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تعرض فريق ريال مدريد لأول هزيمة له في الموسم الحالي، حيث خسر أمام لايبزيج في دوري أبطال أوروبا مساء اليوم الثلاثاء.

واستضاف ملعب “ريد بول آرينا” مباراة الفريقين في إطار منافسات الجولة الخامسة من دور مجموعات البطولة، حيث خسر ريال مدريد بثلاثة أهداف مقابل هدفين. أهداف مباراة ريال مدريد ولايبزيج

أما لايبزيج فيقع في المركز الثاني في المجموعة برصيد 6 نقاط، بفارق نقطة واحدة عن شاختار صاحب المركز الثالث، حيث يتنافسان على بطاقة التأهل الثانية من المجموعة.

وبدأ لايبزيج تهديده الهجومي مبكرًا، حيث سدد إميل فورسبيرج الكرة في الدقيقة الأولى تجاه مرمى ريال مدريد، ولكن تيبو كورتوا تمكن من التصدي لها.

وفي الدقيقة الخامسة، استقبل تشواميني الكرة داخل منطقة الجزاء، وسددها برأسه ولكنها مرت بجوار القائم الأيمن للمرمى خارج الملعب.

وسنحت فرصة جديدة لصالح ريال مدريد، في الدقيقة التاسعة، حيث سدد رودريجو الكرة من خارج منطقة الجزاء ولكنها مرت فوق العارضة.

وتمكن لايبزيج من تسجيل الهدف الأول، في الدقيقة 14، عن طريق جفارديول، حيث سدد أندريه سيلفا الكرة برأسه بطريقة قوية وتصدى لها كورتوا، لترتد وتصل إلى جفارديول الذي نجح في تسجيلها بنجاح برأسه.

وفي الدقيقة 16، كاد لايبزيج أن يسجل الهدف الثاني عن طريق نكونكو، حيث انطلق بالكرة من منتصف الملعب وراوغ كورتوا، وسدد الكرة من خارج المنطقة، ولكنها مرت للخارج.

وبعد ذلك بدقيقتين، تمكن نكونكو هذه المرة من استغلال فرصته حيث سجل الهدف الثاني لأصحاب الأرض، بعدما سدد كرة قوية اصطدمت بالعارضة ثم سكنت الشباك.

وحاول فينيسيوس جونيور تهديد مرمى لايبزيج بعدما سدد الكرة تجاه مرمى الخصم، في الدقيقة 25، ولكنها مرت بعيدة.

وتمكن فينيسوس جونيور من تقليص الفارق، قبل نهاية الشوط الأول وتحديدًا في الدقيقة 44، حيث سجل هدفًا لصالح ريال مدريد.

الهدف جاء بعدما تمكن أسينسيو من الدوغل داخل منطقة الجزاء، ومرر الكرة تجاه فينيسيوس الذي سددها بدوره برأسه لتهز الشباك الألماني.

وكاد تيمو فيرنر أن يسجل الهدف الثالث لصالح أصحاب الأرض، في الدقيقة 71، حيث تلقى الكرة من نكونكو وسددها تجاه المرمى، ولكنها بعيدًا عن المرمى.

ونجح تيمو فيرنر في تسجيل هدف لايبزيج الثالث، في الدقيقة 81، لتصبح النتيجة 3-1.

وفي الدقيقة الرابعة من الوقت المحتسب بدلَا من الضائع للشوط الثاني، حصل ريال مدريد على ركلة جزاء بعد تعرض رودريجو للعرقلة داخل المنطقة، ونفذها اللاعب بنجاح، ولكنها لم تغير في النتيجة حيث انتهى اللقاء بنتيجة 3-2 لصالح الفريق الألماني.

بتلك النتيجة، تجمد رصيد ريال مدريد عند 10 نقاط في المركز الأول في المجموعة السادسة، بينما ارتفع رصيد لايبزيج إلى 9 نقاط في المركز الثاني، ليواصل منافسة شاختار على بطاقة التأهل الثانية من المجموعة إلى ثمن النهائي.

