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New Zealand gave it a go, but without a steady top order contribution it was always going to struggle to score the 223 needed to beat England and prevent the National Bank Series being tied up 2-2 going in Tuesday’s last match.Two rain showers, one of which halted play for an hour and a quarter, denied New Zealand the chance to repeat the shutdown of England’s batting they managed in the first match in Christchurch and, it has to be said, denied England the chance to have a late-order fling with wickets in hand.As a result, New Zealand may be forced to rejuvenate their squad for the last game. They need a bowler who can contribute for 10 overs of accurate bowling and while Ian Butler offered speed, that is not likely to be a significant factor on the outstanding pitch that will be on offer at Carisbrook on Tuesday.It could be that James Franklin will be the man New Zealand look to in place of Butler while Brendon McCullum, who allowed the situation to get the better of him in Auckland tonight may just hold on as 12th man.It was a mixed up day in a lot of ways, the rain interruptions cut short a highly-productive England innings. They recovered well after losing Marcus Trescothick for a duck off the third ball but what might have been the crucial moment in the innings was the senseless run out of Nick Knight for 40.The situation was entirely of his own doing as Graham Thorpe had played a shot square to Daryl Tuffey and always seemed to be aware that it was only worth a single, but when he turned at the bowler’s end, he found Knight almost back at the same end, and Tuffey’s through to Daniel Vettori was thrown on to Chris Nevin with Knight already taking off his gloves and heading for the pavilion.However, the incident was not as costly as it might have been because Michael Vaughan did take great advantage of his first chance for a bat in the series and he played a priceless inings of 59 before he too was run out. Apparently something of a bad luck merchant, Vaughan was out when he played a ball back to Vettori, advanced a little down the pitch only to see Vettori rifle a return back to the stumps.Vaughan turned and looked to make his ground, but as he did the ball broke the wickets at about the same time as he dropped his bat and he was out for 59 off 53 balls. He and Thorpe put on 89 off 87 balls in a highly-effective partnership.His misfortune with the bat was compounded after he took two catches in the field and then, when looking for a third, but eventually realising he could only field the ball, he fell on the turf and in the process he injured his shoulder and had to leave the field. He will have a scan tomorrow and is doubtful for the Tuesday match, but not for the rest of the tour.The second rain shower meant Thorpe was denied 10 overs in which to cart the bowling with wickets in hand.The score of 193/6 was more than enough for England to apply the screws as under the Duckworth/Lewis system, New Zealand were required to score 223 in the 40 overs.Drop-in wickets are proving great for New Zealand’s opponents. Firstly Pakistan in last summer’s Test match at Eden Park, and now England here. Perhaps ignorance really is bliss and New Zealand players are reading too much into the pitches.The New Zealanders had to contend with a fine opening spell from both Darren Gough and Matthew Hoggard. The brace of maidens they bowled at the start of the innings seemed to put the pressure on New Zealand even more, and they did not respond well.Nevin edged a ball moving across him to Trescothick on eight while McCullum showed bad judgment in attempting to hit out and was easily caught by Vaughan off a skied chance for five.Stephen Fleming hit straight to Vaughan at point for eight while Craig McMillan was caught by Knight off Andrew Flintoff for 10. When Lou Vincent went for seven, the batting had been decimated, the chance for victory gone and 38 runs being the contribution of five of the top six batsmen in the side.Nathan Astle scored 23 but at nowhere near his usual pace and it was left to Chris Cairns (58 off 56 balls), Chris Harris (23 off 28) and Andre Adams (26 off 14) to keep fans from walking out the gate.As it was Flintoff came back with Gough and they finished off the innings, Flintoff taking four for 17 from seven overs, his best One-Day International figures, and Gough two for 33. Hoggard had earlier taken two for 27.Hoggard applied the pressure well to the top order while Flintoff did a fine mopping up job.The stage has been set for a tremendous finale to the series. The crowd of 36,278 had plenty of entertainment. England are on a roll, New Zealand have to do what they do best, scrap all the way back from the position they are now in, and Dunedin awaits with the perfect finale on their back door step.For all concerned it is now a case of Carisbrook or bust.

