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Benfica midfielder Joao Neves stopped short of promising to stay at the Portuguese club next summer amid reports of interest from Manchester United.

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Neves starring for BenficaAttracting interest from Man UtdRefuses to commit his future to BenficaWHAT HAPPENED?

United are said to be considering a summer offer for the 19-year-old, who has developed into a star in the Primeira Liga over the last two seasons. Asked at a press conference if he will still be at the club after the next transfer window, the defensive midfielder reiterated his commitment but would not say whether or not he would stay.

AdvertisementGettyWHAT JOAO NEVES SAID

Speaking ahead of his team's Europa League clash against Toulouse, he said: "I promise to do my best in every training session, in every game, and I think that is one of my greatest qualities. I'm focused on Benfica and even more so on [Thursday's] game, which is the next one. I think I will do my best in every game and in every training session."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Benfica are said to be demanding around €150 million (£128m/$161m) for the Portugal international and the club are also looking to commit him to a new contract, even though his current deal runs until 2028. The Primeira Liga side also spoke out against claims that United have first refusal to sign him should he leave anytime soon.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR JOAO NEVES?

The Benfica academy graduate will hope to help his team go far in the Europa League and beat Sporting CP to the Liga Portugal title this season. Afterwards, offers for the rising star will likely flood in during the summer transfer window.

ESPNcricinfo previews the second Test between England and New Zealand at Headingley

The preview by Alex Winter28-May-2015Match factsMay 29-June 2, 2015
Start time 11am local (1000 GMT)4:02

‘England should stay aggressive’

Big PictureEngland’s week couldn’t have gone better at Lord’s. It was was a major surprise to everybody that they turned things around in such dramatic fashion having slipped well behind in the game. It was reckoned to be their greatest victory since the India tour of 2012 and a style of cricket not seen since the great days of Michael Vaughan’s captaincy. Suddenly people are giving the England cricket team a second glance.England have a new man to empty the bars. The new Botham, the new Flintoff, the new Pietersen, whoever you reincarnate in Ben Stokes, his draw was on show to the wider British public for the first time. They may have slept through his hundred in Perth; probably didn’t even realise a match was on when he hammered Notts in last season’s Royal London Cup semi-final; but here was his ability displayed on the grandest stage (and in glorious high-definition in a limited number of living rooms).They have even sat up and taken notice at Headingley. It has been the chilliest of Springs in northern England, hardly weather to encourage a big turnout, but Yorkshire have sold 5,000 tickets since Moeen Ali’s springing catch brought England victory and, with almost 40,000 sold in all, have reason to join the Stokes fan base.The challenge for England now is to keep entertaining. Will they continue to play aggressive cricket? Brendon McCullum wondered. His New Zealanders are committed to taking the game to the opposition, in any situation it would seem following some of the final afternoon dismissals at Lord’s, but England may have stumbled across a strategy that paid off handsomely and largely thanks to one man.McCullum said New Zealand themselves had to decide what brand of cricket they wanted to play when he took charge. His uber-positive style has seen them go undefeated in their last six Test series but now they need victory at Headingley to keep that run going. McCullum regards New Zealand as the “authentic” believers in aggressive cricket and pointedly wondered if England, traditionally more conservative, had just stumbled across such an approach. Under Headingley’s tyrannical skies, there will be times when a spot of conservatism might not go amiss..Form guide(last five matches, most recent first)
England WLWDW
New Zealand LWWWDThings went better for Alastair Cook at Lord’s than he could have expected•Getty ImagesIn the spotlightLord’s can be a difficult place for opening batsmen, particularly on debut, and Adam Lyth made just 7 and 12 in his first Test. He should feel more relaxed on his home ground and it was during this Test last summer that the man he replaced, Sam Robson, made a century. Unfortunately for Robson it could well be his only Test hundred. Lyth, more used to the demands caused by Headingley cloud cover, will hope a solid showing here will lead to bigger things.Questions were asked of how well New Zealand’s IPL contingent would cope with the quick turnaround to Test cricket and Tim Southee did not appear to have made the switch seamlessly, looking a little jaded having sent down 58 overs, taken three wickets, and conceded 266 runs at four-and-a-half an over. Will he have recuperated in time for a better showing at Headingley?Teams newsEngland are likely to be unchanged from Lord’s. James Anderson and Mark Wood were both reported to be a “bit sore” but are both anticipated to be fine.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Adam Lyth, 3 Gary Ballance, 4 Ian Bell, 5 Joe Root, 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Jos Buttler (wk), 8 Moeen Ali, 9 Mark Wood, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James AndersonNew Zealand have two injury worries. BJ Watling, who missed the second Test on the last tour, is still struggling with his knee that saw him not able to keep wicket for most of the Lord’s Test. His exclusion would rob New Zealand of an influential player in their run of six undefeated Test series. Corey Anderson also has a back problem; if he plays he is likely not to bowl. His injury concerns will be felt at Somerset, where he has signed up for the NatWest Blast. Luke Ronchi, for his Test debut, and Doug Bracewell are in line to replace the injured pair.New Zealand (possible) 1 Tom Latham, 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Brendon McCullum (capt), 6 Luke Ronchi (wk), 7 Mark Craig, 8 Doug Bracewell, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Trent BoultPitch and conditionsHeadingley generally comes up with a good Test wicket and the bigger influence on conditions will be the situation overhead. It has been a cold spring in Yorkshire and the weather is forecast to be unsettled throughout the match, particularly on Sunday. “We still scored over 730 runs and took 20 wickets at Lord’s,” McCullum reflected. “On most occasions when you out those sorts of numbers on the board you would probably say you’d win the Test match.” It probably would be at Headingley.Stats and trivia Alastair Cook needs 32 runs to surpass Graham Gooch as England’s leading Test runscorer.James Anderson is just one wicket away from becoming the 12th bowler to take 400 Test wickets Brendon McCullum needs 88 more runs reach 6000 in Tests: he would be just the second New Zealander to reach the mark after Stephen Fleming New Zealand’s first Test victory in England came at Headingley in 1983Quotes”It is a balancing act – maybe there have been times when I have been too conservative in the past.”
“We went down the other day but I thought we played some pretty good cricket during that Test. I make no apologies for how we play. We need to play an aggressive and innovative form of cricket. It gives us our greatest opportunity.”

