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Masudul Karim and Nazmun Nahar Beauty became the fastest man and woman of Bangladesh after grabbing gold in their respective 100m sprints in the UCB 34th National Athletic Championships on Saturday.
   Masudul and Beauty completed a sprint double in the meet as they also won their 200m events on the opening day of the competition that concluded at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Saturday.
   The new fastest man Masudul was benefitted by the absence of his main rival Abu Abdullah, who ran away from the camp during the World Military Sports in Greece last month. Beauty won the crown for five consecutive seasons
   Bangladesh Army finished top in the medals table with 14 golds, 16 silvers and six bronzes. Bangladesh Ansar and VDP followed them with seven gold, six silver and three bronze medals.
   Bangladesh Navy and BJMC won three golds each while BKSP bagged two. Bangladesh Air force and Bangladesh Police also won a gold medal each.
   Masudul, a sergeant of the Bangladesh Army, put Navy’s M Emran Bhuiya behind to reach the 100m mark clocking 10.70 seconds while Golam Murtaza of BKSP finished third in the prestigious event.
   His timing was, however, poor compared to his predecessor Abdullah, who clocked 10.30 seconds last year. Another athlete, Shamsuddin, who finished second last year but was absent in this meet as he also ran away with Abdullah, had a much better 10.40 seconds timing.
   Masudul, who started his career as a hurdler but later shifted to sprint and had been the undisputed king of 200m dash over the last few years, however, promised he will never run away for milk and honey.
   ‘I am an army man and I feel it is a great honour. I will not put army and my country in shame by deserting the team when abroad,’ said Masudul, who has visited India, Pakistan, Thailand, the Philippines, Iran and Sri Lanka in his career but never visited Europe or crossed the Atlantic.
   Beauty, who clocked 11.90 seconds, .30sec more than her own national record, however, has a different philosophy. ‘Please don’t blame the athletes always. Have you ever seen a footballer and cricketer fleeing the country? You did not see it because they are highly paid and highly cared for,’ said Beauty.
   ‘But the athletes are fleeing, because they are lowly paid and highly ignored. You never know, I could have done the same had I not been a woman,’ said Beauty, who decided to skip the SA Games camp because of her BA pass course examination.
   Her coach Rafiqullah Milon reminded the journalists that she had skipped her HSC examination twice for SA Games in the past and in return gained nothing. ‘It’s time for her to think about the future, no matter whether she is fastest woman or not,’ said Milon, who was released from hospital only six days ago after a heart attack but still did not want to miss the chance to watch his favourite student running on the track.
   In the 100m sprint, Beauty outraced Shamsun Nahar Chumki of Ansar and VDP, who took 12.00 seconds to finish second while Israt Jahan Eva became third timing 12.30 seconds.

Bangladesh Cricket Board on Saturday named the preliminary squad for the Twenty20 World Cup in June with left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak returning to the national fold after serving a ban for suspected bowling action.
   Razzak, the man-of-the-match in Bangladesh’s last Twenty20 international, has been inducted into the squad that included as many as 10 uncapped players as well as some old horses like Hanan Sarker and Tareq Aziz Khan.
   The uncapped players include pacer Ziaur Rahman, who was a member of Bangladesh squad in the inaugural edition of the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa two years ago but did not play any matches.
   The other uncapped cricketers are Shamsur Rahman, Sohrawardi Shuvo, Shahagir Hossain, Marshall Ayub, Mohammad Mithun, Rony Talukder, Nasir Hossain, Arafat Sunny and Robiul Islam.
   The team will be whittled down to a 15-member squad, which will leave home on May 23.
   Talking to New Age, chief selector Rafiqul Alam said they have rewarded experienced cricketer Hannan Sarker with a place in the preliminary squad for his form in the domestic cricket competitions.
   ‘Hannan played very good cricket over the last one year in all domestic competitions. His strike rate in the Premier Twenty20 League was 138, so we decided to pick him. He has a very good chance to make it into the final squad,’ said Alam.
   Bangladesh have been placed in the Group A with defending champions India and ICC associate member Ireland.
   They will begin their campaign against India on June 6, two days before facing Ireland.
   Preliminary Squad: Mohammad Ashraful, Masrafee bin Murtaza, Tamim Iqbal, Junaed Siddique, Roqibul Hassan, Sakib al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain, Syed Rasel, Mehrab Hossain Jr, Imrul Kayes, Mahmudullah Riyad, Nazmul Hossain, Mahbubul Alam, Rubel Hossain, Dollar Mahmud, Ziaur Rahman, Tarek Aziz Khan, Hannan Sarker, Shamsur Rahman, Sohrawardi Shuvo, Shahagir Hossain, Marshall Ayub, Mohammad Mithun, Rony Talukder, Nasir Hossain, Arafat Sunny and Robiul Islam.

The second regional talent hunt for intellectually-challenged athletes, organised by Grameenphone in association with Special Olympics Bangladesh, concluded at the BKSP Regional Training Centre in Chittagong on Saturday.
   The programme, organised for athletes in the Chittagong division, began on April 1.
   Ahad Ali Sarker, the state minister for youth and sport, was present as the chief guest on the occasion. Arif Al Islam, chief financial officer and deputy CEO of Grameenphone and Lutful Hye, vice-chairman of Special Olympics Bangladesh, were also present.
   In his speech, the state minister called on the affluent section of the society to create more and more avenues for the people with disability. ‘We have to help them to stand on their feet, become self-sufficient and earn social respect. We have to give them dreams and help them to fulfil those dreams,’ he said.
   In all, 161 athletes and officials from nine special schools and other organisations for the intellectually challenged persons participated in the programme under the guidance of specially-trained coaches from Special Olympics Bangladesh. There were seven disciplines – aquatics, athletics, badminton, bocce, football, table tennis and cricket in the event.
   The athletes selected for the ‘national talent pool’ will be groomed, nurtured and prepared to participate in the next Special Olympics, the largest sports training and athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, scheduled for 2011.
   Earlier in November 2008, the first regional talent hunt was held in Rajshahi Division at the Rajshahi Physical Training College where 162 athletes from nine special schools participated. Among them, 30 were selected to participate in the National talent hunt.
   In 2007, the Bangladesh Special Olympics team, comprising 47 participants, performed exceptionally well in the Special Olympics World Summer Games, winning a total of 71 medals. As the sole sponsor, Grameenphone provided necessary support and training to the athletes to participate in the Games.

