علق مصطفى الشامي رئيس نادي بلدية المحلة، على الهزيمة التي نالها الفريق على يد المصري بثلاثية دون رد.

المباراة التي أقيمت على ملعب استاد الجيش ببرج العرب في خضم منافسات الجولة 13 من عمر الدوري المصري الممتاز.

فيديو | المصري يفوز على بلدية المحلة بثلاثية في الدوري

وقال الشامي في تصريحات تلفزيونية بفضائية “أون تايم سبورتس”: “العديد من اللاعبين لم يكونوا في حالتهم الفنية، ولدينا تجربة مستمرة حتى نهاية الموسم”.

وأضاف: “أنا مؤمن جدًا باللاعبين والجهاز الفني، وأعلم أن التوفيق سيحالفنا في أوقات وأخرى لا، ونحاول تسخير إمكانياتنا قدر استطاعتنا، وأثق في الفترة القادمة”.

وتابع: “مستمرون مع الجهاز الفني واللاعبين وبالفكرة نفسها حتى نهاية الموسم، والموضوع ليس مرتبط بالنتائج”.

وأتم: “عندي قناعة بـ الكابتن أحمد عبد الرؤوف، نحن مستمرون وواثق من أننا سنحقق شيء جيد”.

ويتواجد فريق بلدية المحلة في المركز الـ12 بترتيب الدوري برصيد 13 نقطة، حصدهم من 3 انتصارات و4 تعادلات فيما تلقى 5 هزائم، ويتبقى له مباراة مؤجلة.

For all the progress that has been made at Manchester United this season under manager Erik ten Hag, the club's FA Cup final defeat to rivals Manchester City showcased that there is still much room for improvement if the Red Devils are to eventually challenge Pep Guardiola's men next season.

One key concern that has been exacerbated following that 2-1 loss is the future of United's goalkeeping ranks, with long-serving asset David De Gea having hardly covered himself in glory after failing to keep out Ilkay Gundogan's second-half strike.

As Manchester Evening News journalist Samuel Luckhurst stated, that inability to prevent what appeared to be a 'saveable' attempt on goal is merely yet another reason why the Spaniard 'needs moving on', despite having only recently claimed the Premier League's Golden Glove award after finishing with the most clean sheets in the division.

There has been talk that the 32-year-old is set to be offered a new deal this summer in order to extend his 12-year stay at Old Trafford, albeit with it somewhat telling that Ten Hag is reportedly offering no guarantees that the £375k-per-week man will remain as the first-choice pick.

With the former Atletico Madrid man's existing deal set to expire later this month, there have been suggestions that the club should simply bite the bullet and call time on his United career, with club legend Gary Neville stating last week that the Red Devils "do need to get rid of him either now or if they’ve not got the money then obviously a year later is the maximum".

As Neville alluded to, it remains to be seen if Ten Hag will have enough in the budget to able to acquire a suitable replacement for the 45-cap international, although even so, the former Ajax boss must surely avoid keeping his current number one out of just pure convenience.

Should De Gea leave this summer?

It does appear that the time has come for De Gea to seek out pastures new, with it no doubt set to be a real bonus to shift a player who takes up roughly 9% of the total wage bill – according to Caplology – representing the highest portion of any of his teammates.

Much of the grievances surrounding the 6 foot 4 stopper centre on his struggles on the ball, with treble-winner Paul Scholes stating that his former teammate "isn't the best footballer", as he notably finished the season with an average pass accuracy rate of just 68% in the league – a far worse record than City counterpart, Ederson (84%), for instance.

As his mistake against United's Manchester rivals at the weekend also showcased, De Gea is also not immune from the odd blunder with his hands either, having made two errors leading to goals in the Premier League in 2022/23.

The Madrid-born 'keeper notably allowed Said Benrahama's tame effort to squirm past him in the defeat to West Ham United last month, having also been bizarrely breached at his near post in the FA Cup win over Everton earlier this year, with Conor Coady ultimately tapping in from point-blank range.

There was also, of course, the grim night in Seville in the Europa League in which the towering asset gifted possession to Youssef En-Nesyri in the build-up to the game's third goal, having also failed to deal with a rather innocuous header from Loic Bade.

As for the recent clash with Guardiola and co, it was not the first time that De Gea has let the side down at Wembley, having also 'committed a howler' against Chelsea in the same competition at the semi-final stage in 2020, in the words of Luckhurst.

