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England A 424 all out (Bell 144, Prior 76 not out, Cook 63, Shah 52) v Sri Lanka A 179 for 6 (Gunawardene 40, Mahmood 3 for 41)
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Sajid Mahmood: his extra pace forced Sri Lanka A onto the back foot © CricInfo

Sajid Mahmood bounced back from early onslaught from Avishka Gunawardene to rip through Sri Lanka’s top order and tighten England A’s grip on a match that they’ve controlled ever since Ian Bell walked to the crease in the first hour. At stumps on day two, Sri Lanka A still trailed by 245 runs with only four first-innings wickets remaining.Mahmood, who was held back as a second-change bowler, was initially expensive as Gunawardene, a powerful and fearless dasher, raced to 40 from just 56 balls. But Mahmood’s extra pace had the final say, and Gunawardene was eventually caught behind.At that stage, Sri Lanka A, who lost their Test prospect Ian Daniel early, caught in the covers, had been ticking along smoothly at 65 for 1. Soon, however, they had slipped to 77 for 4 and were deep in trouble as Mahmood continued to breach their defences. Anuska Polonawita (16) was caught behind for 16 and Jehan Mubarak (10) was caught on the crease and clean bowled.Thilina Kandamby (28), confident after his fine form in the Provincial Tournament, counterattacked with a brisk 28 from 45 balls before a desperate slice of misfortune. Driving the ball through extra cover, he cracked the silly-point fieldsman on the full and ball ballooned up to Graeme Swann, the grateful bowler.But Sri Lanka’s fightback continued in the final session. First, Prasanna Jayawardene scored 24 before being pinned lbw and then Gayan Wijekoon (17 not out) and Malinga Bandara (30 not out), both handy allrounders, chipped away at the lead during an unbroken 49-run stand.Earlier, Matthew Prior had starred after Bell had fallen for 144, Nandika Ranjith finally unlocking his sound defence and sending his stumps cart-wheeling. Prior ensured that the lower order didn’t melt away on another scorching day, breezing to 76 from 85 balls, an innings that included 10 fours.Malinga Bandara eventually mopped up the tail with his legbreaks, finishing with 5 for 96 from 37 overs, but England’s 424-run total left Sri Lanka on the back foot and by the close England A still held the initiative.Bandara’s performance was praised by his coach, Stan Nel: “"The pitch is an absolute batting paradise. It is more difficult for the bowlers. In that respect Malinga Bandara’s five wickets was a great haul in his first game back for Sri Lanka `A’."But Nel was less happy with the bowlers: "We bowled well in parts yesterday (first day) and fielded really well. Today our top four batsmen let us down. They have come after a good provincial tournament and they are in form. I’ve had a chat with them and asked them to take on more responsibility.”Having said that, Kandamby was a bit unlucky the ball ricocheted off the shoe and Prasanna Jayawardene was also unlucky when he was given out when he edged the ball onto the pads. It was disappointing but that’s cricket," he said.

QAS 304 and 208 (Carseldine 109*) drew with Indians 208 for 9 dec and 121 for 4 (Ramesh 37*, Ganguly 35)
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Lee Carseldine made the Indians suffer as he notched up his second century of the match © Getty Images

After three days of searching cricket, the Indians played out a drawagainst the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS). Set 305 to win, theIndians suffered yet another top-order collapse, but reached 121 for 4thanks to sensible batting by Saurav Ganguly (35), SadagoppanRamesh (37 not out), and Rahul Dravid (20 not out).Earlier, riding on Lee Carseldine’s second hundred of the match, QASdeclared at 208, galloping at four runs an over. Interestingly, India had taken 20 overs more to make an identical score in their first innings.The third day threw up more questions than answers, as India’s horrorrun with both bat and ball continued. At one point, the Indians were at32 for 3. What’s worrisome was that the three dismissed batsmen were Deep Dasgupta, Virender Sehwag, and Akash Chopra – all prospective openers. Ganguly and Ramesh then put on 56, before the former perished for an aggressive 35.Unlike the Indians, Carseldine found the pitch and the attack tohis liking. His unbeaten knock of 109 came of 155 balls, and was lacedwith 18 boundaries. And following the first innings script, the otherbatsmen played around his century to put the game beyond the Indians’ reach.Irfan Pathan and Anil Kumble picked up two wickets each, to complete a reasonably successful tour match. Kumble ended with match figures of 6 for 102, and has been the one Indian bowler to impress on tour sofar. Ajit Agarkar, though wicketless, bowled economically. With Balaji’snon-performance, the fast bowlers for the first Test will most likely be three out of Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Agarkar and Pathan.

