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The ongoing drama at the Bangladesh Football Federation took a new turn on Sunday as Ashrafuddin Ahmed Chunnu refused to go to Myanmar with the national football team with the dual role of both team leader and manager. Adding more salt to the wound senior vice-president of the federation, Monir Ahmed, slammed the federation president for misinterpreting his remarks.
   Chunnu, a former national winger and also the assistant general secretary of the federation, went to the BFF Building on Sunday afternoon and submitted an application refusing to perform as both the team leader and the manager on the Myanmar tour. Chunnu was shocked to see the scenario. ‘The prevailing situation at the BFF is totally out of control, I can’t take up the responsibility in such a situation. I feel that it will be too much to bear,’ said Chunnu.
   Chunnu was appointed as the manger of the national team by the BFF president SA Sultan after its executive committee failed to select the same. The National Team Management Committee had nominated Saeed Hasan Kanan as the manager but the committee did not accept it. Monir Ahmed also refused to accept the post for personal reasons.
   The national team which is scheduled to leave for Myanmar tomorrow now faces the problem of having no manager or team leader just a day prior to their departure.
   Meanwhile, Monir Ahmed criticised the president for giving false information about his comments in the meeting where Kanan and Babu were locked in a heated arguments.
   Monir denied having said that Salahuddin had once been put behind the bars as alleged by the BFF the president. ‘I just told Babu that you and Salahuddin are not the same though both have a record of dissents, I never uttered any word like ‘jail’ or that sort which the president has spoken about. It is very unfortunate that the president and the general secretary both have been misinterpreting me,’ said Monir.
   Monir clearly stated that denigrating Salahuddin and the nominations by the National Team Management Committee have created all the chaos and he can’t support it.

It has become very hard to maintain the schedules of the domestic cricket calendar after continuous rain in the last few days forced the corporate cricket league committee to postpone the remaining league matches until November 9.
   The decision means the national cricket league, the lone first class competition of the country, must have to be delayed as it is scheduled to start on November 8. As the CCL is unlikely to be completed before the third week of November many fear whether the BCB would be able to start the national league this month.
   Though the CCL and Tournament committee chairman, Shah Nurul Kabir Shaheen, expressed his determination to start the national league by November 17 or 18, there is every reason to have a doubt about it.
   The reason is simple. Including the final and the semifinals, there are still 15 matches of the CCL to go. So it will take at least one week to be completed. In that case, the final match will be held on November 16. It is very hard to believe Bangladesh Cricket Board would be able to start another competition the very next day after a competition concludes.
   It is further impossible as the players of the CCL and the national league are almost the same. Naturally it will take at least five days to start the national league once the CCL concludes. In that case, the national league would have to be stopped just after one match as the starting date of the premier cricket league will come nearer then.
   According to the domestic calendar, the premier cricket league is scheduled to begin on December 1 and the officials of the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis said they are in no position to delay it.
   ‘As the schedule is already very tight we have no other option but to start the premier league in due time. If we delay the start, the super league will go to end of February, when the national team will start two back-to-back series against Sri Lanka and Australia. It means the national players will be unavailable at that time. And without the national players I don’t believe the clubs will agree to play super league, which will be very crucial to decide the tile,’ said CCDM chairman Khandaker Jamil Uddin.
   Jamil, however, is sympathised with his CCL and national league colleagues as it is not their fault to make the situation convoluted. Rather it is the rain that made the things worse. ‘If it rains in this way what can we help. We all are now helpless,’ lamented the BCB official.
   And the weather forecast says the lamentation is unlikely to end soon.

Justin Kemp transformed a faltering South African performance into a thrilling two-wicket victory, by thumping a brilliant 73 from 64 balls, including five fours and three sixes in the first one-day international against South Africa on Sunday.
   His efforts rescued South Africa from 100 for 4 at the halfway mark of their pursuit of 250, but when he and Shaun Pollock fell in consecutive overs with victory in sight, South Africa seemed intent on producing a replica of their infamous choke against England, in their very last international on this ground in January.
   Nicky Boje eventually sealed the win with three balls remaining, via a skied smear that just eluded Stephen Fleming’s grasp in the covers.
   Earlier, Craig McMillan scored a composed half-century to steer New Zealand to 249 for eight from 50 overs.
   McMillan worked the ball around sensibly on a surprisingly slow pitch to compile 66 in 75 balls.
   He and Jacob Oram put on 75 for the fifth wicket to deny a South African attack that dominated early on.
   Nathan Astle (1) and Lou Vincent (8) were dismissed in the first six overs, offering easy catches to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher off Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini respectively.
   Kiwi captain Stephen Fleming hit a brisk 45 to lift his team to 70 for three before falling to a fine diving catch by Herschelle Gibbs at backward point off Andre Nel.
   When Jacques Kallis trapped Hamish Marshall lbw for 16, New Zealand had slipped to 97 for four in the 21st over.
   Once the pacemen came off, McMillan and Oram flourished against the slower bowling of Kallis and spinner Nicky Boje.
   McMillan was dismissed in the 43rd over when he tried to chip Kallis over the infield and lobbed a catch to Ashwell Prince at wide mid-on, giving South Africa’s premier all rounder his 200th one-day wicket in his 221st international.
   Kallis is the third South African to reach the landmark, after Pollock and Allan Donald. He is also the eighth player to score 2,000 runs and take 200 wickets in one-day internationals.
   Oram’s fine supporting innings ended when he was run out by skipper Graeme Smith for 35 after McMillan had turned down a quick single.
   Nel picked up three for 42 while Kallis took two for 45.