India (379 & 51/1) lead New Zealand (197) by 233 runs at stumps, day 2
   India took a big step towards winning their first Test series in New Zealand since 1968 after racking up a 233-run lead early in their second innings of the third Test here on Saturday.
   India were on 51 for one at stumps on the second day after dismissing New Zealand for 197 in reply to the tourists’ first innings total of 379.
   Pace bowler Zaheer Khan did most of the damage to New Zealand, taking five for 65 with a mixture of swinging full pitched balls and a barrage of shorter deliveries.
   New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor, who top-scored with 42, paid tribute to Khan, saying the 30-year-old opening bowler seemed more venomous than usual in taking his seventh five-wicket haul.
   ‘He had an extra yard on him – looking up at the screen it was his normal speed but he bent his back and hurried the batsmen up a little bit,’ Taylor said.
   ‘He bowled extremely well.
   Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was another of India’s heroes, bowling 23 consecutive overs at a scoring rate of less than two an over to end with three for 43.
   Wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni played a captain’s role, taking six catches behind the stumps to support his bowlers on a Basin Reserve pitch which offered more bounce than the flat deck in the drawn second match in Napier.
   New Zealand’s plan late Friday as India’s innings came near an end had been to bat for a day and a half to build a lead that could set them up for a series squaring victory.
   The Kiwis had renewed confidence after drawing the second Test in the wake of their 10-wicket drubbing in the first match, but their plans unravelled soon after their opening batsmen came to the crease.
   Taylor admitted the odds were against New Zealand turning the match around but added there was still hope.
   ‘If we can come out tomorrow and knock off three or four wickets early on then we give ourselves a big sniff,’ he said.
   ‘It’s very difficult, but we have to have a positive frame of mind into tomorrow.
   ‘There’s going to have to be a lot of things go our way but if we get any turn up tomorrow and get some early wickets we are a chance.’
   There were only limited signs of resistance from New Zealand, mostly from Taylor before he was given out caught behind by umpire Daryl Harper.
   An attempted leg glance off Harbhajan ended in Dhoni’s gloves and Harper’s finger went up. While replays suggested Taylor did not get bat on ball, the batsman admitted later he had got a faint nick.
   Opening batsman Tim McIntosh made a scratchy 32 before he was surprised by a rising short ball from Khan, which ballooned off the top of his bat to Yuvraj Singh at first slip.
   Soon after lunch, New Zealand found themselves struggling at 80-3 and many hopes rested on burly batsman Jesse Ryder, the hero of the second Test with a double century that followed hard on the heels of a century in the series opener.
   Ryder’s naturally aggressive instincts have been tempered since his introduction to Test cricket in October last year.
   But in a lapse of concentration he took a wild swipe at a short pitched Khan ball, sending a simple edge to Dhoni after scoring just three.
   India extended their lead in their second innings with Gautam Gambhir unbeaten at stumps on 28 and Rahul Dravid not out on nine.
   Typically aggressive opener Virender Sehwag was the only wicket to fall, caught by Taylor at first slip after a short ball from Chris Martin seamed into him and ballooned off his glove.
   Sehwag hit two consecutive fours off Martin before falling for 12 off just seven balls.
   On Friday India had recovered from 204 for six shortly after tea on the first day to reach 375 for nine at stumps.
   But the final pairing of Ishant Sharma and Munaf Patel could only add another four runs on Saturday morning.
   Sharma fell to pace bowler Martin, who finished with four for 98 from his 25.1 overs.

England (172/5) beat West Indies (146) by 26 runs
   Andrew Flintoff grabbed a hat-trick to lead England to a 26-run victory over West Indies on Friday and a first ever one-day international series triumph in the Caribbean.
   Flintoff claimed his hat-trick when he removed Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul and Sulieman Benn off successive balls in the 27th over, before finishing with career-best figures of five wickets for 19 runs from five overs.
   His spell swung the match decisively, as England bowled West Indies out for 146 in 28 overs in a match reduced to a 29-over-a-side clash after rain delayed the start of the fifth and final game at the Beausejour Stadium by four hours.
   The result meant that England won the series 3-2.
   ‘It has been a long hard tour and to come out at the end with something is pretty special,’ said England skipper Andrew Strauss, whose side lost the Test series.
   ‘We would have liked to have won the Test series - we played some good cricket but kept coming out with nothing.’
   Strauss also paid tribute to Flintoff who has struggled with injury over the winter.
   ‘Freddie has had a tough tour but he showed his quality today. That is why he is one of the best bowlers in the world because under pressure he can deliver,’ said the captain.
   West Indies captain Chris Gayle said he was disappointed with the result especially after his side had thrown away the first match in Guyana when their coach John Dyson embarrassingly miscalculated the Duckworth-Lewis ruling.
   ‘The Test series was very important to us. It means we have turned a bit of a corner but we still have a long way to go,’ said Gayle.
   A late flourish from Paul Collingwood and Matt Prior helped England to reach 172 for five off their 29 overs.
   Collingwood made 35 not out from 31 balls and Prior scored 25 not out from 25 balls to pull England out of a wobble with an unbroken stand of 60 from 49 balls for the sixth wicket.
   England stumbled to 112 for five in the 21st over, following an 80-run stand between Kevin Pietersen and Ravi Bopara.
   Pietersen hit the top score of a run-a-ball 48 and opener Bopara gathered 44 from 49 balls before they were two of four wickets that fell in the space of 33 balls.
   Pietersen was out in controversial circumstances when Daren Sammy claimed a catch even though TV replays suggested the ball wasn’t taken cleanly.
   James Anderson then gave England a bright start, when Gayle edged his third ball to second slip and the West Indies captain was dismissed for a duck.
   England continued to make the breakthroughs, and West Indies slumped to 69 for four in the 15th over with Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, and Shivnarine Chanderpaul all back in the pavilion.
   But England were held up by a stand of 55 from 59 balls between Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard.
   Stuart Broad had Bravo caught at square cover in the 24th over for 33 off 46 balls which was the top score, and Anderson had Pollard caught inside the long-on boundary in the next over for 30 off 31 balls.

