It’s been another rollercoaster of a year for Manchester United, having flattered to deceive under Ruben Amorim’s management.

In the annual Premier League standings, the Red Devils are 13th, with 12 wins and 46 points across 36 matches. It hasn’t been good enough, but there’s no doubt that we have seen signs of progress over the past month or two.

Bruno Fernandes, as ever, has been the club’s shining light, but it’s disappointing to see that his 2025 has been curtailed early, sustaining a rare injury during the recent 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa.

Might this have altered United’s transfer plans? A deal for Manchester City-bound Antoine Semenyo has been in the works, but it wouldn’t be outrageous to suggest that the middle of the park is the priority position for INEOS as we head into the January market.

Man United's January transfer plans

Fernandes’ hamstring injury will have shifted Man United’s winter transfer strategy. Granted, the 30-year-old skipper isn’t expected to be sidelined for an extended period, but it’s unlikely we will see him again until the new year.

Perhaps this is the opportunity that Kobbie Mainoo has long been waiting for, though the 20-year-old talent has suffered a calf injury in training and may miss the next few weeks himself. Just his luck.

According to talkSPORT, United technical director Jason Wilcox has already turned toward an alternative to Semenyo, with a move for RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande in the pipeline.

Diomande, 19, has turned out to be quite the rising star, having enjoyed a prolific start to life in Germany. His talent is undeniable, and his employers have transfer-listed him at a whopping £87m.

He’s arguably got an even higher ceiling than Semenyo, and given the circumstances, he might prove to be Amorim’s own Fernandes signing at the Theatre of Dreams.

Why Yan Diomande would be perfect for Man Utd

Diomande is a two-sided winger who has established himself as one of the most clinical teenagers in Europe this season. He joined RB Leipzig from Leganes in Spain this summer, and last year, he only featured ten times in La Liga, scoring twice.

With seven goals and four assists already this term, the “special, special footballer”, as he has been called by journalist Antonio Mango, has the potential to become a superstar suggest he could become United’s new version of Fernandes, talismanic.

This argument is strengthened by the fact that he would arrive in January, as the Portuguese did when moving from Sporting Lisbon for an initial £47m fee in 2020.

Diomande is dangerous and direct. He is not stylistically similar to Fernandes, but his prolificness and ability to offer something distinctive does suggest that he could enjoy a similar impact. This is, after all, one of the most exciting attacking talents in the world.

Premier League 25/26 – Most Chances Created

Player

Apps

Chances created

Bruno Fernandes

17

51

Jeremy Doku

15

36

Mohamed Salah

14

33

Dominik Szoboszlai

17

31

Jack Grealish

16

30

Declan Rice

17

30

Data via FotMob

Moreover, he ranks among the top 6% of positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for shot-creating actions, the top 3% for progressive carries, the top 1% for successful take-ons and the top 12 for tackles per 90, as per FBref.

There’s no question that Diomande has superstar potential, and given United’s vested interest in Semenyo over the past several weeks, it’s clear that he fits the mould that has been set by Amorim’s long-term plan.

The Ivory Coast international has quickly established himself as an elite talent, and while he would cost a pretty penny to bring over to Old Trafford in 2026, there’s no question that Man United would receive bang for their buck.

Insider Manchester United transfer analysis — subscribe Subscribe to the newsletter for in-depth Manchester United transfer coverage — scouting dossiers on targets like Yan Diomande, tactical fit breakdowns, and data-backed performance insights that explain why specific signings matter for the squad. Subscribe Insider Manchester United transfer analysis — subscribe Subscribe to the newsletter for in-depth Manchester United transfer coverage — scouting dossiers on targets like Yan Diomande, tactical fit breakdowns, and data-backed performance insights that explain why specific signings matter for the squad.

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Just as they did with Fernandes.

Related He can get Sesko firing: Man Utd making calls to sign £100m star

Manchester United appear to be making progress on one deal ahead of the January window.

Posts ByEthan Lamb

Newcastle’s loss away to Fulham on Monday night was a far cry from the performances we were used to seeing last year. And it’s not that Newcastle were particularly bad, it’s just that something wasn’t the same.