Ex-Australia captain Steve Waugh says he wants to help struggling teams like Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in the future.
   Waugh, who scored nearly 11,000 Test runs and lost only nine of the 57 games he captained Australia in, is committed to the game's global expansion.
   'I'm really interested in developing countries like Kenya, and Bangladesh or Zimbabwe.' the 40-year-old said. 'Because if you don't do that then the game is going to struggle, so I think we need the resources in that area.'
   Waugh, who bowed out of Test cricket in January 2004 after the home series with India, says it is in the game's interest to ensure weaker nations become stronger.
   Critics have suggested removing Test status from Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in the wake of crushing defeats suffered by both teams in the past 12 months. But the former Australia skipper says something more constructive needs to be done to maintain the current surge in interest in the sport following the Ashes.
   'You've got help countries like Zimbabwe, who are really struggling and aren't Test standard at the moment, get back on track,' Waugh added.
   ‘Bangladesh have got to keep developing and I think some of the African countries have got a lot of talent - Kenya, and some of the east African countries.
   'We've got to focus on some of those countries. The other countries seem to be doing well but if we just focus on the top couple I think people will get bored with that eventually.'

Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik says he can solve the country’s problem in finding a reliable opening batsman for next month’s Test series with England.
   A total of 21 different combinations have been used at the top of the order since England’s last visit in 2000. Malik, 23, opened in the second Test in the West Indies in June and says he is happy to continue in the role.
   ‘I am ready for the England pace attack. If my team needs me to open I have no problems with that,’ he said.
   ‘I can adjust myself accordingly to the situation. The pressure is there on you always as a player and it will be no different against them. But as a professional you are expected to deliver for your country.’
   Pakistan’s selectors have struggled to find a steady pairing since Aamer Sohail retired early in 2000, splitting up a successful partnership with Saeed Anwar.
   They appeared to have found the solution in the home series against South Africa in 2003 when Taufiq Umar and Imran Farhat put on three successive century opening stands.
   But the pair lost form after that and since Bob Woolmer took over as coach in June 2004, those two, Salman Butt, Yasir Hameed, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal and Malik have been juggled around in the top two positions.
   He believes England will not be as effective at generating reverse swing with the Kookaburra ball as they were with the Dukes ball in their Ashes triumph over Australia.
   But he added, ‘In the end it all boils down to how hard you try in the middle. I have no doubt it is going to be tough as they will be going flat out.’

In the latest of a spate of books published in the wake of the Ashes, Ricky Ponting has written of his fury at Andrew Symonds’ behaviour during the tour of England.
   Ponting said he initially wanted Andrew Symonds sent home after a late-night drinking binge forced him out the one-day match against Bangladesh in Cardiff last June.
   Bangladesh stunned the cricket world when they beat the Australians by five wickets, winning only their 10th win in 108 one-day internationals at the time.
   Ponting described the defeat as dreadful and embarrassing, and all-rounder Symonds’ behaviour as unacceptable after it became clear during the warm-ups that he was intoxicated.
   Ponting and vice-captain Adam Gilchrist saw Symonds hit the ground and suspected he was drunk.
   ‘When Gilchrist and I got to Symonds I did not beat around the bush,’ Ponting writes. ‘His eyes looked puffy and I could smell alcohol on his breath. ‘Were you out late last night having a drink?’ I said.
   ‘’Yes,’ he replied. ‘What time did you get back?’ I responded. ‘About 1.30, I think.’
   ‘Given the state he was in eight hours after that, I found his claim hard to believe. My blood was beginning to boil. I did not shout, but let Symonds know exactly what I thought about his behaviour.’
   Ponting told Symonds he would not be in the team to play Bangladesh.
   ‘’Right,’ was his response,’ writes Ponting. ‘But he said it in such a casual ‘see-if-I-care’ way that it wound me up even more. ‘Don’t encourage me,’ I said.
   ‘I was furious at a player being so disrespectful to himself, his teammates, his opponents and his country by turning up to play a game in that state, and I blurted out, ‘He can go home then!’ to Gilchrist before heading off to speak to (coach) John Buchanan.’
   But rather than apologise to the coach at training, Symonds told him: ‘I’ve played when I’ve been like this before.’

Shoaib Akhtar faces a make-or-break fitness test at Pakistan’s practice camp this week to determine how much of a role he will play in the upcoming series against England.
   Akhtar, 30, has faced constant criticism for his poor fitness record and many still question his attitude. Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan, a supporter of Akhtar, said: ‘With his age he is at the crossroads. I think the England series is make-or-break for Akhtar. He is 30 so he has four years left in him but it is Akhtar who gives Pakistan the hope to win against England.’
   Akhtar has a reputation for breaking down mid-series and has previously been fined for going out on late nights. Pakistan’s coach Bob Woolmer, who has publicly asked for more commitment from Akhtar, said: ‘He is in our scheme of things because he is a genuine fast bowler but the question mark is whether he can last five days of a Test and 15 of a series.’
   Rameez Raja, ex-chief executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board, said Akhtar has a lot to prove. ‘It’s up to Akhtar to prove everyone wrong.’ he said.

The treasurer of the Bangladesh Football Federation, Shah Alam Chowdhury, stoked a new controversy on Sunday by claiming that he has been deprived of any room in the BFF Building despite repeated requests.
   The treasurer of the federation in a letter to the president said that his request for allotment of a separate chamber to carry out his official duties went unheeded since the completion of the new building. Alam claimed that the treasurer ranks fourth in any national and international football association according to the FIFA and AFC rules. He felt that next to the general secretary nobody except the treasurer is entitled to a separate chamber. But the fact is different.
   In his letter to the BFF president Alam said that he has very little role in the BFF money matter other than signing the cheques. 'To be frank I don't know how the money of the BFF is being spent,' he said.
   Taking a clear stance in the ongoing BFF saga, he said, 'The ruling given by the president was unexpected. Had the BFF president taken fair decision all the chaos could have been avoided as it is being happened for a single controversial
   person.'

