Manchester United’s hometown hoodoo against Bournemouth continued after an incredible flurry of attacking activity in the second half that ended in a 4-4 draw.

For the neutral, this was a show-stopping spectacle, but United fans trudged back through the turnstiles in gloomy frustration, having now dropped seven points in their past three Premier League matches at Old Trafford.

How to sum up such a frenzied game? It was a slugfest, akin to a heavyweight battle in the Championship rounds. But this was not the performance of a team challenging for a title, with Ruben Amorim’s side promoting new attacking play at the expense of defensive solidity, with the hosts ripped apart numerous times by the Cherries’ incisive surges.

United need to toughen up and stop being so porous. While Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven flattered to deceive in Amorim’s three-man backline, Luke Shaw has shown he cannot continue to serve in this stand-in role on the left side.

Luke Shaw's performance vs Bournemouth

Shaw has been at the Theatre of Dreams for over a decade, and he has made 303 outings across all competitions. Against Bournemouth, his fragilities were laid bare, with four goals conceded.

Bullied off the ball by Justin Kluivert, the England international gave possession away cheaply ahead of Antoine Semenyo’s first-half equaliser.

His strength is not of a level that enables fluent central defensive success in the long run, but each of his 16 performances have come in the role this term.

Indeed, he continues to leave questions in his central defensive berth. A role that is not his own, the stalwart plays it dutifully. Still, it’s clear that Lisandro Martinez’s return to full match fitness, having returned off the bench in recent fixtures, cannot come quickly enough.

However, Man United’s defenders cannot be unduly scapegoated, with multiple stars struggling to play with the kind of togetherness and composure that should have seen the game out. United led three times, after all.

And one of the culprits was actually playing his football on the other side of the field.

Amorim signing just played his worst game

Man United and INEOS were generally considered to have completed a positive transfer window last summer, and Bryan Mbeumo could have been considered the standout, having scored 20 Premier League goals with Brentford last season, producing brilliant all-round performances.

The Manchester Evening News remarked that the Cameroonian was ‘not at his best’ against Andoni Iraola’s side, handing him a 6/10 match rating after a performance of little consequence.

Likewise, content creator Mark Goldbridge acknowledged that the £71m summer signing from Brentford “ain’t having the best night”, overshadowed, for example, by the stylish Matheus Cunha, and Amad Diallo behind him.

Bryan Mbeumo vs Bournemouth

Match Stats

#

Minutes played

89′

Goals

0

Assists

0

Touches

43

Possession lost

9x

Shots (on target)

4 (2)

Accurate passes

21/27 (78%)

Chances created

2

Dribbles

0/2

Recoveries

1

Tackles

0/1

Duels won

5/13

Data via Sofascore

Lacking his typical bite and threat in the final third, Mbeumo wasted a number of opportunities, not just in the danger area but during the build-up and against the Bournemouth attacks.

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It perhaps says something that United scored four goals under the Old Trafford lights and Mbeumo was minimally involved throughout those sequences, now with only one goal from his past five Premier League fixtures.

The 26-year-old has been largely excellent since joining, ranking among the top 11% of positional peers in the Premier League this season for goals scored per 90, six goals and an assist from 16 matches.

Brighter days will come, but there’s no denying this was one of Mbeumo’s lowest moments since first donning the shirt back in the summer.

It wasn’t the £150k-per-week wide forward’s best display, but we all know what he’s capable of, and fans will sadly be made keenly aware of that fact over the next month, with Mbeumo set to take his leave to fly to Morocco and compete at the African Cup of Nations.

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Danny Rose has stated his desire to make his move to Sunderland a permanent one.

The England under-21 international made his Premier League debut for the club in the Black Cats 1-1 draw with Liverpool but after just one appearance is ready to commit to the club.

Martin O’Neill brought in Rose as a replacement for Kieran Richardson who left for Fulham, but the season-long loan deal has no clause to make the transfer permanent and it is unclear at this stage whether Rose is in O’Neill’s long term plans.

