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Indian domestic cricket is not throwing up the finished product as it used to previously, MS Dhoni has said. On the eve of India’s five-ODI series against Australia, Dhoni was thankful he could use this time to groom the newcomers, but the noises were not very optimistic.A case in point was his mention of the absence of a seaming allrounder in the squad, and then another that there was no point just making up numbers until a really good one was found. Some might wonder if Rishi Dhawan, the allrounder who opens the bowling for Himachal Pradesh and batted at No. 4 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, needs to carry a placard to the nets to be spotted. Others might say Dhoni knows a thing or three about spotting talent, and that he has given Rishi chances in both the warm-up games.It is a time of transition for Indian limited-overs cricket. Dhoni is himself nearing the end. Yuvraj Singh is not there. Suresh Raina has been dropped. There are only five established specialist batsmen in the squad. The lower middle order and the lack of a seaming allrounder remain problems. In analysing the Australian team, Dhoni gave away what he thought India were missing.”If you see what makes life easy for an international team is the kind of domestic cricket… if you see the Australian first-class cricket, it is very good, which means the players who come up from the ranks of domestic cricket or first-class cricket have already got good exposure of playing cricketers who have played international cricket or are playing international cricket at that point of time. I feel that way Australian cricket is blessed.”The corollary came through when Dhoni was asked about how big a loss Mohammed Shami was, and if his replacement Barinder Sran was ready for international cricket. Sran has played only eight List A games, and not even a handful in the IPL. After expectedly praising Shami, Dhoni said: “As far as the newcomers are concerned, we will definitely feature them and see where they stand. Also we have to slightly get ahead of time. If you see Indian cricket, more often than not, we are used to getting the complete product. Right from the late ’80s onwards we have got cricketers who were ready to play international cricket. Once they made their debut they were there for like 10 to 15 years.”I think the trend is changing slowly. Even if you see the batsmen nowadays, they have been part of the side for quite some time and we have had to groom them. I feel the same applies to the bowlers. We may not have the luxury of just picking up the complete product to come into international cricket and start delivering from the very first game. It is important to identify talent and at the same time give them games quite quickly so that they get that exposure of international cricket. And we also see get to see how they handle pressure and the areas where they need to improve.”Rishi’s presence was ignored when Dhoni was asked for a possible combination. “Most likely it will be three-two [quicks-spinners],” he said. “Because we don’t really have a seaming allrounder so most likely it will be a three-two combination. Who are the players, we will wait and watch.” That most likely means R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, and a possible debut for Barinder Sran.Australia, on the other hand, have announced their XI, and it includes five quick bowlers. Dhoni again felt they could do so because they had seaming allrounders. “It’s not only about the pitch,” Dhoni said. “That is their strength. When they come to the Test series in India, they actually went in with four proper fast bowlers in the first game. Their strength is fast bowling so no good reason why they will go in with two spinners. One part-time spinner is enough for them. Also not to forget they have got seaming allrounders. We don’t really have… we are still looking for a seaming allrounder that can fit in that slot. Even when we are looking to play with four-fast-bowlers-and-a-spinner combination. Till we don’t find a really good one, there is no point playing somebody for the sake of it.”Another problem Dhoni has is that he wants a flexible batting order, but he can’t really play around with the top four. When Dhoni himself started out, he would bat anywhere between three and six. That was one of his main arguments against a fixed line-up. That you have batsmen ready to go out at any position in the batting order provided the number of overs left calls for their game. Yet the highest he can send a newcomer in is No. 5, which again leaves him playing at No. 6.”Yes I admit a lot of batsmen find it very difficult to do it [move up and down the order] but at the end of the day if everyone becomes very rigid with their batting order it becomes very difficult for the team,” Dhoni said. “If you see the success of the Indian team, a lot of it is down to batsmen who could bat at different numbers. If you see history, we have had batsmen who open in first-class but bat at 3 for us. They used to bat 4 or 5 for their first-class team but they end up being openers for the international side. That flexibility has to be there, and that adaptability has to be there.”I feel it’s very important that youngsters who get a chance get a good opportunity to bat. That’s why I have always been in favour of giving the youngsters a chance to bat at 5 because that’s the only place I have. That’s the only place I can trade. If they consistently bat at 6, on a very good day they will score 30-odd runs. On a bad day they will score 10 runs. After 15 games, the media will be like, ‘He averages only 15, get him out of the side.'”Now is the time, though, to throw all these youngsters into the deep end, for better or for worse, whether they are the finished article or not. For the selectors have not left Dhoni many options. Either Gurkeerat Singh or Manish Pandey will get a taste of what it is like. Sran, and even Rishi, might need to be looked at at some point in the series. When Dhoni spoke glowingly of Australian domestic cricket, he also said the ability to handle pressure mattered more than the talent. He will hope that the raw youngsters he has been given have that quality.

