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Indian cricketers are seen gloomy faced after their defeat against Sri Lanka at the Queen's Park Oval, in Port-of-Spain on Friday. — AFP photo

Will this be the day when Bangladesh finally arrives? For today is the Tigers’ day of reckoning.
   A newspaper as venerable as the Observer of London paid the Bangladesh cricket team a most generous compliment when it wrote, after the Tigers’ upset victory over fancied India on March 17, ‘…and then there were nine. For some time now Bangladesh have been recognised as the largest of the minnows. Now they have moved beyond that. They can live with the big boys.’
   Indeed, it was not just the fact that Bangladesh had defeated their mighty neighbours, but also the unmistakably comprehensive nature of that victory — outplaying cricketing legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and company in every department of the game, and with such ease — that had elicited such heady praise.
   And perhaps much of it was deserved, given that for anybody who bothered to follow the rising star of the Bangladesh cricket team over the last couple of years, the victory over India was not a fluky, chancy one-off event but a reflection of how the team has progressed exponentially — in talent, in execution, in temperament, and most crucially, in consistency — since the debacle that was the last World Cup in South Africa in 2003. But in the record books it will remain a one-off. Unless, of course, it is proven not to be so.
   Today, when Habibul Bashar leads his men into the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad, looking to complete what would otherwise be a routine disposal of Bermuda, they will be fighting not only for a place in the next stage of the World Cup, the ‘super eights’, but also a chance to prove, once and for all, that they are no more one-hit wonders.
   Yes, the opponents on the day are minnows even by Bangladesh’s standards, and yes, the Tigers are expected to win as easily as they did the two warm-up games they played against the same opposition the last month. Then why the fanfare?
   Because today’s match may well not prove to be the most challenging or the most memorable in the annals of Bangladesh cricket, but if the expected victory is achieved, it will undoubtedly be the most momentous game of cricket our boys will have played till date.
   Victory today will propel Bangladesh, for the first time, into the second round of the World Cup. There giants such as Australia, South Africa, the West Indies and Sri Lanka await them. And it is there, and against such illustrious opposition, that the Tigers can prove that they do, indeed, belong.
   Of course, they wouldn’t be expected to win all their matches — and they very well could not win any except another probably routine affair against fellow surprise package Ireland. But, as with the Observer’s comments following the India game, their newfound status will be measured, at least in these initial stages, not by victories but by performance.
   It is in the way they bat, the way they bowl and the way they field — hopefully not overawed and wide-eyed but more considered and professional, even if slightly short of talent and class — and in doing so consistently over the number of games that the super eights will provide them with, that they can prove their ability to ‘live with the big boys’.
   Of course, before all that can happen, there is the small matter of a game to win this evening.
   The opponents might be lowly Bermuda, and Bangladesh might be runaway favourites on the day, but as far as matches go, they don’t come as huge as this.
   For it is the Tigers’ day of reckoning.

Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar is not prepared to take a Super Eight spot for granted. The Tigers only need a win against Bermuda in their last Group B match of the World Cup today to qualify. The job became straight forward following India’s 69-run loss to Sri Lanka in a crucial game at the Queen’s Park Oval on Friday but the skipper was cautiously confident.
   ‘I have to say we are a little relieved. Relieved because if India had won then there would not have been any realistic chance of us progressing. Now we feel we have a genuine scope of making it,’ said Bashar who revealed that the team followed closely the proceedings at the Oval.
   ‘Someone was listening to radio commentary of the game at the practice ground and the players were constantly asking the score. When the training started we became busy but as the Oval was just across the road we could hear the crowd and whenever there was a cheer coming out it worried me because it meant Sri Lanka had lost a wicket,’ said Bashar. ‘There was only partial coverage of the match available on television as the West Indies-Ireland game was being broadcast. At one time I was getting the news from Dhaka over phone. My wife hadn’t slept even though it was very late at night and watched the entire game as our survival in the competition dependent on a Lankan win and I have heard that everyone back home followed the match on TV,’ added Bashar.
   Bermuda have been swept aside by Sri Lanka and India in the group matches and recently the Tigers’ thrashed them by eight wickets in a warm-up game in Antigua. But Bashar said the game against the ICC Associates would be a serious one for them.
   ‘I’d be lying if I said that there is no pressure on us. Off course there will be pressure because a win would get us into the Super Eight of the World Cup. That is why I will sit with the players today to discuss our mental preparation for the match. For us the Bermuda match will be more of a mental test than a skill related one.’
   ‘What pleases me though is the fact that the boys badly want to play in the Super Eight. After not finding the Lanka-India match on TV some of the players went down to the Oval to watch the game as they were very tense.’
   The Bangladesh team offered Juma prayers on Friday at the Nur Islam Mosque in downtown Port-of-Spain. The presence of the players there was met with tremendous excitement and the Imam of the mosque arranged a special prayer for the Tigers.
   ‘That felt really fulfilling. The mosque authority offered us cakes and drinks and the Imam prayed for us. They were very, very pleased to have the Bangladesh team there,’ said Bashar.
   Bangladesh, who will qualify as the second team of the group if they win against Bermuda, may have to take on world champions Australia on March 31 but the Tigers captain was not looking that far ahead. ‘We still have a job to do. We are not thinking about the Super Eight yet. We need a committed and spirited performance against Bermuda and that is our main focus. We are taking one game at a time,’ Bashar said.
   Bashar also gave his views on India’s debacle in the World Cup terming it positive in the greater interest of the game and supported the competition’s format which has put 16 sides split evenly in four groups instead of the previous format where there were just two groups.
   ‘This is good for world cricket. It shows that cricket is expanding. We have played some very good cricket and Ireland have also qualified by playing well.’
   ‘It is true that if you have two groups then you get more matches and have a better chance of recovering from a bad result but those who are criticizing the current format should also remember that the so-called big teams actually wanted it so that they don’t have to play ‘inconsequential’ matches against weaker teams! If you are a top side then you should have what it takes to qualify.’
   Bashar said there was a significant difference between vowing to reach the Super Eight before leaving Bangladesh and actually getting close to it.
   ‘Back home when I said that it was a case of setting a target. After winning against India we found out that it was a definite possibility.’
   The Tigers had a net session at the St Mary’s College Grounds on Friday morning. Left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak was rested because of a minor groin problem and only batted.
   ‘He should be okay. It’s nothing serious. We told him not to bowl today as a precaution,’ said Bashar.
   The Tigers are scheduled to train at the Oval today noon.

Defending champions Australia rode on opener Matthew Hayden’s fastest World Cup hundred to beat world number one South Africa by 83 runs in a Group A match at Warner Park here on Saturday.
   Hayden hit his 100 off just 66 balls while Michael Clarke (92) and skipper Ricky Ponting (91) joined the run feast as Australia piled up their highest World Cup score of 377-6 after being put in to bat.
   South Africa were cruising along at 184-1 in reply after 25 overs on the back of a robust opening stand of 160 between captain Graeme Smith (74) and AB de Villiers (92) before they were bowled out for 294 in 48 overs.
   The win gave two extra points to the defending champions in the next round Super Eights and extra confidence in their bid to achieve hat-trick of World Cup titles.
   Smith and De Villiers gave the Australian bowlers no respite before they collapsed to lose their last nine wickets for 74 runs.
   De Villiers showed his intentions by sending Nathan Bracken’s fourth ball of the innings to the ropes before going on to complete his half-century off 47 deliveries.
   The 23-year-old De Villiers hit three successive boundaries off Andrew Symonds before failing to beat Clarke’s direct hit at the striker’s end from deep square-leg while returning for a second run.
   He hit 14 boundaries and two well-timed sixes during his 70-ball knock which set the foundation, but once Smith returned to the pavilion with cramps, their innings faltered.
   Left-arm spinner Brad Hogg accounted for Herschelle Gibbs (17) before Glenn McGrath removed Ashwell Prince (one) to trigger a middle-order collapse.
   Paceman Shaun Tait came into his own with wickets of Mark Boucher (22) and Justin Kemp (one) to shake the Proteas before Hogg dismissed the returning Smith and Jacques Kallis (48).
   Hogg finished with 3-60.
   Earlier, Hayden hit 101 and put on 106 for the first wicket with Adam Gilchrist (42) to set the tone for a high-scoring contest at the compact Warner Park ground.
   The 35-year-old Hayden beating the previous best quickest World Cup century off 67 balls which was set by Canada’s John Davison against the West Indies at Centurion in 2003.
   He achieved the record with a six off Smith.
   The South Africans were sloppy in the field, twice dropping Clarke to add to their bowling problems. Spearhead Shaun Pollock went for 83 runs in his 10 wicketless overs, while Makhaya Ntini went for 68 in his nine with one wicket.
   Hayden was the more aggressive of the two openers, hitting Pollock for a boundary and two sixes in the fifth over to bring up Australia’s 50.
   Gilchrist hit six boundaries and a six in his run-a-ball knock.
   Clarke in the company of his skipper gave impetus to the innings, putting on a rapid 161-run for the third wicket off 130 deliveries to boost the total.
   Australia’s previous Cup highest was 359-2 made against India at Johannesburg in the 2003 final.
   Ponting, who completed 10,000 one-day runs when on eight, hit eight boundaries and two sixes during his 91-ball knock.
   Ponting hit a six off Andrew Hall over long on, to become the seventh batsmen to score 10,000 or more runs in one-day internationals.
   India’s Sachin Tendulkar leads the group with 14,847 runs from 384 one-dayers ahead of Inzamam-ul-Haq (11,739), Sanath Jayasuriya (11,675), Sourav Ganguly (10,632), Brian Lara (10,217) and Rahul Dravid (10,125).

