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Hampshire 206 for 7 (Crawley 64) beat Warwickshire 166 (Sangakkara 44, Clark 3-38) by 40 runs
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Kevin Pietersen clips to leg … but for once he played a minor role © Getty Images

Hampshire overcame a sluggish start to book their place in the Friends Provident Trophy final with a battling 40-run victory over Warwickshire at Southampton. They will meet Durham at Lord’s on August 18.On a sluggish pitch Hampshire’s total of 206 for 7 looked gettable, all the more so when Jonathan Trott and Kumar Sangakkara rebuilt the innings after a jittery start which included two superb catches by the ageing John Crawley.Almost inevitably the introduction of Shane Warne turned the game on its head. He lured Jim Troughton into holing out in the deep but when Sean Ervine dropped a routine slip catch offered by Sangakkara off him it appeared that it might not be Hampshire’s day.Ervine made immediate amends when he had Sangakkara well caught at short midwicket one run later, the first of two wickets in five balls, and Warwickshire never recovered. Tim Ambrose kept battling as partners came and went and he was last man out as Stuart Clark, in his final outing for the county, mopped things up to finish with 3 for 38.Crawley, the Man of the Match, had anchored the early part of the Hampshire innings which had an almost anticlimactic feel when Kevin Pietersen was caught high above his head by Darren Maddy at mid-off for 18. Crawley looked set for a hundred when he failed to beat Heath Streak’s throw, Ambrose doing well to gather a low return and whip the bails off with Crawley an inch short.Another run out – Ervine was the victim of more slick work from Ambrose – wobbled Hampshire and Ambrose was centre stage yet again soon after when he stumped Chris Tremlett, showing cunning in waiting as Tremlett lost his balance to a leg-side dart and tottered out of his ground.Dimitri Mascarenhas then had the unusual experience of surviving two third-umpire referrals off one delivery, first for a stumping and then, reprieved from that, when Warwickshire queried Peter Hartley’s decision to turn down a leg-before appeal. Replays suggested it was probably out, but the rules state the umpire can only be overruled if there has been an obvious error.Mascarenhas added a crucial 54 for the seventh wicket with Nic Pothas, as Hampshire collected 53 runs in the last 10 overs. It turned out to be the difference between the sides.

Mike Procter has arrived in to Kenya to inspect facilities as the country prepares to resume hosting one-day international matches with a three-game series against Bangladesh next month. More games will be hosted in the build-up to the World Cup, culminating in the inaugural ICC World Cricket League next January.During his visit, Procter, an ICC match referee, is due to tour five venues in Nairobi, including the Nairobi Gymkhana ground which staged the 2000 ICC Knockout tournament but which has fallen into relative disrepair since, and the Indian Ocean coastal town of Mombasa.”We need to have many of our facilities upgraded for official ODIs”, Samir Inamdar, the Cricket Kenya chairman told AFP. “Apart from Nairobi Gymkhana, the other existing facilities need to be upgraded as well.”Roger Harper, Kenya’s coach, recently criticised the local administration for doing little to improve the facilities, saying that the abundant cricket talent was not enough to make Kenya compete at the highest level.

