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Division One

Points Table

Peter Trego sends David Fulton on his way at Lord’s © Splod

Kent were indebted to an amazing last-wicket stand of 135 between Justin Kemp and Amjad Khan to rescue their first innings against Middlesex. The pair came together with Kent struggling on 249 for 9, after wasting the earlier efforts of Robert Key who made 94. But Kemp and Khan flayed the ball around, with Kemp reaching his second century of the season. Khan was no slouch, and actually struck more boundaries – 10 – than his more recognised batting partner. The stand began as a frustration for Middlesex and rapidly turned into something serious as they are in desperate need of a win to ease their relegation fears. Kent, meanwhile, will have gratefully welcomed the extra batting points as they chase Nottinghamshire at the top of the table. Jamie Dalrymple eventually ended the stand, but the pick of the attack was Alan Richardson who worked through 27 overs for his three wickets. Paul Trego also snapped up three in the morning, while Yogesh Golwalkar, the 25-year-old spinner signed to fill Middlesex’s overseas gap, managed three of his own on Championship debut.Mushtaq Ahmed bowled Sussex into a promising position against relegated Glamorgan as they attempt to keep pace with the Championship leaders. Mushtaq took 5 for 89 as he and James Kirtley shared nine wickets between them to restrict Glamorgan’s first innings. A number of batsmen made starts, but only David Hemp converted into anything approaching a substantial innings. Even his 71 was a wasted opportunity to reach a bigger score when he was bowled by Kirtley and Mushtaq quickly wrapped up the tail. However, Glamorgan did show some fight as they claimed two Sussex scalps before the close although Ian Ward remained firm on 42.

Division Two

Points TableIt was a day of wasted innings for Worcestershire as they shared the opening day honours with Yorkshire. Both teams are still fighting for promotion, with Yorkshire holding the third spot at the moment and they will have been happy with their efforts today. The bowlers chipped away at Worcestershire’s batting, as everyone except Shoaib Akhtar reached double figures but no one went beyond Vikram Solanki’s 48. Tim Bresnan took three wickets and the rest of the attack all chipped in but the total was boosted by a last-wicket stand of 58 between Matt Mason and Nadeem Malik. Yorkshire’s reply moved along a rollicking pace as Anthony McGrath raced to 65 from 54 balls with 12 boundaries.Ian Blackwell and Arul Suppiah made contrasting nineties as Somerset took control against Northamptonshire. Both teams are someway adrift of the promotion spots but produced a hard fought day of cricket at Taunton. Matthew Wood starred in the early proceedings with an aggressive half-century but Suppiah and Blackwell added the key stand of 91. Suppiah’s individual 91 came from 179 balls while Blackwell’s was a typically forthright innings, his 98 taking 122 deliveries with 13 fours and two sixes. It was a blow for Somerset as both fell because on a flat Taunton pitch one of them really needed to turn their innings into a big century. Monty Panesar toiled away for 24 overs – as did Jason Brown – with three wickets between them, while also keeping a lid on the scoring rate after the seamers had been dispatched at around four an over.

A big contribution from Brian Lara will do just fine for West Indies’ chances in the semi-finals© Getty Images