Maybe there is a mood at the club from the very top that last year’s achievement of finishing in the Europa League places was good enough. Maybe that feeling of happy-with-what-you’ve-got is now washing over the players. Or maybe it’s just that dreaded but almost inevitable second season syndrome.

That eight-year contract for Alan Pardew might not be looking like such a great idea now, but only really from Mike Ashley’s point of view. England needs to buck the trend of switching managers when the going gets tough—and Newcastle’s situation isn’t exactly horrific.

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Newcastle are a big club and need stability in the form of the manager to help them continue building and to establish themselves as a Europe League team. Then only can they take the next step up the ladder towards Champions League football.

But this season is giving a good indication that perhaps not everyone at the club is on the same page. Alan Pardew clearly wanted greater funds in the summer to strengthen an already good side. This club have done the hard part, first coming up from the Championship and then knocking everyone off their seats with a whole league campaign’s worth of good and consistent results. Last summer was the time to dig in.

And it’s strange, because Newcastle haven’t lost any of their key players since finishing fifth last season. Even when talk became heated about players like Demba Ba, Cheick Tiote and Yohan Cabaye leaving, each of them—with maybe an exception to Ba—remained committed to the club.

Ashley, the businessman first and foremost, needs to look at the current situation and think when he has ever had life at Newcastle so good. If money if the driving point then allow the manager who you’ve entrusted with a relatively incongruous contract to strengthen this side.

Highlights of last season like the impressive win at Chelsea shouldn’t have to be from one fantastic yet soon to be forgotten season. Impressive buys like Cabaye and Papiss Cisse—ignoring his recent form—don’t have to be resigned to a one-off purple patch for the club under Pardew.

Everyone talks about second season syndrome, and Newcastle are one of the many examples of that throughout Europe. But it isn’t inevitable and it can be avoided. It can be avoided by not making Vurnon Anita your only major signing of the summer. It can be avoided by using Europa League qualification as a starting point rather than the height of your ambitions.

And I’m not suggesting that Mike Ashley doesn’t want his team to be in Europe’s elite competition in the future, but the lack of strengthening where needed suggests otherwise.

If Newcastle do finish well outside of a European place come May, you’ve got to hope that there won’t be a severe backlash on the manager. The exciting showing of last season has bought Pardew plenty of time to continue taking the club forward, but he needs absolute financial backing from the owner to continue to do so.

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.

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If Demba Ba leaves within the next six months, move on and acquire a striker of equal or better quality—and there are certainly enough good strikers on the continent who can replicate Ba’s production in front of goal.

But a change of tack is needed. The result could be of greater financial loss to Ashley if he doesn’t opt to move with a more forceful and positive attitude in the transfer market.

Talk of relegation wouldn’t be fitting of this team: there are far worse teams in the Premier League with greater problems. But this season may have to be seen as nothing more than an important learning curve for a club that desire and who are good enough for much more.

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NATAL relied on the talents on veterans Eldine Baptiste and Jonty Rhodes toemerge victors by 28 runs from their match against Western Province atKingsmead on Friday.The home side totalled 216-9 before restricting Province to 188 for nine.Neil Johnson, with 48, and Ashwell Prince, the match’s top-scorer with 76not out, were unable to pull it out of the fire for Province.Baptiste, bowling his best for Natal for some time, finished with theimpressive return of 9-3-17-3 and Rhodes added spectacular catches todismiss Johnson and Andrew Puttick to his solid 42 off 45 balls scored whenhis team needed it most.After a stuttering start to their innings, the Natal cause was given a newlease of life by a fifth-wicket stand of 53 off 52 balls between Rhodes andAshraf Mall.They took the score from 55 for four to 108 before Mall steered a widishdelivery from Graeme Smith into the safe hands of Herschelle Gibbs atbackward point. He made a classy 40 in facing 67 balls and hit fourboundaries in rendering fine support to the ever-keen Rhodes.Rhodes mistimed a delivery from Claude Henderson and hit a return catch tothe left-arm spinner.Province were earlier in command and with Roger Telemachus and CharlWilloughby making the early inroads they reduced Natal to 55 to four in the19th over.Rhodes and Mall did their bit to put that right, but then Goolam Bodi wasadjudged run out for 22 and it was 184 for seven. With no third umpire onduty the decision stood although television replays showed Bodi tobe clearly home.The almost forgotten man of the innings was Errol Stewart, who in asupportive role scored 45 not out off 57 balls.After reaching 51 without loss Province stumbled to 52 for three as Jon Kentand Baptiste, who bowled Graeme Smith for one and then trapped HD Ackermanin front with his next ball, rattled the visitors’ top order.Thereafter Johnson lost his momentum and Rhodes took the vital catches todismiss the Zimbabwean and Puttick before the total had reached 100.Half the side was out and the run rate had climbed to a staggering 8.3 perover. From there, only one team was going to win it – and they weren’twearing blue.

