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Sussex batsmen Ed Joyce and Matt Machan scored hundreds as the Unicorns were brushed aside at Hove

13-May-2012
ScorecardEd Joyce and Matt Machan both made hundreds as Sussex got their CB40 campaign off to a winning start with a crushing 144-run victory over the Unicorns in Group C at Hove.The two left-handers shared a second-wicket stand of 175 and although opener Joyce was out shortly after reaching his 11th one-day hundred Machan, 21, who was playing only his third List A game for Sussex, pushed on to score an undefeated 126.Sussex’s total of 291 for 3 on a dry, slow pitch was always going to prove too much, especially after Unicorns’ openers Michael Thornely and James Ord were dismissed in the first four overs of the reply, and the visitors could only make 147 for 9.Sussex scored at a brisk tempo from the start, Joyce and Chris Nash putting on 52 for the first wicket before Ord ran out the latter with a direct hit from mid-on. Machan was into his stride straight away, lofting Warren Lee for one of four sixes with his first scoring shot and from then on there was no hiding place for a Unicorns’ attack which struggled to contain either batsman.Machan did have a reprieve when he was caught on the long-on boundary by Reg Querl but the fielder stepped over the rope and the batsman collected six more runs. Joyce struck 14 fours and a six and had made 102 from 98 balls when he drove Steve Cheetham to Lee at deep point.Murray Goodwin joined Machan to continue the assault. Goodwin was dropped by Thornely at long-off but helped put on 46 from 33 balls before he was bowled round his legs by Lee, the pick of the Unicorns’ seam attack.The Unicorns beat Sussex when they last met two years ago but there was little hope of a repeat after Thornely, returning to the county where he played for four seasons, was caught behind off Naved Arif and Ord bowled off his pads by Mike Yardy’s arm ball.The Sussex captain, who opened the bowling with his left-arm spin, then trapped James Campbell in front as the Unicorns slumped to 22 for 3.It was a good day for the Sussex spinners. Monty Panesar had top-scorer Tom New caught behind for 28 and ran out Querl while offspinner Nash picked up three wickets at the end as Unicorns lost six for 55 before some late but futile blows by last-wicket pair Lee Beaven and Cheetham helped see out the overs.

استقبل نادي الزمالك، خطابًا رسميًا من وزارة الشباب والرياضة، يفيد بعزل مرتضى منصور رئيس القلعة البيضاء بعد تأييد حكم حبسه.

وطالبت وزارة الشباب والرياضة نادي الزمالك في خطابها الرسمي مجلس إدارة القلعة البيضاء بعقد اجتماع طارئ لتحديد من يقوم من أعضائه بأعمال رئيس مجلس الإدارة، لتسيير الأمور حتى أقرب جمعية عمومية عادية على أن يدرج بها بند انتخاب.

وزارة الرياضة تصدر بيانًا رسميًا بشأن منصب رئيس الزمالك بعد حبس مرتضى منصور

وحصل بطولات على نسخة من الخطاب الموجه من الإدارة المركزية للأداء الرياضي بوزارة الشباب والرياضة والذي يفيد بعزل مرتضى منصور وفق اللائحة الاسترشادية.

يذكر، أن مرتضى منصور قد تم تأييد ضده الحكم بالحبس لمدة شهر في قضية سب وقذف محمود الخطيب رئيس النادي الأهلي.

As England were spinning to defeat in the third Test against Pakistan, the next generation had just secured an encouraging victory on the subcontinent