Australia’s No. 3 batsman Shane Watson freely admits he will need to carry a far greater burden in Adelaide, both as a top order runmaker and also a change bowler, on what is shaping to be an exceedingly dry and unhelpful surface for the fast men

Daniel Brettig in Adelaide03-Dec-2013Australia’s No. 3 batsman Shane Watson freely admits he will need to carry a far greater burden in Adelaide, both as a top-order run-maker and also a change bowler, on what is shaping to be an exceedingly dry and unhelpful surface for the fast men.Watson struggled to bat with his usual presence in Brisbane, an understandable problem for a batsman who had not made a first-class appearance since the fifth Test of the previous Ashes series in England. But he said there was now no excuse for him to be a peripheral player as the hosts attempt to take a stranglehold on the series by going 2-0 up in as many matches.”Going into the Test match in Brisbane, I had a week or so to be able to build up my Test-match batting and my mental capacity, so that was certainly my biggest challenge,” he said. “I’m going to be in a better place now. I wasn’t able to concentrate for a long enough period of time to be able to bat what I need to in a Test match. It was unfortunate that I wasn’t able to adapt my game quick enough with not playing any four-day cricket or domestic cricket in the lead-up. That’s part of being in international cricket. You have to adapt as quickly as you can, so hopefully I can do that in this Test match straight away.”The other concern for Watson in Brisbane surrounded his recovery from a hamstring strain that had left his status as a bowler in doubt. Ultimately the telling spells of Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris and Nathan Lyon allowed Watson the luxury of bowling only two overs for the match, but he agreed far more would be expected on Adelaide’s drop-in pitch, which the ground staff have dried noticeably to attempt to recreate the ground’s traditional five-day deterioration.”It’s going to be a really important part – the amount of bowling I can do to help out our quicks,” Watson said. “If it’s what we think it’s going to be, the wicket will be flat and the bowlers will potentially have to bowl many more overs compared to Brisbane to bowl the English out. That’s a really important role, especially with back-to-back Test matches and how important it is for our quicks to be able to get through this Test, bowl well and pull up well.”We certainly know we’ve got the bowlers to be able to exploit that Perth wicket, so I know how important it is for me to pick up the slack. The bowlers certainly looked after me physically in the first Test, they bowled beautifully well and I wasn’t really called on to bowl, but I know this is my turn to be able to put my hand up and bowl the overs to look after those guys as well.”Australia find themselves in an unfamiliar perch, leading an Ashes series for the first time since 2006. Add to this the fact that they have followed each of their past two Test match wins over England in 2009 and 2010 with immediate defeat int he next match, and Watson acknowledged the challenge of keeping the team level-headed and focused on the task at hand.”It is a different situation to be in, there’s no doubt,” Watson said. “The last three series we’ve played in, whether it’s been England holding on for a draw or winning the first Test, certainly we come in at a different perspective going into the second game. But we know how important it’s going to be to start really well and keep the momentum going. We know how quickly it can change and how quickly the series can change if we don’t give it everything we’ve got and be totally switched on from ball one.”It’s certainly a nice position to be in compared to the last three series I’ve been involved in but I know how quickly it can change. The English don’t like losing, they haven’t lost very often, especially to us, over the last three series so they certainly will be coming together to go whatever they can to get back into the series.”Pivotal to Australia’s pursuit of another win will be the fitness of Michael Clarke, and Watson said the captain would be fine to train on match eve after resting a rolled ankle two days out from the Test. “It was more precautionary today,” he said. “Michael batted beautifully in the first Test, so his preparation was always going to be very good anyway. I know the medical staff is very confident that it was just giving him a break today, and he’ll be training flat out tomorrow ready to go for the Test.”

