Captain Clarke's woeful run threatening his Twenty20 career

Published>Tue, Jul 06 10 01:37 PM

Melbpurne, Jul 6 (ANI): Australia Twenty20 skipper Michael Clarke's bad form in the shortest version of the game continues, as pressure grows to up his scoring rate after his soft dismissal in the team's 23-run loss in the opening match against Pakistan at Edgbaston.

Clarke scored five before mistiming a delivery from medium-pacer Abdul Razzaq to Shahid Afridi at cover in Birmingham.

It is now seven matches since he last reached 30, and has made 97 runs at 13.85 since the start of this year's World Twenty20 in the Caribbean, the Daily Telegraph reports.

Clarke admits that his conventional scoring methods and slow scoring rate by Twenty20's standards causes pressure on his teammates down the order.

"I think as a batsman you always want to score runs and as a bowler you always want to take wickets. Like in any form of the game if you are not scoring runs you need to find a way," he said.

Clarke said he was prepared to bat down the order if that helped the team get off to brighter starts. "I will try to do whatever the team needs to be honest, I will speak to the coach and the vice-captain Bundy (Cameron White) and see what their thoughts are."

"For me it is just batting where the team needs me. I just have to score more runs,' he added.

Clarke knows that regular failures in the 20-over format will eventually force the selectors to drop him from the squad.

Australia plays Pakistan in the second and final Twenty20 match in Birmingham on Wednesday. (ANI)

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England can still be at World Cup final, courtesy their referee, Webb!

Published>Tue, Jul 06 10 01:07 PM

London, Jul 6 (ANI): England could still be represented at the finals of the 2010 World Cup in the form of referee Howard Webb.

Webb, 38, will get the chance to take charge of football's biggest game only if Holland beats Uruguay in tonight's semi-final.

Webb hopes to become the first English referee to take charge of a World Cup final since the legendary Jack Taylor oversaw the 1974 showpiece between Holland and West Germany.

FIFA want to avoid any fallout following Uruguay's referee Mauricio Espinosa's goof-up during the crucial England-Germany tie, so Englishman Webb will not be allowed to take charge of Sunday's final if Uruguay get through.

FIFA fear that if he were to turn down a Uruguay goal it would leave them open to claims from South America that it was revenge for England's disallowed effort when 2-1 down against the Germans last Sunday, The Sun reports.

Uzbekistan's Rashman Irmatov, 32, is in charge of tonight's semi-final, while 34-year-old Hungarian Viktor Kassai is the referee for Spain against Germany tomorrow. (ANI)

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Chess grandmaster Vishy Anand roots for Spain in World Cup

Published Tue, Jul 06 10 12:37 PM

New Delhi, Jul 6 (PTI) As the World Cup Football nears its final with an impending semifinal clash between Spain and Germany, chess grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, an avid fan of the beautiful game is rooting for Spain, a country he calls his second home. "I am closely watching Spain. I like their style of play," Anand told PTI during a recent visit here. The grandmaster who catches the FIFA World Cup fever on television says he was also keenly following Argentina and its star player Lionel Messi before the South American team crashed out to Germany in the quarterfinal stage. "Spain are the current European champions and it looks a little less difficult for them to make it a double," says Anand. Beginning his career as a chess player at the age of six, Anand won his first national title with a record cent per cent score of 9/9 points in 1983-84. His level of concentration and composure in the game could well be a model of inspiration for many but the secret to his constant diligence of checkmating his opponents, says the chess wizard is "focusing on looking cool." "I focus on looking cool, whether I am cool inside that is another story," Anand told PTI. "It''s not that easy to appear cool during the matches. But it is very important to remain calm and stay focused on your opponent and watch out for his body language in a match. One has to have a feeling of what the person across is playing out. It helps a lot," says the grandmaster. The chess ace, fresh from the glorious triumph over his Bulgarian opponent Veselin Topalov in a marathon encounter in Sofia to retain World Champion title for third time in a row, is currently cooling his heels before preparing for a series of tournaments later in the year. With this win, Anand says he has accomplished something which no other chess great, not even Garry Kasparov has done. He asserted his supremacy by winning the title in every format of tournament -- knock-out, round-robin and two matchplay formats. The Indian genius, after playing exhaustive chess for over three decades says he still vies for one more world trophy in his kitty and is keen to regain the Numero Uno position. "Well from 2007 till late 2008, I was world number one... last year (Magnus) Carlsen had a dream year, but my position has improved, I am just four points behind Topolov. I am at number three, so it will be great to get back to number one. .

Source: Web Search

Amazed Clarke says 'neutral' Edgbaston just as partisan' as venue in Pak

Published>Tue, Jul 06 10 12:07 PM

Birmingham, July 6 (ANI): Australia T20 skipper Michael Clarke was shell shocked by the overwhelming support for Pakistan during the first T20 international, which the Kangaroos lost by 23 runs, at Edgbaston here.

Clarke said he was amazed to see the support that Pakistan received at this 'neutral' ground, adding that the atmosphere was pretty much similar to what it would have been in Pakistan with fans blowing horns, chanting slogans and waving flags.

"It was full of Pakistan supporters. I think it's great for Pakistan cricket, I think it's really encouraging we are still getting the chance to play against them and the support Pakistan received has been fantastic. Hopefully, a few more Aussies will turn out on Tuesday (today)," The News quoted Clarke, as saying.

