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Former Celtic captain Scott Brown could be offered a return to Parkhead, according to The Scottish Sun’s David Friel.

The Lowdown: Aberdeen exit

The 36-year-old left Parkhead last summer to join Aberdeen on a two-year player-coach deal. He was brought in alongside Stephen Glass, however, Glass was sacked by The Dons last month.

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Brown initially stayed at Pittodrie but left the club on Tuesday to ‘focus on his coaching development’, which could take him back to Celtic Park.

The Latest: Late-night news

Friel shared a story on The Scottish Sun late on Tuesday evening, suggesting that Celtic would be willing to create a coaching pathway for Brown in Glasgow.

The midfielder hasn’t ruled out continuing his playing career but Friel has claimed there could be a role in the senior academy and B-team, while Celtic are also on the lookout for a new coach for their Under-18 side.

The Verdict: Interesting

Reports elsewhere have suggested there is potential for Brown to join former Hoops manager Neil Lennon after he recently took up the post at Omonia Nicosia in Cyprus.

However, a return to Glasgow less than 12 months after leaving would certainly be interesting. The ex-captain never worked under Ange Postecoglou, but you’d expect the manager will know all about Brown.

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A move to work within the academy could be a shrewd one, but it seems as if Brown could have multiple playing and coaching offers on the table over the coming weeks.

In other news: ‘Oh my god…’ – Celtic pundit fuming at ‘unbelievable’ news he’s hearing from Parkhead. 

	Dalmiya: “I have not received any copy of the alleged charge sheet” © AFP

The Economic and Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police has found that former BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya misappropriated funds to the tune of Rs 2.9 crore during the 1996 World Cup that was jointly hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The chargesheet will be filed in a Mumbai sessions court on March 26.”Till now, we have ascertained that there was cheating of over Rs 2,90,00,000 and we will be filing a chargesheet against Dalmiya and two others on Wednesday,” Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria told reporters.After investigations, the EOW accused Dalmiya of diverting funds from a bank account in Kolkata that was originally set up for paying legal fees towards various other expenses.Dalmiya however dismissed the development as another ploy by the BCCI to unsettle him ahead of the upcoming Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) elections, which he is contesting.”It’s an offshoot of the old game plan of my adversaries,” Dalmiya said. “Whenever something happens in cricket politics, they resort to such actions to settle scores with me. But, again, I don’t want to comment on speculative matters,” he told reporters in Kolkata.”I have not received any copy of the alleged chargesheet . However I’ll revert to [the] media if a charge sheet is filed and a copy of it is served to me”.The annual CAB elections will be held in the last week of July and the Dalmiya camp is threatening to come back into the reckoning against Prasun Mukherjee, the current CAB president and BCCI point man.The Kolkata High Court had stayed the order and allowed the Dalmiya to contest the elections of both CAB and the BCCI following FIR filed by the BCCI for misappropriation of funds, forgery and cheating in March 2006. Dalmiya had responded by filing a case of perjury against the Board officials.

