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Kenya pulled off the shock of the tournament with a remarkable 53 runvictory against the Sri Lankans at Nairobi on Monday.Sri Lanka, firm favourites after three straight victories, were bundled outfor 157 in 45 overs chasing the 210 for nine scored by Kenya early in theday.Cheered on by a capacity partisan home crowd, the Kenya bowlers and fieldersproduced an electric display in the field, bowling tightly and fieldingbrilliantly.Leg-spinner Collins Obuya was adjudged man of the match for a superb spellof bowling, running through the Sri Lankan middle order to claim fivewickets for 24 from ten overs, the best ever figures by a Kenyan.Only Aravinda de Silva, who scored 41 from 53 deliveries, provided anyresistance on a slow pitch.Earlier, Kennedy Otieno smashed an entertaining 60 from 88 balls,hitting eight fours and two sixes as Kenya cobbled together their moderatetotal.It was Kenya’s first win against Sri Lanka, their tenth ODI victory, and their greatest day since they defeated West Indies at Poona in the 1996 World Cup.The win leaves Kenya, who picked up four points after New Zealand forfeitedtheir game for security reasons, with a good chance of qualifying for theSuper Sixes.They now move into second position in the table with two matches to play,one of which will be against the out-of-sorts Bangladeshis.Sri Lanka’s World Cup campaign may not lie in tatters but they now face afight to qualify for the second round with difficult matches to be playedagainst West Indies and South Africa.Jayasuriya (3) failed for the second consecutive innings after chipping acatch to wide mid on.Marvan Atapattu (23) started the innings in glorious fashion with a brace ofboundaries but eventually came unstuck as he played onto his stumps to giftThomas Odoyo his 50th ODI wicket.Hashan Tillakaratne (23), dropped in the gully when he had made eight,looked to have settled during a 32 run partnership with veteran Aravinda deSilva before hoisting a catch into the deep off Obuya.De Silva counterattacked in characteristically positive fashion, pulling asix high over square leg.Mahela Jayawardene (5), desperately looking for form before key matchesagainst West Indies and South Africa, could have been run out early on wereit not for a fumble in the covers.But the rusty looking right-hander did not make Kenya pay for a rarefielding slip, poking a catch straight back to Obuya off a leading edge ashe tried to flick a full toss through the leg-side.Kumar Sangakkara (5) was then athletically caught by a tumbling Otienobehind the stumps and when De Silva was caught behind whilst trying to forceObuya through the off-side Sri Lanka were in dire straits on 112 for six.Russel Arnold (25*), the last remaining specialist batsman, struggled tohold the innings together but he was unable to claim back the initiative aswickets continued to fall.Vaas (4) was caught and bowled and then Prabath Nissanka (2) and MuttiahMuralitharan (10) were well-caught on the boundary edge of the skipper SteveTikolo.When Dilhara Fernando missed a reverse sweep and was bowled the Kenyan’svictory was complete and the wild celebrations commenced.Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka had elected to field first against theKenyans, a surprise decision on an excellent batting surface that promisedplenty of runs.The move looked to have been justified when Chaminda Vaas grabbed a secondball wicket, trapping Ravindu Shah lbw with a curving inswinger.But Otieno reacted aggressively to the early loss, swinging Vaas for twotowering sixes and a flurry of boundaries, dashing Sri Lankan hopes ofanother early finish.Nevertheless Sri Lanka made inroads: Brijal Patel (12) edged an off-cutterbehind and Muralitharan trapped star batsman Steve Tikolo (10) lbw with asharply turning off-break.When Otieno was snared in the deep the innings then lost momentum withHitesh Modi and former captain Maurice Odumbe struggling against the SriLankan spinners, adding 40 runs in 10 overs.The left-handed Modi, dropped at fine leg on nine and missed again bywicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara behind the stumps on 11, scored 26 from 56deliveries before being bowled as he tried to reverse sweep Muralitharan.Thomas Odoyo (6) was then caught behind off Vaas after the left-armer waspulled back into the attack for his second spell of the day.Vaas, the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, finished with three for 41 fromhis ten overs.Odumbe (26) was brilliantly caught by Russel Arnold at mid-wicket and TonySuji was bowled by Muralitharan to leave Kenya in trouble on 178 for 8.However, Peter Ongondo then finished the innings with a flourish scoring 20from 18 balls and adding 32 in 4.1 overs with Collins Obuya (11*).It appeared that Sri Lanka would stroll to victory but no one hadanticipated such and electric display from the Kenyans in the field.

