The Asian Football Confederation in its latest letter to the Bangladesh Football Federation categorically stated that the District Football Associations would not be the members of the BFF rather they would be the members of their respective Divisional Football Associations.
   The instructions may arrive as a severe blow to the Sports Organisers Forum who monopolised the federation’s electoral process as a combined unit.
   In the letter sent on Wednesday to the controversial president of the BFF, SA Sultan, the FIFA and AFC slammed the federation saying, ‘We have discovered that there is big misunderstanding between what the FIFA and AFC have communicated to the BFF and what they have in fact understood.’
   The ruling body of Asian football sent the following instructions to BFF:
   The six Divisional Football Associations that are being formed in the compliance with the FIFA Standard Statutes can be members of the BFF provided they organise football competitions.
   As for the 64 District Associations, they will be members of their respective Divisional Football Associations. They, however, will not be members of the BFF as they are already represented by the Divisional Football Associations.
   Therefore, for the avoidance of doubt, only the Divisional Football Associations and the clubs that meet the criteria are entitled to membership with the federation.
   The AFC, however, invited the delegation, who met the AFC president Muhammad bin Hammam on January 19 at Kuala Lumpur, for another meeting to settle the matter once for all.
   Col (retd) Waliullah, the CEO of the Bangladesh Olympic Association, who was a member of the delegation, said, ‘I feel that we should go there to resolve the issue as soon as possible. As the Divisional Associations will now represent the district bodies in the BFF we can now finalise the number of members they will send to the parent body.’

Abahani will meet Surjo Tarun in the first semi-final of the Premier Division Twenty20 Cricket competition at the Naryanganj Osmani Stadium today. Victoria will play City Club in the second semi at the same venue in the afternoon.
   In the last round matches of the group stage, Abahnai registered their fifth consecutive victory defeating their arch-rivals Mohammedan by four wickets. Interestingly was while Abahani celebrated their successive fifth victory, it was the fifth loss for Mohammedan in a row. Mohammedan’s 148 for four were crossed by Abahani who scored 151 for six with one ball to spare.
   Rakibul Hasan’s 40 and Faisal Hossain’s unbeaten 53 were the backbone of the Mohammedan total, but Mahbubul Karim’s 40, Sahagir Hossain’s 43 and 35 not out off 20 balls from Ziaur Rahman propelled Abahani to victory.
   City Club bundled out Kalabagan for 96 with Sumon Kumar Saha grabbing three wickets for 10 runs. Later Golam Mabud hit an unbeaten 50 as City Club scored 98 to register a slow but steady seven-wicket victory in 19.1 overs.
   Surjo Tarun won against Young Pegasus by 16 runs. The semi-finalists posted 114 for seven with Naeem Islam contributing 39 and Nizamuddin Ripon adding 26. Ashiqur Rahman captured three for 19. Young Pegasus’ Jubaer Ahmed scored 36 and Sumon Kumar added 18 as losers managed just 98-6.
   Victoria trounced Old DOHS by seven wickets. Sakib Razzak with 33 was the highest contributor as Old DOHS were bowled out for 94 when Enamul Haque Jr led the rout taking three for 23.
   Victoria replied with 97-3. Nasiruddin Faruk added 20, Farhad Hossain chipped in with 27 and skipper Ehsanul Haque put on 22.
   In other matches of the day, BKSP (120/6) defeated Biman (90/10) by 40 runs and Partex (103/9) overpowered Sonargaon Cricketers (90/10) by 13 runs.

India overcame a rain-reduced target and a brilliant display by New Zealand’s Corey Anderson to enter the under-19 World Cup final here on Wednesday.
   Left-handed Anderson smashed 70 off 68 and balls and took a stunning catch, but India held their nerves amid mounting tension to squeak home by three wickets in a rain-hit semi-final under lights.
   Sreevats Goswami made 51 and captain Virat Kohli hit a fluent 43 as India, set a revised target of 191 from 43 overs, survived a middle-order collapse to win with nine deliveries to spare.
   New Zealand had made 205-8 after electing to take first strike in overcast conditions at the Kinrara Oval. India await the winners of Friday’s second semi-final between defending champions Pakistan and South Africa in the title clash on Sunday. The Indians lost in-form opener Taruwar Kohli in the seventh over and star batsman Tanmay Srivastava in the 14th to slip to 40-2.
   Srivastava fell to a remarkable catch at mid-on by Anderson, who dived to his left and plucked the ball in mid air after the batsman had played an uppish drive off India-born Anurag Varma.
   Left-hander Goswami and Kohli steadied India with a 84-run stand for the third wicket, but India lost four wickets for 33 runs to almost mess up the chase.
   India, cruising at 150-3 at one stage, dipped to 183-7 before Saurabh Tiwary took his team home with an unbeaten 29 which included the winning two runs off spinner George Worker.
   Earlier, New Zealand lost their first two wickets for 29 runs by the 12th over.
   Skipper Kane Williamson (37) and Fraser Colson (32) retreived the situation by adding 57 for the third wicket when Virat Kohli removed both batsmen in successive overs.
   Kohli, who alternated between seam bowling and off-spin, had Williamson stumped smartly by wicket-keeper Goswami off a delivery deliberately bowled down the leg-side.
   In his next over, Kohli shattered Fraser’s stump with a ball that kept low and left New Zealand tottering at 90-4 in the 29th over.
   Anderson, a 17-year-old who plays first-class cricket for Canterbury, took charge and swung Kohli and left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdullah for sixes early in his innings.
   Tim Southee (11) helped Anderson add 47 for the fifth wicket to carry the total to 137-4 when seamer Siddarth Kaul struck twice in successive balls to halt the New Zealand charge.
   Anderson continued to lash out, slamming a six and four in one over from Kaul and meted out the same treatment to left-armer Srivastava soon after.
   Srivastava avenged the hammering by removing Anderson in the 49th over to end a seventh-wicket stand of 58 with Michael Bracewell.
   Bracewell, nephew of former Test spinner and current Black Caps coach John, remained unbeaten on 17.
   Kaul, Kohli and Srivastava picked up two wickets each for the Indians.

Australia’s spin bowling stocks suffered another blow Wednesday when veteran left-arm wrist-spinner Brad Hogg announced his retirement from international cricket.
   The 37-year-old, who started his first-class career as a specialist batsman before turning to spin bowling, called stumps on a lengthy career after seven Tests, having debuted in 1996, and 121 one-day internationals.
   For many years regarded as a limited overs specialist, Hogg revived his Test career following the retirement of champion leg-spinner Shane Warne early last year.
   Hogg played in three of the four Tests against India this summer, but had little impact with eight wickets at 60.12.
   He finishes his career with 17 Test wickets at the modest average of 54.88, but in one-day cricket for Australia he has claimed 154 wickets at 26.73 and played in two successful World Cup campaigns.
   Hogg said here Wednesday he was close to retiring after last year’s World Cup success, but decided to play on to try and revive his Test career after Warne’s retirement.
   He will call it quits at the end of the current tri-series underway here, but is considering playing on for Western Australia.
   ‘My career started against India and I thought if I can play Test cricket against India that would be fantastic,’ he said.
   ‘I wanted to fight to get back in there and I did it and I achieved what I wanted to achieve.’
   His retirement again exposes the lack of depth in Australia’s spinning ranks post-Warne, ahead of scheduled tours of Pakistan, the West Indies and India this year.
   Veteran leg-spinner Stuart MacGill, for so long Warne’s understudy, is battling injury and faces an uncertain future at the age of 37.
   There are few young spinners coming through in state cricket, with Cricket Australia contracted pair Cullen Bailey and Dan Cullen both struggling this season, while the bowling of Victorian all-rounder Cameron White has not come on.
   Victorian leggie Bryce McGain has been in good form, but is just weeks away from turning 36, while Western Australian finger spinner Aaron Heal and New South Wales chinaman Beau Casson have their supporters.
   Australian captain Ricky Ponting has previously conceded he may have to use the part-time spin of Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke more often in the near future.

