PSG player ratings vs Nantes: Lionel Messi masterclass helps cover up Gianluigi Donnarumma stinker

Lionel Messi scored the opener and could have added more, with the Argentine's star showing covering up Gianluigi Donnarumma's errors in a 4-2 win

PSG scored twice inside the first 20 minutes. Messi was first, latching onto a rebound to poke the ball home from close range. The second came shortly after, with Jaouen Hadjam turning the ball into his own net.

But Nantes refused to crumble. Ludovic Blas skewed a cross into the net, beating an out-of-sorts Donnarumma at the near post to halve the lead. They equalised after 39 minutes from a corner.

The home side then reestablished control in the second half and found the lead again after Danilo Pereira headed in from a Kylian Mbappe cross. The latter added a fourth in second-half stoppage time to secure a 4-2 win.

GOAL rates PSG's players from the Parc des Princes…

Getty ImagesGoalkeeper & Defence

Gianluigi Donnarumma (4/10):

Should have stopped the first, almost gave up another, and could have done better on the second. Not the first mistake he's made this year…

Nuno Mendes (7/10):

Full of energy, made one terrific recovering tackle. His understanding with Mbappe is constantly improving.

Marquinhos (6/10):

Reliable, but went straight down the tunnel after appearing to hurt his back in the second half. PSG will hope it's not serious ahead of their Champions League clash with Bayern Munich this week.

Sergio Ramos (6/10):

Solid in the middle of a back-three. Played it safe, establishing some much-needed control.

Danilo Pereira (7/10):

Put PSG back in front with a well-taken header, and conducted his centre-back duties comfortably.

Nordi Mukiele (6/10):

His pressure forced Hadjam into an own goal, but he also lost Ganago at the back post for Nantes' equaliser. Came off with a lower leg injury after 70 minutes.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesMidfield

Fabian Ruiz (8/10):

Tackled efficiently, kept the ball moving, and created two chances. His best performance for a while.

Warren Zaire-Emery (7/10):

Filled the Marco Veratti role well, winning the ball back and orchestrating play from deep.

Vitinha (7/10):

Energetic, showed attacking promise with some driving runs into the final third.

Getty ImagesAttack

Kylian Mbappe (8/10):

His usual slew of tricks and turns weren't working in the first half. Much-improved in the second, almost lashing one in from 35 yards. Scored the fourth to become PSG's all-time leading goalscorer.

Lionel Messi (9/10):

Poked the ball home from seven yards out to open the scoring. Nearly added a second with an audacious chip. Had a free-kick saved. Effortlessly excellent.

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Subs & Manager

Carlos Soler (6/10):

Replaced the injured Mukiele and slotted in at right-wing-back.

E.C Bitshiabu (6/10):

Mature cameo after entering the contest for Marquinhos

Timothee Pembele (N/A):

Enjoyed a run out. Might be required midweek against Bayern if Mukiele and Marquinhos are both injured.

Christophe Galtier (7/10):

Went back to his standard 3-5-2, but could do little to prevent his squad from throwing away a 2-0 lead. Oversaw a far better second half showing. Underwhelming, but will take the three points. Bayern next.

Pietersen won't be back – Stewart

Kevin Pietersen is unlikely to play cricket in England again, according to Alec Stewart

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Apr-20163:12

‘I don’t think we’ll see KP play in England again’