When the first round of matches began, and the minnows lined up to get thrashed by the giants, the only upset that seemed even remotely on the cards was West Indies being done in by Bangladesh. Well, not only did Brian Lara and his team get past that hurdle with a degree of comfort, they’ve also beaten a struggling South Africa and are now only a game away from having a shot at the trophy, and partially redeeming a season which has so far gone horribly wrong.Standing in the way, though, is a resurgent Pakistan outfit which, since Bob Woolmer took over as coach in June, has displayed a commitment and steel that isn’t the norm with Pakistan cricket. On current form, it’s clear that Inzamam-ul-Haq would fancy his chances of making it to Saturday’s final. To be fair to West Indies, their recent one-day record isn’t half as bad as their Test stats – in their last 25 ODIs, they’ve won 12 and lost only nine. Their bowlers have struggled for penetration in Tests, but in the less-demanding world of one-day cricket, where dot-balls are almost as valuable as wickets, their collection of part-time trundlers has fitted in perfectly.Where West Indies have become extremely formidable, though, is in their ability to chase down almost any target. In their last nine games when they have chased over 225, they have won six times, and Australia, South Africa and England have all been at the receiving end.Lara’s prowess at the crease needs no elaboration, but the revelation has been the manner in which the support cast have spruced up their act. Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul have regularly played pivotal roles, while Chris Gayle’s stand-and-deliver style has often allowed the team to get off to blistering starts. Add the contributions of Ricardo Powell down the order, and it’s easy to see why West Indies’ preferred mode of approach is to win the toss and field first.Here’s more data which suggests that the toss could have a critical bearing on the match: in games between the two sides over the last ten years, the team winning the toss has won 22 and lost three, while the last time Pakistan lost after winning the toss against West Indies was more than ten years ago – back in October 1993.Even if Lara does call correctly, his team will still find it tough to put it across a Pakistan outfit which is, finally, showing signs of fulfilling its potential. Since the Asia Cup began, they have won seven out of ten games, but even more than that, it’s their approach which suggests a huge change in attitude.Discipline in the field was never one of Pakistan’s strengths, but under Woolmer, the intensity has gone up a notch, the number of shocking misfields has considerably reduced – there were still a couple in their win against India on Sunday – and the bowlers seem finally to have understood the virtues of line and length. The batting continues to be iffy, though. Inzamam and Yousuf Youhana bailed them out on Sunday, but the West Indian bowlers will fancy their chances against the top three. Shoaib Malik has had a fabulous run at No. 3, but most of those runs have come in flat, subcontinental conditions. His last three innings in England have fetched him a sum total of seven runs.Their aren’t too many question-marks over Pakistan’s bowling attack, though, and while Lara v Shoaib Akhtar is the obvious key contest, the outcome of the match could well be decided by how the rest of Pakistan’s bowling fare against the West Indian line-up. A West Indies-Pakistan encounter may not quite have the zing of an Australia-England clash, but there are enough entertainers in both sides to make the game an enthralling contest.Pakistan (probable): 1 Imran Farhat, 2 Yasir Hameed, 3 Shoaib Malik, 4 Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), 5 Yousuf Youhana, 6 Abdul Razzaq, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Moin Khan (wk), 9 Naved-ul-Hasan, 10 Shoaib Akhtar, 11 Mohammad Sami.West Indies (probable): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Wavell Hinds, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Brian Lara (capt), 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Ricardo Powell, 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Courtney Browne (wk), 9 Ryan Hinds, 10 Ian Bradshaw, 11 Corey Collymore.

Fidel Edwards returned home to Barbados after his impressive Test debut, and insisted that the transition from domestic to international cricket was not as daunting as he had feared."It [playing for the West Indies] wasn’t really as difficult as I thought it would be," Edwards told the Barbados-based Nation newspaper. "It is just about going out there, keeping on your head and bowling." The 18-year-old Edwards was thrown in at the deep end – his Test debut was only his second first-class match – but he took 5 for 36 in the Sri Lankan first innings and impressed with his maturity and aggression.Edwards said that he had benefited from a spell at the West Indies Academy, as well as a brief pre-match net bowling at Brian Lara. "I just bowled about four balls at him, but he was talking to me before that."If I get picked for the upcoming tour, I will give my best. I hope to get over 50 wickets in the domestic season and just take it from there," Edwards added.

