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Hatton National Bank’s three-year dominance of the Mercantile ‘A’ division cricket title was ended at the NCC grounds on Wednesday evening when Seylan Bank defeated them easily by seven wickets to emerge League champions.HNB had won the `A’ division title four times in the past five years since 1996, and consecutively in the past three years. Seylan won it in 1997.The decisive match of the league saw Seylan dismiss HNB for 144 in 45 overs and knock off the runs in style using up 36 overs to pass the total.The architects of Seylan’s victory were national players Chaminda Vaas and skipper Mahela Jayawardene. Vaas ran through the top order picking up the first two wickets to have HNB struggling at 12 for 2 after they had won the toss and decided to bat first. The defending champs never recovered from that early loss off wickets and failed to put together any substantial partnership.Seylan kept HNB tied down by accurate bowling and sharp fielding so much so that the big hitting Avishka Gunawardana required 68 balls to make a top score of 30, and Kumar Dharmasena used up 62 balls for his unbeaten 26.Vaas returned for his late spell to capture two further wickets and finish with the impress figures of four for 19 off 8.5 overs, two of which were maidens. Leg-spinner Suranjith Silva picked up three for 28.Seylan began their chase with an opening stand of 43 between Nuwan Shiroman and Malintha Perera, but faltered when they lost three wickets for eight runs to the spin of Dharmasena and Sajeeva Weerakoon.However, Jayawardene who has shown excellent form in the tournament and Naveed Nawaz put the issue beyond doubt when they figured in an unfinished fourth wicket partnership of 94 to see Seylan through.Jayawardene raced to a splendid half-century and finished undefeated on 60 scored off 56 balls with seven fours and a six. Nawaz was unbeaten on 29.JANASHAKTHI REQUEST A REPLAYJanashakthi has requested the Mercantile CA for a replay of their match against E-wis which was abandoned without a ball bowled due to unsuitable grounds conditions at Bloomfield on Tuesday.The result deprived Janashakthi from qualifying for the knockout round of the competition where only the top four teams are considered.According to the current standings Seylan Bank, Hatton National Bank, Access Group and John Keells have qualified to play in the knockout which commences on June 16 with the final scheduled for June 24.

West Brom have not been shy when it comes to cashing in on some of their key players over the years in numerous transfer windows, such as Jay Rodriguez, Matheus Pereira, Craig Dawson and Nacer Chadli among others.

One other player for whom the Baggies reaped a significant transfer income is Salomon Rondon after they sold him to Chinese club Dalian Yifang in 2019 for a fee believed to be near his £16.5m release clause.

During his time at The Hawthorns, the Venezuelan racked up 28 goals and 10 assists in 120 appearances across all competitions after they had signed him from Zenit St Petersburg for a then club-record fee of around £12m.

In China, the striker netted 14 goals and provided seven assists in just 28 games but was then moved out on loan to CSKA Moscow in February last year. With 13 games in Russia under his belt, the 32-year-old scored just four goals and delivered two assists before eventually returning to China.

The former Baggies star was on the move again last summer after the Chinese club ended their association with Rondon, which led to the striker returning to England, this time on a free transfer to Everton.

Since then, the well-travelled 32-year-old, who is currently picking up £43k-per-week at Goodison Park according to Salary Sport, has found regular game-time hard to come by, having started just 11 of his 17 appearances across all competitions and scoring only three goals in the process.

At this moment in time, Transfermarkt has the centre-forward’s overall market value listed as £3.6m, which is a significant 78% decrease from the fee that the Midlands club picked up for him back in 2019.

Taking all this into account, it seems as though Luke Dowling made the right call by selling the Venezuelan striker when he did.

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Looking ahead, with the Merseyside club still in danger of being relegated, there’s every possibility that the Baggies could be facing off against their former striker should the Toffees end up failing to avoid the drop to the Championship for next season.

