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Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes fired Portugal ahead against Iceland on Sunday with a beautiful strike from the far corner of the box.

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Portugal host Iceland in Euro 2024 qualifier Fernandes scores first-half openerPerfect response to Man Utd criticsWHAT HAPPENED?

Iceland were holding Portugal at 0-0 with half-time fast approaching in the Euro 2024 qualifying clash, only for Fernandes to pop up with a moment of brilliance to break the deadlock. He controlled a back-heel pass from Bernardo Silva out in front of him before unleashing a superb shot that flew into the far corner of the net, with Iceland goalkeeper Hakon Valdimarsson unable to get near the ball despite a full-stretch dive.

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Portugal were already safely through to next summer's European Championship, having won all of their opening nine games in Group J. Fernandes is now up to six goals and seven assists in qualifying outings, and appears to be saving his best performances for the international stage. The 29-year-old midfielder has faced criticism for his performances at Manchester United this season, with Erik ten Hag's side having slipped way off the pace in the Premier League – but supporters will hope he can transfer his form for Portugal back to his club ahead of a busy festive period.

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Getty ImagesWHAT'S NEXT FOR FERNANDES

Fernandes will likely return to Ten Hag's starting XI when United take on Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday. The Red Devils will then turn their attention to the Champions League, with a must-win encounter against Galatasaray on the cards.

All the squads as they are announced for the women's soccer tournament at Tokyo's Olympic Games this summer

The women’s football tournament at this summer’s Olympic Games gets under way on July 21, with squads of 22 players to be selected by the 12 participating nations.

The rosters for the Games are usually of 18, but have been increased in size this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Unlike in the men’s tournament, the squads have no age restrictions, which means the Olympics are recognised as second only to the World Cup when it comes to major international tournaments in the women’s game.

Goal brings you all the confirmed squads as they are announced.

GettyCanada

Bev Priestman, who was named head coach of Canada in October 2020, announced her 22-player roster on June 23.

Thirteen players in the squad were involved in the team that won a bronze medal in Rio five years ago.

Midfielder Sophie Schmidt, who has over 200 caps, and 20-year-old starlet Jordyn Huitema, who ranked second in Goal's 2020 NXGN list, were initially among the surprise absentees, named among the reserves when the squads were still limited to 18 players. Both, however, are now part of the main squad.

Goalkeepers: Stephanie Labbe, Kailen Sheridan, Erin McLeod.

Defenders: Kadeisha Buchanan, Vanessa Gilles, Shelina Zadorski, Allysha Chapman, Ashley Lawrence, Jayde Riviere, Gabrielle Carle.

Midfielders: Jessie Fleming, Julia Grosso, Quinn, Desiree Scott, Sophie Schmidt.

Forwards: Janine Beckie, Adriana Leon, Nichelle Prince, Deanne Rose, Christine Sinclair, Evelyne Viens, Jordyn Huitema.

AdvertisementGettyChile

Chile head coach Jose Letelier announced his 22-player squad for this summer's tournament on July 2.

After guiding the nation to their first ever Women's World Cup in 2019, the 55-year-old will coach the team at their first ever Olympic Games this summer too.

Seven players on the roster play their football abroad, including Christiane Endler, who recently signed for seven-time European champions Lyon. Antonia Canales, Universidad Catolica's 18-year-old goalkeeper, is the only uncapped player in the team.

Goalkeepers: Christiane Endler, Natalia Campos, Antonia Canales.

Defenders: Carla Guerrero, Camila Saez, Daniela Pardo, Javiera Toro, Valentina Diaz, Fernanda Ramirez.

Midfielders: Francisca Lara, Yanara Aedo, Karen Araya, Yessenia Lopez, Francisca Mardones, Nayadet Lopez, Yastin Jimenez.

Forwards: Daniela Zamora, Maria Jose Urrutia, Fernanda Pinilla, Rosario Balmaceda, Javiera Grez, Yenny Acuna.

GettyGreat Britain

Great Britain's final squad for this summer's Olympic Games was announced on May 27.

