All-rounder Sakib al Hasan said he will now give more emphasis on his left-arm spin after recording Bangladesh’s best ever bowling performance in a Test innings in the first Test against New Zealand.
   Sakib added the last wicket of New Zealand’s first innings to his tally of six on Sunday to return with 7-36, eclipsing Enamul Haque Jr’s record of 7-95 against Zimbabwe in Dhaka in January 2005.
   Sakib later scored 71 runs in the second innings to make another record for himself – the best ever all-round performance for Bangladesh in a Test match. It was only the second instance for a Bangladesh player to take five or more wickets and score a half-century in a Test match.
   Mohammad Rafique had set the previous example scoring 68 runs before claiming 5-65 in the Test match that Bangladesh won against Zimbabwe in Chittagong, although it was a different ground.
   ‘Frankly speaking, I did not work very hard with my bowling. It was a gift from the God,’ said the soft-spoken cricketer, who had no hesitation to make it clear the other day that he likes to be known as a batting all-rounder.
   ‘I will be more pleased if I can score 70 runs than taking five wickets,’ Sakib had said after the end of second day’s play and he defended the statement again on Sunday.
   ‘I said it because I work hard on my batting. From now on I will also emphasise on bowling. I don’t know how it feels to have the record of best bowling figure of the country. Maybe when I finish my career, I will rejoice for it,’ said Sakib.
   ‘But it really feels great when you walk onto the field, bowl well, bat and field well and give as much support as you can to your team,’ said Sakib, who also took a stunning catch in the match.
   Wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim feels, Sakib will keep up the momentum in the second innings, which is perhaps more crucial for Bangladesh to win the game.
   ‘Sakib did not do very well with the bat in the one-day series, though he was impressive with the ball. Now he has got both runs and wickets, which I think is good for him and also for the team,’ said Mushfique
   ‘I hope he will bowl even better in the more vital second innings and will take us into a good position,’ said Mushfique, who shared 56 runs with Sakib in the invaluable sixth-wicket stand of the second innings.

New Zealand dismissed talks that they are already on the back-foot in the first Test against Bangladesh and said the game is still evenly poised although they trail the hosts by 258 runs.
   Bangladesh added 184 runs to their 74 runs first innings lead with two second innings wickets still to go, something which gave the hosts an upper hand against an under-performing New Zealand. The tourists were all out for 171 runs in the first innings.
   ‘I think it is poised pretty well. We bowled really well today (Sunday) and brought ourselves back in the match. We have got two wickets to get tomorrow (Monday) morning and hopefully we’ll get them early and then knock off the runs in the afternoon and the fifth day,’ said off-spinner Jeetan Patel.
   New Zealand have never won a Test match chasing more than 200 runs outside their home and in the subcontinent they did not have a single win batting in the fourth innings, an statistic which gives Bangladesh a great hope.
   But Patel said statistics become meaningless and they have a very good chance. ‘I think we’re in a strong position as well and Bangladesh are not that far ahead. If you look at stats you can say they go each way. The guys know the gameplan really well. We’ve worked a few things out and looking forward to the challenge tomorrow (Monday),’ he said.
   ‘We’ve seen some good batting from the Bangladeshis as well and also the fact that the belief is still there. We’ve got a lot of time to win the game and that’s in our hand,’ said Patel, who also has good faith in the wicket.
   ‘It was always going to turn. We always expected to come over here and play on spinning wickets. Like we showed it’s easy when the ball gets older and we just got to gut it out for a good 30 to 40 overs and make the runs when the chance arrives. Like I said if we can bat for a long period of time then we’ve got a good chance,’ he said.
   Patel was struck for three fours by Sakib al Hasan in an over, but the off-spinner wants to take some encouragement from this sour experience hoping that it would also boost the confidence of New Zealand batsmen and remove their fear over a wearing wicket.
   ‘There are plenty of runs out there. I don’t think it’s that bad a wicket. A lot of the guys are saying that it’s going up and down but I don’t think the wicket’s that bad. There’s still a little bit of turn there. There’s a little bit of variable bounce but otherwise I think we’ll be in a good position tomorrow to knock this off,’ he said.

Barisal were leading by 80 runs against Khulna on the second day of the Ispahani Mirzapore Tea National Cricket League at the Fatullah stadium on Sunday. Dhaka were struggling on 183 for five against hosts Sylhet who posted 343 in their first innings and Rajshahi scored a huge 438 for nine declared against Chittagong at the Rajshahi Divisional Stadium.
   Barisal-Khulna
   Barisal resumed the day at 273 for eight and were all out for 288 in their first innings with Robiul Islam of Khulna scalping five wickets for 86 runs. But Barisal bowlers hit back to stop Khulna on 210 in the first innings to give the team a 78-run cushion.
   Barisal were two for none in their second innings when the bails were drawn for the day.
   Khulna opener Najmus Sadat scored 26 while skipper Tushar Imran added 32 in the middle order. Sahagir Hossain Pavel’s 40 and pacer Dollar Mahmud’s 32 off 38 balls featuring six fours helped Khulna cross the 200-run mark. Former national pacer Talha Jubaer tore apart the Khulna innings taking four wickets for 43 runs while his new-ball partner Sajedul Islam was also effective with a three-wicket haul for 51 runs. Tariqul Islam picked up two for 59 runs.
   Rajshahi-Chittagong
   Rajshahi started the day on 274 for four with centurion Anisur Rahman batting on 111. Anisur added another 31 runs before departing on 142 that featured 16 strokes to the ropes. Skipper Khaled Mashud made a patient 72 and a late-order 29 by Sohrawardi Shuvo helped Rajshahi post a mammoth 438 when Mashud decided to declare their first innings with one wicket in hand. Md Yunus of Chittagong captured four wickets for 110 runs.
   In reply, former Test opener Nafees Iqbal fought a lone battle for Chittagong scoring 36 not out as his team finished at 54 for three when the umpires called off the day’s play.
   Sylhet-Dhaka
   Sylhet took the field with 253 for five and ended their first innings on 343 with Ejaz Ahmed contributing highest 88 off 143 balls with eight fours and five sixes. Kamrul Islam resumed the day at 53 but managed to add only nine runs to his overnight score. Nabil Samad remained not out on 23. Elias Sunny of Dhaka was the most successful bowler with seven wickets for 79 runs.
   Later Shamsur Rahman scored 76 for Dhaka and Mahmudullah Riyadh added 44 to pull Dhaka out from the initial trouble. Marshall Ayub and Nazmul Hossain were batting on 27 and 19 respectively when the stumps were drawn for the second day.

