All posts by h79snht.top

Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh allrounder, has said he is enjoying the success with the ball, but he is “desperate to score some runs”

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Aug-2013

Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh allrounder who is playing for the Barbados Tridents in the Caribbean Premier League, has said he is enjoying the success with the ball, but he is “desperate to score some runs”. Shakib bowled a destructive spell of 6 for 6 in the match against the Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel, but is yet to taste success with the bat and has scores of 5, 1 and 1 from his three innings.”If you told me I could take five wickets or score a hundred, I would take the hundred any day,” Shakib said. “I am more satisfied getting runs than wickets. I am an allrounder, but I always prefer scoring runs more than my bowling so I am more desperate than anyone else right now I guess.”Shakib’s poor form with the bat has followed him from England, where he was part of Leicestershire team in the FLT20, and managed 146 runs from nine innings with a best of 43. In his last match, Shakib’s bowling spell skittled T&T out for 52, but he managed only 1 in the chase, playing on a Fidel Edwards delivery, and his wicket left the team in a precarious position at 36 for 5.”In that situation I needed to bat. The plan was to see off Fidel because he was getting wickets and I played a rash shot,” he said. “I could have left that ball easily because we were not chasing 150, 160 runs so I was frustrated with myself, not anything else.”Shakib, however, was happy with his bowling after registering the second-best T20 bowling figures. “I guess I was a bit lucky because you can’t get six wickets every day in a T20 game,” he said. “Bowling four overs, getting six wickets, once in a blue moon you may get it but I’ll take it.”Barbados Tridents have not been affected by Shakib’s lack of form with the bat and have registered three wins out of three in the tournament.

كشفت تقارير صحفية فرنسية، عن تطورات في مفاوضات النصر السعودي مع الدولي المغربي حكيم زياش، لضمه خلال فترة الانتقالات الصيفية من تشيلسي.

لاعب فريق كرة القدم الأول بنادي تشيلسي، يعد هدفًا لنادي النصر السعودي لتدعيم صفوفه من أجل المنافسة على لقب الدوري الذي خسره العالمي في الجولات الأخيرة لصالح الاتحاد.

طالع أيضًا.. تشيلسي ينافس ليفربول ونيوكاسل على صفقة من الدوري الإسباني

صحيفة “فوت ميركاتو” الفرنسية، ومن خلال مراسلها سانتي أونا، أكدت بأن عرض النصر لـ حكيم زياش ما بين 12 لـ 13 مليون يورو في الموسم الواحد.

وأشارت الصحيفة إلى أن حكيم زياش مهتم بالفعل بالانضمام إلى النصر لمرافقة كريستيانو رونالدو في السعودية، وليس لديه مانع من مغادرة تشيلسي، خاصة وأنه منذ انضمامه من أياكس، لم يتمكن اللاعب من إثبات نفسه.

الصحيفة الفرنسية أكدت أن هناك وفداً من نادي النصر يترأسه رئيس النادي، مسلي آل معمر يتواجد حاليًا في لندن، للتفاوض مع تشيلسي من أجل السماح لـ زياش بالرحيل، والاستماع لطلبات النادي الإنجليزي.

يقترب مانشستر يونايتد من إبرام صفقة ماسون ماونت، حيث من المقرر أن يخضع لاعب تشيلسي للفحص الطبي يوم الاثنين.

رفض تشيلسي ثلاث عروض من مانشستر يونايتد، لكن توصل الطرفان إلى اتفاق بقيمة 60 مليون جنيه إسترليني وفقًا للتقارير.

وسيدفع مانشستر يونايتد 55 مليون جنيه إسترليني ثابتة، بالإضافة إلى 5 ملايين جنيه إسترليني كمتغيرات.

وأوضحت صحيفة “مترو” البريطانية، أن ماونت سيخضع لفحص طبي أولاً ثم يوقع على عقده الجديد.

وذكرت صحيفة “تليجراف” أن ماونت البالغ من العمر 24 عامًا سيسافر إلى كارينجتون يوم الاثنين لوضع اللمسات الأخيرة على الصفقة.