Brian Lara has been voted the most dangerous opposition batsman, ahead of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, by Australian cricketers. Andrew Flintoff, Australia’s Ashes tormentor, was voted the most dangerous opposition bowler and Muttiah Muralitharan was rated second in that list, according to a report in The Australian.
   Lara polled 55 per cent of the votes, while Tendulkar only got 25 per cent, and Dravid 20 per cent. While Ricky Ponting was regarded as the best batsman in Australia by his fellow cricketers, Shane Warne beat Glenn McGrath to claim the best-bowler honours. Mike Hussey, the Western Australia batsman, was the best domestic batsman ahead of Brad Hodge and Darren Lehmann. Andy Bichel was voted the best domestic bowler; Mick Lewis from Victoria was second ahead of Shaun Tait. Stuart MacGill was clearly regarded the best spinner.
   South Australia’s Callum Ferguson was considered the most promising batsman, his team-mate Dan Cullen the most promising spinner, Queensland’s Mitchell Johnson the most promising fast bowler and another Queenslander, Chris Hartley, the best young wicketkeeper.

Former Australian captain Steve Waugh says he felt betrayed by a drinking culture and let down by his brother Mark and Ian Healy on his first cricket tour in charge of the Australian cricket team.
   Waugh takes aims at several high-profile Australian cricket figures, including Shane Warne and Ian Chappell in his autobiography, ‘Out Of My Comfort Zone’, which was officially launched by Prime Minister John Howard here Sunday.
   Waugh, who retired as Australian skipper in January last year after 168 Test matches and 10,927 runs, wrote about events on the 1999 tour to the Caribbean.
   ‘What I saw as a drinking culture was affecting more members of the squad than I had initially thought,’ the Australian cricket great said.
   ‘We were tending to socialise in the same groups (and) that had unhinged what should have been the joker in our pack: togetherness.
   ‘As captain, I felt slightly let down by my most senior professional, Ian Healy, who was struggling to come to terms with the approaching end of his career and for the first time in his cricket life had let his discipline and work ethic slide.
   ‘(Twin brother) Mark Waugh had an average tour and didn’t get involved enough in the running of the team, while some younger guys followed the leads and erroneous ways of others.
   ‘I felt betrayed when later I discovered that secret pacts had been made by some of the guys to stay out past curfew.’
   Waugh also opened up on Warne when he was dropped for fellow leg-spinner Stuart MacGill in the fourth Antigua Test on that tour.
   ‘Shane knew his spot was up for debate and I had flagged it to him the day before, but I knew he’d be desperate for one more chance,’ said Waugh, who chose the team with coach Geoff Marsh, vice-captain Warne and Allan Border.
   ‘Warney put up an emotional argument that included some very valid points, but when it came to summing it all up, AB (Border) agreed the tough call had to be made.’
   Waugh praised the way Warne handled his demotion. ‘I kept asking myself ‘what team is going to give us our best chance of winning?’ To me Shane wasn’t in the starting XI.’
   Waugh also had a shot at who he regards as his constant critic, former Test skipper and prominent TV commentator Chappell.
   ‘Ian Chappell has always sweated on my blunders and reported them with an ‘I told you so’ mentality.
   ‘He labelled me ‘selfish’ which for a cricketer is tantamount to being accused of treason.
   ‘To say Chappell’s criticism irked me would be an understatement, but I knew he was entitled to his opinion.
   ‘(But) I have always felt that a critic must be either constructive or base his comments on fact.’

Former Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh has ruled out plans to enter politics, despite an approach from the opposition Labour party and an association with Prime Minister John Howard.
   Howard launched Waugh’s autobiography, entitled Out of My Comfort Zone, on Sunday. The book went on sale last Friday.
   ‘I was asked about my interest in politics but I’m not a politician,’ Waugh told reporters at the launch in Sydney.
   ‘I’m not qualified; I don’t think I have the knowledge to be a politician. You’ve got to know something about everything and it’s a tough job.
   ‘My passion lies elsewhere. You never say never but it’s certainly not on the radar.’
   Waugh, 40, was asked to contest a federal seat in Sydney by former Labour leader Mark Latham, though he said the approach did not indicate his preference for either political party.
   ‘I have had different politicians launch books on different occasions but that’s not to say I’m strong for one side or the other,’ Waugh said before adding: ‘That was a good political answer actually.’

Rafael Nadal overcame fierce resistance from American Robbi Ginepri to book a fifth Masters Series final of the year with a 7-5, 7-6 victory.
   The 19-year-old Spaniard will meet in-form Croatian Ivan Ljubicic in Sunday’s final after Ljubicic extended his winning run to 16 matches with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory over fifth seed David Nalbandian.
   Nadal will equal world number one Roger Federer’s haul of four Masters Series titles this year if he beats Ljubicic.
   Federer missed the tournament through injury.
   Nadal’s victory was his 78th of the year, one more than world number one Roger Federer and the most by a teenager since Mats Wilander won 82 in 1983.
   The young Mallorcan retrieved a seemingly impossible drop shot and responded with a magnificent winning pass in the opening point of the seventh game and went on to earn himself a break to lead 4-3.
   Ginepri broke straight back and blasted through another service game to lead 5-4.
   Nadal broke again in the 11th game after forcing two successive errors from his opponent and then served out to clinch the set.
   A lapse in concentration by 16th seed Ginepri allowed Nadal to snatch a break in the seventh game of the second set but the American got back on level terms to force a tiebreak.
   He was swept aside, however, Nadal racing through it 7-1 to the delight of a pumped up capacity crowd at the Madrid Arena.
   Ljubicic and Nalbandian withstood some early pressure on their serves, but Argentine Nalbandian cracked when his opponent took advantage of a forehand error to break in the sixth game.
   An early break in the second game of the second set was all Nalbandian needed to level the match. It was level pegging in the third as the two players traded crisp groundstrokes, but it was Ljubicic who found an extra gear to forge ahead.
   Nalbandian saved three match points at 5-3 down but eventually relented under the pressure of the Ljubicic serve.

Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer feels England could be vulnerable as they come down from their Ashes high and get back to the day job of playing cricket.
   Woolmer, speaking to BBC’s Sportsweek programme on Five Live, said: ‘Mentally I’m wondering ‘Can England get up again after such a fantastic effort?’
   ‘That will be a telling point, because sometimes it’s very hard when you’ve been on such a high for a long time.
   ‘England will talk about creating an ethic where they can win all the time.’
   Woolmer also said that his side, ranked seventh out of 10 Test nations, had every reason to be positive about the home series against England.
   ‘We will be playing a side that’s just beaten Australia,’ said the former Kent and England player. It will be a great incentive for us.’
   Woolmer said the earthquake in the north of the country which had caused such a massive loss of life was ‘obviously a huge tragedy.’
   But he added: ‘The game must go on. The cricketing fraternity are really looking forward to the series. Quite frankly it will help people take their mind off what has been a terrible tragedy.’
   He hopes to organise a charity golf day involving both sets of players between the Test matches and one-day internationals.

