Main Page «
Front Page «
Metro «
Business «
International «
National «
Editorial «
Op-Ed «
Home «
Timeout «
Letters «

Archive «
Launch Supplement «
Special Supplements «

Bangladeshi players expressed their disappointments at having their only one colleague, Mohammad Ashraful, in the Asian squad for the forthcoming Afro-Asian Cup cricket series.
   The selection of the Asian squad completely occupied their minds on Tuesday when they went for the net session for the second time since starting preparation for the impending Sri Lanka tour.
   Team-mates congratulated Ashraful for being selected and wished him all the best but said it would have been more pleasing for Bangladesh if a few other players could get a chance along with him.
   Wicketkeeper Khaled Mashud and paceman Mashrafee bin Murtaza are the other two players from Bangladesh, who were tipped to get the nod to represent Asia. But the Asian selectors put the duo on the stand-by list instead of inducting them into the 15-member squad.
   ‘I expected at least one more player from Bangladesh though I would not like to name him,’ said captain Habibul Bashar. The skipper hailed Ashraful for being selected and said he should enjoy the trip no matter whether he gets a chance in the playing eleven or not.
   When Bashar was reluctant to talk much about the selection, another former captain Khaled Mahmud did not hesitate to name his favourites. ‘I think both Mashrafee and Mashud should have been there. If you look at the squad, you will see some players were included only because they play for the big teams.’
   Mahmud named two bowlers of a particular country who he believes are not better than Mashrafee at the moment. Of the bowlers one was heavily punished by Ashraful in a warm-up match during the England tour. Ashraful hit him for four boundaries in a single over. And the bowler wasn’t selected for his country in the last two international series.
   When everybody was talking about them, Mashrafee and Khaled Mashud had different views about the selection. . ‘I know getting a chance in the Asian team is a big deal. One can never be frustrated if he is not selected. But to be very frank, I expected a place. However, now I have nothing to do but to accept the reality,’ said a disappointed Mashrafee.
   Mashrafee believes there may be some discrimination between the players of giant teams and minnows when they are discussed in the same table. To defend his claim, Mashrafee also cited an example.
   ‘When Irfan Pathan got 22 wickets in 11 Tests, his ranking was 19. At that time I took 29 wickets in 13 Tests. Compared to Irfan I should have ranked 30 or less but my ranking was then 43.’
   Khaled Mashud, another contender for the Asian squad, however said he does not have any regrets for not being in the 15-member squad.
   ‘I think Sangakkara is a good choice in my place. He is an excellent batsman and is used to keeping against Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas regularly. So, I took it very sportingly,’ said Mashud.

Sheikh Russell 4 Muktijoddha 0
   A spirited Sheikh Russell KC thrashed powerhouse Muktijoddha 4-0 in the Premier Bank Premier Division Football League at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Tuesday. This was the heaviest defeat for the big-budgeted Muktijoddha since they emerged as the title contender in 1993.
   The game was totally a Sheikh Russell show. They dominated, scored and also missed a few sitters otherwise the winning margin could have been even wider. Striker Bulbul slammed the fifth hat-trick of the league while Majid Burzuga scored the other goal for the winners. Majid missed two open nets to deny his team a bigger victory.
   George Kottan, the Austrian coach of Muktijoddha, fielded a team without Nigerian striker Jeremiah, experienced pair of Kanchan and Biddyut and a reliable Rajani. Rajani, who is nursing an injury, took the field later and Jeremiah and Kanchan also followed him but the fate remained unchanged. Throughout the match Muktijoddha never created a good scoring chance and sometimes it seemed that their team spirit was gone. The players were not cheerful and played individual game rather than working for the team.
   Majid Burzuga side-headed a Rashid Bishihi volley to the far corner of the net in the eighth minute. In the 28th minute Majid controlled a Yigir Mohamed lob and side-heeled the ball to Bulbul who tapped it home. Bulbul scored his second in the 43rd minute as he drilled a low shot into the net with Aminul stranded in the first bar. Bulbul completed his hat-trick in the 59th minute as Tanveer ran down the left flank and sent a measured cross to Bulbul whose angular shot hit the back of the net. It was the seventh league goal of Bulbul.
   Majid Burzuga found Aminul alone under the bar on 19th and 24th minutes and an open net on 32nd minute. On the first occasion he shot the ball straight to Aminul, his weak shot was cleared by Belal from the goal line on the second occasion and his headed effort went wide on the last occasion.
   Muktijoddha’s only chance came in the 49th minute when Belal’s long throw-in beat Biplob in the air but Amin Rana headed the ball over the bar. Apart from that Muktijoddha never found an open chance as custodian Bipob, who returned after a two-match ban, turned in a fine show under the bar.
   Sheikh Russell now have 18 points from 13 matches while Muktijoddha earned 22 from the same number of outings.

