The New Nation - Internet Edition

National Women team clinch one-dayer series

Sports Reporter

Bangladesh National Women Cricket team clinched the one-dayer series 3-0 when they outplayed Hong Kong National Women Circket team by 71 runs in the third one-dayer match at the Bir Sreshtha Shaheed Ruhul Amin Stadium in Chittagong on Thursday.

Sent into bat first, Bangladesh made 158 in 50 overs and then they shot out Hong Kong for just 87 off 50 overs.

Skipper Salma Khatun, Suktara, Panna Ghosh, Romana Ahmed, Ayesha Akhter, Chamely Khatun added 22, 20, 18, 13, 11 and 10 runs respectively to Bangladesh total.

Mrs Extra contributed the day's highest of 39 runs to the host's total.

Betty Chan bowled a superb spell and finished as 9-1-28-5.

Godiva Li got two wickets conceding 26 runs.

Later, opener Connic Wong and Neisha Pratt scored 36 and 24 runs respectively.

Chamely Khatun, Sathira Zakir and Tithy Rani Sarker bagged a couple of wickets each giving away three, ten and 18 runs respectively.

Besides, Salma Khatun took one wicket for 13 runs.

Openers give India sound start after South Africa reach 540

AP, Chennai

Openers Virender Sehwag and Wasim Jaffer

gave India a sound start Thursday in reply to South Africa's imposing first innings total in the opening test.

Sehwag (52 not out) and Jaffer (25 not out) helped India reach 82-0 at stumps on day two after South Africa rode on Hashim Amla's composed century to post 540, its highest test total in India.

South Africa's previous highest total on India's dusty, low-bounce pitches was 510-9 during the drawn Kanpur test match in 2004.

Amla (159) led South Africa to a strong position as the tourists frustrated the Indian attack on a placid track by adding 236 brisk runs to the overnight score of 304-4.

Amla, 85 at Wednesday's close, took time to get his eye in before stroking three boundaries in one over from paceman Shantakumaran Sreesanth to reach his fourth hundred in 23 tests, and his first against India.

Sreesanth did trouble Amla's overnight partner A.B. de Villiers (44), inducing an edge to wicketkeeper Mahendra Dhoni, ending the 66-run partnership for the fifth wicket.

Mark Boucher survived a confident lbw appeal by Sreesanth when on 10, and put on 99 runs for the sixth wicket with the dominant Amla, whose chanceless knock ended with a run out.

Non-striker Amla was out when Boucher's drive off Anil Kumble was fielded by Sreesanth at short-covers, and relayed to the bowler by wicketkeeper Dhoni.

Amla struck 20 boundaries from 262 deliveries during his authoritative knock that lasted nearly seven hours.

Boucher went on to score 70 as he marshaled support from the lower order batsmen to boost the scoring, adding 54 runs for the seventh wicket with Morne Morkel, who scored 35.

Boucher's three-hour knock contained 9 boundaries from 146 balls before he was caught behind off part-time spinner Sehwag (1-37).

Thwarted by the South African batsmen in the first two sessions Thursday, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh ran through the tail to return figures of 5-164.

Singh snared Morkel, Paul Harris (5) and Dale Steyn (15) as South Africa's last three wickets. Singh had dismissed opener Neil McKenzie and Jacques Kallis on day one.

Playing in his 64th test, this was the 21st occasion that Singh had snared five wickets in an innings.

BFF emergency meting today

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) goes for an emergency meeting today (Friday) at 5pm to finalize the election schedule.

The schedule for April 28 will be announced after the meeting, said BFF acting general secretary Manjoor Hossain Malu.

He said election activities would begin after the announcement of the schedule today.

Kazi Salahuddin contests BFF president election

UNB, Dhaka

Celebrated footballer and former vice-president of Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) Kazi Mohammad Salahuddin has expressed his intention to contest BFF president election scheduled for April 28.

"As I was a football player, so I want to contribute to the development of football with my 30 years experience and restore the glory of the country's football," he told reporters at BFF Bhaban today.

He said if elected he would try to remove all obstacles in the way of development of football.

AFC President arrives here tomorrow

UNB, Dhaka

Asia Football Confederation (AFC) president Mohammed bin Hammam arrives in Dhaka on Saturday to lay the foundation of the Football Training Center in Barisal under the FIFA's "Goal Project 1".

During the daylong hectic tour the AFC president will go to Barisal by Helicopter to lay the foundation of the training center at 9am.

On return to the capital Dhaka, Hammam will make a courtesy call on Army Chief and National Sports Council (NSC) chairman Gen Moeen U Ahmed at 12 noon.

The AFC president will lay the foundation of an artificial turf at Balur Math (Motijheel) at 3pm under the FIFA's "Goal Project 2"

Before leaving Dhaka, Hammam will meet the press at the Football Federation at 4pm.

School Handball semifinals today

UNB, Dhaka

Banani Bidyaniketon sets semifinal clash with Narinda Govt. High School in the boy's section of the 17th Bata School Handball (Under-17) at the Outer Stadium Handball ground today (Friday) at 9 am.

