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Denesh Ramdin, who has been recalled to the West Indies side during their tour of England in May, has said that he hopes to cement his place in the side

ESPNcricinfo staff01-May-2012Denesh Ramdin, the wicketkeeper who has been recalled to the West Indies Test side after nearly two years, has set himself a stiff batting target during the England Test series as he tries to reclaim a permanent place.”I am looking to get at least three half-centuries and even a century and hopefully, help the team win,” Ramdin told . “I am happy to be back in the setup after being out of the team for so long. It feels good to be back and it is always good to get another chance at the highest level. Hopefully I can take advantage of the opportunity and cement my place in the Test team, at least for the next five or six years.”Ramdin last played Tests in June 2010, when he made only 63 runs in six innings against South Africa. He comes back after a strong showing on the domestic circuit, leading Trinidad & Tobago to the domestic T20 title in January and then being their top-scorer in the Regional four day competition, averaging 56.83 in four matches.The West Indies selectors recalled Ramdin andMarlon Samuels for the tour while opener Kraigg Brathwaite and wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh lost their Test places. Ramdin, 27, has toured England twice before and said that though playing against the swinging ball will be a challenge, the team was encouraged by the recent performances against Australia.”We did not do too badly against Australia,” he said. “We did not lose in three days and we gave them a good fight. I think we can give England a tough fight. “This time of year is very cold; the swinging ball is another part of it. The players will have to adapt to the conditions quickly but you could never say you are prepared for the conditions.”West Indies’ first tour match is against Sussex at Hove from May 5. The first Test begins at Lord’s on May 17.

Brahim Diaz spoke highly of team-mate Jude Bellingham after netting the winner for Real Madrid against RB Leipzig on Tuesday.

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Diaz scored Real Madrid's winning goalHailed Bellingham as world-classEmulated Bellingham's celebrationWHAT HAPPENED?

The former AC Milan player, who came into the starting lineup in place of the injured Jude Bellingham, turned hero for Real Madrid as he scored the winning goal for his team against RB Leipzig in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 clash.

After netting the all-important goal, Diaz claimed he shares a very close bond with the English midfielder and hailed him as a world-class player.

AdvertisementWHAT BRAHIM DIAZ SAID

Speaking to after the match, Diaz said, "I love [Bellingham]," Díaz told Movistar. "From the first moment, we've got on really well. I'm helping him with his Spanish. He's a world-class player, I enjoy playing with him. Apart from the charisma he has, he's a great person. Despite the absences of Jude, who we missed, and of [Antonio] Rudiger, and all those [players] who are out injured for a long time, we keep showing that we're a great team, that we're Real Madrid."

Getty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

After scoring in the 48th minute of the match with a brilliant solo effort, the 24-year-old emulated Bellingham's iconic open-arm celebration. The England international took to X to react to the Spaniard's celebration, posting "Oh my god Brahim!!!"

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR REAL MADRID?

Los Blancos will now return to La Liga action as they will aim to extend their lead at the top of the table by picking up another three points against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.