Speaking to The Sunderland Echo, the 22-year-old said: “If there is a chance I could move here permanently I’d snatch it with both hands. Nothing has been said of that kind. I’m just here for the season anything after that would be a bonus.

“The gaffer just asked me to come here on loan and said I’d play more games here, than I would at Spurs.

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“Adam Johnson has come here from [Manchester] City. He could have gone to a host of Premier League clubs but he came here. Louis Saha I was with last season and they paid big money for Steven Fletcher. It just shows Sunderland’s intent for the season.”

A low scoring affair between Pentasoft and Combined Districts XI sawthe Chennai software company notch up an easy victory in the Moin udDowlah Cup at Hyderabad. Combined Districts’ skipper Vishnuvardhan wonthe toss and decided to have a bat. Although he won the toss there waslittle joy for Vishnuvardhan. His openers got off to a dreadful start,with Venu losing his wicket to Tamil Nadu all rounder Sadagopan Maheshin just the 4th over of the day.One drop batsman Mohamood Ali got to 5 before he was cleaned up byPavan Kumar. Another Kumar, this time Sathish, got rid of openerNaveen Reddy and Combined Districts XI were in a spot of bother at30/3. The spot of bother got progressively worse as 30/3 became 39/5.Wickets were shared around as Combined Districts slumped to 110 allout.Chasing 111 from 50 overs was never going to pose any problem for abatting line up that boasted the likes of Sadagopan Ramesh, ShivSunder Das and Hrishikesh Kanitkar. With just one wicket down,Pentasoft cruised to a nine wicket victory. Ramesh (67) and Das (25)were unbeaten at the crease as the target was overhauled with 29 oversto spare. Ramesh’s knock of 67 came off just 71 balls and included 10sweetly timed hits to the fence.Not one to be left behind, Das helped himself to an easy 25 (33b,2×4). Pentasoft have a number of stars in their side, and are bound tobe stretched further by opposition stronger than Combined DistrictsXI.

There could be more board-room action in store as India train ahead of their tour of Bangladesh, with the contracts issue likely to entail protracted negotiations © AFP