I have said for quite some time that the Barbados cricket selectorsneed to be politically correct to get in sync with the several changesin West Indies cricket and for Barbados not to be left behind.How timely then for them to blood a number of youngsters in thetraining squad announced to prepare for Barbados’ first Busta gameagainst Guyana at Kensington Oval.I give them a perfect 10 for their foresight.At this stage it can’t only be about picking a team that must win theBusta Cup or any other cup but ideally we need the type of selectionsthat will present the West Indies selectors with many more optionsthan we are providing at the moment.We are mainly to blame for the fact that Barbados, once looked upon toproduce most West Indies cricketers, struggles these days to get evena handful of players on the regional team.The truth is that our standard at club level may have dropped but Idon’t think it’s any worse than what obtains in the other islands butthe difference is that the other territories recognise the talent ofyoung players and thrust them into the firing line from earlier.Most take a little time to blossom but it’s the long-term investmentthat brings reward to their deliberate gamble.The evidence is commanding: Ramnaresh Sarwan, Marlon Samuels, JermaineLawson are all current West Indies players who got early experience inthe senior after being outstanding at the youth level.On the other hand, we have only been left to ponder about what couldhave been for the likes of Ian Bradshaw and Shirley Clarke only ifthey had been exposed much earlier after graduating from the youthranks.I am not trying to say that we assemble our team with all youngplayers but we have to put the promising ones to learn from theseasoned and experienced crop so that there will be a smoothtransition when age, loss of form or whatever cause may make the olderplayers ineligible.The recent selection of the team epitomises this and it should bearfruit once those responsible for choosing the final eleven are braveenough to take the next logical step by including the youngsters thatqualify by merit and circumstance.The exposure we give them could very well determine if we have achance of increasing our numbers in the West Indies team.And surely the pronouncements of coach Roger Harper that West Indiesneed to find tearaway fast bowlers again to win Test matches make anobvious case for the inclusion of both Tino Best and Fidel Edwards inthe first match against the Guyanese.In fact, I believe that Harper’s statement on the return from the illfated trip to Sri Lanka may have influenced the local selectors toinclude them even if they had second thoughts.If his trip to the Bradman Academy in Australia wasn’t going to makehim ineligible for the first match, I would have recommended theinclusion of 16 year-old Martin Nurse in the starting line up for theGuyana match.The belligerent Dwayne Smith and the nonchalant Kurt Wilkinson shouldalso provide stiff challenges for middle order places although I don’tbelieve that both will start.For now, the selectors have made a step in the right direction byheeding the call to give more youth a chance.Once given the opportunity to play it’s up to them to grab it withboth hands.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsEvin Lewis smashed six fours and six sixes in his 82•Caribbean Premier League

