Dubai, August 26
Senior Indian cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan earned a place in the ICC Test Team of the Year, chosen by a specially appointed selection panel headed by West Indian legend Clive Lloyd today. Four countries are represented in the 12-man line-up and Tendulkar made the side for the third year in a row, having appeared in the ICC World Test Team of the Year 2009 and 2010.

South African fast bowler Dale Steyn also featured in the World Test team for the fourth year running. He was a member of the ICC World Test Team of the Year 2008, 2009 and 2010. Steyn's fellow teammates -- Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis -- along with Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, and England duo of Graeme Swann and James Anderson all appeared in the side for the second year in a row.

Former Sri Lanka skipper Sangakkara is named as captain of the team.

"The selection of this year's Test team was a difficult one with so many worthy candidates available to fill just 12 places," said Chairman of the LG ICC Awards selection panel, Clive Lloyd in a media conference while announcing the short-lists for the LG ICC Awards 2011 scheduled to be held in London on September 12.

"The team has a formidable line-up that bats well down the order and has bowlers with the ability and form to dismiss any opposition twice on any surface," he said. Lloyd said the process of selection was a difficult one and they had to weigh the credentials of all the players before zeroing in on the list.

"The selection was a difficult process with so many outstanding performances available to look back on. All the top performers during the voting period were discussed at length and various combinations were considered.

"While selecting the squad, the selectors didn't rely only on statistics only but took into account all other factors like the opposition, pitch conditions, match situation etc. But when you have only 12 places to fill from a big group of world-class players, there will always be a few who will miss out.

"In the panel's expert opinion, it has selected the best team based on performances over the past 12 months," he said.

Lloyd was joined on the panel by former South Africa spin bowler Paul Adams, former Pakistan batsman Zaheer Abbas, former New Zealand bowler-turned-commentator Danny Morrison and former England batsman Mike Gatting.

The ICC Test Team of the Year

Alastair Cook (Eng)

Hashim Amla (SA)

Jonathan Trott (Eng)

Sachin Tendulkar (Ind)

Kumar Sangakkara (SL) (wk/captain)

AB de Villiers (SA)

Jacques Kallis (SA)

Stuart Broad (Eng)

Graeme Swann (Eng)

Dale Steyn (SA)

James Anderson (Eng)

Zaheer Khan (Ind) (12th man)

New Delhi, August 26
Though the Sports Ministry has not declared the winners of the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy for this year, claims and counter-claims have been made by competing universities, who were eyeing the prestigious trophy awarded for excelling in domestic and international sports competitions.

Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, which has the unique record of lifting the MAKA Trophy for a record 21 times, said it had “a legitimate claim” on the trophy for the year 2010-2011, which has been denied to it “through sheer lobbying at the higher places and manipulations”.

Guru Nanak Director of Sports, Prof (Dr) Kanwaljeet Singh, clarified that the MAKA Trophy was awarded not only on the basis of points earned at the inter-university competitions, but also for winning medals in national and international competitions. He said the Guru Nanak had not added any points on inter-university competitions in the revised claim. But he conceded that “certain vital particulars, which had been left out by omission and rush of work due to paucity of time, because of the then approaching last stipulated date of 30-6-2011”, were added in the revised list.

Guru Nanak and Punjabi University, Patiala, were the front-runners for the MAKA Trophy, but Dr Kanwaljeet Singh claimed that Punjabi University’s name did not figure in the first list submitted to the Association of Indian Universities (AIU). He said for the conferment of the MAKA Trophy for 2010-2011, AIU invited performance details from the member universities on June 2, 2001, stating that details should reach the AIU office (in Delhi) by June 30 June, failing which no claim would be entertained.

“Guru Nanak submitted its performance details to the AIU office through a special messenger on June 30. We started checking the AIU website daily from July 2 till July 12 and found that there were only four universities — Kurukshetra, Guru Nanak, Panjab University (Chandigarh) and Mangalore University - which were put on the website,” Dr Singh told The Tribune from Amritsar. He asserted that Punjabi University, Patiala had not submitted its claim till July 12 for “reasons best known to them”.

He stressed that accepting the claim beyond the original date, June 30, by the concerned authority/organisation, was in violation of the rule, framed by the Ministry, which says: “Nomination and scrutiny: The AIU will invite application and claims from all the universities and prepare a statement of marks by a stipulated date. It will not entertain any claim from a university beyond the stipulated cut-off date”.

Accordingly, the AIU president and secretary-general, as well as the joint-secretary in the Sports Ministry and under-secretary in AIU, were informed through a letter dated July 13. But the last date for submission was further extended nevertheless, which Guru Nanak claimed, “seems to be a favour done to a particular university, which is perhaps the first time that the last date was extended beyond June 30”.

