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Worcestershire have announced a pre-tax loss of £118,439 for the year ending 30th September 2009

Cricinfo staff22-Jan-2010Worcestershire have announced a pre-tax loss of £118,439 for the year ending 30th September 2009. The deficit compares with a profit of £359,856 in 2008 and epitomises the torrid year the club has had.They finished bottom of Division One of the Championship, where they failed to win a game and didn’t progress to the latter stages of any of the knock-out limited-overs tournaments. The poor on-field performances, combined with the fixture schedule, is what Mark Newton, Worcestershire’s chief executive, felt was behind the financial troubles.”These disappointing figures are the result of a number of issues we faced last year, particularly the recession, the poor fixture schedule and the team’s performance,” he said. “While the recession will continue to have an impact commercially, we have addressed the fixture schedule which will be a great deal more spectator friendly in 2010.”The upcoming season is already looking challenging for Worcestershire after a glut of senior players left the club, including their most experienced paceman, Kabir Ali, who was released on Thursday after an ongoing contract dispute.Yet Newton feels the offshoot of players leaving is that the finances will be less stretched and he is confident of returning to a profit next year. “We invested heavily in the team last year but unfortunately performances failed to meet expectations. A number of senior players have since moved on and our cricket budget has been reduced by around £300,000 this year. We expect to return to a surplus position this year.”The overall income of the club remained static in 2009 but only because of a 19% increase in the distribution from the ECB. While membership subscription held up to 2008 levels, income from both commercial and catering fell by 31% and 25% respectively.

David Moyes’ West Ham United side got 2022 off to a perfect start against Crystal Palace on Saturday evening, with the Hammers running out 3-2 victors at Selhurst Park.

The fixture looked to be done and dusted at halftime, with Michail Antonio’s 22nd-minute opener and Manuel Lanzini’s brace giving West Ham a 3-0 lead at the interval.

However, Palace did come extremely close to levelling the scores right at the death, as Jean-Philippe Mateta’s spectacular bicycle kick flew just wide after Odsonne Edouard and Michael Olise had pulled two goals back for the hosts.

Nevertheless, the Hammers hung on to all three points, a result which – coupled with Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat against Manchester City – sees Moyes’ men well and truly back in contention for a top-four spot.

Aside from the result, the displays of a number of his starting XI will have been extremely encouraging for the 58-year-old manager – particularly that of Declan Rice, who ran the show after returning to the side following his suspension.

12 defensive actions

Indeed, over his 90 minutes on the pitch on Saturday evening, the defensive midfielder enjoyed 60 touches of the ball – the joint second-most of any West Ham player – completed 41 of his 46 attempted passes – one of which was key – found his man with two of his four attempted long balls and ended the fixture with an assist to his name – setting up Lanzini’s stunning first goal.

The £67.5m-rated man also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making three tackles, three interceptions, two clearances and winning four duels, totalling 12 defensive actions.

These returns saw the £62k-per-week 22-year-old earn a SofaScore match rating of 7.2 – ranking him as West Ham’s third-best performer on the day.

Football.London journalist Tom Clarke also appeared to be impressed with the performance of the England international, awarding Rice a seven in his own player ratings, as well as stating of the midfielder’s display: “Back in the team and back to running games. Drove forward well and got West Ham on the front foot after a sloppy start.”

Indeed, it is clear for all to see that the academy graduate did run the game for Moyes’ side against Crystal Palace, something which Rice will have to maintain going forwards should his team have any chance of securing a Champions League finish in the top flight this season.

In other news: Forget Dawson: £61k-p/w flop who lost 66% duels may have played his last game for WHU

MatériaMais Notícias

Lucas Pratto, enfim, se sente mais tranquilo no São Paulo. Mesmo a dois pontos da meta de 47 estabelecida internamente pelo elenco para não ter nenhum risco de cair para a Série B do Campeonato Brasileiro, o time abriu seis pontos de distância da zona de rebaixamento, com nove a serem disputados. Por isso, o atacante está mais tranquilo para falar de uma possível volta ao futebol argentino, mas no futuro, e, principalmente, de seleção.

O centroavante virou titular enquanto o time nacional era comandado por Edgardo Bauza e balançou as redes. Mas, depois da chegada de Jorge Sampaoli, não foi mais lembrado, o que lhe causa estranheza, já que o atual treinador da Argentina tentou levá-lo do Atlético-MG para o Sevilla, da Espanha, no ano passado.

