The Champions League has proven to be one of the key incentives for players looking to move to a top European club. The aspiration for trophies will always be there but the Champions League has seemingly taken over from the World Cup as the premier competition in world football. But Uefa are looking to make significant movements once again as they look to ban players owned by third parties from the competition. A positive move for all concerned, or an issue that will fall by the wayside to others?

This issue in England was brought up when Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez arrived in the Premier League in controversial fashion. Players owned by third parties and who were deemed ineligible to play. A step further is the banning of such players from Europe’s elite competition, one which has been brought up by officials in England and France. A concern, of course, as it firstly distorts a club’s expenditure against the Financial Fair Play ruling and in turn hands the club an unfair advantage, something which then spills over into the Champions League. A Premier League official stated, “It threatens the integrity of competitions, reduces the flow of transfer revenue contained within the game and also allows external influences on a player’s transfer decisions.” Where England have already made positive steps against these types of players, other European leagues continue to allow for them to compete.

But where does the importance of Uefa’s action come into play? It’s in the fact that third parties often hold too much control over their players. Much of the time they are in a position to give out instructions as to when and where the player is allowed to play and, of course, restrict his participation for clubs competing in the Champions League. As Uefa’s current guidelines suggest, it does not prohibit investors buying stakes in players, as long as they have no control over where they play. The line between what investors demand and when they take a position in the background can become screwed, however, due to the continued interfering they have been known to have on the decisions a player makes. It gets around third parties telling them they can’t play in European competition but it doesn’t disguise the fact that they poorly advise players in their transfers from club to club. By Uefa taking action and banning players from the competition anyway, it gives players such as Carlos Tevez an incentive to part ways with their associates. A positive move on all levels and one which eradicates negative and poisonous influences in a players career.

As it’s been suggested, the Champions League is a great incentive to wave in front of players and attract top talent, as well as a great added bonus for players arriving in Europe from South America—where third party ownership is common place. But giving clubs utmost control over their players is an important and positive step in modern football and something which should be paramount in European competition.

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Skipper Parender Sharma spearheaded Haryana’s run spree on the secondday of their North Zone Ranji Trophy league match against HimachalPradesh at Mandi on Saturday. The 27-year-old right hander slammed anunbeaten 207 as he steered Haryana, who resumed at 240 for three, to atotal of 457 for five declared. In reply Himachal Pradesh were 34 forno loss at close of play.Parender Sharma and Rajesh Puri (55) took their overnight fourthwicket stand to 129 runs off 45 overs before the latter was out. Hefaced 119 balls and hit eight fours. Parender Sharma then foundanother able partner in Sanjay Dalal (61) with whom he added 168 runsfor the fifth wicket off 48 overs. At the declaration, Sharma who hadbatted 490 minutes, had faced 381 balls and hit 23 fours and a six.Rajinder Thakur took three of the wickets that fell but conceded 103runs from 36 overs in the process.Himachal openers Arun Verma (17) and Nischal Gaur (12) batted throughsafely for about an hour and 13.4 overs before bad light stopped play,47 minutes early.

Colombo Cricket Club secured an overwhelming victory over Matara Sports Club at Maitland Crescent today to keep alive their hopes of qualification to the semi finals.Matara Sports Club have had a wretched tournament to date and have won just one game from their six matches. They have struggled in the batting and today was no different. CCC won the toss and had no hesitation in asking the Southern Province side to bat first.Matara were soon in trouble losing their first wicket with just 2 runs on the board. Nadiranga Chinthaka then steadied the innings with 25 from 57 balls. However, he was given no support at the other end and eventually proved to be Matara’s top scorer.The CCC bowlers all performed well and the opening attack of Indika Gallage and Mario Villavarayan proved particularly difficult to score off. Nisitha Rupasinghe was the highest wicket taker, picking up three for 13 from his seven overs.In reply, the CC batsmen scored the runs with ease and lost just one wicket in the process. Damitha Hunukumbura led the way with a 45 from 73 balls that included one four and six. He was well supported by Michael Vandort who scored an unbeaten 31 from 47 deliveries.

India batsman Ambati Rayudu has been ruled out of the team’s ongoing tour of Zimbabwe because of injury to his right quadriceps muscles. The BCCI has drafted Sanju Samson into the squad as Rayudu’s replacement for the final ODI and two T20I matches.A BCCI media release confirmed that Rayudu, 29, sustained the injury during the second ODI in Harare and will “require two to three weeks of rehabilitation”. Rayudu is the second player to pull out of the squad after a fractured finger ended Karn Sharma’s series last week.Rayudu, who scored a match-winning 124 not out in the first ODI, is currently the leading run-scorer in the series. His withdrawal will give 20-year-old Sanju Samson, who has already played 137 senior matches, a chance to make his international debut.”The Indian team is the world’s best team,” Samson said. “I am very lucky to get a call to play for the country”India secured the one-day series with a 62-run win in the second ODI, and will play the last match in Harare on Tuesday.The two T20 matches are scheduled to be held on July 17 and 19.