Kevin Pietersen is unlikely to play cricket in England again, according to Alec Stewart. Pietersen was released by Surrey at the end of last season and Stewart, the club’s director of cricket, said there was little chance of him appearing in England’s T20 competition, the NatWest Blast, in the foreseeable future as he pursues franchise deals around the world.Pietersen featured for Surrey at the start of their 2015 Championship campaign – scoring a majestic, unbeaten 355 against Leicestershire – as he attempted to revive his chances of playing for England once again, but appears to have now settled on life as a T20 freelancer. Over the last 12 months, he has played in the Caribbean Premier League, Australia’s Big Bash League, the Ram Slam in South Africa and the inaugural Pakistan Super League.He has previously expressed his dissatisfaction at the Blast schedule, which sees teams by and large playing once a week, and Stewart believes Pietersen will no longer grace the English summer, describing him as a “southern hemisphere player”.”From the conversations I’ve had with him, we won’t see him play in England again, which is sad,” Stewart told ESPNcricinfo. “He’s now, as I call him, a southern hemisphere player. Our off season is very much his cricket season.”So he’s now going to have downtime with the family, he’s going to be in the IPL, he’s not going to go to the Caribbean Premier League, he’s going to have a three-four month break and then he’ll go off to the Bangladesh Premier League, I think. So he’s got enough cricket around but sadly, no, we won’t see him.”Surrey must step up a level in Championship cricket this year, having been promoted as Division Two champions, and they have faced some criticism for their winter recruitment, which involved bringing in two South African bowlers and former West Indies international Ravi Rampaul as a Kolpak signing.Stewart defended the decision to recruit Rampaul, Mathew Pillans and Conor McKerr, saying it was important to strengthen their squad. Surrey saw three fast bowlers – Chris Tremlett, Tim Linley and David Balcombe – retire during the close season, while Jade Dernbach and Stuart Meaker are currently unavailable due to injury.”We lost three experienced bowlers at the back end of last year and we looked to see who was available,” Stewart said. “We looked around England, because obviously that’s where we should look, but there was no one – unless you can tell me otherwise – who was available and who would have fitted the bill.”Our academy, which has produced good players, currently hasn’t got the number of bowlers coming through ready to play and that’s why we did what we did.”We still want to produce players through our system, that’s what we have been doing, and not just be successful here but go on and play for England. That’s what we’ll continue to do – at times you do have to go outside what your processes are. This year, because of the three retirements – two came as a little bit of a surprise – we had to act pretty quickly. We’ve taken a bit of a punt, hopefully it will prove the right decision, in the fact we’ve now got numbers in our squad.”

Beard's dream debut shakes Sri Lankans

Aaron Beard has been on Essex’s radar since playing for their U-9s and against the Sri Lankan tourists their hopes began to come to fruition as he took four wickets in an eye-catching first-class debut

Will Macpherson at Chelmsford08-May-2016
ScorecardAaron Beard is still a schoolboy but he has already carried a decade of hope for Essex•Getty ImagesNot many, least of all the tourists, knew much of Aaron Beard when he ran in for the first ball of Sri Lanka’s trip to England, but he certainly knew how to draw attention to himself. With wickets in each of his first two overs, the 18-year-old Chelmsford-born schoolboy began his first-class career in dreamy fashion as he picked apart Sri Lanka’s top order.Beard, who has been with Essex since he was nine, ended with 4-62 as they were bowled out for 254. With the fourth ball of the match, after Angelo Mathews had opted to bat upon winning a not-terribly-fiercely-contested toss, Beard got one to nip away and take Kaushal Silva’s edge. Then, with the third ball of his next over, Beard had the other opener, Dinuth Karunaratne trapped in front by a full delivery.There is mitigation for not knowing much about Beard. Only the most eagle-eyed viewers will remember he was a substitute fielder for England during a 2013 Ashes warm-up here, aged just 15. That is a responsibility given to few, whatever the occasion.All Essex’s quietly-held hopes for him began to distil on a debut he will never forget. He does not turn 19 until October and is working under Graham Napier, a star pupil as Napier takes his Level 3 coaching qualification; Napier believes his charge has a wrist position of unusual quality.Worryingly, Beard has already had two major back operations, but here all the moving parts looked in fine working order again; he is not tall, but is relatively broad shouldered, and a repeatable, attractive action arrives at the end of a smooth run. He found some movement, both off the seam and in the air, while the yorker he castled Milinda Siriwardana with suggested he could enjoy success with a white ball too. Graham Ford, Sri Lanka’s coach, was suitably impressed.”It was an amazing day,” said Beard. “I was very nervous running in first up, but once you’ve bowled a couple of decent balls you settle and I was lucky to get my wicket in the first over. That eased the pressure completely. I wouldn’t have wanted to make my debut anywhere else than Chelmsford, definitely not. I went to school about six minutes up the road and first played for Essex in the under-9s.”I don’t actually remember the first wicket because my adrenalin was rushing so quickly and it was very surreal. I settled as I bowled more.”Beard’s exciting intervention apart, this was probably not how Sri Lanka imagined their first day of their tour of England. Having been spooked by England’s recent snow, the Sri Lanka’s were surprised to find that the sun blazing throughout – ice cream and increasingly salmon-coloured skin were abundant.There was even a chance for the attack Sanath Jayasuriya this week described as the “best attack in the world” to feel the sun on their backs. They toiled as Essex – who bat deep – reached stumps 81 for 2.Flashback: Aaron Beard substitute fielded for England as a 15-year-old in 2013•Getty ImagesIf 254 seemed underpar, it was a decent enough day for the two men Mathews has suggested are jostling for the No.3 spot. Kusal Mendis, who batted at first drop today, scored a fluent, at times extravagant 66, having found himself at the crease so early.Then Niroshan Dickwella, who came in as low as No.8, chanced his arm for the only other half-century, looking particularly good through the covers. Lahiru Thirimanne, the third member of the touring party with designs on the spot at first drop, is said to be operating at about 85% and remains a week away from a full recovery from his hamstring injury.When Sri Lanka took the field, Dinesh Chandimal took the gloves, but Dickwella remains in contention for the role in the Test series, and may keep later in this match.After Beard’s early burst, Mendis and Chandimal rebuilt. West Australian Matt Dixon, whose bowling improved as the day worn on and who appears to have a fine bouncer, and Tom Moore bowled loosely, and Mendis was quick to profit, particularly through midwicket and on the cut. The pair had shared a jaunty and stylish 88 when Chandimal edged Jesse Ryder to second slip.After lunch, wickets fell periodically. Beard returned with good pace to dismiss Mendis caught at the wicket, then Siriwardana, while Ryder pinned Dhananjaya de Silva in front. Mathews was defiant and was well caught at mid-off off Ravi Bopara. Dickwella was left to swing, then slog, with the tail, which was mopped up by Moore’s seam after tea.Sri Lanka’s frustration continued as Nick Browne and Jaik Mickleburgh played attractively to guide Essex in sharing 76, before Dhammika Prasad got one to nip back from round the wicket at Browne, who played attractively on the drive after a slow start. Nightwatchman Moore attempted to guide Essex to stumps, but was bowled not offering a stroke to Shaminda Eranga.This, though, was emphatically Essex and Beard’s day. Sri Lanka – indeed, all of us – certainly know a bit about him now.

