Mohammad Ashraful reached the thousand runs milestone as the third Bangladeshi batsmen in one-day cricket when he drove Brad Hogg to long-off for one run in the NatWest Tri-series match against Australia at Old Trafford on Saturday.
   Only Habibul Bashar and Khaled Mashud have achieved the landmark for the newcomers Bangladesh before Ashraful.
   Ashraful needed 47 runs against Australia to complete his 1000 runs. The in-form batsman, who scored a brilliant century against Australia and a quickfire 94 against England in successive matches last week, did not start confidently on Saturday.
   He survived a couple of times as luck was fully on his side. Having been caught off a no-ball from Brett Lee and surviving by a close run-out chance, Ashraful safely crossed the 1000-run mark before being out on 58.
   The milestone should have been achieved by Ashraful much earlier. A gifted batsman as he is, he began his international career with a bang slamming a century in his debut Test in 2001 against Sri Lanka as the youngest batsman in the Test history.
   But since then he was inconsistent in batting both in one-dayers and Tests.
   Therefore, inevitably he was excluded from the national team after the Pakistan tour. He did not find a place in the team in the home series against England in both one-dayers and Tests in 2003.
   ‘After hitting a century in my debut Test I thought I will be able to score a century in every match. However, I have now realised that scoring runs at the top level cricket is always difficult,’ confessed Ashraful to New Age after returning to the national team again.
   His inconsistent batting did not allow him to boost up his batting average though he was considered as the match-winning batman for the Tigers.
   His one-day average was always around 15 in his career. His average was 11.50 in 2001 and in 2002 it increased to 17.86 but again dropped to 12.92 in 2003.
   However, in 2005 he is getting runs consistently at least in the last three matches of the NatWest Triangular series. He has already accumulated an average of over 40 runs in one-dayers that enhanced his overall career average to just over 20.
   And the milestone surely will encourage Ashraful to play his best cricket in the future.

There was a time when people would come to the stadium during the local football league to see the star strikers shining with their skills, but those days have gone long before.
   Passionate football lovers still come to the stadium, though their numbers are decreasing gradually, but there remains hardly any entertainment for them in the game. Matches are getting duller day by day with the strikers squandering numerous scoring chances or wandering in the field aimlessly.
   Consequently, the league saw four goalless draws in the last four days, which many apprehend could further reduce the number of spectators in the rest of the league.
   Bangladesh lacks crowd-pulling footballers for many days and the problem has reached its lowest point now. You can get a picture of how much the standard has fallen this time from the statistics and the state of some strikers, who are known to be the best in the country.
   Alfaz Ahmed, Ariful Kabir Farhad, Mehdi Hasan Uzzal and Rokanuzzaman Kanchan – none of these national strikers has yet managed to score more than two goals, though five rounds of the league have already been completed.
   Of the strikers, Kanchan is perhaps in poorest form, who was once the spearhead in the Bangladesh’s attacking zone at the time when they won the SAF Football in 2003. This time he is getting hard to find a place even in the first eleven of Muktijoddha. His form is so bad that in a match he had to play as left-back.
   Abahani’s striking duo, Farhad and Uzzal, were also no exceptions. Since the team does not have many options both of them are getting chances to play regularly, but what they are doing in the field can simply be called ‘ridiculous’.
   The repeated failures of the local strikers forced Abahani to languish in the sixth position of the league – only ahead of strugglers Arambagh, Fakirerpool, Wanderers and Dipali – with eight points from five matches, a scene which is very unfamiliar in the Dhaka league.
   Alfaz may have been playing better than his other national colleagues, but his position in the league is more of a playmaker than a genuine striker. Mohammedans will certainly expect more goals from him in the coming days after they found the net only three times in the last four matches.
   Though they are leading the league currently with 14 points and remain the lone undefeated side so far, they cannot expect substitute player like Shahnoor Rony and Arman Aziz would come to rescue them everyday.
   Sheikh Mohammad Aslam, the last striker having some kind of star value, believes the current strikers lack self-belief and willpower which make them innocuous even in a one-to-one situation.
   ‘I have visited Abahani tent yesterday (Friday) and found the confidence level of their strikers very low. I don’t understand what the coach is doing with them. They are badly in need of a quality coach. I am sure the strikers of other clubs are also facing same problems,’ rued Aslam.
   Kazi Salahuddin, inarguably the best striker Bangladesh has ever produced, however thinks otherwise. ‘I think the local strikers will get back form with time. They have played very few matches in this season and thus they lacked adequate match practice. Once they get it, they will start scoring frequently,’ said Salahuddin.

