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Auckland ripped through Canterbury today on the third day of their State Championship match at Eden Park as the visitors appeared to forget that the primary aim of batting is to score runs.Ninety-four was the paltry return from their first innings as Chris Drum attacked from one end and Brooke Walker spun a stifling web around the batsmen at the other.The Canterbury opener Shanan Stewart’s 27 was the only score past 20 as the Canterbury batsmen appeared to be following the patient example set yesterday by the young Aucklanders Reece Young and Rob Nicol. The problem for the Canterbury batsmen was their failure to find the loose balls to punish while losing wickets regularly.Drum, with pace and bounce, troubled all the batsmen, a testament to his accuracy being the three lbws and the one bowled that went towards his five-wicket bag. He finished with five for 22 from 17 overs. To Walker, the batsmen concentrated on defending, the few attacking shots they offered bringing about their demise. The leg spinner ended with four for 10 from 15 overs.The Canterbury innings had struggled to 79/5 – it fell away completely from there, the last five batsmen including the injured Warren Wisneski contributing just 15 runs.Forced to follow on 178 behind, the innings started in similar vein, Jarrod Englefield’s stay less than four overs, adding just three to his first-innings eight when the score was five.However, Stewart (35) and Robbie Frew (9) saw them safely through to 49/1 at stumps, still requiring 129 to make Auckland bat again.The highlight of the morning session was the completion of a 150-run partnership by Young (86) and Nicol (74). In the process they removed the long-standing eighth wicket Auckland record against Canterbury of Verdun Scott and Jim Blandford. Their 143 had stood since the 1939/40 season.However, most of the work for that had been done yesterday. They added just 14 in the morning session before Young gave Gareth Hopkins his fourth catch behind the stumps, this time off Stephen Cunis. The partnership ended at 153, leaving Auckland 258/8.There was long enough for Nicol to go to 74, his highest first-class score, and for Hopkins to collect his fifth catch of the innings as Auckland ended on 272.The wickets were shared, Chris Martin (three for 67 from 32), Cunis (three for 66 from 31) and Ryan Burson (three for 63 from 27.4) ending with remarkably similar figures.Tomorrow Canterbury will need considerably more application than that shown in the first innings to rescue this one.

A sedate 247 ball century by opener S Badrinath helped Tamil Nadureach 284 for 6 on the opening day of their South Zone Ranji Trophymatch against Karnataka at the IIT-Chemplast Ground in Chennai onWednesday.Opting to bat, Tamil Nadu suffered a setback at the very beginning.Off the first ball of the day Dodda Ganesh trapped Rajat Bhatia legbefore. But recent India cap, Hemang Badani (76) joined Badrinath(100) and made an excellent recovery, adding 125 runs for the secondwicket in 36.5 overs. Badani was the next to be dismissed when heoffered a chance to Sujith Somasundar off Ganesh.Then Badrinath was accompanied by S Sharath (43) till the 72nd over inwhich they accumulated 95 runs for the third wicket. Dharmichand thensent back Badrinath, after a 295 minute stay at the centre. Hisdismissal triggered a mini collapse as Sharath, R Sathish (11) andReuben Paul (12) departed in quick succession. Skipper Robin Singh(25) and S Mahesh (4) saw the team through to stumps. Seamer DoddaGanesh (4 for 70) was the pick of the bowlers.