Australia (286/7) beat South Africa (145) by 141 runs
   Mike Hussey ended a run of poor form with a match-winning innings for Australia in the first one-day international against South Africa at Kingsmead Friday.
   Hussey hit 83 not out as Australia piled up 286 for seven.
   South Africa were then bowled out for 145 as Australia completed a crushing 141-run win in the opening encounter of a five-match series.
   The left-handed Hussey’s 79-ball innings enabled Australia to recover from two chaotic run-outs which cost the wickets of two of the team’s top four batsmen.
   South African captain Graeme Smith made an attacking 52 and put on 74 off 72 balls for the second wicket with Herschelle Gibbs (33). But the South Africans lost their way against accurate bowling by medium-pacer James Hopes and off-spinner Nathan Hauritz.
   Hopes took two for 24 and Hauritz four for 29 as South Africa were bowled out with 16.5 overs remaining.
   Australia’s big win seemed a distant prospect when the tourists found themselves in trouble at 114 for four after Australian captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and made first use of a good pitch.
   David Hussey and Brad Haddin were run out in the space of nine balls, on both occasions after mix-ups which saw the dismissed player stranded at the wrong end of the pitch.
   Wicketkeeper Haddin, who opened the batting, hit an aggressive 53 off 60 balls. He and Ponting put on 77 off 81 balls for the second wicket. Then Haddin and David Hussey put on a quick 28 for the third wicket before first Hussey, then Haddin were run out.
   But Mike Hussey, who scored only 132 runs at an average of 22 in the Test series and was out for a duck in a Twenty20 international, showed his best form for the first time on the tour. His innings included two sixes and six fours.
   He put on 53 for the fifth wicket with Callum Ferguson (25) and 67 for the sixth wicket with Hopes, who made an impressive 38 off 35 overs. He and Hauritz (20 not out) finished the innings in style with an unbeaten 43 off 22 balls for the eighth wicket.
   South Africa lost Hashim Amla in the fourth over of their innings but Smith and Gibbs threatened to take control before Gibbs sliced a back foot shot against Hopes to backward point.
   AB de Villiers was unlucky to be given out leg before wicket and South Africa’s innings disintegrated after Smith chipped back a return catch to Hauritz after making 52 off 56 balls.

Bangladesh defeated Qatar 3-0 in the BNP Paribas Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Zone Group-IV at the Ramna Tennis Complex on Saturday, bagging their third consecutive wins in the tournament.
   The win helped Bangladesh become the champions of the Group with a match to spare and propelled them to the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Zone Group-III, the date and venue of which are yet to be decided.
   Bangladesh’s Shibu Lal blanked Jabor Al-Mutawa 6-0, 6-0 in the first singles while Amol Roy overcame Abdullah al-Haji in an enthralling second singles by 6-2, 7-5. In the double’s, Bangladesh’s Ranjan Ram and Shibu Lal beat their counterpart Jabor Al-Mutawa and Mousa Zayed by 6-0, 6-1.
   In the other matches of the day, Jordan beat Turkmenistan 3-0 while Vietnam beat Yemen also by the same margin. Bangladesh will face Myanmar in their fourth match of the competition today.

Synthia Naznin Tumpa of Dhaka Rifles Club broke her own national record when she scored 373 points in 10-metre Air Pistol in the 23rd IFIC Bank National Shooting Competition at the BKSP on Saturday.
   In 2007 she had scored 370 points in the same event. Despite the record, Tumpa finished second for a poor show in the shoot-off as she totalled 465.1 points to finish behind Sharmin Asha.
   Asha of Narayanganj Rifles Club secured the gold in the event with 465.2 points while Shahida Khatun of the same club became third with 460.1 points.
   Hafizur Rahman Dollar of Kushtia Rifles Club stood first in the 25-metre Pistol (Male) scoring 506 points overall. Maksudur Rahman and Selim Azad, both from Army Shooting Association, became second and third respectively.
   In the 50-metre Rifle Three Position (Female), veteran Sabrina Sultana of Dhaka Rifles Club, secured first position with 553 points.
   Tripti Dutta of BKSP Shooting Club became second scoring 546 points and Suraiya Akhter of Narayanganj Rifles Club followed her with 545 points.

Captain Ricky Ponting hailed the return to form of Mike Hussey as Australia gained a crushing 141-run win over South Africa in the first one-day international at Kingsmead Friday.
   Hussey hit 83 not out as Australia piled up 286 for seven.
   South Africa were bowled out for 145 in the opening encounter of a five-match series.
   ‘It’s been a difficult few months for him,’ Ponting said of Hussey, who scored only 132 runs at an average of 22 in a three-match Test series and was out for a duck in a Twenty20 international.
   Ponting said Hussey’s attitude had never wavered despite the worrying loss of form.
   ‘You wouldn’t know with him. He just continues to work hard, enjoy his cricket and enjoy the hard work. It was great to see him get those runs on the board again.
   ‘When he went out to bat it was a really crucial moment in the game. For him to get 80-odd will hopefully give him confidence for the rest of the summer.’
   The left-handed Hussey’s 79-ball innings enabled Australia to recover from two chaotic run-outs which cost the wickets of two of the team’s top four batsmen.
   South African captain Graeme Smith made an attacking 52 and put on 74 off 72 balls for the second wicket with Herschelle Gibbs (33).
   But the South Africans lost their way against accurate bowling by medium-pacer James Hopes and off-spinner Nathan Hauritz.
   Hopes took two for 24 and Hauritz four for 29 as South Africa were bowled out with 16.5 overs remaining.
   ‘We just made an over-par score on that wicket,’ said Ponting.
   ‘It was going to be a competitive score but the guys bowled exceptionally well.
   ‘Hauritz was terrific and Hopes was very, very good and Mitchell (Johnson) was good as well.’
   Johnson took two for 24, twice taking wickets in the first over of a spell.
   ‘We just didn’t play well enough,’ admitted Smith who was making his return to the team after having his hand broken by a Johnson delivery here in the second Test a month ago.
   ‘Australia were better in all departments.’

