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Manchester City’s credentials as Premier League title chasers took another knock against the managerless Chelsea, as a last-gasp Enzo Fernandez equaliser rid Pep Guardiola’s men of all three points, leaving them six points behind Arsenal, who continue to be the pace-setters of the division.

A tenth straight victory at home in league action was not forthcoming in the end, with a second-half injury sustained to Josko Gvardiol only adding to Guardiola’s grievances.

Thankfully, the January transfer window will provide City with the perfect opportunity to strengthen at the back, as the Croat is set to be out of action for some time due to surgery required for a tibial fracture in his right leg.

Man City searching for Gvardiol replacement

This news was revealed shortly after the dust had settled on the dramatic 1-1 draw, with City content creator Steven Mcinerney cursing his team’s wretched luck on social media, by stating that Gvardiol is “one of the most important players in the side.”

To soften this almighty blow, City will surely be on the hunt for centre-back reinforcements this month, away from being linked to the likes of Vinicius Jr to enhance their attacking arsenal even more.

BBC Sport has now revealed that City are going to accelerate a move for in-demand Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi this January, with Ruben Dias also suffering an unwanted injury issue against Chelsea.

Both of these injury concerns have alerted City to the potential of trying to bring in Guehi at some stage this month, with a discounted deal perhaps in the offing, as the Englishman’s contract expires at Selhurst Park at the end of the campaign.

The report does further state that Liverpool are still keen on Guehi’s services, but it remains to be seen whether they’d make a move in January or not, as the £35m-rated star’s short-term future remains up in the air.

At present, City seem to be favourites with Fabrizio Romano revealing that the Citizens have made an “initial approach” to sign the player.

Why Guehi can be their best signing since Haaland

Should a move for Guehi be completed then they could potentially win their best signing since Erling Haaland entered the building in 2022 for what now feels like a very modest very modest £51.2m.

Now, as per Transfermarkt’s estimations, the Nordic goal machine is worth a mind-blowing £173m, and that doesn’t seem too far-fetched a figure.

Haaland is now staggeringly 149 goals down for City from 172 appearances, with commentator Pat Nevin even hailing him as “superhuman” for his ability in front of goal, which has also seen him chip in with a devastating 104 strikes in the Premier League alone.

Off the back of this information, it might well be considered an audacious shout to suggest that Guehi’s signing could rival the earth-shuddering success story of the potent Scandinavian.

Still, much like Haaland has made a striker spot his own at the Etihad through complete domination, the one-time Chelsea youth product will also be looking to come in and be instantly as impactful in the depleted centre-back department.

After all, in a similar fashion to how Haaland has been consistently lauded for being an animal in front of goal, Guehi has also been noted as a “monster” by Palace reporter Bobby Manzi for his frightening ability to win duels for fun at Selhurst Park, with the 25-year-old a feared figure to come up against in the Premier League, much like the unerring City number nine.

Guehi’s PL numbers this season

Stat (* = per 90 mins)

Guehi

Games played

19

Goals scored

2

Assists

3

Touches*

66.9

Accurate passes*

45.1 (85%)

Big chances created

4

Ball recoveries*

4.5

Clearances*

5.3

Total duels won*

5.2

Clean sheets

6

Stats by Sofascore

Guehi is now up to 151 top-flight appearances for the Eagles, meaning he won’t be fazed one bit by a switch to the Etihad, with a monstrous 666 duels won in total across his very impressive South London stay.

Looking at the table above, though, he isn’t just a forceful presence, with two goals and three assists also coming his way this season, from a standout 85% pass accuracy, backing up comments from TNT Sport pundit Owen Hargreaves that the England regular is a “dream” to have in your side, for how well-rounded he is.

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Guardiola has also been known to get even more out of the players at his disposal, with Haaland turning into a robotic finisher at Premier League level in an instant under the Spaniard’s wing.

For £35m, or even less, it feels like a no-brainer decision to try and win Guehi’s services, as he attempts to work his magic on another seriously impressive asset, with the Palace captain even bettering Gvardiol in the duels won department this season.

With City also splashing cash on some duds in recent windows, as seen in the £59m switch for Omar Marmoush falling flat, winning themselves a bargain in Guehi would see them return to shrewder acquisitions, in the same mould as Haaland’s ridiculous £51.2m move.