Outspoken Australian batsman Matthew Hayden has been reprimanded by Cricket Australia for calling Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh an ‘obnoxious weed’.
   CA’s code of conduct commissioner, Ron Beazley, ‘issued a reprimand to Hayden... as penalty for the breach’ after a two-hour hearing in Melbourne on Wednesday.
   Hayden was charged by Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland under rule nine of the CA Code of Behaviour which prohibits players from the ‘public denigration of other players against whom they have or will play’.
   Despite the damning audio evidence of his comments, Hayden said he was disappointed to have been found guilty.
   ‘I maintain my innocence, my intentions were never to denigrate cricket or anyone,’ he said. ‘But in the spirit of cricket I respect and accept the decision.’
   Hayden made the statement on Brisbane radio on Tuesday, after the lingering ill feeling between the sides surfaced again in Sunday’s tri-series one-dayer at the SCG.
   Teenage pacemen Ishant Sharma was fined after a verbal clash with Andrew Symonds on Sunday, the Indians claiming the youngster was provoked by Symonds and lodging a complaint with match referee Jeff Crowe about the ‘provocative’ behaviour of the Australians, particularly towards Harbhajan.
   The bad blood stretches back to the second Test in Sydney in January, when Harbhajan was suspended for three matches for racially abusing Symonds, a ban overturned at a subsequent International Cricket Council hearing.
   Hayden’s latest comments will add spice to the tri-series finals between the sides, starting on Sunday at the SCG.
   ‘It’s been a bit of a long battle with Harbhajan,’ Hayden said on radio.
   ‘The first time I ever met him he was the same little obnoxious weed that he is now.
   ‘His record speaks for itself in cricket.
   ‘There is a certain line that you can kind of go to and then you know where you push it and he just pushes it all the time.
   ‘That’s why he has been charged more than anyone that’s ever played in the history of cricket.’
   Hayden was one of the players the Indians accused of provocative behaviour in Sunday’s game.
   The big left-hander is fiercely religious, but despite this is also regarded as one of the biggest sledgers in the game.
   He said the only reason the Indians were whingeing was because they were ‘losing every game they are playing.’
   ‘I called him a bad boy,’ Hayden insisted.
   ‘He took offence to that and I thought that was quite funny.’
   The Board of Control for Cricket in India, quoted by the BBC, said that it was pleased CA had decided to act following Hayden’s comments.
   ‘The BCCI is happy that Cricket Australia has taken note and acted on this,’ chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty said.
   ‘For a player to go on the radio and talk about another visiting player is something that has really shocked us.
   ‘We have told our team management that they should not react to such incidents. They should focus on cricket,’ Shetty told BBC, adding that although the comments were against the spirit of the game, they would not jeopardise the rest of the tour.

Golf idol Adam Scott admitted on Wednesday that he’d be keen to play a round with tennis bombshell Maria Sharapova, after she listed him as one of her ideal mixed-doubles partners.
   ‘I haven’t met Maria yet but it’s nice,’ said the Australian world number five.
   ‘She’s a good-looking girl and a good tennis player. Maybe we’ll run into each other one day.’
   The comments will set tongues wagging in elite sports circles where both Scott, 27, and Sharapova are hot commodities.
   The leggy Russian blonde listed Scott at number six on her top-10 list of dream mixed-doubles partners, with the comment ‘Night match please?’
   However Scott should not get too excited since he is listed below the likes of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Britain’s Prince William.

Lord’s Cricket Ground is set for a 200-million-pound facelift, owners Marylebone Cricket Club announced here Wednesday.
   The north-west London venue, the self-styled ‘home of cricket’, is one of the sport’s most famous grounds with the Victorian pavilion - whose exterior will remain unaltered despite the proposed changes to other parts of the ground - a particular landmark.
   Now, following consultation with their 18,000 members, MCC have asked 18 leading architects to present their plans for a new-look Lord’s which will see five stands redeveloped and could also include plans for a hotel, a new academy and retractable floodlights.
   Such is the scale of what is being proposed, the redevelopment as a whole could take a decade to complete.
   MCC also hope that the ground’s relatively modest capacity, in comparison to leading grounds in Australia and India, will be increased by some 10,000 to more than 38,000 without spoiling the atmosphere of Lord’s.
   ‘There was overwhelming backing to support the improvement of Lord’s for future generations of cricketers, cricket fans and of course members,’ said MCC project director David Batt.
   ‘To achieve this we are in the process of appointing a masterplan architect who will be tasked with preparing a development plan which will provide an overall approach to the design and layout for the entire Lord’s site.
   ‘A preliminary brief has been sent out to a number of UK and international practices and a shortlist of architects will be announced in the next few weeks,’ he added.
   Of the five stands listed for redevelopment two - the Compton and Edrich stands - (named after the Middlesex and England duo of Denis Compton and Bill Edrich) were only erected in the 1990s.
   Previous redevelopment of the ground has tended to take place in piecemeal fashion but MCC have been encouraged by Westminster Council, the local planning authority, to take a more rounded, longer-term, approach.
   It is anticipated that each stand will take 18 months to construct with funding coming in part from the sale of debenture tickets and the building of flats at the Nursery End of the ground.
   ‘The key thing for us to achieve is to increase the capacity without spoiling the atmosphere of Lord’s,’ Batt added. ‘That will help us satisfy 10,000 more people that we cannot currently accommodate.’
   Planning permission is expected to take 12 months to be granted and work must commence within five years of that.
   Lord’s currently stages two of the seven Tests - split between two touring teams - played in an English season, with visiting teams keen to play at the historic venue.
   But other grounds in England are pushing to stage Tests and MCC hope its plans will enable Lord’s to keep its two showpiece matches when new staging agreements come into force from 2010.

The wicketkeeping gloves used by India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni during a recent triangular series one-match in Australia are legal, the Indian manufacturer claims.
   Dhoni avoided a penalty by agreeing not to use the gloves again after they were found to have illegally large webbing during India’s 18-run victory over Australia in Sydney on Sunday.
   Former Australian wicketkeeper-turned-television-commentator Ian Healy sparked a probe into the gloves after the Indian skipper pulled off a stunning diving catch to dismiss Adam Gilchrist.
   The ball lodged in the webbing of Dhoni’s gloves and Healy claimed that the webbing was too big and thus illegal.
   But India’s Sunrising Sporting Goods, based in Meerut, north of the capital New Delhi, hit back.
   ‘The same gloves are also being used (under the brand name Puma) by wicket-keeper Gilchrist.
   ‘Then why are those gloves not termed illegal?,’ company director Virendra Sareen asked Wednesday’s Mid-Day newspaper.
   ‘We make gloves as per the ICC’s (International Cricket Council) standard specifications and the ICC is wrong in calling them illegal and Healy has no business to blame us as manufacturers,’ he said.
   The ICC said in a statement on Monday the match officials found Dhoni’s gloves had extra webbing between the thumb and the forefinger which was a violation of Law 40.2.
   Dhoni claimed to have used the same gloves during the recent Test series in Australia, but faces a penalty if he uses them again.
   India and Australia have qualified for the best-of-three finals, starting in Sydney on Sunday.

