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Wasim Akram: ‘If anyone seeks my advice I am duty-bound to help him’ © Getty Images

Wasim Akram has denied claims that he coached the Indian side, or had plans to do so, and insisted that an action against him accusing him of doing so was born out of malice and was little more than an attempt to gain cheap publicity by the petitioner.Akram was appearing in front of a civil court in Lahore in a bid to have the petition, which seeks to prevent him coaching any Indian players, dismissed. “I have no such intention to coach the Indian cricket team," he told the judge. "Nor I have been approached by the Indian cricket board." Akram explained that the petition had caused him "mental torture" as well as damaging his reputation."If anyone seeks my advice I am duty-bound to help him." Akram continued. "Indian bowlers Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan used to call me and take advice, there is nothing wrong with that because when I was young I took advice from Kapil Dev and the late West Indian Malcolm Marshall."I am amazed at the narrow-mindedness of the people, they make mountains out of a molehill," he added. "I am going to sue them instead. "Akram also faces another appearance in court, again because of a petition filed by a member of the public, following his appearance in a liquor advertisement in India two years ago.The judge adjourned the current case until December 8.

Baroda off-spinner Ajit Bhoite claimed the last two Hyderabad wickets as the Ranji Trophy champions seal an innings and 256 runs win and a place in Ranji quarter-finals.Bhoite removed No.9 Vishnuvardhan and last man NP Singh to end the Hyderabad innings on the fourth morning. Hyderabad skipper VVS Laxman, who made stylish century in the vistiors’ first innings, again played a lone hand to remain unbeaten on 53.What would be heartening to all Indian cricket lovers is the return to form of Laxman and Baroda’s Zaheer Khan. The latter claimed five wickets in Hyderabad’s second innings, this to go with his five-fer in the first.

Orissa, who are enjoying a very good season, continued their fine formon the opening day of their East Zone Ranji Trophy league matchagainst Assam at the Tinsukia District Sports Association Stadium inAssam on Thursday. After dismissing Assam for 167 runs, Orissa were 99for two off 27 overs at stumps.Electing to bat after winning the toss, Assam made a bad start losingopener Parag Das for a duck. Subharajit Saikia (31) and skipperZakaria Zuffri (66) steadied the innings with a second wicketpartnership of 63 runs. Saikaia made 31 off 57 balls while Zuffri topscored with 66 off 147 balls. But the rest of Assam batting offeredlittle resistance and Assam were bowled out in the 58th over. SanjaySatpati was the pick of the bowlers with 3/41 in 12 overs.Orissa too made a poor start, losing Pradeep Das leg before to ZavedZaman for a duck. A second wicket partnership of 93 runs betweencaptain Shiv Sunder Das and Rasmi Ranjan Parida saved Orissa fromfurther trouble. Das was dismissed after making a stroke filledinnings of 54 off 77 balls. He smashed nine boundaries in his 104-minute stay at the crease. At close of play, Parida was unbeaten on 44off 78 balls which includes three boundaries and a six. SanjaySatpathy remained unbeaten without opening his account. Play wasstopped five minutes before the scheduled close because of bad light.

Celtic forward Kyogo Furuhashi has been spotted in a behind the scenes training clip, The Daily Record report. 

The Lowdown: ‘Nowhere’ near return

Furuhashi has played just 15 minutes of Premiership action in Celtic’s last 14 league games due to a hamstring injury.

Ange Postecoglou admitted towards the end of February that the striker was ‘nowhere’ near a return, whereas David Turnbull was almost back in training.

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Turnbull has now returned to full training at Lennoxtown this week along with Jota after he missed the win against Dundee United in what is a timely double boost, and it seems as if things are getting better and better for the Hoops.

The Latest: Blink and you’ll miss it

The Daily Record shared images from Celtic’s official Instagram page, where they focused on right-back Josip Juranovic.

Eagled-eyed viewers spotted Furuhashi in the background training on his own, with the forward having a ball at his feet.

The Verdict: After the international break?

Journalist Mark Guidi suggested earlier this month that Furuhashi could return at the beginning of April, and it seems as if this may well be the case following the official images of him in training.

Celtic have a Parkhead clash with Ross County to navigate prior to the international break, which will give the forward more time to recover ahead of the trip to Ibrox on April 3.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

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Seeing the forward back out on the grass at Lennoxtown is unexpected, however, it is a huge boost knowing their top scorer could be weeks away from a return.

In other news: BBC Radio 5 Live man hits out at Celtic player after penning Parkhead deal worth whopping £2.9m. 

