Manu Tuilagi out of England's Six Nations opener, Alex Corbisiero to miss entire championship

Manu Tuilagi has been ruled out of England's Six Nations opener against Scotland on Saturday, while Alex Corbisiero will miss the entire championship.

Tuilagi has failed to recover from the ankle injury suffered in Leicester's Heineken Cup win over Toulouse earlier this month.
The 21-year-old centre had been given a deadline of Tuesday to prove his fitness, but the Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland has come too soon.
Tuilagi was one of England's star performers in December's win over New Zealand, scoring one try and creating two others, and his absence forces Lancaster to form a new centre partnership for the Twickenham clash with the Scots.
"By the end of the week we expect Manu to be running fully and changing direction," Lancaster said.
"The message I'm receiving from the medical team is that he will be training fully by Tuesday or Wednesday next week, but I'll need to make a call earlier in the week. He won't be training properly until at least Friday.
"Manu is a big loss - he was outstanding against New Zealand. But he missed the first two games of last year's Six Nations because of a hamstring and it's an opportunity for someone else.
"It's disappointing for him, but it's not a long-term injury so he'll be back soon."
England must decide whether to draft in Billy Twelvetrees or Jonathan Joseph to partner Brad Barritt, while fly-halves Toby Flood and Owen Farrell are also alternatives.
"We have a pretty good idea of how we'll rejig the midfield. We have our thoughts," Lancaster said. "It changes the emphasis a little bit, but it won't fundamentally affect the way we play.
"Brad will be in the equation and we need to make sure we can still break the gainline and have physical defenders. We've got to have the ability to get across the gainline and defend."
Meanwhile, Corbisiero underwent a procedure last week to clear out a "loose body" in his knee, and the Northampton-bound London Irish prop has had further surgery which has ruled him out of the entire tournament.
The American-born 24-year-old is likely to be sidelined for up to eight weeks and has been replaced in the squad by Sale front-rower Henry Thomas.
"The reality is the surgeons recommended two weeks rest and said it would then take six to eight weeks to be back playing, so that will rule him out of the Six Nations," said Lancaster.
"Hopefully he'll be back around the final game against Wales, but the reality is he'll have to play two or three Premiership games first.
"It's a shame because everything I heard about the operation was positive, but it's going to take a while to get right. Everyone's positive and upbeat about his recovery.
"Alex is a big loss, but Joe Marler has played well for Harlequins recently. Mako Vunipola is improving all the time and Nick Wood was outstanding for the Saxons."

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Tottenham deal for Lewis Holtby to sign from Schalke this week

Tottenham have agreed a deal with Schalke to sign Lewis Holtby this week, the Premier League club have confirmed.

The Germany international had already agreed to join Spurs when his contract with the Bundesliga club expired in the summer.
But Spurs have brokered a deal believed to be worth around £1.5million to push through the signing before the window closes on Thursday.
A statement on the Spurs website read: "We are delighted to announce that we have reached agreement with Schalke for the immediate transfer of Lewis Holtby.
"The Germany Under-21 captain, who had already agreed terms to join the Club this coming summer, has made 27 appearances for the Bundesliga side this season scoring four times.
"Capped on three occasions by the senior German national side, the versatile midfielder joined Schalke in 2009 from Alemannia Aachen and was loaned out to Bochum and Mainz prior to making his breakthrough with the Gelsenkirchen-based club.
"Lewis has made 160 appearances in his career to date, scoring 29 times."
Holtby, who has signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with Spurs, spoke earlier this month about his desire to play in England.
"Tottenham are a top club and I'm fulfilling my dream," he said.

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Everton have agreed a deal to sign Holland midfielder Leroy Fer from FC Twente for a fee believed to be in the region of £8million.