Head coach Hege Riise has named 19 players from England, two from Scotland and one from Wales to her roster, with no one from Northern Ireland making the cut. Kim Little and Caroline Weir helped Scotland reach their first Women's World Cup in 2019, while Wales' Sophie Ingle was part of the Chelsea side that won the league, cup and reached the UEFA Women's Champions League final last season.

Karen Bardsley pulled out of the squad due to injury on June 12, with Carly Telford announced as her replacement six days later.

Goalkeepers: Ellie Roebuck, Carly Telford, Sandy MacIver.

Defenders: Steph Houghton, Millie Bright, Lucy Bronze, Rachel Daly, Demi Stokes, Leah Williamson, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Niamh Charles.

Midfielders: Kim Little, Jill Scott, Sophie Ingle, Keira Walsh, Caroline Weir, Ella Toone.

Forwards: Ellen White, Lauren Hemp, Fran Kirby, Nikita Parris, Georgia Stanway.

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GettyJapan

Hosts Japan named their final squad for this summer's Games on June 18.

Head coach Asako Takakura has called upon 16 players who play their club football at home, with Saki Kumagai, who recently swapped Lyon for Bayern Munich, and Mana Iwabuchi, who has also transferred from Aston Villa to Arsenal this summer, the only two players that remain from the team that won a silver medal at London 2012.

Goalkeepers: Sakiko Ikeda, Ayaka Yamashita, Chika Hirao.

Defenders: Saki Kumagai, Risa Shimizu, Asato Miyagawa, Moeka Minami, Nanami Kitamura, Saori Takarada, Shiori Miyake.

Midfielders: Emi Nakajima, Yui Hasegawa, Hina Sugita, Narumi Miura, Yuzuho Shiokoshi, Jun Endo, Honoka Hayashi, Momoka Kinoshita.

Forwards: Yuika Sugasawa, Mana Iwabuchi, Mina Tanaka, Yuka Momiki.

Ben Smith, the former Worcestershire and Leicestershire batsman, has returned to where his career began after taking the role of batting coach at Grace Road

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2011Ben Smith, the former Worcestershire and Leicestershire batsman, has returned to where his career began after taking the role of batting coach at Grace Road where he started as a player in 1990.Smith, 39, won two Championship titles with Leicestershire in 1996 and 1998 and scored 8,606 first-class runs before his departure to Worcestershire. He succeeded Graeme Hick as captain at New Road in 2003 and scored a further 8,530 first-class runs before retiring in 2010.”I am delighted to take this opportunity and to be involved with the ongoing development of a very talented group of players,” said Smith. “I have very fond memories of playing cricket at Grace Road so to be able to give something back to the club is very exciting.”I would like to thank Worcestershire for their support over the last ten years, firstly as a player and then guiding me into a coaching career,” he added. “Worcestershire is a very special club and I am certain it always will be. I am incredibly proud to have represented the club and being part of its history.”The job of Leicestershire batting coach was originally on offer to Paul Nixon but he turned down the role to try and secure a job at the IPL.The Leicestershire head coach Phil Whitticase said: “I’m really pleased to have Ben on board. He brings enthusiasm, innovation and experience to the coaching team and I look forward to working with him.”

A century from Riki Wessels and a solid opening stand between Alex Hales and Neil Edwards put Nottinghamshire in a strong position after two days

