Sunderland boss Alex Neil picked up another win in the third tier over the weekend as his side beat Gillingham 1-0 at the Stadium of Light.

Nathan Broadhead’s diving header in the last minute sealed the three points to keep the Black Cats in the race to land a play-off spot.

They are currently two points behind 5th-placed Sheffield Wednesday in the table as they attempt to land a top-six place between now and the end of the regular season.

If the Black Cats end up in the play-offs and Neil is able to guide them to the Championship this term, Kristjaan Speakman will be facing the daunting prospect of sorting out the club’s striking options heading into next season.

Ross Stewart has been linked with a move to Premier League side Norwich and Nathan Broadhead is set to return to Everton this summer. They have scored 28 goals between them in League One and losing both of them ahead of a campaign in the second tier would be a disaster, especially if they fail to bring in a player of the requisite quality to replace them.

One striker they have been credited with an interest in is 18-year-old Guiseley forward Josh Stones. The youngster has caught the eye this season with his goals at youth level and Sunderland are one of the clubs keen on a deal for him.

However, Football Insider recently reported that Wigan have agreed terms with the striker ahead of a summer switch to the DW Stadium. This means that, as it stands, Speakman is set to miss out on a deal for the teen as Wigan have swooped in ahead of them.

Stones has scored nine goals in his last five youth games for Guiseley, whilst he recently scored a hat-trick at youth level for England’s schoolboys team against Scotland. This means that he has found the back of the net 12 times in his last six matches in development football, which highlights his incredible potential as a player.

Therefore, missing out on a deal for him would be a big disaster for Speakman. Not only would it be to a League One rival, but it could also be at the same time they lose both Stewart and Broadhead – leaving Neil’s squad threadbare at the top end of the pitch.

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The Stadium of Light supremo must do everything in his power to convince the 18-year-old phenomenon to turn Wigan down and sign a contract with Sunderland. His statistics at youth level suggest that he would be an excellent addition to the club’s ranks and they cannot allow their rivals to snap him up ahead of them.

AND in other news, SAFC made huge £600k blunder over “outstanding” machine who aged like “fine wine”…

Ian Harvey (73*) and Brad Hodge (63*) have led an excellent fightback to rescue Victoria late on day three of the Pura Cup match against Queensland at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane. The pair’s unbroken stand of 133 for the fifth wicket has carried the visitors to a second innings score of 4/216 by stumps, a tally which affords them an overall lead of 118 runs.The memory of Victoria’s disastrous late collapse in its first innings, though, will continue to fire the Bulls’ prospects of claiming outright points at some time tomorrow. Queensland captain Stuart Law admitted as much after play when he indicated that his team unarguably still holds the whip hand in the contest.”They’ve got their backs to the wall and it’s up to them now if they want to salvage something,” he said. “I’m confident of winning.”Before Harvey and Hodge had come together, Queensland’s charge toward outright victory had been ignited by rugged paceman Joe Dawes (4/64). Dawes snared all four of Victoria’s second innings wickets when he spectacularly removed Jason Arnberger (20), Shawn Craig (35), Matthew Mott (19) and Michael Klinger (2) in quick succession in mid-afternoon. Showing all the hunger and passion that might be expected from a player who has been twelfth man for his state almost as many times as he has played, he claimed 4/38 in the space of ten overs at one stage, and also had Craig dropped by Law at second slip.Earlier in the day, Queensland’s first innings had ended at a total of 347. Around a fine spell from Michael Lewis (4/74), the Bulls owed their progression to their ninety-eight run lead largely to the efforts of Wade Seccombe (35), Adam Dale (25) and Andy Bichel (21). Colin Miller (1/93) also bowled well, albeit without producing particularly flattering figures, as he continued to press his claims for Test selection later this month.

