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Opener Nick Knight continued his run spree to inspire England to 7-279 from its 50 overs against Sri Lanka in the series-shaping one-day match here today.Knight struck a stylish 88 and veteran Alec Stewart a half century as England compiled its competitive total in sweltering heat at Adelaide Oval.As temperatures hovered around 39 degrees Celsius, Knight was the star England performer in an encounter which will play a crucial role in deciding Australia’s opponent in the tri series finals.England entered the day-night encounter just one point ahead of Sri Lanka on the competition table, with both nations having two minor round matches remaining.After his captain Nasser Hussain won the toss and batted on a true Adelaide pitch, Knight demonstrated why he was the tri series’ leading runscorer by consistently finding gaps in the Lankan field.The lefthander, who entered today’s fixture with 352 runs at the imposing average of 70.40, struck just two fours and one six in his 112-ball stay today.Knight was sedate early as his opening partner Marcus Trescothick blasted 39 from 42 deliveries at the top of the innings.Trescothick was dismissed attempting a crude cross bat slog from Chamila Gamage’s bowling, bringing Michael Vaughan to the crease for his first one-day appearance this series.Showing no signs of a knee injury which flared after the Ashes series against Australia, Vaughan breezily struck 28 from 34 balls before mistiming a pull shot to be caught by Chaminda Vaas at wide mid-on from Dilhara Fernando’s bowling.Hussain made 18 before Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya snuck a delivery through bat and pad which clipped off stump.Knight fell soon after when caught behind from Vaas’ bowling and the next ball Ian Blackwell was adjudged lbw for a golden duck.Vaas was denied his hat-trick by Paul Collingwood, who combined with evergreen Stewart for a handy 54 run stand from 46 deliveries as the Englishmen lifted the tempo in the latter overs.Stewart finished with 51 from 59 balls and Collingwood 18, including a six.

This time last year, Glamorgan fans were drowning their sorrows in London afterGlamorgan`s defeat in the 2000 Benson and Hedges Cup final at Lord`s.A year later, June 9th and 10th, 2001 saw the champagne corks popping at Chelmsford after two of the most stunning victories in the club`s history, as the Welsh county`s batsmen rewrote many of the club`s batting records with two breathtaking runchases against Essex.On Saturday, Glamorgan successfully chased a target of 364 in 84 overs,reaching the target with nineteen balls to spare, thanks to 156 fromcaptain Steve James and 90 from Matthew Maynard.Their efforts resulted in Glamorgan equalling their record for their highest ever successful run chase in Championship history. In June 1990, they were set the same target by Hampshire, and thanks to a brutal century by Viv Richards, Glamorgan reached the target in the final over.But in this match at Southampton, the Welsh side had 102 overs in which tochase the target, 18 more than on Saturday at Chelmsford, and the run chase against Hampshire only came about after most of the second day had been washed out by rain, and the two captains had got their heads together on the final morning in an attempt to breath life in to the game.A month later, in July 1990 at Abergavenny, Glamorgan were involved in another huge run chase on the final day of their game against Worcestershire. Their target was 495 in 88 overs, and after centuries by Alan Butcher and Hugh Morris, plus half-centuries by Robert Croft and Nigel Cowley, Glamorgan fell just two runs short of their target in a nerve-jangling contest that ended in a draw.Looking now at yesterday`s remarkable National League game at Chelmsford, Glamorgan defeated Essex after being set a target of 254 in 34 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis method. An aggressive 97 by Keith Newell, plus an unbeaten 87 from Matthew Maynard saw the Welshmen home, with thirteen balls to spare.This was not Glamorgan`s highest ever score batting second in the competition, as in 1992 they scored 263-3 to defeat Northamptonshire at Luton. But in this game, the Welsh county had 38 overs at their disposal, making yesterday`s victory at Chelmsford a superior one in terms of runs per over, as they chased a target of 7.47 runs per over, compared with 6.92 at Luton.Their previous best one-day victory in terms of run rate came at Northampton in May 1998, once again after rain and a re-calculation using the Duckworth-Lewis method. Glamorgan`s target was 174 in 24 overs, at an asking rate of 7.25, and a cavalier 77 by Tony Cottey off just 42 balls saw Glamorgan home by five wickets with three balls to spare.