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge07-Apr-2012
ScorecardJust when it seemed Worcestershire were in position to pull off an improbable victory at Trent Bridge, a late burst of destructive bowling tipped the balance back in favour of Nottinghamshire. Worcestershire had been favourites to win before the second new ball became available but they enter the final day suddenly facing a tall order to avoid defeat. They are 134 behind, with only four wickets in hand and the new ball has had only five overs of wear.Yet, even if the final day has defeat in store for them, they can console themselves with the knowledge that the competitive spirit that enabled them to defy their status as relegation favourites last season remains intact. Chasing what seemed likely to be no more than a nominal target of 392 to win, they managed to reduced it to 157 while losing only Michael Klinger and Vikram Solanki. At that stage, with the pitch behaving as well as it had throughout the match, you would not have bet against them pulling it off.But a partnership of 174 between their captain, Daryl Mitchell, and the allrounder Moeen Ali, ended when Ali, six short of a century, was caught behind off a slightly weary drive against Andre Adams. Then what had been such a promising position unravelled rather dramatically.Nottinghamshire, by then a little ragged in the field and getting scant help from the pitch, were toiling. Once Moeen had departed, with the new ball imminent, responsibility rested on the shoulders of Mitchell to hold things together. Mitchell’s task became more onerous when Ben Phillips, the right-arm seamer who has bowled well throughout this match, needed only six deliveries with the new ball to deal Worcestershire another blow, bowling Alexei Kervezee off his padsMitchell had played superbly, anchoring the innings for more than five hours. He had been granted an unusual reprieve during the morning, allowed to continue on 9 despite being apparently given out leg before by umpire George Sharp, who then reversed the decision when Adams, the bowler, declined to appeal.He completed a fine century off 237 balls with his 12th boundary but faced only one more before Luke Fletcher bowled him. The ball was swinging for the broadly-built seamer and he struck again with his next delivery, badly misjudged by new batsman Ben Scott, who did not offer a shot.  Now the Worcestershire target suddenly looked a considerable one.In the morning, Nottinghamshire had added 48 runs to their overnight total, 25 of them coming in a typically violent assault by Adams. Riki Wessels stretched the century he had completed on Friday evening to 113 before he was leg before playing across one from Alan Richardson, whose five-wicket haul was just reward for carrying the heaviest workload among the Worcestershire bowlers, at 36, and as unselfishly as ever.Substantial though it is, Worcestershire’s target does not require them to break any records. In June 1996, at Bath, they chased down 446 to beat Somerset by one wicket with three balls to spare. Steve Rhodes, then wicketkeeper, now director of cricket, scored 92 not out. Solanki, aged 20 and in only his eighth first-class match, made 71.He looked as if he might do something similar, if not better, for a while yesterday, but having been dropped at first slip on 20 he aimed a loose drive at Adams to be caught at backward point. He was annoyed with himself, with just cause.  Another 50 or so from him and Worcestershire might still be favourites.Instead, Nottinghamshire can anticipate a winning start to the season, having already had one piece of good news in the shape of an England Performance Squad that includes neither Alex Hales, who has appeared in four Twenty20 internationals, nor James Taylor, the England Lions captain who joined them from Leicestershire during the winter.Having seen Samit Patel make his Test debut in Sri Lanka, Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket, had been worried his side’s prospects might be seriously compromised should England see fit to fast-forward Hales and Taylor in their international development. To his relief, Jonathan Bairstow, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes appear to be ahead in the pecking order.Edited by David Hopps

Alan Isaac, the former chairman of New Zealand Cricket, has taken over as ICC president for a two-year term, succeeding Sharad Pawar

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jun-2012Alan Isaac, the former chairman of New Zealand Cricket, has taken over as ICC president for a two-year term, succeeding Sharad Pawar. In another expected top-level change, former South Africa wicketkeeper Dave Richardson has been confirmed as the ICC’s chief executive, taking over from Haroon Lorgat.Isaac is the ICC’s eighth president, and will be the last to hold the post in its current shape as it will become a ceremonial role once he steps down in 2014. Over the past two years, Isaac has been the ICC’s vice-president, a position that the body plans to abolish due to its fourth constitutional amendment since 1996.Isaac has not played top-flight cricket, but represented Wellington in the age-group levels and was captain of its second team. He was a member of New Zealand Cricket’s board for 18 years and became its chairman in 2008. New Zealand’s golf and rugby boards also feature on his resume, which is dominated by his 35-year career with auditing firm KPMG.”I recognise that there is, of course, much hard work and much progress needed if we are to maintain the game’s current healthy state,” Isaac said. “I believe that the challenges ahead are no less daunting than those we have faced in the last two years if we are to maintain the vibrancy and viability of the three formats of the sport.”Richardson, who played 42 Tests for South Africa and was ICC’s general manager of cricket for the last 10 years, also said he wanted to continue the work of his predecessor. “It is a real honour to be confirmed as the ICC Chief Executive and I want to pay tribute to Haroon Lorgat,” he said. “I have learnt much in the last four years and I inherit a game in great health with much to be optimistic about. I look forward to building on that and tackling the challenges ahead.” Richardson has become the first former Test cricketer to take over the role of the CEO, which has been held by Malcolm Speed and Lorgat.

