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Nick Speak produced a captain’s innings of concentration and careful shot selection to give Durham the first day honours at Taunton.Having won the toss and chosen to take first use of a typically batsman-friendly pitch at the County Ground, Speak found himself walking out at88-3, with Somerset threatening to get on top.By the time he was out in the final session the scoreboard read a healthy 287-6 and an unbroken stand between Andy Pratt and John Wood took it to 324-6 by the close.Speak faced 211 deliveries for his top score of 78, hitting 7 fours, but building his innings mainly on watchful defence.He shared stands of 128 with Paul Collingwood and 65 with Jimmy Daley during a day of attrition, which saw Somerset’s below-strength attack struggling to find any penetration.Jon Lewis and Michael Gough had given Durham a solid start with an opening stand of 52 before Lewis was well held low at second slip by Parsons off Graham Rose for 31.The tall Gough produced some sweetly-timed offside strokes in his 33, but fell to a poor shot, caught behind attempting to cut a wide ball from Jamie Grove.When Simon Katich was pinned lbw by Grove trying to force a straight full-length ball through mid-wicket Somerset may have sensed a collapse.But Speak dropped anchor, while Collingwood punished anything loose, hitting 11 fours in reaching his half-century off 71 balls.Collingwood was never as fluent from then on, but had battled his way to 74 when getting the one ball of the day that turned appreciably off a good line and length. He was caught by Rose at slip off left-armer Ian Blackwell.It was a solitary success for the two Somerset spinners. Blackwell and Adrian Pierson shared 36 overs, bowling tidily enough, but rarely troubling the batsmen.Their seam bowling colleagues also had to work hard while getting precious little encouragement from the pitchAt 281-4, Durham looked set to end the day in an even more commanding position. But then Daley and Speak fell in quick succession to avoidable dismissals.Daley had made a season’s best 34 when run-out by Keith Parsons from mid-off answering Speak’s call for a quick single. The throw hit the stumps without the assistance of wicketkeeper Rob Turner, with Daley inches short of his ground.It was a breakthrough Somerset’s bowlers, lacking Andy Caddick on Test Match duty and Peter Trego with England Under-19s, did not look like making.Soon Speak had hooked Grove’s first delivery with the second new ball for four. But he departed trying to repeat the shot, caught off a top edge by Pierson at third-man.The Durham skipper had reached his fourth half century of the season off 137 balls, with only 3 boundaries. He was prepared to await the bad ball, which came less often after tea when Pierson and Blackwell bowled in tandem.Pratt and Wood took advantage of some tired bowling to add 43 in quick time after the Durham innings looked to be getting bogged down and the visitors will be looking for maximum batting points on day two.

Some of Bermuda’s most talented young cricketers will compete for an Americas XI in a mini World Cup to be held in the West Indies next month.The Under-15 tournament will also include West Indies, Ireland, Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan, Holland and Zimbabwe. Bermuda were invited to send a team but because of exam commitments the board opted to be part of an Americas select instead.Lionel Tannock, the manager of the senior national team, has been selected as the Americas manager with Theo Cuffy, the Cayman coach, chosen as head coach.The group stages will take place in Trinidad and Guyana, from April 19.Bermuda coach Gus Logie said the selectors would choose five or six youngsters to be part of the squad, which will also include players from Canada, the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands.”The squad is in training at the moment,” he said, “and the selectors will be getting together over the next few weeks.”Grant Smith, the Under-15 national coach, said the quality remained pleasingly high – an age group Bermuda traditionally dominate in the Americas.The likes of Greg Maybury, Tre Govia and Deunte Darrell – who travelled with the Under-19s to the recent World Cup – along with Shea Pitcher, Josh Gilbert, Sinclair Smith and Kevon Fubler are all in contention for a place in the Americas side.”It should be a very competitive tournament. The last time they held an Under-15 World Cup was quite a few years ago,” Logie said. “A few of the big names, like Australia and South Africa, are not participating. I don’t really know what to expect to tell you the truth.”Bermuda Sun

While Tottenham Hotspur have seen a number of exciting academy talents come through the system over the years, perhaps no-one comes closer to matching the ‘what if’ story than one Marcus Edwards.

