The New Nation - Internet Edition

Razzak hopes to do well in 2nd ODI

UNB, Dhaka

Left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak Raz, who will lead the Bangladesh spin attack in the 2nd ODI against South Africa at the Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium (SBNS) Wednesday, is hopeful of doing well this time.

During a break in the practice session of the tigers at the match venue Tuesday, Razzak said, "I always try to play well in all the series, especially at the home ground."

Asked whether he feels any pressure while bowling in initial overs, he said, "No, I don't feel any pressure. I opened bowling in Chittagong too, and I did in three matches in a row in Asia Cup."

The 25-year-old spinner, however, admitted that he did not bowl well in the first ODI in Chittagong and promised to show a good performance in Wednesday's encounter. Razzak went for 42 runs in his 8 overs and conceded nine wide balls.

Replying to a question, he said he does not feel any pressure because of the absence of veteran spinner Mohammad Rafique. "It would have been better for the side had Rafique with us."

South African spinner Paul Harris, who made a good impression on his debut picking up two wickets in 10 overs in Chittagong, said Bangladesh's strength is their spinners and they will use their spinners.

Another top order batsman Hashim Amla, who also made his debut in Chittagong, said they obviously expect to put up a good performance in the next match (2nd ODI).

Asked about his feeling to play both test and ODI for his country, Amla said, "When you play both test or ODI for your country, it's always a great opportunity for you."

Semifinals of Exim Bank National Handball Competition today

UNB, Dhaka

The semifinal matches of the Exim Bank 18th National Men's Handball Competition will be held today (Wednesday) at the Bangabandhu National Stadium's outer handball ground.

In the first semifinal, Bangladesh Police faces Bangladesh Ansar at 3:00pm while Bangladesh Rifles takes on Rajshahi DSA in the 2nd semifinal at 4:10pm.

Private satellite channel ATN Bangla will telecast live both the matches.

Kazi Salahuddin wants to compete in BFF election as president

UNB, Dhaka

Celebrated footballer of yesteryears and former Vice-President of Bangladesh Football Federation Kazi Mohammad Salahuddin is willing to contest the ensuing BFF election for the post of President as he wants to contribute to the efforts to revive the lost glory of the game.

The BFF election is scheduled to be held by April 30 this year as per FIFA/AFC roadmap.

Striker Salahuddin, an international footballer of Bangladesh, sought support of all concerned so that he could be elected President of BFF.

BIT, Green Herald, South Breeze, Saint Joseph win

UNB, Dhaka

BIT, Green Herald, South Breeze and Saint Joseph won their respective matches in the boys' section of the South Breeze School Volleyball Tournament beating their respective opponents at the Volleyball Stadium here on Tuesday.

In the boys' section, BIT beat Motijheel Govt. Boys High School 2-0, Green Herald defeated BIS, South Breeze beat Green Dale while Saint Joseph defeated Scholastica, also by the same margin.

In the girls' section, Scholastica beat BIS by 2-0 sets.

Sri Lanka chief fears player exodus over money

AFP, Colombo

Young cricketers may soon opt out of playing for their country because of the huge amounts of money available in the sport, Sri Lanka's cricket chief Arjuna Ranatunga said on Tuesday.

Ranatunga, Sri Lanka's World Cup-winning captain in 1996, said he was worried about the future of younger players who could be tempted to join the cash-rich Twenty20 leagues in India.

"It is India today, it could be another country tomorrow that will be offering large sums of money to players," said Ranatunga.

"I have no problem with senior players joining these leagues, but the younger players worry me.

"I have heard them say that there are ways of making money even if one does not get picked for the national team."

Top Sri Lankans like Sanath Jayasuriya, captain Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas, Chamara Silva and Tillekaratne Dilshan have all been contracted to play in the Indian Premier League starting on April 18.

Australia postpone Pakistan tour

Reuters, Sydney

Australia have postponed their planned tour of Pakistan because of fears over the safety of their players.

The world champions were due to visit Pakistan at the end of this month for a 30-day tour but put the trip on hold after a spate of suicide bombings following the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto late last year.

"We are very sorry that the tour could not take place at this time," Cricket Australia (CA) chairman Creagh O'Connor said in a joint statement released on Tuesday.

"This was a difficult decision based on independent review of the circumstances prevailing in Pakistan at the moment.

"We wish no loss to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and look forward to undertaking this tour in the near future."

PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf said he was disappointed the tour had been postponed but was optimistic it would be rescheduled in the near future.

"We maintain conditions are still conducive to hold cricket events in Pakistan," he told a news conference in Islamabad.

"Our security plans have also been very good. Teams have toured Pakistan in recent times and have had no problems."

Ashraf said Bangladesh had already agreed to fill the void by playing a one- day series in Pakistan next month, while the PCB and CA would meet at the International Cricket Council's (ICC) headquarters in Dubai next week to discuss the possibility of rescheduling the tour, either next year or in 2010.

"The tour has not been cancelled. The tour has been postponed and according to ICC rules Cricket Australia has to fulfil its commitment," Ashraf said.

"They took their decision after much deliberations and we accept that. We just want to hold this series soon."

Australia had proposed to play the series at a neutral venue but the PCB declined, offering instead to reduce the number of match venues and provide unprecedented protection to the players.

CA chief executive James Sutherland said he sympathised with the PCB's position but Australia had no alternative after taking advice from the government and independent security experts.

NO ALTERNATIVE

"We left no stone unturned in trying to ensure that the tour would proceed," Sutherland told a news conference in Melbourne that was broadcast live on Australian television.