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2012
ScorecardAs England were spinning to defeat in the third Test against Pakistan, the next generation had just secured an encouraging victory on the subcontinent. The Lions, featuring several players likely to be included in the senior England squad to play Pakistan in the ODIs, clinched their series against Sri Lanka A 3-2 after a resounding 117-run win in Colombo.The victory was set up by Joe Root’s first limited-overs hundred – as well as another thunderous cameo from Jos Buttler – before England’s spinners, Samit Patel and Danny Briggs, cleaned up Sri Lanka for combined figures of 6 for 82. Buttler, Briggs and Patel are all in the frame for England’s one-day squad, which will be announced tomorrow, and their performances may have provided the selectors with a crumb or two of comfort as they begin to sift through the wreckage of their Test whitewashing.The series win comes after the Lions had lost 3-2 in Bangladesh last month and ECB performance director David Parsons was particularly pleased with the team’s display, suggesting that it boded well for England.”Today was the nearest thing possible to a complete batting performance in these conditions and befits a series win,” Parsons said. “The batters demonstrated the learning that has been invested since this squad embarked on the performance camp in India in November and December, followed by a tough tour in Bangladesh and now in Sri Lanka in 2012.”These are also the skills that are required to help take England forward in playing in these conditions and things that we are determined to keep working on.”Root finished the innings unbeaten, having come in at No. 3, as the Lions persisted with the experiment of Patel opening. The allrounder struck a rapid 50 in the previous match but made just 19 here, while Alex Hales departed for 46 to bring the captain James Taylor together with Root. They added a patient 86, Taylor contributing 41 – his first real score since the Lions left Bangladesh – but the innings went into overdrive shortly after his dismissal, Buttler scoring two-thirds of the runs in an association with Root worth 97. The Somerset batsman’s 31-ball innings contained five sixes and five fours.Jonny Bairstow, who has already broken into England’s ODI side, thumped three more sixes as the Lions set a plus-300 target for the second time in the series. The hosts set off with an eye to matching the run rate – Chris Woakes saw his three overs disappear for 25 – but managed just one 50-run partnership as a series of top-order batsmen got in and got out. When Patel removed Mahela Udawatte their chances effectively disappeared and left-arm spinner Briggs was able to mop up the tail with almost 10 overs still to bowl.”We were particularly pleased with the approach that we took to their spinners on a used pitch, and showed that with hard work we can play on the subcontinent,” Taylor said. “Playing intelligently, but with appropriate aggression, it is possible to overcome a good bowling attack on these wickets.”

Mumbai Indians’ injury worries have deepened with South African opener Davy Jacobs being ruled out of the Champions League Twenty20 with a hip injury.Jacobs was stretchered off the ground after picking up a hip injury while batting in the nets on Sunday, a day before Mumbai Indians’ second match of the tournament, against Trinidad & Tobago in Bangalore.Harbhajan Singh, the Mumbai Indians captain, confirmed the team was trying to find a replacement. “He’s out of the competition,” Harbhajan said after Mumbai’s final-ball win on Sunday. “I think our management is looking into the matter. We have to have another player in the side; we only have 13 players.”Jacobs joins a long list of injured players for Mumbai Indians, which includes Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Munaf Patel, Ali Murtaza, Dhawal Kulkarni, Suryakumar Yadav, Pawan Suyal, Dhawal Kulkarni and Aditya Tare. The franchise has been allowed to play five foreign players during the Champions League because of the number of injuries to Indian players. With Jacobs injured, however, they now have only six foreign players in their squad.Harbhajan compared the situation to the one India faced on their recent injury-ravaged tour of England. “Earlier Dhoni had a very tough time in England when the injury list was increasing, and we finished the tour with ten players [injured]; it gets very difficult for any captain. Dhoni was fighting alone there; hopefully it’s not my turn now.”Mumbai have a support staff filled with prominent former players, and Harbhajan joked that the team might have to rope them in as cover. “If there are one or two more injuries, we don’t know whether we will be able to put up a show,” he said. “Might have to bring Jonty Rhodes in then, [Shaun] Pollock also … and Robin Singh as well.”Jacobs was signed by Mumbai Indians in the January auction ahead of the 2011 IPL, after he had finished second in the run-charts during the 2010 Champions League, leading Warriors to the final. Jacobs only managed 92 runs in six innings during the IPL but impressed with his wicketkeeping. He will fly back to South Africa on Tuesday. “Last year’s (Champions League T20) changed my life. Very grateful, will always be a special tournament for me. So sad to leave now! But will be back,” Jacobs tweeted on Tuesday morning.

