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A lone spectator waits for play to begin on the final day Photo © AllSport UK

Championship leaders Surrey were left with a minimum of only 32 overs in which to attempt to bowl out Yorkshire when conditions improved sufficiently at Scarborough for a start to be made at 4.00pm on the final day of a match in which feelings ran high after Yorkshire had been docked eight points for preparing a ‘poor’ pitch.Surrey’s declaration at their overnight 89 for three left Yorkshire to make an improbable 288 for victory but fears of a collapse similar to the first innings quickly subsided as young openers Simon Widdup and Vic Craven made confident progress against the pace of Alex Tudor and Ben Hollioake.Surrey posted four slips and two gulleys in the first few overs but Widdup and Craven still managed to score runs in front of the wicket and the pair were largely unconcerned when spinners Saqlain Mustaq and Ian Salisbury entered the attack, Widdup twice in one over hammering boundaries off Salisbury to raise the 50.When Widdup had reached 32, he was bowled aiming a sweep at Saqlain only to see no-ball signalled and when the sides called it a day, Yorkshire had reached 68 without loss, Widdup leading the way with 38 to Craven’s 17.Yorkshire squeezed seven points out of the game – one less than they started with – but Surrey were left to ponder over whether they would have stood a better chance of forcing a win if they had enforced the follow on instead of deciding to add to their first innings lead of 198.Surrey’s 11 points increased their lead over second placed Lancashire to 19 points and they now appear odds-on favourites to retain the Championship – although the two teams will clash in the final round of matches.Yorkshire can still occupy the runners-up spot but their cause has been damaged by the loss of eight points.

Tasmania’s Cricket Australia board director Tony Harrison has lashed out at what he perceives to be a campaign to shift future Test matches typically earmarked for Hobart instead to Canberra, ahead of what is expected to be a small turnout at Bellerive Oval for Australia’s meeting against a West Indies side currently sitting eighth on the ICC Test rankings table.Bellerive has been extensively redeveloped since the most recent Test match held at the ground, against Sri Lanka in December 2012, with the new Ricky Ponting Stand dominating the southern side of the oval. However slim ticket pre-sales and the questionable drawing power of a struggling Caribbean outfit has left many wondering whether Hobart will be able to prove itself as a venue before CA schedules one of next summer’s six Tests at Manuka Oval instead.Harrison recently stepped down from his role as Tasmanian Cricket chairman in order to remain on the CA board as one of nine independent directors. However his loyalty to his state shone through in comments directed at the ACT, who Harrison felt were not working according to the “one team” philosophy adopted as a way of helping the game’s custodians work in a more unified manner.”I have read comments like, ‘we deserve the Test, Hobart doesn’t’ kind of thing. I don’t think that’s helpful,” Harrison told . “We are going through a process in Australian cricket at the moment called ‘one team’, which is the states and Cricket Australia all acting as one, and what has disturbed me most out of Canberra is that it is hardly ‘one team’ behaviour.”[CA] spent a lot of money and effort getting this one team thing going, and here instantly we have an issue… I think that is disappointing. I am frustrated that this debate is on and Tasmania hasn’t been given an opportunity to demonstrate that [the new grandstand] was a worthwhile investment and people will come and support it.”Canberra’s status as the country’s capital with the highest average weekly income in Australia contrasts with that of Hobart as the lowest, and Harrison said money had also been a factor in the ACT bidding successfully for other fixtures, such as last year’s ODI against South Africa in November. Harrison said there were elements of CA who operated with money in mind more so than cricket.”The workers of Tasmania are competing with the fat-cat bureaucrats in Canberra who have the highest disposable income in Australia,” Harrison said.”I do know that [the ACT] have made financial contribution to playing one-day international cricket there. So I suspect that may be the case [for a Test Match], but it hasn’t been confirmed to me. There are certainly people in Cricket Australia management who don’t necessarily look at it from a cricket perspective. They look at it from the dollars and cents perspective. But that’s why we have a board of directors.”Other factors are conspiring against Hobart, Harrison said, such as the lack of a Test match culture based on matches not being scheduled in the state on an annual basis, while the modest state of the West Indies side – something pointed out by plenty of commentators and former players – also serves to discourage spectators.”In the other capitals, they know there is a Test match every year whereas there hasn’t been one in Hobart for three years. So there isn’t the culture, people aren’t used to it,” Harrison said.”The thing that has distressed me most is the talking down of the West Indies, which sends a very poor message to the Tasmanian public. I’ve been very disappointed by the comments of former cricketers who have made a lot of money out of cricket.”

