India fast bowler Mohammed Shami and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha have offered positive reviews of the pink ball, two days into the first pink-ball match in India

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jun-2016

India fast bowler Mohammed Shami and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha have offered positive reviews of the pink ball, two days into the first pink-ball match in India: the Super League final at Eden Gardens between club teams Mohun Bagan and Bhowanipore. While Shami was excited by the swing on offer, Saha termed the pink Kookaburra ball’s visibility “perfect”.”It’s very bright and glows like radium,” Shami said, according to PTI, after claiming a five-for for Mohun Bagan. “With red or white balls, there was some visibility problem as it took [on] the colour of grass. Definitely I will prefer this ball, this is much better. The biggest plus point is [the swing] under lights, what else does a bowler want?”There was a bit of moisture in the afternoon, so it helped initially. But then, under lights, there was more movement undoubtedly. It’s challenging for both batsmen and bowlers.”In response to concerns raised after day one over whether the pink ball would reverse-swing, given the ball does not deteriorate much, Shami said: “[Yes] the ball retains it colour and shine. But if we can maintain the dryness, I’m sure it will reverse. It did [reverse], I noticed.”Saha agreed the ball offered the fast bowlers quite a bit, but said there should be few problems picking it up under the lights. “Every ball is swinging a bit either way, which was never the case with the red Kookaburra. [But] the visibility is perfect.”Red or white, the ball invariably lost its colour after it became old. But here there’s no such difficulty at all. The pink ball has better visibility. But batsmen will have problems if a pacer consistently bowls 140kph.”Saha had referred to the demands the pink ball makes of the batsmen after the first day as well, pointing out how they had taken guard outside the crease to counter the swing. After adding 81 for the fifth wicket with Anustup Majumdar for Mohun Bagan, he had told the : “The ball continued to swing even during the latter stages, which doesn’t happen with a red ball. [But] if you apply yourself against the pink ball and on this kind of a green wicket, you will surely get runs. That’s what Anustup did. I too could’ve got more if not for [a] false stroke.”

ScorecardHarry Gurney chipped away at Hampshire’s top order, but they retained the edge•Getty Images

In a round of barn-burning finishes, neither side at the Ageas Bowl wanted to be left out.With that in mind, the visitors, taking their lead from Hampshire and their clown car of a physio room, brought some injury news with them this morning. Chris Read was ruled out of taking the field for the remainder of this match, having damaged his hand while batting yesterday evening. While he would eventually recommence his innings when the ninth wicket fell, he spent the remainder of the day with his feet up on the away balcony, watching on as Steven Mullaney took on captaincy duties and Riki Wessels kept wicket.Not wanting to be outdone, Hampshire dropped their own bombshell in the afternoon. Reece Topley, who had been expected to return this week from a hand injury picked up on the first day of the season, is now set for another three months out with a partial stress fracture of the lumbar spine. He has still yet to bowl a ball for his new county.It would be easy to caveat this match with a list of those not present, from the enforced to the elated (Jake Ball arrived in Durham this morning). But to do so is to ignore the quality that was on show. Those present have ensured the game has moved on in a manner that suggests neither are as bad as recent results suggest.At the forefront was Harry Gurney. After four wickets in Hampshire’s first innings, which stopped the lower order in its tracks, he did a number on the top order in the second. With an 81-run lead to play with, those at the front were undone by some fine swing bowling. Michael Carberry was exposed outside off stump before a beauty left Liam Dawson’s forward defence hanging and took his off stump for a wander.You would be forgiven for forgetting that Gurney is an international player. Or was. His name rarely comes up in selection debates for either white ball format. Even his worth as a long-form player is often filed over as simply “a left-arm option”. But Gurney’s used to being underrated.Even Nottinghamshire were not totally convinced that he would be a multi-format player for them when he joined from Leicestershire in 2012. Director of cricket Mick Newell admits that the motivation behind signing Gurney was that the left-armer always seemed to do well against Nottinghamshire in limited-overs cricket.His development into a skilled and highly valued part of their bowling cartel has pleasantly surprised many at the club. Deep down, he was confident in his own ability. When another player followed the familiar route from Grace Road to Trent Bridge, Gurney wrote a message in his locker: “If you improve half as much as I have since joining here, you’ll be a helluva player!”Luke Fletcher’s persistence throughout his 13 overs was rewarded with the wickets of Jimmy Adams caught at second slip and then Adam Wheater at mid-on, after the wicketkeeper played what might be one of the worst shots of the season. But both Fletcher and Gurney had to cede to Will Smith and Sean Ervine for the best part of 26 overs, as 78 was put on for the fourth wicket.Smith, captaining in the absence of Test newbie James Vince, displayed the sort of street smarts that saw him regularly bag around 900 runs a season while playing his cricket up at the seamers paradise that is Chester-le-Street. The first time he broke the 1,000 first-class runs mark was his first summer at the Ageas Bowl.His first half-century of the season, which came from 141 balls, was patient yet he kept the score ticking along. He ensured he presented a straight bat, while also getting down on one knee to lap Samit Patel over his shoulder. Everything in moderation – including moderation.Patel would get his share, though: a double-wicket maiden accounting for Smith, caught at midwicket, and Tino Best lbw for a pair. Ryan McLaren’s reverse sweeps, while a strong quiz team name, also helped Hampshire bring up a lead of 270 as the day drew to a close.Hampshire may already have enough. Mason Crane, the 19-year-old leg spinner, impressed with three wickets earlier in the day when he pitched the ball on a length that forced batsmen to play. He kept tabs on Dan Christian who tried to hit him out of the park but could only play onto his stumps. Brett Hutton, replacing Jake Ball in the match, swiped across the line only to find Adams at square leg, before Fletcher went for a heave and missed completely.It was only Wessels who had something to cheer for Nottinghamshire with the bat: a measured 72 from 159 balls adding some worth to an innings that always looked like coming up short. The final throes of the reply saw Gurney cart Dawson for two sixes down the ground before he lost his middle stump to Best.The pitch, for all its wear and turn, is still rewarding composure at the crease. Hampshire have just two wickets left and Nottinghamshire will be going to bed tonight thinking a chase of around 300 would be better than they expected.If the final day’s play is half as intriguing as this, we are in for a helluva finish.

