All posts by h716a5.icu

We independently choose all products featured on our site. When you purchase something through the links provided, we may earn a commission.

Make soccer fuss-free for kids

Kids can find laces tricky, so the last thing you want them to contend with when learning a new sport is fiddly strings. This is why laceless soccer cleats are an amazing option for little ones who want to play a beautiful, fuss-free game – laceless cleats can also eliminate the chance to injury if the laces are undone.

They've become increasingly popular, and you might see some top players donning them. But, it's not a style that every brand adopts, adidas and Nike are leaders in laceless soccer cleats, which is why the selections below are mainly from these particular companies.

Click here to skip ahead to our round-up of the best kid's laceless soccer cleats.

Our top three:

Best overall kid's laceless soccer cleats: Nike Junior Air Zoom Mercurial Superfly 9 Pro

Best budget kid's laceless soccer cleats: PUMA Ultra Match

Best kid's black laceless soccer cleats: Nike Nike Junior Zoom Mercurial Vapor 15 KM Academy

FAQs:Do professional soccer players wear laceless cleats?

Laceless cleats have become a common sight on professional soccer fields across the globe – for a few reasons. One of them is that big brands like Nike and adidas have made them a widely available option, laceless options are almost always part of new boot releases. Laceless cleats are also super easy to slip on and off which players like and the absence of laces, give creative players a bigger strike zone for cleaner shots.

What's the difference between laceless and laced cleats?

The apparent difference is that laceless soccer cleats don't have a lace fastening on the shoe, which means no more laces coming undone whilst you're on the pitch. This means that the very construction of the soccer cleat is designed not to be reliant on laces to fasten and lock you into the cleat.

What are the benefits of laceless soccer cleats?

The main benefit of laceless soccer cleats is that you no longer have to worry about tying the shoes to your foot or the laces becoming loose. Laceless cleats wrap around your foot and are built to easily slip in and out of, making your life easier. They also have a comfort advantage, giving a more sock-like fit around the foot.

Looking for the best kid's soccer cleats in 2023?? GOAL has you coveredShop: Best kids laceless soccer cleats

Suitable for: Firm ground and Multi-Ground

If you're looking for a pair of cleats, with style and all the modern technology so kids can get the best out of their game – the Zoom Mercurial Superfly 9 Pro has it all. The exceptional NikeSkin mesh upper will add comfort, whilst the new Zoom Air unit gives springy responsiveness for superior ball control.

Suitable for: Firm ground and Artificial Grass

Get everything you could want from a good quality pair of laceless cleats for an affordable price with the PUMA Ultra Match.

They're lightweight and have a mesh upper, so not overly heavy for little ones, and also give breathability. The outsole has a Speedplate, which gives you superior traction on natural and artificial surfaces so kids can practice their skills whatever the pitch surfaces.

Suitable for: Firm ground

There's nothing worse than buying a pair of cleats and realizing they're uncomfortable when you put them on and risk blisters. The New Balance Tekela v4 Magique is great for kids who prioritize comfort to get the best out of their game.

They provide zonal support in areas like the ankle with the textile collar, adding stability and locking the foot in for a secure fit.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Suitable for: Firm ground

Every aspiring soccer player will know Mbappe as the Paris Saint Germain star that lit up the pitch for both club and country, and now collaborated with Nike to produce a truly stylish pair of Mercurial soccer cleats. The inspiration behind the design comes from Parisian Afropop and the Jordan 7.

The cleats come in a Dark Beetroot, University Blue, and Metallic Gold colorway. Nike's famous swoosh gets its own unique twist -tweaked with two kinks that showcase the letter M.

Goal compares the PSG starting line-up of 2011 to that of 2022

Paris Saint-Germain were perennial underachievers in French football. Before the takeover by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), established in 2005 by the son of the Emir and heir to the Qatari throne, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, they had won just two Ligue 1 titles in their history.

In 2011, after the Qatari investment, there was another revolution in Paris, as seismic as the French Revolution back in 1789. From Bastille, the hot seat of action changed to Parc des Princes which is barely 12km apart in the city of Paris. And this time it shook the entire European footballing ecosystem.

