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East Zone 243 for 9 (Dhoni 65, Kiran Powar 65, Nair 5-29) beat South Zone 240 for 5 (Venugopal Rao 104*) by 1 wicket with 1 ball to spare
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East Zone maintained their winning streak as they recorded their second one-wicket win of the campaign against South Zone at Agartala. Venugopal Rao slammed an unbeaten 104 and held the South innings together as wickets fell at regular intervals. Sadagoppan Ramesh and Sridharan Sriram, the formidable duo from Tamil Nadu, didn’t kick on to a big score and it was left to Ajay Kudva (34) to provide Venugopal with some support. Venugopal stroked six fours in his 123-ball innings. But it went in vain due to two breezy 65’s from Mahendra Dhoni and Kiran Powar. Nikhil Haldipur (30) and Devang Gandhi (21) chipped in and at 142 for 3 East were cruising towards a comfortable win. That is when Sreekumar Nair, the left-arm spinner, turned on the heat and his five wicket haul almost derailed the East innings. But Anirban Chatterjee (10) held his nerve and East scraped home with a ball to spare.Central Zone 250 (Khoda 76, JP Yadav 62) beat North Zone 199 (Chopra 50, Dave 5-33) by 51 runs
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Gagan Khoda and Jai Prakash Yadav posted half-centuries before Anup Dave did the trick with the ball to lead Central Zone to an easy win over North Zone at Cuttack. Chasing 251 for victory, North began disastrously as they were reduced to 2 for 2, but Aakash Chopra steadied the ship with a steady 50. Mithun Manhas (35) and Ajay Jadeja (44), his two team-mates from Delhi, kept North in the hunt before Dave dashed their hopes. The left-arm spinner finished with 5 for 33 and he picked up the important wickets of Chopra and Jadeja. Two run-outs didn’t help matters and Central romped home by 51 runs. Central had begun confidently with the bat when Tejinder Pal Singh and khoda, the captain, put on 91 for the opening stand. After Tejinder was run-out, Yadav joined Khoda and they realised 77 runs. Amit Mishra and Dinesh Mongia collected two wickets each as wickets tumbled towards the end and Central finished on exactly 250.

With group leaders Karachi Whites and Lahore Blues not in action, Sheikhupura, Peshawar, Faisalabad and Bahawalpur will be anxious to close the gap on the points table in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Grade-I cricket championship.The fifth round of matches, starting Saturday, therefore assumes great importance for the team lying below Karachi Whites and Lahore Blues in the two pools.Sheikhupura are in excellent position to topple Lahore Blues at the top of Group-II if they can overcome Rest of NWFP at Sheikhupura Stadium with maximum points. Sheikhupura will then also have a psychological edge of the Blues because both of them are pitted against each in the next round from Feb 1.In the other group, Karachi Whites, who were runners-up to Lahore Blues last season, have a comfortable lead on the ladder with a difference of 24 points over four teams.Fifth round schedule (Jan 26-29):*Hyderabad v Gujranwala at Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad (Umpires: Sadiq Mohammad and Nadeem Ghauri. Match referee: Naeem Ahmed).*Sargodha v Karachi Blues at Sports Stadium, Sargodha (Umpires: M. Nazir Junior and Iqbal Butt. Match referee: Khalid Niazi).*Faisalabad v Rest of Sindh at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad (Umpires: Asad Rauf and Siddique Khan. Match referee: Musaddeq Rasool).*Bahawalpur v Rest of Balochistan at Bahawalpur Stadium. (Umpires: Athar Zaidi and Ijaz Ahmed. Match referee: Fahimuddin Alvi).*Lahore Whites v Rest of Punjab at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore (Umpires: Salim Badar and Khalid Mahmood Sr. Match referee: Shafiq Ahmed).*Sialkot v Rawalpindi at Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot (Umpires: Mian Aslam and Afzaal Ahmed. Match referee: Azhar Khan).*Peshawar v Islamabad at Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar (Umpires: Islam Khan and Aleem Dar. Match referee: Ehteshamuddin).*Sheikhupura v Rest of NWFP at Sheikhupura Stadium (Umpires: Feroz Butt and Z.I. Pasha. Match referee: Azmat Rana).

