Australia will win Ashes because they have to - Warne

Published>Thu, Nov 18 10 07:48 AM

Shane Warne believes Australia will triumph in the Ashes series against England, which starts in one week, because they know the local conditions and that defeat would mean a complete overhaul of the team.

The Australian media painted a picture of a cricketing nation in crisis on Thursday with selectors dithering over their preferred line-up for next week's first test in Brisbane and key players battling injury, and more worrying, slumps in form.

Former test wicket-taking great Warne, while acknowledging that England have their best chance in a long time of winning on Australian soil, thinks his compatriots will raise their game when necessary to reclaim the urn that England won last year.

"If Australia lose this, they're going to go even further down the chain and probably there'll be a big upheaval of the team as well," he told reporters at the Sydney Cricket Ground this week.

"They know what's at stake and I'm sure they're going to lift their game and play exceptionally good cricket and win."

"I think England before a ball is bowled have got their best chance of winning, but I think Australia will win because they know the conditions better," he added.

"When the tight moments are there, Australia will just get over the line."

Another great Ashes performer, former England captain and all rounder Ian Botham, said he had been surprised by Australia's decision to pick such a large squad for the first test.

"I'm loving it at the moment because it seems Australia are at each other's throats, which is great from our point of view," he told the Sydney Morning Herald in Melbourne.

"I've never known Australia to pick a 17-man squad for a test match, which ... tells me they haven't really got any idea what they're going to do ... which is just so un-Australian."

Australia said they picked such a large squad to let players fight for places in the team through their performances in Sheffield Shield matches and the Australia A match against England.

"I see confusion, I see doubt," said Botham. "It's almost becoming match-offs with guys playing against each other in Shield games. The more confused Australia are, the happier I am."

England's preparations have, by contrast, run like clockwork since their arrival in Perth and Botham backed them to win a series in Australia for the first time since the 1986/7 triumph he was part of.

"I think (England) are well organised, they've slipped under the radar ... they've got a settled side, they know what their team is," he said. "I'm happy."

Source: Web Search

Improved Portugal humble world champions Spain

Published>Thu, Nov 18 10 07:26 AM

Helder Postiga scored twice as a vastly improved Portugal side crushed world and European champions Spain 4-0 on Wednesday in a friendly international and handed them their biggest defeat in 47 years.

The last time Spain had lost by the same margin was in a 6-2 defeat against Scotland in Madrid in 1963.

Spain lost 4-1 to Argentina in a friendly in September, but while that side featured several second string players, the starting line up against Portugal was near full-strength.

"We have to accept the defeat. We couldn't have played any worse. They were very effective on the counterattack and did us a lot of damage," coach Vicente Del Bosque told Spanish TV.

"Nobody likes to lose. It was an important match for us but it wasn't our day," he added.

In contrast, the Portuguese put on their best performance in some time and are improving under coach Paulo Bento, who took charge in September after Carlos Queiroz was sacked.

"We wanted to win, but could never have predicted a result like this against a team with Spain's dimension. The way we played had a lot of positives. The win does not bring points, but it does earn us prestige," Bento told reporters.

The coach has revived Portugal's Euro 2012 hopes with two wins over Denmark and Iceland in October after the side had made a dismal start prior to his appointment, but he was eager not to get carried away with the rout against Spain.

"I think our quality in the victory is not in question. But we were not the worst team in the world when we were in an tough spot, and these wins, including this one, do not make us the best one either," Bento added.

Portugal were strong from the start and did not show any of the caution that marked their 1-0 defeat in the second round of the World Cup to the same opponents.

Nani had the first chance but his drive from outside the box flew wide of the right post. The winger also put Postiga through on 20 minutes only for his chip to be blocked by Casillas.

The game, held to promote the countries' joint bid to host the 2018 World Cup, was at times an intense affair, with Busquets and Ronaldo picking up yellow cards for challenges on each other.

Midfielders Raul Meireiles and Moutinho worked tirelessly, preventing Xavi and Iniesta from deploying their trademark "tiki-taka" one-touch style, with Spain's only real chance in the first half a David Silva header that went wide on 31 minutes.

DESERVED LEAD

Portugal took a deserved lead just before halftime when Cristiano Ronaldo beat Sergio Busquets on the left and sent a powerful drive towards Iker Casillas which the Spain keeper could only block. The ball fell for Carlos Martins to fire in from near the spot.

The hosts added their second five minutes after the break when Joao Moutinho and Nani combined to feed striker Postiga, whose goalbound backheel was helped in by Sergio Ramos's desperate clearance.

Postiga netted again with a simple strike in the 68th minute and Hugo Almeida completed the rout deep into second-half injury time after Pepe led a counterattack.

"A fantastic night for Portugal. For me, it brings added confidence as it is not every day that you can score against Spain," Postiga said.

Five minutes later Ronaldo's trickery left Gerard Pique sitting on the turf and the forward's sumptuous lob was flying in over Casillas but Nani, who was offside, touched it in and the goal was disallowed.

Ronaldo was one the many players replaced at halftime, but Portugal continued to drive forward.

The Spaniards failed to lift their game and their rare chances in the second half were shots from Xabi Alonso and Cesc Fabregas and header by Fernando Llorente, all of which went wide.

Source: Web Search

25-0: Lakshadweep school all at sea

Published>Thu, Nov 18 10 06:24 AM

Government High School, Kadmat go down 25-0 to Takshashila Academy of Nepal in their match on Wednesday in Subroto Cup

Preparing an U-14 football team for an inter-school match, all coaches tell their wards to defend well, aim for a couple of goals. Darshan Bhakt Raj, coach of Nepal's Takshashila Academy had promised a treat to anyone who scored five goals in a match. But coming to India to play at the Subroto Cup, Raj would probably never have imagined that his team would beat their opponents- Lakshadweep's Government High School, Kadmat by a margin of 25 -0.

The afternoon rains that showered over Ambedkar Stadium may have come in stops and starts but the flood of goals that entered the goal-mouth of Lakshadweep's school never abated. Goals seemingly went in every alternate minute in the sixty minutes of play. For the winners Heman Gurung scored nine goals and Krishna Raj Lama scored five.

The feat though astounding is not unprecedented. Old timers recall a 28 goal thrashing in the U-14 category some 10-years back at the Subroto Cup. In terms of sheer dominance though it will be hard to replicate Wednesday's match. The ball scarcely left the Lakshadweep half and they never even got the ball near Takshashila's goal. For most of the match, the Nepal goalkeeper stood outside the penalty box, even kicking the ball towards his strikers from inner midfield a couple of times in the second half to hasten the goal scoring spree.

But despite the quarter century of goals that went against his team, Lakshadweep coach Anwar did not criticise his team. He instead blamed the loss on age falsification. "We are the only team who has brought players of the correct age in Subroto Cup. I don't think the Nepal players who played today were under 14. Football is a body contact sport and our players were almost scared to go near their opponents who were physically much bigger. You can tell by the strength in the free kick of a player whether they are as young as they say or not," Lakshadweep's coach Anwar said.

Though, Lakshadweep schools participate in school nationals and often train in Kerala, this was the first competitive outing of this particular team out of the island and inexperience could only have added to their Wednesday debacle. Indeed after realising the strength of their opponents they seemingly accepted their fate.

For example after initially having taken a few strong kicks on his chest, Lakshwadeep goalkeeper Sajid Khan decided not even to dive for the kicks that came his way. Khan would often just watch the ball go past him and his you-can't-miss smile after every goal, made a spectators exclaim "is he out for a morning walk?"

Coach Anwar though defended him. "He played well, he made some crucial saves. We recently played against a team in Kerala, where we drew 1-1. This is Lakshadweep's best school team but they just couldn't cope against stronger players today," Anwar added.

Despite ruining Lakshadweep's all-Muslim team's Eid celebrations with the gigantic defeat, the Nepali team were not gloating. "I am rather sad at today's situation, the little boys were giving their best but were unable to compete well. The real test of my players is yet to come," Takshashila's coach Darshan Bhakta Raj said. The next match in Pool H is to be played between Manipur and Lakshadweep and unless Manipur manages a similar winning margin, the Nepal team will qualify to the next stage from this group.

Source: Web Search

Magic Messi gives Argentina 1-0 win over Brazil

Thu, Nov 18 10 06:08 AM

Lionel Messi left it very late to once again show his matchwinning qualities with a superb goal two minutes into added time to give Argentina a 1-0 win over arch-rivals Brazil in friendly on Wednesday.

The Barcelona forward played a one-two in the middle of the pitch with substitute Ezequiel Lavezzi and raced through the Brazil defence cutting across to the left to send a low, diagonal, left-footed shot past the diving Victor into the bottom far corner.

"I really wanted to beat them and I was able to it. I'd never done it with the senior (Argentina) team," said Messi, who was playing against Brazil for the fourth time.

"It's an important win to keep improving and that's always easier when the results go your way," he told Argentine television in Doha.

The match at Qatar's Khalifa International stadium, in which Ronaldinho made a promising Brazil comeback, was a first victory for Argentina over their great South American rivals in six meetings since 2005.