Ed Joyce’s 75 helped see England to a seven-wicket victory in the winner-takes-all clash against Kenya here Saturday that booked their place in the Super Eight phase of the World Cup.
   England, set 178 to win in a match reduced by rain to 43 overs per side, finished on 178 for three at the Beausejour Cricket Ground, with 10 overs to spare.
   Joyce and Kevin Pietersen, who was dropped on seven before making 56 not out, put on for 103 for the third wicket after England had wobbled at 52 for two. Paul Collingwood was unbeaten on 18.
   Both England and Kenya knew a victory would see them join Group C winners New Zealand in the second stage of the World Cup.
   England had an early setback when captain Michael Vaughan was brilliantly caught for one, by a diving Collins Obuya at backward point, after a Peter Ongondo delivery got ‘big’ on the batsman.
   Ian Bell, who’d almost run himself out on 15, fell for 16 when he lofted Thomas Odoyo straight to substitute fieldsman Rajesh Bhudia at mid-off.
   Pietersen then settled England nerves by getting off the mark first ball with an off-driven four against Thomas Odoyo.
   Joyce, 28, cut Odoyo’s fellow seamer Lameck Onyango for four and, two balls later, pulled the seamer for six.
   Pietersen was then dropped off left-arm spinner Hiren Varaiya’s first ball by wicket-keeper Maurice Ouma after the bowler had taken the outside edge as the South African-born batsman pushed forward.
   Joyce, who only made his England debut against Ireland in Belfast in June, completed a 59-ball fifty with seven boundaries in all.
   It was Joyce’s fourth score of fifty or more at this level in 15 matches.
   Pietersen, England’s best one-day batsman, who swept Varaiya for six, reached his half-century in 54 balls with six fours.
   Joyce took England to the brink of victory before he was bowled by Kenya captain Steve Tikolo’s ‘doosra’ to leave his side 155 for three.
   Earlier, Andrew Flintoff marked his England return with two wickets as Kenya were bowled out for 177.
   Kenya captain Steve Tikolo top scored with 76 in an innings where no other batsman made more than Jimmy Kamande’s 17.
   Flintoff’s Lancashire team-mate James Anderson led England’s attack with two for 27. Paul Collingwood took two for 33 and Flintoff two for 35.

Bangladesh can grab a World Cup Super Eights place today by beating Bermuda and send mighty India crashing out at the same time.
   Only a dramatic reversal in form can stop Bangladesh from marching into the second round for the first time since making their World Cup debut in England in 1999.
   Habibul Bashar’s team began the tournament on a sensational note when they defeated higher-ranked India by five wickets in their opening match here. That win alone was enough to boost their chances of entering the Super Eights.
   They lost their second match against Sri Lanka, but that is not likely to affect their chances after India’s below-par performances in the four-team group.
   Sri Lanka qualified for the next round with an all-win record, virtually knocking India out of the tournament in the process with an emphatic 69-run victory in their last game here on Friday.
   India finished their group campaign on a disastrous note as they won just one game against Bermuda, the weakest side in the group.
   Bangladesh won two Cup matches in 1999 and none in 2003, but are poised to better their record in the one-day event this time.
   They looked a better side against India as they batted, bowled and fielded brilliantly, with their teenagers raising their performances when it mattered most.
   India could manage just 191 against an inspired Bangladeshi side, with only Sourav
   Ganguly (66) and Yuvraj
   Singh (47) keeping their batting reputations intact against a disciplined pace-spin combination.
   Fast bowler Mashrafee bin Murtaza denied India a sound start with two early wickets on a pitch which offered both bounce and movement early in the innings. Spinners Abdur Razzak and Mohammad Rafique then grabbed three wickets apiece.
   Bangladesh were well-served by their teenagers Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahman and Saqibul Hasan, who slammed impressive half-centuries to help their team achieve the target with more than an over to spare.
   Bashar is looking forward to another good show from
   his young and enthusiastic
   side against Bermuda as they are on the verge of making history.
   Bermuda have so far not posed any threat to big sides in the group matches, losing by 243 runs to Sri Lanka and by a record 257 runs to India.
   Their batting failed to click in both the matches as they managed just 78 against Sri Lanka and 156 against India.
   David Hemp, who plays for English county Glamorgan, is the only batsman with a half-century, against India.
   Teams
   Bangladesh (from): Habibul Bashar (capt), Shahriar Nafees, Tamim Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed, Saqibul Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Rafique, Abdur Razzak, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shahadat Hossain, Tapash Baisya,
   Syed Rasel, Rajin Saleh, Javed Omar.
   Bermuda (from): Irvine Romaine (capt), Dean Minors, Delyone Borden, Lionel Cann, David Hemp, Kevin Hurdle, Malachi Jones, Stefan Kelly, Dwayne Leverock, Saleem Mukuddem, Stephen Outerbridge, Oliver Pitcher, Clay Smith, Janeiro Tucker, Kwame Tucker.

India skipper Rahul Dravid said he was willing to take full responsibility for his team’s miserable World Cup campaign.
   ‘I am not sitting here and trying to shirk responsibility. I am the first one to stand up and say that we should have done better and it starts with me,’ said Dravid.
   India virtually bowed out of the tournament after suffering a 69-run defeat to Sri Lanka here on Friday, their second in the four-team Group B.
   The loss means India are left hoping that a hapless Bermuda can beat Bangladesh here on Sunday to hand them a World Cup lifeline.
   ‘I am not trying to put the responsibility on anyone. Until about 24 hours ago, I truly believed that we would still be in this tournament. I take full responsibility for the fact that we haven’t progressed to the next round.’
   It was India’s worst performance in the event since the 1979 World Cup in England. They were the champions in 1983, semi-finalists in 1987 and 1996, and runners-up in 2003.
   Sri Lanka qualified for the next Super Eight stage with an all-win record, while Bangladesh are on the verge of making it to the next round.
   Despite the loss, Dravid would not speculate on his future.
   ‘I was appointed captain till the World Cup. So, I am not even the captain at this point of time. It’s not my decision to make,’ said Dravid, whose side won just one of their three games, against Bermuda.
   Dravid said he was hugely disappointed with his team’s virtual exit from the tournament as they had prepared well.
   ‘It’s very disappointing. It’s not a nice thing to lose in the early part of the World Cup. We have invested a lot of time and effort in it and it has not gone our way,’ he said.
   ‘It’s a big event and you really want to do well, but sports is like that. Sometimes, your best plans and all your ideas just don’t work. We did not play well in this tournament and did not deserve to go into the second round.’
   Dravid said the players were disappointed because they had worked hard for the event.
   ‘Nobody realises the enormity of the defeat than the players themselves. The players are the ones who put in a lot of time. They worked really hard for this. It is an opportunity they get once in four years,’ he said.
   ‘It is something that you really look forward to in your career. So no-one understands the enormity of this more than the players. Definitely, there is a lot of introspection and disappointment in the dressing-room.
   ‘It’s a lot of their dreams, a lot of their hopes that go into tournaments like this. When it doesn’t work out, they feel more than anyone else.’
   Dravid conceded that his team’s five-wicket defeat in the opening game against Bangladesh affected their chances of making it to the second round.
   ‘We had a bad game against Bangladesh where we did not really bat well upfront. That sort of put pressure on us. Today again, we did not play well enough,’ he said.
   ‘The way the tournament is structured you have one banana skin game and you can be out of the tournament quite quickly. In the first game against Bangladesh, we did not play anywhere near our potential.
   ‘In a tournament like this, you have one bad day and you could be in big trouble and that’s what happened to Pakistan and India.’

