Cricket Australia board to meet to consider Howard's ICC nomination

Published>Thu, Jul 29 10 12:48 PM

Melbourne, July 29 (ANI): Cricket Australia has summoned 14 of its board members to Melbourne tomorrow to decide on former prime minister John Howard's nomination to the International Cricket Council.

Howard's nomination for the ICC vice-presidency was blocked by a strong alliance of Asian and African nations at an ICC board meeting in Singapore in June.

CA must decide whether to proceed with the nomination, find another Australian, support someone from New Zealand, or let the nomination pass.

The matter, which has caused deep embarrassment to Australian cricket, is deemed so important that a special meeting was called rather than a phone hook-up.

The only certainty appears to be that there is no chance Howard's nomination will be rubber-stamped by the ICC if CA continues to push it forward.

The board of directors is reportedly divided on a course of action and the waters have been further muddied with exceptional New Zealand administrator Sir John Anderson withdrawing his nomination.

Anderson told New Zealand officials that since Howard beat him for the nomination, he has taken on other business board positions.

Howard was projected as Australia and New Zealand's candidate and this is the first time the ICC has rejected a nominee for the vice-presidency.

A CA spokesman said there was no plan to find another candidate.

"At the moment that's a hypothetical question," he said. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

India 477/4 at lunch

Thu, Jul 29 10 12:38 PM

Colombo, Jul 29 (PTI) India were 477 for four in their first innings at lunch on the fourth day of the second cricket Test against Sri Lanka here today. Brief Score: Sri Lanka 1st Innings: 642/4d India 1st Innings: 477/4 in 135 overs (Sachin Tendulkar 152 batting, Suresh Raina 112 batting, Suraj Randiv 2/159, Ajantha Mendis 2/98).

Source: Published>

Injured Shahzad ruled out of Trent Bridge Test against Pakistan

Published>Thu, Jul 29 10 11:46 AM

London, July 29(ANI): England fast bowler Ajmal Shahzad has been ruled out of the first Test against Pakistan, starting at Trent Bridge here on Thursday, due to an ankle injury.

Shahzad suffered the injury when he twisted his left ankle while playing for Yorkshire in a 40-over match last Monday. He has been replaced by fellow Yorkshire fast bowler Tim Bresnan.

"Unfortunately Ajmal felt some discomfort following England practice at the NCPC (National Cricket Performance Centre) on Tuesday and as a precautionary measure it is felt he is best to undergo rehabilitation on the ankle for the remainder of this week," The News quoted Nick Peirce, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief medical officer, as saying in a statement.

"We expect Ajmal to make a full recovery, he hasn't been ruled unavailable for the second Test starting next week (at Edgbaston). He will continue to be assessed this week before a decision on his fitness is made," he added.

The 25-year-old has so far played just one Test, against Bangladesh in Manchester last month, where he took four wickets for 63 runs.

England team for the Test match (probable): Andrew Strauss (captain), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior (wkt), Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Steven Finn and Tim Bresnan.

Pakistan team for the Test match (probable): Salman Butt (captain), Imran Farhat, Azhar Ali, Umar Amin, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal (wkt), Mohammad Aamer, Umar Gul, Danish Kaneria and Mohammad Asif. (ANI)

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Master keeps India afloat

Thu, Jul 29 10 11:28 AM

Colombo, July 29 -- Prasanna Jayawardene might well curse himself all through Wednesday night. Had the Sri Lanka wicketkeeper not dropped a dolly off Sachin Tendulkar's edge mid-way through the third day's play, the hosts might have been smelling a victory to seal the series by the end of the day. Instead, Tendulkar (108 not out) went on to register his 48th Test century and along with debutant Suresh Raina (66 not out), taking India closer to safety. At stumps, India were 382 for 4, chasing Lanka's huge total of 642 for 4 declared. Though India still needed 61 runs to avoid follow-on, if Tendulkar and Raina, who have already put on 141 runs for the fifth wicket, see off the early overs on Thursday morning, the match will virtually have been saved. The only foul stroke off Tendulkar's blade came in the second session, when the master batsman tried to glide a short ball by Dilhara Fernando over the slip cordon. But he could only manage an edge and Jayawardene inexplicably failed to garner a regulation collection behind the stumps. India were 225 for 3 then, still 218 adrift the follow-on mark. From then on, it was a magnificent display of patience and class from Tendulkar. Not only did he keep the strike rotating, but when he saw a loose ball - whether it was from Ajantha Mendis, debutant offspinner Suraj Randiv or Fernando - he sent it to the fence. While he was cautious for a while, as Raina got his eye in after VVS Laxman (29) perished off Mendis, he cut loose with a six over long-on off Randiv to cross his fifty. And the master completed his deserving century with a sweep shot off the same bowler that raced to the boundary five overs before stumps. Earlier in the morning, Virender Sehwag (99) and Murali Vijay (58) continued from where they had left on Tuesday evening. Both scored freely off all the bowlers on a wicket that didn't offer much, till Sehwag again threw it away. When the opener was one run shy of his fourth century in as many Tests, skipper Kumar Sangakkara threw the ball to Randiv for the first time in the day and the offie sent down a straight one to Sehwag. The dashing opener charged down the wicket, tried to heave it on the leg side, missed it and the keeper did the rest.

