The New Nation - Internet Edition

It is going to be a tough challenge: Vettori

TigerCricket.com, Dhaka

New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori spoke about his team's prospects in Bangladesh during the official media conference of the Black Caps at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Monday. Excerpts from the media session follow:

Question (Q): Your team had comprehensively beaten Bangladesh in the Test and one-day series in New Zealand last December-January. Do you expect a similar result this time around also?

Daniel Vettori (DV): I think most countries who come to Bangladesh know that they are in for a difficult time. Their record may not be great but they have Mortaza (Mashrafe), Shahadat (Hossain) and Abdur Razzak and it is a nice bowling line-up and in their own conditions they are going to be a formidable opposition for us. We expect to win the series but we also know that it is going to be a tough challenge.

Q: How much do you think players signing for the Indian Cricket League would hurt Bangladesh in this series?

DV: I understand the only player missing is Aftab Ahmed. That's obviously a loss but the rest of the team remains pretty much what we faced in New Zealand

Q: What kind of wickets are you expecting here and how do you plan to cope with that?

DV: Probably a typical Sub-Continent wicket. I think it will have plenty of runs in it and as it wears it will start to take some turn. I think we got that covered with myself and Jeetan (Patel) and guys like Scott Styris and maybe Jesse Ryder would bowl stock seamers. We are pretty comfortable with the conditions and it is like anywhere you turn up you have to adapt to what's going on. Bangladesh know their conditions better than anyone and it is up to us to make sure that we are on the same level as them.

Q: Last time you bowled in Bangladesh in a Test series you had take 20 wickets in two matches. Do you expect to cause similar damage in this series also?

DV: We came across two pretty good wickets for bowling spin on. We put ourselves in strong positions and there were some good batting performances. So if we can repeat the same model here and put up some big scores and hopefully win on the fourth or fifth day then obviously there will be a chance to do it again.

Q: Given Bangladesh's recent struggle in getting results do you think New Zealand would win easily?

DV: It looks like that from the results so far but if you look at the Bangladesh players from an individual level you have got some guys who have performed at the world stage. The captain Mohammad Ashraful we all know can play and on his day he can be a world beater. Also I have mentioned they have a good bowling line up. Their reputation or their results may not be what they wanted but we still look at them individually and they are exciting. If we are not on top of our game then they can upset us. That's the thing we are trying to avoid here.

Q: You have arrived here almost a week before schedule. Has that helped?

DV: We have one warm-up and the one-dayers before we head off straight into the Tests. It is a nice build up. The conditions may be a little foreign for us I guess because it is still very cold back home but we are adapting to it.

Q: Are you going for a clean sweep in the series?

DV: We have come here expecting to win so nothing less than that would work for us but we are not going to underestimate Bangladesh. Obviously winning the one day series 3-0 would make us number two in the world and that would be very special.

Raul double fails to lift faltering Real

AFP, Barcelona

Veteran striker Raul Gonzalez scored twice but Real Madrid still lost ground in the Spanish title race after they were held at home 2-2 by Espanyol on Sunday. A below-par Madrid went behind from the penalty spot after 21 minutes with Raul Tamudo firing home after he was felled by Gabriel Heinze.

Raul, returning to the side after being rested for the Champions League clash against Zenit St. Petersburg, equalised with a header four minutes later.

On the half-hour, Luis Garcia restored Espanyol's advantage, scoring from close range after good build up play from Roman Martinez, Tamudo and Ivan de la Pena. But then Raul was on hand to bring Real back level at the end of the first half.

There were chances for both sides after the break notably for Luis Garcia and Nene for Espanyol, while Real's Ruud van Nistelrooy also had a shot saved by keeper Carlos Kameni.

The result brought Real's six-match winning streak to an end and left them in fifth place, three points behind leaders Valencia who beat Valladolid 1-0.

Real coach Bernd Schuster felt his team missed Dutch star Arjen Robben, who has been struggling with injury and was not brought into the action until late into the game.

