Can Newcastle United immediately bounce back from their Tyne-Wear Derby disappointment?

Thankfully, for Eddie Howe’s bruised outfit, there’s now two home games on the spin in the EFL Cup and Premier League to try and restore some pride, with the Toon picking up an impressive five league victories at St James’ Park already this season.

If they were to overcome Fulham in mid-week, they would also only be one match away from another EFL Cup final, which is – of course – the trophy Howe and Co famously lifted last campaign to triumphantly end their hunt for some honours.

Moving up the top-flight standings is also a pressing matter, with the Magpies currently stuck in a mediocre 12th spot, with the January transfer window surely helping their chances of making a push up the league, to go against Howe’s grumbles after the Stadium of Light defeat.

Newcastle consider move for £22m star

The underperforming Magpies showed in the summer that they’re not afraid to throw cash around, spending a whopping £250m on the likes of Yoane Wissa and Anthony Elanga.

While Elanga struggled once more against Sunderland, Howe and Co will be hoping they can land a gem in the midfield ranks shortly, if new reports are to be believed, linking them with Giovani Lo Celso’s services.

Indeed, reports from Spain suggest that the ex-Tottenham Hotspur midfielder has been on the Tyneside radar for some time, with a move whirring into motion potentially if Newcastle are willing to cough up around £22m for the Argentine, who isn’t in the Real Betis first team consistently anymore.

The report continues that while there is ‘no formal offer yet’, contact has occurred between the two clubs and the interest is genuine.

He has shown off enough glimpses of his quality as an attack-minded midfielder in the likes of La Liga, Ligue 1, and the Premier League, to be considered a target worth exploring, with Howe even potentially winning himself a modern version of former Toon great Yohan Cabaye if a January move were to go through.

How Lo Celso can be the next Cabaye

Much like Lo Celso who had a whirlwind 11-goal contributions under his belt for Paris St Germain before moving to Spurs, Cabaye would only be exposed to Ligue 1 with Lille, before becoming a household Premier League name on Tyneside.

By the end of his impressive stint, the skilful Frenchman would have 18 goals and 12 assists next to his name donning Newcastle black and white, leading to his ex-manager in Alan Pardew hailing him as a “fantastic asset” who always had an “elegance” about him, even as he fought for the spotlight, playing alongside the likes of Hatem Ben Arfa and Demba Ba.

Lo Celso will hope he can arrive back on English shores and be another classy midfield presence, even as faces such as Bruno Guimaraes and Nick Woltemade attract more attention, with the £22m-rated midfielder also capable of a moment of magic in attack – like Cabaye – as seen in the effort above being hammered home last year for Betis.

There will also be an expectation that the South American can immediately remove any cobwebs visible from him falling down the pecking order in Spain, and stand out in the Premier League to push the Toon up the standings, with Cabaye’s added presence during his debut season at the club, lifting Pardew’s men to a dizzy fifth position.

Lo Celso’s Spurs numbers

Stat

Lo Celso

Games played

108

Minutes played

5192 mins

Goals

10

Assists

8

Sourced by Transfermarkt

From just nine starts this season for Betis in La Liga, Lo Celso has still managed to collect one goal and two assists, with a mighty 11 goal contributions amassed last campaign, when handed more regular chances.

Subscribe to the newsletter for Newcastle transfer insight Explore Newcastle transfer coverage in our newsletter: subscribe for focused analysis of potential signings, tactical fit and squad implications—context that helps you understand how targets like Lo Celso could shape the club’s season. Subscribe Subscribe to the newsletter for Newcastle transfer insight Explore Newcastle transfer coverage in our newsletter: subscribe for focused analysis of potential signings, tactical fit and squad implications—context that helps you understand how targets like Lo Celso could shape the club’s season.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Looking at his standout numbers for Spurs, too, shows off a talent ready to dive back into the challenges of the Premier League, with Jose Mourinho – who managed the hit-and-miss 29-year-old once upon a time – lauding him as “phenomenal” when chipping in with ten goals and eight assists overall in North London.

He would also be described as “unbelievable” by journalist Alex Mitton, when irregularly handed first-team minutes.

Capable of lining up as a right midfielder, or as a deep-lying playmaker like Cabaye, this does feel as if it could be a signing that’s an inspired move, with Lo Celso’s £22m price tag arguably a bargain amount to splash, like the Frenchman’s modest £4m fee in 2011.