Shane Warne has delivered a broadside at Australia’s selection chairman Rod Marsh for the decision to recall Peter Siddle ahead of Pat Cummins for the fifth Investec Ashes Test at The Oval.Siddle was ignored by Marsh and the coach Darren Lehmann for the two previous Tests played on seaming wickets at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge, and was known to be particularly upset by his absence from the XI for the pivotal fourth match. However another green-tinged pitch at The Oval moved the selectors to include him in place of Josh Hazlewood, having earlier seemed set to choose the younger Cummins.The retiring captain Michael Clarke was seen in animated discussion with Marsh before the side was named, and after play began Warne expressed in the strongest possible terms that Siddle should not have played in a dead Test when there was an opportunity to have Cummins gain valuable experience.”I don’t think anyone thought Peter Siddle should have played in this Test match,” Warne said on commentary for Channel Nine. ” I can understand the conditions where Peter Siddle would have played but to me it looks like it’s a selection that should have been for the last Test match and while we got that wrong last Test match, let’s play him this Test match.”I just can’t understand why Pat Cummins is not playing in this Test match. Peter Siddle will do a good job – that’s irrelevant because he should have played the last Test. For me they’ve got the selection wrong again and Rod Marsh has to be accountable for that. There’s been so many selection issues this series they’ve just got wrong. Someone has to be accountable.”They’ve got Bangladesh coming up which Peter Siddle won’t go to and you’ve got a 23-year old Pat Cummins. What an opportunity to look at him in a Test match here. I just can’t understand it. I just could not believe it when the team was announced today.”The Siddle selection is the latest in a series of hotly-debated calls this series, where a heavily- favoured Australian side has fallen well short of expectations. Shane Watson and Brad Haddin dropped out of the team after the first Test, but when the wicketkeeper made himself available again after withdrawing from the Lord’s Test for personal reasons he was ignored. It was a move that miffed numerous members of the touring squad.At Trent Bridge, the selectors delayed informing the team of the XI to take the field until shortly before the toss, and in dropping Mitchell Marsh for his brother Shaun abandoned a long-held commitment to playing five bowlers. Shaun Marsh was out cheaply in both innings and the bowling attack was left unbalanced by the absence of an extra option.Lehmann has conceded that this was a mistake, and has also suggested that two separate squads should have been chosen for the West Indies and England instead of naming one group for the two tours. However Marsh has defended the work of his panel, saying he could not think of any other cricketers they could have picked for the trip, and that deliberations over the team for the fourth Test were the hardest he had ever experienced.

Nottingham Forest are firmly in the race to finish the season in a playoff spot, with the Reds particularly enjoying the goals of forwards Keinan Davis and Brennan Johnson this term as well as Lewis Grabban who has been sidelined for the past two months.

Davis (four), Johnson (14) and Grabban (13) are amongst the attackers who have netted the most this season for Steve Cooper’s side. However, fortune with forwards hasn’t always been the case at the City Ground, with Nicklas Bendtner an excellent example.

The former Arsenal, Juventus, and Wolfsburg striker came to the City Ground on a free transfer in September 2016, with the 81-cap Dane’s market value standing at £900k at the time.

Bendtner’s arrival would’ve certainly excited and intrigued the Forest faithful given the forward’s pedigree, however, the move was a major failure.

In 17 appearances, the now-retired former Denmark international scored just twice as well as registering two assists, meaning that each goal was worth £450k according to his market value. The forward would then go on to join Norwegian side Rosenburg in March 2017 before the end of the season.

Bendtner’s peak value stood at £9m in August 2010 whilst at Arsenal but, within under seven years, had decreased by 90%. With that in mind, it’s hardly a surprise to see him dubbed a “flop” by journalist John Cross.

Soon after the move to Rosenburg, Bendtner’s market value did increase slightly, rising to £1.08m in December 2017 but within two years, having moved to FC Copenhagen in 2019, the 34-year-old’s worth fell by 67% to £360k before announcing retirement. Having been nutmegged by a 48-year-old coach in training, perhaps it was for the best that he hung up his boots.

It’s no secret that the former footballer struggled dealing with the lifestyle and fame, stating in an interview with The Guardian in October 2020: “There’s definitely some regret I didn’t take my career in a more positive way.

“Looking back definitely made me upset because there are moments which were very hurtful and difficult to talk about. But I couldn’t just write another sports biography where I was praising myself. Luckily I trusted Rune completely and could open up and say: ‘There’s only one way I can do it and that’s with complete honesty.”

Whilst Bendtner was at the City Ground, Forest were battling relegation and could’ve really done with more goals from the Dane, with the Nottinghamshire outfit finishing 21st to narrowly beat the drop to League One.

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Since the striker’s departure, the Reds’ fortunes have certainly improved, finishing 17th twice, ninth and seventh with the side, now managed by Steve Cooper, well in the mix for a playoff spot.

It was certainly a disappointment that a player who had been on the books at numerous top clubs couldn’t help Forest, however, given his lack of goals away from Arsenal, it was undoubtedly a risk that, eventually, didn’t pay off.