Wherever the Sri Lankan women’s cricket team go, the crowds should follow. Entertainment is virtually guaranteed. If they are not treating every run between the wicket as if it were their last (and it often is), they are hurling themselves around the field as though their lives depended on it. And, in between times, they can play some pretty good cricket.Today at Hagley Oval was no exception. In virtually guaranteeing themselves the winning of their mini-world cup within the CricInfo Women’s World Cup with a 26-win over the Netherlands, they contributed to making a low-scoring affair a highly entertaining spectacle.Being put in to bat on a Hagley Park pitch having its first use at the tournament, the Sri Lankan batsmen put supporters, opponents and neutral observers on a roller-coaster ride of emotions as they began by expertly accumulating a total of 94 for two in the 34th over, mainly courtesy of what turned out to be a match-winning innings by their captain, Rasanjali Silva. And then crashed to 113 for eight before the last two wickets added 26.It was almost as if the rest of the batsmen were in a different match from Silva. It took a special demonstration of keeper-bowler co-operation to snare the Sri Lankan captain, stumped Rowan Milburn, bowled Tessa van der Gun for 53 off 95 balls with the score at 94.Silva’s departure started the slide. The next highest score off the bat was 11 and that was from Hiroshi Abeysinghe. She was looking promising until she became the sacrificial lamb when the only case of the Sri Lankan disease in the innings struck. She found herself keeping company with Chamani Seneviratne at one end of the pitch while the Netherlands fielders were focusing with considerable pleasure on the other end.However, there was one other major contribution to the Sri Lankan score. Extras, through the generosity of the Netherland bowlers, contributed 37, 34 of those runs coming from wides. In a loss by 26 runs, it is a figure that will haunt them.While the Sri Lankans were going through their batting highs and lows, the procession from the batting crease was almost matched by that at the bowling crease. Van der Gun was the best of the eight bowlers used, picking up three for 18 off four overs, including another stumping collaboration with Milburn, while Maartje Koster’s six overs conceded eight runs for one wicket and Caroline Salomons rose above having her action scrutinised to return one for 13 off four.The boost to the Netherlands batting with Koster and Helmien Rambaldo returning from injury half worked. Koster departed in the first over, the first in a tough lbw day for Umpire Dave Quested. Rambaldo, however, went through to 38 and looked the best of the batsmen on offer from either side.The Sri Lankan’s were very keen on the possibility of lbws; their frequent demands would have been intimidating if it were not for Umpires Quested and Peter Williams towering over their tormentors. It at times looked like the Lilliputians advancing on Gulliver as they pleaded for deliverance from the batsmen.As it was, they received their quota in the space of four balls. Seneviratne was the beneficiary as Umpire Quested answered the call on the third, fourth and sixth balls of her second over. The hat-trick ball was a wide. That was the end as 43 for two suddenly became 44 for five.But the Netherlands never lie down. Amid a continuous cacophony of imploring appeals, they tried to accumulate the necessary runs. De Boer was the most defiant, her 26 coming off 67 balls. But it was just too much for the lower order to withstand the enthusiastic fielding and accurate bowling of Silva (CricInfo Player of the Match), three for 24 off eight, Seneviratne, four for 23 off 10 and Jayamali Indika, three for 14 off 6.2.A very happy Sri Lankan manager, Chandra Munaweera, said the team had done well under pressure. The bowling in particular had been very good.As far as the batting was concerned, she said, “losing the toss was a blessing in disguise. Other teams do not expect us to get runs.”And, of course, given previous performances, “just one run out was very good.”She said the team had gained a big boost from the highly vocal support from the local Sri Lankan community, who had turned Hagley Oval into a little bit of Asia with their lively contribution to proceedings.Now, said Mrs Munaweera, “we are looking forward to England.”Result: Sri Lanka 139; the Netherlands, 113. A win to Sri Lanka by 26 runs, barring miracles or disasters, depending on the points of view, guaranteeing them sixth place and a berth in the next World Cup in South Africa in 2004.