Christchurch quake on minds amid the cricket

Hagley Oval is a permanent reminder of the earthquake that devastated Christchurch in 2011, but such reminders will only be intensified over the course of the upcoming Test between New Zealand and Australia

Brydon Coverdale in Christchurch19-Feb-20163:47

Christchurch’s coming back to life

Hagley Oval is a permanent reminder of the earthquake that devastated Christchurch in 2011, but such reminders will only be intensified over the course of the upcoming Test between New Zealand and Australia. Monday, the third day of the Test, is the five-year anniversary of the earthquake, which registered 6.3 on the Richter scale and resulted in the deaths of 185 people.February 22 will be recognised in Christchurch with a civic memorial service in the Botanic Gardens and a minute’s silence during the lunch break of the Test, at 12.51pm – the same time the earthquake struck. The date will be particularly significant for the Canterbury-based members of New Zealand’s team, including captain Brendon McCullum, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls and Corey Anderson.As if the city needed any further reminders of the tragedy, a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit Christchurch on Sunday. And on Thursday night, a 4.3 magnitude aftershock occurred, and was felt by members of both teams, who had arrived from Wellington the previous day.”Obviously a little reminder of what Christchurch can serve up with the earthquake over the last week or so,” McCullum said on Friday. “I guess that’s the beauty of sport as well: we get to go out and give the people of Christchurch the ability to support their team and enjoy the occasion rather worrying about things rocking and rolling.”Last time Australia played cricket in Christchurch was February 2010: the venue was Lancaster Park, and McCullum scored an audacious 116 not out as New Zealand won a Twenty20 match in a Super Over. Steven Smith played in that match and was still in his first month as an international cricketer; now he returns to Christchurch as Australia’s captain, and the redeveloped Hagley Oval is now the city’s major cricket venue due to earthquake damage to Lancaster Park.”The security side of our team’s given us a few pointers of what to do if there was a big earthquake,” Smith said. “And obviously on Monday it’s five years since the big earthquake. I guess until you’ve been here it’s hard to fathom what has actually happened in Christchurch, and you really feel for the people that experienced what went on five years go. It’s a tough time for the people of Christchurch.”This will be just the second Test match played at Hagley Oval, the first having resulted in an eight-wicket win for New Zealand over Sri Lanka in December 2014. The first two days of this Test – McCullum’s farewell to international cricket – are already sold out.

