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Sri Lanka’s cricket coach Tom Moody ruled out resting his key players for today’s second one-dayer against Bangladesh, saying he wanted to complete a clean sweep.
   Sri Lanka lead the three-match series 1-0 following their emphatic 88-run victory over the tourists in the opening game on Wednesday.
   ‘We certainly do not want to go lightly,’ Moody said on Thursday ahead of the second game at the Premadasa stadium.
   ‘We have got faith in all the guys in the squad, but our aim is to win all three matches and, with that in mind, we do not want to weaken the side by making any experiments.’
   Moody said there was still room for improvement despite winning the first match comfortably.
   ‘There are few areas we would like to improve on and we hope to work on them during the next two matches,’ he said.
   ‘One of the areas where we want to do well is to make sure we score maximum runs during power plays.
   ‘We did not score as many as we would have liked in the first game, but we are still learning like any other team.
   ‘We would also like to be consistent with the ball and then we have observed that our top-order batsmen got starts, but did not go on to make big scores.’
   Moody said his team could not afford to take Bangladesh lightly, especially after the minnows’ shock win over world champions Australia in England in June.
   ‘The game at Cardiff highlighted that anyone can win. You should prepare well and if you don’t you are going to come out second-best,’ he said.
   Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar said he was looking forward to an improved all-round performance from his team.
   ‘We certainly can field much better than what we did in the first match,’ said Bashar, whose side missed four catches and a stumping.
   ‘That is a definite area where we need to improve along with our top-order batting.
   ‘We lost too many wickets in the first 15 overs. Instead of batting longer, we played too many shots too early.’

Brothers Union 7 Dipali 0
   Reigning champions Brothers Union honed their skills for the final showdown with title contenders Mohammedan Sporting Club with a crushing 7-0 win against the hapless Dipali Jubo Sangha at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Thursday.
   Out-of-form Russian striker Victor Edwards returned to his best scoring four goals, the seventh hat-trick of the Premier Bank Senior Division Football League, and moved to the top slot of the scorers’ list with 11 goals.
   Victor earlier slammed a hat-trick against Wanderers and looks set to be the highest scorer of the league. Brothers Union now are level with Mohammedans on 38 points and the title will be decided in the last match of the league between the two teams.
   In a one-sided affair Dipali fought hard to keep the scoreline at 2-0 before the break. But the onslaught started in the second half as the lowest placed team in the table conceded another five goals and four of them were scored by Victor.
   Victor started his goal spree in the 55th minute with the third goal of his team. He went past two defenders pouncing on a ball after a defensive error by Emily and unleashed a fierce grounder into the far corner of the net. In the 70th minute he sent a scorching drive from 35 yards that crashed into the top corner of the net. The dazzling Russian completed his hat-trick in the 81st minute as he drilled a grounder to the far post from a faulty clearance of the Dipali custodian. Three minutes later he volleyed home an Emily cross with impeccable timing for his fourth goal.
   Earlier, Liton Khan opened the floodgate for Brothers after 19 minutes and Parvez Babu doubled the margin in the 39th minute. The seventh and last goal was scored by midfielder Abul who began a solo run from the midfield and dribbled past three defenders before putting the ball into the net.
   It was the second highest winning margin in the league after Sheikh Russell’s 10-0 victory over Youngmen’s Club of Fakirerpool in which Yusuf had also scored four goals.

Sachin Tendulkar's participation in the forthcoming ICC Super Series in October remains in doubt owing to his slow recovery from his elbow surgery.
   According to Anant Joshi, an orthopaedic specialist who is on the Indian board's medical panel and has monitored Tendulkar's recovery in Mumbai, Tendulkar may still need 'a month and a half' to be fully fit.
   'I saw him on Tuesday and I noticed that the muscles on his left hand are weaker than the right hand,' Joshi told the Times of India a day after Tendulkar, 32, withdrew from the two-Test series in Zimbabwe, starting on September 13 at Bulawayo.
   'It should possibly take a month and a half from here. Sachin too does not want to rush back into cricket. I doubt if Sachin will take the risk of going to Australia in the first week of October for the Super Series.'
   Joshi added that he was not surprised that Tendulkar's recovery was taking time. 'It all depends on a person,' he continued.
   'There are quite a lot of sportspersons who had to play with a tennis elbow. In Sachin's case, all I can say is that the rehabilitation process is taking a long time. Ideally, we want to get him into a match situation, but it all depends on him, his confidence level.'
   Tendulkar, who is included in both world squads, underwent a surgery in May after a precautionary medical check-up revealed a tendon tear in his left elbow.
   The injury was first detected in August last year, and Tendulkar was forced to miss the one-day tournament in the Netherlands, the Champions Trophy in England in September and two home Tests against Australia in October.
   He only returned for the last two Tests of the series and played further matches against South Africa, Bangladesh and Pakistan before the season ended in April.
   Inzamam-ul-Haq and Michael Vaughan, who were surprisingly omitted from the original squads, have been named stand-bys in case Tendulkar is unable to play.
   The clash against Australia starts with three one-day matches on October 5, 7 and 9 in Melbourne and a six-day Test in Sydney from October 14.

