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Safety and security concerns over England’s tour of Sri Lanka have eased despite a state of emergency following advice from the British Foreign Office and the Sri Lanka government.Chandrika Kumaratunga, the Sri Lankan president, suspended parliament and sacked three powerful ministers on Tuesday. She also ordered troops to guard key installations, including the state television station, and declared a state of emergency on Wednesday.However, a spokesman for the Foreign Office said: “We have now advised the ECB there is no reason to change their plans for Sri Lanka. The north and the east of the country are heavily mined and UK nationals should exercise caution when travelling to that part of the country. The rest of the country is trouble free.Earlier, Sri Lanka cricket board officials had insisted that the tour would not be affected by the political situation: “There is nothing to get alarmed about and there is no danger to the tour,” said board secretary Mohan de Silva.”What has happened is just a swapping of ministries. Cricket has been played in much worse situations.”The Sri Lanka government and the President’s Office also gave assurances about safety. Lakshman Kadirgamar, a presidential aide, told a media conference: “Everything that is humanly possible will be done to ensure that the tour goes on without any disturbances.”England are due to arrive in Sri Lanka on Nov 13 for a series of three one-day internationals and three test matches.

The South African international wicketkeeper-batsman Nic Pothas has joined Hampshire on a two-year contract.

Nic Pothas

Pothas, 28 from Johannesburg, qualifies as an EC player as he holds a Greek passport. He represented South Africa in three one-day internationals in Singapore in August 2000.Pothas, who had been chased by four other English counties, was classified only recently as an EC player and now plays for Gauteng, formerly Transvaal, as their overseas player. He made his Transvaal debut eight years ago and has a batting average of 36 with a top score of 165.”He is a quality player,” says Hampshire’s Director of Cricket Tim Tremlett, “and comes highly recommended by our South African coach Jimmy Cook.”

Mustering up drive to play hard in a dead rubber is not always theeasiest thing to do. However, India had no such problems when theybeat Pakistan by 33 runs in their final league match at the AsianCricket Council (ACC) Under-15 tournament on Wednesday. BeatingPakistan before the final should give the Indians a psychological edgeover their arch rivals.India took on Pakistan at the Club Aman in Ampang, Malaysia. Comingoff a winning streak, India were under no pressure. It must also besaid that Pakistan were in a similar situation. While India had wonfour matches on the trot, Pakistan had won three without losing any.After playing India, they will take on hosts Malaysia on Thursday.There is very little doubt about the possible outcome of thatencounter. The two sides have been a cut above the rest in thetournament.Winning the toss, Pakistan skipper Kashif Mahmood put India in to bat.The Indians have enjoyed a good run of form with the bat in thetournament thus far. However they were up against by far theirtoughest opponents and could muster only 181.Although this did not seem like a winning target, it proved to beenough for India at the end of the day. The Indian innings revolvedaround wicketkeeper Abhinav Kumar who made a steady unbeaten 52. Bothcaptain Subhash Dixit (25) and Navin Chaudhary (28) chipped in asIndia ended on 181/6 off 40 overs.In response, Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals and thisstifled their chances of mounting a serious assault on the target. Thewickets were shared all around in the Indian camp with MrigenTalkukdar (2/16) once again producing the best returns as Pakistanended on 148 for nine.India go into the final with an all win record. In the final, to beplayed on July 9 India will again play Pakistan.

Tottenham Hotspur remain without four first-team stars ahead of their FA Cup clash against Middlesbrough this evening…

What’s the latest?

That’s according to Evening Standard reporter Dan Kilpatrick, who delivered a worrying update to social media ahead of tonight’s encounter at the Riverside Stadium.

“Team news for Boro is the same as Leeds,” he revealed.

“[Oliver] Skipp, [Rodrigo] Bentancur, Lucas [Moura], [Japhet] Tanganga [are] all still sidelined.”

Spurs face the Championship outfit with a place in the quarter-finals at stake.

Huge blow

This will come as gutting news to manager Antonio Conte as he is still without four important players, in which three are arguable starters with the latter – Tanganga – usually in line for an appearance in a competition like this.

The FA Cup presents one last opportunity for the Italian to seal instant silverware in north London at a club starved of glory since 2008. They are out of both the Carabao Cup and the Europa Conference League, whilst only a place inside the Premier League’s top four is viable from here.

It’s also a competition that Conte has won before at Chelsea, so he knows all too well what it would mean to clinch it at the end of the season and there’s a promising opportunity to be only three games away with a victory tonight.

Skipp and Bentancur are huge absentees in the engine room as it leaves the manager with only Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Harry Winks as his only senior options available, and they both played the full 90 minutes in the 4-0 win over Leeds on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Moura poses a different type of threat in the attack and whilst he may have lost his place to deadline day signing Dejan Kulusevski, this game would’ve been the perfect chance to hand him some more minutes.

