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St. Lucia notched up an easy win over Cayman Islands in the opening match of the Stanford 20/20 at the Stanford Cricket Ground in Coolidge, Antigua. Set 135 to win, Cayman Islands stumbled to 88 for 8 to lose by 46 runs and be knocked out of the 20-team tournament.Replying to St. Lucia’s 134 for 8, Cayman Islands found it difficult to maintain a high scoring rate, reaching 46 for 2 at the ten-over mark. This was due to some tight bowling by new ball bowler Xavier Gabriel, along with first and second change bowlers Gary Mathurin and Alleyne Prospere, who bowled three overs each for nine and 10 runs respectively. Captain Pearson Best was the only batsman to get a start, but he was trapped by medium-pacer Cyrille Charles for 24. Cayman Islands lost three more wickets – Keneil Irving (1), Michael Wright (2) and Ryan Bovell (1) – within the space of ten runs to sink to 55 for 6, and the St.Lucia bowlers just had to complete their alloted overs.Earlier, St. Lucia, got off to a poor start after choosing to bat, stumbling to 27 for 3 by the fourth over. But Cletus Mathurin, who scored a patient 47-ball 39, partnered with Sergio Fedee (17) to add 60 runs for the fourth wicket. Fedee was brilliantly run out by Conroy Wright, who received the US$10,000 prize for the Play of the Day, for throwing down the stumps for short third man. Mervin Wells contributed 20 towards the end to stretch St. Lucia’s score while offspinner Saheed Mohamed claimed three wickets. Mathurin earned the Man-of-the-Match award for his knock, which was the highest score in the match.

SAA Provincial Challenge – Pool B

A thrilling match between Easterns and Namibia ended in a draw at Windhoek as the visitors managed to cling on. Namibia set them 275 and they made game chase before losing five wickets for 24 runs to be in some bother at 173 for 7 and open the door for Namibia. Bjorn Kotze and Deon Kotze were the brothers grimly determined and they took those five wickets between them, but their side managed to take just one more wicket, dismissing Brendon Reddy. But that was not before he and EP Nyawo had stabilised Easterns with a match-saving stand of 29 for the eighth wicket. Revelation Plaatje also did his bit, standing firm for 26 balls for an unbeaten 10 as Namibia’s hopes of the win faded.Over at East London, Eastern Province completed what was in the end a comfortable 106-run victory against Border. After low-scoring first-innings efforts from both sides, EP extended their slender 32-run lead to 261, before declaring. Border’s chase was delayed by 20 minutes because of a shower but rain couldn’t save them from slip-sliding away to 155 all out in 50 overs. They lost both openers with just 2 on the board and then after Matthew Richardson fell, Deon Carolus spearheaded a big collapse, taking four of the six wickets to fall for 30 runs. Bryan Voke and Phaphama Fojela struggled through a brave ninth-wicket stand of 58, but it wasn’t enough and the innings folded with a good 20 overs left on the clock.The other Pool B match, plus the only A match (Mpumalanga v Free State) will appear here soon.

SAA Provincial Cup – Pool B

The two sides met again in the cup and again Namibia had the edge, completing a thumping seven-wicket win with 7.4 overs to spare. Easterns were sent in first and were soon in trouble at 100 for 6, as they lost three wickets for eight runs in a middle-order wobble. Once more at Windhoek they relied on their lower order to chip in vital runs, Sean O’Connor and Brendon Reddy both making forties to boost them past 200. As it was 209 proved an insubstantial total, as Tatenda Taibu and Gerrie Snyman butchered their way to an unbeaten third-wicket stand of 171 to take their side home at a canter. Taibu blasted 65 from 116 balls, but Snyman’s effort was spectacular – 116 from just 91 balls. His knock included six fours and eight sixes, one of which fittingly closed proceedings.A report on Mpumulanga’s tussle with Free State, the only other cup match this round, will appear here soon.

Glenn McGrath will miss the VB Series finals beginning on Friday © Getty Images

Glenn McGrath will not play in the VB Series finals, choosing instead to spend time with his family after his wife Jane had a relapse of cancer. He has made no announcement regarding his availability for Australia’s tour of South Africa later this month.Cricket Australia backed McGrath’s decision. “Glenn has decided that he needs to be with his family in the immediate future and we completely support that decision,” Trevor Hohns, the chairman of selectors, said. “Our thoughts are with Glenn and Jane at what is a very difficult time.”McGrath hasn’t played Australia’s past two matches following his wife’s diagnosis and she will undergo radiotherapy this week. “Let me make this perfectly clear – my priority is helping my wife Jane and two children, Holly and James, through this tough time,” McGrath wrote in his newspaper column today.