Well it’s time for Bangladesh cricketers to play a World Cup match with relatively no tension. All that Habibul Bashar and company will have to do is to play their natural game. Bermuda are no match for Bangladesh’s prowess and a normal performance will see them through to the dream Super Eight phase. I urge Bangladesh cricketers to think of nothing but victory. Underestimating the opponents at the top level of cricket is a dangerous thing and Bangladesh, ably guided by coach Whatmore, just need to perform to the best of their abilities.
   Playing in the Super Eights of World Cup, an unprecedented experience for the lads, would be the most precious achievement for the country. The cricketers for sure feel the heartbeats of the millions of the cricket lovers of Bangladesh who bloat with pride at the meteoric rise of
   the cricket team.
   I enjoyed the high-voltage match between Sri Lanka and India. This is an atmosphere a World Cup match would present to the viewers.
   Team spirit, self-belief and confidence prevailed over off-form, lack of team spirit and indiscipline in the much-hyped match between Sri Lanka and India. In Bangladesh’s point of view Sri Lanka’s victory was very important but in reality the poor performance by India was to blame. With the top-calibre batting line-up India failed to produce the right thing at the right moment.
   An experienced player like Sourav Ganguly suddenly loses his cool and tries to play an ambitious shot just to hole out to evergreen Muralitharan was not expected. Sourav may have played 23 balls for his seven runs but his dismissal showed that the Indians were not in their right frame of mind.
   The disastrous run-out of Yuvraj Singh when skipper Rahul Dravid was also at the crease was an eye-sore. The Indian batsmen were under too much pressure for an unknown reason, some of the players have the experience of playing hundreds of ODIs but they were reduced to ashes by their self-kindled fire.
   On the other hand, the charged up and spirited Sri Lankans showed they are the team to beat. When players like Sanath Jayasuirya and Muralitharan – the old war horses – play their hearts out, it motivates the other youngsters who eager and hungry for success.

Former India great Kapil Dev lashed out at Rahul Dravid’s under-performing team on Saturday, saying they did not deserve to progress in the World Cup.
   Another great Sunil Gavaskar hinted coach Greg Chappell’s future was on the line after India were virtually knocked out of the World Cup following the 69-run defeat against Sri Lanka on Friday.
   Only an unlikely victory by first-timers Bermuda over Bangladesh on Sunday will ensure India’s back-door entry into the Super Eights, a prospect Dev did not welcome.
   ‘It is shameful that we have to rely on Bermuda to stay in the tournament,’ the 1983 World Cup winning captain said on Aaj Tak television.
   ‘I hope that does not happen because Bangladesh deserve to go into the second round since they had also defeated India.
   ‘All credit to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. India were pathetic and not good enough to remain in the tournament.’
   Gavaskar, speaking on ESPN, said he doubted if
   former Australian captain Chappell’s contract as India coach will be renewed after the World Cup.
   ‘I think there is a big question mark on Greg’s future,’ said Gavaskar, who was on the panel which appointed Chappell for a two-year term in 2005.
   ‘He was brought in with the specific aim of taking India to the top two teams in the world and that has not happened. His position will be debated.’
   Gavaskar urged the Indian cricket board to act quickly
   since India are due to tour Bangladesh for two Test matches and three one-day internationals in May.
   Gavaskar, however, hoped that Dravid would remain captain despite the World Cup debacle.
   ‘Rahul is 34 and you do not sack captains at 34 when they are peaking,’ he said.
   ‘I don’t see any reason for a change because Dravid has not shown any sign of pressure. His batting has not faltered.’
   Disappointed Indian fans did not react violently as they had done last week after the defeat by Bangladesh when miscreants attacked wicket-keeper Mahendra Dhoni’s unfinished house in the eastern town of Ranchi.
   ‘Of course I am disgusted by the way the team played, the whole lot should be sacked,’ said Delhi student Shaumik Bose. ‘But damaging homes is no way to go about it.’
   Dev blamed lack of commitment by the senior players for the defeat, while Gavaskar said the team did not have the temperament to deal with crunch situations.
   ‘To raise the game when it matters most requires discipline and temperament and the players did not show it,’ said Gavaskar.
   ‘This is nothing new. Indian cricketers have lacked these qualities since a long time, ever since I began playing in the early 1970s.’

Pakistani cricket coach Bob Woolmer received no threats prior to his murder, was not involved in match-fixing and nothing he wrote can explain his killing, his family said Friday.
   ‘To the best of the family’s knowledge there is absolutely nothing to suggest Bob was involved in match fixing,’ said a statement issued by Woolmer’s wife Gill and sons Dale and Russell from Cape Town.
   ‘Contrary to reports, we can confirm there is nothing in any book Bob has written that would explain this situation and there were no threats received,’ they added.
   There has been speculation that the killing was carried out by criminals keen to avoid exposure in claims of match-fixing which may have arisen in a book Woolmer was planning to write.
   Jamaican police earlier said Woolmer might have known the person who strangled him in his hotel room.
   ‘Clearly he let somebody into his hotel room and it may be that he knew who that person was,’ Jamaica’s deputy police commissioner Mark Shields told BBC radio in London.
   ‘It seems difficult to believe at this stage it was a complete stranger.’
   Former England international Woolmer, 58, was found unconscious in his room Sunday and declared dead in hospital, a day after Pakistan’s shock defeat to minnows Ireland saw the 1992 World Cup winners crash out of this year’s competition.
   His family reacted with shock to the news that the ‘wonderful father and husband’ was murdered.
   ‘The news from Jamaica about Bob’s death is devastating. It’s very difficult for the family to come to terms with and they have no idea why this happened,’ said the statement.
   ‘He gave his life to the service of cricket and cricketers and endeared himself to anyone who came into contact with him.
   ‘He always had time for those who approached him, either for an interview or for a chat.’
   They described Woolmer as a unique character with a ‘cheerful nature, positive outlook on life and a never-give-up attitude.
   ‘Bob would definitely have wanted the World Cup to continue.’
   Meanwhile, the body of Bob Woolmer will remain in Jamaica while an inquest is conducted, local media reported, amid rumors match-fixing gangs may have been involved in the killing.
   Jamaican authorities ordered an inquest be held before a jury as soon as possible, TVJ television station said.
   It said Woolmer’s family had been notified of the decision to keep the body in Jamaica until the inquest is concluded.
   The Pakistani team’s physiotherapist Darryn Lifson said he and trainer Murray Stevenson, both from South Africa, would remain in Kingston, but that the rest of the team was set to fly back to Pakistan on Saturday.
   ‘We promised the family to stay until everything is sorted out,’ Lifson told AFP.
   He said Jamaican authorities were keeping Woolmer’s family informed about developments in the case.
   Forensic experts took DNA samples and fingerprints from the team members, but PCB cricket chief Naseem Ashraf insisted at a news conference in Islamabad they were not suspects in the killing, and suggested the players may themselves be under threat.
   Jamaica’s deputy police commissioner Mark Shields said the team members were ‘not being treated any differently from anyone else at this stage.’
   ‘It is important to eliminate as well as identify suspects,’ he told TVJ.
   The TV station also said two Pakistani officials were due to arrive in Kingston to liaise with police at the request of Jamaican authorities.