Loots Bosman being carried off the field after hurting his back while attempting to catch Tatenda Taibu in the second ODI at Harare © Getty Images

Loots Bosman is a doubtful starter for the Twenty20 World Championship after hurting his lower back while attempting a catch in the second ODI against Zimbabwe at Harare on Saturday. Initial reports suggested Bosman might require surgery, but Mickey Arthur, the South Africa coach, indicated that the injury might not be so serious.”Loots has been examined by a specialist in Johannesburg and it seems it’s not as serious as we thought,” Arthur was quoted as saying by . “We will know later in the week what the position is.”Bosman suffered the injury when trying to catch Tatenda Taibu off Dale Steyn at the boundary. He failed in his attempt, and instead crashed into the advertising boards, hurting his back in the process. He was carried off the field in a lot of pain and didn’t bat later in the afternoon.Bosman hasn’t had a lot of success in one-day internationals so far, but he has been a star in the domestic Twenty20 matches, scoring 679 runs in 23 games at 32.33 and a phenomenal strike rate of 147.93, with a highest score of 104.

‘Right or wrong, good or bad timing, Lara’s remarks in Kingston were the culmination of a series of comments relating to selection and pitches throughout the series against India’ © AFP

Never let it be said that West Indies cricket is incapable of maintaining a level of newsworthiness to keep it almost perpetually in the public eye.This CJ issue thing will eventually boil down like bhaji and then we will all move on to some other matter to keep the fires of politically-inspired bacchanal burning. Israel will sooner or later complete the obliteration of southern Lebanon, especially with their civilised Western allies facilitating the process of annihilation in adopting a hands-off policy. And a month after Trinidad and Tobago’s final game at the World Cup, the football frenzy has run out of steam.But, as always, sports editors wondering about the prospects for a good lead story can always rely on the players, administrators and apparently now even the accountants associated with West Indies cricket to provide them with main headline material, unless of course someone like George Bovell goes and wins gold and bronze medals in the swimming pool on the same night at the CAC Games, as he did on Wednesday in Cartagena.The challenge, of course, is to choose from the many items generously spread across the massive buffet table. Would you like to try the auditors’ damning report on the level of the West Indies Cricket Board’s indebtedness? How about the decisions to overlook Dwayne Bravo for a retainer contract and investigate Brian Lara’s public criticism of selection and pitches? Don’t forget that you can also satisfy your appetite with a bit of what the Players’ Association is now saying in response to the WICB’s latest pronouncements. Maybe you should get a bigger plate, but still come back for a second helping.If this is a calculated effort to distract attention from the inaugural Stanford 20/20 in Antigua, then it is a masterstroke, although, to be fair, the tournament hasn’t exactly ignited much interest in this part of the Caribbean as yet (I don’t know too many people losing sleep to watch the delayed television coverage).While none of the information leaked or released in the past week is entirely surprising, it is still instructive as to the real depth and scope of the problems in West Indies cricket, raising enough questions to suggest that a few too many trumpets were used in all of the fanfare about running a tighter, more efficient ship and establishing a new relationship between administration and players.If the WICB and its World Cup subsidiary can incur a net loss of over $120 million for the financial year ended September 30, 2005, what will be the situation at the end of September, 2006, given that considerably greater activity would be taking place in the lead-up to the hosting of the 2007 World Cup? Are we to believe that such losses are normal, given the size of the undertaking, apart from the general year-to-year operations, even if it meant that the WICB’s accumulated deficit at that stage had soared beyond $210 million?One of the many things we learnt in school was the danger of putting all your eggs in one basket, yet the Board is relying heavily on the success of the World Cup to haul it out of the abyss, even though the auditors have observed that “the extent of the financial success of this event is not guaranteed”. No roti shop worth its dhalpouri would operate like this.Dinanath Ramnarine, West Indies Players’ Association president and chief executive officer, has stated that the decisions to bypass Bravo for a retainer contract on the basis of his recent personal endorsement deal with Cable and Wireless, and to appoint a committee to investigate Lara’s comments after the fourth Test against India earlier this month, “contravene fundamental aspects” of agreements in relation to the Memorandum of Understanding and Collective Bargaining Agreement, among other matters, between the WICB and WIPA.If so, was the Board engaged in mamaguy tactics three months ago just so that the home series against Zimbabwe and India could proceed untroubled by the threat of industrial action? Given the evidence of the last year-and-a-half, is this how it’s going to be ahead of every series or tour for the foreseeable future, especially with speculation already in the air that the proposed money-spinning one-day series against India in Toronto next month is in jeopardy because it was agreed to without any consultation with WIPA?And what is to be made of this investigation of Lara? Right or wrong, good or bad timing, Lara’s remarks in Kingston were the culmination of a series of comments relating to selection and pitches throughout the series against India, all of which were made publicly and were extensively reported in the regional and international media. So what are Sir Alister and Messrs Gordon, Lloyd and Shillingford going to investigate?As usual, such a bewildering course of action could only come from an organisation divided unto itself, with some members determined to show the captain who is boss, especially after they were apparently sidelined in the process to appoint Lara as captain for a third time. So now, two of the Caribbean’s leading personalities – Sir Alister McIntyre and Clive Lloyd – have been dragged into this foolish exercise to give it legitimacy.If anything, the real challenge for these four gentlemen is how to come up with a report that will accomplish the dual purpose of saving face for the Board and not getting the captain blue mad.I wish them well.