Richie Benaud is ‘astonished’ Australia still have a chance of retaining the Ashes after being outplayed by England in the last three Tests of an enthralling series.
   Australia held on for a draw in the third Test at Old Trafford, a result that came in between tight England victories at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge.
   That left England 2-1 up ahead of next week’s fifth and final Test at The Oval where an Australia win would see them square the series and so retain the Ashes they’ve held for the last 16 years.
   Former Australia captain Benaud, who led his country to three Ashes series wins in the late 1950s and early 60s before becoming a highly-respected television commentator, could not believe the series was still live.
   ‘The astonishing thing is that Australia are still very close to England, and if they win at The Oval they will retain the Ashes,’ Benaud, 74, said Wednesday. ‘England have outplayed Australia in three of the Test matches.
   ‘England were by far the better side at Edgbaston and Old Trafford - and then again at Trent Bridge,’ said Benaud, who as a leg-spinning all-rounder was the first player to complete the Test double of 2,000 runs and 200 wickets.
   Forecasts suggest rain may play a major role at The Oval although Benaud for one hoped the weathermen were wrong.
   ‘I want to see either England or Australia win the match. I don’t want it to be a draw; it will be fitting if we can finish this great series with a result.’
   If England avoid defeat at The Oval, Ricky Ponting will become the first Australia captain to lose an Ashes series since Allan Border in 1986-87.
   The pressure appeared to be getting to Ponting at Trent Bridge, where he lost his temper last week after he was run-out by substitute Gary Pratt.
   His dismissal came following his frequent criticisms regarding England’s repeated use of substitute fielders, which are within the series playing regulations, but which Ponting believes are an underhand way of giving the home side’s fast bowlers extra rest periods.
   Benaud agreed with match referee Ranjan Madugalle’s decision to fine Ponting 75 percent of his match fee for but predicted the International Cricket Council (ICC) would look again at the rules covering substitute fielders.
   ‘Ponting voiced his complaint at the wrong time,’ said Benaud. ‘The right time was before the match and before the series started - although I know he did that too.
   ‘The situation where he was run out was irrelevant, because Simon Jones was off the field with an injury. But one thing that can be guaranteed is that the ICC will change this rule.’
   Current worldwide regulations allow any player to leave the field and be replaced by a sub for up to 15 minutes - while in this series an eight-minute limit has been agreed.
   ‘What happened is perfectly legal. Even so, although I am not a betting man on cricket, I think the ICC will definitely change this law,’ Benaud said.
   Looking at the two teams Benaud, whose latest book, ‘My Spin on Cricket’, is published next month, added: ‘England are certainly on the up, and the Australia selectors have some work to do.
   ‘But in Australia there are plenty of good young players around. If Australia are beaten this time they will fight back very quickly.
   ‘What is not clear is how many other English players are good enough to come in if someone is unavailable.’
   After 42 years commentating on cricket in England, Benaud told the Cricinfo website Thursday that the Oval Test would be his last match as a broadcaster in England.
   Next year satellite broadcaster Sky, the company founded by Rupert Murdoch, takes over the contract for live international cricket coverage in England.
   Benaud, in Australia, has been the cornerstone of Channel Nine’s cricket broadcasts, a company owned by Murdoch’s rival media mogul Kerry Packer.

England captain Michael Vaughan has insisted there was nothing untoward about his team’s use of substitute fielders and instead said all eyes should be on next week’s climactic Ashes Test.
   Australia skipper Ricky Ponting’s unhappiness with England’s use of the 12th man during the third Test – where the home side won by three wickets to take a 2-1 lead to The Oval – boiled over at Trent Bridge.
   He let loose a foul-mouthed tirade, including a volley of abuse at England coach Duncan Fletcher, after he was run out by replacement Gary Pratt.
   The outburst saw Ponting fined 75 percent of his match fee but that hasn’t stopped him or his team-mates continuing to complain about their opponents’ use of substitutes, which they say England are deploying as a means of giving their fast bowling quartet time to warm-up and cool down before and after spells.
   Unfortunately for Ponting’s argument, Pratt was on the field at the time as a replacement for Simon Jones.
   The Glamorgan quick, who has taken 18 wickets in the series at an impressive average of 21 apiece, was sidelined with an ankle injury that later saw his foot encased in a surgical boot and has left him having to undergo oxygen chamber treatment in a bid to be fit for The Oval.
   Even the greatest conspiracy theorist would concede there was something odd about England not using a bowler who had earlier taken five wickets in the first innings to help Australia follow-on for the first time in 17 years second time around.
   And Vaughan, speaking at his washed-out benefit match at Headingley between a Yorkshire XI and his side, featuring several England stars, here Wednesday insisted, ‘We haven’t done anything against the laws of the game.
   ‘Guys have taken that much fluids on that they are just nipping off to go to the toilet; they are always back on within a minute or two.
   ‘It is a situation Australia are not happy with but we feel we are doing nothing against the laws of the game. We really do not feel we are doing anything untoward.
   ‘I am certainly not telling my team to go and have an extra five minutes’ rest. If a player needs the toilet he has to go to the toilet.
   ‘We are not a team that are going to try to bend the rules. We are quite an honest team.
   ‘I do not want to get into an argument about it, there has been a lot of talk and I am sure there will be a little more.
   ‘But it should not get in the way of a fantastic series. How the two teams have played has been fantastic for the game of cricket.’
   England, who lost the series opener by 239 runs at Lord’s, are now on the brink of wresting back the Ashes from Australia for the first time in 16 years but Vaughan said there was still work to do against the world’s number one side.
   ‘It is a tremendous achievement coming back from 1-0 down and written off. The challenge is now to do it for a fourth consecutive game.
   ‘I always felt we would get over the line on Sunday, I always felt we would win at Edgbaston. In fact, I had a sneaking suspicion we would get the final wicket at Old Trafford (where Australia clung for a draw with tenth-wicket duo Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath at the crease).
   ‘I guess the final match at The Oval will be very similar if the rest of the summer is anything to go by.’

India seems to have ridden over the fitness crisis to two of their key batsmen ahead of the critical Videocon Cup cricket tri-series clash against New Zealand here today.
   Captain Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag, the two openers, might be feeling weak from the effects of cold and flu but there is good news for the two experienced players as they are expected to be declared fit for the crucial tie.
   Sehwag and Ganguly have not been in the best of form but both would be required to come to terms with Shane Bond's blistering pace and movement which has given him figures of 6 for 23 and 4 for 17 in the last two games.
   Bond is lethal and even when he is mild does not go for many runs. India would be looking to emerge with least damage against the outstanding paceman at the peak of his powers.
   The Indian camp is cautiously optimistic it would not have to miss out on either of the two stars. It leaves too much of work to do for the likes of Dravids, Yuvrajs and Kaifs in the company of youngsters such as MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Venugopala Rao.
   The youngsters in the team are secure in the knowledge that coach Greg Chappell is willing to give them that extra leeway to allow them to gain roots in the team.
   'They are getting better after half a dozen practice sessions we have had till now. They are getting more and more used to the extra bounce. If hard work counts for anything, we should get better,' he said.
   Chappell looked forward to his batsmen providing a good three final games of the series and go back to India with their form in the pink of health.
   'We are looking for three good games. I am not panicking as it is an experienced line-up, at least most of them are for sure. They all have had good starts at one time or other and hopefully we can go back to India with the batting order ticking along nicely.'

