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The top names in action

Yuvraj Singh scored only 2 with the bat in Punjab’s four-wicket loss to Rajasthan. He took 2 for 16 with the ball during Rajasthan’s chase of 131 but it was not enough to prevent defeat.Wriddhiman Saha struck a 47-ball 81 as an opening batsman in Bengal’s 61-run win over Hyderabad in Nagpur. Saha’s knock included seven fours and five sixes.Irfan Pathan‘s career-best T20 figures of 5 for 13 powered Baroda to a 49-run win against Assam in Vadodara. Irfan ran through Assam’s top order inside seven overs to ensure Baroda defended 165 with ease.

Hat-tricks

Two for the day, from Ishwar Pandey (Madhya Pradesh) and Piyush Chawla (Uttar Pradesh).Pandey struck in the third over against Andhra, after MP opted to field, dismissing Srikar Bharat, Prasanth Kumar and AG Pradeep. He claimed his fourth wicket in his next over, finishing with returns of 4 for 20 to send back Andhra’s top four for a tally of 21. MP chased down the 96-run target with five wickets and 10 balls to spare.Chawla’s hat-trick was spread over two overs in UP’s seven-wicket win against Maharashtra in a match curtailed to 12 overs after fog delayed start of play. He dismissed Shrikant Mundhe and Rahul Tripathi off the last two deliveries of the eighth over and took Nikhil Naik’s wicket off the first ball of the 11th over to complete the hat-trick.

Wakaskar’s blast in vain

Saurabh Wakaskar blasted 118 off 55 balls and Asad Pathan hammered a 59-ball 81, but Railways still ended up on the losing side, as Delhi gunned down 211 for an impressive four-wicket win. Asad and Wakaskar shared a second-wicket stand of 185, but their partnership ultimately counted for nothing, as Delhi’s top and middle order – led by a 53 from Aditya Kaushik – all chipped in with handy knocks to seal the victory with four balls remaining.

Karnataka’s disappointing campaign continues

After suffering early exits in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Ranji Trophy, domestic heavyweights Karnataka had to endure a three-wicket defeat against Services in Cuttack. Karnataka were kept to 121 for 9 thanks to a three-wicket haul from Raushan Raj, and Services chased down the paltry total with an over to spare.

Other brief scores

‘To be given a benefit year is an incredible honour and is very humbling’ © Cricinfo Ltd

Steve Stubbings, the Derbyshire batsman, has been awarded a benefit by the club for next season.Stubbings, 29, has served Derbyshire for 11 years, scoring 6,755 first-class runs at 32.01. He was handed his county cap in 2001 and has captained the side on several occasions over the past two years.”This is a thoroughly deserved accolade for Steve who has been a terrific servant to Derbyshire for over a decade,” Don Amott, the Derbyshire chairman said. “Not only has he been an outstanding and reliable player, he is also one of the nicest and most genuine guys you will meet in cricket.”I hope he has a very successful benefit year and that the members and supporters come out and support his events throughout the year 2008.””I have been very proud to represent Derbyshire over the last 11 seasons,” Stubbings said, “and to be given a benefit year is an incredible honour and is very humbling.”Being awarded a benefit year is something that doesn’t happen to everybody and I feel extremely privileged to be selected, particularly when you look at the list of previous beneficiaries in recent years which is pretty exclusive company to be in.”

Ricky Ponting hopes to answer questions about his batting in this week’s Pura Cup game © Getty Images

