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Bangladesh A beat West Indies A in a thriller of a Twenty20 in Gros Islet

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Nov-2011
ScorecardBangladesh A beat West Indies A in a thriller of a Twenty20 in Gros Islet. Bangladesh were in all sorts of trouble chasing 104 but the lower order stood up and in the end it was the last-wicket pair who took them home with three balls to spare. Jamaican seamer Krishmar Santokie and Trinidadian legspinner Samuel Badree had wrecked Bangladesh’s top order, leaving them 34 for 6 in the eighth over of the chase. Mominul Haque and Farhad Reza began the fightback with a 45-run partnership but a strike each from medium-pacer Dwayne Smith and seamer Carlos Brathwaite put West Indies back on top.At that stage Bangladesh needed 20 to win with two wickets in hand and both Reza and Haque gone. They had four overs to get the runs, though, and No.9 Suhrawadi Shuvo and No. 10 Sohag Gazi took their time to put together a crucial 13-run partnership. The match swung again when Gazi was dismissed by Smith in the penultimate over with seven runs still to get but No. 11 Kamrul Islam Rabbi scored 5 off 4 balls to give Bangladesh A their first win of the tour.West Indies were left to rue not kicking on from the start Smith gave them after they were put in to bat. Smith scored 35 off 33 balls and West Indies had reached 54 for 2 by the 11th over. Nasir Hossain, the 19-year-old offspining allrounder who was recently handed a Test debut, took two wickets in as many balls to curb West Indies’ momentum. Jason Mohammed and Carlos Brathwaite made handy contributions but the rest of the batsmen failed and West Indies stumbled to 103 for 9 in their 20 overs. Hossain finished with 3 for 14.

Brendan Taylor will lead Zimbabwe in the one-off home Test against Bangladesh which marks their return to Test cricket

Liam Brickhill01-Aug-2011Brendan Taylor will lead Zimbabwe in the one-off home Test against Bangladesh which marks their return to Test cricket. Only eight of the 13 selected, including Taylor, have played Tests, a format Zimbabwe haven’t played in since 2005 when they voluntarily suspended themselves following concerns they were not competitive enough at the top level.The selection of the Test side thus presented the Zimbabwean selectors with an issue that had surely not been felt quite as acutely in the limited-overs sides that have turned out in the interim: that of balance. In the event, Prosper Utseya and Regis Chakabva are unlikely to play and so the probable starting XI includes five specialist batsmen, with Tatenda Taibu at No. 6 – and, considering his pedigree alongside those in front of him in the order, he must surely also be counted as a frontline batsman – followed by two allrounders, a spinner, and two new-ball seamers.Taibu – who had been out of action after the World Cup 2011 with a thumb injury – was included after he kept wicket in the three-day tour game against the Bangladeshis. Chakabva is his understudy, which means that yet again there is no place for Forster Mutizwa, whose unbeaten 87 led Zimbabwe XI to victory over the Bangladeshis. Mutizwa also cracked a fluent 67 in the two-day match against Australia at Kwekwe, and his boundary-hitting ability means he may well come back into contention for national honours in the one-day leg of the series.Brian Vitori, the 21-year old left-arm seamer, was the only player without international experience to make the squad. His elevation to the Test squad is the culmination of a meteoric rise for the Masvingo-born Vitori, who made his domestic debut during the pitiable Faithwear one-day competition in 2005-06 and, until the end of last season, had remained under the radar.While it’s virtually assured that the much-improved Chris Mpofu will take the new ball, it’s not entirely clear whether Vitori or Keegan Meth will partner him. Meth does share new-ball duties with Mpofu in domestic cricket with the Matabeleland Tuskers, and the added control he brings with him may sway the odds in his favour.The return to Tests also means Zimbabwe will have to break up one of their most dependable bowling partnerships, as only one of either Utseya and Ray Price are expected to be included on Thursday. While both men are automatic selections in limited-overs cricket, Zimbabwe are attempting to move away from their reliance on spin as they re-enter the Test arena.”Test match cricket and one-day cricket are totally different animals and when you play Test cricket in normal conditions you’re always going to be looking to play your extra seamer rather than your extra spinner,” said chairman of selectors Alistair Campbell. “We’ll still have a look at the wicket on Thursday morning and see what we think it’s going to do.”It is a bit of a foreign concept for us because we’ve become used to playing a spin-based attack because all of our games have been one-day cricket, but we started thinking about it a long time ago. We knew that this would come about, so for the past six months we’ve been thinking about which seamers would be in the frame. We’ve got four here plus Elton, and those are the guys who’ve shown that they’re best equipped to deal with the rigours of Test cricket.”The most obvious weakness in Zimbabwe’s squad is their opening pair: Vusi Sibanda and Tino Mawoyo. The pair were able to cling to the crease for almost 55 overs in the first innings of Zimbabwe’s match against Australia at the Academy ground in Harare two weeks ago, but neither man lends a feeling of solidity.Sibanda was able to grind out a dogged 91 in that tour match against the Australians, but would be far happier in the middle order, which is where he plays his domestic cricket. That said, there is possibly no batsman with better, more orthodox technique in the country and Zimbabwe, who seem only ever to select Sibanda as an opener, must be hoping that that will be enough to see off the hazards of the new ball.Mawoyo doesn’t have quite as strong a case for inclusion. While he’s showed some tenacity in recent times, his last significant innings was an unbeaten century against New Zealand A last October. At the very least, his experience as an opener in domestic cricket should stand him in good stead, as should Zimbabwe’s extensive preparations for this match.”The team is very much well-prepared,” said coach Alan Butcher. “We have had a fitness programme since back in May and we had extensive match practice from the matches against South Africa A sides.”We’ve had good variety in terms of the experience we’ve gained and the match preparation we’ve had, so I’m very confident that we’re fully prepared and ready for the challenge on Thursday.”Zimbabwe squad: Brendan Taylor (capt), Regis Chakabva, Elton Chigumbura, Craig Ervine, Hamilton Masakadza, Tino Mawoyo, Keegan Meth, Chris Mpofu, Ray Price, Vusi Sibanda, Tatenda Taibu (wk), Prosper Utseya, Brian Vitori, Kyle Jarvis.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is reportedly contemplating a move to poach Raheem Sterling from former club Manchester City this summer.

