The New Nation - Internet Edition

Pakistan allows Shoaib to play domestic event

AFP, Karachi

Pakistan cricket authorities said Tuesday that controversial paceman Shoaib Akhtar can play in a domestic cricket tournament-just one week after barring him from the same event.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said Akhtar can play in a Twenty20 event without paying a 90,000-dollar fine that he owes from an earlier disciplinary breach, contradicting an earlier statement from a PCB legal adviser.

The 33-year-old paceman was banned for five years in April for criticising the PCB's failure to award him a central contract. It was later reduced by an appeals commission to 18 months but the commission also imposed the fine.

Lahore High court suspended the ban in July but upheld the fine.

"We never barred him from playing the domestic event," PCB chief operating officer Shafqat Naghmi told AFP.

Akhtar was not initially included in any of the 13 teams due to compete for the national T20 title from October 4-8 after PCB legal adviser Taffazul Rizvi said last Tuesday that Akhtar could not play.

But his name was included recently in the Islamabad team for the event, which will serve as selection test for a four-nation event in Canada.

Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Canada are competing in the event, which will be held in Toronto from October 10-13.

The PCB last month included Akhtar in a 15-man squad for the Champions Trophy, but two days later the PCB changed its stance and said Akhtar could only play if he paid the fine.

The trophy was, however, postponed for 12 months over security fears.

Akhtar returned home early Tuesday after playing two first- class matches for Surrey in the English county season. He managed just one wicket in two matches and failed to help Surrey avoid relegation to Division Two.

Akhtar said he will play in the domestic event.

"I am disappointed on not getting the number of wickets I wished but I have just returned from fitness problems so it will take some time to gain full rhythm," he said.

"I will play in the domestic T20 event to prove my fitness and want to play for Pakistan as soon as possible," said Akhtar, whose last match for Pakistan was the third Test against India at Bangalore in December last year.

Pitch battle worries Langer as Somerset eye history

AFP, London

Former Australia batsman Justin Langer will this week attempt to do something that was beyond the likes of Somerset stars Greg Chappell, Ian Botham and Vivian Richards by leading the west country side to their first English County Championship title.

In the 126 years since they played their maiden first-class match, Somerset's best finish in English county cricket's premier competition was the second place they managed in 2001.

But they head into the final round of four-day matches starting Wednesday just eight points behind First Division leaders Nottinghamshire.

Victory over visitors Lancashire at their Taunton home ground could give Somerset the title if results elsewhere go their way.

However, even more than many batsman-friendly county pitches, Taunton has a reputation as a bowlers' graveyard.

And with the difference between victory and a draw 10 points, Somerset captain Langer fears a placid pitch could deny his team the prize they crave.

"Pitches are one of the big problems of county cricket in my opinion," Langer told the Bristol Evening Post. "We have talked about the rain but in my view we are playing on too many flat wickets.

"It is OK to have it spicy on day one but they should spin big or do something," the Western Australia left-hander added.

"For me it is an issue with county cricket not getting enough results," said the opener, a veteran of 105 Tests. "It is tough cricket but it is hard to get 40 wickets on such flat wickets."

Should Somerset take the title by beating Lancashire they will have set a record for the lowest percentage of victories by a champion county having won four out of 16 matches in a rain-marred season.

However, the Championship's controversial bonus points, where teams can earn a maximum of five additional batting points for scoring 400 runs or more in the first 130 overs of a match or three for taking nine or 10 wickets in the same period, has come to Somerset's aid.

Nottinghamshire play Hampshire in what could be a winner-take-all clash at Trent Bridge.

Three years ago the Midlands county won the last of their

five Championship titles, just pipping a Hampshire side captained by Australia great Shane Warne.

Hampshire, in their first season since the legendary leg-spinner quit the south coast club, appeared destined for relegation barely a month ago.

However, they have won three of their last four games to spark thoughts of a first title since 1973.

Rawalpindi to host India test

AP, Islamabad

Rawalpindi will host its first cricket test in more than four years when India tours Pakistan in January.

India will play Pakistan in the second test and third limited-overs match of the series at Rawalpindi, according to the Pakistan Cricket Board's tour itinerary released Tuesday.

India played Pakistan the last time Rawalpindi hosted a test match in April 2004.

Former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated at Rawalpindi in December, and the city has been the scene of several violent incidents in past years. The city is also located near the federal capital Islamabad where at least 53 people died after a powerful blast at the Marriott Hotel on Saturday.

