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In recent days, Leeds United have been linked with a move for Sergino Dest.

According to TEAMtalk, the American right-back is one of manager Jesse Marsch’s top targets heading into the summer transfer window. It’s believed he could be available for a move after falling down the pecking order at FC Barcelona.

The 21-year-old doesn’t appear to be in Xavi’s plans and the Yorkshire outfit believe he would be an excellent addition for the right price – what that is, however, remains to be seen.

He is currently valued at €90m (£75m) by CIES Football Observatory but previous reports in Spain have suggested that the LaLiga giants would be willing to part ways for less than half that; around €35m (£29.5m).

Other outlets (via Sport Witness) have also claimed that there are ongoing discussions with the Catalan side as they are interested in prising Raphinha away from Elland Road and Dest could even be included in some sort of player-plus-cash deal.

Whatever is the case, the 17-time USMNT international would be a great signing for fellow countryman, Marsch, and one that could truly kickstart his era at the Whites.

Primarily a right-back, Dest is capable of playing in a multitude of positions, including on the left flank in the same role, as well as further forward and that is certainly an appealing trait to possess.

It would also put long-serving Marcelo Bielsa favourite Luke Ayling at risk, especially as he has displayed signs of inconsistency throughout the 2021/22 season.

Bringing in a new man to succeed the vice-captain would be a real sign of intent that Marsch wants to do things his way and to move on from the Argentine icon.

Once described as a “big talent” by former Ajax teammate Quincy Promes, Dest has featured 27 times for Barca this season and has proven to be one of their best passers in the league, averaging an accuracy rate of 92.2%, a feat only bettered by two other players, via WhoScored.

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Also averaging 1.6 tackles and 1.9 dribbles per game, the American is clearly a player that can get up and down the flank to good effect, contributing at both ends of the pitch.

If he’s a player that Marsch is indeed pursuing, then director of football Victor Orta must push ahead to try and sign him this summer, and this sort of signing could well truly kickstart this new and exciting era under the 48-year-old head coach.

AND in other news, Fewer touches than Meslier: “Headless” flop who made only 8 passes failed Marsch vs Southampton…

	Comeback kid: James Anderson returned in style with five wickets after spending time with Auckland © Getty Images

