Bangalore, June 6
Shaun Pollock slammed his maiden hundred in one-day internationals but could not prevent Asia XI crush Africa XI by 34 runs in the opening tie of the Afro-Asia Cup three-match cricket series at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here today.

The 33-year-old veteran, playing the three-match series as a batsman, made it a memorable 285th individual tie when he made a superb 130, in 110 balls with 19 fours and a six, before being getting out as the last man.

Africa, replying to Asia XI’s imposing total of 317 for 9, were all out for 283 in 47.5 overs to give the latter a 1-0 lead ahead of the last two ties in Chennai on June 9 and 10.

Earlier, Asia XI batted right down the order without any batsman reaching the 70s to post a huge 317 for nine wickets after choosing to bat first, riding mainly on half centuries by captain Mahela Jayawardene (65) and Mohammed Yousuf (66).

In reply, Africa floundered against the Asia new ball attack of Asif and Zaheer Khan who shared the first five wickets to reduce the former to a sorry-reading 31 for five.

Before Pollock's arrival at the crease, Pakistan’s Asif and Indian spearhead Zaheer proved too much for his team's top-order with their seam movement and bounce.

Asif’s victims were Abraham De Villers (4), who shouldered arms and was castled, Steve Tikolo (5), who trod on his wicket, and rival team captain Justin Kemp, comprehensively bowled through the gate.

Zaheer grabbed the wickets of South Africans Loots Bosman (2) and Boeta Dippenaar who were both snapped up in the slip cordon.

In the Asia XI innings, Jayawardene and Yousuf struck half centuries while Virender Sehwag showed glimpses of his vintage form in making a quick-fire 45 in 42 balls with seven fours and a six while adding 68 runs in 49 balls for the second wicket with fellow-Indian Sourav Ganguly (32 in 29 balls with 7 fours).

Scoreboard

Asia XI

Manchester, June 6
England coach Peter Moores is facing the first major test of his man-management skills on the eve of the third Test against the West Indies here at Old Trafford.

Despite a record-breaking win in the Leeds Test, the hosts’ camp is reeling following captain Michael Vaughan’s public criticism of popular all-rounder Andrew Flintoff.

Vaughan, who has recently made a triumphant return to Test cricket after 18 months, reignited the row regarding Flintoff’s late-night drinking exploits during the World Cup in a newspaper report yesterday.

Flintoff was stripped of vice-captaincy and dropped for one game after staying out late drinking and ending up in a pedalo in the early hours of the following morning after England’s opening-game defeat against New Zealand in St Lucia in March.

“I like to see players enjoy themselves but no one would dare go out after that incident — and you can’t create any spirit then,” Vaughan — who will set a new record for an England captain of 21 Test victories if his team win in Manchester — told Guardian.

Vaughan’s latest remarks are unlikely to be different to anything he has already told Flintoff, managed by the same agent, face-to-face. Still, this is something England could have done without.

Last week, Flintoff had a third operation on his troublesome left ankle in as many years, and — as has been the case throughout this series — will again be sidelined.

It goes without saying that any risk to team morale should be reduced. And this match is taking place in front of Flintoff’s adoring Lancashire public, which could be interesting for Vaughan.

Victory for England would see them go an unbeatable 2-0 up in the four-match series with one to play and they are set to field an unchanged side.

Last year at Old Trafford, Stephen Harmison and spinner Monty Panesar were both among the wickets during England’s innings victory over Pakistan, Harmison taking 11 for 76 in the match.

With the pitch expected to be both bouncy and receptive to spin, England will hope for more of the same.

But while Panesar has gone from strength to strength, Harmison’s form has slumped. The decision to employ South Africa pace great Allan Donald as a consultant could help spark a revival in his fortunes.

New West Indies skipper Daren Ganga should be able to welcome back senior batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul from a knee problem.

The Windies, who could liven up their attack by recalling Fidel Edwards, have a doubt over opening batsman’ Chris Gayle’s ability to bowl off-spin.

Gayle faces a fitness Test on a side injury and if he doesn’t come through, fellow off-spinner Marlon Samuels, likewise primarily a batsman, could come in just days after being called up as Sarwan’s replacement. — AFP

Paris, June 6
Defending champion Rafael Nadal pummelled fellow-Spaniard Carlos Moya into submission at the French Open today to reach the semifinals with a crushing 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 victory.

Thirty-year-old Moya, the 1998 champion, was overpowered by a player nine years his junior on Centre Court where his game no match for Nadal’s brutal strength.

The close friends swapped breaks early in the first set, but once Nadal broke again to lead 4-3 and the match quickly slipped away from Moya.