– Sempre que fui chamado, fiz gols, fui bem em momentos difíceis, e isso me deixa tranquilo. Fica uma sensação estranha e até uma decepção. Mas sempre espero a convocação. Meus concorrentes têm uma qualidade impressionante, mas tenho esperança. Quando eu estava no Atlético-MG, o Sampaoli procurou meu representante para me levar ao Sevilla. Não sei por que não tive essa possibilidade de voltar à seleção – disse à rádioCloss Continental, da Argentina.

Na Argentina, alguns jornalistas pedem a volta de Pratto à seleção, e seu nome também é comentado como possível reforço do River Plate. Mas ele tem contrato até janeiro de 2021 com o São Paulo, que pagou 6,2 milhões de euros (R$ 20,7 milhões na época) ao Atlético-MG por 50% de seus direitos e deve pagar 1,5 milhão de euros (R$ 5,8 milhões) em janeiro por mais 15%. Por isso, voltar ao seu país é apenas um desejo para o futuro, pouco cogitado por ele.

– Tenho uma condição muito importante no Brasil, sou respeitado. Eu gostaria de voltar à Argentina um dia, mas existe um tema econômico, precisam falar com o São Paulo. E teria de chegar uma oferta, porque sempre falam muito, mas ofertas formais nunca chegam. Fico com um orgulho muito grande sempre que falam de mim em times como River e Boca, mas é difícil e, até agora, ninguém me procurou. Dizer se eu gostaria ou não é secundário – falou, mais tranquilo no Tricolor.

– Agora, estamos um pouquinho melhores. Antes, sofremos muito, muito. Foram muitas mudanças no clube, saíram muitos jogadores importantes. Mas já estamos mais tranquilos. Lamentavelmente, não estamos chegando perto da vaga na Libertadores. Mas, pelo que passamos, estamos mais tranquilos, porque, antes, estava muito difícil.

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عاد فريق بايرن ميونخ إلى سكة الانتصارات في بطولة الدوري الألماني، بعدما فاز اليوم على باير ليفركوزن.

وتلاقى الفريقان في إطار منافسات الجولة الثامنة من بطولة الدوري الألماني، حيث فاز بايرن ميونخ بأربعة أهداف دون رد. أهداف مباراة بايرن ميونخ وباير ليفركوزن

كانت البداية مبكرة حيث سجل ليروي ساني الهدف الأول لصالح بايرن ميونخ، في الدقيقة الثالثة من عمر الشوط الأول، بعد أسيست من جمال موسيالا.

وفي الدقيقة 17 نجح موسيالا في تسجيل الهدف الثاني لأصحاب الأرض، قبل أن يعود ويصنع الهدف الثالث الذي سجله السنغالي ساديو ماني في الدقيقة 39، وهو هدفه الأول في ملعب الأليانز آرينا.

وفي الدقيقة 57 أحرز ماني الهدف الثاني له والرابع لكتيبة البافاري، ولكن تم إلغاؤه من قِبل تقنية الفيديو لوجود خطأ على ماتياس دي ليخت.

وأنهى توماس مولر رباعية بايرن ميونخ بتسجيله هدف في الدقيقة 84، بعد خطأ من حارس باير ليفركوزن.

بتلك النتيجة، ارتفع رصيد بايرن ميونخ إلى 15 نقطة في المركز الثاني، بينما تجمد رصيد باير ليفركوزن عند 5 نقاط في المركز السادس عشر.

MatériaMais Notícias

Antes da eleição presidencial, que acontece no dia 9 de dezembro, o Santos não tem definição sobre comissão técnica, planejamento e elenco para o ano que vem. Mesmo assim, alguns assuntos já tem andamento, como a programação de treinos para o início da temporada, montada por Elano. Mesmo sem ter uma prévia de qual função terá no ano que vem, o ex-meia tem um conselho para a diretoria do clube.

Campeão brasileiro em 2002 e 2004 com Robinho e Diego e da Libertadores em 2011, com Neymar, a receita do ex-meia e auxiliar da comissão técnica fixa do Peixe não é nova e tem sucesso: a aposta na base.

Desde que assumiu o comando da equipe, Elano promoveu as subidas dos atacantes Yuri Alberto e Rodrygo, do sub-17, e do zagueiro Matheus Guedes, do sub-20.

