When he made his one-day debut against South Africa in the ICC Champions Trophy last year in England, Aftab Ahmed could not have expected anything worse after being out for
   nought.
   Who would have thought, it will be only he to have made some kind of impression for Bangladesh team in their very next tour to England.
   From September 2004 to June 2005, within a 10-month period, Aftab has proved that he has every material to become a genuine match-winner for the Bangladesh team.
   And it became evident on Thursday as well.
   His 51 off 58 balls against England in the opening match of the NatWest triangular one-day series may not sound too much to the cricket lovers but it saved Bangladesh from yet another humiliation.
   Without his contribution it would have been very tough for the Bangladesh team to take their innings to 190 and bat up to 45.2 overs.
   Fresh from his run-a-ball 82 in the second innings of the second Test at Chester-le-Street, Aftab showed in every step this time that coach Dav Whatmore did nothing wrong comparing him with elegant former Australian batsman Mark Waugh in a pre-series assessment.
   If you still have a confusion just take a look at his last one-day innings, 81off 87 balls comprising 10 fours and two sixes, that helped Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe with 17 overs to spare and clinch a one-day series for the first time in their cricket history.
   The innings played in January at the BNS also saw a new Bangladesh record of scoring most runs in an over (24).
   It was the diminutive Chittagong lad, who played a major part in Bangladesh’s 15-run victory over India at the Bangabandhu National Stadium last December.
   He scored 67 in that historic match which was the first win for Bangladesh on the home soil as well.
   Before showing his batting ability in that match he first hit the headlines with his stunning bowling performance.
   He took five wickets for 31 runs against New Zealand at the same venue, which still remains as the best bowling figures for Bangladesh in one-day international cricket.
   It was also the first and only five-wicket haul for any Bangladeshi cricketer in one-day cricket.

Hosts Germany got off to a winning start in the Confederations Cup here on Wednesday but their 4-3 victory over Australia was far from convincing.
   It was Jurgen Klinsmann’s first competitive match in charge of Germany and the 1990 World Cup winner was given the perfect start when Kevin Kuranyi opened the scoring after 18 minutes.
   But Australia are not short of fighting spirit and twice came from behind with Josip Skoko (21) and John Aloisi (31) levelling after Per Mertesacker had restored Germany’s lead on 23 minutes.
   Four goals in 13 crazy minutes summed up the match and there was more goals to come in the second half.
   Michael Ballack scored a 60th minute penalty and then Lukas Podolski clinched the match rendering Aloisi’s late goal nothing more than a consolation.
   Germany now sit top of Group A with Argentina, who beat Tunisia 2-1 earlier on Wednesday, but the shaky defence will concern manager Klinsmann.
   His opposite number in the dug-out, Frank Farina, will also be keen to shore up an Australia rearguard that looked uneasy throughout.
   With just 40 seconds gone Podolski almost put Germany in front but his fierce shot went inches wide of Mark Schwarzer’s post.
   Kuranyi then did put Germany ahead in the 18th minute guiding in a shot from Arne Friedrich with Schwarzer left wrong-footed.
   Australia may have feared the worst but took 180 seconds to draw level with Skoko drilling a free-kick under a dreadful German wall after Robert Huth produced a cynical body check outside the area.
   They say teams are most vulnerable after scoring and Australia were dormant in the 23rd minute when Mertesacker restored Germany’s lead with an accomplished volley.
   It was Mertesacker’s first goal for his country but he did not have long time to celebrate with Aloisi levelling after 31 minutes with a left-footed drive.
   German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn was celebrating his 36th birthday but could not have anticipated his defenders gifting Australia so much space for their two equalisers.
   After some heated challenges, which suggest both these sides are taking the tournament seriously, Klinsmann’s side forged ahead for the third time on the hour mark.
   Arne Friedrich was judged to have been felled in the area and the reliable Michael Ballack stepped up to convert the spot-kick.
   Podolski scored two minutes from time but Aloisi struck again in stoppage time before the final whistle brought an end to a scintillating match.

Sporting Bengal United, a football team of the Bangladeshi community in England, will play in the upcoming FA Cup, inarguably the oldest football tournament of the world.
   The FA Cup generates tremendous interest in the United Kingdom and all over the world. The history and tradition of the competition is familiar to millions of the football lovers around the globe.
   Naturally, it will be the first team of the people of Asian origin to take part in this legendary football tournament, informed the sports organisers of the Bangladeshi community in England to New Age.
   In England, the community organises four football tournaments, two in the summer and two in the winter, and this year they formed a combined team, Sporting Bengal United, to vie in the FA Cup in August this year.
   The combined Bangladeshi team won three Asian football tournaments in England in a row from 1996 to 1998. And Sporting Bengal United won their last title in 2003 in Glasgow beating other seven top England-based Asian teams, informed the organisers.
   The team started playing in county level tournaments in 2001 and earned their senior status in 2003 and now they are set to make history playing in the FA Cup this year.
   Already a couple of football stars – Daniel Shitu and Anwaruddin – have emerged from the Bangladeshi community. Shitu plays for Queens Park Rangers while Anwaruddin is with Weakman Wanderers. There are also many budding footballers who dream of playing international matches wearing Bangladesh national jerseys.
   The people of the Bangladesh community in England are managing the sports very efficiently and they hope to produce many talented players in the future.
   Currently, the Bangladesh Football Association in England is organising the football leagues. The BFA was founded in 1996 with eight teams and now 34 football teams are playing in the League Bangla. A total of 30 players from the 34 teams of the league have been chosen for Sporting Bengal United team for the big mission.