Speaking back in 2016, former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino raved: “The qualities – it’s only looks, his body and the way that he plays – remember a little bit from the beginning of Messi.

“He’s small, he’s left-footed, I remember a little bit (Erik) Lamela when he was at River Plate, remember he had long hair, when he was 14, 15 years old, there is a lot of videos on YouTube that you can see, that he took the ball, didn’t give a pass and shot straight away.

“He (Edwards) is a very good prospect and potentially he can be a top player, but we need to be patient and tell him that he has a lot of talent, enough talent to be a top player, a great player.”

In fact, his former teammate at England’s youth levels, Stephy Mavididi, had this to say about Edwards: “He is insane. Every time someone asks me about this guy, for me, he is one of the top three players I have played with.

“Dribbling, agility, low center of gravity, his change of direction. I haven’t seen anyone better than him with my own eyes. The guy is a joke, in the pockets and on the turn.”

But having been let go in 2019, Edwards has carved out a very fine career out in Portugal, first with Vitoria and now more recently with Sporting CP, whom he joined earlier this year in the January transfer window.

At the time of his exit from north London, the English ace was valued at just £1.13m (Transfermarkt).

Now with a buy-out clause of around €60m (£50m) at Sporting, Edwards has continued to light it up in the Portuguese top-flight.

In 23 games this season in the league, the diminutive winger has scored eight times and provided four assists, including featuring quite recently in the Champions League last 16 draw away against Manchester City – quite the difference from how his career at Spurs went.

Indeed, earlier this month, Edwards spoke candidly about some of the troubles he faced back at Hotspur Way, saying: “I definitely still think some people didn’t understand me. Now I know how to carry myself a bit differently. When I was younger, only certain coaches took the time out to really understand me and realise I’m just a normal guy, whereas now that’s a bit different.

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“You know how rumours spread in football. When I was leaving Tottenham, some people didn’t want to take me because of stuff they’d heard.”

Given how Edwards is now finally beginning to do his talking on the pitch, the likes of Daniel Levy and co back at Spurs may just be wondering whether they could have done a little more to convince the talented attacker to stay put in north London.

AND in other news: “Incredibly deadly”, “Robben-esque”: Paratici plotting Spurs swoop for £36m-rated ace

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Ramesh Powar’s four wickets put Mumbai on top in Jhalawar © Cricinfo Ltd