West Ham United are plotting a move to bring Rafael Benitez back to the Premier League, according to reports.

What's the latest manager news at West Ham?

David Moyes finds his side just three points above the relegation zone following a poor run of form and results this season which has seen him come under increasing amounts of pressure where it was possible that he could have been relieved of his duties. The Irons had even already entered the market to start identifying potential replacements with the likes of Italy’s Roberto Mancini linked, but more so was the 62-year-old.

Football Insider recently reported that the E20 outfit would consider appointing the Spaniard should the Scotsman be given his marching orders either before the end of the season or in the summer, and despite easing the constraint with Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Fulham, he’s still very much on the hierarchy’s radar.

According to Football Insider once again, Benitez has emerged as West Ham’s “first-choice” option to succeed Moyes at the London Stadium. Irons chiefs have already been “in touch” with the Premier League veteran earlier in the campaign and it’s stated that they “remain keen” to secure his services if the state of play fails to improve. It’s believed that Moyes “narrowly avoided the sack” thanks to the three points picked up last weekend because the board were “ready to pull the trigger” should that game have ended in defeat, but he’s still very much in charge, for now.

Would Benitez be the ideal candidate for West Ham?

Benitez is a hugely experienced manager having overseen 359 Premier League matches throughout his career and should he be appointed, he would certainly be able to take over the reins and not only steady the ship but start getting the best out of the players again.

The Madrid native won 173 and drew 86 of his games in the top-flight, as per Transfermarkt, where he had extremely successful spells with the likes of Liverpool and Newcastle United. Since the start of his career in the dugout, the boss has also secured 14 trophies, including a Champions League title and World’s Best Club Coach award so knows what it takes to compete and be successful at the highest level.

Benitez being a free agent additionally means that the Irons wouldn't have to pay any compensation to secure his services making him even more of an attractive option to the board and therefore making this a no-brainer of a move to make should the departure of Moyes occur.

