Kent captain Matthew Fleming claimed four wickets to inspire a late Kent comeback against Yorkshire.Bad light stopped play five overs prior to the scheduled first day close with the Tykes on 365 for seven – yet the visitors had been in fine shape on 327 for two just 73 minutes earlier.After winning the toss, the white rose county took advantage of a sublime St Lawrence pitch and a short leg-side boundary on the lime tree side of the ground to punish Kent’s injury-hit attack.After the early loss of Simon Widdup, Vaughan – the only one on Yorkshire’s three representatives appearing in this game to have also played in last week’s series winning Test against The West Indies, started the run glut with a stylish 69 in almost three hours.He finally went to an excellent catch by Rahul Dravid at second slip to give Fleming the first of his four for 77 return, leaving Anthony McGrath to add a further 195 for the third wicket in partnership with Australian Darren Lehmann.Scoring at almost five an over McGrath notched 14 fours and a six on his way to a 181-ball hundred.Lehmann, who has past 50 in his last six championship innings, was even quicker to three figures needing just 89 balls to reach his fourth century of the championship summer.With the Yorkshire score on 330, Fleming removed McGrath to a catch at the wicket and then ended Lehmann’s stay to a leg-side catch also by Nixon.Gary Fellows followed in similar fashion in Fleming’s next over, then David Byas and Simon Guy both went cheaply to Martin Saggers and David Masters respectively to give Kent a second valuable bowling bonus point in their quest to stay out of the relegation zone.
At 127 for 3 off 16.3 overs, needing 20 more off 21 deliveries to triumph in a Twenty20, most would have gone with the Mumbai Champs to cruise to a convincing win. But two quick wickets from Andre Adams sparked the Tigers back into the hunt; another five fell in the space of three overs, and even if No. 11 Avinash Yadav’s attempt for the third run off the final ball had been successful, the Champs would have fallen short by the one run instead of the two.If it was his bowling at the death that snatched the win, Adams had earlier provided the much-needed thrust at the end during his team’s innings to set up a competitive target. Kolkata Tigers choose to bat, and got the momentum going with openers Subhomoy Das and Lance Klusener hitting four fours in the first two overs.But after West Indian Tino Best removed Klusener in the fourth over, things went quiet for the Tigers. Subhomoy fell to Ranjit Khirid, and when Michael Kasprowicz dismissed Craig McMillan for 8, the side were 62 for 3 at almost the halfway stage of their innings.Abhishek Jhunjhunwala made a 29-ball 33 but at 93 for 4 after 14 overs, the Tigers needed at least ten an over from then on to post a challenging total. Rohan Gavaskar kept the score ticking during his unbeaten 41 off 36, and it was Adam’s cameo 12-ball 21 that ensured the Tigers reached 146. Sixteen of those runs came off the final over by Best, in which Adams struck two sixes.Soon after Adams struck again, with the ball, removing former Sri Lanka international Saman Jayantha for a duck. But the next partnership, and a blazing fifty from Raviraj Patil, set up the platform for the chase. Patil smacked 52 off 31 deliveries, with eight fours and two sixes, and by the time his fusillade was over, the Champs looked on course, needing 71 more with a little over half the overs remaining.Nathan Astle, the Champs captain, almost put the Tigers out of the game when he began the final flourish with two sixes off Adams in the 17th over, but another run down the track only saw him being bowled by his fellow New Zealander, and opened the door for the Tigers to fight back.Johan van der Wath fell in the same over, and the remainder of the Champs batting line-up couldn’t keep their head to get a run a ball in the final three overs, bowled by Nantie Hayward and Adams. They panicked, three perished to run-outs – although the last being an optimistic try – as they fell prey to the pressure applied by the Tigers.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details Mahela Jayawardene produced an innings of pure class, a rare gem, when it was most needed as Sri Lanka claimed their rightful place in the final of the 2007 World Cup, brushing aside New Zealand, who have reached the semifinals five times and never gone further. The 81-run win was Mahela’s baby, but Upul Tharanga played his part, as did Muttiah Muralitharan, who picked up 4 for 31 and spun New Zealand out for only 208.The progress of Jayawardene’s innings was not unlike the shaping of a diamond. It was raw to begin with – carefully negotiated dot-balls, as he reached 17 off 47 balls, and, as the right environment was created slowly but surely, 23 runs came off as many balls; then, as the carbon crystal was almost worth its weight in carats, Jayawardene applied immense heat and pressure, carting 60 off 30 balls; finally, when the stone was done he cut and polished his gem, taking 15 off 5 balls, and left it out there for the world to admire.Even Stephen Fleming, Jayawardene’s opposite number, and a captain known to take on and target his counterparts, was moved enough to walk up and congratulate him immediately after Sri Lanka had ended on 289 for 5. The manner in which he built his innings, never once doubting what was best for himself as batsman or the team as captain, harked back to the mindset of Sri Lanka’s World Cup winning captain, Arjuna Ranatunga. But the purity