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India took their series-winning streak to ten as they survived a scare when defending 231. Quinton de Kock and Dewald Brevis were dominant in taking South Africa to 118 for 1 in ten overs in the dew, but with a changed drier ball India took four wickets for 15 to scuttle the chase. Jasprit Bumrah was the main difference between the two sides with figures of 4-0-17-2 on a night that 432 runs were scored.Marco Jansen gave India one final scare on a breakout tour with successive sixes in the 16th over, but the fact that India could be assured of winning only after they had taken their eighth wicket underlines how difficult it is to defend totals in the night in India. Which is what makes the assault from Hardik Pandya – second-quickest T20I fifty for India – and Tilak Varma – 73 off 42 – all the more important as they turned around an innings that had begun to plateau.Four India batters, including Hardik and Tilak, hit a boundary first ball; Hardik was the most dangerous of them all, scoring 31 off his first seven balls and ending up with 63 off 25.Samson, Abhishek give India flying startWith Shubman Gill missing because of a foot injury, Sanju Samson served another reminder of his graceful, effortless hitting when the pace is on and the field is up. Abhishek Sharma was his usual self, charging at Lungi Ngidi first ball he faced and scoring 34 off 21. The two added 63 in 5.3 overs.Sanju Samson made 37 in 22 balls•BCCI

South Africa crawl backThat India got off to this start without South Africa bowling poorly was a sign the pitch was good to bat on. George Linde further emphasised it with three straight overs for 19 runs. He also got Samson out bowled with one that pitched leg and hit off. Samson scored 10 off 9 outside the powerplay, which is why despite all the languid grace he is not the first-choice opener. Suryakumar Yadav’s year ended without an international half-century as Linde shut him up and Corbin Bosch lapped up the consequent wicket.Hardik, Tilak turn the game aroundHardik, though, must have immediately made South Africa regret getting Suryakumar out. Like Abhishek and Tilak before him, he charged at a fast bowler first ball and went one better, hitting a six. He didn’t stop there. In the next over he rearranged Linde’s figures with two sixes and two fours. Not one of those balls was overpitched.Tilak hadn’t exactly been slow before Hardik, but now India went both barrels at the bowling. The two added 105 in 7.2 overs, often managing to hit sixes without getting close to the pitch of the ball, which suggested they would need each of those extra runs when they bowled. Shivam Dube also hit a six first ball to make sure South Africa didn’t escape even when the duo got out.Quinton de Kock gave South Africa a blazing start in the powerplay•BCCI

De Kock, Brevis threaten IndiaIn his 100th T20I, having copped a fair few blows on the fingers when keeping, de Kock stunned the crowd in the densest stadium in the world. First he got the better of Arshdeep Singh, scoring 32 off his first two overs and correcting his match-up against him, which previously read 56 balls, 66 runs and five dismissals.Reeza Hendricks’ ordinary career as a T20I opener continued when he gave Varun his first wicket in the seventh over, which only proved to be beneficial for South Africa. Brevis and de Kock teamed up to make Varun’s next over his joint-worst in T20Is, taking 23 off it. Hardik then got half a taste of his own medicine, which made it 42 runs in the two overs leading up to the drinks break and a ball change.Bumrah starts a never-ending slideBumrah bowled the first of his three remaining overs with the drier ball, and immediately had de Kock hitting an offcutter back to him. Somehow the ball stuck in his arms, and India got some room to breathe. Hardik bowled smartly to deny Brevis a hit into the shorter straight boundaries, getting him caught at deep midwicket with a slower bouncer.Varun Chakravarthy took two wickets in two overs to dent South Africa•BCCI

Varun’s night turned again as he had both Aiden Markram and Donovon Ferreira in successive balls. Markram had just managed the rare feat of successfully charging at Varun when he went down for a lap shot and was given lbw with an umpire’s call on impact. An identical wrong’un bowled Ferreira through the gate.David Miller did his reputation of being just a good frontrunner no harm as he fell for 18 off 14, but India still couldn’t breathe easy. One last time, on a tour that he has been the standout player and has played every match of, Jansen got stuck into Varun, making his the costliest four-for in T20Is.Fifty-five off the last four might have still been entertained had Bumrah not had two overs remaining. He got Jansen with a slower ball to seal the win for India.