ScorecardSri Lanka A’s fightback gathered strength on day two of this unofficial Test as Malinga Bandara grabbed the attention of the Sri Lanka selectors with a career-best 8 for 49. The home side’s batsmen then quickly wiped away England A’s slim first innings lead as Shantha Kalavitigoda scored 83 to leave them 199 runs ahead with five wickets remaining.England had been strolling along on the first afternoon on 77 for 1. But the fall of Ian Bell (31) precipitated a dramatic slide. Owais Shah kept his cool with 50 from 128 balls but his middleand lower-order colleagues formed a procession at the other end. Bandara, ripping the ball sharply, cleaned up. England A lost their last nine wickets for 80 runs.Sri Lanka A’s top order, which succumbed to meekly on the first day to Bell’s medium pace wobblers, then produced their first strong performance of the series. Kalavitigoda, a 27-year-old opener who has been quietly impressing during the past year with his solid consistency, anchored their second dig with a 176-ball innings.It was slow going for Sri Lanka A but after their previous failures the pressure was on. Gayan Wijekoon faced 85 balls for his 21 and Jehan Mubarak, the skipper, dug in for 52 deliveries for his unbeaten 13. Anushka Polonowita (37) and Prasanna Jayawardene (31 not out) also made useful contributions. Once again, Bell’s medium pace proved effective as he finished with 2 for 26.

Canterbury achieved the early breakthrough necessary to force Otago to follow on, bundled them out a second time and chased down the nominal target to win easily. Otago fought to the last, though. Chris Gaffaney gave them a great chance of saving the match but was finally out for 76. Warren Wisneski had been the early bugbear for Otago, taking the first four wickets to fall in the innings.For a long period it seemed that Canterbury would cruise to an innings win, but a spirited 75-minute stand for the last wicket between David Sewell and Bradley Scott kept the situation tight. They added only 38 runs, but the time they used up caused Canterbury to unravel as they made silly, unforced mistakes that only extended their agony.Finally, however, a breakthrough came when Stephen Cunis managed to effect a direct run out, throwing side-on with only one stump in view. It was a doubtful run in the first instance and Otago paid the price.Canterbury needed 68 in 15 overs. They lost three wickets in the process as Jeff Wilson continued the hold he had over the Cantabrians. He followed his five wickets in the first innings with two more before Canterbury finally got home with 10 balls to spare, Wilson finishing with 2 for 24. Canterbury moved to the top of the State Championship points table by taking the maximum eight points from the game.

Gujarat batted themselves into a strong position at the end of theopening day of their match against Andhra at the Sardar Patel Stadium,Motera, Ahmedabad.After winning the toss, H Joshipura and ND Modi got the home team offto the best possible start. The duo piled on 224 runs for the firstwicket before Modi was dismissed just eight short of what would havebeen a deserved century. Joshipura, who followed almost immediately,though had the satisfaction of notching 113 well-made and patient runsagainst his name. When stumps were drawn, NK Patel and skipper MukundParmar were batting on 11 and 7 respectively.

Bahrain’s inningsThe match started at the Bugti Stadium Quetta, the capital city of the province of Baluchistan. It is a hill station with a pleasant but at times cool summer.Nepal won the toss and elected to field first. The result showed that they were pretty wise in reading the pitch. Batting first, Bahrain met a disastrous start by losing 7 wickets for 32 runs in 19 overs. Except for Rizwan Abdul Ghani who was run out after scoring useful 15 runs, no other batsman was able to score more than 5 runs. Unable to face the pressure of Nepal’s hostile bowling, Bahrain was all out for 42 runs in 23.4 overs. Basanta Regmi was the leading bowler with 3 wickets for 6 runs in 5 overs.Nepal InningsFacing an easy target of 43 runs, Nepal opened with Monik Shrestha and Prakash Sharma, who was bowled by Anand Mahendra for 6. Nepal thus lost the 1st wicket at 19.Prem Chaudhary joined opener Shrestha and both of them carried their team to victory. Nepal scored 44 for 1 in 10.1 overs. Shrestha (15) and Pram Chaudhary (15) remained not out. Nepal achieved a remarkable victory over Bahrain by 9 wickets.