اقرأ أيضًا | رسميًا | ليفربول يعلن رحيل لاعبه إلى الدوري الألماني

سيبدأ مانشستر يونايتد تدريباته قبل الموسم الأسبوع المقبل، ومن المفترض أن يكون ماونت متاحًا للمشاركة مع الفريق.

ويخوض مانشستر يونايتد مباراة ودية ضد ليدز في النرويج يوم الأربعاء 12 يوليو، ثم يواجه ليون في اسكتلندا، قبل أن يسافروا إلى الولايات المتحدة حيث يلتقون مع آرسنال وريكسهام وريال مدريد وبوروسيا دورتموند.

Graham Gooch has spelled out something that no one at Cricket Australia is prepared to publicly say – Twenty20 is “chipping away” at the skills required of Test batsmen

Daniel Brettig22-Jul-2013

Graham Gooch has spelled out something that no one at Cricket Australia is prepared to publicly say – Twenty20 is “chipping away” at the skills required of Test batsmen, and Gooch, England’s batting coach, works every day to ensure his men are not eroded as Australia’s have been.In the aftermath of the Lord’s Test, the England captain, Alastair Cook, spoke warmly of Gooch, a figure often derided in Australia for his travails during the 1989 Ashes series but an exemplar of diligence, patience and commitment to the art of run-making. Joe Root’s pivotal 180 after Australia’s batsmen had surrendered their first innings for a paltry 128 was a 21st century facsimile of many a Gooch innings, and the mentor said multiple formats had made it ever more difficult to foster such patience among young batsmen.”There’s three formats of the game now … the basis of Test cricket is that it’s a hell of a long game, five times 90 overs is a long, long game,” Gooch said. “So it’s about skills in batting, about run-making, about the whole package of not only having the technical skills but having the attitude, the mental toughness, the discipline, and the concentration. Anyone can concentrate for 15-20 minutes, but to score Test hundreds you have to concentrate for a long period of time. Those skills I think worldwide are being chipped away at the edges by the amount of one-day cricket and T20 cricket.”If you’re a traditionalist and like Test cricket and think that’s the pinnacle and the benchmark, you know you can see with the number of competitions that are popping up and the rewards that are available in terms of finance … the possibility of it chipping away at the edges of the traditional game, and that’s the same for every country. You’ve got to work hard to try to keep your players on track and obviously try to educate them as well as you can on the skills and the mental skills that are necessary to bat long. It’s a different type of skill.”While it is clear that at the present moment England are successfully developing batsmen of the requisite obstinacy and technical purity to survive for long periods, Gooch spoke of the need for eternal vigilance to ensure that the balance was not lost. He also mentioned the ability of the best players to differentiate between conditions, using the right “tools” for the variety of surfaces offered in England, Australia and the subcontinent.”Way after I finish this issue will still be alive and kicking,” Gooch, who will turn 60 on Tuesday, said. “I’d hate to think that traditional skills get eroded and diluted because the specialist spinner, the specialist fast bowler, the skills of the batsmen are, for me, what make the game so great. Playing on a surface like here [Lord’s], or the SCG or Brisbane or Perth where it bounces. A batsman to score runs needs different skills for different wickets, and as a batsman and run-maker you have different tools in the bag, but you don’t take all the tools out every time you play.”As for the magnitude of England’s victory, earning the hosts a 2-0 series lead that has only ever been overhauled once in the history of all Ashes contests, Gooch said some of his pupils would not fully appreciate it until later years. On the topic of Australia he was taciturn, but left ample room for the results to speak for themselves.”I think we suffered quite a lot [in the past], I did manage to win the Ashes three times actually but I did suffer quite a lot,” Gooch said. “I don’t know how some of them would know the historical significance, some probably wouldn’t. I think mainly they’re interested in winning each match they come up against. Australia are giving it their best, it’s not for me to comment on their performance, that’s down to their management and their system. We try to get our players in the best possible condition to win.”