Ricky Ponting has conceded he is struggling for form less than a fortnight from the start of the Ashes. Ponting was out for 10 in Tasmania’s Ford Ranger Cup loss to Victoria on Sunday, following on from his below-average performances in the Champions Trophy.Since September Ponting has played nine one-day internationals at the DLF Cup and the Champions Trophy, averaging only 22.33 with three half-centuries and five single-figure scores. After he was caught behind down the legside on Sunday, Ponting said he was keen to spend time at the crease in Tasmania’s Pura Cup match with Victoria starting on Tuesday.”I’m not great, I’m probably not setting the world alight at the moment,” he told . “It would have been nice to spend a bit longer out there today and get a few runs under my belt, have something to do with the result of the game. The last few months haven’t been my best batting. Hopefully some time in the middle will come for me and hopefully that’s in the next game.”Ponting said Australia’s Test players would need to adjust quickly to the conditions in Australia after spending nearly a month in India. “I worked really hard on my game through India and I felt I played a couple of decent innings over there,” he said. “But back in Australia, the conditions are slightly different to what we had over there, so I think it’s important for all of us looking forward to the Test match to make what we can from this next game. Probably we’re all looking forward to a good, solid hitout.”But we’ll worry about that when we need to – I’m looking forward now to be able to change things around for Tasmania. If that means me spending some time in the middle and getting some runs, getting some valuable time in the middle looking ahead, then that would be great. But we’ve got a state game to win now.”

Tough love hasn’t gone down too well with certain fragile egos © Getty Images

Greg Chappell returned from Zimbabwe on Sunday, and expressed the opinion that it was unfortunate that his differences with Sourav Ganguly, the Indian captain, were made public. After arriving a day later than the rest of the squad due to the unavailability of tickets, Chappell told reporters: “I think the media gets excited at such happenings. Differences are a fairly normal thing happening in cricket. But you can understand I am not in a position to speak about it to you at this stage.”The coach-captain rift surfaced in Zimbabwe when Chappell asked Ganguly to consider his position as captain before the first Test because of his poor batting form. The spat snowballed into a major controversy last week when a confidential e-mail from Chappell to officials of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was leaked to the media by unknown sources.Chappell, a former Australian captain who took over in June, reportedly said in the e-mail that Ganguly was not “physically or mentally” fit to lead the side and even threatened to quit if the captain was not changed.”I sent a private and confidential e-mail to the president of BCCI,” said Chappell. “It did not remain confidential though I would have preferred it to have remained so. What else can I say at this stage?”Chappell and Ganguly are due to appear before a high-powered BCCI panel that includes three former captains – Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and Srinivas Venkataraghvan – in Mumbai on Tuesday to discuss the crisis.

Flintoff has his captain’s vote© Getty Images

Ahead of the Old Trafford Test, Michael Vaughan went out on a limb and admitted that he agreed with those who were referring to Andrew Flintoff as the world’s best cricketer. Flintoff has played only one Test on his home ground, and is guaranteed a hero’s welcome when we takes the field against West Indies in the third Test.Vaughan didn’t hold back when asked about the man who has averaged 47 with the bat and 30 with the ball in his last 16 Tests. “At the minute he’s on the crest of a wave, he’s playing exceptionally well,” said Vaughan. “People talk about him being a powerful hitter, but not a lot of people mention what a good technique he has.”The crowd here will obviously go mad when he goes out to the wicket, but he’s got to try to control his emotions and if he can do that, the way he’s playing he’ll get another big score.”Flintoff’s ability to belt the cover off a cricket ball was never in doubt, but in recent times, he has tempered that with commendable discipline. Where he once got out going for one shot too many while playing to the gallery, he now plays himself in before causing the bowlers grief. Evidence of that was served in the second Test at Edgbaston, when he slammed an audacious 167 to inspire another rout of the West Indies.Vaughan was in no doubt that increased restraint had made Flintoff a more lethal proposition. “That’s the progression of Freddie over the last year,” he said. “A year or so ago, he’d be the first to admit when the crowd roared he’d try and hit the first ball out of the ground for six, get 20-odd and then get out.”He’s learned a hell of a lot from that and his experiences. Someone mentioned the other day that he’s the best cricketer in the world at the minute and I’m certainly not going to argue with that.”For Vaughan, the cherry on top has come in the shape of Flintoff’s bowling. With an ankle injury restricting him to short bursts, he has been used as a strike bowler, rather than in the tourniquet role that he used to perform. And at Edgbaston, it paid rich dividends, with Flintoff accounting for both Brian Lara and Ramnaresh Sarwan. Of course, the true test of his calibre will come next summer, when certain visitors arrive wearing baggy green caps.