But Tendulkar and Laxman then steadied the ship and avoided a collapse. Though Laxman looked far from convincing, his 116-minute stay at the wicket ensured India did not have a collapse like the one at Galle last week. And Raina then paired with the master to take all the fizz out of the Lankan bowlers.

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Islamabad air crash kills budding woman footballer

Thu, Jul 29 10 10:38 AM

Karachi, Jul 29 (PTI) The ill-fated passenger flight that crashed into the mountains near Islamabad also killed a budding Pakistani female footballer who was going to take part in the National Women''s Championship in the capital city. Meesha Dawood, who was only 19, had to convince her parents to let her fly to Islamabad to join the Karachi-based Diya football club that is taking part in the national event. According to her friends and teammates, Meesha didn''t reach Islamabad with the rest of the team because her parents were not allowing her initially. "She was coming in today after a few days delay because she had to convince her parents to give her permission," friend Sara Khan said. "She was passionate about football, the last time she played in the championship two years ago, she scored a hat-trick," Sara said. The government said all 152 passengers and crew on board the Air Blues flight had been killed in the crash on Wednesday morning. Diya football club from Karachi dedicated their match yesterday''s 2-0 against the much stronger Punjab side to her memory. Both the teams also observed a minute''s silence to pay tributes to Meesha. "We felt that we should go ahead with the match today because there was no better way to remember Meesha who was a big football enthusiast and full of life," said a teammate. In Pakistan''s conservative society, girls don''t get encouragement to take up sports and many meet resistance from family and relatives if they decide to play. Because of the taboos surrounding girls and sports, the Pakistan Football Federation does not allow unaccompanied males into the stadium during the National championship. The players have to wear baggy track suits and are not allowed to wear shorts.

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La Liga announce new tournament in Asia to boost brand

Published>Thu, Jul 29 10 09:58 AM

Spain's La Liga revealed plans to host an annual pre-season tournament in Asia in a bid to boost their brand in a region dominated by the English Premier League.

The International LFP Cup will begin next year and feature three Spanish sides and one local team but the tournament, which will start in a south-east Asian country, will eventually move around the world.

"With Spain emerging as champions of the 2010 World Cup, we felt this is the best time to introduce the International LFP Cup and share the beauty of Spanish football with the Asian market," Francisco Roca Perez, CEO of La Liga, said in a statement.

Perez told reporters at the Soccerex Asian Forum in Singapore that details of the teams and host country for the first tournament will be named later this year.

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NBA - Lakers center Bynum has successful knee surgery

Thu, Jul 29 10 08:38 AM

Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum is expected to play a limited role in pre-season training after having successful arthroscopic knee surgery on Wednesday.

Bynum, who won his second NBA championship ring last month, had surgery in New York to repair a tear of the lateral meniscus in his right knee, the team said in a statement.

The seven-foot center is expected make a full recovery by the start of the regular season.

Bynum suffered the injury in the first round of the playoffs against Oklahoma City in April but he continued to play.

He had his knee drained twice during the playoffs and was with the team when they clinched their 16th championship with a Game Seven victory over the Boston Celtics.

While opting to postpone surgery, Bynum averaged 8.6 points and 6.9 rebounds after starting each of the team's 23 postseason games.

Lakers training camp is scheduled to begin on Sept. 25 before the team travels to Europe to play exhibition games in Barcelona and London.

Source: Published>