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Alan Hutton has offered his thoughts on Leon King’s chances of featuring for Rangers in the Europa League… 

What’s the talk?

Former Rangers defender Alan Hutton has suggested that Leon King could be given a chance to impress in the Europa League this season.

When asked about the opportunities King could be handed due to the registration rules in European competitions, he told Football Insider:

“Yes, I can see it happening. I think back to my time when I was playing – you obviously knew of these rules.

“You have to have X amount of young players on the bench, for example.

“I know some people don’t like these rules but as a young player breaking through, it gives you that opportunity.

“You get to see the surroundings and feel what it’s all about – with the atmosphere.

“It stands you in good stead for the future.

“As well as that, you are there to be called upon if something happens to the first-choice players. The manager obviously trusts these guys.”

Key problem

The emergence of King as a first-team option could solve a key problem Rangers are facing ahead of their clash with Lyon on Thursday. Hutton believes that Gerrard trusts his young players and this could be the perfect opportunity to throw him into the deep end to see if he can swim.

Connor Goldson and Filip Helander both look set to miss out through self-isolation and injury respectively, whilst Jack Simpson was not named in the Europa League squad. This leaves Leon Balogun, who has also covered at right-back this season, as Gerrard’s only senior centre-back option for the clash with Lyon.

That means King, who former Rangers player Mark Hateley said is “going to be massive”, could partner Balogun at the back against the Ligue 1 side. He has already played two senior games for Rangers so it would not be his first foray into senior action, although it would still be a huge call for Gerrard to trust him to perform against a top side in a European competition.

His only other option is to use another player out of position and that could cause problems as they would not be used to playing at centre-back. Whereas King has come up through the academy as a centre-back and will know what is being asked of him in that position.

This is why Gerrard must unleash him against Lyon alongside Balogun this Thursday and see if he is capable of making the step up. Hopefully, Goldson will then be available after returning from self-isolation and King can continue his development in the reserves whilst providing back-up to the first-team. He could solve a key problem in the short-term and it would be great to see an academy product come in and do a job, especially in Europe.

AND in other news, Rangers transfer claim made on “perfect” £6.2k-p/w beast, it’ll leave fans delighted…

Many Newcastle United fans have been left slamming Jarred Gillett in the first half of their game away at Watford on Saturday afternoon.

The Australian referee decided to give Javier Manquillo a yellow card for a foul on Danny Rose in the 18th minute of the match, and a lot of Magpies thought that it should not have even been a foul, let alone a booking.

Gillett has made history in today’s fixture by being the first ref from outside of the UK and Ireland to have refereed a game in the Premier League, after spending two years officiating in the EFL Championship, and he also spent nine years in the Australian top flight.

However, several members of the Toon Army have been unhappy with his performance so far, and will want more decisions to go their way in the second half against the Hornets.

Newcastle fans on Gillett

These NUFC supporters were left slamming Gillett on Twitter after his first-half performance:

“Ref’s all over the place.”

Credit: @Fcb1892

“Ref having a nightmare”

Credit: @cody91287149

“Referee clearly trying to make a name for himself here”

Credit: @mickycantwell

“Send him back to Aus”

Credit: @GeordieKyle

“This ref is card happy mind.”

Credit: @Mr_JDAW

“What a joke”

Credit: @halligan_ethan

In other news, find out what double injury blow Newcastle have suffered here!

Michael Vaughan and Steve Harmison have both been left out of England’s pre-Ashes camp, Adil Rashid gets the nod

