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Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq helped Pakistan put up a dominant 570 for 6, taking a position of absolute power over Australia on the second day of the Abu Dhabi Test

The Report by Daniel Brettig31-Oct-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsA large crowd was on hand to cheer Younis Khan on to his fifth double-century•Getty Images

As the biggest crowd of the series poured into Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq poured Pakistani runs into Australia’s open wound. A first series victory for Pakistan against their Antipodean opponents since 1994 would now appear only three days away.A wonderful Friday assembly was regaled by Younis’ 213 and Misbah’s 101, the well-travelled pair enjoying utter domination of Australia’s bowlers, who did not gain a wicket until Pakistan’s captain bunted a return catch to Steven Smith.Misbah declared 45 minutes before stumps, and Chris Rogers’ exit to perhaps the best ball bowled in the match so far – a perfectly-pitched away cutter from Imran Khan – completed Pakistan’s perfect day. The contrast with Michael Clarke’s team was emphasised by the travails of Brad Haddin, who jarred his shoulder when diving to intercept a Younis edge that fell short of his outstretched glove.Azhar Ali was taken down the leg side by the stand-in gloveman David Warner. While Haddin returned in the afternoon he was in pain often, even when he raised his right arm in futile appeals for a wicket to break the stand. After tea Warner again took up the gloves.Australia slackened noticeably in the final session of day one but Mitchell Johnson bent his back on resumption to deliver a spell that actually extracted some bounce from a moribund surface. Younis was inconvenienced more than once, and in Johnson’s second over of the day he waved his bat at a ball angled across and offered a chance in the gully, where Warner dropped it.The spurning of such a rare opportunity seemed to suggest that Australia’s fielders had ceased to expect catches with the regularity of last summer, and their troubles were soon compounded by another ball that fell short. Diving for a Younis edge from Peter Siddle, Haddin landed on the point of his right shoulder and after grimacing through a few overs in obvious pain, he gave up the gloves to Warner.Almost immediately Nathan Lyon beat Younis through the air and off the pitch with a sharp off break, but Warner was unable to complete the stumping chance. Lyon could not really blame his part-time offsider, and in the next over Warner made amends in any event. Azhar’s fine leg glance off Mitchell Starc required swift movement to the left but Warner did so ably.The wicket brought only temporary relief however, as Misbah quickly found his stride in the company of the unflappable Younis. Pakistan’s captain appeared to enjoy the rare sensation of walking out to bat with his side in complete control, and skipped to a rapid half-century.Haddin returned to the field after lunch, but his pained expressions were to be mimicked by team-mates as Younis and Misbah stretched out their stand with minimal difficulty.In a strong indicator of Australia’s need to look for a quality leg-spin bowler, Smith was the only man to cause trouble, gaining variation of spin and also having one ball shoot through low. But the Australians were now minor characters in a pageant that was being watched by a hearty crowd, just in time to laud Younis’ double hundred and Misbah’s first century in almost a year.Smith’s dismissal of Misbah shortly before tea required a video replay to confirm, but the part-timer’s success appeared another omen for Pakistan – Yasir Shah watched from the stands. Younis’ innings was only ended by a charge and slog at Siddle. Without such extravagance he may well have batted on forever.

Phillip Hughes was the victim of a freakish accident, the kind that is rarely seen in any sphere of life and has only once before been recorded as the result of being struck by a cricket ball

Brydon Coverdale27-Nov-20141:45

Hughes suffered rare injury

Phillip Hughes was the victim of a freakish accident, the kind that is rarely seen in any sphere of life and has only once before been recorded as the result of being struck by a cricket ball.When Hughes was hit in the neck by a ball during the Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and South Australia at the SCG on Tuesday, one of the main arteries to his brain was compressed, and such trauma can often be immediately fatal. Hughes initially stood for a second or two before collapsing forwards onto the ground, as players rushed to his assistance and called for medical help.”Phillip took the blow at the side of the neck and as a result of that blow his vertebral artery, one of the main arteries leading to the brain, was compressed by the ball,” Peter Brukner, the Cricket Australia doctor, said on Thursday. “That caused the artery to split and for bleeding to go up into the brain. He had a massive bleed into his brain. This is frequently fatal at the time.”However, Phillip was resuscitated and then managed by, in particular, Dr John Orchard, the Cricket NSW doctor, and paramedical staff, and we were fortunate enough to have Dr Tim Stanley, an intensive care specialist from Newcastle, who was in the crowd and came and helped. They all did an excellent job of keeping Phillip alive and he was able to be transported by ambulance to hospital in reasonable condition.”Peter Brukner, the Cricket Australia doctor: ‘It was an injury to the neck that caused haemorrhage in the brain’•Getty Images