A batting promotion worked wonders for Moeen Ali as he scored his second Test century, and the fourth-highest score by an England No. 7, to build an imposing total of 498 for 9 before Alastair Cook declared before tea

The Report by Andrew McGlashan28-May-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsTwo men of the day: Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali share a high five•Getty ImagesPowered by Moeen Ali’s career-best 155 and three wickets on recall for Chris Woakes, England put themselves in position to push for another innings victory as Sri Lanka produced an insipid display on the second day at Chester-le-Street. The visiting batting subsided to 90 for 8 in reply to England’s 498 for 9, the follow-on surely set to be enforced in the morning, although they at least avoided being sent back in during the evening session, which looked a possibility at one stage.Moeen’s second Test century – his first also came against Sri Lanka, at Headingley in 2014 – allowed England to plunder 188 runs off 42 overs, of which Moeen provided 127, before Alastair Cook declared 40 minutes before tea. One down at the break was a passable start given what happened in Leeds, but things quickly unravelled in the final session, Woakes backing up the early incisions of James Anderson and Stuart Broad by quickly locating a challenging length with some late nip allied to eye-catching pace in the high 80s mph. Broad then returned in the final moments of the day to strike two more blows against the lower order.Regardless of the defences that can be given to Sri Lanka about the challenges of the conditions and the rebuilding phase the side is going through it was woeful performance from them. The tone was set early when, in stark contrast to their excellent catching on the opening day, they spilled two crucial chances in the first session: Moeen was dropped on 36 and Woakes on 8 inside the first four overs of the day, and from then on Sri Lanka were listless in the field.The second of those two chances, a regulation outside edge, was spilled by Dinesh Chandimal who was struggling with a thumb injury and at morning drinks was replaced by Kusal Mendis behind the stumps. It begged the question, given that Graham Ford had admitted the injury concern the night before, why the change hadn’t been made at the start of the day.Given a total of 298 at Headingley overwhelmed the Sri Lankans, 498 must have looked a fearful number looming from the scoreboard even as the sun shone brightly during the evening session. Mendis was again the best of an out-classed batting order, although Lahiru Thirimanne showed some pluck to see out the day, but their desperate state was summed up by Angelo Mathews’ review when he was given caught behind (having declined to review last week when he would have been saved from his lbw dismissal).Anderson picked up where he left off at Headingley when he found Dimuth Karunaratne’s leg stump in the third over when the left hander moved too far across to try and protect his outside edge. Anderson’s first spell, split either side of tea as Cook’s declaration allowed his new-ball pair a breather, also included Chandimal whose forgettable day continued when he edged to first slip with hard hands. Broad claimed Kaushal Silva when Jonny Bairstow took a sharp low catch which was referred to the TV umpire, Rod Tucker, although the on-field officials had given the soft signal as out.Woakes, who had played confidently for his 39 after the early life, was given the ball ahead of Steven Finn and in his second over found Mathews’ outside edge. A bowler who has recently taken 9 for 36 probably does not need much of a confidence boost, but when your Test average was upward of 60 removing the opposition’s best player is a perfect way to start.He then added Mendis, exaggerated lift finding the splice of the bat, and Milinda Siriwardana who edged a delivery that kept down – a pair of dismissals which further highlighted why Cook was happy to bat first. Still, it was not a 67 for 6 surface. Thirimanne and Rangana Herath resisted until the penultimate over of the day when Herath sparred to gully. Shaminda Eranga was then taken on the rebound by Joe Root at second slip after James Vince had done well to palm up a fast nick above his head.England resumed on 310 for 6, talking positively of 450 but probably willing to accept 400. By the time Cook declared, the last four wickets had added 271 runs with Moeen finishing with the fourth-highest score by an England No. 7. He received good support from the lower order, adding 92 for the seventh wicket with Woakes and 98 for the last two wickets combined, reaching three figures from 109 balls with a lofted drive down the ground. His next fifty took just another 43 deliveries, as he cut loose with Finn and Anderson for company, with the 150 being raised by a crunching six over deep midwicket off Suranga Lakmal.Although he made a half-century two Tests ago, against South Africa at Centurion, it has been a largely lean time with the bat for Moeen since last year’s Ashes series where his brisk lower-order contributions were vital at Cardiff and Edgbaston. He has not made any secret that he would prefer to bat higher in the order and in the absence of Ben Stokes he has, temporarily at least, moved up a spot. While not a chanceless innings, he appeared more focused than when he is lumped down with the bowlers.The only high point of the day for Sri Lanka was Herath’s 300th Test which finally came his way in his 28th over when Finn top-edged a slog sweep – Herath was not going to leave the catching to any of his team-mates. He became the third Sri Lankan bowler after Muttiah Muralitharan (light years ahead on 800 wickets) and Chaminda Vass (355) to cross the milestone. He was warmly applauded by the crowd and he raised the ball in acknowledgement, although a touch of reality soon dawned when No. 11 Anderson reverse swept him for four. The fact he had batted, and with more defiance than some, by the end of the day further summed up Sri Lanka’s plight.

