Powell and Gay to race over 100 metres in Gateshead

Published Mon, Jun 21 10 05:37 PM

Former world record holder Asafa Powell and world silver medallist Tyson Gay will meet for the first time this season over 100 metres at the Diamond League meeting in Gateshead on July 10, the IAAF said on Monday.

Gay, the second-fastest man in the world behind record holder Usain Bolt, has changed his distance from the 200 to the 100 for the Gateshead meeting.

"I know that I have a pretty serious race lined up with Gay competing as well and I'll be going all out to make sure that I get a faster time," Jamaican Powell, the fastest man this year, said in a statement.

"Myself and Tyson are clearly the two that are going after the world record but I truly believe that it's mine to lose at the moment."

American Gay, who has had a back problem, has yet to make his debut in the Diamond League series. The pair will face each other again in London in August.

"Racing against Asafa in London and Gateshead will mean that we are pushing each other to run faster and get closer to that 9.50 that I see as a real possibility and something that I'm aiming for," Gay said.

Bolt's world record is 9.58 seconds, set at last year's Berlin world championships.

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WC pitches: ICC not trying to enforce anything in specific

Published Mon, Jun 21 10 05:27 PM

Mohali, Jun 21 (PTI) International Cricket Council is not trying to enforce anything in specific with regards to the preparation of the pitches for the upcoming World Cup in the Asian sub-continent, ICC pitch consultant Andy Atkinson said today. "We are not trying to enforce anything in specific as there can be no way we can have a standardised system for the pitches. We only want wickets that have even and consistent bounce and that behaves more or less uniformly for 100 overs," Atkinson said after inspecting the Punjab Cricket Association ground here. Atkinson said he was "fairly happy" with things at the PCA stadium and there were "no real concerns". "I am reasonably happy (with the ground). There is nothing much to report," he said about the stadium, which is rated among the best in India. "ICC is going to hold its Annual General Meeting in Dubai shortly where I am going to submit my report," Atkinson, who has so far inspected 13 venues besides about 30 training grounds during the past three weeks in the sub-continent, said. The 43-day-long World Cup will be played in February next year across 13 venues in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, with the final on April 2 at Mumbai''s Wankhede stadium. On being asked about the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in Delhi, where the final match of the India-Sri Lanka ODI series last year was being abandoned due to pitch behaviour, Atkinson said turf has now been re-laid and things are looking much better. "I was there yesterday. We are expecting rainy season to begin and the pitch should benefit from that. Things there (Kotla) may be slightly behind schedule, but there is not anything worrying. Stadium is looking good," he said. Atkinson informed that there will be a "big inspection" of all the venues sometime in October, where a group of 15-20 top officials of the ICC will make a complete check of the facilities that includes the stadium, flood lights, airports, ticket allocations and hotel accommodation. He said the ICC has directed to have the playing grounds shut 4-5 weeks before the mega-event begins. To a question, Atkinson said that weather and local conditions play a key role in preparations of the pitches around the world. "In England where the weather generally remains cold, we have 32 per cent clay content while preparing a pitch while in venues like Mohali it is 60 per cent. Clay content in Indian pitches varies between 50-70 per cent," he said. He said the quality of pitches in India has improved quite a lot during the past 5-6 years. "Grounds in India now boast of good facilities including training areas. This is a pat on the back for Indian cricket and the BCCI." PTI SUN SHN

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Kochi IPL and BCCI officails visit Kochi to asses the facilities

Published>Mon, Jun 21 10 05:17 PM

Kochi (Kerala), June 21 (ANI): BCCI officials and the owners Kochi IPL consortium company Rendezvous Sports Worldd visited Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium to take the stock of the facilities at Kochi on Monday.

After assessing the overall facilities at the stadium by the IPL CEO Sundar Raman with others held preliminary discussions with the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) officials.

The officials were well satisfied with the arrangements and like the stadium but suggested to get some maintenance in the future before the match for which a decision will be taken soon said Vivek Nair of Rendezvous Sports.ochi is likely to be a ODI venue in October when the Australians are scheduled to visit India for a seven match ODI series, a KCA official said.

Besides Kochi Team CEO P T Keshav, Mr. Venugopal, co-owner Mehul Shah of the consortium also held various important discussions and visited places in an around Kochi.

The consortium had bagged the Kochi IPL bid for Rs. 1500 crore. By Juhan Samuel(ANI)

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SA prostitutes blast cops for scaring World Cup customers away

Published>Mon, Jun 21 10 05:07 PM

London, June 21 (ANI): Sex workers in South Africa have revealed that they are not doing good business, as cops are scaring away any potential customers at the World Cup.

They had hoped to cash in on the influx of foreign visitors, but prostitutes in Johannesburg say that it is getting tougher by the day.

"We have children to support," Sky News quoted two women in the city's red light district, as saying.

"We came here from the Transkei to try to make some money, but it's tough," they said.

The women claim the police crackdown has been violent.

Thandi, a sex worker in Johannesburg for 20 years, said she had been subjected to "harassment, abuse and rape".

"They want bribes. If we can't pay, they have sex with us and they don't pay. I call that rape," she said.

The fear of HIV may have also contributed to the slump, even though most of the women claim to practise safe sex, with only a few willing to forego a condom.

The prostitutes working the streets of Johannesburg charge around 3 pounds, while those who operate in the many hotel brothels earn just a few pounds more. (ANI)

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I have conquered demons in my batting: Yasir Hameed

Published>Mon, Jun 21 10 05:05 PM

Islamabad, June 21 (ANI): Pakistan right-hand batsman Yasir Hameed, who has been recalled to the national squad after a three year old hiatus for the upcoming series against England, believes that he has conquered the demons in his batting technique because of which he had struggled ever since he made his record breaking debut.

