Category Archives: Sport 🏏 🎾 ⚽️

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🏏 Pakistan v England Second Test at Abu Dhabi 🏟

28 Saturday Jan 2012

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ABU DHABI – For three days and three-quarters of this test match England looked as if they would handsomely avenge the humiliation of the first.

Then, their batting folded inside two hours for 72 runs.

Andrew Strauss later said the wicket was excellent and good for cricket giving everyone a chance.

That though does not explain how the world’s number one  side collapsed to her lowest ever score against Pakistan, when she was only chasing 144 to win. This is a Pakistan team that is blooding new players, and has very little apart from Younis Khan and Gul in terms of experience.  Perhaps, they are more hungry than an England team who currently have four excellent bowlers in Broad, Anderson, Panesar and Swann, and a world-class batsman in Kevin Pieterson and little else. On their day, in familiar conditions, Morgan, Bell, Trott et al can fire, but if they are to remain number one that will not be good enough.

Pakistan first innings score of 257 was about a hundred runs short, and with a lead of 70  England took the attack to a brittle Pakistan batting line up in the second innings, with Panesar justifying his inclusion with 6-62.

Panesar could not have guessed that his opposite number, one Abdur Rehman, would go on to destroy the English batting line up finishing with 6-25.

Pakistan’s other spinner, Saeed- the dorsra – Ajmal also became the fastest Pakistani to secure 100 wickets, beating Wasim Akram and Mohammed Amir, who is currently serving a prison sentence for spot fixing.

Pakistan, led by a very impressive and stable Misbah, are looking like a team with a bright future.

At present, the records just keep being broken.

England for their part have lost this test series.

Perhaps, its now time to dump some of those players that have not performed – and have been frankly flattered by their previous performances – and try out players keen for the chance to shine.

The inclusion of Ravi Bhopra in the Third Test at Dubai would be a start.

SECOND TEST, ABU DHABI

PAKISTAN 257

ENGLAND 327

PAKISTAN 214 PANESAR 6 – 62

ENGLAND 72 REHMAN 6 – 25, AJMAL 3 – 22

PAKISTAN WON BY 72 RUNS

*SAEED AJMAL BECAME THE FASTEST PAKISTAN BOWLER TO REACH 100 WICKETS

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Super Soccer Sunday

23 Monday Jan 2012

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Two games yesterday may have decided the outcome of the Premier League – one of them could also have been a turning point for the manager of a once great Arsenal team.

Arsene Wenger substituted an inexperienced but highly creative and energetic Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for Andrey Arshavin.

That decision was greeted by disbelief by a large section of the Arsenal faithful, who have regarded Wenger for such a long time as infallible, and by his own captain, the star player that is Robin van Persie.

Unfortunately, Arshavin was unable to block a Man U surge that resulted in the winning goal.

The irony being that most of the second half, Arsenal had a number of opportunities to kill the game.

Arsenal are still stylish when attacking, however they are weak at the back – something their great manager has failed to deal with.

And with their current position of fifth – out of the reckoning for a prized Champions League spot – could we just be seeing a contemplation of the unthinkable, the end of the long reign of Arsene Wenger?

As for the first game, Manchester City managed to defeat the surprise that is Tottenham Hotspurs under Harry Redknapp in a very unconvincing fashion.

Once again they were weak in the first half, and almost managed to convert a two goal lead into defeat had Germaine Defoe managed to get a boot onto a great cross from Gareth Bayle.

Eventually, Mario Balotelli – hero or villain take your pick – coolly placed a penalty kick into the back of the net to seal the deal for Roberto Mancini’s men.

City have carved-out results, even when they were not playing well.

United have not played well, but are still at number two.

Both say Spurs are still contenders, and on the evidence of this performance they may not be wrong.

That just leaves behind Chelsea and Arsenal.

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🏏 Pakistan v England, Ist Test at Dubai 🏟 🇵🇰 – 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

19 Thursday Jan 2012

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Pakistan have defeated England by ten wickets, a victory achieved in three days. This was a comprehensive defeat for the world’s number one ranked team at the hands of a thoroughly professional – bet no one has ever said that about a Pakistan cricket side before –  team, which if you didn’t know had been rocked by a spotfixing scandal which resulted in three star players serving prison sentences.

To be honest, you would never have guessed that there had been any such problem by the manner in which they steamrollered England, who didn’t seem to have grasped that being number one means that everyone wants to have ago at you.