Hughes was transported to the nearby St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney and was quickly admitted for surgery. Dr Tony Grabs, the trauma director at St Vincent’s, said it was necessary to immediately relieve the pressure on Hughes’ brain from the compressed artery.”The head injury that he suffered was catastrophic,” Dr Grabs said. “He arrived well intubated and [had been] resuscitated very well. It was our recognition that the first priority in this situation is to get an urgent CAT scan of the head to determine what we can do. This CAT scan occurred very early and it was recognised early that we had to make an intervention into the brain to actually help get the pressure down in the brain.”What sometimes happens in the brain is, if you put blood around the brain, a small amount, you will start to become a bit drowsy. If you put a lot of blood around the brain, you will become unconscious. Once we had made the diagnosis of blood around the brain, and it’s a subarachnoid blood, which is under pressure from the artery, the immediate transfer to theatre was necessary. He went to theatre and had extensive surgery to remove some of the skull around his brain to help allow the brain to expand so it wasn’t compressed.”The surgery took approximately 80 minutes and Hughes was then transferred back to the intensive carer unit and placed in an induced coma, in order to allow the brain to rest. However, Hughes showed little improvement over the next 48 hours and died on Thursday afternoon.Asked whether faster ambulance transport to the hospital on Tuesday could have helped Hughes survive, Dr Brukner said such matters were more important when a patient was not receiving treatment.”I think ambulance waiting time is really more relevant when the injured or sick person is not being treated,” Dr Brukner said. “By any standard or observation he was receiving excellent quality treatment from Dr Orchard and Dr Stanley and the paramedics at the ground, and hence arrived at the hospital in excellent condition.”Dr Brukner said that while it was worthwhile reviewing safety equipment and procedures, including helmet design, it was important to understand how extraordinarily rare such an incident was.”This was a freakish accident, because it was an injury to the neck that caused haemorrhage in the brain,” he said. “This condition is incredibly rare. It’s called vertebral artery dissection, leading to subarachnoid haemorrhage – that’s the medical term for it.”If you look in the literature there’s only about 100 cases ever reported, so this is incredibly rare. Only one previous case ever reported as the result of a cricket ball. So I think it’s important to realise that yes, we need to review all our procedures and equipment, but this is an incredibly rare type of injury.”Dr Grabs said it was unlikely St Vincent’s Hospital had ever seen an injury of that nature.

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Felipe Melo terá de cumprir quatro jogos de suspensão no Campeonato Brasileiro por conta de sua expulsão contra o Bahia. A pena foi definida em julgamento no Superior Tribunal de Justiça Desportiva (STJD), nesta sexta-feira. O Palmeiras deve recorrer da decisão.

O departamento jurídico do Verdão tentou um gancho mais branco, e após o resultado prepara o pedido de efeito suspensivo. Felipe já pagou uma partida, a automática, contra o Grêmio; restam três, portanto. O clube espera conseguir a liberação para que o volante enfrente o Flamengo, dia 1º de setembro, como publicou primeiramente o site “GloboEsporte.com”.

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A punição era a mínima no artigo em que foi denunciado no Código Brasileiro de Justiça Desportiva, o 254-A, parágrafo 1º e inciso 1: “Praticar agressão física durante a partida/desferir dolosamente soco, cotovelada, cabeçada ou golpes similares em outrem, de forma contundente ou assumindo o risco de causar dano ou lesão ao atingido”.

Na súmula, o árbitro Igor Junio Benevenuto de Oliveira justificou o cartão vermelho para Felipe Melo por “golpear com o braço o rosto do seu adversário, sr. Lucca Borges de Brito, número 11, com o uso de força excessiva, na disputa de bola”. O documento ainda cita que o atleta do Bahia precisou de atendimento médico.

Além do gancho no Brasileiro, o camisa 30 está fora da partida de terça-feira, contra o Grêmio, pela volta das quartas de final da Copa Libertadores. Ele foi expulso na ida, vencida pelo Verdão por 1 a 0. Felipão e ele consideram os dois cartões amarelos uma pena exagerada, e o jogador deixou o campo chorando em Porto Alegre (RS).