Cricinfo staff22-Jun-2009Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, and Steve Harmison have both been left out of England’s pre-Ashes camp ahead of the much-anticipated series against Australia which begins later this month, but England named three spinners, including Adil Rashid, as the first Test at Cardiff is expected to offer turn.The pre-Ashes camp squad of 16 includes Ian Bell, who was dropped following the defeat to West Indies at Sabina Park in the winter, along with Monty Panesar, Rashid, Andrew Flintoff and Tim Bresnan. Panesar has struggled for form this summer, turning in a worryingly poor performance in Cardiff last week when he took 2 for 149 from 44 overs, but Rashid impressed for England during their World Twenty20 campaign.Harmison has had a productive couple of weeks in county cricket following his return from shin problems. In the recent Championship match against Warwickshire, at Edgbaston, he took 5 for 44 on a flat surface and gave the batsmen a real working over to make it 16 wickets in two games. Instead, the selectors have gone for Graham Onions, Tim Bresnan and Ryan Sidebottom as back-up to James Anderson and Stuart Broad, the first-choice seamers. Harmison was, however, selected for the England Lions squad to face Australia on July 1.”The pre-Ashes camp is designed to give Andy Flower and the rest of the management team an opportunity to meet with the players ahead of their series and begin their preparations in earnest,” Geoff Miller, the national selector, said. “We will continue to consider players outside the 16 chosen for the camp and will closely monitor performances in domestic cricket as the international season progresses. The door has not been closed on any player at this stage.”There was no place for James Foster, whose two deft stumpings during England’s World Twenty20 campaign reminded everyone of his class behind the stumps. That mantle falls on the incumbent, Matt Prior, who has shown impressive consistency with the bat for England, even if he may not be quite the same standard of wicketkeeper as Foster. Prior is expected to bat at No. 6, and slotting in behind him will be Flintoff, who has completed two Championship matches for Lancashire where he has collected wickets and scored a half-century since returning from surgery.Vaughan, who led England to regain the Ashes in 2005, has made only 159 runs at 19.88 for Yorkshire this season and, though he has made clear his intention to resume his international career, it seems increasingly unlikely unless, as Miller said, he scores a mountain of runs.”Michael Vaughan will, of course, be disappointed not to have been included,” Miller said. “But I met with Michael recently and he understands that he needs to make runs consistently in county cricket if he is to force his way back into the squad.”We are pleased to welcome Andrew Flintoff and Ryan Sidebottom back to the Test squad after recovering from injury and Adil Rashid’s inclusion reflects our view that he is maturing all the time as a cricketer and has the potential to develop still further.”An England XI are due to play a three-day match against Warwickshire on July 1, but the side selected for that game may still change for the first Ashes Test.”We have chosen two spinners in our side to face Warwickshire, but this does not necessarily mean that we will opt for the same balance in our bowling attack in the 1st Ashes Test,” Miller said. “An extra pace bowler still remains an option for our starting line-up at Cardiff.”The England Lions squad, meanwhile, is led by Ian Bell, who hasn’t played for England since their defeat to West Indies at Sabina Park in the winter. The squad’s pace attack features Harmison along with Sajid Mahmood, who has shown excellent pace for Lancashire this season, along with Graham Onions. The young Worcestershire wicketkeeper Steven Davies takes the gloves while there were places for Eoin Morgan, Vikram Solanki and Kent’s Joe Denly.The decision to appoint Bell captain is noteworthy. After he was told to “show more hunger” by Miller at the start of the season, he has since gone on to score 477 runs at 79.50 in the Championship, and his elevation to captaincy reflects the selectors’ desire to hand him greater responsibility if he is to force his way back into the England team.”In choosing the two teams for the matches at Edgbaston and Worcester, we were also mindful of the need to field a very strong England Lions side against Australia and the inclusion of four bowlers with Test match experience and Ian Bell as captain demonstrates this,” Miller said. “We are keen to make the match at Worcester a tough one for Australia and plan to give all the players in the Lions team the maximum opportunity to press their case for selection.”The squad announcement for the first Ashes Test will be named on July 6, 24 hours later than originally planned, and just two days before the series gets underway.England Test squad for pre-Ashes camp
Andrew Strauss (capt), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Graham Onions, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Adil Rashid, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme SwannEngland XI to face Warwickshire
Andrew Strauss (capt), James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Ravi Bopara, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior (wk), Graeme SwannEngland Lions squad to face Australia
Ian Bell (capt), Tim Bresnan, Joe Denly, Steven Davies (wk), Steve Harmison, Sajid Mahmood, Stephen Moore, Eoin Morgan, Graham Onions, Adil Rashid, Vikram Solanki

The Barmy Army, who usually travel to England matches by the hundreds, have confirmed that just three of their loyal fans will be cheering on England in next week’s Stanford 20/20 for 20 in Antigua

