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Chaminda Vaas struck 90 and shared in a seventh wicket stand of 183 with his captain, Mahela Jayawardene © Getty Images

Chaminda Vaas, the Sri Lanka fast bowler, spoke of his pride in answering the critics who questioned his value after he struck a workmanlike 90 and took four wickets on the third day against England at Galle.”I wanted to prove something. People started asking questions about my ability. I answered them by performing well throughout the series,” Vaas said. “I am here because I have performed in every game taking 330 wickets purely on performance. My plan is to play one more year of Test cricket and to continue in the one-day game for two years.”Vaas, 33, was under pressure before this series when the selectors told him that he hadn’t performed to his optimum ability, and that they would consider dropping him in the future. However, he has taken 11 cheap wickets at 25.81 apiece – and his innings of 90 today led Sri Lanka to a towering 499 for 9. His only regret was not reaching three figures.”Getting 90 is better than nothing,” he said. “I am very happy [with] the way I batted. I learnt a lot from playing county cricket [for Hampshire, Worcestershire and Middlesex]. Batting is more important to the team. When the team needs runs, as a tailender you have to put your head down and get runs. That’s why we were able to get nearly 500 runs today. Getting a hundred for a fast bowler is something to cherish. Considering the situation we were in it was better to get 90. I got good support from Mahela [Jayawardene].”The ball always swings in Sri Lanka and I am very pleased with my performance, [with] the way I bowled today. We went with a plan to bowl in good areas. We showed that there is something on the wicket and we ended up bowling England for under 100. All of us bowled pretty well. If you do bowl in the good areas you can take a lot of wickets. England bowled here and there and negatively. That’s the difference.”England, who capitulated for a paltry 81, were at the mercy of Vaas who took 4 for 28, but there was another left-armer to support him. Chanaka Welegedara, making his debut aged 26, bowled a lively and accurate eight-over spell, picking up 2 for 17, and Vaas thinks Sri Lanka have found someone very special.”He has a long future ahead of him if he looks after his injuries,” he said. “He will turn out to be one of the best bowlers in the world. He bowled pretty well today and he is still learning. I am sure he will come out very well.”

The return of VVS Laxman, unfazed by foreign conditions, should herald some improvement. © AFP