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Farhad Reza scored a quickfire 31 to help the Bangladeshis secure a four-wicket win © Getty Images

Bangladesh defeated a New Zealand Cricket (NZC) XI by four wickets in a day-night Twenty20 game in Hamilton to pick up their first win of the tour. After the Bangladeshi bowlers had restricted NZC XI to a modest 133, Farhad Reza’s 17-ball 31 propelled the visitors to a win with three overs to spare.Sent in, NZC XI had a slow start reaching 19 for 2 in 5.3 overs. They were propped up by James Marshall and Scott Styris who added 39 for the fifth wicket. Marshall top scored with an unbeaten 33, which included one six and a four. For the Bangladeshis, opening bowler Shahadat Hossain took 3 for 15 off his four overs.The visitors’ chase began poorly with the openers falling cheaply but the next five batsmen contributed with scores over 20 to ensure victory. Three run-outs had threatened to derail the Bangladeshis’ reply, but Reza and Mehrab Hossain jnr added 47 for the sixth wicket to ease their side’s concerns. Michael Mason was the most effective NZC XI bowler, conceding only 21 runs off his four overs.After having lost two of their three previous games of the tour – with one match abandoned, the Bangladeshis will take some confidence from this win, which comes ahead of the first ODI against New Zealand on Wednesday.The game was a charity match to help raise funds for people affected by Cyclone Sidr, which ripped through Bangladesh in November and killed more than 3000 people. The ICC also donated US$250,000 to the Bangladesh Relief Fund at the start of the match.

Shane Bond won’t be playing at Hamilton, and neither will Daniel Vettori © Getty Images

New Zealand have announced that they will not be playing their two premier bowlers in the final match of the Chappell-Hadlee series against Australia at Hamilton on Tuesday. Having taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series in emphatic fashion, New Zealand decided not to take any risks with Daniel Vettori and Shane Bond, who are both carrying slight niggles.Vettori is suffering from a sore back while Bond has some hamstring stiffness. New Zealand followed up the first ten-wicket win against Australia with an exciting chase of 337 at Auckland on Sunday.The final match gives Jeetan Patel, the lone spinner in the mix with Vettori missing, a chance to showcases his wares. It’s also another opportunity for Peter Fulton, who returned to the New Zealand team with a calm and composed unbeaten 76, to get another innings under his belt.New Zealand team 1 Lou Vincent, 2 Stephen Fleming (capt), 3 Ross Taylor, 4 Scott Styris, 5 Peter Fulton, 6 Craig McMillan, 7 Brendon McCullum (wk), 8 James Franklin, 9 Mark Gillespie, 10 Jeetan Patel, 11 Daryl Tuffey.

Andrew Symonds’s one-day spot is untouchable, but his Test position is under threat from Shane Watson © Getty Images

Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson will spend the one-day tour of South Africa fighting for the allrounder’s spot for the three Tests starting in March. Watson has returned to the international squad after only two first-class matches and if his limited-overs comeback is successful he will put Symonds under extreme pressure to hold his place in the longer game.Symonds found his way slowly at Test level this summer, finally breaking free with a powerful half-century and five wickets with his medium pace at the MCG, after replacing Watson when he partially dislocated his shoulder at Brisbane. Trevor Hohns, the chairman of selectors, said Watson would be considered for the Test side “now that he is fit and playing again”.Watson, who has appeared in three Tests and 40 ODIs, said the situation was tight. “In the whole package there is not much between us,” he said in . “Roy’s [Symonds’s] fielding is amazing consistently. I hold my own, but he is one of the world’s best fielders. All I can do is continue to develop my bowling, which is obviously a major part, especially with Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne coming to the end of their careers.”The addition of Watson and Mitchell Johnson, his Queensland team-mate, in the 14-man touring squad disappointed Darren Lehmann, the South Australia captain. “We are close to being in the finals of the one-day competition and we still can’t get anyone in the Australian side,” Lehmann said in . “We have one of the leading run-scorers [Mark Cosgrove] and blokes who are getting wickets.”Lehmann feared the announcement meant that Jason Gillespie’s international career was over. “The big thing is they have probably moved on from `Dizzy’,” he said. “They are probably not looking at him for the next World Cup. It looks like they have made their decision.”Geoff Lawson, the former Test bowler, said Johnson’s selection was a disgrace after only eight wickets in the ING Cup this season. “His stats do not stack up,” Lawson told Sydney radio . “There are 25 bowlers in Australian cricket who have much better numbers than him. So how he gets in the team is an absolute disgrace.”

