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Otago’s success in taking the first innings points proved invaluable. With the abandonment of play, it secured the four points from the game and took an 8-4 points lead in the Southern Zone competition, which has two games to be played, in Ashburton on Friday, and Westport on Sunday.Otago did well to pass a solid Canterbury total, especially when without Chris Gaffaney, the star of the game the day before in Gore. Andrew Hore’s good form in club cricket was reflected in the early part of the innings while Lee Germon showed he was well on the way to making a significant impact for the side in the latter part of this series and in future commitments for the side.Craig Cumming’s form was welcome after some disappointment in Gore and the sight of Karl O’Dowda guiding the side to victory with a controlled innings was a hint of the role he might have in the Shell Cup later in the summer.Canterbury enjoyed a profitable assault when Warren Wisneski was at the crease and there’s no doubt when he gets cracking from the outset the impetus is well and truly applied to the innings. With some hard-hitting players further down the order like Darren Reekers, Cleighten Cornelius and Stephen Cunis there is a hint that a huge score is not far away for Canterbury, but it needs to produce the goods soon.It’s not really fair being a bowler in these games, but for the bowler’s who get their length right the rewards are to be had and Otago’s Kerry Walmsley, who conceded only one run in the ninth over of the Canterbury innings, and Canterbury’s left-arm spinner Danny Bulman, who was sitting on a hat-trick, showed rewards could be had.The pressure goes on Otago in the last two games, as it will be without Walmsley, who is off to South Africa.

	David Hussey was Victoria’s best player in all three competitions in 2007-08 © Getty Images

David Hussey enjoyed a cleansweep of Victoria’s state awards on Tuesday, just hours after he was chosen in Australia’s ODI squad to tour the West Indies in June. It will be Hussey’s first trip with the national team and it comes after a prolific season that resulted in him being named as Victoria’s best player in the Pura Cup, FR Cup and KFC Twenty20.Hussey was the state’s leading run scorer in all three competitions and was an integral part in them reaching every final in 2007-08. He took home the Bill Lawry Medal as the Pura Cup Player of the Year after recording his best tally in a season, 1008 runs at 56, which was second only to Simon Katich across the country.He added the Dean Jones Medal to his stack of prizes thanks to an FR Cup campaign that brought 484 runs at 44, including the second-fastest century in Australian domestic one-day history. The Twenty20 honour was a formality after he scored 237 runs at 47.40 and was named as the tournament’s Player of the Year at last month’s Australian Cricketers’ Association awards.The Ryder Medal, awarded to the best player in Melbourne’s premier grade cricket competition, went to Steven Spoljaric, a Hawthorn-Monash University allrounder who has been the runner-up twice in the past three years. He beat the sometime Victoria one-day player Grant Lindsay by one vote, while Sarah Edwards was named the top women’s cricketer having scored 214 runs at 30.57 in the WNCL.

Khaled Mashud will be looking to prove a point to coach Dav Whatmore, after being dropped for the World Cup © Getty Images

Khaled Mashud, the veteran wicketkeeper, has been included in the Bangladesh team for the two-Test series against India. Allrounders Saqibul Hasan and Mehrab Hossan jnr find a place in the Test side for the first time while batsman Tushar Imran earns a recall two years after his last appearance. Mohammad Ashraful, has been named vice-captain, which follows his appointment as the same for the ODI team.Aftab Ahmed was a surprise omission, having taken part in Bangladesh’s previous Test campaign, when they took on Australia early last year. Enamul Haque jnr takes the place of Abdur Razzak, who has been a regular at the one-day level. The series will have added significance to Mashud, who will be looking to re-establish himself in the Bangladesh side after losing his place in the ODI team to the young Mushfiqur Rahim and as a result missing the World Cup as well.The first Test begins at Chittagong on May 18 and will be followed by the second at Mirpur starting on May 25.Bangladesh Test squadHabibul Bashar (capt), Mohammad Ashraful, Javed Omar, Shahriar Nafees, Saqibul Hasan, Rajin Saleh, Tushar Imran, Khaled Mashud (wk), Mohammad Rafique, Enamul Haque jnr, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shahadat Hossain, Syed Rasel, Mehrab Hossain jnr

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Owais Shah fell 12 short of a well-deserved hundred © Getty Images