Although the Board of Control for Cricket in India has made some noises to the effect that it would like to see India’s players sign their central contracts before the tour of Bangladesh, it is difficult to see this happening, given the extensive work that will go into the lead-up to the actual signing of the contracts. The very first step is the players themselves reaching a consensus over what they feel about the proposed contracts, and this is likely to happen as they meet in the preparatory camp in Kolkata. However, the board and the players are both in conciliatory mood, and it is unlikely that this will develop into a flashpoint, and the way forward will instead be negotiation and dialogue.Niranjan Shah, honorary secretary of the BCCI, has said that he hoped that the player contracts will be signed before the team departed for Bangladesh. However, it is difficult to see this happening, given a variety of factors. Firstly, the players received the drafts of the fresh contracts, which are dramatically different from the earlier contracts they signed, only a couple of days ago, and have not yet had a chance to thrash out, among themselves, the implications of the new contract.The players will first meet among themselves to discuss some of the broad concerns they have. Once they have had a chance to do that they will seek a meeting with the BCCI to put forth their reservations. After this is done, the negotiating between the players and the board will begin, as neither side can afford an ugly stand-off. Even after this is done, and both sides agree on the broad terms of the contract, a fresh draft will have to be prepared. Once this is done the players will have to take the contract back to their respective agents and lawyers who will go through the fine print. After this is done, the actual signing can take place. A reasonable person would conclude that it is not possible for all this to happen in the five days there is before now and when the team departs for Bangladesh.It is learnt that the players have serious problems with at least two of the proposals of the board. Firstly, the BCCI’s plan to pay the players a flat fee of Rs. 1 lakh (approx US$ 2427) for each match will be a serious bone of contention. With domestic cricketers getting paid Rs. 65,000 per game (approx US$1578), it is felt that the gap between this and what the board proposes to pay the national team per game, is too low. Given that international cricket involving India, especially one-day cricket, attracts such huge audiences both home and away, both at grounds and on television, and subsequently revenues, and that domestic cricket is watched by next to no-one, this is a concern that the players are sure to raise.Secondly, as per the old contracts, 26% of the gross revenues of the board were to go directly in paying the wages of cricketers, both international and domestic. The board had arbitrarily fixed this number, with Cricket Australia then sharing 25.5% of its revenue with its players and the BCCI wanting to top that. But, recently, the BCCI contended that the media rights, which form the vast majority of the board’s revenue, would not be considered in totality when calculating this 26 %. They said instead, that 70% of the media rights money would go into the board’s coffers, to be spent towards infrastructural development and other activities, and that only 30 percent would be taken into consideration when calculating the gross revenue for purposes of paying players’ wages.In the new system that is being proposed by the board this has been further diluted with the BCCI saying that the players’ pay would in no way be linked to the top-line of the board. The BCCI contended that they were willing to pay even more than 26%, should the players win more matches.However, in most cricket playing countries around the world, specifically those that are profitable, the players are paid in conjunction with the earnings of their respective boards. For example, Cricket Australia now shares 30% of its revenues with its players. When India’s players, after much negotiations with the board, had this system put in place, the rationale behind it was two-fold. The first was that the natural action of market forces should come into play, and since the national players were directly involved in generating these huge monies for the board their pay should be tied directly to the quantum of income that came in.The second contention was that the percentage system benefited both the national and domestic cricketers, and this meant that a rise in the board’s earnings would automatically result in proportionately-increased pay for the players and that they would not have to sit down and renegotiate each time contracts came up for renewal.In the new system, these issues are not addressed, and the players will be bringing this to the notice of the board. When that actually happens, if at all it does before the team departs for Bangladesh, is a matter of conjecture, and given how protracted these negotiations have been in the past, it could be some time yet before the players sign their central contracts.