-Quero deixar coisas boas e construir coisas positivas no clube. Minhas discussões aqui dentro foram essas. Eu pedia para ter base. Mutias vezes quem ganha campeonato são reservas que nos salvam no sufoco. Precisamos de uma emergência caseira. Isso que tenho feito. Esses meninos estão passando situações que nunca passaram na vida, de viagens, de jogos, de estar ali – comentou o atual treinador.

Caso o Santos contrate outro técnico, Elano voltaria a ser auxiliar (na visão da atual gestão). Um dos objetivos do ídolo santista para 2018 é concluir cursos para técnicos na CBF, certificados que são obrigatórios a partir da próxima temporada.

Há também a possibilidade de Elano fazer um estágio no Manchester City, da Inglaterra, clube que defender de 2007 a 2009, mas dependerá de uma liberação, caso permaneça no Peixe.

Na visão ex-meia, alguns reforços serão necessários para o Santos, mas a prioridade é manter a base do elenco.

-Fizemos programação de treinamento para janeiro. Temos um grupo grande de atletas que vão continuar. São três ou quatro que tem contrato terminando. Tem possibilidade de chegar outras peças. A base está sendo mantida. Temos que nos fortalecer para ter um ano melhor – acrescentou.

Além de Lucas Lima, Thiago Ribeiro deixa o Santos. Lucas Crispim, Leandro Donizete e Vladimir Hernández têm chance de sair. Ricardo Oliveira ainda não decidiu se permanece, mas vê com otimismo sua renovação de contrato.

A diretoria busca contratar um lateral-direito, um volante, um meia e dois atacantes.

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Netherlands began their campaign at the World Twenty20 Qualifiers with a six-wicket win over Canada at the Dubai International stadium.

Cricinfo staff09-Feb-2010

ScorecardNetherlands began their campaign at the World Twenty20 Qualifiers with a six-wicket win over Canada at the Dubai International stadium. Netherland’s batting echoed their strong allround bowling performance, as Bas Zuiderent built on a solid 57-run opening partnership to guide his side home in the 20th over with an unbeaten 43.Canada soon had reason to rue their decision to bat first this afternoon, as John Davison drove Edgar Schiferli uppishly and into the hands of a diving Tom de Grooth at cover in the first over. Rizwan Cheema then edged Mudassar Bukhari onto his own helmet attempting a pull and was forced to retire injured.After these early setbacks, Hiral Patel – the 18-year-old batsman whose unbeaten 88 powered Canada’s win over Ireland in the Associates T20 Series prior to this tournament – combined well with Geoff Barnett, adding 60 in quick time to steady the Canadian innings. Barnett, who was particularly strong off the front foot today, opened his innings with three fours off Schiferli and dominated the partnership with some aggressive strokeplay.Barnett was unafraid to loft anything pitched up to him over the off side, but ultimately paid the price for his confidence as he picked out de Grooth on the cover boundary off the left-arm spin of Pieter Seelaar. Patel fell in the very next over to a stunning catch by Daan van Bunge off his own bowling, but Ian Billcliff carried on the momentum with a belligerent 37 on Twenty20 debut. Canada’s innings fizzled out after his dismissal, and they will have been disappointed to have scored only 142 after an enterprising effort from their middle order.Alexei Kervezee and Eric Szwarczynski smashed six boundaries between them in the first 13 balls of Netherlands’ chase, and had raced to 50 in the first five overs before Khurram Chohan clung on to a chance at mid off to get rid of Szwarczynski. Kervezee then failed to pick up John Davison’s doosra and was neatly stumped by Bagai, but with the required run rate under a run-a-ball, Zuiderent and Peter Borren had time to play themselves in.After Borren’s run out, Ryan ten Doeschate gave Zuiderent admirable support with a breezy 17, and though he fell off the final ball of the penultimate over, Zuiderent sealed the win by lofting a full toss from Chohan to the long off boundary. After a day of upsets in which USA and UAE prevailed in their games against more experienced opposition, the result here was the expected one and Netherlands will take some confidence into their fixture tomorrow.

تحدث أحمد عبد القادر لاعب فريق الكرة بالأهلي عن طموحاته مع القلعة الحمراء خلال الموسم الجديد، معلقًا على وصفه بالأنانية في بعض الأحيان وعدم تعاونه مع زملائه.

