According to reports in the Northern Echo on June 21, Everton are keen to sign Middlesbrough centre-back Ben Gibson, but they should forget about him and make an ambitious move for Borussia Dortmund’s Manuel Akanji, rated at £19.8m by Transfermarkt, instead following his latest 2018 World Cup display for Switzerland.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Northern Echo reports that the Toffees are targeting a move for the Boro captain this summer, with new boss Marco Silva keen to strengthen his central defensive options with Ramiro Funes Mori already being sold, Ashley Williams likely to be sold and Phil Jagielka’s future surely in doubt.

The Northern Echo reports that the Merseyside outfit are willing to offer Mo Besic as part of a deal to bring the 25-year-old to Goodison Park, with the Championship club likely to be keen on signing the Bosnia and Herzegovina international following a successful loan spell last term.

If Gibson did sign for Everton, whose fans have urged to sign a 26-year-old World Cup attacker following his latest display with one describing him as “much better than Gylfi”, their he would likely be partnering Michael Keane at the heart of the defence for the upcoming season.

Why should Everton forget him and go for Akanji?

Well, while Gibson would certainly be a decent addition for the Toffees, they perhaps should be aiming a little higher than a Championship player if they want to really push on and progress next term and beyond.

One player they could make an ambitious move for is Swiss centre-back Akanji, who only signed for Dortmund during the January transfer window.

The 22-year-old has put in two solid performances against Neymar and Aleksandar Mitrovic in his nation’s opening two World Cup fixtures, and as well as impressing with his defensive traits, he has also shown that he is strong and decent on the ball, too.

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In those terms he looks to be ideally suited to the Premier League, and he could form a strong partnership with Keane that would last for many years to come.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”257647″ player=”12034″ title=”Three reasons we love to hate… Brazil and Argentina”]