It takes more than talent to make a champion and both Maria Sharapova and Roger Federer needed a sprinkle of that something special on Saturday to keep their Wimbledon defences alive.
   While there was more base metal than gold in their performances, both managed to do just enough on a day when they would rather have stayed at home.
   An off-colour Federer, who had been due to play on Friday before rain wiped out the schedule, failed to stamp his authority on Nicolas Kiefer but had enough in reserve to advance 6-2, 6-7, 6-1, 7-5.
   He plays former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero next after the Spaniard beat Germany’s Florian Mayer 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-1.
   Sharapova posted a scrappy 6-2, 6-4 win over Slovenia’s Katarina Srebotnik and will be happy to have got the first week out of the way at the All England Club.
   Sharapova was joined in the fourth round by twice champion Venus Williams. The 14th seed beat Daniela Hantuchova 7-5, 6-3.
   Champion in 2000 and 2001, Venus could face younger sister Serena, champion in 2002 and 2003, in the next round. Serena plays Jill Craybas later on Saturday.
   Resurgent Mary Pierce also advanced. The 30-year-old Frenchwoman, a first-round loser last year, blasted
   Serbian teenager Ana Ivanovic 6-1 6-4.
   It has been nine years since Pierce last reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and she has never looked so at ease on grass.
   Runner-up at the French Open earlier this month, the 12th seed is enjoying her tennis again and the slick lawns are aiding her power game this year.
   Eighth seed Nadia Petrova also advanced with ease, the Russian beating Zimbabwe’s Cara Black 6-4, 6-3.
   Former champion Conchita Martinez fell, however, a 6-4, 6-1 victim of Czech Kveta Peschke.
   The oldest woman left in the draw and contesting her 63rd grand slam tournament, 33-year-old Martinez flopped on an overcast court 18.
   Peschke, who had lost both the pair’s previous matches, faces Petrova next.
   Fellow former world number one Kim Clijsters is also on court, against Italy’s Roberta Vinci.

Captain Rafael Marquez will make a welcome return today when Mexico, shaken by a doping case involving two of their players, face Argentina in Hanover for a place in the Confederations Cup final.
   World soccer’s governing body FIFA says it has been informed by Mexico that Aaron Galindo and Salvador Carmona were sent home earlier this week after testing positive in doping controls that took place before the start of the tournament.
   The absence of the Cruz Azul duo deprives Mexico of two more defenders when they battle a powerful Argentina side for the right to take on hosts Germany or Brazil.
   Argentina scored eight goals in three matches to finish runners-up to Germany in Group A.
   The good news for Mexico’s Argentine coach Ricardo La Volpe will come in the return of Marquez to the starting line-up, after the centre-back came safely through a 17-minute run-out at the end of Wednesday’s goalless draw with Greece.
   Mexico conceded one goal in three Group B games, beating Japan and Brazil before drawing with Greece as they extended their unbeaten run to 20 games.
   ‘We’ve played well in defence throughout the tournament and that gives us a lot of morale,’ Marquez told reporters.
   ‘Argentina are a very tough team but we have to play as we have done in the last three games.’
   Mexico have been dogged by problems and controversy throughout the tournament.
   La Volpe’s team received a sharp rebuke from FIFA president Sepp Blatter for giving several Guadalajara players leave to play in the Libertadores Cup.
   Mexico then lost defender Hugo Sanchez Guerrero to a knee injury that required surgery while Marquez has not yet started a game because of a recurrence of his groin injury.
   The form of the Mexicans has been remarkable, given the circumstances.
   Argentina have been similarly strong, beating Tunisia and Australia and drawing 2-2 with Germany.
   Juan Roman Riquelme has been the key figure, dominating midfield with his unhurried style, while Luciano Figueroa staked a claim for a World Cup place with his hat-trick in the 4-2 win over Australia.
   Argentina lost 1-0 to Mexico in their last meeting in the Copa America last year.
   Jose Pekerman, Argentina’s coach, is confident there will be no repeat on Sunday.
   ‘We’re on the way to having a very good team,’ Pekerman said. ‘We want to be in the final.’
   Argentina centre-back Walter Samuel is suspended, meaning a likely start for Gabriel Milito. Mario Santana has a hamstring injury but should be fit to keep his place in midfield.

Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore left Old Trafford here Saturday to fly to Melbourne to be with his ailing father.
   Davenell Whatmore senior is currently on a life support machine following complications after heart surgery earlier this week.
   Bangladesh team manager Colonel Latif Khan said in a statement: ‘The thoughts of the management and the players are with Dav and his family at this diffcult time.’
   Bangladesh were playing Australia in a triangular one-day international at Old Trafford here Saturday.

The match between Youngmen’s Club Fakirerpool and Dhaka Wanderers Club ended in a goalless draw in the Premier Bank Senior Division Football League at Bangabandhu National Stadium on Saturday.
   The day’s outcome helped the promotees Youngmen’s Club raise the points to four from three after playing six matches while Wanderers Club collected two points from an equal number of matches.
   It’s was the fourth consecutive goalless drawn match in the premier league after the giants - Mohammedan Sporting Club and Brothers Union - showed the way playing a goalless draw on Wednesday.

