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The 2007-08 Premier League got off to a sensational start when defending champions Colombo Cricket Club were beaten inside two days by Moors SC in a low-scoring game played at Braybrooke Place. Seventeen wickets fell on the opening day of the match and another 19 on the second as Moors wrapped up the contest to win by four wickets. The low scores might suggest that the pitch was at least partly to blame, but Sumithra Warnakulasuriya, the Colombo coach, disagreed. “I don’t blame the wicket but our batsmen for batting so irresponsibly,” he said. “There was a little grass but the nature of the wicket was not the reason to be bowled out for such low scores.”What was most disappointing was that we were at full strength with national players Michael Vandort, Chamara Kapugedera and Jehan Mubarak and could not make 150 on both occasions.”Colombo were shot out for 149 and 147, falling to the left-arm spin of Rangana Herath who took nine wickets in the match.”There was a lack of temperament from our batsmen,” Warnakulasuriya said, “and I fear that some of them are not so committed when it comes to playing for their club.”Sajith Fernando was Tamil Union’s saviour, scoring an undefeated 142 to stave off certain defeat against Nondescripts CC at the Saravanamuttu Stadium. Set an unlikely 409 for victory, Tamil Union were greatly indebted to Fernando. Batting at No.3, Fernando battled through 114 overs as Tamil Union clung on to deny Nondescripts the win. Fernando’s match-saving innings overshadowed Chanaka Wijesinghe’s knock of 250 – the first double-hundred of the season.Nuwan Kulasekera, the Colts fast bowler, celebrated his recall to the national team for the tour of Australia by bowling his side to victory over Bloomfield on their home ground. Set 187 to win, Bloomfield fell short by 29 runs as Kulasekera grabbed 7 for 27.In another close game Badureliya CC stunned Chilaw Marians, winning by 19 runs at Badureliya Sports Club. Chasing 322, Marians were dismissed for 302 despite a century from Harsha Cooray. Dinusha Fernando took 5 for 69 for Badureliya.Sinhalese Sports Club completed a 240-run win over Ragama CC in the other Tier A match at the SSC, with Sachithra Senanayake, the offspinner, picking up 5 for 50 to prevent Ragama chasing a daunting 482.Player of the Week
It is not often that you find a batsman making a double-century in the opening round of a tournament, but that’s exactly what Chanaka Wijesinghe achieved for Nondescripts. In their first innings of 194, he top-scored with 61 not out and, after Nondescripts had conceded a first-innings lead of 31, he gave them an outside chance of victory by compiling 250 off 307 balls in the second innings. That NCC failed to achieve victory (falling short by one wicket) could not be blamed on him. Wijesinghe, 25 who hails from Kandy has been around for some time representing Kandy Youth CC, Ragama CC and Moors SC before coming to NCC.”What is so striking about Chanaka’s batting is that he has tightened his defence and is prepared to wait for the loose balls to make runs,” Ranjith Fernando, the former Sri Lanka batsman, said. “If Chanaka can show a degree of consistency during the season with his batting and make some really big innings it will be rather difficult for the selectors not to have a closer look at him.” Wijesinghe’s previous highest score in 39 first-class matches was 146.

Ricky Ponting: “The fort is there to keep people in inside, but it’s also to keep people outside” © Getty Images

Australia have used an 18th-century St Vincent fort as the stage for a crucial pre-tournament team meeting. Before heading to the opening ceremony in Jamaica, the Australians spoke about togetherness and how it would be important during their campaign for a third consecutive trophy.”We really used the fort, and what a fort is,” Ponting said in the Herald Sun. “The fort is there to keep people in inside, but it’s also to keep people outside.”We had a good discussion about that, things we want kept out and things we want kept in among the group. Every player sat down and gave a couple of examples of both.”While the chat at Fort Charlotte was a success, the players were not happy at being unable to practice in the nets over the weekend due to travel and the opening ceremony. On Monday Australia arrived in St Kitts, which is their base for the next two weeks, and they will have only one training session before the opening game against Scotland on Wednesday.”You would like to have a bit more time in the country where you are playing your first game before your first game,” Ponting said. “But that’s not the way it is. It’s not the way it is in professional cricket these days anyway.”