Toffees boss David Moyes has fended off strong competition from a number of clubs all over Europe to land the Dutch international.
The 22-year-old, who started his career at Feyenoord before joining Twente in 2011, will move to Goodison Park once personal terms have been agreed and a medical been passed.
Fer, nicknamed 'The Bouncer' due to his physical strength, hit headlines last year when he spent £22,000 on a horse for his girlfriend, only to find she could not keep it as she lives in a block of flats.
But the signing of Fer, who has two caps for his country, is unlikely to prompt the departure of Marouane Fellaini during the January transfer window, according to Sky sources.
The Belgium international's impressive form this season has attracted widespread interest since the transfer window opened, with the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea reported to be leading the chase.
But Fellaini, who is reported to have a £22m buyout clause in his contract, appears likely to be staying at Everton at least until the end of this season.

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Sri Lanka cling on for last-ball win

Australia v Sri Lanka, 2nd T20, Melbourne

Thisara Perera was the difference with the bat and then held his nerve, although only barely, with the ball to seal a two-run victory off the final delivery of a rain-reduced chase. In a heated finale, Glenn Maxwell needed four runs from the last ball for victory and was frustrated by a long conference held by several Sri Lanka players before the delivery was bowled, and when Perera sent down the ball wide of off Maxwell missed and all the batsmen could manage was a bye

The Sri Lanka players were jubilant but there were tense scenes as the players walked off, Maxwell clearly annoyed at the Sri Lankans, and even the handshakes involving players who weren't on the field at the end became testy. It became that kind of night when rain interrupted Australia's chase of 162 and despite the shower being short, the umpires did not allow play to restart for 45 minutes due to difficulties drying the outfield.

When the rain arrived after 10 overs, Australia were 15 runs behind on the Duckworth-Lewis score at 2 for 60. By the time play resumed at 10.49pm Australia needed a further 62 runs from five overs. With Shaun Marsh and George Bailey well set and eight wickets in hand, the new target of 122 from 15 overs gave Australia hope of pulling off victory.

However, Perera and Nuwan Kulasekara proved especially difficult to score off and while Bailey and Marsh managed to find 16 runs from Lasith Malinga's only remaining over, and 12 off an over from Ajantha Mendis, they were left needing 18 from the final over to be bowled by Perera. The loss of Bailey, caught at deep midwicket for 45 from 36 balls, left 16 required from four balls with the new batsman Maxwell at the crease. 

Perera briefly appeared to lose his nerve and sent down a no-ball above waist height that helped the Australians and Maxwell then struck a pair of fours through the off side to leave four needed from one. Fortunately for Sri Lanka, Perera managed to deny him that boundary.

Australia's chase had started poorly with the loss of David Warner for 7 in the second over when he tried to thump Kulasekara through the leg side but succeeded only in sending a leading edge to mid-off. That was followed by the departure of his opening partner Aaron Finch for 7 in the fifth over, lbw to the first ball Mendis bowled when he tried to sweep a straight delivery.

After five overs the Australians were really struggling at 2 for 24, not helped by Marsh being unable to find the gaps. He was nearly run out and caught in the same over and appeared severely lacking in confidence until he managed to clear long-on during Akila Dananjaya's first over and followed it with a boundary through the gap at wide midwicket. But Marsh and Bailey couldn't get Australia far enough advanced in their chase when the rain came.

But really it was the final five overs of Sri Lanka's innings that made the difference as Mahela Jayawardene and Thisara Perera put together an unbeaten 59-run partnership from 28 balls. That pushed the total from what looked like being 140ish to a much more competitive 4 for 161, and left Australia needing the highest successful chase in a T20 international in Australia. 

Jayawardene finished unbeaten on 61 from 45 deliveries and Perera on 35 from 15, justifying the captain Angelo Mathews' decision to send Perera in ahead of himself. Ben Laughlin, who struggled to restrict the Sri Lankans in the final few overs of the first match in Sydney, again had a hard time bowling at the death and conceded 20 runs from the last over of the innings.

That over started with a reverse sweep for four that brought Jayawardene his fifty from 42 balls. It also included two more fours to the vacant third-man area from Jayawardene and a top-edged six from Perera, leaving Laughlin with 1 for 40 from his four overs.

