut-off. Not only has 2021 been a terrible year for England's batters, but it has also been tough for batters in general: the average runs per wicket are the second-lowest, it has been in the last 40 years.

The top 3 of England batting lineup had averaged 21.33 this year in Test cricket, with just one century from 87 innings – Rory Burns' 132 against New Zealand at Lord's. The average of 21.33 is easily the lowest among all teams in 2021, and England's lowest in a year since 1989 when they averaged 18.21 in 33 innings.

The brittle top three meant that when Root came in to bat at number 4 - which he did in 28 out of 29 innings this year - the average score was 35 for 2. (The average at the fall of the second wicket was 35.21.) That is the lowest average score at two down for any team in a year when they have played at least 10 Tests; the next-lowest is 42.15, by West Indies, also in 2021.

In 15 out of 28 innings when he batted at No. 4, England had lost their second wicket before the score had reached 20. In those 15 innings, he averaged 48.13, with two big hundreds against Sri Lanka in Galle - 228, after he came in at 17 for 2, and 186 (5 for 2). When he came in later, his average was over 70, which suggests he would have been even more prolific had England's top three been more solid.

Gosh, how poor England have been this year and when they were complaining about the pitches back in India, it would have been better if they had accepted, their batting lacked technical and temperamental efficiencies.

Back in 2012, when England landed on the Indian soil as the underdogs, they did not complain but focused on the basics more - something, which paid rich dividends as Alastair Cook and his men left the Indian shores victorious.

Resolve was the motto of success for Alastair Cook in 2012 and the mantra was the same back in that historic Ashes win in 2010-11. When you start planning your batting by trusting the defence and patience – the rest follows automatically. The perfect example is dashing batter Rohit Sharma, who has been prolific in white clothes this year courtesy of trusting the defence, leaving the ball and patience.

England know such basics better than anyone, but surprisingly, they have failed to execute them throughout the year.

After being shot out for 68on Day 3 of the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) – the bubble finally busted and the top and middle order of the English batting lineup – except Root faced the heat of critics and fans.

Something is not right with England and maybe the whole system needs an overhaul modification.

“If your system is strong and competitive, all the talk about coaching is somewhat peripheral. You'll have a Darwinian system where the best players come to the top of the pile and I don't think it's strong and competitive enough right now. An 18-county system with four competitions is basically too much to fit into too short a space of time,” said Michael Atherton to Sky Sports.

“A shorter, more condensed higher-quality first-class competition would, in the end, allow the best players to come through and they should be able to make the step up to Test cricket.”

“How you get there is not simple, but the fundamentals for Australia came from the fact they have a better first-class system and that's it really - you can over-complicate things.”

“A lot of the summer is given to white-ball cricket, but there's still a majority in England who like Test cricket and Ashes cricket above all. There's anger and frustration that they feel England's Test team has been marginalized and the County Championship has been hollowed out.”

This is the era of white-ball cricket and people love it – but there always has to have a balance between red and white-ball cricket. Perhaps, England lost the focus on five-day cricket – which is highly regarded as the ultimate accolade back in England, New Zealand and Australia - still today.

For commercial and entertainment interest – emphasizing on white-ball cricket is understandable but for that burying red-ball cricket to rest does not suit nations who have given cricket so much and people look up to them when greatness and tradition are concerned.

The batting woes for England in 2021clearly hint to the point of how badly England’s think tank had taken County Cricket less seriously - There has to be planning and some sacrifices along the way to try and help players groom for the long run – for Test cricket.

Although the County Championship program has been reduced from 16 to 14 games in recent years, the bulk of fixtures takes place at either end of the summer, when conditions make it harder for batters to thrive.

By contrast, Australia's domestic Sheffield Shield - contested by six states - comprises 10 matches apiece and a final.

The success of New Zealand in test cricket has been the same when they decided to change the first-class cricket and make it more competitive.

Naseer Hussain said, “These are professional cricketers. It is your game, take ownership of your game. I never walked off, when I was having problems against Courtney Walsh or whoever and said 'you know what, that was my coach's fault'.

“I don't mind you having all these techniques but it is about getting runs. If you've got a problem with pitches go and speak to [ECB managing director of men's cricket] Ashley Giles and tell him the pitches in domestic cricket are not good enough.”

“Look at what New Zealand did, they were going through a similar thing and the one big change they made was in their domestic cricket.”

“They played on better pitches, not flatter pitches, and you can see the results.”

England Test team had been blunted in 2021 and this is very alarming for the longer format. England should not fall for the crazy-money-making models; rather make a model of their own that would help them grow organically and fly the flag of Test cricket with pride.

England had been frustrating…too frustrating – but they will bounce back because they can!

Note: Statistical information taken from ESPNcricinfo

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer on 31/12/2021 Frustrating England, but they will bounce back because they can!

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

Ross Taylor: The modern day great

“Taylor had started from the scraps, worked harder to improve and elevate his game to the next level. He would blaze under the shadow of Williamson, but his achievements could neither be overshadowed nor undermined because Taylor is undoubtedly one of the modern-day greats”

 Heroes come from unlikely sources at times. At the start, they remain unknown to many, ignored, criticized and left in the cold; but in the end, such heroes prove their worth and stamp their authority in the hearts and minds of the people.

One might call them the unsung heroes and put them in the category of the underrated ones.

Still, their impact factor speaks loud and clear to their support so much that it is hard to ignore them from the category of the modern-day greats.

Ross Taylor is one of the modern-day greats by all means.

At Johannesburg, back in 2007, South Africa simply mauled New Zealand courtesy of a fast bowler named Dale Steyn, who was at the height of his powers. The New Zealand batting order had the experience of Stephen Flemming and Scott Styris, while the rest of the batters failed to cut a satisfactory figure.

New Zealand presented the Test cap to batsman from Samoan descent since Murphy Su’a because his mother was from the Samoa village of Saoluafata, and also has family connections to Fasito'o-Uta – Ross Taylor. Taylor watched how South Africa devastated the Kiwis and realized how badly he needs to improve his game – the young lad just managed to fetch 15 and 4 runs from both innings.

He made his international debut a year back against the West Indies unit and in the same year, Taylor scored his maiden one day century in front of a delighted crowd in Napier, playing against Sri Lanka. The innings included 12 fours and 6 sixes. He hit 84 against Australia in their opening game in the Common Wealth Bank Series in 2006-07.

Taylor scored his second century in his ODI career in 2007 against Australia.

He scored 117, the 2nd highest score by a New Zealander against Australia at that time, and later on he was included in the Cricket World Cup squad where New Zealand were one of the favourites. It was not a memorable tournament for Taloy because he could manage only 107 runs from six matches whereas, New Zealand crashed out of the event after losing to Sri Lanka in the semifinals.

He could strike the ball cleanly with perfect timing and was very strong on the onside.

But, Test cricket was a different ball game that required more.

After 2007, players like Flemming, Styris and Craig McMillan left the scene and New Zealand were going through a transition period – they required the young guns to step up and take the responsibility.

Taylor had the swagger and shots under his belt, but he just did not know how to flourish in white clothes.

Leanne McGoldrick, the manager back then, convinced Martin Crowe, who dismissed Taylor as a dirty slogger, to help Taylor.

“I had just played for New Zealand and Martin was around as a commentator. My manager had a good relationship with him, and she said, ‘Martin's always willing to help. Why don't you give him a call?’ So I called him, and at that time I'd just made my ODI debut and hadn't played Test cricket. Tests were something I wanted to get good at,” Taylor said in an interview with Andrew Fidel Fernando.

“I flew up to Auckland and stayed with Martin. We both loved red wine. We talked 50% about cricket and 50% about wine. That was a good starting point. The relationship grew from there. When you have a batting coach in the team, they have to look at 15 other players. It was nice to have Martin give you his honest appraisal and not have any emotional bias. He'd look at me from a mental and technical point of view. That was invaluable to my career. I just wanted to play Test cricket back then. Here I am, having played 90-odd Test matches. I've been helped out by a lot of people, but definitely, Martin had a big influence.”

“The ball was going all over the place at Eden Park Outer Oval [first class match]. I saw him walking into the ground and around the boundary as I was batting and I thought, 'Geez, there's Martin Crowe.' Tama Canning and Kyle Mills were making me look silly. At that stage, I didn't really trust my defence. My best form of defence was attack... probably not what was required on the first morning of a first-class game,” Taylor in an interview with Dylan Cleaver.

“I was waiting [after being dismissed for 10 off 14 balls] to hear back from Leanne, but I don't think she had the heart to tell me. Eventually, I found out Martin had told her I was nothing but a dirty slogger.”

Crowe, nicknamed Hogan, would come around and forge a wonderful friendship with Taylor with the intention to help him grow.

“Talking to Hogan over time, things he said to me when I was 24 didn't resonate with the same effect as they did as I matured and my game matured. They certainly resonated further down the track.”

Taylor, being an attacking batter, more often, undermined his defensive abilities, which is very important to survive in Test cricket.