Boosted by their victory in the Pro20 game on Friday night, India’scricketers head to Centurion on Sunday seeking to avoid a 4-0 drubbing inthe one-day series. Thus far, South Africa have had it all their own way,with the 80-run margin at Port Elizabeth the closest in a hopelesslyone-sided series.To be fair, India’s bowlers have nearly matched their South Africancounterparts, with Zaheer Khan especially impressive. But the batting,with the odd exception here and there, has been appalling, with run chasesruined even before the Powerplays were exhausted.The return of VVS Laxman, who batted in the nets at Centurion on Saturday,should herald some improvement. His one-day record in South Africa isnothing special – 20 runs in two innings – but as he has repeatedly shownin Australia, the extra bounce doesn’t faze him. Lateral movement isanother matter, but there’s unlikely to be much of that on a bone-dryCenturion pitch that should be full of runs.There will be enough bounce to keep pace bowlers on both sides interestedand the strong winds that blow across the ground – two sides of it arecompletely exposed to the elements – will also be a major factor in a daygame starting at 10 AM. Chasing a target could well be the smart option,though given India’s travails, they might just prefer to defend whatevertotal they can put up. Having dealt with the likes of Johan van der Wathand Tyron Henderson in the Pro20 game, they will once more be confrontedwith the far more lethal trio of Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini and Andre Nel.Laxman’s inclusion provides a nice sidelight to a game that is little morethan a statistical irrelevance. On Sunday, the side will be led byVirender Sehwag, who has just lost deputy status in the Test team to the manreplacing him – Laxman. At the press conference following the Pro20 game,Sehwag suggested that he would just get on with his game, slap on thewrist notwithstanding. And that’s exactly what the team needs from anindividual who can still turn a game in the space of a few overs with someblistering strokeplay.For Mohammad Kaif, who has failed to grasp his chance, the match should bean opportunity to remind the selectors of what he can offer, with onlyeight more games remaining before India head for the World Cup. His exclusionfrom the Test side is a bitter blow, and it will be a test of character tosee how he bounces back.With Ajit Agarkar and Munaf Patel both injured, the bowling is down to thebare bones, and Harbhajan Singh should return to partner Anil Kumble in anattack spearheaded by Zaheer and Sreesanth. Irfan Pathan probably savedhis tour with a good allround display in Port Elizabeth, and needs torecover much of the ground lost in the past few months.For South Africa, the choices are far more straightforward. Andrew Hall,whose allround show was so pivotal in the Cape Town victory, is carryingan injury, and Robin Peterson could get a first game of the series.Loots Bosman’s failures at the top will see the equally inconsistent AB deVilliers moving up to partner Graeme Smith, opening a spot for Ashwell Prince in the middle-order.Smith’s form is a matter of concern, and he needs to reassess his approachto Zaheer in the initial overs. Great batsmen eventually adjust, andSmith has enough quality about him to solve the problem. India will onlyhope that he doesn’t find a solution until the tour is over.TeamsSouth Africa (likely): 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 AB de Villiers, 3Jacques Kallis, 4 Herschelle Gibbs, 5 Ashwell Prince, 6 Mark Boucher (wk),7 Justin Kemp, 8 Shaun Pollock, 9 Robin Peterson, 10 Andre Nel, 11 MakhayaNtini.India (likely): 1 Virender Sehwag (capt), 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 VVSLaxman, 4 Mohammad Kaif, 5 Dinesh Karthik, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni, 7 IrfanPathan, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Anil Kumble, 11 Sreesanth.

