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Three Pakistan cricketers accused of involvement in an illegal betting scam maintained their innocence Thursday after withdrawing from their team’s scandal-tainted tour of England.
   Test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif vowed to clear their names in a meeting in London with Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt and Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan’s ambassador to Britain.
   Speaking after meeting the players at his London office, Hasan said in a statement the players had insisted they were innocent of wrongdoing but were pulling out of the tour because of the ‘mental torture’ of the scandal.
   ‘The three players have said that they are extremely disturbed by what has happened in the past week, especially in regard of their alleged involvement in the crime,’ Hasan told reporters.
   ‘They mentioned that they are entirely innocent in the whole episode and shall defend their innocence as such.
   ‘They maintain that on account of the mental torture which has deeply affected them, they are not in the right frame of mind to play the remaining matches,’ Hasan said. ‘Therefore, they have requested that the Pakistan Cricket Board not consider them for the remaining matches.’
   Asked later if he believed the trio were innocent, Hasan replied: ‘Yes, I believe in their innocence.’
   He also denied suggestions the players were ‘running away’ from the crisis by withdrawing from the tour.
   ‘They are innocent. They are defending their innocence. They are not running away,’ he said.
   Butt, Aamer and Asif were all named in a News of the World report which alleged they were involved in a ‘spot-fixing’ scam by bowling deliberate no-balls in last week’s Test match with England in exchange for cash.
   The revelations have shocked the cricket world and led to calls from figures within the game that the players involved should be banned for life.
   Pakistan officials had earlier confirmed the trio would play no further part in the tour—two upcoming Twenty20 games and five one-day internationals against England.
   Manager Yawar Saaed added he could not comment about the players’ state of mind, saying: ‘I cannot answer anything on their behalf because investigations are being made by Scotland Yard and the ICC (International Cricket Council) and others. The game must go on, cricket will be played at its best.’
   Butt, Asif and Aamer were quizzed by police during the Lord’s Test and had their mobile phones confiscated as detectives tried to unravel claims the Pakistanis bowled no-balls to order as part of a betting scam.
   London-based businessman Mazhar Majeed was arrested but released without charge on police bail following questioning.
   Meanwhile Australian Test legend Shane Warne added his voice to the chorus of condemnation, saying authorities should choose the ultimate punishment if the three players were found guilty.
   ‘If it is true and they have been found (guilty of) match-fixing and throwing games and spot-betting with the no-balls and stuff, if that’s the case they should be thrown out,’ Warne told reporters.
   ‘It’s as simple as that. I don’t think there should be any other way to do it. If it’s fixed by players, they should be banned for life. Anyone who’s involved should be thrown out.’
   Former England cricket coach Duncan Fletcher also adopted a hard line, writing in The Guardian newspaper that life bans were the only way to send a clear message to players who compromised the integrity of the sport.
   ‘Treating cricket with disrespect is not a frivolous matter,’ Fletcher wrote. ‘There must be no distinction between a player found guilty of rigging an entire match and a player found guilty of deliberately bowling a no ball.
   ‘We must be ruthless and put the fear of God into people. Even the smallest transgression must mean that a career is over.’

The decision to drop three players accused of spot-fixing from Pakistan’s tour of England received a mixed reaction from cricketing personalities at home Thursday.
   Former Pakistan Cricket Board chief executive Arif Abassi hailed the decision to drop the three, after a British tabloid newspaper alleged they had deliberately no-balled at prearranged times during a match last week.
   ‘The players were not in the right state of mind and since they are under trial they should not play,’ Abbasi told AFP, adding that the investigation should be speeded up to give the team a quick resolution to the matter.
   Pakistan cricket team manager Yawar Saeed has announced that the three players – Test captain Salman Butt and pacemen Mohammad Amer and Mohammad Asif – will not be part of the squad for the tour’s remaining matches.
   The players will not be suspended, but will not play in the remaining two Twenty20 and five one-day international matches, after they were named in the newspaper’s report on alleged match-fixing.
   Former Pakistan captain Asif Iqbal agreed with Abbasi, and said the Pakistan squad had to cooperate with the English investigating authorities.
   ‘I don’t know whether this decision has been taken under pressure, but it’s true that the players would not have felt good about this investigation,’ said Iqbal.
   However, former PCB chairman Tauqir Zia said: ‘I think the PCB should have waited for the police inquiry to be completed.’
   Former spinner Tauseef Ahmed said that by not playing, the cricketers could be seen to be admitting their guilt.
   ‘Allegations are allegations until they are proven,’ said Ahmed. ‘I feel that they should have waited for the inquiry to be completed.’