هدف لايبزيج الأول أمام ريال مدريد

هدف لايبزيج الثاني أمام ريال مدريد

هدف فينيسيوس جونيور أمام لايبزيج

هدف تيمو فيرنر أمام ريال مدريد

هدف رودريجو أمام لايبزيج من ركلة جزاء

Ian Bell scored his first hundred since August 2013, and Jos Buttler made 85 on Test debut to run India ragged on the second day at Ageas Bowl

The Report by George Binoy28-Jul-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsOn the first day England’s struggling captain Alastair Cook had found runs – if not form – to lay a platform, and on the second their other out-of-sorts senior pro, Ian Bell, made his first hundred since August 2013 to eliminate India’s chances of improving their 1-0 lead in the series.The home side also unearthed a new hope. Jos Buttler, the limited-overs specialist who replaced Matt Prior as wicketkeeper, played the sort of innings Adam Gilchrist used to, rattling along at more than a run a ball against a listless attack and shabby fielders. He missed a century on debut only because he was accelerating his team towards a declaration.England scored 117 in 18.4 overs after tea, and India’s left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja suffered the most. He had conceded only 34 in 22 overs on the first day; he went for 119 in 23.4 overs on the second.Jos Buttler smacked 85 from 83 balls on debut•PA Photos

The stage for England’s tea party had been set in the previous sessions, when Bell batted like he had never been short of runs. He put on 142 for the second wicket with Gary Ballance, who converted his overnight 104 into his highest Test score.Bell and Ballance were near perfect in the sunshine. They were beaten only occasionally, edged less frequently, had fewer scares, and scored swiftly. The portents were ominous for India. M Vijay was lackadaisical at mid-on and allowed the second run of the day, and when the debutant Pankaj Singh found Bell’s edge, the ball went between third slip and gully. Bell received a leg-side appetiser next ball, which he glanced for four.India rely on Bhuvneshwar Kumar to bowl long and economical spells but he was off his game. Shami did not improve on a disappointing first day. Too often he was too straight or offered width, and bowled a poor length. Pankaj lost his discipline in his second spell, after he had been impressive in his first, and both batsmen were soon scoring all round the wicket.Jadeja had no impact either. In his second over, Bell skipped down and lofted the left-arm spinner over the straight boundary, a shot he repeated later in the day to bring up his 21st Test hundred and pass 7000 runs.With no wicket in sight, MS Dhoni turned to Rohit Sharma. With his fifth delivery, Rohit got the ball to bounce and turn away from Ballance. The batsman was beaten but umpire Rod Tucker could not see the ball had missed the edge by a considerable margin and only brushed the batsman’s trousers on its way into the wicketkeeper’s gloves. That was the only blemish in England’s 111-run session.Dhoni made 15 bowling changes in 15 successive overs after lunch, rotating Shami, Pankaj and Bhuvneshwar – perhaps to give them more of a break between overs so that they could bowl longer spells. There was a little movement in the air as clouds gathered and floodlights came on, but the seamers failed to string together enough good balls and build pressure. Bell continued to capitalise on the width by driving, cutting and flicking.Bhuvneshwar had Joe Root caught behind just before the second drinks break as the batsman advanced, but India’s good spirits were short lived. When Dhoni decided to bowl Jadeja again, Bell tore into him, hitting two sixes and two fours in a 21-run over.With his seamers tiring, Dhoni persisted with Jadeja at one end and continued rotating his quicks at the other. Bhuvneshwar had Moeen Ali caught behind trying to pull a short ball, a growing weakness in the batsman’s game. Bhuvneshwar nearly handed Buttler a duck on debut, too. Ajinkya Rahane had claimed a low catch at second slip but the batsman was reprieved after replays indicated doubt, as they often do with such referrals. He punched the next ball through cover for his first Test runs just before tea.Buttler’s initial target was Jadeja, who was driven through and over cover repeatedly. He also used his limited-overs nous and reverse-swept the spinner twice. India could have been spared some pain had Shikhar Dhawan caught Buttler, on 23, at first slip; instead their drop-count in the cordon rose to six for the series. Bell and Buttler took 13 runs off successive overs from Jadeja. The acceleration was on.Bell got to 150 and then walked down to pull Pankaj dismissively to the long-on boundary; Buttler charged Jadeja and launched a straight six to take England past 500. Their century stand took only 132 balls.England might have waited for Bell to get a double century, but he holed out to give Bhuvneshwar his third wicket. Buttler continued rampaging, though, and India went to pieces. Dhoni missed a ridiculously easy stumping, and Pankaj, after being pulled for consecutive sixes, missed a straightforward chance to run out Chris Woakes during a 21-run over. When Buttler bottom-edged on to his stumps for 85 – scant consolation for Jadeja – Cook declared to give India 14 overs to face in the gloom.James Anderson and Stuart Broad ran in hot, swinging and seaming the ball, their extra pace causing more discomfort than India’s slower seamers did. Dhawan did not survive, his wretched run in the series exacerbated by an Anderson delivery that angled into him from round the wicket, squared him up and took the edge to first slip. It was a perfect end to England’s day.