Retired Australian leg-spin genius Shane Warne has been named captain and coach of the Jaipur team in the Twenty20 Indian Premier League, the franchise announced on Wednesday.
   ‘We were looking for a legendary cricketer whom all players will look up to,’ said Fraser Castellino, chief executive of Emerging Media, which paid 67 million dollars for the Jaipur team.
   ‘Shane’s commitment and astute cricketing brain makes him one of the most respected cricketers in the history of the game.’
   Warne is one of the four foreign cricketers in the side, others being South African captain Graeme Smith and Pakistan’s Younis Khan and Kamran Akmal.
   Smith emerged the team’s highest-paid overseas player after last week’s auction in Mumbai with 475,000 dollars, followed by Warne (450,000), Khan (225,000) and Akmal (150,000).
   Each player will receive his auction price as an annual wage over the initial three-year contract. The IPL starts on April 18.
   ‘Our main goal is to build a winning Twenty20 team. Reputation and track record in Tests and one-day internationals are not necessarily relevant when it comes to Twenty20,’ Warne said in a statement.
   ‘I am very happy with the list of players chosen at the auction. They are all part of the strategy to building a winning team. I am looking forward to leading the side, to playing with the boys and to a successful season.’
   Warne, 38, quit international cricket last year after bagging 708 wickets in 145 Tests and 293 in 194 one-day internationals.
   Former South African captain Kepler Wessels was appointed coach of Chennai, one of the eight teams in fray for the 44-day tournament to be played in 12 Indian cities.
   The 50-year-old Wessels, who played for both Australia and South Africa, retired from international cricket in 1994 after playing 40 Tests and 109 one-day internationals.
   The IPL, brainchild of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, is backed by the International Cricket Council and supported by cricket boards around the world.
   Wessels joins a high-profile list of names of IPL coaches, which includes Martin Crowe (Bangalore), John Buchanan (Kolkata) and Tom Moody (Mohali).
   Robin Singh is the coach of the Hyderabad outfit while Delhi had named Victoria’s Greg Shipperd as their coach.

The members of Indian contingent that took part in the 2nd Indo-Bangladesh Bangla Games were accorded a farewell by the Jessore District Sports Association on Wednesday.
   To mark the occasion, a colourful programme was held at the Jessore Poura Community Centre where president of the association and also deputy commissioner   of Jessore Abu-Al-Hossain and Kamal Bhandari, leader of the Indian delegation and also deputy secretary general of the Bengal Olympic Association were present.
   The Indian delegates later left for home through Benapole land port in the afternoon.

Riding on an Imran hat-trick Kushtia moved into the zonal final beating hosts Pabna 3-1 in the zonal semis of the 4th JFA Cup Under-15 Football Championship at the Pabna Stadium on Wednesday.
   Imran scored in the 41st, 57th and 78th minutes for the winners, while Anwar netted the lone goal for the losers in the 25th minute.
   In the day’s other match, Ariful scored a hat-trick to power Cox’s Bazar to an emphatic 5-0 win over Bandarban at the Cox’s Bazar Stadium. Ariful struck in the 19th, 39th and 45th minutes while Alamgir and Noor Mohammad netted one goal each for Cox’s Bazar.

Dhaka Mohammedan Sporting Club face Kolkata Mohammedan in the IFA Shield at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata today.
   Mohammedan will play their second match against Mohun Bagan on March 1.
   In 1998, Dhaka Mohammedan SC finished runners-up in the tournament after losing to East Bengal Club of Kolkata in penalty shootout in the final.

India’s new cricket coach Gary Kirsten said Wednesday he was impressed with the team’s aggressive attitude despite controversies on their ongoing tour of Australia.
   ‘What I like about Indian cricket as a whole now, and especially about the young players, is that they are ready to accept the battle,’ said the former South African batsman, who officially takes over as coach next month.
   ‘I think that’s very healthy for the game, whereas in the past they tended to back off. I am excited by some of these younger players coming through with a belief that they are ready to compete with the best.’
   The relations between the Indian and Australian teams suffered yet another blow on Tuesday when opening batsman Matthew Hayden called Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh an ‘obnoxious weed’ on Brisbane radio.
   Fast-rising teenage Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma was fined on Sunday after a verbal clash with Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds during a one-day match of the ongoing triangular series, also featuring Sri Lanka.
   The Indians claimed the youngster was provoked by Symonds and lodged a complaint with match-referee Jeff Crowe about the ‘provocative’ behaviour of the Australians, particularly towards Harbhajan.
   The bad blood stretches back to the second Test in Sydney in January when Harbhajan was suspended for three matches for racially abusing Symonds, a ban overturned at a subsequent International Cricket Council hearing.
   Kirsten said he did not believe in sledging, but authorities would have to take a decision on it as the stakes were ‘high’.
   ‘There’s a lot of gamesmanship, but I think somewhere along the line there will be a high-level policy decision taken.
   ‘I have experienced various styles of playing the game, but did not believe in sledging,’ he said.
   ‘I don’t know what the right way is. I think we must be careful because as far as I know, most teams sledge. We must not think that it’s just one country. So I have to be cautious about singling out any particular team.’
   Kirsten, who met Indian officials and captain Anil Kumble in Mumbai on a two-day visit, said his biggest test during a two-year tenure would be to help the team go through a smooth transition.
   The current Indian Test side contains five ageing players, with Kumble being the oldest at 37. Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly are both 35, followed by Sachin Tendular, 34, and Venkatsai Laxman, 33.
   ‘I would like to see a smooth transition. Maybe in 18 months we could have two new players in the Test side,’ said the 40-year-old Kirsten, who quit international cricket in 2004 after playing 101 Tests and 185 one-dayers.
   ‘So there’s going to be a lot of planning on that front and a lot of discussion with senior players on when their time is up.
   ‘That’s something we have to manage very carefully, with myself being involved and some of the other people, including the players themselves. My motivation is to make the Indian team highly competitive and consistent.’
   Kirsten begins his new assignment with a Test series in India against his home side.
   South Africa arrive in India next month for three Tests.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has backed Harbhajan Singh, dismissing suggestions the controversial spinner had been distracted by his disputes with the Australians and was struggling for form.
   Speaking after Tuesday’s win over Sri Lanka that ensured India a berth in the tri-series finals, Dhoni said Harbhajan was bowling better than those statistics suggested.
   ‘I think Harbhajan has done really well in the series so far, especially in the last game (against Australia),’ Dhoni said.
   ‘He bowled during the power plays and with field restrictions.
   ‘He’s not getting loads of wickets but you can see his contribution is very important.’
   Although India lodged a written complaint over Australia’s ‘provocative’ on-field behaviour after Sunday’s game, team manager Bimal Soni said Wednesday they would not be taking any action over Hayden’s latest taunts.
   ‘We want to play cricket, and it is all in our letter to the match referee, and with what Hayden said our stance is vindicated,’ Soni said.
   ‘This sort of thing should not happen but we’ve decided to take it in our stride and want to get on with preparing for the finals.’
   Meanwhile, Indian officials called for an end to the sledging between the sides, after Ishant Sharma was fined 15 per cent of his match fee over a verbal clash with Symonds on Sunday.
   India claim Sharma was provoked by the Australians and Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Niranjan Shah told Indian television on Tuesday night that it had got ‘out of hand’.

