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Ex-BBC pundit Noel Whelan believes that Celtic will be continue to lose their brightest youngsters to Premier League clubs. 

The lowdown: Precedent set?

This comes after the Hoops lost talented young winger Ben Doak to Liverpool, with the 16-year-old confirming the switch on his Instagram profile last week.

A recent report from the Daily Record claimed that Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool once more were looking at emerging playmaker Daniel Kelly, whilst full-back Mitchel Frame was also attracting interest from the English top flight as the Hoops attempt to stave off potential suitors.

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However, with an apparent production line coming out of Lennoxtown, the Glasgow giants may face a conflict of interest when it comes to keeping the brightest prospects at the club.

The latest: Whelan fears the ‘inevitable’

Speaking to Football Insider, former Aberdeen striker Whelan has claimed that Celtic need to sell their prized assets in order to compete at the senior level.

He stated: “It’s inevitable. Even the giants of Celtic and Rangers, the stature they have in Scotland and in Europe and the big sides they are, they can’t afford not to sell. This is what keeps them surviving and being competitive in Europe and then the Scottish Premiership. They have to sell certain players to bring money into the football club.

“That allows them to progress and keeps them at that level. It’s not ideal. But if you go and ask any of the top players if they would have a chance to move to the Premier League in England? That’s their pinnacle.

“They start off at a club. Inevitably if you become successful and do very well, I can’t see them staying there too much longer. Especially if one of the Premier League clubs come in.

“Because of the wage structure and the gap between finances between Scotland and England, it’s very hard to turn down. The managers must be really frustrated, but it’s just the order of things.”

The verdict: Change coming

Financially, Celtic may previously have needed to operate as a selling entity in order to remain competitive in the Premiership. However, that may be about to come to an end as the Hoops stand on the brink of a spot in the Champions League group stages for the 2022/23 campaign.

That brings with it a healthy windfall believed to be in the region of £13.4m simply for participating at the stage, with further income dependent on results.

Champions League participation also brings a certain allure which could also help the Parkhead hierarchy to persuade the club’s best young talents that Celtic is indeed the right place to be in order to reach the very pinnacle of their game.

In other news, journalist urges Celtic to offer key backroom man a new deal. Read more here.

Leeds United extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to three games as they held Leicester to a 1-1 draw at Elland Road on Sunday.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side have not lost a match in the league since the 16th of October when they were beaten 1-0 by Southampton away from home.

Raphinha handed the Whites the lead in the 26th minute, only for Harvey Barnes to equalise for the Foxes two minutes later. They were the only goals of the game as the two sides were forced to settle for a point each, despite chances for both teams to win the match.

Forget Raphinha

The Brazilian forward may have scored the goal to put Leeds in front, but the show’s real star was Stuart Dallas as he ran the game for Bielsa. Whilst Raphinha found the back of the net, his overall performance was surprisingly lacking in quality as he struggled at times.

Per SofaScore, the ex-Rennes forward lost a whopping 12 of his 16 individual duels on the pitch. He also failed with six of his eight crossing attempts and was tackled seven times from his nine dribble attempts, failing to complete a single tackle himself. This suggests that he was not at his best against Leicester as his all-around game lacked cohesion.

Dallas, meanwhile, was able to piece together an excellent showing and caught the eye with his display. He made an impact at both ends of the pitch as his energetic performance helped Leeds control the game, with the Northern Ireland international helping Bielsa’s men in and out of possession.

Per SofaScore, he won five of his nine individual duels and made three tackles and two interceptions, whilst also making three clearances. He was also not dribbled past a single time, as he showed off his defensive solidity for the team.

On the ball, he also made some key contributions. Per SofaScore, he had an eye-catching 79 touches of the ball and created two chances for his teammates. The defender also hit the post and completed four long balls and crosses, showing that he was able to merge defensive nous with ability on the ball going forward.

This shows why the dynamo was Bielsa’s real hero against Leicester as he was able to perform to a high level at both ends of the pitch, whereas Raphinha left a lot to be desired with his all-around game.

