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JOHANNESBURG, March 14 AFP – Disgraced Australian cricket legend Shane Warne is set to return to South Africa just after the World Cup final for a series of lucrative speaking engagements.Warne, who was suspended from all cricket for twelve months after failing a drugs test for a banned diuretic, has been signed up to speak at functions in Durban on March 26 and in Johannesburg on March 28.”Although Shane has been banned from the game, the dates were fixed before that time and I have no problems with him coming here,” Ross Fraser, the head of organising body CorporateSport, told AFP today.Warne left South Africa for home on February 11, the day of Australia’s opening World Cup match against Pakistan at the Wanderers, when news of his positive test broke.”He will be involved in three functions – the two in Durban and Johannesburg as well as a golf day which has yet to be finalised,” added Fraser.”Originally, he was going to stay on after the tournament, but of course those plans changed. He will probably now come on the Monday after the final as he has no desire to interfere with the Australian team.”Tickets for the two morning functions, entitled the ‘What Now Warnie?’ breakfasts, cost 342 rand ($A70).”I think Shane has been very brave in agreeing to talk about what has happened,” said Fraser.”He could easily have decided to hide away but there will be a question and answer session where people can ask him about what has gone on.”The 33-year-old Warne returned the positive test on January 22, which forced him home from what would have been his last World Cup.After earlier denials that he had taken more than one diuretic pill, Warne eventually admitted that he had first taken the banned diuretic on December 12 – to get rid of an alcohol-induced double chin.Warne also said that he took a diuretic given to him by his mother to look good for a press conference to announce his retirement from international one-day cricket.He also admitted to being silly for not checking what tablets he was taking, and said he should have listened more to Australian Sports Drug Agency (ASDA) briefings on banned substances.Warne estimated the ban from all cricket could cost him around $A3 million.The Australian star has enjoyed a hugely successful career with 491 Test wickets helping him to be named as one of Wisden’s top five cricketers of all time.

Winless in the series so far, a young but talented Indian side willhave to get their act together when they take on New Zealand in theirthird league match of the Coca-Cola Cup tri-series in Colombo onThursday to stay in the reckoning for the final.With Sri Lanka winning their match against New Zealand by five wicketstoday, India’s cause has been helped and they must now win at leasttwo of the remaining four league matches to hope for a place in thefinal. The hosts, with three consecutive victories under their beltand six points are almost assured of a final slot ahead of New Zealandwho have two points.”It is a do or die situation,” Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly summed itup aptly on the eve of the crucial match.Coach John Wright confirmed that Ajit Agarkar and Debasish Mohantyhave been ruled out and named the same 13 that lost to Sri Lanka bysix runs in the previous outing for tomorrow’s match.Losing their opening encounter against New Zealand by a huge margin of84 runs and then fumbling at the winning post by six runs against SriLanka in the next, India have been quite unpredictable which makesweighing their chances a dicey proposition.The bowlers have done a commendable job, sticking to a tidy line andlength but the batsmen have been a huge disappointment, gifting awaytheir wickets to unnecessary shots or being unable to rotate thestrike in crunch situations.It defied reason to see a batsman of the calibre of Rahul Dravidstruggling to get a boundary off even a full toss when India needed 12runs in the last over for a win.India’s case has been one of a huge gap between potential andperformance so far and the coach and the skipper must do a bit ofsoul-searching to find match-winning solutions before it is too late.Ganguly is finally among the runs and there is no reason why he shoulddemote himself down the order. He should not repeat the mistake hemade in the previous match against Sri Lanka, promoting HarbhajanSingh ahead of himself only to see the plan backfire.With all-rounders like Yuvraj Singh, Hemang Badani, Virender Sehwagand Reetinder Singh Sodhi in their ranks, the Indians must open withGanguly and Amay Khurasiya for a solid start to the innings.The task for the Indian batsmen has been made tough by the absence oftheir mainstay Sachin Tendulkar but India must get over their overdependence on the maestro and play as a well-knit team.The participating teams have shrugged off threats from LTTE guerillasand looked largely unaffected by the politically volatile situation asthey have continued with their regular practice and scotched rumoursof scrapping off the series midway.