James Faulkner, who had bowled a terrific initial spell of 1 for 3 from his first two overs, also suffered at the hands of Perera and Jayawardene in the later stages. He was struck over midwicket for six by Perera, as well as dabbed delicately over short fine leg for four, and Faulkner finished his four overs with 1 for 24.

The Sri Lanka top order had struggled in the first half of the innings as Australia's bowlers used clever variations and took wickets to help keep the runs down. Faulkner picked up his first international wicket in the third over of the match when Tillakaratne Dilshan tried to pull his slower ball and played on for 6 off 10 balls.

None of the Sri Lanka top three managed a strike rate of better than a run a ball as they failed to pick the pace of the bowling, or the gaps in the field. Dinesh Chandimal fell victim to a change in pace from Laughlin, whose first ball of the game was a slower delivery that Chandimal smoked through cover for four. But in the same over Laughlin's quicker bouncer hurried Chandimal, who lobbed a catch to mid-off.

Kushal Perera, who had struck three crisp boundaries including two in a Mitchell Starc over - Starc struggled with his line and sent down four leg-side wides - fell for 15 when he tried to slog Glenn Maxwell over the infield. The ball flew very high off the top edge and nearly struck the hovering Spidercam, and provided a very tricky swirling catch for the cover fielder Bailey, who ran almost a complete circle as he tried to track the ball and successfully completed the take.

After ten overs the Sri Lankans were 3 for 56 and it wasn't until the 12th over of the innings that the first six was struck, when Jayawardene slammed Maxwell straight down the ground. Jayawardene began to find his touch but was lucky to survive a run-out chance on 36, when Jeevan Mendis dropped the ball at his feet and took off for a run and the bowler Laughlin had Jayawardene well covered - except he failed to pick up the ball.

Mendis fell for 25 from 24 balls when he drove Xavier Doherty hard and flat and was caught at long-off by Faulkner, ending a productive 63-run partnership with Jayawardene that had been important in rebuilding the Sri Lanka innings. To keep the left- and right-hand combination going, Thisara Perera was promoted ahead of Mathews and the results were good for Sri Lanka.

 

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Mumbai boss their way to No. 40

Sri Lanka 4 for 161 (Jayawardene 61*, T Perera 35*) beat Australia 3 for 119 (Marsh 47*) by 2 runs (D/L method)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Before the Ranji Trophy final, the Mumbai captain Ajit Agarkar had talked about his side not having put together the perfect match this season. True to their reputation of being at their best when it matters, Mumbai delivered that perfect match on the biggest domestic stage to reclaim their familiar position as Ranji champions. 

Agarkar and Dhawal Kulkarni were so devastating with the new ball that at one stage Saurashtra, who have built up a reputation for scoring big, were in so precarious a position that journalists scrambled to find the lowest totals in first-class history. They avoided those levels of ignominy but were still rolled over for a measly 82, handing Mumbai a handsome innings and 125-run victory. 

Saurashtra had their best chance of a fightback when they had Mumbai six down on the second evening and only 89 ahead. They let that lead swell to 139 yesterday, and on third morning Hiken Shah strengthened Mumbai further with more than two hours of resistance.

Saurashtra needed a solid start if they were to pose any challenge, but their innings unravelled with unseemly haste. There was a poignant moment in the first over as Shitanshu Kotak, who waited two decades to play in a Ranji final, was caught-behind for a duck in what could be his final first-class game. He dejectedly walked past the trophy, which had been brought out and displayed on the boundary's edge, on his way to the dressing-room. 

The other opener, Sagar Jogiyani, has also had a game to forget. He had fallen for 1 on the first day, muffed a chance to run out Wasim Jaffer on the second and rounded off the game with a duck on the third.

Agarkar and Kulkarni were getting the ball to move both ways, and maintained a tight line and length, but Saurashtra's batsmen looked so out of their depth that the persistent doubts over their ability to score outside the benign surfaces of Rajkot will not be swept away any time soon. Saurashtra coach Debu Mitra admitted after the match that his batsmen needed to spend more time on seaming tracks, and that they didn't have enough experience of difficult batting conditions. 