Lleyton Hewitt was back to near his Wimbledon best on Friday after an injury nightmare.
   Also through into the last 16 was burly American Taylor Dent, who scored a straight sets win over Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic and he will next go up against the Australian third seed for a place in the quarter-finals.
   Second seed Andy Roddick was given a fright by Italian qualifier Daniele Bracciali in a second round tie held over from Thursday evening.
   The players resumed at two sets to one for the American, but Bracciali took the tie into a fifth set before Roddick’s big serve pulled him through 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 4-6, 6-3 just before the rain came down and halted play for the day.
   Hewitt defeated big American Justin Gimelstob 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 7-5 proving that he has fully recovered from foot and rib injuries that sidelined him for three months.
   Gimelstob flung himself about at the net in the manner of Boris Becker at his prime, but he had no answer to the shot-making abilities of the 2002 Wimbledon champion.
   ‘I can still play better, but it’s nice to be into the fourth round,’ said Hewitt.
   ‘I have had to play a lot of tight points which is good for me when you have to play guys like Federer and Dent in the next few rounds.’
   Safin’s fine run to the final in Halle, and his opening two ties here, had raised hopes among his many fans that he had finally put his dislike for grass behind him and was ready to mount a real challenge for his third Grand Slam title.
   But in Lopez he found a rare Spaniard who likes to serve and volley and that, linked to his own failings, resulted in a surprisingly one-sided affair, Lopez winning 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.
   Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez underlined his growing menace with an impressive straight sets win 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 over the highly-fancied Joachim Johansson of Sweden.
   In the women’s tournament, third seed Amelie Mauresmo of France powered into the last 16 barely breaking sweat in her 6-0, 6-2 demolition of overmatched American Shenay Perry.
   The 25-year-old Frenchwoman, still in search of her first Grand Slam title, has dropped just 11 games in three matches and she will rarely get an easier outing than she did against the Florida player.
   Mauresmo will next play Elena Likhovtseva of Russia, who hit back to defeat Silvia Farina Elia of Italy, for a place in the quarter-finals.
   Mauresmo believes that she finally has the confidence to reach a second Grand Slam final after her breakthrough in 1999 at the Australian Open when she lost the title match to Martina Hingis.
   ‘It’s been a long time since I played in that final,’ she said.
   ‘It was very different for me. I was only 19 and didn’t know exactly what I was doing.
   ‘It’s very different now. I realise now what are my weapons and just believe in myself a little bit more.
   It was an American victim also for sixth seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia who trounced Mashona Washington 7-5, 6-1 and will go on to play her compatriot Anastasia Myskina in a re-run of last year’s French Open final..
   Myskina, who triumphed that day, came out top in a see-saw marathon 6-0, 5-7, 10-8 against Jelena Jankovic of Serbia finally converting on her third match point.
   Also through went 30-year-old Bulgarian veteran Magdaleena Maleeva who had too much savvy for Italy’s Antonella Serra Zanetti winning 6-3, 6-2.
   She will next play US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, the fifth seed, who struggled yet again but held on to defeat 16-year-old Czech hope Nicole Vaidisova 7-5, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2.

England fast bowler Darren Gough has promised to haunt Australia in more ways than one after the hosts suffered their first defeat of the NatWest Series.
   Few England players of recent years have thrived more on the verbal banter that accompanies matches between the two teams than Gough, England’s most economical bowler during Thurday’s 57-run day/night defeat here at the Riverside before hitting a career-best 46 not out off 47 balls.
   During the match Gough, responding to reports that some Australia players - notably Shane Watson - had become spooked in their nearby ‘haunted’ hotel, did his best impression of a pantomime ghost when the all-rounder came out to bat.
   ‘I’d heard he’s slept on Brett Lee’s floor, so when he came out to bat I told him: ‘Don’t worry, you can sleep in my bed tonight,’ joked Gough.
   ‘It started like that and then I gave him the ghost thing as a bit of fun, but he’s a great competitor and great to play against.’
   Australia’s win ended a run of four successive defeats and was a morale-booster ahead of the Ashes Tests, which start in July, where the tourists will be looking for a ninth successive series victory.
   However, Gough, 34, stressed: ‘We’ve not read too much into the last few games played by Australia and I’ve always said that’.
   ‘They’re still a quality side and when you’ve got strength in depth like they’ve got and play like they did against us, then they’re a hard team to beat.
   ‘We were under-par against them and didn’t play as well as we can do and I didn’t think the intensity was there in the field - I think there was a feeling that we’d see how many runs they got and then chase them down, but it’s not as easy as that with quality bowlers like that and Brett Lee back in the side.’
   But even though England failed to complete a hat-trick of one-day wins for the first time since 1997, they did at least have the consolation of seeing last-wicket pair Gough and Stephen Harmison bat out the 50 overs.
   Australia failed to hit a boundary off Gough’s last four overs before he hit seven of his own in his innings.
   ‘They came at us quite hard and there were a few words out there,’ Gough said. I knew they were going to come hard at the tail-enders and I just thought I would try and give as good as I got and I really enjoyed it.
   ‘There was a fair bit of chat going on out there, but I was expecting it because we gave them a fair bit in the Twenty20 game and the first game of this competition in Bristol and when their tail-enders come in that’s exactly what they’re going to get - if you’re going to give it out, you’ve got to be able to take it as well and I think we did that.’
   Earlier in the innings England had collapsed to six for three but eventually recovered to a respectable 209 for nine.
   ‘That’s has got to go down as my greatest innings because I’ve played against quality bowlers all the way through. They didn’t give me anything,’ Gough said.
   ‘They bowled Lee, they bowled Glenn McGrath, they bowled Jason Gillespie and for me as a tail-ender to finally knuckle down and bat like that was really pleasing for me.’
   Gough is set to be in action again against Bangladesh at Headingley, his home for his whole professional career until switching to Essex in 2004, on Sunday.
   England are hopeful captain Michael Vaughan, who missed Thursday’s defeat with a groin strain, will recover to lead the side at his home ground and he will have a fitness test on Saturday.

