Russia’s Dinara Safina pulled off a second successive miracle French Open comeback to reach her first career Grand Slam semi-final at Roland Garros on Wednesday.
   In a virtual carbon copy of her stunning fourth round win over top seed Maria Sharapova, Safina came back from a set and 2-5 down, and saved a match point, to beat compatriot Elena Dementieva 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-0.
   The 13th seed ran away with 11 of the last 12 games of an enthralling quarter-final and will now face another Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova for a place in Saturday’s final.
   ‘At 2-5 down, I knew I had to change my game completely. I thought I will give her the extra ball and I think she got confused. I was saying to her: ‘OK, you have to hit the winner,’ said Safina.
   ‘I was almost out on match point. I have to play the semi-final on Thursday. Physically I should be fine. Sometimes practice is harder than a match and I’m only 22.
   ‘If I am tired now, what will I be like when I’m 28.’
   There was no hint of the drama to come in the early exchanges.
   After dropping the first set, Safina quickly slipped 0-2 down in the second and was in danger of seeing her hopes of a first Grand Slam semi-final collapse when she had to fight off five more break points in the third game.
   But she held on and broke back to 2-2 only to hand the advantage straight back with a sloppy service game to allow Dementieva to edge ahead 3-2.
   The 26-year-old Dementieva, who had lost in the Berlin claycourt final to Safina in the run-up to Roland Garros, broke again to lead 5-2 and seemingly the tie was over.
   However, just like in her fourth round win over Sharapova, Safina refused to surrender.
   She won the next four games, saving a match point along the way in the ninth game.
   Dementieva, the 2004 runner-up here, was now under pressure and had to fight off three set points, one of which featured an exhausting 29 strokes, in the 12th game. She saved two more in the tiebreak before Safina levelled the quarter-final when her opponent fired a forehand long to end an 80-minute second set.

Pakistan dropped paceman Mohammad Asif on Wednesday for the tri-nation series in Bangladesh because he is set to remain in detention in Dubai
   for several more days, officials said.
   Promising fast-bowler Sohail Khan will take the place of the 25-year-old Asif, who was held at Dubai airport on Sunday after an allegedly illegal substance was found in his wallet.
   ‘As we don’t know about Asif’s release as yet, Sohail has been named as his replacement for the tri-series,’ chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed told AFP.
   The tri-series, which also involves India, starts in Dhaka on June 8 and the Pakistan squad flies out to the Bangladesh capital on Friday.
   The Pakistan Cricket Board says that Asif, who was returning from a domestic tournament in India, is innocent of the charges but he is expected to remain in detention for some time.
   ‘We are still fighting hard for his release and reports that he has been cleared are not correct,’ Pakistan Cricket Board chief operating officer Shafqat Naghmi told AFP after local newspapers said Asif had been freed.
   ‘The authorities in Dubai are waiting for the results from a urine test carried out on Asif, and on the results of a test on the substance which was found in his possession,’ Naghmi said.
   Naghmi said the legal process in the United Arab Emirates could take ‘three to four days.’
   ‘We are following the process through our lawyer and as far as we know no charges have yet been framed against Asif,’ he said.
   ‘We believe the process is that the airport prosecutor lays the charges down and passes on to the public prosecutor, who will then decide whether or not this should go to trial.’
   The PCB believed that Asif was innocent, Naghmi said.
   ‘Our opinion is based on what our player has told us and Asif said he is innocent. At least there is no counter-argument to doubt him.
   ‘The law says that you are innocent until proven guilty and we take that as our stance,’ he said.
   The 24-year-old Sohail has played three one-day internationals against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh earlier this year and was the leading wicket-taker in the last domestic season with 65 wickets in nine matches.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul has revealed that hour upon hour of extra practice have helped his capability to bat long periods in Test cricket.
   The 33-year-old Chanderpaul said that spending excessively long hours in the nets at the mercy of a bowling machine was part of the reason why he has emerged from the shadow of Brian Lara in the last 18 months to become the leading West Indies batsman in recent years.
   ‘It’s all part of my preparation,’ Chanderpaul told reporters on Tuesday, after another marathon innings that helped West Indies draw the second Test against Australia on Tuesday at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground.
   ‘You never know what will happen in the middle and what the bowlers will bowl to you, so you have to prepare yourself and get your mind adjusted to being able to bat for long hours.’
   A West Indies team spokesman indicated that he has seen Chanderpaul bat for as long as three hours with a bowling machine, and then still take deliveries from a net bowler for another hour or more.
   ‘A session of Test cricket lasts two hours - sometimes two-and-a-half hours, so you have to prepare yourself to do this or go longer, and trying not to make too many mistakes when batting,’ he said.
   ‘So when I enter the nets, I do not really clock the time. I just go into the nets and bat for as long as I can.’
   Chanderpaul is not the typically flamboyant West Indies batsman, but he has improved his consistency over the last three years and maintains a healthy average of 48.59 in his 111 Tests.
   He earned the man-of-the-match award in the second Test. He top-scored with an undefeated 107 - his 19th Test hundred - in the West Indies’ first innings total of 352, in response to Australia’s 479 for seven declared.
   He followed up with his match-saving knock of 77 not out in the second innings, and might have made an assault on scoring a second hundred in the Test had West Indies captain Ramnaresh Sarwan not been dismissed late in the day.
   ‘If ‘Sars’ was still there and there was an opportunity for me to score a hundred, I would have played my shots,’ he said.
   ‘Obviously, I was worried when he got out and Dwayne Bravo soon followed, so I had to buckle down and get a little tighter again, then hope that we could survive the remaining overs.’
   The drawn Test however, means Australia retain their hold on the Frank Worrell Trophy - symbol of Test supremacy against West Indies - and have not lost a Test series in the Caribbean since 1991.

Australia had to settle for a draw, after Ramnaresh Sarwan hit his 11th Test hundred and with compatriot Shivnarine Chanderpaul batted West Indies to safety in the second Test here on Monday.
   Sarwan hit the top score of 128 and Chanderpaul gave admirable support with an unbeaten 77 to be the rocks upon which West Indies built their second innings total of 266 for five before the two sides decided it was pointless to continue about 30 minutes after the scheduled close with five overs remaining.
   The result means Australia retain their hold on the Frank Worrell Trophy - symbol of Test supremacy against West Indies - and have not lost a Test series in the Caribbean since 1991.
   They lead the three-Test series 1-0, after they completed a 95-run victory in the opening Test at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica.
   The third and final Test between the two sides starts on June 12 at Kensington Oval in Barbados.
   The Australians had set West Indies 372 for victory, after deciding to declare their second innings at their overnight total of 244 for six.
   When they reduced West Indies to 84 for three, the odds of a victory were highly in their favour, when Chanderpaul emerged from the pavilion about half-an-hour before lunch.
   But Australia, gaining little or no assistance from the hard, docile pitch, endured a frustrating afternoon, as they could find no way through either Sarwan or Chanderpaul, and the pair spent four hours together to add a match-saving 143 for the fourth wicket.
   Sarwan, leading West Indies in the Test in place of the wounded Chris Gayle, reached his milestone from the penultimate ball before the tea break, when he swept his 181st delivery from Stuart MacGill, playing in his final Test for Australia, through square leg for his 14th boundary.
   Chanderpaul reached his half-century a short time later, when he cut MacGill through square cover for two and looked set to complete his second hundred of the match before the wickets of Sarwan and then Dwayne Bravo checked his progress. He still earned the Man-of-the-Match award.
   The Aussies came close to making the breakthrough, when MacGill flummoxed Sarwan on 88 with a well-flighted leg-break, and the batsman appeared to have been stumped.
   But a referral to video umpire Norman Malcolm was too close to call and the batsman was given a reprieve to allow West Indies to reach 161 for three at tea.
   After the break, Australia continued to hunt for wickets, but they had to wait until they claimed the second new ball about half-hour before the scheduled close to dislodge Sarwan, when he fenced an awkwardly rising delivery from Mitchell Johnson to gully.
   There was more drama when Brett Lee had Dwayne Bravo caught at backward point for one fending a lifting delivery off the leading edge.
   But Denesh Ramdin joined Chanderpaul and they batted through the last 45 minutes and nine overs to make things safe.
   Before lunch, Lee continued from where he left off the previous day, when he collected two wickets to carry Australia closer to victory.
   Lee removed opener Devon Smith for a duck in his opening spell, and returned to add the scalp of Runako Morton for 14.
   Lee softened Smith up, when he struck him on the right arm with a short, rising ball, and then took his wicket a few balls later, when the left-handed opener was caught at gully guiding another lifting delivery pitched outside the off-stump.
   After Stuart Clark had Xavier Marshall caught behind gloving a rising ball for five, Lee returned for a second spell and trapped Morton lbw with a full-length delivery to which the batsman played back and across.
   Lee was the pick of the Aussie bowlers with three wickets for 51 runs from 21 overs which followed his five for 59 in the first innings.

