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The final report from Justice Edwin King’s commission of inquiry into match-fixing and corruption in cricket has been completed and handed over to the South African government, the United Cricket Board said on Friday.The King Commission was instituted following revelations in India that former South African captain Hansie Cronje had been captured on tape recordings discussing what appeared to be arrangements to fix matches with an Indian bookmaker.After representations from the UCB, the SA government appointed Justice King to head an inquiry into the matter. Public hearings were held in Cape Town last June during which the extent of Cronje’s involvement and that of Herschelle Gibbs and Henry Williams became apparent.Whether the whole story was revealed is a matter for conjecture. Several witnesses who might have been able to shed further light on the affair were not called to give evidence and there were conflicting reports, especially from former South African coach Bob Woolmer, that the UCB, and former managing director Ali Bacher in particular, had been aware of approaches to the South African team for several years.Whatever the case, no further hearings took place and despite travelling to India, the commission was unable to lay its hands on the incriminating tapes. Cronje, meanwhile, was banned from cricket for life – he is currently in the process of challenging the ban – while Gibbs and Williams received and served six-month bans.The revelations of the King commission, and those of the Quayam Report in Pakistan, led directly to the appointment of Sir Paul Condon as the ICC anti-corruption commissioner.Despite recent suggestions that Cronje could face criminal prosecution for not making full disclosure, this seems unlikely and Justice King’s report is not expected to contain a great deal more than his already published interim report.The final report has been handed to the Ministry of Sport and Recreation who, in turn will pass it on to South African President, Thabo Mbeki. Once President Mbeki has read the report it will be released to the UCB and the public.

Ange Postecoglou has been dealt a big injury blow regarding Celtic centre-forward Johnny Kenny.

What’s the latest?

According to a report by The Scottish Sun, the 18-year-old was taken off on a stretcher after colliding with Matthew Cox in the 35th minute of England U19’s 3-1 victory over the Republic of Ireland U19s on Wednesday evening.

The report goes on to state that the striker had only recently returned to Celtic training after recovering from a previous knock, however, after his latest setback while on international duty, the Irishman now appears set for another spell on the sidelines.

Postecoglou will be fuming

Despite Kenny being yet to make a single appearance for Celtic since his £125k arrival at Parkhead in the January transfer window, the teenager sustaining yet another injury will nevertheless have left Ange Postecoglou fuming.

Indeed, shortly after the centre-forward’s signing, the 56-year-old Bhoys boss appeared to be extremely excited at the prospect of working with the youngster, stating:

“Johnny is one that we’ve been tracking for a while through our scouts over in Ireland. It was one that was put to us, and put to me in the summer window.

“We’ve been tracking his progress. We like what we’ve seen in terms of his development so far. He’s already had a year of senior football and he has some really good attributes.

“We thought it was a good opportunity to bring him in during this window, with the League of Ireland finishing over there. We took advantage of that, and after the discussions with him, he was keen to come across.

“He’s one that our scouting department has been tracking for quite a while. But he’s only 18, and we’re trying to bring in players who we feel we need right now.

“But we’re also not discounting the fact that we need to look a bit further ahead. Once he settles, he’ll start training with us and then he’ll settle in. Hopefully he can make an impact over the next year or so.”

As such, the fact that the 18-year-old has picked up yet another injury will undoubtedly disrupt the young striker’s development at Parkhead, something that will only lengthen the amount of time it takes before Kenny is ready to feature regularly for the Hoops first-team.

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It’s safe to say the Australian has not had the greatest of luck when it comes to offensive players this term with Kyogo Furuhashi and Giorgos Giakoumakis spending plenty of time on the treatment table too.

Furthermore, considering the sheer amount of potential the player who bagged 11 goals over 32 League of Ireland appearances last season clearly possesses, this latest setback is something that will certainly come as a great annoyance to Postecoglou.

AND in other news: Celtic handed huge boost as starlet now set to reject PL move, Ange will be buzzing

ScorecardNamibia fought back strongly on the second day of their Intercontinental Cup clash against UAE in Sharjah, dismissing the hosts for 224 and gaining a lead of 104 by stumps. Dawid Botha, the opening batsman, was unbeaten on 96 at the close.At the start of the day, UAE were nicely positioned to launch a late-innings onslaught to extend their lead but Ahmed Raza fell early on to dampen their hopes. Saqib Ali – who resumed on 72 – found stodgy support in Zahid Shah, with whom he put on 56 for the eighth wicket and, in turn, brought up his hundred.Saqib’s dismissal, to a Michael Durant offbreak, for 104 prompted a predictable tailend crash as UAE slipped from 220 for 7 to 224 all out, taking a first-innings lead of just 60.Buoyed by the performance of their bowlers, Namibia’s batsmen then began knocking off the deficit, Botha and Jan-Berrie Burger – Namibia’s top-scorer in the first innings – putting on 81 for the opening stand. Burger fell to Khurram Khan, and Durant soon followed, but Botha remained firm and cracked 12 fours and a six to take Namibia into the lead.Gerrie Snyman was bowled by Zahid Shah shortly before the close but, with Botha ready to resume tomorrow morning in sight of his hundred, Namibia are reasonably placed to set UAE a big target to chase with two days remaining.