MatériaMais Notícias

Com dois gols de Gabriel Barbosa, o Flamengo venceu por 2 a 0 o Madureira, nesta terça-feira, e garantiu um lugar na semifinal do Campeonato Carioca. Desta forma, o camisa 9 rubro-negro foi, mais uma vez na temporada, o destaque do duelo, válido pela quarta rodada da fase de grupos da Taça Rio.

Abaixo, o LANCE! destacou outros pontos da vitória rubro-negra no Maracanã.

RelacionadasFlamengoFaro de Gabigol! Atacante assegura vaga do Fla às semis do CariocaFlamengo19/03/2019FlamengoFla rebate críticas de advogados de vítimas da tragédia do NinhoFlamengo19/03/2019FlamengoAdvogados das vítimas da tragédia do Ninho criticam postura do FlaFlamengo19/03/2019

200 JOGOS DE PARÁ

Antes da bola rolar no Maracanã, o lateral-direito Pará recebeu das mãos de Marcos Braz, vice-presidente de futebol do clube, uma camisa comemorativa pelos 200 jogos com o Manto. São 107 vitórias, 45 empates e 48 derrotas.

GABIGOL DISPARA NA ARTILHARIA…

Com os dois gols diante do Madureira, Gabigol chegou aos sete tentos em 10 partidas pelo Flamengo e disparou na artilharia do time na temporada. Seu companheiro de ataque Bruno Henrique é quem vem atrás, com quatro gols.

Um dos principais reforços para 2019, o camisa 9 vem provando seu valor. Nesta noite, Gabigol comemorou dançando como o “Nego Ney”, vídeo de um pequeno rubro-negro que viralizou nas redes sociais nas últimas semanas.

… MAS PONTARIA VOLTA A SER PROBLEMA

Nesta terça, o Flamengo abusou de desperdiçar chances claras. No primeiro tempo, Os meias Arão e Everton Ribeiro – e o próprio Gabriel – perderam gols. Na etapa final, Bruno Henrique hesitou na hora de finalizar e também vacilou. A falta de pontaria já é motivo de preocupação para o técnico Abel Braga. No total, foram 32 finalizações contra o Madureira, sendo apenas 11 certas.

VAGA GARANTIDA NA SEMI DO CARIOCA

Com os três pontos conquistados, o Flamengo assegurou sua vaga na semifinal do Campeonato Carioca por conta da melhor campanha na classificação geral. São 24 pontos conquistados em dez partidas do Rubro-Negro da Gávea. O time de Abel Braga também está na semifinal e na disputa pelo título da Taça Rio.

FLA-FLU TEM SEU VALOR

No próximo domingo, Flamengo e Fluminense se enfrentam no Maracanã, às 16h, pela rodada final da fase de grupos da Taça Rio. Com a vaga assegurada na semifinal do Estadual, o Rubro-Negro entrará em campo ainda com interesse: para ir à semifinal da Taça, precisa vencer, ou dependerá de outros resultados.

حسم الحكم الإسباني الشهير السابق، إيتورالدي جونزاليس، الجدل بشأن مدى صحة هدف الإسماعيلي الملغي أمام الأهلي في المباراة التي أقيمت في الجولة الثامنة عشر من بطولة الدوري المصري.

وانتهت المباراة بفوز الأهلي بهدف نظيف أحرزه الجناح، بيرسي تاو، في الدقيقة 50، إلا أن كانت هناك حالة من الجدل صاحبت هدف التعادل الملغي للدراويش بعد 5 دقائق.

وسجل محمد حسن هدفًا لصالح الإسماعيلي في شباك الأهلي والحارس، محمد الشناوي، في الدقيقة 55 إلا أن الحكم أحمد الغندور ألغاه بعد مراجعة تقنية الـVAR بسبب لمسة يد على اللاعب وسط اعتراضات من لاعبي الدراويش وجهازهم الفني بقيادة، حمزة الجمل.

بعد نهاية المباراة، كانت هناك حالة من الغضب انتابت نادي الإسماعيلي الذي أعلن عن تقديمه شكوى ضد طاقم التحكيم وطالب بالتحقيق.

