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Shoaib upset over ISLAMABAD, Feb 1: Under-fire speedster Shoaib Akhtar has lashed out at former captains Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis for making him a scapegoat whenever things go wrong but being generous in their praise of Indian bowler Irfan Pathan. ...........more Exerting
pressure BANGALORE, Feb 1:India’s highest Test wicket-taker Anil Kumble today said exerting pressure on Pakistan early in their upcoming tour would be the key to winning the series. ......more Muralitharan injury not as bad as first feared SYDNEY, Feb 1: The Australian surgeon who operated on Muttiah Muralitharan’s shoulder said the Sri Lankan spinner’s injury is not as bad ..........more Pak reach final after Youhana century SYDNEY, Feb 1: Yousuf Youhana scored a match-winning century as Pakistan joined Australia in the final of a one-day tri-series with a 30-run win over West Indies today. Youhana scored 105 off 100 balls and Inzamam-ul-Haq made 74 off 67 deliveries to help Pakistan post a formidable 307 ....more |
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An Indian channel trying to defame
me: Shoaib LAHORE: After hitting headlines for all the wrong reasons, a cornered Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar claimed a lobby is trying to defame him and an Indian television channel was behind circulating photographs of his nightouts. Refraining from naming anyone, Shoaib said,........more Ice Skating Championship concludes Excelsior Correspondent Srinagar, Feb 1: The National Ice Skating Championship, concluded here today with Jammu and Kashmir bagging maximum prizes in various events of ........more Tiger Club wins inter-village cricket tourney at Pallanwala Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 1: Tiger Cricket Club Padli outplayed Rajput Cricket Club Jourian by seven ........more McEnroe hopes to lure Agassi back to Davis Cup fold LONDON, Feb 1: Andre Agassi will return to the U S Davis Cup squad this week if Patrick McEnroe has his way. ....more |
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| 7500 tickets for Pak cricket fans....... Martina to play in Hyderabad Open...... |
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Shoaib upset over criticism by Wasim, Waqar ISLAMABAD, Feb 1: Under-fire speedster Shoaib Akhtar has lashed out at former captains Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis for making him a scapegoat whenever things go wrong but being generous in their praise of Indian bowler Irfan Pathan. "I respect Wasim very much, he was a great bowler but his comment that I am no longer a match-winner has really hurt me. I would say that he should keep his views to himself," Shoaib told reporters here yesterday while visiting a cricket coaching camp. "If you pick up the records when wasim was the captain, you would know who was taking most of the wickets," said the bowler who has been under attack recently for his frequent breakdowns and off-field conduct. "I have been made the scapegoat whenever something goes wrong." Shoaib said he was surprised that while Wasim and Waqar were so generous in their praise of Irfan Pathan, they did not support and encourage their own countrymen. The bowler was also optimistic about beating India in India on the upcoming tour. "It is going to be tough but I think we can win there. Our team is inconsistent, a lot would depend on how the senior players fare. I don’t think they’ll make fast wickets in India." He dismissed as trash recent pictures showing him flanked by girls in a nightclub and termed it an attempt by that lobby to degrade him. " This is an age of technology and photographs can be tampered with easily. Everyday I have fans wanting their photographs taken with me, and say if a female fan comes up to me and puts a hand around my shoulder or holds my hand... These photos too can be shown to have been taken in a nightclub," he said. The speedster, who has been recalled from the Australian tour after he suffered a hamstring injury, also said PCB had not sought any explanation from him on the pictures. "No explanation has been sought from me by PCB or anyone else for they know that it has been another attempt to tarnish my image." Asked whether he was vying for the captain’s slot, Shoaib said that it was a matter that should be best left to PCB. On the criticism about his frequent breakdowns, he said it is normal for pacemen to get injured because too much cricket is being played these days. "Glen McGrath, Brett Lee, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and others all suffer injuries." He also said he was not going to heed calls from coach Bob Woolmer and skipper Inzamam-ul Haq to reduce his run-up as he felt that cutting down on the run-up was not the answer. "I will think about reducing the run up after 2007 World Cup. I am in no mood to make it short. I would consider it after the next World Cup. We need to play fewer one-day matches." He said from his point of view Pakistan needed more fast bowlers. "We have to find genuine fast bowlers because you cannot win Test matches with bowlers who have speeds of 120 to 130 kms," he said. (PTI) |