The United Cricket Board of South Africa is set to lose a major sponsor – MTN, the cellphone company – after it refused to renew its contract which expires in September, citing excessively high demands from the board. According to a report on the News24 website, South African cricket could be teetering on the brink of bankruptcy within the next 18 months if the financial condition doesn’t improve.”We do not have unlimited funds and the question had to be asked whether we can put our money to better use,” said Victor Rahkale, a senior sponsorship manager at MTN. “A decision was taken to focus on soccer and the World Cup tournament in 2010 in particular. Soccer is the ideal vehicle to support our involvement in the rest of Africa and our expansion into that market.”However, Rahkale didn’t rule out the possibility of negotiations in future. “If South African cricket can come up with a more affordable option, we could look at it again sometime in the future.”MTN sponsored South African cricket to the tune of about R10m every year and the total annual contribution was about R20m. During the seven-year involvement, MTN contributed more than R100m, sponsoring the Test side to club tournaments and development programs.Steve Elworthy, the commercial manager of Cricket South Africa, hinted that Castle Lager may be appointed as the sole sponsor of the national side in future, and hoped that MTN would continue their cellphone contract sponsorship of the board. “We still have 083 numbers and hopefully we can get MTN to stay on board as far as our cellphones go,” said Elworthy. “We are now negotiating with Castle Lager – the other Test sponsor – about a package to sponsor Test cricket of the next three years and hopefully this will include an increased financial contribution.”Elworthy further added that they were negotiating with South African Airways to become the new sponsor of amateur cricket.

