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Auckland’s batting line-up, studded with international players, made the most of the chance to spend some time in the middle against Otago at Eden Park’s outer oval before New Zealand’s side is selected for the first Test against Pakistan next week. But most would have been disappointed not to have had even more time at the crease. They all made significant starts, but continued to show early seasonitis by getting out too soon.Mark Richardson was the early figure in the innings, scoring at a much faster clip than his usually more attacking partner Lou Vincent. It was only after Richardson got out that Vincent upped his scoring rate, but he paid the price for loosening up as he fell victim to Jeff Wilson. Matt Horne dominated the middle stages of the day with some attacking strokeplay while the up-and-coming Tim McIntosh was unbeaten at stumps on 54, as he continuing to build on the outstanding promise he has already shown in his brief career.Wilson demonstrated just how much better prepared he is for this second summer after his retirement from his international rugby career, and bowled with good accuracy and control to take 3 for 54 from 25 overs. Brad Scott, the left-arm medium-fast bowler, complemented Wilson well. Scott had 1 for 46 from 26 overs.Central Districts may have a side laden with batting potential, but the failure to put a significant innings together resulted in their facing a formidable first-innings deficit against Northern Districts at Gisborne’s Harry Barker Reserve.Central Districts were all out for 191, with Glen Sulzberger, the captain, the last man out for 43. It was the side’s highest score. Mark Orchard troubled the batsmen most, and most of the fellow bowlers were also among the wickets as Central Districts were guilty of poor shot selection.By contrast, apart from the first-over dismissal of Nick Horsley in their reply, the Northern Districts batsmen seemed well set for the long haul with James Marshall, the side’s acting captain in the absence of the injured Robbie Hart, unbeaten on 57 at stumps.

Sri Lanka A gradually wrestled the initiative away from Kenya on the secondday of the third unofficial Test match despite two plucky partnerships fromthe visitor’s lower order.Kenya were well positioned at the start of play on the second morning, butSri Lanka’s spinners soon weaved their way through their top order in thefirst hour.Were it not for partnerships of 67 and 59 for the sixth and ninth wicketsrespectively, Kenya would be struggling to prevent a three-day finish.Sri Lanka A still established a useful 42 run lead, which was then extendedto 167, as Sri Lanka A finished the second day on 125 for three thanks to anentertaining half-century from Upeka Fernando.Fernando, 22, who secured his place after a bristling 86 off 98 balls in thesecond Test, continued in the same vein here, hitting ten fours in his 83-ball61.Avishka Gunawardene (40) added 76 runs for the first wicket with Fernandobefore pulling a leg-break from Collins Obuya straight into the hands ofsquare leg.Micahel Vandort mistimed a drive – one of a number to do so on a turgidpitch that is getting slower and lower by the hour – and was well caught atmid on.When Fernando was caught in the covers, Tillakaratne Dilshan and ChamaraSilva batted cautiously till the close, clearly determined not to wastetheir last chance to impress the selectors against Kenya’s weak bowling.The visitors now need to take early wickets tomorrow morning if they are tohave a chance to stave off a whitewash. The lead is already competitive fora side struggling to play spin.Earlier, Kenya, resuming on 69, lost the crucial wicket of opener RavinduShah, scorer 94 in the first Test and 106 in the second, early on as heedged a leg-break from Upul Chandana into the hands of Upeka Fernando atslip.Chandana went on to claim five wickets in the innings, taking his tally to16 in the series, including the prize scalp of Steve Tikolo for 42. Theright-hander drove loosely and was caught at mid-off.Maurice Odumbe was adjudged lbw next ball – much to his anger – and theleft-handed Hitesh Modi drove an off-break from Muthumudalige Pushpakumarato mid-off.Kenya had once again exposed their weakness against slow bowling, losingfour wickets for nine runs to leave themselves in a perilous position (82for five).But, like they had done yesterday in the field, Kenya fought back, as DavidObuya, playing his first game of the tour scored 38 from 91 balls and MartinSuji made 28.The pair added 67 runs in 20 overs before the muscular Pulasthi Gunaratnefound the outside edge of Suji’s bat.The breakthrough was followed by two more quick wickets – David Obuyatrapped lbw and Brijesh Patel caught behind – and another spiritedpartnership.Collins Obuya clumped 49 from 69 balls, much to the delight of a coach loadof Welsh tourists who had fitted in some cricket watching into their tour ofSri Lanka’s ancient cities.Joseph Angara played his part, easing his way to 19, and helping CollinsObuya take the score to within touching distance of Sri Lanka A.However, they were unable to overhaul the hosts 262 first innings total asAngara spiraled a catch to mid off and Peter Ochieng missed a leg-break fromChandana.

