All posts by h716a5.icu

Zulqarnain Haider confirmed that he had received threats from unidentified people following his team’s one-wicket win in the fourth ODI against South Africa and was told to get in line for the fifth match

Osman Samiuddin09-Nov-2010In his first public comments since fleeing from Dubai and arriving in London on Monday, Pakistan wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider has confirmed that he received threats from unidentified people following his team’s one-wicket win in the fourth ODI against South Africa and was told to get in line for the fifth match. As a result of the threats Haider – who is seeking some sort of protection in the UK – has announced his retirement from cricket.”The way my situation is right now I am retiring from international cricket,” Haider (24) said. “There is too much pressure on me, I have received threats, my family has received threats.”The issue of threats brings the matter within the ICC’s purview, and its chief executive Haroon Lorgat said the governing body was in regular contact with the PCB. “Clearly this is in the first instance a team matter for Pakistan cricket but the ICC is willing to provide assistance to the PCB and the player,” said Lorgat. “We understand his plight if reports are indeed true, but we can only help if he is willing to engage with us.”Lorgat did concede, though, that Haider erred in not informing the ACSU. “I think we have to build the confidence amongst the players that the right thing to do is to speak to the ACSU officials if they have got anything that they want to declare,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “I don’t think it was wise of him to have done what he did, because it doesn’t solve the problems for him as well and the right thing would have been to speak to the ACSU.”Haider outlined his encounter with the person who approached him, without giving too much detail. “When I went out of the hotel to eat dinner once, he came up. He was alone but I felt there were two to three people behind him. I can describe him. He spoke Urdu but I cannot describe the accent accurately. He said you will make lots of money if you join us and help us. If not, then staying in the team could be difficult and we can make things difficult for you. I don’t know why I was approached and others weren’t.”Speaking to Geo, a leading Pakistani news channel, Haider was guarded about events of the previous 24 hours but seemed to indicate that he had sought some kind of “protection” from British authorities. He is thought to have been detained at Heathrow by immigration authorities for nearly four hours, before he moved to an undisclosed location.”The fourth ODI, the things I was told to do I didn’t, and the fifth ODI, what they wanted done I didn’t do,” Haider said. “That is why I did what seemed right to me and I came here. I can’t tell what kind of threats I received to the country because my family is still in Pakistan.”When asked further about the nature of these threats and who they might have come from, Haider was unwilling and unable to reveal much more. “I am not accusing anyone of being a match-fixer. I only got one guy telling me that if you can’t do this or that, there will be problems, or fix the fourth of fifth ODI. I don’t want to say who it is, neither do I know so much about who it is. I have only played two-three ODIs.” Asked specifically if he thought players within the team were involved, he said, “I am not saying they are or are not. Only God knows that. But I did what I thought was better for everyone. I just didn’t want to sell my country, my mother. The country is like your mother and if you sell that you are nothing.”Haider also confirmed that he took his passport from the team management on the pretext of buying a SIM card for his mobile and left on Monday morning. Questions have been raised by a number of former players and board officials themselves about why he didn’t approach the board first to report the threats, as is required by the anti-corruption code of conduct. “I felt if I told them, it would get worse for me and my family so I thought to come here. I know about British rules as I have been coming here for the last nine to ten years. They protect you.”If I had told the PCB or players, it would’ve gotten out and then who knows? I don’t feel it would’ve been better to tell anyone or authorities there. If I had told any of the other players, it might have put them in trouble also.”Though he didn’t confirm that he had sought asylum in the UK, he did strongly indicate that he was seeking some form of protective status. “I cannot say where I am. I am not in a detention centre. Immigration authorities helped me a lot. The British government is such that if you are on the right path, they will protect you. They have rules [as far as asylum is concerned] and you can’t enter until you have given reasons why. Immigration asked me what I would do. According to the rules they said go like this but hire a government lawyer. I don’t have money right now to hire a private one but if this is the cost of walking on the right path, then so be it, I will bear it.”As the interview went on, Haider became emotional, ending it with a plea that his family – currently in Lahore – be helped and protected. “Help my family somehow. If it can be done, send my family here. For their security. I have my daily wages from the South Africa series and that is it. I will communicate with someone to see if they can help me financially.”Haider has not yet contacted the Pakistan High Commission in London. “We are not involved. Not to my knowledge. He [Haider] has not approached us as yet,” an official at the High Commission said. When asked if the Pakistan board had approached them, he did not confirm or deny, saying that the “PCB should be handling it.”Pakistan’s sports minister Ijaz Hussain Jakhrani, however, said the country’s government didn’t support Haider’s actions. “The government will not support any move from Zulqarnain to get asylum in the UK. We don’t support his actions and believe he should have come to us if he was under threat from anyone,” Jakhrani said. “He didn’t have confidence in the national team management or board (PCB). We don’t want to interfere in the internal matters of the board but we certainly want to know why this has happened as it affects the image of the country.”ESPNcricinfo understands the PCB discussed various options of dealing with the matter, including contacting the high commission in the UK and asking them to offer Haider protection. This suggestion, however, was overruled. Haider’s family in Lahore said he has not been in touch with them since his arrival in the UK.

