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India defeated England by nine wickets at the CCC Ground in Colombo onThursday. The loss means that England, the defending champions, havebeen knocked out of the under-19 World Cup. India is now assured of aplace in the semi-final.Forced to chase a modest English total of 182 the Indian batsmenromped to victory with 7.3 overs remaining. Manish Sharma (86*) andRaneet Ricky (68) thrashed the bowling to all parts of the ground inan opening partnership of 134.Such was the ease with which they defeated England, the Indian playersfelt the need to have some extra practice after the match to brush upon some of their batting and bowling skills.Speaking afterwards to CRICINFO, the Indian coach was a very contentedman. “It turned out to be an easy one, I didn’t expect it to bethat easy. I think we batted pretty well. They didn’t try anythingstupid in the first 15 overs. Our fielding though needs to have a bitmore work as our ground fielding was a bit scratchy.”When asked if the players believed that they could win thistournament, he replied “they are starting to believe in themselvesthat they can do it, having seen most of the teams play. The next onethough is going to be a big one against Sri Lanka.”India dominated the entire match from the moment that they won thetoss and asked England to bat. Sallab Srivastava and Tripathyimmediately caused problems with their pace and prodigiousswing. However despite playing and missing on numerous occasions theEnglish batsmen did not get out to either.Mark Wallace (2) was the first to go when he was run out by a directhit from Yuvaraj Singh in the fourth over. Ian Bell and John Maunder,who was playing his first game of the tour, then battled hard tosurvive. Regularly playing and missing the pair were only parted inthe 15th over when Bell was caught behind off the medium pace ofRitender Sodhi.Michael Carberry and Maunders then put on 38 for the third wicketbefore Maunders was stumped for 32. With England precariously placedon 74-3 off 25 overs the arrival of Gary Pratt changed the tempo ofthe innings. Willing to use his feet, but also quick to cut, he wasthe only player to look comfortable against the spinners.However the 53-run partnership ended when Carberry was caught behindfor 36. The dismissal marked the beginning of the end for England, aswickets were then lost at regular intervals.When it came to England’s turn to bowl they wasted the new ball bybowling far too short on a flat wicket. Manish Sharma and Raneet Rickyplayed themselves in cautiously in the first 15 before taking theattack to the English bowlers.Their batting was a class above anything seen all day. Anything loosefrom the bowlers was punished severely. Not afraid to use their feetto the spinners and prepared to hit all the bowlers over the top theyraced to their target.England’s only consolatory wicket in the afternoon was RaneetRicky, bowled by Murtagh of his inside edge.

Wolves’ Portuguese midfield duo Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho could be heading for the exit door this summer, with the former being heavily linked with a big-money move to the likes of Barcelona after the conclusion of this season.

Moutinho, on the other hand, is at the moment set to play out the final few months of his contract at Molineux, with his £100k per week wages deal coming to an end at the end of the campaign.

The former Monaco star arrived in West Midlands for a bargain £5m fee back in 2018, and has become a fan favourite at the club, making 167 appearances in all competitions so far, scoring five goals and setting up another 23.

This season the midfield maestro, who turns 36 in September, has averaged a 7.08 match rating in the Premier League, the fourth highest out of the entire team, as they continue to fight for European football next season.

Pundit Danny Murphy was in awe of his ability after he starred in a Wolves win against Brentford earlier in the season, saying: “Thirty-five years of age. I think he’s missed five games in three and a half years which is some going. That’s durability for you. He’s such an intelligent footballer.”

Meanwhile, reporter Tim Spiers once dubbed him as “gorgeous”, while previously highlighting the “dazzling” ability he can offer from the centre of the pitch.

To add to the evidence that Moutinho’s career at the top level can continue for at least another season, he ranks in the top 15% among midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues and continental competitions for key passes per 90 (1.42), top 10% for dribblers contested per 90 (3.07) and top 10% for switches per 90 (3.28).