Opening batsman Phillip Hughes has returned from a dislocated shoulder while wicketkeeper Brad Haddin remains unavailable for Australia after selectors confirmed their Test squad for two matches in India next month.
   Hughes dislocated his shoulder while boxing in a training session and had surgery in May. Haddin has had an elbow tendon injury and been out of action since the World Twenty20.
   Tim Paine, who replaced Haddin for Australia’s matches against Pakistan in England, has been retained in the side.
   ‘Brad Haddin is making good progress with rehabilitation of his elbow tendon injury,’ Australian team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said in a statement.
   ‘He is due to commence restricted batting in the next few weeks but will not be available to play in the Test component.
   ‘He is on track to be available for club cricket and for New South Wales with the possibility of being available for selection in the India or Sri Lanka one-day international series.’
   Fast bowlers Peter George and Josh Hazelwood were both included for the series, with first Test in Mohali on Oct. 1-5, while the second Test in Bangalore is from October 9-13.
   ‘India is ranked number one in Test cricket and there is no harder assignment in Test cricket at the moment than playing India on their home soil,’ national selection panel chairman Andrew Hilditch said.
   Hilditch said the 15-man squad reflected their satisfaction with the progress of the team over the past year.
   ‘The Australian team had a very successful home summer last year and an away series win against New Zealand,’ he added.
   ‘While it was disappointing to draw the series in England against Pakistan, the squad reflects the good performances of the team over the last 12 months as we continue to prepare for the Ashes.’
   Squad: Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Clarke, Doug Bollinger, Peter George, Nathan Hauritz, Josh Hazlewood, Ben Hilfenhaus, Phillip Hughes, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Simon Katich, Marcus North, Tim Paine, Steven Smith, Shane Watson.

Pakistan’s kit suppliers, BoomBoom, have suspended their relationship with Mohammad Aamer and could also choose to sever ties with the team entirely in the wake of the matchfixing allegations that surfaced in the News of the World last week.
   BoomBoom are less than halfway through a two-year deal as the official kit supplier to Pakistan cricket, while Aamer is one of the highest-profile members of the squad to hold an individual deal. However, a statement from the managing director of the company put the relationship in jeopardy.
   ‘Like everyone else in the cricket world, we are truly saddened and shocked by these allegations,’ said the managing director, Ali Ehsan. ‘I sincerely hope they are not true. However, we are huge cricket lovers: pure and simple. We believe in, and encourage players to have, the freedom to play, fairly.’
   The company were keen to stress that their decision was not intended as a prejudicial judgment on the guilt, or otherwise, of Aamer, whose image has yet to be removed from the company website, where he appears alongside one-day captain Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam and Abdul Razzaq.
   ‘We cannot allow our brand to be associated with any whiff of corruption or suspicion of foul play. While the suspension of our commercial involvement with Mohammad Aamer is not a step we take lightly, we nevertheless feel that it is the right thing to do while a judicial process unfolds and innocence or guilt is established.
   ‘BoomBoom is also reviewing its position as official kit supplier to the Pakistan Cricket Board.’

Andy Murray sent an ominous warning to Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal about his intentions to win the US Open when he cruised through his first match at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday after Victoria Azarenka sent a shiver through the tennis world when she fainted on court.
   Kim Clijsters and Venus Williams, both two-time champions, also dazzled their opponents and the packed Arthur Ashe Stadium crowds but it was an early morning tumble on one of the outside courts that sent pulses racing at the year’s last grand slam.
   Azarenka, in a black dress and playing when temperatures were at their hottest, was rushed to hospital after collapsing in a heap at the baseline during her second round match against Argentina’s Gisela Dulko.
   The Belarussian had succumbed to scorching heat at last year’s Australian Open and there were fears she had been a victim of the extreme temperatures that had forced US Open organisers to invoke their rarely used Extreme Weather Policy.
   She later revealed that she had been diagnosed with a mild concussion and her frightening crumble was a delayed reaction to a fall suffered earlier in the gym while warming up.
   ‘I was checked by the medical team before I went on court and they were courtside for monitoring,’ she said.
   ‘I felt worse as the match went on, having a headache and feeling dizzy. I also started having trouble seeing and felt weak before I fell.’
   Murray showed why he is regarded as a serious contender to capture the men’s title as he crushed Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko 6-3 6-2 6-2.
   The perennial hope of British tennis, Murray succeeded in escaping the worst of the roasting heat by racing to victory in under two hours.
   ‘I managed to get through in straight sets so I’m pleased, but it was a lot tougher than the score suggests,’ the fourth-seeded Scotsman said.
   ‘Everyone in my (supporters) box always tells me it’s a lot tougher watching in the heat than playing but I’m not so sure. It was brutal conditions.’
   Although the weather was slightly cooler than the previous day, it was still hot enough to leave players drenched in sweat and calling for ice packs to drape around their necks at the change of ends.
   New York’s hottest summer in decades has spilt on to the courts at Flushing Meadows and contributed to a high dropout rate among the seeds.
   Another seven seeds made early exits on Day Three, giving the main contenders with extra incentive to kill of their opponents quickly.
   Clijsters, who charmed the crowds last year with her infant daughter watching from the stands, showed no mercy in her match against Australian teenage qualifier Sally Peers, who grew up with a photo of the Belgian on her bedroom wall.
   ‘I’m just trying every match to grow so I’m ready when the opponents get tougher,’ Clijsters said after thumping her inexperienced opponent 6-2 6-1 in less than an hour.
   Williams had no room for sentiment either as she romped to a comfortable 7-6 6-3 victory over Canada’s Rebecca Marino, who gave the third seed a brief scare in the opening set before succumbing to the American’s power.
   Williams is only playing singles this year after her sister and regular doubles partner Serena pulled out with an injury and said she was loving the lighter workload.
   ‘So far I feel good. I made a quick turnaround this summer to try to get ready for the Open,’ she said.
   ‘I’m glad that I’m just in the singles. That way I have the opportunity to recover between rounds and to get ready to play the next one.’
   Italy’s French Open champion Francesca Schiavone and Australia’s Samantha Stosur, the woman she beat in the Paris final, both advanced to the third round in straight sets while the most notable casualty was the men’s Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych.
   The Czech stumbled at the first hurdle, outclassed 7-6 6-4 6-4 by France’s Michael Llodra, who is better known as a doubles specialist.
   ‘I don’t know whether I played well or not today,’ Berdych said. ‘I need to sit down with my coach who saw the match from the stands.’