Sri Lanka’s selectors have named a 22-man training pool for the forthcomingfive-match one-day series against Zimbabwe. The squad will start trainingfor the tour from April 4.The pool includes several new faces, including Farveez Maharoof, a medium pace allrounder who captained the Sri Lankan Under-19 team in Bangladesh, andThilina Kandamby and Ian Daniel, batsmen who had an impressive tour of New Zealand with the A team.Sri Lanka are scheduled to play five one-dayers and two Tests during their month-long tour to Zimbabwe, beginning April 20.Pool of 22 1 Marvan Atapattu, 2 Sanath Jayasuriya, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 6 Thilan Samaraweera, 7 Russel Arnold, 8 Upul Chandana, 9 Chaminda Vaas, 10 Nuwan Zoysa, 11 Dilhara Fernando, 12 Muttiah Muralitharan, 13 Saman Jayantha, 14 Nuwan Kulasekera, 15 Rangana Herath, 16 Thilina Kandamby, 17 Farveez Maharoof, 18 Prasanna Jayawardene, 19 Ian Daniel, 20 Avishka Gunawardene, 21 Chamila Gamage, 22 Kaushal Lokuarachchi.

ANDY BLIGNAUT IN ONE-DAY INTERNATIONALSComplete to 31 March 2003

Abbreviations:A = Australia N = NamibiaB = Bangladesh NZ = New ZealandE = England P = PakistanH = Holland SA = South AfricaI = India SL = Sri LankaK = Kenya WI = West IndiesOpponents (Venue) No. How out Runs (Balls) Ct (No) O M R W1999/2000, TRIANGULAR TOURNAMENT IN SINGAPORE; 2, 4 Sept 19991 WI (Singapore) L (6) c +R D Jacobs b R D King 1 (3) – (7) 3.4 0 26 02 I (Singapore) L (9) b A R Kumble 0 (6) 1 (3) 6 0 35 21999/2000, TRIANGULAR TOURNAMENT IN KENYA; 2 Sept3 K (Nairobi Gym) L (8) c H S Modi b S O Tikolo 0 (2) – (4) 1 0 5 01999/2000, v AUSTRALIA (home); 21, 23, 24 Oct4 A (Queens SC) L (8) c M E Waugh b A Symonds 27 (15) – (3) 10 0 60 15 A (Harare SC) L (8) not out 21* (32) – (3) 6 0 24 16 A (Harare SC) L (7) c M G Bevan b S K Warne 1 (9) – (3) 6 1 25 01999/2000, v WEST INDIES (away); 15 April 20007 WI (St George’s) L (6) b Abdur Razzaq 3 (7) – (2) 7 0 37 12000/01, v BANGLADESH (home); 7, 8, 11 April 20018 B (Harare SC) W did not bat – – (3) 10 1 24 29 B (Harare SC) W (4) c Mohammad Rafique b Monjurul Islam 13 (11) – (3) 8 0 28 210 B (Queens SC) W did not bat – 1 (3) 10 0 41 22000/01, in ZIMBABWE (Triangular Tournament); 23, 24, 27 June, 1 July11 WI (Harare SC) L (5) run out (C E Cuffy) 25 (27) – (1) 10 0 53 112 I (Harare SC) L (8) c Harbhajan Singh b S C Ganguly 13 (36) – (4) 6 0 36 013 I (Queens SC) L (7) c Harbhajan Singh b A B Agarkar 11 (9) – (1) 10 0 41 014 WI (Queens SC) L (7) not out 12* (10) 1 (3) 10 1 50 02002/03, v PAKISTAN (home); 23 Nov 200215 P (Queens SC) L (7) c Shahid Afridi b Shoaib Akhtar 55 (39) 1 (1) 10 0 52 02002/03, v KENYA (home); 15 Dec16 K (Queens SC) W (3) not out 63* (43) – (1) 6 0 29 22002/03, WORLD CUP IN ZIMBABWE AND SOUTH AFRICA; 19, 24, 28 Feb, 4, 8, 12, 15 March 200317 I (Harare SC) L (6) c D B Mongia b S C Ganguly 2 (5) – (2) 10 0 54 118 A (Queens SC) L (8) c and b B Lee 54 (28) – (2) 10 0 53 019 H (Queens SC) W (6) c J F Kloppenburg b E Schiferli 58 (38) 1 (1) 10 1 30 020 P (Queens SC) D did not bat – – –21 NZ (Bloemfontein) L (7) run out (B B McCullum) 4 (5) – (3) 10 0 41 222 K (Bloemfontein) L (7) run out (M O Odumbe) 4 (8) – (2) 9 1 36 123 SL (East London) L (7) c P A de Silva b C R D Fernando 1 (5) – (2) 8 0 40 0ANDY BLIGNAUT’S WICKETS IN ONE-DAY INTERNATIONALSODI no. and venue Wkt no., batsman no. and dismissal (* = World Cup)1999/20002 v India (Singapore) 1 (3) R S Dravid c N C Johnson 122 (5) A R