Twin stars Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan proved unstoppable in one of the most competitive NBA finals in years, powering San Antonio to their second title in three years and third overall.
   For two games of the 2005 National Basketball Association finals in Detroit and in game six in San Antonio, the Pistons looked to have the better of the Spurs and control of the title series.
   But the gritty Spurs wouldn’t fold and when word leaked out that they had announced plans for a downtown victory parade on Thursday it may have motivated Detroit for one game.
   But, in truth, it was only a postponement of the inevitable dethroning of the Pistons.
   ‘It was such a long tough year for us,’ said Duncan, who was named the most valuable player of the post-season. ‘But all the guys fought so hard.’
   This was two weeks of nightly drama that included four blowout games to open the series, pivotal plays, overtime heroics and the first heart-stopping game seven in an NBA finals in 11 years.
   It was also a dramatic showdown on North America’s biggest basketball stage between the last two NBA champions.
   The Pistons and Spurs play the same sound fundamental style but the similarity ends there. The finals featured a team of international stars against a rough and tumble group of American home boys from the blue-collar mid-west city of Detroit.
   The most searing images included Robert Horry’s three-point dagger to win game five, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich thanking his mentor Larry Brown on the court for giving him his start, Chauncey Billups flooring Tony Parker with an elbow to the head in game four that looked like it came out of Gordie Howe’s playbook, and a dejected Rasheed Wallace reluctantly grabbing his boxing-style championship belt and leaving the Pistons dressing room after game seven without saying a word.
   The Spurs are the best NBA team at adapting to different styles and they showed it by beating Denver, Seattle and Phoenix and then finished off their championship run with a 81-74 win over the Pistons in Thursday’s game seven.
   ‘It’s wonderful,’ said Horry who picked up his sixth championship ring after previously winning three with the Los Angeles Lakers and two with the Houston Rockets.
   ‘It is up there. This is my third team that I won a championship with. I played with a bunch of great guys. It is the best. That’s the reason I wanted to come back here to try and win another championship. This team is wonderful.’
   Horry had two steals in game seven but the best snatch of all was when he had the presence of mind to seize the game ball as the buzzer sounded and his teammates were hugging each other and jumping up and down.
   ‘It is such a whirlwind,’ Horry said. ‘You wake up tomorrow, turn the TV on and you see the Spurs win the championship, that’s when it hits you.’
   San Antonio guard Ginobili was criticized for rushing shots and losing his focus in the fourth quarter of game six. But he played it smart down the stretch in game seven, finishing with 23 points, five rebounds and four assists.
   The Argentinian became only the third player to capture an NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal in the same season.
   Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were the two previous players to win both in such a short span. Jordan and Pippen played for the victorious American squad in the 1992 Olympics.
   Ginobili said it will take awhile for Thursday’s win to sink in.
   ‘Today, I am too tired but I bet in a month I am going to feel the same way about this championship (as Argentina’s triumph in Athens),’ he said.
   ‘It is just unbelievable. It is not easy to win any of them and I was able to be part of those two teams in one year.’