Their defence looks totally depleted and as they challenge for the title, this move could be one that helps get them over the line at a crucial point in the campaign.

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He’s already working on an exit.

Posts ByTom Cunningham

Ruben Amorim was sacked by Manchester United after clashing with the club’s hierarchy over transfer plans heading into the January window, with Darren Fletcher placed in temporary charge.

Amorim won only 24 of his 63 games in charge in all competitions, or 38.1 per cent, the worst rate of any permanent United manager since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson – only interim boss Ralf Rangnick’s 37.9 per cent was worse.

Related Arteta 2.0: Man Utd now targeting "best coach in the PL" & it's not Glasner

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Posts ByEthan Lamb

The 40 year-old then didn’t have a leg to stand on when he told the scouting department and sporting director “to do their job” after a 1-1 draw at Leeds United.

The Red Devils have now seen ten managers come and go (including interims) since Fergie retired, and PA Media have shared a shortlist of who is most likely to be number 11.

6 Oliver Glasner

Glasner guided Crystal Palace to their first major trophy by lifting the FA Cup last season. The 51-year-old Austrian, whose Palace contract expires in the summer, has been linked to several clubs amid ongoing speculation about his future.

Like Amorim, Glasner is known to play a three-man defence with wingbacks, but has also been at conflict with the Eagles’ leadership over a lack of support in the transfer market, an all too familiar story.

5 Sir Gareth Southgate

The former England manager is reportedly admired by the Old Trafford hierarchy and has been linked with the post in the past. The 55 year-old has been called “ruthless” by England international John Stones and could be exactly what United need.

Whether Southgate wants to return to management after stepping down as England boss in the wake of Euro 2024 is open to debate.

4 Unai Emery

The 54-year-old Spaniard has transformed Aston Villa’s fortunes since taking over three years ago.

Emery masterminded a thrilling Champions League campaign last season and this term has them competing for the Premier League title despite a recent defeat to Arsenal.

The Spaniard’s perceived negative style of football may turn fans against him if results don’t go his way early.

3 Xavi

The former Barcelona midfielder was a proven winner as a player and has carried that through to his management career.

The 45-year-old won La Liga as Barcelona coach in 2023, but left the Catalan giants the following year and has been out of management for nearly two years.

2 Andoni Iraola

The 43-year-old Spaniard has been tipped to take charge of a bigger club following his work on the south coast.

Iraola has impressed since taking over Bournemouth in 2023, securing club-record points tallies in his two seasons at the Vitality Stadium. His three visits to Old Trafford as Bournemouth boss have included two 3-0 wins and last month’s dramatic 4-4 draw.

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His lack of experience at an elite level club may count against him.

1 Marco Silva

Silva’s stock has risen in recent months and has extensive experience of English football having managed at Hull, Watford, Everton and Fulham.

The 48-year-old Portuguese has lifted Fulham to within a few points of the Champions League places with an attractive style of play.

His side outplayed Liverpool on the weekend Amorim was sacked, which may just endear him to the Old Trafford faithful from the off.

Liverpool are set to battle Arsenal for the signature of one of Europe’s brightest talents in the upcoming January transfer window.

Liverpool's summer spend not paying off

The Reds spent nearly £450m on new signings in the summer, but Arne Slot has bemoaned the lack of opportunities for his new arrivals due to injuries.

“I think a lot has been said by so many people about the amount of money we’ve spent,” said Slot ahead of the Reds’ first fixture of 2026, as they prepare to welcome Leeds United to Anfield on Thursday.

“But unfortunately not all of the money we’ve spent we have used and that has to do with the injuries of these players.”

Summer signing Florian Wirtz finally scored his first Liverpool goal in the win over Wolves however, and the manager was full of praise for his number seven.

FSG are expected to back Slot again in 2026, especially in the wake of the fallout over Mohamed Salah’s future, and they have now made contact for a young playmaker who could replace the Egyptian’s creativity.

Related Wirtz will make him "world-class": Liverpool ready to push for £65m star

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Posts ByAngus Sinclair Liverpool making phone calls for Kenan Yildiz

According to Tuttosport, via Sport Witness, Liverpool and Arsenal have made phone calls regarding a move for Kenan Yildiz.