England batsman Michael Vaughan, the star performer in the side’s 33-run win over New Zealand in the National Bank Series in Auckland on Saturday will be struggling to be fit by the time of the first Test at Christchurch starting on March 13.Vaughan fell heavily on his shoulder in the fourth One-Day International in Auckland on Saturday night and was forced to leave the field.Vaughan had an x-ray in Dunedin yesterday and while it revealed no serious damage, he will be out of action for 10 days. He suffered a partial dislocation and the hope in the England camp was that he would be available for the first Test match.That rules him out of tomorrow’s series-deciding One-Day International against New Zealand in Dunedin.He will definitely miss the first three-day game of the tour against Otago starting in Queenstown on Saturday and possibly the second game, against Canterbury in Christchurch, starting on March 7.

The rain affected P Ramachandra Rao Trophy match between Hyderabad andAndhra at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Saturday ended ina draw. Both Karnataka and Hyderabad settled for three points eachfrom the match.Resuming at the overnight score of 87 for 4, Karnataka proceeded toscore 174 runs in their first innings. S Naveen (11) was the first tobe dismissed when he fell leg before to Mohd Ghouse. S Shinde (44)was joined by R Shanbal (13) and they took the score to 127. Shindewas then caught by Sai Laxman off Santosh Yadav. Three overs laterDharmichand (0) fell to a catch in the slips by D Amresh of SantoshYadav. Coming in at No 9, NC Aiyappa scored a valuable 28 to take thescore past the 160 run mark before the innings folded up.In reply Hyderabad got to face just six overs. Opener K Srikanth (4)was caught by Shanbal off Aiyappa. T Suman (7) and Anirudh Singh (2)took the score onto 16 when heavy rain stopped play, which could notbe resumed after tea. Play was finally called off at 4 pm.

Former Celtic midfielder Stiliyan Petrov hit out at Hoops captain Callum McGregor for his penalty miss against Livingston on Sunday lunchtime. 

The Lowdown: Disappointing display

The skipper was once again selected in midfield by Ange Postecoglou, making his 41st appearance of the season in all competitions.

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However, the 28-year-old had an afternoon to forget on a personal note as he was the Hoops’ worst-rated performer by some distance. As per SofaScore, the skipper recorded a match rating of 5.6/10 after he missed a penalty, failed to complete any of his attempted dribbles or crosses and was second-best in seven of his 11 duels.

The Latest: Petrov’s comments

With the score at 0-0 in the early stages at Almondvale, McGregor missed from the penalty spot after Jack Fitzwater handled Daizen Maeda’s effort, with his strike coming off the post.

Talking live on-air at half time on Sky Sports, Petrov labelled the midfielder’s penalty as “really poor”, with the Hoops one goal to the good at the break.

The Verdict: Phew

Celtic fans may have been fearing the worst after McGregor’s penalty miss, but it didn’t take long for Maeda to open the scoring.

An own goal and a James Forrest strike gave the Hoops a comfortable lead in the second half, with Postecoglou’s side regaining a three-point lead at the top of the Premiership.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

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Luckily, McGregor’s spot-kick woes didn’t come back to haunt Celtic, but you’d expect that Josip Juranovic will once again take control from 12 yards out when he’s on the pitch.

