Akhtar not yet submit his fitness report: Malik

ABBOTABAD: Captain Pakistan Cricket Team Shoaib Malik said Saturday that fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has not submitted so far his fitness report to selection committee.Talking to newsmen at the training camp organized here for national team, he lamented what was happened with Moahmmad Asif.Malik said that declaring Pakistan’s bowling attack would be untrue in presence of Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz and Sohail Khan, while, Omer Gul is also getting well.He said that Nasir Jamshed and Salman Butt will get an opportunity to be the openers.

Sarfraz for termination of Shoaib Malilk as captain

ISLAMABAD (Jahanzaib Ali): Former test cricketer Sarfaraz Nawaz Sunday raised his voice for the termination of Shoaib Malik as Captain of national cricket team and asked PCB Selection Committee to appoint middle order batsman Misbah-ul-Haq as skipper for the forthcoming ICC Champions Trophy cricket tournament starting in Pakistan from Sep 12. “Shoaib Malik is a good all-rounder but I am sorry he was not suitable for the job of the captain”. “What we have seen in recently Asia Cup was enough to match Malik vs Misbah”, Sarfraz said in an exclusive chat with the M.Iqbal.

Unhappy Gayle may step down

PORT OF SPAIN: Apparently unhappy with the West Indies Cricket Board’s selection policy of experimenting with young blood in the recent series against Australia, Chris Gayle is considering stepping down as the West Indies captain.WICB Chief Executive Donald Peters said he was aware of Gayle’s intention to step down from captaincy though the Board was yet to receive an official word from the swashbuckling opener.“I am aware he (Gayle) is considering not making himself available for the captaincy,” Peters told Trinidad and Tobago Express.

South Zone annexes Women Twenty20 Cup

KARACHI (Mohsin Raza Khan): South Zone annexed the inaugural Twenty20 Women Cricket Championship when they inflicted five wicket defeat on Central Zone Blues after an exciting contest in the final at the National Stadium here on Sunday. Player of the final, Urooj Mumtaz enjoying a vast international experience hit a sparkling match winning unbeaten 39 in 32 balls to steer her team to a thrilling victory. Nain Abid scored 28 in mere 24 balls with four 4s and Naheeda Khan finished 20 not out. South Zone reached the target with two balls to spare.

Asif to go for 'B' sample test on August 6

LAHORE: Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif's B sample will now be tested on August 6.The 25-year-old tested positive for nandrolone following the Delhi Daredevils' Indian Premier League semi-final defeat to Rajasthan Royals in May.The B sample was due to be tested on Monday but Asif's lawyer, Shahid Karim, revealed that had been delayed at the player's request."Hopefully, we will prepare a strong case by August 6," he told the reporters.

Inzamam offers to talk to Champions Trophy waverers

KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq on Tuesday offered to talk to players considering a boycott of September's Champions Trophy, saying he would help to allay their security concerns.The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced last week that the tournament would stay in Pakistan, prompting fears of a boycott by non-Asian countries which opposed the decision."If a player has any concern, I am happy to talk to them," Inzamam, who retired from international cricket last year, said."As someone who has played at the highest level, I would never advise cricketers to put their lives or careers at stake. But I firmly believe Pakistan is a safe place to play cricket and the players should trust the ICC, the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) and the Pakistan government".

Rain, wind clears Beijing air ahead of Olympics

BEIJING: After days of hazy, dark skies raised concerns about pollution levels during the Olympics, wind and rain helped clear Beijing's air Tuesday and officials hoped it will stay for the games' start next week.The heavy haze was among the worst seen in Beijing in the past month, despite drastic pollution controls put in force July 20 that included pulling half the city's 3.3 million vehicles off the roads

Beijing checks up its last-minute Olympic preps

BEIJING: The host city of the 29th Summer Olympic Games is going through every detail of its seven-year-long preparation amid 10-day's countdown to the Games.Despite suffering overseas torch-relay disruptions, deadly earthquake and soaring inflation, China never stops marching steadily toward the nation's century Olympic dream as the President Hu Jintao has ordered to desperately secure the success of the Games.

