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Will Shane Bond be at his best again? © Getty Images

Shane Bond, the New Zealand bowler, has said that he feels that he is nearing his best form as he took one for 28 off 8 overs for New Zealand Academy against they beat Australian Institute of Sports (AIS) by 60 runs at Brisbane.Recovering from a major back surgery, Bond said that he was happy with his progress since the New Zealand Academy’s tour of Australia started. “It’s getting better day by day. This was my best day today and hopefully I can step it up a notch tomorrow. I’m 100 percent,” said Bond according to a report on stuff.co.nz. He said that he felt no discomfort while bowling, “I’m starting to get a little bit more consistent. It’s nice to be outside getting consistent cricket.”Bond has one more match to play against India’s Karnataka State Cricket Association’s team before returning to New Zealand to prepare for their forthcoming tour of Zimbabwe.

Points tables for Canterbury Cricket 2003-04Senior Men’s Cricket1st Grade (2-Day Competition):St.Albans 58.75,LPW 42.26,East Shirley 27.93HSOB 15.99Old Collegians 15.75BWU 15.53Sydenham 12.45Marist 10.82Riccarton 9.681st Grade – (1-Day Competition)Riccarton 24,St Albans 24,East Shirley 18,HSOB 18,BWU 12,Canterbury Country 6,LPW 6,Marist 6,Old Collegians 6,Sydenham 0.2nd Grade – (2-day Competition)Old Collegians 59.57,Riccarton 32.45,BWU 30.17,East Shirley A 20.66,Sydenham 18.65,East Shirley Budgies 18.07,Marist 17.23,HSOB 16.47,LPW 15.59,St.Albans 14.37.2nd Grade – (1-day Competition)East Shirley A 24,Old Collegians 24,HSOB 18,East Shirley Budgies 12,LPW 12,Sydenham 12,BWU 6,Marist 6,St Albans 6,Riccarton 0.3rd Grade GoldBWU Maroon 61.67,LPW 57.72,Sydenham 44.22,St.Albans 39.58,Old Collegians 33.73,HSOB Cavaliers 32.76,BWU Gold 28.13,Riccarton 16.6,East Shirley Gold 16.11,East Shirley Blue 11.67.3rd Grade Red – 2 Day CompetitionTeam Points PositionChrist College 60.96 1Christchurch Boys HS 34.05 2St Andrew’s College 32.74 3Shirley Boys HS 31.31 4Timaru Boys HS 18.64 5St Thomas 11.46 6St Bedes 10.76 7Burnside HS 9.12 83rd Grade BlackChristchurch Boys HS Blue* 61.48,St Andrew’s College 46.87,Christ’s College 34.48,Shirley Boys HS 31.86,Burnside HS* 21.1,Christchurch Boys HS Black 16.48,Christchurch Boys HS Red 11.59,Riccarton HS 6.09,St Bedes 4.11.4th GradeSt Albans B 30,LPW Yabbage 27,St Albans A 22,East Shirley Hooters 20,Old Collegians Cavs 20,Burnside West 10,Sydenham Muppets 10,Marist 5.5th GradeRiccarton Gold 30,LPW Yaks 27,St Albans 27,Riccarton Hogs 20,Burnside West SNCC 17,Old Collegians Tan 12,Burnside West Gold 10,Burnside West Maroon 10,Burnside West Blue 5,Old Colls Gold 0.6th GradeSt Albans 27,Sydenham Blue 20,Burnside West 17,Marist Gold 15,Sydenham Red 15,Marist Fozzie Bears 12,Old Collegians SGC 10,Parklands 10,Lancaster Park Woolston 7.President’s GradeEast Shirley Gold 32,Riccarton+ 32,Sumner Misfits 27,Sydenham 25,Hospital 17,LPW Gladiators 20,Burnside West 15,High School Old Boys 15,LPW Red 15,St Albans Gold 20,East Shirley Blue 7,St Albans Blue 7,Marist 5,Old Collegians 5.(+denotes holder of the G.Frampton Challenge Cup)Youth CricketU-18Papanui HS 22,Middleton Grange 15,CBHS 12,Parklands 12,Sydenham 10,St Andrew’s College 7,St Bede’s Black 5,St Bede’s Red – Withdrawn 0.ColtsSydenham 36,St Andrew’s College 32,Christ’s College 28,Shirley Boys HS 26,St Thomas – Red 26,CBHS 17,Papanui HS 4,St Thomas – Yellow 1,Burnside HS 0,St Bede’s Red 0.U-16ASt Andrew’s College 20,Shirley Boys HS 17,Christ’s College 15,CBHS 7,St Bede’s 7,Sydenham 7.U-16BHornby CC 20,Upper Riccarton 17,New Brighton 15,CBHS 12,Old Colls 5,Riccarton HS 5,Lancaster Park Woolston 0.U-15AChrist’s College 22,Burnside HS 20,St Andrew’s College – White 20,Sydenham 17,Shirley Boys HS 5,St Andrew’s College – Blue 5,CBHS 2,St Thomas – Moved 2.U-15BSt Bede’s 27,Christ’s College 20,Parklands 20,St Thomas 15,Papanui HS 12,Burnside HS 10,Upper Riccarton 10,CBHS – Black 5,CBHS – Blue 5,St Andrew’s College 0.U-14ACBHS – Black 32,St Andrew’s College 28,CBHS – Blue 25,Christ’s College 24,Lincoln/Ellesmere 24,Burnside HS 4,Shirley Boys HS 2,St Bede’s 2,Sydenham 0,St Thomas – Moved 0.U-14BShirley Boys HS 30,New Brighton 22,Christ’s College 20,St Andrew’s College 17,Papanui HS 15,Rangiora HS 15,CBHS – Black 12,Riccarton HS 10,CBHS – Blue 7,St Bede’s 7,Sydenham 2.Burnside HS – Withdrawn 0.U14CShirley Boys HS 15,St Thomas 14,Burnside West 10,CBHS – Black 7,Christ’s College 0,Women’s Cricket1st Grade – (1-Day Competition)Lancaster Park Woolston 25,St Alban’s 25,Old Colls/Country 10,East Shirley 0.1st Grade – (2-Day Competition)St Alban’s 4,East Shirley 2,Lancaster Park Woolston 2,Old Colls/Country 1.1st ReserveSydenham 50,St Alban’s 38,Riccarton 36,Burnside West 11,Old Colls/Country 10,East Shirley 8.2nd GradeSt Alban’s 32,Lancaster Park Woolston 30,Sydenham 22,Harewood 15,Old Colls/Country 5.3rd GradeSt Albans 32,Hornby 20,Riccarton 17,Sydenham 12,Burnside West 10,Lancaster Park Woolston 7.4th Grade Sen Trad GirlsSt Albans Gold 27,Lancaster Park Woolston 20,Hornby 15,St Albans Grammar 15,Old Colls/Country 10,East Shirley 2.