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Exerting pressure early will be key: Kumble BANGALORE, Feb 1:India’s highest Test wicket-taker Anil Kumble today said exerting pressure on Pakistan early in their upcoming tour would be the key to winning the series. "If we can keep the pressure early on, I think that’s the key. We played well against them when we went to Pakistan. So, I think we will take that confidence forward," the leg spinner said. Another factor that might work in favour of India was the fact that Pakistan have struggled on the Australian tour. "It’s going to be a tough series although you can take the fact that Pakistan has struggled in Australia. That’s a plus point for us," he told reporters after inaugurating a picture exhibition on tsunami devastation by Deccan Herald’s Joseph Hoover. On reports that ‘Rawalpindi Express’ Shoaib Akhtar could miss out on the tour of India, Kumble said the home team would like to play the best side that Pakistan can put out on the field. "We would like to play the best side. We would like to beat the best side," he said. "But if somebody is injured there is not much you can do about it." Kumble sought to downplay India’s poor record against Pakistan in the one-dayers recently while noting that the Tests were slated to precede the ODIs. "If we can win the Test series, we can take that confidence into one-dayers. I don’t think we need to look at one-day loss and consider that they (Pakistan) have an upperhand in the Test series." Confirming his participation in the upcoming Duleep Trophy championship, he said he was looking forward to it. On the tsunami disaster, Kumble said his family and he were lucky to escape the sea’s wrath. The cricketer recalled that they had checked out of a hotel on the Chennai coast around 9.30 am, a few minutes before the killer tidal waves struck. "It (tsunami) was something nobody had seen in their lives... When we came back home around 1 pm, we watched the devastation on TV." Seventy pictures taken by Hoover of the tsunami-displaced fisherfolk in South-Eastern coastline are being exhibited at Chitrakala Parishat. (PTI) |
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Muralitharan injury not as bad as first feared SYDNEY, Feb 1: The Australian surgeon who operated on Muttiah Muralitharan’s shoulder said the Sri Lankan spinner’s injury is not as bad as initially feared and he may still play in the Test series with New Zealand in April. Muralitharan travelled to Melbourne to see David Young, Sri Lanka cricket’s surgeon, straight after playing in a three-match tsunami fundraising series in New Zealand last month, during which he complained of severe pain in his bowling shoulder. The 32-year-old off-spinner underwent an arthroscopy on the shoulder, which was operated on last August to drain a painful cyst, yesterday after an MRI scan showed a tendon tear. However, Young said there was no serious damage and Muralitharan may be able to return sooner than the 10-week layoff the bowler had originally been told to expect. "He’s an outside chance (to play against New Zealand)," Young told Australian Associated Press today. "It’s a partial tear, he doesn’t need it repaired and he will head home on Friday." Sri Lanka’s tour of New Zealand was postponed because of the Asian tsunami but two Tests have since been rescheduled for April. (AGENCIES) |
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Pak reach final after Youhana century SYDNEY, Feb 1: Yousuf Youhana scored a match-winning century as Pakistan joined Australia in the final of a one-day tri-series with a 30-run win over West Indies today. Youhana scored 105 off 100 balls and Inzamam-ul-Haq made 74 off 67 deliveries to help Pakistan post a formidable 307 for eight at the Waca in Perth. West Indies were then bowled out for 277 in the 49th over despite 87 from Ramnaresh Sarwan and 58 from Shivnarine Chanderpaul. The pair helped their side to 194 for three in the 33rd over but when they departed the innings folded, the last seven wickets falling for 83. Paceman Rana Naved-ul-Hasan mopped up the tail to finish with four for 29. "I thought we were very well placed, with Sarwan and Chanderpaul," said West Indies captain Brian Lara. "That’s the point when the game started to change." West Indies won the toss and made a reasonable start, reducing pakistan Po 90 for three in the 23rd over when the momentum suddenly changed as Youhana and Inzamam added 134 off 119 balls for the fourth wicket. Inzamam smashed 10 fours before he was bowled by Dwayne Bravo with the total on 224. Man of the match Youhana was more patient but no less effective. He managed nine boundaries but was more content to accumulate his runs through singles and twos. He reached his 11th one-day international hundred off 95 deliveries but departed three balls from the end when he was caught short of his ground trying to scamper home for a second run. Ian Bradshaw was the pick of the bowlers, capturing three wickets for 47 off 10 overs. In reply West Indies lost Chris Gayle for a duck but still looked to be in with a chance of an unlikely victory when