Commentator and football writer Derek Clark has reacted positively after hearing Rangers are linked with a summer transfer for Kieran Dowell.

What's the latest Rangers transfer news?

As we head towards the end of the Scottish Premiership season, it looks as though this won't be a title-winning campaign for the Ibrox outfit.

Indeed, Michael Beale and co sit 12 points off the pace in second place, but behind-the-scenes plans may well already be taking place in preparation for next season.

With that in mind, some rumours have emerged recently in the press suggesting Dowell could be on his way to Scotland.

As per Football Insider, Rangers are lining up a pre-contract offer for the Norwich City midfielder, with his current deal set to expire in the summer​​​​​​.

While talking about this on the latest edition of The Rangers Review, Clark offered his verdict on the player having seen him impress in the past.

He said: "The time he was on loan at Wigan from Everton, I was impressed every time I watched him. I know it was a few seasons ago now, but I think that would be good business if Rangers were to bring him in, especially for no transfer fee as well."

Why do Rangers want to sign Kieran Dowell from Norwich?

At the moment, Dowell currently earns a reported £7.5k per week in the Championship, and when you factor in that he won't cost a transfer fee, this could be an affordable deal for Rangers to pull off.

What's more, they seem to have a working relationship with Norwich already, having signed English midfielder Todd Cantwell in January.

Dowell has been in and out of the Canaries team this term, but having delivered five goals and three assists in just 1,115 minutes of Championship action this term (across 23 outings), Rangers could be landing a pretty good player.

He's also shown glimpses of his quality in the past, too. For example, during his loan spell at Wigan referenced by Clark, he once delivered a rare 10/10 Sofascore match rating, scoring a hat-trick and providing an assist in an 8-0 win over Hull City.

With that in mind, it's no wonder Clark with impressed by that loan spell. At 25 years of age, it feels as though we are still yet to see the best of the promising midfielder, and if Rangers can unlock Dowell's full potential at Ibrox, this could be a great deal.

Gary Ballance has confirmed he is fit and ready to take on Pakistan in the first Investec Test at Lord’s on Thursday

George Dobell at Lord's12-Jul-20162:18

‘I’m over the moon to get a recall’ – Ballance

Cricket can be a cruel game. Only a few months after becoming one of the ten fastest men in history to 1,000 Test runs, Gary Ballance found himself unable to gain entrance to the pavilion at Lord’s.While the incident was soon resolved – team security staff assured the steward that the man waiting on the pavilion steps in full England kit was, indeed, a member of the team involved in the Test against New Zealand at the time – it provided a decent metaphor for the state of his career: from a position where he had scored four centuries in his first nine Tests, including one in each of his first two on this ground, Ballance’s form had deteriorated to the extent that two innings in the New Zealand Test brought him one run in total and he had become an unknown even at the home of cricket. A few weeks later he was dropped.

Balance shrugs off groin issue

Gary Ballance has confirmed he is fit and ready to take on Pakistan in the first Investec Test at Lord’s on Thursday, after overcoming a minor groin injury that caused him to miss Yorkshire’s NatWest T20 Blast fixture against Derbyshire on Sunday.
“It was just a precaution with Yorkshire having so much cricket in the last few months,” Ballance told ESPNcricinfo. “I thought it best to rest it up with a Test coming up now. But I’m absolutely fine now, I’m ready to go.”
“I didn’t expect the phone call, it was a bit of a surprise, but the motivation was there and I was so happy to be back in the squad and get another opportunity,” he said. “I’m over the moon to be back in the squad and back here at Lord’s. I can’t wait to get started.”