Greg Chappell: impressed the panel © Getty Images

The exercise to select India’s next coach is finally over, with Greg Chappell, one of the game’s all-time greats, being appointed. The BCCI-appointed committee met at 10am on Friday, and made an announcement on the subject at 12.30pm. Initially, the board had not ruled out the chance of another round of discussions with the short-listed candidates after the preliminary round of inteviews was marked by chaos and confusion. Tom Moody, Mohinder Amarnath and Desmond Haynes were the others in contention.The committee – comprising Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and Srinivas Venkataraghavan – began their first interview with Mohinder Amarnath at 2.25pm on Thursday, a delay of almost half-an-hour, as a photo shoot had to be completed first.Amarnath, the only Indian in the race, sporting a small Indian flag at the meeting, took close to two hours to make his presentation and finish his interview (although he was allotted 45 minutes) apparently because he had problems with the laptop computer he was using. This happened even though Amarnath had brought along his brother-in-law to help handle the technology side of things.So Chappell, the second in line to be interviewed, occupied the hot seat at around 4.20pm, a good hour-and-a-half after the time he was allotted. Furthermore, Cricinfo has learned that Chappell had to complete his presentation in quick time as Ranbir Singh Mahendra, the board president, and Jagmohan Dalmiya, the former BCCI chief, had to leave the Taj Palace hotel around 5pm to keep a prearranged date with the prime minister. The interviews of the two remaining candidates – Haynes and Moody – then resumed after 6.30pm when the officials returned.Sources close to the committee revealed that they were “impressed” by Chappell’s crisp presentation and the brief question-and-answer session that followed. In this period the committee attempted to glean the basics of what Chappell hoped to achieve if he was handed the job. One thing that went in Chappell’s favour was the fact that he was prepared to commit as many as 290 days a year to the job. When Chappell was last short-listed for the job in 2000, remuneration was reportedly a problem. However it has been learned that all four candidates this time around were happy to work with whatever figure the board thought appropriate.Haynes, meanwhile, emerged from his interview appearing relaxed and, when mobbed by waiting television channels and other media people, asked jokingly, “Are you guys going to leave me alone now?” The comedy continued when one of the reporters commented that Haynes was the dark horse in the race, to which he replied: “Yes, look at me [pointing to the colour of his skin], I certainly am the dark horse.”The BCCI could not afford to waste time in announcing the successful candidate, as two of those short-listed – Chappell and Moody – had also been in talks with the Sri Lankan board, which is keen to make an appointment soon. Moody, who was the last to emerge from this round of interviews, told the media that he believed the fact that he was the youngest of the four candidates was neither an advantage nor a disadvantage.He did, however, stress the fact that his knowledge of the modern game would work in his favour. When it was suggested that he had not played as much cricket as some of the others in the fray, Moody remarked: “I’m not here to represent India, I’m here to coach the team.”Ultimately, though, Chappell’s greater stature within the game, and an ability to think out of the box, helped swing it his way. After almost five years of near-steady progress under John Wright, Chappell now has the task of taking India to the next level – that inhabited by Australia.

A one-day triangular series involving Australia, India and Pakistan is likely to be held in Amstelveen, Holland, in August. According to a report in the Times of India, a spokesman for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed that the VRA Ground in Amstelveen had been chosen as the venue, but also added the rider that the ICC would first inspect the facilities there.”The ICC inspection committee, in consultation with senior representatives of the Pakistan, Indian and Australian Boards, will clear the venue for the tournament,” the spokesman said. “The VRA Ground has already hosted a one-day international, when South Africa and Kenya played there in the 1999 World Cup.”The boards of Australia, India and Pakistan have already agreed to play a triangular tournament in Europe before the ICC Champions Trophy, which will be held in England in September 2004.

Daryl Tuffey must have achieved one of the more remarkable records in international cricket with the number of occasions in which he has taken a wicket in his first over opening the bowling at either end.He did it again in Napier today when New Zealand were playing India in the second match of their National Bank One-Day International Series.Tuffey has completed the feat 14 times in 11 separate matches, six times in Test matches and eight times in ODIs. He has taken two wickets in his opening over once each in a Test and ODI.Ten of the occurrences have happened this year and four against India this month alone.The list of victims are:Tests:Marcus Trescothick and Mark Butcher (England) at Auckland, 1 April 2002
Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) at Lahore, 1 May 2002
Virender Sehwag (India) at Wellington, 12 December 2002
Sanjay Bangar and Parthiv Patel* (India) at Hamilton, 20 and 21 December 2002ODIs:Saeed Anwar (Pakistan) at Napier, 20 February 2001
Saeed Anwar (Pakistan) at Christchurch, 25 February 2001
Marvan Atapattu and Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) at Sharjah, 10 April 2001
Marcus Trescothick (England) at Auckland, 23 February 2002
Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka) at Sharjah, 14 April 2002
Imran Nazir (Pakistan) at Rawalpindi, 24 April 2002
Sourav Ganguly (India) at Napier, 29 December 2002* Bangar was dismissed in the first innings, Patel in the second innings.

For the third consecutive day Gloucestershire held the upper hand in theirChampionship match against Notts at Trent Bridge.After Mark Alleyne set the home side an improbable victory target of 472 hesaw his bowlers make immediate inroads, picking up three wickets beforeclose of play.With just the fourth ball of the innings Guy Welton drove wildly at JamesAveris and smeared the ball to gully, where Jeremy Snape took a good, lowcatch – a duck to add to Welton’s poor recent run of form.Darren Bicknell and Greg Blewett looked to have seized the initiative backtowards the batamen as they added 36 but then, for the second time in thematch, the Australian tried to crash Averis through the covers and wassmartly taken by a jubilant Jack Russell behind the stumps.David Lucas came out to bat as a nightwatchman, having made a competent 41in the first innings, but before he’d faced a ball Bicknell had been trappedlbw on the back foot by Michael CawdronThe day ended as it began with Lucas and Usman Afzaal together at the creaseand Notts in crisis.When Gloucestershire had batted for a second time Kim Barnett (45) and Dominic Hewson(51) put on 81 for the first wicket and then Matt Windows with 73, Chris Taylor (19), Mark Alleyne (17), Jeremy Snape(16) all made useful contributions as the home bowlers laboured.The declaration eventually came at 265-5 as Martyn Ball (22no) and JeremySnape (21no) were trying to outgun each other in an entertaining and rapidstand of 30.For Notts Gareth Clough (3/69) and Creg Blewett (2/20) shared the wickets inan otherwise disappointing bowling performance.During the morning session Usman Afzaal was the final man out, for 88, asNotts were dismissed for 267. Gloucestershire, with a first innings lead of 206,elected not to enforce the follow-on and batting for a second time theystretched their advantage to 471.Notts will have to bat significantly better on the final day and still hope for intervention from the weather if they are to have any chance of avoiding a heavy defeat.

