Australia beat U.S. to keep Hopman Cup title bid alive

Deepak Jain>Tue, Jan 05 10 01:29 PM

Top seeds Australia kept their hopes of making the Hopman Cup final alive on Tuesday as commanding performances from Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Stosur gave them a 2-1 victory over the United States.

Stosur started the ball rolling at the mixed team event with a 6-2 6-4 win over 18-year-old Melanie Oudin before Hewitt dismissed John Isner 6-1 7-5 to take an unassailable 2-0 lead.

Australia must beat Spain in their last group match on Thursday to make the final but America's hopes of qualifying ended with this defeat. Romania and Spain play later on Tuesday.

The home victory will leave organisers of the traditional Australian Open warm-up tournament breathing a little more easily after the hosts stayed in the hunt, much to the delight of the packed crowd inside the Burswood Dome.

Stosur got the home fans into her match early on, playing the kind of tennis she produced for much of 2009 and which has elevated her to 13th in the world rankings.

The lines on the court were hit consistently as Stosur hammered 14 aces, never giving the few American fans in the Perth crowd a chance to get behind Oudin, a quarter-finalist at last year's U.S. Open.

It took just 70 minutes for Stosur to wrap up a victory that should lift her confidence after defeat to Romanian Sorana Cirstea in Australia's opening round-robin match.

"I thought I played pretty well today so I am very happy," Stosur told reporters.

"I have been working on my serve the last few months and I think I am starting to see the improvement and consistency regularly. I tried to mix it up and thought I hit the corners pretty well."

Former world number one Hewitt was in vintage returning form as he romped through the first set in 26 minutes, dipping returns at the feet of the tall American and then threading passing shots.

The second set was a far closer contest as Isner relaxed but Hewitt snatched the vital break in the 11th game when the American lifted a forehand long and Hewitt served out for the win.

"I played extremely well today," Hewitt said. "John's always an awkward player for anyone. He's pushed (Roger) Federer before and beaten (Andy) Roddick.

"I returned extremely well, made him play a lot of balls and got that early jump on him, which was huge."

The American duo claimed a consolation 2-6 6-1 10-5 win in the mixed doubles.

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Oz provincial govt welcomes 'philandering' but veritable 'goldmine' Woods anytime

Deepak Jain>Tue, Jan 05 10 01:09 PM

Melbourne, Jan 5 (ANI): The Victoria Government is ready to welcome Tiger Woods anytime despite the World No.1 golfer's reputation nose diving after it was revealed that he had cheated on his wife with a host of women.

Woods visit to Victoria cost Australian taxpayers 1.5 million dollars, but his appearance at the Australian Masters returned a dividend of 34 million dollars, before news of his messy personal life broke.

That's how much the event, at Melbourne's Kingston Heath, injected into the Victorian economy, Acting Premier Rob Hulls says.

Launching an economic impact report into the November event, Hulls said the economic benefit to the state was far higher than forecast, News.com.au reports.

Tourism and Major Events Minister Tim Holding said Woods would be welcome to play in this year's Masters at the Victoria Golf Club.

"We have made it clear that Tiger is welcome to come play golf any time in Victoria. He has obviously made some announcements about his golfing future - we respect that and we respect his privacy," Holding said.

Woods received an appearance fee of 3.25 million dollars, with the state government chipping in 1.5 million dollars.

Hulls said Melbourne's major hotels were almost completely booked out during the Masters and golf courses across the state reported a surge in bookings. Then there were the economic spin-offs for restaurants, taxis and the retail sector, he added.

It was expected Woods, who won the Australian Masters, would be in the US team to play in the President's Cup in Melbourne in 2011 but his immediate golfing future is in doubt as he takes time out to try and salvage his marriage.

"The question of what Tiger Woods does in the future is a matter for him, we respect that and he is always welcome to play here," Holding said. (ANI)

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Goodbye Moya

Deepak Jain Tue, Jan 05 10 12:39 PM

Chennai, Jan. 4 -- The journey has not quite ended, but Carlos Moya realises he will leave behind something special. While on his way back to tennis, after a 10-month injury lay-off, Moya again found the Chennai Open and won them over again. And he got the final word on the court despite losing 3-6, 6-7 (2) to fourth seed Janko Tipsarevic in the first round on Monday. The Spaniard was felicitated after the match, celebrating his 10-year affair with Chennai. "You have given me more than I could've asked for," Moya told the crowd. Despite being a break down in the second set, Moya drew level for 4-4. But that's as far as his still-lethal forehand and strong fanfare could get. Tipsarevic played a solid tiebreaker to win 7-2 and complete victory in 92 minutes.