In the absence of the domestic Twenty20 tournament, which was postponed for the second year in a row, performance in the IPL will be crucial for the 30 players selected in India’s preliminary World Twenty20 squad for the tournament in England. The notable omissions were Sreesanth, Joginder Sharma, Ajit Agarkar and Piyush Chawla, who were part of the team that won the World Twenty20 in 2007.
   The final squad of 15 to 16 players will be announced a month before the tournament begins on June 5. The IPL assumes significance because it ends on May 24, leaving little time for a camp before the players leave for England.
   Sreesanth ruled himself out of the IPL due to a back injury and had recently admitted he would be out of action for at least three months. The selectors had always been skeptical once he struggled on his return to domestic cricket after sustaining an injury during last season’s IPL. ‘He is a quality bowler when he is fit. I don’t think he is fit,’ a selection committee source told Cricinfo.
   There were no specific parameters that the selectors looked at when they prepared the 30-man short list. ‘We looked at performance and experience,’ the source said. Joginder, Agarkar and Chawla were left out because they did not impress during the domestic season.
   The list contains no surprises with most players picking themselves due to their form in the current season. One exception could be Bengal fast bowler Ashok Dinda, a BCCI contracted player, who did not make the cut. ‘After the Challenger Trophy, Dinda has not bowled well. He remains a potential and that is why he is a contracted player,’ the source said.
   Tamil Nadu off-spinner R Ashwin was picked as a back-up to Harbhajan Singh after a successful domestic season where he was the leading wicket-taker in Challenger Trophy (eight wickets) and took two more in three Deodhar Trophy games.
   Squad: Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Pragyan Ojha, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Dinesh Karthik, M Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane, S Badrinath, Robin Uthappa, Virat Kohli, Manoj Tiwary, Wriddhiman Saha, Abhishek Nayar, Amit Mishra, R Ashwin, RP Singh, L Balaji, Dhawal Kulkarni, Naman Ojha.

Ricky Ponting has come out in support of his former Australian coach John Buchanan’s proposed multi-captains theory for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. Ponting said Buchanan’s new plan has ‘merit’ and needs to be tried out before being dismissed as outrageous, as some critics have termed it.
   Ponting said he had heard about Buchanan’s idea though he wasn’t sure how exactly it would pan out on the field. ‘I think there is some merit in it,’ Ponting, who is not part of the tournament, told AAP. ‘We’ll see how it works at the end of this IPL.’
   Ponting said Buchanan’s idea had been tried in Australian domestic cricket a few years ago by Tasmania, who were led on the field by two captains, Dan Marsh and Geroge Bailey. ‘One was doing the field placings and one was doing the bowling changes,’ he said. ‘So it just sort of lightened the load up I guess on the actual captain on the field and gave him a bit more opportunity to think about different things.’
   Going by that example, Ponting said, Buchanan deserved to be heard. ‘I don’t see there’s a lot of problems with it. The more experience you can get into a lot of guys as far as leadership goes can only benefit your group.’
   As soon as the word spread about Buchanan’s radical new step it stirred a raging debate, which transformed into a controversy when Sourav Ganguly, Kolkata’s captain last year, said he was not ‘consulted’ by Buchanan. Matters worsened and the top management was forced to meet at team owner Shah Rukh Khan’s residence to calm things down. At the end of the meeting, attended by Ganguly and Buchanan, a statement said a group of ‘strategists’ would help the on-field captain in the decision making.
   Ponting said he was aware of Ganguly’s concern which, he said, was only fair. ‘But it seems like it’s a bit more of a sensitive situation at the moment with Sourav being captain and maybe not wanting to give up that actual role, which you can understand as well,’ Ponting said.

Shuktara Jubo Sangha defeated Panchagarh Cricket Club by 59 runs in the opening match of the Panchagarh Cricket Tournament at the Panchagarh Stadium on Saturday.
   Batting first, Shuktara Jubo Sangha were all out for 194 runs with Prince top-scoring with 44.
   In reply, Panchagarh Cricket Club were bundled out for 135 runs. Evan was the top-scorer with 42.
   Bright Star Cricket Academy will play Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Academy today at the same venue.

Manches-ter United’s shell-shocked stars have admitted that today’s Premier League clash with Aston Villa at Old Trafford has developed into a must-win game for Sir Alex Ferguson’s faltering champions.
   United, who held a seven-point lead over their closest challengers just three weeks ago, have seen their aura of invincibility shattered by successive defeats against Liverpool and Fulham.
   Liverpool have emerged as the form team and United’s players are acutely aware that any further stumbles could undo their exemplary work earlier in the season.
   With Martin O’Neill’s Villa also struggling for form, and without a league victory at Old Trafford since 1983, United midfielder Michael Carrick and goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar admit that they simply have to get back to winning ways today.
   Carrick said: ‘We’d gone so long without a league defeat that, when it happened against Liverpool, it was a bit of a shock to the system, especially when you consider the run we had been on and how we had been playing.
   ‘But you’re going to lose games through the season. It’s very rare you don’t. We’ve just got to bounce back—we’ve done it before and we’ll do it again.
   ‘It’s not a case of changing everything because we’ve lost a couple of matches—we’ve got to focus on doing what we do best and hopefully go on another winning run.’
   Van der Sar, who has now conceded six goals in his last two league games, insists that United—without the suspended trio of Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes and Nemanja Vidic and the injured Dimitar Berbatov—cannot allow themselves to be sidetracked by the costly defeats against Liverpool and Fulham.
   He said: ‘If you put it into context, then we have lost two games in four months. Overall, that’s not a bad record, but because the emphasis has been placed on the last two games, it looks very bad.
   ‘We are not too worried, but we do need to win the next game and the Villa fixture is a massive game for us.’
   Ferguson meanwhile believes that the Fulham defeat—in a match which United finished with nine men—will have served as a welcome wake-up call for a squad that may have begun to take their compliments for granted.
   ‘Everybody likes to read good things about themselves,’ the Scot said. ‘We do, it’s a natural thing to do. So it can have an effect.
   ‘There are a lot of young players in our dressing-room, so maybe it was a good time for us to get that defeat at Fulham in particular.
   ‘What I’m saying is that we now have to kick on. We’ve got where we are, with a game in hand, which is a great position for us to be in.
   ‘What we have to do now is win our next games. The challenge is always there for this club but the important thing is for the players to focus on who they are, what they’re good at and we’ll be okay.’
   Villa, who have slipped out of the top four in recent weeks after picking up just one point from five games, will be without the injured Emile Heskey against United.
   Defender Curtis Davies admits that the trip to Old Trafford is as tough as Villa could face in their current form.
   Davies said: ‘It’s a very big test for us, but I think it has now become even harder by the fact that they have lost their last two games. They will want to win again to keep Liverpool at arm’s length.
   ‘But we have to be positive and can’t feel sorry for ourselves after recent results. We just have to pick ourselves up for another big game.’