Nadal broke twice to take the second set and the third was a formality. Nadal will play Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in the last four in the next stage of his quest for a hat-trick of

Earlier, Djokovic gave Serbia more to celebrate at the French Open when he outplayed Russia’s Igor Andreev 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.

The youngest player left in the draw at 20, Djokovic taught Andreev a tennis lesson to join women compatriots Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic in the last four of the showcase claycourt event.

The 23-year-old Andreev, who has dropped to world number 125 after being sidelined for six months last year following knee surgery, was never in contention.

The revelation of 2007 with three titles, Djokovic had retired in both his previous appearances at Roland Garros.

He pulled out with breathing difficulties against Argentine Guillermo Coria in the second round on his debut two years ago and was trailing eventual champion Nadal 6-4, 6-4 when he withdrew with a back injury in a quarterfinal match last year.

Paris, June 6
High-flying Serbs Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic will be looking to upset the world’s top two women’s tennis players in tomorrow’s French Open semifinals to set up an unprecedented all-Serbian final at Roland Garros.

It is the first time that two women from Serbia have reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam event, and both Jankovic and Ivanovic admitted they would relish a tie between countrywomen.

Both are also bidding to follow in the footsteps of compatriot Monica Seles who won three times here under the Yugoslavian flag from 1990-1992.

But two tough obstacles stand in their way — two-time defending champion Justine Henin, ranked number one in the world, and number two Maria Sharapova of Russia.

Jankovic, seeded fourth, has never beaten three-time winner Henin in their five previous meetings, while Ivanovic, seeded seven, stands 1-1 against US Open and former Wimbledon champion Sharapova.

The 22-year-old Jankovic has lost three times on clay to the 25-year-old Belgian, including twice this year in Warsaw and Berlin.

She has, however, been boosted by winning three of her four WTA titles this year including on clay in Rome.

But although the Florida-based player feels victory is close with all their previous ties going to three sets, Henin is not ready to hand over her crown particularly after missing the opening Grand Slam of the year in Australia following the breakup of her marriage.

Sharapova, meanwhile, admitted she would not be surprised if she won the tournament after reaching the final four at the fifth time of asking.

The 20-year-old has always been dismissed as a French Open contender with the demanding clay surface exposing her problems with movement around the court.

Ivanovic, 19, won their last meeting on carpet in Tokyo this year when Sharapova retired. The Russian won their previous meeting last year in Linz.

Ivanovic is competing in her third Roland Garros and she has reached the quarterfinals for the past two years.

But her breakthrough came this year in Berlin when her win on clay there catapulted her into the world’s top 10.

And if she can stay fit from an ankle injury she picked up in Germany she could reach her first Grand Slam final.

“Two years ago when I reached the quarterfinal that was my first year on the tour. Since then I think I’ve improved a lot on my game, and there’s a big difference in my fitness,” explained the Swiss-based Ivanovic.

She is also hoping that her new coach here Sven Groenefeld, who also coached Sharapova in the past, will give her some tips on how to get past the Russian. — AFP

Chandigarh, June 6
Providing government jobs, more cash awards as well as facilities to the players can lift the sports scenario in the state. These were the views expressed by the recipients of Bhim Award, Haryana’s highest sports award.

Five outstanding sportspersons — Dinesh Kumar (volleyball), Naveen Kumar (wrestling), Rajwinder Kaur (hockey), Jyotsana (boxing) and Krishna Punia (athletics) — were honoured with this prestigious award at a function held at the Haryana Raj Bhavan here today.

The awards, which were given by Haryana Governor A.R. Kidwai, carried a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, a blazer, Bhim memento and a tie or scarf. Kidwai also honoured 37 players of the state who had won medals at the international and national sports meets. They were given Rs 1.70 crore as cash prize.

Demanding a job from the state government, Rajwinder Kaur, who was part of the silver medal winning hockey team at the 18th Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, said, “Winning such awards definitely boost the morale of sportspersons, but the government should also provide jobs to secure their future.”

Naveen Kumar, the gold medallist wrestler at the third Asian Cadet Wrestling Meet 2003 in Taiwan, has still been searching for a job. “I have appeared for an interview for a job in Northern Railway and waiting for a call from them,” said Naveen, who bagged silver medal in Asian Wrestling Meet-2005 in Korea. To make both ends meet, this international wrestler has been depending on ‘akharas’.

Meanwhile, international pugilist Jyotsana and athlete Krishana Punia demanded more cash awards and sponsorships to attract talented players from poor families. “Undoubtedly, the government has come up with good sports policy but still there is much more to do. The government should introduce more cash awards along with lucrative jobs to attract more and more people to sports,” said Jyotsana, who was the only girl of the state who won the gold medal in 3rd Asian Women Boxing Championship at Taiwan and a bronze in the World Women Boxing Championship in 2005. She had also been nominated for the Arjuna Award.