AND in other news, Possession lost 16x: Leeds lightweight who lost 80% of his duels let Bielsa down badly…

Ravi Bopara became the first England batsman to score three Test centuries in consecutive innings since his hero and mentor Graham Gooch in 1990, while another of Gooch’s protégés, Alastair Cook, made an unbeaten 126, as West Indies were made to toil with

The Bulletin by Andrew Miller14-May-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentaryAlastair Cook and Ravi Bopara punished West Indies on the first day at Chester-le-Street•Getty ImagesRavi Bopara became the first England batsman to score three Test centuries in consecutive innings since his hero and mentor Graham Gooch in 1990, while another of Gooch’s protégés, Alastair Cook, made an unbeaten 126, as West Indies were made to toil with minimum reward on the first day of the second Test at Chester-le-Street.By the close, England had moved effortlessly along to 302 for 2, with Cook still in situ at the close, his ninth hundred and first at home for two years. He and Bopara came together half-an-hour before lunch following the demise of Andrew Strauss, caught-behind for 26, and were not separated until five overs before the close, when Bopara was bowled through the gate by Lionel Baker for 108 by one of the few deliveries that moved off the seam all day.Under an improbably cloudless Northern sky, the scenario was reminiscent of England’s recent tour of the Caribbean, especially as England have now batted first in all seven of their Tests since February. Faced once again with a flat and lifeless surface, West Indies’ pacemen lacked both inspiration and drive, with even Fidel Edwards failing to raise his game, or his pace, until the arrival of the nightwatchman, James Anderson. Anderson survived, however, and even found time to carve a four through the covers to bring up England’s 300 and escape a duck for the 48th consecutive time in Test cricket.Today, however, was all about the Essex boys. Cook and Bopara may share a county, but they have little else in common as batsmen. Cook’s style is obdurate and awkward, dealing in shovels and drives and substance over style; Bopara is flashy and flamboyant, and his innings became increasingly showmanlike as he moved through the gears. West Indies found an answer for neither approach, as they ground through their overs in front of a sparse and soporific crowd, hoping against hope for inspiration to slap them in the face.Though Bopara took the plaudits, Cook deserved the credit. In Trinidad in March, he ended a run of more than 15 months without a century, and now made it two in three matches with a performance that was more effective than it was pretty. It was clear from his body language that all is still not right with his game, but the mental toughness was plain for all to see. He enjoyed a measure of good fortune on 23 when he inside-edged Baker past his off stump and away to the boundary, and he later fenced Chris Gayle just short of Devon Smith at slip. But after a sticky start Cook’s driving came out of its shell, and when he stepped down the track to belt Sulieman Benn through midwicket to reach three figures, England’s balcony erupted in appreciation of one very tough cookie indeed.Bopara, by contrast, had no technical concerns to distract him. Two years ago in Sri Lanka he completed an ignominious debut series with three Test ducks in a row. Now, in his next three visits to the crease, he has passed three figures each time, and his performances have grown in lustre with every passing shot.Fresh from his 143 in the first Test at Lord’s, Bopara a moment of alarm in the final over before lunch when he almost yorked himself while coming forward to Benn, whom he had just carved off the back foot for his first boundary of the day. But thereafter he was watchfulness personified against the spinner, who had come close to dismissing him lbw in the Lord’s Test as well, as he forced himself forward and watched every ball onto the middle of the bat.Bopara survived a couple of hairy moments against Baker, whom he clipped inches short of Shivnarine Chanderpaul at midwicket before being dropped down the leg-side on 51 by Ramdin. But on a blameless surface and with his concentration still intact, Bopara really showed his full range as the century loomed into view. At Lord’s he had been content to potter through the nineties, daydreaming about his celebration. This time he decided to take the Kevin Pietersen route. On 84, he laid into Benn, with four, six, four from consecutive blows, the last of which fizzed through the bowler’s fingers as he attempted a return catch. Two quick singles later, he punched the air in triumph, with another sizeable feather in his cap.Not for the first time, however, Bopara’s concentration faltered after reaching three figures. At Lord’s he was dropped twice on 100; this time he survived one tough caught-behind chance off Benn on 104, before Baker, who endured an erratic day, produced a pearler to peg back his off stump.Prior to that triumph, West Indies’ only uplifting moment came when Chris Gayle, under the cosh for his pre-match comments about the future of Test cricket, emerged with the scalp of Strauss, with whom he had been drawn into an unlikely war of words. Spearing down his off-darts having already sized up the surface, he tempted Strauss into a full-blooded slog-sweep, and a thin deflection off the gloves ended up in the gloves of Denesh Ramdin.There was little for West Indies to savour in the day, however, as England pushed themselves into a position from which to post a massive first-innings total and ensure that the Wisden Trophy, lost in the Caribbean over the course of five arduous Tests, returns home at the earliest and easiest opportunity.

