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Hundreds for Benjamin Hector and Boeta Dippenaar entertained a small crowd in Bloemfontein, as Griqualand West and Easterns made up ground on Western Province in the latest round of Standard Bank Cup matches.PointsTableGriqualand West 307 for 5 (Hector 126, Bosman 80) beat FreeState 300 for 9 (Dippenaar 111, Beukes 64, Kruis 3-58) by 7runs
ScorecardIn a high scoring match in Bloemfontein, Griqualand West won a close encounter against Free State. When the last over started Free State needed 14 runs for the win. Three wickets in that over, from Deon Kruis, made sure that the work Benjamin Hector and Loods Bosman had done with the bat did not go unrewarded.Boeta Dippenaar top-scored for Free State, and in the process sent a timely reminder to the national selectors. He was ably supported by Johann Beukes.Easterns 191 for 3 (Seymore 74, Hall 59) beat North West189 (De Vos 50, Morkel 3-40) by 7 wickets
ScorecardEasterns ran away with a comfortable seven-wicket win at Benoni againstNorth West. Batting first North West could only muster 189 with Dirkie deVos top-scoring with 50. Bowling honours were shared with Albie Morkeltaking three for 40.A 116-run partnership between Andre Seymore, who made 74, and Andrew Hall (59), was enough to see Easterns home in 43 overs.Eastern Province 200 for 7 (Bryant 46) beat Boland 170(Ontong 65, Hayward 4-36, Love 3-26) by 30 runs
ScorecardBoland went down by 30 runs at Paarl after Eastern Provincehad set a modest target of 200 runs. James Bryant kept Province in thegame with his 46 while too many batsmen got starts and then lost their wickets.Boland looked set to win but when Justin Ontong was dismissed at 142 the team lost momentum, with Mornantau Hayward and Geoff Love sharing seven wickets. Hayward’s return of four wickets earned him a bowling award while Love produced his best List A figures.

The following players have been named by the WA Selectors to represent the Western Warriors in a Pura Cup game v the Victorian Bushrangers at the MCG, from Thursday 28 February to Sunday 3 March 2002.

• SIMON KATICH (Capt.)
• JO ANGEL
• RYAN CAMPBELL
• MICHAEL CLARK
• KADE HARVEY
• BRAD HOGG
• MICHAEL HUSSEY
• SCOTT MEULEMAN
• MATT NICHOLSON
• MARCUS NORTH
• CHRIS ROGERS
• BRAD WILLIAMS

SelectionsThe only selection change from the Western Warrior s previous Pura cup team is Matt Nicholson for Shaun Marsh.

England all-rounder Mark Ealham claimed season’s best figures of five for 35 to dismiss Yorkshire for 145 and leave Kent a last day victory target of 230 in their intriguing championship clash with Yorkshire in Canterbury.The hosts, who trailed by 84 on first innings after being polished off for 317 earlier in the day, rolled the Tykes over inside three and a half hours with Ealham and Martin Saggers ruling the roost.In humid conditions and under solid cloud cover Ealham’s away swingers accounted for Michael Vaughan and Anthony McGrath early on, then Saggers, who trapped Simon Widdup in his opening burst, returned to claim three for one in 10 balls during a crucial second spell from the pavilion end.He had Darren Lehmann, who was dropped at second slip by Martin McCague when on seven, caught behind for a top score of 42 then, in his next over, removed Gary Fellows and Gavin Hamilton to take his championship tally to 57 for the season.Ealham returned to claim the last three as Yorkshire lost their last six wickets for 43 runs.Earlier Kent – who need nine points from this game to ensure their Division 1 survival – notched a vital third batting bonus point courtesy of a patient 42 from Matthew Walker and steady contributions from the tail that took them past 300 for only the second time in a championship first innings this year.

With his first Premier League campaign nearing its conclusion, Brentford striker Ivan Toney has proven to the array of clubs that have previously shown interest in the forward what they’ve missed out on.

One of those clubs is West Ham United, who were confirmed to be a potential suitor for the English striker by Peterborough United owner Darragh MacAnthony on the Hard Truth Podcast before he eventually signed for the Bees.

The 25-year-old scored 24 goals in 32 appearances in the 2019/20 League One season for the Posh before his move to West London, leading Brentford to their first-ever Premier League season the following campaign with 33 goals in 48 appearances.

It was Toney’s efforts in the third-tier that attracted so much interest from numerous clubs before Thomas Frank’s side paid an initial £5m with the fee rising to £10m with add-ons to replace Ollie Watkins who had joined Aston Villa.

Now, after almost a season in the top-flight, in which the striker has netted nine goals in 23 appearances following his first Premier League hat-trick against Norwich City on Saturday, Toney is showing West Ham what they could’ve had.

It’s no secret that the Hammers have been in need of a striker for numerous transfer windows now, having missed out on a centre-forward once again in January.

31-year-old Michail Antonio is currently the club’s only senior striker, meaning that without the Jamaica international, manager David Moyes has to fit square pegs into round holes as the solution.