What’s the word?

As per the Telegraph, the Gunners are ‘ready to explore’ a deal for the 27-year-old at the end of the season, with the Englishman potentially set to be available to depart the Etihad as he enters the final year of his existing deal.

The report suggests that Arteta – who previously worked under Pep Guardiola at City – wants to make the 74-cap international the ‘focal point’ of his attack, with forward additions seemingly required with Alexandre Lacazette nearing the end of his current deal and with former captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang having departed for Barcelona in January.

Sterling – who had been linked with an exit last summer – could well be joined in north London by current teammate Gabriel Jesus, following recent reports that the Brazilian is another player on the radar of the Emirates outfit.

Better than Saka

The addition of the £76.5m-rated man in the upcoming window would prove a major coup for the top-four hopefuls, with the pacy wide man having emerged as one of the top-flight’s leading figures in recent years.

After dazzling as a teenager at Liverpool, Sterling made the controversial £49m switch to Manchester in 2015 in pursuit of silverware, with that move more than paying off as he has since claimed three league titles, five League Cup’s and an FA Cup – with an additional Premier League crown potentially on the way this season.

Under the tutelage of Guardiola, the £300k-per-week gem has developed into a prolific presence in front of goal, having scored 130 times and provided 93 assists in 337 games for the club in all competitions.

Dubbed a “fighter” by Gareth Southgate, the diminutive speedster has also shaken off early criticism at international level to become one of Southgate’s trusted lieutenants, the Jamaica-born ace starring in the Three Lions’ surge to the Euro 2020 final last year, netting three times en route to the showpiece.

It has proven a difficult campaign at club level since then, as he has drifted in and out of the starting XI, although he has still managed to provide 12 goals and four assists in just 22 league starts.

Despite starting 11 more top-flight games than his compatriot, current Arsenal man Bukayo Saka has still scored fewer goals (11 in total) than the more senior man, while he only averages a goal every 248 minutes this season, compared to a goal every 167 minutes for Sterling.

The latter – who Guardiola insisted “always creates something” – also averages 1.8 successful dribbles per game, compared to 1.1 for Saka, while he also ranks in the top 4% for progressive passes received among players in his position across Europe’s top five leagues, with his international colleague only in the top 31% for the same metric.

Equally, the City star offers perhaps greater consistency at the elite level, having been a regular fixture in the top-flight since making his Reds debut as a 17-year-old a decade ago, with it some feat to have maintained his quality for so long.