"The two teams went forward. But at the end of the game we suffered the goal sadly. Messi is an excellent player, who settled the match in a moment we lost concentration," Brazil captain Robinho told Brazilian TV.

Ronaldinho, overlooked for the 2010 World Cup finals, might have scored with a cheeky backheel in the first half but Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero was alert and saved.

"The balance of Ronaldinho's performance is good... His choices as the player creating moves were good," Brazil coach Mano Menezes said.

Messi's goal was the first conceded by the new Brazil side coached by Menezes, who had won their three previous friendlies.

Sergio Batista was making his debut as Argentina coach after friendly wins over Ireland and world champions Spain and a defeat away to Japan in an interim capacity.

Brazil had more of the ball in the first half, spent more time in their opponents' half and created more chances.

Argentina, with a greater number of experienced internationals in their side, evened the exchanges in the second half as they pushed further up in midfield.

The Brazilians, quick in the build-up, used the width of the pitch well to stretch the Argentine defence in which Nicolas Pareja was winning a second cap as partner to Nicolas Burdisso.

Argentina played a tighter game looking for trademark short one-twos in their build-ups. Lavezzi came on for Gonzalo Higuain in the second half and Argentina gained width up front.

Right back Javier Zanetti, extending his Argentine record to 138 caps, cut inside in Argentina's first telling counter-attack to shoot left-footed with Victor saving.

Brazil right back Daniel Alves later hit the bar with a shot inside the box after a one-two with fellow defender David Luiz.

Minutes later, Romero went down to save Ronaldinho's backheel. He also punched away a dangerous free kick from Ronaldinho.

Near the end of the first half, Messi started a move in midfield that went down the right before he picked up the ball again near the edge of the box to unleash a shot that shaved the top of Victor's right-hand post.

Source: Published>

Classy France hand England lesson in technique

Published>Thu, Nov 18 10 05:48 AM

France gave England a lesson in technique when they beat them 2-1 at Wembley on Wednesday in a largely one-sided friendly between two of the World Cup's biggest under-achievers.

Karim Benzema and Mathieu Valbuena put the visitors 2-0 up before Peter Crouch volleyed a goal back in the 86th minute, seconds after coming on as a substitute.

That goal gave the scoreline an air of respectability that flattered an experimental England side, who only began to find their feet in the last 15 minutes after France coach Laurent Blanc made a series of substitutions.

France had done enough by then to inflict a first home defeat in Fabio Capello's 16th match at Wembley since he became England manager nearly three years ago.

The margin could have been even more emphatic but for Samir Nasri's late effort hitting the outside of goalkeeper Ben Foster's post.

France's victory was fully deserved after an outstanding first-half display of passing and movement which reduced England to virtual bystanders.

The home fans showed what they thought of their team's dire opening 45 minutes by jeering them off at the break.

NEW PLAYERS

Both France, eliminated in the group stages, and England, who went out in the second round, had World Cups to forget, but have shown signs of improvement in their Euro 2012 qualifiers.

This match was the last to experiment with new players before the qualifiers resume, and although Capello gave debuts to strikers Andy Carroll and Jay Bothroy and midfielder Jordan Henderson, none showed the guile or composure France possessed.

"During friendly game you have to put new young players in because it is very important for the future, but you have to know the squad I selected are the best players available at the moment," Capello said.

"We have found a really good player like Carroll, this is important.

"France played very vell in the first half, we played without confidence, with fear, we played the back and not foward and tried to play the long ball up to Carroll, it was not the style we prefer to play."

Blanc said the result was not the most important thing.

"We had a strategy in place which we played out on the pitch and this is a major satisfaction," he said.

"We worked out how we could put them under pressure from the outset and we reinforced that excellent play by turning it into goals."

RAN MIDFIELD

Samir Nasri and Yoann Gourcuff ran the midfield with Benzema and Florent Malouda weaving patterns around the static English defenders up front.

France were hardly troubled even when England did have the ball because the home side's passing was woeful with Steven Gerrard guilty of several loose efforts.

France's opening goal after 16 minutes was a gem with Malouda and Benzema combining superbly on the left side of the penalty area before the striker rifled the ball home at the near post.

The second also illustrated France's ease on the ball and their superior passing, with Bacary Sagna crossing for Valbuena to sweep past Foster after 56 minutes.

England, however, rallied towards the end and Gerrard had a header that bounced off the bar before Crouch's goal produced a spell of late pressure.

Source: Web Search

Sweden draw with Germany as coaches experiment

Thu, Nov 18 10 05:28 AM

Germany and Sweden drew 0-0 in Gothenburg on Wednesday in an international friendly where both coaches took the opportunity to experiment with personnel and tactics.

Germany coach Joachim Loew fielded a young side with an average age of 23 while, still smarting from a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of the Dutch last month, Sweden started with a five-man midfield to try and smother the visitors' short-passing game.

Despite Sweden's numerical advantage in midfield, it was the experienced German pairing of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira who held the upper hand in the first half on a chilly evening.

It took until the 36th minute to register the first shot on target for either side when Sweden keeper Andreas Isaksson parried Schweinsteiger's drive from distance.

Sweden's only chance of the half came when Christian Wilhelmsson pulled the ball back in the box only for Ola Toivonen to miscue his shot from seven metres.

"It was difficult, the weather was extreme and the pitch was not very good, so it was difficult for us to create chances," Germany striker Mario Gomez told Sweden's TV10.

With both Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Johan Elmander given the night off by coach Erik Hamren, it fell to Toivonen to lead the Swedish line alone. But all too often the PSV Eindhoven player came deep to collect the ball, adding an extra body to an already overcrowded midfield.

Real Madrid's Khedira almost gave the Germans the lead on the stroke of halftime as he latched on to a looping ball only to stick his lob over the crossbar.

Loew's decision to substitute his central midfield pairing on the hour mark allowed the Swedes a little more room to get forward and Lyon's Kim Kallstrom fired a volley wide in the 64th minute.

Germany substitute Toni Kroos forced another fine save from Isaksson as he hit a rising drive from distance.

Hamren handed a debut to Helsingborg's Alexander Gerndt, but the top scorer in the Swedish league had little time to make an impression.

THe Swedesh coach was happy to see his side come away with a draw.

"Defensively we looked very good, offensively we had a few problems but in general I think we played a very good game," he said.

Source: Published>

Messi special stands out in friendly frenzy

Published>Thu, Nov 18 10 04:48 AM

Lionel Messi scored a classic individual goal in stoppage time to give Argentina a 1-0 win over Brazil in Doha in the standout game of a busy night of international friendlies around the world on Wednesday.

In Europe, there were a clutch of impressive away wins as France beat England 2-1 at Wembley, Belgium upset Russia 2-0, Norway overcame Ireland 2-1 and Greece defeated Austria 2-1.

World Cup runners-up Netherlands beat Turkey 1-0 but several of Europe's other big guns, largely fielding experimental lineups, failed to ignite.

Germany were held to a goalless draw in Sweden, Italy, with four debutants, drew 1-1 with Romania in Austria and Denmark against Czech Republic also ended 0-0.

World champions Spain were playing Portugal later while in the night's two Euro 2012 qualifiers Croatia beat Malta 3-0 and Finland thrashed San Marino 8-0.

The heavyweight South American duel in the desert promised much but delivered little in a cagey 90 minutes.

Double former world player of the year Ronaldinho, left out of Brazil's World Cup squad, looked lively on his comeback and almost scored with a backheel but in the second minute of stoppage time Messi showed why he inherited the crown.

The striker picked his way through a ragged Brazilian defence showing great control before angling a low shot beyond the diving Victor.

It was Argentina's first win over Brazil is six matches since 2005 and gave Sergio Batista a winning start as full-time coach following his three games in charge in an interim capacity.

INEXPERIENCED ENGLAND

France continued their rehabilitation under Laurent Blanc by outplaying an inexperienced England team.

Karim Benzema and Mathieu Valbuena each finished off good passing moves to put the visitors 2-0 up before substitute Peter Crouch maintained his remarkable scoring record with his 22nd goal in 42 internationals seconds after coming on at the death.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is another on a hot streak as he scored his ninth goal in five internationals to earn Netherlands their win over Turkey, heading home a Robin van Persie cross early in the second half.

The Dutch had only five survivors from the team beaten by Spain in the World Cup final four months ago while Turkey coach Guus Hiddink gave five players their debuts.

Seventeen-year-old Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku added to his burgeoning reputation by scoring both goals, his first in internationals, in the 2-0 win over Russia in Voronezh.

The Anderlecht forward scored after two minutes and added another in the second half of a match played as a goodwill gesture by the Russian FA after they poached manager Dick Advocaat in April six months after he had become Belgium coach.

Another 17-year-old had a night to remember in Cape Town as debutant Juan Agudelo scored five minutes from time to give a makeshift United States team a 1-0 win over South Africa.

Paraguay were the biggest friendly winners when they beat Hong Kong 7-0 away, with two goals each for Roque Santa Cruz and Edgar Barreto.

Croatia marked the 20th anniversary of their first match as an independent nation by beating Malta 3-0 with two long-range goals for Niko Kranjcar and one for Nikola Kalinic to go top of Group F, two points ahead of Greece and four ahead of Georgia.