In other news: Imagine him & Grabban: Forest must swoop for £10m ace who’s “absolutely unplayable”

Pat Cummins has revealed just how close he was to missing the entire Ashes series as he prepares to make his return from a back injury and captain Australia in Wednesday’s third Test at Adelaide Oval.Cummins has not played a competitive match for five months due to what Cricket Australia (CA) have called a “lumbar bone stress” issue in his lower back, and admitted on Tuesday that he had felt some soreness during his most recent Test appearance against West Indies at Sabina Park in July.He was initially considered doubtful for the entire Ashes series but has completed an “aggressive” rehabilitation plan unscathed, and was even considered for selection in the second Test at the Gabba. He will instead return in Adelaide this week, replacing Steven Smith as captain, and will not have any limitations on the number of overs he is allowed to bowl.Related

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• Khawaja left out of Adelaide, Cummins and Lyon return

Cummins sustained a series of lower-back injuries in his late teens and early 20s, which made him wait five-and-a-half years between his first and second Test caps. He said that he had developed “complete trust” in CA’s medical staff after many years of working with them but conceded that any setbacks in his recovery would have ruled him out of the series altogether.”I’m good to go,” Cummins said after Australia’s final pre-match training session. “I’ve been bowling [at] 100% for a while. If I’d played in Brisbane, I would probably have been on limited overs. But this week, it’s just ‘go and play’ like any other Test match.”The medical staff are the leading experts in this around the world. They see more of these injuries than anyone else, and I have complete trust in them. That’s probably the most comforting part.”I know I got asked a million times in the off-season, ‘Are you going to play?’. I genuinely didn’t know. As long as everything tracked well, I would be in this position, but we also knew that you’ve got to tread lightly around some of these injuries, and if there was a flare-up or a setback, I wouldn’t have played. We wouldn’t have risked it.”I feel like I’ve been really well managed and well supported, and we’ve all been pretty open-minded, the medical staff, coaches and myself, and luckily, things have played out pretty well.”0:44

Lyon: No point to prove in third Ashes Test

Cummins’ return still carries some level of risk after an unusually short rehabilitation programme, given he only resumed bowling at the end of October. But he was bullish about his fitness on Tuesday, even as he revealed that he had first felt discomfort in his back during the Jamaica Test in July when he did not bowl in a second innings that lasted just 14.3 overs.”I first felt it in West Indies,” Cummins said. “Second innings Jamaica, things happened pretty quickly and I was pretty happy not to bowl there: I was feeling a bit sore. I got an initial scan which showed something potentially brewing, but a lot of these times, the next scan shows a bit more, and four weeks later, I had another scan that looked a bit more serious.”We know the pathway that you need to do to come back from a stress injury like that. I had 16 weeks completely off bowling, make sure the bone heals really well, looking good, and then from there it’s ramping up. You normally try to ramp up – the medical staff will probably tell me I’ve got this completely wrong – maybe over three or four months.”That would obviously have meant that I missed the Ashes, so we set a pretty aggressive plan to get up in six or seven weeks. I haven’t had any hiccups, I’m feeling great, feeling probably better than I would have thought. The back’s healed well, so here we are.”Many teams would see Cummins’ return as an opportunity to put pressure on Australia’s attack by batting for as long as possible, but Ben Stokes said that it would not prompt England to explicitly change their gameplan. “I won’t be paying too much attention to the fact that Pat’s not played since July and try to use that as something to go at,” he said.Pat Cummins was very close to playing in Brisbane•PA Photos/Getty Images

There have been long breaks after the first two Tests of this series, but the final three will be played back-to-back-to-back, with only four scheduled days off in each gap. It is unlikely that Cummins will be available for all three, but Australia will have Michael Neser and Brendan Doggett fresh and ready to go after their omission for the third Test.Australia are 2-0 up in the series despite Cummins’ absence from the first two Tests, and the fact that Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out with hamstring and Achilles injuries. Jhye Richardson, who won his most recent Test cap against England in Adelaide four years ago, has also been training with the squad this week as he returns from shoulder surgery.”It’s incredible. It shows great depth in the Aussie cricket system at the moment with fast bowlers,” Cummins said. “It’s almost worked out perfectly. We’re halfway through a series. I’ve come back online, you’ve got Ness [Neser] and Doggy [Doggett] who are resting from this week but obviously got themselves into the series and are available for the last two games.”We’ve seen Jhye Richardson out the back bowling, so it feels like everything has come together and we’re not just hanging on to the end of the series like sometimes you are. We’re actually peaking, and [will] hopefully have heaps of resources available.”The guys who have stepped in have been fantastic. I think it’s huge credit to those guys that have stepped in, but also the coaches, and Steve [Smith] managing them throughout the game.”

