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After, finally, a full day’s play, Hampshire managed to force a draw without undue difficulty against the touring Zimbabwean team, the match finishing 20 minutes early in bright sunshine.Zimbabwe began the day 150 runs ahead of the county side, with four first-innings wickets in hand. Alistair Campbell, on 108 overnight, found it difficult to find his fluency, and his partner Tatenda Taibu made most of the early runs, but the inexperienced Taibu (17 next month) played some of the most impressive strokes – cover drives (off front and back foot) a flick to long leg and a square cut all reaching the boundary.Hampshire were not impressive, with some loose bowling and one or two half chances and three possible run-outs were missed. Taibu (36) was finally adjudged lbw to Francis and now has a first-class average of 47, after scoring 11 not out in his debut match in the West Indies.Campbell drove Charlie van der Gucht for a straight six, and then took a single to reach an unbeaten 150, whereupon he declared with a lead of 233. Hampshire made a steady start to their second innings, reaching 17 without loss at lunch (Jason Laney 8, Giles White 9).The tourists never seriously looked likely to force a victory, due mainly to erratic bowling. Henry Olonga and Neil Johnson were the most disappointing, but altogether there were too many short and wide balls. Laney and White enjoyed the freedom of the extra width and rattled up some quick runs before the bowlers began to get their act together again. They scored 86 together before White unaccountably shouldered arms to `Pommie’ Mbangwa, only to have his off stump sent cartwheeling out of the ground.At the other end Laney sliced a catch off Guy Whittall to Trevor Gripper in the covers, and Hampshire had to dig in again. Will Kendall and Robin Smith played with great care, although the latter got of the mark with a snick of Whittall just too high and wide for second slip to grasp. Both looked tentative and it was a different ball game for a while until Smith suddenly crashed Mbangwa to the extra cover boundary and the tension lifted somewhat. At tea the match was looking safe for them with the score at 111 for 2 (Kendall 9, Smith 12).Smith continued to bat with care in the final session, but still commanded attention with the occasional boundary of unparalleled power. He scored 60 off 114 balls before pushing forward to Johnson, more disciplined in his second spell, and giving a regulation catch to Campbell at second slip. Derek Kendall scored only 2 before driving half-heartedly at Whittall and being caught at the wicket, making Hampshire 214 for 4.Kendall had been batting unspectacularly without getting bogged down, reaching his fifty; eventually he snicked Johnson through the slips for four, taking Hampshire to 234 for 4, which avoided the innings defeat and the teams agreed to call it a day.

It has emerged in recent weeks that Tottenham defender Danny Rose could be on his way out of the club, after telling Sky Sports that his position is unclear. Well, with Tottenham reportedly keen on a move for long-term target Ryan Sessegnon, it’s understandable why this may be the case. Still, a quick glance below at his form across the season suggests perhaps Tottenham should not be looking for a replacement at all. 

Firstly, let’s discuss the potential move then. To Sky Sports, Rose said: “If I’m back at Tottenham next season, great, if I’m not – great.” It doesn’t exactly strike as desire, or even intention, to stay. Indeed, the former Leeds youngster added that his age, being 28-years-old, was a factor in this, despite being happy with his increased game time this season.

According to the Evening Standard, his comments have taken the Tottenham hierarchy by surprise. Pochettino was reportedly very impressed by the left-back this season, who played 26 league matches alongside eight in the Champions League this season, after all.

When looking at the stats, it’s not hard to see why Pochettino was so impressed. One can make a quick comparison to Tottenham’s other left-back, Ben Davies. Surprisingly, the Welshman (per WhoScored) actually played more matches than Rose this season, with 27 league appearances and nine in the Champions League. Yet, during his games at left-back, the team conceded 10 more in the league and he failed to contribute to a single goal, whereas Rose claimed four assists.

Now, you could say Ben Davies is perhaps not the ideal comparison – and fair enough. But when comparing Rose to Ben Chilwell, who started England’s Nations League semi-final and could be subject of a potential big-money move to Manchester City, his numbers are again admirable.