Matthew Bell might do well over the next few days to stay within earshot of a telephone.When Bell posted his third century in four Shell Trophy games today for Wellington against Central Districts at McLean Park, Napier – as he helped Wellington to 269-5 after they had been asked to bat – he made an application for the attention of the national selectors they might soon be forced to acknowledge.Bell batted 292 minutes today for 117, adding that score to innings of 109 against Central Districts and 134 against Canterbury, both compiled at the Basin Reserve before Christmas, and to his 82 runs (70 and 12) from two knocks against Otago. He now has 442 runs from five Trophy innings this season at an average of 88.4 and he has compiled six first-class centuries, including two double hundreds.The only thing that went wrong today for Matthew Bell – he lost the toss – also ended up favouring the Wellington captain. He would have batted had he won the toss and he was secretly delighted when his opposite Jacob Oram called correctly then invited to do so anyway.Oram had to manage an attack heavily stacked with medium pacers – he has five and only one spinner, Glen Sulzberger – and it may have been that which encouraged him to try to use any life that may have been in the pitch at the start of the first day.There was a little but the Central bowlers – Oram used all six before lunch – often strayed from a good length and that allowed the Wellington openers to first establish themselves then to prosper. Oram can only have cringed when Wellington went to lunch, after a morning session with had twice and briefly been affected by rain, at 78-0. By tea, they had lost only the wicket of Jones for 68 and Bell was poised on 98.Jones batted 206 minutes and hit eight fours and a six in an innings which was a perfect support to Bell. Generally Jones is the more fluent scorer, particularly early in his innings, but today Bell was always ahead of him, reaching his half century in the 37th over from 101 balls (when Wellington was 101) while Jones reached the same mark two overs or 11 minutes later from 125 balls (when the total was 113).Jones’ most lavish scoring shot was a pulled six over square leg from the young medium pacer Taraia Robin but it was Robin who had the last laugh. He returned to claim Jones, caught and bowled, in the 53rd over when Bell was 78 and Wellington was 149.When Bell went to his 100, he had batted 255 minutes, faced 189 balls and hit 12 fours, most abrupt pulls and cuts square of the wicket. He chided himself – tossing his bat in the air – when he was out, bowled by Glen Sulzberger, 33 balls later, after batting eight minutes less than three hours and hitting 13 fours.”It was very pleasing to get another hundred but I’m just disappointed I couldn’t go on and get a really big score,” Bell said. “I wanted to go on and get 150 or 200 and that’s the next barrier for me.”But Bell was pleased that he continued a high conversion rate of 50s to 100s and that his centuries this season have all been made in the first innings, contributing to substantial teams totals which have given Wellington control of their games. Wellington haven’t lost a match this season in which Bell has made 100 and for that reason they lead the Shell Trophy.The only disappointment for Wellington today was that they lost two wickets in the last two overs and finished five down, when they might only have been three down.Bell had added 63 for the second wicket with Selwyn Blackmore before his own dismissal and their followed a brief stand between Blackmore and Grant Donaldson before Blackmore was out for 38. But Chris Nevin was out, lbw to Robin for 15 in the 99th over and Matthew Walker was caught by Martin Sigley from Sulzberger on the last ball of the day. Wellington went from 268-3 to 269-5 while Donaldson stayed not out 25.Most importantly, the pull generated by Bell’s form, which is so consistent it has become irrestible, must now forcibly awaken several principles of national selection.While the national selectors can never be compelled to pick a player on Trophy form alone – they have to weigh his suitability and past record in international cricket, the credentials of others, the balance of their side. But nor can they be seen to ignore the domestic first class competition as a conduit to the international game.No player in New Zealand this season has been in better form with the bat that Bell and a point must be reached when he earns some, even tacit form of acknowledgement.The Wellington captain, who hasn’t heard yet the phone call which may express the selectors’ interest, wasn’t thinking along those lines last night.”I’m happy with my game and what I’m doing for Wellington,” he said. “All I can do is concentrate on my own performance and at the moment I’m happy performing for Wellington. It’s the same only story, if I score the runs they can’t not pick me.”I just have to get on with things. I talk to the players, as captain, about doing this and that and it’s good to be able to go out and do what I’m talking about. You shouldn’t talk the talk if you can’t walk the walk.”

Liverpool are interested in signing RB Leipzig attacking midfielder Christopher Nkunku and the Bundesliga club could listen to summer offers, according to a fresh update.

The Lowdown: Nkunku shining at Leipzig

The 24-year-old has matured into one of the most potent attackers in the German top flight in recent years, catching the eye with his performances for Leipzig, with now Leeds boss Jesse Marsch once saying he ‘has no weaknesses’ as a player.

Nkunku has scored 15 goals and chipped in with nine assists in the league this season, as well as scoring an incredible seven times in just six Champions League outings.