Cricinfo previews the third ODI between India and Australia in Delhi

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale30-Oct-2009Match factsSaturday, October 31
Start time 14.30 (09.00GMT)Ricky Ponting’s resources have taken a severe hit in India•Associated PressBig PictureRicky Ponting doesn’t like the idea of a seven-match ODI series. It’s too long, he believes. Now that the first two games in India are out of the way with one win each, he can pretend his team are about to embark on a five-match series. That of course ignores the question of momentum, which is firmly in India’s favour after their 99-run victory in Nagpur. Not a lot went right for Australia on Wednesday and, with injuries still plaguing their squad, they haven’t been able to enjoy a settled build-up to the third game in Delhi. Australia’s main problem surrounds their attack and its inability to contain India’s powerful batting line-up. An injured Brett Lee is flying home and an unfit James Hopes is expected to miss this clash, making India favourites to go 2-1 up.For India, there isn’t much they can improve on their Nagpur effort, although they’ll be keen for Sachin Tendulkar to post his first decent score of the series. MS Dhoni’s remarkable century in the second match, combined with strong efforts from Suresh Raina and Gautam Gambhir, have given Australia plenty of headaches leading into the Delhi encounter. The one key difference between Nagpur and Delhi should be the Feroz Shah Kotla pitch, which is not expected to produce a particularly high-scoring match.Form guide (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia – LWWWW
India – WLWLW
Watch out for …Gautam Gambhir: Yes, it was Dhoni who stole the show in Nagpur but in both matches so far Gambhir has contributed substantially at the top of the order. In Vadodara, his 68 from 85 deliveries steadied India after the early loss of the openers, and in Nagpur, he made 76 off 80 balls to set up the platform from which Dhoni launched his assault. The Australians will be desperate to remove Gambhir early at the Kotla; India will look to their No. 3 for another anchoring role.Shaun Marsh: Indian viewers have seen the very best of Marsh during the IPL and Tim Paine’s departure should ensure Marsh opens with Shane Watson for the remainder of the series. He’s most comfortable at the top of the order and will be keen to re-establish himself as one of Australia’s permanent one-day openers following a six-month lay-off that started when he hurt his hamstring during the series in the UAE against Pakistan.Team newsWith no injuries to speak of, India have no reason to alter their line-up. After a 99-run victory, why would you?India (probable): 1 Sachin Tendulkar, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 MS Dhoni (capt/wk), 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Ashish Nehra.The situation isn’t so clear-cut for Australia. Lee’s elbow injury has ended his series and Hopes remains on the sidelines. Australia’s sub-standard bowling effort in Nagpur could bring Moises Henriques and Doug Bollinger into the equation, with Ben Hilfenhaus especially vulnerable having leaked 83 runs on Wednesday. Ponting wasn’t happy with the team balance in Nagpur, which could mean a debut for Henriques, probably at the expense of Adam Voges. Graham Manou will replace the injured Paine but won’t take his batting position and is likely to slot in at No. 7.Australia: (probable) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Shaun Marsh, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Cameron White, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Adam Voges/Moises Henriques, 7 Graham Manou (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Nathan Hauritz, 10 Peter Siddle, 11 Ben Hilfenhaus/Doug Bollinger.Pitch and conditionsThe quality of the Kotla pitch in Delhi was slammed during the Champions League Twenty20, when slow, low bounce made it mighty hard to score runs. For the ODI the pitch is expected to be a bit better, but not much. Batsmen will need to be extra judicious in protecting against straight balls due to the low bounce. In short, don’t expect a repeat of the 354 India posted in Nagpur.Stats and trivia During the Adam Gilchrist years, Australia’s other wicketkeepers barely got a look-in as Brad Haddin held down the No. 2 spot. Things have quickly changed and Manou will be the fifth gloveman Australia have used in ODIs in just over 18 months, after Gilchrist, Haddin, Luke Ronchi and Paine. Australia haven’t played an ODI in Delhi since 1998, which means Ponting is the only man in their squad with international one-day experience there. MS Dhoni’s 124 in Nagpur was the highest score by any captain against Australia in an ODI, beating Sanath Jayasuriya’s 122 in 2003.Quotes”Although we were soundly outplayed the other day, the positive of that was we were one-nil up in the series, so we’re back to level pegging now, back to a five-match series really.”
.”We will try to carry the confidence from Nagpur and build on that rather than think about injuries to the Australians. Of course it’s a big problem for them … but we are focussing mainly on what we have to do well, and of course fielding is a major part.”
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The IPL has initiated steps to ensure that all contracted cricketers, except those with international commitments, are made available for the entire season