Allan Wise is back for the Bushrangers © Getty Images

Allan Wise, the fast bowler, has been added to the Victoria squad for the Pura Cup match against Tasmania at St Kilda starting on Monday as the Bushrangers attempt to extend their lead. Victoria have three homes games in their run into the final and they still hold some hope of adding Mick Lewis to the final side.Lewis has replaced Glenn McGrath in the VB Series finals squad and if Australia win the contest in two matches the national players may be released to their states for next week’s games. Wise, who has played five Pura Cup fixtures and taken 23 wickets this season, is the only addition to the line-up that beat South Australia by seven wickets last week.Cameron White, the captain, has been pleased with Victoria’s recent form, but he knows they have to gain rewards from their remaining matches to retain their two-point buffer. “We’ve worked hard in recent games, but need to continue putting in strong performances to give ourselves the best possible chance of making the final,” he said. Queensland are second on 22 points with New South Wales and South Australia third on 20.Tasmania, who are last on eight points, have named their squad and Dan Marsh will again captain the side after returning from injury in the loss to Western Australia last week.Tasmania David Dawson, Michael Di Venuto, Michael Bevan, George Bailey, Travis Birt, Dan Marsh (capt), Sean Clingeleffer (wk), Xavier Doherty, Adam Griffith, Brett Geeves, Brendan Drew, Ben Hilfenhaus.Victoria Lloyd Mash, Jason Arnberger, Brad Hodge, Nick Jewell, David Hussey, Jon Moss, Cameron White (capt), Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Shane Warne, Shane Harwood, Gerard Denton, Allan Wise, Mick Lewis.

Harbhajan Singh: ‘I would like to watch him score over 350 again in a Test – just not against us’© Getty Images

Harbhajan Singh, the Indian offspinner, has taken credit for triggering Matthew Hayden’s batting slump while maintaining that the cricketing world has missed Hayden’s attacking batting this season. Hayden, who was dropped for the first final of the VB Series, has averaged 14.28 in his last seven one-dayers and only 10.5 in the VB Series.”I am disappointed because I love watching him against other teams,” Harbhajan told . “We had very good plans against him, about where to place our fielders and how to bowl to him and we were successful, but I do miss watching him bat now.”Hayden, who was expected to dominate the series like he had in 2001 with a staggering average of 109.8, managed just 244 runs at an average of 30.5 in the four Tests. Harbhajan dismissed him three times in the series, including luring him into the sweep-trap in the first Test at Bangalore. “He is a stroke-player, and we tried to take away his boundary shots. I bowled to him a lot of the time. We all learned our lesson from his last tour here. But now I am disappointed because he is one of the best batsmen I have ever bowled to, and you love watching someone like that in good form – when it’s not against you.”Harbhajan also felt that other teams had taken India’s cue and learnt to tackle Hayden effectively. “Maybe those teams watched us and have their own plans against him now,” Harbhajan continued. “Now maybe everyone knows where to bowl to him. But at the end of the day, he is a great player and I hope he comes out of this stronger. I would like to watch him score over 350 again in a Test – just not against us.”

South Africa have named a 14-member squad for Under-19 World Cup hosted by Bangladesh.”We are confident that this is an opportunity for us to showcase the talents of our players,” Gerald Majola, head of the South African cricket board, said. “I trust the cricketers will use this tournament as the springboard from junior to senior cricket. This could be the beginning of a career in which the sky is the limit for the committed.”South Africa have been placed alongside England, Nepal and Uganda in Group B. The finals of the tournament will be held on March 6.South Africa under-19 squad 1 Divan van Wyk (capt), 2 Vernon Philander, 3 Keagan Africa, 4 Craig Alexander, 5 Andrew Birch, 6 Jaco Booysen, 7 Clint Bowyer, 8 Francis Nkuna, 9 Vincenzo Pennazza, 10 Waylain September, 11 Mpumelelo Silwana, 12 Godfrey Stevens, 13 Roelof van der Merwe, 14 Vaughn van Jaarsveld
Shaheed Khan (manager), Russell Domingo (coach), Lawrence Mahatlane (assistant coach), Brandon Jackson (physiotherapist), Anton Ferreira (technical advisor)