In other news: Bruce could unearth WBA’s next Bartley in 19 y/o prodigy who “leads by example”

	Chris Cairns: “You have Australia, India and England earning well but even then how long can someone like Kevin Pietersen turn down £600,000 for 40 days’ work?” ©Cricinfo Ltd

Chris Cairns, the former New Zealand allrounder, says the ICC needs to step in soon before players from countries like New Zealand and West Indies opt en masse for the lucrative contracts in the the unsanctioned Indian Cricket League (ICL) over the contracts with their home boards.New Zealand are already reeling from the impact of the exodus, with players like Craig McMillan, Shane Bond and Lou Vincent joining Cairns, who had already retired from international cricket, in the ICL. Presently, a player joining the ICL is potentially banned from playing for his country, and also first-class cricket.”New Zealand is going to be susceptible to that because of our pay structure,” Cairns told Bigstarcricket.com. “If there was a 10% discrepancy or even 20% discrepancy between what you could earn playing over in India against your yearly wage [in New Zealand] then players would consider staying,” he said. “But when you are talking a 200% difference, no person in their right mind could turn that down – that’s the reality.”Cairns has called upon the ICC to create a window for the ICL and the IPL, besides revoking the bans on players joining the ICL. “The ICC are going to have to fix this – it is not a New Zealand Cricket issue, it’s an ICC issue. I just hope that they create a window for players to be able to do it [play ICL and not be banned] – ICL and IPL,” Cairns said. “West Indies will have this problem too, any country in fact where players are not that well remunerated.”You have Australia, India and England earning well but even then how long can someone like Kevin Pietersen turn down £600,000 for 40 days’ work? These are the dilemmas that are going to start to happen, though we might not see it for a year’s time until everybody comes off contract with their national boards.”New Zealand Cricket had recently announced a pay rise for its contracted players in a bid to prevent more players from being lured by the hefty sums waiting to be earned in India.

Sri Lanka Cricket will have a full time paid selector serving in the national selection panel after the 2007 World Cup.The term of the current selection committee ends on April 30, two days after the World Cup final, and depending on the availability of the members, either the same committee or a changed committee may be appointed for the next 12 months from May 1.The present selection committee comprises Ashantha de Mel (chairman), Don Anurasiri, Amal Silva and Shabbir Asgerally. “We have decided that from next month we will have a paid selector serving in the panel so that he can devote full time to the job at hand,” said Sri Lanka Cricket secretary K Mathivanan.”We need at least one selector who can spend his time watching matches and attending training sessions. This way at least there is some justification for the players also,” Mathivanan said. “Selectors should not always depend on newspaper reports and scores to pick players. They should have first hand knowledge of the players.”Sri Lanka Cricket is already making a monthly payment of Rs. 25,000 per selector (US$ 240 approx) as remuneration and providing them with mobile phones. It is a system that has been in existence for the past two years. However they feel that with their individual jobs sometimes taking precedence over cricket none of the selectors have the time to devote fully to watching the players. In the past four years Sri Lanka Cricket has sent at least one selector on tour with national teams.”We have not decided on what sort of fee and other benefits we should be paying the selector. It is a matter for the interim committee to decide,” said Mathivanan.Don Anurasiri, the former Sri Lanka left-arm spinner appears to be the most likely choice. Anurasiri, who appeared for his country in 18 Tests and 45 ODIs between 1986 and 1998, has been a member of the selection committee for the past three years and also accompanied teams as manager and tour selector.Pakistan recently appointed its first paid selection committee when it named former Test cricketer Salahuddin Ahmed as the head replacing Wasim Bari. Former Test cricketers Shafqat Rana and Saleem Jaffar are the other members of the new committee appointed following Pakistan’s early exit from the 2007 World Cup.

