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Virat Kohli is the surprise retention for his team for the next three seasons, while Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir have been released by their respective franchises

Nitin Sundar08-Dec-2010

Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir are among the big names released by their IPL franchises, along with Brendon McCullum, Chris Gayle and Andrew Symonds, while Virat Kohli is the surprise retention for his team for the next three seasons. Wednesday was the deadline for the franchises to name the players they would retain from their current squads and while there is no common thread running through the choices of players retained and released, the key factors seem to be form, brand appeal and age.Kolkata Knight Riders, Deccan Chargers and Kings XI Punjab have decided not to retain any of their players, while all the other IPL franchises have held back at least one current player. Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, the 2010 finalists, have retained the maximum of four players each, in the process parting with half of the $9 million salary cap available to teams.According to the auction rules for IPL 4, teams can retain up to four players, only three of whom can be Indians. The retained players – who must have been part of the franchise’s registered squads for the 2010 season – will be valued at $1.8 million for the first player, $1.3 million for the second, $900,000 for the third and $500,000 for the fourth.Mumbai, as expected, held on to Sachin Tendulkar, the highest run-scorer of the 2010 season, offspinner Harbhajan Singh, West Indies allrounder Kieron Pollard and Sri Lanka seamer Lasith Malinga. Chennai took the Indian trio of MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and M Vijay out of the auction, in addition to South African allrounder Albie Morkel, their regular opening bowler. Delhi Daredevils retained only Virender Sehwag, meaning Gambhir – their captain for the last two seasons – is in the auction pool.The retained players

Mumbai: Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga
Chennai: MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, M Vijay, Albie Morkel
Rajasthan: Shane Warne, Shane Watson
Delhi: Virender Sehwag
Bangalore: Virat Kohli

The most interesting choice came from Royal Challengers Bangalore whose sole retention is Virat Kohli, currently on an impressive run in ODIs. There is no place for Dravid, their icon player, nor for Anil Kumble, their captain and the head of the state association. Kolkata’s decision to drop Sourav Ganguly, the biggest cricketing name to emerge from the city and the face of the franchise’s on-field persona, is a bold step.Punjab’s decision to release all their players was expected following their dismal 2010 season, which means Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Yuvraj Singh will go under the hammer.Siddhartha Mallya, owner of the Bangalore franchise, said the decision to retain just one player was backed by financial logic. “You must realise that with retention, a big chunk of your budget gets taken away,” Mallya told ESPNcricinfo. ” Mumbai and Chennai have kept four players, which means that half their budget is gone. It finally comes down to how much money one was going to lose. We have a big balance sheet but we have lost $1.8 million for keeping one player. We still have about $7-odd million left but if we had retained four then we would have had to buy virtually an entire squad with the remaining half.”Age is not a universal disqualification. It didn’t count in Tendulkar’s case, nor in that of Shane Warne, Rajasthan’s coach and captain, who was retained by Rajasthan Royals, along with Shane Watson, a day ahead of the deadline. One franchise official explained the difference: “Warne is a global brand so that only helps to promote the franchise.”If Rajasthan opted for Warne because they have always viewed the IPL as a global brand, Mumbai went with Tendulkar and Harbhajan for their popularity. Pollard and Malinga may have made the cut on account of being impact players, who have backed up their strong Twenty20 credentials with consistent performance.Sehwag’s match-winning abilities, coupled with his rapid emergence as a brand, clearly had a say in Delhi’s decision to retain him. MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina must have been shoo-ins for Chennai following their compelling IPL and international form. Vijay’s performances, coupled with his potential to attract a strong local fan-base, must have tilted the scales in his favour, while Morkel’s proven all-round skills were always going to be an asset. If there is a stranger in this crowd, it could be Kohli. Despite his owners trumpeting his recent performances, Kohli is still work in progress. But he is young, ambitious and has the youth appeal – all qualities of the UB Group’s target audience.

حقق لاعب منتخب إنجلترا، فيل فودين، رقمًا مميزًا بما قدمه في مباراة اليوم ضد منتخب السنغال في بطولة كأس العالم قطر 2022.

وتلاقى المنتخبان في إطار منافسات دور الـ16 من بطولة كأس العالم، حيث فازت إنجلترا بثلاثة أهداف دون رد.