For a man who has been afforded just two one-day internationals to translate impressive domestic form on to a higher stage, Jimmy Maher (150) took things in his stride remarkably easily in Hobart today. On a day when his opponents did little to diminish their gloomy collective disposition, the Queenslander’s century was the clear highlight of an otherwise unremarkable opening to the tour match between Australia ‘A’ and West Indies at the Bellerive Oval.The twenty-six year old left hander profited from a curious decision at the start of the day by the West Indians and remained at the crease until nearly its very close. Albeit that it was crafted on a placid pitch, Maher’s ninth first-class century – and a third from only five matches in an explosive beginning to this Australian season – was a masterpiece of concentration and a tribute to his ability to deal with loose bowling.During its 339-minute course, he also proved at least two things. That Australia, lest it will ever require it, has a wealth of largely unexplored talent waiting in the wings and that West Indian captain Jimmy Adams might well have been better advised to bat first in this match.In view of the fact that his team entered the contest urgently requiring batting practice, and found that he had no more than three fit front-line bowlers at his disposal, it seemed an odd decision for Adams to want to invite his opponents to bat first. It assumed even more confounding proportions as Maher and Queenslandteammate Martin Love (76) stood firm to add an untroubled 156 for the second wicket and provide the impetus to help carry a side which brims with some ofAustralia’s best-credentialled domestic players to 4/306 by stumps.”We thought there was enough moisture in it to warrant that,” mused the tourists’ skipper of the decision.”We figured that it (the moisture) would have lasted until about lunch time and that, if we’d had two or three wickets by lunch time, it would have been worth it.””The bottom line is that we bowled too many full balls during the course of the day. I would have been happy with 4/250; I think (to concede) 300 is too much for a Test team,” he said.Maher certainly wasn’t in any mood to complain. The ball did plenty through the opening half-hour, the period during which the steepling bounce being extracted by Marlon Black (0/49) from the Church Street End seemed, ultimately, to unsettle local hero Jamie Cox (6) into an error at the other end. But, thereafter, he seamlessly took toll of the understrength attack with a lovely mixture of drives, pulls and cuts. The only semblance of a chance from his bat came with his score at fifty-three and even that was near-impossible: Marlon Samuels launching himself high into the air above cover point to try and intercept a ripping cut.”Being down here, and being part of the ‘A’ side is a thrill for me,” said Maher after play. “It was important to go out and score runs … and very pleasing.””Generally down here, the wicket does a bit early … but early today, I think they probably bowled a fraction short and probably didn’t make the best use of the wicket.””Every time you go out to bat, you want to do the best you can. It doesn’t matter where you’re playing – someone’s got a ball in their hand and you’ve got a bat in your hand (and) you’ve got to work hard to get your runs ,” he added, underlining the disciplined mindset which lay at the core of his innings.Of the West Indian bowlers, Colin Stuart (3/76) was the most successful. Part-time spinners Adams (0/25) and Samuels (0/71) also held up well in difficult circumstances. And Wavell Hinds (1/18) performed an important job with his gentle medium pace by luring Damien Martyn (37), the likely replacement for the injured Steve Waugh in next week’s Third Test in Adelaide, into playing a lazy, uncontrolled cut in late afternoon.But there will be likely be little respite for the attack in the morning when the ravenous Simon Katich (25*) continues to mount a burgeoning campaign for inclusion in Australia’s Test team in the near future. Having seen champion batsman Brian Lara disappear to the rooms for the entirety of the last hour as his much-publicised hamstring complaint continued to haunt him, omens, strategies and developments simply go from bad to worse for the tourists.

Anthony Gordon ‘fumed’ at Ben Godfrey during Everton’s 1-0 win at home to Newcastle United in the Premier League on Thursday night.

The Lowdown: Vital win

It was such a vital win for Frank Lampard and the Merseyside club at Goodison Park, with Alex Iwobi bailing them out deep into stoppage time after a protestor had tied himself to one of the goalposts early on in the second half, which in truth were the only two real moments of note in the match.

Nonetheless, it was also a very nervy game at times for the hosts, especially after Allan found himself given a controversial red card with a few minutes to go.

