London, December 1
Kevin Pietersen and his teammates are set to return to India by Friday to play the two-Test series, the first of which would be shifted from Ahmedabad to Kolkata, according to media reports here.

According to a report in 'The Guardian', the English cricketers would return to India on Thursday or Friday and the warm-up match, originally scheduled in Vadodara from Friday, is likely to be shifted somewhere near Kolkata.

However, the report added, everything would depend on the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) being convinced about the security arrangements in India.

"The ECB will present the players with a safety report today and is likely to confirm on Tuesday that the tour will resume later in the week," it said.

"...there is some concern about the team hotel in Ahmedabad, which is in the middle of the city," the report added.

Following the terror strikes in Mumbai, the England team returned home abandoning the last two ODIs against India and some of the players have developed cold feet about returning for the Test series.

Following the developments, the ECB chairman Giles Clarke has hastily returned from a business meeting in Colombia while CEO David Collier cut short his holiday in the USA to participate in a teleconference with their Indian counterparts.

"It is understood that the ECB is also talking to the Indian and British governments, high commissions in Indian cities, security advisers and other risk assessment experts in order to give the cricketers a thorough dossier on safety issues in India," the daily said.

In case they return, the England team might miss the services of Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff who are reluctant to go back to India.

Pacer James Anderson might also stay back to be with his pregnant wife.

After Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff, England spinner Graeme Swann too has developed cold feet and is reluctant to tour India following the terror strikes in Mumbai.

Swann said though he has full faith on security adviser Reg Dickason, who is yet to give a go-ahead to the tour, he was not particularly keen on returning to India for the two-match Test series.

"I wouldn't be 100 per cent happy with going back, you know," the off-spinner said.

"There's a security report being compiled and I have every faith in Reg Dickason, if he comes back saying, 'Look guys, it's safe, we can go back there, we can do some good and get playing sport' then I would go. But until that report comes back, certainly at the minute, I'm not that keen, to be honest," the player told the BBC.

Incidentally, pacer James Anderson is also likely to stay back to be with his pregnant wife.

Swann admitted, for a spinner trying to cement his place in the side, skipping the India tour might jeopardise his prospect but said cricket lost its importance to him after the Mumbai terror strikes.

"Obviously it's tricky for people like myself who are trying to forge a regular place in the team. It comes down to thinking, 'If I don't go will I miss out on future selection' and stuff like that, which sort of clouds the issue a little bit. It's certainly not an easy decision to make and not one that anyone will be enjoying.

"You could potentially do some good, but you've got to weigh that up against and factor in, if it is still dangerous, what good are you going to do if you're just providing another target," said the Nottinghamshire spinner.

"It (cricket) didn't feel very important to me personally in the past few days. As I said the scenes we were watching were just harrowing and, you know, the last thing on your mind was playing cricket. The Test match was due to start in 10-14 days and that's a long time in anything, so we'll see how the dust is going to settle. Personally, to me, it seems pretty volatile over there at the moment," said Swann.

Melbourne, December 1
Shane Warne has good things to say for almost all the top-100 cricketers of his choice in his book but could not camouflage his dislike for former India captain Sourav Ganguly in whom he found neither the hallmarks of a great batsman nor an extraordinary leader.

"Sourav Ganguly might not be my cup of tea as a bloke, but what he did for Indian cricket has to be respected," he said justifying the Indian's inclusion in his book 'Shane Warne's Century'.

"He is a feisty sort of character, not short of self-confidence or unaware of his standing in Indian life. He is regarded over there, especially around his teeming home city of Calcutta, as one of the greatest ever Indian captains. They won more games under him than anybody else, so I guess the statistics back that up. Personally, I am not so sure," he said.

"I think he had some outstanding players and solid characters in the team. Do you need to be a great leader to win games with Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble in the ranks. Tactically, he was not among the best leaders I came up against, and his management skills left a bit to be desired."

Warne felt Ganguly was not outstanding as a batsman and said even minnows Bangladesh tried to encash on his vulnerability to short-pitched bowling.

"I think that every bowling attack in the world, even Bangladesh, has tried to get him with the short ball or has placed a couple of gullies for those left-handed slashes that he likes."

