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Matches between Barcelona and Real Madrid have provided some classic contests over the years, but what was the best game since the year 2000?

With so many talented players and so many gifted coaches, clashes between Real Madrid and Barcelona are always a must-watch. Factor in the heated rivalry, and it's no wonder El Clasico is regarded as one of, if not the best derby in football.

Some of the names to have graced the game since the turn of the century are are legendary: Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Zinedine Zidane, Sergio Ramos, Andres Iniesta… And that's just the beginning.

🖥️ Where to watch & live stream El Clasico👕 Get the Barcelona jersey here⚽ Watch La Liga games live on Viaplay in the UK

The two teams meet again on Wednesday in a game that could well yield another classic.

But until then, GOAL takes a look at some of the most memorable games the iconic rivalry has yielded in the 21st century…

10Cristiano heads Madrid to Copa glory

It was all decided by one of Ronaldo leaps.

There was nothing to separate Barca and Madrid in the 2011 Copa del Rey final after 90 minutes. Pepe cracked a header off the post and Pedro had a goal ruled out for offside, but neither side could break the deadlock.

Ronaldo, though, had his moment in extra-time, rising above two Barca defenders to power a header back across goal.

This was a massive win for Jose Mourinho. 'The Special One' had struggled against Barca in the first few Clasicos of his tenure, highlighted by the infamous 5-0 thumping a year previously. This one, and goal, was a massive turning point.

Advertisement9Ronaldo's late winner

When it came to coming up clutch late in games, Ronaldo was, and still is, something else.

This goal in 2016 was one of his signature Clasico moments, an 85th-minute winner to stun Barca at Camp Nou.

It was a particularly spicy derby, with four yellow cards dished out inside the first 29 minutes. Madrid were excellent defensively on the day, only allowing three shots on target while holding Messi scoreless for his fifth straight Clasico.

And at the other end, they were deadly on the break. Barca may have taken the lead through a Gerard Pique header, but Madrid fought their way back into the game, and Karim Benzema grabbed the equaliser with an acrobatic volley.

Madrid had a goal ruled out & missed further chances, leaving many believing the game would end in a draw. Ronaldo, though, had other ideas.

The Portuguese scored a fine goal, bringing a cross down with his chest before feeding the ball through the goalkeeper's legs to win it. His strike took him to 16 Clasico goals, then-second on the all-time list.

Getty8Galacticos take over

Was this the height of the Galactico era at Real Madrid?

Some of the names on this teamsheet make for frightening reading, as Madrid boasted a front five of David Beckham, Zidane, Raul, Ronaldo and Michael Owen. That Roberto Carlos guy at left-back wasn't bad, either.

Barcelona were, in fairness, quite the side, too, complete with Ronaldinho, Xavi and Iniesta.

But they were blown away at Santiago Bernabeu. Zidane scored the opener within seven minutes before Ronaldo doubled Real's advantage after 20.

And although Samuel Eto'o pulled one back with a lovely run and poked finish, the visitors never really found a foothold.

Madrid led 3-1 at half time, and ran out 4-2 winners to complete one of the great Clasico batterings.

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7Ronaldinho brings the Bernabeu to its feet

Is this the best individual Clasico showing of the 21st century? Messi certainly has a claim for a number of superb performances, but Ronaldinho's irresistible individual brilliance in 2005 might just have been the most captivating.

The Brazilian bullied a 20-year-old Ramos to the tune of two goals – including one legendary run and finish – and earned a standing ovation from the Santiago Bernabeu crowd for his troubles.

Appropriately, Ronaldinho's magical night came in the same week in which he was handed the European Footballer of the Year award, yet he wasn't the only superstar to shine for Barca that night.

A young Messi delivered a standout showing of his own, running rings around Roberto Carlos in a preview of Clasicos to come.

This one wasn't much of a contest, but it was certainly one of the best Clasico performances of recent times.

