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After the drama and pantomime of the Northern Districts v Wellington game on Friday, Blake Park in Mount Maunganui witnessed an altogether more sedate affair today.Northern Districts defeated Otago by four wickets with more than three overs to spare. Northern go above their opponents to the top of the Shell Cup table after six rounds. Barring disasters, they should finish in the top three to qualify for the knockout stage. The team that wins the league goes straight through to the best of three final.A number of squalls passed close to the ground, but it was a tornado named Doull that swept through at the start of the Northern innings that was the decisive difference. He scored 45 of the 51 runs made while he was in. His innings included six fours, a five and a six.Doull has entered into the spirit of pinch hitting with abandon and can target an edge with the precision of a guided missile.Otago should have known that it was not their day when a perfectly good over from Kerry Walmsley – the fifth of the innings – went for 13, including two edged fours and four overthrows.Doull enabled the remaining batsmen to have the space to build their innings, though not all of them took it. James Marshall looked fluent before holing out to a Forde long hop and it was left to Neal Parlane and Grant Bradburn to guide the home team to victory with a sixth wicket partnership of 69. Without this, things might have been very tight.Parlane finished the game with a huge six over cover.Off-spinner Simon Forde had the best figures for Otago (10-0-27-3).Otago fell at least twenty short of setting Northern a decent target. They got off to a good enough start, with Hore and Gaffeney putting on 44 for the second wicket. Gaffeney top scored for Otago with 47Wickets fell regularly thereafter, with later batsmen unable to produce acceleration in the closing stages. The last boundary of the innings was hit as early as the forty-third over. Craig Pryor scored 39 from 64 balls without ever looking in touch.It was a good all round bowling performance from Northern, only Alex Tait being wayward early on. Slow left-armer Bruce Martin was outstanding, with figures of 10-0-28-3. Tuffey was almost as good, with 8-0-27-2.Northern’s fielding was a factor too. James Marshall was outstanding, both in the circle and in the deep. There was as much as 20 runs difference in the runs saved by the two sides in the field. Otago suffered from too many misfields and loose returns.Transport problems prevented Otago’s three Black Caps, Horne, Wiseman and O’Connor, from being here. They were much missed.The Shell Trophy returns on Tuesday, with Northern travelling to Auckland, while Otago entertain Canterbury.

Wolves have another Premier League fixture ahead of them this evening with a clash against relegation strugglers Watford at Molineux.

Having lost their three previous league games with just one goal scored and five conceded, Bruno Lage’s side will be desperate to put this poor run of form behind them and grab a much-needed victory to reignite their chances of securing European football for next season.

On the chalkboard

One figure that has not started the Old Gold’s two previous league games that should make a return to the side on this occasion is striker Raul Jimenez.

Since arriving at Molineux back in the 2018 summer transfer window on loan from Benfica before signing on a permanent deal a year later, the 30-year-old, who has been described as a “special” player in the past by former Old Gold boss Nuno Santo, has scored 53 goals in 122 appearances across all competitions, showing how prominent he has been for his team in front of goal.

Taking into account how the Midlands club have failed to score a goal in the two games that the Mexican has started on the bench, this should persuade the Wolves boss to put the £100k-per-week striker back in to see if he can start firing again for his side, which is what they badly need at the moment.

With Watford having conceded 27 more league goals than the Old Gold this season with 50 in total, perhaps this is the exact sort of opposition that Jimenez can reignite his prowess against after not managing to find the back of the net since Wolves’ 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur almost a month ago.

With Hwang Hee-chan only managing to have three shots at goal in the two previous league games that he started against West Ham United and Crystal Palace, this will surely give Lage an easy decision as to who he could take out of the team to make way for the £19.8m-rated centre-forward.

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Whether the former Benfica manager decides to bring the striker back into the starting XI tonight or not, this will still be a massive game for the home side and their season, as anything other than a win would surely be seen as another huge disappointment for the club.