A wrap of the third day of the ninth round of Ranji Trophy matches in Group C

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Dec-2012
ScorecardThe Yadavs continued to dominate the Group C match between Services and Jharkhand. Ajay Yadav followed his first-innings five-for with 6 for 43 in the second innings to give Jharkhand a shot at victory, which can get them a place in the quarters. In the innings between the two, Services’ Suraj Yadav took six for himself.Services began the day at 32 for 2 after the Delhi fog had delayed the start yet again, but kept losing wickets regularly. However, Services also would have found out during the day that neither Assam nor Andhra can win their match outright, which ensured their qualification for the quarter-final.Jharkhand, though, had to do all the running, and running they did. Captain Shahbaz Nadeem provided Ajay full support with four wickets of his own. Bowling Services out for 152, Jharkhand were left with a target of 218. They knocked off 35 of those without losing a wicket by stumps.
ScorecardFor the first half of the day, Assam looked good to take a first-innings lead over Goa’s 381 and remain in contention for the quarter-finals, but they lost their last eight wickets for 124 runs to fall short by 15.Assam were third before this round started, but needed at least three points to stay alive. At 134 for 1 at the start of the day, they looked in control, a position they only solidified by reaching 208 without any further loss. However, when Sibsankar Roy fell to make it 242 for 3, a collapse began.Only Dheeraj Jadhav and J Syed Mohammad arrested the slide to add 52 for the sixth wicket, but the end of that partnership kickstarted another glut of five wickets for 50 runs.
ScorecardAndhra fought hard to attain the first-innings lead despite centuries from VA Jagadeesh and Sanju Samson, but it turned out they didn’t need to. Towards the end of the day, in Guwahati, Assam dropped out of the race by failing to take a first-innings lead.Andhra’s only competition now is Jharkhand, but these three points will only take them level with Jharkhand should the latter win their match in Delhi. Andhra stand no chance of winning that tie, because Jharkhand will have posted three outright wins as opposed to Andhra’s one.This was a strange innings from Kerala, one that revolved around the new ball. The first one claimed three wickets for 80, after which Jagadeesh scored his fourth century of the season to go with Samson’s second. The second new ball, though, wreaked havoc, ended 199-run partnership, and then ran through the rest for the addition of just 31 runs. DP Vijaykumar and T Atchuta Rao took four wickets each.In a bid to take the Jharkhand result out of the equation, Andhra added 38 runs in six overs before stumps, but it is unlikely they will risk the points already earned by doing anything fancy on the final day.
ScorecardIn the stop-start, inconsequential match Jammu & Kashmir and Tripura, only 85 overs have been bowled over three days. Tripura have moved sedately to 226 for 5.

On the day it mattered, every aspect of Australia’s game came good to earn them their sixth Women’s World Cup

