Arsenal vs Portsmouth Player Ratings

ESPNSTAR.com brings you the player ratings for the match between Arsenal and Portsmouth at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal:

Almunia: 6

At fault for the Portsmouth goal but otherwise untroubled.

Eboue: 8

Showed great energy and a hunger to get involved. Excellent game.

Gallas: 7

Looked comfortable on the ball and popped up for the third goal.

Vermaelen: 7

Was solid throughout proving a good foil for his defensive partner.

Gibbs: 7


A constant danger with his pace and trickery. Looked a class player.

Diaby: 9

A two-goal haul was just rewards for an all-action display. Who needs Viera ?

Fabregas: 8

A picture of poise and calm, directed play with assurance and guile.

Denilson: 6

Quiet but effective. Gave his colleagues the defensive platform they needed to play.

Arshavin: 7

Bright and inventive, showed good pace & great delivery from dead-ball situations.

van Persie: 7

Moments of outstanding skill but a bit selfish at times.

Eduardo: 8

Showed glimpses of pace and movement that suggest he is getting back to his best.

Subs:

Ramsey: 7


Looked calm and composed. Took his goal superbly. One to watch.

Merida: 7


A great cameo from the youngster. Displayed skill and vision.

Bendtner: 6

Sangakkara salutes team effort

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara was pleased with his team's all-round effort which helped secure victory over New Zealand.

New Zealand, resuming on the final day at 30 for one, needed 383 more runs for an unlikely victory in the first Test at Galle.

However they were instead bowled out for 210 just before tea as Sri Lanka took a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series.

Left-arm fast bowler Thilan Thushara set the tone with an outstanding spell in the morning, giving the home side crucial early breakthroughs with the wickets of Martin Guptill (18) and Tim McIntosh (0).

Muralitharan stars in Sri Lanka win

Part-time bowler Mahela Jayawardene then dismissed Ross Taylor (16) before master spinner Muttiah Muralitharan picked up three wickets to finish as the pick of the bowlers.

Muralitharan had claimed four wickets in the first innings and his three in the second came at a cost of 88 runs from 27 overs.

The victory marked a fine turnaround for Sri Lanka who had been reduced to 16 for two within the first half-hour on the first day.

Makeshift opener Tillakaratne Dilshan, however, rescued the home side with a blistering 92 which he followed up with an unbeaten 123 in the second innings.

Dilshan came in for special praise from Sangakkara.

"We had three very good individual performances with in the batting department," Sangakkara said.

"Dilshan batted magnificently in both innings and he really put us back on top and took the game away from the Kiwis after we lost those early wickets on the first day.

"Mahela batted beautifully again and Samaraweera (both scored centuries in the first innings) showed his class again.

"PCB withdrawing legal notice"

ICC has threatened PCB to terminate the host agreement if the legal notice over the 2011 WC matches is not withdrawn.

A PCB governing council member today said that Pakistan has decided to withdraw the legal notice served on the ICC after the world body chief David Morgan issued a serious threat.

"Pakistan was told if it decides to pursue legal action then the ICC would terminate its host agreement and it would not be paid a single penny from the tournament," a member, who attended a governing council meeting last week at which PCB chief Ejaz Butt gave a briefing on the talks with the ICC, said.

"It has been decided to withdraw the legal notice served on the ICC over the decision of stripping Pakistan of 14 matches of the 2011 World Cup," the source said.

He said Butt had informed the governing council members that the ICC's stance left Pakistan with no option but to go for an out of court settlement which at least guaranteed that Pakistan cricket would benefit financially despite losing the right to host its World Cup matches at home.

"Butt said if ICC terminates the host agreement we could lose around USD 18 to 20 million which Pakistan cricket cannot afford to lose at this stage," he added.

The member said the governing council had given approval for seeking an out of court settlement with the ICC because Butt informed them that the PCB's legal advisor Mark Gay had also advised them not to pursue the matter in a court of law anymore.

Dhoni: Sehwag shaping well for CT

Virender Sehwag, recuperating from a shoulder surgery, was shaping well for the Champions Trophy, according to MS Dhoni.

However, the Indian captain added that the dashing opener may not be ready for the tri-series in Sri Lanka in early September.

"He is improving everyday. He is putting in a lot of effort to get ready for Champions Trophy ," Dhoni said on Thursday.

