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Thomas Muller could make the kind of impact at Manchester United that Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic did, former star Louis Saha says.

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Muller linked with Man Utd move from BayernSaha backs German to make big impactSays he could be like Ronaldo and IbrahimovicWHAT HAPPENED?

United are reported to be interested in signing the 34-year-old forward from Bayern Munich as they look to enhance their attack under Erik ten Hag. Despite his age, ex-Red Devils star Saha believes he would be a big hit at the club, citing the examples of Ronaldo's second spell at Old Trafford and Ibrahimovic, who scored 29 goals in 53 games, as evidence.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesWHAT SAHA SAID

“He’s definitely a great leader that’s admired across the footballing world. He’s played for one of the world’s best clubs for many, many years and he’s achieved a lot at Bayern Munich," Saha told . "He may not be as quick or as clinical as [Robert] Lewandowski was for Bayern, but he’s such an accomplished forward and nobody can doubt his quality. He’s a very smart player that has bags of personality.

"He may be 34 years of age but he could still be an answer for Manchester United, even if it’s not going to be a long-term solution for Erik ten Hag. Not many players in the world have the mixture of personality and experience that Müller has. Similar to when Manchester United signed Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo. Those players had no doubts regarding their ability and quality and they’d be prepared to challenge anybody. They would challenge themselves and their team-mates. This is what we need. Every time those players went on the field for Manchester United, they had drive, they were confident and they had the courage to take the ball regardless of whether they were playing well or not. They didn’t shy away from their responsibilities."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Muller's contract at Bayern expires in 2024 but club president Herbert Hainer has said they want to sign him to an extension, insisting that the German giants want the World Cup winner to finish his career at the Allianz Arena.

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR UNITED?

The Red Devils will weigh up their options as they look to strengthen Ten Hag's squad in the transfer window next month. In the meantime, however, they will host Chelsea in the Premier League on Wednesday, followed by another home game against Bournemouth on Saturday.

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has urged his batsmen to make sharp improvements in their shot selection, ahead of the second Test in Colombo

Andrew Fidel Fernando24-Jun-20150:58

‘Boys have the talent, but not experience’ – Mathews

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has urged his batsmen to make sharp improvements in their shot selection, ahead of the second Test in Colombo. Sri Lanka had been bowled out for 206 in the third innings, which led to the loss in Galle. Though Sri Lanka were ostensibly attempting to save the match at that stage, three batsmen were out stumped, while two more were caught slog-sweeping to the leg-side fence.”We don’t want to mourn about the loss too much, but we will try and rectify what went wrong this game,” Mathews said. “We identified a few areas where we need to improve – especially the shot selection. We also discussed how to handle certain situations. It’s a learning curve for all of us. We don’t have Mahela Jayawardenes and Thilan Samaraweeras in the team. We need to stay calm and give opportunities to the youngsters and have faith in them.”Sri Lanka were largely undone by spin in Galle, having lost 15 of their 20 wickets to Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar and Mohammad Hafeez. Mathews said Sri Lanka would seek to unsettle the spinners by scoring regularly against them, echoing Kaushal Silva’s views on how the slow bowlers may be countered.”We just have to be positive. We can’t be negative against Yasir and Babar. We always have to look to score runs, not get bogged down against them, and that will give our bowlers a chance. Whether its Yasir, Zulfiqar, Wahab Riaz or Junaid Khan, we always look to score runs and we have plans for them.””It’s a different wicket from Galle but it will still turn. You never have a wicket in Sri Lanka that doesn’t turn four of five days. Yasir is a very good bowler and he lands it on the spot more often than not.”There remains some confusion over Kumar Sangakkara’s retirement, with the batsman not yet having shared definitive details of his career’s last phase. It is unlikely he will play the third Test against Pakistan. Mathews, though, said this uncertainty was not a distraction.”Kumar is still having discussions with selectors,” he said. “They have not come to a final decision on that. He’s earned the right to decide when and where to go. That is not a disturbance at all to the team. He has rendered a service that no one could do over the past 15 years. I don’t think the impact of the series or how it goes will make an impact on his decision.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the third ODI between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Sharjah