Ballance has admitted previously that, in the months that followed, he was “struggling mentally” with the setback. Stung by criticism of his technique, he concedes now that the experience left him “questioning my ability for a while”.It is not hard to understand why. Until the start of the English summer of 2015, Ballance had enjoyed a fantastic start to his career. He averaged more than 60 in Test cricket and more than 50 in first-class. It seemed he had the technique and temperament for a long career at this level.But then, faced with two excellent seam attacks from New Zealand and Australia, his career stuttered. While he contributed a vital 61 in the opening Test of the 2015 Investec Ashes at Cardiff, it was his only half-century in 10 innings. His method, playing unusually deep in the crease, attracted criticism and appeared to leave him vulnerable against the full, moving delivery.At first, in the weeks following his axing from the side, he experimented with an adapted technique. But it never felt comfortable or brought the desire results. So he reasoned that he would revert to the method that had served him so well previously.Whether that decision was wise or weak depends on who you ask. Some suggest Ballance has been stubborn in refusing to acknowledge the faults that betrayed him previously; others suggest it takes courage to stick to your own method in a system that has, at times in recent years, appeared a bit one-size-fits-all.He feels there is a middle path: it’s not so much that his technique required changing; it was more that it required better execution. He looks certain to play here. After sustaining a minor groin strain that obliged him to sit out a T20 game at the weekend, he trained on Tuesday and declared himself fully fit. He will bat at No. 5, below James Vince and above Jonny Bairstow.”I changed a bit and I stopped scoring runs,” Ballance says now. “There’s so much outside pressure, so much scrutiny when you’re not going well, that you feel forced to change. You go away from what you’re actually good at. You try different things in the nets and then you think: I’ll become a worse player if I do this.”So then I tried to go back to how I had played when I scored runs and how I did and what’s best for me. I knew I needed to work on a few things and tinker with a few things, but at the end of the day I’m trying to do what’s best for me and what’s the best way of scoring runs.”I know the way I play is not perfect, but hopefully it gets me runs. I feel as long as I’m balanced at the crease, my head’s still and I move early enough, that’s the most important thing. You have to do what you think is best for yourself. And if it’s not good enough, so be it.”It is not the first time Ballance has been faced with adversity. Half-a-dozen years ago, he underwent emergency surgery to remove his appendix.There’s nothing unusual about that, of course. Except that six years before that, he had already had his appendix removed. But the symptoms reoccurred and, after 10 doctors failed to diagnose his stump appendicitis – a condition so rare that it is believed to occur in fewer than one in 50,000 appendectomy cases – Ballance’s condition had deteriorated so far that his life was jeopardy.”The odds weren’t good,” he says. “I was in hospital over a month and I’m lucky I came out of it alright.”But it could have been a lot worse. I mean, it was winter, so I didn’t miss much cricket.”That last phrase tells you a great deal about Ballance. It tells you how cricket has defined his life. While he went to university briefly – “I went to five lectures,” he says, “and thought about playing cricket all the time I was in them” – he was always going to be a cricketer and, having made his List A debut for Derbyshire aged 16, he made his first-class debut for Yorkshire aged 18. By the time he was 25, he had scored 1,000 Test runs in fewer innings than any England player other than Herbert Sutcliffe or Len Hutton.So, what can we expect from him in his second coming as a Test player?He will look very similar. He will still play unusually deep in his crease. He will still be strong on the cut and tend to duck the short ball. But he will, he says, be better balanced at the crease and more positive in his mental outlook.”Last year, I was playing and moving a bit too late,” he says. “So my weight was back when I was moving. Over the last six months, I’ve tried to move early enough so that, at the point of delivery, I’m absolutely still, my head is balanced and I’m in a neutral position. Every batter will tell you that if you’ve a still head and you’re balanced, that is the foundation.”And hopefully I can enjoy it a bit more this time. At times last year, I was so uptight and found the pressure massive. I maybe didn’t enjoy my success as much as I should have.”But this time round, hopefully I can just relax a bit more and just enjoy it. I’m going to appreciate it that bit more. And if it doesn’t go well, I’ll be more ‘so be it.'”Investec is the title sponsor of Test match cricket in England. For more on Investec private banking, visit investec.co.uk/banking

Tottenham Hotspur have held 'positive' talks with the agents of former Barcelona boss Luis Enrique, and he is now happy to sit down with them.

Who could Spurs replace Conte with?

The north Londoners, over a month after parting ways with former boss Antonio Conte, are still very much on the look out for his permanent replacement. Cristian Stellini and assistant coach Ryan Mason have taken interim charge of the Premier League top four hopefuls in the meantime, with the aim of securing Champions League qualification.

The Lilywhites have reportedly drawn up their shortlist of managerial candidates to succeed Conte with the likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Julian Nagelsmann and Enrique among their most high profile options as free agents.

