ScorecardJesse Ryder whittled out Glamorgan•Getty Images

Jesse Ryder’s career-best figures put Essex in firm control against Glamorgan at Chelmsford, snapping the visitors’ excellent run of recent form with the bat.Ryder, the New Zealander, picked up 6 for 47 in 15 overs as Glamorgan were bowled out for 162, the first time this season they had failed to get a batting point in a completed innings. Essex were left with a first innings lead of 117 on a day when 46 overs were lost through rain or bad light and they added another 78 runs before the close.In overcast conditions, Ryder used a combination of seam and swing to undermine the visitors’ innings after they had resumed on 40 for 3 and he beat the bat so often that he could have reaped a greater harvest.Ryder claimed the first five wickets of the innings to fall with only 59 on the board and at that stage, Glamorgan were in danger of being asked to follow-on after replying to an Essex total of 279. But they steered clear of having to do so largely through the efforts of Colin Ingram, Mark Wallace and David Lloyd.Ingram adopted a positive approach while gathering 43 from 56 balls with the help of five fours and a six while Wallace’s 21 included five boundaries. Both were eventually dismissed by paceman David Masters who trapped Wallace leg before wicket before he bowled Ingram for 43. Lloyd hit out boldly while making an unbeaten 20 that included a six and three fours.Masters finished with 3 for 53 while Napier picked-up the remaining wicket when Michael Hogan was bowled off his pads to bring Glamorgan’s replay to an end in the 41st over.With Jaik Mickleburgh suffering from back spasms, Liam Dawson, on-loan from Hampshire, was promoted to open the innings with Nick Browne and the pair never looked in any real trouble as they pressed home Essex’s advantage. They defied a succession of bowling changes while raising the fifty stand with some fine strokes on either side of the wicket and they put together the highest partnership of the match so far.They were still together when bad light brought play to an end with the total on 78 without loss. Browne was within eight runs of his half-century while Dawson will resume on 30.Essex have certainly put themselves in a healthy position to inflict upon promotion-chasing Glamorgan their first defeat of the summer, one that would be a blow to their hopes of reaching Division One. But the real winner could yet prove the weather with outbursts of rain, some prolonged, forecast over the next couple of days.All-rounder Liam Dawson admitted that his Essex side are in a good position. “To go into day three almost 200 runs ahead with twn wickets left is a position that you want to be in. I think there is enough in that wicket if you bowl well over a period of time to take wickets. The longer the game goes on and the more runs we get on the board, the more we put the pressure on Glamorgan. When we come to bowl against them again, whether it is late tomorrow or the start of day four, there is plenty in that wicket to encourage us.”Glamorgan head coach Toby Radford added: “It was a disappointing day for us, I thought that Ryder bowled exceptionally well, used the conditions overhead and got a lot from the pitch, swung it and nipped it both ways. I was still disappointed though that we couldn’t get closer to the Essex first innings score and then we failed to take any wickets this evening. So we are under pressure and have to play well over these last two days.”

ScorecardSteven Finn was back in the groove in his comeback performance for England Lions (file photo)•Getty Images