Sarwan and Chanderpaul added 95 for the fourth wicket. The West Indian lower order had staged a late fightback to win last year’s ICC Champions Trophy final against England but there were no heroics this time. Pakistan will now play Australia in the best-of-three finals series. The opening match will be played at Melbourne on Friday with the second match in Sydney on Sunday. A third match, if required, will be held in Adelaide next Tuesday. (AGENCIES) SCOREBOARD Pakistan Salman Butt c Browne b Bradshaw 19 Kamran Akmal c Bravo b Bradshaw 17 Yasir Hameed b King 24 Yousuf Youhana run out 105 Inzamam-ul-Haq b Bravo 74 Abdul Razzaq st Browne b Hinds 7 Shahid Afridi b Bradshaw 23 Shoaib Malik not out 8 Naved-ul-Hasan run out 3 Extras (lb-4 w-19 nb-4) 27 Total (for eight wickets, 50 overs) 307 Fall of wickets: 1-37 2-44 3-90 4-224 5-248 6-279 7-300 8-307 Bowling: Collins 10-0-46-0 (nb-4 w-1), Bradshaw 10-1-47-3 (w-5), King 10-0-60-1 (w-3) Hinds 5-0-44-1 (w-6), Bravo 10-0-55-1 (w-2), Gayle 5-0-51-0 (w-2) West Indies C Gayle c Kamran Akmal b Naved-ul-Hasan 0 R Powell c Kamran Akmal b Naved-ul-Hasan 23 R Sarwan st Kamran Akmal b Shahid Afridi 87 B Lara c Iftikhar Anjum b Mohammad Khalil 19 S Chanderpaul c Inzamam Iftikhar Anjum 58 D Bravo b Shahid Afridi 1 W Hinds c Inzamam-ul-Haq b Mohammad Khalil 30 C Browne b Naved-ul-Hasan 36 I Bradshaw b Naved-ul-Hasan 0 P Collins c Mohammad Khalil b Iftikhar Anjum 1 R King not out 3 Extras (lb-3 w-11 nb-5) 19 Total (all out, 48.1 overs) 277 Fall of wickets: 1-0 2-67 3-99 4-194 6-198 6-203 7-257 8-259 9-260 Bowling: Naved-ul-Hasan 9.1-0-29-4 (w-3), Iftikhar Anjum 9-0-67-2 (w-3), Mohammad Khalil 10-0-59-2 (nb-1 w-2), Abdul Razzaq 9-0-61-0 (nb-3 w-2), Shahid Afridi 10-0-47-2 (nb-1 w-1), Salman Butt 1-0-11-0 (AGENCIES) |
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An Indian channel trying to defame me: Shoaib LAHORE: After hitting headlines for all the wrong reasons, a cornered Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar claimed a lobby is trying to defame him and an Indian television channel was behind circulating photographs of his nightouts. Refraining from naming anyone, Shoaib said,"I think they fear I want to be the Pakistan captain which is not true. Neither I have any interest in becoming the captain nor have I ever said I want this responsibility. For me, as long as I am performing and the team is winning I am happy." The enigmatic pacer also alleged that an Indian news channel circulated some "fake" photographs to defame him. "But the pictures are fakes. They are computer-generated gizmos and nothing else," he was quoted as saying by "the news". "Nowadays you can create such fake pictures showing anyone posing or standing with anyone. It is very easy to target some famous person and others have suffered this same fate before me," he explained. "They have been against me for sometime now. If they don t find anything wrong with my performance they raise the discipline issue. If my discipline is good they raise questions about my performance and fitness. It has been going on for a long time now," Shoaib said. Shoaib, nursing a hamstring injury, was brought back from Australia amid controversial circumstances after an Australian woman alleged she had been raped by a Pakistani cricketer. (UNI) |
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Ice Skating Championship concludes Excelsior Correspondent Srinagar, Feb 1: The National Ice Skating Championship, concluded here today with Jammu and Kashmir bagging maximum prizes in various events of the game. Minister for Tourism and Urban Development, Ghulam Hassan Mir was the chief guest at the concluding function. Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said the objective of the government in creating development authorities in Tourist resorts was to accelerate the pace of development and the same bears fruits. Referring specially to the winter tourism, he said that the government would made all possible efforts to provide facilities to the local players to polish their talent so that they can participating Ice sports events at the National and International levels. He further added that Kashmir in general and Gulmarg in particular will be made ‘all seasons destinations’. Chief Executive Officer, Gulmarg Development Authority, on this occasion said that it is the endevour of the government to make Gulmarg and International Ski resort and all requisite infrastructure will be created and if necessary upgraded as well. He also informed that the rink would be covered by the end of next year and the same area would be used for Roller Skating during summer months. He further said that Rs. 8 crore are being spent on the development of Kongdori area alone. In the tournament the teams from Orisa, Delhi, West Bengal and Andhra-pradesh participated. In speed skating (1000 meters, seniors) Manzoor Ahmad, Mushtaq Ahmad and Showkat Ahmad were adjudged first, second and third respectively while as in juniors competition, Ajaz Ahmad Dar, Zahoor Ahmad and Raahil won first, second and third prizes respectively. In figure skating (juniors) Mudasir, Raahil and Wamiq were adjudged as first, second and third while as in sub juniors competition M. Moyeen, M. Moeiz and M. Mutaib won first, second and third prizes respectively. All these players belonging to J&K. In figure skating (seniors) event Vishal, Montosh and Rajeev bagged first, second and third positions. All of them belong to Delhi. |
