New Delhi, August 8
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) hardened its stand against the Indian Cricket League (ICL) by giving out an unambiguous warning to the players who dare to be associated with the so-called "rebel" league that they will be "barred" from representing the country.

The ICL's contention that the BCCI was just an autonomous body and not the country's sole custodians of cricket cut no ice with the BCCI top brass, who met here at president Sharad Pawar's residence to chalk out the future course of action stonewall the moves of the ICL.

The meeting of the BCCI office-bearers resolved that "any person associating himself with any other organisation (meaning ICL) would not be entitled to derive any benefits from the BCCI or be connected with any of its activities".

This diktat of the BCCI will effectively seal the fate of any player — active or retired — who associate themselves with the ICL, though the BCCI made no pointed reference to former Indian captain Kapil Dev, who has three months to complete his tenure as the chairman of the National Cricket Academy.

Kapil Dev has joined the executive board of the ICL, and is obviously in the firing line of the BCCI salvo, though the BCCI meeting took no specific stand to lock horns with Kapil, for the present.

Though the meeting of the BCCI office-bearers deliberated for over two and a half hours, BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla's two-line statement to the media persons spelt out what the Board's stand on the ICL, and nothing more.

"Every individual has a right to choose whether he wishes to associate himself with the BCCI or any other organization. However, if he chooses to associate himself with any other organization, he shall not be entitled to derive any benefits from the BCCI, or be connected with any of its activities," the statement spelt out.

Later, BCCI treasurer N Srinivasan said the decision taken at the meeting today was merely a "formulation of the BCCI policy" based on which any decision on individuals would be taken at the special general body meeting in Mumbai on August 21.

But to the BCCI's comfort, so far no active Indian player, or any foreign player for that matter, has come forward to align with the ICL, other than the supposed confirmation of West Indian captain Brian Lara's decision to join the ICL bandwagon. ICL plans to get off the block by hosting a Twenty-20 Tournament in October this year, though it has not yet indicated where the event would be held.

London, August 8
India captain Rahul Dravid is putting a series win over England in the third and final Test starting at The Oval tomorrow ahead of the probable farewell to English soil for himself and fellow senior players.

Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar (both 34), Saurav Ganguly (35) and leg-spinner Anil Kumble (36) are unlikely to play another test match in England.

India, who have not won a Test series in England for 21 years, lead the series 1-0. England have not been beaten in a home series since 2001.

''I'm just thinking of focusing on playing a good Test match,'' Dravid told reporters on Wednesday.

''I haven't thought about what it would mean (if we won) and that this is our last test match (in England).''

Dravid, a keen student of the game, made his Test debut at Lord's on India's 1996 England tour, scoring 95 in his first innings. He also played at Kent in 2000.

''The wickets have generally been very good,'' Dravid said. ''The different wickets challenge you.

''I think it's still a country where you find that at Test matches people come to watch, they genuinely enjoy the sport, they are very knowledgable about the sport. They are very supportive of both teams. People are friendly.

Dravid, who scored 217 against England at The Oval in 2002, said he expected a result with good weather forecast throughout the five days. Ultimately, he wants a performance similar to the second Test at Trent Bridge, when India won by seven wickets.

''We were really happy with the way we played at Trent Bridge, we did a lot of the basics well,'' Dravid said. ''I've challenged the team to repeat what they did.

''The challenge for our team is to back up a good performance with another good performance. It takes a lot to win Test matches and it takes a lot more to win Test series.'' — Reuters

Sachin Tendulkar takes part in a team training session at the Brit Oval in central London, on Wednesday. — AFP photo

But how do India eradicate the epidemic of surrendering leads in Test series abroad? Ability entwined with mental and physical strengths is the answer. For Dravid, of course, the memory of his 217 on the last visit could be a motivation.

Los Angeles, August 8
Sania Mirza continued her sensational form, upstaging Martina Hingis to storm into the quarterfinals of the $600,000 East West Bank Classic tournament.

Sania beat the World Number 12 and the tournament seventh seed 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to enter the last eight at the Tier II hardcourt tournament.

Sania will play the winner of French Virginie Razzano and her good friend Shahar Peer of Israel in the quarterfinals.