Bowler of the dayJames Anderson was a left-field selection for this match. Everyone predicted that Stuart Broad would replace Steve Harmison, but no-one truly imagined that Matthew Hoggard would also be sent to the dog-house. Even so, Anderson was the “captain” of England’s bowling during their summer series against India, and their Man of the Series to boot, with 14 wickets and a five-for at Lord’s. As far as Peter Moores is concerned, his time is now. Doubtless it helped that Anderson spent four days up at Auckland last week, finding his match fitness with 38 arduous overs in an innings defeat. The benefits of that work-out were fully apparent in a spectacular day’s work, much to New Zealand’s chagrin.Delivery of the dayAnderson is not a like-for-like replacement for Hoggard. On the credit side he is quicker, on the debit side he is more erratic, but when he’s on song, he is capable of bowling balls that no cricketer in the world can keep out. Matthew Bell discovered that in Anderson’s first over of the morning, when he was turned inside-out by a beauty that swung in at pace, pitched and seamed past the edge to clip the outside of his off stump. There’s no answer for that in the coaching manual. It makes you wonder why he insisted on banging it halfway down the track all through the one-dayers.Edge of the dayThere were a few flying around today – five catches in the cordon and two drops as well – but as far as Tim Ambrose is concerned, there’s only one that counts, and that was the one that flew off his splice through the vacant third slip and away to the boundary to bring up his maiden Test century. Rooted on 97 overnight, he had had to endure two of the finest maiden overs that Jacob Oram can ever have bowled – one to end last night’s play and the other to resume the ordeal this morning, and Oram thought he had his man when he jagged a lifter off the seam and past Ross Taylor’s outstretched hand. But Ambrose was not to be denied, as he became the first English wicketkeeper to score an overseas century since Alec Stewart at Auckland 11 years ago.Take of the dayAmbrose’s hundred was an innings of remarkable confidence and aggression, but then so were those of Matt Prior and Geraint Jones before him. The real reason for excitement about England’s latest wicketkeeper is that his glovework appears, at this early stage of his career, to be second-to-none. He was blemish-free on debut in Hamilton, and so far in this innings has taken every chance that has flown his way. The most impressive effort, however, came off a Stuart Broad short ball that climbed violently past Taylor’s nose. Ambrose – all five foot six of him – timed his leap to perfection, hung for an eternity, and plucked the ball in a single outstretched glove.Fielder of the dayMonty Panesar has improved his fielding no end from the Bambi-legged bundle of nerves who first took the field at Nagpur two years ago. But he’s still prone to the occasional moment when he’d prefer the ground to swallow him up. Such as the moment in the 28th over when Taylor drove speculatively towards him at mid-off, only for the ball to bounce straight through Monty’s legs and away to the boundary. Or the moment in the 34th over when Stephen Fleming hurtled for a suicidal single and Monty fumbled the (admittedly poor) throw from Kevin Pietersen. Or the moment in the 53rd over when Daniel Vettori clipped Collingwood to fine leg where Monty, yep, let it through his legs. Two balls later, at the start of the new over, Collingwood struck to remove the tailender, Mark Gillespie, so perhaps we’ll let him pretend that last one was a plan.Rearguard of the dayDaniel Vettori is better than a mere No. 8 batsman these days. Much better. In fact, since New Zealand’s tour of Australia in November 2004, he has averaged 46.18 in 22 Tests, which is nearly 20 runs better than his career mark of 27.65. He made a critical 88 in Hamilton, but his unbeaten 50 in this innings was arguably even better, seeing as he lost Brendon McCullum early and had to marshall the tail as well as give the ball some humpty. No shot was better than the extraordinary flick for six that brought up his half-century. He simply leant back and dabbed the ball up and over the slips, and the pace and bounce of Broad did the hard work for him.Disappointment of the dayThe Wellington crowd is probably 80% English, but there are still enough Kiwis around who realise that Fleming has never yet scored a Test century on his home ground, and that – with his retirement looming – this is his last chance to correct that statistical anomaly. Today’s innings, sadly, was a struggle. He needed a bagful of luck to get as far as he did, as he inside-edged over his middle stump and earned a reprieve from Collingwood at slip. But just when it seemed he’d got over the worst, he produced the worst shot of the lot, a limp waft outside off – half cut, half leave – that looped ever so gently to Pietersen at point. Fleming did at least pass 7000 runs in his innings. His next target is 7160, which will guarantee him a career average of 40. He currently has 7016 …