Former French Open winner Anastasia Myskina says she is taking her battling Wimbledon inspiration from her cancer-hit mother.
   The Russian 23-year-old has endured a disappointing 2005 becoming the first defending champion in history at Roland Garros to lose in the first round as she tried to cope with her mother Galina’s illness.
   On Friday, Myskina reached the last 16 at Wimbledon with a punishing 6-0, 5-7, 10-8 win over Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic while, in the first round, she struggled to beat Czech qualifier Katerina Bohmova 5-7, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.
   ‘My mum called me after the match and said she almost died and that really wasn’t good news,’ said Myskina who could have wrapped up the tie on Friday in straight sets after having two match points.
   ‘She was watching the match from home in Moscow and it’s really hard for her. But she’s really proud and happy and that’s good.’
   Myskina, the ninth seed, faces compatriot Elena Dementieva, seeded six, on Monday for a place in the quarter-finals and she paid tribute to her family who supported her after the devastating loss in Paris.
   ‘It was hard after Paris because I couldn’t defend my title. I was really upset but then I talked to my family and my coach and they said that I just had to go out there and play a lot of matches to get my confidence back.
   ‘So it was the right decision to play in Eastbourne last week (where she made the quarter-finals) and be here right now.’
   Despite her problems off the court, the Russian Fed Cup star insists that she is regaining her confidence again although she has never got beyond the fourth round at the All England Club in six previous appearances.
   ‘I have started believing in myself again,’ she said.
   ‘I know what I can do right now even if I am not playing my best tennis. But I am fighting and I will do my best no matter what.’

Stand-in captain Marcus Trescothick has hailed fast bowler Chris Tremlett as one of the bright stars of England’s future after his emergence in the Triangular Series.
   Trescothick, who led England in Thursday’s defeat to Australia after captain
   Michael Vaughan suffered a groin strain, has been impressed by the assured displays of Hampshire seamer Tremlett since joining the squad a week ago.
   Tremlett was called in after Glamorgan fast bowler
   Simon Jones received treatment for a knee injury and responded with a four-wicket haul on
   his debut against Bangladesh and recovering from a shaky start against Australia to claim the key wicket of Adam Gilchrist.
   ‘I’ve been impressed with him during the two games he has played,’ said Somerset left-hander Trescothick.
   ‘He has obviously got a hell of a lot of bounce when he lets go of it because he’s so tall.
   ‘There is something there the way he thinks about the game as well, he knows the right moment to bowl a yorker, to bowl a slower ball or to bowl a bumper and it’s always good to see when young players take it on themselves.
   ‘He knows the right times and he has shown that in these two games so I think there’s every chance of seeing him again.
   ‘He’s a handful with his height and if we can get a few more yards of pace out of him he’ll be even better.’
   Trescothick was in a similar situation himself five years ago after being drafted into the squad as a replacement for the injured Nick Knight and has never been dropped since from either the Test or one-day squads.
   ‘I think he’s a good prospect,’ admitted Trescothick.
   ‘The way he bowled against Bangladesh, we all saw how he can get extra bounce.
   ‘In the middle period of the innings, when the fielding restrictions are gone, he’s definitely harder to hit.
   ‘When he played against Australia, it wasn’t so much a case of wanting to see him against the best team because he had already impressed us with the bounce he gets.’
   Trescothick is likely to discover later Saturday whether Tremlett will continue with the team during Sunday’s game against Bangladesh at Headingley.
   England are also due to make a decision about Jones, who has not played since impressing during the emphatic Twenty20 victory over Australia but is due to bowl at the Academy in the next day or so to try and prove his fitness.

Sri Lanka’s cricket board says it has agreed to a request to reschedule the forthcoming triangular one-day series to allow India’s players to participate in a proposed Afro-Asian contest in August.
   The tri-series, which also includes India and West Indies, was due to start on August 2 but will now begin on July 30 with all seven games squeezed into 11 days.
   The final will be played under lights at the Premadasa International Stadium in Colombo on August 9.
   The proposed series between an Asian XI and African XI will raise funds for the welfare of players in the two continents and for the development of the new Afro-Asian Cricket Council, a new body set up by the Asian Cricket Council and the African Cricket Council.
   The rescheduling has also affected the start of Sri Lanka’s two-Test series at home to West Indies which will now begin on July 13.
   West Indies will play one two-day, warm-up game before the first Test in Colombo.
   Schedule:
   Test series
   13-17 July - First Test (Colombo)
   21-25 July - Second Test (Kandy)
   
   Triangular series
   30 July - India v SL (Dambulla)
   31 July - India v WI (Dambulla)
   2 August - SL v WI (Dambulla)
   3 August - SL v India (Dambulla)
   6 August - WI v SL (Colombo)
   7 August - WI v India (Colombo)
   9 August - Final (Colombo)

Sourav Ganguly struggled to find form and was out for a duck as Glamorgan suffered a seven-wicket loss to Gloucestershire in the Twenty20 Cup Championships at Bristol.
   Ganguly, who came to open the innings with Australian Matthew Elliott, lasted only single delivery from C Greenidge and left Glamorgan reeling at just 5 at one stage.
   Put in to bat, Glamorgan were 128 for 9 in their stipulated 20 overs but Gloucestershire reached the target in 17.1 overs losing only three wickets. The Indian captain also bowled a single over but ended up conceding six runs.
   Elsewhere, Dinesh Mongia’s batting failed to fire once again and he was sent packing with only seven runs to his credit as Leicestershire lost to Derbyshire by seven wickets.

