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BAT Sports have narrowed Havant’s lead in the Southern Electric ECB Premier League to 11 points after crushing Division 1 basement boys Andover by nine wickets at London Road.They dismissed Andover for 152 before romping to a comfortable victory.Title holders Havant looked as they might lose after sagging to 96-7, in reply to South Wilts’ tidy 233-9.But Phil Loat and Simon Greenfield spared the champions’ blushes with a face-saving eighth-wicket stand, which enabled Havant to salvage a draw.Any prospect Andover had of making BAT sweat vanished in the opening overs at London Road, when Hampshire’s Iain Brunnschweiler and the Miller brothers, Mark and Roger, were dismissed with only six runs on the board.Don Goldstraw (3-31) did the initial damage before the off-spin of Richard Dibden (5-51) ended the Andover fightback led by Ian Langdown (30), Neil Staddon (29) and latterly No 10 batsman, Steve Simpson, who top scored with 32.BAT greedily polished off Andover’s modest 152, with Damien Shirazi hitting an unbeaten 84 and Dave Carson 46 not out.Havant found themselves on the back-foot directly in-form Russell Rowe (62) and Rob Wade (28) shared an 80-run opening stand for South Wilts.Seamers got little or no joy as Jamie Glasson (32), Tim Lamb (40) and Tom Caines (34 not out) pushed the score along.Indeed, wickets only fell as Loat (5-67) and Richard Hindley (4-73) wheeled away during an unbroken 48-over stint.But South Wilts had batted themselves out of reach – Havant’s normally powerful batting faltering after a long fielding session in the sun.James Tomlinson (4-38), the young left-armer who has been bowling well for Hampshire 2nd XI this season, carved significant inroads as only Hindley (42) shone as Havant slipped deep into trouble at 96-7.For the second time in the match, however, Loat (50 not out), together with wicket-keeper Greenfield (44 not out), got Havant out of a pickle – the pair adding an unbroken 99 as the champions glaned a draw at 195-7.A second-wicket stand of 134 between James Hibberd and Jez Goode swept Calmore Sports to success against Bashley (Rydal) at Loperwood Park.Neil Taylor backfired with his ploy of pressurising Calmore by putting a substantial total on the board and then taking wickets.”We bowled both sides of the wicket and fielded shoddily,” reflected Dave Lewis, Bashley’s Australian coach.”But credit to Calmore. They batted well and deserved to win.”Neil Thurgood (76) did much of the spadework as Bashley progressed steadily to 245-6 without exceeding four runs per over.Initially, Andy Loader (30) and later Andy Neal (57 not out) played supporting roles, while Mark Boston and Ollie Green kept their heads as Bashley made a late dash for runs.Tom Pegler (39) and Paul Draper (24) got Calmore’s challenge away on a positive note.But it was third-wicket pair Hibberd, with a season’s best 82, and the left-handed Goode (79) who carried Calmore to only their second win of the season – by a six wicket margin.Frustration may start to get the better of Bournemouth as they bid to improve their mid-table standing.Seven days after being foiled by rain with South Wilts on their knees at 82-8, they were again denied at Chapel Gate as a lower-order rally enabled Burridge to salvage a draw.Burridge held out at 161-9 after Bournemouth had batted themselves into a strong position at 247-8.Bournemouth batted consistently down the order, with Matt Swarbrick (63) guiding his side to 90-1 and setting the platform for Martin Miller (39), Mike Wilkinson (41), Julian Cassell (32) and Geoff Warrington (22) to all make useful contributions.Burridge made a positive enough start through Joe Dixon (32) and Dave Jackson (28), who took the reply to 95-2.But the visitors were undone by pace – Australian Peter Waite (4-48) and Dave Kidner (3-24) prompting the fall of five wickets for 29 runs before Matt Godwin put up the shutters to salvage a draw at 161-9.Kiwi Ben Jansen hit 80 and took 3-32 as Liphook & Ripsley rattled up 289-5 before securing a 124-run victory over Hungerford at Ripsley Park.The Wellington all-rounder shared significant partnerships with Steve Riley (69), Jeremy Bulled (32) and Michael Smyth (65 notout) as Liphook eased themselves into an unassailable position.Hampshire’s Jason Laney (57) kept Hungerford afloat, but the Berkshire club tumbled to 165 all out, with spin pair Jansen (3-32) and Alan Crawford (2-11) finishing them off.Read Mike Vimpany’s regular cricket round-ups in the Southern Daily Echo

West Ham could face a difficult battle to keep England star Declan Rice on their books past the summer transfer window, and as rumours of interest in the midfielder continue to build, the club are beginning to be linked with potential replacements.