James Anderson is in the frame for the final Test © Getty Images

England’s proud record of six consecutive unbeaten series is hanging by athread. Tomorrow’s third and final Test in Lahore represents their lastopportunity to draw level in a rubber that, until mid-morning on the fifthday at Multan, they seemed to have firmly in their grasp.Speaking to the press on the eve of the match, England’s captain, MichaelVaughan, conceded that England were still ruing their missedopportunities. “We played a good game at Multan where we should reallyhave won,” he said, “while at Faisalabad we created a few opportunities onthe fourth afternoon. We’ll just keep pushing ourselves a little bitfurther each game.”It is a long time since England were last in this situation. Not since theOval Test against South Africa in 2003 – Vaughan’s first series in charge- have they had to come from behind to steal a share of the series, whiletheir last series loss came in Sri Lanka three months later, when theywere hammered by an innings and 215 runs in the final Test in Colombo.”We’ve been playing catch-up cricket because we’ve lost both tosses,”conceded Vaughan. “It’s a big game for us all, seeing as we’re 1-0 downand we haven’t lost a series for two years now, but we’re looking forwardto the challenge.”After a strangely overcast weekend, there had been reports that the Lahorepitch would turn out to be damp and green, but an inspection on the eve ofthe match confounded such thoughts. “It’s certainly not an Englishgreentop,” said Vaughan. “As expected it looks a decent pitch, like theone we played on here five years ago. It’ll be a good batting pitch,offering a bit of assistance, but as we proved over the last two games, ifyou bowl with good discipline, you can put Pakistan under pressure.”England will hope it’s not too like the Lahore strip from the 2000-01tour. That match was memorable only for an astonishing feat of endurancefrom Graham Thorpe, who compiled a century in England’s first innings thatcontained just the one boundary. England, who need to force the pace inorder to beat both the opposition and the prevailing weather conditions,will hope for a little more life this time around.Vaughan confirmed yesterday that he would be returning to the top of theorder, where he has played 31 of his 63 Tests and scored 10 of his 15centuries. “I stress it’s only for this game,” he added. “Andrew Strausswill be straight back in for the India series and I’ll go back to No. 3.But I’ve had a lot of success opening, and hopefully there’ll be some morein this Test.”England’s other selection dilemma, however, remains unresolved, withAshley Giles’s longstanding hip injury continuing to be monitored. “We’rea little bit closer to a decision, but we’ll wait and see how everyonecomes through practice,” said Vaughan. “Ashley’s all right and he had a goodlong bowl, so we’ll see how he’s come through that. If we go in with onespinner, we have to make sure he can play a full part.”Giles is already due to fly home after the Test to undergo surgery on hisproblematic hip, and with just three tail-end wickets in the first twoTests, he has not exactly made an unanswerable case for inclusion.England, however, are famously loyal to their long-standing players, andso it remains more likely that Shaun Udal will sit out the match -assuming, of course, that England opt to play an extra seam bowler.”We’ll be looking for the best formula to take 20 wickets,” Vaughanstressed, adding that both James Anderson and Liam Plunkett were very muchin the frame for that extra seam-bowling position. For Anderson, a recallwould represent his first Test since a traumatic one-off match atJohannesburg last winter, when he played in place of Simon Jones and wascarted all around the park as his lack of match preparation was exposed byHerschelle Gibbs and Co.”That’s a long time ago,” said Vaughan. “Almost 12 months in fact. Jimmy’shad a good county season, and he bowled well in the warm-up game a fewweeks ago. Sometimes though, it’s better to go in fresh because if youplay all the time little things can creep into your mind, Just go out andsee where it takes you, because it usually takes you to a decent level ofperformance.”Paul Collingwood could do with a similar injection of devil-may-careconfidence, for his recall to the problematic No. 4 position representspossibly his last chance to prove himself as a Test batsman. He has theone-day series to come, in which he has long been an integral member ofthe squad, but in Tests he has managed just four outings in four years,with a highest score of 36.Vaughan refuses to be drawn on the significance of the occasion forCollingwood, although if England’s middle order is unproven, then the samecan also be said of Pakistan. Shahid Afridi and Younis Khan have been replaced by Asim Kamal at No.3 and Hasan Raza at No. 6; neither of those two will fill England’s bowlers with dread.One man, on the other hand, most certainly will. Inzamam himself, unmovedat the pivotal No. 5 position, again represents the single biggestobstacle to England’s ambitions of squaring the series. He was thedifference between the sides at Faisalabad, as Vaughan himself admitted.And if Vaughan cannot win a crucial toss and get runs on the board early,he could once again prove the difference at Lahore as well.Pakistan (probable) 1 Shoaib Malik, 2 Salman Butt, 3 Asim Kamal, 4 MohammadYousuf, 5 Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Hasan Raza, 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 RanaNaved-ul-Hasan, 9 Shoaib Akhtar, 10 Mohammad Sami, 11 Danish KaneriaEngland (probable) 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Michael Vaughan (capt), 3 Ian Bell,4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Kevin Pietersen, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Geraint Jones(wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Matthew Hoggard, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 JamesAnderson