of his strokeplay, oozing class, not one shot played in anger, barely a desperate run scrambled, was reminiscent of that stylist, Aravinda de Silva.But though Jayawardene was never once in trouble in the course of his innings, and always in control, it was not as though the conditions were perfect for batting. Although there wasn’t exaggerated assistance for the bowlers, the ball wasn’t exactly coming onto the bat nicely to be driven on the up at will. The fall of first Sanath Jayasuriya – bowled through the gate by James Franklin with the score on 13 – and later Kumar Sangakkara, who chipped Franklin to mid-on with Sri Lanka on 67, and New Zealand sniffed a chance.Up until then it was Upul Tharanga, under severe pressure for occupying a spot some believed should have gone to Marvan Atapattu, had kept Sri Lanka going. He was scoring fluently, reaching 50 off 51 balls, though without any of the debonair mien of Jayawardene, and built a solid partnership with his captain. A late surge from him, including a sweetly timed six over cover, took him to 73 from 74 balls before he was bowled round his legs, shuffling across his stumps too much, by Daniel Vettori.In a tournament where the umpiring standards have been uniformly high, a rare error each from the most experienced umpire and the best one, accounted for the final two wickets that fell. Rudi Koertzen gave Chamara Silva out lbw after a thick inside-edge went back onto pad, and Simon Taufel raised the dreaded finger when Tillakaratne Dilshan attempted to sweep one from Jacob Oram that was delivered from wide of the crease and struck the left leg in line with leg stump and would easily have missed another set of stumps.Lasith Malinga slinged out fiery swinging deliveries to put NZ in early trouble•AFP
Yet Jayawardene had kept his end tight, and built partnerships both times – 41 for the fourth wicket and 81 for the fifth – and was around to finish things off in style. A straight six that was gently caressed back over Oram’s head, a wristy flick off a full-toss that just eluded Shane Bond at deep backward square-leg and went the distance, and some sizzling late cuts powered Sri Lanka to 289 for 5 from 50 overs. 102 runs had come off the last 10 overs, and with their bowling attack, in these conditions, Sri Lanka needed to play really badly to lose.Lasith Malinga kept up the tempo with a fiery spell, getting the ball to move away from the right-handed batsmen late at sheer pace. But it was a left-hander who suffered as Fleming was trapped in front of the stumps by one that started outside off and came into him. Ross Taylor, who has harassed by Malinga, was put out of his misery by Chaminda Vaas and Koertzen, adjudged lbw to a ball that would have missed the stumps.Scott Styris, as he has done all tournament, punched well above his weight, creaming three straight sixes – twice off Dilhara Fernando, who was a mental wreck after being twice warned for running on the danger area in his first over, and once off Muralitharan – but he only managed 37 before popping a simple catch to short midwicket off an innocuous offbreak from Dilshan.Muralitharan then swooped in, having Oram caught and bowled off a doosra, and then off the very next ball Brendon McCullum brilliantly caught by a diving Silva at short fine-leg, and all of a sudden New Zealand were 114 for 5. Peter Fulton, who had batted well for 46, chipped Jayasuriya to midwicket, Vettori offered his pad to a doosra that was pitched in line and destined for middle stump, and New Zealand were dead and buried at 116 for 7. The rest was mere formality, though a cameo from Franklin towards the end provided some passtime, as Sri Lanka romped into the final of the World Cup.
The PCB is currently in negotiations with Jonty Rhodes to hire him on short-term basis to help improve their fielding before the tour to England this summer.”A PCB official is in South Africa at the moment negotiating with Rhodes. It hasn’t been decided yet – we will know more about it by Monday. It will not be a permanent assignment as at the moment we are looking at it only as an appointment specifically for the England series,” an official told Cricinfo.According to the PCB, the aim is for Rhodes to work with the Pakistan senior and `A’ team. “We want him working with senior players before they tour England and also work with our younger players at the National Cricket Academy (NCA).”Rhodes played 52 Tests and 245 One-day Internationals between 1992 and 2003 and is widely recognised as one of the best fielders to have played the game.Though Pakistan have enjoyed a stellar season, defeating England, India and Sri Lanka in Test series at home and abroad as well as winning two of the three ODI series, concerns have been raised over the standard of their fielding. Despite showing initial improvement when Bob Woolmer was first appointed, standards have remained inconsistent since and reached a nadir in the ODI series defeat to India, particularly in the final game at Karachi.That performance, which some of the team management conceded was the worst in the field for some time, sparked off the search for a fielding coach. Rhodes’ name was mentioned a few times immediately after that series though, ultimately, only a bowling coach, in Waqar Younis, was hired.Bob Woolmer, who has first-hand experience of Rhodes’s skills from his time as coach of South Africa in the 90s, has also spoken to him about the assignment. Having informed him of the prospective dates for any stint, Woolmer is now awaiting a response from Rhodes.