Hameed admitted that there were flaws in his technique, and said he has worked really hard to rectify them.

"I've worked really hard on the problems I had against spin and I've done a lot of homework on this specific problem. I believe that I've conquered that demon now and that I wont be facing those issues again," Hameed told Cricistan.com.

One of Hameed's major problems was that of fishing for deliveries outside his off stump, but he claims that he had practised tirelessly to put it right.

"As for my off-stump weakness. I've been using a tape ball to learn when to leave the ball and when to go for it. What I do is take a tape ball and tear up one side of it, then I practise with the ball swinging both ways. It's all about patience and application and I've been working hard on both those things," said Hameed, who is only the second batsman to score centuries in both innings on his Test debut. (ANI)

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Mexico and Uruguay poised to advance from Group A

Published>Mon, Jun 21 10 03:37 PM

Bloemfontein, June 21 (DPA) A draw would be enough for Uruguay and Mexico to progress to the last 16 of the World Cup football Tuesday, in the process knocking out hosts South Africa and France who clash in the other Group A match.

But Mexico, who drew their opener 1-1 with South Africa and then beat France 2-0, have inferior goal difference to Uruguay, and may be less inclined to settle for the single point in Rustenburg.

A second place finish in the group would probably see them face an on-form Argentina in the second round.

Admirably free-flowing in their approach, with an adventurous system that morphs between 4-3-3 and 3-4-3 as both captain Rafael Marquez and the two full-backs have licence to get forward, Mexico's attacking style faces its toughest test yet against a Uruguay team that is yet to concede a goal.

After neutralising France in their goalless opener, Uruguay then turned in a consummate performance to first stifle South Africa and then pick them off on the break, winning 3-0.

South Africa play France in Bloemfontein knowing they have to win and score as many goals as possible if they are to stand any chance of avoiding becoming the first World Cup host nation to be knocked out in the first round.

At the Free State Stadium, Bafana Bafana look to count on the support of the home crowd who have a reputation as the most passionate in the land.

They could also draw additional advantage from the turmoil that has hit the French side ahead of the match.

Dismal performances with Uruguay and in particular against Mexico, preceded internal rows that have left Les Bleus in disarray.

First, striker Nicolas Anelka was expelled from the squad after he refused to apologise for insulting coach Raymond Domenech during the half-time break of the match with Mexico.

Then Sunday on the eve of France's departure for Bloemfontein, the players walked out of a training session at their Knysna base camp, in protest of the Chelsea striker's expulsion.

It remains to be seen if France will be able to find some semblance of team cohesion for the game in Bloemfontein.

Both Domenech and South Africa's Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira will be forced to make some changes to their starting line-ups.

Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune who was sent off against the Latin Americans after conceding a penalty, is likely to be replaced by Moeneeb Josephs, while Thanduyise Khuboni could step in for Fulham midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi who is also suspended.

In addition, several players performed poorly against Uruguay, including fullback Siboniso Gaxa, captain and centreback Aaron Mokoena and wide midfielder Teko Modise, and cannot be sure of starting in Bloemfontein.

And with South Africa's negative 3 goal difference, Parreira may also seek to beef up an attack which has been based on lone striker Katlego Mphela.

In Anelka's absence, Barcelona's Thierry Henry is likely to start the match for France who will also be missing suspended Olympique Lyon midfielder Jeremy Toulalan.

Bordeaux's Yoann Gourcuff whose exclusion by Domenech against Mexico was criticised by Zinedine Zidane among others, could be recalled to the team in his play-making role.

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India, Lanka to test each other''s reserves in tomorrow''s tie

Published Mon, Jun 21 10 03:33 PM

Joseph Hoover Dambulla (Sri Lanka), Jun 21 (PTI) Having qualified for Thursday''s final, both India and Sri Lanka will test each other''s nerves and reserves in an inconsequential first round Asia Cup match at the Rangiri International Stadium here tomorrow. While Kumar Sangakkara''s Lanka have a fit and fighting side, India have been plagued by injuries to key players. With Virender Sehwag nursing a pulled hamstring, the team management has flown in Dinesh Karthik but Jharkhand batsman Saurabh Tiwary will fancy his chances of making his ODI debut tomorrow. In the bowling department, Ashish Nehra is said to have recovered from back spasms which had hampered his movement in the field against Pakistan but it is unlikely the left-arm seamer will play tomorrow. In his absence, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has the option of playing medium pacer Ashok Dinda, left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha or Ravichandran Ashwin, whose off-spin bowling could be handy on this surface. Interestingly, all the offbreak bowlers have done reasonably well here. Among the batsmen, Gautam Gambhir has been India''s man in form with successive scores of 82 and 83. Dhoni himself is hitting the ball well, as is Suresh Raina, who contributed a significant 34 in the win against Pakistan. But the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are yet to prove their prowess in the tournament. Though nothing will be at stake tomorrow, star spinner Harbhajan Singh said the team would be serious in their approach. "This is an important game for us. We don''t take any game lightly. Obviously, if we win the match, we can go to the final with a better frame of mind," said Harbhajan. Sri Lanka have had a fantastic run in the tournament, defeating Pakistan by 16 runs and crushing Bangladesh by a huge margin of 126 runs. Their batsmen have been in great nick and opener Tillakaratne Dilshan has been in roaring form. Sangakkara himself, along with Mahela Jayawardene and Angelo Mathews, looks in touch while Upul Tharanga and Chamara Kapugedara have also been among the runs. Their bowling unit is arguably better than India with Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara and left-arm fast bowler Chanaka Welegedara having already made their mark in the tournament.

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