ADELAIDE: You only get one chance to make a first impression, and for newly appointed UAE coach Alberto Zaccheroni it is crucial the first impression he makes over the next two weeks is a strong and positive one.
After the departure of Mahdi Ali, there was wild speculation regarding who would fill the hot seat. In the end, Argentine Edgardo Bauza was a largely uninspired choice, and in his short spell in charge that is how it played out, with Bauza largely sticking with the same group of players, leaving everyone underwhelmed with the direction the team was headed.
With Bauza moving to Saudi Arabia after they let go of Bert Van Marwijk, the UAE had a chance to reset. It was a blessing in disguise. In golfing terms they were handed a mulligan.
So for them, just as much as Zaccheroni, they need the Italian’s first matches in charge to set the Emirates on a clear path forward, with the AFC Asian Cup on home soil looming on the horizon just 14 months away.
Make no mistake; this is a trophy he is expected to challenge for and even win. On home soil they have to perform well. No ifs, buts or maybes.
We will get an idea of the direction Zaccheroni, the former coach of Japan who guided the Samurai Blue to the 2011 AFC Asian Cup title, is headed when he names his first squad next week.
With star playmaker Omar Abdulrahman beset with injury, playing just one game this season back in September, and star strikers Ali Mabkhout and Ahmed Khalil also sidelined with knocks for the past few weeks, in terms of shaking things up his hand may be forced.
Does he opt for experience in the form of Al Wahda’s 34-year-old veteran Ismail Matar, someone who has been there and done that? Or does he really shake things up and put faith in someone like 22-year-old Al-Jazira star Khalfan Mubarak, who has scored twice for the defending champions in the opening six matches, picking up from where he left off last season when he was named the league’s best young player?
It is the type of move that would send a strong signal, not only to the rest of the team who had became far too comfortable under Mahdi Ali, but to the fans of the national team that, under Zaccheroni’s reign, things will be different.
And it is that kind of bravery the fans want to see. The golden generation, if you want to term it like that, has served UAE well and a number of them are still of a good age to contribute well into the future. But under Mahdi Ali they had become tired and staid. Towards the end of his tenure it was a team crying out for a hit of youth and excitement to regenerate the team.
The likes of Al-Jazira duo Mubarak (22) and Ahmed Al-Attas (22), Al-Wasl’s Ali Salmin (22) and Al-Wahda’s Mohamed Al-Akbari (21) have all had experience, albeit fleeting, with the national team over the past few years and have shown at domestic level they have the potential to take their game to the next level.
What they need now is a manager to trust and believe in them, and someone to give them their opportunity. Zaccheroni needs to be that man.
While it’s important for UAE to perform well in their upcoming friendlies, reportedly against Egypt and Uzbekistan, in reality results do not matter. So there is nothing to lose and everything to gain from Zaccheroni throwing caution to the wind and giving the next generation a chance.
While the UAE FA will no doubt have their eyes firmly fixed on success at the AFC Asian Cup in 2019, the long-term goal has to be to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, the first one to be staged in the Middle East.
With the UAE’s campaign to qualify for Russia 2018 ending in ignominy earlier this year, the process of building toward 2022 has to start now and we will get our first glimpse of what that looks like over the next two weeks.
First impressions count. Let us hope Zaccheroni makes a good one.
Why Zacch should attack from the start
Why Zacch should attack from the start
All-round Stoinis helps Lucknow beat Mumbai in IPL
- Stoinis top-scored in Lucknow’s modest chase of 145 against Mumbai Indians as the home team achieved their target with four wickets and four balls to spare
- Mumbai managed 144-7 courtesy Nehal Wadhera’s 46 and an unbeaten 18-ball 35 by Tim David after being invited to bat first
LUCKNOW: All-rounder Marcus Stoinis smashed 62 after he took a wicket on Tuesday to guide Lucknow Super Giants to an IPL win on the eve of Australia’s T20 World Cup team announcement.
Stoinis top-scored in Lucknow’s modest chase of 145 against Mumbai Indians as the home team achieved their target with four wickets and four balls to spare.
Lucknow moved to third spot in the 10-team table led by Rajasthan Royals. Five-time winners Mumbai remained ninth above wooden spooners Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Lucknow skipper KL Rahul fell for 28, hours after being snubbed by India’s selectors, who on Tuesday afternoon named the team for the T20 World Cup in June.
Mumbai skipper Hardik Pandya was named deputy to India captain Rohit Sharma for the World Cup in the West Indies and the US, but the star all-rounder fell for a duck and his team to their seventh loss in 10 matches.
“Sometimes you will be down, sometimes you will be up, just that you got to give it your all,” Pandya said. “Looks difficult but a lot of things that you can learn from this game.”
Birthday boy Rohit, who turned 37, Japsrit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav are three of the four players from Mumbai to make the Indian team for the World Cup starting June 2.
Mumbai managed 144-7 courtesy Nehal Wadhera’s 46 and an unbeaten 18-ball 35 by Tim David after being invited to bat first.
