Sourav Ganguly beat some of the biggest names in Indian cricket when he was named ‘Best Captain’ in 75 years of Test cricket at the 10th Castrol Awards for Cricketing Excellence in Kochi. A wonderful evening in the backwaters of ‘God’s Own Country’ on Tuesday honoured eleven former captains for their service to the game.
   Besides Ganguly, late CK Nayudu, late Vinoo Mankad, Nari Contractor, Chandu Borde, Ajit Wadekar, Bishan Singh Bedi, Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Viswanath, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid were the skippers especially chosen for the recognition.
   Nayudu’s daughter Chandra and Mankad’s son Atul received the awards on behalf of their illustrious fathers. The gala night had anecdotes flowing like champagne from the former stars.
   Recalled Contractor, ‘I became an opening batsman only because of Vinoo. I had never opened in my life and for some reason Vinoo was not available for a Test against New Zealand.
   ‘Polly Umrigar was the captain and he asked me to open. And in the next Test, me and Vinoo opened the innings and that is how I became an opener.’
   When asked how many bats he carried in his kit bag during his playing days, Contractor said one. Much to the amusement of those in attendance, Ganguly, known for carrying plenty of bats on tour, quipped, ‘If you carry one bat now, then you might be dropped from the side for the next match due to lack of commitment.’
   Bedi revealed that he was a big fan of legendary West Indies captain Sir Gary Sobers. ‘The greatest batsman I ever bowled to was Sobers. I never felt bad when he hit me for boundaries. It was a treat to watch him play,’ Bedi fondly remembers. Nayudu’s daughter Chandra too became nostalgic, saying, ‘My father used to say “cricket khelne ke liye dimag ki zaroorat hoti hain” (You need brains to play cricket).
   ‘I think the boys are quite intelligent now and the Twenty20 win by Dhoni and his brigade is the best gift my father could have wanted while celebrating 75 years of Test cricket.’
   Chandra drew parallels between her father and new Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, both known for their big hitting.
   ‘I think Dhoni plays the way my father used to play. Both want to hit big sixes. But there is one difference between my father and Dhoni. As a captain, my father was more of a commander while Dhoni seems like a companion,’ said Chandra.
   Besides honouring the former Test captains, awards were also given to players of six different eras. Nayudu was honoured as the ‘Best Indian Cricketer’ of the first era 1932-47 while Mankad received the honour for 1947-61.
   Former captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, who revolutionised Indian cricket and instilled a winning habit, received the award for the 1961-71 era. ‘Tiger’, as Pataudi is commonly known, couldn’t make it to the awards gala, but in a recorded message congratulated the Twenty20 world champions.
   Gavaskar, the first batsman to score 10,000 Test runs, and Kapil Dev, the first Indian bowler to take 400 Test wickets, won the award for the 1971-81 and 1981-1997 eras respectively. Dravid and Tendulkar shared the award for the sixth era – 1997-2007. Members of the triumphant Twenty20 squad were also felicitated.
   Amid all the celebration, there was no mention of Mohammed Azharuddin, under whose leadership India enjoyed a fair degree of success.

South African wicket-keeper Mark Boucher on Wednesday said he was honoured to break Ian Healy’s record for dismissals behind the stumps with 396 victims.
   The 30-year-old stumped Pakistani batsman Umar Gul for 12 on the third day of the first Test against Pakistan at the National Stadium in Karachi to reach the milestone.
   ‘It’s a great feeling to have broken the record, especially of someone who I used to watch on television as a schoolboy,’ Boucher said at the end of the day’s play.
   Boucher, who made his Test debut against Pakistan at Sheikhupura in 1997, has 378 catches and 18 stumpings from 103 Tests. He is regarded as one of the world’s best keepers and is also a dependable batsman.
   Healy, who retired in 1999, had 366 catches and 29 stumpings in 119 Tests.
   Boucher said Healy was a great wicket-keeper.
   ‘Healy was great and I used to love the way he kept (wicket). In a way it’s a great feeling but it is also sad to break such a good keeper’s record,’ he said.
   ‘I have played enough Tests so if you play over 100 Tests, records come your way.
   ‘But this is the best record I have achieved and I am happy with that.’
   Boucher added that it would ‘be the cherry on the top if we win the Test.’
   The tourists finished the third day at 76-3, having an overall lead of 235. Left-arm spinner Paul Harris took 5-73 to help South Africa dismiss Pakistan for 291 in the first innings.
   The visitors made 450 in their first innings on the back of a masterly 155 from Jacques Kallis.

South Africa (450 & 76/3) lead Pakistan (291) by 235 runs at stumps, day 3
   South African spinner Paul Harris took a career-best five for 73 against Pakistan as the visitors extended their lead on the third day of the first Test on Wednesday.
   The 28-year-old left-armer took full advantage of a spin-friendly pitch to dismiss the home team for 291 after Pakistan fought hard to avoid the follow-on at the National Stadium.
   South Africa reached 76-3 at close of play to give them an overall lead of 235 with seven wickets intact, having scored 450 in the first innings. Jacques Kallis was unbeaten on 18 and Ashwell Prince on 11 not out.
   Proteas’ wicket-keeper Mark Boucher meanwhile set a new world record in Tests for victims behind the stumps, surpassing former Australian player Ian Healy’s tally of 395.
   Boucher—with 378 catches and 18 stumpings—beat the record in his 103rd Test, compared with 119 Tests for Healy.
   The tourists will now rely mainly on Kallis, who hit 155 in the first innings, to take them to a winning total on the fourth day when the pitch is set to further deteriorate and aid the spinners.
   South Africa were given an untroubled start of 41 in their second innings before Abdul Rehman struck twice in the space of two runs.
   The left-armer had Smith caught behind for 25 and in his next over got Hashim Amla stumped off a looping delivery. Amla failed to score.
   Leg-spinner Danish Kaneria then dismissed Herschelle Gibbs for 18 when Faisal Iqbal smartly caught an attempted sweep at silly mid-off.
   Harris, whose previous best of 4-46 was also against Pakistan at Centurion earlier this year, ended a defiant 84-run seventh-wicket stand between captain Shoaib Malik (73) and his deputy Salman Butt (24).
   Harris said he was lucky.
   ‘Any spinner would love to bowl on such a pitch and I am happy that I produced results. The true test of my skill would be in the second innings,’ said Harris.
   At 238-8 Pakistan were all but condemned to follow on, with Harris extracting both spin and bounce.
   But number ten Kaneria with an unbeaten 26 and Umar Gul (12) saved the home team from the humiliation of batting a second time.
   Pakistan, resuming at a precarious 127-5, lost Rehman as early as the eighth over of the day when Andre Nel forced an edge off the bat which was caught by Boucher behind the stumps.
   Butt, who was unable to open the innings on Tuesday after being hospitalised with stomach pains, defied doctors’ advice for a two-day rest to help Malik take the home team to 219-6 at lunch.
   Malik hit Harris for two boundaries and a six to reach his half-century and also complete 1,000 runs in his 19th Test.
   It was Harris who provided the breakthrough when he trapped Butt in front of the wicket, before Malik rashly stepped out of his crease to a flighted Harris delivery and was stumped by Boucher.
   Malik hit six boundaries and a six during his stubborn 227-minute stay.
   Gul and Kaneria added 21 runs for the ninth wicket before Harris struck again, dismissing Gul, who was stumped by Boucher for 12 to give the keeper his new milestone.
   Kaneria then added another 32 runs for the last wicket with Mohammad Asif (10), before Dale Steyn wrapped up the innings by bowling Asif to finish with 2-50. Nel took 2-59.
   The second Test starts in Lahore on Monday.

