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Even as victory for England over New Zealand became assured last night in Auckland, captain Nasser Hussain wasn’t prepared to disregard the threat as New Zealand were required to score around 12 runs an over.”New Zealand were always in the game.”They keep coming at you, they keep hitting ball out the ground. Even [Daniel] Vettori can bat at No 10,” he said.Hussain described the side’s victory as a good effort but there was still work to do before the series could be wrapped up in his side’s favour.”We regrouped after Wellington. We played some good cricket in India, and some good cricket in Christchurch and had a chat in Wellington and put things right for two games.”As I’ve said many times, it doesn’t mean we’re World Cup favourites all of a sudden. We’ve done it for a couple of games. Now we’ve got a final in Dunedin. We’ve got to get back together, have a bit more team spirit, team bonding and play like we can.”We played well for large parts of today and for New Zealand to be still in that game, you just look at their batting line-up,” he said.”It was not over till the death.”Batting and bowling had been good on the day but the fielding had too many extremes, he said.The batsmen had done well with the ball doing a bit and the side had recovered well from the loss of Marcus Trescothick off the third ball.The bowlers also had to do their bit and put the ball in the right spot.”Rain is no good for anyone and the Duckworth/Lewis system is probably the fairest system we have played under so far, but rain doesn’t help anyone,” he said.”If we do all our disciplines well we can beat New Zealand. Because we are a young side, we are still a little bit clumsy at times.”When you have to be really good to beat sides you can’t afford that. We have to get that clumsiness out of our cricket still,” he said.”But there is talent in that dressing room and if we can put it all together in the next year then we will progress. It’s a long, long way away, we’ve just got to put it together for Dunedin,” he said.

MELBOURNE – Victoria may have forced Queensland to follow on today but the Bushrangers remain far from certain of claiming a first Pura Cup win in five years against their chief tormentors.The Vics last recorded an outright win over Queensland at the MCG in 1995-96 with the past 10 matches resulting in six Queensland wins and four draws.When the Bushrangers forced Queensland to follow on, shortly before lunch on day three today, that drought looked certain to end.However by stumps, due to a combination of a tired attack, stubborn batting and poor fielding, the Bulls had reached 1-136 in their second innings, still requiring another 64 runs to make Victoria bat again.Queensland began its second innings trailing by 200 runs after being bowled in the first session for 184 in reply to the Vics’ 9-384 declared.Victorian skipper Paul Reiffel took three of the five wickets to fall in Queensland’s first innings today after they resumed at 5-135 and then wasted little time ripping into the visitors’ batting again.In just the seventh over of the Bulls’ second innings he produced a tremendous leg cutter to Jerry Cassell which the young opener spooned to Matthew Mott in the gully.At that stage the Vics looked a chance to claim victory inside three days.But the turning point of the day came nine overs later when Brad Hodge dropped a sitter at first slip off Ian Harvey to give Jimmy Maher a life on six with the Bulls precariously placed at 1-20.Maher took full advantage of his luck and by stumps had reached 59 after occupying the crease for 274 minutes.The left-handed opener received tremendous support from Martin Love, not out 68 in 247 minutes, with the pair combining for an unbroken 130 run stand as the Victorian attack began to tire.The Bushrangers weren’t helped by the failure of Damien Fleming to again bowl today due to a neck injury and the former Test paceman is unlikely to be fit for tomorrow’s crucial last day.That will leave a big burden on Reiffel, Matthew Inness, Colin Miller and Harvey, who have already been in the field for 165 overs.But the Vics will be boosted by the knowledge that if they can get through the top order in reasonable time tomorrow, the Bulls’ tail is unlikely to offer much resistance given its performance this morning when the visitors lost four wickets inside the first 45 minutes.

Leeds journalist Beren Cross believes midfielder Adam Forshaw could return to the starting XI against Aston Villa tomorrow evening.

The Lowdown: Bamford and Forshaw on the bench

Jesse Marsch left Forshaw on the bench for his first game in charge of the Whites against Leicester City, with Robin Koch and Mateusz Klich getting the nod in midfield.

The American revealed details of a private conversation he had with Forshaw prior to the trip to the King Power, citing his inability to train throughout the week as the reason for leaving him out.

Patrick Bamford joined Forshaw on the bench last time out, with Phil Hay claiming the forward is set to feature against both Aston Villa and Norwich City in back-to-back home games.

The Latest: Cross’ comments

Cross shared Marsch’s comments regarding Forshaw in a story for Leeds Live on Tuesday morning.