اقرأ أيضًا.. ذا صن: عملية سطو تجبر ستيرلينج على عدم المشاركة في مباراة إنجلترا والسنغال

ونجح فيل فودين في صناعة هدفين في تلك المباراة، وهو الهدف الثاني والثالث.

وحسبما ذكرت شبكة “أوبتا” العالمية، فإن فيل فودين أصبح ثاني أصغر لاعب في تاريخ كأس العالم يصنع هدفين في مباراة واحدة في مرحلة خروج المغلوب، في البطولة.

وأوضحت أن فودين فعل ذلك في سن 22 عامًا و190 يومًا، وهو ثاني لاعب يحقق ذلك بعد الظاهرة رونالدو مع البرازيل في عام 1998 ضد الدنمارك، عندما كان يبلغ من العمر آنذاك 21 عامًا و284 يومًا.

Jonathan Trott has climbed to third in the ICC Test batsmen rankings on the back of his unbeaten century in the fourth Ashes Test; Zaheer Khan has moved to fourth in the bowlers list

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Dec-2010

Jonathan Trott, the England top-order batsman, has climbed to third in the ICC Test batsmen rankings on the back of his unbeaten century in the fourth Ashes Test at the MCG. Meanwhile, Zaheer Khan, India’s bowling spearhead, is up to fourth in the bowlers rankings after his six wickets against South Africa in Durban, and VVS Laxman moved up six places to ninth after his 96 in the same match.Trott’s 168 not out, which helped England seal an innings-and-157-run victory over Australia to retain the Ashes, takes him up from tenth in the rankings to within nine points of Sachin Tendulkar. Trott could actually overtake Tendulkar by the end of the Ashes depending on each of their performances in their next Tests.Zaheer is now joint-fourth with England fast bowler Jimmy Anderson on 752 points, while his team-mate Harbhajan Singh moved up to eighth position after also taking six wickets in Durban. Laxman’s current ranking is just one below his best-ever eighth place, which he occupied in 2001, after his 281 at Eden Gardens.Alastair Cook moved up one place to 13th and Kevin Pietersen up four to 21st in the batsmen rankings after the Melbourne Test.Australia’s top-order batsmen took a dive in the rankings, after they were bowled out for 98 and 238 at the MCG. Michael Hussey dropped four places to 10th, Shane Watson fell two spots to 15th, Michael Clarke slipped to 24th and Ricky Ponting, who has scored just 113 runs in the four Ashes Tests played so far, moved down to 29th place, one behind England captain Andrew Strauss. Peter Siddle, the Australia fast bowler, was rewarded for his 6 for 75 in Melbourne with a jump of six places to 11th in the bowlers rankings.Dale Steyn, the South Africa fast bowler, is still comfortably ahead of all competitors at the top of the bowlers rankings, after he took eight wickets in the Durban Test, but his team-mate Hashim Amla dropped out of the top ten batsmen after the 87-run loss to India.

MatériaMais Notícias

Após a derrota por 1 a 0 no último sábado no primeiro jogo da final do Campeonato Paulista, o Corinthians junta os cacos do revés, mas mantém esperança na virada contra o Palmeiras e usa o retrospecto recente contra o rival como motivação para acreditar na taça. A conta é simples: na última vez que foi ao Allianz Parque, palco da final, o Timão voltou com o resultado necessário para conquistar o bi estadual.

No ano passado, pelo primeiro turno do Brasileiro, o Corinthians fez 2 a 0 no Palmeiras no Allianz, com gols de Guilherme Arana, hoje no Sevilla (ESP), e Jadson. Na época, o Timão já era líder absoluto do campeonato e abriu 12 pontos na ponta. De quebra, passou a ter retrospecto positivo na casa do rival, com duas vitórias, um empate e uma derrota.

A outra vitória também inspira. Foi no primeiro Dérbi do Allianz, no Paulista de 2015. O Timão superou expulsão do goleiro Cássio e venceu por 1 a 0 com gol de Danilo. O mesmo resultado no domingo levaria a decisão para os pênaltis. O Timão acredita!

-É ruim perder, mas ainda tem mais uma partida. Na arena do Palmeiras vencemos a última partida com dois gols de diferença. Estamos chateados, mas não tem nada definido ainda. Eles são fortes em sua casa, mas o Corinthians pode sair com a vitória de lá – lembrou o goleiro Cássio.