Evin Lewis’ boundary-laden 82 led St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots to the second-largest win in a T20 competition in the West Indies and the largest in CPL history, as Patriots thrashed Jamaica Tallawahs by 119 runs in Basseterre.Lewis and Martin Guptill got stuck in right from the beginning, clobbering three fours and four sixes in the first six overs. Rusty Theron ended Guptill’s 25-ball 35 in the eighth over, but Lewis showed no signs of letting up. He smashed Nikita Miller for two fours in the next over and Andre Russell for two sixes in the following over. The second-wicket stand of 72 in 42 balls between Marlon Samuels and Lewis – in which Samuels contributed 19 – gave the Patriots the ideal platform to reach 200, a feat that had been achieved just twice since the CPL’s inception in 2013. Though Lewis and Samuels were dismissed in consecutive overs, Carlos Brathwaite ensured there wouldn’t be a shift in momentum with an 18-ball 36, which ensured the Patriots got to 199 for 5.In reply Tallawahs lost Chris Gayle, who had scored half-centuries in his last two games, in the second over for 8 and were never in the game after that. A brief 25-run third-wicket stand between Chris Lynn and Mahela Jayawardene was the best partnership of the innings. They lost wickets in clumps and were eventually bowled out for 80 in 16 overs. South African chinaman bowler Tabraiz Shamsi picked up 4 for 23 – his career-best figures – and Sheldon Cottrell took three wickets, those of the top-three batsmen.

Following on from the ICC issuing a set of 39 terms and conditions that the USA Cricket Association must meet in order to be reinstated as an ICC Associate member, ICC chief executive David Richardson recently stated that the USACA may be “rebranded”. It’s another hint that USACA’s time as the ICC’s member governing body in the USA may be coming to an end, at least in its current form.At a press gathering in Ireland during the World Twenty20 Qualifier, Richardson was asked if the ICC views the American Cricket Federation or some other third party group as a viable alternative to USACA in the event that the board is unable to fulfil the stringent reinstatement demands made by the ICC. His response indicated that the board may be reshaped, one way or another.”The bottom line is we have to try to get all of the stakeholders together and take USA cricket forward from there,” Richardson said. “Hopefully, USA Cricket Association in title may be rebranded. Who knows under a new strategy who will be the ones to do that but it will only be possible if they are able to unite the country from a cricket perspective.”The 39 terms and conditions include passing a new constitution with sweeping governance reforms recommended in a 2013 report by TSE Consulting as well as turning over numerous financial records and accounting documents. The USACA has shown reluctance to fulfil these in the past two years. Richardson was optimistic that they will work towards fulfilling the conditions but acknowledged the challenges the organisation would face in doing so.”We are hopeful they will work with us,” Richardson said. “I think on their own, they will find it difficult to meet all of those terms and conditions simply because in my view it’s probably harder to run USA cricket than it is to run Indian cricket. It’s such a vast country. There are so many leagues that are going on. Some are part of USACA, some part of other bodies, some on their own. It’s going to take a major effort to bring them all together. I don’t think the ICC could do it alone and USA cricket on its own will battle.”Expulsion of the USA Cricket Association or US cricket will be no good to anybody. You only have to look at Ireland going back a number of years where they used to have a governance structure where all clubs were voting for their representatives on the board and were going really nowhere. The changes they implemented on the governance side were the catalyst for Ireland taking huge leaps forward as a cricketing nation. They’ve done it. There’s no reason why USA can’t do the same.”Under previous ICC suspensions handed down to USACA in 2005 and 2007, USA had their participation in the 2005 Intercontinental Cup and 2007 World Cricket League Division Three rescinded. As a consequence, USA dropped down to WCL Division Five when they were reinstated in 2008 and have found it difficult to climb back up the Associate ladder ever since. However, USA were allowed to play at the qualifier in Ireland in spite of the suspension and produced impressive wins over Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea. Richardson reiterated the ICC’s on-field support for USA.”The idea is not to prejudice USA cricket in any way if at all possible,” Richardson said. “So hopefully we can work with the USA Cricket Association in trying to remedy those resolutions and recommendations that were made to make sure that the suspension is lifted. There’s a lot of work to be done in that regard but I’m confident that it can be done and the necessary governance changes can be made.”But in the mean time, we don’t want to prejudice cricketers who are playing cricket in the US. Ideally, we keep an eye on how the competition structures are run there, how the trials and teams are selected so that we give every chance for cricketers in the USA to go to these tournaments and hopefully qualify.”Aside from assisting the national team development with projects like the upcoming ICC Americas Cricket Combine next month in Indianapolis, Richardson once again highlighted the ICC’s hopes of tapping into USA’s commercial market potential if the administrative issues can be sorted out.”There is enough potential for the USA to be participating at major global events,” he said. “There’s enough cricketers, there’s enough money in the country and the economy is strong. So we think if correctly administered, there is the potential. It’s not for other member countries to benefit financially from cricket being strong in the US.  Yes, the ICC might benefit from the fact that if USA is at a major global event, then we are hoping to attract sponsors from the part of the world of our events and obviously broadcasters as well.”