The Report by Abhishek Purohit in Mumbai17-Feb-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Jess Cameron’s half-century was the centrepiece of a strong Australian batting performance•Associated PressOn the day it mattered, every aspect of Australia’s game came good to earn them their sixth Women’s World Cup. The batting, wobbly for most of the tournament, started with a bang and ended with a bang, despite another wobble in between. The bowling and fielding, top class through the tournament, choked West Indies in the chase. Jodie Fields, a captain who wants to get wickets at all costs, took her aggression to another level, consistently targetting the opposition’s best batsmen with her best bowlers. Ellyse Perry did not disappoint her captain, neither did Lisa Sthalekar. It was no surprise and indeed no shame for West Indies to be outclassed by a team that lost just one of seven games, that too, by eight runs.All three day-night games at Brabourne Stadium in the tournament had been won by sides who batted first and posted big totals. Australia did the same after winning the toss and left West Indies needing to chase the highest total in a World Cup final.Rachael Haynes and Meg Lanning went after the new ball, and No. 3 Jess Cameron ensured no let-up for the West Indies bowlers with 75 off 76. Australia’s middle-order worries came to haunt them, though, as they slipped from 181 for 3 to 209 for 7, before Fields and premier fast bowler Perry helped the side rebound with an unbeaten stand of 50 off 40.The pressure of their maiden final seemed to get to West Indies as they fielded rather poorly and conceded too many runs upfront. Medium-pacer Tremayne Smartt was especially ordinary with her lines and lengths and was taken for 43 in five overs. Smartt rounded off a horror day when she hurt herself following a couple of misfields at point and had to leave the field.All three top-order batsmen, Lanning, Haynes and Cameron were severe on anything wide or short. There were several cuts and pulls in the innings, with Cameron also lofting down the ground for boundaries. Lanning departed after an opening stand of 52 in ten overs, as she found mid-off when trying to hit Stafanie Taylor for successive fours. That hardly hurt the progress of the innings, as Cameron arrived. Haynes swept frequently and also used the reverse-sweep, and Cameron carted Smartt for two sixes in an over.Most of the Australia batsmen fell going for more shots. The 17-year old legspinner Shaquana Quintyne helped West Indies claw back with a spell of 10-1-27-3. Haynes top-edged an attempted pull to midwicket off Quintyne. Cameron blasted a Shanel Daley full toss to deep midwicket in the 36th over.That began a period of about seven-eight overs when West Indies regained some lost ground. Sthalekar, Sarah Coyte and Erin Osborne went cheaply trying to go after the spinners. But Australia had more left in the tank. Fields, who had done little with the bat in the tournament, came good with an unbeaten 36 off 38 while Perry, returning after missing the Super Six stage with an ankle injury, contributed 25 off 22.The highest Australia’s bowling had conceded in the tournament was 227, and West Indies needed their key batsmen Taylor and Deandra Dottin to fire. Perry and Sthalekar were to end the game soon.Perry gave Australia a scare when she aborted her run-up for her first delivery twice and felt her left leg. That didn’t stop her from striking off the last ball of her first over, the tenth, trapping Kycia Knight in front with a length ball that straightened into the left-hander.With the first ball of her second over, Perry found the outside edge off Taylor’s bat and Lanning took the ball at slip but the batsman stayed after replays proved inconclusive. Bowling with superb rhythm now, Perry needed three more balls to take out Taylor, who pushed a length delivery back to the bowler. In her third over, Perry sent back Natasha McLean, who swiped across at a full delivery and was caught plumb in front.West Indies delayed the arrival of the powerful Dottin, who eventually came out in the 22nd over after No. 4 Kyshona Knight retired hurt following an extremely defensive stay. The asking-rate was over seven now with Sthalekar’s spell reading 7-2-12-0.Fields brought back Perry against Dottin, giving her two more overs, but Dottin played them out calmly. Sthalekar responded at the other end, flighting the ball and turning it in through the gate to bowl the captain Merissa Aguilleira. Four overs later, the game was all but over as Sthalekar lured Dottin down the track with another flighted delivery, which Dottin completely missed and was bowled. Dottin had hit a few meaty blows, but Fields had stuck with her best bowlers, and got the reward.At 109 for 5 in the 31st overs, it was game over for West Indies and though they lasted until the 44th, there was no doubt over who would be crowned world champions.