He then said:

“The rationale will be a boost for Forshaw’s chances of returning to the line-up when Aston Villa visit on Thursday night, assuming he has trained enough this week.”

The Verdict: Who drops out?

It’s easy to see why Marsch decided against selecting Forshaw from the off on Saturday after sharing details of their private Thorp Arch conversation, but as Cross mentions, a return against Villa could now be on the cards.

Forshaw has been a regular in recent months, missing just one of Leeds’ last 18 Premier League fixtures, starting 12 of those. On that basis, you’d expect the midfielder would be firmly in Marsch’s thoughts ahead of two crucial fixtures, providing he has trained with the rest of the squad since the defeat to the Foxes.

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He could replace Koch or Klich, or Marsch may decide to deploy Koch in his natural centre-back role, leaving one of Luke Ayling or Stuart Dallas at risk of missing out.

In other news: Phil Hay drops huge Leeds news from Thorp Arch hours before Villa. 

Scorecard

Tamim Iqbal’s 104 was outdone by Richard Jones’ unbeaten 85 as Auckland coasted to victory © Getty Images

Led by captain Richard Jones’ brisk unbeaten 85, Auckland made light of a target of 243 in 50 overs and handed the Bangladeshis their second defeat in as many completed matches on their tour of New Zealand so far. The visitors opted to bat but bar Tamim Iqbal’s 104, the first hundred of the trip, there were few contributions to speak of and even more worryingly, the Bangladeshi bowlers managed just three Auckland wickets ahead of a full ODI and Test series.Paul Hitchcock, who earlier picked up 2 for 48, scored 35 in an opening stand of 81 with Martin Guptill to set the base for Auckland. After his departure, caught by Ferhad Reza off Nazmul Hossain, 21-year-old Guptill fell for 59 from 61 balls. Jones and Colin de Grandhomme (34) finished the match with ease, adding an unbroken partnership of 97. Jones hit eight fours and a six to finish on 85, and denied the Bangladeshis any entrance into the middle order. The target was overhauled with 24 deliveries to spare.With the bat, the Bangladeshis got starts but collapsed dramatically. Tamim stood firm, adding 86 for the second wicket with Aftab Ahmed (29), and 55 with captain Mohammad Ashraful (27). However, a complete mess down the order – the last seven wickets fell for 58 – saw Bangladesh bowled out in 48.5 overs. Tamim hit four sixes and ten fours in his 122-ball effort, but was the fourth batsman to fall, at 184 in the 35th over.Greg Moran, the rookie 21-year-old right-arm medium-fast bowler, took 3 for 33 off eight overs, Andy McKay and Roneel Hira two each, and there was a wicket for Daryl Tuffey in his first match for Auckland this season.Bangladesh’s tour continues with a Twenty20 match against a New Zealand Cricket XI in a World Vision Cyclone Relief match in Hamilton on Sunday.