ScorecardPakistan Under-19s took a 2-0 lead in the series against England Under-19s with a 36-run win at Northampton. The varied Pakistan attack, led by Mohammad Aamer’s four wickets, proved too much for the home side as they chased 236 to stay in with a chance of winning the series. Umar Amin and Usman Salahuddin added 123 to form the base of Pakistan’s innings before Rory Hamilton-Brown’s offspin caused a dramatic late collapse.However, the England top order also disappeared in a hurry, undone by the pace and swing of Pakistan’s new-ball attack. It’s been a summer for left-arm fast bowlers and the damage was started by the rapid Aamer as Karl Brown feathered an attempted upper-cut through to the keeper.Billy Godleman played some classy shots in his positive innings, but was comprehensively bowled by Mohammad Rameez with one stump left standing. Aamer then struck his second blow when Adam Lyth was trapped lbw by a delivery which swung back into the right-hander. England’s problems mounted further when Alex Wakely was run out by a direct hit.Hamilton-Brown and Tom Westley tried to rescue the innings but couldn’t afford to take too many risks. With boundaries drying up, the required rate climbed towards a run-a-ball with Pakistan’s spinners continuing the good work of the quick bowlers. The pressure brought Hamilton-Brown’s downfall as he tried to steal a quick single, but was beaten by a strong throw from the in field. Hamilton-Brown knew the importance of his wicket and he slammed the bat into the ground in frustration.England’s last main chance of staying in the game went when Westley edged the left-arm spin of Ahmed Iqbal. Pakistan were impressive in the field and Liam Dawson fell to a fine running catch by Salahuddin at deep square-leg.Their innings was well-placed for a more demanding total after Amin and Salahuddin added 123 for the third wicket. They began circumspectly, but soon opened their shoulders as England turned to spin. Amin, a compact player on both sides of the wicket, picked the gaps impressively against the spinners. Salahuddin – who offered a tough chance to midwicket on 41 – cleared the boundary three times, including two in two balls off Hamilton-Brown before another attempt found deep midwicket.Pakistan then lost their way with the last eight wickets falling for 50 balls as Hamilton-Brown collected six wickets. Ali Asad was early on a ball and popped a return catch while Amin charged and missed as he looked for the boundary route. Some of the late shot selection was poor, but England deserve credit for keeping their heads when the innings appeared to be running away from them. However, once again the batting let them down and now, with two matches left, they are left with just a series draw to play for.

With Shoaib Akhtar in the squad, Mohammad Asif will have to wait his turn despite having fully recovered from his elbow injury © Getty Images

Mohammad Asif, the Pakistan fast bowler, will not play the fourth Test against England starting on August 17 at The Oval. However, he will be available for the five one-day internationals that begin on August 30.Asif, who had fully recovered from his elbow injury last week, was scheduled to join the team along with Mohammad Hafeez, the offbreak bowler. But Shoaib Akhtar’s inclusion in the Test squad seems to have influenced the decision to hold Asif back. “The tour selection committee comprising coach Bob Woolmer, captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and manager Zaheer Abbas informed the PCB on Tuesday that they now require Asif just for the ODIs,” Saleem Altaf, PCB’s director of cricket operations, told . “Akhtar has now been inducted into the squad while other fast bowlers Shahid Nazir and Umar Gul have been bowling well.”Hafeez is still scheduled to play at The Oval and has already left for England. Pakistan lost the third Test by 167 runs and have thus lost the series 2-0 ahead of the final Test.