بينما حلل الحكم الدولي السابق، جهاد جريشة، الحالة وأكد على صحة الهدف لأن اللقطة التي شاهدها الغندور عبر تقنية الفيديو خادعة.

اقرأ أيضًا | مرتضى منصور: لن نواجه الأهلي إلا بحكام أجانب.. والإسماعيلي استحق ركلتي جزاء وهدف هدف الإسماعيلي الملغي المثير للجدل في مباراة الأهلي

وتواصل “btolat.com” مع الحكم إيتورالدي جونزاليس المحلل التحكيمي لصحيفة “آس” الإسبانية لتحليل الحالة بعد إرسال الفيديو بجميع زوايا التصوير، وقال: “من خلال ما شاهدته، أرى أن قرار الحكم صحيح طالما لمست الكرة يد اللاعب حتى ولو كانت بدون قصد قبل دخولها الشباك”.

وتابع: “اللقطة من خلال التصوير تظهر لمسة يد على اللاعب صاحب القميص الأصفر، لكن يجب أن تضع كاميرات التصوير في أماكن أفضل من ذلك، إذا كانت هناك كاميرا خلف اللاعب ستكون أفضل، ولهذا كانت هناك شكوك بين الحكم الرئيسي وحكم الفيديو لذلك استدعاه”.

وأضاف: “ولكن إذا كانت الكرة قد اصطدمت بيد اللاعب كما ظهرت من تلك الزاوية، فقرار الحكم صحيح بنسبة 100%”.

وعند إخباره بتصريحات أحمد العجوز مدير الكرة بالنادي الإسماعيلي بأن اللاعب قد اعترف له بلمس الكرة بقدمه ثم ارتدت إلى يده قبل دخولها المرمى.

وأكد العجوز أن المسافة بين القدم واليد كانت صغيرة ولابد وأن يحتسب الحكم الكرة هدفًا صحيحًا.

رد إيتورالدي على الأمر، وقال: “هذا يسهل الأمر قليلًا علي بالفعل، في القانون الجديد يجب أن يُلغى الهدف سواء كان اللاعب قاصدًا لمس الكرة بيده أو بشكل لا إرادي وإذا اعترف اللاعب بذلك فقرار الحكم كما قلت صحيحًا”.

وواصل: “الخلاصة، إذا اصطدمت الكرة بيد اللاعب بشكل لا إرادي وانتهت على الفور بهدف، يجب إلغاؤه”.

واستمر: “إذا اصطدمت الكرة بيد اللاعب عن غير قصد وانتقلت إلى زميله بالفريق ودخلت بعد ذلك المرمى، تحتسب هدفًا”.

وأتم: “إذا اصطدمت الكرة بيد اللاعب بشكل لا إرادي واستمر في الاستحواذ عليها وبعد ذلك قام بمراوغتين أو ثلاث وأحرز هدفًا، تحتسب الحالة هدفًا”.

MatériaMais Notícias

Antes de Maxi López balançar as redes e garantir o empate do Vasco com o Flamengo, no último, no Maracanã, outro jogador foi responsável pela reação do Cruz-Maltino. Após um contra-ataque do Rubro-Negro, Danilo Barcelos mostrou disposição, correu o campo inteiro e tirou, em cima da linha, um chute de Rodinei que morreria no fundo das redes. No lance seguinte, o pênalti em Marrony que resultou no 1 a 1 no placar.

Após a partida, Fernando Miguel soube reconhecer a importância do lateral-esquerdo para a busca do empate. O goleiro afirmou que Danilo Barcelos operou um milagre e que isso deu forças ao Cruz-Maltino para buscar um resultado melhor e, por consequência, manter a invencibilidade nesse ano.

– Quando o coletivo é forte, a individualidade sempre vai ser ressaltada. Tiveram momentos que fui importantes, mas aquele momento do Danilo foi uma defesa, um milagre que ele fez e nos manteve na partida, porque seria o tiro de misericórdia na gente. Ele conseguiu livrar aquela bola e tivemos disposição na frente para empatar o jogo – afirmou.

