Security expert Dickason's business is booming following Qaeda's IPL threat

Published>Sat, Feb 20 10 01:21 PM

Melbourne, Feb.20 (ANI): Australian security expert Reg Dickason is the most-wanted man in international cricket in the wake of terrorist threats targeting sportsmen in India.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has hired Dickason to ensure the side's safety during the upcoming tour of Bangladesh.

According to Fox Sports, Dickason has also been hired to provide advice to Australian players who must decide on their commitments in the Indian Premier League in defiance of Al-Qaeda's threats to their safety.

Now with the English team in the United Arab Emirates, Dickason refused to comment when approached for details of his security plan.

Dickason runs a company called Business Loss Prevention in Brisbane and is considered to be a Southeast Asia security expert. (ANI)

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Kiwis need to improve to compete with Australia: Vettori

Published>Sat, Feb 20 10 01:15 PM

Auckland, Feb. 20 (ANI): Captain Daniel Vettori has said New Zealand need to improve to compete with Australia on an equal footing.

"I couldn't put a number on it. We have to improve dramatically to try and compete and win," the New Zealand Herald quoted Vettori, as saying.

Bangladesh coach and former Australian batsman Jamie Siddons had an ominous warning ahead of the trans-Tasman clash, which starts on Friday.

"There's a few concerns. They're a bit like us, the top four or five are a little vulnerable against good bowling. It's going to be a really tough series for New Zealand," he said.

Vettori hopes some of the players will get first-class action when the Plunket Shield resumes before the two tests against Australia next month.

"Australia have some very good batsmen and that consistency is going to be a key for us to succeed," he said. (ANI)

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Somdev, Prakash bite dust at Belgrade Challenger

Published Fri, Feb 19 10 06:21 PM

Belgrade (Serbia), Feb 19 (PTI) Indian challenge ended in the euro 1065000 ATP Challenger event here with the defeats of Somdev Devvarman and Prakash Amritraj in the singles and doubles events respectively. Seeded eighth, Somdev lost 6-3 6-7(6) 3-6 to local wild card Filip Krajinovic in a gruelling opening round of the hard court event. Forth seeded Indo-American pair of Prakash Amritraj and James Cerretani lost their doubles semifinal 2-6 6-3 7-10 to unseeded combination of Jamaican Dustin Brown and Martin Slaner of Austria. Somdev and James got 45 ranking points each and split euro 2300 as prize money. Somdev did not get any point but got euro 1110 for participating.

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Oz fitness trainer Dwyer temporarily rejoins Pak cricket team

Published>Fri, Feb 19 10 06:15 PM

Lahore, Feb 19 (ANI): Australian fitness trainer David Dwyer will temporarily rejoin the Pakistani cricket team before the World Twenty20 Championship in the Caribbean later this year, after he quit his post as Pakistan national team trainer.

Dwyer, who has overseen a massive rise in the fitness of Pakistan's cricketers, will link up with the side here from early April to begin work.

The agreement between the former rugby trainer and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), however, is only for the duration of the tournament and he is likely to return to Australia at the end of the event.

Dwyer came in with Geoff Lawson during his coaching stint in 2007 on a two-year contract and stayed on even after Lawson was removed from the post in October 2008.

His fitness work with the national team has been widely acknowledged by the PCB and players themselves and he became an immensely popular figure within the side, in particular with seniors like Younus Khan and Shoaib Malik, the Daily Times reports.

Younus had urged him to stay on after Lawson's departure, but personal reasons prompted Dwyer to hand in his papers at the end of the recent tour to Australia.

