He’s the best player in the Premier League; nothing much has changed. He should have been in the FIFA World XI alongside Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, according to some. Above all, Robin van Persie should be the name that stands ahead of all others for this season’s Player of the Year award.

There are only positives in this debate. While the Premier League may be losing its status as the best league in the world to either the rising power in Germany or the technical excellence of La Liga, English football needs a fiery debate to reignite the engines.

Maybe it’s not as clear-cut to most that van Persie should grab the accolade for a second consecutive year; there are players both in the north and in the capital who are doing incredible things, and well worth a mention for the right to be crowned player of the season.

But being the best isn’t always enough, especially in England. Fans need reminding why you’re the best and why you deserve personal awards ahead of everyone else. There’s often too much going on in the Premier League to be tied down to just one hero, and that is one of the league’s great strengths.

If the season finished in December and the award handed out then, van Persie would have won. Yet what has he done since then? Over the past few months, has he been better than Luis Suarez, Gareth Bale or even Michu? Where’s Juan Mata in all this?

Though that’s largely the point: people will question what he has done in the past few months rather than over the entire season. Van Persie is far too good to completely break down between now and the end of the season. By May, most will remember what they’ve seen in the weeks leading up to the final weekend. But Luis Suarez has had his critics for failing to convert earlier in the season and Bale wasn’t even a serious contender for the award in the first half of the campaign – certainly not when players like van Persie and Juan Mata were the standouts.

It also isn’t just about who won the league title or played a part in a successful European campaign. Even if Liverpool finish well outside the top four, most at Anfield will say that Suarez has nevertheless been the best player, predominantly because of his value to the club and where they’d be without him.

Where would Swansea be without their best player? What about Spurs? Yet that’s an argument that can be had for many clubs up and down the country. Jack Wilshere has been Arsenal’s star performer this season, but he isn’t and shouldn’t be mentioned as a contender for Player of the Year. Manchester United are going to win the league title because of their Dutchman in attack, and yet to some that might not be enough.

But it should be.

Even with what can be described as a cold past few months, where van Persie has only scored once in his last seven while squandering a few golden opportunities against Real Madrid, he has still made Alex Ferguson’s team the best in England and changed games in their favour when the only outcome looked to be a loss.

Scoring form doesn’t necessarily take away from how good van Persie is. If there is a heated argument against the Dutchman winning the award, then it’s only because people have forgotten how good he is, through no fault of their own.

You look at names like Isco and Radamel Falcao, where few teams in world football would turn their noses up at either player, and yet the discussion has cooled down on both in recent months. Have we forgotten how good they are? Probably, it’s certainly not as prominent in the mind as it was earlier in the season. But it doesn’t take anything away from what they’ve done.

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Advocates of Real Madrid will say Ronaldo should have won the last Ballon d’Or because of his season with Madrid and his performances in the Clasicos. But it wasn’t enough. He was fantastic, mesmerising. Without his league goals – all 46 of them – where would Madrid have finished? They should have won the Champions league, too, or at least gotten closer than they did. And yet the nagging feeling inside Ronaldo’s head was that he knew it wouldn’t be enough to swing the majority of votes in his favour.

As the holder of the award, it is only van Persie’s to lose. Since arriving at Manchester United he’s at times looked like a man possessed, playing with that same level of brilliance that Arsenal fans were so accustomed to but now with an added belief that his efforts will pay off big come May.

It takes nothing away from the others, much in the same way that Messi’s fourth Ballon d’Or award is unlikely to force us to forget Ronaldo’s season last year. But van Persie remains the leading light in English football, and this second year will offer much more of a foundation to keep him at the top of the mountain.

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Rain played spoilsport on Thursday in the match between Kerala and Goain the Cooch Behar Trophy South Zone (under-19) league match at theMedical College Ground in Trivandrum. There was never any possibilityof play on the second day. At the end of the first day Goa had made 71for the loss of eight wickets at the end of a truncated day’s play

