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In what is turning into a battle of the wicketkeepers, Adam Gilchrist has edged ahead of Mahendra Singh Dhoni to recapture the top batsman’s spot in the ICC one-day rankings. Gilchrist leapfrogged his captain, Ricky Ponting, as well as Dhoni thanks to his performances in the recently-concluded three-match series in Bangladesh.Gilchrist now holds a slender advantage of just three rating points over Dhoni, who himself assumed the top position from Ponting for the first time less than two weeks ago. Ponting’s modest series in Bangladesh saw him slip to third. Australia now has four players in the top five of the ODI batsmen’s rankings with Gilchrist and Ponting joined by Andrew Symonds and Michael Hussey in fourth and fifth spots respectively.

ICC ratings for batsmen

Rank	Batsman	Points
1	Adam Gilchrist	809
2	Mahendra Singh Dhoni	806
3	Ricky Ponting	785
4	Andrew Symonds	774
5	Graeme Smith	759
6	Michael Hussey	762
7	Kevin Pietersen	745
8	Kumar Sangakkara	736
9	Rahul Dravid	729
10	Yuvraj Singh	722

Shaun Pollock retained his spot at the top of the ODI bowler’s list with Irfan Pathan close on his heels in second. Australia’s highest-ranked player was Glenn McGrath – who was absent from the Bangladesh series for personal reasons – in fourth position.

ICC ratings for bowlers

Rank	Bowler	Points
1	Shaun Pollock	858
2	Irfan Pathan	765
3	Shane Bond	762
4	Glenn McGrath	756
5	Daniel Vettori	750

Australia’s 3-0 success in the series means it held its 13 point lead over South Africa at the top of the ODI table, with India a further three points back in third spot. There will also be a basement battle unfolding in the Caribbean as West Indies and Zimbabawe begin their seven-match one-day series on April 29. The two sides are currently in eighth and ninth places respectively in the table. If the West Indies achieve a clean-sweep of the series they will improve their rating by two points, going 12 behind seventh-placed England. But if Zimbabwe can win the series, it will close the gap considerably on the home side.Brian Lara, recently re-appointed as the West Indies captain, will be making his first ODI appearance for the side since May last year, although he did play three matches for the World XI in the Super Series against Australia in October. Lara will also be anxious to improve on his current position in the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen as he begins the series in 33rd spot, one place below Chanderpaul.

ICC ODI rankings

Rank	Team	Rating
1	Australia	132
2	South Africa	119
3	India	116
4	Pakistan	114
5	New Zealand	113
6	Sri Lanka	105
7	England	103
8	West Indies	89
9	Zimbabwe	42
10	Bangladesh	24

Click here for the full list of ODI rankings.

Surrey 232 for 7 (Ramprakash 84, Clarke 62*) beat Gloucestershire 230 for 8 (Taylor 74) by three wickets
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Rikki Clarke seals the win for Surrey © Getty Images