London, August 26
Star batsman Kevin Pietersen has been rested while Ben Stokes was the lone new face as England today announced a 14-member squad for the five-match ODI series against India starting on September 3. Pietersen was, however, named in the 13-member squad for the one-off Twenty20 International to be played at Manchester on August 31 with two uncapped players Jos Buttler and Alex Hales figuring in it.

"The 14-man NatWest Series squad (for the ODI series) will have Durham's Ben Stokes, who made his international debut against Ireland in Dublin on Thursday, while Kevin Pietersen will be rested for the five-match series against India," an England and Wales Cricket Board statement said.

"The decision to omit Kevin Pietersen from the One-Day squad is in line with our policy of sensibly managing player workloads and will give the opportunity to another batsman to test himself batting at number four," it added. National selector Geoff Miller said both the squads have a mix of exeperience players and youngsters.

"Across both squads we believe we've selected an exciting blend of experienced international performers along with some exciting young players with a great deal of talent. We will need to play a high quality brand of limited overs cricket against the World Champions India," he said.

"We're very excited to have included some bright young players in the form of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Alex Hales, all of whom have proved themselves domestically and will now be looking to successfully take the step up to international level." England had beaten India 4-0 in the Test series which concluded on August 21.

England ODI Squad: Alastair Cook (Captain), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Craig Kieswetter, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Ben Stokes, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott.

England Twenty20 International squad: Stuart Broad (Captain), Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Jos Buttler, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Craig Kieswetter, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Kevin Pietersen, Ben Stokes, Graeme Swann. — PTI

New Delhi, August 26
Indian hockey has been dogged by a spate of controversies in recent past, including the pull-out of two senior players from the national camp, but captain Rajpal Singh feels that won't affect the team's performance in the upcoming inaugural Asian Champions Trophy.

"It is true that we have seen a lot of controversies in recent past but I can assure you that they will not affect us in the ground. All the players are in form and raring to go. The atmosphere in the team is terrific," Rajpal said. The inaugural Asian CT will be played in Ordos, China from September 3 to 11. While the team will be leaving on Sunday, Rajpal will go a day later after receiving the Arjuna Award on 29th of this month.

He also denied that the team will miss the services of seniors Sardara Singh and Sandeep Singh who left the national camp for personal reasons. "We are not feeling any pressure due to their absence. Their replacements (VR Raghunath and Vikas Sharma) are also equally talented. We have to groom the youngsters to field the best team in London Olympic qualifiers."

Asked about the realistic goals in the tournament, he said this will be a launching pad for their preparations for London. "Coach Micheal Nobbs has been telling us repeatedly that win or loss in this tournament does not matter. We will judge ourselves on the basis of performance in this tournament. It will tell us whether our preparations for qualifiers is on right track or not," he said.

"We had won a bronze in Asiad, so naturally we would like to go a step further and play the final."

Rajpal, who had a bitter face-off with previous coach Jose Brasa, described Nobbs as a good and understanding coach.

"Nobbs is a good coach. He is a disciplinarian and friendly with players as well. Being an Australian his emphasis is on attacking hockey. As far as Brasa is concerned, there was a small misunderstanding with him. He is also a good coach," he said. Pakistan captain Mohammad Imran might have said that India will enjoy an edge over his team when the arch-rivals meet in Asian CT, but Rajpal is not thinking on those lines. — PTI 

Monaco, August 26
Holders Barcelona will begin their defence of the Champions League with a home match against AC Milan after the two old rivals were drawn in the same group on Thursday.

Last season's runners-up Manchester United will also face familiar foes in the shape of Benfica, while Barca's domestic rivals Real Madrid are in a group with fellow former champions Olympique Marseille.

Barca and Milan, who have been European champions 11 times between them and met in the 1994 final with the Italians winning 4-0, will renew their rivalry at the Nou Camp on Sept. 13. Both should qualify from a Group H which also includes outsiders BATE Borisov of Belarus and Czech champions Viktoria Plzen.

"We know Milan so well and have played so many times and the group is a tough one," former Barca goalkeeper and now technical director Andoni Zubizarreta told reporters. "Zlatan Ibrahimovic will enjoy coming back to the Nou Camp with Milan to show us what we are missing -- but we cannot under-estimate the other two sides either. We don't know a lot about them and that is always a dangerous thing."

Manchester United, beaten by Barca in May's final, were first of the 32 teams out of the hat and drawn with Benfica, the team they beat in the final to win their first European Cup in 1968, Basel and Romanian debutants Otelul Galati.