In another semis, BIS faces Basha Shaheed Ansar VDP at 10 am.

In the girl's section, Viquarunnisa Noon School & College will play Mapleleaf International School in the 1st semifinal at 3 pm while Scholastica meets Sunnydale school at 4 pm in the 2nd semis.

Results of the day's boy's section matches: Sunnydale beat The British School by 10-3 goals (1st half 4-2), BIS outplayed Scholastica 13-6 (1st half 9-3), St Gregory defeated Oxford Ideal 22-2 (1st half 16-1), Play Pen outclassed Radiant International School 7-5 (1st half 3-5), BAF Shaheen College defeated Wills Little Flower 12-9 (1st half 5-6), Bhasa Shaheed Ansar crushed South Point 28-1 (1st half 21-0) Banani Bidya Niketon beat Sunnydale School 13-4 (1st half 2-1) and Bashantek outplayed The British School 11-6 (1st half 8-2).

In the girl's section: Scholastica beat Banani Bidya Niketon 18-6 (1st half 8-5), Motijheel Govt. High School defeated South Point 12-1 (1st half 8-1), Dhanmondi Tutorial drubbed Radiant International School 4-0 (1st half 2-0), Sunnydale School outclassed BISK 7-2 (1st half 2-1) Agrani Bank School & College defeated Play Pen 5-3 (1st half 4-1) and Viquarunnisa Noon School & College defeated SOS 15-5 (1st half 9-2).

BBC agrees new Wimbledon contract

BBC Online

BBC Sport has secured the rights to broadcast Wimbledon until 2014.

The new five-year extension will incorporate TV, radio, broadband and, for the first time, BBC iPlayer.

"We are deeply proud of historic ties with Wimbledon, but this is focused on state-of-the-art digital services," said BBC director of sport Roger Mosey.

Digital viewers will again be able to enjoy extensive extra coverage of the Championships via the red button, which will also be available on broadband.

Wimbledon was first staged in 1877 and moved to its present site in 1922, with the BBC screening the event for the first time 15 years later.

GM Ziaur Rahman shares 2nd slot in Kolkata Chess

UNB, Dhaka

Grand Master Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh Biman shares the second slot with two other players in the 3rd Kolkata Open Grandmaster Chess Tournament securing 3.5 points after the 4th round matches at the Gorky Sadan in Kolkata on Thursday.

Zia beat IM RR Laxman of India in the 4th round match.

GM Abdullah Al Rakib of Biman and FM Sk.Nasir Ahmed of Destiny 2000 earned 2.5 point each. IM Enamul Hossain Razib, FM Mehdi Hasan Parag and Mohammad Javed earned two points each.

GM Niaz Murshed, FM Minhajuddin Ahmed Sagar and FM Taibur Rahman earned 1.5 points each while Mohammad Ali earned one point

In the day's 4th round matches, Rakib beat Sagar, Javed beat Vaibhav Suri of India and Taiyubur beat Kavan Shah of India. Razib drew with IM GB Prakash of India, Nasir drew with WIM Padmini Rout of India. Niaz lost to Shashikant Kutwal of India, Parag lost to Ashwin Jayaram and Ali lost to Akash Thakur of India.

GM Viktor Laznicka of Czec Republic and GM Nguyen and Dung of India are jointly leading the meet securing full four points each.

Training camp for booters begins today

UNB, Dhaka

The training camp for the national booters begins today(Friday) at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

After three days at the stadium the camp will be shifted to BKSP.

Meanwhile, twenty-five booters out of 28 reported today to team coordinator Amirul Islam Babu at the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) Bhaban.

Three others defenders Rajani Kanta Barman, Hasan Al Mamun and Zahid Hossain will report today.

Earlier on Saturday, BFF announced a 28-member preliminary national football squad for the two ensuing international soccer meets.

Owen believes Beckham can play on

BBC Online

England striker Michael Owen insists David Beckham is good enough to carry on and add to his 100 England caps.

Beckham was replaced in the 63rd minute after a subdued display in Wednesday's 1-0 defeat by France in Paris.

"I think David can keep playing for England, he's still got the quality," Owen told BBC Sport.

"He's also still got the appetite to play for England and I think he showed enough to demonstrate that he can go on and win more caps."

Owen, who came on as a second-half substitute, added: "We're all pleased for him that he got 100 caps and I would like to congratulate him because he has been an outstanding player for us and deserves the honour.

"He is fit, hungry and has still got that fantastic right foot. Nothing much changes there."

The Newcastle striker earned his 88th cap on Wednesday as he made his first appearance under Fabio Capello, having been left on the bench against Switzerland.

Owen stated: "Everyone likes to impress the manager and I'm no different. The same applies to starting the games. I think any player would prefer to start rather than come on as sub and I've always been like that.

"We have got a spate of friendlies coming up, which is disappointing in a way because we would rather be getting ready for Euro 2008.

"But this means there is plenty of time to experiment and hopefully I will get the chance to impress the manager and try to make sure I'm in the starting line-up for some of those games."