An unbeaten century by opener Ghulam Ali helped Karachi Whites end their eight-year title drought in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Grade-I cricket Championship with an emphatic eight-wicket victory over Peshawar at National Stadium Monday.Far from expectations of a tense finish at the start of the penultimate day of the five-day final, Karachi Whites cruised to their fourth crown – first since they completed a hat trick of titles in 1992-93 – 24 minutes before the tea break by reaching 254 for two.Whites, runners-up six times in the past eight seasons, made up for their disappointment in last year’s thrilling final at the same venue when Lahore Blues defeated them by one wicket.Moin Khan, the Whites captain, collected the coveted trophy and the winners’ prize of Rs 100,000 on behalf of his elated team-mates from former Test batsman Waqar Hasan, who was the chief guest on the occasion. His Peshawar counterpart, Arshad Khan had to be content with the runners-up trophy and a cash award of Rs 50,000.Ghulam, the ex-international 35-year-old right-hander, led the way with an unbeaten 113 – his 19th first-class hundred – off 195 deliveries to guide his side home in the match-winning 148-run partnership in 139 minutes with young Saeed bin Nasir.Appropriately, Ghulam stroked the winning runs with a lovely cover-driven boundary off occasional spinner Wajahatullah Wasti. Saeed finished with 66 not out with the aid of eight fours while facing 120 balls. His senior partner, Ghulam struck 14 fours and twice lifted off-spinner Arshad Khan for huge sixes during his 292-minute innings.Nightwatchman Tanvir Ahmed also played his role to perfection after the Whites had resumed at the overnight score of 38 for one. The tail-ender hung around for more than an hour-and-a-half to lash eight boundaries while contributing 44 off 65 balls. The second wicket stand between Ghulam Ali and Tanvir realized 78.Peshawar put up a disappointing show on the field Monday. A far cry from the scene in 1998-99 when the visitors won their solitary championship by innings over Karachi Blues. Their much feared pace trio of Kabir Khan, Fazle Akbar and Waqar Ahmed appeared well below par. Arshad, a man with decent Test experience behind him, under-bowled himself on a fourth day pitch.On the other hand, Moin, the former Test captain, marshalled his troops well since the squad included many young and promising players who needed guidance and inspiration.At the conclusion of the two-month championship, individual cash awards of Rs 10,000 each were also announced. Mohammad Ramzan of Faisalabad, Tahir Mughal of Sialkot, Humayun Farhat of Lahore Blues and Balochistan’s Mohtashim Ali were declared the best batsman, best bowler, best wicket-keeper and best fielder respectively.Karachi, overall, have now clinched the premier domestic competition on 17 occasions while finishing runners-up 10 times. The city won their first title way back in 1954-55 and their last before Monday five seasons back when Karachi Blues claimed the championship here on first innings lead against Peshawar.