Once-invincible Roger Federer was reduced to a rare bout of racket-bashing Friday as he was toppled in the semi-finals of the Miami ATP Masters 1000 by Serbian Novak Djokovic.
   Djokovic, ranked number three in the world, defied the blustery conditions to beat the world number two 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in one hour and 46 minutes.
   The Serbian, who triumphed here in 2007, will face world number four Andy Murray of Britain in Sunday’s final.
   Murray became the first British finalist at the event with a 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 victory over sixth-seeded Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro.
   Del Potro had shocked world number one Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals.
   Federer, the 13-time Grand Slam champion, who is in search of his first title of 2009, comfortably won the first set as Djokovic found his feet, but could find no answers after that - finishing with 35 unforced errors.
   ‘Novak played bad at the beginning, and I finished worse than him,’ said Federer, who lost seven straight games bridging the second and third sets.
   That span included four breaks of Federer’s serve, after he had had surrendered his serve just once in the tournament and contributed to a rare glimpse of temper from the normally restrained Swiss, who broke a racquet after yet another forehand miss in the third game of the final set.
   ‘I was just frustrated,’ Federer said. ‘Didn’t feel great. It’s just a natural thing I did.’
   While Federer struggled in virtually every aspect of his game, his forehand was his biggest liability.
   Djokovic said he tried to exploit Federer’s difficulties.
   ‘I tried to change pace and play fast, and then play a bit slower with more spin,’ Djokovic said. ‘He usually expects a ball on the backhand side, because that’s where the players try to play him. But I’m not giving him any consistency on one side so he can really be comfortable.’
   ‘You try hard and then it’s just not working,’ Federer said.
   ‘Today it is different just because there’s so much wind as well. Once you start feeling bad, it’s kind of tough to regroup.’
   Djokovic said the windy weather and some early nerves both played a role in his shaky start.
   ‘Even though I served really well I was quite nervous and making lots of unforced errors,’ he said of the first set. ‘But then it changed. I was just playing smarter afterwards... We kind of changed roles.’
   Djokovic said that even when Federer lost his cool, he tried not to get distracted.
   ‘Look, it’s obvious frustration,’ Djokovic said. ‘I just tried to keep my focus. I was on a roll in this period of the match, so I just tried to continue on playing patiently and win the match.’
   Murray, 21, booked his second straight final in a Masters 1000 event, having fallen to Nadal in a wind-whipped championship match at Indian Wells.
   While del Potro got off to a slow start in the wake of his physically demanding victory over Nadal on Thursday, Murray was unable to put him away in the second set, dropping his serve at love to in the 12th game to lose the set.
   Trailing 2-4 in the third set, del Potro called for a trainer for treatment of cramps, but Murray kept his concentration and took the game on his fourth break point and went on to serve out the match.

Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho has been cultivating his favourite seige mentality at the Serie A leaders ahead of today’s trip to Udinese.
   Inter lead second-placed Juventus by seven points with just nine matches remaining but Mourinho is taking no chances and has been trying to wind up his Italian league counterparts while motivating his own troops.
   In an interview on a popular television show the former Chelsea manager poured scorn on the achievements of his rivals and claimed Italian media favour Juve and AC Milan.
   As he settles in for the title run-in and the crucial potential title-decider against Juventus in Turin in two weeks time, Mourinho has been in typically cantankerous mood.
   ‘Many coaches have won the Champions League more than once,’ he said of Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti’s two European crowns, ‘but only one club (Milan in 2005) has lost a final after leading 3-0.’
   Even Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t escape Mourinho’s ire.
   ‘Ferguson has won it twice but he’s 68. In 23 years time we’ll see how many I’ve won.’
   If that wasn’t enough, Mourinho also claimed that the media support his main rivals.
   ‘We have the Inter Channel with it’s 45,000 subscribers, Juve have (sport newspaper) Tuttosport and Milan have three TV stations and the newspapers,’ he said. ‘I feel a bit like Robin Hood.’
   It is a tactic that Mourinho often used at Chelsea and one with which Ferguson has also attempted to galvanise his Manchester United players, creating a feeling that the world is against them.
   And it could not come at a more opportune moment for Inter who are in the midst of a defensive crisis that looks set to force Mourinho to once again play his holding midfielder Esteban Cambiasso at centre-back.
   The loss of marauding Brazilian rightback Maicon for the rest of the season is another blow and means Mourinho will either have to move captain Javier Zanetti back from midfield or give disgruntled left-back Maxwell a starting berth and switch teenager Davide Santon from left to right.
   However, Udinese’s attacking options have been severely hit by a nasty knee ligament injury suffered by Antonio Di Natale last Saturday in Montenegro that could rule him out for the rest of the season.
   Earlier in the campaign this fixture would have been seen as a potential stumbling block for a top team as Udinese were early Serie A pace-setters.
   However, their form dipped alarmingly and they have won only three of their last 20 league matches, although they are Italy’s only remaining representatives in Europe.
   Juventus’s match at home to Chievo looked a lot easier a month ago as the ‘flying donkeys’ propped up Serie A for most of the season.
   However an incredible March saw them win three and draw one in four matches and suddenly Domenico Di Carlo’s side no longer look a soft touch but instead appear to be more durable opponents.
   A trip to Juve and then the visit of Milan in their next two matches will put that theory to a stern test.
   Milan for their part are still trying to tie up third place to ensure direct entry into next season’s Champions League group stages and they host lowly Lecce.
   Ancelotti himself has become very focused on that objective in recent weeks and even dismissed Mourinho’s jibes.
   ‘I don’t talk about him, I don’t respond to what he says,’ said Ancelotti. ‘The aim is to get back into the Champions League and to go through a season very different to this one. We have to finish in the top three.’