RelacionadasVascoMaxi leva terceiro cartão amarelo e está fora de duelo com a CabofrienseVasco09/03/2019VascoApesar de atuação irregular, Maxi é decisivo para o Vasco novamenteVasco09/03/2019FlamengoAbel Braga revela choro de Rodinei após o empate entre Fla e VascoFlamengo09/03/2019

Essa foi a primeira vez na atual temporada que o Vasco sai atrás do placar em uma partida. Fernando Miguel destacou o senso de luta do elenco, que buscou e foi recompensado, no último minuto, com um empate. Dessa forma, o time de Alberto Valentim permanece como o único carioca invicto em 2019.

– A gente não tem escolhido adversário para falar valorizar aquilo que a gente tem feito. Buscamos valorizar a evolução, tem olhado apenas para a gente mesmo em todas as partidas, quer elas contra equipes de maior investimento ou equipes mais humildes. A gente busca olhar somente para o Vasco, olhar para o que precisamos evoluir. Hoje foi um momento que o grupo precisava dar uma resposta dentro de uma adversidade que a gente encontrou no final da partida – comentou.

When Crystal Palace signed Jordan Ayew for £2.5m back in the summer, it did feel like quite an underwhelming signing.

The Ghana international had spent the previous campaign on loan at Selhurst Park, mustering up just a single Premier League goal in 20 appearances for the Eagles.

Despite that, Roy Hodgson and Steve Parish decided to bring the former Aston Villa and Swansea man to SE25 on a permanent basis – they have truly been rewarded for doing just that.

In 19 Premier League outings this term, Ayew has scored five times the amount of goals that he netted in 2018/19 with five strikes to his name – however, his goal tally alone doesn’t tell the whole story.

The 28-year-old’s goalscoring efforts have had a hugely significant bearing on Palace’s campaign so far.

His first goal of the season – a calmly taken strike against David de Gea at Old Trafford – helped the Eagles record a 2-1 win over Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.

After that, Ayew scored in the next Premier League outing against Aston Villa with a brilliant solo effort, in which he jinked past Tyrone Mings and Jack Grealish before slamming the ball past Tom Heaton.

Then, the Ghanaian’s next goal came against West Ham, an 87th-minute winner after Martin Kelly headed the ball into his path. Two Premier League games later, Palace’s No.9 headed past Bernd Leno to grab a point against Arsenal at the Emirates, a fixture in which Hodgson’s side were 2-0 down.

His most recent goal was arguably the best of the lot, in which he performed a roulette past a handful of West Ham defenders, switched the ball between both feet to take a few more of the Hammers’ players out of the game before chipping the ball over Roberto in the 90th-minute – it was a real Goal of the Season contender.

So, if you were to tally up the amount of points that Ayew’s goals have won Palace, you would be amazed.

Four of them have been winning goals, while another stole a point, meaning that Ayew has won the Eagles 13 points almost single-handedly.

Take away those goals and subsequent points, and Palace would be languishing in 19th place on 14 points – just one point above 20th-placed Norwich.

Did he really play for us?! No Palace fan has managed to name all of these obscure Eagles signings….

Ayew may not score in every game, although when he does, it more often than not wins a point or three for the south Londoners. 

In other news, these Crystal Palace fans have reacted to a January transfer report from Sky Sports, outlining what the Eagles could do in the market this month…

When someone next decries the worth of county cricket, it should offer this day as a snapshot of its virtues. As if sun, deckchairs and a five-day beer festival weren’t enough, there was also the cricket at Hove to be enjoyed

Tim Wigmore at Hove01-May-2013
ScorecardVarun Chopra matched the class of Jonathan Trott•Getty Images