Fortunes ebbed and flowed on an intriguing second day at Mumbai, at the close of which the match was superbly poised, with England perhaps marginally in front. Despite a powerful hand by debutant Owais Shah, who fell just 12 short of a hundred on debut, England collapsed to 400, before hitting back strongly with the ball. India were reduced to 28 for 3 – the casualties included Sachin Tendulkar – before Yuvraj Singh and Rahul Dravid revived the innings with a fluent 61-run stand, leaving India 311 adrift at close of play.After only three wickets fell on the opening day, there was plenty more excitement on the second. Sreesanth and Munaf Patel led India’s fightback with the ball, ensuring that seven wickets fell for 74 to limit England to a manageable total, but then the Indian batsmen themselves struggled against a hostile and incisive England attack, till Yuvraj and Dravid pulled the innings back on track.The Wankhede Stadium pitch was still a fine one for batting, with even pace and carry, but it has afforded the bowlers encouragement by way of bounce, and Matthew Hoggard and co. exploited that to the hilt when India came out to bat just before tea. Sehwag’s position as Hoggard’s bunny was further reinforced, as was his shortcoming against the short ball. Hoggard has now nailed him six times – more than any other bowler – but more than that, it was the manner of dismissal – gloving a bouncer to slip – that will cause the Indian think-tank plenty of concern.Wasim Jaffer was quickly consumed by a short ball as well, and when Tendulkar, the other home boy, pottered 20 balls and then reached out and nicked a wide ball, India had managed all of 28 runs in 18 overs, with three top-order batsmen in the hutch.England’s strategy was superb, and the implementation even better. Hoggard, Flintoff and even James Anderson – the least threatening of the three bowlers – gave the batsmen little to drive on the front foot. The good-length balls were mixed with a generous dose of short deliveries, keeping the batsmen pinned back. And despite taking early wickets, Flintoff refrained from over-attacking and over-crowding the slip cordon, ensuring there were enough fielders in the ring to cut off the singles.The advent of Yuvraj, though, shifted the momentum completely, with 61 coming off the next 18.5. The sublime form he has been in over the last few months showed immediately, as he launched into sumptuous drives and flicks – one extra-cover drive off Anderson, early in his innings, was especially glorious. His first 30 runs came off 27 balls, and with Dravid playing his anchor’s part to perfection, Flintoff was suddenly forced to post fielders on the boundary. England’s second spin option, Shaun Udal, was a liability too, and England quickly switched back to pace to keep a lid on the runs as India ended the day breathing far easier.If the third-wicket stand would have pleased Dravid, then so would have the team’s performance with the ball, after an ordinary first day. Despite reprieving Flintoff thrice off Munaf Patel – including drops off successive balls – the bowlers fought back superbly, with Sreesanth in the forefront. He got rid of Paul Collingwood, ending an 84-run stand for the fourth wicket, which started the slide, and then quickly got rid of Geraint Jones as well, paving the way for the other bowlers to make their mark.And Munaf did, with two wickets in two balls to further dent England’s hopes of a total in the vicinity of 450. Any bowler might have felt that the force wasn’t with him after his run of bad luck, but Munaf bowled with heart and courage, and ultimately deserved more than just the two wickets in his bowling analysis.Through the mayhem at the other end, Shah stood his ground. Resuming on 50 after an attack of cramps the previous day, he played with skill, flair, and plenty of common sense. His strokeplay was sumptuous, the defence solid, and his batting with the tail extremely purposeful. Unbeaten on 65 when the eighth wicket fell, Shah assumed the role of senior batsman, nurdling the singles towards the end of the over to keep strike, but also not missing out on opportunities to crunch a couple of powerful boundaries despite a well spread-out field. Just 12 short of becoming the 17th centurion on debut for England – and second in this series – Shah fell, caught quite brilliantly at slip by Dravid. Harbhajan then wrapped up the innings to finish with three – a rich haul given his poor form – though by close of play England had struck back to leave the match perfectly poised.How they were out
IndiaVirender Sehwag c Shah b Hoggard 6 (9 for 1)
Wasim Jaffer c Jones b Hoggard 11 (24 for 2)
Sachin Tendulkar c Jones b Anderson 1 (28 for 3)
England
Paul Collingwood c Dhoni b Sreesanth 31 (326 for 4)
Andrew Flintoff c Tendulkar b Kumble 50 (328 for 5)
Geraint Jones c Kumble b Sreesanth 1 (333 for 6)
Shaun Udal lbw b Munaf 9 (356 for 7)
Matthew Hoggard b Munaf 0 (356 for 8)
Owais Shah c Dravid b Harbhajan 88 (385 for 9)
James Anderson c Yuvraj b Harbhajan 15 (400 all out)