Mikael Forssell hit a second-half hat-trick as Finland hammered San Marino 8-0 in Group E but, having lost their first three matches, they remain the longest of shots to qualify for the finals in Poland and Ukraine.

Netherlands lead the group with a maximum 12 points, ahead of Hungary (nine) and Sweden, on six with a game in hand.

Source: Web Search

Two-goal Lewandowski leads Poland to win over Ivory Coast

Thu, Nov 18 10 04:28 AM

Euro 2012 co-hosts Poland ended a run of eight games without a win when Robert Lewandowski scored twice in a 3-1 victory over under-strength Ivory Coast in a friendly on Wednesday.

The Borussia Dortmund striker netted after 19 and 80 minutes, capitalising on two excellent passes from Adam Matuszczyk.

Ludovic Obraniac was also on target in the 65th minute for Poland, who will jointly host Euro 2012 with Ukraine.

Ivory Coast, without Chelsea strikers Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou, pulled one back through Gervinho in the last minute of the first half.

Poland have struggled recently, winning four times in 15 games under coach Franciszek Smuda.

Smuda took over after they failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.

Source: Published>

Borghi resigns as Boca coach after River defeat

Published>Thu, Nov 18 10 03:48 AM

Claudio Borghi quit as coach of Boca Juniors on Wednesday following the 1-0 defeat at arch-rivals River Plate.

River beat Boca on Tuesday in the "superclasico", the biggest derby in Argentine football, leaving them 15th in the Apertura championship with 17 points from 14 matches and seven defeats.

"After the match we (the coaching staff) took the decision not to be Boca's trainers any more," Borghi told a news conference.

"The results have not been as good as we all expected, players, directors, fans, coaching staff. There are more bad things than good on a sporting level."

Former Argentina striker Borghi, who steered Argentinos Juniors to the title in the previous Clausura championship and took charge of Boca in May, said he felt the club would benefit from a change.

"There's a saying that 'a debutant coach wins'. The one who leaves takes some of the pressure with him and the one who comes in arrives lighter," the 46-year-old said.

NO INTIMACY

Borghi was a member of Argentina's 1986 World Cup-winning squad and also helped Argentinos Juniors win the South American Libertadores Cup in 1985.

Many observers had wondered if he would stay at Boca until the end of the season in June and when Marcelo Bielsa quit as Chile coach two weeks ago, Borghi was linked with the job because of family ties in the neighbouring country.

"To be denying rumours ever day is tough. Boca is like making love with the window open, you don't have any intimacy," he said.

Borghi made his name as a coach in Chile, having ended his playing career there. He steered Colo Colo to four successive titles and the 2006 Copa Sudamericana final.

Youth coach Roberto Pompei will take charge of Boca as caretaker for the second time, after a spell of six matches at the end of last season.

Media reports said Julio Cesar Falcioni, who coached Banfield to their first Apertura title last December, was the favourite to take over on a permanent basis.

Source: Web Search

Magic Messi gives Argentina 1-0 win over Brazil

Thu, Nov 18 10 02:46 AM

Lionel Messi left it very late to once again show his matchwinning qualities with a superb goal two minutes into added time to give Argentina a 1-0 win over arch-rivals Brazil in friendly on Wednesday.

The Barcelona forward played a one-two in the middle of the pitch with substitute Ezequiel Lavezzi and raced through the Brazil defence cutting across to the left to send a low, diagonal, left-footed shot past the diving Victor into the bottom far corner.

The match at Qatar's Khalifa International stadium, in which Ronaldinho made a promising Brazil comeback, was a first victory for Argentina over their great South American rivals in six meetings since 2005.

"The two teams went forward. But at the end of the game we suffered the goal sadly. Messi is an excellent player, who settled the match in a moment we lost concentration," Brazil captain Robinho told Brazilian TV.

Ronaldinho, overlooked for the 2010 World Cup finals, might have scored with a cheeky backheel in the first half but Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero was alert and saved.

"The balance of Ronaldinho's performance is good...His choices as the player creating moves were good," Brazil coach Mano Menezes said.

Messi's goal was the first conceded by the new Brazil side coached by Menezes, who had won their three previous friendlies.

Sergio Batista was making his debut as Argentina coach after friendly wins over Ireland and world champions Spain and a defeat away to Japan in an interim capacity.

Brazil had more of the ball in the first half, spent more time in their opponents' half and created the greater number of chances.

Argentina, with a greater number of experienced internationals in their side, evened the exchanges in the second half as they pushed further up in midfield.

The Brazilians, quick in the build-up, used the width of the pitch well to stretch the Argentine defence in which Nicolas Pareja was winning a second cap as partner to Nicolas Burdisso.

Argentina played a tighter game looking for trademark short one-twos in their build-ups. Lavezzi came on for Gonzalo Higuain in the second half and Argentina gained width up front.

Right back Javier Zanetti, extending his Argentine record to 138 caps, cut inside in Argentina's first telling counter-attack to shoot left-footed with Victor saving.

Brazil right back Daniel Alves later hit the bar with a shot inside the box after a one-two with fellow defender David Luiz.

Minutes later, Romero went down to save Ronaldinho's backheel. He also punched away a dangerous free kick from Ronaldinho.

Near the end of the first half, Messi started a move in midfield that went down the right before he picked up the ball again near the edge of the box to unleash a shot that shaved the top of Victor's right-hand post.

Source: Published>

Borghi resigns as Boca Juniors coach

Thu, Nov 18 10 02:28 AM

Claudio Borghi has quit as coach of Boca Juniors in the wake of Tuesday's 1-0 defeat at arch-rivals River Plate.

River beat Boca 1-0 in the "superclasico", the biggest derby in Argentine football, leaving them 15th in the Apertura championship with 17 points from 14 matches and seven defeats.

"After the match we (the coaching staff) took the decision not to be Boca's trainers any more," Borghi told a news conference.

Former Argentina striker Borghi, who steered Argentinos Juniors to the title in the previous Clausura championship, said he felt Boca would benefit from a change.

Source: Published>

Manchester United to test Rooney's fitness on Thursday

Thu, Nov 18 10 02:08 AM

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney's fitness will be assessed on Thursday to see if he can return for this weekend's Premier League match at home to Wigan Athletic, said manager Alex Ferguson.

The England player has returned from a week of intensive training in the United States after being sidelined with an ankle injury.

"We have to see if he's ready for the first team," Ferguson told a sports conference in the Qatari capital Doha on Wednesday.

"The only evidence we will have is on the training field and I'll see that tomorrow (Thursday)."

United, who are third in the table and three points behind leaders Chelsea after 13 games, meet struggling Wigan on Saturday aiming to make up for the two points they dropped at Aston Villa in a 2-2 draw last week.

"Wayne has had a good week in Oregon. He's done well," added Ferguson.

Rooney has barely been out of the headlines in recent months, making the news for his poor form at the World Cup in June, revelations about his private life and the stunning change of heart he had when deciding whether to sign a new United deal.

He eventually agreed a five-year contract on Oct. 22 but fans have not seen him in action since he pledged his future to the club, with his last appearance coming as a late substitute in a 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion on Oct. 16.

It remains to be seen what sort of reaction the 25-year-old Rooney will get when he does eventually return after originally saying he wanted to leave Old Trafford but if he can recapture the sort of form that produced 34 goals last season, he may quickly be forgiven.

"The boy rushed in," said Ferguson. "The minute the ... supporters and press had a say, he changed his mind immediately because he knew he made a mistake.

"He immediately apologised and agreed a new contract in a couple of hours. We want to get Wayne to his best. When that happens everything will be OK."

Source: Published>

Magic Messi gives Argentina 1-0 win over Brazil

Thu, Nov 18 10 01:48 AM

Lionel Messi scored a superb goal two minutes into added time to give Argentina a 1-0 win over arch-rivals Brazil in friendly at Qatar's Khalifa International stadium on Wednesday.

Messi played a one-two in the middle of the pitch with substitute Ezequiel Lavezzi and raced through the Brazil defence cutting across to the left to send a low, diagonal, left-footed shot past the diving Victor into the bottom far corner.

The match, in which Ronaldinho made a promising Brazil comeback, was a first victory for Argentina over their great South American rivals in six meetings since 2005.

Ronaldinho, overlooked for the 2010 World Cup finals, might have scored with a cheeky backheel in the first half but Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero was alert and saved.

Messi' goal was the first conceded by the new Brazil side coached by Mano Menezes, who had won their three previous friendlies.

Sergio Batista was making his debut as Argentina coach after friendly wins over Ireland and world champions Spain and a defeat away to Japan in an interim capacity.

Source: Published>

Kranjcar double puts Croatia top of group

Thu, Nov 18 10 01:28 AM

Niko Kranjcar scored the first two goals and laid on the third as Croatia breezed past Malta 3-0 to go top of Euro 2012 Group F qualifying on Wednesday.

The out-of-favour Tottenham Hotspur midfielder cracked in a fierce drive from the edge of the penalty box to put the Croatians in front in the 19th minute.