The preview of the Asia Cup final between Bangladesh and Pakistan in Mirpur

The Preview by Abhishek Purohit21-Mar-2012Match factsMarch 22, 2012
Start time 1400 (0800 GMT)Shakib Al Hasan averages 54.50 with the bat and 22.29 with the ball in ODI wins•AFPBig PictureJust how momentous is Bangladesh’s passage to the Asia Cup final? Decide for yourself after reading these figures. In nine previous tournaments, Bangladesh had played 29 matches and won two, against Hong Kong and UAE. Out of three games this time, they have won two, against World Cup 2011 finalists India and Sri Lanka, and lost a close match to Pakistan.For Bangladesh’s tireless supporters, starved of success but never lacking in passion, this is like finding an oasis in a desert. A sea of the darker shade of green will be cheering every run that Bangladesh score tomorrow and every Pakistan wicket that falls. Victory won’t be demanded, though; an appearance in the final is already a windfall for the fan.How will the Bangladesh players approach this game, probably the biggest in their careers so far? Apart from blanking New Zealand some time ago at home, this is the first time they have put together consistently solid performances for three games running against world-class opposition. Will the fourth time prove to be too much? Will the pressure of a final, something they have hardly experienced, restrict the freedom with which they bat? Will their bowling and fielding be able to hold together?Whatever be the result, Bangladesh’s surge to the final holds the promise of another close match. They will fight; if they go down, they will still be heroes. If they win, they’ll become part of folklore in the years to come. Either way, a bit of history has already been created.While tomorrow’s contest pales before the fervour an India-Pakistan final would have generated, Pakistan won’t mind running into Bangladesh. They have relied on their bowling, as they often do, for getting them to the final. The one time their batting appeared to have almost won a game for them, they ran into Virat Kohli.Pakistan have underperformed in the Asia Cup, winning it only once compared to the four titles each won by India and Sri Lanka. A second title beckons tomorrow, unless Bangladesh can ride on the passion and momentum and play beyond themselves again.Form guideBangladesh: WWLLL (most recent first)
Pakistan: LWWLL
In the spotlightHad Shakib Al Hasan been playing for some of the bigger Test sides, he would have been given a lot more respect than he gets at present. He averages 54.50 with the bat and 22.29 with the ball in ODI wins. He carries the expectations of Bangladesh fans lightly and, more often than not, puts in a telling contribution. He was Man of the Match in the hosts’ wins over India and Sri Lanka and would have got the award against Pakistan had the Bangladesh lower order not collapsed around him. The hosts have found Nasir Hossain, but for the moment, as Shakib goes, so do Bangladesh.Umar Gul helped Pakistan avoid defeat against Bangladesh with a three-wicket burst that included the wickets of Nasir and Shakib. One new ball or two, Gul has found reverse swing. When asked how he was getting such movement with a lush green outfield in Mirpur, he pointed to the dry-looking square. Bangladesh were able to survive the threat of Lasith Malinga on Tuesday. Gul will come hard at them tomorrow, especially after going for runs against India.Team newsNazmul Hossain took three wickets against Sri Lanka on his comeback in place of the injured Shafiul Islam. Bangladesh could go in with the same side that beat Sri Lanka.Bangladesh (possible): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Nazimuddin, 3 Jahurul Islam, 4 Nasir Hossain, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Mashrafe Mortaza, 9 Abdur Razzak, 10 Nazmul Hossain, 11 Shahadat HossainPakistan played five bowlers against India, but Wahab Riaz, included in place of the specialist wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed, went for 50 in four overs. Sarfraz is expected to return for the final, freeing Umar Akmal of the additional responsibility of keeping wicket.Pakistan (possible): 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Nasir Jamshed, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Umar Akmal, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Hammad Azam, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 9 Umar Gul, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Aizaz CheemaStats and trivia Pakistan have made the Asia Cup final for only the third time. They won their previous final (in Dhaka in 2000) by 39 runs. Bangladesh, on the other hand, have made their first final of a multi-nation tournament since reaching the final of the tri-series at home in 2009 If Bangladesh go on to win the final, they will become only the second team after Australia (in the 2003 World Cup) to beat India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in a single tournamentQuotes”I was out of the country and having a holiday when these things were happening. It gave me some rest and mental freshness. I wanted to prove myself in the game after I came back. I worked hard and it’s going alright.”

An unbeaten century from opener Harry Finch meant England Under-19s beat Bangladesh Under-19s in Leicester to record their first win on the tri series.

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Aug-2013
Scorecard
An unbeaten century by Harry Finch steered England Under-19s home against Bangladesh Under-19s in Leicester. Finch’s innings helped the home side register its first win of the tri-series, also featuring the Pakistan Under-19 side.It was slow going for England after Ryan Higgins was dismissed off the fifth ball of the chase, with no run on the board. They crossed fifty only in 18th over but with Finch at the crease, striking half-century partnerships with Haseeb Hameed and Will Rhodes, the target of 171 was always in sight. Finch got to his half-century in the 32nd over, but Rhodes’ wicket in the 39th took the required rate up to five. James Tatterstall holed out three overs later, which meant England needed 42 off 47 balls. The well-set Finch struck five of his 12 fours, the last of which took him to a century before Miles Hammond completed the formalities.Bangladesh, having chosen to bat, could not negotiate seamer Jack Winsdale, who removed Sadman Islam off his sixth ball and accounted for Shahriar Jummon and Mosaddek Hossain in successive overs to leave Bangladesh at 56 for 4 in 10 overs. With a healthy run rate as cushion, captain Mehedy Hassan and Joyraz Sheik were tasked with the recovery, adding 69 runs for the sixth wicket and they guided the team past the century-mark in the 19th over. The score had reached 130 when Tom Barber removed Mehedy in the 26th over. Joyraz fell eight runs later and Winsdale and Matthew Fisher cleaned up the tail, ending with 4 for 39 and 3 for 28 respectively.

