17-10-2018
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SPORTS<br />
9<br />
WEDnESDAY, OCTOBER <strong>17</strong>, <strong>2018</strong><br />
Sterling shines as England<br />
blow Spain away<br />
Bangladesh will hope Liton has turned a significant corner in his international career with his<br />
maiden ODI hundred.<br />
Photo: AP<br />
Liton Das hopes to add consistency<br />
to his ODI game<br />
Sports Desk:<br />
Bangladesh batsman Liton Das<br />
said that his maiden ODI hundred<br />
against India at the just-concluded<br />
Asia Cup has relieved lot of pressure<br />
and self doubt. Liton, widely<br />
considered one of the most talented<br />
Bangladesh batsman, has generally<br />
fallen well short of his potential on<br />
the international circuit before<br />
scoring a classy hundred in a<br />
pressure final, albeit in a losing<br />
cause, reports Cricbuzz.<br />
Despite being in the Test and the<br />
T20 teams for quite some time,<br />
Liton has failed to earn a regular<br />
spot in the ODI side. He appeared<br />
to have lost the opening spot for<br />
good after the debacle in South<br />
Africa but a combination of some<br />
timely runs in the T20 format - a<br />
half-century against Windies -<br />
coinciding with failures of other<br />
top-order contenders paved his<br />
return to opening slot in the 50-<br />
overs format.<br />
He made a couple of false starts in<br />
the Asia Cup before managing a 1<strong>17</strong>-<br />
ball 121 in the final against India<br />
which came ever so close to giving<br />
Bangladesh the Asia Cup title. With<br />
the monkey now off the back, Liton<br />
now hopes to add consistency to his<br />
start-stop ODI career. "My first ODI<br />
hundred is very important. I was on<br />
the back foot for quite some time so<br />
for me it became imperative to<br />
perform," Liton told reporters at the<br />
preparatory camp ahead of the<br />
home series against Zimbabwe at<br />
Mirpur on Tuesday (October 16).<br />
My main aim is to be consistent<br />
because when I play domestic<br />
cricket I scored quite consistently<br />
[but that was not the case at the<br />
international level]. Now I am<br />
looking forward to make ways so<br />
that I can perform consistently at<br />
international level."<br />
The success notwithstanding,<br />
Liton has his feet firmly planted on<br />
the ground, refusing to take his<br />
success for granted. It is this<br />
attitude that helped him carry the<br />
confidence from the Asia Cup<br />
innings to domestic cricket where<br />
he smashed the fastest double<br />
hundred (off 140 balls) in<br />
Bangladesh's first class cricket<br />
history, breaking his own record<br />
within six months.<br />
"I don't think that way [that one<br />
innings will change my career].<br />
Because for me each match is<br />
important. One match can have a<br />
lot of impact on someone's career<br />
but you have to start from the<br />
scratch in the next match," Liton<br />
said. "I believe cricket is a mental<br />
game and if your mind is clear you<br />
are bound to succeed.<br />
"As I was not performing<br />
naturally there were doubts<br />
regarding my ability. After<br />
performing probably a lot of<br />
pressure was released so perhaps<br />
managed to play like that [for<br />
Rangpur]," he added.<br />
Bangladesh will hope Liton has<br />
turned a significant corner in his<br />
international career and will look<br />
forward to more such telling<br />
contributions in the forthcoming<br />
series against Zimbabwe. Liton's<br />
own expectations have gone up.<br />
"Certainly there is pressure of<br />
expectation as I have done well, my<br />
team and my teammates will want<br />
me to do well again while I would<br />
like to fulfil my expectations. I<br />
guess it is from both sides," he<br />
concluded.<br />
The three-match ODI series<br />
versus Zimbabwe starts on October<br />
21. It'll be followed by two Tests at<br />
Sylhet and Mirpur.<br />
Sports Desk:<br />
Raheem Sterling scored twice as<br />
England delivered one of their finest<br />
victories of the modern era by beating<br />
Spain 3-2 in Seville on Monday, reports<br />
BSS.<br />
Away from home, and against a<br />
Spanish side in scintillating form under<br />
their new coach Luis Enrique, this was<br />
certainly England's best win under<br />
Gareth Southgate and, perhaps, their<br />
most impressive since thrashing<br />
Germany 5-1 in Munich in 2001.<br />
Marcus Rashford was the other scorer<br />
in a breathless opening 45 minutes,<br />
which witnessed Spain conceding three<br />
on home soil for the first time in their<br />
history.<br />
"To play the way they did, this should<br />
be a great reference point for this team<br />
for the future," Southgate said.<br />
Paco Alcacer, on as a substitute,<br />
headed in before the hour to spark hopes<br />
of a comeback but England were home<br />
and dry by the time Sergio Ramos scored<br />
in the 98th minute, with the last action of<br />