Chilwell conceded an average of 1.19 goals per game last season, where Rose only conceded an average of 0.62. Additionally, he made just one more assist in ten additional appearances, had a lower cross accuracy, created less big chances, had a lower tackle success percentage and lost significantly more duels (stats via PremierLeague.com).

Granted, Chilwell kept more clean sheets, won more duels and made no errors leading to a goal, where Rose made one but the point remains. The Leicester star, after all, is a man who The Telegraph report is a prime target for Guardiola and would cost more than the £75m Liverpool paid for Virgil van Dijk.

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With that in mind, it’s not as if he had a much better season than Rose at all. Yes, there are going to be fewer chances to sell him as he gets older, but Rose still retains the kind of quality to make him one of the best left-backs in the league. If there’s a chance to keep him, it shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand.

Tottenham fans, what do you think? Would you like to see Rose at the club next season? Or is it time to freshen up? Comment below. 

	Ishant Sharma was convinced he had Andrew Symonds caught behind, but Steve Bucknor disagreed © Getty Images

Floppy luck
A face allergy forced Sachin Tendulkar into the indoor nets on Tuesday and prompted him to wear a floppy hat, probably for the first time in internationals, while fielding at the SCG. It brought him some luck with the Australian left-handers edging three balls towards him at first slip off RP Singh. He moved quickly to his left to get rid of Matthew Hayden before diving low to the right to end Michael Hussey’s innings. The best catch was reserved for Adam Gilchrist when Tendulkar dropped forward for a cool take.Benson and edges
The umpire Mark Benson didn’t spot two edges off Ricky Ponting, who should have been out on 17 and not out on 55. Sourav Ganguly slid one down the leg side, which Ponting glanced to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, before the batsman inside-edged on to his pad off Harbhajan Singh. Adding to the shocker list was Steve Bucknor, who missed Andrew Symonds’ nick to the wicketkeeper in the second session. Anyone for hearing aids?Strangest decision
Benson’s and Bucknor’s calls were pretty weird, but none was more confusing than Michael Clarke’s option to pad up to Harbhajan. The ball pitched outside off stump and Clarke must have thought it would go straight or the other way. Instead it turned, thudded into his pad and he was lbw in his most embarrassing dismissal since shouldering arms and being bowled by James Franklin at the World Cup.Grounds for improvement
It was a magic day for Brad Hogg, who has posted career-high scores in each of his three innings since returning to the Test team. His 17 in the first innings at Melbourne equalled his previous best before he collected 35 not out in the second. The 79 here almost doubled his aggregate of 90 in his first five Tests.Slippery Yuvraj
Yuvraj Singh, India’s best fielder, has had some sloppy days during this series and they continued in Sydney. He slid into the extra-cover ropes in the first session, allowing a four when there should have been only three, and conceded overthrows a little later. There were also a couple of lazy dives and late in the day he misfielded two balls on the boundary that went for four.Dhoni misses one, the umpire misses another
Dhoni had two stumping chances, fluffing the first, a tough one down the leg side when Ponting was 31, but displaying rapid reflexes when Symonds was 48. Unfortunately for India, Bruce Oxenford, the third umpire, flashed “Not Out” after taking a look at five different angles. However, one of those shots, from the square camera, indicated through the positioning of Symonds’ shadow that his foot was in the air when the bails came off.

Chris Rogers’ terrific form for Western Australia was recognised at Allan Border Medal night © Getty Images