"In the first half with Van Nistelrooy, Raul and (Gonzalo)

Higuain it was not easy," said Schuster. "Robben's state meant that I didn't start with him and we lacked depth. I tried options with (Ruben) de la Red and (Rafael) van der Vaart and I wanted to have the options of Robben and (Wesley) Sneijder for the second half.

"After the break we deserved to win, we were superior and we had chances but Kameni did very well and our finishing wasn't good." Espanyol coach Bartolome Marquez was satisfied with the point.

French champions Lyon slump to first defeat

AFP, Paris

Seven-times reigning French league champions Lyon were thrashed 3-0 by Rennes on Sunday for their first defeat of the season following a Mickael Pagis hat-trick.

Lyon's Brazilian centre back Cris looked in difficulty, left back Kim Kallstrom was out of sorts and the absences of key player Sidney Govou through injury contributed to the demise of Claude Puel's men.

Lyon had won six of their seven matches till this defeat with their only dropped points coming in a 0-0 draw against Lorient.

Claude Puel, the Lyon coach, said: "My initial reaction is to congratulate Rennes who played a great match in all departments. We probably helped them in their task at times though. "We came up against a great team which played three days ago but still had a lot of energy in their legs and took out their frustration on us. (Rennes were eliminated from the UEFA Cup).

"I don't really want to analyse what happened, to go into details, and I don't have anything more to say."

Next weekend is dedicated to World Cup qualifiers, and Puel added: "We won't have a chance to assemble the entire squad for two weeks."

Puel's men were in a 4-4-2 formation, as a result of playmaker Juninho being left out of the starting 11 for the first time in a year and this tactical change could have contributed to their poor performance.

Rennes had the upper hand in midfield against their opponents, who earned a creditable 1-1 Champions League draw at Bayern Munich in midweek, though it was the performance of 35-year-old striker Pagis which stood out as he earned his first goals of the season.

The fixture for Pagis to finally get off the scoresheet could not have fallen better for Rennes.

His 17th minute goal was a simple affair, his second in the 56th minute was a superb team effort and his 67th-minute third was a sublime individual goal as he found the net with a powerful shot from long range.

Lyon, who have not been beaten 3-0 in the competition since losing to Lens in January, suffered their first league defeat since April 6.

Karim Benzema, who has attracted interest from a host of top European clubs and has been linked with a move to Manchester United, had a sub-par match though he did have a couple of chances in the first half.

Also on Sunday, St Etienne had a 2-0 victory over Monaco while Nancy drew 1-1 against Paris Saint Germain in the late match.

Paul Le Guen's PSG, who had lost their two previous matches against St Etienne and Grenoble, were consoled by getting a point though often looked ineffective in front of goal.

Liverpool rally at Man City

AP, London

Liverpool came back from two goals down to win 3-2 at Manchester City on Sunday and stay even on points with Chelsea, which outplayed Aston Villa 2-0.

Fernando Torres scored twice to cancel out City strikes by Stephen Ireland and Javier Garrido. The game was into six minutes of injury time when Dirk Kuyt scored the winner for his first Premier League goal in 26 games. Joe Cole and Nicolas Anelka scored first half goals for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The Blues and the Reds are tied with 17 points from seven games.

Playing top flight soccer for the first time in its 104-year history, Hull is in third place after a 1-0 victory at Tottenham.

The Tigers, who were promoted last season through the playoffs, also won 2-1 at Arsenal a week ago. Brazilian midfielder Geovanni followed his long-range goal against the Gunners with a powerfully struck ninth-minute free kick against Tottenham, which remains last with only two points. In Sunday's other games, lowly Bolton won 3-1 at West Ham, Newcastle rallied from two goals down to capture a tie at Everton and Portsmouth edged Stoke 2-1.