Graham Thorpe celebrates his 16th Test centuryGetty Images

Graham Thorpe put his hand up and came to the party just when England needed him most, by scoring a brilliant unbeaten 118 at Kingsmead to set up the chance of their most improbable win of the season. And afterwards, he admitted he was a proud man to have played his part in turning the Test around, after England had been bowled out for 139 on the first day.”We were very down, but not quite out on the first day,” admitted Thorpe, “and it was always going to take something special to turn the game around. We were definitely in trouble this morning, as the middle order hasn’t quite got the runs we’d have liked on this tour, so it was up to someone to put their hand up today. It was great to see the character of the side coming through.”Thorpe’s form has been under some scrutiny on this trip, with his only innings of any note coming in the run-chase at Port Elizabeth. “It’s the way the tour has panned out,” he admitted. “I’ve been struggling of late, with no runs under my belt, and trying to find your form in a Test match is never straightforward. But it was hugely satisfying to get runs for the team, and we’ve given ourselves a chance to put South Africa under pressure.”After day two, they would be thinking they were in the driving seat,” he admitted. “But this game can play tricks on you, and it’s not often that a side has chased 350 on the final day. We’ll have to bowl very well tomorrow to get a victory, because the Kookaburra ball gets softer as the day goes on. But we’ve pushed the pendulum back over South Africa, and they are going to have to play very well to see the day out.”It was not all easy going for England, however, and they had to negotiate a hostile spell from Makhaya Ntini in particular. “They bowled well,” admitted Thorpe. “Yesterday evening the lads [Trescothick and Strauss] cleared the deficit, but we were still only 88 ahead at the close. It was evenly balanced, and if they had blown away the middle order, they’d have had to chase 170 or 180, and it could have been very different.”But it showed there was something in the wicket,” he said, adding that Ashley Giles would have a big part to play, after missing the first innings with a back spasm. “The cracks are there, and there’s some rough as well so Giles will play a big part. There’s bounce for the seamers too, so it’s not going to be easy for them, nor for us, but we’re proud to have turned the Test around.”Thorpe has now scored five hundreds since his return to Test cricket in 2003, and each of them has been a classic, all scored from similarly dicey positions. “I’m just glad I’ve been able to do it in these situations,” he shrugged. “Maybe as I get older, it helps that the games are mapped out for me, so I know what I have to do. But I’m proud to put my hand up for the team just when they needed it. We’re in a far better position that we could ever have imagined.”

The Glamorgan team for the four day Frizzell County Championship fixture to face Northamptonshire at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff starting on Wednesday, 10th September at 10.30am will be drawn from the following squad:

J P MaherM A Wallace +A DaleM J PowellM P MaynardD L HempR D B Croft *A G WharfM S KasprowiczD S HarrisonD A CoskerS D Thomas

As sure as night follows day the dismissal of Brian Lara singled the end forWest Indies as they slipped towards their third consecutive defeat to giveSri Lanka their first ever series whitewash in their 19 year Test history atthe Sinhalese Sports Club on Monday.Caribbean hopes, faint as they were, had largely rested on the Trinididianman of the series, who has performed with astonishing consistency throughoutthe series, scoring 688 runs, the second highest aggregate ever in athree-Test series after Graham Gooch’s 752 against India in 1990/1.But although he scored 130, his third hundred of the series and second ofthe match, he eventually fell – to widespread shock – when Nuwan Zoysaslipped an inswinging yorker through his defenses.Thereafter, it was just a matter of time before the inevitable, as ChamindaVaas scythed his way through the West Indies in a supremely skillfulexhibition of reverse swing bowling on a bone dry pitch offering fastbowlers scant assistance.West Indies, who had started the day on 145 for two, were bowled out for262, as they lost five wickets for 18 runs after the dismissal of Lara. SriLanka’s openers knocked off the 26 runs needed for victory in 5.3 overs.Vaas finished with career best figures of seven for 71 in the innings and 14for 191 in the match, which were the second best figures by a Sri Lankanafter the Muttiah Muralitharan’s 16-220 at the Oval in 1998.Vaas bowled heroically throughout much of the morning, taking the other keywicket of Ramnaresh Sarwan, who also ended the series with an average inexcess of 50, with a full-length outswinger that veered away sharply to takethe edge of his bat, to end a stubborn 141 run partnership (161 for three).Carl Hooper – who may be now pondering the wisdom of coming of retirement asWest Indies losing run overseas extended to 21 losses in 25 games -supported Lara for 39 minutes before he missed Muttiah Muralitharan’sstraighter ball and was stumped (203 for three).Marlon Samuels became one of five tourists to be dismissed for a duck whenhe propped forward and was caught at bat-pad by Mahela Jayawardene secondball.Then, just before lunch, Zoysa, who had replaced Vaas, showed just how hardthe Sri Lankan’s have worked on reverse swing as he unlocked Lara’s defensewith a 70-over old ball.Mervyn Dillon and Ridley Jacobs survived for 24 minutes after the interval,despite incessant appealing, before Dillon was caught at mid-off off theleading edge (258 for seven).The innings quickly folded as only two further runs were added: DinanathRamnarine had failed to score a single run all series and it was not much ofa surprise when he was trapped lbw without scoring, whilst Pedro Collins andMarlon Black were also trapped lbw in Vaas’s next over.The beaming smiles on the faces of the Sri Lankan players said it all. Eightmonths ago they had watched glumly from the same balcony, as the Barmy Armycheered Nasser Hussain’s team for their unexpected victory. But since thenthe team has discovered greater self-confidence and have won six out oftheir last seven games.Sri Lanka now move into an equal third place with England in the ICC TestChampionship. It’s not quite like winning the world cup, but it’s SanathJayasuriya’s greatest moment of his captaincy.For President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, Sri Lanka’s success couldn’t have come at a better time, with just two days remaining till the generalelection, and she has organised an impromptu banquet to say thank-you to theplayers for boosting the spirits of the nation. It is only deserved.