In the end, Ryan Harris’ right knee was in such a bad way that he broke his leg trying to bowl on it. An emotional Harris revealed that scans showed a cracked tibia, the result of his right leg crunching down on to the turf on a knee that had long since lost the sort of cartilage and other tissue meant to cushion the impact.The serious nature of the injury and its implications finally compelled Harris to draw the curtain on his career, after a day of conversations with the Australia’s long-time physio Alex Kountouris – also on his last tour – and the doctor Peter Brukner. Together with Harris’ surgeon David Young, they gently ushered Harris towards a decision to give up the game that was every bit as painful as trying to bowl with a broken leg.”There’s a crack in the tibia, I’ve got a little part in the top of the shin that’s worn a hole at the top of the tibia that’s caused the crack, from the bone on bone wearing away,” Harris said. “I’ve had pain in this area before, and when I stood in front of the press in Kent last week I was playing five Tests. It was the next day that it jagged, I felt something one of the balls and there was a clicking.”It’s obviously knocked something and it’s come to this and the pain I’ve had in it, partly in that game and before I tried to bowl out here was terrible. I knew something wasn’t right but that’s the reason why. I need surgery to fix it, I need a bone graft to get some bone in there and fix that and I’ve been told – I’ve never had that done before – it’s a slow process that pointed me to this decision.”My surgeon David Young, he didn’t say in as many words that I should retire but he said it was going to be very hard. It wasn’t great after that phone call. But sitting and talking to Dr Brukner and Alex, they gave me some pretty good advice and the word retire was used. It was a word I didn’t want to hear but deep down I think I knew it was coming.”For all that pain, for all that discomfort and for all the lonely gym sessions a rehabilitation would have asked him to endure, Harris still thought seriously about trying again, even though he would have been 36 by the time the process was complete, with no guarantee it would allow him to bowl at his best. There were also concerns about whether Harris could do himself permanent damage that would haunt him in retirement.”I nearly blew my head up yesterday thinking there’s got to be a way I can get past this again, I’ve done it before,” he said. “But the other side of my head was saying last time was a struggle … potentially it was four to five months minimum before I could probably run again and I’d be 36 by then. It was just going to be too hard for me and by then getting back into this side was, I think, going to be impossible as well, with the guys we’ve got here.”Mentally I just don’t think I could … after speaking to my wife, she saw what I went through, what I’ve just finished and she said you can’t get through that again. The way it was with the bone and everything it made me think, and that was in my thoughts last night, about wanting to run around with my son Carter and hopefully a couple more we may want to have. Walking around the golf course is very important as well, I want to do that, otherwise I’m going to turn into a very large person.”Harris’ desire to keep playing was driven largely by his sheer love of spending time around the Australia dressing room, a yearning that is often referred to by players in their latter days but never with more feeling than the 35-year-old fast bowler used here. It was why he found it almost unbearably hard to break the news to the team, despite plenty of time to run his words through his head.”I thought I had it covered, to be honest, when I got there,” he said. “We had a 50-minute bus trip on the way here and I played out in my mind what I was going to say and none of it went to plan, I barely could talk. That would be one of the hardest things I’ve had to do when it comes to my career, that sort of stuff. Obviously the playing part is to me very important but what most people would say when you get to this stage, the part you miss most are the guys you played with.”And I tried to say to the guys this morning obviously that’s part of the reason why you play the game. You know when you go out on the field you have blokes behind you and you know when you come in the rooms the guys that aren’t playing they’re behind you, the coaching staff are behind you and I think that’s the part I’m going to miss the most.”The hard thing for me was getting through the last four months but I knew that at the end was this carrot to play in the Ashes and that’s what kept me going. We all bowl in pain, I’ve just had a problem with my knee – it was sore. Anyone who has sat in this position has probably said it many times but you want to do it for the rest of your life. It’s just not possible. As I’ve said a number of times it’s the best job in the world.”The captain Michael Clarke had little trouble quantifying what Australia will miss with Harris. One statistic that stands out about Harris is the one that Australia will now have to surmount without him in England. Australia won 16 of the 27 Test matches Harris played between 2010 and 2015, the ratio of a great team. Of the 29 matches he missed, they won only 11.”He is my No. 1 picked bowler, in any team I’ve played with,” Clarke said. “Any time I’ve asked him to do a job he’s done it. If I asked him to run through a brick wall for this team, I think he’d have a crack at it. He’s always worn his heart on his sleeve and he’s always given his best not just to Australian cricket but Queensland and South Australia, every team he’s played with.”He loves winning as much as I do and that’s a great trait to have. There is no doubt we will miss him but as I said to ‘Rhino’ this morning, I think it’s really important for us to celebrate what has been an amazing career. He says 27 Tests, to me it’s felt like 100. I don’t remember playing a Test match without him. That’s how fond my memories are of how great a bowler he’s been. His statistics speak for themselves. He’s as good as anyone to play for Australia.”As good, and as brave.

South Africa wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock has been fined 75% of his match fee after pleading guilty to his involvement in a shoulder-barging incident with Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal on the second day of the ongoing Chittagong Test.The incident occurred at the stroke of lunch, after Tamim played out the last ball of the 30th over bowled by Simon Harmer. When he turned to head to the dressing room, Tamim got involved in a conversation with de Kock and there was some shoulder-barging before South Africa’s captain Hashim Amla intervened.South Africa bowling coach Charl Langeveldt said he did not see the incident, while Mahmudullah declined to comment on the matter during the press conference after the day’s play.”As the over before lunch came to an end, Quinton de Kock walked in front of the stumps to confront Tamim Iqbal,” match referee Chris Broad said. “In doing so de Kock deliberately brushed Tamim Iqbal’s shoulder and rib area. This resulted in a heated exchange between the two, initiated by the contact made by de Kock. This type of incident has no place on a cricket field.”The ICC Code of Conduct’s Article 2.2.7 relates to, “inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with a player, player support personnel, umpire, match referee or any other Person (including a spectator) in the course of play during an International Match”. It also says, “without limitation, players will breach this regulation if they deliberately walk or run into or shoulder another player”.Tamim was involved in a similar incident in the second ODI against South Africa. Rilee Rossouw, while walking to celebrate Tamim’s dismissal, shouldered the batsman in full view of the umpires. He was fined 50% of his match fee.