However, with the potential departure of Manuel Lanzini – and Mark Noble leaving at the end of the season, the Hammers are likely going to be lighter than ever in the midfield area, and manager David Moyes might be too motivated to keep Rice in that scenario.

In the event that the 23-year-old stays at the club for next season, the Europa League quarter-finalists will still be looking to sign someone in place of at least Lanzini, and Leeds fan-favourite Kalvin Phillips could be the perfect replacement for the Argentinean.

What’s the news?

According to Football Insider, the East London club are willing to offer more than £50m in an attempt to land the ‘Yorkshire Pirlo’ – who has been described by the Italian legend himself as a “rock”.

The report also stated that the Irons are willing to offer an “enormous” salary to lure the 19-time England international to the London Stadium, after failing to do that back in January.

Moyes can form dream midfield trio

Despite being born in Leeds and reportedly wanting a new contract at his boyhood club, European football and increased wages could prise the star away from his current club, along with the possibility of playing alongside two of the Premier League’s best in his position.

If Rice does stay, with Tomas Soucek and Phillips either side of him, West Ham could have one of the best midfields in the entire country next campaign, and it would be incredibly difficult to establish control against them.

Having been injured since December, the 26-year-old has made just 12 starts in the Premier League this season, averaging a 6.80 match rating according to SofaScore.

However, no midfielder in the last year in Europe’s top five leagues and continental competitions has averaged more pressures per 90 (29.64) according to FBRef, with him also being in the top 1% for successful pressures per 90 with 9.14.

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The £36m-rated gem also ranks in the top 7% for ball recoveries per 90 (12.21), top 3% for blocks per 90 (2.44) and top 7% for long passes completed per 90 (14.08). With that in mind, it’s clear to see why the midfielder was described as a “destroyer” by Steve McLaren.

The statistics prove that Phillips is an elite midfielder for a high intensity, forward-thinking system, and he would become a fan favourite with the Hammers in no-time.

In other news: Huge blow: Moyes facing potential West Ham disaster that could derail European hopes

	Rain may have forced play on the reserve day, but South Africa coach Ray Jennings believes Pakistan did themselves in by taking excess breaks while batting on Friday © George Binoy

After a wait that seemed interminable on the reserve day, the momentum inthe semi-final swung South Africa’s way off the very first ball. PieterMalan had one more delivery to complete the 19th over of Pakistan’s innings and he strayed down leg side. The wicketkeeper Bradley Barnes moved quickly to cover the lineof the ball and, once Umar Amin had overbalanced, he whipped the bailsoff in a trice to stump the batsman even as the umpire signalled wide. Somepeople called it a lucky break but South Africa’s coach Ray Jennings saidit was anything but.”We set out to try and control the first ten balls today,” Jennings said. “The wicketkeeper was picked because he was the best in the country and he can stand up to someone like Wayne Parnell [the left-arm medium-fast bowler]. You haven’t seen the best of him yet, he can stand up to the stumps from the first ball.”Barnes has been standing up to the stumps to South Africa’s medium-pacers once the shine wears off. On Saturday, the ploy of having fielders in the circle worked as several Pakistan batsmen holed out while trying to clear the in-field.”I always believed that if we got a score like 260, no side is going to bat second and beat us,” Jennings said. “The only way they could have beaten us was if the rain affected the game through some sort of calculation. Nine out of ten times teams don’t make that score. We really bowled badly last night to start off with but I was quite confident that it was a matter of time before Pakistan collapsed.”The situation overnight though was precarious. Had there been seven more balls, the game would have been decided by the Duckworth/Lewis method and there would have been no need to come back on the reserve day. When play was called off, Pakistan needed five runs off seven balls to win the game on the D/L method, albeit without losing a wicket. Jennings felt Pakistan had read the situation poorly, for there were frequent interruptions which slowed down the pace of the game and hindered the completion of 20 overs.”Pakistan really went off the ball last night,” Jennings said. “They interrupted the game 4-5 times with [by calling for] batting gloves and water. So if they hadn’t done that they might have played the final. I think they interrupted themselves and paid the penalty.”The South Africans, however, were extremely pleased with the game going into the reserve day for as JJ Smuts, the opening batsman said: “It’s much easier to score six an over off 20 overs. It’s difficult to do over 50. In a shorter game the chances become a lot tighter. We backed ourselves to win if we played a full 50 overs to win the game.”

