Zimbabwe failed to capitalise on a promising start from their openers and Brendan Taylor, as they were all out during an extended final session on the fourth day

The Report by Liam Brickhill in Bulawayo24-Oct-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDevendra Bishoo prepares to have a bowl•Getty Images

Devendra Bishoo cut through Zimbabwe’s batsmen for the second time in the match, finishing with 4 for 105 in the innings – and 9 for 184 in the match – as West Indies surged to a 117-run win on day four at Queens Sports Club. Brendan Taylor, in his comeback Test match, top-scored with 73 in the second innings but Zimbabwe struggled to capitalize on a promising opening stand and West Indies chipped away regularly. With plenty of spin on offer all day, the slow bowlers did the bulk of the damage, Roston Chase and Kraigg Brathwaite contributing three wickets between them to support Bishoo’s effort.As was the case in the first innings, too often Zimbabwe were the authors of their own demise this afternoon. Sean Williams charged unnecessarily at Bishoo to be stumped, Sikandar Raza cut a long hop to extra cover, Malcolm Waller was run out after being called through for a non-existent single, and Regis Chakabva offered Chase a simple caught-and-bowled. Taylor, finally, took on Brathwaite’s arm for an unlikely two and was run out with minutes to go before the scheduled close of play. From a relatively healthy 219 for 4, Zimbabwe stumbled to 253 for 8 with Taylor’s needless dismissal, prompting West Indies to ask for an extra half hour that allowed them to romp to victory with a day to spare.The balance of the match had been completely different during the first session of the day. Asked to survive six sessions or score 434 to avoid defeat after Roston Chase fell for 95 and West Indies were bowled out for 373 this morning, Zimbabwe’s openers were off to steady start. They responded to testing spells from Bishoo with positive intent despite the turn and bounce on offer, setting a platform for an unlikely rearguard with 76 runs before lunch.Masakadza once again profited from the pull shot, while Mire mixed crunching hits into the leg side with dabs and steers through gully. Such confident strokeplay was the hallmark of the opening stand, which was by far the longest of the innings, but it was eventually broken by Brathwaite’s part-time offspin. Masakadza reached fifty from 87 deliveries – his first half century at this ground – but soon afterwards popped a regulation catch to Shai Hope at short leg.With that, the hosts were 99 for 1, and that soon became 109 for 2 when Mire couldn’t quite get his bat down on a Roach yorker in time and was bowled for 47. His dismissal brought Taylor to the crease, and he looked a very different batsman to the one who last played for Zimbabwe at the 2015 World Cup. Shorn of its flourishes and with no trigger movement, his still, upright batting oozed minimalist grace. He was also in no rush to get going, but some of the old shots were still there. His first boundary came from a ramped uppercut that went well over the wicketkeeper, and Taylor was to repeat the stroke more than once in his innings.At the other end, Craig Ervine was similarly unhurried and looked in no trouble either until he played around a legbreak from Bishoo to be lbw for 18. Zimbabwe wasted a review attempting to reverse that decision, and there was a similar air of profligacy to Williams’ innings. Rushing down the pitch at Bishoo, he was stumped for 6 to gift West Indies their fourth wicket of the session.Perhaps chastened by his first innings effort, Raza was far more circumspect early on in his knock. Lunging to defend pace and spin alike, his only flourish was to biff Bishoo over wide long on for six and he looked well set when, against the run of play, he cut a loose long hop from the same bowler straight to Chase in the covers.Zimbabwe were 219 for 4 with that dismissal, and deflated rapidly thereafter. A brain-fade from Taylor brought Waller’s demise for 11, and soon afterwards Taylor committed harakiri to run himself out for 73. When Chase held onto a return catch from Chakabva and Bishoo also induced a caught-and-bowled to get rid of Cremer with the new ball, Zimbabwe were 263 for 9 and the match seemed, for all intents and purposes, over.Chris Mpofu and Kyle Jarvis weren’t quite done yet, however. Matching each other stroke for stroke, their devil-may-care batting provided the small crowd with some wonderful entertainment. Mpofu, in particular, drew smiles and cheers from his home crowd while spanking a career-best 33 during a last wicket stand of 53. When he was caught at long on attempting another big hit, West Indies wrapped up a victory that had seemed unlikely when they were bowled out for just 219 in their first innings on Saturday.

