Encaixa? Veja como Chrystian Barletta pode jogar no Corinthians de Lázaro

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Novo reforço do Corinthians, o atacante Chrystian Barletta chega ao clube cercado de expectativas após boas exibições no Paulistão. O jogador de 21 anos, no entanto, deve encontrar no Timão uma forma de jogar totalmente diferente daquela que estava acostumado no São Bernardo, onde chamou a atenção de equipes da Série A.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasFutebol NacionalVirou verdade! Jogadores que realizaram o sonho de jogar no clube do coraçãoFutebol Nacional22/03/2023CorinthiansCom 13 contratos vencendo até o final do ano, Corinthians quer manter base, mas adotará cautela nas renovaçõesCorinthians21/03/2023CorinthiansCom Chrystian Barletta, Corinthians chega a 19 reforços na gestão de Duílio; relembre as contrataçõesCorinthians21/03/2023

+ Com Barletta, Corinthians chega a 19 reforços na gestão de Duílio; relembre todos os reforços

Tendo como base o que Fernando Lázaro propôs à sua equipe ao longo do estadual, o LANCE! preparou uma análise sobre como Barletta pode se encaixar na equipe corintiana.

SÃO BERNARDO – MEIA-ATACANTE NO 3-4-2-1

Um dos diferenciais do São Bernardo no Paulistão foi o sistema utilizado, com três zagueiros ocupando os corredores com alas. Dessa forma, o time do ABC não utilizava pontas por trás do centroavante, e sim meia-atacantes, posicionados no lugar dos meias armadores. Essa era a função de Barletta, que jogava sempre pela direita.

Na defesa, sua tarefa era fechar o lado do campo como um ponta tradicional. No ataque, porém, seu trabalho era uma mistura entre as funções de um segundo-atacante e um ponta: partindo sempre do centro do campo, Barletta caia pela ponta quando a jogada se desenvolvia pelo seu lado; já quando a jogada acontecia pelo lado oposto, o jogador se juntava ao centroavante para finalizar de dentro da área.

Assim, Barletta precisava demonstrar qualidades exigidas nas duas funções, como explosão, velocidade, boa capacidade de articular jogadas, bom drible, chegada à área para finalizar e boa leitura dos espaços para infiltrar na defesa adversária.

O ENCAIXE NO CORINTHIANS

Fernando Lázaro implantou no Corinthians um sistema completamente diferente do São Bernardo, não só pelo uso de uma tradicional linha de 4 defensores, como também pela formação do meio-campo, desenhado em um losango, e o uso de dois atacantes na frente.

Além disso, o São Bernardo utilizava um ataque mais posicional, com jogadores distribuídos no campo e se movimentando de acordo com a posição de bola. No caso do Corinthians, os jogadores se movimentam junto da bola, com mais liberdade para aproximar uns dos outros e realizar tabelas e ultrapassagens.

Com tantas diferenças, o primeiro passo é encontrar no sistema corintiano um jogador que seja, ao menos, semelhante a Barletta no São Bernardo. No 4-3-1-2 do Timão, esse jogador é Adson, não apenas pela região do campo em que atua, mas também pelas características citadas anteriormente.

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Outra possibilidade seria usar Barletta como um substituto de Róger Guedes, seja na ausência do camisa 10 ou como opção de substituição no decorrer dos jogos. Lázaro pensa sua equipe a partir de individualidades, ou seja: ele parte da ideia que os jogadores melhoram o sistema e não que o sistema melhora os jogadores. Assim, o novo reforço corintiano pode ser utilizado como uma espécie de Róger Guedes do lado direito, quando o treinador corintiano precisar mudar o jeito da equipe jogar.

+ Veja como ficou a tabela e simule o mata-mata do Campeonato Paulista

Por fim, vale relembrar que o Corinthians só deve voltar a campo na segunda semana de abril, e Lázaro pode aproveitar o período sem jogos para pensar um novo sistema tático, com pontas, por exemplo, o que facilitaria o encaixe de Barletta. Essa seria a última opção e a menos provável opção.

Emi Martinez left out of Aston Villa starting XI amid Manchester United transfer speculation – but Marc Guehi starts for Crystal Palace

Emi Martinez has been dropped from the Aston Villa squad amid speculation linking him with Manchester United but Marc Guehi starts for Crystal Palace.