Lunch England 83 for 4 (Vaughan 10*, Flintoff 4*) vSouth Africa A
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsCharl Langeveldt grabbed three wickets in six overs to give South Africa Athe upper hand at lunch on the first day at Potchefstroom, as England weregiven a timely reminder of the step-up in class that awaits them ahead ofnext week’s first Test at Port Elizabeth. After being asked to bat first,Andrew Strauss gave England some early momentum by cracking an even 50,but two quick wickets just before lunch left Michael Vaughan and AndrewFlintoff needing to engage in some damage limitation.By lunch, England had reached 83 for 4, in a session that posed morequestions than answers, especially after Mark Butcher had missed out forthe second innings running.Butcher missed much of last summer through injury, but was preferred inthis match to Robert Key on the strength of his international performancesover the past three years. But, following his 6 from 12 balls atRandjesfontein on Wednesday, he lasted just seven more deliveries, beforewafting a simple catch to Mark Boucher behind the stumps, to giveLangeveldt a wicket with his sixth ball of the morning.Boucher was another man with much to prove after his omission from SouthAfrica’s Test squad, but he enjoyed a far more auspicious morning, with ahand in both wickets to fall. His first victim was Marcus Trescothick, whotook 11 balls to get off the mark and had scratched his way to 7 from 43deliveries by the time he fenced a lifting delivery high to Boucher’sleft, to give Ethy Mbhalati a deserved first wicket.Strauss, however, was in fine fettle and needed little time to get intohis stride. He opened his account with two flowing cover-drives, andfollowed up with a square-drive and a pull for four, all off Mbhalati. Hehad one scare on 25, when a inswinging bouncer from Charl Willoughby allbut brushed his gloves, but he responded with a high and handsome cut forfour, and reached his fifty from 68 balls with a push for two through thecovers off Langeveldt.But with lunch approaching, England’s innings floundered dramatically.Strauss was served up a juicy wide delivery, which should have been his11th four of the morning, but was instead plucked at point by JustinOntong. And then, after facing three just three balls, Graham Thorpe wasadjudged lbw to a full delivery, again off Langeveldt. It could have beeneven worse, but Flintoff somehow managed to edge his first delivery cleanthrough the gap between the keeper and Andrew Puttick at first slip.England 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Andrew Strauss, 3 Mark Butcher, 4 Michael Vaughan (capt), 5 Graham Thorpe, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Simon Jones, 10 Matthew Hoggard, 11 Steve Harmison.South Africa A 1 Andrew Puttick, 2 Martin van Jaarsveld, 3 Ashwell Prince (capt), 4 JP Duminy, 5 Justin Ontong, 6 Mark Boucher (wk), 7 Albie Morkel, 8 Alfonso Thomas, 9 Charl Langeveldt, 10 Ethy Mbhalati, 11 Charl Willoughby.

Matthew Hayden plans to adopt a ruthless approach © Getty Images

Matthew Hayden is looking to improve his poor Ashes record and be ruthless in his approach during the much-anticipated Ashes series. Hayden said that he aimed to cut out all the emotional baggage of playing in the Ashes and just concentrate on scoring as many runs as he could.”I don’t really know why,” Hayden told the Associated Press when asked about his dismal run in the 2001 series when he managed just one half-century in five Tests. “I felt different – like I was really fighting for my spot the whole time.” However, he made amends in the previous series in 2002-03, when he kickstarted the campaign with a brutal performance in the opening Test at Brisbane, a match most remembered for Nasser Hussain’s decision to field first backfiring. Hayden made a hundred in each innings in that game, including a power-packed 197 in the first innings, and managed another fine hundred in the fourth Test at Melbourne as well.”It was really satisfying to perform against them out here,” he said, “so the challenge is to perform against them on their turf as well. I’m not making it emotional, I just want to be ruthless. I’m not going to go in with blinkers on, but certainly with a lot of the emotion out of it, that puts me in a good frame of mind.”The last season, though, has been a lean one for Hayden – his last century was against Sri Lanka in August 2004 – and he was keen to make an impact in the forthcoming tour. “In the end, what makes me score runs is just being as attentive to detail as I possibly can be,” he said. “Don’t be too emotional, just bat. That’s my goal for the tour – simple as that. It’s a great challenge for an opening batsman. The ball does seam and swing. It’s something that JL and I are really looking forward to.”