Mumbai were in sight of their first win this season after reducing Odisha to 93 for 4 in pursuit of 413 in Bhubaneswar. Seamer Akash Parkar dismissed Subhransu Senapati and Deepak Behera off successive deliveries, but captain Govinda Poddar (48*) remained firm at stumps.In the morning, Mumbai were in trouble as they slumped to 84 for 6 in their second innings, losing nightwatchman Dhawal Kulkarni, vice-captain Suryakumar Yadav and captain Aditya Tare in the space of five overs. However, Siddhesh Lad played the role of the ‘crisis man’ to perfection with his fifth first-class century to bail them out.During the course of his 153-ball effort, he notched up partnerships of 57 and 76 with Abhishek Nayar and Parkar respectively. Lad was the ninth batsman to be dismissed, and Mumbai declared their innings soon after on 268 for 9. Seamer Suryakant Pradhan finished with three wickets to add to his two in the first innings.Smit Patel’s sixth first-class hundred led Tripura’s strong response as they finished the day on 327 for 4 against Baroda in Vadodara. Smit remained unbeaten on 123 at stumps, but Tripura still trail Baroda’s first-innings total by 194.Resuming on 63 for 1, Tripura lost opener Bishal Ghosh in the sixth over of the day to seamer Sagar Mangalorkar, who also had Udiyan Bose caught and bowled soon after. At 94 for 3, Tripura were in trouble, but Smit found an ally in the experienced Yashpal Singh, who made 90 in a stand worth 181. It wasn’t until tea that the partnership was broken when Vishnu Solanki, Baroda’s centurion in the first innings, removed Yashpal. But, Smit and Rajat Dey (20*) ensured with an unbroken 52-run partnership that Tripura didn’t go off track and remained on course to secure the first-innings lead.Seamer Bandaru Ayyappa’s three-wicket burst reduced Madhya Pradesh to 67 for 5 after Andhra had secured a crucial first-innings lead of 55 runs in Vizianagaram. Ayyappa first struck in the seventh over to trap opener Aditya Shrivastava in front and then cleaned up Shubham Sharma two overs later. Left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt joined in the act, as he had Rajat Patidar caught behind to leave Madhya Pradesh tottering on 16 for 3.Ayyappa then returned to dismiss Harpreet Singh Bhatia, his third wicket in his third successive over. Captain Devendra Bundela and Ankit Sharma riefly restored calm, but Andhra captain Hanuma Vihari had Ankit lbw off what was the last ball of the day.Resuming their first innings on 177 for 5, Andhra surged ahead thanks to a 143-run partnership between Ashwin Hebbar (77) Ravi Teja (58). Legspinner Mihir Hirwani, however, dismissed Sumanth to break the partnership, and despite an unbeaten 36-ball 32 from Ayyappa, ran through the lower order. Hirwani, who picked up 5 for 22 in the previous game, finished with five wickets again.

MatériaMais Notícias

A noite da última terça-feira foi de alegria para a Chapecoense. Após o revés nos acréscimos diante do Cuiabá, o Verdão do Oeste mostrou poder de reação e venceu o Juventude na Arena Condá.

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Mesmo com os três pontos na tabela de classificação, o time catarinense aproveitou para recuperar uma característica que adquiriu sob o comando de Umberto Louzer: defesa sólida.

Com o triunfo por 1 a 0, a Chapecoense chegou a marca de cinco jogos sem sofrer gols na Série B. O único jogo que acabou vazado foi na derrota para o Cuiabá.

Diante do bom desempenho defensivo neste começo de Série B, a Chape aparece na quarta colocação, com 13 pontos, um a menos que o líder Cuiabá.

No próximo fim de semana, Umberto Louzer e seus comandados encaram o Avaí, dentro de casa. Será que o bom desempenho na zaga vai permanecer?

Jogos Chapecoense

Oeste 0 x 0 Chapecoense
Chapecoense 1 x 0 Sampaio Corrêa
Cruzeiro 0 x 1 Chapecoense
Chapecoense 2 x 0 Guarani
Cuiabá 2 x 1 Chapecoense
Chapecoense 1 x 0 Juventude

كشفت تقارير صحفية، أن نادي ريد بول سالزبورج النمساوي، يسعى للتعاقد مع بيب ليندرز، مساعد يورجن كلوب في ليفربول، بداية من الموسم المقبل.