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Orissa and Railways are two teams unlikely to attract crowds at the bestof times, with the likes of Debashish Mohanty, Harvinder Singh and SanjayBangar – all low-key players even when they played for India – being thebiggest stars about. And when Orissa who lost the toss and were put in,were kept down to only 101 for 8 in 20 overs, what little interest therewas died. There was a brief flutter of excitement when Railways went from 85for 3 to 87 for 7 in their chase, but by then the match as a contest hadended. Soon enough they knocked off the required runs with three wicketsto spare.It wasn’t as though one brilliant spell from a bowler caused havoc. Orissajust did not seem to have a plan over how to approach their innings, andall batsmen came – and went – swinging merrily. The wickets were sharedaround, and fell in clutches, with the spinners doing most of the damage.G Shankar Rao, the left-arm spinner, picked up 3 for 20, while KulamaniParida, the offie, grabbed 2 for 12.It was an utterly disappointing batting performance, with no batsman evenmaking a quarter-century, which could well be the ‘decent’ individual score in this form of the game. Only one batsman even made 20, and that was Niranjan Behera, who top-scored with23. From the start of the sixth over till as late as the fourth ball ofthe 16th over – which amounts to 70 balls – not a single boundary wasstruck.Sanjay Bangar began Railways’ chase well enough, carting the second andthird balls of the innings for a six over the bowler’s head and a fourpast point respectively. Off the very next ball, though, he edged to thekeeper. From then on it was the TP Singh-show all the way. He hit fourfours and a six in his 32-ball 40 that all but settled the game inRailways’ favour. When he fell with the score on 85, Paresh Patel strucktwice in as many balls, and then Behera prised out another wicket with thescore still on 87, and there was a bit of a flutter, but Baburao Yadav smacked15 to seal the deal with almost four overs to spare.
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It was a quiet day all round in the competition, with Karnataka playing inthe morning, having lost to Punjab just the previous evening. Karnatakanotched up their first win, by four wickets, after winning the toss andsending Gujarat in. Parthiv Patel and Azhar Bilakhia got Gujarat off to aflyer, getting to 55 in just 5.2 overs before they lost their firstwicket.Bilakhia went on to make 62, a rare half-century in this tournament, offonly 47 balls with 6 fours and a six. Patel had made 26, but there were noother scores of note in the Gujarat innings. They stitched together 151, adecent enough score, but it proved to be too few.All eyes were on Rahul Dravid, playing his first-ever Twenty20 match, buthe barely created an impression. He lasted just 8 balls, scoring asolitary single, barely attempting a big shot in his stay at the crease.Robin Uthappa, another player whose game is ideally suited to thistruncated version of the game, failed once more, using up 16 balls for 6,before hitting a catch to Biswajit Solanki off Hitesh Majmudar.Fortunately for Karnataka though Deepak Chougule had no such problems. Heplayed a string of innovative shots and succeeded in getting the ball overthe wicketkeeper’s head for boundaries more than once, scoring an unbeaten41 from 36 balls with five fours. B Akhil (35) and R Vinaykumar (24)chipped in with vital contributions in the lower middle-order, seeingKarnataka home with 3 balls to spare.

Rahul Dravid’s 100th Test turned out to be a bitterly disappointing one © Getty Images

Rahul Dravid’s 100th Test turned out to be a bitterly disappointing one, and at the post-match press conference, the captain admitted that his decision to field first at Mumbai was a mistake. However, he stressed that the result could still have been a better one had the top-order batsmen done their job.”Yes, in hindsight when you look at the result of the game definitely I would have changed the decision I made right upfront,” he stated. Clarifying the reasons for the move, he said: “We’d taken five bowlers, and we had three seamers, and we thought there’d be a bit more bounce and seam movement early. We thought we could get a few wickets there, restrict them to a low score, and then bat big in the first innings to set the game up. It didn’t do as much as we expected in the first session, they batted well, and once they’d got 270 for 3 on the first day we knew we were on the back foot.”Dravid refused to accept, though, that the decision at the toss was the major reason for the defeat. “Obviously the decision to bowl wasn’t the right one, but having said that we could have lost the toss and we would have fielded in any case. We could have played much better cricket, especially our batting in both innings, I think the top-order batting has let us down right through the series. We did well to recover to 279, but then again in the second innings I don’t think this was a 100-all-out wicket.”Going into the final day, Dravid indicated that he was satisfied with the position India were in. “I was very happy with the way we bowled yesterday. Our bowlers did a great job to restrict them and I was very happy with the situation as it was in the morning. I thought if we could get to lunch and to tea with wickets in hand, we could really have a crack at the target in the last session. It’s not easy to chase 300 in the last innings especially in India when the ball is turning and a bit of reverse-swing happening. I think we did ok till lunch. Then losing those two wickets in the first two overs after lunch was really the killer blow.”After Dravid’s and Tendulkar’s dismissal, the rest of the Indian batting caved in a shockingly spineless display. Dravid attributed that to “wrong options under pressure”. “Some of the shots we played weren’t up to mark, but when you’re put under pressure that can happen sometimes.”Expectedly, the move to go into the game with five bowlers came in for comment, but Dravid stressed the need to move in that direction, especially if the aim was to start winning outside India. “We feel that going ahead and looking at some of our results in away series, five bowlers is quite important to our combination. You can argue that if we had only four bowlers we might have given more runs in the first innings, or we wouldn’t have been able to bowl as well as we did in the second. We do weigh the pros and cons of six batsmen, but if we want to win a series abroad and if we want to be competitive as a team as England have shown in the Ashes and even here, then we do need five bowlers.”Along with top-order batting, the other area of serious concern for India was their catching: of the 16 chances missed in the game, ten were from Indian fielders, and Dravid admitted that the performance in the field was a let-down. “The situation would have been quite different had we held our catches. We’re working on it. With a few changes in our combinations, some of the fielders in specialist positions have moved out and the boys not fielding in specialist positions have to work on it. We have five batsmen, so all of them should be good catchers; we can’t expect bowlers to be catching in the slips.”The big finds of the series were Munaf Patel, who took 10 wickets at 21.70, and Sreesanth (nine at 25.66). Dravid had a word of praise for them, and also for Anil Kumble and Wasim Jaffer. “Our bowlers – Munaf and Sreesanth – came good for us. They showed good spirit and it’s a good sign for the future. A group of three-four bowlers are bowling with good pace, in good areas, showing good attitude. So that’s one of the pluses in the series. Anil bowled brilliantly and batted well too, while Wasim looked composed as an opener.”Finally, he was all praise for Andrew Flintoff, England’s captain and Man of the Series. “He was phenomenal and truly deserved the Man-of-the-Series award. Every time he went out, he scored runs, was their best bowler on view right through the series and kept coming hard. I think he did a great job as a captain in his first series and he’s truly shown why is the greatest allrounder in the world at the moment.”