The Latest: Gordon fume

Taking to Twitter, the Liverpool Echo journalist Adam Jones noticed Gordon’s anger towards Godfrey late on in the first half, after did not receive a pass from his teammate:

“Gordon has just fumed at Godfrey there for not receiving a pass in space.

“It’s all a bit frantic and panicked from EFC.”

The Verdict: Not at his best

Despite the win, even Godfrey would admit that he was not at his best.

Playing as a makeshift left-back, the Englishman lost out on six of his duels, and also failed to record any dribbles, interceptions, key passes or accurate crosses, giving possession away 13 times (SofaScore).

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His versatility as a central defender certainly makes him a good option in the squad, but Lampard will want to see more from him as the Toffees aim to stay up in the Premier League, perhaps moving him into his more comfortable central role next time out.

In other news, find out what ‘dangerous’ Blues update has now emerged here!

The Colts Cricket Club and nine other Tier A clubs will receive US$34,767 each to cover their player fees, match fees and administration fees for this season © Cricinfo Ltd

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has sanctioned Rs 56 million (US$495,421) to be spent on the ten Tier A clubs playing domestic tournaments this season in an effort to make the events more professional.The Sinhalese Sports Club, Nondescripts Cricket Club, Colombo Cricket Club, Colts Cricket Club, Bloomfield, Tamil Union, Badureliya, Chilaw Marians, Ragama and Moors Cricket Club will each receive Rs 3.93 million ($34,767) to cover their player fees, match fees and administration fees for the season. They will also be given coloured uniforms for the limited-overs and Twenty20 matches.For the first time, SLC will pay a monthly retainer to 15 players from each club. A total of Rs 1.05 million ($9,289) has been set aside for that purpose. The board will also pay the club coaches Rs 50,000 ($442) a month for ten months, apart from allowances to managers, trainers and masseurs. Earlier, the board distributed bowling machines worth Rs 500,000 ($4,423) each to the clubs.The clubs play the Premier Limited Overs tournament between November 14 to December 21 and the first-class Premier League tournament between January 17 and March 23.Meanwhile, SLC hopes to have the Pallakelle Stadium in Kandy ready for domestic matches by January-February next year. “We are hoping to complete the playing area, pavilion and dressing rooms so that by January-February next year we will be able to play Premier trophy and provincial matches there,” K Mathivanan, the board secretary, said.The stadium, a 20-minute drive from Kandy town, is expected to be ready to host Test matches only by 2011. “At the moment the drainage lines are being laid on the ground after which the sprinkler system will be put in place. The entire outfield will be planted with grass and the pitches attended to. The scoreboard and sight screens along with the media centre are also scheduled for construction.”

No announcement will be made until David Hemp’s return from play for Bermuda © Eddie Norfolk

Glamorgan appear set to shake up their coaching staff, with director of cricket John Derrick in line to be sacked after a dismal last two years in charge.The claims that the county’s second XI coach Adrian Shaw will be promoted to take charge of the first-team.Derrick, who joined the county in 2002, is expected to take up a new position with the Cricket Board of Wales after he is relieved of first-team duties.Arguably the most successful coach in the club’s history, Derrick led Glamorgan to the one-day league in 2002 and 2004, but results have tailed off in recent seasons and the county have lost 21 of their last 32 Championship matches, winning just three.Last season they finished one place off the bottom of division two in the Championship and were relegated in the Pro40 league.The county is also in serious financial difficulty, with the costs of reaching the standards required to host an Ashes Test in 2009 meaning that they cannot afford overseas players for 2007, and as a result any appointment is likely to be in-house.When quizzed on a possible change two months ago Glamorgan chairman Paul Russell said: “Adrian is a very capable coach. It would not be beyond the bounds of anyone’s imagination that one solution would be to give him more responsibility.”Glamorgan chief executive Mike Fatkin refused to confirm or deny the speculation surrounding Derrick’s position, and said no announcement will be made until captain David Hemp returns from international duty with Bermuda.