Chris Rogers and Ben Hilfenhaus, two players who could well be part of Australia’s Test team within a year, were rewarded for their outstanding domestic performances at Allan Border Medal night in Melbourne. Rogers was named State Player of the Year and Hilfenhaus, who made his ODI debut last month, was the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year.Rogers beat his Western Australia team-mate Marcus North for his award, with Victoria’s Brad Hodge completing the batting-heavy top three. Hilfenhaus, with 97 votes, was streets ahead of his nearest competitor, Cullen Bailey, the South Australia legspinner, on 11 votes. Ed Cowan, the New South Wales opener, came in third.Rogers earned his title almost entirely based on Pura Cup performances. After a strong finish to the 2005-06 season, he opened this season with a cracking 279 against Victoria and during the voting period scored 1311 runs at 69.00. His four centuries and six half-centuries were enough to win him the award comfortably – with 48 votes he was 31 clear of North – despite his struggle to convert the same form to the limited-overs game.On top of his domestic form in Australia, Rogers collected an impressive 1352 runs in the 2006 county season for Northamptonshire, including his first-class best of 319. Rogers is likely to vie with Phil Jaques, who was last year’s State Player of the Year, to replace Justin Langer as Australia’s new Test opener. He said with Australia playing no Tests until November, his challenge would be to stay in form until that time. “[A baggy-green is] ten months away at least,” Rogers said. “It’s one of those things where you have to be doing the right things at the right time and hopefully I will be.”

Ben Hilfenhaus was judged the best young cricketer © Getty Images

Hilfenhaus’ win completed a stunning emergence on the first-class scene, from bricklayer to international cricketer, having only made his debut for Tasmania last season. He was so quick to make an impact that he was the leading wicket-taker amongst all state players during the voting period, with 75 scalps across both forms of the game. Hilfenhaus, 23, has proven himself to be a leading exponent of genuine swing bowling – often said to be a dying art – and was mentioned by Tim Nielsen, Australia’s incoming coach, as a player who could make a splash in the Australia team in the next couple of years.In a tight finish to the Women’s International Cricketer of the Year count, Lisa Sthalekar, the Australia vice-captain, edged out Karen Rolton, the skipper, by one vote. It was only the second time in six years Rolton has not won the title. Sthalekar starred in the only Test played during the voting period, making 72 and taking 5 for 30 as Australia hammered India by an innings and 4 runs at Adelaide. She also made 241 ODI runs at 34.43 claimed six wickets at 33.00.

Greg Chappell says that Sourav Ganguly’s role in the series will be decided by performance © Getty Images

Greg Chappell, India’s coach, says he has no differences with Sourav Ganguly and the matter of including him in the playing XI for the upcoming Test series against Pakistan would be a purely cricketing decision. Chappell also lent support to Sachin Tendulkar, saying that he carries greater load of expectations than even Bradman.”Sourav [Ganguly] is part of touring squad but we will decide after the lead up game what will be the best eleven for the Test,” Chappell told PTI. “He is one of those players I don’t have any difference with. He understands and I understand what is required of all the players and as a group the focus remains on commitment to excellence. The players understand what is expected of them and Ganguly is no different.”Commenting on the captaincy of Rahul Dravid, Chappell said he had found Dravid a strong competitor. “He is learning very quickly but we all need to understand that captaincy is a tough job and you learn with every game,” he said. “A captain needs to be strong, have confidence in himself and be courageous to take decisions at all stages of the game. Dravid has the talent to be one of the best captains India have ever produced, also because he has a very good cricketing brain. Dravid is a quiet but strong character and I think the players respect him.”Looking back over the past eight months of his coaching stint with India, Greg Chappell says he was yet to fully grasp the enormity, complexity and occasional danger of his role. “There is nothing like it in world cricket or even world sport,” Chappell said. “May be there are some similarities in Brazil with soccer but, then again, they aren’t dealing with these kind of numbers,” he was quoted as saying by ‘Sydney Morning Herald’.The Australian great also said it was the expectation of a billion people and the often overpowering hype which proved just how resilient the Indian players were. “Sachin Tendulkar carries a weight of collective expectation to the crease that few can comprehend. Bradman would not have had the weight of expectation that Sachin has on him every time he went out to bat,” he said. “You can’t just look at his statistical record. That’s not even close to summing up what he is and what he has done. He has been the great hope of this country for 16 or 17 years. Because India, as a team, has not been as successful as other teams over the years, the expectations of the nation have tended to shift onto the shoulders of the individuals.”