Top seed Lindsay Davenport will play Patty Schnyder in the final of the Zurich Open after the American beat Russian seventh seed Anastasia Myskina 6-0, 6-4 on Saturday.
   Schnyder moved a step closer to winning her second Zurich Open title with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Serb teenager Ana Ivanovic.
   Davenport has now won all 10 semi-finals she has played this season and she has never failed to reach the title match in Zurich in the six years she has played the event.
   The American overpowered a frustrated Myskina in the first set with her big serve and heavy forehand.
   Although the second set was more competitive, Davenport withstood a late challenge from Myskina.
   The Russian recovered from 4-2 down to level the set before surrendering to Davenport just a few minutes later.
   ‘I felt I played really well the first set and a half. Obviously that’s the kind of tennis I prefer to play,’ said Davenport.
   Sixth-seeded Schnyder won her home-town event in 2002 and reached the final despite complaining about the court, the balls and the lack of support from the home fans.
   ‘I didn’t know what to expect from the fans and was very happy (in the end),’ said the Swiss.
   ‘I stayed focused from the first point on and was able to overcome her great start, her hard-hitting and great groundstrokes. So it was a perfect day.’
   Schnyder began tentatively and allowed Ivanovic to dictate play in the early stages.
   But once the Swiss had saved a break point against her with a thundering forehand in the fourth game, she broke Ivanovic to lead 3-2.
   The Serb struggled after that, often under-hitting and making a succession of unforced errors.
   Schnyder mixed her game up well with lobs, slice, drop-shots and took the set when her opponent put an easy volley into the net.
   The loss of the set appeared to take the fight out of Ivanovic and Schnyder charged through the second with ease.

Duncan Fletcher, the England coach, has said his side will cope with the pressure and expectations that are upon them, following their successful Ashes summer.
   England’s regaining of the Ashes has brought cricket back into the spotlight, and reignited the public’s passion for the game.
   But Fletcher isn’t unduly concerned with the effect this might have on his side.
   England fly to Pakistan on October 25 for three Tests and five one-day matches, and Fletcher has no doubt that they will rise to the challenge.
   ‘I had certain worries during the Ashes,’ Fletcher told Sportinglife.com. ‘Could they (England) step up a gear every game? There was huge pressure on us and that mounted with every game, especially after it went 1-1 (at Edgbaston).
   ‘Now it will be totally different as we go to Pakistan after we won the Ashes. They (Pakistan) will be trying to beat us to become the important cricketing nation.’
   Fletcher has spent a few weeks recuperating after the exhausting Ashes series at home in Cape Town, and joins the squad on October 24.
   ‘I have spoken to Michael Vaughan and my coaches and have been monitoring things while in Cape Town. We will now start again. The players will hopefully be refreshed.’

Zimbabwe cricket was heading towards another crisis after the provincial associations passed a vote of no confidence on the Peter Chingoka-led Zimbabwe Cricket board at an emergency meeting in Harare on Friday night.
   The meeting at the Old Hararians club was attended by chairmen of Masvingo, Manicaland, Matabeleland, Midlands, Matabelaland Country Districts, Mashonaland Country Districts and Mashonaland, as well as players’ representatives.
   However, Mashonaland, the most influential single province, who are themselves embroiled in an internal power struggle, were represented by Cyprian Mandenge, who leads the pro-ZC board faction, and Elvis Sembezeya who heads the anti-ZC board faction. As a result, the two did not have a say in the proceedings.
   The other six provincial associations passed a vote of no-confidence in the national board, and that motion will be communicated to Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, on Monday.
   They also demanded the appointment of a forensic auditor to investigate the board’s finances amid growing reports of irregularities.
   The result of the vote is that Zimbabwe Cricket will almost certainly have to call a special general meeting within 21 days to hear the views of all stakeholders.
   However, in a bid to avert the potential embarrassment of a no-confidence motion being passed then, ZC have announced the creation of five new provinces - Mashonaland West, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Matabaleleand South and Matabeleland North - despite the fact that critics claim there is precious little cricket played in these regions.
   The new provinces are likely to vote in favour of the existing regime. One, Mashonaland West, already have an executive - Themba Mliswa.
   He is a well-known figure and was described as a pro-Mugabe activist who has been involved in activities close to the ruling Zanu-PF party.
   According to a source at the club on Friday, Mliswa interrupted proceedings and claimed that he had been sent by the state security department to call it off as it was an illegally convened meeting of the opposition MDC party.
   It seems that word of his likely disruption was leaked in advance and local police were on site to remove him.
   Earlier in the day an emergency ZC board meeting did not take place after the directors once again failed to constitute a quorum as signs of cracks grew deeper.
   Most board members failed to turn up for the meeting on Friday in a move insiders said was a protest against the way some executives have been unilaterally making unpopular decisions.
   The sources say there has been internal divergence in ZC against the selection process used chose three new directors appointed on the ZC board this week. Wilson Manase, a lawyer, Charlie Robertson, chairman of Mashonaland Country Districts, and Tavengwa Mukuhlani, the controversial former chairman of the Mashonaland Cricket Association, were appointed to the board this week, replacing ZC managing director Ozias Bvute, and former directors Hemant Patel and Rick Pettipher.
   This latest showdown follows weeks of player unrest over contracts and the dismissal of Phil Simmons as national coach.
   Three cricketers - Heath Streak, Stuart Carlisle and Craig Wishart - have announced their retirement in the last month while others have made clear their deep unease with the way the national game is being administered.
   On the field, a sequence of dismal results were capped this week when an almost full-strength Zimbabwe A side were whitewashed 3-0 in Harare by Kenya.