Leave ‘em wanting more

LONDON: Twenty20 started in England, as is the tendency with new forms of cricket, but soon received a considerable boost when Texan entrepreneur Allen Stanford invested some of his millions in the Caribbean in the format.Then India gave the game widespread publicity, pizzazz and pull by unveiling the IPL. Now there is a planned EPL in England, and Australia is considering an upgrade to their competition; Twenty20 cricket is suddenly all the rage, just like global warming, high fuel prices and the iPhone.

Skipper Malik backs Shoaib to fire in Champions Trophy

KARACHI: Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik is anticipating that his comeback pacer Shoaib Akhtar will regain full fitness ahead of September’s Champions Trophy. Malik said on Sunday that Shoaib’s expected return to the Pakistan team is good news for the country pointing out that the ‘Rawalpindi Express’ is a match-winning bowler. “Shoaib is a great fast bowler and has won many a match for Pakistan in the past,” Malik said at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore where he and fellow teammates had assembled to give urine samples for dope tests. “Shoaib has some fitness issues but we are all hopeful that he will overcome them in time to bowl in the Champions Trophy at full throttle.”

AB de Villiers strengthens Proteas’ grip at Headingley

LEEDS: AB de Villiers continued to defy England’s attack with an unbeaten century as South Africa all but batted Michael Vaughan’s men out of the second Test here at Headingley on Sunday.South Africa, at tea on the third day, were 480 for seven in reply to England’s first innings 203 - a lead of 277.De Villiers was 158 not out and Paul Harris 11 not out after vice-captain Ashwell Prince had made a Test-best 149, his second hundred in as many matches.South Africa wicket-keeper Mark Boucher, dropped twice on eight, helped de Villiers add 67 for the sixth wicket.

ICC can’t guarantee players’ safety

DUBAI: Cricketers were warned on Sunday that their security couldn’t be guaranteed in Pakistan during September’s Champions Trophy with the ICC delaying a final decision on the tournament venue until later this week.“If it was up to player representatives, they would prefer not to be in Pakistan because of the environmental or external risks,” ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat told The Associated Press.“They have got concerns because no guarantees, as far as safety and security are concerned, can be given by the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board), the ICC or security consultants.“We can do everything in our power to secure and safeguard officials, but we can never issue guarantees.”Lorgat said he knew of no threats to the September 11-28 tournament. However, he acknowledged that overcoming the perception of danger will be difficult before the ICC executive board delivers a definite decision within the next 72 hours on whether to move the One-day International tournament to an alternate host.Lorgat said Sunday’s briefing by the ICC’s security consultants stressed “great satisfaction” about the measures implemented by Pakistan at the recently completed Asia Cup.“But there are still concerns stemming out of the environmental and external factors — those issues are largely beyond our control,” Lorgat said.“Those external factors create the perception around the security and it is really difficult to deal with those perceptions ... but there is no specific threat to any sport, particularly cricket.”

Serena Given workout in a Stanford

Serena Williams was given a scare by 15-year-old Michelle Larcher de Brito before winning their second-round match at the Bank of the West Classic.
The American top seed dropped the first set against the Portuguese qualifier before winning 4-6 6-3 6-2. Williams made eight unforced errors in the initial 12 points. "It's definitely encouraging to know I can bounce back - I haven't been down a set for a while," she said. "It's the kind of practice I need." Playing her first match since losing the Wimbledon final to sister Venus, she sprayed her typically reliable groundstrokes long and wide. She hit ball after ball into the bottom of the net and regularly missed first serves. Her father, Richard, briefly left his seat in a corner box after watching his daughter struggle. The gutsy Larcher de Brito, ranked 226 in the world, pumped her fist on both her own winners and Williams' unforced errors and was the aggressor until her experienced opponent woke up in the second set.

Football, Hleb Completes Move To Barcelona
Alexander Hleb has completed his £11.8m move to Barcelona from Arsenal. The 27-year-old Belarus midfielder had a medical in the Spanish city on Wednesday and he described his move to the La Liga giant as "a dream". "I love this team," said Hleb. "I will give my best and I want to win everything with Barca. Hleb arrived at the Nou Camp on the day that Brazil star Ronaldinho was in Milan having a medical as he prepared to leave the Spanish side. Hleb had been linked with Inter Milan, but Barcelona have won the race to sign him. Arsenal have also lost Mathieu Flamini to AC Milan and Gilberto Silva is poised to sign for Panathinaikos. Hleb's departure from the Emirates Stadium seemed likely all summer after the player admitted he was "mentally tired" of the combination of living in London and playing top-level football. He joined Arsenal in 2005 after the club paid Bundesliga outfit Stuttgart £11.2m for his services. Hleb becomes Barcelona's fifth summer signing following the arrivals of Seydou Keita, Gerard Pique, Martin Caceres and Daniel Alves.