The chairman of selectors has denied that there is pressure to include Hashan Tillakaratne© Getty Images

Ashantha de Mel, Sri Lanka’s chairman of selectors, has dismissed claims that his seven-man selection committee has faced pressure from top-level cricket administrators to include Hashan Tillakaratne in the squad for their tour of New Zealand next month. However, other sources close to the selectors have privately claimed that there have been attempts to force Tillakaratne back into international cricket.It had been assumed that Tillakaratne’s high-salaried appointment as an executive director of Cricket-Aid, the cricket board’s tsunami-relief programme, signalled an acceptance that his international days were behind him. But Tillakaratne, who was dropped after his resignation as captain in March 2004, still harbours strong ambitions of breaking back into the team, even though he will be 38 later this year.The selection process in Sri Lanka is frequently politicised, with much behind-the-scenes lobbying. But, in this case, de Mel insists that his panel is not being pressurised. He told the : “We are an independent committee and we take decisions in the best interest of Sri Lanka cricket. If we are going to be influenced by outside forces we should not be sitting in the committee.”de Mel pointed out that the selectors would consider recalling Tillakaratne only if he scored sufficient runs. His decent but unexceptional performances during the Provincial Tournament, in which he scored 210 runs in three matches with a top score of 85, failed to convince the selectors. “We have not shut the door completely on Hashan,” said de Mel. “We know that he still has some cricket left in him. However, his current performances don’t make a strong case for inclusion.”If Hashan wants to get in he will have to get the big numbers on the board,” de Mel added. “Getting 40s and 50s will not help his cause. We are not worried about the age of a player. If someone is fit and scores runs heavily we will certainly consider him for selection. We know that Hashan has delivered in the past. He needs to convert his fifties into hundreds.”Tillakaratne was left out of an initial unreleased 18-man training pool selected on Monday, which included several A-team batsmen who have been scoring heavily recently. Avishka Gunawardene, Ian Daniel and Thilina Kandamby appear to be competing for the final batting slot in New Zealand if Sri Lanka go into the two Tests with seven batsmen. Russel Arnold has slipped out of contention after a low-scoring Provincial Tournament.But it is the bowling that is causing the selectors a headache. Nuwan Zoysa was originally included in the 18-man pool, and the news of his unavailability prompted the selectors to reconsider their options. They are due to meet again on Wednesday and will make a decision on whether to finalise the squad or stage a two-day practice game to have a closer look at some of the contenders.

James Kirtley: his advantage on the Nottingham pitch stemmed from his accuracy

The English media, while delighted at the series-levelling win over South Africa at Trent Bridge (not least because the appeal of the fourth Test means that cricket has some chance of holding its own on the sports pages now that the all-pervading football season has begun), managed to retain a sense of perspective.In The Independent, Angus Fraser cautioned against getting too carried away. “Although England’s supporters, who again turned up in their thousands to cheer their side on, should celebrate their team’s performance, this abrupt change in fortunes has to be put in perspective. On a pitch where the call at the toss was the most crucial decision either captain made, the most encouraging thing for England was that this victory highlighted the quality of cricket they are capable of playing. While uplifting, this result gives little indication as to what may happen at Headingley during the next week because lesser teams than South Africa would have capitulated to a heavy defeat by Sunday in this unfair encounter.”While also aware that one win doesn’t paper over the flaws clearly highlighted during the first two Tests, David Hopps was still looking on the bright side in The Guardian. “A week ago English cricket was a land of treachery and recriminations. After England had been outplayed in the first two Tests defeat at Nottingham would have left the new captain, Michael Vaughan, blinking at another damaging period of instability and the coach, Duncan Fletcher, sweating on surviving beyond the summer. Fifteen minutes before lunch yesterday the land of discontent offered up milk and honey.”In The Times, Christopher Martin-Jenkins highlighted one area of concern – Mark Butcher’s record in the slips. Butcher dropped a fairly routine chance offered by Paul Adams yesterday, and Martin-Jenkins argued that it was one miss too many. “He [Butcher] is not so safe and England should put Nasser Hussain in his place from now on. Butcher has taken 50 catches in 55 Tests, but the chances that he has missed, invariably at second slip, must be close to half that number.”Unsurprisingly, many papers concentrated on James Kirtley’s six-wicket performance on his long-awaited debut. In the Daily Telegraph, Derek Pringle explained that Kirtley’s apprenticeship with Sussex stood him in good stead. “Kirtley’s advantage on this pitch stemmed from his accuracy, though he probably has his Sussex background to thank for that. Year in year out, Hove is among the best batting tracks in the country and keeps bowlers honest by insisting that line and length is a minimum requirement. When applied to the cracked mosaic at Trent Bridge, those same basics – so blithely ignored by England’s attack on the pancake pitches of the first two Tests – proved too much for opponents, most of whom were beaten long before the first shooter brought a sadistic ‘wooh’ from the near-capacity crowd.”John Etheridge in The Sun dwelt a little longer on Kirtley’s chequered past and the question-marks over his bowling action, but concluded that it was Kirtley’s day. “He is a skidder, a wholehearted toiler who will obviously struggle to make as much impact on flatter pitches. His accuracy was plenty good enough for the pitch to do the rest.” Etheridge ended by drawing attention to one slight blemish on Kirtley’s performance. “Nobody really cared that a couple of Kirtley’s wickets were obtained with deliveries that should have been called no-ball. For overstepping, that is, not chucking.”

