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Bangladesh all-rounder Sakib al Hasan has been nominated for the ICC annual awards in two categories – the Cricketer of the Year and the Test Player of the Year. The ICC announced the nominations at a press conference in Mumbai on Wednesday.
   The awards are based on performances during the period from August 13, 2008 to August 24, 2009. The ICC award night will take place in Johannesburg on October 1 during the Champions Trophy.
   Sakib became the first Bangladeshi cricketer to have received nomination in more than one category since the inception of the annual award in 2004. More importantly it was the first time a Bangladeshi cricketer has been nominated for an ICC award other than the category of the Emerging Player of the Year.
   Bangladesh’s Aftab Ahmed and Manzarul Islam Rana had been nominated in the Emerging Player of the Year category in 2005, two years before Sakib himself was nominated in the same category alongside Mushfiqur Rahim.
   This year Sakib is one of the 14 cricketers to be nominated for the Cricketer of the Year and one of the 19 cricketers for the Test Player of the Year. Despite the lengthy list and tough competition, he has a realistic chance of winning at least one award.
   During the period, Sakib played eight Test matches, scored 498 runs at an average of 35.57 and picked up as many as 45 wickets. His performances include a five five-wicket haul in Test cricket.
   He played 22 one-day international matches and scored 665 runs at 36.94 and claimed 30 wickets in the same period meaning he will be a strong contender for the most prestigious award – the Cricketer of the Year.
   ‘I have had a good couple of years in international cricket and the form with bat and ball has been reasonably consistent. I guess the significant aspect of the nomination is that I have been recognised for my Test performance also,’ Sakib told Bangladesh Cricket Board official website tigercricket.com.
   ‘I am still learning the trades in Test cricket and this will encourage me a lot. I am not going to lose sleep over it but it will be great to make the shortlist,’ added the all-rounder.
   Bangladesh’s left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak has also got a nomination in the category of the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year for his 4-16 against South Africa in Johannesburg on November 5.
   Eighteen players have received at least two nominations for their performances during the period, which includes the 2009 World Twenty20 in England, the 2009 Women’s World Cup in Australia, and the 2009 World Cup qualifiers in South Africa, in addition to the various bilateral Test and ODI series.
   Indian captain MS Dhoni and Sri Lankan cricketer Tillakaratne Dilshan have got nominations in maximum three categories. Dilshan scored 848 runs in the eight Tests he played during that period at 70.66 and was also named Player of the Tournament during the World Twenty20 held in England.
   He was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s successful run to the final. His unbeaten 96 off 57 balls against the West Indies in the second semi-final and a quickfire 74 against the same opponents in the league phase are the two standout performances for which he has been him nominated in the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year category. He is also in line for the ICC Cricketer of the Year and Test Player of the Year awards.
   Dhoni, who was the ODI Player of the Year in 2008, has been nominated for the Cricketer of the Year, Test Player of the Year and ODI Player of the Year awards. The Indian captain’s hugely successful phase resulted in 544 runs from eight Tests at 54.40 and 967 runs in 24 ODIs at 60.43.
   ‘The LG ICC Awards are an opportunity for the ICC and FICA to acknowledge and celebrate the remarkable performances of the world’s top players,’ said ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat while announcing the list of nominations in Mumbai.
   ‘It is also a chance for followers of our great sport to reflect on some of the great cricketing feats they have witnessed over the past year. This will be the sixth time the awards have been handed out and yet again there are so many great performances to recall. Selecting the winners will no doubt test our selectors and voting academy.’
   The lists were compiled by a five-man ICC selection panel chaired by former West Indies captain and current chairman of the ICC cricket committee, Clive Lloyd. The panel also included former players such as India’s Anil Kumble, Mudassar Nazar of Pakistan, Bob Taylor of England and New Zealand’s Stephen Fleming.
   Cricketer of the Year
   Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Tillakaratne Dilshan, MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Sakib al Hasan, Mitchell Johnson, Graham Onions, Thilan Samaraweera, Kumar Sangakkara, Harbhajan Singh, Graeme Smith, Andrew Strauss, Daniel Vettori, AB de Villiers.
   Test Player of the Year
   Stuart Broad, Michael Clarke, MS Dhoni, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Gautam Gambhir, Sakib al Hasan, Mitchell Johnson, VVS Laxman, Jesse Ryder, Thilan Samaraweera, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Peter Siddle, Harbhajan Singh, Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn, Andrew Strauss, Graeme Swann, Daniel Vettori, AB de Villiers.
   ODI Player of the Year
   Shivnarine Chanderpaul, MS Dhoni, Andrew Flintoff, Chris Gayle, Umar Gul, Martin Guptill, Michael Hussey, Nuwan Kulasekara, Ajantha Mendis, Muttiah Muralitharan, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Thilan Thushara.
   Emerging Player of the Year Martin Guptill, Ben Hilfenhaus, Philip Hughes, Amit Mishra, Graham Onions, Kemar Roach, Jesse Ryder, Peter Siddle.