Stuart Matsikenyeri: the only member of the ZImbabwe squad who played the last World Cup © Getty Images

Every single World Cup since 1992 has seen a major upset, and Ireland andZimbabwe could be forgiven for looking too far ahead as they square off inGroup D’s battle of the minnows.These are heady times for Irish sport, with the rugby team having clinched their third Triple Crown in four years, and the team that Trent Johnston leads will fancy their chances against Zimbabwe, especially after they gave South Africa an almightyscare in a warm-up game at St Augustine.Dave Langford-Smith and Johnston himself did the damage with the ball inthat game, as South Africa slumped to 91 for 8. As Johnston said at thepre-match press conference on Wednesday, it was “just unfortunate thatthey had a guy with a Test hundred batting at No. 9 [Andrew Hall].”Will Porterfield, Andre Botha and Kevin O’Brien made runs in that defeat,and Johnston was confident that Ireland could trump Zimbabwe if they”executed the basics”. The team have also been aided by Phil Simmons, theformer West Indian opener who will take over as coach when Adrian Birrellsteps down after the World Cup.For Zimbabwe, it’s a question of proving the doubters wrong. Enfeebled byplayers moving to pastures new, and not helped by the continuinginstability back home, they’re desperate to avoid defeat to an associatenation. Such a reverse would be an almighty setback as they bid to regainTest status, but both Kevin Curran, the coach, and Prosper Utseya, thecaptain, were quietly confident that Zimbabwe could put pressure on themore fancied teams in the group.Of the squad, only Stuart Matsikenyeri played at the last World Cup, andUtseya admitted that his experience and inputs had been invaluable. Currancited Vusi Sibanda, Elton Chigumbura and Sean Williams as players with theability to make a mark at the highest level, and much will also beexpected from the likes of Utseya, Anthony Ireland and Brendon Taylor.The pitch had a smattering of grass and the captain who wins the toss willmost likely exercise the bowl-first option. And though the crowd isn’texpected to be anything like as large as it was for the opening game, afew hundred travelling Irish could well transform a stand or two into apond of green. And whatever the result, they’ll savour the experience.

Yusuf Pathan, Irfan’s older brother, starred with 5 for 52 in West Zone’s three-wicket victory against Central Zone at Gwalior. Tejinder Pal Singh scored 79 after Central Zone lost the toss but received no support as they were dismissed for 180 in just the 38th over. Parthiv Patel led West Zone’s reply with 46 but they had collapsed to 97 for 6 before Bhavik Thaker (35), Rohit Sharma (31 not out) and Ravindra Jadeja (26 not out) stemmed the rot and saw their team safely through to 181 for 7.South Zone clinched a three-wicket win in a low-scoring match against East Zone at Indore. After winning the toss, East Zone were restricted to 183 for 9 in 50 overs. Laxmi Ratan Shukla top-scored with 43 and Rohan Gavaskar was the only other batsman to cross 30. Vinay Kumar was the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 38 and Vijaykumar Yomahesh, back after the Under-19 World Cup, chipped in with 2 for 39. South Zone began their chase badly, slipping to 46 for 4, before Hemang Badani (45) and Chandrashekar Raghu put on 92 runs for the fifth wicket. Raghu went on to score 60 and had all but sealed the victory when he departed on 169 for 7.

Daniel Vettori will again be asked for even more as New Zealand fight to stay in the series© Getty Images

