Queensland opener Joe Burns sent a reminder of his class to the national selectors with a well-made 96 to help Queensland into a strong position against Victoria at the Gabba.Burns’ innings, along with 47 from Marnus Labuschagne, helped set up a 104-run first innings lead for the Bulls. The lead may have been more without a superb spell from Peter Siddle, who picked up four wickets.High-quality half-centuries from Test squad members Marcus Harris and Peter Handscomb saw Victoria claw back infront but late wickets ensured the stumps lead was only 50 with five wickets in hand and two full days to play.Burns looked set for a century early in the day after adding 25 to his overnight total before Scott Boland squared him up with an excellent delivery to get him caught at second slip.Siddle then ripped the heart of the Bulls’ middle order attacking the stumps relentlessly to remove Charlie Hemphrey, Jack Wildermuth and Jimmy Peirson in quick succession.Labuschagne was patient for his 47 but ran out of partners, eventually holing out at deep fine leg attempting to hook Boland who picked up three wickets of his own.Travis Dean then become the first Victorian opener in 13 years to bag a pair when he was given out lbw to Michael Neser from the first ball of the second innings. Seven balls later Victoria were in enormous trouble when Aaron Finch was also adjudged lbw to Luke Feldman. The ball nipped back and hit the top of the pads as Finch was up on his toes but the umpire believed it would have hit the top of the stumps, much to Finch’s displeasure.Harris and Handscomb proved why they are in the frame for the Adelaide Test with a fluent 104-run stand. Harris struck 10 fours in his 62 before he missed a ball slanting in from around the wicket from Mark Steketee. Handscomb reached his second fifty in the match before he fell to Neser, edging to slip trying to defend a good delivery on a fourth stump line.Glenn Maxwell made it to 29 at stumps but lost Seb Gotch in the last over in fading light. Labuschagne’s part-time legspin did the trick for skipper Usman Khawaja to leave Victoria with an uphill battle to set a defendable fourth innings total.

The report on the allegations of sexual harassment against the BCCI CEO has been handed over to the CoA, who will decide the next course of action

Nagraj Gollapudi21-Nov-2018The Inquiry Committee appointed to probe charges of sexual harassment against BCCI’s chief executive officer Rahul Johri has submitted its findings in a sealed envelope to the committee of administrators (CoA) on Wednesday morning. A decision on the findings is likely to be taken soon, possibly even by the end of the day.Immediately after submitting its findings, the three person inquiry committee, comprising Justice Rakesh Sharma (retired judge of Allahabad High Court), Barkha Singh (former head of the Delhi Commission for Women) and Veena Gowda (human rights activist and lawyer), sat down in a meeting with the two-person CoA headed by Vinod Rai (former Comptroller & Auditor General of India) and including former India women’s captain Diana Edulji.It is understood that the executive summary of the Inquiry Committee’s report will be made public but what happens next is not clear. Till last week there was ambiguity over how the COA would treat the verdict of the committee, whatever the majority result, and whether it would accept or debate it. However, it remains to be seen if both Rai and Edulji would be on the same page if the majority verdict did not find Johri guilty. ESPNcricinfo understands that Edulji, who was not originally not in favour of appointing the inquiry committee, was keen to study the findings and not readily accept them as the final word.It was Edulji who wanted Johri to be removed as soon as an allegation of sexual harassment against him surfaced on October 12 on Twitter as part of the #metoo movement. Rai favoured Johri being given the time to have his say and he was given a week to respond against that original charge. Johri denied any wrongdoing in his response, which led to the appointment of the inquiry committee.The committee – whose original deadline was November 15 – had heard the testimony of several people, including Johri. Also deposing were two women who live overseas and testified via Skype. It is understood that one of the women complainants alleged misconduct while she was Johri’s colleague at a previous media organisation, while the alleged incident with the second woman took place overseas during his tenure as BCCI CEO.

After Will Young smashed 102, the India A captain’s unbeaten century set up his side’s five-wicket win, giving them an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Dec-2018

