Wednesday 14 March 2012
Monday 16 January 2012
ECB chief Clarke vows to stamp out corruption
Westfield is to be sentenced on February 10 and the ECB has opened what it calls a reporting window to allow players and officials to give information on past approaches without fear of punishment.
Clarke has called on players to make use of the system now in place to alert the sport's authorities to attempts to fix any part of the game
Journeyman Rivaldo now in Angola
Club officials confirmed Saturday a deal that will bring Rivaldo, who turns 40 in April, to a Luanda team who finished second behind Recreativo Libolo in the national championship last year.
The 1999 World Footballer of the Year and European Footballer of the Year will inject much needed interest into a league that suffers, like most others in Africa, from an exodus of its best footballers to Europe.
Rivaldo left Brazilian outfit Sao Paulo a month ago after another chapter in a globe-trotting career that had taken him to Spain, Italy, Greece and Uzbekistan before returning home last year.
Attacking midfielder Rivaldo, who said the fact that Brazil and Angola are Portuguese-speaking countries played a big part in his decision, was part of the Brazil 2002 World Cup-winning team and played for Barcelona and AC Milan.
Moni brings glory for the country
Moni will become the first Bangladeshi to be the on-field umpire in the game's highest version. Australian Rod Tucker will be his partner in the middle while Englishman Nigel Llong will be the TV umpire and Australia's David Boon the match referee. This group will also conduct the three-match one-day series.
"I am definitely very pleased. Ever since I began umpiring in 2003, I have always wanted to stand in a Test match," he said in an instant reaction yesterday.
Fellow international umpire Nadir Shah congratulated Moni on his rise as an umpire. "I am very happy that he has become a Test umpire. He is as good as anybody in the world. I am sure he will do well," he said.
Sharfuddowla Ibne Shahid Saikat, the third Bangladeshi on the international panel, was also pleased and pointed out that it would help umpires in the country.
"Definitely I'm very happy. As Moni bhai goes up a step, so do all of us. One must also remember that he has gone there due to his on-field performance," said the former cricketer.
Moni has stood in 36 ODIs and three Twenty20 Internationals. He was also the first from the country to stand as a neutral umpire in a one-day international when he stood in the South Africa-Zimbabwe three-match series in October 2010.
As a left-arm spinner, Moni has played 10 Test matches (over 2001-03) and 29 ODIs for Bangladesh from 1990 till January 2002. Apart from the international career, Moni was a dependable all-rounder for the country during its time as an Associate Nation.
Moni will leave for New Zealand on January 19.
Six vie for women's No. 1 ranking in Melbourne
"Actually when I started to play tennis, I didn't think I would be a professional tennis player," the 21-year-old Czech said Sunday. "So for me to win Wimbledon, (the year-end) Championships, Fed Cup, it wasn't my dream. But it's very nice.
"If I maybe can be No. 1, it will be very nice, too, of course." Caroline Wozniacki currently holds the top spot, despite never winning a Grand Slam title. She must at least reach the fourth round at the Australian Open to have a chance of staying there. Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, Sam Stosur and Agnieszka Radwanska could also take the top ranking, but the No. 2-ranked Kvitova is the favorite. Being officially the world's best will mean more practice in dealing with the media for Kvitova, whose English has improved markedly since she won Wimbledon in July.
"I had a lot of press and a lot of media. I had to improve my English," she said. "I'm still little bit nervous, but it's much better."
Kvitova is still getting used to being one of the stars of the women's game. In her first Grand Slam after Wimbledon, she lost in the first round of the U.S. Open, but she recovered her form at the end of the year to win the season-ending tournament and help the Czech Republic win the Fed Cup.
"It's really strange for me," Kvitova said of dealing with the fame. "I'm already get used to (it). I mean, it's the part of our life. We have to live with this."July will mark the 10th anniversary of Lleyton Hewitt's last Grand Slam win, but he isn't yet ready to give up on winning the Australian Open for the first time.
A troublesome foot injury means the 30-year-old Hewitt's ranking has slipped to No. 186 and he needed a wild card to compete in Melbourne
Sunday 15 January 2012
Carragher tells Liverpool to step up at Anfield
The Reds are unbeaten in 11 home league matches this term but they have drawn seven of those games -- including a 0-0 stalemate against Stoke on Saturday -- and Carragher knows those 14 dropped points could well be fatal to their top four bid unless they improve quickly
Australia wins by an innings and 37 runs
Swing bowler Ben Hilfenhaus hurried Australia to victory after lunch at the WACA Ground with three wickets in the space of five deliveries as India was bowled out for 171 in its second innings. Hilfenhaus finished with 4-54 while Peter Siddle took 3-43 including the wicket of Virat Kohli, who top scored with 75.
The series will go to a final test in Adelaide, where India will be striving to avoid yet another humiliating series whitewash. Including the recent series in England, India has lost seven straight overseas tests, with four of the past five defeats being by more than an innings.
India's hopes of arresting such poor form in this test faded quickly as it was bowled out for 161 runs on the first day, then watched as Australia took command thanks chiefly to a brilliant 180 by man-of-the-match David Warner which propelled Australia to 369.
India's top order crumbled again in the second innings, leaving the tourists on 88-4 at the start of play Sunday.
Kohli and Rahul Dravid showed some resistance in the first hour, putting together an 81-run stand before Dravid finally fell for 47, bowled yet again, this time by Ryan Harris.
Six overs later skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was caught by second slip Ricky Ponting off Peter Siddle.
Kohli showed impressive temperament and talent to compile his highest test score, but the wickets continued to fall at the other end.
Beginning on 165-6 after lunch, India's innings lasted just 20 balls.
Hilfenhaus was on a hat-trick when he dismissed tailenders Vinay Kumar (6) and Zaheer Khan (0) off successive balls after lunch. Ishant Sharma thwarted Hilfenhaus' hopes but lasted just three balls before fending a catch to shortleg Ed Cowan.
Hilfenhaus and Siddle finished with a match hauls of 8-97 and Siddle to 6-86 respectively.
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