Kranjcar then produced a replica effort to make it 2-0 in the 42nd.

His Tottenham team mate Luka Modric rattled the post while forwards Eduardo da Silva and Mladen Petric also went close as Croatia dominated the first half.

Michael Mifsud ballooned Malta's best chance high over the bar early in the second period.

Substitute Nikola Kalinic came on for Petric with half an hour to go and he made sure of victory in the 81st minute by heading in a fine cross from Kranjcar.

"We are happy to be top although we feel the group is wide open. Our next two matches against Georgia will be of crucial importance," Croatia coach Slaven Bilic told reporters.

"Niko's two goals were fantastic and I'm delighted to see him going for long-range efforts ... as his shooting ability is top notch."

The match, played on a rain-soaked pitch, marked the 20th anniversary of Croatia's first game as an independent country, a friendly against United States.

Unbeaten Croatia have 10 points from four games, two ahead of Greece and four in front of Georgia. Malta are bottom with no points.

Bilic's team resume their qualifying campaign in March with a trip to Georgia.

Source: Published>

Impressive Lukaku helps Belgium stun Russia 2-0

Thu, Nov 18 10 01:08 AM

Teenage forward Romelu Lukaku scored his first two international goals to power Belgium to a surprise 2-0 win over Russia in a friendly on Wednesday.

The 17-year-old Anderlecht striker opened the scoring after less than 90 seconds, taking full advantage of a goalkeeping blunder by Russia's Igor Akinfeyev.

Wednesday's game had been delayed after the Belgians had arrived in Voronezh only a few hours before kick-off after their plane was kept overnight in Moscow because of thick fog.

But the wait was worth it for the visitors when the normally-reliable Akinfeyev gave the ball away near his own goal, allowing Lukaku a simple tap-in into an empty net to open his international account.

The highly-rated teenager doubled his tally midway through the second half after outmuscling two Russian defenders and beating Akinfeyev with a low shot into a far corner from 12 metres.

The Russians, urged on by a near capacity 30,000-strong home crowd in the industrial city some 530 kilometres south of Moscow, wasted numerous chances to hit back.

The match was Russia's goodwill gesture to make amends with the Belgian Football Association for signing coach Dick Advocaat.

The Dutchman abruptly quit his post with Belgium's national team in April after just six months in charge before signing a four-year deal with Russia, replacing compatriot Guus Hiddink.

Advocaat's departure angered the Belgian FA, which threatened to take legal action against him before the two parties settled their case out of court.

Source: Published>

Taiwan taekwondo storm casts cloud over Games

Published>Thu, Nov 18 10 12:12 AM

A political storm threatened to engulf the Asian Games taekwondo tournament on Wednesday when a Taiwanese fighter was disqualified mid-bout for wearing unauthorised electronic sensors in her socks.

Yang Shu-Chun broke down in tears and staged a sit-down protest on the mat for several minutes after she was disqualified when leading Thi Hau Vu of Vietnam 9-0 in their 49-kg bout.

"We are very angry," Yang's coach Liu Ching-Wen told Reuters after protesting the decision. "The athlete prepared for these games for a year-and-a-half and her goal was to win gold but now she can't compete.

"She is very upset, we are all very upset."

The decision sparked an angry slanging match between Taiwanese and Chinese journalists at a press conference, as officials refused to translate questions as to whether the decision had been politically motivated.

Political tensions have long simmered between Taiwan and China since defeated Nationalist forces fled to the island in 1949 following the Communist victory in a civil war.

China has vowed to bring the island under mainland rule, by force if necessary.

Taekwondo fighters have worn electronic sensors and padding when competing at elite competitions for a number of years to enable judges to better determine scoring for the often lightning-quick kicks and punches.

Yang's coach denied his fighter had breached the rules and said the sensors had been green-lighted by tournament officials.

A senior official from the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) disputed that, and said Yang had put the sensors in her footwear even after officials had earlier confiscated another set from her.

"The sensors give the fighter an unfair advantage by making the blows seem bigger than they are," said WTF secretary general Yang Jin Suk, adding that the decision was fair and more sanctions could be expected.

Taekwondo was added to the Olympic programme at Sydney in 2000 and has had a troubled history at top multi-sport events.

The tournament lurched from crisis to crisis at the 2008 Beijing Games, as teams angrily disputed judges' decisions and a Cuban fighter kicked a referee in the head in anger after he was disqualified for time-wasting.

VELODROME DRAMA

The men's cycling had its share of spills on Wednesday, with Iran's Mohammad Parash exiting the venue on a stretcher after colliding with Zhang Lei of China in the keirin.

Uzbekistan's Vadim Shaekhov earlier crashed into Cho Ho-sung after the South Korean swerved to avoid another crash, leaving the riders tumbling down the track in a pile of bikes and bodies.

Angered when the former Asian champion Cho shoved his bike away, the Uzbek swung a kick at the South Korean but missed.

His intent, if not his aim, drew praise from his coach. "Shaekhov did try to kick him. Good on him," he said.

There was far less acrimony at the pool where Park Tae-hwan's third title at Guangzhou drew only admiration and praise.

Park, a winner of three golds and four other medals at Doha, in 2006, was fifth at the turn of the 100 metres freestyle but exploded in the final 25 metres to haul in China's Lu Zhiwu.

The South Korean pin-up boy and Olympic 400m champion will have a shot at making the first clean sweep of all the Asian freestyle events when he races the 1,500me on Thursday.

"At these Games, I have broken my personal bests and have learned a lot. I have worked very hard, and I thank my coach. I just try to do my best," he said.

It was another dark night at the pool for Japan, however, after talisman and multiple Olympic champion Kosuke Kitajima pulled out of his 200me breaststroke title defence with a sore shoulder, compounding his disappointment of failing to win a medal in the 50 and 100 metres.

China's insatiable appetite for gold showed little sign of waning, the hosts bagging another 20 to reach 97 after the fifth day of competition. South Korea moved up to 29 golds and lie second on the medal table, while Japan's 17 left them third.

Source: Web Search

Two practice sessions each for India, NZ before third Test

Thu, Nov 18 10 12:08 AM

Nagpur, Nov 17 (PTI) The Indian and New Zealand cricket teams will practice two sessions in the next two days here, ahead of the third Test match beginning on Saturday at the Jamtha stadium, about 18kms from here. The Indian team will have nets session tomorrow from 2pm to 5pm, while the Kiwi team will practice from 10 am to 1 pm. On Nov 19, the hosts will practice from 9 am to 12 pm, while New Zealand will have a net session from 2pm to 5pm, a release from media Committee chairman Rajan Nair said. Both the teams arrived here today from Hyderabad in a chartered flight and had rest. The first two Tests of the three-match rubber held at Ahmedabad and Hyderabad have ended in draws.

Source: Published>

Former number one Moya bids tearful farewell

Published>Wed, Nov 17 10 11:48 PM

Former world number one Carlos Moya fought back tears on Wednesday as he formally announced his retirement from tennis at the age of 34 due to a recurring foot injury.

At a news conference in Madrid attended by family, friends and former players, including Manolo Santana and Albert Costa, the 1998 French Open champion said he would play one more event, in Seville in December, before ending his 15-year career.

Clad in a dark blazer, a white and blue-striped shirt open at the neck and blue jeans, the Spaniard welled up and had to make frequent pauses to compose himself as he announced his decision and thanked friends, family, his coaching and support staff, sponsors and fans.

The foot injury had plagued him for several years and he had been unable to shake it off despite consulting a host of different doctors, he explained.

"I wanted to say goodbye at some of the big tournaments, the grand slams, but that dream wasn't to be," said Moya, who was runner-up to Pete Sampras at the 1997 Australian Open.

"I am still young for life but for sport I am already knocking on a bit," he said, adding that his immediate plans were to rest and spend time at home with his partner and baby daughter Carla, who was born in August.

He will also make an appearance at the ATP World Tour finals in London next week. "But not to play," he joked.

Moya, a right-hander unlike his friend and current number one Rafa Nadal, who is also from Majorca, won the first of 20 career titles on his favoured clay in Buenos Aires in 1995.

In March 1999 he became the first Spaniard to rise to number one since the ATP rankings were introduced in 1973 and held the spot for two weeks.

One of his finest moments came in Seville in 2004 when he beat Andy Roddick to clinch the Davis Cup for Spain against the United States.

He slipped out of the top 10 in May 2005 and has suffered a string of injuries in recent years, including to ankle, shoulder and hip.

He last played on the ATP Tour at the Madrid Masters in May, when he lost to German Benjamin Becker in the first round. He ends his career with an ATP World Tour and grand slam record of 575 wins and 319 defeats.

"Thanks to everyone for all these years," he said. "We'll see each other soon, I don't know where but I hope it's soon."