A round of matches in the Faysal Bank T-20

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Dec-2012
ScorecardHaris Sohail scored a brisk half-century to give Sialkot Stallions a target their bowlers defended comfortably against Abbottabad Falcons. The 34-run win was Sialkot’s fourth success in five matches and they were second in Group A.Sialkot’s top order had stumbled – they were 69 for 3 in the 11th over – before Sohail made an unbeaten 62 off 43 balls to lead his team to 164. Sohail had a 79-run stand for the fourth wicket with his captain Shoaib Malik. Fast bowler Junaid Khan was Abbottabad’s best bowler, with figures of 3 for 22.Abbottabad overcame the early loss of Mir Azam to reach 79 for 1 in the 13th over but they failed to accelerate from that platform. They lost four wickets for 14 runs to slip to 110 for 6 and eventually ended on 130.
ScorecardMultan Tigers rose to the third spot in Group A with a 17-run win against Karachi Zebras in Lahore. Put in to bat, Multan lost opener Sohaib Maqsood in the second over, but made steady progress for the next seven overs as Zain Abbas and Gulraiz Sadaf scored 48 together. But Karachi’s Faraz Ahmed and Haaris Ayas picked up two wickets apiece to reduce Multan to 87 for 5 in the 15th over. It was then that Saeed Anwar Jr launched a counterattack, hitting 39 off 22 and sharing a 52-run stand with Kashif Naved to help the team finish on a high.Multan carried the momentum into their bowling, with Mohammad Irfan striking off the first ball of the innings. Two more wickets went down in the next two overs, pushing Karachi onto the back foot. Rahat Ali and Anwar Jr shared seven wickets between them to derail the chase and help Multan win comfortably in the end.
ScorecardBahawalpur Stags maintained their winning run with an 11-run win against Hyderabad Hawks, who are yet to register a victory. Bahawalpur were set back early after choosing to bat, but healthy contributions of 40, 34 and 37 from Ali Haider, Usman Tariq and Bilal Khilji ensured the team crossed the 150-run mark. Haider was the most aggressive – his 40 came off 26 balls with five fours and a six.In their chase, Hyderabad had made brisk progress to 44 when Ataullah struck in the sixth over to remove Sharjeel Khan. Other Bahawalpur bowlers soon joined in; they kept the scoring under tight control and picked up the wickets as the pressure got to the batsmen. Twenty-eight were required off the last two overs, but Kamran Hussain and Mohammad Talha both picked up two wickets each in the last two overs to seal the win.
ScorecardFaisalabad Wolves kept their unbeaten record intact with a narrow two-wicket win against Karachi Dolphins at the Bagh-e-Jinnah in Lahore. Chasing 148, Faisalabad were in danger of running out of batsmen when 19 were required off 16 balls and only two wickets were left. But Misbah-ul-Haq remained unbeaten on 72 and scored 17 out of 19 in the ninth-wicket partnership to help Faisalabad cross the line off the last delivery.Misbah took only 47 balls to score his runs and hit four boundaries and three sixes in the innings. He didn’t receive much support at the other end, 17 being the second highest score.Earlier, Karachi were cruising on 85 for 1 in the 12th over after a half-century stand between Khurram Manzoor and Khalid Latif. However, both batsmen were out in the space of three balls off Ehsan Adil’s bowling and that slowed down the charge. Adil picked up four wickets as Karachi were restricted to 147.