Ricky Ponting has defiantly told would-be suitors to his Australian Test cricket captaincy that he’s staying put and not going anywhere.
   Ponting, who along with team coach John Buchanan received most of the fall-out from Australia’s relinquishing of the Ashes to England last month, says he is running the show and intends to remain captain.
   Ponting has denied champion leg-spinner Shane Warne virtually ran the team in England, and responded to calls for Warne to become Test captain following the loss of the Ashes.
   ‘There was only one person in charge on the field and that was me,’ Ponting wrote in his soon-to-be-released book, Ashes Diary 2005.
   ‘If he does still have captaincy aspirations he had better join the queue, because I am not planning on going anywhere just yet.’
   Ponting predicts that Warne, who retired from international limited-overs cricket after failing a drugs test before the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, might be back for the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.
   ‘I would not rule out the idea of him coming back into the one-day side for the 2007 World Cup,’ he writes.
   ‘The trouble is that I do not think he will make himself available unless he gets an assurance from the selectors that they will pick him.
   ‘He will not want to go to the trouble and possible embarrassment of announcing his availability only to be overlooked.’

India are the new champions of the Hong Kong Sixes, after seeing off West Indies with a comfortable six balls to spare in the final.
   India’s star was the former one-day international allrounder, Robin Singh, who led by example, scoring 34 off 15 balls before retiring, leaving Hrishikesh Kanitkar to hit the winning runs.
   West Indies had managed a total of 72 for 1 in five eight-ball overs, but it never looked like being enough.
   England had been the winners in both 2003 and 2004, but this time their challenge came to an end at the semi-final stage, when Robert Croft’s team were unable to overhaul a total of 72 for 3, in which Lendl Simmons top-scored with 25.
   Chris Read gave England hope by clobbering 27 runs from nine balls, but a collapse of three wickets for two runs scuppered their prospects.
   In the other semi-final, India beat Sri Lanka by four wickets.

Ashes holders England are halfway to supplanting Australia as the world’s best Test cricket team, the chairman of England’s board of Test selectors was quoted as saying on Sunday.
   ‘We are halfway there, having beaten Australia and won the Ashes. But to become the world’s top team we have to ... beat Pakistan and India,’ Graveney told the Sunday Morning Post.
   England take on Pakistan in a three-Test and five one-day series starting next month before returning to the subcontinent in February to play India.
   Graveney said Australia’s dominance of the recent Super test series against a World XI showed that England’s bitter rivals deserved their number one spot.
   ‘But England are up there,’ Graveney was quoted as saying. ‘The mark of a good team is to beat Australia, anywhere, and also to win on the sub-continent.’

The PCB has expressed doubts over the BCCI accepting the former’s proposal of deputing neutral umpires during the Indian team’s Pakistan tour scheduled for early next year.
   PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan told reporters on Saturday that although the BCCI had not replied officially, its officials, during a verbal chat on the subject, gave the impression they would not agree.
   ‘We proposed for neutral umpires to avoid any controversy but the BCCI has its own views on the subject,’ the chairman said.
   ‘We have good umpires like Aleem Dar, Asad Rauf and others and there is no dearth in Pakistan in this department,’ he said.

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur missed the chance to slash Chelsea's lead in the English Premier League when they drew 1-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday.
   Jermaine Jenas's free-kick for Spurs cancelled out Mikael Silvestre's first-half opener and the result left champions Chelsea eight points clear of three clubs on 19 points before they play bottom club Everton on Sunday.
   Charlton Athletic moved up to second with a 2-1 comeback win at Portsmouth, Spurs are third and promoted Wigan Athletic jumped to fourth after a 2-0 win at Aston Villa.
   Arsenal kept in touch with a 1-0 home win over Manchester City. Robert Pires scored Arsenal's winner with a penalty but wasted a second spot-kick in bizarre circumstances.
   European champions Liverpool lost more ground after a 2-0 defeat at Fulham and struggling Birmingham City were also beaten 2-0 at Blackburn Rovers.
   At Old Trafford, French defender Silvestre put United in front following a fumble by Spurs' England goalkeeper Paul Robinson after only seven minutes but the much-improved London side did not capitulate.
   Jenas curled in a fine free-kick to equalise 18 minutes from time and fellow midfielder Michael Carrick hit the bar with another free-kick late on.
   'The result is disappointing,' United manager Alex Ferguson told Sky Sports TV. 'Today we dropped two points and that's not going to help us at all.'
   United, with 18 points, finished the day in fifth place.
   Spurs manager Martin Jol said, 'If you play like we did in the second half I think you deserve a point. We bounced back and it's not the first time this season we have done that.'
   His satisfaction was soured by a late booking for Dutch midfielder Edgar Davids that rules him out of next Saturday's derby against Arsenal.
   Charlton's Danish forward Dennis Rommedahl smashed their winner into the roof of the net in the 77th minute at Fratton Park, as the Londoners roared back from a disappointing first half.
   Victory put them ahead of Spurs, who have played a game more, on goals scored.
   Arsenal are seventh on 16 points from nine games but their win over sixth-placed City at Highbury will be remembered for the extraordinary incident involving Pires.
   The French midfielder had already given Arsenal the lead with a 61st-minute penalty when they were awarded a second spot-kick with quarter of an hour left.
   In an apparent attempt to fool City goalkeeper David James, Pires tried to tap the spot-kick to Thierry Henry but fluffed his touch and referee Mike Riley awarded City a free-kick.
   It was unclear whether Riley believed Pires had touched the ball twice or if the referee thought the ball had not moved its full circumference off the spot.
   'We got away with it because we won the game,' said a bemused Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. 'It was a wrong and a bad decision.'
   Wigan registered their fifth straight win in all competitions with an Aaron Hughes own goal and Alan Mahon's spectacular strike giving them victory at Villa Park.
   'Obviously we're not going to win the league but we've made great strides,' beamed Wigan manager Paul Jewell.
   At Craven Cottage, Liverpool's domestic fallibility was exposed once again with Fulham fully deserving their victory.
   Striker Collins John fired them in front after half an hour and in the last minute Luis Boa Morte sealed victory.
   Liverpool, who won 1-0 at Anderlecht in the Champions League on Wednesday, are 12th on 10 points from their eight games.
   'Today is difficult to explain. Maybe it was bad luck, I don't know,' said manager Rafael Benitez. 'But I think we deserved some goals.'
   Second-half goals by strikers Paul Dickov, from a disputed penalty, and Craig Bellamy gave Blackburn a 2-0 win over Birmingham and increased the pressure on manager Steve Bruce.
   Birmingham's sixth league defeat of the season left them adrift in the relegation zone, third from bottom on six points.