The first day of quarter-finals had two extremely one-sided matches: Indiacrushed England by seven wickets after dismissing them for 146 while WayneParnell took 6 for 8 to skittle Bangladesh for 41 as South Africa secured a 201-runvictory. Both teams are awaiting the results of Monday’s matches, whichwill decide the semi-final line-up. Cricinfo takes a look at the remaining quarter-finals.Australia v Pakistan

	Pakistan’s Adil Raza has taken eight wickets at a spectacular 7.75 © International Cricket Council

Australia and Pakistan have faced similar problems in the lead-up totheir quarter-final clash at the Kinrara Oval: the batsmen of both teams have failed to fire.Australia had one impressive showing against Namibia when captain MichaelHill’s brutal 124 off 71 balls led them to 312 but even in that matchtheir lower-middle order collapsed. In the next two games, Australia wererestricted by Nepal to 206 and Sri Lanka’s spinners dried up the runs so effectively that Australia could muster only 172. Several of their top-order batsmen – Phillip Hughes, Hill and Steven Smith – have got off toaggressive starts but they haven’t been able to carry on. The bowling attack has been the main reason for Pakistan’s unbeaten run in the league phase and will severely test Australia’s batting.Pakistan’s batting has struggled even more than Australia’s. They areyet to pass 200 in the tournament, having been dismissed for 156 againstNew Zealand and restricted to 173 for 8 by Zimbabwe, a team that lost toMalaysia. Their opening combination has failed to click, with UmarAkmal, the younger brother of Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran, yet to reachdouble figures.The encouraging aspect for Pakistan, however, is that their bowlers – ledby Adil Raza, a right-arm fast bowler, who has taken eight wickets at 7.75 apiece – have been red hot, managing to defend whatever target their batsmen have set. They ripped through Malaysia for 75, dismissed New Zealand for 129 and allowed Zimbabwe only 86.At Monday’s knockout, it could come down to which batting side performs on the day to set up a semi-final clash against South Africa.New Zealand v Sri Lanka
The nature of the pitch at the Royal Selangor Club in Kuala Lumpur couldplay a significant role in the outcome of the quarter-final between NewZealand and Sri Lanka. Both teams have in-form bowling attacks but thestrengths are very different. While New Zealand have relied on theirnew-ball attack to pick up bulk of the wickets, Sri Lanka’s forte istheir battery of spinners.New Zealand’s Trent Boult has the best figures of the tournament, taking 7for 20 against Malaysia, while Tim Southee also has a five-for againstZimbabwe. Between them, they’ve taken 19 out of the 30 opposition wicketsto fall. Sri Lanka’s fast bowlers haven’t been very impressive so far buttheir left-arm orthodox spinners Sachith Pathirana and Navin Kavikara, andoffspinners Umesh Karunaratne and Roshen Silva have bowled their overseconomically and taken wickets as well. They did a fabulous job ofquelling Australia – who had got off to a solid start – during their Group C match in Penang.As with most of the teams in the tournament, barring India, New Zealandand Sri Lanka’s batting hasn’t been solid so far. New Zealand could notdominate against Zimbabwe, scoring only 221, and were bowled out cheaplyby Pakistan, while Sri Lanka also failed to post imposing totals againstthe minnows in their group – Namibia and Nepal.Whichever team makes it through will face an acid test against India inthe semi-final at the Kinrara Oval.

Crash, bang…fizzle: Andrew White’s run-a-ball 30 ended with a full toss to midwicket © Getty Images

The joy of six
Mickey Arthur wanted a comprehensive victory, butthe fighting Irish ensured that South Africa would have to strain mostsinews for the two points. The target though was reached in the bestpossible fashion, with Ashwell Prince slamming a beautiful six overlong-on. Stodgy batsman with few strokes? Those that watch him comethrough the ranks in Cape Town would tell you a very different story.A wide … or not?
If Niall O’Brien hadn’t reached for it, theumpire wouldn’t have had to think twice before calling a leg-side wide. Asit was, Charl Langeveldt was gifted a wicket, with the attempted glanceballooning off the back of the bat to Herschelle Gibbs. A gimmie if thereever was one.Pie thrower of the day
Langeveldt missed out on thewicket-off-rubbish-ball award though, when Andrew White’s run-a-ball 30ended with him smacking a Graeme Smith full toss straight to midwicket.Plucked chicken
Those who waited for the Trent Johnston chickendance weren’t disappointed. It helped that it came after anotherabsolutely stunning catch, this time an audacious pluck five inches offthe ground after Smith had walloped one straight back at the bowler.Are you at Lansdowne Road?
After AB de Villiers slashed at afairly wide delivery from Boyd Rankin, William Porterfield brieflyresembled a frozen-fingered wing on a bone-chillingly cold March day atLansdowne Road. He fumbled, nearly fumbled again, and then held on. Justas well too. Rankin’s not the sort of guy you should be looking to upset.And the band played on
Despite all the prohibitions and therestrictions – you have to get permission from the local organisingcommittee before musical instruments can be brought inside the stadium -the band never let up throughout the day. What a shame then that it wasmostly soulless plastic seats that made up the audience. The World Cup acelebration of the Caribbean way of life? About as true as Hitler being aphilanthropist.