In a twist of events, the Barbados cricket selectors have decided to wait until their West Indies counterparts announce the 15-member World Cup squad before selecting their own squad of 16 players for next year’s regional first-class championship.Calvin Hope, a senior member of the Barbados selection panel, made the announcement at a Press conference at Kensington Oval yesterday afternoon, which ironically had been convened to announce the Barbados team and also present prizes for the recently concluded Arawak Cement Cup.Hope, the lone selector present, as chairman Richard "Prof" Edwards and Clinton St Hill were absent, confirmed wicket-keeper Courtney Browne as Barbados captain with Ryan Hinds as his deputy."Unfortunately, we cannot announce the Barbados squad today because we received an e-mail from the West Indies Cricket Board informing us that the West Indies selectors are meeting between the 27th and 28th of December to select the West Indies team for the World Cup," Hope told reporters."As you can appreciate, that could have some implications and impact on the availability of players to represent Barbados for the regional tournament early next year, as those players who will be participating in the World Cup would not be available, at least in the early matches for the regional tournament," Hope said."We believe that the selection process of the West Indies team, depending on who from Barbados may be in that squad, could impact in various ways (like) the balance of the team."One might say we could choose 16 people and then have reserves but you are probably going to trap yourself there into a particular situation, so it is better to start when you know all the facts," he added."The Barbados selectors have decided that we will wait until the announcement of the West Indies squad to the World Cup, then we will select the Barbados team and make the announcement."So we apologise for not being able to stick to our original plan of announcing today but that was something beyond our control. We expected the West Indies team to be announced by now," Hope declared.He said Tony Howard had been re-appointed as manager, with Hendy Springer again the coach.

ScorecardFile photo- Jatinder Singh top-scored for Oman on the second consecutive day with a 48-ball 40•ICC

Oman completed their second upset win in as many days with a convincing 40-run win against Afghanistan on the back of a strong bowling performance. Oman are currently placed second in Group B after three straight wins, behind Afghanistan who have played an extra game.Oman lost Zeeshan Maqsood of the second ball after being put in to bat, but Zeeshan Ahmed and Jatinder Singh, who hit an unbeaten 65 in Oman’s six-wicket win against Netherlands, consolidated with a 49-run stand. Oman’s batsmen continued to form steady partnerships before Jatinder was bowled by Mohammad Nabi for 40 in the 17th over. However, 35 runs were scored of the last four overs as Oman finished with a competitive 144 for 7. Nabi was Afghanistan’s best bowler and picked up figures of 3 for 28.The Afghanistan openers, Mohammad Shahzad and Javed Ahmadi, started slowly before Shahzad was dismissed for 28. Afghanistan were on course at 61 for 1 in the 10th over but Mehran Khan and Maqsood tore into the middle-order with four-wicket hauls. Wickets fell in clumps and the required run-rate kept climbing to make the chase exponentially harder. Afghanistan were eventually bowled out for 104 by the 18th over.

Allrounder Mitchell Santner has been ruled out of New Zealand’s tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa after fracturing his thumb at training. Santner will be replaced by the uncapped Central Districts allrounder George Worker, who topped the run tally in the Ford Trophy last summer with 538 runs at 48.90, including a remarkable 194 in a win over Cantebury in January.Santner was preparing for the tour at New Zealand Cricket’s High Performance Centre in Christchurch when he was struck on the thumb fielding a ball off his own bowling on Monday. Coach Mike Hesson said it was unfortunate timing for Santner, who had impressed during his first tour with the national side to England this year.”We feel for Mitch because he was really excited about this tour and we were looking forward to seeing him continue his development in international cricket,” Hesson said. “It is unfortunate but at the same time it presents George with his first opportunity in the Black Caps environment and we are confident that he’ll fit in well.”Worker, 25, offers similar skills to Santner, as a left-hand top-order batsman and left-arm orthodox spinner. He was the second-leading run scorer in the Georgie Pie Super Smash in 2014-15, with 318 runs at 45.42, and in addition to his outstanding run tally in the shorter formats he also collected nine Ford Trophy wickets at 20.11.Anton Devcich was unavailable for consideration as he continues to recover from a shoulder operation. New Zealand will be led on the tour by Kane Williamson, who will captain the side with Brendon McCullum being rested. The tour includes three ODIs and one T20 against Zimbabwe in Harare, followed by two T20s and three ODIs in South Africa.

ScorecardJack Taylor was Man of the Match after scoring 35 of 26 balls and taking three wickets•Getty Images