Jose Mourinho believes Chelsea are just nine victories away from retaining their Premiership crown.
   The Portuguese coach takes his side to Everton on Sunday on the back of a perfect start to the season with wins in the first nine games.
   And he claims a repeat of that form will mean his side can crack open the champagne on Boxing Day after an 18th straight win - over local rivals Fulham at Stamford Bridge.
   Mourinho made his remarkable claim at Chelsea's training headquarters after he was asked, if closing in on Arsenal's record run of 49 unbeaten games meant anything to him.
   He said, 'How many victories do we have now? Give me nine more and we are champions and you can keep the record.
   'Believe me, if we record 18 consecutive victories we are champions.
   'If I win the next nine matches and I lose the record for one game, I prefer this, than beat the record with five victories and five draws. I want points. I don't want records.'
   At the start of the campaign, Mourinho claimed the title race would be much closer and Chelsea might even have to wait until the final game of the season at Newcastle to be certain of retaining their crown.
   But Chelsea's astonishing start and their main rivals' inconsistent form has left Mourinho confident that the title race will be over by Christmas.
   'Manchester United are not far away. People think they are but if they win the match they have to play, and I think that's at home, they go back to seven points.
   'But they have to play twice against Chelsea. So those six points are in direct competition between the top two teams. Last season we were five points behind and we finished champions.
   'Arsenal are 14, it can be 11. Eleven is quite a lot, and they have to play against us only once. But they can only improve.
   'I was waiting for a very tough, very close situation at the beginning of the season. It was a very easy though.
   'Man United kept the same players, didn't lose players, improved with a very experienced goalkeeper and I thought they could be better.
   'Arsenal lost only one player but when I saw Vieira was to go, I thought it's because the manager feels he doesn't need the player. Either he has solutions for that or he has young players to do the same job. So I was waiting for them. And, in fact, the two matches they played against us we won 2-1 and 1-0. And the 1-0 was a knee-goal.
   'But they had problems. Henry was out, Campbell was out. So I think they can only do better.
   'It's not easy for them to catch us. Eleven points is a lot, but they can only win matches and try and put pressure on us.'
   No matter where you are in the world, with a big club comes big responsibility and Mourinho claims winning is vital.
   'I think if you are in a big club in England, Spain, Italy Portugal, Germany, in every country, if you are in a big club, it's to win.
   'To win, only winning is good. If you are second it's not good enough. Be first. Somebody told me something, which I haven't forgotten, is that, "If you are second in a big club, you are the first of the last".
   'If you are in Real Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Juventus, Chelsea, Man United, Bayern Munich, you cannot be second.
   'That's the reality. And if I hadn't won the title last season I would have felt I had failed. But I came with no excuses.'
   A year and a half has passed since the 'Special One' arrived at Stamford Bridge and when he's asked what he likes most and least about the English game he delivers a typically honest reply.
   'I like it so much that I'm here, I like everything, almost everything. I like the full stadiums, I like crowds, I enjoy playing away and at home.
   'Because even with a full stadium against your team, people respect you. I like fair play. What I don't like are players who cheat, who beg for penalties, and chase the yellow card for an opponent.'

Samuel Eto'o couldn't get the goals to help Cameroon to the World Cup finals two weeks ago but he hasn't stopped scoring since and he got a brace in Barcelona's 3-0 win over Osasuna on Saturday.
   The African Player of the Year produced Barca's opener less than two minutes after the break, heading home a corner by Ronaldinho.
   His second came barely five minutes later when he finished off a cross from Sylvinho, after a magnificent run by the Brazilian wing back down the left flank.
   Osasuna keeper Ricardo Lopez got a hand to Eto'o's shot but the former Manchester United player couldn't keep the ball out of the net and Eto'o now has eight goals to his name in as many league games this season.
   Frenchman Ludovic Giuly, who came on for Eto'o nine minutes from the whistle, completed the second half scoring spree for the Catalan club three minutes from time.
   The reigning Spanish champions could have taken the lead after 25 minutes when their teenage Argentine international Lionel Messi headed a Deco corner against the crossbar.
   Another good chance fell to Eto'o later in the first period but Osasuna manage to ride their luck until half time.
   Barca move up to fourth, ahead of the eight games being played on Sunday, while Osasuna stay in second place but will almost certainly have been overtaken by several teams by the end of the weekend.
   One negative note for Barcelona, with three games looming up in the next 10 days, was that both Belletti and Deco were injured in the first half and limped off before half time.
   UEFA Cup contenders Sevilla produced their best domestic performance of the season to beat struggling Alaves 2-0 on Saturday.
   Goals from Adriano and Vincenzo Mareseca, the latter a penalty, got Sevilla three vital points to put their spluttering start to the season further behind them.
   Jesus Navas went close early for Sevilla but they took the lead after 26 minutes when their Brazilian striker Adriano found the net after a neat pass from Maresca.
   Sevilla had further chances to add to their tally in the second half before Mareseca got a controversial second goal from the penalty spot. Javier Saviola looked to have dived following a legitimate challenge by his Argentine compatriot Franco Constranzo.
   League leaders Real Madrid face fifth-placed Valencia on Sunday but will have to do it without their Brazilian strikers Ronaldo and Julio Baptista.
   The pair are facing a month on the sidelines after picking up injuries during the past week.
   Ronaldo twisted his left ankle in Real's 3-0 derby win over Atletico last Saturday while Baptista suffered a partial tear of a left knee ligament in the Spanish giants' 4-0 drubbing of Rosenborg in the Champions League on Wednesday.
   The injuries mean that club captain Raul Gonzalez and summer signing Robinho are likely to be the Real strike force against the 2003-04 champions.