With the error-prone stopper evidently now a "big problem" for Ten Hag – according to pundit Jamie Carragher – the Dutchman must be ruthless and axe the title winner ahead of next season.

By the time the New Zealand team arrived at the Holkar Stadium for an optional training session at around 10am, about 500 people were already in the stands. They cheered Kane Williamson, the New Zealand captain who had missed the last Test because of illness, on. They were happy Williamson was batting in the nets. If Williamson played a good shot or raised his bat to them, they clapped. If he missed, they ooh-ed and aah-ed. By the time the Indian team arrived in the afternoon this number had swollen to about 4000. Mostly students, they queued up patiently outside the ground, and proved to be no hindrance to the preparation of either the teams or the ground staff once they got in. They sat patiently in the stands and watched.The Holkar Stadium apparently has a tradition to let the fans enter the ground for even the practice sessions. This is a luxury in India. Other stadiums generally consider the fans an inconvenience; going by the BCCI ticketing practices these grounds would rather look after only the broadcasters and the VIPs, who are given complimentary passes. On a day when the old guard of the BCCI was fighting for its existence in the Supreme Court, a ground that was gearing up for its Test debut was showing the way.Out in the middle, preparations went on regardless. Williamson batting in the nets, and having a bit of a bowl was good news for New Zealand. “It’s looking positive,” Shane Jurgensen, New Zealand’s bowling coach, said. “Final confirmation on that will probably be tomorrow. We trained today, and he did some batting and had a decent hit and a run around. We’ll have another look at him tomorrow, but it looks positive.”India welcomed a senior face as well. Gautam Gambhir, who last played for India in 2014, was the first one to pad up for India. India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar empathised with Gambhir’s situation; he gets one Test, and it is quite possible he is usurped by both the injured openers by the time England come. Bangar, however, refused to rule him out for the rest of the season. “Gautam Gambhir is a quality player; what he has done really for himself, for the time he was out of the Indian team he kept on performing for his franchise and state side,” Bangar said. “When he got an opportunity in the Duleep Trophy, he was one of the top scorers there. That too against the pink ball, which certain batsmen found was difficult to pick. Yes, he ticked all boxes. Untimely injury to KL Rahul Shikhar Dhawan made sure that there is a place for him. He is something of a quality performer. Proven record against spin bowling. And the number of Test matches we are going to play in India, he becomes an important player right at the top of the order.”Gautam Gambhir is set to play his first Test since August 2014•Getty Images

Gambhir has come back with runs in Duleep Trophy, and with an open stance, at least half the way to what Shivnarine Chanderpaul had. Gambhir has worked on it with Justin Langer and Langer’s personal coach Neil Holder. The need of the hour, though, might be a change for the New Zealand spinners to work on. Their batsmen have shown a lot of discipline to make India’s bowlers work hard, a fact R Ashwin has acknowledged in his interview with , but they have been undone by natural variation for the India bowlers. India exploit it more because their spinners bowl with the seam parallel to the ground whereas the New Zealand spinners – like others who visit Asia – bowl with the seam pointing to fine leg at 45 degrees.”It was certainly something we were working on before we came to India,” Jurgensen said. “It doesn’t come as naturally, we bowl a different way where we come from. But the boys have been working on it to get that natural variation. Every game we’ve improved.”It was refreshing to see the talk return to seam positions and India’s mindset of not even thinking of losing in crunch situations, thus, according to Bangar, being clear in their minds. It must not be easy for the players from either side to be clear in these times. India’s players are used to answering to the BCCI even though the money in cricket is public’s and generated because of them. They must be wondering what lies ahead. New Zealand’s players must be aware the BCCI is capable of carrying through with its threats of pulling out of a series, and would have spent the two days after the Kolkata Test in limbo. There was no information from their hosts, the BCCI.Once again, though, if the practice sessions and the response two days before Indore’s debut Test are anything to go by, on the field it is almost certain to be business as usual.