Newcastle need an injection of freshness after some poor results in recent matches, as Lo Celso aims to be just one spark that pushes them back into European contention.

Related PIF's worst signing: Newcastle flop is becoming more pointless than Elanga

Newcastle’s summer transfer window has left plenty to be desired as Eddie Howe’s side toil.

Posts 2 ByAngus Sinclair

Steven Gerrard came off the bench to inspire Liverpool to victory over Newcastle at Anfield to move level on points with Chelsea and keep their top four dream alive.

Gerrard entered the action on the hour with the scores level and secured the points 17 minutes scoring the crucial third after Craig Bellamy’s brace had put the hosts into the lead. A Daniel Agger own goal had given the Magpies a shock lead after 25 minutes only for the Welsh international to score from close range and equalise just before the half hour. Bellamy put home side into the lead on 67 minutes before Gerrard struck 13 minutes from time to move Kenny Dalglish’s side up to fifth as they caught up with Chelsea on points. For Alan Pardew he watched his players slide to seventh in the table following a fifth defeat in eight games.Newcastle hadn’t scored at Anfield since a Patrick Kluivert goal in 2004 and you’d have to go back a decade further for their last win on Merseyside which came in 1994 in the days of Kevin Keegan and Andy Cole.

Demba Ba is the new hero at St James’ Park is chasing his 15th goal of an impressive season following his free transfer from West Ham. The Senegal international hardly had a touch in the first half as Liverpool dominated penning the visitors back with Stewart Downing having a penalty appeal turned down after his header supposedly hit Ryan Taylor’s arm. Charlie Adam tried his luck from 30-yards before Downing forced Tim Krul into a low save with a strike from a similar distance. With both teams cancelling each other out in midfield it was going to take either something special or a massive stroke of luck for a goal to materialise. The latter certainly came into play as Newcastle broke the deadlock against the run of play with Taylor’s cross from the box being flicked on by Yohan Cabaye before hitting Ba and then Agger before nestling in the back of Pepe Reina’s net. The lead lasted barely four minutes with Downing’s in-swinging cross finishing off by Bellamy after a brief moment of pinball in the Magpies penalty area.

It was the home side who started the brighter after the break although the only notable effort on goal saw Downing whistle one wide of Krul’s goal from 25-yards. However they finally got their reward for an enterprising start to the half with Bellamy giving them the lead from a free kick after Cheick Tiote was hardly adjudged to have fouled Agger. The former Magpies striker did brilliantly to bend the ball over the wall although his cause was helped somehow by Danny Simpson blocking Krul’s path as he attempted to keep the ball out. It was back to the walls time for the away side now and the game was almost put to bed by one of their own with former Toon striker rising above Mike Williamson to meet right wing Gerrard’s cross only to see the ball cannon back off the cross bar. Newcastle almost levelled three minutes later after Ba latched onto Cabaye’s elegant through ball but was thwarted by Martin Skrtel who raced back to clear the strikers dink over Reina off the line. Their chances of a comeback were ended seven just minutes later though with Gerrard latching onto Jordan Henderson’s through ball and sliding the ball past Krul to put the Red’s right back into contention for a top four finish.

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

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

[ad_pod id=’writer-2′ align=’right’]

Warwickshire’s failure to beat Worcestershire at Edgbaston has put them under stronger pressure in their bid for promotion.They now need to win their last two games to put themselves in contention, while Worcestershire need to win their last game of the season against Northants at New Road to move into the First Division.Poor weather prevented either team making a bid for victory at Edgbaston.Warwickshire moved to maximum batting points when they declared at 407-7 giving them a first innings lead of 144.Pace man Glenn McGrath demonstrated his skill with impressive figures of 6-90 after picking up three cheap wickets for ten runs on the Edgbaston wicket which was never very helpful to bowlers.The result was that Worcestershire were reduced to just surviving for the rest of the game.This was not difficult on a dead wicket and for the first time this season their openers, Philip Weston and Elliott Wilson, produced a second half century stand.Wilson was the more dominant player as Weston was quite happy to play the anchor role.Wilson was the first to be dismissed for 51, which included six fours, following a wild sweep at Neil Smith which enabled Allan Donald to mark his final championship appearance at Edgbaston with a catch at backward square leg.Vikram Solanki took full advantage of some gentle bowling and during his innings recorded 1000 runs in championship games this season.He raced to his 50 in 63 minutes after facing only 57 balls. At the close Worcestershire were 181-1 with the patient Weston 58 and Solanki 57.