Former Bangladesh captain and the one of the selectors of the Asian XI Shafiqul Haque Hira said they chose the best possible squad for the Afro-Asian Cup cricket series. Haque said Bangladesh might have been happy to see some more cricketers in the squad but for the Asian interest they picked the right combination.
   ‘I was not a representative of Bangladesh on the selection panel but a representative of Asia. Therefore, I had to look into Asian interest also,’ said Haque who retuned to the country on Tuesday morning from Dubai.
   ‘It is true I also wanted to include Khaled Mashud in the team but Sangakkara was selected by the panel for his extra batting ability,’ added Haque.
   ‘Mashrafee was displaced by Rana Naveedul as the Pakistani bowler has been getting a lot of wickets at the moment, and I don’t think there is any doubt about the selection of Shoaib Akhter, the fastest bowler of the world,’ Haque clarified.
   ‘Ashraful deserves a place after his wonderful performance on England tour. However, I think the other players should not be upset because Mashrafee may have a call-up as he is in the waiting list,’ concluded Haque.

The inaugural Asia-Africa cricket series to be played in South Africa later this month was plunged into controversy on Tuesday when former India captain Sourav Ganguly protested at his omission.
   Ganguly, only 33 runs away from becoming the third batsman after compatriot Sachin Tendulkar and Pakistan’s Inzamam-ul Haq to score 10,000 one-day runs, said he was ‘disgusted’ at being left out of the 15-man Asia squad.
   ‘It is a raw deal,’ Ganguly told reporters in this Buddhist town which is hosting a tri-series between India, Sri Lanka and the West Indies.
   ‘I may not have scored in my four one-dayers this year, but does anybody’s selection anywhere depend on four matches?
   ‘What about the nearly 10,000 one-day runs I have got? Don’t they have value? Am I always to be the whipping boy?
   ‘I am disgusted.’
   The made-for-television Asia versus Africa one-dayers, granted official status by the International Cricket Council, will be played in Centurion, Pretoria on August 17 and at Kingsmead, Durban on August 20 and 21.
   Both squads were announced on Monday night.
   The Asian squad, captained by Inzamam, includes six Pakistanis, four each from India and Sri Lanka and one Bangladeshi.
   Ganguly, replaced as India captain by Rahul Dravid after being banned for slow over-rates against Pakistan in April, said Inzamam deserved to lead Asia.
   ‘I am happy Inzy has got the captaincy and I would not have had a problem playing under him,’ he said.
   ‘What I can’t understand is why the chief selectors of the four Test-playing nations did not do the choosing and picking?’
   The Asian selection panel included Majid Khan of Pakistan, Ravi Shastri of India, Graeme Labrooy of Sri Lanka and Shafiqul Haque of Bangladesh, none of whom currently serve on their respective national selection committees.
   Media reports, citing unnamed sources, said Majid and Shastri threatened to walk out of the panel when one of the Asian officials suggested that Ganguly be included in the squad.
   Africa named a provisional 19-man squad with Shaun Pollock leading in the first two games since his South African captain Graeme Smith is serving a two-match ban for slow over-rates.
   Smith will captain Africa for the third match.

Bangladesh Football Federation is determined to put up a good show during the next edition of Nitol Tata National Football League as now they have the best venue of the country – the Bangabandhu National Stadium – in their possession.
   At a press briefing held at the BFF Building on Tuesday the organising committee expressed high hopes about staging the best edition of the national league.
   The tournament will be played in the winter with no hazards of rain and the Bangabandhu National Stadium will be ready to host the final round at a convenient time.
   They are thinking as the product will be in good shape it will certainly be well consumed.
   The national football league begins in the second week of September across the country and to date 49 teams from 44 districts along with five services teams have confirmed their participation.
   The preliminary round will be held in six venues and Gazipur, Jamalpur, Narail, Shariatpur, Natore, Naogaon, Magura, Feni, Rangamati and Dinajpur BKSP have expressed interest to host the games.
   The budget of the league is Tk 1.07 crore and the sponsors Nitol-Tata will provide Tk 60 lakh ending their three-year sponsorship deal.
   Ten teams will play in the final round and the champions will receive Tk 5 lakh, runners-up Tk 3 lakh and the third-placed team will get Tk 1 lakh as prize money.

Spin legend Shane Warne, who admits he has chased so many women his marriage finally buckled, says he would turn down a beautiful woman to be able to bowl England out in the second Test at Edgbaston.
   ‘I’ll take the cricket every time,’ the 35-year-old says. I’d give up sex to bowl a few more of those balls this summer. That’s for sure.’
   Warne is referring to the leg-break that bamboozled Mike Gatting in the 1993 Old Trafford Ashes Test.
   ‘My diet is still pizzas, chips, toasted cheese sandwiches and milkshakes,’ he tell GQ magazine.
   ‘I have the occasional six week burst where I stick to fruit and cereal. It bloody kills me but I guess you have to do it.’
   Warne admits he has made many mistakes but never looks back. ‘I’ve made some poor choices when I’ve had too many but I’ve made some when I’ve been sober,’ he says.
   ‘The problem is there’s still a big kid inside me who likes to have fun. Maybe I need to grow up ... and maybe I don’t.
   ‘I may have done a few things differently. But when you are thrust into the limelight at 22, like I was, it can be hard to deal with it in a mature, sensible way.
   ‘You can’t describe what that ball to Gatting did. It changed my life forever, on and off the pitch. I started being judged on every move I made.’
   But he knocks the women he has dated who have spilled the beans to the newspapers.
   ‘It’s poor form for cricketers or celebrities or movie stars that there are so many women out there selling their stories for cash.
   ‘It’s just another form of prostitution. What happens between two people, whoever they are, should stay between them.’
   ‘We’ve been through a few similar things that I’d love to chat to him about over a beer or two,’ he says.

