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Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to return to winning ways as they return to UEFA Europa Conference League action later this evening.

Nuno Santo and his side welcome Slovenian champions NS Mura to north London just days after their heavy derby defeat to Arsenal in the Premier League.

A disastrous first half put the game out of reach for the Lilywhites but there were some positives to take from the second period, and that’ll leave the Portuguese head coach with plenty to ponder ahead of tonight’s encounter.

But what sort of side could we see at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium? Here’s what Football FanCast are predicting…

There could be as many as nine changes from Sunday’s embarrassment.

Pierluigi Gollini should return between the sticks, in the place of club captain and usual no.1 Hugo Lloris, whilst the entire back four is likely to change completely.

Wales international Joe Rodon will be looking for a rare start and he could be joined by £31.5m-rated colossus Cristian Romero, who was perhaps a surprise scratch against the Gunners. They would replace Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez in the middle.

Japhet Tanganga and Sergio Reguilon are both dropped, with Ben Davies and summer signing Emerson Royal likely to be given the nod for some much-needed game time.

Elsewhere, we’re expecting Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to be given a rest and after an impressive 45-minute cameo at the weekend, academy gem Oliver Skipp could slot right back into the engine room, though he’ll be joined by fellow Hotspur Way youth product Harry Winks at the base of midfield.

Whilst Giovani Lo Celso could be preferred in the no.10 role, meaning both Dele Alli and Tanguy Ndombele are axed.

The only two names to remain from the Emirates Stadium defeat are Heung-min Son and Harry Kane, unsurprisingly, but they will be joined by Bryan Gil, who too looked to have made a difference at the weekend.

He features over Lucas Moura, with Steven Bergwijn and Ryan Sessegnon the only confirmed absentees.

AND in other news, “exciting” £26m-rated flop in danger of becoming Spurs’ next Adel Taarabt…

But Rajput has dismissed suggestions that mental fatigue and pressure might have contributed to the team’s loss