Having sealed the series 4-0, India’s bowling consultant Eric Simons has said the team planned to some key players for the fifth match against New Zealand in Chennai

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Dec-2010Having sealed the series 4-0, India’s bowling consultant Eric Simons has said the team planned to rest some of its key players for the fifth match against New Zealand. India played Praveen Kumar, Rohit Sharma and Saurabh Tiwary in the previous game in Bangalore, which meant that everyone in the 14-member squad had played at least once in the series.”There are no injury concerns,” Simons said. “No one is ruled out but if we don’t play anybody tomorrow, it will be more of a precautionary measure because we leave for South Africa in a few days time. We are not experimenting, and will pick the best team we can.”India’s young team has ticked most of the boxes during this series, giving the side strong momentum ahead of the World Cup. Yuvraj Singh’s indifferent form with the bat, though, remains an area of concern. Despite getting starts in most games, he has managed only 78 runs in the series but Simons was not too bothered by the numbers.”Yuvraj was under tremendous pressure the other day [in the fourth match] but his shot selection was pretty good,” Simons said. “I am quite happy with the way he played. He was striking the ball pretty well. He is clearing the boundary with ease and that proves he is timing the ball well, and batting with confidence.”Simons was also full of praise for Yusuf Pathan, who forced his name into World Cup selection debates with a match-winning century in Bangalore. “Lots of people talk about Yusuf’s power but what excited me more was his temperament between the boundaries,” Simons said. “That is something he has added to his repertoire and augurs well for him as a number seven batsmen.”Apart from Yusuf, fringe players like Virat Kohli, R Ashwin, Parthiv Patel and Rohit Sharma have also grabbed the opportunites that have come their way, and Simons said their performances could leave the selectors with too many choices.”When the World Cup team is selected, a number of guys will be in contention because players are putting up their hands,” he said. “It is a very exciting time for coaches and selectors. It is tremendous to see Parthiv Patel working hard for a place. It develops healthy competition among the entire squad. Ashwin has been very encouraging. He has different variations in his bowling which plays a key factor in the slog overs. I think he is moving forward with each performance.”Simons, however, admitted that the bowling in the end overs was still a worry for the side and that it would be one of the major focus areas leading up to the World Cup.

Nottingham Forest face a crisis after Lewis Grabban was forced off through injury in yesterday’s 1-0 win over Peterborough United.

Promotion chasing Forest have been without Grabban for the majority of the year, after he suffered an ankle injury at the end of January. He has only recently returned so to see him out injured again is a huge setback for Steve Cooper’s side.

With their victory the club have taken a big stride towards securing a top six finish, they currently sit fourth in the Championship on 73 points. Since Cooper took over as boss at The City Ground, Forest have been in exceptional form and sit second only to already promoted Fulham.

Grabban came on as a substitute yesterday for the goal scorer Sam Surridge but then had to come off in the 89th minute.

The 34-year old has contributed massively this season making 32 appearances and being directly involved in 16 goals. If they are to be without him for the rest of the season then it could seriously affect their hopes of being promoted to the Premier League.

When Cooper was asked about the injury he told Nottinghamshire Live: “He was clear straight away that he needed to come off. We’ve got our fingers crossed for him.”

His contract expires this summer and whether or not he stays might be dependent on Forest’s promotion chase. He has experience of playing in the Premier League for both Norwich City and Bournemouth, however, he’s always failed to replicate the form he’s shown at Championship level and at his age now it may be asking too much.