Andy Murray was comfortable and Dinara Safina was anything but, as both won their first-round matches at the US Open on Tuesday.
   Murray, seeded second, had a 7-5, 6-3, 7-5 win over Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis. The Scot, who lost to Roger Federer in last year’s final, will play Chile’s Paul Capdeville in round two as he aims to become the first Briton in 63 years to win a Grand Slam tournament.
   While Murray won in straight sets, two other title contenders were even more dominant in their first-round matches: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic crushed Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic 6-3, 6-1, 6-3, while France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga barely raised a sweat in blasting past American Chase Buchanan 6-0, 6-2, 6-1.
   The seeded casualties Wednesday were Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic, and Russian Igor Andreev, who only won six games against No.276-ranked Jesse Witten of the US.
   Safina, whose reign as the world’s No1-ranked player has come despite never winning a grand slam event, was stretched to the limit by unheralded 18-year-old Australian Olga Rogowska.
   The Russian struggled through 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 despite 11 double faults and 48 unforced errors and being one point away from going down 4-0 in the third set.
   Asked to nominate positives from the match, Safina said : ‘I didn’t break any rackets and didn’t get any warnings.’
   ‘At the end of the day, I made it. I pulled it out, and that’s what counts for me.’
   Safina is accustomed to cruising through the early rounds. Usually, the problems emerge later: she is winless in three major finals, all lopsided losses, and she managed to win only one game against Venus Williams in the Wimbledon semifinals in July.
   ‘I was surprised that, you know, she was giving me free points,’ said Rogowska, an 18-year-old who never has defeated anyone ranked better than 47th.
   ‘I’m disappointed I lost,’ she said, ‘and I didn’t expect to say that after playing the No. 1 player in the world. It’s a bit weird.’
   Elena Dementieva, Jelena Jankovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Caroline Wozniacki all breezed into the second round with straight-sets victories, but Ana Ivanovic crashed out early for the second year running, beaten 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7) by Kateryna Bonarenko.
   The Serb had the worst showing ever by a top-seeded woman in New York last year when she exited in the second round. In 2009, she didn’t even make it that far.
   ‘It hurts, I can tell you that,’ the former French Open champion said. ‘I’m sure I’ll have sleepless nights. But I have to accept it and try to put this year behind me, and try to learn from it.’
   France’s Virginie Razzano, Russia’s Alisa Kleybanova and Hungary’s Agnes Szavay were the other seeds to tumble on day two.
   Russia’s Maria Sharapova, who missed nearly 10 months with a shoulder injury, made her belated first grand-slam appearance of the year, beating Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria 6-3, 6-0.
   ‘This is a grand slam. You’ve got to get going from the first match,’ Sharapova said. ‘I’m more than excited to have the opportunity to play any match. After being gone, this is what it’s all about.’

Australia captain Michael Clarke insisted the umpires were right to call-off the second Twenty20 international against England here at Old Trafford without a ball being bowled.
   The day/night match was abandoned after two pitch inspections by umpires Peter Hartley and Nigel Llong, much to the disgust of a 19,500 capacity crowd and the fury of Lancashire chief executive Jim Cumbes.
   Afterwards, the England and Wales Cricket Board promised to hold an inquiry into the abandonment, which meant the series ended 0-0 after Sunday’s opener at Lancashire headquarters also finished as a no-result washout.
   Umpires Hartley and Llong decided conditions were so bad there was no prospect of even a five overs per side match, the minimum length required to produce a positive result.
   Despite 600,000 pounds being spent on a new ground drainage system during the close season, the bowlers’ take-off area at the Brian Statham End was deemed unplayable following heavy rain Tuesday.
   Afterwards an ECB spokesman said the board would be ‘holding an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the abandonment of the match’.
   Clarke, speaking to reporters, said: ‘We’re all disappointed with the result but I think the decision that’s been made is the right decision.
   ‘We’ve got specialist Twenty20 players that have flown over from Australia to take part in these two games so we really wanted to play.’
   However, he added: ‘There’s no game I play for Australia that I’m willing to just go out and bowl some full-tosses so the crowd get a great spectacle. You’re representing your country.
   ‘The ground just wasn’t fit enough for everybody to play the type of cricket that’s played in Twenty20 or any form of cricket.’
   England captain Paul Collingwood backed Clarke’s view, saying: ‘The umpires came up to us and said they think it’s unfit for international cricket. When you’ve got a lot of people in the crowd, it’s a brave call to make but it’s good they are making those calls.
   ‘It is entertainment, but you’ve got to have the surface in the right condition to play an international game.’
   But Cumbes was adamant conditions were fit and said different standards needed to be applied to Twenty20, launched professionally in England in 2003 as a means of attracting new fans to cricket.
   ‘I’m angry, bitterly disappointed,’ Cumbes told reporters. ‘Angry, because to my mind we were told when we started playing Twenty20 cricket several years ago that you should be expected to play in conditions which you wouldn’t normally play in first-class cricket.’
   Cumbes, a former Lancashire pace bowler, added: ‘I know the umpires have tough decisions to make and I’m perfectly aware of the safety of players, Christ I played the game for 20 years myself.
   ‘But there are times when you’ve got to think about the people who’ve paid 50 quid (pounds) to come into this game.
   ‘Sometimes I think we’d rather play in front of empty stadiums. I really thought when I went out there and had a look at 7:00pm (1800GMT, the scheduled start time), ‘I thought great we will be out here in half an hour’s time’.’
   Cumbes said Australia pace great Jeff Thomson, working at Old Trafford as a commentator for BBC Radio, said: ‘I was talking to him (Thomson) about it and he finds it a mystery too.’
   Tuesday’s abandonment left England with just two scheduled Twenty20 internationals, against South Africa, before the World Twenty20 starts in the Caribbean in April.
   Meanwhile Australia have just three Twenty20s of their own before that event, one against Pakistan and the other two against the West Indies.
   Ashes-winners England and Australia now face each other in a seven-match one-day international series starting at the Oval on Friday.

Efforts by former Commonwealth Secretary General Sir Shridath Ramphal to end a raging dispute between the West Indies Cricket Board and the West Indian Players Association collapsed just when the two sides appeared to be on the brink of a resolution, authorities said late Tuesday.
   ‘It was another bad day for West Indian cricket which, without fundamental changes, is now likely to deteriorate further,’ the Guyana-based Caribbean Community (Caricom) headquarters quoted Ramphal in a statement as saying.
   Ramphal, who was appointed the mediator on July 21 after the current Caricom chairman - Guyana’s President, Bharrat Jagdeo - met with top representatives of the WICB and WIPA—explained that the two sides had 24 hours before been close to an agreement but the talks were derailed after one side tabled a new draft agreement.
   The mediator recalled that the negotiations were at a stage that had prompted him to invoke assistance ‘of various kinds to make implementation of the agreement feasible. ‘However, all that changed dramatically when one party introduced an entirely new document and refused to negotiate on any other,’ the statement added.
   No immediate mention was made of the contentious areas or which side had proposed the new draft agreement.
   President Jagdeo, in a separate statement, said he was ‘disappointed to learn of the failure’ of WICB and WIPA to reach agreement. He noted that ‘I am not wholly surprised’ at the collapse of the talks and blamed the WICB for failing to disclose to him and WIPA that the board had already selected a ‘B’ team for the Champions Trophy in South Africa.
   ‘The President (of the board) later apologised for the omission; but the damage had been done; the Mediation was weakened from the start. Now, it seems that the Mediation has been the victim of the same spirit of board insistence on getting its own way whatever the consequences for our cricket,’ said Jagdeo.
   He explained that, at the time of agreeing to mediation, he was led to believe that normalcy would have been restored once WIPA had made all of its players available to the board for selection.
   ‘Caricom governments will have to consider what next to do to save West Indies cricket, and West Indians, everywhere,
   from still further humiliation,’ said the Guyanese leader.
   The West Indies has been on a largely losing streak for more than one decade.

Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, has said there is no move to reduce Tests from five days to four days. The idea of reducing the longest format had earlier been floated by ICC President David Morgan to make Tests more attractive to the spectators. Morgan had said the move would also protect and enrich Test cricket in the face of lucrative Twenty20 leagues like the IPL. ‘Morgan must have been putting a thought on the table,’ Lorgat said.
   Speaking at a ceremony in Mumbai, where the nominations for the 2009 ICC awards were unveiled, Lorgat also lent his support to the 50-over game and said the format would continue at the international level even though the ECB had recently reduced matches to 40 overs per side in its domestic set-up. ‘ECB has done it as it suits their domestic schedule,’ Lorgat said. ‘But at the international level the 50-over format will continue. But we are open to changes if it works for the betterment of the game.’ Lorgat pointed out that the format of the Champions Trophy, in South Africa later this month, had been revamped to make it more exciting.
   Indian batsman Virender Sehwag, who was also present on the occasion, said he preferred to play Tests and ODIs more than Twenty20 matches. ‘Personally I would like to play more Tests and ODIs than T20 games which I know have become extremely popular,’ Sehwag said. ‘I would like to play at least eight to ten Tests in a year.
   ‘The Twenty20 game is big and in future and the message I would like to give to the ICC is to introduce a World Championship of Tests. Every cricketer would like to play Tests against every other country and perform well. Test cricket is the true test [of a cricketer’s calibre].’

The opening ceremony of the World Cup-2011 will be held in Dhaka on February 17, it was decided at a meeting of the event’s central organising committee in Mumbai on Wednesday.
   The meeting also deiced that Bangladesh will host the opening match on February 19. The ICC had earlier planned to hold the opening ceremony on February 18, a day before the opening match.
   But Bangladesh proposed to bring the opening ceremony a day forward to give the participating teams of the opening match a breathing space before they go into action and the Mumbai meeting accepted the proposal.
   The full match schedules and list of venues will be announced in Mumbai on November 9.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board named a 19-member provisional A team for a tour of Maharashtra from September 25 to October 16. Bangladesh A team will play two four-day matches, three one-dayers and as many Twenty20 matches on the tour.
   They will start training from September 5.
   Squad: Hannan Sarker, Imrul Kayes, Nazmus Sadat, Nafis Iqbal, Shamsur Rahman, Imran Ahmed, Rajin Saleh, Sahagir Hossain, Nazmul Hossain Milon, Kazi Shahadat Hossain, Dollar Mahmud, Talha Zubaer, Tarek Aziz, Ziaur Rahman, Sohrawardi Shuvo, Arafrat Sunny, Faisal Hossain, Nadif Chowdhury and Sajedul Islam.

The National Sports Council on Wednesday announced a new ad hoc committee of the Bangladesh Wrestling Federation with Tabiur Rahman as the general secretary. Earlier, the minister for shipping, Shahjahan Khan, was made the president of the federation by the government.
   ‘The previous committee’s activities were not up to the mark and we decided to dissolve it as per the NSC act,’ said Shafiq Anwar, secretary of the NSC.
   However, the sacking of the previous committee, led by Advocate Mahbubul Islam Jibon as the general secretary, drew sharp criticism. ‘It was totally unexpected, the state minister for youth and sports a few days ago assured us that our committee will stay until the SA Games, he did not keep his word.
   ‘We took over the federation in July 2007 and we organised three national meets, participated in both editions of the Indo-Bangla Games and in one international meet in Nepal, we have been conducting the SA Games camp efficiently, we condemn it and may file a defamatory case as the NSC even did not bother to tell us about the dissolution of our committee,’ said Jibon.

England winger James Milner has ruled out conspiracy theories that Croatia midfielder Luka Modric was deliberately injured ahead of a crucial World Cup qualifier at Wembley next week.
   Croatia FA chiefs are frustrated that key midfielder Modric broke a leg in a tackle with Birmingham’s Lee Bowyer just 10 days before a match against England that could decide the World Cup fate of both teams.
   They already have bitter memories of how key striker Eduardo also suffered a broken leg playing against the same opposition for Arsenal in February 2008 and Croatia FA supremo Vlatko Markovic on Tuesday said: ‘First Eduardo, now Luka Modric. This is horrible. I can only ask myself if it was really an accident.
   ‘I’m close to thinking it was done to us deliberately before the England match. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw what happened to Luka. He is irreplaceable.’
   But Markovic’s claims have been quickly dismissed in Fabio Capello’s camp with Aston Villa star Milner, speaking at England’s team hotel in Watford, saying: ‘It’s just bad luck, that’s the way it is in football.
   ‘People are making more of it but obviously it’s nonsense. We just go out there and try and play as well as we can. You don’t look at who you are tackling or anything like that when you are on the field.
   ‘You don’t think ‘oh it’s him, I’ll go in hard on him.’ You just are just trying to win the ball.’
   Far from being frightened of Modric, Milner would have relished facing the playmaker on September 9.
   He added: ‘You’ve seen what a good player Modric has been since he’s been in England, he makes Tottenham tick and it’s the same at international level. He will be a big miss.
   ‘But as players you want to play in the best competitions in the world against the best players.
   ‘In a way it helps you if the best players aren’t there but also you want to challenge them. That’s what being a professional in any sport is all about.’
   Milner, 23, is hoping to make a big impact against Croatia and also against Slovenia in a friendly at Wembley on Saturday, having finally made his debut in the recent draw in Holland after winning a record 46 caps at Under 21 level.
   He showed great potential as a youngster, becoming the Premier League’s youngest ever goalscorer at the age 16 years and 309 days - just three months after Wayne Rooney had set the previous record.
   But his progress has always been slower in comparison to the Manchester United striker.
   He said: ‘That goal put me on the map but Wayne came through at a very similar time and progressed very quickly at a very similar age. In a way, he took a lot of limelight off me, which helped massively. If that had not happened, I would probably have had more attention than I had.
   ‘I am very grateful to him! When you look at how well he dealt with it, it just shows what a strong character he is and what a fantastic player. But now I feel ready for it to be my turn.’
   Milner has certainly waited a long time for his international breakthrough and perhaps it should come as no surprise that it happened after he moved to Aston Villa and left behind the trauma of crisis clubs Newcastle and Leeds.