In other news: Deal negotiated – ‘Ambitious’ Celtic ace who Postecoglou hailed now open to Parkhead exit

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Daryl Tuffey claimed three wickets and Andrew Hall two, apart from bowlinga tight final over to kick off the Indian Cricket League in Panchkula. Ina match where Indian cricketers matched their skills with internationalones, the ‘home team’, Chandigarh Lions prevailed over Delhi Jets by eightruns.It was a day for both sport and entertainment but the intensity was hard to miss. The fielding was of higher standard, compared to what’s generally on display in domestic cricket, and Abhishek Sharma running out Imran Farhat was one of the plays of the day.Chris Cairns and Marvan Atapattu sparkled, apart from Tuffey and Hall, butthey had to slug it out against local talent trying to make a name. AliMortaza, a left-arm spinner from Uttar Pradesh who was an India Under-19star till recently, impressed with 3 for 16, including a wicket off hisfirst ball. Abhishek, the legspinner from Delhi, bagged three wickets tooand JP Yadav, the former Indian allrounder, contributed with both bat andball.Abbas Ali, the grandson of the legendary Mushtaq and a mainstay of theMadhya Pradesh middle order, cracked three sixes towards the end to openthe game up. Backing away from the stumps, he lofted the medium-pacerseffortlessly to bring the Delhi Jets to within striking distance.Hall, standing at midwicket, dropped a clanger off the first ball of the19th over – when Rajesh Sharma swung wildly – but he made amends byconceding just five in the final over, when 14 were needed.”I think he just wanted to be a hero and win it with the ball in the lastover,” joked the Lions captain Cairns when asked about the drop. “But Ithought it was a great way to kick the tournament off. Good game, goodcrowd, good entertainment . That’s all you ask for when you walk in for amatch.”

Arnold’s last major series was against England in 2006© AFP

Russel Arnold and Upul Chandana have both been included in the 15-man squad for Sri Lanka’s one-day tour of India next month, increasing their chances of participating in the World Cup.Arnold and Chandana, who both starred in NCC’s six-wicket win in the Premier limited overs final two weeks ago, make their comebacks along with Nuwan Zoysa and Nuwan Kulasekera. These four replace the experienced pair of Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas, both of whom are carrying niggling injuries, together with Ruchira Perera and Chamara Kapugedera.Following his excellent form in the past few months – domestically and for Sri Lanka A – Arnold’s call-up is well deserved, and puts in doubt Kapugedera’s inclusion for the World Cup. A good performance from Arnold in India will be enough to convince the selectors that he is in good shape for the World Cup.The same can be said of Chandana who bowled exceptionally well for Sri Lanka A on their recent tour to India for the Duleep trophy tournament and then led NCC to victory against Moors SC by capturing five wickets.Chandana gets his break because Muralitharan is not available. In the past Chandana has more or less filled Muralitharan’s shoes when the great spinner was sidelined by injury.The lack of quality off spinners in the country is exposed by the fact that Chandana joins another leg-spinner. Malinga Bandara. in the squad. Like Kapugedera, Bandara will also feel threatened by Chandana’s presence as the World Cup selection nears.The need for a left-arm fast bowler in the absence of Vaas and Perera has forced the selectors’ hand in going for Zoysa, who last appeared in a one-dayer against India in Vadodara in November 2005.Sri Lanka play India in four matches starting from February 8 at Poona and then at Rajkot (Feb 11), Margoa (Feb 14) and Visakhapatnam (Feb 17). This will be Sri Lanka’s final engagement before the World Cup in the Caribbean.Squad
Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Kumar Sangakkara (vice-capt & wk), Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Marvan Atappattu, Russel Arnold, Chamara Silva, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Farveez Maharoof, Upul Chandana, Malinga Bandara, Dilhara Fernando, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Zoysa, Nuwan Kulasekera

