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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 />

S(18)(250)<br />

GD-1292/18 (5 x 3)

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