ScorecardA big-hitting century partnership between the Rawalpindi Rams openers helped their team to overhaul Lahore Eagles’ total with ease – they won by eight wickets with more than five overs to spare. Naved Malik and Awais Zia hit 11 sixes between them and put up 135 runs in 12.1 overs to make short work of the 156-run target. Malik scored 77 off 41 balls and Zia, 54 off 36, but both fell with the target in sight.Lahore Eagles had chosen to bat and with the help of contributions from everyone in the batting order, had scored 155. Yasir Arafat was the most successful bowler for Rawalpindi with 3 for 37.
ScorecardIn a clash that pitted the bottom-rung Group A teams against each other, Islamabad Leopards beat Quetta Bears by five wickets at the Gaddafi Stadium. This was Islamabad’s first win in five matches, while Quetta remained winless after the same number of games.Islamabad chose to bowl, and the decision paid off straightaway as seamer Iftikhar Anjum struck in each of his first three overs to leave Quetta reeling at 17 for 3 in the sixth. Apart from getting the wickets, Iftikhar kept a tight leash on the scoring, having conceding only 2.75 runs per over by the end of his spell. The other bowlers too kept things tight for the most part, and struck with regularity to restrict Quetta to 111 for 7.The chase was off to a poor start too, as Islamabad lost opener Shan Masood for a golden duck and No. 3 Moed Ahmed for 1, but the rest of the top and middle order produced cameos and that was enough to propel their team past their meagre target with nine balls to spare.

Tamim Iqbal, one of Bangladesh’s senior players, has said he had no idea that the national coach Stuart Law was going to resign

Nagraj Gollapudi16-Apr-2012Tamim Iqbal, one of Bangladesh’s top batsmen, has said he had no idea that the national coach Stuart Law was going to resign. He was talking hours after Law announced his decision to quit as Bangladesh coach.”I’m completely taken by surprise,” Tamim told ESPNcricinfo. “But family comes first.” Law was stepping down less than a month after guiding Bangladesh to the final of the Asia Cup.Tamim said Law had added to the professionalism brought in by his predecessors as coach, the Australian pair of Dav Whatmore and Jamie Siddons. “Law gave us the belief that we can do it,” Tamim said. “And that only pumped up the players. He used to give us tremendous amount of confidence. A team like us needs the confidence and he always supported us.”The relationship between a coach and the players takes time to develop usually and with Stuey, we were almost there. Everyone was enjoying his presence in the dressing room and he was enjoying being with us as well.”Tamim also gave a personal example of Law’s influence. “When I was going through a rough patch during the Pakistan series (last December) he kept pushing me to work hard. There is one line I can never forget. He said: ‘Someone is hurt now and someone will be hurt in the Asia Cup.'” Tamim made four half-centuries in four matches in the Asia Cup and finished as the second-highest run-maker in the tournament.Tamim said he was also disappointed as he felt Law’s departure was a bit of a backward step for Bangladesh cricket. “We will miss him definitely. This is the tragedy with Bangladesh cricket: whenever we do something good, something bad happens.”Edited by Siddarth Ravindran