ScorecardNorth Zone wilted in their chase of 242 against West Zone, crashing to 121 inside 36 overs in Visakhapatnam. Wasim Jaffer and Rohit Sharma struck half-centuries for West, before the seamers dictated terms. Only three of North’s specialist batsmen managed to get past double figures, with Rajat Bhatia top scoring with 35.North had immediate success after choosing to field first as seamer Manpreet Gony sent back Yusuf Pathan in the first over before claiming Ajinkya Rahane in the seventh. Jaffer and Rohit combined to add a brisk 138 for the third wicket at just over five runs an over. A double-strike brought North back into the match as Jaffer fell for 64 to the legspinner Amit Mishra, and Rohit followed suit for 78, stumped off Bhatia. Rohit was the more aggressive of the pair – his 78 coming off 97 balls with nine fours and two sixes – while Jaffer’s 64 came off 92 balls with seven fours.The middle and lower order failed to build on after making starts as Sehwag and Gony chipped away at the wickets. Gony finished with 4 for 35 off ten overs while Sehwag managed his four-wicket haul in less than three.Ajit Agarkar and Munaf Patel picked up early wickets to leave North at an embarrassing 2 for 3. Besides the partnership of 46 between Virat Kohli and Bhatia for the fifth wicket, there was no resistance to speak of as North lost wickets at regular intervals. Munaf dismissed Bhatia for 35 while Iqbal Abdulla and Abhishek Nayar took two wickets each to seal the deal.

Monty Panesar has spoken for the first time about his troubled summer and expressed his ambition to play for England again. Panesar took an indefinite break from the sport at the end of April and has admitted that he “fell out of love with cricket”.”In pre-season I was unhappy about several aspects of my career and life, but I am now feeling refreshed, re-energised and refocused in becoming the best version of Monty I can be, on and off the field of play.””I am now prioritising my well-being first and my cricket second even though cricket is a very big priority in my life,” he said, while declaring his determination to remain involved in the game. “I love cricket and I love bowling. I want to play at the top level again and also, one day, coach young spinners.”Panesar’s words will encourage many who feared that, at the age of just 33, he was drifting away from the first-class game: his two-year contract with Essex expires at the end of the season and it is understood that it is unlikely to be renewed. It is understood that Leicestershire, who had been linked with Panesar, would not attempt to sign him.”Monty is not thinking too much about the future at this stage and is just focused on being happy, enjoying his cricket and bowling well over the coming weeks,” his personal coach Neil Burns said. “I believe that if this happens he will soon find that other things will fall into place naturally. He is taking full responsibility for his actions and whilst the past few years have been difficult, I believe he has gone through some powerful learning and is now focused on maintaining his self-improvement on and off the field and prioritising his wellbeing.”Panesar has drawn strength from his surprise recall for Essex last week. Although he failed to bowl Essex to victory on the final day, with Surrey’s batsmen saying that he bowled too flat and too quickly, Panesar claimed four wickets in the first innings and provided a glimpse of the qualities that earned 50 England Test caps, the most recent of which was the Boxing Day Test in 2013. Panesar even hit a six, smiting is third delivery down the ground.”The supporters at Essex are brilliant and it reminded me of the wonderful reception I got when I first played for the club on loan back in 2013, which was also at Castle Park,” Panesar reflected. “Despite my difficulties they remain very good towards me. This means a great deal to me even though few people know the extent of my personal challenges.”As well as Essex’s staff, many people have been involved in assisting Panesar in recent months. He has worked extensively the Professional Cricketers’ Association, the ECB’s national spin coach Peter Such, the mental conditioning coach Peter Gilmour and above all Burns.”They have been very helpful as a key part of the experienced professional support I have around me,” Panesar said. “I have been fortunate to have key people around me who I trust and who really have my own best interests at heart. I am working with some very experienced people to enable me to develop the balance and inner happiness I want to have so that more possibilities in my life can open up in a good way over time.”Burns said that Panesar’s difficulties had been both physical and mental. “I am not sure one can separate one from the other,” he said. “Monty has been through a very challenging period in his life.”Panesar’s determination to play for England again was reiterated by Burns, who even suggested that he was aiming to use Essex’s final four County Championship games to push for a spot in the tour to the UAE to play Pakistan in October. “I know he really wants to go to UAE this winter and recreate the success he had against Pakistan previously. He loves bowling in the UAE.”