The Juventus youngster would cost around £88m, and it now seems as if FSG have gone so far as to make contact with the Italian club.

The report claims Juve have been left panicking by the contact from England, and are pressing “full speed” ahead to try and tie Yildiz down to a new contract.

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The Turkey international, who is at his best in the number ten role but like Wirtz can play on either wing, has scored 13 times and provided eight assists for club and country this season.

Scout Ben Mattinson believes the 20 year-old is “100% a superstar” and will be at his best occupying a ‘second striker’ role behind a more recognised number nine.

Yildiz, for his part, is not agitating to leave Turin, but while the new deal remains unsigned, more and more rumours will circulate about his future.

	Chris Rogers is not viewed by Western Australia as a key one-day batsman despite becoming Australia’s 399th Test player this season © Getty Images

Western Australia are in danger of losing their star opening batsman Chris Rogers, who is meeting with the state’s officials to decide his future. Rogers is reportedly unhappy with his continued omission from the state’s one-day side, which he believes is limiting his chances of further international call-ups.He has attracted interest from South Australia and Queensland, while Tasmania’s captain Daniel Marsh also said the Tigers would love to have him. Rogers is speaking to the Western Australian Cricket Association’s chief executive Graeme Wood, the coach Tom Moody and the state match committee chairman Tom Hogan to assess his options.”There is no way we would like to see him go, he is a critical part of our future,” Moody told AAP. “He is highly regarded in this state, his record speaks for itself. Hopefully after those discussions with him he will be with us and looking forward.”Rogers, who holds a Cricket Australia contract, was named State Player of the Year in 2006-07 and made his Test debut at home in Perth this season. However, despite another solid Pura Cup season in which he made 744 runs at 43.76, Rogers is continually overlooked for limited-overs games and made only two FR Cup appearances this summer.A move to Adelaide would be a major coup for South Australia, whose top order has struggled severely since Darren Lehmann’s retirement. Queensland have also lost an experienced key batsman in Jimmy Maher, while Rogers could be a direct replacement for Tasmania’s departing opener Michael Di Venuto.Western Australia have also lost a top-order veteran with the retirement of Justin Langer, who was a regular one-day player for the state, and his absence might open a door for Rogers in the shorter format. Langer hopes whatever Rogers decides he does not let the matter drag on for too long.”It will be good for him to move on and the WACA to move on, whichever way he chooses to go,” Langer said. “If he wants to stay – and I would like to see him stay – then that is great, but if he decided he is not going to then he should make his decision.”