Martinez left out of squad for Palace clashHas been linked with a move to Man UtdGuehi in starting XI after Palace receive Liverpool offerFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Aston Villa have announced their starting lineup for Sunday evening's clash against Palace at home, with Martinez dropped from the team and not even named among the substitutes amid growing speculation that he could join United this summer. Meanwhile, Guehi has retained his place in the Palace starting XI after the club received a fresh bid from Liverpool earlier this week.

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On Sunday, reports emerged claiming United and Villa are exploring the option to include Jadon Sancho in a swap deal involving Martinez. Per the Red Devils have already reached a personal agreement with the Argentine goalkeeper, despite keeping a keen eye on Senne Lammens. Interestingly, Villa have made a formal approach to Royal Antwerp for Lammens, who has a €25 million (£21.5m/$29m) price tag attached him.

Meanwhile, reported late on Saturday that Liverpool tabled a fresh £35m (€41m/$48m) bid for Guehi, who has just one year left on his contract at Selhurst Park. Although Palace boss Oliver Glasner has expressed his desire to retain the star defender this season, the Eagles are desperate to avoid losing Guehi on a free transfer next summer, which could prompt them to accept the Reds' bid.

DID YOU KNOW?

In response to Liverpool's interest in Guehi, English media reported that Palace are interested in signing Joe Gomez to fill the potential void in defence. A loan move is expected to be rejected swiftly, as Liverpool are keen on cashing in on Gomez. Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji has also caught Palace's eye.

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With the game between Villa and Palace set to be the final fixture before the international break, one can't help but wonder which colours Martinez and Guehi will don once club football resumes in a fortnight.

Renato Portaluppi publica mensagens de despedida para Thaciano, a caminho do Bahia

MatériaMais Notícias

Através das redes sociais, o técnico do Grêmio, Renato Portaluppi, publicou duas mensagens em caráter de despedida para o meio-campista Thaciano, nome que está próximo de ser oficializado como reforço do Bahia.

Além de publicar uma sequência de fotos com a legenda “Perdemos um excelente jogador. Boa sorte na nova caminhada!”, Renato também apareceu nos stories, onde falou brevemente sobre o tema.

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>Thiago Santos se emociona com palavras de VP de Futebol

– Fiquei muito feliz que você veio aqui no hotel me dar um abraço. Estou triste, chateado com a sua saída, mas entendo o seu lado profissional. Te desejo boa sorte e que você possa jogar toda a bola que jogou no Grêmio – afirmou o treinador do Imortal.

Vestindo a camisa gremista, Thaciano construiu uma considerável trajetória de 135 jogos, com 15 gols marcados, nove assistências e as conquistas de quatro edições consecutivas do Gauchão (2018 a 2021), além da Recopa Gaúcha no início de 2023.

Neste momento, o jogador de 27 anos de idade já está em Salvador e a tendência é que, nos próximos dias, ele faça os exames médicos antes da assinatura contratual. Para contar em definitivo com o atleta que passou pelo Bahia em 2021, o clube que pertence ao Grupo City pagaria ao Grêmio o valor de R$ 1,5 milhão.

Sunderland hijack Marseille move as €25m Lutsharel Geertruida deal wrapped up despite agreement with RB Leipzig full-back

Sunderland are set to secure the signing of Lutsharel Geertruida in a shocking transfer victory snatching the Dutch international from Marseille.

  • Sunderland have reportedly signed Geertruida
  • Player also completed medical with Sunderland
  • Geertruida to join on initial loan deal
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  • WHAT HAPPENED?

    Marseille were under the impression they had sealed the signing of a reinforcement in Dutch defender Geertruida. The French club, in desperate need of a new defender, had reportedly reached an agreement on personal terms with the player, making a transfer seem all but done. However, in a shocking last-minute turn, full-back and centre-back Geertruida is heading to newly-promoted Premier League side Sunderland, according to Fabrizio Romano. The deal is a loan deal for €2.5 million with a purchase option set at €23m (£20m/$27m).

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    Marseille's ongoing struggle to strengthen their squad continues. The club's pursuit of Geertruida came after their move for Ecuadorian defender Joel Ordonez failed due to financially demanding negotiations with Club Brugge. The defensive shortcomings for Roberto De Zerbi's side have been obvious and is further underscored by their recent 1-0 loss to Lyon. For Sunderland, this move is a major coup that signals their ambition and financial power after a promising start to the Premier League season.