Those in-work are also attracting attention from Tottenham, with perhaps most notably Arne Slot of Feyenoord and Oliver Glasner of Eintracht Frankfurt being the most heavily tipped to potentially join. Whoever chairman Daniel Levy chooses to appoint will be a crucial, crucial decision – especially as voices in the stands grow ever more restless with the ownership of ENIC.

Brendan Rodgers and Graham Potter have also been sporadically mentioned by members of the media, though the British duo don't appear to be as regularly talked about as the likes of Enrique. Going back to the Spaniard, after reports of Spurs planning to open talks with him, an update has come to light courtesy of 90min.

The outlet claims that Tottenham have held 'positive' talks Enrique's entourage, and after these optimistic discussions, Spurs are set to sit down with the 52-year-old. He is now apparently happy to talk with Spurs over their vacancy as both sides prepare for 'face-to-face' negotiations.

Should Spurs go for Enrique?

One big obstacle in Tottenham's way will be rivals Chelsea, who could surely be stepping up their pursuit of a new manager after they crashed out of the Champions League on Tuesday evening.

They're apparently targeting Enrique as well, but if Spurs can somehow convince the tactician to move to their side of London, he could be an exciting appointment. Boasting multiple La Liga titles and a Champions League winner's medal on his CV, Enrique encourages an attack-minded 4-4-3 formation (Transfermarkt) – being called a 'genius' by members of the press.

Of course, his lack of Premier League experience could be seen as something which may count against him, but Enrique's status as a free agent opens the door for clubs like Spurs to make a risk-free move financially.

We believe he should, at the very least, be up there on Levy's list of serious options.

A round-up of all DPL matches played on June 18, 2016

Mohammad Isam18-Jun-2016

Abahani Limited thumped Victoria Sporting Club by six wickets in a game marred by Suhrawadi Shuvo’s neck injury that put him in hospital, though he was out of danger according to doctors.Shuvo was batting on 21 in the 25th over when Taskin Ahmed’s bouncer struck him, after which he fell at his crease. The Abahani players rushed to him, before the physios and doctors carried him back to the dressing room, following which he was taken to Apollo Hospital.Victoria, meanwhile, stumbled and they were ultimately bowled out for 139 runs in 36.2 overs. Their in-form top and middle-order crumbled as they were reduced to 86 for 5 in the 19th over. Several batsmen got starts but none made it past Mominul Haque’s 23, the highest score of the innings.Taskin (3 for 30) and left-arm spinners Shakib Al Hasan (3 for 28) and Saqlain Sajib (3 for 38) took three wickets each.Tamim Iqbal struck five fours and a six during his 33 to set up Abahani’s chase, which was interrupted by two rain breaks. Liton Das (18), Shakib (9) and Nazmul Hossain Shanto (22) all fell in quick succession, but Dinesh Karthik struck a six and a four to finish the game with more than 20 overs to spare. He remained unbeaten on 32 off 48 balls while Mosaddek Hossain was unbeaten on 18 off 10 balls.Chaturanga de Silva took two wickets, which strengthened the Sri Lankan left-arm spinner’s position at top of the bowling charts, with 30 wickets.Legends of Rupganj consolidated their top spot in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League with a comfortable five-wicket win over Prime Bank Cricket Club at the BKSP-3 ground. The result meant that defending champions Prime Bank were out of the title race.Nahidul Islam (64*) steered Rupganj’s chase after Pawan Negi’s 2 for 30 limited Prime Bank to 222 for 8. Having walked out to bat at No.6 with Rupganj on 127 for 4, Islam added 77 runs for the fifth wicket with Asif Ahmed, who contributed 51 off 89 balls. Mohammad Mithun pitched in with a half-century of his own while Soumya Sarkar made 47 off 46 balls, after opener Junaid Siddique was trapped lbw by Shuvagata Hom in the first over.Rupganj maintained their spotless record in the Super League by completing the chase with 19 balls to spare. Having been sent in, Prime Bank lost Mehedi Maruf early, but Unmukt Chand and Hom briefly steadied their side with thirties each. Nurul Hasan then pressed on to hit 75 off 96 balls, his third List A half-century, but Prime Bank managed only 29 for 3 in the last five overs of their innings.Raqibul Hasan guided Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club to a crucial seven-wicket win over Mohammedan Sporting Club at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium. Doleshwar remained in the race for the title, but Mohammedan, having lost their last two Super League games as well, were out of it.Batting first, Mohammedan were bowled out for 213 runs in 49 overs. They began shakily and lost both openers Ezaz Ahmed and Hamidul Islam for 15 inside eight overs, before Shykat Ali and Mushfiqur Rahim added 58 runs for the third wicket. While Mushfiqur was dismissed for 20, Shykat went on to make a half-century. Mohammedan, however, lost regular wickets and struggled to push on in the slog overs.Sunzamul Islam, Rejaul Karim, Nasir Hossain and Rahatul Ferdous took two wickets each for Doleshwar. Opener Imtiaz Hossain (19) departed early in the chase, but Raqibul and Rony Talukdar added 73 runs for the second wicket, before Faisal Hossain had Talukdar caught behind for 28.Sachin Baby contributed only 17 but Raqibul and Nasir Hossain ensured there were no further hiccups, with their unbroken 79-run stand for the fourth wicket. Raqibul hit 86 off 127 balls with five fours and a six, while Nasir made a 40-ball 52 that included four fours and two sixes.