Cricinfo staff16-Oct-2008
Less an army, more a trio © Getty Images
The Barmy Army, who usually shadow England on tour by the hundreds, have confirmed that just three of their loyal fans will be cheering on England in next week’s Stanford 20/20 for 20 in Antigua.The matches culminate in a winner-takes-all cash cow which promises to net the victors US$20 million (£11.5 million), by far the biggest prize in the history of the game. But the Barmy Army – famed for their unquenchable optimism for England, particularly when results have been scarce – have turned their backs on the tournament.”As far as we know, only three people are going who we’d term Barmy Army,” Paul Winslow, a spokesman for the organisation, told . “It’s not a huge attraction for the Barmy Army for several reasons; the main one being that we are Test match purists. Although we will watch Twenty20 cricket, going out of our way to watch it is not something many people are interested in.”It was very short notice and for most people their attentions were already focused on the [England tour to the] Caribbean next year and obviously we have a tour of India this year. The amount of money people have is finite and those two tours had been earmarked already, especially the West Indies one as that is a really popular Barmy Army tour.”Winslow believed people would rather spend money going to the West Indies for a Test match rather than a Twenty20 match. “I think, personally, that maybe they are over-egging it a bit. Twenty20 competitions seem to be here there and everywhere. The more you have, the more saturated they become.”The ironic thing about the Barmy Army is that we have a reputation of being loud at cricket matches and people assume that we like Twenty20 games, whereas most of us actually actively dislike it because we favour Test cricket.”

Basnahira North win the final of the 2008-09 Inter-Provincial tournament

Sa'adi Thawfeeq25-Mar-2009In-form batsman Angelo Mathews and allrounder Muthumudalige Pushpakumara fashioned a comprehensive three-day victory for Basnahira North in the four-day final against Wayamba played at the R Premadasa Stadium.The performances of these two promising stars proved too much for Wayamba, who managed modest totals of 223 and 181 to hand Basnahira North a comfortable ten-wicket win shortly before tea on the third day.Wayamba’s decision to bat first didn’t work out the way they figured as they lost their first six wickets for 139 and only a plucky knock of 70 off 102 balls by the legspinner Kaushal Lokuarachchi lifted them to 223. The right-arm fast bowler Daminda Darshanpriya did most of the damage, taking five wickets.Basnahira North also began badly, ending the first day at 93 for 4, which soon became 96 for 5 when Gayan Wijekoon was dismissed cheaply in the second over the following morning. But Mathews, who had watched the collapse from the other end, found a useful partner in Pushpakumara. The pair went on to resurrect the innings with a magnificent partnership of 185 for the sixth wicket that eventually turned out to be a match-winning one. Basnahira North recovered to post a total of 389, giving them a first-innings lead of 166.Mathews once again displayed his true potential, scoring his third century of the tournament in five matches (152 of 275 balls) and Pushpakumara complimented him with 103 off 146 balls.Wayamba responded well to the challenge in their second innings when the openers Michael Vandort and Mahela Udawatte posted a stand of 66. But once the Mathews-Pushpakumara combination had initiated the breakthrough – sending back Udawatte – Wayamba’s innings slumped and lasted just 58 overs. Pushpakumara followed his fine century by picking up four wickets with his off breaks – three of them from the top order – to round off an excellent match.While Mathews finished as the top run-getter in the tournament with 746 runs at 93.25, Pushpakumara ended up as the leading wicket-taker with 21 wickets (avg. 22.38) to go with his contribution of 316 runs (avg. 52.66) with the bat.

Celtic goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas doesn’t want to return to Greece, according to journalist Giannis Chorianopoulos. 

The Lowdown: Barkas’ summer

Barkas who cost the Hoops £4.5m last summer, made a costly mistake against FC Midtjylland in the first leg of Celtic’s Champions League qualifier and hasn’t featured since.

Celtic have signed Joe Hart this summer from Tottenham and were reportedly happy to let Barkas depart either on loan or in a permanent deal.

However, it seems as if the player doesn’t fancy leaving the club late in the window.

The Latest: Chorianopoulos post

Greek reporter Chorianopoulos was asked by @aboutceltic for an update over a possible exit regarding Barkas late on Monday evening.

He replied, admitting the goalkeeper’s agents have worked for an offer with PAOK interested. However, Barkas doesn’t want to return to Greece at this moment in time, according to Chorianopoulos.

“No sign at the moment that Barkas will leave Celtic. Even though his agents worked for an offer, at the moment nothing concrete. PAOK were interested, but Barkas doesn’t want to come back. Let’s see…”

The Verdict: One to move on?

With Hart arriving earlier in the window and establishing himself as first choice under Ange Postecoglou, it could make sense to move a goalkeeper on.

At the minute, Postecoglou has Barkas, Scott Bain and Conor Hazard all sitting around at Parkhead, so moving one out on loan or on a permanent could be the right idea.