"Maybe, his strength is in one-day cricket, where there are strict rules on the use of bouncers... He can also play some glorious looking drives with perfect timing, like most of the Indian batmen," Warne said.

"...But he did have the knack of rubbing up opponents (and even teammates when he went to Lancashire) the wrong way without seeming to try very hard.

"When we arrived in India in 2000, in the middle of our really good run, he said that we had only beaten weak teams in the past. Funny, that, as India were one of them."

Warne also does not seem to have pardoned Ganguly for making then Australia captain Steve Waugh wait for the toss in the 2000 Kolkata Test.

"He would also be late for the toss and then walk off on his own without waiting for Steve Waugh, our captain. To be a minute or so behind because an issue crops up is one thing, but more than that is just taking the mickey.

Ditto were his feelings for former Sri Lanka skipper Arjuna Ranatunga, whom, Warne has confessed, he did "not like" and found "irritating".

"Through gritted teeth, I have put Arjuna Ranatunga in my 100... because everybody knows I don't like Ranatunga... if there was any way I could knock him down to number 101 for the purposes of this book, I'd be delighted to do so," Warne wrote.

"I can remember occasions when he led his team off the field because he was unhappy with an umpiring decision, ordered an umpire where to stand behind the wicket, called for a runner by faking injury to disguise his own fitness - he looked as though he'd swallowed a sheep - and told his teammates not to shake our hands after a match..."

Warne felt Ranatunga enjoyed being known for his autocratic ways and the Sri Lankan was clear that he was not out there "to win popularity contest".

"He was described as a little Napoleon early in his captaincy career and I think he took it as a praise... he was so irritating... I have not heard a good word for him from a single international player outside Sri Lanka." — PTI

Chandigarh, December 1
Lanky Gujarat seamer Siddarth Trivedi wrecked Punjab as the visitors slumped to a 10-wicket defeat in the Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match at Sardar Patel Stadium at Motera in Ahmedabad today.

Resuming from the overnight score of 107 for four, Trivedi dealt the first blow sending back Ankur Kakkar, when the batsman was batting on 33. The fall of this wicket opened the floodgates as wickets kept on tumbling at regular intervals.

Trivedi and seamewr Ishwar Choudhary did not take long to wind up the Punjab, which folded below the 200-run mark, for the second time in the match, setting Gujarat a victory target of 30 runs which the hosts achieved without any loss of wicket.

Scoreboard

Gujarat (Ist innings): 300

Punjab (Ist Innings): 137

Punjab (2nd innings) (following on)

Sohal c PA Patel b Choudhary 27 , Goel c NK Patel b Makda 17, Inder Singh c Thaker b Trivedi 22, Dharmani b Choudhary 9, U Kaul not out 56, Kakkar c PA Patel b Trivedi 33, Ricky b Trivedi 2, Charanjit Singh lbw b Trivedi 2, Gagandeep Singh b Choudhary 0, MS Gony c Parmar b Trivedi 5, V Khanna c Modi b Parmar 7. Extras (lb 6, w 5, nb 1): 12. Total (all out; 67.2 overs; 272 mins): 192 . Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-61, 3-73, 4-84, 5-147, 6-153, 7-155, 8-156, 9-163, 10-192. Bowling: SK Trivedi 18-6-43-5 AM Makda 11-0-60-1, IH Choudhary 15-3-55-3, VD Solanki 8-3-7-0, MB Parmar 15.2-6-21-1

New Delhi, December 1
Former pace spearhead Javagal Srinath today lauded India's current breed of fast bowlers and singled out Ishant Sharma who, he believes, is loaded with 'extraordinary' talent and has taken Indian pace bowling to a different level altogether.

Srinath said under the watchful eyes of bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad, Indian pacers have become one of the most potent force in world cricket.

''I think India has never had a pacer of Ishant's talent. He has an extraordinary talent in him and for me he is right up there at the top amongst some of the best bowlers in the world,'' Srinath told mediapersons here today.