Sri Lanka captain Marvan Atapattu was due to travel abroad yesterday for medical treatment on a troublesome back injury which has plagued his 15-year international career.Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) sources said that the injury recurred during a training session as the Sri Lankan squad was preparing for the visit of West Indies for a two-Test series followed by a one-day triangular, also including India, starting in July.”Atapattu has been suffering from unbearable pain from a back injury and has been forced to seek medical treatment abroad,” said SLC CEO Duleep Mendis yesterday. Mendis said that the Sri Lankan captain’s progress would be closely monitored by SLC.Last year, shortly before Sri Lanka left on the tour to Australia, Atapattu complained of a back injury as a result of practicing indoors on the bowling machine, due to bad weather.”The time between balls is so small that while you are batting you don’t realise it. It was some time after practice that I started to feel some kind of stiffness in my back,” Atapattu said at the time, “When you are batting you sometimes tend to forget little things like that.”He also claimed that the back pains were a problem that he has had to deal with for most of his career. “It was worse in 2002 when Alex Kountouri (the team’s former physio) and someone called Shaun put me right with some treatment.”Atapattu, 34, and a veteran of 81 Tests and 225 one-day internationals recently criticised the heavy schedule his country will face in the next 12 months. He said that it would be hard on his players and not do any good to their fitness going through such a weighty program. Sri Lanka are due to play 15 Tests and 42 one-day internationals within this period.
Wellington beat Central Districts with more than a day to spare at Napier, while Northern Districts and Otago have the upper hand in today’s other State Championship matches.Wellington 181 and 310 beat Central Districts 63 and 197 (Taylor 66, Gillespie 4-71) by 231 runs ScorecardWellington made the most of some indifferent Central Districts batting to take an outright win in less than three days at Napier, to increase their prospects of a place in the State Championship final. CD, after their miserable first-innings batting effort of 63, faced what would have been a record victory target of 429, but they could do little to boost their own cause after losing all bar Ross Taylor of their best batsmen in reaching 57 for 4. Taylor scored a typically aggressive 66 off 57 balls, but it was only a holding action before the accurate Wellington attack had the final say. Mark Gillespie ended with 4 for 71, while James Franklin and Iain O’Brien took two wickets apiece.3rd day closeOtago 336 and 143 (Hopkins 50, Wisneski 4-45) lead Canterbury 219 (Harris 63) and 78 for 4 by 182 runs ScorecardCanterbury, the competition front-runners, are under pressure from a resurgent Otago team at Alexandra. Otago had the benefit of a substantial first-innings lead to assist them, even though they slumped to 143 all out in their second. Warren Wisneski (4 for 45), Chris Martin (3 for 32) and Stephen Cunis (3 for 42) shared the wickets for Canterbury. Chasing 261 to win, the Cantabs ended the third day at 78 for 4, with Gary Stead 30 not out and their captain Chris Harris on 2. They represent Canterbury’s last realistic hope of securing another victory.3rd day closeAuckland 283 and 123 for 4 (Horne 53*) lead Northern Districts 388 (Marshall 78, Orchard 97) by 18 runs ScorecardNorthern Districts’ best batting effort of the summer could also be sufficient to upset Auckland’s chance of a finals berth. Auckland, with only six wickets in hand, have only an 18-run lead. Mark Orchard led the ND batting effort with 97 before he was bowled by Kerry Walmsley. Previously, ND have failed to provide support for batsmen who were in, but this time Matt Hart scored 46, Joseph Yovich 40 and Robbie Hart 32. At one stage in their reply, Auckland were 34 for 4, but the first-innings centurion Matt Horne was still there with 53 at stumps, after an 89-run stand with Aaron Barnes, who had 36 not out.