Khurasiya c +A Flower 54 v Australia (Queens SC) 3 (7) A Symonds c G W Flower 15 v Australia (Harare SC)) 4 (1) A C Gilchrist c N C Johnson 187 v Pakistan (St George’s) 5 (2) Shahid Afridi c D P Viljoen 192000/018 v Bangladesh (Harare SC) 6 (8) Mushfique Rahman c H H Streak 317 (5) Akram Khan bowled 359 v Bangladesh (Harare SC) 8 (4) Mehrab Hossain c +A Flower 119 (7) Khaled Mashud c H H Streak 310 v Bangladesh (Queens SC) 10 (2) Mehrab Hossain bowled 1311 (5) Akram Khan c A D R Campbell 2511 v West Indies (Harare SC) 12 (4) S Chanderpaul c T J Friend 512002/0316 v Kenya (Queens SC) 13 (2) R D Shah c +T Taibu 014 (3) B J Patel c C B Wishart 817 v India* (Harare SC) 15 (4) S C Ganguly c H H Streak 2421 v New Zealand* (Bloemfontein) 16 (2) S P Fleming lbw 4617 (4) S B Styris c sub (T J Friend) 1322 v Kenya* (Bloemfontein) 18 (3) S O Tikolo c H H Streak 2RESULTS OF ONE-DAY INTERNATIONALS PLAYED INPlayed 23 Won 5 Lost 17 Tied 0 Drawn 1(105 possible since debut)MOST CONSECUTIVE ODIs PLAYED7, in 2000/01 and in 2002/03MOST CONSECUTIVE ODIs MISSED31, from 2000 to 2000/01ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL CAREER RECORDRECORD FOR EACH SEASONM I NO Runs HS Av. Balls R/Ov 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. Best R/Ov1999/00 7 7 1 53 27 8.83 74 4.29 – – 1 39.4 1 212 5 42.40 2/35 5.342000/01 7 5 1 74 25 18.50 93 4.77 – – 2 64 2 273 7 39.00 2/24 4.262001/02 -2002/03+ 9 8 1 241 63* 34.42 171 8.45 – 4 2 73 2 335 6 55.83 2/29 4.5823 20 3 368 63* 21.64 338 6.53 – 4 5 176.4 5 820 18 45.55 2/24 4.64(+ still in progress)WORLD CUP RECORDM I NO Runs HS Av. Balls R/Ov 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. Best R/Ov2002/03 7 6 0 123 58 20.50 89 8.29 – 2 1 57 2 254 4 63.50 2/41 4.45RECORD AGAINST EACH COUNTRYM I NO Runs HS Av. Balls R/Ov 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. Best R/OvEng -Aust 4 4 1 103 54 34.33 84 7.36 – 1 – 32 1 162 2 81.00 1/24 5.06SA -WI 3 3 1 38 25 19.00 40 5.70 – – 1 13.4 0 79 1 79.00 1/53 5.89NZ 1 1 0 4 4 4.00 5 4.80 – – – 10 0 41 2 20.50 2/41 4.10Ind 4 4 0 26 13 6.50 56 2.79 – – 1 42 1 216 3 72.00 2/35 5.14Pak 3 2 0 58 55 29.00 46 7.57 – 1 1 17 0 89 1 89.00 1/37 5.23SL 1 1 0 1 1 1.00 5 1.20 – – – 8 0 40 0 — — 5.00Bang 3 1 0 13 13 13.00 11 7.09 – – 1 28 1 93 6 15.50 2/24 3.32Ken 3 3 1 67 63* 33.50 53 7.58 – 1 – 16 1 70 3 23.33 2/29 4.37Holl 1 1 0 58 58 58.00 38 9.15 – 1 1 10 1 30 0 — — 3.0023 20 3 368 63* 21.64 338 6.53 – 4 5 176.4 5 820 18 45.55 2/24 4.64RECORD IN EACH COUNTRYM I NO Runs HS Av. Balls R/Ov 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. Best R/OvZim 16 13 3 355 63* 35.50 302 7.05 – 4 4 132 4 600 12 50.00 2/24 4.54Eng -Aust -SA 3 3 0 9 4 3.00 18 3.00 – – – 27 1 117 3 39.00 2/41 4.33WI 1 1 0 3 3 3.00 7 2.57 – – – 7 0 37 1 37.00 1/37 5.28NZ -Ind -Pak -SL -Bang -Ken 1 1 0 0 0 0.00 2 0.00 – – – 1 0 5 0 — — 5.00Shar -Sing 2 2 0 1 1 1.00 9 0.66 – – 1 9.4 0 61 2 30.50 2/35 6.3123 20 3 368 63* 21.64 338 6.53 – 4 5 176.4 5 820 18 45.55 2/24 4.64RECORD PER RESULTM I NO Runs HS Av. Balls R/Ov 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. Best R/OvWon 5 3 1 134 63* 67.00 92 8.74 – 2 2 44 2 152 8 19.00 2/24 3.45Lost 17 17 2 234 55 15.60 246 5.70 – 2 3 132.4 3 668 10 66.80 2/35 5.03Tied -Drawn 1 – – — — — — — – – – –23 20 3 368 63* 21.64 338 6.53 – 4 5 176.4 5 820 18 45.55 2/24 4.64RECORD IN EACH POSITION IN THE BATTING ORDERI NO Runs HS Av. Balls R/Ov 100 50No 3 1 1 63 63* — 43 8.79 – 1No 4 1 0 13 13 