India (469 & 100/0) lead Australia (268) by 301 runs
   at stumps, day 3
   Debutant leg-spinner Amit Mishra took a five-wicket haul to put India in the driver’s seat on the third day of the second Test against Australia here on Sunday.
   Mishra, who took two wickets on Saturday, dismissed top-scorer Shane Watson (78) before mopping up tailenders Cameron White and Peter Siddle to finish with an impressive 5-71 from 26.4 overs.
   Paceman Ishant Sharma and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh chipped in with two wickets each as the visitors were bowled out for a first innings score of 268, two less than the follow-on mark.
   India, however, decided to bat again, reaching 100 without loss at close for an overall lead of 301 runs, having made 469 in their first innings.
   Openers Virender Sehwag notched up his 15th Test fifty and was batting on 53 with Gautam Gambhir on 46 when stumps were drawn for the day.
   The duo negotiated a benign Australian attack with ease, scoring at more than four runs an over on a track which still played true and easy.
   The Australians owed their first innings score to a fine rearguard action from Watson and Brett Lee, who put on 73 runs for the eighth wicket to pull their side up from 167-7.
   ‘They bowled really well today,’ said Watson. ‘I was a little uncomfortable against the spin of Harbhajan Singh. So I tried to play more from the crease by taking an off-stump guard.
   ‘We can still win this game if we restrict their lead to around 400-450 because the pitch is not unplayable.’
   Watson’s 156-ball career-best knock included 10 fours and a six while Lee contributed a handy 35 with six fours.
   The 27-year-old all-rounder pulled Mishra, 25, over the midwicket for a huge six while Lee also danced down the track to loft the bowler twice for fours over the mid-off.
   Watson, playing his fifth Test, reached his half-century in style, dispatching the long-maned Sharma (2-68) in front of square for a delectable four.
   Lee, who needed two stitches on his right hand on day one of the match, also took a nasty blow on his back from Sharma, bowling with a new ball. But he responded by driving the bowler down to the ground for his fifth four.
   His spirited resistance was brought to an end by Harbhajan who induced him into edging one to Rahul Dravid at first slip.
   Mishra, only the sixth Indian bowler to have picked five wickets in a debut, then got rid of Watson — trapped leg before — and Siddle in the space of six balls to bring the curtain down on the Australian innings.
   Mishra’s figures were the best returns for an Indian bowler in a debut since Narendra Hirwani’s 8-61 against the West Indies in 1988.
   ‘I was not under any kind of pressure despite bowling to the number one side in the world,’ said Mishra.
   ‘I tried to play my natural game. My aim was to take a wicket off every ball. I also tried to use a lot of variation,’ said Mishra, making a return to international cricket five years after his one-day debut in 2003. The visitors lost three key wickets in the morning session in the face of a smart spin-pace combination from the home side.
   Key middle-order batsman Michael Hussey (54), Brad Haddin (nine) and Cameron White (five) were all cooling their heels in the pavilion after resuming the day on 102-4.
   The 33-year-old Hussey, who top-scored with 146 in the drawn Bangalore opener, reached his 10th Test fifty with a pulled two off Sharma before edging the bowler in the same over to Mahendra Dhoni behind the stumps. He hit seven fours in his 119-ball knock.

North South University made a winning start in the Mentors Inter Private University Football thrashing Northern University 4-0 at the Army Stadium on Sunday.
   Naib opened the account in 11th minute, Mushfiq doubled the margin in 14th minute, Mostofa added third in 45th minute and Imtiaz netted the fourth in the 65th minute.
   The secretary of National Sports Council Md Akbar Hussain inaugurated the ten team tournament as the chief guest.
   CEO of Mentors Khairul Hasan, TVS Auto executives Atiqur Rahman and Asif Iqbal were also present.
   
   Today’s matches
   IBAIS v Gono Bishwabidyalaya
   Asian University v University of Asia and Pacific

Nigerian striker Johnson scored the all important goal for Farashganj who registered a 1-0 victory over Khulna Abahani in the Citycell B League at the Narsingdi stadium on Sunday. In the other match of the day, another Old Dhaka outfit Rahmatganj also recorded a lone-goal victory in their away match against Chittagong Abahani with another Nigerian Felix slamming the winner.
   After a barren first half, Johnson finished a combined move to score the only goal of the match on 69 minutes. Farashganj moved up to the sixth place with seven points from five matches while Khulna Abahani remained on their previous three points from the same number of outing.
   Away at the Chittgaong MA Aziz Stadium, Felix found the net in the 35th minute that separated the two sides. The win put Rahmatganj on top of the table with nine points from five matches while Chittagong Abahani are on their previous five from the same number of matches.
   Mentionable that Dhaka Abahani, Dhaka Mohammedan and Brothers Union are not playing in this round as their players are now on national duties in the Merdeka Cup.

Bangladesh play their last group match of Merdeka Cup against Vietnam at the Shah Alam Stadium today. Vietnam defeated Myanmar 3-1 and thrashed Mozambique 4-0 in their previous two matches to go top of group B. Bangladesh conceded identical 0-1 defeats against Mozambique and Myanmar in their previous two matches.
   Back in 2001, Bangladesh had drawn 0-0 and lost 4-0 in the World Cup qualifiers against Vietnam.

The Young Tigers U-14 Dhaka Metro Cricket Competition and the Young Tigers U-14 District Cricket Competition, organised by the Bangladesh Cricket Board, start today at different venues across the country.
   Twenty-seven private cricket academies will participate in the Dhaka Metro Competition while 64 district teams will vie in the District Competition.

The women’s wing of Bangladesh Cricket Board will organise a non-residential cricket camp for the girls of Dhaka. The girls who are studying in class VI to XII are eligible to participate in the camp.
   The camp is scheduled to start on November 5. Interested girls have been requested to register their names with the BCB Women’s Wing at the Mirpur stadium (Telephone- 8031001-4) by October 28.

As Pakistan cricket undergoes its umpteenth revamp and a new PCB chairman with new ideas and possibly personnel settles in, Geoff Lawson, Pakistan’s coach, remains indifferent to the criticism directed at him after an uncertain year in charge.
   Lawson’s tenure has been a difficult one; a lack of cricket coupled with some poor on-field performances has made him an easy target.
   Even Ijaz Butt, the newly-installed chairman, has questioned his contribution. But in an interview with Cricinfo just after the four-nation Twenty20 tournament in Canada, Lawson was in a bullish mood about his stint and the future for Pakistan.
   ‘The only criticism I take any notice of is the criticism within my group and my own criticism,’ he said.
   ‘I’m very harsh on myself about what we need to do and I certainly don’t take any notice of the media.’
   Lawson has had a spiky relationship with the Pakistan media, which reached its lowest ebb during the Asia Cup, when the media walked out of his press conference in Karachi.
   Lawson insisted, however, that the only support he needed was from the players and the board.
   ‘I pick up the paper and laugh. You can’t take any notice of it, you just have to ignore it. It’s one of the big issues I’ve brought up with the players, I’ve said ‘look, you can’t let what people say in the press, particularly the Pakistani press, affect how you play the game.
   ‘You have support from the coaching staff and from the board itself, so play the game’ ... My life is not affected by what the media say.’
   In a wide-ranging, typically honest chat, Lawson also spoke about the Australian attitude he was trying to instil into the Pakistan side and the changes that need to be made to improve the game in the country.
   ‘One of the main reasons I was employed by the PCB was to bring that sort of attitude to the Pakistan team,’ Lawson said.
   ‘I’ve played the game hard, I’ve played to win and I’ve played an aggressive style of cricket. When you have talented players you can do that.
   ‘The job now is to get over all the hurdles that are placed in your way, to transfer that to the team.’
   When asked about the nature of the hurdles, Lawson pointed to the lack of facilities in some areas of the country.
   ‘Well, the fact that there aren’t good enough gyms in all the outlying regions. All the players can’t follow a high-level fitness program. That’s a basic thing.
   ‘It’s great in Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi, but not everywhere. And if you live in an outlying region, or even Quetta or rural Sind or Punjab you don’t have all that access.
   ‘Within Australia or England, you just take it for granted that the players will be able to train at a high level. That’s a fairly significant hurdle, but the PCB are trying to work on those sorts of things.’