National football coach Syed Naeemuddin will reveal his squad for the World Cup qualifier against Tajikistan on Friday. The match will be held at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on October 8.
   The match will be the first step for Naeemuddin towards his final mission – the SAFF Championship, to be held in Colombo in December. ‘Yes we are going through intensive training and the boys are responding very well. I have almost selected the squad but have to give a deep thought, that’s why I am taking another day to finalise the team,’ said Naeemuddin.
   Naeemuddin has been working with a squad of 30 players from September 7. Three senior players – Motiur Munna, Firoz Mahmud Titu and Mehedi Hasan Uzzal – did not join the camp for personal reasons. Naeemuddin is trying to blend youth and experience in his team.
   Though Naeemuddin has the absolute authority of picking his final 20, he has to talk with BFF about it. ‘Naeemuddin will have the last say but he will share his thoughts with us, we can discuss the selection process with the coach,’ said Monzur Hossain Malu, the acting general secretary of the BFF.
   Naeemuddinin has a busy schedule ahead. The team will fly to Tajikistan on October 26 to play the away match two days later. After returning to the country Naeemuddin will lead the under-23 squad to Myanmar to play the Grand Royal Challenge Cup which is scheduled to take place from November 2. After completing the Myanmar mission he will take charge of the Bangladesh national football team for a final preparation for the SAFF Championship.

Pakistani cricket chiefs said Wednesday that they will make a decision on the fate of Inzamam-ul-Haq in the next few days after the former skipper said he wanted to keep playing.
   Inzamam announced his retirement from one-day internationals and resigned the Test and one-day captaincy following Pakistan’s humiliating first-round exit from the World Cup in the West Indies in March.
   The 37-year-old master batsman, who has scored 8,813 runs in 119 Tests, ruled himself out of the ongoing first Test against South Africa in Karachi this week without giving a reason.
   Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Nasim Ashraf ‘has clearly stated that all policy decisions regarding Inzamam will be announced in the next couple of days which will be in the larger interest of the game,’ a board statement said.
   The statement denied media reports that the PCB and Inzamam have struck a deal for the former captain to get a golden handshake of around 150,000 dollars to retire from Test cricket.
   ‘The newspaper report that the PCB has carried out a deal with Inzamam by assuring him a guaranteed sum of 10 million rupees for his retirement from Test cricket, is absolutely incorrect,’ it said.
   Inzamam said in an interview published in the Urdu-language Express newspaper on Wednesday that he had informed Pakistani selectors about his availability for the second Test in Lahore starting from October 8.
   ‘I am fully fit and have no plans to retire,’ said Inzamam.
   ‘I don’t want to leave the game,’ he said. ‘I want to play as long as I am fit and can perform.’
   Inzamam needs just 20 runs to beat Javed Miandad’s Pakistan Test record of 8,832 runs.
   ‘I have informed the selectors that I am available to play the Lahore Test and now it’s up to them to select me or not,’ said Inzamam, who played for the English county Yorkshire on a short-term basis last month.
   Meanwhile Inzamam said that since he hoped he would play in the second Test there is little chance he will go to London to attend a hearing as a witness in umpire Darrell Hair’s race discrimination case.
   Hair has sued his employers, the International Cricket Council, for allegedly banning him from standing in a Test or one day international since the Oval Test controversy in August 2006.
   ‘I have informed the tribunal about my not coming to London as I may be busy playing the Test,’ he said.
   The Australian umpire docked Pakistan five runs on suspicion of ball-tampering in the Fourth Test against England at The Oval, leading Inzamam to refuse to take his team back on to the field. The umpires then awarded the match to England on forfeit. Inzamam was later cleared of tampering charges but was banned for four one-day matches for bringing the game into disrepute.

England are set to retain Graeme Swann as their sole spinner for today’s second day-night one-day international against Sri Lanka in Dambulla.
   That would mean no place for Monty Panesar, who missed the 119-run defeat in game one of the five-match series.
   England must win at least one of the two remaining Dambulla matches to keep the series alive for the Colombo games.
   Meanwhile, Swann said he hoped to pair up with former Northants colleague Panesar at some stage in the tour.
   Swann made an international comeback on Monday after more than seven years in the wilderness.
   He took 1-47 and was one of the few England batsmen to score his runs - 24 off 12 balls - at a decent rate.
   Swann added: ‘I didn’t really look at it as me being picked instead of Monty.
   ‘When the team was announced I was a bit hazy after my name was read out as to who the other bowlers were and I had to go and ask a few minutes later.
   ‘It would have been nice to have bowled with Monty and rekindle the partnership we had at Northants six or seven years ago.
   ‘But there are four more games to go and hopefully at some stage on this trip I will get the chance to bowl with him.’
   England are likely to resist making any changes, and captain Paul Collingwood was pleased enough with wicket-keeper Phil Mustard’s debut. Collingwood and Mustard are club colleagues at Durham, and the skipper added: ‘I thought the way he kept and the way he was buzzing around the field was impressive for his first game.
   ‘You do see a lot of people go into their shells a bit, but he had a big smile on his face, he enjoyed his little cameo and I’m sure he’ll learn a lot from that.
   ‘He’ll be disappointed to get out first ball to a new bowler without giving himself the chance to have a look at him. ‘He’s shown potential there which is the exciting thing and he’s a great character to have in the dressing-room as well so it’s a good start for him.’
   But England may try to get more out of Ravi Bopara. The Essex all-rounder looked wasted at number seven in the batting order, and did not bowl an over.