Not keeping him on will also allow the club to save on their wage bill with the former Jamaican international on a wage of £25k-per-week.

The injury adds to the list of dilemmas that Cooper faces, with on-loan Aston Villa star Keenan Davis also out meaning Surridge is the only recognised senior striker at the club who’s fit.

The Reds haven’t been in the top flight since the turn of the century and many would like to see them make a return due to the history and stature of the club.

IN other news: Nottingham Forest set for disaster on Djed Spence…

Leeds United have been handed a potentially huge boost ahead of their Premier League meeting with Arsenal this Sunday.

What’s the latest?

In comments made before Leeds’ 4-0 defeat against Manchester City on Saturday (via The Mirror), Jesse Marsch revealed that he expects the centre-forward, who has not featured since rupturing his plantar fascia in the 3-2 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers in March, to return to the pitch this week – something that would appear to suggest the 28-year-old could be in line for a return to action against Arsenal this weekend.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-leeds-united-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-and-much-more” title=”Read the latest Leeds United news and rumours!”]

Regarding the England international’s recovery from injury, the 48-year-old manager said: “Patrick has been making progress and we are still hopeful we can see him later in the season. I suspect and probably expect that he will be on the pitch next week. Let’s see and we have to be cautious, but we are all optimistic about Patrick at this point.”

Marsch will be buzzing

Considering how important a part of the Leeds side Bamford has proven himself to be in recent years, the news that the striker looks as if he could make a return to first-team football sooner rather than later is sure to have left Marsch buzzing.

While a series of injuries have severely hampered the 28-year-old’s game time this season – having made just nine appearances in the Premier League, over which he has scored two goals – the forward’s returns last time out demonstrated just how crucial he is in the Whites attack.

Indeed, over his 38 Premier League fixtures last term, the £18m-rated hitman highly impressed throughout Leeds’ first campaign back in the top flight, bagging 17 goals, providing seven assists and creating five big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.8 shots and making 0.8 key passes per game.

These returns saw the £74k-per-week Englishman average a very respectable SofaScore match rating of 7.01, ranking him as the Whites’ seventh-best player in the league – playing a key role in Leeds securing a top-half finish.

As such, should Bamford be able to refind this level of goalscoring form upon his return to action, the centre-forward could well prove to be the difference between survival and relegation back to the second tier of English football come the end of the season.

AND in other news: Huge blow: Leeds dealt setback as early Arsenal team news emerges, Marsch surely livid

Cricket Kenya has announced preparations for next year’s World Cup will conclude in India by playing friendly matches against regional teams including Gujarat and Baroda

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Dec-2010Cricket Kenya has announced preparations for next year’s World Cup will conclude in India by playing friendly matches against regional teams including Gujarat and Baroda.They will then head to the UAE to take part in a training camp organised by the ICC which starts on January 28.Cricket Kenya’s chief executive Tom Sears said he hoped Jonty Rhodes, who worked successfully with the Kenyans earlier this year, would be in Dubai to link up again. “There’s no doubt our players have learnt a tremendous amount from him and his input can make a real difference to our overall performance.”The team returns to India after Dubai for the tournament proper, and is likely to face West Indies and Netherlands in warm-up matches.