Andre Fletcher’s Man-of-the-Match performance against Sri Lanka won the praise of the man he replaced as opener, Chris Gayle

Nagraj Gollapudi22-Mar-20162:46

Jayawardene: Controlled West Indies deserved win

Be aggressive in the Powerplay and then bat deep. That is Chris Gayle’s advice to Andre Fletcher, the Man of the match in West Indies’ second win of the World T20 against Sri Lanka on Sunday, and the rest of his team if West Indies are to progress deep into the World T20.Gayle, who did not bat against Sri Lanka because of a minor twinge in his left hamstring while fielding, is understood to be fit and available for selection against South Africa in Nagpur on Friday.”In the second game against Sri Lanka I started, but didn’t get a chance to bat. But Fletcher came in, played his part and grabbed his opportunity with both hands,” Gayle told WICB media in Nagpur. “He played a fantastic knock and carried right through till the end. And that’s the sort of thing batters require – once you are set in these kinds of conditions, it is very important to bat as deep as possible and it just makes it easier for the team to chase or set a target, so it is very important to see Fletcher come on board and be Man of the Match.”Gayle said the key for Fletcher was not to be “overconfident” when he goes in to bat next. Fletcher is likely to open with Gayle against South Africa, considering Johnson Charles made a duck against England and 10 against Sri Lanka. “Just continue to play smartly, pick and choose his bowlers to target at a particular time. Also whatever it is that works for him, like continue being aggressive in the first six. It’s very, very important to try and capitalise on that new ball as a batter. So just keep that aggression going and once you get past that first six, try and take it as deep as possible, look to pick up the odd boundary in the middle overs as well. Just build on whatever start you get.”I’ve opened the batting with him on many occasions so I know what sort of a player he is, he is very dangerous and he’s capable of getting big scores as well. So hopefully he can build on this and carry on, not leave it for anybody and get more Man-of-the-Match awards.”Though Fletcher played an aggressive innings, the crowd in Bangalore was desperate for Gayle to bat. He had sat out for about half of the Sri Lankan innings as a precautionary measure, and despite the crowd’s urging and his own insistence, he had to wait for a certain amount of time to pass before he could bat. By then the match was over. Gayle finally emerged after the win and thanked the crowd, a gesture that was well received by the fans.Gayle had already lit up the tournament and made West Indies a force when he hammered a 48-ball century against England in Mumbai last week. The innings had a characteristic that is usually missed when talking about Gayle: patience. In the Powerplay, Gayle had faced barely six deliveries as Marlon Samuels took charge.Gayle said he was not thinking of the century until he was a handful of runs away. The focus until then was just on riding with the momentum built by Samuels. “I wasn’t really thinking about the hundred because if you look at the way we started, after facing the first over, in the second Marlon came in and he actually batted the entire Powerplay. I was saying to myself, regardless of what happens, I need to be here, and the good thing about it is that Marlon was getting the ball away and keeping the run rate intact so it was very important to be there then. We knew they had two spinners, especially a leg spinner, so being a left-hander it was good to be there in the middle overs, it was crucial.”Talking about the century, Gayle said the turning point was him hitting England offspinner Moeen Ali for three consecutive sixes, when West Indies needed 59 runs from the final seven overs. Andre Russell had just come in after Denesh Ramdin and Dwayne Bravo had fallen. “I got some momentum when I took down Moeen Ali – when I got three consecutive sixes. And then the momentum was actually built from there and when the rest of the bowlers come to bowl in the back end, we’re always going to be on the go at that particular time. That’s when the opportunity presented itself. I had done the hard work already, so I said, ‘I’ve done the hard work, let’s get the hundred’. At that point, we were way ahead, and I wasn’t going to risk it, and batting there with Andre Russell we just wanted to finish off things. When I got to 96 or something like that, that was the time I said I’ll get the hundred.”Gayle said the century brought back memories of his ton in the first edition of the WT20, where he scored a century, too. Having won their first two games, West Indies are now favourites to make the semi-finals from Group 1. “We have a lot of back-up. I shouldn’t be using this word back-up, we have a lot of guys who are match winners themselves who actually can do the same thing and destroy different bowling attacks around the world.”