Hampshire captain Shane Warne will not play any further part in the club’s Twenty20 Cup campaign.
   The decision follows talks between the club and Cricket Australia, who want to ensure Warne does not over-exert himself before the Ashes series.
   He will take a two-week break and will not play again until the Championship match against Middlesex on 8 July.
   After that Warne will join up with the Australian squad to prepare for the Test series, which starts on 21 July.
   Leg-spinner Warne is the most successful bowler in Test history, with 583 wickets from 123 appearances.
   His record against England is excellent, having taken 132 wickets in Ashes Tests at an average of 23.03.
   And Australia want to ensure he is rested and fully fit, having had problems with his spinning finger following a game against Kent last month.
   Warne has played in every game this season, apart from a three-day match against Oxford UCCE and Friday’s Twenty20 fixture against Sussex which ultimately was washed out.

Sven-Goran Eriksson was described as a ‘seagull’ with a ‘roving eye’ on Friday amid evidence alleging sexual harassment and lies within the Football Association.
   FA executive director David Davies would not confirm suggestions that Eriksson had lied to him after being suspected of having an affair with secretary Faria Alam, who is suing the association for constructive unfair dismissal and sexual discrimination.
   But he said at an employment tribunal in London that he had told an FA internal inquiry words to the effect that ‘Sven’s got a roving eye. He’s like a seagull and can wrap his wings around people’.
   Eriksson, 56, was widely reported in the media last year to have had an affair with Alam, who was also said to have had a relationship with then chief executive Mark Palios, 52. Palios later resigned.
   Alam, 39, who also quit, had accused her boss, Davies, of sexual harassment earlier in the hearing.
   Davies told the tribunal on Friday that he had been ‘flabbergasted’ by the allegations.
   ‘I spoke to Sven and Faria, both of whom denied there was any truth to that story,’ Davies said.
   ‘When someone I know well and trust and see as a friend says to me, as she said, ‘I am not having an affair’, I believe them.’
   However, when pressed in cross examination about his conversation with Eriksson, Davies said, ‘I cannot recall the details of it.’
   He added, ‘I had asked Mr Eriksson and I had satisfied myself totally that there was no affair. Whether he was lying has to be put to Mr Eriksson, not me.’
   Davies, 57, also denied Alam’s allegations that he had harassed her and had a reputation as a sexual predator at the FA.
   ‘She brought them up less than a week before this hearing and I was dumbfounded. I may have reputations for many things but a reputation for trying it on with women is a new accusation in my life.
   ‘Faria’s allegations are deeply hurtful and upsetting. I have read them with sadness and incredulity. I trust Faria understands the impact of them upon others than just myself. In summary they are a mixture of half-truths and fantasy.’
   Two former secretaries to Davies, said by Alam to have told her he ‘tried it on’ with them, denied the allegations in written statements.
   ‘David never ‘tried it on’ with me. I never told Faria that David tried it on with me or anything similar,’ wrote Sarah Forde.
   ‘I would describe the relationship that I had with David as his PA as businesslike rather than social.’
   Kimberley Fisher added, ‘I would like to state that in my five years at the FA I had no complaints about David Davies in this respect. I never felt uncomfortable with him and do not feel that he ever ‘tried it on’ with me.’
   The hearing continues.

Two Mexican soccer players who were expelled from the Confederations Cup this week tested positive for banned substances, FIFA said on Friday.
   ‘According to the Mexican football association’s initial report, which has yet to be completed, two players, Aaron Galindo and Salvador Carmona, tested positive,’ the world governing body said in a statement.
   A FIFA spokesman could not say what banned substance had been found in the tests. FIFA said it had now deleted the names from its players’ lists.
   ‘Only these names have been struck off and the decision has no retroactive effect,’ FIFA said, confirming Mexico’s place in the Confederation Cup semi-finals was not under threat.
   Mexico play Argentina on Sunday with the winners meeting either hosts Germany or world champions Brazil in Wednesday’s final.
   The two players had helped the team beat Japan 2-1 last week and upset Brazil 1-0 in their second match on Sunday to secure a place in the semi-finals. Neither featured in the final group match against Greece on Wednesday.
   Galindo, 23, played as a replacement for injured Barcelona defender Rafael Marquez, while fellow defender Carmona, 29, is an established international who played at the last two World Cups.
   FIFA has ordered the Mexican federation (FMF) to deliver a full report soon and to impose punishment if appropriate.
   FMF had earlier said that it was investigating the two Cruz Azul players on the assumption that they were contaminated by banned substances.
   However, Cruz Azul coach Ruben Romano was quoted by a Mexican newspaper on Thursday as saying that both players had been disciplined over disagreements with the rest of the Mexico squad on Confederations Cup bonuses.
   According to FIFA, FMF received news of the positive results, analysed by a laboratory in Los Angeles, on Monday.
   Galindo and Carmona were expelled late on Tuesday for a breach of discipline but the federation refused at that time to elaborate. Coach Ricardo La Volpe had simply said they had been expelled from the tournament for disciplinary reasons.
   FIFA said the Mexican federation presented its initial report referring to doping on Thursday.
   The two defenders refused to talk about their expulsion when they returned home in mid-week.
   FMF said that the results of its investigation would be sent to FIFA secretary general Urs Linsi.
   FIFA did not select either player for testing at Mexico’s two World Cup qualifiers at the beginning of June nor at the Confederations Cup. All its tests so far have been negative.