Ajay S Shankar15-Jun-2009ReactionsErapalli Prasanna: “In a crucial tie like this, Dhoni shouldn’t have put England in after winning the toss, it was a mistake. I don’t think our batting order was right. Sending Jadeja ahead of Yuvraj and Dhoni himself was a mistake. Even Harbhajan could have given us the required thrust. We had the potential but the failure to handle pressure was the reason for our loss.”Syed Kirmani: “You have the talent and you are rated as favourites but this is what happens when you don’t click. Sehwag’s absence dented our prospects. In this format, the opening pair is required to give a good foundation for others to carry on but we didn’t get that.”Arun Lal: “Sending Jadeja up the order smacked of overconfidence and defensiveness.”Madan Lal: “It is rather unfortunate: 154 was not a difficult target to chase. Dhoni gambled by putting England in first. Even I would have done that. Ours is a young and talented side but the intensity in performance that was expected from a team playing for India was not there.”VB Chandrashekhar: “Dhoni’s strategy to make England bat first was wrong and picking Jadeja in place of Ojha was yet another mistake. I also feel Harbhajan Singh did not give his best in the match. The decision to send Jadeja up the order ahead of Yuvraj was also baffling because he had not played in the tournament. I think we were also over-dependent on Yuvraj. My analysis is that we would have been eliminated much earlier had he not performed.” India will have to quickly come up with a new Twenty20 gameplan, particularly against the rising ball, to stay in the top bracket of the game’s shortest format, Lalchand Rajput, who coached the 2007 cup-winning side, has warned. Rajput said the biggest difference between then and now is that other teams had caught up with India over the last two years, largely due to the experience their players have gained in the two IPL seasons since then.Rajput described India’s knockout from the ICC World Twenty20 on Sunday as “disheartening” and said the two straight defeats against West Indies and England in the Super Eights stage had “hurt a lot” personally. He also said that talk of a rift between Dhoni and an injured Virender Sehwag appeared to have affected the players and added that Sehwag’s loss impacted the team’s performance.”Most of the teams have worked out what they need to do against India,” Rajput told Cricinfo. “Just look at how West Indies and England worked on their bouncers against India. They did that very well because they knew that some of our players were not comfortable against the bouncing ball. They used that weapon very well, which is difficult to do in this format. So we should give credit to England and West Indies. Most of the foreign players in World Twenty20 have also played two seasons of IPL. So all the other teams have got a hang of Twenty20, and there’s better planning in place this time on what should be done and what should not be. India will have to be watchful now and come up with something different.”Talk of a rift within the team did not help matters either, Rajput said. “Such issues play a bit of a role in the minds of the players,” he said. “This time, to start with, there was talk of a rift between Viru [Sehwag] and Dhoni. Then the team got together to show their strength in front of the media. The media also had a role to play. These things were also causes for the team’s performance.”Dhoni had lined up the entire team before the Indian media during a pre-tournament press conference following reports over a rift between the captain and his opening batsman. The reports suggested the captain was upset with Sehwag for not revealing the extent of his shoulder injury that finally ruled him out of the tournament – Dhoni has repeatedly denied this.Sehwag’s absence was a huge blow, Rajput said. “Sehwag’s absence was definitely felt because he is a match-winner,” he said. “He is a destroyer of bowling attacks. Once he gets going, the bowling looks so easy, and he puts so much pressure on the opposite team. His absence must have hurt the team.”Rajput, however, dismissed suggestions that mental fatigue and pressure might have contributed to the team’s dismal performance. Gary Kirsten, the team’s coach, and Dilip Vengsarkar, the former chief selector, had admitted last month that they were concerned about “mental fatigue” and “overkill” as the team had been on the road since February 20 when they left for the New Zealand tour followed by the IPL. “There will always be pressure, especially during a big event like the World Cup,” Rajput said. “This time the expectations were very high. But we should not forget that the other teams have also come up very well. The fatigue factor has been the same for all teams because most of their players played in the IPL, except for the Australians.”Asked about Sunday’s loss, India’s second straight defeat in the Super Eights, Rajput said that not playing Yuvraj Singh at No. 4 was a mistake, especially after he had scored 67 off 43 balls in that position against West Indies on Friday.”Decisions are analysed only after the team has done badly,” he said. “But I would have preferred Yuvraj coming in at No. 4. That would have made a difference because he was in really good nick in the last game [against West Indies]. Of course, this is all in hindsight. But Ravindra Jadeja took a number of balls [25 off 35 balls] against England while Yuvraj could have done better and got going by then.”According to Rajput, the first step for India now is to beat South Africa, which has been the best team in the tournament so far. “The loss is past, and the team has to think about the present,” Rajput said. “The team now has to focus on beating South Africa and salvage their pride. Remember, that we beat South Africa in the second stage of the 2007 World Cup. When you are out of a tournament, the body language goes down because they know that they can’t qualify for the semi-finals. So this is the time they have to raise their body language, and start believing that they can beat the best team in the tournament, which is South Africa.”Rajput was India’s coach for nearly a year from the England tour of 2007 till the Australia tour that ended with the VB series win in early 2008. He bridged the gap after the controversial exit of Greg Chappell in April 2007 and the arrival of Gary Kirsten in March 2008. India’s Twenty20 World Cup win was the team’s biggest achievement in that period when they travelled to South Africa, the venue, as rank outsiders without the burden of expectations.Rajput said it was “different this time” but he still couldn’t accept the fact that the defending champions had been knocked out so early. “It is a very disheartening experience,” he said. “I can’t take it because we won the title last time and I was looking forward to the team defending that title. What hurt me was the way we went out. I expected the team to qualify for the semi-finals at least. Going out in the Super Eights stage itself has hurt a lot. India didn’t deserve to be out of the tournament because they were the favourites to win it.”

Sri Lanka A’s offspinner, Suraj Mohamed, and the Pakistan A paceman, Mohammad Asif, both excelled with the ball as the second unofficial Test at the Rangiri Dambulla Stadium headed for an exciting – and early – finish

Sa'adi Thawfeeq02-Jul-2009
Sri Lanka A’s offspinner, Suraj Mohamed, and the Pakistan A paceman, Mohammad Asif, both excelled with the ball as the second unofficial Test at the Rangiri Dambulla Stadium headed for an exciting – and early – finish.Asif narrowly missed out on a hat-trick as he took 5 for 46 to dismiss Sri Lanka A for 225 in their first innings, and when Pakistan A began their reply it was Suraj who got into the act, capturing 6 for 73 to restrict them to a total of 234, and a slender lead of nine runs. However Pakistan A struck back hard through Najaf Shah, reducing Sri Lanka A to 16 for 3 by the close of the second day.Sri Lanka had resumed on 175 for 6, and added 50 runs for their last four wickets, 42 of them coming in a last-wicket stand between Mohamed and Dilhara Fernando. Mohamed, who survived Asif’s hat-trick ball when Faisal Iqbal failed to hold onto an edge at third slip, was last out for 30 leaving Fernando unbeaten on 11.The same combination then reduced Pakistan A to 51 for 4 before Bazid Khan and Faisal Iqbal got together in another century partnership. The pair added 121 runs in 109 minutes for the fifth wicket before Mohamed got rid of Bazid for 84 and then ran through the rest of the batting. Bazid, who scored a splendid century at Asgiriya, batted for 217 minutes and hit 11 fours. After his dismissal Faisal left soon afterwards for 66 and though Zulqarnain made some lusty hits with 32 off 52 balls (4 fours), Mohamed chipped away towards the tail from the other end.In fading light Sri Lanka A had some anxious moments to survive and failed, losing three of their top batsmen for just 16 to revive Pakistan’s hopes of victory.

Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Bruno Lage has dropped an update on Adama Traore’s contract talks.

What’s been said?

In recent comments cited by the Express & Star, the 44-year-old Wolves boss stated that, although he is unaware at which stage the winger’s contract discussions are currently at, he is confident that a positive resolution will be found between the player and the club, as well as stating his belief that the 25-year-old is happy at Molineux.

When asked about the contract talks, Lage spoke positively of recent developments: “I don’t know anything, what I know is the club want to make a new contract with him.

“From what I can see every day, Adama is happy to stay here and happy with his teammates. Sometimes these kind of things take time and I think in the end it will be good for both.

“I’m very happy with what we have in our wingers because we have the competition we want and the players with a different profile. A player like him is very important. He’s a good guy and knows what he needs to improve.

“He’s working hard to improve his inside game. He started the season very well and I’m very happy with what he’s doing at the moment.”

Fans surely buzzing

Considering just how impressive Traore has been for Wolves this season, the news that Lage believes the club will be successful in their negotiations with the Spain international is sure to have left fans buzzing.

Indeed, over his seven Premier League appearances this term, while the £27m-rated man is yet to find the back of the net or register an assist, he has nevertheless created two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of two shots and making 1.7 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the £43k-per-week winger average a rather remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.42, ranking him not only as Wolves’ best performer in the league, but also as the joint 16th-best in the entirety of the division.

As such, should the 25-year-old indeed go on to put pen to paper on a new deal with the club, it would undoubtedly come as a major boost to Lage and his side, as Traore is a player who is clearly a hugely important part of the Wolves team.

In other news: Forget Hwang: “Special” £41k-p/w Wolves ace who made 3 key passes ran the show vs NUFC

West Ham United have been linked with a move for Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie as manager David Moyes looks to add further reinforcements to his engine room options.

What’s the story?

According to The Sun, West Ham are keen to secure the 23-year-old’s services, with Juve placing a £25m price tag on the youngster.

However, the Hammers are set to face fierce competition for McKennie’s signature as fellow Premier League sides Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur are also listed as potential suitors.

The report also states that the Serie A giants would be prepared to let the American international depart on an initial loan deal in January as long as there is an obligation to buy.

David Moyes would love him

Given that McKennie is known to be available for transfer, GSB must complete a move for the box-to-box dynamo, providing Moyes with a top-class operator in the centre of the pitch.

After departing his homeland back in 2016, the 25-cap USA star joined Bundesliga outfit Schalke and soon established himself as one of German football’s most exciting prospects.

His tally of five goals and seven assists in 91 appearances for the Royal Blues earned him a high-profile move to Juventus last summer, and former boss Andrea Pirlo was a big fan of his.

Calling him a “rock“, the Italy icon added: “He’s young and can improve a lot. In my opinion, he’s a midfielder who can play as a No 8 in a three in midfield, right or left. He gets in the box and scores goals, but he’s also very good at winning the ball back.

“His role is in a three in midfield as one of the two players on either side of the regista. Last year we played in a different system, so he had to adapt.”

However, it appears as though new Juve chief Massimiliano Allegri doesn’t hold McKennie in the same high regard as his predecessor.

The youngster has completed 90 minutes just twice for the Old Lady in the opening weeks of the new campaign, leading to speculation that an imminent exit is on the cards.

As a result, West Ham must swoop for McKennie before their domestic rivals snap him up, supplying Moyes with an ideal replacement for the retiring Mark Noble and an up-and-coming prodigy that he’d surely love to work with.

His work ethic and all-round qualities are nothing short of a manager’s dream.