Steven Finn enhanced his prospects of a belated call-up to England’s Test tour of South Africa with a hostile three-wicket comeback performance for England Lions in Dubai, but his efforts were trumped by the Pakistan A opener Sharjeel Khan, whose 70 from 50 balls set his side up for a tense four-wicket victory and a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.Finn, who was withdrawn from the recent Test series against Pakistan due to a stress-related injury in his foot, showed plenty hostility and no signs of discomfort to claim figures of 3 for 22 in four overs, including two wickets in two balls in the second over of his spell.”It just felt nice to be playing again, and I’m very happy with how it went,” Finn said. “Bowling in the nets can’t give you that competitive edge you get in a match. I really enjoyed being back out there. It’s definitely a good starting block.”Defending a target of 143 after another promising start from Dawid Malan and a strong finish from Liam Dawson, Finn found his range in conceding two runs from his opening over before a change-up in pace confounded Sohaib Maqsood, who was bowled round his legs for 3. One ball later, Mohammad Nawaz had no response to a perfect outswinger that curled off his edge and into the gloves of Sam Billings behind the stumps.It was a statement of intent from a bowler whom Alastair Cook, in his departure press conference at Heathrow on Thursday, had admitted was ahead of schedule in his comeback from injury, having spent most of the last month with his left foot in a moon boot. “Steven has made big strides over the last couple of weeks,” Cook said. “That’s really encouraging for him.” On this evidence, he can probably start making plans for a Cape Town New Year.However, Finn’s figures were dented in his third over by Sharjeel, who pulled a four then smeared a six to kick-start his own innings and Pakistan’s run-chase. He galloped along to a 30-ball half-century, with six fours and a six, adding 52 for the third wicket with Iftikhar Ahmed, who played a willing second-fiddle with 15 from 19 balls before flapping a short ball from Jamie Overton to midwicket.Their stand had given Pakistan command of the contest but, at 92 for 3, Finn returned in the 14th over to complete his spell. Sure enough, with his second ball, he beat Babar Azam for pace as Dawson at midwicket collected a top-edged pull.Sharjeel, however, responded immediately with a four through an unguarded fine leg and, one over later, the new batsman, Saad Nasim, lifted Tom Westley over fine leg for six to restore Pakistan’s ascendancy. England’s death bowlers battled valiantly to keep their side in the game but Nasim added two more sixes, including one in the final over off Reece Topley, to all but seal the victory with 33 from 21 balls.Nasim was denied the winning shot when Topley completed a caught-and-bowled with two runs needed for victory, but Saifullah Bangash walloped four to seal the result with two balls to spare.After winning the toss and batting first, England’s innings failed to ignite despite a handful of promising cameos at the top of the order. For the third match running, Malan provided the early impetus, making 35 from 29 balls with three fours and a six over long-on off the spin of Bilal Asif.But at the other end, James Vince fell in the second over, well caught by the diving keeper, Bangash, off Mir Hamza for 6, and though Westley came out swinging with three fours in the space of four balls, he fell in search of his fourth, a miscued pull off Rumman Raees that picked out deep fine leg for 13.Billings was unable to get going in his run-a-ball 15. Although he top-edged his fifth ball, off Raees, over fine leg for six, he then added six more singles in the space of his next ten balls before mowing across the line at Asif and holing out to Ifhikhar at long-on.Malan and Ross Whiteley then fell in the space of six balls to a pair of expertly judged catches – first Azam flung himself full-length at midwicket to intercept Malan’s flat pull before Junaid Khan leapt in the covers to send Whiteley on his way for a third-ball duck, as England slipped to a precarious 76 for 5 in the 12th over.However, Dawson marshalled his side’s recovery with 45 not out from 37 balls, including a final-ball six over fine leg as Junaid strayed on to his pads. He added a restorative 54 runs for the sixth wicket with Ben Foakes, whose 16 from 18 balls ended when he inside-edged Raees on to his stumps, then farmed the strike well with Jamie Overton to give his bowlers a total to defend. Despite Finn’s best efforts, it wasn’t quite enough.

Pakistan’s ODI captain Azhar Ali and veteran allrounder Mohammad Hafeez have chosen to stay away from the ongoing conditioning camp in Lahore, apparently due to Mohammad Amir’s inclusion among the probables for the camp. Azhar confirmed that he had stayed away because of Amir and Pakistan’s team media manager, Agha Akbar, said Hafeez’s absence was also apparently for the same reason.Amir, who is in the selection mix after serving a five-year ban for his role in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal, was one of the 26 probables named for the pre-season conditioning camp in the build-up to the New Zealand tour. Both Hafeez and Azhar were playing domestic matches in Karachi and had missed the first three days of the camp which began on December 21. They were scheduled to join the camp on Thursday, but Agha Akbar confirmed that the pair did not train with the side.”Both are not joining the training camp today apparently because of Mohammad Amir,” Akbar told ESPNcricinfo.Azhar was more direct. “I will not attend the camp as long as Amir is there,” he said. “This is my decision and we are open to discuss with the PCB. I don’t want to comment on Hafeez’s decision, but we both have the same stance.'”In November, Hafeez had reportedly turned down an offer in the Bangladesh Premier League from the Chittagong Vikings franchise, who had enlisted Amir. Hafeez told ESPNcricinfo that he could not play “with any player who has tarnished and brought a bad name to the country”, but was open to accepting an offer from a different franchise. He stressed that this was his personal opinion.In November 2011, Amir – along with Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif – was sentenced in a London Court on charges conspiracy to accept corrupt payments and conspiracy to cheat at gambling after a plot was uncovered in a sting operation to bowl deliberate no-balls in a Test against England in 2010. Amir was given a six-month jail sentence and served half of it at the Portland Young Offenders Institution in DorsetHe was also given a five-year ban by the ICC, and his suspension period formally ended on September 1 this year. Amir had been allowed to return to cricket ahead of schedule by the ICC in January and has since featured in Pakistan’s domestic T20 and first-class competitions. He was also a part of the BPL 2015-16, playing nine matches for the Chittagong Vikings franchise.