Whoah Nelly: Chris Gayle drags onto his stumps off Jacob Oram © Getty Images

Patience is a virtue, even when you’re pressed for time.One of the distinctive characteristics of West Indies batting efforts so far in the Super Eights phase of this World Cup has been the almost indecent haste to push the score along, regardless of the quality of the bowling. It has already proven to be a costly adventure. No-one involved in the leadership or management of the regional side is going to openly admit it, but there was clearly a plan to go after Glenn McGrath on Wednesday, with disastrous consequences.Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels both fell to skied catches in the first two overs from the champion bowler, and when he returned for a second spell to tighten the screws on a struggling home side, Dwayne Bravo joined in the succession of reckless dismissals by gifting his wicket via a mistimed drive.Maybe they were influenced by the manner in which the Australians, and especially opening batsman Matthew Hayden, went after Shaun Pollock last Saturday in St Kitts. South Africa’s most experienced and successful bowler was targeted for a merciless assault, leaving Graeme Smith in a quandary as to how to stem the tide and providing further evidence that, despite their status as the top-ranked team in one-day international cricket, the South Africans seem far too regimented and mechanical to navigate through moments when intuitive genius and inspiration are required.But part of being a developing, learning team, or even an outside chance to lift the prize here in the Caribbean, is being able to think on your feet, to respond to the different challenges as they unfold and adapting to the changing circumstances that seem almost inevitable, especially in the shorter version of the game.An element of that thinking process involves recognising the quality of the opposition and not simply going hell for leather just because that might have been discussed at a team meeting the previous evening.There’s no need to fear any opponent. But common sense dictates that a world-class performer should be respected. There is no question that McGrath falls comfortably into that category, so if the ball is not there to hit, the better option must surely be to acknowledge a good delivery, try to keep wickets in hand for the later stage of the innings and push for a competitive total. It was almost the same story yesterday, except that the consequence of impatience was 42 runs worse than the day before, when Australia romped to a 103-run victory. In the context of a determined, disciplined New Zealand line-up and a pitch that seemingly holds no terrors for the batsmen, the odds were obviously stacked against the home side denying the Black Caps a victory that would have further drained the already limited enthusiasm of West Indian fans for this vital stage of the tournament.This mood of concern, bordering on depression, would not have been helped by West Indies selector and former fast bowler Andy Roberts openly expressing his bewilderment, in a lunchtime interview with Keith Holder on the CMC CricketPlus radio coverage yesterday, at the decision to include batsman Lendl Simmons at the expense of fast bowler Jerome Taylor. Such public dissension in the ranks cannot possibly help a cause that is desperately in need of unity, cohesiveness and for all the principals to at least be moving together in the same direction. The inadequate batting performance against New Zealand again featured dismissals defined by impatience, poor shot-selection and the failure to acknowledge quality bowling by giving it due respect.

‘There is still no better way to arrest the run-rate than to take wickets’ © Getty Images

Jacob Oram’s success in removing Ramnaresh Sarwan, Samuels and Gayle to a succession of loose strokes seemed to have much to do with a degree of mental relaxation by the batsmen at the fact that Shane Bond was out of the attack. The tearaway fast bowler’s removal of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and the pace he was generating early on were definitive statements of intent. That he was able to respond immediately when summoned again by his captain to remove Bravo, and then polish off the innings by knocking over the hapless Corey Collymore, underlined the value of a wicket-taking bowler.Whether fast or slow, to be able to call upon such an individual with the expectation that, more often than not, he can provide the breakthrough is an invaluable asset to any team in any form of the game.Much has been made over the past 15 years, especially since the decline of West Indies and the disappearance of the overpowering armoury of fast bowlers, about the contention that the “bits-and-pieces” performers – the assortment of medium-pacers who bat – are the way to go instead of the out-and-out specialists.Well, that may be the case to an extent, especially when you want some depth in the batting line-up. But for all the talk about containment and limiting scoring opportunities, there is still no better way to arrest the run-rate than to take wickets, as Bond, left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori and medium-pacer Oram showed yesterday at West Indies’ expense.Champion teams are still spearheaded by genuine strike bowlers, whether they rely on raw pace or sleight of hand. When faced with that sort of threat, it is up to the opposition to come up with a plan to counteract it. Swinging for the hills may be the macho thing to do. Yet as we have already realised, unbridled bravado may be exposed as a pitiful attempt to mask technical and temperamental inadequacies.

Matthew Horne ends up with a split bat during his innings of 81 for Auckland © Getty Images

Chris Harris set an excellent example as captain, guiding Canterbury to an 86-run win against Central Districts in their State Championship match at Christchurch. Harris enjoyed a match aggregate of 174 runs (without being dismissed) and seven wickets, including an unbeaten 55 and 4 for 44 with the ball in the second innings, to dismiss the opposition for 273. Harris and Craig McMillan (42*) added 90 for the fourth wicket as Canterbury declared their second innings at 252 for 4, leaving Central Districts to chase 360. Harris got rid of Jarod Englefield, who top-scored with 77, one of his three caught-and-bowled victims. Ewen Thompson made a spirited half-century (54) at No.8 before falling to Gary Stead. Harris claimed the last two wickets as his side romped to victory.Auckland went from strength to strength at the end of the third day in their State Championship match at Eden Park setting Wellington a tall target of 510. Martin Guptill of Auckland was unlucky to fall one short of what would have been his debut ton in first-class cricket, caught behind by Chris Nevin off Jesse Ryder. His knock came off 272 balls with 14 fours and a six. Matthew Horne had a good outing, scoring 81 as Auckland declared at 443 for 6. In reply, Wellington lost two wickets, that of Luke Woodcock and Michael Parlane after an opening stand of 54. Matthew Bell was not out on 52 at stumps with the score on 89.Otago gained valuable first-innings points after their match against Northern Districts ended in a draw at Dunedin. A dogged display of batting by Bruce Martin and Joseph Yovich bailed Northern Districts out of trouble, after they were reduced to 141 for 7, losing three wickets in the morning session. The pair added 102 for the eighth wicket and Martin remained unbeaten on 62, putting in an impressive allround show in the match, after his five-wicket haul on the third day. David Sewell, the left-arm bowler, was the most effective bowler for Otago, with figures of 4 for 58.