Argentinian international midfielder Javier Pastore was signed for a French football record fee of €45m and it was a statement that matched the intent and purpose of Sheikh Mansour's £32m signing of Robinho when he bought Manchester City in 2008.

Apart from Pastore, Blaise Matuidi, Salvatore Sirigu, Maxwell and Kevin Gameiro were also brought in to reinforce the squad. They were luminaries who formed a formidable constellation but were far from the galactic empire that PSG wanted to establish.

Hence in the next season, they signed the likes of Marco Verratti, Thiago Silva, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and even David Beckham to make a global footprint and fuel the ambition of winning the UEFA Champions League. Although they are yet to win the holy grail of European football, they have not left any stone unturned in the transfer market in their pursuit of success.

From signing Neymar Jr for a world record fee of €222m, extending Kylan Mbappe's contract with an astronomical wage package, to luring Leo Messi from FC Barcelona; the PSG top brass has given their all. From a side which could barely compete in Ligue 1 to winning eight titles in a span of 11 years, they have evolved to become a gargantuan powerhouse. Goal takes a look at the 2011 side that started in the first match of Ligue 1 against FC Lorient and the one that played the last in 2021-22 with FC Metz.

Goalkeeper: Salvatore Sirigu (2011) & Gianluigi Donnarumma (2022)AdvertisementRight Back: Christophe Jallet (2011) & Achraf Hakimi (2022)Centre Back: Milan Bisevac (2011) & Sergio Ramos (2022)ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Centre Back: Mamdou Sakho (2011) vs Marquinhos (2022)

GOAL picks out some eye-catching and unimpressive showings from the last-four clashes in Cameroon

GettyAfcon 2021 semi-finals

Senegal and Egypt defeated Burkina Faso and Cameroon, respectively, to set up what is a highly anticipated final between the West Africans and seven-time winners.

Which performances in the last four were impressive and whose displays were a disappointment?

AdvertisementBackpagepixToo Good: Gabaski

Since replacing Mohamed El-Shenawy in the 88th minute of the Round of 16 success over the Ivory Coast, Egypt’s replacement goalkeeper has now saved three penalties in those two games.

He stopped one in the victory over the Elephants and repeated the trick against the hosts on Thursday night and then some.

Gabaski thwarted Harold Moukoudi and James Lea Siliki to put the Pharaohs into a healthy advantage in the shootout, thus becoming the hero for the North African side.

If El-Shenawy is unable to feature on Sunday, Carlos Queiroz will trust in Gabaski who is yet to concede from open play since deputising for Egypt’s number one.

BackpagepixToo Bad: Vincent Aboubakar

For a second game running, the Indomitable Lions forward fired blanks, failing to convert one of the host nation’s best chances.

While Aboubakar did not quite miss as many opportunities against the Pharaohs as the quarter-finals, the striker’s off-kilter finishing proved costly this time.

Having flourished hitherto, the competition’s top scorer petered out when he needed to come up trumps.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Getty Images.Too Good: Saliou Ciss

Ciss was a constant menace bombing forward for the entirety of Senegal’s 3-1 success over a plucky Burkina Faso outfit, fashioning more opportunities than all but Sadio Mane.

The left-back was equally dominant in his one-v-one tussles against the Stallions, winning every aerial duel on the night.

The 32-year-old has featured in every game so far at the finals and Aliou Cisse will count on the full-back for the decider.

The Bombay High Court has sought an explanation from the BCCI and the three state associations in Maharashtra on why water should be “wasted” for IPL 2016 matches when the state is facing one of its worst-ever droughts