However, that doesn’t look as if it will be Barkas at this moment in time.

In other news: McKay may land ‘giant’ defender for Celtic and Ange on deadline day; same agency as Griffiths. 

Express and Star journalist Luke Hatfield believes that Aston Villa were signing both Emi Buendia and Leon Bailey regardless of whether the club kept Jack Grealish or not this summer. 

Villa signed Buendia for fellow Premier League side Norwich City for a fee that according to Sky Sports could rise to £38m. Last season’s Championship Player of the Season penned a five-year deal at Villa Park and has started the new Premier League campaign featuring in all three of his new club’s matches, getting himself on the score-sheet against Brentford.

Leon Bailey put pen to paper on a deal that will run until 2025 with Aston Villa, with the club paying Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen £25m. The winger featured in his new club’s opening game of the season against Watford and provided an assist for John McGinn’s goal.

Hatfield believes that even if Jack Grealish had stayed with Aston Villa, both Buendia and Bailey would have been signed by the club, telling Transfer Tavern: “Buendia and Bailey, I think they were going to come in regardless.”

Villa had a good summer in terms of incomings to the football club as alongside Buendia and Bailey, the club also signed Danny Ings, Ashley Young and Axel Tuanzebe. Since their opening day defeat to Watford, Villa have collected four points from a possible six, with a victory against Newcastle United and then a draw against Premier League newcomers Brentford.

The Plays of the day for the second day of the first Test between Australia and New Zealand in Brisbane

Peter English at the Gabba21-Nov-2008
Matthew Hayden’s 37-year-old legs are decidedly heavy © Getty Images
Heavy legs slow Hayden
Before his 99th Test Matthew Hayden gave a couple of convoluted answers toquestions about how long he would stay in the game. Following a stop-starttour of India, the heat on Hayden’s position continues to increase afterhis return of 8 and 0 in this game. Hayden was the victim of deliveriesgoing away both times, but the ball Chris Martin opened with on Fridayafternoon was pretty special as it caught the batsman’s push on the way toBrendon McCullum.One way to tell how well a player is dealing with age is to look at hisfootwork early in an innings. Hayden’s 37-year-old legs are decidedlyheavy and if he wants to extend his career to the Ashes he will need a bigcontribution in his 100th Test.Lee gets physical in Ryder fall
In an Australia-India series two pats on the helmet would probably earn amatch ban, but Jesse Ryder is unlikely to remember Brett Lee’s gentletaps. Ryder was crouched down after being struck in the groin by a Leedelivery and by the time the bowler extended his follow-through he hadstarted to feel slightly sorry for his conquest. Fortunately for Ryder, itwas the end of the over. He needed the extra time to recover.Run, Michael , run
There are kite runners, quotes runners, marathon runners and now hatrunners. In Australia’s bid to improve their over-rate they have employedMichael Hussey at times to run from gully to the bowler, who is usually atfine-leg, pick up his cap, take it to the umpire and jog back to hisfielding position. It’s an exercise that saves a few seconds but addsabout 50 metres on Hussey’s GPS. Australia delivered 25 overs beforelunch, five behind the expected rate, and another 20 before the inningsended in the second session.Gabba weathers storm season
The Gabba’s reputation as the best draining ground was confirmed againfollowing another vicious Brisbane storm on Thursday night. After sunseton day one the thunder and lightning arrived and the rain was so heavy itlooked like there was a blizzard in the stadium. Puddles formed almostimmediately and the wind blew the water around like a whirlpool. Moreshowers came through the night but by morning the ground was dry and playstarted on time. Storms are predicted over the next couple of days.Don’t tell the wife I’m at the cricket
Friday at the Gabba is a traditional day for a sickie and while the crowdwas on the small side at 11,886, there were still people hiding from thecameras, their bosses and their wives. One advertising representative, whothinks he might look like Mitchell Johnson, was enjoying his FerrisBueller’s Day Off from work and the family, spending time with his matesand being thankful that his wife actually knows he’s off to the World Cuprugby league final across town on Saturday night. Two days of lies, andleaving the stadium to make quiet phone calls, takes too much effort.