England captain Michael Vaughan announced an unchanged side here Wednesday for the third and final Test against New Zealand, a decision that means they are on the brink of equalling a record that has stood for over 100 years.
   Not since 1884/85 in Australia have England fielded an unchanged side for five successive Tests.
   But, late injuries permitting, they will do that when the series climax starts at Trent Bridge here today.
   A win in this match for England will see them take the three-match campaign 2-0 after their six-wicket success last week at Old Trafford followed a drawn opener at Lord’s.
   England have kept the same XI since the second Test in New Zealand in March, where James Anderson and Stuart Broad replaced the dropped pace bowling duo of Matthew Hoggard and Stephen Harmison after England had lost the series opener.
   But they recovered to take that three-match series 2-1.
   They’ve kept the same team together and, as at Old Trafford, Hampshire fast bowler Chris Tremlett now drops out of a 12-man squad.
   ‘It will be the same team, it’s quite incredible really,’ Vaughan told reporters here Wednesday. ‘It’s a sign we’ve won a few games but we know there are areas to work on.
   England have failed to score 400 - regarded as the benchmark for a competitive total - in the first innings of their last 11 Tests but Vaughan denied this meant the top order had become a ‘closed shop’.
   ‘When you’ve won three out of four, to say it’s a closed shop those are not the right words to use. There are a lot of guys
   knocking on the door, a lot of experienced guys.
   ‘We realise we have to score more runs in the first innings, it’s what the best teams in the world do. But we’ve showed a lot of character and resilience we wouldn’t have done six or seven months ago.’
   Two members of England’s three-man pace attack, Ryan Sidebottom and Broad, play at Trent Bridge for Nottinghamshire.
   The ground has a reputation for assisting swing bowlers and Vaughan is looking to the duo, as well as Anderson, to take advantage.
   ‘It’s an opportunity for the swing bowlers in the side to show how good they are,’ Vaughan added. ‘The lads have been saying 84 percent (of wickets this season at Trent Bridge) have been caught behind or in the slips.
   ‘If you look at our three (quick) bowlers, swing is
   probably their strength,’ Yorkshire batsman Vaughan added.
   ‘The two teams are pretty evenly matched. New Zealand always make it very difficult but we’ve got our noses in front.’
   Meanwhile Vaughan was unconcerned by a report in Britain’s Daily Telegraph that New Zealand’s bowlers were planning to wear trousers made of material specially designed to increase shine and so aid swing bowling.
   ‘I think Yorkshire have them as well, they haven’t helped them,’ he said.

Australian spin legend Shane Warne said Wednesday he was ‘happily retired’ from Test cricket and had no intention of staging a dramatic comeback.
   Warne was responding to speculation that he would be tempted back into bamboozling the world’s top batsmen by Stuart McGill’s surprise retirement this week.
   ‘I’ve got no interest at all at this stage. I’m very happily retired, I’m comfortable where I’m at the moment,’ he told reporters on arrival at Melbourne Airport.
   Warne, 38, who retired from international cricket in January 2007 with a then world record 708 Test wickets, last month raised the prospect of a return for next year’s Ashes series against England if MacGill was injured.
   But he said Wednesday those comments did not apply to the current situation.
   ‘I actually said I was happily retired and if Stuart MacGill broke his leg—which he hasn’t, he’s retired—and there was no other spinner in Australia and if Ricky (Ponting) asked me, I’d consider it,’ Warne said.
   ‘If that’s coming back out of retirement, I’m not sure. I don’t think it is.’
   MacGill called it quits on his 44-Test career on Sunday midway through the second Test against the West Indies in Antigua after admitting that at 37 he was no longer up to the rigours of international cricket.
   The veteran, who spent much of his playing career in Warne’s shadow, only made the Australian tour of the Caribbean after overcoming serious knee and wrist injuries.
   Australian selectors now have to decide who will be the team’s first-choice spinner for Australia’s four-Test tour of India in October following the retirements of MacGill and Brad Hogg.
   They had hoped MacGill could provide a bridge between the retirement of Warne and the emergence of a new frontline spinner but, just eight Tests into the post-Warne era, no obvious heir apparent has appeared.
   With McGill dropping out of the series against the West Indies, which Australia leads 1-0, young left-arm spinner Beau Casson is likely to make his debut in the third and final Test starting in Barbados next week.
   MacGill said the fear of not playing his best cricket was at the back of his retirement decision. ‘Unfortunately, now my time is up. As I said many times last summer, there is no way I will ever walk onto a cricket field unless I can guarantee that I can dismiss top order batsmen consistently,’ MacGill said.
   Warne has admitted he misses playing international cricket and said that he would be up to the task of returning to the top level if called on.
   ‘If I wanted to keep playing I don’t think there would be an issue with me being the No.1 spinner and performing,’ Warne told an Australian newspaper last month.
   ‘I would still love to be playing international cricket, and miss it because I devoted 20 years to first-class cricket. It is a big part of my life.’
   But the leg-spin wizard now has other interests which are expected to keep him busy through the southern hemisphere winter.
   He is due to take part in a sponsored BMX challenge with several other sports stars on Thursday and is expected to spend the next month with his children. He then heads to Las Vegas to play in a series of celebrity poker tournaments before considering offers from television companies keen to have him as a commentator for the next season.

The Bangladesh national hockey team will fly to Singapore on June 12 to participate in the 3rd Men’s AHF Cup qualifiers.
   The federation had submitted a budget of Tk 24 lakh to the NSC for participation in the tournament but they got only Tk. 4 lakhs only.
   In a desperate bid to send the team to Singapore the federation started hunting for sponsors and also requested the chairman of National Sports Council General Moeen U Ahmed to pay the money.
   Sajed Adel, the general secretary of the BHF, was upbeat. ‘We’re now quite hopeful about participating in the Asia Cup Hockey qualifiers, with funds from either the NSC or the sponsors,’ said Adel.
   The vice-president of the federation, Khandoker Jamil Uddin, also echoed the views. ‘We are trying hard to arrange the fund, we don’t want to see our affiliation cancelled by the Asian Hockey Federation, hopefully we will be able to send the team,’ said Jamil Uddin.
   Bangladesh have been placed in Pool A of the Asian Men’s Hockey with Chinese Taipei, Uzbekistan, Brunei Darussalam and hosts Singapore, while Pool B comprises Hong Kong, Oman, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh Football Federation has taken steps to revive the Aga Khan Gold Cup football tournament and it will send a detailed report including the approximate budget to Prince Karim Aga Khan within a few days.
   A three-member delegation, led by Habib Hirjee, the president of Shia Imami Islamic Council of Bangladesh, held a meeting with the BFF at the BFF House on Wednesday. Hirjee urged the federation to give him a detailed report including the approximate budget for the tournament and he will send it to Prince Karim Aga Khan for approval.
   ‘We are keen to revive the tournament, we have prepared a detailed report and have already contacted a few foreign teams, let’s hope that we will get the nod from the Prince,’ said Quazi Salahuddin, the president of BFF.
   BFF vice-presidents Badal Roy, Shawkat Ali Khan Jahangir and Kazi Nabil Ahmed were present at the meeting.
   The Aga Khan Gold Cup football was first played in Dhaka in 1958 and the last edition was played in 1982.