Crowe helped Taylor tighten up his defence.

“When there's a rained-out game and an old game will come on the telly, I'll watch myself, thinking, 'Oh geez, how did I bat like that?' You always tinker with your game anyway, but when you're younger and going through a lean patch, you tend to try to find quick fixes. Now I have learned to trust my game more.”

On the impact of Crowe, Taylor explained on the innings of 290 against Australia at Perth:

“I'd just recovered from the operation after an incident in Zimbabwe where I got hit on the box in the nets… actually it missed the box completely. To go over to Australia following that was tricky. I was underdone. I got a duck in the first innings at the Gabba and came out swinging in the second with no success. I was really out of sorts, but it shows how you can change yourself so quickly.”

“I got a nice email from Martin before the Test. If I ever write a book, it will have the email he wrote in full. It was a nice little reminder of where I was and where he was in his life at that point. He wrote the email from hospice. That put things in perspective.”

His technique could resemble a child playing in the gardens during leisure time, but that was what Taylor adapted well – his bat might not have come down straight in the earlier part of his career, though later on things started to change – less straight at the crease, but his backlift became straighter with the trigger movement being the initial forward press. At times, his footwork was questioned, and he worked on that as well to counter the spinners – even with limited footwork he was found competent and shifting of weight on the back foot improved his back foot play – the executions on the offside gradually improved.

Then came the temperament to bloom in Test cricket.

The perfect example was his classic 154 against England at Manchester in 2008, where the world witnessed an improved Taylor and what to come in the next decade and so on.

Taylor had laid all the insecurities to rest and set about proving that he's more than just a limited-overs player.

His mighty hitting was there to see when the delivery merited the shot, but for the most part, he played straight and late, and made crease occupation his primary concern.

It was an eye-opening performance from a man who'd been under-estimated after failing in his first two Tests.

Taylor said to Dylan, “The reason I hold [the Manchester innings] in such high regard was becaue, the conditions were tough and I was all over the place leading into that game. I got 19 and 20 at Lord's, and the way Hogan always talked about Lord's, it was the pinnacle for him. Whether that rubbed off on me and I put extra pressure on myself, I'm not sure, but I was all over the place and in a really bad headspace. To turn that around, to score 150, will go down as one of my best knocks.”

“To be consistent, the first thing you need to do is to survive your first 20 to 30 balls. To do that you need to trust your defence. More often than not, if you get through those first 30 balls, batting becomes easier regardless of whether it's a flat wicket, spinning wicket or if it is seaming around. Some days that might happen earlier, other days it stretches out to 40 balls.”

“The more you play the more accustomed you get to different conditions and environments… [but] no day is the same. You can be in good nick and have a bad night's sleep and suddenly you're struggling. You can be in good form and wait six hours to bat and by the time you get to bat, you're spent. You can be out of nick, squirt a couple through the gully for four, and all of a sudden something clicks.”

That knock gave Taylor a lifter – sadly, New Zealand cricket was going through a tough period.

The defeats were more in numbers than the victories – Taylor’s bat was not on song as well, but he always tried to be steady.

In 2012, he was made the skipper of the Test side and that elevated his game.

He averaged 54.60 with the bat that year and scored 142 runs that helped New Zealand win a Test in Colombo and ultimately, they came out as the series winners.

“I think at one point we lost ten or 11 ODIs in a row. And we also lost 4-0 in a series in Bangladesh. We were getting ourselves into good positions but we weren't able to capitalize on them. It seems like a long time ago, those games. But sometimes you've got to hit rock bottom to get to the top,” said Taylor to Fernando.

But, after that series win, Brendon McCullum had been appointed New Zealand's captain in all three formats after Ross Taylor declined an offer to stay on as leader of the Test side in a split-captaincy scenario.

Still, he put all the differences aside and shone with the bat in 2013 averaging 72.17!

“I think it showed you what you can do with a bit of resilience. I went two weeks without sleep. I was having probably two hours of sleep each night. But I was still able to score a 140-odd and back it up with a 70. It's amazing how resilient I felt I was back then. Things happen in life that are out of your control. It is what it is.”

Runs continued to flow from his bat in Test and limited-overs formats.

Day by day, Traylor had become the lynchpin for the New Zealand batting order alongside the great Kane Williamson and in the mid and later stages of the last decade, Taylor would witness the rise of Black Caps in Test cricket, where once upon a time, none would ever even thought such an improvement.

When Taylor clubbed a four through the leg side to win the World Test Championship final against India in the final, he ended 21 years of heartache for the Kiwis. It was the first time New Zealand were winning a major ICC title since the 2000 ICC Knockout Trophy when Stephen Fleming had led them to their only world title.

After the historic win against India, Taylor would experience a Test series win in England since 1999.

There have been 432 Tests played in Australia and Ross Taylor has the highest Test score in Australia by a visiting player. He scored 290 at Perth in 2015. He has scored the most number of hundreds in Tests and ODIs for the Kiwis. He has so far taken 346 catches in international cricket, which is the most grabbed by a Kiwi in international cricket.

Taylor has played 100 Tests for Black Caps. He is one of only four New Zealanders to play 100 Tests. Others are Daniel Vettori (112), Stephen Fleming (111), and Brendon McCullum (101). He has played 100 matches minimum in each of the three formats and is the first player from any country to achieve this milestone.

Taylor has scored 7584 runs in Test cricket till ow, which is the most by any New Zealand batter in this format.

Taylor had started from the scraps, worked harder to improve and elevate his game to the next level. He would blaze under the shadow of Williamson, but his achievements could neither be overshadowed nor undermined because Taylor is undoubtedly one of the modern-day greats.

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer on 30/12/2021 Ross Taylor: The modern day great

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

Disgraceful defeat for Bangladesh at Mirpur

 

Almost three days of a Test match had been interfered with by inclement weather and with two days remaining, a dull draw was an expected result. But the home team – Bangladesh reached a new low by dishing out a staggering defeat within two days of the second and final Test at Mirpur. Since gaining the Test status – Bangladesh Cricket has earned shames of various kinds, but this new disgrace which had been earned at Mirpur cannot easily be accepted by any means.

Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first.

The visitors saw off a tricky period just before lunch to end the first day, curtailed by rain and bad light, on top.

Babar Azam and Azhar Ali stabilized the innings that had been jolted by Taijul Islam before lunch, batting through either side of a brief rain delay to deny the hosts any further wickets before tea.

Babar brought up a fluid half-century while Azhar's innings was more of a battling knock as he shuffled on to 36 in 112 balls.

With the light fading, no further play was possible, meaning Pakistan had managed to get up to 161 for the loss of just the openers, and the chance to put together an impregnable first innings score.

On Day 2, Rain, which got heavier in the afternoon, allowed only thirty minutes of play.

Azhar Ali found enough time in the 6.2 overs bowled on day two to reach his 34th Test half-century, as Pakistan moved ahead by 27 runs without any further damages since the first morning.

Babar Azam, unbeaten on 71, tucked the first delivery of the day for four after Khaled Ahmed bowled it down the leg-side.

Azhar soon brought up the 100-run stand before he struck two fours off Ebadot Hossain to reach his fifty, off 126 balls.

 Day 3 was called off due to persistent rain and the Test match burst into life on the fourth day.

Pakistan declared after reaching 300 runs with Fawad Alam and Mohammad Rizwan reaching fifties and reply Bangladesh were in the mud.

Due to bad light, Babar was forced to operate with his spinners and guess what, Bangladesh found themselves in all sorts of trouble against Sajid Khan – who is not even Pakistan’s first-choice spinner.

Debutant Mahmudul Hasan Joy managed to edge a Said delivery to slip displaying his poor technique. Then, Hasan Ali made his presence felt at point, first with a simple catch to dismiss Shadman Islam before running out Mominul Haque with a direct hit.

Mushfiqur Rahim was the next to go, one ball after surviving a close leg before wicket call, as he tried to swing Sajid across the line with Fawad taking the catch at short midwicket – poor shot from a batsman with plenty of experience.

Then, Liton Das, sent ahead of Shakib Al Hasan, tried to attack Sajid but only hit one back to the bowler as Bangladesh slipped to 46 for 5.

Sajid then completed his five-for when he trapped Najmul Hossain Shanto for 30.

Shanto failed to cash in on his reprieves, first being dropped on 13 and later when he was caught behind off a Nauman Ali no-ball.

Under the grey skies – it was the spinners who tested and jolted the Bangladesh batting lineup.

Shakib tried to disturb the rhythm by flaying strokes, but Bangladesh kept losing wickets.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz became Sajid's sixth victim.

Shakib and Taijul Islam then survived 5.2 overs before play was called off.

On Day 5, Sajid bagged two more wickets and cemented his name in the elite list of bowlers in the history of Pakistan cricket.

Bangladesh were shot out for 87 and Babar enforce the follow on.

It was a matter of whether Bangladesh would be able to halt the disgrace or not.

Ultimately they failed.