O Timão também se ampara nos números deste ano. Das dez vitórias conquistadas em 21 partidas, a metade foi com resultado que daria o título no domingo. A equipe do técnico Fábio Carille bateu Bragantino (2 a 0), Deportivo Lara (2 a 0), Botafogo-SP (2 a 0), o próprio Palmeiras (2 a 0) e o São Caetano (4 a 0).. Desses, porém, só o jogo contra o Botafogo foi fora de casa, em Ribeirão Preto.

Para chegar à final, o Corinthians saiu atrás nos dois jogos e conseguiu a virada. Contra o Bragantino nas quartas e contra o São Paulo nas semis. AS duas fases, porém, foram decididas na Arena Corinthians. Desta vez, a decisão é fora, no campo do rival. Mas o Timão sabe que já saiu de lá comemorando e espera repetir isso no domingo…

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Tudo sobre

Allianz ParqueCorinthiansPalmeiras

قال عفت نصار لاعب الزمالك الأسبق إن فريق غزل المحلة كان يجب عليه احترام الأهلي، وخوض اللقاء بطريقة مختلفة.

وكان زعيم الفلاحين قد خسر أمام الأهلي على ملعبه ووسط جماهيره باستاد المحلة بهدفين دون رد، في إطار منافسات الدوري الممتاز.

وأضاف: “كان من الصعب أن يقدم فريق المحلة نفس الأداء الذي لعب به في الجولات الأولى أمام المارد الأحمر”.

طالع | ميدو يحذر جماهير الأهلي من الهجوم على الشناوي ويؤكد: تصريحات أمير مرتضى بشأن الوردي “كارثية”

وأردف: “بابا فاسيليو واجه فرقًا استطاع اللعب معها بأسلوب بداية الهجمة من أمام مرماه، وكان من الصعب مواجهة الأهلي بنفس الشكل”.

وتابع: “علي معلول ومحمد عبد المنعم من أفضل اللاعبين في تمرير الكرة، ونادرًا ما يخطئ الثنائي في الخروج بالكرة”.

وواصل: “بيراميدز بدون عبد الله السعيد يكون مختلفًا تمامًا، في التمرير أو الخروج بالكرة، بعد خروجه من الملعب امام المقاولون تغيّر شكل بيراميدز”.

واستكمل: “الأهلي لم يستفد من تواجد أليو ديانج كلاعب محترف حتى الآن، الذي يمتلك قدمًا قوية، فمثلًا حسام عاشور كان قاطع كرات رغم قلة تسجيله للأهداف، ولذلك لابد من وجود طريقة للاستفادة من اللاعب الاجنبي في الأندية الكبيرة بتسجيل الأهداف”.

واستطرد: “يجب على الأهلي استغلال ديانج بشكل مختلف، في الكرات العرضية والتسديدات من خارج منطقة الجزاء وغيرها”.

وواصل: “برونو سافيو لاعب مميز جدًا، ولديه لمحات برازيلية صغيرة، لكن إنتاجية محمد مجدي أفشة عندما يشارك تكون أفضل منه”.

واستأنف: “الزمالك لم يستفد من سامسون أكينيولا وإبراهيما نداي حتى الآن، دائمًا أشيد بأسلوب إدارة الفريق، ورغم الفوز برباعية اليوم لكن الأبيض لم يظهر بأداء أفضل”.

ضياء السيد: الأهلي استفاد من أزمة بابافاسيليو مع غزل المحلة.. وكنت محقًا في تحذيري للاعبي الاتحاد

وأكد: “الفريق فاز بإمكانيات اللاعبين فقط، المباراة أصبحت سهلة بعد هدف أحمد سيد زيزو، وكان يلعب بدون مهاجم، طلائع الجيش لم يدافع بشكل قوي، ولو لعب بأسلوب دفاعي لوجد اللاعبين صعوبة في الوصول للمرمى”.

وأتم: “لم أشاهد محترفي الزمالك الأجانب كي أقوم بتقييمهم، أؤيد قرار رحيل زكريا الوردي فهو لاعب صغير، ويحتاج إلى إثبات جدارته الشخصية، وأن يعطي إضافة للفريق، وليس العكس، هناك لاعبين أفضل منه في الزمالك، اختياره كان خاطئًا”.