Sairaj Bahutule, the former India legspinner who played two Tests and eight ODIs, has called time on his 21-year first-class career

Amol Karhadkar01-Jan-2013Sairaj Bahutule, the former India legspinner who played two Tests and eight ODIs, has called time on his 21-year first-class career. Bahutule, 39, who took over the Vidarbha captaincy last season, had made up his mind after Vidarbha finished their Group B campaign in Nagpur on Tuesday.”It was on my mind for a while but I was waiting for the right time. I feel this is the right time since Vidarbha’s Ranji season is over,” Bahutule told ESPNcricinfo.Since his debut for Mumbai in December 1991, Bahutule has emerged as one of the most successful spinners in the domestic circuit. Though his international career lasted only ten games, earlier this season, Bahutule became only the ninth bowler in Ranji Trophy history to surpass the 400-wicket mark.”It has been an enjoyable ride over the last so many years. I have surprised myself by playing 21 years of first-class cricket. God has been kind in many ways. Not only have I been able to play for India but also the body has remained fit over these years. Obviously, the rigours of two decades were reflecting in the body, so I had to take a call with regards to that as well.”Bahutule featured in six Ranji finals, all for Mumbai, victorious on all occasions. While the first Ranji final he featured in was in 1993-94 against Bengal, the last one was in 2008-09 when he played his final game for Mumbai, against Uttar Pradesh. The most special of those finals was the one in 2003-04 when he led Mumbai to the title, scoring a useful 92 lower down the order.Bahutule has always been a handy lower-order batsman. This helped him in many ways during his short stints with a host of weaker sides over the last eight seasons. After moving from Mumbai to neighbouring Maharashtra in 2005-06, Bahutule also had stints with Assam and Andhra before moving to Vidarbha.”It’s been a very good experience. When you play for Mumbai, you always go in with the attitude of being a winner. Whereas, with the developing teams, it is about how you can inculcate that attitude into those teams. They don’t really know the process of winning. So I had to perform with the bat and the ball, besides trying to make sure that the team plays as a unit. For that, I avoided making too many changes and backing players despite initial failures,” Bahutule said.His only grudge was the inability to make the cut for an IPL franchise. “Because that is the only form of cricket I haven’t played in. I have played Ranji, I have played international cricket, I played club cricket in England for 14 years, but somehow couldn’t feature in the IPL. It came at a time when I feel I had it in me to succeed in the first two seasons, but chalta hai (it’s okay),”he said.He will still be involved with Vidarbha this season, as a coach for the upcoming zonal one-dayers and Twenty20 competitions. “Since I was contracted with them for the whole season and having decided to stop playing, they have asked me to be responsible for the team’s performance in the shorter formats. I am looking forward to it,” he said.

Ed Cowan, the Australian batsman, just happened to be living in Cirencester because of his heavily-pregnant wife. He made a first-class debut for Gloucestershire and promptly won his county cap.