"As of now Rawalpindi is the venue," PCB spokesman Mansoor Suhail said, adding that the schedule was finalized before the Marriott blast.

The Indian team arrives in Pakistan on Jan. 4 and is scheduled to play a three-day warm-up match at Hyderabad before the first test at Karachi. Lahore will host the third and final test starting Jan. 29.

The Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium was extensively renovated for the Champions Trophy before being excluded as one of the limited-overs tournament's three venues. The Champions Trophy was eventually postponed for a year due to security concerns held by the participating teams.

Schedule:

Jan. 6-8: Three-day match at Hyderabad

Jan. 13-17: First test at Karachi

Jan. 21-25: Second test at Rawalpindi

Jan. 29-Feb 2: Third test at Lahore

Feb. 6: First one-day international at Faisalabad

Feb. 8: Second one-day international at Lahore

Feb. 11: Third one-day international at Rawalpindi

Feb. 14: Fourth one-day international at Multan

Feb. 17: Fifth one-day international at Karachi

Feb. 19: Twenty20 international at Karachi.

Inexperience no handicap, Brett Lee warns India

AFP, Jaipur

Paceman Brett Lee said on Tuesday ahead of the upcoming Test series that Australia would not be intimidated in cricket-mad India despite the lack of experience in the touring squad.

Skipper Ricky Ponting and batsmen Matthew Hayden, Michael Clarke and Simon Katich are the only players in the 15-man squad to have played a Test in India before.

But Lee, who missed the previous tour of India in 2004 due to injury, believes the four-Test series starting on October 9 is the perfect platform for the world champions' younger players to announce their arrival.

"Yeah, we've lost the likes of Glenn (McGrath), Shane Warne, Damien Martyn, Justin Langer and Adam Gilchrist, but it's a new era for Australian cricket," Lee told reporters at the team's training camp here.

"The younger guys have to start somewhere and what better stage than to play here in India?

"It's a wonderful place to tour-the country, the people, the culture, the cricket's pretty hard work, so we have to make sure our plans are in place."

Australia arrived on Monday, a week ahead of schedule following the postponement of the Champions Trophy in Pakistan, and will train in Jaipur for a week before the official part of the tour starts.

Lee, 31, who is expected to spearhead the pace attack, hoped his team will repeat the 2-1 success the Australians achieved on the previous tour of India, and believes the spirit in the squad will be key. "The reason why over the past couple of decades the team has done pretty well is the fact everyone gets along on and off the field and gels as a group -- (and there is) no difference here to 2004," he said.

Lee said he expected an incident-free series, unlike the last time the two teams met, in Australia earlier this year, when India threatened to abandon the tour over umpiring and on-field problems between the two sets of players.

"The controversy is behind us," he said. "That's happened, we've dealt with that pretty well.

"It's a new leaf. We're turning over a new page in our book, and that is coming over here to play tough, fair, hard, aggressive cricket.

Australia play a four-day practice match in Hyderabad from October 2.

The first Test starts in Bangalore on October 9, followed by back-to-back matches in Mohali, New Delhi and Nagpur.

Yuvraj to lead in Australia's warm-up match

AFP, New Delhi

Test discard Yuvraj Singh gets a chance to return to the Indian team after being picked on Tuesday to lead the hosts in a warm-up match for the touring Australians.

The elegant left-hander will captain the Indian board president's XI in the four-day match beginning in Hyderabad on October 2, said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Singh, a regular in India's one-day and Twenty20 side, has played only 23 Tests since his debut in 2003, scoring 1,050 runs at an average of 32.81 with three centuries.

He was dropped for the recent Test series in Sri Lanka and was not considered for the five- day Irani Cup domestic tie, regarded as a trial match for the Australian series, which begins in Vadodara on Wednesday.

The board president's squad of 15 includes 12 current or former India internationals like Wasim Jaffer, Aakash Chopra, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Parthiv Patel, Irfan Pathan and Shanthakumaran Sreesanth.

The match will be Australia's lone first-class match before the four-Test series opens in Bangalore on October 9. The remaining back-to-back Tests will be played in Mohali, New Delhi and Nagpur.

Indian board president's squad:

Yuvraj Singh (capt), Subramaniam Badrinath, Wasim Jaffer, Aakash Chopra, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Parthiv Patel (wicket- keeper), Irfan Pathan, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Piyush Chawla, Pragyan Ojha, Pankaj Singh, Manpreet Gony, Yogesh Takawale, Rakesh Dhurv.