Joy was done and dusted by a trademark Hasan dismissal to right-hand batters, drawing the opener on the front foot before the ball shaping back in, sneaking through the gap between bat and pad to knock back the stumps.

Then Shadman Islam was trapped in front by Afridi, who had set him up with away-swingers before bringing one in that clattered into his pads.

Hasan thudded one into Mominul’s pads in front of the stumps, before a brute of a short delivery saw Najmul Hossain helplessly scoop one up to gully off the splice of the bat.

Mushfiq and Liton joined together at the crease and arrested a collapse like Day 4.

 Liton, in particular, did well to unsettle the spinners on a pitch that, with capable batters at the crease, appeared to cast its demons off. There was a moment of fortune for Liton against the luckless Nauman, Ali who drew his outside edge, only for no one to realize it and appeal for caught behind.

They saw off what was left off the new ball, and looked to score off Sajid when introduced, adamant not to repeat the mistakes of the first innings. They continued in much the same way post-lunch, stretching the partnership to 73 before Sajid broke through.

Shakib and Mushfiq – two of the most experienced campaigners from Bangladesh were at the crease and easily Bangladesh could dream of a face-saving draw.

Mushfiq battled on while Shakib opted for a more conventional, sedate approach compared to his high-risk strokeplay in the first innings. All of that was overshadowed, though, by a decision to come through for a high-risk single minutes before the tea break. Mushfiqur put in a dive, but his bat had popped up before grounding and after lengthy deliberations, the third umpire sent him on his way.

Bangladesh looked as if they might just hold on after all in the final session when Shakib  - who scored a battling, valiant 63 - and Mehidy Hasan Miraz saw off the first hour of the final session without incident. But Babar came to bowl and fetched his first-ever international wicket by trapping Miraz – who played a shot that was against the demand of the situation.

Shakib departed against a quicker one from Sajid.

The great heist was on, and even more when Khaled Ahmed feathered one to Mohammad Rizwan. Pakistan were suddenly just one wicket away.

At the same time, Bangladesh were creeping up to the magical 213 mark, at which Pakistan would be forced to bat again. With light soon poor enough to rule the fast bowlers out of the contest, Bangladesh would likely only need nine more runs to effectively seal a draw.

Taijul and Ebadot Hossain decided against that option, preferring to block their way through until light came to their rescue. A frantic Babar whizzed through his bowling options; while Sajid was a fixture from one end, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Nauman Ali and even Babar himself turned their arm over from the other. But it was Sajid who had the final say as Taijul found himself struck in front, with the review failing to provide the stunned hosts with any respite.

Pakistan would leave Bangladesh victorious while Bangladesh were left pondering on their lack of commitment.

Note: Input from ESPNcricinfo

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 08/12/2021 Disgraceful defeat for Bangladesh at Mirpur

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

It has been a long journey for Ajaz Patel

 

The little boy flew to New Zealand from Mumbai when everything was unknown around him. He and his family faced challenges to cope and since then, Ajaz Yunus Patel believed, he can overcome any hindrances in the coming days and it has been a long journey for the Mumbai-born spinner

 

At stumps on Day 2, Ajaz Yunus Patel would certainly not be delighted after watching the World Test Champions – New Zealand crumble at Mumbai in response to India’s first innings total. The kiwis were shot out for 62 and the only man not out was Patel at the other end, who, a couple of days back, along with Rachin Ravindra combined in a stunning rearguard to secure a thrilling draw at Kanpur.

The story was different at Mumbai – there would be no sort of resistance from the visitors as Virat Kohli rubbed salt to the wound by not enforcing follow on – allowed the Indian openers to have fun on a day that was historic for Patel and New Zealand.

Before the New Zealand batters dished out a nightmarish batting display, Patel became only the third bowler to pick up all 10 wickets in an innings in international cricket.

Ajaz joined the England off-spinner Jim Laker (vs Australia at Old Trafford in 1956) and the India leg-spinner Anil Kumble (vs Pakistan at New Delhi in 1999) in picking up all wickets in an innings. Ajaz also overtook Richard Hadlee as the bowler with the best figures for New Zealand; Hadlee had taken 9 for 52 against Australia in 1985.

The only other bowler from New Zealand to achieve this feat is Albert Moss, a fast bowler from Canterbury who took all ten against Wellington in 1889.

Patel struck on Day 1 when the India openers – Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal were going great guns.

In the 28th over, he lured Gill out of the crease and emphatically beat him in flight, but Tom Blundell, the wicketkeeper, botched a stumping chance. Ajaz, though, found Gill's outside edge next ball and had him nicking off to Ross Taylor at slip.

At the start of his next over, Ajaz hit Pujara's pad as New Zealand challenged umpire Anil Choudhary's on-field not-out decision. The verdict stayed not out, with ball-tracking suggesting that it would have missed leg stump – well, in the next ball, however, Ajaz got the sharp drift and even sharper turn from leg stump to knock back Pujara's off stump – a peach of a delivery!

In the same over, Kohli stretched far too forward and wore a full ball from Ajaz on his front pad before he nicked it. He had called for a review of the on-field out decision, thinking he had hit it with his bat first, but there wasn't enough conclusive evidence for Virender Sharma, the TV umpire, to overturn Choudhary's call.

Patel extracted extra bounce and turn – Shreyas had an uncertain prod at one and ended up inside-edging it onto his thigh pad. The ball lobbed up to Blundell who collected it cleanly.

Ajaz had begun the second day by sending India reeling from 221 for 4 to 224 for 6 in the second over, taking out Wriddhiman Saha and Ravi Ashwin off successive balls.

The Ashwin dismissal came via a peach, beating his forward defensive with drift, dip and turn to hit off-stump.

After lunch, Patel struck again!

He dismissed the dangerously well-set Agarwal to follow the ball with his hands because of the length and the sharp turn to feather a catch behind and Axar Patel was sent to the dressing room after being trapped lbw.

Jayant Yadav's had planned to have a go at Patel backfired when he holed out to long-off, and the record books had a new addition when Mohammed Siraj's slog across the line was sliced up in the air for a catch to mid-off.

The ball swirled and hung in the air for a second, a second that seemed a lot longer than it was as history held its breath until Rachin Ravindra's safe hands closed around it.

A remarkable feat in a venue which is his home town – he was a month old when New Zealand last played a Test in Mumbai and when he arrived in New Zealand, he was an eight years old boy with a lot of dreams in his eyes.

After twenty-five years he returned home that made him nostalgic.

Two days before the start of the second Test, Patel told the reporters, “I was thinking about it when we landed in Mumbai yesterday. It was nice coming out - we have come here with family for holidays [in the past]. It's a little bit different now, obviously. This time I am with cricket.”

“I have come to the Wankhede for a lot of IPL games, thanks to Mitch McClenaghan. He has been very kind every time I have come here. I have also bowled here a few times, training and stuff like that. It is kind of nostalgic being here. I just have to cope with not being able to see the family. I'm sure I will be making a quick trip back home very frequently whenever that's possible.”

“I have got various members of the family coming in on different days of the game,” he said.

“I guess it's the beauty of Test cricket. Everyone can come in on days that they are free.”

“I don't think about it [playing in front of the family] as pressure, it's more of excitement. I know we didn't get off at the airport. I have got a lot of flashbacks - leaving Mumbai for the first time and coming back to Mumbai for the first time, coming to Mumbai for a wedding and stuff like that. For me, it's going to be a very, very special moment.”

And, what a special moment it was!

“It is obviously quite a special occasion for me and my family,” Patel told Sky Sports.

“It’s pretty surreal. I don’t think you ever believe you can achieve something like this. To be able to do it in my career is pretty special.

“I think, by the grace of God, I am very fortunate that the stars have aligned to have an occasion like this in Mumbai. To be born here and then come back to achieve something like this is pretty special.”

But, surprisingly, Patel had no plans to become a spinner in his early days as a cricketer.

Rather, he was charging in with the new ball for Suburbs New Lynn in Auckland premier club cricket.

He followed the likes of Martin Guptill and Jeet Raval through the Avondale College first XI to the same club and spin bowling was not at all in his plans.

“Initially I was a left-arm seamer and played premiers and Auckland Under-19s as a fast bowler, then I decided that being 5 foot 6 wasn't quite going to cut it at the next level,” Patel said in an interview with Stuff.

“I had to make a change if I wanted to progress and play higher up.”

It was the former New Zealand offspinner – Dipak Patel – whose influence helped Ajaz to take spin bowling seriously.

“I recall a game at Suburbs where I opened the bowling then ended up coming back and bowling spin. My spin ended up taking more wickets. It was something different and I was apprehensive about whether I'd enjoy bowling spin but I loved it and it took off from there,” Ajaz told Stuff.

Moving to a new country from the subcontinent was a new challenge for him and his family. His father would set up a new business back in New Zealand apart from learning English and facing the daily challenges that made Ajaz feel, he would be able to cope with the challenges in the coming days.  