The figures speak for themselves. Curtly Ambrose: 27 overs 7 maidens 70 runs 4 wickets. Courtney Walsh: 27 overs 14 maidens 50 runs 4 wickets. Again, the “Old Boys” were magnificent. Again, the West Indies owe a tremendous debt to these absolutely unsinkable battleships, perhaps aging, but definitely still as dangerous, especially when given just a whiff of an advantage. With Ambrose’s dismissal of English batting hero Alex Stewart with the 2nd ball of the 3rd day, for his overnight 105, that whiff was immediately present. When Walsh bowled Marcus Trescothick off of his pads, things smelled even better for the West Indies. Even without any real help from the back-up bowlers, Ambrose and Walsh saw their team through a good 3rd day.This was enhanced even more when the West Indies openers, Sherwin Campbell and Adrian Griffith, with some panache, attitude and aptitude too, managed to defy the English fast bowling, and off spinner Robert Croft, for 96 runs, the best opening partnership so far this tour. Had Campbell not received the proverbial “unplayable” delivery, from the surprisingly quick Craig White, which Campbell actually did play, somewhat unintentionally with his bat handle, to backward point for Dominic Cork to take a brilliant running cum diving catch, the West Indies might have even closed without losing a wicket. To close at 131-1, and Adrian Griffith batting all of 3 hours 20 minutes for 41 not out, showed that the West Indies can muscle up some resolve. Only in deficit to the England lead of 146 by 15, the West Indies could look back on Day 3 as the turning point of Test 3.While England did make 303, thanks to Stewart’s 105, Marcus Trescothick’s 66 and a wonderful rear-guard effort by the late order English batsmen, after the team had slumped to 210-6 from the overnight 196-3, England should have been disappointed at the final score. 400 seemed more possible.Duncan Fletcher, England’s Coach, explained Day 3:”We played very well in the first two days, while on Day 3, we probably faltered a little bit. The first ten overs on Day 3 were crucial, and if we had gotten away with losing only one wicket in that time, we probably would have been very happy with that. The West Indies have two great fast bowlers in their team who could bowl on any surface, really, and you always have to worry that if these two guys strike, then it makes life very difficult for the batters. While it was not (Courtney) Walsh this time, as it was on the 2nd day, it was (Curtly) Ambrose who got the immediate vital wickets. We lost three wickets in that early session which set us back and then the West Indians batted well. I do not blame it on luck. They simply batted well. The openers put their heads down and grafted well. Griffith showed that he went in there very determined, did not play any loose shots and Campbell played a good innings.On Day 4, we would like to bowl the rest of the batsmen out for about an additional 10 runs, then go on to win the game. Simply, now, we have to go back in there and put on the pressure and not allow them to get too many runs. We have to restrict them to not getting too many runs and then to go and get the score. Past games have struggled to get past three days, but this has been a good wicket and the batters could get down and run some decent scores. I might have expected a bit more from the England bowlers, but it does happen a lot that when a team gets a big lead, a time to defend and a time to attack sometimes causes some confusion as the bowling team would want to get in there and get as many wickets before the close as possible. As a result of that, the team would likely leave many gaps in the field placing and the batsmen took advantage of that. Yes, I have been impressed at the way the West Indies batters have come out and showed great determination, despite the lead that England had. It was nice to see, however, that we could get to 303 and especially that the West Indies struggled to knock over the tailenders. 250 would be about the maximum we would like to chase on this wicket.”After Jimmy Adams, at the end of Day 2, had suggested that the West Indies would like to restrict the English batsmen to another 70 on the 3rd day, he nearly got his wish. England only added another 107, and that was due mainly to the lower order batting well. The West Indies had responded in the way they should have, with determination and a direct plan. To the end of Day 3, things had changed for the West Indies somewhat, much more promising.Sherwin Campbell, the West Indies vice-captain, put things into proper perspective:”Having been set a deficit, our target was just to go out there and bat for a long period, with determination, but to enjoy ourselves too, being as positive as we could be. My own dismissal (in the 2nd innings from an “exploding” delivery) does not really concern me. One or two deliveries are taking off from a length. That is good for us, in a way, as we are not batting last. I was a part of the decision making team which suggested that we bat first after winning the toss. It might still turn out to be a good decision, but having said that, there are still two days to go. Things did not go our way yesterday (Day 2), but we chose to think about the next day and we came out very positively on Day 3, kept things as tight as possible and then to get some wickets too. This is a very important Test match and we do not want to go down in this game. It was very important that we had a great rest after Day 2 and come out fresh on Day 3. That is exactly what happened. We simply came out on Day 3 very positive, ready to go and things worked out in our favor. 250 would be fairly reasonable score to defend on this pitch for the team fielding last. This game still has a very long way to go before the end. This is Test cricket, and anything can happen for the rest of the game. Adrian (Griffith) played really well, hanging in there to the end. He will still come back on Day 4 and he could get a big total. Curtly (Ambrose) bowled as well on Day 3 as he has been bowling, but he had a bit more luck this time. Things just went his way. From now on, they, hopefully, will continue to go his way. Alex Stewart’s 105 was a well put together innings. He got a good explosive start and continued on. I think it was a really good innings. We had to remove him early on the 3rd day, as we knew that as long as he remained at the crease, he would score quickly and put the pressure on us. We were glad to get that wicket, especially Stewart’s, so early.”Day 3 was probably the fulcrum of this Test match. If the West Indies could continue their batting well on Day 4 and gain an ascendancy, then England could be facing 200-250 to win the game. England would be trying desperately to get early wickets on Day 4 to restrict the lead to under 200. This Test match is turning out to be a tight rope act. A slip could be very detrimental. Day 4 promises great intrigue.

A powerful collective batting performance from Canterbury set up a 65-run victory against Auckland in Timaru. After winning the toss, Canterbury made a fast start, with their openers adding 48 inside six overs. Henry Nicholls and Neil Broom then put on 103 for the second wicket, laying the foundation for a large score. Auckland fought back through Tarun Nethula, though, the legspinner taking three wickets to reduce the opponents to 166 for 5. Canterbury were lifted once again by Andrew Ellis and Todd Astle, who struck aggressive half-centuries to post 335 for 6.Auckland’s chase suffered because a lot of their batsmen got starts but no one made even a half-century. Opener Anaru Kitchen’s 47 was the top score. They slumped to 205 for 9 at on stage before Michael Bates struck 44 off 29 balls at No. 10 to lift them to 270 in 50 overs. Ellis and Astle took two wickets apiece for Canterbury to go with their scores of 66 not out and 83.Half-centuries from Jamie How, Ben Smith and Will Young spurred Central Districts to a six-wicket win against Wellington in Nelson. Chasing 256, How blasted 53 off 27 balls, Smith contributed 75, and Young was unbeaten on 97 as the target was achieved in 44.1 overs. Brent Arnel took all four Central Districts that fell.The Wellington batting had fallen away after their top three made useful contributions. Michael Pollard made 55, Michael Papps scored 35 and Stephen Murdoch contributed 61 but the innings slumped from 86 for 0 to 123 for 4. They collapsed again from 167 for 4 to 211 for 8, before finishing on 255. Adam Milne and George Worker took three wickets each for Central Districts.