A city-based T20 competition could be back on the agenda in England and Wales after a group of county chief executives called upon their colleagues to embrace more radical change

George Dobell26-Feb-2016A city-based T20 competition could be back on the agenda in England and Wales after a group of county chief executives called upon their colleagues to embrace more radical change.It had been presumed that the meeting of the county chief executives at Trent Bridge on Thursday would simply wave through a raft of proposals to the structure of county cricket that might be termed a compromise between those who want city-based T20 and those who want no change. Those proposals were understood to include introducing promotion and relegation in domestic T20 cricket and a reduced County Championship fixture list with an eight-team top division and 10-team bottom division. The changes would have been implemented for the 2017 season and would last until the current TV deal expires at the end of 2019.But there was a feeling from some at the meeting – not least the MCC chief executive, Derek Brewer – that the proposals were not radical enough. Brewer argued that, with Test revenues expected to come under strain in the next few years, it was essential to exploit the global appeal of the T20 format. English cricket, he said, was missing an opportunity by failing to implement a streamlined, city-based competition in a school holidays window.Others present felt that the positives of moving to two divisions, with broadcasters focusing on the top tier, might be outweighed by the threat of losing lucrative local derby matches – such as Yorkshire’s and Lancashire’s Roses fixtures, which are understood to be worth £300,000 per game.As a result, the counties asked for more clarity on the financial repercussions of each of their options. With some of the larger, Test-hosting counties anxious about their debt issues, the mood for change among the chief executives does appear to be growing. Warwickshire, Hampshire and Glamorgan are among those counties apparently now in favour of a city-based competition.Many of the county chairmen, and most of those in executive positions at the ECB, are already convinced of the benefits of a city-based T20 competition along the lines of Australia’s Big Bash League. It has, until now, been the chief executives who resisted a move in that direction with many of them citing substantial growth in attendances and revenues since the NatWest Blast was scheduled on a more predictable basis and pointing out that the quality of overseas players – both in terms of talent and marketability – involved in the 2015 competition was exceptionally high.But if evidence can be produced ahead of the next county chairmen’s meeting on March 7, and the ECB board meeting that follows it, that a move to a city-based competition will financially benefit all the counties, it remains just about possible that it could yet be introduced in 2017.Time is an issue. The ECB are adamant that agreement must be reached before the season so that teams go into the campaigns knowing what the outcomes could be. For example, the finishing positions in this year’s NatWest Blast would decide which divisions teams would be in next year.It remains likely that the compromise solution – a two-division T20 competition involving all 18 counties with teams financially compensated for a lack of derby games – will be ratified, but it does seem that resistance to more radical change is crumbling.

Umpires Chris Gaffaney and S Ravi have been promoted to the ICC’s Elite Panel of umpires for 2015-16. They will replace Billy Bowden, and the retiring Steve Davis

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jun-20153:12

‘Indian umpiring has had lot of success stories of late’ – Taufel

Umpires Chris Gaffaney and S Ravi have been promoted to the ICC’s Elite Panel of umpires for 2015-16. They will replace Billy Bowden, and the retiring Steve Davis.Ravi is only the second Indian, after S Venkataraghavan, to make the Elite Panel since its inception in 2002. He has stood in six Tests, including the recently completed series between England and New Zealand, 24 ODI – three of which were during the 2015 World Cup – and 12 T20s.”I have always enjoyed the company of those umpires already on the Elite Panel and now I have the chance to work with them all on a more regular basis,” Ravi said. “I am really looking forward to the challenges ahead and aim to maintain a high standard of umpiring.”Elite Panel for 2015-16

Aleem Dar (Pakistan)
Kumar Dharmasena (Sri Lanka)
Marais Erasmus (South Africa)
Chris Gaffaney (New Zealand)
Ian Gould (England)
Richard Illingworth (England)
Richard Kettleborough (England)
Nigel Llong (England)
Bruce Oxenford (Australia)
S Ravi (India)
Paul Reiffel (Australia)
Rod Tucker (Australia)