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    The 25-year-old has established himself as a key player for both RB Leipzig and Netherlands, with 17 caps to his name. The player was an integral part of Leipzig's squad playing 39 games for the club in which he scored a goal while providing an assist. The ex-Feyenoord defender was also targeted by AC Milan and Nottingham Forest. 

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    WHAT NEXT FOR MARSEILLE?

    The frustration of missing out on Geertruida for Marseille is immense, and they must now scramble to find a replacement before the transfer window closes. The club are expected to turn their attention to other targets, with West Ham United's Nayef Aguerd, who is close to joining the French club, and Inter's Benjamin Pavard being mentioned as potential alternatives.

Bayern Munich rejected Juventus offer for full-back on transfer deadline day

A late attempt by a Juventus to solve their defensive issues was rebuffed by the Bayern Munich, who opted to keep Sacha Boey despite his difficulties.

  • Bayern rejected Juventus’ loan request on deadline day
  • Kompany kept Boey despite limited minutes and past errors
  • Defender remains under contract until 2028
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  • WHAT HAPPENED?

    Bayern rejected a loan offer from Juventus for full-back Boey on the final day of the summer transfer window, leaving the Italian giants without a new right-back. According to Fabrizio Romano, Juventus approached the Bundesliga champions to secure the 24-year-old on a temporary deal, but the bid was turned down by the Bayern hierarchy.

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    The rejection comes despite Boey having been considered a potential departure candidate for much of the summer. However, Bayern coach Vincent Kompany is reportedly a fan of the player and was keen to keep him for squad depth. Boey has endured a difficult start to his career in Germany since his €30 million move from Galatasaray in January 2024, struggling for consistent form and regular starts. Keeping him provides cover at right-back, a position of need with Josip Stanisic currently deputising on the left for the injured Alphonso Davies.

  • DID YOU KNOW?

    So far this season, Boey has featured in all four of Bayern Munich's competitive matches, but his only start came in the first round of the DFB-Pokal against lower-league opposition Wehen Wiesbaden.

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    WHAT NEXT

    With the transfer window now closed, Boey will remain in Munich to fight for his place under Kompany. The French full-back, whose contract runs until 2028, will need to impress in training and take any opportunities he gets to challenge for a regular starting role. Should his situation not improve by the winter, speculation over his future is likely to resurface ahead of the January transfer window.

Frenkie de Jong 'not satisfied' with Netherlands collapse as Barcelona midfielder slams second-half performance against Poland

Frenkie de Jong has voiced his frustration after Netherlands surrendered a lead to draw 1-1 with Poland in World Cup qualifying on Thursday.

De Jong criticised Netherlands’ lack of energy vs PolandThe Dutch remain top of Group G despite dropping points at homeKoeman’s side face Iceland next in the World Cup qualifiersFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

De Jong has voiced his frustration after the Netherlands surrendered a lead to draw 1-1 with Poland in their World Cup qualifier in Rotterdam. The Dutch took a first-half lead through Denzel Dumfries but were pegged back by a late Matty Cash goal. Speaking to after the game, a disappointed De Jong slammed his team's second-half performance, stating that the "energy did wane a bit" and that they failed to put Poland under sustained pressure. 

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The dropped points are a significant blow to the Netherlands' campaign in a tightly contested Group G. While the result keeps them in first place on goal difference, they missed the chance to create a cushion at the top. They are now level on seven points with both Poland and Finland. The draw will be particularly frustrating given Ronald Koeman's team's statistical dominance, which included 74% possession and more than double the number of shots as their opponents.

WHAT DE JONG SAID

De Jong said: “No, not necessarily [did I see the equaliser coming]. But in the second half, the energy did wane a bit. I didn’t feel like we were really pinning them down, creating opportunity after opportunity and really putting them under pressure. I think the second half was a bit less successful.

"I don’t know why things went better in the first half than in the second. Sometimes it has to do with positioning. And choices on the ball, and how you position yourself when you lose possession. But on the other hand, they weren’t really dangerous, except for that long-range shot that went in."