Sussex ensured their survival in Division One of next year’s County Championship with a resounding 251-run win over Worcestershire

George Dobell at New Road10-Sep-2011
ScorecardSussex ensured their survival in Division One of next year’s County Championship with a resounding 251-run win over Worcestershire.For Worcestershire the fight goes on. They require a maximum of eight points from the final game to ensure their survival. In reality, however, they will probably need far fewer. Going into their final game of the season, starting in Durham on Monday, Worcestershire are just one point behind Yorkshire – who have already played their last game – and 17 points ahead of Hampshire. That means that Hampshire will have to defeat the title contenders Warwickshire in their final match if they are to have any chance of denying Worcestershire. It is, at both ends of the table, a superbly dramatic finish to the Championship campaign.This has, however, been a disappointing game from Worcestershire. They’ve dropped some simple catches, bowled some poor spells and given some wickets away with reckless strokes. They remain a work in progress.But any dissatisfaction needs to be put in context. Worcestershire, remember, lost their first six Championship games of the season. They are a club who have been forced to cut £300,000 from their cricket budget and who, not so long ago, saw the majority of their senior players depart for greener pastures. Division One survival might seem a modest ambition to richer clubs; to Worcestershire it is an outstanding achievement.Perhaps that sounds patronising. But if you compare the cricket budgets and facilities of Worcestershire with the other teams in Division One – and some of those in Division Two – and you realise how well Steve Rhodes and co. have done. It is, in its own way, as big an achievement as Lancashire, Durham or Warwickshire winning the Championship title.It’s a point not lost on Rhodes, their director of cricket. He described the prospect of survival as the biggest personal achievement of his career: bigger, even, than two Championship titles and representing England in Test cricket.”It would be an awesome achievement,” he said. “We were quoted as 25-1 on to finish bottom. And we were tipped to be bottom of Division Two last year. It would be amazing.”In some ways, however, this was a deeply frustrating performance from Worcestershire. To see Moeen Ali chasing a wide delivery and edging to slip moments before lunch on the final day was akin to seeing Alexei Kervezee trying to hit Monty Panesar over long-on with only six required to avoid the follow-on in the first innings. It was naive batting from two deeply talented young men who are at the stage of their careers where they need to be promising less and delivering more.”We have some young guys in the dressing room,” Rhodes said. “Sometimes we want them to run a bit faster and they trip up. Inevitably, mistakes are repeated. But it’s all part of the learning curve. If we do stay up, we’ll be better prepared for another season at this level. We’ve a young, English side and we’ll be better for this experience.”Sussex could also feel well satisfied with their season. While some at Hove may have been rather spoiled by the success of the last decade – you have to go back to 2004 to find a year when Sussex have gone without a trophy – most teams, particularly most non-Test hosting teams, would be delighted with a mid-table position in Division One.Again, the context is important. Not only have they lost a coterie of senior players in recent years – the likes of Martin-Jenkins, Lewry, Kirtley and Adams but, a week ahead of this season, their director of cricket, Mark Robinson, expected to have Michael Yardy, Luke Wright and Matt Prior in his side for the first Championship game. He ended up with none of them and, with injuries of different types depriving him of Yardy and Wright for much of the season, struggled to find the requisite balance in the side.That should be better next year. Luke Wright has recently undergone successful knee surgery and is expected to be 100% fit to play a full part with bat and ball next year. Yardy, too, should be back to his best, while in the likes of Joe Gatting and Luke Wells, Sussex have two young batsmen who should serve them with distinction for a generation. There will, no doubt, be an addition or two to the squad. A swing bowler is the target; Naqaash Tahir is a possibility.”We’re relieved, more than anything,” Robinson agreed afterwards. “We’ve had a couple of difficult periods this season, so it’s great that we’ve taken stock a bit and can build on this next year.”Ed Joyce, Chris Nash and Murray Goodwin have been absolute rocks for us this season, while Monty Panesar has taken on a colossal workload. We’ve tended to bat poorly in the first innings – which is why we have so few batting bonus points – but well in the second innings – which shows character. We’ll definitely be looking to improve on this next year.”It was, perhaps, fitting that it was Jimmy Anyon who should bowl them to victory on the final day. While Anyon is not a local product – indeed, he’s something of the archetypal journeyman having spent time at Lancashire, Surrey and Warwickshire – he is typical of the sort of cricketer that Sussex have made a habit of rehabilitating in recent years. Mushtaq Ahmed followed a similar route.Anyon was rescued from the second team at Edgbaston and instilled with new confidence and sense of purpose at Hove. That can only happen with excellent management and a strong team spirit and Anyon has now emerged as the strong, fast bowler he always suggested he could become. He passed 50 Championship wickets in the season on the final day here – the first time he’s reached that landmark – and, in a weaker playing age, he might have interested the England selectors.Here he discomforted the Worcestershire batsmen with his pace and bounce. Vikram Solanki lost his off stump attempting to turn a full ball through mid wicket, Aneesh Kapil, roughed up by some short stuff, was then slow to come forward to an excellent inswinger, while Daryl Mitchell’s tentative forward prod was defeated by pace. Mitchell, it should be noted, has not scored a century since he was appointed Worcestershire captain a few weeks from the end of the 2010 season.Meanwhile Kervezee was caught behind as he made room to cut Panesar – a high-risk shot – James Cameron was somewhat unfortunate to be caught down the leg side and Gareth Andrew, who didn’t much seem to fancy the pace of Amjad Khan, was beaten for pace.Worcestershire were, perhaps, a little unfortunate. The umpiring decisions that saw off Kemar Roach, Daryl Mitchell, Alan Richardson and, in the first innings, Moeen Ali and Ben Scott, all looked harsh. Indeed, the umpires – quick to take the players off in bad light, but slow to bring them back on – didn’t have the best of games. They, like players and journalists, are human after all. But few would deny that the best team won.