The first ever ZEE International Double Wicket Cricket Championshipwas held at Lincoln Park West, in Jersey City, New Jersey, from July13 to 15. Sixteen players from six countries – India, Pakistan, SriLanka, Bangladesh, England and the West Indies participated in thethree-day tournament.India and Pakistan fielded two teams – India Reds (Robin Singh andVinod Kambli) and Indian Blues (Sunil Joshi and Hrishikesh Kanitkar)and Pakistan Blues (Wasim Akram and Shahid Afridi) and Pakistan Greens(Saeed Anwar and Azhar Mahmood). Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda deSilva (Sri Lanka); Aminul Islam and Akram Khan (Bangladesh); JimmyAdams and Phil Simmons (West Indies) and Chris Lewis and David Capel(England) were the other participants.Pakistan’s Rashid Latif and a local player kept wickets during thetournament. Former West Indian left-handed batsman Larry Gomes was thetournament referee, who also acted as the TV umpire. India’s SK Bansaland Pakistan’s Mian Muhammad Aslam officiated as umpires. Localplayers, led by Derek Kallicharran, younger brother of former WestIndian captain and batsman Alvin, fielded for the various teams duringthe tournament.The competition was played at a baseball park. A synthetic wicket,which was imported from South Africa, was laid out for the event.Since the wicket had unpredictable bounce and pace, the bowlers usedshorter run-ups and bowled slow stuff. All matches were televised liveon Zee UK, Zee Africa and Zee USA. Pakistan TV also took a live feed.Although the crowd was disappointing on the first day, the last twodays saw a fairly decent flag-waving crowd, mostly from the subcontinent.Pakistan Blues, represented by Wasim Akram and Shahid Afridi, won thecompetition defeating the Bangladeshi pair of Akram Khan and AminulIslam in the final. India Blues and the West Indies were losing semifinalists. The winners took US$ 20,000, while the runners-up won halfthat amount. Afridi won US$ 1000 for hitting the maximum sixes, whileDerek Kalllicharran was adjudged the best fielder with maximumcatches. The mayor of Jersey City gave away the prizes.Brief scores:July 13: Match No 1 (Group A): Pakistan Blues 82-2 in 8 overs beatIndia Reds 65-2 in 8 overs. Match No 2 (Group A): England 59-5 in 8overs lost to West Indies 70-3 in 8 overs. Match No 3 (Group B):Pakistan Greens 50-5 in 8 overs lost to Sri Lanka 61-2 in 8 overs.Match No 4 (Group B): India Blues 44-3 in 8 overs lost to Bangladesh47-1 in 8 overs. Match No 5 (Group A): Pakistan Blues 69-5 in 8 oversbeat West Indies 34-4 in 8 overs.July 14: Match No 6 (Group A): West Indies 69-1 in 8 overs beat IndiaReds 32-9 in 8 overs. Match No 7 (Group A): England 41-7 in 8 oversbeat India Reds 4-0 in 1.5 overs (India Reds conceded the match whenKambli was injured). Match No 8 (Group B): Pakistan Greens 41-5 in 8overs lost to India Blues 44-2 in 8 overs Match No 9 (Group A):Pakistan Blues 88-3 in 8 overs beat England 75-2 in 8 overs Match No10 (Group B): Sri Lanka 5-9 in 8 overs lost to Bangladesh 21-3 in 8oversJuly 15: Match No 11 (Group B): India Blues 54-2 in 8 overs beat SriLanka 27-8 in 8 overs. Match No 12 (Group B): Bangladesh 68-2 in 8overs beat Pakistan Greens 43-7 in 8 overs.