Adhering to the demands made by the Ranji Trophy captains and coaches the BCCI has advanced the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy [domestic Twenty20 championship] before the IPL auction and changed the format of both its inter-state limited-overs championships from an intra-zonal-knockout format to a group-knockout league format.Also, the senior domestic season will conclude with the Irani Cup from March 6 to 10, almost a month before last year owing to the World Twenty20, which is set to begin on March 11. The revised domestic schedule will result in a two-month gap between the league and knockout stages of the Ranji Trophy. In addition to that, the Duleep Trophy will not be held in the coming season.Instead of attributing the change in calendar to make the Twenty20 tournament more relevant for IPL franchises and aspiring cricketers, the BCCI stated the revision was made keeping in mind the international calendar. A BCCI release stated, “the schedule has been planned keeping in view the forthcoming Under 19 World Cup and the ICC World T20, and with an intention to complete all our relevant domestic competitions well before the selection for these tournaments, and our players get an opportunity to participate and perform.”In the existing format of the limited-overs tournaments, the teams competed in zonal leagues before proceeding to national knockouts. The BCCI now has decided to divide the 27 participating teams into four groups based on their performance in the previous season. This will mean that teams are challenged to perform against opponents that are not familiar to them.According to a BCCI statement, the Ranji Trophy league stage will be played from October 1 to December 4, followed by the Vijay Hazare Trophy from December 8 to 25.

Major tournaments

Ranji Trophy league: October 1 to December 4
Vijay Hazare Trophy group stage: December 8 to 16
Vijay Hazare Trophy knockouts: December 21 to 25
Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy group stage: January 2 to 10, 2016
Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy super league: January 15 to 20, 2016
Prof DB Deodhar Trophy: January 24 to 28, 2016
Ranji Trophy knockouts: February 3 to 28, 2016
Irani Cup: March 6 to 10, 2016

After the New Year’s break, a first after many years, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will be staged from January 2 to 20. The limited overs’ segment will end with the Deodhar Trophy from January 24 to 28. The Ranji knockouts will then be played from February 3 to 28.The BCCI, meanwhile, has introduced more tournaments for women and Under-19 cricketers. “A new Under-19 Challenger tournament has been introduced, which will feature three teams selected by the junior national selectors and provide yet another opportunity to all the players to perform before the national squad is selected for the Under-19 World Cup, to be played in Bangladesh in January,” the release said.”Two new tournaments are being introduced for women cricketers from this year, an Inter-state and then inter-zonal one-day Under-23 tournament and a three-day senior women inter-zonal tournament, which will provide more opportunities to our women cricketers.”

ScorecardLuke Wood provided some more lower-order resistance but Nottinghamshire had little else to be happy about•Getty Images