Efforts are on to salvage India’s tour of Pakistan, scheduled to begin next month, with the PCB chairman, Ijaz Butt, likely to discuss the issue during his visit to Chennai for an Asian Cricket Council meeting on Friday and ICC chief executive Haroon Lorg

Cricinfo staff11-Dec-2008No double-standardsHaroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, has said it is unfair to draw conclusions from the refusal of teams to tour Pakistan on security grounds for the Champions Trophy, along with England’s return to India following the Mumbai terrorist attacks.”The context is very, very different,” he said. “When we are talking about the Champions Trophy in Pakistan, the ICC has gone to great lengths to ensure safety and security. But that was a multinational event.”Members took a different view and we needed to respect such decisions. As for England coming to India, it is an individual decision. You cannot compare the two.”Lorgat is in Chennai for the first of the two-Test series.Efforts are on to salvage India’s tour of Pakistan, scheduled to begin next month, with the PCB chairman, Ijaz Butt, likely to discuss the issue during his visit to Chennai for an Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting on Friday and ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat suggesting the use of neutral venues for the series.Security concerns in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks had put the tour in doubt and current political and diplomatic tensions make it highly unlikely. India’s home minister, P Chidambaram, was unequivocal on relations with Pakistan while speaking in Parliament on Thursday during a discussion of the Mumbai attacks and their fallout. “There is one thing that I wish to make clear: Given the nature of the threat, we cannot go back to ‘business as usual’,” he said.PCB officials, however, are working on the issue, with Butt expected to meet BCCI officials on the sidelines.”The Indo-Pak series is not on the agenda of the ACC meeting but it is a good platform to have direct talks with Indian officials,” Saleem Altaf, the PCB’s chief operating officer, told PTI. “The matter is in the hands of two governments and we can’t do anything. But yes, playing at neutral venues is also an option that can be discussed in Chennai.Altaf said he held talks with Indian and Australian officials during the ICC chief executives’ meeting in Cape Town last week. Both teams are slated to tour the country – Australia had postponed their visit in 2008 because of security concerns and are now scheduled to tour next April. “Both of them, BCCI secretary N Srinivasan and [Cricket Australia chief executive] James Sutherland, said they had sent the tour itinerary for approval to their relevant government ministries and were awaiting clearance,” he said.In the absence of such clearance, Lorgat said the world governing body would be powerless to intervene. “We would try and encourage India to tour but if the government decides otherwise, we will have to respect that because there is nothing the ICC can do about it,” Lorgat told reporters here. “We can’t force any country to tour Pakistan.”He said he hoped the matches could be played at a neutral venue such as the United Arab Emirates. “Rather than not playing all, it would perhaps be better to go to neutral venues, but that would depend on Pakistan and India,” he said. “There are excellent facilities in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, so why not make use of them?”Javed Miandad, the former Pakistan captain and now PCB director-general, was hoping India’s visit goes ahead as planned. “India needs to support Pakistan cricket and we are still hopeful that our Test series against India next month will be played as per schedule,” he said.He was optimistic that England’s decision to tour India would make teams look differently at Pakistan. “I think this is a step that will send out the strong message to terrorists they can’t defeat cricket or cricketers,” he said. “Pakistan has been the worst hit because of the incidents of terrorism and our cricket has suffered a lot. I think with England returning to India the situation could change for the better.”I also hope the ICC and other boards would also now have a rethink of their policy on teams refusing to tour countries, particularly Pakistan, because of security and safety concerns.”

A round-up for the third day’s play of the fourth-round matches of the Ranji Trophy Plate League