Former World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan says ex-Test paceman Aaqib Javed should be appointed coach of Pakistan.
   ‘Pakistan have won two youth World Cups under him and he seems the ideal choice to take over as coach,’ Imran told a news conference on Saturday.
   Javed, 34, went on to play a total of 22 Tests and 163 one-day internationals after making his test debut against New Zealand in Wellington as a 16-year-old.
   Imran said he was shocked to learn that Pakistan’s World Cup coach Bob Woolmer had been murdered.
   ‘I thought he died from natural causes. To learn he was murdered was a surprise to me because I can’t understand what motive anyone would have to murder him,’ said Imran, who played in 88 tests and 175 one-dayers and led the team to World Cup glory in 1992.
   Former England batsman Woolmer, 58, was found unconscious in his Kingston hotel room and died later in hospital last Sunday.
   Jamaican police said he was strangled to death.
   ‘Only time will tell who is responsible for his death but why someone would want to kill him is a puzzle,’ said Imran.
   Imran supported the appointment of Younis Khan as captain in place of Inzamam-ul-Haq, who has resigned as skipper and retired from one-dayers after Pakistan’s World Cup exit.
   Former captain Imran now leads his own political party and is a member of parliament.
   He said Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf was responsible for the team’s disappointing recent performances on the field.
   Musharraf is chief patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board and appoints the chairman in the sport’s ad-hoc system.
   ‘Since 1999 Musharraf has changed four board chairmen and yet we have got no results,’ said Imran.
   ‘Pakistan cricket must be run on a constitutional and democratic basis.’

Stand-in Ireland captain Kyle McCallan acknowledges that his side faces a huge challenge in the Super Eight stage of the World Cup.
   McCallan led Ireland on Friday against hosts West Indies in the final Group D match because regular captain
   Trent Johnston had not recovered from a jarred shoulder he suffered during the side’s stunning win over Pakistan last Saturday.
   But it was a tough examination at Sabina Park which ended in an eight-wicket defeat.
   ‘We have the onus on us now to go into the Super Eights and not be the whipping boys,’ said McCallan.
   ‘I wouldn’t say it’s the fear, but it would be the one thing that motivates us to go and compete.
   ‘It is an adventure for us. This is totally uncharted waters. By the end of this tournament, we will have played nine or 10 games against international, Test-class opposition and that can only be good for Irish cricket in the long run.’
   Although their first match against a Test side finished in fairy-tale fashion with a three-wicket win over Pakistan, the Irish were crushed by the West Indies by eight wickets, and McCallan recognises things will get tougher.
   ‘We had a plan to bat first, get enough runs to put the West Indies under pressure, and then squeeze them with stump-to-stump bowling by our medium-pacers and field like we did against Pakistan,’ he said.
   ‘Unfortunately 183 wasn’t enough to do that. We lost our way in the middle of our innings and 183 meant that we needed to get wickets early on and when we got Chris Gayle we thought maybe, but you’re not playing club cricket any more.
   ‘Gayle is out and then Sarwan comes in and then you’ve got Marlon Samuels and then Brian Lara so we were up against it, and I think it was the lack of runs that caused the problem.’
   McCallan, however, asserted that batting first was the correct decision for his side.
   ‘I wouldn’t have changed what I did because I think it would have been the Associate-side thing to do, you know, bowl first, get your 50 overs in the field and then see how many runs you can get,’ he said.
   ‘We have plans to win matches. I don’t think there was any excessive movement with the new ball early on. I just thought we allowed them to pressure us and squeeze us in the middle of the innings.’
   Ireland meet either England or Kenya in their opening Super Eight match next Friday at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.

For the near capacity crowd attending Friday’s World Cup match between West Indies and Ireland at Sabina Park, the investigation into the murder of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer was a case of out of sight, out of mind.
   With the action taking place on the field, particularly with the home side involved, many people seemed unconcerned about the high-profile criminal case that has put the island on the world stage for all the wrong reasons.
   They danced and drank in the sunshine; they also danced and drank when it started raining.
   After all, both these sides were already assured of a place in the next round. Ironically, Ireland reached the second round with a stunning win against former champions Pakistan, the day before Woolmer’s death.
   Conversations around the ground concentrated more on whether or not the Irish could upset West Indies and carry two points into the Super Eights, the next stage of the competition, which begins next Tuesday with the hosts facing Australia in Antigua.
   Inevitably, reporters were stopped in the corridors, the lavatories, the bars, and asked: ‘Have they found who did it yet?’
   There was also plenty of star-gazing to be done.
   In the new, colossal North Stand, international footballers Andy Cole, Sol Campbell, and Dwight Yorke – all close mates of the West Indies captain Brian Lara – were enjoying the cricket.
   The atmosphere in the stadium here would have been good news for ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed and World Cup managing director Chris Dehring, who issued a joint statement early on Friday with the clarion call for the tournament to continue.
   ‘This is not the first time that tragedy has visited a sporting event, but what we must all do now is to show how resolute the game is by proving ourselves strong enough to move on from what has happened,’ Speed said.
   ‘The best way to do that is for the teams that remain in the tournament to play out a great World Cup, something that will help put the smile back on the face of our great sport. ‘By doing that we will demonstrate that cricket cannot be put off by a cowardly criminal act.
   ‘And if the players and officials of all the competing teams can do that then it would be a fitting tribute to Bob Woolmer and the contribution he has made to our sport as a fine player and an outstanding coach at all levels.’

South Africa World Cup team manager Ghoolam Rajah revealed on Friday that one of his players was approached by bookmakers during their tour of India two years ago.
   ‘We did have one incident in India two years ago. Nothing happened other than that one phone call,’ said Rajah, who refused to name the player other than saying he was not part of the World Cup squad here in the Caribbean.
   South Africa drew a five-match series 2-2 with one match rained off in late 2005.
   Johan Botha, Albie Morkel and Justin Ontong were the three players who were on that tour, but are not part of the current squad.
   ‘We passed the information to the International Cricket Council Anti-Corruption Unit and they assured us that they would handle it,’ said Rajah.
   The official said the players were more aware and cautious now.
   ‘The players are trained to phone as soon as they’ve been approached, and we’ve trained them not to get into any discussions with these people, only to take their phone details and pass them onto the authorities,’ said Rajah.
   ‘In the past they were innocent questions. It was just “what is the team tomorrow?” In the past we would easily say, ‘Joe Soap is not playing. No longer now we don’t announce whether the team is picked or not’.
   ‘That is the protocol. If a player is approached, he has to let us know immediately. We have a system. Police are trained to look out for people in the foyers of hotels, who don’t necessarily belong there, but look suspicious.’

A recent survey among the Dhaka cricket fans revealed Australia will retain their World Cup title in the ongoing extravaganza in the West Indies. The survey by ACNielsen
   Bangladesh, the world’s leading market research and information company, conducted the survey where around 1000 male and female respondents, aged 15 to 59, were interviewed face-to-face.
   ‘Overall, Australia are the possible cup winners with 36 per cent response, followed by South Africa. While naming the two finalists of the World Cup, majority named Australia, South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh,’ said Dr Khalid Hasan, managing director of ACNielsen Bangladesh.
   After the brilliant performance by the Bangladesh team against India, more than half of the respondents are keeping their fingers crossed on seeing the team in Super Eight (51 per cent), with the other half wishing to see the team in semi-final (26 per cent) and Final (23 per cent).
   The ACNielsen World Cup 2007 survey took place on March 21-22, 2007.

A trust has been created to fund a number of projects, including a training academy, in memory of murdered Pakistani cricket coach Bob Woolmer, South African organisers said Friday.
   Money raised would go towards the erection of a Bob Woolmer Cricket Academy outside Nelspruit in the eastern Mpumalanga province, and to ensure his book on the art and science of cricket gets published, the trust fund said in a statement.
   The benefit of the academy would be for cricket all over the world, as well as South Africa’s under-privileged communities.
   ‘The Academy is for the benefit of world cricket not just South African cricket and will be run as a not-for-profit organisation.
   ‘One of the objectives...is that children from underprivileged communities in South Africa will benefit in both a sporting and academic way.’
   The trust would also aim to provide financial security for his widow Gill, and sons Dale and Russell.
   ‘Their breadwinner has died and they need to be looked after in the future.’
   Former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes would be one of the trustees.
   ‘Bob Woolmer was one of world cricket’s most recognisable characters and servants of the game,’ read the statement.
   ‘Being one of the top coaches in world cricket did not stop him from sharing his skills and philosophies with the emerging cricketers of the world.’

Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern has pledged to bail out Ireland’s cricket team if they run short of cash on their unexpectedly long stay at the World Cup in Jamaica. ‘If they require additional funding we’ll provide it,’ he told the Irish Sun tabloid in an interview published on Friday.
   The team, whose shock victory over former world champions Pakistan has triggered a wave of national pride, is made up largely of amateur players taking time out from their jobs.
   On the road for more than two months already, their entry into the cup’s second round means they have another four weeks of games ahead – a tough financial test for the tiny Irish Cricket Union, which recompenses the players’ employers.
   ‘I suppose they did their budgets on the basis they might not go forward,’ said Ahern, a man noted more for his passion for Gaelic games than the sound of leather on willow.