Raunak Kapoor06-Apr-2016The Bombay High Court has sought an explanation from the BCCI and the three state associations in Maharashtra on why water should be “wasted” on hosting IPL 2016 matches when the state is facing one of its worst-ever droughts. After making a series of stinging remarks questioning the BCCI’s priorities, the board’s counsel sought time to prepare a contingency plan and the case was adjourned till April 7.The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Loksatta Movement, a Hyderabad-based NGO, which wanted the IPL matches, scheduled to be held in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur, relocated following a severe state-wide drought in recent months.The court has asked the BCCI and the concerned state associations – the Mumbai Cricket Association, the Maharashtra Cricket Association and the Vidarbha Cricket Association – to give “a detailed account” of the amount of water that will be needed for the tournament. However, no orders have yet been passed by the court.The division bench of Justices VM Kanade and MS Karnik observed “that this entire thing (of the utilisation of water for IPL matches) needs to be thought over”. The court also reportedly asked the BCCI counsel whether “cricket matches were more important than people or preserving water”.Overall Maharashtra is scheduled to host 20 matches in the ninth edition of the IPL. Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai will host eight matches, including the tournament opener on April 9 and the final on May 29. Nine matches have been allotted to the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium in Pune, including the Eliminator on May 25 and Qualifier 2 on May 27, while three matches will be played at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur, designated as home games for Kings XI Punjab.Arshil Shah, the advocate appearing on behalf of the petitioner, said: “We argued that there is absolutely no water available in areas like Latur and Parbhani [districts]. People are fighting over water. It is a severe law-and-order situation. In such times, the court observed it would be a criminal waste of water for cricket matches to be held in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur.” According to Shah, the BCCI and the IPL “have the means and resources” to shift matches out of Maharashtra.In the original PIL filed in court, Shah had noted: “The state is going through the worst kind of drought in a century and is facing acute water shortage. There is already a scarcity of drinking water and for sanitation purposes, but the state government, Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation have not raised any objection to the proposed wastage.”The BCCI, represented by the law firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, argued that water used for watering grounds and pitches is tanker water and therefore should not be mistaken for drinking water.BCCI officials refused to comment after the case was adjourned. At a sponsor event on Tuesday, however, IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla had ruled out moving matches out of Maharashtra.”We are with the farmers of Maharashtra, and will look to help them in all possible ways. If the Maharashtra government brings a proposal (in this regard), then the BCCI president, all of us, will think in what way we can help the farmers,” Shukla said. “And I, through my MPLAD [Members of Parliament Local Area Development] fund, am going to personally adopt some villages in Marathwada [one of the regions hit hardest by the drought].”If the water needed to irrigate two or three grounds were to solve the problem of Maharashtra’s farmers, then I can’t understand that. I don’t think this [saving water by shifting matches] would serve any purpose. Sport is a different thing, it needs little water. Farmers need huge amount of water. All political parties should come together to deal with this crisis.”BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said that shifting matches at the last minute was not easy and could result in financial losses.”I think we need to look at the overall situation. If stopping IPL matches is going to help we need to debate on that and we can look into various aspects but it is not easy to shift matches at the last minute,” Thakur said during an interaction on a social media website. “What we have faced in the India-Pakistan game during the World Cup it has brought a bad name to India. Shifting of the matches at the last moment doesn’t help anyone but it [has brought] a lot of losses not only financially but a loss of face as well.”

A round-up of the Dhaka Premier League matches played on April 22, 2016

Mohammad Isam22-Apr-2016Mahedi Hasan struck a wonderful century as Gazi Group Cricketers stunned defending champions Prime Bank Cricket Club by 106 runs in Mirpur.Hasan, 21, on List A debut, made 103 off 89 balls with eight fours and five sixes to help Gazi Group put up 303 for 4 in 50 overs. In reply, Prime Bank were bowled out for 197 in 46.3 overs.Hasan patiently reached 50 off 58 balls, and only unleashed the hits to the leg side or the lashes over off after crossing 70. He got to his century with a hook off Rubel Hossain and punched the air in delight. Mahedi later took 1 for 22 from 10 overs and was named Man of the Match.Earlier, Anamul Haque and Shamsur Rahman made fifties, adding 113 for the opening wicket. Mahedi added 54 for the second wicket with Anamul before adding another 84 with Saeed Anwar jnr for the third.Anwar jnr returned to take 3 for 31 in Prime Bank’s reply, while Mohammad Sharif and Moinul Islam picked up two each. Only Yasir Ali and Rubel Hossain made headway for Prime Bank, scoring 56 and 45 respectively.At the Fatullah Cricket Stadium, Jubair Hossain’s 6 for 34 helped Abahani cruise past Kalabagan Krira Chakra by seven wickets.Jubair started off with the big wicket of Hamilton Masakadza, Kalabagan’s foreign recruit and their top-scorer with 41, in the 16th over. Jubair took four wickets in his first spell, reducing Kalabagan to 116 for 6 from a promising 78 for 2. He took the last two wickets too, as Kalabagan were skittled out for 140 in 33.1 overs.An unbeaten 44 from Uday Kaul, Abahani’s Indian recruit, then guided them to the target in 28.3 overs.Over at the BKSP-3 ground in Savar, Imtiaz Hossain’s 100 helped Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club to an eight-wicket win over Cricket Coaching School.Batting first, CCS were bowled out for 177 in 49.2 overs, Pinak Ghosh top-scoring with 35. His fellow Under-19 teammates, Mohammad Saifuddin and Saeed Sarkar, also chipped in with thirties. Al-Amin Hossain and Rejaul Karim took three wickets each.Imtiaz struck 12 fours in his 140-ball knock, and shared a 106-run opening stand with Rony Talukdar (47), the highest scorer in last year’s tournament. The win came with 4.4 overs to spare.

