Johannesburg, October 28
The Proteas are keen to have their former star batsman Gary Kirsten as national team's coach next year, but Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is reportedly among those pushing to have the South African's contract as Indian coach renewed.

Kirsten had gained respect and popularity after taking over as coach of the Indian side in March 2008, the Afrikaans weekly Rapport said, adding that this was boosted by India's victory against Australia earlier this month in Test series. With Corrie van Zyl having announced his decision to retire as South African coach after the World Cup in March next year, Kirsten is one of those being eyed for the position by Cricket South Africa (CSA), according to insiders.

Coach’s contract runs till ’11 World Cup

Dhoni wants Gary’s contract extended

Gambhir too voices support

Gary is the best coach India has ever had. I have often said that and I keep on stressing that we need Gary. I don't need to speak much about him.

Wellington, October 28
New Zealand's cricketers have come in for some startling criticism from their own coach Mark Greatbatch who feels some players "aren't as good as they think they are" and even a couple of draws in next month's three-Test series against India would be a "good result".

New Zealand were handed a humiliating 0-4 thrashing by minnows Bangladesh in a recent one-day series, a result which stunned the country known to perform beyond expectations at big events such as the World Cup.

The whitewash in Bangladesh has made for a demoralising build-up to the India series which starts November 4. Daniel Vettori's men will play three Tests and five one-dayers against India.

The first Test begins in Ahmedabad on Thursday, followed by matches in Hyderabad and Nagpur. "India have only lost one of their last 13 Tests in India, so if you're gonna ask me what a good result is I would take two draws," Greatbatch told 'Radio New Zealand'.

Talking about the shambolic tour of Bangladesh, Greatbatch said, "When you play badly like that you've got to front up, it's devastating. You can talk about structures as much as you want but the reality is it's about the bat and ball. Watching it, making good decisions and getting the hell stuck into the opposition and we just haven't done that consistently," he added.

Greatbatch said some players in the team are not fit for international cricket. "I'll be honest again I think some (players) aren't good enough, I think some think they're better than they are and the third thing I think is the mind." "We've got to get our mind right and sometimes that requires patience. Sometimes it requires being aggressive.

What it requires is actually sorting out the cricket smarts and weighing up the situation that you're playing in and we've got some work to do in all those areas." The coach was, however, lavish in his praise for explosive batsman Ross Taylor.

"I think Ross Taylor has only played 25 Tests, that's not a lot, some of these World class players have played 150," Greatbatch said "I think he's on the right track. I think when his career's come to an end he will have played close to 100 Tests for New Zealand and probably be one of our best." — PTI 

Islamabad, October 28
Suspended Pakistan captain Salman Butt, one of the three Pakistani players implicated in the spot-fixing scandal, has said that he is 'pretty sure' of being cleared of the allegations levelled against him. Salman is all set to appear before the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Code of Conduct Commission at Doha in Qatar this weekend to answer the claims, the Daily Times reported. Talking about alleged bookmaker Mazhar Majeed, Salman said that Majeed was looking after his promotional work, and there was no clause in the Pakistan Cricket Board's code of conduct that players should inform it about their agents.

Earlier, the ICC had provisionally suspended Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif over claims that they took money to deliberately bowl no-balls against England at Lord's. The trio were served notices on September 2 after the ICC felt they had 'a case to answer,' and will now go through a hearing over the unspecified charges contained in the governing body's code of conduct. — ANI 

Top hockey officials from Pakistan and India will meet on the sidelines of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Congress near the Swiss Alps next month to discuss the idea of reviving bilateral exchanges between the two nations, according to a senior official of the PHF.

Asif Bajwa, secretary PHF said that he will be meeting his Indian counterpart Narinder Batra in Montreux (Switzerland) to explore the possibility of holding a Pakistan-India test series as soon as possible. “We are all for reviving bilateral hockey series with India,” Bajwa said adding: “Such matches, if held on a regular basis, will benefit hockey in both the countries.”

Pakistan and India have exchanged bilateral tours in the past but sporting ties between the two nations have suffered because of an unofficial freeze following the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people. India blames Pakistan intelligence agencies and non-state actors of masterminding and executing the carnage.

In the last couple of years, Pakistan and India have played against each other on the hockey field but only in international tournaments run by the FIH or the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF). Even though hockey which was once a very popular sport in the sub-continent has lost its gloss, matches between Pakistan and India continue to draw huge crowds.

Earlier this month, a packed stadium witnessed an electrifying clash between the former Asian giants during the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. Even the event’s final failed to produce a similar atmosphere.

Nanjing, October 28
World champion Viswanathan Anand played out a draw with Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria to remain in joint second position after end of the eighth round of Pearl Spring Chess tournament here. After surviving a real scare against Norwegian Magnus Carlsen in the seventh round, Anand could do little with his white pieces against Topalov, who appeared well-armed after his first victory in the tournament in the previous round.

