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Roger! the same old story
Sibling rivalry & another Grand Slam final
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India ease past Lanka
Ban suspended, Shoaib eyes Champions Trophy Afridi ‘a victim of black magic’
Pietersen set for most lucrative IPL deal
Zim retains status, pulls out of T20 WC
Massa crashes, still the fastest
Focus on job, Houghton told
BFI to hire foreign coach for juniors
Italian players charged after match-fixing probe
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London, July 4 Schuettler, who had less than 24 hours to recover from his five-hour 12 minute quarterfinal against Arnaud Clement that spanned two days, broke in the third game of the second but let the advantage slip when he was serving for the set and allowed Nadal to break back. Nadal, seeking his first title at the All England Club was dominant in the tiebreak and continued the momentum for an early break in the third. He wasted three match points on Schuettler’s serve before nailing victory when the German returned wide. Earlier, Roger Federer sauntered into the men’s singles final at Wimbledon on Friday with a 6-3, 7-6, 6-4 defeat of outclassed Russian Marat Safin. The Swiss world number one is now just one step away from a sixth consecutive Wimbledon title which would surpass the five in a row achieved by Bjorn Borg from 1976-80. Federer came to Wimbledon with questions being asked about his dominance of the sport but after winning all 18 sets he has contested here this year he appears in a class of his own, especially on the All England Club lawns. Should Rafael Nadal beat seasoned German Rainer Schuettler later on Friday, Federer will face the Spaniard for the third consecutive year in the final hoping for revenge for his recent thrashing in the French Open final. “People can say what they like,” Federer said in reference to the doubters before the tournament. “I was a bit surprised how intense it was. Don’t write me off too quickly though because this is my part of the season now... Wimbledon, Olympics and the U.S. Open. It’s a beautiful feeling, I’ve got the opportunity to win the title again.” From the moment former world number one Safin, appearing in his first Wimbledon semifinal at the age of 28, surrendered his opening service game he lumbered around Centre Court with the world-weary expression of a beaten man. With defeat looming at 4-5 in the third set Safin’s patience snapped and he smashed his racket into a courtside chair, although it was one of the few moments of true aggression he managed during a disappointing, one-sided affair. Those hoping for a repetition of Safin’s amazing victory over Federer in the semifinal of the 2005 Australian Open were disappointed. Once Federer achieved the early break he spent the rest of the match in cruise control. Despite saving two break points at 1-2 and twice serving to stay in the second set, the majestic Swiss was totally unflustered. Safin’s only hope was to edge the second set tiebreak but instead of the fight he had displayed in his previous rounds he merely produced a string of careless errors. Federer served an ace to clinch a two-set lead and cruised through the third set before moving through the gears to break Safin’s final service game, clinching victory with a rolled backhand low over the net. Williams sisters in
doubles final too
In the women’s doubles’ semifinal Serena Williams and sister Venus defeated Nathalie Dechy of France and Casey Dellacqua of Australia 6-3, 6-3. They will now play compatriot Lisa Raymond and Australia’s Samantha Stosur who defeated Cara Black of Zimbabwe and Liezel Huber of the US 6-3, 6-3. Paes-Dlouhy beaten
in semifinal
In the men’s doubles semifinal on Friday Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimonjic of Seriba beat Czech Republic’s Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes of India 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-1, 4-6, 8-6. The match had been delayed yesterday due to bad light and was subsequently postponed till Friday. Earlier on Thursday Sweden’s Jonas Bjorkman and Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe beat Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan of the US 7-6(3), 5-7, 7-6(5), 7-6(9).