Australia will proceed with a bid to stage the 2011 World Cup, a Cricket Australia offical said on Tuesday, despite reports that a joint Asian bid is being lined up. At the weekend it emerged that Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were uniting to bid for the tournament, and Shaharyar Khan, the Pakistan board chairman, indicated that Australia would not challenge them.But Peter Young, Cricket Australia’s general manager of public affairs, said that was not the case. “At this stage the ICC is just asking for expressions of interest and we are interested,” he told Reuters. “The deadline is February and we will be going ahead with that.”The Australian bid could be in association with New Zealand, and Young said that they were confident they would be a strong candidate. “We haven’t hosted the World Cup since 1992 and we have all the facilities and personnel to stage an event of this size again,” he said. “We’re exploring the option of a joint bid with New Zealand but if necessary we could go alone.”For the first time since the first World Cup in 1975, member nations are being asked to bid for hosting rights. The 2007 tournament in the Caribbean will be the last to be staged under a gentleman’s agreement struck by the ICC which meant the event staging was rotated.

Northern Districts 164 for 5 in 20 overs (Styris 96) beat Wellington 267 for 8 in 38 overs (Fleming 70, Nevin 70, Parlane 50) by 5 wickets (Duckworth-Lewis)
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Scott Styris’s exceptional 96 took ND to a stunning victory against Wellington© Getty Images

In a State Shield game of stunning drama which had constant stoppages due to rain, Northern Districts pulled off an incredible win against Wellington with a last-ball six.Put in to bat at Taupo, Wellington scored an amazing 267 for 8 from 38 overs, which was largely due to an opening partnership of 117 off only 12 overs by Stephen Fleming and Chris Nevin. Fleming’s 70 came from just 44 balls. In the midst of their partnership they inflicted a 30-run over on Graeme Aldridge, who has been the best bowler in the competition so far. That was a New Zealand record for most number of runs in an over in a one-day match, surpassing the 26 scored on two occasions – by Lance Cairns off Sri Lanka’s Vinodhan John in 1983 in Colombo, and by Richard Hadlee and Martin Crowe against Graham Gooch at Manchester in 1986.Nevin also scored 70, but at a more leisurely rate, getting his runs off 74 balls. However, any respite ND might have felt was coming their way when both were dismissed was denied by Michael Parlane, who hit 50 off 49 balls.Wellington had gone into the match knowing that they needed to win with a bonus point to keep their hopes of a semi-final berth alive. At 267 for 8 at the end of their 38 overs, they must have fancied their chances. They would have been even more confident of victory when ND were 4 for 2. But that merely set the stage for Scott Styris to do what he has been threatening to all summer. His lack of runs earlier had been a concern but his form has been returning recently, and he demonstrated here that anything his international captain could do, he could do better.Styris scored his half-century off only 28 balls, and then went on to make 96 off 57. He was on course for the fastest hundred in New Zealand – the record is currently held by Aravinda de Silva, who hit one off 65 balls – but James Franklin had him caught by Nevin. ND finally needed seven from the last two balls to get to the revised target of 163 from 20 overs. Matt Hart hit a single off the penultimate delivery, before Peter McGlashan struck a meaty blow over square leg to seal a magnificent victory.

After being thwarted in their attempts to stage Twenty20 matches at Lord’s last summer, the MCC has launched another bid to convince the local council that music and early-evening games in north-west London wouldn’t be the end of civilisation as we know it.Last summer Westminster City Council turned down permission for an entertainment licence following complaints from local residents that three evening matches, floodlights, and, heaven forbid, a concert by Atomic Kitten, would be too much to cope with.In recent months representatives of the MCC have met with local residents to try and allay their fears, and now a scaled-down proposal has been submitted. The aim is for one match – the London derby between Middlesex and Surrey – to be staged on June 15.”We are very keen to play Twenty20 cricket at Lord’s,” said Iain Wilton, the MCC’s head of communications. “This year’s proposal has the support of the Local to Lord’s group and is different from last year. It’s one match, no floodlights or pop concert, and the event will be over by 8.15pm.” But Wilton added that "amplified musical jingles at key moments of play" are still planned.Whether such a threat to the calm of St John’s Wood should be allowed is in the hands of the council.