New Allan Border Medallist Brett Lee admitted here Wednesday he was disappointed by the continuing ill will between Australia and India.
   After a summer of simmering tension stretching back to the contentious second Test at the SCG, relationships between the sides are again strained after a controversial tri-series one-day clash in Sydney on Sunday.
   Teenage Indian paceman Ishant Sharma was fined after a verbal clash with Andrew Symonds during the game, with the Indians making an official complaint about the ‘provocative’ behaviour of the Australians.
   On Tuesday, Australian opener Matthew Hayden called Harbhajan Singh an ‘obnoxious weed’ on radio. Lee, who has a close affinity with India and has a small part in an upcoming Bollywood film, said he hoped the teams could put the controversies behind them and concentrate on their cricket when the tri-series finals start on Sunday.
   ‘It’s a bit of a shame a few things have happened on the cricket field, people know where the line in the sand is and if you cross that line well you know you will get dealt with,’ Lee said.
   ‘The thing we have to acknowledge too is that once you do walk onto the cricket field and go over that line it doesn’t matter whose made friendships, it’s very important we go out there and play the hardest, toughest, fairest cricket we possibly can.’
   Lee was still basking in the glow of winning his first Allan Border Medal, awarded to Australia’s best player for the previous 12 months, on Tuesday evening.
   Having cooled his heels on the fringes of the Australian team earlier in his career, Lee is thriving on the added responsibility of leading the attack in the absence of retired champions Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.
   He said past frustrations only made him more determined to succeed in Test cricket.
   ‘It made me very hungry and it made me appreciate the chance to wear the baggy green cap once it was taken away, and to never become complacent,’ he said.
   ‘To appreciate the good times you’ve got to go through the bad I think. ‘Everyone’s been through it, people have had time on the sidelines. Players have had times where they’ve missed out through injury, I think it comes down to how much you want it.’
   Lee admitted the last 12 months had been a rollercoaster, with the disappointment of missing the World Cup triumph with an ankle injury followed by his resurgence as a Test cricketer.

Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has revealed at Tuesday’s Allan Border Medal count that his wife Rianna is expecting their first child.
   Rianna, his wife of six years, is 14 weeks pregnant.
   They met in 2000 and she has been a positive influence on Ponting as he ascended to the national captaincy.
   ‘It’s great to have her as a big part of my life, she’s been a great support for me, given up a lot of things (in) her own life to be around and help me out through my own cricket career,’ he said during tonight’s function.
   ‘(That’s) probably no more so than over the last couple of months.’ Ponting broke out of his slump last Sunday with a century in the one-day win over India at the SCG.

England captain Michael Vaughan is unequivocal in the assessment of his team - they must start winning Tests again and urgently.
   With the 2009 Ashes summer a little over 12 months away, a stretch of just two series wins in eight attempts since the halcyon 2005 summer needs to be addressed, starting with the three-match campaign in New Zealand.
   There is no doubt England have lost significant ground in recent times, as reflected in their official standing of fifth, and need to develop good habits prior to hosting the Australians.
   Because to deny it is naive - the health of English cricket is judged on Ashes campaigns and never did it look perkier than three Septembers ago.
   Such a robust position was not developed overnight, its beginnings were forged in the Caribbean in 2004, at the same relative point in time at which England currently find themselves.
   ‘It is important we do start to develop some momentum,’ Vaughan admits.
   ‘That is why we need to get some kind of settled unit. It is very unlikely we can pick the XI in New Zealand that will start the Ashes but the nucleus of that side should be very similar.
   ‘At the end of this series we’re only something like 14 games away, so the actual formula and formation of the side should be very similar.
   ‘Last time we had a year of playing together. You need your luck and we just have to make sure we get back to that kind of consistency of picking and sticking with people.’
   Vaughan’s personal form has been impressive since returning from a career-threatening knee injury but the general malaise has infected his previously outstanding record as captain.
   He has lost three of the last four campaigns under his watch in fact, and although, in his typically unassuming manner, he is keen for the team to be the focus rather than himself, the 33-year-old has always been driven by success.
   ‘Anyone gains confidence from a winning side,’ Vaughan said.
   ‘No-one likes to be involved in a losing unit and if you’re involved in a winning unit, even when you have not had the best of games yourself, you still go away from the ground feeling confident.
   ‘Vice versa if you have lost a game when you’ve had a good game personally, you still go away with the losing feeling.’
   So while England remain upbeat under the guidance of Peter Moores - the most positive thinker Vaughan has come across in his professional career - there is need for substance.
   Quite simply, they need to win in New Zealand and win well if serious questions are not to be asked of the Vaughan-Moores axis.
   Despite a raft of injuries, retirements and withdrawals, however, New Zealand will make the most of every ounce. No team in the world punches above its weight so effectively or so consistently.
   ‘The typical English mentality might be that we’re expected to rock up and win,’ Vaughan said.
   ‘But you don’t win a series away from home without working very hard. You have to do all the disciplines very well. If we think the wrong way we will come unstuck.’
   Complacency is something England’s current crop have been accused of by former players but there has also been an undoubted period of transition since Duncan Fletcher’s departure.
   Whatever the concoction of circumstances, the time of judgement is upon Moores.
   ‘I never saw myself having a honeymoon period as such because you are always under pressure when you are working with England,’ said Moores.
   ‘You work as hard as you can with the group of players at your disposal and then you are judged accordingly at the end of whatever time you are given in the role.
   ‘To me, the aim is to try to build something sustainable and the next step is to win in New Zealand.’
   Victory in 2005 was supposed to be a launch-pad but recently England - so long the next-best to the Aussies - have failed to produce the fundamental ingredients necessary for victories.
   In the past half-a-dozen matches there has not been a single first-innings hundred - such innings shape results, nor have 20 wickets been taken - without which wins are few and far between.
   For all the calculated caution required when dealing with the nuggety New Zealanders, they have been starved of quality Test opponents for the past couple of years and have lost their most potent weapon in Shane Bond, whom England have somehow managed to avoid confronting over the years.
   And if experience proves key, there will only be one outcome - in the past 30 months New Zealand have played just a dozen Tests, England two-and-a-half times as many.

Bangladesh lost to hosts Malaysia 0-3 in the last group match of the pre-qualifier of the Asia Oceania Zone Junior Davis Cup at Kuching, Malaysia on Wednesday.
   Tun Jie Oscar Chang defeated Mofazzal Hossain 6-0, 6-4, Macus Chee outplayed Omar Faruk Sunny 6-3, 6-2 and Christian Oliver Lee and Tun Jie Oscar paired in the doubles to defeat the Bangladesh duo 6-3, 6-2.
   Bangladesh who defeated Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan and lost to Pakistan earlier will have to wait for the result of Pakistan and Kazakhstan today. If Pakistan win then Bangladesh will move into the next round as the third team.

