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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMohammad Shahzad cracked 74 off 37 deliveries to set up an eight-wicket win for Afghanistan over United Arab Emirates. Asghar Stanikzai and Samiullah Shenwari shut out UAE completely with an unbeaten 69-run stand in seven overs as Afghanistan chased down 165 with 16 balls to spare.Shahzad and Nawroz Mangal put Afghanistan on their way with a 43-run opening stand in four overs. By the time Shehzad holed out to long-off in the 11th over trying to hit his sixth six, Afghanistan had raced to 99.UAE’s batting had crumbled in their opening match against Scotland, but this time, they posted a competitive 164 for 6 after winning the toss. It was their bowling that proved no contest for Afghanistan.Shahzad powerfully cut the first ball of the chase, a short and wide one from Mohammad Naveed, for four. UAE’s seamers continued to bowl short and provide width, and Shahzad punished them for boundaries. He then slog-swept and stepped out repeatedly to lift the spinners for sixes. UAE’s fielding failed to support their bowlers, with misfields and a dropped chance off Stanikzai adding to the pressure.Stanikzai and Shenwari took over after Shehzad’s departure. Stanikzai kept the sixes coming to end on 44 off 33, while Shenwari carved fours through off to finish with 30 off 23.UAE’s openers Faizan Asif and Mohammad Shahzad had given them a solid start with a stand of 63 inside seven overs. But the introduction of Mirwais Ashraf sent back the openers and also slowed down the scoring. Swapnil Patil ran himself out cheaply and Shaiman Anwar fell to Hamid Hassan in the 17th over after looking good for his 35 off 25. Despite some late hitting, UAE finished on a par score when they could have managed more.

Leeds United could be making a huge mistake as a transfer update emerges on Francisco Trincao’s possible move to Elland Road this summer.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent weeks have claimed that Raphinha is someone who Barcelona are keen to land when the transfer window opens, with the Brazilian winger’s agent, Deco, having close ties to those at the Camp Nou.

Now, Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo (via Sport Witness) have revealed that the Whites would be open to taking a young player in return from the La Liga giants, and that Trincao could be someone who moves in the opposite direction if Raphinha does make the switch.

Orta making a mistake

Given Trincao is on the books at Barcelona, there’s no surprise that a number of people, including his former teammates, have waxed lyrical about his talents, with Ronald Araujo saying: “He is not so fast or intense but I think he has a little more magic.  He was an amazing kid, very skinny. Physically, he was very poor but with the ball he was magic, doing tricks, so skilful.”

And, about the 22-year-old previously, his former teammate at Braga, Abel Ruiz, said: “I would say Trincao looks like Messi, but you can’t compare anyone to Leo. He is the typical left-winger who has a good dribble, someone who’s skilled. If he plays on the right, he goes inside and hits with his left. On the left, he overflows and scores many goals.

“He’s a very good player and I’m sure that he will do very well at Barca. Trincao, honestly, is a very complete player. He’s more than ready to play for Barca. His shot is incredible.”

But, since making the loan switch to Wolves last summer, the Portuguese ace just simply hasn’t delivered the goods on a consistent basis in English football.

Dubbed as being “toothless” by Nathan Judah, the winger has earned a measly average match rating of 6.60 from WhoScored, making him one of the lowest-rated Wolves players to start more than ten league games – indeed, only Leander Dendoncker figures lower than him in that regard.

Trincao appears to be someone who is very much streaky in his displays, capable of pulling off the sublime like he did against Leeds themselves when he scored one and made one, but also going on a run of nine games without a single goal contribution prior to that clash at Molineux.

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The £25m-rated trickster may have the natural talent to potentially being an exciting addition to this Leeds team, but his overall performances and lack of consistency in the Premier League make him a very questionable signing for Marsch this summer.

Seeing Leeds swap Trincao for Raphinha would be an almighty backwards step, and it’s a mistake Victor Orta would be very wise to avoid.