Hamish Marshall’s polished half-century, and quick contributions from Rohan Gavaskar and Lance Klusener, propelled the Royal Bengal Tigers to 170 for 4, a match-winning total, in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
   The Mumbai Champs turned in another below-par performance - they were dismissed for 158 - and suffered their third straight loss of the tournament.
   The feature of Marshall’s innings was that all of his shots, barring a heave to cow corner, were conventional. He hit a couple of sixes over the bowler’s head but, instead of long-handle shots, they were merely an extension of the follow-through.
   Steve Rixon, a coach in the ICL, had a revealing story to tell about convincing Surrey’s Mark Butcher to play Twenty20. Butcher wasn’t sure he could play this format but, during a net session, Rixon told him to play his shots with a follow through.
   Much to Butcher’s surprise the ball flew over the cover boundary. That is how Marshall has batted in this tournament: nothing extravagant, just good old cricket but with a pronounced sense of purpose while completing a shot.
   He lifted Johan Van der Wath, who had another poor day with the ball, and Nathan Astle straight over their heads for a six and pulled Michael Kasprowicz over deep midwicket.
   Marshall’s test came against Sridhar Iyer, a tall legspinner, and he went down the track to the first ball and lofted it with the turn over extra cover. Iyer shortened his length but got cut to point boundary. Marshall went down the track once again but his lofted shot didn’t clear long-off. It was a neat little innings and it laid the base for the assault from Rohan Gavaskar and Lance Klusener.
   Prior to this game Klusener had faced only 24 balls for 22 runs with two fours and, surprisingly, no sixes. He hit one on Sunday, a monstrous shot over long-on against van der Wath. His high back lift and the powerful swing of his heavy bat fetched Bengal valuable runs.
   It was Rohan Gavaskar, however, who really turned it on by smashing his first ball from Avinash Yadav over deep midwicket. He found the cover-point boundary thrice against the medium-pacers and his 30 off 12 balls helped achieve a challenging target. Mumbai have been unable to gel as a unit in the tournament and they had another bad day. There was the odd contribution with the bat from Astle and a late charge from van der Wath and Subhojit Paul created some artificial excitement but they never really threatened Bengal.
   When you are losing consistently even the attacking innings tend to get overlooked. Mumbai’s start to the tournament has been poor but the worrying bit is that they haven’t shown much improvement.

Led by Steve Tikolo’s attacking century, Kenya recovered from their heavy loss to Ireland yesterday and completed a comprehensive 95-run victory against Zimbabwe. Tikolo’s 102 helped Kenya to a challenging 285 for 9, a target that was out of Zimbabwe’s reach, and secured the home side’s first win of the tri-series.
   It was the substantial 158-run partnership between Tikolo and Alex Obanda for the third wicket which laid the platform for victory. Zimbabwe bowled their spinners through the middle overs but none of them managed to tie the pair down. They had to wait 28 overs to take a wicket and, as a result, Christopher Mpofu’s six-wicket haul was overshadowed by a strong batting performance.
   At no stage did Zimbabwe threaten to loosen Kenya’s grip on the game. Tikolo’s arrival, with Kenya at 36 for 2, started a period of domination for the home side. With Obanda at the other end, Tikolo ensured the stand progressed at a run-rate of 5.50, bringing up his fifty off 52 balls, while Obanda reached his off 76.
   Tikolo opted for the third Powerplay at the start of the 35th over and Kenya managed 36 off those five overs. He was particularly harsh on Hamilton Masakadza’s legbreaks and smashed three fours in an over. Obanda struck Utseya for a six over long-on but perished in the same over, bowled through the gate for 71. Tikolo reached his third ODI century with a single to long-off off Chamu Chibhabha but fell in the following over, heaving Mpofu to deep midwicket. Mpofu chipped away the wickets towards the end as Kenya searched for quick runs, and he ended with figures of 6 for 52.
   Zimbabwe needed to get off the blocks quickly but their openers perished in the attempt, getting out to slogs against Nehemiah Odhiambo. Timycen Maruma and Tatenda Taibu helped steady the innings with a stand of 38 before Elijah Otieno deceived both Maruma and Taibu with slower deliveries. When Taibu departed, Zimbabwe were in trouble at 84 for 4.

Dinesh Mongia and Daryl Tuffey’s strong performances helped Chandigarh Lions win by eight runs and handed Chennai Superstars their first defeat of the tournament.
   Mongia top scored with 47 and set a target of 164, before Tuffey grabbed three top-order wickets to lead his team to their second victory.
   So far in the tournament Chennai have depended heavily on their openers and Russell Arnold for direction.
   On Saturday, however, Ian Harvey and G Vignesh fell early, leaving Arnold with too much to do. Tuffey induced Vignesh to slash straight to deep point and foxed Harvey with a slightly slower one. He also got rid of Stuart Law, playing his first game, with extra bounce and finished with 3 for 13.
   Arnold and R Sathish tried to put the chase back on track but the asking-rate remained beyond their grasp.
   Arnold fell 62 runs short of the target and Sathish was dismissed while Chennai were 36 runs away. The lower order struggled to build enough momentum to achieve victory. Chandigarh’s lower order, however, managed to score 59 runs in the last six overs of their innings, a period that eventually was the difference between the teams. It provided the ideal finish to a collective effort.
   Matthew Elliott began the attack against Chennai’s bowlers, reserving his shots for former Pakistan fast bowler Shabbir Ahmed during an attractive innings.
   He pulled the first ball of the game for six and hit three fours - one straight, the next over point and then to third man - in the third over. Elliott was dropped on 26 but failed to capitalise on the let-off. He was bowled by a yorker from Nantie Hayward a run later.
   Mongia took over after Elliott’s departure and was the only batsmen to pass 30 for Chandigarh.
   He jumped down the pitch early in his innings to hit the seamer R Jesuraj inside out over extra cover, and then smashed left-arm spinner Syed Mohammad for three consecutive boundaries: two disappeared to long-on and the other crashed into the cover boundary.

