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Pakistan paceman Mohammad Sami struggled again as National Bank scored a four-wicket victory over Rawalpindi in their NBP One-day Patron’s Cup Pool ‘C’ match at KRL Stadium on Tuesday.Sami was hammered for 60 runs off his 10 overs in which he could get just one wicket as Rawalpindi posted a fighting 223 for seven in 50 after being asked to bat first.Sohail Nasir struck 45 and Junaid Zia boosted the total with a useful 33.Sami was hammered for 77 runs by KRL batsmen on Sunday.Another NBP bowler punished was Shabbir Ahmed who conceded 56 runs while taking one wicket. The pick of the lot was slow left-armer Qaiser Abbas who snared three for 26 while Pakistan captain Waqar Younis returned impressive figures of one for 20 off his quota of 10 overs.National Bank, in reply, were home in 43.4 overs. Discarded Pakistan opener Imran Nazir led the chase with a solid 85 while Qaiser chipped in with a fine unbeaten 45.Junaid claimed two for 26.ScoreboardRAWALPINDI:Sohail Nasir c Imran Javed b Qaiser 45Babar Naeem lbw b Waqar 14Junaid Zia c and b Qaiser 33Shiraz Khalid c Kamran b M. Javed 12Nauman Aman b Sami 27Pervez Aziz c Imran Nazir b Qaiser 15Zia-ul-Haq Sr not out 26Ajmal Shah c Kamran b Shabbir 10Mohammad Zubair not out 16EXTRAS (B-1, LB-4, W-9, NB-11) 25TOTAL (for seven wkts, 50 overs) 223FALL OF WKTS: 1-33, 2-94, 3-119, 4-119, 5-145, 6-176, 7-196.BOWLING: Waqar Younis 10-0-20-1; Shabbir Ahmed 10-0-56-1 ; Mohammad Sami 10-0-60-1; Qaiser Abbas 10-2-26-3; Mohammad Javed 9-04-7-1; Imran Javed 1-0-9-0.NATIONAL BANK:Imran Nazir b Babar 85Kamran Akmal lbw b Fayyaz 4Salman Butt c Zubair b Akram 11Naumanullah c Zubair b Junaid 9Akhtar Sarfraz c Zubair b Ajmal 9Qaiser Abbas not out 45Mohammad Javed b Junaid 11Imran Javed not out 13EXTRAS (LB-12, W-18, NB-9) 39TOTAL (for six wkts, 43.4 overs) 226FALL OF WKTS: 1-14, 2-36, 3-66, 4-107, 5-170, 6-197.BOWLING: Mohammad Akram 10-0-56-1; Mohammad Fayyaz 9-0-47-1 ; Ajmal Shah 8-0-24-1; Junaid Zia 7-1-26-2; Shiraz Khalid 2-0-10-0 ; Pervez Aziz 2-0-12-0; Babar Naeem 5.4-0-39-1.RESULT: National Bank won by four wickets.Results of other Pool ‘C’ matches:*At Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar:KRL beat Peshawar by 77 runs.KRL 339-6 in 50 overs (Ali Naqvi 115 not out, Saeed Anwar Jr 69 , Mohammad Ramzan 57, Misbah-ul-Haq 24, Yasir Arafat 21; Nauman Habib 2-72);PESHAWAR 262-9 in 50 overs (Asmatullah 59, Aftab Khan 45 , M. Bilal Marwat 42; Yasir Arafat 3-38, Shoaib Akhtar 2-27).*At Saga Ground, Sialkot:Sialkot beat Faisalabad by 96 runs.SIALKOT 278-7 in 50 overs (Shaiman Butt 96, Adeel Malik 47 not out , Shahid Yousuf 42, Owais Malik 20 not out; Javed Iqbal 2-49);FAISALABAD 182 in 32 overs (Mohammad Saleem 47, Mohammad Salman 26 , Sami-ul-Haq 24; Shaiman Butt 2-27, Owais Malik 2-32, Tahir Mughal 2-43)