Srinath was here at a funtion to announce the third year of the the Gatorade pace talent hunt and said the inclusion of physios and consultants, the game in the country has progressed at a rapid pace.

The former pacer also had words of praise for Zaheer Khan who, he said, has been a catalyst to India's success.

''Zaheer and Ishant have energised this Indian bowling. I hope many youngsters can take a cue from them and in future we can expect an even better bowling attack.

''Given the statistics over the past one year, I think the two (Zaheer and Ishant) have made the Indian pace attack amongst the best ones,'' Srinath replied to a query.

Off late Indian bowlers especially, pacers have produced fruitful results and the team does not depend on spinners for positive results on the sub-continent wickets.

''I believe it was always a misnomer that the Indian wickets had nothing to offer to pacers. But these two have have proved what a pacer can do if he keeps the bowl in the right places.

''Venkatesh has also played an important role in the success of these bowlers. I always felt that he was a very good thinker of the game.

''The way Venkatesh has handled these bowlers is tremendous,'' Srinath conceded. The former pacer also expressed his concerns over the Mumbai attacks which has forced the game to move out of the Indian sub-continent.

However, he said the concerns were right but one must not let these attacks control the fate of the game and was also loud in his voice over the speculations that some players and teams having reservations over touring India.

He also said the 2011 World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in the sub-continent, is safe and there was no danger to the extravagant event.

''Yes, I think the game has suffered because of all this but the boards need to work out to come out of this situation.

''I have been hearing that some one has said this some has said that.... but have you heard them say anything. Let Flintoff stand up and say that he does not want to play in India,'' he conceded. — UNI

Madrid, December 1
Villarreal beat last-place Recreativo Huelva 2-1, and 10-man Valencia recovered to defeat Real Betis 3-2 as both teams moved ahead of injury-ravaged Real Madrid in the Spanish league. Spain winger Santi Cazorla and Ariel Miguel Ibagaza scored first-half goals at the Nuevo Colombino stadium for Villarreal, which improved to 28 points and trails leader Barcelona by four.

Valencia is alone in third place with 27 points after Ruben Baraja scored the winner with a 73rd-minute header as Valencia blew a two-goal and overcame the 63rd-minute ejection of Carlos Marchena yesterday. Barcelona beat Sevilla 3-0 on Saturday to improve to 32 points - six better than Madrid, which lost several more of its international players to injury in a 3-1 loss at Getafe.

Diego Forlan scored two goals and set up the other two as Atletico Madrid rallied for a 4-1 victory against 10-man Racing Santander to stay sixth. Also yesterday, it was: Almeria 0, Deportivo La Coruna 1; Valladolid 3, Mallorca 0; Malaga 4, Osasuna 2; Athletic Bilbao 2, Numancia 0; and Espanyol 0, Sporting Gijon 1.

Villarreal came into the match with several injuries, and striker Jozy Altidore used a rare start to trouble the Recreativo goal early. Cazorla scored his fourth goal of the season in the 27th minute after his long shot deflected through the area and left goalkeeper Asier Riesgo without a chance. Ibagaza swung his free kick from outside the area inside near post in the 45th as Villarreal rebounded from its first league defeat since April.

Adrian Colunga scored Recreativo’s goal in the 83rd from the penalty spot. Valencia took command at the Mestalla with early goals by two Spain internationals - David Villa and Juanma Mata. Villa volleyed home Edu Gaspar’s flicked-on cross in the 10th minute for his 12th goal of the season. Mata strode into the area in the 20th before pulling back to beat Casto Espinosa with a hard shot inside the near post.

But Valencia’s concentration disappeared after the break and Betis took advantage to rally. Renan Soares continued to have trouble covering the short side as the Valencia goalkeeper somehow let Juanma Gomez’s low shot slip by in the 56th. Raul Albiol cleared off the line in the 63rd but Marchena had hauled Sergio Garcia down inside the area, with Achille Emana stepping up to score the penalty a minute later.— AP

Madrid, December 1
Atletico Madrid were drawn today to meet Barcelona in the last 16 of the King's Cup. Primera Liga leaders Barcelona, who have won the Cup a record 24 times, will play the first leg at the Calderon next month. Atletico, who are sixth in the league, secured the last of their nine Cups in 1996 with a 1-0 overtime win over the Catalans.