Saka has dazzled in recent times, although he still has a way to go to reach the heights of the potential target.

IN other news, Forget Saliba: Arsenal must finally unleash their “exciting” rarely-seen Hale End gem

Sunderland have received a notable injury setback ahead of Saturday’s pivotal League One final day clash with Morecambe…

What’s the word?

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Black Cats manager Alex Neil revealed that the injury to defender Carl Winchester may be worse than first feared, with the 29-year-old set for a longer stint on the treatment table.

Asked about the fitness of the Northern Irishman – who was forced off early in the 5-1 win over Cambridge last week – the former Preston North End boss said: “It’s not particularly good news on that one, it’s certainly looking like weeks rather than days”.

The 40-year-old did reveal that young Denis Cirkin is “not far away” from a return to action, although it remains to be seen if the youngster will be fit in time for this weekend’s trip to Lancashire.

Huge blow for Sunderland

This latest news will surely come as a real blow to all concerned, with the versatile Winchester having been a huge asset for the Black Cats so far this season, with the ex-Forest Green man having made 45 appearances in all competitions thus far.

His absence comes at precisely the wrong time for the promotion-chasing outfit, with it all still to play for heading into the final day of the League One campaign. The Stadium of Light club are still not certain of a place in the top six, despite being fifth in the table at present.

Even if they can secure their place in those much-coveted spots by the close of play on Saturday – with a win guaranteeing them a play-off berth – not having the Belfast-born ace in tow for those post-season games could also prove costly, with the Sunderland fanbase desperate to avoid a fifth successive campaign in the third tier.

Prior to his recent injury, the former Cheltenham Town man had been a reliable presence for the club, averaging a solid 6.80 Sofascore average match rating in the league, while also registering 1.4 clearances, two tackles and one interception per game.

Typically lining up in a right-back role, the £3.4k-per-week Winchester may have only chipped in with three goals and one assist so far this term, although has already become something of a “cult hero” due to his committed approach, according to journalist James Copley.

Former Sunderland boss Lee Johnson – who signed him on a free transfer in January 2021 – also dubbed him a “really good piece of business”, with his successor surely praying that the 29-year-old can be involved again in the coming weeks, should all go to plan against the relegation-threatened Shrimps.

AND in other news, Speakman howler: Sunderland may now be on the verge of repeating brutal Hugill disasterclass…

With their fun-loving demeanour, Ireland were always going to be one of the Associate teams that make the World Cup more colourful, but they want to win too

Liam Brickhill in Bangalore01-Mar-2011With their boisterous, fun-loving demeanour both on and off the pitch, Ireland were always going to be one of the Associate teams that, as AB de Villiers said, make the World Cup “more colourful”. When captain Will Porterfield arrived for a pre-match press conference ahead of their encounter with England in Bangalore tomorrow, it quickly became apparent that that description could be applied quite literally too, as he took off his cap to reveal a shock of bright purple hair.Porterfield on the difference between England and Ireland

“If you look at England, they’ve got that first-class structure and a very good one at that, and you can produce a lot of cricketers from that. You’ve got a lot of county systems, the volume of numbers playing the game over there and they’ve got that natural progression up through the ranks to get up through first-class and onto the international level.
“In Ireland, we’re at the stage where we’re pretty much a club-orientated country and that gap between club cricket and the country is something we’ve got to get a structure to bridge in terms of producing more international cricketers. I think like everything in sport a lot comes down to funding and you can only do so much if your hands are tied on that front. We’re making steps in the right direction and we’ve just got to get that stage where we’re producing more international cricketers.”