Ravi’s elevation will not come as a surprise to former Elite Panel umpire Simon Taufel, who gave high marks to Indian umpires in an interaction with ESPNcricinfo recently. Although Taufel, who is advisor and mentor to BCCI’s Elite Panel of umpires, was non-committal over why Indians had not been in the panel for so long, he stressed the big strides made by the likes of Ravi in the last few years to make themselves eligible.”Our focus is to improve Indian domestic umpiring. We have produced four quality International Panel umpires,” Taufel said. “They are doing extremely well and one of them [S Ravi] officiated at Lord’s in a Test match. It is his fifth Test match. He has been to a World Cup and put his name up for selection.”Gaffaney began his international career as an umpire in 2010 and has worked two Tests, 41 ODIs – three during the 2015 World Cup – and 15 T20Is.”I have a number of people to thank, especially those who have assisted from the very beginning of my umpire career, and will be doing this individually in due course,” he said. “I, however, need to mention the support and understanding of both the NZC and the Police force, who allowed me the opportunity to follow my career as a policeman and also as an umpire. I am extremely grateful for their understanding, which has made this possible.”The 2015-16 team was picked by the ICC umpires selection panel consisting of ICC general manager Geoff Allardice, chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle, former England player, coach and umpire David Lloyd, and S Venkataraghavan, the former India captain and umpire.

Jose Mourinho slammed his Roma players for their 'superficial' attitude in their 1-1 draw with Servette and singled out Housseum Aouar for criticism.

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Roma held to 1-1 draw at ServetteSecond in group behind Slavia PrahaMourinho slams players after resultGetty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

Roma's chances of finishing first in their Europa League group took a blow as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Swiss side Servette on Thursday. Mourinho's team took the lead after 21 minutes through Chelsea loanee Romelu Lukaku but Chris Bedia levelled proceedings five minutes after the break as both sides came away with a point. After the match, Mourinho laid into his players, including summer signing Aouar.

Advertisement(C)GettyImagesWHAT JOSE MOURINHO SAID

He told Sky Sport Italia: "We had important opportunities, but the start of the second half was something that happens too often to us. It’s a pity that you don’t have a camera in our locker room at half-time, because every time I make it clear to them that the opponents playing at home who are a goal down will come out fighting.

"That is a natural reaction, it is something we expect. Yet again we were superficial in our attitude, in our interpretation of this moment of the match. There are players who once again missed an opportunity to prove themselves, for example, Aouar.

“There are several who are on the bench and come on in Serie A with a great attitude, then in the Europa League they come on with this sluggish attitude, like they are not accustomed to being on the bench and then do not improve the game.”

Getty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Roma will be in the knockout stages of the Europa League but it is likely they will face a side who has come third in their respective Champions League group after failing to put away Servette. Mourinho led Roma to the Europa Conference League title in 2022 and were runners up in this competition last season. With the former Chelsea boss expected to leave the Italian giants at the end of the season, extra games will not make his task of claiming more silverware any easier.

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WHAT NEXT FOR ROMA?

Roma's final group stage game is against Sheriff on December 14. They will have to beat the Moldovan side and hope Slavia lose against Servette to top the group and avoid the play-offs.

Brendon McCullum was at the forefront of a cavalier batting approach as Chennai Super Kings posted a total substantial enough to take them to No. 1 in the league

The Report by George Binoy25-Apr-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:27