Nottinghamshire were not really Championship challengers. Everybody knew that. As the county who still had an arithmetical chance of the title, their role in the grand scheme of things was to allow everyone to pretend for a day or two more. But with Yorkshire still five points short at start of play, it was faintly embarrassing for the title to be settled by 3.06pm on the first day.Yorkshire bundled out Middlesex in 33 overs and eyes turned to Trent Bridge to see if they could prolong the wait by gaining maximum batting points against Durham. Whoops, not from 73 for 7 they couldn’t. That they got to 204 and lasted 54 overs was something of a bonus at which point the title was duly settled when Harry Gurney swung blindly at Graham Onions, the stumps were shaken for the second time that over, and Onions had 5 for 56 to celebrate on his 33rd birthday.”That’s the worst we have played for a long time: we batted very poorly, bowled very poorly and fielded awfully,” Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire’s coach, said. “Rushworth and Onions, on a pitch that did a little bit, would be a challenge for most teams in the country and I thought they exploited what there was in the wicket very well.”By the close, Nottinghamshire’s designs upon runners-up spot had been dented by half-centuries for Mark Stoneman and Scott Borthwick, leaving Durham 30 runs behind with eight wickets standing as they seek their first win in six matches. If Durham here and Yorkshire at Lord’s turn positions of authority into victories that could yet leave Warwickshire with the chance of a top-two finish. The manner in which Yorkshire’s closest challengers succumbed so swiftly on the opening day was slightly disturbing.Paul Collingwood, who has just agreed another year’s contract, as four-day captain once again we can safely assume, inserted Nottinghamshire on what he sensed would be a productive bowling morning. The skies were overcast, and perhaps the Nottinghamshire batsmen were downcast, this game coming less than 48 hours after their last-ball defeat in a memorable Royal London semi-final at the Kia Oval. You don’t get time to lick your wounds in county cricket. You barely get time even to know you are wounded.Peter Moores’ arrival in mid-season as assistant coach has been one of several factors in Nottinghamshire’s transformation from relegation possibles in June to potential runners-up, but even he would have needed a duffle bag of artificial stimulants to persuade Notts that they felt no hurt from another season when they have failed to prove their limited-overs prowess with a trophy.Jake Libby offered the chance of a fresh outlook, a batsman unharmed by events at The Oval. He made an immediate impact at the end of last season with a century on debut against Sussex, ruptured a cruciate ligament in the close season playing for Latrobe in Tasmania, and finally returned against Durham for his first Championship game of 2015. This time there was no achievement to cherish, a second-ball duck registered as he edged Chris Rushworth to third slip where Gordon Muchall, whose contract might not be renewed despite a decent season, held an excellent catch.That set the tone. Brendon Taylor drove to point and Michael Lumb became the first of four top-order victims for wicketkeeper Michael Richardson, both batsmen making only a single. There is always a consolation: at least Taylor could be confident that after a day like this he would not wake up in someone else’s car. Irishman Barry McCarthy picked up a couple of wickets on debut, given his chance because John Hastings is supplementing the Australia one-day squad. As Middlesex collapsed at Lord’s, Notts seemed set upon keeping pace at Trent Bridge.Onions probed in that angular way of his and Rushworth, burly, shaven headed and insistent – and the country’s leading wicket-taker – had the air of a better class of nightclub bouncer: not a man to mess with. Steven Mullaney and Luke Wood rebuilt with a stand of 92, Mullaney playing with sober intent, Wood with the freedom that had brought the summer’s most unexpected Championship hundred, against Sussex at Trent Bridge, but even Wood was careful against Rushworth with conditions in his favour. Thank you, Mr Rushworth, would you mind if I took the liberty of a single? Get in the queue, sonny, and await your turn with everybody else.

ScorecardFile photo – Ravindra Jadeja topped his 91 with eight wickets on the second day•AFP