Ricky Ponting would like to see Michael Hussey spend more time at the crease © Getty Images

Michael Hussey might be promoted up the order against Bangladesh in an effort to get him out of his uncharacteristic form slump. Hussey has had a miserable World Cup, with scores of 4, 2, 5 and 9, as well as 15 and 0 in the two warm-up games.Hussey’s opportunities have been limited by the success of Australia’s top order in the Caribbean and he has typically come in with only a few overs remaining. However, he also struggled to 9 against West Indies on Tuesday, when he began in the 36th over.The recent run of low scores is Hussey’s leanest patch since his ODI debut in 2003-04. In 65 matches he has recorded an average of 58.63 and developed a reputation as a fine finisher. Ricky Ponting said an in-form Hussey was crucial for Australia and the best move could be to let him bat earlier in the innings.”It’s tempting,” Ponting told . “I actually was going to do it in the Netherlands game. I spoke to him about batting up in my spot [No. 3] in that game. We sort of felt with where we were at, we should just keep pushing on.”Ponting said even though he didn’t want too much “tinkering” with his side, the move would be considered for the Bangladesh game on Saturday. “We’ve got a batters’ meeting and it’s something we will probably talk to Huss about then,” he said.”I know he’s a little bit frustrated. He can’t take a trick at the moment, either. He chopped one on the other day with a few overs left in the innings [against West Indies], and actually hit a really good shot in the South Africa game and picked the guy out at deep cover.”He’s had a few of those games in a row where nothing is going his way. It’s probably something he hasn’t had to deal with really in his international career. In both forms of the game, he has come in and had extended success. He’s just going through one of those little runs at the moment. If it’s going to take batting him up the order to change that around then it’s something we are going to have to consider.”

Today’s Zimbabwe Independent has reported that Zimbabwe Cricket have sacked Stephen Mangongo, the Zimbabwe A coach, for the second time in two years.In 2004, Mangongo was suspended by the board after being accused of issues within Takashinga Cricket Club, where he is the club chairman. He was subsequently reinstated to take joint charge of the A team with Andy Pycroft.The newspaper claimed that Mangongo’s latest fall out stemmed from his inability to work with Kevin Curran, the national coach, whose appointment was the subject of opposition from players. Mangongo was close to many of the team, and also to the stakeholders who opposed the peter Chingoka-led board.As a coach, Mangongo was credited with bringing on a number of leading black players – including Tatenda Taibu and Hamilton Masakadza – and for a time was a national selector.Mangongo’s dismissal was confirmed by Wilfred Mukondiwa, ZC’s human resources manager. “I can confirm that at the inaugural meeting of the interim board on January 18, the board resolved to appoint Andy Pycroft as Zimbabwe A coach as part of the restructuring exercise,” he told the Independent. “The board then decided that the appointment of Pycroft alone was adequate. It took time for that decision to be confirmed.”

Ganguly: ‘I don’t think I’m under any external pressure’© Getty Images

Your body language looked really different in the preand post-match press conferences at the Kolkata Test. It seemed like it was a big relief for you to win.
Yeah, it is. As captain you go through these periods. Especially when you’re playing such a big series in a country where fortunes go up or down in the space of one or two games. So it probably does affect the mood of the person leading the side.Before the Kolkata Test you had Ranadeb Bose and Shib Sankar Paul come in and bowl to you. You had extra net sessions …
I just have a belief that if I work hard I will succeed. It’s worked for me over the last ten years. It’s worked even more off late, though I have not scored runs in the first two matches of this series. But in the last three or four years I have been pretty consistent. In England, Australia, the West Indies or the World Cup … wherever, I’ve been pretty consistent. I have a little routine that I stick to. I firmly believe that if I work hard and put in the effort it cannot go waste. It’s just that I didn’t get runs in the first Test, so I thought I’d put in a bit extra in the nets, get some more training in, before the second Test.You’ve bounced back from slumps before. The Brisbane innings was one of your best. How do you bounce back from a slump?
I think the last time I was in a bit of a slump was in 2001. That was around the time we won that famous series against Australia. After that I thought I did pretty consistently – 2002, 2003, 2004 – I don’t see this is a slump. It is just one or two innings where I haven’t got runs. I don’t think you can call this a slump. A slump is when it lasts six or seven months. It’s just a question of two or three innings, and as a batsman you’re trying to put in a bit of extra effort and get some runs.