New Zealand Women captain Suzie Bates feels familiarity with the conditions has provided them with the required knowledge and knowhow to win the upcoming ODI series against India in Bangalore

Vishal Dikshit in Bangalore27-Jun-20155:24

‘We need to show positive intent as a batting unit’ – Bates

“If you’d given me a choice at the start of the series between taking the ICC Championship points game 2-1, or winning the overall ODI series without those four Championship points, I would have gone for the points, no question.”That’s what New Zealand Women captain Suzie Bates had said in February after her team lost the ODI series 3-2 to England, despite an initial 2-1 lead that helped them go up a place in the ICC Women’s Championship. Only points from the first three ODIs were counted for the ICC tournament, and even though they got those, New Zealand are still second from bottom, only ahead of India.Now in India for the third time, just like head coach Haidee Tiffen, Bates feels familiarity with the conditions has provided them with the required knowledge and knowhow to win the upcoming ODI series against India in Bangalore.”Our focus is not just three first three matches, but on the entire series,” Bates told ESPNcricinfo. “From playing point of view, spin is obviously going to play a much bigger part than it does at home. We’ve got some quicks in our team that we still think we can use out of them, but the best we can play their spinners and the best our spinners can bowl, I think that will be crucial.”As a group we’ve talked about how fast the outfields can be [in India] but you’ve got to give yourself time to adapt when you are out in the middle and you’ve got to have wickets in hand to make the most of scoring runs at the end of the innings. We’ve talked about making sure that we play nice and straight and not playing around our pads because with the ball turning and perhaps staying a little bit lower than we are used to is not coming on as well as it does at home, so we’ve got to be more tight with our technique.”With the ball we are not going to get the bounce we are used to so adjusting our lengths as quick as we can. We’ve toured here before and we’re so well looked after that challenges off the field seem to have disappeared.”Tiffen toured India in 2003 for a bilateral series and later in 2007 for a quadrangular series. She is now on her first assignment after taking over as head coach and feels acclimatising to the conditions and pitches will be the main challenge.”Conditions-wise I think learning to apply yourself in the heat that’s a challenge,” Tiffen said. “They’ve got some world-class players like Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami, and they’ve got some young spinners coming through and it is a tough place to tour. Obviously the pitches are slightly different as well, they perhaps take a little bit more turn.”The first three ODIs will be in focus again for the Women’s Championship and the teams that finish in top four will directly qualify for the 2017 World Cup in England. A 3-0 score at the start of the series will see New Zealand jump straight to joint-third with West Indies. And if they win 2-1, they will be placed fourth.However, they will be without Sara McGlashan, their most experienced player, who made herself unavailable for the series. While Tiffen said that would give an opportunity to the younger players, Bates said it was not something to worry about as there’s enough depth in the squad.”She’s got a personal [reason] and is looking at her career outside of cricket,” Tiffen said. “That will provide an opportunity for other people to step up and we are looking at a few players to perhaps fulfil that No. 4 role. I suppose it’s about trying to find out questions of those players and who can adapt quickly and pay a role for us there.””I know we haven’t been as consistent as we’d like as a group with the bat and we have relied on some of the top order but Amy Satterthwaite has had match-winning performances for us at No. 3 and she’s a class player,” Bates said. “Kate Broadmore has come on for us internationally at that No. 4 spot.”Look, I think there’s always pressure on the top order…that’s what they are there to do, score the runs, and we know Sophie [Devine] can whack the ball and we’ve got Rachel Priest as well who’s been outstanding over the last series against England and West Indies, she’s been really consistent. Sara’s a huge loss, especially in the field she leaves a bit of a hole there at cover that I might have to step up my game for.”Among the other youngsters to watch out for, Bates spoke highly of tall fast bowler Lea Tahuhu, one of their bowling stars from the 2013 World Cup in India, spinning allrounder Leigh Kasperek, who took 3 for 19 in a warm-up against India A on Friday, and 18-year-old pacer Hannah Rowe.”Lea Tahuhu, although she’s been in the side for a number of series, she’s an exciting fast bowler and can bowl the ball pretty quick and she’s become more and more consistent for us opening the bowling,” Bates said. “We’ve got a couple of exciting allrounders – Anna Peterson and Leigh Kasperek – they bat lower order and bowl a bit of spin and these conditions will be really useful. There’s lots of other young girls – Hannah Rowe is probably our youngest, who bowls reasonably quick and swings the ball. She’s a netball player from back home as well so she brings a lot of skills and she’ll just grow and learn from these conditions, she hasn’t played much outside of New Zealand.”And when asked to pick between a scoreline of 2-1 from the first three matches and winning the series 3-2, Bates happily said: “5-0.”