Sri Lanka Cricket is set to introduce annual contracts for close to 70 cricketers, including players in the youth and emerging categories, in a bid to encourage them to press for places in the national side

Sa'adi Thawfeeq11-Oct-2016

Sri Lanka Cricket is set to introduce annual contracts for close to 70 cricketers, across the youth, emerging and senior categories, in a bid to encourage them to press for places in the Sri Lanka team. The new contract system does not include the current national players already contracted with the board.SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala said that the new contract system will cover the period between November 1, 2016, and April 30, 2017, after which the cricketers could play in any part of the world. Under this system, the cricketers will be paid between SL Rs 25,000 to Rs 100,000 per month ($170 – $680).”There are so many categories of players who are playing cricket so we must look after them,” Sumathipala said. “We don’t want the players who have not played for Sri Lanka to be idling in club cricket but to start putting pressure on the national players and make every effort to play for the country as well as their clubs.”We have decided to look after these cricketers and put them on a national contract. We met about 70 players last Saturday and gave them a proposed agreement and we are informing our member clubs that if there are anybody whom they feel are worthy of contract to inform us.”We will sign the contracts on October 30. The contract lasts from November 1 to April 30. After that date the cricketers are free to play in any part of the world. We want to see that our domestic [structure] is stronger and protected and give the players something they can be happy about. Apart from the national players we are also looking after the other players as well.”The board also announced that it had suspended financial grants for nine member clubs and associations, including Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club and Badureliya Cricket Club, for a variety of administrative faults, including the failure to submit an audit report. Both Bloomfield and Badureliya CC are prominent domestic teams that participate in the Premier League tournaments. The other associations are: Southern Province Cricket Association, Negombo Cricket Club, Matara District Cricket Association, Puttalam District Cricket Association, Kollupitiya Sports Club, Nomads Sports Club and Peterson Lane Sports Club. Sumathipala clarified that the teams could continue participating in SLC-conducted tournaments.”From the month of January we have informed the clubs and associations to have their audit reports and to hold their AGM in time,” Sumathipala said. “They have not complied with our request so we have to suspend funding them.”We are not funding any money until they rectify their administration. But for the sake of cricket they will be allowed to play in SLC-conducted tournaments. Until they get their accounts up and running and they submit the audit reports the SLC has decided not to grant them any money.”

He was forced to spend two months away from cricket due to dengue fever, but he came back to the game in style with his 33rd Test hundred

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-2016A stroll through Younis Khan’s recent statistics in Test cricket suggested nothing had changed. He had amassed a double-hundred in his last match. Now he had made a century. He had been scratchy early on, but was sublime by the end and Pakistan once again were in a position to dictate terms.Except between his 218 against England in London and 127 against West Indies in Abu Dhabi, there were two months’ time away from the game. In September, he had contracted dengue fever, a mosquito-borne disease that leaves the body weak and fatigued. “I lost six-seven kilograms,” he said at the post-match press conference at Sheikh Zayed Stadium. “But now I’m working on my weight and my fitness, so I will be 100% soon.”Younis was not in shape to play the series opener in Dubai, which had also been Pakistan 400th Test, not to mention their first day-night Test. And coming into the second Test, he had to contend with a lack of match practice.”I was a little worried because after the Oval Test [I had not played anything],” Younis said. “I wanted to play a couple of domestic games, which is always good for you. No matter how much you practice in the nets, you need game time.”His illness did not allow that luxury. “But I got to play three or four matches for my club on cement wickets,” Younis said. “They weren’t tough conditions, but I’m glad I played. Karachi was very hot at the time, and I struggled in the first match. But playing those three-four matches really helped me.”Having come to the crease in the 14th over, Younis had looked set to bat out the day’s play when he slog swept an innocuous looking offbreak from part-timer Kraigg Brathwaite straight into the hands of deep midwicket. Before the next batsman could take guard, the umpires called for stumps citing bad light and Pakistan went in at 304 for 4.After making his 33rd Test hundred, Younis credited his doctors, saying they “helped me recover quickly because usually, you don’t have any energy for one month after dengue. I think they took care of me very well, and that’s why I’m here right now.”During the course of a 175-run stand, Younis and Misbah-ul-Haq became the owners of Pakistan’s most prolific partnership in Test cricket. When asked what the secret to their success was, he said: “I don’t know… there’s no secret. Maybe we’re the seniors, we have the responsibility to carry the batting line-up, although we have very nice and fantastic youngsters in the team, the responsibility is always there for us. So whenever we play together, we know that [getting] 200-300 is important for our team.”Everybody knows that we like to take our time, and then suddenly [we go] after the spinners and sometimes against fast bowlers as well. So I think there’s no secret, it’s all about mental preparations.”

Manchester United will 'fear' missing out on key targets this summer due to the ongoing battle for ownership at the club dragging on at Old Trafford, according to journalist Ben Jacobs.

What's the latest news involving the ownership battle at Manchester United?