Moreover, the forward hasn’t scored in the league since New Year’s Day, further highlighting how big a blow missing out on Ivan Toney really turned out to be for the East London club.

Currently valued at £28.8m by Transfermarkt, Toney is worth almost six times the initial fee Brentford paid Peterborough in 2020 and, should the Bees secure top-flight survival, the 25-year-old’s value will surely excel.

When the West London outfit signed the Englishman, it seemed as though they were heavily overpaying for Toney’s services with the striker valued at just £360,000. However, that soon increased heavily to £4.05m in October 2020, although still under the transfer fee.

As Brentford’s talisman kept finding the back of the net, his value kept soaring, with Toney worth £16.2m by March 2021 just before Frank’s side secured a playoff spot.

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Following promotion, the striker’s value sharply increased once again to £25.2m before rising slightly to the current figure of £28.8m in October after bagging 44 goals for the Bees.

Labelled as “exceptional” by Barry Fry when he was in the lower leagues, there is no doubt that the 25-year-old belongs in the English top-flight and could well be onto even better fortunes beyond Brentford.

With their striker issues and a majorly important final set of fixtures to contest, there is no doubt that West Ham will be kicking themselves on what is clearly a prized asset.

In other news: West Ham handed another big fitness blow that’ll have Moyes livid

Victoria 251 (Hussey 84, White 61, Magoffin 5-67) and 0 for 17 trail Western Australia 9 for 428 dec and 5 for 277 dec (Marsh 96, Voges 79*, Ronchi 61) by 437 runs
Scorecard

	Shaun Marsh fell just short of a century © Getty Images

Victoria face a monster fourth-day chase as they fight for Pura Cup final-hosting rights, after Shaun Marsh’s 96 set up a lead of 454 for Western Australia. The Bushrangers reached 0 for 17 at stumps with Nick Jewell on 6 and Lloyd Mash on 9, meaning they required a further 438 for an unlikely win.Western Australia could have enforced the follow-on after the Bushrangers were dismissed for 251, at which point they trailed by 177. Cameron White began the day as their primary hope but he could only add five to his overnight score and at 61 became Steve Magoffin’s fifth victim.Shane Harwood and Bryce McGain grabbed two wickets each in the Warriors’ second innings, however Marsh and Luke Ronchi got the home side away to a strong start. Ronchi was promoted to open as Justin Langer rested his sore back and his 61 from 62 balls set the scene.Adam Voges continued to extend their lead with 79 not out before the declaration came at 5 for 277, giving Victoria a nine-over period to face late in the day. Although they have built their reputation on chasing big targets in recent years, the Bushrangers’ current task would be one of their greatest achievements if they could pull it off.Victoria and New South Wales have already reached the Pura Cup decider and the teams are equal on points, meaning the hosting rights will be determined by the current games and the final round, which starts on Friday. New South Wales also failed to claim first-innings points in their match against Tasmania.

Dav Whatmore says his side can improve on the ten-wicket loss against John Buchanan’s Australia © AFP

The coach Dav Whatmore is desperate for Bangladesh to avoid a bottom-placed finish in the Super Eights and is hoping for an improved performance against the No. 1-ranked South Africa in Guyana on Saturday. Bangladesh played above expectations in their group matches, but they have failed to keep up the momentum and are without a point after losses to Australia and New Zealand.”We don’t want to finish at the bottom,” Whatmore said. “We are not last in the whole tournament, but we are now at the bottom in the Super Eights. Our objective is always to go higher [than Ireland], but the reality is that we are ranked No. 9 and we will be playing to change the rankings.”Bangladesh lost to Australia by ten wickets and to New Zealand by nine wickets, but Whatmore said the side could do better. “Our objective is to push the opposition and this is what we want to do in the remaining matches,” Whatmore said. Bangladesh face England, West Indies and Ireland after South Africa.”We need to up our performance in the second round,” he said. “What we have done here is something we had not done in the past. We were once considered minnows, but we are no longer minnows now.”We achieved our objective in the first round as we played pretty well to qualify for the second round. We had just one bad game against Sri Lanka, but we played three matches and we deserved to be in the Super Eights.”Whatmore said he was looking forward to a better performance from his batsmen in the remaining matches after they scored 174 against New Zealand and 104 for 6 in 22 overs against Australia. “We need to make more runs,” he said. “We were not able to score upfront in the last two matches.”

