Pakistan face Bangladesh in tricky World Cup opener

Published Fri, Apr 30 10 02:22 PM

St Lucia, Apr 30 (PTI) Smarting from an embarrassing defeat to Zimbabwe in a warm-up match, defending champions Pakistan will have to quickly get their act together as they have a tricky opener against Bangladesh in the Twenty20 World Cup here tomorrow. Last night''s defeat came as a rude shock for the defending champions, who had beaten Sri Lanka in the summit clash of the previous edition at Lord''s to clinch the title. Pakistan have played very few Twenty20 matches in the last one year and some of their top cricketers were banned and fined for indiscipline. Prominent among them are Shoaib Malik, who got married to Indian tennis star Sania Mirza recently, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and former skipper Younus Khan and all of them will be missing in action in the World Cup. Hence the onus would be on skipper Shahid Afridi, who was also fined for USD 35,000, to ensure that his teammates puts behind all such issues and give their best. Yesterday, Pakistan had a batting collapse with opener Khalid Latif, Mohammad Hafeez, Afridi and Umar Akmal all managing single digit scores. Senior player Abdul Razzaq also managed just two runs as they folded for 131 chasing Zimbabwe''s 143 in 20 overs. Afridi will have to make sure that this defeat doesn''t dent the team''s morale and has no bearing in tomorrow''s clash against Bangladesh. Although failing with bat, Afridi at least picked up four wickets against Zimbabwe with his leg-spin and it will boost his confidence which reflect positively in his captaincy tomorrow. Despite the loss, Pakistan remains a formidable side and Bangladesh will have to play out of their skin to beat them. With just three wins -- against Kenya, Zimbabwe and the West Indies -- out of their 14 Twenty20 internationals in 2006 and 2007, Bangladesh don''t have anything to show. Also in their seven matches at the previous editions of the Twenty20 World Cup, Bangladesh have won just one match -- against the West Indies. To top that, a seven-wicket loss to England in a warm-up match in Barbados on Wednesday must have dented their confidence. However, Bangladesh will take heart from their 2007 50-over World Cup exploits in the Caribbean when they beat India in the Group stage. Bangladesh have the likes of captain Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful, Abdur Razzak, who can guide the team to an upset win.

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Atletico the toast of Spanish football after surviving in Anfield

Published>Fri, Apr 30 10 02:18 PM

Madrid, April 30 (DPA) Atletico Madrid are the toast of Spanish football after they managed to reach the final of the new Europa League Thursday.

Atletico were losing 2-0 in Anfield away to Liverpool and on their way out of the competition - until an extra-time goal from Diego Forlan allowed them to go through on the away goals rule.

Atletico will face surprise package Fulham in the final, in Hamburg May 12.

Their exploits in Anfield are front-page news in practically every Spanish newspaper on Friday.

El Mundo praises the 'character and courage' of the Atletico players, La Vanguardia compares their performance to earlier 'courageous displays' away to Sporting Lisbon and Galatasaray.

Sports daily Marca comments that Atletico 'are important again in Europe', 24 years after reaching their last European final.

ABC, for its part, comments that Atletico's exploits in Anfield 'have cheered up Spain, after what happened to Barcelona Wednesday.'

Barca crashed out of the Champions Cup against ultra-defensive Inter Milan.

Friday's newspapers are full of praise for Forlan, who has scored vital goals in practically every round, and for coach Quique Sanchez Flores.

Quique has turned out to be the revelation of the Spanish season.

He was out of contract last summer after an undistinguished spell at Benfica. He was given the difficult task of revitalizing Atletico in November, after Abel Resino had been sacked.

'Quique has worked hard to restore morale and confidence at the club,' said sports daily AS on Friday, 'and has fully exploited all the talent that the team has in attack, at the same time as rebuilding a troubled defence.'

In particular, his decisions to pick teenage goalkeeper David de Gea and young defender Alvaro Dominguez have been lauded.

Quique has taken Forlan and company out of relegation trouble - they are now in comfortable 10th place - and into two cup finals.

They face Sevilla in the final of the King's Cup in Barcelona May 19.

Around 2,000 Atletico fans accompanied their team to Liverpool. A similar number celebrated the result in Madrid's Plaza de Neptuno, the downtown square where Atletico's triumphs are traditionally celebrated.

More than 15,000 'atleticos' are expected to make the trip to Hamburg and around double that number to Barcelona for the final of the King's Cup.