Though Thursday’s ODI against Australia is yet another in a string of one-off matches against Full Members that Ireland have had to make do with, Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom expects that being part of the ODI rankings table may enable them to schedule 15 ODIs per year against Full Members ahead of the rankings cutoff in September 2017.”We’re targeting now something in the region of maybe 7-10 ODIs per year at home and hopefully maybe another 2-3 pre and post year,” Deutrom told ESPNcricinfo. “So we’re looking at something in the region of 15-20 ODIs a year. That’s going to be our primary focus alongside trying to be a Test country.”In January, Ireland scored an administrative win after being included in the 12-team ODI rankings table in order to determine the top eight sides to gain automatic berths for the 2019 ICC World Cup in England. However, after going 3-3 in the group stages of the 2015 World Cup, scoring on-field wins has posed a far bigger obstacle simple because of a scarcity of ODIs.Ireland have had just one ODI – a rained out one-off match against England in May – since signing off from the World Cup with a seven-wicket loss to Pakistan in Adelaide. In contrast, Pakistan have played 11 matches since the World Cup in a four-month stretch from April to July – against a combination of Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, and Sri Lanka – which is the same as the number Ireland had scheduled against Full Members in a four-year stretch between the 2011 and 2015 World Cups. Only eight were completed though, with two completely abandoned and just 10.4 overs played against Australia before rain halted proceedings in 2012.In the period between the 2011 and 2015 World Cups, only Pakistan and Sri Lanka played multiple bilateral ODIs against Ireland. Pakistan played a pair of two-match series in 2011 and 2013, while a two-game series scheduled against Sri Lanka in 2014 was cut in half by Dublin rains. As for away fixtures, Ireland only played against West Indies in an ODI along with two T20Is in Kingston.Deutrom, who is hoping to correct that disparity, said he has seen positive signs that may point to Ireland securing a steadier diet of bilateral fixtures, both home and away in the wake of the ICC annual conference in June. The relationship with Pakistan and Sri Lanka was reinforced with Tuesday’s announcement of four ODIs in 2016, two against each team, and Deutrom said Cricket Ireland is close to finalizing a possible tour to Zimbabwe in October.”For the very first time, talking with the ICC, the CEO went around the room and asked all the Full Members what discussions they were having with Ireland, Afghanistan and the lower-ranked Full Members to ensure that they can get enough fixtures,” Deutrom said. “Am I encouraged by the discussions I’m having at the moment? Yes, very much so.Ireland have played just nine ODIs against Full Member nations between the 2011 and 2015 World Cups•Getty Images