The only remaining non-Primera Liga clubs, Real Union and Poli Ejido both of the Segunda B (third tier), will have home advantage for their first legs against Real Betis and Espanyol respectively.

Poli Ejido knocked out Villarreal 6-1 on aggregate in the last round, and Real Union beat Real Madrid on the away goals rule after drawing 6-6 on aggregate.

Holders Valencia visit Racing Santander, and the 2007 winners Sevilla are at home first to Deportivo Coruna. A northern derby between Osasuna and 23-times winners Athletic Bilbao, and the clashes between Real Mallorca and Almeria, and Sporting Gijon and Real Valladolid completed the draw.

The first legs are scheduled for January 7, with the return legs on January 14. — Reuters

Jaipur, December 1
Kicking off a controversy ahead of the visit of soccer superstar Diego Maradona to Kolkata later this week Indian Football star and captain Baichung Bhutia questioned the huge expenditure on the visit.

“Indian football needs more funds. In such circumstances spending several lakh on Diego’s visit surprises me. I wonder if the money had proved more valuable if spent on providing facilities to local players.”

Maradona, recently appointed Argentina coach, is scheduled to inaugurate a soccer academy in Kolkata on December 6 and participate in a charity dinner where some of his playing gear would be auctioned.

In the city to promote Futsal, a five-a-side version of soccer played on a smaller ground for 20-20 minute duration, Bhutia said he is a great fan of Maradonna but he does not think his visit for few days can popularise the game, “Instead, the money should have been spent on betterment of national players.”

Bhutia was talking to reporters after giving prizes to winner of MCdowell Celebration Futsal championship in which 22 clubs of the country played at SMS institute here.

Bhutia said Futsal designed to popularise the sport on the Twenty-20 cricket championship lines would bring a revolution in the soccer scene in the country.

“It would bring out more talent. The country is facing a dearth of talent. There is less money, bad infrastructure and grounds are increasingly disappearing . In such scenario Futsal can bring a new life to the game.”

Bhutia rued that India was placed fourth in 1956 Melbourne Olympic but after that the game slipped. “Many Arab countries began playing long after that. Today they are far better than us,” he added.

Ludhiana, December 1
Full credit to Chandigarh Academy eves as they scored an upset 3-0 victory over last year’s losing finalists, Western Railway, Mumbai, to lift the title in the XIIth All-India Mohinder Partap Singh Grewal Memorial Hockey Tournament that concluded at the Prithipal Singh Memorial AstroTurf Stadium of the Punjab Agricultural University campus here today.

The final rose to dizzy heights as players from both the teams dished out some fantastic hockey. Unexpectedly, Chandigarh Academy girls were not overawed by their experienced opponents, WR, Mumbai, who had a number of internationals in its ranks.

After enjoying upper hand most of the time as they forced as many as five penalty corners during the first twenty minutes of play, Chandigarh Academy surged ahead through their captain and centre half, Monika who struck with one minute before the lemon break.

Stung at this reverse, WR players reorganised themselves, weaved good moves and also managed to earn penalty corner, which, however, went abegging.

Chandigarh Academy girls increased the lead through a penalty corner coversion by right out, Ramandeep Kaur in the 26th minute (2-0) while the third goal came off Monika’s stick in the 62nd minute which enabled them to wrap up the issue and title quite easily.

Earlier, in the match to decide the third position, MP Academy, Gwalior thrashed Northern Eastern Railway, Goarkhpur 6-1 after leading 3-1 at half time. Raina Yadav accounted two goals while Shyama, Niharika, Pinki Devi, Jamila chipped in with one goal each for the MP Academy. The lone scorer for the losers was Geeta Sahi.

The winners received a cash prize of Rs 50,000 besides a trophy and the runners up got a cash prize of Rs 35,000. Nirmal Singh Kahlon, speaker, Punjab Legislative Assembly was the chief guest at the prize distribution function. He announced a grant of Rs 2 lakh for the organising committee of this tournament.