Surrey, and Rikki Clarke in particular, ended Gloucestershire’s domination of the C&G Trophy by defeating the defending champions for the first time in the competition since July 2002. And it is not since 1998, when the same teams met on the same ground in the then NatWest Trophy, that Gloucestershire have suffered such an early exit.Clarke and the Surrey lower-order kept cool heads as they edged towards their target, but Gloucestershire threw away the game with three crucial errors towards the death. First, Mark Ramprakash – who batted with outstanding authority in a stand of 82 with Clarke – was missed on 74 in the 39th over. The aptly-named offspinner Martyn Ball, whose figure and action both get rounder as the seasons tick by, dived to field his own bowling when Clarke drove towards mid-on. He failed to hit the stumps from five yards out, with Ramprakash, Surrey’s captain, stranded.By then Ramprakash and Clarke had dragged Surrey back into the game. They came together at 110 for 4 after Ali Brown and Graham Thorpe had fallen; the latter to a horrendous scooped drive to cover. Though they had to endure the tight bowling of Mark Hardinges, Ramprakash and Clarke kept the scorers busy through hard running and clever placement.It was the Sri Lankan legspinner, Upul Chandana, who eventually ended the stand by clean-bowling Ramprakash but, sadly for Gloucestershire, this preceded the next vital error. The wicketkeeper Stephen Adshead, standing up to Jon Lewis, dropped a fine tickle from Clarke on 36. Clarke went on to add another 26 runs to that total, and wrapped up the match by hitting the winning boundary.The final error was the most glaring. Surrey still required seven runs from the last over when Lewis, fielding at short fine-leg, let a sweep from Clarke clean through his legs. The batsmen ran four as Lewis floundered to the boundary to make amends, but the game was up. An outfit that has been so slick and ruthless over the past six seasons in the one-day format showed some severe cracks.The game was played in front of a lively local crowd, proud of its team’s recent success in this competition. The day was bright, if cool, throughout and both teams nudged into the ascendancy for certain periods, only to relinquish the advantage with the loss of wickets or expensive overs as the game swung, twisted and turned.Gloucestershire’s captain Chris Taylor first rescued, then established, their innings with a composed 74 from 87 balls, using soft hands in defence to drop the ball in the gaps for singles and punishing any wayward deliveries with uncomplicated strokeplay. He enjoyed partnerships of 59 with Philip Weston (35) and 72 with the impressive Alex Gidman, who ended unbeaten on 58.A tight opening spell from Martin Bicknell and Tim Murtagh, extracting extra bounce and seam movement from an unusually pacy Bristol track, had put Surrey in charge. Murtagh claimed the key wicket of Craig Spearman, caught at second slip by Thorpe, and Matt Windows followed three balls later, playing on to one that bounced more than he expected as he tried to leave, and Gloucestershire had slumped to 24 for 2.Taylor’s calm head saved the Gloucestershire innings and thanks to Weston and then Gidman, they closed in on a competitive total. Nayan Doshi had Taylor stumped off a leg-side wide, and then dropped a caught-and-bowled chance from Lewis first ball, who had gone in early to boost the scoring rate. Gidman held firm, reverse-sweeping and nurdling as the lower order batsmen, Hardinges and Ball, struck cleanly and powerfully.But Murtagh and Bicknell returned to tighten the attack at the death, setting a total that was well within Surrey’s reach. Clarke’s innings and figures of 2 for 41 from 10 overs earned him the Man-of-the-Match award, but Gloucestershire’s unexpected fallibility at the sharp end of the match will haunt them.

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Simon Jones: back with five wickets

Simon Jones completed a highly satisfying five-wicket haul, and Scott Newman and Kadeer Ali both made half-centuries, as England A built a 284-run lead against Tamil Nadu in Chennai. By the close of the third day’s play, England were 251 for 6, and had given themselves a good chance to win their first match since arriving in India a fortnight ago.Jones finished with 5 for 57 as England polished off the Tamil Nadu innings in the morning session. James Tredwell struck first, having Ganapathy stumped for 8. Kuthethurshri Vasudevadas and P Mathew then added 44 for the eighth wicket before Jones had Vasudevadas caught by Tredwell for 98, and then dismissed Ganapathi Vignesh to complete his five-for.Newman and Kadeer carried England to 35 for 0 at lunch, and both men reached fifty before falling in consecutive overs, after adding 125 for the first wicket. Matt Prior and Michael Lumb kept the score ticking over with a 55-run partnership, before Prior was caught off Sivaramakrishnan Vidyut for 35.That was the first of four wickets for Vidyut, a left-arm spinner who has been the main threat to England. He also dismissed Lumb (27), Kevin Pietersen (31) and Bilal Shafayat (27), whose dismissal in the final over of the day left Graeme Wagg not out on 4 at the close.

Struggling Black Cap Craig McMillan completed a fairytale return to form today for Canterbury in their State Shield match against Wellington.McMillan, hopelessly out of form before today, answered his critics and should have appeased the New Zealand selectors with an unbeaten 122 off only 107 balls, to lay the foundation for his Canterbury team to complete a big victory and move to fourth place on the points table with three rounds of the State Shield remaining.McMillan’s 122 included four sixes and 13 fours. He played some superb shots all around the wicket and no Wellington bowler escaped his power and aggression. It was his fifth century in domestic one-day cricket.McMillan praised the pitch conditions, thankful he took his chance on a wicket that was batsman friendly.”I just wanted to be positive. I got a couple in the middle and I was away. I realised once I got in I just had to make hay.”McMillan’s innings totally overshadowed Chris Nevin’s century earlier in the day. Nevin had batted for all but the final three balls of the Wellington innings to score a patient 100, his third in domestic one-day cricket.Earlier, Wellington captain Matthew Bell won the toss and chose to bat first. And with the exception of Nevin (100 off 140 balls) they struggled.Canterbury’s bowling was tight and accurate, but Wellington also failed to display any real urgency as they limped to 212 for nine off 50 overs.The Canterbury bowling was led by left-arm spinner Carl Anderson and Chris Harris. Anderson bowled 10 overs for 36. This included 12 runs taken from his last over. Harris took four for 28 off eight overs, including three leg before wicket decisions.With his four wickets he has now moved to fifth equal on the all-time domestic one-day wicket-taking list with Gavin Larsen on 94 wickets. As three more matches remain before the New Zealanders head to the World Cup in South Africa there must be every chance of Harris becoming only the fourth player to pass 100 wickets in the domestic competition.Despite gaining the early wicket of Michael Papps, the Wellington attack never settled into any sort of rhythm and the Canterbury batsmen led by the belligerent McMillan took full toll.Canterbury, who earned a bonus point with this win, host Northern Districts in Timaru on Wednesday, while Wellington, who remain top of the points table, have a lot to work on before they travel to Auckland to play the competition cellar dwellers in round eight of the Shield.