Australian cricket umpire Darrell Hair tried to ‘blackmail’ the International Cricket Council (ICC) into paying him off through ‘sheer mudslinging’, an employment tribunal heard on Wednesday.
   ICC lawyer Michael Beloff accused Hair of trying to pressurize the body into paying him off by threatening to go public with allegations of racism, in the wake of a controversial decision against Pakistan at the Oval last year.
   Hair was one of two umpires officiating in the fourth and final Test between England and Pakistan at The Oval who awarded England five penalty runs because they believed Pakistan had illegally tampered with the ball.
   Pakistan were incensed by the decision and refused to return to the pitch after the tea interval. The match was eventually awarded to England, who took the series 3-0.
   Hair is suing the ICC for alleged racial discrimination because he says that, while he has not been allowed to officiate in Test matches since, his co-umpire Billy Doctrove, a West Indian, has escaped censure.
   But Beloff accused him of ‘sheer mudslinging’.
   ‘What you were hoping to do was cause the ICC maximum embarrassment and cajole them into making some sort of offer to you,’ claimed Beloff.
   Beloff noted emails which Hair sent in the aftermath of the Oval test, in which first he offered to resign for a one-off payment of 500,000 US dollars (350,000 euros), then revised the offer after speculation about possible racism allegations.
   ‘I suggest that this is an example of you saying ‘if you don’t accept the offer, I am going to make all sorts of allegations around the racism issue.’ ‘It was blackmail, wasn’t it?’ he said.
   Hair said it was not blackmail, but admitted that he regretted having sent the emails.
   Beloff also described as a ‘scurrilous smear’ allegations by Hair that Pakistan Cricket Board head Nasim Ashraf had reputedly been involved in financial irregularities.
   Earlier on Tuesday, Hair told an employment tribunal in London he would lose about 1.7 million pounds in fees for Tests and one-day internationals on the assumption his career as an ICC umpire will not continue after his contract with the International Cricket Council ends next March.
   Although he continues to be paid a retainer as a member of its elite panel, he has not received any match fees for the past year.
   Hair is suing the ICC for racial discrimination at the Central London Employment Tribunal.
   He told the hearing that if he had umpired his customary allocation of Tests and one day internationals, he would have earned about 90,000-100,000 dollars in 2007.
   ‘My projected earnings from fees in ICC associate matches in this year would now appear to be a maximum of 30,000 dollars,’ he said.
   ‘Since returning to Australia I have been trying to find permanent employment without success.
   ‘I have applied for positions at the Australian Rugby League and with a charity as a fund-raising manager, but I have been unsuccessful on each occasion. I do not have any confidence in being able to find a suitable place in the workforce for some considerable time, if at all.
   ‘I feel devastated and let down by the ICC. Since August 20 2006 (the fourth day of the final Test at the Oval when he accused Pakistan of ball-tampering) no-one from ICC has shown any concern for my welfare or for the welfare of my family.
   ‘My family has suffered the pain of reading headlines such as disgraced former umpire’ and ‘sacked former umpire’ and I have found it difficult to cope with daily life in the knowledge that I have not been given a reasonable opportunity to defend myself or make a representation to the Board in person.’
   Hair, who was cross-examined in the afternoon by Michael Beloff, QC for the ICC, said that he was aware it was likely his contract with the ICC would not be renewed after March and claimed he had not received any structured plan from the governing body about his future.
   ‘There has never been any criticism about my match management capabilities by either Doug Cowie, the ICC Umpire Manager, the match referees or the captains,’ he told the hearing.
   ‘I find it incredulous that an ICC sub-committee adopted a position leading to my removal from umpiring top level cricket without me being given a chance to defend the charges against me or even to know what I am alleged to have done wrong.
   ‘Even more astonishing to me is the fact that the ICC maintains there are no minutes or transcript of either the sub-committee’s discussion or the subsequent Board discussion or the voting on the resolution,’ he said.
   ‘I asked Malcolm Speed (the chief executive of the ICC) if it could possibly be performance related but he agreed that my performances since joining the elite panel had been generally very good and I had been continually ranked in the top three umpires.
   ‘I was at a loss to understand how my career could possibly be effectively ended unless it was by a racially motivated and racially discriminated process.’
   Beloff, who erroneously put to Hair that it was a unanimous decision by the ICC to demote him - England and Australia were opposed - asked him about the passages in his autobiography concerning Muttiah Muralitharan, the Sri Lankan spinner whom he called for throwing, and asked whether it was right to call his action ‘diabolical’?
   Hair replied that he was applying the Laws of Cricket as they existed at the time.

Reigning champions BKSP and runners-up Dhaka set up a repeat clash when they moved into the final of the Araf Apparels 21st National Youth Hockey Championship on Wednesday. The final will be played at 2:15pm today.
   BKSP outplayed Rajshahi 4-1 on the last day of the super six phase at the Maulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium. Skipper Belal and Hasan Jubair scored two goals each for BKSP while Rana Kumar netted the lone goal for Rajshahi.
   Dhaka thrashed Munshiganj 13-0. Rakib scored four goals while skipper Mamun and Faisal netted three goals each for Dhaka. Alamgir Islam struck twice while Abdur Rashid netted the other for the hosts in the one-sided affair.

The four swimmers of the Bangladesh Special Olympics team – Nurunnahar, Laili Akhter, Md Masud and Al Mahmud Bin Dipu – will compete in 50-metre freestyle and 50-metre breaststroke only out of six events.
   The heats of 50m freestyle will take place at 9:00am local time today and the final will be held tomorrow. The heats of 50m breaststroke will be held on October 8 with the final on the following day.
   Coach Md Golam Mostafa and his deputy Laboni Sharmin conducted the warm-up session for the swimmers on Wednesday. The bocce team will take part in the singles final today.

It was the story the cricketing world found too good to be true – retired Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne was romancing the Jemima Khan, the former wife of Pakistan cricket legend Imran Khan.
   And it was just that.
   In a front page story on the cover of Woman’s Day magazine, Khan was named as the ‘other woman’ in Warne’s life and the cause of the latest split from his ex-wife Simone Callahan.
   But Warne, embroiled in a messy public tit-for-tat exchange with Callahan over alleged infidelities, Wednesday dismissed the story as nonsense, saying he was ‘just friends’ with the glamourous Khan. ‘There’s absolutely no truth in that one whatsoever,’ he said in Melbourne.
   ‘We’re good friends, friends with the family and that’s it. Hopefully that all clears it up with you guys.’
   Warne retired from international cricket this year and moved to England where he attempted to reconcile with Callahan, whom he divorced in 2005. But the pair now say they have parted for good, with Callahan recently claiming in a paid magazine interview that the relationship ended after Warne accidentally sent her a cheeky text message intended for another woman.
   Warne has denied her account but Wednesday said he would not engage in a public feud with the mother of his three children.
   ‘I’m not going to start a tennis match with Simone, backwards and forwards,’ he said. ‘Simone knows the truth, that’s the end of that one.’

India’s media Wednesday condemned fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth’s on-field tantrums after he clashed with Australian batsmen, saying there was a ‘thin line between aggression and antics.’
   Sreesanth clashed repeatedly with the batsmen during Tuesday’s second one-day international in Kochi and even appealed for a run-out against Andrew Symonds after the ball was ruled dead.
   The bowler ran up to striker Brad Haddin’s feet to collect a ball that bounced off the batsman’s pad and eye-balled him inches from his nose.
   Non-striker Symonds left his crease to have a word with Sreesanth who promptly dislodged the bails and continued to appeal for a run-out even though umpire Suresh Shastri ruled it a ‘dead’ ball.
   Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni prevented the situation from turning ugly by persuading Sreesanth to get on with the game, but the local media was unimpressed.
   ‘Sreesanth’s on-field behaviour made little sense,’ wrote the Hindu newspaper.
   ‘There was little excuse for Sreesanth’s exaggerated and provocative celebration when he, subsequently, had Symonds caught and bowled.
   ‘He has (in the past) had his match-fees docked, been spoken to by umpires, but he does not seem to have learnt his lesson.
   ‘He is so much the better paceman when his mind and body are in harmony. Once Sreesanth loses his cool, he is not the same force as a bowler.’
   Sreesanth has been fined a few times in the past year, the latest for excessive appealing during the semi-final win over Australia at last month’s Twenty20 world championships in South Africa.
   Australia’s stand-in captain Adam Gilchrist, celebrating his team’s 84-run victory, said he was shocked by the aggressive on-field behaviour of some players.
   ‘I saw some really hard-fought cricket,’ said Gilchrist. ‘There were some comments between different players and that happens.
   ‘I also saw a few things that I would not expect from my son, Harrison, in a backyard game of cricket.
   ‘Sreesanth was quite outspoken about how he was going to take the challenge to us. He’s said a lot in the press, and we see it. That’s fine. We’re not questioning that.
   ‘That’s no doubt the way he wants to play cricket. When we get our chance, we will play aggressive cricket too.’
   Haddin, who was named man of the match for his 69-ball 87, was less diplomatic.
   ‘There is a fine line between stupidity and the spirit of cricket,’ Haddin said, referring to Sreesanth’s run-out appeal against Symonds.
   ‘You can judge for yourself.’
   The Indian captain chose to play down his fast bowler’s behaviour.
   ‘Sreesanth was heated up but he has changed over the last six months,’ Dhoni said. ‘He was playing in front of his home crowd and got excited.’
   With the first match in Bangalore abandoned due to rain, Australia lead 1-0 in what has effectively become a six-match series.
   The next match will be played in Hyderabad on Friday.