It’s not often that choosing New Zealand teams has been as predictable as that for tomorrow’s first Test with Australia at Brisbane.The tour selectors have chosen the following playing XI: Stephen Fleming (captain), Nathan Astle, Matthew Bell, Chris Cairns, Craig McMillan, Dion Nash, Shayne O’Connor, Adam Parore, Mark Richardson, Mathew Sinclair and Daniel Vettori.But, in reality, from the moment the touring side was named this was always going to be the preferred 11 for the Test.It was going to take a severe slump in form for someone in the middle order to allow Lou Vincent into the playing XI, and it was only going to be injury that prevented the first-string bowling line-up taking the field.Sadly, the concerns over possible repercussions among those returning from injury means the side is not firing on all cylinders yet, but for those who look back on 13 months of injury frustrations it is the most comforting look to a New Zealand side in that time.Notwithstanding the level of competition the New Zealanders face, one of the greatest teams in cricket history, there is still plenty for the Kiwi side to play for.There is their own self-respect. The Australians could take joint ownership with All Black coaches Laurie Mains and John Hart for talking up the quality of the opposition.Captain Steve Waugh has been acknowledging his respect for rival captain Fleming while Shane Warne has been preparing his victims by talking about all their positive qualities while no doubt flicking through his own log book of memories to utilise the negative features of the batsmen he will be facing in this series.It is a fascinating concept for the New Zealanders to deal with – they’re not used to this sort of respect from the Australians, so that alone should be enough to make them wary.In all reality, Fleming and his men are probably praying that their Achilles heel in this and most other Test matches of the last decade, the opening partnership, can find some of the consistency they enjoyed at home last summer against Pakistan.Good starts are an absolute must against Australia and Richardson and Bell face the toughest task of all in the side in attempting to deal with the skills and aggression of Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie, not to forget Brett Lee.If Richardson, an acknowledged big game player, gets a start there could well be some fireworks, and if form in the early stages of the tour suggest it is likely to be later rather than sooner in the series, fireworks there will surely be at some stage in the three Tests.Bell is a different concern. He has been such a hesitant starter and with his shuffling style, his pads are going to be a magnet for the Australian quicks.There is pressure too, on Sinclair to up his performances against the Australians. He knows, like all batsmen from 3-6 that Vincent is lurking just waiting a chance and they know he is good enough to make the most of it, that he cannot afford to dally in this series and it will be interesting to see how the immensely committed Sinclair reacts.Will this be the series where skipper Fleming finally does justice to his batting talents? His trip to England was expected to give him the chance to work on his faults and he has pronounced himself happy with what he achieved.Now it is a case of turning that into runs, and plenty of them, on the international stage.Astle and McMillan experienced the Australians in full cry for the first time on their last tour and will be better equipped. They need to score regular big totals if New Zealand is to be in any way or shape competitive in this series.Then there is Cairns. The Australians know he is the key man in this side, with both bat and ball. They will be keen to get the wood on him as early as possible, just as keen as he will be to make an impression on them. It won’t be worth having 40 winks while he is at the crease.Parore got under Aussie skins well before the series started and is of such a nature that he will be looking to make the itch even more uncomfortable. He could do with some big scores to go alongside his ‘keeping deeds of recent times.So much has happened to Vettori’s hopes of playing in this series in the last two weeks that he will probably need to pinch himself good and hard when he finally walks onto the Gabba. But it won’t be long before he is involved in pinning down batsmen with his left-arm class material.The interest in his ankle injury has tended to gloss over the fact that this still remains his return from a stress fracture in his back and the real test for him is coming through the work load that is bound to be required of him.Nash is in a similar boat. But just how well he supports Cairns could well determine just how far New Zealand can push this match. At his most competitive, it would go until the last session of the fifth day.Completing the comeback class of 2001 is O’Connor. He is a much better bowler than the fresh-faced youngster of four years ago, and it will be interesting to see how much his increased pace, and ability to swing the ball, can back up the efforts of Cairns and Nash.It is New Zealand’s most daunting overseas assignment for some years. With everyone back on board good results are expected. The challenge is ahead of the tourists. But the question remains: Do they really feature on the Australian warning radar or are the world champions genuinely respectful of Fleming’s men?

Rangers have not been shy when it comes to dipping into the transfer market and bringing new players to Ibrox who they feeel can improve and strengthen their team wherever possible over the past few years.

As tends to be the case with all clubs, not all transfers end up being particularly successful. However, one deal at Ibrox which can be seen as a rewarding one for the club is their move for Filip Helander.

The Gers signed the centre-back from Bologna during the 2019 summer transfer window. Since then, the 28-year-old has gone on to make 57 appearances across all competitions, chipping in with seven goals and one assist along the way, a decent return for a centre-back.

Last season saw the Sweden international, who was praised for his “outstanding” positional play by former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard, make 31 appearances across all competitions, with 21 of those coming in the Premiership.