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Awards continue to rack up for injured Rooney

Published Fri, Apr 30 10 02:08 PM

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney claimed his second major award of a remarkable season on Friday when he was named Footballer of the Year for the first time by the Football Writers Association (FWA).

Rooney, who has scored 34 goals for United in all competitions this season, took 80 percent of the votes cast by members of the FWA.

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba was a distant second in the voting with Manchester City's Argentine frontman Carlos Tevez in third position.

"I am delighted to win an award with so much history and tradition and to follow a long line of wonderful players who have been honoured by the FWA since 1948 gives me real pride," Rooney said.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank my manager at United Sir Alex Ferguson, the coaching staff and my team mates without whose help and support this award would not have been possible."

Rooney, who was voted PFA Player of the Year on Sunday and also the Premier League's fans Player of the Season this week, has successfully filled the void left by the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid although the tail end of his season has been interrupted by injury.

He is unlikely to play in United's final two Premier League games as they try and overhaul Chelsea at the top of the table because of a groin strain having recovered quicker than expected from an ankle injury.

"Wayne is a worthy winner of our prestigious award and the margin of his victory is testimony to the marvellous season he has had for club and country," FWA chairman Steve Bates said on announcing the award.

"His tally of 34 goals so far this season is certain to have captured the attention of our members but I am sure the overall improvement in his game at Manchester United has been of equal significance.

"Wayne's enthusiasm, hunger and desire mark him out as a special player and we hope he can carry his club form on to the international stage in the World Cup this summer and help England achieve their dream."

Rooney will be presented with his trophy in London on May 13.

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'Shattered' Lee vows to play on despite latest injury setback

Published>Fri, Apr 30 10 01:22 PM

St. Lucia, Apr 30(ANI): Australian fast bowler Brett Lee has been shattered by his latest injury setback, but he is determined to play on and force his way back into the national one-day side for the July tour against Pakistan in England.

Lee sustained a muscle strain in his right forearm during the arm up game against Zimbabwe, which has ruled him out of the wenty20 World Cup and also raised doubts over his international areer

However, Lee's manager, Neil Maxwell, said the 33-year-old fast bowler was not considering international retirement following his fifth notable injury in the past 16 months.

"I don't think that he is at that mindset at the moment," The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Maxwell, as saying.

"There is no doubt this is the home straight [of his career], but he knows that last October-November he was playing the best cricket of his career," he added.

Teammate Nathan Hauritz is also confident that Lee would be able to make recover fully and make a strong comeback.

"Knowing Brett the way I do, he'll work hard because he still wants to play a lot of cricket. He'll have to do a lot of work," he added.

Earlier, Australian team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris had said that the injury was unrelated to Lee's career-threatening surgery on the same elbow late last year, and said the fast bowler could be back in action within five weeks.

"I think as a long-term injury it shouldn't be that serious. It's basically a strain on his forearm muscle just on the inside of his elbow. We don't see a lot of them. His long-term future is not the problem," Kountouris said.

"The issue now is whether Lee can summon the mental strength for yet another comeback for a body that keeps asking: when is enough enough?" he added.

The 33-year-old Lee, who has also battled foot, ankle and rib problems, had retired from Test cricket in February to prolong his career in the shorter forms of the game. (ANI)

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India take on unheralded Afghanistan in T20 WC opener