* Ganguly, Tendulkar face Lashkar threatIndian cricket captain Saurav Ganguly and star batsman SachinTendulkar are among those who have been threatened by the militantoutfit Lashkar-e-Toiba. The militant outfit has threatened to kidnapthe duo and hold them hostages, DCP (Crime) Pradeep Sawant said inMumbai on Friday.The threats to the players came to light when some members of themilitant outfit were apprehended by Thane police some months ago, hesaid. Interrogations revealed that the militant group had prepared alist of persons who would be kidnapped to secure certain politicalbenefits.Former hockey captain Dhanraj Pillay had yesterday approached MumbaiPolice seeking protection after receiving threats from the sameoutfit.* Board to follow ICC guidelines on drugs, says LeleIndian Cricket Board secretary Jaywant Lele said on Friday that theBCCI would follow the ICC’s guidelines on controlling drug abuse inthe game. Lele, in Jaipur to attend a meeting of the Tours andFixtures Committee, however maintained that drug abuse was notprevalent in Indian cricket and the recent allegations against somecricketers were ‘baseless’.Asked whether the BCCI would introduce drug tests on the lines ofthose announced by the South African Cricket Board, Lele said, “Theseare the new challenges which cricket is facing and we shall find waysto counter them. We already have the code of conduct in which takingsuch substances is prohibited. And if ICC announces the guidelines andlist of banned drugs, we will follow suit,” Lele said.Lele parried questions on whether the BCCI was contemplating legalaction against ‘Outlook’ magazine which quoted former coach AnshumanGaekwad as saying that some Indian players take drugs. “The matterwill be discussed at the Working Committee meeting,” Lele said.Gaekwad has since denied having made the allegations attributed to himin the magazine.* New cricket stadium to come up in JaipurA cricket stadium at par with international standards will come up inJaipur, the Rajasthen local Self-Government Minister Shanti Dhariwalsaid on Thursday. The Jaipur Development Authority had agreed inprinciple to provide land to the Rajasthan Cricket Association forconstruction of the stadium after the BCCI made a request for this, hetold reporters.The proposed stadium would host only international cricket matches, hesaid, adding that the RCA would spend Rs six crore for itsconstruction.

Celtic have been dealt a potential blow in their bid to seal the permanent signing of Jota.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Scotsman, who claim that, despite Ange Postecoglou’s side possessing a £6m option to buy clause in the Portugal U21 international’s temporary contract at Parkhead, the winger’s representatives have sought to keep the 23-year-old’s options open ahead of the summer transfer window.

The report goes on to state that the Benfica loanee has refused to comment on whether or not he would be keen on a permanent switch to Celtic at the end of the current campaign, as well as claiming that the Bhoys’ clause for the forward is only relevant should the player himself agree to a move.

In summary, The Scotsman state: “There may be nothing Celtic can present to him that would make him stay.”

Unforgivable error

Considering just how impressive Jota has been for Celtic since his temporary switch to Parkhead last summer, the argument that failing to secure the forward’s permanent signing this summer would be a disaster for Postecoglou is a rather easy one to make.

Indeed, over his 22 Premiership appearances this season, the £4.95m-rated winger has been in breathtaking form for the Hoops, scoring seven goals, registering seven assists and creating nine big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.7 shots and making two key passes per game.

These returns have seen the £18.5k-per-week sensation average a quite exceptional SofaScore match rating of 7.50, ranking him as the fourth-best player in the top flight of Scottish football.

The Portuguese youth international has also highly impressed over his ten appearances in both domestic and European cup competitions, bagging a further three goals and three assists – taking his total haul for the season to 10 goals and 10 assists over 36 fixtures.

As such, it is clear for all to see that Postecoglou simply must do all he can to convince Jota of a full-time switch to Glasgow this summer, as the signing of the 23-year-old would not only provide Celtic with an incredibly gifted player next season and beyond, it would also secure the club an extremely sellable asset.

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And, with the bonus of automatic qualification to the Champions League group stage being on offer for the champions of the Premiership this season – something that are Celtic currently in a strong position to go on and secure – it would be something of an unforgivable error on the part of the club if they were to miss out on Jota’s signing this summer.