Eighty-three players, including 65 from the USA, will participate in a first-round trial for a chance to be selected in a combined ICC Americas regional team that will take part in West Indies’ Nagico Super50 tournament next January. The 83 players will participate in the first part of the two-weekend trial, between September 18 and 21.Twenty-one players were already earmarked last month for the final weekend of the trial from September 24 to 27.The ICC has not confirmed how many players from the first weekend will be invited to phase two to join the second group of 21 players, but it is expected to be no more than ten. A final squad will then be picked, with some potentially getting a further invite to a Caribbean Premier League trial.Apart from the 65 USA players, the list includes 14 players from Canada, one each from Cayman Islands and Bermuda as well as two players from Argentina. The trial will be run by Tom Evans, the ICC Americas high-performance consultant.Three coaches Canada, two from USA and one from Bermuda – including Canada U-19 coach Errol Barrow and USA U-19 coach Thiru Kumaran – will play a talent observation and development role in the camp. However, none of the men’s national team coaches from the three countries will be taking part.”We were encouraged by the amount of interest in the online process and the quality of applications received, while I’m sure the selected players will now be striving for a place in Phase 2,” Evans said in an ICC press release.Batsman Timothy Surujbally is the only player from the recent USA World T20 Qualifier squad who will not be participating in the trial. Four players from the Canada squad – captain Rizwan Cheema, Ahmad Awais, Khurram Chohan and Jimmy Hansra – are absent, while Nikhil Dutta is another notable omission.Dutta, a 20-year-old offspinner, had earned a CPL contract with St Kitts and Nevis Patriots but a dispute arose over his commitment to the Canada squad for the T20 Qualifier, after which his No-Objection Certificate was revoked by Cricket Canada and he wound up not going to the qualifier either. ESPNcricinfo had reported last month that Dutta and Cricket Canada are working through mediation to come to a resolution over the dispute before any decision is made regarding his participation in the Indianapolis camp.The 65 USA players include two with relative obscurity from a cricketing perspective. Kyle Neathery is a 25-year-old former high school baseball star from Louisiana who is now trying his hand at cricket in Houston, Texas. Ryan Carter, 31, a former college lacrosse player at Butler University in Indianapolis, now lives and plays league cricket in the St. Louis area.Seven former USA representatives not part of the squad to Ireland are also in the list, including Timroy Allen, who was USA’s vice-captain at the 2013 T20 Qualifier in the UAE but had a falling out with the USACA administration and coach Robin Singh over player treatment during that tour. Ravi Timbawala, who is in the late stages of rehabilitation for a torn ACL suffered at the USACA T20 National Tournament in August 2014, is also in the list.Three USA players are from the current U-19 squad that finished runner-up to Canada at the ICC Americas U-19 championship last month in Bermuda – leading scorer Kushal Ganji, Karan Patel and Gauranshu Sharma, the youngest player at the camp at just 17.One teenager not included in any of USA’s junior squads but who received an invite for the trial is Caen Healy, 17. Born to an American mother and an Irish father in London, he lived in Ireland until he was 11 before moving to California in 2008. However, he has traveled back to Ireland over the last several summers to play as a wicketkeeper for Merrion Cricket Club in Dublin.Two other notable names are former Singapore player Glenn Meyer and former Guyana U-19 player Zaheer Saffie, who both currently play league cricket in New York City. Meyer made his senior team debut for Singapore as an opening batsman at the age of 16 in 2002, and played 38 times for the men’s team with the last of those games coming in 2008, before he moved to the USA.Saffie has been a prolific scorer in the Eastern American Cricket Association while captaining Big Apple Cricket Club but has never drawn the attention of regional or national selectors. He played for Guyana U-19 for three years between 2002 and 2004, where his team-mates included current West Indies players Leon Johnson, Assad Fudadin and Devendra Bishoo.