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando21-Dec-2013Match factsSunday, December 22
Start time 1500 (1100 GMT)Junaid Khan continues to impress for Pakistan•AFPBig PictureTwo matches into the series, there is little to pick between the sides. As clashes between these two often go, the cricket has been as entertaining as it has been tense. Both innings in the last match ebbed, flowed, stagnated and resurged. In the end, Angelo Mathews’ mettle was the difference.Two largely new trends have also emerged. Pakistan have been adept at constructing one-day innings. Since the new rules only allowing four men outside the 30-yard circle was introduced last year, teams have increasingly adopted circumspection early on, confident that boundaries would flow later on. Neither Pakistan nor Sri Lanka had been quick to embrace this strategy but, in this series so far, there have been extended periods when they have not pursued big shots.Given Pakistan have produced two centurions already and have put up commanding totals as a result, the shift in approach appears a fruitful one, for now.Sri Lanka have also discovered that they now bat deeper than they probably ever have in ODIs. Seekkuge Prasanna’s reintroduction has added dynamism to the lower-order batting and provided another potential pinch-hitter. Nuwan Kulasekara’s batting has also blossomed over the last 18 months, to the extent that he his nearing allrounder territory. And Sachithra Senanayake’s touch and temperament have been telling. Given even No. 11 Lasith Malinga has an ODI fifty, the seniors at the top of the order have had their burden eased.Again it was the bowling that let each captain down in the second match. Pakistan caught a huge break when they ran both Sri Lanka’s opening batsmen out but their spinners could not consolidate that position as well as Misbah-ul-Haq might have hoped. If it wasn’t for Junaid Khan’s intensity through the middle overs, Sri Lanka would have chased the biggest total ever at the stadium with ease.Sri Lanka were perhaps even more toothless with the ball. There was not much turn off the surface, but even their top spin bowler, Senanayake, bowled most of his overs around the wicket – which turned out to be a decent way to keep the boundaries down, but did not create chances. Given it is a discipline that both teams pride themselves on in ODIs, coaches and team management will search for quick solutions before their attacks deteriorate further.Form guide (last five completed matches, most recent first)

Pakistan: LWLWW


Sri Lanka: WLWLW
In the spotlightGiven Nuwan Kulasekara’s contributions to Friday’s victory, the decision to drop him for the Sharjah ODI seems even more boneheaded. For the past year he has been more valuable to the team than Lasith Malinga. Not only is he more consistent, he is secure in the field (two World Cup finals drops aside), and one of the cleanest hitters in the team once he gets his eye in. He was far from his accurate best in the opening overs of the last match but the inswing he induced prompted caution from the opposition and he was decent towards the death as well. He will hope team management does not lapse into flawed logic again, as the action returns to Sharjah.Forget Pakistan, Junaid Khan is one of the finest fast-bowling talents anywhere. At a time when ODI totals are increasing and bowlers are having their figures drummed into the dirt, Junaid averages 22.93 after 39 matches – a far superior average to Dale Steyn, James Anderson and Stuart Broad, for instance. He bowled a series of cracking balls in an already terrific spell to waylay Sri Lanka’s middle order on Friday, but the men around him in the attack could not provide adequate support. If he can maintain his rhythm for the remainder of the series and into the Tests, he will improve his already burgeoning reputation.Pitch and conditionsSri Lanka have been fearful of bowling second so far in the series, because they have expected dew to form. While it did hamper them in the Twenty20s, it has not so far been a major issue in the ODIs.Team newsSohail Tanvir has been mediocre in the last two matches, and Pakistan may consider bringing in Anwar Ali as a replacement. They are almost certain to leave the firing top order untouched.Pakistan (probable): 1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Sharjeel Khan, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Sohaib Maqsood, 5 Misbah ul Haq (capt), 6 Umar Akmal (wk), 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Bilawal Bhatti, 9 Sohail Tanvir/Anwar Ali, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Junaid KhanLahiru Thirimanne’s sprained right ankle will definitely rule him out of Sunday’s match, but Thisara Perera and Mathews have recovered sufficiently from the niggles that ailed them. Dimuth Karunaratne could again take Thirimanne’s spot, but there are two other youngsters – Ashan Priyanjan and Kithuruwan Vithanage, who may also be in the reckoning.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Kusal Perera 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Angelo Mathews (capt), 6 Dimuth Karunaratne/Ashan Priyanjan/Kithuruwan Vithanage, 7 Thisara Perera 8 Seekkuge Prasanna, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Sachithra Senanayake, 11 Lasith MalingaStats and triviaKulasekara has eight more wickets than Malinga this year, at an average of 25.33 to Malinga’s 30.02. Kulasekara’s economy rate is also significantly better at 4.64 to Malinga’s 5.34. Junaid has taken three wickets in each of his last four limited-overs internationals – three ODIs and a Twenty20.Quotes”It was good to see our top order getting big scores – that has been much needed for our team. It’s normally the biggest problem for us, but I’m really happy with the way it’s been going.”