أدلى كارلو أنشيلوتي، المدير الفني لفريق ريال مدريد، بتصريحات عقب فوز الأمس ضد سبورتنج براجا في دوري أبطال أوروبا.

وتلاقى الفريقان في إطار منافسات الجولة الثالثة من دور مجموعات البطولة، حيث فاز ريال مدريد بهدفين لهدف.

وشعر جمهور ريال مدريد بالقلق تجاه إمكانية إصابة نجم الفريق جود بيلينجهام، والذي خرج في الدقيقة 88 لشعوره بانزعاج عضلي، قبل أيام من مواجهة برشلونة في الكلاسيكو (لمطالعة التفاصيل من هنا).

وقال أنشيلوتي في تصريحات نشرتها صحيفة “ماركا” الإسبانية: “لا يوجد شيء خطير، الأمر يتعلق بمعاناته من حِمل زائد قليلًا، ولكن لا يوجد شيء خاص، الأمر جيد، هو متعب قليلًا مثل أي شخص آخر”.

وعن المباراة، قال: “كانت مباراة جيدة وصعبة، الهدف الأول كان هو المفتاح لأن المباراة كانت تسير على المسار الصحيح، وتغيرت الدينامكيات بعد هدف بيلينجهام”.

وتابع: “لم أستمتع بتسجيلهم هدفًا لأننا قبل ذلك كنا نسيطر جيدًا، وكان الفوز في متناول اليد”.

وأردف: “رودريجو؟ إنه موهبة عظيمة وعلينا مساعدته عندما لا يمر بلحظات جيدة، يعود رودريغو تدريجيًا وهذا أمر مهم جدًا بالنسبة لنا”.

واستكمل: “فينيسيوس جونيور؟ أعتقد أنه عاد إلى أفضل مستوياته، لقد قدم تمريرتين حاسمتين، وسجل هدفًا، يمكنك القول إنه صنع الفارق في مباراة اليوم”.

واستطرد: “الكلاسيكو؟ “الأمر واضح بالنسبة لي بعد هذه المباراة، نحن واضحون بشأن ما يتعين علينا القيام به، لدينا الوقت للاستعداد لذلك”.

واستأنف: “مشادة أنطونيو روديجر مع لاعب براجا؟ لا أعلم ما حدث، أعتقد أن مساعد براجا أمسك به، وكان رد فعله هكذا، ولكنه هادئًا الآن في غرفة الملابس”.

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O meia Reinier estreou como titular no time profissional do Flamengo neste sábado, na vitória rubro-negra sobre o Avaí, por 3 a 0, e foi o autor de um dos gols no Estádio Mané Garrinha, em Brasília. Além de balançar a rede, a jovem promessa deu passe para o tento de Gabigol e deu uma “caneta”. A boa atuação rendeu elogios de Jorge Jesus, que o comparou a Kaká.

– Terá um futuro brilhante. Tem coisas parecidas com um jogador brasileiro que foi muito cedo para o exterior. Tem estilo e o perfil físico de Kaká – disse.

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O Flamengo terá a semana livre para focar no duelo com o Santos, marcado para o próximo sábado, no Maracanã, às 17h, pela 19ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro.

Desfalques na vitória sobre o Avaí, Arrascaeta, Bruno Henrique e Berrío, que estão a serviço das respectivas seleções, estarão à disposição na partida contra o Peixe.

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Joe Burns, who will make his debut in Melbourne, has been trying to fly under the radar, trying not to stay on the right side of the established players

Brydon Coverdale25-Dec-20142:10

Bevan: Burns is a hard-wicket player

A Boxing Day Test debut is the stuff of dreams for young Australian cricketers. For some, it has led to a long and successful career – Steve Waugh and Brett Lee, for example. Others like Ed Cowan, Phil Jaques, Martin Love and Jackson Bird have had shorter careers, though in the cases of Cowan and Bird, that could still change. Matthew Nicholson’s Boxing Day debut was his only Test.The latest addition to the list will be Queensland batsman Joe Burns, who will become the 441st man to wear the baggy green when he walks out onto the MCG turf. For serious cricket followers, Burns is an exciting prospect who deserves his chance. More casual cricket fans will say they don’t know much about Burns and call him a bolter.Even among the squad this week, Burns has been trying to fly under the radar, trying not to stay on the right side of the established players. Brad Haddin joked on Tuesday that Burns had asked him where he was allowed to sit in the change-rooms. Burns admitted that his eagerness to please had indeed stretched that far.”I’ve been trying to keep a low profile,” Burns said. “I’ve been asking guys like Brad Haddin and Ryan Harris about where to sit, what to do. Just trying to keep off everyone’s toes and make sure I’m on the best behaviour… I got very nervous and stood in the middle of the room until everyone else sat down and found a seat. Then I was informed that I was in Michael Clarke’s seat so I’ve got a lot to live up to in that seat.”In the spotlight: It’s Joe Burns’ first visit to a Boxing Day Test•Getty Images