O’Brien: Everything went right for Super Kings

Brendon McCullum was at the forefront of a cavalier batting approach, the Kings XI Punjab bowling and fielding withering under his charge, as Chennai Super Kings posted a total substantial enough to take them to No. 1 in the league. The 97-run victory brought them level with Rajasthan Royals on ten points, but ahead on net run rate with a game in hand. Kings XI, on the other hand, slipped below Mumbai Indians to the bottom of the competition.These two teams had played each other three times in the 2014 season and on every occasion Kings XI had made more than 200 to beat Super Kings. This time, however, without Glenn Maxwell who was dropped because George Bailey returned as captain, Kings XI were restricted to their second lowest 20-over score in eight IPL seasons. They stumbled to 95 for 9 as the Super Kings’ rejuvenated spinners Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin shared five wickets for 36 runs in eight overs after an ordinary start to the tournament.From the moment Dwayne Smith flayed the first ball of the game from legspinner Karanveer Singh to the cover boundary, Super Kings were always on top of the contest. It was the beginning of an opening stand of 50 in 4.4 overs, during which Smith waylaid Karanveer for 22 in an over and McCullum smacked Sandeep Sharma around.McCullum was dropped by Mitchell Johnson on 21, and made Kings XI pay, slashing and pulling to 66 off 44 balls. He had got to his fifty – 32 balls – with two pulls off Johnson: the first not perfectly timed to the midwicket boundary, the second superbly pulled over deep square leg. By the time he was dismissed, Super Kings had got to 116 in 12.1 overs.McCullum had added 66 for the second wicket with Suresh Raina, who had two bits of good fortune. The first was on 8 when umpire Johan Cloete didn’t see an edge to the wicketkeeper, and the second was on 13 when Johnson put down another catch. Raina didn’t punish Kings XI as severely as McCullum did, but after his exit MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja, who were sent in ahead of Dwayne Bravo and Faf du Plessis, finished the innings with a 48-run stand in 28 deliveries.Super Kings had looked on course for more than 200 at one stage, but their total of 192 was a formidable one.The Kings XI chase was a procession. Virender Sehwag chipped Ishwar Pandey to mid-off in the first over, and Shaun Marsh was trapped lbw by Ashish Nehra in the sixth. With the score 39 for 2, Dhoni brought on his spinners after the fielding restrictions and Jadeja and Ashwin ended the contest.Jadeja dismissed Bailey and Miller in single digits in his first two overs, and Ashwin got M Vijay and Axar Patel in his second and third. That left Kings XI 66 for 6 and sinking irrevocably.Dhoni called the victory, “one of the most convincing wins we’ve ever had in all IPLs.”

Ten-man Bayern Munich suffered a second-straight upset as they were beaten by Lazio in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

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Quiet night for striker KaneBayern lose 1-0 to Lazio in RomeUpamecano sees red & concedes penaltyGettyTELL ME MORE

After being overpowered and outclassed by Bayer Leverkusen at the weekend, Kane and his team-mates had another frustrating evening when they paid a visit to Rome to face Maurizio Sarri's team on Wednesday night.

They found themselves up against a well-structured Lazio team that gave very little away. Bayern were simply not creative enough for all their possession as Kane, Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sane and Joshua Kimmich all failed to test goalkeeper Ivan Provedel. The wasteful German giants were eventually punished when Ciro Immobile lashed home from the penalty spot in the second half.

Lazio were the only team to have a shot on target – they managed four – in the entire game and should have taken the lead when Gustav Isaksen was sent through on goal and unleashed a shot from close range, but Manuel Neuer did well to block it and send it out for a corner.

The Italian team sat deep and defended well, keeping Thomas Tuchel's team at arm's length as they went in search of a way through their well-structured hosts. The visitors turned to long balls as Dayot Upamecano smashed it out wide for Thomas Muller to send into the box, where Kane was able to meet with a header that went well over the bar.

It was Lazio who brought some excitement in the 67th minute when they were given a penalty and Upamecano was sent off. Immobile picked up the ball in a dangerous area and drove through but could not get his shot away. It fell to Isaksen, but he missed the target and, as he shot, Upamecano came lunging in and the referee pointed to the spot. The Frenchman was dismissed for the foul and Immobile stepped up to smash in the winner.

AdvertisementGettyTHE MVP

Lazio striker Immobile had a fairly quiet game overall, as it was team-mates Isaksen and Luis Alberto who acted as more direct threats. But the Italian forward played a crucial role in the match's decisive moment, holding off the Bayern defence in a counterattack before it fell to Isaksen for Upamecano to give away the penalty. Immobile then did his duty by converting the spot-kick.

GettyTHE BIG LOSER

Bayern centre-back Upamecano will go down as the main culprit in his team's defeat. His late challenge saw his studs come down on the leg of Isaksen just as the attacker missed the target with a shot. Conceding a penalty and seeing his team go down to 10 men was a significant blow alone, but it gave Lazio the chance to take the lead.

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WHAT COMES NEXT?