كشفت شبكة “سكاي سبورتس” عن راتب كريستيانو رونالدو مع ناديه الجديد النصر السعودي بعد الإعلان الرسمي عن الصفقة يوم أمس، الجمعة.

ووقع رونالدو على عقد لمدة عامين ونصف مع النصر السعودي، ليستمر في الدولة العربية الشقيقة حتى يونيو 2025.

اقرأ أيضًا | نيفيل عن انتقال رونالدو إلى النصر السعودي: حزين.. لن نراه في دوري بمستوى عال

Cristiano Ronaldo’s guaranteed football salary at Al Nassr will be close to $90m per year. 🇵🇹🇸🇦 #Ronaldo

Commercial/sponsorship deals (already approved by Cristiano’s camp) will be included in the agreement to bring total salary close to $200m. pic.twitter.com/0ILHxeuoK5 — Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 31, 2022

وبحسب متخصص سوق الانتقالات في شبكة “سكاي سبورتس”، فابرزيو رومانو، عبر حسابه على “تويتر”، سيقترب راتب رونالدو الثابت من 90 مليون دولار في الموسم الواحد مع النصر السعودي.

لكن ستكون هناك اتفاقات تجارية ورعاة، تمت الموافقة عليها من وكلاء رونالدو أثناء التفاوض مع النصر السعودي ستقرب الراتب السنوي للاعب إلى 200 مليون دولار.

وبالتالي إذا استمر رونالدو في النصر السعودي حتى نهاية عقده سيكون إجمالي ما سيتحصل عليه 500 مليون دولار تقريبًا.