Faf du Plessis has been ruled out of the ODI series against New Zealand and will be out of action for at least four weeks due to a knee injury. Du Plessis did not play the T20s after picking up the injury during training ahead of the series. He should recover in time for South Africa’s tour of India, which starts in October.”It’s frustrating for me because I feel good and in form,” du Plessis said while doing a commentary stint during the first ODI. “Brandon Jackson, the physiotherapist, said I will need about three or four weeks of no running at all and then can get back into training.”This is the second injury du Plessis has had in the last few months after he suffered a broken finger during IPL 2015. Du Plessis played in the final despite the finger injury; he took the injury into South Africa’s tour of Bangladesh but did not miss any matches. “At Chennai, my nickname is Ferrari because everything looks pretty good on the outside but there’s not much going on on the inside.”Du Plessis’ absence means that South Africa are without a third senior player after JP Duminy and Morne Morkel were given time off from the series for paternity leave. Rilee Rossouw will bat in du Plessis’ place at No. 3 with Farhaan Behardien included in the lower middle order. Dean Elgar has been added to the squad as cover.

Selling Matty Cash to Atletico Madrid could allow Aston Villa to sign Philippe Coutinho permanently, transfer insider Dean Jones says. 

The lowdown

Fabrizio Romano revealed in February that Atletico are ‘seriously interested’ in signing Villa right-back Cash, who’s scored three goals and provided four assists this season.

‘Direct contacts’ took place between the two clubs during the January transfer window, he said, and Cash remains on the reigning Spanish champions’ list.

Coutinho, meanwhile, is currently on loan at Villa Park from Atletico’s La Liga rivals Barcelona.

Villa will have the option to buy the Brazilian in the summer, but it will cost them £33million.

The latest

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones said it would be a ‘shame’ for Villa to see Cash go but thinks it could prove to be a ‘win-win’ for all parties if Villa put the funds to good use.

“It’d be a shame to lose Matty Cash, but you can understand why he might also be interested in that move,” he said.

“And if it allowed Villa to bring in Coutinho on a permanent basis, then it’s a win-win for everyone.”

The verdict

It’s somewhat surprising to hear that Villa may need to sell to buy.

After all, they have one of the highest net spends in Europe over the last decade, eclipsing the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Bayern Munich – perhaps that’s finally beginning to catch up with them.

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In addition to Coutinho, Villa are also said to be intent on signing Kalvin Phillips from Leeds United in a deal that could cost them a whopping £60million.

The sale of Cash, an ‘outstanding’ player in the words of former Villa boss Tim Sherwood, could cover around a third of that sum if his £19.8million Transfermarkt valuation proves to be accurate.

In other news, Gregg Evans celebrated this Villa development.