Chelsea are now one of the most aggressive suitors in the race for a “powerhouse” defender, and they could be prepared to make a huge bid.

Blues told to sign new defender

The Blues have been urged to bring in a new centre-back during the upcoming transfer window, with Darren Bent suggesting former defender Thiago Silva could have been a savvy addition, despite turning 41 back in September.

The ex-striker said: “I played against Thiago Silva when he was in his pomp. Oh my goodness, animal! Brazil versus England… animal. He had everything: jumps, quick, powerful.

“But now, he just reads the game so well and if I’m Chelsea then I’m trying to bring him back.”

However, with the Brazilian recently making the move to FC Porto, BlueCo have now set out to bring in a younger, up-and-coming prospect, who is being targeted by a number of Europe’s biggest clubs.

That is according to a report from Caught Offside, which states Chelsea have now emerged as one of the most aggressive suitors in the race for Atalanta defender Honest Ahanor, with the 17-year-old also of interest to Arsenal, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

Such is the Blues’ level of interest, they could even be prepared to make a bid of around €60m (£52m), with any deal likely to be on the expensive side, as the Italian club value the youngster highly and don’t want to cash-in too early.

At the moment, Ahanor remains under contract until 2028, so there is no pressing need for Atalanta to sanction a sale, but the defender’s reputation is growing, with his ability in possession of the ball particularly catching the eye.

"Powerhouse" Ahanor could be future star

Back in May, scout Ben Mattinson suggested the teenager could be in line to make a major breakthrough this season, while also praising his pace and upper body strength.

Mattinson’s prediction has proven to be correct, with the starlet going on to make 13 appearances in all competitions, including four in the Champions League, helping his side keep a clean sheet in a 1-0 victory against Marseille back in November.

Subscribe to the newsletter for elite transfer analysis Want more context on transfer sagas? Subscribing to our newsletter unlocks in-depth coverage and analysis of transfer targets, emerging prospects and club strategy – the kind of scout-informed perspective that puts moves like Chelsea’s interest in Ahanor into sharper focus. Subscribe Subscribe to the newsletter for elite transfer analysis Want more context on transfer sagas? Subscribing to our newsletter unlocks in-depth coverage and analysis of transfer targets, emerging prospects and club strategy – the kind of scout-informed perspective that puts moves like Chelsea’s interest in Ahanor into sharper focus.

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The Aversa-born defender then went on to grab his first professional goal in a 4-0 rout against his former club, Genoa, earlier this month, during which he won all four of the duels he contested.

Related Chelsea identify former defender as 'perfect fit' to replace Maresca as manager

He’s enjoyed a ‘rapid adaptation’ to coaching.

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Ahanor is exhibiting very promising signs at Atalanta, but it would still be a little early for Chelsea to submit a bid in the region of £52m, and they should wait until the end of the season before making any approach.