يستهدف يورجن كلوب، المدير الفني لفريق ليفربول الإنجليزي، صفقة هجومية لخلافة نجمه المصري محمد صلاح.

محمد صلاح ارتبط بالرحيل عن ليفربول خلال سوق الانتقالات الصيفية، مع اهتمام اتحاد جدة بالتعاقد معه.

وتشير التقارير إلى أن اتحاد جدة سيواصل محاولاته لاقناع ليفربول ببيع محمد صلاح وسيجدد اهتمامه في انتقالات يناير.

ووفقًا لصحيفة “ديلي ميل” البريطانية نقلاً عن “سبورت بيلد” الألمانية، يرغب كلوب في تعاقد ليفربول مع دونيل مالين من بوروسيا دورتموند.

مالين البالغ من العمر 24 عامًا، سجل أربعة أهداف وساهم بهدفين آخرين في أول سبع مباريات له مع دورتموند.

ويشير التقرير إلى أن كلوب يرى في مالين دعمًا جيدًا لمحمد صلاح، أو حتى أن يكون خليفته في ليفربول على المدى الطويل.

اقرأ أيضًا | بعد اهتمام ليفربول.. يوفنتوس يحدد موعدًا مع وكيل كييزا لحسم مستقبله

وتوضح الصحيفة أن الصفقة ستكلف ليفربول ما لا يقل عن 52 مليون جنيه إسترليني، نظرًا لأن مالين مرتبط بعقد مع دورتموند يمتد حتى يونيو 2026.

مالين سبق ولعب في أكاديمية فريق آرسنال الإنجليزي في الفترة من 2015 و2017.

وباعه آرسنال إلى آيندهوفن في أغسطس 2017، وقد سجل 55 هدفًا وصنع 24 تمريرة حاسمة في 116 مباراة للنادي الهولندي.

MatériaMais Notícias

Após folga na última terça-feira, o Santos se reapresentou na manhã desta quarta-feira, no CT Rei Pelé. O meia Cueva foi a grande novidade do treino do Peixe.

Cueva tinha sido liberado há cinco dias para acompanhar o nascimento do seu 3º filho no Peru. A mulher do atleta teve complicações no parto e o bebê nasceu prematuro de sete meses.

O volante Jobson também esteve presente no gramado. Foi o primeiro trabalho do jogador junto ao grupo após sofrer uma entorse no tornozelo esquerdo há duas semanas.

RelacionadasSantosSantos estuda a contratação de Leonardo Gil, do Rosario CentralSantos24/07/2019SantosSantos notifica Barcelona e corre contra o tempo para manter TaílsonSantos24/07/2019SantosNo Santos, Pituca ‘esquece’ Palmeiras e pede foco no Avaí: ‘Vai dar trabalho’Santos24/07/2019

O Santos terá mais três dias de preparação até o duelo contra o Avaí, neste domingo, às 16h, na Vila Belmiro, pela 12ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro. Cueva deve voltar a ficar à disposição do técnico Jorge Sampaoli.

O Peixe retorna aos trabalhos na manhã desta quinta-feira, no CT Rei Pelé. O Santos divide a liderança do Brasileirão com o Palmeiras, ambos com 26 pontos.