In other news: Wolves may unearth the “next Iniesta” as Lage plots bid for £8.1m-rated Moutinho heir

Nisal Senaratne’s death on Sunday at the age of 75 robbed Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) of one of its most ardent officials.Senaratne had the unique distinction of holding the post of secretary of the Boardof Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) when they were first admitted as anAssociate Member of the ICC in 1964 and 17 years later as a Full Member of the ICC. He was also board secretary from 1976 to 1978 and secretary of Moratuwa SC from 1973 to 1981 as well as a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).”He was one of the few people who was responsible for arranging bilateral tours for usduring the pre-Test era,” Duleep Mendis, former Sri Lanka captain, said. “He could always be relied upon to do a proper job. He was a thorough gent.”A wicket-keeper/batsman at Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa, Senaratne was picked to play forCombined Colleges against All-India in 1949 and went onto to play division I Sara trophy cricket for Moratuwa SC and SSC. He was also asked to manage the Ceylon team under Michael Tissera that toured India in 1964 and made history by recording their first unofficial Test victory at Ahmedabad. He later managed the Sri Lankan team to England in 1981when Sri Lanka was granted Test status. He was also their manager at the 1987 World Cup.

South Africa was bowled out for under 200 in both their warm-up matches, but coach Mickey Arthur says there is no need to panic © AFP

South Africa’s batting collapse in both its warm-up matches is not a cause for panic, says coach Mickey Arthur. South Africa were bowled out for 192 in their 35-run victory over Ireland and then for 199 in their seven-wicket loss to Pakistan.”Had the coin had fallen the other way and had we bowled first, it would have been different,” Arthur told the AFP about the match against Pakistan. “Our bowlers had a decent workout, but the only concern is that the top order still needs some runs.”The game was held up during South Africa’s innings as the batsmen complained about the pitch surface. Arthur said that it took the team 10 overs after the break to get back the intensity but denied that they had given up.”The last thing we wanted was to lose a player like Jacques Kallis [on an unpredictable pitch] as he is obviously crucial to our preparations. We were five down early and wanted 220, but ended up shorter than that.” Arthur also said he didn’t think that matches in the main competition would be played on such pitches.”I think it’s certainly going to be a bowl-first competition, but the toss is not going to be as crucial as it was today,” he said.Inzamam-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, agreed that the conditions were difficult when South Africa batted and there had been some concern. But on being asked if the pitches would favour subcontinental sides, Inzamam said that it was the quality of cricket and not the state of the pitches that mattered.Inzamam was happy with the team’s performance, however, and picked out Mohammad Hafeez, the opener, for special mention. “Hafeez is in form and he is a key member of the team,” said Inzamam. “He is now looking forward to the main competition. It always helps when a top-order batsman scores briskly.”Hafeez scored 49 against South Africa and added 74 runs for the second wicket along with Younis Khan. “There is a lot of confidence in the team and they are looking forward to the main tournament after morale-boosting performances,” Inzamam added. He also agreed that since people did not have high expectations of Pakistan winning, there was less pressure on the side.Bob Wooolmer, the Pakistan coach, said that all the players had got the much-needed practice. “All top six batsmen have got good practice,” Woolmer said. “As far as the win goes, since it was 13-a-side match, we do take it with a pinch of salt. We now need to win the main matches.”Pakistan’s first match of the World Cup is on the opening day of the tournament, against West Indies at Sabina Park in Jamaica, while South Africa’s first match is against Netherlands at Warner Park in St Kitts on March 16.

Parthiv Patel is ‘ready to grab any opportunity’ during the Pakistan series © Getty Images

Parthiv Patel, the wicketkeeper-batsman, who has opened for India several times including the Rawalpindi Test last year in which he made 65, said he preferred the opening position. “Opening gives me confidence,” said the diminutive player who made 47 as an opener for Gujarat in their Elite Division Ranji Trophy match against Mumbai at Ahmedabad on Wednesday.”I was batting confidently. I am a bit disappointed about the manner in which I got out,” Parthiv said, adding that he was able to successfully negotiate the seaming ball on a green track.”The ball was seaming in the morning and I had planned to get a big score under my belt which would have given me added confidence before the tour of Pakistan,” Parthiv told mediapersons. He said he was under no pressure when he was about to reach his 50. Parthiv fell at 47 off Ramesh Powar.He said he was well aware that he was touring Pakistan as a second wicketkeeper but was “ready to grab any opportunity” during the Test series and make the most of it.