Tottenham have accepted a ‘significant’ cash settlement from Chelsea that allows sporting director Frank Arnesen to move to Stamford Bridge.
   The Premiership champions averted the possibility of a three-point penalty after Tottenham had threatened to report their London rivals for an illegal approach unless they received a suitable offer by midday Friday.
   After talks into the early hours of Saturday morning Tottenham finally confirmed they had reached agreement ‘in principle’ with Chelsea.
   The two clubs said in a joint statement: ‘Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and Chelsea Football Club have announced that they have reached agreement in principle regarding Frank Arnesen.
   ‘Formal documentation is to be signed by June 30, 2005. The terms are confidential and will not be disclosed.’
   The row erupted after the publication of photographs showing Arnesen relaxing on the yacht belonging to Chelsea’s billionaire owner Roman Abramovich.
   Chelsea claim the meeting was purely social, but wanted to avoid another disciplinary hearing ahead of their title defence after being fined 300,000 pounds and being slapped with a three-point deduction over the tapping up scandal relating to Arsenal defender Ashley Cole.
   Chelsea are understood to have been ready to offer defenders Robert Huth and Glen Johnson as part of a financial package aimed at dissuading Spurs from lodging a complaint.
   But Spurs were not prepared to accept any players who did not serve the best interests of the club, with chairman Daniel Levy insisting that only a ‘fair settlement’ would be acceptable.
   Formerly with PSV Eindhoven, Arnesen arrived at White Hart Lane in May 2004, replacing David Pleat as director of football to oversee a continental-style structure with Jacques Santini as coach and Martin Jol as his assistant.
   But former French national coach Santini left less than three months into the season, amid rumours of a strained relationship with Arnesen.
   Jol was promoted to head coach and enjoyed a good partnership with the Dane, with the club narrowly missing out on a UEFA Cup place.

Premiership champions Chelsea will travel to newly-promoted Wigan to start their title defence on 13 August.
   Last season’s runners-up Arsenal host Newcastle, while last term’s third and fourth-placed sides Manchester United and Everton square up at Goodison Park.
   Uefa Cup entrants Middlesbrough welcome Champions League holders Liverpool, while Bolton visit Aston Villa. Championship winners Sunderland host Charlton and play-off victors West Ham are also at home, to Blackburn.
   It will not be a long wait to see how close-season animosity between London’s heavyweight sides will transfer to the pitch.
   On the second weekend of the new campaign, Chelsea and Arsenal meet at Stamford Bridge - just weeks after the Ashley Cole tapping-up verdict.
   And in their next game, the Blues travel to Tottenham, the other club they angered after their approach for sporting director Frank Arnesen.
   The fireworks will continue on 5 November when Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson go head-to-head at Old Trafford.
   Before then, Manchester United have a derby game against Manchester City and face fierce rivals Liverpool in successive weeks during September.
   The often crucial New Year’s fixture schedule throws Arsenal and Manchester United together at Highbury on 2 January. Over Easter, Chelsea visit Bolton on 15 April before meeting Everton at Stamford Bridge two days later.
   Then on 29 April, Mourinho’s men host Manchester United in a game which could possibly be a title decider. The season ends a week earlier than usual, on 7 May, because of the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
   Chelsea complete their campaign at Newcastle while Manchester United will be at home to Charlton.
   And Wigan will end the season as they began it - with a glamour match as the last visitors to Highbury before Arsenal move to Ashburton Grove.

England and Real Madrid striker Michael Owen on Friday married his childhood sweetheart Louise Bonsall.
   Owen wed his long-term girlfriend at a private ceremony held in a hotel close to their home in north Wales, a source close to the player said.
   The wedding took place amid new reports the England international might return to the Premiership.
   The former Liverpool player and his fiancee had initially planned to marry at their palatial home – Lower Soughton Hall.
   They changed their plans after being informed that if a licence is granted for a marriage ceremony the venue must be made available for other weddings for three years.
   It was the same rule that forced the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall to change their wedding venue from Windsor Castle.