Australia’s cricketers were beaten again on Wednesday, losing by four wickets to county side Somerset in a one-day match at Taunton.
   It was the Australians’ second defeat in three days after going down by 100 runs to England in a Twenty20 game.
   Australia posted a healthy looking 342 for five from their 50 overs on Wednesday but centuries from Somerset’s opening overseas pair of Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya (101) and South African Graeme Smith (108) undid the tourists.
   The duo put on 197 in 23 overs as Australia’s pace duo of Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee struggled to make an impact.
   Lee exited with a shoulder injury after completing only four overs and 20-year-old James Hildreth with an unbeaten 38 helped lift the home side to victory on 345 for six with 3.1 overs left.
   Australia have been warming up for a triangular one-day series also involving England and Bangladesh who open the tournament on Thursday with a match at The Oval.
   Ricky Ponting’s Australia play Bangladesh in Cardiff on Saturday and England in Bristol on Sunday. ‘We will have our work cut out against Bangladesh the way we have been playing,’ captain Ponting told Sky Sports News.
   ‘We will have to take a hard look at ourselves.’
   The five-match Ashes series against England begins with the first Test at Lord’s from July 21.

Adam Gilchrist has been voted the most destructive and intimidating batsman in international one-day cricket.
   A poll of leading bowlers – carried out by The Wisden Cricketer magazine – identified the Australian as the man they fear most, ahead of the likes of Brian Lara, Shahid Afridi, Virender Sehwag and England’s Andrew Flintoff.
   South African bowler Makhaya Ntini described the left-hander as ‘just unbelievable sometimes,’ while New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori admitted, ‘I would never say any batsman is frightening, but there are some that you are less interested in bowling to than others – that would be Gilchrist.’
   Azhar Mahmood added, ‘Gilchrist – I don’t want to bowl to him, man.’
   Gilchrist played down the accolades with characteristic modesty. ‘I guess it is an honour in a strange kind of way,’ he said.
   ‘But it is not something I place a lot of emphasis on. When I bat I am trying to perform a job for the team. It is not a personal
   battle against individual bowlers.’
   In 209 ODIs Gilchrist has scored 6,969 runs at a strike rate of 95, with a colossal 840 boundaries and another 94 which have cleared the ropes, and sometimes the stands.
   With this summer’s Ashes Test series looming, the survey also revealed the depth of Australian respect for Flintoff.
   ‘Flintoff hits some big balls from good players,’ acknowledged Jason Gillespie, while Shane Watson, who hasn’t even played against him, rates England’s great hope as the batsman who hits the ball hardest in ODI cricket.
   Bowlers who took part in the survey also included Shaun Pollock, Muttiah Muralitharan, Heath Streak, Harbhajan Singh, Brett Lee, Shahadat Hossain, Martin Suji and Peter Ongondo.
   Top ten
   1. Adam Gilchrist, 2. Brian Lara, 3. Shahid Afridi, 4. Virender Sehwag, 5. Andrew Flintoff, 6. Sachin Tendulkar, 7. Chris Cairns, 8. Matthew Hayden, 9. Abdul Razzaq, 10. Ricky Ponting.

Farashganj Sporting Club registered their third win in the Premier Bank Premier Division Football League beating Fakirerpool Youngmen’s Club by 2-1 goals at the Bangbandhu National Stadium on Thursday.
   Farashganj playing with three foreign players – Guinean defender Sila Fode and Nigerian attacking duo of Felix and Adafa – were clearly the dominating team and could have won by a bigger margin if Fakirerpool
   custodian Shiplu had not denied them on a few occasions.
   Farashganj went up in the 24th minute as Amirul sent a neat cross from the right flank and Kabir rounded Shiplu and placed the ball into the net.
   Adafa dribbled past three Fakirerpool defenders in the 33rdminute but his grounder narrowly missed the target.
   Fakirerpool skipper Ripon Khan found Farashganj goalie Zia at his mercy in the very next minute but he took a weak straight shot.
   Four minutes after the break Robin scored the equaliser meeting a low Baten cross from the left flank.
   Ariful saved Fakirerpool from conceding a goal in the 57th minute as he headed away a Walid shot after Shiplu failed to grip the ball.
   But Farashganj were smelling victory in the 79th minute as Adafa, being set up by Rony Islam, sent the ball into the far corner of the net with left-footed shot.
   Felix, who has scored three goals, was denied twice in the 84th and 86th minutes as Shiplu made a diving save in a one-on-one situation.
   Farashganj now have nine points from four matches while Fakirerpool have three.