ScorecardRory Kleinveldt took four wickets, but at some coast, and it was Derbyshire who ended the day happier•Getty Images

Alex Hughes made his maiden first-class century as Derbyshire made a healthy first innings 361 on the opening day of their LV= County Championship Division Two match against Northamptonshire.Hughes century, made from 141 balls with 17 boundaries, steered his side away from trouble and to a solid total having opted to bat first at Wantage Road.Hughes arrived at the crease with his side in a tricky spot at 148 for 4 but eventually Hughes found a willing partner in Harvey Hosein.The pair shared a stand of 76 for the seventh wicket and Derbyshire went on to enjoy much the better of the first day’s play, particularly when Mark Footitt dismissed Ben Duckett for a golden duck as Northamptonshire came out to face two overs before the close.Hughes, with a previous first-class best of 82 and just three first-class half-centuries, began swiftly before getting a little stuck having passed a half-century in 70 balls.However, he drove Rory Kleinveldt through the covers and then flicked him handsomely through midwicket to bring up a third batting point before flicking two runs through square leg to raise a first-class best and cutting his 14th and 15th boundaries to go into the 90s.By that stage he had only No. 11 Ben Cotton for company but Cotton survived for 10 balls to give Hughes every chance to reach his ton. A firm on-drive found Stephen Peters before a similar stroke off Olly Stone brought up a richly-deserved century and a fourth batting bonus point.”It feels amazing, the best moment of my career so far and to know that I did it in a tough spot and got the team out of trouble is even better,” Hughes said. “They got their tails up and we had to get in but me and Harv got settled and we went from there. I was a bit frantic and had a crazy 20 minutes but managed to settled myself down and it got easier. I’ve worked really hard over the winter and to make it pay off here is very satisfying.”He had to battle through swinging conditions with significant movement on offer throughout the day for the Northamptonshire bowlers and they took five Derbyshire wickets in the afternoon session to gain control of the day.Hamish Rutherford made a bright start, passing fifty in 109 balls with nine fours, but, drove firmly at Northamptonshire debutant Ben Sanderson and found Stone at short mid-off.Sanderson added the wicket of Tony Palladino after tea and 2 for 49 represented a solid effort in his first Championship match since May 2008.Rutherford shared a stand of 76 for the second wicket with Chesney Hughes but the Derbyshire No. 3 reached 32 before he dragged an attempted lofted drive against Rob Keogh straight to short midwicket.Wes Durston survived a sharp chance at third slip when on one but drove Keogh handsomely through cover and swept him through square leg for his second boundary.However, on 20, he became the first of two caught-behind dismissals for Kleinveldt in the afternoon session. The second was Shiv Thakor, who fell for 8. At that stage Derbyshire were 196 for 6, before the recovery began.Earlier, Rutherford was forced to be watchful in swinging conditions but Derbyshire played well enough to justify Wayne Madsen’s decision at the toss.The opening pair of Rutherford and Billy Godleman added a bright 47 before Godleman edged a drive behind from the bowling of Kleinveldt – but it was the only wicket to fall in the morning.The hosts dragged themselves back in the afternoon – but Hughes’ century ensured it was Derbyshire’s first day.

Alex Hales, Zafar Ansari and James Taylor have been named in England’s 16-man squad for the Test series against Pakistan in the UAE.Hales replaces the discarded Adam Lyth as the seventh opening batsman to be selected since Andrew Strauss’ retirement in 2012, although it is not a certainty that he will walk out alongside Alastair Cook in Abu Dhabi on October 13.Depending on how England structure their final XI in order to accommodate the extra spinner very likely required in the UAE they could open with Moeen Ali or even the uncapped Ansari who has taken 44 Championship wickets for Surrey this season with his left-arm spin.