بيب ليندرز سيغادر ليفربول بنهاية الموسم مع يورجن كلوب، حيث إن أرني سلوت سيأتي بجهازه المعاون بالكامل لقيادة الريدز.

طالع أيضًا.. فيديو | طارق الجلاهمة يسخر من محمد صلاح بعد مباراة ليفربول وأستون فيلا

فابريزيو رومانو الصحفي الموثوق بشأن عقود اللاعبين والمدربين والانتقالات، أكد أن بيب ليندرز لديه عرض من ريد بول سالزبورج لتولي قيادة الفريق بداية من الموسم المقبل.

سالزبورج يقوده حاليًا أونور سينيل والذي سيرحل بنهاية الموسم، لاستكمال مهمته كمدرب مساعد في المنتخب النمساوي.

بيب ليندرز لم يتول قيادة أي فريق من قبل كرجل أول، وكان مساعدًا لـ يورجن كلوب في ليفربول منذ 2015، وقبل ذلك مع براندن رودجرز، بعدما كان مدربًا لشباب الريدز.

قبل ذلك تولى ليندرز العديد من فرق الشباب في أيندهوفن الهولندي وبورتو البرتغالي، خاصة وأنه بدأ مسيرته التدريبية مبكرًا بسبب عدم ممارسة كرة القدم.

Angelo Mathews is back in the Test squad, which also includes allrounders Dhananjaya de Silva and Dasun Shanaka

Madushka Balasuriya05-Nov-20175:29

‘Giving Mendis a break might be the best way forward’ – Arnold

Sri Lanka Test squad

Dinesh Chandimal (captain), Dimuth Karunaratne, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Rangana Herath, Suranga Lakmal, Dilruwan Perera, Lahiru Gamage, Lakshan Sandakan, Vishwa Fernando, Dasun Shanaka, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Roshen Silva
In: Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka, Angelo Mathews
Out: Kusal Mendis, Kaushal Silva, Nuwan Pradeep

Batsmen Kusal Mendis and Kaushal Silva, and seamer Nuwan Pradeep have been omitted from Sri Lanka’s squad for the three-Test series in India. Instead, allrounders Dhananjaya de Silva and Dasun Shanaka have been named in the 15-member group. Angelo Mathews, who had been declared fit last week, also features in the squad.Last week SLC CEO Ashley de Silva had said that allrounder Asela Gunaratne and batsman Kusal Perera, who have both recently recovered from injury, would also be “considered for selection for the Indian series”, but they weren’t part of the squad.ESPNcricinfo understands the selectors have rested Pradeep. SLC is handling the fast bowler with care due to his history of injury problems, with the three Tests against India deemed too much of a risk following an injury scare ahead of the second Test against Pakistan. It is likely he will return for the limited-overs series.On the batting front, the selectors felt Kaushal Silva had not done enough to retain his place after scoring only 67 runs in four innings against Pakistan.The only real surprise in the squad was the omission of Mendis; the technically sound 22-year-old batsman has been earmarked as a potential future captain and has been a mainstay in the Test side since his debut last year, but an underwhelming series against Pakistan has led selectors to believe he would be better served by a stint improving his game back home. Another poor return against India, they felt, would do more harm than good. Mendis had, however, hit a hundred on a difficult SSC pitch against India in July. He had also hit a match-winning ton against Bangladesh, earlier in the year.Dhananjaya and Shanaka were rewarded for their performances for Sri Lanka A in the Caribbean last month. Dhananjaya, who had led Sri Lanka A to a 2-1 series win in the unofficial Tests, finished as the top scorer for the team with 260 runs at an average of 52. Shanaka was the second-highest scorer for the side with 183 runs in two matches at an average of 61.Shanaka, who has only played in one Test to date, may also be expected to fill in the role of fast-bowling allrounder with SLC confirming that Mathews will be playing only as a batsman in the Tests.Sri Lanka are relatively light on experience in the fast-bowling department in the absence of Pradeep. Suranga Lakmal will lead an inexperienced pace contingent consisting of Lahiru Gamage and Vishwa Fernando, who have played just three Tests between them, while Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera and Lakshan Sandakan will make up Sri Lanka’s gang of spinners.Sadeera Samarawickrama, who made his debut in the second Test against Pakistan, will likely slot in at the top of the order alongside Dimuth Karunaratne. Mathews, meanwhile, will look to shore up a middle order that will likely consist of the returning de Silva, Lahiru Thirimanne and Niroshan Dickwella. Roshen Silva, who was a non-playing member of the squad which toured the UAE, keeps his place in the squad as well after some good showings for Sri Lanka A against the West Indies last month.Former Sri Lanka batsman Thilan Samaraweera, meanwhile, has been officially named as the side’s batting coach for three years.