As per Sky Sports, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his petrochemicals firm INEOS remain the 'leading candidate' to gain control of Manchester United despite an 'inconclusive board meeting' that occurred last Thursday between the Glazer family and the Raine group alongside independent directors.

Ratcliffe's bid is said to be proposing assuming a majority stake in Manchester United that would see two of the Glazer family still involved with the club while his rival bidder, Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim, wants to buy the club outright with no external involvement.

ESPN reported earlier this month that there may be a delay in proceedings, which in turn may affect Erik Ten Hag's ability to conduct business in the initial part of the transfer window as the Dutchman eyes reinforcements to bolster his squad.

Ten Hag has indicated that the battle for ownership at Old Trafford won't have too much of a bearing on his recruitment plans, as per Sky Sports, stating: "I came in here [at the end of] last season and we talked about what can we do in the squad, what can we do in transfers. And last year, the club confirmed they can do. So, for me, I don't think anything changed and yeah, in this summer period we can do the same.

What has Ben Jacobs said about Manchester United's recruitment prospects?

Speaking to Football FanCast, journalist Jacobs thinks that there will be anxiety at Old Trafford over being able to secure important transfer targets if there is still complications in the ownership process once the window opens for business.

Jacobs told FFC: "It is really important to preface any Manchester United summer business in that context, that it isn't a routine window financially for Manchester United to navigate. I think that's been the frustration specifically with the recruitment team at Manchester United, that they've been operating with business as usual, trying to line up deals. Eventually, you can negotiate all you like, but if you get to the point where you're ready to complete a deal, somebody has to green light that and that either is going to be the Glazers, knowing they're going to stay or the Glazers knowing they're outgoing and maybe being reticent to spend or a new owner coming in. That first two or three weeks of the window is so crucial, because there's a range of players that obviously want to move quickly and early and have stability and walk in on day one of pre-season after a summer break. If the situation is resolved, with that kind of player looking for that kind of stability, should that player then have another option, Manchester United could find that they miss out on a certain target and I think that's always been the fear."

Who have Manchester United been linked with going into the summer?

Manchester United have been linked with several players as the forthcoming transfer window approaches as they look to build on a successful 2022/23 campaign that has yielded qualification for the Champions League.

Sky Sports report that Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount, Tottenham Hotspur talisman Harry Kane and West Ham United captain Declan Rice are all on a shortlist of potential targets at Old Trafford; however, it is unlikely that the Red Devils will sign all three players.

Out of the three, Mount looks to be the most realistic prospect at present to end up at the Premier League giants and is said to favour a move to Manchester United over other alternatives, according to journalist David Ornstein.

Writing in his column for GIVEMESPORT, journalist Dean Jones has also suggested that Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez is also on the radar for Ten Hag, though it will be interesting to see the direction the Red Devils go in when weighing up potential additions.

Leeds United will host Tottenham Hotspur in their Premier League season-defining clash at Elland Road this afternoon and Sam Allardyce will be feeling the pressure.

A victory is the only outcome that will keep the Whites in with a chance of avoiding relegation as Everton are currently two points ahead of them in the nail-biting climax of the hard-fought battle at the bottom of the table.

Allardyce will lead his team out in front of the home support hoping that the Elland Road faithful will get behind the team and provide some much-needed motivation to get their job done, no matter what unfolds over at Goodison Park.

Whilst the former England boss will not want to make too many changes to his most trusted starting XI, there is no doubt that something needs to change following the defeat to West Ham United last weekend.

Subtle tweaks in key areas by deploying players who offer passion on the pitch and the experience to provide quality in the final 90 minutes of action will be essential and could be the catalyst in performing a miracle.

As a result, Allardyce must ditch Weston McKennie this afternoon as the midfielder has displayed a poor work rate and has put on uninspiring performances on too many occasions.

Will Weston McKennie start vs Spurs?

The 24-year-old came with high expectations when he joined the West Yorkshire outfit from Juventus in January after putting on some fantastic performances in the 2022 World Cup.

However, it hasn’t been the impactful nor impressive loan spell that Leeds supporters would have hoped for, with McKennie becoming more of a hindrance than a help in his important role in the centre of the pitch.

Over 18 league appearances, the £54k-per-week dud – branded “lazy” and “slow” by journalist Dean Jones – has created zero big chances, lost 58% of his duels and tallied up just a 78% pass completion rate, as well as averaging just 0.7 key passes, 0.6 successful dribbles and has lost possession 11.2 times per game.