AND in other news: Signed for £540k, sold for 8 figures: Celtic struck gold on 23 y/o “Roy of the Rovers”

	Bryan Davis: “Dwayne Bravo is a support bowler, the fifth bowler. He’s an allrounder” © AFP

Former West Indies players Deryck Murray and Bryan Davis were pleased with the team’s win over Sri Lanka in Trinidad but they felt Chris Gayle should have gone with four specialist fast bowlers instead of banking on Dwayne Bravo to fill the fourth spot.”It’s very good to have two wins out of five matches against two countries [West Indies beat South Africa in Port Elizabeth last December] who are higher on the table,” Davis, a former Test opener, told .”It should make them feel good, and better about themselves. [But] I don’t consider Bravo a specialist bowler. He’s a good bowler, but he’s a support bowler, the fifth bowler. He’s an allrounder. We’re missing that [fourth] bowler.””Once you have to put in the four specialist bowlers, I believe batsmen like Bravo and [Denesh] Ramdin have to come to the fore and make runs, and improve their approach. They are the ones at No. 6and 7 to make some runs, not counting out specialist bowlers.”Murray, the Trinidad and Tobago board president, also said the batsmen had to pull their weight in the side. “What we need to be doing is when you select your teams you select six people as specialists. You need to put the responsibility on the batsman, six batsmen need to do the job.”Murray also explained the need for a spinner to introduce variety in to the attack. “Whether it’s a more containing type of bowler as opposed to the wicket-taking spinner, and you need two or three close to the team. [It’s been] hard on our spinners over the last three or four years, who have been the leading wicket-takers over the last few years and they deserve recognition.”Former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop was delighted with the win but cautioned that domestic cricket in the region wasn’t in the best shape. “It confirms that there is talent in the side that can be competitive with other teams in the world, and the talent can be harnessed if the players are really hungry and thoughtful,” he told . “But there is still much work to do in the regional game and the team itself.”He was also concerned about the shallow talent pool in West Indies cricket and urged the board to provide the required support to build a strong side. “The strength in depth is poor. There are not many players in the first-class game in the Caribbean – based on performance – who can come in at a moment’s notice to make a difference to the team because the first-class standard is so poor,” he said. “But the environment and culture must be created in the Caribbean by the administration to facilitate that culture and work ethic.”

The Jamaica Gleaner has claimed that Ryan Hinds has joined the growing list of players who have refused to tour Zimbabwe with West Indies A.Hinds joins two players offered the captaincy – Sylvester Joseph and Daren Ganga – who have declined to join the tour. WIPA, the players’ association, and the West Indies board remain in dispute over whether the tour should proceed. The newspaper added that Hinds has been replaced by Dale Richards, a Barbados batsman who is currently playing in England.However, despite constant assurances for much of last week that the team was about to be named, no announcement has come from the WICB even though the squad is due to leave in five days’ time.

‘If the WICB remains intent on North America, then the three ODIs are going to be played next year’ – Bindra © Getty Images

India and West Indies may play three one-day internationals in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur in September, as it seems unlikely that the USA Cricket Association will have its grounds ready in time for the scheduled matches.”While we’re hopeful, I fear the US won’t be in a position to have two grounds ready by September,” IS Bindra, a member of the Indian board’s marketing committee, told , a Kolkata-based daily. “We’ve been looking at Florida, New York and New Jersey.”We’ve given that [Singapore/Kuala Lumpur] option to the West Indies. In fact, we’ve even suggested the matches could be played in Europe.”The ODI series is part of a deal struck between the West Indies and Indian boards before the ICC met to decide on World Cup hosts after 2007. According to Bindra, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is keen to have the matches in North America, with Toronto to host one of the matches. But the problem is that the grounds in the US will have to pass ICC inspection, even if they are ready by September.”If the WICB remains intent on North America, then the three ODIs are going to be played next year,” Bindra said. It should be clear within a fortnight where the matches will be played.