New Zealand pace bowler Daryl Tuffey was ruled out of the World Cup here Friday, Black Caps general manager Lindsay Crocker told reporters.
   New Zealand now hope to replace him with Chris Martin.
   Tuffey injured his right arm, which has been operated on in the past, during New Zealand’s 114-run win against Canada on Thursday in what was his first match of the tournament.
   ‘Yesterday, unfortunately, Daryl Tuffey injured himself during the course of the match. Our understanding, having gone to the doctor yesterday, is that he won’t be able to take any further part in the tournament and so we need to replace him,’ Crocker said at New Zealand’s hotel.
   ‘We need to go through procedures with ICC to put that into effect. He’s not officially out of the tournament yet but we know he can’t take any further part in the tournament and we will be looking to replace him once we get confirmation during the course of the day.’
   Crocker added: ‘It’s the same arm but a slightly different injury. ‘It’s in the bicep itself rather than the attachment of the bicep muscle to the shoulder.
   ‘We are looking to get Chris Martin in. Hopefully, he’ll be here on Sunday but we need to confirm that with ICC first.’

Policemen were deployed outside the home of Indian wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni in eastern India on Saturday as angry cricket fans took to the streets to protest the team’s probable exit from the World Cup.
   Another house belonging to Dhoni, currently being built, was the target of disappointed fans last Sunday after India’s shock defeat against Bangladesh.
   ‘Four policemen have been posted outside his house. Another two are at the other house under construction, which was attacked earlier,’ said M.S Bhatia, police superintendent in Ranchi, Dhoni’s home town. The house being built is also in Ranchi.
   ‘We had great expectations from Dhoni, but he scored zero in two matches,’ said protester Amit Kumar.
   Posters of Dhoni were burned in Ranchi, while cricket fans organised mock funerals and beat pictures of the Indian team in nationwide protests.
   In northern Lucknow city – where Hindus and Muslims had organised special prayers for India’s victory – protesters blocked roads and burned effigies of players and coach Greg Chappell.
   An angry mob pelted stones at a restaurant owned by bowler Zaheer Khan in western Pune city, Headlines Today television network reported.
   A mobile phone text message doing the rounds read, ‘It is a requiem for Indian cricket that breathed its last in Port of Spain. Last rites will be performed on Sunday.’

Ronaldinho has spoken publicly about his hopes of joining Milan to play alongside Brazil team-mate Kaka.
   ‘I am happy at Barcelona, but in the future you never know what will happen,’ said the 2005 Ballon d’Or winner.
   The Rossoneri have made absolutely no secret of their intention to make a huge summer bid for Ronaldinho, with vice-President Adriano Galliani assuring they are ‘in super pole position should he leave Barca.’
   Fellow Selecao stars Ronaldo and Kaka have also confirmed they rang up the player to recommend a move to the San Siro.
   ‘It was a nice gesture,’ he smiled. ‘Playing with Kaka is absolute pure joy.’
   The two players are currently together for international duty in a tour of Sweden and it is the perfect opportunity to file away the final doubts.
   ‘We have spoken about Milan and will do so again during this tour. But do not ask me for miracles,’ confessed Kaka.
   ‘I have many wonderful things to tell him, but after that it is down to the club to enter the fray.’
   Milan are stepping up their bid for Ronaldinho after rumours that Inter were trying to intervene and snatch away the superstar.
   Reports suggest that Nerazzurri director Marco Branca called up agent Roberto Assis – Ronaldinho’s brother and also agent of Milan striker Ricardo Oliveira – to discuss the possibility of their own proposal.
   These claims were given credence by Rossoneri president Silvio Berlusconi. ‘If Ronaldinho leaves Barcelona, then we are taking him. The buy-out clause in his contract is not a problem. The important thing is to snatch him away from Inter.’
   It’s believed that Ronaldinho’s buy-out clause for his contract that expires in 2010 is a staggering £84m.

England’s players have been told to be more verbally aggressive with each other in a bid to end their poor run of form in Saturday’s Euro 2008 Group E qualifier in Israel.
   Steve McClaren’s team are third in the group with seven points from four games following a defeat away to leaders Croatia and a home draw with Macedonia. Israel are fifth but equal on points.
   McClaren and his captain John Terry have urged players to be more willing to shout at team mates in a bid to create a winning atmosphere.
   ‘This has come up in one of our meetings,’ Terry told a pre-match press conference on Friday.
   ‘At club level when you are with everyone week in week out you can (swear) at each other and we need that at this level as well. We need to do a lot more shouting at each other.
   ‘I’ve been given the captain’s armband for a number of reasons and that’s one of them. You need to get other people around you screaming and shouting. Communication can be key and we all need to do that in Israel.’
   McClaren said his players have been too nervous to criticise each other on the field or to express their anger.
   ‘I think there’s a lot of respect in that dressing room for each other,’ he said.
   ‘You get that club level too, but playing day in day out you get over that and can be more candid.
   ‘It’s just another one of the barriers we have to get over to become a team...we have to trust each other. You work towards that and sometimes you work towards that by being honest with each other.’
   Such psychological introspection is a measure of England’s frustration at the way a promising start under McClaren has disintegrated in their last three performances, including a friendly defeat by Spain in Manchester last month.
   McClaren has, however, been hampered by injuries and lack of preparation time and is still in the early stages of building a new team without David Beckham through choice and Michael Owen through bad luck.
   He also claims to have seen signs that his side, which will feature Everton striker Andy Johnson up front alongside Wayne Rooney, can turn things around in Tel Aviv by using their inner anger to wipe out memories of defeat in Croatia in October.
   ‘There’s anger there...maybe not expressed but it’s there. And sometimes you don’t meet up for another six weeks and it’s about bottling that anger and taking it to the next game.’
   England also play bottom team Andorra in Barcelona on Wednesday.

World football’s governing body FIFA on Friday gave the thumbs up to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, saying its doubts about security and logistics for the event have been dispelled.
   ‘South Africa, we trust you,’ FIFA President Sepp Blatter announced after a meeting of governing body chiefs here.
   ‘The executive committee is now convinced that South Africa will be a good host for the World Cup,’ he added.
   ‘Today they all stand united behind South Africa and the organisation of this important competition.’
   Blatter said a key confidence-building step had been taken by the South African government in February with its approval of an additional budget to tackle security for fans and visitors, transport and logistics.
   FIFA had reiterated concern at the lack of progress on building work for new stadiums in South Africa at its last executive commitee meeting in December, when Blatter called for ‘a little bit of fire’ in the preparations.
   South African World Cup chief executive Danny Jordaan had pledged that all unfinished stadiums would be ready by October 2007.
   Horst R. Schmidt, vice president of the 2010 organising committee told a German newspaper Thursday that the organisers were on schedule.
   ‘I do not doubt for a second that the World Cup will take place in South Africa, it will be a different World Cup from the one which took place last summer in Germany, but it will certainly not be any less impressive,’ added Schmidt, who is also general secretary of the German Football Federation.
   Meanwhile, Blatter warned that violence on and off the field had driven football to a crossroads and raised the possibility of punishing coaches for the actions of their players.
   ‘We have now come to a crossroads of football. Our football is ill and we must find medicine,’ Blatter said after a FIFA Executive Committee meeting.
   Blatter said successive FIFA Congresses in recent years, which assemble football chiefs from around the world, had examined the problem and sought to raise awareness.
   ‘We have discussed it, now we need to act,’ Blatter told journalists.
   FIFA’s next Congress is due to be held in Zurich on May 30-31.
   Asked about the possibility of making coaches accountable for misbehaviour by players, Blatter said it was a sensitive issue and ruled it out for sporting conduct like fouls or cheating.
   However, world football’s supremo said he personally favoured the idea for disciplinary conduct like players who fight.
   ‘Coaches could also be punished,’ Blatter said.
   ‘Coaches are also responsible for the behaviour of their team,’ he underlined.
   Blatter slammed clashes between Arsenal and Chelsea players during the League Cup final in Cardiff last month, and the mass brawl between Valencia and Inter Milan players in their Champions League tie on March 6.
   ‘If players are not educated and coaches don’t impose a minimum of discipline on them, where are we heading?’ FIFA’s chief said.
   Blatter noted that even rich countries were unable to provide a safe environment for fans in their stadiums.
   On the other hand, FIFA said it had paid back 111 million euros (148 million dollars) to the German organisers of the World Cup in 2006 after racking up a big profit on the event.
   FIFA said it retained 45 million of the 156 million euro profit on the 2006 World Cup, fuelling an ‘exceptional’ year for its own finances.
   ‘The World Cup in Germany was a wonderful, wonderful event, but it has also been economically a success,’ FIFA General Secretary Urs Linsi told journalists.
   FIFA, a non-profit organisation under Swiss law, made a surplus of 303 million Swiss francs (250 million dollars, 187 million euros) on its overall business in 2006, raising its equity reserves to 752 million Swiss francs.
   ‘FIFA is not rich, but we have now created a comfortable position for ourselves,’ said governing body chief Sepp Blatter.
   FIFA has been turning its back in recent years on massive financial problems in 2001-2002, when its contracted marketing and television rights partners collapsed.
   That financial trouble contributed a short-lived challenge to Blatter’s presidency and internal tensions that almost ripped world football apart.
   ‘Only a few years ago, FIFA was being criticised for its financial situation. Today, we have proved that the facts are somewhat different,’ Blatter said Friday.
   Earlier this month, a Swiss prosecutor issued fraud charges against executives at sports marketing firm ISMM/ISL, FIFA’s bankrupt former partner.
   No FIFA officials were among those charged.
   Football’s governing body was one of the original plaintiffs against ISM/ISL but its headquarters, including Blatter’s office, were searched and documents were seized in November 2005 by investigators probing the collapse.
   FIFA protested at the search.
   A financial boost for FIFA’s reserves in a World Cup year is essential to keep football development projects and preparations for the next finals four years later on track.