Requests for information about the current standings in the Open League, as well as what chances various clubs have of getting into the semi-final stage of the Open League this season have recently been made. Disregarding possible points lost due to a failure to supply umpires, as the table stands only Concordia CC are definitely in the semi-finals, whilst the clubs Vienna CC, Lords CC, Five Continents CC, United Nations CC, Ljubljana CC, Pakistan CC and Pakistan Falken CC all have a mathematical chance of qualifying for the Open League semi-finals, with only Zagreb CC definitely not being able to qualify. Realistically though, the semi-finals are likely to be composed of Concordia CC, Vienna CC, Lords CC, and one of Five Continents CC or United Nations CC. The fixtures between Vienna CC and Lords CC (27th July) and Concordia CC and Lords CC (2nd August) will play an important role in deciding the top three places.Pakistan CC and Pakistan Falken would probably require close to full points from their remaining fixtures to qualify, with Pakistan Falken CC needing comprehensive victories against leaders Concordia CC and second-placed Vienna CC to have any chance of qualifying. The fixture between Five Continents CC and United Nations CC (17th August) may also have a decisive role in deciding which teams qualify for the semi-finals.

When the West Indies women’s cricket team arrives in Sri Lanka at the end ofthis year to play three one-day matches and one Test, they will take on SriLanka in one ODI at Asgiriya, which is increasingly being considered as aHoodoo for Sri Lanka teams."Sri Lanka has struggled at the venue but we shall do our best to brake thistrauma and hopefully start a precedent for our national team to win thematches thereafter," said Gwen Herat, President of the Women’s CricketAssociation of Sri Lanka Lanka (WCASL)."With lots of new comers bidding for places in the team, this might be achallenge but with experienced players like C. Seneviratne, T. Ekanayake, S.Sivanathan and H. Abeysinghe the girls should do well."Several World Cup 2000 players will be retained in the team after trials."This is the beginning of our trek to the 2004 world cup in South Africaand they have to bear in mind and be dedicated towards achieving success. Wehave great sponsors in Singer Sri Lanka and Lanka tiles and we shall strivenot to let them down," she said.Herat is keen for the team to tour England despite the economic strain thatit would entail. The national had already been invited to tour Pakistan."This team needs tougher competition than Pakistan and England can supplythat," she explained. "In fact at the world cup 2000 in New Zealand, H.Abeysinghe was picked woman of the match against England.""The girls need a lot of motivation and regular physical training and thistoo will be looked in to along with psychological and mental attitudetowards the game. It is important they have a clear vision and not play theway they did at the world cup 2000."Sri Lanka, India, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa are the finalistscompeting for the World cup in 2004.Practices start on 17th September at 2:00pm at SSC Grounds. Rohan Fernandowill train the pool and will be assisted by Vanessa Bowen. In mid-Novemberthe teams will be picked and a former test cricketer will train them untilthe West Indies arrive.

Pundit Gabby Agbonlahor believes Tottenham’s players will be fuming with what he’s heard from Antonio Comte, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Inconsistency

The Italian is yet to really have a major impact at Spurs, with a number of inconsistent displays in recent weeks.

Tottenham failed to back up an impressive 3-2 win at Manchester City by falling to a 1-0 defeat to Burnley, with Conte venting his frustrations after the loss.

Spurs then got back to winning ways with a 4-0 win at Leeds but crashed out of the FA Cup days at Middlebrough. Conte revealed after that defeat that he has not questioned his ability to transform Spurs but there was a ‘strategy’ behind press conferences.

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The Latest: Agbonlahor reacts

Agbonlahor, who features on talkSPORT, was reacting after hearing those comments, per Football Insider. He claimed Conte’s antics have been ‘very strange’ and even said he needs to ‘shut up and get on with his job’.

“It’s just very strange.

“After the Burnley game, I was just confused by his reaction. If I was the owner I would give him a good telling off for that interview.

“Just shut up, you lost to Burnley and you won’t be the last team to do so. It’s a hard place to go, you lost from a set piece, get on with it.