Mubarak’s success had resulted in captaincy of Sri Lanka A once again© CricInfo

Jehan Mubarak will lead Sri Lanka A against England later this month in twounofficial four-day Tests. The national selectors, who met on Tuesday,picked a squad of 15 players for the two games, which are to be played atCCC Grounds from March 7-10 and at the NCC grounds from March 13-16.Mubarak, a 24-year-old left-hander, has been retained after a glowing tourreport in England last year when he led Sri Lanka A to victory in eight outof ten matches against the English Counties, who admittedly did not playfull-strength teams. They only lost one game to Somerset, the last match,and drew one match with the West Indians.Mubarak’s success in England prompted the selectors to fast-track him backinto the national side against Pakistan in October, a controversial movethat led to Tillakaratne Dilshan being ousted from the team against thewishes of Marvan Atapattu, the national captain. Under intense pressure,Mubarak was unable to clinch his opportunity but clearly remains in theselectors’ thoughts for the future.Thilana Kandamby, who has been in scintillating form for Central province inthe last two weeks, has been appointed Mubarak’s deputy for the tour. He has rattled off two centuries and his average before the current tournament final was 98.66. Kandamby also toured England with the A team in 2004, as did a total of 10 players selected in the squad.The new faces include fast bowlers Nandika Ranjith and Chanaka Welagedera,both of who are left-armers and play for North Central Province. Malinga Bandara , the legspinner, and Sajeewa Weerakoon, an orthodox slow left-armer who wasthe leading wicket-taker in last year’s Premier League with 50 wickets, plusbatsman Anushka Polonawita are the others given an opportunity to press fora place in the senior squad.Selection sources have also revealed that there is a chance that a handfulof the squad will also be selected for Sri Lanka’s postponed tour of NewZealand which starts at the end of the month. That team is expected to benamed next week.Squad Jehan Mubarak (capt)(CCC), Thilina Kandamby, (Bloomfield), Avaishka Gunawardene (SSC), Ian Daniel (Bloomfield), Shantha Kalavitigoda (Colts), Anushka Polonowita (CCC), Malintha Gajanayake (Chilaw Marians), Gayan Wijekoon (Chilaw Marians), Prasanna Jayawardene (NCC), Thilina Thushara (NCC), Nandika Ranjith (Tamil Union), Chanaka Welagedera (Moors SC), Malinga Bandara (Galle CC), Sajeewa Weerakoon (BRC), Suraj Mohamed (SSC).

Close v Pakistan
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Shoaib Akhtar traps Stephen Fleming in front as Pakistan get off to a rousing start © AFP

Having decided to bat first, New Zealand struggled to 151 for 5 on a day in which only 71 overs were possible in the second Test against Pakistan at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. Shoaib Akhtar was the star performer for Pakistan, bowling with plenty of fire to take 3 for 14 from 11 hostile overs, but Mark Richardson retrieved the situation somewhat with a typically dogged unbeaten 53.Coming back from a hamstring strain that kept him out of the first Test, Shoaib bowled fast enough to send at least one delivery down at 157 kmph, but he was also handled carefully by Inzamam-ul-Haq. Shoaib bowled only short spells, and that was still enough to cause all manner of problems for the New Zealanders. However, on completing his 11th over he pulled up lame and was in obvious discomfort when leaving the field.The match started under gloomy skies, and only 2.5 overs had been bowled when the players went off for bad light. It was enough time, though, for Shoaib to create more misery for Lou Vincent (0), who was beaten by a quick delivery which crashed through his defences (1 for 1). When they returned 30 minutes after the lunch break, Shoaib trapped Stephen Fleming in front with his first ball, which was also the last of his still-to-be-completed second over.It then became a battle for New Zealand to try and recover the situation. Richard Jones, playing his first Test, worked hard with Richardson but after scoring 16, Jones inside-edged an Abdul Razzaq delivery onto his stumps (41 for 3).Scott Styris upped the momentum, using the straight-drive to good effect. By the tea break he had scored 25, only three less than the more stolid Richardson. Styris was on the offensive immediately after the break but a promising innings ended on 36 when Akhtar returned to the attack and bowled a fast rising ball which Styris failed to evade. The nick was easily taken by Moin Khan (94 for 4).Styris was replaced by Craig McMillan, who shared a 51-run stand withRichardson. Richardson’s patience was rewarded with the 17th half-century of his career, which took all of 262 minutes to achieve. But of the many battling, grafting innings Richardson has played for the country, it was among the most valuable. McMillan was beginning to grow in confidence when he received a controversial lbw decision from Asoka de Silva off Shabbir Ahmed. McMillan had scored 26 and television evidence showed an inside edge onto his pad (145 for 5).Soon after, Robbie Hart, the nightwatchman, survived an appeal for caught behind off his gloves from Shoaib, a decision which upset the Pakistanis. Shoaib then bowled a short ball that struck Hart on the head. But in pushing for more pace, Akhtar strained himself and was unable to bowl the last over of the day. Richardson had been solid in defence throughout, and he will play the critical role in ensuring that New Zealand drive home the advantage of winning the toss.