Vaas leads Sri Lanka to victory

BBC Online

Chaminda Vaas was the star as Sri Lanka recorded their first-ever Test win in the Caribbean as they beat West Indies by 121 runs to go 1-0 up in the series.

Vaas took 5-61, including the last two wickets with the new ball, as the hosts were all out for 315 just 15 minutes from the scheduled close of play.

Opener Dwayne Bravo hit 83 to take West Indies to 170-2 at lunch and give them hope of avoiding defeat.

But Sri Lanka hit back and, despite 51 not out from Chris Gayle, took the win.

West Indies seemed intent on holding out for a draw as they resumed on 96-1, needing 437 for the victory.

Ramnaresh Sarwan ably assisted Bravo with a confident 72 as the pair stretched their overnight partnership to 134, with Sri Lanka's breakthrough not arriving until just before lunch.

Bravo drove a return catch to wickets world record-holder Muttiah Muralitharan who, after bowling for most of the day, ended with 3-112.

Vaas struck for the first time as he dismissed Marlon Samuels for 10 on 171-3 and soon landed another wicket when Shivnarine Chanderpaul was bowled off them inside edge for three.

When Sarwan was given out for lbw Sri Lanka sensed victory and Vaas bagged both final wickets.

First he forced Jerome Taylor to edge a delivery to second slip and then saw Muralitharan claim a superb one-handed catch as Daren Powell lofted a ball to mid-off.

IPL chief targets England stars

BBC Online

England's top players will feature in the lucrative Indian Twenty20 series in the future, the chairman of the Indian Premier League (IPL) believes.

Lalit Modi told BBC Sport he would be happy to move his season forward to accommodate England's big names, who would all be attractive to IPL teams.

This comes after English cricket boss Giles Clarke said no England player would want to go to the IPL.

"We are not interested in people playing in the IPL," Clarke said.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman added he would not change the domestic calendar to suit the Indian league.

"The IPL is a domestic competition and we're not going to alter our season for a domestic season in another country," he said.

The billion-dollar competition, which has attracted players from every leading cricket nation apart from England, runs from 18 April to 1 June, clashing with the English domestic and international seasons.

Any English cricketer wishing to compete in the IPL, or any other overseas league, requires the ECB's approval.

So far, Hampshire all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas, who has played one-day and Twenty20 cricket for England, is the only Englishman to sign up for the league.

But on Thursday, New Zealand allowed five players, including skipper Daniel Vettori, to miss the start of their tour of England so they can play in the IPL.

Modi believes England players are also keen on the IPL, and vice-versa.

"I know a lot of them are interested but we don't want to conflict with the English season," said Modi, who is also vice-president of the powerful Board of Control for Cricket in India.

"If that means we have to move our matches a few weeks in advance, we would be happy to do that to accommodate the English players.

"We would like to see a lot of the English players in the IPL but I cannot commit to them until the ECB actually finds a window and clears them."

But Clarke said none of the players centrally contracted to play for England, which includes top IPL targets Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen, has shown any interest in Modi's millions.

"We're not getting any pressure from anyone to play in the IPL," he said.

"I don't think the rewards being talked about are particularly ones England players would be interested in.

"Should any player give up his English contract - which is not an insignificant amount of money, let alone all the extra methods of earning money that go along with that - he would, of course, risk losing his England place.

"We play international cricket during the time the IPL is on and most players don't want to lose their international place.

"If you are a quick bowler or a batsman I don't think you would want to risk somebody else coming in."

BFF constitution amended: abolishes elected posts of GS, treasurer, deputy GS & AGS

UNB, Dhaka

The much-talked about election of Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) scheduled for April 28 will be held without the key posts of general secretary, treasurer, deputy general secretary and assistant general secretary.

The BFF councilors will exercise their voting right to form a 21-member executive committee in the ensuing election only for the post of a president, a senior vice president, four vice-presidents and 15 members.

The decision was taken at the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of BFF at the BFF Bhaban on Thursday with its President SA Sultan in the chair.

The EGM, which amended the BFF constitution today, took a decision abolishing the elected posts of general secretary, treasurer, deputy general secretary and assistant general secretary and made these as paid posts as per FIFA/AFC guidelines.

The meeting further decided that there would be no more councilorship for the pioneer football league champions and runners-up.

National Sports Council, Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Biman, Bangladesh Navy and Bangladesh Police will have one councilor each in the BFF as government organizations, but without any voting right.

The newly elected 56 district football associations out of the 64 districts and four divisional football associations out of six will act as councilors in the next BFF election.

Eight districts -- Nilphamari, Rajbari, Sylhet, Sunamganj, Bandarban, Faridpur, Panchagarh and Mymensingh -- have failed to form district football associations while divisional football associations could not be in Dhaka and Sylhet divisions within the stipulated time, thus forfeiting their right to vote this year.

Of the 132 councilors, 115 were present in the EGM, also attended by AFC general secretary Dato Paul Mony Samuel and AFC Legal Services director Charmaine Pereira as observers.