Kumar Sangakkara and Marvan Atapattu hit solid half-centuries to help Sri Lanka post a challenging 241-6 against the West Indies in a triangular one-day series match here on Tuesday.
   Left-handed Sangakkara scored 79 and skipper Atapattu 70 against a mediocre West Indian attack after Sri Lanka had chosen to bat in the day-night match at the Rangiri Stadium.
   The pair added 138 for the second wicket after the hosts had lost debutant Upul Tharanga in the third over. Tharanga was replacing veteran Sanath Jayasuriya, who is recovering from a shoulder injury.
   The main feature of the Sangakkara-Atapattu partnership was smart running between wickets.
   Sangakkara batted aggressively from the beginning, outscoring his captain during his 20th half-century which contained nine fours.
   He eventually fell playing shots, caught by captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul in the covers off spinner Narsingh Deonarine who finished with 2-55.
   Atapattu held one end intact and kept rotating the strike to maintain pressure on the West Indies fielders. He hit just four boundaries in his 51st half-century before being run out in the closing overs.
   The West Indies made two changes from the side that lost to India by six wickets on Sunday. Open Ryan Ramdass and fast bowler Deighton Butler were included in place of Runako Morton and Daren Powell.

A magnificent 93 from the one-day specialist batsman Tushar Imran helped Bangladesh 'A' team register a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Lancashire at Aigburth in Liverpool on Monday. The second-string Bangladesh side surpassed the revised target of 152-run in 34.1 over losing just three wickets for the first win on their month-long tour.
   Imran, who was not impressive with national team a month ago also in England, found his rhythm this time and struck 11 boundaries and a huge six in his 91-ball fluent innings. Bangladesh lost their captain Shahriar Nafees (7) but Imran did not allow the county team bowlers to dominate and brought his team back in the game. Opener Nafees Iqbal (21) and Alok Kapali (23) gave some able support which was enough to overhaul the target.
   Earlier, Lancashire scored 149 runs all out in 45.4 overs.

Australia have maintained their lead over the rest of cricket’s Test nations in the latest rankings released by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
   Australia, who beat England by 239 runs in the first Ashes Test at Lord’s last month and are preparing for the second Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham starting on Thursday, moved up a point to 133, cricket’s governing body said in a statement.
   The world champions, who have the highest Test rating since a new system of calculation was introduced in June 2003, can improve to 138 points if they beat England 5-0 in the Ashes.
   Series played before August 1, 2002 no longer count towards the rankings.
   England, who lost to Australia and India and drew with New Zealand during the August 1, 2001 to July 31, 2002 period, improved their rating by three points to 114, which would fall back to 111 again if they were to lose the Ashes 4-1.
   India lost three away series to Sri Lanka, South Africa and West Indies in the previous rankings period.
   They remain third and have jumped by four points to 111, their highest ranking since the new system was introduced.
   South Africa is fourth on 100 points, while New Zealand has moved from seventh to fifth on 99 points.
   Sri Lanka drop to sixth after losing four points while Pakistan also dropped, to seventh on 95 points.
   Zimbabwe, whose Test programme was suspended for much of 2004 after a bitter internal conflict between the country’s cricket authorities and several leading players, have dropped 11 points.
   Bangladesh, who won their first Test series, against Zimbabwe, earlier this year have picked up a point but remain well adrift of Zimbabwe.

Michael Vaughan has been credited with instilling his England side with self-belief.
   That confidence, however, does not appear to extend to beating world champions Australia in the Ashes.
   Twice Vaughan has been given the opportunity to predict the outcome of the series, and twice he has dodged it, swaying out of the way as if avoiding a waspish bouncer.
   Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath had predicted a 5-0 whitewash before the first Test. Vaughan, in reply, said England would concentrate on their own game.
   The question was re-phrased after England's 239-run defeat at Lord's.
   Vaughan, looking towards the second Test at Edgbaston this week, responded, 'I think there's a real opportunity to go out there and play some good cricket again.'
   It was not exactly a spine-tingling, Churchillian call to arms from a man who had led England to 14 wins and a single defeat in 18 Tests before the arrival of the Australians.
   In his evasion, Vaughan, so often praised for his fresh leadership, seemed to endorse the widely held view that the world champions remain untouchable.
   McGrath and Shane Warne endorsed it as well at Lord's.
   England's muscular fast bowlers began the series by clanging a few helmets and bustling the Australians out for 190 but their jubilation lasted about as long as it took McGrath to measure out his silky run-up.
   He took five wickets for two runs in a 31-ball burst.
   On the fourth day, he wrapped up the match with four wickets for three runs in 23 balls.
   As for Warne, he sparked England's second-innings collapse with three top-order wickets.
   If England are to fight back in the five-match series at Edgbaston, Vaughan is going to have to provide more robust inspiration.
   His batsmen, meanwhile, who could be supplemented by Paul Collingwood if leg spinner Ashley Giles is sacrificed, are going to have to find a way to combat two of the greaTest bowlers (1,097 Test wickets between them) in the history of the game.
   Attacking McGrath does not seem an option.
   The 35-year-old rarely offers batsmen any leeway.
   Vaughan's men simply have to bat outside their creases and switch their guards to try and upset his routine, cover their stumps more effectively and outstare a bowler whose stated philosophy is to 'just try to bore the batsmen out.
   ‘It's pretty simple stuff...the complicated thing is to keep it simple.'
   Attacking Warne will also be fraught with danger but sitting
   back inside a necklace of close catchers would surely be even more precarious.
   For English fans, it is hard to decide which was the more disappointing at Lord's; Vaughan's reluctance to blow England's trumpet or the lame batting performance.
   Perhaps both captain and front-line batsmen should take a lessons from a man wearing 'L' plates.
   Kevin Pietersen's self-confidence, expressed as a statement of fact rather than with any shade of arrogance, was already well-documented before he made his Test debut at Lord's.
   His batting technique, however, was a revelation to those previously restricted to dissecting his one-day innings.
   He may have swept a couple of his four sixes at Lord's off his stumps on his way to two half-centuries, but for the most part he played patiently and straight.
   It took an extraordinary catch in the deep by Damien Martyn to dismiss him just the once.
   In all, Pietersen made 121 runs, more than a third of England's match total.
   Unencumbered by too much responsibility, Pietersen has the freedom to talk more brashly than his captain and Vaughan could borrow a bit of his bravado in an attempt to motivate a badly bruised team.
   The point has not been lost on Duncan Fletcher.
   The England coach says of Pietersen, 'From our point of view it is good to have someone who is so positive.
   ‘That should rub off and make sure the guys hold their heads high when we get to Edgbaston.'