Non-Test issues have dominated the lead-up to a match that could settle the three-Test series. Daryl Tuffey’s sex, spies and videotape inquiry had tongues wagging while travel agents were closely monitoring the developments of Brett Lee’s will-he, won’t-he fly back for the Pura Cup final routine. Neither bowler will have any playing roles in this match so it’s time to move on.New Zealand’s series hopes could be sucked from Wellington’s Basin Reserve unless they have recovered from the demoralising shift of power at Christchurch. For seven sessions they were holding the present and at the end of day three the contest was thrillingly even. From there they quickly gave up the win, folding for 131 when 250 might have done.Batting has been Stephen Fleming’s and New Zealand’s problem throughout the summer. As the captain and the side’s world-class batsman – in the past 17 Tests he has averaged 51.96 – he has been a double target. In case he had forgotten, Glenn McGrath reminded everybody that Fleming was again going to be plug-hole pressured.Fleming has added to his burden with the selfless decision to walk up to the top of the order and cover Mark Richardson’s retirement-enforced gap. He cannot be any more exposed than facing new balls from McGrath and Jason Gillespie, and the glare was too bright during the one-day series when Lee actually got to bowl.Where does Fleming look for cover? Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan, the side’s next most experienced batsmen, are locked down at No. 5 and No. 6. Craig Cumming will play his second Test after 74 and 7 on debut while Hamish Marshall, who showed he could learn quickly with a first-innings 146 at Christchurch, is due for his fourth match and Lou Vincent his 17th. In the baggy-green corner will be McGrath, Gillespie, Shane Warne and Michael Kasprowicz with 327 appearances between them.The first-Test mismatch took three days to materialise, but the collapse from the threat of enforcing the follow-on to a redundant fifth day was as swift as the 80kph southerly winds expected to buffet Wellington over the next couple of days. Australia will be sweating on sweaters in the cool conditions and the frosty hands may make for more sloppy slip catching. Three easy chances were grassed last week and Fleming must hope for further donations from the cordon, and much more.Australia’s main worry continues to be Matthew Hayden. His injured shoulder is fine, although it affects his fielding, and his form rose at the start of the tour but fell again at Christchurch. Worse still for a great-outdoors man, the injury prevents him fishing or surfing. The frustration will be directed at Chris Martin and James Franklin, who must move and control the ball as they did for the first 50 overs of the opening Test.

Offspin or seam?: Paul Wiseman hopes for a recall© Getty Images

Daniel Vettori is a name that does a rare thing in Australia dressing rooms by scaring the inhabitants. In 11 Tests he has 59 wickets against them and only Adam Gilchrist was able to escape his twirling clutches in the first innings at Jade Stadium as he picked up 5 for 106. Vettori’s record at the Basin Reserve is modest, 29 wickets at 40.96 in 11 matches. New Zealand will again have to ask more of him, but he could have more support in Paul Wiseman as Fleming decides between offspin or the seam of Iain O’Brien.Australia have played seven times at the ground for wins in 1945-46 under Bill Brown and a six-wicket victory in 1999-2000 with Steve Waugh in charge. Four draws have dominated the results and a fifth would not only be a great result for New Zealand, but it would keep the series afloat.Australia 1 Justin Langer, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Michael Clarke, 6 Simon Katich, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Jason Gillespie, 10 Michael Kasprowicz, 11 Glenn McGrath.New Zealand (Probable) 1 Stephen Fleming (capt), 2 Lou Vincent, 3 Nathan Astle, 4 Craig Cumming, 5 Craig McMillan, 6 Hamish Marshall, 7 Brendon McCullum (wk), 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 James Franklin, 10 Paul Wiseman, 11 Chris Martin, 12 Iain O’Brien.Peter English is Australasian editor of Cricinfo.

New Zealand’s players will wear black armbands during their match against Australia at Pune as a mark of respect for Gordon Lindsay ‘Dad’ Weir. Weir, who was the world’s oldest surviving Test cricketer at 95 years and 151 days, died today in Auckland on Friday. Weir played his first Test against England in 1929-30, New Zealand’s first season as a Test nation, and his career ended in 1937.Martin Snedden, the chief executive of New Zealand Cricket, said that New Zealand had lost a link with its cricket past following the death of Weir. “It is a sad time for New Zealand Cricket. ‘Dad’ Weir made a significantcontribution to cricket as a player. He maintained strong links withcricket throughout his life and was a regular at Test matches at EdenPark. His passing marks the end of an era.”

DuncanFletcher Photo CricInfo

Cricket’s mental side is the part of the game England coach Duncan Fletcher worries about most, and it is where he thinks his side has run into trouble in New Zealand.The side suffered a record 155-run loss to New Zealand in Wellington yesterday and Fletcher said today that there was only a period of about five overs in the middle of their innings when England competed with New Zealand.The game was not the worst he had experienced since becoming coach, there had been some in England that were equal to yesterday.”What was disappointing was that we played some good cricket in India but suddenly things didn’t work out quite right yesterday,” he said.It was always going to be tough playing any side in their home conditions but the manner of yesterday’s hiding has him concerned.”If you could get inside their brain the game would be very, very easy,” he said.While it was easy to see things that were wrong technically, it was much more difficult, in a touring situation, to know if players were being over-cooked with too much practice and play.The players had been flat but there had been no indication before the game that flatness would be a problem.In the immediate aftermath of the loss it had been one of the first times the team had sat in the dressing room for half an hour afterwards and gone through a few things in the form of analysis.He conceded the 244 New Zealand posted after being put in to bat was a very difficult total to chase.A total of 200 would have been very challenging, he said.Having been through India with the side and now on the New Zealand leg he felt the team, before it played yesterday, was the best XI England could field but it had not been a true assessment of their ability.It was possible to throw around a lot of theory but it had to be remembered New Zealand played very well.”Sometimes the opposition can make you play badly. They had a really good day yesterday. They took advantage of the first 15 overs on a relatively difficult wicket and played some good cricket.”They are a very effective unit now and have come back on a high from Australia,” he said.Fletcher did feel his bowlers could be more consistent in their disciplines.”It is all about setting a tone, you set a tone with your batting, the way you approach the first 15 overs, you set a tone with your bowling in the first 15 overs and you set a tone with how you show your energy in the field,” he said.With the World Cup in mind, England had been hoping to have a good idea of exactly where they stood in the run down to the World Cup by the end of this tour.That was why the Indian and New Zealand one-day sections had been put together.But now the pressure was still on the players to prove they were capable of contesting a World Cup by turning this tour around.Whether wicket-keeper James Foster, who was rested for yesterday’s game, would be part of that remained to be seen.He was one of several young players in the side not used to touring, the playing and travelling requirement faced by all sides. He had been lethargic and was probably on a bit of a downer so the management didn’t want to knock his confidence. Whether he was capable or not was still be found out.Owais Shah was another player given a chance and assessments of how these young players cope was an essential part of this tour.