Tom Curran, the Surrey pace bowler, has been added to the England Performance Programme for the training camps in South Africa and the UAE.Curran, 20, who was born in Cape Town, is due to complete his residential qualification period at the end of October and be eligible for England.He finished the season with 105 wickets in all cricket – 76 of them in the Championship to make him the joint-leading wicket-taker in Division Two – after claiming 10 for 176 against Northamptonshire at The Oval, including 7 for 35 in the first innings when he shared all ten wickets with his younger brother, Sam.James Whitaker, the national selector, said: “Tom has had a superb season leading the Surrey pace attack, and following confirmation that he is due to complete his residential qualification to play for England at the end of October, we are delighted to add him to the EPP fast bowlers group for the winter.”The EPP is initially split into two sections and Curran will join the fast-bowling group in Potchefstroom for a 10-day camp before linking up with the batting/spin bowling players who will be based in Dubai.Jake Ball, Craig Miles, Craig and Jamie Overton, Tymal Mills and Olly Stone are the other fast bowlers heading to South Africa.Sam Curran, 17, has been included in the England U-19 squad for a triangular series in Sri Lanka ahead of next year’s U-19 World Cup in Bangladesh.

Kent 159 (Footitt 4-61) and 30 for 0 require a further 299 runs to beat Derbyshire 253 (Godleman 108) and 234 for 3 dec (Godleman 105*)
ScorecardBilly Godleman has three hundreds in a row, a rare feat in Derbyshire’s history•Getty Images

Billy Godleman had a day to remember as Derbyshire moved into a commanding position in the LV County Championship Division Two match against Kent.The opener became only the fifth Derbyshire batsmen to score centuries in three consecutive innings and the first for 25 years, joining William Storer, Levi Wright, Peter Kirsten and Kim Barnett in the county’s record books.Godleman followed his hundred at Leicester and 108 in the first innings with an unbeaten 104 out of 234 for 3 before Derbyshire declared after rain held up play for two-and-a half hours.Godleman said: “It’s very special, 25 years is a long time and I’m very humbled by that achievement. I know because I’ve done it for 10 years that opening in first-class cricket is difficult so when I get in I try and make the most of it.”Derbyshire elite performance director Graeme Welch also confirmed that Sri Lankan batting star Tillakaratne Dilshan, who was not selected for the Kent game, had returned home and would not play again for the club.”It’s amicable,” Welch said. “We can’t get promoted so we might as well play some of the young lads and he understands that.”Kent’s chances of chasing down a target of 329 looked slim on the evidence of their first innings but Rob Key and Daniel Bell-Drummond played well to reduce it by 30 when bad light brought an early close.Bell-Drummond knows the odds are against Kent but said: “We haven’t been batting well in the red ball game and didn’t bat well first innings but everyone knows the capability of our side with the bat so we will try and make sure we click tomorrow and do the best we can. We’re not favourites and it’s a tough ask and we will need to play smartly.”They had gone into the third day well behind in the game with Derbyshire 73 for 1, already 167 runs on, and the early breakthroughs the visitors needed failed to come as Godleman and Chesney Hughes took the second wicket stand to 114 in 34 overs.A strong wind, which blew Sam Northeast’s cap off at one stage, may have hampered the bowlers but there were few alarms for Godleman and Hughes with both reaching 50 with boundaries from James Tredwell.Hughes, who was dropped at cover on 46, was bowled going for another big hit at Tredwell but Wayne Madsen accelerated towards a declaration with 43 from 41 balls before he was bowled by Ivan Thomas.Goldeman’s progress had stalled as he approached the milestone and he was in the nineties for 41 balls before he nudged Tredwell behind square and raced through for the single that took him to three figures.Alex Hughes became the second Derbyshire player to retire hurt when a hand injury forced him to go for an x-ray but even against an attack two bowlers down, Kent had a hard road ahead of them but Key and Bell-Drummond negotiated 10 overs to leave a target of 299 on the final day.