England squads to face Pakistan

Test squad Alastair Cook (capt), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Zafar Ansari, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, Mark Wood
One-day squad Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, James Taylor, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
T20 squad Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Stephen Parry, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Reece Topley, James Vince, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Hales has not paid the price for a disappointing one-day series against Australia where he made 53 runs in five innings. Instead the selectors backed his Championship form for the season which had brought 886 runs at 52.11 before the current round of matches, including scores of 236 against Yorkshire and 189 against Warwickshire.Ansari made his ODI debut against Ireland, in Dublin, back in May but the match was abandoned after 18 overs and he did not feature in the remaining limited-overs squads during the season. However, he has made over 700 runs for Surrey in the Championship alongside his wicket haul and scored 99 against a Lancashire attack, which included James Anderson, on Monday.Taylor, who played two Tests against South Africa in 2012, is the other member of the squad who did not feature during the Ashes. He made his maiden international hundred in the third ODI against Australia at Old Trafford and could yet push for a spot in the middle order against Pakistan. He has made 827 runs in the Championship although 291 of them came in one innings against Sussex. He is preferred to Gary Ballance who was dropped after the second Test against Australia.”The challenge we face against Pakistan will be very different and the composition of our squads reflects the conditions we expect to encounter in the UAE,” James Whitaker, the national selector, said. “Zafar Ansari’s potential excites us and he will provide strong competition for Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali in the Test squad after enjoying an excellent domestic season with both bat and ball for Surrey.”Alex Hales has scored heavily for Nottinghamshire in first-class cricket this season, has shown he can play match-winning innings for England in white ball cricket and fully deserves an opportunity to compete for a place at the top of the order in our Test side.”The rest of the squad is as expected with Liam Plunkett taking the additional fast-bowling slot while Jonny Bairstow will contest a middle-order batting spot and act as reserve keeper.Ben Stokes, meanwhile, has been rested for the one-day series against Pakistan – he was the only England player to appear in every international at home this season against New Zealand and Australia – while Chris Jordan and Lancashire’s Stephen Parry have been recalled for the T20s. Jordan has not featured for England since being injured in the one-day series against New Zealand and Parry’s last match consisted of two overs for 23 in the World T20 game against Netherlands in Chittagong which England lost.Stuart Broad continues to be left out of the white-ball squads but Joe Root, who was rested for the limited-overs matches against Australia, returns for all formats while fast bowler Mark Wood, who has been carefully managed due to his injury history, is part of all three squads.”In line with our recent decision to rest Joe Root for the one-day series against Australia, we have opted not to include Ben Stokes in our one-day or T20 international squads,” Whitaker said”Ben has been an outstanding performer for England this summer and this decision reflects a desire to manage his workload across a busy winter period in all three formats of the game. He will come back into contention for the white-ball format when we consider the make-up of our squads for the tour of South Africa later in the year.”Also, as revealed by ESPNcricinfo, Mahela Jayawardene will join the Test squad as a batting consultant for the warm-up matches and first Test while Paul Collingwood, the former England captain, will work with the limited-overs teams on this tour and at the World T20 in India next year.Andrew Strauss, the director of England cricket, said: “We are delighted that Mahela and Paul will be joining the England management team, supporting our existing specialist coaches in this area. Both will bring a vast wealth of cricketing knowledge and expertise to the team, and in Mahela’s case, extensive experience of batting in the sub-continent which will be invaluable as part of our wider preparations for the UAE tour.”

Worcestershire have brought in West Indies pace bowler Shannon Gabriel for two Championship matches in a late toss of the dice intended to save their Division One status.Gabriel replaces Saeed Ajmal, who was due to leave after Worcestershire’s game against Sussex. Ajmal’s impact has been limited since he was forced to remodel an illegal action and he has only taken only 16 wickets at 48.50 in a season in which three Worcestershire seam bowlers – Jack Shantry, Joe Leach and Charlie Morris – have carried a heavy workload.Ajmal will return to Pakistan after his Worcestershire contract expires next week, leaving Gabriel free to step in away to Durham and at home to Middlesex, subject to the granting of a No Objection Certificate from the WICB.Moghees Sheikh, Saeed Ajmal’s manager, told ESPNcricinfo*: “There was no sacking or early termination of Saeed Ajmal’s contract as some media are reporting. His contract with Worcestershire is until September 4 as he will be leaving for Hajj the day after his return to Pakistan next week.”Worcestershire had wanted him to play for them for the whole season but he had decided and agreed with Worcestershire prior to signing the contract this season that he wouldn’t be able to play the whole season and would return to Pakistan prior to the end of the season.”Worcestershire, second bottom in Division One, lie four points behind Sussex, with Somerset a further nine points ahead.Gabriel, 27, has played 14 Tests for the West Indies and made his debut against England at Lord’s three years ago. He has taken 32 wickets for his country at an average of 35.81 and was part of the Windies side which took on Australia in June ahead of the Ashes. He has most recently been playing for St. Lucia Zouks in the Caribbean Premier League.He is the latest of several West Indies internationals to play for Worcestershire in recent years including Kemar Roach in 2011 and Andre Russell in 2013.Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes said: “We are hoping with the extra pace he has, a 90 miles an hour bowler, he will just give us something slightly different. We are looking forward to him playing a part for the last two matches and hopefully making a difference.”It is not easy for any bowler just coming in for two games but if you are looking for someone who can make an impact as a strike bowler, then Shannon is an ideal man.”I’ve admired his pace and he has played in some games where he has bowled quicker balls in the day than Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc so that is testament to what pace he has got.”We just hope he can repeat some of that in the Championship fixtures. The ball tends to move around a bit at Durham so that we might be a good option there and we will see what we’ve got at Worcester for the last game.”*August 28, 3pm BST – This story was updated with a quote from Ajmal’s manager