Scorecard

Andy Bichel’s 7 for 56 sparked Queensland’s revival in their Pura Cup game against Victoria © Getty Images

Clinton Perren and Jimmy Maher led Queensland’s revival at Brisbane, as they finished the second day of their Pura Cup match against Victoria on 5 for 225. After Andy Bichel had taken 7 for 56 to bowl Victoria out for 194, Perren (86 not out) and Maher (66) ensured that Queensland had an overall lead of 200 with five wickets in hand.Starting their second innings 25 runs in the arrears, Queensland got off to a poor start in the second innings, losing Ryan Broad with only 14 on the board. Maher, their captain, struck ten fours in his 66, and put together a useful 55-run stand with Martin Love. Maher and Perren then added 61 for the third wicket, and when Maher was dismissed, Perren took over, hitting 14 fours in his knock. Though Queensland lost a couple of wickets, Perren was still around when stumps were drawn for the day.If Perren was the star with the bat, then Andy Bichel was undoubtedly the bowling hero, taking 7 for 56 to restrict Victoria to just 194 in their first innings. Resuming at 6 for 126, Victoria were propped up by a useful 51 by Jonathan Moss, and his 71-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Adam Crosthwaite. However, once Bichel got the breakthrough, he nailed two more wickets before Ashley Noffke finally got rid of Moss to end the innings.

That sinking feeling … Inzamam-ul-Haq trudges off after his first-ball duck© Getty Images

Bob Woolmer, Pakistan’s coach, admitted that his side’s performance at Perth was so poor that he is contemplating calling in a sports psychologist in a bid to revive the team’s spirits.He told reporters that Pakistan were suffering from “mental confusion and mental awe” when facing the Australian bowlers. “It’s more really, I think, that we have to look inside here,” Woolmer said, pointing to his head. “I’ll speak to a couple of friends and things like that, I have some ideas. There are one or two very helpful people who will help me.Mindful of last week’s attack by Javed Miandad when he was accused of not knowing the Pakistan cricket culture, Woolmer stressed that the people he recruited would come from the Pakistani community. “They can’t come from outside," he stressed. "They are the ones that understand their own people and that’s very important.”It was an abject performance, very disappointing,” Woolmer continued. “I can’t speak for them, but obviously there’s an element of the mental confusion and the mental awe in this performance.”There’s a combination of the technical side and the mental side involved in the way they played that particular innings. We will go back to the drawing board and work hard.”Woolmer was particular perplexed at his batsmen’s shot selection. “We’ve been working very hard on leaving the ball and playing straight, and as soon as they got into the middle that went out the window. We’re going to have to keep talking about it. We need the guys to get in, spend 30 minutes at the crease and then start playing square of the wicket, but it’s not happening. We can’t make excuses.”If there is pressure on Woolmer, that’s nothing compared with that on Inzamam-ul-Haq after two listless innings which produced one run. Not only were his on-field performances were poor, he attracted additional criticism for missing the afternoon session on Saturday with back and stomach complaints. The Pakistan board’s decision to appoint him for three series is already looking as if it might come back to haunt it.

Scorecard

Damien Martyn’s masterful hundred set up the Australian victory (c) Getty

Michael Clarke was the unlikely star-turn with the ball, after Damien Martyn’s superb hundred had put Australia on course for victory. Ultimately, even fine knocks from Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid were nowhere near enough as India became the latest team to fall prey to the Wankhede jinx-under-lights. Once Tendulkar and Dravid departed, India folded quickly, to finish 77 runs, and a bonus point, short of Australia’s 286 for 8.But credit where it’s due. Clarke had been a peripheral figure with the bat, run out for just two in a frenetic final over where Ajit Agarkar, the pick of India’s bowlers, picked up three wickets. When he came on to bowl the 25th over of India’s reply, after Brag Hogg and Andrew Symonds had been blunted, and occasionally whacked for fours, by Tendulkar and Dravid, few knew what to expect – a tally of one wicket in six previous games was hardly intimidating.Tendulkar, who had eased into his stride after a hesitant start when he could have spooned three catches, was the first to depart, bowled after he had made room for a drive through cover (137 for 3). Yuvraj Singh then made just nine before he was too early into the sweep, and the ball ballooned off the glove to Adam Gilchrist (153 for 4). Suddenly, Clarke was on a roll, and India were staring at defeat.