AND in other news – Forget Joffy: Marsch can get Leeds rocking by finally unleashing “phenomenal” 20 y/o

Jeff Thomson and Wally Grout will become the newest inductees into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame at the Allan Border Medal night in Melbourne on Wednesday.Thomson was one of cricket’s most fearsome pacemen and took 200 wickets at 28.00 from 51 Tests, and was also regarded by many who faced him as the fastest bowler the game has seen. He formed a terrifying partnership with Dennis Lillee during the 1970s and in particular demolished England during the 1974-75 Ashes, which was just Thomson’s second Test series.”Only a handful of Australian cricketers had taken 200 Test wickets and Jeff did it at a strike rate of almost four wickets a Test, which is exceptional,” David Crow, the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame chairman, said. “But of course he was most famous for his pace and outright aggression, and it is was these qualities that people came to see when he played. He was a major drawcard for Australian cricket.”Thomson, now 65, rates the 1974-75 Ashes as a career highlight, along with playing in the 1975 World Cup final, and beating West Indies during 1975-76. He had made his Test debut in 1972-73 against Pakistan but went wicketless in his one Test appearance that season, which he played with a broken foot, and he was finally given another chance two years later.”I had to work really hard to get back (into the Test side), and I never doubted I was good enough,” Thomson said. “I always knew I was going to brain them, I just needed the opportunity.”Of the Hall of Fame honour, Thomson said: “It’s for my wife and kids, my parents, my brothers, my mates, all those people who took me to cricket when I was young and helped me along the way. I got a ring from a mate of my brother’s who I hadn’t spoken to for 30 years. He was rapt and said how weird it was for a bunch of kids who used to play cricket for hours against a telephone pole that one of us was now in the Hall of Fame.”Like Thomson, Grout also played 51 Tests, and he finished his career with 187 wicketkeeping dismissals, which at the time made him the Australian record holder and the second most prolific keeper in Test history behind England’s Godfrey Evans. His Test career lasted from 1957 to 1966, and he died of a heart attack at the age of 41, less than three years after his last Test.”Wally Grout was one of Australia’s finest wicketkeepers,” Crow said. “Luminaries such as Bob Simpson and Wes Hall claimed he was the finest gloveman they had ever seen. Wally Grout was the first player in Test history to claim six dismissals in an innings and that remains an Australian record which has since been matched by Rod Marsh, Ian Healy and Adam Gilchrist.”Wally also set the record for the most catches taken in a Sheffield Shield innings, eight, which is now held jointly with Darren Berry. But Wally’s contribution went beyond immaculate wicketkeeping. He was highly regarded for his honesty, integrity and sense of humour. As captain, Richie Benaud relied on Wally for the team’s strategy because of his great understanding of the game.”Grout and Thomson take the number of Hall of Fame inductees to 43 since its inception in 1996.Hall of Fame inductees Warwick Armstrong, Richie Benaud, John Blackham, Allan Border, Sir Donald Bradman, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Belinda Clark, Alan Davidson, George Giffen, Adam Gilchrist, Clarrie Grimmett, Wally Grout, Neil Harvey, Lindsay Hassett, Ian Healy, Clem Hill, Bill Lawry, Dennis Lillee, Ray Lindwall, Charles Macartney, Rod Marsh, Stan McCabe, Glenn McGrath, Graham McKenzie, Keith Miller, Arthur Morris, Monty Noble, Bill O’Reilly, Bill Ponsford, Jack Ryder, Bob Simpson, Fred Spofforth, Mark Taylor, Jeff Thomson, Hugh Trumble, Victor Trumper, Charlie Turner, Doug Walters, Shane Warne, Mark Waugh, Steve Waugh, Bill Woodfull.

Sri Lanka A 245 for 8 (Udawatte 92) v Zimbabwe Select
ScorecardZimbabwe Select put up a spirited fight after lunch to check Sri Lanka A’s progress on the first day of their four-day match at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. The hosts bowled superbly in the afternoon to restrict Sri Lanka to 245 for 8 at the close.Sri Lanka looked on course for a huge score when openers Mahela Udawatte and Tharanga Paranavitana took them to 78 for 0 at lunch. They extended the opening stand to 98 before Paranavitana edged Prosper Utseya to the keeper. Udawatte was dropped twice, first on 19 and then on 89, and punished the errors before he offered Timycen Maruma a return catch.Maruma was the outstanding bowler, finishing with 3 for 48. He was not initially supposed to play but was drafted in as a late replacement for Sean Williams who withdraw with a severe headache a few minutes before the start.Utseya and Chamu Chibhabha chipped in with two wickets apiece while Christopher Mpofu picked up one.