New Zealand have announced squads for the women’s national team and the A side that will train over the next 12 months for the World Cup in Australia in 2009.All members of the squad that lost the Rose Bowl to Australia in March have been included in the national training squad along with Suzie Bates, Selena Charteris, Ingrid Cronin-Knight, Maria Fahey, Ros Kember, Beth McNeill, Rowan Milburn, Louise Milliken and newcomer Prashilla Mistry.Both squads will attend camps at New Zealand Cricket’s High Performance Centre over the winter and the White Ferns will play warm up matches in October-November.New Zealand squad:
Suzie Bates, Nicola Browne, Sarah Burke, Rachel Candy, Selena Charteris, Ingrid Cronin-Knight, Sophie Devine, Lucy Doolan, Maria Fahey, Ros Kember, Sara McGlashan, Beth McNeill, Katey Martin, Aimee Mason, Rowan Milburn, Louise Milliken, Prashilla Mistry, Rachel Priest, Amy Satterthwaite, Haidee Tiffen, Sarah Tsukigawa.A squad:
Kate Broadmore, Saskia Bullen, Abby Burrows, Kendra Cocksedge, Tamara Gould, Holly Huddleston, Victoria Lind, Frances Mackay, Megan Murphy, Katie Perkins, Liz Perry, Sian Ruck, Kerry Tomlinson, Megan Wakefield, Josie Young.

Mumbai batsman Hiken Shah has challenged his suspension from official cricket by the BCCI in the Bombay High Court. The board had suspended Shah with immediate effect in mid July after he was found guilty of having “approached” a Mumbai team-mate.On behalf of Shah, advocate Som Sinha filed a writ petition in the court last week. A two-judge bench of Justice VM Kanade and Justice BP Colabawalla heard the matter on August 4. The judges didn’t grant any immediate relief to the petitioner but have asked the BCCI to file a written reply to the objections raised by Shah’s counsel. The case will next be heard again on August 11.ESPNcricinfo understands that Shah’s petition is based on the fact that he has been suspended without providing any details in writing about his alleged breaches. Shah is also understood to have noted in his plea that he had been granted permission to travel to the UK to play for the minor counties.While announcing Shah’s suspension, the BCCI release had noted: “Hiken Shah made a corrupt approach to one of his colleagues from first-class cricket, who is also a member of one of the IPL teams. The approached player immediately informed the incident to his franchise team. The franchise team followed the process of informing the incident to the Anti-Corruption Unit of the BCCI. Based on the information, BCCI President, Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya, instructed ACU to conduct an immediate inquiry into the matter.”After a detailed inquiry into the reported incident, the inquiry commissioner found Hiken Shah guilty of committing breach of Articles 2.1.1; 2.1.2; and 2.1.4 of the BCCI Anti-Corruption Code for participants and recommended their provisions to the BCCI President.”Shah, meanwhile, had stressed he was innocent. “All I will say is I am innocent and I will fight to prove it,” he had told ESPNcricinfo.

Bangladesh cricket could take its first step towards the game’s decentralisation at an administrative level by the end of 2015, vice-president Mahbubul Anam said. The long-awaited regional cricket association is set to be launched as a pilot project in one of the country’s eight divisions.Speaking at a discussion seminar called “our cricket at the grassroots,” organised by Bangladesh Sports Journalists Association, Mahbubul said they were looking to develop a local capacity and a separate cricket calendar in various divisions so that cricket is not solely run from their Dhaka headquarters.The BCB constitution defines regional cricket associations as bodies to run cricket in the different administrative divisions of Bangladesh. It states the BCB should ensure that cricket is run across the country through the regional and District Sports Associations (DSA).While the DSAs are formed and run by the government in all 64 districts of the country, the regional cricket bodies haven’t seen the light of day despite being in the works for nearly two decades and being included in the board’s constitution since 2012.Mahbubul admitted that cricket is currently being run on the basis of the game’s popularly rather than a proper decentralised system.”By December, we will separate at least one of the divisions as a pilot project,” Mahbubul said. “It will have a separate calendar. We have to take the facility to the people, but can’t expect the people to come to the facility. We have to build local capacity, without which we cannot run a regional cricket association.””Currently we are running cricket on popularity but we have one of the lowest participation levels in formal cricket. We can’t keep running cricket on passionate organisers. We have to ensure that there is balance between voluntarism and professionalism at the grassroots level.”The seminar invited diverse voices from across Bangladesh, including coaches and organisers from places like Comilla, Madaripur, Rajshahi and Barisal. The programme became a platform for the BCB, represented by Mahbubul, game development committee chairman Khaled Mahmud and game development manager Nazmul Abedeen, to listen to the myriad of issues that are holding back the game’s expansion across the country.Former Bangladesh captain Khaled Mashud, who transformed Rajshahi cricket almost single-handedly, said that facilities were not a problem in his region, but alleged that poor management was the cause behind Rajshahi’s recent troubles in the domestic first-class competition.Badrul Huda, the veteran coach and organiser from Comilla, said that regionally one of the biggest problems was the lack of local leagues. In his district, he said, there was only one league, which was a knockout competition. Mashud said that the league in Rajshahi did not have a relegation system, rendering it meaningless.Cutting out the relegation in a league means that the person seeking councillorship [representation] to the BCB will be guaranteed a vote from a set number of clubs, without risking losing their support. Mashud urged the BCB to stop funding to the districts that do not organise league competitions.Mahmud, also a former Bangladesh captain, said that most of what had been said in the seminar was a true picture of the grassroots of Bangladesh cricket.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball-detailsFile photo – Mohammad Rizwan struck eight fours and a six in his unbeaten 58•AFP