The headaches continue for Sourav Ganguly© AFP

Sourav Ganguly is unlikely to play in the crucial fifth one-day international against Pakistan, despite being free to do so after the Indian board appealed against his six-match ban. Sources in the board have indicated that Ganguly was likely to sit out the match.Halfway through Thursday, even after the team had concluded its practice session at the Green Park stadium in Kanpur, they did not know whether Ganguly would be playing or not. He had not reached Kanpur, and Rahul Dravid, who will lead the team in Ganguly’s absence, was unable to say with certainty whether he would play or not. “We have not been intimated about it and we are preparing as normal,” Dravid told the press at a routine pre-match briefing. Saddled with leading the team at the last moment, Dravid did not complain, only saying: “It’s a great challenge [to captain India]. The team is looking forward to the game, and I hope to get support from the squad.”This comes subsequent to Ganguly appointing two lawyers to handle his appeal. Sidhartha Shankar Ray, the veteran lawyer, and Usha Nath Banerjee, the board’s counsel, will be representing him once again. These two successfully handled Ganguly’s previous appeal, when he was banned for one Test match by Clive Lloyd for India’s slow over rate in the Platinum Jubilee one-dayer against Pakistan.”I am happy to argue for the Indian captain again,” Ray was quoted as saying in a Bengali newspaper. Ganguly also found support for his appeal from the board in the form of Rajeev Shukla, the vice-president. “The appeal is justified because banning the captain for six matches is too harsh,” Shukla was quoted as saying by AFP.

Down the hatch – Flintoff bends his back and gets the desired result© Getty Images

It’s been a long time coming – 36 years to be precise, in case anyone has failed to notice – but England are finally within touching distance of their first series win in the Caribbean since 1968. Another dominant bowling performance has left England in command of the third Test, and judging by the morning papers, it was not just superlatives that were flowing in Barbados last night.For yesterday’s main man was the people’s favourite, Andrew Flintoff, whose quest for a maiden Test "Michelle [five-for]" has finally come to fruition. "Flint Stoned" proclaimed a worryingly ambiguous headline in The Sun, although the potential misinterpretation was quickly cleared up by the sub-heading: "Fired-up Freddie skittles Windies with five-star show."As The Mirror’s Mike Walters pointed out, Flintoff is soon to become a father for the first time, and with 12,000 of his most ardent supporters in Barbados to celebrate on his behalf, there was plenty of wetting of the baby’s head going on last night. "As the Barmy Army spilled into Bridgetown’s beach bars last night," enthused Walters, "everyone agreed: Flintoff is Daddy Cool."Angus Fraser in The Independent joined in the chorus of approval. "The bars of Bridgetown will reap the benefits of Flintoff’s toil," he declared, "even if Brian Lara’s side do not." The Daily Mail’s Mike Dickson, on the other hand, predicted the opposite effect – at least by day. "Flintoff’s batting has for some time emptied the bars," he wrote, "but his bowling has never been quite so dramatic. Until yesterday, that is."Even Christopher Martin-Jenkins was going with the flow, although his focus was on a less hedonistic aspect of the day’s play. Seizing on Michael Vaughan’s "bold, if unnecessary" decision to field first on winning the toss, CMJ wrote in The Times: "It was akin to the Boat Race captain choosing the Middlesex bend in the hope of getting a commanding advantage early in the contest."Settling into a steady rhythm, CMJ’s metaphor raced past Craven Cottage and down towards Hammersmith Bridge. "If, on this occasion, England were ahead by rather more than a canvas after the early clash of blades, West Indies held on past Harrods to leave everyone guessing about which crew would be ahead when Chiswick Bridge hove into view."What happened here was simply a mirror image of West Indies versus England in the 1980s," added CMJ. "It is exactly what Clive Lloyd or Viv Richards would have done when 2-0 up in a series and armed with four strong and confident fast bowlers." And even if The Daily Telegraph’s Derek Pringle remained unconvinced by the wisdom of the decision, thanks to Freddie, he could hardly carp about its success: "It was made to look like divine inspiration rather than a reckless gamble."”Rampaging in from the Southern End and hammering the ball into a pitch offering some life, the Lancastrian’s bullish fast bowling blew the stuffing out of the West Indies innings,” wrote Mike Selvey in The Guardian, adding that the key moment of the day was his dismissal of Lara, just as he was looking set for his first big innings of the series. “Lara stood in the crease,” added Selvey, “and pushed his helmet to the back of his head in disbelief." As well he might, for at that moment England had seized control of the game.But, as Marcus Trescothick’s late wicket demonstrated, all hope has not yet been abandoned by the Caribbean’s commentators. Tony Cozier, a vociferous critic of West Indies’ performances in the first two Tests, was as overjoyed as the eight fast bowlers in this match to see a nice, bouncy, green-tinged pitch that reminded him of years gone by. Writing in The Independent, he went out of his way to praise the new head groundsman at Bridgetown, Richard Applewaite."What [Applewaite] presented at Kensington yesterday was not a lawn," said Cozier, "but in appearance at least, it is the kind of surface on which Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, Colin Croft, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh and their accomplices ensured 11 successive West Indies victories on the ground between 1978 and 1994."And Tony Becca, writing in the Jamaica Gleaner, predicted that this Test would be "short and spicy", even if he lamented the lack of home support. "[Although] surrounded in their own backyard by an army of British fans, this match could still be close and exciting." We await West Indies’ response with interest.