Abdur Rehman, the left-arm spinner, has been ruled out of Pakistan’s next World Cup match against Canada on Thursday after suffering a leg injury. Misbah-ul-Haq has also picked up a minor hamstring strain but isn’t too much of a concern.Rehman took 1 for 63 in Pakistan’s 11-run victory against Sri Lanka on Saturday but now requires a five-day break. “Rehman sprained his leg while fielding in the match against Sri Lanka and had to put on a strapping in order to bowl. It’s an adductor muscle rupture,” Intikhab Alam, the Pakistan manager, told AFP. “We don’t want to risk Rehman and will wait for him to recover.”Rehman’s absence is likely to mean a chance for offspinner Saeed Ajmal who has yet to play a match in the competition. The other bowlers in the squad who didn’t play against Sri Lanka were the left-arm pace duo of Wabah Riaz and Junaid Khan.Although Misbah’s problem isn’t considered a major worry he may still be rested for the Canada game with the opposition unlikely to cause an in-form Pakistan too many problems. Misbah hit 83 off 91 balls against Sri Lanka to continue his strong start to the tournament after he made 65 against Kenya.If Misbah does miss out and Pakistan retain the same balance to their team Asad Shafiq, the 25-year-old batsman, is the other option in the squad.

Tamil Nadu waited all day long but could only dislodge Vineet Saxena as Aakash Chopra propelled Rajasthan to a strong position at the end of the opening day

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera03-Jan-2011
Scorecard
Aakash Chopra knew where his off stump was and let the opposition know it, wearing them down with his technique•William West/AFPAround one hour into the game, after he chose to bowl, the Tamil Nadu captain Dinesh Karthik exhorted his bowlers to show (patience in Tamil). They waited all day long but could only dislodge Vineet Saxena, as Aakash Chopra propelled Rajasthan to a strong position at the end of the opening day. Tamil Nadu threw everything they had at Chopra but he was immovable.It was a day of hard grind. It was a day where the batsmen had to work really hard, especially in the first two sessions, to overcome the conditions. It was damp, it was overcast and Rajasthan were asked to bat. Chopra and Saxena, however, stuck adhesively to the crease to slowly turn the tide against the visitors. The ball seamed around in the first half of the day but the duo showed exemplary patience to keep the bowlers at bay.Chopra, who missed out on a big score in the quarter-final, oozed solidity and sported a big smile as he walked off the park at sun set. It wasn’t his shot making but the way he left the ball outside off that elevated this knock. He knew where his off stump was and let the opposition know it, wearing them down with his technique. He punctuated his leaves with elegant cover drives whenever the bowlers pitched it fuller trying to make him play. He got going with a gorgeous cover drive on a bent knee against L Balaji and repeated the shot off C Ganapathy. Almost immediately, the seamers started to bowl short of a length and Chopra settled down with ease. He covered for the movement and repeatedly nudged and steered them behind the wicket.Post-lunch, the seamers, R Suthesh and S Sam, bowled a stifling line and length but Chopra relied on his technique to break free. The feet movement was precise, the head was over the ball and he played late. Soon, Karthik had to bring in his spinner Suresh Kumar and Chopra used his feet effectively to pile on the runs. Time and again, he skipped down the track for his drives and cut when the length was shortened. The manner in which Chopra brought up his fifty captured his serene approach: He went down the track and realised that he had gone too far down to a full delivery from Suresh but adjusted superbly by crouching on a bent knee and steered it to past gully to the third man boundary. And it was apt that he brought up his hundred with his favourite cover drive.Chopra didn’t have to do all the hard work alone today as he found some great support from Saxena, who hit a big hundred against Mumbai in the quarter-final. Though he wasn’t as assured as Chopra, Saxena buckled down to wear down the attack. He took 17 balls to get off the mark and was in some bother early on to the deliveries in the off-stump corridor. Balaji beat the bat a few times with his variations but Saxena soon settled down. He too left many a ball and unfurled off drives whenever the bowlers over pitched. He took more risks against the spinners: he smashed Suresh over midwicket boundary and lifted him to long-on to bring up his fifty.Saxena’s best shot, though, came against the left-arm seamer Suthesh when he unfurled a delightful, straight-driven boundary. Suresh, who saw Ganapathy fail to hold on to a swirling mis-hit when Saxena was on 47, got his man eventually when he turned one big to beat the attempted cover drive.Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Rajasthan’s captain, added to Tamil Nadu’s woes by hitting a confident 28 with four boundaries. And just when all looked lost for the visitors, he inside-edged an off drive onto his boot and retired hurt. The injury, though, didn’t look too serious and Kanitkar should return to bat tomorrow. Chopra saw through the day with the nightwatchman Vivek Yadav and left Tamil Nadu facing a night of discontent.