Points table:Group A P W L Pts Group B P W L PtsPakistan Blues 3 3 0 6 Bangladesh 3 3 0 6India Blues 3 2 1 4 England 3 1 2 2India Reds 3 0 3 0 Pak Greens 3 0 3 0West Indies 3 2 1 4 Sri Lanka 3 1 2 2

Semi-finals: Bangladesh 58-5 in 8 overs: Akram Khan (60 runs with 2outs) & Aminul Islam (18 – 3) beat West Indies 55-3 in 8 overs: (PhilSimmons 27 – 1) & Jimmy Adams (36-2) Pakistan Blues 118-4 in 8 overs:Shahid Afridi (63 – 3) & Wasim Akram (69 – 1) beat India Blues 77-4 in8 overs: Hrishikesh Kanitkar (33-2) & Maninder Singh (49-2) (ManinderSingh replaced the injured Sunil JoshiFinal: Pakistan Blues 81-9 in 8 overs: Shahid Afridi (79 runs, with 7outs) & Wasim Akram (43 – 2) beat Bangladesh 58-2 in 8 overs: AkramKhan (40 – 1) & Aminul Islam (20-1)

ScorecardStafanie Taylor cuts during her unbeaten 98•WICB Media/Randy Brooks of Brooks LaTouche Photo

West Indies women’s captain Stafanie Taylor overwhelmed Pakistan women with a powerful all-round performance, making an unbeaten 98 and then taking 3 for 26 in ten overs to secure a 109-run victory for her team in St. Lucia.Pakistan had made a promising start after choosing to bowl and had West Indies at 57 for 3 in 10.1 overs. Taylor then put on 130 runs with Merrisa Aguilleira, who was run out for 68. Kyshona Knight’s 45 off 40 balls added the finishing touches as West Indies powered to 281 for 5. Taylor, on 90, had faced the last four balls of the innings but could manage to score only two off each delivery, finishing two runs short of a century.Pakistan’s chase of a challenging target barely got off the ground. Javeria Khan played a sole hand, making an unbeaten 73 at No. 3, but no one else got past 20. Taylor cut through the middle order, taking three successive wickets to reduce Pakistan from 93 for 3 to 125 for 6. They were eventually restricted to 172 for 9 in 50 overs.

According to a report from AS Roma Live (via Sport Witness), the Serie A club remain interested in Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz. 

The lowdown: Luiz is a wanted man

The 23-year-old has previously been indexed with a move to Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United (Birmingham Mail).

Despite the speculation, the former Manchester City academy starlet has remained a regular feature for the Villans this season, making 27 appearances across all competitions.

A fresh report from Italy has claimed that there is strong interest on the Brazilian from further afield…

The latest: Jose Mourinho keen on Luiz

As per the report from AS Roma Live, as translated by Sport Witness, Roma’s admiration for Luiz has ‘never completely disappeared’.

It is stated that the five-cap Brazil international is ‘not the happiest’ at Villa Park, having not been rewarded with a new contract.

Indeed, recent comments from Gerrard confirming that talks over a new deal for the Brazilian aren’t forthcoming are believed to have been viewed as a ‘green light’ by Roma.

The verdict: Secure him at all costs

Valued at £31.5m and into the final 18 months of a contract in the Midlands (Transfermarkt), the club would certainly be best served to tie down the midfield general to fresh terms sooner rather than later.

Described as a ‘clever’ operator on the ball by Pep Guardiola, Luiz has formed an impressive partnership alongside John McGinn whilst completing 86% of his passes this season, earning an overall performance rating of 6.93 from Sofascore.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

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Given the levels of interest in Luiz’s services, without a new deal it’s difficult to envisage a summer without strong renewed interest; and as things stand, Villa may be forced to cash in on the Brazilian, perhaps even to a Premier League rival.

In other news: Source claims Aston Villa outcast will move on this summer. Read more here.