Australia were to play the T20 and two Test match series against Pakistan in Pakistan, but the tour was shifted to England after Cricket Australia (CA) refused to send the team due to precarious security conditions.

The huge number of Pakistani fans got their money worth with their team defeating the Australians in the first T20 game.

This was Pakistan's first win against Australia in 13 matches in all formats.

Batting first, Pakistan put up a challenging score of 167 for eight in their allotted 20 overs, thanks to a spectacular 31 ball 64 run innings from 20 year old middle order batsman Umar Akmal.

Umar' s blitz included seven fours and three sixes.

Replying to Pakistan's competitive total, Australia failed to repeat its World T20 semi-final success against the same squad and was bowled out for 144.

Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal took three wickets for 26 runs and was ably supported by 18-year-old left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Aamer, who finished with three for 27.

Shoaib Akhtar proved to be the costliest bowler for the green shirts giving away 34 runs in the just the two overs he bowled. (ANI)

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Speculation rife on Dhonis' honeymoon spot

Published>Tue, Jul 06 10 11:57 AM

With speculation rife about the place Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his bride Sakshi would visit for their honeymoon, the player's family today chose to keep mum.

"Please don't ask me anything...ask Dhoni...I will throw a party for you," said Dhoni's brother-in-law Goutam Gupta when asked where Dhoni and Sakshi would be heading for after yesterday's hush-hush wedding in Uttarakhand.

With a battery of cameramen and reporters chasing the family members including Dhoni's father Pan Singh, mother, sister and brother for bites, they refused to comment to a volley of questions.

Singh asked cameramen to clear the space as securitymen escorted the family members to their vehicles at the airport here.

"I will convey your congratulations to him," Gupta said before leaving.

Dhoni's another close friend said the Team India captain might stay here for a day or two before going to Sri Lanka, where India will play a three-Test series commencing from July 18 at Galle.

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Maradona urged to stay on the job

Published>Tue, Jul 06 10 11:51 AM

One of Diego Maradona's assistants wants him to stay, and a top Argentine football official said the job is his despite the team's devastating 4-0 loss against Germany in the World Cup quarter-finals.

"Knowing Diego, it is difficult for me to think he wants to step down after failing in his objective to win the Cup," assistant coach Alejandro Mancuso said in a radio interview on Monday. "We can't throw away all the good work we've done."

Mancuso added that the coaching staff also wanted Maradona to continue.

Maradona has not made his plans clear following Argentina's second straight loss to Germany in a World Cup quarter-final on Saturday, but talked of "the end of a cycle" when the squad returned home from South Africa.

Cronica newspaper on Monday quoted Maradona as saying, "I gave all I had. Now I want to enjoy my family. Don't worry, I'm not depressed."

Argentine Football Association senior official Luis Segura said Maradona's contract has a clause that triggers an automatic extension through to the Copa America, which Argentina hosts next year.

"The one who will have to decide to continue or not is Maradona," Segura said in an interview.

Argentina President Cristina Fernandez offered encouragement while speaking on Monday in Buenos Aires.

"Bear up Maradona, the team and also bear up Argentina," Fernandez said. "No Argentine has ever given so much joy on the field as Diego Armando Maradona."

Fernandez also invited the team to the Casa Rosada, which is vaguely equivalent to the White House in the United States.

"We are proud of what they did and we are finished crying because we've begun to prepare for 2014," she said.

Maradona will have to make his decision known in a meeting with AFA president Julio Grondona, who appointed Maradona to the job in October 2008. Grondona is reported to be in South Africa and it is not clear when the meeting will take place.

Maradona's spell with the national team has been up and down.

Argentina struggled to qualify for the World Cup, absorbing embarrassing losses against Bolivia (6-1) and Brazil (3-1). But the team seemed on course in South Africa for a third World Cup title after group-stage wins against Nigeria, South Korea and Greece.

It defeated Mexico 3-1 in the round of 16, leading Maradona to boast about the team's scoring prowess. Then came the humiliating loss on Saturday to Germany, which again led many to question Maradona's tactical knowledge.

Though 20,000 fans greeted the team's arrival on Sunday, an on-line poll by the newspaper Clarin showed 63.1 percent wanted Maradona to quit. Other polls showed similar results.

The last major title for Argentina was the Copa America in 1993. The team won the World Cup in 1978 and '86.

Source: Web Search

Speculation rife on Dhonis' honeymoon spot

Published>Tue, Jul 06 10 11:47 AM

With speculation rife about the place Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his bride Sakshi would visit for their honeymoon, the player's family today chose to keep mum.

"Please don't ask me anything...ask Dhoni...I will throw a party for you," said Dhoni's brother-in-law Goutam Gupta when asked where Dhoni and Sakshi would be heading for after yesterday's hush-hush wedding in Uttarakhand.

With a battery of cameramen and reporters chasing the family members including Dhoni's father Pan Singh, mother, sister and brother for bites, they refused to comment to a volley of questions.

Singh asked cameramen to clear the space as securitymen escorted the family members to their vehicles at the airport here.

"I will convey your congratulations to him," Gupta said before leaving.

Dhoni's another close friend said the Team India captain might stay here for a day or two before going to Sri Lanka, where India will play a three-Test series commencing from July 18 at Galle.

Source: Web Search