The former Glamorgan captain, Hugh Morris, has been unveiled as the new managing director of the England cricket team, while Mike Gatting and the former England women’s captain, Clare Connor, have been handed major new roles at the England & Wales Cricket Board, as part of the wide-ranging managerial restructure as recommended in the recent Schofield Report.
   In the wake of England’s 5-0 Ashes humiliation in January and their subsequent early exit from the World Cup in the Caribbean, Ken Schofield, the former chief of the European PGA Tour, was commissioned to chair an inquest into the state of English cricket.
   He drew up a list of 19 recommendations, chief among which was: ‘The establishment of a new management structure within the ECB with full accountability and responsibility for the selection and performance of the England cricket team.’
   Morris, who played in two Tests for England in 1991, has been the ECB’s deputy chief executive since December 2005. He was also a member of the seven-man Schofield committee, having retired from playing in 1995 to take up a role of technical coaching director with the ECB.
   His new role gives him responsibility for all aspects of England team affairs - including the thorny issue of discipline, which was addressed last week by the incoming ECB chairman, Giles Clarke.
   The selection of players with injury problems would also come into Morris’s remit - a problem that has become especially acute in recent months given Andrew Flintoff’s ongoing struggle with his ankle.
   By acting as a liaison between the players and the head coach, the intention is that players would be better placed to admit to injuries without jeopardising future selection.
   Gatting, who played in 79 Tests and captained England on their last victorious Ashes tour in 1986-87, has been handed the role of Managing Director Cricket Partnerships, which will cover first-class as well as recreational cricket, with a view to enhancing communications between the various levels of the game.
   Connor, who retired in 2006, succeeds Gill McConway as the Head of Women’s Cricket and will represent ECB on the ICC Women’s Committee. It promises to be a tough act to follow.
   McConway is responsible for such innovations as the Super Fours - which were credited with assisting in boosting England to No. 2 in the world - as well as finding the team a permanent home at Taunton and bringing about the deal for the team buses to be England-branded - an innovation which was taken on board by England men and the England boys Under-19s.
   ECB chief executive, David Collier, said: ‘I am delighted that Hugh, Mike and Clare have accepted these positions. Their experience as captain of their counties and England together with their knowledge of the Cricket Foundation, Chance to Shine, Club cricket and the Lord’s and Lady Taverners will greatly strengthen the Cricket Department within ECB.
   ‘These appointments were recommended within the England Review and approved by the Board this summer.’

Sri Lanka’s former captain and opening batsman Marvan Atapattu is set to make a comeback after being overlooked for the World Cup, chief selector Asantha de Mel told AFP here Wednesday.
   ‘We need his experience in Australia. He has the technique and temperament to stay at the crease... It will be very important for the two Tests against Australia,’ de Mel said.
   He said Atapattu, if available, will be part of Sri Lanka’s plans in their quest to win its first Test match on Australian soil during the two-match series next month.
   ‘I will talk to him about his availability,’ he said, referring to a decision by Sri Lanka Cricket to release him from his central contract with effect from this month.
   Atapattu, who has scored over 5,000 runs in 88 Tests with 16 hundreds, six of them double hundreds, sought release from his contract – a move widely seen as an expression of his frustration at being overlooked for the World Cup.
   De Mel said if Atapattu was available, the selectors would leave out veteran batsman Sanath Jayasuriya for the Australia Test series.
   ‘We want Sanath only in the one-day team,’ he said.

Glenn McGrath could make one last appearance in a Twenty20 match for New South Wales this season. The Age reported that the Blues were talking to McGrath about playing Queensland at Sydney’s Telstra Stadium on January 8.
   That would give McGrath a final chance to farewell his home state before he becomes available for the Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition. As part of the IPL and Champions League concept, McGrath could potentially be recruited by a domestic side from another country to play against the best Australian Twenty20 teams, even if that means lining up against New South Wales.
   Dave Gilbert, the chief executive of Cricket New South Wales, said Australian states would struggle to do the same and lure an international star like Kevin Pietersen. ‘You never say never, but with the commercial opportunities available to those guys these days, they don’t get out of bed for less than probably £100,000, so it’s going to be very difficult to lure them here,’ Gilbert said.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has arranged six warm-up matches for the divisional sides in a bid to give them the much-needed practice ahead of the National Cricket League.
   Chittagong and Sylhet, however, decided not to play the matches, all of which will be one-day games.
   Barisal will take on Bangladesh Under-19 squad in the first warm-up match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on October 5 before Rajshahi play against the National Cricket Academy side at the Shahid Chandu Stadium in Bogra the following day.
   Rajshahi will play against the same opponents on October 7 at the Rajshahi Divisional Stadium. Dhaka will play their only warm-up match against the U-19 national team at the Mirpur stadium on October 8 while Khulna host the National Cricket Academy on October 9 and 10.

The National Sports Council approved the draft constitution of the District Football Associations sent by the Bangladesh Football Federation on Wednesday.
   After approval the BFF can now concentrate on the election procedure of the federation.
   The DFA constitution will be adopted in an emergency general meeting of the BFF. The date of the meeting will be finalised on Friday.

Frenchman Daniel Cousin inspired Scottish giants Rangers to a stunning 3-0 win over six-time French champions Lyon here on Tuesday in their Champions League Group E clash to continue the recent Scottish dominance over French sides.
   The victory - which will heap the pressure on Lyon’s coach Alain Perrin - follows Scotland’s two wins over France in their Euro 2008 qualifiers.
   Cousin’s goal was the pick of the three with former Wigan player Lee McCulloch’s header - on his debut in the Champions League - from DaMarcus Beasley’s corner and the latter adding the third following a brilliant ball by Cousin.
   Rangers’ victory was only Lyon’s second defeat in their last 20 home matches in the Champions League and saw Lyon coach Alain Perrin’s record in the competition slide to a pretty poor one of one win in eight Champions League contests.
   Rangers manager Walter Smith was delighted if not slightly surprised to have achieved such a result in what was only Rangers’ first away win in their last 10 Champions League matches.
   ‘It was a fantastic result, no one could have expected that,’ said Smith, who left the Scotland coaching post for a second spell with Rangers.
   ‘We were hoping to sneak a result.
   ‘But those two goals early in the second-half killed the match off. We’ve had some fantastic results in the past but this must be up there with them.
   ‘It was a very good performance from us.
   ‘The result Scotland had recently was a great thing as is ours but I wouldn’t want to compare the two results. However, Barcelona are still out and out favourites with outstanding players and we will have to try and take it to another level against Barca.’
   Juninho, Lyon’s outstanding performer on the night as he has been down the past six years, admitted making the knockout stages was going to be difficult.
   ‘It is a difficult time we are going through at the moment, something we haven’t experienced for a long time,’ admitted the former Brazilian international.
   ‘Now we must ensure we finish third (for a UEFA Cup place). Already? Well we can still qualify for the knockout stages but one has to be realistic .... we have conceded six goals in two matches and not scored one.’
   Beasley put the ball in the 23rd minute from a corner and McCulloch met it with a bullet like header to send it into the roof of the net beating the defender who was parked on the line.
   Lyon had few chances to test Rangers ‘keeper Allan McGregor and it took until the 28th minute for them to get close to scoring but Juninho’s trademark freekick sailed over the bar.
   Juninho tested McGregor four minutes later with another freekick which came in from wide on the left forcing the Rangers ‘keeper somewhat unwisely to palm it away and it fell to the feet of Benzema but the leading league scorer prodded it tamely wide.
   The Brazilian master appeared to have used his first two for sighting the target because his third right on half-time went desperately close to levelling the affair when his freekick beat McGregor all ends up but rebounded off the bar.
   However, it was Rangers who got the ball into the net early in the second-half with a terrific effort by Cousin, who turned adroitly in the box and from a pretty sharp angle fired the ball into the far corner past Lyon ‘keeper Remy Vercoutre ending his poor record against the French side, having not found the net in six previous matches against them.
   It was game over in the 53rd minute as Beasley was brilliantly spotted by Cousin, whose long pass saw the American outstrip the lone defender and with the ‘keeper unable to make up his mind whether to come out or stay on his line Beasley slotted the ball past him.
   If only Lyon had 11 Juninho’s because he was the only one showing any heart to mount a comeback and he once gain had to turn away in frustration in the 70th minute as his cracking left footed drive beat McGregor but hit the post.
   Lyon went close twice more before the final whistle with Brazilian defender Anderson’s header hit the bar and the tireless Juninho saw another freekick turned away by McGregor.
   With 10 minutes remaining the Lyon fans voted with their feet and headed for the exit - it remains to be seen whether Perrin follows them on a permanent basis.

