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Pura Cup tableJason Gillespie’s five wickets drove South Australia to a satisfying victory, but it wasn’t enough to reach the Pura Cup final. While the Redbacks needed an outright win to stay in contention for the March 24 decider against Queensland, they also required a draw in the Victoria-Western Australia game in Melbourne to allow their passage.Shortly after Gillespie’s 5 for 56 tied up the six points with a 45-run success, Victoria marked their five-wicket victory. Both New South Wales and South Australia set their sights on a win today and they locked eyes throughout the conclusion.New South Wales started the morning wanting 338 and their charge was immediately hit by Gillespie, who collected Phil Jaques lbw to his opening ball before a lifting delivery accounted for Matthew Phelps for 1. Gillespie troubled the batsmen throughout the innings, returning to pick up the dangerous pair of Dominic Thornely (41) in the second session and Brad Haddin (46) after tea to drop the Blues to 5 for 216.The opener Greg Mail steered the chase on a tense occasion with a composed 79 to go with his first-innings 141, but his side struggled to nail the big partnership that would have made the target more comfortable. Darren Lehmann’s slow bowling upset Mail’s push for twin centuries and the caught behind was a crucial dismissal.New South Wales stole a dramatic one-wicket win when the sides met in the ING Cup final last month and this match became even tighter when Paul Rofe picked up Corey Richards, Jason Krejza and Aaron Bird as the Blues lost 3 for 14 and slipped to 8 for 258. A fine Cullen Bailey catch on the long-on boundary ended Matthew Nicholson’s stay and when Gillespie picked up his fifth victim in the second-last over the Redbacks had won. However, Victoria’s victory left the home side in third spot.

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A damp and foggy opening day at Wellington prevented any play© Getty Images

Rain washed out the first day of the second Test between Australia and New Zealand without a ball being bowled at Wellington’s Basin Reserve. Misty showers and fog prevented play in the opening session and the weather set in, forcing the umpires and match referee to call it off at 1pm local time.John Bracewell, the coach, said despite losing a day there was no need to change tactics. “It will have no significance on the match itself based on the way in which modern cricket is played,” he said. “The fact the covers will have been on the wicket for at least two days by the time we get started could have an impact on the make-up of the XI.”Stephen Fleming will wait to name his team at the toss and the decision between Paul Wiseman’s offspin and the medium pace of Iain O’Brien is the contentious one. New Zealand, who trained indoors today, trail 1-0 in the three-Test series after losing the opening match at Christchurch by nine wickets.The match will start 30 minutes earlier for the next four days, but the forecast is not encouraging with heavy rain expected tomorrow, and there is a chance the first two days could be washed out. A strong southerly wind is also predicted to blast into Wellington to increase the discomfort of players and spectators.Australia chose Michael Kasprowicz to be their into-the-breeze man ahead of Brett Lee, who was snubbed by state and country in a bid for some first-class action. He stayed in Wellington while his New South Wales team-mates played Queensland for the Pura Cup at Brisbane.Australia 1 Justin Langer, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Michael Clarke, 6 Simon Katich, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Jason Gillespie, 10 Michael Kasprowicz, 11 Glenn McGrath.New Zealand (probable) 1 Stephen Fleming (capt), 2 Lou Vincent, 3 Nathan Astle, 4 Craig Cumming, 5 Craig McMillan, 6 Hamish Marshall, 7 Brendon McCullum (wk), 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 James Franklin, 10 Paul Wiseman, 11 Chris Martin, 12 Iain O’Brien.