Aston Villa finally completed the signing of Republic of Ireland defender Richard Dunne from Manchester City on Wednesday.
   Villa were unable to announce the Dunne deal before the transfer window closed on Tuesday as the Premier League asked for more time to ratify the paperwork which only came through at the last minute.
   But Martin O’Neill’s team were always confident Dunne would become their player after passing a medical and agreeing personal terms.
   The Football Association were also satisfied with the documents presented by Villa and Premier League on Wedneday allowed the deal to go through after the window shut. Dunne, who cost Villa a reported six million pound (6.8 million euros) becomes O’Neill’s second defensive signing after Wales international James Collins signed from West Ham for five million pounds (5.8 million euros) on Tuesday.
   ‘I think there was just a lot of pressure on a lot of people with so many deals going through, but I’m just really pleased that finally we have it all done,’ said Dunne, who could make his debut against Villa’s local rivals Birmingham on September 13.
   ‘Aston Villa have improved each season recently, and hopefully I can be part of a squad that can challenge for a Champions League spot.
   ‘With the experience they would have gained from last season - they went so close for so long at the top end and the manager has bought in some new players into the squad this year - maybe it might help us go that bit further.’

Troy Cooley will become acting coach of the Australia side for the final three games of their England tour because Tim Nielsen is returning home early to spend time with his family.
   Nielsen, in charge for Australia’s 2-1 Ashes series defeat, wrapped up at the Oval last month, will return home to Adelaide after the fourth fixture in the upcoming seven match one-day series.
   Wednesday’s announcement by Cricket Australia means Cooley, primarily a bowling coach, will take over ahead of the fifth match on September 13 before Nielsen rejoins the squad before the Champions Trophy in South Africa, which starts on September 22.
   Cooley played a key role as a member of England’s backroom staff during their 2005 Ashes series win, helping hone the skills of the ‘Fab Four’ pace quartet of Stephen Harmison, Andrew Flintoff, Matthew Hoggard and Simon Jones.
   But soon afterwards he returned home to take a similar role with Australia.
   ‘The Australian team has played back-to-back international cricket since September 2008 and looking at the busy schedule over the next 12 months, we believe it is the right time for Tim to take a break,’ said CA general manager of cricket Michael Brown in a statement.

In a bid to expand hockey in the country the Bangladesh Hockey Federation is going to introduce school hockey within a short time. School hockey has remained in the dark for a long time and the current committee of the BHF realising the need of school hockey has decided to revive the tournament.
   Khandoker Jamiluddin, general secretary of the hockey federation, was upbeat about the revival of the meet. ‘School hockey is very important for the budding players, to motivate them and to expand the game there is no alternative of school hockey, we regret that the tournament remained in the dark for a long time,’ said Jamiluddin on Wednesday.
   The general secretary said the federation is trying to find the sponsors for the hockey leagues and tournaments.

Bangladesh winger Zahidul Islam Rajon sustained a foot injury while playing in Germany and requires a surgery.
   Rajon, one of the 21 players who are currently playing for various German clubs to tune themselves up for the upcoming SA Games, injured his right foot a few days ago. He informed the hockey federation about the incident on Thursday. However, it was learnt that Rajon’s injury was not that serious and the club will bear all the expenses for the surgery.

Argentina coach Diego Maradona would give anything to be able to play in Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Brazil, he said on Tuesday.
   Argentina have been beset by injury worries before the game in Rosario, prompting Maradona to add 30-year-old midfielder Rodrigo Brana, 35-year-old striker Martin Palermo and 36-year-old defender Rolando Schiavi to his squad.
   Schiavi and Brana are both uncapped and Palermo has not been called up for nearly nine years.
   ‘Yesterday, when I met up with the players, I said that I’d give anything to be 20 years younger and be able to play myself,’ Maradona told Radio Del Plata.
   ‘But after all these problems we have to move forward. The ones who can’t play will just have to wait for the next game and the ones who can will have to be decisive on the field.’
   ‘The truth is that it’s been terrible. With each phone call from (team doctor Donato) Villani, I was praying. This one’s been hurt, that one’s pulled a muscle…..’
   Strikers Diego Milito and Lisandro Lopez, defender Nicolas Burdisso and midfielders Juan Veron, Jonas Gutierrez and Sebastian Battaglia are all doubtful for Saturday’s clash with arch-rivals Brazil in Rosario.
   Gutierrez’s injury has dashed Maradona’s plans for stopping the powerful bursts of Brazil right back Maicon.
   ‘We’ve lost the best hope we had of stopping Maicon, which was Jonas,’ said Maradona. ‘In addition to marking, he can attack from behind, which is what worries him. We don’t know which alternative to try.’
   Maradona’s team are precariously placed in fourth place in the 10-team South American qualifying group with 22 points, two ahead of fifth-placed Ecuador, and four matches each to play.
   The top four teams qualify directly for South Africa but the fifth team must playoff over two legs against the fourth-placed side from CONCACAF.
   Argentina, who last failed to qualify for the World Cup in 1970, visit Paraguay four days after the Brazil game.