 His switching to spin bowling from pace was challenging but he did not give up and kept on working. The exclusion from the New Zealand Under-19 side was a significant blow and getting hit by Guptill at club level acted as a motivating factor. Still, cricket has always been a secondary for his father, who bought him first-ever spike boots – Patel nurtured his dreams and waited for his opportunity.

Ajaz toiled hard with the Central Districts without enough rewards and reorganization in the summer of 2010.

But patience and hard work always have their rewards - Patel made his List A debut in the Ford Trophy of the 2015-16 season. He took the most wickets in the 2015–16 Plunket Shield season, with 43 dismissals. He was also the leading wicket-taker in the following season, with 44 dismissals.

In 2018, for the series against Pakistan in UAE, Ajaz was included in the team among the three spinners.

Ajaz was picked in place of Mitchell Santner who was recovering from a long-term knee injury.  

“Ajaz has deserved his inclusion on the sheer weight of his domestic first-class form over the past couple of summers,” selector Gavin Larsen said.

Back then, was named last year's domestic Player of the Year and was a vital member of the Central Stags team that won their first Plunket Shield title in five years. He took 48 wickets at 21.52 and is among the three frontline spinners in the squad alongside Ish Sodhi and Todd Astle.

Ajaz was gobsmacked at the call from selector Gavin Larsen to say he'd made the 15-man test squad.

So too were his extended family who joined Patel and wife Nilofer, his parents Yunus and Shahnaz, and younger sisters Sanaa and Tanzeel at the family home for dinner that night. Patel reckons at least 30 people were in the room when he rose to speak.

“After dinner, I announced it to the family and it was amazing, the whole house went ballistic, everyone started cheering and applauding. It was a madhouse for a minute and I was worried the neighbours might complain,” he said to Stuff.

“We're a close-knit family and the amount of support I've had… I owe it to all of them and it was nice to share it with them and see how pleased they were.”

"It gives me goosebumps thinking about it. If you told me then I'd be selected for the Black Caps as a spinner I'd say you'd be having a laugh as well. It's been a whirlwind but it's been good fun.”

Ajaz would be New Zealand's fifth Indian-born Test cricketer after Ted Badcock, Tom Puna, Ish Sodhi and Jeet Raval.

Patel credited Stags coach Heinrich Malan for questioning his gameplan and tactics and said the key to his rise was keeping it simple, bowling a huge number of overs and gaining confidence in his own game.

“When you bowl so many overs you tend to learn on the job. That's where my biggest improvements have come, figuring out what my game is and how I'm looking to dismiss different individuals. And thinking on your feet and being able to work out a few different plans. It's a good time to get this opportunity and I'm in a good space for it.”

The Mumbai-born spinner wasted no time in making an impact.

In the first test at Abu Dhabi, Ajaz bagged five wickets including the final scalp of a resolute Ali to take New Zealand over the line by four runs.

It would be an understatement to say the Test was an epic, Pakistan losing four wickets after lunch in a manic period of play to slip from 147 for 4 to 155 for 8, which became 164 for 9 not long after.

Ali and Mohammad Abbas then added 16 runs to get within one hit of sealing victory, but Patel struck the decisive blow, trapping Ali for 65.

In 2019, Ajaz would feature for Yorkshire and almost a decade ago arrived at Cranleigh Cricket Club in Surrey as a young cricketer in transition.

Rob Johnston wrote, “For Patel, summer in England playing as much cricket as possible for Cranleigh was the ideal way of grooming his new action. For the five months before, he had spent hour after hour with former New Zealand spinner Dipak Patel standing at the crease, without a run-up, and bowling the ball, trying to build a spinner's action from scratch. It was boring work, but essential. Even now you can perhaps see the influence of those sessions in the way Patel barely follows through, ending up behind the popping crease.”

“Matt Crump was the Cranleigh first team captain during Patel's first summer with the club and his initial impressions were that the 18-year-old spun the ball big, had a natural dip and ‘tried to give it a fizz every single delivery’ but that, unsurprisingly, he lacked control.

“When he bowled well, he was superb and would literally clean up,” Crump said to Rob.

“He just lacked some game awareness and how to work batsmen out. He just tried to bowl the same ball all the time, the magic ball.”

“Despite Patel's new-found role, there was one game where the club needed him to return to bowling seam,” wrote Rob.

“We had a couple of players missing so we needed Ajaz to open the bowling. He bowled five overs with the new ball, had a break and then came back on to bowl spin. He got a five-for in that game.”

Rob wrote, “The 2019 summer following his Test debut in Abu Dhabi, Patel was back at Cranleigh for another season of club cricket. He wanted to be playing ahead of the tour to Sri Lanka in August of that year. During his first stint at the club, Patel was like so many young overseas cricketers, talented, hoping to make a career out of the game but unsure if he would cut it. When he returned, he was a hardened first-class and Test cricketer. The difference was like day and night.”

“He was so professional nine years later,” Crump says.

“He was very disciplined with diet, how he approached things like stretching. It had a massive impact on everyone else because everyone sees that and goes 'Wow if he's doing that, why aren't we?”

Patel took 56 wickets in 13 matches that season at the remarkable average of 8.43 and his performances helped the club achieve promotion.

“The control he had and the tactical side of things, he just knew how he wanted to get players out,” Crump adds.

“We had a rain-affected game at Valley End. We were chasing promotions and had to bowl them out. He got seven-for and bowled one of the best 12 over spells I have ever seen at club cricket level. We bowled them out in the second to last over.”

“He was absolutely brilliant off the field too. If you wrote down what you want an overseas player to be, he would be exactly what every club would need. He was professional, turned up on time, and did all the junior coaching. All the juniors loved him. He would do spinning classes with them. I just couldn't speak higher of him.”

He knows, as a spinner from New Zeland, he would receive limited opportunities and thus his target has always been to utilize most of them as he said in an interview, “As a spinner, you thrive on situations where you have an opportunity to contribute to the team and contribute to the environment, especially as a New Zealand spinner, knowing how few opportunities we get.”

“I try not to put any [added] pressure on myself. I still just try to enjoy my cricket and you know obviously faith is a big factor for me, which allows me to stay grounded and back my abilities and be comfortable with whatever's thrown towards me. So, I mean, I just make sure I'm still working hard and developing my game and continue to grow so that when the opportunity does come, I try and make the most of it.”

Since his Test debut, he has been all about impact – Patel grabbed 5 for 59 on debut, as New Zealand successfully defended 175 in Abu Dhabi for one of their most memorable Test victories. Then, he went Patel went wicketless in the Wellington and Christchurch Tests against Sri Lanka. His specialist left-arm fingerspin was later needed in Sri Lanka, where New Zealand launched a remarkable comeback to level the series 1-1 with Patel bagging a five-wicket haul in Galle.

Although Patel was not picked for the Australia tour, and then went wicketless at Basin Reserve against India, he was rewarded with a first central contract by mid-2020, with New Zealand leaning towards a spin overhaul. Patel's accuracy and versatility were valued over Santner's batting and more defensive left-arm fingerspin.

After having proven his fitness and form in the domestic competitions, Patel worked his way back into New Zealand's enlarged squad for the England tour, with the World Test Championship final against India thrown in.

In the Test series against England, Sixteen of the 20 wickets they took were shared between Boult, Henry and Ajaz Patel. For all the success of their seam attack, Patel returned match figures of 4 for 59 in 23 overs.

After the series win against England, came the glory against India in the World Test Championship Final.

And, right now, Patel is relishing the moment in Mumbai despite a bittersweet Day 2.

The late bloomer has still a lot to offer for New Zealand. 

 Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

Gritty New Zealand frustrate India

New Zealand and Kane Williamson witnessed Australia lift the trophy of the Twenty20 World Cup in Dubai – without even letting a competition take place. It was another defeat in the finals of an ICC event. But in one format, New Zealand have shown why they are the current champions and which is Test cricket. They might be done and dusted, but they keep on breathing and fight – Kanpur witnessed one of the breathtaking Test matches of this year, where the Kiwis frustrated India and snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat.

India surfaced a test Xi without some of the major players and that included Virat Kohli. Ajinkya Rahane was leading the side and he had no hesitation in electing to bat on a deck that would turn as the day progresses.

Team India played with five specialist batters despite missing Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Kohli and Rishabh Pant – kept the faith in the batting abilities of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravi Ashwin and emphasized on the spinners, who would enjoy a fantastic Test match, until the sturdiness of the Kiwis showed up.    

The debutante Shreyas Iyer scored a cultured half-century and put on an unbroken 113 for the fifth wicket with Jadeja to lift India out of a tricky situation midway through day one and put them in control.

At stumps on Day 1, India were 258 for 4 with Iyer batting on 75, his last scoring shot of the day a six over midwicket off Will Somerville, which convinced New Zealand to go off for bad light rather than bowl more spin to complete the 90-over requirement for the day.

 Jadeja, meanwhile, had just reached his 17th half-century in Test cricket.