Rupali Bank CC notched a six-wicket win over Kathalbagan GCC in the Metropolis First Division Cricket League at the Jahangirnagar University ground on Wednesday. Sent into bat, Kathalbagan scored 233-9 with Shuvalob making 66. Monir and Imtiaz captured three for 35 and 42 respectively.
   In reply, Rupali Bank reached their target in 45.3 overs with Ashraful contributing 73. Salauddin grabbed two for 60.
   In the day’s other matches, Indira Road KC (198/10) beat Uttara SC (164/10) by 34 runs at the Dhaka University ground while Gazi Tank (221/9) defeated Dhanmondi Club (189/10) by 32 runs at the City Club ground.

Badda Jagarani defeated Purbachal Parishad by a solitary goal in the Metropolis Senior Division Football League at the Kamalapur Stadium on Wednesday. Shamim scored the all-important goal in the 36th minute.
   In the day’s other match, Agrani Bank played out a goalless draw with City Club at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

Cricket is not the only sport in India – that is the message that Olympic officials in the country of 1.1 billion people are trying to get across.
   Cricket became a national obsession following India’s surprise victory in the 1983
   World Cup while interest in other sports dwindled for lack of success in the international arena.
   India has the largest global television cricket audience but, with the world’s fastest growing major economy after China, is attracting interest from other spectator sports keen to tap into the market, including soccer, Formula One and golf.
   Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi believes the time has come for India to move on from being a one-sport country and
   expects the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in two years’ time to be the catalyst for the change.
   The 2010 Games will be the first major, multi-discipline event that India has hosted since the Asian Games in 1982.
   ‘This is a great incentive to promote Olympic sports in the country,’ Kalmadi said. ‘We want to change (corporate) mindset through the Commonwealth Games.
   ‘Unfortunately (funding from) the industry all goes to cricket. If they get one gold medal for the country, the kind of mileage the company will get will be considerably more than what they get in cricket.
   ‘Hopefully then the private sector will come in a big way to support Olympic sports in the future.’
   Kalmadi said money was the key to improving India’s dismal showing at Olympic Games since the decline of the national hockey team in the 1980s, due in part to a switch to artificial turf which favoured power, speed and accuracy rather than deft stick-work.
   This year, the eight-time Olympic hockey champions are in danger of missing the
   Games for the first time and need to win a qualifying tournament in Chile, which starts on Saturday, to get a ticket to Beijing.
   Despite being the world’s second most populous nation, India has won only four individual medals in Olympic history – or six according to some record books.
   Before a 1952 wrestling bronze, tennis bronze in 1996, weightlifting bronze in 2000 and a shooting silver four years ago, Norman Pritchard won two silvers on the athletics track in 1900.
   Pritchard, born in Calcutta of English parents, is listed by the International Olympic Committee as Indian but by many record books as English. His feat came 28 years before India officially competed in the Olympics.
   Whichever way Indians look at it, the total is paltry for such a big nation.
   ‘Every time after the Olympics, where we hardly get any medals, there is uproar in the parliament but after that pretty little is done,’ Kalmadi said.
   ‘So it is not only the federations who are responsible...a whole lot of people need to be involved.
   ‘The sports budget is less than one per cent of the total budget of the country. That’s nothing for a country of a billion. So you have to get in more money for sports.’
   Kalmadi believes harnessing sport for economic and social growth is the way to overcome this challenge.
   ‘We got votes in the Caribbean when we won the right to host the Commonwealth Games because many people said they were interested in coming to India because they see it as a business destination,’ Kalmadi said.
   Rising disposable incomes among India’s growing middle class make the country attractive to many sports looking to expand.
   FIFA president Sepp Blatter dubbed India a ‘sleeping giant’ crucial for the development of soccer in Asia, while IOC president Jacques Rogge was supportive of India’s ambition to host its first Olympics in 2020, saying the country had ‘great potential’ and that a successful Commonwealth Games would strengthen the bid.
   India will stage its first Formula One Grand Prix in New Delhi in 2010 and last year Indian businessman Vijay Mallya became co-owner of the Spyker F1 team which was renamed Force India.
   This was after Narain Karthikeyan became the country’s first F1 driver in 2005, stoking ambitions in the fast lane among youngsters.
   Britain will support India’s bid to stage the 2020 Games, London mayor Ken Livingstone, whose city hosts the 2012 edition, said in November.
   London Olympics chiefs have promised coaching and other expert assistance for India’s Commonwealth Games, which Kalmadi said he was confident would be profitable and would pave the way for more such world-class, multi-discipline events in the country.
   ‘Whatever money we get from the government, which is about 1,000 crore rupees (10 billion rupees, $354 million) for organising the Games, we will return that money, raising it through sponsorship, television rights, merchandising and ticketing,’ he said.

The Premier League may be the richest league in Europe, but despite the hype it is not the most popular, researchers in Germany have found in a new survey. While English clubs boast of widespread international support, their appeal does not match that of La Liga. English clubs are supported by an estimated 99.2 million people across Europe, while 103.5 million root for those in Spain.
   English clubs have a larger domestic fan base, but Spanish clubs pull in far more supporters from outside the country – even though it is the Premier League that wants to play a round of fixtures abroad. Some 86.6 million football fans are drawn to Spanish clubs, compared with 78.8 million for English clubs. The survey also shows that Chelsea’s European fan base has increased by a factor of five over the past five seasons.
   Spain’s dominance is due in large part to the galacticos of Barcelona and Real Madrid, who occupy first and second place as the best-supported clubs. Such is the international pull of Barcelona and Real, and players such as Ronaldinho and Raul, that both clubs boast more followers than the population of Spain.
   Barcelona earn their place at the top of the table, which is based on a survey of more than 9,600 football supporters in 16 European countries by Sport + Markt, the German marketing company, despite being only the second best supported club in Spain behind Real. Manchester United (32.8 million) and Arsenal (22.9 million) make up third and fourth places, while Chelsea (19.7 million) are in seventh and Liverpool (19.4 million) in eighth.
   Germany has Europe’s biggest domestic fan base, with 34.3 million, but the Bundesliga’s appeal fails to cross borders – only 13.1 million outside Germany follow German clubs. Italian clubs boast a support of 62.2 million, 38.1 million of whom are outside Italy.
   Hartmut Zastrow, the executive director of Sport + Markt, said that the findings reveal that it would be wiser for the Premier League to focus on its doorstep than on developing markets. ‘It seems more promising to concentrate here than in East Asia, where English, Spanish and Italian leagues already have prominence,’ he said.
   The research also shows a strong correlation between wealth and support. Eight of Europe’s best-supported clubs are among the ten wealthiest clubs.