Ajay S Shankar16-Nov-2009The IPL has initiated steps to ensure that all cricketers who have been contracted by its franchises are available to play for the entire season from next year, except those with international commitments. This effectively means that these contracted players, and their national boards, will have to put the IPL ahead of their domestic commitments.A press release issued on Monday said that in case of a default, the IPL will impose penalties on such players, including termination of player contracts and a ban on future participation, although Lalit Modi, the league’s chairman, told Cricinfo that this would only happen in a worst-case scenario.In what can be seen as a two-pronged deterrent, the IPL, which is owned by BCCI, will also ask the governing council of the Champions League Twenty20, comprising senior officials from India, Australia and South Africa, to take “appropriate action” against participating national boards in that tournament if they don’t issue an IPL clearance for their players citing domestic commitments as a reason. While an IPL ban will affect players directly, any sanction on participating in the Champions League will impact the national board, which gets a share of the money from the organisers apart from an appearance fee for its competing domestic team.However, the IPL said that this move does not cover players with international commitments and those who will play in matches scheduled under the ICC’s Future Tours Programme (FTP) during the tournament. These decisions were finalised during the league’s workshop in Bangkok last week to ensure that the IPL franchises get their best players, who have been paid huge amounts by the teams, to be part of the league.Expansion opposed

The IPL has confirmed its previous decision to expand to 10 teams from 2011, but the move was opposed during the recent Bangkok workshop by one franchise, believed to be Chennai Super Kings. “A discussion for the addition of two new franchises in Season 4 was held with the same being adopted with 7 of the 8 franchises being in favour of increasing the number of teams to 10,” an IPL statement said. The Chennai franchise, owned by N Srinivasan, the BCCI secretary, is apparently concerned that the addition of teams would impact the value of existing franchises, and cut into their share of the central sponsorship pie that includes a billion-dollar TV rights deal. It will also necessitate a fresh auction of all players before the fourth season. But an IPL official said that the addition of more teams would add more money to the pool in terms of franchise purchase fee, which is expected to run into millions of dollars.

“The IPL will work with all the cricket boards to ensure that cricketers contracted with the eight franchises are available for the season,” Modi told Cricinfo. “The IPL 2010 season is in March-April, when a lot of domestic domestic tournaments will still be on. This is a one-off situation. A worst-case scenario could mean penalties on such players (who skip IPL matches citing domestic commitments), including termination of contracts, jeopardising future participation. However, we do not want to walk that path and are hopeful that we can sort this through discussions with the boards.”The next IPL will be held from March 12 to April 25, instead of the usual April-May slot, to avoid a clash with the ICC World Twenty20 that starts soon after. However, this advanced IPL schedule clashes with the Australian domestic season, which ends on March 23, and the South African season that ends on March 28. Players from both these countries are among the most sought-after in the Indian league. The Australian cricketers will then be busy with the New Zealand series that ends on March 31.Apparently, the IPL wants to adopt the model of the Champions League Twenty20, which ensured that the best players from the top domestic teams from the seven participating countries (India, Australia, South Africa, England, West Indies, Sri Lanka and New Zealand) were available for the multi-nation club tournament. “Given that this was also the founding principle of the Champions League Twenty20, it was agreed that in the event any of the member boards not issuing an NOC to their players for participation in the IPL, on the pretext of domestic engagements, IPL could make a representation to the governing council of the Champions League for taking appropriate action against the members boards’ participation in the League,” the IPL release stated.The BCCI, Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa are founding partners of the Champions League and its governing council comprises Lalit Modi, its chairman, Niranjan Shah, its vice-chairman, N Srinivasan, the BCCI secretary, James Sutherland, the CA chief executive, Dean Kino, CA’s business and legal affairs head, and Gerald Majola, CSA’s chief executive.The IPL press release added that the measures discussed at the workshop in case of a no-show by the players include “termination of player contracts and barring from future participation in the IPL, of players that have signed contracts, but fail to make themselves available for playing in the IPL.”This will exclude any instances wherein players would have international and FTP commitments and was aimed at ensuring that players make themselves available for the IPL post their FTP commitments, especially, since such players would have already received a player release to play in the IPL from their respective boards.”