Najam Sethi, the PCB executive committee head, has announced a five-team franchise-based Twenty20 league to be held from February 4 to 24 next year in Doha, Qatar. The teams would be from the provincial capitals – Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta and Islamabad – with prize money of $1 million.The PCB had initially planned to host the league in the UAE, Pakistan’s virtual home since 2009. However, when the PCB approached the Emirates Cricket Board to secure the venues during the third week of June, they learned that the organisers of the Masters Champions League – a tournament for retired international cricketers – had already booked the stadiums for the February window.”After extensive negotiations with various stakeholders, the Pakistan Super League governing council has decided to lock Doha as its preferred location for the tournament,” Sethi said in Lahore. “The five-team tournament will take place in February next year with a total of 24 matches scheduled to take place in the first edition. We are starting with five teams in order to build the value of our franchises and will expand the number of teams in the coming editions.”The signing of players for the league is yet to be finalised but Sethi informed that the PCB had engaged with player agents and are hoping that “top players” from every Full Member country other than India will be part of the league.”Top foreign players from all Test-playing nations except India have expressed interest in signing up for the PSL,” Sethi said. “As of now, the PSL team has consent from over 40 international players. In addition, top foreign coaches are also being roped in for the first edition of the PSL. The tournament will carry collective prize money of up to $ 1 million.”The latest plan for the league isn’t as high profile as the previous one during Zaka Ashraf’s regime under which the business model – unveiled in January 2013 – was expected to fetch the PCB “in excess of $100 million”.

Celtic have now reportedly set their sights on signing a Championship striker who Parkhead fans already love.

Henry tells Celtic "let Nancy cook"

Whilst many around Parkhead are quickly running out of patience with Wilfried Nancy, Premier League legend Thierry Henry has urged the Bhoys to give the Frenchman time in Scotland.

The former Arsenal man worked as Nancy’s assistant at Montreal several years ago and recently told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I see people calling for him to leave the place. As a coach myself, I think it’s too early to say that. Let him work and let him cook and judge him maybe at the end of the season.”

There’s no denying that the pressure’s on Nancy, however, after he made history by becoming the first Celtic manager to lose four-straight games since 1978.

The new manager had his own say on the matter in the build-up to his fifth game in charge against Aberdeen on Sunday, saying: “On Wednesday I think that what we did was interesting, with the way we attacked. And we had many opportunities. So the idea is not to stay still, we add improvements all the time.

“I have to change certain things to see players, but also see how I can adjust a few players, how I can mix players together. And I think that every game, I did that. My job is to still do it for the next game, and again, and again, and again. So that doesn’t change.”

Related Celtic can land dream Nancy upgrade by hiring "kamikaze" 4-3-3 manager

Celtic could already land an upgrade on Wilfried Nancy by swooping to appoint this manager as a replacement.

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What should help turn things around is the January transfer window if Nancy lasts that long in Scotland. It’s then that the Hoops could turn to a familiar face to rediscover their attacking spark.

Celtic plotting move to re-sign Kyogo

As reported by Football Insider, Celtic have now registered their interest in signing Kyogo Furuhashi from Birmingham City in the January transfer window.

The Japan international has endured a tumultuous time since swapping Celtic for Stade Rennais back in January and soon found himself at Birmingham in the summer. Just like in France, however, Kyogo has failed to make his mark in the Championship. Now, one year on from leaving, he could be on his way back to Parkhead.

Kyogo Furuhashi

Celtic record

Appearances

165

Goals

85

Assists

19

The forward arguably needs a reunion with Celtic just as much as those in Scotland. The Parkhead fan favourite scored 85 goals in 165 games for the Bhoys and earned plenty of praise from former Celtic star Chris Sutton, who dubbed Kyogo “unplayable” back in 2021.