Sachin Tendulkar will play his last domestic match under the captaincy of Zaheer Khan, during defending champions Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy season opener against Haryana

Amol Karhadkar16-Oct-2013Sachin Tendulkar will play his last domestic match under the captaincy of Zaheer Khan, during defending champions Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy season opener against Haryana, at Lahli from October 27.Tendulkar, who will retire at the end of the two-Test series against West Indies in November, will get an opportunity to spend some time at the crease going into the Test series. Zaheer, on the other hand, will be keen to put in an impressive performance and stake a claim for a Test comeback.Zaheer, however, was named captain only for the Haryana game, with Rohit Sharma being given the leadership for the season. Rohit had led Mumbai during regular captain Ajit Agarkar’s absences in the previous season.Despite the absence of offspinner Ramesh Powar, who moved to Rajasthan, and left-arm spinner Ankeet Chavan, who was banned for life for his alleged role in IPL spot-fixing, young left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh hasn’t found a place in the squad for the first game.The Mumbai selection panel, headed by former India opener Sudhir Naik, preferred the left-arm spin duo of Iqbal Abdulla and Vishal Dabholkar. They are only two spinners in the squad because of the seamer-friendly conditions in Lahli.Harmeet, who was let off due to lack of evidence during the BCCI’s internal spot-fixing inquiry, has hardly had match practice. His anticipated move to Vidarbha was stalled and he ran drinks for Rajasthan Royals all through Champions League T20. He did not take a wicket in a Times Shield match for Air India last week either. However, on Wednesday, when the Mumbai team was picked, Harmeet took four wickets for Air India.Squad: Zaheer Khan (capt), Abhishek Nayar (vc), Sachin Tendulkar, Wasim Jaffer, Ajinkya Rahane, Dhawal Kulkarni, Iqbal Abdullah, Vishal Dabholkar, Sufiyan Shaikh, Kaustubh Pawar, Siddhesh Lad, Javed Khan, Hiken Shah, Balwinder Singh Sandhu (Jr), Aditya Tare.

With England leaving out three frontline bowlers for the final one-day international against West Indies the issue the issue of rotation has again been brought to the fore

Andrew McGlashan20-Jun-2012With England leaving out three frontline bowlers for the final one-day international against West Indies the issue of rotation has again been brought to the fore. It has ignited the debate about whether the game is being cheapened, especially for those who have paid considerable amounts for tickets to the match at Headingley.Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann – the three players missing Friday’s ODI – are the only first-choice picks across all three formats for England following Kevin Pietersen’s limited-overs retirement and Ian Bell, who is now back in the 50-over side as Pietersen’s replacement, understands that some of the public will be disappointed at not seeing a number of the star names.”Of course, I have some sympathy,” said Bell. “It has slightly weakened our attack, but I still think it is a team that can go out and beat West Indies. There’s no doubt people want to come to see the Broads, Andersons and Bresnans. But they will be seeing young, exciting guys who will be big players for England over the next few years.”Andy Flower, the England coach, has been firm in his explanations of why he is taking such an approach which included resting Broad and James Anderson from the final Test against West Indies. With England facing another five ODIs against Australia, followed by a full series in all formats against South Africa, then another hectic away season he believes that key players cannot play every match.Bell agreed there was a balance to strike. “There’s a heavy schedule coming up,” he said. “We need to look after these guys. The key to our success in one-day cricket is having five out-and-out world-class bowlers. So if we want to beat the Australians, we want these guys fit and fresh and ready to go. For the three guys who play in all three forms of the game … it’s going to be crucial.”So far this season it has only been the bowlers or allrounders who have been rested although Andrew Strauss was among the first players given time off by Flower when he missed the Bangladesh tour in early 2010.Although Bell sees the merits of rotation for the bowlers he has no desire for any downtime himself, especially after hitting a rich run of form which has seen him return to ODI colours with scores of 126 and 53. One of the major reasons behind England’s defeat against Pakistan earlier this year was the rustiness of the batsmen after a two-month break, with Bell suffering particularly badly in the UAE, and he does not want to risk a repeat.”Going into the UAE series, we’d had two or three months off – and I felt I’d lost my rhythm completely,” he said. “So batting-wise, for me if I’m batting the better I play. It’s out of my control if Andy was to give me a game off. But personally, from a batting point of view, if I’m out in the middle scoring runs, I want to stay scoring runs – definitely.”