Sanchez Mikhitayran Swap Deal

Sanchez Mikhitayran Swap Deal.

Arsenal and Manchester United have agreed to swap Alexis Sanchez and Henrik Mikhitaryan, who will thrive post this deal?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQSHpozOZg8

India seal first ODI series win on SA soil

India seal first ODI series win on SA soil

Rohit Sharma's 115 aids India to a 73-run victory over South Africa in 5th ODI in Port Elizebeth.

Having been 3-1 In the series, Virat Kohli and India were looking to wrap up their first one day international series win in South Africa for 25 years.

It was the Proteas who wan the toss and put the Indians in to bat on what looked a slow pitch. The tourists got of to a decent start with Shikhar Dhawan hitting some glorious drives through the covers. Rohit Sharma also began to hit some boundaries. 

Both openers looked in scintillating form until Dhawan went for a ambitious hook shot that went straight into the hands of Andile Phehlukwayo at deep square leg with the score on 48-1.      

Kohli and Shama managed to calm things down, but history shows that both these batsman have a tendency to run each other out and this proved to be the case yet again as the as the captain was run out by the vice captain for 36 runs. 

The chaos continued when Ajinkya Rahane was also run out after facing 18 balls for just eight runs, Sharma the culprit once again.

Luckily, this did not have a massive impact on Sharma as the 'Hitman' drove his way to a splendid 115 runs of 126 balls, with some useful contributions from Shreyas Iyer who scored 30 from 37, MS Dhoni who scored 13 from 17 and Bhuvneshwar Kumar who scored 19 off 20. This meant that India were able set competitive a target of 275 for South Africa to level the series.

In pursuit of the target, The Proteas got of to a good start scoring 52 runs in 9.4 overs without losing a wicket, then came a flurry of wickets. Aiden Markram was the first man to go as he hit one straight  to Kohli at mid-wicket. Markram was given a life earlier by Iyer but the South African stand in skipper could only manage to score 32 runs. JP Duminy was the next man in, but didn't last long as Hardik Pandya managed to find the outside edge of the left hander's bat and Sharma took a good catch at slip.      

Ab de Villiers was the next man to go soon after for just 6 runs. Hardik Pandya claimed his second scalp as de Villiers was caught behind by MS Dhoni while attempting to play a square cut leaving the score on 65-3. This was a crucial wicket as de Villiers is one of South Africa's top batman, especially in the one day and twenty20 format. 

Their was then a partnership of 82 between Hashim Amla and David Miller. The duo seamed to have things under control until Miller ran down the wicket and was clean bowled by leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal followed by Amla being run out by Pandya with the score on 166 for 5. This was the start of yet another collapse from the rest of the South African batting line up as the spin twins Chahal and Kuldeep continued to torment and bamboozle the middle to lower order. Both the wrist spinners claimed the last five wickets for 35 runs including a freakish one handed catch by Pandya to dismiss Tabraiz Shamsi which meant that India won the match by 73 runs  taking the six-match series 4-1 with with one game remaining.

For his splendid hundred, Sharma was announced man of the match. Captain Kohli was also delight with the series win over the Proteas 'It's a wonderful feeling to have created some history. The guys really got stuck in, with the bat and the ball and in the field as well."     

   

History vs Future of Indian Cricket

History vs Future of Indian Cricket 

Ever since their first World Cup victory in 1983, India has produced some of the greatest cricketers in world cricket. Whether it be bowler or batsman, the talent has always been there. So who are the Indian cricketers that have made a name for themselves on the big stage?

Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar, one of India's greatest opening batsman and captains was the first cricketer to score over 10,000 runs in test cricket. Making his debut in 1971 against West Indies, Gavaskar went on to score 35 international centuries which consisted of 34 in tests and just one in one day internationals.  Historically, Indian batsmen were not comfortable playing against fast bowling as they were brought up to play spin bowling. However, in one of India's home series in 1983, the year in which they won their first World Cup, Gavaskar produced one of hist greatest test centuries against the lethal and devastating West Indian pace attack, that included the likes of Micheal Holding: hooking, cutting and pulling them to all parts of the Feroz Shah Kotla ground in Delhi.   

Kapil Dev

Referring back to pace bowling, Kapil Dev was another of India's greatest cricketers. He was an all-rounder as well as another of the country's finest captains who lifted their first World Cup in 1983.  Dev adapted an aggressive style of cricket and was the catalyst for breeding young fast bowlers for India. Nowadays, India have that base covered with the likes of Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Under-19 star Kamlesh Nagarkoti.  But besides his ability to bowl with pace, he was just as destructive with the bat. Scoring 5248 runs at an average of 31.05 and taking 434 wickets at an average of 29.64, Dev was regarded as one of cricket's greatest all-rounders.

Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar, 'The Little Master' as he is well known as. Who would of thought that a 16-year old boy from the streets of Mumbai would go on to have such a incredible career as he has. 100 international centuries, a World Cup, being the leading run scorer in both Tests and one day internationals as well as being the first player on the planet to score a double century in a one day international,  who could of ask for more? Tendulkar is not just an icon in India but in world cricket also. A true gentleman of the game.

MS Dhoni 

Who can forget this guy? Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a superstar in India. Dhoni is one of or perhaps India's greatest wicketkeeper batsman and captain. He may have given up on Test cricket, but what a phenomenal career he has had so far, especially in the one day and twenty20 formats. Leading India to their first 20-over World Cup and second 50-over World Cup, who could ask for more from the 'Helicopter'?

Virat Kohli

Also known as 'King Kohli' or 'Cheeku'. The current India captain just seems to get better and better as a a cricketer. Having broken Tendulkar's record of the number of centuries at the age of 29 including 6 test match double centuries, the most by an Indian Player in test cricket, Kohli is certainly making a name for himself not just in Indian cricket but in world cricket also. The fact that he is 30, he still has lots of cricket left in him. Who knows what he could achieve throughout the remainder of his career. 

Hardik Pandya

Since the retirement of Dev, India have found it difficult to find a seam bowing all-rounder until this guy turned up. Although he isn't in the best of form with both bat and ball, he still has tremendous belief in himself, which is why he is still in the current one day and test squad.  Pandya  is not the only seam bowling all-rounder India have their sleeve, their are still some candidates who are willing to take up this role. One of those candidates is Vijay Shankar from
Tamil Nadu. In terms of bowling, Pandya has taken 68 wickets in international cricket, this includes all three formats. Shankar, who is yet to play international cricket, has taken 67 wickets in domestic league cricket, this also include all three formats. 

Future Prospects

Having just won their fourth Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand, India have found some more talent with bat and ball. Shubman Gill and Captain Prithvi Shaw were the two batsman who stood out for me during the majority of the tournament. The most impressive thing was their ability to time the ball by playing proper cricketing shots. Shaw was born in Mumbai where he also started playing junior cricket. Mumbai is also famous for producing talented cricketers like Tendulkar, Gavaskar and Rohit Sharma. Gil on the other hand was born in Fazilka, a small town in the state of Punjab in northern India. Gil scored a total of 372 runs throughout the tournament, making him the second highest scorer behind Alick Athanaze who scored 418. 

It will be interesting to see how these young talented cricketers perform in the 2018 Indian Premier League season. Will these youngsters be able to catch the eye of the Indian selectors for the upcoming tours to Ireland and England?   I admire the way Gil plays spin bowling, it's very similar to Kohli's style of play with the fine use of the sub-continental wrists and nifty footwork. 

India seal dramatic win despite series defeat

India seal dramatic win despite series defeat

India beat South Africa by 63 runs to avoid series whitewash and maintain number 1 ranking in Tests. 

Having lost the first two Test matches in Cape Town and Centurion, Virat Kohli and his men were desperate to set things right in Johannesburg. South Africa on the other hand were aiming for a 3-0 series whitewash in order to leapfrog India at the top of the test match rankings. 

It was the Indians who won the toss and decide to bat first on a pitch which looked difficult to bat on and that proved to be the case as the tourists were bundled out for just 187 with Kohli being the top scorer with 54 runs including another crucial 50 runs from Cheteshwar Pujara. 

With a low score on the board, everybody especially the Indian cricket fans thought that this was going to be the same old story as the previous test, but the Indians had other ideas. 

It was India's pace attack who were determined to pull things back and they did so with a stunning performance by a stunning bowling performance from Jasprit Bumrah who took 5 wickets for 54 runs where South Africa could only manage a first innings score of 194, which gave them a slender lead of just 7 runs.  

India then had to bat on a really tricky and worn out pitch, where they managed to get a score of 247 which gave South Africa a target of 240 runs for victory.

The tourists got of to the perfect start with Mohammad Shami removing Aiden Markram who nicked a ball on off stump that bounced more than he expected, Parthiv Patel the man behind the stumps took a good low catch to his right.

The pitch then started to misbehave and put doubts in the batsman's mind. With the score on 17-1, left handed opener Dean Elgar was then struck on the helmet by Bumrah from a ball that was pitched just short of a good length. Because of this,  play had to be called of on the fourth day due to a dangerous pitch. This did not please the Indians at all as they felt that while they were batting, they had to face similar conditions, so why not the Proteas. 

Play did however, resume the following day, after an hour delay due to rain. The proteas managed to see out the  first session with out losing a wicket with the score on 67-1.

Post lunch, Elgar and Hashim Amla steadied the ship for the the first half hour before Amla chipped the ball straight to Hardik Pandya who took a fine catch diving to his right from the bowling of Ishant Sharma.