On day 2, Tim Southee delivered one of the great Test-match spells by a visiting fast bowler in India to drag New Zealand back into the Kanpur Test, before Will Young and Tom Latham put on a resolute and unbroken 129 to ensure all four results were still in play after two engrossing days.

Southee picked up four wickets in an unbroken spell of 11 overs on the second morning to complete his 13th five-wicket haul in Test cricket and his second in India.

After being bowled out for 345, India tried their best to breach the New Zealand batting order, but their five bowlers failed.

While the ball occasionally gripped and turned square, and more often kept low, the slowness of the surface allowed the batters to adjust and survive.

Starting the day at 258 for 4 with two half-centurions at the crease, India were bowled out for the addition of only 87 runs. The bulk of those runs came from Shreyas Iyer, who became the 16th India batter to score a century on debut, and Ashwin, who made a counterattacking 38 at number eight.

“When I came to Kanpur, I didn't know I was going to play,” Iyer said to the reporters.

“Rahul sir [Dravid, the coach] and skipper [Ajinkya Rahane] came to me and said I was going to play [after KL Rahul was ruled out]. Suddenly I had to get into the mindset of red-ball cricket.”

“The last match I played was almost three years back, which was Irani Trophy. I took this as an opportunity and a challenge as well. Once you play white-ball cricket for so long, getting back to red-ball cricket is a different ball game. The mindset and routine has to be on point. That's what I focused on rather than thinking about how I am going to play and thinking about who I am going to face on the ground.”

“All these thoughts I completely negated. I focused more on my processes. I knew I had the skill. Rahul sir and Ajinkya motivated me a lot. They told me you don't have to change anything because you have played this game before. You have played Ranji Trophy so well, scored so many runs with a really good average. That was my mindset coming to the ground.”

“Sunil Gavaskar sir, when he gave me the cap, told me one important point,” Iyer said.

'You don't have to think about your past, you don't have to think about your future. All you have got is present, and you have got to focus on the next ball.' That's what I have been doing throughout. So my aim is to think about today, not think about the next game. If I think about that, I wouldn't be able to perform on the given day. Whatever happens - happens for the best, and I will take it in my stride and move forward.”

On Day 3, the Indian spinners reaped a rich harvest.

Axar Patel picked up a fifth five-wicket haul in his fourth Test to help India bowl New Zealand out for 296 and take a first-innings lead of 49.

On a Kanpur pitch where the ball was keeping low from time to time, Axar reaped the benefit of targeting the stumps and finished with figures of 5 for 62.

The Indian openers needed to survive five overs before the close of play.

Kyle Jamieson, though, disturbed the timber of Shubman Gill with the first ball of the second over and reached 50 wickets in only his ninth Test.

In doing so, he bettered Shane Bond's New Zealand record by three matches. The overall record belongs to Charlie Turner of Australia, who took his 50th wicket in his sixth Test.

Mayank Agarwal and Cheteshwar Pujara took India to stumps, extending their lead to 63.\

On Day 4, Shreyas Iyer followed up his 105 in the first innings with 65 to help India set New Zealand a target of 284 in the first Test in Kanpur. He was well-supported by Wriddhiman Saha, who struck an unbeaten 61 after being off the field with a stiff neck on day three.

In the morning session, Southee, Jamieson and Ajaz Patel had reduced India to 51 for 5, but Iyer and Ashwin exhibited composure with a 52-run stand for the sixth wicket.

Then, Iyer and Saha added 64 for the seventh wicket to take India's lead past 200.

Iyer was caught down the leg side off Southee in the last over before tea but Saha and Axar Patel dashed any hopes New Zealand might have had of keeping the target under 250.

Both of them added 67 runs in 20.4 overs in an unbroken eighth-wicket stand.

India finally declared on 234 for 7, and in the four overs possible before bad light forced stumps, Ashwin dismissed Will Young lbw with the one that kept low.

The final day at Kanpur is a part of Test cricket folklore.

William Somerville and Tom Latham were very impressive with the way they batted. 

New Zealand did not lose a single wicket in the first session of Day 5 and there would have been plenty of nerves in the Indian camp. But after Lunch, things turned around. Somerville fell and Latham too had to walk back to the hut.

Before tea, the dismissal of Ross Taylor was telling blow while Williamson was the lone man standing.

Indian spinners ruled the roost post Tea.

Patel started things off by taking the wicket of Henry Nicholls and that triggered a collapse.

Jadeja was the main bowler in the last session though as his 3 wickets in that session put India just 1 wicket away from a memorable victory.

 Two of the finest spinners from India tried and tested all their experience and skillsets to dismantle the last pair of New Zealand – debutante Rachin Ravindra and Aijaz Patel.

The ball was keeping low; the turn was sharp and threatening like a spitting Cobra, the fielders were close and were waiting for a catch as if vultures were waiting for their prey – but nothing could deter the last pair of New Zealand.

Bad light prompted an early finish – New Zealand survived the scare and scripted one of the greatest escapes in their cricketing history.

Patel was not on 6 facing 5 balls while Rachin faced 91 balls for his valuable 18 runs.

“It has been touch and go around this time throughout this Test. The Indian side is a formidable one, they were on top for the large part but we hung around. All three results were in play but we fought hard and showed the fight on the last day. Rachin is a top-order batter, but is not experienced in these conditions. The two fast players we played were outstanding, kept bowling long overs and kept us in the game. We know this Indian side is a very strong one in all departments, so we have to be at our best all the time. As a bowling attack, getting overs under the belt was good. We will play in Mumbai on a different surface, so we need to prepare differently,” said Williamson at the presentation ceremony.

Meanwhile, Rahane said, “[on the timing of the declaration] Not really, we tried our best. They played really well. I think the way we came back in the second session was good. The fast bowlers too bowled really well. We wanted to get that partnership going, put some runs on board. Saha and Axar batted really well. Before that Shreyas and Ashwin's partnership was crucial. We wanted to bowl four overs yesterday and 90-95 in all. [on chat with the umpires towards the end] It was about the light. I think the umpires made the right call regarding light. [On having three spinners] Sometimes it feels, am I giving Ashwin too few overs? Am I bowling Axar too much? I am really happy for Shreyas, the way he has worked on his game. Virat will come back for the Mumbai Test. I will not make any comments, the management will take the call.”

The draw at Kanpur breaks a sequence of 12 successive result Tests in India, the second-longest such streak. Between 1988 and 1994, there were 13 successive results in Tests in India.

India were 12-1 in those Tests, with the only defeat coming against NZ in Mumbai, which was the last time they won a Test in India.

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 29/11/2021 Gritty New Zealand frustrate India

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

Real Madrid remain the King at Cam Nou

The buildup to the El Clasico has always been electrifying – with the old guards giving away the torch to the next generation – the attraction took a setback, but an El Clasico is always an El Clasico and Camp Nou was prepared to host their bitter rivals in the afternoon. Guess what, Real Madrid conquered Camp Nou again and proved themselves as the kings of El Clasicos. 

The game lacked pace and intensity, which is always evident in such a high-voltage clash. Both the teams cashed in a cautious start and focused on their backline. The midfield was busy in blocking the gaps rather than orchestrating attacks while the frontliners lacked efficiency.

Ronald Koeman had a surprising inclusion in his starting XI, with Oscar Mingueza slotted in at right-back, while Sergino Dest was pushed forward as a right-winger.

Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti went with an attack-minded line-up, consisting of Lucas Vazquez at right-back, Ferland Mendy at left-back and Rodrygo Goes joining fellow Brazilian Vinicius Junior up top with Karim Benzema.

The opening 10 minutes have been cagey, to say the least. Both sets of players are playing it safe when in possession and three minutes later, Vinicius latched on to a ball over the top by Mendy and surged into the left-inside channel and went for a cutback towards Benzema, but Garcia was there to deflect it behind for a corner – the Los Blancos broke the shackles and hinted, they were at Camp Nou for a win.

Vinicius went down in the box under pressure from Mingueza and appealed for a penalty. The referee was not interested and told the forward to get to his feet.

The referee had to calm tempers after Alba reacted to Vinicius' appeal for a spot-kick. There was not a great deal in contact between Mingueza and Vinicius, prompting the reaction from the home side.

Benzema threaded Vinicius through on goal and he burst into the left-inside channel. He rounded Ter Stegen to open up space to fire at goal on his left foot but then opted to go back onto his right foot. Alba got back to block his eventual strike, although the offside flag went up late.

Barca responded with Sergino Dest - The USA international blazed a golden opportunity over the bar from 12 yards out. Memphis Depay made a lung-bursting run into the Madrid box and cut a low ball back across the penalty area. Fati edged it into the path of Dest, who only had to beat Courtois. However, he lost his composure and skied his effort.

Madrid were having trouble keeping themselves onside in the final third.

Benzema is caught straying as he latched onto an offload from Rodrygo before blasting his eventual strike from the right-inside channel into the side-netting.

Fati tried to find Depay in space on the edge of the box, but the Dutchman failed to bring his offload under control amid pressure from Alaba – a counter-attack was on offer.