Nisha Singh, goalkeeper of Western Railway, Mumbai was the best player of the tournament and pocketed a cash prize of Rs 10,000. Vanita, also of WR and Ritu Sharma of Chandigarh Academy netted four goals each and shared the best scorer’s prize of Rs 5,000.

Chandigarh, December 1
Waning interest of Indians in hockey got a further blow with their single nominee, Vidya Stokes, losing the election of vice-president (women) in the just-concluded Congress of the International Hockey Federation that saw Leandro Negre of Spain replacing Els Vriesman (Belgium) as the new world hockey chief. Vidya Stokes lost to her Singapore rival, A. Dillon, a sitting vice-president.

Indians’ interest in the FIH general congress veered around Els Vriesman who was seeking second term in office. Though Peter Cohen, the incumbent secretary-general of the FIH, had also indicated his interest to contest for presidentship, he withdrew at the last minute. Peter Cohen will continue to be the secretary-general.

Interestingly, the IHC much before its takeover by the Indian Olympic Association had engaged the services of Hendricks, national coach of Spain, for overseeing the conduct of Indian Premier Hockey League. The PHL may be in doldrums now but the election of Leandro Negre as the new FIH chief may not be to the liking of either the ad hoc committee or the IOA.

It was Els Vriesman who brought the executive board meeting of the FIH to Delhi early this year and also signed a MoU with the IOA-backed ad hoc committee for the conduct of the 2010 World Cup Hockey Tournament in Delhi.

It is not only FIH that has seen changes at the top. Even the national hockey federations of both Australia and Spain also have new chiefs. Santiago Deo, who till recently was senior most umpire in both the Olympic and world cup panels of the FIH, has been elected president of the National Hockey Federation of Spain. Neither many Indian players nor officials have any special liking for Deo, against whom a demonstration was held during Athens Olympics. In Australia, Stuart Grimshaw will take over from Pamela Tye who has decided to retire.

New Delhi, December 1
A star-studded field will feature in the 14th edition of the Chennai Open, India's only ATP International Series Tennis Tournament, to be held from 5 to 11 January, 2009. India's Davis Cuppers Prakash Amritraj and Somdev Dev Varman have been given wild cards for the singles main draw.

Leading the field will be World No 5 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, who ended the year on a high note, reaching the finals of the Tennis Masters in Shangai, former World No 9 and now 13 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, who won the Beijing Olympics doubles gold with Federer, Croatians Marin Cilic and Ivo Karlovic and Rainer Schuettler of Germany, former World No 1 Carlos Moya and former World No 3 and Chennai Open champion Ivan Ljubicic.

Bhupathi will team up with Mark Knowles while Leander Paes will partner Lukas Dlouhy to give a cutting edge to the doubles competition in which the star attraction will be the American twins Mike Bryan and Bob Bryan, who were ranked No 1 in the world this year.

Kolkata, December 1
Churchill Brothers edged past East Bengal 2-1 in the 11th round encounter of the ONGC I-League at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan here today to end their campaign in the first phase one point adrift of second-placed Mohun Bagan.

A lapse from Churchill Brothers goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya saw East Bengal take the lead in the second minute.

Arindam took his eye off a back pass from Chandam Chitrasen and casually tried to kick the ball but ended up conceding an own goal much to the dismay of last year's runners-up.

However, despite the advantage, Stanley Rozario's boys failed to cash in on the opportunity and it took less than half-an-hour for Zoran Djordjevic-coached Churchill Brothers to find the equaliser.

Ogba Kalu took advantage of an out of position Subrata Pal under the East Bengal bar to send his header home in the 31st minute.

The changeover saw East Bengal stepping up the momentum but it was Arindam's brilliance under the Churchill Brothers goal that saved the visitors.

Addo was included in the East Bengal roster in place of Edmilson Marques who has been recuperating from Hepatitis B and has been released by the club.

It was yet another slip that sealed the match in the visitors' favour in the 59th minute. Mehrajuddin Wadao came in the line of a Okolie Odafa shot and the deflection was enough to get the ball past a hapless Pal and into the net and consign East Bengal to their third successive defeat. — PTI