Steve Rixon: heading north to The Oval © Getty Images

Surrey have ended their search for a replacement for Keith Medlycott with the announcement that Steve Rixon has signed a two-year deal to be the county’s manager.Rixon, 49, who played 13 Tests for Australia between 1977 and 1985, is currently coaching New South Wales and will move to England in late March when his current contract expires.”Having been offered roles in English cricket before, I feel this is the opportunity and challenge that really excites me the most," Rixon said. "Working for what I see as the premier county, I’ve been very impressed with what I’ve seen of Surrey so far. It’s clearly a squad with high quality players who I am looking forward to working with. I believe we will continue to build on the winning ways of the past few years.””We have searched the world of cricket to find the best person for this crucial position within the club," Paul Sheldon, Surrey’s chief executive, explained. "Having spent time with him last week in Australia I am convinced that we have found the right man to lead the team into a new era."

The Victorian Cricket Association today announced the position of State Coach will be advertised nationally this weekend. The move to advertise the position is in accordance with the agreement reached with current coach Michael O’Sullivan in October.”With the timing of John Scholes resignation prior to the start of the season, we felt that it was not appropriate to advertise the position at that time and entered into an agreement with Michael O’Sullivan for this season accordingly. We would however expect that Michael will be an applicant for the position”, VCA Chief Executive Officer Ken Jacobs said.With the ACB/State player contracting process beginning immediately after the completion of the 2001/02 season, the VCA believe it to be imperative that the State Coach be appointed prior to this process and contribute significantly to the development of the Bushrangers 2002/03 playing list.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has offered licences to seven First Class Counties, thus establishing the foundations of a new national network of ECB County Cricket Academies. Durham, Yorkshire, Sussex, Somerset, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire will be the first Counties to be accredited in the programme.The aim of each County Cricket Academy is to identify cricketers who have the potential to play at the highest level of the game, and to deliver a comprehensive development programme which will provide them with the opportunity of fulfilling their potential. Each Academy will support and fund a squad of up to 12 players, between the ages of 13-18, per year.The County Cricket Academy programme, which forms part of the ECB’s World Class Plan*, will compliment the new ECB National Academy, with the ECB’s overall target that 50% of England senior players will have come through the County Cricket Academy network by 2007.The Counties will fund their own Academies, although the ECB will contribute£50,000 p.a. to the costs of each one. It is hoped that, in time, all 18 First Class Counties will develop their own ECB County Cricket Academy.Hugh Morris, ECB Performance Director, said: “County Cricket Academies will be established to underpin the ECB Development of Excellence programmes, as well as the National Academy. We see the Academy concept as a major initiative in helping to improve playing standards among the most talented young cricketers in England and Wales.”Whilst a number of Counties have already developed their own Academy systems, the ECB’s accreditation scheme is designed to ensure that there is nationwide consistency in the development of talented cricketers, as well as a comprehensive resource structure to back them up.In order to receive ECB accreditation, a number of criteria will have to be met by the County Academies, and these will be reviewed on a regular based in order to maintain standards.The project will be centrally driven by the ECB, but locally delivered by the First Class County Clubs. The ECB establishes the programme, sets the targets, trains the full-time Academy Director, provides a standard template for the development of Academy players and then monitors the results. The Counties, meanwhile, identify and select the players, and run the Academy.Players will be selected annually, ready for the start of the non-residential programme in September. In the following seven months until March the following year, the intensive individual training programme will be split roughly in 50% technical development, 25% mental development, 10% tactical development, 10% physical development and 5% lifestyle management. Each Academy player will have a minimum of two one-to-one technical sessions per week with a senior County player during the close season.During the summer months, a competitive programme for each player will beplanned by the Academy Director through modification of school, club andrepresentative opportunities. Players will be fast-tracked if appropriateto their development.It is hoped that, by September 2003, all County Academies will be open andthe programme will be reviewed.

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.