RICKY PONTING has been named captain of the Australian one-day cricket team for the tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe.ADAM GILCHRIST has been named vice-captain by the Australian Cricket Board.The appointments follow STEVE WAUGH’s shock axing as skipper earlier this week.

Daniel Marsh hit a century and Trevor Ward 93 as Leicestershire piled up their biggest total of the season on the first day of the CricInfo Championship clash with Somerset at Grace Road.They were dismissed for 387 right on the close, and there was nobody happier than Ward. The 33-year-old former Kent opener turned back the clock with a gem of an innings – his best score in the Championship for three years.He was the first to admit: “It’s been long overdue,” after his first season at Leicestershire brought him only 110 runs in seven matches.But given his chance for the first time this summer he grabbed it with both hands to set the tone and tempo for the day.And Australian Marsh is already looking an inspired signing as the overseas player. This was the fourth time in seven innings that he has gone past 50 and he is the first Leicestershire player to make a Championship century this season.It all added up to a tough day in the field for understrength Somerset who were minus Test men Andy Caddick and Marcus Trescothick. The one consolation for them was the return to action of young left-arm seamer Matthew Bulbeck after a year’s absence with a stress fracture of the back.He bowled tidily to claim the wickets of Iain Sutcliffe and Vince Wells. There was little else to cheer up the visitors however, on a day dominated by the batsmen after Leicestershire had won the toss.Ward and Sutcliffe shared an opening stand of 79 – Leicestershire’s best for a year – and then Marsh and Darren Stevens put on 147 for the sixth wicket.Ward, who raced to his 50 off 56 balls with nine fours and a six, was out seven runs short of what would have been his first Championship century for four years. He chipped a catch to mid-on having hit another six fours in his 137-ball innings.Marsh then took over, reaching his century off 165 balls with 19 fours. But once Stevens had gone for 63 Marsh had little support from the tail and Michael Burns nipped in to take three for 26 in nine overs. The Australian was undefeated though on 138, boosting his average to 87.