Source: Web Search

Two practice sessions each for India, NZ before third Test

Wed, Nov 17 10 10:52 PM

Nagpur, Nov 17 (PTI) The Indian and New Zealand cricket teams will practice two sessions in the next two days here, ahead of the third Test match beginning on Saturday at the Jamtha stadium, about 18kms from here. The Indian team will have nets session tomorrow from 2pm to 5pm, while the Kiwi team will practice from 10 am to 1 pm. On Nov 19, the hosts will practice from 9 am to 12 pm, while New Zealand will have a net session from 2pm to 5pm, a release from media Committee chairman Rajan Nair said. Both the teams arrived here today from Hyderabad in a chartered flight and had rest. The first two Tests of the three-match rubber held at Ahmedabad and Hyderabad have ended in draws.

Source: Published>

German veterans crush East Bengal stars 10-3

Published>Wed, Nov 17 10 10:48 PM

Kolkata, Nov 17 (IANS) Brazilian World Cupper Paulo Serjio struck four goals, as Bayern Munich All Star side crushed East Bengal All Star Team 10-3 in an exhibition tie to win the J.C. Guha Centenary Trophy here Wednesday.

The fancied German side, comprising World Cup legends like Paul Breitner, Andreas Brehme and Stefan Reuter, looked fitter and agile despite their advanced age.

The team literally toyed with their rivals for most part of the game at the Yuva Bharati Stadium here.

Breitner and Brehme showed fine position sense and Bayern, as a whole, played a delightful passing game that more than made up for the lack of athleticism of the veterans, giving the over 20,000 spectators their money's worth.

The German titans used both flanks with aplomb to cut into the East Bengal defence at the outset, and were up 1-0 by the fourth minute, before stretching their lead to an effortless 4-0 by the 27th minute. With traffic constantly flowing one way, the game threatened to be a no-contest.

But Bayern - perhaps keeping in mind that it was an exhibition game - decided to take it easy for a while and allowed East Bengal All Star team to launch counter attacks.

However, the age-old finishing problem of the Indians was on ample display as the stars of the 1970s and 1990s missed sitters.

Basudev Mondal failed to put the ball into an open net, while the German goalkeeper Walter Junghans showed fine anticipation time and again to thwart East Bengal moves.

Finally, Kabir Bose managed to reduce the margin, and Bayern led 4-1 at half time.

Crossing over, the visitors quickly regained the initiative and kept on attacking the East Bengal citadel, scoring six more goals.

For Bayern, Marcus Munch slotted home thrice, Wolfgang Dremmler scored twice while Harold Carney found the target once. Paulo Serjio scored four times, including one from a penalty.

Amit Das and Sanjay Majhi were the other two scorers for East Bengal.

Meanwhile, six talented footballers will visit Munich for training, a Bayern spokesman said.

The money raised from the match will be utilised in education and rehabilitation of some street children in Kolkata.

Source: Web Search

Sharath, Amalraj enter Round of 16; women falter in doubles

Wed, Nov 17 10 10:22 PM

Guangzhou, Nov 17 (PTI) Ace paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal and Anthony Amalraj advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the men''s singles table tennis event but Indian challenge ended in the women''s doubles category at the Asian Games here today. Sharath hardly broke any sweat to tame Sri Lanka''s S Rohan Gedara Nanamendra 4-0 in the second round while Amalraj had to fight it out against Muhd Shakirin Ibrahim of Malaysia 4-2. Sharath took just 17 minutes to get the better of his less-fancied Sri Lankan rival 11-9 11-7 11-1 11-8 and set up a clash against Sang Eun Oh of Korea in the last 16 round. In contrast, Amalraj had to toil hard for 40 minutes to get past Ibrahim 11-4 7-11 11-8 13-11 8-11 11-8. He will next face Chih Yuan Chuang of Taipei. However, Indian eves endured another disappointing day in table tennis at the Asian Games as the pairs of Mouma Das and Mamta Prabhu and Shamini Kumaresan and Madhurika Patkar crashed out in the first round. While Mouma and Mamta were no match for Singapore''s Jiawei Li and Beibei Sun, who routed them 0-3, the pair Shamini and Madhurika gave a tough fight to I Ching Cheng and Yi Hua Huang of Taipei before going down 2-3. The combination of Mouma and Mamta proved to be cake walk for the Singaporean girls who took just 13 minutes to sent the Indian duo packing 5-11 5-11 2-11. But Shamini and Madhurika fought their heart out against Cheng and Huang before losing the opening tie 11-5 3-11 12-10 4-11 4-11 in 27 minutes.

Source: Published>

Bayern demolish EB 10-3

Wed, Nov 17 10 10:08 PM

Kolkata, Nov 17 (PTI) Playing scintillating soccer, the Allstars team of European powerhouse Bayern Munich demolished East Bengal Allstars 10-3 in a friendly match at Yuba Bharati Krirangan today to raise fund for street children in the city. Reviving their magic touch of yesteryear''s, Brazil''s World Cup winner Paulo Serjio and German League and Cup winner Markus Munich shared seven goals between them and Wolfgang Dremmler struck twice and Harald Cerney slotted home a goal to decimate the hosts, whose all players on different occasions represented India in the last century. 1974 World Cup winning midfielder Paul Breitner, who led the side, was the chief architect in demolishing the red and gold brigade with his clinical passing. Kabir Bose, Amit Das and Sanjoy Majhi scored one each for East Bengal in the 90-mintue game. Playing one-touch football, Bayern scored the first goal in the 4th minute through striker Paulo Sergio, capitalising a pass from Andreas Brehme, a German World Cupper winner. Harald Cerny doubled for Bayern in the 19th minute from a solo effort to beat goalkeeper Atanu Bhattacharya, a member of Asian Allstars team. Before the half time, the visitors struck two more goals from Markus Munch and Paulo, who completed his hat-trick from a penalty kick in the second half. As the stoppage time was being played seconds before the water break, Kabir Base reduced the margin 1-4 for East Bengal. In the second half, the visitors renewed their attacking football and pumped in six more goals at ease, which also saw another hat-trick from Markus Munch. East Bengal fielded three goalkeepers - Atanu in the first half, substitute Debashish Mukherjee conceded four goals before Arpan Dey came in charge and had to digest two goals. Amit Das and Sanjoy Majhi scored in the 81th and 89th minutes respectively. The winners received J C Guha Centenary Cup while East Bengal took Dr Nripen Dey runners-up trophy. The stadium plunged into darkness for about five minutes soon after Paul Breitner''s post match press conference, resulting to some difficulty for the spectators at the exit points.

Source: Published>

Auction of players for IPL 4 in January

Published>Wed, Nov 17 10 09:52 PM

Mumbai, Nov 17 (ANI): The Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council, which met here on Wednesday, announced that the auction of the players for the 2011 season will be held on January 8 and 9 in Mumbai.

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Vice President Rajiv Shukla told reporters that the meeting was held to discuss preparations and auctioning of players for the fourth edition of the IPL.

He also noted there were no discussions held on Kochi team, as the deadline of one month given to that franchisee has not expired.

"Today's meeting was held to discuss about the preparations for IPL-4. Players will be auctioned on January 8 and 9 in Mumbai. No issues related to Kochi team were discussed today," said Shukla.

According to new rules, which are being contradicted by the franchisees, a team can keep up to four players, which will likely cost fortune to them.

The price for the first player would be $1.8 million against the salary cap of $9 million, regardless of the amount the player is actually paid. The second player will cost $1.3 million, the third $900,000 and the fourth $500,000.

The tournament itself will feature eight teams, playing 60 matches, and run from April 8 to May 22. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

South African Van Jaarsveld tests positive

Published>Wed, Nov 17 10 09:48 PM

South African batsman Vaughn van Jaarsveld has tested positive for banned stimulant sibutramine, the South African Cricketers' Association (SACA) said on Wednesday.

The hard-hitting left-hander, 25, has played two one-day internationals and three Twenty20 internationals for South Africa.

"It does not appear to be his fault because it was present in dieting tablets he was prescribed by his doctor called Ciplatrim. Because it is a specified substance, it means it can be taken inadvertently because it is commonly found in medicines, for instance," SACA chief executive Tony Irish told Reuters.

"We don't believe it is his fault, but we have to go through the process and we have waived his right to have the B-sample tested. In the circumstances, we hope the SA Institute for Drug-Free Sport will be pretty lenient."

Sibutramine, an appetite suppressant drug, is a specified substance on the World Anti-Doping Agency's banned list.

Van Jaarsveld's positive test comes the day after Springbok rugby players Chiliboy Ralepelle and Bjorn Basson arrived home after being suspended for testing positive for the stimulant methylhexaneamine during their tour of Britain and Ireland.

The Springbok team are still trying to determine the source of Ralepelle and Basson's positive test, fearing it could have come from contaminated supplements the whole squad have been taking.

"The substance could come from many different sources, like the caffeine substances. What we are doing now is going through the process of looking at all the possibilities and exhausting them one by one. Obviously we need to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible," team doctor Craig Roberts told the SuperSport website.

A leading South African sports scientist, Glen Hagemann, has warned that South African sport runs the risk of more positive tests due to the lack of control in the country's lucrative dietary supplement industry.

"Because there is no regulation, you can manufacture a supplement in your garage. There's nothing to stop anyone. Each and every sportsman needs to understand, especially in the absence of any industry regulation, that every supplement is potentially unsafe," said the former doctor for the Sharks rugby team.