Namibia Under-19s may have slumped to an eight-wicket defeat, but Norbert Manyande, the team’s coach, was happy that Bangladesh Under-19 took his side seriously. Manyande claimed that the grass had been shaved off from the pitch at the Sheikh Kamal International Cricket Stadium in order to counter Namibia’s pace attack.”Bangladesh knew our seam bowling is very good for the way we bowled against South Africa and against Scotland as well,” Manyande said. “We have been here [in Cox’s Bazar] for two weeks and have played in this venue once and today was the first time I saw the pitch without grass. So we definitely gave them something to think about. Whether people will accept that or not, that’s up to them.”Once we give a Test side to think of something like that then we know that we are here not to mess around, we are here to play cricket. And they did their homework, they are the home side and the won the game. There is no doubt that they played really well and we learned a lot out of it as well.”Manyande felt Namibia now go into the quarter-final against India having learned more about playing spin, though they were shot out for 65 in 32.5 overs against Bangladesh.”Moving forward, I don’t think we are going to face any spin attack as good as Bangladesh, as far as we have seen so far. So moving forward we are quite confident that we will still be able to win one or two games and surprise someone again.”We are here to compete. We have learned a lot from spin bowling from the Bangladesh game. In the next game we are looking to improve a lot more facing the spin bowling.”

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has insisted the club are still chasing Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas despite having their opening transfer bids rejected.

The Spain international, who left the Catalan giants for the Gunners as a teenager, is contracted to the Emirates Stadium outfit until 2015, but he as made it clear he wants a return to his homeland.

However, the La Liga champions failed with an initial bid of around £30million and now Laporta will allow sporting director Txiki Begiristain decide what course of action they will next take.

Laporta said:"It's a price that we consider to be his market value. Arsenal have rejected it. Now the sporting director must decide what should be the next step.

"We are in negotiations and we'll see how they turn out. At times, these operations are resolved at one speed, and others at another.

"We have to do everything we can to convince them that the best thing for all is to reach an agreement.

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"The club have full confidence that Arsenal will end up understanding the situation."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Leading into the World Cup, the German side were looked upon as an unknown quantity. A side without their talisman Michael Ballack and the investment in youth by Joachim Löw failed to fill many pundits with confidence they resembled great German teams of the past. They were regarded as a team in transition rather than tournament contenders.

But one man above all should have been aware of the threat the German side held. Stuart Pearce. Six members of the German U21 side graduated to their senior side after leading Germany to a 4-0 triumph over Pearce’s England in the final of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. You could almost call it déjà vu in Bloemfontein.

Amongst them was Mesut Özil, the man who out shone any England player on the pitch and ultimately sent the Three Lions home. The midfielder broke English hearts in Sweden last year causing England all sorts of problems. He set up two of the goals and added the second, with a little help from Scott Loach. He proved to remain a thorn in England’s side in the Free State Stadium. He and his team mates condemned Fabio Capello’s side to their heaviest defeat at a major championship.

Manuel Neuer, Dennis Aogo, Jerome Boateng, Sami Khedira and Marko Marin were the other five players to break into the senior side. England, however, have only integrated James Milner and Joe Hart from the England U21 squad. The Aston Villa midfielder has made a big impression on Capello keeping Joe Cole out of the side, despite the country’s plea to start the former Chelsea winger. Hart has failed to make an appearance during the tournament.

England and Fabio Capello, if still in charge, must follow Germany’s rebuilding process if they stand any chance of future success. The ‘golden generation’ have again failed to meet the semi-finals requirement at another major tournament. Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and others will all surpass 30 by 2014. The current England squad are entering a transition stage, much like the Germans, and their bitter rivals have shown what Capello must do.

Germany are not the only team to have benefited from the 2009 U21 tournament. Serbia have included Gojko Kačar, Zoran Tošić and Ivan Obradović in their squad while Javi Martínez earned a call-up for Spain.