Shaun Pollock: not recovered from his ankle injury© Getty Images

Shaun Pollock has failed to recover from a long-term ankle injury, and will not participate in the second one-day international against Zimbabwe in Durban on Sunday. Pollock, who also missed the first match at The Wanderers, is likely to be replaced by Charl Langeveldt.”It’s an opportunity to give Shaun more time to recover, and to bring back Charl after his injury,” Gerald De Kock, South Africa’s media manager told Reuters. He also said that South Africa can rest Graeme Smith, the captain, for the next game and Makhaya Ntini for the third one-dayer in Port Elizabeth.Langeveldt, who had fractured his hand in the Cape Town Test against England, will be back in the side after making an impressive Test debut. He played an important role in South Africa’s win in the third Test at Cape Town.South Africa won the first match by 165 runs and lead the three-match series 1-0.

In our new series, My Australia tour, Indian cricketers of the past describe their experiences while touring Australia. In our second instalment, Venkatapathy Raju speaks to Siddhartha Vaidyanathan about the 1991-92 tour.

Merv Hughes’s moustache didn’t quite please Raju © Getty Images

My first visit to Australia was in 1986-87 when I was part of the under-19 squad for the youth World Cup. So when I went with the Indian team in 1991-92 I had a pretty good idea of the country.The tour was a lengthy one since it involved the Test matches, the one-day tri-series and continued through to the World Cup. There was hardly any rest in between and the travelling took a lot out of us. The grounds in Australia are much bigger than you can imagine and it demands a very high level of physical fitness to play there. We came very close to winning the tri-series final and that was the highpoint of the summer. The Australians were too good for us in the Test matches and the World Cup was also a disappointing affair.It is very difficult to bowl against such an aggressive team. They have a fixed plan to score at a very fast rate and have the ability to convert good balls into boundaries. The Kookaburra ball that is used there does not have as prominent a seam as the SG ball that we use in India. The SG ball has a bigger and harder seam and it is tough to get used to the Kookaburra.Apart from the intense cricket on the field there were several other factors that worked against us on that tour. The media were particularly intent on putting us down. I remember an instance when Azhar got a hundred in a tour game but the newspapers showed a picture of him getting bowled. They never wrote about a good bowling performance from our side. The present Indian side will do well to ignore the media completely and just get on with their game.Sledging and mind games are part of the Australian team’s gameplan. It is very common in their domestic cricket and it carries on into the higher level also. You have to completely isolate yourself from the verbal games.Having studied in a boarding school I have always loved to mingle with people from different cultures. Geoff Marsh and Merv Hughes were very good friends of mine and I remember the delicious barbecue that we had in Marsh’s house in Western Australia. I also remember taking long walks on the streets of Melbourne with Javagal Srinath. It is a very beautiful country for a tourist but due to our hectic schedule there was very little time to go around.I remember batting in Melbourne when Hughes was pitching it short and I got hit on the helmet a couple of times. He was constantly growling at me when I reached the non-striker’s end. After the game we met on the flight and I told him, “Big fellow, I don’t like your moustache” and gave it a hard pull. The entire Australian team was in complete splits to see a tiny guy like me pulling Big Merv’s moustache. That is one moment I will treasure always.

Donaldlimps off Photo Peter Heeger

South African fast bowler Allan Donald is almost certain to miss the remainder of the Castle Lager/MTN Test series against Australia at the Wanderers with a hamstring strain.Donald broke down during the first day of the first Test match and had to be helped from the field. It is understood that the hamstring is not torn, but some bleeding has been detected near the in jury.It is estimated that Donald will not be able to play for three weeks which would effectively rule him out of the remainder of the series. South Africa are already without captain and Donald’s regular new ball partner Shaun Pollock who has strained muscles in his side and the most obvious replacement, Nantie Hayward, has torn medial ligaments in his left ankle.Hayward, who was sent home from Australia to rest the injury, is at the centre of a growing internal row at the United Cricket Board. Despite the wishes of South African team physiotherapist Craig Smith, Eastern Province approached the UCB medical committee, headed by Dr Mtutuzeli Nyoka, for clearance for Hayward to play in last weekend’s SuperSport Series match against Western Province.The injury was further aggravated during that match and Hayward is now expected to be out of the game for a further six weeks.