Arsenal shares hit a record high on Thursday amid rumours that the English Premiership club will be the subject of a takeover bid.
   Arsenal were the only one of four English sides in the Champions League this season not to be under foreign ownership.
   But as rumours of an imminent takeover abound, Arsenal Holdings PLC shares closed at a record high of 6,275 pounds (12,300 dollars) on Thursday evening.
   It pushed the value of the club on the Ofex stock exchange up to 388.87 million pounds (763 million dollars).
   Rumours suggest that foreign investors such as Dubai International Capital or Russian aluminium magnate and oligarch Oleg Deripaska are eyeing a bid for the Londoners, who this season moved to a new 60,000-seat stadium.
   ‘It is only speculation, although in September of last year, when there was similar speculation, the board issued a statement to say they were not in talks with anyone. And at this stage, this time around, they haven’t said anything,’ a member of the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust told AFP.
   The largest single shareholder Daniel Fiszman, a non-executive director who holds a 24.11 percent stake, sold one percent of the club’s capital on March 15, triggering suspicions that a sale could be in the offing.
   ‘With no known reason as to why he’s done this at this time and in the absence of any information over who the buyer is, naturally one tries to draw some conclusions,’ added the supporters’ trust source.
   Alongside Fiszman, the club’s other major shareholders are non executive director Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith (15.90 per cent), vice-president David Dein (14.6 per cent) and non-executive director Richard Carr (4.38 per cent).
   Between the four of them they hold a 60 percent stake in the club while television channel ITV holds almost 10 percent.
   ‘The ITV share is definitely for sale but they’re holding it for the right price,’ added the source.
   Of England’s other big four clubs, Manchester United were bought in 2005 by American billionnaire Malcolm Glazer for 790 million pounds, Liverpool were bought by Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett in February for 174 million pounds and Chelsea were bought by Russian billionnaire Roman Abramovich in July 2003 for 60 million pounds.

India coach Greg Chappell has said he is not too concerned over the repercussions of his team’s dismal performance in the ongoing World Cup in the Caribbean.
   ‘You’ve got to be concerned in light of the recent incidents, but I am quite confident the systems are in place to look after the security of the team and individuals involved,’ he said.
   ‘When India wakes up tomorrow, there will be a lot of disappointment and anger, but they should realise it’s just a game.’
   India skipper Rahul Dravid said he hoped the players would not be harmed when they returned home.
   ‘I’m not really worried about security and I hope the players wouldn’t be under any physical danger. To be honest, I don’t expect that to be the case. I am sure people will be disappointed,’ he said.
   ‘They have invested a lot of hope in this team and we haven’t delivered. So, they are entitled to be disappointed. But I just hope that no-one in is in any physical danger.’
   Chappell said he was willing to own up some responsibility for his team’s failed campaign, which saw India put in their worst performance since the 1979 edition in England.
   India were the champions in 1983, semi-finalists in 1987 and 1996, and runners-up to Australia in the 2003 edition in South Africa.
   ‘I’ve to take some responsibility as a coach. Nothing’s wrong with the support coaching staff and the players who worked very hard,’ he said.
   Chappell also admitted his team failed to live up to expectations after having prepared well for the tournament.
   ‘We came here with huge expectations, but didn’t live up to them. The dressing-room is a quiet place at the moment,’ said the former Australian Test batsman who took over as India coach in 2005.
   ‘The team was under pressure and I think the pressure had a bearing on what happened today. The pressure built up after the Bangladesh game.
   ‘Our bowlers did well today, but we did not have any
   good partnerships. We could not perform when the time came.’
   India were bowled out for 185 chasing a 255-run target on a good batting wicket at the Queen’s Park Oval, with skipper Rahul Dravid (60) and Virender Sehwag (48) alone defying the Sri Lankan attack.
   When asked what India were taking away from the World Cup, Chappell said: ‘A lot of disappointment. It’s one of the most disappointing days in Indian cricket.
   ‘There’s a cause for serious introspection, but I believe it should not start today.’

Wales captain Ryan Giggs, who has frequently rubbished rumours that he could one day take charge of the Wales team, suggested on Friday he could envisage the transition to management.
   The Manchester United veteran winger could eventually follow in the footsteps of his former United team-mates Mark Hughes and Steve Bruce, who both moved into coaching roles.
   ‘As for management, I have friends who have gone into management and I agree the Wales job would be a very exciting one.
   ‘I certainly know Mark Hughes enjoyed it as Wales manager. It came at the right time for him and was a good learning process.
   ‘If I was to go into management then that would be the route I would go down, definitely.
   ‘I have seen players I never felt would be managers, Sparky (Hughes) was one of them actually, even though you knew he had it in him. You never thought he would take to it like he did.
   ‘Maybe with the more vocal ones like Steve Bruce, yes, you could see they could do it. But now Sparky has done well at club level with a good staff around him.’

Bayern Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld expressed his astonishment on Friday after the German giants’ veteran goalkeeper Oliver Kahn was hit with a one-match suspension by UEFA for ‘improper conduct’.
   Kahn was also fined 20,000 Swiss francs (12,346 euros) on Thursday for his part in a heated argument with doping control officials following Bayern’s 2-1 win over Real Madrid in Munich two weeks ago.
   The ban keeps the veteran out of his club’s Champions League quarter-final first leg away to AC Milan on April 3, but the German giants are waiting for UEFA’s written explanation before deciding whether to appeal.
   ‘I have never heard of a player being hit with such a heavy penalty for such an offence,’ said Hitzfeld.
   A decision is expected to be taken on Monday.
   There is some hope for Bayern after UEFA reduced the two-match suspension
   handed to midfielder Mark Van Bommel after he was sent off against Real for a second yellow card.
   ‘We have some hope that we will be successful, like in the case of Van Bommel, in getting some leniency from UEFA,’ added Hitzfeld.
   Kahn and Lucio were both brought before a UEFA
   disciplinary committee on Thursday following heated exchanges after their routine urine test dragged on long into the night after the win over Real.
   Kahn admitted ‘I was wrong to let my frustrations get the better of me, I am truly
   sorry’ but did not escape suspension, while Brazilian defender Lucio, who was also accused of ‘breaching basic rules of good conduct’ was fined 10,000 Swiss francs (6,176 euros).