Pandya said Wadhera will “play a lot of IPL and (represent) India eventually.”
Lucknow left-arm quick Mohsin Khan took two wickets after he struck first with the wicket of Rohit, who was caught out for four by Stoinis at extra cover.
Stoinis got the key wicket of Yadav for 10 and Mumbai were soon 27-4 when Naveen-ul-Haq got Pandya for a first-ball duck.
But Pandya returned to take two wickets with his pace bowling.
Stoinis turned up with the bat to raise his second fifty — he has also hit a century — of the season with hours left for the Australian selectors to announce the T20 team on Wednesday.
He fell to Afghanistan spinner Mohammad Nabi after his 42-ball knock laced with seven fours and two sixes.
Lucknow lost two more wickets to raise Mumbai’s hopes of a turnaround, but Nicholas Pooran steered the team home in the final over.
Jeddah hosts Saudi Smash 2024 table tennis championship from May 1-11
- The prestigious championship will see the world’s top table tennis players in action, including rising star Wang Chuqin
- The championship is set to further solidify the Kingdom’s position as a preferred destination for global sporting events
RIAYDH: Jeddah is gearing up for the commencement of the Saudi Smash 2024 table tennis championship scheduled to take place May 1-11.
The event marks the second run in the series of the Grand Smash tournaments on this year’s World Table Tennis Organization calendar.
Saudi Arabia hosts the 10-day tournament which is being organized by the Saudi Table Tennis Federation under the supervision of the Ministry of Sports and in collaboration with WTT.
The prestigious championship will see the world’s top table tennis players in action, including rising star Wang Chuqin, the Grand Smash Singapore 2024 winner Fan Zhendong, and French talent Felix Lebrun among others.
In the women’s singles category, elite players like Sun Yingsha, Wang Manyu, Chen Meng, Hina Hayata, Shin Yu-bin, Bernadette Szocs, and Adriana Diaz Gonzalez will showcase their skills on the international stage.
Saudi fans are eagerly anticipating the debut of local table tennis players such as Ali Al-Khudrawi in the men’s singles event, alongside Abdulaziz Boushlbi, Khaled Al-Sherif, Hadi Abu Al-Raha, Turki Al-Mutairi, Salem Al-Swailem, and Mohamed Al-Qasab.
This championship offers a unique opportunity for Saudi players to shine globally and compete against the world’s best table tennis players.
The championship is set to further solidify the Kingdom’s position as a preferred destination for global sporting events, fostering the development of sports at the grassroots level and supporting the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 to promote sports as an integral part of society.
Those interested in witnessing the excitement of the tournament can secure their tickets through the official website: SaudiSmash.com/Visitor
India recalls Rishabh Pant for T20 World Cup after near-fatal car crash
- Pant was India’s first-choice wicketkeeper across all three formats until December 2022 when he crashed and dislocated his right knee
- Pant feared amputation. He returned to competitive cricket last month for the ongoing Indian Premier League and has proved himself
NEW DELHI: Rishabh Pant was restored to the India squad for the T20 World Cup on Tuesday, 16 months after a near-fatal car crash.
Allrounder Shivam Dube, recalled by India last August after more than two years out, also made the cut, and star batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were confirmed for the tournament in June in the Caribbean and the United States.
Pant was India’s first-choice wicketkeeper across all three formats until December 2022 when he crashed and dislocated his right knee. He was pulled out by passersby before the car caught fire. Pant feared amputation. He returned to competitive cricket last month for the ongoing Indian Premier League and has proved himself.
Pant has 398 runs in 11 innings — good for fourth overall — at a strike rate of 158.56.
Dube has also lit up the IPL with 350 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 172.41.
Wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, the only bowler to take 200 wickets in IPL history, was a surprise inclusion because he wasn’t used at the Cricket World Cup that India hosted late last year. Chahal has 13 wickets in nine IPL games at an economy of 9.
India has picked three other spinners; left-arm unorthodox wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, and left-arm spin allrounders Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.
Sharma and Kohli were informally announced as selections in February by Jay Shah, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
“In the 2023 (final) at Ahmedabad, even though we did not win the World Cup after 10 straight wins, we won hearts,” Shah said then. “I want to promise you that in 2024, under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, we will hoist the Indian flag in Barbados (in the final on June 29).”
Sharma and Kohli are in good form in the IPL. Kohli leads the run-scorers’ charts with 500 in 10 innings, including one hundred and four half-centuries. Sharma has 311 in nine games at a strike rate of 160.30.
Despite Kohli opening the innings in the IPL, he should bat at number three while left-handed youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal opens with Sharma.
The world No. 1-ranked T20 batter, Suryakumar Yadav, will be at number four.
Nine of the 15-man squad were at the 2022 T20 World Cup, where India lost in the semifinals to eventual champion England.