Source: Web Search

Auction of players for IPL 4 in January

Published>Wed, Nov 17 10 09:38 PM

Mumbai, Nov 17 (ANI): The Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council, which met here on Wednesday, announced that the auction of the players for the 2011 season will be held on January 8 and 9 in Mumbai.

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Vice President Rajiv Shukla told reporters that the meeting was held to discuss preparations and auctioning of players for the fourth edition of the IPL.

He also noted there were no discussions held on Kochi team, as the deadline of one month given to that franchisee has not expired.

"Today's meeting was held to discuss about the preparations for IPL-4. Players will be auctioned on January 8 and 9 in Mumbai. No issues related to Kochi team were discussed today," said Shukla.

According to new rules, which are being contradicted by the franchisees, a team can keep up to four players, which will likely cost fortune to them.

The price for the first player would be $1.8 million against the salary cap of $9 million, regardless of the amount the player is actually paid. The second player will cost $1.3 million, the third $900,000 and the fourth $500,000.

The tournament itself will feature eight teams, playing 60 matches, and run from April 8 to May 22. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

Indian archers start their campaign tomorrow

Wed, Nov 17 10 09:22 PM

S S Ramawamy Guangzhou, Nov 17 (PTI) Indian archers, who stole the country''s attention with their exploits in the Commowealth Games last month, commence their campaign in the Asian Games tomorrow against a strong field that includes South Korea, who would be aiming for their eighth consecutive gold medal. The competition, that sees 114 archers vying for gold medals in the men''s and women''s individual and team events with Olympic champion and world no. 1 I M Donghyun of Korea being the favourite in his group. India''s campaign would be spearheaded by Rahul Banerjee in the men''s section and his sister Dola Banerjee and young Jamshedpur girl Deepika Kumari in the women''s category. The other Indian men archers seen in action would be Mangal Singh Champia, Tarundeep Rai and Jayanta Talukdar. Along with Korea and India, Chinese Taipei, led by veterans Chen Szu Yuan and Kuo Cheng Wei -- both silver medalists in Doha four years ago -- would be strong contenders. World no 1 Joo Hyunjung of Korea is the front runner to take the gold in the women''s competition while she would be supported in the team event by no 2 Yun Okhee, the Doha silver winner. However, the Korean duo can expect strong challenge from 2002 Busan gold medalist Yuan Shu Chi of Taipei, who later lost her form and missed out a gold in Doha but is on a comeback trail. China''s hopes rest on 32-year-old Yang Jianping, the oldest competitor in the women''s event. Each archer would shoot 144 arrows over four distances - 90m, 70m, 50m and 30m for men and 70, 60, 50 and 30m for women - with 36 arrows fired for each distance in the competition. PTI SSR SSC

Source: Published>

China grab five golds in track cycling at Asian Games

Published>Wed, Nov 17 10 09:18 PM

Guangzhou, Nov 17 (IANS) Guo Shuang and Zhang Lei both grabbed gold medals, winning women and men's sprint races Wednesday to help China wrap up the track cycling events with five gold medals from 10 events at the 16th Asian Games.

South Korea bagged two gold medals on men's individual pursuit and team pursuit, Hong Kong, Uzbekistan and Malaysia each grabbed one in women's individual pursuit, men's point race and men's keirin respectively.

Four Asian records were broken on the track at the Games, Xinhua reported.

Hong Kong's Lee Wai Sze, 23, first set record in women's individual time trial, beating Beijing Olympic bronze medalist Guo Shuang of China.

'I always want to beat her,' said Lee, 'And now my dream has come true.'

Guo Shuang had to settle for the silver. But on the final day of track cycling events, she seized a gold in women's sprint.

South Korea's Jang Sun Jae rewrote the Asian record in men's individual pursuit in qualifying with a flying four minutes 26.089 seconds.

Jang, 26, said he had to work hard on cycling as his father, who used to be a cyclist and was the gold medallist in the men's team time trial at the 1982 Asian Games, expected much from him.

'He expects much from me so I had to prepare very hard for the Games,' said Jang.

Jang, along with teammates Hwang Inhyeok, Cho Ho Sung and Park Seon Ho, also broke the Asian record in men's team pursuit.

'We know we will have good results,' said Jang. 'We prepared well for the Games.'

China's Jiang Fan, 20, notched the Asian record in women's individual pursuit in three minutes 37.105 seconds.

'Although I broke the Asian record, I am still far from being the world No. 1. As the event would be taken off in the future, I am happy to break the Asian record before that happened,' Jiang said.

Next on the Asian Games cycling event will be mountain bike cross-country, BMX and road cycling. All cycling events will be concluded Nov. 23.

Source: Web Search

PCB committee finally makes contact with Zulqarnain

Wed, Nov 17 10 09:08 PM

Karachi, Nov 17 (PTI) After remaining elusive for days, the three-member fact-finding committee of PCB has finally made contact with run-away Pakistan wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider, who deserted his team midway through an ODI series in in Dubai following death threats from bookies. Sources in the Pakistan Cricket Board said that the committee members had spoken to Zulqarnain on phone from Dubai and had a long conversation with him. "Apparently, Intikhab Alam, who is also manager of the team, was anxious to have a chat with Zulqarnain and made contact with him and then the other members of the committee also spoke to him," one source said. Incidentally, all the committee members are part of the Pakistan team, which is presently in the UAE to play a series against South Africa. Zulqarnain created a flutter in world cricket when he ran away from the team hotel without informing anyone hours before the fifth and final ODI against South Africa at Dubai and resurfaced in London. After landing in London, the 24-year-old wicketkeeper has applied for a temporary asylum in UK, claiming that he had got death threats from alleged book after refusing to fix the last two ODIs against South Africa. The fact-finding committee has to submit its report on the whole episode to the PCB after Eid holidays and Intikhab told the media in Dubai that they were preparing it. Earlier, PCB chairman had also spoken to Zulqarnain on telephone while the wicketkeeper was also called for a meeting by the Pakistan High Commissioner in London. After talking to both, Zulqarnain had said that they had assured him co-operation and assistance. But apparently some elements in the PCB and national team are not ready to forgive the stumper for his hasty decision of ditching the team and causing embarrassment to Pakistan cricket. PCB legal advisor Tafazzul Rizvi has gone out of his way to insist that board chairman Ijaz Butt had assured Zulqarnain no co-operation. "A decision on Zulqarnain will come after the PCB chairman returns from China where he has gone on a personal visit," a source in the board added.

Source: Published>

Asian Games medals tally, Day five

Published>Wed, Nov 17 10 08:52 PM

Guangzhou, Nov 17 (IANS) Medals tally on day five of the Asian Games here Wednesday:

Country G S B T

1 China 97 39 36 172

2 South Korea 29 22 31 82

3 Japan 17 41 35 93

4 North Korea 5 7 10 22

5 Iran 5 4 8 17

6 Chinese Taipei 4 5 16 25

7 Uzbekistan 3 8 8 19

8 Hong Kong 3 6 4 13

9 Malaysia 3 3 4 10

10 Kazakhstan 2 6 11 19

11 India 1 5 7 13

12 Macao 1 1 0 2

13 Philippines 1 0 4 5

14 Viet Nam 0 7 10 17

15 Singapore 0 4 2 6

16 Thailand 0 3 9 12

17 Indonesia 0 2 8 10

18 Mongolia 0 2 6 8

19 Myanmar 0 2 1 3

20 Pakistan 0 1 1 2

21 IOC Kuwait 0 1 0 1

21 Jordan 0 1 0 1

23 Lao 0 0 2 2

24 Tajikistan 0 0 1 1

Total: 171 170 214 555

Source: Web Search

Ghulati in 3-member panel to pick Asian All Stars hockey team

Wed, Nov 17 10 08:38 PM

New Delhi, Nov 17 (PTI) Hockey India executive director Anupam Ghulati has been appointed as member in the three-man selection panel which will handpick the Asian All Stars hockey team for men after the conclusion of the ongoing Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. Apart from Ghulati, the Asian Hockey Federation also named Yang Chao from China and Bangladesh''s Shamsul Bari as other members in the committee, a Hockey India release said here today. The Asian All Stars team shall be selected from among the players participating at the Guangzhou Games. Ghulati is presently accompanying the Indian men''s hockey team at the Asian Games as its manager and has covered the game since the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

Source: Published>

Karnataka 84/3 against Haryana in rain-affected 1st day

Wed, Nov 17 10 08:22 PM

Rohtak, Nov 17 (PTI) Veteran seamer Joginder Sharma utilised the windy conditions to perfection to help Haryana restrict Karnataka to 84 for three before heavy rains drew early curtains to the opening day''s play in the rain-affected Ranji Trophy Super League Group B match here today. Joginder scalped all the three Karnataka wickets that fell today, giving away just 30 runs from his 11 overs. At stumps, Robin Uthappa was unbeaten on 36 while giving him company was young Manish Pandey on three. Opting to bowl on overcast conditions, Joginder drew first blood for Haryana in the seventh over when he had Gautam Murlaidharen caught by Sunny Singh at the team score of 22. Joginder then dismissed KB Pawan (10) lbw in the 13th over with Karanataka scoreboard reading 30 before Ganesh Satish (17) and Uthappa stitched a 39-run stand to put the visitors back on track. But just when it seemed the duo had put Karanataka back on track, Joginder struck again, dismissing Satish lbw in the 27th over. From there on, Uthappa and Pandey batted sensibly to take Karnataka to 84 for three in 30 overs before the sky opened up while the players were taking their lunch at the dressing room. With the downpour showing no signs of relenting, the umpires were finally forced to call off the day''s proceedings as the players remained indoors after the lunch. Earlier, the match was halted for 21 minutes before the lunch due to bad light.