Just like with Tanganga, whose versatility of playing anywhere in defence makes him a valuable rotation option.

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To not have any of these four players available at the Riverside is surely a gutting blow, regardless of the opposition, as Conte may not be able to freshen up his starting XI as much as he would’ve perhaps liked.

With important top-flight games against Everton and Manchester United on the horizon, the 52-year-old will be hoping some of, if not all, of his absent stars are back in time.

AND in other news, Forget Bale: Conte has a new secret weapon at Spurs in “explosive” £27m-rated monster…

	Mark Cosgrove remains in South Australia’s plans but his lack of runs has cost him his place in the Pura Cup side © Getty Images

Mark Cosgrove is disappointed after it emerged he was dropped for being out of shape as well as his poor form, saying South Australia should base selection on runs only. This is the second time in three seasons that Cosgrove, who debuted for Australia 18 months ago, has been dumped owing to fitness concerns.Cosgrove, 23, denied that his weight affected his game. “I don’t think it makes any difference at all,” he told the Adelaide Advertiser. “All you have to do is watch the ball, hit the ball. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to play cricket.”He averages 26.15 in first-class matches this year but he is the fifth highest run scorer for the struggling team. After retirements and the poor batting form of some team-mates, he still also averages in the top five of the recognised and available batsmen.”I don’t think I have let myself down in any shape or form. I can bat, bowl and I’m catching pretty well, so I am pretty disappointed. I didn’t think I was going that bad. I didn’t see it coming. I am the first to say I am not hitting them that great. This year was pretty disappointing but it was still a shock.”Graham Manou, South Australia’s captain, offered his support. “Mark’s got to go away and decide what he wants to do and what’s best,” he told . “That’s him playing good cricket and obviously presenting himself in the best possible fashion like the 28 other blokes in the squad.”As a mate it disappoints me to be honest with you, he’s got more talent in his little finger than a lot of other people going around playing parkland cricket and I’m sure they’re frustrated for him. We need him playing for us, he’s by far our best batsman when he’s going well and this week was one of the saddest I’ve had as a mate for him.”Mark Sorell, South Australia’s coach, said that Cosgrove was dropped for form and fitness reasons. “He knows he needs to be in the best possible shape to be a three-tiered player for us – batting, bowling and fielding,” Sorell told the Adelaide-based Messenger earlier this month. “We’ve talked about the need for him to be the best he possibly can and he’s got to keep working at that.”The batsman has played three ODIs, making 74 on his debut against Bangladesh in 2006 but a return to international cricket seems further away than ever. He can’t even buy a run at club level, in two knocks for Northern Districts this season he has made 3 and 12.

Craig McMillan has a badly bruised toe after being the victim of a Shane Bond yorker © Getty Images

Craig McMillan has added to New Zealand’s injury problems ahead of Friday’s match against England after suffering severe foot bruising.McMillan was struck on the big toe by a Shane Bond yorker during a net session in Gros Islet on Wednesday and was sent for x-rays.No break was revealed but he has bad bruising and a team spokesman told NZPA McMillan’s hopes of playing on Friday were in severe jeopardy.New Zealand also have concerns over the batsman Peter Fulton and the bowler Mark Gillespie.Gillespie has a lingering virus and is not expected to play while a New Zealand television report said Fulton would turn out despite a broken finger.It was also a painful day for England with James Anderson suffering a fractured little finger during catching practice.

‘It is true that Mushtaq’s credentials are strong …but the final decision would only be made by the ad-hoc committee’ – Shaharyar Khan, the board Chairman © Getty Images

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has not yet taken any decision on retaining Mushtaq Ahmed, the legspinner, as the assistant coach of the senior team for the home series against India. According to Shaharyar Khan, the board Chairman, although Mushtaq worked as a bowling analyst in the one-day series against England only the ad-hoc committee was authorised to take a decision on retaining and promoting him as assistant coach of the senior team.”We have taken no decision on the assistant coach so far. It is true that Mushtaq’s credentials are strong and he did a good job against England according to the team management. But we have some other candidates in mind and the final decision would only be made by the ad-hoc committee,” he said.Mushtaq was first selected as a member of the Pakistan squad for the Test series against England but was then dropped for the five one-dayers. But the Board on the recommendation of the team management then appointed him as a bowling consultant. Shaharyar said the next meeting of the ad-hoc committee would be held soon when all members were available. “Obviously we would want to reach a decision on this issue before the first Test against India from January 13,” he said.However, although Inzamam-ul-Haq and Bob Woolmer, Pakistan’s coach, both support the appointment of Mushtaq as the assistant coach there is a hitch to this happening on a permanent basis because Mushtaq has a lucrative playing contract with English county Sussex and is signed up for them next season. “We have to see whether he can make himself available for the Pakistan team’s tours to Sri Lanka and England after the home series against India because their dates clash with the county season which runs from April to September,” another board official said.He also maintained that not everyone in the board or the ad-hoc committee was in favour of appointing an assistant coach with the team as they felt that this post was not really necessary in the presence of a well paid and full-time professional coach in Woolmer. “The coach is someone who should be able to manage everything,” the source said.