Scorecard

	Mithun Manhas’ 97 helped Delhi gain a first-innings lead of 72 over Baroda © Cricinfo Ltd

Mithun Manhas helped Delhi edge ahead after the second day of their Ranji Trophy semi-final against Baroda in Indore. A match in which no other batsman topped 50, Manhas scored a fluent 97 and was largely instrumental in Delhi managing a first-innings lead of 72. They were bowled out just before close of play for 271, while Baroda’s openers saw off four overs without too many alarms to ensure that they still have a good chance of fighting back.The Baroda bowlers kept it tight throughout the day, with Sankalp Vohra, the left-arm medium-pacer, being the pick of the lot. Pitching it in the corridor and getting the ball to angle away from the right-handers, Vohra finished with impressive figures of 4 for 39, and was helped significantly by Yusuf Pathan in the slips, who snaffled four catches.Resuming at 49 for 3, Delhi’s overnight batsmen, Manhas and Aditya Jain, put the team on the ascendancy with a fine 131-run stand. The Baroda new-ball bowlers had managed plenty of swing and seam late on the opening day, but neither Sumit Singh nor Salim Veragi could repeat the act on the second morning, which allowed both batsmen to drive through the line of the ball much more freely. Manhas was the more aggressive of the two, and turned it on even more when the spinners were introduced into the attack. Pathan, the offspinner, was deposited over long-on for the first six of the match, while Rajesh Pawar, the left-arm spinner, was driven down the ground for four as Manhas used his feet effectively.Jain played his part well, and was just two short of his fifty when he played the ball square on the off side, raced down the pitch, and had no chance of regaining his crease when Manhas refused the single. Manhas reached his 26th first-class half-century from 83 balls, and was motoring towards his hundred when a rush of blood spoilt all the good work: he charged down the pitch to Pawar, but miscued his lofted drive to Pathan at long-on.Rajat Bhatia and Puneet Bisht, the wicketkeeper, added 40 and helped Delhi past Baroda’s first-innings total of 199, but the pair was separated soon after when Pawar trapped Bisht in front as he lunged forward and was hit in line. Bisht looked surprised at the decision, but replays showed it was the correct one.Bhatia and Sumit Narwal – one of the bowling heroes from the opening day – got another useful partnership going before the second new-ball did the trick for Vohra and Baroda. Bhatia had batted patiently for his 38, but couldn’t resist the cut shot when offered some width. The edge flew to Pathan, and Delhi were seven down with the lead just 38. It got even better for Vohra when Narwal and Amit Bhandari fell in the same over – Narwal poked an edge to Pathan at second slip, and Bhandari carved a drive to cover.Parvinder Awana, the No. 11 batsman, frustrated Baroda briefly, hitting a couple of fours on his way to 12, before fending a short one to the waiting hands of Pathan. Baroda’s bowlers had restricted Delhi to 271 on the second day, and the deficit to 72. With the pitch still playing well and all ten wickets intact, Connor Williams and Co will feel the bowlers have given them an excellent chance of coming back into the match despite their feeble first-innings performance.

ScorecardNorth Zone put in a good, strong bowling performance and then followed it up with a fluent batting performance to canter to victory by seven wickets against Central Zone. The stars of the day were Joginder Sharma, who bowled with intelligence and control, and then later Gautam Gambhir, who unleashed a volley of boundaries as North Zone chased down 196 with plenty of time to spare.When Dinesh Mongia, who won the toss, chose to bowl, it didn’t appear to be the brightest decision. Although there was a bit of live grass on the surface, the pitch was still very good for batting. But he made the decision keeping the dew factor in mind, and in the end it was one that paid off.VRV Singh and Ashish Nehra got North off to the perfect start, picking off the two openers cheaply. VRV blasted out Faiz Fazal while Nehra had Monish Mishra trapped plumb in front. Mohammad Kaif, the Central Zone skipper, teamed up with Shreyas Khanolkar, and the two began the repair operation from 15 for 2.Khanolkar was steady, and took no chances against either VRV or Nehra, but Kaif, clearly not at his best, struggled to get going. With the runs not coming through big shots, and the singles stifled as well, the pressure gradually built. And when Joginder came on to bowl first change, Kaif went after him, but failed to do more than get a thin edge to an attempted pull shot.From then on, while Khanolkar sealed his end up, the wickets fell at regular intervals at the other end. Abbas Ali played on to his stumps, Piyush Chawla shouldered arms to an inswinger and was lbw, Jai P Yadav flashed one to Shikhar Dhawan in the slips – all off the bowling of Joginder. At 81 for 6 Central Zone were staring at being skittled out for a humiliatingly low score, but were saved the blushes by some spirited lower-order batting.Rohit Jhalani (20), Murali Kartik (22) and Pankaj Singh (28) all contributed, but the only meaningful score of the innings was 57 from Khanolkar, and this meant that Central Zone could muster just 195.When North Zone began the pursuit of 196, they gave Central Zone hint of a chance as two wickets fell for 53. But Central Zone could not take the risks they needed to, or set attacking enough fields, given they did not have the runs on the board. With this being the case, Dhawan and Gambhir settled into an easy groove and began picking off the bowlers.Both Gambhir and Dhawan look to play their shots, and today was no exception. There were pleasing punches back down the ground, some flashy drives through the off side and occasionally the pick-up shot over the leg side. Their partnership stretched to 140 before Dhawan was acrobatically caught by RP Singh on the fine-leg fence after he had top-edged a pull shot. By then Dhawan had scored 51 and only three runs were needed for victory. Gambhir obliged, spanking his 13th boundary, to go with one six, and was unbeaten on a 98-ball 95 as North reached the target.