Glamorgan secured their first LV= County Championship win of the season with 30 overs to spare on Thursday despite a spirited effort from Essex’s batsmen in Cardiff.

ECB/PA21-May-2015Glamorgan 314 (Rudolph 82, Meschede 68) and 270 (Wallace 79) beat Essex 221 (Wagg 5-54) and 274 (ten Doeschate 74*) by 89 runs
ScorecardDaniel Lawrence regrets his choice of shot after falling to Andrew Salter•Getty ImagesGlamorgan secured their first LV= County Championship win of the season with 30 overs to spare on Thursday despite a spirited effort from Essex’s batsmen in Cardiff.After their disappointing first-innings performance, many expected the visitors to fold quickly, but to their credit they took the game into the final session and if any of the other batsman could have shared a substantial partnership with Ryan ten Doeschate they could have pulled off an unexpected win.On a pitch which helped the quicker bowlers, Glamorgan were without their fourth seamer David Lloyd for all but 4.2 overs of the game, but the others performed admirably – especially young offspinner Andrew Salter in his first Championship game of the campaign – as the hosts secured an 89-run triumph.Resuming on 51 for 2 in pursuit of a victory target of 364, Dan Lawrence and nightwatchman Jamie Porter defied the Glamorgan attack for 57 minutes before Salter had Lawrence caught at mid-wicket.Salter then then took a return catch to remove James Foster, but Porter faced 93 balls before he was finally bowled by Michael Hogan for 34. Ten Doeschate then had useful support from their younger brigade, namely Kishen Velani and Callum Taylor.Twenty-year-old Velani was unlucky to play on to Hogan before 17-year-old Taylor, who had added 44 with ten Doeschate, edged to first slip. With ten Doeschate and Graham Napier at the crease at the tea interval, Essex needed 110 more runs and Glamorgan three wickets.But as soon as Hogan and Craig Meschede took the new ball Essex lost their last three wickets for just five runs. Napier fell for 8, Adeel Malik 2, and David Masters without troubling the scorers as Essex were dismissed for 274.After drawing their first four games and winning the fifth, Glamorgan are now well placed at third position in Division Two and unbeaten in all competitions.Glamorgan coach Toby Radford said: “I’m very pleased with the all-round performance, especially today, when we were without David Lloyd, our fourth seamer.”Although there was some help for the quicker bowlers, there were times when the pitch became placid and it was hard work. It was also good to see Andrew Salter contribute so well in only his first championship game of the season.”Essex coach Paul Grayson said: “I’m disappointed overall, especially the way we collapsed in the first innings, but pleased by the character of the young lads today. If we show the same fight for the rest of the season, we will be alright.”