East Zone beat back a belated challenge from Central Zone to win aclose contest by three wickets on the opening day of the Vijay HazareTrophy (Under-16) cricket tournament at the KL Saini stadium in Jaipuron Sunday.Opting to bat, Central Zone were all out for 180 in 47 overs. Afterfive wickets had fallen for 56 runs, wicketkeeper AS Naidu (46) andAfroz Khan (67 not out) added 66 runs for the sixth wicket off 15overs in a rescue act. While Naidu faced 68 balls and hit four of themto the ropes, Khan faced 99 balls and hit four fours and asix. Opening bowler and East Zone skipper M Talukdar, who had causedmost of the early damage, was the most successful bowler with threefor 14 from seven overs.When Central Zone batted, valuable contributions from most of theirtop order batsmen – opener M Vardhan (35), Subhjeet Paul (29), PJ Das(24) and A Nandi (31) saw them cruising towards victory at 138 forthree in the 35th over. But then wickets fell at regular intervals andat 167 for seven in the 43rd over, there was some pressure on EastZone. However they were finally home without any further loss in 45.4overs.

Celtic currently have the biggest squad in the Scottish Premiership according to Transfermarkt with a total of 31 players in their senior ranks at Ange Postecoglou’s disposal.

Out of those current squad players, a handful of them made their way through the club’s youth academy to get where they are now.

One of which is right-back Anthony Ralston, who made ten appearances for the Hoops’ youth sides before eventually making his senior debut back in May 2016 in a 2-1 league defeat against St. Johnstone under former Celtic manager Ronny Deila.

Since then, the 23-year-old has gone on to make 59 appearances for Postecoglou’s side across all competitions, chipping in with seven goals and nine assists along the way.

The full-back has appeared in 21 of Celtic’s 30 league games in this campaign, scoring four goals and providing seven assists, showing just how much of an attacking threat he has been for the side from a defensive position.

As well as his incredibly useful attacking prowess, the Scotsman has not shirked away from his defensive duties either, having racked up an average of 1.6 tackles per game, leaving only Greg Taylor with a higher rate of tackles that has played more than two league games in this campaign.

In addition to this, Ralston, who is currently picking up a weekly wage of £7.5k-per-week according to Salary Sport, has made 1.7 clearances per game as well as 0.5 interceptions and 0.4 blocks.

His overall performances in the league have earned him a rating of 7.57, making him the second-highest rated player currently in Celtic’s squad according to WhoScored, as well as being the third-highest rated in the entire league.

Back in March 2018, Transfermarkt rated the defender’s market value at £450k, whereas it now stands at £1.62m, highlighting the significant increase it has taken as a result of his impressive efforts on the pitch for his side in recent weeks and months.