Pat Cummins will travel with the Australia A party to England later this month, although he will not be part of the official squad, and is hoping to make a full return during the Australia A tour of South Africa in July

Brydon Coverdale10-May-2013At 18, Pat Cummins made his Test debut in Johannesburg and was Man of the Match. There could hardly have been a more exciting prospect in Australian sport at the time. Eighteen months later and Cummins, who turned 20 last week, has not only failed to add another Test to that eye-catching performance at the Wanderers, he hasn’t even played a first-class match since then. The teenager who looked like the future of Australian fast bowling has become its forgotten man.But slowly Cummins is making his way back. He will travel with the Australia A party to England later this month, although he will not be part of the official squad, and is hoping to make a full return during the Australia A tour of South Africa in July. If he makes it through those trips without any setbacks, he could press for selection for the ODIs in England that follow the Ashes. But it won’t be exactly the same Cummins who startled South Africa as a tearaway Test debutant.After a foot injury ruled him out of most of the 2011-12 summer and a back stress fracture left him a spectator in 2012-13, Cummins knew that his bowling action would need to be assessed. He is now at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane where he has been put through three sessions a week of bowling with a streamlined action that he, the bowling coach Troy Cooley, and Cricket Australia’s medical staff hope can keep him fit and firing.”It’s been trying to straighten everything out in my action,” Cummins told ESPNcricinfo. “Through a running coach I’ve been trying to fix my mechanics and be a more efficient runner in my approach to the crease, and then when I get to the crease trying to straighten out all the alignments. Hopefully it gets me a bit more swing and consistency.”It’s going against everything I’ve done for the last 20 years and trying to do something totally different. It’s certainly been a little bit foreign, but at the same time I want to nail it down because I know it’s going to turn me into a better bowler. It’s exciting but at the same time it’s challenging. You get a lot of satisfaction out of seeing improvements after every session.”It should mean I can bowl the same pace, if not quicker, but hopefully I’ll just be more efficient, which means I’ll be able to bowl more consistently and for longer in a game. Hopefully I can turn my swing into more consistent swing instead of having some days where it’s not swinging for me. It’s about having a less injury-prone action but also about enhancing the performances.”Not surprisingly, Cummins is itching to bowl with the red ball in a match situation again. That opportunity could come in England; although he won’t be part of the Australia A squad he might be used in their warm-up matches and he hopes there could be a chance to test himself in some league cricket during the trip. Of course, given his injury history, everything that Cummins or Cricket Australia says about his plans is prefaced with a “depending on…” or a “hopefully”.It had been hoped that he could return to the first-class scene at the start of the 2012-13 summer for New South Wales and that he would be in contention for the Tests against South Africa. He was building his workload back up during September and October as part of Australia’s squad for the limited-overs games against Pakistan in the UAE, the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka and for the Sydney Sixers in the Champions League, but a stress fracture in his back ended his season.”I really enjoy playing one-day and T20 cricket and I’d never want to give that away, but playing it for a couple of months made me realise how much I missed bowling with a red ball and building up a bowling innings,” Cummins said. “At the end of it I really just wanted to try to get back to that.”I think I played almost 20 Twenty20 games in a couple of months. I love playing it but I was really looking forward to playing Shield cricket after that. Unfortunately it didn’t happen. The long-term goal is definitely to get back into the red-ball game with Shield matches for New South Wales and down the track Tests is the goal.”First, he’ll have to keep himself fit enough to add to his 16 wickets from four first-class appearances. And having already experienced the thrill of Test cricket once in his short career, Cummins knows that sitting out of last season, even if his back soreness felt manageable, was the right decision in the long run.”It’s not acute pain but it’s just something that’s there,” he said. “The nature of a stress-fracture injury is that there’s a little crack and if you keep bowling it’s going to turn into a big crack. It’s one of those injuries that could turn into a massive injury if it’s not managed.”

Chris Rushworth completed a 10-wicket haul in the match as Durham took only 16 balls to wrap up their fifth win of the season on the final day againstDerbyshire at Chester-le-Street.

