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West Ham United are now seriously considering a move for another “outstanding” English ace this month, alongside Toulouse’s Charlie Cresswell.

West Ham keen to strengthen in several key areas

West Ham’s first half of the campaign was nothing short of awful, and having collected just 14 points in 20 Premier League games, they are now four points adrift of 17th-placed Nottingham Forest, with relegation starting to become a major concern.

Consequently, the Hammers have set out to strengthen in a number of key positions this month, and two strikers have already arrived at the London Stadium, with deals for Tati Castellanos and Pablo Felipe being wrapped up.

The manager is certainly happy with the business done so far, saying: “I think we have done well in a transfer window that is very tricky to operate. Pablo was at the Wolves game, now we have Taty and we hope we can have more.”

With Max Kilman receiving heavy criticism in recent weeks, however, being described as “horrendous” by BBC commentator Sam Avery, Nuno is also looking to improve his options at the opposite end of the pitch, and Toulouse star Cresswell is on the shortlist.

The 23-year-old is keen on joining the Irons, which suggests a move could be possible, and another Englishman could be signed alongside the centre-back, with West Ham now seriously considering a move for Chelsea outcast Raheem Sterling.

That is according to a report from TEAMtalk, which states the Hammers are desperate to bring in new signings, given that they have a relegation battle on their hands, and Sterling is among the targets, although there could be competition from Premier League rivals Fulham.

The winger is willing to take his time before deciding on his next club, however, and the fact that he wants a permanent exit from Chelsea could be an obstacle, as Nuno’s side are only considering a loan move as things stand.

"Outstanding" Sterling needs to leave Chelsea this month

The 82-time England international is a part of Chelsea’s ‘bomb squad’, having failed to force his way into former manager Enzo Maresca’s plans, which means he is yet to make an appearance in any competition this season.

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Having only turned 31 back in December, however, the forward could still have a good few years left before he needs to start thinking about retirement, which means he needs to leave the Blues this month for the good of his career.

Related Noble's a fan: West Ham now showing keen interest in "explosive midfielder"

The Hammers are looking to sign an “explosive midfielder”

Posts ByDominic Lund

Should the Jamaica-born attacker be able to rediscover his previous form, he may have the quality to help propel West Ham to safety, having amassed 123 goals and 75 assists in 396 Premier League games, across what has been a fantastic career.

Lauded as “absolutely outstanding” by former Arsenal man Paul Merson during his time with Chelsea, Sterling has shown he is a top player on his day, so he should seek a move elsewhere this month, although that would likely mean accepting a cut to his astronomical £325k-a-week wages.

Manchester United are keen to establish themselves again in the European places and could now look to bring a goalscoring midfielder to Old Trafford.

Man Utd set their stall out for the January transfer window

Despite managing to get themselves over the line against Newcastle United, Manchester United’s midfield is threadbare amid injuries to Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo.

Jack Fletcher was once again entrusted to shore up the engine room amid a barrage of second-half attempts from Newcastle United, albeit January can’t come soon enough for the Red Devils, who could also deplete themselves further by selling Manuel Ugarte.

Becoming a maligned figure among the support, the Uruguay international may soon see his time at Old Trafford come to an end, meaning that new arrivals in the middle of the park become even more of a necessity for Amorim to pull off.

Nottingham Forest and England star Elliot Anderson is at the top of Manchester United’s list to bring some steel to the midfield picture. However, Atletico Madrid man Conor Gallagher has been earmarked as a possible signing if Ugarte leaves.

Casemiro’s minutes need to be managed amid injury concerns, while Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo’s involvement at the African Cup of Nations has also led to Amorim juggling his pack across other positions.

Truthfully, most Premier League clubs find themselves struggling for depth due to fitness issues and absences. However, the Red Devils have done a decent job of navigating a notoriously tricky part of the campaign.

Amorim will want to try and take his side to the next level, using January as a vehicle to do so, and may now be set to try and seal an ambitious deal involving a well-known name at Old Trafford.

Man Utd dreaming of Scott McTominay return

According to CaughtOffside, Manchester United are dreaming of bringing Scott McTominay back to Old Trafford, and Napoli may be willing to sell the Scotland international should an extraordinary offer come to fruition from any interested suitors.

Valued at around £60 million, he is more likely to be sold in the summer after a return of five goals and four assists in 29 appearances this campaign.