Benfica's name was drawn out by United great Bobby Charlton, who scored against Benfica in the 1968 final. "We have a long friendship with Benfica and Eusebio and Sir Bobby are great friends," United chief executive David Gill said.

"We have played Benfica in the Champions League recently and lost to them but it is always special when they come to Old Trafford." Gill's club travel to the Stadium of Light in Lisbon for the opening match on Sept. 14 with the return in Manchester on Nov. 22. Manchester City, the world's richest club thanks to owner Sheikh Mansour of Abu Dhabi and playing in the Champions League for the first time, were drawn with four-times European Cup winners Bayern Munich, Villarreal and Napoli.

New boy Sergio Aguero, City's record 38 million pounds ($61.81 million) signing, faces a trip to Napoli, the former club of father-in-law Diego Maradona.

"This is the toughest group of the whole draw," Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes told his club's website (www.fcbayern.t-home.de). "I know Villarreal and Napoli and they are absolute top teams. "As for Manchester City ... they have boosted their squad and are desperate for European success. We will be challenged in every single game and have to be fully focused."

City official Brian Marwood said: "Any two of the four can go through and it's going to be tough. But our coach (Roberto Mancini) will know all about Napoli from his days in Italy." The first game back for City in Europe's elite competition since their only previous appearance in 1968-69 will be at home to Napoli on Sept. 14.

Villarreal's Italian striker Giuseppe Rossi, who knows Manchester well from his days at Old Trafford, said on Twitter: "What a group! It's Champions League, no Mickey Mouse tournament — excited." Real Madrid, European champions a record nine times, face perennial opponents Olympique Lyon along with Ajax Amsterdam and Dinamo Zagreb, back in the competition after a 12-year absence.

Trabzonspor, brought in on Thursday after the Turkish FA withdrew Fenerbahce because of match-fixing allegations, will play in the same group as 2010 champions Inter Milan, CSKA Moscow and Lille.

Among the top-seeded teams Chelsea face Bayer Leverkusen, Valencia and Genk. The London club will welcome back former midfielder Michael Ballack when Leverkusen visit Stamford Bridge in their opener on Sept. 13, while new Chelsea signing Juan Mata will come face to face with his old club Valencia later that month.

Belgian club Genk are back in the competition for the first time in almost a decade. "It's fantastic for us to be back in the Champions League and we are going to enjoy it no matter what happens," Genk director Dirk Degraen said. — Reuters

New York, August 26
India's top singles player, Somdev Devvarman has drawn world No 4 Andy Murray, while Sania Mirza will face Israeli Sahar Peer in their first-round matches of the US Open beginning here on Monday. Ranked 64th in the world, 26-year-old Somdev will face an uphill task to advance beyond the first round against the in-form Murray.

The one at the Flushing Meadows will be the first meeting between the two. The Indian's record this year is solid, with a run through qualifying to the third round in Indian Wells in March the highlight, while last year he won the gold medal in the men's singles tournament at the Commonwealth Games.

His fighting ability and a liking for hardcourts should pose a few problems for Murray, who has again been placed in Rafael Nadal's half of the draw. Mirza, who is coming to New York following a string of losses in first rounds and qualifiers since her comeback post Wimbledon, is also expected to find the going tough against Peer. — PTI 

Patiala, August 26
Sports Authority of India (SAI) Director-General Desh Deepak Verma, in the wake of a complaint about the quality of food supplements being provided by SAI at the National Institute of Sports (NIS), Patiala, today collected samples from NIS during his visit to the city. He was here to inaugurate the Golden Jubilee Hostel, alongwith secretary sports Gopal Krishan, which has been constructed for foreign experts attached with the Indian squads.

Verma said that he was at NIS to evaluate the infrastructure and facilities being provided to India campers and to find out what more could be done to improve Indian teams’ performances in the coming Olympics. “While I was interacting with the players and coaches about their requirements, one of the players complained about the quality of the food supplements and therefore we have taken the samples and would get them tested.

“If we find any fault, we will immediately terminate our contract with the company or might blacklist it as well. Keeping in view the demand of players, SAI has already added 5-6 branded food supplements, which makes the total 15, which certainly is good enough,” he added.

Admitting that appointing foreign coaches was not a permanent solution if India wanted to excel in sports, he said SAI has formed a new proposal in order to train Indian coaches and supporting staff. “We cannot depend on foreign coaches and supporting staff for all times to come. Therefore, we are appointing coaches and staff with foreign experts on rotational basis so that they could learn from them and could provide their services in future. Also, we are sending our coaches to Cuba and Hungary for higher training in order to upgrade their skills,” he added.