With less than 24 hours to go before the start of the crucial second Castle Lager/MTN Test match against South Africa, Indian captain Sourav Ganguly narrowed down the candidates to open the batting with Shiv Das to a choice between two – either himself or wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta.What seems certain, however, is that neither Rahul Dravid, who opened in Bloemfontein, nor VVS Laxman will be asked to go in at the top of the order."I’m keen," said Ganguly on Thursday. "It’s not a question of sacrifice. It’s a question of somebody pushing up the order. At six sometimes you get to play the new ball."It is, nevertheless, a far from ideal situation for India who need to win, or at the very least not to lose, to stay in the three-match series.Indian coach John Wright confirmed that both Dravid and Laxman were unwilling to open the batting, although he said: "I reckon we’ve got the matter under control."Wright said that as an opening batsman himself, "you realise that it’s a specialist position".He said he understood the reluctance of Dravid and Laxman, "particularly so in Laxman’s situation where he has tried for 22 Tests and he does feel uncomfortable in that position".And so the captain, who now seems the most likely candidate despite the suggestion that Dasgupta might go in first, has had to put up his hand.Ganguly confirmed that three of the 15-man squad – Venkatesh Prasad, Connor Williams and Zaheer Khan – were not in contention for Test places. This means, however, that India still have to choose four from Javagal Srinath, Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh to make up their attack. And this decision, almost certainly, will be delayed until the tourists have studied the pitch and the weather on Friday morning.If they are interested local knowledge, they might well have a word with Dave Callaghan, the former South African one-day player who is now in his 17th season at St George’s Park."It will probably be a slow seamer on the first day," said Callaghan on Thursday, "before it flattens out on days two and three when it will be good to bat on with the ball coming onto the bat. Then it starts to get lower and it will probably take a bit of spin."Callaghan qualified this assessment, however, by saying "it still all depends on the wind. If it blows from the east it helps the ball to swing, and if it comes from the west it dries the pitch out. It normally blows from the west, but we’ve had the easterly blowing for nearly three weeks now which is a bit unusual."And the pitch seems a bit softer today than it did yesterday. Which makes it interesting, doesn’t it?"