The PCB, however, was keen to keep him on further and it is believed that Dwyer has reached an agreement to be with the side through the World Twenty20, which is scheduled for April-May this year. (ANI)

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Lorgat congratulates Team India for retaining No1 tag

Published Fri, Feb 19 10 06:07 PM

Dubai, Feb 19 (PTI) ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat today congratulated India for finishing the calender year as the numero uno Test team in the world following their second Test win over South Africa in Kolkata. India clinched a series-levelling innings and 57 run victory over the visitors at Eden Garden yesterday to remain atop the ICC Test Championship ranking at the annual cut-off date of April 1. "Congratulations to Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his India side on their remarkable achievement. "I have written to both the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Cricket South Africa (CSA) to congratulate them on an outstanding series. The final Test in Kolkata again underlined the unique attraction of Test match cricket, which is the pinnacle of our great sport," Lorgat said in a statement. It is the first time in seven years that Australia has not been the number-one Test-playing side at the cut-off date. Although Bangladesh will host England for a two-Test series, while Australia will travel to New Zealand for another two-Test series before April 1, situation at the top of the table is such that none of the four teams, no matter what is the outcome of the series, is capable of achieving the premier position, an ICC release said. .

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Oz fitness trainer Dwyer temporarily rejoins Pak cricket team

Published>Fri, Feb 19 10 05:45 PM

Lahore, Feb 19 (ANI): Australian fitness trainer David Dwyer will temporarily rejoin the Pakistani cricket team before the World Twenty20 Championship in the Caribbean later this year, after he quit his post as Pakistan national team trainer.

Dwyer, who has overseen a massive rise in the fitness of Pakistan's cricketers, will link up with the side here from early April to begin work.

The agreement between the former rugby trainer and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), however, is only for the duration of the tournament and he is likely to return to Australia at the end of the event.

Dwyer came in with Geoff Lawson during his coaching stint in 2007 on a two-year contract and stayed on even after Lawson was removed from the post in October 2008.

His fitness work with the national team has been widely acknowledged by the PCB and players themselves and he became an immensely popular figure within the side, in particular with seniors like Younus Khan and Shoaib Malik, the Daily Times reports.

Younus had urged him to stay on after Lawson's departure, but personal reasons prompted Dwyer to hand in his papers at the end of the recent tour to Australia.

The PCB, however, was keen to keep him on further and it is believed that Dwyer has reached an agreement to be with the side through the World Twenty20, which is scheduled for April-May this year. (ANI)

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Gerrard hopeful of Liverpool winning Europa League

Published>Fri, Feb 19 10 05:37 PM

London, Feb 19 (ANI): Skipper Steven Gerrard believes that Liverpool will win the Europa League, despite another miserable show.

The Kop outfit struggled to a 1-0 victory over minnows Unirea Urziceni at Anfield and face a tricky second leg of their last-32 clash in Romania on Thursday.

"We are confident we can go all the way. And we believe we will start by winning more convincingly against these opponents away from home," Gerrard said.

"They will have to come out and try to beat us and hopefully we will take advantage and kill them off. They were very stubborn opponents but we expected that," The Sun quoted him, as saying.

"Maybe we needed to be more clinical but I think we will get more joy against them away from home. We lacked five to 10 per cent in terms of being clinical but we were patient and the goal came. We deserved it," he added.

Gerrard's comments were reminiscent of boss Rafa Benitez's guarantee of a top-four finish in the Premier League this term.

Speaking about last night's game, Benitez said: "We could have scored one or two more goals but we kept a clean sheet and won, so it's not bad. We had to be patient, and we will see what happens in the next game."

The Reds boss felt his team would have run out comfortable winners if Unirea keeper Giedrius Arlauskis had not made a terrific save from Gerrard after just 26 seconds. (ANI)

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Delhi Police briefs participating countries

Published Fri, Feb 19 10 04:35 PM

New Delhi, Feb 19 (PTI) Allaying apprehension in the wake of Pune blast, Delhi Police today briefed representatives of 12 participating countries on security arrangements being made for the World Cup Hockey tournament beginning here on February 28. Delhi Police Commissioner Y S Dadwal and Special Commissioner of Police Neeraj Kumar briefed them about measures being taken by the city police to ensure foolproof security for the event. After the briefing, senior Pakistani security officials expressed satisfaction over the arrangements. "We are satisfied with the security arrangements for the World Cup. We have gone to the hotels also. We will report to the Hockey Federation in Pakistan about our assessment," senior Pakistani security officials Rana Mujahid and Pervez Bandara told reporters. Besides India and Pakistan, Hockey majors like Germany, Britain and Australia are among the 12 teams which will participate in the event, considered as a dress rehearsal for Delhi Police ahead of the Commonwealth Games in October. PTI SJY MPB