Bhargav Bhatt and Aditya Waghmode continued their good form with ball and bat, respectively, to guide Baroda to a comfortable eight-wicket win over Maharashtra.Bhatt, who was coming off a stellar performance of 2 for 16 against Odisha on Monday, picked up three wickets in the 35th over and one in the 37th, as Maharashtra slid from 135 for 4 to 145 for 9 within five overs. Nikit Dhumal then paired with Domnic Muthuswami to add an unbeaten 31 for the last wicket, taking Maharashtra to 176 for 9 in their fifty overs. Irfan Pathan and Munaf Patel picked up one wicket each, while pacer Rishi Arothe picked up two.Waghmode followed up his maiden List A century against Odisha with an unbeaten 77 to steer Baroda’s 177-run chase. He found an able partner in Deepak Hooda, who scored 58 not out off 78 deliveries, and contributed to the 132-run, third-wicket partnership that sealed Baroda’s win in the 40th over.Odisha suffered their fourth consecutive defeat, losing by 55 runs to an Andhra side that was guided by AG Pradeep’s 102* and D Siva Kumar’s 4 for 37.Opting to bat, Andhra’s innings was anchored by Pradeep’s second List A hundred, after Alok Chandra Sahoo sent back the openers within the first ten overs. Pradeep shared a 79-run stand for the third wicket with captain Prashanth Kumar (46), and then posted a partnership of 138 runs for the fourth wicket with Jyothi Sai Krishna, lifting the team score to 261 for 4 in 50 overs.Odisha were off to a poor start, losing two wickets to Siva Kumar in the first over. Anurag Sarangi (52) then combined with captain Natraj Behera(42) and Biplab Samantray (44) to post partnerships worth 71 and 56 respectively, but Andhra’s bowlers kept chipping away at the wickets. Odisha lost their last six wickets for 60 runs and were eventually bowled out for 206 in 48 overs.Centuries from Ganesh Satish and Jitesh Sharma drove Vidarbha‘s colossal 158-run win over Tripura. Satish’s unbeaten 140 off 134 included 12 fours and four sixes, while Jitesh stroked ten fours and one six in his 108-ball 105. The pair added 172 for the second wicket, after opener Faiz Fazal fell for 12 and the partnership took Vidarbha to a commanding 324 for 5 in their 50 overs, after they were put in. None of Tripura’s bowlers conceded less than 50 runs, with Manisankar Murasingh (79 for 1) the most expensive bowler.In reply, no Tripura batsman scored more than 40 as the side was dismissed for 166 in the 48th over. Offspinner Akshay Wakhare picked up 3 for 29, while Ravikumar Thakur and Akshay Karnewar picked up two each.

ScorecardA superb display from the India Under-19 bowlers helped their side to a 182-run victory against Sri Lanka U-19 in the first Test at the Colts Cricket Club ground in Colombo.Chasing 278 to win, the Sri Lankans were bowled out for 95, thanks chiefly to spinners Shiv Prakash and Ravindra Jadeja, who shared seven wickets between them. With the target out of reach, Sri Lanka had to play out time to salvage a draw but lost their last five wickets for eight runs in 74 deliveries. Jadeja was particularly impressive, conceding a mere five runs off his 13 overs and picking up four wickets. Mathurage Perera was the Sri Lankan top-scorer for the second time in the match, following up his first-innings 74 with 23 in the second, but apart from Lahiru Weragala, who also made 23, and Dinesh Lokuge, none of the other batsmen reached 20.The Indians started the day with a lead of 136 and added 141 more before declaring their second innings at 223 for 7. Overnight batsmen Abhinav Mukund and Tanmay Srivastava completed their half-centuries, while Saurav Tiwary blitzed 43 off 23 balls to ensure that the Indians bowlers had enough time to bowl Sri Lanka out in the second innings. Tissara Perera was Sri Lanka’s bowling star, snaring four wickets at an economy rate of less than three, but he got little support from the rest.The Indians complete their tour of Sri Lanka with the second three-day Test starting at the Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy on Thursday.

Division One

Points TableDay four
Mal Loye ensured Lancashire remained in charge of their own destiny in the Championship race as they defied Sussex with nine wickets down at Hove. Loye’s unbeaten 148 was a masterclass of concentration after he arrived following the early loss of Iain Sutcliffe. But the other hero was Dominic Cork who, batting with his damaged finger from the first day, kept Loye company for most of the final hour. Cork fell with eight balls remaining but Gary Keedy didn’t let his side down and survived two balls. Sussex will be rueing another victory that got away, but were handicapped by Mushtaq Ahmed’s injury which meant he wasn’t at his most effective. However, he managed 35 overs and looked to have put Sussex on course with the wickets of Glen Chapple and Tom Smith. Loye, though, had the final say. Sussex sneak ahead of Lancashire by one point in the table, but now have a week off from Championship action.Kent and Hampshire played out an inevitable draw at Canterbury. John Crawley just missed out on a double century, he made 189, and Dmitri Mascarenhas made a century of his own to lift Hampshire to 554 for 7 declared in their first innings, 169 runs ahead. Kent were never in danger of subsiding, with their openers Rob Key and David Fulton each making undefeated centuries on their way to a stand of 281. As the result was pretty much guaranteed, the batsmen just helped themselves to some batting practice; Key making 136 not out, and Fulton was on 134 by the close.