“You’re not imagining things,” he explained, smiling. “The Irish Cancer Society and Today FM, a radio station back home, they run a ‘Shave or Dye’ campaign in February. It’s just about raising awareness. There’s a few interesting lids floating about, five of us dyed and a good few shaved. Boyd Rankin’s got his own dyed blue as well, Kevin O’Brien’s similar to me own and there’s a bit of blonde in there. Anything we can do for the cancer society back home is good, it’s for a good cause.”It would be wrong, of course, to interpret the team’s jovial attitude as a sign that they’re not taking this tournament seriously. They are, and having risen to level on points with Zimbabwe in the ICC’s one-day rankings, there’s no denying their status at the top of the Associate pile. They’re at the threshold of full membership, and the team knows full well what slaying a couple of giants in this tournament would do for their case. More immediately, there’s also the small matter of getting one over on the ‘old enemy’ – England.”We need absolutely no motivation when facing the old enemy and I know how desperate everyone in the camp is to atone for what we see as our failure on Friday night,” Porterfield wrote in his World Cup Diary on Sunday. “In many ways the game is like a local derby, and we know anything can happen on the day.”Shortly after Ireland’s mid-morning practice session on a steaming hot day in Bangalore, Porterfield expounded further on what the game means for Ireland: “I think it is [a special occasion]. Any Irish sports team playing an English team is always pretty special for them, and especially to people back home. They always want to see us get one over on the English, so I’m sure there’ll be plenty back home watching and hoping for a positive result from the Irish. Anyone can slip up on any particular day, but [England] are playing good cricket and we’ve just got to be on top of our own game.”Ireland are also under added pressure to take down one of the bigger teams after their 27-run loss to Bangladesh in Dhaka last week – a match they could easily have won. “To go through our group we’re going to have to win probably three of our next five games, so every game is kind of a must-win from here on in,” Porterfield said. “But we can’t look too far ahead in terms of the result, we’ve just got to look at the process of how we get there and what we’ve got to put right from the last game and how we’ve got to go about our own game.”The day after the game and that night the lads were pretty gutted. It’s no lie, anyone that loses a game like that you’re going to be pretty down, but that’s professional sport. You’ve got to pick yourself up from the lows like that. It’s no secret our batting let us down, there were a few soft dismissals in there. It’s just a matter of being a bit tougher on ourselves. You can’t afford to give away free wickets like that. It’s just being cricket smart, there’s nothing dramatic that has to change.”William Porterfield dyed his hair for a good cause•AFPIt may well be the bowlers, rather than the batsmen, who are more anxious ahead of Tuesday’s game after watching 676 runs being scored in England’s game against India at the same venue. Porterfield insisted he had confidence in Boyd Rankin and George Dockrell, perhaps the two most important members of his attack.”[Rankin] has got all the attributes to be a fantastic bowler. He went for a few in Dhaka. They got a few away and that can happen to anyone on their day. I still think he’s one of our main wicket-taking threats. He may go for a few runs but as we’ve seen in this tournament you’ve got to take wickets to peg things back and he’s one of our main wicket-takers and I’m pretty confident he can bounce back.”[Dockrell] is pretty new to the game. He only came in last year in the Twenty20 World Cup and was dropped in at the deep end in the West Indies. He hadn’t had much experience before then, he had one Under-19 World Cup under his belt. He’s taken everything in his stride, he’s a pretty level-headed young guy. He’s just finished school and he’s done pretty well there as well.They are utterly different species as bowlers, Dockrell a mantis-limbed left-arm spinner and Rankin a towering 6′ 6″ fast bowler, but they may well end up sharing the new ball. Spin has been introduced very early by several teams in this tournament, and it appeared Dockrell could be given the responsibility of exploiting Kevin Pietersen’s much-discussed weakness against left-arm spin.”Anything is possible, it’s definitely an option for us,” Porterfield admitted. “He’s bowled in the Powerplays for us before, and he’s bowled in the first six overs in Twenty20s so that’s nothing new to him. He knows how to bowl with the new ball so that’s definitely an option as well.”While obviously focussing on the present and the immediate challenge of taking on England, a team Ireland have never beaten, Porterfield is also well aware of his team’s duty as pioneers of Irish cricket and the important position they occupy in Ireland’s cricketing history.”Cricket’s been played in Ireland for a very long time now, since 1855 we’ve been playing cricket as a nation. We want to get to the stage where we become a full member ourselves and get into the Future Tours Programme. We want to get to the stage where lads don’t have to make that call [to play for England] or have to move on and play that way. We want to be in a position where we can contract 12 to 15 full-time Irish cricketers.”In an ideal scenario we’d have 15 lads contracted back in Dublin training day in, day out. It’s obviously a financial thing, it’s a fixtures thing, it’s everything, but we’re at the stage now where that’s where we want to be and everyone’s working towards that and hopefully we’ll get there.”