Gloucestershire claimed their first limited-overs trophy in more than a decade after tightening like a vice during the last third of Surrey’s innings to suffocate the run chase and triumph in a thrilling finish. After losing their talisman, captain Michael Klinger, to the third ball of the match and then being cleaned up for 220 by Jade Dernbach’s hat-trick, this was a remarkable triumph from a Gloucestershire side who refused to give in against seemingly mighty opposition.When Kumar Sangakkara and Rory Burns were compiling a century stand for the third wicket, there was little to trouble Surrey, but spinners Jack Taylor and Tom Smith sparked a dramatic comeback as the shadows lengthened at Lord’s. Only Sam Curran, the youngest player on the pitch in only his seventh List A innings, seemed to possess the required nerve but his poise cruelly deserted him at the end.It came down to seven runs being required off the final over with two wickets standing, after James Burke was run out from the final ball of the penultimate over as Curran tried to steal a single to mid-on. But Curran fell to the next delivery, attempting to hit David Payne over long-on and picking out the fielder.Dernbach, whose 6 for 35 were the third-best figures in a Lord’s final, could only watch from the other end as Gareth Batty then pulled the ball to deep square leg without adding to the total to confirm Gloucestershire’s victory with three deliveries remaining.Fittingly it was Taylor who took the catch. The offspinner, who finished with 3 for 43, also struck a vital 35 from 26 balls in Gloucestershire’s innings to be named Man of the Match.At 143 for 2, Surrey looked as if they would ease to victory, only for Taylor and Smith to turn the screw. The asking rate hovered around a run a ball throughout the last ten overs but wickets fell regularly: Gary Wilson caught at midwicket, Azhar Mahmood stumped, Tom Curran lbw attempting a reverse-sweep – to a ball that may well have missed leg stump.Gloucestershire, playing their first Lord’s final in over a decade, came into the match as underdogs and many feared what would become of them if Klinger failed. Those fears were sharpened when Klinger was dismissed for a duck in Dernbach’s opening over and Gloucestershire required a dogged fifty from another veteran in Geraint Jones, playing in his final match before retirement, to drag them towards respectability.It was hardly an imposing total against a Surrey batting order that has been rampant in this competition, their top three of Jason Roy, Steven Davies and Sangakkara behind only Klinger in the run-scoring list. James Fuller’s hugely impressive opening spell accounted for Roy and Davies but Sangakkara did not offer a chance until mis-hitting a Taylor full toss to mid-on with 78 still needed.On a slow pitch and with what seemed like a majority of the crowd urging them on, Gloucestershire kept themselves in the contest by strangling the scoring. The required rate rose from less than five at the start of the 35th over, before Sangakkara’s dismissal, to more than six as Taylor and Smith wheeled away.It should have been a day to savour for Dernbach – recently described by his captain as “the most complete seamer in England in one-day cricket” – as he became the third man to a hat-trick in a Lord’s final, emulating James Averis and Ken Higgs. After the darkness of 2012, when the death of Tom Maynard had a devastating effect on Dernbach and several of his team-mates, this would have been a cathartic victory.Dernbach’s final wicket came courtesy of an extremely poor umpiring decision but the yorker to clean up Jones after he had reached a 64-ball fifty was a brutally effective piece of death bowling. Craig Miles then inside-edged a drive through to Wilson before umpire Rob Bailey gave last man Payne out lbw after he was hit on the body ducking into a full toss – though replays suggested the ball was missing leg stump by some distance.The 40-year-old Mahmood, only in the side as a seasoned replacement for the injured Zafar Ansari and playing his first List A game in over a year, returned immaculate figures of 2 for 28 from ten overs as Surrey took charge. Gloucestershire only managed one fifty partnership and might have struggled to get past 200 but for the efforts of No. 9 Taylor, which included consecutive leg-side sixes off Tom Curran in the 45th over.Surrey had batted first in every one of their previous Royal London Cup matches this season, winning eight out of nine but this time Batty decided to chase. Maybe it was a psychological ploy: get Klinger in and have a go at him early. The sun was shining and the skies were clear in north London, which is not often the case this late in the season, but still Batty chose to insert on winning the toss. Klinger, the leading run-scorer in the competition and the man many felt was Gloucestershire’s best – even – chance of winning, was offered centre stage.A Lord’s final was once a prime opportunity to persuade the England selectors of a player’s case. Klinger, into his 36th year, still hopes to catch Australia’s attention but this was not to be his moment: attempting to impose himself against Dernbach, he was caught behind forcing a cut. The time it took for Nick Cook’s finger to go up was enough for Gloucestershire hearts to sink into their boots.Surrey had carried out their hit while barely getting their hands dirty; Gloucestershire sensed the wall at their backs already. It seemed like a mortal blow.Victory would be all the sweeter for the manner in which it came but the recovery was slow. Gareth Roderick and Chris Dent put on 40 for the second wicket, the latter dropped when Sam Curran grassed a catch off his own bowling.Dent was on 13 at the time but looked in good touch, only to drill Dernbach straight to mid-off for 22 off 20. Hamish Marshall, one of only two Gloucestershire players with international experience, was next to fall, stumped off a leg-side wide from Batty. His first ball had disappeared down to fine leg for five wides but, an over later, Marshall walked past a similarly errant delivery, beaten by some turn, and Wilson completed a smart bit of work.Mahmood then reeled off ten overs of wicket-to-wicket thriftiness, only slightly blemished when Jones clouted a slower ball beyond the ropes. Benny Howell was bowled through the gate and Roderick played on but Tom Smith combined with Jones to add 52 for the sixth wicket. Taylor then added further impetus but, with 250 still a possibility, he carved a Dernbach full toss to backward point.Gloucestershire needed early wickets and Fuller, bowling in the high 80s mph and making use of a short leg, provided hope by removing both openers inside 12 overs. Roy toe-ended an aggressive swipe to cover while Davies seemed beaten for pace by one that reared back into him and could only play on. Gloucestershire believed but it was much, later until everyone else did.