Half-centuries from Iftikhar Ahmed and Mohammad Rizwan helped Peshawar Region beat Karachi Region Blues by seven wickets and defend their T20 title in Rawalpindi. All of Peshawar’s seven wins in the tournament have come batting second, and this one meant Karachi crashed to their fifth loss in the finals of the T20 Cup.Chasing a challenging target of 177, Peshawar began strongly with opener Rafatullah Mohmand bashing 43 of the 48 runs for the opening wicket. Rafatullah and his partner Israrullah fell in a space of eight balls, but Iftikhar and Rizwan then took charge, adding an unbroken 110 off only 64 balls to ace the chase. Rizwan crunched 58 off 34 balls while Iftikhar hit 57 off 40 balls as Peshawar sealed the win with seven balls to spare.After having inserted Karachi, Peshwar struck in the first over with Imran Khan removing Shahzaib Hasan for a duck. Khalid Latif (23) and Khurram Manzoor (41), though, worked past the early blow and kept runs flowing. Imran Khan Jnr broke the 52-run partnership in his first over when he had Latif caught and bowled. Three overs later, Manzoor was run out. Imran Khan Jnr then broke Karachi further with the wickets of Asad Shafiq and Anwar Ali and finished as the tournament’s joint highest wicket-taker – 16 from seven matches at an average of 12.12.Sarfraz Ahmed, who had pushed himself down the order, provided some late impetus with an unbeaten 47 off 26 balls. He scored three consecutive boundaries in the penultimate over as Karachi tallied 29 runs in the last 12 balls. But it wasn’t enough.

Delhi’s Shradhanand College beat DAV College, Jalandhar by eight wickets to book their place in the upcoming 2015 Red Bull Campus Cricket World Finals in Dehradun.Shradhanand College will play alongside Assupol TUKS (South Africa), University of Technology, Sydney (Australia), Loughborough MCC University (England), Government Jinnah College (Pakistan), European University of Bangladesh (Bangladesh), International College of Business and Technology (Sri Lanka) and Heriot Watt University (UAE) in the final leg of the tournament between October 19 and 24.In the final held on October 11, Shradhanand College seized the advantage over DAV College soon after putting them in to bat. They got a wicket in the second over, before their captain Hitesh Gemini (2-13) provided another breakthrough soon after. DAV College’s innings unraveled after Man-of-the-Match Harshit Kaushik (4-20) ripped through the middle-order and the batting side only managed 94 for 8 in their 20 overs.Shradhanand College openers Jitendra Saroha and Himanshu Rana, who has played Ranji Trophy for Haryana this season, gave the side a good start, scoring 22 and 20 respectively. Lakshay Theraja (16*) and Rohan Rathi (32*) then secured the win for the side in 14.2 overs.

Mark Robinson has been confirmed as the new head coach of the England Women’s team. He has been the Sussex coach for a decade, was interviewed for the men’s coaching role in 2014 and has made a good impression as Lions coach, most recently overseeing the tour to South Africa at the start of 2015.He will take up his new role at the end of the year ahead of the tour of South Africa in February which is then followed by the World T20 in India. England have reached the last two World T20 finals, losing to Australia both times, but have not won a global tournament since 2009. They also relinquished the Ashes this year which led to the restructuring of the coaching roles with Paul Shaw leaving the position of Head of England Women’s Performance which has been made redundant.”I’m incredibly excited about this opportunity,” Robinson said. “It is obvious to everybody how quickly women’s cricket has grown in recent years – the game is now truly professional in every respect – so to have the chance to play a part in the next chapter for the England women’s team is a great honour. I’m also really looking forward to the challenge of coaching in an international environment again.Mark Robinson will work alongside Clare Connor, the ECB’s director of women’s cricket•Getty Images