Two key middle-order partnerships, anchored by Manish Pandey’s unbeaten 111, underpinned India A’s five-wicket win over New Zealand A, clinching a 2-0 lead for the visitors in the three-match unofficial ODI series. India A wrapped up the 300-run chase with an over to spare in Mount Maunganui.The India A captain, who scored 111 off 109 balls with five fours and three sixes, first added 90 with Shreyas Iyer for the third wicket at nearly six an over to propel India to 148 for 2, after the openers had been dismissed by the 12th over. After Iyer fell for 59 – his second consecutive fifty in the series – in the 27th over to Hamish Bennett’s right-arm pace, Pandey put on 123 in the next 19 overs with Vijay Shankar. The brisk, dual offensive saw Shankar add a fourth, straight half-century on tour, having shepherded India A to victory with an unbeaten 87 in the series opener at the same venue on Friday.With India A needing 29 off 27, though, offspinner Cole McConchie’s double-strike off consecutive deliveries removed Shankar and wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan, the latter out for a golden duck. Axar Patel, the No. 7 batsman, then knocked off 12 off 11 balls, including a boundary, to help seal the chase in the penultimate over. This was India’s second chase of a target of 300 or more in as many games in the series, after Pandey had opted to field first in the opening fixture too.Earlier, despite Khaleel Ahmed’s strike that sent back Hamish Rutherford in the first over, the India A attack failed to stall the other opener, George Worker, who, along with Will Young, put on a 190-run second-wicket stand inside 33 overs.Worker and Young made 99 and 102 respectively but their dismissals, book-ending that of Corey Anderson, reduced New Zealand A to 215 for 4. Young, New Zealand A’s only centurion on the recent tour to the United Arab Emirates, holed out to Mayank Agarwal at point off Khaleel Ahmed, while Worker yorked himself off Axar, falling one short of a 12th List-A century.Daryll Mitchell’s 28-ball 45 then lifted the hosts to 299, before he became the second of the two New Zealand A batsmen to be run-out, his dismissal coming off the final ball of the innings. The pace-bowling trio of Navdeep Saini, Khaleel and Siddarth Kaul took five wickets between them for 169. Kaul, the most economical of the three, conceded 36 runs off eight overs and accounted for McConchie, who had chipped in with a useful 22-ball 21 at No. 8.

Dinamo Zagreb are going to extreme lengths to try and re-sign former player Luka Modric from Real Madrid.

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Dinamo try to lure Modric back to clubUse Spanish paper to call for his returnCroat struggling for game time at MadridWHAT HAPPENED?

Dinamo took out a page in the Saturday edition of Spanish publication Marca to call for Modric to rejoin the club this summer. They also made reference to this on a post on X, formerly Twitter, as they stepped up their efforts to sign the 38-year-old.

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Modric is out of contract at Madrid this summer and his minutes have been limited this season, starting just 12 times in La Liga so far. Modric began his career at Zagreb before signing for Tottenham in 2008 so a move does make sense as a potential swansong. Whether it happens remains to be seen.

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Modric, who joined Madrid in 2012 and has since made 522 appearances for the Spanish giants, will hope to feature in Los Blancos' heavyweight Champions League quarter-final clash with Manchester City on Tuesday in the first of two legs.

Manchester United are monitoring Thiago Motta's progress as Bologna manager as pressure ramps up on beleaguered Erik ten Hag.

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• United tracking Motta ahead of summer
• Ten Hag under significant pressure
• Bologna flying high in Serie A

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  According to journalist , the Red Devils could move for Bologna manager Thiago Motta in the summer as they are said to be considering making a managerial change at Old Trafford at the end of the current season.

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  After a successful playing career that saw Motta win multiple trophies at Barcelona, Inter and Paris Saint-Germain, he formally took up a senior coaching role in 2019 when he took charge of Genoa. He later went to Spezia before joining Bologna in 2022. Under the former Brazil and Italy international's tutelage this season, the Serie A club find themselves fourth in the league, just a point behind third-placed Juventus.

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  Ten Hag has been under immense pressure of late as Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS group are reportedly eyeing a change in leadership at the club. Unless United seal a Champions League berth or win the FA Cup – where they have reached the semi-final stage – the Dutchman's stint could end after just two seasons.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED?

  After an exciting 2-2 draw against Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday, Ten Hag's men will next face Bournemouth in the Premier League on April 13.

The debutant’s half-century gave Bangladesh a solid platform while Shakib bookended a fairly successful day for the hosts