And, in other news…Newman could get West Ham fans purring with bargain swoop for “special” 31-cap beast 

The bowlers had their say on a rain-hit second day at the Premadasa Stadium as Pakistan took control again by reducing the Sri Lankans to 155 for 6

Cricinfo staff15-Aug-2009Though only around 25 overs were possible in the day, Pakistan A consolidated their advantage and are now just 53 away from victory with all ten wickets intact. Despite a sixth-wicket 161-run stand between Muthumudalige Pushpakumara (95) and captain Kaushal Silva (79 not out) which rescued Sri Lanka A from what seemed a hopeless situation at 30 for 5, the hosts could only muster a lead of 66 while following on. Left-arm fast bowler Wahab Riaz (3 for 52) broke the resolute stand and left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman (5 for 82) ran through the tail to severely restrict Sri Lanka’s lead and leave his team’s batsmen to chase a paltry target.The Pakistan openers, Khurram Manzoor and Umar Amin, had added 14 in four overs before the day ended. They just need to complete the formalities tomorrow to take the series 1-0, though they’ll hope the rain doesn’t play spoilsport.

Dominic Cork returned to a happy hunting ground with 4 for 41 to help Hampshire secure the silverware with a six-wicket victory against Sussex

Andrew McGlashan at Lord's25-Jul-2009
ScorecardDominic Cork took 4 for 41 to help Hampshire lift the Friends Provident Trophy•PA PhotosDominic Cork, who first shone at Lord’s in 1993, spoke a good game before the Friends Provident final, as he always does, but also delivered on his words as he returned to a happy hunting ground with 4 for 41 to help Hampshire secure the silverware with a six-wicket victory against Sussex. His three-wicket new-ball burst gave Hampshire a major early advantage and their south-coast rivals were never able to wrestle it away from them despite a fine, unbeaten 92 from Michael Yardy and aggressive bowling by Luke Wright.Hampshire performed as a well-drilled outfit who have benefited from the input of Duncan Fletcher over the last three weeks. The batsmen have been particularly glowing of Fletcher’s role and they went about their work with efficiency and confidence. An opening stand of 93 between Jimmy Adams and Michael Lumb put Hampshire on course in their chase of 220 and, although they threatened a wobble at 154 for 4, victory came with 9.3 overs to spare as Chris Benham and Nic Pothas, who aggravated his groin injury and limped to the finish, added 67 in 65 balls.The victory was finished off by the batsmen, but set-up by Cork, who moved south from Lancashire last winter. Taking advantage of some early swing he found the late movement that has always been a trait of his bowling and that has brought him plentiful success on this ground and walked away with another Man-of-the-Match award, 16 years after his first at NW8.He claimed 7 for 43 on Test debut here in 1995, claimed another haul against South Africa in 1998 and played a match-winning hand against West Indies in 2000. And it was way back in 1993, playing for Derbyshire against Lancashire, that he hit the headlines with an unbeaten 92 in the B&H Cup. It’s not always the case with English cricketers, but Lord’s brings out the best in Cork.”It’s what you play cricket for,” he said. “In all honesty I think I’ve bowled better and I had a little bit of luck, but it’s always special to play here. I’ve got some special memories of this ground, along with a few not-so-good ones, and you just enjoy days like these when you can. I’m enjoying my cricket and hopefully it can continue for a while.”He broke through in the seventh over when Ed Joyce dragged on playing a lazy leave. That brought in Matt Prior, released by England for this match between the Ashes Tests, but it was a brief return to the scene of last week’s victory over Australia. He survived a huge appeal for leg before first ball when there was doubt over the height, but it was a short-lived reprieve as Cork found Prior’s outside edge next ball and celebrated in his usual laid-back manner.But he wasn’t finished there. Nine runs later Chris Nash’s unconvincing innings was ended when Cork got one to hold its line and trap him in front of off stump. This time Cork held up three fingers with a wry smile on his face.Yardy walked in to face the scoreline of 39 for 3 and he would remain there until the end of the innings for an impressive innings that at least gave his team a total to defend. The Sussex cause wasn’t helped when leading batsman Murray Goodwin was run out for 1 by Chris Tremlett’s direct hit from mid-on and Wright never got going as he scratched 7 off 26 balls before playing on to Tremlett.Dwayne Smith briefly threatened as is his style – providing the first six with a mighty heave over midwicket – but perished trying to clear the boundary off Imran Tahir. Yardy turned his back as Smith departed and the captain was running out of partners. Rory Hamilton-Brown helped him had 60, but Yardy’s innings stood apart from his team-mates.He reached fifty from 76 balls, playing fine reverse sweeps off the spinners that twice went between Nic Pothas’ legs, and showing impressive placement through the off side. His 127-ball innings including just seven boundaries, but he couldn’t afford to attack until the very end. Without him this final would have been done and dusted by mid-afternoon.However, Hampshire’s opening stand quelled much of the hope Yardy’s innings provided. Lumb was the one ‘new’ face in England’s Champions Trophy squad – prior to the final he’d made 393 runs in this tournament for the season – but he was overshadowed in the partnership by Jimmy Adams.In the semi-final against Lancashire the pair added 159 to set up victory and Adams’ early aggression made significant dents into the target as he comfortable outscored Lumb. He has an extravagantly high backlift, but it’s a game that works for him and he has averaged over 90 since coming into the tournament mid-way through the group stages.The fifty was up inside ten overs and the positive play of Adams and Lumb meant the run rate never became an issue even when wickets did fall. Adams was trapped on the crease by the pacey Wright and he soon had Lumb caught behind.Michael Carberry continued the form he has shown in the Championship where he has racked up three centuries in three matches including a career-best 204 against Warwickshire. He raced to 30 off 23 with excellent timing and placement before getting carried away and top edging a pull. Sussex, though, could never haul the innings back even when Wright returned for a second spell and had Sean Ervine caught in the deep.At that point 66 were still needed, but overs were never in the equation and after calming nerves Pothas and Benham added the finishing touches. It was a team performance from Hampshire, but one man’s name will still steal the limelight. Dominic Cork won’t mind that one bit.