ويستعد الأهلي لمواجهة فريق الاتحاد المنستيري التونسي يوم 9 أكتوبر الجاري في ذهاب دور الـ32 بدوري أبطال إفريقيا، وستشهد المباراة ارتداء لاعبي المارد الأحمر للقميص الجديد.

وقال أحمد عبد القادر في تصريحات عبر الموقع الرسمي للأهلي: “نعلم جيدًا أن المهمة صعبة بعد تغيير شكل خريطة المنافسة، وأغلب الأندية قامت بتعاقدات قوية، هذا الأمر قد يجعل العديد من الفرق تلعب بشكل أفضل بدلًا من الاعتماد على التكتل الدفاعي الذي عانينا منه، امتلاك الفرق صفقات قوية قد يحررها من أساليب اللعب بشكل يمنح الدوري حماسًا وشكلًا أفضل”.

وشدد أن تأثير السوشيال ميديا خطير للغاية على أي لاعب يهتم بها على حساب التركيز في الملعب، وقد تؤدي إلى التأثير بشكل سلبي على مسيرته وربما تنهيها بشكل مبكر.

وأوضح أنه بشكل شخصي يركز فقط في الملعب ولا يلتفت إلى أي انتقادات عبر منصات التواصل الاجتماعي، في ظل تركيزه فقط مع تحليل أدائه من جانب الجهاز الفني وبعض وسائل تحليل المستوى التي يلجأ لها لتطوير نفسه وعلاج أي ملاحظات.

وأكد أنه يقدر جيدًا حزن الجماهير وغضبها عبر السوشيال ميديا في حال خسارة أي مباراة ويتفهم ذلك، ويعمل على السعي من أجل الفوز لتعويضهم وإسعادهم.

وتابع: “البعض يرى أنني أناني في بعض الأحيان، ولكن هذا الأمر يحتاج إلى التوضيح، وهو أنني بطبيعة مركزي لا بد أن يكون لدي جانب من الابتكار في التصرف بالكرة من خلال المراوغة أو اتخاذ قرار معين، ومن الطبيعي أن بعض القرارات قد تكون غير موفقة، ولكن بدون هذا الأمر لا يمكن أن يكون لي دور مميز حتى أمنح الإضافة المناسبة للفريق، خاصة أن كرة القدم لا تعتمد على التمرير فقط ولا بد من استخدام المهارة والقدرات الفردية من أجل مصلحة الفريق وليس اللاعب”.

وانتقل للحديث عن لقاء الأهلي والهلال السعودي في كأس العالم للأندية، مؤكدًا أنها كانت مباراة مهمة للغاية على برونزية العالم، وهو ما دفع اللاعبين إلى تقديم أفضل ما لديهم، مشيرًا إلى أنه يعتز كثيرًا بهذه المواجهة، وكان هناك تفاهم كبير بينه وبين علي معلول ظهر خلال هذه المباراة، وبشكل عام يوجد انسجام كبير معه في الملعب، وكذلك الأمر بالنسبة لعمرو السولية ورامي ربيعة الذي يرسل كرات ساقطة مميزة للاعبي الأطراف.

طالع أيضًا | ميدو: تصرف الأهلي والزمالك في الميركاتو “ليس عيبًا”.. انظروا لـ ريال مدريد

واستطرد: “أغلى هدف بالنسبة لي مع الأهلي هو هدفي في مرمى الإسماعيلي بافتتاح بطولة الدوري في الموسم الماضي، خاصة أنني كنت عائدًا من فترة إعارة وأحتاج إلى تقديم نفسي بشكل جيد، وحزين بسبب إلغاء هدفي في مرمى الجونة بعدما بذلت جهدًا كبيرًا فيه قبل أن تحتسب تسللًا على حسام حسن”.

وعن طموحاته مع الفريق، أجاب: “لا أركز في الوقت الحالي على الأرقام الفردية، وتركيزي على البطولات وبعدها أهتم بعدد الأهداف وغيرها، وكل هدفي الفوز مع الفريق بكل البطولات”.

وأشار إلى أنه على الصعيد العالمي يعشق فريق ريال مدريد الإسباني ويستمتع بما يقدمه فريق مانشستر سيتي الإنجليزي وإيرلينج هالاند، في ظل ما يقدمه من أداء في الملعب بتحركاته وذكائه مما يجعله الأفضل في العالم.