Warne and Ponting: not on best of terms © Getty Images

The Australian camp have laughed off suggestions, from an English tabloid, of a rift between Ricky Ponting and Shane Warne during the second Test at Edgbaston.According to a report in . “The crowd are all over us and the press have started again and there’s something in today’s papers that is an absolute fabrication and totally made up. I don’t know where people make up these lies but we know that’s the way this machine operates.””I think it’s quite funny,” said McGrath while speaking to the press after the fourth-day’s play. “I’ve been around the changing rooms the whole time and I haven’t heard or seen anything like that. It’s disappointing that it’s in the papers when it never happened.”McGrath has a column with the Mail on Sunday and said he was “keen to have a chat” with the writer of the story, Peter Hayter. “The biggest disappointing thing is that it’s not the first time something’s been in the papers over here that actually didn’t happen … It’s a blatant lie.”The row, which the London-based paper said took place in the dressing-room and could be overheard by the England team next door, stemmed directly from Ponting’s decision to bowl first in that match. In Glenn McGrath’s last-minute absence, Warne was his side’s most likely matchwinner and would therefore have benefited from last use of a turning track.He went on to take ten wickets, including a magnificent 6 for 46 in the second innings, but at the close of play on the penultimate day, he gave an indication of his sour mood at the end-of-day press conference. “To take 10 wickets in the match doesn’t mean anything if you lose,” he told reporters. “I don’t like using the word hate, but I hate losing.”Warne’s mood had not improved over the weekend, added the paper, and he was also alleged to have sworn at autograph hunters in the team hotel. And things got significantly worse for him on the fourth day at Old Trafford, where he missed out a maiden Test century, allowed a catch to pass straight between himself and Ponting in the slip cordon, and then watched Gilchrist miss two stumpings off his bowling.

Scorecard

Dwayne Smith: top-scored with 55© Getty Images

If two heavy losses in the Test series weren’t bad enough for the West Indians, then a humbling day at the hands of Derbyshire didn’t exactly help matters. On the opening day of their tour match at Derby, they were shot out for 223, with the offspinner Nathan Dumelow taking 5 for 51 before Derbyshire completed a good day’s work, closing at 102 for 2.With Brian Lara having a breather, Ramnaresh Sarwan took over the reins, and he decided to bat first after winning the toss at the County Ground. Chris Gayle and Sylvester Joseph made a bright start, putting on 52 for the first wicket until Gayle was bowled by Paul Havell for 42 from only 24 balls.Havell then removed Joseph for 23, and Dwayne Bravo’s recent poor run of form continued when he was caught behind off Nicholas Walker for 3. Then Dumelow took centre stage with the first of his five scalps when Devon Smith was caught by Chris Paget, the 16-year-old left-arm spinner making his debut, for 33.Dwayne Smith and Ridley Jacobs put on a stand of sorts, adding 50, but they were both caught off Dumelow, with Smith departing for the top score of 55. In between those wickets, Sarwan was leg-before to Dumelow for 6, and Omari Banks became victim No. 5 when he was caught behind by Luke Sutton, also for 6. Neil Gunter then polished off the tail with the wickets of Carlton Baugh and Dave Mohammed.In Derbyshire’s reply, Andrew Gait was lbw to Dwayne Smith for 13, but Stephen Stubbings and Hassan Adnan put on a steady 54 before Adnan was caught by Baugh off Gayle for 31. Stubbings and Steven Selwood then saw Derbyshire through to the close with no more losses, with Stubbings on 37 not out, and his side only 121 runs behind.

