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Peshawar Panthers were beaten by Lahore Eagles by 26 runs in their last preliminary round match at the UBL Sports Complex in Karachi, but still made the final of the ABN-AMRO Cup Gold League, and they will now meet Sialkot Stallions at the National Stadium on Monday.Both sides, as well as Karachi Dolphins finished with an identical position of 16 points each, but Peshawar remained ahead on the basis of net run-rate. Sialkot Stallions had already qualified for the final, having collected 20 points from their six matches of which they won five.The Panthers, who put the Eagles in after winning the toss, did well to bowl their opponents out for 214 in the 48th over. The Panthers were then restricted to a score of 188 for 8 in their 50 overs and lost the match.Lahore wicketkeeper Humayun Farhat hammered a run-a-ball 55 with five fours and six and helped add 52 for the seventh wicket with Junaid Zia (19). The Panthers’ slow left-arm bowler Zohaib Khan was brilliant with a haul of 6 for 37 while wicketkeeper Zulfiqar Jan effected four stumpings.Yasir Hameed top-scored for the Panthers with 47 off only 35 balls with seven fours and a six. Jannisar Khan later made an unbeaten 33 off 60 balls with a solitary boundary.Almost all the Eagles bowlers chipped in with a wicket or two and did very well by keeping the Panthers batsmen and scoring in check.***********Last season’s champions Faisalabad Wolves plummeted to their sixth defeat in as many matches, as Karachi Zebras beat them by 25 runs at the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) Sports Complex Stadium in Karachi. Karachi Zebras batted first and scored 248 for 7 in their allotted 50 overs. The Wolves were then bowled out for 223 in 47.3 overs.There was really an inconsequential match as neither team was in contention for Monday’s tournament final and Karachi Zebras finished at number five in the seven-team table. The Wolves with six straight losses and no points ended at rock bottom.The day was highlighted by a bowling effort of Karachi seamer Imran Javed who took 5 for 39. The top-score came from Zebras’ in-form opener Khurram Manzoor, who hit 61 off 90 balls with seven fours in a 90-run opening partnership with Asif Zakir (37).Faisal Iqbal hit a run-a-ball 51 with three fours and a six. He then held three catches in the field. The Wolves were off to a sound start of 72 in 11 overs but the middle order stumbled. Both captain Misbah-ul-Haq (4) and Naved Latif (0), two of their region’s best batsmen, both fell cheaply.******Fawad Alam’s allround performance helped Karachi Dolphins defeat Rawalpindi Rams by seven wickets at the National Stadium in Karachi. Alam took 5 for 53 with his left-arm spinners and blasted 127 off just 88 balls as his side chased down the target of 254 in just 34.4 overs.Alam recorded his best bowling figures and his ton was his second in domestic limited overs, striking 15 fours and two sixes. The Dolphins lost two wickets with only 20 on board. Opener Khalid Latif and Fawad then added an incredible 213 for the third wicket in just 29 overs. Khalid, with his career’s third century, remained unbeaten till the end, his 100 coming off 99 balls with 11 fours and two sixes.For Rawalpindi, three batsmen contributed half-centuries. Wicketkeeper Ali Sarfraz made an unbeaten 65 off 56 balls with four fours and two sixes. Opener Adnan Mufti’s 58 came off 73 balls while Usman Saeed hit 53 off 99 balls with one four.Yet, inspite of having taken their points tally to 16 as Peshawar Panthers and Lahore Eagles did the same, Karachi Dolphins couldn’t qualify for the tournament final. The Panthers have joined Sialkot Stallions in Monday’s final, here at the National Stadium, on the basis of a superior net run-rate.

