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Despite frequent interruptions for rain England manoeuvred themselves into a dominating position on the second day, only to find themselves once again dragged back into the mire by their old tormenter-in-chief Shane Warne.Five wickets for Warne, four of them late in the day, plus another high-quality all-round performance from Adam Gilchrist ensured that the Australians weren’t about to surrender their initiative in the series without a fight.At the close of the second day the home side, in their second innings, were on 144-6, leading overall by 139 runs, with 4 wickets in hand.Marcus Trescothick and Michael Atherton gave their side a solid platform by putting together a stand of 57 at the start of England’s second innings but then Warne struck in unusual fashion. Trescothick, on 31, struck the spinner firmly to leg but unluckily saw it rebound off the shin-pads of the close-in fielder Matthew Hayden. ‘Keeper Gilchrist threw himself forward to scoop up the catch.Mark Butcher made only one before Brett Lee trapped him lbw and the same bowler then had Mark Ramprakash caught behind off a no-ball. Lee, in a fiery burst, had earlier struck the grille on Atherton’s helmet with a delivery clocked at 91.8mph. Atherton also looked fortunate to survive a shout for lbw from Glenn McGrath, whose premature celebration took him beyond the striker.In the evening gloom Atherton and Ramprakash took their stand to 50, from 93 balls, with both batsmen hammering delightful shots through the offside from the bowling of Jason Gillespie. Atherton’s own half-century came with a push through the covers off Warne. On 51, though, it appeared as if he was given out incorrectly for the second time in the match. Replays seemed to indicate that he clipped his pad as he pushed forward to Warne but umpire Venkat gave him out caught behind.Having been very much on the ropes Australia bounced back with another wicket in Warne’s next over, as Alec Stewart chopped his second delivery onto his stumps.Ramprakash, still with something to prove at this level, had moved competently to 26 but then a rush of blood persuaded him to charge at Warne and Gilchrist completed the most routine of stumpings. The leggie had picked up 3-5 in nine balls and he collected yet another five-wicket haul in the final over as Steve Waugh dived to hold a bat-pad catch off Craig White.During the morning session Australia were again indebted to Adam Gilchrist, whose 54 ensured that the visitors picked up a narrow first innings lead. Bowling honours went to Alex Tudor who collected the last three wickets to fall, to finish with figures of 5-44, his first five-wicket haul in Tests.

Pundit Frank McAvennie has now unleashed on Everton after they posted their financial accounts.

The Lowdown: Accounts published

The Goodison Park faithful have now published their official accounts for the 2020/21 season on their website.

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They have recorded a total loss of £120.9m, with some of that down to the financial impact of the global pandemic.

However, the Merseyside club have remained in a secure position thanks to Farhad Moshiri, who has given them more than £600m since he first bought shares in 2016.

The Latest: McAvennie reacts

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie has unleashed at the Toffees over their financial losses, and the 62-year-old added that relegation from the Premier League is now a ‘real worry’:

“You can spend all the money in the world but it’s the decisions that are letting them down.

“Hiring Benitez was such a huge mistake, no amount of money can help when you do that.

“A lot gets made of that hire but the transfers have been pretty bad too.

“Everton need to invest in people who make football decisions, people who know what they are doing because the current guys are clueless don’t know what they are doing.

“They are such a big club and I don’t want them to get relegated.

“But you look at the club’s position and it’s a real worry.“

The Verdict: Relegation catastrophic

If the Blues were to go down to the Championship, it would be nothing short of a catastrophe.

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They are already recording big financial losses, and without the security of wealth that the top flight brings through the likes of TV deals and sponsorships, they could be in real trouble come this time next term.

Of course, whether the pandemic will have as much of a financial impact is another question, but relegation still seems unthinkable at this moment in time, and so Frank Lampard and his team must push all the way to make sure that they stay up.

In other news, find out what ‘massive’ update will now have EFC ‘buzzing’ here!