Venus Williams claimed her second title of the year on Sunday when she defeated unseeded Italian Flavia Pennetta 7-6 (7/1), 6-2 in the final of the Zurich Open.
   The third-seeded American, who was playing the 60th final of her career, won her 38th title, adding to the Wimbledon crown she earned in July.
   Pennetta, who is expected to rise to a new career-high ranking of 14 on Monday, was seeking her fourth consecutive win over Williams, after beating her in Bangkok in 2007 and at Roland Garros and Moscow this year.
   The quality of play was worthy of a final, with the players evenly matched in the first set before Pennetta showed signs of weariness in the second.
   The Italian, who was involved in a three-set doubles semi-final as well as a hard-fought singles match on Saturday, looked the stronger player in the opening set.
   She rallied aggressively from the baseline and drew some superb defensive play from Williams, although she twice failed to make the killer shot at the end of a rally.
   Neither player faced a break point in the entire first set, although Williams was taken to deuce five times. But having held serve more easily, only going to deuce once, Pennetta was totally overwhelmed in the tiebreak, dropping the first six points.

Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ejaz Butt has directed chief selector Saleem Jaffer to consult with the captain of the national side when selecting teams.
   ‘I have been assured that the team will now be announced after consultations with the skipper,’ captain Shoaib Malik told reporters after a meeting with Butt.
   ‘The selection committee will convince the captain before naming the team, unlike the way it used to happen previously.’
   Former chairman Nasim Ashraf had given national selectors the final say in selecting touring squads and also the playing 11 for a home match.
   Malik, who was named captain last year after Pakistan’s disappointing show in the World Cup led to the resignation of Inzamam-ul-Haq, said he had asked Butt to give more authority to the captain. The board will review his performance as captain in December.
   Chief selector Jaffer said the talks had gone well.
   ‘We had a positive meeting with the captain and the chairman, in which he encouraged us all and told us we must work together with the captain,’ Jaffer added.

Heavyweights Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer both crashed out of the Madrid Masters on Saturday leaving unheralded Frenchman Gilles Simon to face British world number four Andy Murray in the final.
   Unseeded Simon pulled off a fighting 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (8/6) upset of world number one Nadal although the Spaniard is now guaranteed the year-end top spot courtesy of Federer’s 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 loss to Murray.
   The Scotsman, who lost to Federer in the US Open final six weeks ago, will be bidding for his second consecutive Masters shield after winning Cincinnati in August.
   ‘I didn’t play well on the backhand and he was playing with unbelievable confidence,’ said Nadal after his marathon semi-final defeat where each set lasted for more than an hour on average.
   ‘Simon was putting all the balls inside the lines. It was disappointing not to win, it’s tough to lose a match like this after a big fight. I tried my best, I’m happy with myself for that.
   ‘I was not under any big pressure, not after the season I’ve had,’ said the winner of eight titles including Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the Olympics.
   The gutsy win in three hours, 22 minutes keeps Simon thick in the chase for a possible spot at the wrap-up Masters Cup in Shanghai.
   He will try to continue his run next week at Lyon and during the last week of the regular season at the Paris Masters.
   Victory nudged the modest Frenchman, winner of three titles this season, into provisional ninth as four spots in the eight-man field are still to be determined over the next two weeks.
   Murray fired 14 aces and broke in the penultimate game to turn the tables on Federer, improving his record in their series to 2-1 this year after a victory in Dubai during February.
   ‘That was a great match, a top five match for me,’ said Murray of his performance this season. ‘When you play Federer or Nadal, you have a respect for them, you expect a tougher match.
   ‘When it’s close they can raise their game and they come back when they are behind.’
   Simon matched Nadal shot-for-shot in their slugfest, with the underdog failing to yield an inch in the struggle.
   Simon gamely fought through after dropping the first as he ran the Spaniard back and forth across the court, a favourite Nadal tactic.
   The French player, who saved 17 of the 22 break points he faced, produced 60 unforced errors to the 55 of Nadal.
   Simon, set to play in his first career Masters final, recovered from 4-2 down in the final set and calmly took it into a tiebreaker.
   He then came back from a 3-5 deficit in the decider, winning a tense match point as a Nadal return was ruled long by the Hawk-eye electronic line-calling system.
   Relief was evident for Simon, who will need a fast recovery as he faces the on-form Murray standing 1-1 in their series.
   Federer said that he will play his home event from Monday in Basle after taking three weeks off broken by a return in Madrid.
   ‘Andy served very well and returned with much more confidence than he did in New York,’ said the 13-time Grand Slam champion Swiss.
   ‘It was an even match, a close match at the end. He had more opportunities in the third set. This surface plays so quick, it was a frustrating loss in some respects.
   ‘But if someone is serving well there is not a lot you can do.’

Rafael Nadal is assured of finishing the year as world number one following Roger Federer’s defeat in the Madrid Masters, the ATP said.
   Nadal becomes the 15th year-end number one since Ilie Nastase in 1973, with names such as Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Andre Agassi and Federer himself all having managed the feat.
   After Federer’s semi-final loss to Andy Murray in Madrid, the 22-year-old Mallorca native, who was also a semi-final loser to Gilles Simon, was certain to become the first left-hander since John McEnroe in 1984 and the third lefty in the 36-year history of the ATP rankings to be number one at the season end.
   McEnroe was number one from 1981-84 and Jimmy Connors sat on top of the world from 1974-78. Nadal is the first Spaniard to have won the honour.
   Nadal took over the number one ranking on August 18 after being number two for a record 160 consecutive weeks (since July 25, 2005).
   Federer held the top position for a record 237 straight weeks from February 2 2004 to August 17 this year.
   Nadal said: ‘To become number one during the year was one of my goals and it is important to have achieved it.
   Moreover, if you finish the year as number one it is even more special.
   ‘I am also very happy to bring something more to Spanish sport, something for Spanish history and for our great tennis tradition.’
   Nadal, who won eight tournaments and won 80 of his 90 matches during the year, became the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win the French Open and Wimbledon double after dethroning five-time champion Federer in a five-set epic at the All England Club.
   Nadal, who also captured the Olympic title, is one of four players to have so far qualified for the season-ending Masters Cup Shanghai, beginning November 9.
   Federer, Novak Djokovic and Murray are the other qualifiers. Four singles berths remain up for grabs with just over two weeks of the regular ATP season to play.