The Frenchman’s current deal expires in 2024 but Leipzig could find it difficult to keep hold of him this summer.

The Latest: Liverpool keen on move

According to ESPN, Liverpool are one of several clubs who are ‘monitoring’ Nkunku’s current situation, with Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Arsenal all mentioned in the report.

It is believed that Leipzig could be willing to sell him if their €75million (£63m) asking price is met.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-26/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Long-term signing

Nkunku’s is a superb player who could be a perfect summer signing by Liverpool, coming in as an immediate key figure but also representing someone who may not peak for another few years.

At 24, he is in and and around the same age that the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz were when they joined the Reds, so he would fit into the transfer model now being carried out by Julian Ward.

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Nkunku’s end product this season speaks for itself, and with midfield sometimes an area lacking guile at Anfield, he could add a sprinkling of stardust in a No.10 role, depending on how Jurgen Klopp chooses to use him.

He has also played as a forward for chunks of this season, so he could even be viewed as a replacement for Mane or Roberto Firmino, should either leave at the end of the season.

In other news, a ‘behind the scenes’ Liverpool claim has emerged regarding one player. Read more here.

Yorkshire 194 for 6 (Gale 69, Wood 50) beat UAE 190 (Lawson 3-36) by four wickets
Scorecard

	A delighted Anthony McGrath receives the trophy © Arabiancricket.com

Yorkshire have won the Pro ARCH Trophy after their four-wicket defeat of UAE put them level on points with Somerset and Lancashire, but the fact they wrapped up victory inside 25 overs gave them the best net run-rate of the three.Andrew Gale and Greg Wood launched Yorkshire’s chase of 191 in a hurry as they had to chase down the runs inside 25 overs to pip Lancashire to the title. They smacked 94 for the opening wicket before Wood was caught-and-bowled by Saqib Ali for a 39-ball 50. Gale cruised to 69, cracking nine fours in his 61-ball knock, but fell to Obaid Hameed. Jasim Suwaidi then chipped away at Yorkshire’s middle order with 3 for 17, but it was too little, too late, and Adam Lyth and Mark Lawson saw them home with five balls to spare.It was Lawson who did the damage with the ball, too, picking up 3 for 36 from nine economical overs. He was especially well supported by David Wainwright who conceded just 19 from his 10 overs as UAE were restricted to 190, laboured over 48.1 overs. With Gale and Wood going for their strokes from the off, Yorkshire were always up with the asking rate.

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Pts	Net RR	For	Against
Yorkshire	4	3	1	0	0	6	+1.093	894/174.1	808/200.0
Lancashire	4	3	1	0	0	6	+1.055	973/200.0	762/200.0
Somerset	4	3	1	0	0	6	+0.324	857/177.4	900/200.0
Essex	4	2	2	0	0	4	-0.312	966/199.3	1024/198.4
Sussex	4	1	3	0	0	2	-0.585	796/200.0	900/197.1
U.A.E.	4	0	4	0	0	0	-1.712	783/200.0	875/155.3

Simon Katich hasn’t committed to anything yet, though indications are that he will stay on with NSW © Getty Images

Simon Katich is likely to stay on at New South Wales (NSW), despite lucrative offers from other state sides. Katich was omitted from Cricket Australia’s list of 25 contracted players for the 2007-08 season and the reported that Victoria and Western Australia, Katich’s home state, were keen on signing him up.”Simon is someone we cannot afford to lose,” Dave Gilbert, New South Wales’ chief executive, told the paper. “He is a vital member of the NSW team and we’re desperately keen to keep him. He still has at least five good years in him and we’re hopeful that they will be with us.”Katich last played for Australia in the DLF Cup tri-series in Malaysia last year and lost his place in the one-day side since the return of Matthew Hayden. He’s currently in England representing Derbyshire in the County Championship and a day after he was omitted from the contracts list, he smashed 221 against Somerset.Gilbert expressed his surprise that Cricket Australia (CA) overlooked the experienced Katich in favour of several younger players. However, he remained confident that an Australia recall was around the corner.”At the time I expressed my shock and outrage at CA’s decision not to give him a contract, and I still can’t believe it happened,” Gilbert said. “To my mind, and a lot of other people’s, he is easily among the 25 best players in the country at present. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he turned around and proved the selectors wrong next season.”Robert Joske, Katich’s agent, agreed with Gilbert that Katich was comfortable with New South Wales after speaking to him before his departure for England. “Simon has not committed to anything at this stage,” Joske told the paper. “But I would think that it would have to be an amazing offer to get him away from NSW.