After falling five points behind shock leaders Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern will hope to prevent the gap at the top of the Bundesliga from growing when they take on Bochum this weekend. They also take on RB Leipzig and Freiburg in the German top flight before hosting Lazio for the second leg.

As most of the continent's 'Big Five' leagues reach their respective halfway points, Goal picks out the most impressive performers in all competitions

Getty ImagesGK: Alisson

Alisson may have made a couple of errors since joining Liverpool during the summer but the Brazilian has had a massive impact on Merseyside.

His excellent distribution has added a new dimension to the Reds' play, as so spectacularly underlined by his role in the first penalty won in the rout of Arsenal on Saturday.

Alisson has also exhibited a helpful habit of making big saves at big times – it was his ast-minute save against Napoli that saw the Reds through to the last 16 of the Champions League. 

So, while Jan Oblak, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Tomas Vaclik and Samir Handanvoic have all been excellent for their respective sides, none of them have kept more clean sheets than Alisson (14), who also boasts a better save percentage (80.77) than all of his rivals for the No.1 jersey.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesRB: Joao Cancelo

Inter's loss has proven Juventus' considerable gain, with Joao Cancelo now excelling in Turin after spending last season in Milan on loan from Valencia.

The Nerazzurri were unable to make the Portuguese's stay at San Siro permanent due to Financial Fair Play restrictions, so the Bianconeri swooped, paying €40.4 million for a player who has made Massimiliano Allegri's defence even stronger.

Compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo is understandably drawing more attention but the versatile Cancelo has been consistently excellent for Juve, offering an outlet down the right flank.

GettyCB: Virgil van Dijk

Andy Robertson has admitted that he has grown tried of talking about the brilliance of Liverpool team-mate Virgil van Dijk.

Just like everyone else, the left-back is running out of things to say about the Dutch giant, who has transformed the Reds' defence and, as a consequence, the team's fortunes since arriving at Anfield for record-breaking £75m during the 2018 January transfer window.

The numbers speak for themselves, though, with Premier League leaders Liverpool having only conceded eight goals in 20 matches this season primarily due to Van Dijk's aerial prowess, fantastic reading of the game and organisational skills.

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Getty ImagesCB: Kalidou Koulibaly

Kalidou Koulibaly has reportedly just signed a contract extension that makes him the highest-paid player at Napoli and there is no player more deserving of that status at the San Paolo.

The Senegalese centre-half has once again been immense at the back for the Partenopei, the foundation on which their game pursuit of Juventus has been built, and his dismissal against Inter does nothing to change that.

Indeed, watching Koulibaly win everything that is thrown at him in the air, week in, week out, it's easy to understand why Manchester United allegedly bid €100m for his services last summer – and why Aurelio De Laurentiis turned it down.

As he underlined with his response to the incessant racial abuse he received at San Siro, Koulibaly is as inspirational a character off the field as he is on it.

Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann has confirmed that captain Michael Clarke will play Wednesday’s warm-up match against the UAE in Melbourne, barring any mishaps at training before that