Wickets continued to tumble in Siliguri as Debasis Mohanty and Preetamjit Das, Orissa’s new-ball bowlers, shot Bengal out for 124 in the second innings to give their side a great chance of an outright win. Orissa had conceded an eight-run lead, in a low-scoring battle, but fought back splendidly in the second innings. Mohanty added four wickets to the two he had picked up in the first innings and Preetamjit, in just his fifth first-class match, ended with five for the match. For Bengal only Arindam Das, Sourav Sarkar, the bowling hero in the first innings, and Ashok Dinda, the No.11, managed double figures. Left to get 133, Orissa were solidly placed at 82 for 3 with Bikas Pati, Niranjan Behera, and Rashmi Ranjan Parida steering the chase. With 51 runs to get and seven wickets in hand, Orissa were favourites to wrap up their second successive win.
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Bowlers thrived in Uppal too as MP Arjun’s stunning six-wicket burst allowed Hyderabad to storm back into the contest against Andhra. Resuming on 52 for 5, Hyderabad fell short of Andhra’s 159, with captain Arjun Yadav playing a lone hand with 49. Having gained a 27-run lead, Andhra would have wished to close out the contest but medium-pacer Arjun, in only his sixth first-class match, claimed all the wickets to fall. He trapped Hemal Watekar in his third over but it was really his next, the eighth of the innings, which wrecked Andhra’s innings. He bowled ASK Varma for a duck in the third ball before nailing AG Pradeep and Shankara Rao off the fifth and sixth deliveries.
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Saurashtra’s new-ball bowler Sandeep Jobanputra, scythed through Karnataka’s batting line-up with a six-wicket haul, giving his side a great chance to gain the first-innings lead in Mysore. Having ground out 245 in the first innings, Saurashtra responded through their bowlers, striking at regular intervals. Jobanputra removed the top four, including the dangerous Robin Uthappa, before returning to knock off two tailenders. KB Pawan waged a lone battle, grinding out 110, and was still out in the middle with No.11 KP Appanna. Karnataka still needed 29 to gain the first-innings lead but Saurashtra should be favourites to gain the advantage.
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Oblivious to the bowler-friendly matches around the country, Punjab amassed 496 for 8 by the end of the second day against Baroda in Amritsar. Ravi Inder, one of the overnight batsmen, brought up his maiden century, going on to post 142, while the rest of the order chipped in too. Karan Goel, who had brought up his century yesterday, fell for 127 in the fifth over of the day but Sunny Sohal, who smashed a 64-ball 55, and Ankur Kakkar (56) continued the good work. Baroda’s bowlers managed only eight wickets in two days with Sumit Singh and Sankalp Vohra, the opening bowlers, sharing five wickets between them.
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Ramesh Powar’s four wickets pegged back Rajasthan on the second day’s play in Jhalawar, allowing Mumbai to eye an outright win. Having been kept down to 295 in their first innings, Mumbai fought back through Powar’s offspin, claiming wickets at regular intervals. Rajesh Bishnoi and Nikhil Doru managed half-centuries but Rajasthan couldn’t sustain the fight.
ScorecardVijaykumar Yomahesh and P Amarnath snared six wickets between them as Tamil Nadu sneaked out a slender 11-run lead against Himachal Pradesh in Chennai. Paras Dogra (49) and Manvinder Bisla (61) powered Himachal forward, with good support from Sarandeep Singh and Vishal Bhatia in the lower order, but Yomahesh broke the partnership and mopped up the tail.
ScorecardAakash Chopra and Mithun Manhas struck half-centuries as Delhi gained the advantage in Nagothane. Read the full report here.

Cameron White shows his explosive power against New Zealand during his 45 from 32 balls © Getty Images

Cameron White’s re-entry into the Australia team has been so strong that he has out-hit Andrew Symonds in their past two partnerships. After muscling four sixes in the Twenty20 win over England, White blasted another three against New Zealand in Hobart on Sunday as Symonds played the support role with an almost run-a-ball 69.White’s 45 from 32 deliveries helped take the game away from New Zealand during a 90-run partnership with Symonds in nine overs. Symonds has been impressed with White’s power since he came back into the national set-up and said it meant he did not feel pressure to force the pace. “When you’ve got that going on at the other end, it makes it a lot easier for me,” Symonds told AAP. “I’m happy to give him the strike … he was the ideal man for the job.”In a striking assessment Symonds agreed there was probably not a cleaner hitter in Australia than White. “You’d have to say so after that Twenty20 effort the other night and today,” Symonds said. “It’s not like he’s just clearing the rope. There’s absolutely no doubt when he hits it in the middle, it’s maximum.”White’s bowling was not as productive as his blasting, which included consecutive sixes off Daniel Vettori and another from Shane Bond that landed on a grandstand roof. His first two overs went for 18 as he was targeted by Ross Taylor, but he returned to take the final wicket of Jeetan Patel and secure the 105-run win. He also gave up 27 runs in three overs during the victory over England on Friday.However, the performances have not been a concern for Ricky Ponting. “I just see him as someone, if we can, to give him some overs, give him some experience and exposure, give him some confidence,” he said. “I can see him as a good wicket-taking option for us. He’s just going to get better and better with more experience.”