The former Australia captain, Ricky Ponting, current New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum and the former New Zealand spinner and captain Daniel Vettori are among a cast of high-profile witnesses set to take the stand in the perjury trial involving former New Zealand allrounder, Chris Cairns.Cairns has been accused by the Crown Prosecution Service of lying under oath during a 2012 libel case and could face a prison sentence of a maximum of seven years if found guilty.Also standing trial is Cairns’ former legal counsel Andrew Fitch-Holland, who has been charged for perverting the course of justice in the 2012 case against former IPL chairman Lalit Modi, who had accused the one-time New Zealand captain of match-fixing.Former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming and opener Mark Greatbatch have been named as potential witnesses as the trial got underway at Southwark Crown Court in London on Monday morning. Also featuring on the 50-plus witnesses list, named by the prosecution and defence teams, are Cairns’ former New Zealand team-mates Shane Bond, Kyle Mills, Chris Harris and Andre Adams.There will also be some former and current ICC officials providing evidence: Ronnie Flanagan, the current head of the anti-corruption and security unit (ACSU) and Ravi Sawani, former ACSU general manager. Other witnesses are expected to include Cairns’ wife, Mel, and Mal Loye, the former England one-day batsman.Chris Cairns arrives at Southwark Crown Court on the first morning of his perjury trial•PA Photos

Although the court will reassemble on Wednesday afternoon, when a 12-person jury would be sworn in, the trial proper is likely to begin from next Monday when the prosecution begins calling on the witnesses. The first witness is likely to be former New Zealand opener Lou Vincent, who was banned for life last July by the ECB and the ICC following his confession that he had accepted money to underperform.On Monday the court was read the two charges against Cairns, the second of which is a joint action against Fitch-Holland, namely that the pair induced Vincent to provide a false witness statement during his successful libel action against Modi.Count one, which has been made against Cairns alone, was that, in the course of the same trial, Cairns “wilfully made a statement … which he knew to be false, namely that he has ‘never, ever cheated at cricket and nor would he ever contemplate such a thing'”.The trial is likely to stretch over a month with Justice Nigel Sweeney, the judge hearing the case, making it clear to the shortlisted jury that it was his “pessimistic view” that the trial would go until November 20.Cairns was first to arrive to the court as early as 8.45 am. In the morning session that lasted two hours, Cairns confirmed his identity to the court registrar, and exchanged a few words with Fitch-Holland, who sat next to him in the glass-panelled dock.The court shortlisted a jury of 16 members, out of which on Wednesday 12 would be sworn in with two spare members who would be present till the prosecution completes its arguments. The potential jury was also made aware of the fact that some of the witnesses would be facing the court through video conferencing from overseas with the time difference being sometimes as long as 11 hours for witnesses from New Zealand.The prosecution team is lead by Queen’s Counsellor Sasha Wass along with her colleague Esther Schwatzer-Weismann. Cairns’ defence team comprises Orlando Pownell and Simon Ray while Fitch-Holland is being represented by Jonathan Ladlow and Jonathan Polnay.

Match facts

November 15, 2015Start time 1700 local (1100 GMT)

Big Picture

The first T20 on Friday is reason enough to believe that the second game on Sunday would be another close one. Zimbabwe presented a strong defence after registering a below-par score, reducing Bangladesh to 80 for five, but ultimately 131 was never a great challenge for the hosts. At the end of the game, Malcolm Waller said Zimbabwe had to make a bigger total should they bat first again.The home side also have a few worries of their own. Bangladesh started very well with the ball and although they copped some hammering from Waller in the middle overs, they also fought back well. Mashrafe Mortaza, Mustafizur Rahman and Al-Amin Hossain were disciplined and effective.But the batting line-up must be looked into, again. Anamul Haque was run-out, Sabbir Rahman’s promotion was a talking point while the fact that Mahmudullah and Liton Das had to deal with a late chase was a question-mark. Sabbir is a natural striker of the ball so possibly the management wanted him to take advantage of the fielding restrictions of the first six overs, but given that he is also a good runner between the wickets and has a knack of finding gaps he remains a handy option down the order. Liton and Mahmudullah couldn’t finish the job together as Mashrafe had to strike a couple of big hits to ensure the win.Zimbabwe still remain a team with iffy batting form, despite promoting Sikandar Raza up the order. But it is a positive move, one that might pay off in the second game, their last chance to redeem themselves on the tour.

Form guide

Bangladesh WLLWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)Zimbabwe LLLLL

In the spotlight

After his six-hitting spree, Bangladesh will look at Malcolm Waller as the danger man in the second T20. He may have to look for new areas to land his big hits, which will be critical for Zimbabwe.It is now safe to say Al-Amin Hossain has made a successful comeback to international cricket. He remains a background man, proving important breakthroughs and keeping things tight from his end.