New India coach Greg Chappell has urged his players to focus on their basic skills and work harder towards the team’s cause.
   ‘To be successful you have to be focused on doing the basic things extraordinarily well,’ the former Australia captain told a news conference on Thursday after formally taking over the job.
   ‘Talent will get you so far, but from then on it is about working hard, working smart, being focused and working on things that you can control,’ he said.
   The 56-year-old Chappell, who succeeds New Zealander John Wright, will take charge of the team through to the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean.
   He will start work with a number of training camps before a one-day tri-series in Sri Lanka starting in July.
   ‘One bad session can make the difference between winning and losing,’ Chappell said. ‘It is a very tactical game.
   ‘If we need to be successful, we need to focus on the things that are important. We need to define for the team what the important issues we concentrate on and work on.
   ‘That will change from day to day, series to series, country to country.’
   Chappell’s immediate task is to revive the one-day side, which has slumped to seventh in the rankings since reaching the 2003 World Cup final. India are third in the test rankings, behind Australia and England.
   Chappell is expecting his first national coaching role to be closely scrutinised.
   ‘The love of cricket in this country is very strong, the emotions are always quite high,’ he said.
   ‘The well-being of the country seems to be riding on that of the cricket team.’
   Improving player fitness, match preparation and managing frequent injuries caused by a busy international schedule will receive his immediate attention.
   ‘What we need to find is probably 15-20 guys who are well focused on being part of a successful team,’ Chappell said. ‘One thing I have learnt... some players are capable of it and some aren’t.
   ‘We need to find the ones who are capable of it and give them the best support we can.’
   Chappell was guarded on the uncertainty surrounding Saurav Ganguly’s captaincy due to his poor batting form.
   ‘If Saurav is the best man for the job, he should have it. If not, someone else should have it,’ he said.

When Maria Sharapova shook up the world of tennis a year ago by beating Serena Williams to win Wimbledon, she did not even have a decent mobile phone with which to relay the news.
   The sight of the pretty, long-limbed teenager trying vainly to call her mother using her father’s mobile on the Centre Court was one of the enduring images of an endearing triumph that transformed Sharapova’s life permanently.
   The art of communicating the Sharapova success story has since been honed to perfection.
   A year later the 18-year-old with the looks of a model cat-walks back to the scene of her triumph having acquired the poise of a champion and a clear understanding of her financial potential both on and off the court.
   ‘I’ve no butterflies yet, just a lot of excitement,’ Sharapova told a telephone conference call this week. ‘Being back here brings back all the great memories.
   ‘This is where it happened, this is where I won my first grand slam. It’s really exciting.’
   Born in Nyagan in Siberia, Sharapova journeyed from Russia to the United States as a nine-year-old with her father in search of a tennis career.
   Last year’s victory marked the completion of her road from rags to riches and today she is the most marketable sportswoman in history.
   Anyone poring over her WTA handbook profile will be rewarded with the revelation that, last October, she was the top search on the KaZaZZ! internet search engine ahead of Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Pamela Anderson, among others.
   Sharapova has long been able to walk the walk and now the teenager who used to read prepared statements at post-match news conferences talks the talk perfectly.
   ‘A lot of things have changed on and off the court,’ said the world number two who revealed last week that she will be launching her own eponymous brand of perfume in September.
   ‘I feel like I’m a more complete player than I was a year ago.
   ‘Off the court I’ve got to meet amazing people in different industries, I’ve got be associated with great companies and I’ve also been able to give back charity-wise. That’s also very important.’
   In fact Sharapova’s progress on court has not quite matched her success off it.
   After winning Wimbledon she reached the third round at the US Open and, this year, the semi-finals of the Australian Open and the quarter-finals of the French Open.
   She has won three tournaments in 2005 — at Tokyo, Doha and last week at Edgbaston in England, where she repeated her 2004 win in the low-key Wimbledon warm-up event.
   Given the relentless glare of publicity, those are creditable results achieved under considerable pressure.
   ‘It’s very difficult knowing that people are always expecting you to win,’ she said. ‘But it’s impossible to win everything. People just have to realise that.
   ‘Your fans obviously want you to win all the time but I think they respect the fact that you’re just simply a human.’
   One of the biggest threats to her defence at the All England Club will be resurgent Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne, who exposed the weaknesses in Sharapova’s game in winning their last-eight clash at Roland Garros two weeks ago.
   Stretched thinly over her 1.83m frame, Sharapova’s high centre of gravity means that, against a wily opponent who makes her run, she can look more like a giraffe on stilettos than a future world number one.
   On grass, however, her increasingly strong serve and clubbing groundstrokes down both flanks are usually more than enough to compensate.
   ‘I’m not worried about playing her,’ Sharapova said. ‘I played Justine on her favourite surface (in Paris).
   ‘She had a little bit of an advantage on that but obviously on grass everything is faster, points are shorter. If you’re serving well and returning well, those are the keys on the grass.’