Scorecard

	Hasan Raza top scored for the Badshahs with 48 © ICL

Twenty-two runs was the margin of defeat for the Kolkata Tigers; 22 was also the runs conceded by Tigers medium-pacer Abu Nechim in one over.The Badshahs had been unconquered in five matches so far in the tournament. The Tigers seemed to have them on the mat, but they ended up being tamed. The Badshahs, without captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, were put in to bat by the Tigers and a tight performance from the bowlers left them at only 53 for 2 at the half-way stage.Taufeeq Umar held together the innings with a 35-ball 41, and his dismissal paved the way for Hasan Raza and Naved Latif to take charge. They didn’t disappoint, as 64 runs were scored off the final five overs.Latif got the momentum going with a six off Upul Chandana in the 16th, before both he and Raza belted a four and a six in the next from Nechim, which went for 22. The same Nechim had been the star for the Tigers on Wednesday, wrecking the Chandigarh Lions’ semi-final hopes with his 4 for 27.Further punishment was inflicted in the 20th over bowled by Nantie Hayward, with Azhar Mahmood – facing his first ball – hitting a six off the final delivery. Raza was run out for 48, while Latif was unbeaten on 30 from 17.Mahmood struck soon after as the Tigers began their hunt, and when his new-ball partner Mohammad Sami scalped the dangerous Lance Klusener, which was soon followed by Deep Dasgupta’s run-out, the Tigers were tottering at 12 for 4.Despite a run-a-ball 46 from Rohan Gavaskar, and captain Craig McMillan’s 30, the Tigers couldn’t upstage the Badshahs. They finished at 131 for 7. For the Badshahs, it was an impressive collective bowling effort; of the five bowlers used, offspinner Arshad Khan, playing his first match of the tournament, was the most expensive with 26 coming off his four.The Badshahs next take on the bottom-placed Ahmedabad Rockets in their final encounter on Sunday, while the Kolkata Tigers take on the Delhi Giants in an important clash to determine a semi-final spot.

Trent Johnson tosses up ahead of the match against Sri Lanka … but was it for the final time? © Getty Images

In the aftermath of Ireland’s World Cup farewell, Trent Johnston, their captain, dropped a broad hint that he would soon be announcing his retirement.”This might be my last game” he said. “Maybe Phil [Simmons, the new coach] wants to get rid of the dead wood and get the young boys in? I don’t know. I’ll sit down with my family and see where we are going. It’ll be pretty hard to go on after a World Cup and the seven weeks we’ve just had like this. But if I turn around I’d love to be a part of what Phil wants to achieve. It’s a fantastic cricket calendar coming up and exciting times.”Reflecting on his team’s experiences, Johnston said that the moment he jumped off the team bus after the group-stage victory over Pakistan was the one that would leave with him the longest. “That was the highlight for me,” he said. “The reception we got there, when we went to visit our families and friends. I probably walked about two metres in 50 minutes. People wanted to talk to you and sign things, and that’s never been seen before in Irish cricket. There were other moments, but spending that time with our families was great, because they have sacrificed a lot for us.”As Ireland prepare to embark on a new chapter in its cricket, Johnston was keen to stress the strength in depth in the country’s grassroots cricket, and paid tribute to the programmes that Birrell had set in place – programmes that had turned Ireland into European champions at every level from Under-13s to seniors. “We’ve got to hang onto those kids and not let them go off to county cricket,” he warned. “That’s something down the track we’ve got to look to do.”The majority of this squad will be around for the next World Cup. It’s been a massive experience for them and a learning curve. Hopefully we will qualify and make the Super Eights again, because that’s another goal and a realistic goal. The way we’ve performed here means we’re going to get a lot more games against the high-profile teams. That’s got to be good for Irish cricket. But we’ve got to keep those kids coming through.”