Waqar Younis: ready for a new role?© Getty Images

Waqar Younis is likely to be named the bowling coach of Pakistan for their tour of India. According to a report by Press Trust of India, Waqar has already given his verbal consent to the offer, which has the backing of Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach.Commenting on the issue, Shaharyar Khan, the PCB chairman, told PTI: "Yes he is under consideration but no negotiations have started. In the next few days we intend to write to him to seek his availability," Shaharyar said, adding, "We all know Waqar has recently been doing television assignments. We want to know if he is free during the Indian series so that we can utilise his services."If Waqar does come on board to help out, it will be a huge boost for Pakistan, who might be forced to field an inexperienced bowling attack after injuries to several of their frontline bowlers. Umar Gul and Shabbir Ahmed have been ruled out, while Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami and Mohammad Khalil are all doubtful.Waqar had an outstanding record in international cricket, taking 373 Test wickets and 416 scalps in one-dayers, averaging less than 24 in both forms of the game. Known for his devastating inswinging yorkers, Waqar had a phenomenal strike-rate of 43.4 per wicket in Tests, third in the all-time list of bowlers with at least 100 wickets.

Jagmohan Dalmiya, who was re-elected as president of the BCCI for a third term on Saturday, has warned the ICC that they will be taken to court unless India’s share of World Cup money is released by November 1 at the latest.A lengthy contracts dispute threatened India’s participation in the World Cup, as the personal endorsements of India’s players clashed with the official sponsors of the tournament. The ICC eventually negotiated a compromise with the BCCI, but subsequently withheld India’s money, owing to damage claims from its financial agencies, the Global Cricket Corporation and World Sport Nimbus (GCC, WSN).The GCC has made a claim of US$47 million for lost sponsorship, a figure which Dalmiya described as “frivolous and fictitious”. “We will wait till Nov 1 for our share of $6.5 million along with the interest. If we do not hear from the IDI [ICC’s financial wing] by this date, we will move the court of arbitration.”Dalmiya also complained about the crowded international schedule which the ICC has put in place. “We’re concerned with the amount of cricket being played. The ICC schedule is too crammed. The 10-year program requiring each country to play two home and away series against every opponent during this period is a punishing schedule. The players are getting no respite under the present structure.” Dalmiya said that the Indian board had suggested spreading out the program over a 12- or 14-year period.Dalmiya informed that the BCCI had also put on hold an ICC proposal to have the Indian team play two tri-series tournaments in the United States, as part of an attempt to popularise the game there. “The ICC wants India to play two tri-series in the United States under its ‘Project USA’ program, but the board has decided to wait until the pending issues with the ICC are cleared.”

At 16, Martin Nurse is already living part of his life-longdream and making good on a promise he made to his motherwhen she was alive.He has put the early trauma of losing his mother at just 11years old behind him and moved on to become one of theyoungest players to be named to the island’s senior cricketteam.My mother always supported me and I know if she were stillhere she would be proud of me.From young I always told her that I wanted to play cricketfor Barbados and, hopefully, the West Indies, he said.The Deighton Griffith Secondary School student has beenraised mostly by his older brother, Mark, who, he said,really pushed him to go after his dream.I am really excited and happy to be playing with some of theolder members of the team and the guys have all supportedme, said the quiet youngster.I honestly didn’t feel I did that great during the trials,but I still felt like I had a chance of making the team.I was surprised but happy when I heard I had been selected.All of my friends and family said they were proud of me andhope I do well.My ultimate dream, of course, is to one day play for theWest Indies, said the left-handed opening batsman.Nurse has been on a high since hearing the news and,yesterday, the confidence showed as he strutted out on theEmmerton Playing Field next to Barbados captain SherwinCampbell in the Emmerton Tapeball Cricket Competition.The fifth-form student was the leading Division 1 batsmanthis season with 737 runs, including a century his second atthat level.The first was a match-saving knock for Combined Schoolsagainst Spartan in Queen’s Park on his debut.He was a late bloomer, never seriously taking up the gameuntil he reached secondary school. Even then, the residentof Foursquare, St Philip, was never a part of the nationalUnder-15 or Under-19 teams.But a strong will and determination has seen him leapfrogover many players who were elevated while he had to sit backand watch.He creates history by becoming the first player to make thesenior side while still a junior, without making theUnder-19 team.He will, however, not be in Barbados for the season-opener.He leaves on January 8 for a three-week stint in Australia,where he will attend the Bradman Coaching School in Sydney,and other camps in Melbourne.From there it’s all in his hands.