Scorecard

Very appealing: Jhulan Goswami celebrates one of her three wickets on a successful first day for India © Getty Images

India will be well pleased with their efforts on the opening day of the only Test at Adelaide. By the close they had reduced Australia to 8 for 230 with Jhulan Goswami and Neetu David doing the damage to knock over the top order. Goswami ended with an impressive 3 for 39 from 23 stingy overs of pace bowling. David grabbed 2 for 46 from her 15 overs of spin.Australia can take some comfort from the day, though. Karen Rolton’s first innings at the helm since taking over from the retired Belinda Clark proved a successful one – she made 63, and passed Clark as Australia’s leading runscorer in Tests at the same time, but will be kicking herself for not going on from there.So will Lisa Sthalekar, who made 72: together they shared the highest partnership of the day, with 56 for the third wicket. But Rolton’s dismissal, lbw to Goswami, triggered a collapse as Australia lurched from 2 for 110 to 7 for 169.Sthalekar and Jodie Purves – one of three debutantes – added some respectability late in the day, with an eighth-wicket stand of 44, before Sthalekar became Amita Sharma’s first victim. Purves strode on to an unbeaten 32 by the close.This may have been the first time that identical twins have played a Test for Australia on home soil, but the occasion wasn’t marked in fine style for Kate and Alex Blackwell. Both got ducks. Alex fell very early on indeed: the hosts had just 2 on the board when Goswami struck. Her sister fell to the same bowler later on.

Mohan de Silva: the outgoing executive committee which he headed was considering a legal challenge© Getty Images

The government has taken over the management of Sri Lankan cricket,preventing the annual general election planned this weekend from going ahead. Jeevan Kumaratunga, the sports minister, justified the move on financial andadministrative grounds, claiming “wastages” and “no accountability”.An interim committee was appointed to look after the board’s management. Jayantha Dharmadasa, the head of Nawaloka Hospitals and chairman of Sri Lanka Film Association, was appointed as the chairman. Dharmadasa contested unsuccessfully for the board presidency in 2000.Other members of the committee included Tryphon Mirando as secretary andKumar Weerasuriya. Mirando is a director at Janashakthi Insurance and aformer board member. Weerasuriya is a vice-president at National DevelopmentBank. Rienze Wijetilleke, interim chairman back in 1999, Adel Hassim andDamien Fernando were also appointed.The dissolution of the board was been widely expected after the government’sdecision to force Thilanga Sumathipala, the board’s appointed ambassador forinternational affairs who was standing uncontested for a fifth term aspresident on Sunday, to leave an important ICC meeting last week in Delhi.Sumathipala’s last-minute replacement indicated a shift in thinking withinthe government which had previously appeared supportive of Sumathipala, themain power broker within Sri Lankan cricket since the 1996 World Cup, atriumph that ignited a fight for control of the board.No specific reasons were given for the dissolution but Kumaratunga told newspaper: “I have had so many complaints saying that there are various financial mismanagements at Sri Lanka Cricket and this time when Igot the accounts I went through them very carefully and found out everythingwas not right. Their have been a lot of wastages and their seems to be noaccountability.”The outgoing executive committee, headed by Mohan de Silva, were consideringa legal challenge to the minister’s decision and were expected to hold apress conference shortly to respond to the minister’s decision. The newchairman, meanwhile, is expected to hold a press conference on Monday afterhis return to the island from a business trip.The major issues needing to be addressed will include the finalisation ofthe team sponsorship bid process, the re-drafting of annual playercontracts, the future of coach John Dyson, a possible legal fight overPallakelle Stadium and the re-building of tsunami-damaged GalleInternational Stadium.A possible far-reaching constitutional change designed to ensure a long-termsolution to the board’s problems may also be considered by the minister. Thefuture of Cricket-Aid, the board’s tsunami disaster fund headed bySumathipala, is also unclear.Interim committees were previously appointed in 1999 and 2001 to takeoverSumathipala-led administrations.