"I hope this is not my last trip here. It's too early to say whether I will retire this season, but I had some great memories here and it was great to share my two victories with these people," said the 2004 and 2005 Chennai champion.

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Semi-nude Tiger Woods flexes some muscles on Vanity Fair cover

Deepak Jain>Tue, Jan 05 10 11:43 AM

Melbourne, Jan 5 (ANI): Scandal-hit Tiger Woods has appeared semi-naked on the cover of Vanity Fair.

Taken by famed photog Annie Leibovitz in 2006, the image of the golfer, who has been accused of having numerous extra-marital affairs, shows him glaring at the camera, holding two dumbbells and wearing nothing but a wristwatch and a beanie, reports News.com.au.

The photoshoot was long before news of a string of affairs the superstar enjoyed with a number of women emerged in spectacular fashion late last year.

Up to 14 women have been linked to the 34-year-old golfer and Woods has admitted to cheating.

He has since elected to indefinitely stop playing golf to work on his marriage.

However, Elin Nordegren, the mother of his two children, is reportedly set on getting a divorce. (ANI)

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India to meet Greece in 1st round of World team chess

Deepak Jain Tue, Jan 05 10 10:39 AM

Bursa (Turkey), Jan 5 (PTI) Debutant India will take on Greece in the opening round of the elite World Teams Chess championship, rated as the toughest team event in the world. Ten teams including Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, will take part in the round robin competition, which began here yesterday. The Indian contingent consists of six players, including two reserves but the think tank will be banking heavily on Grandmaster trio of P Harikrishna, Surya Shekhar Ganguly and Krishnan Sasikiran to deliver the goods. Besides them, GM G N Gopal, S Arun Prasad and national champion B Adhiban complete the line up. While the Indian line-up looks impressive, their entry into the event was confirmed only after the last-minute withdrawal of China. The qualification to the tournament is given to the best continental teams, the top three finishers in the chess Olympiad and to the hosts and wild cards. India, being second to China in the last Asian continental championship, the qualifier for this event, it got a lucky ticket after China''s pull out. With star performers like Alxander Morozevich and current Russian champion Alexander Grischuk up its rank, Russia is the rating favourite to win the tournament. But Olympic champion Armenia and current European champions Azerbaijan are expected to give the top seeded Russians a run for their money. MORE PTI Cor SSC

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Auckland Classic women's singles results

Deepak Jain Tue, Jan 05 10 10:09 AM

REUTERS - Auckland Classic women's singles first round results on Tuesday (prefix denotes seeding, * new result).

* Ioana Raluca Olaru (Romania) beat Elena Baltacha (Britain) 6-2 6-2

* Kaia Kanepi (Estonia) beat 2-Li Na (China) 6-1 6-3

* Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) beat Edina Gallovits (Romania) 6-4 7-5

Sania Mirza (India) beat Stefanie Voegele (Switzerland) 5-7 6-1 7-5

5-Virginie Razzano (France) beat Monica Niculescu (Romania) 7-5 6-4

Alize Cornet (France) beat Marina Erakovic (New Zealand) 6-4 6-3

Shahar Peer (Israel) beat Polona Hercog (Slovenia) 7-5 6-3

4-Francesca Schiavone (Italy) beat Stephanie Cohen-Aloro (France) 6-2 6-3

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Japan to allow North Korean women's team visas

Deepak Jain Tue, Jan 05 10 09:49 AM

Japan is to allow the North Korean women's soccer team to visit Tokyo for regional championships next month, a government spokesman said on Tuesday, despite sanctions in force against Pyongyang.

The decision was taken despite a statement by Japan's justice minister last month that the players were unlikely to be granted visas allowing them to take part in the East Asian championships.

"Basically we have decided to approve it, because it is for sport," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano told a news conference. "But we will conduct the appropriate immigration inspections."