Somebody with 15,000 international runs and 33 hundreds cannot be useless

It’s hard to be captain and batsman, isn’t it? What’s your strength as a batsman?
I think it’s hard to be captain and batsman. It’s the same for anyone who has to do the job. My biggest strength is confidence. I’m not as technically correct as a Dravid or Tendulkar or Jacques Kallis or whoever … but everybody has his strengths and weaknesses. My strength is my confidence and belief in my ability, and the manner in which I back myself.You’re under a bit of pressure now. How do you deal with it?
I don’t think I’m under any pressure. Obviously there will be criticism when you don’t score runs. It’s bound to happen in cricket. That’s something you have to accept – it’s part and parcel of professional sport. At the same time when I get a hundred, I get applauded. But I don’t think I’m under any external pressure. Obviously you’re expected to perform day-in and day-out in international cricket. When you go through two or three innings without runs it’s always going to happen that you are under pressure because of the expectations of you. I don’t think I’m under pressure of anything else. It’s just that I need to score.The opposition tends to attack the captain. Shahid Afridi bowled a bouncer to you first-up in the last Test …
He bowled a faster one that was down the leg and called wide. But, how will Afridi bowl a bouncer? This bouncer thing is crap. I’ve been playing for ten years now. You want me to believe that all these years people have not bowled bouncers to me and they’re doing it now? Going to Australia, Pakistan, West Indies … even in one-day cricket the bouncer is allowed. People don’t bowl bouncers to me? Obviously I’m not a great hooker or puller. Take the last Test match. It’s just that I played a poor shot. It’s not the short ball, it’s the shot selection that’s a problem.Four years and more is a long time as captain. Does that take a bit out of you?
It does take a bit out of you. But I’m fortunate enough to lead a side that has done wonderfully. We’ve gone to Pakistan and beaten them and if we can win this series that will be two in a row. The way we played in the World Cup, the way we played in Australia … the only team we’ve lost to is Australia and that too 2-1. It’s been hard, but I’ve enjoyed it because of the success that we’ve had.Not too long ago the press and the public were talking about how you were the captain that stood up to the best in the world. That you were a captain who backed youngsters and built a team. But now people seem to have forgotten that.
I don’t think so. I think that’s just a perception some people have. That’s what I personally feel, although some people might think otherwise. There is always a lot of negative talk that goes around in cricket. People do this either to get attention or sensationalise things. It’s not the journalists. It’s mostly the unsuccessful ones [former cricketers turned experts] who do this. Somebody with 15,000 international runs and 33 hundreds cannot be useless.Have you changed? As a captain, or as a player?
I don’t think I have changed as a captain. But I have changed as a batsman, because people have bowled differently to me. I think every batsman changes. Whatever people might say, I think I have played much better in the last three years than what I did when I started my Test career. People might not agree with me, but that’s how I feel.What’s the diagnosis? Is there a big innings around the corner somewhere?
I think there’s a big one around the corner. I always do. That’s what keeps me going. I think that’s what keeps all cricketers going. If after two or three failures you think you are finished, you won’t get far. All along, whenever I’ve played cricket, I’ve always believed there’s a big one around the corner. That’s just how I am.

New South Wales 6 for 125 (M Waugh 18*, Nicholson 7*) trail Queensland 5 for 431 dec (Maher 116, Law 146*) by 306 runs
ScorecardNew South Wales’s hopes of defending their Pura Cup title disappeared down the Gabba plughole, as rain and bad light ruined the third day of their vital clash with Queensland. In that time, however, they still managed to lose two more wickets, including Steve Waugh for 8. When Aaron O’Brien followed for a fourth-ball duck, NSW were still 320 runs drift, and staring into the abyss.With NSW needing six outright points to stay alive in the competition, they will have to rely on some enterprising captaincy on the final day. It is possible that they might declare overnight in the hope Queensland will not enforce the follow-on and set up a last-day run-chase.