Paul Collingwood made a timely impact with a matchwinning allround display and Stuart Broad continued his impressive World Cup build-up

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2011
ScorecardKevin Pietersen showed he was happy at the top of the order with a timely half-century•Getty ImagesPaul Collingwood made a timely impact with a matchwinning allround display and Stuart Broad continued his impressive World Cup build-up as England produced a convincing display to beat Pakistan by 67 runs in their final warm-up game. The batting, led by Kevin Pietersen’s 66, posted a strong 273 on a slow surface before Broad blew away Pakistan’s top order, then returned to mop up the tail. Collingwood, whose offcutters could prove invaluable as the tournament wears on, chipped in with 3 for 48.After the embarrassment of their near-defeat against Canada on Wednesday, England’s efforts were much more confident second-time around, as they resumed their rivalry with the Pakistan side whom they edged out 3-2 in an emotional home series last September, which came in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal at Lord’s. Pakistan, though, have never been a side to excel in matches without much meaning and opted not to utilise Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq.Importantly, Pietersen showed he could adapt to his new role after the loss of two early wickets, then Collingwood steadied the innings after momentum had been lost against the spinners. He added 72 with Ravi Bopara and finished with a confidence boosting 65 from 73 balls, a significant bonus for England given the valuable role his bowling plays in their plans.That was later emphasised as his nagging medium-pace scalped three important wickets including captain Misbah-ul-Haq to break a threatening stand with Younis Khan, who was England’s main obstacle with 80. However, it was always going to be difficult for Pakistan once Broad had made early inroads during another hostile burst.He struck with his second ball when Mohammad Hafeez edged to slip then trapped Kamran Akmal lbw and bowled Umar Akmal to leave Pakistan 34 for 3. Their hopes rested with Younis, but he was tied down for a long period by accurate bowling and the required rate was climbing. That doubtless played a part in Asad Shafiq’s horrid swipe at Collingwood.James Anderson, who was expensive early on, returned to end a promising innings from Ahmed Shehzad as Andrew Strauss mixed up his bowling options. Any faint hopes Pakistan had were well and truly snuffed out when Younis became Broad’s fourth wicket and he completed his second five-wicket haul in consecutive matches by removing Wahab Riaz to end the game.England had endured a stuttering start after being asked to bat first when Strauss was bowled for 5 by Shoaib Akhtar, before Jonathan Trott – England’s anchor in the Canada match – went the same way to Junaid Khan, having used up 18 deliveries for his 9.Pietersen, however, found confidence and some fluency in partnership with Ian Bell, who made 39 from 58 balls in an 80-run stand for the second wicket. His running between the wickets was typically haphazard, with at least two close shaves off quick singles, but he brought up his half-century with a six over long-on off Saeed Ajmal, before Abdur Rehman lured him out of crease to be stumped.That brought Collingwood to the crease, under pressure for runs after a fallow winter in which his only scores of note came in two pre-Ashes warm-up games at Adelaide and Hobart. He survived an inside-edge off Shoaib that streaked away for four, but on the slow surface his confidence returned, and having batted well in partnership with both Bopara and Matt Prior, he was dismissed with 13 balls of the innings remaining, when Wahab pinned him lbw.The innings unravelled rather quickly thereafter, however. Prior was extracted by a full toss four balls later, with Tim Bresnan – back in the side after his calf injury – becoming Junaid’s third victim in the same over. Wahab then cleaned up the tail to leave England two balls short of batting out their 50 overs, but overall this was a performance that has set the team up nicely for the real thing.

Misbah-ul-Haq quelled a threatening spell of reverse swing early on the third morning, before dictating terms against New Zealand’s seamers who wasted the second new ball, to drive Pakistan to a 20-run lead as the winds subsided for the first time at the