Auckland v Wellington
Wellington were well placed to take first-innings points as they inched to within 61 of Auckland’s total on another rain-affected day at Christchurch. After losing the entire second day, only 49 overs were possible today, but Wellington used them to good effect after an early shock when they found themselves at 29 for 2. New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming’s lean start to the season continued when he was trapped in front by Tama Canning for just 6. However that brought Jesse Ryder to the crease, who changed the tone of the match by scoring a quick-fire 77 off just 88 balls before falling to Lou Vincent. At stumps Matthew Bell was not out 65 and Neal Parlane 18.Central Districts v Northern Districts
Northern Districts gifted Central Districts first-innings points but showed they intend to make a game of it after declaring 402 runs behind at Lincoln. Whether anything will come of it will depend on the weather in Canterbury which has severely disrupted days two and three. Central’s Greg Hay took his total through to 74 to continue his impressive start as a first-class player while Bruce Martin, the left-arm spinner, ended the first innings with 4 for 117 from 40 overs of toil. Perhaps the most interesting point will be how much stock the New Zealand selectors will place in Hamish Marshall’s undefeated 33 before the declaration.

Marvan Atapattu will end the ODI series with more questions than answers © Getty Images

If one were to go by the ICC one-day rankings, this series has seen a struggling David maul a Golliath on the roll. To have begun the series as the second ranked team and to then have to endure defeat after crushing defeat has left the Sri Lankans somewhat flat. Atapattu explained how it is doubly hard to beat an opponent who has seized the momentum: “South Africa were in a similar situation when we beat them 5-0. Whatever we tried worked. Even the part-timers won us matches.”Even at Ahmedabad, when India were so light on bowling ammunition, Sri Lanka were stretched to the limit and the implosion at Rajkot was a sort of debacle that can leave a side completely deflated. Now they need to summon every ounce of fuel to get through the last game of the series at Baroda, try and snatch a win, forget about the last few weeks and then return for the Test series stronger and wiser. When they were 0-4 down in the series, Mahela Jayawardene spoke about how they would approach the last three games as if it was another three-match series. With that logic, this is their final.Murali and Maharoof unlikelyIt is very unlikely that Sri Lanka will risk playing both Muttiah Muralitharan and Farveez Maharoof for the game. Regarding Murali, Kumar Sangakkara said, “He’s always willing to play but it’s important to look at how to handle him right throughout. We need to take the long-term plans into consideration.” Maharoof sustained an injury while bowling in the previous game and Sangakkara added that he had four sutures between his thumb and forefinger. “The physio is monitoring him and we haven’t yet taken a final decision.”For India, Gautam Gambhir, who had a slight fever for the last few days, was left out and Jai Prakash Yadav, recalled to the squad recently, will also not get a chance tomorrow. The ground, which was flooded two months back, looked in top shape on the eve of the game and the curator predicted that it was a “280 pitch”. And like most of the pitches in this series, which have been lop-sided towards the batsmen, this one too adheres to the Ivan Lendl principle – grass is meant for cows.Out-run, out-thought
Sri Lanka have been exposed in several areas – including poor shot selection and spinners not being able to come to grips with the conditions – but they’ve faltered on two more basic counts. The fielding has plummeted and the team, as Atapattu himself admitted, has struggled to come to terms with the Powerplay rule. While the first can be attributed to the low morale in the side, and considered an aberration, the second is probably a more serious concern. For long, Sri Lanka turned games in the middle overs as their bowlers followed a set template to choke the opposition. India have not only out-run them in the field, but they have out-thought them with the strategies used in the Powerplay. Winning these two minor battles at Baroda will be a big step in their path to redemption. However, nothing will come easy as India seek to maintain all the impetus ahead of another important series – a five-match rubber against South Africa, who, ironically, are presently the second-best side in the world.Welcome to Pathan countryBaroda awaits as Pathan gears up for his home debut. Auto-rickshaw drivers have dropped him to nets, shop owners have seen him play in the gullies, waiters in restaurants rattle off his favourite dishes, the mosque where he grew up is one of the most famous landmarks, and teenage girls emphatically state that he is “our Irfan” irrespective of what the rest of the girls in the country think. “But he may be rested,” says one of the journalists to get the reaction from a bevy of young ladies. The reply is tinged with outrage: “Then the stadium will be empty and we will also rest at home.”Teams
India (probable) 1 Sachin Tendulkar, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Yuvraj Singh, 4 Rahul Dravid (capt), 5 Mohammad Kaif, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 7 Irfan Pathan, 8 Ajit Agarkar, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Murali Kartik, 11 Rudra Pratap Singh, Supersub: Suresh RainaSri Lanka (probable) 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 3 Upul Tharanga, 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Marvan Atapattu (capt), 6 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Russel Arnold, 8 Dilhara Lokuhettige, 9 Chaminda Vaas, 10 Nuwan Zoysa, 11 Dilhara Fernando, Supersub: Thilan Samaraweera.