Raqibul Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan shared a thrilling 106-run partnership to charge Bangladesh to their first overseas series win

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera20-Jul-2009Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outDarren Sammy threatened to run through the Bangladesh line-up, but his five wickets weren’t enough•Associated PressHistory was calling and Bangladesh showed they were all ears in Grenada. Raqibul Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan shared a thrilling 106-run partnership to charge Bangladesh to their first overseas series win. On an enthralling afternoon’s play, Darren Sammy threatened to do the improbable but Raqibul lifted Bangladesh with a plucky innings before the equally aggressive Shakib joined him to clinch a euphoric win.Set a target of 215, a counterattacking Raqibul, who had walked in at 29 for 2, was joined by Shakib at 67 for 4 and the pair batted bravely to seize back the initiative. Though Sammy took out Raqibul and Mushfiqur Rahim, 14 runs away from the win, Shakib held his nerve to steer the team home. The winning moment came at 5.38 pm and in some style, with Shakib lofting Kemar Roach over long-on.Though Raqibul fell 42 runs short of the target, it was he who had set up the win with an inspired performance. He had never hit a Test fifty before and he had struggled in the first Test due to his penchant of playing away from the body. However, he had held his own in the first innings here and added a dash of bravado today to lift Bangladesh from a hole. It was a gem of a cameo under the circumstances. Every time West Indies picked up a wicket and threatened to charge ahead, Raqibul counterattacked to keep the hosts on their toes. He chose to take the adventurous route and didn’t waste a single run-scoring opportunity; in fact he created a few chances of his own.It was risky at times but someone had to seize the initiative back from West Indies and Raqibul decided to shoulder that burden. Apart from Sammy’s superb spell, Raqibul’s battle against Roach was the highlight of the session. Roach v Raqibul was the turning point in the first innings as Roach successfully probed a weakness in Raqibul against the bouncers before proceeding to scythe through the rest of the line-up. Raqibul was in no mood to buckle down today.He started with a fierce slash over point and remained audacious against anything that was pitched up to him. It was a tantalizing battle as Roach troubled him a bit with short-pitched deliveries and a couple of jaffas that left the bat late but Raqibul released the pressure with a couple of impish square drives. He flicked Sammy and guided him through to third man boundary and thus, preventing West Indies from deploying close-in fielders. And when Ryan Austin, the offspinner, was brought in for the over before tea, Raqibul dispatched him over deep midwicket and in the last session, he unfurled a couple of peachy off drives to further calm the dressing-room nerves.Thankfully, for Bangladesh, Raqibul found a willing partner in his captain Shakib, who too oozed intent through his knock. He started off a touch shakily with a stab past second slip, an airy drive past mid-off, and an edge past gully but soon settled down to blunt the attack. Now and then, he teased the slip cordon with his slashes but just when it appeared he was living on the edge, he would unfurl a meaty off drive, defend solidly or steal a single to frustrate the attack.Shakib took on the dominating role in the final session, spanking boundaries almost at will, including a hat-trick of fours against Roach. The first one, an extra-cover drive that brought up his fifty, was followed by a crunching cut and a feisty pull as Bangladesh galloped towards victory.If the final session was almost serene, the second was a dramatic and event-filled. The day had started with a two-hour rain delay and Bangladesh took just 4.1 overs to wrap up West Indies for 209; it was the first time Bangladesh had bowled out the opposition for less than 250 in both innings.Till Raqibul and Shakib took the bowling on, it was Sammy who stole the show. Every one knows that Sammy is not going to blow the opposition away; his is a gentle art. He builds pressure with a cluster of seaming deliveries in the corridor outside off and gently nudges the batsmen into making a mistake. Bangladesh initially stumbled into making fatal mistakes under the pressure of the chase and perhaps, under the strain of making history.Sammy struck in his very first over, inducing Tamim Iqbal into edging a delivery leaving him before turning his attention to Junaid Siddique. After bowling 14 deliveries – most of them in the off-stump channel – for just one run, he got the next one to curve away from the middle and off line and Siddique tried to flick it rather injudiciously across the line but edged it low to first slip where Floyd Reifer took a sharp catch. Sammy then produced a gem to take out Mohammad Ashraful, who has gifted his wicket previously in the series but was unlucky to get a very good delivery that shaped away from him very late.Sammy was supported well by Roach, who was the chief tormentor of Bangladesh. Roach, who surprisingly didn’t take the new ball, was introduced in the second session and immediately looked menacing with his cocktail of bouncers and full deliveries outside off stump. He followed a lifting delivery with the one angling away to coax Imrul Keyes into edging to slip where Sammy took a brilliant catch, leaping at second slip.For a brief while, when Roach and Sammy operated in tandem, the game appeared to be hanging in balance but Shakib and Raqibul ensured their fans won’t lose too much hair or nails.