Alex Winter at Cheltenham11-Jul-2012Ed Cowan, seen here batting for Australia, did not have to wait too long for his Gloucestershire cap•AFPIt was quite a matter of convenience that Gloucestershire were able to employ the services of Australia Test opener Ed Cowan. But right place, right time is so often the making of so much success. Just ask Darren Bent.Gloucestershire just happened to be the county where Ed Cowan decided to stay with his heavily-pregnant wife, Virginia. He is in England for an Australia A tour and Cricket Australia were keen for him to get some cricket before their fixtures begin at Derby on July 27.Cowan is staying in Cirencester, a 16 mile trip from Cheltenham, and got in touch with Gloucestershire who signed him for six matches. But this is his only County Championship appearance. As such, his debut was greeted with the presentation for his county cap. It is quite conceivable that he could never play for Gloucestershire again. It is a disgrace, a debasement of the capping system.But maybe a cheap cap is worth a few bonus points. Cowan’s unbeaten 51 helped Gloucestershire towards their first in just over half a day’s play. Bonus points could be the only reward from this match given the forecast.”Ryan ten Doeschate was joking with me,” Cowan said. “He said it took him six years to get his Essex cap and I’ve just turned up to earn mine. But I respect the policy they have here and it’s very special to be playing my first first-class game for the club. Any time you’re capped by a county it’s a pretty special moment.”Rob Nicol, the New Zealand batsman, will be the next recipient of a Gloucestershire cap when he arrives to play for the rest of the season next week. But this week Gloucestershire have the services of a very determined man who recognises he has work ahead of him to prove his worth at Test level.”The Ashes is something that would be very special to be a part of,” Cowan said. “But we’ve got some landmark series before then. I feel I’m good enough to be in that Test team and not just chipping in but dominating games for the team. I’m yet to prove that but I look forward to doing that. And It’s nice to be playing cricket over here a year out, getting used to different conditions and different balls.”Cowan said the chance to play at the famous Cheltenham festival – which all Australians have heard of apparently – was a factor in him approaching Gloucestershire. And he immediately had a chance to bat on the college ground as Alex Gidman won the toss: possibly Cowan’s only chance to bat here.The recent weather saw the members’ car park at the college lawn end declared off limits. The wicket, although appearing a fine surface, also showed signs of the poor summer. “Having played a little bit in the UK before, it reminded me of an early season wicket,” Cowan said. “There’s not a whole heap of pace there, it’s not really conducive to a huge amount of strokemaking but not great for bowling either. But I think it will quicken up as the game goes on. I think it will turn, too. Harbhajan Singh has already spun a couple.”Cowan seemed to struggle on occasions to pick Harbhajan’s length and he conceded just 15 runs from his three spells, the last a single over before the umpires sensibly suspended play before rain brought stumps.James Foster, Essex’s captain, only gave Harbhajan six overs. Curious given that he caused problems to Cowan, a left-hander, who survived a strong lbw appeal, and that the Essex attack began to toil in a 108-run second wicket partnership between Cowan and Dan Housego – another who received his Gloucestershire cap this season. He was making his return after a shoulder injury and played a controlled innings.He struck a sumptuous cover drive off ten Doeschate through the covers before inside edging another drive for four more to bring up his half-century. But trying to play a length ball from Reece Topley into the leg side lost his middle stump.The wicket inhibited Cowan, who didn’t score for another 19 balls. He finally got going again with a mistimed cover drive for a single before manoeuvring Harbhajan to fine leg to bring up his 142-ball fifty.He walked off unbeaten having shown admirable composure in at times difficult weather, for a period against the new ball, and throughout facing the opening pairing of Topley and David Masters who together sent down 30 overs for 66 runs.Gloucestershire were in the right place at the right time to inherit the services of a fine player. And they may have hooked Cowan for the future. “I’ve really loved the dressing room and the coaching structure,” Cowan said. “It’s a really impressive set up and definitely a place I’d like to play some more cricket.” Perhaps that cap wasn’t hastily awarded after all.