Source: Published>

Asian Games boxing: Vijender in quarterfinals

Published>Wed, Nov 17 10 08:18 PM

Guangzhou, Nov 17 (IANS) India's Olympic bronze medallist Vijender Singh moved into the quarterfinal of the men's 75kg boxing competition at the Asian Games with a stunning 9-4 win over Chinese Taipei's Yu Ting Yang at the Foshan Gymnasium here Wednesday.

Vijender was trailing 1-2 after the second round but came back strongly in the last round, where he earned eight points. In the last 15 seconds, Vijender earned five points when he rained a series of blows on Yang.

In the quarterfinal, Vijender will face South Korea's Deokjin Cho, who defeated Turkmenistan's Aliasker Bashirov.

Vijender's compatriot Vikas Krishnan lost his first round bout in the 60kg category. Vikas lost 1-8 to Thailand's Saylom Ardee.

Source: Web Search

Brasa slams hockey pitches at Asian Games, criticises FIH

Wed, Nov 17 10 08:08 PM

Guangzhou, Nov 17 (PTI) Indian hockey''s chief coach Jose Brasa today slammed the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and the Asian Games orgainsers for using nylon pitches, saying the bouncy strip was not ideal for the international matches. Brasa''s comments came after India thrashed Bangladesh 9-0 in a bouncy turf at the Aoti Hockey Field in their second Group B match here today. "This pitch is not good for the game, the TV or the spectators. International matches should not be held on such pitches. I don''t know how these pitches have been approved for international hockey by the FIH. Only polypropylene pitches should be approved," the Spaniard said. Brasa, in his last assignment as India coach as his contract expires after the Asian Games, said the organisers should have tested the strips much before the mega-event. "Newly laid pitches should not be used as everyone, including the FIH, knows pitches take at least a year to settle down," he said. Incidentally, the Indian team had aired similar concerns about the pitch after their 4-0 win over Hong Kong in their opening match on Monday. Keeping aside the problems, Brasa said he was satisfied with his wards'' good start in the Games. "I am satisfied with the performance. We came with the intention of scoring six goals at least and got more. We missed a few chances," he said. On the forthcoming match against Pakistan, Brasa said the team will study their rival''s game before deciding on the strategy. "We will study how they are playing. We have a few days to do so and then decide what to do," he said.

Source: Published>

Vijender storms into quarterfinals in Asian Games

Wed, Nov 17 10 07:52 PM

Guangzhou, Nov 17 (PTI) Star pugilist Vijender Singh saved the best for the last round to outpunch Yu Ting Yang of Chinese Taipei 9-4 and storm into the 75kg quarterfinals of the boxing competition in the Asian Games here today. World number one Vijender, who got a first round bye, was finding hard to break into his opponent''s defence initially and was trailing 1-2 at the end of the second round before running away winner with a flurry of punches. The lanky Indian, who won bronze in the 2006 edition in Doha, showed his class in the third round by taking eight points against two by his unheralded opponent. There were some anxious moments in the Indian camp in the first two rounds when Vijender was finding it hard to break the tall Chinese Taipei boxer''s shell guard. Vijender scored his first point at the dying moments of the first round with an upper cut but the Chinese Taipei boxer came back strongly and scored two points in the second round to take a 2-1 lead, giving jitters to the Indian camp. The star Indian, however, settled the issue in the third round with a flurry of punches which left his opponent at the receiving end. He will take on South Korea''s Cho Deokjin in the quarterfinals. Vijender admitted he was finding it difficult to break his opponent''s defence initially and said he was under a bit of pressure after the second round. "My opponent tried to use his better height to his advantage by employing shell guard and I was finding a bit difficult to break it. Honestly, my heart beat was up after trailing in the second round," Vijender told PTI after his bout. "But once I did break his defence in the third round I was able to score freely," said the Olympic and World Championships bronze-medallist. Asked about his quarterfinal opponent, Vijender said, "I have fought against the Korean thrice earlier. I have beaten him twice and lost once." Earlier in the day, Vikas Krishan (60kg) advanced to the pre-quarterfinals after beating Thailand''s Saylom Ardee in his opening round bout. Suranjoy Singh (52kg) had also reached the pre-quarters yesterday. .

Source: Published>

Jayawardene reaches fifty before rain

Wed, Nov 17 10 07:48 PM

Mahela Jayawardene completed his 37th test fifty before rain washed out play on the third afternoon of the first test to leave Sri Lanka on 165 for three on Wednesday in reply to West Indies's 580 for nine declared.

Only 4.1 overs were bowled after lunch but the few minutes of play was sufficient to allow Jayawardene to reach an unbeaten 51 off 87 balls. Thilan Samaraweera was 11 not out.

Sri Lanka, who need to reach 381 to avoid the follow-on, were kept under pressure by the West Indian bowlers, losing two early wickets on an overcast morning at the Galle International Stadium.

Opener Tharanga Paranavitana (10) went in the third over after he had his off-stump knocked back by Kemar Roach to end a 55-run partnership with captain Kumar Sangakkara.

Jayawardene joined Sangakkara (73) at the crease and the two played some attractive strokes in raising a partnership of 71 for the third wicket.

However, Dwayne Bravo produced a big inswinging yorker 15 minutes before the lunch break to comprehensively bowl Sangakkara and put West Indies back in command.

Source: Published>

Saina reaches quarterfinals of women''s badminton

Wed, Nov 17 10 07:22 PM

Guangzhou, Nov 17 (PTI) Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal cruised into the second round of the women''s singles at the Asian Games after steamrolling Lydia Cheah of Malaysia in the the second round here today. The world number three Indian needed just 28 minutes to see off Lydia 21-15 21-17. She will next take on the winner between Yip Pui Yin of Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei''s Ma Hsiao Pai in the quarterfinals tomorrow. The second seed Indian held her serve for most of the time and scored points through her smashes in the first game. She was also better at the net. Saina opened up a 6-1 lead swiftly but Lydia narrowed the gap to 10-12. But the Indian was not bothered much and pocketed the first game easily. In the next game, Saina again raced to a comfortable 6-1 lead before moving to 20-11 but the Indian squandered six match points before closing the match. steamrolling Lydia Cheah of Malaysia in the the second round here today. The world number three Indian needed just 28 minutes to see off Lydia 21-15 21-17. She will next take on the winner between Yip Pui Yin of Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei''s Ma Hsiao Pai in the quarterfinals tomorrow. The second seed Indian held her serve for most of the time and scored points through her smashes in the first game. She was also better at the net. Saina opened up a 6-1 lead swiftly but Lydia narrowed the gap to 10-12. But the Indian was not bothered much and pocketed the first game easily. In the next game, Saina again raced to a comfortable 6-1 lead before moving to 20-11 but the Indian squandered six match points before closing the match.

Source: Published>

French players give up World Cup bonuses worth 2.5 million pounds

Published>Wed, Nov 17 10 06:52 PM

London, Nov 17(ANI): French players have finally drawn a line under their disastrous World Cup campaign by agreeing to give up their bonuses worth 2.5 million pounds.

French Football Federation (FFF) President Fernand Duchaussoy said that the money would now be distributed with football federation bosses.

"The players have confirmed that they are willing to give up any bonuses from partners and sponsors from the World Cup and the warm-up games which amounts to the sum of three million euros," the Daily Express quoted Duchaussoy, as saying.This amount will be given in its entirety to grass-roots and amateur football in France. I have been personally involved after having chats and group discussions with the players concerned."

"We think it is the right thing to do, it is for an appropriate cause. I would say that the subject is now closed and we can now concentrate on this fantastic game," he added.

Meanwhile, France's manager Laurent Blanc said that the dispute would not affect his side's preparations for tonight's friendly against England at Wembley.

The French team had to regain the respect of fans and the public after ending a World Cup campaign marked by a squad mutiny and the failure to win a single match.

France had registered a 2-1 defeat to South Africa, 2-0 loss to Mexico and a 0-0 draw with Uruguay to ensure that they exited in the first round by finishing last in its group. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

Asian Gams wushu: Sandhyarani settles for a silver

Published>Wed, Nov 17 10 06:28 PM

Guangzhou, Nov 17 (IANS) India's Sandhyarani Devi Wangkhem had to settle for a silver in wushu after she lost the women's sanshou 60kg final to Khadijeh AzadPour of Iran at the Asian Games here Wednesday.

The 27-year-old from Manipur had assured India of a silver when she beat beat Paloy Barckkham of Laos 2-0 in the semifinals.