Germany head coach Joachim Low says he has some sympathy for Bundesliga bad-boys Mario Gomez and Diego after two of the league’s stars landed in hot water for separate outbursts last weekend.
   Werder Bremen’s Diego was given a three-match ban by the German Football Federation on Monday after the sending-off for his shoulder barge on Eintracht Frankfurt’s Sotirios Kyrgiakos in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat.
   The Brazilian reacted angrily to taunts from the Greek defender, who allegedly swore at him, but admitted afterwards that there was no excuse for his actions.
   And Stuttgart striker Gomez faces a DFB inquiry after he insulted Karlsruhe defender Maik Franz during a scathing attack in a live interview he gave following Stuttgart’s 3-1 win at the weekend.
   In German tabloid Bild, Low says Germany striker Gomez chose the wrong words, ‘but he is an honest, open personality who was still filled with the emotions of the game only a few minutes after it had finished. ‘So I have some understanding for Gomez as well as Diego.’
   Low did not excuse the Brazilian’s foul on the Greek defender, as Bremen went on to lose the game, but says his actions are understandable.
   ‘The sending off was a fair decision,’ said Low. ‘But you have to look at the build-up to these incidents. ‘There are always players – and I am not referring here to Maik Franz in particular – who look to stop players like Diego or Gomez by whatever means they can. I have seen too many bad challenges in the federal league.’
   Low says he would be glad to see a black-list of defenders who are consistently guilty of foul play in a bid to clean up the game in Germany. ‘There are players who look to consciously kick not the ball, but the calf of their opponent.
   ‘Such attacks are more damaging to the game than the outbursts of rage from those who have been fouled.’
   Diego will now miss Bremen’s games against Borussia Dortmund, Stuttgart and Wolfsburg, but he will be eligible for Bremen’s UEFA Cup tie with Glasgow Rangers with the first-leg on March 6.
   ‘We accept this punishment, although at the same time we would have hoped for more leniency given the particular circumstances,’ said Bremen’s director of sport Klaus Allofs.
   Meanwhile, Gomez, voted Germany’s player of the year for 2007, has given his statement to the DFB’s disciplinary committee and on Wednesday expects to hear what action will be taken.

A German-born footballer playing for one of Australia’s top clubs apologised on Wednesday for attending a post-season party dressed as Adolf Hitler.
   Central Coast Mariners midfielder Andre Gumprecht’s outfit was slammed by Jewish groups and labelled ‘stupid’ by Football Federation Australia chief Ben Buckley. Newspapers carried photographs of Gumprecht dressed in a military uniform and sporting a distinctive Hitler-style moustache at the party which followed the team’s 1-0 loss to Newcastle Jets in Saturday’s A-League grand final.
   The 33-year-old said he was devastated by the backlash, conceding he had taken the traditional ‘Mad Monday’ post-season celebration too far.
   ‘It was a big mistake and a stupid mistake, I’m just devastated,’ he told the Daily Telegraph here. ‘It’s really sad that I’ve offended communities and I’m very disappointed and feeling sorry. I would like to apologise to everyone out there who was offended by my actions and I will do whatever it takes to make it up to them. If they want me to go to their house and apologise in person, I will do it.’
   Gumprecht, who was raised in East Germany and has been plying his trade in Australia since 2002, said he dressed up as Hitler in response to constant comments from team-mates. ‘Being a German it’s very sad, but when you talk about Germans in Australia or anywhere then straight away people call you a Nazi or Hitler, because that’s the only thing they know about Germany,’ he said.
   Gumprecht said he appreciated the horrors of the Holocaust after being shown shocking footage of bodies in school, and had no Nazi sympathies.
   He admitted he had qualms about wearing the outfit before attending the event, but decided to go ahead anyway.

Juventus could only draw 0-0 with mid-table Torino on Tuesday despite dominating the Turin derby.
   Third-placed Juve, who had Pavel Nedved sent off for violent conduct in stoppage time, have endured an inconsistent February.
   They are now three points behind AS Roma, who travel to leaders Inter Milan on Wednesday.
   The first half was lively but Juve’s Vincenzo Iaquinta had the only good opportunity when Matteo Sereni tipped over his strong header.
   Juve coach Claudio Ranieri again opted for a front three at home, despite being without flu victim David Trezeguet, who scored the stoppage-time winner when Juve beat their rivals 1-0 in September.
   Alessandro Del Piero, Raffaele Palladino and Iaquinta failed to really gel though, with Italy winger Mauro Camoranesi also looking unaccustomed to his central midfield role.
   Del Piero had a second half effort and a free kick well saved by the excellent Sereni while Palladino was correctly flagged offside when he expertly netted. Iaquinta had three other half chances.
   Alessandro Rosina hit the bar with a superb free kick but otherwise Torino, who drew 4-4 with Parma on Saturday, barely threatened Gianluigi Buffon. The keeper returned after missing the 2-1 defeat at lowly Reggina on Saturday with a back problem.
   There was a small amount of trouble outside Turin’s Stadio Olimpico but the derby was largely played in a good spirit before Nedved clashed with Torino players just before the final whistle.

German cartel investigators on Tuesday raided the offices of the German Football Association (DFB) and German Football League (DFL) as part of a probe into whether they sought to limit competition for soccer sponsorship.
   Police officers and cartel agency officials seized documents during the raids in Frankfurt, prompting an angry response from the two organisations who rejected the allegations. The DFB said it would seek advice on whether the raid was legal.
   The DFB and DFL are suspected of setting up a working group to limit competition between the two organisations and German professional soccer clubs for sponsorship.
   ‘This incident is inconceivable to us all,’ DFB general secretary Wolfgang Niersbach said in a statement on the association’s website (www.dfb.de).

Reports suggest Dubai International Capital are considering making an offer for George Gillett’s half of Liverpool after being knocked back by co-owner Tom Hicks. In a statement released on Tuesday, Hicks rejected speculation he was looking to offload his half of the Reds to DIC.
   Rumours had suggested that Hicks had invited DIC to inspect the Anfield accounts ahead of a possible takeover bid, a claim the Texas-based businessman denies.
   It is now reported that DIC are considering a move for Gillett’s share of the Merseyside outfit, but it is also speculated that a percentage of Hicks’ holding would be sought in order to gain a holding interest. Hicks and Gillett took control of the Reds in 2007, but their time at Anfield has been shrouded in controversy as Liverpool have struggled on the field and the American duo suffered a widely reported bust-up with manager Rafa Benitez. Speculation has since been rife that the pair have been looking to sell the club, despite agreeing a £350-million refinancing package in January.

AC Milan have complained that Brazilian playmaker Kaka’s career is in danger as he is being targeted by opposing teams for what appears to be a strategy to foul him.
   The reigning European and World Footballer of the Year had to leave the pitch at half-time on Sunday against Palermo with an injury to his left knee and will miss Wednesday’s Italian league match against Catania.
   The top Italian club added what struck them most was not that Kaka was being continually fouled but that there seemed to be a systematic plan by the teams to do so.
   A club statement on their internet site said, ‘It’s never the same player which makes two consecutive fouls on Ricky (Kaka’s nickname). Players take turns as if there is a plan, as if it is part of their strategy. Evidently the referees have not noticed this.’
   On Monday, Kaka told a television station, ‘I don’t like to talk to referees but they need to do something because I’m being fouled a lot at the moment.’
   The club statement continued, ‘The treatment which is being handed out to Kaka is the same as which ended the career of Marco van Basten (part of the dominant AC Milan side in the late 80’s and early 90’s).
   ‘The great Dutch player played his last match at the top level as a 28-year-old in November 1992. It all just came to an end for van Basten but the same thing must not happen to Kaka.’
   AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti – who played in the same Milan side as van Basten – was more measured in his comments at a later press conference.
   ‘Kaka is one of those players who is tightly marked but I don’t think there is intent on the part of the players to hurt him,’ he said.
   ‘As far as referees are concerned, things can always get better but compared to the past, I think more attention is now paid to brutal tackles.’