Chelsea are likely to be in the market for a striker this summer, and their new manager could be presented with a number of options ahead of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign.

Goalscoring has been a major issue for the Blues in the top flight so far this campaign, with just 30 goals in 31 outings, and it appears that a clinical forward is required if the west London outfit are to challenge at the top again next season.

Although Romelu Lukaku could still return after his loan spell with Inter, Todd Boehly could find a significantly more reliable option in Brentford talisman Ivan Toney.

Could Chelsea sign Ivan Toney?

In a recent article for GiveMeSport, journalist Dean Jones detailed five different striker options for Chelsea ahead of what will be a vitally important summer transfer window for the club, while touching on the chances of Toney moving across west London.

He wrote: "Toney has proven himself to be a regular goalscorer in the Premier League and he has a confidence in his own ability that Chelsea have been crying out for.

"A ban is looming over his betting investigation and that needs to be factored into the potential of any pursuit, but it is true that he has caught the eye of Chelsea recruiters who feel he could be a good fit with the other attacking players available to them.

"Brentford will not let him leave easily. They sold Ollie Watkins to Aston Villa for £33m at a time when he had not even played in the Premier League. Toney eclipses anything he had achieved and will easily be valued at over £50m by the Bees."

Would Toney be an upgrade on Lukaku?

As Jones suggests, Toney has developed a supreme confidence in his own ability which has been cultivated in a series of phenomenal goalscoring seasons in the lower leagues and the top flight.

He crashed in 49 goals in 94 appearances for Peterborough United before earning a move to the Bees, where he broke a long-standing record in the Championship for most goals scored by a single player, hitting 33 as Thomas Frank's side were promoted through the play-offs.

The English forward enjoyed a strong debut campaign in the Premier League with 12 goals and five assists, while he has been one of the most consistent players in the division so far this season, registering 18 goals and four assists in just 29 appearances.

Frank was full of praise for his star striker in 2021, saying:

"If you want to be a top player you need to work hard, constantly reflect and want to learn and then of course you need to have that confidence that he’s got so naturally.

"He’s coming across so fantastically: he’s humble, calm, but with a mindset of a lion."

By comparison, Kai Havertz is the top scorer at Stamford Bridge this term with just seven Premier League goals, while the £97.5m spent on Lukaku in 2021 has also gone down the drain as he continues to struggle out on loan with Inter.

The Belgian forward would manage just eight top-flight goals last season and has registered just three in Serie A during his current loan spell, so looks unlikely to be the saviour at Chelsea next year.

Not only is Toney a younger, more confident goalscorer than Lukaku, but he has also averaged far more shots (3 vs 1.7), aerials won (3.4 vs 1.6) and average passes (23.1 vs 13.2) than the 29-year-old this season, so could represent a significant upgrade at Stamford Bridge should Boehly bring him in.