Division Two

Points TableDay four
Anil Kumble took eight wickets in Northamptonshire‘s second innings to spin Surrey to success at The Oval. Northamptonshire started the day with a big ask to hold on for the draw and Usman Afzaal set about aiming for that with 142. Surrey appeared on course to complete the win comfortably before Matthew Nicholson and David Wigley added 78 for the ninth wicket. However, with time running out Kumble claimed the final two wickets and Northants were finally chipped out for 386, leaving Surrey to chase 65. This they did for the loss of three wickets, and with two overs to spare. Kumble finished with match figures of 11 for 183Essex completed an impressive 211-run win over Somerset at Garon’s Park. despite Cameron White’s 111. Already four down overnight, Somerset suffered an early blow when Carl Gazzard fell to Alex Tudor. White and Wesley Duston added 59 for the sixth wicket but White’s century was then ended before Mervyn Westfield, an 18-year-old seamer, struck twice to take his tally to four wickets. Tim Phillips wrapped up the victory and handed Essex 19 points for their efforts.Glamorgan didn’t provide much resistance on the final day against Worcestershire at Colwyn Bay as they subsided to a 311-run defeat. The top order crashed to 96 for 5 and Matt Mason did most of the damage with four wickets. Robert Croft provided some late defiance with an unbeaten 44 but Roger Sillence wrapped up the match three wickets in three overs as Worcestershire pocketed 22 points to boost their promotion hopes.At this rate Stuart Broad will be bursting through ceilings. His rise and rise just continues and today he helped Leicestershire to a four-wicket win against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham. Broad took five wickets in the second innings, including the vital wickets of the centurions Hamish Marshall and Alex Gidman, to make it nine wickets this match. Gloucestershire were eventually dismissed for a fighting 439 and had Leicestershire 187 for 6 at one stage, chasing 240. But the venerable Paul Nixon steered his side to victory with 68 not out, after Claude Henderson had set them up with 48. But the plaudits belonged to Broad and there will be more excited whispers in the England camp tonight.

Zimbabweans 324 (Taylor 141) and 167 (Anjum 3-26, Amjad 3-39) lost to PCB Patron’s XI 529 for 9 dec by an innings and 38 runs
Scorecard

Brendan Taylor plays a shot in his way to a maiden first-class hundred© AFP

It took the Pakistan Cricket Board Patron’s XI under an hour to wrap up a comfortable innings-and-38-run victory over the touring Zimbabweans, as both Iftikhar Anjum and Mansoor Amjad finished with three wickets apiece. Despite a maiden first-class hundred from Brendan Taylor, Zimbabwe had finished the third day just two wickets away from defeat, and there was to be no reprieve on the final morning.Taylor top-scored with 141 as Zimbabwe managed 324 all out in their first innings, but the Patron’s XI fast bowlers dominated day three, sharing the wickets as Zimbabwe then collapsed to 142 for 8, still 63 runs behind.Resuming 10 runs away from the milestone this morning, Taylor went to his century during a 42-run partnership with Tatenda Taibu, his captain. But once their stand was broken, wickets fell regularly, and Zimbabwe were 279 for 9 before a cameo innings from Graeme Cremer, the 18-year-old legspinner, took them past 300 to a fairly respectable score.However, Zimbabwe couldn’t escape the follow-on, and they were soon in trouble in their second innings, with the makeshift opening pair, Vusi Sibanda and Stuart Matsikenyeri, both dismissed before the score had passed 20. Obviously trying to give all his batsmen some time in the middle, Taibu played around with his batting order, sending Taylor down the order. Not that it mattered, as Taylor was soon at the crease anyway, with Dion Ebrahim, Alester Maragwede and Mark Vermeulen all making starts, but failing to capitalise. Taylor failed the second time round, though, and the Patron’s XI wrapped up a resounding victory.After this match, the next item on Zimbabwe’s challenging agenda will be the opening one-dayer of the Paktel Cup, against Pakistan, on September 30 at Multan.