ScorecardFile photo: Ellyse Perry top-scored with 39 and helped Australia to a competitive total•Getty Images

A 32-ball 39 from Ellyse Perry, followed by two wickets apiece from the spin of Jess Jonassen and Erin Osborne powered Australia Women to a 55-run win against Ireland Women in Dublin. The victory also meant that the visitors secured the three-match T20 series.Australia, opting to bat, began brightly with the opener Elyse Villani striking three fours in the second over, but Kim Garth fought back for Ireland, dismissing Villani and Jonassen off successive deliveries in the third. The double-blow helped Ireland wrest the momentum, as Garth returned in her next over to also remove Alyssa Healy. With even captain Meg Lanning falling cheaply, Australia found themselves in a spot of bother at 38 for 4, but Jess Cameron and Perry steadied the innings with small, but crucial knocks.Cameron fell for a slow 20, but Perry and Alex Blackwell counterattacked by adding a 44-run partnership for the sixth wicket off just 38 balls. Perry, too, was dismissed towards the end of the innings, but the No.8 batsman Grace Harris provided a late thrust, drilling 19 off seven balls with four fours to lift her team to 131 for 6.Her blitz left Ireland needing more than six an over from the off, and the hosts never really got going, losing wickets at regular intervals. Ireland’s opener Isabel Joyce top-scored with 24, but was run out in the sixth over, as the team struggled to string together any meaningful partnership. With Australia’s spinners ensuring a firm grip on the game, the hosts struggled to find the boundaries; Perry and Harris hit eight fours between them, while the entire Ireland team could muster just six.Medium-pacer Sarah Coyte was the only Australia bowler to go at more than six an over, as the visitors restricted Ireland to just 76 for 7. Osborne picked up 2 for 10 from her three overs, while Jonassen finished with figures of 4-0-8-2.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:44