ScorecardFile photo: Malcolm Waller hit 10 fours and three sixes during his 118•Associated Press

Regis Chakabva and Malcolm Waller both scored hundreds and shared a 199-run partnership, as Zimbabwe A built a huge lead going into the final day against Ireland at the Harare Sports Club.Ireland, who began the day at 292 for 6, could add only 61 runs to that score. John Mooney, the No.8 batsman, chipped in with a valuable 30, but received little by way of support from the other tailenders, as Ireland fell 40 runs short of taking the lead. Fast bowler Trevor Garwe was the pick of Zimbabwe A’s bowlers, collecting 4 for 61.Zimbabwe A’s openers Hamilton Masakadza and Peter Moor began the second innings brightly, adding 40 inside seven overs, but a mini-collpase led to the hosts losing three wickets for just 34 runs. Chakabva and Waller, however, led a counterattack, batting together for 45 overs, and guided Zimbabwe A towards the 300-run mark. Chakabva hit eight fours and six for his 101, while Waller’s 118 featured 10 fours and three sixes. Both batsmen fell towards the end of the day, but Zimbabwe A still ended strongly at 320 for 6, with a lead of 359 runs.

Youth will mingle with experience as Test hopefuls Cameron Bancroft, Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja join Adam Voges and Peter Siddle in a strong Prime Minister’s XI to face the New Zealanders in Canberra on Friday.Bancroft, Burns and Khawaja are all in strong contention to be chosen for the Gabba Test, while Voges will be looking for a score to shore up his place in the selectors’ plans after an underwhelming Matador Cup campaign in which he has made just 50 runs in five innings for Western Australia. Voges had been named Steven Smith’s vice-captain for the postponed Bangladesh series.Other players of promise to be included in the squad are Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff and Ryan Carters, while David Hussey will join his brother Michael, already named as captain of the team. While the selectors were effectively cornered into choosing Siddle due to his lack of cricket, they will be eager to get further sights of the batsmen vying to join Smith and David Warner in the top six for Brisbane.”This is one of the strongest Prime Minister’s XI sides we have selected in recent years,” the selection chairman Rod Marsh said. “The Prime Minister’s XI match is a very important occasion on the Australian cricket calendar and this year it takes on added significance as it marks the very start of our international summer.”Unfortunately due to the postponed Bangladesh tour, players such as Joe Burns, Cameron Bancroft, and Usman Khawaja all missed opportunities to perform on the international stage. This match is a great opportunity to build on their Matador Cup performances and the strong form they displayed on the recent Australia A tour of India. We’re keeping a close eye on these players ahead as we prepare to select the Test squad.”Given we are only a few weeks away from the first Test at the Gabba, it is an ideal opportunity for us to watch a group of highly-rated players and see how they perform against a quality New Zealand side. We know New Zealand will be looking for immediate success in their first match on Australian soil since the ICC Cricket World Cup final.”We have chosen a very strong line-up which will benefit from the experience of players such as the Hussey brothers, Adam Voges and Peter Siddle. It’s pleasing too that three players that were products of ACT Cricket feature in the side, allowing them to showcase their talents in front of a home crowd. Jason Behrendorff, Ryan Carters and Ben Taylor all deserve this opportunity and we’re delighted for them.”The match will be played under lights using the experimental pink ball to be tried in the inaugural day-night Test match in Adelaide next month, and will be followed by a two-day tour match between Brendon McCullum’s side and a Cricket Australia invitational team.Prime Minister’s XI squad: Michael Hussey (capt), Cameron Bancroft, Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja, Adam Voges, David Hussey, Ryan Carters (wk), Ashton Agar, Peter Siddle, Jason Behrendorff, Mark Steketee, Ben Taylor (12th man)