They fished at far too many deliveries that should have been left alone. Mumbai operated with four slips and two gullies for much of the first hour, and the catches duly arrived.

There was bounce as well for the new-ball bowlers, and it was one of those lifting deliveries that removed Rahul Dave, hit high on the bat as he edged to the cordon. Aarpit Vasavada, who provided much of Saurashtra's resistance in the first innings, got a rough lbw decision after being struck outside off. Jaydev Shah avoided a pair but was bowled through the gate for 6.

At 11 for 5, the game was effectively over. Never have Saurashtra missed Cheteshwar Pujara as badly as they did in this match. They may have been outclassed in the final but, still, that won't take the shine off Saurashtra's best season in nearly seven decades.

For Mumbai, another title is only a return to business as usual after missing out in the previous two seasons. If the 40th trophy wasn't enough to show their domestic dominance, it comes in a season when they have won the Under-25 and U-16 titles too, and are battling it out in the final of the U-19.

 

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Matt Smith's double helped earn League One Oldham a shock win over Liverpool in a classic FA Cup fourth-round tie.

he hosts went ahead when Smith headed in Youssouf M'Changama's cross.
Liverpool skipper Luis Suarez was allowed to run at the Oldham defence as he squeezed in an equaliser.
But Smith took advantage of keeper Brad Jones's error and Reece Wabara scored a delightful back-post header as Oldham restored their advantage although Joe Allen's volley ensured a tense finish.
Steven Gerrard, who was brought on from the substitutes bench with 35 minutes remaining in attempt to turn the game around, hit the bar as nerves frayed at a wet and windy Boundary Park.

Yet Paul Dickov's side held on for a superb win over the seven-times winners on a weekend when Football League sides have caused upsets on all three days of the fourth round.

Oldham have been beset by financial problems in recent months, meaning manager Dickov has had to shed much of his coaching staff but his players produced a display which made a mockery of their lowly position in the third tier.
It also completed a fantastic response to their 5-1 defeat by the five-times European champions in the FA Cup third round last season.
Despite Gerrard's omission, Liverpool were not under-strength with Suarez, Daniel Sturridge, Fabio Borini and Raheem Sterling all starting in attack.
However, they were overshadowed in the opening exchanges by superb combination play between Smith and his strike partner Robbie Simpson, who bullied Liverpool centre-backs Sebastian Coates and Martin Skrtel.
They made their mark, sometimes literally, and 23-year-old Smith showed his intentions as early as the third minute with a well-taken goal.
Lee Croft mis-cued a shot from 20 yards but it found its way out to the left where M'Changama was given time to cross and Smith beat Coates to head in despite Skrtel's effort to clear off the line.
The tie continued its ferocious start when Raheem Sterling scythed down M'Changama and Simpson followed in on Reds keeper Jones after he spilled a shot.
But as much as Oldham were on the front foot, they were also slow to retreat and they gave Suarez plenty of space to equalise when he ran from his own half and squeezed the ball in after playing an inadvertent one-two with Oldham defender Cliff Byrne.
Sterling should have given Liverpool the lead before the half-hour mark when he breezed into the box but the 18-year-old shot straight at Latics keeper Dean Bouzanis.
Jose Baxter was showing some neat touches in midfield for the hosts but it was against the run of play when Oldham went ahead once more in first-half stoppage time, although it looked as though Sturridge may have been fouled in the build-up.
There looked no danger when Wabara weakly crossed the ball from the right, but Australian keeper Jones fumbled and Croft squared the ball to Smith who tapped in from close range.
Borini could have brought the visitors level again straight from the second-half kick-off when he scooped the ball over the bar and it became a crucial miss when Wabara excellently headed in Winchester's deep cross from the left.
That was enough for Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers to bring on Gerrard, and the Liverpool skipper made an instant impact as his team created several good chances.
Superb blocks from Byrne and Baxter denied the England midfielder and although Simpson shot wide as Coates continued to struggle with his presence, the visitors got a goal back from a corner when Allen volleyed in from the edge of the box via a deflection with 12 minutes remaining.
It looked as though it would prompt a late Liverpool surge, but as Oldham clung on they recorded yet another shock on a magical FA Cup weekend

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Jaffer gives Mumbai a healthy lead

Mumbai 287 for 6 (Jaffer 132) lead Saurashtra 148 (Kulkarni 4-24) by 139 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Wasim Jaffer's record-breaking century confirmed the first-innings lead for Mumbai but the widely expected barrage of runs didn't arrive from the home side, allowing a spirited Saurashtra a sliver of a chance to come back in the Ranji final. Mumbai are still in charge though not as emphatically as they would have liked. 

