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by Kepler Wessels 05/03/2017, 11:53

South Africa thoroughly deserved their one-day series win against the Black Caps.

I felt all the way through that the South African combination was far stronger and I was a bit surprised that the Kiwis managed to take the series into a deciding fifth game in Auckland.

In a way this wasn't a bad thing. It gave the Proteas the feeling of playing in a knockout game. This match simulated the pressure that the South African side will face during the decisive phase of the Champions Trophy during the month of June in England.

They came through with flying colours in the last match, dominating New Zealand from ball one. AB de Villiers was quoted as saying that his team is ready for the Champions Trophy. I agree with him. In terms of preparation things are on track. This last series victory came on the back of convincing wins against Australia and Sri Lanka.

I thought De Villiers himself was excellent on this tour. He batted superbly and his captaincy was outstanding. The Proteas are fortunate to have two superb leaders in Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers at their disposal. The team has got used to both leadership styles and both captains bring the best out of their charges. They also lead from the front, which is another huge plus for the Proteas.

My only slight concern regarding the squad remains the seam bowling. On flat surfaces the seam attack can be inconsistent and at times expensive. When the surfaces change and offer something for the seam bowlers they do well. If the weather is fine in England leading up to the tournament in June the surfaces will be pretty flat so the quality and composition of the seam attack remains a work in progress.

The Proteas have won the Champions Trophy once before. As a result there is not the same pressure going into the event as there is for a World Cup. The group the Proteas find themselves in is the better of the two. They share the group with India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The top two teams go through to the semifinal. If AB de Villiers and his men play to the best of their ability they should get through to the knockout phase comfortably.

Meanwhile, here in New Zealand it is on to the test matches. There is no question that New Zealand is concerned about their batting strength. They fear the South African pace attack. The talk here is all about flat pitches that will negate the fast bowlers and turn as the test matches progress.

The South African test side differs vastly from the one-day combination. It remains a settled side with only one position up for grabs. This is the third seamer spot. When Kyle Abbot left the fold Duane Olivier played the last test against Sri Lanka at the Wanderers. He performed pretty well in that game so he will be unlucky if he doesn't retain his spot.

Morne Morkel has joined the squad and by all accounts he is injury and pain free. He did play in a couple of one-day matches recently. Whether the selectors will risk him this week in the first test in Dunedin remains to be seen.

Like the one-day series the Proteas are strong favourites to win the test series. New Zealand depend too heavily on Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Tim Southee, Trent Bolt and Neil Wagner. If they don't score the runs or take the wickets the Kiwis are under pressure. The Proteas have far more depth and a better balance under all conditions.

We can expect the same in the test matches as we saw during the one-day internationals. The Kiwis will scrap hard but in the end the Proteas should prevail without too much difficulty.

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The Proteas should prevail - SuperSport (blog)

LAHORE: Kai Kai Quetta Gladiators lock horns with Khpal team Peshawar Zalmi for the Pakistan Super League 2017 title at the Gaddafi Stadium tonight, as the league comes to where it belongs its rightful home, Pakistan.

Tonight, before thousands of roaring fans, Sarfraz Ahmeds men will battle it out with Darren Sammys XI for the ultimate championship, as the entire nation comes together to watch the action unfold at Lahores historic ground.

Also read: Gaddafi Stadium Down memory lane

Gladiators beat Zalmi by one run in the first playoff to secure their place in the final, while Zalmi outclassed Karachi Kings by 24 runs in Fridays knockout game to avenge last years heartbreak, when their journey to the final was cruelly cut short by Islamabad United.

The stage is set, the ground is ready, the trophy is up for grabs and the fans cant wait. The security around Gaddafi Stadium has been beefed up with thousands of security personnel deployed to stand guard, as cricket returns to the heart of Pakistan.

The two teams have clashed thrice in this tournament. Their first game was washed out; Zalmi won the second encounter by 2 wickets, while Gladiators defeated Zalmi in the third faceoff (the first qualifying final) in a last-ball thriller.

Gladiators are without their top overseas players Kevin Pietersen, Luke Wright, Tymal Mills and Rilee Rossouw, who withdrew from the final after their side secured a berth in the grand finale. The team has instead named five other foreign players who will be part of the squad tonight: Anamul Haque (Bangladesh), Sean Ervine (Zimbabwe), Morne Van Wyk (South Africa), Elton Chigumbura (Zimbabwe) and Rayad Emrit (West Indies), along with Aizaz Cheema, who is in for injured Umar Gul.

Also read: Sarfraz confident Quetta will win this time

Four foreign players of Zalmi, meanwhile, reached Lahore late Saturday night to take part in the final. They include skipper Darren Sammy, Dawid Malan, Marlon Samuels and Chris Jordan. England player Samit Patel was not issued NOC from his county. All-rounder Shahid Afridi has been ruled out of the PSL final after he copped a nasty blow to his hand during fielding in Fridays game.