Asked if he was satisfied with the result, he said: "No, no, no. If you draw at home, you can never be satisfied. It doesn’t necessarily affect our self-confidence, but we simply have to win these kinds of matches at home. I think our self-confidence is still high."

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR NETHERLANDS?

The pressure now increases for the Oranje ahead of their next qualifying fixture against fourth-placed Lithuania on Sunday. De Jong's public criticism will serve as a demand for higher standards and a complete 90-minute performance from the squad. With the top of the group so congested, any further slip-ups, particularly in home matches, could jeopardise their chances of securing an automatic qualification spot and risk forcing them into the unpredictable play-off route.

Back in whites, South Africa aim to salvage home season

Most of their personnel struggled against India, but South Africa still have a chance to finish well against another side at the top of their game

Firdose Moonda25-Feb-2018Winning only a third of the matches across all formats against India suggests South Africa have a lot to mull over, and they don’t have too much time to do it. A four-Test series against Australia starts in less than a week, so their focus has to shift quickly and completely away from the white-ball formats where they suffered their heaviest defeats.In fact, South Africa won’t think about limited-overs cricket for at least five months, when they tour Sri Lanka, by which time South Africa would like to be close to finalising a pool of World Cup candidates. That means the experimentation seen against India may have to taper off, and South Africa have to take stock of what they found.Lungi Ngidi is the obvious gem, across all formats. He showed maturity in the Tests and improved his control markedly in the shorter formats. Only injury will prevent him from featuring frequently for South Africa in the future.South Africa also handed out two other ODI caps, the first of which went to Khaya Zondo, who was controversially overlooked for the starting XI despite being in the squad when South Africa toured India at the end of 2015. Zondo’s name has come up often in the time after featuring for South Africa A and has captaining that team and his franchise, the Dolphins. There seems to be an investment on him, as well as a return.Zondo played three matches, scored one half-century and showed a fair amount of fight in a meek line-up. He definitely deserves more chances but may need to do something outstanding to make a claim for the World Cup. Something like what Heinrich Klaasen did.Klaasen struck two match-winning knocks – one in the pink ODI and the other in the second T20 – to make such a name that he was included in the Test squad. His presence around the national set-up extends further than just his current form because he has emerged as the first real challenger to Quinton de Kock.Though de Kock has been dropped before – early in his career and then for the Tests against India in 2015 when Dane Vilas played – since 2016 he has held a hegemonic grip over the wicket-keeper’s role, which became particularly problematic when he lost form. A wrist injury saved de Kock from being dropped, forced the selectors to look elsewhere and allowed them to discover that there is someone else. De Kock will be under a healthy amount of pressure, which every player needs.ESPNcricinfo LtdAt the T20 level, both Junior Dala and Christiaan Jonker were impressive in their early showings. At Newlands, in the T20 series decider, they kept South Africa in the game. Gibson acknowledged that the defeat was likely to hit them hardest. “Losing is never easy to take but when you are missing so many seniors and new players come in and put their names forward, the losses can be hard to take,” Gibson said. “The future seems like it is going to be bright.”The flip side is the disappointment of so many senior players underperforming. Imran Tahir, for so long a matchwinner for South Africa, was ineffective. Hashim Amla only made one contribution of significance in the ODIs. It took JP Duminy until he was named T20 captain to start performing. Neither David Miller nor Chris Morris lived up to their labels as x-factor players.Duminy is thought to be on his last legs, especially after South Africa opted to blood a new, young captain in Aiden Markram in the ODIs. But, even if Duminy is dispensable for the World Cup, the trio of him, Miller and Morris are not.While Miller was not specifically mentioned, Morris has already suffered a consequence for his lack of contributions, as he was dropped from the Test squad. Gibson seems particularly concerned about his consistency and hopes he can find form in the domestic circuit – three more rounds of first-class cricket – and in the IPL.”He has got some work to do,” Gibson said. “He has got some domestic cricket to go and get some consistency in his bowling, especially. He is a match-winner and he is short of that. We had a conversation, myself and him. He just needs to find what type of bowler he wants to become, put practice in that and work to become that person.”Instead, South Africa have opted for Wiaan Mulder, the man Gibson has had his eye on since arriving in South Africa, as an allrounder in the Test squad. But there may not be space for him in an XI that will include Vernon Philander, the person who delivered one of the most pleasing performances in the Tests.Though the celebrations over the Test series victory ceased weeks ago, South Africa will still look back on it fondly, not least because of the way the quicks performed albeit in conditions heavily stacked in their favour. Philander’s came against the backdrop of doubt in his ability and questions over the fitness of the senior seamers.Philander’s fitness concerns caused him to come under siege from his former captain, Graeme Smith. He spent the early part of the summer recovering from a lower back problem that kept him out of the deciding Test against England. He needed a big performance against India to reinforce his reputation. He was the joint top-leading wicket-taker and had the best average against India, a perfect precursor to the clash against Australia.The only thing left for South Africa to consider is the pitches they ask for during the Tests. Only Newlands offered them something they did not complain about. SuperSport Park was slow and took turn. The Wanderers overcompensated and ended up with variable, even dangerous bounce, and three demerit points. Against an Australia pack that will welcome surfaces that assist them, South Africa’s groundsmen cannot afford to make the same mistakes. They need to shut out the team noise, concentrate on preparing good pitches and perhaps good cricket will follow.