“Against Pakistan, the game is never over – you have to fight till the last ball is bowled, and we did that. With the bowling attack that Pakistan have, we have to fight all the time and we have to stay positive. We can’t give the chance, because they will knock us down.”

A blistering 85-run opening stand between Imran Nazir and Ahmed Shehzad and a cool finish from Angelo Mathews helped Nagenahira Nagas overhaul Kandurata Warriors’ 159 for 7 in the final over

Andrew Fernando at the R Premadasa Stadium13-Aug-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThisara Perera clobbered 72 off 33 balls and yet ended up on the losing side•Ron Gaunt/SPORTZPICS/SLPLA blistering 85-run opening stand between Imran Nazir and Ahmed Shehzad and a cool finish from Angelo Mathews trumped perhaps the innings of the tournament so far, from Thisara Perera, as Nagenahira Nagas overhauled Kandurata Warriors’ 159 for 7 in the final over. Nazir blasted five sixes and four fours in his half-century, and left his side needing just 75 from 68 at his dismissal – a task Mathews ensured never got out of hand.Fleet of foot was the key to Nazir’s success, as he routinely skipped down the track to change the lengths of both the spinners and the quick men, as well as backing away in his crease on occasion to line up the extra cover fence. Sohail Tanvir’s second over cost 20, as both Nazir and Shehzad took full toll of some hittable lengths, before the next over, from Perera, disappeared for 15 to get Nagenahira well ahead of the required rate.Kaushal Lokuarachchi beat Nazir in the flight in consecutive deliveries when the batsman was on 41, only for the wicketkeeper Kaushal Silva to fluff both straightforward stumping attempts, losing sight of the ball as it passed between bat and pad. Shehzad had been dropped on the boundary earlier too, and the mistakes continued to stack up for Kandurata, who bled at least 15 more runs through misfields alone, leaving aside the runs they might have saved had those chances been taken. When Mathews arrived at 110 for 2 from 12.3 overs, he showed off his improving knack for finishing innings by calmly taking his side over the line to make it two wins from two.In the Kandurata innings, Perera arrived at the crease with his side stagnating at 61 for 4 from 10.5 overs, and though he took seven balls to get going in earnest, when the explosion came, it was dramatic and effective. A towering six over midwicket, followed by a scorching boundary to the same area set the tone for his assault; the Nagenahira bowlers would continue to offer him length throughout the innings, and he rarely missed an opportunity to pepper his favourite midwicket boundary. Amid the heaves to cow corner there were clobbered fours down the ground and to third man as well, but few balls cramped him for space or posed a genuine threat to his technique. When he fell at 149 for 6, he had contributed 72 of the 88 runs scored during his stay. In the end, Kandurata’s total wasn’t enough to challenge their opponents.

The president of the Guyana Cricket Board, Ramsay Ali, has resigned after police and court officials raided his home, and the homes of other board officials