Brothers in arms: Stuart MacGill says he can help a fatigued Shane Warne © Getty Images

Stuart MacGill, the Australian legspinner, has urged the national selectors to persist with him in a bid to prolong Shane Warne’s career. He also admitted that the realisation that his days as an Australia cricketer were numbered had added a sense of urgency to his performance in the first Test against Bangladesh last week.”I think that if you ever — and there’s not many of them — pick up little troughs and plateaus in Shane’s career they’re predominantly based around workload … They’re all following hard seasons or are either immediately before or after operations,” MacGill told . “And in all of those situations there would have been definitely plenty of scope to play a second wrist spinner and I think that you can maybe avoid those situations completely if you do share the pain a bit. It’d work out great for me because I’d play more and probably will stretch Shane’s career a little bit, too. I don’t necessarily see there being a huge difference between the end of Shane’s career and the end of my career.”MacGill gave the example of the Dhaka Test, when Warne was forced to leave the field on the first day with a shoulder strain. “In the Ashes everybody was looking at Shane’s 40 wickets, which is an amazing achievement but if you look further than that maybe the last week was a physical manifestation of that workload,” he said. “(It was) the end of a very, very long season and maybe if I had played a couple of more times in between it would have been avoided.Despite an impressive 191 wickets at 27.35 from 39 Tests, MacGill has found it hard to cement a place in the side. With Warne coming back extremely well since his one-year ban – he picked up a record 96 wickets in 2005 – the 35-year old New South Wales bowler has found himself spending entire series on the bench or carrying drinks. “It’s not as if you’re going to be saving me up for later,” he said. “We’re similar ages and we’ve both got other things to do, so it would be great to be used at the moment.”MacGill also admitted that he knew this tour of Bangladesh could be his last. “I certainly can’t see another Australian tour for me, unless I miraculously hit one-day cricket,” he said.”The next scheduled tour is Zimbabwe in the middle of next year, which I won’t be part of (because of a political boycott). From there, there is a Pakistan tour the year after, so this would be my last Australian tour, I would say. The Ashes summer is there but I don’t know when I am going to be used, so you don’t know what’s going to happen. I have got to make sure I cash in in these games because I might not get another Test.”The second Test against Bangladesh starts at Chittagong today.

Too much one-day cricket is pulling down Adam Gilchrist © Getty Images

Adam Gilchrist cannot wait for the Ashes to start. “I would have been pretty keen to get into first-class cricket now,” he said, just as the NatWest Series ended, and a day before the NatWest Challenge one-dayers against England get underway. “With all due respect to the schedules and commitments every country has to the ICC’s five-year program, there’s been a lot of one-day cricket already,” Gilchrist is quoted as saying by the Australian Associated Press.”With the heightened awareness and eagerness everyone has for the Ashes, it would have been ripe for the picking to start on first-class cricket now,” said Gilchrist. “Everyone now is so keen for the Ashes – players and spectators. “The excitement level and anticipation for this series is just reaching an all-time high and that’s been increased again as a result of that (NatWest Series final) tie.”However, Gilchrist realised the need to play one-day internationals. “We play a lot of one-day cricket in Australia and that brings in a lot of revenue and we’re reliant on that,” he said. “So I can understand England wanting to cash in on the world champs being here. We’ll just have to make sure we get up for these games and get into the stuff that everyone’s waiting for.”Gilchrist guarded against reading too much into the result of the NatWest Challenge – whichever way it went. The final outcome of this series might not mean that one team is dominant or superior over the other,” Gilchrist said. “It might have just been that you happened to get your interpretation of the tactics or rule changes more right than the other, and we’ll all be learning.”When you think about what we’re doing, we’re totally changing the rules of cricket by bringing a 12th player into the game,” said Gilchrist, stressing that the innovations could make a significant difference. “There’s some pretty significant rule changes, and it could just be luck of the draw how you come out of it at the other end.”