Callum Ferguson, Aaron Finch, Adam Voges and Steve O’Keefe are among the players who will face England in a four-day match in Sydney this week as part of a Cricket Australia Invitational XI

Brydon Coverdale10-Nov-2013Callum Ferguson, Aaron Finch, Adam Voges and Steve O’Keefe are among the players who will face England in a four-day match in Sydney this week as part of a Cricket Australia Invitational XI. As they did for the Australia A squad that played in Hobart last week, the selectors have picked a strong batting line-up featuring several players who could come into international contention soon, but a weakened bowling attack.Ferguson is the only member of that Australia A side who will play in this week’s match, as the severely rain-affected game in Hobart allowed him only 23 balls at the crease for an unbeaten 15. Phillip Hughes was originally meant to be part of the Cricket Australia Invitational XI but instead has been released to play for South Australia, to make way for his state team-mate Ferguson to have some more time in the middle against England.Usman Khawaja, who the selectors had also intended to play against England in Sydney this week, has also been released to play for Queensland, due to their growing injury list. Khawaja will play for the Bulls against New South Wales in Brisbane, while Hughes will play for the Redbacks in Adelaide against Western Australia, in a round of Shield matches that begin on Wednesday, the same day as the England tour game.”In selecting the final XI, we have tried to be flexible given the needs of particular states and individual players following the latest round of first-class matches across the country,” Cricket Australia’s general manager of team performance, Pat Howard, said. “We recognise the injury situation in Queensland, so it is appropriate to release Usman Khawaja from this tour match to support his state.”We have also taken the view that due to the rain-affected match in Hobart, Callum Ferguson didn’t get the depth of international exposure we hoped to give him through his Australia A selection. Through consultation with the SACA, we felt it made sense to select him in the next tour match against England. In light of Callum’s selection, Phil Hughes, who has played a lot of international cricket in recent months will remain with South Australia for its next Shield match.”The invitational side will be captained by the New South Wales wicketkeeper Peter Nevill and will feature mostly New South Wales players, with only Voges, Ferguson, Finch and Ed Cowan coming from interstate sides. Although none of the batsmen are expected to be in contention for the first Ashes Test, they are all close enough to the fringes to hope that a big score against England might help them move closer to a call-up.Ben Rohrer and Ryan Carters round out the batting line-up, while the bowling attack will be made up of O’Keefe and fringe Blues fast men Josh Lalor, Chris Tremain and Nic Bills. Geoff Lawson will coach the side for the four-day encounter at the SCG, which is England’s last practice match before the first Test begins at the Gabba on November 21.Cricket Australia Invitational XI Ed Cowan, Aaron Finch, Callum Ferguson, Adam Voges, Ben Rohrer, Ryan Carters, Peter Nevill (capt, wk), Steve O’Keefe, Josh Lalor, Chris Tremain, Nic Bills.

Australia international Trent Copeland tore through Worcestershire’s batting to put Northamptonshire on the brink of victory after two days

06-Jun-2013
ScorecardTrent Copeland put his team on track for another victory•Getty ImagesAustralia international Trent Copeland tore through Worcestershire’s batting to put Northamptonshire on the brink of victory after two days.Northamptonshire were bowled out for 314 during the afternoon, giving the Division Two leaders a first innings lead of 118, with Steven Crook hammering 85 off as many balls including three huge sixes. Copeland, who is playing his last match before returning home, then took three wickets for 26 as Worcestershire subsided to 97 for 6 at the close, still 21 runs behind.The hosts began the day on 100 for 4, 96 runs behind their opponents, with Rob Keogh resuming on 26 and Andrew Hall beginning his innings. But Hall was only able to make 10 before Gareth Andrew took a good low catch at third slip to give Alan Richardson his fourth wicket in the seventh over of the day.Keogh was to move on to 44 but was denied a maiden half-century in first-class cricket when he edged Andrew to Moeen Ali at first slip to leave the hosts on 134 for 6.Crook was then given a massive let-off on 6 when he launched Andrew into the air only for Aneesh Kapil to drop a straightforward catch at deep square leg. He was to make Kapil pay for that blunder by blasting a half-century off just 52 balls as he and James Middlebrook added 96 between them for the seventh wicket.The partnership was eventually broken when Middlebrook was sharply caught and bowled by Ali to depart for 39 in the third over after lunch. Crook finally perished when his middle stump was taken out by Chris Russell before Copeland smashed the same bowler to Jack Shantry at mid-on after clattering 31.Russell then ended the hosts’ innings by trapping wicketkeeper David Murphy lbw for 4, leaving David Willey unbeaten on 15 at the other end.Worcestershire lost their captain Daryl Mitchell for just 8 in the penultimate over before tea when he left Crook’s delivery only to see his off stump sent spinning. Matthew Pardoe was then dismissed for 24 when he nudged Willey to Murphy before Copeland pinned Sri Lanka batsman Thilan Samaraweera lbw for 4.Copeland then repeated the trick on Alexei Kervezee and Kapil was caught leg before by Willey before wicketkeeper Michael Johnson became yet another lbw victim to Copeland. Ali and Andrew then survived the final 10 overs and will resume tomorrow on 29 and 16 respectively with their side surely doomed.