Mladen Petric's 90th-minute goal gave Hamburger SV a 2-1 victory at Energie Cottbus on Sunday to regain the Bundesliga lead.

Hamburg's first victory at Cottbus moves Martin Jol's team three points ahead at the top the standings with 16 points from seven rounds.

Schalke striker Kevin Kuranyi scored twice to break out of a seven-week scoring drought to help his team earn a 2-2 draw at home against 10-man Wolfsburg. Borussia Dortmund drew 1-1 at home against Hannover.

Stephen McGinn lifted last-place St. Mirren to a 1-0 victory over Rangers on Sunday and put Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premier League on goal difference.

McGinn's 77th-minute goal only five minutes after coming on as a substitute gave the Buddies' a first home victory over Rangers in 22 years.

The loss at Love Street was Rangers' first league defeat of the season. Celtic, which has 19 points and leads Rangers on goal difference, outplayed Hamilton 4-0 Saturday.

Scolari expects Terry to play through pain barrier for England

AFP, London

Luiz Felipe Scolari expects John Terry to play through the pain barrier in England's World Cup qualifiers as the Chelsea defender struggles to shake off a back injury.

England captain Terry played in Sunday's 2-0 win over Aston Villa despite feeling pain from the back problem he suffered in Chelsea's Champions League draw with CFR Cluj in midweek. He completed 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge and will meet England's doctors before joining up with Fabio Capello's squad, but Scolari has no doubts that the steely centre- back with feature in Saturday's match against Kazakhstan and Belarus the following Wednesday.

While Terry should feature for England, his Chelsea team-mate Joe Cole may miss out with a foot problem. Nicolas Anelka is a doubt for France's upcoming World Cup 2010 match with Romania after the striker was taken off at half-time with a leg problem. "I also think John will be fit after two or three days rest," Scolari said. "He will see the international doctors and then decide but I think he will play. "Joe Cole has a little problem but I think he will be fine after two or three days of rest. As for Anelka, I don't know. Whether he will be ready for his next game is difficult to say."

Deco, Michael Essien, Ricardo Carvalho, Alex and Didier Drogba are already in the treatment room, but Scolari heads into the international break hoping a rest from domestic action should give some of those players time to recover.

Berdych beats Del Potro to win Japan Open

AP, Tokyo

Tomas Berdych won the Japan Open for his first singles title in 16 months, beating Juan Martin Del Potro 6-1, 6-4 on Sunday.The ninth-seeded Czech relied on strong serves and solid groundstrokes to beat the Argentine.

who won 29 of 30 matches going into the final.

"At this level of tennis, it's important to be consistent," said the 23-year-old Berdych, who had 11 aces. "I was able to do that all week and am thrilled to win the title."

In the women's event, top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki defeated fifth-seeded Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. It was the Dane's third singles title in three months, having claimed events in Stockholm and New Haven.

"She was serving really well in the second set and had the advantage," said Wozniacki. "I just tried to step it up in the third set and play better on my return and it worked out for me."

After struggling for much of this season, Berdych said he's starting to get his game back. He reached the semifinals of the Bangkok Open last month.

"In today's tennis everything is so close and tough," said Berdych. "It's all about having confidence on the court. If you win one or two matches everything can come together."

Berdych coasted through the first set, then broke to go ahead 2-1 in the second set.

Del Potro fought back, lobbing the Czech to cut the lead to 5-4, but Berdych held serve in the final game to take the fifth title of his career.

Del Potro, seeded fifth, was looking to win his fifth title of the year but got off to a shaky start and wasn't able to recover.

He took some medicine for his stomach during the first set.

"I was a little confused with his game," said Del Potro. "After the first set, I started to play a little better but it was too late. I didn't have a chance to do anything with his game."

Berdych defeated second-seeded Andy Roddick in the semifinals to reach Sunday's final. Del Potro had defeated top-seeded David Ferrer in the quarterfinals before advancing to the final with a win over last year's runner-up Richard Gasquet of France.