Japan imposed sanctions on North Korea after the communist state carried out its first nuclear test in 2006, including a ban on almost all visits by North Korean citizens.

It has also pressed Pyongyang to reveal the fate of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s.

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PREVIEW - Red hot City welcome in store for wounded United

Deepak Jain>Tue, Jan 05 10 09:15 AM

Manchester United have the perfect opportunity to repair their battered pride on Wednesday when they head across town to face Manchester City in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final.

United's surprise 1-0 defeat by League One (third division) Leeds United in the FA Cup on Sunday left Alex Ferguson fuming and the manager will expect a backlash from his team against a City side yet to concede a goal under new manager Roberto Mancini.

Cash-rich City's priority is to break into the top four of the Premier League but with the scent of a first trophy since 1976 in their nostrils and the chance to inflict further pain on United, Wednesday's tie promises to be a full-bloodied affair.

"The fans are excited and so are the players," City keeper Shay Given told the club's website (www.mcfc.co.uk). "These should be two red-hot encounters."

United's defeat by Leeds was their first at home to third-tier opponents in the FA Cup for almost 80 years and was all the more galling for the fans as it was against a club with whom they have a bitter rivalry.

Ferguson, who had never tasted an FA Cup third-round defeat in more than 20 years at United, said he was "shocked and disappointed" by Sunday's result.

The Scot has used the League Cup to rotate his squad this season but the FA Cup setback means he will almost certainly resist any temptation to hold back some of his big guns for the second leg, especially with injuries stretching his defence.

"We'll make sure we're ready for Wednesday now," Ferguson said. "We had a team in mind but there will maybe be a few changes ... we have to get this result out of our system as quickly as possible."

City, who beat United at the same stage in the 1969-70 League Cup, will present a formidable challenge for the holders.

An outlay approaching 200 million pounds ($322 million) since the club was bought by Abu Dhabi billionaire Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan has given the long-suffering fans genuine optimism they can, at long last, emerge from United's shadow.

A cup semi-final also gives Mancini the chance to finish off the job started by his predecessor Mark Hughes -- sacked before Christmas after a run of two wins in 11 league games.

Former Inter Milan coach Mancini could not have dreamt of a better start to life in English club management.

Wins against Stoke City and Wolverhampton Wanderers left City fifth in the league before Saturday's 1-0 FA Cup triumph at Middlesbrough.

"We made a good start in the FA Cup at the weekend and we are close to a final in the League Cup," Given said.

"We have only lost twice all season so we are doing OK. One of those was against United and I have to admit it took a long while to get over that result."

City hope to have Brazil striker Robinho and defender Micah Richards fit but Shaun Wright-Phillips and Roque Santa Cruz are injury doubts and Stephen Ireland misses out.

Tuesday's semi-final between Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa at Ewood Park will be the second meeting of the sides in three days after Villa knocked Rovers out of the FA Cup on Saturday.

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Bangladesh set 261-run target for Sri Lanka

Deepak Jain>Mon, Jan 04 10 06:29 PM

Dhaka, Jan 4 (IANS) Bangladesh scored 260 for seven in 50 overs against Sri Lanka in the first match of the tri-nation series at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur here Monday.

Mohammed Ashraful made 75 while Mahmudullah (45) and Tamim Iqbal (40) also came up with useful contributions. For Sri Lanka, Suranga Lakmal and Suraj Randiv picked up two wickets each.

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Bangladesh post 260 for 7

Deepak Jain Mon, Jan 04 10 06:09 PM

Mirpur (Bangladesh), Jan 4 (PTI) Put into bat, Bangladesh posted 260 for seven against Sri Lanka in the first match of the ODI tri-series here today. Bangladesh: 260 for 7 in 50 overs (Mohammad Ashraful 75, Mahmudullah 45, Tamim Iqbal 40; Suranga Lakmal 2/63, Suraj Randiv 2/51).