National Bank defeated Habib Bank by seven wickets, on the third day of their four-day, second-round Patron’s Trophy Quadrangular Stage match at Multan on Monday, and picked up the full 9 points for their impressive victory. After having attained a first-innings lead of 96 runs, while scoring 357 in reply to Habib Bank’s rather modest total of 261, National Bank dismissed them for a poor 193 in the second innings. Needing a mere 98 runs to win, National Bank raced to 99 for 3 in a matter of 15.1 overs and romped home with a full day to spare.For Habib Bank, record seven-time winners of the Patron’s Trophy, this has certainly been a big setback. They now have their last match coming up against Pakistan International Airlines (PIA in Rawalpindi from Friday and only an outright win would keep them in contention for the title. Five-time Patron’s Trophy champions National Bank start their last game, also from Friday, against Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) here in Multan, and they appear to have a fair chance of winning this season’s trophy.Yesterday, Wasim Khan (3-37) and Zahid Saeed (3-47), the medium pacers, simply ran through the Habib Bank batting after the latter’s opening pair had set up the prospect of a big total with a dream start of 122 runs in two hours 25 minutes. Rafatullah Mohmand, who was in the national squad for a brief period prior to the first Test against India in Lahore, made 53 off 106 balls with seven fours. Taufeeq Umar, the Pakistan Test discard, scored a worthy 68, off 109 deliveries with eight hits to the ropes. Nine wickets then fell with the addition of only a further 71 runs. With Hasan Raza, the captain who was hurt on Saturday’s opening day, unable to bat the fight appeared to have been taken out of the Habib Bank batting. Wasim captured seven wickets in the match, with figures of 4 for 44 and 3 for 37 while Mansoor Amjad, the legspinner, had hauls of 3 for 63 and 2 for 29 in the two innings.Earlier, after resuming at their overnight 350 for 8, National Bank were bowled out for 357. In the second innings, Pakistan reject Imran Nazir quickly put his team on the road to a win, with a quickfire 35 off 43 balls that included six fours and a six.Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) were staring at defeat right in the face by the end of the third day against Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) at the Khan Research Laboratories Stadium on Monday.After PTCL had surrendered a 147-run first-innings lead, having just averted the follow-on, PIA batted briskly to put up a score of 231 for 4 in their second innings at which juncture Faisal Iqbal, the captain, applied closure. This left PTCL 379 runs to produce a win with a full day to go. Their openers made three runs in three overs without being separated by stumps yesterday, but PIA seem to be in command of the situation.PTCL were the only team among the four in the Quadrangular Stage’s first round to pick up any points. They collected three after gaining the first-innings lead over Habib Bank in a drawn fixture at the Multan Cricket Stadium. PIA and National Bank failed to get any points as their first round match was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to rain and bad weather. Now they appear to be on their way to take the full 9 points. Yesterday, PTCL started their first innings at 147 for 6 still needing another 73 runs to avoid following-on. The seventh-wicket stand of 73 helped them get nearer their target. Shahzad Malik was eventually dismissed for 89, made off 136 balls with 12 fours.Fazl-e-Akbar, PIA fast bowler, finished with figures of 5 for 62 from 20 overs. When he got Shahzad, he completed 50 first-class wickets in this season. PIA’s second innings was embellished with a knock of 78 off 106 balls with 11 fours and a six by Ghulam Ali, the veteran opener. Another senior player Asif Mujtaba followed his first innings 65 with a worthy 48 and Faisal hit an unbeaten 56 off a mere 55 deliveries with three fours and two sixes.PIA are still looking for their first outright Patron’s Trophy title since the inception of the competition back in 1972-73. Last season, they shared the trophy with Habib Bank after the final between the two was disrupted by rain and no result could be achieved.