Morgan Pressel fired a five-under 67 on Saturday to join a four-way tie for the lead
   after three rounds of the 1.5 million-dollar LPGA Kapalua Classic.
   Pressel’s five-under total of 211 saw her atop the leaderboard alongside Sweden’s Carin Koch, South Korean Jee Young Lee and American Brittany Lang.
   Pressel’s round included five birdies, an eagle and two bogeys. She could have had the outright lead but for a short miss for birdie on 18.
   Koch carded a 68, while Lee posted a 70 and Lang, who started the day tied for the lead with Suzann Pettersen, posted a 71.
   Sun Young Yoo (71), Il Mi Chung (71), Laura Diaz (71) and Norway’s Pettersen (72) were all one stroke off the lead at four-under 212.
   Heather Young, Cristie Kerr and Alena Sharp were a
   further stroke back, still within striking distance come Sunday, especially if the wind picks up again.
   Pressel, in search of her first victory of the season, birdied three of her first six holes.
   After back-to-back bogeys at nine and 10, she bounced back with a birdie at 11 and an eagle at 15.
   Pressel’s last birdie came at 17 and she missed from two feet on 18 for a birdie that would have given her sole possession of the lead.
   Koch, who is seeking her first win since the 2005 Corona Morelia Championship, birdied three of her final four holes to grab a share of the lead and was looking forward to a shootout on Sunday.

Luiz Felipe Scolari insists it is too early to start billing Chelsea as Premier League title favourites.
   Scolari’s unbeaten league leaders are most bookmakers’ tip for the title and their stunning 5-0 demolition of Middlesbrough on Saturday will only have shortened the odds on them wresting the crown away from Manchester United.
   But the Brazilian coach is anxious to dampen expectations with two-thirds of the season still to run, and he insisted: ‘We’re not the favourites. We’ve got so many games in front of us, and we have to take one at a time.’
   Chelsea haven’t lost in the league for 10 months, but the manager says he will only start to believe he can claim the title in his first season in charge if they remain in pole position as the campaign reaches its climax in May.
   He added: ‘If we’re six points in front after 35 or 36 games, then I’d say we’re favourites, okay. But before then, we need to play every game as if it’s our last of the season and see where that takes us because there’s still such a long way to go.’
   Chelsea’s latest convincing win, which came despite the absence of 100 million pounds of talent through injury, will not be lost on their title rivals.
   But Scolari added: ‘I don’t think about Manchester United, Arsenal or Liverpool, I’m just thinking about my team.
   ‘I’m not really looking to see how they’re doing, because my job is with Chelsea. I don’t think this result sends out a message to them, but more to me that the players who I brought into the team can do a job as regulars if needed.
   ‘It’s fantastic for us because I put some players in who haven’t played many games, and they showed me they’re in good shape for the first team. That’s what I want, a good spirit in the group because we’re not just an 11, we’re a squad.’
   Two goals from Salomon Kalou and others from Juliano Belletti, Frank Lampard and Florent Malouda ensured Middlesbrough were outclassed by a Chelsea side missing seven first-team regulars.
   Despite the five-star display, Scolari is happy for Chelsea to grind their way to the title, and he added: ‘If we win all our games 1-0 until the end of the season we’ll be the Champions.’
   Didier Drogba is set for an imminent return from injury as Chelsea’s casualty list at last shows signs of easing.
   Wednesday’s Champions League meting with AS Roma comes too soon, but the striker hasn’t yet been ruled out of next Sunday’s Premier League meeting with title rivals Liverpool.
   Scolari revealed: ‘In another week I should have Drogba, I hope he’s okay for the Liverpool game, or it might be one more week before he’s back.’
   The quality of Chelsea’s performance was no consolation to Boro boss Gareth Southgate, who described the defeat as a ‘humiliation,’ and warned that his side must improve if they are to avoid slipping back towards the relegation battle.
   ‘You lose at home and it is hard to take,’ said the former England defender. ‘But when you are beaten like that, it is a very humbling experience for all of us.
   ‘There’s a danger when you play a side of Chelsea’s class that that can happen, but I don’t think they had to be at their best, and yet they annihilated us.’
   He added: ‘It’s a lonely place when you are standing on the touchline and your own fans are very disgruntled with things, and understandably so. It’s painful, but we have to learn from the experience as a group.’

Newly crowned world champion Valentino Rossi cruised to victory in the Malaysian MotoGP on his Yamaha here Sunday, with Dani Pedrosa, riding a Honda, finishing a distant second.
   Rossi, who sealed the championship in Japan three weeks ago, passed Pedrosa in lap 10 and then raced to the chequered flag at his favourite Sepang circuit with ease in steaming hot track conditions.
   The Spaniard started in pole position while Rossi, from Italy, was second on the grid.
   The 29-year-old Rossi finished the 116.4-kilometre journey over 21 laps in 43 minutes 06.007 seconds, pulling a wheelie as he crossed the finish line for his ninth win of the season.
   Italian Andrea Dovizioso, riding a Honda, finished in third place, while Australian Ducati rider Casey Stoner could only manage sixth in 43:19.647.
   Rossi attributed his fifth win in Sepang to a combination of good strategy and teamwork.
   ‘It was a very tough and long race. After five to six laps I started to feel the heat. I am very happy I won. We worked very hard for this victory,’ he said.
   Rossi said his Yamaha M1 was well suited to the long and wide Sepang circuit, enabling him to pass Pedrosa and never look back.
   ‘I had a good start. This bike is suitable for this kind of track. It is an enjoyable track to race,’ he said.
   Sepang is one of the widest tracks on the MotoGP calendar, measuring 16 metres (52 feet) across in some areas, and riders always have to deal with high track temperatures thanks to Malaysia’s tropical climate.
   The track has four major hairpins and some fast and frequent changes of direction, and is arguably the most demanding race of the year for riders, bikes and tyres.
   Pedrosa admitted that it was too difficult to stop Rossi.
   ‘When I was in front, Rossi was close behind me. I tried to keep my position,’ he said, adding that once the Italian had pulled ahead, ‘I was not able to improve my rhythm. Next time I have to push harder.’
   With one race to go, Rossi is in position to set a new record for the highest number of points achieved in a racing season.
   The current record of 367 points is held jointly between Rossi in 2005 (from 17 races) and Stoner last year (from 16 races).
   Rossi tops the standings after 17 races with an unassailable 357 points while Stoner stands at 255 and Pedrosa third with 229 points. The final race will be held in Valencia next week.
   Stoner will undergo wrist surgery to repair an old injury at the end of the season.
   Meanwhile, Japanese tyre giant Bridgestone said Sunday it had been appointed as the sole tyre supplier for the MotoGP World Championship for a three-year period starting from 2009.
   The company’s announcement followed the International Motorcycling Federation’s decision last month to use only one brand of tyre from the start of the 2009 season.
   For the past two years, riders using Japan’s Bridgestone have dominated the courses in the premier class, after a long reign by France’s Michelin, which said earlier this month that it would not compete for the MotoGP tyre contract.
   ‘Although we were sorry to hear that tyre competition would not continue in MotoGP, Bridgestone appreciates the importance of safety and cost in motorsports,’ Hiroshi Yasukawa, director of Bridgestone Motorsport, said in a statement.
   FIM has cited ‘safety and cost reasons’ for its decision to use a sole supplier.