Shahid Afridi made merry on a graveyard of a pitch © Getty Images

Greg Chappell and Inzamam-ul-Haq voiced their concerns over the pitch at Lahore which has aleady yielded over 700 runs inside two days. Chappell said that it reminded him of the pitch at Faisalabad in 1980 which Dennis Lillee descibed as a bowlers’ graveyard. Australia made 617 in 211 overs and Pakistan replied with 382 for two as the match was drawn.Chappell who scored 235 in that match said at a news conference, “I still think that was the best batting pitch I played on. But I would say this one is 75 percent close to it. It’s a good flat batting wicket with not a blade of grass seen on it and I don’t think the wicket would change much, but we have to wait and see because there are still 270 overs remaining in the match.”Chappell, however, pointed out that the end result could not be taken for granted. “What I know is that we are under pressure and need to bat well for the next few days to save this Test.”Inzamam-ul-Haq said he feared for a drawn first Test if his bowlers failed to enforce a follow-on on India on the third day. “I know it will be tough for the bowlers because there isn’t much in the wicket. But we need to give our best shot because not every day you post a huge score at an average of over four runs an over. We will come out all guns firing and see what happens. But one thing is for sure; we need to grab even the half chances on this track,” he said.Inzamam indicated that Danish Kaneria could hold the key to extract some turn from the surface. “Danish is a lanky bowler who turns the ball. He has improved tremendously over the years and mixes his deliveries well. But he needs to keep a cool head on his shoulders because there would be times when he would be hit against the turn or good balls would be punished severely.”Inzamam was full of praise for his batsmen, especially Shahid Afridi. He said, “Younis Khan played a gem and it was so sad to see him run-out for 199. But Shahid Afridi is someone who keeps everyone on the edge of their seats when he is batting. After he struck four straight sixes, I thought he had a good chance of hitting two more because Harbhajan (Singh) looked confused by then and had again came over the wicket after being struck for two sixes while bowling round-the-wicket.But Harbhajan is not a bunny and bowled the last two balls intelligently and avoided from going into history as the only bowler to be hit for six sixes.”Chappell added that he had not seen anything else like it. He said, “It’s one of the best hitting I’ve seen. I’ve seen Ian Botham, Clive Lloyd and of course Adam Gilchrist, but Afridi’s innings is up in the top group. No ground is big enough to keep him quiet. Our bowlers tried their best.”

Shoaib Akhtar has more to worry about than just his hamstring© Getty Images

Shoaib Akhtar has scarcely been able to stay out of the limelight for a day in the lead-up to Pakistan’s forthcoming tour of India – and now newspapers have reported that he failed to report to the doctor appointed by the Pakistan Cricket Board to assess his fitness. In the absence of their foreign support staff, who are on holiday, the PCB appointed Meesaq Rizwi, a sports physician, to look into Shoaib’s fitness.Rizwi apparently asked Mohammed Sami, Shabbir Ahmed and Mohammad Khalil, as well as Shoaib, to report for fitness tests. But Shoaib failed to turn up, and this could have spurred the latest reaction of the board. Saleem Altaf, the PCB’s new director of cricket operations, has instructed Shoaib to take part in the ongoing Patron’s Trophy to prove his fitness. reports that Altaf told Shoaib he had to play for his team, KRL, in the next round of four-day Patron’s Trophy matches, which begin on February 14, in order to be eligible for selection for Pakistan’s forthcoming tour of India. Shoaib was originally called back from the Australian tour in order to give him time to rest a troublesome hamstring and be fit in time for the Indian series.On return to Pakistan Shoaib was assessed by Grant Compton, the Pakistan team’s physiotherapist, and a two-week rest was prescribed. Following this examination Compton left Pakistan on vacation.”Compton outlined a rehabilitation programme to Shoaib to recover from his hamstring strain, and then left for South Africa,” said a source. “But even before leaving he was working with Shoaib as it was confirmed he had a hamstring problem that needed two-week recovery period. It is in this background that Altaf’s directives to Shoaib come as a total surprise. How does he expect Shoaib to resume playing in the next round of Patron’s Trophy to prove his fitness when he has been told he required a two-week period to recover from the hamstring?”