German giants Bayern Munich will be without captain and keeper Oliver Kahn and key striker Miroslav Klose for the crucial UEFA Cup clash against Belenenses today.
   ‘They are two important players for Bayern, both on and off the field,’ said French international Franck Ribery on the absence of Kahn and the Bundesliga’s current leading scorer.
   Dutch international midfielder Mark van Bommel and German international midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger are also in doubt for the trip to Lisbon’s Estadio do Restelo, Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said Tuesday on the club website.
   Kahn, who is set to retire from the Bundesliga at the end of the season, missed Saturday’s 1-0 league win over Bayer Leverkusen with a painful elbow injury and on Tuesday travelled to the United States for specialist surgery.
   Klose aggravated a calf injury and may need ‘at least three weeks’ to recover, Hitzfeld said.
   Schweinsteiger had to abandon Tuesday’s team training session with a calf problem while van Bommel is still struggling with an injury to his little toe and also had to sit out training.
   ‘Probably he (van Bommel) will be able to resume training tomorrow (Wednesday),’ Hitzfeld said. ‘If not, Andi Ottl will play.’
   Klose’s injury will give either Jan Schlaudraff or Lukas Podolski a rare chance to break into the first-team, while 23-year-old Michael Rensing will continue to deputise for Kahn.
   Young professional Toni Kroos and amateur Sandro Wagner will also be flying to Portugal with the squad. ‘I would have no qualms about playing him from the start,’ Hitzfeld said of Kroos, who made his Bundesliga debut just a week ago.
   Blackburn will also be without captain Ryan Nelsen who was sidelined for a month after suffering a hamstring injury in their first leg 2-0 loss to Larissa at the Panthessaliko Stadium in Volos.
   They will have to produce something special at home to avoid being eliminated from the UEFA competition by the Greek Cup winners.
   Meanwhile Everton coach David Moyes believes his side will continue their resurgence with a win over Metallist when they travel to Ukraine for their second leg match.
   Moyes believes his team has turned the corner after Sunday’s 2-0 home win over Middlesbrough, their second successive victory following a series of disappointing displays.
   Everton need a win over Metalist when they travel to the Ukraine to get to the group stages after drawing 1-1 in the first round, first leg at Goodison Park.
   ‘That’s two wins and two clean sheets this week, hopefully we’ll get the same in the UEFA Cup on Thursday,’ Moyes said after the Sunday win.
   ‘Sometimes you start to smell change and I thought there was that smell today.’
   Tottenham will be looking to continue their dominance over Anorthosis when they travel to Cyprus after their 6-1 thrashing of the Cypriots in the first leg.
   The club is on a high following their weekend 4-4 draw with Aston Villa when they came back from being 4-1 down with only 30 minutes left to play.
   Bolton will face a more difficult assignment when they travel to Macedonia to take on Rabotnicki after their 1-1 draw at home in the first leg.
   In other matches Fiorentina are at home to Dutch side Groningen after their 1-1 draw in the first leg while Aberdeen travel to the Ukraine to take on Dnipro after being held to a 0-0 draw at home in the first round.

AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi has said his club will be first in line if Barcelona decide to sell its under-fire midfielder Ronaldinho, but that he will never part with his fellow Brazilian star Kaka, in an interview published Wednesday.
   ‘If one day Barcelona decides to sell Ronaldinho, Milan will have priority and will be first in line to secure his transfer,’ the former Italian prime minister told the Spanish newspaper Marca,
   ‘We just have to wait for Barcelona to decide to put the Brazilian up for sale,’ he said.
   The 2005 Footballer of the Year ‘would feel good and would be very happy in Milan for numerous reasons.’
   The Brazilian midfielder has struggled for form this season, and had missed three matches for Barca before coach Frank Rijkaard recalled him for Tuesday’s Champions League match at Stuttgart, which the Spanish team won 2-0.
   Barcelona’s official line is that a calf strain has kept the 27-year-old off the pitch but Spanish media claim the club are tired of his relatively poor form.
   Berlusconi also said that ‘there has never been any possibility’ that Milan would sell Brazilian playmaker Kaka, who has been a target of Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon.
   Kaka, the highest earning footballer in Italy, ‘has never wanted to leave and I believe that he will never do so...Kaka is the symbol of Milan.’

Russian metals billionaire Alisher Usmanov said he planned to become the biggest shareholder of the English Premiership side Arsenal after recently increasing his stake in the club, Russian media reported on Wednesday.
   The 54-year-old revealed that he has long-term ambitions to buy Arsenal even if he is not able to do so in the immediate future because of the club’s prior obligations.
   ‘We don’t have the possibility to buy the side today, but this is business and life is changing,’ Usmanov said. ‘Something that you can’t do today, can be possible to do tomorrow.’
   Usmanov recently raised his stake in Arsenal to 23 per cent and called his investment in the Premiership side ‘a good portfolio investment’ indicating also that he would consider a takeover should shareholders decide to sell their stakes in Arsenal at the ‘right’ price.
   Usmanov also stressed his respect and his understanding of the importance of the side’s manager Arsene Venger to the prosperity of the club.
   ‘I want to be a part of the club where the great Wenger is working,’ Usmanov told the press.
   Usmanov’s stake, held through the firm Red and White Holdings Limited which he controls, makes him the club’s second largest shareholder behind Danny Fiszman, who owns just over 24 per cent.
   However, Fiszman and fellow board members Peter Hill-Wood, Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith and Richard Carr have a so-called ‘lockdown agreement’ not to sell their shares until April 2008 at the earliest.
   Usmanov, who is also the president of the Russian fencing federation, is estimated by the US publisher Forbes to be worth $5.5 billion (3.9 billion euros).
   His interest in British football follows in the footsteps of oil billionaire Roman Abramovich, owner of London’s Chelsea.