Everton signed Dutch defender Johnny Heitinga from Atletico Madrid for six million pounds (6.8 million euros) just before the transfer window shut on Tuesday.
   Heitinga agreed a five-year contract with the Premier League club and the move was announced in the final hour before the 1600GMT deadline.
   The 25-year-old follows French defender Sylvain Distin to Goodison Park as Toffees boss David Moyes strengthens his back-four after Joleon Lescott’s move to Manchester City.
   Atletico could eventually receive seven million pounds (7.8 million euros) for the Holland international due to clauses in the terms of the deal.
   On a relatively low-key transfer deadline day, Tottenham swooped for Portsmouth’s Croatia midfielder Niko Kranjcar.
   Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp moved for Kranjcar, who cost a reported 2.5 million pounds (2.8 million euros), after Croatian playmaker Luka Modric suffered a broken leg, which will keep him out for six weeks, against Birmingham on Saturday.
   Aston Villa spent five million pounds (5.8 million euros) to sign Wales defender James Collins from West Ham and were hoping to sign Richard Dunne from Manchester City for six million pounds (6.8 million euros), even though the deal wasn’t confirmed by the deadline.
   Collins put pen to paper on a four-year contract and could make his debut against local rivals Birmingham on September 13.
   ‘It’s been a mad 24 hours since coming up here but I’m delighted to have it all sorted. It’s a fantastic setting. I just can’t wait to get cracking now,’ Collins said.
   ‘Aston Villa is a massive club so, after coming here looking around the place it didn’t take a lot of persuading on my part.’
   Portsmouth boss Paul Hart made a triple swoop for Watford centre-back Mike Williamson, Manchester City defender Tal Ben Haim and Benfica midfielder Hassan Yebda.
   Israel international Ben Haim agreed a four-year contract and his free transfer will be rubber-stamped once he has been given a work permit.
   The 27-year-old joins a team who are bottom of the Premier League after four successive defeats but he is determined to help them climb out of the relegation zone.
   ‘It is a big challenge because after four games we have no points but I am ready for the challenge,’ Ben Haim said.
   Hart could pair Ben Haim with Williamson, who cost three million pounds (3.8 million euros) from Championship club Watford and agreed a four-year contract.
   ‘He’s a young, hungry centre-half, a big lad who is uncompromising and does the basics first,’ Hart said of Williamson.
   Hart also landed Yebda from Portuguese club Benfica. The 25-year-old French-born Algerian has moved to Fratton Park on a season-long loan.
   David Nugent, a striker who has one England cap, left Pompey to join Burnley on a six-month loan with a view to a permanent deal.
   Elsewhere, Stoke City signed defender Danny Collins from Sunderland for 2.75 million pounds (3.1 million euros), although the fee for the 29-year-old could rise to 3.5 million pounds (3.9 million euros)
   Fulham manager Roy Hodgson brought in Swedish striker David Elm, 26, for an undisclosed fee from Kalmar on a one-year contract.
   Bolton bolstered their foward line by signing Croatia striker Ivan Klasnic, 29, on a one-year loan from French club Nantes.
   Wanderers boss Gary Megson said: ‘His goalscoring record is very good and he has an excellent pedigree at international level with Croatia and domestically in Europe.’
   Birmingham signed Finland midfielder Teemu Tainio, 29, on loan from Sunderland for the rest of the season.
   Hull boss Phil Brown increased his defensive options by landing Senegal centre-back Ibrahima Sonko, 28, on a season-long loan from Stoke.

Germany coach Joachim Low said Tuesday he expected to be shown more respect by Bundesliga coaches over who he selected in the national squad ahead of the friendly against South Africa.
   Low opted to leave out Werder Bremen’s goalkeeper Tim Weise and Bayer Leverkusen striker Stefan Kiessling for Saturday’s friendly with South Africa and next Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan in Hanover.
   Both decisions drew heavy criticism from the respective clubs concerned, but with an eye on next year’s World Cup in South Africa, Low called for more understanding and less questioning of his decisions.
   ‘We expect from the club coaches and managers that they respect our decisions, just as we respect theirs,’ said Low at a press conference in Cologne.
   ‘We carry the responsibility and the consequences of all our decisions and we know all our decisions are accountable for.’
   Low has said any players not selected for the next two games stand to be given their opportunity later in the season before next June’s World Cup in South Africa.
   Germany captain Michael Ballack sat out training on Tuesday with a groin strain, as did Werder Bremen’s Mesut Oezil who has a knee injury.
   Likewise, striker Lukas Podolski has a knee injury, but all are expected to be back in training by Thursday at the latest.
   ‘I assume they will train by Thursday at the latest without problems,’ said Low.
   Having struggled to a 2-0 win over minnows Azerbaijan in Baku last month, Low repeated his call for a raised standard against the South Africans on Saturday and the return leg against Azerbaijan in Hanover on September 9.
   ‘I was also not content with our achievements in the last few games,’ admitted Low.
   ‘We have to fine-tune our performances and work on the harmony in our play.’
   A win over Russia in the World Cup qualifier in Moscow on October 10 will guarantee Germany a berth at next year’s World Cup, but Low says it is too early to think of the game.
   But with a healthy lead at the top of Group Four over the Russians, Low knows Germany’s path to South Africa lies in their own hands.
   ‘With 19 from a 21 possible points we are on target for the World Cup qualification,’ he said.
   ‘We know that we disappointed in the last few games and didn’t play to our potential.
   ‘Against South Africa and Azerbaijan we want to dominate and exert our authority, I am sure we will do that.’