Reigning champs Hatton National Bank and challengers to their title Seylan Bank recorded contrasting victories as the Mercantile ‘A’ division league entered its penultimate day of matches before it draws to a conclusion on Wednesday.While Seylan made light work of Access to win by 94 runs, HNB were taken almost to the limit by Sampath Bank before recording a hard fought four-wicket win with six balls to spare.The wins kept the two teams on an even keel with 21 points from six matches and everything to play for when they play each other on Wednesday at the NCC grounds to decide the league title.By virtue of their defeat Sampath failed to finish in the top four of the league to qualify for the knockout stage. Janashakthi another team in the running for the knockout also lost out when unsuitable ground conditions at Bloomfield prevented a ball being bowled in their match against E-wis.John Keells capitalised on these setbacks to defeat Singer by nine wickets and finish fourth behind HNB, Seylan and Access to qualify for the knockout.Sri Lanka players once again figured prominently in shaping the destinies of their respective companies.Crisis man Russel Arnold played a cool and calm knock of 61 not out off 99 balls (2 sixes, 1 four) to steer HNB to victory over Sampath at the Moors grounds. Chasing a Sampath total of 227 for 9 in 50 overs, HNB were in a bit of a spot until Arnold and Chamara Silva (40) added 77 for the fifth wicket. This stand was followed by another useful partnership of 46 for the sixth between Arnold and Kumar Dharmasena (28 with 3 sixes) which saw HNB through. Sampath’s total revolved around a steady knock of 73 off 121 balls (2 sixes, 6 fours) from former Sri Lanka opener Chandika Hathurusingha.Two other national cricketers figured in Seylan’s victory over Access at the NCC grounds for whom experienced Sri Lanka batsman Aravinda de Silva was unavailable. Access did well to restrict the Seylan batting to 191 for 9 in 50 overs, but did not have the batting power to overhaul that total and were shot out for 97 inside half the number overs they were entitled to.Skipper Mahela Jayawardene stroked his way to a fluent 68 off 93 balls (6 fours) an then Vaas broke through early with three wickets for nine runs to put the issue beyond doubt. Vaas received good support from two other young Sri Lanka quick bowlers Dilhara Fernando and Kaushalya Weeraratne, who took two wickets apiece, and from Sri Lanka ‘A’ captain Tilan Samaraweera, who also picked up a couple with his off-breaks.Tall opener Michael van Dort was in great form striking an unbeaten 66 off 49 balls with three sixes and seven fours, as John Keells crushed Singer by nine wickets at the Colts grounds. Singer were dismissed for 116 in the first ball of the 38th over and John Keells rattled off the runs at a hectic pace using up just 13.4 overs.

Leeds United are heading for something of a transfer nightmare this summer, if emerging reports are to be believed…

What’s the word?

Not only is star winger Raphinha drawing interest ahead of the transfer window but first-choice goalkeeper Illan Meslier too.

According to the Daily Mail, the Yorkshire giants are braced to lose players before next season and both the Brazil international and the French shot-stopper are amongst their most attractive options.

It’s thought that the club’s recruitment team are already on the lookout for a replacement for Raphinha, with Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona keen, though little is mentioned about a successor to the 22-year-old gem.

Transfer nightmare

Whilst the 25-year-old dynamo is undoubtedly United’s best player, leading the squad for goals (nine) and creativity (three assists, 2.1 key passes per game), via WhoScored.

But a winger is easily replaceable, especially given the options available at Jesse Marsch’s disposal already and the fact that they already appear to be planning for life without him.