Spanish second seed Rafael Nadal withstood the determined challenge of a fellow teenager to keep his US Open bid intact on Wednesday.
   American 18-year-old Scoville Jenkins, ranked 350 places below Nadal and playing only his third grand slam match, forced the fist-pumping French Open champion to fight surprisingly hard for a 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 second round victory.
   ‘Today was very difficult, he is a very good player,’ said the 19-year-old world number two after reaching the third round at Flushing Meadows for the first time in swirling wind on Arthur Ashe Court.
   ‘I needed to play 100 percent to win this match.’
   The blustery remnants of Hurricane Katrina proved more troublesome than any on-court opponent for Maria Sharapova and the other title contenders.
   Women’s top seed Sharapova, fourth seed Kim Clijsters and the Williams sisters Venus and Serena were all unruffled, sweeping into round three without the loss of a single set. Men’s third seed Lleyton Hewitt hurried through to the second round with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 victory over former French Open champion Albert Costa.
   Gusts of up to 65 kph turned the ball sideways on occasions at Flushing Meadows but for 18-year-old Russian Sharapova, it was a cakewalk.
   She adapted quickly to thrash Madagascan opponent Dally Randriantefy 6-1, 6-0.
   ‘It’s so windy today I’m really glad I had a piece of chocolate cake last night or else I would have been blown away out here,’ said the slender Russian, who has only dropped three games in her two matches so far.
   ‘When it’s windy like this you never know what to expect.’
   Hewitt served superbly in his first match at the Open to outplay Spaniard Costa from start to finish on Arthur Ashe Court.
   The Australian, who lost last year’s final to Roger Federer, wrapped up victory over the world number 104 in 80 minutes with a crunching backhand service return winner.
   ‘It was extremely tough conditions,’ Hewitt said. ‘So it was one match that you just wanted to get under your belt and get back into the locker room as quickly as possible.’
   Following the late withdrawal through injury of Marat Safin and the exit of British 12th seed Tim Henman on Tuesday, Slovakian 15th seed Dominik Hrbaty is the highest seed left in Hewitt’s quarter of the draw.
   The 2001 champion could, however, face top seed Federer in the semi-finals. Clijsters initially found the weather and Colombian opponent Fabiola Zuluaga more difficult to cope with before earning a 7-5, 6-0 second-round win.
   The Belgian, who has six titles to her name this year but is still seeking her maiden grand slam title, threw away a 4-1 lead to trail 5-4 in the first set. Clijsters recovered her rhythm to break to love at 5-5 and she romped through the second set.
   Wimbledon champion Venus Williams beat Russian Maria Kirilenko 6-1, 6-3 to move a step closer to a possible fourth round showdown with younger sister Serena, like her, a two-time former champion at Flushing Meadows.
   ‘This is the windiest conditions I’ve ever played in,’ said Venus, who plays Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova in the third round.
   ‘And it was quite hot so there were a lot of factors.’
   Eighth seed Serena, still feeling her way back after knee and ankle trouble, was not at her best but did not need to be to beat Colombia’s Catalina Castano 6-2, 6-2.
   Russia’s Nadia Petrova, seeded nine, also eased through 6-2, 6-0 against Japan’s Aiko Nakamura.
   In the men’s draw Australian Mark Philippoussis’s disappointing year continued in depressing fashion. The 1998 US Open runner-up lost 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 to Slovakia’s Karol Kucera in the first round. Russian Ekaterina Bychkova, who knocked out defending women’s champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round, lost 7-5, 6-1 to Croatian qualifier Ivana Lisjak.

Allan Border has said there is ‘no sign of England wilting and no proof that Australia can lift their game’ ahead of next week’s fifth and final Ashes Test at The Oval.
   England’s three-wicket win last week at Trent Bridge left them 2-1 up and, if nothing else, ended a run of eight successive Ashes defeats that began when former captain Border led Australia to a 4-0 victory in England in 1989.
   Despite being in control for most of the match in Nottingham, England had to survive a fearsome spell from leg-spinner Shane Warne before reaching their target of 129.
   But Australia might have had no hope of retaining the Ashes by now had not rain washed out most of the third day of the third Test at Old Trafford, a match where England were left one wicket short of victory.
   ‘This npower Ashes Series could so easily be 3-1 to England without weather intervention,’ Border said Wednesday.
   ‘England’s tactics have been fantastic. Michael Vaughan’s stature as a captain has grown and his players have enhanced their reputation, in particular Andrew Flintoff who has just got better and better.
   ‘Although the Australians are still in the hunt for the Ashes, every player will need to lift their performance levels several notches to win.
   ‘Whether they can do that is the million dollar question. There is no sign of England wilting and no proof that Australia can lift their game.’
   However, Border said much would depend on the fitness of veteran Australia quick Glenn McGrath, who missed England’s win at Trent Bridge with an elbow problem and the hosts’s two-run win at Edgbaston because of a freak ankle injury when he trod on a ball during the warm-up.
   ‘I still believe the Aussies are capable of turning the tide especially with a fit McGrath back in the side.
   ‘It is no accident that the Aussies have lost the two games in this series in which McGrath has not played in.’
   And Border said Australia captain Ricky Ponting should stop complaining about England’s use of substitute fielders.
   ‘The Australians also seem to be jumping at shadows - worrying about 12th men fielding, questioning decisions - showing clear signs of a team that is under pressure.
   ‘The Aussies will want McGrath back in the team, most likely for Michael Kasprowicz. I think young Shaun Tait - who made his Test debut in Nottingham - did enough to stay in the team. It’s good to have such a raw talent at the team’s disposal.
   ‘If the Oval looks like it might take some spin, the selectors may look to Warne and Stuart MacGill but you do need to pick the right side for the conditions.
   ‘However, it is the batters that have been the most disappointing with Matthew Hayden and Damien Martyn under pressure.
   ‘Regardless, the Aussies will, I’m sure, stick with proven Test performers and expect them to perform in such a ‘do or die’ situation.’
   Meanwhile Mike Gatting, the last England captain to lift the Ashes back in 1986-87, said the health of fast bowler Simon Jones, struggling to be fit following an ankle injury, was England’s only concern.
   ‘He has had a great series and we will all sweat on his fitness. If he doesn’t make it, I think (all-rounder) Paul Collingwood deserves his chance.’
   Gatting added he would be delighted to be deprived of an unwanted record were England to avoid defeat in south London.
   ‘I will be the happiest man in the ground if I can finally hand the mantle (of the last England captain to win the Ashes) to Michael Vaughan.’