Having been banished from the world cricket community by the ICC, US cricket has returned, literally and figuratively, to its grass roots. It is doing what it does best – opening up its far frontiers to an exciting brand of cricket, and breaking many records in the process.Not that too many people, even in the Pacific Northwest, were paying much attention. Most Northwest cricketers were glued to their newly acquired broadband TV receivers as they followed the World Cup. Those who could afford it had made the 6000-mile flight to Jamaica and Barbados, and were sending back “wish-you-were-here” e-mails to folks back home.Those who did descend on the Kirigin Cellars in Morgan County, CA found themselves in an idyllic setting for cricket. Here are two first-class cricket grounds, not one; being built to professional standards by the wealthy owner of the Kirigin Cellars, one of the largest distributors of fine wines in Northern California. Here also is a major sponsor for the Northern California Cricket Association who is committed to the long-term development of cricket in this unlikely part of the world, called “Cricket’s Northwest Passage” by Chris Sandford in Cricketer International. Only the Woodley Park grounds in Los Angeles can claim to have similar facilities for staging major national tournaments and exhibition matches. And for a place that is closer to Japan and Hong Kong than to New York or Miami, this has to be a major achievement.The Northern California Cricket Association (NCCA), hosts of the tournament, made a risky decision–they chose to hold the InterLeague Tournament early in 2007, not late August or September.The “later” months are favoured by most US leagues, when their “regular” seasons have been completed. Playing early puts a great deal of pressure on the leagues, who have to select promising talent to be supported in the season ahead.The weather, too, could have proved to be the tournament’s undoing. There were brief showers and overcast skies through much of the tournament, and a bone-chilling breeze even in bright afternoon sunlight made spectators and reporters huddle underneath procured blankets, warmed by some very spicy curry served by the hosts during innings breaks. But it worked out for the best, and a good time was had by all.Below, in Rohan Chandran’s words, is a match-by-match commentary as our selected eyewitness to the InterLeagueTournament. We hope folks will find it almost as enjoyable as if they were at the new Kirigin Cellars cricket complex in the first place.******************************************************************************************The NorthWest InterLeague Cup tournament was held at Kirigin Cellars winery, in Morgan Hill, CA. It featured representative sides of the Northern California Cricket Association (NCCA), Bay Area Cricket Alliance (BACA), California Cricket League (CCL), and the North West Cricket League representing Washington State, Oregon and Idaho (NWCL).The host team, NCCA, ultimately prevailed, beating all three of their opponents, but it was a success that was threatened several times along the way. Particularly promising for all concerned was the fact that the architects of the triumph were two young cricketers just starting out on what will hopefully become long and fruitful careers.Medium-pacer Sunny Singh Baidwan was, along with BACA’s U-19 off-spinner, Saad Khan, the pick of the bowlers on display; whilst 18 year old Shoaib Saleem displayed a maturity beyond his years with match-winning knocks in both his trips to the middle.Game 1: NCCA vs. BACA
After winning the toss and electing to bat, BACA got off to a flier, thanks to an aggressive display from Iftikhar Khan, and a generous helping of extras from the NCCA opening bowlers. Wickets kept falling however, and at 74 for 6, BACA looked down and out. However, some selective counter-attacking by another Under-19 player, Randhir Kalsi, coming in at number seven, helped his side eke out a total of 146 before he was trapped by the offspin of Nirav Shah. That the entire innings lasted just 29 overs paints a clear picture of the tactics adopted, unsuccessfully, by the BACA batsmen. The NCCA reply began in the best possible fashion, with Rohan Dutt pulling the first ball of the innings high over mid-wicket for six. His 66, in an opening partnership of 95 with skipper Arjun Thyagarajan, laid a solid platform as the medium pacers were easily dispatched to all corners of the field. Some injudicious strokeplay from the middle order gave BACA a glimmer of hope, but 146 was never going to be enough, and NCCA emerged victorious by five wickets with 19 overs to spare.Game 2: NWCL vs. CCL
In contrast to that one-sided affair, NWCL needed all their mental strength to see off CCL by just one run on the adjacent field. Half-centuries for Srikanth Sundaragopalan and pugnacious legspinning allrounder Saurabh Verma led NWCL to a defensible total of 239 for 7. Having elected to field first, CCL let themselves down with a poor catching display, and the concession of 24 wides. They then lost three early wickets before the scoreboard had really got moving, leaving NWCL scenting victory. Former NCCA skipper Nauman Mustafa then took charge, driving his way to 70 runs in a century partnership with Saad Hasan. A mini-collapse left CCL needing 68 in 9 overs with four wickets in hand. USA national squad member Fauad Hasan, the CCL captain, batted with the clear intent of finishing the game off as quickly as possible. With 16 needed in 18 balls, with three wickets in hand. A tame caught and bowled saw the end of Hasan. At this stage 12 balls remained, two runs were needed to win, one run to tie. But a slight hesitation over a tight single was pounced upon by NWCL, and they stole back a game they had once dominated and then nearly thrown away at the death.Game 3: NCCA vs. CCL
Having been sent in to bat, NCCA got off to a terrible start, losing Rohan Dutt for a duck, and finding themselves 54 for 4 with the last recognized batsmen at the crease. Fortunately for them, Jay Kashalikar and the youngster, Shoaib Saleem, on debut, forged a partnership that was an object lesson in batting at this level. NCCA’s innings evolved into a series of very smartly taken singles and twos. Just when things looked to be getting back under control, Fauad Hasan induced a leading edge to send Kashalikar back to the pavilion, and the innings teetered on the brink at 143 for 9. That was the moment that Saleem chose to show everyone watching just how to play the game. Number eleven Sandeep contributed just one run to a last wicket partnership of 48, which was only ended by a needless run-out off the final delivery of the innings. The CCL reply never really got off the ground once Sunny Singh Baidwan had struck twice in two overs early in the innings. Ayan Banerjee fought hard for his 42, but none of the other batsmen got going against a disciplined attack, and they could only muster 131 in their reply, despite some poor catching by the NCCA fielders.Game 4: NWCL vs. BACA
In the day’s second game, NWCL collapsed to 117 for 6 after winning the toss, and it was only Saurabh Verma’s 47, following on from his half-century the previous day, that took his team to a respectable 217. The spin attack of Saad Khan and Mayank Pradhan captured three and four wickets respectively for BACA. It was Verma’s day in fact, and in nine overs of legspin he snared 5 for 21, decimating the BACA middle order, and ensuring that Jaswinder Singh’s valiant 46 was in vain. BACA fell 54 runs short, thereby setting up a straight knock-out for the championship between NWCL and NCCA on the final day.Game 5: BACA vs. CCL
In what was a fight to not finish last, BACAs spin twins of Saad Khan and Mayank Pradhan were once again amongst the wickets, taking 4 for 19 and 4 for 30 respectively as the CCL top order all failed to capitalize on good starts. A total of 180 seemed eminently reachable, but a very tight spell of spin bowling from Fauad Hasan, and five catches behind the stumps for Nauman Mustafa, put a stranglehold on the batsmen, and once again it was only Jaswinder Singh who resisted, scoring 59 as his team spluttered their way to 147, not once looking like posing a serious threat to CCL.Game 6: NCCA vs. NWCL
The hosts were favourites going into this one, and they started out in determined fashion, making the NWCL openers struggle for every run. Wickets fell regularly to the medium pace of Badiwan, Patel and Kashalikar, and it was only some very determined batting by the tail that turned 94 for 6 (with David Hoyle retired hurt as well) into 162. That score was not thought to be sufficient to test the NCCA batting line-up, but when Rohan Dutt fell for his second successive duck, and skipper Arjun Thyagarajan and Jay Kashalikar followed him to leave the home side reeling at 15 for 3, all bets were off. The left-right combination of Sikander Khan and Sunil Chandrupatla steadied the ship, but it was left to young Shoaib Saleem to once again play the winning hand, his undefeated 49 guiding his more experienced colleagues home with six overs to spare.All four teams in the tournament showed the rust-inducing effects of a long winter without cricket, but in the strong performances of several debutant youngsters, the first stones in a foundation for a successful future may well have been laid here.