Former Pakistan cricket captain Wasim Akram on Tuesday criticised England's decision not to play a Test match in Karachi later this year, saying his country was being unfairly targeted in security matters.
   'Our cricket boards ought to be stronger. Once we have promised foolproof security, there is no point in bowing down to the pressure tactics of visiting teams,' Akram told the Press Trust of India (PTI).
   England refused to play a five-day Test match in the volatile port city of Karachi during their forthcoming tour of Pakistan in October-December, preferring to opt for a one-day international there.
   There will also be no match in the north-western city of Peshawar due to its proximity to the violence-prone border with Afghanistan.
   Akram, a regular in English county cricket during his playing days, said Australia's decision to remain in England for the Ashes series despite security fears in London would have been different if they were in Pakistan.
   'Look at Australia, had they been playing in Pakistan now instead of England and there was a bomb blast, they would have disappeared within a couple of hours,' Akram said.
   Some 56 people, including four suicide bombers, died in four separate bomb blasts in London on July 7.
   There was a bungled repeat on July 21 when the bombs failed to go off.
   Akram said cricket boards should have more faith in what governments tell them instead of relying on their own security experts.
   'These security guys have good fun, the trip is like a holiday for them, they collect their money and that's it,' he said.
   'I think the security issue should be left to the governments, they are very much capable of handling these issues.'
   In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, teams from Australia and the West Indies have refused to play in Pakistan because of security fears.
   Karachi had earlier been rejected as a Test venue by South Africa and India after a bomb blast outside the New Zealand's team hotel in May 2002 killed 14 people including 11 French naval engineers.
   England will play three Tests-in Multan, Faisalabad and Lahore-and five one-day internationals during the tour from October 26 to December 21.

Indian coach Greg Chappell is looking forward to a better batting performance from his team against Sri Lanka in a triangular one-day series match here today.
   India batted much below expectations in their opening game against the hosts on Saturday, making 205 before losing the contest by three wickets. Skipper Rahul Dravid alone kept his reputation intact, top-scoring with a solid 54.
   'We need to bat better. A total of 250 was what we needed on Saturday, but we were 40 or 50 runs short,' Chappell said on Tuesday.
   'I am happy with our bowling and fielding in both the games. We just need to get more out of our batting. The good thing is batting is our strength for a while, so hopefully that will come back.'
   Bowlers set India's victory in the second match on Sunday as Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra and Virender Sehwag each bagged two wickets to restrict the West Indies to a modest 178.
   India then rode on Dravid's second successive half-century to complete the job with 14 overs to spare. Chappell was not worried about Sehwag's twin failures in the ongoing tournament, saying the opening batsman would soon rediscover his form.
   'He is a good player but not scoring runs. He is likely to be kick-started into good form with a couple of good shots in the middle,' said the former Australian Test captain.
   'I am not worried about it (Sehwag's form). I am more worried about the fact that we have not made enough runs as a team at this stage and we need everybody to contribute to it.'
   Hard-hitting opener Sehwag failed in both the matches, scoring 14 against Sri Lanka and two against the West Indies.
   The Indian coach welcomed the return of Sourav Ganguly, saying the batsman's experience would stand the team in good stead.
   'He is an experienced player and the leader in the group. Whether he is captain or not he is a senior player. We will be relying on him a lot, not only for his leadership but also batting,' said Chappell.
   Ganguly, with 9,967 runs in 271 one-dayers, joined the squad on Monday after serving a four-match ban. He was captain when suspended for his team's slow over-rate against Pakistan in a home one-day series in April.
   Dravid was named captain for this tournament.
   'I think this is a great opportunity for him (Ganguly) to just go out and play and not to worry about captaincy. It will be a good opportunity to focus on his batting and get some runs under his belt,' said Chappell. What we are looking for from him is a continued good performance and the leadership that we know he can offer.'
   Chappell also defended the changes in batting order, saying the aim was to give every player an opportunity to find the right combinations for the future.