PERTH, March 21 AAP – West Australian cricket coach Mike Veletta has been axed following his team’s disappointing finish to the summer.The former Test batsman is understood to have lost the confidence of his players.WA’s results reflected the camp’s discontent with a second-last placing in the Pura Cup this season, and a humiliating home loss in the ING Cup final to NSW.Veletta had two seasons in charge of the Warriors and will be paid out for the third and final year of his contract.Senior players Michael Hussey, Ryan Campbell and Matthew Nicholson are all considering moving interstate for next season.The decision to fire Veletta was taken following a recommendation from the WACA’s international and interstate committee.”The I&I committee has made an extremely tough decision not to continue with Michael Veletta as our state coach,” WACA chief executive Kath White said in a statement.”This decision was not taken lightly. But it has been made in the best interests of Western Australian cricket.”White said the WACA will immediately start looking for a new coach.There was no obvious successor to Veletta although speculation has surrounded former Tasmanian coach Greg Shipperd and former WA coach Wayne Clark.However Clark, whose son Michael plays for WA, is understood to be eyeing off a more lucrative offer in England after being sacked from Yorkshire last year.Current Zimbabwean and former Australian coach Geoff Marsh is also a name being thrown up and his son Shaun also plays for the Warriors.

It was an agonising day for the bowlers, spin and pace alike, at theMA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai on Monday. While MRF toiled hard,after having lost the toss and being put out on the field, the NewZealand A batsmen took their time milking the bowling. At the end ofthe day, the visiting team’s skipper Matthew Bell could be nothing butpleased, both for his 111 and for the side’s 303/4 off 101 overs.Having won a close first round encounter against Mumbai CricketAssociation, New Zealand A took no chances. On a wicket that can bestbe described as a featherbed, the spinners toiled ceaselessly withlittle reward. A look at the bowling analysis tells the tale – leftarm spinner Babloo Kumar 0/65 from 22 overs, Ashish Kapoor 0/68 from27 overs, Tanseer Jabbar 0/43 from 22 overs.Having said all this, it would be unfair to the extreme to takeanything away from the Kiwi batsmen. Having played out the best partof the day with extreme care, pushing, nudging and stroking the ballinto the gaps for ones and twos, the New Zealand batsmen really cashedin, just after tea, when the wicket was at its best and the bowlingtired.Earlier in the day, Mark Richardson (0) and Mathew Horne (4) missedout on a good chance to get some good scores as New Zealand A slumpedto 20/2. From there on however, the pair of Bell and Lou Vincent shutthe door on the MRF bowlers. Adding 156 runs for the third wicket, thepair blunted the bowling. Playing the sweep with aplomb, both Bell andVincent were positive without being aggressive. Bell in particular waskeen to play a long innings and outlasted Vincent (85 runs, 165 balls,11 fours). The departure of Vincent saw young Hamish Marshall have ago at the batting. Easily the most comfortable batsman at the crease,Marshall took the attack to the spinners, striking 11 boundaries andtwo sixes, one that clattered into the sight screen, on the way tomaking an unbeaten 84 (123 balls).It took a long while, 377 minutes in all at the wicket, before Bellwas dismissed on 111. Coming off nearly 300 balls, Bell’s knockincluded 11 hits to the fence. At the end of the day, Marshall hadJacob Oram (1 not out) for company.* Railways have a jolly good dayRailways are on track for a huge first innings lead at the end of dayone of their three-day MRF Buchi Babu tournament quarter-final againstthe National Cricket Academy at the Southern Railway Grounds inChennai on Monday. At close of play, the Railway men had reached 116-2after dismissing the NCA for a paltry 158.It was the left-arm spin of India discard Murali Kartik that played abig part in destroying the NCA wards in just 47.5 overs. An unbeaten81-run partnership between Dheeraj Sharma and Railways captain YereGoud then placed the Railways in a comfortable position at close. Goudand his team will be seeking to build on the solid foundations thatthey have laid when play resumes on TuesdayNCA got off to a good start with openers Vinayak Mane and GautamGambhir (21) putting on 59 runs off 14.5 overs. Thereafter