Football's governing body FIFA said it will send a security official to next month's World Cup play-off game in Uruguay amid Australian concerns over player safety, reports said here Sunday.
   Australia have bitter memories of their corresponding play-off match in Montevideo in 2001 with reports of Socceroos players being spat at, punched and kicked by Uruguay fans on arrival at the airport.
   Travelling media at the time said some home fans made slitting motions across their throats at players, with security stepped up and the players virtually imprisoned in their hotel in the days before an eventual 3-0 loss and elimination from the last World Cup finals.
   A FIFA spokesman told Sydney's Sun-Herald newspaper said the world body would be sending a security official to Montevideo for the November 12 first leg match.
   Football Federation Australia (FFA) chief executive John O'Neill has called on FIFA to ensure the intimidating tactics used when Australia last played in Uruguay, currently world ranked 17th, are not repeated.
   'There was an orchestrated campaign by some pretty unsavoury parts of the Montevideo football establishment that went into a systematic objective of undermining the Socceroos. We allowed their tactics to get to us,' O'Neill said last week.
   'It happens in sport where in some cultures the opposition team is regarded as fair game,' he said. 'It's not on, this is a FIFA match.'
   The FIFA spokesman told the Sun-Herald the concerns were 'justified' and he assured FFA that everything was being done to ensure player safety in Montevideo.
   'We viewed Mr O'Neill's comments with much interest, but I can guarantee that the well-being of players and officials for both sides is one of our main priorities.
   'A security official is something we consider for certain games, and we will be doing that in this instance.
   'That security specialist has contacts in Uruguay. Everything is being done to ensure the match is safe.'
   Uruguay coach Jorge Fosatti said earlier this month he is looking for the vociferous home fans to lift his side.
   'We have got to make it as unfriendly for them as possible,' Fosatti said.

Wayne Rooney's days as a teenage tearaway officially end today.
   When he wakes up today morning the ever-changing world the Manchester United and England star lives in will have taken yet another turn.
   Whether it will be for better or for worse there can be no knowing. Few sporting teenagers have earned more money, made more headlines, been faced with greater expectations and had more demands placed on them than the boy from Croxteth.
   But after turning 20 he will not be considered a kid any more. Rooney will be expected to start practising what he has started to preach - that he is coming through the pains of growing up, that the maturity he has continually insisted will come with age will, in fact, present itself.
   Rio Ferdinand, his closest friend at Old Trafford and with England, insists the mate he calls 'Wazza' is moving towards manhood and maturity.
   Ferdinand said, 'He's just adapting to life as such a famous footballer. He was thrust into the spotlight at a young age and he's had to deal with that - not easy for any young player.
   'I've been through the mill myself as a young kid and I know what it's like to suddenly come into the spotlight. But Wayne has been under double, triple, quadruple the pressure I was under as a kid.
   'He's had his ups and downs in terms of his relationship with the press and the way certain things have been reported about him - some true, some not - but as a player you have to deal with that and at the moment I think he's dealing with that admirably.
   'What's more I think his disciplinary record since he came to United has stepped up unbelievably, and that's something that doesn't get talked about as much as the negative sometimes.'
   United manager Sir Alex Ferguson encouraged Rio to provide guidance to Rooney after the prodigy's £27 million move last year. But Rio insisted, 'I don't need to give Wayne advice every now and again any more. I don't say "Wazza, I think you should do this or do that" but I think he learns by example.
   'On the pitch you may say just "Chill out" or to relax - to get him to take it easy and let the game flow and not argue about decisions. But Wazza is a great player and he's got that fire in his belly. I know it's a cliche when they say, "If you take it away he's not going to be the same player", but it's very much true.
   'When he's out there playing the emotion gets to him sometimes but I'm sure with experience he'll be able to curb that and channel it in a positive manner - something he's getting towards now.
   'He's never been a nervous person from the first day he came here - that's just the way he is. He's one of the lads.
   'It helped that he knew a few of the lads from England duty because he had people he could talk to straight away rather than someone like Park Ji-sung who has come in and doesn't really know anyone, which is much more difficult.
   'It's easy to forget how young Wayne is because of the things he does with a football and the way he carries himself.
   'But he's making progress and he's not just someone who sits there as a young lad and accepts things.
   'He is not frightened to air his views on the pitch and to be heard. Wayne's doing just fine, believe me.'

Portuguese football legend Eusebio has been officially pardoned by Slovakia - for ending the then unified Czechoslovakia's dream of playing in the 1966 World Cup.
   A superb goal by the Mozambique-born Eusebio - known as the 'black panther' - against Czechoslovakia in a Bratislava qualifier ended the 15 million-strong country's hopes of participating in England.
   On Saturday, top government official Eduard Kukan stood next to Eusebio as he told reporters it was time to forgive and forget.
   'No one could possibly forget the goal which destroyed the dreams of 15 million people, but despite that goal I've decided, as minister for foreign affairs, to officially forgive Eusebio,' said Kukan.
   Former Benfica striker Eusebio, who scored 1,137 goals in his career, was invited to the Slovakian capital on semi-official business by the ministry for foreign affairs.