MatériaMais Notícias

O técnico Fábio Carille viu o Corinthians abaixo do ideal na vitória por 1 a 0 sobre o Mirassol nesta quarta-feira na Arena Corinthians, mas nem por isso deixou de fazer elogios ao time. O comandante destacou as novidades na escalação e performance de jogadores como Ralf, que reestreou pelo clube, e o lateral-esquerdo Sidcley, estreante da noite.

-O Sidcley foi muito tranquilo, com decisões claras com a bola no pé. Acredito que nosso conjunto prejudicou o Lucca. O Sidcley nos dá uma garantia muito grande. O Maycon se colocou à disposição para ajudar, sei que ele não quer (jogar na lateral). A partir de amanhã (quinta) vamos analisar o Botafogo-SP e já o Deportivo Lara – afirmou Carille sobre o lateral-esquerdo.

-Ralf foi tranquilo, o que falta é ritmo de jogo, é um cara que vem treinando muito forte como sempre. Ele sabe que a parte física é muito importante pela forma que joga, ele vem trabalhando demais, suportou os 90 minutos. Foi acima do esperado pelo tempo que ele não jogava – falou Carille sobre a volta de Ralf.

Carille também adiantou algumas mudanças para o jogo de domingo contra o Botafogo, em Ribeirão Preto, na última rodada da primeira fase do Campeonato Paulista. Mantuan será o substituto de Fagner, suspenso, na lateral direita, e Lucca deve ser mantido, mas no lugar de Clayson, também suspenso. Contra o Mirassol, Lucca foi titular, mas na vaga de Romero, que segundo Carille foi poupado, e não sacado pela polêmica de dizer que o Santos era time pequeno.

-A decisão de tirar o Romero não foi por conta do que aconteceu no domingo, ele tem que assumir as responsabilidades, não é mais um garoto, ele sabe. Tem coisas que o técnico tem de esperar. Como eu tenho ele ou o Clayson, que tomou também o terceiro, ele ia estar fora do jogo em Ribeirão. Eles ficaram fora só do jogo contra a Ferroviária. É questão física para ter um time mais inteiro para as decisões do campeonato – explicou Carille.

Confira outros trechos da coletiva do treinador:

O jogo
O bom do jogo foi confirmar a classificação para a segunda fase do Paulista. Acredito que a semana que passou foi muito pesada e caiu hoje. Teve Palmeiras, viagem para a Colômbia, depois o Santos. O Mirassol jogou na sexta, e nós no domingo. Senti meu time muito abaixo, erramos muito, e a equipe adversária conseguiu ter o controle. Além de não jogar, o Corinthians chegou a ser envolvido em alguns momentos.

Emerson Sheik
O Sheik tem jogado bastante, tem treinado bem. Já tinha gostado da atuação dele na Colômbia. Tem muito a melhorar. O Pedrinho vai começar a ganhar espaço, está melhorando como atleta, estamos ficando muito no pé dele para que ele tome o que tem de tomar e coma o que tem que comer, porque é um garoto que vai nos ajudar bastante.

Time teve menos concentração?
Hoje não foi questão de concentração, vi o vestiário aceso, preleção para cima. Foi questão física, que a semana foi muito pesada. Não vi falta de concentração como em outros momentos, e sim a parte física.

Esse vai ser o esquema contra o Deportivo Lara na Libertadores?
Não posso te falar isso, não vi nada sobre o Lara ainda. Esse esquema foi uma forma que nós achamos, com rendimento bom nesses últimos jogos. Hoje não fizemos um bom jogo, mas vencemos. A partir do momento que tiver mais informações sobre o Lara, vamos definir o que é melhor para o jogo.