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Feb-2012The president of the Guyana Cricket Board, Ramsay Ali, has resigned after police and court officials raided his home, and the homes of other board officials. The raids were the latest development in an ongoing impasse between the GCB and the Guyana government.Ali said the court officials seized financial documents and other papers from his office and home, and from the homes of board secretary Anand Senasie, former president Chetram Singh, and another trustee, Lionel Jaikarran.Guyana’s assistant police commissioner Seelall Persaud confirmed the raids had occurred on Monday, February 27. “Police were there only to ensure peace was kept,” he told .The conflict between the GCB and the Guyana government began when the Guyanese government dissolved the GCB due to a dispute over its July 2011 elections. The elections, in which Ali became president, were boycotted by some of the board’s constituent members, one of which, the Berbice Cricket Board, took the GCB to court, claiming the new administration was not properly established. The Chief Justice recommended that “there may be immediate need for the minister responsible for sports to impose his executive will in the national interest.”Following that ruling, Guyanese sports minister Dr Frank Anthony appointed an Interim Management Committee, headed by ex-West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, to run cricket in Guyana. The WICB, however, refused to acknowledge the IMC, in keeping with the ICC’s stance against government intervention in cricket administration, and said the only authority it would recognise was the GCB. The impasse has led to several problems, including Guyana nearly missing the Caribbean T20, the shifting of a West Indies-Australia Test from Providence to Dominica and the resignation of Lloyd as a non-member director of the WICB.The officials of the GCB have had to endure being locked out of their offices, in January this year, and having now had their homes invaded, the president has decided to resign.Edited by Dustin Silgardo

Young cricketers from England and Australia will take important steps towards their career development when the two sides meet on the opening day of the ninth Under-19 World Cup

George Binoy in Brisbane10-Aug-2012At the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia, James Taylor was like every other kid. He’d be seen around the Sunway Hotel, watching the ice-skaters on the rink and spending time on his iTouch at Starbucks in his free time. Last week, Taylor was seen making his Test debut against South Africa at Headingley, and he held his own against the world’s fastest bowlers. He is the second from the England Under-19 batch of 2008, after Steven Finn, to make it to Test cricket, a timely reminder for his juniors of the possibilities ahead as they prepare to open the 2012 World Cup in Townsville.England’s first opponents are the hosts, Australia, who have blooded more young cricketers at international level in recent years than they did in the past. From the squad that went to the 2010 Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Marsh have had a morsel of senior limited-overs cricket.In both these teams, however, you’d have to be prodigiously gifted like Ricky Ponting, or have the tenacity to perform when talent meets opportunity like Alastair Cook did, to convert a young debut into a lasting career. Taylor and Finn got where they are now through the grind.”Our aspirations for our players are that they go into first-class cricket, quite a few of the boys have played first-class cricket, then to supply the Emerging Player Programme,” Tim Boon, the England coach, said. “They then go on to the Lions … so by the time they’re 24-25 they’re knocking on the England door. There’s no direct pathway through. All these players have got to go and earn their stripes. They’ve got to go and perform in county cricket. The great thing is there’s a big queue developing.”Stuart Law, who played the first youth World Cup in 1988 and would have had many more than the one Test cap had he been in most other Australian eras, is the coach of their Under-19 side. He too said his players would have to go through the club and state route, but also that there were more opportunities for bolters at this time in Australian cricket.”When the likes of Darren Lehmann and myself were playing, there were about 15 guys who could have played Test cricket who weren’t even in the Australian team,” Law said. “[Australia] haven’t quite got that now. It has changed. Young kids are getting an opportunity earlier, which may not be the greatest thing for Australian cricket, but some kids, you throw them in the deep end and if they start swimming, you’ve found a couple of winners.”If any of these guys have a real good tournament, obviously their home states will sit up and take notice and they’ll start being let through. But it’s not just about performing well here, they’ve got to go back to their club sides and start the season well.”The Under-19 World Cup is an opportunity for a head start. Performance here could catch the eye of Australia’s National Talent Manager, Greg Chappell, who’s travelling with the team, and that could mean quicker access to an elite training environment, which in turn could widen the gap between the selected player and those he’s outrun.While several countries want for adequate youth programmes, England’s Under-19 cricketers, Boon said, were fortunate to be part of a fully integrated body, with players at higher levels keen to help those below them. “In December last year we went to South Africa. We had six international England bowlers – [James] Anderson, [Stuart] Broad, [Chris] Tremlett etc – and six Lions bowlers wanting to bowl at our Under-19s. They were there on a training camp,” he said. “That stood the lads in good stead. Our bowlers partnered with Broad and those guys, and the batters were able to face high-class internationals and tap into their experience. It was daunting and very rewarding.”A common yet significant problem several teams face at the World Cup is adjusting quickly to the unknown: strange conditions and unfamiliar playing styles. To aid their development in this regard, England toured Bangladesh and also visited Townsville for a quadrangular series in April 2012. Their results weren’t too hot: losing 5-2 in Bangladesh, and losing the semi-final of the quadrangular after winning all three league matches. They had also lost a home series to South Africa (2-4) and an away series to Sri Lanka (1-3) in 2011.”Our aims are to challenge the players under pressure, to give them really intense periods of cricket. We look at skill learning and then and testing those skills. In doing that we go to places like Bangladesh. It was very tough, very different,” Boon says of the experience. “The lads played against spinners they’ve never seen before. [They were exposed to a] different lifestyle and culture, that was also really important. It’s about grooming their skills so that they can stand independently, without a coach overlooking them.”