— Reuters |
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Sibling rivalry & another Grand Slam final
London, July 4 The final on Centre Court at the All England Club has the potential to be great with both Williams sisters, holder and four times champion Venus and twice winner Serena, in excellent form. The sisters, with seventh seed Venus, at 28 older by 15 months than the sixth-seeded Serena, insist that throughout their parallel careers each has always done her utmost to outdo the other. Serena said sibling rivalry motivated her to want everything her sister had achieved and more when she spoke after her semi-final victory over Zheng Jie of China yesterday. Venus was more vehement when she said after beating Russian Elena Dementieva, that she found suggestions that there might be a family agreement on the outcome of their matches offensive and an insult to her professionalism. Dementieva was quoted as saying the outcome would be a family decision, no doubt meaning it would be settled within the family because a Williams would win come what may. However, Dementieva said she would find it hard to play against a family member. The sisters do not celebrate their victories over the other, particularly Grand Slam finals, with the euphoria players normally display at the moment of winning one of the biggest prizes in sport. But if their rivalry is as strong as it has been over the 10 years since they first clashed at the 1998 Australian Open, a second round victory for Venus, the crowd can expect a highly competitive match. — Reuters
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India ease past Lanka
Karachi, July 4 India chased down the target of 309 with 19 balls to spare and after losing four wickets, thanks to a half century each by Gautam Gambhir (68), captain M S Dhoni (67) and Suresh Raina (54) and a valuable 42 from Virender Sehwag after Sri Lanka, electing to bat, had made 308 for 8. Yuvraj Singh (36 not out) and Rohit Sharma (22 not out) romped him with an unfinished 57-run stand for the 5th wicket. Today's result extinguished Pakistan's any hopes of making it to the final and rendered tomorrow's last Super Four match between the hosts and Bangladesh here inconsequential. India made a blazing start with the opening duo of Sehwag and Gambhir carrying their solid batting form from their match against Pakistan yesterday, putting on 92 runs from 70 balls. The duo drove, pulled and cut the Lankan opening bowlers without taking much risks, hitting boundaries in regular intervals and keeping the asking rate always lower than the required rate of 6.18 per over. Sehwag played second fiddle to his junior partner but did not shy away from hitting odd balls for boundaries including a huge six off Nuwan Kulasekara early in the innings. The 'Nawab of Najafgarh' fell to a soft dismissal in 12th over being deceived by a Kulasekara slow ball holing out to Dilhara Fernando at fine leg after scoring 42 off 34 balls, studded with six fours and a six. Gambhir raised his 11th ODI fifty by hitting a four off Thilan Thushara after facing 45 balls in the 15th over with the help of nine fours. Gambhir, however, failed to read a Muttiah Muralitharan 'doosra' and fell LBW in the 21st over at team total of 135 for 2 for a well-made 68 compiled with the help of 11 fours. — PTI Scoreboard Sri Lanka: 308 India Gambhir lbw b Muralitharan 68 Sehwag c Fernando b Kulasekera 42 Raina run out 54 Dhoni b Muralitharan 67 Yuvraj not out 36 Rohit not out 22 Extras: (lb-11 w-9 nb-1) 21 Total: (for 4 wickets, 46.5 overs) 310 Fall of wickets: 1-92 2-135 3-234 4-253 Bowling: Fernando 9-0-52-0, Kulasekera 9.5-0-71-1, Mirando 8-0-67-0, Muralitharan 10-0-44-2, Weeraratne 5-0-36-0, Jayasuriya 3-0-19-0, Dilshan 2-0-10-0. Player of the match: Dhoni (India).
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Karachi, July 4 Both teams had already been eliminated from the tournament with Sunday’s final featuring India against Sri Lanka. Eighteen-year-old Jamshed reached his fourth international one-day half-century in his ninth match from 52 balls with five fours and two sixes in the 18th over. Butt’s fifty came from 60 balls with nine boundaries. Opening bowler Abdur Rauf took the first three wickets to spark a Bangladesh batting collapse at the National Stadium. Rauf captured 3 for 24 as Bangladesh were dismissed in 38.2 overs in overcast conditions assisting the pace bowlers. It was the lowest total of the tournament after Hong Kong’s 118 in the preliminary round. Bangladesh lost Nazimuddin for three in the second over. Tamim Iqbal (26) and captain Mohammad Ashraful (14) combined for the only decent partnership. — Reuters Scoreboard Bangladesh: Iqbal c Younis b Rauf 26 Nazimuddin c Malik b Rauf 3 Ashraful c Misbah b Rauf 14 Hasan c Iftikhar b Tanvir 0 Rahim run out 15 Kapali c Younis b Iftikhar 17 Mahmudullah c Misbah b Malik 11 Farhad Reza st Sarfraz b Ajmal 3 Mortaza lbw Iftikhar 1 Razzak b Ajmal 9 Hossain not out 0 Extras (lb-4 w-11 nb-1): 16 Total (all out, 38.2 overs): 115 Fall of wickets: 1-6 2-47 3-48 4-49 5-73 6-92 7-99 8-100 9-113 10-115 Bowling: Tanvir 7-0-31-1 (nb1), Rauf 8-1-24-3 (w3), Iftikhar 10-6-20-2 (w2), Ajmal 8.2-0-19-2 (w5), Malik 5-0-17-1 (w1). Pakistan: Butt not out 56 Jamshed not out 52 Extras (b 1, lb 4, w 3) 8 Total (without loss; 19.4 overs): 116 Bowling: Mashrafe Mortaza 3-0-9-0, Shahadat Hossain 7-1-40-0, Abdur Razzak 7-0-42-0, Mahmudullah 2-0-15-0, Farhad Reza 0.4-0-5-0.