Furthermore, there is also evidence that the 142-cap Portugal legend has still got a good work-rate left in him, ranking in the top 17% for pressures in the defensive third per 90 (7.91) and top 20% for tackles won per 90 (1.86).

With a ready-made replacement in the shape of Luke Cundle coming through the academy and impressing in the first team when given the opportunity to do so, it would be very beneficial for him too to have one full season at senior level learning directly from Moutinho while receiving plenty of game time.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

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Therefore, it would be foolish from Wolves and manager Bruno Lage not to renew the 35-year-old’s deal, for at least one more season with him still showing the ability and level required to be a top footballer in the Premier League.

In other news: Lage may solve big Molineux dilemma by unleashing “excellent” unseen 18 y/o Wolves gem

Big Picture – A rare home Test for Ajaz Patel?

It has been more than 30 years since West Indies last won a Test in New Zealand, a drought captain Roston Chase has repeatedly highlighted during the ongoing three-match series. The visitors have shown they possess a bowling attack capable of unsettling New Zealand’s batters, but their own batting has failed to function in unison, apart from the second-innings rearguard in the first Test – aided in part by New Zealand being without two frontline fast bowlers through injury. That imbalance explains West Indies’ decision to strengthen their batting for the Mount Maunganui Test, with Alick Athanaze replacing the injured Ojay Shields in the playing XI.Yet, no single change can mask a deeper batting problem that has forced West Indies into repeated introspection. Chase himself averages under 16 with the bat as captain, and, beyond Shai Hope and Justin Greaves, contributions have been sporadic. Instability caused by form and injury has only compounded the issue. On the eve of the third Test, Chase said West Indies would target 300 in their first innings.While that figure may appear modest, it is a realistic benchmark in Mount Maunganui, where early seam movement is typical, and spin increasingly comes into play as matches wear on – a trend underlined by New Zealand including Ajaz Patel in their squad for the match.Related

• Ajaz Patel, Blundell back in New Zealand squad for third Test

• Chase: 'We try to hold everyone accountable for their actions'

Although captain Tom Latham stopped short of confirming his XI, even without Ajaz, the spin options of Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra could be enough against a fragile batting order. New Zealand will also hope their pace resources hold up, with Jacob Duffy and Zak Foulkes having shouldered heavy workloads following in-game injuries to Matt Henry, Nathan Smith and Blair Tickner across the first two Tests. From a batting point of view, there’s a lot to improve on; but collectively, New Zealand are still much stronger than the visitors.The hosts will look to make it 2-0 after victory in the second Test in Wellington, while West Indies arrive with ample motivation and plenty to prove. But whether the visitors possess the skillset required to win in these conditions remains the big question.Despite playing 12 Tests, Kavem Hodge averages below 25•AFP/Getty Images

Form Guide

New Zealand: WDWWW
West Indies: LDLLL

In the spotlight – Ajaz Patel and Kavem Hodge

Ajaz Patel last played a Test during the tour of India in 2024-25. He produced a Player-of-the-Match performance in that match, with figures of 11 for 160 helping New Zealand complete a 3-0 series sweep. Since then, Ajaz has been active across all three formats in domestic cricket. He has featured in all four games for Central Districts (CD) in the Plunket Shield this season, during which he completed 400 first-class wickets. Having bowled over 100 overs for CD, Ajaz arrives in strong rhythm, and with West Indies’ batting right-hand dominant, his role at home could extend beyond that of a holding bowler. If selected, Ajaz would be playing his first home Test since February 2020.Set to turn 33 in February, Kavem Hodge is the second-oldest batter in West Indies’ squad. Yet, despite playing 12 Tests, he averages below 25. However, with few consistent or convincing batting options emerging, Hodge remains in contention – if only just. Drafted in for the second Test to strengthen the batting, he fell for a duck in the first innings, but his strokeplay in the second made him West Indies’ most watchable batter before they were bowled out for 128. Hodge’s innings ended only due to a stunning catch from Will Young, and in Mount Maunganui, West Indies will hope Hodge can finally grab hold of the No. 3 role, which he was handed in Wellington but did not fully capitalise on.Tom Blundell has recovered from the hamstring injury that forced him to miss the Wellington Test•Getty Images