Suspended leg-spinner Stuart MacGill has apologised to his New South Wales teammates for the two-match ban which could cost the Blues dearly in the battle for a Pura Cup final spot.MacGill was last night suspended for crude and abusive behaviour in Sunday’s ING Cup one-day match against Tasmania.The ban has ruled MacGill – the Blues’ leading wicket-taker this season – out of NSW’s crucial Pura Cup game against Victoria at the MCG starting tomorrow.NSW skipper Steve Waugh says MacGill apologised to him and teammates last night.But Waugh says MacGill must now learn from his mistake and make sure he doesn’t do it again.MacGill has a poor disciplinary record, with several fines for crude and abusive behaviour prior to the weekend’s misdemeanour.If third-placed NSW is beaten by the second-placed Bushrangers, it would virtually rule the Blues out of a spot in this year’s Pura Cup final.

Mike Burns and Peter Bowler batted Somerset into firm control on the openingday against Glamorgan at Taunton.After the visitors had capitulated to 169 all out against Andy Caddick(5-84) and Richard Johnson (4-33), Somerset raced to 246-3 off 54 overs inreply.Burns led the way with a blistering 81 off just 66 balls, with 12 fours anda straight six off Robert Croft. Bowler was 63 not out at the close, havingreached his fifty off 71 balls, with seven boundaries.Their stand of 135 in 20 overs took the game away from Glamorgan after thefall in quick succession of Jamie Cox and Marcus Trescothick had leftSomerset 58-2.Mark Lathwell also looked in good touch, making an undefeated 34, and thehome side will now be hopeful of maximum batting points to boost their titlechallenge.Earlier, Caddick had boosted his confidence, recovering from a poor openingspell at the River End to take 5-61 from 14 overs either side of lunch. Hemade the ball rise steeply from short of a length at the Old Pavilion End.Glamorgan looked well placed when opening pair Steve James and Jimmy Maherput together a stand of 59, but the rest of their batsmen struggled.Maher reached a half-century off 56 balls and went on to score 62 beforefalling victim to a legside catch from wicket-keeper Rob Turner off Caddick.Johnson cleaned up the tail after removing James for impressive figures of4-33.

Under Unai Emery, Arsenal are going through a massive rebuild and the fans in the Transfer Tavern are excited to see what changes will be made ahead of the new season. 

Arsenal’s new boss has already sealed deals for Stephan Lichtsteiner, Bernd Leno and most recently, former Dortmund man, Sokratis Papastathopoulos. However, it’s not just the first-team the club are looking to reshape but also it’s youth academy and are now linked with a move for Sunderland’s Sam Greenwood.

The Breakdown

According to ESPN, Arsenal are set to beat Manchester United and Stuttgart to the signing of the under-16 star.

Greenwood is regarded as one of the best young talents in his age group and has represented England at under-16 level. The young striker scored 21 goals in 26 appearances for Sunderland’s under-16s and 18s last season, which led to a host of Europe’s top clubs showing an interest.

Greenwood also turned down a new deal to remain at the club which opened the door for Manchester United and Arsenal to attempt to sign the youngster.

Sunderland’s academy has had a successful few years with the likes of Jordan Henderson, Duncan, Duncan Watmore and Jordan Pickford all progressing into the first-team.

With Sunderland now in League One, youth players have more chance of getting first-team football but with the club coming off back-to-back relegations, it seems it may be quite hard to keep some of their top talents who want to play at a higher level.

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Signing Greenwood could be an excellent steal for a new look Arsenal.

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	Ryan Harris’ three-year deal with Queensland as a non-overseas player conflicts with ECB regulations © Getty Images

Sussex have confirmed Ryan Harris has terminated his contract with the club with immediate effect. The county was forced to withdraw Harris from their Championship opener against Hampshire at The Rose Bowl on Wednesday after he signed a three-year deal with Queensland.Harris, who grew up in and appeared for South Australia, was originally picked up as a Kolpak player and joined on the basis he held a British passport and met current ECB regulations. However, the conditions also stipulate players cannot perform in another country as a local.”This has been a very difficult decision for Ryan but the only decision he could make after it was announced on Wednesday that he had signed a three-year contract with Queensland to play as a local player and not as an overseas player,” Gus Mackay, Sussex’s chief executive, said.”This is extremely disappointing for the club given that Ryan is an exciting cricketer who we were looking forward to being part of our title defence.” Harris played in the season’s traditional curtain raiser – Sussex, the County Champions, against MCC – and bowled swiftly at Lord’s last week, picking up 4 for 36.