Celtic have had a number of successful academy graduates make their way through to the first team at Parkhead over the years.

Callum McGregor and James Forrest are two great examples of players who have been able to rise through the ranks and establish themselves as key stars for the Hoops at senior level.

However, some talented prospects can slip through the cracks and that is what happened with left-back Aaron Hickey in Glasgow. He was brought to the club from Hearts in 2017 and did not make a single first-team outing as a teenager before Brendan Rodgers sanctioned his exit back to Tynecastle for nothing in the summer of 2018.

Two years later, Italian side Bologna snapped him up from the Scottish side and he is now attracting interest from England.

Fabrizio Romano recently reported that Premier League side Newcastle United are eyeing up a deal worth up to £20m for the youngster, which means his value has risen astronomically in the space of around four years. The Magpies are looking to snap him up this summer after watching him catch the eye in Italy this season.

In the Serie A, he has averaged an impressive SofaScore rating of 6.89 across 27 appearances. He has been able to showcase his attacking flair from full-back with four goals and one assist, whilst creating 0.5 chances per game.

Defensively, he has been solid throughout the campaign. Hickey has averaged 2.3 tackles and interceptions per game and has only been dribbled past 0.3 times per match, winning 60% of his overall duels in the Italian top-flight. This shows that he is a strong defender who also offers quality in possession, which makes him a modern-day full-back who can make an impact at both ends of the pitch.

At the age of 19, he also has the potential to improve further. He is in the infancy of his professional career and has plenty of time to develop further and progress as a left-back. If he is able to continue growing and raising his standards on the pitch then that £20m may start to look like a bargain and Celtic could rue their decision even more as time passes.

His former manager Daniel Stendl previously labelled him as an “extraordinary talent” and the youngster’s statistics in the Serie A at such a young age back that up. 

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Hickey’s form since leaving Celtic and his immense potential as a player prove that Rodgers made a huge blunder by not offering him a route to the first-team and allowing him to leave fo nothing. He slipped through the now-Leicester boss’ clutches and the Hoops will surely be wondering what could have been, as they look set to watch him seal a potential mega-money move this summer.

AND in other news, £3m wasted: Celtic had a shocker on £7.9k-p/w “loner” who rinsed Desmond for 129 weeks…

	Chris Adams: ‘We look a strong squad on paper, but what I can say from behind those closed doors is that we are also strong as a unit’ © Getty Images