MatériaMais Notícias

No jogo de ida das quartas de final da Copa do Brasil, Grêmio e Bahia fizeram um interessante embate que não teve vencedor. Diante de pouco menos de 29 mil pessoas na Arena do Grêmio, as equipes empataram por 1 a 1. A definição de quem avança às semifinais acontece na próxima quarta, na Fonte Nova. Caso haja novo empate, a disputa irá para os pênaltis.

DELINEADO E ESTUDADO

O Grêmio tinha a posse de bola que lhe é habitual, porém, além de não encontrar espaço suficiente para infiltrar com qualidade de finalizações perigosas, não atuava diante de um time que queria apenas afastar o perigo de sua área, mas também armar jogadas em velocidade que pegariam as linhas dos anfitriões altas e longe do gol de Paulo Victor. Por sua vez, se antes dos 10 minutos o Bahia encontrava campo para sua válvula de escape pela direita com Artur, depois desse momento o time de Roger Machado se viu melhor cercado pela marcação gremista.

ESTOCADA PONTUAL, MAS PERIGOSA

Em meio à pressão que os anfitriões faziam na saída de bola, com nova escapada conseguida pelo Esquadrão Élber foi para o meio e Eric Ramires, batendo forte de pé esquerdo, viu seu chute insinuante passar perto da trave gremista.

GOL AMADURECENDO…

Além dos chutes de fora da área, especialmente com Everton, serem uma alternativa para o Grêmio na dificuldade de furar a defensiva adversária, quem também conseguiu ser perigoso era Jean Pyerre. O jogador chutou bola de primeira que estalou a trave esquerda de Douglas Friedrich. André teve outra chance, após cabeçada em bola ajeitada por Alisson provocar uma excelente intervenção do goleiro do Esquadrão.

JÁ NO FIM

Quando parecia que o intervalo seria sem gols, Everton foi derrubado por Douglas dentro da área e o árbitro Marcelo de Lima Henrique foi taxativo marcando a penalidade. Na bola, o campeão da Copa América com a Seleção Brasileira foi preciso e bateu no canto direito do goleiro, balançando as redes e vendo o arqueiro do Bahia cair no lado oposto.

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VOLTA PERFEITA

Logo aos quatro minutos da segunda etapa, em cobrança de escanteio de Artur, a bola foi desviada na primeira trave pelo lateral-esquerdo Moisés, a marcação do time da casa não conseguiu fazer o corte rápido e Gilberto, aparecendo atrás de todo mundo, tocou de cabeça para a rede. Mal o jogo havia voltado e o Bahia conseguia a igualdade.

VELOCIDADE MÁXIMA

Voltando ao panorama de enfrentar uma linha defensiva mais fechada, Renato Portaluppi optou pelas entradas de Luan e Pepê nas vagas de Alisson e Jean Pyerre. Apesar de intensas vaias da Arena para a alteração onde o camisa 21, a posse de bola e insinuação do time gaúcho evoluiram com direito a maior variação de jogadas pelos lados e também chutes de fora da área como dados por Everton e por Luan que levaram perigo a meta de Douglas.

ESCAPOU E ASSUSTOU
​
Mais inspirado do que seu companheiro de velocidade no ataque, Élber, Artur saía com velocidade constantemente tentando explorar as costas de Cortez e, quando conseguiu o domínio para fazer a jogada do ‘um contra um’, cortou para a perna esquerda e bateu em diagonal para forçar Paulo Victor a uma maravilhosa e decisiva intervenção.

MUDANÇA DE CENÁRIO

Quando parecia que o fim de jogo se daria em um ritmo de pressão alta do Grêmio com o Bahia só podendo se defender, um elemento que trouxe equilíbrio a partida foi a contusão do centroavante Felipe Vizeu em falta cometida por Lucas Fonseca.

Sem poder voltar ao gramado, sequer conseguindo encostar a perna no chão, e com Renato já tendo feito as três mudanças, o time gremista teve de terminar o jogo com um a menos e ainda ver Artur perder gol em contra-ataque que poderia selar a vitória do Esquadrão.