Captain Thierry Henry has apologised to Arsenal’s supporters for the extraordinary penalty miss during the 1-0 home win over Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday.
   ‘I just want to apologise to all the Arsenal fans because it wasn’t the right thing to do,’ Henry told BBC television. ‘Next time I will take all the penalties.’
    Robert Pires, who had already converted one spot kick, fluffed his attempt to touch a second into the path of fellow Frenchman Henry, prompting chaotic scenes that ended with referee Mike Riley awarding City a free kick.
   Henry admitted that the ploy, used by Dutch midfielder Johan Cruyff when he passed a penalty to Jesper Olsen for his team mate to score for Ajax Amsterdam in the 1982-83 season, was his idea.
   Asked if it was his idea, Henry said: ‘Yes...but it wasn’t my idea to make his (Pires’s) leg go numb. What happened? I don’t know.
   ‘Unfortunately for Robert it is going to be in all the kind of papers you can have about strange things that can happen on the pitch. I don’t know why his leg went numb.
   ‘When Cruyff did it at Ajax everyone went ballistic. Sometimes you have to remember it was not a lack of respect (to the opposition).
   ‘We should not have done it but it is a game and people keep forgetting it’s entertainment also. We can laugh about it now because we took all three points but I think we wouldn’t have been laughing if we didn’t win.’

Former Germany captain Lothar Matthaeus has been invited by FIFA to draw the World Cup final groups in Leipzig on December 9, he told Bild newspaper at the weekend.
   'It's a great honour for me,' Matthaeus, who had a record 150 caps, told Bild.
   Matthaeus, 44, is Hungary's coach. He was bypassed for the Germany job in 2004 that later went to Juergen Klinsmann, a former Germany team-mate and rival.
   'We proposed Lothar to FIFA,' said Germany's 2006 Organising Committee vice president Wolfgang Niersbach. Matthaeus said he and Klinsmann had overcome their differences.
   'By and large he is doing a good job,' Matthaeus said. 'But at the moment he's causing himself some problems. I'm sure he'll have it all sorted out. Germany will rise to the occasion at the World Cup.'

The Professional Footballers' Association is set to fight the introduction of new drug testing rules.
   The measures, currently used to catch Olympic Games drug cheats, would mean testing players at home, on days off or when shopping or socialising.
   But PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor told the News of the World: 'This testing is not acceptable. It is a total invasion of their privacy.
   'The players will fight this collectively and this could be a test of strength. It's too early to talk of a strike but we will take a tough stance over this issue.
   'Players feel they have little privacy as it is but these measures would make them feel they have none at all.
   'We already have an agreement with the FA to have mandatory testing after matches and at their training grounds. Football is a team game and not an individual one like athletics, which is why the current testing is adequate.'
   But World Anti-Doping Agency chairman Dick Pound said: 'By testing players only at training it gives them the chance to get away with drug use.'

Bayern Munich chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said he could not fathom why playmaker Michael Ballack would want to move to Manchester United or Real Madrid when he could stay in Munich.
   ‘I just can’t imagine that he would go to Manchester United,’ Rummenigge told Premiere television late on Saturday, referring to rumours about Ballack’s future.
   Last week Ballack asked for more time to consider a Munich contract offer that would make him by the far the best-paid player in the country.
   ‘What would speak for Manchester and against Bayern Munich? Nothing at all, if you take a look at the table in England,’ Rummenigge said. ‘If I were a player I would definitely not go to Manchester.’
   Rummenigge said Real Madrid would also be a mistake.
   ‘Real Madrid are obviously a club with an incredible image, but as we’ve seen they haven’t won anything at all in the last two years,’ Rummenigge said.
   German media have reported that Juventus and AC Milan are also interested in Germany’s captain, whose contract with Bayern Munich runs until the end of June 2006.

AAB express
shock
Alumni Association of BKSP demanded justified probe and exemplary punishment of the alleged person who showed dissent towards legendary footballer Salahuddin at an executive committee meeting of the Bangladesh Football Federation. In a press release on Sunday, AAB expressed deep shock regarding the incident and termed it as unexpected.
— New Age

Div II player, transfer from Nov 20
The 3-day long players’ transfer of the second division football league begins November 20. The second division football league committee took the decision in the executive meeting held on Saturday. The league committee requested all second division football teams to take their necessary preparations.
— BDNEWS

Cole may
replace Carlos
Brazilian defender Roberto Carlos believes Real Madrid may look to Arsenal’s Ashley Cole as his replacement at the Bernabeu. Speculation has linked Cole, 24, with the Spanish giants over the past year. Carlos, 32, told The People: ‘I have heard lots of rumours about my future and Ashley Cole. ‘The club has to look at other players because every position needs cover and Cole is a very good player, who would be a good replacement for me one day.’ Carlos is happy at Real Madrid but knows that the expectation levels at the Bernabeu can lead to players feeling uncertain about their futures. He added: ‘I love Real Madrid and would love to retire from football as a player at this club. ‘I have a contract and I am happy working with the coach.
— BBC

Chelsea target
Henry
Chelsea are ready to pounce and lure Thierry Henry away from Arsenal next summer. The champions hope Roman Abramovich’s spending power will see them out-bid rivals like Barcelona and Real Madrid for the France striker’s signature. Henry has cast doubt over his future at Highbury by refusing to discuss a new contract until the summer, when he will have just one year remaining on his present agreement. Henry, who last week passed Ian Wright to become the Gunners’ record scorer, has publicly admitted he is disappointed by Arsenal’s form and the lack of investment in the team. Chelsea have wanted Henry, 28, since Abramovich’s take-over. They have failed with two previous bids of about £50 million, with Arsenal insisting Henry was priceless. But the Blues are refusing to give up the chase.
— SUNDAY MIRROR

MU to bid for Vieira
Juventus midfielder Patrick Vieira is being linked with a shock move to Manchester United. United are ready to test Juve’s resolve for the ex-Arsenal captain with a £13 million bid in January. Vieira has failed to settle in Turin and is said to be unhappy with the racist taunting that is blighting his time in Italy with Juventus.
— THE PEOPLE

Fergie told to
spend big
Sir Alex Ferguson has reportedly been told by the Glazer family to spend whatever it takes to make up the ground on Premiership champions Chelsea. United finished a distant third behind the Blues in the title race last season, and already trail them by 10 points this term. Now according to the Daily Mail the Glazers are set to give Fergie almost unlimited funding in a bid to catch the Roman Abramovich-funded Londoners. That will be good news to the restless Old Trafford faithful, who were told Ferguson would have £25million to spend each summer following the May takeover.
— SPORTINGLIFE