Australia overcame its most expensive bowling spell in history, an umpiring blunder, a Shoaib Akhtar thunderbolt, disrupted sleep and a world record partnership from Pakistan to win a riveting one-day match at SophiaGardens today.Chasing 257, Ricky Ponting cracked 70 – as Akhtar became the fastest bowler in the world ahead of Brett Lee with a delivery clocked at 97.7mph – to lead the tourists to a seven-wicket victory with 26 balls to spare.Pakistani supporters, who invaded the pitch at Edgbaston on Thursday, dared not repeat their unruly performance here because the on-field action was too entertaining to disrupt.Lee, in his first game at any level since an elbow reconstruction in February, went for 1-85 as Yousuf Youhana (91no) and Rashid Latif (66) rescued Pakistan from 6-85 with the highest seventh-wicket stand the abbreviated form of the game has seen.He had the unwanted distinction of wiping Glenn McGrath, who conceded 1-76 against Sri Lanka at the MCG in January 1996, from the record books, but the 24-year-old bowled better than his figures suggested.Youhana and Latif’s stand of 124 from 127 balls gave Pakistan a healthy total but Ponting, unrecognisable from the man who could not get bat on ball in the Tests against India, was magnificent.The first two balls he faced from Akhtar went for boundaries, as did five of his first 14 deliveries, and his knock was instrumental in Australia reaching 3-258.A pull shot off Akhtar sizzled over the boundary rope, bounced against the brick wall of the members bar and was travelling so fast it rebounded ten metres back onto the field.Ponting played a frustratingly loose shot off Saqlain Mushtaq that went straight down Abdur Razzaq’s throat at long-on, but Michael Bevan (56no) and Steve Waugh (54no) guided Australia home.Akhtar cut Gilchrist in half with a superb delivery that knocked back his stumps but video replays suggested it was a no-ball, less than a week after four such decisions went against England in the second Test against Pakistan.The previous ball of 97.7mph was sliced for four by the Australian vice-captain and as always, there was much debate about the accuracy of the speed gun.Lee’s fastest is 97.56mph in a one-day game versus South Africa at Johannesburg last year.As the team bus drives 90 minutes from Cardiff to Bristol for tomorrow’s clash with England, the Australian players will be hoping for a better night’s sleep than they had in the Welsh capital.Troublemakers set off fire alarms in the team hotel about six times between midnight and 1am, waking every player each time.Lee’s inclusion in the Australian side was announced only 15 minutes before play began and two weeks after officialdom declared “under no circumstances” would he take part in the one-day tournament.Niggling injuries to Jason Gillespie (hamstring), Nathan Bracken (shoulder) and Damien Fleming (calf) forced the tour selection panel of Waugh and Gilchrist to call on Lee.His first five overs of 1-29 were commendable given his four-month layoff but Youhana and Latif tore him to pieces, snatching 37 runs from the 24-year-old’s last three overs.Warne (3-52) struck twice in his first four balls to rekindle memories of his famous start to the Ashes series in 1993 but like Lee, his figures were spoiled by Youhana and Latif.Warne’s opening ball of the one-day tournament snuck between Razzaq’s legs and although Gilchrist fumbled the stumping chance, the ball knocked off the bails and Razzaq was gone.Akhtar left the field after bowling five overs for 1-41 and did not return.

Rangers have had a number of success stories pass their way through the academy at Ibrox over the years, including current first-team player Allan McGregor.

The Gers recently sold graduate Nathan Patterson for a club-record transfer fee in the January window after he broke through into the first-team and made his senior bow for Scotland whilst in Glasgow.

However, they have not always got it right with their young prospects and some players have slipped through the cracks before excelling elsewhere.

Fumbled

One youth team player the club managed to fumble was midfield talent Lewis Morgan, who left Ibrox for £0 whilst in the U17s.

Morgan previously explained why he left the club, saying: “I was told at Under 17’s level that I’d be getting a full-time contract at Rangers, but after the Christmas break, some of the younger boys got playing ahead of me.

“At the end of the season I went in for a meeting with Jim Sinclair (head of youth), ready to sign a two-year deal, but he talked me out of signing.”

He joined St Mirren from the Gers and went on to establish himself at senior level with 29 goals and 23 assists in 118 outings for the club, earning himself a move to the other giant outfit in Glasgow – Celtic.

However, he found life at Parkhead difficult as he only made 31 appearances before signing for Inter Miami in the MLS. He produced 14 goals and assists in 58 matches and recently moved across the division to sign for New York Red Bulls.

The 25-year-old’s ability to take set-pieces with both feet was dubbed “rare to witness” by Miami and former Hoops boss Brendan Rodgres called the wizard “dynamic” as he hailed his qualities.