Team news

Anamul Haque is likely to get another go while Arafat Sunny and Kamrul Islam Rabbi can now expect a game too, given that Bangladesh are looking for a T20 combination suited for these conditions.Bangladesh (likely XI): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Anamul Haque, 3 Liton Das, 4 Mahmudullah, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 6 Sabbir Rahman, 7 Nasir Hossain, 8 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 9 Al-Amin Hossain, 10 Jubair Hossain, 11 Mustafizur RahmanJohn Nyumbu and Wellington Masakadza are still without a game, while Zimbabwe dropped Chamu Chibhabha and Taurai Muzarabani in the first T20. If they opt for a change, the offspinner Nyumbu might be worth trying out.Zimbabwe (likely XI): 1 Sikandar Raza, 2 Regis Chakabva (wk), 3 Craig Ervine, 4 Sean Williams, 5 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 6 Malcolm Waller, 7 Graeme Cremer, 8 Tendai Chisoro, 9 Tinashe Panyangara, 10 Luke Jongwe, 11 Neville Madziva

Pitch and conditions

Malcolm Waller said the ball kept low at times on the Shere Bangla surface. It remains a 150-160 pitch for teams batting first, but there was evidence that if a batsman wanted to target the shortened boundaries it was hard to stop. The weather has been pleasant with cooler temperatures.

Stats and trivia

• The first game wasn’t just Jubair Hossain’s first T20 international, but his first T20 at any competitive level.
• Friday was the first time that Tinashe Panyangara went wicketless in an international match since the ODI against Afghanistan on October 22.

Quotes

“This [second T20] could be the last chance for us to see how some of new players react under pressure [in this format].””In the next game, we need a lot more runs on the board and bowl well and have a good start and make things easier for ourselves.”

• It was the 1496th Test match in cricket history.
• It was the 36th Test match between these two sides. The record now reads:West Indies 12, Pakistan 10, drawn 14.
• It was the 18th Test match between these two sides in West Indies.The record now reads: West Indies 8, Pakistan 3 and drawn 8.
• It was the 161st Test match on West Indian soil. The record now reads:West Indies 65, opponents 27, drawn 69.
• Umpire Rudi Koertzen was officiating in his 19th Test, while forEddie Nicholls it was his 11th match as test umpire.
• Ramnaresh Sarwan was making his Test debut. He became 234thWest Indian to make a Test match appearance. At 19 years 330days Sarwan became second youngest since Shivnarine Chanderpauland 10th youngest in all to play for West Indies. The following table has the details:

  Yrs-days Player Island Opponents Venue Date of Debut17-122 Derek Sealy Barbados England Bridgetown Jan 11,193017-245 Garry Sobers Barbados England Kingston Mar 30,195418- 31 Robin Bynoe Barbados Pakistan Lahore Mar 26,195918- 74 Jeff Stollmeyer Trinidad England Lord’s Jun 24,193918-173 Alfie Roberts St.Vincent New Zealand Auckland Mar 9,195619-213 S.Chanderpaul Guyana England Georgetown Mar 17,199419-242 Alfred Scott Jamaica India Kingston Mar 28,195319-285 Gerry Gomez Trinidad England Manchester Jul 22,193919-312 Elquemedo Willett Nevis Australia Bridgetown Mar 9,197319-330 Ramnaresh Sarwan Guyana Pakistan Bridgetown May 18,2000