The Christchurch Junior Cricket Association draw for Saturday is:(All matches to start at 9am)Senior Traditional Two-day:Section 1:Bwu1 v Nb1 Raw2,Hals1 v Oc1 Elm4,Stac1 v Es1 Stac3,Es2 v Med1 Med1.Section 2:Hare1 v Hh1 Red1,Es3 v Oc2 Ilam5,Stac2 v Cagr1 Cagr1,Syd1 v Hals2 Halsd1.Senior Traditional One-day:Section 1:Bwu2 v Es5 Cla1,Pk4 v Sum1 Bar1,Med2 v Hsob1 Hgsc,Syd5 v Oc3 Cash1,Oc4 v Bwu3 Burn7,Horn1 v Es4 Burw3.Section 2:Bwu4 v Syd6 Burn5,Syd7 v Stac3 Stac4a,Med3 v Nb2 Ilam2,Hals3 v Horn2 Halsd2,Stc1 v Cagr2 Stc3,Sum2 v Lpw2 Bar2,Syd2 v Sum3 Syd4.Section 3:Bwu5 v Oc8 Burn10,Lpw4 v Oc5 Ens2,Upr1 v Mp1 Emc1,Bwu7 v Med4 Burn9,Oc6 v Bwu6 Ilam1,Syd8 v Med6 Syd2,Es6 v Med5 Stal1,Stc2 v Oc7 Stc4.Junior Traditional One-day:Section 1:Oc15 v Pk5 Fns1a,Oc10 v Es10 Stal2,Syd14 v Med7 Cash2a,Hals4 v Es11 Halsd3,Oc11 v Oc12 Ilam4.Section 2:Bwu9 v Syd15 Ilam3,Syd17 v Sum4 Lind1,Nb3 v Hare2 Stal3,Lpw5 v Horn3 Han1a,Oc13 v Hals5 Halsd4,Es12 v Cagr3 Cagr3.Section 3:Heath1 v Oc16 Hd1,Oc14 v Upr2 Rd1,Upr3 v Lpw6 Ens3,Syd18 v Hals6 Beck2,Stac4 v Pk6 Stac5,Bwu8 v Nb4 Burn8.Junior Modified:Zone 1:Bwu11 v Hals8 West1a,Hsob3 v Bwu10 Kirk1a,Oc21 v Sum5 Polo3a,Oc24 v Oc22 Polo1a,Oc20 v Med8 Polo4a,Hals7 v Oc23 Halss1a.Zone 2:Es14 v Nb4 Sis1a,Es16 v Mp2 Polo2a,Mp3 v Es15 Bow1a,Syd21 v Syd22 Thor1a,Syd20 Bye.Junior Average:Zone 1:Sum7 v Heath2 Brgn1,Lpw9 v Lpw8 Brgn2,Hals9 v Sum6 Brgn3,Hals11 v Syd34 Brgn4,Syd30 v Syd32 Brgn5,Syd33 v Hals12 Brgn6,Syd35 v Hals10 Brgn7,Hh2 v Syd31 Brgn8.Zone2:Nb5 v Cagr4 Walt6,Stac6 v Nb6 Walt7,Cagr5 v Stac5 Walt8,Es23 v Oc34 BurwN1,Es25 v Syd36 Brgn9,Syd37 v Es24 Brgn10,Oc35 v Pk7 BurwN2,Oc36 v Hare3 Walt9.Zone 3:Med10 v Horn4 Jel2,Ricc1 v Med9 Jel3,Mp5 v Oc37 Jel4,Oc31 v Oc32 Jel5,Oc33 v Oc30 Jel6,Hare4 v Mp4 Jel7,Hsob4 Bye.Kiwi:Zone 1:Lpw10 v Heath3 Brad1,Syd41 v Hals14 Brad2,Syd43 v Sum9 Brad3,Hals13 v Syd42 Brad4,Syd40 v Hh3 Brad5,Sum8 v Syd44 Brad6.Zone 2:Cagr7 v Nb7 Walt1,Nb8 v Cagr6 Walt2,Med11 v Stac7 Walt3.Zone3:Pk9 v Horn6 Walt5,Oc40 v Pk8 Walt4,Ricc2 v Oc45 Jel1,Oc41 v Mp6 Elm7,Oc42 v Mp7 Elm8,Oc46 v Oc43 Elm5,Oc44 v Upr4 Elm6,Horn5 v Tait1 Jel8.