As you can see in the graphic above, Morgan’s market value has risen to £3.6m since leaving Rangers. Transfermarkt valued him at £90k whilst he was at St Mirren and at £675k at the time of his move to Miami, with his form in the MLS seeing him soar to £3.6m.

He caught the eye in his first season in America. The Scotland international averaged a sublime SofaScore rating of 7.54 as he produced five goals and five assists in 24 appearances for Miami – creating a whopping 2.9 chances per game from midfield.

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In the current campaign, he has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.65 for New York Red Bulls – scoring three times and providing one assist in four matches. This shows that he is currently in terrific form for his new club and, at 25, he has the potential and time to kick on and improve further, which is why Rangers fumbled him in the youth set-up as they failed to tie him down to a professional deal.

AND in other news, Forget Tavernier: Rangers passenger with just 12 passes almost cost GVB the win yesterday…

Scorecard
A third successive defeat, with Friday’s game against Bangladesh Under-19 washed out, resulted in South Africa Under-19 being knocked out of the triangular tournament being held in Pretoria.South Africa needed to beat India Under-19 to have a chance of going through to the final, but the hosts suffered a six-wicket loss. Tanmay Srivastava was once again instrumental in thwarting South Africa; he had scored a century in the previous round-robin encounter between the two teams, and though he scored only 50 in this game, his three wickets had helped his team restrict the hosts to 223 from their alloted 50 overs.Wayne Parnell, the South African captain, opted to bat and his team made a brisk and steady start, with 56 runs being added before the first wicket – of JJ Smuts – fell on the last ball of the tenth over. Opener Pieter Malan top scored for his side with 57; South Africa were looking good at 105 for 2 off 22.3 overs before Srivastava struck to remove Malan.The remaining South African batsmen failed to carry on the momentum, with a few failing to capitalise on starts. A 47-run seventh-wicket stand between Parnell and Sybrand Engelbrecht ensured the team went past the 200-mark, with South Africa completing their 50 overs at 223 for 9. Srivastava finished with 3 for 42 while Iqbal Abdulla, the left-arm spinner, had impressive figures of 3 for 29.Parnell took two quick wickets as India faltered to 16 for 2 in their chase, but the ensuing 111 runs added by Virat Kohli and Srivastava put the reply on track. Srivastava was out hit wicket to Parnell for an even 50, which came off 76 balls. Kohli’s 71 was the game’s highest score, but when he fell with India at 160, South Africa still had a sniff of a chance.Unfortunately for the hosts, an unbroken 66-run stand between Saurav Tiwary (53) and Manish Pandey (26) saw India through with 18 balls to spare.India take on Bangladesh on Sunday, a dress rehearsal for the final, which will be played on Tuesday.

Graeme Smith believes wins against Scotland and Australia would set South Africa up well for a semi-finals berth © Getty Images

Graeme Smith said South Africa’s history of struggling in crucial encounters would not affect their performance against Australia on Saturday. He was confident his own efforts would be dramatically different from South Africa’s 2005-06 tour of Australia, when he passed fifty only once in Tests or ODIs.Smith’s one-day form against Australia picked up after that trip and in his team’s 3-2 series win last March, he made two impressive contributions of 119 and 90. “I am a lot more relaxed than I was in Australia,” Smith told .”I’m a lot more experienced and comfortable with things. I went through a bad patch and I think once you go through a bad patch and get out of it you don’t put as much pressure on yourself.”Smith said even though South Africa were facing Scotland on Tuesday, they were looking ahead to the Australia match with confidence. “The Australia game is on everyone’s mind, it is the big one everyone is looking forward to,” he said. “We are not tense or nervous. We are just going to go out there and play to the levels we know we’re capable of.”Should South Africa defeat Scotland and Australia, it would set them up strongly in their attempt to reach the World Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1999. “If we do well in these next two games then yes, with some of those top teams not going through, that semi-final begins to look a lot closer,” Smith said.South Africa take on Scotland on Tuesday. If they claim victory, the winner of the Australia-South Africa clash will take an important two-point lead through to the Super Eights phase.