"Tri-series is too soon"

On Sehwag's chances of playing in the tri-series in Sri Lanka starting on September 8, Dhoni hinted the batsman may have to sit out of the event.

"It's (tri-series) too soon, with just a few days to go," he said.

Sehwag had injured his shoulder during the semifinal of the second edition of the Indian Premier League in South Africa and he underwent a surgery for the the Grade II lesion at a Nottingham hospital in June.

Since then, Sehwag has been following a rehabilitation programme, which makes him doubtful not only for the September 8-14 tri-series in Sri Lanka but also cast a cloud of doubt over his availability for the Champions Trophy in South Africa starting on September 22.

Dhoni said apart from Sehwag, there were no other injury issues and the players looked in perfect shape for a hectic schedule ahead.

"We just had a mid-term fitness test and we'll have a camp before the tri-series to get back into the groove and get ready for the long season ahead," Dhoni said.

"Kolkata is very close to my heart"

Dhoni said Kolkata was close to his heart since he played a lot of cricket here early in his career.

"Right from my under-13, under-16 and under-19 days when I was playing for Bihar, now Jharkhand, a number of times we played at Eden Gardens.

Sehwag wants to quit Delhi team

Virender Sehwag has threatened to quit the Delhi Ranji team, alleging interference in selection matters by the DDCA members.

Sehwag, who is currently in Bangalore undergoing rehabilitation for his injured shoulder, has been told to put his decision on hold till he meets the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) President Arun Jaitley.

The meeting is likely to take place on August 27 or 28 to discuss the matter.

Sehwag threatens to leave Delhi for Haryana

The explosive right-hander has threatened to leave the team for Haryana, saying that he is frustrated with the interference in selection matters.

The DDCA's Sports Secretary Sunil Dev said he has not received any communication from Sehwag nor has he approached him for a No Objection Certificate to play for some other state.

But a top DDCA source said Sehwag's threat to quit was just a "pressure tactic" to bring in a couple of his players in the Ranji squad.

"He wants to bring Mayank Tehlan and Pradeep Sangwan into the team. But since the Delhi team is well set, it is not possible. That is the reason why he is making such threats," the source told PTI.

Taseer wants PCB to boycott 2011 WC matches in India

KARACHI : Governor of the Punjab Salman Taseer has asked President Asif Zardari to direct the Pakistan Cricket Board to boycott its 2011 World Cup matches in India.

A powerful political figure and an influential businessman, Taseer has sent a letter to Zardari asking him to direct the PCB to shun its World Cup matches in India.

"Taseer, in his letter to President Zardari, has suggested that the PCB should pressurise the International Cricket Council to schedule its World Cup matches at Dubai instead of playing them in India".

President Zardari is also the chief patron of the board and directly appoints the PCB Chairman.

The PCB official said Taseer, who belongs to the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, felt if Pakistan was forced to play in India, it could make things difficult for the players, officials and the fans.

Taseer was of the view that given Pakistan's relations with India, fans might struggle to get visa, while the players could also face a very hostile atmosphere in India.

"Taseer has suggested that the President ask the board to tell the ICC that it must allow Pakistan to play its matches of the World Cup in Dubai where it would be easier for Pakistani people to travel and gets visas," the official said.

Incidentally, PCB Chairman Ejaz Butt had squarely blamed the Punjab government for the lapse in security that led to the attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore on march 3, prompting the ICC to shift the World Cup matches from Pakistan for security reasons.

Butt told a press conference yesterday in Karachi that if Pakistan was drawn up to play any matches in India then it would have to first seek government clearance.

"If we don't get clearance from our government to play in India then Pakistan might have to pull out of the World Cup disrupting it badly," Butt said.

I was asked to take back retirement decision: Younus

KARACHI : Captain Younus Khan revealed turning down a request from the cricket board Chairman Ejaz Butt to lead the team in the Twenty20 International in Sri Lanka.

Younus, who announced his retirement from Twenty20 cricket after winning the World Cup in England in June, confirmed during a talk show in private channel that Butt had spoken to him about the captaincy issue when he visited Colombo.

"Butt told me I should lead the team in the Twenty20 match as well and take back my decision to retire," Younus said.

"But I told the Chairman that if I take back my retirement decision, people will laugh at me. I don't fancy such a situation and my decision not to play Twenty20 cricket is final," he said.