Zimbabwe came into day three of this unofficial test match with a plan. A plan as simple and timeless as any to have been developed in the history of cricket: To restrict the scoring rate through defensive field placings and a leg stump line so as to ensure that they had to bat for as little time as possible.Quite inexplicably they totally outmaneuvered the Sri Lankans in the morning session. By restricting the visitors to 58 runs in 32 overs they ensured that they only had to bat for five overs in the evening, rather than the 30 that that had looked probable last night. By doing so they well have saved the match. By the close Zimbabwe had scored 8 without loss after dismissing the Sri Lankans for 474.Zimbabwe’s strategy was quite obvious from before the start of play. Even during the practice beforehand the spinners could watched grooving their leg-side line. When Raymond Price and birthday boy, Daniel Peacock, started an uninterrupted morning spell, they immediately started propelling the ball towards or outside the batsmen’s legs. Desperately keen to impress the selectors, the batsmen, Dilshan (37) and Hewage (135), were not prepared to take the risks necessary to counter such a policy. Apart from two solitary boundaries from Dilshan in the morning session the batsmen were quite conten to pick up the occasional leg bye and single from the sweep.Following some harsh words from an unimpressed management, the batsmen tried to raise the tempo after lunch. However the defensive approach of the preceding two hours had weighed down the normally nimble footed Dilshan. Failing to move his feet whilst trying an expansive drive he was consequently bowled by Daniel Peacock in the 105 over of the innings.Four minutes later Indika De Saram (1), another player keen to impress the selectors, was caught down the leg-side of the bowling of Raymond Price. This brought to the crease the inform Charmara Silva (38) who was quickly into his stride. Giving some of his colleagues a lesson in how to counter negative bowling he mixed deft deflections with nimble use of his feet. Unfortunately for his side he attempted one two many reverse sweeps and well caught by replacement wicket keeper, Neil Ferreira, ending a forth wicket partnership of 58.The Zimbabwean’s now started to reap the rewards of their earlier policy of containment. Pradeep Hewage’s marathon innings finally came to an end 10 balls after the dismissal of Charmara Silva, when he top edged a sweep and was well caught by diving Greg Lamb at short fine leg. Then just prior to tea the Sri Lankan captain, Thilan Samaraweera (13), pulled a ball tamely into the lap of Andy Blignaut at square leg.Kaushalya Weereratne (33) and Prassana Jawardena (22) started well after tea, providing rich entertainment for the sparse crowd, they increased the tempo of the innings. Prepared to run twos which previously would have been singles and happy to use their feet to loft the ball into the vacant spaces they batted like the others should have. Weerreatne, nicknamed the Sri Lankan `Klusner’, was particularly impressive, hitting four fours and a massive six into the second tier of the pavilion.However Prasanna Jayawardena innings was ended when he was run out by Blignaut and Weereratne was caught behind off the bowling of Peacock. Celebrating his Birthday today Peacock also accounted for Gallage (14) before last man, Malinga Bandara, was run out by half a pitch.When the Zimbabwean return to their hotel tonight two members of the paty may struggle to make it to dinner. Andy Peacock (49-11-119-3) and Raymond Price (57-9-171-5) bowled Herculean spells today. Certain to be a little sore from their day’s labour tomorrow they will be demanding that the top order make sure they don’t have to bat.

Returning Wolves hero Pedro Neto is unlikely to be given many starts in the coming weeks after his injury, according to ‘insider’ Dean Jones.

The Lowdown: Neto makes welcome return

The 21-year-old was a star performer for Wanderers last season, chipping in with five goals and six assists in the Premier League.

Unfortunately, Neto’s campaign was cut short after suffering a serious knee injury, with many months subsequently spent on the sidelines.

Thankfully, the Portuguese starlet made his return to the fold last month and he has made three cameo appearances from the substitutes’ bench overall.

The Latest: Journalist makes key claim

With Saturday’s visit of Crystal Palace looming, Jones has played down the idea of Neto starting the game, telling Give Me Sport that Bruno Lage will be cautious with his player after he heard the Wolves boss fret over his minutes:

“He (Bruno Lage) doesn’t really take risks, so it seems a bit unlikely.

“He seems to have such well thought out ideas and methods for his game plans that I’m not sure if he’s going to take a risk on anyone at this stage of the season.”

[freshpress-quiz id=“388797″]

The Verdict: Manage him carefully

While it may be frustrating not to see Neto unleashed properly in the coming weeks, the severity of his injury means he needs to be handled with care.

Wolves still have a number of strong wide options as we head into the business end of the season, with the likes of Daniel Podence, Hwang Hee-chan and Francisco Trincao all good foils for Raul Jimenez.

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As the weeks pass, the more minutes Neto should enjoy, however, and there is no denying that he should be one of the first names on the team sheet when fit, given his past performances.

In other news, a key Wolves transfer update has emerged. Read more here.