“Then he’s happy as larry when they beat Leeds. He’s one of those managers who just moans, moans, moans when they lose and celebrate on the sidelines when you score.

“He just needs to shut up and get on with his job, to be honest.

“It would annoy me as a player. I’d be like ‘Gaffer, if we’re not all trying I understand. But we lost a game, it happens’.”

The Verdict: Crucial month

Spurs have a crucial month with four Premier League fixtures, two of which are against sides around them in the battle for a European place.

Should they manage to find some form and pick up four straight wins, starting against Everton on Monday, then you’d expect they would be back in the hunt for a top-four finish.

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However, if Manchester United and West Ham inflict more woes on Conte, pressure will mount on the manager and Spurs could be completely out of the race for the top four, possibly resulting in more interesting comments from the Italian.

In other news, find out what other big Tottenham transfer update has now been dropped here!

Loots Bosman: frustrated with South Africa’s coach Mickey Arthur © Getty Images

The opening batsman, Loots Bosman, has become the second South African cricketer in the space of a month to be called before a CSA disciplinary hearing, following his controversial criticism of the national coach, Mickey Arthur, in the Afrikaans newspaper, Beeld.On Tuesday, Bosman was withdrawn from the South Africa squad for the ICC World Twenty20 with a back injury, to be replaced by the fast bowler, Andre Nel. The official reason for his omission, however, did not go down well with the player himself, who was quoted in Wednesday’s edition of Beeld as accusing Arthur of lying.Under the headline, “Loots slaan Mickey vir ‘n ses”, Bosman hit out at the decision, claiming that the CSA medical advice that he should rest his injured back for six weeks was suspect. “I am tired of the lying,” Bosman was quoted as saying. “I am fine, ask my physiotherapist in Bloemfontein who treated me last week. I am very, very, disappointed. Mickey [Arthur] tells too many lies.”Arthur himself responded in the same paper that the comments were “shocking”. “It is understandable that he would be disappointed,” said Arthur, “but his reactions are very immature and I am disappointed how he has handled this.”Arthur is also confident that there is nothing wrong with the procedure thathas been followed. “I have the findings of the leading neurosurgeon in the land. How can Iargue against that?” he said. “Does Loots not realise that there is a possibility thathe could be paralysed?”South Africa’s Twenty20 campaign gets underway against West Indies at Johannesburg on Tuesday, and Arthur claimed that he had envisaged a full role in the tournament for Bosman, had he been fit. “I wanted him to play in the warm-up game in Potchefstroom on Saturday,” said Arthur, “but he could not attend a fitness test as it had been recommended that he should not be active for a six-week period.”As a consequence of his comments, Bosman has been charged with four breaches of the CSA code of conduct, including “detrimental conduct which could bring [himself], the board or the game of cricket into disrepute.” As was the case with his team-mate, Mark Boucher, who was carpeted for speaking publicly about Jacques Kallis’s omission from the Twenty20 squad, Bosman will appear before the CSA’s Disciplinary Commissioner, Advocate Michael Kuper SC, on a date that has yet to be decided.The case is yet another example of the very public rifts developing in South African cricket. At the weekend, the allrounder Andrew Hall announced that he would be turning his back on the national team when his contract expires at the end of the month, and instead has committed to the breakaway Indian Cricket League.Unlike Boucher and Bosman, however, Hall has vowed to keep his council until his contract expires. “I don’t want the same to happen to my husband than what happened to Mark Boucher,” his wife, Leanie, told Beeld. “When Andrew’s contract with CSA expires at the end of the month, he will state his side of the matter.”

Ricky Ponting says Australian players were worried about their safety after the London bombings © Getty Images

Australia’s cricket team is “totally confident” in security measures taken in response to reports of a terror threat against the squad during last year’s Ashes series, according to the captain Ricky Ponting. The .”Unfortunately it is part and parcel of modern life when you are travelling the globe. We didn’t go to Sri Lanka or Pakistan because we were not 100 percent sure. Being 99 percent sure isn’t good enough.”