Taylor Swift to join Ryan Reynolds at Wrexham?! Pop sensation's boyfriend and NFL star Travis Kelce links up with co-owner Rob McElhenney to talk football

Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney caught up with Taylor Swift's boyfriend and NFL star Travis Kelce to chat about football.

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McElhenney talks Wrexham with Travis KelceNFL star learns about cup competitionsCelebrities have been regularly spotted at WrexhamWHAT HAPPENED?

Celebrity sightings have become commonplace at Wrexham since Hollywood duo McElhenney and Reynolds took over the club in 2021. Hugh Jackman, Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd are just some of the stars who have been spotted watching the Welsh side and they could soon be joined by more A-listers as McElhenney has been chatting about his team to NFL stars Travis and Jason Kelce on their New Heights podcast.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesWHAT MCELHENNEY SAID

Travis was particularly interested to learn about cup competitions, which allowed McElhenney to open up on his experiences with Wrexham since taking over.

"That's a fascinating part of the sport. Some people really care a lot, other people don't care at all. You have fanbases that are sort of torn," he explained. "I do find it's a win-win because if you advance and continue to win through the tournament people get excited and if you lose, nobody cares.

"And in fact, the NFC championship last year which we came to, we watched the Wrexham game in the parking lot with the tailgate before the game and we drew that game against a team that was three leagues higher than us.

"I've become so annoying with that – I've been correcting people on the word 'soccer' versus football. People just want to smack me."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

McElhenney's other love is the Philadelphia Eagles and he joined Kelce's girfriend Taylor Swift to see the NFL star take on the the New York Jets with The Chiefs last month. Could Swift now be tempted head to Wrexham? Kelce certainly seemed impressed by McElhenney's commitment to Wrexham. "I love it though, you're all in. That's how you know you're doing the right thing. You're all in, baby," he said.

Reynolds and McElhenney have previously said they would love to see Swift perform at Wrexham's stadium after hosting two gigs by the Kings of Leon last summer.

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

Wrexham are back in action at the weekend and will be hoping to secure a place in the third round of the FA Cup when they take on National League South side Yeovil Town at the SToK Racecourse. The Welsh side made it to the fourth round last season before being knocked out in a replay against Sheffield United.

England 'not as strong' without KP – Clarke

Australia’s captain Michael Clarke has said he feels for Kevin Pietersen over his ongoing exclusion from the England side and said any team without Pietersen in it was weaker for his absence

Brydon Coverdale17-May-2015Australia’s captain Michael Clarke has said he feels for Kevin Pietersen over his ongoing exclusion from the England side and said any team without Pietersen in it was weaker for his absence. Clarke flew out of Sydney on Sunday for Australia’s two-Test series in the West Indies, which will be followed by an England tour during which he will aim to lead the first Australian side to win the Ashes in England since 2001.Clarke’s men hold the urn after their 5-0 thrashing of England in Australia in 2013-14, a series during which Pietersen was England’s leading scorer. It also marks the last time Pietersen played for his country, and the newly-appointed England director of cricket, Andrew Strauss, last week effectively ruled out any return for Pietersen due to a “massive trust issue” between the two of them.”There’s probably two sides to me, there’s the personal side where I feel for KP because I get on well with him,” Clarke said. “I’d love to see him back playing cricket for England. His form has been outstanding. He’s still a great player. I know he wants to play. I feel for him on that side.”On the other side, we go there soon to play against England. Any team without Kevin Pietersen in it, I don’t think is as strong. I think his statistics speak for themselves. He’s been a wonderful player over a long period of time. He’s still in career-best form.”However, that was as far as Clarke would be drawn on the Pietersen issue, noting that England had a series against New Zealand before the Ashes and Australia’s immediate focus was their trip to the Caribbean. There, the Australians will face a West Indies outfit that under new coach Phil Simmons recently drew a three-Test series with England 1-1.”The last thing we can afford to do as an Australian team is get caught up in what’s happening in England, or West Indies or anywhere else,” Clarke said. “I think it’s really important we stay focused and make sure we’re as well prepared as we can be. Playing away from home is your greatest challenge as an international sporting team. England will be tough.”When we get there, no matter what XI players they put on the field, they’re going to be really tough. They know their conditions really well, as do West Indies. I think it’s important we stay really focused on this West Indies tour and try to have some success there.”They’ve got a really good bowling attack. I think they swung the ball well, whether that was with the brand new ball or reverse swing. They’ve got some handy spinners as well. The conditions we’re about to face will be very similar to the subcontinent. The wickets will be slow and low and will spin. They’re coming off some form against England.”Australia have one warm-up match in the West Indies, a three-day game against a WICB President’s XI in Antigua, before the first Test starts in Dominica on June 3. The make-up of the side is not necessarily straightforward, with two members of Australia’s most recent Test team – Joe Burns and Ryan Harris – missing from this touring squad.That could mean the tour game is an important audition, however it is unlikely that players will be available for that match if their teams make the IPL final, which is to be played on May 24. Shane Watson, Steven Smith, David Warner and Mitchell Starc are among the players who remain in contention to be part of the IPL final.