Team news

Wicketkeeper-batter Tom Blundell has recovered from the hamstring injury that forced him to miss the Wellington Test, and looks set to walk back into the XI. So Mitchell Hay, despite scoring a debut half-century in the second Test, has been released from the New Zealand side. Left-arm spinner Ajaz replaced the injured Blair Tickner in the squad, but Latham said the decision on whether he plays will be made on match day. There could also be a toss up between Phillips and Michael Bracewell for the spin-bowling allrounder’s role.New Zealand (probable): 1 Devon Conway, 2 Tom Latham (capt), 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Rachin Ravindra, 5 Daryll Mitchell, 6 Glenn Phillips/Michael Bracewell, 7 Tom Blundell (wk), 8 Zak Foulkes, 9 Michael Rae, 10 Jacob Duffy, 11 Ajaz Patel.West Indies have announced their XI, and barring any last-minute changes, the only swap is Athanaze, known for his comfort against spin bowling, replacing the injured seamer Shields. Chase has said he would bowl himself more in spinning conditions. Tagenarine Chanderpaul remains unavailable.West Indies: 1 John Campbell, 2 Brandon King, 3 Kavem Hodge, 4 Shai Hope, 5 Alick Athanaze, 6 Justin Greaves, 7 Roston Chase (capt), 8 Tevin Imlach (wk), 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Anderson Phillip, 11 Jayden Seales.

Pitch and conditions

At the Bay Oval, the pitch usually offers noticeable seam movement early on, particularly in the first two sessions, to go with good carry. Batting can be challenging at the start, before the surface flattens out as the Test progresses. From the third day onwards, the pitch tends to grip, and bring slow turn into play. Scoring late in the match becomes harder as wear and tear sets in, especially when chasing. Potential rain on days two and three could disrupt the Test.Kemar Roach is seven wickets away from 300 Test wickets•AFP/Getty Images

Stats and trivia

• Despite three previous Test appearances at home, Ajaz is yet to take a wicket in New Zealand.
• Kemar Roach is seven wickets away from becoming the fifth West Indies bowler to take 300 Test wickets. The four ahead of him are Courtney Walsh (519), Curtly Ambrose (405), Malcolm Marshall (376) and Lance Gibbs (309).
• The team winning the toss has opted to bowl in the last four Tests at the Bay Oval, and lost the match on three of those occasions. Only Bangladesh, in 2022, bucked that trend, as they won despite opting to bowl first.
• West Indies have won only two of their last 16 Tests. In the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, they’re still winless after seven matches.

Quotes

“The only thing left for us to do is to win and [we] just have to keep believing. I think that we’ve had some sparks of brilliance throughout the series, and it’s just for us to put them together for a longer period of time – especially in the batting. We think that if we could post a 300 total in the first innings, it would go a long way in us winning a Test match here. So it’s just for us to bat well and bat well not only once, but bat well twice.”
“Ajaz has been extremely successful for us overseas, and has been extremely successful for Central Districts, doing what he does in terms of being able to apply pressure, [and] tie an end up. When the opportunity presents itself, when a spinner becomes a little bit more attacking, he knows how to bowl in those conditions that are favourable to him. I think that’s probably something he relies on. He’s certainly got a lot of experience to lean on.”