Despite currently being in 15th place in the Premier League table with just seven points from their opening eight league games of the season, Southampton have a fairly respectable defensive record in comparison to the clubs around them in the bottom half of the table with just ten goals conceded, fewer than the likes of Arsenal, Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur.

One player that has been a fairly regular figure for Southampton in that respect is defender Jan Bednarek, who has played 90 minutes in each of the club’s four previous Premier League games.

Southampton signed Bednarek back in the 2017 summer transfer window from Polish club Lech Poznan for a reported fee of £5m.

Since then, the 25-year-old, who has been described as an “important” player for Southampton by Ralph Hasenhuttl, has gone on to make a total of 123 appearances for the Saints across all competitions in which he has managed to chip in with three goals and four assists in the process.

This season in the Premier League has seen Bednarek rack up an average of 1.6 interceptions per game, two tackles per game, 3.6 clearances per game and win 62% of all duels he’s been involved in, showing how much of a defensive unit he has been for the club in recent weeks.

In terms of his market value, in August 2017 shortly after he joined the club, Transfermarkt had it listed as £4.5m, that was despite signing for £5m. However, now it stands at £22.5m, highlighting a significant rise since making his move to Southampton, which proves just how much he has developed and progressed with the Saints.

This also shows just how much of a good bargain buy the defender has been for the club and why their recruitment team deserve a lot of credit for getting him to the club at such a low price, in our view.

Moving forward, with fellow Saints defender Jack Stephens out injured for the next few weeks after picking up a serious knee injury during the club’s 0-0 draw against Manchester City earlier in the season, we can see Hasenhuttl sticking with Bednarek in his side for the time being while Stephens recovers, and perhaps even beyond that.

Looking even further down the line, given how Bednarek is still only 25 and has another few years left on his current contract at St. Mary’s that isn’t set to expire until 2025, we feel that Bednarek’s market value could increase even further if he stays at the club and plays regularly for the foreseeable future.

In other news: “Athletic” Saints prodigy is smashing it on loan, he could cause Ralph a big headache – opinion

Taking to Twitter, reporter Ekrem Konur has lifted the lid on an exciting development out of Parkhead involving Celtic defender Anthony Ralston.

The Lowdown: Ralston impresses…

It’s safe to say the Hoops hot shot has enjoyed a fine start to 2021/2022 and is turning many heads.

Indeed, the 22-year-old has been praised for his resurgence after being out for a while and it appears Ralston has been one of Celtic’s more impressive players.

Starting seven SPFL matches already, his two goals and an assist from out wide, as well as a strike in the Europa League, highlight just how brilliant he has been considering he is a right-back (WhoScored).

The Latest: Konur drops exciting claim…

As per Konur, an exciting Ralston development has now come out of Parkhead.

The journalist says Celtic are now in negotiations to extend his current deal as Ange eyes a contract boost for his new club.

“Celtic have begun talks to extend Anthony Ralston’s contract,” he explained on social media.