The Bulletin by Nitin Sundar17-Jan-2011
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsYounis Khan was in fine touch before being undone by a poor umpiring call•Getty ImagesMisbah-ul-Haq quelled a threatening spell of reverse swing early on the third morning, before dictating terms against New Zealand’s seamers, to drive Pakistan to a 20-run lead as the wind subsided for the first time at the Basin Reserve. Pakistan’s progress was based on Misbah’s 142-run stand with Younis Khan, during which New Zealand’s attack seemed to have run out of ideas. Younis’ exit for 73 – the seventh umpiring error in the match, without counting missed no-balls – sparked a resurgence from the home side. After tea, they attacked with Daniel Vettori’s turn and Chris Martin’s bounce to skittle out Pakistan’s lower half for the addition of just 52, including Misbah on 99. New Zealand’s openers played out the last five overs of the day without damage to leave the game even at stumps.Before their inspired burst in the final session, New Zealand were surprisingly subdued through the day, barring a lively opening burst from Martin. He began with a swerving bouncer that started well outside off before darting in viciously towards Azhar Ali who had to weave away and drop his wrists. Martin followed that up with a series of reverse-swingers before outwitting Azhar with another sharp lifter that was fended into the slips. Younis and Misbah also began edgily against the movement before easing into business with a series of sparkling drives as the sun came out and Martin began to lose his sting.The ball, deemed to be out of shape, was replaced at the stroke of the first hour and reverse swing immediately became conspicuous by its absence. With the pitch not taking much turn, Misbah handled Vettori’s drift by lunging forward instead of across and defending from inside the line. New Zealand’s main variations had been nullified, and thereafter they were asking to be dominated.Younis cashed in against a flagging attack, punching a short delivery from Tim Southee square and driving one that was too straight through wide long-on for boundaries. Misbah attacked his opposite number in the lead-up to lunch, pulling out a slog sweep and a lofted on-drive as Pakistan moved past 200.Soon after the break, Brent Arnel opened with the second new ball, running in for a friendly over that underlined New Zealand’s lack of intent: it began with a wayward loosener outside off, and included a misdirected bouncer down the leg side. In his second over, Misbah guided Arnel twice through the cordon for boundaries. Martin replaced Arnel and got his inswingers going, but the horse had bolted by then. Younis punched Martin twice down the ground, the first bringing up his half-century and the second, the 100-run stand.Southee put in a solid effort from the other end, and got the odd legcutter to nip away from the right-handers. Despite being beaten on a couple of occasions, Misbah had the presence of mind to play with soft hands, and his obduracy frustrated Southee who got into a verbal duel with him. Misbah responded with two calmly stroked boundaries through the covers to bring up his fifth successive half-century, and his fifth in six innings since taking over as captain.Vettori was running out of ideas, and brought James Franklin on, seemingly with the intention of creating a rough to work with. Franklin promptly got a warning for running on the pitch, but Vettori began to pose some riddles from the other end. He eventually got past Younis, thanks to drift and a poor call from umpire Rod Tucker, caught close-in on the leg side straight off the pad.Younis’ exit prompted Vettori to finally go on the attack, and he looped them into the rough with extra fielders crouching close in. Asad Shafiq edged his fifth ball as it ripped away from middle and leg, taking the outside edge on its way into the slips. Vettori also had Adnan Akmal in strife with well-disguised arm-balls before getting him to top-edge a sweep.Martin stepped up to support his captain, and bullied Abdur Rehman into submission with bounce, with Pakistan still 22 behind. While Umar Gul biffed Pakistan into the lead with a series of middled pulls and slog-sweeps, Misbah chugged along towards a hundred that seemed almost inevitable.He negated Martin’s bounce by staying in the crease, and capitalised when there was width to pick up boundaries through the off side. With Misbah a run away from his third Test ton, Martin landed a couple of balls well outside off before cleverly slanting one back in, to rap him on the move as he shuffled across with an eye on the leg side. The innings ended soon after, Vettori finishing a wicket shy of becoming only the second New Zealander to make a century and pick a five-for in the same match. Both captains had had a say in setting up the game for a virtual second-innings shoot-out with two days left.

A round-up of the action from the final day of the Emerging Players Tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Aug-2011A battling century from captain Ryan Carters helped Australian Institute of Sport force a draw against India Emerging Players at Endeavour Park No.2 in Townsville. However, India finished on top in the points table, thereby capping a successful series for them – they were also victorious in the Twenty20 tournament that preceded the three-day games.Australia ended the second day at 93 for 2, still 236 runs adrift of India. Carters, who was unbeaten overnight on 56, continued to look solid. He and Glenn Maxwell had added 65 before stumps on day two, and they carried on the good work on the final day, adding a further 55 before Maxwell was dismissed for 73. Any hopes that India might have had of causing a collapse were dented as Tim Armstrong joined his captain and the duo put on 87 for the fourth wicket. Carters was finally dismissed for 115, but Armstrong (75) featured in handy partnerships for the fifth and sixth wickets to deny India a win, as Australia ended the day on 328 for 7.Reeza Hendricks completed his double-century and Richard Levi reached a century but South Africa Emerging Players were not left with enough time to bowl New Zealand A out at Endeavour Park in Townsville. South Africa’s only hope of notching up their first win of the three-day leg of the tournament was to score quickly on the final day and then hope for a New Zealand collapse. But Hendricks and Levi took their time, and South Africa used up 54.2 overs in the day to get 177 runs, which put them 169 runs ahead. New Zealand lost two wickets in the 34 overs they had to bat.Hendricks’ 218 was his second double-century of the tournament and his 566-run aggregate earned him the Batsman-of-the-Tournament as well as the Player-of the-Tournament awards. India’s Iqbal Abdulla was named Bowler of the Tournament for his nine wickets.