Gold League
Karachi Urban tamed the Rawalpindi attack and scored 284 for 2 on the opening day of their fifth-round Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Gold League match at the National Stadium on Thursday.By stumps, Saeed Bin Nasir was unbeaten on 100 after Karachi’s captain Hasan Raza chose to bat. It was Saeed’s eight first-class hundred in 70 matches and he batted for three hours 40 minutes, faced 170 balls and hit 14 fours and a six. Asif Zakir was unbeaten on 76 off 181 balls with nine hits fours.The unbroken third-wicket partnership between the pair yielded 184 runs, in 220 minutes off 350 deliveries. Earlier, Agha Sabir and Khurram Manzoor had given Karachi Urban a splendid 96-run opening partnership.Rawalpindi captain Mohammad Wasim employed as many as eight bowlers including himself but fast bowlers Yasir Arafat and Sohail Tanvir were the only two who were successful.After four matches Rawalpindi, who have never won a national cricket title before, had collected 21 points to go top of the Gold League table. Karachi Urban with 15 points are placed third in the seven-team ranking.Defending champions Sialkot did their chances of qualifying for the Gold League final no good, when they scraped together 212 for 6 against Lahore Shalimar at the Jinnah Stadium on Thursday.At one stage, after having been put in first, Sialkot were in dire straits having lost six wickets for 152 runs. It was an unbroken 60-run stand for the seventh wicket that helped them cross the 200 mark. Ayub Dogar and Tahir Mughal were at the crease at stumps. Earlier, opener Atiq-ur-Rehman had dominated the scoring with 70 off 139 balls with the help of 11 fours as Sialkot reached 127 for 2.Fast bowler Junaid Zia, with figures of 3 for 33, bowled with spirit after Mohammad Khalil had made the first strike by removing Haafiz Majid Jahangir. Veteran left-arm spinner Mohammad Hussain later snared two victims.Sialkot were led by former Pakistan batsman Ijaz Ahmed, who made a comeback to first-class cricket after an absence of six years, because Imran Nazir was called up to the ODI squad in South Africa. Sialkot had collected only 12 points from their previous three matches and are currently fifth in the seven-team table. Faisalabad exploited Peshawar’s dwindling form to their advantage, and dismissed them for 215 on the opening day at the Iqbal Stadium on Thursday. Faisalabad’s openers added 39 runs by stumps.Peshawar were rattled by fast bowlers Faisal Afridi and Asad Ali as they lost three wickets for 17 runs. Debutant Fawad Khan and Shoaib Khan then added 100 for the fourth wicket. Fawad scored 69 while Shoaib contributed 59. Later, captain Arshad Khan helped raise a score from 137 for 6 to 187.While Faisal, Asad and offspinner Saeed Ajmal took two wickets each, medium-pacer Tauqeer Hussain restricted Peshawar’s batsmen with figures of 4 for 47 from 12.4 overs.Faisalabad are currently at the bottom of the Gold League table with two defeats in three matches and no points to their credit. They desperately need to lift themselves in order to avoid relegation to next season’s Silver League circuit.Peshawar were displaced by Rawalpindi at the top of the points table in the previous round. They are still at second place with 18 points, but lost two successive matches after having started with wins in their first two appearances.Silver League
With nothing at stake for either team, 14 wickets fell on the opening day of the Silver League match between Quetta and Hyderabad at the Niaz Stadium on Thursday. Quetta bowled out Hyderabad for 193 after they had opted to bat first. By the close of play, Quetta had slipped to 91 for 4.But for wicketkeeper Hanif Malik’s 90 off 148 balls with 11 fours and a six, Hyderabad might have fallen for less than 100. Hanif, who made his highest score in first-class cricket, arrived with his team at 65 for 5 and lifted them to 193.While Quetta captain Faisal Irfan was hard working as usual with figures of 3 for 36, Zahoor Ahmed, a left-arm medium-pace bowler, captured 4 for 39.Opener Shoaib Khan was still at the crease on 47 in Quetta’s first innings. Hyderabad’s most successful bowler this season, Farhan Ayub picked up three of the wickets to fall.The Abbottabad pace attack bowled out Lahore Ravi for 162 at the Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) Ground on Thursday.Abbottabad won the toss and invited Lahore to bat first on a placid wicket and exploited it to put pressure on Lahore. At stumps, Abbottabad were in a sound position, having reached 89 for 1 in 35.2 overs. After the departure of Ahmad Said, who made 44 with eight fours off 88 balls, Mohammad Naeem was unbeaten on 30 and Wajid Ali on 5.Abbotabbad’s pace trio of captain Sajid Shah, Nasir Jalil and Junaid Khan captured three wickets each and ripped through Lahore’s innings in 55.3 overs. Lahore Ravi could not find any notable support from their key batsmen but number nine batsman Wasim Khan shone with a fighting half-century.Wasim gave some respectability to the total with a solid knock that included one six and eight fours after Ali Azmat made 24 and Adnan Raza contributed 23. Six of Lahore’s batsmen failed to reach double figures.Abbottabad, with 12 points from their previous four matches, still have an outside chance to nose ahead of Multan into the Silver League, in case they gain an outright win against Lahore Ravi.Azhar Mahmood century boosted Islamabad to 314 against Multan on the opening day at the Diamond Club Ground on Thursday.Azhar Mahmood’s 105 off 183 balls with 14 fours, was the seventh hundred of his 142-match first-class career, but the remainder of his team didn’t do too well. Bilal Asad and debutant Asadullah Sumari chipped in with 49.Azhar’s fifth-wicket partnership with Asadullah produced 112 runs. Opener Atif Ashraf was injured early on and had to retire hurt. He resumed later in the innings and remained unbeaten with 20 runs. For Multan, pace bowler Abdul Rauf took 3 for 63 from 18 overs.By the draw of stumps, Multan had lost one wicket in for 26 in eight overs. Opener Usman Tariq has retired hurt without having opening his account.With the full 36 points from their previous four matches, Islamabad have already qualified for the Silver League final, scheduled to be played from February 7. Multan, second in the table with 21 points, appear the team most likely to be in that match alongside Islamabad. The winners of the Silver League competition will be promoted to the Gold League circuit of the next season.