Club-record signing Daniel James is one name that could fill the void on a more permanent basis, whilst the Premier League side have been linked to many alternatives in the past, including Club Brugge’s “phenomenon” Noa Lang and Georgian wonderkid Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

However, finding someone capable of shielding the goal for many, many years is harder to come by – not since their stint in League One (2006/07 to 2009/10), have they had a long-serving no.1 – that being Casper Ankergren.

Raphinha has often provided crucial input in the final third during Leeds’ few wins this campaign but the 6 foot 4 colossus has stopped many a goal at the other end of the pitch.

When compared against the rest of the Premier League and those goalkeepers that have started in at least 50% of games played, the £42m-rated Meslier leads the league for shots saved per 90 (3.68), via FBRef.

His shot-stopping abilities have been lauded as a “rare talent” by The Athletic’s Phil Hay in the past, whilst also claiming that “the potential in him is vast.”

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Indeed, at just 22, the France U21 international has a bright future in the game and Leeds will be hoping that it’s in west Yorkshire for the foreseeable, though given these reports at this stage of the season, that seems rather unlikely.

As such, Marsch and director of football Victor Orta could be heading towards an absolute nightmare. They’ll be dealt a gutting blow if they have to try and find a new no.1 for next season.

AND in other news, Marsch dealt another gutting injury blow this international break…

Mark Vermeulen has offered to help rebuild the Zimbabwe Cricket Academy – the same building he burned down in an arson attack in 2007.Vermeulen, who was cleared of the offence on psychiatric grounds last October, has offered to pay some of the construction costs if he is allowed to return to playing the game.”I’m jobless at the moment, the only job I can do is playing cricket. I’ve kindly asked ZC to give me my job back, then I will give a percentage of my earning towards rebuilding of the Academy,” he told Zimbabwe’s Independent newspaper.He admitted that his attempts to resume a first-class career have been stalled. “I went down to Bulawayo to try to play for Westerns,” he said. “I was told I had to get permission from someone at the offices in Harare.” His chances of that are probably not helped by the fact that he also tried to burn down the board offices the day before the Academy attack.On playing ability alone, Zimbabwe cricket desperately needs players of Vermeulen’s experience and ability to provide some backbone to the first-class game. But his previous history hardly makes the board likely to welcome him back with open arms, despite his assurance that he is now mentally and physically stable to play again following psychiatric rehabilitation.The news also raises questions about the state of the Academy which the board claimed would be finished by the end of April but which seems to be behind schedule.

Theo Doropoulos has earned a full contract with Western Australia © Getty Images

Western Australia have aimed to strengthen their bowling stocks with three fast bowlers added to their squad for 2007-08. Peter Worthington, Andrew James and Scott Meuleman were dropped from last year’s list, while Tim Macdonald has moved to Tasmania.The Warriors’ senior list now comprises 23 players – including five who have Cricket Australia contracts – and there are seven players on their rookie list. Trent Kelly, a fast bowler who has played first-class cricket for South Australia, has been included along with Danny McLauchlan, the left-armer who made his debut for the Warriors last season.McLauchlan claimed 45 victims at 20.20 for his club, Scarborough, in 2006-07. His Scarborough team-mate, Theo Doropoulos, has been promoted from the rookie list. Doropoulos’s inclusion came on the back of a strong grade season in which he took 34 wickets at 18.79 and scored 721 runs at 48.07.Justin Langer, who is no longer CA-contracted, is now on the Warriors’ list. Adam Gilchrist, Michael Hussey, Chris Rogers, Adam Voges and Brad Hogg were all included in the CA squad named earlier this month.There have been four additions to the rookie-contracted players list. Willetton all-rounder Matthew Johnston, Scarborough wicket-keeper Michael Johnson, Fremantle off-spinner Christopher Wood, and Subiaco-Floreat left-arm orthodox spinner Chris Hansberry have received rookie contracts for the first time.Nathan Coulter-Nile, Liam Davis and Josh Mangan all retained their rookie contracts and another four new rookies were added: Matthew Johnston, an allrounder; Michael Johnson, a wicketkeeper; Christopher Wood, an offspinner; and Chris Hansberry, a left-arm orthodox spinner. Arron Crawford and Craig King did not have their rookie contracts renewed.Graeme Wood, the WACA chief executive, said the state had tried to keep the majority of the squad intact. “We have been on the brink of success for the past few seasons,” Wood said. “With the talent we have now assembled, combined with the arrival of Tom Moody as manager and head coach and Trevor Penney as assistant coach, there is an expectation that success won’t be too far away.”Squad David Bandy, Brett Dorey, Theo Doropoulos, Ben Edmondson, Sean Ervine, Adam Gilchrist (Cricket Australia contract), Shawn Gillies, Aaron Heal, Clint Heron, Brad Hogg (CA), Michael Hussey (CA), Mathew Inness, Trent Kelly, Justin Langer, Steve Magoffin, Shaun Marsh, Danny McLauchlan, Marcus North, Luke Pomersbach, Chris Rogers (CA), Luke Ronchi, Adam Voges (CA), Darren Wates.Rookies Nathan Coulter-Nile, Liam Davis, Chris Hansberry, Michael Johnson, Matthew Johnston, Josh Mangan, Christopher Wood.