Lou Vincent, the New Zealand batsman, will replace Phil Jaques at Worcestershire for five weeks when Jaques returns to Australia for the Top End Series which starts at the end of June.Steve Rhodes, Worcestershire’s Director of Cricket, said: “I am delighted that Lou has agreed to play with us. He is the ideal person to substitute for Phil particularly for the Twenty20 Cup competition. He will bring a dynamic style of play and is the type of character we want in the dressing room.”Vincent added: “It didn’t take me long to decide to accept Worcestershire’s offer and I am really looking forward to joining the squad later in June. I hope I can make a substantial contribution during my five weeks with the team, particularly in the Twenty20 Cup which I know has been a huge success in England.”Vincent will arrive on June 21 and play his first game in the C & G Trophy against Yorkshire, at New Road, four days later. He has played 22 Tests and 83 ODI’s for New Zealand.

Andrew Strauss’s wobbles are giving the Australians ideas © Getty Images

John Buchanan wants Australia to establish superiority over England’s new players Andrew Strauss, Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff in the two one-day tournaments before the Ashes series. The three huge talents, who have helped push England to the No. 2 ranking, have never faced the world champions in a Test and will be targets as Australia seek their ninth consecutive win.”We want to create some momentum and establish some sort of superiority at that time,” Buchanan told The Age. “The one-day series give us the opportunity to pit our skills against theirs, and then we would hope that in playing pretty well, we would assert ourselves and provide some sort of statement about the rest of the tour.” Australia’s first match of the NatWest Series, which also includes Bangladesh, is on June 18 and the three-game NatWest Challenge begins on July 7.The Australians, who have a handful of spies playing in the counties, believe they have found weaknesses in the batting of Strauss, who was named England’s Player of the Year after his stunning Test breakthrough. Strauss has already attracted the attention of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, who took his wicket in a county match.”We think he can play across his crease early, and therefore a swinging ball is an early option to him,” Buchanan told the paper. “He generally knows where his off stump is, but like all left-handers, he’s susceptible around that corridor area. He enjoys width, and can play spin well, but is probably limited in his shot range against spin.”