Michael Mason gets an opportunity after a string of injuries © Getty Images

An injury crisis and the retirement of Chris Cairns has forced the New Zealand selectors to pick an experimental line-up for the one-day series against West Indies starting next week. Cairns will play his final game for New Zealand in the Twenty20 international at Auckland on Thursday, and while the top order borders on being settled for the opening two contests the bowling stocks are less impressive.”There are some issues around selecting allrounders of international quality,” John Bracewell, the coach, said. “Michael Mason is currently the best line-and-length bowler in the country. With the gap left by injuries to Kyle Mills, Andre Adams and Jacob Oram, he has a real opportunity to prove himself at international level.” Mason has played one Test and five one-day internationals, but his last appearance for New Zealand was in 2004.Mills is suffering from a groin strain and was not considered, Oram is missing as he recovers from a bruised heel and Adams has a fractured hand. Bracewell said Mills was returning to club cricket this weekend and would play a State Championship match before the squad for the final three matches is selected.”With a return to form of many players at domestic level there was fierce competition for top-order batsmen,” Bracewell said. “It was very much a case of deciding who to leave out rather than who to select.” The first ODI is at Wellington on February 18 followed by a game four days later at Queenstown.New Zealand Stephen Fleming (capt), Nathan Astle, Lou Vincent, Hamish Marshall, Scott Styris, Peter Fulton, Jamie How, Brendon McCullum (wk), Daniel Vettori, Jeetan Patel, James Franklin, Michael Mason, Shane Bond.

Jagmohan Dalmiya is keen to see India host the World Cup© AFP

India are seeking tax exemption from the government in a bid to host the 2011 World Cup. “We are planning to host the World Cup in 2011, but we can go ahead only if we get the nod on tax exemption,” Jagmohan Dalmiya, the former BCCI and ICC president, was quoted as saying in , a Pakistan-based daily.India has been unable to host major ICC events in the recent past because of a government policy that refuses to waive tax on events held there. The ICC insists on a tax waiver, and it is this that stood in the way of India being allotted the Champions Trophy.Dalmiya made his comments after meetings with Sunil Dutt, India’s sports minister, and the ICC president Ehsan Mani in Delhi recently. He added: “The minister gave us a patient hearing and has promised to take up the matter with the concerned authorities.”The ICC is hoping for a positive response from the Indian government before March 17, when their executive board meets.

Andy Flower lofts the ball towards the hoarding and a $50,000 reward © Getty Images

Andy Flower’s winter in Australia proved more lucrative than expected when he collected a Aus$50,000 prize for hitting an ING advertising hoarding during South Australia’s ING Cup match against Western Australia. Flower sweptthe ball over midwicket to become the sixth player during the 12-year sponsorship to win the prize.In an impressive innings, his first at home for the Redbacks, Flower hit 74 off 73 deliveries, the winning six coming in the 45th over off WA’s Marcus North. Flower and youngster Mark Cosgrove (50 from 75 balls) put on 107 runs for the fifth-wicket from 121 balls to help SA to a solid total.But despite Flower’s personal success, it was a poor day for South Australia as they went down to a comprehensive seven-wicket defeat with Murray Goodwin (80) and Mike Hussey (84*) putting on an unbeaten 153 for the fourth wicket in 121 balls.In 2001-02 Hussey collected Aus $200,000 for hitting a simlar sign at Perth.