When someone next decries the worth of county cricket, it should offer this day as a snapshot of its virtues. As if sun, deckchairs and a five-day beer festival weren’t enough, there was also the cricket at Hove to be enjoyed, featuring an England spinner with 164 Test wickets against two of the most reassuring sights in England’s Test batting line-up – and another man who might, in time, join them there.Jonathan Trott is often depicted as a dour Mr Dependable, but his unbeaten 87 included several shots that, had they come from any other bat, would have elicited purrs. A respectable off-stump delivery from Andrew Miller was emphatically dispatched over long on for six; the next ball, a refined late cut went to the boundary too. It was not a sight that Sussex’s skipper Ed Joyce, who had shelled a hard, but eminently catchable, chance in the slips when Trott had 1, would have relished.Trott had a familiar ally in a 131-run stand with Ian Bell, who was captaining Warwickshire in place of Jim Troughton, missing with a shoulder injury. Grown men may still have nightmares about Bell’s shot first ball in Ahmedabad – caught at mid-off attempting to harrumph the ball out of the ground – but it would seem that Bell is not one of them: he shimmied down the wicket to his seventh ball, from Chris Nash’s offspin and lofted him over mid-on for four. There were a few further examples of graceful footwork later against Monty Panesar.While Bell and Trott are two Test batsmen of the highest order, it was to Varun Chopra’s great credit that he looked barely less assured at the crease. Playing attractively, especially on the offside, it was a matter of considerable surprise when Chopra fell for 87 attempting to cut Chris Nash’s useful offspin, and was so denied a century to go with his match-saving effort at Taunton last week. But he had still made his mark, becoming the first man to pass 500 runs for the season, and must have eyes on the batting Holy Grail of a thousand before the end of May.Nick Compton, the man who almost passed that landmark last season, is now an established Test player, and it looks eminently possible that Chopra, 25, will become one too: an extra cover drive off Panesar was timed with the crispness one would associate with an international player. There are legitimate questions over whether elements of Chopra’s game – principally his tendency to play with his bat away from his body and occasional dalliances with driving uppishly – would be a hindrance at Test level, but if he continues to score with such proficiency an opportunity will be forthcoming.While a knee injury cost Sussex their premier fast bowler, Australian Steve Magoffin, Chopra still had to encounter a highly disciplined attack: even on a flat track in near-perfect batting conditions, Sussex limited Warwickshire to under three runs an over.Panesar was typically probing but endured a disappointing day, seldom threatening his England team-mates and, attempting to find the rough outside legstump, even delivering two leg side wides in one over. He has now claimed only one wicket for 238 runs so far this season.That Sussex ended on near-parity, despite the serenity with which England’s Test batsmen played, owed to Chris Jordan. Jordan may have begun his Sussex career with 6 for 48 at Leeds but, if anything, he was even more admirable here, consistently hostile throughout the day. A fiery spell with the second new ball earned the rare distinction of claiming Bell fending off a short ball and he promptly claimed nightwatchman Chris Wright too. Bell later said “it’s certainly a different game if you hit the pitch that bit harder”, suggesting that Warwickshire intend to replicate the method that earned Jordan his success.Jordan should have had another wicket, too, but Mike Yardy shelled Tim Ambrose in the slips in the day’s final over. No one begrudged him a quick visit to the beer festival after play.

Alastair Cook believes his England side are ready to create history and shed their unwanted record as they prepare to meet India in the final of the Champions Trophy.

George Dobell22-Jun-2013

Alastair Cook believes his England side are ready to create history and shed their unwanted record as they prepare to meet India in the final of the Champions Trophy.England are the only side involved in the tournament never to have won a global ODI competition. They have reached the finals of three World Cups (1979, 1987 and 1992) and one previous Champions Trophy (2004) but have always finished runners-up.While Cook accepted that India deserve to go into Sunday’s final as favourites, he expressed confidence in his team’s ability to prevail and admitted victory would rank as highly as any achievement in his England career to date.”I’m fully confident in our guys that we can upset India here,” Cook said. “India are unbeaten and have played some very good cricket. But I’m fully confident in our guys. The lads have delivered two excellent performances under pressure in the last two games and I can see no reason why we can’t do it tomorrow.”We’ve been playing some good cricket and it’s an opportunity we’re desperate not to let go. The lads are ready. I’ve never seen them as relaxed as we have been leading up to a big game. But I’m looking around in the guys’ eyes and I know they’re ready to play.”We haven’t won a global 50 over tournament, as everyone keeps reminding me. So we’re desperately keen to try and change that. It would be a great achievement if we can win and one which we will cherish. There’s certain moments in your career where you remember more than others, and if we can win this then I think that would be right up there.”It will be of little consolation if they fall at the final hurdle, but England can take some satisfaction from their progress to the final.After years of modest ODI form, England have developed a side that has shown they can challenge in global tournaments. While they were well-beaten by Sri Lanka, they have subsequently won what amounted to two knock-out games in succession and can look ahead to the 2015 World Cup knowing that the vast majority of this squad should still be available.England’s near misses