It’s fair to say this is a very different Christmas for Burns, who would usually spend the time with his family in Brisbane. Instead, they are joining him in Melbourne to watch his debut at No.6 for Australia. It will be a first not only for the Burns family, but for Joe Burns himself.”I’ve never been to a Boxing Day Test,” Burns said. “So from that point of view it’s even more exciting, to come along to the ground, see a sold out MCG and soak it all in. It’s exciting just to say those words. To live it out on Friday, I can’t wait.”At least Burns has pleasant memories of his previous trips to the MCG. He has played two Sheffield Shield games at the venue for scores of 59, 123 and 71. He hopes to find a similar surface when he bats there in a Test match, though the pressure in front of tens of thousands of spectators will be a little more than when he played in the Shield in front of tens of people.”I certainly do enjoy batting here,” Burns said. “It’s a wicket that can be quite flat, but also retain its pace. It’s a nice batting wicket. I haven’t seen the pitch for the Test yet, but I imagine it’ll be much the same. Obviously there is going to be more pressure, but hopefully that makes it more enjoyable.”Adding to the familiarity for Burns is the presence of coach Darren Lehmann in the Australian squad. Lehmann was in charge of Queensland when Burns first emerged as a state cricketer of note at the age of 21. Burns said he was the player and person he was today because of the influence of Lehmann.”I was a young player when he took over and teaching me everything that goes with professional cricket,” Burns said. “The values, the type of character, the way to go about the game on and off the field. I think I certainly am the player I am today and I guess the person around cricket I am today because of the influence he had on me from a younger age. I’m just excited to have him as my first Australian coach. It’s very special.”

أعلن الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم “فيفا” عن قراره بشأن رئيس الاتحاد الإسباني لكرة القدم السابق، لويس روبياليس، بعد فضيحة كأس العالم للسيدات 2023.

تم إتهام روبياليس بارتكاب أفعال منافية للآداب العامة، بعد فوز منتخب بلده إسبانيا للسيدات بلقب كأس العالم، حيث قام بتقبيل عدد من اللاعبات في مشهد كان مؤسفًا للجميع.

واستبعد روبياليس من منصبه على الفور قبل بداية التحقيقات واليوم، الإثنين، أصدر فيفا عقوبته النهائية تجاه الإسباني.

اقرأ أيضًا.. نيمار يُكلف خزائن فيفا مبلغًا ضخمًا بعد إصابته الخطيرة

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has banned Luis Rubiales, the former president of the Spanish Football Association, from all football-related activities at national and international levels for three years

▶️ https://t.co/BtyFhH5Fmt pic.twitter.com/wROu12rJPm — FIFA Media (@fifamedia) October 30, 2023

وأكد الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم في بيانه أن روبياليس محروم من أي أنشطة رياضية لمدة 3 سنوات مقبلة، كعقوبة تجاه أفعاله المشينة في نهائي كأس العالم للسيدات.

وخاطب فيفا رئيس الاتحاد الإسباني الأسبق بقرار لجنة التأديب وفقًا للوائح والقوانين الخاصة بالاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم.

ويكرر فيفا خلال بيانه بأنه يحترم ويعزم سلامة جميع الأشخاص وضمان احترام القواعد الأساسية للسلوك اللائق وهو ما خالفه روبياليس.

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Os torcedores do São Paulo devem estar apreensivos para a jogo deste sábado, contra o Internacional, no Beira-Rio, por conta dos inúmeros desfalques da equipe de Cuca, entre eles Antony e Daniel Alves. No entanto, há motivos também para se animar como fatores dos quais o clube pode tirar proveito para garantir os três pontos e evitar o distanciamento dos líderes do Brasileiro.

Apesar de ter oito baixas para a viagem para Porto Alegre e precisar recorrer aos jovens da base para reforçar os relacionados, o Tricolor consegue manter setores intactos, que não devem sentir os efeitos das ausências. Estamos falando, por exemplo, da defesa, que terá sua formação considerada titular no momento: Tiago Volpi; Juanfran, Arboleda, Anderson Martins e Reinaldo.