New Zealand have recalled Andre Adams for next week’s fourth one-dayer against Pakistan at Napier.Adams was dropped after the first match of the series in which he finished with 0 for 63 from nine overs. However, John Bracewell, the coach, said Adams was better suited to Napier’s smallish outfield than Ian Butler’s quicker bowling.New Zealand lead the five-match series 2-1 after their seven-wicket at Christchurch today.New Zealand Stephen Fleming (capt), Andre Adams, Craig Cumming, Chris Cairns, Brendon McCullum (wk), Craig McMillan, Hamish Marshall, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Scott Styris, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori.

With a fighting innings of 51 not out, which has lasted nearly two and a half hours, Robin Weston was attempting to bring stability to the Middlesex innings after five wickets had gone down for 124.The last to fall was Paul Weekes’ wicket, caught at cover for 13 from a lofted shot, an hour before bad light and rain brought an end to proceedings at 5.44pm with seven overs remaining of the second day’s play. Middlesex had reached 169 for five.Having made a slow but solid start to their first innings, the home side had struggled to consolidate during the last two sessions of play.Their opening stand put 74 on the board when two wickets went in successive overs. Michael Roseberry, who was dropped at slip before he had scored, was caught on 30 off the outside edge as he pushed forward to off spinner Suaun Udal in the 34th over.In the next over, Dimitri Mascarenhas bowled Andy Strauss for 33 and then struck again three overs later, having Stephen Fleming caught at slip for five. That gave him two wickets for seven in six overs of accurate pace bowling.Shortly before tea, which was taken on 119 for four, Middlesex lost Ben Hutton for six when Neil Johnson took his second catch, at slip. It was off Udal who claimed his second wicket for 41 in twenty overs.Earlier this morning, a big-hitting spree by Hampshire’s tail-enders added 94 runs in only 74 minutes before they were dismissed for 404 an hour before lunch.After losing his partner Adrian Aymes, who managed to add only six to his overnight score of 63 before falling leg before wicket to Phil Tufnell, Udal went on to become the fifth Hampshire batsman to score a half-century in the innings. Remarkably, this is the second time this season that five Hampshire batsmen have hit half-centuries in a single innings.Hampshire’s eighth-wicket stand of 114 fell just five short of their record against Middlesex.Udal’s fifty was the quickest of the five, coming from 81 balls and included six boundaries. He hit two of those off Angus Fraser in the second over of the morning, one to square leg and the other between long leg and square.Alex Morris kept up the scoring rate after Udal had skied to be caught at mid-wicket off Paul Weekes. He had been dropped earlier at short mid-wicket off Tufnell, but continued with his hard hitting which brought him six boundaries and a six over the sight screen off Weekes who eventually bowled him when he was only seven short of yet another fifty by a Hampshire batsman.With his dismissal, Weekes completed his first five-wicket haul in five years. The last occasion was against Glamorgan when he had eight for 39, his best first-class figures.

Tottenham Hotspur remain interested in Paulo Dybala, who will be out of contract in the summer, according to reports…

What’s the word?

Italian journalist Niccolo Ceccarini claims Spurs are ‘at the window’ to sign the Juventus attacker on a free transfer after the Serie A giants announced that the Argentinian would be leaving the club.

The north Londoners have been named as potential suitors, bolstered by the influence of sporting director Fabio Paratici, who played a key part in signing him for the Old Lady back in 2015, joining from Palermo.

Atletico Madrid are also keen on Dybala but both sides will have to wait for the 28-year-old to make a decision on his long-term future after the current campaign, where he has featured in 29 matches for Le Zebre.

Creative bargain

Now valued at £36m by Transfermarkt, Dybala would be something of a bargain for Spurs this summer.

Despite doubts over his future at the Allianz Stadium, the 32-cap international has still delivered 19 goal contributions (13 goals, six assists) from 23 starts across the Serie A, Italian Cup and Champions League.

That correlates into a goal or assist once every 101.5 minutes – not bad for someone that has suffered from his fair share of injuries during his time in Italy.

The 2019/20 campaign saw Dybala register some of the best numbers of his career, managing a whopping 17 goals and 14 assists across 46 appearances, as per Transfermarkt.