Nathan Bracken and Andrew Symonds rejoice as Virender Sehwag goes first ball (c) Getty

That became a certainty a couple of over later when Clarke tempted Dravid into a reverse sweep, straight to Andy Bichel at backward point (171 for 5). Nathan Bracken then picked up Mohammad Kaif, Agarkar and Harbhajan Singh – Clarke took a fourth by bowling Kumble – to give the victory an emphatic touch that hadn’t appeared likely when Tendulkar and Dravid were stroking their way towards the target at a run-a-ball.In truth though, the victory had been set up by Martyn – aided by Gilchrist, Symonds and Michael Bevan – earlier in the day when India’s slow bowler failed to make optimum use of a surface where dust clouds were glimpsed as early as the tenth over.Zaheer Khan nailed Matthew Hayden – caught by Yuvraj at point, fending off a bouncer – early in the piece (9 for 1), but the rest of the time, he was creamed all over the park by the irresistible Gilchrist. He romped to 41 from 30 balls, before cutting one from Harbhajan into the path of a sprinting Kaif at square-cover (55 for 2).Dravid had opted for Virender Sehwag to be Zaheer’s new-ball partner, but once he got some stick, Harbhajan and Anil Kumble were quickly into the action. The run rate slowed momentarily, but once Ricky Ponting got into the groove, things perked up again. It took a poor decision from Neil Mallender, who gave Ponting out leg before to Agarkar as the ball was spearing down legside, to give India another look-in (93 for 3), but Martyn and Symonds soon consolidated with some thumping strokes and quick running.

Adam Gilchrist – butchered the Indian bowling, and there was no let-up after he was out (c) Getty

Symonds eased smoothly to a 59-ball 48 before he smacked Yuvraj straight into Harbhajan’s hands at deep midwicket (171 for 4), as India glimpsed an opening. But Martyn, the picture of circumspection en route to an 84-ball 50, and Bevan, playing his usual scampered-singles game, took the game away with a superbly paced partnership that extended all the way to the final over.Martyn’s second 50 took just 34 deliveries and included a huge six over long-on off Kumble, apart from some deft strokes off a disappointing Zaheer. With the exception of Agarkar, who bowled with unusual control, the rest of the attack was desperately disappointing in conditions that were loaded in their favour.India’s reply started in the worst possible fashion, as Sehwag offered no stroke to one that Bracken got to move back, and VVS Laxman soon followed – after a patchy 21 that included a lucky escape after a first-ball lbw appeal, classical strokeplay and crude attempted hoicks – as the pressure mounted. Tendulkar and Dravid did their utmost to alleviate it, until Clarke’s seemingly innocuous left-arm spin caused the innings to unravel. So much for Australian frailty in these conditions, so much for criticism of this second-string attack.

Friday night’s victory against the world champion Aussies was quite remarkable considering the position we found ourselves in at the beginning of both our batting and our bowling.It was good having the game in Brisbane against Aussie A before the Melbourne game because it showed us what we were up against and we were a little rusty there and did need to lift our intensity if we were going to compete with the full Aussie side.As I arrived at the MCG on the day of the match I have to admit to feeling more butterflies than normal because of the importance of this first match of the series and just the huge aura that emanates from the MCG, plus the huge crowd.When Steve Waugh won the toss and elected to bowl it was a good start as Flem [Stephen Fleming] was going to bat first anyway.Some excellent fast bowling from Australia had us in trouble early but the ever reliable Harry [Chris Harris] found an ally in Dan Vettori and these two guys put together a gutsy partnership that would turn out to be the single most important factor to our victory.Scott Styris also chipped in and with a target of 200 on the board we knew it would be hard work but early wickets are the key to defending small totals.If I think back to most of the victories New Zealand has had against Aussie over the past decade I reckon there is one common factor, we always get Mark Waugh early.I believe he is the key wicket in the Aussie one-day line-up and when Bondy [Shane Bond] removed him first over I felt like it was now an even playing field.While Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist looked dangerous for a while, we did remove them and the pressure came on their middle order who looked a bit like they were unsure how to go about chasing this small target.As we kept taking wickets we exposed their tail and when Dan Vettori took the last wicket the feeling that was experienced by all of us was pure joy.This victory was greeted by all in Aussie as a great fight by the CLEAR Black Caps and has really turned this VB Series into a great three-way competition.We arrived here in Hobart yesterday and rain meant the facilities for outdoor practice were not available so it was indoor for most of us while some of the guys had a gym session.We all watched South Africa get up to a very professional victory over Aussie and that win will do wonders to the South Africans after having a nightmare last four weeks here.There will be a spring in their step and the dark clouds will have broken to let in the sunlight.Our match against SA will be very interesting for a number of reasons. We haven’t played each other for a while and the last time SA beat us five-nil but there were three games which could have gone either way.From a personal point of view, last time I played these guys I was in bad shape with my knee and nowhere near full fitness. I am now back to full fitness and really looking forward to the challenge SA will provide.They are a predictably professional side and tough competitors but a victory here will see us get a jump on the field in the race to the finals berth.