Related Man Utd now leading race for £39m rising star with INEOS scouts blown away

The Red Devils are keen to beat their Premier League rivals to secure another talented option to aid their forward line.

Posts BySean Markus Clifford

McTominay was a candidate for the 2025 Ballon d’Or award and placed 18th when the ceremony took place after a stellar year for club and country, where he also played a leading role in Scotland reaching their first World Cup finals since 1998.

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In light of his exploits, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and Arsenal are also courting the 29-year-old, and Manchester United are now ready to enter the running as they regret offloading him to Napoli back in 2024.

Former United boss Jose Mourinho has been full of praise for the Scot’s rise at in Naples: “When I think of Scotland, I think of my boy, Scott McTominay.

“For me he’s one of the best midfielders in Europe. That kid is fantastic and I’m so proud of his career because I got him when he was 18 when nobody at Manchester United believed he could be the player he is.”

ScorecardHe glaring sun bore down on the Trinidad and Tobago fielders at Sabina Park, Jamaica, in the first session of the second day of the Carib Challenge final. So did the weight of a substantial 172-run first innings deficit against the Jamaicans, built on the back of an inspired knock of 116 from Brendan Nash, his second for Jamaica, and second versus T&T this season.At the close, T&T were trying to make inroads into a challenging deficit, very aware that they must first overhaul a daunting lead before they can think about setting Jamaica a competitive fourth innings target. Openers Daren Ganga and Adrian Barath set about on a rescue mission and, by the close, had given T&T a good start of 43 without loss, a three-wicket improvement over Thursday’s first session. They might have had something in the vicinity of 20 more runs, but the Sabina Park outfield, which has seen much better days, was effective in slowing up the ball towards the boundary.Their reply was not without blemish, though, as both batsmen were let off, Ganga dropped by Nash in slip on eight and Barath put down by Jamaica’s first day hero, left arm spinner Nikita Miller, on 14.What made Nash’s knock-he was unbeaten overnight on 56-special in Jamaica’s first innings was not dazzling strokeplay, but disciplined application at a time when Jamaica were 29 for three on the first day. Then he featured in a partnership of 65 with Brendan Parchment, before batting throughout the morning session to put on 106 with Jamaican captain Tamar Lambert-who scored an even 50-raising a well-deserved century in the process.With that batting effort handing Jamaica a handsome advantage, it will be an uphill task for T&T’s batsmen to get them back on track. They did get that slim chance, though, thanks to pacers Mervyn Dillon, Ravi Rampaul and Richard Kelly, who prised out four of Jamaica’s last six wickets in the space of 93 runs just after Nash had brought up his fifth first-class ton.Lendl Simmons was one bright spark for T&T behind the stumps replacing Denesh Ramdin, who did not return to the field yesterday after suffering heavy bruising and swelling around his right eye. He was hit by a Daren Powell bouncer while batting on the opening morning. Simmons snapped up whatever came his way, holding onto four catches provided by the Jamaicans, including the prize scalp of Nash, and wicket-keeper Carlton Baugh Jr.The other good news for T&T w as that Ramdin seemed to be okay yesterday evening, with just a swollen eye, and even managed to toss up a few balls to number three batsman Darren Bravo during some batting practice after play.In Jamaica’s innings, Nash and Lambert were content to wait patiently for T&T off-spinner Amit Jaggernauth to make the odd mistake. They preferred the pace offered by Rampaul and Dillon, though, and scored easily. Even when the runs dried up, with the spin duo of Jaggernauth and chinaman bowler Dave Mohammed operating in tandem, they still played within themselves, picking up the odd boundary in the process.The pudgy Jamaican skipper was no slouch between the wickets, running all but four of his runs, while Nash was severe on anything just outside off stump and left alone anything that bounced, or was fairly wide.At the 200-run mark, Lambert, who had been living a charmed life in the latter part of his innings, found T&T skipper Daren Ganga, who took a brilliant right-handed catch just off the ground at wide mid on off Dillon. Just 31 runs later it was Baugh heading back to pavilion for 17, top-edging Rampaul behind to Simmons.Jerome Taylor came and played an enterprising unbeaten cameo of 27 (four fours, 29 balls), drilling boundaries off Rampaul and Kelly, but lost the rest of the Jamaica tail, Dillon removing Powell (14) caught Mohammed at backward point, in between Kelly’s caught behind dismissals of Nikita Miller (11) and Odean Brown (4). Once T&T had mopped up the Jamaican tail-not without resistance-it was time to attempt some repair work after their first innings collapse.The question is, with the pitch more conducive to stroke play than on the first morning, can their batting improve well enough to allow them to challenge Jamaica?