On the other hand, discus thrower Krishna Punia felt that government should help the players in getting sponsorships so that they could focus only on their game.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who was also present, said a handicapped sportsperson would also be honoured from next year. 

Dhaka, June 6
Bangladesh authorities today said the door was still open for former cricket coach Dav Whatmore to return after his bid for the vacant India job ended in failure.

“Our door is still open for Whatmore. He is a great coach and (the) Bangladesh team has improved a lot during his 
four-year tenure,” Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) general secretary Mahbub Anam 
told AFP.

Anam, who heads the board’s coach-hunting mission launched when Whatmore quit last month, said Bangladesh had not said goodbye to the Australian coach, noting: “He made the decision to leave the post.”

The BCB had reportedly offered an improved package after Whatmore decided to seek the high-profile job of Indian coach immediately after Greg Chappell quit during the Caribbean World Cup.

But on Monday Indian authorities picked South African Graham Ford as frontrunner for the post and said Whatmore was out of contention. — AFP

Karachi, June 6
Pakistan’s speed merchant Shoaib Akhtar has been asked to prove his “match fitness” to be eligible for selection for the one-off ODI against India in Scotland next month.

Shoaib, who has not played a competitive match in the past 14 months due to fitness problems, was today included in a provisional squad of 20 that would be subsequently trimmed down.

Chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed said that any player who found to be short on fitness would not be considered.

“Shoaib is back because he has been training hard and working overtime on his fitness. But we still need to see his match fitness. No player, including Shoaib, would be considered for the matches if he is not 100 per cent fit,” Salahuddin told PTI.

Although the match against India is a charity affair for the Prince Charles fund, Salahuddin said the fixture was being taken with all seriousness due to India being the opponent.

The 20 players will undergo a training camp from June 10 in Abbotabad.

The probables: Shoaib Malik, Imran Nazir, Mohammad Hafeez, Naved Latif, Salman Butt, Yasir Hameed, Misbah-ul-Haq, Faisal Iqbal, Asim Kamal, Mohammad Yousuf, Fawad Alam, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Sami, Shoaib Akhtar, Rao Iftikhar, Mohammad Asif, Najaf Shah, Umar Gul. — PTI

London, June 6
Indian reality series ‘Cricket Star’ winner Sukhvir Singh made his debut for Leicestershire against Derbyshire in the Second XI Championship bowling three overs without taking a wicket.

Son of a bus driver, the 20-year-old right-hand pacer from Chandigarh arrived at Grace Road last week to spend the summer with the Leicestershire squad.

“This is a dream opportunity to fulfil my ambitions in the game, which are to play first-class cricket when I go back home to India and then play for the national side one day,” Sukhvir was quoted as saying by the Leicestershire’s official website.

Nicknamed “Happy” in the show, Sukhvir was under the spotlight as he made his debut after taking 3-13 for his Everards Premier League Club Leicester Ivanhoe at the weekend. “I feel very honoured to be the first ‘Cricket Star’ winner to come over here and I owe it to all those people who voted for me throughout the programme to make the most of this chance.

“England is a place where a lot of top international players come to learn about the game and develop their skills and I am very fortunate to be able to do this in a professional environment,” he said.

Derbyshire totalled 339-9 declared in the match. Leicestershire were 23 without loss in their reply at the close of play.

Because of the limit on overseas player, Sukhvir will play only Second XI cricket this season but head coach Tim Boon said the youngster would enjoy all the privileges of a professional cricket in the club. — PTI

Germany, June 6
The first batch of 14 students of the Chandigarh Football and Hockey Academy, which arrived in Germany for training on May 23, turned out to be a success. Apart from a six-hour rigorous training schedule that is drawn out for the youngsters here, two local matches were also arranged for the boys in Leipzig. Chandigarh boys won 3-0 in the first match and trounced the German team 16-0 in the second.

This shows that if right training, exposure and selection is made our boys can also be prepared for international events.

This association with Germany had its beginning last year when the Chandigarh Academy of Football and Sports showed interest in arranging advance training in football. Mr Sudhanshu Pandey, cultural counsellor, Indian Embassy, with the help of an NRI, Mukesh Lal, initiated dialogue with famous sports school in Leipzig and finally persuaded them to enter into an agreement with the Chandigarh Football and Hockey Academy for two training sessions of 15 days each every year and follow up training of equal period by a German coach in India.