L.A. Galaxy boss says won't rush Becks back into action

Published>Fri, Sep 03 10 08:07 PM

London, Sep.3 (ANI): L.A. Galaxy boss Bruce Arena has said that he has no plans to rush England football star David Beckham back into action.

Arena was speaking as his team is on a three-game losing skid that has put their MLS table-topping position in jeopardy.

According to The Sun, Beckham has been out all term with an Achilles injury, but has been training for the past two weeks.

With eight games before the play-offs Arena said: "David's in uncharted territory. Nobody really knows."

He added: "You see estimates of how long it takes to come back from this kind of injury but we're really not that clear what the timetable is, hence we're not setting any targets. We're very close. We just need to see how he reacts every day." (ANI)

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ICC suspends tainted trio, Pak sees conspiracy in the action

Fri, Sep 03 10 07:57 PM

London, Sep 3 (PTI) For the first time in its history, ICC today suspended Pakistan''s Test captain Salman Butt and his two teammates accused of ''spot-fixing'', prompting an angry outburst from Pakistan which saw a "conspiracy" and sought to insinuate that its President Sharad Pawar may have had a hand. Five days after the scandal rocked world cricket, the ICC cracked the whip by suspending the tainted trio of Butt and pacers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir but declined to specify the charges brought against them. On a day marked by a war of words between the ICC and Pakistan, the spotlight was on the players as well as they were subjected to a fresh round of interrogation by the Scotland Yard. The ICC said the three players have been notified officially of the offences they are alleged to have committed and have been provisionally suspended pending a decision on the charges. "In accordance with the provisions of the code, this means they are immediately barred from participating in all cricket and related activities until the case has been concluded," the ICC said in a statement. "They have a right to contest the provisional suspension and a further opportunity to defend these charges at a full hearing before an independent Anti-Corruption Tribunal in accordance with Article 5 of the code," it added. But within hours of the suspension, Pakistan''s High Commissioner to Britain, Wajid Shamsul Hasan threatened to sue the ICC for its unethical decision of suspending the players and sought to insinuate that Pawar had a hand in the decision. Hasan said the ICC was trying to make Pakistan a "scapegoat" for its inefficiency. "The three players met me and requested me to ask the Pakistan Cricket Board not to consider them for the rest of the series because they wanted to clear their name and honour. Accordingly, I conveyed their request to PCB chief Ijaz Butt who accepted it but all of a sudden the ICC came out with the notice," he said. "When Lorgat came to me, I told him that the players themselves had opted out and how ECB chairman Giles Clarke was happy with their decision. "I heard him (Lorgat) talking to Pawar. I don''t know what transpired between them but immediately after that he left my office and prepared a 5-page notice and handed it to the players. There seems to be a conspiracy to keep Pakistan out," he added. But the ICC rejected Pakistan''s claims and said clear indications were given about the impending action. It also said the three cricketers have a "case to answer" and described the scandal as the "next worst after the Hansie Cronje case." More PTI Team MRM PM

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Sania''s campaign ends at US Open

Fri, Sep 03 10 07:51 PM

New York, Sep 3 (PTI) Sania Mirza''s US Open campaign ended after she lost her women''s doubles first round along with Russian partner Vera Dushevina to 11th seeds Alisa Kleybanova and Ekaterina Makarova here. Already out of singles, Sania and her partner lost 7-6(6) 2-6 6-7(3) in the hard fought first round match. Sania had lost to Russian 20th seed Anastasia Pavlyucjenkova in the women''s singles second round. Somdev also lost in the men''s singles and Leander Paes suffered a shock first round defeat in the men''s doubles. Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna have kept the Indian challenge alive by progressing to second round of the men''s doubles along with their respective partners.

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Take appropriate action against players guilty of fixing: Tendulkar

Published>Fri, Sep 03 10 07:37 PM

New Delhi, Sep 3 (ANI): Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, who joined the Indian Air Force as a Group Captain, said on Friday that the International Cricket Council should thoroughly investigate the match fixing scandal involving three Pakistani players and take action against the guilty.

"ICC should make a thorough probe in whatever had happened in England and take appropriate action if the players are found guilty. If the allegations are true, they will certainly bring disrepute to the game," Tendulkar said.

"I am no expert and not the one to comment while sitting here in India on something which happened in England. But certainly it has disappointed me," he said while replying to a question on the latest crisis to rock the game.

The Pakistan cricket team is in the midst of a betting scam, where fast bowlers Mohammed Aamir and Mohammed Asif are alleged to have bowled pre-arranged no-balls in the Lord's Test against England.

A British tabloid named four Pakistani players and three others of being involved in a spot-fixing racket. It alleged that a Pakistani businessman Mazhar Majeed had paid bribes to the players to bowl no-balls and wides in the series and in the Lords test.

Majeed, who claimed to be an agent for several Pakistani cricketers, paid 150,000 pounds for information on the practice of spot-fixing.

Tendulkar also ruled out involvement of any Indian player, and added that a bookmaker has contacted no Indian player.

"In my 21 years of international cricket, I have never heard of an Indian player being approached by bookies," he said.