Mushtaq Ahmed helped Sussex restrict Somerset with four wickets © Getty Images

South Conference

A superb spell of bowling from James Bruce sent Gloucestershire tumbling to a 62-run defeat at the hands of Hampshire at the Rose Bowl. Hampshire rattled up 221 in their innings, with Greg Lamb top-scoring with 59. However, set a revised target of 210 from 42 overs, Gloucestershire couldn’t cope with Bruce who took three wickets in the space of just five balls. Though Gloucestershire rallied somewhat – Mark Hardinges blitzed 60 from 42 balls – Shaun Udal mopped up the tail as Hampshire romped home the comfortable winners.Kent cruised past Ireland at Tunbridge Wells with a comprehensive 83-run win thanks to some tight bowling from Andrew Hall and a typically violent 57 from Justin Kemp. Darren Stevens got Kent off to a rollicking start, clubbing four fours and three sixes in his brisk 59, but it was Kemp who took the game away from Ireland with a brutal innings containing six towering sixes. Set a revised 179 from a maximum of 19.5 overs, Ireland were never in the hunt and slipped to 16 for 5; their tail edged them towards respectability, but Kent eventually won comprehensively.Rain hampered Sussex’s game against Somerset at Horsham, but that didn’t prevent Mushtaq Ahmed from seizing control of Somerset’s batsmen. Mushtaq blitzed Somerset’s top-order with 4 for 42, but the visitors were rattling along at a fine pace with Matthew Wood smashing seven fours in his 46-ball 59. Set a revised 122 runs from 17 overs, Sussex crashed from 16 without loss to 16 for 4. Matt Prior (43) played aggressively before falling to Peter Trego, and it was left to Robin Martin-Jenkins (34*) and Luke Wright (32*) to see the hosts home with nine balls to spare.A superb allround performance from Azhar Mahmood for Surrey crushed Glamorgan at The Oval. Surrey had slipped to the perilous position of 64 for 6, with David Harrison and Andrew Davies doing the damage. However, Mahmood struck a quite brilliant 101 from 98 balls, containing four sixes and nine fours, edging Surrey to 200. In reply, Mahmood grabbed four wickets – and conceded just 17 runs in his seven overs – as Glamorgan were dismissed for a paltry 132 in 31 overs.

North Conference

Northamptonshire’s woeful one-day form continued with a 36-run defeat by Warwickshire. After Chris Rogers and Lance Klusener had pushed Northants to 219 for 7, a torrential downpour during Warwickshire’s run-chase effectively ended the match. Warwickshire, at that stage, were 66 without loss after 10.5 which, according to Duckworth-Lewis calculations, handed the win to Warwickshire.Michael di Venuto’s unbeaten 93 was the catalyst for Derbyshire’s impressive seven-wicket win over Worcestershire at Derby. Worcestershire were indebted to Stephen Moore (68) and Vikram Solanki (53) to reach 204 for 5 from 42.2 overs. Rain, inevitably, caused the target to be revised – 189 from 32 overs – but di Venuto paced his innings perfectly, crunching ten fours. He and Chris Taylor (49*) starred in a fourth wicket stand worth 94 as Derbyshire sneaked home by seven wickets.Two contrasting knocks from Phil Mustard and Dale Benkenstein led Durham to three-wicket win over Leicestershire at Chester-le-Street. With the match reduced to 39 overs each, Leicestershire struggled to force the pace, losing Darren Maddy for 10 and Dinesh Mongia for 6 in their total of 151 for 6. However, Durham were soon in trouble during their run-chase, wobbling on 39 for 3, before Benkenstein and Mustard both struck 31 to see Durham home with more 14 balls to spare.Nottinghamshire 61 for 6, Lancashire 15 for 0: match abandoned.