New AS Roma coach Claudio Ranieri on Wednesday vowed to ditch the club’s attractive style of play for a more results-based system.
   Ranieri was speaking at his official unveiling after replacing Luciano Spalletti, who resigned from his post on Tuesday.
   Roma, who were known for their expansive and attractive style of play under Spalletti, lost their opening two matches of the season and Ranieri insists he will focus on winning games rather than weaving pretty patterns.
   ‘Spalletti’s Roma had a sparkling style of play, my philosophy is a little different,’ said the former Juventus and Chelsea coach.
   ‘I will bring my pragmatism to the team. This team needs a jolt because it’s a team that needs to react straight away.
   ‘Maybe the players have lost a bit of conviction. Over the last four years this team did some great things playing some of the most attractive football in Europe.
   ‘As a Roman I was proud to watch them play. And I can tell you I’m going home with a great desire to do well.’
   Ranieri is a local who used to stand on the terraces to watch Roma before beginning his playing career with the club in 1973.
   Spalletti, 50, joined the club in 2005 from Udinese. His contract was due to expire in 2011.
   He initially enjoyed success at the Stadio Olimpico, taking the side to second-placed league finishes in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and back-to-back triumphs in the Italian Cup in 2007 and 2008.
   Roma also made it to the quarter-finals of the Champions League in 2007 and 2008, but they never recovered from a terrible start to last season and finished the campaign in a disappointing sixth place.
   He favoured a fluid 4-2-3-1 formation that earned many plaudits but broke down last season.
   Ranieri admitted he is not sure what system he will use but said the team most needs to tighten up at the back.
   ‘I don’t have any particular favourite (system), during my career I’ve often changed tactics,’ said the coach known as the ‘Tinkerman’ during his Chelsea days.
   ‘But one thing’s for sure, we need to concede fewer goals.’
   Roma’s backline has been breached six times in two games already this season.
   Ranieri, who was fired by Juventus two games before the end of last season after two years at the helm, said the team needs to get its confidence back.
   ‘Fifteen months ago this team were a half hour away from winning the title. Roma have only lost confidence in themselves.’

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has been charged with improper conduct by the English Football Association after his rant at the officials after his side’s defeat against Tottenham last month.
   Benitez was furious with referee Phil Dowd for failing to award two late penalties in Liverpool’s 2-1 opening weekend loss at White Hart Lane.
   Tottenham defender Bonoit Assou-Ekotto shoulder-charged Andriy Voronin and then handled Fernando Torres’s cross.
   ‘The decisions were very poor. Everyone could see the first one was a penalty. The second one was handball but we knew it would not be a penalty,’ Benitez said at the time.
   The Spanish coach also claimed fourth official Stuart Attwell was too young to be involved in a top Premier League match after he sent off Benitez’s assistant Sammy Lee for protesting about the penalty decisions.
   ‘For the fourth official, he is a young referee and maybe he has to calm down a little bit. He is too young,’ Benitez complained after the match.
   Benitez has until 15 September 2009 to respond to the FA charges.
   ‘Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has been charged with improper conduct by The FA, following comments made to the media after his side’s fixture at Tottenham Hotspur on 16 August,’ an FA statement on Tuesday confirmed.

Arsenal will study UEFA’s justification for handing Eduardo a two-match European ban for diving before deciding whether to appeal against the verdict.
   European football’s governing body opened disciplinary proceedings against the Croatia international for ‘deceiving the referee’ after he tumbled theatrically to win a penalty in last week’s Champions League play-off against Celtic.
   Despite there appearing to be no contact with Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc, referee Manuel Mejuto Gonzalez awarded the spot-kick, which Eduardo converted himself to set Arsenal on their way to a comprehensive 3-1 win and into the lucrative group stages.
   The dive caused a storm of controversy and UEFA took action against Eduardo on Tuesday. Arsenal are understood to have made a 19-page submission to UEFA ahead of the hearing, which clearly made little impact on the panel. The Gunners have three days to lodge an appeal against the suspension which, if upheld, would rule Eduardo out of the Champions League group matches away at Standard Liege on September 16 and at home to Olympiacos on September 29.
   ‘The club is disappointed with UEFA’s decision to suspend Eduardo for two Champions League matches starting with Standard Liege on September 16,’ a statement from Arsenal read.
   ‘We have been informed that we will receive a ‘reasoned decision’ from UEFA by Thursday of this week.
   ‘Once we receive UEFA’s rationale, we will make a decision on the next steps.
   ‘We have been deeply frustrated by the perfunctory and apparently arbitrary process that UEFA has followed in this instance.
   ‘We believe it is imperative that UEFA’s explanation for its decision provides clear and comprehensive standards that will be consistently enforced.
   ‘It is also critical that UEFA provides specific details of the processes it plans to adopt in reviewing all games under its jurisdiction.’

If there are two people who will never see eye-to-eye they are Pele and Diego Maradona, arguably the two greatest players to have ever graced a football field.
   The lead-up to the crucial World Cup qualifier between Argentina and Brazil has been intense, and both sets of teams have exchanged opinions over the past few weeks.
   After recent declarations made by Maradona, which included saying things like ‘I was a better player than Pele was’ and ‘Argentina have better players than Brazil’, Pele has finally attempted to put the 1986 World Cup winner in his place, right before the big match.
   ‘I’m confident in Brazil, most of all against teams who we have always been superior to, like Argentina,’ said Pele.
   ‘Beating great rivals like Argentina gives you a different feeling,’ he admitted.
   Pele continued: ‘But we already know who Maradona is...what he says isn’t worth taking into consideration.’
   Then he contradicted himself by stating that Maradona has the potential to be a good coach in the future: ‘He has everything to become a great coach, but hopefully it doesn’t start against Brazil.’
   As is in his nature, Maradona will surely respond to Pele’s declarations with harsh words of his own within the next few days.

Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack admits Liverpool’s spluttering start has given his side added belief they can win the Premier League this season.
   The Reds are expected to be major challengers for Manchester United’s title but Rafa Benitez’s team have already lost two of their opening four games.
   While Liverpool have struggled, Chelsea surged to the top of the table with four wins out of four under new coach Carlo Ancelotti.
   ‘It was a surprise that Liverpool lost twice in the first three games and it gives us extra motivation,’ Ballack said.
   ‘All we can do is win games. We have to focus on ourselves and if we play the best we can we can win the league.’
   Ballack, who has scored two goals so far this season, believes a rare close-season without any international action has left him refreshed and in peak form.
   ‘It was a good pre-season,’ he said. ‘The finish to last season with Guus Hiddink, the team looked well and played good football and that is what we have done at the beginning of this season.
   ‘The coach is always important to put a good atmosphere in the team and since Carlo Ancelotti arrived he has brought the team back together.
   ‘We are always happy when we are in first position. It is early in the season and we know there is a lot to do to keep this position, but the victories have given us a lot of confidence.’

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher insists his side’s slow start to the season won’t affect their Premier League title challenge.
   Carragher, 31, believes that hard-fought success at the Reebok Stadium typifies the team’s character. The Reds made a habit of recovering going a goal down to win last season and Carragher expects more of the same this year.
   ‘We have taken a bit of criticism and rightly so, because we haven’t made the best of starts,’ Carragher told The Sun. But no-one can ever write us off. Ourselves and Manchester United, not just in this league but probably anywhere in the world, are the best at coming back from deficits and winning games.
   ‘At Bolton, the lads showed what great character we have. It was so important to get those three points, especially with the international break coming up.’

Nearly 68,000 people have applied to become volunteers for the 2010 football World Cup in South Africa, more than four times the number needed, organisers said Tuesday.
   ‘The programme has certainly proved to be hugely popular, and we are honoured by the incredible response we have received from around the world,’ Danny Jordaan, head of the local organising committee, said in a statement.
   A total of 67,999 fans applied for volunteer jobs, topping the 48,167 applications received for the last World Cup in Germany, the statement said. Fans from 170 countries applied, mostly from South Africa, but with Nigeria, the United States, Brazil and Zimbabwe posting the largest number of hopefuls.
   Fans applied to assist in areas such as administrative support, hospitality and ushering services, information technology and telecommunications. The applications will now be interviewed to decide on who receives the 15,000 spots.

Premier League clubs’ spending on new players dropped by 10 per cent to 450 million pounds (511 million pounds) during the close-season transfer window which shut on Tuesday.
   Even Manchester City’s 120 million pounds (136 million euros) spree failed to see the top flight match the record sum of 500 million pounds (568 million euros) spent a year ago.
   Football finance experts believe the high rate of the euro and 50 per cent tax rate for the very high-earners has contributed to the drop, particularly in terms of players coming from the continent.
   Paul Rawnsley, director of Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, said the figures were no surprise - and net spending has dropped from 200 million pounds (227 million euros) to 80 million pounds (90 million euros) as clubs such as Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool resisted spending all their earnings from transfer income from Cristiano Ronaldo, Emmanuel Adebayor and Xabi Alonso.
   Rawnsley said: ‘Despite the significant spending by Manchester City, Premier League clubs’ transfer spending has dropped.
   ‘There are a number of contributory factors - the exchange rate, the tax regime in Spain being more favourable to players and clubs, and perhaps clubs thinking there is less of a risk in buying established Premier League players than from overseas.’
   Rawnsley does not expect the picture to alter next year either even if, as expected, the top flight benefits from a big rise in the value of overseas TV rights.
   He added: ‘Economic conditions may improve in 2010 and the Premier League is expected to secure enhanced values for international media rights generating higher revenue for Premier League clubs.
   ‘However, without further significant capital injections from owners, transfer spending is unlikely to exceed the record level achieved in 2008.’
   Deloitte’s analysis shows Manchester City’s spending has been around 120 million pounds (136 million euros) representing 27 per cent of the total spent, while Aston Villa, Liverpool, Sunderland and Tottenham have each spent more than 25 million pounds (28 million euros) on new players.
   Rawnsley said the necessity of the owners of Manchester United and Liverpool to make big interest payments on loans taken out to buy the club have also had an impact.
   He said: ‘Having to pay interest can have a bearing on transfer budgets but that is not necessarily why United have spent more of the Ronaldo money.
   ‘Some clubs may well have felt that thanks to the spending of Real Madrid and others such as Manchester City the transfer market has been too inflated.’

Ex-coach Jurgen Klinsmann is still a source of advice for the German team, but manager Oliver Bierhoff on Wednesday downplayed speculation ‘Klinsi’ is set for an official role at the next World Cup.
   With Germany set to face 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa in Leverkusen on Saturday, team manager Bierhoff said Klinsmann still has regular contact with the national team and head coach Joachim Low.
   Germany are top of Group Four and set to guarantee themselves a place at next summer’s World Cup if they beat Azerbaijan in Hanover on September 9 and then group-rivals Russia in Moscow on October 10.
   But while Bierhoff says Klinsmann’s opinion is still highly regarded, the team manager brushed off any speculation the former national coach could be involved again in an official capacity.
   ‘We still have very, very close links with Jurgen. We are always pleased to hear his views and use his footballing experience,’ revealed Bierhoff.
   ‘Jurgen is not tied to any club at the moment and therefore he can judge things more objectively.
   ‘Just like in previous times, he is still an important contact and someone for us to bounce ideas off.
   ‘(But any speculation) is a dead duck. We will have no official co-operation with Jurgen Klinsmann.
   ‘We don’t think there is a way of merging him with the national team or giving him a coaching role.’
   Klinsmann was head coach of the Germany team in 2006 with current trainer Joachim Low as his assistant and Bierhoff as team manager when the side finished third.
   And German Football Federation president Theo Zwanziger also put the brakes on any speculation Klinsmann could return in an official role.
   ‘The opinion of Jurgen Klinsmann was and still is important to us,’ said Zwanziger.
   ‘He showed he is able to forge and motivate a successful side and he is still highly appreciated here by the DFB.
   ‘But Joachim Low is the coach of the national side and he is the boss.
   ‘The coach of the national team does not need an advisor.’
   Klinsmann has recently moved his family back from the United States to Munich with his children set to start the new school year this month.
   The 45-year-old was sacked as Bayern Munich coach in April after a poor run of results in his first role as a domestic coach after just ten months in charge of the German giants.

Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge insisted Wednesday there is no deal with Spanish giants Real Madrid to sign French midfielder Franck Ribery for next season.
   Throughout the summer, transfer speculation constantly linked the 26-year-old Ribery to a multi-million euros switch to Real and, as the transfer window closed on Monday, Rummenigge says no agreement is in place for the future.
   ‘We do not have an agreement to sell Franck for next season to Real Madrid - that is a fact,’ Rummenigge told the Munich newspaper AZ despite claims in the German media a deal has been arranged for next summer.
   Relations became strained between the two European super clubs during the summer while the Ribery saga rumbled on, but Rummenigge insists the signing of Arjen Robben from Real last week improved relations between the sides.
   ‘Real were very helpful and supported us a lot. Our relationship is once again very relaxed and friendly,’ Rummenigge said.
   Ribery came off the bench last Saturday to set up Robben for both of his second-half goals, but relations between him and Bayern are becoming increasingly strained.
   On Tuesday, Ribery said he has yet to forge any kind of personal relationship with Bayern Munich coach Louis van Gaal, who took over in July.
   Ribery said he much preferred former Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld and has made no secret of his desire to leave the German giants.
   ‘It’s the first time that I haven’t really felt close to a coach. There’s not much feeling between us at all,’ Ribery told L’Equipe.
   He added in France football: ‘Our relationship is professional. It was totally different with Ottmar Hitzfeld, for example. He was a real joy to work with and the best coach I’ve known at Bayern.’
   Hitzfeld departed Bayern in May 2008 after helping the Bavarian side to the league and Cup double, but his replacement Jurgen Klinsmann was sacked after just ten months in charge following some poor results.
   Van Gaal arrived in July and picked up his first league win in charge when defending champions Wolfsburg were routed 3-0 on Saturday a match in which Ribery made his first significant contribution of the new season.

English Football Association chiefs confirmed on Wednesday that energy company E.ON will not renew its FA Cup sponsorship deal at the end of this season.
   E.ON’s four-year deal was believed to be worth 32 million pounds (51 million euros) to the FA and a search will now begin for a new sponsor for the tournament.
   An FA spokesman said: ‘The FA can confirm that E.ON’s sponsorship of the FA Cup will come to a close at the end of the current 2009-10 season.
   ‘The FA would like to thank E.ON for its investment into and support of the competition to date. We now look forward to taking the FA Cup sponsorship opportunity to the open market for the 2010-14 period.’
   FA chiefs are confident that the market value of the competition remains high and that they will attract an equal or bigger deal for the next four-year cycle.
   But they have still to agree a deal for the TV rights for the FA Cup made available by the collapse of Setanta which has left the organisation facing a 70 million pounds (113 million euros) shortfall.

Real Madrid midfielder has admitted he planned to quit Liverpool from the moment Anfield boss Rafa Benitez tried to sell him last year.
   Benitez had wanted to off-load Alonso to Juventus in July 2008 to raise money to sign Gareth Barry from Aston Villa.
   Alonso was disappointed to hear that Benitez was willing to let him go and resolved to leave when the right opportunity arose.
   That finally happened when he joined Real for 30 million pounds (38 million euros) in August after revealing to Benitez that he wanted to leave the Premier League club.
   ‘It was a very difficult decision for me to make,’ he told Sky Sports News. ‘After five years I have experienced wonderful nights at Anfield, to have experienced the support of probably the best fans in the world.
   ‘That’s why I have always been very grateful and I will always have them in my mind and it has been a pleasure.
   ‘Last year the club proposed me that I might have to be sold to find funds for new players.
   ‘It was a difficult decision or difficult moment to accept that. I accepted that as a professional and that moment probably changed my mind and I thought that maybe from that moment that maybe it was time for a change.’
   Alonso has since admitted that his relationship with Benitez deteriorated when he demanded to leave but the Spanish international reveals that their relationship was always a professional one.
   ‘There has been a lot of rumours but I have always said that it has been simply a professional relationship,’ he said.
   ‘I have always tried to do what he asked to do. What he asked of me on the pitch to do the talking on the pitch and that’s that as far as that.’

Chelsea defender Ashley Cole signed a new four-year contract with the Premier League club on Wednesday.
   Cole is the second Chelsea star to commit his future to Carlo Ancelotti’s team recently after captain John Terry put pen to paper on an improved five-year deal on Monday.
   England star Cole joined the Blues in a controversial move from London rivals Arsenal in 2006 and remains arguably the best full-back in the Premier League.
   He has won the FA Cup twice and the League Cup once with Chelsea, as well as reaching the 2008 Champions League final.
   ‘Chelsea FC is delighted to confirm that Ashley Cole has signed a new four-year contract,’ a statement on Chelsea’s website confirmed.

Soviet Union star of the 70s and 80s Oleg Blokhin is set to receive a prestigious award in recognition of his glittering career.
   Blokhin was the star man for Dynamo Kiev and the Soviet Union during the 70s and 80s Blokhin will leave his footprint on the Champions Promenade on October 12 in Monte Carlo during an awards ceremony which will also determine this year’s Golden Foot winner.
   The Golden Foot is awarded to players who, over their career, have gained the esteem of the public and football experts. Voted by a jury of football experts, the award is only given to players at least 29 years old and this year’s ten nominees are David Beckham, Gianluigi Buffon, Luis Figo, Steven Gerrard, Ryan Giggs, Thierry Henry, Raul, Ronaldinho, Francesco Totti and David Trezeguet.
   Ukraine-born Blokhin starred for Dynamo Kiev during the Soviet era and was perhaps the USSR’s greatest outfield player. Kiev won two European Cup Winners’ Cups in 1975 and 1986 and Blokhin was awarded the European Footballer of the Year award in 1975. He won a record 112 matches for USSR, scoring a similarly record 42 goals. Blokhin coached Ukraine to the last eight of the 2006 World Cup finals.