	Kumar Sangakkara’s purple patch continued as carved out the season’s highest score © AFP

Sri Lanka’s top-order batsmen, blamed for the team’s dismal showing in the recently-concluded Commonwealth Bank Series, showed outstanding form ahead of their tour of the Caribbean in the Premier League competition matches played over the weekend.Leading the run parade was top-ranked Test batsman Kumar Sangakkara who carved out the season’s highest score of 285 for Nondescripts against Moors at Maitland Place. Sangakkara tore into the Moors bowling which comprised two bowlers in the national squad for the series against West Indies – Chanaka Welegedara and Rangana Herath – hitting 31 fours and three sixes in his 292-ball innings. His knock improved on team-mate Chanaka Wijesinghe’s 250 made against Tamil Union which had stood as the season’s highest since January. Thanks to Sangakkara’s exploits Nondescripts recorded their second win of the season beating Moors by ten wickets. Despite their second defeat of the season, Moors held onto second place.Tillakaratne Dilshan was the other in-form Sri Lanka batsman, stroking a run-a-ball 121 featuring nine fours and six sixes for Bloomfield in their drawn encounter against Tamil Union.Pace-setters Sinhalese were the only other club from Tier A to record a win on a rain-affected weekend. They trounced Chilaw Marians by eight wickets at the R Premadasa Stadium, their fifth win of the season to extend their lead at the top to 28 points. Left-arm fast bowler Thilan Thushara was Sinhalese’s match-winner with a haul of ten wickets – a performance that should give him a lot of confidence for the Caribbean tour.Two Test discards performed outstandingly for Ragama. Indika de Saram stroked a stylish 188 off 152 balls (19 fours, 12 sixes) and legspinner Malinga Bandara captured nine wickets in the match as Ragama forced Badureliya to follow-on, but had to be satisfied with a draw.Defending champions Colombo Cricket Club lost further ground to leaders Sinhalese when they were held to a draw by Colts despite a long-overdue century from Sri Lanka one-day batsman Chamara Kapugedera. Colombo remained in third slot just ahead.Army took another step towards winning Tier B, which would assure them of a promotion to the elite Tier A next season, when they beat Police by six wickets, the match ending inside two days. It was their seventh win in as many matches. Army’s spinner Ajantha Mendis picked up eight wickets in the match to become the first bowler this season to take 50 wickets.Player of the Week: Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara is reaping the benefits of the hard work that he’s put in at practice over the years. There was no cricketer who worked harder at his game than Aravinda de Silva when he was representing Nondescripts and Sri Lanka. Sangakkara seems to have taken over that mantle from the great man and last weekend carried the brilliant form he showed in Australia into the domestic scene by compiling the highest score of the season – 285 for Nondescripts against Moors.Success for Sangakkara has not come overnight. He has worked hard for it. One of his greatest attributes is that he works hard at practice to perfect every shot in the book.Sangakkara admitted that under coaches Tom Moody and Trevor Penney, and John Dyson and Shane Duff before them he had got a good understanding of what his strengths were, and how he could get better. “Moody and Penney always pushed us out of our comfort zone, and that made me want to raise my game,” said Sangakkara.”Penney would talk to me about practising every single shot I could possibly play so that I could use them in a game and have options. Everything from a forward defensive to a lofted drive to a sweep to a reverse-sweep was practised in the years leading up to this patch.”Not satisfied with working on his batting alone, Sangakkara has also talked to people like Sandy Gordon, the sports psychologist, on how to build an innings and improve his game.The secret to Sangakkara’s batting is he tries to keep everything as simple as possible. “I try and watch the ball and I try and make sure I am balanced. Those are the two most important things for me. Everything else I have is usually covered through practice.”