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Tyson expresses delight over being voted into Boxing Hall of Fame

Published>Fri, Feb 19 10 04:05 PM

New York, Feb.19 (ANI): Former world heavy weight boxing champion Mike Tyson is to be voted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Tyson, whose role in "The Hangover" earned him an invite to the Golden Globes, yesterday learned he's going to be voted into the Hall, which has previously inducted Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard.

The New York Post quoted a Tyson representative, as saying: "Mike is so delighted. It has been an amazing year for him so far."

Boxers have to wait five years after retirement to be eligible for the Hall.

Tyson retired from the ring in 2005. (ANI)

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India and south Africa leaves for Jaipur ODI

Published Fri, Feb 19 10 03:49 PM

Kolkata, Feb 19 (PTI) India and South Africa cricket teams today left for Jaipur to play in the first of the three-ODI series scheduled to be held on February 21. Few of the players who are not part of the ODI squad including South Africa captain Graeme Smith have already left, while the one-day cricketers took a chartered flight to Jaipur at 2.40 pm, local manager Samir Dasgupta said. "Smith along with other South African players left last night," he said. Among others Indians, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma and Gautam Gambhir also left yesterday while Murali Vijay left this morning. Having injured his right knee, pace spearhead Zaheer could not bowl on the last day of second Test yesterday and had to pull out of the one-day series. Left-handed opener Gambhir is also ruled out because of a groin injury. Indian players celebrated their nail-biting innings and 57-run win in the second Test against South Africa at the city hotel last night. Harbhajan Singh, who will skip the first two ODIs to attend his sister''s wedding, was to leave yesterday but he changed his plans and left with the team, said Team India local manager Surajit Naskar. VVS Laxman, who is here with his wife and two kids, left separately in another flight in the afternoon, he added. With a 1-1 result to the two-Test series, both teams will now play three ODIs. The second and third one-dayers will be held in Gwalior (February 24) and Ahmedabad (February 27).

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Former Pak captain Younis Khan thrashes a spectator

Published>Fri, Feb 19 10 03:35 PM

Karachi, Feb 19 (ANI): Pakistan's former skipper Younis Khan has beaten up a fan during a club Champion League match here on Thursday.

Younis was leading Malir Jimkhana in the match, when some spectators ran onto the ground and tackled Khan to ground, according to Geo News correspondent.

This angered Younis, who immediately left the field and went to the dressing room. He took a fan in the dressing room and later beat him up.

According to the eyewitness, Younis broke his mobile and immediately left the ground.

Younis, 32, who is in a bid to find his lost form, had opted out of the Test series against New Zealand to have rest from international cricket following his poor form after Pakistan lost he limited-overs series against New Zealand. (ANI)

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Being test champions raises the bar for India

Published>Fri, Feb 19 10 03:21 PM

Kolkata, Feb. 19 -- "India won the match. Test series level 1-1. No. 1 in Test cricket," said the giant screen at Eden Gardens on Thursday. India will indeed have the top dog tag on April 1, the cut off date for ICC's annual awards, but it will not hide some deficiencies in the team that stops it from being as dominant as Australia were till a couple of years ago. Going by the ratings, India have their nose in front of South Africa and Australia. They are likely to play Tests in Sri Lanka and host New Zealand before leaving for South Africa this year, but because the BCCI mostly arranges bilateral series that are outside ICC's future tours programme, it's difficult to ascertain how long they will be No. 1. More importantly, all three teams have unfinished business. India are yet to win an away-series against South Africa or Australia. And they have not beaten South Africa at home in their last two series. South Africa have done well in the sub-continent, beaten Australia away but faltered against them at home last year, which cost them the No. 1 title. There was also the underwhelming 1-1 draw against England at home just before coming here. Australia, on the other hand, have relinquished the Ashes and lost their last series here. This India-South Africa Test series was hard fought, but it also brought out cracks in both teams that cannot be papered over.