Australia have rested the senior trio of Ricky Ponting, Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson for the one-dayers against India later this month

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2010Australia have rested the senior trio of Ricky Ponting, Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson for the one-dayers against India later this month. In Ponting’s absence, Michael Clarke will lead a side that includes South Australia batsman Callum Ferguson, who has made a comeback after a year on the sidelines due to a knee injury.Injuries to Shaun Tait and Ryan Harris mean Doug Bollinger will spearhead an inexperienced fast bowling unit that includes Clint McKay (12 matches), and the uncapped pair of Mitchell Starc and James Pattinson.Queensland’s James Hopes and New South Wales’ Steve Smith will vie for the allrounder’s spot, and big-hitting opening batsman David Warner makes a return to the one-day squad. There was no place for either wicketkeeper Brad Haddin or fast bowler Peter Siddle, both of whom are recovering from injuries and the selectors felt it was too premature to risk them in international cricket.”Ricky faces a very demanding domestic summer on his return to Australia,” Andrew Hilditch, Australia’s chief selector, said, “and will have no other opportunity for a break from the start of the domestic season until after the much-awaited World Cup.”Hilditch gave similar explanations for leaving out Watson and Johnson. “It is essential to the balance of our side that Shane can open the batting and play the all-round role. we have decided the best way of ensuring he can play this role is for him to miss the one-day component of this series,” he said. “Mitchell is now the leader of our bowling attack, and with numerous injuries to our fast bowling stocks at present, it is essential we manage his workload so he can get through the domestic summer and the ICC Cricket World Cup.”The three-ODI series is from October 17-24.Squad: Michael Clarke (capt), Cameron White, Doug Bollinger, Callum Ferguson, Nathan Hauritz, James Hopes, Mike Hussey, Shaun Marsh, Clint McKay, Tim Paine (wk), James Pattinson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner

An insider has dropped a big transfer claim on Tottenham and their interest in Paulo Dybala…

What’s the talk?

Former Palermo sporting director Rino Foschi has claimed that Spurs may be in the race with Inter to land the Argentine international on a free transfer this summer.

Foschi dealt with Fabio Paratici when he sanctioned the sale of the forward to Juventus from Palermo and he is not ruling out the Italian attempting to snap him up again.

He told 1 Station Radio, via FCInterNews: “In November there was talk of certain figures for which everyone agreed, while in January they (Juventus) offered him less, taking back the not so much the player, the more the entourage did not go down with this change of offer, and tried to pique the interest of some European teams, including Inter.

“As of today, the Nerazzurri track seems to be the most accredited, but I would not rule out Tottenham, given how much Paratici is crazy about the Argentine.”

Antonio Conte will be excited

This claim will surely leave the Spurs head coach delighted as Dybala would be a terrific addition to the squad to further bolster his attacking options.

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He already has Heung-Min Son, Harry Kane and Dejan Kulusevski delivering the goods in the final third and throwing the Juventus man into that mix is an exciting prospect because of the quality he possesses.

The attacking midfielder has proven his ability in the Serie A as he has been a key player for the Old Lady for a number of years. In 285 appearances for the club, he has scored 113 goals and provided 48 assists in all competitions as he has been able to provide direct goal contributions on a regular basis.

He scored three goals and registered one assist in five Champions League outings this term and this shows that he would be a useful player to have if Spurs finish in the top four. He has proven that he can do it in Europe’s premier competition and is, therefore, a player Conte can rely upon next season if they are able to qualify this term.

Overall, Conte will be excited by this claim because of Dybala’s immense talents in the final third and Paratici’s relationship with him making a deal realistic. The Argentine attacker would bring quality and experience at the top level to the side, whilst costing Tottenham £0 in transfer fees to get it over the line.

AND in other news, Talks underway: Paratici in negotiations for £41.5m deal, it’d be a big coup for Spurs…