Brydon Coverdale09-Feb-2015Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann has confirmed that captain Michael Clarke will play Wednesday’s warm-up match against the UAE in Melbourne, barring any mishaps at training before that. However, Clarke still appears a long-shot to take part in the World Cup opener against England on Saturday, and is instead more likely to return on his deadline date of February 21 against Bangladesh.Clarke’s comeback from hamstring surgery in December has been a slow burn, and although he showed encouraging signs by batting in Sydney grade cricket last weekend then batting and bowling against a Bangladesh XI in Brisbane last week, it would be a push to rush him in against England. Lehmann said one of the remaining areas of improvement for Clarke was being 100% in the field.”Michael, if he gets through training tomorrow, hopefully he’ll play the trial game on Wednesday,” Lehmann said on on Monday night. “So that’s a pleasing thing for us. He’s trained the house down … now it’s a case of getting up to speed with the fielding and away he goes from there.”Less than a week before their first World Cup match, Australia have more than just Clarke to worry about. Allrounder James Faulkner has no chance of playing at the start of the tournament after suffering a side strain during the tri-series final against England in Perth, but he remains in the squad and the Australians are hopeful he will play some part later in the tournament.”He’ll have a bat tomorrow in the nets,” Lehmann said of Faulkner. “So he’s going okay. He won’t play the first game.”It means Australia will likely have only 13 players available for selection for the England game at the MCG, with Xavier Doherty and one of Pat Cummins or Josh Hazlewood the probables to sit out. Players such as Moises Henriques and Shaun Marsh, who took part in the tri-series, could yet be called into the squad if the injury worries worsen, but for now Australia will stick with their existing group.”Everyone has them … you just have to cope with it and deal with it,” Lehmann said of the injuries. “We have some good depth. We have good players who have missed out, so that’s a good sign. If we have some injuries and we have to replace them, so be it. But at the moment they’re all ticking along nicely.”Lehmann was part of Australia’s World Cup triumphs in 1999 and 2003, but did not play in Australia’s previous home World Cup in 1992. However, he has asked players from that tournament, including Geoff Marsh and Ian Healy, to speak to the squad about the pressures of taking on the world in front of home crowds.”Just enjoy the whole eight weeks,” Lehmann said of the advice. “We want to play the best cricket we possibly can and win as many games as we can, but at the end of the day we don’t look much further than the England game, then we move to the Bangladesh game, and then New Zealand and see what happens from there. But we’ll enjoy the packed houses and the crowd support”We’ll change the way we play, depending on where we play and who we play. At the moment our focus is the MCG, hopefully 90,000 people there watching us and supporting us. We’ll worry about playing England first and move from there – that’s the way you have to go through the World Cup. You can’t look too far ahead.”

In another indication that the Rajasthan Cricket Association’s chances of participating in the domestic season are slim, the state association was excluded from a meeting to discuss the itinerary of zonal tournaments

Amol Karhadkar29-Aug-2014Ramesh Powar leaves Rajasthan

Offspinner Ramesh Powar has terminated his agreement with the Rajasthan Cricket Association and has obtained a No Objection Certificate from the BCCI that will allow him to represent another team in the 2014-15 domestic season. Powar had signed a two-year agreement with Rajasthan in August last year and played six games for the side in the Ranji Trophy but with the team’s participation in this year’s domestic season in doubt, the offspinner asked for an NOC from the BCCI.

The Rajasthan Cricket Association was kept out of the BCCI’s central zone meeting to finalise venues for zonal age-group tournaments on Wednesday, indicating that the state association’s chances of participating in the upcoming domestic season are weak.The ad-hoc committee headed by Brijesh Patel, that had been appointed to oversee disputed domestic associations, has already informed the BCCI of its inability to sort out issues with the Rajasthan government. On the sidelines of the BCCI’s marketing committee meeting in Mumbai on Thursday, one of the BCCI’s office bearers also told members he had doubts on whether Rajasthan could feature in the upcoming season.Following its suspension from the BCCI and its exclusion from the board’s domestic programme, the RCA was not invited for the central zone meeting where the associations of Vidarbha, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Railways chalked out the itinerary for the zonal tournaments, including the inter-state under-16 and under-19 tournaments.The RCA office-bearers, however, remained confident about being a part of the domestic season and maintained that the selection process for all age-group and senior teams would begin soon.Despite excluding the RCA from its domestic schedule, the BCCI had kept a slot open for the suspended association if the ad-hoc committee headed by Brijesh Patel could sort out the issues with the state government. While the committee did not receive a favourable response during their meeting with the state government, it was considering approaching the authorities again. However, ESPNcricinfo understands that the committee decided against doing so, opting instead to wait for the Rajasthan state government officials to make a move. With the time running out, the forthcoming Ranji Trophy could feature 26 instead of 27 teams.If Rajasthan continues to be sidelined, the junior boys and girls will miss out on one full season of domestic cricket. As for the Ranji cricketers, some of the seniors like Pankaj Singh, Robin Bist, Vineet Saxena along with promising youngsters like Ashok Menaria and Deepak Chahar may play for other teams as professionals. Though the BCCI’s deadline for domestic transfers ends on August 31, the board will allow transfers of cricketers from Rajasthan after the deadline, if required.