Ravindra Jadeja’s left-arm spin pushed Tripura towards defeat only on the second day in Rajkot. Jadeja took eight of the 13 Tripura wickets on a day that saw 17 overall. Tripura were bowled out for 103 and were 11 for 3 after being made to follow-on, still trailing by 193 runs.Jadeja rocked Tripura’s top order when he came on as the first-change bowler. Their collapse started when Arindam Das (24), Rakesh Solanki and Kaushal Acharjee were dismissed within eight runs and seven overs to leave them on 61 for 5. Three middle-order batsmen reached double-figures for a brief resistance but Jadeja’s 6 for 27, his 13th five-for in first-class matches, was assisted by Kamlesh Makvana’s offspin (3 for 32) to take the last four wickets for nine runs.Tripura’s second innings didn’t go any better and Jadeja’s figures didn’t get any worse. After Jaydev Unadkat dismissed Subhrajit Roy for a 16-ball duck, Jadeja took two more to finish the day with figures of 31.1-16-31-8. Twelve of the 13 Tripura dismissed batsmen were caught.Earlier, Saurashtra added 37 runs to their overnight 270 for 6 as Sheldon Jackson fell three short of a hundred. Chirag Jani fell on the second ball of the day and left-arm spinner Tushar Saha took the remaining three wickets to finish with 4 for 72, and bowl Saurashtra out for 307.
ScorecardMedium-pacer Diwesh Pathania, playing his maiden first-class match, ended with figures of 13 for 83, as Services closed in on a big victory against Jharkhand in Delhi. Pathania, who collected 6 for 19 in the first innings to bundle Jharkhand out for 45, as he picked up 7 for 64 to run through the visitors even in their second essay, meaning Services needed just 77 for the win.Services, who began the day at 131 for 9, managed to finish with 161 to earn a lead of 116, thanks largely to a 43-run stand for the last wicket between Raushan Raj and Poonam Poonia. Jharkhand’s hopes of an unlikely turnaround were further dented by the loss of key wickets at regular intervals, as Pathania reduced them to 41 for 4. Virat Singh (51) and Saurabh Tiwary (56) led a recovery by hitting fifties and stringing together a 66-run partnership. However, no other batsman barring Jaskaran Singh (30) could produce a vital knock, as Jharkhand were bowled out for 192 in 74 overs.
ScorecardVery little separated Jammu & Kashmir and Kerala on the second day in Srinagar, as the hosts made 330 in the first innings, before VA Jagadeesh and Rohan Prem helped shaved 158 runs off that total.J&K, who began at an overnight score of 247 for 7, were lifted by an eighth-wicket stand worth 120 between Bandeep Singh and Waseem Raza. Bandeep hit 10 fours for his 82, while Raza’s 73 featured eight fours, helping the team past 300. Left-arm spinner Karaparambil Monish was Kerala’s best bowler, collecting 3 for 63.Kerala were dealt an early blow in their reply when Akshay Kodoth was dismissed for 6, but half-centuries from Jagadessh (69) and Prem (67 not out) kick-started the innings. However, the visitors had another setback towards the end of the day, as the pair’s 129-run stand ended when Jagadeesh was run out in the 57th over.
ScorecardOnly 47 overs were possible in Porvorim, where useful lower-order contributions helped Hyderabad extend their overnight 246 for 5 to a first-innings total of 325 before Goa replied with 47 for the loss of opener Amogh Desai. Hyderabad lost B Anirudh and Akash Bhandari in successive overs, having added only 10 runs on the second day, before Mehdi Hassan and Vishal Sharma added 43 for the eighth wicket.The fall of Vishal’s wicket brought to the crease Habeeb Ahmed, who had retired hurt on 5 on the first day. He only added 6 to his score before retiring hurt a second time. Hassan then added 20 with No. 11 Sudeep Tyagi before he was last man out for 38, bowled by the seamer Rituraj Singh who finished with three wickets.

Nathan McCullum, 35, has said that he will retire from international cricket at the end of this New Zealand season to spend more time with his family.”I don’t want to make a big song and dance about it, but it’s time to start thinking about the next phase of my life,” McCullum told the . “I’ve got the sense that the end of this season is the right time to call it quits in international cricket.”The offspinner had a meeting with New Zealand coach Mike Hesson and manager Mike Sandle, and will help mentor young spinners such as Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner over the remainder of his playing career. “We’ve got to get these guys up to speed and I’m looking forward to playing a mentoring role there.”He said he was also keen to be able to devote more attention to his wife and three young children. “It’s been hard work for Vanessa in the past five years,” McCullum said. “She’s spent a lot of it pregnant and has had to do it on her own most of the time. It’s time for me to start investing time in my family and being there for dinners and helping the boys with their homework.”McCullum made his T20I debut in 2007 against South Africa while his ODI debut came in 2009 against Sri Lanka. Till date, he has taken 63 wickets from 84 ODIs at an average of 46.92 and an economy-rate of 5.01. In T20Is, he has 55 wickets from 61 games at an economy of 6.9. He has also struck four fifties and has a batting average of 20.98 in ODIs.McCullum said the 2011 World Cup quarter-final win over South Africa was “special.” He took 3 for 24 from ten overs as New Zealand defended 221 by 49 runs. “To come back and win a match we shouldn’t have won was pretty special.”He had words of praise for his younger brother and captain Brendon. “Every now and then it’s hard case when your little brother is barking orders at you… but he deserves everything he gets in terms of praise. He’s worked his butt off and created this team along with Hess and Mike Sandle.”