Northamptonshire completed a crushing win over Leicestershire to move into second place in Division Two, but now have to wait for the result at Derby

Cricinfo staff25-Sep-2009Division TwoMark Wallace was one of four century-makers for Glamorgan as they piled up a huge total at The Oval•PA PhotosNorthamptonshire will now have their attention firmly fixed on events at Derby after they completed a crushing innings-and-196-run victory against Leicestershire at Wantage Road to move into the second promotion place. However, if Essex manage to conjure a victory from their match against Derbyshire it is them who will go up. Still, Northamptonshire couldn’t do any more than this crushing win which was completed mid-way through the afternoon session. David Lucas, who had the two overnight wickets, finished with 7 for 45. He removed Paul Nixon and Greg Smith early on and when Leicestershire slumped to 45 for 6 it didn’t seem as though they would make it to lunch. However, James Benning opened his shoulders with 72 off 64 balls and James Taylor showed some defiance as the pair added 86 before Benning fell to Nicky Boje. Claude Henderson offered a few lusty blows, but the end wasn’t far off coming. Lucas removed Henderson and Wayne White then Johan van der Wath bowled Harry Gurney to leave Northamptonshire watching the television, hoping Derbyshire do them a favour.Sam Northeast carried his bat for an unbeaten career-best 128, his maiden century, but Kent ended the season with an innings-and-23-run defeat against Gloucestershire at Bristol. Even though the home side’s hopes of promotion vanished with Northamptonshire’s win, they continued to dominant this game as they had done for the majority of the time. Kent began their second innings 288 runs behind, after Stephen Adshead completed his century, and their strongest period of defiance came as Northeast and Robert Key opened with 101 in 17 overs. But when Key was bowled by Steve Kirby the innings started to unravel. Alex Blake fell for a duck and Hamish Marshall chipped out two with his medium pace before Anthony Ireland – who was drafted in to replace James Franklin after his call-up to the Champions Trophy – claimed a brace for himself. Northeast’s hundred came from 133 balls and the lower order hit hard until Jon Lewis claimed the final wicket with Geraint Jones unable to bat due to a neck problem.Glamorgan’s batsmen continued to gorge themselves at The Oval as they amassed 702 for 8 against Surrey, just 16 short of their all-time highest total. Mark Cosgrove and Gareth Rees carried their opening stand to 314 before Cosgrove was run out for 175. Rees continued to a career-best 154 then Surrey enjoyed their best period with the ball as four wickets fell for 37 to Chris Jordan and Richard Logan. However, if they thought their toil would be ended they were proved very wrong as Mark Wallace and Jim Allenby added a club-record 240. Wallace eased to his second hundred of the season as the lead swelled and Allenby joined him as the fourth century-maker of the innings. When the declaration finally came, Garnett Kruger rubbed salt in Surrey’s wounds by removing Michael Brown for 17.Essex have been left needing some magic from Danish Kaneria against Derbyshire or will have to chase whatever they are set to snatch promotion off Northamptonshire. Andrew McGlashan watched the action.Division OneGary Keedy spun out Warwickshire with season-best 6 for 50 as Lancashire finished their Championship season with a 10-wicket victory at Old Trafford. Keedy’s haul ensured a day off for the players before their final Pro40 match as he removed Warwickshire a lead of just three. The visitors’ top order had gone to pace as Sajid Mahmood claimed two and Kyle Hogg trapped Ian Bell lbw for 9. Then it was over to Keedy who began by removing Jonathan Trott leg before to end a stand of 50 with Jim Troughton. Most of the middle order got starts, and Tim Ambrose pushed onto 55, but Keedy kept chipping away. It then took Tom Smith two balls to hit the winning runs.Nottinghamshire batted themselves into control for second place and a useful pay-day against relegated Sussex. Jon Culley reports from Trent Bridge.Yorkshire and Hampshire are both secure in Division One as there final game continues. John Ward watched the action at Headingley.Shivnarine Chanderpaul hit a double century as Durham passed 600 against Worcestershire. George Dobell was at New Road.

Yawar Saeed was quoted by , saying that some of the players had complained to him about the presence of undesirable people in the team hotel.