Zalmi wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal is this tournaments highest scorer with 313 runs.

Fast bowler Wahab Riaz is this PSLs second-highest wicket-taker with a tally of 13.

From the Gladiators current squad, Ahmad Shahzad is the top scorer with 241 runs.

Spinner Mohammad Nawaz is the top wicket-taker with 9 wickets.

See more here:
Final showdown: Quetta Gladiators, Peshawar Zalmi clash for PSL 2017 championship - Geo News, Pakistan

"Pressure is a Messerschmitt up your arse, playing cricket is not," Keith Miller, the great Australia allrounder once said.

If it is accepted that the results of sporting contests require a dose of perspective now and again, it wouldn't really be sport if there wasn't the talk of pressure.

It abounded at Eden Park on Friday as New Zealand and South Africa prepared for the deciding one-day international (although AB de Villiers started it straight after the Hamilton defeat). Perhaps the series was always destined to finish this way.

If either side hoped that they could finally move on from that semi-final two years ago - New Zealand are no doubt happier for the memories to linger - then they will have been disappointed. It was a frequent topic around the T20 two weeks ago; this time it has a little more relevance.

New Zealand are defending a record of seven straight home ODI series wins (and eight trophies counting the Chappell-Hadlee that was on offer for the World Cup match against Australia) and South Africa need to win to regain the No. 1 ranking that they lost after the Hamilton defeat. So who is the pressure on?

"Us for playing big moments, and New Zealand as home team with a very good record of maintaining home series'," Faf du Plessis said. "They would be very disappointed to not keep that record strong. For us it is the pressure of playing a big game and trying to come out on top."

Victory in the opening match of this series gave South Africa a run of 12 wins on the bounce, but New Zealand have pushed them harder than either an under-strength Australia or the overpowered Sri Lanka managed on home soil.

While the series win and No. 1 ranking are of great importance to South Africa, the significance of this match does not extend to that of a Champions Trophy or World Cup knockout game. Since that semi-final at Eden Park, South Africa have faced five deciding ODIs: against Bangladesh, New Zealand, India, England (coming from 2-0 down) and in the Caribbean triangular last year. They won the middle three of those, losing to Bangladesh and being knocked out in the final group match in West Indies.

That is a mixed bag of results, but winning in India and coming from 2-0 down in a five-match series is not to be sniffed at. However, it does suggest that for all the baggage of Eden Park there won't really be much learnt by the outcome, although du Plessis was willing to play his part and give the "pressure" value a tweak.

"Definitely from pressure point of view, since [the World Cup], this could be the one that has most value to it," he said. "Other series have gone 5-0, 5-0, so for the relevance of getting into a big moment, this is big in terms of that."

New Zealand's success rate in deciding matches since the World Cup, where it should be remembered they did not handle the pressure of the final very well, is a mixed bag. Wins against Zimbabwe, Australia and Pakistan (although the latter was effectively just a two-match series) have been countered by defeats at the hands of England, South Africa and India. While du Plessis did not attempt to downplay the decider much, Tim Southee acknowledged the World Cup semi-final but also how New Zealand never try to elevate one game above another.

"A few guys were involved but we are just looking forward to going out in a deciding match against the best side in the world," Southee said. "The excitement level lifts a little bit. But I think that was one of our strengths through the World Cup. No matter what stage we were at throughout that tournament, our preparation and levelness around the group didn't change. The guys will be naturally excited, there's a little bit more at stake, but we'll prepare the same way."

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Teams return to the pressure of a must-win at Eden Park - ESPN

Relegation-threatened champions dismiss manager, nine months after winning Premier League titleFriday, March 3, 2017

Even by the standards of modern soccer management mayhem, the vertiginous rise and equally stunning fall of Leicester City coach Claudio Ranieri takes the breath away.

The Italian was sacked by the Premier League club last Thursday, less than 24 hours after his team battled to a creditable 2-1 defeat in the first leg of a Champions League last 16 knockout game against European specialists Sevilla.

Leicester and the Champions League in the same sentence is not something fans of the Midlands club would ever have thought about before last year, let alone a brilliant group stage campaign they swept through as winners with a game to spare. The club are three points, three places and millions of pounds better off than they were at this stage of the Premier League campaign two years ago.

There is also the little matter of writing one of the most amazing stories in the history of world sport as they defied odds of 5,000-1 to win the title and enter the lexicon of the English language as people now talk of doing a Leicester.

So, of course, having had such amazing success after a century of mediocrity, at the first sign of trouble, the manager had to go.

After all that Claudio Ranieri has done for Leicester City, to sack him now is inexplicable, unforgivable and gut-wrenchingly sad, the clubs former striker-turned pundit Gary Lineker said in comments echoed across social media.