واختتم: “لم يلفت نظري أي لاعب في المحلة، كانوا مظلومين في طريقة اللعب بسبب الضغط العالٍ عليهم من لاعبي الأهلي، ولم يكن لديهم أي فرص للنجاح، كان يجب تغيير طريقة اللعب والدفاع من الوسط بدل من التراجع الكبير أمام مرماهم”.

رد كريستيانو رونالدو على التقارير التي أشارت إلى أنه هدد منتخب بلاده البرتغال بمغادرة معسكر قطر، ببطولة كأس العالم المقامة حاليًا.

وخرجت صحيفة “ريكورد” البرتغالية صباح اليوم الخميس، وزعمت أن رونالدو قد هدد مدربه، فرناندو سانتوس، بمغادرة معسكر منتخب بلده، عندما علم بأنه لن يشارك أساسيًا أمام سويسرا.

وأصدر الاتحاد البرتغالي لكرة القدم بيانًا رسميًا أكد فيه أن رونالدو لم يهدد في أي وقت من الأوقات بالرحيل خلال التواجد في قطر.

قائد البرتغال بنفسه رد على تلك الشائعات، عبر حسابه بموقع التواصل الاجتماعي “تويتر”، قائلًا: “لدينا مجموعة متقاربة للغاية صعب أن يتم كسرها من قبل القوى الخارجية”.

وأضاف كريستيانو رونالدو: “لدينا أمة، فريق قوي وشجاع، ولا نخاف من أي خصم، نمثل معنى كلمة الفريق، بالمعنى الحقيقي لتلك الكلمة”.

واختتم: “سوف نقاتل على الحلم حتى النهاية، نصدق أنفسنا ولدينا القوى، هيا يا برتغال”.

ويستعد المنتخب البرتغالي لمواجهة المغرب يوم السبت في ربع نهائي كأس العالم قطر 2022، في تمام الخامسة مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة.

Um grupo demasiado unido para ser quebrado por forças externas. Uma nação demasiado corajosa para se deixar atemorizar perante qualquer adversário. Uma equipa no verdadeiro sentido da palavra, que vai lutar pelo sonho até ao fim! Acreditem connosco! Força, Portugal!🇵🇹🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/gUeENXSB5F — Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) December 8, 2022

Alastair Cook believes that Paul Collingwood will fight his way back to form in the final two Tests of England’s Ashes campaign at Melbourne and Sydney, and feels that his spirit in adversity will be a key inspiration as England seek to recover from their