“It does mean I will be leaving Sussex, and I would like to thank everyone who I have worked and played alongside at the club, as well as the supporters, for providing me with so many happy memories.”Clare Connor, the ECB director of women’s cricket, said: “We are absolutely delighted to appoint Mark as the head coach of the England women’s team. He has a superb coaching record with Sussex, experience of working with England teams, a reputation for getting the best out of players, and is highly regarded as one of the best coaches working in the men’s professional game.”The next 18 months are hugely important for the England women’s team and the players must quickly get back to winning ways in South Africa in February. Starting in India in March 2016, we will be competing in three ICC world events in the next three years and I fully believe Mark has the skill set and experience to lead the team to sustained success on their exciting journey as professional cricketers.”The fact that we have been able to attract a coach of Mark’s calibre is another demonstration that England women’s cricket continues to hit new heights. It has been a highly competitive recruitment process, and we are all thrilled to have him on board.”Following the World T20 the focus will switch to the 2017 World Cup which is being hosted by England. That tournament could be a swansong for captain Charlotte Edwards although a poor World T20 could bring her position under scrutiny much sooner.

Jack Russell – age does not wither his infinite variety Photo © Stamp Publicity

Jack Russell celebrates his 37th birthday next month, but there is no signof his talent or enthusiasm waning. The former England wicketkeeper took a sensational catch and hit a typically chirpy half-century to ensure Gloucestershire kept up the pressure on Worcestershire and local rivals Somerset at the top of the National League.The home side made it a winning end to the Cheltenham Festival by overhauling Kent’s moderate 199-6 with five wickets and more than four oversto spare.But it didn’t look that easy when skipper Mark Alleyne walked out to joinRussell with his team is some disarray at 109-5.Together the pair built an unbroken stand of 91, with Alleyne contributing35 and Russell ending unbeaten on 55, having faced 60 balls and hit 6 fours.It was one-day batting of the highest quality, helped by some slipshod Kentfielding and a very short boundary on one side of a true pitch.Russell was at his impish best, sprinkling his innings with sweetly-timedstrokes, but also scampering every possible run while building his scorewith some characteristic deflections and improvised shots.His form behind the stumps remains exemplary and his ability to stand up tothe stumps to Gloucestershire’s seam bowlers is one of the key elements thathas made them into such a formidable limited overs team.But it was standing back to James Averis that Russell produced theoutstanding moment of this match – a stunning one-handed catch diving fulllength to his right to dismiss danger-man Rahul Dravid after Kent had wonthe toss.The Indian Test star has been in supreme form and had moved menacingly to 16in an opening stand of 34 when getting an edge to a flashing square cut.It was a crucial dismissal. Although Alan Wells capitalised on the shortboundary to hit two towering sixes in his 38, Kent were never able todominate the bowling.Just when they had worked a good position at 103-2 off-spinner Martyn Ballstruck twice in the same over to send back Wells and James Hockley, who hadadded 67 for the third wicket.Matthew Walker and Paul Nixon fell cheaply and it was left to Mark Ealham,back from England duty, to ensure a respectable total with an unbeaten 49off 52-balls.Gloucestershire suffered an early setback when Tim Hancock fell to MartinMcCague, but the pace bowler proved erratic and his first three overs cost26 runs.Ian Harvey came out swinging and smashed 9 boundaries in making 41 off just36 deliveries before being bowled attempting another big hit off MatthewFleming.Opener Dominic Hewson needed a couple of escapes in contributing a valuable45, but when he fell in a spell of ten overs that also brought thedismissals of Jeremy Snape and Matt Windows, Kent were right back in thegame.Russell and Alleyne soon extinguished their hopes, but it was in the bowlingand fielding departments that Gloucestershire really excelled.Skipper Alleyne said: “We were always confident after restricting Kent to199. It was a good track and from then on all we had to do was avoid beingbowled out.”

The Yashpal Sharma benefit match played in New Delhi on Wednesday between Kapil’s XI and Tendulkar’s XI was a welcome change after the recent match fixing scandal as a number of Indian cricket stars, past and present, picked up the willow to do what they do best – play the game.Put in to bat, Kapil’s XI posted 251 for eight in their alloted 40 overs with Saba Karim (88) and the battle scared Kapil Dev (60) being the top scorers. In reply, Tendulkar’s XI were 158 for 8. Then Ashish Nehra (19), Murali Karthik (42) and Ajit Agarkar (32) put up a strong rearguard action. But that was not enough as Tendulkar’s team were all out for 246 in 39.4 overs.