Kapp's passion burns bright as Delhi Capitals steamroll Mumbai Indians

The South African allrounder made a crucial contribution in a nine-wicket victory

S Sudarshanan20-Mar-20236:04

The power-packed double-header that was

There’s passion in everything Marizanne Kapp does on the cricket field. When she bats, you simply cannot breathe easy until the moment she is out. And when she bowls, she runs in with a fierce look on her face, eyebrows in a slight furrow, and gives it her all, ball after ball. She is always in the ears of the captain or has a hand around a youngster’s shoulder. She has put South Africa at the right end of a result many times, not least in the Women’s World Cup last year and the T20 World Cup last month.But it took a while for Kapp to get up to this level in the Women’s Premier League. It wasn’t until her fourth game for Delhi Capitals that she showed she had truly arrived, picking up the first five-for of her T20 career to demolish Gujarat Giants.Kapp has an economy rate of 5.29 in the powerplay in the WPL. It is the second best after Nat Sciver-Brunt among bowlers who have bowled at least 50 balls in the first six overs. She has picked up eight wickets in this phase, which are the most by any bowler. Her overall tally of nine is the third-best by a seamer in the WPL behind Capitals team-mate Shikha Pandey and Giants’ Kim Garth.On Monday, another two-wicket burst in the powerplay from Kapp, who was as disciplined and penetrative as ever, punctured Mumbai Indians and helped Capitals top the table with two games left in the league stage. It was Mumbai’s second successive loss in the WPL after five straight wins.In front of a DY Patil stadium crowd that was decked out in blue, Kapp began with three successive dots to Yastika Bhatia. On the third delivery, after the ball was pushed back to her, she passed the ball to mid-on and ran towards captain Meg Lanning at slip to have a quiet word.Marizanne Kapp picked up 2 for 13 to restrict Mumbai Indians to 109 for 8•BCCI