Northern Districts registered a 43-run win over Central Districts in Whangarei with only 3.5 overs left on the last day in a match where both teams made brave declarations in pursuit of a victory

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Mar-2015
ScorecardFile photo: Dean Brownlie now has scores of 54, 334, 58 and 52 in his last four outings•AFPNorthern Districts registered a thrilling 43-run win over Central Districts in Whangarei with only 3.5 overs left on the last day in a match where both teams made brave declarations in pursuit of a victory.Central Districts, set a target of 348, were bowled out for 304 after the home side declared their innings on the third day.The visitors began the final day requiring 325 runs off 97 overs, and a 107-run partnership between Greg Hay, coming off a 157 and 80 in the last game, and first-innings centurion Will Young put them on track. But the loss of six wickets for 65 runs saw Central Districts slip to 233 for 8.With the required rate climbing, captain Kruger van Wyk and Ajaz Patel added 49 runs to keep Central Districts afloat, but Mitchell Santner had the former caught behind with 66 still required for victory. His dismissal didn’t stop Patel and Andrew Mathieson from looking for the win, but Matheison’s wicket, who was also caught off Santner, ended the match. Anton Devcich picked up four wickets with his left-arm spin, including those of Hay and Young.Electing to bat, Northern Districts racked up 374, with Dean Brownlie, who amassed 54 and 334 in his last two innings, Anton Devcich and Santner making half-centuries, while van Vyk effected five dismissals behind the stumps.Central Districts declared their first innings on 300 for 6 after collecting two bonus points, led by Young’s 132 and a fifty from Tom Bruce (85). Northern Districts reciprocated with a declaration of their own in their second dig, scoring 273 for 8 with three of their batsmen scoring fifties – Brownlie (52), Brad Wilson (77) and Daryl Mitchell (71).

Kolkata Knight Riders’ bowlers set up their third win in four games, restricting Delhi Daredevils to 146 for 8

The Report by Abhishek Purohit20-Apr-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDelhi Daredevils have not won at home since April 2013•PTI Kolkata Knight Riders’ bowlers set up their third win in four games, restricting Delhi Daredevils to 146 for 8. Gautam Gambhir then made his third half-century in four innings to consign the hosts to their ninth successive defeat at Feroz Shah Kotla.Neither captain was sure at the toss about how the pitch, dry and grassy, would behave. Both wanted to chase; Gambhir won the toss. The ball seemed to come on decently, especially at the start, although Duminy felt the pitch deteriorated as the game progressed.The Daredevils batsmen fell to poor strokes, and many of them came just when a partnership was starting to build. Opener Shreyas Iyer played some superb shots off the back foot but having motored to 31 off 24, was bowled after missing a slog at Piyush Chawla. That ended a third-wicket partnership of 36 with Manoj Tiwary.Tiwary and Yuvraj Singh added 37 for the fourth wicket, the highest partnership of the game for Daredevils, but on 32, the Bengal batsman dragged a wide one from Morne Morkel straight to midwicket in the 14th over.Daredevils dealt themselves another blow in the next over when Yuvraj strolled out after missing a sweep off Chawla and was stumped for 21 off 19.Angelo Mathews helped Daredevils take 43 off the last five overs, including 20 off Sunil Narine in the 19th. The offspinner had bowled a couple of tight overs before but was repeatedly slogged over midwicket at the death by Mathews and Kedar Jadhav. Umesh Yadav did not let Daredevils go past 150, giving away just three in the final over.Gambhir and Robin Uthappa were in control of the chase when Domnic Joseph removed the latter and Manish Pandey in fifth over, both batsmen trying to force boundaries but failing to clear the fielders.Suryakumar Yadav clubbed a few boundaries to add 48 with Gambhir, but it was the Knight Riders captain who piloted the chase. Putting away loose deliveries off his pads and finding gaps through the off side, Gambhir put Knight Riders on course. He is a difficult batsman to stop when he is able to dab singles behind point at will, which is what he did tonight.Gambhir’s fourth-wicket stand of 65 with Yusuf Pathan sealed it for Knight Riders. Yusuf did not look too comfortable at the start, but he lashed out at short balls, and stayed unbeaten on 40 off 26.