Manches-ter United have played down reports of Spanish football club Real Madrid offering 75 million pounds for Portuguese star striker Cristiano Ronaldo.
   Sources at Old Trafford insisted on Friday that there was no substance to the claims, in line with the club’s public stance that Ronaldo, under contract until 2012, will not be leaving Manchester in the near future.
   It is widely believed in Spain that Ronaldo has made clear his intention to leave the European champions at the end of the current campaign after striking a deal - rumored by some to have the blessing of Sir Alex Ferguson, an outspoken critic of Madrid’s transfer policy - with both his present and prospective employers.
   Ronaldo has made no secret of his desire to play at Bernabeu at some stage in his career.
   A sky-high fee may tempt the Glazer family, who own United, to sell, but any deal would first have to overcome Ferguson’s considerable objections, reports The Telegraph.
   But, according to The Guardian, Ronaldo is ready to leave for Real Madrid.
   The paper claims that Real Madrid has held secret negotiations with the player.
   Real Madrid have put in place a deal with Cristiano Ronaldo’s advisers that will see him leave Manchester United this summer if the world footballer of the year gets his way.
   The Guardian says Ronaldo remains determined to move to the Bernabéu and it is understood his salary and contractual terms have already been determined as part of a planned world-record 75 million pound transfer.
   It is understood that various pledges were made to ensure the deal happens and that everyone involved in the negotiations made a pact not to discuss the agreement in public.
   That strategy explains why Ronaldo has stopped talking about his ‘dream move’, but it proved too difficult for one of Real’s club’s directors, Pedro Trapote, who tipped off the El Mundo newspaper in December.
   ‘If you are asking me what we are going to do now, then I would tell you that we have already signed the best player for the summer,’ he said in a recorded interview, intended to be an off-the-record briefing.
   Asked to clarify that he meant Ronaldo, he added: ‘The best of the best. It is Cristiano, there is no other. It is better that we do not say anything at the moment, though. It is best to not say anything because there are some clauses that prevent us from announcing it now.’
   Sir Alex Ferguson reacted furiously at the time, insisting that he would not ‘sell a virus’ to ‘that mob’, but it now appears that Trapote was speaking in good faith, having been privy to what was taking place behind the scenes.
   Ronaldo’s cousin, Luis Felipe, added: ‘He’s won everything with United and he needs new challenges with a new team.’
   Ronaldo is currently United’s leading scorer with 18 goals, but he managed 42 in the previous campaign, and there have been times when his body language, scarcely celebrating some goals, has come under scrutiny.
   Nonetheless, Ferguson’s determination to keep him is understandable given Ronaldo’s standing in the world game and the fact that, at 24, he is still relatively young in football terms.
   In total, Ronaldo has scored 110 goals for United in 233 starts and 47 substitute appearances - a staggering strike-rate for a player who is essentially a right-winger.

Germany striker Lukas Podolski admitted on Saturday that he had been an ‘idiot’ for slapping national captain Michael Ballack during a World Cup qualifier against Wales.
   ‘I have to realise that I was an idiot,’ Podolski told the Bild tabloid of the incident that occurred on Wednesday. ‘Unfortunately I over-reacted.
   ‘The whole thing is now over. I have no problem with Michael Ballack - we’ve talked between ourselves.’
   German footballing legend Franz Beckenbauer, writing in his Bild column, said ‘this gesture could not be tolerated’.
   ‘If a slap given to Michael Ballack had gone unpunished, it would not really have been the right signal sent to the team,’ he said.
   ‘Apparently, there is something hatching at the heart of the team.’
   In an attempt to dampen the furore swirling around Podolski, the German football federation announced on Friday that the striker would contribute 5,000 euros towards a fair play initiative organised by the federation.
   Podolski, who had disagreed with Ballack over tactics, has received the support of his club manager Jurgen Klinsmann, himself a former striker for the German team.

Spanish first division side Valencia has received a loan of 50 million euros and plans a capital increase to help it over a financial crisis threatening the club.
   Valencia’s chief executive Javier Gomez made the announcement to players on Friday.
   The two-time Champions League finalists suspended payments to players in February and stopped work on a new stadium amid a total debt which Spanish news reports have put at around 450 million euros (600 million dollars).
   ‘It’s positive and major news for everyone,’ striker David Villa, the top scorer at Euro 2008 which was won by Spain, said of the loan.
   ‘We only have 10 matches, and what we can do to help the club economically is to qualify for the Champions League,’ he said.
   The loan will give some breathing space to the club, whose financial problems have been exacerbated by a drop in form in which they have just one win from their last seven matches.
   Valencia, based in Spain’s third-largest city, have been eliminated from this season’s UEFA Cup and the Spanish Cup and are in sixth place in the Primera Liga, five points from the fourth place that would see them qualify for the Champions League.
   Spain is home to two of the world’s richest clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona, which benefit from generous sponsorship contracts and lucrative deals from television broadcast rights.
   But many other clubs like Valencia are struggling to face up to soaring wages and transfer fees as revenues decline.
   The club had hoped to sell land around its 55,000-seat Mestalla stadium to finance the building of a new 75,000-capacity ground with an estimated cost of 200 million euros.
   But last year Spain entered a steep recession as the cheap credit which had fuelled a decade-long real estate boom dried up due to the global financial crisis, making it hard for Valencia to sell the land.

Carlos Tevez has revealed that Diego Maradona is modelling the Argentina side on the way Sir Alex Ferguson runs Manchester United.
   The blueprint hardly went to plan during the 6-1 mauling in Bolivia on Wednesday night - equalling the country’s worst-ever defeat.
   But rookie coach Maradona may well aim to get back on track with a blast of the famous hair-dryer.
   ‘Maradona wants Argentina to show the same winning mentality as we have at Manchester. He tells me this every time we see each other,’ Tevez told Sport magazine.
   ‘He admires Ferguson’s ability to make his players into winners.
   ‘At United, we have an amazing winning mentality because we are always so focused.
   ‘Maradona knows this and wishes to see Argentina do the same.’
   Despite Ferguson’s fearsome reputation, Tevez insists that the veteran boss knows exactly how to handle his players.
   ‘There is never any doubt who is in charge,’ said Tevez, ‘but he is also a gentleman.’
   ‘His greatest quality is that, for him, there are no star players.
   ‘Everyone is equal, whether they cost many millions or are a young player who hasn’t played many times for them.’