Andrew Flintoff: The one-day player of the year, and with some justification© Getty Images

In spite of England’s defeat in the final of the Champions Trophy, Andrew Flintoff has consolidated his position as the world’s leading one-day player. According to the PwC ratings, Flintoff now lies fourth in the batting table and seventh in the bowling, and is unsurprisingly rated as the best allrounder in the game, ahead of West Indies’ Chris Gayle (eighth and 23rd respectively).Marcus Trescothick, who scored a valiant but futile 104 in the final, has climbed to fourth in the batting charts after top-scoring 261 runs in the tournament. That was almost 100 more than the next most prolific batsman, Ramnaresh Sarwan, who was named as Man of the Tournament after picking up match awards against South Africa and Pakistan. He has slipped from fourth to seventh after falling cheaply in the final.Of the bowlers, Steve Harmison makes the biggest leap up the rankings, climbing 16 places to No. 20 after another penetrative new-ball spell. The batting list is still topped by Sachin Tendulkar, however, despite the fact he missed the tournament through injury.

Simon Jones overdoes his celebration after dismissing Ramnaresh Sarwan© Getty Images

Simon Jones could face disciplinary action from the International Cricket Council after an excited celebration when dismissing Ramnaresh Sarwan during the afternoon session of the second Test at Port-of-Spain.The outburst occurred when Jones won a leg-before decision against Sarwan to leave West Indies teetering on 56 for 3, still 55 behind England. Jones, whose follow-through took him to within inches of Sarwan, screamed in his face and had to be firmly ushered away by team-mates. “I didn’t say anything to him,” Jones insisted. “I just shouted.”Billy Bowden, the umpire, had a word with Jones shortly afterwards, and it is now up to Mike Procter, the match referee, whether he wants to take any further action under the ICC’s Code of Conduct.Jones admitted after the close of play: “The umpires had a couple of words and I apologised for what happened. Obviously I got a little over-excited, but there was nothing malicious there. I didn’t say anything to him. There’s no hard feelings with Sarwan. I was very annoyed with myself for the first ball I bowled him, a rank half-volley, and was just excited to get his wicket.”Jones went on: “Today was the first time on tour that I have felt really good. I tried to relax and that helped a lot. I was way too tense in the first Test. I think we [the bowlers] are working really well as a unit. We are all confident, and you can see that from the way we batted tonight. It would have been nice to knock them off tonight, but we just need another 30 or so and hopefully we can celebrate tomorrow.”

JOHANNESBURG – Where are the Windies shirts?That’s the question being asked by cricket fans all around Johannesburg.They have had no luck trying to get West Indies replica shirts during the ongoing World Cup. And the reason is the West Indies designs were never submitted to the official International Cricket Council’s (ICC) shops so the items could be made and placed for sale."After South Africa, the West Indies is the most popular team around here," said a sales assistant at the ICC’s souvenir shop in the Sandton City Centre. Every day we have been getting calls and people coming in wanting West Indies kit. But we were told their designs were never submitted."The West Indies’ popularity was evident when they were mobbed by autograph seekers when they spent Friday afternoon in the Sandton Centre, adjacent to their base at the Sandton Sun.Only four teams – South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia – submitted designs and their items have been selling smoothly. Most Indian fans came with their replica shirts from previous tournaments.

Jimmy Maher scored his second consecutive CricInfo Championshipcentury as Glamorgan’s top order put Northamptonshire’s bowling to thesword at Cardiff today.The Welsh county finished the first day on 370-3 in their first inningsthanks to 150 for Maher – his highest score for Glamorgan – and usefulcontributions from the rest of the top order.After winning an important toss Maher laid a solid foundation with SteveJames of 114 in 32 overs before the captain mis-timed a pull to mid-onfrom the last ball of the morning session.It was the pair’s second opening partnership of more than three figuresafter recording an unbroken stand of 203 against Kent at Maidstone whenMaher scored 123.After lunch the Australian opener and Matthew Maynard added 151 in 30overs for the second wicket during which Maher went to his century off152 balls with 14 fours.Just before tea Maynard, who was looking well set for his first 100 ofthe summer, drove straight at point to leave Glamorgan 265-2. Maher wenton to complete his 150 from 218 balls with a six and 21 fours.But five balls after tea Maher offered a catch to mid-off off Tony Penberthyto end an entertaining innings that came off 223 balls and included onesix and 18 fours.From 290-3 Mike Powell and Adrian Dale did a useful job in building onan excellent start, adding 80 in taking their side to a fourth battingpoint by the close.