50 overs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

	India, thanks in no small part to Gautam Gambhir and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, escaped from a hole but it was rain again that had the final word © AFP

For the second match running, a faithful Brisbane crowd was denied a full day of cricket as further inclement weather washed out the second match of the CB Series, this time between India and Sri Lanka. What they were treated to, in India’s uninterrupted innings, was the prototype of the perfectly-paced ODI century from Gautam Gambhir in only the second battle between these two teams on Australian soil.It was all happening during a compelling 50 overs of cricket, where Gambhir and Mahendra Singh Dhoni breathed life back into an innings that looked to have suffered a coronary attack by the halfway mark, putting on 184 for the fifth wicket to take India to a commanding 267 for 4. The average score at the Gabba in the last five ODIs has been 233 and India would have fancied their chances at recording a record 50th win over Sri Lanka, but the rain had other ideas.After a steady start, Tendulkar, who became the first batsman to go past 16,000 ODI runs, dragged one from Lasith Malinga back onto his stumps for 35. Virender Sehwag fell to a mistimed pull shot soon after, while Muttiah Muralitharan nailed two in his first over – he snapped up an out-of-sorts Yuvraj Singh for 2 in his comeback match and an unlucky Rohit Sharma for 0, after replays showed he didn’t edge to the wicketkeeper. The repair work began when India slipped to 83 for 4.However, there was little swing for Chaminda Vaas and Gambhir signalled his intent, straight-driving and pulling the veteran bowler for boundaries in the first over of a third spell. He should have been caught on 11, after opening the face of the bat off Ishara Amerasinghe, but Kumar Sangakkara dropped a left-handed take. Gambhir showed his hunger for runs and took the fight back to Sri Lanka.Arguably the best player of spin in the side after Tendulkar, he relied on his ability to flick, nudge and sweep Muralitharan. It worked very well, and an unflustered Gambhir negated Muralitharan’s mid-innings spell confidently. The spinners, with the field especially spread between overs 33 and 39, were quietly squirted into the gaps before Gambhir accelerated. It was a good exhibition of building an innings under pressure.Dhoni, on the back of a poor Test series, helped the partnership gain momentum with soft-handed pushes to the off side and hard, trademark paddles down the leg side. Perhaps most critically, the running between the wickets was top-drawer stuff; in fact, rarely has it been better, against one of the best fielding units around. The right-left combination ticked runs along at about four-and-a-half an over and as the conditions turned overcast, the 50-run stand came up in 78 deliveries.Gambhir welcomed the hard ball – following a mandatory change after 34 overs – with an even harder cut for four. With rain in the air, he began to target the shorter areas of the Gabba. Muralitharan came back on before the slog overs and Gambhir wasn’t afraid to use his feet in an attempt to lift the run rate. A thumping extra-cover-drive raised his ninth fifty in the 41st over and Gambhir rounded off the over with a firm pulled four. Singularly, Gambhir’s handling of Muralitharan was the stand-out feature of his innings. The same bowler who was so threatening initially was handled with utmost ease in the latter stage of the innings, and went for 51 from ten. For good measure, Malinga was welcomed back with an effortless six over extra-cover and India had scored 40 runs in four overs. Gambhir’s second fifty needed a mere 28 balls.Dhoni brought his fifty up with a six down the ground and despite cramping up after that shot, picked up boundaries down the leg side. India successfully picked up at least one four in each of the last ten overs, bar the 43rd, and they had Dhoni to thank for much of this as they added 105 during that period. Unflustered for his entire stay in the middle, Dhoni played a captain’s innings, an unbeaten 95-ball 88, highlighted with punchy shots and superb running. Shot by shot, run by run, he and Gambhir had turned damage control into coruscating counter-aggression.The drizzle began towards the end of the Indian innings, and only gained in intensity during the break. It soon turned into an annoying shower, engulfing the Gabba. With further thunderstorms predicted later in the evening both sides were left to play the waiting game inside the dressing room, while plenty of others began to furiously hit their calculators to see what Messrs Duckworth and Lewis would have to say, but play was finally called off at 7.55 pm local time.During the 1992 World Cup, these two sides met in Australia but the match lasted just two deliveries owing to rain. Sixteen years on from that washout the two most-capped players in the game, Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya, were the only survivors but once again, they couldn’t get out of the way of a storm.