West Ham United are trying to raid Manchester United this summer.

The Guardian revealed that the Irons made a combined bid of £60m for Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay.

The latest Old Trafford asset to attract the attention of manager David Moyes is seemingly Anthony Martial.

What’s the latest on Anthony Martial to West Ham?

According to CaughtOffside, the Hammers are in the market for a new forward and Martial is on the shortlist.

Read the latest West Ham transfer news HERE…

Since this article’s publication, Gianluca Scamacca’s long-awaited departure back to Italy has been confirmed as he joined Atalanta BC.

Therefore, alongside Martial, the Hammers are also eyeing possible moves for Armando Broja, Elye Wahi, and Youssef En-Nesyri.

Is Anthony Martial the answer for West Ham?

The east Londoners are back to square one after this move.

Last summer, when Scamacca moved to the English capital, his domineering 6 foot 5 profile was expected to be ruthlessly exploited by Moyes.

However, the transfer materialised into a disaster. In a season ravaged by injury and inconsistency, the former Sassuolo marksman managed just three Premier League goals and didn’t feature at all for the club after March 2023 due to knee surgery.

Moyes underlined Scamacca’s troubles, criticising his “physical data” and “output" – but the divorce between the Scotsman and the player eventually boiled down to a lack of tactical harmony.

This perspective was reinforced by fellow West ham forward Michail Antonio, who said:

“The problem is, he can’t play the way the gaffer plays. He needs a different type of manager to play his type of football, [one who can] have other players play off him and stuff like that.

“You can see it, when the ball comes into him it sticks and he’s tidy. But the way David Moyes plays, if you’re upfront you’re dealing with scraps and you’ve got to be more of a fighter, that’s not him.”

Antonio’s comments indicate that Moyes is after a dominant, selfless focal point, prioritising effectiveness over aesthetics. Therefore, it seems strange that the club is interested in Martial, who definitely doesn’t fit this mould.

The 27-year-old dud fits into that frustrating category of player that can appear either centrally or out wide, but flatters to deceive in either position. In his eight years in the north-west, Martial has failed to consistently nail down a starting spot and recurring fitness issues have stagnated his progress.

Last season, the attacker only made 11 top-flight starts and across his United career, he has missed 79 games through injury. At his best for the Red Devils in the 2019/20 campaign, Martial operated in a two-man strike force with Marcus Rashford, registering 24 Premier League contributions.

However, if he joined West Ham, you’d expect Martial to be given Antonio’s unflattering task of endlessly running and operating as an isolated figure up top, which he is unlikely to excel at.

Outspoken talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan has previously expressed concerns over Martial, saying:

“I've looked at him over the last two or three years, objectively, and thought if you play him as a mainstay, you're never going to achieve very much.

"He just simply doesn't have what's required from an elite Manchester United side to put the fear of God into the opposition and deliver on a week-in, week-out, basis. I think he's lightweight. I think he does it when he feels like it.”

It is also unlikely that the Frenchman will be on the left wing as Jarrod Bowen is one of Moyes’ most consistent and popular options, whose reputation will be almost untouchable after netting the last-minute winner in the Europa Conference League final back in June.

Furthermore, Martial’s monstrous £250k-per-week deal makes a possible transfer even more questionable, and if the 30-cap international ended up at the London Stadium, he would likely follow in Scamacca’s underwhelming path.

West Ham United have reportedly entered the chase for Man United defender Alvaro Fernandez after their previous interest in Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire.

Who will West Ham sign?

After months of waiting for his summer signings, Hammers boss David Moyes has now watched two targets come through the door in midfielders Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse.

The former, who put pen to paper on a move from Ajax, will contribute to replacing former star Declan Rice after his £105 million transfer to Arsenal.

Meanwhile, Ward-Prowse will add further steal to the West Ham midfield and brings with him real Premier League experience. The player himself, speaking after he signed, says he cannot wait to get started.