Arnold: Blackwood showed temperament and positive attitude

Rangana Herath picked up his fifth 10-wicket match haul in Tests as Sri Lanka wrapped up victory by an innings and six runs inside the second session of day four. West Indies, who began the day two down for 67, lost eight wickets on the fourth day for the addition of 160 runs, and as in the first innings, a number of their batsmen failed to capitalise on starts. Their only consolation came from Jermaine Blackwood, who added a fleet-footed 92 to a string of eye-catching recent performances that have marked him out as a definite investment for the future.Three of Herath’s five ten-fors have now come in Galle. Perhaps no one has understood this surface as well as him. Even Muttiah Muralitharan, who ended his career with a staggering 22 ten-fors, achieved the feat four times here.The pitch for this match was slow even by Galle’s standards, and none of the other spinners from both sides found a way to remain a wicket-taking threat. By attacking the stumps relentlessly and giving the batsmen no breathing space, Herath made every ball count – every subtle variation of pace and trajectory. Batsmen were in trouble nearly every time they went forward instead of back or back instead of forward, or played for turn when there was none.West Indies began the fourth day two down, facing a deficit of 166. Perhaps they may have given themselves hope by imagining a scenario where their nightwatchman Devendra Bishoo hung around long enough to irritate the Sri Lankans while one or two of their specialist batsmen made hundreds. As early as the fifth over of the morning, Herath knocked those visions out of their heads.First, he sent back Bishoo, who nicked an attempted square-cut to slip. In came Marlon Samuels, and out he went first ball, but not before calling for one of the most needless reviews in the history of the DRS. Staying on the back foot to a ball from Herath he should have been on the front foot to, Samuels shouldered arms. The ball slid in with the angle and pinged his back pad. Maybe Samuels believed the ball had struck him slightly outside the line – even then, he was offering no shot. In the event, it had struck him in line with off stump, and was destined to hit middle stump, three-fourths of the way up.Nuwan Pradeep who had a mixed Test, was cranking up good pace and bowling a few good balls and a lot of poor ones. In the eighth over of the morning, he bowled his best ball of the match. Going around the wicket, he hit a good length in the corridor and got the ball to straighten a touch. Darren Bravo, pushing half-forward to defend, could only edge it to the keeper.Though Sri Lanka took four key wickets in the session, they showed evidence of a troubling over-reliance on Herath, with their back-up spinners leaking runs to Jermaine Blackwood and Denesh Ramdin when the left-arm spinner left the field briefly. But the West Indies batsmen did not show the greatest appreciation of which balls to go after, and failed to make that over-reliance hurt Sri Lanka in any way.Towards the end of day three, Kraigg Brathwaite and Darren Bravo had capitalised on Herath’s absence to take 39 runs from 11 overs bowled by Pradeep, Milinda Siriwardana and Tharindu Kaushal. Now, Siriwardana and Kaushal bowled a series of full-tosses and short balls to concede four fours in two overs to Ramdin and Blackwood.Blackwood, looking in smooth touch, continued batting with freedom over the next few overs, using his feet to get down the track to launch Kaushal over mid-on for six and drive Siriwardana inside-out for four.But just when the partnership was giving West Indies the merest glimmer of hope, Ramdin drove loosely at Siriwardana and nicked to second slip. Blackwood almost followed Ramdin to the dressing room in Siriwardana’s next over, edging him while trying to make room and drive despite not getting to the pitch of the ball. But Angelo Mathews, who was uncharacteristically generous at slip in this Test match, spilled the deflection off Kusal Perera’s glove.Blackwood survived through to lunch, and reached his half-century soon after. Jason Holder hung around long enough to add 36 with him for the seventh wicket before he was run out in slightly unfortunate circumstances. Stepping out to whip Herath into the leg side, he played across the ball which deflected off his pad to Mathews at slip. Spotting Holder out of his crease, he threw down the stumps direct.Herath then removed Kemar Roach in a replay of his first-innings dismissal. An enticingly loopy delivery, dropping just short of the batsman’s reach, a big heave and miss, and an alert Kusal Perera whipping the bails off with the batsman’s back toe on the line. When Dhammika Prasad trapped Jerome Taylor with a full, straight ball in the next over, West Indies were nine down, with 44 still to get to avoid innings defeat.Blackwood had only one option left – farm the strike and try to get West Indies as close as possible. Out came the dancing footwork, and he hit Herath for two fours and two sixes, all down the ground, in the space of nine balls. Rattled for once, Herath sent down a short ball, and Blackwood flat-batted it to the cover boundary.He could only do so much all by himself, though. Batting on 92 with all nine fielders on the boundary, he ran down the track to the third ball of Prasad’s over, and only managed to pick out deep extra cover. Perhaps he could have waited a couple of balls, for the field to come in and try to keep him on strike. It would have only delayed the inevitable.

Mitchell Starc has been rested by Cricket Australia for Friday’s Matador Cup match between New South Wales and Queensland at Drummoyne Oval. Josh Hazlewood has been included in the New South Wales squad, having been unavailable for the start of the tournament as his workload was managed following a busy few months in the Australia team.Starc has dominated the Matador Cup this month and from four matches has 19 wickets at the remarkable average of 6.00, with a wicket coming every 11.1 deliveries. Starc began the tournament with 6 for 25 against the Cricket Australia XI and then claimed 4 for 27 against South Australia, 4 for 23 against Western Australia, and 5 for 39 against Tasmania.After the Ashes, Cricket Australia confirmed that Starc had bone spurs in his ankle that caused inflammation in the joint. He is being rested only for Friday’s match against Queensland and is expected to be available for the remainder of the tournament; New South Wales play Victoria on Sunday and are then likely to be part of the finals.Hazlewood has not played a match since the fourth Test of the Ashes series and was not selected for the Bangladesh Test tour, which was ultimately cancelled due to security concerns. New South Wales are so far unbeaten in the Matador Cup after four games.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsTamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes put together their first century stand to set a strong platform for Bangladesh in the third ODI in Mirpur•AFP