Scorecard

Shane Watson: charging to victory© Getty Images

As expected, Queensland beat Tasmania by seven wickets at Brisbane, wrapping up the win before lunch on the final day.But they had to overcome a nervous first half-hour as Damien Wright and Adam Griffith reduced them to 3 for 30 with blistering opening spells. Chasing only 86 to win, Queensland were still not in any serious trouble, and Shane Watson and Craig Philipson then combined to knock off the runs without any further alarms.Queensland, who took maximum points from the game, are now on 22 points, 10 clear of nearest rivals New South Wales, with the rest of the states level on six points.Andy Bichel was named Man of the Match for his first-innings 69 and seven wickets, including five in Tasmania’s second innings.

Chaminda Vaas

Sri Lankan left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas has agreed to join Hampshire Cricket on a short-term contract to the end of the 2003 season.Vaas, who has not played county cricket before, arrives in England over the weekend and is expected to make his debut in the National League Division Two match at the Rose Bowl on Monday August 4 against the Scottish Saltires.First-team manager Paul Terry was delighted that the man who has played 68 Tests and 227 one-day internationals for his country has agreed to join Hampshire.He said, before the start of the floodlit National League match with Northamptonshire Steelbacks on Wednesday evening, “I am delighted that Chaminda had agreed to join and received clearance from the Sri Lankan Cricket Board to do so.”It is especially pleasing that we have a player of such quality coming to join us.”It is left-arm bowler for left-arm bowler, as Vaas replaces Pakistani Wasim Akram, who left the county two weeks ago.

Otago’s under-19 cricketers are in good heart after a stirring finish to their annual match with the Southland Hawke Cup team.Batting first at Queen’s Park in Invercargill, Otago squeezed through to 175, the inning ending in the 49th over. Best of the Otago batsmen was Michael Ross with 51. Dave McQueen took three for 22 for Southland.Southland was in trouble early but a fine partnership between No 7 Kieran Lines, with 44, and No 8 Geoff Folster, 33, saw the home side take the honours off the first ball of the 50th over.

Celtic midfielder James Forrest will miss his side’s vital Scottish Premiership showdown with Rangers through injury, Ange Postecoglou has confirmed.

The Lowdown: Huge clash at Ibrox

The Hoops face their biggest game of the season on Sunday afternoon, making the trip to face their biggest rivals at Ibrox.

Celtic currently lead the way by three points at the top of the table, so Postecoglou will know how priceless victory would be this weekend, even though avoiding defeat remains the key.

The league leaders will have to make do without an old head, however, with an injury blow emerging in the build-up on Friday.

The Latest: Forrest ruled out

Speaking to the media on Friday, Postecoglou confirmed that Forrest would miss out, having failed to recover from an injury picked up last month:

“In terms of injuries, everyone has got through the international window well, the only one who is not available for the weekend is James Forrest. He still has a bit of a niggle from his last game, so he’s the one that’s ruled out.”

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The Verdict: Experience will be missed

In truth, Forrest hasn’t been the influential player he once was this season, only managing eight starts in the league, with a knee injury keeping him sidelined in the early months of the campaign.

That being said, the Scot’s vast experience in this fixture could have made him a priceless figure on Sunday, with the occasion unlikely to get the better of him.

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That nous will be missed at Ibrox – he still has four goals this season and has won 18 out of 25 total appearances against Rangers – but the hope is that Celtic still have enough quality to pull through and show that they are the champions in waiting.

In other news, a pundit has dropped a key Celtic injury claim. Read more here.