50 overs Australia 6 for 262 (Gilchrist 66, Ponting 58; Muralitharan 2-30) beat Sri Lanka 178 all out (Jayawardene 61, Sangakkara 58; Hogg 5-41) by 84 runs
Scorecard

Brett Lee celebrates a run-out

Sydney or Dambulla, fast pitch or slow turner, pace bowler or spinner,Australia appear to care little. Despite unfamiliar conditions and an indifferent, much-talked, record on the subcontinent, it was very much businessas usual for Australia in their opening match against Sri Lanka on Fridayevening: their batsmen rattled up 6 for 262, a record score at Dambulla,their fielders hit the stumps, and their bowlers proved far too mean andpenetrative.Sri Lanka threatened briefly thanks to a valiant 121-run stand for thefourth wicket between Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, but their twindeparture in the space of seven balls triggered a spectacular collapse. BradHogg snapped up five wickets for 41 runs, career-best figures, as Sri Lanka threw away their last five wickets for 12 runs to lose by 84.Australia controlled the match from the time Ricky Ponting won the toss andelected to bat first. This helped them avoid three-and-half-hours inscorching 35 C heat, and gave them best use of a slow pitch. AdamGilchrist (66) and Matthew Hayden (40) capitalised fully, adding 104 from110 balls for the first wicket, their 11th century stand together.As expected, Sri Lanka quickly turned to their spinners – their seamers onlybowled six overs in the innings – but Gilchrist and Hayden, after a brieflull, were soon ticking along comfortably. Gilchrist, who rushed to his 37th fifty from just 44 balls, was the more aggressive, unafraid to take the aerialroute against the slower bowlers.Upul Chandana, who finished up with 2 for 47 from his 10 overs, brought Sri Lanka back into the game as Gilchrist danced down the wicket and skeweda catch to Marvan Atapattu at cover. Moments later, Atapattu was back inaction with a diving, underarm flick to run out Mathew Hayden (2 for 114).Had Jayasuriya been able to gather a wayward return at the non-striker’s endwith Ponting, on 13, still struggling to regain his ground, Sri Lanka mighthave pulled themselves right back into the game. But Ponting and DamienMartyn settled and consolidated. Patiently, they milked 75 runs from 101 balls.

Matthew Hayden was part of another century partnership

Chandana once again provided the breathrough after returning for a secondspell. Martyn poked back a return catch and Chandana, tumbling aroundPonting’s bootstraps, snaffled the chance on the second attempt. Pontingdeparted soon after, lofting a catch to long-on (4 for 207).With Muttiah Muralitharan grabbing a couple of wickets – he finished with 2for 30 and troubled all the batsmen, especially with his wrong ‘un – SriLanka kept the lid on the Australian innings during the later stages, untilthe final over when Andrew Symonds cut loose, flogging three foursand a six over long-on off Jayasuriya to finish with 37 from 20 balls.Sri Lanka needed a good start, preferably one of their turbo-chargedspecialities. But Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana were both run out in thespace of four deliveries to leave them in dire trouble. Jayasuriyastarted the slide with a sloppy blind turn for two that belied the experience of 309 caps – a Sri Lankan record, surpassing Aravinda de Silva. Kaluwitharana followed next over as Atapattu unwisely gambled on Ponting’s arm from cover (2 for 13).It got worse for Sri Lanka as Atapattu, pushing forward tentatively, wasdeceived by some late movement and clean bowled by Jason Gillespie, whobowled a probing and economical spell with the new ball (6-2-14-1).The near-capacity crowd, many of who had sneaked off work for the weekendand traveled up from Colombo, were quiet and apparently resigned todefeat. But gradually, Sangakkara and Jayawardene repaired the early damageand built up some momentum against Australia’s second-string bowlers.Sangakkara reached his 10th fifty off 75 balls, and Jayawardene, forced tobat with a runner because of leg cramps, passed fifty for the 19th time soon after as Sri Lanka reached the final 20 overs needing 133 for victory.However, Brett Lee returned to the attack and choose an opportune time toclaim his 150th wicket in one-dayers, as Sangakkara feathered a catch behind (4 for 145). Minutes later, Jaywardene also departed as he edged a well-flighted offbreak onto his stumps to leave Sri Lanka pinned back on the ropes (5 for 147).With the run rate spiralling out of control – they needed 97 from the final 10 overs – wickets tumbled: Chandana (9), somewhat unfortunately, was trapped lbw; Vaas (0) edged to slip; Kumar Dharmasena (0) was stumped; Nuwan Kulasekera (0) was bowled and Muralitharan was brilliantly caught in the deep by Lee diving forward. By then, the stuffing had long since been knocked out of the Sri Lankans by an Australian team that just can’t stop winning.