Britain’s Lewis Hamilton won the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday but was denied the world championship by title rival Felipe Massa, who finished second.
   McLaren’s Hamilton led throughout for a straightforward win but he remains just seven points ahead of Massa, taking the championship to a dramatic final race in Brazil next month.
   ‘A fantastic race, the car was a dream to drive for me,’ said Hamilton. ‘All weekend we had God on our side as always and the team did a perfect job. The car’s been fantastic all weekend.’
   Ferrari’s outgoing champion Kimi Raikkonen was third after conceding second place to Massa late on. Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso of Renault was fourth.
   BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld finished fifth ahead of his team-mate Robert Kubica, the only other title contender, who finished sixth to end his slim championship hopes.
   Hamilton, 23, is bidding to become both the youngest and the first black driver to win the world title after throwing away a commanding lead in the standings in his rookie season last year.
   ‘This is a completely different situation to last year,’ said Hamilton, who now has 94 points and Massa 87 after coming home nearly 15 seconds clear.
   ‘Brazil will be very different this time.’
   The Briton, who has faced strong criticism of his aggressive racing, may have silenced some of his detractors with this convincing display of smooth front-running.
   He avoided the fireworks seen at the start of the Japan Grand Prix last week in a clean start from pole position, followed by Ferrari’s Raikkonen and Massa.
   Hamilton then reeled off a succession of fastest laps to establish a lead that he extended with comfort as Ferrari seemed to struggle with the softer tyres in the first sector of the race.
   By the time the leaders began making their first pit-stops, Hamilton led by more than four seconds ahead of Raikkonen followed by Massa, Alonso and McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen.
   Massa was the first to pit, but continued with his choice of softer tyres, after 14 laps. He was joined by Alonso and then Hamilton and Raikkonen came in after lap 15.
   This left Kovalainen, celebrating his 27th birthday, in the lead for a brief period before he also pitted and Hamilton took command again with Raikkonen second but stuck behind Toro Rosso’s heavily-laden Sebastien Vettel.
   Out after a swift stop in which he reduced his front wing setting slightly to counter over-steer, Hamilton flew and delivered several rapid laps that extended his advantage to more than seven seconds.
   When Vettel pitted, Raikkonen pressed on to cut into Hamilton’s lead, but Massa, third, was unable to make much impression. Hamilton’s advantage was cut from 7.2 seconds to 6.4 seconds over three laps to lap 28.
   But he pulled some of that back before the second round of stops led by Alonso on lap 36. Hamilton led by 8.9 seconds when he and Raikkonen pitted together at the end of lap 38.
   By then, unfortunately for McLaren, Kovalainen had already been forced to come in with a front right wheel puncture that effectively ended his hopes of a good finish.
   On exit, Hamilton led ahead of Heidfeld’s BMW Sauber with Raikkonen third, a buffer that was sure to delay Ferrari’s charge in the closing laps.
   Hamilton remained unchallenged at the front with a 13-second lead and it was left to the Ferrari team to swap places after 49 laps when Raikkonen slowed enough to let Massa pass him on the back straight.
   For Massa, who had struggled to stay third, this gifted him two additional points in his title bid and means he can still win the championship in front of his home fans in Brazil next month.
   ‘Lewis was stronger today,’ Massa admitted. ‘It was not a good result for the drivers’ championship, but not so bad for the constructors and that is good for the team.’

Chris DiMarco, seeking his first PGA title since 2002, fired a nine-under par 63 Saturday to move within one stroke of leader Marc Turnesa after the third round of the Shriners Hospital Open.
   DiMarco chipped in twice for eagles, at the par-5 ninth and 16th holes, and added his sixth birdie at the 18th to conclude his low round of the year and end 54 holes on 20-under 196 with US compatriots Ken Duke and Mike Allen.
   DiMarco, who fired a 64 Friday, won the most recent of his three PGA titles at the 2002 Phoenix Open but has not had a top-10 finish since last year’s World Golf Invitational event at Akron, Ohio.
   DiMarco, who needed only 25 putts Saturday, underwent shoulder surgery a year ago and said only now is his game rounding into form.
   Turnesa, an American seeking his first PGA title like Duke and Allen, fired a 62 on Thursday and a 64 Friday before grabbing the lead with a 69 Sunday.
   He made a bogey at the fourth, closed the front nine with a birdie, took another bogey at 11 but answered with birdies on four of the next five holes to move atop the leaderboard.

Wayne Rooney continued his remarkable goalscoring run as Manchester United kept the pressure on Chelsea and Liverpool with a 4-0 victory over West Bromwich at Old Trafford on Saturday.
   Cristiano Ronaldo, Dimitar Berbatov and Nani were also on the mark for United as Sir Alex Ferguson’s side came up with the perfect response to victories from leaders Chelsea and second placed Liverpool earlier in the day.
   Rooney, so impressive in England’s World Cup victories over Kazakhstan and Belarus last week, also had what appeared a perfectly valid first half strike ruled out by referee Mark Halsey.
   But that hardly mattered when the United forward extended his extraordinary scoring sequence to eight goals in the last six games for club and country.
   A golden period of three goals in 15 minutes started in the 56th minute when United broke out of defence, Berbatov sprung Rooney with a pass from the halfway line and the forward powered into Albion territory, easily sidestepping Ryan Donk, before beating the keeper with an unstoppable near post shot. In the 69th minute, any lingering hope Albion had of rescuing a point from their visit disappeared when Ronaldo doubled the home team’s lead.
   Again, the goal showcased United at their most devastating and lethal best, hitting Albion on the counter-attack with Darren Fletcher’s short pass being helped into the path of Ronaldo by Rooney and the Portuguese winger easily slotting the ball past the advancing Scott Carson.
   Two minutes further on, and Berbatov netted a goal which his overall quiet performance had scarcely merited, nonchalantly turning in the ball at the far post after Jonas Olsson had failed to deal with Nani’s low cross.
   Nani completed the rout on the stroke of normal time, turning in Rooney’s far post cross after Ryan Giggs and Berbatov had launched another flowing attack.
   The manner, and size, of the defeat were harsh for Albion, given the manner in which they had stoutly kept out United for nearly an hour. They did enjoy a large slice of luck thanks to referee Halsey disallowing a Rooney ‘goal’ in the 22nd minute.
   It came from a poor back pass from James Morrison, which fell directly to Ronaldo who, in turn, slipped a perfect pass for Rooney to chase into the Albion penalty area.
   There was the slightest of contact between the England forward and defender Gianni Zuiverloon before Rooney steadied himself and beat Carson with an expert finish but the referee judged otherwise, ruling out the goal for a supposed push by the United man.
   That injustice clearly spurred on United who might have taken the lead before the interval.
   A Giggs free-kick was met by a near-post header from Rooney which Carson kept out well while more poor defending forced Robinson into a desperate and timely tackle on Ronaldo.
   In response, Albion’s only real view of goal was limited to two long-range shots from Chris Brunt, one in each half, which never looked like testing Edwin Van der Sar, and a late run from Ishmael Miller which Giggs intercepted and forced his keeper to save.
   The second of those, in the 49th minute, was immediately followed by United hitting their stride and hitting one of their patented purple patches, leading up to their goal frenzy. It started in the 51st minute when John O’Shea, on for the injured Patrice Evra, bludgeoned his way into the area and set up Rooney for a shot which Carson held well.
   Minutes later, Berbatov’s shot, from the edge of the box, was saved by the Albion keeper at the second attempt. But the floodgates were about to open as United surged to a fifth successive win.
   The 5-0 win over Middlesbrough ensured Chelsea remain top of the table on goal difference from Liverpool, who scored twice in the last five minutes to secure a 3-2 win over a Wigan side that had been reduced to ten men following the sending off of Ecuadorian winger Antonio Valencia.
   Egypt striker Amr Zaki found the net twice to give Steve Bruce’s side a half-time lead.
   The visitors however paid a heavy price after Valencia collected his second yellow card 15 minutes from time. Within five minutes Liverpool were level through Spain winger Albert Riera and Kuyt’s second of the afternoon five minutes from time kept the Reds level on points with Chelsea. Arsenal also had to come from behind to keep their challenge on track, a 3-1 win over Everton lifting the Gunners into third place. Everton took a ninth minute lead when Leon Osman got on the end of Steven Pienaar’s cross from the left.
   Samir Nasri equalised with a crisp 25-yard drive three minutes into the second half, Robin van Persie nodded Arsenal into the lead in the 70th minute and Theo Walcott came off the bench to wrap up a match Arsene Wenger had admitted his side could ill afford to lose.
   The derby clash between Bolton and Blackburn was one of three matches to finish goalless.
   Bolton had the better of the possession but it was Blackburn who came closest to breaking the deadlock when Carlos Villanueva’s drive came back off the bar shortly before half-time.
   Ten-man Portsmouth held out for a point at Aston Villa but the home side could scarcely claim to have deserved any more from the match having relied on goalkeeper Brad Friedel to keep them on level terms before Sean Davis was sent off with nine minutes left.
   The match at Villa Park was overshadowed by a coin thrown from the crowd which pole-axed the referee’s assistant.
   Sunderland left Fulham with a point but their manager Roy Keane was left fuming after Kieran Richardson found the net with a free-kick only to see his effort chalked off for an infringement in the wall.