As the champions Sussex struggled against MCC at Lord’s, Surrey, their likely title rivals, made an authoritative start to their season against Oxford UCCE at The Parks. A strong side racked up 452 for 5 with three players scoring hundreds. Mark Ramprakash made 113 before retiring hurt, and two of the younger faces, Scott Newman and James Benning, who were the other centurions.Meanwhile, Lee Daggett took 8 for 94 as Durham’s students made life difficult for their professional counterparts at Chester-le-Street. Daggett, 21 and on Lancashire’s books, had a previous first-class best of 2 for 95 and with an average of over 100. Today, though, he almost single-handedly restricted Durham to 311, with Andrew Pratt rescuing his side from 129 for 5 with 67. The students closed on 24 for 1 in reply.Loughborough UCCE also made a decent fist of things, against a Somerset side including Andrew Caddick at Taunton. They reached 257 for 6 with Christopher Nash leading the way. He ended on 54 not out as Caddick finished with figures of 2 for 62.Elsewhere, though, the university sides struggled. Nadeem Malik took 6 for 41 as Worcestershire blasted out Cardiff UCCE for 118 at New Road. The two Stephens, Peters and Moore, then progressed to 21 not out each as Worcestershire closed on 44 for 0. At Fenner’s, Will Jefferson stood out for Essex against Cambridge UCCE with 144, including 19 fours. Jefferson put on 144 with fellow opener Aftab Habib, who scored 54. Ronnie Irani, Essex’s captain, put an end to his side’s extended net, declaring on 292 for 5. Adrian McCoubrey then struck twice before the close as Cambridge faltered to 19 for 2.Christopher Taylor and Simon Guy ensured that Craig White’s first day as Yorkshire captain went smoothly. They put on 200, with Taylor scoring 150, to help Yorkshire to 401 against Bradford/Leeds UCCE at Headingley. John Blain and Victor Craven then grabbed two wickets apiece as the students lost their way, stumbling to 57 for 5 at stumps. Lucky for them it’s not first-class.