ScorecardFile photo: Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary stroked 97 to help his side take the first innings honours in an ill-tempered clash against Delhi•PTI

Vidarbha registered their first outright win of the season by beating Assam by three wickets in Nagpur. Half-centuries from Wasim Jaffer (71) and Faiz Fazal (63), and their 124-run opening stand reduced their chase of 213 into one-way traffic for large parts. But the loss of Ganesh Satish, Shalabh Srivastava and S Badrinath with the target within touching distance – they slipped from 200 for 2 to 200 for 5 – lent the game some excitement as the spin duo of Swarupam Purkayastha and Amit Verma took three wickets apiece.The win meant Vidarbha, who were placed eighth in the nine-team pool, jumped to the third spot, while Assam moved one spot down to No. 2.Jayant Yadav’s six-wicket haul threatened to stop Karnataka’s 33-match unbeaten streak that has spanned three seasons, but Manish Pandey, who came in at No. 9, batted for 26 deliveries with a broken finger as Karnataka salvaged one point, with Haryana having to settle for first-innings honours.Batting out 90 overs was the easier option for Karnataka as they began the day needing 364 with all 10 wickets intact. KL Rahul fell early, but Robin Uthappa (66) and R Samarth (32) appeared to have steadied things for the hosts, before Jayant Yadav turned the match on its head with his offspin as Karnataka slipped from 146 for 2 to 198 for 7.It boiled down to Pandey, who didn’t bat in the first innings because of his injury, to save the game for Karnataka, and he did it with help from debutant David Mathias, who batted 32 deliveries for his nine not out as the defending champions squeezed out a point to extend their search for their first outright win of the season into the fifth round.
ScorecardManoj Tiwary’s 97 held the Bengal innings together as their ill-tempered game against Delhi at the Feroz Shah Kotla ended in a draw. Bengal, who walked away with three points courtesy a first-innings lead, declared on 217 for 5 to set Delhi an improbable target of 325 in a little over two sessions. Delhi lost to early wickets, but recovered courtesy Rishabh Pant (57) and Nitish Rana (49) to be placed at 161 for 4 when the game was called off at the start of the mandatory overs.With seven points from three matches, Bengal, who have a game in hand, were breathing down Karnataka’s neck in the points table, while Delhi continued their run at the top of the standings courtesy two outright wins in four matches.
ScorecardAshok Menaria, Rajat Bhatia and Dishant Yagnik thwarted Maharashtra’s hopes of securing an outright win after taking a 91-run lead in Jaipur. Rajasthan, who began the day precariously placed on 115 for 3, were driven by a 127-run fourth-wicket stand between Menaria and Bhatia. Menaria, who made 84 in the first innings, completed his first century of the season, and finished unbeaten on 150 with Rajasthan declaring at 334 for 5.Bhatia, making his Rajasthan debut after securing a late NOC, finished with scores of 59 and 64 in two innings. With the game all but secured, Menaria found support from Yagnik, who made 58, as the two shared an unbroken 149-run stand to puncture Maharashtra’s hopes. The visitors’ chase was merely a formality. They placed at 17 without loss when the captains shook hands.The lead that was largely achieved on the back of Rahul Tripathi’s century, and took Maharashtra to the fourth spot. Rajasthan were placed eighth.

Arsenal Midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong looks set for another loan spell at Wolves as the player continues to make his comeback from as serious knee injury, according to the Daily Express.

The 20 year old had a brief spell at the West Midlands outfit last season making 5 premier league appearances there, before his time was cut short as he ruptured his cruciate ligament which kept him out for the season.

The youngster who has appeared for England at u16 and u17 level has re-joined training with the Arsenal first team squad but is still a fair distance off competing for a place in the starting XI.

It is believed that a move to the Championship club could reignite the midfielder’s development with Frimpong commanding a starting berth at the beginning of the 2011/12 season, both domestically and in the Champions League.

A move to Wolves could be beneficial for both sides with Solbakken looking to add more steel to their midfield.

Frimpong recently told the Daily Express “I don’t want to push myself if I’m not ready – I don’t think I am ready for the Arsenal first-team yet.”

However, he is open to any offers he has to improve his fitness on loan, and its believed that Wolves are not the only championship club showing an interest.

Emmanuel Frimpong developed a reputation for being a tenacious midfielder, drawing comparisons to his former team mate Alex song as well as a host of African midfielders who are known for their pace and stamina. It is thought that once Frimpong realises his potential he can fulfil the ‘Essien’ role for Arsenal.

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