Despite an extensive meeting of the PCB’s integrity committee, Pakistan’s selectors failed to finalise a 15-man squad for the ODI series against New Zealand or a list of 30 probables for the 2011 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Dec-2010Despite an extensive meeting of the PCB’s integrity committee, Pakistan’s selectors failed to finalise a 15-man squad for the ODI series against New Zealand or a list of 30 probables for the 2011 World Cup. Though the board has been given till January 5 by the ICC to announce the World Cup probables, it was thought the selectors would have announced squads on Friday.”We had lengthy discussions on performance and availability of many players,” chief selector Mohsin Khan said after a meeting with fellow selectors on Friday. “We were of the opinion that since we still have a few days before the deadline for announcing the World Cup Squad it would be better to wait until there is absolute clarity from PCB on the availability for selection of certain players.”The players Khan refers to are Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal and Danish Kaneria. The trio appeared in front of the integrity committee on Thursday. The players submitted further documents detailing financial and property records and were spoken to individually by members of the committee.The committee is considering whether or not to clear the players for future selection for Pakistan assignments. The three have not played for Pakistan in any format since the summer tour to England, having not been cleared for selection by the integrity committee. Though the board has made no official comment and not charged the players, it is understood it has concerns about the trio.Accordingly, none have been picked for various squads; Kaneria was in the Test squad for the South Africa series but was prevented from travelling by the board to the UAE at the very last minute. Akmal even wrote to the ICC to ask whether he was the subject of any corruption inquiry or case and was subsequently told there was nothing on him.The announcement of both squads has now been deferred till early next week.On Thursday, the integrity committee also spoke with Yasir Hameed. The opener apologised to the board over his conversation with an undercover reporter in September during a sting operation conducted by , where he was recorded talking about the three players – Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir – suspected of being involved in spot-fixing. Hameed hasn’t been part of the national team since that tour of England.”I was trapped into it but I should not have said all that before a stranger and I apologise to all the players who were hurt because of that,” Hameed told .During the course of the video, Hameed discussed the fall-out of the spot-fixing controversy, the Sydney Test and Hameed’s claim that a bookie approached him during the 2004 Champions Trophy in England.Hameed, who claimed the man he was speaking to in the video had posed as a representative of a global airline trying to discuss a sponsorship deal, had denied speaking to and said he was merely repeating information from the original reports in the same newspaper when the story on the controversy broke.In his statement, Hameed said that after discussing sponsorship deals, the man he knew by the name of Abid Khan, offered him a sum of £25,000 to give a statement against his three team-mates who found themselves at the centre of the controversy to which Hameed said, he, “immediately refused and put the phone down. I was neither called nor answered any calls from Abid after this conversation.”

Tottenham Hotspur insider John Wenham has suggested that there is set to be more talk over the signing of West Brom goalkeeper Sam Johnstone over the coming weeks, before an offer is officially made.

The Lowdown: Johnstone wants to join Spurs

The 29-year-old’s current contract at the Hawthorns is set to expire at the end of the season, and Baggies manager Steve Bruce has admitted that it’s likely the club will allow him to leave when his deal ends, sparking interest from plenty of potential Premier League suitors, one of those being the Lilywhites.

Football Insider revealed just last month that the shot-stopper is claimed to have told friends that he wants to seal a switch to north London this summer, and with Spurs reportedly having no plans to convert Pierluigi Gollini’s loan deal into a permanent one, Wenham is expecting talks between the player and club to majorly increase ahead of the end of May.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-newest-updates/” title=”Tottenham newest updates…” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Latest: Tottenham set to approach

When asked for an update on Johnstone’s transfer situation, Wenham told Football Insider: “Tottenham can’t officially approach him until 30 May.

“I think in the days before then and certainly the days after we will hear a lot more talk and have a much clearer picture of what is going on.

“We know Tottenham are very interested, he ticks a lot of boxes and it lines up with Gollini going back to Atalanta at the end of the season.

“I have always said I would rate the signing as he is a Premier League quality keeper coming in on a free.”

The Verdict: Competition for Lloris

The three-cap international has enjoyed a hugely successful spell with the Midlands outfit since arriving in a £6.5m move from Manchester United four years ago, where he’s made 167 club appearances and kept a total of 45 clean sheets during that time, as per Transfermarkt.

Last campaign, Johnstone, who has been hailed a “fantastic” player by Sky Sports pundit Kevin Phillips, picked up both the Albion’s Players’ Player of the Season and Supporters’ Player of the Season awards, showing just how much of a positive influence he can have on a team.

If Antonio Conte does manage to bring his 6 foot 2 transfer target to the capital in the coming months, he would be able to provide great competition for current Spurs number one Hugo Lloris and more than has the potential to take over the jersey from him once the time comes for the Tottenham captain to hang up his boots.

In other news… a Sky Sports pundit has told Spurs to completely forget about trying to sign one of their ‘unbelievable’ transfer targets.

Tottenham Hotspur officials watched long-time target Pau Torres and a new objective in Arnaut Danjuma for Villarreal against Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League semi-final this week, according to 90min. 

The lowdown: Remarkable European adventure

Former Arsenal manager Unai Emery has overseen a memorable journey in Europe this season as the La Liga side eliminated Juventus and Bayern Munich on their way to a semi-final showdown with Liverpool.