11-Jul-2013
ScorecardChris Rushworth’s 10 for 103 were his first-class best match figures•Getty ImagesChris Rushworth completed a 10-wicket match haul on his birthday as as Durham took only 16 balls to wrap up their fifth County ChampionshipDivision One win of the season on the final day againstDerbyshire at Chester-le-Street.Rushworth, the right-arm seamer, turned 27 today and removed Tim Gronewald, the penultimate wicket to fall, to pick up his tenth wicket in the match. His second-innings 4 for 39 followed 6 for 64 in the first innings.Rushworth’s wicket was the second of three to fall on the final day as Derbyshire’s last three batsmen offered no resistance, leaving Tom Poyntonstranded on 58 not out as they were all out for 192 to lose by a crushing 279runs.Jon Clare went to the second ball of the day, dabbing at a short, wide one fromBen Stokes to be caught behind. Groenewald was also in no mood to hang around, swinging a good-length ballfrom Rushworth high over square-leg before attempting to hook a short balland giving Phil Mustard another catch.The batsman seemed nonplussed by the decision, indicating the ball had brushedhis upper arm, but it left Rushworth with match figures of 10 for 103 – the best match figures of his career.Last man Mark Footitt also came out swinging and was backing away towardssquare leg when Stokes splattered his stumps to finish with 4 for 62.The crushing defeat deepens Derbyshire’s trouble at the foot of Division One. They remain winless and trail Somerset – seventh in the table – by 30 points with seven matches to play. Durham now have the most wins of anyone in the division and are well-placed for a tilt at a third Championship title, currently 10.5 points behind leaders Sussex.

Faf du Plessis has described himself as a “morally good person” who does not want to be associated with cheating in his first comment since the ball-tampering episode

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Nov-2013South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis has described himself as a “morally good person” who does not want to be associated with cheating in his first public comment since the ball-tampering episode that took place during the second Test against Pakistan in Dubai last month.South Africa had five penalty runs awarded against them and the ball was changed after the 30th over of Pakistan’s second innings, when the on-field umpires identified du Plessis as the person who changed the condition of the ball. Du Plessis was later booked under law 42 and fined 50% of his match fee after he did not contest the charge.In the immediate aftermath, AB de Villiers had insisted that South Africa “are not cheats.” After du Plessis pleaded guilty and was sanctioned, team manager Mohammad Moosajee read out a statement explaining that they had decided not to contest du Plessis’ charge because they feared doing so would result in a greater penalty. They said calling du Plessis’ actions ball tampering was “harsh,” though the ICC had termed it as such.In his column for South African sports website, SuperSport.com, du Plessis insisted he did not intentionally tamper with the ball and was merely drying it. “We all know in cricket that there is a ball to be worked on and kept shiny,” he wrote. “In the UAE, the added element is that it’s incredibly hot and part of the challenge is keeping the ball dry from the sweat of the bowlers. So, in a team you have designated ball ‘shiners’ and ball ‘workers’, and I’m one of them. It’s usually the guys who don’t bowl or who don’t sweat as much as the others.”There are ways of ‘working’ the ball as much as possible within the rules, such as bouncing the ball on the wicket, trying to bowl cross-seam, and basically trying to scuff the ball as much as possible, naturally, so that it’s easier for the bowlers to grip.”So, I was trying to keep the ball as dry as possible. As the footage showed, I was on the rough side of the ball, and I’ll be the first to admit that I was working it far too close to my zip. That’s obviously what the third umpire saw on TV.”But, when the on-field umpires inspected the ball, there wasn’t a scratch mark or anything untoward on the ball. In fact, it was in excellent shape and wasn’t reverse-swinging at all. Basically, the condition of the ball hadn’t been changed, and that’s why I think my penalty was not as harsh as the sentences given out for other similar incidents.”Harsher penalties for ball-tampering include up to 100% of the players’ match fee and a ban of one Test, two ODIs or two T20s, but du Plessis escaped that. In response, the PCB, whose players have been banned from matches in the past, wrote a letter to the ICC seeking clarification for the inconsistencies in the application of the law. There has yet to be a public comment explaining the different sentences.Du Plessis indicated he wants to put the incident behind him and said he has learnt to “always make sure you are morally on the right side of things.””I pride myself on being a morally good person, and that’s why this past week has been so difficult, as people have been quick to label me a cheat. That’s not the kind of person I am and it’s not the kind of person I want to be associated with.”He also said he has become extra wary during his ball-drying duties. “When someone throws me the ball, I’m afraid to even look at it, and rather just catch it and get rid of it.”