Sami Hyypia is convinced he can earn himself a new contract at Liverpool because he claims he is tailor-made for Rafa Benitez’s controversial rotation policy.
   Hyypia, who has made over 400 appearances during eight years at Anfield, is in the final year of his current deal.
   The long-serving Finland defender, who turns 34 when Liverpool entertain Tottenham on Sunday, wants another contract to take him beyond his 35th birthday.
   And Hyypia is hoping to use his extended run in Benitez’s side to prove he is worth another deal.
   Liverpool manager Benitez has been forced to use Hyypia more than he would like this season because of Daniel Agger’s fractured metatarsal.
   But Hyypia insists he will have no complaints if he has to take a back-seat when Agger returns to the side sometime next month.
   ‘I’m enjoying this moment because I’m playing a lot of games,’ said Hyypia.
   ‘But I’m not 20-years-old any more.
   ‘The recovery time after games is a bit longer now than what it used to be.’
   Benitez’s rotation policy has come under-fire from critics as Liverpool have stuttered in the Premiership despite reaching two Champions League finals in the last three seasons.
   Yet Hyypia says he is a fan of the system and believes it will reap rewards in the future.
   ‘It suits me that I don’t play every game,’ added Hyypia.
   ‘I understand that there are only 11 places in the starting line-up and that we have a big squad.
   ‘There are some quality players on the bench and some quality players who can’t even get on the bench.
   ‘Everybody keeps talking about the rotation when the results aren’t going well, but when they are going well then nobody mentions it!’
   Having topped the Premiership table after thrashing Derby 6-0 last month, Liverpool have fallen off the pace recently and go into the weekend trailing current leaders Arsenal by four points.
   Hyypia insists his team-mates must rediscover their early season form if they are to end their long wait for the title.
   ‘Lately we haven’t performed as well as we can,’ he said.
   ‘We can beat anybody on our day, but lately we haven’t performed as well as we can.
   ‘At the start of the season we played well and created chances.
   ‘But we need to get back to that and keep the consistency.’

Tottenham boss Martin Jol has jumped to the defence of under-fire goalkeeper Paul Robinson. Robinson was to blame to two of Aston Villa’s goals in the dramatic 4-4 draw at White Hart Lane on Monday night. The England international’s latest blunders have raised questions over his place in the side, but Jol insists he is fully behind the former Leeds custodian.
   ‘Robinson said in the dressing room ‘It’s my mistake’ and held his hands up for the first goal,’ Jol told the Daily Express.
   ‘But he is pretty confident and apart from the awful situation against Croatia, he has not conceded any goals in qualifying for England. He will be fine.’
   Meanwhile, Spurs defender Younes Kaboul insists all the players are behind Martin Jol. Kaboul’s dramatic late equaliser against Villa helped ease the pressure on Jol and the summer signing from Auxerre says the players are keen to turn things round
   ‘I know how important that goal was for the future of the manager,’ Kaboul told The Sun.
   ‘Martin is a very good coach. But he is not on the pitch, the players are - so it’s up to us to do the business.’
   ‘Our comeback proves how much we are still behind him. We all support him. It was an incredible match for us. Villa came here to win but we knew we had to get something out of the game as we’re going through a tough time. It was not the score Tottenham wanted but, given the way the match went, the result is good. Maybe this result could turn our season around. I hope so.’

Sevilla put their debut Champions League campaign back on track with a 4-2 win over Slavia Prague in Group H on Tuesday.
   The UEFA Cup holders fell 3-0 to Arsenal in their opening group game before losing their next three Primera Liga matches.
   Frederic Kanoute opened the scoring after eight minutes only for Slavia to equalise through Daniel Pudil.
   Luis Fabiano, Julien Escude and Arouna Kone put the game beyond doubt before the Czechs replied through David Kalivoda in injury time.
   Coach Juande Ramos’s side climbed to second in the group with three points from two games, ahead of Slavia on goal difference.
   Sevilla made a perfect start when Jesus Navas intercepted a poor pass out of defence to set off Kanoute down the right.
   With Martin Vaniak out of his area, the Mali striker lifted the ball over the keeper from a narrow angle.
   Slavia levelled against the run of play when Matej Krajcik’s centre from the byline zipped across the area for Pudil to score with a left-foot piledriver.
   Luis Fabiano headed over with the goal gaping in the 24th minute, after more good work from Kanoute, but three minutes later he made amends.
   Kanoute’s clever flick from midfield set the Brazilian racing through on goal and he coolly rounded Vaniak.
   Slavia, who won 7-1 in the league last Friday, came back strongly after the restart with Stanislav Vlcek and Tijani Belaid going close.
   But Sevilla struck from a corner when Seydou Keita’s flick-on was volleyed in from close range by Escude in the 58th.
   The inspirational Kanoute created the fourth goal 11 minutes later when his pass set up substitute Kone for a one-on-one with Vaniak and the Ivorian slotted home.
   Sevilla became sloppy near the end and keeper Andres Palop could only parry Milan Ivana’s powerful shot for Kalivoda to score at the far post.

Liverpool chief Rafa Benitez has warned Peter Crouch that he must fight for his place at Anfield.
   Crouch has dropped down the pecking order at Liverpool this season with Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt and Andrei Voronin all ahead of him in Benitez’s plans.
   The England international has spoken of his frustration at his lack of first-team opportunities, but Benitez has told the giant forward to do his talking on the pitch.
   ‘In a top side every player needs to prove his character, quality and mentality.
   ‘The strikers need to be ready and the responsibility is on the player. When I talk about a good mentality I mean a winning one, trying to fight for your position and show you’re good enough.
   ‘We’re hopefully going to play 60 games so that’s enough for all to have their opportunity.
   ‘If they say they are not ready, in a top side we don’t want excuses.
   ‘We want players who are ready to play every game the best they can.
   ‘It doesn’t just apply to Crouch but to all of them. For me it’s better if a player plays 50 per cent of the games working at 100 per cent and not 90 per cent in all games and not win anything.’
   Benitez also called on Crouch to use the example of Yossi Benayoun by playing his way into his plans
   ‘Benayoun showed what can happen if you work hard and you’re ready.
   ‘But I don’t have a problem with Crouch - he’s learning,’ added Benitez.
   ‘It’s frustrating for them but when they are left out they must be ready for the next game.
   ‘Sides do evolve and you do lose players along the way. That is inevitable.
   ‘It isn’t easy to find players like Jamie Carragher, who stay at one club and retain a winning mentality.
   ‘But Crouch will score goals and must be ready when he gets a chance.’