Australia coach John Buchanan insisted here Tuesday he had no qualms about seeing his side's ageing attack involved in back-to-back Ashes Tests against England.
   Australia, winners of the previous eight Ashes series, are 1-0 up in the present campaign after last month's crushing 239-run first Test win at Lord's.
   But there is just a two-day gap scheduled between the second Test, which starts at Edgbaston on Thursday and the third Test at Old Trafford.
   Before this Ashes campaign got underway England seamer Matthew Hoggard questioned whether 35-year-old duo Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, Australia's star bowlers, could stand up to the rigours of back-to-back games.
   The pair took 15 wickets between them at Lord's, a match where fast bowler McGrath, who had nine in the game, joined leg-spinner Warne as one of only four bowlers in history with 500 Test wickets.
   McGrath's long-time new-ball partner Jason Gillespie is the 'wrong' side of 30 as is his rival for a Test place Michael Kasprowicz, with 28-year-old speedster Brett Lee the young man of the Australians' bowling line-up. By contrast left-arm spinner Ashley Giles is the only frontline England bowler over 30.
   'These next 14 days are pretty crucial to the whole tour,' Buchanan said. One of the aspects of playing back-to-back Test matches is the fitness and mental toughness of individuals in both teams.
   'It's a pretty big issue. The weather will dictate that a bit. There's no doubt that a team that is fit and mentally strong will have some advantage by the end of these two games.
   'Everybody will be tested if that's the case, particularly bowlers. But one of the strengths of our side has been we are able to and individuals are able to front up game after game. I don't see at this point in time being any different. If you're in a winning frame of mind, confident frame of mind or you are playing well that confidence aids your physical recovery and therefore also your mental strength.
   'If England play as well as they can play, potentially I see a little bit of a rollercoaster ride.
   'But if we play the way we know we can play over this period of time, and right at this moment in time there are good signs that we will, then I would expect to come out certainly in front by the end of this 14-day period.'

England cricket selectors performed a u-turn on Monday and called up in-form Durham all-rounder Paul Collingwood into their squad for Thursday’s second Ashes Test.
   Collingwood received the good news after England coach Duncan Fletcher and captain Michael Vaughan inspected the Edgbaston pitch as England seek to level the series after a crushing 239-run defeat at Lord’s.
   Chairman of selectors David Graveney had originally insisted that the squad from the first Test would remain the same, but he changed his tune on Monday.
   ‘We decided to add Paul to the squad so we have the maximum number of options available on match day,’ said Graveney.
   Collingwood, a one-day England regular, is in prime form after hitting centuries in three of his last four County Championship innings.

England cricketers will have a reduction in their working hours for the international series later this year in Pakistan.
   Under the rules of the governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), 90 overs a day minimum should be bowled during Tests.
   But a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official told Reuters on Tuesday that this would not be possible during the tour which will be held during the Pakistan winter from October 26. Instead the teams must only bowl 83 overs.
   November and December in Punjab are winter months with bad light and fog normally reducing playing hours and dew problems affecting one-dayers in the evening hours.

Australia warmed up for the second Test with England in impressive fashion despite declining the chance to force victory in their tour game with Worcestershire on Monday.
   The tourists bowled out their hosts for 187 in 44 overs at New Road despite the absence of the rested Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne but took the opportunity for further batting practice rather than enforcing the follow-on, meaning the match ended in a draw.
   Jason Gillespie, who is likely to retain his place for the second Test starting at Edgbaston on Thursday, was able to put in a spell of 12
   overs which brought him
   figures of two for 45 even though it was Michael Kasprowicz (five for 67) who did most of the damage.
   Australia skipper Ricky Ponting could have enforced the follow-on with Worcestershire 219 in arrears and still a possible 51 overs remaining.
   However, they chose to bat again and were 161 for two at the end of the match having declared their first innings at 406 for nine.
   Michael Clarke took advantage with a 44-ball half-century and Ponting, although clearly not at his most fluent, dug in to make a fighting 50 in a clear statement of intent ahead of the Edgbaston showdown with Michael Vaughan’s side.
   Worcestershire had been held together by opener Stephen Moore’s 69 which left him only 59 runs short of completing 1,000 first-class runs for a second-successive season.
   But only skipper Vikram Solanki (36), who helped Moore add 85 in 19 overs for the fourth wicket, offered much support and the innings went into rapid decline in the afternoon session.