FICHA TÉCNICA
​GRÊMIO 1 X 1 BAHIA

Local: Arena Grêmio, Porto Alegre (RS)
Público-renda:28.838 -R$ 892.916,00
Data-hora: 10/07/2019 – 19h15 (horário de Brasília)
​Árbitros: Marcelo de Lima Henrique (CBF-RJ)
Assistentes: Rodrigo Figueiredo Henrique Correa (FIFA-RJ) e Luiz Claudio Regazone (CBF-RJ)
VAR: Rodrigo Nunes de Sá (CBF-RJ)
Cartões amarelos: Matheus Henrique, Leonardo (GRE);Moisés, Lucas Fonseca (BAH)
Cartões vermelhos:
Gols: Everton (47’/1°T) (1-0), Gilberto (4’/2°T) (1-1)

GRÊMIO: Paulo Victor; Leonardo, Geromel, Kannemann e Cortez; Matheus Henrique, Maicon, Alisson (Pepê, aos 19’/2°T), Jean Pyerre (Luan, aos 20’/2°T) e Everton; André (Felipe Vizeu, aos 33’/2°T). Técnico: Renato Portaluppi.

BAHIA: Douglas, Nino Paraíba (Flávio, aos 22/1°T), Juninho, Lucas Fonseca e Moisés; Gregore, Elton e Eric Ramires (Guerra, aos 27’/2°T); Artur, Élber e Gilberto (Fernandão, aos 39’/2°T). Técnico: Roger Machado.

حسم مصطفى الشامي رئيس نادي بلدية المحلة، موقف المدير الفني للفريق، أحمد عبد الرؤوف، من الرحيل قبل انطلاق الموسم الجديد للدوري المصري الممتاز.

وينطلق الدوري المصري الممتاز، غداً الإثنين 18 سبتمبر، بمواجهة البنك الأهلي وطلائع الجيش.

بلدية المحلة تأهل إلى الدوري المصري الممتاز، هذا الموسم بعدما تصدر المجموعة الثالثة بحري بدوري الدرجة الثانية.

طالع |  بلدية المحلة يعلن ضم لاعب برشلونة السابق

وقال الشامي خلال تصريحات لبرنامج “جمهور التالتة” المذاع على قناة “أون تايم سبورت”: “أحمد عبد الرؤوف ليس مستمرًا لأنه تأهل بالفريق للدوري الممتاز فقط، لكن على مدار الموسم أرى أنه يمتلك إمكانيات لا تتواجد في مدربين كثيرين جدًا، صممت على بقائه حتى عندما كانت النتائج ليست جيدة في بداية الموسم، لأنني مؤمن به جدًا”.

وأضاف: “أحمد عبد الرؤوف ما زال لديه الكثير لم يُقدمه بعد، هو مستمر ليس لأنه حقق إنجاز الصعود، لكنه يمتلك إمكانيات وطموحًا عاليًا جدًا”.

وأكمل: “نعمل على تلبية طلبات المدير الفني أحمد الرؤوف، الذي يضع الخطة ونحن نعمل على توفير احتياجاته”.

وأتم: “طموحنا في هذا الموسم البقاء في الدوري الممتاز، ويتجدد الطموح في المواسم القادمة”.

ويستهل بلدية المحلة بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز الموسم الجديد بمواجهة المقاولون العرب، التي تقام يوم الأربعاء المقبل 20 سبتمبر.

Neil Wagner is likely to make his English county debut, replacing the retired Ian Butler at Northamptonshire