• The match was 17th for Courtney Walsh, which takes him pastDesmond Haynes and Viv Richards’ tally of 16 matches againstPakistan. The record of making most Test appearances againstPakistan, is however held by India’s Kapil Dev – 29.
• The match was Wasim Akram’s 16th against West Indies, whichequals Javed Miandad’s tally. Now only Imran Khan (18) is ahead ofAkram for Pakistan.
• The five wicket haul in the first innings was Courtney Walsh’s thirdagainst Pakistan – maximum for West Indies. He was earlier at level withtwo such instances with Ian Bishop (in 8 matches) and Malcolm Marshall(in 12 matches).
• The catch of Chanderpaul in first innings was Moin Khan’s 23rd dismissalin ninth match as `keeper against West Indies, which makes him the most successfulPakistani `keeper against West Indies. Moin surpassed Salim Yusuf’s tally of 22 dismissals(19 catches and 3 stumpings) from seven matches. Incidentally Australia’s Ian Healywith 78 dismissals in 28 matches holds the record of making most dismissalsagainst West Indies.
• Wavell Hinds scored his maiden Test hundred in his fourth Test. His inningsis the second highest for West Indies against Pakistan at this venue afterEverton Weekes’ 197 in 1957-58.
• Ramnaresh Sarwan became the fifth youngest West Indian to score a maiden Test matchfifty. His innings is also the 18th highest by a West Indian debutant andfifth highest by a West Indian on his first appearance against Pakistan.
• The 219 run partnership for the first wicket between Mohammad Wasim and Imran Naziris the second highest for Pakistan for this wicket against West Indies – homeor away after the 298 run stand between Aamir Sohail and Ijaz Ahmed at Karachi in 1997-98.
• The partnership is,however, a new record for Pakistan on West Indian soilobliterating the 159 run partnership between Majid Khan and Zaheer Abbas atGeorgetown in 1976-77 (though 219 runs were added for this wicket, it consistedof two separate partnerships, Sadiq Mohammad retired hurt and was succeeded byZaheer Abbas when 60 had been scored).
• The Wasim-Nazir partnership was the sixth double century partnership for firstwicket against West Indies. Interestingly four times this feat has been recordedon West Indian soil.
• Imran Nazir scored his maiden Test hundred in his second Test. His previous highestwas 64 on debut against Sri Lanka at Lahore in 1998-99.
• At 18 years 157 days Nazir also became the third youngest batsman to notch up amaiden hundred in Test cricket history. Only fellow Pakistani Mushtaq Mohammad andIndia’s Sachin Tendulkar had scored a Test hundred at a younger age than Imran Nazir.The following table lists the youngest Test centurions in cricket history. The details :

  Yrs-days Batsman (Score) Countries Venue Season17-82 Mushtaq Mohammad (101) Pak v Ind Delhi 1960-6117-112 Sachin Tendulkar (119*) Ind v Eng Manchester 199018-157 Imran Nazir (131) Pak v WI Bridgetown 1999-0018-328 Salim Malik (100*) Pak v SL Karachi 1981-8218-335 Shahid Afridi (141) Pak v Ind Chennai 1998-9919-26 Mohammad Ilyas (126) Pak v NZ Karachi 1964-6519-108 Mohammad Wasim (109*) Pak v NZ Lahore 1996-9719-119 Javed Miandad (163) Pak v NZ Lahore 1976-7719-121 Henry Vivian (100) NZ v SA Wellington 1931-3219-121 Neil Harvey (153) Aus v Ind Melbourne 1947-48

• Nazir also became the second Pakistani and 34th batsman to score a hundred onfirst appearance against West Indies. Hanif Mohammad ,with record 337 atBridgetown in 1957-58 ,is the only other to do so.
• The duck in second inning was Wasim Akram’s seventh against West Indies.He hasnow joined four other batsmen who have also recorded an aggregate of sevenducks in a career against West Indies: England’s Pat Pocock (in 10 matches),John Snow (in 14 matches) and Derek Underwood (in 17 matches) and India’s BishanSingh Bedi (in 18 matches). However it is an Australian who holds the record ofaggregating most ducks in a career against West Indies. Ian Healy’s 28 matchesfetched him 10 ducks against West Indies.
• Wavell Hinds became fourth West Indian to score a hundred and a fifty in the samematch against Pakistan. Others to do so are : Garry Sobers (125 & 109* at Georgetown in 1957-58), Roy Fredericks(120 & 57 at Port-of-Spain in 1976-77) and Gordon Greenidge (100 & 82 at Kingstonin 1976-77). Interestingly Hinds is the first West Indian to score fifty plusscores in both innings of a Test against Pakistan since Viv Richards who made 72 & 67 atFaisalabad in 1980-81.
• The catch of Wavell Hinds in second innings was 100th for Moin Khan in his54th match. He became the second Pakistani to do so after Wasim Bari (201 catches in 81 matches). However his tally includesone catch taken in the field, hence technically he is still one short of completing his century of catches as `keeper.