This was India's second medal in Sanshou wushu after M. Bimoljit Singh finished with a bronze in the men's 60kg Tuesday.

Source: Web Search

Lean-mean-fighting-machine Rooney set for explosive comeback

Published>Wed, Nov 17 10 06:18 PM

London, Nov 17 (ANI): Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney will return to action as a lean, mean scoring machine after he lost almost half a stone during his American boot camp visit.

Rooney, 25, arrived back in Britain at the weekend after a week's rehabilitation for his ankle injury at Nike's Portland headquarters.

He looked far trimmer than last season after a five-day programme devised by his club's fitness experts, The Sun reports.

"It's the talk of the place how hard Wayne was worked out there. He was far from being overweight but he is now nicely tuned up again after the extended lay-off and injury problems," a United source said.

"The gaffer and his staff knew exactly what they were doing and now they are expecting it to pay rich rewards," the source added.

Rooney, who has just signed a new 250,000 pound-a-week contract, trained twice a day over the course of two days.

He then stepped up to three sessions for the remainder of his stay.

Boss Alex Ferguson hopes that Rooney can return for Saturday's clash with Wigan before next week's Champions League trip to Rangers.

Rooney has not played since the draw at Bolton at the end of September apart from an appearance as a sub four weeks ago. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

"Pak Player Still Not Paid for T20 World Cup": Geoff Lawson

Published>Wed, Nov 17 10 05:52 PM

Islamabad, Nov 17 (ANI): A Pakistani player has not yet received his payment for the Twenty20 World Cup, and this sort of unprofessionalism in the Pakistan cricket is the prime reason behind its inability to fulfil its potential on the world stage, former Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson has said.

"Just yesterday I was speaking with a player who represented Pakistan at the T20 World Cup and he still has not been paid," PakPassion.net quoted Lawson, as saying.

"To be a top side such as India, South Africa, England and Australia you need an administration that gives its players and its staff full support. The notion used for any successful organisation is that 'people are our greatest asset', however that is clearly not the direction of the current board as it tries to distance itself from its players," he added.

Commenting on the Zulqarnain Haider episode, he said that the Pakistan Cricket Board should have supported the troubled wicketkeeper.

"With Zulqarnain the PCB should have supported the player and tried to find out the full story. They instead decide to rip up his contract." Lawson said, adding, "That is not the way to treat your players."

Talking of the ongoing Pakistan-South Africa series in the UAE, the former coach said that he still feels that Pakistan has much to offer world cricket. "They have just played a good ODI series against South Africa and they showed they are still a very competitive team, definitely still one of the top playing nations."

Lawson expressed his amazement over how Pakistan can still perform even with all the controversies and the constant pressure, saying, "The way they play, it amazes me how well they play without the support from their board. Just imagine how well they could play with a proper structured administration which supported its players."

However, looking ahead to next year's World Cup in the subcontinent, Lawson rated Pakistan's chances at the prestigious event as "modest".

"Pakistan can beat any side on any given day but in a long tournament like the World Cup, consistency is required which they do not have," he explained.

Lawson believed it was the poor selection policy that was to be blamed for the inconsistency. "There is an ad-hoc selection system and there is no planning involved. They need to pick 15-16 players and stick with them for an extended period," he said. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

'US-based Man U owners forced to pay debts without using club funds'

Published>Wed, Nov 17 10 05:38 PM

London, Nov 17(ANI): Manchester United's US-based owners have been forced to repay the club's high-interest 220 million pound payment in kind (PIK) loan without using club funds, the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) has said.

MUST Chief Executive Duncan Drysdale said that Man U co-chairman Joel Glazer and his family would have raided the club's coffers, but decided against it fearing another public backlash.

"We all believe the Glazers would have used the money from the Cristiano Ronaldo sale and anything else they could get their hands on to pay this latest debt," the Sun quoted Drysdale, as saying.But when you see adverts in the national and local Press offering tickets for our next three home games - on top of protests about their handling of the club - there's no way they can risk alienating even more supporters," he added.

Earlier, in a statement accompanying its first-quarter results, the club's holding company- Red Football Joint Venture Ltd- had confirmed that the Glazer family has not taken money out of the club to pay off the loan.

"The board can confirm that there has been no dividend of club cash," the statement said. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

Coleen Rooney looking for 'home alone' pad in London

Published>Wed, Nov 17 10 05:28 PM

London, Nov 17 (ANI): Love-rat Wayne Rooney's wife Coleen is apparently hunting for a "home alone" pad in London.

She is determined to throw herself into her career and feels a London base is important.

But Manchester United ace Wayne is said to be far from happy at being left alone in Cheshire, while Coleen and baby son Kai stay in London for weeks on end.

"Things are still very tense between Coleen and Wayne," the Daily Star quoted a pal as saying.

"The tears are gone, she's now adopted a hard-nosed, career-minded approach. Coleen is determined to put herself first for once," another source said.

"Wayne doesn't want to be left home alone, but he hasn't got much say in the matter.

"Coleen is ambitious and she's not afraid of going out and making her own opportunities," the source added.

In a further blow for Wayne, Coleen is thinking of asking her family to make the move with her so mum Colette, 48, can look after one-year-old Kai. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

Gilchrist says England favourites but not guaranteed the Ashes

Published>Wed, Nov 17 10 05:22 PM

Sydney, Nov 17(ANI): Former Australian wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist is anticipating another tight Ashes series between Australia and England, and believes that either team can win the urn.

Gilchrist reckons that England are the favourites, but insists that reminding the likes of Alastair Cook and James Anderson about the 2006 Ashes whitewash horror could reopen wounds.

"England are favourites now, but that doesn't guarantee the Ashes. Cook will have bad memories of his last visit. And Anderson could have his mind cast back to his lack of success four years ago," the Sun quoted Gilchrist, as saying.

"If Australia get on top, they could deflate the team very quickly," he added.

England will be defending the urn they claimed with a 2-1 success on home soil last year.

The first of the five Ashes Tests will be held at The Gabba in Brisbane from November 25 to 29.

It will be followed by Tests in Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney.

The tour also has two Twenty20 clashes and a seven-match ODI series. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

FIFA publishes reports on 2018, 2022 World Cup bids

Wed, Nov 17 10 05:08 PM

FIFA published its evaluation of the bids to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups on Wednesday following visits by its inspection committee to each country.

However, soccer's governing body made public only the executive summary of the reports on each bid, rather than the full reports themselves.

The reports assessed the legal risk, in particular the level of government support, accommodation, transport, technology infrastructure and event safety and security of each bid.

England, Russia, Spain/Portugal and Belgium/Netherlands are bidding to host the 2018 World Cup while Japan, South Korea, United States, Australia and Qatar are candidates for 2022.

FIFA will chose both hosts in Zurich on Dec. 2.

Source: Published>

Man City winger Wright-Phillips to be quizzed over nightclub bloodbath

Published>Wed, Nov 17 10 04:58 PM

London, Nov 17(ANI): Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips will be quizzed as a witness to a nightclub bloodbath in which the club manager suffered a severe facial injury.

According to the Sun, violence had erupted in Manchester's Panacea club at around 2.50am on Sunday after Wright-Phillips was spotted chatting to a female reveller.

"Officers are going to talk to Shaun. He was an observer," the tabloid quoted a Manchester City insider, as saying.

A witness confirmed that Wright-Phillips was in the club when the incident took place.

"I was next to Wright-Phillips at the time it kicked off and he was with a girl. Then more people became involved - about 15 for at least five minutes. The players used a side exit and were bundled into cars. There were a lot of footballers in there, but they never got involved with any trouble," the witness said.

Panacea club manager Joe Akka suffered a facial injury in the mayhem when he was attacked close to the club's VIP area.

Witnesses have told Greater Manchester Police (GMP) that they saw Akka being smashed in the face with a glass.

Akka was taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary where it is understood he underwent surgery.

Meanwhile, a GMP spokesman said that a 36-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault, and bailed until January pending further inquiries. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

Indian bowlers went verbally hard at Williamson during Hyderabad Test: Greatbatch

Published>Wed, Nov 17 10 04:56 PM

Hyderabad, Nov 17(ANI): New Zealand coach Mark Greatbatch has said that Indian bowlers were using sledging as a tactic to unsettle young batsman Kane Williamson during the drawn second Test in Hyderabad.

Fresh from scoring 131 on debut in the Ahmedabad Test, Williamson made his presence felt by scoring a patient 69 and sharing a match saving fifth-wicket partnership of 124 with Brendon McCullum.

"The Indians went hard at him verbally through Harbhajan Singh and (Zaheer) Khan," Stuff.co.nz quoted Greatbatch, as saying.

"They tried to engage with him, but he just disengaged after every ball and focused on his game, relaxed and went back into the box for the next ball," he added.

The coach further said that the 20-year-old showed maturity beyond his years to relieve the pressure on McCullum.

"He has a real ability to play his way whatever the situation, whether we are on top or behind the eight ball. He got some stuff early that was proactive with. He got underway quickly and Brendon didn't have to do too much," Greatbatch said.

"Kane took it to the opposition and they had to change their strategy," he added. (ANI)

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