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The battle of the big hitters on a batsman-friendly Oval track, with a short boundary for good measure, was finally won by Yorkshire, but it took three quick wickets from Craig White to check Surrey’s charge. Ally Brown, with 89 from 46 balls, was looking set to lead Surrey home when he was yorked by White, Yorkshire’s seventh bowler, and needing 74 off the last 12 overs, Surrey slid from 261 for 5 to 263 for 8 in three overs. Yorkshire had got off to a flier, reaching 111 for 0 off 15 overs, and never looked back. Matthew Wood made 111 off 127 balls, Ian Harvey provided the fireworks with 69 – his fifty came off 35 balls – and Anthony McGrath completed the assault with 48 off 23 balls.
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Darren Maddy’s half-century gave Leicestershire some hope against Durham at Grace Road as they struggled to 175 for 8 after seemingly being in charge as they reached 109 for 2 in the 27th over. As the clouds gathered, Duckworth-Lewis was always going to be a factor, and Nicky Peng’s 36 injected enough pace into the Durham innings to ensure than when the rain came, they were just about ahead. If they had lost one more wicket then Leicestershire would have been the winners.
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Jonathan Moss stood firm amid a clatter of wickets to help lift Derbyshire to a competitive 197 for 8 from their 45 overs. Derbyshire were in some trouble at 74 for 4 after four of the top five failed to get into double figures, but Moss remained rooted and shot 79 from 81 balls. Luke Sutton provided some support with 46 before rain spoiled the party before Kent’s reply had really begun.
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Somerset and Warwickshire shared the points after their match at Edgbaston was rained off. Somerset had batted themselves into a commanding position, with Mike Burns striking 106 against the county he left nine years ago. Keith Parsons (51) and James Hildreth (54) each added half-centuries, but all their hard work was for nothing when the rains came.

Australia 233 (Ponting 67, Symonds 53) beat Sri Lanka 193 (Sangakkara 101, Kasprowicz 5-45) by 40 runs, and lead series 3-1
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Kumar Sangakkara’s third one-day century wasn’t enough to prevent Australia taking the series

