IPL fiasco: parliamentary panel summons PCB heads

Published>Mon, Feb 01 10 04:00 PM

Islamabad, Feb 1 (IANS) A parliamentary panel has summoned officials of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Wednesday to explain the circumstances under which the country's players were ignored at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction last week.

The National Assembly's Standing Committee on Sports will question PCB chairman Ijaz Butt and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Wasim Bari on the IPL fiasco in which none of the 11 Pakistani players on offer found any takers.

This apart, the officials, as also Pakistani team coach Intikhab Alam, will have to explain the 0-3 loss to Australia in the Test series and the 0-5 loss in the just-concluded One-day International series.

The two Twenty20 match ban handed to stand-in captain Shahid Afridi for ball tampering in fifth ODI at Perth will also come in for discussions, with PCB director general Javed Miandad being summoned 'to know the reasons and problems which the legendary batsman (Afridi) is facing besides hurdles in PCB', Online news agency reported.

The standing committee had taken 'belligerent notice of Pakistan's pathetic defeat at the hands of Australia both in Tests and ODI's besides Pakistani superstars being ignored for the cash rich IPL', the agency added.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) Sunday banned Afridi for two Twenty20 matches.

Afridi, who was leading the side in the final ODI in the absence of an injured Mohammad Yousuf, was caught by TV cameras appearing to chew on one side of the white ball, shortly before the umpires changed it at the end of the 45th over.

Afridi admitted the charge, after which match referee Ranjan Madugalle slapped the ban.

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John Terry's 'romp scoresheet' could leave Tiger Woods behind

Published>Mon, Feb 01 10 03:54 PM

London, Feb 1 (ANI): English football captain John Terry is now being compared to golfer Tiger Woods after his romps with a string of secret lovers were revealed.

The married footie's name has already been linked to 10 girls, and if sources are to be believed Terry could outscore Woods with his flings.

"John Terry has a problem. He's like Tiger Woods and doesn't give a damn who he hurts. He's a sex addict and needs to take a good look at himself," the Daily Star quoted a Premier League source, as saying.

Glamour girl Alicia Douvall, 30, and promotions model Jayne Connery, 42, are among those who claim to have slept with Terry.

Model Shalimar Wimble, 36, claims he had sex with her at Wayne Bridge's mansion. He is also believed to have bedded Emma Kearney, then 31, Rebecca Ryan, then 18, Nicola Ulian, then 26, and ex-porn star Karina Clarke, then 24.

Terry has also been linked to Lianne Johnson, then 21, and is said to have romped in his Bentley with 17-year-old Jenny Barker in 2005.

Shamed golf star Woods, 34, is currently reported to have had 19 mistresses. (ANI)

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Meet Mike Tyson, the dancer

Published>Mon, Feb 01 10 03:40 PM

London, Feb 1 (ANI): Boxer Mike Tyson has jumped from the ring to the stage to prove he can be as good with his feet as with his fists.

The 43-year-old former heavyweight champion appeared on Dancing With The Stars, Italian television's version of Strictly Come Dancing, as a special guest at the weekend, reports the Daily Express.

The pugilist, nick named Iron Mike, scored well on points with partner Elena Coniglio. (ANI)

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Hussey dethrones Dhoni from ODI batsman top spot

Published>Mon, Feb 01 10 03:20 PM

Australian middle-order batsman Michael Hussey dethroned Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni from the top spot in the ICC ODI batsmen chart updated on Monday.

Hussey, whose 46-ball 40 was instrumental in Australia's win in the fifth ODI against Pakistan on Sunday in Perth, has 825 rating points, three more than Dhoni who also had a good show in the recent tri-series in Bangladesh.

Sachin Tendulkar (at seventh), who skipped the Bangladesh tri-series, and Virender Sehwag (at ninth) are the other Indian batsmen in the top 10 with 723 and 702 points respectively.

Yuvraj Singh (12th), Gautam Gambhir (19th) and Suresh Raina (20th) make it to the top 20. Bangladesh tri-series top-scorer Virat Kohli is at 21st.

Among the bowlers, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh is the only Indian in the top 10 at sixth. Pacer Zaheer Khan is the next highest ranked Indian at 21st.

Meanwhile, India retained the second spot in the ODI team chart at 121 rating points, 12 adrift of leaders Australia who beat Pakistan 5-0 in the series concluded on Sunday.

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Jaffer to lead Mumbai in zonal one-day tournament

Published Mon, Feb 01 10 03:04 PM

Mumbai, Feb 1 (PTI) Wasim Jaffer will lead Mumbai in the West Zone one-day league to be held at Ahmedabad from February 10-14. The team: Wasim Jaffer (capt), Ajit Agarkar, Ramesh Powar, Rohit Sharma, Abhishek Nayar, Ajinkya Rahane, Aditya Tare, Usman Malvi, Abhishek Raut, Dhaval Kulkarni, Sushant Marathe, Avishkar Salvi, Iqbal Abdulla, Suryakumar Yadav, Harmeet Singh. Coach: Pravin Amre.

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Wenger criticises 'naeve' Arsenal players after loss to Man U

Published>Mon, Feb 01 10 02:10 PM

London, Feb 1 (ANI): Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has launched a fierce attack on his players after branding them "naive" following a devastating 3-1 defeat against Manchester United.

Wenger said it would take "something special" for them to get back into the title race after losing to bitter rivals Manchester United.

"We were naive. We were never close in our marking, and you do not win big games like that. It's difficult to accept but easy to explain: we were poor defensively and offensively, cohesion-wise, and delivered an off the mark performance completely. It's a massive disappointment for us," The Mirror quoted Wenger, as saying.

"We were poor defensively and offensively. We didn't really have much cohesion in the team. We gave them too much room. There were massive individual errors. That's why we were well beaten. We gave them too much room and were naive. We have to stick together and put in a better performance at Chelsea next Sunday," he said.

"Next Sunday, we have to deliver another (kind of) performance before we can think about winning the game. We have to deliver a completely different performance about this," Wenger said.

Arsenal was beaten by Manchester United's in-form Wayne Rooney who scored his 100th Premier League goal in a stunning man-of-the-match performance.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson paid tribute to Rooney by calling him "unbelievable."

"I think he was the key point for us because they just couldn't handle him. Everything was played towards him, behind him or in front of him, he was on it all the time. It was really great play today," Ferguson said. (ANI)

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'Arsenal fighting to be in Premier League title hunt'

Published>Mon, Feb 01 10 01:40 PM

London, Feb 1 (ANI): Boss Arsene Wenger has confessed that Arsenal is now fighting to save their title challenge after his side lost 3-1 to Manchester United at the Emirates.

The Gunners' manager admitted the Premier League race could all be over if Arsenal surrender again against leaders Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this weekend.

Wenger said: "We need to do something special now to stay in the race. Of course I'm conscious of that."

"It's difficult to accept - but easy to explain. We were poor defensively and offensively and delivered an off-the-mark performance completely," The Sun quoted Wenger, as saying.

"That's why we were well beaten. It's a massive blow and a massive disappointment. We gave them too much room, were naive and there were massive individual errors," he said.

Wenger lashed his side for failing to cope with most of United's stars.

He pointed out that United had taken one point from their last six games against clubs in the top four and yesterday's victory was their first away from home against a top-four team in two seasons.

But his comments contrasted with his pre-match declaration that Arsenal is a "different animal" to the one that meekly capitulated against United in last season's Champions League semi-final. (ANI)

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