Man-of-the-Match Paul Collingwood is hoping to have clinched his place in England’s World Cup squad after his maiden one-day international century carried England to their second successive win over Sri Lanka.The Durham all-rounder rescued England from the perilous position of 122 for six to ensure a total of 258, which proved more than enough for victory.”It’s been a good day,” Collingwood said afterwards. “I came in at a difficult situation and managed to get ones and twos and (Craig) White played a great innings as well.”We just knew we had to bat the overs out and we were trying to get out to 46 to 47 overs and then a slog, but we were pleased because we managed to get three, four, five an over throughout that period,” he told Sky Sports.Asked whether he believed his World Cup place for February and March is secure, Collingwood replied: “Let’s hope so. Obviously I got dropped for the first two games and that was disappointing, but I went in the nets and thankfully it’s gone well since then.”Meanwhile Nasser Hussain described Collingwood’s performance as “exceptional”, and believes England can take heart from another win ahead of the fourth Test, which starts in Melbourne on Boxing Day.”Two wins in a row lifts spirits,” said the England captain. “We knew we could beat Sri Lanka. We’ve worked hard and we knew if we played to our best we had a good chance, especially on the two wickets we’ve played on.”We’re not kidding ourselves because we’ve got a lot of work to do but it’sbetter to win than to lose. We need to win – this isn’t a tournament any more,we need to win every game after the winter we’ve had.”Hussain was delighted with Collingwood’s hundred, which followed his crucial 110-run partnership with Craig White.”We discussed it when I was batting with him that it just needed one partnership and we were back on track and, unfortunately, I let him down and acouple of others were not able to stay with him,” explained Hussain.”We got to last chance saloon with our last recognised batsman in Craig Whitebut luckily the two of them batted very sensibly and took the runs that were onoffer – he’s a talented lad and I’m pleased for him.”Hussain, who had some sharp words for his side after two dropped catches during the Sri Lankan innings, also drew encouragement from further impressive bowling displays from youngsters James Anderson and Steve Harmison.”They’ve got things that you need at this level. For example Anderson’s slower ball gives us something that we haven’t had before, as well as Harmison’s pace and bounce.”But I wouldn’t get too excited. After taking such a drubbing in the tour every game against Sri Lanka has become like a semi-final, and I just think I needed to let them know that we need to play well all the time and take our chances. It’s nicer to go into the Christmas period with two wins under our belts.”Sri Lanka’s captain skipper Sanath Jayasuriya pointed to dropped catches as the key reason for his team’s defeat.”I think we bowled well but the fielding was not up to the standard. We dropped so many catches and you can’t afford to do that. We dropped their important batters and paid the price.I think 260 was still gettable but we lost a wicket early on again. When we were here before in 1998 we won a few matches but we need to be more positive.”

The ECB’s pitch inspectors will be heading to Horsham tomorrow after a dramatic first day saw 18 wickets fall.Sussex were bowled out for 137 but fought back to reduce Worcestershire to 133-8 by the close.There was some indifferent bounce on a bone-dry pitch and lateral movement to encourage the bowlers, but some indifferent batting was also a factor.Only teenage wicketkeeper Matt Prior, who made a composed, career-best 40, and Mark Davis (23) impressed as they ensured Sussex avoided total ignominy after they had been reduced to 54-6 after winning the toss.Alamgir Sheriyar returned to mop up the tail and finished with 4-53 while Stuart Lampitt (3-22) and Andy Bichel (2-37) provided good support.Things were no different when Worcestershire replied and were quickly reduced to 26-2. But opener Phil Weston and Vikram Solanki repaired the early damage, taking the score to 69 before the recalled Mark Robinson took three wickets in seven balls to sweep away Worcestershire’s middle order.He had Solanki caught at backward square leg and then had David Leatherdale and Kadeer Ali leg before in his next over to leave the visitors reeling on 75-7.Kirtley returned to the attack to have Bichel and the obdurate Weston, who top-scored with 42, caught behind while Stuart Lampitt cut to backward point.Steve Rhodes remained unbeaten on 23 and Worcestershire’s hopes of a precious first innings lead largely rest with him.

West Ham have spent a significant amount of money on new players over the past few years to help the club get to where they are now in terms of playing in Europe.

One player in particular in whom the east London club spent a decent amount of money and who has certainly been worth the investment when you look at what he has delivered on the pitch is Tomas Soucek.

The Hammers originally signed the Czech Republic midfielder on loan from Slavia Prague in January 2020 before he joined on a permanent £15m deal the following summer.

The 27-year-old has made 92 appearances in total for the Irons across all competitions, scoring 17 goals and providing two assists along the way. With 27 appearances under his belt in the league this season, Declan Rice and Michail Antonio are the only outfield players to have played more minutes than Soucek, showing how important he is to David Moyes’ side.

One area in which the former loan star has proven to be rather impressive is winning aerial duels, with a total of 112 already in this campaign, more than any other West Ham player.

In terms of his overall performances, the £47k-per-week colossus has earned himself a solid rating of 7.09/10 from WhoScored, making him the third-highest rated player in Moyes’ squad.

According to Transfermarkt, the midfielder’s current market value stands at £40.5m, which is a huge 170% increase on the £15m fee that the club paid to keep hold of the Czech star after his 2020 loan spell.

This shows just what a great bit of business it was from the Hammers to secure his signature.

Labelled a “superb” player by Kevin Phillips who is “the master of arriving late into the box” and being “a great asset for David Moyes”, it’s safe to say that this is a deal which has certainly paid dividends for West Ham.

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If the midfield titan can keep playing well for the Irons and add some more goals to his tally, as he has proven capable of doing, he could play a massive part in their potential domestic and European success over the rest of the season.

In other news: Moyes must ruthlessly axe £113k-p/w deadwood this summer, it’s costing WHU millions – opinion