Match-fixing still exists in cricket, England captain Michael Vaughan said in an interview published Saturday, amid claims murdered Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer had been set to expose corruption in the sport.
   Asked by The Sun newspaper whether he believes match-rigging goes on in the world game, Vaughan said: ‘If I’m honest, yes, I think it does.’
   Speculation has mounted since Woolmer’s death on Sunday that he was about to blow the whistle on the practice in a new book, and that criminals keen to avoid detection were behind his death, which has shocked the sport.
   But those claims have been denied by Woolmer’s family in South Africa, the Pakistan Cricket Board and his co-author, Ivo Tennant, who told The Times newspaper Saturday that the suggestion could be ‘dismissed unequivocally’.
   Woolmer was coach of South Africa when their former captain Hansie Cronje was bought off by bookmakers in 1996, but was never alleged to have been involved himself.
   He died a day after Pakistan’s shock defeat to minnows Ireland that knocked the team out of the sport’s showpiece tournament.
   The Sun said the International Cricket Council’s Anti-Corruption Unit was investigating unusual betting patterns in Pakistan’s World Cup defeat to the West Indies on March 13.

A Bolivian 14-year-old who does not earn enough to pay for his bus fares to go training says he is stunned by rumours that English premier league Chelsea are interested in him.
   The Bolivian media has been awash with reports midfielder Suarez, who became the youngest player in Libertadores Cup history when he turned out for Blooming against Santos in January, could be given a trial by Chelsea.
   However, the player, his agent and Blooming technical director Oswaldo Paz all deny any contact has been made.
   ‘I found out that Chelsea were after me when I was watching TV,’ Suarez told Reuters in a telephone interview.
   The teenager, who lives in a poor town around 50 km from Santa Cruz, Bolivia’s largest city, does not earn enough to pay for the transport costs to travel to practice.
   ‘He has a contract with Blooming, but it’s a deal with many disadvantages... he does not even earn the minimum salary,’ said his agent Modesto Molina.
   ‘He’s been earning 400 Bolivianos a month, that’s not even $50, not enough to pay the transport costs to go to the place where he trains.’
   Despite the denial, Suarez, who marked Brazil’s World Cup midfielder Ze Roberto in the games against Santos, said his hopes had been raised.
   ‘If it happens, it’s going to be an amazing opportunity, and I’ve got to make the best of it,’ he said.
   ‘I hope to earn more if I play for Chelsea.’

Struggling Italian first division side Parma signed a 52-year-old comedian on Friday.
   Italian comic and television presenter Gene Gnocchi made an appeal in November asking for a top flight club to help him fullfill his dream of playing in Serie A.
   His plea won the backing of many leading footballers including Juventus and Italy striker Alessandro Del Piero, and Gnocchi trained with Atalanta, Siena and Torino without securing a deal.
   But on Friday Parma gave him a two-month contract and registered him as their player with the Italian Football League (Lega-Calcio).
   Parma president Tommaso Ghiradi said he hoped Gnocchi would bring them luck.
   ‘If we manage to avoid relegation, it will mean Gnocchi has been our lucky charm,’ he said.
   ‘It will also secure him a contract for next season!’
   Asked why he took Gnocchi on, Ghiradi replied: ‘We need to laugh a little. The players are a bit tense and he will know how to lift the spirit in the dressing room.’
   Parma are currently second from bottom with 10 matches to play, so Gnocchi may have to wait until the club have ensured their place in Serie A before he can fullfill his dream.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter on Friday dampened England’s hopes of hosting the World Cup in 2018, saying a decision on rotating the event between continents will not be taken before the end of 2007.
   ‘Europe is very keen on getting the World Cup in 2018, especially England, but I couldn’t promise England that they would have it,’ Blatter said after an executive committee meeting at world football’s governing body.
   FIFA agreed several years ago to rotate the World Cup between its main regions, partly in a bid to ensure an African nation hosted the event in 2010.
   Blatter told journalists it was not clear if the rotation would continue after 2014, when the World Cup heads to South America, and if it does, in what form or order.
   The executive committee is likely to make a decision once it chooses the host for 2014 in December, Blatter said. Currently Brazil and Colombia are candidates.
   ‘I can’t give you the outcome of a decision, it will depend on the executive committee,’ Blatter said, referring to rotation. FIFA’s executive committee is also due to change in May.

Brian Lara is thrilled with the momentum West Indies are carrying into the Super Eights of the World Cup.
   West Indies completed an eight-wicket victory over Ireland in their final Group D match on Friday at Sabina Park which gave them a perfect record of three wins out of three in the first round and a maximum six points.
   ‘We are heading into the second round feeling very comfortable and we will be picking up some momentum,’ Lara told reporters.
   ‘We considered this game a Super Eight game. The win was important as well as ensuring that we had a very good run-rate at the end of it.
   ‘I know it is a different class of opponents in our next game on Tuesday, but we’ve played well against Australia in the recent past and we expect to do well if we play to our strengths.’
   Shivnarine Chanderpaul stroked his sixth one-day international hundred, an undefeated 102 from 113 balls, to guide West Indies over the line against the Irish.
   ‘It’s coming together, and everyone has had an opportunity,’ Lara said.
   ‘There have been teams where players haven’t had an opportunity because they were so good. All of our batters had a hit. We got our seven bowlers having an opportunity. It is good for us, but it is now for us to go out there and be more convincing.
   ‘It is now for us to take hold of the situation, like Chanderpaul did in this match with the bat. I’m really comfortable with the guys in the field. We just need to up the ante a little bit with the bat in hand.’
   Both West Indies and Ireland had already secured their passes to the Super Eights, but the outcome of the match was vital, since it allows the World Cup hosts to carry a two-point bonus into the next stage.
   ‘I thought we played solid cricket throughout the three games, Lara said.
   ‘It was a pretty tough group. Ireland played good cricket. Zimbabwe thought they had a chance at some point. We were very consistent.
   ‘We’re building to the point where we want to get onto the bigger games, the Australians, the South Africans, the biggest teams in the tournament. So far we’ve performed really well. I’m proud of the guys.’
   West Indies will feature in the opening match of the Super Eight stage of the competition, when they face defending champions Australia on Tuesday at the new Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.
   Meanwhile, Shivnarine Chanderpaul said the need to take a good run-rate into the Super 8s had motivated his attacking style in West Indies’ emphatic win over Ireland.
   Chanderpaul hit 10 fours and four sixes in an entertaining unbeaten 102 to help his side top Group D.
   ‘Chasing a decent total and knowing that we were already through I could go out and play my game.
   ‘We had a long discussion on Thursday night and we decided to try and keep up the run-rate,’ said Chanderpaul.
   Skipper Brian Lara praised Chanderpaul’s innings and said his side were looking forward to facing Australia in their first Super 8 match on Tuesday.
   ‘We know it’s Australia – but we have done well against Australia in the recent past and if we play to the best of our ability, it’s going to be a hell of a game,’ he said.

The co-author of murdered Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer’s planned book insisted Saturday that it would not have contained any explosive revelations on match-fixing.
   Ivo Tennant, writing in The Times newspaper, swiped at rumours that Woolmer was about to blow the whistle on corruption in the sport. Speculation has swirled that the strangulation killing was carried out by criminals keen to avoid exposure in claims of match-fixing which may have arisen.
   ‘Rumours that Bob Woolmer was murdered because he was harbouring information on match-fixing or an association with corrupt bookmakers can be dismissed unequivocally,’ Tennant wrote.
   ‘As the co-author of his autobiography and its planned sequel, for which a publisher had still to be found, I can state that he had no intention of writing or publicising any such detail in either this or his book on coaching and sports science, which will be published in June.’
   Woolmer, 58, was found unconscious in his hotel room in Kingston, Jamaica on Sunday and declared dead in hospital, a day after Pakistan’s shock defeat to Ireland saw the 1992 World Cup winners crash out of this year’s competition.
   A former England international, Woolmer was coach of South Africa when their then-captain Hansie Cronje was bought off by bookmakers in 1996, but was never alleged to have been involved himself.
   ‘He had no knowledge of Hansie Cronje’s involvement in match-fixing during his time as coach of South Africa, and, if there had been any such approach to his Pakistan players, he would have told them to report it immediately to the manager or the Board of Control,’ Tennant wrote.
   ‘Doubtless he would then have informed the police himself.
   ‘Above all, Woolmer was an honest man. He did not mix with dodgy individuals.
   ‘Doubtless the reason why Cronje, when captain of South Africa, did not tell Woolmer of his underhand dealings was because he knew that his coach would have no truck with them.
   ‘Anyone who thought about involving him in underhand dealings must have known it would have been futile.’
   Meanwhile, The Daily Telegraph newspaper ran on its front page part of an e-mail from Woolmer to a Pakistani journalist who asked not to be named, fearful for his life.
   ‘I am going to write a book on my tenure as Pakistan coach. I shall only start after the World Cup,’ it read.
   ‘I believe, regardless of the money, the story is worth telling, has to be told and in a correct way.
   ‘I am not a name and shame guy, just the honest facts. Let the punter make up his mind, etc.’
   Woolmer’s body will remain in Jamaica while an inquest is conducted, Jamaican media reported, as sports fans reeled over the murder.