The first innings was the Saeed Ajmal show, the off spinner showing that you don’t have to be Abdul Qadir to destroy a batting line up.

Predictably, there was someone on hand to cast doubt on his amazing preformance – five LBWs in his seven wicket haul at a cost of 55 runs.

Bob Willis – the former England captain who destroyed the career of fast bowler Norman Cowans – said the famed ‘dosra’ amounted to chucking.

He made his comments on Sky – and thankfully not on the cricket field, remember all those comments about bad umpiring that accompanied Abdul Qadir’s nine wicket haul for 56 in the first test at Lahore in 1987, or accusations of ball tampering when Waqar and Wasim used Sarfraz Nawaz’s sandshoe ball with devastating results.

The spot fixing saga was unique, because for the first time Pakistani players were in the wrong, which gave their detractors – all of whom would swear that they are not racist –  free rein.

England’s bowlers, especially James Anderson and Stuart Broad, clawed back their position late on the second day, however, Akmal – replacing his brother, the light fingered Kamran as wicketkeeper – posted 61 which probably swung the game decisively in Pakistan’s favour.

With seven wickets down for 87 in their second innings, England were finished. Fans of Kevin Pieterson will have to wait another day to see him shine, for England’s most gifted batsman managed a meagre two runs in both innings.

England’s postmortem – once some stop  complaining about Ajmal’s bowling technique – will focus on poor shot selection, a lack of preparation, the truth is though Pakistan led by Misbah ul Haq, who is a calm, seemingly natural leader, have signalled they are back, and they have done so by trouncing the best team in the world.

Wonder what England’s response will be at Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

FIRST TEST AT DUBAI

ENGLAND 192  Ajmal 7 – 55

PAKISTAN 338

ENGLAND 160

PAKISTAN 10 – 0

PAKISTAN WIN BY TEN WICKETS

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FA Cup Third Round Manchester City 2 Manchester United 3

09 Monday Jan 2012

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Yesterday’s FA Cup tie between the big Manchester clubs was a classic, the type of game that reminds you why football can be such a compelling sport, with echoes of that great encounter between Manchester United and Barcelona some thirteen years ago, something not lost on two of the players who played during that great Champions League semi and who were amazingly still present as players at the Etihad stadium – Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes.

This was not Brazil v Italy 1982, but it was stil very very good.

Seemingly finished by three goals by their bitter rivals, the last two after the referee had sent off Vincent Kompay in controversial circumstances, City retreated to the dressing room where manager Roberto Mancini showed why this team is currently sitting on the top of the Premier League.

A shift in tactics to make up for the missing player quickly saw results with a stunning free kick from Aleksander Kolarov – from now on the pressure came from City as they attempted to claw back another two goals.

That they failed to do so had more to do with bad luck than the superiority of a United side who despite this victory still looked a pale shadow of its former great self.

With more players committed to the back, the onus was on Sergio Auegro. After missing one clear chance, he did not disappoint again.

With the second in the bag, City kept on trying.

Another Kolarov freekick was struck at the goalkeeper, although United’s Anders Lindegaard did not know much about it.

In the dying seconds, even City’s keeper Costel Pantilimon who had virtually nothing to do in the second half, was attacking in one last desperate attempt to get that goal that would do for the FA Cup holders.

Had City shown the same passion in the first half – perhaps they would not have lost, but there again we would not have seen one of the great counter attacks in recent times.

United won – perhaps avenging the 6-1 League drubbing at Old Trafford – but Alex Ferguson now knows that City have gelled into a team that can no longer be regarded as a poor rival.

Some people are saying that the games between these two big Manchester Clubs are beginning the el classico encounters between Spanish giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

If that is the case, then the emergence of Mancini’s City may yet be the biggest challenge facing the United boss.

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John Terry

21 Wednesday Dec 2011

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ANALYSIS

This country has drawn a line in the sand when it comes to dealing with racism, namely that it is never acceptable.

The case of John Terry who denies the allegations is the third incident to emerge recently.

Yesterday, Liverpool’s Luis Suarez was handed an eight-match ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra and of course that there is that trial of the murder of Stephen Lawrence, the young man whose vicious killing had started the whole process and the closing of arguments for which are currently being heard.

We are not there yet, however, people are disgusted by racism – and perhaps one day that will be this country’s greatest gift to the world.

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