Saurashtra showed the sort of fighting attitude that has lifted the low-profile team to the finals. This was highlighted in the 34th over when despite several close calls for the batsmen in the morning session, Saurashtra were still looking for the first breakthrough. Jaffer had just struck three successive fours in the previous over to take Mumbai to 75 for 0. There was no wilting under the strain, though, and when Rahul Dave made a diving stop at cover, as many as six fielders ran up to him to give a congratulatory pat. Two balls later, Siddharth Trivedi had the opener Kaustubh Pawar caught and bowled.

Aditya Tare, another heavy scorer this season, followed soon after, rousing the Sunday crowd from the stupor of a session of slow-going cricket. The man most of the fans were in to see, Sachin Tendulkar, walked out to the familiar chants of "Sachin, Sachin." Tendulkar's record in Ranji finals is as fearsome as Mumbai's, and once he survived a few anxious minutes early on, Saurashtra looked set for a long haul as Jaffer was also looking fluent and settled.

Tendulkar got going with an effortless off drive between the non-striker and mid-off and a disdainful flick through midwicket next ball. When he paddle-swept Kamlesh Makvana's first ball in the next over, the crowd was at its most vocal.

They were silenced not long after, though. You'd think over the course of a 25-season career, there would be few 'firsts' left for Tendulkar. Till today, though, he had never been run-out in a Ranji match. He was sent back by Jaffer after he had pushed the ball towards point but couldn't beat the throw from Makvana.

That was the one low point in a day to savour for Jaffer. He claimed two prestigious Ranji Trophy records - most runs and hundreds in the tournament - and also went past 16,000 first-class runs. With most of the other specialist batsmen not contributing anything substantial, Jaffer's hundred was the cornerstone of Mumbai's innings. It will help Jaffer put aside the disappointment of making just one run in Mumbai's two knock-out matches last season when their campaign ground to a halt in the semi-finals. Even more praiseworthy is that Jaffer's recent run of three centuries in four matches have come despite the fact that his father is in hospital following a heart attack.

It wasn't Jaffer at his best of his innings, though. He survived a close lbw call on his first delivery and was reprieved after a loud caught-behind appeal early on the second morning. There was another life for him when the wicketkeeper Sagar Jogiyani broke the stumps before the ball had arrived, with Jaffer out of his ground.

However, there were some glorious strokes as well. He took on the gentle left-arm spin of Dharmendrasinh Jadeja in the morning after being patient for close to two hours, getting to fifty with a nonchalant six over long-on. There was also a classic drive past extra cover off Saurya Sanandiya to bring up Mumbai's hundred. He looked more and more difficult to dislodge as his innings progressed and when he was finally dismissed for 132, it was through a poor lbw decision when the ball looked to be sliding down.

Abhishek Nayar had provided Jaffer company for a while, using the sweep repeatedly to race to 26 off 35 before he swung a harmless Makvana delivery to midwicket. Ajit Agarkar was also dismissed cheaply and with Mumbai at 237 for 6, Saurashtra were dreaming of a comeback.

Mumbai, as usual, found a player to ease their nerves. Hiken Shah stuck around for more than an hour to make an unbeaten 41, and put on an unbroken 50-run stand with the first day's hero Dhawal Kulkarni. Saurashtra didn't help their cause by delaying taking the new ball till the 88th over instead of going for the kill earlier itself. That allowed the lead to swell to 139, and left the Mumbai dressing room a more relaxed place.

Siddarth Ravindran is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

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