On a day of spectacular batting collapses, Australia clinched the five-match series with a 40-run victory. Sri Lanka, set 234, were well set for a famous win, as Kumar Sangakkara scored a magnificent century. However, they suffered a late-innings meltdown, losing their last eight wickets for only 50 runs as Michael Kasprowicz grabbed a career-best five wicket haul.After Sri Lanka had bowled Australia out for 233, they made the worst possible start as Sanath Jayasuriya prodded tentatively for the second consecutive innings at a rising delivery from Kasprowicz (0 for 1). But Marvan Atapattu – fortunate to have not been dismissed earlier when the ball trickled back onto his stumps – and Sangakkara consolidated against some tight bowling from both Kasprowicz and Jason Gillespie.The run rate started to climb before Sangakkara cut loose with a thrilling assault against Kasprowicz and Ian Harvey. Both bowlers were flayed for three boundaries in an over, and Sangakkara, particularly strong through the off side, sped to his 11th one-day half-century from just 45 balls.Ricky Ponting was forced to call up his slow bowlers, Andrew Symonds and Brad Hogg. Atapattu, stuck on 18 for seven overs as Sangakkara hogged the strike, tried to break free with a lofted straight-drive, but miscued and was caught by Michael Bevan at long-on (78 for 2).But the loss of his captain did not deter Sangakkara from his thrillingly aggressive approach, and he continued to attack the slow bowlers. Mahela Jayawardene settled quickly and the pair ticked along at a run a ball, slowly pushing the required rate down and creating another headache for Ponting.After 30 overs, Sri Lanka were well placed at 135 for 2, and Ponting turned back to Gillespie, his senior paceman, in search of a breakthrough – and it did the trick. In Gillespie’s second over back, Jayawardene tried to run a short one through the slips, but only edged it to Adam Gilchrist (143 for 3).Sangakkara brought up his third century from 106 balls – without doubt his finest one-day innings – but the celebrations were short-lived, as he chased a wide one from Kasprowicz and was caught behind (148 for 4).Sri Lanka went into freefall: Saman Jayantha, making his debut, followed Sangakkara four balls later as Gilchrist took his fourth catch of the innings, off Harvey. Tillakaratne Dilshan then called for a suicidal run to Ponting at midwicket and was run out by a distance (158 for 6).Upul Chandana and Kaushal Lokuarachchi briefly raised local hopes, adding 31 in 38 balls, but Kasprowicz moved in for the kill to earn Australia their first one-day series victory in Sri Lanka.Gilchrist, meanwhile, put a dreadful week with the bat behind him as he claimed six catches in the innings, equalling the world record that he shares with Ridley Jacobs and Alec Stewart.

Muralitharan: back to his best

It was a remarkable turnaround from the Australians, who looked to be dead and buried once Sangakkara was in full flow, and after they had been bowled out for a modest 233.Ponting paid tribute to his players afterwards: “It was fantastic win. We were behind the eight-ball in the the field but I told my players before we went out that the team that hung in there the longest would win. Chasing a reasonable score, no matter how well you are going, you only need to lose one wicket.”Earlier, the Sri Lankan bowlers immediately gained the ascendancy after a brisk Australian start, taking the wickets of Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Damien Martyn to leave Australia precariously placed at 62 for 3 in the 13th over.But Ponting was once again in sizzling form, swivel-pulling two magnificent sixes off Vaas early on, and racing to his fourth consecutive fifty of the series. He and Symonds repaired the early damage, milking the spinners for 74 in 90 deliveries. But just when it looked as if Muttiah Muralitharan would go wicketless for the third game running, Ponting went back to a fizzing offbreak and was pinned in front (136 for 4).Symonds, passing fifty for the first time in this series after a series of undefeated cameos, pressed on with Bevan, and they added 41 in 52 balls before Murali returned for a second spell. Symonds immediately slog-swept him straight into the hands of Jayantha at midwicket (177 for 5).Australia, though, were still in a good position as Bevan added 24 in 25 balls with Clarke. But when Bevan (14) chipped a return catch to Murali off a leading edge, the innings declined rapidly, as four wickets tumbled for five runs. Harvey was run out by Atapattu at point, Hogg was trapped lbw first ball, and Kasprowicz edged behind for a duck (206 for 9).Clarke, with 36 from 32 balls, and Gillespie stemmed the tide, adding 27 for the last wicket. It was a job well done by Sri Lanka – but they couldn’t finish the job.