They also need to figure out who will partner Zaheer Khan when the left-armer is fit and a pacer who can replace him when he is not. Harbhajan Singh's brilliance, coupled with some good bowling by Amit Mishra and loose shots from the South Africans in the first innings, won India the Test here. But the attack needs more bite.

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India have always welcomed Pakistani cricketers: Modi

Published Fri, Feb 19 10 03:05 PM

Karachi, Feb 19 (PTI) Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi has said that Pakistani players have always been welcomed in India and it is foolish to think there is some sort of conspiracy to keep them out of the IPL season three. "We have always welcomed Pakistani cricketers in India and they will be part of IPL season four," Modi told the Geo news channel. Modi said that Pakistani cricketers would play in IPL season four and would hopefully be part of the two new franchises that would be included in the next IPL season. "But I think the Pakistan cricket Board also needs to adopt a positive mindset towards the IPL, like always we have always welcomed Pakistani cricketers to India," he said. Modi said it was a misconception that the Indian cricket board was behind the decision of franchises not to bid for Pakistani cricketers in the players auction for season three. "We can''t force the franchises to bid for players from any country in the players auction. It is their team and they are free to decide which players they want. How can anyone blame the BCCI for this?" Modi added. Pakistan Cricket Board chief Ejaz Butt recently told a Senate standing committee on sports hearing that Modi had told the franchises not to bid for Pakistani players as they were lot of security issues linked to them playing in India. Pakistan has also described the IPL snub to its players as a deliberate attempt to humiliate them after including them in the players auction list. .

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English players mull IPL-3 participation following terror threat

Published>Fri, Feb 19 10 02:35 PM

London, Feb 19 (ANI): England players are awaiting a security report as concern over terrorism threat grows from the Professional Cricketers' Association, and could determine their participation or non participation in the third edition of the Indian Premier League.

A security report has been commissioned by the Professional Cricketers' Association, which will present its findings to the players before they travel to Bangladesh on Sunday.

England team security officer Reg Dickason is compiling the report, and the PCA is also consulting specialist security firms based in Dubai, The Telegraph reports.

The main focus is to determine whether the threat issued by the 313 Brigade, the Pakistan-arm of al-Qaeda, is credible.

Sources have indicated that the threat is standing up to scrutiny and that the security report is unlikely to ease fears.

England players have contacted the PCA with emotions said to be ranging from curiosity to genuine concern.

A decision will have to be made quickly in some cases, with several IPL franchises beginning training camps next week.

The decision about whether to play in the IPL, which starts in Mumbai on March 12, will rest with individual players.

IPL commissioner Lalit Modi had already said that a contingency plan was in place with potential alternative venues for the IPL, including South Africa and the UAE. (ANI)

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I predict a top four finish: Aslam Sher

Published>Fri, Feb 19 10 02:15 PM

New Delhi, Feb. 18 -- India's sole triumph in the hockey World Cup came 27 years ago. The memories are still fresh for those who played in that momentous tournament in Malaysia. Sixteen men, six games and countless expectations are how former players remember 1975. "It was a momentous victory and I am proud to have led a team that played as a cohesive unit," says Ajitpal Singh. It was under him that India defeated Pakistan in the final at the Merdeka Stadium in Kuala Lumpur. "Victory is not the only thing in big tournaments. It is about on and off-field discipline. No player could be singled. It was an exceptional team effort," he says. For Aslam Sher Khan, who played a key hand against Malaysia in the semifinal, the team was one of the best that India has ever had. "The team had a training session in Chandigarh before the World Cup. It was one of the finest camps organised in those days. The team gelled well and we had yoga and meditation sessions along with strenuous hockey practice," he says. Not surprisingly, the team had its of off-field controversies too. "The hockey federation was dissolved before the World Cup and the morale was low. But during the camp and once we reached Malaysia, the team kept its focus," says Aslam Sher Khan, for whom the reception back home was phenomenal. Twenty-seven years since, the former players are hopeful of a strong Indian performance. "The Indian team has the potential to make an impact in this edition.