Tahir Mughal, the fast-bowling allrounder, fell six short of a well deserved century as Sialkot Stallions advanced to the finals of the Twenty-20 cup, beating Karachi Dolphins by 29 runs at the National Stadium in Karachi. Batting first, Mughal carried the Stallions innings, and shared a productive stand of 96 with Shoaib Malik (33). Mughal’s knock came to an end when he was bowled by Khalid Latif for 94, off 55 balls with nine fours and six sixes. Meanwhile, Irfanuddin, the offbreak bowler from Karachi, bagged the best bowling figures in the competition’s history, taking 6 for 25 and cleaning up the lower order. Chasing 199, the Dolphins started off confidently, putting on 67 for the first wicket. However, with wickets in hand, they were unable to keep pace with the required rate, finishing at 169 for 7 off their 20 overs. Barring the top order, the others failed to contribute anything substantial. Qaiser Abbas, who had a good outing with the bat for the Stallions in the previous match, took three wickets with his left-arm spin.Faislabad Wolves, the defending champions, gave themselves another shot at the trophy, beating Lahore Lions by six wickets and booking a spot in the finals of the Twenty-20 Cup. The Wolves chased down the target of 150 with ease, led by Misbah-ul-Haq (44) and Asif Hussain (34). The Lions failed to post a challenging total, despite the presence of powerful hitters like Abdul Razzaq and Kamran Akmal, both of whom failed. Samiullah Khan was the most successful bowler for the Wolves, picking up three wickets. They will meet Sialkot Stallions in the finals on Saturday.

Ehsan Mani: ‘India needs to clarify the tax position’© Getty Images

The International Cricket Council has stated that India could host the Champions Trophy next year only if the tax-exemption issue was sorted out soon. Ehsan Mani, the ICC president, told Press Trust of India that despite discussing the issue with Indian officials last month, the ICC has failed to receive any response from the government or the BCCI on the matter.”The important point that we are going to discuss here is the Champions Trophy to be held in India, but India needs to clarify the tax position,” said Mani, who is in India for the ICC executive board meeting. “I met union finance minister P Chidambaram and sports minister Sunil Dutt – they were kind enough with their patient hearing but we are still waiting for their answers in the next couple of days.”Last year, the ICC had warned the Indian board that India’s chances of hosting a major tournament might be in jeopardy due to the high tax rates. “India is seeking to hold high-profile events including the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games besides the ICC events. India need to address this issue immediately. They must have absolute clarity on the issue.” He also added that the ICC was still facing tax-related matters from the 1996 World Cup which was held in the subcontinent.

Legspinner Stuart MacGill and Wicketkeeper Brad Haddin have both been ruled-out of the SpeedBlitz Blues line-up for the Pura Cup match against Western Australia at the SCG, starting on Tuesday November 4th. Both have leg injuries. MacGill has been replaced by Liam Zammit, who’ll make his 1st Class debut for NSW. Zammit is a former Australian under 19’s representative who has also played Colts and 2nd XI for NSW. Haddin has been replaced by Nathan Pilon.The SpeedBlitz Blues side is:

Stephen Waugh (C)
Michael Slater
Greg Mail
Simon Katich
Phil Jaques
Mark Waugh
Nathan Pilon
Matthew Nicholson
Stuart Clark
Don Nash
Liam Zammit
Grant Lambert

12th man to be named on the morning of the match.