"I’m buzzing to be here at West Ham United," said Ward-Prowse.

"It’s great to be here and I’m looking forward to getting going. From the outside looking in, this is a Club that has been on the rise for a number of years now and coming off the success in the UEFA Europa Conference League last year, you can feel there is real momentum around this Club. It’s great to be a part of it and I can’t wait to play my role in the games to come.

“When I think about my game, it is based on hard work, graft, and giving 100 per cent. West Ham United has always been a club that has epitomised that."

Read the latest West Ham transfer news HERE…

The east Londoners are looking to back Moyes with further signings, especially amid Lucas Paqueta's potential move to league champions Man City.

West Ham, as they also gear up for another campaign in Europe, must keep adding quality to their ranks with journalists Alvaro de Grado and Manuel Amor sharing news on Fernandez.

The 20-year-old, who enjoyed a brilliant campaign on loan at Preston North End last term, is being courted by several clubs in Spain, Germany and England.

Granada, Las Palmas, Espanyol, Eintracht Frankfurt, Burnley and the Hammers are all named as clubs to have recently enquired about Fernandez's situation at Old Trafford.

Amor and de Grado go on to claim that there have been "contacts" between West Ham and United over the left-back, who Erik ten Hag's side value at around £6 million.

Fernandez is available for that price and it appears many clubs are keen to jump at the opportunity.

How good is Alvaro Fernandez?

The Spaniard made 39 Championship appearances for PNE last term, ranking among their top ten best-performers by average match rating according to WhoScored.

An attack-minded full-back, Fernandez completed more successful take-ons than any other member of Ryan Lowe's squad – all while registering four assists.

Lowe, commenting on his former loanee back at the beginning of 22/23, called the player "immaculate".

"He's an immaculate kid though, isn't he?" Lowe told the media after a match.

"Everything about him. He's asked questions on a daily basis, is playing a different role to what he is probably used to at Manchester United – as a left wing-back for us, not left-back.

"He is a fantastic talent – you don't play for Real Madrid and Manchester United if you are not any good. We knew that when we saw him, we knew he'd bring something different to us and he certainly did that tonight."

Rangers are one of the few teams in the hunt for Sunderland’s Scottish striker Ross Stewart. Transfer insider Dean Jones has revealed the status of this pursuit and where Stewart’s future lies, with GIVEMESPORT.

Who will win the race for Stewart?

Rangers are rivalled by the likes of Southampton and Stoke City in the race to snatch Ross Stewart away from playoff hopefuls Sunderland, per TEAMtalk.

Middlesbrough are another of the sides interested in securing his services and it isn't hard to see why following the expiration of Cameron Archer’s loan and Chuba Akpom’s big money move to Ajax.

A key fact in this transfer saga is that the forward’s contract with Sunderland is set to expire next summer and so whilst he may be a key figure in their side, they may be forced to sell now so as to ensure they receive a fee.

After all, Stewart doesn’t seem willing to extend his stay with the Black Cats having already rejected multiple contract offers from the club.

The 27-year-old is a Scotsman himself and so a move to one of the two major SPFL powers may be difficult to turn down.

Injuries held his progress back last year but this season before that, in League One, Stewart’s goals played a key role in Sunderland’s success and eventual promotion.

He netted 26 times and added three assists to that and maybe even more impressive than that is that he started all 46 league games as well as the 3 playoff games, amassing just short of 99% of the available minutes, as per WhoScored.

At the end of the day, the best ability is availability.

What is the opinion of Dean Jones?

Transfer expert Dean Jones has offered his opinion exclusively to GIVEMESPORT about the quality of Ross Stewart and what he offers Ranger.

“It would be a great signing. And in the player’s eyes, it could really turn his head because it’s a different challenge to the ones being proposed at other clubs in England. It’s very high-profile, it would take him to another level.

“I think he does have the potential to be better than Cyriel Dessers in this team. And we know that Rangers definitely are going to need some more goal power this season if things are going to swing in their favour.”

What else is going on at Rangers?

Rangers have already enjoyed a very busy summer window as they look to build a squad that can overcome bitter rivals Celtic.

Amongst those to have been brought to Ibrox by new ‘Gers manager Michael Beale are former England international goalkeeper Jack Butland, LAFC midfielder Jose Cifuentes and then three big money forwards, one of which being Nigerian Cyriel Dessers.