Ronnie Irani has flown out to Colorado for a make-or-break operation on his troublesome right knee. Irani, who was forced to stop bowling this summer after suffering constant discomfort, had been warned that arthritis would set in if he continued to play.”On occasions we were struggling with the ball and I must admit that I was tempted to try a few overs but the surgeon’s advice kept coming back to haunt me,” said Irani, who captained Essex during a difficult season. “He said `Keep on bowling and you’ll end up a cripple’. He wasn’t joking and I wasn’t prepared to take the chance.”The orthopaedic surgeon Dr Richard Steadman was due to perform the operation today.

*Goa canter to eight-wicket winGoa chased down the highest total of their Ranji Trophy league matchagainst Kerala at Panaji to win the game by eight wickets on thefourth day.Chasing 213 for victory, Goa’s opening bats put on 113 runs for thefirst wicket before Sudin Kamat fell, having made 71 off 143 balls.When Kiran Powar also fell, for the addition of just one run, acollapse looked in the offing.Tanveer Jabbar and opener Vivekanand Kolambkar, however, played wellto see their side through to victory without any more losses.Kolambkar remained unbeaten on 74 off 209 balls, striking 11 fours anda six. Jabbar made 57 off 80 balls, with eight fours and a six. Goapick up eight points by virtue of this outright win.*Karnataka draw with Andhra PradeshFaced with a target of 352 off seven overs, Karnataka could only playfor a draw in their Ranji Trophy league match against Andhra Pradheshat Kurnool.Andhra Pradesh’s first innings ended on Day Two, with Y Venugopal Raomaking 151 and holding the innings together. For Karnataka, NSCAiyappa was the most successful bowler, taking 5-112 off 40 overs.Karnataka, batting in their first essay, managed only 293, builtlargely around KMA Aiyappa’s 62 and 49 apiece from Barrington RowlandVijay Bharadwaj. Andhra Pradesh relied mostly on KS Sahabuddin, whotook 5-92.Venkatesh Prasad was the destroyer-in-chief in the second innings,taking 6-35 off 21 overs and almost single-handedly reducing AndhraPradesh to 228 all out, with only RVC Prasad (78) making a significantscore. Karnataka played out seven overs for their draw, from whichAndhra Pradesh pick up five points, while Karnataka pick three.*Tamil Nadu ensures first-innings pointsTamil Nadu played analytical cricket on the fourth day of their RanjiTrophy league match against Hyderabad at Chennai, picking up fivepoints by virtue of a first-innings lead.With the match destined for a draw, Tamil Nadu batsmen TR Arasu (78off 268) and MR Shrinivas (28 off 154) made the required runs with adisplay of grit and resolution. Arasu fell with the score on 290, butShrinivas and R Ramkumar (37 off 60) took Tamil Nadu past Hyderabad’sfirst-innings total of 336.Bowled out for 351, Tamil Nadu then reduced Hyderabad to 150/2 by theclose of play, with Ramkumar picking up both wickets. Daniel Manoharwas unbeaten on 65, while Arjun Shivlal Yadav was unbeaten on 38.