batsmanafter batsman succumbed to Kartik. And those who slipped from hishands promptly fell to the two off-spinners in the Railways squad -Sanjay Satpathy and Kulamani Parida. Mane, who plays in the RanjiTrophy for Mumbai, top scored with 52 off 92 balls with seven foursand one six. Raza Ali who made 34 off 46 was the only other batsman tomake a mark in an innings that lacked direction.The 25-year-old Kartik returned impressive figures of 14.5-2-45-6while Satpathy and Parida claimed two wickets each.The Railways reply did not get to the best off starts with opener AmitPagnis guiding a delivery from left-arm seamer Salabh Srivastav intowicket-keeper Deep Das Gupta’s hands with just three runs on theboard. But No. 3 Dheeraj Sharma, who made a patient unbeaten 55 off139 balls, added 42 runs in the company of the other opener VineetSaxena before the latter was out.The arrival of 29-year-old Goud, the bulwark of the Railways battingfor many years now, then ensured that his team smoothly chugged alongto 116-2. Goud was batting on 38 off 63 balls with four fours and asix.* Bharadwaj ton rescues KSCA XIVijay Bharadwaj stood tall amongst the ruins scoring a defiant hundredfor Karnataka State Cricket Association XI in their quarter-finalmatch against the Cricket Association of Bengal in the MRF Buchi Babutournament at the Guru Nanak College Grounds in Chennai on Monday.KSCA XI were bowled out for 232 in 93.2 overs. By close of play CABhad scored six runs and lost the wicket of opening batsman Subhnoy Dasfor a duck.KSCA XI skipper Anil Kumble won the toss and elected to bat on a pitchwith some moisture in it. The start of the play was delayed by 30minutes because the umpires were not happy with the condition of thepitch.The tall and well-built 20-year-old fast bowler, Shib Sankar Paulcreated a flutter in the KSCA XI camp by striking two early blows. Thepace and bounce was what did the opening batsmen Mithun Beerala (4)and Rowland Barrington (8) in.Meanwhile, Laxmi Ratan Shukla claimed the wicket of Shyam Ponnapa (7).The young Deepak Chougule made just 12 before he was bowled by Paul.KSCA were in deep trouble at 64/5 when they lost Sunil Joshi (12), whofell to veteran left arm spinner Utpal Chaterjee.Bharadwaj and wicket-keeper batsman Rajashekar Shanbal set out torepair the innings and went on to play sensibly. Bharadwaj who playedwell to get to his nineties, played a couple of cut shots in the airpast the ropes at third-man fence to get to his hundred.Bharadwaj’s vigil came to an end when he chanced his arm against theoff spinner Sourashish Lahiri, to sky a catch to Shukla at deep midon. He made 105 runs off 237 balls with the help of 16 boundaries.Bharadwaj and Shanbal added 159 runs off 61.1 overs for the sixthwicket. In the space of 51 balls KSCA lost their remaining wickets,scoring just eight more runs. Lahiri was the pick of the bowlerstaking 4/52.CAB had to bat for the remaining 20 minutes in fading light as DavidJohnson and NC Iyyappa went hunting for early breaks. Iyyappagenerated good pace and beat the bat a few times. He had a confidentshout for lbw against Das turned down and claimed the wicket with thefollowing ball, given out lbw.The pitch is a cause of concern as it has started breaking up at thegood length area. Skipper Anil Kumble could prove a handful on thisunder-prepared pitch for the CAB batsmen led by Rohan Gavaskar.* Banks have a job on handA good performance by Jolly Rovers’ bowlers meant that All IndiaAssociated Banks could only score 247 runs in their first innings inthe MRF Buchi Babu tournament quarter-final between the two sides atthe Chemplast grounds in Chennai on Monday. Jolly Rovers were eightfor no loss at close of play.In the morning, Banks captain B Akhil won the toss and decided that hewould back his strong batting line-up to put up a huge total onboard, But things din’t go quite according to plan as opener DanielManohar, who also plays for Hyderabad, got out without troubling thescorers.The other opener Jyoti Yadav was in good nick and gaining inconfidence. After the loss of No.3 M Srinivas for 12, Yadav, who made52 off 135 balls and Pankaj Dharmani (39) began rebuilding theinnings. Next man Thilak Naidu smashed a quickfire 39 off 42 balls asthe Railways innings enjoyed their best period of the match.The rest of the batsman though couldn’t make any significantcontribution as the bankmen lost their way. Akhil made 25 off 79balls.For Jolly Rovers, opening bowler Ramkumar and Ganesh Kumar claimedthree wickets each.