Clive Lloyd, West Indies’ captain during their glory years of the 1970s and 1980s, has thrown his hat into the ring as a candidate for the presidency of the West Indies Cricket Board.
   Lloyd, 60, is currently an ICC match referee, but is willing to take over from the outgoing WICB president, Teddy Griffiths, and address the onerous task of steering West Indies out of a period of seemingly terminal decline.
   Writing on Caribbeancricket.com, Lloyd spoke of the futility of the leadership of West Indies cricket, and reiterated his statement at the West Indies Awards Dinner in Jamaica two weeks ago, at which he observed that the future of the game should be placed in the hands of bona fide personnel with international experience.
   ‘It is incumbent upon me, as one who was integrally involved ... in the decade of the 1970s and 80s, to proactively lead the institution of West Indies cricket to a level that will restore the pride of the Caribbean people in their beloved sport,’ wrote Lloyd.
   ‘As such, I am seeking nomination as a candidate for the presidency of the West Indies Cricket Board.’
   West Indies cricket reached its lowest ebb yet this season, when the protracted row between the telecommunications giants, Cable & Wireless and Digicel, spilled over onto the pitch.
   The Test-series defeat against South Africa was overshadowed by the absence of seven leading players from the first Test, including Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle, all of whom had signed contracts with C&W.
   If successful, Lloyd faces a torrid presidency. Aside from the sponsorship issues, West Indies are readying themselves to host the 2007 World Cup, and Lloyd accepts that there is much work to be done in the two years that remain, at boardroom level as well as on the ground.
   Not only has there been a palpable decline on the field, he wrote, but the relationship between the board and its players has been characterised by a certain ‘insidiousness’.
   ‘Cricket is the single most unifying entity in our vast and varied culture,’ Lloyd added.
   ‘As captain, I dispelled the prevailing endemic cavalier image, created a winning attitude and moulded the team into a disciplined unit that compiled one of the most successful records in the history of Test cricket. And as a representative of the ICC I have sought to improve the game of cricket on a global level.
   ‘As president of the West Indies Cricket Board, I would pledge to reverse the trend that has seen the erosion of the character, confidence and commitment in West Indies cricket,’ he concluded.
   ‘We must restore a sense of pride, a sense of responsibility and a sense of purpose in our game. Our young and our veteran cricketers must appreciate the esteem of the game of cricket at the highest levels in the context of Caribbean life and the critical importance of West Indies cricket as a business entity and passionately proceed to reclaim its marque value.’

Sourav Ganguly may not find it easy returning to the national team following his six-match ban with Cricket Board President Ranbir Singh Mahendra admitting that the form of the Indian captain is a matter of concern and the ‘selection committee is definitely going to look into it.’
   Mahendra also said the Board was contemplating appointing a Chief Executive Officer this year to take care of its general business while he was in favour of shifting the Board’s office to Delhi from Mumbai.
   Asked if he thinks it was time to end Ganguly’s reign as the Indian captain, Mahendra said in Tv programme that it was a matter which would be decided by the selection committee.
   ‘Well, the replacement of Sourav Ganguly is to be considered by the selection committee, but definitely as far as the performance... I tend to agree over the point that he has to improve... In the sense that he has to score.’
   Mahendra said in the programme, to be telecast on Friday, that when Ganguly was told about this, he said he will try to improve, BBC said in a release on Thursday.
   ‘I talked to them, not once (but) on a couple of occasions. I talked to them that those who are performing, those who are coming with performance, don’t overlook them, and see that the team plays as a team.’
   Mahendra said he had discussed about the national team’s recent form with the new coach Greg Chappell. ‘Specifically, we have made it very clear that the composition of the team is such that we can win the World Cup, but as far as we are concerned, we have failed to understand (why) after going to finals, they are not doing well.
   ‘Greg Chappell also understands this, and he has also said that he will be able to do it.’
   On whether the Board needs a CEO, he said it may happen by the end of 2005. ‘Even my predecessor (Jagmohan Dalmiya) also agreed with me on this point, and we are seriously thinking to go for that... The matter will be discussed in the general body.’
   ‘Well, the Bombay office is very old. Right from the inception of the BCCI, the Board office is there in Bombay...But definitely we are thinking — and I am of this view — that this Bombay office should be shifted to Delhi, being the capital of the country.’
   Asked why the Board, with a huge annual income, does not publish its accounts, Mahendra said ‘this is a point that has also been raised by many others. We are seriously thinking about it also.’