Sir Alex Ferguson and Wayne Rooney have warned Manchester United’s rivals that the best is yet to come from the England forward after he continued his remarkable goalscoring run in the 4-0 victory over West Brom at Old Trafford.
   Rooney scored one goal, and laid on others for Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani, with Dimitar Berbatov also claiming his first Premiership goal for the club as United kept pace with the early season title chasers.
   But it is the promise of yet more lethal form to come from Rooney - who turns 23 on Friday - that most excited Ferguson as United start to show the form that made them champions of England and Europe last season.
   ‘He’s 23 and you expect players to improve,’ said Ferguson. ‘It’s a natural process, like when Ronaldo was younger.
   ‘The boy has that incredible individual talent and as players get older they learn to make the right decisions more, time their game better as they get more experience. I think we will see players like him improve at this club all the time.’
   Rooney took his recent tally to eight goals for club and country in the last six games although Ferguson believes he will see more consistency from the forward as he matures.
   ‘Wayne tends to go in spurts and that’s probably a sign of his immaturity,’ added Ferguson.
   ‘When he gets older, his goalscoring will spread out better, that’s a natural thing that will happen.
   ‘But, at the moment, when he is on one of these spurts, he is fantastic. He is young, so he will hit barren spells again but he will come back again.’
   Rooney himself could barely conceal his delight as he, and United, prepare for the eagerly-awaited ‘Battle of Britain’ when the English champions host Glasgow Celtic, the Scottish champions, at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
   ‘Possibly, I am playing the best football of my career,’ said Rooney.
   ‘I’m really enjoying it at the moment and feel fit. The team is really helping me with everything I do. Hopefully, that will continue and, hopefully, I can help this team win more trophies.
   ‘Everyone will tell you I work hard in training and in games. I want to learn and listen to different people at the club to try and get better. If I can continue like this, I will be happy.’
   Ferguson and Rooney were also happy that Berbatov managed to break his league duck against Albion and, even though the Bulgarian appeared to have a relatively quiet game, Rooney believes their partnership is developing well.
   ‘He has been brilliant,’ said Rooney. ‘He holds the ball up well and does things off the ball, as you saw with my first goal. He is a big presence and he is only going to get better at this club. He has only been here for five or six games and he is getting better with each game.
   ‘It’s very important. We just have to keep winning our games. We knew it was going to be a difficult start to the season and, as long as we can stay up among the top clubs until Christmas, we will be okay.’
   Ferguson, too, shares his striker’s satisfaction at the team’s current form and noted the importance of the victory and the performance given that Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal had all won earlier in the day.
   ‘I said earlier that the players now have the legs to play 90 minutes like that,’ said Ferguson. ‘They had a fantastic rhythm and tempo and that was probably our best 90 minutes of the season.’
   Meanwhile, West Brom manager Tony Mowbray refused to be too downhearted after his team held United at bay impressively for almost an hour before collapsing late in the game.
   ‘We defended naively in the second half,’ said Mowbray.
   ‘But what matters to us is what happens against Hull City next week. If we beat them, like we did West Ham and Fulham, we will be alright. It’s not what matters against these teams, like United, that matters to us.’