Bangladesh stumbled at the first hurdle when they were held 1-1 by lowly Bhutan in the opening Group B match of the SAFF Championships at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo on Wednesday.
   Midfielder Arup Baidya put Bangladesh ahead in the 26th minute of the match and the scoreline remained same in the half time. But the
   Himalayan kingdom side hit back in the 79th minute by
   scoring the equaliser that
   put Bangladesh’s chance of reaching the semi-finals in serious doubt.
   Bangladesh now have to beat both Afghanistan and hosts Sri Lanka in their next two encounters to make it to the final four.
   Bangladesh defeated Bhutan 3-0 in both of their two previous encounters but the latest result clearly proves that all countries are moving ahead while Bangladesh continue to go down.
   Meanwhile, after India’s 4-0 thrashing of Nepal in the Group A opener, hosts Maldives
   also registered an impressive 3-0 win over Pakistan on Tuesday night.

Middle-order batsman Aftab Ahmed will leave for the Indian city of Mumbai today to undergo surgery on his inured finger, said the officials of the Bangladesh Cricket Board.
   India’s veteran orthopaedic surgeon Parag Munshi will conduct the operation at the Bombay Hospital, said Shafiqul Haque Hira, the manager of the national cricket team.
   ‘Munshi is a world famous surgeon and has been associated with the Board of Control for Cricket in India for a long time. We hope he (Aftab) will get the best available treatment,’ said Hira.
   ‘The X-ray and other medical reports on Aftab’s injury have already been sent to Munshi,’ added Hira.
   Aftab sustained an injury in the ring finger of his right hand on May 31 while trying to fend off a rising delivery from paceman Mahbubul Alam during net-practice.
   He was replaced by Alok Kapali in the Bangladesh squad for the tri-series and the Asia Cup.

Bangladesh national cricket team will play their second and final warm-up match before the tri-series against Bangladesh A team at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium today.
   The day-night match will begin at 3:00pm.
   Opener Junaed Siddique will lead the strong A team against the Tigers, who will have their chance to sort out the batting shortcomings that nagged them over the months.
   The Tigers lost the first match against the same opponents by five wickets on Tuesday.
   Wicketkeeper Dhiman Ghosh scored 71 off 73 balls and shared an unbeaten 104-run in the fifth wicket with Naeem Islam (39) to help the A team cantered past Tigers’ 194 with 8.5 overs to spare.
   Bangladesh: Mohammad Ashraful (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Shahriar Nafees, Roqibul Hassan, Mehrab Hossain Jr, Mushfiqur Rahim (Wicketkeeper), Mahmudullah Riyad, Mashrafee bin Murtaza, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain, Dollar Mahmud, Sajedul Islam and Arafat Sunny.
   Bangladesh A: Zunaed Siddique (captain), Nazim Uddin, Shamsur Rahman, Alok Kapali, Naeem Islam, Dhiman Ghosh (Wicketkeeper), Nadif Chowdhury, Musharraf Hossain, Mahbubul Alam, Rubel Hossain, Farhad Reza, Sohrawardi Shuvo, Farhad Hossain.

Ricky Ponting has conceded that Australia may have become a little vulnerable without the likes Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne in their bowling line-up.
   The Australia captain admitted that his side’s bowling attack had fallen short in the visitors’ charge for victory on the last day of the drawn second Test against West Indies on Tuesday, after Ramnaresh Sarwan hit his 11th Test hundred and with compatriot Shivnarine Chanderpaul batted West Indies to safety at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground.
   ‘We didn’t bowl well enough, when it really mattered to win a Test,’ Ponting told reporters.
   ‘It was always going to be important to try and build sustained periods of pressure on their players because we knew we could put them under some kind of pressure, and then we felt we had half a chance of getting them out as we did in Jamaica.
   ‘We just didn’t do that. They were able to just pick runs off most overs, get some boundaries, and keep the scoreboard ticking over. Things that we wanted to achieve, we were just a little bit off.’
   Sarwan hit the top score of 128 and Chanderpaul gave admirable support with an unbeaten 77 to be the rocks upon which West Indies - chasing 372 to win - built their second innings total of 266 for five.
   ‘We needed to take a few more wickets within the first couple of overs (with the new ball) because the pitch being so hard and abrasive as it was, it only took two or three overs and the ball looked like it was 20 or 30 overs old,’ Ponting said. ‘We got one wicket with the first ball, and got one in the next over I think. We gave ourselves a little sniff then, but the game was pretty much done by then anyway.
   ‘We needed to break the partnership. (I tried) some of the bowling changes using everyone, trying to get that partnership broken, and then we could have brought the quicks back and exposed their new batsmen to some reverse swing.’
   Ponting has lost the experience and skill of McGrath and Warne over the last year, and though he was confident of his attack and praised them for their hard work, he could help but wonder what could have been.
   ‘It certainly is a challenge, when you haven’t got some of the other guys who have been around,’ he said.
   ‘It is a great challenge for me, but more importantly it’s a challenge for the bowlers to stand up and make a name for themselves as being very good Test bowlers.
   ‘We just didn’t get that big breakthrough we needed. Chanderpaul and Sarwan played very well, and I feel our bowlers toiled manfully all day, but we just weren’t good enough.’
   Sarwan hailed the batting of Chanderpaul after the long-standing left-hander won the man-of-the-match award in the Test.
   ‘Over the last three years, he has shown his consistency and he keeps better with age and it is really good for us as a team and hopefully we as batters can learn from him.’
   Chanderpaul top-scored with an undefeated 107 in the West Indies’ first innings total of 352, in response to Australia’s 479 for seven declared, and followed up with his match-saving knock in the second innings.
   Sarwan also had a fine match in which he scored a half-century in the first innings and his 11th Test hundred in the second innings. ‘It was good to save a Test match, it was good,’ he said. ‘Barbados will be a new challenge, and who knows what’s going to happen there.
   ‘In cricket anything is possible. We just have to go and get our heads in the game and play some good cricket.
   ‘Shiv and I needed to survive, but at the same time we needed to be positive, and then we would have taken it from lunch time and then analyse it at tea time. All in all, we just wanted to be positive throughout the day.’