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jul-2014

Neil Wagner, the New Zealand seamer, will make his debut in English county cricket with Northamptonshire after compatriot Ian Butler’s retirement continued a run of bad luck with overseas signings for the county.Wagner agreed his contract back in May, along with Butler, who made six T20 appearances for Northants. Wagner was expected to be available after the tour to West Indies and might take the field against Nottinghamshire in the Championship game in August.Wagner had been excluded for the first two Tests, but was a vital component in New Zealand’s first major overseas series win since 2002. He has not pegged down a regular spot in the Test side but his tendency to hold one end up and bowl long and tight spells add to his value. He has 362 wickets in first-class cricket at 25.11 with 16 five-wicket hauls. He is two short of 100 victims List A cricket, and has 53 dismissals at an economy of 8.6 in domestic T20s.David Ripley, the Northamptonshire coach, had wanted to keep Butler for longer but said an injury had forced matters out of hand. Buttler has since called time on his career.”We signed Ian at short notice, after a third overseas player withdrew, mainly for the NatWest T20 Blast but also hoped he would be able to manage playing in some County Championship games as well,” Ripley said. “It’s sad to say, that Ian picked up an injury and won’t take any further part this season.”

Ravi Bopara, who plays for the Kings XI Punjab, has delayed his departure to India for the IPL, which begins on March 12, due to security concerns

Cricinfo staff01-Mar-2010

England batsman Ravi Bopara, who plays for the Kings XI Punjab, has delayed his departure to India for the IPL, which begins on March 12, due to security concerns. However Lalit Modi, the league’s commissioner, said he had spoken to Bopara and the batsman had told him he was “looking forward to coming to India”.Bopara was concerned about the contents of security advisor Reg Dickason’s report, which had named Al Qaeda group Brigade 313 as a possible threat to the IPL. “Cricket is my living and in many ways my life. But it is not worth dying for,” Bopara told the . “This is a very tricky call. I have been in touch with the franchise and they are pretty positive that things will be okay. But Reg Dickason’s report says something different.”At the moment I’m nowhere with this decision. I’ve had some contact with other players. No one has said they are definitely not going, but no one has said they definitely are either. I have pushed back my flight so I can give myself a bit more time to see what happens and whether the security measures are implemented. The franchise will want an answer in the next few days, but I will not come to a hasty decision just because I have to. I need to weigh everything up and if I could buy myself even more time, I would.”Modi, however, responded on his Twitter account by saying reports about Bopara not coming “are completely false”. Bopara, who was bought for $450,000 at the 2009 auction, is one of eight England cricketers involved in IPL 2010. Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Eoin Morgan, Owais Shah, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Graham Napier and Michael Lumb are the others.Meanwhile, the Australian players were told at a security briefing in Christchurch on Sunday that the terrorist threat from the 313 Brigade was not credible. However, Tim May, the chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations, has said there could still be “mass withdrawals” unless players receive a commitment that the IPL’s security plans will be implemented at all venues.

Taking to Twitter, reliable reporter Charlie Eccleshare of The Athletic has relayed some exit news out of Tottenham Hotspur involving midfielder Tanguy Ndombele.

The Lowdown: Tottenham eye sales…

Spurs boss Antonio Conte has been making evaluations on his squad as he decides who to sell and who to sign this transfer window.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/spurs-latest-updates-5/” title=”Spurs latest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

A handful of Tottenham players have been linked with a move away from north London, including the likes of Dele Alli, Matt Doherty and Ndombele (Sky Sports).

So far, the Lilywhites have confirmed just one outgoing with promising youngster Dilan Markanday completing a permanent move to Blackburn Rovers.

Sharing some exit news for Spurs fans, The Athletic reporter Eccleshare has dropped a social media update involving Ndombele.

The Latest: The Athletic share news…

According to Eccleshare and Jack Pitt-Brooke, a deal to offload Spurs’ club record signing to Paris-Saint Germain is still a ‘long way off’ completion.

“THFC and PSG in talks over loan move for Tanguy Ndombele,” Eccleshare explained on Twitter.

“Still a long way off completion, understand from sources close to situation that expectation is still only around 50-50 that it’ll go through.”

The Verdict: Time to leave?

PSG apparently want to take Tottenham’s £200,000-per-week ace on loan for the rest of the season and we believe this could be a good move for all involved, if both clubs can find an agreement.

Ndombele himself is from the Parisian suburbs and the Ligue 1 side’s financial power indicates that, if they wished to, they could lodge a permanent move for the player after his temporary spell depending on his performances.

It will be difficult to find an outright buyer before January 31 so this could be Tottenham’s chance to get the ball rolling over a potential permanent exit in future.