Bayern Munich midfielder Michael Ballack has denied reports he has come to a gentleman's agreement to join Manchester United after the 2006 World Cup.
   Ballack is understood to want to leave Bayern after one final season in the Bundesliga and The Guardian reports that the preliminary details of a free transfer have been provisionally agreed for him to sign a pre-contract agreement at Old Trafford next January. But the player's agent, Michael Becker, said no deal had been struck.
   'There's no pre-contract, no gentleman's agreement,' he said.
   'The only people we're talking to at the moment are Bayern.'
   United were understood to believe they have a gentleman's agreement in place with Ballack who has 57 international caps plus 61 goals in 206 Bundesliga matches.
   His arrival would signal the end of Roy Keane's career at Old Trafrord.
   But Bayern insisted Tuesday they had already offered Ballack a much-improved new contract.
   'Everything's in Ballack's hands. I'd advise him to seize the opportunity,' said Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer.
   But Bayern coach Felix Magath admitted there was a danger they could lose the play-maker, who will be 29 in September,
   'Of course we want him to stay, but it's in his hands,' he said.
   Ballack turned down Real Madrid to join Bayern from Bayer Leverkusen in 2002.

Alex Ferguson faces a selection headache should he complete the signing of Michael Owen.
   The Manchester United boss will have a prolific trio of Owen, Wayne Rooney and Ruud van Nistelrooy to choose from, while French hitman Louis Saha will be unlikely to stay at Old Trafford.
   Alan Smith looks set to be used in a midfield role - and he may be off in January if the experiment does not work.
   Wingers Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs may also be used in more attacking roles as boss Ferguson searches for his best combination. Here we run the rule over his most likely options.
   
   Owen & Rooney
   England's first-choice pairing have done enough at international level to suggest they complement each other.
   Rooney likes to drop deep and charge at defenders, while Owen plays on defenders' shoulders.
   Both are better in the air than they are given credit for and they could be a partnership with everything.
   Verdict: Hit
   
   Owen & Van Nistelrooy
   On paper, a classic big man-little man pairing. Despite his height, however, Van Nistelrooy is less a targetman and more a poacher, while Owen is more reactive than he is creative.
   Getting two players who are at their best inside the area to work together effectively would be a challenge even for a manager of Ferguson's calibre.
   Verdict: Miss
   
   Rooney & Van Nistelrooy
   Last year's pairing may still come good, regardless of whether Owen arrives in Manchester.
   Injuries to Van Nistelrooy interrupted their development, though initial signs were that they could forge a productive partnership.
   Rooney provides the magic, the Dutchman tidies up any loose ends.
   Verdict: Hit
   
   Owen, Ronaldo & Rooney
   Such a line-up would suit Ferguson perfectly. The Scot showed his favour for a 4-3-3 last year.
   Owen could be rotated with Van Nistelrooy depending on the opposition, with Ronaldo and Rooney - or perhaps Giggs - playing in withdrawn roles, providing width and creativity in a cavalier formation.
   Verdict: Hit

Real Madrid coach Wanderley Luxemburgo has opened the door to any players unhappy at the club, saying he only wants those that are fully committed to staying on next season.
   'Anyone that isn't happy will have the opportunity to leave,' the Brazilian told Spanish sports daily Marca. 'I don't want to see angry faces here. Everyone should be content because if not we will not be able to construct a winning team.
   'Those players that don't like being on the bench are perfectly within their rights to say they want to play, but it is up to them to go out and look for another club.'
   Luxemburgo's remarks follow speculation about the future of several members of the squad whose position has come under threat with the signing of Brazilian forwards Julio Baptista and Robinho and Uruguayan duo Pablo Garcia and Carlos Diogo.
   The club have already offloaded Argentine internationals Santiago Solari and Walter Samuel to Inter Milan, while Portuguese winger Luis Figo is reported to be on the brink of joining them at the Serie A side.
   Spain midfielder Guti has expressed his dissatisfaction at dropping down the pecking order once again, but last week he appeared to backtrack on his request for a transfer.
   Speculation has also been growing about the future of Michael Owen, with suggestions that the England striker may be looking for a way out as he looks set to play a second string role to Ronaldo and Robinho up front.
   'I don't want players that are uninterested, angry or that don't train well,' said Luxemburgo.
   'I want commitment and hard work. I'm not worried whether a player gets on with another one or not. What is important, though, is that they are happy with the squad and the club. Personal problems should be left to one side.'
   'The players shouldn't be thinking that we should win the league or the Champions League or the King's Cup, instead they should be thinking about all three. My philosophy is that we should try to win everything.'

Arsenal without their talismanic skipper Patrick Vieira are still in the running to win the Premiership title, veteran striker Dennis Bergkamp claimed on Monday.
   The 36-year-old Dutch international believes the Gunners have sufficient quality with the likes of youngsters Cesc Fabregas and Mathieu Flamini to offset the sale of midfield general Vieira to Juventus.
   ‘Patrick was a big, big player for us on and off the pitch. He helped to build what we have now, we shouldn’t forget that,’ said Bergkamp.
   ‘How will we cope? Well, we have won games without him in the past and we will stick together and come out of it hopefully stronger – because we have to.
   ‘If you cannot be competitive with the money then you have to look at different things – the young players, the youth system.
   ‘We are still a team with a lot of talent and if we can keep it together and let it grow then we can still be a good team.
   ‘This season there is still a possibility we can be champions. We have not given the title to them already.’
   Bergkamp says Arsene Wenger’s decision to hand Vieira’s captain’s armband to the more introverted France striker Thierry Henry will eventually pay off.
   The Dutchman told the Evening Standard, ‘I am sure that if you had a choice you would take a defensive midfielder or a defender as captain.
   ‘It is totally new for Thierry. Like a lot of strikers he is busy with his own game because we have to make a difference.
   ‘But he wants the job. He certainly has the character to combine the two.’
   Wenger is due to decide on Wednesday whether to sign trialists Alexander Song, the 17-year-old midfielder, and former Barcelona centre-back Philippe Christanval.
   And while one Vieira may have moved on Arsenal could still have another in their squad with the possible purchase of Nacional Montevideo’s Uruguayan international goalkeeper Sebastien Viera although Wenger insists a deal is still some way from being concluded.