Napoli went top of Serie A on Saturday after a come from behind 2-1 win over struggling Juventus as Fiorentina cruised past 10-man Reggina 3-0.
   Juve lost for the second match in a row and have now gone four Serie A games without a win, increasing the pressure on coach Claudio Ranieri.
   He denied, however, that his job could be on the line or that his team were in crisis.
   ‘Do I feel secure? Of course I am. This isn’t a crisis, sure we’re having a tough time but we’re not talking about a crisis here,’ he insisted.
   With just two wins from seven matches Juve are down in the bottom half and certain to drop even further following Sunday’s matches.
   Napoli’s lead at the top will likely last less than 24 hours but their victory was reward for a disciplined performance and thrilling comeback.
   Slovakian goalscorer Marek Hamsik is not getting carried away by their lofty standing.
   ‘We’re delighted to be first but our aim is simply to improve on last season’s finish (eighth),’ he said.
   ‘We definitely want to be in the UEFA Cup. Juventus are a great team but they had some big players out and had some problems.’
   Juve had the better of the first period and took the lead in Naples a quarter of an hour into the second half, but once again failed to hold onto their advantage.
   Brazilian forward Amauri nipped in front of his marker to volley home a right-wing cross from Denmark midfielder Christian Poulsen on 61 minutes.
   But just three minutes later the hosts were level as Juve’s back line were caught napping, allowing Hamsik to convert Ezequiel Lavezzi’s cross at the back post.
   Lavezzi then hit the winner 10 minutes from time, bundling his way into the box and then sending former Arsenal goalkeeper Alex Manninger the wrong way with a crisp right foot finish.
   Fiorentina are just a point behind Napoli following their third straight victory, proving they have overcome their early season troubles when they lost their first two away matches.
   A penalty from Giampaolo Pazzini and an Alberto Gilardino brace secured the three points and coach Cesare Prandelli was a relieved man after the final whistle.
   ‘We were worried about this match because after the international break it is difficult to re-motivate the team,’ he said.
   Reggina remain rooted in the relegation zone on just two points and finished the match with 10 men after goalkeeper Andrea Campagnolo was harshly sent off in the first half.
   That moment proved the turning point in a game where Fiorentina dominated but had struggled to break down stubborn opponents who defended in numbers.
   Pazzini reached a Zdravko Kuzmanovic through ball ahead of Campagnolo and prodded the ball past him before going down under the goalkeeper’s challenge, leading to Campagnolo’s sending off.
   Pazzini converted easily from the spot five minutes from the break and it was plain sailing there on for Fiorentina.
   Gilardino came on midway through the second period to replace Pazzini and within three minutes he’d doubled the home side’s advantage, beating the offside trap and running onto a Riccardo Montolivo through ball before firing low past substitute goalkeeper Christian Puggioni.
   Gilardino bagged his second nine minutes from time after some comedy goalkeeping from Puggioni, nodding the ball over the stranded keeper and slotting the ball into an empty net.
   The brace left Gilardino level with Lazio’s Argentine forward Mauro Zarate at the top of the Serie A scoring charts with six goals in seven games to prove that he has well and truly been reborn at Fiorentina this season.
   Gilardino lost his place and his way at Milan last season — as well as his place in the Italy team — often finding himself behind two teenagers in the striking pecking order.
   But now he is back scoring goals and is also first choice for Marcelo Lippi’s Italy.

England manager Fabio Capello believes David Beckham still has an international future with the World Cup finals just two years away.
   Former skipper Beckham, 33, is just one cap away from matching the 108-cap tally achieved by 1966 World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore after making late substitute appearances against Kazakhstan and Belarus in the last two World Cup qualifiers.
   But despite being restricted to cameo roles, and with Theo Walcott having supplanted him in the starting line-up, Capello is adamant that the LA Galaxy midfielder has a role to play both on and off the field.
   The Italian even hinted Beckham could start the friendly international against Germany in Berlin next month.
   ‘For the next game, it is possible, Beckham will play,’ said Capello.
   ‘When I decide the squad, it is not for the few minutes that David Beckham plays. He is good for the group. This is important. In fact, this is very important – his influence. ‘He knows everything. He transmits confidence in the other players. This is very important for the group.
   ‘I have to choose the first XI and at the moment I choose Theo Walcott and Shaun Wright-Phillips who are playing well.
   ‘Beckham might have played five minutes against Belarus but, for the next game, it is possible he might play all the game. I have to decide the best 11.’
   As regards criticism over the way Beckham was adding to his caps tally, Capello is clearly unconcerned.
   He said: ‘I don’t know how many caps he has. For me, it is not interesting to record everything. It is not in my mind. My mind is the victory, the game, the best 11. I don’t think about it.
   ‘Does Beckham deserve to be in the company of Bobby Charlton and Moore? I don’t know. I don’t know how many games they played.’

Argentine Gonzalo Higuain scored a penalty five minutes into stoppage time as Real Madrid defeated neighbours Atletico 2-1 on Saturday in a stormy derby where both sides finished with 10 men and referee Clos Gomez came in for some stern criticism.
   Portuguese winger Simao thought he had salvaged a point after curling in a 90th-minute free-kick to cancel out Ruud van Nistelrooy’s opener after just 32 seconds but there was a twist to come.
   Higuain converted a penalty in the 95th minute at the Vicente Calderon to crush Atletico’s spirits ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League duel against Liverpool.
   Real sit second in the standings with Villarreal a point ahead after a 0-0 draw at Espanyol on Saturday.
   Villarreal goalkeeper Diego Lopez brilliantly saved a 70th-minute penalty from Raul Tamudo to maintain his team’s unbeaten start.
   Atletico have lost four times already and their jinx against Real continues and they have not beaten their city rivals since 1999.
   ‘It is devastating to concede a goal in the first minute and another one in the 95th,’ admitted Atletico coach Javier Aguirre.
   ‘I don’t think there is a mental problem but now we have to pick the players up for the Liverpool game on Wednesday. We are doing well in the Champions League and this game deserves our full attention.’
   Real, in Champions League action against Juventus on Tuesday, took the spoils but Schuster could not resist a swipe at the referee.
   ‘There were some question marks over the referee as he seemed to be with the home side (Atletico) for the second half,’ said Schuster. ‘That was a factor why we didn’t win 5-1.’
   ‘We scored a penalty in the final minute and fully deserved to win. Late goals happen in football and as the saying goes the game is not over until the referee blows his final whistle.’
   After just 32 seconds, van Nistelrooy caught Atletico napping with a drilled shot to put Real ahead but the Dutchman’s day went sour on 38 minutes when he was red-carded for a late tackle on Maniche.
   ‘It was a mistake by the referee and I told him three times that it was just a yellow card,’ explained van Nistelrooy. ‘He also ruled out two perfectly good goals for us.’
   Eight minutes earlier Atletico had also been reduced to ten men when referee Clos Gomez claimed Colombian defender Luis Perea caught Wesley Sneijder with a stray arm.
   Simao equalised with but Higuain had the final say in a game that had the spectators on the edge of their seats.
   Confidence was low following Atletico’s 6-1 rout by Barcelona and Aguirre was relieved to welcome back first-teamers Maniche and Diego Forlan.
   Atletico were desperate not to concede an ealy goal after the Barca debacle - when they conceded three goals in the first eight minutes - but that plan went out the window with van Nistelrooy scoring after just 32 seconds.
   The former Manchester United man caught goalkeeper Leo Franco off guard with a fierce snapshot. Then on three minutes Sneijder fizzed in a shot that Franco tipped on to the crossbar.
   It was a frantic opening and van Nistelrooy thought he had made it 2-0 after 20 minutes but the effort was controversially ruled out for offside.
   Minutes later Raul had the ball in the net only to be flagged offside in another tight decision.
   Already against it Atletico gave themselves a mountain to climb when Perea was red-carded for catching Sneijder. It was hard to tell whether it was intentional but the referee had no doubt and brandished a straight red.
   Eight minutes later the numbers were evened up when van Nistelrooy was issued his marching orders.
   A late tackle on Maniche - who turned on the theatrics - saw Gomez pull out a red card when a yellow seemed more appropriate.
   Simao thought he had saved Atletico from the jaws of defeat with his free-kick but Atletico stupidly conceded a late spot-kick and Higuain’s penalty crept past the unlucky Franco.