When Bangladesh Under-19’s captain Mehedi Hasan and wicketkeeper-batsman Zakir Hasan came together in the 29th over against Nepal Under-19, it was amidst much tension in Mirpur. The home side were 98 for 4 chasing 212 with a place in the semi-final on the line. Thankfully for Bangladesh, the pair did not panic and took the game away with their 117-run unbroken stand.The partnership was not completely smooth-sailing; only after the pair had batted together for 13 balls did Mehedi smash one through the in-field and get his first boundary. Singles were not missed at any opportunity, but the run-rate kept rising, and by the time the next four came, at the start of the 35th over, Bangladesh needed 86 off 15.5 overs. For the next 7.2 overs, Mehedi and Zakir only picked singles and twos. Finally, in the middle of the 43rd over, Zakir’s swept four off Dipendra Airee gave Bangladesh a release.From the 42nd to 45th over, the pair took six, eight, 12 and 10 runs, which reduced the target from 63 needed off 54, to 27 needed off the last 30 balls. In one instance, they ran three and then took twos off the next two balls before taking a relaxed single. This was in the same over in which Mehedi lofted Sandeep Lamichhane over extra-cover for a boundary. Some of the pair’s running between the wickets looked risky but their overall maturity proved much of it was calculated.Mehedi said that it was Zakir who came up with the calming influence by giving him a plan and then chiding him when the Nepal captain Raju Rijal missed his stumping in the 38th over.”He [Zakir] was unbelievable today,” Mehedi said. “He got back to runs after a long time with this fine innings. It was great timing for the team, as we really needed him today. There was some pressure when we started our partnership. Zakir told me that we will just play on singles, rotate the strike. We won’t go for fours or sixes. His words worked quite well for us.”When the stumping incident happened, I had lost a bit of focus at that moment. The mid-off was up so I tried to hit it over him. When I had settled down after the miss, Zakir told me it is no time to relax. ‘We have to bat long,’ he said. I was fine from that point.”The fifth-wicket partnership was also the coming together of two young men who made it to professional cricket through contrasting circumstances, about 480km apart. When he was growing up in Khulna and falling in love with the game, Mehedi’s father opposed the idea of his son taking up cricket seriously. But Mehedi would sneak out to play matches, and often get caught. However, after winning an award for Best Batsman in an Under-14 tournament, it became easier for Mehedi to convince his father that cricket was where his passion really lied.It was different for Zakir while growing up in Sylhet. Although there was some pressure on him to take studies more seriously, his elder brother brought news that BKSP were holding a trial nearby. Zakir was selected for the sport institute’s branch in Dinajpur, about 568km from his hometown.Mehedi and Zakir came together for the Under-19 national camp during the 2014 World Cup, and are one of five players to play a second World Cup. But despite spending the last three years together in training camps, hotels and cricket grounds, their understanding frayed at times during their fifth-wicket partnership. Nerves were evident from the beginning as the non-striker, whether it was Mehedi or Zakir, continued to get too far out of his crease even when a single was not on offer.There were plenty of close calls as Nepal missed the stumps on at least five occasions with the batsman short of his crease. Mehedi offered an explanation, suggesting that his team was not accustomed to the dimensions of the Shere Bangla National Stadium”The ground is slightly different, sometimes we didn’t understand where the ball was. Say, when we defended the ball we couldn’t at times tell if it went into the gap or not. The ground is quite large too. But we have good understanding, and there can be one or two mistakes. I don’t think it is a major problem,” he said.Mehedi and Zakir were possibly confused by the pronounced slope in Mirpur, which sometimes makes the ball hard to spot when it goes 15-20 yards from the pitch on either side. No matter, they have to get used to this ground quickly for the semi-final against either Pakistan or West Indies, on February 11.

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Chris Rogers made an accomplished century © Getty Images

Chris Rogers’ 123 rescued Western Australia from an early slip against Tasmania on a rain-affected opening day in Hobart, steering them to 4 for 245 by stumps. He and Adam Voges, who remained unbeaten on 80, reversed the momentum that had been all Tasmania’s in the opening exchanges, as their bowlers reduced them to 3 for 57 under overcast skies, including the wicket of Michael Hussey.Rogers, whose innings included 14 fours and a six, put on 168 with Voges, who was nearing his own century before bad light brought an early close with 73.4 overs possible in the day. Rogers finally fell inside-edging Luke Butterworth but will have enhanced his Test claims, particularly should Phil Jaques not recover in time for the Boxing Day bout against India, though he is expected to be fit.Ben Hilfenhaus nipped in early to remove Justin Langer top-edging for a duck, and Shaun Marsh wasn’t too far behind him, making 17 before Dan Marsh dismissed him on the stroke of lunch during a rain-truncated morning, taking a simple return catch. More bad weather hampered the second session, but in between the showers Hussey made 7 before Michael Di Venuto ran him out after the batsman’s edge had been dropped.Hussey’s Australia team-mate Adam Gilchrist had reached 10 by stumps, including a six over midwicket, while their international captain Ricky Ponting was pulled out of the game under Cricket Australia’s request.

Michael Hussey will lead Australia in New Zealand, where they must win to retain their No. 1 place © Getty Images

South Africa can become the first team to topple Australia from the top spot in the ICC’s ODI rankings if they beat Pakistan in the final one-dayer at Johannesburg and if Australia lose the upcoming Chappell-Hadlee series in New Zealand. Australia have been ranked No. 1 since the current rankings were introduced in 2002.South Africa are on 127 points, three behind Australia. If they beat Pakistan on Wednesday they will move up to 128. They have hit excellent one-day form since failing to make the finals of the tri-series in Australia in 2005-06, with home series wins over Australia, Zimbabwe and India and qualifying for the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy.If Australia lose the Chappell-Hadlee series, for which they have rested Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist, they will drop down to second place and New Zealand will move up to third. England remain seventh despite beating Australia 2-0 in the CB Series finals. India could slip from fifth to sixth if they lose the remaining two ODIs of the ongoing series against Sri Lanka.