Top seed Roger Federer will fear nobody at Wimbledon.
   ‘I’m really very confident,’ the Swiss world number one told Reuters as he looked ahead to next week’s grasscourt grand slam. Federer was named number one seed on Wednesday by the All England Club and will learn his first opponent when the draw is made on Thursday.
   The champion opens centre-court play on Monday.
   Last year’s runner-up Andy Roddick was promoted from his ranking of four to be named second seed while world number two and 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt was named third seed.
   Federer said he expects those two to be the biggest threats to his title.
   ‘Andy and Lleyton are the biggest dangers for me,’ he said. ‘I feel one of the two will be against me in the final.’
   Newly-crowned French Open champion Rafael Nadal was seeded fourth but Federer said he does not expect the Spaniard to fulfill that expectation.
   ‘I would be quite surprised...even though he beat me (in the French Open semi-finals),’ Federer said.
   ‘Nothing against his game, I mean he beat me, but I saw him playing in Halle and to be honest I thought he would be better (on grass) than he was.
   ‘Of course he could win the tournament because he is so talented but I would give Tim (Henman) the edge rather than Nadal.’
   British hope Henman, four-times a semi-finalist at the All England Club, was rewarded for his record at the tournament by being bumped up three places from his world ranking of nine to sixth seed.
   No Briton has won the men’s singles since Fred Perry in 1936. The season’s third grand slam will take place from June 20 to July 3.
   Having successfully defended his crown last year, Federer is expecting an easier ride in 2005.
   ‘Coming into Wimbledon this time last year I had a lot more pressure,’ the 23-year-old said. ‘I think this year will be much easier.
   ‘I lived through it once...the pressure will still be there but it is not quite the same.
   ‘I am looking forward to it.’

Top seeds Tommy Robredo and Guillermo Coria’s lack of expertise on grass was ruthlessly exposed on Wednesday when they were beaten in the second round of the Ordina Open.
   Spaniard Robredo was beaten 6-2, 7-6 by German Lars Burgsmueller, ranked 101st in the world, while last year’s runner-up and second seed Coria fell 6-3, 6-4 to unheralded Czech Jan Hernych.
   Robredo struggled to cope with the pace of the court and Burgsmueller held his nerve to reach his first quarter-final since September 2004.
   In the women’s event, second seed Nadia Petrova opened her grasscourt season with a comfortable 6-3, 6-4 win over Mariana Diaz Oliva of Argentina to reach the quarter-finals.
   Petrova, the highest-ranked player left in the tournament after the withdrawal through injury of top seed Elena Dementieva, next plays sixth seed Gisela Dulko.
   The Argentine thrashed Italian Maria Elena Camerin 6-3, 6-0.
   Fourth seed Dinara Safina, younger sister of Australian Open champion Marat Safin, edged out Maria Kirilenko 6-4, 7-6, while 16-year-old Michaella Krajicek reached her first WTA Tour quarter-final with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 victory over third seed Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain.
   Krajicek thrilled her home crowd with a mature performance, hitting back after dropping the second set to beat the world number 30 in one hour 43 minutes.

Richard Hamilton scored 24 points and Chauncey Billups had 20 points and seven assists as Detroit defeated San Antonio 96-79 in game three of the National Basketball Association finals.
   Desperately needing a win on Tuesday, the Pistons narrowed the gap in the best-of-seven series to two-games-to-one.
   Detroit was able to rebound in game three after scoring just 69 and 76 points in two opening series losses to San Antonio.
   Detroit also needed to find an answer for Manu Ginobili who was averaging 26.5 points in the finals heading into Tuesday’s game. Ginobili finished with just seven points in game three.
   Ben Wallace set the tone early, scoring six of the Pistons first 13 points.
   He also had five blocks, 15 points and 11 rebounds.
   His five blocks all came in the opening quarter and tied Bob Lanier’s Pistons’ record for most in a first quarter.
   San Antonio had not given up more than 90 points in their 13 previous finals games, but their big guns fell silent on Tuesday.
   Tony Parker scored 21 points and Tim Duncan had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the losers.
   Detroit opened with more intensity and were much more physical than in their first two games.
   They took on Spurs top scorer Ginobili, bumping him hard twice in the first 30 seconds of the game.
   Ginobili had to leave the game briefly with a sore thigh after a collision with Tayshaun Prince.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting said he was ‘angry’ and ‘embarrassed’ by his side’s shock one-day loss to Somerset.
   ‘We have to take a long, hard look at ourselves, get things out in the open and see where we can improve,’ he said.
   The tourists crashed to a four-wicket defeat at Taunton despite hitting a sizeable 340 off their 50 overs.
   ‘It is pretty embarrassing,’ said Ponting. ‘I was angry with the second part of the game. The bowling and fielding was what made me angry.’
   ‘Smith and Jayasuriya batted well - but we let them bat well as well,’ said Ponting. ‘It was pretty obvious the way they were playing, and yet we never changed.
   ‘We weren’t smart enough to start with, and when they started hitting us around we weren’t able to change the length or anything.’
   ‘Your brain isn’t rusty - you still know what is right and what is wrong,’ he said. ‘I don’t know if it was the execution or what exactly was wrong - but something was.
   ‘They should have been able to think on their feet - but it seems they couldn’t.’
   Ponting added: ‘We will probably have our work cut out to beat Bangladesh after the way we have played the last couple of days.’
   The tourists could go into the match at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff without fast bowler Brett Lee, who was forced off against Somerset with a shoulder injury.