Wapda made a steady start to their Quaide-Azam Trophy quarterfinal against PIA Tuesday crawling to 219 for five on the first day at the Rawalpindi Stadium.Opener Atiq-ur-Rehman (67) and Hasan Adnan who scored an unbeaten 56, kept Wapda going albeit slowly after they had been put in to bat first.Off-spinner Shoaib Malik took two wickets for 58 runs while fast bowler Mohammad Zahid and slow left-armer Asif Mujtaba had one each.PIA suffered a huge setback earlier in the day when Test speedster Fazle Akbar limped off the field with a thigh strain.ScoreboardWAPDA (1st Innings):Adil Nisar run out 32Atiq-ur-Rehman c Ghulam b Asif 67Tariq Aziz lbw b Zahid 18Hasan Adnan not out 56Shahid Mansoor lbw b Shoaib 4Sabir Hussain c Faisal b Shoaib 4Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan not out 29EXTRAS (B-1, LB-3, NB-5) 9TOTAL (for five wkts, 85 overs) 219FALL OF WKTS: 1-60, 2-92, 3-146, 4-162, 5-176TO BAT: Zahid Umar, Kashif Raza, Waqas Ahmed, Aqeel AhmedBOWLING (to-date): Fazle Akbar 4.1-0-16-0; Umar Gul 19-7-50-0; Mohammad Zahid 12.5-0-39-1; Asif Mujtaba 20-5-52-1; Shoaib Malik 29-9-58-2PIA: Kamran Sajid, Ghulam Ali, Faisal Iqbal, Asif Mujtaba, Bazid Khan, Yasir Hameed, Moin Khan, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Zahid, Umar Gul, Fazle AkbarUMPIRES: Siddique Khan and Rasheed BhattiMATCH REFEREE: Abdul Sami Khan
Dan Goldstraw and Damien Shirazi line up for BAT Sports against their old Lymington team-mates in Tuesday evening’s Southern Electric Contracting Knockout Cup quarter-final at Southern Gardens, 6pm.It’s certainly added spice to an already juicy 24-overs per side third round tie, which should attract a decent-size crowd to BAT’s headquarters.Goldstraw and Shirazi switched their allegiance to Ringwood Road at the start of last season when BAT attained ‘gold’ status – and Lymington didn’t.Goldstraw’s left-arm pace, in tandem with Richard Dibden’s off-spin, will provide a fascinating challenge for Lymington’s potentially explosive Australian import Brian Clemow.On paper, BAT look to have an edge in the bowling department – Lymington may well use three spinners – but the New Forest club have undoubted talent down the order.In addition to Clemow, Glyn Treagus, Ben Craft and Neil Trestrail are all potential match winners in a tie that is unquestionably Southampton’s biggest knockout game in years.Ironically, Havant – who entertain Premier 1 rivals Burridge – are the only one of the quarter-finalists to have previously won the cup.They have actually lifted the trophy on three past occasions – in 1981, 1995 and, more recently, in 1997, when West Indian Wilden Cornwall was let loose on Lymington.Havant are probably favourites this season but Burridge,at full strength, are a useful limited-overs side.Easton & Martyr Worthy have won a few trophies in their time, but Tuesday’s cross-country haul to Rowledge isn’t a tie they will relish.Hampshire YCs all-rounder Chris Yates is back from Cardiff University to bolster Rowledge, who pose a stern threat on their own tight village ground.And what odds on Flamingos upsetting the apple cart and bowling over Premier 1 opponents Andover out in the sticks at The Holt ?On present league batting form, not much, but – like Easton & Martyr Worthy – they aren’t bad in the short game.Andover, though, will probably field Australian Sam Miller – who plays Surrey Championship cricket at Camberley – and his presence could sway the day.The semi-finals are on July 10 and 12, with the final at the Hampshire Rose Bowl Nursery ground on Wednesday August 1.
Arsenal moved back to the top of the Premier League table with a nervy 2-1 win against Brighton at the Emirates.
After Man City won their lunchtime kick-off at Nottingham Forest, the pressure was on a side who have finished runners-up in the league for the past three seasons.
However, they started well and Viktor Gyokeres should have done better when he side-footed at Bart Verbruggen inside two minutes before Bukayo Saka ghosted past Maxim de Cuyper only to find Verbruggen equal to his close-range effort.
Saka then blazed over and from the ensuing goal kick, came the opener.
Martin Zubimendi reacted first to Verbruggen’s hospital pass and Delcan Rice’s header found Bukayo Saka, who played the ball to Martin Odegaard.
The Arsenal captain was afforded too much room, taking one touch to compose himself, before firing a low, left-footed strike that nestled into the bottom corner.