New Zealand’s failure to better the country’s sorry record in the finals of the Australian tri-series dominated the newspaper headlines today.While the Australians tended to look towards their next series against South Africa, the winners, the New Zealand viewpoint looked again at the continuing problems the side faces in building a game plan.The New Zealand Herald: “It was New Zealand’s fifth consecutive tri-series loss and not only meant a 2-0 defeat in the best-of-three finals but a fifth unsuccessful attempt at lifting the silverware.”It was also something of a tepid finish to a campaign which had promised the unthinkable at the halfway mark, as New Zealand led the competition with three wins from four games.”Try as they might, the New Zealand top order could not find an effective mix of attack and defence, and were tormented by a South African attack which proved just as parsimonious as on Wednesday night.”The only period of relief for the New Zealanders during the opening stanzas was when a spectacular electrical storm hit the SCG, flooding the ground and delaying play for 90 minutes.”When New Zealand left the ground their innings was in dire straits at 75 for five, and it was only some desperate work from Chris Cairns – last man out for 57 – and Chris Harris which enabled the total to be boosted to 175 and avoided complete embarrassment.”The Sydney Morning Herald: “South Africa emerged from the near white-out of a blistering hailstorm to convert their recent history of domination of New Zealand into a major limited-over triumph with a 2-0 series wipeout of the Black Caps at the SCG last night.”Only Chris Cairns’s discretion and a splash of devastation in his 73-ball innings of 57 carried the ailing Black Caps past the 40-over mark as they sank to a 14th loss from their past 15 limited-over internationals against South Africa.”An effortless flick of the wrists by Cairns deposited a Lance Klusener (2-30) delivery over the fence at long-on before the punishing all-rounder drove the catch to Nicky Boje at the base of the Hill after his 75-run partnership from 115 balls for the sixth wicket with Chris Harris (31).”But for the best part of the final, the Black Caps struggled against the speed of Allan Donald (3-29) and Shaun Pollock (1-24), the medium-paced wiles of Jacques Kallis (3-23) and Klusener and relentless accuracy of finger spinner Boje (0-21).”The Weekend Australian: “South African captain Shaun Pollock said his team did some soul-searching mid-tournament after three consecutive losses as the turning point.”‘We went to Adelaide and re-assessed and discussed with the team where we could go forward and just asked everyone to stand up and be counted, and the guys have done that,’ Pollock said last night.”New Zealand captain [Stephen] Fleming said the Kiwis expended too much energy in their early performances and suffered from injuries and mistakes – particularly against arch-foe South Africa – as the series progressed.”The Kiwi openers Lou Vincent and Nathan Astle got their side off to a slow start last night, enduring more than four overs without scoring despite escalating taunts from the crowd.”It was quite literally the calm before several storms.”

Karl Krikken and Nathan Dumelow rescued Derbyshire after Durham spinner Nicky Phillips had sparked another all too familiar batting failure.When Phillips snared his third victim, Derbyshire were 187-6 but Krikken and Dumelow added 52 to take the score to 239-6 when bad light halted play at 5.10.Derbyshire have yet to make 300 in an innings this season but they made a promising start after Tim Munton won the toss and decided to bat.Steve Stubbings and Luke Sutton added 47 in 11 overs before the latter was caught behind off Ian Hunter for 15.Stubbings went in the next over when he edged Steve Harmison to second slip where Phillips took a smart catch but he missed an easier one seven overs later that allowed Mathew Dowman to escape on 12.Dowman played several elegant strokes through the offside but he squandered his wicket when he walked down the pitch to Phillips and was bowled for 45.By then, Michael Di Venuto had again departed cheaply, caught behind cutting at Phillips for 19 and when Harmison got one to lift on Rob Bailey, Derbyshire had lost their top order for 157.Graeme Welch became Phillips’s third victim when he edged a drive to slip but Krikken played well and was given sound support by Dumelow who again showed he is a player of potential.Krikken was struck painfully in the ribs by Harmison before the light closed in and will resume the second day five short of a half-century.

Tottenham’s campaign has descended into minor chaos following Sunday’s humiliating 3-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest, leaving Thomas Frank fighting to get fans back on side.