Nothing like this has ever happened before in US cricket.For the first time, an overwhelming majority of the cricket leagues in the USA met under one roof at the Best Western Hotel in Arlington, Texas and passed a series of resolutions expressing their demands on the USACA executive and board.The fact that any such meeting took place at all was an achievement in itself. Yet there they were in Dallas – league presidents from New York, Florida, Atlanta, California, Texas, Chicago, the Pacific Northwest, and points in between, to stand up and be counted in the name of US cricket.Even as a social gathering, the meeting would have been unique. Never have cricket leagues representing 75% of all leagues in the USA, and 84% of all 10,000+ regular US cricketers, gathered under one roof for any reason, at any time. But what the Council of League Presidents (CLP) proceeded to do was even more remarkable. They unanimously approved a series of resolutions that made it clear where they stood, and what they expected to happen in US cricket.The CLP wasted no time in attacking the USACA’s executive council, claiming it was “dysfunctional” and had “not acted in the best interests of the organization.” It added that Bobby Refaie, the USACA secretary, had been suspended unconstitutionally and that the election results had been ignored. It concluded there had been “a complete absence of leadership and a sense of direction within USACA,” and that financially the board was in a mess with no report or budget for two years. It demanded that the books be made available for inspection immediately.Then the resolutions came thick and fast. The first was “a vote of no confidence… against Gladstone Dainty, the USACA president, [in executing] his duties, failure to comply with the constitution of USACA, cancellation of Project USA and consequently jeopardizing the future of cricket in America.” This was followed by a second no-confidence vote against “. the members of the executive …for poor execution of their duties.” Following this was a request that “the president and executive committee members resign immediately”, to save US cricket any further embarrassment.To counter anticipated legal reaction from Dainty, the CLP then voted to appoint an attorney, and with that resolved, it took on the USACA directly by openly recognising the election of the officials who had won seats in the recent elections but had subsequently been barred by Dainty for electoral technicalities. It rubbed salt in the wound by refusing to recognise the USACA board meeting held in Florida last week on the grounds that it was unconstitutional.The CLP then stated that a letter should be sent to the ICC stating that it had passed a no confidence motion against the current executive and that “the ICC should stop, with immediate effect, the release of any funds to the USACA.” It added, rather hopefully, that the ICC should reconsider the implementation of Project USA.Finally, the CLP requested an Extraordinary General Meeting of the CLP be called to discuss and approve all the issues raised.Shortly afterwards, a rival USACA board, containing some members barred by Dainty, met. Although this was labeled as “illegal” by the USACA, its importance is growing by the day, and recognition by the CLP gave it another boost.