“I accept the fact that our supporting staff was not adequate and therefore it is very important to bring these services in order as they were very crucial for players,” Verma added. “We have already chalked out a plan to develop sports sciences and sports medicine in the country so that our facilities could be at par with top sporting nations.

“We will construct multi-disciplinary teams, including psychologists, sports medicine and sports science experts to analyse every aspect. Our officials visited various countries like China and USA, which are performing well, and found that they lay huge stress on sports sciences,” he said.

“Therefore, even we have planned to take more pains in this field. We will now make separate budget for the development of sports sciences. Also, we have proposed a budget of around Rs 100 crore for the upcoming London Olympics in order to ensure that we provide world-class facilities to our players.”

Talking about the incident where Under-Secretary, Sports, Association of Indian Universities (AIU), Gurdeep Singh held the National flag instead of a player during the opening ceremony of Summer Universiade-2011 at Shenzen, Verma said he had demanded a written explanation from the concerned officials and would take suitable action. “Some organisations are misusing SAI and we would not let this happen,” he maintained.

Talking about the allegations leveled by Dr Sajib Kumar Nandi against SAI officials in the recent dope controversy, Verma said he had himself given a personal hearing to Nandi and had been provided certain facts. “I would actively consider all the facts to find out the exact situation,” Verma said.

BRIEFLY

Tough start for Indians
Perthshire: Indian golfers made disappointing starts with only Shiv Kapur managing to avoid an over-par card in the fog-delayed opening round of the Johnnie Walker Championships at Gleneagles here. With the event not beginning till two hours and 40 minutes later than the original start, the first round was not completed. Kapur shot an even par 72 and Gaganjeet Bhullar had a three-over 75, making it tough for him to make the cut, which comes after the second round. — PTI

Atwal’s promising start halted
New Jersey: Arjun Atwal had a promising start but it was cut short by Hurricane Irene and he was left stranded at two-under through 11 holes in the first round of the Barclays Championships, the first leg of the FedEx Cup play-offs. Atwal had a bogey on the fourth but soon after that he birdied the sixth, ninth and 10th before play was stopped on account of inclement weather. He was provisionally 40th at that stage. — PTI

Modest start by Gangjee
Tennessee: Indian golfer Rahil Gangjee carded a modest two-under 70 in the opening round to grab a share of the 58th place in the News Sentinel Open on the Nationwide Tour here. Gangjee, who is in his rookie year, had four birdies and two bogeys in his round. Indian-origin Swede Daniel Chopra, who has one win this season on the Nationwide Tour, started with a 69 and was tied 40th. — PTI

Brad Thorn of New Zealand's All Blacks is lifted to catch a high ball during the All Blacks Captain's Run ahead of their Tri-Nations rugby union match against Australia in Brisbane on Friday. — Reuters

Nine Indians in pre-quarters
New Delhi: Former champion Pankaj Advani and veteran Alok Kumar led the charge as nine Indian cueists reached the pre-quarterfinals of the Point-format in the IBSF World Billiards Championship being held at Carlow, Ireland today. Indian cueists reigned supreme at the green baize as Advani, Alok and Rupesh Shah streamrolled the opponents to top their respective groups in the tournament. — PTI

Sanawar Red win 2-0
Chandigarh: The third day of the All-India Bhupinder Singh Memorial Soccer Tournament witnessed some interesting matches. The first match between Sanawar Red and Vivek High Chandigarh the hosts won 2-0. A corner taken by Vaibhav Nagpal was converted into first goal through a calculated header by captain Manvijay Negi in the 35th minute of the game. A mid-field trajectory shoot from Nikhil Mehtani in the 60th minute gave its second goal to Sanawar. In the matches played later BCS Shimla drew with Sanawar Blue 1-1; YPS Patiala beat St. Mark Delhi 2-1 and Sherwood College Nainital beat BCS Shimla 7-1. — TNS

Capello turns to Man U
London: Fabio Capello has turned to Manchester United's exciting crop of rising stars as he prepares to name the England squad for the vital Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Wales. According to The Telegraph, the England manager has included Phil Jones, 19, Chris Smalling, 21, Danny Welbeck, 20 and 22-year-old Tom Cleverley in his provisional 30-strong squad for the double-header next Friday. — ANI

‘We can win Champs League’
London: Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has vowed to put last season's Champions League final defeat against Barcelona behind the team in the most emphatic way - by winning this season's tournament. "I've got young players coming into the club. I hope they will take inspiration from what we experienced in the final. We tried to win the European Cup our way, but we were outplayed by Barcelona," the Sun quoted Ferguson, as saying. — ANI