In those league appearances, Helander averaged 1.7 tackles (the second-highest of any player in the squad) and 2.2 clearances per game, putting him in the top three for that statistic. Those returns highlight how important he was in the club’s title charge from a defensive point of view.

Shortly after making the move to Glasgow from Italy, Transfermarkt had the defender’s market value listed at £1.8m. It now stands at £3.15m, showing an increase of 75%, which you’d imagine is largely down to his efforts last season. This also shows what a great bit of business it was from the club to bring him to Ibrox.

Unfortunately, the centre-back hasn’t had much luck this season after picking up a serious knee injury back in September which has kept him sidelined until recently.

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If the defender can maintain his fitness for the remainder of the campaign and get back to the sort of form he showed in Rangers’ title-winning season, he could have a big part to play in their chase to retain the Premiership title this time around.

In other news: Van Bronckhorst can seal Rangers masterclass with “unbelievable” £6.5k-p/w gem, he’s a “class act”…

After “probably three of the toughest days” he had experienced in his Test career, the usually unflappable Hashim Amla was left frustrated.”The surface was probably the toughest that I have had and the cricket itself was really difficult,” Amla said. “Credit to India, they kind of bowled well. Unfortunately, we ended up on the wrong side of this game.”The result in Nagpur ended South Africa’s nine-year unbeaten streak in 15 away series, the second-longest unbeaten run in the history of Tests. The 124-run loss also ended a golden South African era that was defined by adaptability away from home. Amla, however, said that even the South African teams that adjusted everywhere from Auckland to Abu Dhabi would probably not have been able to display the same adhesion on the Nagpur turner.”One consolation would be that the conditions we played in. We haven’t experienced this type of challenge before,” he said. “I haven’t played on this before in my life anywhere away from home so I suppose it’s a bit of consolation because it was really challenging and you never know if we had come against this before what would have happened.”Amla stated that the pitch at the VCA Stadium was “a lot more challenging” than the ones he had played on during the previous visits to India. In 2008, Amla scored 159 in Chennai, before striking a double-century in Nagpur two years later. Amla countered Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh during those trips but felt that the two bowlers would have been unplayable on the Nagpur pitch, where South Africa were shot out for 79 in 33.1 overs in the first innings.”When I first came to India in 2008 and even in 2010, I was facing Anil Kumble, Harbhajan,” Amla said. “I think if I had to face them on wickets like this I don’t think I would have got any runs either. Facing them here would have been an nightmare.”While Amla acknowledged the current Indian crop as “exceptional in these conditions,” he believed the surfaces were more to blame for the strangle that affected both teams. “The wickets have played their part in making it difficult for all the batters. There hasn’t been a hundred in the series yet and just a handful of fifties, and that’s for both teams. It would be harsh to say this South African team has struggled to score runs. If you look a the Indian team although they are on the winning side, it’s been tough for their batters as well.”South Africa’s technique and temperament, especially against spin, was questioned but Amla and Faf du Plessis combined well in a stoic second-innings effort. The partnership revived memories of Adelaide and Colombo in its determination but was nowhere near as comfortable.”I still think we could have got bowled out for 70 or 100 in the second innings. There were so many plays and misses, edges that could have gone to hand. It’s easy to say that we could have batted in the first innings how we did in the second innings but I think circumstances were a lot different,” Amla explained. “Some balls go to hand, some balls don’t go to hand and we scored slowly. I don’t think we were as positive.”Amla also felt that South Africa may have turned the tables around had the target been closer to 200 besides calling for a better effort from the bowlers and the fielders.”If you look at their first innings, I think they were about 30 runs too much from our bowling perspective,” Amla said. “I don’t think it was a 200 first innings wicket and neither was it a 170. We could have got India out for at least 140 and that would have changed the context of the game.”The South Africa captain, though, may have himself to blame for allowing the hosts get away. On a pitch where spinners thrived, even with the new ball, Amla held back his most attacking option – Imran Tahir. The legspinner bowled only two overs before tea on the first day and was not used until the 25th over of the second innings.”Imran has a tendency of picking up wickets but leaking runs,” Amla said. “That’s the type of bowler he is. I found it difficult to use him in the first innings because of him leaking a bit of runs here and there and felt Simon [Harmer] was somebody who could get us a wicket as well as keep it tight.””And then in the second innings, when you are more than 100 behind you have to find the balance. He picked up five wickets and I know it’s easy to ask why I didn’t bring him on earlier but if I knew he was going to pick up five, I would have opened the bowling with him. I don’t have any regrets because I had a clear idea of what I needed to do. It’s not about lack of trust. It’s about using your players as efficiently as possible.”Essentially, the Tahir conundrum is a microcosm of how South Africa have approached this series. They were aware of the spin challenge but had little clue about the extent of it. Having seen all and succumbed to it, do South Africa think India went too far to secure the home advantage? “You want to lose honourably and you want to win honourably as well,” Amla said. “I can’t comment too much on the wickets. Let’s leave it at that.”