At this age, you need to play, the more you play the better it is. They’ve got to live the game to understand what they can do and can’t do in games of cricket.Stuart Law, Australia Under-19 coach

If World Cup warm-up results are any indication, England have adjusted quickly after arriving in Australia a week ago. They beat Pakistan, a perennially strong Under-19 side, before brushing aside Zimbabwe.Australia, on the other hand, had mixed results in the warm-ups, losing to West Indies and then thumping Scotland. They had a tough workout in the weeks leading up to those matches, losing a series to Pakistan 2-1 in Gold Coast. And in the quadrangular in India in September 2011, they had won two out of seven matches, while in the quadrangular at home in April 2012, they won three out of five games.Law, who’s been with the team for only five weeks, said that all match practice at this level was immensely beneficial. “We haven’t played together a hell of a lot. We played Pakistan in a three-match series down the coast, and you can see they have been playing together for quite a while,” he said. “At this age, you need to play, the more you play the better it is. They’ve got to live the game to understand what they can do and can’t do in games of cricket.”On Saturday, both these teams will be living and learning in the most momentous match of their lives. Win, and the chances of topping a group that includes Ireland and Nepal are significantly higher.

Graham Onions removed Andrew Strauss for a duck but Neil Dexter led a Middlesex fightback at Lord’s

Jon Culley at Lord's20-Apr-2012
ScorecardGraham Onions made the most of helpful conditions•Getty ImagesNaturally, the focus of most attention here was Andrew Strauss, a captain in need of runs, even in his own analysis. Yet his failure overshadowed the success of the other captain who finds himself in the same rocky boat.Unlike Strauss, Neil Dexter was not out second ball. Indeed he was not out at all, even though he had some luck, and to be unbeaten on 65 at the end of a perilous, if abbreviated day for batting was as much a triumph of note as Strauss’s short innings was a headline-making misfortune.Given that the England captain appeared and disappeared while many in the ground were not settled in their vantage points, the details need not be lingered over for long. As Graham Onions steamed in with intent from the Pavilion End he shouldered arms to the first ball, wisely enough, but the second gave him no such option, swinging in the air and then nipping back off the pitch to beat the left-hander’s tentative push and connect with the top part of off stump.It doesn’t matter that much for Strauss. Weather permitting, he will have five more chances to score some Championship runs before the first Test against the West Indies. It would be a surprise if he did not make the most of one of them at least, but you suspect in any event that he would need to register six noughts for the possibility of dropping him even to be considered.It might matter more for Onions, who is anxious to make it as difficult as possible for the England selectors to ignore him, even though it would probably take an injury to one of the incumbents for him to win back his place. Under the watchful eye of David Saker, the England bowling coach, he took the wickets of Joe Denly and Dawid Malan as well as Strauss.He places himself at about sixth in the pecking order currently, having gone to the UAE as cover for the Pakistan series. “But fast bowlers get injured, they can struggle for fitness and form as well so I just have to make sure I’m ready and bowling as well as I can,” he said. “I ran in quite nicely today and it was fun, I enjoyed it.”Onions, who took five wickets here on his Test debut in 2009, against the West Indies, might still be in command of a place but for the career-threatening back injury he suffered the following year. He stresses, however, that there is no lasting weakness. “I’ve been bowling for the last 18 months and I don’t think about it,” he said.He admitted that it was a helpful pitch but the ball that did for Strauss would have been a peach on any conditions. “It was a decent ball,” he admitted. “It swung a little and nipped back. Andrew is a great player and it was good for me and the team to get him out so early.”Worse was to follow for the home side. Denly was lured to play at a ball that left him at the end of Onions’s third over, edging to first slip, and from the first ball of the next, from Callum Thorp, Sam Robson unwisely went after a widish delivery and nicked to second, at which point Middlesex were 2 for 3.Mitch Claydon dismissed Chris Rogers, the temporary captain, with his first ball at the Pavilion End as Onions took a breather, further reducing them to 28 for 4.Rogers has the reins for the moment because Dexter, with single figure scores in seven Championship innings before this one, wants to focus on his batting without the distractions of captaincy, for which reason he will sleep much more easily.Conditions never became much easier, even in the brief sunny interludes, but after a scratchy start, during which he probably should have been out for 4 when Thorp, in the gully, failed to cling on to a chance off Ben Stokes, he even began to play some shots and even look confident.There was another chance, on 20, when Stokes, at backward point, got a hand to a hard outside edge off Claydon, but it would have been a very good catch and the luck, on that occasion, was deserved.When he reached 50 it was for the first time in the Championship since May last year. He lost a partner when Onions produced another gem to find the edge of Malan’s bat, but their partnership added 55 for the fourth wicket and another 49 have gone on to the total since, with John Simpson steady at one end as Dexter raised his boundary count to 13.The weather may preclude a result in the end but any score above 200 for Middlesex will help team morale, even though it may leave Strauss alone with his thoughts.