Australia could throw uncapped left-arm wrist spin bowler Beau Casson into the deep end if the conditions are right in the third and final Test against West Indies, starting on June 12 at Kensington Oval in Barbados.
   Ricky Ponting has indicated that the search for the next great Australian spin bowler could begin in earnest at Bridgetown, after Shane Warne ruled out a resumption of his legendary career and Stuart MacGill ended his career of unfulfilled promise on Tuesday.
   ‘The time is going to come somewhere and so next week could be as good a time as any,’ Australia captain Ponting told reporters here.
   ‘Our next Test series after the West Indies is in India, and you don’t want debutant spin bowlers playing over there. But we’ll get down to Barbados and assess the conditions.’
   After battling injuries, poor form and switching states in the past few years, Casson sprung to national prominence when he became New South Wales’ first-choice spinner for much of the last Australia domestic first-class season, when Stuart MacGill spent time in the Australia team and then recovering from surgery.
   The 25-year-old Casson collected 29 wickets at 35.13 and showed his all-round value with 485 runs at an average of 60.62 in the lower order.
   His rise is all the more remarkable considering that he was behind MacGill, retired fellow left-arm wrist spinner Brad Hogg, Dan Cullen, and Cullen Bailey in the national slow-bowling pecking order.
   But Hogg’s retirement, and the failure of Bailey and Cullen to impress at state level brought Casson to the fore as the preferred choice as a long-term option.
   ‘There is a young guy on tour that we have to whom we have to give some credit,’ Ponting said.
   ‘For my sake, I hope he debuts next week because I think it will be a great experience and a great opportunity for him.’

India’s only World Cup winning cricket team will gather in London later this month to celebrate the 25th year of arguably the country’s greatest sporting triumph.
   It was on June 25, 1983 that Kapil Dev’s unheralded team pulled off a stunning upset to deny Clive Lloyd’s all-conquering West Indians a hat-trick of World Cup titles with an amazing 43-run win at Lord’s.
   The 14-man squad, popularly known as Kapil’s Devils, will mark the anniversary with a private function at the Long Room in Lord’s on June 25 followed by a gala dinner in London later that evening.
   Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, who was part of the winning team, has organised the Lord’s gathering while liquor baron Vijay Mallya will sponsor the dinner, an official said on Wednesday.
   A diamond-studded bat signed by all team members will be auctioned by Mallya’s United Breweries group to mark the occasion, a company release said.
   ‘This is our way of ensuring that the silver jubilee celebrations are memorable for millions of those who were either a part of it or yearned to be one,’ said Gavaskar.
   Dev told AFP: ‘We will enjoy the moment and have fun. We will remember the good times.’
   The Board of Control for Cricket in India will also organise a celebratory dinner on June 22 in New Delhi before the team flies to London.
   The BCCI had earlier been reluctant to mark the occasion because the team included players who are involved in the unauthorised Indian Cricket League promoted by the Zee media group.
   Dev is the ICL’s chief organiser while 1983 team-mates Sandeep Patil, Madan Lal and Balwinder Sandhu serve as coaches of various ICL teams.
   The BCCI, however, relented and agreed to celebrate the 1983 feat even though ICL players and officials are banned from associating themselves with official cricket.
   ‘Cricket has always been the most popular sport in India,’ said BCCI president Sharad Pawar, a political heavyweight and federal agriculture minister.
   ‘However, the most remembered event in the history of Indian cricket is the stunning victory of our team against West Indies—the then cricket superpower.
   ‘I am certain that every cricketer in the years to come has this rich legacy to inherit and the die-hard spirit to win.’
   Dev’s men were widely expected to be crushed by the powerful West Indians in the 60-overs-a-side final when they were shot out for 183 in 54.4 overs in good batting conditions at Lord’s.
   But man-of-the-series Mohinder Amarnath and Madan Lal claimed three wickets each as the West Indians, cruising at 50-1 at one stage, were bowled out for 140 in 52 overs to spark frenzied Indian celebrations. India have not won the World Cup again, their next best finish coming in South Africa in 2003 when Sourav Ganguly’s team reached the final but lost to Australia.
   India’s 1983 World Cup squad: Kapil Dev (capt), Sunil Gavaskar, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Mohinder Amarnath, Yashpal Sharma, Sandeep Patil, Dilip Vengsarkar, Kirti Azad, Syed Kirmani (wicket-keeper), Roger Binny, Madan Lal, Balwinder Sandhu, Ravi Shastri, Sunil Valson.
   Manager: Peter Man Singh.

Germany captain Michael Ballack played down controversial pictures in a Polish newspaper demanding the Poles beat neighbours Germany in their opening Euro 2008 game on Sunday.
   On Wednesday, Polish tabloid newspaper Super Express printed a modified picture of Poland coach Leo Beenhakker holding the heads of Germany boss Joachim Low and captain Michael Ballack.
   The picture had the headline: ‘Leo, bring us their heads!’ but the Germany camp reacted calmly to the provocation ahead of the opening Group B game in Klagenfurt, Austria.
   Ballack, with 81 caps to his name, insisted the provocation would not hamper Germany’s preparations.
   ‘Unfortunately, these things happen in football, although something like that is not normally seen,’ he told sports agency SID at Germany’s Euro 2008 camp in south Switzerland.
   ‘These things happen and they won’t affect our preparations for the game.’
   And German Football Federation president Theo Zwanziger also moved to sooth any ill feeling between the sides.
   ‘Poland are our neighbours and friends,’ said Zwanziger here. We have a very good relationship with them and everything is now just about what happens on June 8.’
   But Dutchman Beenhakker reacted angrily when he heard what Super Express had printed.
   ‘That is shit. Here one sees what sick people there are in this world,’ he told German sports agency SID.
   ‘I disassociate myself from this made-up photo and hope that it is now only about the sport.’

Pakistan batting legend Inzamam-ul-Haq is the latest big name to sign up for the Hong Kong Sixes tournament, organisers said Wednesday.
   The former Pakistan skipper—who hammered 25 Test centuries in a stellar 15-year career—has confirmed he will take part in the annual showpiece on November 8-9.
   Inzamam, 38, will appear alongside Australia’s Damien Martyn and ex-New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming in the All-Stars team. ‘I’m delighted to be taking part in the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes and I’m looking forward to what promises to be a great weekend,’ said Inzamam.
   ‘As far as cricketers are concerned, the Hong Kong event is without doubt the premier sixes tournament in world cricket and the one we all want to be involved in.
   ‘It will be an honour to team up with Damien and Stephen, two fantastic players who were always testing opponents during my years with the Pakistan team.’
   Last year’s tournament featured such luminaries as Shane Warne, Brian Lara, Glenn McGrath and Anil Kumble.

It would be hard to find less of a fairytale farewell to cricket than Stuart MacGill’s last hurrah in the Antigua Test.
   His announcement of his retirement, made midway through a three-Test series a long way from home, was all but ignored globally as it coincided with the IPL finals weekend. In the match itself he bowled poorly, taking 1 for 177. It has now been revealed that he has been fined his entire match fee, around A$15,000, after missing the team bus to the ground on the second day of the Test.
   MacGill admitted that he slept through his alarm and arrived at the stadium after the day’s play had started, although he strenuously denied suggestions he had turned up under the influence of alcohol.

Germany captain Michael Ballack on Wednesday insisted he wants to end his career with English Premier league giants Chelsea.
   The 31-year-old joined Chelsea from German giants Bayern Munich in 2006 and, having reached last month’s Champions League final with the London club, the German captain wants to extend his current contract which runs until 2009.
   ‘I have played for long enough in the Bundesliga and I can imagine that I will end my career in England,’ he told German sports agency SID at his team’s Euro 2008 camp here.
    ‘We haven’t talked about it yet and I want to concentrate fully on the European Championships,’ said Ballack who hopes to captain Germany to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Australian all-rounder Shane Watson will replace injured opening batsman Matthew Hayden in the upcoming one-day series in the West Indies, Cricket Australia said Wednesday.
   Chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said Watson was an exciting replacement for Hayden, who returned to Australia with an Achilles tendon injury after playing no part in the Test series in the Caribbean.
   ‘Approximately 18 months ago we identified Shane as someone we thought could open the batting for Australia in one-day cricket and in the opportunities he has had since, he has played that role extremely well,’ Hilditch said.
   ‘He also adds great flexibility to our bowling attack in this format of the game.’

Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann insists he has no fear going into Sunday’s opening Euro 2008 game against Poland despite a string of errors and a questionable lack of match practise.
   The 38-year-old spent most of last season on the bench at Arsenal behind Spaniard Manuel Almunia and was at fault in Germany’s final warm-up games against Belarus and Serbia last week.
   He was late to react when Belarus’ striker Vitali Bulyga scored his country’s equaliser in Kaiserslautern last Tuesday as Germany allowed a two goal lead to slip to a 2-2 draw.
   And Lehmann, who will join Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart next season, failed to stop Serbia taking the lead before captain Michael Ballack and striker Oliver Neuville scored in Germany’s 2-1 win over Serbia on Saturday.
   But with 55 caps to his name and more than 20 matches under his belt last season for former club and country, Lehmann says his time on Arsenal’s bench will not hinder him.
   ‘No, not at all. I have played 20 or 21 games last season, which is still a lot and a little bit of recovery time helps,’ said Lehmann at Germany’s training camp here in south Switzerland.
   ‘You see some world-class players who don’t perform well in tournaments because they played more than 50 games the previous season.
   ‘And I played two important games at Manchester United last season and matches don’t come much tougher than that.’
   Having criticised the official tournament football in the wake of the draw with Belarus - claiming the ball is faster and lighter than normal footballs - Lehmann expects goalkeepers will be tempted to punch it away rather than attempt a catch and risk making a mistake.
   ‘The ball hangs in the air for a long time and forwards have as much trouble with it as goalkeepers and defenders,’ he said.
   ‘It makes it harder to catch and I think more goalkeepers will punch it clear rather than risk making a mistake if they try and catch it.’
   Germany are in Group B and open their campaign against Poland in Klagenfurt, Austria, on Sunday.
   The German media have been unimpressed with their national team’s form coming into the tournament, but Lehmann compared recent results with the side’s form going into the 2006 World Cup where they finished third.
   ‘It’s a very German thing to worry, we wouldn’t be German if we didn’t,’ he admitted.
   ‘I am excited about Sunday’s game, rather than nervous.
   ‘Before the last World Cup, we drew with Japan and played badly, just like we did against Belarus.
   ‘We then beat Columbia in the final warm-up game in 2006 with a better performance like our win over Serbia last Saturday, things weren’t perfect, it is better to make those mistakes before the tournament.
   ‘We were punished for a lapse in concentration against Serbia and we have to make sure that doesn’t happen again.’
   Lehmann joins Stuttgart after the tournament having played 329 matches between 1998 and 2003 for Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 before his switch to Arsenal.
   Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff said he expects the summer switch to Stuttgart will help Lehmann’s performances on the pitch after an uncertain season at Arsenal.
   ‘It was a very good move for Jens, we are very happy the matter has been resolved,’ said Bierhoff, who was a Euro winner in 1996 when he scored in the win over the Czech Republic.
   ‘He made a few mistakes in the last two games, family matters were getting the better of him, so hopefully he will have more peace of mind now.’

The Dutch as ever enter a major finals resplendent with attacking talent and to this end one of their star offensive midfielders Wesley Sneijder is prepared to surrender his attacking instincts to fill a defensive role.
   The Real Madrid dynamo was outstanding during the Spanish season in filling a spot just behind compatriot Ruud van Nistelrooy as the meringues romped to the title.
   However, Sneijder, who made his name at Ajax, acknowledges that with fellow talents such as Rafael van der Vaart, Real Madrid team-mate Arjen Robben and a now fit Robin van Persie that coach Marco van Basten has some hard choices to make.
   ‘I hope that the coach will select me in an offensive position,’ said Sneijder, who will be 24 on June 9, the day of their opening match against world champions Italy. ‘Behind the central striker, in the centre or on the right - I don’t have a preference - it is there that I feel the most at ease. ‘The coach has an embarrassment of riches which can be nothing but a positive thing. It is for him to sort out,’ added Sneijder.
   During the warm-up matches van Basten had van der Vaart filling the role of playmaker, Robben out on the left - where he is virtually unchallengeable - and Sneijder on the right.
   However, with van Persie having shaken off the effects of a thigh injury - one of several he suffered during a frustrating season with Arsenal - Sneijder could well find himself having to play a defensive midfielder role.
   Sneijder, though, is willing to make that sacrifice if it means that the Dutch can emulate their compatriots of 1988 - which included van Basten - and land the European title.
   ‘I would have no problem in playing as one of the two defensive midfielders,’ said Sneijder.
   ‘Even if I know that I am better in a more advanced role.’
   Sneijder has already filled the role in the unhappy campaign at the 2006 World Cup finals, where they exited in the second round to Portugal, which was more notable for the extreme physical nature of the game than for its football and saw a record number of cards flourished by the referee.
   ‘I played in that role at the World Cup,’ said Sneijder.
   ‘It wasn’t very conclusive. But at the time we played with just one defensive midfielder whereas now van Basten plays with two. That makes an enormous difference.’
   Van Basten, who steps down to take over at Ajax after the tournament, believes that Sneijder is more prepared this time and ready to assume the responsibility.
   ‘Two years ago, it was not a good situation in respect of the defensive midfielder position,’ said van Basten, who has managed to rebuild his bridges with van Nistelrooy but not with hardman midfielder Marc van Bommel and fell out also with veteran Clarence Seedorf. ‘But Wesley has grown up and he is mature enough now to fill that role.’
   Van Basten, scorer of perhaps the greatest goal in the tournament’s history when he scored in the 1988 final against the then Soviet Union, is keen to field all four of his star midfielders, though, Sneijder realises that against teams such as Italy and 2006 World Cup finalists France, it will be imperative to be a little cautious.
   ‘It is also important to defend, even if we are not a counterattacking side,’ said Sneijder.

Dignity and restraint, even in the wake of a scintillating victory or a disastrous loss, are essential during Euro 2008, says Austria’s etiquette guru Thomas Schaefer-Elmayer.
   The director of the prestigious Elmayer dance school, which prepares dozens of debutantes annually for the traditional Viennese Opera Ball, has laid down ten rules on how to behave during the Euro.
   And dress is of course a primary concern, he says, noting that it is no longer necessary for men to wear a tie to the stadium, as was the custom up until the 1960s.
   ‘Today, casual attire is enough,’ he told the daily Die Presse.
   ‘But of course, one must come clothed to the stadium, even on hot days. Arriving only in swimming trunks or bare-
   chested is not appropriate,’ he said.
   Meanwhile, on the underground, which is bound to be full of over-excited fans on match days, ‘one should remain patient and fall in step with the crowd.’
   ‘Pushing and swearing will lead nowhere and only spoil the fun,’ the elegant Schaefer-Elmayer said.
   Anyone with a ticket to see a game is likely to spend several hours next to a complete stranger and there too appropriate behaviour is required.
   ‘It’s not the done thing to introduce yourself in the stadium. But at first, one should address other adults formally.’
   And if a fellow fan, overcome by joy, was to spill his favourite drink on you: ‘I would urge him to be more careful and then keep my distance.’
   Without being aggressive, one should be able to prevent further unwanted interaction.
   ‘I would give him a look to dampen his enthusiasm and put an end to all conversation,’ says Schaefer-Elmayer.
   A few white lies can also come in handy at times, for example to rebuff the advances of an over-enthusiastic and effusive fan.
   ‘In an emergency situation, a little lie can help, such as ‘Please no, my back hurts!’’
   But with fans from so many different countries and cultures descending on host nations Switzerland and Austria in June, a little understanding is necessary to make sure everyone has a good time.
   ‘Tolerance is expected from us. We need to respect other practices, including when they’re happening here.’
   ‘If you wish to enlighten others about your customs and habits, do this constructively and with sensitivity, it should never be preachy or aggressive.’
   Closer to home, arguments over the remote control can also be avoided with a little forward planning, says the etiquette master. ‘That way everyone can watch what he or she wants, if need be by finding another TV set, at a friend’s place for example.’
   As for the inevitable snack-munching in front of the telly, he has resigned himself to the inevitable.
   ‘When in company, this does not constitute good behaviour and even health-wise it’s not ideal.’
   ‘But that’s not going to change in the future and most certainly not during the Euro.’