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Ban suspended, Shoaib eyes Champions Trophy
Karachi, July 4 The court, however, did not remove the seven million rupees fine that was imposed on Shoaib last month by an appellate tribunal which heard his appeal against the original five-year ban imposed on him by the Pakistan Cricket Board in April. The PCB had banned the bowler for five years for violating a two-year probation period and other counts of indiscipline. Shoaib then filed a writ petition in the High Court against the ban and a separate application to stay the
ban. “The court today retained the fine but suspended the ban and he is now available for selection. But first of all he has to pay the fine of 7 million rupees. Today was the last working day of the honorable High Court and some kind of stay had to be given to him otherwise the writ petition could not have been heard before September,” said Tafazzul Rizvi, PCB’s legal counsel. “The court will now hear his writ petition and arguments for and against it sometime in September and only than will it decide on lifting the ban and dropping the fine. We have not seen the full order of the court as yet but we will show full respect the decision of the court,” Rizvi added. The pacer said he was relieved at the court decision and was keen to resume playing for Pakistan. “It has been a hard last few months for me. I am very relieved today but I just want to get back to playing cricket and regain my match fitness. I am very keen to represent my country in the Champions Trophy at home,” he said. Shoaib said he would try to get some practice in England for some county or league side. “I am thankful to the PCB chairman and the people for their support in last two months. I am keen to now resume positively,” he said.
— PTI
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Afridi ‘a victim of black magic’
But ask Afridi and he will tell you a different story. The big-hitting Afridi believes that he is under a spell of black magic! Sources close to Afridi told IANS that the player is "convinced that his enemies have carried out a spell of black magic on him which the player believes has affected his performance on the field". The sources said that friends and relatives of Afridi have been giving the embattled player some pep talk in a bid to convince him to give up that belief. But some of his other trusted friends have been continuously telling him that he will have to seek "expert help" from religious men to get rid of the spell. Afridi is based in Karachi which is the most modern Pakistani city but hails from the Khyber Agency, a conservative area in Northern Pakistan. Sources said that Afridi is of the view that he has lost control of his own mind because of the spell, something which he says was evident from Pakistan's Asia Cup game against Sri Lanka Sunday. Afridi got out for a first ball duck in that game and later told his friends that he went in he wanted to begin with a single, but when the ball was bowled he couldn't resist going after it. "It has to be magic," a source quoted Afridi as saying.