Andrew Miller in Melbourne21-Dec-2010

Alastair Cook believes that Paul Collingwood will fight his way back to form in the final two Tests of England’s Ashes campaign at Melbourne and Sydney, and feels that his spirit in adversity will be a key inspiration as England seek to recover from their three-and-a-half day thrashing in the third Test at the WACA, and regain their lead in the series.Collingwood has been struggling to make an impact in the series to date, with notable failures during England’s first-day collapse in the first Test at Brisbane and then in both innings at Perth, where he was unable to contend with a fast bouncy wicket and a pumped-up Australian attack. He currently averages 16 for the series, but has made just 99 runs in his last nine Test innings, having also struggled with the moving ball in England’s home series against Pakistan.Cook, however, has seen it all before from Collingwood, who saved his Test career with a battling century against South Africa at Edgbaston in 2008, and who has been an invaluable source of resistance in England’s middle order in recent seasons – not least at Cardiff eighteen months ago, when his last-day 74 guided England most of the way to safety in a match that provided a decisive momentum shift in the 2009 Ashes.”I think we all know that when his back is right against the wall that’s when he plays his best cricket,” said Cook. “That hundred against South Africa at Edgbaston was brilliant, it was one of the best hundreds I’ve ever seen in those conditions, and when the going has got tough over the last 12 months, when we’ve been desperately trying to save a draw, Colly’s the guy who you want and has been out there. When his back’s against the wall, 99 per cent of the time he delivers the goods and it’s very good to have someone in the side like that who is a fighter.”Cook himself knows how fickle the pursuit of form can be – it was only last summer that he himself was facing the axe from England’s Test team after a string of low scores, but he turned his game around with a gutsy century in the second innings of the Oval Test against Pakistan, and then went into overdrive against Australia, racking up 450 runs in his first three innings of the series, including a career-best 235 not out at Brisbane.”I had it last summer so we all know what Colly’s going through,” said Cook. “But he looks confident when he’s training, he feels in good spirits and he’s been there a number of times before, so he knows how to come out of it and I’m sure he will.”England as a collective will have to come out of their own form dip this week, after a defeat that caught them somewhat on the hop, given how dominant they had been in Adelaide in particular, and given how toothless Australia’s attack had appeared in the absence of Mitchell Johnson, whose return to form produced one of the most spectacular spells of swing bowling in an already remarkable year for the art.Cook, however, believes that the defeat – while damaging for their immediate series prospects – will serve as a timely reminder of the unique challenges that arise on an Ashes tour, because at no stage for the rest of the tour will any situation be taken for granted. “I think it’s good for everyone [to recognise] this Australian side is very good and they got written off very quickly after we played very well at Adelaide,” he said. “But they’ve come back very well here and we’ve got the opportunity to do that in Melbourne.”We had a good meeting after the game about it, trying to put a few issues to bed,” he added. “Obviously we didn’t play very well. I thought we bowled pretty well but the batters – to get bowled out for 180-odd and 123, you’re not going to win any games with that – so it was very disappointing after what we achieved so far on the tour. It has been a tough couple of days.”It was not, as Cook admitted, the first time that England’s batting has let them down this year. In Johannesburg back in January, the top order were wiped out in seaming conditions by Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, before Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif tormented them at different stages of each of the four Tests against Pakistan.”We’ve got a little bit of a history doing it, losing wickets quickly,” said Cook. “That’s an area we’re desperately trying to improve on. I think in those first few games on this tour we’ve been very good at not doing that. So it’s disappointing it has crept back in such an important game, but sometimes a reality check is not the worst thing for us as. After scoring so many runs in those two games this wasn’t a great game to do it in, but it keeps our feet firmly on the floor.”Players tend to be very honest within the group about what we thought went wrong,” he added. “But as people know, there is no magic cure to do it, so the only way of trying [to stop that] is individually. Those first few balls you go in, that’s when it’s most dangerous, especially when momentum has built up against you. Maybe we didn’t quite recognise that quickly enough. But you have to give a lot of credit to how the opposition bowled as well.”Despite a six-wicket haul in the second innings for Ryan Harris, it was Johnson who scooped the plaudits on the bowling front, after rediscovering his ability to bend the ball at 90mph back into the right-hander. Cook insisted that they had been prepared for such a mode of attack, but the speed of their collapse on the second day, with Johnson claiming 4 for 7, suggested otherwise.”With that wind pushing it in late at 90mph, he bowled well,” said Cook. “We weren’t surprised by it but [compared to] what we saw at Brisbane, he didn’t swing it back in at all there. Then to turn it around and swing it as much as he did here, you have to give him a lot of credit for what he did [in the nets] in that game he wasn’t playing [at Adelaide]. We now have to be fully aware he can definitely do it.”Looking ahead to the Boxing Day Test, however, Cook doubted whether the pitch would offer quite the same level of assistance that Johnson found at the WACA. The three-day warm-up match against Victoria was played out on a deathly slow surface that required three declarations to make a game of it, and more recently, the MCG curator, Cameron Hodgkins, opted to prepare the second of two potential Test strips in a bid to get a surface with more grass covering.”Conditions will be different,” said Cook. “There’s some talk about the Melbourne wicket at the moment, but historically the WACA is quick and Melbourne is not as quick so it can’t change too much. It did swing last week in that warm-up game, mainly reverse swing so it will be interesting to see what the weather’s like and whether it does that again.”

MatériaMais Notícias

Joel Santana volta a explorar seu inglês (ou a falta dele) em um comercial de TV. O técnico se tornou viral na Copa das Confederações de 2009, com seu inglês pouco fluente e agora, utiliza disso agora em campanhas publicitárias. “Papai” Joel é agora protagonista do comercial da escola de idiomas “EF English Live”, ao lado da atriz Tatá Werneck.

Em uma das peças publicitárias, Joel aparece fazendo a preleção de um time misturando as palavras em inglês e português. Na outra, Joel é questionado em uma entrevista coletiva.

Confira os vídeos!