Cricinfo staff29-Jul-2009Yawar Saeed, Pakistan’s manager in Sri Lanka, has denied reports that the players were “approached by suspicious characters” at their team hotel during the two Colombo Tests earlier this month. Saeed was quoted by , an Urdu daily, saying that some of the players had complained to him about the presence of undesirable people in the team hotel.”No such thing happened,” Saeed told Cricinfo. “There are usually many other guests at the hotel, who want autographs and photographs with the players, and then maybe invite them for a coffee or something. I just instructed the players not to go out with people they didn’t know from before. And that is the usual protocol.”The had quoted Saeed as saying: “Yes we were told by some of the players that a few suspicious people approached them during the Colombo Tests. We lodged a complaint with the hotel management, and they immediately shifted all of us to another floor of the hotel.”One of the players confirmed to Cricinfo that some of them were indeed approached in the teamhotel by “a few undesirable elements” who invited them for tea and dinner. “The players refused and informed the team management,” he said.According to team sources, the players were invited by individuals who claimed to be fans. The team then shifted to another floor in the same hotel after they found that these “fans” were on the same floor as the players, the sources said. Saeed, however, said that nobody in the team had changed their rooms, let alone the floor.Meanwhile Younis Khan, the Pakistan captain, told Geo TV, “No bookie has approached me. If ever one does, I will catch him and hand him over to ICC because these people have destroyed the game.”However Ijaz Butt, PCB’s chairman, told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Sports in Islamabad that the rooms were indeed changed. “We got some reports and we changed floors,” Butt said.

A round-up of the fourth day of the ICC Under-19 World Cup Qualifiers in King City

Cricinfo staff05-Sep-2009Papua New Guinea Under-19 maintained their 100% record in the ICC Under-19 World Cup Qualifiers with a 92-run win over Uganda Under-19 in King City. This win took them to the top of the table after previous table leaders Ireland lost to USA by 42 runs.Openers Heni Siaka and Lega Tau added 51 together after Uganda put PNG in to bat. Two more half-century stands between Vagi Oala (46) and Jason Kila (33) and John Reva (29*) and Steven Eno (43*) took PNG to 234 for 5.The possibility of a serious chase was ruled out when Uganda lost their first four wickets for 42. Emmanuel Nakaana top scored with 37 off 80 balls and was the seventh wicket to fall for 126 when he was bowled by legspinner Charles Amini. The last three wickets added 16 more as the match was wrapped up in the 44th over. Amini picked up 3 for 21 in 8.3 overs.An all-round display from Canada Under-19 gave them a comprehensive 77-run win over Netherlands Under-19 at Malton Cricket Club in Toronto on day four of the ICC Under-19 World Cup Qualifiers. The middle order boosted them to 220, with contributions from Nitish Kumar (40), Usman Limbada (26) and Asif Manjra (27) after opener Ruvindu Gunasekara had hit a run-a-ball 35.Ferdi Vink picked up three wickets in 4.3 overs but went for 28 runs as well. Netherlands began well, their openers reaching 48 in 12 overs before left-arm spinner Hiral Patel dismissed them in quick succession. Vinoo Tewarie and Tim Gruijters added another 43 but Tewarie’s wicket in the 27th over – bowled by offspinner Riayz Pathan – triggered a lower-order collapse. They lost their last seven wickets for 43 runs as Canada wrapped up the match in 45 overs. Despite the win, Canada remained at fourth place in the points table and Netherlands also stayed at sixth spot.Afghanistan Under-19 bounced back from their 72-run defeat to Ireland on Thursday to notch up an easy six-wicket win against Hong Kong Under-19 in King City.Izatullah Dawlatzai and Aimal Wafa shared seven wickets between them as Hong Kong were bowled out for 195. Dawlatzai, a medium-pace bowler, dismissed the openers in the first four overs with only eight on the scoreboard. However Nizakat Khan led Hong Kong’s recovery with a patient 59, adding half-century stands with James Atkinson and Ashish Gadhia. The two bowlers finally combined to remove Nizakat in the 30th over – when Wafa had Nizakat caught by Dawlatzai with Hong Kong at 128 for 4. Wafa then took two in two overs as Hong Kong slipped to 168 for 8 before Dawlatzai picked up the last two wickets.Afghanistan’s openers Ayoub Ahmadzai and Javed Ahmadi added 67 together to set up the chase. Though Afghanistan also lost four wickets for 128, around the same point in their innings that Hong Kong did, they did not collapse thereafter. Wafa (27*) and Noor-ul-Haq (44*) finished off the chase with more than seven overs to spare. Hong Kong have lost all three of their games so far.Saqib Saleem took 5 for 38 as USA Under-19 beat table-toppers Ireland by 42 runs in King City to go to second place in the points table.Ryan Corns’ 86 and Shiva Vashishat’s 43 took USA to 217 for 6 – 72 less than what Ireland had scored in their win over Afghanistan. Ireland’s chase began well with openers Andrew Balbirnie and Lee Nelson adding 62. Balbirnie was run out for 45 and No. 3 Paul Stirling was trapped leg before for 10 soon after. Nelson fell with the score on 93. Saleem took the next four wickets as Ireland slipped to 141 for 7. The last three wickets fell for 25 runs – Saleem got his fifth when he had No. 10 Edward Richardson caught for 14 – and USA won with 21 balls to spare.