Sussex begin the defence of their Championship crown against Hampshire at The Rose Bowl on Wednesday aiming to become the first county since Yorkshire in 1968 to claim a hat-trick of titles. It was been a fraught few months at Hove as they sweated over the availability of Mushtaq Ahmed, but their match-winner arrived safely in the country this week as Sussex were taking on MCC at Lord’s.He whirled away in the nets, clearing his throat with some hearty appeals as much as loosening his limbs for the campaign ahead. He has taken an incredible 459 wickets in five years with Sussex – including 192 in the last two successful seasons – and while anyone on the south coast baulks at the suggestion they are a one-man man it is undeniable the role Mushtaq has played.However, Sussex have nothing to feel guilty about even if Mushtaq does provide such a significant advantage. They were clever enough to lure him to Hove in 2003 when his career was threatening to end quietly, and his enthusiasm and spirit runs throughout the squad, which, if anything, looks stronger this season even with the loss of Rana Naved and Richard Montgomerie.The availability of Matt Prior, who is set to bat at No. 6, adds Test-match class to a healthy middle order while Chris Nash and Carl Hopkinson are more than capable of filling Montgomerie’s boots. The bowling depth is there, too. Their new Australian signing, Ryan Harris, caught the attention with four wickets on debut at Lord’s, where Luke Wright also bowled with impressive pace. And on top of all that, there’s James Kirtley waiting in the wings.”It’s been a fantastic time for Sussex in the last four or five years,” said their captain, Chris Adams. “We’ve played really competitive cricket and the nucleus of the squad is very much there. But we also have young players coming through and players coming back from international call-ups. We look a strong squad on paper, but what I can say from behind those closed doors is that we are also strong as a unit. It’s great to have Mushy back and Murray Goodwin, they are two quality players who will only add to what we’ve got.”Goodwin also played a major role in Sussex’s first Championship in 2003, finishing the season with a career-best 335 against Leicestershire to seal the title. Adams believes the side has continued to evolve since then and keeps getting stronger. “Less and less are we relying on one-dimensional players – bowlers who don’t bat – the way our side is now structured includes a lot of players who bowl and bat to a high standard. That’s what the vision has always been, and if that includes players who have come through our system then we are getting to where we wanted to be. Good home grown talent who could play for England.”Crucially, though, the impact of international calls in the near future will be limited. Wright will be part of the one-day squad, but with Prior out of favour and the only other absentee could be Michael Yardy if he pushed his claims in the one-day arena which appears unlikely.However, being the holders and, in many people’s eyes, the favourites Sussex are there to be knocked off. “It’s going to be another tight year. I don’t think one, two or three sides are going to run away with it. It will be another year of everyone beating everyone, I really think the level has got much closer,” said Adams.”Surrey have impressed me with their end-of-season form last year, Lancashire are always strong, Hampshire and Kent as well. Somerset are making a lot of noise, telling us how good they are, so I’m keen to see how good they actually are. They are making a few declarations.”

	Somerset are making a lot of noise, telling us how good they are, so I’m keen to see how good they actually areChris Adams lays down the challenge

Adams doesn’t want to look too far ahead with Sussex playing four key Championship matches in the first four weeks. “For me it’s about the next month. If you’re not on the money and properly prepared now you can find yourself with a lot to do. I know Surrey found that last year and were left to rue the start they had.”Two days after the Championship starts the Indian Premier League bursts into life. There is much conjecture about how the future of domestic cricket will look – and there will undoubtedly be change – but Adams believes the current set-up is strong and performing its role of preparing players for the top level.”I think we have a powerful product in domestic cricket, the ECB should be looking to use that,” he said. “In terms of the step up from what we are playing now to international cricket they tell me it’s not too far away now. We have to thank the likes of Murali, Warney and for Peter Moores letting the England players back into county cricket. It’s become quite an intense environment mirroring what you’d expect in Tests.”The international calendar is so packed that it means more Tests or ODIs are never far away and England start their series against New Zealand on May 15. In the meantime, if the IPL hasn’t grabbed your attention then take a look at the Championship over the next month. It might surprise you.

Zaheer Khan has enjoyed his latest stint in Indian colours © AFP

Zaheer Khan is likely to be ruled out of upcoming ODI series against South Africa in Ireland after sustaining a groin strain during the second Afro-Asia Cup game at Chennai.Zaheer left the field after bowling just 2.4 overs against Africa on June 9 and was replaced by Mashrafe Mortaza for the third and final match.India’s physio and medical staff have yet to determine how long Zaheer will be out of the game. He was taken to a local hospital in the company of physio John Gloster for a MRI scan of the hip and a report is expected soon. “The MRI scan revealed it’s a groin injury and I have sent my observation to the board,” Gloster said was reported as saying in a PTI report.A decision on Zaheer’s selection for the Ireland and England trips will be taken when a clearer picture emerges, Dilip Vengsarkar, the chairman of selectors, told Cricinfo. “We don’t know the exact nature of the problem yet and will take a decision when we have an update.”India are scheduled to play three matches in Ireland between June 26 and July 1 ahead of a one-off ODI against Pakistan at Glasgow on July 3. The squad for these four matches will be picked on June 12 in Delhi.

Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain, has been fined 20% of his match fee for knocking over his stumps after being dismissed at Trent Bridge in the final Test of the series.Jayawardene, hoping to become only the second captain from his country to win a Test in England, vented his frustration after being dismissed for 45. After chasing a wide delivery from Liam Plunkett, he got an edge and was caught by wicketkeeper Geraint Jones upon which he swished his bat and knocked over his stumps, more in frustration with himself than in annoyance with the umpire’s decision.Though he apologised immediately to square leg umpire Rudi Koertzen as he left the field, it wasn’t enough to save him from punishment following a hearing with match referee Alan Hurst, who imposed the fine in accordance with a Level One breach of the ICC’s Code of Conduct.