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Tiger Club wins inter-village cricket tourney at Pallanwala Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 1: Tiger Cricket Club Padli outplayed Rajput Cricket Club Jourian by seven wickets to lift the inter-village cricket tournament, which was organised by the Pallanwala Brigade in Pallanwala. For the past two months, Pallanwala and its adjoining villages had been gripped with cricket fever never seen before. The cricket mania finally came to an end with the holding of final between Rajput Cricket Club Jourian and Tiger Cricket Club, Padli. Earlier, in the semi-finals, Rajput Cricket Club Jourian defeated Palatan and Tiger Cricket Club Padli overcoming a stiff resistance from Pallanwala Club to enter the final. In all, 32 teams, from about 27 villages of the area, participated in this tournament which was commenced on December 6 last. The progress of the competitions saw 16 teams getting eliminated in the preliminary round followed by elimination of another eight teams in the pre-quarterfinals. All the matches of the quarterfinals and then semi-finals proved that only the best had advanced to these stage of the tournament. Ajay of Jourian was adjudged best batsman while Sandeep of Padli was declared best bowler of the tournament. The awards for the best fielder and best alrounder were given away to Sonu Kumar (Padli) and Madan Singh again of Padli respectively. Brig. Ranvir Yadav, Commander of Pallanwala Brigade, graced the occasion and gave away prizes to the finalist teams and those with other individual achievements. |
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McEnroe hopes to lure Agassi back to Davis Cup fold LONDON, Feb 1: Andre Agassi will return to the U S Davis Cup squad this week if Patrick McEnroe has his way. The eight-times Grand Slam champion has not played for his country for five years but U S captain McEnroe is hoping the current camaraderie in his team could tempt the 34-year-old back into the fold. "Andre expressed interest in playing ... Because he’s seen what these guys have done to the team. He’s seen the chemistry, the camaraderie and the commitment that our young guys have," McEnroe said. "I think he’d like to be a part of it. He genuinely thinks ‘this could be something fun and something good for me and good for where I am in my life’. "I take that as a compliment to what we’ve done and what specifically our players have done, where he’s watched from afar and taken a keen interest." McEnroe does not need Agassi to commit to every match, he is happy to cut a deal. "When Andre played Davis Cup, he was committed to it. He committed to it whenever," he said. "I think he finds that right now, it’s hard for him to commit to every match because of his family and his responsibilities and because he is going to be 35 and it’s a little taxing on him. "My job is to alleviate his fear that we don’t necessarily have to have him play every match. That’s the way I look at." "I don’t need to hear from andre ‘I’m going to play every match’. "My feeling is, let’s see how it goes. Let’s get you to play in the first round and let’s see what happens and take it from there. The second round is right after Wimbledon, if we win, let’s cross that bridge when we get to it." Still, however, mcenroe rates the chances of an Agassi return at less than 50-50. "I don’t have any expectation other than I hope he says yes," he said. "He opened the door as far having a discussion and hearing what I had to say and that’s the first time that’s really happened since I’ve been the captain." Runners-up in Seville this year, the U S host Croatia next month in the first round of the elite world group. "In my mind, I have to field the best team I can and I have to exhaust all possibilities," McEnroe said. "That means that getting on a plane and sitting down with him (Agassi) face to face, that’s a small price to play for trying to get him to join up. "Obviously, having him on our team helps our chances. We’ve had a good couple of runs, making the semis in 2002 and the finals last year, but we’d like to win it." (AGENCIES) 7500 tickets for Pak cricket fans MOHALI, Feb 1: The organising committee of the first India-Pakistan Test match to be played at the PCA Stadium here from March four has agreed to offer Pakistani cricket fans 7,500 tickets. Announcing this here tonight after the first organising committee meeting held under the chairmanship of Punjab Chief Minister captain Amarinder Singh, Punjab Cricket Association president Inderjit Singh Bindra said that the Pakistan Cricket Board had requested for 10,000 tickets for the Mohali Test. "Keeping our own domestic requirements, we have decided to issue only 7,500 tickets for Pakistani cricket fans, said Mr Bindra. The PCA has also requested the Punjab Chief Minister captain Amarinder Singh