The lead positions remained unchanged as the other two games of the day also ended in draws. Carlsen was troubled for a short time by Chinese hopeful Wang Yue but eventually got a draw, while Etienne Bacrot of France settled for the peace treaty quite early against Vugar Gashimov of Azerbaijan. With just two rounds to come in the six-player double round-robin tournament, Carlsen retained his lead and barring a debacle, he looks set to annex the title here. The Norwegian took his tally to 5.5 points out of a possible eight to keep Anand and Bacrot at a full point distance.

Topalov and Gashimov are on 3.5 points and sharing the fourth spot, while Wang now has 2.5 points in his kitty. In the remaining two rounds of this 250000 Euros prize money event, Carlsen has to meet Topalov and Gashimov, while Anand will take on Gashimov and Bacrot. The Frenchman has Wang apart from the Indian ace and things can heat up if Anand and Bacrot win the next round. Topalov did not have to do much against a topical Catalan that has become a frequent visitor in top level chess these days. — PTI 

London, October 28
Theo Walcott's double helped Arsenal rout Newcastle 4-0 to reach the quarterfinals of the League Cup. Arsenal went ahead through Newcastle 'keeper Tim Krul's 45th-minute own goal and Walcott netted his first at the start of the second half.

Nicklas Bendtner scored in the 83rd minute before Walcott completed an emphatic victory yesterday for Arsenal that puts the club closer to ending a trophy drought since winning the 2005 FA Cup. “People may say that this is a Mickey Mouse cup, but we want to win trophies," Walcott said. "We want to look back on the trophies we have won in our career. At the moment it's none, but if we keep playing like that I'm sure it will come.” Aston Villa defeated Burnley 2-1 and West Ham beat Stoke 3-1 in yesterday's other matches, which both went to extra time.

Defending champion Manchester United advanced to the quarterfinals on Tuesday along with Birmingham, Wigan and West Bromwich Albion, and second-tier Ipswich. The quarterfinal draw will be made on Saturday.

At St. James' Park, Arsenal's opener came after Bendtner headed toward the Newcastle goal and Ryan Taylor's defensive header hit Krul and dropped into the net. There was controversy surrounding the second. Bendtner, who had run from an offside position, collided with Mike Williamson as he attempted to get to Walcott.

But referee Andre Marriner allowed play to continue and Walcott calmly chipped Krul to make it 2-0 with Newcastle protests counting for nothing. — AP 

Jalandhar, October 28
Budding NCC shooters of West Bengal and Sikkim emerged with flying colours to claim the overall trophy in the NCC Inter-Directorate Shooting Championship-2010 held at Punjab Armed Police (PAP) Shooting Range, Jalandhar Cantt.

The West Bengal and Sikkim shooters won 85 points and bagged first position in the championship.

While Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh directorate stood (PHHP&C) second and Jammu & Kashmir directorate bagged third runners-up position.

As many as 17 NCC directorates participated in the shooting championship. The winner shooters would now compete in the upcoming 20th G.V. Mavlankar Shooting Championship to be held at Guwahati (Assam). As many as fifty-five NCC cadets from all states have been selected to represent the Director General NCC team in the Mavlankar championship to be held from November 17 to 27.

While the NCC shooters from all the directorates would now undergo training at Kampthi (Maharastra) from October 31 to November 12.

Talking to The Tribune, NCC cadet Amrita Roi from West Bengal and Sikkim directorate who won four gold medals in the championship said, “All credit to NCC that I have been able to excel in shooting. Owing to expensive ammunition, it is difficult to pursue this game. However, NCC has turned out to be a good launching pad for many of us.”

Patiala, October 28
Punjabi University, Patiala, eves established their supremacy by winning the All India Inter-University Cycling Championship that was held at GND University, Amritsar, recently, while the men team that was last year’s winners, finished on the second spot this year.

Giving remarkable performance, the eves took a step higher to grab the trophy after they finished second last year. GND University and Kerela University were second and third, respectively.

Coach Mittarpal Singh informed that both teams had worked really hard for this championship. He said though he was a little disappointed with boys because they were very good but winning and loosing was a part of the game. They would surely make it to the first spot next year.

Giving the credit of their achievement to their hardwork, Mittarpal said the players were a very dedicated lot. He also thanked Vice-Chancellor Dr Jaspal Singh, Director sports Dr Rajkumar Sharma, his fellow coach Kamaljit Singh and mechanic Surya who helped these players bag the championship.

Talking about the medal count, he informed that Gurpreet Kaur had won 4 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals whereas Mamta Kumari had won 3 gold, 1 silver and a bronze. Sandeep Kaur had won 2 gold, 2 silver and a bronze; Rekha Rani won 2 gold, 1 silver and a bronze and last but not the least Pushpinder Kaur won a gold medal.