Disgraced former Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales accused of forcing kiss on defeated Lioness Lucy Bronze and touching Laura Coombs 'inappropriately' before Jenni Hermoso incident at Women's World Cup final

Former Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales has been accused of "inappropriately touching" England players after the Women's World Cup final.

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Rubiales accused by FA chair Debbie HewittHe also allegedly forcibly kissed Jenni HermosoRubiales has hit back at allegationWHAT HAPPENED?

According to new documents released by FIFA, to support their decision to ban Rubiales for three years over his alleged forced kiss on Jenni Hermoso and conduct at the World Cup final, Rubiales behaved inappropriately towards both Lucy Bronze and Laura Coombs. Debbie Hewitt, the Football Association's chair, alleges that Rubiales "cupped and stroked" Coombs' face, and "seemingly forcefully kissed Lucy Bronze on her face".

AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

In addition to his alleged kiss on Hermoso, Hewitt also claimed that Rubiales' behaviour towards the Spanish team made her "deeply uncomfortable and embarrassed", as she stood just metres away from the former head of the Spanish Football Federation. Hewitt claims that she did not see any evidence that the kiss with Hermoso was consensual, although he has denied sexually assaulting the player.

WHAT RUBIALES SAID

Rubiales has issued a fierce rebuke to the claims, insisting that Hewitt's allegations are "astonishing".

He added: “Applying the same logic she [Hewitt] used, that [hugging] could be understood as a forceful non-consensual physical contact. The hypocrisy is blatant."

He also claims he was merely trying to comfort Coombs, who did not play in the final due to an injury.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR RUBIALES?

Rubiales resigned in September, but will await the verdict of the investigation from FIFA to discover whether his three-year ban is ratified. It remains to be seen if FIFA will release any further testimony.

Chelsea correspondent Nizaar Kinsella reveals his men’s GOAL50 top 10

Fans will decide the order of this year’s GOAL50 lists, but our correspondents are also sharing their preferences during the voting period

With voting underway in this year’s GOAL50, fans around the world are having their say on which men’s and women’s players had the best 2021.

Our team of correspondents are also having their say, revealing their GOAL50 preferences this week.

Chelsea correspondent Nizaar Kinsella has compiled his list, which you can see below.

Voting is open on Goal from November 2 until November 16. 

Getty10Bruno Fernandes

It is impossible to doubt the creativity and impact that Bruno Fernandes has had on Manchester United over the last 12 months.

Not only has the Portugal international returned 18 goals and 15 assists in the last calendar year to date, but he has transformed his club as a leader on and off the pitch.

AdvertisementGetty9Kylian Mbappe

Kylian Mbappe ended last season as the top scorer in Ligue 1 for the third year running, while he also won the French top-flight's Player of the Year Award.

However, even after failing to win the league, it was the Champions League where the 22-year-old really made a name for himself.

A series of clutch performances in the knockout rounds ultimately ended in disappointment, as Manchester City knocked out PSG, but Mbappe still made a statement.

Getty8Joshua Kimmich

Joshua Kimmich is the heartbeat of Bayern Munich's midfield, but equally performs as one of the best right-backs in the world when moving out to play in defence.

The versatile leader of the German champions has marked himself out as arguably the most consistent performer in the Bundesliga in recent history.

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Getty7Karim Benzema

Ever since Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid, Karim Benzema has stepped up to become the club's talisman.

The France international's goals were crucial to Los Blancos' push to win the Champions League and La Liga.

Although they fell short in both, it was through no fault of the 33-year-old, who has continued his good form this season with 11 goals and eight assists in his first 13 games.