Lancashire put one foot in the Friends Life t20 quarter-final after annihilating their Roses rivals Yorkshire by eight wickets at Old Trafford.

Myles Hodgson at Old Trafford24-Jul-2013
ScorecardTom Smith got the chase off to a blistering start•Getty ImagesAn electricity failure may not have been the perfect dress rehearsal for hosting the third Investec Ashes Test in a week’s time but as omens go, an emphatic hammering of your fiercest rivals to all but secure your place in the Friends Life t20 quarter-finals was almost as good as it gets for Lancashire.Dominant throughout in front of a partisan 12,151 crowd, Lancashire will qualify for the quarter-finals if Derbyshire fail to beat Leicestershire on Friday. It was the perfect send off, almost, for the refurbished Emirates Old Trafford before it is handed over to the ECB in preparation for potentially the decisive Test in the Ashes.Yet only a week before the ground will hold 26,000 for the opening day of the Test, Lancashire suffered a 20-minute power cut at the Statham End, which wiped out electricity to the dressing rooms and two floodlights at that end of the ground, and was only resolved shortly before the start. It was perhaps fitting, given his recent form, that Jimmy Anderson should rectify the problem, although not England’s premier swing bowler, but his namesake who performs as Lancashire’s resident electrician.That problem apart, which ground officials insisted would not have delayed the start, it was a triumphant evening for Lancashire. The temporary seating area, which will hold 9,000 for the Ashes, was utilised for the first time and they delivered one of their best displays of the season to all but end Yorkshire’s slim qualification hopes and boost their own with a fourth win in their last five matches.Having won the toss and decided to bat first, presumably to ensure Lancashire had the potentially more difficult task of batting under floodlights, Yorkshire’s plan backfired spectacularly and they struggled to 124 for 8 on a sluggish pitch. Restricted to 23 for 2 at the end of the six Powerplay overs, they were unable to regain any momentum after being confronted by an electric display in the field from Lancashire.Their only partnership of note, 33 off 27 balls between Adam Lyth and Gary Ballance, had limited effectiveness because of the athleticism of Lancashire’s fielding display that frustrated their desire to show more aggression. Lyth fell to a catch at fine leg attempting to scoop Tom Smith and Ballance fell to a brilliant diving catch by Steven Croft, who ran in from the long-on boundary.Attempting to gain momentum, Yorkshire suffered two run outs in a desperate chase of runs and recorded only one boundary in their final four overs, which provided a stark contrast to Lancashire’s approach when they began their reply. From the moment Stephen Moore pulled two boundaries in the second over from Iain Wardlaw, the contest was all but over.Moore and Smith added 88 in only 7.4 overs and although Lancashire lost two wickets in Azeem Rafiq’s first over, Smith stumped as he advanced down the wicket for an aggressive 42 and Ashwell Prince brilliantly caught at cover by Lyth, any anxiety from the mainly Lancastrian crowd was brief with Moore’s unbeaten 66 off 35 balls securing victory with nine overs remaining.