The club are also simultaneously planning January recruitment, as confirmed by Frank himself, and the under-fire tactician may be in grave need of it.

The Dane’s struggling side have managed just one victory across their last seven Premier League games, tasting six defeats from 16 to languish in mid-table.

Sunday’s comprehensive loss at the City Ground represented arguably Frank’s worst performance since arriving from Brentford, with his team thoroughly outplayed and managing only one shot on target in 90 minutes.

It is a far cry from where they want to be after winning the Europa League last season, and Spurs’ lack of creativity going forward has been a key theme of their campaign at times.

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Pressure continues mounting on Frank’s shoulders despite the board publicly backing him.

ENIC and the Lewis family injected £100 million of fresh capital into the club in October, signaling their commitment to supporting the manager despite growing frustrations among supporters.

Frank has stated that Tottenham will “definitely” be active when the window opens, hoping for signings as early as possible.

Work apparently began immediately after September’s deadline, with recruitment meetings establishing comprehensive target lists across every position.

However, wingers are rumoured to be the primary focus, despite Dominic Solanke’s prolonged injury absence and inconsistent contributions from Richarlison, Randal Kolo Muani and Mathys Tel.

Chief among their targets is Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo, with Fabrizio Romano confirming that Spurs have aggressively pursued the Ghanaian in recent days.

Now, TEAMtalk have shared just how far they’re willing to go to win the race for his signature before Man City, Liverpool and Man United.

Tottenham now prepared to make Semenyo their highest-paid player

Indeed, it is now believed that Tottenham are prepared to shatter their wage structure in a bold attempt to secure the Cherries winger, even making him their highest-paid player.

Sources indicate Spurs have emerged as the “most active” suitor for the 25-year-old in recent days, with Frank viewing him as a potentially transformational addition to his struggling forward line.

Bournemouth have inserted a £65 million release clause into his deal which becomes active on January 1 — available only during a limited early-window period before dropping to £50 million next summer.

Subscribe to our newsletter for transfer insight Get deeper transfer-market analysis by subscribing to the newsletter, detailed breakdowns of Tottenham recruitment, the Semenyo pursuit and how signings could reshape squads, plus wider transfer context and expert analysis. Subscribe Subscribe to our newsletter for transfer insight Get deeper transfer-market analysis by subscribing to the newsletter, detailed breakdowns of Tottenham recruitment, the Semenyo pursuit and how signings could reshape squads, plus wider transfer context and expert analysis.

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However, City remain the frontrunners despite Tottenham’s financial firepower.

Pep Guardiola’s side have maintained steady dialogue with Semenyo’s representatives, with personal terms understood to be ‘advanced’.

Liverpool continue monitoring developments closely, with Arne Slot an admirer of Semenyo’s high-pressing capabilities. Man United have also made enquiries, but trail the leading trio in negotiations.

Bournemouth prefer retaining their standout performer until next summer when the reduced clause activates, though they accept a big-money exit is inevitable.

The club have already identified FC Basel’s Philip Otele as a potential replacement should Semenyo depart, which looks increasingly likely as Spurs and their top-flight rivals up the ante.

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	Ashraful has demanded his side perform to their best abilities ahead of the two Tests © Getty Images

Mohammad Ashraful demands Bangladesh give it all in the third and final one-day international in Queenstown after an “unacceptable” performance in the second match. Bangladesh have already conceded the best-of-three series 2-0 to New Zealand but Ashraful felt his side could come back hard ahead of the two Tests.”I believe we can recover from the performance in Napier,” he told the . “Our effort in that match was not up to our usual standard and we’re capable of playing much better than that hopefully we can prove that here in Queenstown.”We need to lift our game in all the main areas but particularly in terms of producing a better performance in our middle order. We can’t afford to lose wickets so quickly; we need to make better decisions when the pressure is on.”From Queenstown, Bangladesh will travel to Dunedin to begin preparations for the first Test. Ashraful, 23, was glad to have the services of Test specialists Habibul Bashar, Shahriar Nafees and Enamul Haque jnr, who fly into Auckland today. Bangladesh have a single win in 49 Tests, against a weak Zimbabwe side in 2004-05, and Ashraful called on his players to play hard against New Zealand.Assessing the opposition, who were completely outclassed in a two-Test series in South Africa recently, Ashraful felt they were a formidable side. “I don’t think New Zealand are vulnerable in the Tests, despite what happened to them in South Africa,” he said. “They’re a good side; they fight very hard and they’re especially tough to play in their own conditions.”The second and final Test, also the last match of the tour, starts in Wellington on January 12.