German FA president Theo Zwanziger justified a massive spending increase on the Euro 2008 squad on Wednesday, saying: ‘If you want to milk the cow, you have to feed it’.
   Germany are paying out about 1.6 million euros ($2.50 million) on hotel costs alone for their training base, according to German media, while player bonuses could be as high as 250,000 euros a man, or 5.75 million in total.
   Local newspapers have estimated the entire budget for Euro 2008 at about 20 million euros.
   Zwanziger, speaking at a news conference at the team’s training complex in the Italian part of Switzerland, did not confirm the figures but said any investment would be worth it.
   ‘We have to invest if we want a top team,’ Zwanziger said. ‘It’s not a bunch of school kids visiting a youth hostel.
   ‘When the team is successful we get highly lucrative TV and sponsorship contracts. You have to feed the cow up well or you won’t be able to milk it.’
   Germany are staying at the five-star Il Giardino hotel in Ascona on Lake Maggiore, despite the fact that their matches in the group phase at least will all be in Austria.
   Not content with just booking rooms, national team general manager Oliver Bierhoff arranged for rebuilding work to be carried out, to give the place a homelier feel.
   ‘We’ve created islands of cosiness,’ Bierhoff said at the
   news conference. ‘We wanted to make sure the players
   don’t spend all their free time in their rooms but come downstairs where they will find comfortable rooms instead of just a lobby.’

Arsene Wenger has warned Manchester United that Arsenal are capable of winning everything next season.
   Wenger’s side finished empty-handed for a third successive season after fading in the closing weeks of the campaign.
   The Gunners surrendered a five-point lead in the Premier League to Manchester United and crashed out of the Champions League quarter-finals to Liverpool.
   But Wenger insists his team are equipped to overhaul United and sweep the board next year.
   ‘I think we can win everything. We are very, very close,’ he told the Daily Express. ‘Now that the Champions League final has become an FA Cup final the team who is very strong in England has a good chance to win the European Cup.
   ‘The Premier League title goes down to one game, won or lost.’
   Wenger’s attacking talent is among the best in Europe if Robin van Persie, Emmanuel Adebayor, Cesc Fabregas and Tomas Rosicky stay fit and in form.
   But he hinted he will look to strengthen his defence in the close-season.
   ‘I believe overall quality, going forward, we were the best team in the League,’ he said.
   ‘However, Arsenal conceded 10 more goals than the others and that made the difference.
   ‘It’s very difficult to take a perspective in what people expected from us at the start of the season, and the fact we are disappointed for not winning the championship.
   ‘We have done beyond expectation, but, as well, we are disappointed beyond expectation as we have not won the championship. But we feel we are very, very close.’
   Meanwhile, Wenger has been blasted by former Gunners midfielder Freddie Ljungberg, who is still furious that he wasn’t informed that Arsenal wanted to sell him last year.
   Ljungberg claimed Wenger froze him out because he was hit by a series of injuries. The Sweden star eventually joined West Ham and admitted he decided to stay in the Premier League so he could get revenge on Wenger.
   ‘It’s all about my injuries. Wenger simply doesn’t like those who show a weakness,’ Ljungberg said.
   ‘With him you generally feel as if you were in the army. It is only in public that he may appear to be some sort of man of liberal views.
   ‘While I was being treated for an injury they went out and found a different player for my position.
   ‘I was offended when all of a sudden I learnt from the papers Wenger was ready to consider offers for me from other clubs. No one had talked to me.
   ‘I went to West Ham in order to play against Arsenal as often as possible. I wanted to prove that Ljungberg hadn’t had his last word as a player.’

Sven Goran Eriksson was named Mexican national coach on Tuesday in place of Hugo Sanchez, announced a member of the selection committee Jorge Vergara.
   The 60-year-old Swede - who signed a two year contract - arrived in Mexico on Sunday evening just hours before the official announcement of his leaving by mutual consent English Premiership side Manchester City, who he had coached for only one season.
   ‘The decision of the club directors was unanimous,’ said Vergara.
   Eriksson’s task will be to qualify Mexico for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa and to make an impression at them.
   ‘Our target is to reach the 2010 World Cup finals and go further than ever before,’ said Eriksson, referring to Mexico’s failure to ever get past the quarter-finals.
   For the mean time Mexican Jesus Ramirez will take charge of the side for the friendlies against Argentina on Wednesday, Peru on June 8, and World Cup qualifiers against minnows Belize, on June 15 and 21.
   Eriksson was ostensibly the third choice for the job with the federation having approached former national boss Aguirre, who preferred to stay at Atletico Madrid and then subsequently Portugal handler Luiz Felipe Scolari, whose wage demands were judged as excessive.
   While Eriksson only lasted the one campaign at City - after five years in charge of the England team who he guided to two World Cup quarter-finals and the Euro 2004 last eight - he was very popular with the fans, who believed he had done a good job to revive the ailing fortunes of the club.
   Eriksson’s year in charge of City saw a remarkable turnaround in the fortunes of a club that had spent the previous campaign on the edge of the relegation battle.
   Astute buys like the Brazilian playmaker Elano and the Bulgarian winger Martin Petrov enabled City to spend over the first half of the season challenging for a place in the top four while playing an attractive brand of football.
   With results tailing off in the second half of the campaign, City finally finished the season in ninth place. That was still five places better than the previous season but, despite the bonus of a place in next season’s UEFA Cup via the Fair Play league, billionaire Thai owner Thaksin Shinawatra was not satisfied.
   Eriksson’s popularity in the dressing room was underlined last month when the players threatened to boycott their end-of-season tour of Thailand and Hong Kong in a show of support for the under-pressure manager.
   Eriksson, who became England’s first ever foreign coach, is the ninth foreigner to coach Mexico.
   He enjoyed a mediocre playing career, never rising above the Swedish Second Division before injury ended it, but is rated as a top class coach, especially of club sides.
   He won the 1982 UEFA Cup with Swedish outfit Gothenburg, before leaving for Portugal
   and his first spell with Benfica (1982-84, 1989-92), then to Italy: first with AS Roma (1984-1987), then Fiorentina (1987-1989) followed by Sampdoria (1992-1997) and finally Lazio (1997-2000).
   Aside from the UEFA Cup he also collected national league titles in Sweden, Portugal and Italy as well as the now defunct Cup Winners Cup in 1999.
   Sanchez, a former Mexican footballing great, was let go in March for failing to guide Mexico to the Olympics in Beijing.