When they sit down to do business next, the quartet will not be able to keep out a flood of memories. Trevor Hohns, Andrew Hilditch, Allan Border and David Boon must have what seem like the least enviable jobs on the planet. The four have to decide whether Steve Waugh is still good enough to play Test cricket for Australia.And they are being dared to answer in the negative by the man who conjured up one of the most magical days’ Test cricket in a long time. If they choose to drop Waugh, they will be seen to be sullying an international icon, they will be blamed for robbing Australian cricket of a national treasure. The word blasphemy will be close to the lips of cricket fans around the world.When he walked out to bat, Steve Waugh did not just have the English bowlers to take on. He had done that for more years than many of the aforementioned cricketers would care to remember. But he also walked out to waves of rapturous applause from a packed house at the Sydney Cricket Ground that has seen more centuries than noughts from its heroes. It was almost as though Waugh loomed larger than life.With intense media scrutiny, public debate and the most microscopic selectoral eye following his every move, the elder Waugh was almost back to where he began, when he walked out to bat at that other stage, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, against India, in 1985-86. It was as if he were an unknown quantity once more. There was loose talk that the man making a record 156th Test appearance for Australia had to prove himself.With Australia under pressure at 56/3, the stage was set for England to further their advantage in the game. Nasser Hussain licked his lips at the prospect of avoiding a 5-0 whitewash. Matty Hayden, Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting were all back in the hut. Andy Caddick was thumping his chest, getting the ball to sing and finally threatening to give back as good as he’d got all series.All this and more appeared to go through Steve Waugh’s tougher-than-nails mind as he half sprinted out to the middle. Sachin Tendulkar speaks of a `zone’ he gets into when batting, where the sounds of the crowd are shut out with the intense concentration of playing the next ball. Whether the deafening roar of the fans was wasted on Waugh, we will never know.What we do know, thank heavens, is what happened next. Moving back and across, head stiller than a marksman assessing his target, weight transferring seamlessly to the back foot, Waugh dismissively sent a ball scurrying to the fence backward of square leg. He adjusted his pads, composed himself and began to work the ball into the gaps. From simply nudging, the so-called Ice Man quickly graduated to punching holes in the off side field. The power came more from a strength of character than musculature. The placement came from a need to take control of the situation and the will – where did that come from?Certainly not from the need to reach 69 runs, the mark that would see him join Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border, in cricket’s most elite club. But big as it may seem to every cricketer who has held a bat at the highest level, the mere lure of scoring 10,000 Test runs could not have spurred the 37-year old to what happened on the day.Of course, the mark was crossed. Of course, Australia had clawed their way back from the brink. Of course the pressure was almost back on England. All that was virtually guaranteed with Steve Waugh on a crusade.What happened on the last ball of the day, however, was not quite as simple. More toughness than panache, more utility than entertainment, Steve Waugh is not the sort to play to the gallery, going for the big hit to reach a milestone. He would rather see off the last over safely and start afresh on the next day.That might have been true, on another day.This, though, was Steve Waugh’s day. When the fourth ball of the final over – a flat one from Richard Dawson, was squeezed to cover for three, a collective sigh of disappointment escaped the lips of spectators at the SCG. Adam Gilchrist, alert as ever to the occasion, clipped one through midwicket to hand the stage back to Waugh for the final ball of the day.Hussain took his time arranging his field, bringing men close to the bat to increase the pressure. As he went up to speak to his spinner, much in the same way as Ian Healy spoke to Shane Warne before the last ball of the day, a nervous smile creased his face. There was no doubting it. A lesser man would have been swayed. But Waugh drove inside out through the off-side, made sure the century was his and punched the air, smiling to himself. Yes indeed, Steve Waugh smiling on a cricket field. Sir Donald Bradman’s tally of 29 Test tons had been equalled. The final moment was the sort of climax that only Waugh deserved.And yes, this certainly makes it harder for the selectors to drop Steve Waugh. Several former cricketers and journalists are already talking as though Waugh is playing in his last Test. He’s too old, they say. Too suspect against short pitched bowling. Not the quickest on the field, they say.But what will the Hohns-led quartet have on the top of their minds when they have to make the choice that will decide Steve Waugh’s future? Well, David Boon wont need to look much further than the four lines he had the honour of singing in the Australian dressing room at every victory that Steve Waugh led his side to…

And you can’t help feeling that Steve Waugh will be on a plane to the West Indies. And leave the game when he chooses to do so.

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.”