واختتم أحمد عبد القادر حديثه بتوجيه رسالة إلى جماهير الأهلي، أكد فيها ضرورة الاستمرار في دعم الفريق ومساندة اللاعبين من أجل التتويج بكل البطولات في الموسم الجديد، مشيرًا إلى أن ثقة جماهير الأهلي تمنحه دوافع كبيرة لبذل أقصى جهد في الملعب.

Manchester United are not planning to make any ‘significant’ signings during the January transfer window.

That’s according to talkSPORT sources, which, as to be expected, has had a number of United fans talking on social media.

Interim boss Ralf Rangnick suffered his first home defeat against Wolves on Monday evening, with United suffering a blow in their bid to finish in the top four.

Rangnick has admitted previously that the club are not considering additions, believing the current squad is‘ big enough’. And, according to talkSPORT, United are indeed not expecting to be busy when it comes to players arriving this month.

The club’s focus is on the summer window, with a central midfielder thought to be a priority.

The likes of Kalvin Phillips, Amadou Haidara and Boubacar Kamara have all been linked with moves to Old Trafford, whereas rumours regarding a move for Wolves’ Ruben Neves have recently surfaced.

However, they could perhaps do with one of those additions now – none of Fred, Scott McTominay or Nemanja Matic have really stood up and proven themselves as top dog in midfield this season, with none of the trio averaging a match rating above 7/10 (Whoscored).

United fans react

Well-known page @utdreport relayed talkSPORT’s transfer claim on Twitter to their almost 800,000 followers. This is what these supporters had to say in reply, with many not exactly thrilled.

“Top 4 chase over”

Credit: @Gerardmcc01

“Lol a joke”

Credit: @solo_levelling_

“Wow……  Haven’t heard a joke so good in a long time”

Credit: @PredictHeroes

“United make me sick”

Credit: @S_Enanda

“I knew it… The board was content with CR7 shirt sales but not spending in Jan on reinforcements. At this rate I don’t think we’ll even make Europa!!”

Credit: @Daddy_B_Lee

“So we’re not fighting for top 4? Settling pretty much then get to the summer and not buy any players because we lost out on the Champions League money. Is this a business or a football club?”

Credit: @W1LS0N98

In other news: ‘Can’t be true’ – Many MUFC fans erupt as Ralf now begins ‘awful’ transfer talks.  

نجح مسؤولو فريق أسوان في إتمام التعاقد مع النيجيري رفائيل اياجوا لاعب فريق لوبي ستارز السابق، وذلك ضمن خطة تدعيمات الفريق الجنوبي، استعدادًا للمشاركة في الدوري المصري الموسم المقبل.

ومن المقرر أن يغلق باب القيد للدوري المصري في تمام الساعة الثانية عشر منتصف الليلة، استعدادًا لانطلاق المسابقة المحلية يوم 18 أكتوبر الجاري.

ولعب رفائيل لأندية تولسا الأمريكي وليلشتروم في النرويج، كما شارك ببطولتي دوري أبطال إفريقيا والكونفدرالية الإفريقية، مع فريقي بلاتوه يونايتد ولوبي ستارز.

طالع | أحمد حمودي: المفاوضات مع أسوان تمت سريعًا.. وتجربة بيراميدز الأصعب في مسيرتي

ويجيد رفائيل اللعب في مركز خط الوسط المدافع “دفندر”، كما وقع على عقود انتقاله لنادي أسوان لمدة 3 مواسم في صفقة انتقال حر.

ويستهل أسوان مشواره بمسابقة الدوري الممتاز بمواجهة نظيره فريق الاتحاد السكندري، قبل أن يواجه النادي الاهلي في ثاني الجولات.

جدير بالذكر أن أسوان خاض أكثر من ودية خلال معسكره الجاري بالقاهرة، حيث واجه الأهلي وخسر بهدفين لهدف، ثم فاز على المنيا وتعادل مع الاتحاد السكندري.