Cricinfo staff02-Dec-2008
Scorecard
It took Bengal only 28.2 overs on the third day to get six points and move into second place in Group B. Tripura resumed with five wickets in hand needing another 108 runs to make Bengal bat again, but lost captain Tushar Saha, lbw to Ashok Dinda, in the third over of the day.Nishit Shetty, top scorer in the first-innings, and wicketkeeper Rajib Dutta then made half-centuries to raise Tripura’s hopes of at least avoiding an innings defeat. They had put on 78 before medium-pacer Avik Chowdhury struck; he took three wickets in less than three overs to hasten Tripura’s defeat – the last four wickets fell for 11 runs.This is Bengal’s second successive innings victory after they had opened their campaign with a draw against Madhya Pradesh.Bengal captain Laxmi Ratan Shukla said his team was to continue the good run after back-to-back wins. “Everybody has done well in this match (against Tripura),” he told Kolkata-based, the . “We have played well but I still believe that there is room for improvement.”He said he was also expecting a tough fight against Assam up next. “Assam match will be a tough tie – a very important match. But if we can stay positive and continue the momentum, I am sure we will do well in Guwahati also.”Bengal batsman Manoj Tiwary and Dinda were fined 60% and 50% of their match fees respectively, after match referee KVSD Kamaraju found them guilty of a level 2 offence. While Tiwary was reported by the umpires for showing dissent after being given out lbw on Sunday, Dinda was charged on Monday after intentionally throwing the ball back at a batsman, though there was no chance of a run out.
Scorecard
Madhya Pradesh’s position as frontrunners is threatened by Bengal’s charge but a superb third day in Delhi left MP well-placed to gain a seven-point cushion at the top of the table.They started off by dismantling the Services lower order, getting the last five wickets for 33 runs in under 18 overs. Then their batsmen, riding on the back of Jalaj Saxena’s century, ran up 240 in 66 overs setting Services a target of 324 in little more than a day. Saxena was the star but there were important cameos from the other batsmen as well, opener Himalaya Sagar making 45, a score matched by Devendra Bundela, and captain Hrishikesh Kanitkar chipping in with 36.MP further strengthened their position by taking two wickets in the five overs before stumps.
Scorecard
Kerala secured their first win of the season by beating bottom-placed Jammu and Kashmir in Palakkad. Kerala now have nine points from four games while J&K remain on one point.J&K began the day well, moving to 108 for 2 with the help of a half-century from Ian Dev Singh and 44 from Manoj Joglekar. It was all downhill from there though as none of their other batsmen made significant contributions. They lost wickets periodically and crumbled to 199 all out. Medium-pacer K Anil Kumar was the most effective of the Kerala bowlers, finishing with 3 for 25.Kerala had little trouble knocking off the 85 needed to win, reaching the target in the 23rd over after Sambasiva Sarma top scored with 36.Sony Cheruvathur, the Kerala captain, said he was pleased with the win and the momentum his team would be carrying into the next game against Jharkhand. “This win could not have come at a better time and I thought every player contributed,” he told the . “Of course, it was Rohan and Tinu who really brought us back into the match. The way Rohan batted with the tail was remarkable.”
Scorecard
It was an enthralling battle for the first-innings lead in Nagpur. Vidarbha had been reduced to 269 for 9, 30 runs short of Assam’s total but last man Umesh Yadav hung on for 70 minutes to allow No. 6 Shrikant Wagh to make his maiden century and the crucial runs for Vidarbha that are likely to fetch them three points.It was Vidharbha who held the advantage mid-way through the day, having moved to 224 for 5 with the help of Shalabh Shrivastava’s 68, his highest first-class score. Medium-pacer Krishna Das almost single-handedly brought Assam back into the match, taking five wickets to slice through the Vidharbha lower order but was unable to prise out the final wicket Assam needed.
Scorecard
After conceding a 97-run first-innings lead in Rohtak, Goa had fought their way back by reducing Haryana to 129 for 7, but unbeaten half-centuries from Dhruv Singh and Amit Mishra helped the hosts regain control.Haryana lost both their openers within the day’s first eight overs and struggled to string together meaningful partnerships. The wickets kept falling at regular intervals and when two went down in the space of eight balls, Haryana were seven down and only 228 ahead. Dhruv and Mishra, who had added 82 in the first innings, did even better this time; Dhruv helped himself to eight fours on his way to 68 while Mishra made his ninth half-century to swell the lead to 349 by the end of the day.Dodda Ganesh, the Goa coach, believed securing a win would be tough. “I think there’s no chance of us going out for victory, ” he told the . “Our main objective would now be to play the whole day and force a draw.”He was confident though, that a draw in this match, would still keep Goa in the hunt for a spot in the semi-finals. “If we eke out a draw against Haryana we can still earn a point and stay on par with them in terms of points. This will give us an opportunity to vie for a victory in our last match against Himachal Pradesh,” he said.
Scorecard
Saurabh Tiwary’s unbeaten century led Jharkhand’s attempt to steal three points by overtaking Himachal Pradesh’s mammoth first-innings score. A half-century from Manish Vardhan and forties from Ishank Jaggi and Amir Hashmi helped Tiwary keep Jharkhand on track for most of the day. They had progressed to 293 for 3 with 16 overs left for stumps before losing three quick wickets and their way. Much now depends on Tiwary but with none of the other batsmen having averages to boast of, Himachal will fancy their chances on the final day.