England want Australia opening bowler Glenn McGrath to play in the deciding fifth Ashes Test next week, according to Ian Bell.
   ‘Whatever happens, if McGrath is fit we can handle him,’ England’s number four batsman told a news conference at Lord’s on Thursday. ‘We have a belief in the changing room that, no matter who is on the park, we can keep playing our game.
   ‘It would be nice to see McGrath playing at The Oval so that we can regain the Ashes with the best team on the park. That would be the best thing for us.’
   England lead the five-match series 2-1. McGrath was the man of the match in Australia’s victory in the first Test but he missed the second Test with an ankle injury, then the fourth with an elbow problem.
   Bell was speaking at a news conference at Lord’s in the run-up to Saturday’s C&G final between Warwickshire and Hampshire.
   Bell and England team mate Ashley Giles are set to play for Warwickshire, with Kevin Pietersen in the Hampshire line-up for the limited-overs encounter.
   ‘We don’t talk about any aura or anything about McGrath,’ Bell added. ‘We have our gameplans and although we know he is a fantastic, class performer, there is no chat about anything else.’
   Bell said Saturday’s final at Lord’s would be a welcome break from the intensity of the Ashes.
   ‘I still think about England all the time, but as a county cricketer any time you get to go to Lord’s it is a big day.’
   England scraped home by three wickets in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge on Sunday after being set 129 to win. Bell fell for three, top-edging a hook off Brett Lee, but defended the shot.
   ‘What I tried to do and what we are always told to do is to play on instinct, in a positive way,’ he said.
   ‘If it sails for four or six then great, but unfortunately at Trent Bridge I hit it straight to the man. Walking off and thinking about it, I probably wouldn’t have changed it because it was played on instinct.’
   The 23-year-old Bell has scored two half-centuries during the series but only averages 21.37 in eight innings against the Australians.
   ‘I think this series is as tough as it gets, against the best side in the world. I realise Pakistan and India away is tough cricket too, but this is incredible,’ he said.
   ‘I wouldn’t argue if it rained all week. But the way the Ashes have gone, I’m sure there is something in store for The Oval.’

Australia fast bowler Brett Lee has made light of the ongoing row over England’s use of substititute fieldsmen by insisting the Ashes have been played in the ‘best possible spirit’.
   England went 2-1 up in the series with a dramatic three-wicket win at Nottingham’s Trent Bridge ground on Sunday.
   But the result was partly overshadowed by Australia captain Ricky Ponting’s public outburst after being run out by England substitute Gary Pratt.
   However Lee, while backing his skipper, insisted: ‘The cricket has been played in the best spirit possible between two great sides.’
   Australia have been concerned all summer by what they believe is England’s improper use of substitutes in order to rest their fast bowlers.
   But with Pratt on the field for Simon Jones, who is now doubtful for next week’s fifth and final Test at The Oval with an ankle injury and Ponting reacting on the field, before launching an angry tirade at the England dressing room as he walked back in, the Aussie skipper’s timing was off.
   His loss of composure saw Ponting fined 75 per cent of his match fee but he may yet feel it was a price worth paying if referee Ranjan Madugalle orders the umpires to be extra-vigilant in their policing of substitutes in London.
   ‘We are the best of mates off the field but we are playing Test cricket, it is country versus country and with these kind of huge battles there is always going to be that tension,’ Lee added.
   ‘We follow Ricky as our leader and he obviously didn’t agree with what was happening out there with the substitute fielder.
   ‘We always try to play within the spirit of cricket, as fairly as possible, so that is why we will always back Ricky up.
   ‘There have been a few comments about what is going on but we know, within the spirit of cricket, a player can go off the field if he is injured and sometimes a bowler needs to go off if he wants a change of boots.
   ‘None of that is up to us, though, we need to worry about what we are physically doing not about what other teams are doing.’
   Australia have alleged that England are using the current eight-minute allowance for players to be off the field, for warming their bowlers up with massages before they turn their rams over and cooling them down when their spells are finished.
   But Glamorgan paceman Jones, who is having sessions in an oxygen chamber in a bid to speed up his recovery process, said: ‘I proved I had an injury but for them to accuse any of us of resting up is a load of rubbish.
   ‘Usually people just go off to go to the loo and, with the rules as they are, you have only got two overs, which is not exactly much time to rest.’
   England are looking to end a run of eight successive Australian Ashes series win stretching back 16 years.

England’s tour of India next year will comprise three Tests and seven one-day internationals, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said Thursday.
   It added the agreed outline programme, drawn up with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), provisionally has the Test series being played between March 8-29 inclusive with the one-dayers due to take place between April 4-22 inclusive.
   The ECB said it had been told by the BCCI that venues for all tour matches would be confirmed by mid-October.
   England, who play the final Test of the Ashes series against Australia at The Oval next week, travel to Pakistan before the end of this year for a Test and one-day series.
   England will play three Tests - in Multan, Faisalabad and Lahore - and five one-day internationals during the tour from October 26 to December 21.
   But they objected to playing a Test in Karachi on security grounds, opting for a one-day international instead, and there will be no match in the north-western city of Peshawar due to its proximity to the violence-prone border with Afghanistan.
   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.
   However, during Australia’s tour of England, on July 7, some 56 people, including four suicide bombers, died in four separate bomb blasts in London.
   There was a bungled repeat on July 21 when the bombs failed to go off. But Pakistan captain Wasim Akram said the fact Australia continued as planned in England proved his country was being unfairly singled out as a security risk.