Railways got off to a winning start in the CricInfo Rani Jhansitournament at the AC Tech ground in Chennai today. The spin troika ofRupanjali Shastri, Deepa Kulkarni and Neetu David ran rings around theCentral Zone batswomen to restrict them to 116 in the morningsession. After losing two relatively early wickets in reply, a durablethird wicket association between Rajini Venugopal and Hemlata Kala putRailways on the victory trail and they closed out the match by sixwickets with almost ten overs to spare.In a change of tactics , Central Zone decided to bat first on winningthe toss rather than chase a target which they had successfullyaccomplished yesterday. The dependable combination of Bharati Varmaand Priyanka Sailey opened the innings . Priyanka was clearly beingthe more flamboyant of the two while Bharati played the anchor role.The strategy seemed to be to keep wickets in hand by waiting for thebad balls and in the meantime, taking the singles aggressively. Therunning between the wickets was not the most professional, a littlemore method in the madness would have been desirable, but they managedto avert tragedy.The score had mounted to 34 in 13 overs when spin made its firstappearance in the form of Rupanjali Shastri’s off breaks. In the nextover the left arm orthodox tweakers of Neetu David wereintroduced. She kept Bharati quiet for four balls before the latterlost patience, going for a heave against the spin to be bowled.Chitra Vajpayee tried another cross batted swipe off Rupanjali, a laBharati, and was lucky to see it miss the stumps. But the writing wason the wall and she tried to cut one outside off in the same over onlyto nick one through to the keeper. She was gone for a fourth ballduck.This started a procession as Rupanjali then packed off Arundhati andPreeti Dudhe in her next two overs, also for ducks, to put Central indire straits at 41/4 in the 20th over. Priyanka had watched thebloodletting from the other end and she now got a partner in RahulSingh, coming in at No.6, who seemed to possess the same steelynerves. Neetu gave the ball plenty of air, inviting Priyanka to cometo the pitch of the ball, and the latter picked up the gauntlet toloft her for two fours to wide long on. A fielder was quietly put backon the long on boundary and Priyanka just could not resist launchingherself into another flighted delivery and holed out to her. If everan object lesson was delivered in how to buy your wicket, this wasit. Priyanka had made 24 (63 balls, 3 fours), which remained the topscore in the innings.Skipper Deepa Kulkarni, another left arm spinner, had put herself onby now and Rahul, after striking three boundaries, gave a tame catchto Balvir Kaur at midoff. Varsha Raphael played some attractivestrokes en route to 21 from 31 balls and after she was bowled byDeepa at 90, captain Leena Muley and Bindeshwari Goel delayed theinevitable. The innings finally folded up for 116 in the 48th over,with Rupanjali and Deepa both finishing with 3/21 from 10 overs,while Neetu bagged 2/27 from ten.Railways began slowly with openers Rajini Sharma and Reshma Gandhijust getting their eye in and not trying to do anything daring. Rajiniwas especially strong on the off side as she stroked two boundariesthrough the covers off Central captain Leena Muley. Off break bowlerVarsha Raphael had opened the innings from the pavilion end ratherthan the more conventional medium pace option of Neetu Singh. In thetenth over Reshma came into her elements with a boundary to square legand a fluent drive to wide long off that was stopped just inside therope. But in the same over, Varsha flattened Rajini’s off stump asshe played back to one that kept a trifle low. She was thensurprisingly taken off and left arm spinner Preeti Dimri, who was notplayed yesterday, came into the attack while at the other end, PreetiDudhe, the bespectacled leg spinner was given a fling. Dimri has anice easy action with economy of effort and struck by drawing Reshmainto a drive and beating her in the flight. Keeper Arundhati had thebails off in one quick motion and Railways were down to 31/2 in the14th over.This brought two relatively new batswomen to the crease in RajiniVenugopal and Hemlata Kala. They gave the bowling a wide berth atfirst as the two Preetis despairingly attempted to make furtherinroads. Dudhe was getting good bounce and Arundhati collected one atchest height that just beat the outside edge of Hemlata’s bat. Thelatter had another close call as she drove Dudhe on the up to coverbut it just failed to carry to the lunging fieldswoman who took it onthe half volley. But the longer these two stayed at the wicket, themore emboldened they became.The running between the wickets was a class higher than anything elseseen in the match, with the ones being converted into twos withcheek. The same could not be said of the Central fielding though whichwas rather unedifying at times. The run stand was finally broken inthe 35th over by left arm spinner Rahul Singh when Hemlata stepped outto cart her away but played inside the line to leave her wickets in amess. Two balls later Balvir Kaur was bowled in identical fashion toleave the score at 93 /4 and Railways were making a struggle out of anordinary task. Captain Deepa Kulkarni brought some composure to theproceedings and with Rajini continuing to fire away at the other end,the win was finally sealed in the 41st over, with the latter unbeatenon 42 (87 balls, 4 fours).