Scorecard

Irfan Pathan: made a valuable contribution with the bat as West completed a convincing win© Getty Images

Baroda’s Satyajit Parab stroked a back-to-the wall century as West Zone cruised to a comfortable nine-wicket win against South at Hyderabad and stayed in contention for a spot in the Duleep Trophy final. The first two days were a riveting contest with the balance of power constantly shifting but Parab’s composed 103, while chasing 222, enabled West to take the game by the scruff of the neck.Resuming at 141 for 5 this morning, with a lead of 121, South were pegged further back by Ajit Agarkar’s double strike. Venugopal Rao battled on despite a loss of partners and he strung together a stand of 34 with Lakshmipathy Balaji. Rao was the last to fall, after making a gritty 79, and West were set a tricky target of 222 in their final innings.However, Parab and Wasim Jaffer, the openers, soon made the target look inadequate as they raced along at a rapid rate. Jaffer fell to Anil Kumble for 28 and, in a surprise move – which proved a masterstroke – Irfan Pathan was promoted to No.3. Pathan carted seven fours and a six on his way to 61 and, along with Parab, who caned 18 fours himself, pushed West Zone towards the target.Pathan capitalised on VVS Laxman’s largesse – he dropped him twice in the same over off Rajamani Jesuraj – and remained unbeaten when the winning runs were scored. Parab, 30, has been one of the pillars of the Baroda line-up in recent years and completed his 13th first-class hundred just before the celebrations began.

Canterbury Cricket’s Super 8 has once again provided a great deal of fun for many Secondary School students. The competition this term has been supported by Anderson and Hill and the Cancer Society. The competition continues to grow and it is anticipated that there will be about 50 entries in the first term of the 2004 school year.This term Kaiapoi won the Boys’ Under-18 section after being the runners-up on two previous occasions. Christchurch Girls’ High School was the winner of the Girls’ section. The boys’ Under-15 final will be contested between Burnside and Darfield and will be played at the Darfield Club Domain on Wednesday, November 12. The match starts at 3pm and members of the public and media are welcome to attend. This promises to be an exciting game of cricket.The next Super 8 Competition will start in early February 2004 and registrations will be taken once students return from their Christmas holidays.

Central Districts handed the Canterbury women’s side a huge life line in its bid to defy the odds and play Auckland in the State League final next week.Central got their game together well and truly and beat Wellington today by 79 runs in their match at Napier’s McLean Park.CD batted first and scored 211/4 in 50 overs. Nicole Thessman scored 85 not out off 141 balls while Kate Pulford provided good support early with 50 off 90 balls. Sara McGlashan scored 40 off 42 at the end. A highly talented player, McGlashan has been named as one of four women players to be part of the New Zealand Cricket Academy this year. The others are: Nicola Browne, Maria Fahey and Louise Milliken.Wellington was then bowled out in 46 overs for 132. Jane Hunter-Siu was run out at the bowler’s end when the ball was deflected onto the stumps by the bowler. Anna O’Leary struggled and had 19 runs off 61 balls.Aimee Mason had a superb return for her 10 overs when taking four wickets for 11 runs while also bowling five maidens.There are no options for Wellington in tomorrow’s game if they are to play the final.Wellington’s attitude will have to be they must win, they cannot rely on Canterbury to lose.They are on 26 points while Canterbury are on 22 and if Canterbury win tomorrow, and Wellington don’t, then Canterbury will go through because the first factor when teams are tied, is games won, and only if they share victories do run rates become a factor. And Canterbury would have won one more game.Auckland, in the meantime, struck some awesome batting form when scoring 270/4 against Northern Districts en route to a 113-run win. Emily Drumm scored 112 off 127 balls and shared a 99-run partnership with Michelle Lynch who scored 64 off 81 balls with 13 fours. Then she had a 101-run stand with Kathryn Ramel who scored 34.Helen Watson also added 23. In reply, ND could only score 157 with Anna Wilkins scoring 49 and Anna Soma 39. Debbie Ramsay took two for 31 while Natalie Scripps had one for 18 off 10 overs.Otago had one of their better batting performances of the summer when scoring 186/8 against Canterbury in Oamaru.Netherlands captain Pauline Te Beest scored 42, Rowan Milburn 33, Sarah Tsukigawa 41 and Katey Martin 24. Helen Daly took three for seven off nine overs while Sarah Burke took two for 28.Canterbury took 38.4 overs to reach 187/8 and claim a bonus point. Nicky Payne scored 51 off 52 balls, Fahey 27 and Emily Travers produced a clever innings to hit 20 not out to see the side to the bonus point, a task all the more impressive as she had to contend with the bowling of Rachel Pullar.