Selectors have taken soft options in the past and have to make some tough decisions to prevent a collapse in the Australian cricket team, former selector John Benaud said.
   Australia, firm favourites to retain the Ashes when they arrived in England, must win the final Test at The Oval next week to hang on to the prestigious urn in a series where they have largely struggled.
   Benaud, the younger brother of former Test captain and now distinguished television commentator Richie, was a national selector at the time of Australian cricket’s renaissance under skipper Allan Border from 1988-1993.
   Benaud said current selectors have taken soft options against easier opposition when it would have been better to take a tougher stance.
   He said if the decision-making wasn’t performed in the short term then Australia’s decline as a cricketing superpower could be as rapid as the West Indies’ collapse in the 1990s.
   ‘I don’t think we are in that situation yet but there is certainly more urgency about it now than there was 12 months ago,’ Benaud told The Sydney Morning Herald.
   Benaud said the coming regeneration in Australian cricket was the most challenging it had faced since the 1980s.
   Eleven of the Australian touring team are 30 or older, with star bowlers Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne both 35.
   ‘I’m not sure that age is the main factor, the real difference is the bowling they’re facing,’ Benaud said.
   ‘But age shows in some sloppy fielding—they’re not catching like they used to. (Age) slows your reflexes and the batsmen’s footwork, and I think Adam Gilchrist is a good example of that.
   ‘I’m a great fan of Damien Martyn but I think Damien’s had a fairly easy role through his bad patch (the summer before last) and that’s when I feel he should have been out of the team to slide somebody else in.’
   Australian cricket took some time to recover from the loss of influential players Greg Chappell, Dennis Lillee and Rodney Marsh, who all retired together after the fifth Test against Pakistan in Sydney in January 1984.
   ‘There is a danger of that if you don’t address the problems now ... The West Indies tried to hang on for too long and then they lost players hand over fist,’ Benaud said.
   And another former Test player Dean Jones has described Glenn McGrath’s last-minute bid to play in the fourth Test as selfish.
   Jones, one of Australia’s Ashes heroes in 1989, said McGrath should put the team first and make a decision on his elbow injury three days ahead of the September 8 decider at The Oval.
   ‘If he wants to do another fitness test two days out from the fifth Test, I’ll kick his bum because it’s distracting everyone,’ Jones told radio here.
   ‘How can you have a fitness test on the morning of a match? It’s just uncalled for,’ said Jones, referring to McGrath’s late withdrawal from last week’s fourth Test.
   ‘Whether he likes it or not, it’s not about him, it’s about the team.
   ‘He’s been carrying that elbow injury for a long time and he selfishly went right to the last minute to try to get himself in that team and it’s wrong.
   ‘He has to say three days out ‘I’ll play’. They have to say: ‘Are you ready or not?’. And if he says yes, well let’s get on with it.’

Australia’s golden cricket era looks like coming to an end and it is time to bring in some new blood, New South Wales coach Trevor Bayliss said Thursday.
   ‘It certainly looks like the end of an era,’ Bayliss told Australian Associated Press, after returning from NSW’s pre-season tour of India.
   ‘I’ve got a feeling the selectors might have to make a few changes and look towards the future, in the batting and the bowling.
   ‘It has been a great side but everything has to come to an end.’
   ‘We have a number of players right up there. The seven guys who deserved a lot of credit for us last year could handle the step up,’ Bayliss said.
   ‘Someone like Phil Jaques wouldn’t be out of place if the selectors are looking to replace Matthew Hayden. He wouldn’t let them down and he’s a chance at Australian level this coming summer.’

Australia paceman Shaun Tait is undergoing treatment for a shoulder problem but has been cleared for next week’s final Ashes Test against England.
   The 22-year-old, who made his five-day bow in the fourth Test loss to England at Trent Bridge, has been cleared of serious injury after undergoing scans at a London clinic.
   Team physio Errol Alcott reported Tait was suffering mild shoulder soreness.
   The player is expected to feature in the two-day tour match against Essex at Chelmsford this weekend and to hang on to his place for the crucial fifth Test at The Oval.

Steven Gerrard was back in full training with England on Thursday - enabling Sven-Goran Eriksson to perfect his planned tactical change for Saturday's World Cup qualifier against Wales.
   Eriksson has been weighing up a shift in formation for the match in Cardiff, when Michael Owen is suspended, with his coaching staff ever since the 4-1 defeat in Denmark last month.
   He discussed his ideas with senior players, including Gerrard, David Beckham and Frank Lampard, on Tuesday evening after watching a video of that friendly with the squad.
   The players then experimented with a 4-5-1 system in training on Wednesday, with Shaun Wright-Phillips introduced to the side on the right side of midfield.
   With Joe Cole on the left flank, that would reflect the tactics employed by Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, as well as Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, in giving England greater defensive solidity.
   Eriksson was without Gerrard during Wednesday's session, with the Liverpool midfielder still working out on his own with physio Gary Lewin following a calf injury.
   However, Gerrard was set to be fully involved with the rest of the squad this morning at Arsenal's London Colney training ground, putting him in the frame to start Saturday's game.
   That would have given Eriksson the perfect opportunity to experiment with the new tactical line-up with his first-choice side, albeit with Owen missing through suspension.
   Owen's absence, coupled with the second-half collapse against Denmark, has nevertheless prompted the shift in thinking, with Jermain Defoe now at risk of missing out on a starting role and Wright-Phillips poised for his first competitive start.
   Eriksson has listened to the views of senior players in the past, most notably during Euro 2004, when he abandoned his diamond system in favour of a flat midfield.
   However, it is understood he will use Friday's press conference ahead of the game in Cardiff to maintain that he remains in full control of his team selection and tactics.
   Rooney's lone forward role, with Cole and Wright-Phillips on the flanks, could put even greater demands on the teenager's shoulders.
   However, when asked about the expectations on him ever since Euro 2004, the United forward insisted, 'I don't think it is too much pressure.
   'I am a professional player, I love playing football and, as long as I have given my best, then hopefully it will all go right for us.
   'Obviously you get nervous before any game, but when you walk out on to the pitch, you have got to try to blank everything out and concentrate on the match.
   'If you can do that and then give your best, you can't ask for much more.
   'I have quite a few caps now and have scored a few goals, plus there are a lot more players in the squad that I've played with or against at club level, so I'm a lot more settled than when I first got into the team.'