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo – Thisara Perera picked up his maiden T20 five-for•AFP

An inspired Comilla Victorians crushed Rangpur Riders in a 72-run win to qualify to the BPL final. They not only withstood Thisara Perera’s five-wicket burst and a threatening start from the Rangpur openers, but also shrugged off their own injury-ravaged roster. Rangpur will now have a second shot in the second Qualifier on Sunday, facing the winner of the Eliminator.Comilla missed the services of Shoaib Malik due to a finger injury and used Nuwan Kulasekara, who bowled with a shoulder injury. The most heart-warming sight was to of the captain Mashrafe Mortaza, carrying a Grade-1 right hamstring tear, sending down four overs for only 13 runs, taking one wicket.Comilla batted well in two patches either side of Perera’s wickets. Imrul Kayes cracked 67 at the start and Ashar Zaidi slugged two sixes in a 15-ball 40 to power them to a total of 163.Rangpur began the chase in perfect manner. In the third over, Soumya Sarkar struck Shuvagata Hom for a reverse-swept four before Lendl Simmons added three more boundaries through the leg-side. Andre Russell then dropped Soumya, pedalling back from mid-off in the fifth over. But Rangpur’s fall began the very next ball.Running from deep midwicket, Shuvagata made up for his 17-run over with a superb catch at the square-leg boundary to get rid of Soumya, who made just nine. Abu Hider then made it two wickets off two balls when he removed Simmons with a stunning yorker, the batsman falling over and the ball ricocheting off his pads and into the stumps.Zaidi bowled a maiden in the sixth over, and Mortaza gave away just a single off the next over, his first in the tournament since December 8. The pressure told, as Zaidi had Mohammad Mithun stumped and Shakib Al Hasan caught at deep midwicket off the next ball. Mohammad Nabi struck a six and a four but fell to Mashrafe in the 11th over before Hider came into the picture again, this time with a running catch to get rid of Jahurul Islam. At 62 for 6, Rangpur were well past gone in the chase.Hider came back to bowl his second over and saw Ahmed Shehzad drop a simple chance at long-on off Perera’s bat before clean bowling him a ball later. Zaidi’s fourth wicket was of Darren Sammy in the 16th over, the arm ball capping a stunning all-round display. Hider then picked up another to bag his second four-for in the tournament and become its highest wicket-taker with 21 scalps.Put in to bat, Comilla waited till the end of the third over to find the boundary, Kayes swatting Arafat Sunny through square-leg. Liton Das struck one four in a labored 37-ball 28 but Kayes kept the run rate up with two fours each off Shakib and Mohammad Nabi in the fifth and sixth over. A Kayes blast over cover, off Al-Amin Hossain, then brought up Comilla’s highest opening stand in the tournament as well as the longest opening partnership from a team batting first this season.Liton fell to a beautiful delivery from Saqlain Sajib in the eleventh over before Kayes reached his first fifty of the season, and his second overall in the tournament.Mashrafe’s promotion of himself and Andre Russell to No 3 and No. 4 didn’t work, and the captain’s wicket began the Perera show. The Sri Lankan seamer then dismissed Russell and had Kayes caught and bowled, ending a 48-ball knock that included seven fours and two sixes. Both those sixes came off Shakib, who also had a stumping missed by Mithun when Kayes was on 58.When Shehzad was trapped leg-before for a golden duck at the end of the 16th over, Perera had picked up his first T20 four-for and although he didn’t complete the hat-trick in the next over, he finished with 5 for 26 from his four overs with the wicket of Alok Kapali. Courtesy of Zaidi’s 15-ball 40 in the last 4.3 overs, Comilla took their score to 163 for 7. He struck four fours and two sixes, one a straight blast off Sunny and the next a hit over midwicket off Nabi who gave away 18 runs in the last over.

Mark Davies hopes to get overs under his belt at Nottinghamshire © Getty Images

Durham have loaned medium-pacer Mark Davies to Nottinghamshire for one month. Davies will make his Notts debut in the Pro40 match against Essex on Wednesday.Davies played six County Championship matches this season and has taken 16 wickets. “I’m looking forward to getting involved in Nottinghamshire’s campaigns, both in one-day and Championship cricket,” Davies told Sportinglife.co.uk. “It will be good to get some more competitive one-day games under my belt, especially if Durham need me later on in the season.”Notts were hit by injuries to several of their bowlers and had already loaned Nadeem Malik, from Worcestershire, and Kyle Hogg from Lancashire this season.Durham chief executive David Harker said: “We appreciate that Mark is keen to play competitive first-team cricket in both forms of the game and due to the current strength of our bowling attack Mark’s appearances have been limited to Championship matches. We are able to recall Mark at any time should we need him, so this gives him a great opportunity to play at first-team level.”