An excellent team performance from Hobart Hurricanes in their first match of the season consigned Melbourne Stars to their second straight defeat

The Report by Freddie Wilde20-Dec-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDarren Sammy smacked an unbeaten 38 off 12 balls to provide Hurricanes a late surge•Getty ImagesAn excellent team performance from Hobart Hurricanes in their first match of the season consigned Melbourne Stars to their second straight defeat. The pressure of a steep chase of 190 got to Stars, whose strong batting order wilted against some probing bowling and eventually fell short by 52 runs.After being been put in by Stars, who brought in Daniel Worrall for Clive Rose, Hurricanes, without Travis Birt, were flattened to 3 for 31 after 5.1 overs. Their new signing Alex Hales was dismissed for a duck by Jackson Bird, before John Hastings removed Tim Paine for 19 and George Bailey for 2. Stars bowled well in the Powerplay, conceding just three fours, and deserved their success, but all three wickets came as a result of poor attacking shots as Hurricanes, perhaps encouraged by a flat MCG pitch and a deep batting order, went a little too hard.The early setbacks reduced the strategic options for Hurricanes who had no other choice but to rebuild as they exited the Powerplay. Ben Dunk, who was dropped on five by Luke Wright, and Jonathan Wells combined to produce a 90-run partnership for the fourth wicket – a new record for the Hurricanes. Captain Bailey, speaking after the match heaped praise on the pair, saying it was the “blueprint of how to play in the middle-overs of a T20.”Such acclaim was perhaps slightly generous because the partnership could have been even more impressive with Dunk struggling for fluency and timing, hitting just two fours. But crucially, he fought hard, facing 42 balls for his 43. The stability of partner provided by Dunk allowed Wells to capitalise and score his third T20 fifty. But even Wells never really cut loose, striking just four fours and a single six in his innings of 68. It was a partnership characterised by proactivity and energy.However, after 12 overs with the Hurricanes at 3 for 82, their innings moved up a gear with overs of 10 and 15 runs preceding Dunk’s dismissal to a mistimed pull shot in the 15th over. By the time Dunk departed, Hurricanes had been elevated to 4 for 121 with 27 balls still remaining.Twelve of those deliveries were faced by Darren Sammy, fresh from being released by Sunrisers Hyderbad, who thrashed 38 off 12 balls to propel Hurricanes towards 200 in a remarkable assault. Sammy was assisted by Evan Gulbis, who struck 14 from just five balls after Wells fell in the eighteenth over. The penultimate over bowled by Worrell was mauled for 30, including three sixes and two fours, leaving him nursing the worst figures ever recorded in the Big Bash League – 0-60 from four overs.Sammy’s high back-lift, clean swing, steady head and brute force ensured 47 were collected from the final two overs and 108 from the final eight. The knock powered Hurricanes to a commanding 5 for 190.Hurricanes opened the bowling with spinner Xavier Doherty, the Stars openers Cameron White and Luke Wright were unperturbed by such a move and started strongly, scoring 30 off the first three overs. However, Wright and Kevin Pietersen fell before the Powerplay was done, both beaten by the pace of two well-targeted short balls from Joe Mennie and Ben Hilfenhaus respectively.The hopes of Stars took a further blow just two overs later when Glenn Maxwell was caught at mid-on off Hilfenhaus. Maxwell has now failed to score more than 43 for 29 T20s, and has made 19 scores of less than fifteen in a sequence of matches dating back to the middle of IPL 2014.When Maxwell fell, the required run-rate for Stars had spiralled to above ten and the chase had reached a pivotal point. The same sagacity and intelligence exhibited earlier by Dunk and Wells was required were the Stars to stay in the match long enough for the likes of James Faulkner to provide a late surge.However, an irresponsible shot from David Hussey, charging leg-spinner Cameron Boyce and failing to get to the pitch of the delivery, saw him fall for 11 and any realistic chance of a victory for Stars receded when White fell soon after for a stoic 62.As the seagulls gathered, the rate climbed, the balls dripped away and the MCG slowly emptied, the Stars lower order crumbled at the hands of Hilfenhaus (4 for 27) and Mennie (3 for 20), who completed an encouraging victory for Hurricanes.