Dessers may have cost just over £4.2 million and yet as seen above, Jones would expect Ross Stewart to make a more profound impact.

Meanwhile, other rumours swirling up in Scotland mention Millwall centre-half Jake Cooper, Stewart’s Sunderland teammate Jack Clarke and also, Leicester City’s mountain of a defender Harry Souttar.

Although a final decision remains to be made, a BCCI official suggested that the three players could be a combination of two Indians and one overseas player, or two overseas players and one Indian

Nagraj Gollapudi24-Oct-2017

The eight IPL franchises are likely to be allowed to retain up to three players each before the player auction in the 2018 pre-season. Such a proposal was discussed by the IPL governing council in Delhi on Tuesday. The governing council will meet again next week to deliberate on the issue before making a final decision on November 14 at a workshop with all eight franchises.Although a final decision remains to be made, a BCCI official suggested that the three players could be a combination of two Indians and one overseas player, or two overseas players and one Indian. ESPNcricinfo understands that not all franchises have been keen on retaining players, but Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, the two teams that are returning to the IPL after serving a two-year suspension, were “keen” to retain a certain number of players.If the IPL allows the retention of a certain number of players, both these franchises would be able to pick their choices from the two teams that replaced them in the last two editions of the IPL: Rising Pune Supergiant and Gujarat Lions.MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Ben Stokes, Steven Smith, Brendon McCullum and Faf du Plessis are some of the prominent names that featured for Supergiant and Lions in the last two years.It is understood that the IPL chief operating officer Hemang Amin met with representatives of the eight franchises in the last few months to gather suggestions before a final plan is laid out at the franchise workshop next month.It is not just the number of players that should be retained that the franchises have different opinions about – they are also concerned by the purse that will be made available to them.Some of the richer franchises are keen to have a maximum purse of INR 80 crore as opposed to some franchises which are happy with INR 75 crore. The IPL governing council is likely to take a final call at its next meeting.One franchise official pointed out that the richer teams might want a bigger purse in order to spend big money to retain marquee players. The official suggested the IPL should consider a smaller purse as well as sticking to the retention policy it had used in the past. In 2014, when the retention policy was introduced for the first time by the IPL, every franchise was allowed to retain a maximum of five capped players. Back then every franchise had a salary cap of INR 60 crore, out of which a fixed amount would be deducted for every player retained. The break-up of the deduction was: Player 1 – INR 12.5 crore, Player 2 – 9.5 cr, Player 3 – 7.5 cr, Player 4 – 5.5 cr and Player 5 – 4 cr.Simultaneously the franchises could buy back additional players through the right-to-match-card option in the 2014 auction. On Tuesday, the IPL governing council discussed the right-to-match-card option, but there was no clarity on the issue. The right-to-match card essentially gives a franchise the first right of refusal to its players, allowing it to buy its player back after other franchises have completed the bidding process for him.In 2014 the number of right-to-match cards available to each franchise was dependent on the number of players already retained. A franchise retaining between three and five players had one right-to-match card, while a franchise retaining up to two players had two right-to-match cards; those not retaining any player had three cards to play.

A swimming pool, a beer or two and an Ashes Test in full swing – what better time to pop the question?

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2017It could go down as one of the most romantic moments in Ashes history.It is certainly a contender for the most Australian act of the year.A marriage proposal, in a swimming pool, at an Ashes Test, while throwing down the Amber Nectar and wearing face paint daubed in Australian green and gold.But wait a minute, that looks like a marriage proposal•Getty ImagesNot forgetting what the Australians like to call a pair of matching green-and-gold “budgie smugglers”.Michael Langridge was watching the cricket from the pool deck at the Gabba with his girlfriend Tori Roebuck when he got down on one knee and popped the question.Fortunately, for Michael, Tori said “yes” and excitement quickly spread from poolside around the Gabba and worldwide on social media.We think she’s said “yes”•Getty ImagesThe pool deck at the Gabba has become one of the most popular places to watch cricket since it was introduced last year.Emotions haven’t run so high since the Hon. Ivo Bligh fell for Florence Morphy in 1882 as the legend of the Ashes was born.Not that Ivo Bligh would have countenanced the idea of a marriage proposal in a skimpy pair of swimming trunks before a full house at the Gabba.It’s one of the great Ashes romances•Getty Images