Dalmiya has reason to believe there is more than meets the eye © Getty Images

In another rejoinder to Sourav Ganguly’s scathing email, Jagmohan Dalmiya has claimed it was a witch-hunt devised by his detractors in the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA). Dalmiya has accused Inderjit Singh Bindra, the PCA president and a friend-turned-rival, of attempting to alienate and neutralise him.Speaking to , Dalmiya highlighted his far-from-amicable relationship with Bindra. “Isn’t it an open secret? This is nothing but a witch-hunt,” he said. “I know who is behind all this. Mohali is the epicentre of all my troubles. He [Bindra] tried to implicate me in a false case, accusing me of financial irregularities. We are witnessing a blatant misuse of power.”Since last year’s BCCI election, where Dalmiya’s candidate for the president’s post was defeated, Dalmiya has found the going tough even in his home city of Kolkata. With the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) set to hold elections soon, Dalmiya has labeled Ganguly’s attack as “pitiable”.”I can’t believe it’s genuine…if it is then it’s very sad,” he said. “When I was in power I tried to help him as much as I could. The Board appointed top lawyers to hear his appeals against match referees. I don’t know much about this e-mail, but if he [Ganguly] indeed feels I have ruined his career, it’s pitiable. In my entire career as cricket administrator, I have never harmed anyone knowingly, nor have I resorted to any witch-hunt something that is going on against me. I will surely bounce back.”Dalmiya even questioned Bindra and Lalit Modi, the BCCI vice-president’s, ascendancy to power. “Let us not get into the ways used by them to grab power,” he said. “Everyone [in the Board] knows what ethical and unethical ways they used to woo voters.”Bindra, in response to the accusations, said: “If Dalmiya feels Mohali is the epicentre of his troubles, he should not forget that he was the epicentre of our troubles. After having gone through so much, I will be the last person to get vindictive. It was Dalmiya who claimed that he can never lose a BCCI election as he knew all about manipulating the voters. I don’t think he should be talking about this.””It is surprising that of all people Dalmiya is talking about ethics. I just want to tell him one thing – he must understand that if he has any sympathiser left in the BCCI, it is Inderjit Singh Bindra,” he added. “At any stage, if he wants my help, I shall readily do so for the sake of an old friendship.”In regards to the legal action taken against Dalmiya earlier this year, Bindra was cutthroat: “Where have the Board accounts disappeared? Why is he not submitting them? It was he who threw me out of the BCCI because I spoke in my personal capacity about match-fixing – among others things – something that was later proved by the Central Bureau of Investigation. He stopped the Board money that was due to PCA. Was that not witch-hunting?”

Are we in for a one-sided contest? © Cricinfo Ltd

The Test series between Sri Lanka and West Indies, the first international cricket to be played on the island since the tsunami disaster, has lost much of its lustre as the West Indies will be fielding a depleted side, and elicited a strong response from the media and the cricketers involved. The series, which begins on Wednesday in Colombo, will not feature Brian Lara, Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Fidel Edwards, among others, as they were left out in the aftermath of the contract impasse.Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the West Indies captain, is the only player in a squad that includes six debutants to have played more than 10 Tests. “Chanderpaul and his cricketing babes face what appears to be a mission impossible,” Tony Cozier, the West Indian broadcaster, told AFP. He described the contracts issue as “a senseless and self-defeating squabble” and added, “The players are inexperienced and unprepared for the sudden challenge that has come their way.”Marvan Atapattu, the Sri Lankan captain, was disappointed that the West Indies were without their star players. He acknowledged the importance of the series in the light of the recovery after the tsunami. “Cricket was the last thing on our minds in December, but now we are keen to get on with the game,” he said, referring to the Sri Lankan tour of New Zealand that was postponed in December 2004 and rescheduled to April 2005.”It does not matter whether it is the first Test or the 150th, we have to do our best,” said Atapattu. “The team will be motivated enough even though we are disappointed we will not be playing the best West Indian team.”The absence of Lara in particular will disappoint Sri Lankan fans who were enthralled when he plundered a mammoth 688 runs in the three Tests in 2001. His missing the series will deny him the chance of surpassing Allan Border as Test cricket’s highest run-scorer. Lara, with 10,818 runs from 117 Tests, is just 356 runs short of Border’s 11,174 from 156 matches.However, there are other milestones to look forward to: The first Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club will mark Sri Lanka’s 150th Test. Muttiah Muralitharan, the Sri Lankan offspinner who has 532 Test wickets, will return to international cricket after a shoulder injury sidelined him for 11 months. He will aim to close in on Shane Warne’s world record of 583 wickets. It will also be Tom Moody’s first assignment as the Sri Lankan coach.