In the bid to revive cricket in Chittagong, Tamim Iqbal has announced that he will organise age-group tournaments in the region for the next three years. He is one of the last international cricketers to hail from the south-eastern division that was once considered the second-most important cricket hub in Bangladesh.Tamim said that the lack of quality among Chittagong players was directly related to the lack of competitive tournaments in the city and region. He will become the second cricketer from Chittagong to take steps to give back to the game after former Bangladesh batsman Aftab Ahmed started coaching and received a good response.Tamim said he will take assistance from local coaches like Nurul Abedin to organise the different age groups. The tournaments will bear the name of his late father Iqbal Khan, who was a footballer and coach, and was instrumental in the rise of his brother Akram Khan, the former Bangladesh captain, and Tamim’s elder brother Nafees Iqbal.”Chittagong isn’t producing many cricketers,” Tamim said. “I think tournaments are not properly held. So I want to organise three age-group tournaments each year for the next three years, in the name of my father. It will be at the U-13, U-15 and U-17 levels.”Tamim hoped the tournaments would pave the way for the future generation of cricketers from his home city to graduate to the national level. Currently, the Chittagong divisional cricket team is third among the four Tier-2 teams in the National Cricket League.”When the likes of Akram uncle and Nannu uncle used to play, Chittagong had big tournaments like Star Jubo or Star Summer,” Tamim said. “Many players from across the country used to play in these competitions but these days although the leagues are going on, these tournaments aren’t taking place. If age-group tournaments can be organised, many players will represent Chittagong at the national level in the future.”After Tamim Iqbal, Nazimuddin was the only cricketer from Chittagong to have played for Bangladesh.

Jos Buttler is likely to be dropped for the final Test against Pakistan in Sharjah with Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, conceding that some players are relieved when removed from the pressure of international cricket amid a struggle for form.That would mean a return to the gloves for Jonny Bairstow and a recall for James Taylor into the middle order, more than three years after his previous two caps against South Africa, but Moeen Ali is set to retain the opener’s role.Since the start of the Ashes, Buttler is averaging 13.00 after his run was compounded by scores of 0 and 7 in the second Test in Dubai. Although he fell to a superb delivery from Yasir Shah on the final day, his first innings was ended by a flat-footed drive against Wahab Riaz and he appears bereft of confidence with the bat.

‘Best off keeping feet away from ball’

England coach Trevor Bayliss has suggested that Wahab Riaz would be better off keeping his feet away from the ball, after he riled England by kicking it along the ground in the second innings in Dubai, but added that the issue had now been put to bed.
Bayliss visited the match referee, Andy Pycroft, on the fourth afternoon amid concerns the ball could have been damaged but he was assured the umpires were happy with its condition while TV pictures provided inconclusive evidence of any major transgression. The incident led to a spiky exchange between Wahab and Joe Root, but Bayliss hopes the series will continue in a good spirit.
“Whenever there’s feet and boot involved with the ball, it’s probably just a bit silly,” he said. “You’re probably best off keeping your feet out of it and then there’s no issue at all. I suppose from our point of view the main thing was there was no damage to the ball, and let’s get on with it. I think both games have been played in a pretty good spirit so far and I think that will continue.”