Vaas to discontinue as SL fast-bowling coach

Chaminda Vaas will not continue as Sri Lanka’s fast bowling coach, after his contract lapsed at the end of April, Sri Lanka Cricket has said

Andrew Fidel Fernando30-Apr-2015Chaminda Vaas will not continue as Sri Lanka’s fast bowling coach, after his contract lapsed at the end of April, Sri Lanka Cricket has said. The board acknowledged the work Vaas had done with Sri Lanka’s burgeoning battery of pace bowlers, but negotiations between the board and coach did not result in a fresh contract.”Chaminda Vaas’ contract lapsed today 30th of April 2015, and on a mutual agreement it was decided not to go for an extension of the said contract,” an official release said.Vaas had been appointed fast bowling coach in early 2013, and has overseen a World T20 victory and a Test series win in England during his tenure, with Sri Lanka’s quicks having played a significant role in both those results. The seamers had been underwhelming in recent limited overs tours, however, including in the World Cup.For his part, Vaas had also appeared somewhat disillusioned with his role during Sri Lanka’s recent stretch in Australia and New Zealand. In March he had suggested he would not continue as coach after the World Cup.SLC is aiming to have a new fast-bowling coach in place well before Pakistan’s tour of Sri Lanka begins in mid-June. Champaka Ramanayake, who was the national team’s fast-bowling coach before Vaas, is favoured to reprise his role, only, his family situation has prevented him from touring over the past year. As Sri Lanka’s next three assignments are at home, however, there is a chance Ramanayake will be appointed fast-bowling coach on a temporary basis, to begin with.Vaas is Sri Lanka’s most successful seamer, with 355 Test scalps to his name. The likes of Shaminda Eranga, Suranga Lakmal and Nuwan Pradeep had appeared to make significant advances over the past two years, but Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara have also been less effective recently, during Vaas’ watch.

'Disciplined' Pakistan make New Zealand toil

Ross Taylor conceded that New Zealand would have take note of Pakistan’s steadfast approach and attempt to match them for discipline after a testing first day in the demanding conditions of Abu Dhabi

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-2014Ross Taylor conceded that New Zealand would have to take note of Pakistan’s steadfast approach and attempt to match them for discipline after a testing first day in the demanding conditions of Abu Dhabi. Pakistan openers Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad put on 178 for the first wicket, which turned out to be the only one New Zealand managed to take all day.”We expected it to be pretty flat but it was a lot lower and slower than even we were expecting,” Taylor said. “The boys toiled hard, had a few half opportunities but didn’t take them but we’ve got to give credit to Hafeez and Shehzad, they batted very well… Another long day tomorrow, I guess, if we can pick up a few wickets with the new ball we can hopefully put them under some pressure.”Pakistan batted very well and put us on the back foot with the discipline they showed. Our bowlers showed discipline but the Pakistanis showed even more discipline to be able to bat and not look in any danger. When we did bowl well for periods of time, they just soaked it up and asked us to keep going for longer.”Coming on the back of their comprehensive 2-0 defeat of Australia, Pakistan’s good form continued after winning the toss and choosing to bat. New Zealand managed to keep on top of the run rate but saw several chances go to ground – a missed stumping of Shehzad when he was on 16 was particularly costly, as he went on to finish the day unbeaten on 126.Offspinner Mark Craig was the unlucky bowler on that occasion and while he and legspinner Ish Sodhi got through 40 overs between them, they could not force a breakthrough. In all, New Zealand used seven different bowlers, including the captain, Brendon McCullum, bringing himself on, but Corey Anderson was the only one to have any success when he took a return catch off Hafeez.”We had a plan and stuck to that for as long as possible but they batted very well and negated a few of the tactics we came up with,” Taylor said. “I was very impressed with the way Ish bowled, he probably deserved a lot more than what he got. Mark Craig once again toiled hard but didn’t get the rewards he would have liked.”Taylor was already envisaging an “old-school Test match” and said New Zealand would aim to inflict a similarly long spell in the field on Pakistan when their turn came to bat. “We know that we have to bat well in our first innings, if we can do that then it puts us in a decent position in asking Pakistan to bat again and see what happens after that,” he said. “It is only day one, still a long way to go in this Test match but the boys are still laughing in the change-room and I think that’s a good sign.”As a batting unit we need to learn from the way the Pakistanis went about it today. It’s going to be a long old Test, an old-school Test match where we need to bat long periods of time. Pakistan won this day but tomorrow’s another day.”

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