Sir Alex Ferguson is hoping Wayne Rooney’s Champions League winner against Roma will open the floodgates for the England forward and a Manchester United squad that has found goals painfully hard to come by this season.
   Rooney’s superbly-taken 70th-minute strike, his first of the season, was enough to give United a somewhat fortunate 1-0 win over a side they had beaten 7-1 on their last encounter at Old Trafford, only six months ago.
   Six of the Premier League champions’ seven wins this season have come by the same margin and Ferguson admitted he was bemused by the trend.
   ‘It is a disease,’ the Scot observed with half a smile. ‘We’re trying to get a vaccine for it.
   ‘Sometimes you go through these spells. But it won’t last forever. Some day we’re going to hit a few goals and hopefully it will start soon.
   The evening would have had a different outcome if Roma had been able to take any of the numerous chances they generated in a game they dominated for long periods.
   Ferguson acknowledged United had ridden their luck, but insisted the quality of the goal from Rooney was worthy of winning any match.
   The England forward had endured a frustrating evening operating behind an out-of-sorts Louis Saha, who was making his first start since February. But his luck turned when he was pushed to the head of the forward line following the introduction of Carlos Tevez.
   A superb little ball from the outstanding Nani gave him a yard of space in the inside right channel and Rooney finished with a first-time shot that found the net off the bottom of the far post.
   ‘It was a fabulous goal – great moving and great passing,’ Ferguson purred. ‘The penetration we were looking for in the second half created the opening for us.
   Rooney is only four matches into his comeback from a broken metatarsal bone and Ferguson admitted, ‘He is still trying to get his rhythm and real match fitness. But this will do him good. Goals always do players good, especially when they are expected of them.’
   Ferguson also had praise for goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak’s contribution to the victory on his Champions League debut.
   ‘He was excellent. He made some good saves, a couple of good blocks. And they missed a couple of chances, good chances actually, and maybe we carried a little bit of luck at those moments,’ the United boss acknowledged.
   Ferguson revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo had needed four stitches in his eyebrow after the match. ‘I didn’t see it but he himself has said it was an elbow,’ the Scot said. ‘It is unfortunate because the match was played in a good spirit.’
   He added, ‘Roma had some really good chances at the end but that’s football, it can be unfair. I think we probably deserved a bit of luck because we played the game with good control and good tactical awareness.
   ‘The position in the group now is straightforward. Ten points will get us through, we have got six and winning our first two matches gives us confidence and a controlling position.
   ‘Now we have back-to-back matches against Dynamo Kiev and hopefully we can add to those results. We don’t want to be going to Rome for the last game in the group looking for points.’
   Roma coach Luciano Spalletti bemoaned his side’s bad luck – although in reality it was dreadful finishing that cost them, Simone Perrotta and Mauro Esposito in particular missing absolute sitters in the closing stages.
   ‘When a team puts on that kind of display, really at the end of the match they should not be on the beaten side, even against opponents of the stature of Manchester United,’ Spalletti complained.
   ‘If anyone deserved to score more goals today it was us rather than Manchester.’
   Roma’s line-up featured five survivors from their last, dispiriting visit to Old Trafford but there was no sign of psychological scarring from that painful night as they dominated for over an hour.
   Their talismanic captain Francesco Totti had troubled United throughout the opening period and came close to giving his side the lead minutes after the interval, when Ludovic Giuly found him on the edge of the six-yard box with only Tomasz Kuszczak to beat.
   The number ten opted to attempt a chipped finish, clearing both the sprawling goalkeeper and the bar in the process.
   Even after Rooney had given them the lead, United continued to live dangerously and it took a combination of some superb blocks from Nemanja Vidic and misses from ten yards by Perrotta and substitute Esposito to preserve their advantage in the final stages.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has made a bed-side visit to the boy who was injured when he collided with the player’s car.
   After a session at the club’s Melwood training ground this morning Gerrard went to see Jamie Hellawell, 10, in a ward at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in West Derby, Liverpool.
   Gerrard had been at the wheel of his £140,000 Bently GTC convertible when the schoolboy ran out into Grantham Road outside Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School.
   Jamie is said to be in a stable condition after being transferred from Ormskirk District General Hospital to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool where he was scheduled to undergo an operation on a compound fracture of his left leg.
   A visibly shocked Gerrard, who dashed across to comfort the injured boy and held his hand until an ambulance arrived, told watching mums: ‘The lad just came out of nowhere.’
   Several of the bystanders were nurses and also rushed over to help Jamie, who was screaming in agony. Police arrived and questioned Gerrard, who has a conviction for careless driving, at the scene.
   Speaking after the crash, Jamie’s grandfather Reg Rogan, who had been picking up his two other grandchildren from school, said that his grandson was ‘very brave.’
   Gerrard, he added, was clearly distressed over the horrifying incident. ‘Steven Gerrard knelt down and held (Jamie’s) hand and he seemed genuinely upset,’ Mr Rogan said. ‘You could tell he was in shock.’
   One witness said: ‘The lad ran out from behind a parked car and just went flying. ‘Stevie slammed on the brakes but it was too late.
   ‘He was in a blind panic — and in tears. But people were telling him it wasn’t his fault.’
   A resident, how lives opposite the school gates, said: ‘A lot of mums were picking their kids up from school and there were some nurses among them still in their uniforms.
   ‘They gave the lad first aid at the side of the road. It took about 20 minutes for the ambulance and police to arrive and Steven stayed with him the whole time.’
   Another witness added: ‘Gerrard’s car wasn’t going fast. The lad just ran straight into the path of it — and it hit him side on.
   ‘Ambulancemen put a brace on his left leg and a mask on his face to give him oxygen. ‘The police questioned Gerrard for about ten or 15 minutes in a police van and blocked the road off.’
   Jamie, a Manchester United fan - was taken to hospital where he x-rays confirmed his leg was broken in two places. A spokesman for the Liverpool ace said: ‘Steven was driving very slowly through an area of Birkdale when a young boy ran out and hit the side of his car.
   ‘Steven comforted the boy until the paramedics arrived.’
   ‘Steven later attended a police station where he produced his driving documents as a matter of routine and made a statement about the accident. Jamie, a Manchester United fan, was especially pleased to receive the signed boots, belonging to the club’s star striker Wayne Rooney. Gerrard said he phoned Rooney after discovering Jamie was a United supporter and arranged for the boots to be collected overnight.
   Gerrard, who made his hospital visit after training with Liverpool, also met other children on the wards and posed for photographs and signed autographs.

Robin van Persie extended Arsenal’s winning run to nine matches as the Dutch striker’s late goal clinched a 1-0 victory at Romanian side Steaua Bucharest in the Champions League on Tuesday.
   Arsene Wenger has challenged in-form Arsenal to emulate the club’s historic ‘invincibles’ by going on an epic unbeaten run.
   Wenger knows what it takes to achieve perfection in football after building the famous team that went 49 league matches without losing.
   The French coach believes his side’s hard-fought 1-0 win at Steaua Bucharest in the Champions League on Tuesday is proof that the Gunners’ current crop have what it takes to follow in the footsteps of the 2003-04 vintage.
   Arsenal are unbeaten in 12 matches in all competitions and Robin van Persie’s late goal in Romania clinched a ninth consecutive victory.
   Wenger has been adamant that the Premier League leaders can roll their sleeves up and grind out a win just as easily as they produce the eye-catching moves that make them the most attractive side in Europe.
   And the way they emerged unscathed from an exacting Group H examination against Steaua underlined that point.
   Now Wenger is convinced something special is taking shape at the Emirates Stadium.
   ‘It says something about the focus of the team,’ he said. ‘Even though it was not the most glamorous of games, we had good focus and good team display. Overall the team is hungry.
   ‘That is now our challenge, how long can we extend this run?
   How can we try to be inspired by that kind of consistency, but it is too early to compare a run like we did before.
   ‘In 49 and nine, there is 40 games difference. Let’s go step by step and try to win the next game, which is Sunderland at home.’
   After so many dazzling exhibitions of the beautiful game from Arsenal in the first weeks of the campaign, this was an example of winning ugly.
   Steaua proved a tougher nut to crack than expected, but Wenger’s team refused to give in and got their rewards eventually.
   Arsenal have often gone missing in action when they travel to Eastern Europe, with Wenger admitting his team sometimes find it hard to get motivated for these less glamorous assignments.
   That looked to be the case again in the early stages.
   When Romeo Surdu whipped in a cross from the left, Valentin Badea should have done better than nod tamely over from bar. Then, in the seventh minute, Surdu had the ball in Manuel Almunia’s net, only to see his header ruled out for offside.
   Steaua, who had never lost at home to English opposition, nearly fell behind when goalkeeper Robinson Zapata almost carried Gael Clichy’s deflected cross over his own goal-line.
   It took an alert clearance from Arsenal’s Kolo Toure to deny Nicolae Dica after his lob looped over Manuel Almunia midway through the second half.
   Steaua should have taken the lead in the 71st minute. Victoras Iacob beat Arsenal’s hesitent offside trap and bore down on Almunia, only to drag his shot woefully wide.
   That miss proved decisive. Wenger’s side finally pieced together an incisive attack in the 76th minute and made it count in ruthless style.
   Adebayor’s cross from left side of the penalty area cut out four Steaua defenders and reached van Persie, who drove a perfect shot high past Zapata.
   It was van the Dutch forward’s second winner in four days after his strike sealed the points at West Ham on Saturday.
   The patient way Arsenal tried to wear down the Romanians pleased Wenger almost as much as the result.
   Where they would often become frustrated if the game didn’t go their way a year ago, now there is a new maturity to the likes of van Persie, Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor.
   ‘Patience is linked with maturity and we were conscious of that at half-time,’ Wenger said.
   ‘We felt superior and we were but as long as you do not score you must not become too nervous or impatient, and therefore open to the counter attack.
   ‘We kept going, were intelligent and in the end scored the goal which gave us a deserved win.’