So who are England’s main future prospects? Manchester City winger Adam Johnson failed to make the 23-man squad but the Three Lions have long cried out for a left winger. His goal against Sunderland last season currently proves he has a creative instinct England’s left-hand side lacks.

Having established himself as a first team regular last season, Everton’s Jack Rodwell was rumoured to be wanted by Sir Alex Ferguson who wanted to bring the midfielder to Old Trafford for 15 million. This level of interest demonstrates the potential the 19-year-old possesses.

Missed out because of an injury plagued season, Theo Walcott has failed to fulfil the potential he promised as a youngest at Southampton. The forward needs to replicate his goal scoring form he showed against Croatia.

Capello must keep a close eye on qualifying for the 2011 UEFA European U21 Championship in Denmark as the senior squad needs reshuffling with a few new aces added to the pack.

Written By Michael Muncaster

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Click on image below to look at the SPANISH babes at the World Cup

The Football Association has attempted to diffuse the continuing controversy surrounding England coach Fabio Capello and the player index bearing the Italian's name.

The 'Capello Index' website remains live despite Capello demanding its removal immediately after it went live over the weekend.

The site first made headlines before the World Cup when it claimed it would, with the input of the experienced coach, rate the performances of every player, including Capello's own England squad, during the tournament in South Africa.

Capello distanced himself from it before the tournament, but the fact that it went live over the weekend and remains accessible is believed to be a source of embarrassment to both the Italian and his employers.

However, Club England managing director Adrian Bevington insists there is no problem between Capello and the FA.

Speaking about any direct link between Capello and the website, he said:"After the developments of the weekend, this will not happen while Fabio is England manager.

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"We have been consistent with this view, but managed sensitively.

"However, as has been made clear, Fabio had absolutely no involvement in the ratings that have appeared from the World Cup and did not give his name or approval to them."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Sven-Goran Eriksson has revealed that he may remain Ivory Coast manager until the next World Cup, dampening down rumours suggesting he was set to be revealed as Fulham's next boss.

The Cottagers were believed to have identified the Swede as the perfect replacement for Roy Hodgson who was unveiled as Liverpool's new manager earlier in the summer.

Former England manager Eriksson took over as Elephants boss on a short-term contract before the World Cup but was unable to guide his team through the group stage in South Africa.

However, Eriksson enjoyed the experience, telling Swedish broadcaster SVT:"They (Ivory Coast) were really pleased and I guess that I can stay on if I want to. If so, it will be for four years until the next World Cup finals.

"I'll make up my mind in a week or so. I have to do it soon since there are friendlies in August and qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations in September and October."

When asked about the Craven Cottage vacancy, the 62-year-old added: "I do not know, honestly. I do not think Fulham have decided what they want to do,"

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Fulham are also believed to be interested in appointing Switzerland manager Ottmar Hitzfeld or United States boss Bob Bradley.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

During his two years at Arsenal, Samir Nasri has been a good player. There is a sense however, that he has not yet consistently performed to the potential he displayed at Marseille where he was branded the ‘new Zidane’. Although these comparisons are overused, Liverpool fans will know all about Bruno Cheyrou, they rarely come without some back-up and Nasri is a player with a lot of talent, and that is what persuaded the usually frugal Arsene Wenger to part with £12.5 million for the then 21 year old. Now at 23, Samir Nasri along with several other Arsenal players, needs to step it up to another level and become the top-class player he has the ability to be. If he can do this, he could be one of Arsenal’s most important players and could play a pivotal role in the Gunners’ quest for trophies this season.

Samir Nasri was widely regarded as a star of the future during his time at Marseille, a club where he made his league debut at just 17 years of age. In 2007 he won the award for the best young player in Ligue One and it was year later that Arsenal swooped to sign him, beating off competition from a number of top European clubs in the process. Nasri came with a fairly hefty price-tag, but his arrival was welcomed by Gunners’ fans as one of the most exciting prospects in European football. In his first two seasons at Arsenal one word has really summed up Samir Nasri; inconsistent. The player has looked like a world beater on occasion and has shown touches of brilliance, his superb solo effort in a Champions League tie against Porto last season particularly springs to mind, as well as a brace he scored against Manchester United in 2008 which won Arsenal the game. The problem for Nasri has been consistency, he will have a great game followed by an anonymous one. In the Frenchman’s defence he has experienced injury problems, and he is of course still a young player; inconsistency is often the curse of inexperience.