“She (Martina) just went for broke on all the match points. She made two big forehands. Then went for a third one and just missed,” Sania said after her win.

The Hyderabadi achieved a career-best WTA ranking of 30 this week, riding on the back of her sterling form at the US hardcourt for the past three weeks.

Sania’s impressive build up to the US Open started with the Cincinnati Open, where she reached the quarterfinals and followed it up with a final berth at Stanford and a semifinal appearance at Acura Classic last week.

Three top-20 players Tatiana Golovin, Patty Schnyder and Dinara Safina bore the burnt of Sania’s fury in last three weeks.

Today it was the turn of former Wimbeldon Champion Hingis.

With this win, Sania’s record against Hingis stands 2-2, the last two having gone in the favour of the Indian.

Sania got off the blocks in a flash and broke Hingis twice to take the opener with ease. A resurgent Hingis fought her way back and broke Sania twice and saved two break points to equalise.

However, Sania got her act together in the decider and held serve besides breaking Hingis once to seal the issue in the thrilling match that lasted a little over one and a half hour.

The Indian had earlier beaten Hingis in straight sets at a hardcourt event in Seoul last year.

“She is on a roll now and hope to climb bigger heights. She has always been an exciting prospect and is playing up to her potential now,” he added. — PTI

Sao Paulo, August 8
Ronaldinho and Kaka will return to Brazil's national team for a friendly against Algeria at the end of the month in France.

Coach Dunga summoned the duo plus 20 others for the match on August 22 in Montpellier.

Kaka and Ronaldinho skipped the Copa America won by Brazil last month to take vacation following the European season.

"Our job is to do what is best for the national team. We need to summon the players who we feel are the best for the team," Dunga said.

Dunga made other four changes from the squad that won the South American championship in Venezuela, adding goalkeeper Julio Cesar, defender Lucio, midfielder Lucas and striker Rafael Sobis. Among those not called for the friendly were Helton, Alex, Gilberto Silva, Anderson, Afonso and Fred.

"We tried to maintain a base," Dunga said. "But the national team is open to everyone and all players will have a chance to return in the future. Those who were summoned need to take advantage of every minute to deserve another chance."

It will be Brazil's 12th friendly since Dunga replaced Carlos Alberto Parreira after the World Cup quarterfinal elimination in France. Brazil has won seven games, lost one and drawn three under Dunga.

Brazil has beaten Algeria in all three games between the two, including in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

"The Algerian team plays compact and uses speed on counterattacks," Dunga said. "But against Brazil they'll certainly play differently, as every team does."

The Brazilian soccer confederation also announced Brazil will play Mexico on September 12 in Boston. Brazil also may face Canada at a location and a date still to be determined.

Brazil and Mexico have played 30 times, with the Brazilians winning 18 matches and Mexico winning six, including their last two meetings: at the 2005 Confederations Cup and in the Copa America in June.

Since winning the Copa America last month, Brazil has turned its attention to World Cup qualifying that begins in October. — AP

Kolkata, August 8
With his self-belief on a high after some good performances in recent months, India’s top-ranked squash player Saurav Ghosal is now aiming to break into the world’s top 20.

National champion Ghosal, currently ranked 41 in the world, however, knows that the journey upwards is not easy.

“I would love to make it to the top 20 by 2009. But I know that’s not easy. The top players are all tremendously talented. Getting past them is not easy,” Ghosal said.

“I’m now confident of strongly challenging any player in the top 30, nine out of 10 times. But against the top 20 players, I am confident of throwing up such a strong showing only three out of ten times,” said Ghosal, who was given honorary life membership of the Calcutta Racket Club today.

Ghoshal feels that if he managed to improve his rankings, it would help him play more top-rated tournaments and get easier draws.

“Now because of my rankings, I have to play the qualifiers in most of the tourneys. But if I can make it to the top 20, I will get direct entries. Also, I will be up against easier opponents in the main draws,” said the 21-year old, who won a bronze medal at the Doha Asian Games last year.

Ghosal, who had set a target of making the cut into the top 35 by the year end, is satisfied with the way the year has gone so far.