ScorecardLord’s played host to its first floodlit match on Monday, but now it was The Oval’s turn to put on their Pro40 show. In a dazzlingly close affair, Somerset’s cool heads earned them a last-gasp five-run victory – and a well-deserved promotion to Division One.While Middlesex’s match was deliberately muted – with respect to the St John’s Wood residents – the 8000 spectators watching Surrey, and Mark Ramprakash in particular, push Somerset all the way made enough noise for a full house. In the end, though, it was to be Somerset’s day/night thanks to Marcus Trescothick’s century and a well-judged last over from Steffan Jones.Surrey needed 11 from the final two balls with two wickets remaining but Ramprakash and Neil Saker both fell, leaving Somerset triumphant. The visitors’ 258 had looked short when Ramprakash, who made 115, and Mark Butcher (56) were leading the charge – indeed, Somerset were on target for 300 until Trescothick went on 124 (his first century in the competition this year) – but in the end it proved just enough.Trescothick entertained with a typically forthright century, but was allowed a chance on 53, when he was dropped at mid-on off Saker. This wasn’t the only one of Surrey’s fumbles – Neil McKenzie was spilled on 19 – although Murtaza Hussain finally held on to Trescothick at the third juggle but only when it was too late.Jade Dernbach led a youthful Surrey attack with his usual broad smile which, when he bagged five wickets, turned full beam – no lights were needed at that point. His 5 for 44 was his best one-day bowling and was just reward for finding some extra lift to remove Craig Kieswetter for a duck and Justin Langer for 2, caught at gully by James Benning (9 for 2).Somerset, though, were lifted by two key partnerships, both involving the dominant Trescothick, who added 86 with Neil McKenzie (32) and 83 with the clean-hitting Ian Blackwell, who made 41. McKenzie finally fell to Chris Jordan, a simple chance at backward point, while Blackwell was then deceived by the vicious turn away from Murtaza – he could only prod an edge.The turning point in Surrey’s innings came when Butcher and Ali Brown were run-out in quick succession with 65 still required. Jon Batty and Rory Hamilton-Brown were further victims as the heat of battle burned deeper – both fell to Charl Willoughby – and Jordan soon followed to Jones, but still Ramprakash did not melt. Far from it, he remained cool and calm as he collected some typically stylish runs.Eventually, however, he perished to another run-out in the dying over and with it Surrey’s hopes fell away.

Zander de Bruyn will lead the Warriors barely few months after signing a two-year contract © AFP

Zander de Bruyn, the South African allrounder, has been appointed captain of South African domestic side the Warriors. de Bruyn – who signed a two-year contract in May 2006 to play for the Eastern Cape Franchise – will replace Robin Peterson, the left-arm spinner, as captain.Russell Domingo, the Warriors coach, spoke highly of de Bruyn and added that he was the ideal candidate to replace Peterson, who is expected to be away on national duty regularly this season, starting with the Champions Trophy in India next month.”Zander brings a high work ethic and also a lot experience to the team,” Domingo told Supercricket. “He is very excited about his appointment and I know he will lead from the front in all aspects throughout the season.”de Bruyn entered the record books in 2003-04, when he became only the second player (after Barry Richards) in South African domestic cricket history to score over a thousand runs in a Supersport Series or Currie Cup season. He was rewarded with a call-up to the South African Test side in November 2004 for the tour of India. His Test career got off to an encouraging start, scoring 83 in his debut innings in Kanpur. However, he played only two Tests after that, his last at Port Elizabeth against England later that year.de Bruyn was upbeat about the season ahead. “I am very excited about taking on this responsibility of being captain of the Warriors and I am looking forward to the challenge ahead,” he said. “The guys are working hard and I really think it is going to be a good season for the team.”