France are relying on the Zidane factor to see them through the rest of their World Cup qualifiers with maximum points.
   Coach Raymond Domenech said on Thursday that France, fourth in European Group Four, cannot afford to drop a point in their four remaining qualifiers starting with the Faroe Islands in Lens on Saturday.
   'Things are simple,' Domenech told a news conference at France's training camp outside Paris. 'We can't afford another mishap. What we need is four wins to make it to the World Cup.'
   France are three points behind group leaders Ireland, who they meet in Dublin next Wednesday. They are away to second-placed Switzerland next month before hosting Cyprus in their last game.
   Playmaker Zinedine Zidane's return to the squad has boosted confidence and the change of mood in the camp was evident in the smile on the face of the normally stern Domenech.
   'Something has changed in the squad since he made his comeback,' said striker Djibril Cisse. 'It's not like before. It seems more calm, more relaxed.'
   Zidane showed touches of his unique style in his first match for France in more than a year, a 3-0 victory over Ivory Coast in a friendly in Montpellier last month.
   'Zizou' did not look at his best but scored a goal and brought a measure of patience back to the team.
   'I can't explain why but I'm certain we are going to do great for the next qualifying matches,' Cisse added. 'We are going out there to play and win.'
   Defender William Gallas agreed on the importance of Zidane's influence.
   'Zidane is the team's maestro,' he said. 'With him, you can adapt your strategy during a match. Everybody needs a guy like him on his side. Now, when I get the ball what I do first is look for him to pass it.
   'His performance in Montpellier confirmed that we were missing him. Many things are different now and we are looking forward to the qualifiers.'

Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro has questioned the ranking system used by FIFA which could see the Azzurri unseeded should they qualify for next year's World Cup finals.
   The rankings, which has Italy in 13th place behind Mexico and the United States, may be used as one the criteria for the seeding process for the Germany tournament next year.
   Speaking ahead of their Group Five qualifiers away to Scotland on Saturday and Belarus the following Wednesday, Cannavaro believes Italy deserve a higher ranking because they have won the World Cup three times.
   'I don't understand FIFA's ranking system at all,' said the Juventus defender whose Italy team have a four-point lead at the top of the group, and with four games left to play are on the brink of qualification.
   'We're behind the United States in 13th place. Have they won a World Cup?
   'For me, Italy are always in the top 10. Before the European championships in 2000 we were ranked 20th and we reached the final.
   'Next year we could play Brazil straight away and that would be very strange.'
   FIFA media officer Andreas Herren told AFP a meeting to discuss the criteria for World Cup seedings will take place in Leipzig in December.
   'Nothing has been decided yet, it will be discussed in Leipzig,' he said.
   'FIFA rankings may be used as one of the criteria. Once the criteria, which will take past results into account, has been selected, it will then be decided what weight will be given to them.'
   Looking on the bright side of Italy's ranking, Cannavaro said, 'Maybe it's better like this. Without too much pressure, this team can go far.'
   Only the seven best results per year are currently given full weighting by FIFA, whereas results from the past are given progressively less weighting year by year until they are dropped completely after eight years.
   Current success is rated more highly than past results, so Italy's World Cup wins in 1934, 1938 and 1982 have no influence on their current ranking.
   Looking towards Italy's qualifiers, coach Marcello Lippi urged his side to wrap up qualification with back-to-back wins in Glasgow and Minsk.
   'We have to prove our strength by gaining the points necessary to qualify for the World Cup', he said.
   'That's why we have to go to Scotland and Belarus to win. Two wins would almost certainly guarantee qualification.'
   'Technically we are among the best teams around and physically we are in good shape.
   'Scotland have changed their system and have had some good results in the last few matches. I don't think it will be the same team we beat 2-0 in the home leg at San Siro.'
   Lippi is expected to stick with the 4-3-1-2 formation that proved successful in the 2-1 victory over the Republic of Ireland last month.
   Veteran Angelo Peruzzi will replace the injured Gianluigi Buffon in goal, while Cristian Zaccardo and Gianluca Zambrotta will flank central defenders Cannavaro and Alessandro Nesta.
   Daniele De Rossi is expected to get the nod over Gennaro Gattuso to play alongside Mauro Camoranesi and Andrea Pirlo in midfield, while Francesco Totti should play in the hole behind strikers Alberto Gilardino and Christian Vieri.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has outlined his five-year plan to make the Londoners one of world football's major clubs.
   The Portuguese boss wants the reigning Premiership champions to win three more
   English titles during the four remaining years of his contract and at least one Champions League trophy.
   'I think I can change the mentality a bit of Chelsea and Chelsea players, the club, the team to reach what (Chelsea owner) Roman Abramovich tried to tell me when he was trying to persuade me to come to Chelsea,' Mourinho said Wednesday.
   'We are not yet one of the big clubs in the world and we want to be. Now I have a five-year contract, (the aim) is to make Chelsea dominant in
   England, so we need to win more titles.
   'If for example in this time I can win three more championships with Chelsea and one or two more cups, if we can get a table full of trophies and one Champions League, I think the job is done.'
   Asked how long he would stay in London, Mourinho replied that would depend on his family.
   'You never know. My family will play a role in that.
   ‘We try to educate our children in a way that they can adapt to different situations and culture.
   'My kids were in school in Barcelona, Lisbon, Porto and London, so we try to make them be a world citizen and be
   ready for everything, but I love to be here, I love the life in London.
   'I love football, but I love to be here so I cannot really see into the future of where I will be. Maybe one day they have enough of me and want me to leave,' he added.
   Mourinho will fly to Geneva on Thursday to take part in UEFA's elite coaches forum as part of his attempt to
   make peace with the governing body of European football
   after he was banned by them for two matches last season following remarks about Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard
   and Swedish referee Anders Frisk.
   Chelsea currently top the Premiership table with a perfect played four, won four record and have yet to concede a league goal this season.