Subscribe for deeper Celtic transfer analysis and updates Get in-depth context on Kyogo, Nancy and Celtic’s transfer plans by subscribing to the newsletter. Expect expanded analysis of transfer links, squad impact and what a Kyogo return would mean for tactics — all including in-depth Celtic coverage you’ll actually read. Subscribe Subscribe for deeper Celtic transfer analysis and updates Get in-depth context on Kyogo, Nancy and Celtic’s transfer plans by subscribing to the newsletter. Expect expanded analysis of transfer links, squad impact and what a Kyogo return would mean for tactics — all including in-depth Celtic coverage you’ll actually read.

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Whether Birmingham are ready to give up on their summer signing just yet is the big question. Kyogo cost the Blues as much as £10m, but is yet to show signs of coming good in the Championship.

	Fidel Edwards has craved to play county cricket © Getty Images

Worcestershire have signed Fidel Edwards, the West Indian fast bowler, as their overseas player for the second half of the 2008 season. Edwards is expected to join the club in time for their match against Northamptonshire on July 10, subject to clearance from the West Indies Cricket Board.Worcestershire had failed to sign Shane Bond, the former New Zealand fast bowler, after several weeks of negotiations but are confident in the international experience Edwards brings to the club.”Fidel is an International strike bowler with 30 Test matches under his belt who has the ability to bowl at 90 mph. His pace and aggression will suit Worcestershire for the second half of the season when the wickets have dried out,” Steve Rhodes, Worcestershire’ director of cricket, said. “He is exciting to watch and will add even more venom to our bowling attack.”Edwards, 26, said that playing county cricket had been an ambition for some time, and that he was excited at the opportunity to join the club. “I have heard it is hard work but I like it when I am being tested. It’s going to be a learning experience for me and I am willing to give whatever experience I have gained from playing test cricket. I can’t wait to be there.”Edwards has taken 75 Test and 44 one-day international wickets respectively.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Cathryn Fitzpatrick: made more of an impact with the bat than the ball © Getty Images

A career-best 85 from opener Melissa Bulow set the platform before a composed seventh-wicket partnership helped Australia clinch a last-ball thriller against India in what was a virtual semi-final at Chepauk. Set 231, Australia needed more than six an over in the last five overs, with only the tail to come, but some poor Indian fielding allowed them to get home without losing any more wickets.Like they’ve done throughout the tournament, India fumbled in the field and couldn’t convert run-out chances as the pressure mounted in the last 10 overs. Cathryn Fitzpatrick and Jodie Purves took advantage of India’s clumsiness and added a nerveless 47 in the last 43 balls to ensure Australia’s victory. This was after India had reached a competitive total thanks to half-centuries from Karuna Jain and Hemlata Kala.It was Bulow’s 91-ball 85 that set up Australia’s successful chase. Her half-century partnerships with Leah Poulton and Karen Rolton allowed Australia to whittle away 100 runs from the target. Bulow routinely cut the opening bowlers, Rumeli Dhar and Jhulan Goswami to the point boundary and managed boundaries behind the wicket as well. She took Amita Sharma out of the attack, smashing 12 off her opening over. Sharma had a forgettable match with the ball – returning to concede seven in her next over and not making much of an impact at the death.But India fought back through a rare show of athleticism on the field, with Mithali Raj dismissing Poulton, the opener, with an inspiring lunge. Poulton had driven hard but Raj, the Indian captain, dived to her left and took a catch off the ground, breaking the first-wicket partnership. Rolton was the next to go, driving straight to Kala in the covers and then soon after Lisa Sthalekar reverse swept a Nooshin Al Khadeer offbreak to the wicketkeeper.Khadeer also got the wicket of Sarah Edwards as she tried to go for the runs once Bulow had been dismissed. Purves joined Fitzpatrick at the crease at the fall of the sixth wicket and the duo calmed the nerves with a sensible stand. Fitzpatrick scored the occasional boundary to keep the run-rate at six an over and the two were allowed to rotate the strike thanks to India’s lethargy on the field.India were slightly slow to get off the mark with the bat as well. They’d slumped to 49 for 2 at the 15-over mark. The Australian bowlers restricted India’s scoring in the early half of the innings and had dismissed the in-form Jaya Sharma and Raj. However, Jain, the opener, Kala, the middle-order batsman, made considerable amends with half-centuries. The pair clung on even as Kirsten Pike and Emma Sampson got them to edge and at times be beaten by their medium-pace deliveries. Jain got off the mark with a four over midwicket off Fitzpatrick and repeated the shot through her innings, lucky to see it fall between fielders each time.Anjum Chopra, who returned to the side after being dropped for the two previous matches, also chipped in with an energetic 41. She too had some luck in the first part of her innings as edges off her bat beat the slips to reach the boundary. The two added 68 for the third wicket before Jain was trapped leg before by Sthalekar. Dhar was then bowled off the first ball she faced and when Kala joined Chopra at the crease, India were 118 for 4.Kala punished the spinners, Sthalekar and Nitschke, and even the otherwise economical Sampson and pushed the total towards 200. Some last-over hitting by Khadeer finally took India to their second-highest total of the tournament. In the end it proved a little too short and India can now only hope for a third place finish in the Quadrangular tournament. Australia will now play New Zealand in the final while India will take on England for a third place play-off on March 5.