India begins the World Cup on June 5 against Ireland. It will also play Pakistan and tournament host the US; all three games will be at the purpose-built Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Long Island. India will meet Canada in Florida.
Jofra Archer picked by England for T20 World Cup after cruel run of injuries
- Jofra Archer, 29, is considered one of cricket’s most exciting fast bowlers
- England will hope Archer stays fit for four-match T20 series against Pakistan
Jofra Archer was selected in England’s provisional squad for the T20 World Cup on Tuesday, setting up a much-awaited international return for one of cricket’s most exciting bowlers whose career has been derailed by injuries.
The 29-year-old Archer has barely featured for England in any format since 2021, mainly because of ongoing issues with his right elbow for which he has undergone two operations. A back injury ruled him out of most of 2022.
The Barbados-born pacer was a breath of fresh air after switching nationality to be eligible for England ahead of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, which he helped his adopted country win on home soil. Then he played a starring role in the Ashes that year.
England will hope he stays fit to play in a four-match Twenty20 series against Pakistan and then the World Cup, which is being held in the Caribbean and the United States.
England’s opening match is against Scotland on June 4 at Kensington Oval in Barbados.
Also in the 15-man squad were Jonny Bairstow and Will Jacks, who have hit big knocks in the Indian Premier League in recent weeks. Left-arm spinning allrounder Tom Hartley is the sole uncapped player in the group.
England will be captained by Jos Buttler, with the team seeking a second T20 World Cup title.
England: Jos Buttler (captain), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.
‘The trip of a lifetime’: Chinese supporters travel 30 hours to watch Al-Nassr and Cristiano Ronaldo play
- 5 superfans take dedication to the next level to see their heroes in person
RIYADH: Not many people would travel for 30 hours to watch a couple of football matches but this does not apply to YunXiang Ding and his wife Xutong Guo who are superfans of Saudi Arabia giants Al-Nassr and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The couple are from Changchun, the capital of northeast China’s Jilin province, which is just a few hours from the border with North Korea.
On April 1 — and no, this is definitely not an April Fool’s joke — the couple flew three hours from Changchun to Shanghai, waited eight hours at the airport there, and then boarded a nine-and-a-half-hour flight to Dubai.
At this point, they met up with Xutong’s sister Angie, who travelled from Hong Kong, and met Angie’s husband Simon, who lives in Abu Dhabi, to fly three hours from the UAE to beautiful Abha in southwest Saudi Arabia. Friend Triston Zhao, who travelled from Shanghai, also accompanied the group.
And it was there, at the end of an exhausting but hugely exhilarating and worthwhile trip, that they watched Al-Nassr play Damac in the Roshn Saudi League at the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Stadium.
Xutong said: “The seats we had in the stadium were very near the touchline and we were close to Ronaldo warming up and when he moved out to the wing. It was the experience of a lifetime. We made a big, handmade poster banner for Ronaldo, and he saw it as he was clapping us walking off the pitch. It was amazing. We were so close to him.”
An injury-time Al-Nassr winner from Aymeric Laporte meant the group truly got to celebrate their trip to Saudi Arabia — but as well as the football, they were also able to appreciate the beauty of Abha. The capital city of Asir province is known for its stunning mountains, greenery, birds and dense juniper forests.
Xutong said: “Abha is so beautiful. The clouds, the scenery — it was more beautiful than the pictures we saw online could ever show. Seeing Al-Nassr play in such a beautiful place was truly special and the Saudi people were so warm and friendly. At the stadium people were asking us for pictures with us, but they said it’s not uncommon for Chinese fans to travel to watch Al-Nassr. Al-Nassr are huge in China.”
Utilizing Chinese public holidays that allowed a 10-day break, the group then flew from Abha back to the UAE, where they watched Al-Nassr play in the Saudi Super Cup in Abu Dhabi. A 2-1 defeat to Al-Hilal, in a match where Ronaldo was shown a red card, failed to dampen spirits about the trip or their love for their adopted team.
Simon said: “We are all big Cristiano fans and started supporting Al-Nassr when he joined — but our love for the club goes beyond him. YunXiang and Xutong in particular are big fans — they watch all the matches at home, and these are often shown very late at night or early in the morning. They have to stay up or get up at various times to watch. People in this part of the world maybe don’t understand how dedicated they are and the lengths they go to watch Al-Nassr. And there are many fans like this in China, Al-Nassr are hugely popular.”
The cost of the trip — inclusive of flights, accommodation and spending money — was “around $5,000 per person,” Tristan said. But each agreed it was worth every penny.
Xutong added: “Cristiano Ronaldo inspires a generation of young people to not give up easily when they face setbacks. He inspires people to be just like him — and even if their efforts sometimes do not lead to a complete perfect ending, the spirit still remains. He is a world-famous superstar and a role model for Al-Nassr and Saudi Arabian football. People may think our trip to see him and Al-Nassr play in person took a long time for travel, but I feel so privileged to have been able to do so. It really was the trip of a lifetime.”