Powered by Mohammad Sami’s five-wicket haul, Faisalabad routed National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) a paltry 97 and then gained a first innings lead of 95, on the opening day of their third-round Pentangular Cup encounter at Multan.The two third-round matches, the other one in Lahore, both started after a day’s postponement due to the Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi holiday on Tuesday. National Bank, whose only game so far in the competition fetched them the full nine points, won the toss and put Faisalabad in to bat.Sami’s figures of 5 for 31 was his second five-wicket haul in as many games. Yesterday, he was ably supported by his new-ball partner Wasim Khan (3 for 27) and Yasir Arafat as Faisalabad were bowled out in only 33.3 overs.National Bank were off to a good start with the openers adding 70, but Faisalabad wrested the initiative, restricting them to 192 for 7 at stumps. Still, a lead of 100 and over could prove crucial in this match.Faisalabad were in all sorts of trouble at 51 for 7, before Shahid Nazir, the former Pakistan pace bowler, top-scored for them with 29. Later, he took 3 for 65 when National Bank batted while Asad Ali got 3 for 57.Whichever team goes on to win this game will have a very good chance of claiming the Pentangular Cup, when the tournament comes to an end on April 26. With successive wins in their previous two matches, Faisalabad currently have 18 points to their credit. But National Bank still have two more matches left after this one.Karachi Harbour recovered to make 326 runs in the first innings on the opening day of their third-round Pentangular Cup match against Sialkot, at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Wednesday. By the close of play, Sialkot lost two wickets with 43 on board.Sialkot won the toss and put Karachi Harbour in to bat. The fast-bowling pair of Asim Butt and Kashif Daud combined to reduce Karachi to 176 for 7 till they were rescued by their eighth wicket pair of Mohammad Hasnain and Rajesh Ramesh, who put on 107. Butt struck four crucial blows early on as they slumped to a poor 97 for 5.Mohammad Hasnain, the pace bowler, produced his career-best score — making only his second half-century in 62 innings in first-class cricket — scoring 72 off 103 balls with 13 boundaries. Ramesh, another pace bowler, played the perfect second foil. He remained unbeaten with 73 to his name, that came off only 94 deliveries and included 12 boundaries.Earlier, Daud, the 20-year old medium-pacer playing in only his fourth first-class match, ended with figures of 5 for 80 in 20.4 overs as Karachi Harbour were eventually bowled out for an adequate-looking total of 326 runs.Hasnain then went on to dismiss Sialkot’s in-form opener Atiq-ur-Rehman while Faraz Ahmed Khan accounted for Majid Jahanagir.While Sialkot have lost both their previous matches in the Pentangular tournament, being placed at the bottom of the table, Karachi Harbour too were beaten in their opening fixture.

Pain in the wrist: still no quick return for Mark Butcher © Getty Images

Mark Butcher has admitted that he does not know when he will be back playing as his wrist injury continues to take longer than expected to recover. Butcher has had a injection in his left wrist, in a hope of improving the problem.He told BBC Sport: “I’m having a jab which will settle things down but I’m still waiting and seeing unfortunately.” He had to leave his commentary stint with Sky Sports during the Middlesex against Surrey Championship match at Lord’s to go and get the injection. He was the sporting a large amount of strapping on his wrist when he was interviewed during the tea interval.Butcher still has six weeks to try and prove his fitness against the Ashes but his chances of regaining his spot are rapidly receeding. Ian Bell made full use of his two innings against Bangladesh to rack up 237 runs without being dismissed while Robert Key and Kevin Pietersen are now ahead of Butcher if batting places become available.Butcher, who is in his first season as Surry captain but has yet to lead them on the field, originally suffered his injury during England’s tour of South Africa last winter. He was left out of Cape Town Test and flew home shortly afterwards. He subsequently underwent surgery during February the hope that he would only miss the start of the season but a return to action is still some way away.