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Outro ponto positivo é a dupla Tchê Tchê e Liziero, desenhada já algum tempo por Cuca e que agora vem conseguindo uma sequência, após o camisa 14 ficar afastado por lesão no tornozelo direito. Do meio para frente é que o problema se agrava. Sem Hernanes, Daniel Alves e Igor Gomes, a posição de meia fica esvaziada, bem como a de centroavante e o espaço ocupado por Antony, muito mais pela importância do jovem no time do que pela falta de opções.

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Porém, ao olhar do outro lado do campo, o São Paulo verá uma equipe bem mais desfalcada. Isso porque, na próxima quarta-feira, o Inter terá a primeira final da Copa do Brasil contra o Athletico-PR, fora de casa, e optará por poupar seus titulares neste sábado, além disso Tréllez, Natanael e Wellington Silva, que fariam parte do “time B” não poderão ir para o jogo.

Dessa forma, abre-se uma boa oportunidade para a conquista dos três pontos importantes para não deixar que os líderes Flamengo e Santos escapem ainda mais. Mesmo que o Colorado seja o segundo melhor mandante do campeonato, o Tricolor é o segundo melhor visitante, e se vencer o adversário desta 18ª rodada reassumirá a ponta do ranking de desempenho fora de casa.

Até a última rodada, os são-paulinos lideravam a tabela de visitantes com 14 pontos, mas o Santos venceu a Chapecoense na Arena Condá e passou a somar 16, ou seja, uma vitória tricolor neste sábado fará a equipe de Cuca retomar a primeira posição. E o triunfo pode ser uma tarefa um pouco mais fácil do que seria se o Inter estivesse com seu time titular, portanto trata-se de uma boa oportunidade para atingir os objetivos, mesmo com tantos desfalques.

Internacional e São Paulo se enfrentam neste sábado, às 19h, no Beira-Rio, pela 18ª rodada do Brasileirão-2019, a penúltima do primeiro turno. O Tricolor ocupa a quarta posição com 31 pontos, cinco atrás de Flamengo e Santos, enquanto os gaúchos estão na sexta colocação com 27.

Três melhores visitantes do Brasileirão-2019:

1) Santos – 16 pontos/9 jogos/5 vitórias/1 empate/3 derrotas
2) São Paulo – 14 pontos/8 jogos/4 vitórias/2 empates/2 derrotas
3) Palmeiras – 13 pontos/9 jogos/3 vitórias/4 empates/2 derrotas

Três melhores mandantes do Brasileirão-2019:

1) Flamengo – 24 pontos/8 jogos/8 vitórias/0 empates/0 derrotas
2) Internacional – 23 pontos/9 jogos/7 vitórias/2 empates/0 derrotas
3) Corinthians – 21 pontos/9 jogos/6 vitórias/3 empates/0 derrotas

كشفت تقارير صحفية أن التصريحات التي أدلها بها النجم الأرجنتيني، ليونيل ميسي، في حفل جائزة الكرة الذهبية أمس الأول، لاقت رواجًا كبيرًا في نادي برشلونة.

كان ميسي قد حصل على جائزة الكرة الذهبية، لأفضل لاعب في العالم لعام 2023، للمرة الثامنة في تاريخه.

وأدلى ليونيل ميسي بالكثير من التصريحات على هامش الحفل، وتركزت بعضها على ناديه السابق برشلونة، حيث وصفه بـ”أفضل فريق في التاريخ”، كما أكد أنه يتطلع للعودة من جديد من أجل تقديم الوداع المناسب للجماهير (لمطالعة التفاصيل من هنا).

من جانبها، ذكرت صحيفة “موندو ديبورتيفو” الإسبانية أن برشلونة يتطلع إلى منح التكريم المناسب لـ ميسي في أسرع وقت ممكن.

وأوضحت أن كلمات ميسي بشأن برشلونة، في حفل الأمس، لاقت رواجًا كبيرًا في النادي الكتالوني، مؤكدة أن هناك اتصالات مفتوحة مع ممثلي ميسي لبحث فكرة التكريم.

وأشارت إلى أن الفكرة في الوقت الحالي تتمثل في منح التكريم لـ ميسي عند العودة إلى ملعب “سبوتيفاي كامب نو” بعد انتهاء أعمال التجديد.