“It’s no secret that he has obviously been struggling a little bit,” Bayliss said. “It doesn’t mean that he’s not trying his guts out … and I’m convinced he will do well over a number of years. But as we all know there aren’t too many cricketers who have ever played the game who haven’t had a bit of time out of the team. But we haven’t made the decision yet, we will sit down in the next couple of days and discuss all of those points.”My experience with players in the past is that sometimes it does become a bit of a relief, that they are able to go about their business without the pressure of having to perform in the next match or to worry about whether they’re in or whether they’re out,” he added. “Sometimes it can be that relief that allows them to put everything else out of their mind and just concentrate on getting back in the team.”The other aspect for England to consider is that Buttler remains vital to the one-day and T20 set-ups. His last major innings was the 129 off 77 balls he made against New Zealand, at Edgbaston, when England crossed 400 for the first time in ODIs while there is also the World T20 in India on horizon; if England are to compete it is likely that Buttler would have to play a major role.”What starts to creep in with anyone out of form, whether batter, bowler of fielder is that the mind starts to become cluttered and then a few little technique-type things start to creep in as well,” Bayliss said. “You have got be able to free the mind up to just go out there and concentrate on the ball. He’s certainly doing everything possible away from the game to get himself back into form so I’m hopeful it’s not too long before he is back into form because he is one hell of a player and very important for us going forward.”England now have three days off before resuming training on Friday ahead of the final Test, which starts on Sunday. It is likely that Buttler will know his fate two days out from Sharjah so that Bairstow has time to prepare for a return behind the stumps.It will be a tough prospect for Bairstow, who has twice kept in Tests when given the role on the 2013-14 Ashes after Matt Prior was dropped. The nature of modern touring is that he has had precious little time with the keeping gloves out in the UAE. He and Buttler shared the job during the second two-day warm-up match against Pakistan A, but he has not kept in a competitive fixture since the final County Championship match of the season, which finished on September 25.”Every practice we have been to Jonny has been keeping,” Bayliss said. “We said that to him at the start of the series, that everyone has to have every part of their game up to scratch. Certainly part of his game is that he is a keeper and from that point of view he had to keep working on his keeping just in case of injury, loss of form, he had to be ready to go.”Bairstow is also part of a middle order which has laboured during the first two Test: Nos. 5, 6 and 7 have only contributed one half-century – Ben Stokes’ 57 in Abu Dhabi – as the onus on England’s run-scoring has remained with Alastair Cook and Joe Root, the latter recapturing the No. 1 batting ranking after scores of 88 and 71 in Dubai.Jos Buttler fell for 0 in England’s first innings in Dubai•Gareth Copley/Getty Images

However, Bayliss believes he has seen significant strides made among a couple of the young batsmen and singled out Stokes as someone who is showing signs of learning quickly in his first experience in Test cricket in Asia.”If you look at the wider view I think we have actually done, not very well but we’ve shown enough from my point of view that I think the experience will do them the world of good going forward.”Stokes for example, faced 70-odd balls and I think he has made strides. He is a guy who likes to play positive, aggressive cricket and on this tour as a bowler he has had to bowl a boring line and length and his batting he has had to get himself in and try to graft out an innings and to me it looks like he is trying to do that.”Further up the order, Moeen has not been flush with runs either, making 48 runs in four innings during the series, but it appears unlikely that Alex Hales will be brought in at this stage and will instead have to wait for South Africa in late December where England’s opening merry-go-round is set to continue.”You have to give some of these things a try and make a decision down the line about whether it has been a success or not,” Bayliss said. “My philosophy has always been I would like to give somebody one too many goes rather than one too few then you find out one way or another.”For Buttler, that one too many has probably been and gone.

Simon Katich – third championship century Photo © CricInfo

Simon Katich (129) scored his third championship century of the summer tohelp Durham hold back Lancashire’s spinners at Manchester.The visitors reached 355-9 after electing to bat first on a very dry pitch.Gary Keedy (4-99) was the most successful of the three home spinners, andLancashire might have made better progress if their bowling and fielding hadbeen sharper. Glen Chapple, who yielded 13 in the opening over, brokethrough first by bowling Michael Gough.
After that Katich was the major partner in stands of 75 in 24 overs with JonLewis and 146 in 40 overs with Paul Collingwood. The latter survived astumping chance off Gary Yates early in his innings and progressed to make60 from 127 deliveries (which included ten boundaries) before his leg-beforedismissal to Mike Smethurst.Two further wickets fell before tea by which time Katich had reached his hundred from 157 balls and was to bat for 283 minutes and strike seventeen boundaries.The hosts came back into the contest after the interval and shortly after Katich was caught by Crawley off Keedy their opponents were 268-7. Wicketkeeper Andrew Pratt and Nick Phillips added 37 for the eighth wicket.Leg-spinner Chris Schofield caught Phillips off Yates and then had Pratt caught by young substitute fieldsman Carl Hey. Tenth-wicket pair Neil Killeen and Simon Brown scored 30 to win a fourth batting bonus point – made easier by Saurav Ganguly dropping Killeen.