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Labelled as a “warrior” on the pitch for the Parkhead club as well as being a “huge” player for them according to his manager, Ralston has certainly been a success story for the club in terms of coming through their academy and becoming an important and impressive figure for them.

In other news: Ange drops behind the scenes Celtic update that will leave supporters devastated

Left-arm spinner Ajay Mandal’s second four-wicket haul helped Chhattisgarh bowl Haryana out for 178 in Guwahati. After Haryana elected to bat, the early damage was caused by seamer Pankaj Rao – who removed opener Nitin Saini and Himanshu Rana – and Mandal, who left them struggling on 63 for 6. Rohit Sharma, who top-scored with 45, and Harshal Patel (34) mended things slightly with a 64-run partnership, before Patel fell to the part-time medium-pace of Abhimanyu Chauhan. There were a few minor contributions from the lower order before Haryana folded up in the 55th over. Seamer Abhishek Tamrakar chipped in with two wickets.Chhattisgarh were solid in their reply, ending the day on 68 for 1.Opener Bishal Ghosh’s century and Smit Patel’s second successive ton were instrumental in Tripura racking up 305 for 2 against Himachal Pradesh in Kalyani. Sent in to bat, Tripura had a solid start courtesy a 65-run opening stand between Ghosh and Udiyan Bose. After Bose was bowled by Pankaj Jaiswal, Ghosh and Patel raised 230 runs for the second wicket. Ghosh, 20, however, fell four short of his 150 in the penultimate over of the day.Centuries from captain Sagun Kamat and debutant opener Sumiran Amonkar powered Goa to 333 for 2 at stumps against Services in Cuttack. Services’ decision to bowl was vindicated almost immediately as Diwesh Pathania had opener Swapnil Asnodkar caught behind in the first over. But, Kamat and Amonkar scored at a brisk pace while add 237 runs, before Amonkar was trapped lbw by Pathania for 101 off 195 balls. Kamat, however, put on an unbroken partnership of 91 runs with Snehal Kauthankar (35*), and remained unbeaten on 177 off 267 balls. That Services had a hard day was further illustrated by the fact that seven of the eight bowlers used had no success.Half-centuries from Sachin Baby and Jalaj Saxena steered Kerala to 223 for 4 after they elected to bat against Hyderabad in Bhubaneswar. After opener VA Jagadeesh was removed by left-arm seamer Chama Milind in the fourth over of the day, Bhavin Thakkar (38) and Rohan Prem (41) put on 75 runs for the second wicket. Hyderabad’s bowlers hit back with three quicket wickets; Sanju Samson and Prem were dismissed for the addition of merely two runs in the space of 6.5 overs. Baby and Saxena, however, arrested the slide and put on an unbroken stand of 114 runs.Opener Shubham Khajuria’s 90 held Jammu & Kashmir‘s innings together as Andhra‘s seamers reduced them to 205 for 6 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Electing to bowl, Andhra prised out three of J&K’s top-four batsmen for 51 runs. Khajuria and Parvez Rasool (45) then added 99 runs, but once D Siva Kumar had Rasool caught behind, J&K lost two more wickets for 36 runs. Seamers Siva Kumar and DP Vijayakumar, and left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt picked up two wickets each.

West Indies’ arrival in Harare has been delayed by eight hours after they failed make their connection from South Africa on Tuesday.They will now arrive at 9.25pm en route from Johannesburg. The delay was caused by excess luggage which was expected to be cleared later in the day at Johannesburg International Airport.Their arrival will end months of speculation over the visit, which hung in the balance following West Indian concerns over security and moral issues. The five-match ODI series acts as a stopover ahead of their full tour of South Africa.Allrounder Chris Gayle captains the 15-man squad, jointly coached by Henderson Spinger and David Williams until John Dyson, the new head coach, joins the team in South Africa.