WORCESTER, England – Let the games begin.The Australian limited overs cricket squad arrived in England tonight for its pre-Ashes tour and immediately piled onto the team bus for a two-and-a-half hour trip to Worcester.Captain Steve Waugh and the rest of the world champion Australian outfithave only two days to find their barings before the tour opener againstWorcestershire on Friday.English newspapers are describing the looming Ashes battle as “momentous”and “enticing” and the second Test between England and Pakistan, whichstarts Thursday, is regarded as little more than a prelude to the mainfive-Test bout against Australia.The Australians did not arrive at the grand Bank House Hotel, set among along stretch of green rolling hills, until after dark following their flightfrom Turkey.They will be on the field before they know it but congested schedules havebecome a fact of life for the modern cricketer, and captain Steve Waugh wasnot complaining.”There is so much cricket and a lot of tours, there’s not many lead up gamesto any tours anymore,” he said.”You’ve got to get accustomed to it because it’s just a part of cricketnow.”Australia’s thin preparation for next month’s tri-series against England andPakistan is the three-dayer against Worcestershire then a pair of one-dayersagainst Middlesex and Northamptonshire.England and Pakistan launch the one-day tournament on June 7 at Birminghambefore Australia begins its campaign two days later against Pakistan atCardiff in Wales.The Australian Test squad will have a similarly scarce build-up to the Ashesopener at Edgbaston from July 5 courtesy of three-day fixtures against anMCC XI and Essex.”A couple of guys won’t have a lot of cricket but we’re hoping they’ll get alot of practice beforehand and they’ll switch on,” said Waugh.”That’s part of being a professional.”

Taking to Twitter, Spanish reporter Carles Domènech – as also backed by Sport – has now dropped a big Sergio Reguilon exit hint for Tottenham supporters.

The Lowdown: Reguilon worries?

Despite being called ‘one of the best left-backs in the world’ by former Spurs goalkeeper Paul Robinson at one point, Lilywhites boss Antonio Conte started to fancy an alternative to Reguilon in fellow left-back Ryan Sessegnon before the latter’s most recent injury.

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Since being unceremoniously taken off after 28 minutes in a 2-0 home defeat to Wolves last month, the Englishman went on to impress with some head-turning displays in Conte’s wing-back formation. This could’ve been a slight worry for Reguilon who may now have some competition in that position for Spurs.

His former club Real Madrid have a £34m buyback clause in the deal which took him to Tottenham in 2020, so there is a way out of north London for the 25-year-old.

However, the Galacticos aren’t the only club interested, with Domènech now dropping a major Twitter hint involving their El Clasico rivals Barcelona.

The Latest: Journalist drops Reguilon hint…

Taking to social media, the Spanish source said to ‘get ready’, as there are ‘many possibilities’ for Reguilon to share Barcelona’s left-flank with defender Jordi Alba.

Domènech explained: “Can you imagine Jordi Alba and Sergio Reguilón sharing the left wing? So get ready because there are so many possibilities.”

The Verdict: Big claim…

The Spaniard joining his old La Liga rivals would certainly come as a shock, with Domenech’s claim apparently causing a stir on social media.

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From Tottenham’s perspective, they arguably cannot afford to lose Reguilon despite possessing an alternative in Sessegnon. The latter appears to be far too injury-prone to rely upon without a rotation option, bringing attention to Conte’s reliance on the Spain international.

Facing both Barcelona’s interest and Real Madrid’s possession of a buyback clause, this could be a very interesting summer when it comes to the defender’s future at Tottenham.

In other news: Tottenham launch pre-summer bid to sign ‘phenomenal’ £168,000-per-week man, club likely to accept! Find out more here