the match. It means England keep alive<br />
their hopes of finishing top of Group 4 in<br />
the UEFA Nations League, the position<br />
Spain had needed only a point to all-butguarantee<br />
would be theirs.<br />
It was a night for streaks ending and<br />
records tumbling. Sterling's opening goal<br />
was his first in 1,<strong>10</strong>2 days for England,<br />
even more remarkable given he added<br />
his second 22 minutes later.<br />
"The only thing we did say is when he<br />
scores he will score again," Southgate<br />
said. "He managed to do so pretty<br />
quickly."<br />
The last time England won away<br />
against Spain was 1987 - which was also<br />
when they last scored against Spain away<br />
from home, Gary Lineker on target.<br />
With an average age of just over 23,<br />
this was also the youngest England<br />
starting line-up in the 21st century. That<br />
will be the most exciting aspect for<br />
Southgate.<br />
For Spain, Alcacer now has an<br />
astonishing <strong>10</strong> goals from his last <strong>10</strong><br />
shots on target. But defeat represents<br />
something of a reality check. "Waving the<br />
flag for goals," read Marca's front page on<br />
Monday. They had scored 12 in three<br />
games since Luis Enrique took charge.<br />
"Clearly it wasn't our night," he said.<br />
"We have made mistakes on an<br />
individual level and their goals were<br />
medicine for them and poison for us."<br />
But Eric Dier set the tone early on. He<br />
left Sergio Busquets, sluggish<br />
throughout, hopping out of his first pass<br />
and then slid through Ramos, who was<br />
also out of sorts.<br />
After a frantic start, England settled<br />
and in the 13th minute, scored. Under<br />
pressure at the back, they kept the ball<br />
until the risk was too great and Jordan<br />
Pickford drove forward to Harry Kane.<br />
With Spain caught upfield, he was able<br />
to turn and find Rashford, whose quick<br />
switch set Sterling free. He finished into<br />
the top corner.<br />
"We are staying up," sang the away<br />
support as Thiago Alcantara danced<br />
around England's midfield with flicks<br />
and tricks. But to little effect.<br />
Instead, Kane showed the value of a<br />
top-class centre forward for England's<br />
second. He outmuscled Ramos to win<br />
Pickford's punt downfield, outpaced<br />
Nacho to the loose ball with a superb<br />
reverse pass in behind. Rashford only<br />
had to finish. Spain's early confidence<br />
was gone and England added a third<br />
before the interval, which was greeted by<br />
whistles from the home fans.<br />
Ross Barkley's sumptuous ball over the<br />
top caught Ramos napping again and<br />
Kane squared for Sterling to tap in. "Are<br />
you Scotland in disguise?" came the<br />
taunt from the corner.<br />
Spain were sent out early for the<br />
second period, among them Alcacer, who<br />
replaced Saul. He scored with his first<br />
touch, heading in Marco Asensio's<br />
corner, given away after a fumble by<br />
Pickford.<br />
England's Raheem Sterling scored their third goal past Spain's David De Gea on Monday. Photo: AP<br />
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De Villiers, who retired from international cricket earlier this year, heads the list of designated South African players.<br />
Photo: AP<br />
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De Villiers included<br />
in draft for South<br />
African T20 league<br />
Sports Desk:<br />
South African batting star AB de Villiers was on Monday<br />
named among 12 leading players for South Africa's new<br />
Mzansi Super League Twenty20 tournament, reports BSS.<br />
Six South African and six overseas players were named as<br />
marquee players at a Cricket South Africa media briefing. Six<br />
teams will be competing for their services in a draft in<br />
Johannesburg on Wednesday.<br />
England one-day captain Eoin Morgan and fellow England<br />
players Jason Roy and Dawid Malan will join West Indians<br />
Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo and Afghanistan leg-spinner<br />
Rashid Khan as the leading overseas players.<br />
De Villiers, who retired from international cricket earlier<br />
this year, heads the list of designated South African players.<br />
The others are national captain Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla,<br />
JP Duminy, Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir.<br />
The league, named after a colloquial term for South Africa,<br />
will run from November 15 to December 16.<br />
The names of six teams and their home venues were<br />
announced at Monday's briefing. They are: Cape Town Blitz,<br />
Durban Heat, Jozi Stars (Johannesburg), Nelson Mandela<br />
Bay Giants (Port Elizabeth), Paarl Rocks and Tshwane<br />
Spartans (Centurion).<br />
Cricket South Africa chief executive Thabang Moroe said<br />
there had been a big response from players from around the<br />
world who wanted to be included in the league.<br />
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