Sports: New-look English Twenty20 agreed

English cricket is to be given a major overhaul with a new Twenty20 English Premier League to start in 2010. The EPL will have two divisions of 10 teams featuring the 18 existing counties plus two overseas teams.
A radical proposal by David Stewart and Keith Bradshaw, which would have left out half of the counties, was rejected by the England and Wales Cricket Board. The Pro40 will be scrapped after 2009, allowing for a total revamp of club cricket in England. The board also agreed the 2010 season would include a 50-over competition and 16 County Championship matches in a two-division structure. The EPL is expected to feature promotion and relegation and a finals weekend which, according to BBC sports editor Mihir Bose, could generate £60m a year for the game. "It means English cricketers, for so long the poor relations of Premier League footballers, will be earning much more money," said Bose.
The introduction of the EPL follows the successful debut of the Indian Premier League, which has stimulated huge interest and offers the ECB the potential of attracting more television revenue.

Sports: Flintoff 'ready' for South Africa

Andrew Flintoff is confident his injury problems are behind him as he prepares for to make his England comeback. The Lancashire all-rounder, 30, has had four ankle operations, the most recent in October 2007, while a recent side strain hampered his England return. "If I didn't think I could get back to this, then I wouldn't have had any of the operations," he told BBC Sport. "Hopefully the ankle is a thing of the past now. The operation was so long ago that I've almost forgotten about it." Flintoff is hoping to play his first Test for England in 18 months and replaces Chris Tremlett in an otherwise unchanged squad for the second Test against South Africa at Headingly, which begins on Friday. He is likely to go straight into the team at the expense of the struggling Paul Collingwood or Ryan Sidebottom, who has a back strain, but Flintoff is taking nothing for granted. "I'm desperate to make that final 11, desperate to get back out on that pitch," he said. "But the lads have been unchanged for a while now. "I've come in to the squad and I'm sure there are some tough decisions to be made by the management and selectors.

Dhoni to miss Tests in Sri Lanka
Wicketkeeper Mahendra Dhoni has opted out of India's three-Test series in Sri Lanka because of fatigue. The one-day captain said he needed a break as he had been playing non-stop since leading the Chennai Super Kings to the Indian Premier League final. But he is expected to play in the five one-day matches that follow the Tests. Batsman Sachin Tendulkar returns after a groin injury and spinner Harbhajan Singh comes back in after serving a ban for slapping his team-mate Sree Santh. Santh,however, was overlooked because of a side strain but experienced left-arm paceman Zaheer Khan, who has been sidelined since suffering an ankle injury during the first Test in Australia last December, is named in a 16-man squad.

Sports: Cricket star gets female guard

Indian cricketing hero Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been provided an all-female police force to protect him from his female fans, police say. Dhoni recently opted out of playing a series in Sri Lanka because of fatigue. But ever since he landed in his home town of Ranchi, in the eastern Jharkhand state, to get some rest, his fans have refused to leave him alone.
Dhoni is the captain of India's one-day cricket team and has cult following in a nation crazy about the sport. His good looks and powerful performance on the field have earned him many fans, including a lot of young women who regularly mob him for autographs. Last year, at Calcutta's Eden Gardens, an 18-year-old girl broke through the security cordon, ran out into the field and hugged him.

Sports: McKenzie doubtful for second Test

South Africa's Neil McKenzie faces a fitness test to decide whether he will play in the second Test against England which starts at Headingley on Friday. McKenzie strained his groin during his nine-hour stint at the crease during the drawn first Test at Lord's. "We will subject him to a fitness test on Friday before a final decision," said team physiotherapist Shane Jabaar. "I am happy with the progress he is making and we are definitely targeting him to be ready for Friday." McKenzie contributed a vital 138 to South Africa's second-innings total on monday in an epic innings.But the 32-year-old had to complete his innings with a runner after straining his groin while prodding forward to spinner Monty Panesar.