Featuring more twists and turns than any soap opera, the long-running sagas involving Michael Essien and Brazilian Robinho dominated the August transfer window.
   French champions Olympique Lyon surprised no-one when they finally relented after almost three months of negotiations by selling Ghana midfielder Essien to Chelsea for 38 million euros ($47.06 million).
   Speculation linking Robinho with a move to Europe went back even further and only reached a conclusion last week when the young Santos striker put pen to paper on a $30 million deal to join Real Madrid.
   A long impasse seemed to be settled in July when Robinho's agent Wagner Ribeiro said nine-times European champions Real had reached agreement to sign the player.
   But Ribeiro was not counting on an intervention from the Brazilian Football Federation, which refused to grant the International Transfer Certificate to allow the move to proceed.
   The tide could not be turned for long though and it was with a grand announcement that Real welcomed their new signing.
   'Today we are going to present one of the great players in the world,' said president Florentino Perez as Robinho gave 8,000 ecstatic Real fans a taste of things to come with a spectacular exhibition of ball skills at the Bernabeu stadium.
   Real's signing of Robinho came close on the heels of their capture of another Brazilian striker, Julio Baptista, from Sevilla for an initial fee of 20 million euros.
   The double swoop for Robinho and Baptista left Michael Owen with little option but to end his brief sojourn to Spain in time for a return to England to join Newcastle United before Wednesday's midnight CET deadline.
   Despite spending a fortune to lure Owen, Scott Parker, Emre Belozoglu and Jean-Alain Boumsong to St James's Park, Newcastle are unlikely to be able to compete on the field with Chelsea this season.
   The English champions splashed out around 21 million pounds on Manchester City winger Shaun-Wright Phillips and 12 million euros on Athletic Bilbao left back Asier Del Horno before having to fight tooth and nail to land Essien.
   'He (Essien) will play for us this season again, there is no doubt about that,' Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas told Reuters in June after rejecting a Chelsea offer of 25 million euros.
   Three weeks later Aulas told the club owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich that they would have to pay 45 million euros to get Essien.
   But Chelsea continued to test Aulas's resolve and the 22-year-old Ghanaian eventually signed for the Londoners for a compromise fee of 38 million euros.
   Lyon dominated the transfer window in France, earning and spending more than any other Ligue 1 side.
   The four-times French champions paid 43.5 million euros on new players, notably Brazilian striker Fred from Cruzeiro and Portugal midfielder Tiago, formerly with Chelsea.
   In Italy, Juventus bolstered last season's title-winning squad with the capture of France midfielder Patrick Vieira from Arsenal.
   AC Milan, desperate to rebound from their Champions League final defeat by Liverpool, acquired two top strikers with Christian Vieri arriving from Inter and Alberto Gilardino from Parma.
   Inter raided Real Madrid for a trio of players, Argentine defender Walter Samuel, Portuguese winger Luis Figo and Argentine midfielder Santiago Solari.
   In Germany, the usual flow of top players from lesser clubs to Bayern Munich abated during the window.
   Champions Bayern bought French centre back Valerien Ismael from Werder Bremen for eight million euros but were busier offloading players than buying.
   VfB Stuttgart sold Alexander Hleb to Arsenal for 15 million euros while Bulgarian Martin Petrov left VfL Wolfsburg for Atletico Madrid for eight million euros.
   Spanish champions Barcelona, who spent more than 60 million euros before the start of the 2004-05 season, spent nothing this time round.
   Their two new recruits, Mark van Bommel and Santi Ezquerro, joined Barca on free transfers from PSV Eindhoven and Athletic Bilbao respectively.
   European Cup winners Liverpool were busy in the window, bringing in several players including Southampton striker Peter Crouch for around seven million pounds, goalkeeper Pepe Reina, midfielder Boudewijn Zenden and winger Mark Gonzales.
   Manager Rafael Benitez also showed the door to Milan Baros, El Hadji Diouf, Igor Biscan and Vladimir Smicer among others.

Argentine legend Diego Maradona says Barcelona has on it's books the world's two best players - Ronaldinho and teenage whiz Lionel Messi.
   Messi was a guest on Maradona's glittering talkshow on Monday night and the ex-Napoli and Barca star declared, 'I see Messi as being very similar to me. He is the best player in the world along with Ronaldinho.
   'He has no problem with his control. He can take the ball with speed and that is the difference between himself and everyone else. The talent he has is extraordinary.
   'Messi won't be any better - nor any worse - than Maradona.'

World Player of the Year Ronaldinho has agreed to extend his contract with Spanish champions Barcelona for another two years until 2010, the club said on Wednesday.
   The 25-year-old Brazilian joined Barcelona from Paris St Germain on a five-year deal for a fee of 25 million euros ($30.50 million) in 2003.
   After several days of intense negotiations between Ronaldinho's brother Roberto de Assis and the club the two parties agreed to extend the deal to 2010 rather than 2014 as first envisaged.
   The club said that the player's buy-out clause had been increased to 125 million euros and that the new contract included a provision for a further extension to the deal.
   The decision to renew the Brazilian's contract forms part of the club's policy to guarantee the continuity of the backbone of the present team.