Apoio da torcida, em menos número
O torcedor corintiano, estou no meu décimo ano de clube, é especial. Dá para lembrar o que fizeram no Japão, na nossa saída para a final do Japão, o dia da final da Libertadores, chegadas ao Pacaembu em várias decisões… É uma torcida especial, abraça mesmo, já vi o time saindo aplaudido com derrota para o Flamengo na Libertadores. Podem ter certeza de que vão bater marcas.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasCorinthiansMais velho a marcar pelo Timão, Sheik celebra primeiro gol após voltaCorinthians08/03/2018CorinthiansBlog do Marra: ‘Carille pode e deve tirar conclusões em nova vitória’Corinthians08/03/2018CorinthiansATUAÇÕES: Sheik decide e Ralf agrada em volta ao CorinthiansCorinthians08/03/2018

Tudo sobre

CorinthiansFabio Carille

On a day when most of Australia’s Test batsmen failed around the country, Steven Smith’s 59 was a rare highlight

Brydon Coverdale at Bellerive Oval17-Nov-2010On a day when most of Australia’s Test batsmen failed around the country, Steven Smith’s 59 was a rare highlight. The first Ashes Test at the Gabba is eight days away but Smith does not expect his performance, which came in difficult seaming conditions against a quality England attack, to propel him into the top six.”The selectors have a fair indication of what they’re going to go with in Brisbane,” Smith said, on a day when Michael Hussey, Marcus North, Ricky Ponting, Shane Watson and Simon Katich all made low scores. “Some people fail on wickets if they’re green around the country. I guess you can’t really take too much out of what’s going to happen this week.”Even so, Smith’s innings will impress the selectors, as it began watchfully after England reduced Australia A to 5 for 66, and became gradually more attacking as Smith became used to the conditions. But there remains doubt over what role Smith is best suited to at the Test level; he played as the main spinner against Pakistan this year when Nathan Hauritz was injured, but is also an impressive striker of the ball.”Down the track I’d definitely like to be a middle-order batsman,” he said. “I work just as hard on my batting as I do on my bowling. Down the track I would like to be a genuine allrounder; whether the selectors see it that way at the moment or not, I’m not sure.”Smith was helped by England’s short-pitched attack, which suited his swatting style of pulls and hooks. Steve O’Keefe also handled the bowling well in making 66, but the rest of the batsmen struggled.England’s bowlers, led by Chris Tremlett with 4 for 54, mixed controlled aggression with good, fuller balls that facilitated swing and seam. It’s a plan that the Test team should expect from James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Steven Finn, who are already in Brisbane adjusting to the conditions.”When you come out to Australia and you play on these wickets, you hope that your attributes will play a part,” Tremlett said. “At 6 feet 8 myself and the other guys are pretty tall as well, definitely that is the plan, to intimidate guys and get in their faces a little bit.”Everyone put their hand up. Everyone got a couple of wickets, apart from Monty. But even though he didn’t get a wicket, he put the pressure on and bowled really well. I think as a group, it was a very good bowling performance.”It was Tremlett’s first match for England in two years, and although he began nervously with a wayward first over, he quickly found his radar and picked up the first wicket in his next over. He said there had been a major change in the squad’s attitude since he last played, which could augur well as they aimed to retain the Ashes.”I haven’t been involved for a couple of years, and I have come in and noticed a difference in confidence within the side,” Tremlett said. “I guess that comes from winning a lot of series and a lot of games back to back. Hopefully we’ll take that on to Brisbane and go from there.”Tremlett also insisted he had not given up on hopes that he might be part of the team for the first Test at Brisbane. “It is maybe not set in stone, the first-Test squad. All you can do is when you get your opportunity, try your hardest – and you never know; you might have put your name in the hat. Getting some wickets builds your confidence – and if my opportunity does come along, my confidence will be high.”