During the course of his time in Turin, the versatile frontman has also played a variety of positions, making him a very attractive prospect for manager Antonio Conte – most naturally a number 10 or second striker, he has also been deployed on both wings and up front.

Just imagine the sorts of numbers he could put up alongside Harry Kane, Heung-min Son and Dejan Kulusevski – a mouthwatering attacking quartet.

“I feel like he’d be unstoppable with Kane because he’s not a number nine, so he’s got to be playing alongside a striker like that,” once claimed Serie A expert Conor Clancy to Football FanCast. “I’d have him as a number 10, like that support striker which will give him a little bit of freedom to move.”

Tottenham have long lacked this sort of presence, at least dating back to the departure of Christian Eriksen in January 2020. That much is evident by the fact that Conte has happily shipped his two potential replacements – Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso – out on loan at the start of the year.

Aside from his obvious talent in front of goal, the 28-year-old dynamo has averaged 1.6 key passes and registered 1.9 dribbles per game, via WhoScored, which suggests he’s a more than capable ball-carrier and playmaker, too.

Ex-Arsenal star Aaron Ramsey has been taken aback by this ability in the past, he told The Athletic:

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“I can just confirm that Dybala is an unbelievable player. He’s very gifted — a team player — and some of the things he’s done in training and some of the games this season has been quite breathtaking.”

Meanwhile, Dybala has earned comparisons to Diego Maradona, with current Spurs star Kulusevski believing that he possesses a “magical left foot.”

Paratici, and particularly Tottenham, could do little wrong in trying to snap up the Argentine this summer, especially on a free transfer. It could prove to be remarkable business, at least on the above evidence.

AND in other news, Conte can now axe “out of form” £91k-p/w dud as Spurs plot bid for 22 y/o “phenomenon”…

	Chris Martin hasn’t taken a wicket yet but has been very economical, and gets his coach’s backing © Getty Images

New Zealand are determined to make a clean sweep of Bangladesh when the two sides meet for the third and final one-day international at the Queenstown Events Centre. Inclement summer weather disrupted practice on the eve of the game and more is forecast on game day, but the mood remained upbeat in the home camp.The hosts go into the clash having already clinched the series 2-0 courtesy a 102-run D/L method win in Napier but John Bracewell, New Zealand’s coach, hoped to build on two wins against Bangladesh after disappointing tours to South Africa and Australia.”Rhythm, momentum going into the Test series, the goal is to continue building confidence and lift of our performance from the other two games – setting the bar a little bit higher each time,” he told the . “For us, confidence and self-assessment is extremely important. It’s not necessarily important what the opposition is doing, it’s what we’re doing and I think we can still lift the bar.”After struggling in their last two series, New Zealand’s batsman put up runs – albeit expectedly – against Bangladesh, chasing 202 with six wickets left and posting 335 for 5. The bowlers were unable to dismiss an out-of-form Bangladesh batting line-up in Napier but Bracewell put faith in his opening pair, Kyle Mills and Chris Martin. Mills has seven wickets in two games, including 4 for 40 in Napier and Martin has conceded less than three runs an over despite not having taken a wicket.”I’ve been pleased with the heat with which Chris has bowled. Without Shane Bond, he’s our go-to player, and he’s still learning the skills [of one-day bowling],” said Bracewell. “He’s only played 11 or 12 one-day games [since his debut in 1999] so he’s still making the adjustment from that continual line and length at test-match level.”Mark Gillespie, the right-arm medium-pacer, remains a doubt after aggravating his left shoulder in Napier and will be assessed before the match. Michael Mason could get a game on a track that traditionally favours seam bowling. It is unlikely that offspinner Jeetan Patel will play.A loss to Bangladesh would send New Zealand from third to fourth place on the International Cricket Council’s ODI rankings.Bracewell’s opposite number, Jamie Siddons, said his side had no pretensions about upstaging their opposition. “We don’t pretend that we’re going to compete with New Zealand on a regular basis at this point in time. We are learning, but it’s going to take time. They’re young players, some are only playing their first or second game of their lives at this level.”There’s a learning curve they have to go through and we’re going to suffer some pain. We’re suffering that pain now – there’s no way around it.”Only Mohammad Ashraful, Aftab Ahmed and Tamim Iqbal have scored fifties in the series and the middle order has generally come a cropper against seam bowling. With two Tests looming, Bangladesh need to pick up their game.Teams (likely)New Zealand: 1 Jamie How, 2 Brendon McCullum (wk), 3 Peter Fulton, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Scott Styris, 6 Mathew Sinclair, 7 Jacob Oram, 8 Daniel Vettori (capt), 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Michael Mason, 11 Chris Martin.Bangladesh: 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Junaid Siddique, 3 Aftab Ahmed, 4 Mohammad Ashraful, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mehrab Hossain Jnr, 7 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 8 Farhad Reza, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza, 10 Abdur Razzak, 11 Shahadat Hossain.