The Los Blancos scored the perfect counterattacking goal with Alaba providing a sublime finish on his left foot.

Alaba started the move by dispossessing Depay on the edge of the Madrid box before breaking up the field. Rodrygo took possession and cut open the Barca defence with an incisive pass towards Alaba in the left-inside channel.

He took a touch before rifling his strike into the top-right corner.

It was the first goal for Real Madrid and what a moment and venue he chose to celebrate his goal – El Clasico and Camp Nou!

Alaba was not done yet – at the stroke of halftime.

 Alaba produced a huge block at the back to deny Fati. Busquets clipped a ball over the top for Alba to chase in the left-inside channel. He cut a low cross back towards Fati, who shot with power towards goal, but the presence of the Austrian legend blocked the effort in its track.

Philippe Coutinho was summoned during the break for Mingueza, meaning Dest dropped back to his usual right-back spot, as Barcelona remained on the front foot in their search for an equaliser.

However, as the second stanza wore on, Real Madrid started to impose themselves and, if not for a last-gasp intervention from Dest and then a save from goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, both Vinicius and Benzema likely would have had goals.

Barca built down the left flank through Fati. He tried to offload towards Coutinho in the box, but the Brazilian saw his left-footed strike diverted behind by Militao.

Alba had space down the left flank and cut the ball back for Fati to strike, but his attempt was saved by Courtois down to his right.

The defensive change for Real Madrid signalled Ancelotti's comfort with using his defence to see things out, with an eye toward getting a second via the counterattack.

Modric hooked an offload inside for Benzema, who had his first real opening at the goal of the game.

However, Benzema scuffed his strike from 12 yards into the ground and Ter Stegen made the block with his body.

It was a huge chance for Los Blancos to take command of the game.

Vinicius bursts into space down the left flank and had Benzema in the box in support, but he failed to beat Ter Stegen with his cross to the near post.

Koeman's final roll of the dice was youngster Gavi off for Luuk de Jong, while Marco Asensio gave Real Madrid fresh legs in place of a limping Vinicius and Dani Carvajal replaced Fede Valverde.

Ancelotti's approach worked to a tee as a Barcelona attack bereft of ideas in the second half couldn't land the leveller and a stoppage-time counter saw Lucas Vazquez put the nail in the coffin for a 2-0 lead.

A last-gasp goal from Aguero made sure Real Madrid couldn't keep a clean sheet, but the spoils were all for the visitors as they claimed a 2-1 win - their fourth Clasico victory in a row.

Barcelona, meanwhile, are down in eighth and could end the weekend in ninth if Real Betis beat Rayo Vallecano.

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 24/10/2021 Real Madrid remain the King at Cam Nou

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

What is Tite thinking?

 

“This is not the era of Brazil where each and every player was ready to shine, no matter which position they played. This is the era where talented players with decent and not extraordinary abilities exist – they just need the right position to play and obviously, enough playing time should be given.  But, as I said, none could understand what Tite is thinking”

 After a dismal show against Venezuela at Caracas, the boys of Tite dished out a dismal display against Colombia – apart from the altercations between Neymar and Yerry Mina; there was nothing significant from the Selecao at Barranquilla. Brazil dropped points for the first time in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and yet again, Tite’s tactics were heavily criticized.

What is Tite thinking?

One can be sure, if no injuries happen, Tite would start with Alisson, Casemiro in front of him while Neymar leading the attack upfront in Qatar – but the space between the defensive and offensive area, even after four years, nothing is organized since World Cup 2018.

The search is for the best harmony between the offensive model and the players who would be chosen to execute it.

In the last three matches, the Selecao played either in a 4-2-2-2 switching to a 4-1-3-2 or,  Tite’s favourite 4-1-4-1.

Fred was like a confused character at the centre of the pitch who was outweighed several times by the Colombian players and his lack of creativity hampered Brazil badly. Meanwhile, Gabigol up front was another confused character, who still has not figured out what to do when wonderful scoring opportunities pass by.

The role of Lucas Paqueta as a winger or false nine – as they are saying – seems to be one of the most wasted ideas ever executed by a Brazilian coach. Paqueta is not an allrounder like the past legends who would gel well in any positions, rather he is more of a regista and like Bruno Guimares - he loves to pull the strings from the deep.

And on what basis Everton Ribeiro makes the cut in the starting eleven as a right-winger remains a moot question.

At present, Tite has built the Seleçao with a lineup of three players in front of the wheel and two moving forwards inside.

In the victory over Venezuela, of below-average performance, this line of three had Ribeiro on the right, Gerson in the middle and Paqueta on the left. In the tie with Colombia, Gabriel Jesus and Fred replaced Ribeiro and Gerson – ultimately cutting a frustrating figure.

These changes hinted that Tite is searching for the missing parts between the defensive and offensive line – well, he can’t fix things, until and unless he starts with the right players, who would set the tone and boost the confidence.

Enough said!

It seems, we seem to talk the same thing in different ways, but still, unable to decipher the mind of a coach, who replaced a frustrating Carlos Dunga back in 2016 and gave everyone a lot of hope.

Tite's career includes titles won in various tactical formations – all built from the balance between the defensive and offensive phases –, also determined by the evolution of the game. His most recent great moments, at Corinthians and in the Seleção, had either fast attackers endowed with the ability to unbalance defensive systems with dribbling and deep plays or creative midfielders with accurate space reading to move towards to the middle and generate superiority and approximation.

The first category includes Raphinha, Antony, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo Goes, Cebolinha, Douglas Costa, Malcom, Gabriel Jesus, Phlippe Coutinho and Neymar.

In the second category - Everton Ribeiro, Claudinho, Jadson, Bruno Guimares, Paqueta, although this movement still doesn't seem to be such a present and natural element in his ascension.

Jesus has an exciting start to the season as a right-winger at Manchester City and had a good performance in the 2019 Copa America, but still, his selection as a right-winger in the current Brazil side needs further evaluation.

To receive the ball closer to the opponent's area, other mechanisms of the positional game would need to be more adjusted, such as the conduction of the ball to the offensive field, by the defenders, and a smaller distance from him, Jesus, to the lateral.

At City, the presence of a trio of midfielders usually favours faster ball circulation and this also allows a pass to find it in better conditions, against a less balanced marking.

This is another issue to be resolved by Tite in this space between Casemiro and Neymar: the composition of the midfield.

In the overwhelming beginning, Renato Augusto and Paulinho shared functions - the first one varying the pace, accelerating or pacing according to the demand of the game, and helping the origin of the plays; the second with its constant infiltration, taking advantage of the spaces created by the movement of attackers and arriving at the area to finish.

The momentary decision to use a central attacking duo, motivated by Neymar's transformation, calls for a second defensive midfielder that can bring together as many of the characteristics of Renato Augusto and Paulinho as possible.

It's easier to find that type of midfielder in other countries.

 Here, Tite runs into a problem with the formation of Brazilian football, a conceptual delay in relation to the understanding of the game.

Apart from the updated version of Lionel Messi as a midfielder, arch-rival, Argentina has Rodrigo e Paul, who dictates the game from the deep and gives Argentina the edge in between the offensive and defensive area. Italy have a Marco Verratti, France have a Paul Pogba with players like Camavinga waiting under the wings and Germany have a Joshua Kimmich – meanwhile, Brazil does not have such assets.

Paqueta and Guimares could have been built by giving them time and right positions – but the biggest loss is the downfall of Arthur Melo and Coutinho.

Arthur is the one who could complement very well with Casemiro or Fabinho in Tite’s 4-2-2-2 system while Coutinho would have given Neymar the boost from the central attacking position by moving from the left to centre.   

But there is no meaning in wasting time for those who are still trying to rediscover themselves, rather, it would be better to exploit the right ones – that same school of thought – choose the right players and settle a team for the World Cup.

From 2018 until now, Brazil has attacked in all the ways described in this text, in addition to transforming the left-back into a winger, forming a 2-3-5 with minimum effect.

Today, it alternates between a ball outing with seven players (goalkeeper, full-backs, defenders and midfielders) and another, a little more advanced, with three (defenders and one of the full-backs).

This is not the era of Brazil where each and every player was ready to shine, no matter which position they played. This is the era where talented players with decent and not extraordinary abilities exist – they just need the right position to play and obviously, enough playing time should be given.  But, as I said, none could understand what Tite is thinking.

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer on 13/10/2021 What is Tite thinking?

FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: Cristiano Ronaldo on fire, Denmark qualify and Hungary halt England at Wembley

 

Cristiano Ronaldo the great

There is always an accusation that Cristiano Ronaldo scores heavily against weak teams, but that is what a great player should not do? If an opposition is weak then the best player in the world should always take full advantage of it and it is not the fault of Cristiano Ronaldo if teams like Luxemburg, Gibraltar or Farao Islands are situated in Europe and feature in the UEFA World Cup qualifier Group. Rather than struggling, a great player always smashes them – CR7 does that and which should be praised.

