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Chris Gayle: unrepentant © Getty Images

West Indies’ tour of England has been plunged into further crisis with just two days to go until the Twenty20 internationals at The Oval, after Chris Gayle, the one-day captain, was condemned by the West Indies Cricket Board for refusing to back down from his recent criticism of the team’s shambolic tour arrangements.Gayle, who had already been smarting from the board’s initial vetoing of his appointment as one-day captain, hit out in his Cricinfo diary after the squad was forced to draft in five players from the local leagues to make up the numbers for their tour match against England Lions at Worcester last Thursday. The one-day specialists in the squad did not arrive from the Caribbean until the morning of the match, and so were unable to take part in the match.”The WICB says they want the best out of players but we also need the best out of the board,” said Gayle in his diary. “The board is always talking about players needing to change but we, the players, need changes from the board as well. We can’t be out in the wilderness all the time because we are the ones who are getting all the blame.”Gayle’s stance drew a sharp response from the board. Ken Gordon, the president, and Michael Findlay, the team manager, met with him on Monday for “lengthy discussions”, advising the player that his statement was “ill-advised and has caused unnecessary embarrassment to the WICB.” Gayle, however, was unrepentant and, in “a very strongly-worded letter of reprimand” was advised by Gordon and the board that his conduct was “totally unacceptable”.The matter is unlikely to end there, with the WICB threatening to pursue things further at the end of the tour. “The WICB is hopeful that notwithstanding his unwillingness to apologise, Mr. Gayle will understand the seriousness of his actions and avoid any further statements or behaviour that will force the WICB to take drastic and immediate action against him.”The intensity of the stand-off will only serve to deepen the resentment currently brewing in the West Indian camp. None of the senior board members were present during the 3-0 Test series defeat, and Gordon is only in the country to attend this week’s ICC meeting.Following an arbitration panel’s ruling last week which means that the WICB faces having to negotiate the contracts for this tour retrospectively, this public carpeting of one of their most senior players is an indication that those contracts are unlikely to be favourable to a team that, rightly or wrongly, feels it has been cut adrift by its paymasters.

The bat used by Don Bradman in his first Test against England at Brisbane’s Exhibition Ground in 1928-29 has been sold at auction in Sydney to an undisclosed buyer for $58,000 (US$44,000).Bradman had a quiet match, scoring 18 and 1 as England romped to an innings victory in the series opener. For the only time in his career, Bradman was dropped, returning for the third Test at Melbourne where he scored his maiden hundred.Sir Donald donated the bat to a children’s hospital, who in turn awarded it to a schoolboy for winning in a fundraising competition.Other items to go under the hammer included a bat, glove and Ashes handkerchief of Victor Trumper, items belonging to Warwick Armstrong and WG Grace, and a signed team photo of the 1909 Australian cricket team.

Sourav Ganguly got into his groove with a smashing hundred for Glamorgan © Getty Images

Sourav Ganguly shrugged off an indifferent start to his English season and cracked a defiant 142 for Glamorgan in their County Championship game against Kent at Cardiff. He smashed five sixes and 15 fours and was the last man out after a tenth-wicket stand of 80 with Andrew Davies had salvaged some pride for his struggling side. Ganguly had got into his groove in the first innings with a solid 69 and ended up as the joint top-scorer along with David Hemp. However, Glamorgan had fallen too far behind by then and were eventually beaten by ten wickets.The other Indians playing in England didn’t have much to cheer. Irfan Pathan couldn’t pick up any wickets in his 23 overs while playing for Middlesex against Surrey at Lord’s and ended with 0 for 73. He had earlier made a good impression with the bat, though, and his breezy 68 had taken Middlesex to a healthy 437 in the first innings. There was a mini-battle in the game as Pathan faced Harbhajan Singh, his Indian collague who is representing Surrey this season. Pathan spanked 11 fours in his 93-ball knock, including a brief charge against Harbhajan, but he was finally deceived by an offspinner that turned sharply and was bowled. Harbhajan finished with 2 for 87 from his marathon 35-over bowling spell.