‘Origin of leak not from ICC’

: The ICC commended Brendon McCullum two years ago – and continues to do so today – for his brave, courageous and principled stand against corruption in cricket. The ICC also understood and shared his dismay at the leak of his confidential statement, which prompted a thorough and detailed investigation by the ICC. While the probe proved that the origin of the leak was not from within the ICC, it failed to establish beyond doubt the actual source. Nevertheless, the ICC has already put strong measures in place to ensure this type of incident is never repeated.
In 2014 (and unrelated to the leak of confidential information), a comprehensive review of the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit was carried out to review its processes, functions and resources. The review was conducted by the ICC’s Integrity Working Party (IWP), which included independent corruption experts. All the recommendations of the IWP were reviewed and adopted by the ICC Board during the 2015 ICC Annual Conference in Barbados.
Every event or incident provides an organisation with opportunities to review its structures and measure its operations against best practice. This is exactly what the ICC has done in this particular case – it believes the outcome has been processes, procedures and resources which have been further bolstered and strengthened.
The ICC reconfirms that it is doing absolutely everything in its power to fight the threat of corruption in the sport and will continue to do so. It also reaffirms its commitment to gain and retain the complete trust of cricketers, and to work in close cooperation with all stakeholders in cricket.

Ravi Sawani, the former general manager of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU), has questioned the remarks made by the former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, who termed the approach of the anti-corruption watchdog “casual”.Delivering the MCC Spirit of Cricket lecture at Lord’s on Monday, McCullum, who gave match-fixing evidence against his former team-mate Chris Cairns at Southwark Crown Court in London last year, said he felt the ACSU’s evidence-gathering had to be “much more thorough, more professional”.In his testimony during Cairns’ perjury trial, McCullum had said that, on the eve of New Zealand’s first match of the 2011 World Cup, he and Daniel Vettori, then captain, had gone to the hotel room of the ACSU representative John Rhodes to report the approaches that Cairns had allegedly made in 2008, when McCullum was playing the inaugural season of the IPL in India. McCullum recollected Rhodes taking notes but not recording their conversation.According to McCullum, Rhodes said his notes would “probably end up” at the bottom of the file. “When I made my first statement to the ICC, my impression was that it would be put in the bottom draw and never see the light of day again. No attempt was made to elicit a full and comprehensive statement from me on that occasion,” McCullum told the audience at the lecture.Cairns, who retired from international cricket in 2006, had been part of the un-sanctioned Indian Cricket League in 2008, the tournament which gave rise to the allegations of which he was subsequently acquitted. However, Sawani said the ACSU could not have used McCullum’s statement against Cairns since the ICL did not fall under the ICC umbrella.”We could not have used any part of what McCullum had told us against Chris Cairns in any manner because Chris Cairns was not under the ICC jurisdiction at that moment,” Sawani told ESPNcricinfo.”He [Cairns] was accused of doing something when he was part of the ICL operations. As per the ACSU code Cairns had not done anything in any ICC-controlled match so there was no necessity for us to prosecute Chris Cairns. Also, because we had taken a decision not to prosecute McCullum for the delay in reporting an approach, there was no requirement for recording McCullum’s statement in a detailed manner.”After speaking to Rhodes, McCullum made detailed statements to the ACSU and the Metropolitan Police in London in 2014. The Metropolitan Police, McCullum said, was “streets ahead in terms of professionalism” compared to the ACSU. Sawani, however, disagreed with McCullum.”The Met Police recorded his statement to criminally prosecute Chris Cairns and his lawyer [who was also acquitted] for certain offences as per the English law and obviously they went into great details as to what happened and exactly what was the cause of the statement that he had made and what happened thereafter,” Sawani said. “It had to be evidence recorded as per the procedure prescribed in English criminal law and then used during criminal proceedings.”According to Sawani, the ACSU took a well-deliberated decision not to punish McCullum for his failure to report the approach three years after Cairns allegedly made it.”I took that decision that no action need be taken against Brendon McCullum,” Sawani said. “McCullum was stating something three years late about an incident. No action was taken even though technically it was an offence. The player himself had come forward to report an approach about which we were not aware and it would have been stupid on our part to punish him for that.”Later in 2014, McCullum’s second statement to the ICC was leaked in the . McCullum said he still did not know how his statement had found its way into the paper, and if anyone had been held accountable.”To report an approach and to give evidence requires considerable courage – players deserve much better,” McCullum said. “How can the game’s governing body expect players to co-operate with it when it is then responsible for leaking confidential statements to the media?”However, Sawani denied that anyone within the ACSU would have divulged any details to an outsider, adding that there were others present in the room each time McCullum recorded a statement.”McCullum himself admitted this,” Sawani said, “when he said ‘I had told other people about Cairns’ approaches – one of them was my captain and friend, Dan Vettori’. There were many possibilities. The truth is out there somewhere and only Ed Hawkins [Daily Mail reporter] can say from where he sourced extracts of that statement.”