AP reports:

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat trick as Portugal cruised past Luxembourg 5-0 in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday to stay close to group leader Serbia.

Serbia kept a one-point cushion at the top of Group A by defeating last-place Azerbaijan 3-1 at home. It has 17 points, one more than Portugal, which has a game in hand.

Serbia's last game is at Portugal in November. Portugal, which has won four in a row in qualifying, will play at Ireland before the decisive match against the Serbians.

Ronaldo took his record scoring tally to 115 international goals by converting two early penalty kicks and finding the net again near the end. Bruno Fernandes and Joao Palhinha also scored for Portugal.

Bernardo Silva was fouled to prompt the first penalty in the eighth minute, while Ronaldo himself was brought down inside the area before converting the second penalty in the 13th. He had to retake it, though, after André Silva entered the area too early.

Ronaldo also struck the post a few minutes later, and in the 18th Fernandes added to the lead after being set up by Bernardo Silva.

Palhinha scored the fourth in the 69th, moments after Ronaldo came close with a bicycle kick that was saved by Luxembourg goalkeeper Anthony Moris.

Ronaldo completed his hat trick in the 87th.

Denmark book a place in Qatar

Denmark became the second European team to qualify for next year's World Cup by beating Austria 1-0 on Tuesday to maintain the team's perfect record in its group.

Joakim Maehle's 53rd-minute goal at Parken Stadium secured a seventh straight qualifying win for the Danes, who have yet to concede in Group F and have the only 100% record.

Germany was the first team to reach the 2022 tournament in Qatar via qualifying, sealing first place in its group on Monday.

Denmark came into World Cup qualifying without star midfielder Christian Eriksen, who is recovering from collapsing during the European Championship after suffering cardiac arrest, but as one of the best teams on the continent having still reached the semifinals at Euro 2020.

With just the first-place finisher qualifying automatically, Denmark holds an unassailable seven-point lead over Scotland, which needed an 86th-minute goal by Lyndon Dykes to beat Faeroe Islands 1-0.

Israel is in third place, four points further back, after a 2-1 victory over Moldova.

Hungary hold back England

Crowd trouble marred World Cup qualifiers as Hungary fans clashed with police during a 1-1 draw against England at Wembley Stadium and Poland's players walked off in Albania after bottles were hurled in another Group I match on Tuesday.

Karol Widerski had just scored for Poland in the 77th minute when he was struck by a bottle thrown from the stands. It led to the game being suspended for around 20 minutes.

The disorder in England happened around kickoff after home players taking a knee had been booed by the visiting fans.

 “Shortly after the start of tonight's match at Wembley, officers entered the stand to arrest a spectator for a racially aggravated public order offence following comments made towards a steward,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement, while the game was still going on.

“As the officers made the arrest, minor disorder broke out involving other spectators. Order was quickly restored and there have been no further incidents at this stage.”

Police were seen wielding batons to hold back the visiting fans but the rest of the game passed off largely peacefully.

The Football Association (FA) have opened an investigation and will report the incident to FIFA.

“We are aware of an incident in the away section during tonight's FIFA 2022 World Cup Qualifier at Wembley Stadium,” said the FA in a statement, again still during the game.

“We will be investigating and will report the incident to FIFA.”

UEFA have previously ordered Hungary to play a game behind closed doors following racist abuse from supporters and homophobic flags during their Euro 2020.

Luke Shaw's foul on Loic Nego led to Roland Sallai putting Hungary ahead from the penalty spot in the 24th minute.

England recovered a point in the 37th minute when John Stones turned in a free-kick from Manchester City teammate Phil Foden.

England coach Gareth Southgate even took Captain Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling off with 15 minutes to go for Jordan Henderson and Tammy Abraham.

But England couldn't produce a winner, dropping points in World Cup qualifier at home for the first time since a draw against Ukraine in September 2012.

England remains top of Group I with games against Albania and San Marino remaining next month in the pursuit of automatic qualification for a place at the World Cup in Qatar next year.

Courtesy: Associated Press

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 13/10/2021 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: Cristiano Ronaldo on fire, Denmark qualify and Hungary halt England at Wembley

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France are the champions

After the frustration in the Euro 2020, the World Champions – France regrouped and decided to bag home a trophy this year. It really does not suit the style of a team like France to go trophy-less in a season where two events took place. The Euro was missed against Switzerland but the UEFA Nations League was won by beating Spain.

Despite leaving the semifinal win over Italy with an early knock, Ferran Torres was back in the starting XI for head coach Luis Enrique, while Rodri came into midfield for Koke and Eric Garcia replaced Pau Torres in the back.

Didier Deschamps made two changes from the semifinal against Belgium. Tchouameni started after impressing in his substitute role on Thursday, with Kimpembe also being brought in. Lucas Hernandez dropped to the bench, while Adrien Rabiot missed out after testing positive for coronavirus. Antoine Griezmann also earns his 100th cap for France.

It was a tight first 45 minutes of football between the two sides. France and Real Madrid striker Benzema had a chance early on despite suspicions of offside, but held the ball too long, allowing Cesar Azpilicueta to clear his deep cross.

Overall, La Roja were doing a nice job keeping France's vaunted attacking force of Benzema, Antoine Griezmann and Mbappe in check, with 17-year-old Barcelona midfielder Gavi playing well beyond his years.

Luis Enrique went to his bench for the first time at the hour mark, with Yeremi Pino on for Pablo Sarabia, and it was shortly after that when things started to pick up.

France lurched forward on the counter-attack with Mbappe and Benzema working down the left flank and the latter slipping a pass into Theo Hernandez, who stung a shot off the crossbar.

Moments after that, though, Spain would unlock the French defence, with Sergio Busquets filtering a pass into Oyarzabal, who muscled off a French defender and finished with aplomb for his left foot to make it 1-0 to Spain.

France's reaction was immediate. Just after Spain had concluded their celebration, veteran striker Benzema curled in an exquisite right-footed shot to bring the reigning world champions level.

Back to the bench went Luis Enrique with a quarter of an hour to go, this time swapping Koke and Gavi, but the momentum stayed with France and it yielded the decisive score in the final 10 minutes, albeit with some controversy.

Theo slipped a pass into Mbappe, who initially appeared offside, but the flag stayed down and the PSG man finished to earn his side a 2-1 lead. The Spanish players looked around waiting for the flag to be raised and then for VAR to overturn the goal, but the original call stood.

In hopes of getting a late equaliser, Pablo Fornals and Mikel Merino were brought into the fold for Rodri and Ferran Torres, respectively. Spain poured numbers forward and had a few good looks for a late leveller, including good cracks from Oyarzabal and Pino, only to be denied by France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris until the final whistle.

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 11/10/2021 France are the champions

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FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: Argentina thrash Uruguay while Brazil fire blank

Brazil vs Colombia

For the first time in the World Cup qualifiers for Qatar 2022, Brazil have dropped points and one could point a finger towards Tite and claim, the Brazilian head coach started with the wrong set of players and corrected it after the break. It is always tough to pick up the tempo after making a mess in the first half.

Reuters report:

Both teams played an open game in the Caribbean heat but neither created many goalmouth chances, particularly in a stunted first hour.

The game came alive in the last half hour as both teams pushed for a winner, but both goalkeepers made excellent saves from long-range efforts to keep the game scoreless.

The result leaves Brazil at the top of the 10-team group on 28 points, nine ahead of Argentina, who play Uruguay later on Sunday. Colombia are fifth on 15 points.

The top four teams qualify automatically for Qatar and the fifth-placed side goes into an inter-regional playoff.

Brazil are still unbeaten after 10 qualifiers but their short passes in and around the box were met with a resolute Colombian defence, especially in the first half in front of a passionate crowd in Barranquilla.

After an uneventful first 45 minutes, the game burst into life as the second half went on.

Brazil's Alisson was the busier of the two keepers, thwarting long-range efforts from Mateus Uribe and Juan Fernando Quintero, while at the other end, substitutes Antony and Raphinha breathed life into the Brazilian attack and forced vital saves from David Ospina.

Argentina vs Uruguay

After the frustrating display against Paraguay Argentina bounced back extremely well against one of the toughest opponents in world football who are habituated to raise their game against Argentina and Brazil. But this time around, the Uruguayans were thrashed by La Albiceleste who essayed a thumping 3-0 victory.

Eight minutes before the break Messi floated a 35-meter pass into the area but it was missed by both advancing striker Nicolas Gonzalez and goalkeeper Fernando Muslera and somehow sneaked into the net.

Reuters report:

Six minutes later Lautaro Martinez swung and missed at a chance on the edge of the box but the loose ball fell into the path of Rodrigo De Paul who made no mistake.

 

Martinez made up for the miss when he converted a low cross from De Paul 17 minutes into the second half.

The win, combined with Brazil's 0-0 draw at Colombia earlier in the day, narrows the gap between leaders Brazil and second-placed Argentina to six points at the top of the 10-team South American qualifying group.