13.00 11 7.09 – -No 5 1 0 25 25 25.00 27 5.56 – -No 6 4 0 64 58 16.00 53 7.25 – 1No 7 7 1 88 55 14.66 85 6.21 – 1No 8 5 1 115 54 28.75 113 6.11 – 1No 9 1 0 0 0 0.00 6 0.00 – -20 3 368 63* 21.64 338 6.53 – 4RECORD ON DIFFERENT GROUNDSM I NO Runs HS Av. Balls R/Ov 100 50 Ct O M R W Av. Best R/OvIn Zimbabwe:Harare SC 7 6 1 75 25 15.00 120 3.75 – – – 56 2 244 7 34.86 2/24 4.35Queens 9 7 2 280 63* 56.00 182 9.23 – 4 4 76 2 356 5 71.20 2/29 4.6816 13 3 355 63* 35.50 302 7.05 – 4 4 132 4 600 12 50.00 2/24 4.54Abroad: 7 7 0 13 4 1.85 36 2.16 – – 1 44.4 1 220 6 36.66 2/35 4.92In South Africa:Bloemfontein 2 2 0 8 4 4.00 13 3.69 – – – 19 1 77 3 25.66 2/41 4.05East London 1 1 0 1 1 1.00 5 1.20 – – – 8 0 40 0 — — 5.00In West Indies:St George’s 1 1 0 3 3 3.00 7 2.57 – – – 7 0 37 1 37.00 1/37 5.28In Kenya:Nairobi Gym 1 1 0 0 0 0.00 2 0.00 – – – 1 0 5 0 — — 5.00In Singapore:Singapore 2 2 0 1 1 1.00 9 0.66 – – 1 9.4 0 61 2 30.50 2/35 6.3123 20 3 368 63* 21.64 338 6.53 – 4 5 176.4 5 820 18 45.55 2/24 4.64The following bowlers have captured Andy Blignaut’s wicket in one-day internationals:2 – S C Ganguly (I)1 – Abdur Razzaq (P), A B Agarkar (I), C R D Fernando (SL), R D King (WI), A R Kumble (I),B Lee (A), Monjurul Islam (B), E Schiferli (H), Shoaib Akhtar (P), A Symonds (A),S O Tikolo (K), S K Warne (A),Details of dismissals:bowled 2 11.77lbw – 0.00caught 10 58.82caught by wicketkeeper 1 5.88caught and bowled 1 5.88stumped – 0.00run out 3 17.65TOTAL 17 100.00%BREAKDOWN OF INNINGSScore Out Not out0 2 -1-9 7 -10-19 3 120-29 2 130-39 – -40-49 – -50-59 3 -60-70 – 1HIGHEST SCORE63* v Kenya Queens Sports Club 2002/03HIGHEST SCORES AGAINST EACH COUNTRYv England -v Australia 54 Queens Sports Club* 2002/03v South Africa -v West Indies 25 Harare Sports Club 2000/01v New Zealand 4 Bloemfontein* 2002/03v India 13 Harare Sports Club 2000/01v Pakistan 55 Queens Sports Club 2002/03v Sri Lanka 1 East London* 2002/03v Bangladesh 13 Harare Sports Club 2000/01v Kenya 63* Queens Sports Club 2002/03v Holland 58 Queens Sports Club* 2002/03LONGEST INNINGS43 balls (63*) v Kenya Queens Sports Club 2002/03CENTURY PARTNERSHIPS130* for 2nd M A Vermeulen (62*)/A M Blignaut (63*), v Kenya (Queens Sports Club) 2002/03BOWLINGFOUR WICKETS IN AN INNINGSNo instances. Best figures:10 – 1 – 24 – 2 v Bangladesh Harare Sports Club 2002/03MOST ECONOMICAL ANALYSES10 – 1 – 24 – 2 v Bangladesh Harare Sports Club 2002/03MOST EXPENSIVE ANALYSES10 – 0 – 60 – 1 v Australia Queens Sports Club 1999/2000Andy Blignaut has dismissed the following batsmen in one-day internationals:2 – Akram Khan (B), Mehrab Hossain (B)1 – S Chanderpaul (WI), R S Dravid (I), S P Fleming (NZ), S C Ganguly (I), A C Gilchrist (A),Khaled Mashud (B), A R Khurasiya (I), B J Patel (K), Mushfique Rahman (B), R D Shah (K),Shahid Afridi (P), S B Styris (NZ), A Symonds (A), S O Tikolo (K)Details of Dismissals:bowled 2 11.11lbw 1 5.56caught 12 66.67caught by wicket-keeper 3 16.67caught and bowled – 0.00TOTAL 18 100.00%Catches have been taken by the following players off Andy Blignaut’s bowling:4 – H H Streak2 – A Flower (as wicket-keeper), T J Friend (1 as substitute), N C Johnson1 – A D R Campbell, G W Flower, T Taibu (as wicket-keeper), D P Viljoen, C B WishartFIELDING2 OR MORE CATCHES IN AN INNINGSNo instances.His 5 catches have dismissed the following batsmen (* indicates a caught and bowled):1 – N Chopra (I), C H Gayle (WI), Inzamam-ul-Haq (P), Khaled Mashud (B), R H Scholte (H)