“We’re going to be heading down to Zimbabwe in October. We haven’t quite yet announced what that’s going to look like in terms of the fixtures but we’re in advanced discussions with Zimbabwe Cricket. It’ll involve a third nation as well. Next year we’re looking to have a reciprocal arrangement whereby Zimbabwe and that other nation would come to Ireland and we’re also pretty confident of playing at least four more ODIs at home.”In addition to the cramped schedule of fixtures, a perceived lack of revenue-generating appeal seems to be another reason for Full Members being reluctant to schedule fixtures against Associates like Ireland. To help alleviate this issue, the ICC has proposed an ODI fund to defray the costs of such matches and help encourage a series such as Ireland’s tour to Zimbabwe.Deutrom said he is trying to be creative to seek out dates for fixtures against Full Members. Ireland are scheduled to play Papua New Guinea – who have previously used Townsville in Australia to host matches – in an Intercontinental Cup match ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 in March. Expecting the game against PNG to take place in Australia, he is hoping to potentially arrange a few fixtures against Full Members on either side of the Intercontinental Cup match, and not necessarily against Australia.”I’m in discussions with another quite senior Full Member in terms of something prior to the World T20 itself, which is going to be in and around our Intercontinental Cup game against PNG which we’re hoping to play outside of PNG, probably in Australia and that’s something I’ve been discussing with Cricket Australia and with Papua New Guinea at the moment.”So if we think about opportunities at the beginning of the year, then the World T20, then our home series with 7-10 ODIs and then what we’re looking to arrange towards the end of the year through discussions with other Full Members, it gives me great encouragement that we’ll actually be able to achieve those numbers as well. Given the fact that the Champions Trophy is in England in 2017 and the World Cup is in England in 2019, that provides us with many more opportunities.”Despite the ICC confirming their place in the ODI rankings table in January for World Cup qualification, Ireland’s four ODIs against Sri Lanka and Pakistan for 2016 are the first ones agreed to since then. However, they have seen 14 guaranteed ODIs against fellow Associates as part of the WCL Championship disappear. Deutrom did not consider it a likely problem when asked if he was worried about other Associates being better prepared for the 2018 World Cup Qualifier.”I’m fairly confident that’s not going to happen,” Deutrom said. “Afghanistan is also part of the 12-team ODI structure. Now of course, Afghanistan and ourselves don’t want to be playing each other six times a year because let’s face it, the point of both of us being in the structure is not to have to play each other. It’s about trying to play as many of the teams above us. Why? Because it’s about trying to create more competitive teams on the world stage.”Of course, would I be happier if we actually had some guaranteed structured fixtures against all of the Full Members? Yes of course but the world doesn’t work that way and we’re trying to work around it.”

The series against England in the UAE is shaping as the last for Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq. Although he had initially hoped to continue until next year’s tour of England, the forthcoming contest is looking increasingly likely to be the final chapter of an international career which began in 2001.”I have come to a certain stage of my career where I have started considering [retirement],” Misbah, 41, told ESPNcricinfo. “I was thinking that the upcoming India series would be the point when I will decide what to do. But since I don’t see the India series happening so the next one-and-half months will be important. I am giving second thoughts whether I can extend my career until the 2016 England series.”The series against India, scheduled to take place in the UAE at the end of the year, now appears unlikely to happen due to the tense political landscape which would mean an eight-month gap before the series against England next July. Since Misbah has already retired from ODI and T20 cricket he will have little chance for competitive cricket after the Pakistan domestic season concludes in February.”I have been considering so many factors as it’s a very hard decision, in fact one of the toughest ones to take,” Misbah said. “So in the next one-and-half months I will be analysing myself as to how far I can go. I will see how much I can contribute in for the team, I will see if my passion remains the same or I start losing interest in the game. Sometimes it’s not about fitness, it’s about how much interest you have in the game and I don’t want to be a liability. So whatever the decision you will know soon.”For the upcoming series, starting with the first Test in Abu Dhabi on October 13, Misbah said he will be guarding against the team being over confident after they whitewashed England in 2012. Misbah, along with Azhar Ali, Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq, will form the same middle order which featured in that series. He, along with several other Test players, are currently having a conditioning camp at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, while the one-day side is in Zimbabwe, before leaving for the UAE on October 4.”Within our mind we are confident,” Misbah said. “But at the same time creating a perception about our past victory against them by 3-0 doesn’t make any difference. This is fresh series. England are a much-improved side and are coming after playing their best cricket back home. They are a far better side in terms of playing spin and this is the reason I stand guarded against us being over confident.Misbah-ul-Haq is well aware of the different class of spinner England are bring on this tour compared to 2012•Gareth Copley/Getty Images