Argentine midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron has signed a two-year deal with Inter Milan, making his move from Chelsea permanent.
   Veron spent last season on loan from Chelsea and Inter have agreed terms with the English champions over the transfer — although no fee has been made public.
   ‘We are very satisfied with how the negotiations with Veron and Chelsea concluded,’ Inter technical director Marco Branca told the club’s website.
   ‘Keeping Veron at Inter was the objective of the club, coach Roberto Mancini and the player himself. He had for some time expressed his wish to continue with us,’ said Branca.
   The move formally brings Veron’s experience in English football to an end after his disappointing spells with Manchester United and Chelsea.
   After outstanding seasons in Serie A with Sampdoria, Parma and Lazio, Veron moved to Manchester United in 2001 for a then British record fee of 28 million pounds ($51.05 million).
   After two seasons where he struggled to impress at Old Trafford, he moved to Chelsea for 15 million pounds in 2003 but a back injury restricted his appearances.

Former German international Andreas Brehme is set to become coach Giovanni Trapattoni’s right-hand man at Bundesliga club VfB
   Stuttgart, the German sports news agency Sid reported Friday.
   Brehme, 44, a World Cup winner with Germany in 1990, is expected to sign his contract with Stuttgart on Monday, the agency said.
   Brehme, who famously struck the victorious penalty against Argentina in the 1990 World Cup final, has already worked with Trapattoni when the Italian was coaching Inter Milan.

Brazilian striker Reinaldo has joined J-League first division club Kashiwa Reysol after leaving Paris Saint German, Kashiwa officials said Saturday.
   The 26-year-old forward, full name Reinaldo Da Cruz Oliveira, has signed a six- month contract from July 1 to January 1 next year, the officials said.
   Struggling Kashiwa are second from bottom in the 18-team J-League with only two wins in 12 games.
   Reinaldo joined PSG in 2002 before being loaned out to Brazilian club Sao Paulo.
   He returned to the French capital in 2003 only to be placed on the transfer list before finding his way back into the team under former PSG coach Vahid Hallilodzic.
   Last season he scored three goals in 32 matches, as PSG, the 2003-2004 league runners-up, finished a disappointing ninth.

Russian soccer chiefs have unveiled plans to establish a year-round training centre for the country’s national teams on the Black Sea.
   ‘We want to have a permanent home for all our national teams,’ Vitaly Mutko, president of the Russian Football Union (RFU), told reporters following the RFU’s executive board meeting in this Black Sea resort.
   On Friday, Mutko opened Sochi’s first all-purpose sports centre, at the foot of the picturesque Caucasus mountains.
   ‘This is a major initiative in terms of giving our best players top-class facilities on a year-round basis,’ he said.
   Russia’s assistant coach Boris Ignatyev was equally impressed, though he said the venue lacked a luxury hotel.
   ‘All our national teams, apart from the Russian senior team, could train here,’ Ignatyev, who is also in charge of Russia’s 2008 Olympic team, told Reuters.
   ‘The training facilities are great. If they had a five-star hotel nearby we could easily bring our first team as well.’
   Sochi is Russia’s warmest city with year-round temperatures averaging more than 14 degrees Celsius.
   ‘There’s no better place than Sochi that has such a perfect combination of mountain air, the sea and warm climate. But it was lacking the necessary infrastructure. Now, we’re trying to correct it,’ Mutko said.
   The newly-elected RFU chief wants to build similar training centres in other cities along the Black Sea coast.

Diego Maradona has made an early mark in his new role as vice-president of Boca Juniors with his choice Alfio Basile virtually accepted as the team’s coach.
   Basile, Argentina’s coach at the 1994 World Cup, is set to be appointed next week on a one-year contract to succeed Jorge Benitez, who was sacked last week after Boca were eliminated from the Libertadores Cup.
   The Boca board’s approval of Basile is expected once the two parties have settled minor contractual matters, club sources said.
   ‘I see Basile as a coach ... who will give everything for Boca,’ said Maradona, who was captain of Argentina’s team at the 1994 World Cup before being kicked out of the tournament in the US for doping.
   ‘What I want now is to try to give Boca all I’ve learnt over many years,’ Maradona told a news conference on Friday at his official presentation as Boca’s vice-president for football. Maradona had two spells at Boca as a player, helping them win the Argentine league title in 1981 before moving to Europe and then rejoining the club after returning home.

South Korea midfielder Park Ji-sung said on Saturday that he was proud to be joining Manchester United and pledged to make himself a better player at the English club.
   Park spoke on his return from a medical in Britain after signing this week to join the Premier League club from PSV Eindhoven on a four-year contract.
   ‘Personally I’m very proud of myself. I feel sorry and very grateful to coach Hiddink, but I think I can return his favour by becoming a better player in Manchester’, the 24-year-old told a news conference at Inchon airport.
   Park and South Korea team mate Lee Young-pyo were signed by PSV coach Guus Hiddink after the Dutchman worked with the pair at the 2002 World Cup.
   ‘When I wore the Manchester kit, I didn’t feel it was real. But when I went to United’s ground, I felt very proud that I will be playing for such a top club,’ he said of his visit to Old Trafford.
   Park said, however, that joining United did not match the heights of South Korea’s success in the 2002 World Cup.
   ‘The joy that I felt during last World Cup finals could not be matched by anything else.’