A first-half penalty by Franck Ribery managed not to ruin Thierry Henry’s 100th international appearance and give France a 1-0 win over Colombia in their final warm-up match before Euro 2008.
   The 25-year-old Bayern Munich star slotted home the penalty after Henry was fouled in the 23rd minute for his fourth goal in 27 international appearances while coach Raymond Domenech will be delighted that his side has not conceded a goal in their last four matches.
   However, the lack of goals up front will cause him some worries, though, the sphinx like coach didn’t seem too concerned by that afterwards.
   ‘Two wins and one draw, I will settle for that,’ said Domenech, referring to the three warm-up matches all against South American opposition.
   ‘It is not the results that are important, its the style of the performances.
   ‘I prefer three matches unbeaten than three defeats.’
   Domenech admitted that he was going to have a selectorial nightmare ahead of their opening match on June 9 against Romania.
   ‘That will give me a few sleepless nights, mind you it is something that I don’t mind, better that than sleepless nights because of an injury crisis,’ added Domenech, who has a major worry over captain Patrick Vieira who has a left thigh injury.
   Ribery ended the match with an ankle strapped, but he said it was nothing too serious.
   ‘We didn’t concede a goal and we beat a good Colombian team,’ said Ribery. We are super motivated and we are good in the head.
   ‘As regards me limping, its not the ankle. We want to win the tournament and it is vital we start well against Romania and take the three points.’
   Colombia rarely threatened save for a slip in the
   French defence in the eighth minute.
   The French too didn’t create too many chances and went closest to doubling their lead when France footballer of the year Karim Benzema’s 40th minute shot just went past the post, having been set up by the irrepressible Ribery.

The national flags may fly at the respective Euro 2008 matches but several of the teams’ strips will bear no reflection of those standards. Indeed several of them will wear colours more associated with a royal connection.
   Italy and Germany may have rid themselves of their monarchies many years ago but that hasn’t stopped them wearing outfits recalling those days.
   Italy for instance play in blue and white, nothing whatsoever to do with the red, white and green of their national flag, but the colours are those of the House of Savoy, that of King Victor Emmanuel, who was the first King of the unified Italy in 1861.
   The Germans too eschewed the black red and yellow of the flag that was brought in following their defeat in World War I and was introduced under the Weimar Republic (1919-1933).
   However, the German football side wanted nothing to do with a flag that represented humiliation and stuck with the all white top which had been the colour of the standard of the German Empire, which came to an end with defeat in the war. They also carried on sporting black shorts, which was the colour of Kaiser Wilhelm II’s eagle on the flag.
   They kept on wearing the white shirt after World War II - where the revelations of the concentration camps and the Holocaust had made the Germans the pariahs of the world – and when they beat huge favourites Hungary 3-2 in the 1954 World Cup final in Switzerland it prompted their coach Josef Herberger to declare ‘One can once again be proud to be German.’
   The Dutch too prefer to wear something different instead of the red, white and blue of the national flag, in this case orange as it is the colours of the dynasty of William of Orange-Nassau who ruled the Netherlands during the height of their international power – it was William II who declared their independence in 1648.
   The Croats have their national flag colours emblazoned on their shirts but also the red and white diamond shapes represent the 25 small provinces that make up Hrvatska, Croatia.
   The French, though, have stuck to their revolutionary ideals, no question of the Royal standard with the fleur de lys being sported, but the good old red, white and blue that was led into battle on many victorious occasions under Napoleon – France coach Raymond Domenech will be hoping that his players come out with flying colours.

Italy’s defensive midfielder Daniele De Rossi admitted on Wednesday that the loss of captain Fabio Cannavaro will be a blow to the World champions’ chances of claiming Euro 2008 glory.
   Italy are preparing for the European Championships from their base just outside Vienna, where Cannavaro damaged ankle ligaments on Monday.
   That ruled him out of action for two months and on Wednesday morning he underwent surgery.
   He has decided to stick around with the team to lend moral support but De Rossi said that his loss on the pitch is a major set-back.
   ‘Losing someone like him is always difficult. He is a symbol for our squad and after the World Cup he became a symbol for the whole of Italy,’ said De Rossi.
   Playing at the heart of their defence, Cannavaro was such an important part of Italy’s success in Germany two years ago that he went on to be crowned World Player of the Year. But as a squad, De Rossi says Italy are stronger now than they were just down the road in Germany.
   ‘We’re calmer now and we have more confidence,’ he added.
   Cannavaro has been replaced in the group by Fiorentina centre-back Alessandro Gamberini.
   He said he was simply pleased to be taking part in his first such experience. ‘I’m happy to be here. I’m sorry for Fabio but I’m very enthusiastic about being here,’ he said.
   Gamberini is unlikely to play given he is the last centre-back to be called up but he said he would be prepared if called upon, which after his club’s successful league campaign - they finished above AC Milan in Serie A to qualify for next season’s Champions League - would be the icing on the cake for him.
   ‘The coach (Roberto Donadoni) told be ready to play. This is the culmination of a great season with a lot of achievement.
   ‘It’s my first time at a big tournament like this and I will do my best in training and for the coach.
   ‘Just being a part of this group is an enormous honour for me.’
   Gamberini also paid tribute to the man he has replaced in the squad. ‘I’m sorry for him and I hope he comes back soon. He is important for us both on and off the pitch because of his charisma and spirit.’

Germany striker Oliver Neuville may be back home at the team’s Euro 2008 training camp in Tenero, Switzerland, but his side are already getting down to business. Germany arrived in Switzerland on Tuesday and head coach Joachim Low put his players through their paces with a light training session at their Euro 2008 base in the idyllic south Swiss town flanked by the picturesque Alps.
   Both striker Miroslav Klose, who injured an ankle in Saturday’s 2-1 final warm-up win over Serbia, and defender Marcell Jansen, who picked up a leg injury against the Serbs, took part in training. And for Neuville, who grew up here in the nearby town of Ascona, where the team are staying, the Germans are here only for the serious business of winning Euro 2008 when they open their campaign on Sunday against Poland.
   ‘We are not here on holiday,’ said Neuville, 35, who scored in Germany’s 2-1 win over Serbia on Saturday in their final warm-up.
   ‘If we have an afternoon free, I will show the boys Ascona.
   ‘I know Tenero very well, I had my first training camp here with FC Locarno. The conditions here are outstanding and perfect for getting on with the job in hand.’
   Having flown here on Tuesday from Frankfurt after a two-day break following Saturday’s final warm-up win, the 23-man squad are based here for the entire tournament before flying to Klagenfurt, Austria, for Sunday’s opening Group B game. And after Saturday’s goal-scoring performance, Neuville is putting pressure on his fellow strikers Miroslav Klose, Mario Gomez, Kevin Kuranyi and Lukas Podolski for a place in the side.
   ‘Before the last World Cup, I was also fourth or fifth choice striker and I accept I have to take my chances if I come off the bench,’ said Neuville, who has 68 caps.
   This European Championships is Neuville’s third tournament and he is proving to be Germany’s joker in the pack - with valuable goals in key matches when he comes off the bench.
   At the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, Neuville grabbed the all-important goal on Germany’s last sixteen win 1-0 over Paraguay just before the final whistle as his side went onto reach the final. And he scored the crucial goal in the 2006 World Cup group stage 1-0 win over Poland in Dortmund four years later when Germany finished third.