Speaking to GiveMeSport, journalist Michael Bridge of Sky Sports has raved over Tottenham Hotspur defender Eric Dier for his general form this season.

The Lowdown: Dier impressing for Spurs…

Overall, it has hard to make the argument against the 28-year-old being one of Spurs’ best players in the current campaign.

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Indeed, the Englishman may have seemingly fired himself back into international contention in time for the Three Lions’ 2022 World Cup campaign in Qatar later this year.

Speaking earlier this season, Spurs legend Glenn Hoddle explained his disbelief over how ‘different’ Dier looks under Antonio Conte, whilst also praising the Italian for ‘getting a tune’ out of the 28-year-old.

The Latest: Bridge praises Dier…

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Sky Sports reporter Bridge has now made his own claim on Dier’s general form throughout 2021/22, calling him the Lilywhites’ ‘most improved’ player under the 52-year-old.

When asked about the centre-back, the journalist replied: “I think he’s Tottenham’s most improved player under Conte.”

The Verdict: Deserved praise…

Often criticised for his performances last season, Dier’s rejuvenation under Conte has arguably been one of the standout Spurs success stories of the current campaign.

Bridge and Hoddle aren’t the only members of the media to single out the 28-year-old’s impressive form, with another reporter in Paul Brown calling the player and his passing ‘underrated’ (GiveMeSport).

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Gareth Southgate could well be watching on ahead of the World Cup in November, and it’s safe to say that Dier should be a contender to earn his place back in an England squad for a major tournament for the first time since 2018.

In other news: ‘Wow’, ‘One to watch’…Media blown away by ‘stunning’ development at Tottenham, find out more here.

	Ricky Ponting has been surprised by the response to Australia’s Sydney performance © Getty Images

Ricky Ponting has used the strong public reaction to his side over the past week to pin-point areas Australia need to improve. However, he said there were no “glaring issues” to address after the heated Sydney Test.”But when they are all added together in the heat of such a tense and dramatic final day, they caused a reaction, so we need to tighten up on how we play,” he wrote in his column in the Australian. “We are very keen to ensure we get the balance of how we play the game right so we can focus clearly on another very big match coming up.”Australia held a team meeting in Perth on Sunday to discuss their Spirit of Cricket pledge, which was developed under Steve Waugh in 2003, and talked about areas where things didn’t go as planned in Sydney. The Test contained problems over racism, umpiring, sportsmanship, catching and walking and both teams face alterations in their outlook before the four-match series resumes on Wednesday.”I have been surprised by the reaction of some in the broader community who believe we did not play that amazing Sydney Test in the spirit of the game,” he said. “We take the spirit of cricket very seriously and are determined to ensure we are not only remembered as a good team, but one that is respected throughout the cricket world for the way we play.”He said he was prepared for negative comments about the side because “we are not going to keep everyone happy 100% of the time”. “I am always happy to cop that sort of criticism and go away and find ways and means of how we can make things better, as we all are,” he said. “We are certainly not brushing off the criticism because if there is a public reaction like there has been, there are some areas we need to improve.”Ponting said it was sad the controversy had taken the spotlight away from the match, which Australia secured with seven balls remaining to take the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. “To be 6 for 130 and win a Test with eight or nine minutes to go on the last day, you have obviously played some great cricket, but it hasn’t been mentioned very much,” he said. “However, that’s out of our control. All I remember from the game is playing and winning one of the all-time great Tests.”

Kennedy Otieno: ignored the deadline set by Kenya’s selectors © ICC

Cricket Kenya has confirmed that Kennedy Otieno and Hitesh Modi will not be considered for selection for the World Cup, as reported last week by Cricinfo.There was some confusion last week after senior officials appeared to contradict each other over the pair’s availability, but David Waters, the head of selection, told Cricinfo that the situation was unambiguous.”Just to clarify the position regarding selection,” he said, “only players who participated in training and the practice matches held in Nairobi up to January 11 will be considered.Players based overseas were given a deadline by which to return to participate in the training and practice matches. Therefore Kennedy and Hitesh will not be considered for the World Cup.”All players were written to on December 8 informing them that they had to be with the training squad by January 3. It is reported that although Otieno did try to return from Australia, where he has a club contract, he was unable to get back to Kenya before the deadline.