“Having won 3-0 previously doesn’t mean that they are still a soft target and we can wrap them up easily. No, it’s not that simple. We have to understand that setting the expectation level based on the previous series isn’t a fair call. We simply have to work very hard and play at our full potential to win. I don’t think that previous series victory is going to help us and we don’t need to put undue pressure on us with it. It’s not that we can’t win, but I just want to insist that you can’t ride on the past to make your future.”In 2012, England arrived in the UAE following a lengthy lay-off from Test cricket having not played a match in five months after beating India, at The Oval, in August 2011 to go to No. 1 in the world. But this time they have flown in having won the Ashes less than two months ago, although they only have two two-day warm-up matches before the first Test which Alastair Cook has admitted is not much preparation.While Misbah reiterated his belief that England now play spin better than when they previously faced Pakistan, it did not escape him that their spin bowling resources are significantly ‘weaker’ than in 2012 having lost both Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar.”They are in good form, so are we, but we have to play good cricket,” Misbah said. “There is a difference in their squad as many of their players have started to play the spin very well. They have changed their game, as we have seen they are using their feet and sweeping all over so we have to be on our toes to get their wickets.”Their fast bowling is the same but their spinners are weaker this time in the absence of Swann and Panesar. We have answers to their experienced fast bowlers, we understand we have to work hard to negotiate the new ball and later the reverse swing. Their bowling never gave us the chance to score big runs in 2012, but we have plans this time and in the UAE it’s all about scoring big runs.”In the UAE conditions runs on the board are very important and then the spinners play the vital role. When Australia came we had answers so is it’s the same this time. Australia had Nathan Lyon, England have Moeen but what is important is who is going to bat well in these conditions.”England played their cricket very aggressively against Australia, with none of the five Ashes Test going into the fifth day, but Misbah suggested it will very different in this series.”You can’t just go all out aggressively like the cricket England have been playing back home. It’s different in the UAE. You can’t just be defensive either, though. As I said, you need to have big runs on board and that requires patience as pitches here change their behaviour on a daily basis especially on the fourth and fifth day. So there are a lot of factors that mean you need to have a balanced approach. And that is the key.”

ScorecardGitansh Khera finished with 102 not out as Punjab piled up 604 for 5 declared•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Punjab’s middle order piled on the runs on day two in Mohali, crushing the Railways attack under the weight of a total of 604 for 5 declared. Among the runs was Gurkeerat Singh, who registered the first double-century of the season, and wicketkeeper Gitansh Khera who finished on 102 not out. Gurkeerat’s ton came in impressively quick time, too, and he finished 201 not out when the declaration came, off 207 balls with 25 fours and five sixes. Mandeep Singh added 12 to his overnight score of 100 not out, while the other overnight batsman Uday Kaul also went to triple-digits, with 112. The only middle-order batsman to miss out was Yuvraj Singh, who popped a return catch to legspinner Karn Sharma on 23.Railways’ openers, Saurabh Wakaskar and Ashish Singh, had to see out six overs leading up to stumps, and they did so successfully.
ScorecardCenturies from Almas Shaukat, Mohammad Saif and Sarfaraz Khan lifted Uttar Pradesh to a commanding position, as the team compiled 656 for 5 by stumps on day two against Madhya Pradesh.Shaukat, the 19-year-old batsman who scored a ton on his first-class debut on the first day, did not last long in the second, as he was trapped lbw by Jalaj Saxena for 128. However, UP continued to pile on the runs as Saif and Sarfaraz joined hands for a fourth-wicket association which yielded 287 runs. The pair batted together for 53 overs, helping UP close in on the 600-run mark. The 17-year-old Sarfaraz was the more aggressive of the two, striking 15 fours and four sixes during his career-best 155. Saif, playing only his second first-class match, hit 18 fours and one six during his knock, but fell two runs short of a double-century, as Saxena removed both batsmen in successive overs towards the end of the day.Eklavya Dwivedi (28) and Piyush Chawla (25), though, held firm for the last 15 overs of the day to ensure UP did not lose any more ground.
ScorecardOnly 26 overs of play were possible in Vizianagaram, with Ricky Bhui’s century helping Andhra inch to 213 for 4 against Mumbai. Scoring at two an over, Andhra were buoyed by a 173-run partnership for the third wicket between Bhui and the captain Mohammad Kaif. Bhui hit 13 fours and two sixes for his 103, but was dismissed by Balwinder Sandhu in the 12th over of the day. Kaif, though, remained patient and was unbeaten on 89 off 311 deliveries. Tamil Nadu v Baroda in Chennai – Bhatt 10-for leaves Baroda 122 chase