Dutch attacking midfielder Robin van Persie said on Wednesday he was ready to take his place against world champions Italy in their Euro 2008 opener on June 9 - should coach Marco van Basten feel he was match fit.
   The 24-year-old Arsenal star has recovered from his latest injury - this time his thigh - but unlike his team-mates he has not had the chance to play in a warm-up match, van Basten did not want to risk a player he considers integral to his chances of adding the Euro 2008 title to the one he won as a player in 1988.
   Van Persie, scorer of seven goals in his 23 internationals, admits that he is a little pensive approaching such a big match as that with the Italians having not played since April.
   ‘Yes, of course I am a little nervous,’ said van Persie, who suffered from knee, ankle and thigh injuries last season.
   ‘Its only human.
   ‘Even if I am a player who rapidly rediscovers his match rhythm, a training session is not the same as playing in a match.
   ‘That is why, I asked Marco van Basten to organise a friendly match this week, whether it be between two sides made up from the squad or a small Swiss side.
   ‘That would have been ideal. But having see the calendar, the coach did not want to give in to my request.
   ‘I absolutely understand he (van Basten) must also think of the other players.
   ‘So in effect, the only thing that is left to me to do is to stretch myself to the limit at the training sessions.’
   Van Persie said whether that would be enough to persuade van Basten to include him in the starting line-up against the Italians was open to question, especially as the Dutch possess several talented attacking midfielder options such as Rafael van der Vaart, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder.
   ‘In any case, I will be available for selection,’ said van Persie.
   ‘The coach will make his choice and I know his choice will both be the best for the squad and for me.
   ‘Thus whatever it is I will accept it. If van Basten thinks that I can add something to the team, he will pick me.’
   Van Persie praised van Basten for the way he had let him ease himself back to fitness and not rushed him back for one of the friendlies.
   ‘Van Basten on the advice of the doctors let me do light training for the first two weeks of the training camp so as I could get back to 100per cent,’ said van Persie.
   ‘I hope that is the case now. I am confident. And I congratulate the medical staff who really have got me right back on track. They have performed an outstanding job.
   ‘I am happy and relieved. It seems really strange to be kicking the ball once again.’

Cristiano Ronaldo appears to have made up his mind to leave Manchester United and fulfil his ‘dream’ of joining Real Madrid. The Portugal international has informed his agent, Jorge Mendes, that he wants to play in Spain and his decision has already been outlined to Madrid, encouraging them to step up their attempts to prise him from Old Trafford.
   Ronaldo is being offered a salary in the region of Ł150,000 a week after tax and has told his closest associates that the financial rewards, as well as the opportunity to play for a club of Madrid’s prestige, are too good to turn down.
   The double footballer of the year had stated on Saturday night that he would announce his decision ‘in two or three days’ but journalists arriving at Portugal’s Euro 2008 training base yesterday were informed that he would not speak to the media until Friday at the earliest. Instead, one of his associates briefed the Portuguese journalists that Ronaldo, as suspected, was hoping United would relent on their refusal to entertain the idea of negotiating a world-record transfer.
   Relations between the two clubs have been severely strained and the latest developments will cause intense dismay to Sir Alex Ferguson, who has been increasingly vocal in his criticism of Madrid. There is also a growing sense of foreboding about Ronaldo’s motives, specifically the manner in which he has repeatedly adapted his line in a string of media interviews.
   Ferguson had wanted the player to hold a press conference, or, at the very least, put out a statement, committing himself to the club, but Ronaldo has made it clear he plans to do nothing of the kind.
   Mendes is believed to be in almost daily contact with Madrid and looking at ways to soften United’s resistance.
   Whether that is possible remains to be seen as United have threatened to report the Spanish champions to FIFA and Ferguson has said he would rather let Ronaldo rot in the reserves than sanction the deal.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s club future has become a taboo subject for Portugal at Euro 2008.
   Portugal’s media officers refused to accept any question that deviated even slightly from the tournament at Tuesday’s news conference at La Maladiere stadium in this lakeside city where the squad are based.
   The Portuguese federation, announcing the news conference on their Web site (www.fpf.pt), had said it would deal ‘exclusively with the national team’.
   Defenders Bruno Alves and Jose Bosingwa were present but a question as to how well coach Luiz Felipe Scolari might fare in the English Premier League was rejected by press officer Antonio Florencio. Florencio later told Reuters that if Ronaldo has a decision to announce this week as to whether he is staying at Manchester United or moving to Real Madrid it would not come out of the Portuguese camp.
   ‘If it’s going to (be announced during the tournament) I think it will come through his agent,’ he said of a subject that some Portuguese reporters are saying is causing discord in the camp. ‘This is the national team. We have no business dealing with such matters,’ he added.
   New Chelsea recruit Bosingwa, however, did touch slightly on club issues when he was asked what sort of a performance could be expected from him in the light of his transfer.
   ‘You’ll see the same Bosingwa of Porto.
   ‘I have worked hard to get here, I’m an ambitious player, of course I want to get there (to a starting position),’ said the Kinshasa-born 25-year-old four days before Portugal meet Turkey in their Group A opener in Geneva.
   Bosingwa said he was fit after doing separate work with the physical trainers at Monday’s two practice sessions, having suffered some muscular pains.
   Asked if he believed that senior players in the squad were sure to hold their places in Scolari’s starting lineup, he said: ‘There are two players for each position, nobody can be sure (of his place).
   ‘I’m not sure if I’m going to play but I want to help.’

The first weekend of the European championship will be warm but with potential showers, the Austrian central weather institute ZAMG said on Wednesday. ZAMG predicted 19 degrees Celsius and covered skies in Basel for the opening game between Switzerland and Czech Republic on Saturday, but warned there might be brief showers. The temperature will be slightly cooler in Geneva, where Portugal will meet Turkey, with 16 degrees Celsius and rain also on the cards. Similar weather can be expected in Austria on Sunday for the first two Group B matches: ZAMG forecast 19 degrees and a light wind in Vienna for Austria-Croatia, with more sun and 17 degrees in Klagenfurt for Germany-Poland.
   
— AFP

One in three Germans believe that Germany will add another Euro title to their tally according to a poll conducted by weekly magazine Stern. Meanwhile 65per cent of those polled believe that coach Joachim Low and his assistant Hansi Flick will achieve as good a result as Low did when assistant to Jurgen Klinsmann at the 2006 World Cup and reach the semi-finals. Germany has won the European championships three times, twice as West Germany in 1972 and 1980 and then as a unified Germany in 1996.
   
— AFP

Holland midfielder Wesley Sneijder believes Italy are ‘terrified’ of facing the Oranje in their opening Group C game at Euro 2008 on Monday. The 23-year-old insists his side are feeling no fear ahead of the European Championships, and have no reason to be scared of world champions Italy or the other much-fancied team in Group C, France. ‘We can have them,’ he told Sportweek magazine. ‘We must not make the opponent too big. ‘That is a Dutch thing. Look at the Italians, they are also afraid of us, be sure of that. They are terrified. ‘The same goes for the French. I know for sure that they need to be prepared.’ The Real Madrid man also believes that the tournament’s games are likely to be very close and may even be decided by luck. ‘The differences are really small,’ he said. ‘Many duels are decided on minor details, sometimes even only with a lot of luck. ‘You see that in the Champions League too. I think the top countries are very close. Everyone is tactical, technical and physically strong. We are one of the better teams, so we do have a chance.’
   
— New Age Desk

The injury-enforced absence of Italy’s World Cup winning captain Fabio Cannavaro was a real blow to the Italians claimed Dutch coach Marco van Basten on Wednesday. Holland meet Italy in their opening Euro 2008 clash on June 9 and van Basten while welcoming the fact Cannavaro would not be lining up against his side, also expressed his sympathy for the 34-year-old defensive pillar. ‘In a sense, his absence is a good thing for us but it is really sad to see him pull out before the tournament has started,’ said van Basten, who steps down after the tournament to take over ailing Dutch giants Ajax, ‘He is a huge name, a great player, and a huge personality. He was fundamental to the Italian game,’ added van Basten, otherwise known as ‘Saint Marco’.
   
— AFP

Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro underwent an operation on his left ankle on Wednesday in Vienna, after injuring it during training on Monday, the chief medical officer for the Euro, Christian Gaebler said. The operation was successful, added Gaebler, who operated on Cannavaro with Italy team doctor Andrea Ferretti at a private hospital in Vienna. The 34-year-old Real Madrid player was to return to the Italian base in Baden on Wednesday afternoon. Ferretti said be believed the centre-back would be out of action for ‘several months’.
   
— AFP