What the talk was about is anybody’s guess, because no immediate field changes followed. But when she began her second over, a deep backward square leg was in place for Bhatia, instead of the fine leg in the opening over. The short one was coming. Or at least that’s what she wanted the batter to think. And it worked.Bhatia was caught on the back foot to a ball that was pitched up and moving across her. It took her outside edge and landed safely in the mitts of the wicketkeeper.Kapp was delighted. Lanning was delighted. Bhatia knew she had been outsmarted.Kapp then used the nip-backer off a length to get the better of Nat Sciver-Brunt. She bowled it around off and got it to move in past Sciver-Brunt’s mow across the line to castle her. A first-ball duck for the Mumbai allrounder. Capitals had managed to rock the ‘home side’ early.Bhatia and Sciver-Brunt had combined for almost 39 percent of the runs Mumbai had scored in the competition in the first six games. In fact, about 84 per cent of all Mumbai’s runs before Monday were scored by their top four batters. And in eight balls, Kapp had managed to see the back of two of them. In doing that, she had figures of 3-0-10-2 in the first six overs.The past couple of years have really tested Kapp and her partner Dane van Niekerk. While Kapp reached the heights of success, winning the women’s Hundred, twice, the Women’s Big Bash League, once, and being part of the first senior South African cricket team to ever play a World Cup final, her partner van Niekerk was snubbed by not one but two teams who had initially appointed her as captain. The Oval Invincibles left her out in 2022 and South Africa left her out in 2023. All of it led to her retiring from international cricket at age 29.Kapp admitted it was “a struggle” to keep her focus through all this but she still managed to churn out match-turning performances one after the other.”The day that I actually took my fiver [five-wicket haul] here, I was crying in the bus on my way here [DY Patil Stadium] because I knew Dane was retiring,” she said in the presser after her second Player-of-the-match award in the WPL. “It’s been tough but again, I think it’s my religion. Jesus Christ has been so good to me especially through those hard patches. I have to mention my team as well. They make it so easy for me to be here.”I have always been a very shy person but I felt like I am so comfortable with these girls and management. I’ve just fitted in and they make me feel at home.”On the same pitch she picked up the five-wicket haul, Kapp might not have the volume of wickets to show. But the impact of the two wickets she picked up upfront were on level with, if not more than, those five against Giants. But as has been her nature – of deflecting praise directed at her towards others – she spoke highly of Shikha Pandey’s penultimate over that went for just four with hard-hitting Issy Wong and Amanjot Kaur in the middle.”Always nice to contribute, especially with the new ball. That’s my job,” Kapp told the broadcaster during the innings break. “I told Shikha [Pandey] that was one of the best death overs I have seen in a long time. So credit to the bowling attack.”While each of Kapp, Pandey and Jess Jonassen picked up two wickets to keep Mumbai to a paltry 109 for 8, it was clearly the Kapp show at the start that set the tone for Capitals’ nine-wicket win.

Suryakumar Yadav, KS Bharat, Todd Murphy make debuts as Australia bat vs India

Australia won a crucial toss as they started their quest to achieve what looks impossible in today’s cricket: beat India in a Test series in India. there was no hesitation in batting first on a surface that is expected to help spin generously. Australia’s captain Pat Cummins said, “It looks like a pretty even wicket… through the middle.” It was perhaps a reference to the rough patches on a spinner’s good length outside left-hand batters’ off stump.Perhaps keeping that in mind, Australia offloaded one of their left-hand batters, Travis Head, in favour of Peter Handscomb. They also handed out a cap to offspinner Todd Murphy. In the absence of the injured Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland shared the seam-bowling duties with Cummins.India were missing their best batter of the last two years, Rishabh Pant, but they still looked formidable, especially their bowling. In R Ashwin, the returning Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, they had three different but deadly accurate fingerspinners, which suggests India expect help from the surface. These three also added heft to the batting, forming a strong lower middle order along with two debutants: wicketkeeper KS Bharat and maverick Suryakumar Yadav. The latter was chosen ahead of Shubman Gill perhaps because India anticipate high-impact innings in short time to be of more value in the middle order.Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj formed India’s pace attack.India 1 Rohit Sharma (capt.), 2 KL Rahul, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Suryakumar Yadav, 7 KS Bharat (wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Axar Patel, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Mohammed SirajAustralia 1 David Warner, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Matt Renshaw, 6 Peter Handscomb, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Pat Cummins (capt.), 9 Todd Murphy, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Scott Boland

Billings: 'I've run the drinks for eight years. I just want to play cricket'

The wicketkeeper-batter explains his decision to play for Lahore Qalandars rather than for England in Bangladesh

Umar Farooq07-Mar-20235:25

Billings: ‘I just want to play cricket consistently and not sit on the bench’

Sam Billings insists he has no regrets about his decision to miss ongoing England’s white-ball tour to Bangladesh in order to play for Lahore Qalandars in the PSL.Several England players without central contracts – including Alex Hales, Liam Dawson and Tymal Mills – opted to fulfil their more lucrative PSL deals rather than travelling to Bangladesh, and Billings made the same decision after guarantees that he would play for Qalandars, rather than running the drinks.Related

Aqib Javed: 'We wanted the best bowling unit, everyone else is after the best hitters'

Billings, Shafique and Rashid put Qalandars in the PSL play-offs

Key: 'Life-changing' franchise deals are hard for non-contracted players to turn down

Final countdown: How might England line up for their World Cup defence?