Papua New Guinea Under-19s 3 30 0 0 6 +1.261 640/140.2495/150.0 United States of America Under-19s 3 3 00 0 6 +0.890 385/100.0 296/100.0 Ireland Under-19s 3 2 1 00 4 +0.700 718/150.0 613/150.0 Canada Under-19s 3 2 1 00 4 +0.460 519/150.0 450/150.0 Afghanistan Under-19s 2 1 1 00 2 -0.364 414/92.3 484/100.0 Netherlands Under-19s 3 1 2 00 2 -0.800 435/150.0 555/150.0 Uganda Under-19s 3 1 2 00 2 -0.840 419/147.1 553/150.0 Vanuatu Under-19s 2 0 2 00 0 -0.602 334/100.0 383/97.1 Hong Kong Under-19s 3 0 3 00 0 -0.639 436/150.0 471/132.5 Sierra Leone Under-19s 1 0 1 00 0 0/0.0 0/0.0

Stuart Clark is again set to raise the hackles of England players and officials with confirmation he has agreed terms with Gloucestershire for a two-match stint ahead of the Ashes

Alex Brown22-May-2009Stuart Clark is again set to raise the hackles of England’s players and officials with confirmation he has agreed terms with Gloucestershire for a two-match stint ahead of the Ashes. The Australian fast bowler prompted a furore in March when he signed with Kent – an arrangement that was eventually scuppered with his call-up to the Australian one-day squad – and is now awaiting a UK visa before taking his place at the County Ground, Bristol.”All the paperwork went to the consulate today, so hopefully it all goes through pretty quickly,” Clark told Cricinfo. “(Gloucestershire) want me to go and I want to be there, so it’s just a question of getting the visa through.”A Gloucestershire spokesperson would not confirm on Friday whether an agreement had been struck with Clark, but said negotiations with the Australian paceman had been taking place. Tom Richardson, the Gloucestershire chief executive, has publicly spoken of his desire to replace fast bowler James Franklin while he is on World Twenty20 duty with New Zealand, and recently told BBC Radio Bristol: “Stuart’s someone that, were he to be available, we’d be very keen to get him to come and play.”Clark is in search of match practice ahead of the Ashes, following an extended stint on the sidelines due to right elbow surgery. The right-armer has turned out for his grade side, Sydney University, and played in three ODIs for Australia against Pakistan in the UAE since the operation to remove bone spurs in his bowling elbow, but has had no exposure to first-class cricket.Clark’s omission from Australia’s 15-man World Twenty20 squad created a window for a county stint, and John Bracewell’s Gloucestershire side is ready to accommodate. Should all go to plan, Clark will play in Gloucestershire’s four-day matches against Derbyshire (starting June 6) and his former club Middlesex (from June 18), before joining the Australian camp.”I feel good after the UAE trip and am looking forward to a bit more cricket before the tour games before the Ashes,” he said. “I probably could have done with a bit more bowling in the UAE, but I came out of that series feeling pretty good about where I was. I was pretty happy with the way I bowled in the games, and I got a lot of work done in the nets.”Clark’s proposed move to Kent prompted anger from many leading figures within England cricket, who argued counties should not provide support to Australian players in an Ashes year. Andrew Strauss, the England captain, accused Kent of “short sightedness”, while national selector Geoff Miller described the move as “disappointing”.Asked whether he was expecting another backlash, Clark was succinct: “I am, actually, but I couldn’t care less.”Clark is acutely aware of the importance of a thorough Ashes preparation. During his injury-enforced absence, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus excelled in Test matches against South Africa, creating a log-jam of contenders for fast bowling spots ahead of the first Test in Cardiff.”I think Punter (Ricky Ponting) will be in for a hard time in the nets – he’ll be getting it from all of us trying to outdo each other to claim the places that are up for grabs,” he said. “I think that will be healthy competition, not you-versus-me stuff, and will bring out the very best in all of us. Mitchell (Johnson) deserves to keep his place after all he’s done in the last year, and then it’s up to the rest of us to get the other spots.”