The English Premier League on Tuesday put plans to take matches around the world on hold, admitting they needed more time to develop a proposal that has provoked fierce opposition among fans and football authorities.
   In a statement, the EPL announced that they had indefinitely postponed this week’s planned presentation of their ideas to FIFA and admitted they would ‘need to conduct further internal studies and consultation’ on the plan to play ten matches a season overseas from 2011. FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who had been due to meet EPL chief executive Richard Scudamore on Thursday, has made it clear he vehemently opposes the plan, declaring earlier this month that it would ‘never happen as long as I am president of FIFA.’
   Blatter, who was infuriated that the Premier League clubs announced their intentions without seeking prior approval from the world governing body, had also made it clear that the EPL would be jeopardising England’s chances of hosting the 2018 World Cup if they defied FIFA.
   The proposal for clubs to play an extra, 39th, match each season in places like Hong Kong, Dubai or New York has also been opposed by the Asian Football Confederation, by England’s own Football Association and by a string of influential figures including Liverpool and Manchester United managers Sir Alex Ferguson and Rafael Benitez. The scale of the opposition was acknowledged in the EPL’s statement.
   ‘The project is still very much in its infancy, was always subject to development, clarification and wide consultation and we remain disappointed that these facts and many others were lost when early opinions were formed by many without detailed knowledge,’ the statement said.
   ‘Having consulted with FIFA, we have decided to delay our planned visit whilst we conduct further work prior to addressing them and their confederations formally.’
   It added, ‘There never has been a rush to conclude these matters and we are more than willing to take time to develop our proposals before seeking approval, without which it is not our intention to proceed.’
   FIFA welcomed Tuesday’s announcement by the EPL, which is bound to be interpreted in some quarters as an indication that the plan for overseas matches is effectively dead.
   ‘FIFA is happy with this development and thanks the Premier League leadership for its constructive approach,’ the organisation said in a statement.
   The plan for an international round of matches was revealed by the EPL after a meeting of executives at the league’s 20 clubs on February 7.
   At the time, Scudamore voiced his confidence that the clubs were all unanimously behind the proposal and that he had the backing of the FA.
   But the scheme immediately sparked an angry reaction from fans organisations and, despite drawing support from the likes of Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger and Everton’s Australian midfielder Tim Cahill, the majority of players and managers who have expressed opinions have been unhappy with the idea of a 39th match. The FA initially appeared relaxed about the proposal but the English governing body’s stance soon hardened into outright opposition in the wake of Blatter’s warnings about the implications for the 2018 World Cup bid.
   Opposition to the proposal in Asia was underpinned by concerns that staging EPL games in the region would serve to further restrict the development of local leagues which are already hampered by the huge popularity of televised English matches.

David Beckham, who is just one match away from winning his coveted 100th England cap, admitted Wednesday he has his work cut out to be fit enough to play for his country again.
   England manager Fabio Capello overlooked him for his first match in charge against Switzerland earlier this month on the grounds that the 32-year-old was not match fit.
   Now Beckham is racing against time to prove his worth in time for England’s friendly against France on March 26 in Paris.
   ‘I would love to reach the 100 caps, but I have to be physically ready to be part of the team,’ the former England captain said here where his club LA Galaxy are on a pre-season training camp.
   ‘All I’ve done is training. I have no match fitness.’
   Beckham and Galaxy arrived in Korea on Tuesday and will play an exhibition match on Saturday against FC Seoul at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.
   If he makes 100 caps, Beckham would be only the fifth Englishman to achieve the feat.
   He said he understands Capello’s decision not to pick him against Switzerland.
   ‘I’ve played for Capello before, and he’s a great manager,’ Beckham said.
   ‘He is a manager that will pick players that are fit enough. I understand he selected others who played more games.’
   In the meantime, Beckham is focused on his pre-season preparations with Seoul the first stop on an Asian tour that also takes LA Galaxy to Shanghai for a match in March 5 and then Hong Kong on March 9.
   ‘We’re still two weeks into our pre-season and fitness wise, we’re getting there slowly,’ Beckham said.
   ‘We’re looking forward to the game on March 1. I am very excited to play here before all the fans.
   ‘We know Korea is a country that’s very proud and passionate about football. It’s going to be a difficult game because of some talented players here.
   ‘But we’ll give 100 per cent like we always do and enjoy the game. I hope fans enjoy it, too.’

British bookmakers on Wednesday slashed the odds on Chelsea boss Avram Grant becoming the next Premier League manager to leave his job as his assistant Henk ten Cate confirmed reports of a training ground bust-up with captain John Terry.
   Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon insisted at the weekend that Grant would still be in charge at Stamford Bridge next season.
   But the former Israel manager, who succeeded Jose Mourinho in September, has seen his position weakened by a combination of a dip in form and rumours of unrest among his star-studded squad which have, at least partially, been confirmed by ten Cate’s admission of a row with Terry.
   The England defender and the Dutch coach clashed over the intensity of a training session on Saturday, 24 hours before Sunday’s League Cup final defeat by Tottenham.
   ‘At Chelsea we have a group of 27 players and three goalkeepers,’ Ten Cate told Dutch newspaper AD. ‘Half of them were allowed to go to the final so you understand that there was a sharp edge to things.
   ‘John wanted us to train even harder - I didn’t agree with an eye on the final. We had an argument about that.’
   Ten Cate insisted that he had a good relationship with Terry and that suggestions the two men squared up to each other were inaccurate. But the spat has served to cast an unflattering spotlight on Grant’s man-management skills.
   Terry revealed after the 2-1 Wembley defeat by Spurs that the manager had not announced his starting line-up for the final until two hours before the match.
   Having just come back from injury, Terry was not certain whether he would be recalled in place of the Brazilian Alex, who has enjoyed a fine run of form while the England centreback was sidelined.
   Neither was it clear whether Grant would opt for Michael Ballack, arguably Chelsea’s best player over the last month, or Frank Lampard in midfield.
   In the end Lampard got the nod but performed well below his best while Grant also opted to start Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba together for the first time.
   That decision meant Anelka playing in an unfamiliar left-sided role where he made almost no impression on the match while Joe Cole was left to kick his heels on the sidelines.
   Most pundits have concluded that, rather than attempting to keep everyone in his squad on their toes, Grant’s late naming of his team reflected chronic indecision and that, ultimately, he did not have the self-confidence to leave Lampard and Terry out.
   Chelsea remain in the hunt for three trophies this season but recent draws with Portsmouth and Liverpool have dented their chances of catching Arsenal and Manchester United in the Premier League and, on Sunday’s evidence, a first Champions League crown looks beyond them.
   Grant was installed as Mourinho’s successor with a mandate to produce a team capable of thrilling and winning in equal measure.
   It cannot have been lost on the club’s owner, Roman Abramovich, that Chelsea failed on both counts on Sunday, when Tottenham’s commitment to attack ultimately yielded an extra-time winner.
   Grant’s side have also flunked their biggest tests in the league, losing to both Arsenal and Manchester United. The manager’s admirers will however point to his success in keeping Chelsea’s season on track during a couple of months when a combination of injury and the African Nations Cup deprived him of almost an entire team of big names.
   Although Rafael Benitez is still the favourite to be the next Premier League manager to find himself unemployed, the bookmakers’ reduction of the odds on a Grant departure from 50-1 to 14-1 tells its own story.
   With a potentially hazardous trip to West Ham on Saturday and next week’s visit of Olympiakos in the Champions League coming up, Grant knows his margin for error is shrinking as Mourinho’s shadow grows larger.