With Gareth Bale set to become a free agent at the end of the season, the 32-year-old has been linked with a number of clubs in recent weeks – with one of the more surprising stories suggesting there is a ‘whisper’ of a move to Celtic.

Indeed, whether or not Ange Postecoglou’s side could offer the Wales international anywhere near the amount of money he would more than likely demand following the conclusion of his £528k-per-week contract at Real Madrid is very much up for debate.

However, while it is true that the forward has not exactly been at his breathtaking best over the last few years in Spain, he would still be a quite extraordinary signing for the Hoops to get over the line this summer.

Celtic’s next Hartson

As previously mentioned, with Bale having made just five first-team appearances for Madrid over the last two seasons, it is clear that the 32-year-old would require a significant amount of work in pre-season in order to get him back up to speed for 2022/23.

However, once he regained his match fitness, the £2.7m-rated forward who scored 106 goals and registered 67 assists over 256 appearances for Los Blancos, in addition to bagging 72 goals and providing 61 assists over 237 outings for Tottenham Hotspur, would undoubtedly be a huge weapon in Postecoglou’s attacking arsenal.

Indeed, the Welshman proved over his 20 Premier League fixtures – only ten of which came as starts – during his temporary return to Spurs last season that he still has what it takes to impress at the highest level of the English game, scoring 11 goals, registering two assists and creating two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.9 shots and making 1.1 key passes per game.

These returns saw the player who Dean Saunders dubbed a “freak of nature” and Ian Darke labelled “frightening” average a quite extraordinary SofaScore match rating of 7.48, not only ranking him as Tottenham’s second-best performer in the league but also the fifth-best player in the division as a whole.

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As such, should Postecoglou manage to get a deal over the line for Bale this summer, the 56-year-old could well have landed Celtic their next John Hartson – the Welsh striker who scored 110 goals in 202 appearances for the Hoops – as, despite his advancing years, the 32-year-old quite clearly still possesses the ability to tear the Premiership up.

AND in other news: Huge boost: Ange reveals major Lennoxtown development, it’s brilliant news for Celtic

Cliched T20 speak tells you that one ball can turn a match on its head, but Mohammad Amir’s deadly yorker to remove Misbah-ul-Haq only gave the opening BPL fixture a better finish. That delivery in the 19th over was the exclamation point of a game that swung both ways, mainly due to these former Pakistan team-mates.Misbah ended up with the biggest impact through a 39-ball 61 that was both patient and attacking. The innings reconstructed Rangpur’s chase of 188 after they had fallen to 23 for 4 in the fifth over. Misbah added 64 for the fifth wicket with Al-Amin, then a fast-paced 80 with Thisara Perera but when Amir removed both off consecutive deliveries, even Misbah thought it was over.”I think he won in that moment,” Misbah said. “He bowled a really good yorker, I was set and I missed that. This is what people are here to watch. Amir bowled well with the new ball. He had good pace and variations. In the 19th over he would have won the game for his team. Good to see him bowling like [he did today].”Amir started off with a maiden before taking the first two wickets – Lendl Simmons caught at mid-off and Soumya Sarkar dubiously given out leg-before – off consecutive deliveries in his second over. He was hard to get away, especially when he kept zooming in the full ball.Chittagong Vikings captain Tamim Iqbal, who felt that his team were 10-20 runs short and suffered through Asif Ahmed’s two dropped catches, was delighted to see Amir bowl with such verve.”He bowled brilliantly,” Tamim said. “I was looking forward to seeing him bowl. I am sure he will get better and better each day. He was playing a game like this after a long time. I think he was a bit nervous but it will get better for him. He has been taking wickets back in Pakistan. He was playing T20s after a long time.”Misbah said that he always knew that, with Thisara and Sammy waiting in the wings, Rangpur had a chance despite falling behind halfway through their chase.”We just wanted to play 20 overs, and that’s what I was telling Al-Amin,” Misbah said. “He was playing well at that time. We had Thisara and Sammy in the end, so we knew what capabilities they have when it comes to hitting the ball.”Even if we needed 80 runs in five overs, we were confident. Here 15 runs an over is chaseable when you have set batsmen. Once you have that big over, you have to keep in mind which bowler has how many overs left. If we can plan that, we can win games.”