Richard Johnson, the man pulled out of this Canterbury Cricket Week fixture on Wednesday to answer England’s Trent Bridge SOS, was the Somerset batting hero as the second-placed visitors held out for a draw against third-placed Kent.Having avoided the follow-on by scrambling two leg-byes from the second ball of the fourth and final day, Somerset were finally dismissed for 336 to concede a first innings deficit of 115.Kent batted again for just 36.4 overs in adding a further 205 for three, with in-form opening batsman David Fulton scoring an unbeaten 104 for his seventh first-class century of a prolific summer.The 29-year-old right-hander scored an unbeaten 208 in the first innings, making his the first Kent batsman since Aravinda de Silva in 1995 to score a century in each innings of a match – but the county’s first to be not out in each innings.Matthew Fleming’s declaration left Somerset an unlikely victory target of 321 from 41 overs, but with left-armer Min Patel and off-spinner Andrew Symonds bowling in tandem Kent were able to crowd the bat and apply the pressure.Only captain Jamie Cox and Peter Bowler made it past 20 for Somerset as Patel followed his first innings haul of eight for 119, with four victims second time around to finish with career-best match figures of 12 for 144.Symonds chipped in with three for 28 from the Nackington Road End, but it was Johnson and his ninth wicket partner Steffan Jones who batted out the final six overs of the match to prevent Kent from pulling off their fourth consecutive championship win.Fulton, who now boasts a season’s first-class run tally to 1,465 at an average of 73.25, also claimed seven catches in the match – but Kent were left to rue their six missed chances of day three.