Nobody in their right minds expected this Test series to be competitivebut the chasm that opened up on the first day at Chittagong was thoroughly and abjectly depressing

Andrew Miller in Chittagong12-Mar-2010

Nobody in their right minds expected this Test series to be competitive, despite the undoubted strides that Bangladesh have made in recent months, but the chasm that opened up on the first day at Chittagong was thoroughly and abjectly depressing.All tour long, Bangladesh have talked a good talk and they even fought a good fight during the one-dayers, never more impressively than during the second match at Dhaka, when only a super-focussed Eoin Morgan stood between them and an historic result. But today every ounce of bravado deserted them – with the ball, in the field, but most crucially of all, in the demeanours of the two most combative characters in their camp.Jamie Siddons and Shakib Al Hasan have been up and at England since the very start of the tour. It was Siddons who declared that his team intended to “bite England on the bum” after their decision to give Andrew Strauss a sabbatical, and while Shakib has let his cricket do most of the talking, he hasn’t been afraid to sound off when prompted, such as his declaration after Dhaka that Bangladesh were more interested in taking on the big guns of one-day cricket, rather than fret about England’s mediocre middle-rankers.It’s been refreshing, to be honest, to hear the small fry talking big, even when what they’ve been saying hasn’t quite stacked up in the final analysis. After all, confidence begets confidence, as Kevin Pietersen knows only too well. But today Bangladesh’s words and deeds were completely polarised by the reality that slipped in between them, and nothing reeked more of surrender than their decision to pack their team with spinners, and then bowl first on a shirt-front.”We thought we knew a bit about the Chittagong wicket, and we thought that it would spin on day one, and get flatter and flatter like it has in the past,” said Siddons. “In hindsight it was probably a bad decision.” But seeing as England had taken their gift-horse at face value and clattered along to 374 for 3 at the close, hindsight wasn’t really the most pressing of their problems.Of far greater importance would have been a bit of foresight, a bit of conventional wisdom, and a nod to the small matters of pride and body language – all of these factors surely demanded that Bangladesh front up and play the game according to Siddons’ often-mentioned “team rules”. As they showed at times during the one-dayers, the team has the ability to bat calmly and assuredly against an England attack that, in the coach’s own words, had not penetrated them to any great effect. By doing so, they could have set a platform for their spinners to attack.Of course that policy could easily have gone wrong – it goes without saying, this is Bangladesh and they have a record of L55, W3. But at least by doing so, they might have spared themselves the “what ifs”. Instead, the impression was of a team that had pulled its punches (just as they did in this same city when England last visited six years ago) and Siddons looked like the public the face of a broken dressing-room when he fronted up on behalf of his players in the post-match press conference.On the one hand Siddons blamed the pitch for failing to meet his ambitious expectations – and while it is true that, back in January, India were skittled here for 243 after being asked to bat first (with Shakib claiming 5 for 62), the X-factor in that performance had been Virender Sehwag’s dismissal of Bangladesh as “ordinary” and the righteous indignation that his comments had fuelled.There was no such whiff of cordite in the air today, only the vaguest ripple of interest in a disappointingly sparse crowd, and the team reacted to the atmosphere accordingly, with Shakib’s own return a mute 21-2-80-0. That said, it was hardly necessary for Siddons to trot out quite such a list of disclaimers afterwards, as he managed to shrug every ounce of blame onto the shoulders of the boys he professes to be nurturing.His fast bowlers, he said, “had let the team down”; his left-arm-spinning captain, he said, had been the one who wanted to bowl first (“and I’ll be supportive of [him]”), and suddenly his “world-class” four-man spin attack had been downgraded to “two genuine spinners and two part-time offies”. As support acts go, it was about as comforting as Duncan Fletcher’s declaration that he “wasn’t the only selector” on England’s disastrous Ashes campaign in 2006-07, except in Siddons’ case he didn’t bother to couch his criticisms in code.”Our strength is our spin, so it didn’t matter whether we bowled first or second,” he added, incongruously. “Our quicks weren’t going to be the answer on that pitch, and won’t be throughout the game, they won’t play a massive part.” A statement which begs the question, did they even try to exploit the moisture in the first half-an-hour, or wasn’t that even taken into consideration?”We’ve probably put ourselves out of the game, which we tend to do a lot on the first day or the first session of a game, unless we bowl terrifically in the morning, and even then we’ll have to bat the house down,” Siddons concluded. “I expect them to make somewhere around 500, and that’s if we bowl well. It’s been a difficult day, and only one team can win.”In all honesty, only one team has ever been likely to win this match and this series from the moment the tour began. But as Siddons himself has declared at length all month, his tenure is not about victories, it’s about making visible signs of progress. Today, however, Bangladesh were in full retreat before the match referee had retrieved his coin.