Billings averages 47.88 with a strike rate of 91.12 in ODIs since the 2019 World Cup, but has not been a regular member of England’s white-ball squads in the last year. At 31, and with the World Cup in India approaching later this year, he believes he needs to ensure he is playing as much cricket as possible rather than warming the bench.”It wasn’t that I made myself unavailable,” Billings told ESPNcricinfo. “I had a long chat with Rob Key [England’s managing director] and Jos Buttler, and I felt the stage of my career I’m at, I need to be playing cricket.”That England team is very hard to get into. I went to the ODIs in Australia, did OK, and over the last few years, I’ve averaged nearly 50 in ODI cricket at a strike rate of 91. So in terms of stacking up numbers over a period of time in that format, I feel like I’ve done that.”At my age, I just need to be playing cricket and enjoying my cricket. It’s such a complex situation because guys who aren’t contracted are severely losing out when it comes to the kind of playing in these tournaments, or not playing in this tournament.”So that was the decision I made. With Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone, and Jonny Bairstow [to potentially return] there’s no guarantee that I’d be in that World Cup team. I feel like I’ve done enough to be in and around the mix and my game is suited to subcontinent conditions. The message that I got was: if you’re scoring runs, wherever it is, that’s what they’re going to have to select from anyway.”Sam Billings has pulled out of the upcoming IPL to focus on the County Championship•Getty ImagesEngland only have seven more ODIs scheduled before the 2023 World Cup, playing four against New Zealand and three against Ireland in September. They are likely to submit their provisional World Cup squad to the ICC before the start of the New Zealand series, and Billings believes he could still force his way into the squad with a strong home summer.”There’s a lot of cricket to be played,” he said. “If I go home, dominate county cricket, dominate the Hundred, it puts me in a really good place to be picked for the World Cup. That’s the way I’m looking at it.”I’m becoming a lot better at just dealing with what’s in front of me. Right now, I’m focusing purely on the PSL, on winning the PSL and doing everything I can to help the team to do that. Then I move on to Kent and [being] club captain at Kent; then I’m captain of the Oval Invincibles for the Hundred, so I’ve got a lot of cricket before.”The idea is, if I play well, if I’m playing in winning teams and contributing to winning teams, that gives me the best chance of being in the World Cup. I know my game suits the subcontinent in terms of playing spin, especially in 50-over cricket. A lot can change and it’s a long time until the World Cup.”When asked if he regretted missing the Bangladesh tour, Billings said: “No. Everyone wants to play for England, of course, they do. [But] I’m 31, I’ve run the drinks for eight years. I just want to play cricket, enjoy my cricket.

“I just want to be playing cricket consistently and not sit on the bench. I just want to get the most out of my career, the rest of my career.”Sam Billings

“It’s a different mindset when you don’t feel like you’re playing for your position every single game. This franchise [Lahore Qalandars] has put a huge amount of trust in me and said, ‘you’re going to bat and you’re going to keep wicket. You’re an integral part of the team.'”That mindset, knowing that you will get a full competition or a full run of games, you see so many players benefit from it and I think it’s a lot healthier headspace for me to be in: I can actually just go out and enjoy my cricket as opposed to feeling like I have to go score every single time I bat.”Billings has enjoyed more success in white-ball cricket than red-ball cricket, but won three Test caps last year as an understudy to Ben Foakes. He pulled out of the upcoming IPL, having played for Kolkata Knight Riders on an INR 2 crore (£200,000 approx.) deal in 2022. The IPL clashes with the start of the County Championship, and he opted to spend April and May playing for Kent, to give himself a chance of selection for the Ashes this summer.”It’s the modern-day player: you have to kind of manage these different things,” Billings said. “I’ve got a huge ambition to still play Test cricket. I’ve played three Tests, and loved every minute of it. It’s the most rewarding format of the game. For me, I felt with the home Ashes – again, if I go home, score some runs in the early season and really dominate county cricket, then that gives me the best chance of getting back in that Test team.”As an English player right now, everyone wants to be a part of that team. You see the enjoyment they’re playing with. You see the environment that’s being created and the cricket that they’re playing. There’s no bigger series than the Ashes for an English player and an Australian player, so it was just a case of giving myself the best chance again.”Last year, in the IPL, I played a bit, I didn’t play a bit. Again, I just want to be playing cricket consistently and not sit on the bench. I just want to get the most out of my career, the rest of my career, and I felt like that’s the best option for me.”

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