A round-up of the fourth day’s play of the eighth-round Group B games of the Ranji Trophy 2013-14

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Dec-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Suresh Raina scored 82, but will wonder if he waited too long before declaring UP’s innings•Associated PressAllrounder Karn Sharma’s maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket helped Railways beat Services by 37 runs in Delhi and secure his team’s place in the knockout stages.Railways had conceded a 46-run lead to Services in the first innings, but their captain, Murali Kartik, timed the declaration to perfection, despite Mahesh Rawat being eight runs away from his century. They set Services a target of 236 in two and a half sessions, and picked up the last wicket in the nick of time to rise to the top of the Group B table.Services’ chase was hampered by wickets at regular intervals from Karn, who finished with 5 for 50. Pratik Desai was the only batsman who offered some resistance, scoring 100, and no one else else made more than 29. Services eventually folded for 200 inside 77 overs.The loss means that Services will need to win their last league match against Saurashtra to avoid relegation to Group C.
ScorecardThe loss of the second day’s play due to fog might come back to haunt Uttar Pradesh, who were left three wickets short of beating Madhya Pradesh in Kanpur. UP moved to 23 points courtesy their first-innings lead, but that tally didn’t quite seal a quarterfinal berth.UP will need to beat Railways or get the lead in their final group match to be safe. If they lose, they will have to hope that the Tamil Nadu-Bengal game is drawn. If not, they will need Baroda to take no more than one point against Rajasthan.MP were 85 for 6 when Imtiaz Ahmed bowled Anand Bais. Victory looked imminent but Shubham Sharma and Salman Baig frustrated them for 14 overs during a seventh-wicket partnership of 21. Piyush Chawla finally bowled Shubham for a 48-ball 5, but MP were by no means done, as Baig and Anurag Singh put on an unbroken 34 for the eighth wicket and saw out the last 17.5 overs of the day.UP will also reflect on the timing of their declaration. They batted for 28.2 overs in the morning, and finished at 178 for 5 to set MP a target of 314. MP came nowhere near that, and finished at 140 for seven.
ScorecardTamil Nadu and Rajasthan played out a draw in Chennai – a result that did no favours to either team. Both now need to win their final games and hope for other results to go their way to stand any chance of qualifying for the quarterfinals.Rajasthan batted out nearly 47 overs on the final day, with fifties from Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Ashok Menaria and Rajesh Bishnoi propelling the team to 438 and securing a first-innings lead of 120. Rahil Shah and Malolan Rangarajan picked up three wickets apiece for Tamil Nadu.With the game already all but drawn, Tamil Nadu’s openers Baba Aparajith and Arun Karthik added 76 from 28 overs.