Shaharyar Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, has criticised the decision of Younis Khan to announce his retirement from one-day internationals, only one match into his recall to the team.Younis, 37, made the shock announcement on the morning of the first ODI against England at Abu Dhabi, having previously been outspoken in his criticism of the selectors for dropping him in the wake of Pakistan’s World Cup exit in March.He was dismissed for 9 in his 265th and final appearance during Pakistan’s run-chase at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, bringing to an end a 15-year career in the format that had begun against Sri Lanka at Karachi in March 2000.However, Shaharyar was unimpressed by Younis’s actions. “I am disappointed at not only his decision to retire from ODIs but also the timing of his decision,” he was quoted as saying by .”Younis has been doing well and that is why the selectors felt he should be played again in the one-day matches. For me it is surprising he announced his retirement today.”Shaharyar did, however, confirm that the PCB would arrange a suitable send-off for a man who has scored 7249 runs in the format at 31.24, with seven centuries, albeit just the one since 2008.Haroon Rashid, Pakistan’s chief selector, also expressed his confusion at Younis’s actions.”When I went to Sharjah to meet with the team management and I also talked to Younis, he gave me no indication he was planning to retire from ODIs after the first match of the series,” Haroon said.”We picked him keeping in mind that we needed an experienced batsman in the middle order to stabilise the batting. We picked him keeping in mind our future assignments. He never discussed this retirement thing with us.””The team will remain balanced but at no stage did Younis convey any desire to us he wanted to retire,” he added.Mohsin Khan, the former coach, speculated that Waqar Younis’s reluctance to have Younis back in the one-day squad may have played its part.”It makes no sense that after being picked for the full series in the one-day squad after such a big gap he should decide to retire after playing the first match. Definitely I think something has happened in the last 48 or 24 hours to have upset Younis who is very sensitive and a self-respecting individual,” Mohsin told Geo Super channel.”I think the job of the captain, manager and coach is to not only motivate the players but also make them feel comfortable and wanted. I think in Younis’s case this didn’t happen and no one tried to speak to him to find out his feelings.”

Potchefstroom – They are known as the North West Dragons, and for most of the season their fire has spluttered rather than roared in defiance. On Thursday night they trailed a smoke haze across their new stadium when it was officially opened and cracked the 200 mark for the second time this season before losing by 41 runs against an England XI.While the tourists used the outing to utilise their options for their opening match of the triangular series in Bloemfontein on Sunday, and put a solid, if unconvincing 264 for nine on the board, North West did what they could to give the local public a little to remember scoring 223 for eight.A pity the chaotic melee provided by an unruly crowd at the end let down their side who did what they could, having previously failed three times this season to reach 100.Yet it was not a batting performance to remember: there were odd patches as well as a first wicket partnership of 71 between Gary Outram and Hendrick de Vos. After that the locals were not going to be in the hunt – there was solid batting down the order with 30s littering the scorecard rather than an impressive half-century.If England had been hoping for a big response from Hick and Adams after Nasser Hussain had won the toss, the partnership of 102 against average bowling did notquite fill the expectations.As it is there were rumblings over allegations of a row between Alec Stewart and the skipper over Stewart’s so-called “sacking” by being sent home early. Although David Clark, the England Cricket Board media liaison officer on tour for the slogs, said the team refuted the claims, it is known Hussain and Duncan Fletcher were “quietly livid at such false claims” on the eve of the triangular series. Plans for Stewart to go back to England had been approved some time ago when the Test tour and limited-overs squads were announced.Instead of Chris Read keeping wicket here though we had the specialist utility all-rounder Mark Alleyne, the Gloucestershire captain who kept wicket for England A on their more recent tour of Bangladesh and New Zealand.The rumpus, which blew up yesterday may have deflected Hussain’s thoughts from his own game plan with an edge into the stumps curtailing his performance while Nick Knight was less impressive.Yet it was the windmill style action of exhibitionist David Pryke, who collected five wickets in the innings, which undid Chris Adams. The Sussex captain has battled this tour to make an impression and yesterday found the unusual style of Pryke a problem.Pryke also gives the impression he delivers from almost 18 metres instead of the regulation 20.12 metres and Adams found the foot shuffle, more accentuated than that of Mike Procter, was unable to get his own footwork going. His best is four for 38, but as this is a friendly the five for 32 does not really count: four of the five in his last four over spell.If anything the partnership showed that in normal circumstances Hick and Adams could be a dangerous pair. Hick’s own batting carried all the hallmarks of his flat-track bully mood: tough, hard and aggressive. The bowler knows he has been up against it when facing Hick in this mood.There was some swashbuckling slog from Vikram Solanki as well during the partnership with Craig White as they rattled along a 50 partnership off 33 balls. Not bad at all for a first game in the South African veld.