Inter Milan have completed the signing of Argentine defender Walter Samuel from Real Madrid, the Italian Serie A club confirmed Monday.
   The 27-year-old centre-back, who cost Inter 16 million euros, successfully completed a medical before signing a four-year contract that will keep him at the club until June 2009.
   He will be available for Inter's Champions League third qualifying round first leg tie against Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk next week. Samuel believes Inter, who finished third in Serie A last season, will push Juventus and city rivals AC Milan a lot harder this time around.
   'We have a very strong squad and all we have to find is the right team spirit to win the championship,' he told the Gazzetta dello Sport.

Ronaldo has been recalled by Brazil for their away friendly against Croatia after being left out of the World Cup qualifiers and Confederations Cup in the last two months.
   Fellow striker Robinho, who played his first match for Santos on Sunday after finally completing a $30 million move to Real Madrid, was also included for the match in Split on August 17.
   However, Ronaldinho was left out as he is suspended for Brazil's following World Cup qualifier at home to Chile on September 4, for which the Croatia match is being used as a warm-up.
   Central defender Roque Junior was omitted from the squad for the same reason.
   Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said he was keeping the base of the team which won the Confederations Cup in Germany last June, beating Argentina 4-1 in the final.
   The main difference was the return of Ronaldo, who was left out of the Confederations Cup at his own request but also missed out on the preceding World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay and Argentina in which he had expected to play.
   'I hope to see a motivated Ronaldo, in form and ready for the World Cup,' Parreira told reporters. 'He's been training hard and we hear that he is much thinner.'
   Parreira said he had intended to leave out Robinho, who refused to play for Santos after the Confederations Cup unless they agreed to sell him to Real.
   Real finally agreed to pay the Brazilian champions $30 million for the 21-year-old on Saturday and Robinho, who will stay at Santos until the end of the month, returned to the side for Sunday's 4-2 win over Corinthians.
   'He hadn't been playing so he wouldn't have been picked,' said Parreira. 'But by the time we face Croatia, he will have played three of four games and I expect him to be able to play at least a half.'

Inter Milan are looking to offload three players over the next couple of days to finance the signing of Luis Figo.
   According to Tuesday’s edition of the Gazzetta dello Sport, Inter must first sell tough-tackling midfielder Edgard Davids, winger Andy van der Meyde and defender Francesco Coco before they can conclude a deal for Real Madrid’s unsettled Portuguese star.
   Davids is on the verge of joining Premiership side Tottenham Hotspur, while his Dutch compatriot Van der Meyde is also reported to be attracting interest from a Premiership club.
   Ajax were looking to sign Coco but were put off by the full-back’s proneness to injury.
   However, the Gazzetta believe Ajax might be prepared to take Coco on loan for at least a season.
   Figo, whose contract with Real runs out next year, was FIFA’s World Player of the Year in 2001.
   He is Portugal’s most capped player, having made 111 international appearances since making his debut in 1991 and is also the country’s third-highest scorer with 31 goals.
   Inter have already signed two players from Real Madrid with Santiago Solari and Walter Samuel joining the big-spending Serie A club.

Real Madrid’s Brazilian full-back Roberto Carlos was granted Spanish citizenship on Tuesday, freeing up one of the club’s three non-European Union places for new signing Robinho.
   ‘After so many years in Spain I feel proud to have gained dual nationality,’ said the 32-year-old international after swearing an oath to the Spanish constitution in Madrid. ‘It is a very important thing for me.’
   According to Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) rules, each Primera Liga club is permitted a maximum of three non-European Union players on their books.
   Last season Real’s three berths were occupied by Roberto Carlos, fellow Brazilian Ronaldo and Argentine centre-back Walter Samuel.
   Samuel’s departure to Inter Milan left open a place which has been taken up by Brazilian forward Julio Baptista, who signed a five-year deal with Real on Monday.
   Roberto Carlos’s acquisition of Spanish citizenship leaves open another berth for Robinho, who will join Real on August 25 after Santos agreed to sell him for $30 million.
   Roberto Carlos joined Real from Inter Milan in 1996. He has played 312 league games in Spain and won three European Cups and three league titles in his eight seasons at Real.

Everton were reported Tuesday to be poised to make a 5 million pound bid for Liverpool’s Czech striker Milan Baros.
   Everton have turned to their Merseyside rivals’ forward after failing to land Crystal Palace’s Andrew Johnson who has decided to stay with the relegated club.
   Baros will have to be signed by Thursday if he is to be available to play for Everton against Villarreal at Goodison in the Champions League in a week.
   But Aston Villa and French side Monaco are also interested in the striker.