Victorian-born Marcus North led a grinding West Australian fightback here today on day three of the Pura Cup cricket match against the Bushrangers at the MCG, ensuring the match would go into its last day.The 22-year-old, born in Pakenham near Melbourne, reached his highest first-class score of 127 and helped WA to 6-278 at stumps, an overall lead of three.The day’s play finished at 7.20pm, with Brad Hogg the other unbeaten batsman on 18, partly because of two rain delays which had the players off the ground for atotal of 46 minutes.More rain is forecast for tomorrow morning, but it is expected to clear.Victoria must gain outright points from this match to maintain a slight chance of playing in the Cup final later this month against Queensland.It was North’s second ton of the season and while it was slow – 355 minutes and 258 balls – it was precisely what his team needed.WA followed on yesterday when it could manage only 175 in reply to the home team’s first innings of 6(dec)-450.Victorian Brad Hodge did not field today, having been hit on the hand while compiling his innings-high 131, and WA batsman Ryan Campbell needed a runnerduring his innings of 29.The Warriors resumed at 2-16 and Victoria strengthened its position when Will Carr had captain Simon Katich caught behind for 11 to leave them 3-39.North shouldered arms the next ball, but survived an lbw appeal.There was also a big appeal for a stumping when North was on 55, but otherwise his innings was chanceless.He first shared in an 84-run stand for the fourth wicket with opener Mike Hussey, who appeared unlucky when given caught behind off Jon Moss for 61. The replay suggested the ball might have come off Hussey’s thigh pad.Rain started falling as Hussey left the field, reflecting his dark mood, and stopped the game for 31 minutes.There was another rain delay just before the tea break and the lights were on soon after players came back on the field.North then combined with Campbell for a stand of 55, broken when Campbell cut Carr to Moss at point.Ian Harvey bowled Chris Rogers for 15 to leave WA 6-231, but North and Hogg survived the bleak early-evening conditions.Carr, playing in his second Cup game, continued to impress with 3-61 and Harvey had 2-50 from 20 accurate overs.

North Zone were more than happy to take the five points and leave South Zone with three as a result of the drawn match between the two, in the Duleep Trophy match that ended at the IGMC stadium in Vijayawada on Sunday. Pace bowler Surendra Singh who picked up 5/115 for the North, stole the limelight from all the batsmen who made merry on a batting paradise.Resuming on 372/6 on the final day, South had to virtually give up the run chase as they lost the remaining wickets quite cheaply. Surendra Singh claimed his fifth wicket of the innings by dismissing VST Naidu for 11. Robin Singh blasted 67 in just 51 balls smashing 3 sixes and 8 fours before he was dismissed by Harbhajan Singh. Harbhajan also accounted for Venkatpathy Raju (7), the last man to be dismissed. Sunil Joshi remained unbeaten on 22 as Ashish Kapoor did not come out to bat due to the injury. North could have enforced the follow on as they had a lead of 231 runs lead after having dismissed South for 477. They decided to go in for batting practice, as it is these days in the domestic cricket in India.North Zone had a party time with the bat second time around as no result was possible. Akash Chopra hit an unbeaten century of 125 in 187 balls. Chopra hit 18 boundaries and a six in his 251 minute stay at the crease. Vikram Rathour smashed 69 in 51 balls including 10 fours and 2 sixes. Dinesh Mongia who made a double century in the first innings missed out in the second as he was dismissed by Joshi for 4. Harbhajan who got promoted up the order scored 38 and fell to Sriram. In came Yuvraj Singh who has been through a lean patch and took the opportunity with both hands as he blasted 3 sixes and 9 boundaries in his unbeaten innings of 80 off 58 balls. North Zone were 326/3 in 58 overs at close of the match.On January 11th North will meet West at Mohali and Central will meet East at Kanpur.