At 23 though, Nasri is not the callow youth he once was. Surprisingly omitted from the French World Cup squad, although Nasri might now be glad about this fact, he will want to perform for his club and force his way into Laurent Blanc’s newly forged plans. Arsenal fans will be hoping to see Nasri inject the consistency a top-class player requires into his game. Nasri is certainly not alone in the list of players who have not yet fulfilled their full potential at Arsenal, Theo Walcott, Abou Diaby and Nicklas Bendtner are all in a similar position to Nasri. Arsene Wenger has been banking on players such as these to move their game up a gear for the past few seasons, but as of yet these wishes have not materialised.

In Arsenal’s game against Liverpool, in the absence of Cesc Fabregas Nasri was played in a central position, as he was during much of the end of last season, with Andrei Arshavin and Emmanuel Eboue employed on the wings. At such an early stage in the season it is difficult to predict what formation or personnel Wenger will settle upon, but this is position Nasri can grow into. He has excellent technique, vision and is a good passer of the ball, with Fabregas likely to leave next summer, Wenger may well be grooming him as Fabregas’ replacement. It remains to be seen whether Nasri can consistently step up to this role, but his ability is not in question and if he can perform this season, the potential blow of losing Fabregas next year could well be softened.

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Six years after leaving Merseyside for the bright lights of Real Madrid, former fan favourite Michael Owen returned to Anfield wearing the red of Liverpool for Jamie Carragher’s testimonial last Saturday.

Carragher and Owen were both members of the club’s 1996 FA Cup youth winning squad and made their first-team debuts within months of each other. Defender Carragher has since gone onto become a club legend, making over 600 appearances for Liverpool, in a career spanning over two decades. Owen of course cut his ties with the club in the summer of 2004 after 297 games and 158 goals for The Reds. Yet despite this and his two FA Cup final goals against Arsenal, which helped clinch a unique cup treble in 2001, Owen still divides fan opinion today.

While Owen received a warm reception from the majority of Reds fans at the recent testimonial, there were still an undercurrent of boos ringing out around Anfield during his 45-minute cameo. Owen is no stranger to this however after previously receiving a barrage of abuse from the Kop fans that once idolised him on his return with Newcastle in December 2005, when he was greeted with chants of ‘Where were you in Istanbul?’ and ‘What a waste of talent’.

It was more of the same last season when Owen received a venomous reception upon returning with rivals Manchester United. Liverpool fans are however renowned for applauding their returning players and most in attendance were attempting to uphold this tradition throughout the game for the return of the prodigal son.

So has Owen finally been forgiven for walking out on the club during Rafael Benitez’s first year at the club? Not just yet he hasn’t. Owen should however be commended for returning to run the fiery Anfield gauntlet to celebrate the career of one of his closest friends in the game. With all the proceedings from the match going to local charities through Carragher’s 23 foundation, it would have been harsh to be too cruel on the returning marksman. Steven Gerrard, who also managed a ten minute appearance, confirmed his former team-mate was worried about the reception he might receive:

“I suppose he was slightly concerned about the reception he’d get, which was a mixed bag, but he went for Jamie.

“They were so close when he was at the club and are still close now, so credit to Michael for getting involved.”

Yet some fans refuse to forgive the former No.10 for his perceived lack of loyalty to The Reds. Owen failed to agree a new contract with Liverpool towards the end of Gerard Houllier’s reign before signing for Los Blancos in a cut-price deal with just a year left on his contract. Rafael Benitez claimed he wanted to keep Owen but found the situation ‘impossible’.

“Real Madrid started talking with his agent and in the end it was an impossible situation to control,” claimed Benitez.

Owen, of course, then went onto sign for hated rivals Manchester United last summer, a move regarded as the final nail in the coffin for most LFC fans. Despite this, Owen remains one of the top ten goal scorers in Liverpool’s history, finishing as the club’s top scorer in every season up until he left.

As the saying goes, time heals old wounds and Saturday went some way to repairing the damage caused by Owen’s acrimonious departure from Anfield six years ago.

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Do you think Owen should be forgiven? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below. Alternatively you can read more of my blogs HERE or follow me on Twitter.

See all the goals from the Jamie Carragher testimonial HERE & watch Michael Owen grab the winner for Liverpool in the 2001 FA Cup Final HERE