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has told team-mates not to rest on their laurels after qualifying for the World Cup second round with an emphatic win over India.
   ‘There is still room for us to improve. I think the conditions will be different at different venues and we have to make sure we don’t sit back on what we have achieved now,’ he said.
   ‘We now need to work much harder, improve ourselves and adapt to the other conditions. We had a set of plans for this group stage, how we wanted to play our cricket, especially in Trinidad, and we executed them very well.’
   Sri Lanka marched into the next Super Eight stage with an all-win record after beating India by 69 runs in their last match here on Friday, carrying forward two crucial points in the process.
   The victory tasted sweeter for Sri Lanka, especially after losing eight of their last 10 one-day internationals in India.
   ‘Any side at home is stronger. If you take us in Sri Lanka, we are much stronger than anybody. So it is just a home advantage. You know the wickets and you have the support of the crowds,’ he said.
   ‘When India are playing at home, they have 30,000-40,000 in most of the stadiums, and in Kolkata you have 80,000 shouting for you. So it is totally different.
   ‘That is why, when you guys asked me in India that we are playing India in the World Cup, I said “Yes, but not in India. We are playing in the Caribbean”.’
   Jayawardene said his team’s good performances away from home in recent times had stood them well in this tournament.
   ‘What we tried to do over the last year or so is that we tried to play a lot of cricket away from home. We wanted to compete away from home, improve ourselves and see where we can be,’ he said.
   ‘The practice that we have been doing over the last 12 months has groomed us to compete abroad, get adjusted to wickets and conditions quickly and play some smart cricket.’
   Sri Lanka put in impressive performances away from home in recent times, winning in England and then sharing a one-day series in New Zealand.
   Jayawardene conceded that he felt his team’s total of 254-6 was short of expectations against a strong Indian batting line-up, but off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and left-arm paceman Chaminda Vaas bowled really well.
   ‘We knew how strong the Indian side was. They are a brilliant side, but any team can go through a day like this. Obviously, they have a class batting line-up. We also thought that 254 was probably short,’ he said.
   ‘But we managed to get a couple of early wickets and that put pressure on them. When you are chasing, it’s important that you have wickets in hand and I think that’s where they went wrong.
   ‘Rahul Dravid managed to keep one end intact, but Murali bowled really well and Vaas bowled really well up front. A lot of credit should go to our young guys as well for the way they batted in really tough conditions.’
   Muralitharan grabbed three wickets and Vaas two as India were bowled out for 185, with Dravid top-scoring with 60.
   The Sri Lankan captain said his team now had a chance to go far in the tournament, especially after carrying two points into the next round.
   ‘Our chances are pretty good once you carry two points from the group we were in. When we started, everyone was talking about this being the ‘Group of Death’. So, to carry two points is brilliant,’ said Jayawardene.
   ‘There are some tough games. We just have to make sure we take one game at a time, like we did in this group.
   ‘I reckon three or four wins will probably secure a spot in the last four. But we don’t want to look at it that way because if you are winning, it is a very good habit to have. We just want to continue that.’

Dhaka Abahani registered the first B league victory by defeating their arch-rivals Mohammedan Sporting Club by a solitary goal with skipper Joy heading in the winner at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Saturday. It was the second consecutive defeat for Mohammedan at the big bowl.
   Superb defending skills enabled Abahani to taste their much sought-after victory after two successive goalless draws against Muktijoddha and Chittagong Mohammedan. Mohammedan, who also conceded a 1-0 defeat to Muktijoddha in their last match, proved to be the punching bag in the battle of the powerhouses as it was also the first win for the freedom fighters’ outfit.
   The match started on an even note with both the teams trying to break the opposition defence but soon the dominance belonged to Abahani. Argentine forward Hector Hernan Parodi, who put in a better performance than his previous two games, turned 90 degrees in the 16th minute to unleash a powerful grounder that forced Mohammedan keeper Himel to make a diving save. Just five minutes later Parodi saw his toe-poked effort miss the side post by a few inches.
   Midfielder Uzzal’s acrobatic side volley on 23 minutes deflected off a Mohammedan defender’s shoulder to safety.
   Skipper Joy who led from the front throughout the match broke the deadlock in the 44th minute. Uzzal floated a perfect low corner to onrushing Joy who just changed the direction of the ball with a delicate touch of his forehead.
   Abahani changed their strategy in the second half and emphasised on not losing the precious lead. Mohammedan’s forwards, however, failed to creak through the defence line led by Argentine Caporale.
   Just a long-range shot from Zahid in the 50th minute, another by Divine Chibuike three minutes later and a header by defender Ariful in the last minute of the game off a Kamal cross – which flew over the crosspiece – were the notable efforts.
   Abahani have five points from three matches while Mohammedan remained on the their previous four.

The Pakistan Cricket Board is trying to arrange a chartered flight for its players to return home from Jamaica as they were on the verge of breaking down after a stressful week.
   The Pakistan team has been questioned, finger-printed and had to undergo DNA tests in connection with investigations being carried out by authorities in Jamaica into the murder of coach Bob Woolmer, who was strangled to death on Sunday.
   The former England player, 58, was found unconscious in his Kingston hotel room and died later in hospital.
   The Pakistan squad, who were knocked out of the World Cup after a shock loss to Ireland last Saturday, have had their departure delayed since Thursday.
   PCB director of cricket operations Saleem Altaf told Reuters their delay was due to a non-availability of seats.
   ‘The basic problem they are facing is finding seats from London to Pakistan on the World Cup’s official carriers. They have not been held up because of the investigations,’ he said.
   ‘We are now trying to arrange a chartered flight for them from London onwards.’
   He denied that the investigating authorities had refused permission for any player to fly out of Jamaica because of ongoing investigations.
   ‘Obviously it has been very stressful for the players. The last week has been a very painful experience for all of us,’ he said.
   Altaf said the PCB had yet to receive anything in writing regarding the investigations but would continue to cooperate.
   ‘Once the team is back we will get a report from the manager and also talk to the players. We need to start putting our cricket back on track as soon as possible,’ he said.

Hundreds of cricket fans across India burnt effigies, defaced posters and held mock funeral processions of the national team, a day after their defeat to Sri Lanka in the World Cup match in the Caribbean.
   Cricket is taken very seriously in India, where players are treated as huge celebrities, paid big money to endorse major commercial brands and put on pedestals by cricket-crazy fans.
   But on Saturday, television pictures showed furious cricket fans in towns and cities across India taking to the streets to show their outrage at their national team’s defeat.
   In the northern city of Kanpur, dozens of residents held a mock funeral procession where people dressed as the 11 cricket players were carried on stretchers through the streets.
   ‘Everyone should leave this cricket team, we should have new youngsters with much more power and more aggression and all these old team members should retire,’ said one angry fan.
   In other places, fans burnt effigies, stamped on glossy posters of players and daubed their faces with black paint. Others lashed out at pictures with their shoes.
   ‘It was such a waste of time to see India lose one wicket after another and finally lose the match, I don’t want to even talk about it,’ said Jatin Panchal, a businessman in the western city of Ahmedabad.
   Security has been stepped up outside the residences of some of the cricketers, including captain Rahul Dravid’s home in the southern city of Bangalore, for fears of an attack or stone-pelting by fans.
   The World Cup-frenzy in the country has been fuelled by a multitude of television channels and media houses which have touted the team as favourites and are tracking the action minute-by-minute since the team’s arrival in the Caribbean.
   In the eastern city of Kolkata, travel agents said many fans planning to travel to the Caribbean to watch India compete in the Super Eights – the last eight remaining teams – had cancelled their bookings.
   ‘At least a dozen persons, who had booked their tickets to the Caribbean to watch India battle in the Super Eights next week have already called to cancel their trip,’ travel agent Anil Punjabi said, adding travel agents stood to lose millions of rupees from booking cancellations.
   Sumanta Bannerjee, 41, was planning to fly to the Caribbean next week to watch India play in the next round, but changed his plans immediately after India’s defeat.
   ‘I would rather go to Thailand for holidays now,’ he said.