Dwayne Smith’s big hitting allowed West Indies to score 57 off the last five overs against Pakistan © AFP

Dwayne Smith has justified his selection for the World Cup with a match-winning performance in the opening game against Pakistan on Tuesday. When West Indies’ squad was announced in February, there was strong opposition to Smith’s inclusion.However, Smith repaid the faith when he was adjudged Man of the Match for hitting 32 off 15 balls and taking 3 for 36, including the crucial wickets of Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam-ul-Haq. “I’m always confident in myself and I don’t worry too much about what people say,” Smith told after the victory. “I just go out there and do my job, and do it to the best of my ability.”It was a great start for me personally, but I think it was a solid team performance and one that will give us plenty of confidence as we look towards the remainder of the tournament. Although I have been pushed lower and lower in the batting order, it has not really affected my confidence. It has just made me realise that I have to work harder and harder in the nets, and that is what I am prepared to do.”In 20 matches leading up to the World Cup, Smith had averaged 7.40 with the bat and 38.43 with the ball. Gordon Greenidge, the convenor of selectors, had said that he was not convinced about Smith’s selection.”Personally, I’m not convinced. I’m partly convinced. I feel that the guy has a lot going for him but he doesn’t show it as often as we would like him to,” Greenidge had told . “Unfortunately, in recent times, his bowling takes more precedence than his batting. I would like to see him develop more into a total player, an all-round player.”The coach Bennett King, however, backed Smith’s potential and said he was a matchwinner with the bat. Brian Lara also supported Smith and wanted him to go from strength to strength. “His performance was excellent, and he knows that, and from here what he wants to do is build on it, not just sit back and think I’ve started well and that’s it,” Lara said. “We’ve hopefully got ten more games in the tournament and he is looking for a performance like this every time.” West Indies face Zimbabwe in their second group match at Sabina Park on Monday.

Shahid Afridi: Boom boom no more… © Getty Images

Pakistan’s chances of staging a fightback in the one-day series against India took a knock with Shahid Afridi being ruled out of the remaining two matches.Afridi aggravated a rib injury that he sustained before Monday’s third match at Lahore and has been advised to take two weeks’ rest, Pakistan’s team management said. Afridi opened the batting in Monday’s game and felt considerable pain while bowling three overs in India’s innings.Pakistan are already missing Shoaib Akhtar, who was ruled out of the series on Sunday after missing the first two matches with an ankle injury. Mohammad Sami was included in the squad as a replacement for Akthar but no replacement was announced for Afridi. Afridi is a local hero in Pakistan and his dismissals in previous matches have frequently triggered mass exodus of spectators from the ground.India lead the five-match series 2-1 after they won the third match by five wickets. Pakistan won the first in Peshawar by seven runs and India claimed the second in Rawalpindi by seven wickets. The fourth match of the series will be played at Multan on Thursday while Karachi will host the fifth match on Sunday.