It wasn’t to be for the Yellow Submarine though, as despite a second-leg comeback, the Premier League title-chasers, and Spurs’ next domestic opponents, prevailed 5-2 on aggregate to reach the final.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-newest-updates/” title=”Tottenham newest updates…” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Now it appears that top officials from North London were present to run the rule over two of Villarreal’s most influential players…

The latest: Scouts sent to Spain

As per 90min, scouts from Tottenham were in situ for both legs of the semi-final to ‘keep tabs’ on Danjuma and Torres, despite the former missing the meeting at Estadio de la Ceramica due to injury.

Whilst boss Antonio Conte and transfer chief Fabio Paratici begin to draw up plans for the summer transfer window, it’s claimed that the pair are ‘on their radar’ for a double swoop.

The report claims that there were watchers from multiple clubs in Eastern Spain as on-loan Spurs man Giovani Lo Celso played 90 minutes, however, the ‘specific purpose’ of those sent from N17 was to watch the Dutch forward and Spanish defender in action.

The verdict: Take your pick

Having reportedly come close to landing 25-year-old centre-back Torres in 2021, it’s no surprise that the Lilywhites would reignite an interest this summer.

So far this season the 17-cap Spain ace has earned a superb 7.07 Sofascore rating from performances in the league containing 3.2 clearances per game on average whilst helping to keep 10 clean sheets from 29 outings.

Meanwhile, the interest in former Bournemouth winger Danjuma is a fresh link, but the man hailed as a ‘nightmare for defenders’ by ex-Premier League man Kevin Phillips has enjoyed a stellar time in Spain, scoring 16 times and providing four assists in 34 appearances across all competitions.

Adding either Villarreal ace to the ranks at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would be an excellent piece of business – adding both could be future-defining.

In other news: Tottenham expected to move for ‘phenomenal’ £101m star after Conte request, find out more here.

Paul Collingwood is confident of being able to recapture his form after arriving in Bangladesh following the birth of his third child

Mohammad Isam14-Feb-2011Paul Collingwood breezed from table to table during England’s open media session in Dhaka. He wore a permanent smile and certainly didn’t look like a man with major issues on his shoulders. Becoming a father for the third time after the birth of Hannah-Mae a few days before the team departed for Bangladesh has allowed Collingwood to arrive in fine spirits despite the continued issues over his one-day place.After a poor Ashes series he decided to retire from Test cricket but then lost his 50-over place as well. Then a back injury forced him home from Australia a few days earlier, but it worked in his favour and allow him extra time with the family. Now Collingwood wants to start the next, and possibly final, stage of his international career at the World Cup.”There is no added pressure,” he said. “I just have to focus on the white ball now and I want to take my game in one-dayers and Twenty20 to the next level. I would like to draw a line under whatever has happened in the last few months. It is not the twilight of my career and I’ve had four bad patches in the last decade. Some would say it’s a lot and some would say it wasn’t too many.”However, Collingwood has had a poor time of late. Firstly, England’s successful Ashes campaign wasn’t very successful on a personal level and his limited-overs form also deserted him as he made 53 runs in four matches against Australia. His back problems may prevent him making an immediate return in the warm-up games but he is confident of returning to form as he has done in the past.”I didn’t have a tour I wanted in Australia from a personal point of view but it has happened before and I have bounced back. I took consecutive man-of-the-match awards [at the Champions Trophy] so it can all change,” he said. “I still think I can make good contributions for England and hopefully this will be the tournament where I can turn around.”And Collingwood, 34, believes the extra time away from the international game having shelved Test cricket will keep him ready for more one-day challenges. “I will get more time to be mentally refreshed. I have been playing three forms of the game since Twenty20s came about six years ago so it has been tough. I need that extra bit of time to recharge the batteries.”England prepare for the World Cup by facing Canada on February 16 at Fatullah and then take on Pakistan at the same venue two days later. Some of the other teams are experimenting by using most of their squads in the warm-up games but, following on from their attitude ahead of the Ashes, England are keen to take the games seriously. “The warm-up game will be a real fixture. We want to win the game and not take anyone lightly.”Although not the best team in the world England can’t be written off in this tournament and the man who played in the 2003 and 2007 campaigns certainly believes this team is different. “It is a skilful side but difficult to say whether it’s the best [among the three campaigns] or not. But we have won one-day series in the last 18 months so it will take confidence from that.”Collingwood will also take confidence from his role as Twenty20 captain, particularly after England won the World Twenty20 last year which finally gave them their first global trophy.”We got that off our back,” he said. “We had come close a few times but now we know that we have the skills to get over it mentally.”