Tendulkar is cricket's leading run-getter in both Test and ODIs. by Praful Kumar Singh (ANI)

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India play Thailand in international friendly, Bhutia doubtful

Fri, Sep 03 10 07:27 PM

Bangkok, Sep 3 (PTI) Fresh from a two-month training tour of Portugal, India take on Thailand in their first international match in one year here tomorrow but captain Bhaichung Bhutia is a doubtful starter due to his recent bout with illness. India last played an international match in the final of Nehru Cup last year in August against Syria so tomorrow''s friendly against Thailand at the Yamaha Stadium would be their first in more than a year. It will also be first international game for India in the build-up to the next January''s Asian Cup in Qatar. Bhutia''s likely absence, as he is apparently not yet fully fit after suffering from a reoccurring thyroid problem, will be a cause of worry for India who are to take on the same opponents four days later at New Delhi''s Ambedkar Stadium. The ''Sikkimese Sniper'' was sent home midway in the tour due to the same problem and he did not play in any of India''s 10 practice matches against Portuguese lower division sides. "Bhutia had some problems. Though he took part in training he was not playing much. So the coach (Bob Houghton) will decide whether he will play tomorrow or not," team manager Pradip Chowdhury told PTI. "The players have recovered from the jet lag after a long flight. The boys are confident of doing well tomorrow. After all we will get points for FIFA ranking if we win," he said. It will be interesting to see who wears the captain''s armband tomorrow. The seniormost after Bhutia has not been in the starting line-up for some time while the same is the case for Mahesh Gawli and Deepak Mondal. This could leave Houghton naming Central midfielder Climax Lawrence to lead the side unless he does away with the seniority criterion and hands the leadership to striker Sunil Chhetri. Bhutia''s likely absence will give Churchill Brothers striker Mohammed Rafi a chance to play his first international match and Houghton is likely to start with Chhetri. Both Rafi and Chhetri, who joined the training camp in Portugal after being released from Major League Soccer side Kansas City Wizards, have been among the goals in Portugal and are in full fitness condition. Of the other two strikers Sushil Kumar and Abhishek Yadav, the latter suffered an injury during the Portugal tour and it is known whether he will be fit for tomorrow''s match. Subrata Pal, who played most of the practice matches in Portugal, is certain to man the goal while Houghton is expected to start with Surkumar Singh, Anwar Ali, Gouramangi Singh and N S Manju with option to bring in Gawli and Mondal later. Climax was indisposed early in the Portugal tour but he is expected to start tomorrow along with N P Pradeep at the centre of the park. .

Source: Published>

ICC suspends Pak tainted trio provisionally

Fri, Sep 03 10 10:51 AM

London, Sep 3 (PTI) In an unprecedented crackdown to restore the game''s credibility, ICC today charged and suspended Pakistan''s tainted trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer under its anti-corruption code in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal. The International Cricket Council said the three players have been notified officially of the offences they are alleged to have committed and have been provisionally suspended pending a decision on the charges. "In accordance with the provisions of the code, this means they are immediately barred from participating in all cricket and related activities until the case has been concluded," ICC said in a statement. Pakistan, however, continued to defend the players and sought to give a new twist to the sordid episode by suggesting that an Indian bookmaker could be behind the "conspiracy". "I found that all these three players were absolutely innocent. They were not involved, they have been taken for a ride and the agent (Mazhar Majeed) was the culprit, in the sense that he was responsible for defrauding some Asian bookies," Pakistan High Commissioner to Britain Hassan said. "The British press says Asian but if they were from Pakistan they (British media) would have called Pakistanis, which means some Indian bookies were involved in it. This Majeed allegedly defrauded these Indian bookies and so the newspaper investigated this sort of sting operation through their sources here," he said. The ICC, however, said the players, who are due to appear before the Scotland Yard today for interrogation, "have a right to contest the provisional suspension and a further opportunity to defend these charges at a full hearing before an independent Anti-Corruption Tribunal in accordance with Article 5 of the code." The players have 14 days from their receipt of the charge sheet to indicate their desire for a hearing, the sport''s governing body said. ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said, "We will not tolerate corruption in cricket. We must be decisive with such matters and if proven, these offences carry serious penalties up to a life ban. "The ICC will do everything possible to keep such conduct out of the game and we will stop at nothing to protect the sport''s integrity. While we believe the problem is not widespread, we must always be vigilant." .

Source: Published>

Top New Zealand golfer reveals affair with Japanese

Published>Fri, Sep 03 10 10:37 AM

Wellington, Sep 3 (DPA) New Zealand's top golfer David Smail, who has been married for 25 years, revealed Friday that he had an affair with a Japanese woman but said he was no Tiger Woods.

Smail, 40, told the Waikato Times, Hamilton, that the woman, Sato Kurihara, 27, threatened his life and her own when he repeatedly tried to end the affair, which he said was his only extra-marital dalliance.

His wife, Sheree, who received a phone call from Kurihara last week telling her about the affair and threatening to ruin their marriage, said she would stand by her husband.

The Smails told their story after Kurihara sent intimate images of the couple to the paper, claiming she had 'about 2,000' pictures and a sex tape to support her story. Smail denied that she had 2,000 pictures.

The paper said Kurihara described the golfer, who has been a successful player on the Japanese circuit for 13 years, as New Zealand's version of serial adulterer Tiger Woods. Smail insisted that he had only one affair.

Smail, who said that Kurihara was aware he had a wife and two children in New Zealand, said he ended the relationship 'for good' three weeks ago.

'I've made a terrible mistake and had a relationship and that was unacceptable,' he said. 'I'm just really sorry to my family and friends. 'If I had my time again, I'd change everything.'

Smail alleged that his former lover was stalking him and said he was taking legal action against her.

His wife vowed to stick with her husband. 'If you love someone so much, you can't just stop loving them straight away, you just can't,' she said.

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