Australia 131 and 179 for 7 lead England 298 (Brunt 52, Guha 31, Liddell 4-45) by 21 runs
Scorecard

Jenny Gunn fires England towards success © Getty Images

England stand on the brink of regaining the Ashes for the first time in 42 years after making significant inroads into Australia’s batting lineup on the third day. By the close, Australia were 179 for 7, a lead of just 21 runs.But Australia hadn’t even looked likely to take the game into the fourth and final day after Katherine Brunt and Jenny Gunn reduced them to 18 for 4. Kate Blackwell, though, led the fightback, and was 72 not out by the close, having put on an unbroken stand of 112 with Shelley Nitschke as England’s bowlers tired.Their pace attack will come back refreshed tomorrow morning, though, confident of blasting out the final three wickets needed for the series victory. But it was a familiar feeling that England could do without, as Australia set about putting together some late resistance. Their rearguard had echoes of Hove, where Australia’s last three partnerships put on 240 – and England will be keen to avoid a repeat as they go in for the series kill tomorrow.The home side certainly bossed the first two sessions of the day. Brunt put on 85 with Isa Guha, an England record last-wicket stand, to take the home side to 289. Brunt added 52 and Guha made 31 to boost England from their overnight total of 222 for 9. Then Australia felt the pressure: by tea they had put on just 58 in 52 overs. At that stage, Gunn’s 16 overs had cost just 4 runs, a ridiculous economy rate – and two of those runs were wides. It was agonising stuff all round.The Blackwell twins combined well and battled hard in a stand of 28, constructed over an hour, but Alex eventually fell to Isa Guha on 14. It took another 50 minutes for England to get another breakthrough on a bowler-friendly pitch, as 46 for 5 became 58 for 6.Australia were inching along at an agonising rate of one run per over – in stark, sorry contrast to the fireworks elsewhere in the Midlands, at Trent Bridge – and dots were coming thick and fast.Cathryn Fitzpatrick took 44 balls to get off the mark, but fell soon after, when Clare Connor brought on Charlotte Edwards; an inspired change. Edwards struck with her legspin in her first over, leaving victory there for England’s taking.But they like to do things the hard way, and Australia took command of the final session – if not the match. After watching their colleagues crumble, Blackwell and Nitschke decided the best form of defence was attack, and they upped the run-rate to a heady 1.8 runs an over. They were helped by some loose bowling as England’s bowlers, unused to being in the field all day, began to tire.Should England complete victory on the fourth and final day at New Road – and the signs are that they will – then a miserable week for Australia will be completed. Last Sunday England defeated them in a one-dayer for the first time in 12 years. Australia may still lead that series, but there are signs their empire is crumbling.

Chaminda Vaas: heading for foreign fields?© Getty Images

Chaminda Vaas is keen to play first-class cricket in South Africa next year, according to a report in South Africa’s Daily News. Vaas is just one of a group of Sri Lankan cricketers who are keen to play first-class cricket abroad in the near future.”Gauteng approached me to play there this season but it was not possible because of my commitments to Sri Lanka” Vaas said. “We have a tour to Pakistan in October and we then go to New Zealand in December and January. But next year we have a bit of a break and I would like to play first-class cricket either in Australia or England.”Sri Lanka’s players had a limited exposure to English county cricket in the past, although Aravinda de Silva (Kent) and Muttiah Muralitharan (Lancashire and Kent) have both enjoyed successful stints.The major problem has been their international programme which stretches across the English summer. But next year the players could play for a large chunk of the season, returning to Sri Lanka in August for a short series against West Indies.Aside from Vaas, who played briefly for Hampshire last year, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Dilhara Fernando are all seeking offers from interested counties.