Arsenal's Jens Lehmann is confident he will be keeping Germany's goal when they try to win the World Cup next year.
   Lehmann believes he has overtaken Bayern Munich's Oliver Kahn and will get Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann's approval in the year-ending friendlies.
   Lehmann is scheduled to keep goal against Slovakia on September 3 at Brastislava, South Africa on September 7 at Bremen and France on November 12 at Paris.
   Kahn takes over against Turkey at Istanbul on October 8 and China at Hamburg on October 12.
   'I'm sure I'll be in goal,' Lehmann told Bild.
   'I've been consistent for the last three or four years and it will make the difference.'
   But he admitted he had a short fuse.
   'I could play three or four matches and then get a red card,' he said.
   'But I'll play.'
   Sepp Maier, the 1974 World Cup winning goalkeeper, has called on Klinsmann to stop changing his keepers.
   'Oliver Kahn is without doubt the number one,' he said.
   But Klinsmann has said he will not name his first-choice keeper until just before the 2006 tournament kicks off.

Brazilian soccer hero Ronaldo says there’s nothing like a good game to divert people’s minds from a political crisis.
   Brazil’s national soccer team is preparing for Sunday’s World Cup qualifying match against Chile in the capital of Brasilia as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s government struggles amid campaign funding questions and allegations of bribery.
   A win would assure Brazil, the reigning world champion, a place in the World Cup finals in Germany next summer.
   ‘The political moment is not good and football always brings happiness to the Brazilian people, especially if we succeed in qualifying for the cup,’ said Ronaldo, who also plays for Real Madrid.
   ‘It’s going to help the government because it will distract attention (from the crisis),’ he told reporters at the team’s training camp in Teresopolis.
   Lula’s government and the ruling Workers’ Party have been accused of illegal campaign funding and political bribery in a saga that has dominated the media for three months and weakened the government’s popularity.
   Lula, a keen soccer player and a supporter of the Sao Paulo side Corinthians, has been invited to attend the match.

Real Madrid said Thursday they had bought highly-rated Spain defender Sergio Ramos out of his contract with Sevilla for 27 millions d'euros.
   Ramos, 19, who is to join on an eight-year contract, is the first Spaniard to arrive since president Florentino Perez took over in 2000.
   He is the sixth most expensive signing in the club's history - only Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Ronaldo, David Beckham and Nicolas Anelka cost more.
   The Ramos deal brings Real's summer spending on new players to 90 million euros.
   Ramos follows in the footsteps of Brazilian forward Julio Baptista, who moved to Real for 24 million euros from Sevilla at the start of August.

Newcastle new boy Michael Owen has vowed to match Alan Shearer's goalscoring exploits at St James' Park.
   The 25-year-old arrived on Tyneside to a hero's welcome on Wednesday after completing his Ł17million move, and manager Graeme Souness will hope the goals start flowing immediately when he makes his debut against Fulham a week on Saturday.
   'There is a great tradition up here about the number nine at Newcastle and I will do my best, that is all I can say, to try to provide goals and wins and medals and everything else like I have always done,' he said.
   Owen has been recruited initially as a partner for Shearer, but ultimately to replace him when he retires at the end of the season.
   Having made an excellent job of filling the 35-year-old's boots at international level, the former Liverpool and Real Madrid hitman faces the task of doing the same in his own backyard. And although that is a big ask - Shearer has plundered 194 goals in his nine years at St James' - Owen is determined to make a similar impact.
   'You can only do your best. Alan is a different type of player to me, obviously, so Newcastle fans are not going to see a like-for-like player coming in to the team - but hopefully, they will see a like-for-like stream of goals coming.'

MSC rule out BU allegation
Mohammedan Sporting Club (MSC) Thursday ruled out the allegation of match-fixing raised by Brothers Union on the match between the Mohammedans and Muktijoddha Sangsad. Mohammedan SC beat Muktijoddha Sangsad 2-0 to reach the top of the points table. MSC’s additional general secretary Mustaqur Rahman, in his protest letter, said Brothers Union, who were accused of match fixing by leading clubs and now under investigation, have been trying to survive from being punished by raising such imaginary allegations against the Mohammedans. Brothers Union Wednesday brought charges of match-fixing against Mohammedan SC and Muktijoddha Sangsad KC. Brothers Union also threatened the Dhaka Metropolitan Football League Committee (DMFLC) to boycott the ongoing league and upcoming national league, schedule to start September 15, unless those involved in match-fixing are brought to justice within 48 hours.
— BD News

Pran Cola School Football results
Titas and St. Joseph got huge victories in the Pran Cola School Football Tournament Thursday. Titas Gas High School defeated Wari High School 8-0 in the group `A’ of the zone-1 while in the group `D’ of zone-4 Sent Joseph High School beat Shaheed Abu Taher High School by the same margin. In the `B’ of the zone-1, Mannan High School outplayed Shah Noori Model High School 2-1 while in the group `C’ of zone-4 Mirpur Bangla High School defeated Maniknagar Model High School 6-1. Armanitola Govt High School made a goalless draw with Rahmatullah Model High School in the group `A’ of the zone-2 while in the group `B’ of the same zone Segun Bagicha High School beat Collegiate Govt High School 4-0. In the group `C’ of the zone-3 Birsreshtho Munshi Abdur Rouf Rifles School made a goalless draw with Enam Children Academy while in the group `D’ of the same zone Shaheed Zia High School outplayed Islambagh Ashraf Ali High School 1-0.
— BD News

BDR Continue
winning spree
Bangladesh Rifles continued their winning spree when they beat archrivals Bangladesh Police 35- 20 in the Cute Premier Division Handball League at the handball ground Thursday. The winners led the first half 20-8. Saiduzzaman netted the highest 13 goals,. Nur-e-Alam scored nine goals for the Police. In the other match of the day, Dhaka Mariners Young Club beat Old Ideals 12-4 after leading the first half 9-4. Mariners’ Rony scored seven
goals.
— BD News

Miraj’s father
no more
Nuru Miah, the father of national hockey player Mirajul Ahsan, died of cardiac arrest at his Faridpur residence on Wednesday. He was 70. Bangladesh Hockey Players Welfare Association expressed their deep condolence at the death of Nuru Miah and also conveyed deepest sympathy to the bereaved family.
— New Age