Canterbury 215 (Fulton 90, Wiseman 65, Orchard 5-10) and 136 for 3 (Stewart 78) trail Northern Districts 434 by 83 runs
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The weather may turn out to be be Canterbury’s ally in the race for a place in the State Championship final. While nearly a full day was possible at Gisborne, Wellington and New Plymouth were subjected to the heavy rain that hit most of the North Island. If no further play is possible in the other two games, Canterbury will hang on by their finger nails, with the knowledge that they will have to beat Wellington outright to claim the title.Canterbury will also need to put up a better show than they produced after being asked to follow on. Peter Fulton’s innings ended on 90, soon after the resumption, while Paul Wiseman scored 65 after 231 minutes of graft. But he became the first of the victims who were involved in a hat-trick by Mark Orchard. It was only the fourth occasion in ND’s 51-year history that a hat-trick had been achieved, as Orchard finished with superb figures of 5 for 10.In their second innings, Canterbury lost two early wickets, including Fulton for a duck, but then recovered to reach 136 for 3 at stumps. Shanan Stewart (78) fell towards the end of the day after a 111-run partnership with Gary Stead (39 not out). However, Canterbury were still 83 runs behind ND’s first innings total.Otago 154 for 2 (Gaffaney 69) trail Wellington 482 for 9 dec (Walker 126, Nevin 124*) by 328 runs
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Central Districts 268 trail Auckland 316 by 48 runs
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The ECB National Academy defeated Victoria 2nd XI by 30 runs in Melbourne,Australia, in the squad’s first match after the Christmas break.Set a target of 404, Victoria were bowled out for 374 with Durham’s SteveHarmison again taking four wickets, so recording an eight-wicket match haul.A third wicket stand of 230 between Jewell (118) and Hussey (112) put Victoria in a strong position but the ECB NCA hit back to take the final eight wickets for 110 runs. Harmison found support from Steve Kirby, who took three wickets, Mark Wagh with two, and Chris Tremlett, who claimed a single victim. Wicket-keeper Mark Wallace took five catches.The ECB NCA earlier declared on 358 for seven, having added a further 39 runswithout loss to their overnight total. Chris Schofield finished on 48 notout, and Mark Wallace was unbeaten on 36.

Darren Bicknell – grinds out defiance to Sussex Photo © Paul McGregor

Nottinghamshire batted stubbornly in the sunshine at Hove to prevent Sussex from capitalising on their big 404-5 score on the first day. At 240-3 by the close the visitors were 82 runs away from saving the follow-on in this Division Two championship match.Jason Lewry and James Kirtley found little life in the pitch and the only early wicket was that of Guy Welton caught at slip. Darren Bicknell crept to 2 by lunch, took 56 minutes afterwards to increase, and got finally into double figures after being 26 overs at the crease.
Captain Jason Gallian was run out for 44 but John Morris increased the scoring rate with three boundaries in an over from Will House. He seemed to be set to prosper on a pitch which seemed to be made for batting.Sussex accepted the challenge by turning to the unorthodox left-arm spin of Michael Bevan who dismissed Bicknell at 163 to a slip-catch by Tony Cottey.Bicknell’s 45 had taken 66 overs. Usman Afzaal had an early life as Umer Rashid missed a easy chance. After that the batsmen proceeded easily enough with Morris on 75, just eleven runs short of his highest score of the season.Earlier Sussex had increased their overnight total by only 68 runs as the last five wickets toppled for 17: Paul Reiffel took three to finish with 4-85.

‘It doesn’t seem likely’ that Matt Targett will be at Newcastle United next season, transfer insider Dean Jones has told GiveMeSport.

The lowdown

In January, the 26-year-old sealed a loan move from Aston Villa to St James’ Park until the end of the season. He was one of five players signed by Eddie Howe in January, along with Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn, Bruno Guimaraes and Chris Wood.

The Shields Gazette have reported that Newcastle will have the option to purchase the left-back in the summer for a fee of around £15m.

The latest

Jones has said that Targett’s future is uncertain, but as it stands, the journalist doesn’t think that it lies at St James’ Park.

He told GiveMeSport: “Matt Targett’s future is up in the air at the moment. There is a possibility that he will join Newcastle but, at the moment, it doesn’t seem likely.”

The verdict

This is certainly a surprising revelation from Jones, as you would think that both parties would be keen on extending Targett’s stay on Tyneside.

It may well be best for the 26-year-old to leave Aston Villa permanently following their £25m January signing of Lucas Digne, who also plays in his position, while Howe has selected him every time he has been available in the Premier League.

In those seven games, he has averaged 2.9 clearances, 1.9 key passes (a team-high) and 1.9 tackles per match. Strikingly, his overall WhoScored rating of 6.98/10 is the fourth-highest in the squad.

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Indeed, Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher believes that Targett represents a ‘huge’ improvement on what has come before at Newcastle, so losing him would feel like a big setback for Howe and co.