PERIPATETIC CAREER

Moving on is something Ranieri is used to, of course, having led and now left no fewer than 14 clubs and one country during his peripatetic 30-year coaching career. Not small clubs either as he has led Napoli, Roma, Atltico Madrid, Juventus, Inter Milan, Monaco and, of course, Chelsea, where he was and still is universally loved by the fans.

He led the Londoners to a second-place finish in the league, their best for 49 years, and the Champions League semi-finals. New owner Roman Abramovich, however, decided he was not a big enough name and Jos Mourinho arrived to develop the team Ranieri built and reap the glorious returns.

More European wanderings, including a short spell as manager of Greece, brought him yet more friends, but little tangible success the theme of his career. Although his CV was glittering in terms of location, it was less so in terms of trophies, with a smattering of domestic cups and lower-tier titles to show for his efforts.

So, there was hardly dancing in the streets of the East Midlands when he was appointed as Leicester boss to succeed Nigel Pearson, who was sacked despite engineering one of the all-time great escapes in the last weeks of the 2014-15 season.

Most Leicester fans would have been happy with another season of survival, with the club having climbed out of the Championship two years earlier. Little did they know the lovable Italian was about to take them on the ride of their lives.

Strong start

Leicester started strongly last season and then defied the almost weekly predictions that they would fall away.

In much the same way Brian Clough turned second division Nottingham Forest into European champions almost 40 years ago, Ranieri fashioned a team of also-rans into a tight unit with unquenchable spirit who played incisive counter-attacking football.

Journeymen like Jamie Vardy and Danny Drinkwater suddenly became England internationals, while Riyad Mahrez and NGolo Kante, barely noticed as they plied their trade in the French lower leagues, were catapulted into the world- class bracket.

As early season promise developed into a top-of-the-table New Year, Ranieri was a picture of Kiplingesque calm, dealing with the impending, and rare, triumph in the same way that he had so often accepted its twin imposter of disaster. With every win came the question: Can you win it?, followed by a smile, and his answer: Why not?

But Leicester did not just win the Premier League, they cantered to the title, finishing an incredible 10 points clear in a fairytale success toasted in every corner of the soccer world. Nobody expected a repeat this season, and the fans were happy to continue enjoying more heady nights with a deeply impressive first Champions League campaign.

But Citys slide down the Premier League table spooked their Thai owners. Like so many before who have had a taste of the high life, the shadow of normality meant the man they described on Thursday as the clubs most successful manager had to go.

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Leicester City sack Ranieri, ending an unforgettable dream - Buenos Aires Herald

MONTEGO BAY, St James Newly crowned Jamaica Football Federation Western Confederation Charleys JB Rum Super League mid-season champions Reggae Youths will meet Montego Bay Boys Club at the UDC field on Saturday as the third round cross-zone gets underway with two St James derbies.

Reggae Youths, who came from two goals down to beat Sandals South Coast in the mid-season final 5-2 in extra time at Jarrett Park on Sunday, will be seeking to avenge a loss in the St James Football Associations Captains Bakery and Grill Knockout last week.

At Jarrett Park, defending champions Granville United and Faulkland SC, both seeking to make a run at the top four, will meet in another game.

The remainder of the round of matches will be played on Sunday and will see Sandals South Coast seeking to rebound from their first loss of the season when they host Three Miles River. Clarks Town will host Holland United at Cedric Titus High; Hopewell meet Wadadah FC at Orchard; and Beaches Negril and Petersfield will play at Long Bay Beach Park.

In the third round teams from either zone will play each once, and the top four teams on points from all three rounds will advance to the semi-finals.

Sandals South Coast, the beaten finalists last year, lead the table with 28 points, nine more than Reggae Youths.Meanwhile, Montego Bay Boys Club and Faulkland SC and Clarks Town are tied on 16 points each.

On Saturday Reggae Youths will seek to maintain their momentum from Sundays game when they take on a Boys Club team that are winless in their last three Super League games.

Denardo Kerr put his hands up for a starting position with two goals in extra time on Sunday and could partner OCarey Spence, the competitions top scorer with nine goals, and Santino Grinnion.

Boys Club could move into second place if they can repeat their win from last week, but could face a tougher Reggae Youths team than the one they played in the parish knockout game last week.

Boys Club have the best defensive record of any team in the competition, conceding just five goals in 10 games, but has scored just nine goals.

At Jarrett Park, Faulkland FC will hope to continue their resurgence at the expense of the defending champions as they seek to press for a place in the top four.

Faulkland SC, who are facing their toughest test in four years of existence, are unbeaten in their last three games, creeping to fourth place, and within striking distance of second place.

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Reggae Youths to meet Boys Club in JFF Western Confed - Jamaica Observer