For much of this afternoon, the spectators who had crowded into Galle International Stadium sat quietly on as their side drifted towards an apparently inevitable defeat. Then at 4:24 Gary Kirsten tried to sweep Mutiah Muralitharan and was bowled. Suddenly the band started banging their drums with hope, the Sri Lankan flags begun to wave and the spectators awoke from their slumber.One hour later the same spectators where cheering their team into their dressing room after Sri Lanka had won the match by 37 runs after a dramatic South African collapse in which 10 wickets had fallen for just 62 runs.The mood of the crowd was mirrored by that of the players who had appeared to have given up hope of winning the match during a 150 run opening stand between Gary Kirsten (59) and Andrew Hall (81). The dismissal of Gary Kirsten though galvanised the team, shook them from their gloom and as the wickets fell steadily, they couldn’t hide their undulated joy.Prior to the match the Sri Lankan’s had opted for three spinners in the expectation that the ball would turn in the second innings. It was a tactic that paid off as the spinners ran through the South African batting.Kirsten’s dismissal was promptly followed three overs later by that of his opening partner. Andrew Hall, in just his third one-day international, had stepped into the shoes of Herschelle Gibbs with aplomb, and had dominated the Sri Lankan spinners, hitting them from three sixes, but was caught and bowled by Upul Chandana.With the experienced Jacques Kallis (11) and Darrel Cullinan (14) at the crease there was no need for panic but Kallis tried to launch Dharmasena over mid-wicket and was caught by Chandana on the boundary. Suddenly the players and the crowd started to sense the possibility of a victory and the atmosphere in the ground became electric. They believed they were going to win when Jonty Rhodes (0) was caught behind off his very first deliveryThe run rate now begun to increase rapidly and Darrel Cullinan (14) was forced into taking the aerial route against Chandana but only succeeded in hitting the ball straight down the gullet of a grateful T.M. Dilshan on the mid-wicket boundary.Sri Lanka became unstoppable. Mark Boucher (2) and Lance Klusner (20), the Proteas only hope, were both run out by Sanath Jayasuriya. Pollock (5) was caught by Jayawardene, Nico Boje (1) was bowled by Mutiah Muralithran and Ntini was run out to end the match.Whilst Upul Chandana’s four wickets may have won the match at the end, he was only able to do so thanks to batted deeds of Sri Lanka’s youngsters: Avishka Gunawardena (47), Russel Arnold (59) and Kumar Sanagakkara (85).Put into bat, Sri Lanka quickly lost three wickets, including those of Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Attapattu and Mahela Jayawardene. The senior players gone, Avishka Gunawardena and Kumar Sanagakkara counter attacked in dramatic fashion. Sanagakkara may have been lucky to survive an LBW appeal in his first over and Avishka may have played and missed early on with alarming frequency but this in no way belittles their performance.Like Steve Waugh has done on so many past occasions, they took a calculated risk and in the space of a few overs had wrestled the initiative away from South Africa. They were helped in the cause by some wayward bowling. Mornantau Hayaward’s first four overs cost 40 runs and South Africa bowled a staggering total of 24 wides.Whilst the Russel Arnold and Avishka Gunawardena may have batted well, it was Kumar Sangakkara who caught the eye. Unfazed by the pressure of the occasion the 22-year-old from Kandy played with a maturity far beyond his years and experience. He played shots all round the wicket, placed the ball quite expertly and was justly awarded the man of the match award. Unfortunately he was stupidly run-out within reach of a well deserved century.Dav Whatmore was clearly impressed: “To win a man of the match award and come into bat in that situation and play the way that he did in his first one-day international was extremely impressive. The way that he performed was like a veteran and his future looks very rosy.”South Africa were clearly disappointed, so much so that they felt the need to hide inside their dressing room during the presentations. Nevertheless they surely can’t be expected to perform at their best straight after a two-month lay off.Speaking afterwards Shaun Pollock said: “The openers set a great platform for us to get that score and we let them down. We only had to go at five runs an over in the last 20 overs. It just goes to show that the conditions are more difficult than you think. As a fresh batter its quite difficult to get going.””I am not looking to make excuses but we definitely need more time in the middle. We have only played one practice game and the pressures in a practice game and an international one are very different. You realise that the heat is on when you get out here in an international game.”South Africa now travel to Colombo where they take on Pakistan at Premadasa Stadium on Saturday.