Jenson Button pushed his Brawn GP to a second successive pole position Saturday, topping the times during qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
   The Briton swept around the 5.5 kilometre (3.4 mile) Sepang circuit in one minute 35.181 seconds ahead of Toyota’s Jarno Trulli (1:35.273) to burn off his rivals in an eventful hour-long qualifying.
   It was his second straight pole after Australia last weekend which he went on to win in Brawn’s maiden race, and only the fifth in his nine years as a Formula One driver.
   But while Button was ecstatic, there was despair for last year’s pole sitter Felipe Massa, who only managed 16th in his Ferrari during hot and humid, but dry, conditions.
   And McLaren’s miserable weekend continued with world champion Lewis Hamilton starting from 12th on the grid and his teammate Heikki Kovalainen 14th.
   Third fastest was Sebastien Vettel in his Red Bull but he is carrying a 10-place grid penalty from the Australian Grand Prix after his collision there with Robert Kubica and so lines up Sunday in 13th.
   Button’s teammate Rubens Barrichello was fourth quickest but he too has a grid penalty—five places for changing his gearbox—so is relegated to ninth
   Therefore, Timo Glock in the other Toyota will be third alongside Nico Rosberg in his Williams.
   Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, last year’s winner, is behind them alongside another former world champion, Fernando Alonso in his Renault.
   ‘It is not easy to get one pole position but to have two on the trot, I’ve never done that before,’ Button said after raising the bar on his final flying lap.
   ‘It shows that the car works on different circuits in all conditions. On Saturday we struggled a bit with the balance of the car and it was difficult but we made changes overnight and it improved a lot.
   ‘I feel very comfortable in the car and I’m excited about Sunday.’
   Italy’s Trulli is looming as his chief threat in the Toyota, which, like the Brawn and Williams, is using the controversial rear diffusers to make the car more aerodynamic.
   Ferrari, Renault, Red Bull and BMW Sauber claim they are contrary to the rules, giving a lap-time benefit of up to 0.5 seconds, and have appealed a stewards’ hearing in Melbourne that ruled then legal.
   ‘The car is good but I didn’t expect to be where I am,’ said Trulli.
   ‘The team have done a great job and got everything spot on.’
   The big surprise was the failure of Massa to reach the third and final stage of the knockout qualifying format.
   The Brazilian, who was third in the morning’s final free practice session, was well off the pace when it mattered, managing only 1:35.642 having completed just four laps.
   ‘The team thought it was enough to be inside the top 15 and maybe I thought as well, to be honest, because when I got back to the pits I was fourth,’ he said.
   ‘I stayed in the top seven for a while, but then when I started to drop it was impossible to go out again because there was no time to do another lap.’
   Hamilton also had a day to forget as he comes to terms with the scandal last weekend in Australia in which he was forced to apologise for lying about Trulli overtaking him during the Australian Grand Prix.
   ‘Nothing has changed since the last race and it was as tough as ever,’ he said.
   Qualifying took place with only McLaren and Toro Rosso using the same engines they had in Melbourne as all the other teams elected for new ones.
   Drivers are allowed to use eight engines over the course of the season.

Arsene Wenger has told his Arsenal stars to ignore the transfer speculation swirling around the club and concentrate on giving their all during a month that will define their season.
   Gunners captain Cesc Fabregas, who returns from three months out injured against Manchester City on Saturday, is widely expected to attract big-money bids from both Barcelona and Real Madrid this summer.
   And the Spanish midfielder’s decision on his future could affect Arsenal’s chances of holding on to other top assets, such as Robin van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor.
   Wenger is well aware of all the speculation and is determined to ensure it does not prove a distraction as he prepares for crucial matches in the league, Champions League and FA Cup.
   ‘Our success depends on how well we focus on short-term and how intelligent we are to rule out all the long-term speculation,’ the Arsenal manager said.
   ‘We have answered that question (on Fabregas) for five years now. What is important is that a player like Cesc can come back into the squad and help us be successful.
   ‘What is important for us is not who stays in July or who goes, it is how much we focus on the next game. It is how well we deal with that kind of thing inside the club; that is more important than what people say.
   ‘Any distraction would be a weakness from our side and a wrong excuse. We do not want that. We cannot influence what people say, or write or think. We can influence how much success we can achieve together.’

Brazil forward Adriano’s decision to stay in South America after his country’s World Cup qualifiers is not a case of indiscipline, Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho said on Saturday.
   Speaking at a news conference Mourinho expressed sympathy for Adriano, who has talked publicly about his drinking and personal problems, but refused to go into details on his failure to return to the Serie A leaders for Sunday’s game at Udinese (1700 GMT).
   Adriano was an unused substitute in Brazil’s 3-0 win over Peru and a 1-1 draw with Ecuador during the week.
   ‘Everyone has understood that this is not an easy situation,’ Mourinho said.
   ‘It’s not a player who has decided to return late and it’s not because he missed his flight. It is not a joke, it is not indiscipline…It’s something more than that.’
   The 27-year-old was loaned to Sao Paolo last season by previous Inter coach Roberto Mancini following discipline problems. He had edged back into Mourinho’s good books after similar difficulties this season.
   ‘I am neither angry nor critical. I am only sad and the best thing is to say nothing. We will see how things end up for him but at the moment I think about the person more than the player,’ Mourinho said.

Wayne Rooney would deem it a failure if Manchester United do not win the Premier League this season to complete a hat-trick of English league titles.
   After seeing a seven-point lead reduced to just one following defeats to second-placed Liverpool and Fulham immediately before the international break the reigning champions are under intense pressure.
   ‘If you don’t manage to retain a trophy you can’t deem it as anything but a failure,’ Rooney told Inside United.
   ‘You have already proved you are good enough to do it, so it just drives you on to win more. The history of the club demands that we continue winning. I don’t think the players would ever let themselves become complacent.’
   Given the form Rooney is in just now, Sir Alex Ferguson could do with the England striker.
   However, along with Paul Scholes and Nemanja Vidic, Rooney must sit out the Villa clash through suspension as he pays the price for his needless dismissal at Craven Cottage.
   Ferguson has other problems too as Dimitar Berbatov and Anderson are both struggling with ankle and knee problems respectively, while Carlos Tevez will return from South America still shellshocked at the six-goal hammering in Bolivia.
   It is hardly the ideal backdrop to such an important game.
   But Rooney, who will return for Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final with FC Porto, is desperate to ensure Liverpool do not end their 19-year league title drought.
   ‘Victory in the league this season will definitely taste sweeter if we pip Liverpool to the title,’ said the boyhood Everton fan.
   ‘That said, I have never had to endure much Liverpool success. The last time they won the league I was only a child. Even so, it would be hard to take if they won it this season.’