Matthew Nicholson will lead the Blues against Queensland on Sunday © Getty Images

The Twenty20 Big Bash begins on Friday night at the WACA with Western Australia playing Victoria in the new competition. The domestic tournament, which includes two groups of three teams, features a home and away match for each state as they attempt to qualify for the final on January 21.Queensland v Tasmania at the Gabba on FridayQueensland Jimmy Maher (capt), James Hopes, Craig Philipson, Nathan Reardon, Chris Simpson, Steve Paulsen, Chris Hartley (wk), Nathan Hauritz, Andy Bichel, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Rimmington, Michael Buchanan (12th man).Tasmania squad Michael Di Venuto (capt), Dane Anderson, George Bailey, Travis Birt, Rhett Lockyear, Xavier Doherty, Adam Griffith, Ben Hilfenhaus, Darren McNees, Tim Paine, Adam Polkinghorne, Shannon Tubb.Western Australia v Victoria at the WACA on FridayWestern Australia squad Marcus North (capt), Ryan Campbell (wk), Luke Ronchi, Damien Martyn, Adam Voges, Shaun Marsh, Brad Hogg, Peter Worthington, Brett Dorey, Ben Edmondson, David Bandy and Chris Rogers.Victoria squad Cameron White (capt), Robert Quiney, Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Liam Buchanan, Shane Harwood, Peter Siddle, David Hussey, Jonathan Moss, Michael Klinger, Andrew McDonald, Michael Lewis, Grant Lindsay.Victoria v South Australia at Junction Oval on SundaySouth Australia squad Graham Manou (capt, wk), Mark Cosgrove, Cameron Borgas, Mark Cleary, Daniel Cullen, Shane Deitz, Callum Ferguson, Trent Kelly, Darren Lehmann, Gary Putland, Ken Skewes, Shaun Tait.New South Wales v Queensland at North Sydney Oval on SundayNew South Wales squad Matthew Nicholson (capt), Phil Jaques, Jarrad Burke, Dominic Thornely, Aaron O’Brien, Daniel Smith, Daniel Christian, Moises Henriques, Aaron Bird, Doug Bollinger, Stephen Phillips, Ian Moran.Queensland Jimmy Maher (capt), Chris Simpson, Craig Philipson, Nathan Reardon, Steve Paulsen, Derek Tate, Chris Hartley (wk), Nathan Hauritz, Michael Buchanan, Ashley Noffke, Michael Kasprowicz, Nathan Rimmington (12th man).

Phil Simmons, Zimbabwe’s coach, dismissed criticism aimed at him following the 3-2 one-day series defeat by Bangladesh and said that the loss was a result of complacency on the part of the players and the technical team.Simmons was lambasted by Richie Kaschula, a member of the national selection panel and a former national player, in the aftermath of the defeat. “Phil must be held responsible for what has been happening in Bangladesh,” Kaschula said. “Phil was left in charge and we, as selectors, are not happy with what has been happening. Phil was in charge of the team and he was doing his own things in selecting the teams that played, ignoring some of the things we told him."But Simmons mounted a spirited defence on his return to Harare. “We played beyond expectations in the first two games and I think when we took the 2-0 lead in the one day series against the hosts the guys were surprised by the results and that led to the guys being excited," he said. “I think I was also excited by the result that the guys had posted and we seemed to have lost direction. Because of that and I believe that is where we got it all wrong.”The batsmen let us down in the third game and that was the major reason we lost but we could have done better. The batsmen failed to reach 240 runs in the last three games."Kaschula had slammed Simmons for his team selections, especially picking the out-of-sorts Dion Ebrahim. “Dion had not performed well in the third game and I thought of dropping him from the team for the fourth game but there is more that I as the coach saw in the young man than just playing on the field," Simmons argued. “I didn’t drop him in the fourth game as he had impressed me during the practise sessions as he showed a lot of confidence in batting and seemed as if he had finally settled and I thought of including him in the team.”