“There’s been a lot of talk about it,” says Jade Dernbach, England’s newest squad member, of his slower deliveries. He joined the team last night, all tattooed, and armed with the slower balls, reverse-swing and an “expressive” character that could well b

Sidharth Monga in Colombo22-Mar-2011″There’s been a lot of talk about it,” says Jade Dernbach, England’s newest squad member, of his slower deliveries. He joined the team last night, all tattooed, and armed with the slower balls, reverse-swing and an “expressive” character that could well bring the freshness a team that has been on the road for six months needs.The first thing that strikes you about Dernbach, though, is not the tattoos (more than Mitchell Johnson), not his first name (he knows only females named Jade) or his South African origin, but the confidence he is carrying after his performances with the Lions in the West Indies – where he took 19 wickets at 15.63 from five games – and a couple of good years with Surrey.”There’s been a lot of talk about it, you know, it’s worked for me,” he says. “It took a lot of time, a lot of practice getting it right, but now it is one of my weapons. One of many, I’d like to think. You know it’s just one of those things that I have developed over the years, and I am happy to have in my armoury.” Like spinners talking about mystery balls, he leaves the nature of the slower balls suitably under wraps. Ask him if he bowls it out of the front of the hand or back, and Dernbach says, “I’ve got a few. Depends on which one you are referring to. You have to have those nowadays the way one-day cricket is going. You have to have that sort of variety. Can’t be just a one-trick pony anymore.”Dernbach likes to talk about reverse-swing too, which on slow and low tracks in this World Cup can be a big asset. “That I’d like to think is one of my biggest strengths,” he says. “Obviously I had the opportunity to utilise that in the West Indies. It’s been great to have been out there for the last seven weeks or so, then getting a call out here, and hopefully I can show my skills if I get an opportunity.”Dernbach was born in Johannesburg, studied a bit in Durban before his family moved to England when he was 14. He doesn’t owe his cricketing career, he says, to South Africa at all. “South Africa’s not my home at all,” he says. “I don’t owe anything to South Africa. I was just born there, did a bit of schooling there, my whole cricket career has been based in the UK, and UK is my home. I want to give everything I can to England cricket, that’s the country I love and that’s the country that has given me everything I have now.” If you want to read into it, while saying this, his hand went and tapped the three-lion crest on his shirt.Dernbach wasn’t a serious cricketer until two or three years after he moved to England. “When I came over to the UK, that was when I really started playing cricket. I was more of a rugby player, to be honest, before that. Sort of happened by chance, cricket. Played for a local side, and then ended up getting a chance for Surrey. Started with Under-15s, then made my way up through the age groups. It was all a bit of fun for me to being with. It was not until my second year in Under-17s that I realised there was a really good opportunity to make this a career. So yeah, happened by chance really.”It’s the lighter side of the things that an over-worked side will not mind at all. He says he is an expressive character, “and hopefully I can add to that [the team atmosphere], bring my energy and stuff I am coming with”. One of the ways he expresses himself is the body ink. Almost whole of his right arm is tattooed, a bit of left, and “I have got a couple under wraps”.”It’s something I am interested in. Quite an expressive sort of character. Just an extension of my personality, I’d like to think. There is a lot going on here [the arms]. There is a bit of everything. I have got some Chinese writing, which is my name, with strength and power. I have got some more. I have got my birth fish. Good luck as well. Bit of everything. ‘What counts is not the years in your life, but the life in your years.'”He is asked to compare his body art with Mitchell Johnson’s. “I had one before his,” he says. “So I’d say he was copying me, but I don’t think he knows who I am.”You get a sense he to play in this tournament, not just hopes to do so. “I can’t think of anything better, to be honest,” he says of a possible debut in a pressure game. “My first Twenty20 for Surrey was the semi-final at the Oval. Packed house. Thoroughly enjoyed that. Any opportunity you get to play for your country, you grab with both hands. If I get the nod to play on Saturday, I’ll give it my all. Fingers crossed, I do get picked.”Does he think he will be picked? “I have got as good a chance as any as long as I prepare properly. The most important thing is that we win. That’s whether I play or not. To me that’s the most important thing.”