Tier A

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	Draw	Aban	Pts
Sinhalese	6	5	0	0	1	0	98.795
Moors	6	4	2	0	0	0	70.715
Col CC	6	3	1	0	2	0	68.695
Nondescripts	6	2	1	0	3	0	59.16
Tamil Union	6	2	2	0	2	0	55.195
Chilaw	6	2	4	0	0	0	50.13
Badureliya	6	2	3	0	1	0	47.305
Colts	6	2	3	0	1	0	46.95
Bloomfield	6	1	4	0	1	0	44.525
Ragama	6	1	4	0	1	0	43.185

Tier B

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	Draw	Aban	Pts
Sri Lanka Army	7	7	0	0	0	0	112.195
Panadura	7	3	0	0	4	0	97.36
Saracens	7	2	2	0	3	0	64.79
Singha SC	7	2	2	0	3	0	62.11
Lankan CC	7	1	3	0	3	0	54.15
SL Air SC	7	1	2	0	4	0	53.11
Sebast CAC	7	1	3	0	3	0	45.815
Burgher	7	1	4	0	2	0	45.44
Moratuwa	7	0	1	0	6	0	40.42
Police SC	7	1	2	0	4	0	38.85

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
It might be tempting to call it one of the biggest upsets, but the manner in which Bangladesh pulled the rug from under India’s feet at Port-of-Spain, for their third win in World Cup games, came with a touch of the inevitable. Mashrafe Mortaza inspired a clockwork bowling effort, helped largely by a slew of sloppy strokes, before three teenagers displayed confidence, verve and composure beyond their years to turn a tricky chase into a stroll, winning by five wickets.To lay the entire blame on Rahul Dravid, for choosing to bat first on a juicy pitch, will be foolhardy. India were confronted by an efficient bowling attack and crumbled, first against Mortaza and then against a group of zippy left-arm spinners. Sourav Ganguly’s half-century lent some sort of respectability but during the run-chase, India were upstaged by a trio that has a combined experience of 35 games and an average age of 18.Tamim Iqbal, the youngest member of the side and in just his fifth one-dayer, led the charge of the youth brigade with an audacious 53-ball 51, oozing confidence from every pore and charging the fast bowlers with gusto. What followed was a clinical finish, led by Saqibul Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim, two batsmen widely touted as the stars of the next generation. Their 84-run stand – laced with cool and class – clinched the victory. With nine deliveries left, Mushfiqur caressed Munaf Patel through the covers to trigger off joyous celebrations at the Queens Park Oval.Tamim’s approach encapsulated Bangladesh’s poise. He copped a vicious blow on the neck, when he attempted to take on Zaheer Khan’s shorter one, but responded with a brand of rapacious strokes straight out of the Sanath Jayasuriya textbook. The shot of the day, if not the shot of the tournament so far, came in the 11th over, when he charged down the track to Zaheer and blitzed an almighty pull way over midwicket. The temerity behind the stroke symbolised Bangladesh’s day.India’s toothless bowling attack, barring a good opening spell from Munaf, was accompanied by some sloppy fielding – dropping two sitters and two half-chances. It was a stark contrast to Bangladesh’s effort on the field, when they pounced and dived around like panthers on a prowl. Tamim’s dismissal, followed by Aftab Ahmed’s wicket soon after, reduced Bangladesh to 79 for 3 but Bangladesh unleashed a couple of relative unknowns who arrived on the biggest stage and came into their own.Mashrafe Mortaza, who got the ball to seam consistently and hit the high 130s repeatedly, took 4 for 38 to restrict India to 191•AFP

Mushfiqur, the 18-year-old wicketkeeper selected over the experienced Khaled Mashud, displayed tremendous composure, during his 107-ball 56. It was clear that his primary role was to blunt the new-ball threat and he went about his task in an accomplished manner. There were some wonderful moments of dash as well – a couple of sixes off the spinners, lofting straight with a neat swing of the bat, showed his aggressive capabilities – but the signature moments were when he pierced the gaps and hustled the quick singles.Saqibul opened out a bit more freely – pinging the square boundary with some electric drives – and reeled off a couple of gorgeous straight hits of Munaf in his second spell. A half-century capped off a fine allround performance, after he’d done his bit with his left-arm spinners earlier in the day. He wasn’t rewarded with a wicket but he maintained the pressure at one end as Mohammad Rafique and Abdur Razzak, the other two left-arm menaces, snared six victims between them.It was Mortaza, though, who was at the heart of the impressive performance. He hit the straps straight away, extracting considerable movement from the pitch and skidding it through at around 130 kph. He removed Virender Sehwag in his second over, jagging one back from outside off and forcing him to play on, before gobbling up a reckless Robin Uthappa. He returned for his second spell, nailed a wicket off the first ball – Ajit Agarkar edging limply to the wicketkeeper – and finished it with the wicket of Munaf in the final over. It was a Man-of-the-Match winning performance as he punished India for their blasé approach.The spinners complemented him beautifully. Razzak began the choke with a peach of an arm-ball to get rid of Sachin Tendulkar – foxing him with the straighter one and seeing the ball deflect off the inside edge and pad before bobbing up for the wicketkeeper. Rafique picked up the baton with a characteristically efficient spell. He teased out Dravid with a straighter one that was crashing into leg, tempted Ganguly into the big shot, and out-thought Mahendra Singh Dhoni with a wide delivery [the batsman was made to look foolish when he slashed straight to short third man].India’s most promising moments of the day arrived when Ganguly and Yuvraj got them out of trouble. Ganguly’s was a cautious effort, managing only four fours in a 129-ball knock, but he had no other option than to drop anchor. This was his fourth half-century against Bangladesh in as many games and he appeared more comfortable against the left-arm spinners than the rest. Yuvraj’s 47 was a more aggressive knock, cracking three fours and a six, but he fell just when there was a chance to step it up. It pretty much summed up the day – India missing out on the openings and Bangladesh seizing the moments brilliantly.