Top seed Amelie Mauresmo fell at the first hurdle when she lost to Russian qualifier Vera Douchevina in the Eastbourne WTA tournament on Wednesday.
   Her 6-4, 6-4 defeat in the second round, after a first-round bye, threw world number three Mauresmo’s Wimbledon preparations into disarray.
   On a good day for qualifiers, Italian Roberta Vinci, the world number 97, defeated temperamental Russian fifth seed Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 7-6.
   Second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova came back from losing the first set to fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze to win 1-6, 6-4, 7-6.
   Anastasia Myskina, the fourth seed, was also taken to three sets before beating Venezuelan lucky loser Maria Vento-Kabchi 6-4, 5-7, 6-0.

Croatian beanpole Ivo Karlovic upset top-seeded compatriot Ivan Ljubicic 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 to reach the quarter-finals of the grasscourt Nottingham Open on Wednesday.
   Unseeded Karlovic, the 2.08m serving machine who reached the final of the Stella Artois Championships on Sunday, swept through the third-set tiebreak 7-1 to continue his impressive Wimbledon preparations.
   In the last eight he faces Belgian seventh seed Olivier Rochus who overcame Slovakia’s Karol Beck 6-4, 6-3.
   Second seed Thomas Johansson of Sweden beat Czech Tomas Berdych 7-6, 7-6 to set up a quarter-final with American fifth seed Taylor Dent, who battled to a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 victory over compatriot Travis Rettenmaier.
   Paradorn overcame Czech qualifier Jan Vacek 7-6, 7-6 and Gasquet, who turns 19 on Saturday, advanced 6-4, 6-1 against Jonathan Marray of Britain.
   Denmark’s Kenneth Carlsen surprised Slovakian third seed Dominik Hrbaty 6-4, 6-4 to set up a quarter-final against Belarussian eighth seed Max Mirnyi, a 6-1, 6-4 winner against Lee Hyung-taik of South Korea.

Argentina beat Tunisia 2-1 in the opening match of the Confederations Cup on Wednesday, winning more easily than the narrow scoreline suggests.
   Juan Riquelme’s 33rd minute penalty and a well-taken 57th minute strike from Javier Saviola gave the South Americans control of the Group A match against the African champions, who missed with one penalty and converted another.
   Both Tunisian penalties were awarded after Argentina goalkeeper German Lux brought down striker Haykel Guemamdia, first in the 17th minute and then in the 72nd minute.
   Imed Mhadhebi missed the first penalty, walking up to the ball and then blasting it two metres wide, but Guemamdia took the second himself and scored.
   After surviving their early scare from the spot, Argentina controlled the match for long periods, while Tunisia played some enterprising, creative football of their own and produced a couple of chances in the closing stages.
   Riquelme said, ‘We knew we were facing a very tough side and we got off to a bumpy start. But things did get better as the match went on.
   ‘We need to improve, though, if we want to reach the level to achieve what we want.’
   Tunisia made the better start but were visibly deflated by the penalty miss and Argentina began to take control.
   They showed Mhadhebi how a penalty should be taken after Tunisia skipper Hatem Trabelsi shoved Maxim Rodriguez in mid-air as he rose to meet Mario Santana’s high cross.
   Trabelsi was booked and Riquelme coolly converted the resulting spot-kick.
   The outstanding Luciano Galletti created Argentina’s second, breaking in space down the Tunisian right and crossing perfectly for Saviola, who steered the ball home from two metres out.
   With Argentina seemingly coasting at 2-0, Lux tripped Guemamdia for a second time to concede another penalty and was booked in the process.
   Guemamdia sent the goalkeeper the wrong way from the spot, giving the Tunisians in the crowd at the half-filled stadium something to cheer.
   Argentina, who made sure of being back in Germany next year after qualifying for the World Cup finals last week, should have gone ahead after only 11 minutes.
   Defender Karim Saidi lost possession on the edge of his area to the usually lethal Saviola, but the striker, with only goalkeeper Khaled Fadhel to beat, took too long and the keeper smothered his shot. Although Slim Benachour displayed some real creativity in the Tunisian midfield in the opening exchanges, Argentina gradually took charge through Riquelme, Santana and Lucas Bernardi.
   Skipper Juan Sorin finished off another excellent Argentina build-up with a shot over the bar just before half-time, while Saviola, Santana and Galletti could all have added to Argentina’s total in the second half.