T&T defeat Prantik

Sports Reporter

T&T Club of Motijheel defeated Prantik KC by two goals to nil in the day's lone match of the Second Division Football League at the Kamalapur Bir Sreshtha Shaheed Sepoy Mohammad Mostafa Stadium on Tuesday.

Arman of T&T Club put his team ahead in the fourth minute of the first half.

After nine minutes Arman confirmed the victory scoring another goal for his team.

Today Euro Famous Club will face Gazir Chat SC at 3.00 PM at the same venue.

Gough's first-class career over

AFP, London

Former England fast bowler Darren Gough's first- class cricket career came to an end Monday after he was left out of the Yorkshire squad for their final County Championship match of the season.

Yorkshire captain Gough, 38, was omitted from the 13-man party for their match away to champions Sussex starting on Wednesday, which could determine the relegation-threatened county's status.

A Yorkshire statement said: "Yorkshire's survival in the LV County Championship Division One hinges on the last round of matches as they head for Hove this week with Jonathan Bairstow set to make his debut, but minus skipper Darren Gough, who has played his last first-class game of cricket."

Gough had already announced this would be his final season, after suffering a series of niggling injuries in the county championship summer.

And following Monday's announcement, he told BBC Radio Five Live: "I wasn't disappointed because I picked the team!

"Some people said I should go for the romantic ending but it's not about me, it's about Yorkshire staying up.

"I really went back to the old times in my first spell against Somerset last week and anyone who seen it will know what I mean.

"That really took it out of me and I was struggling."

Ronaldo back on the ball

AFP, Rio

Former AC Milan and Real Madrid star Ronaldo, one of Brazil's most decorated footballers, was Tuesday back in full training seven months on from a knee injury which led him to leave Italy.

Ronaldo is currently without a club but has in recent days been working on his fitness with Brazilian side Flamengo - though last week the 32-year-old three-time World Footballer of the Year - he celebrated his birthday on Monday - said he would would fancy a stint with French side Paris St Germain.

Tuesday saw the "Phenomenon" participate in training with the Flamengo youth team having Friday indulged in some light training sessions.

"All this time I've been doing physiotherapy and gettting back to training with the ball is very important, another stimulus. It's marvellous," Ronaldo told reporters.

"We know we couldn't touch him as Ronaldo is just coming back and nobody wants to prejudice the return of an idol," youth team midfielder Leo said.

Ronaldo, who has suffered a chapter of knee problems in his career but returned to lift the World Cup in 2002, seriously injured his left knee playing for Milan against Livorno last season.

Media reports have linked him with English Premiership moneybags Manchester City, where compatriot Robinho is playing, but the club have denied any approach.

In May, Ronaldo, the all-time top World Cup scorer, said he was "incredibly ashamed" over a much-publicised encounter with a trio of transvestites who allegedly tried to bribe him out of 30,000 dollars for keeping mum about the incident.

Farashganj SC taste first win, beat Rahmatganj MFS 2-1

UNB, Dhaka

Farashganj SC registered their first win in the Citycell 2nd B League beating Rahmatganj MFS by 2-1 goals at the Bangabandhu National Stadium (BNS) Tuesday.

Earlier, Farashganj SC suffered a 3-2 defeat against giant Sheikh Russell KC in their opening match and played to a 1-1 draw with holders Abahani Limited in the 2nd match.

On the other hand, this was the first defeat for Rahmatganj MFS after upsetting Dhaka Abahani Limited by 2-1 goals in their opening match.

In the day's match, Anamul Haque struck twice for the winners, while foreign recruit Idris Kasirye scored for the losers. The match was locked 1-1 during the first half.

Anamul put Farashganj SC ahead in the very 10th minute with a right footer from the top of the D box utilizing a right wing cross from Mamun (1-0).

Idris restored parity for Rahmatganj MFS with a powerful shot from 10 yards taking a close pass by Herok from the left wing (1-1).

Anamul scored the match-winner for Farashganj SC in the 82nd minute with a header from inside the danger zone capitalizing on a Domenic left wing cross (2-1).

Today's match: Dhaka Abahani vs Ctg Mohammedan (BNS 3:30 pm)

World Cup leopard mascot unveiled

AFP, Johannesburg

The official mascot of the 2010 World Cup was unveiled on Monday in Johannesburg - a green-haired leopard named Zakumi - FIFA announced at a television gala broadcast nation-wide.

Zakumi - the ZA stands for South Africa while kumi means ten in assorted African languages - has been exclusively designed in the host country which will stage the continent's first ever World Cup in 21 month's time.

FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke explained the choice.