"But at the end of the day, for us, the safety and security of our employees must come first and we've been left with no alternative than to arrive at this decision.

"We wanted the tour to go ahead. We want to play cricket against Pakistan and ideally we want to play in Pakistan but right now, it's not appropriate for us to play in Pakistan."

The Australian government have issued travel warnings advising nationals not to visit Pakistan and Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Smith said CA had made the right choice.

"I am of the strong view that the safety and welfare of the players and the touring group has been uppermost in the minds of Cricket Australia in making this decision," Smith said in a statement.

"The Australian Government takes very seriously the safety of all Australians travelling overseas and we recognise the difficult political and security challenges the Pakistan Government is currently facing."

Australia have not played a test match in Pakistan since 1998, with their three-test tour scheduled for four years later moved to Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates because of security issues.

Doubts about this year's tour proceeding had been steadily increasing since Bhutto was assassinated on Dec. 27 with several senior Australian players publicly expressing their reservations about visiting the country.

The decision to postpone the tour has opened the way for Australia's players to compete in the lucrative Indian Premier League, but Sutherland said that was not a factor in the decision.

Pakistan's Australian coach Geoff Lawson spoke directly with some of the Australian players to provide assurances they would be safe and urged them to support the tour if it is rescheduled.

"I hope this series is not postponed for long because Pakistan is in dire need of playing international cricket and more test matches," he said.

Bangladesh Rifles emerges champions

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh Rifles emerged champions in the Pran Juice 11th Premier Division Kabaddi League beating Bangladesh Police by 34-17 points with two lonas in the last league match at the Outer Stadium Kabaddi court on Tuesday.

It was the 11th league crown for Bangladesh Rifles in a row.

Chief of the tournament sponsor Pran RFL Group M Nurul Islam witnessed the day's final as chief guest and distributed the prizes.

BOA deputy secretary and star footballer of yesteryears Ashrafuddin Ahmed Chunnu and Kabaddi Federation general secretary M Nazrul Islam were also present.

BFF election to be held April 28

UNB, Dhaka

The much-talked about election of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) will be held on April 28 along with the Annual General Meeting of the Federation.

Earlier, on March 27, the BFF would hold an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM), said BFF president SA Sultan at a press conference at the BFF conference room on Tuesday afternoon.

FIFA/AFC earlier instructed the BFF to complete its election by April 30 this year as per their guidelines.

"Councilors of District Sports Associations (DSAs) will attend the EGM to accord recognition to the newly elected councilors of district football associations (DFAs)," Sultan said.

He informed that they had a meeting with AFC president Mohammed Bin Hammam in Kuala Lumpur on Friday (Mar 7) where the AFC again instructed the BFF not to include government officials in the DFAs.

About inclusion of government officials in the DFAs, the AFC boss said Divisional Football Association will have control over the District Football Associations (DFAs) for the next term and the government officials may be associated with the DFA as advisers, but not in any vital posts, Sultan mentioned.

BFF acting general secretary Manjoor Hossain Malu, Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) CEO Col. (retd) Walli Ullah and former national footballer Badal Roy were present at the press conference.

Masud Ahmed Rumi's 5th death anniversary observed

UNB, Dhaka

The 5th death anniversary of renowned sports journalist and freedom fighter Masud Ahmed Rumi was observed on Tuesday.

On the occasion, Bangladesh Sports Journalists Association (BSJA) arranged Qurankwhani and Milad Mahfil at the association office seeking diving blessings for salvation of the departed soul of Rumi, a former BSJA president.

Masud Ahmed Rumi, sports editor of BSS, passed away on March 11, 2003. Rumi trained the Bangladesh Liberation Force (BLF) during the liberation war in 1971 at Deradun camp in India.

Youngmen's Club retains solo lead beating Badda Jagarani 2-1

UNB, Dhaka

Youngmen's Club retained their solo lead in the "super six" of the Metropolis Senior Division Football League beating Badda Jagarani Sangsad by 2-1 goals at the Bangabandhu National Stadium (BNS) here today (Tuesday).

After a barren first half, Towhidul Islam scored both the goals for Youngmen's Club -- in the 52nd and 75th minutes, while Al Amin netted the lone goal for Badda Jagarani in the 59th minute.

With the day's win, Youngmen's Club clearly dominates the league table securing 33 points from 14 matches while Badda Jagarani remained at 22 points, also playing 14 matches.

In the relegation league, Mohakhali Eleven earned a facile 4-0 victory over Agrani Bank SC at the Kamalapur Stadium on Tuesday.

Golap Hossain struck twice, while Zakir Hossain and Humayan Kabir netted one goal each for the winners, which dominated the first half 3-0.

Victoria SC will play Jatrabari KC in a super six match at the BNS, while Arambagh KS face City Club in the relegation league match at the Kamalapur Stadium today (Wednesday).

Beaconhouse School System 2nd Annual Sports held

Sports Reporter

Beaconhouse School System, Dhaka Campus had the 2nd Annual Sports Day on the 8th March. Alamgir Babar, High Commissioner of Pakistan and Mrs. Mohammad Houroro, wife of the Moroccan Ambassador to Bangladesh, attended as the chief guest.

The Sports Day opened with the Talawat and National Anthem by the students.

There were 13 track events on the day followed by physical display by the early years students and primary years students.

During the prize distribution ceremony, gifts and medals were awarded. Certificates were also given to the winners of the essay and handwriting competition held on 18th February.