The top four teams qualify automatically for Qatar and the fifth-placed side go into an inter-regional playoff.

Uruguay, who ended the day fourth in the 10-team table, were unbeaten in eight matches coming into Sunday's match.

They took the game to their rivals, with Luis Suarez coming close on three occasions in the first half-hour, including one thunderous shot that came back off the post.

Argentina grew as the game went on, though, and Giovani Lo Celso missed a golden chance to open the scoring when he rounded the goalkeeper but delayed before striking a shot that hit the underside of the bar and the goal line before rolling to safety.

After the home side drew first blood they never looked like losing an unbeaten run that now stands at 24 games.

Edinson Cavani came on in the second half for Uruguay but it was Argentina who had the better chances in an entertaining game that featured only 15 fouls and no cautions.

Messi came close to getting his second and substitute Angel Di Maria could have made it four on two occasions only to twice see Muslera parry his goal-bound shots.

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 11/10/2021  FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: Argentina thrash Uruguay while Brazil fire blank

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Tite remains pragmatic and needs to play with attacking intent

“Brazil left it late to win in Caracas and it was only possible when Tite decided to attack. Sadly, Tite still does not realize that with the players he has, a pragmatic approach would fetch him nothing.”

Venezuela were on course for a famous win against their illustrious South American neighbours – Brazil until the Canarinho struck late and escaped a face-saving victory at Caracas. Brazil might have won by a margin of 3-1 but the performance of the Selecao had been far from impressive.

Venezuela had managed just four points before the encounter last night. Having never beaten Brazil in an official match, the intention of Venezuela was to keep it tight and catch the opponent on the counter, as it was in their match last November; a contest the Selecao won 1-0 thanks to a late Roberto Firmino goal.

Venezuela started with Graterol between the posts, behind a back four of Hernandez, Mejias, Ferraresi and Gonzelez. Martinez and Soteldo sat in the midfield either side of captain Rincon, while an attacking trident of Penaranda, Ramirez and Machis looked to supply the side with goals.

Tite kept faith in 4-4-2 formation with Alisson in between the sticks and the dynamic pair of Thiago Silva and Marquinhos returned at the centre-back position. Olympic star Arana was introduced to the left-back position while, as usual, Danilo occupied the right-back position.

Fabinho and Gerson took the centre-midfield positions while Lucas Paqueta was deployed as a number 10 – switching from left to centre while Everton Ribeiro occupied the wide right region.

Gabriel Jesus and Gabigol were two attackers.

Neymar was unavailable due to suspension.

Venezuela shocked the visitors with a deserving lead.

Within five minutes of the match, a pass from the right cut through the Brazil defence for Soteldo, who was unable to get the ball out from under his feet to have a strike at goal until a shaky Danilo cleared it – it was an early warning sign for Tite.

Gabigol found space to turn 20 yards from goal and drags a left-footed shot across the goalkeeper - missing the inside of the far post as it goes narrowly wide

A clever move ends in a fantastic finish as Soteldo came across to the right in order to pick up the ball, before chipping an inviting cross towards the penalty spot. Ramirez is stationed perfectly to nod a deft header into the back of the net - leaving Alisson sprawling.

Yet again, Tite’s right flank was fragile and time and again the opposition has exploited that region, still, Tite seems to be out of ideas to protect that area. He has been using Ribeiro and Danilo for a while, but the results remain frustrating whereas he has better options to enrich the right flank.

Eight minutes later, Danilo’s low cross was fizzed into the penalty area for Paqueta, who was unable to get a clean strike on the ball. The ensuing scramble in the penalty area got the way of the Manchester Jesus, who was able to get a clear sight at goal - missing the target by inches! His blushes were saved, however, as the linesman’s flag was raised after a slight delay as he was unable to keep onside.

Twelve minutes later, Paqueta played Ribeiro clear-through on goal, who took a touch to set himself before having a left-footed strike at goal. Ferraresi managed to get a touch to the shot - which sent it over the goalkeeper and off the crossbar before it was turned behind for a corner – a chance missed, because these days, Ribeiro does not have the clinical touch to score such goals.

Meanwhile, Danilo looked to cut inside and play a cross to the far post but a fantastic tackle from Gonzalez put the ball out of play for a throw-in, allowing his side to reorganize.

Again, Ribeiro's delivery towards the six-yard box was met by a punch from Graterol - who did well to clear his lines confidently.

Ribeiro executed a backheel flick in order to control Gabigol’s leading pass inside the penalty area, but two Venezuelan defenders converge and squeeze out the winger - shielding the ball out of play for a goal-kick.

The Brazilian midfield failed to overcome the resistance put up in by Venezuela holding midfielders while their right and left backs consistently pressed the wingers and full-backs to cut short any sort of threats.

Brazil simply lacked pace and creativity in an ordinary first half display whereas, against a struggling side, the Selecao were expected to dominate from the start.

Tite was relying heavily on his chosen ones and a system that never triggers the intention to attack, rather pragmatism dominates more.

After the break, Tite was forced to fix the right flank and introduce the dynamic Raphinha, who made an immediate impact.

Raphinha’s delivery from a set-piece on the left found the head of Thiago Silva - who powered it home with a powerful header but the linesman’s flag was raised immediately for offside which VAR confirmed.

With Raphinha injecting versatility on the right and creating all sorts of problems for Venezuela, Danilo was still proving to be the weak link - Soteldo shifted down the left flank, fooling Danilo in the process as he opened up space for a pass inside to Machis. The winger took a speculative shot from a long way out but lacked enough sharpness.

Paqueta was substituted for the in-form Vinicius Junior whose presence could be felt soon. He started dominating the left-flank with his pace and dribbling and which reminded everyone why was not Vinicius started by Tite?

The left and right flank started to click and it was time for Fabinho to take the responsibility to step up and mobilize the midfield while Gerson was complimenting him.

The mobility at the midfield and right flank led to a corner - Raphinha’s outswinging corner found the head of the Marquinhos, who rose high to force the ball between the goalkeeper’s gloves and the post!

The goal came with just 19 minutes remaining of the match.

Tite brought on Antony for more dynamism in place of a frustrating Jesus while Emerson Royal came in for the dismal Danilo.

The Yellow Machine started functioning rightly.

Vinicius’ shot was pushed back into danger by Graterol, who gifted possession to Gabigol inside the six-yard box. Gonzalez’s desperate lunge in order to dispossess the striker was mistimed, as he caught the forward and brought him down – penalty to Brazil and Gabigol scored from the spot-kick.

Raphinha was decisive yet again, bursting into the penalty area and squaring a lovely pass to Antony - whose finish at the second time of asking is his first goal for Brazil in his first appearance.

Brazil left it late to win in Caracas and it was only possible when Tite decided to attack.

Sadly, Tite still does not realize that with the players he has, a pragmatic approach would fetch him nothing. 

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer on 08/10/2021 Tite remains pragmatic and needs to play with attacking intent

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World Champions reach the final

In one of the thrilling contests of this year, the World Cup Champions – France made it through to the final of UEFA Nations League by beating the number 1 team according to FIFA Ranking – Belgium. It was a fightback that would be etched in the memories of fans who watched the match live. When you fight, you don’t lose – France deservingly would meet Spain in the final.

Didier Deschamps shifted to a back three for this match, with Jules Kounde, Raphael Varane and Lucas Hernandez playing in defence while Antoine Griezmann featured just behind Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe upfront.

Meanwhile, Roberto Martinez started all three of his stars in Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne, as Belgium were in control from the off, despite France looking dangerous on the counter-attack.

Just four minutes in, Hugo Lloris had to pull off an extraordinary instinctive save to deny De Bruyne, who was instrumental for Belgium in the final third.

The Manchester City midfielder was the player to find Yannick Carrasco, who cut in from the left and unleashed a low strike that left Lloris with no chance in the 37th minute.

De Bruyne also teed up Romelu Lukaku three minutes later and the Chelsea striker pulled off a thunderous effort to beat the France goalkeeper from a tight angle.

France tried to bounce back after the break and dominated the ball, but Antoine Griezmann wasted a huge chance to pull one back just before the hour mark.

Les Blues finally managed to hit the back of the net in the 62nd minute, when Kylian Mbappe set up Karim Benzema, who sent the ball past his Real Madrid teammate Thibaut Courtois.

Deschamps' men pushed for an equaliser and managed to grab one seven minutes later when Griezmann won a penalty, one which was converted by Mbappe.

From that point on it was an end-an-end game, with France trying to build on their momentum but lacking a finishing touch as Mbappe and Benzema failed to net a winner.

Lukaku thought that he completed a brace in the 87th minute when he netted a third for Belgium, but his goal was ruled out by VAR due to offside.

 Then, Paul Pogba's brilliant free-kick crashed again the crossbar, but one minute later Theo Hernandez unleashed a strike from the edge of the box to net the decider and complete France's impressive comeback.

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 08/10/2021 World Champions reach the final

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