As Australia’s cricketers lament the imminent demise of the WACA Ground as a major international venue, a paltry crowd for the second Test against New Zealand is expected to underline why this is so.A gathering of around 10,000 spectators is in prospect for day one of the match, with attendances depreciating further from there. Searing temperatures will not help to sell the experience, and some of the ground’s temporary seating has not even been put in place for this week – raised concrete terraces next to the Prindiville Stand will radiate heat rather than noise.There are other factors apart from the unforgiving nature of the ground itself. Promotion of the Test series does not appear to have stuck in the minds of prospective ticket-buyers. Meanwhile the WACA’s odd tradition of not suspending local club cricket on the Saturday of the Test has continued in spite of a yearning by many a local player to attend Steven Smith’s first Perth match as captain.All this is viewed with considerable pain by the likes of Mitchell Johnson and Adam Voges, two players steeped in the story of the WACA Ground who have also enjoyed great personal success in the middle. Johnson’s increasingly world-weary visage was writ large across his thoughts about the looming move of most major fixtures to the Burswood Stadium, potentially as early as the next Ashes summer in 2017-18.”It’s sad, I think it is a great ground to play at,” Johnson said. “Most teams would say the same thing, it’s a great place to play cricket. It will be sad for it to go, there’s not much we can do as players about it except go out there and try to enjoy the games that we do have out there. It’s disappointing but at the same time there’s a new stadium that’s being built and that is going to hopefully bring more people to the games.”It’s a difficult one because it’s a ground that I have had success at, probably my most success at. I remember playing my first shield game here in the early 2000s playing against Joey Angel and Brad Williams and remembering how quick and bouncy it was then and the cracks and how that played, and you just aren’t going to get that anywhere else.”Everyone’s different, I do like that you get a bit of a breeze here with the openings, you’ve got the grassed area, but I think all sports around the world are played in bigger stadiums generally. That’s just the way it is. They are built for getting spectators in and watching us play and perform and I guess to try and excite the crowds. There’s two ways to look at it, but I prefer it like this.”Voges accepted that the WACA quirks loved by the players also contributed to the discomfort of the fans, from the motley assortment of seating arrangements to amenities like toilets, bars and food outlets – none of which are the sorts of issues immediately evident from the cloisters of the players’ dressing rooms and viewing area. He has also spoken to the WACA curator Matthew Page about the ground staff’s ambitions to find a way of preparing fast and bouncy drop-in pitches at the new stadium.”It’s exciting for Western Australia to have a brand new facility,” he said. “It just means that Test cricket here is – not coming to an end, but we’re not going to see as much Test cricket here at the WACA. A little part of me is saddened by that, but obviously it’s a very exciting future as well.”We play on a lot of drop-in wickets now and soon enough we’re going to be playing on another one. It is what it is. We understand that we need that in order for the future of the game to continue and that’s the most important thing. Pagey’s working his guts out to prepare a drop-in that has similar characteristics to the WACA. Whether that’s possible, we’ll wait and see,” Voges said.Page spoke unabashedly this week about trying to replicate “the olden days” at the ground, and it is in a fast and bouncy track that Australia’s players find most of their love for playing here. Value for shots but also value for bowlers, and value for the home side, too. “I really enjoy playing here at the WACA, we generally get a good crowd here and good support,” Smith said. “Hopefully they roll out this week and really back us up to get us over the line in this series.”As for the future move across the Swan River to Burswood, it will be up to the players of Smith’s generation and younger to adjust to whatever vagaries it throws up. For the likes of Johnson and Voges, the prospect of losing the WACA will hurt, but that of spectating at a swish new stadium sits rather better. “I see myself,” Voges said, “watching a bit of cricket there.”