The Report by Mohammad Isam in Dhaka30-Nov-2018Stumps Bangladesh spent a refreshingly solid day with the bat, ending the first day on 259 for 5 against West Indies on a Shere Bangla National Stadium pitch that has already started to turn and break. But the visitors couldn’t really break the home side’s doggedness – even with spin as debutant Shadman Islam spent more than three hours at the crease for his 76 while Shakib Al Hasan bookended the day with an unbeaten 55.Shakib and Mahmudullah batted out the final 22.3 overs of the day, adding 69 runs for the unbroken sixth-wicket stand. Mahmudullah remained unbeaten on 31 off 59 balls with one four; Shakib too struck just the one boundary in his 113-ball stay. The pair went through a 19-over phase that didn’t have a single boundary. It was slow for sure, but it effectively blunted the West Indian attack.Bangladesh’s batting throughout the day was pleasantly steady, particularly Shadman who became the eighth Test debutant for Bangladesh this year. He struck six fours in his 199-ball innings, spanning three mid-sized partnerships with Soumya Sarkar, Mominul Haque and Mohammad Mithun.Bangladesh lost two wickets in each in the day’s first two sessions. They went to lunch on 87 for 2 though they could have done with Mominul’s ill-timed dismissal. Off the penultimate ball of the first session, Mominul pulled a rank half-tracker from Kemar Roach into mid-on’s lap.He was hitherto involved in a 45-run stand with Shadman, who had earlier put on a 42-run opening stand with Soumya Sarkar. Shadman was steady throughout, hitting three fours on either side of the lunch break. His first runs came via an off-drive struck beautifully, before he crunched two fours through point and cover.After lunch, Shadman and Mithun batted with more patience. Shadman reached his fifty with a boundary off Jomel Warrican before Devendra Bishoo first ended the 64-run stand by clean bowling Mithun, who has now got out to the legspinner thrice in as many innings. Bishoo then had Shadman lbw with a delivery that went on straight with the round-the-wicket angle, ending an impressive first Test innings.Mushfiqur Rahim’s trouble with deliveries angled into his stumps from outside off-stump continued when Shermon Lewis bowled him with that exact delivery. But he was at the crease for long enough to complete his 4,000 Test runs, when he made cut a Bishoo legbreak for his eighth run.

Bangladesh prevailed by 36 runs against West Indies in the high-scoring second T20I in Dhaka. Shakib Al Hasan’s all-round supremacy – five wickets after blasting an unbeaten 26-ball 42 – was complemented by Liton Das’ 60 off 34 and Mahmudullah’s unbeaten 21-ball 43, the latter adding 91 for an unbroken fifth-wicket stand with Shakib. However, it wasn’t all plain sailing.West Indies kept fighting through Rovman Powell, who made 50 off 34 balls with five fours and a six, after they had lost half their side by the 11th over. Powell, who was dropped on 6 and 14 by Shakib and Mushfiqur Rahim respectively, slammed Abu Hider for 20 runs in the 14th over, hitting him for a four and a six down the ground before two top-edges gave him two more fours.Only when Powell fell in the 16th over, did the home side breath properly. Keemo Paul struck a four and two sixes in his 16-ball 29, but he too fell in the penultimate over, caught at deep square leg while trying to hoick Mustafizur Rahman.After being put in, Liton powered Bangladesh to 211 for 4, their second-highest total in the format. The opener struck four sixes and six fours in his knock. There was an odd play-and-miss but Liton in full flow made for pretty viewing. He added 68 for the second wicket with Soumya Sarkar, who struck three fours and a six in his 22-ball 32.After Liton and Soumya fell in the same Sheldon Cottrell over, and Mushfiqur Rahim also fell in the following over, Bangladesh slightly lost their way.But Shakib and Mahmdullah charged their way through the last seven overs as Bangladesh added 112 runs in the last ten overs. Shakib struck a flat-batted six over midwicket apart from his five fours.Mahmudullah, Bangladesh’s designated slogger, struck seven fours, crashing five boundaries in the arc from backward point to extra cover, apart from his two tickled fours.While West Indies lost Evin Lewis early in the big chase, Hope blasting Mohammad Saifuddin straight for two straight fours in the second over kept them going.Hope and Pooran, whose 14 runs came off two fours and a six, added 41 for the second wicket. Shakib had Pooran sky a catch to short fine leg immediately after he had smacked the bowler for a six.Mustafizur was taken for 24 in his first over, with Hope hitting him for four consecutive fours – over mid-on, flicking him past square-leg, scything him over cover and smashing straight down the ground. Under pressure, Mustafizur bowled a horrible bouncer that went for five wides, making it even worse.But Hope fell soon after Pooran, sweeping Mehidy Hasan straight down the midwicket’s throat for 36 off 19. Shakib then removed Shimron Hetmyer and Darren Bravo in the 11th over, both trying to push for boundaries but top-edging the slogs to the fielders.Carlos Brathwaite was Shakib’s fourth wicket, Mushfiqur affecting a smart stumping in the 13th over when the batsman missed a wide ball but didn’t slide back his foot back while Mushfiqur juggled the ball.Shakib’s five-wicket haul was only the third by a Bangladesh bowler in T20Is and the first since 2016 World T20 when Mustafizur took a five-for against New Zealand in Kolkata. The first was taken by Elias Sunny against Ireland in 2012.