Published Fri, Apr 30 10 01:08 PM

Joseph Hoover St Lucia (WI), Apr 30 (PTI) Up against an unheralded Afghanistan in their tournament-opener, India will have to guard against complacency to ensure a flying start to their campaign in the T20 cricket World Cup here tomorrow. Considering there is very little room for errors in the slam-bang format of the game, India would have to be at their best to avoid the ignominy of being destroyed by the minnows of international cricket. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has already warned his star-studded legion not to underestimate Afghanistan and teammate Yuvraj was also worried about the X-factor of their opponents, who have caught the imagination of the world over the last two years. "It can be dangerous when you don''t know what the opposition is like. After ten overs you will end up in a situation when you don''t know what you are going to do. "They have a cricket culture in their country. It is not that somebody has just sprung up from no where. They definitely have that little bit of cricket in them. We need to be on top of our game tomorrow," said Yuvraj. Considering that a loss tomorrow can jeopardise their Super Eights hopes, India are expected to have their best men on the park. While Murali Vijay may make his debut, it is unlikely they would blood R Vinay Kumar, who though could be handy on this slow-paced deck. The Indian top-order has been fortified with the presence of Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, who was in rollicking form during the just-concluded IPL. Down the order, there is Yusuf Pathan, who can murder any opponent with his big-hitting spree, while in Mahendra Singh Dhoni, they have someone who gets going when the going gets tough. Ravindra Jadeja, whose imprudence forced him out of the IPL, is a gutsy customer who can use the long handle to good effect down the order. His accurate left-arm spin will come in handy if the likes of Zaheer Khan, Asish Nehra, Praveen Kumar go for runs far too many. Harbhajan Singh, Pathan and Yuvraj strengthen the bowling stable, giving it the teeth that India have been longing for in the big event environment. Afghanistan, on the other hand, have already rang a warning bell, saying they have some tricks up their sleeves and were capable of surprising the Indians at the Beausejour Cricket Ground tomorrow. "It is good that they don''t know us because when they know about you they will plan. Luckily, we know everything about them. We have seen all their IPL games. We will give them a surprise which will make them remember us after the game," Afghan coach Kabir Khan said. More PTI JH ATK MRM

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We will surprise India: Afghan coach

Published Fri, Apr 30 10 12:52 PM

Joseph Hoover St Lucia, Apr 30 (PTI) Afghanistan coach Kabir Khan has warned the Indians, saying his side was unperturbed by their reputation and will look to exploit the surprise element to upset Mahendra Singh Dhoni''s men in their twenty20 World Cup opener tomorrow. "On the technical side it is good that they don''t know us because when they know about you they will plan. The coaches will watch the videos and work on our weakness. Luckily, we know everything about them. We have seen all their IPL games. We will give them a surprise which will make them remember us after the game," Kabir said. Another important component of their team, all-rounder Karim Sadiq feels the fact that they don''t depend on any individual gives them an edge over the mighty Indians. "They have all performed. We haven''t got a certain guy we bank on. We have got a batting line-up which runs down to number eight. And we have got seven bowlers to choose from. "If one batsman fails, the other one will win us the match. If one bowler doesn''t perform, another guy will bowl well. It has been a story of total team performance. I think we have good side which is capable of pulling off an upset," Karim explained. Captain Nawroz Mangal also exuded confidence and said his side would give their everything and grab the opportunity of playing at such a high level. "We are very happy that we are here. We worked really hard for it for the last two years and that has put us in the top 12 teams in the competition. "We know there is a lot of pressure back home. But we have already fought in pressure cooker conditions and we are used to it. We will give our 100 per cent in this pressure game," said Nawroz. More than their epoch-making performances, Nawroz was glad that cricket had unified the people of Afghanistan. "It is a great achievement. If we have qualified, it is because of the whole nation''s prayers. If the whole nation is praying for you, it means that it is bringing the whole nation together. Cricket is already playing a role in Afghanistan and it can play a major role in the peace process in the region," emphasised the 28-year-old. "We have been playing together for the last seven-eight years. The players are united and they love their country. They are hungry for cricket and want to prove that they are the next coming cricket team nation in the world. .

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Warner strikes again as Aussies rout Windward Islands in T20 WC warm-up tie

Published>Fri, Apr 30 10 12:48 PM

St. Lucia, Apr 30(ANI): Australian opener David Warner scored his second successive half-century to guide his team to an thumping 101 run victory against Windward Islands in their final warm-up match ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup.

The Australian side batted first upon agreement, and Tim Paine, Daniel Christian and Nathan Hauritz played for Windward Islands - presumably to make a game of it.

Warner scored 51 from 41 deliveries in Australia's score of 189 for eight. He struck five fours and two sixes and dominated an opening stand of 57 with Shane Watson (17), The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Windward Islands replied with 88 all out, as fast bowler Shaun Tait (2-19) and spinner Steve Smith (2-15) grabbed two wickets apiece.

The Australian score was also bolstered by Twenty20 specialist David Hussey's quickfire 49 and skipper Michael Clarke's 30 from 23 balls.

Warner goes into Australia's Group A clash with Pakistan on Sunday in top form after blasting 72 from 49 balls in Tuesday's one-run loss to Zimbabwe.

Brief Scorecard:

Australia 189-8 (David Warner 51, David Hussey 49; Mathews 3-34)Windward Islands (Dan Christian 20; Shaun Tait 2-19) (ANI)

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