Indeed, McKennie did provide Rodrigo with the chance in front of goal against the Hammers last weekend, but it was his poor efforts and lack of control in midfield that contributed to the side losing the game.

Not only that, from a mentality perspective McKennie could be less likely to have the motivation to secure survival due to his imminent return to Juventus upon the end of his six-month loan deal, whereas some of the mainstays could be more driven to perform to keep their chances of playing Premier League football alive.

Allardyce will have the opportunity to deploy Adam Forshaw, Robin Koch and thanks to a timely return from injury, can replace McKennie with Marc Roca.

With that being said, dropping McKennie to the bench could be the change that is desperately needed to improve upon last week’s performance and ultimately secure the vital three points.

West Ham reportedly see James Ward-Prowse, Conor Gallagher and Scott McTominay as potential Declan Rice replacements this summer.

Is Rice leaving West Ham?

The 24-year-old has grown into a formidable player for the Hammers, maturing into the captain at the club and also being a nailed-on starter for England.

It looks as though Rice will be leaving the London Stadium before the start of next season, however, with a move to one of the Premier League's biggest clubs on the cards. Arsenal arguably look like the favourites to acquire his signature, although the likes of Manchester United and Bayern Munich are also linked with snapping him up, among others.

It is essential that West Ham bring in a tailor-made replacement for the influential £60,000-a-week star, and a positive update has emerged, in that respect.

Who are West Ham linked with?

According to Football Transfers, Ward-Prowse, Gallagher and McTominay are all in the mix to come in and fill the Rice-shaped void, should he leave in the summer:

"West Ham are looking at a number of key targets for next season including several midfielders who could potentially replace Declan Rice.

"FootballTransfers can reveal that the midfielders in question are Southampton's James Ward-Prowse, Chelsea's Conor Gallagher and Manchester United's Scott McTominay.

"David Moyes is looking at the trio with interest ahead of the window opening, but with Ward-Prowse we understand that West Ham are very keen indeed and a bid could likely go in for the Saints star over the summer."

All three of these players look like strong options, and while they may not quite be on Rice's level, they could sign one and still have money left over for other key signings, or potentially bring in two of them.

Ward-Prowse, dubbed "unstoppable" and "one of the best ever" over a dead ball by Ian Wright, will definitely leave Southampton this summer and could be available for a cut-price amount after their relegation to the Championship. His technical expertise and tackling ability could be a good addition, following nine league goals in 2022/23.

Meanwhile, Gallagher would represent a younger option than Ward-Prowse – 23 compared to 28 – coming in as a long-term option who could excel with regular starts, having struggled to achieve that at Chelsea. He scored eight goals and registered three assists on loan at Crystal Palace in 2021/22, highlighting how much he can shine when given the chance.

McTominay is arguably the least talented of the three, but he could also be an effective signing, possessing Rice's box-to-box energy and potentially thriving as an undisputed key man, rather than a squad player at United. He averaged 1.9 clearances per game in the league this season and would provide defensive cover in the middle of the park.

Fulham are reportedly eyeing Gil Vicente striker Fran Navarro this summer, despite there being no suggestion Aleksandar Mitrovic will leave.

Who could join Fulham this summer?

Whites boss Marco Silva has overseen a successful debut campaign back in the Premier League, with Fulham comfortably avoiding relegation and even finishing above west London rivals Chelsea.

The Craven Cottage side secured one of their highest ever league finishes last campaign with a top half place, and were even contending for European football over a period.

As such, Fulham's exploits haven't gone unnoticed, with Silva even sporadically linked to joining Tottenham Hotspur in the last few weeks.

As well as this, star midfielder Joao Palhinha has been attracting interest from top clubs, with Aston Villa, Tottenham, Liverpool, Man United, Chelsea and Bayern Munich all targeting him.

While there could be outgoings at Fulham, the same can also be said for incomings, as they have been linked with a host of players recently.

FC Porto star Mateus Uribe has been mentioned in recent months, potentially as an alternative to Palhinha, with Man United duo Fred and Harry Maguire also rumoured to be on their radar.

Now, as per The Evening Standard and journalist Dom Smith, it appears Fulham have additions further forward in mind – despite there being no indication Mitrovic or Carlos Vinicius will leave.

Indeed, it is believed that Fulham are eyeing a move for Navarro from Gil Vicente as they monitor him, with the summer transfer window well and truly looming,

The 25-year-old has been in exceptional form in the Primeira Liga, potentially leading to Fulham's interest, and it will be imperative for them to build upon what has been a solid season.