In other news: Spurs allegedly ‘edging closer’ to signing ‘massive’ £15m defender, find out more here.

The eve of England’s first Test in six months did not see Alastair Cook rip up his usual script and name his XI early but he did reveal two noteworthy pieces of information about Ian Bell and Gary Ballance

Andrew McGlashan11-Jun-2014

The eve of England’s first Test in six months did not see Alastair Cook entirely rip up his usual script and name his XI early – although it will be a big surprise if Liam Plunkett is not preferred ahead of Chris Woakes – but he did reveal two noteworthy pieces of information.Gary Ballance will fill the No. 3 spot – the void created by Jonathan Trott’s withdrawal from international cricket – as he did in the one-day series, and while there is no official vice-captain, Ian Bell will assume the responsibility of captaincy should Cook have to leave the field. Bell, recently named England’s Player of the Year, has also got what he wanted with a chance to bat at No. 4 in place of Kevin Pietersen.There are strong arguments to say that it should have been Bell filling the No. 3 role given his senior position in the team, but there could have been a desire to split up some of the inexperience in the order rather than having Ballance, Joe Root (an option for No. 3) and Moeen Ali following each other. And, of course, some of the most prolific Test careers have also been forged at No. 4.When Trott left the Ashes last November, Root was initially promoted to No. 3 before Bell filled in for the final Test in Sydney. The fact England will have had three batsmen in that position in five matches just goes to emphasise the stability that Trott brought to the team. Neither is it Ballance’s role for Yorkshire in the County Championship, where he normally finds himself at No. 5. There is a sense of a square peg for a round hole.Bell’s unofficial position as Cook’s lieutenant also means Matt Prior’s recall has not come with the role that was his when he was dropped in Australia. He has previously admitted that he struggled to combine the multiple tasks of vice-captaincy, batting and keeping, and there must remain a degree of uncertainty about how long-term his comeback can be with a troublesome Achilles.But Cook left no one in any doubt about the high esteem Prior is still held under. “We’ve got a guy in Matt Prior who averages over 40 in his Test career, he’s an outstanding batsman who had a tough six months. I’m backing his ability at the moment and the quality we know he’s got.”He’s played almost 80 games, that’s a wealth of experience in a side which is changing. Matt is a senior guy who knows his game. Of course we’ve been in constant communication with his fitness to make sure he’s 100% right and he is. He should be very proud of his record, it’s outstanding, and he has a lot more to offer and we should support that.”Although the words “new” and “fresh” have been thrown around like confetti in the build-up to this series, Cook sees a bigger role than ever for the senior players who remain in the team.”I was talking to Ian Bell about it the other day and he said he didn’t really feel comfortable until he’d played 40 games,” Cook said. “I think that can lead to a bit of inconsistency at the start and a lot of the senior guys have had their ups and downs until they’ve got to where they are now.”There has been almost as much reaction to those players not in the squad than those who have made it. Jos Buttler would have probably won the popular vote and the explanation that Ben Stokes is just a bit short on bowling has not been universally accepted.”He’s gone for four-and-a-half, almost five runs an over so when you’re playing an all-seam attack you’ve got to be very confident about all the bowlers,” Cook said of Stokes. “We’ve got no doubt how good he will be for England but unfortunately with that injury he received he hasn’t played much cricket and it’s a big ask to come back quickly from something like that at this stage of his development as a player.”Punching a locker has delayed Stokes a first home Test appearance, but for three others – Sam Robson, Moeen and Chris Jordan – their careers will begin at Lord’s on Thursday. Cook also made his debut in a match of three new caps, alongside Monty Panesar and Ian Blackwell in Nagpur, and has been energised by the influx of new faces.”It feels like a fresh start, it feels good,” he said. “It’s a really exciting time for the players. When you look around the changing room and see guys who are about to make their debut at Lord’s – you don’t get that opportunity too often.”And, although there is precious little teams do not know about each other these days, he hopes to catch Sri Lanka unawares. “Sometimes when you go into the unknown the opposition don’t know anything about you.”