Suriname’s anticipated debut at the ICC Americas Under-19 Division One championship will have to wait at least another two years after the team was forced to withdraw from the event starting on Sunday in Bermuda. According to an ICC release, the U-19 Division Two champions had to pull out after failing to secure transit visas.A source told ESPNcricinfo that because there were no direct flights from Suriname to Bermuda, the squad needed to secure visas to transit through either the USA or Canada in order to get to Bermuda. However, the visa applications were not processed in time.The tournament’s format originally stipulated that the four competing teams – Bermuda, USA, Canada and Suriname – would play an initial round-robin stage after which the lowest-ranked team on the points table would be eliminated before commencing a second round-robin stage with the three remaining teams. Instead, USA, Bermuda and Canada will play a double round-robin amongst themselves, as was the format in 2013.The first-place team in Bermuda gains automatic entry into the 2016 ICC U-19 World Cup in Bangladesh. The runner-up will have a second chance at qualification in a global qualifier comprised of runner-up teams from other ICC Associate regions due to be held in Nepal later this year.In addition to the 10 Full Members who received automatic entry, other teams to have qualified for next year’s U-19 World Cup include Afghanistan, Namibia and Fiji while the runner-up teams who have gained a spot at the repechage qualifier are Nepal, Uganda and Papua New Guinea. The ICC Europe U-19 Qualifier begins on July 11 in Jersey.

The Barclays Premier League has been doused with a whole array of exciting descriptions in recent times. Phrases like “the greatest show on earth,” have adorned countless advertisements, pundit descriptions and newspaper columns alike.

Although there is another side to our nation’s fabled top flight. And as these 15 footballers demonstrate, the term “sponging an easy living,” may well have a place in our footballing vocabulary.

Like a creepy mutual friend overstaying their welcome at a house party, these men have been eating at the Premier League buffet for far longer than they should have been.

Their awe-inspiring mediocrity is matched only by their perceived divine right to play in the top flight. So whilst our ticket purchases continue to reward their seething averageness, let us appreciate the top 15 ‘Hangers On’ in the Premier League.

Click on Michael Owen to unveil the 15

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Disgusted by any of my picks? Or do you hold the answers as to how they’re still earning Premier League money? Get it off your chest on Twitter, follow @samuel_antrobus

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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Inter Milan chief Ernesto Paolillo admits the Serie A giants would sell Wesley Sneijder if presented with an offer they could not refuse.English champions Manchester United have been linked to the playmaker throughout the transfer window with reports the San Siro outfit is holding out for an offer in the region of 40 million euros.

Paolillo said on Thursday the club had not received an offer from United, but admitted they would consider selling the Dutch international.

“I don’t think there’s anything that can’t be sold. It all depends on the price,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport on Thursday.

“There are certain opportunities that you simply can’t turn down.”

“An offer from Manchester United for Sneijder? We haven’t heard or seen anything yet.”

Paolillo would not be drawn into whether they were interested in want-away Manchester City forward Carlos Tevez after Inter sporting director Marco Branca spoke to him on a beach in Sardinia recently.

“We can’t do anything about it when he comes to Milan or visits the same beaches as Branca. Nevertheless, we’re not going there looking for him,” he said

Staying in the Italian top flight, AC Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani believes Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas will remain with the Premier League side.

Galliani also denied speculation the Serie A champions were interested in signing Fabregas, who has been heavily linked to a move to Barcelona.

“Fabregas costs an astronomical amount of money and is not one of our objectives at the moment. He will stay at Arsenal rather than move to Barcelona as far as I know,” Galliani told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

The AC Milan chief also ruled out a move for Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Elsewhere, Paris Saint-German are reportedly on the verge of signing Juventus midfielder Mohamed Sissoko.

Sky Sport 24 report the former Liverpool man is headed for the Ligue 1 side after the clubs agreed a fee believed to be in the region of seven million euros.

At Anfield, Sky Sports report Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani’s potential loan move to Fiorentina has fallen through.

In La Liga, Valencia sporting director Braulio Vazquez is hopeful winger Juan Mata will not move to England, despite being linked to Arsenal.