Shantha Kalavitigoda: misses out because of a shoulder injury © Getty Images

Dilhara Lokuhettige (also known as Lokuhettige Danushka Dilhara) is the only new face in the 14-member Sri Lanka A squad to take on West Indies A in two unofficial Tests at Dambulla and Kandy starting on June 23.Lokuhettige is a hard-hitting right-hand batsman and effective right-arm medium-pace bowler who came to prominence when he scored the fastest fifty of last season, off just 22 balls, for Moors against Air Force on his home ground at Braybrooke Place.Lokuhettige, 24, won selection for some consistent performance over the past few seasons. Since making his first-class debut in 2000-01, he has scored 1682 runs at 27.76, with one century and four fifties, and also captured 134 wickets (27.51) from 58 matches. He started off with Antonians SC and then moved to Galle CC before joining Moors in 2003-04. “We think that he has the potential to develop into a good allrounder,” said Lalith Kaluperuma, the chairman of selectors. “That is why we have picked him.”The rest of the squad remains unchanged from the one that played in the four unofficial Tests against England A and Pakistan A, with the exception of Shantha Kalavitigoda, Thilan Thushara, Anushka Polonowita and Thilina Kandamby. The last three failed to make it to the 25-member pool owing to poor performances in the last series, while Kalavitigoda has been omitted because of an injured shoulder. “Kalavitigoda is nursing a shoulder-muscle injury,” said Kaluperuma. “He has not recovered 100%. We decided to rest him to give him time to recover to full fitness.”Kalavitagoda, the right-hand opener, made an instant impact in the only match he played against England A, scoring an impressive 83, a knock which put him on the flight to New Zealand where he went onto make his Test debut at the age of 27. Kaluperuma also said that his committee decided to stick by several tried and tested players who had appeared for Sri Lanka in order to give them an opportunity to regain their places in the national side ahead of the West Indies series that will follow the A tour.He added that for the two-day practice game against West Indies A on June 19-20 at Moratuwa, the selectors would concentrate on picking players from the Under-19 team who are members of the 25-member A-team pool, namely Harsha Vithana, Upul Tharanga, Chamara Kapugedera, Charitha Jayaweera and Gihan de Silva. “We don’t want these players who have been identified as future talent to be thrown into the deep end at once,” said Kaluperuma. ” We want them to come up gradually and make the grade.”The 25-member A-team squad is currently under training under the watchful eyes of coach Stan Nel and the new manager Anura Tennekoon, the former Sri Lankan captain.Sri Lanka A squad
Russel Arnold (capt), Prasanna Jayawardene (vice-capt, wk), Avishka Gunawardena, Ian Daniel, Michael Vandort, Jehan Mubarak, Gayan Wijekoon, Malinga Bandara, Suraj Mohamed, Dilhara Fernando, Ruchira Perera, Dilhara Lokuhettige, Sajeewa Weerakoon, Malintha Gajanayake. Standby players: Upul Tharanga, Nandika Ranjith, Priyankara Silva, Gihan de Silva.

Dilhara Fernando, Sri Lanka’s quickest bowler, is ready to return to international cricket after seven months on the sidelines. Fernando, now 24, has battled his way back to full fitness after a stress fracture – the second of his career – during a quadrangular tournament in Sharjah earlier this year.Champaka Ramanayake, Sri Lanka’s fast-bowling coach, was hopeful that Fernando would return to the Sri Lankan side soon, perhaps even for the first Test against England, which starts on December 2 at Galle. Fernando has been selected in the Sri Lankan Board President’s XI, which will take on England in a three-day warm-up match at the Colombo Cricket Club from November 26.”Dilhara has recovered fully from his spine injury and has been bowling long spells for SSC [Sinhalese Sports Club] in the Premier Trophy competition without any discomfort,” said Ramanayake on Monday. “He has been out of international cricket for nearly seven months and needs to get some exposure against an international team to regain his confidence.”He had a technical error in his bowling action which is called counter rotation which twisted his spine and resulted in the stress fracture. We identified the fault and changed his alignment so that he is bowling more upright now.” Fernando has captured 12 wickets for 220 runs in four matches for SSC in the ongoing Premier Trophy, Sri Lanka’s main first class competition.The other likely contenders for Chaminda Vaas’s new ball partner in the Galle Test include Nuwan Zoysa, Dinusha Fernando and Nuwan Kulasekera. Sri Lanka are only likely to play two fast bowlers, unless conditions aid seam bowling.