The Verdict: Boost for the Bhoys incoming?

Depending on developments, Ralston potentially signing a new deal will come as a further boost for Ange amid reports of some serious moves in the transfer market ahead of January.

If the Hoops are to regain dominance of the SPFL from arch rivals Rangers, they will need all the help they can get in future seasons and Ralston may well play a big part.

In other news: Celtic ‘step up efforts’ to sign ‘another’ star for Ange in ‘stone cold killer’, find out more here.

The predictable draw materialised before four o’clock on the final day, with the match almost as evenly balanced as was possible

The Bulletin by John Ward at Old Trafford05-Sep-2009
ScorecardThe predictable draw materialised before four o’clock on the final day, with the match almost as evenly balanced as was possible. There was much of interest, though, in the final stages of the first innings, as Sussex looked likely to take a sizeable lead. Some fine Lancashire pace bowling, with Sajid Mahmood pre-eminent, decided otherwise, and eventually only an entertaining last-wicket partnership gave Sussex a slender advantage in the first innings – which was as far as this rain-ravaged match could go.Sussex resumed at their overnight score of 119 for 1, facing 236, with Michael Yardy and Ed Joyce on 64 and 39 respectively. They did not have an easy time of it, as Mahmood in particular worked up a good pace and found some movement off the pitch. He bowled a testing opening over to Joyce and in his next he fired in a full-length delivery as the batsman moved across his stumps to trap him lbw for 40. This ended a good partnership of 94 between the two batsmen.Only six runs were added for the loss of Joyce in 5.2 overs before the umpires took everybody off for bad light, and 55 minutes were lost. The bowlers were less challenging on their return, and Murray Goodwin batted enterprisingly for his 29 off 36 balls, running well between the wickets, before edging a good fast delivery from Mahmood that moved away from him. At lunch Sussex had moved to 164 for 3, but Yardy had only added 14 runs during the morning, struggling to find his form of the previous evening.Mahmood again impressed after lunch, but Yardy stood firm, along with Carl Hopkinson, whose most impressive stroke was a superb drive between the bowler and mid-on for four, taking him to double figures. Ironically, it was only when Mahmood took a break that things began to happen for Lancashire, perhaps a case of fatal relaxation with the most dangerous bowler off, and once the slide began it could not be arrested.Oliver Newby, who has had an undistinguished season before today, replaced Mahmood at 190 for 3, and immediately Yardy, to his disgust, followed a ball that moved away from him and edged it to the keeper; he scored 86 off 175 balls. Hopkinson almost holed out to mid-on from an injudicious pull, but in the same over from Kyle Hogg, Andrew Hodd edged a catch to second slip. Dwayne Smith smacked first Hogg and then Newby for extravagant fours to midwicket, but was then trapped lbw for 8 by a yorker from Newby.Hopkinson was next to go, for 19, Laxman taking another good diving catch in the slips, but Newby looked the more dangerous of the two, moving the ball in sharply to the right-hander – perhaps a little too much at times, as when the left-hander Piyush Chawla was facing, with five slips and a gully behind him. Robin Martin-Jenkins was another lbw victim to Hogg, perhaps a little unluckily, and five wickets had fallen in 31 balls for 13 runs, Hogg taking 3 in 16. This was worsened when Ollie Rayner tamely popped a ball from Newby into the slips; Sussex were now 209 for 9.In the old days of points awarded for a first-innings lead, there would have been an interesting tussle now. Chawla, joined by Corey Collymore, was playing an entertaining innings, even when he failed to make contact with the ball. On his arrival, his favourite stroke was the push at the ball from Newby that whistled past his outside edge; as time went on, this progressed into the swish – which generally also failed to make contact. Finally he did get the wood to work for him, and smashed Hogg for six over cow corner.The two batsmen ran well together, and their partnership of 31 enabled Sussex to lead the home county by four runs on the first innings, for what it was worth. The bowlers never did find the edge of Chawla’s bat, for Mahmood returned in place of Hogg and quickly held a firm return catch from Collymore, who made 4. Chawla was unbeaten for his quixotic 32. There were three wickets each for Hogg and Newby, while Mahmood took 4 for 87 – and deserved more, as it was surely his threatening pace that softened up Sussex in preparation for their collapse.An early tea was taken, but afterwards two balls sufficed to persuade the umpires that the light was inadequate. Although it improved, it was used as an excuse to bring an early end to a match which was now literally pointless, thanks to the week’s unpleasant weather.