وأفادت بأن جميع الأطراف ترى أن ذلك المكان هو المناسب لإقامة تكريم ميسي، مما يعني إمكانية حدوث ذلك في نهاية نوفمبر العام المقبل، حيث ستكون السعة التقريبية المتاحة آنذاك في الملعب 60 %.

وأكدت أن برشلونة فكر في إرجاء الفكرة لحين الانتهاء بنسبة 100 % من السعة الخاصة بالملعب، ولكن من المفضل القيام بذلك حتى لو لم يتم الانتهاء بشكل كامل من الأمر.

وبهذا المعنى، يرى مجلس الإدارة أن الانتظار حتى عام 2026، عندما تنتهي أعمال الاستاد من الناحية النظرية، هو انتظار طويل جدًا.

AB de Villiers almost denied himself the opportunity to bat on a Wanderers’ belter because he thought there was someone else who could finish off what Rilee Rossouw and Hashim Amla started with more of a flourish.

Firdose Moonda18-Jan-20151:51

de Villiers; Today was my day

AB de Villiers almost denied himself the opportunity to bat on a Wanderers’ belter because he thought there was someone else who could finish off what Rilee Rossouw and Hashim Amla started with more of a flourish.”I approached Russell Domingo about four or five times saying, ‘Are you sure me and not David Miller?’ and he said ‘Yes, sure,’ and then two or three overs later, Sulieman Benn came back and I went to Russell for a final time and said ‘Maybe him now?’ and he still said, ‘No, you’. Russell feels I can inject us with fuel, momentum, which I can do but I just felt David could do it better,” de Villiers explained afterwards. “It was just my day.” And what a day it was.De Villiers was called on with 11-and-a-half overs to go in the South Africa innings and needed less than half of those to shatter the world record for the fastest century, rack up his own career-best and take the team to their highest ODI total. All of that took place at what seemed like fast-forward, which was part of de Villiers’ plan.”My thinking was just to be aggressive. I had no pressure on me. I could free up nicely, knowing that if I get out, there are quite a few guys to come who could hit the ball,” he said. “You don’t very often just come in and get momentum behind you right away. More often than not, you’ve got to work for it. Today was an exception. Out of nowhere, you hit a couple in the middle and then start going. Sometimes you’ve got to work harder to get that sniff, or get that click. Today it just happened from the word go.”The surface had something to do with de Villiers’ success, which is also why he wanted Miller, who scored quickly on a sluggish Durban pitch two days’ ago, to come in ahead of him at first. “On this kind of wicket and on this field, if you’re in decent kind of form and you swing hard and you get a bit of luck behind you, you can do amazing things,” he said.But the truth was that de Villiers’ own ability accounted for much more of the record-breaking show. He seemed to know which shot he was going to play before the bowler had released his delivery, a result of time spent analysing the batsmen before him and a desire to take the fight to the opposition attack.”I sit in front of the TV and I watch every ball when we bat and I try and look at what’s happening. I walk out there knowing how I want to play my innings but it’s very rare I walk out there thinking I am going to go at 200 strike rate from ball one. Today was one of those games and still, I needed a lot of luck to bat the way I did,” he said.AB de Villiers smashed it to all parts in an incredible innings•Gallo Images

“You have to sort of read the game a little bit to see what the bowler is trying to do. You can’t just let him bowl at you, you have to try and take the initiative and put him under a bit of pressure. I don’t know how many balls I faced, I premeditated but you’ve got to take the initiative and take the attack to the bowler, instead of him bowling to you.”As de Villiers dictated proceedings, West Indies found themselves being winded and could not figure out how to come up for air. “We were just trying to bowl wide to him but it wasn’t working,” Denesh Ramdin said. “We didn’t set the appropriate fields. He came out there and played his game and he just kept going and going.” In the end the West Indian wicketkeeper admitted he was treated to “one of the best ODI innings I have ever seen; in the history of cricket.”Praise like that keeps de Villiers motivated and he hopes that can rub off on the team on the way to the World Cup. “Performances like this helps the confidence. That’s what I believe 80 or 90% of sport is about – believing in yourself as a team and as an individual and you can see the difference between teams that play with confidence and teams that don’t,” de Villiers said. “I’d like to believe we are getting more confidence behind us. That’s what this series is all about: for us to play well and get confidence and to go to the World Cup believing we are the best in the world. No team has ever won the World Cup not thinking they are the best. You’ve got to believe you are the best and I think we are close to that.”