Some follow their cricketing men around the world, watching every play from the stands.
   Others keep the home fires burning during those long, gruelling months on tour.
   But on Allan Border Medal night, it’s time for the wives and girlfriends of Australia’s cricket heroes to shine.
   While red was the hue of choice for the fashionistas on the Academy Awards red carpet Tuesday, some of Australia’s cricketing lasses took the ‘time to shine’ idea literally.
   Model Lara Bingle led the glittering brigade in a full-length backless gold Lisa Ho evening gown with her partner, all-rounder Michael Clarke, wearing a matching gold tie with his charcoal suit.
   One of the few non-blondes to walk the red carpet, Jessica Bratich, posed for pictures with her husband, bowler Mitchell Johnson, in a figure-hugging silver evening dress.
   On the arm of her wicketkeeper husband Adam, Mel Gilchrist also shimmered in a knee-length gold frock with a lacy sash forming a single shoulder strap.
   Kellie Hayden, the wife of veteran opener and Allan Border medal favourite Matthew Hayden, bucked sports awards red carpet tradition with an intricately patterned flamenco-style dress that seemed to promise a night of partying ahead.
   Liz Lee, the wife of bowler and fellow medal frontrunner Brett Lee, also chose an eclectic style - a white, orange and mauve print dress with barely-there spaghetti straps.
   Haley Bracken set herself apart from the crowd on the arm of her bowler husband Nathan Bracken with a flowing gown of aqua and pastel yellow and pink. Bowler Stuart Clark’s wife Michelle’s dark, shiny, flowing gown made black look anything but basic.
   Australian women’s cricket captain Karen Rolton made a fashion statement for sporting women with a knee-length purple dress teamed with strappy silver heels and a matching clutch purse.
   Rianna Ponting, the wife of Rolton’s male counterpart Ricky, also chose purple, but in a loose-fitting, full length design.

World number four Jelena Jankovic spent almost the whole of a two-hour, 14-minute match trailing before narrowly surviving against Sania Mirza in the second round of the Dubai Open.
   The Serbian beat the Indian 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 but there were many moments when it seemed that the unseeded Mirza, who led 3-1 in the final set and had three points for 5-3 and an opportunity to serve for the match, was going to win.
   The 21-year-old Mumbai-based player from Hyderabad often swung her better-known opponent about the court with early, flat-hit drives, and also hit a high ratio of clean winners.
   But just when it seemed she had Jankovic on the back foot, errors crept into Mirza’s game, the return of serve she sent long from a moderate second serve on the third break point being particularly wayward.
   But Mirza also provided many rousing moments with her forthright style, bringing plenty of noise from the large expatriate crowd and contributing a great deal to the entertainment.
   Once Jankovic spoke to some of them as though she were trying to quieten them down.
   “They were making a sudden noise during the rallies, which was disturbing, and I asked them to wait until the end of the rallies to do it,” she said. “But they didn’t.”
   Jankovic paid tribute to the exciting ability of Mirza to attack but admitted, when questioned, that she had not been feeling at her best and was disappointed with her movement.
   She also said she was giving a trial to a new coach, Scott Humphries, and suggested that this was causing some confusion at the moment.
   “I am struggling with him at the moment as we are in a trial period,” she said. “I am trying to do the things I did before and he is doing something different, so I don’t know what I am doing.
   “I’ll know in a week or two whether the arrangement will last,” she added.
   Mirza was left cursing herself for thinking too far ahead.
   “A lot has to do with finishing a match and a lot of thoughts come to your mind. You think ‘can I do it, can I not do it?’
   “Funnily, when I tried to be more careful that’s when you can make mistakes. I was trying to put the ball inside the court - that’s why I lost those important points.
   “Everyone starts thinking about the finish line before you get to it. I should learn from it and maybe next time I will hit through the ball more.”
   Jankovic next plays Anna Chakvetadze, the sixth-seeded Russian, who survived an even longer contest, lasting more than three hours, and came back from a set and 1-4 down to beat her fellow Muscovite, Dinara Safina, by 6-7, 6-4, 6-3.
   After a bathroom break before the third set Chavetadze felt fresher and began to play better but the contest hinged just on a point or two in the final set when Chakvetadze made the crucial break of the Safina serve.
   Earlier another Russian, the second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, won impressively, by 6-1, 6-2 against Lucie Safarova, the world nuber 40 from the Czech republic.
   Kuznetsova admitted to having been fascinated by the magician at the players’ party the night before and wishing she had some of his skills.
   With ten aces and a large number of winners, she made a pretty good job of emulating him, often making the ball unexpectedly disappear.
   Her next opponent is Amelie Mauresmo, the former world number one from France, who beat Akiko Morigami of Japan, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, and now has a chance of winning three matches in a row for the first time since Wimbledon, eight months ago.

Sir Alex Ferguson admits he has been left pleasantly surprised by the consummate ease in which Anderson has adapted to English football.
   The 20-year-old Brazilian schemer was expected to be eased into his new surrounds following a big-money summer switch to Old Trafford from Porto.
   However, an injury to Paul Scholes in October saw Anderson promoted from the periphery to Ferguson’s first XI and whenever called upon since he has not disappointed with a series of mature displays.
   Ferguson is well stocked with central-midfield options and while Anderson is being groomed as Scholes’ long-term successor, Ferguson has pointed out that the two are very different players.
   ‘When Paul got his injury it was a blow for us and opened the door for Anderson – and we discovered a boy who had talent,’ Ferguson said.
   ‘It may otherwise have turned out that Anderson would have had to wait, just getting the odd game here and there, which may not have helped him develop as we have seen. Anderson is not like Scholes entirely. He’s more of an aggressive, running player.
   ‘He’s quicker than Scholes, more of the type to run forward from midfield with the ball, whereas Scholes will do it without the ball.’

German coach Joachim Low will name his 23-man squad for this June’s Euro 2008 championships on May 16, according to the German Football Federation.
   Low will unveil his selection in a restaurant at the summit of the Zugspitze, Germany’s highest mountain (2,962 metres) on the border with Austria, who will co-host the June 7-29 Euro 2008 with Switzerland.
   ‘We wanted to give the selection location some geographical significance with Austria and Switzerland, the two nations hosting the event,’ said Germany’s team manager Oliver Bierhoff.

Rafael Benitez has revealed he expects to use his rotation policy less in the coming months now Liverpool are fighting on just two fronts. The Reds boss made only one change in Saturday’s win over Middlesbrough from the victory over Inter Milan four days earlier – and that was enforced due to Jamie Carragher’s ban.
   When asked about his plans Benitez told the club’s website, ‘I think so. It will depend on the players in the end, but we can keep some players playing more games now.’
   ‘Everton have a lot of confidence right now and it was a good win for them (on Monday), but it’s a long race,’ said Benitez.
   ‘Portsmouth, Villa, Everton, City and us will all be there. I’m not sure if it will go to the final game but I think a lot will depend on these three games we have in a row.’

SPURS’ heroes will have to wait to show off the Carling Cup on the streets of London.
   Boss Juande Ramos has blocked plans for an immediate victory parade, insisting his players must focus on the Premier League and the UEFA Cup before hiring a bus. Their tour of Haringey will take place after the season ends and Ramos hopes his team can show off the UEFA Cup too.
   A Spurs spokesman said, ‘Given the Carling Cup final falls midseason, it is difficult to hold such a parade.’
   Ledley King and his team-mates will show fans the trophy before the last-16 UEFA Cup home clash with PSV Eindhoven next Thursday.