Ab de Villiers was the next man to go. The number 2 ranked one day batsman received an absolute snorter from Bumrah, which hit his glove and flew straight into the safe hands of Ajinkya Rahane at gully leaving the score on 131-3.

Post de Villiers's wicket, the rest of the South African batting lineup were blown away as India managed to pick up the remaining seven wickets for just 46 runs, sealing a tremendous victory for Kohli and his boys as it was their first Test victory outside the sub-continent since 2014, where they beat England at Lords.         

For his magnificent display of bowling taking 3 crucial wickets in both innings plus a crucial knock of 30 runs, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was accredited man of the match.

Vernon Philander was accredited man of the series for picking up the most wickets in the three Tests.

Kohli was extremely glad to win the final Test in South Africa. 'A lot of people didn't have belief in us but as a team we knew that we were very close in the first two Tests too. We knew that if we played better in pressure-situations than them, then we would win," he said. "And we did that in this Test match. This win was very important from our and the Indian team's point of view, and we were determined to win this match,' 

This is the start of what will be a very important year for team India as they still have two massive tours to both England and Australia. It will be fascinating to see how Kohli and his troops cope with the pressure of attempting to achieve success overseas, especially in the test format, which is something that they will want to put forward in both tours.

The Development of Disability Sport

The Development of Disability Sport

Before the late 1900s Disability sport was considered to be very rare in the world of sport. But after the second world war, when the first Paralympics were held in 1960 in Rome, there was a possibility that the severely injured soldiers who had survived the war, could still achieve something in their lives, especially in sport. This was the turning point for sport and disability to come together as another identity sports participation.

According to 'Sport England', disability sport is still facing some barriers even though it plays a major role for sport in the UK. One of the barriers is coaching in the sense that it is sometimes difficult fo a coach to teach and monitor a group of physically disabled people than it is for a group of able bodied people for reasons such as health and safety. But since the 2012 Paralympic Games, this has changed drastically.

Whether it's do with funding for coaches or something similar, this seams to be one of the main issues discussed quite frequently in the disability sports world. According to prospectus .ac.uk, the average salary for a Senior Sports Coach who is employed under national governing bodies is between £30,000 and £35,000. The average salary for newly qualified Sports Coaches is from £15,000 to £25,000 and for amateur coaches it starts from £10.

A wide range of disabled people such as myself have competed in a variety of disability sports such as wheelchair football, basketball and Boccia, which is a sport similar to bowls. Participating in sports gives disabled people the freedom to express themselves and to show people who they are as an individual in regards to playing sport.

I remember taking part in the 'Panathlon Challenge', which is a national charity competition which was originally set up by Businessman and Philanthropist Jack Petchey for schools with special needs students from all over London to come and showcase their skills and abilities in regards to sports participation. This event is like a mini Paralympic games, which one lasts one whole day. Each special needs school from each borough of London e.g Croydon and Bromley come together and compete against each other in a series of Paralympic sport related games. This includes sports such as: Boccia, New Age Kurling, Polybat (disabled version of table tennis) and Table Cricket(specially adapted cricket for Cerebral Palsy)which is the sport I competed in during those events and obtained four medals,  one gold, one sliver, one bronze and one for 5th place.

Many people such as myself can learn a lot about sports and especially sports participation by attending these events. it is a great opportunity to collaborate as well as competing with other athletes who have similar disabilities. Having participated in these events, I was able to believe that anything possible in sport and no matter who you are, you can still achieve success in life. 

One of my early memories of sports participation was the first and only time I met the Queen, which at the London Youth Games in 2002,  I was astonished when I heard that her Majesty will be giving out the medals when my school won the Regional B
occia Championships which were prat of the Youth Games. We were even on the front page of the local newspaper so for me, this has to be one of my best memories in sports participation.

One of the more common disability sports is wheelchair basketball in which I have had ago at. It may not have the same pace as a regular basketball game, but for me, it was quite satisfying to have a go at, as it is good to experiment and try different things. This enables you to judge who you are as an individual and find out what you are good at and what areas do you need to improve on in terms of participating in sports.   

One of the biggest barriers that occur in disability sport is its popularity in the sense that other than the Paralympics, you rarely get to see any disability sports events on television as you do for regular Olympic sports such as athletics and football, you have to either stream it online or attend a live event. This is largely to do with the lack of global interest in Paralympic sport. It is quite rare that you see a disabled person only watching disability sports, they are pretty much like regular sports fans who enjoy watching regular sports such as football or cricket.   

On the plus side, it's good to see that disabled people such as myself are still willing to be involved in sport, as we have the passion and desire to do so. There is no point getting into sports without the desire to succeed and enjoy it, and that's why I love it. 

Is VAR improving football?

Is VAR improving football?