The match looked to be heading for a draw before a combination of decent spin bowling, woeful batting, sharp catching and a dash of misfortune all conspired to send Kenya tumbling to defeat in the first unofficial Test at P.Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo on Sunday.Kenya, on 31 for one overnight, still 91 runs in arrears after Sri Lanka A had scored 414 in their first innings, were bowled out for 150, leaving Sri Lanka’s openers with a 29 run target. The game was won with ten wickets to spare shortly after the luncheon interval.Steve Tikolo, arguably the best batsman to not be playing Test cricket at the moment, provided the only resistance with an entertaining 65 from 106 balls that included 10 boundaries.But when he was brilliantly caught by an airborne Tillakaratne Dilshan at backward point, Kenya betrayed their inexperience in the first class game, losing their last seven wickets for 39 runs.The day, which had begun early to make up for time lost on the second afternoon, started with an early wicket as left-arm fast bowler Ruchira Perera trapped Ravindu Shah (19) lbw.Thereafter it was the spinners that did the damage, but not before Tikolo and Kenyan skipper Maurice Odumbe had laid the foundations for a game saving partnership. The pair added 38 runs and looked comfortable at the crease.But they were separated when Odumbe was fingered by umpire T.H. Wijewardene as he went onto the back foot to an off-break from Muthumudalige Pushpakumara (77 for three).Pushpakumara went onto to take four wickets in the innings, but it was leg-spinner Upul Chandana who then took the crucial wicket of Tikolo (111 for four).With Tikolo back in the dressing room the innings went into freefall: Thomas Odoyo was caught behind off Chandana; Pushpakumara bowled Hitesh Modi after an ugly heave across the line; AO Suji gifted Dilshan a wicket with his part-time off-breaks and Collins Obuya was unfortunate to be caught at short leg when he cracked a short ball into Chamara Silva’s armpit; Mohammad Sheikh was stumped and Martin Suji was last man out when he nibbled at a leg-spinner.Pushpakumara finished with four wickets for 43, whilst Chandana picked up three for 36.Sri Lanka A thus took a one-nil lead in the three-match series. The second game is to be played in Matara starting next Thursday.

Central Zone eased past South Zone by seven wickets on the opening dayof the CricInfo Rani Jhansi tournament for women in Chennai at theIntegral Coach Factory ground. After being put in to bat South hadstarted confidently and were eyeing a useful score at 108/3 in the31st over but the Central spinners led by Bindeshwari Goyal pulled therug from under them as South collapsed to 137 all out. Centralopeners, Bharati Varma and Priyanka Sailey then put on an openingwicket stand of 73 and although both were sent off in quicksuccession, Central still had enough firepower to end the contest withfourteen overs to spare. Central keeper Arundhati had a satisfyingday, snapping up five catches behind the stumps and stroking an unbeaten 27that included four boundaries.Amsavalli and Karuna Jain opened the batting for South and in thefourth over of the day Neetu Singh struck first blood for Central whenshe sent back Karuna for a duck. Harsha came in at one drop with thescore at 10/1 but there was poor coordination between the twobatswomen in their running between the wickets and almost inevitablythe stand ended in a run out, with Amsavalli the victim. EarlierHarsha had scored the first two boundaries of the innings in the 10thover bowled by Tara. She seemed to be in a belligerent mood when shewas stumped by the keeper off Preeti for 32 (49 balls, 3 fours), whichturned out to be the highest score for South.The sun had come out in full splendour belying the weather office’sgloomy predictions of morning showers. Sudha Rani and Vinita Violathen put on a significant if not entirely convincing stand of 48 forthe fourth wicket. But after Sudha was caught at long on for 29 whenshe stepped to the pitch and drove Bindeshwari , South suffered aninexplicable collapse. Vinita too departed at 119, bowled by Preetiand the last six wickets fell for 18 as the innings folded up for 137in the penultimate over. Bindeshwari Goyal was the most successfulbowler for Central with her nagging offbreaks claiming 3-26 in tenovers. She was well supported by fellow spinners Preeti Dudhe andVarsha Raphael with two wickets each.Facing an asking rate of 2.76, Central openers Bharti Varma andPriyanka Sailey began their reply on a strong footing. But GSLakshmi, the South captain, threw everything into a desperate effortto derail Central. She bowled a torrid but luckless first spell inwhich Bharati was dropped in the slips, the ball actually goingthrough the slip cordon for three runs. Priyanka was also notcomfortable with Lakshmi medium pace stuff and popped one justout of reach of forward short leg. When Lakshmi came off after a firstspell of 6-1-15-0, the openers breathed easy. Priyanka was the moreresourceful of the two as she kept stepping out and lofting to long onalthough the thickish grass in that region of the outfield preventedthe ball from going all the way.Bharati patience finally snapped when she tried to swing one fromoff spinner Nooshien Al Kabir into the depths of the on side and got atopedge which was swallowed by Harsha at point. She had made 26 andCentral were 73/1. Nooshien struck again in her very next over,rearranging Priyanka’s stumps but not before she had made the matchtop score of 36 (64 balls, 2 fours). Central’s No.3, Chitra Bajpai,who has appeared in India colours, summoned all her experience andstemmed the breach with some fluent hitting. Chitra was bowled at 132,when Central were within one scoring stroke of victory, but RahulSingh then delivered the finishing stroke with a boundary tomidwicket.