In three spells that tested the skill of the Zimbabwe batsmen and drew plenty of oohs and aahs from the crowd at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mustafizur Rahman claimed figures of 5 for 34 to ensure Bangladesh’s 3-0 sweep of the ODI series. He is the first bowler in history to have as many as three five-wicket hauls in under 10 matches played.Mustafizur conceded boundaries from time to time but Zimbabwe’s batsmen could not dominate him. There were many plays and misses, and edges that almost carried to the slips. There were several occasions when the ball missed the stumps by a whisker as he got the ball to swing and cut. When he ran in to bowl with Zimbabwe nine-down, Mashrafe Mortaza gave him eight slips.Mustafizur’s first two strikes upset the boundary-filled start that Zimbabwe made in the first seven overs. Off the second ball of the chase, Chamu Chibhabha had little clue as Mustafizur got the ball to swing enough to get past his driving arms. Craig Ervine and Regis Chakabva kept finding fours but in the seventh over again, Mustafizur removed Chakabva with a slower delivery that the opening batsmen could only lob to cover.Ervine fell to Nasir Hossain in the ninth over when he played back to a delivery that didn’t get up as much as he anticipated and he was trapped lbw for 21 off 25 balls.Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura then joined Sean Williams in an attempt to resurrect the innings and get a measure of the required run-rate. Williams was given a lifeline when the substitute fielder Anamul Haque dropped him at mid-off on 23. The two batsmen found boundaries, too, and Mashrafe started to look for his sixth bowler. Sabbir Rahman bowled an excellent delivery to get rid of Chigumbura in the 23rd over after he had added 80 runs for the fourth wicket with Williams. Chigumbura made 45 with six boundaries and was removed before he could open up in a big way.Zimbabwe could have ended this ODI series without a single fifty from their batsmen had Arafat Sunny not trodden on the stumps in the 30th over when Williams – batting on 49 – was short of the crease.For the next six overs, Bangladesh had to contend with a dangerous partnership between Malcolm Waller and Williams but Nasir intervened, taking a head-high catch in the covers to dismiss Waller. Next over, Williams fell to an easy catch at cover after he failed to time a drive off Mashrafe. He made 64 off 84 balls with five fours.Mustafizur came back to remove Sikandar Raza, who was caught splendidly by Sabbir as he ran from mid-on to mid-off. Next ball, Luke Jongwe holed out at midwicket, but his hat-trick ball was kept away by Graeme Cremer. Later, Mustafizur took a return catch to dismiss Tinashe Panyangara and complete a third five-wicket haul in ODIs, figures that complemented the work of Bangladesh’s opening batsmen.Earlier, Bangladesh’s innings was split into two parts after they opted to bat. The first part comprised the 147-run opening stand between Imrul Kayes and Tamim Iqbal. It was enough of a base to get close to 300 runs but it wasn’t to be, and the second part saw them restricted to 276 for 9.Tamim started the early rush of boundaries with a pull off Panyangara; it was his only four through the leg side as the remaining six fours were played through the covers. Tamim’s only six came off a blast over the bowler’s head. But by then Kayes had struck four sixes – three between midwicket and square-leg and, the best of the lot, one over extra cover. He also struck six fours, three on either side of the wicket.Kayes was dropped on 35 and survived a stumping and caught-behind off the same delivery on 48 after Chakabva missed a stumping and replays showed there was an edge. Both Tamim and Kayes fell for 73 in the space of five overs, but Bangladesh still had their eyes on a bigger total with Mushfiqur Rahim in the middle after the fall of the first wicket.Mushfiqur, too, fell before they reached 200, which meant much of the work depended on Liton Das and Mahmudullah, two batsmen who had struggled to get going in the first two matches. Liton gave a catch one to cover after making 17 while Nasir Hossain and Sabbir Rahman fell to Luke Jongwe in the space of three deliveries, Cremer holding on to easy catches at point.Bangladesh slipped from 222 for 3 to 226 for 6 within 11 deliveries and were in danger of getting bowled out before 50 overs. Mahmudullah, who was on 32, then got mixed up with Mashrafe in the 45th over only for wicketkeeper Chakabva to knock down the bails seconds before Sikandar Raza’s direct hit found Mahmudullah short of the crease.Mahmudullah stood near the dressing-room while TV umpire Enamul Haque saw many replays and finally decided it was not-out. Chigumbura, however, protested the decision and the broadcasters then showed a replay in which Chakabva had uprooted the stump but did so after Aleem Dar had initially given out to the direct throw.With the second decision also not out, Zimbabwe gathered into a huddle for a few minutes but both captains shook hands and the game resumed.Mahmudullah added another 20 runs, and was run-out in the last over as Bangladesh scampered towards their highest score in the three-match series.Jongwe and Cremer took two wickets each while Panyangara, Raza and Waller took one each. Among them, Panyangara bowled the best spells.