Live scorecard

Jacques Kallis drives on his way to 92© AFP

Jacques Kallis fell a couple of muscular drives short of becoming the first man since Donald Bradman to score centuries in five consecutive Test matches as South Africa dominated the opening day of the series against New Zealand at Westpac Park in Hamilton. Kallis’s 92 was buttressed by a classy 72 from the other Jacques, Rudolph, with Gary Kirsten – who played some superb cuts and drives off Daniel Vettori – providing a stabilising hand in the final session. When stumps were drawn, South Africa were 279 for 4, with Paul Adams, the nightwatchman, keeping Kirsten company.The highlight of the day’s play was the 132-run partnership for the third wicket, after both Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs had gifted Vettori their wickets with injudicious shots. While Jacques and Jacques were at the crease, the shot selection was tremendous, the concentration levels unwavering, and New Zealand’s dejection palpable.Kallis slowed down after Rudolph departed, and was dismissed a quarter of an hour before stumps, hooking Jacob Oram to Daryl Tuffey at deep fine leg. Neither Kallis, nor Kirsten at the non-striker’s end, observed Oram gesturing for two men to be placed on the fence for the shot, and Kallis insouciantly dropped the ball into Tuffey’s hands (271 for 4).Torrential rain had ruined the strip originally chosen for the game, and when play started on a pitch right at the edge of the square, it appeared as though it had been airlifted from the subcontinent – deep brown and with not a hint of live grass. New Zealand gave Test debuts to Michael Papps and Brendon McCullum, and included two spinners in their endeavour to win a first ever series against South Africa.After a hesitant start that included streaky shots through the slip cordon, Gibbs and Smith took charge. Gibbs stroked two superb cover-drives off Tuffey and after 12 overs marked by little penetration, Fleming tossed the ball to Vettori. He settled into a probing line and length straight away, varying his flight to keep the batsmen guessing.Smith decided to take the initiative after drinks, coming down the track to smash a delivery over midwicket and then rocking back to place another through backward point.Gibbs brought up the 50 with a guide past gully, and a top-edged pull over the keeper for four, but just when it all appeared rosy, Vettori struck. Smith was enticed forward by a flighted delivery, and his neither-here-nor-there chip found Oram at midwicket (51 for 1). He made 25.The batsmen then went into hibernation for almost half an hour as Vettori and Chris Cairns dried up the runs, supported by Fleming’s restrictive fields. Gibbs finally jolted South Africa out of their stupor with a magnificent straight six off Vettori, before falling to one of the worst deliveries sent down all morning. A hit-me ball wide outside off stump, and Gibbs (40) hit it alright, straight to Scott Styris at cover (79 for 2).Rudolph and Kallis regained some lost ground with some pleasing strokes just before lunch, with Kallis clearing the rope twice as Paul Wiseman wasn’t allowed to settle. After the interval, both men played some glorious strokes while dismantling a mediocre bowling attack.Fleming opted for pace to try and force a breakthrough, perhaps hoping that Cairns and Tuffey might get the ball to reverse swing. But there was little movement, in the air or off the pitch, and a flick off the pads from Kallis when Cairns overpitched set the tone for the session.

Daniel Vettori struck early, but could not take complete advantage of the turning track© AFP

Rudolph uncorked a superb cover-drive off Tuffey, and followed it up with a contemptuous pull in front of square. And when Kallis slammed three fours in one Tuffey over – on and off-drives, followed by a cracking square cut – to bring up the 50 partnership, Fleming knew that the gamble had failed.Vettori came on, and Rudolph said hello with a sumptuous square-drive for four. In keeping with the spirit of change, Oram had come on at the other end, but Kallis met him with a fortuitous edge for four – the slips had long since scattered – and a savage pull that cleared the fence at square leg.Rudolph had his own moment of good fortune, edging Vettori past slip for four, but Dame Luck had nothing to do with the stunning straight six with which he reached his 50. A cute late cut demoralised New Zealand further, even as Kallis continued to cover-drive like a dream at the other end.Rudolph’s dismissal, brilliantly caught low to his left by McCullum off Styris’s bowling, resulted in most of the momentum being lost, with both Kallis and Kirsten appearing content to play the waiting game in the final hour. New Zealand may have reined it back as the shadows lengthened, but South Africa had enough batting in reserve to motor out of sight on day two.

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