Never expect the expected in India. As the one-day international series gets under way in front of some 100,000 people in Eden Gardens, Kolkata, tomorrow, there is no knowing how it will turn out.Even the Indian captain, Sourav Ganguly has said that England will be faced with “an astonishing experience” once they enter the field or, as it will seem to the tourists, the bear-pit of Eden Gardens. The noise, the atmosphere, is like nothing to be encountered anywhere in the rest of the cricketing world.Ganguly, who will be playing in front of his home, adoring crowd, believes that it is impossible to prepare for such an experience.”You won’t be able to hear yourself think because the crowd is so loud. It is something they will never have experienced before.”It becomes a bit of a problem captaining in one of these games because the other players cannot hear you. You have to rely on hand signals, and it’s the same when you’re batting.”Ganguly has been under pressure himself because of a lack of runs and criticism of his captaincy as India struggled to hold onto their lead in the last two Tests of the recently-concluded series. But one-day cricket is a different matter and he is expected to be back at the top of the order to open the innings with Sachin Tendulkar.”I will open with Sachin as usual,” he said. “We have been together for six years, and I think our style of batting means we complement each other.”Sachin is a class act. I sometimes just enjoy being down the other end and watching him bat and I think we rotate the strike very well.”Meanwhile, Ganguly’s opposite number, Nasser Hussain, sees the game and the series as part of the continuing build-up to, eventually, the World Cup in South Africa in 2003. Like a football manager who is keen to play down his side’s chances he says, “We will only learn from the experience. This is why we play the game, big games like this, and we’re all lookingforward to it immensely.”I’d rather be playing in front of a big crowd like this than in front of one man and a dog on a Monday in Chelmsford. Those with strong characters can come through tomorrow and show people that this is what they play the game for.”You have to use it as a positive and the Indian crowd during the Test series were very appreciative of good cricket. They are a knowledgeable crowd and they enjoy their cricket and we have no problems with it.Hussain, born in India himself, is not adverse at putting some pressure back on the home side in the war of words that always precede encounters like these. “There is also a lot of pressure on the Indian team. They have a few young players coming in, they are expecting to win this game in front of a big crowd and we’ve got to make sure we put them under the cosh in front of their home crowd.”The England camp admits that it is struggling to match other countries when it comes to experience of one-day international cricket. There are only four players in this squad who have played in excess of 50 such matches – Hussain himself, Darren Gough, Nick Knight and Graham Thorpe. This is an opportunity to test out not only the techniques of some of the younger players, but also their temperament.”This side is not playing catch-up, this side is starting on its road,” explained Hussain. “It’s got some very young players and it has opportunities that maybe previous sides haven’t had and it’s up to them to take those opportunities.”By that I mean not only learning from your victories but learning from your defeats, learning from the opposition, learning about pressure situations and learning about playing under lights.”I fully believe this side will do well like we did in the Test matches, but that will come from heart and ticker tomorrow night. In a pressure situation with a lot of people watching it will be all about what they have inwardly rather than how many games and what talent they have.”Before they can bother about the mental and cricketing preparation, England have some last-minute physical matters to consider. Marcus Trescothick in particular suffered during yesterday’s warm-up game with a ‘flu-like virus, and Paul Collingwood is another who is not exactly in prime health after going down with a stomach bug.Both, however, were able to train under the Eden Gardens lights in the final practice session and England will probably be prepared to go into the game with some players who might not be 100 per cent fit, but fit enough.It is one of those things that happens in this part of the world, even with modern medical science on hand. It could well be that Trescothick and Collingwood wake up feeling great – and four other members of the team are struck down.Rather than never expecting the expected, perhaps everyone should expect the unexpected. How, for instance, could anyone have forecast that there would be an attempt by a local to prevent the match taking place at all?Kolkata resident, Mr. Subhas Dutta, made a plea in the High Court to the effect that to play under floodlights was a “malicious waste of electricity” while West Bengal suffers with an energy crisis. But the application for an injunction was thrown out. Thankfully – especially for Mr. Dutta, one suspects, in this cricket-crazy city – the game is on.

Gujarat, batting cautiously, scored 209 for five wickets off 90 overs at stumpson the first day of their West Zone Ranji Trophy match against Baroda at theSardar Patel Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad on Friday.Opting to bat, Gujarat lost Vivek Gandhi for a duck in the second over. Theother opener Nilesh Modi (43) and Niraj Patel (40) steadied the innings byadding 80 runs for the second wicket off 39.5 overs. Modi symbolised the Gujaratapproach by taking 201 minutes to compile his runs. He faced 111 balls and hitfive fours. Patel too took his time to get his runs (156 minutes). He faced 133balls and hit only three boundaries. After the fall of both these batsmen,Mukund Parmar (54) and Kirat Damani (37 not out) continued the recovery processby adding 68 runs off 23 overs for the fourth wicket. Parmar batted in a ratheraggressive manner, his runs being scored off just 97 balls with eleven hits tothe fence. But Damani was more circumspect taking 174 minutes over his unbeaten37. He faced 117 balls and hit two fours. Among the bowlers, medium pacersZaheer Khan (2 for 47) and Rakesh Patel (3 for 57) were the pick and deservedlyshared the wickets.