Yorkshire often expect a frosty reception at Old Trafford but the scene that greeted the players on Monday was taking it to the extreme. The one-day friendly, if a match between these two teams can ever be classed as such, was delayed for 45 minutes as the ground staff hacked mountains of ice off the covers.Despite the chilly start, a decent crowd was able to watch a full match although the temperature never threatened to hit double figures despite wall-to-wall sunshine. Yorkshire warmed the hearts of their supporters, completing a 24-run win despite the match being their first serious cricket of the season.Lancashire have spent 10 days in St. Kitts, but laboured with the bat after restricting Yorkshire to 200 for 8. The top order struggled to find the boundary as Yorkshire’s young attack kept control. Stuart Law’s wicket – brilliantly caught at second slip by a flying Matthew Wood – put Yorkshire in command and they didn’t let up. Andrew Crook and Dominic Cork struck combative forties, but they had been left too much to do.The second of two matches, scheduled for today, fell victim to more seasonal conditions as heavy overnight and morning rain led to it being abandoned by 10am. Lancashire start their Championship season against Hampshire, at Old Trafford, on April 18, and Yorkshire a day later against the defending champions, Nottinghamshire.

No stone was left unturned when the Delhi police went about their frisking duties© AFP

Musharraf’s handshake
Musharraf, bhai-bhai and corny graphics of superimposed flags have been all over the telly. We hear that Musharraf will watch the game for little more than an hour before talking shop with Manmohan Singh. Then someone says no, it’s two hours. Another says it’s 45 minutes. We give up guessing.Finally the day arrives. There are men with machine guns everywhere. They are just outside the boundary, watching the game with a passing interest in security. A man from the prime minister’s security office turns up to film the press box. Then, at ten to nine, the teams line up before the pavilion in one-day garb. The two heads of state emerge, hustled by bodyguards in dark suits. Both leaders give us their best smile and wave at us before meeting the teams. Manmohan greets the Pakistan team before Musharraf, who touches every Pakistan player at the back of the head and the shoulder. Then Musharraf says hello to the Indians and while shaking hands he holds their elbow. We think Bill Clinton mentioned he did that to express personal warmth to unfamiliar people.Then they turn to the crowds and wave happily. Such happy waves! Such dazzling smiles! They all but somersault and do a lap of honour.Like any other ground
One enters the Ferozshah Kotla imagining skeletal stands and workmen applying one last dab of paint before the spectators pour in. Gruesome images and news anchors on 24-hour news channels in the weeks preceding the game had sadistically emphasised that the stadium would be far from complete on April 17. Upon entering it we realise they were partially correct. Yes, the ground was not ready, but no, it did not appear as if the game would be affected in any way by it.What does the stadium look like? Well, the dirt has been swept under a rug. Blue cloth and advertisements hide the construction work. There are incomplete pillars wrapped by the cloth, but if you didn’t know any better, you’d have thought it was installation art: bamboo poles poke out from beneath the cloth. Three floors above the dressing-room is a packed enclosure missing a wall.Heat stroke, danger to life and advertising everywhere. This is like any other ground in India.The heavy burden of protection
With the visit and the threats by the Shiv Sena the security turn out is immense. There is the rapid-action force that mans the gates, the ordinary cops with batons that, thankfully, they aren’t using, as well as other stern-looking men armed with an assortment of weapons. They are everywhere, especially up your nose.”Pass by this bar,” shouts one cop to a crushing wave of fans attempting to enter the ground. The bar is held horizontally at a height, no, depth of about three-and-a half feet. So you have the sight of face-painted limbo dancers. Once you are past, hands of security men reach out to grab your press pass, checking its authenticity. Then come the gates, swarming with security and framed by metal detectors. A beep sounds as you walk through it. A lengthy check entails, an embarrassing pat-down follows.”Frisk everybody thoroughly, all up and down,” says a senior policeman to no one in particular. This means heavier pats from heavy-handed friskers.In view of such security, what chance does any one with evil intent have of entering the ground with, say, a banned device? “I could have brought anything in here, man,” a cheery television news reporter professes in the press box. “Those metal detectors? I just walked around them. Here, you can do anything.”A while later, after failed attempts to bring water bottles into the press box – “Sorry, water bottles are not allowed” – the cheery TV reporter returns with bottles of much needed liquid. “See? I just walked in through an entrance with no security. Boss, anything’s possible in Delhi.”American intervention
Interesting. There are Indian flags of all lengths and sizes, and there is a flutter of Pakistan green when a boundary is hit. And then there is a solitary American flag, waved wildly during a drinks break.