Argentina coach Jose Pekerman said he was satisfied with how his young players fared in their opening Confederations Cup match, but conceded his team made too many mistakes in their 2-1 win over Tunisia.
   'It is always important to see the debut of certain players...I saw positive and also some negative things, but principally positive things,' Pekerman said.
   Referring to midfielders such as Mario Santana and Lucas Bernardi, as well as forward Luciano Galletti, Pekerman said, 'They are gaining important experience for themselves and improving things for us as a team.'
   Argentina clinched a comfortable victory over Tunisia in the opening game of the tournament with a penalty by Juan Riquelme in the 33rd minute and a 57th minute strike from Saviola.
   But Pekerman conceded the team had made mistakes whilst in possession of the ball and pushing forward to score.
   'It was a difficult match - seeing how Tunisia scored and how that came about and the mistakes we made while in possession,' the Argentine coach said.
   Italian referee Roberto Rosetti awarded Tunisia two penalties, the second of which Haykel Guemamdia netted after Argentina goalkeeper German Lux brought him down, first in the 17th and then in the 72nd minute. But Pekerman added, 'I was comforted by the goal scoring possibilities that we had.'
   His team had seven shots on target to Tunisia's three.
   Pekerman, who has gained a reputation as a tinkerer, said it was too early to draw conclusions about players and formations, and said any variations in the team would not just be based on their opponents.
   Tunisia coach, French-born Roger Lemerre, regretted his team's missed penalty and wasted opportunity to gain a psychological advantage, but praised Argentina's technical superiority.
   'They are great readers of the game, and know its technical and tactical problems,' he said.
   Tunisian skipper Hatem Trabelsi, yellow carded for a challenge on Maxim Rodriquez which also cost his side a penalty, said that he was unfortunate to be so harshly punished.
   'I might have touched him when we jumped, but I think the referee was too harsh. The new laws on offside and the way we play the game might have influenced the referee and could certainly make things harder for defenders.'

Brazil are only halfway to finding their true team for the 2006 World Cup and fringe players who prove themselves at the Confederations Cup could make the final cut, coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said on Wednesday.
   'It has been said that we have enough players to field five teams who would all do well in this tournament, but what I am interested in is finding my best team.
   'I am only halfway to establishing my optimal team for the World Cup,' Parreira told a press conference.
   In the absence of some of their big names, the reigning world champions are expected to switch players in and out of their matches at this eight-nation tournament which acts as a dress rehearsal for next year's World Cup.
   Inter Milan's muscular striker Adriano, who is deputising for the absent Ronaldo, and Sao Paulo defender Cicinho, standing in for Cafu, are two players knocking on the door of the World Cup squad who are expected to start against European champions Greece on Thursday.

Germany may have won their opening Confederations Cup match but the knives came out after Wednesday's 4-3 triumph over Australia.
   'To lift the title there is a lot more required,' headlined the Bild daily. 'The fans in Frankfurt were world class but Germany were far from it.'
   Germany twice took the lead only for Australia to peg them back at the Waldstadion and the German defence, in particular Chelsea defender Robert Huth, came in for some strong criticism.
   'A difficult baptism,' concluded the Frankfurter Rundschau. 'The defence stood out again for all the wrong reasons.'
   'Huth flattened (John) Aloisi to concede the free-kick which led to the first goal, and was then undone again for standing too far away from Aloisi.'
   Huth dumped Aloisi in the 20th minute - receiving a yellow card for his body-check - and Josip Skoko drilled a free-kick under a woeful German defensive wall.
   Then in the 31st minute Osasuna striker Aloisi got in behind Huth again and fired a left-footed shot past Oliver Kahn to level at 2-2.
   A penalty from Michael Ballack and a Lukas Podolski strike secured victory but Jurgen Klinsmann's target of winning this competition and the World Cup a year later looks a long way off sight.
   'We will not win the World Cup with performances such as this,' declared Bild. 'Just to win the Confederations Cup we need to improve a lot.'
   Klinsmann acknowledged there was a lot of work to do on the training pitch but put a protective arm around his youthful backline.
   'There were problems at the back but we have a young defence and they are going to make mistakes,' countered Klinsmann. 'It is important the midfield provides cover too and at times this did not happen.'
   With criticism still ringing in their ears, Germany face Tunisia on Saturday in Cologne and former Bayern Munich manager Ottmar Hitzfeld, who turned down the German national job, advised Klinsmann to ignore the media.
   'I would advise him to carry on with what he is doing,' Hitzfeld told Kicker magazine. 'He has to be positive and not read many German newspapers.'
   German defenders would be well advised to follow suit.

'Compact' was the main word Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann used in Thursday's press conference 24 hours after the 4-3 Confederations Cup win over Australia.
   Schoolboy defending from both sides resulted in a thrilling seven goal encounter but Klinsmann deflected blame from his defence, claiming the team needed to defend better as a unit.
   'The first line of defence starts in attack,' declared Klinsmann. 'The midfield needs to be compact and it was clear we gave Australia too much space in that department.
   'I want us to be more compact all over the pitch and not surrender possession cheaply.'
   Germany captain Michael Ballack scored his 25th goal in 54 appearances with a 60th minute penalty, but quashed suggestions the hosts were too gung-ho at times.
   'Our offensive midfielders need to push forward,' said Ballack. 'I know I have to come back and it is my responsiblity to bring the team back if we are pushing on too much.'
   Like a lot of his team-mates Ballack was often caught out by the speed of Australia's counter-attacking that spoilt the 36th birthday of goalkeeper Oliver Kahn.
   'Conceding three goals was not a nice birthday present,' admitted Kahn. 'We cannot allow our opponents to have so many chances. Northern Ireland had too many and so did Australia.
   'We have to cut out the silly mistakes and get behind the ball quicker.' Chelsea defender Robert Huth was the main scapegoat in the German press with his lack of pace exposed during Australia's first two goals, but Klinsmann defended his centre-half.
   'Robert had a great debut against Brazil but he lacks match practice after not playing much for Chelsea this season,' stated Klinsmann.
   'He is unfortunate that John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho are two world-class players in front of him.'
   Hertha Berlin star Arne Friedrich fared better on the right hand side of defence and claimed it was unfair to single out the back four.
   'If you concede three goals the defence always gets criticised,' said Friedrich. 'But it is too easy to just blame the backline.'
   Klinsmann clearly believes in collective responsibility and the coach pointed out that his team had won despite the stern criticism.
   'We won and can reach the semi-finals with another victory over Tunisia,' he added.