Scorecard

Irfan Pathan troubled the batsmen with his control and venom ©Getty Images

After a series of insipid matches, the VB Series finally came to life with a pulsating contest at Brisbane. There were two centuries of widely contrasting styles, plenty of other classy innings and almost 600 runs scored in the match. In the end, India’s total of 303 – the highest ever in a one-day international at the Gabba – was just enough to eke out a 19-run victory and take their points tally to 12 from three games.On a superb pitch, India’s much-vaunted batting line-up came to the fore once again: Sachin Tendulkar overcame a circumspect start and an ankle injury to score 86, VVS Laxman stroked a delightful unbeaten 103, his third ODI century – all of them against Australia – and Rahul Dravid contributed an elegant 74.Australia responded with a typically spirited effort, but despite a 107-ball 109 from Matthew Hayden, fell short. There was some cheer for the young Indian seamers as well, as Lakshmipathy Balaji (4 for 48) and Irfan Pathan (3 for 64) held their nerve under mounting pressure and bowled with exceptional control.Needing to score at over a run a ball, Adam Gilchrist and Hayden got the Australian run-chase off to a furious start, driving, pulling or just plain slogging almost every ball. Gilchrist’s luck ran out early, though, when he top-edged an attempted swing to leg and was caught by Balaji at mid-on (46 for 1). Hayden’s contest against Pathan and Ashish Nehra was enthralling – every once in a while, they pushed him back with well-directed bouncers, but whenever the ball was pitched up, Hayden, already batting out of his crease, plonked his front foot further forward and clunked powerful drives over mid-off and mid-on.However, wickets kept falling at the other end – Laxman held on to a swirling skier when Ricky Ponting top-edged a hoick (86 for 2), and Damien Martyn guided a swinging half-volley to Yuvraj Singh at point (94 for 3). Balaji, whose performance was a huge improvement on his previous displays, picked up both wickets.Andrew Symonds threatened a revival, but Rohan Gavaskar – in the team for the injured Virender Sehwag -got his maiden ODI wicket off his fifth ball when he brought off a fine diving return catch to dismiss Symonds (141 for 4).Then came the period when Australia looked most likely to pull off their run-chase. Michael Clarke, displaying all the calm of a Zen monk, coolly tapped the ball around to keep the score ticking over, while Hayden, after a manic start, settled down to play sensibly, ensuring that the asking rate was kept within striking range.With Australia requiring only a run-a-ball for their last 100, Ganguly turned to Pathan, and he responded immediately. Balaji dropped a clanger to let off Hayden off the first ball of Pathan’s spell, but two balls later Pathan nailed his man, when Hayden nicked to Dravid (204 for 5). Four overs later, Clarke, who once again demonstrated just why he is rated so highly in Australia, threw it away chasing a wide one from Pathan (224 for 6). Ian Harvey lashed at a few, then clipped a half-volley from Nehra to Gavaskar at midwicket (249 for 7). Meanwhile, Bevan kept the fight going, but with only the tail for company, and an asking rate that kept climbing, the target proved just too much against an Indian attack that refused to bowl four-balls.India’s huge total was dominated by two prominent partnerships – Tendulkar and Laxman added 110 for the second wicket, and then Dravid joined Laxman to put together 133 for the third.For much of his innings, Tendulkar was hampered by an injury to his right ankle, which he twisted while playing a ball to leg. However, that only galvanised him into action, as he uncorked some glorious drives to get India off to a rousing start after they won the toss. Despite Sourav Ganguly’s early dismissal, India raced to 89 off the first 15 overs.Both Tendulkar and Laxman were especially severe on Brett Lee, driving down the ground or pulling whenever he erred in length. Ten runs came in each of Lee’s first three overs, and he ended up with 1 for 83 from 10 overs – the second-most expensive figures by an Australian in an ODI (the most expensive figures, incidentally, were by Lee as well, against Pakistan at Cardiff in 2001.)The boundaries gave way to singles and twos as the fielding restrictions were lifted and the slower bowlers came on, but Tendulkar, despite clearly being hampered by his ankle injury, refused the option of taking a runner – Ganguly came out fully padded up and was promptly sent back. Like the Indians later in the evening, the Australians missed a handful of run-out opportunities, but apart from that, there were few chances that came their way.The partnership finally ended in rather tame fashion, when Tendulkar slapped a short ball from Symonds straight back to the bowler (147 for 2). Dravid ensured that the momentum didn’t fall away, working the ball around superbly from the outset, and immediately showing the rich vein of form he was in. His fifty contained just one four, and yet it came off a mere 49 balls. It was a batting masterclass, from a player at the peak of his form and confidence.Laxman, meanwhile, played with a calmness he has often struggled to find in one-dayers. He located the boundaries when the field was in, and then settled down to nurdle the ones and twos effortlessly. Dravid was dismissed in the search for quick runs, but Laxman carried on, and reached a well-deserved hundred off the last ball of the innings, tonking a full toss from Harvey over midwicket. In the end, the total turned out to be just enough.