In other news, this injured Newcastle duo are joining their team-mates in Dubai this week

	A win in Port-of-Spain will make Sri Lanka the first visitors to clean-sweep the West Indies © Getty Images

Match facts

Thursday, April 3, 2008
Start time 1000 (local) 1400 (GMT)

The big picture

A victory in the opening Test in Guyana has given Sri Lanka a golden opportunity to claim their first series win in the Caribbean. A win here would also give them a special record: they will become the first visiting side to complete a clean-sweep in the West Indies. Australia came close five years ago, when they won the first three Tests but a record-breaking chase in the final Test in Antigua snuffed out their hopes of a whitewash.Sri Lanka pulled off a 121-run win in the opening Test in Guyana, with Chaminda Vaas engineering the triumph with a splendid 8 for 109. It was their first Test win in five attempts, giving them a shot at an unprecedented sweep.The fact that a scheduled warm-up game was cancelled, owing to logistical reasons, is unlikely to dampen Sri Lankan spirits. Mahela Jayawardene has urged his side to go for a win while Chris Gayle, his counterpart, has plenty of problems with regard to team selection. It will no doubt be an uphill task but West Indies have a record to defend and plenty of pride to play for. The weather, though, might have the final say.

Form Guide – West Indies

Last five completed matches: LWLLLPlayer to watch: Amit Jaggernauth’s exclusion from the side for the first Test created a lot of controversy but he’s likely to win his Test cap in front of his home crowd. Jaggernauth’s chances were vastly improved with his match-winning performance in the final round Carib Beer Series match against Barbados last weekend. He is the highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 40 wickets at 14.40.

Last five completed matches: WWWDWPlayer to watch: Thilan Thushara offered steady support to the experienced bowling duo of Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan with match figures of 5 for 129 runs from 37.5 overs. One among the long line of left-arm seamers to have played for Sri Lanka, Thushara made his Test debut on Sri Lanka’s previous trip to the Caribbean five years ago. He subsequently faded but grabbed the opportunity in the first Test to stake his claim for a longer tenure.

Team news

West Indies will be without allrounder Ryan Hinds, who has a hamstring strain. It means Sewnarine Chattergoon, now fully recovered from the illness, is set to make his Test debut ahead of Devon Smith. He is likely to open along with Chris Gayle. There could also be a rare sight of two specialist spinners in the West Indian squad with Jaggernauth in line to join left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn in the side. The other option was to pick Fidel Edwards as a third fast bowler to support Daren Powell and Jerome Taylor.Sri Lanka were sweating over the fitness of Prasanna Jayawardene, who missed the final stages of the Guyana Test because of a hamstring injury, but he is set to retain his spot. Ishara Amarasinghe remains an option, instead of Rangana Herath, but it’s difficult to see Sri Lanka making too many changes to the winning side.West Indies (probable XI) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Sewnarine Chattergoon, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Daren Powell, 9 Jerome Taylor, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Amit Jaggernauth.Sri Lanka (probable XI) 1 Michael Vandort, 2 Malinda Warnapura, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), 8 Chaminda Vaas, 9 Thilan Thushara, 10 Rangana Herath, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.Umpires: Simon Taufel, Billy Bowden.

Pitch & conditions

Rain could play a part in the way the pitch behaves. Brian Davis, the groundsman, has spoken about a seamer-friendly track but things could be way different if West Indies choose two spinners. “Surely nobody wants all pitches to be built just for batsmen,” he said.Weather: The forecast isn’t too rosy with showers expected on the second, third and fifth days. The opening day could be overcast too.

Stats

If Sri Lanka win this Test, they would be the first visiting team to complete a clean-sweep in the Caribbean.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul is yet to score a hundred at the Queen’s Park Oval.

Quotes

“We want to get accustomed to the conditions in Trinidad. We’ll make sure we do all the hard work and challenge West Indies, and see if we can win this Test series 2-0.”
Mahela Jayawardene“I believe that if we can remain positive and focus, we can win the Test. It’s a must win situation for us to square the series. We’ll try and see what Sri Lanka has to offer a second time around both in the batting and bowling, so it is just for us to return to the drawing board, and come up with a plan, and come prepared to play a tough Test.”
Chris Gayle