Hit first, remorse later: Ramnaresh Sarwan was felled by a Shane Bond bouncer © Getty Images

Scott Styris, the New Zealand allrounder, has accused the West Indies players of “laughing and joking” when he and three of his team-mates were hit on the helmet during the first Test in Auckland.Styris adopted the holier-than-thou attitude that the New Zealanders always show compassion in similar circumstances. “There was a little bit of disappointment when their guys were laughing and joking when our guys got hit,” Styris said during New Zealand’s practice session in Wellington yesterday. “I mentioned it to Fidel [Edwards] after I got hit [by him], just their lack of checking out to see if we are fine. You want to play the game hard, you want to play the game fair, but you always want to make sure the other bloke isn’t hurt,” he added.Styris claimed that the New Zealanders ensured Ramnaresh Sarwan was okay after he was felled by a bouncer from Shane Bond in the West Indies’ second innings. “That’s why we got pretty grumpy and disappointed with [Shivnarine] Chanderpaul and [Daren] Ganga when Jamie How got hit under the lid,” he explained, referring to the blow to the helmet to the short-leg fielder when Chanderpaul pulled a ball from Daniel Vettori.Brendon McCullum was heard through the television stump microphone telling Chanderpaul to move away when he approached to see if How was alright. “You didn’t show any concern before,” McCullum, the talkative wicketkeeper, said.Styris conceded that the West Indies players “finally showed a bit of concern for someone, but we thought it was a little too late. I don’t know if there is an international understanding but you expect natural consideration for someone who is hurt,” he said. “You want to get him out, you want to intimidate him to get him out, but you don’t want to see a guy carried off on a stretcher.” “We certainly don’t, and I know Bondy [Shane Bond] doesn’t, and he’s mentioned that,” Styris added. “He’s trying to hit him but he’s not trying to knock the guy out and if he does hit him then he is looking to see if he is okay.”The New Zealand media has picked up the theme with Jonothan Millmow citing the alleged “lack of remorse” shown by the West Indies as “probably a legacy of their upbringing”. “They will have been raised on stories of Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall and Joel Garner breaking bones as regularly as they broke stumps and of home crowds delighting in batsmen being carted off injured,” he wrote.

Duncan Fletcher: will have control over a greater number of players © Getty Images

The ECB name the 25-man development squad, on Thursday, which will be under the direct control of Duncan Fletcher, the England coach.The squad will include the 12 players who already have 12-month central contracts, with the remaining places being taken by the one-day players, fringe candidates for the Test side and the Academy players who toured UAE and Sri Lanka last winter. The selectors are unlikely to spring too many surprises, as the size of the squad allows them to include most players who are in contention for an international call-up.The stars of the Academy tour – Matt Prior and Ian Bell – are certain to be included, with the successful pace bowlers from the trip – Sajid Mahmood, Jon Lewis and David Harrison – also set for selection. With Prior a certainty for the squad, following his impressive efforts in Sri Lanka and strong start to the domestic season, there will be further disappointment for Chris Read, as it is unlikely that three wicketkeepers will make the squad.Probable 25-man development squad Michael Vaughan*, Kabir Ali, James Anderson*, Gareth Batty, Ian Bell, Mark Butcher*, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff*, Ashley Giles*, Steve Harmison*, David Harrison, Matthew Hoggard*, Geraint Jones*, Simon Jones*, Robert Key, Jon Lewis, Sajid Mahmood, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Vikram Solanki, Andrew Strauss*, Graeme Swann, Graham Thorpe*, Marcus Trescothick*, Alex Wharf

Darrell Hair, Australia’s most high-profile umpire, has announced that he will be moving to England to live early in the New Year. He will continue to be a member of the ICC’s international panel.”I’m looking forward to what lies ahead but I will certainly miss Australia,” Hair admitted. “Being on the international Test umpiring panel, and with all the travel that is involved with this role, it does not really matter where I’m based. The ICC doesn’t appoint an umpire to any international matches in their home country, so in many respects, moving to London will cut down a lot of my travel."The announcement effectively ends Hair’s career in Australian domestic cricket, and as he is not on the English panel of umpires, it would seem to be international games or nothing for him from now on."I intend to be actively involved in umpiring for the next few years, whether it be with the blessing of ICC or village matches in Steeple Bumpstead,” Hair told his New South Wales umpiring colleagues. “Hopefully there will also be some other options arising from time to time to help fill in my days.”

A hat-trick from Boland’s Wallace Albertyn stopped Northerns Titans’ bid for a Standard Bank Cup semi-final place dead in its tracks as the home side slipped to an 11-run defeat at SuperSport Park on Friday while Western Province crushed Eastern Province by eight wickets in Port Elizabeth and North West swept to a 101-run victory over Easterns in Benoni.Albertyn picked off Mulligan George, Friedel de Wet and Dewald Senekal in the 44th over of the innings as the Titans faltered in their chase for Boland’s 213 for eight. Alberty finished with four for 31 as the Titans eventually managed only 202 for nine in their 45 overs. Boland’s James Henderson took the man of the match award for his 77 which provided the basis of the Boland score.In Benoni Easterns were bundled out for 161 in reply to North West’s 262 for five with Eugene Moleon (three for 16) and Garth Roe (three for 46) doing most of the damage. Grant Rowley’s 88 and a 50 from Dirkie de Vos had lifted North West to their imposing total earlier in the day.Despite having to chase a revised target of 203 in 41 overs, WP made light work of EP at St George’s Park with Graeme Smith (73) and Lloyd Ferreira (62) putting on 142 for the first wicket.EP had earlier struggled to 185 for seven in 41 overs.