South Korean World Cup star Park Ji-sung has informed his Dutch club PSV Eindhoven that he is leaving for Old Trafford to join Premier league club Manchester United, his agent said Thursday.
   An official for Park's agent, FS Corp, has already visited the club's headquarters to announce the player's long-awaited decision.
   Park had been hesitant to leave the Dutch champions because of his personal ties with club coach Guus Hiddink, who led South Korea to the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup.
   'Park has made up his mind to join Manchester and the president of our company, Lee Cheol-Ho, visited the Eindhoven office and informed them of Park's intention,' said Kim Jung-Il, manager of FS Corp.
   PSV had previously confirmed that they had received an approach from the Red Devils but said they wanted to keep the player.

Australia is expected to join the Asian Football Confederation as early as 2006 after winning the backing of the world football governing body FIFA, AFC president Mohamed bin Hammam said Thursday.
   'When FIFA officially decides this and when the AFC congress also approves the entry of Australia, the first competition Australia will compete in Asia will be in 2006,' Hammam said after the body's executive council meeting here.
   Australia, which does not have a direct qualifying spot for the World Cup, has sought to leave the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) to join the AFC in the hope of making World Cup qualifying easier.
   At present, Oceania winners have to face a South American team in a two-leg play-off while Asia has four automatic qualifying berths and a play-off.
   The move from the OFC to the AFC will have to be endorsed by FIFA, but its president Sepp Blatter recently said there were no objections. Last March the AFC unanimously endorsed Australia's wish to join it. Hammam said Australia would participate in the Champions League club competition and the Asian Cup qualifiers in 2006.
   Hailing Australia's likely entry into the AFC, he said it would join the Asian World Cup qualifying zone for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
   'They will be competing for the 2010 World Cup qualifying as one of the Asian teams,' he said.

Sinisa Mihajlovic scored on a free kick to give Inter Milan the Italian Cup with a 1-0 victory over AS Roma on Wednesday.
   Inter Milan outscored AS Roma 3-0 in the two-game series for its fourth Italian Cup title and first trophy since 1998, when it won the UEFA Cup.
   Mihajlovic curled in a powerful free kick in the 52nd minute. The Serb helped make up for the absence of Brazil striker Adriano, who had scored both goals in the first game at Stadio Olimpico.
   Adriano missed the second leg because he was playing with Brazil at the Confederations Cup.
   Inter Milan will play Serie A champion Juventus in the Italian SuperCup this summer.

Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard has hinted he is fed up with the complaints of star striker Samuel Eto'o.
   A day after the Cameroon ace's representative said he would be prepared to leave if the club didn't show a genuine desire to keep him, Rijkaard fired back from Japan, 'I don't understand what he is complaining about.
   'I only like players who are happy at Barcelona.'
   Rijkaard's strained comments came on a day that news broke in England that both Chelsea and Manchester United had tabled straight cash bids for Eto'o.
   The African star insists his priority is to remain at the Nou Camp, but Eto'o is demanding an improved contract which was promised to him by Barca president Joan Laporta last summer in the event the club lifted the championship.

Diego Maradona traded lobs and ground strokes with former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic on Thursday as the Argentina star continued his charity visit to Croatia.
   Maradona, feted one of soccer's greatest players, was in Novi Vinodolski on a two-day visit to help raise money for a local orphanage. On Wednesday, he scored a handful of goals in a charity match featuring Ivanisevic, Boris Becker and other retired sports stars.
   On the sidelines of an ATP Senior Tour event, Maradona said he was inspired by Ivanisevic's victory over Pat Rafter in the 2001 Wimbledon final - when he won in five sets to become the first wild-card champion.
   'Goran is my tennis idol and I really wanted to play against him and test his famous serve,' Maradona said.
   Maradona's exertions come three months after gastric bypass surgery to help reduce his weight by 50 kilograms (110 pounds) within a year. Before the operation, the 1.68-meter (5-foot-6) Maradona weighed 121 kilograms (266 pounds).
   Maradona, who captained Argentina to the 1986 World Cup, looked well on the tennis court, but hobbled slightly with a sore knee.
   'I am feeling good. Everything is only getting better and better,' Maradona said, adding that he had no plans aside from a return to Argentina. 'Only God knows what I will do next.'