India won by an innings and 52 runs and lead the three-match series 1-0ScorecardDay 5Bulletin – India clinch an historic win
Verdict – Aspiring to greatness
Roving Reporter – An hour to remember
Pakistan View – Time to start afresh
Quotes – ‘The boys can be justifiably proud’ – Dravid
Quotes – ‘We should look at our weaknesses’
Day 4Bulletin – India on the verge of history
Verdict – Triumph and defeat
Quotes – ‘It felt like Sydney again’ – Kumble
News – Zaheer out of second Test
Day 3Bulletin – Pakistan struggle against determined Indians
Verdict – Wanting to win
Quotes – ‘Do we need a spinning coach as well?’ – Inzamam
Roving Reporter – Give us some Milo
Comment – Ghost stadiums
Feature – The battle-scarred boy – Parthiv Patel
Day 2Bulletin – India high on Sehwag’s 309
Verdict – Departures from the past
Quotes – ‘I was taken by surprise’ – Sachin
An appreciation – Watching Sehwag bat
Day 1Bulletin – Sehwag’s unbeaten 228 rocks Multan
Verdict – Breaking away
Pakistan view – Listless and helpless
Roving Reporter – Alexander’s lung
Quotes – Sehwag: ‘I would like to go for 300’

MELBOURNE, Feb 16 AAP – Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath believes team-mate Shane Warne brought his potential cricketing downfall upon himself and should have known the risks of taking a pill containing unknown substances.McGrath said the Australian team was always kept well-informed about drugs and that given his experience, Warne was naive about accepting a pill from his mother.As Warne awaits his hearing with the Australian Cricket Board’s anti-doping committee after testing positive to a banned diuretic, McGrath endorsed captain Ricky Ponting’s comments that Warne had acted without thinking.”As much as the boys are right behind Warney 100 per cent, for someone of his experience, he should have known the risks,” McGrath wrote in a News Limited column.”I’d have to agree Shane was a little naive not to get the tablet checked.McGrath said the Australian players were well aware of the penalties for taking banned substances and knew to thoroughly check anything they took.”Given what’s happened in the past with (state cricketers) Graeme Rummans and Duncan Spencer both being suspended (for banned substances), you should know the consequences of anything you are taking,” he said.”We talk about drugs before the start of every season and a guy from ASDA (Australian Sports Drug Agency) comes out and has a bit of a chat so it isn’t like we aren’t all well informed.”Getting things checked is just part and parcel of what we do.”At the end of the day and as much as the whole team is 100 per cent behind him, Shane has brought this on himself.”McGrath said Warne was lost for words when he told his team-mates he had tested positive and that the team was in “shock and huge disappointment” on receiving the news.Warne has been charged by the ACB with using a prohibited method and faces a possible two-year suspension if found guilty.His hearing will be held in Melbourne this week.