Without the captaincy, Bashar hopes to bat himself back into form © AFP

Habibul Bashar is looking at the tour of Sri Lanka as an opportunity to bat himself back into form, especially since he doesn’t have the additional pressure of captaincy resting on his shoulders. Bangladesh play a full series against Sri Lanka, but Bashar’s focus was on the three Tests.Speaking to ahead of Bangladesh’s departure to Colombo, Bashar, 34, said he was keen on reminding the selectors of his worth. “After playing for a long time in the national team, there is hardly anything to prove as a player. But it’s altogether a different tour for me as this time I am not the captain of the team rather my main focus is to return among the runs to keep my place as a performer in the team.”I am not concerned about my career and right at the moment my main objective is to score runs as much as I can. The one-day series is not in my mind because I am only focusing on the Test series. I know how difficult the condition is but I am very confident.”After Bashar renounced the one-day captaincy last month, many expected him to quit the short format of the game altogether. But Bashar, despite an average of just 21.68 from 111 matches and the heavy criticism against him, felt that the extremely young Bangladeshi team still needed his experience.Speaking on his relatively low-profile image as captain, Bashar said: “Maybe I was not always the centre of attraction but I was always in the there, somewhere. The fact is that my batting was a bit hampered by the captaincy role. But now I can enjoy my batting fully.”Bashar said the last tour to Sri Lanka in 2005, where Bangladesh were swept in both the Tests and ODIs, was the worst of in his career as captain but he believes that this team is more confident. “I must say that the boys are now more confident. It is not easy to perform well in Sri Lanka where even the big teams, except world champions Australia, struggle. Our last tour was a disaster but I don’t think it would be same this time.”

Scorecard
How they were out

James Franklin played superbly to partner his captain, Stephen Fleming, and put New Zealand into a commanding position © Cricinfo

A magnificent double hundred from Stephen Fleming has put New Zealand in total command of the second Test at Newlands against South Africa. Fleming’s 262, his second-highest in Tests and arguably his finest innings to date, powered his side to an imposing 535 for 9 against a bowling attack which lacked spice and venom.As beautifully as Fleming played, his effort would not have been possible were it not for an equally excellent contribution from James Franklin – New Zealand’s No. 9. Franklin, with a technique not dissimilar to his captain, showed remarkable composure and batted with great maturity and no less class. Their eighth-wicket partnership of 256 took the game away from South Africa, while also smashing the record for any Kiwi stand against South Africa. Supreme though the batsmen were, the South Africans let themselves down – not for the first time this season – with a limp bowling performance, questionable tactics and several missed chances in the field.The pair came together in the third over of the day when Daniel Vettori mistimed a pull off Dale Steyn. With New Zealand on 279 for 7, their first aim was to reach 300 and possibly 350. However, after negotiating the early overcast conditions, batting became simpler; the bowlers grew weary, and records tumblaed as the pitch flattened out sufficiently to allow Fleming and Franklin to flourish.Fleming batted with the same elegance and ease of stroke that first brought him international recognition in the 1990s, caressing boundaries rather than clobbering them. He hit prime form in the afternoon session with a selection of glorious drives and cheeky upper cuts. Franklin, despite languishing at No. 9, oozed natural ability, not to mention flair and determination. A left-hander, he had little trouble leaving balls outside his off-stump – throughout the day, South Africa bowled far too wide – and was only ever in difficulty when Makhaya Ntini bounced him. Indeed, one vicious delivery cannoned into his head. Far from unsettling him, the blow he received spurred him on.With Franklin looking increasingly settled and confident, Fleming opened his shoulders after lunch and brought up his 150 with a clever uppercut down to third-man off Steyn. Not only did this indicate a flattening pitch, and that Fleming was hitting prime form, but also Graeme Smith’s inexplicable refusal to post a man down there. Countless times, edges flew wide of third slip, past gully or even over the slips down to the vacant region. Alarmingly, this isn’t a new occurrence: commentators have been scratching and shaking their heads all season. Indeed, not even Andre Nel could attract Smith’s attention, and he’s not short of a word.

Fleming’s double hundred was his third in Tests and arguably his best © Getty Images

Aside from the third-man mishap, South Africa’s fielders again let their bowlers down. Steyn, who looks an entirely different bowler on flat pitches than those that offer assistance, angled one across the batsman which found Fleming’s outside edge straight after lunch only for Boeta Dippenaar to spill a regulation chance. It was his third dropped catch in the slips this season, and his most costly. To compound South Africa’s misery, Franklin grew in confidence as the day wore on, batting with conviction and class. A stylish, unhurried pull off Ntini – bisecting the two fielders on deep square leg boundary – was perhaps the shot of the day, until he bettered it after tea with a remarkably controlled pull in front of square. Not for the first time this season, South Africa were clueless as to their next move.As the bowlers tired and the pitch became a dream to bat on, Fleming brought up his double hundred – his third in Tests – receiving applause from each of his opponents and a delighted dressing room. And though he fell to Ashwell Prince, marking the end of the day’s play, his innings and partnership with Franklin won’t be forgotten in a hurry. With Franklin just seven runs away from his first Test century, but just Jeetan Patel and Chris Martin for company in the morning, Fleming might yet make an overnight declaration. Regardless, his captain’s innings has put New Zealand totally in command of this second Test.

How they were outDaniel Vettori c Nel b Ntini 11 (279 for 7)
Stephen Fleming b Prince 262 (535 for 8)