Who is Fran Navarro?

The Spaniard graduated from Valencia's academy and scored a plethora of goals at youth level for them, but couldn't quite break into the first team, eventually moving on to Gil Vicente in Portugal.

He scored 21 goals in all competitions over 2022/2023, standing out as their star striker, and perhaps justifying why both Liverpool and Real Madrid reportedly held an interest back in 2016.

The then-18-year-old was on Madrid and Jurgen Klopp's radar as a promising youngster back then, according to a report by SuperDeporte, but Navarro's stock has now risen significantly after a brilliant season.

There are little mentions of an asking price for the forward, but can you imagine it will be significant, as we can't envisage Gil Vicente will let him go easily.

Australia batsman Peter Handscomb says his Test debut, which included a half-century and hitting the winning runs, ran to a “nice little script”

Brydon Coverdale29-Nov-2016There are batsmen who go their entire careers without hitting the winning runs in a Test, so for Peter Handscomb to have had the pleasure in Adelaide made his debut all the more memorable. Even more remarkable was the fact that another debutant – opener Matt Renshaw – was at the other end.Only once before in Test history had two debutants been at the crease when the winning runs were struck in a Test, and that occurred in 1880 in the fourth Test match ever played. To give some context to the drought, Adelaide was the 2236th Test ever played. Combined with Handscomb’s first-innings 54, it meant his was a particularly unforgettable debut.”It was a nice little script out there,” Handscomb said on Tuesday. “I was kind of hoping I didn’t have to bat in that second innings, or at least that Matty Renshaw would hit the two runs that were needed and I could just sit on my bat. But it was nice to be out there, and with Matty as well in his first game, it was pretty cool.”Handscomb, Renshaw and Nic Maddinson all made their debuts in Australia’s win over South Africa, and were among the five changes to a radically overhauled side following the loss of the series in Hobart. And while there were runs for both Handscomb and Renshaw, Maddinson is still waiting for his first scoring shot in a Test, having been bowled by Kagiso Rabada for a 12-ball duck.”He’s fine, he’s a resilient player who knows his own game and he’s just a great bloke,” Handscomb said. “If you get a good ball you’re happy to go out to it – bowlers are allowed to bowl good balls. He’s fine. He’s still feeling good, and if he gets another opportunity I daresay he’ll come out and whack them.”Handscomb was speaking at the MCG, where his Victoria team-mates were moving towards a five-wicket Sheffield Shield victory over South Australia on the final day. And while Australia’s ODI players now squeeze a three-match Chappell-Hadlee campaign into their gap between Test series, Handscomb is expected to play for Victoria in next week’s Shield game against Tasmania in Hobart.That red-ball game will be his final preparation for the first Test against Pakistan at the Gabba, a day-night pink-ball affair starting on December 15. And while Handscomb entered his Test debut with a strong record at Adelaide Oval – he had 479 first-class runs there at 68.42 – his figures at the Gabba are less impressive. In five first-class games there, he has 189 runs at 21.00.”I’ve never batted at the Gabba with the pink ball under lights,” he said. “It will be a whole new feeling. We’ll just have to wait and see, I think.”Handscomb’s unusual method of batting extremely deep in his crease worked to good effect for him at Adelaide, where he was able to play the ball late and was particularly strong when cutting. His deep stance also appeared to upset the lengths of the South African bowlers, and he said it was a method that he had developed in the past couple of seasons.”Batting deep in the crease came because I like to play off the back foot as much as I can, so the deeper I am the more chance the ball is going to be at a shorter length,” he said. “But also, mate, bowlers are fast. These guys can bowl some good clicks.”The deeper I am, the longer I get to see the ball and react to it off the wicket or react to it in the air. It’s just something that I developed a couple of years ago with [former Victoria coach] Greg Shipperd and since then it’s all gone pretty well.”Handscomb’s promising start in Test cricket should ensure he gets a decent run in Australia’s middle order, even if the batting line-up is rejigged to accommodate Shaun Marsh, who missed out in Hobart and Adelaide due to injury. There is a strong likelihood that Handscomb will be part of the XI for the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan, which, as for all Victoria players, would be a dream come true.”The thought has crossed my mind,” he said. “Hopefully I can get there first, get selected, and if I get the opportunity to come out here in front of a Boxing Day crowd, I’ll be pretty stoked. Hopefully it happens. I was just about to put my order in for a few Boxing Day Test tickets, so I might just hold off on that.”