Gamini Lokuge, the sports minister, has expanded the interim committee of Sri Lanka Cricket from its present size of five members to seven. Sidath Wettimuny, the former Test opener, Premasara Epasinghe, a commentator, and Dion Gomes, president of the boxing association, have been added to the committee along with Lalith Wickremasinghe, a representative of the ministry.Prakash Schaafter and Damien Fernando, a representative of Jeevan Kumaratunga, the former sports minister, have been replaced. The replacement of Fernando was expected following the appointment of Lokuge, who replaced Kumaratunga as sports minister during a cabinet reshuffle in March.The top three members in the interim committee however remain unchanged, with Jayantha Dharmadasa as chairman, Kanganan Mathivanan as secretary and Sujeewa Rajapakse as treasurer. The new-look committee is due to have its first meeting on July 11. Sri Lanka cricket has been under interim administration since April 2005, after the elected body was accused of misappropriation of funds by Kumaratunga.

Scorecard

Thilan Samaraweera on his way to a hundred © Getty Images

Sri Lanka took every opportunity to give their batsmen time in the middle on the second day of the tour match against Sussex at a chilly Hove, piling up 521 for 5 before declaring at tea. By the close, Sussex had reached 41 for 1 in reply.Yesterday it was Upul Tharanga who took centre stage, and today it was the turn of Chamara Kapugedera and Thilan Samaraweera who both reached hundreds, in Kapugedera’s case the first of his career.James Kirtley struck early to remove Mahela Jayawardene without addition to his overnight 45, but that was to be Sussex’s only success for almost two sessions as Kapugedera and Samaraweera smashed 248 in an unbeaten sixth-wicket stand. Samaraweera hit exactly 100 from 203 balls, including seven boundaries, while Kapugedera, who faced one more ball, scored 134 including 15 fours.The Sri Lankans finally declared at tea, but bad light forced Sussex to wait more than an hour to start their innings. When they did, they soon lost Richard Montgomerie who was caught behind for 27 off Lasith Malinga.

Cricket South Africa will continue to be consistent in its stance regarding tours to and from Zimbabwe, Gerald Majola, their chief executive officer, said in a statement on Tuesday.”We view tours to and from Zimbabwe as cricketing matters,” said Majola, when asked to comment on reports that the New Zealand government was putting pressure on the ICC to suspend the Zimbabwe Cricket Union because its links to Robert Mugabe’s regime. We will continue to meet our obligations to the ICC and the ZCU in this regard. We have always been consistent in this. I have just returned from a meeting of the ICC’s chief executives, and the matter of any possible suspension was not even raised. In fact, all the countries, including New Zealand, who are due to tour Zimbabwe reaffirmed their commitments.”Cricket South Africa is also at the forefront of developing Africa into a major cricketing continent,” concluded Majola, “and this includes assisting in the progress of Zimbabwean cricket. We will continue on this path.”It is being reported that South Africa have agreed to play three ODIs in Zimbabwe on July 30, 31 and August 3.

L Balaji: will tour Australia after all © AFP

Lakshmipathy Balaji has replaced Aavishkar Salvi for the four-Test tour of Australia. Salvi sustained an acute shoulder sprain during the final of the TVS Cup in Kolkata and the selectors and team management present at the venue decided that Balaji was the best replacement.Salvi, who bowled three overs for 23 runs, is unlikely to play competitive cricket for at least four weeks, in the opinion of team physio Andrew Leipus.Balaji, who took ten wickets in Tamil Nadu’s most recent Ranji trophy match, against Rajasthan, was overjoyed on hearing the news. “Playing in Australia is a great opportunity,” said Balaji on the telephone from his Chennai residence. “I’m really looking forward to doing well in Australia.”