to request the Ministry of External Affairs to simplify the procedure for issuing visas, opening of the Wagha Border and other formalities, including more immigration counters for the Pakistani cricket fans. "All tickets for the Pakistani fans would be sold at Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore. Arrangements for issuing visas to the ticket holders from across the border will be issued in lahore itself. It will help the Pakistani fans to avoid a lot of bother. We are requesting the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Sports and other concerned departments. All requests to the Government of India will be made through the Punjab Chief Minister,’’ said Mr Bindra. The seasonal ticket for the Pakistani fans has been fixed at Rs 1500, which included transportation from Wagha Border to Mohali and back to Wagha Border after the match. The PCA secretary MP Pandove said that the PCA was preparing a "good cricketing wicket." "The board has not issued any instructions so far. We have already written to the Board of Control for Cricket in India that if it wants to issue any instruction regarding the pitch, the PCA should be given guidelines at least 15 days before the match." Mr Bindra said that various committees had been formed. The important ones are organising committee, steering committee, finance committee and marketing and sponsorship committee. "We have engaged the professional agencies for various duties. Things are being done in professional manner to save lot of money and bother," said Mr Bindra. Meanwhile, talking to newsmen after the meeting, captain Amarinder Singh announced the entertainment tax exemption for the Test match. (UNI) Excelsior Sports Correspondent RAJOURI, Feb 1: Army XI defeated under-19 team of Kalakote area in a friendly match which was organised by the 23 Brigade of the Army at Kalakote, here today. Earlier, batting first after winning the toss, Army XI made 129 runs for the loss of six wickets in the allotted 15 overs, which, in reply, Under-19 boys could not chase and were all out at 93 in 13.5 overs. For their all-round performance, organisers declared Mukesh and Maj Nandil as men of the match. The match was witnessed by Maj Gen MS Dadool of 27 Division, who was chief guest. Speaking to the team members and the spectators, he informed that the under-19 team has been selected by 123 Brigade of the Army during the sports talent search campaign in Surankote. Prominent among other present were DIG BSF Sunderbani, R L Sharma. BCCI working committee meeting on February 16 KOCHI, Jan 31: The working committee meeting of the BCCI, scheduled to be held at Delhi on February 16, would deliberate on the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) reaction to its two-member security assessment team’s report, which is expected to be received soon, S K Nair BCCI secretary said today. Nair, who was on a private visit to the city, told reporters that tentative dates of matches have already been communicated to the PCB. Once the PCB finalise their decision regarding the two-member inspection teams report on the venues, PCB was expected to interact with the BCCI and on the basis of that working committee will take a final decision. To a query, Nair said he hoped to receive PCB’s reaction to the inspection team report before the working committee meeting. The BCCI had already identified John F Gloster as the physio of Indian cricket team, he said. "We have already put up a proposal to him with the terms and conditions. If it is acceptable to him, gloster is expected to join in the first week of February, preferably before the Challenger Trophy". To a query, he said it was upto the PCB to decide whether to have inspection of the venues at Kochi or Visakhapatnam. "We are always open and always ready to help them in conducting the inspection," he said. Replying to a query on Sachin Tendulkar, he said "it is left to him and medical people attending on him. Sachin had already made it clear that he is undergoing rehabilitation process," he said. (PTI) Dalmiya hopes to take cricket to Middle East, China DUBAI, Feb 1:After playing a pivotal role in popularising it in the sub-continent, president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Jagmohan Dalmiya plans to take the game to other parts of the continent as well. Not to be satisfied with the game’s snowballing popularity, Mr Dalmiya, who was here to attend an ACC meeting, told Gulf News,"we plan to take it up in earnest again, now the target being the Middle East and China." looking beyond UAE, Mr Dalmiya hopes to spread the game to countries like Oman, Qatar and Kuwait which are better known as Asian football majors. Mr Dalmiya also expressed hope that UAE would make it to the 2006 World Cup in the West Indies. "We hope to see at least two to three countries qualifying from the continent and the UAE could be one of them," he said. "The UAE, which played in the last Asia Cup, did a decent job. There are quite a few qualifying tournaments before 2006 and they have a good chance along with Nepal and Malaysia," he observed. (UNI) |
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