1979 World Cup: Mike Brearley and Geoff Boycott gave England a great start before it all went wrong chasing a Viv Richards-inspired West Indies

1987 World Cup: England were cruising at 135 for 2 in pursuit of Australia’s 254 but the chase blew up after reverse-sweep from Mike Gatting.

1992 World Cup: Again England were asked to chase and again faltered, this time to Pakistan galvanised by Imran Khan.

2004 Champions Trophy: England had all but won defending 218 against West Indies but Courtney Browne and Ian Bradshaw played the innings of their lives.

England have also progressed without two of their best players. Kevin Pietersen has missed the whole event, while Graeme Swann has played just once.It appears Swann may well not play in the final, either. Not only did Cook reiterate the view that Swann will not be risked if there is even “a slight doubt” over his fitness, but James Tredwell’s fine form has alleviated any need to rush Swann back. Indeed, there are many who feel that Tredwell deserves his place on merit, whether or not Swann is available. Swann bowled “a few balls” in the nets on Saturday and was described as “recovering well” by Cook.Tim Bresnan is also available having missed the semi-final to witness the birth of his first child. Bresnan was replaced for that game by Steven Finn, who took the vital wicket of Hashim Amla, but England have huge respect for Bresnan’s skills with bat and ball and he could well return.A new pitch has been allocated for the final but, in common with most modern pitches at Edgbaston, it is still likely to aid spin and, perhaps, reverse swing. Having been under the covers for much of the last couple of days, it may also prove helpful to the seamers for the first hour. As of Saturday afternoon, the groundstaff at Edgbaston were very happy with the state of the outfield and reported no drainage problems. But the weather forecast is not promising.A shared title – the scenario if no result is possible on Sunday – would be an unsatisfactory conclusion to a successful tournament. While it would, in theory, end England’s winless run in global ODI events, would do so in hollow fashion. The ICC insist there is no precedent for having reserve days in the Champions Trophy – there actually was a reserve day in 2002 – but it does seem a shame an extra day could not be found for the final, at least. While England and New Zealand begin a largely meaningless two-match T20I series on Tuesday, the make-up of the sides is vastly different.There are those who suggest that, so often does the weather intervene in England and Wales, that they are not suitable venues for such competitions. It is an understandable reaction, but perhaps the positives of England and Wales hosting events – full houses for games between neutral countries and enthusiastic multicultural crowds – should not be dismissed. It does rain in other countries, too. The 2007 World Cup final, in the Caribbean, was interrupted by rain, while the 2002 Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka was shared between India and Sri Lanka after poor weather interrupted play on two successive days.Cook suggested that England could take confidence from their recent home record against India, but such analysis could equally work the other way. While it is true that India failed to win a single game on their 2011 tour, England have won only five of the last 20 ODIs between the sides going back to the start of 2008. What is more, India would appear to have the batting firepower to adapt should the game be reduced in overs. For India to come to England – where their record is modest – and win such a tournament with a newly restructured team would represent a fine achievement.In some ways, this match represents a clash of ODI cultures. While the India side is packed with explosive batting talent, England possess several technically correct, patient players who will build innings in quite a different way. Their critics say it is an outdated method but, should they win, they will have strong evidence to vindicate their strategy.