— IANS
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Pietersen set for most lucrative IPL deal
London, July 4 Kolkata Knight Riders' owner Shah Rukh Khan is reportedly close to a deal with Andrew Flintoff on a fee around 750,000 pounds, although, Flintoff's agent denied that any deal was imminent. On the other hand, cricket circles are almost sure that both Flintoff and the stylish England batsman Kevin Pietersen have been offered fee by IPL team owners which they can hardly resist. In fact, several other players apart from these two are already on collision course with the ECB over new contracts. According to the sources, the franchises have raised the stakes by lining up six figure offers to Flintoff and Pietersen. Pietersen has also been offered a very high fee. According to an earlier report, ''one of India's wealthiest families wanted Pietersen to sign at any price.'' Sources claim Pietersen is close to signing the most lucrative deal yet witnessed in the Indian Premier League, after being tendered more than $ 4 million for a three-year contract by an undisclosed IPL franchise. Although, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is currently the most valuable player in the competition, earning above $ 1.5 million annually, ''such is Pietersen's appeal - on the field and off it - his final figure could yet top that.'' ''It is believed that Pietersen is the subject of bids from all eight IPL franchises, while reports in India suggest Flintoff is close to a deal with the Kolkata Knight Riders, the glamorous team owned by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan,'' The Daily Telegraph reported. England's limited overs captain Paul Collingwood has been pressing the ECB to relax its stance and let the country's top players turn out in the multi-million dollar Indian Premier League. He supported the view of Test captain Michael Vaughan and Pietersen who argued there was no reason for England stars to miss out on the Twenty20 extravaganza. ''I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about the IPL. At the moment we can't play, but players will be tempted. If you had the chance to earn four times your normal money in the next six weeks, would you take it? ''It's human nature,'' Collingwood was quoted as saying by Sun. He told The Guardian, ''When there's money like this bandied about, players will make a decision.'' Apart from the three players, Flintoff, Pietersen and Collingwood, Owais Shah, Stuart Broad and Ravi Bopara are also reportedly recipients of offer in the region of $ 300,00. Reportedly, players might dictate terms when the ECB's new central contracts are signed, most probably on Monday. However, The Telegraph said, ''until the new central contracts are signed, the ECB will not issue the non-objection certificate a player needs before joining an IPL team.''
— UNI |
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Zim retains status, pulls out of T20 WC
Dubai, July 4 The ICC's Executive Board, which met for the unscheduled third day following deadlock on the issue after two days of deliberations, agreed to maintain Zimbabwe's status after it agreed to India's advise to pull out of the Twenty20 World Cup in England. "The full membership is currently not in doubt. There was not even a discussion on the issue of Zimbabwe's membership," incoming ICC president David Morgan told a press conference. Zimbabwe's participation in the Twenty20 World Cup had become difficult after the British Government had made it clear that the players would not be issued visas because of its stance against the political unrest under President Robert Mugabe's government. "The Zimbabwe delegation to the ICC Annual Conference week is aware of the decision of the British government not to allow its bilateral series in England in 2009 to go ahead," ICC said in a statement. “Zimbabwe Cricket has also taken note that the British government is likely to refuse to grant visas for the Zimbabwe cricket team to take part in the ICC World Twenty20 2009. “Therefore, the Zimbabwe delegation has decided to recommend to its board that the team should withdraw from that event," it said. “The Zimbabwe delegation has agreed to take this decision in the greater interest of world cricket and the ICC,” it added. The ICC also said the ZCU would not bear any financial repercussions for the withdrawal. “This recommendation should be viewed as a one-off and will not be taken as a precedent. The delegation has undertaken to report back on the decision of its Board to the ICC within one month. “The delegation will report to its Board that it will not suffer financially as a result of its non-participation in the ICC World Twenty20 2009.” Outgoing ICC President Ray Mali recommended that a sub-committee be set up, chaired by Julian Hunte (West Indies) and including another ICC Board member Arjuna Ranatunga (Sri Lanka) and an official from the ICC (to be confirmed). “The role of this sub-committee will be to advise the ICC Board on all matters relating to Zimbabwe cricket including its return to full participation in the international game. The specific terms of reference for the sub-committee
will be finalised in due course.” — PTI |
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Massa crashes, still the fastest
Silverstone, July 4 The Ferrari spun at the 210kph Stowe corner, slamming backwards into the wall with 33 minutes of the session remaining. Massa stepped out unhurt but the car suffered considerable damage to the rear. The red flags came out as marshals removed the wreckage and cleared oil from the track in an 18 minute stoppage. Alonso had pulled up at the same corner only minutes previously, with a plume of smoke billowing from the engine of his Renault. Massa, winner of three races so far this season, had been top of the timesheets when he crashed after completing eight timed laps and nobody was able to go faster when the session re-started. His best lap of one minute 19.575 seconds was well inside the 2007 pole position time of 1:19.997 set by McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton. McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen was second fastest, in 1:19.587, with Hamilton -- in need of a home win after two races without a point -- third and ahead of Ferrari’s world champion Kimi Raikkonen. Massa leads BMW-Sauber’s Robert Kubica by two points after eight races, with Raikkonen in third place a further three behind. Hamilton is 10 points behind Massa with all four drivers taking it in turns to lead the championship over the last four races. British GP at Donington from 2010
SILVERSTONE: The British Formula One Grand Prix will switch to Donington Park from Silverstone in 2010, the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) said today. “Following discussions with Formula One Management (FOM), the FIA can confirm that the British Grand Prix will be retained on the Formula One World Championship calendar,” the FIA said in a statement. “From 2010 the new home of the British Grand Prix will be Donington Park.” Donington Park’s Web site said the circuit’s co-owners Simon Gillett and Lee Gill had signed a 10-year agreement that included an investment of $198.4 million over a five-year period.