Speaking to Football Insider, Tottenham insider John Wenham – who regularly breaks news on his Lilywhites Rose social media channels – has hinted at a possible stadium naming rights boost amid ‘huge news’.

The Lowdown: Chelsea greenlight sale…

There have been numerous dramatic developments across London at Stamford Bridge over the last week after Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK government on Thursday.

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The Russian oligarch duly had his assets frozen, putting the sale of Tottenham’s rivals briefly on hold before Chelsea were once again permitted to find a buyer.

In the last 48 hours, despite the aforementioned sanctions, Abramovich has now given his approval for the sale of Chelsea to go ahead, with Sports Keeda journalist and verified Twitter personality Sripad describing it as ‘huge news’.

Amid this major development, Wenham has claimed that the auction of the west London club could inadvertently lead to Spurs sealing a stadium naming rights agreement.

The Latest: Wenham hints at potential Spurs boost…

Speaking to Football Insider, the insider said that consortiums who fail in their attempt to buy Chelsea could turn to agreeing a naming rights deal with Tottenham as a way of investing into the Premier League.

He explained: “There are all these consortiums trying to buy Chelsea. I’m not saying Tottenham could be taken over but there are a lot of investors looking to invest in English football.

“Someone who is interested but ultimately fails to buy Chelsea might come up with the idea to sponsor the stadium.

“That is another good way to invest in English football and it could be done through a consortium or a subsidiary company.

“If you want to do something football-based in London, that is a great option. Tottenham are a very big club with global recognition, just like Chelsea.”

The Verdict: Top priority for Levy…

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has been on the search for a £25m-per-year agreement for the club’s stadium since it opened in 2019. Talks have been held with various blue-chip companies, including links with Amazon and Nike, but Tottenham still haven’t been able to find a buyer.

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News emerged last week that Spurs reportedly held £500m discussions with an unnamed company over a 20-year agreement, with no update yet on whether those negotiations led to anything more advanced.

As the club aim to alleviate some of their mounting debt, Spurs will need all the help they can get, and supporters may well be hoping that a consortium could turn to investing in the stadium as an alternative to buying Chelsea.

In other news: Tottenham make pre-summer move as they chase ‘massive’ signing for Conte, find out more here

The forthcoming series between Pakistan and Australia will not be played at a neutral venue or in Australia as a last resort, the Pakistan board has reiterated., quoting an unnamed official, recently reported that the PCB would consider shifting the series – to be held in March-April 2008 – to Australia in a “worst-case scenario” in which conditions in Pakistan were not conducive to hosting the series. But Nasim Ashraf, chairman PCB, denied the report, stressing that the series will be played, as scheduled, in Pakistan.”The PCB has only one position on this series,” Ashraf told reporters in Hyderabad. “Australia will play in Pakistan as per their commitment in March-April 2008. There is no question of it being played at a neutral venue or swapping venues and playing in Australia at this time.”We have a visit to Australia at the end of 2009 and we will fulfill that as well. But the current series against Zimbabwe has shown that cricket is not affected by such things.”Pakistan has been rocked by a particularly turbulent year of political unrest and violence, which culminated with the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister, at the end of December last year. General elections were due to be held in the country on January 8, but have now been postponed to February 18.Several Australian players have voiced their concerns about touring Pakistan, but Cricket Australia’s stance on the issue has always been firm: any final decision on the tour will be made after a security delegation has assessed the on-ground situation in Pakistan. The visit is expected to take place soon after elections.”They are coming and the tour is on as far as we know,” said Ashraf. “We have given every assurance to the Australian High Commission. I am surprised but those statements [in the Australian press] were not made by any PCB official.”