MELBOURNE, Dec 31 AAP – A combination of relief and disappointment could lead Australia A to take an all-guns-blazing approach to tomorrow’s day-night cricket match against Sri Lanka at the MCG.Allrounder Andrew Symonds believes the conflicting emotions for players who have lived with selection anxieties could mean they will hammer out some frustrations.Symonds was today named in Australia’s 15-man World Cup squad along with fellow Queenslander Jimmy Maher, the Australia A captain.While Symonds was delighted at winning a berth, he felt for some of his Australia A teammates who missed out.Symonds and Maher agreed A-team allrounders Ian Harvey and Greg Blewett, batsman Michael Hussey and paceman Ashley Noffke were unlucky at being overlooked.Symonds said the timing of the squad’s release could mean some A players have their shackles freed.”I probably feel like there’s less pressure now that (the squad’s) actually been released,” he said.”It’s probably a load off everyone’s shoulders.”Maybe it’ll even spur people into action even more tomorrow. You might see a really fired-up side tomorrow.”Maher, who scored a century for Australia A against Sri Lanka earlier this month, said the A-team was keen to continue its good recent run, including wins over the Lankans and England.”There’ll be a lot of guys going out there to put on a show and we want to keep our form rolling with the A side and keep Sri Lanka under pressure when they play against Australia and England for the rest of the series,” he said.Sri Lanka will play veteran batsmen Aravinda De Silva and Hashan Tillakaratne, who were last week added to the Lankans’ World Cup squad.Captain Sanath Jayasuriya said the tourists’ confidence had picked up after their first win of the tour, against a country Victorian side in Hastings on Sunday.”We hadn’t had a win for three or four games and if we can have a win here it means we can get some confidence mentally,” he said.Sri lanka will rest off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan despite him bowling his first three overs of the tour on Sunday.Muralitharan is a chance to resume in the tri series match against Australia in Sydney on January 9.Teams:Australia A: Jimmy Maher (captain), Greg Blewett, Nathan Bracken, Ryan Campbell, Michael Clarke, Ian Harvey, Nathan Hauritz, Brad Hodge, Michael Hussey, Ashley Noffke, Andrew Symonds. Cricket Victoria to provide the 12th man.Sri Lanka (likely 12): Sanath Jayasuriya (captain), Russel Arnold, Marvan Atapattu, Aravinda De Silva, Dilhara Fernando, Pulsasthi Gunaratne, Mahela Jayawardene, Jehan Mubarak, Prabath Nissanka, Kumar Sangakkara, Hashan Tillakaratne, Chaminda Vaas.

The Premier League Limited Overs match between Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club and Burgher Recreation Club had to be abandoned after heavy rain in Colombo today.The start of the match had been delayed due to rain the previous night and the umpires had reduced the match to 33 overs per side. However, the delayed start meant that there was only time for seven of the second innings overs. At that stage BRC were 42 for 2 chasing 155 for victory. They were up with the run rate but had just lost both their openers and had two new batsmen at the wicket.BRC had won the toss and elected to field first. They were rewarded with the wicket of Sanath Jayasurya (5) early on. Bloomfield lost wickets regularly but Thillerkeratne Dilshan with 30 from 43 balls and and Suresh Perera with 41 from 44 ensured their side a competitive target.