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استقبل الأمير عبدالعزيز بن تركي الفيصل وزير الرياضة السعودي، رئيس الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم “فيفا” السويسري جياني إنفانتينو وذلك في البيت السعودي في قطر على هامش كأس العالم 2022.

وقال رئيس فيفا لوزير الرياضة السعودي في مقطع فيديو منتشر عبر مواقع التواصل الاجتماعي: “لو كان الأمر بيدي لجعلت الأخضر يستمر أكثر في المونديال بسبب الحضور الجماهيري السعودي القوي في البطولة”.

اقرأ أيضا..فيديو| ياسر الشهراني: لا أتذكر إصابتي والضحك ممنوع

يذكر أن الأمير عبدالعزيز بن تركي الفيصل وزير الرياضة السعودي استقبل كذلك عددًا من مسؤولي الاتحادات الدولية لكرة القدم، وكذلك مسؤولين قطريين في منطقة البيت السعودي التي يقيمها الاتحاد السعودي لكرة القدم في كورنيش الدوحة.

وكان الأخضر السعودي ودع كأس العالم 2022 من الدور الأول بالفوز 2-1 أمام الأرجنتين ثم الخسارة 2-0 أمام بولندا والهزيمة 2-1 أمام المكسيك ليكتفي بحصد 3 نقاط في المركز الرابع بالمجموعة الثالثة.

وأعلن الاتحاد السعودي لكرة القدم استمرار الفرنسي هيرفي رينارد في منصبه وذلك عقب مشاركة الأخضر في مونديال قطر 2022.

The ICC’s anti-corruption tribunal will hear closing statements from the ICC and the three players in the spot-fixing hearing from Monday and is expected to reach a verdict on Tuesday

Osman Samiuddin in Doha09-Jan-2011

The endgame has begun at the ICC’s hearing into the spot-fixing inquiry involving three players from Pakistan. The anti-corruption tribunal will hear closing statements from the ICC and lawyers for Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir from Monday and is expected to reach a verdict on Tuesday.Sunday, day four of the hearings taking place in Doha, Qatar, began with the completion of the cross-examination of former captain Butt by the ICC’s lawyers. The focus then shifted to Amir who presented his defence, questioned first by his lawyer Shahid Karim before Jonathon Taylor and Ian Higgins, the ICC’s lawyers, began their questioning; Amir used an interpreter, who was present through the hearings.It is believed that the broad strategy of Amir’s defence relies on the burden of proof being on the ICC to prove their case. Indications throughout, reinforced by those familiar with the case, have been that a previously unblemished disciplinary record, and his youth, might be played upon to buffer against potential sanctions; the possibility of precisely such mitigating circumstances is present in the ICC’s anti-corruption code of conduct.Such a strategy would be, legal practitioners in Pakistan observe, entirely in keeping with Karim’s reputation as an astute litigation expert. Nevertheless, Amir’s day of questioning is thought to have been middling, neither disastrous nor outstanding for his prospects.But as the days pass and a picture of proceedings slowly emerges from a hearing which has, in the fullest sense, been held behind closed doors, it appears that the equation between Butt and Asif could be vital to how events pan out.Already it has played a part. In their opening remarks on the first day, it was reported by the , Asif and Butt’s reasons behind the deliberate, pre-planned no-balls allegedly bowled in the Lord’s Test last year differed. It also emerged that Butt, as well as being cross-examined by the ICC’s lawyers, was also questioned by Asif’s lawyer Alexander Cameron. Significantly, Amir was not questioned by either Butt’s or Asif’s lawyer on Sunday.Butt’s own defence had what was described as a “tough” cross-examination on Saturday. There are suggestions also that the questioning of one particular witness by Butt’s lawyer Yasin Patel earlier in the hearing may have hurt his client’s stance. In any case, the equation is likely to become clearer on Monday, when Asif begins his defence and will presumably be open to questioning by the ICC as well as Patel.Butt and Amir left together at the end of a day that extended nearly half an hour beyond its scheduled time. Asif, as has become usual, was the last to leave and he arrived on Sunday nearly one and a half hours before the hearing began at its scheduled time of 9 30am.After Asif completes his defence, both the ICC and the players’ lawyers will be expected to make their closing statements – and the former appear perky enough ahead of it – before the three-man tribunal of Michael Beloff QC, Justice Albie Sachs and Sharad Rao deliberate over the verdicts.