Sher Khan, however, feels India can prove predictions wrong by making it to the semis. "A top four finish is what I predict for the home team."

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Marathon runners may have endurance in their genes

Published>Fri, Feb 19 10 02:05 PM

Washington, Feb 19 (ANI): Variations in one gene are associated with athletic endurance and may make a difference in a runner's performance, according to a new study.

For the study, researchers examined 155 track and field athletes and found that 80 percent of those who excelled in endurance events, such as marathons, had variations of the NRF2 gene, compared with 46 percent of sprinters.

An analysis of 240 non-elite athletes produced similar findings.

"These findings suggest that harbouring this specific genotype might increase the probability of being an endurance athlete," one of the study authors, Nir Eynon, of the Wingate Institute in Israel.

"So, some of us are truly born to run," Eynon added.

While the study shows an association between these gene variations and athletic endurance, it doesn't establish a cause-and-effect relationship.

Further research is needed to determine precisely what role the NRF2 gene plays in athletic performance.

Previous research has shown that the NRF2 gene helps produce new mitochondria (cellular structures that produce energy) and reduces the harmful effects of oxidation and inflammation, which increase during exercise.

The study findings were released online in advance of publication in an upcoming print issue of the journal Physiological Genomics. (ANI)

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Chak de Hockey, say advertisers

Published>Fri, Feb 19 10 01:51 PM

Mumbai, Feb. 18 -- Is Hockey the new kid on the block? Not yet. But the Hockey World Cup, which is just around the corner, is the new property a host of Indian brands want to get associated with. Besides Hero Honda, the title sponsor, Steel Authority of India, ING Life Insurance, Karbon Mobile and others have associated with the brand. Ten Sports, which will broadcast the tournament, claims it has sold nearly 80 per cent ad inventory. Brands like Nokia, Muesli Power, Coke, TVS and Seagrams have already signed deals with the company. There are new and first time players who are looking to get on board. Atul Pande, chief executive officer, Zee Sports and Ten Sports, "There has been a fairly good corporate response for the tournament and we have sold nearly 80 per cent of our ad inventory. We are seeing good traction and expect high viwership from smaller cities." Pande refused to divulge the exact size of the deal.

"We are targeting consumers in Tier 2-3 cities. We expect to generate at least 30,000 leads," said Amit Gupta, director, marketing and Communication, ING Life Insurance.

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Weather affects Formula One testing

Published>Fri, Feb 19 10 01:35 PM

Jerez (Spain), Feb 19 (IANS) Rain again played havoc with the Formula One schedule at the Circuito de Jerez here and Force India's drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi and reserve Paul di Resta could only put in 57 laps altogether.

With the heavy rain showers and high winds that have so far characterised the testing showing no signs of abating, Force India was Thursday obliged to modify its testing schedule slightly to allow the race drivers the best chance of the better weather forecast later this week, with di Resta getting another half day testing in the VJM03 before Liuzzi took over in the afternoon.

The team made the most of the amended programme to run through further set-up evaluation, plus race preparation and fuel and hydraulic systems checks. With no major issues, di Resta and Liuzzi, who clocked a best of 1 minute, 30.666 seconds, completed over 250 km in all.

Commenting on his run, di Resta said: 'I was back in the car this morning to get a bit more running. Unfortunately, the weather was again very bad, but at this stage, any running gives me more experience of the car and how the team works.

'I ran with the intermediate and wet tyres over the morning, which at least means I have got some solid experience of wet running and it won't be such a novelty when I am faced with similar conditions in places such as Malaysia.'

Liuzzi said: 'The weather was so difficult today with the constantly changing conditions. It seemed to rain every hour and then dry, but it never reached a stable level: it was either too dry for wets or too wet for dry tyres, so you couldn't get a consistent indicator of the performance.

'We did a few pit stop simulations and runs to get more information and the car still seems to be responding well to changes. In these conditions though it's very difficult to get a good understanding of what's going on, but everyone has the same weather, we just have to do what we can.'

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