“The year has gone well, especially in the last few months, when I beat several good players. Entering the top 35 by the year end is within the realms of possibility with a lot of tournaments lined up,” he said.

Ghosal, who has shifted base to Leeds for getting better training opportunities, feels that the decision has played a big role in his rise up the world rankings.

“I was ranked 108 in September 2005, before I left for England. In two years time, I have gone up 67 places. And mind you, as you go higher and higher in rankings, it becomes more and more difficult to improve further,” he said. — PTI

Paks (Hungary), August 8
Former World Junior champion P Harikrishna tried every trick in the book but could not get the better of Ferenc Berkes' defence and split point with the Hungarian in the third round of the 5th Marx Gyorgy Memorial International chess tournament here.

Slowly inching up after a disastrous first round loss, Harikrishna is now on one point and is in joint fifth spot along with Hou Yifan.

On another exciting day in the category-14 double round robin event, veteran Viktor Korchnoi was comprehensively beaten by Csaba Balogh of Hungary while Chinese sensation Yifan went down fighting against another Hungarian Peter Acs.

With seven rounds still to come, Balogh and Acs, who had beaten Harikrishna on the opening day, share the lead on two points from three games while Berkes and Korchnoi are joint third on 1.5 points each.

In the Paks Cup GM tournament, organised simultaneously, national champion Tania Sachdev finally opened her account with a draw with Mihai Grunberg of Hungary. After two straight losses, Tania set herself on the recovery path with black pieces in the Queen's Indian defence and played out a solid game to hold her higher ranked opponent. — PTI

Beijing, August 8
Newly married Chinese basketball star Yao Ming and his wife Ye Li have no immediate plans to have a child and the hoopster would solely concentrate on preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

"We have no plan for the present," said Yao, who appeared here last night to attend a Beijing Olympic Games counting down activity.

"It's a once-in-lifetime opportunity to participate in an Olympic Games in your own country, so I will be concentrating on the preparation for the Games to be held next summer and my next NBA season," Yao added.

Yao and Ye, a former player in the Chinese women's basketball team, had their wedding in the eastern metropolis, Shanghai on Monday evening in a low-key private affair. Recovering from a shoulder injury, Yao will report to the training camp of the Chinese national team in September.

"I hope we can make top six at the Games next summer," he said. "Or at least we can make some breakthrough," Both Yao and Ye are incredibly tall. Yao, at 2.26 meters tall towers over Ye, also a player in the national woman's basketball team, at 1.9 meters tall.

Yao, 27, and Ye, 25, are both from Shanghai.

China's best finish in Olympic basketball tournaments was eighth both in the Atlanta Games in 1996 and Athens Games in 2004. — PTI

Chandigarh, August 8
A two-under card of 70 saw GAIL's Jasjeet Singh shoot up from tied eighth position to the top slot on the leaderboard with a two-day tally of 145 on the second day of the Northern India Amateur Golf Championship, at the par-72 Golden Greens Golf & Country Club, in Gurgaon today.

Two strokes behind the leader was Gagan Verma who carded a two-over 74 for a two-day tally of 147. Overnight joint leader 17-year-old Angad Cheema had to settle for a six-over card of 78 and tied for the third position with Abhishek Jha (76) and Vikram Rana (74) at 150.

Chandigarh's Ajeetesh Sandhu, who was tied 12th yesterday, climbed up to tied sixth place with Karan Vasudeva and Mithun Pereira at 151. Ajeetesh carded a three-over 75.

It was a bad day for Manav Das of Ambala. After being one stroke behind the leaders on the opening day, Manav played a poor seven-over card of 79 to slip to tied ninth place with Simarjeet Singh at 152

Jaipur's Amanjyot Singh, who was the joint leader with Angad Cheema yesterday, played a 10-over card to slip to joint 14th spot with Harjinder Singh Kang of Chandigarh, who carded a four-over 76 today for a two-day tally of 154.

Jasjeet, a tenth tee starter, birdied the 11th but dropped a shot on the 13 th where he missed a 15-foot up & down putt. He recovered to fire a birdie on the 14th but bogeyed the 18th to make the turn at level par. On his return leg, he birdied the third and eighth to end the day at two under 70.