Half-chances for Saka and Rice, on two occasions, followed, and Verbruggen then turned away Zubimendi’s neat back-heel following a goalmouth scramble.
Verbruggen was in the spotlight on the stroke of half-time when he clattered Gyokeres on the far touchline, but he escaped with a caution and Brighton were able to keep the deficit to one at the interval.
But less than seven minutes of the second half had been played when the hosts doubled their advantage after an unmarked Rutter’s near-post header left Verbruggen with no chance.
It marked another goal from a corner and a fourth own goal across three home games Arsenal have been able to cash in on.
On the hour mark, Gyokeres saw his shot blocked by Verbruggen – the Sweden international’s wait for a goal in open play extending to seven matches – but Arsenal looked in cruise control.
That was until Yasin Ayari’s shot hit David Raya’s far post and Diego Gomez fired home the rebound. A flying fingertip stop from Raya then kept out Yankuba Minteh’s curling effort with the home support suddenly riddled by anxiety.
Arsenal have made a habit of conceding late goals in recent times and Mikel Arteta was on his knees when substitute Gabriel Martinelli managed to hit his six-yard shot over the bar with five minutes to go.
"I'm hearing" – Arsenal eyeing "extraordinary" player to replace £265,000-a-week star
It could be one in, one out for the Gunners…
ByBen Goodwin
But the Spaniard’s side managed to get three crucial points over the line to keep Pep Guardiola’s in-form City at arm’s length.
Alongside Raya’s absolutely out of this world save to keep Brighton at bay, Paul Merson was in awe of Odegaard’s display.
Paul Merson says Martin Odegaard had his best Arsenal game in ages
Speaking on the Sky Sports Soccer Saturday panel in the aftermath of Arsenal’s precious victory, Merson claimed that the Norway international put in his most convincing display in ages.
Merson said that Odegaard had his ‘best football match’ for the Gunners ‘for a long time’ — lavishing praise on the playmaker who’s endured a real stop-start campaign overall.
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The Norwegian captain has made 12 Premier League appearances totaling just 628 minutes, and remarkably remained without a goal across all competitions until this afternoon.
He has also registered just one assist in the league, a significant drop from the eight he managed last season and 11 the year before.
Odegaard’s campaign has been marred by injuries, with the captain suffering a shoulder problem during their first home game of 25/26 against Leeds United, forcing his first-half withdrawal.
He also became the first player in Premier League history to be substituted before half-time in three consecutive starts after sustaining a medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury to his left knee in October’s clash with West Ham.
Now, the £240,000-per-week star appears to be working his way back to full form, and Arteta will be hoping that continues into 2026.
Deco now eyeing Barcelona move for 'big name' Arsenal summer signing
The sporting director thinks he’s ‘ideal’ for Hansi Flick.
David Hussey, the Victoria batsman, may have been purchased for US$625,000 by the Kolkata franchise in the Indian Premier League’s auction, but his county side Nottinghamshire have insisted he is contracted to play for them this season. Hussey’s participation in the IPL, which runs from April 18 to June 1, would mean he misses the first five County Championship matches and eight games in the Friends Provident Trophy.Mike Newell, Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket, said: “We are currently talking to David and his advisors, so I would prefer not to comment at this stage other than to say that he signed a new two-year contract with us after the end of last season.”Hussey was one of the surprise buys at the IPL auction, being picked up well above his initial base price of $125,000. He even outdid his more famous brother, the Test player Michael, who went for $350,000. Unlike Michael, David was reportedly available for the entire tournament, which perhaps was one of the reasons why he sold for a higher price than the likes of Ricky Ponting and Matthew HaydenMeanwhile, Justin Langer, the former Australian Test opener, has indicated he will play for Somerset and won’t turn out for the Jaipur franchise. Langer collected his base price of $200,000, but Jaipur paid only $75,000 for him, with the Indian board covering the difference.”I have made a commitment to Somerset and I intend to honour it,” Langer told the . “I made that clear when I first signed with IPL and I have no hesitation sticking to it.”Langer fears the IPL will damage the game. “When you go to your grave,” he said, “people will remember what you did with your life rather than how much money you made.”The newspaper also reported Luke Ronchi, the Western Australia wicketkeeper, is considering an A$100,000 (approx US$92,000) offer to join the Mumbai franchise, while his team-mate Luke Pomersbach, who earned a car park call-up to play a Twenty20 international for Australia, is also set to join an IPL team. The Mumbai franchise failed to buy a wicketkeeper-batsman at the auction held on Wednesday.