Australian captain Cameron White thought his side were going to be chasing 500 the way New Zealand started in their Super League match at the ICC Under-19 World Cup at Bert Sutcliffe Oval at Lincoln University today.But in a classy display of control, White used his slower bowlers to contain New Zealand, and after he had done that he played a key role in a 139-run stand for the third wicket that ended New Zealand’s tournament with a seven-wicket loss.For all their early bluster, the New Zealanders could not bat out their 50 overs, being dismissed for 194 in 46.3 overs.White said the early assault took the Australians by surprise but he decided to go with his spin bowlers.”We picked a team with a few spinners and we tried to slow it down with them. I hadn’t seen any of the New Zealanders before and [Jesse] Ryder hit the ball well,” he said.But if his leadership in the field was outstanding, White was even more emphatic with the bat in hand. He was 80 not out off 107 balls at the end as Australia romped home in 39.3 overs for the victory.New Zealand, not blessed with the same playing assets as the Australians, opted for innovation, and while it was working well it was a successful ploy.New Zealand opened the bowling with two spinners in a bid to break up the Australian assault, aiming especially at the preponderance of left-handers in the opposition order.They got two wickets, for 21 runs, but the Australians kept ploughing ahead.White said the New Zealand ploy with the bowling had been surprising but he understood they had to try something.But joining Shaun Marsh with the score on 21/1, he knew that three and four were key batting spots in the side and he wanted to set a batting example to other players in his side.Marsh and White batted superbly and really put the New Zealand attack through the mill. There were no openings, and there were to be none of the fairytales that surrounded the last trans-Tasman match on the ground when the CLEAR White Ferns beat Australia to win the CricInfo Women’s World Cup.They added 139 runs for the third wicket before Marsh was run out for 70 off 97 balls. His 50 had come up off 73 balls while White hit his off 80, bringing it up with successive boundaries.Sadly for New Zealand, however, it didn’t have sufficient resources to ensure the absolutely maximum effort it was going to take to beat this talented Australian team.Its greatest hopes lay in hard-hitting batsman Ryder getting a big score, preferably a three-figure score which has so far eluded the Super League sides.He provided every opportunity for himself by scoring 70 off 62 balls, including six fours and three sixes. When he was dismissed to a soft caught and bowled chance by left-arm spinner Jarrad Burke, New Zealand were 107/2 in the 18th over.The chance was provided for an all-out assault for a genuinely big total but it depended on two things – the skill of the remaining batsmen and the approach taken by the Australian skipper White in marshalling his bowlers.There was only one winner – Australia.White had a fine response from his attack and shut New Zealand out of the game.Firstly, it was Burke who put the brakes on and after coming on for the fifth over, he bowled his 10 overs through to end with the outstanding figures, under the circumstances of one for 35.When he finished Aaron Bird came back after his first two overs at the top of the innings had gone for 21. His last eight cost 29 but he claimed three wickets to leave the New Zealand middle-order gutted.

Guru Nanak College Ground, Chennai was the venue for the South Zone Ranji TrophyOne Day Tournament match between Kerala and Hyderabad. Kerala who had scoredback to back wins against Goa and Andhra Pradesh were hopeful of an upsetvictory against Hyderabad. Mohammad Ghouse dashed all Kerala hopes with awhirlwind knock of 20 in just 8 balls including three consecutive sixes and thenbowling an economical spell of 10-2-29-1.On a crisp Friday morning, Hyderabad won the toss and elected to bat. The grassyoutfield had more to it than what met the eye. Grass was uneven and the outfieldbumpy and to add to the misery the Kerala fielders found it painful divingaround. Hyderabad amassed 272/7 in their 50 overs. Thanks to the useful knocksby Daniel Manohar (60), Vanka Pratap (55) and D Vinay Kumar an unbeaten 53. ForKerala Ananthapadmanabhan picked up 3/45. The 48th over of the innings bowled bySreekumar Nair produced 28 runs as Mohammad Ghouse swung three sixes in a rowover the midwicket fence. Tinu Yohannan who bowled the 49th over, sent Ghouse’soff stump cartwheeling of a no ball, which summed up Kerala’s day.Clear blue skies, brilliant sunshine and a stiff breeze that swayed the treesthat stood all around the ground, was just picture perfect for a cricket match.Kerala batsmen strolled into the middle with absolutely no idea of making amatch of it. The pitch also made things worse with an uneven bounce. At onepoint, Kerala were batting as if to save a four day match, defending the ballswith dour determination. Opener MP Sorab who has had a reasonable run with thebat in this tournament again got a start and made 44 in 85 balls. KChandrashekhara tried his best with an innings of 55 in 62 balls. The reliablecaptain Sunil Oasis disappointed as he tried to steer an arm ball from Indiareject Venkatpathy Raju and was bowled for 24 (33 balls). Sreekumar Nair hithard to make 16 in 10 balls, but all was over for Kerala in the 48th over whenthe innings folded for 208. Raju had an afternoon out with no effort at all tofinish with 3/32. Hyderabad took two points while Kerala took none.

Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur side went into Monday’s Premier League clash with Everton in a run of rather inconsistent form, with Spurs having lost four and won two of their last six outings in all competitions – something the Italian manager would have undoubtedly been hoping to put right against the Toffees.

And, with Michael Keane lashing the ball past Jordan Pickford in just the 14th minute of the match, before Son Heung-Min doubled the home side’s advantage just three minutes later, Tottenham could not have hoped for a much better start.

Harry Kane joined in on the act just before half-time, cooly slotting home after latching onto the end of a defence-splitting pass by Matt Doherty, before Sergio Reguilon made it four with his first touch of the game after being introduced at the break.

The rout was complete midway through the second half, when Doherty once again linked up with Kane, with the 28-year-old volleying home the Irish international’s floated cross to make it five and secure all three points at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

However, while it will almost certainly be the England captain who steals the headlines this morning, it will have undoubtedly been the performance of Doherty that most pleased Conte on Monday night, as the right wing-back finally took his big chance under the Italian.

87 touches

After being given the nod ahead of Emerson Royal on the right flank, Doherty shone over his 90 minutes against the Toffees – both in a defensive and an attacking capacity.

Indeed, the £10.8m-rated right-back enjoyed a whopping 87 touches of the ball, completed 52 passes, created two big chances, made four key passes, completed four long balls, was successful with one dribble and ended the match with two assists to his name.

The £74k-per-week defender also won eight of his ten duels – a success rate of 80% – made five tackles, made two interceptions and won one free-kick for his side.

These returns saw the player who was once dubbed a “weak link” of the Tottenham side earn a quite astonishing SofaScore match rating of 9.3, ranking him as the best performer from either team on the night.

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As such, it would very much appear as if the Republic of Ireland international will now be Conte’s first choice at right wing-back over the remainder of the season, as the 30-year-old finally took his big chance under the Italian on Monday night.

In other news: Conte had a disaster on “phenomenal” £100k-p/w dynamo, it could cost Spurs big time

Scorecard

	VRV Singh snared five of East Zone’s top six batsmen to put North Zone in control © AFP

VRV Singh’s five-wicket burst put North Zone in control on the second day of their match against East Zone in Rajkot. East were skittled out for 143, to give North a massive 213-run first-innings lead and put them on the brink of a place in the final.Resuming at 260 for 7, North’s lower-order continued their spirited showing to take their side to 360. Chetanya Nanda did the bulk of the scoring, carting nine boundaries in his 59-ball 58. After Shib Paul dismissed overnight batsman Uday Kaul (48) to grab his 15th first-class five-wicket haul, Vikramjeet Malik (13) and VRV (20*) chipped in with aggressive cameos.East’s reply started off belligerently and despite the early loss of Arindam Majumdar and Anustup Majumdar, the run-rate continued to hover around the six an over mark. VRV, who had inflicted the first two blows, removed the experienced Shiv Sunder Das (23), and Manish Vardhan off successive deliveries to reduce East to 69 for 4.VRV, who was part of the Indian squad to the Australia tour, was still not done though, removing wicketkeeper Halhadar Das four overs later to leave East in serious trouble at 93 for 5. Wriddhiman Saha was the only batsman to stand firm against the onslaught, remaining unbeaten on 56. The next highest contributor was extras with 25, including 17 no-balls.With East’s prospects of making the finals looking bleak, North piled on the agony in their second innings with Aakash Chopra’s unbeaten 56 taking them through to 109 for 2 at stumps, an overall lead of 326.