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Waugh, other Australian legends in ICC Hall of Fame

Deepak Jain Mon, Jan 04 10 05:39 PM

Sydney, Jan 4 (PTI) Former Australian captain Steve Waugh, along with four other cricket legends from Down Under, were inducted into the ICC''s Hall of Fame here today. Ray Lindwall, Keith Miller, Bill O''Reilly, Victor Trumper and Waugh were formally inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame during the tea interval on the second day of the second Australia-Pakistan Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Commemorative caps were presented by ICC Director and Cricket Australia Chairman Jack Clarke to the families of the deceased legends as well as Waugh. Waugh was then driven around the outfield in an open-top car, accompanied by his three children, to allow the crowd to show its appreciation for the former captain. Waugh made 10,927 Test runs and has twice been a World Cup winner who captained Australia to 41 Test wins from 57 matches, with an outstanding winning percentage of 71.93. "It''s a great honour to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame and see my name alongside such greats of the game. It is a special group of players," Waugh said. More PTI PM AY

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Hockey Punjab can''t be denied affiliation: Randhir

Deepak Jain Mon, Jan 04 10 05:09 PM

New Delhi, Jan 4 (PTI) Indian Olympic Association General Secretary Randhir Singh today said Hockey Punjab cannot be denied affiliation as the IOA constitution makes it mandatory to recognise a state association approved by the state''s Olympic association. Randhir also said IOA believed in "total transparency" and anyone feeling otherwise should contact the IOA secretariat. "IOA has no interest in indulging in any kind of politics. We believe in total transparency. We function according to the charter of Olympic movement which clearly says that a state association should be affiliated by its national federation if it is approved by the respective Olympic association," he told PTI. "If the Punjab association is approved by its state Olympic association they will get the affiliation," he said. Hockey Punjab Chief Sukhbir Singh Badal has accused the IOA and its president Suresh Kalmadi of hatching a conspiracy against the state by debarring them from Hockey India''s January 29 elections. Randhir rejected the accusations and said the IOA was not trying to encroach upon the autonomy of national sports federations. More PTI SKI PM MRM

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Pakistan in command despite late Aussie fightback in Sydney Test

Deepak Jain>Mon, Jan 04 10 04:39 PM

Sydney, Jan 4(ANI): Pakistan ended up in a commanding position over Australia on the second day of the Sydney Test, taking a first innings lead of 204 runs with a wicket in hand.

The visiting batsman performed with far more circumspection than their opponents had done, before a late batting collapse restricted their tally to 9-331.

Earlier, resuming the day at 14 without any loss in reply to Australia's 127 runs, Pakistan openers Imran Farhat (53) and Salman Butt (71) had a 109 run partnership for the first wicket before the middle order continued to grind away to 205-2.

Australian skipper Ricky Ponting, who used all his regular bowlers without success in making early inroads, was let down by his fielders including Marcus North, who put down a regulation chance when Farhat nicked one off opening bowler Peter Siddle in the first hour.

Pakistan was further bolstered by young sensation Umar Akmal, who scored a quick 49 runs, skipper Mohammad Yousuf (46) and Faisal Iqbal (27), but Australia hit back with seven for 141 in the final session.

Local hero Doug Bollinger took three late wickets and Shane Watson added two as the visitors lost their way, The Australian reports.

Australia leads the three-Test series 1-0, after winning the Boxing Day match in Melbourne last week. (ANI)

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Frank Lampard, Christine Bleakley pictured together for first time

Deepak Jain>Mon, Jan 04 10 03:59 PM

London, Jan 4 (ANI): Brit footballer Frank Lampard and TV presenter Christine Bleakley were, for the first time, pictured together in Belfast.

Bleakley, 30, had taken Lampard, 31, to her parent's home, and they were later seen laughing raucously in a city centre bar, reports the Mirror.

The two had met at the Mirror's Pride of Britain awards in October and they have been careful since then to keep their dates low-key and avoid being photographed together.

Rumours of a romance began to gather pace after they were seen out at a London nightclub.

Bleakley was spotted at a Chelsea home game last month, watching from the stands in the company of TV pal Amanda Holden. (ANI)

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Warne keen to play Australian 20-20 cricket

Deepak Jain>Mon, Jan 04 10 03:53 PM

Melbourne, Jan. 4 (ANI): Former Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne has revealed he is keen to play in the Twenty20 Big Bash next year.

Warne was writing in his exclusive blog for the Daily Telegraph today.