Over the past years, professional football has witnessed some controversial decisions on the pitch. From disallowed goals to harsh sending offs. The game is desperately trying to resolve these issues from getting out of control.    

In last night's goalless Carabao Cup semi-final first leg tie between Arsenal and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, there was an incident inside Arsenal's penalty box where Chelsea's Cesc Fabregas was brought down by Arsenal's Danny Welbeck. However,  referee  Martin Atkinson's decision to not award a penalty to the Blues was backed up by the newly introduced Video Assistant Referee system which is currently a trial in progress. 

It is said that the whole point of VAR was put in place to avoid giving wrong decisions in which are obvious according to the rules of the game this includes: goals, direct red cards or mistaken identity as was the case with Kieran Gibbs when it really was Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlin who should have been sent off for Arsenal against Chelsea four seasons ago.   

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte praised the new Video Assistant Referee system which was in use for the second time since it was introduced.  "I am very positive about VAR because when there is a big doubt during the game it is right the referee and the other referee watch the video to check and make the best decision,"

Conte also added "I think everyone wants less mistakes during the game and I think this could be very positive for sure." 

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger was also in favour of the VAR system "It was . It was a cause of anxiety as it took a bit of time to make the second decision with Welbeck and Fabregas, but overall it worked well."But between the penalty action or penalty not action, with the time taken it would have been strange to come back to the penalty."

The quotes from both managers sums up the positive side of using the new VAR system, but are there any negatives? You could supposedly say that time could be a factor but on the other hand if the referee and video assistant referee are quick enough to make the right  decision, this should not be a factor at all.  

On the plus side, everybody seams to be happy with the goal-line technology system as their are no longer any huge debates or controversies regarding goals and goals which have been  disallowed when the ball has clearly crossed the line.

So, is there really a case to say that VAR is improving football? The answer right now is it yes probably is, although this is still largely debatable as  Crystal Palace supporters may argue that Glen Murray's goal should not have stood as it looked as if the former Palace striker may have handled the ball, but referee Andre Marriner chose to let the goal stand after consulting with his video assistant about the hand-ball incident.

Maybe this is a case of the FA looking back at their decision to introduce VAR and to continue to monitor its progress to see if it really works out or not. Only then we can prove that it works out or not.       

FA cup 4th Round Preview

FA CUP 4^TH Round Draw

The third round is almost beyond us and we have been treated to a major shock as Nottingham Forest stunned Arsenal in a 4-2 victory at the City Ground. Arsene Wenger's decision to go with a weaker team proved to be very costly indeed.

So here are thee top clashes for the 4th round draw:

Yeovil Town vs Manchester United

What a draw this is for Yeovil Town. Up against the might of Mourinho's Red Devils. Yeovil Town are currently two places outside the relegation zone in League Two. Manchester United are in second place in the Premier League with a 15 point gap behind leaders Manchester City. On paper, this should be a straightforward win for United, but are we in for another shock from The Glovers.

Newport County  vs Tottenham Hotspur 

Harry Kane is having a sensational season in the Premier League. The Spurs and England striker has recently made history by breaking Alan Shearer's record of scoring 37 goals, which is the most Premier League goals scored in a calendar year. but it's not just Kane Newport County need to be wary of, Spurs are packed with plenty of stars such as Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Fernando Llorente in their attacking armoury. Newport County on the other hand are 11th in League 2. The Exiles have won two of their last five games, will they be able to stop the Spurs from 'marching in'. 

Middlesborough vs Brighton & Hove Albion 

Middlesborough vs Brighton & Hove Albion should be an interesting tie to watch. The Boro are in 8th place, just out side the playoff places in the EFL Championship. The Seagulls are have a pretty good season in the Premier League and are currently in 12th place. Chris Hughton and his men will be full of confidence going into this tie but can the Borough under new manger Tony Pulis spark another upset.  

Liverpool vs West Bromwich Albion  
Liverpool vs West Bromwich Albion is a an intriguing Premier League clash. As head to head statistics show that both teams have won a similar amount of games against each other. Who knows what type of game we will get. Liverpool still seam to be fragile at the back although they have just signed Virgil van Dijk. Can he and the Reds Get past the Albion. West Brom on the other hand haven't made the best of starts under new manager Alan Pardew. The Baggies have not won a league game since the opening day of the season, will they come out on top in this tie or will Jurgen Klopp's side add more misery to Pardew's side.   

Cardiff City vs Manchester City
Manchester City are in dreamland under Pep Guardiola. The Sky Blues are a whopping 10 points clear at the top of the Premier League. Cardiff City on the other hand are third in the Sky Bet Championship. On previous meetings between these to teams, Guardiola's side have only lost nine out of 49 games, Cardiff City have only won nine. Will they be able to make it ten or will the Premier League leaders show them who the boss is?

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