Ian Blackwell is one of four players to come down with a stomach bug. © Getty Images

Simon Jones and all three England spinners are indisposed ahead of their second warm-up match against Board President’s XI at Baroda beginning on Thursday.Ian Blackwell, Monty Panesar, Shaun Udal and Jones were diagnosed with a stomach bug and their participation in the warm-up game will be decided tomorrow.Paul Collingwood suffered a back spasm after scoring 47 in the first innings against CCI President’s XI in Mumbai and has been ruled out of the match.

Phil Edmonds: oil baron© Getty Images

Phil Edmonds, the former England spinner turned entrepreneur, has taken the biggest gamble of his business career to date by striking a controversial oil-exploration deal in war-torn Southern Sudan, a region to which the French oil giant, Total, claims to have exclusive rights.Edmonds is the frontman of White Nile, a small oil venture that has forged a partnership with the Sudan’s People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), whose leadership has dismissed Total’s advances and has been won over by the promise of immediate investment into a region that has been decimated by civil war.”We have controlled this area for the last 20 years, we have fought for it," Costello Garang Ring Lual, a member of the SPLM’s national executive committee told The Guardian. "For someone to think they can come in and take it is just wrong. The government in the north [Khartoum] knows we are right. The agreement is very clear.”White Nile’s shares were frozen last month after rising 13-fold in less than a week – a remarkable rise that was reminiscent of the days of the dotcom boom. Their deal with the SPLM covers a 67,500km region which is believed could contain five billion barrels of oil, but though trading is set to resume next week, Total are breathing down White Nile’s necks and the City remains skeptical about their credentials."Any oil leaving Sudan will subsequently have a freezing order placed on it by lawyers acting for Total," Simon Cawkwell, a city trader told The London Evening Standard. "The South Sudanese may claim to have authority to give out contracts but very probably haven’t. Also, the place can’t be regarded as peaceful yet."

After carelessly arranging to get married in the middle of next week’s fourth and final Test against West Indies, Andre Nel’s awkward situation has finally been resolved.Nel and his fiancé, Deanne Weitz, have postponed the big day so Nel can play in the match at Centurion Park. The wedding was originally planned for 4.30pm on Saturday January 17, the second day of the Test. Nel had not expected to feature in the series when he set the date ten months ago, before he was contracted to the South African board.They have now managed to put the start back by two hours to 6.30pm that Saturday, meaning Nel will have to quickly swap his whites for his morning coat after play.Nel was delighted with the solution: “It’s been a pretty confusing and difficult time for us, but I am very pleased we were able to find an alternative time," he said. "I am fully committed to playing in the Test match and will be giving my usual %100 on the field throughout.”Deanne has been very understanding and supportive throughout the whole issue, as have the coach and convener of selectors,” he added. Nel wasn’t worried about anything going wrong, such as the possibility of play overrunning: “For once the groom might be late for the wedding!”Eric Simons, South Africa’s coach, was also pleased the issue has been settled: “Its good news all round," he said. "Nella has been a key man in our attack and it will be good to be able to select from the full squad.”The fourth Test starts at Centurion Park on Friday, January 16.