Inter Milan’s in-form striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored both goals in a 2-0 victory over PSV Eindhoven in Champions League action on Tuesday night giving himself an early birthday present and completing a memorable few days for Roberto Mancini’s men.
   A 4-1 victory at second-placed Roma at the weekend propelled the reigning Italian champions to the top of the Italian league table and now this result has softened the blow of the 1-0 away defeat to Turks Fenerbahce in their opening Group G game.
   Ibrahimovic – who turns 26 on Wednesday – stamped his authority on this match to take his scoring record to nine goals in eight matches this season, and his first goals in the competition in nearly two years. The last time the Swede had scored in the Champions League was in December 2005 with Juventus and has since gone 12 matches, four with Juventus and eight with Inter, without a goal.
   ‘Ibrahimovic is a great player, a true champion. He is the finisher in the team, he has great class and always makes the difference,’ Inter coach Roberto Mancini told reporters.
   PSV Eindhoven arrived at the San Siro in high spirits after beating CSKA Moscow in their first match and they remain unbeaten in six matches in the Dutch league too.
   The opening goal came after a quarter-hour when Ibrahimovic was fouled in the penalty area by former Liverpool defender Jan Kromkamp, the Swedish international taking the spot-kick himself.
   Ibrahimovic chalked up his second of the night on 31 minutes, getting on the end of a deep cross from the right by Luis Figo to send a looping header over Heurelho Gomes and into the net.
   Inter had to survive a nervous final 25 minutes with just 10 men, however, when Cristian Chivu was sent off for a second yellow card after kicking out at Australian international Jason Culina. He will be suspended for Inter’s next match against CSKA Moscow.
   Three minutes into injury time David Suazo was also shown the red card, meaning Inter ended the match with nine men, for elbowing Carlos Salcido. Like Chivu, Suazo will also miss the next match against CSKA Moscow.

Barcelona took a step closer to the Champions League’s first knock-out round on Tuesday night with a convincing 2-0 win at VfB Stuttgart to claim their second consecutive group stage win.
   Despite the home side having four clear first-half chances to take the lead, Stuttgart’s defence finally cracked as substitute Carles Puyol and Argentinian super-star Lionel Messi fired second-half goals.
   The win leaves the Spaniards unbeaten in Group E after last month’s 3-0 win at home to Lyon as they join Rangers on six points, while Stuttgart stay pointless.
   ‘We met the opponents who are in great form at the moment and, unfortunately, we were not equipped with the appropriate self-confidence to deal with that,’ said Stuttgart coach Armin Veh.
   ‘Without the confidence, we needed a fair bit of luck and, again unfortunately, we haven’t got that at the moment either.
   ‘You only needed to look at the goals they scored to see where we went wrong.’
   But despite his side’s comfortable win, Barcelona’s Dutch coach Frank Rijkaard was far from satisfied with the performance. ‘I was not impressed with the first-half,’ he said.
   ‘We started well, but we were thoughtless with our chances. Those are problems which we must address, because you can’t afford to waste them in a competition like this.’
    ‘Stuttgart reacted well to us and Valdez had to work hard in goal to keep them out.
   ‘But we will have to be more disciplined and work harder to get a result in Scotland.’
   Barcelona goal-scorer Lionel Messi admitted win against VfB Stuttgart was an important step towards Champions League qualification for the Spanish giants.
    ‘That was our most difficult game so far,’ said the 20-year-old Messi.
   ‘There were a lot of chances for both teams in the first-half, but it was a tough game for us as we had to work hard, but luckily we were successful in the end.’
   While Messi was putting in the work for Barcelona’s attack, at the other end Spanish goalkeeper Victor Valdez pulled off four top-class saves to deny Germany’s player of the year Mario Gomez.
   The German striker was denied two rapid-fire headers from point-blank range on 32 minutes and Stuttgart could have been at least 2-0 up at half-time, rather than the reality of 0-0, if it were not for Valdez.
   ‘Zero points and a 2-0 defeat,’ said Gomez, whose side now face fellow Group E strugglers Lyon at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion on October 23.
   ‘Everyone saw we played well in the first half, but we had no goals to show for it.
   ‘As has happened to us so many times before this season, we conceded a goal early in the second half and we just couldn’t get any momentum after that.’
   With Rangers also unbeaten after Tuesday night’s 3-0 win in Lyon, Stuttgart now have a mountain to climb to make the competition’s next stage after last month’s opening 2-1 defeat in Glasgow.
   Although the Germans came into the game on the back of a shock 2-1 away defeat to Bundesliga minnows Hansa Rostock at the weekend, the atmosphere at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion was electric as the home fans got behind their side.
   But the classy Spaniards showed why they are highly-fancied to win Europe’s top football competition and regain then title they won in 2006.
   Of Barcelona’s ‘Cuatro Fantasticos’ only Cameroon’s Samual Eto’o was missing with injury as Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry made up a world-class forward line.
   With his side going top of La Liga at the weekend with a 4-1 win at Levante, Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard named Brazilian Ronaldinho as captain despite missing the last three games with a calf strain.
   Barcelona gave Stuttgart an early warning of the danger when Ronaldinho combined with Messi who clattered his shot against the post after only five minutes.
   Germany’s footballer of the year Mario Gomez fired back for Stuttgart moments later, but his effort troubled the side netting more than Barcelona’s keeper Victor Valdez.
   Valdez then kept his side in the game with four top-class saves as he denied Gomez from two headers at point-blank range on 32 minutes and blocked two shots from wing Arthur Boka just before half-time.
   But Stuttgart’s bitter pill came in the 53rd minute when Puyol, who was an early replacement for defender Rafael Marquez, stabbed his shot home after Ronaldinho had broken the defence.
   And Messi, who picked up a yellow card late in the first half, grabbed the second when his shot passed under Stuttgart’s keeper Raphael Schaefer and trickled over the line on 67 minutes.
   It could so easily have finished 3-0 as Eric Abidal pushed his shot wide in injury tine despite a posse of Barcelona attackers screaming for the ball with the home defence nowhere to be seen.