Karachi, Feb 8: Sri Lanka recorded a cakewalk eight-wicket victoryover a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) XI in a practice match at theNational Stadium here on Tuesday, indicating that it would not betheir fireworks but calculated game that would be on display in theforthcoming one-day series.Chasing a competitive total of 250 on a good batting track, Sri Lankanstroke-makers didn’t repeat the 1996 World Cup heroics but stillmanaged to overhaul the score with 9.3 overs to spare.Marvan Atapattu stroked a sweet unconquered 122 while MahelaJayawardena scored an elegant unbeaten 62. Skipper Sanath Jayasuriyahit a 53-ball 37 before he holed out to Aamir Sohail at extra-coveroff Yasir Arafat.Atapattu and Jayawardena were associated in an unbroken 144 runs thirdwicket stand off as many deliveries after Atapattu had featured in a104-run second wicket stand with Jayasuriya off 99 balls.Aamir Sohail, leading the PCB XI, strengthened his claims for a recallby hammering nine boundaries in his 76-ball 63 before being needlesslyrun out. Teenager Imran Abbas, who top scored with a fluent 124-ball71, pushed the ball at point only to find Aamir standing next to him.Imran showed a lot of professionalism by staying in his crease and notsacrificing his wicket for his skipper.Faisal Iqbal batted with remarkable concentration in scoring 31 off 72balls. He never looked like throwing away his wicket until anunsuccessful attempt of big hit off Muttiah Muralitharan in the slogovers brought his downfall.It was an uncharacteristic batting performance by the Sri Lankansknown for their lusty hitting. It seems that coach Dav Whatmore has adifferent ploy for every tour of Pakistan. In 1995-96, he introducedslog in the first 15 overs while it seems he now has a conventionalgame plan of protecting wickets in the first 15 overs, acceleratingthe scoring rate in the middle of the innings and going berserk in thefinal overs.In the first tour match, the strategy worked as the tourists collected96 runs while conceding the wicket of Romesh Kaluwitharana. The next25.3 overs saw Sri Lanka add 155 runs at the cost of Jayasuriya’swicket and wrap up the match in 40.3 overs.Whether this ploy will work in the one-day series against Pakistan isyet to be seen.Atapattu, who has flourished under the wings of Arjuna Ranatunga andAravinda de Silva, was cool and calculated by hitting the ball onmerit. There was no urgency in his batting as the inexperienced PCB XIteenage bowlers provided him enough opportunity to go for his shots.He stroked the ball from the middle of the blade and geometricallybisected the fielders to spice his innings with 15 exquisiteboundaries. He faced 138 balls.The only blemish in Atapattu’s innings was when he tried to come outof his skin to hit Aamir Sohail over his head only to find YasirArafat at mid-on boundary. But the fielder jiggled with the catch andallowed the 30-year-old from Kalutara progress to a fine century.Jayawardena looked compact, attacking but cautious in his openingouting of the tour. He belted five boundaries and a six in his 70-ballknock.Earlier, Jayasuriya won the toss and elected to field in front ofabout 2,000 spectators which grew to about 4,000 by the end of play.Aamir Sohail helped his cause of reclaiming the lost place in thePakistan team by batting in his usual carefree and attacking style. Hewas severe against Indika Gallage and Ravindra Pushpakumara but showedrespect to left-arm pacer Nuwan Zoysa.Aamir’s heart must have come in his mouth for a second or two veryearly in his innings when a very confident run-out appeal by the SriLankans was turned down by Sadiq Mohammad. The tourists looked unhappywith the decision.But when Aamir was finally run out in the 24th over, the PCB XI lostits way. It was only the 10 overs in which Yasir Arafat and ArshadKhan played some big shots to help the home team add 84 runs and takethe score to 250.Yasir hit two sixes in his 12-ball 25 while Arshad’s 8-ball 20included two sixes.