John Bracewell says Sri Lanka have “greater flexibility across the board for these conditions” © Getty Images

John Bracewell, the New Zealand coach, believes the conditions in the West Indies have pushed Sri Lanka towards World Cup favouritism. Bracewell made the assessment after watching his side lose to Bangladesh on a turning surface in Barbados on Tuesday and he will have another opportunity to gauge Tom Moody’s squad in New Zealand’s final warm-up on Friday.”Sri Lanka, given those conditions we played on [against Bangladesh], have probably shifted as one of the tournament favourites,” Bracewell told NZPA. “They have greater flexibility across the board for these conditions in terms of their spin, their part-time bowlers and their up-front swingers. They have the tools available and we need to adapt to that very quickly.”Bracewell said the two-wicket defeat to Bangladesh – it was the first time New Zealand had been beaten by them – could be the “best thing or the worst thing to happen to us”. “It’s a wake-up call, getting used to the conditions and respecting opposition we’re going to come across in pool play,” he said. “These are teams you’re expected to beat, but if you’re complacent and not quite ready then on these sorts of wickets they can kick you in the butt.”

Brendon McCullum’s pyrotechnics sealed Canterbury’s victory in the Twenty20 final © Getty Images

Brendon McCullum smashed 62 from 22 deliveries to propel Canterbury to a six-wicket win over Auckland in the inaugural Twenty20 final at Eden Park’s Outer Oval.Chasing 180, McCullum went hammer-and-tongs at the Auckland bowling attack, smashing six sixes and four fours in an opening stand of 80 with Nathan Astle. Swinging the bat at almost every delivery faced in a 25-minute stay at the crease, McCullum effectively signalled the outcome of the match – Canterbury’s fifty came up in 13 minutes and 17 deliveries – by the time he holed out to Mayu Pasupati off Paul Hitchcock.Astle, reserved in comparison to McCullum, hit 74 from 52 deliveries with 11 fours and two sixes before being run out by New Zealand team-mate Lou Vincent with victory just 2 runs away.After being inserted by Chris Harris, the Canterbury captain, Auckland’s total of 179 for 7 was centred around Scott Styris’s 62 from 32 balls, complete with five sixes and four fours. Vincent and Hitchcock also contributed with 37 and 36 respectively. Chris Cairns, who recently announced his retirement from international cricket, picked up 2 for 31 from four overs..

When he reached 160, Virender Sehwag became the 16th Indian to get to 3000 Test runs. He achieved the landmark in his 34th Test, and while Sunil Gavaskar took the same number of Tests, he played 11 more innings than Sehwag. In fact, Sehwag is easily the fastest, in terms of innings, to reach the milestone. Mohammad Azharuddin, who’s in second place, took 64 innings.

Quickest to 3000	Tests/Inngs	Ave	100s/ 50s
Sehwag	34/ 55	56.31	10/ 9
Azharuddin	43/ 64	50.00	10/ 10
Gavaskar	34/ 66	50.00	12/ 14
Dravid	39/ 67	49.18	7/ 16
Tendulkar	45/ 67	50.85	10/ 15

This innings also took Sehwag’s first-innings average to a monumental 75.12. Among batsmen with at least 1500 Test runs, Sehwag’s average is second only to Don Bradman’s.

First-innings performers	Runs	Ave	1st inng 100s/ total 100s
Bradman	4697	97.85	19/28
Sehwag	2554	75.12	10/10
Weekes	3429	71.44	14/15
Barrington	5069	65.83	17/20
Hutton	4905	65.40	17/19

Sehwag’s 201 was his 10th Test hundred, in his 34th match – that’s a rate of a century every 3.4 games. Among batsmen with at least ten hundreds, Sehwag is in seventh place. Don Bradman is well ahead of the pack, while George Headley and Clyde Walcott are the only others with a ratio of less than three games per century.

Best Test/ 100 ratio	Tests	100s	Ratio
Bradman	52	29	1.79
Headley	22	10	2.2
Walcott	44	15	2.93
Weekes	48	15	3.20
Hayden	66	20	3.30
Sutcliffe	54	16	3.38
Sehwag	34	10	3.4
Sobers	93	26	3.58
Tendulkar	122	34	3.59
Greg Chappell	87	24	3.63