The Mexican football federation said Friday it had appointed former coach Javier Aguirre as their new handler a day after sacking ex-England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.
   Aguirre, 50, coached the Mexicans at the 2002 World Cup before moving to Spanish side Osasuna and thereafter to Atletico Madrid, who dispensed with his services in February.
   Eriksson, 61, was fired after barely ten months in the job following Wednesday’s disappointing 3-1 loss to Honduras in a World Cup qualifier, which came after a previous defeat regional rivals the United States.
   In between, the Mexicans enjoyed a home success over Costa Rica but the two away reverses left them struggling to make a berth in South Africa at next year’s finals a place below the third guaranteed slot.
   The fourth-placed team must come through against the fifth best from South America in a playoff.
   Media reports said Thursday that Eriksson is in line to receive a handsome payoff.
   ‘His sacking will cost the Mexican Federation 3.5 million dollars,’ reported El Universal daily.
   Eriksson, who was sacked after just 13 matches at the helm having only taken the post last June, was earning a reported seven million dollars a year.
   When he stepped down as England boss after the last World Cup he received a six-million pound (8.5 million dollar) golden parachute.
   A year later he took the reins at Manchester City but he was relieved of his post after a single midtable season and then to general surprise crossed the Atlantic to replace the sacked Hugo Sanchez. El Universal suggested that not qualifying could cost in the region of 500 million dollars in potential commercial receipts.
   Eriksson’s personal manager Athole Still meanwhile told Sky Sports News he thought taking the Mexican job was a mistake.
   ‘We discussed it and I think the big decision for Sven was getting back into the World Cup and going to South Africa. Also because his son works in soccer schools over there and Sven is connected so there were family issues there.
   ‘But I felt that he should have stayed in Europe,’ said Still, who denied any contact between the Swede and English Premiership strugglers Portsmouth.
   Still suggested Eriksson’s next port of call would be with a big-name club but added that ‘if the right job came up he might go for another international team again.’

Fanatical Manchester United fan Usain Bolt is planning to pass on his tips for speedy sprinting to their world footballer of the year Cristiano Ronaldo.
   The Jamaican broke the 100 and 200 meters world records on the way to three golds in the Beijing Olympics and is coming to Manchester for a one-off sprint road race on May 17.
   He will be at Old Trafford for United’s penultimate Premier League match against Arsenal but before that he aims to attend a training session to link up with Portuguese flyer Ronaldo.
   ‘I’ll definitely be doing that,’ he told Press Association.
   ‘I’m really looking forward to it and I think I can give him a few pointers.
   ‘I can give him a few tips to help him get the edge on a few of the guys, I can get him up to speed.
   ‘I’ll need to see how he runs first and then I can show him a few pointers.’
   Ronaldo, who scored 42 goals in United’s Premier and Champions League double last season, has reportedly sent Bolt a signed shirt and requested tips.
   Bolt may not confine himself to training Ronaldo, joking that he hoped to impress United boss Alex Ferguson with his footballing ability.
   ‘I’m really looking forward to that huge Arsenal game, Manchester United is my team I’m actually thinking about trying to make the squad too,’ he said.
   ‘I’m a left-footer so I think I could be good down the left side and I’m pretty quick, so we’ll see.’
   He is set to be paraded before the Red Devils fans before the Arsenal game which could prove crucial in the title run-in with United bidding for an unprecedented quintuple.

Robinho insists he is totally committed to Manchester City - and has backed the club to win the UEFA Cup.
   The Brazilian’s future has been the subject of much discussion since his shock move to Eastlands from Real Madrid in the final moments of the August transfer window.
   The striker has scored 12 goals this season but none this year and he also hit the headlines for the wrong reasons after leaving a training camp without permission and flying home to South America.
   Robinho told The Sun: ‘I know about rumours linking me with different teams but I am not pre-occupied by them. My head only has time for City and I want to be the star of this club.
   ‘I am totally convinced City can win the UEFA Cup. A title in my first season in England will be magnificent.
   ‘City are preparing an enormous project for
   next season and I am totally focused on this adventure. We could really be big in the table in a few months.’

Bayern Munich coach Jurgen Klinsmann sees himself staying for a long time with the Bundesliga giants.
   ‘There’s no limit to the time. Of course someone will succeed me, that’s partly the nature of things but I hope that will only happen a very, very long time off,’ Klinsmann said in an interview with the Munchner Merkur daily.
   ‘I get an enormous amount of happiness from my job, that’s why I’ve not got anything planned out over one, two, three or even the next four years,’ said the 44-year-old former Germany coach whose contract runs out in 2010.
   Bayern are level on both points and goals with Wolfsburg, their Bundesliga opponents on Saturday, just behind league leaders Hertha Berlin.
   They then travel to Barcelona’s Nou Camp stadium for Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg clash.

‘I will decide on my future based on the result’ of the surgery, the 35-year-old former Lens, Liverpool and Bordeaux winger told the website of Slavia Prague, his current team.
   Smicer, who has had knee cartilage problems since a winter training camp and has not appeared in a single game in the spring, said he had already visited the Antwerp clinic for a pre-op check-up on Wednesday.
   The 2005 Champions League winner with Liverpool has played 81 matches and scored 27 goals for the Czech national team in 1993-2005.
   Smicer made history by scoring at three consecutive European championships—in 1996, 2000 and 2004.

Liverpool FC captain Steven Gerrard has signed a new 26 million pound contract, which will see him playing for the club for the rest of his career.
   According to The Sun, the Kop skipper, 28, agreed a two-year contract extension, taking him to 2013, and will see his wages rise nearly 20,000 pounds to around 125,000 pounds a week.
   Boss Rafa Benitez said: ‘It is a very, very positive message to the players that we have the commitment of Gerrard, which means we can go forward and can concentrate on football.
   ‘We are trying to keep the spine of the team here and with Gerrard we wanted to be sure we keep the captain for a long time.’
   The timing of the announcement, a day before the trip to Fulham, was a masterstroke in psychology by the Spaniard.
   He admitted: ‘We want to show everyone is pushing in the right direction.
   ‘With Stevie, as soon as we said we wanted to talk about an extension it was agreed very, very quickly.’
   Gerrard’s deal was swiftly followed by a similar extension for Dirk Kuyt and Benitez now hopes to thrash out further agreements with Sami Hyypia, Alvaro Arbeloa, Fabio Aurelio and Daniel Agger.
   Yet centre-back Jamie Carragher, who still has two years left, will have to wait until the end of the season for his fresh deal.