Group B table

Railways 7 3 0 0 4 0 27 1.157 2685/93 2496/100 Uttar Pradesh 7 2 1 0 4 0 23 1.177 3143/95 2924/104 Baroda 7 3 3 0 0 1 20 1.045 2528/108 2127/95 Tamil Nadu 7 1 0 0 6 0 18 1.170 3055/73 2790/78 Bengal 7 1 0 0 5 1 18 1.040 2600/81 2501/81 Saurashtra 7 1 1 0 5 0 16 1.262 3453/77 3446/97 Rajasthan 7 1 2 0 4 0 14 0.884 2991/104 3124/96 Madhya Pradesh 8 0 2 0 6 0 12 0.895 3602/113 3812/107 Services 7 0 3 0 4 0 6 0.645 2468/103 3305/89

Ottis Gibson is looking forward to returning to Wales with his West Indies team during the Champions Trophy with fond memories of his time there for Glamorgan

ESPNcricinfo staff02-May-2013Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, is looking forward to returning to Wales with his West Indies team during the Champions Trophy, for what could be a group decider against South Africa, holding fond memories of his time there for Glamorgan.Gibson played for the county from 1994 to 1996 and remembers the support he received from crowds that have “passion and love” for the sport and hopes that can be replicated on June 14.West Indies play their opening two matches at The Oval in London, against Pakistan and India, where they will like to think they can latch onto the Caribbean community which used to support the team in force during their heydays of the 1980s but the fans have been a far smaller presence in recent years with the side struggling.However, the Welsh public have had few chances to see West Indies in their backyard – they have only played a single ODI, against New Zealand, in 2004 – and Gibson has asked them for a strong display of support.”I played for Glamorgan in the early stages of my cricket career and people welcomed me into the county. It was a really good time and the people of Wales were nice and good to me,” he said. “The people there are very passionate about their team. I believe if we can get there early and get the support of the locals that would be great for us”I had many highlights from my time there; I got over 60 wickets and made 700 runs in my debut season, so that was a very good start to my county cricket career in the UK. I had a very good time and great experience.”When I was at Glamorgan, we also had amazing support when we played around the county circuit and at Cardiff Wales Stadium and I know that support has continued over the years. It’s a wonderful place for sports and you always feel the passion and love for sports over there.”However, Gibson’s first priority will be to ensure his team still have a chance of progressing to the semi-finals when they reach Cardiff. October’s Twenty20 success gave the long-suffering fans in the Caribbean a moment to savour, but Gibson knows it is vital the team build on that especially with a World Cup to follow in 2015.”This is a good opportunity for us as a one-day team to see where we are compared to the other guys. This tournament format is similar to how the World Cup is going to be – you have to get out of the group stage to advance to the second phase.”We hope the success and the experience we had in Sri Lanka will help everybody to stay calm when the pressure is on. We believe we can win these big tournaments. So, this is something that we are really looking forward to.”

Leicestershire have had their plans for the new season shaken up by Ramnaresh Sarwan’s recall to the West Indies squad and they will seek to clarify his availability for next season.

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2013Leicestershire have had their plans for the new season shaken up by Ramnaresh Sarwan’s recall to the West Indies squad and they will seek to clarify his availability.Sarwan had seemingly turned his back on West Indies, claiming he had been “mentally and emotionally” hurt by the coaching staff, when he signed a two-year extension to his stay at Grace Road which began last summer. He was then appointed captain of the County Championship side for 2013 in place of Matthew Hoggard.But he was recalled to the West Indies squad for the one-day series against Australia which begins on February 1, suggesting Sarwan could be part of West Indies’ future series against Zimbabwe in March and India and Sri Lanka following the Champions Trophy.”We will be making contact with Ramnaresh to see where this might lead to,” Leicestershire head coach Phil Whitticase said. “At this moment, the question of how it might affect us during the season is a bit unanswerable.”We are really pleased for him because we know that he has been striving to play for the West Indies again. He still has that passion and drive and we want all our players to play at the highest level. From our point of view, it does leave us a bit vulnerable and looking to come up with a Plan B.”Sarwan had an excellent summer for Leicestershire, helping them avoided consecutive wooden spoons in the Championship with 941 runs at 40.91. He also struck two centuries in the CB40.But he will now add to his 173 ODIs in which he has scored 5,644 runs at 43.41. Although he has endured a poor run of recent form in the Caribbean T20 with a highest score of 19 in seven matches for Guyana.