Asked how many more years he would play IPL, and if the ACB gets their 20/20 competition up in 2011, would he play, and Warne said: "I have one year to go as captain-coach of the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. I will see how I go this year. But I thoroughly enjoy playing in the IPL. And, if my body and mind continue to enjoy it, then hopefully I can play for a few more years yet."

"Cricket Australia grow the KFC Big Bash in 2011. Hopefully I will be part of that - if asked and if time permits," he added.

Responding to more questions from readers, Warne also said he defended Ponting's decision to bat first on a green SCG wicket yesterday.

"I would have done the same as Ricky. I would have batted first. It's a five-day game. Australia though needs to take some quick wickets," Warne said.

Asked if there was a culture of not picking guys because Ricky and the selectors don't like them, and Warne said: "No there's no culture like that. Australian selectors have got a tough job. It's up to the players through sheer weight of performance either runs or wickets to force there way into the team. If the team is winning all the time, the team won't change much. But if some losses occur, then changes will be made."

He also said that Australia had an excellent bowling coach in Troy Cooley.

"He knows what he's talking about and will be trying to help Mitchell swing it," he said.

He also denied that he had undergone plastic surgery and revealed that "The Saints" was the rugby league team he supported.

"Thanks for the compliment. I think. I can promise you, I have not had a facelift - what is a facelift," he said. (ANI)

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Robson eyes Thai win over Jordan to avoid early slump

Deepak Jain>Mon, Jan 04 10 03:47 PM

Former Manchester United captain Bryan Robson is staring at two years in the international doldrums if his Thailand team fail to turn around their Asian Cup qualifying campaign this week.

Robson has had just two competitive games since becoming Thailand's coach in October and could be left with only minor regional tournaments and one-off friendlies if his side fail to beat Jordan in Bangkok on Wednesday.

The former England skipper says Thailand, heavy favourites for Wednesday's game, are too good to miss out and believes his players will prevail in a tight group that includes arch rivals Singapore and three-times Asian champions Iran.

"It is a must-win game, but the pressure's not on us any more than the other three teams," Robson told Reuters.

"It's exciting, but we really didn't want it to be this exciting. We've slipped up, but the players know how important this game is and they've been working really hard."

Iran lead Group E on seven points, trailed by Singapore (6), Thailand (5) and Jordan (4). All teams have two games remaining and the top two will reach the tournament in Qatar in January next year.

Qualification for Qatar will be all the more important after Thailand were embarrassingly dumped out in the group stage of last month's Southeast Asian Games, a tournament of huge importance to Thai fans who reacted angrily to the early exit.

If Robson's team miss out on the Asian Cup finals, they face a wait of nearly two years for their next big contest, which will be Asian qualification for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Wednesday's match will be the biggest test so far for Robson in his first international coaching post, a job he said he was enjoying but sometimes found "a little frustrating".

If Thailand fail to beat Jordan, they may require an unlikely victory in their final match against regional giants Iran in March. However, Robson says his new team can beat the Iranians, even at Tehran's notoriously hostile Azadi Stadium.

"For me, what I've seen of Iran there's no reason why we shouldn't go there and get a good result," he said.

"The players know it's still there for them to qualify and they're up for this challenge. They've done very well so far and I'm quite impressed with them."

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Chinese youth topples old guard in rankings

Deepak Jain Mon, Jan 04 10 03:09 PM

Men's and women's world singles champions Wang Hao and Zhang Yining have both been knocked off the top of the world table tennis rankings by younger Chinese compatriots.

Zhang, the most successful female player of the past decade with four gold medals from the Athens and Beijing Olympics, had occupied the number one spot for all but two months since Jan. 2003.

Liu Shiwen, 18, took the number one spot on Sunday on the back of becoming the youngest singles champion at the annual World Cup last October, less than a year after entering the top 10.

Ma Long, 21, had maintained a position in the world top three since March last year and his victory at the tournament of champions last month elevated him to the men's top spot for the first time.

China continues to dominate the sport with eight of the top 10 women and six of the men's top 10 all coming from the world's most populous country.

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Furious Ferguson to shake up Man U for Carling Cup semi-final

Deepak Jain>Mon, Jan 04 10 02:39 PM

London, Jan. 4 (ANI): Ahead of Wednesday's crucial Carling Cup semi-final against Manchester City, Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson is expected to shake up the side.