Bayern Munich are now preparing a £44m bid for one of Manchester United’s most important players, having identified him as the perfect target.

Two Man Utd players cause off-field controversy

There has been no shortage of controversy surrounding Man United since the 4-4 draw against AFC Bournemouth on Monday night, with Kobbie Mainoo’s brother, Jordan Mainoo-Hames, coming under fire for his questionable choice of shirt.

Mainoo has received very little game time this season, with the central midfielder still yet to start a Premier League game, but his brother’s stunt sparked an angry reaction from Simon Jordan, who said: “That’s part of the deterioration of the brand and ultimately the club’s culture when you’ve young players that have an expectation that they should be in the Man United team and so if they don’t they get their idiot brother to stand inside the stands wearing a t-shirt.”

Not only that, but Bruno Fernandes has taken aim at the board for their stance on selling him in the summer, saying: “Man United wanted me to leave last summer, I have that in my head.”

“I told the directors this, but I think they didn’t have the courage to make that decision.”

Now, Fernandes could be presented with an opportunity to leave the Red Devils, with a report from Spain revealing Bayern Munich are preparing a €50m (£44m) offer for the attacking midfielder, which could arrive in the summer transfer window.

The Portugal international has been identified as the perfect target for the Bundesliga side, and there is a growing feeling this season could be his last at Old Trafford, with the Man United star now considering leaving.

Having been left extremely hurt by United’s willingness to offload him in the summer, there is a rift between the 31-year-old and the board, meaning the door may now be open for a move to the Allianz Arena, which would be a major blow for Ruben Amorim…

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Posts ByRobbie Walls Man Utd must keep hold of Fernandes

While the £300k-a-week midfielder was left frustrated with the board in the summer, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has waxed lyrical about him in the past, describing the former Sporting CP man as a “fabulous footballer”.

Subscribe for deeper transfer insight on Fernandes Gain deeper analysis on transfer sagas and club dynamics by subscribing to our newsletter. We unpack rumours, board-player relationships, tactical fit and what Bayern’s interest in Fernandes could mean for clubs and careers. Subscribe Subscribe for deeper transfer insight on Fernandes Gain deeper analysis on transfer sagas and club dynamics by subscribing to our newsletter. We unpack rumours, board-player relationships, tactical fit and what Bayern’s interest in Fernandes could mean for clubs and careers.

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Despite predominantly featuring in a deeper role, the United captain has continued to impress during the first half of the current campaign, picking up five goals and seven assists in 16 Premier League outings, most recently scoring a fantastic free-kick against Bournemouth.

Having set up more goals than any other Premier League player this season, Fernandes is showing no signs of slowing down, and it is vital that Man United resist any approaches from Bayern Munich.

England allrounder Luke Wright has joined the ranks of players who have turned down offers from IPL franchises.Earlier this week Ravi Bopara and Sajid Mahmood revealed that they had also been approached to join IPL, but both opted to put their England ambitions ahead of short-term financial gain.”At the moment my main focus and priority is playing for my country,” Wright said. “Obviously I was very pleased to be considered for the IPL. If the timings were different and it wasn’t going to affect my chances of playing for England then it would be something I would seriously have to consider.”Wright is not centrally contracted to the ECB and so would only have required permission from Sussex to play in the IPL.