The Otago Cricket Association (OCA) has denied claims that security was heavy-handed during Wednesday’s one-dayer between New Zealand and South Africa at Dunedin. The problems arose with the way that the security guards dealt with people bringing alcohol into the ground.”There always seem to be some complaints but, overall, we thought security did an excellent job,” Graham Elliot, president of the OCA, told reporters. “But we had a blanket rule in place and we also advertised that no liquids would be allowed into the game.”I understand there were several instances where security were a bit heavy-handed. But it is very difficult when you’ve got this large number of security staff. You try to give people discretion, but it is sometimes difficult to get common sense.”The Otago Daily Times carried reports from disgruntled spectators. “I stood and watched for a while and it seemed to me, every time someone was trying to have a bit of fun, they stifled it,” one said. “The guy with a whistle who tried to get a Mexican wave going was told to settle down; I mean, what harm is that doing?”Another said he was told he could not enter the ground unless he either drank his thermos flask of milky coffee first or tipped it out, because of the ban on liquids. The man said he had gone home instead.Elliott said that he was unaware of these instances, although he revealed that student ingenuity was alive and well. One group arrived at the game with hollow plastic cricket bats filled with alcohol.Elliott admitted that he was disappointed with the small crowd, but inisisted that Carisbrook had underlined its claim to be a major venue. “It really proved again what a top-class cricket facility we have,” he said. “The New Zealand team love playing here. I think their success here really gives them a psychological edge.”

Sri Lanka’s team management has reacted furiously to match fixing suspicionsfollowing their shock defeat to Kenya.A news wire report had earlier claimed the sport’s Ant-Corruption Unit (ACU)was scrutinising the game closely.The report said that a special request had been made for a videotape,although the ICC later said this was simply normal procedure.”It’s an insult to this side,” said Sri Lankan manager Ajit Jayasekera.”The reason we lost was because we batted badly. It was a gettable total,and the batting let the side down.”We vehemently deny this allegation. Just because we lost the match to ateam like Kenya it is disgusting to be accused of match fixing. I am veryannoyed.”Kenya Cricket Association chairman Jimmy Rayani was also disappointed by theallegations.”What is the point of having a World Cup if everybody knows the results ofall the games?” he said.”Don’t insult us every time we beat a big team.”An ICC spokesman confirmed on Wednesday that the ACU had spoken to teamrepresentatives and reassure them that normal procedures were beingfollowed.

Following the four day game against The Australians at Taunton Somerset Chief Executive Peter Anderson was in bouyant mood.He told me: “from a cricketing point of view it was a great success. It was a pleasure to watch the Australians play. Their batsmen were an object lesson for our young cricketers to learn from and played with a straight bat. They were very athletic in the field, and their bowlers were very disciplined, and bowled to their field.”With regard to the finances of the situation he told me “over the course of the four days 15,000 people came to watch and we grossed £100,000, so financially the match was a success for the club.”Regarding the two Pakistan Test players who guested for the county he said “all of our members know that the bottom line for the club is to retain our first division status in the County Championship and the Norwich Union National League, and to do this we have to rest key players for crucial matches on the run in at the end of the season. We introduced the two Pakistan players to add interest to the fixture.”