Although the Old Trafford boss had pledged to continue with his policy of playing his youngsters in the competition, but United's disastrous FA Cup exit against League One Leeds has forced the Scot to rethink his plans for the trip to Eastlands.

The Sun quoted a furious Ferguson as saying: "I didn't expect that. The preparation was very good but I was shocked at the performance. It's a disappointment. Human beings can always surprise you, but we didn't expect that today.

"We have a semi-final on Wednesday and a lot of these players today won't be playing. I had the team in mind but there may be one or two changes now. We need to get it out of our system. You must get over these kind of results quickly," he added.

Fergie claimed only second-half sub Antonio Valencia had come out with any credit from the 14 players who featured for United.

"I don't think any of ours can say they had a good day. Only Valencia can say he had a fair performance when we got the ball to him - but it took us about 10 minutes to do that," he said.

"Leeds had a bigger appetite than us for most of the game. You need a bit of luck in games like this and they got it. But they deserved it because they played really well."

"It was a bad goal for us to lose but the whole performance from us was bad in the first half. We never got going and the quality of passing was bad," he added.

"You always expect us to get a goal at Old Trafford and the intensity of our game improved a little bit in the second half." (ANI)

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Sri Lanka win toss, elect to field

Deepak Jain Mon, Jan 04 10 02:27 PM

Mirpur, Jan 4 (PTI) Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and elected to bowl against Bangladesh in the first cricket match of the ODI tri-series here today. Teams: Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Ashraful, Raqibul Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (c), WU Tharanga, T Dilshan, LPC Silva, TT Samaraweera, T Kandamby, M Pushpakumara, S Randiv, R Lakmal, N Kulasekara, C Welegedara

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Warne, Ponting urged to speak against violence on Indian students

Deepak Jain>Mon, Jan 04 10 02:17 PM

Melbourne, Jan. 4 (ANI): Cricketing legends Shane Warne and Ricky Ponting have been urged to speak out against violence against Indian students following the brutal murder of Nitin Garg on Saturday night.

Gautam Gupta, a spokesman for the Federation of Indian Students in Australia, says the two cricket stars have huge followings in India and it is about time they voiced their concerns.

Gupta said it was time Ponting and Warne spoke up because they have millions of fans in India.

"They should jump in and defend Indian students in Australia," Mr Gupta said.Shane Warne is an icon in India - he has millions of fans."

Gupta said the Indian community believed the murder was a 'racist attack'.

"His (Garg's) mobile phone and his wallet were still there. There's a lot of frustration because of the question of racism. What we have to see is how this anger is manifested," Gupta said.

"From their point of view, there can be no other motivation than race. Everyone I have spoken to says there's a lot of fear and a lot of anger about it," he added.

Garg, a 21-year-old accounting graduate, who was on his way to his job at a Hungry Jacks fast food outlet in West Melbourne on Saturday night when he was attacked.

Australia's bilateral relationship with India is also being threatened after Garg's murder.

One of Garg's relatives is expected in Australia this week to collect his body and return it to the family's home in Punjab.

Gupta said student leaders were considering holding a protest and he predicted a frenzied reaction once news of the killing hit the Indian media. (ANI)

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Roman Abramovich shells outs $5m for star studded New Year's Eve bash

Deepak Jain>Mon, Jan 04 10 02:13 PM

New York, January 4 (ANI): Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich reportedly shelled out 5 million dollars for a star studded New Year's Eve celebration on the Caribbean resort island of Saint Barthilemy.

The 43-year-old purportedly spent 2.6 million dollars on food and drink while the 250 guests were transported with a fleet of private jets to his new 90 million dollar estate.

The oil and steel magnate and his socialite girlfriend Daria Zhukova played host to Lindsay Lohan, Orlando Bloom and his girlfriend, Miranda Kerr, reports the New York Post.

According to the Daily Mail, the budget for entertainment ran up to 1.7 million dollars and performances by Beyonci, Gwen Stefani and Prince drew up a tab of 567,000 dollars each.