After the dazzling display of the 2003 ICC World Cup opening ceremony, the genius of Brian Lara managed to surpass the spectacle and enthrall a capacity crowd of 24,200 in the opening match of the tournament the West Indies and South Africa.Set a target of 279, South Africa spluttered along before Lance Klusener injected some belated life into the match with 57 from 48 balls, taking the hosts agonisingly close to victory.Fined an over for a slow over rate, South Africa ended on 275/9, three runs short. For West Indies it was a deserved and brilliant win, notching them four points on the log.Lara came to the crease with West Indies seven for two in the seventh over,and immediately gave a difficult chance to Jacques Kallis, diving away to his left at second slip, off Makhaya Ntini. Thereafter he never looked back. In anear-perfect display of batting he defended when required, drove with graceand pulled with timed aggression. The longer he stayed, the more menacing the little man with the high back lift became.His 50 came up off 78 balls, and included five fours and a straight six offthe bowling of Allan Donald. His next fifty came up in just 43 balls with thesame number of boundaries and another six, this time off Lance Klusener, neatly and cleanly flicked off the legs over square leg.The brilliance of Lara could only have been ended by brilliance. On 116 he tried to force Ntini to leg, only to get the leading edge and sky the ball into the gap between mid on and mid wicket. Shaun Pollock, running round from mid wicket and diving at the last moment managed to get two hands to the ball and held on as he heavily landed on the turf.A standing ovation from the Newlands faithful greeted a player who deservedevery accolade as he left the field, bat held aloft.Partnerships of 102 with Shivnarine Chanderpaul (34), incisive in getting the innings back on track, and 89 with Carl Hooper (40) brought respectability to the West Indies total, after they had been on just 215/5 with four overs left.But a 63-run onslaught in the final four overs from Ricardo Powell and RamnareshSarwan saw the sparkle disappear from the South African eyes. A 23-run overfrom Pollock, twice dispatched for maximum, allowed the West Indies to reachan excellent total of 278/5.Apart for the one expensive over, Pollock was again on line and length, claiming the first two wickets in a six-over spell costing only nine runs. Ntini followed his captain’s example, finishing with 2/37 in his ten overs.For the rest, there is a lot of hard work before the next match against Kenya. Donald was wayward and never settled. Klusener was ineffective, while Kallis was left to bowl the final overs. Hooper never gave Nicky Boje a chance to settle.Herschelle Gibbs and Gary Kirsten got the South African innings off to agood start, adding 46 before Gibbs, on 24, pushed lazily forward to Mervyn Dillon to edge to keeper Ridley Jacobs moving to his right.Boeta Dippenaar got bogged down before clearing the ropes at cover for maximum, and then immediately shuffling past a Hooper delivery to be stumped for 20.Kallis edged to Jacobs for 13, and Jonty Rhodes (2) dragged one on from Hooper for South Africa to sit precariously on 117/4. Kirsten and Boucher moved the score to 155 before Kirsten popped a return catch to Dillon for 69 hard-earned runs.Boucher had made a good quick 49, at a run a ball, when he played over the top of a Gayle yorker after seeing Pollock fall to an excellent catch by Hooper at cover.Klusener, man of the series in the 1999 tournament in England, had been in a poor run of form. He could not have chosen a better time to regain his confidence. Five sixes and a four helped him to 50 off 43 balls.He should have been out on 31, but Collins, taking a catch on the boundary,inexplicably took two steps back, and trod on the rope.A good penultimate over, bowled by Collins, resulted in only five runs, leaving South Africa requiring nine off the last over, bowled by Vasbert Drakes. Klusener mistimed the third ball, lofting it into the deep for Hooper to take a low catch inside the boundary. South Africa were 271/8.Klusener, not bothering to run, left Ntini instead of Boje to face. Ntini hoisted the fifth ball into the deep for Ramnaresh Sarwan to speed around the cover boundary, taking a comfortable catch with the score still on 271.With eight runs needed off only one ball, Boje tickled it around the corner for four and West Indies had won by three runs. There were two wickets apiece for Dillon, Collins, Drakes, Hooper and Gayle, but centurion Brian Lara was made man-of-the match.The game had fluctuated continually and as far as entertainment value goes,was a fitting opener to the 2003 ICC World Cup. May the remainder of the games be as exciting as this one.

Kent dominated the second day’s proceedings at Canterbury to build an overall lead of 211 at the halfway point of their CricInfo Championship match with Lancashire.The hosts reached 77 for one in their second innings by the close, this after taking nine Lancashire wickets in the mid-session to dismiss the visitors for 214 and a first innings deficit of 134.England all-rounder Mark Ealham was the man to uproot the Red Rose middle order with figures of six for 64 – his best in Championship cricket for nigh on two years.Using sultry conditions to obtain swing and seam movement, the burly medium-pacer started to wreak havoc with his fourth ball after lunch when visiting skipper John Crawley pushed at an away-swinger to edge to David Fulton at slip.Mark Chilton went leg before to Ben Trott for 35, then Ealham removed Andrew Flintoff and Joe Scuderi in the space of three balls as the rot continued.Warren Hegg’s stubborn stay ended when Martin Saggers found the shoulder of the bat for another Fulton slip catch and when John Wood fell to an Andrew Symonds slinger the follow-on appeared likely.Gary Keedy and Mike Smethurst also succumbed to Ealham leaving Neil Fairbrother and last man Muthiah Muralitharan to score the 24 required to avoid following on.They achieved that courtesy of Fairbrother’s obdurate 39 and a Championship best 21 by Muralitharan, who was last out to Symonds.In the 34 overs remaining in the day Kent lost Fulton, the country’s leading run-scorer, for 17 but Ed Smith (30) and Rob Key (28) batted calmly thereafter to leave Kent in command going into the third day of four.