In the men’s section, Narpinder Singh won 2 gold and 4 silvers; Sukhwinder Singh won 3 silver and 2 bronze, Sarpreet Singh won 4 silver; Maneetpal Singh won 2 silver, Jasveer Singh won 2 silver and Karanbeer Singh won 1 silver medal to finish second. GND University and Kereal University were first and third, respectively.

Ferozepur, October 28
The Kapurthala district today bagged its first gold when its Ranjit Kumar completed a distance of 1500 metres in 4 minutes and.16. 67 seconds on the inaugural day of Punjab Rural Sports Championship (under 16 boys), which started a colourful note in the local Shaheed Bhagat Singh stadium here today.

Lovjot Singh of Gurdaspur district got Silver medal while covering the distance in 4 minutes and 21.38 seconds minutes and Vivek Kumar of Mohali won Bronze with the timing of 4:22.25. In Shot Put, Simardeep Singh of Ludhiana won gold by throwing shot put at a distance of 10.69 metres, Premjot Singh of Ferozepur got silver with 9.90m where as Sarbjot Singh of Gurdaspur had to contend with bronze with a distance of 9.82m.

The championship, in which about 2600 sportsperson from 20 districts of Punjab, are participating was declared open by chief parliamentary secretary, Sukhpal Singh Nannu. Pargat Singh, director, sports, Punjab, K. K. Yadav, deputy commissioner and number of sports persons, who have taken participation in international level championship in different discipline, attended the inaugural ceremony.

The torch bearing ceremony was performed by International Athlete Gursahib Singh, Ram Lal, Navsher Singh (Hockey), Sukhchain Singh (Athletics) and Veerandeep Sodhi (Rifle Shooting). Gagandeep Singh National Gold Medallist in Basketball took the oath on behalf of all the participants. 

BRIEFLY

Paul’s successor is French
Oberhausen: The successor to the game-guessing Paul the Octopus is French, although it remains to be seen if he will have the same forecasting talents as his famous English-born predecessor. Paul gained global fame by correctly calling all seven of Germany's World Cup games and predicting Spain's victory in July over the Netherlands. He was found dead of natural causes in his tank at the Oberhausen aquarium on Tuesday. — AP

Advani, Sethi win
Leeds: Reigning champion Pankaj Advani remained on course for the second successive World Professional Billiards title after securing contrasting wins over compatriot Sushrat Pandia and England's Martin Goodwill on the opening day of the event here. In his opening encounter in the five-day-long championship, Advani produced four century breaks (178, 155, 172 and 125) to score a thumping 1150-167 victory over Pandia in a lop-sided encounter. — PTI

Atwal tied 16th
Kuala Lumpur: A jet-lagged Arjun Atwal scrambled to a three-under 68 for a share of the 16th spot after the opening round of the inaugural Asian and PGA Tour co-sanctioned CIMB Asia Pacific Classic golf tournament here on Thursday. Atwal, the first Indian to win on the PGA Tour with his victory at the Wyndham Championship in August, struggled with the effects of jet lag at the Mines Resort and Golf Club. — PTI

More money for Rovers: Venky's
London: The five million pounds pledged for the January transfer window is just the start and much more would be spent next summer to make Blackburn Rovers a top team in the English Premier League, the club's prospective Indian buyers Venky's has promised. Reacting to media reports that her firm will spend just five million pounds in the January window which would be much lesser than other top EPL clubs, Venky's chairperson Anuradha Desai pledged to invest "much more" in the summer to make sure that Rovers are competitive at the top of the Premier League. — PTI

Desi ghee for CWG medallists!
Chandigarh: It is not just with cash and other gifts which Haryana is showering on the Commonwealth Games medallists from the state as the government is also giving them "pure Desi ghee". Sportspersons from Haryana bagged a rich haul of medals at the CWG, helping the country finish at number two spot in the mega sporting event. The winners of gold medal at the Games would be given Rs 15 lakh, a Maruti Gold SX 4 car and, what may surprise few also, a tin of 101 kgs of pure ghee. — PTI

Big money for AIFF's gen sec
New Delhi: A staggering salary in excess of Rs 40 lakh per annum is what All India Football Federation (AIFF's) next general secretary, Kushal Das, will be drawing after he takes over the post from November 1. A former chief financial officer of the ICC, Das's salary would at least be three times more than what incumbent Alberto Colaco is drawing at the moment. The amount Das would be earning at the AIFF, however, would still be three times less than what he was drawing during his tenure as ICC CFO in Dubai, a top AIFF official told PTI on condition of anonymity. — PTI

Sushil appointed chief coach
Bhopal: Beijing Olympics bronze medallist, Sushil Kumar, has been appointed chief coach-cum-technical advisor of the Madhya Pradesh Wrestling Academy. This will be Sushil's first stint in coaching. The world champion has been hired for teaching technical aspects of the sport to upcoming grapplers at the academy, a press release issued here said. Sushil would look after the all-round development of the sport in the state, the release added. — PTI