— Reuters |
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Focus on job, Houghton told
Kolkata, July 4 Refusing to comment on Houghton's remarks that state associations, like the Indian Football Association in Bengal, was responsible for slowing down the game's development, Dasmunshi said, "I've read about his comments and the IFA's response... I don't want to comment on this." He, however, made clear what he wanted to convey to Houghton, saying, "It's better to show your output in work rather than talking too much." The AIFF chief, who was in the city, was evidently unhappy with the national coach's recent remarks on various issues. A "frustrated" Houghton earlier rued that associations like IFA considered their state leagues more important than the I-League, which, he felt, "was holding Indian football back". The IFA was quick to react with its secretary Utpal Ganguly, holidaying in USA, saying that such allegations were an effort on Houghton's part to cover up the failure of the national team. Incidentally, Houghton was also engaged in a verbal duel with his predecessor coach Sayeed Nayeemuddin, who demanded the Englishman's ouster after India's defeat in the SAFF Championship final. Houghton said he was surprised by the attack from Nayeemduddin who, he claimed, had once wanted to work as his deputy. Nayeemuddin admitted he had contacted Houghton to learn things but denied wanting to work as his assistant.
— PTI |
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BFI to hire foreign coach for juniors
New Delhi, July 4 BFI president R.S.Gill said on the sidelines of the "Basketball Without Borders Asia" clinic for under-19 boys, being held at the American Embassy School here, that the foreign coach for juniors will come courtesy the FIBA. Gill said the decision follows a request by the BFI to the FIBA and both the president and secretary-general of the world body, Bob Elphenstan and Patrick Bauman, who are presently in Delhi on a three-day visit, have committed their full co-operation in the matter. Gill said the BFI had also requested FIBA Asia secretary-general Datoo Yeoh to send national teams from the region, who are at par with India, to the country so that the Indian players could learn the finer techniques and move upward. He said he had got assurance that teams like Tiawan, Qatar and Iran would be sent for an international event in India. Gill said the senior and junior teams would be given more and more international exposure to enable them gain valuable experience and fine tune their skills. "Winning a match here or winning a medal there is not going to help Indian basketball. We have to be consistent with our performance, and should be on par with the best in the business", Gill said. He said the on-going clinic will help the young players learn strategies and world class technique from the NBA players to which they were not exposed before. |
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Italian players charged after match-fixing probe
Rome, July 4 Livorno brothers Emanuele and Antonio Filippini, along with team Alessandro Grandoni, have also been reported by the federation’s prosecutor to the national disciplinary commission for a failure to inform the authorities about the events. The two clubs were also reported to the commission over the behaviour of their players.
— Reuters |
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Roger Federer (L) of Switzerland waits for Marat Safin of Russia at the net after beating him 6-3,7-6, 6-4, in a Men’s Single’s semifinal match during the 2008 Wimbledon
Champio- nships at the All England Tennis Club in south-west London, on Friday. Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates after beating Rainer Schuettler of Germany 6-1, 7-6, 6-4, in the day’s other Single’s semifinal at the All England Tennis Club on Friday. — AFP
photo
London, July 4
Karachi, July 4