“It is going to be a tough tour,” began Indian captain Sourav Ganguly,stating the obvious. “New Zealand and Sri Lanka are both especiallygood One-Day sides and we have to play well to beat them,” hecontinued, in the same vein, talking to pressmen at the ‘Le Meredien’hotel in Chennai. Shortly before the team departed for Sri Lanka, thecaptain, coach and manager held a joint press conference on Monday.As expected, the fact that Sachin Tendulkar would not be with the teamfor the first part of the tour held more attention than anything else.”Obviously we’ll miss Tendulkar. A player of his class is tough toreplace, but at least I’m happy he’ll be back by the middle of thetour,” said Ganguly. Talking about the injury, Ganguly went on to add,”these things happen in cricket and there’s nothing you can do aboutit. One has to learn to play without any player, whether it’sTendulkar or someone else. That’s the challenge.”The fact that Tendulkar played the final of the Coca-Cola Cup inZimbabwe and soon after announced his injury raised a few eyebrows.Why was the injury not disclosed earlier, asked a few people. “He justscored a century in the game before the final and felt confidentenough to play. Tendulkar is an experienced player and he felt goodenough to play despite his niggling injury,” answered Ganguly.If Tendulkar’s omission was a hot topic, his replacement AmayKhurasiya was another talking point. The flashy Madhya Pradeshsouthpaw makes a return to the team almost out of the blue. Gangulyhowever did not see things that way. “He’s been doing very well indomestic cricket. Moreover I feel he’s a more attacking player thaneither Shiv Sunder Das or Sadagoppan Ramesh and that is what you needin the One-Dayers,” explained Ganguly. At the same time, Ganguly had aword of praise for Hemang Badani, “He’s a good player and a brightprospect for Indian cricket. A great future investment for the team,”said the skipper of his ward.After taking over as the coach of the Indian team, John Wright will beup against his home side New Zealand for the first time in theforthcoming Coca-Cola Cup in Sri Lanka. For the former Kiwi openerhowever, it was business as usual. “I don’t think playing New Zealandwill be any different from playing someone else. I’m more interestedin seeing India beat New Zealand and Sri Lanka,” said the coach.”After all, it’s my job to help India win,” ended Wright. When it wassuggested that the Indian team lacked consistency, Wright was quick toreply. “I don’t think you should look too much at individualperformances. If the team keeps winning, then that’s the mostimportant thing. I don’t really accept the statement that the Indianteam is inconsistent,” said Wright, putting an end to that line ofquestioning.On the whole, the press conference was a routine affair, with captainand coach answering questions in a matter of fact way and withoutcontroversy. The one factor that gave the whole affair a formal airand even tension was the large number of policemen uniformed andotherwise hovering about the Indian captain. Ganguly, who was recentlygiven Z-category security after threats from a militant group wasescorted everywhere he went. With walkie-talkies buzzing and metaldetectors all over the place one wondered if the security arrangementsput additional pressure on the leader of the Indian side. “I’m underno pressure at all on account of the threats to my life,” said Gangulyfirmly. With Tendulkar out of action and Ganguly showing a glimmer ofhis old self, one certainly hopes he’s right.

Leeds United midfielder Lewis Bate has withdrawn from England’s U20 squad due to injury.

The Lowdown: Elland Road knock

The young midfielder, who arrived from Chelsea last summer, suffered an injury in a 3-0 win for the U23s against Manchester United at Elland Road last week.

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Bate had to be helped from the pitch after going down on two separate occasions but did feature days later against his former side at Stamford Bridge, with the 19-year-old playing an hour in a 1-0 defeat on the weekend.

The Latest: International withdrawal

As reported by LUFC Youth Academy on Twitter on Monday evening, Bate has been forced to pull out of England’s U20 squad due to injury.

Bate was included in Andy Taylor’s squad for games with Poland and Germany, but like Aston Villa forward Cameron Archer, now won’t be available for selection.

The Verdict: Setback

It seems as if Bate has suffered a setback following his knock against Manchester United last week to now pull out of the England squad, considering he had initially been deemed fit to return against Chelsea.

The update isn’t ideal, but hopefully, Leeds and the player have made the decision purely as a precaution and he won’t miss much action when domestic football returns.

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Bate has missed just four of the last 13 senior Premier League matchday squads, establishing himself as a regular on the bench and impressing in a 3-2 win over West Ham in January, so fingers crossed he will be able to make a full recovery over the coming weeks.

In other news: ‘Been told’ – Sky Sports journalist now drops big Raphinha ‘update’ as Leeds exit gathers pace.