Andre Adams, the bustling all-rounder, was probably the only Aucklander who could raise a smile as Northern Districts outplayed Auckland by 60 runs with a smart all-round performance in the State Shield one-day cricket match on Eden Park’s outer oval today.Adams’ place in the New Zealand World Cup squad became firmer as he survived a stiff test on his back injury. He bowled at about three-quarter vigour to take four for 37 from ten overs in leading the Auckland bowling effort as Northern Districts scored 218 for seven in their 50 overs.However, Adams scored only a seven-minute two as the Auckland batting struggled and finally expired at 158 in 44 overs.Ross Dykes, one of the New Zealand selectors who must deliver the 15-man World Cup squad by the middle of next week, said he was heartened by Adams’ vigorous bowling, and by the way he was able to come back for a strong second spell.”He will have to come through a similar test at Alexandra on Monday when Auckland play Otago,” said Dykes, “but Andre gave a very encouraging performance and that pleases me.”If a stranger without World Cup favourites in his head had watched the game he would have lavished more praise on the two Northern Districts men – Joseph Yovich, the 26-year-old all-rounder, and Matthew Hart, the former New Zealand left-arm spinner – who saved their team’s cause in the early afternoon.After choosing to bat first on a tired-looking pitch – a relic of the Auckland-Wellington State Championship match earlier this month – the Northern Districts first innings stuttered along. Adams and Richard Morgan reduced Northern to 26 for two and then three (the third being Scott Styris, another World Cup candidate, for a four-ball duck) and eventually Northern were on then ropes at 81 for five.Half Northern Districts’ overs had been used up, and 150 or 160 seemed an optimistic target as the old pitch was not the easiest of batting surfaces. By the time Yovich arrived at this critical point, Hart had dug in with his dogged left-handed batting.Yovich is usually a low-order struggler, but he started today at No 7 as if he regarded himself as the confident batting star of the team. Soon he was stroking fours about the smooth outfield. A couple of sixes rocketed over the long-on line. Heartened by this (pardon the pun) Hart increased his scoring rate.Very soon the Auckland bowling began to look a little thin, the fielding not as keen and sharp as it had been early in the innings. They scored 50 runs together in 37 minutes from 66 balls and kept up the momentum with a second 50 in 40 minutes from 56 balls.By the time Adams bowled Yovich, the tall young man had scored 70 from 90 balls, including two sixes and seven fours, and the 107 runs he added with Hart had carried Northern Districts to 198, considerably better than the early limp batting had suggested.Hart went at 204 for seven, 153 minutes for his 62 from 81 balls, and Northern Districts probably had a very comfortable lunch.Matt Horne might have upset them with four quick fours in the opening Auckland attack, but he hit himself out at 30, Llorne Howell did the same at 39 and when Mark Richardson was caught behind after an unwise slash outside the off-stump, Auckland were three for 52, and worse at 55 for four when Tama Canning was run out.Hart, aided by Styris, then stifled the Aucklanders with their pin-point accuracy (Styris’ first spell read 6-3-6-0), and Hart thoroughly deserved figures of 10-0-30-2, although why he should concede eight no-balls must remain a mystery.Brooke Walker, the Auckland captain, led a dogged rearguard action with 33 not out from 79 balls, but the smart Northern Districts fielding wrapped up the rest of the innings.James Marshall was the star in this department, with superb catches to remove Horne, Howell and Rob Nicol, and them a brilliant stop and dive-pass of the ball to run out Morgan.