After almost three years of wrangling the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has finally decided to fine Barcelona 4,000 euros ($4,840) for the events that marred their game with rivals Real Madrid in November 2002.
   The RFEF originally decided Barcelona’s Nou Camp stadium should be closed for two matches after a league fixture against Real was held up for 12 minutes when fans showered the pitch with assorted missiles directed against former player Luis Figo.
   Among the objects thrown towards Figo as he tried to take a corner were plastic bottles, a glass whisky bottle, mobile phones, golf balls, billiard balls and a stuffed pig’s head.
   Barcelona appealed when they were handed the ban in December 2002 but their arguments were rejected first by the RFEF and then by the Spanish Sports Discipline Committee. The club took the case to court in March 2003 and legal authorities decided the ground closure should not be enforced while the case was being heard.
   Shortly afterwards the RFEF modified its disciplinary code so incidents like those at the Nou Camp would be punished by financial penalties rather than ground closures.

Rafa Benitez has hit back at Chelsea taunts by insisting, ‘I love it when Jose talks about us.’
   Liverpool’s boss claims the Blues must be worried after Jose Mourinho mocked Kop skipper Steven Gerrard. Benitez said, ‘This proves that they are thinking of Liverpool and shows we are better than last season.
   ‘Jose must be worried about us and I think we will do very well this season. Steven Gerrard will win many trophies with us – hopefully starting this season.’
   Chelsea boss Mourinho claimed Gerrard would live to regret his decision to stay at Liverpool rather than join the Premiership champions.
   But Benitez added, ‘We are European champions and have Steven Gerrard as well, which proves we have more strength.
   ‘Stevie will be even more focused this season and you have seen in the Champions League qualifiers that he is playing very well. I think other clubs know we will be dangerous opponents.
   ‘It is a compliment when they talk about us like this. I am convinced we are a better side than last season.’

THE Premier League insist it will be business as usual when the new season starts despite the threat of terrorism hanging over the country since last month’s terror attacks.
   Tim Vine, a Premier League spokesman, said the outcome of talks between football authorities and police will be revealed this week. It is thought they will recommend fans try to arrive at games earlier so that searches do not detain them during a match and that large bags are not brought into stadiums.
   But Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the Football Supporters’ Association, said: ‘Many bags are routinely searched at grounds anyway, so I don’t feel they are a natural target for terrorism.’

Mario Zagallo declared he had lost 10 kilos but none of his energy as he resumed his role as Brazil’s technical advisor on Monday following a stomach operation in May.
   Zagallo, who played for Brazil at two World Cups and coached them at a further three, spent more than a month in hospital after an operation to unblock his duodenum. ‘I’m still getting over it, I lost 10 kilos. It was a hell of a blow and it could have been a lot worse,’ the 73-year-old told reporters as Brazil announced their squad for this month’s friendly in Croatia. ‘But I’ve still got all of my energy.’

Bengal Plastic U-19 handball from today
Bengal Plastic Under-19 Women’s Handball Tournament begins at the Handball ground at the Dhanmondi Women Sports Complex today. Eight teams Jessore, Munshiganj, Khulna, Jamalpur, Chittagong, Narail, Panchagarh and Rangpur will take part in the four day long tourney. The budget of the tournament is Taka one lakh 34 thousand and the sponsors Bengal Plastic will provide a purse of Taka 75 thousand. The general secretary of Bangladesh Handball Federation Asaduzzaman Kohinoor, chairman of the tournament committee Rokhfar Sultana Khanam, vice-chairman Golam Habib and secretary Jahangir Hossain spoke at a news conference in the federation office on Tuesday.
— New Age

Ansar, VDP high school clinch
Kabaddi title
Ansar and VDP High School clinched the title of the School Kabaddi Championship beating Nawabpur Government High School in the final on Tuesday. Maniknagar Government Primary School won the title of the Mini-School Kabaddi Championship defeating 58-46 in the final. Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Syed Sujauddin Ahmed gave away prizes among the winners.
— BD News

Felicitation
for Hafiz
Mohammedan Shamarthak Dal will felicitate former footballer and the current Minister for Water Resources Hafizuddin Ahmed for winning the FIFA Order of Merit as the Sports Personality of the century. The program will take place on August 6 at the National Sports Council auditorium.
— New Age

Double success will satisfy Trezeguet
Juventus striker David Trezeguet believes the forthcoming season will be regarded as a failure unless his team win the Champions League and the Serie A title.'This season we have an ambitious target and the league title will not be enough - we want the Champions League as well,' the 28-year-old France international told the Gazzetta dello Sport's website. Trezeguet, who has been at Juve for five seasons, is determined to stay fit to help the Italian champions achieve their goal after an injury-plagued season.'For me it was a disappointing season and I want to make up for it,' he said.
— AFP

Vaughan’s Test
place in doubt
Michael Vaughan became an injury doubt for England just 48 hours before the second Test against Australia at Edgbaston after suffering a badly bruised elbow. The England captain was hit on the right elbow while batting in the nets at the Birmingham ground here Tuesday against Chris Tremlett, and underwent an x-ray at a local hospital. While he did not break his elbow he will have to undergo another assessment on Wednesday. ‘Michael Vaughan’s elbow is not broken but heavily bruised,’ an England spokesman said. ‘The x-ray revealed no fracture and the injury will be reassessed tomorrow (Wednesday) at practice.
— AFP