Abramovich, also the owner of the Chelsea soccer team and the world's biggest yacht, was said to have made his mark by providing guests with a swimming pool with swim-up bar, as well as an outdoor stage and cinema. (ANI)

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Warne, Ponting urged to speak against violence on Indian students

Deepak Jain>Mon, Jan 04 10 02:09 PM

Melbourne, Jan. 4 (ANI): Cricketing legends Shane Warne and Ricky Ponting have been urged to speak out against violence against Indian students following the brutal murder of Nitin Garg on Saturday night.

Gautam Gupta, a spokesman for the Federation of Indian Students in Australia, says the two cricket stars have huge followings in India and it is about time they voiced their concerns.

Gupta said it was time Ponting and Warne spoke up because they have millions of fans in India.

"They should jump in and defend Indian students in Australia," Mr Gupta said.Shane Warne is an icon in India - he has millions of fans."

Gupta said the Indian community believed the murder was a 'racist attack'.

"His (Garg's) mobile phone and his wallet were still there. There's a lot of frustration because of the question of racism. What we have to see is how this anger is manifested," Gupta said.

"From their point of view, there can be no other motivation than race. Everyone I have spoken to says there's a lot of fear and a lot of anger about it," he added.

Garg, a 21-year-old accounting graduate, who was on his way to his job at a Hungry Jacks fast food outlet in West Melbourne on Saturday night when he was attacked.

Australia's bilateral relationship with India is also being threatened after Garg's murder.

One of Garg's relatives is expected in Australia this week to collect his body and return it to the family's home in Punjab.

Gupta said student leaders were considering holding a protest and he predicted a frenzied reaction once news of the killing hit the Indian media. (ANI)

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We need a good all-rounder for Tests: Yousuf

Deepak Jain>Mon, Jan 04 10 01:57 PM

Sydney, Jan 4 (IANS) Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf feels that a good all-rounder will improve his team's performances in the Tests.

Yousuf lamented that when it comes to One-day and Twenty20s Pakistan have plenty of talented all-rounders, but in Tests they are hard to find.

Former captain Shoaib Malik had performed that role of an all-rounder but in recent times he doesn't bowl much while Abdul Razzaq has almost retired from Tests.

In the first Test against Australia, Pakistan had to rely on just four bowlers and have faced criticism from some experts, who believe that they should show more aggression and play with five specialist bowlers to achieve better results.

'How can we do that. That would mean dropping one batsman. It would further weaken our batting. What we need right now is an all-rounder. He could be our fifth bowler,' Yousuf was quoted as saying in The News.

Yousuf, who replaced Younis Khan as the Pakistan captain last year, is likely to get a longer stint as a regular skipper.

Asked whether he was disappointed when the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) ignored his request to send Younis to Australia, Yousuf said: 'I can't say anything about it. It's been many days since I made the request. It's not my call. It's up to the board and the selectors to make the decision.'

Yousuf had made the request during the Melbourne Test when Pakistan's batting flopped yet again. However, Younis failed to regain his form in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy forcing the PCB to turn down the captain's request.

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Ntini to call it a day?

Deepak Jain>Mon, Jan 04 10 01:39 PM

The first black cricketer to play for South Africa, pacer Makhaya Ntini is planning to bid adieu to his international career after being dropped for the third Test against England.

Ntini has reportedly signed an agreement with English county side Middlesex that will keep him from being available for national duty. Ntini celebrated his 100th Test in the second Test against England last month but was left out of the team for the third Test due to his consistently declining performance in the past two years.

Although Cricket South Africa (CSA) remained tight-lipped, sources close to Ntini indicated that the 32-year-old former herdsman had signed a Kolpak contract with Middlesex. Such a contract requires players to undertake that they would not be available for their national team. Ntini has a contract with CSA until April.

"CSA has not heard anything yet from Ntini," Proteas spokesman Michael Owen-Smith told the Afrikaans daily 'Beeld'.

"The selectors will decide if he is offered a contract again and he can then decline the contract," he said. Ntini, who became a celebrity after being snapped up out of obscurity and poverty as a rural herdsman, was the first black African player in the national side after decades of the team being exclusively white in the apartheid era.

Ntini has taken 391 wickets from 101 Tests, while snapping up 266 in 173 ODIs.

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