Rabeed Imam, the media manager of Bangladesh Cricket Board, will work for International Cricket Council until the World Cup 2011, officials said on Thursday.
   Rabeed will return to the BCB for his normal duties after the World Cup, Jalal Yunus, chairman of BCB media committee, told reporters.
   ‘He will be on deputation to the ICC for six months. We already gave him clearance and hopefully he will start working soon,’ said Yunus.
   Rabeed added that ICC communications manager Collin Gibson wanted to know if he was available for the job after they took the consent from the BCB.
   ‘It’s a great honour. I am really looking forward to working with the ICC,’ said Rabeed.
   Rabeed had resigned from BCB on April 22, but officials said his resignation was not accepted.

Bangladesh Football Federation is eagerly waiting for a reply from Croatian coach Robert Rubcic about his arrival in Dhaka.
   The one-year contract with Rubicic has taken effect from Wednesday but the new coach has yet to finalise his arrival date. Rubcic will fly in from Croatia and the BFF is still searching for an easy route to Dhaka.
   The federation has chalked up an extensive work plan for the new coach which shows Rubcic will enjoy only one month’s vacation during the currency of his contract.
   Rubcic’s first assignment will be to guide the U-23 squad in the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, in November. After that he will focus on the pre-Olympic qualifiers and the AFC Challenge Cup. He will also be in charge of preparing the national team for different invitational tournaments.
   Meanwhile, the Asian Football Confederation revealed the rules and regulations for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup with Bangladesh getting a direct entry into the 16-team finals. Bangladesh got the opportunity because of reaching the quarter-finals in the last edition of the AFC Challenge Cup.
   The governing body of Asian football this time invited 22 teams and the lowest-ranked sides have to participate in play-offs to qualify for the 16-team finals.

The Common-wealth Games are often known as the ‘friendly games’ but New Delhi has little to smile about one month before the opening ceremony.
   The city has undertaken huge infrastructure improvements ahead of the October 3 opening, ranging from building new metro lines and flyovers to renovating whole urban districts.
   But with time ticking away, many of the civic projects are far from finished, and fears are growing that the sports venues will not be up to international competition standards.
   The Commonwealth Games Federation has repeatedly warned organisers that ongoing work at stadiums has delayed the installation of electronic equipment essential for the smooth running of events.
   Barefoot migrant workers toil at new metro stations and at rubble-strewn venues across the city, struggling to make progress as unusually heavy monsoon rains have hit in recent weeks.
   Poor ticket sales, a lack of sponsors, security fears, corruption scandals and a major outbreak of dengue fever have also filled India’s newspapers with tales of woe.
   The organising committee and the government are putting on a brave face, but hopes have faded that Delhi would bathe in the same type of positive light that Beijing enjoyed during the Olympic Games in 2008.
   On Wednesday, a Times of India poll reported that 76 percent of Delhi residents felt the estimated three-billion-dollar cost of the Games was unjustified, and 50 percent said preparations had severely disrupted their lives.
   ‘It would be an understatement to describe the situation as alarming. It is calamitous,’ the Telegraph newspaper quoted an unnamed senior official as saying.
   Many of the delays have been blamed on crooked construction deals, while safety certificates for new buildings were also alleged to have been faked.
   Best-selling author Chetan Bhagat, writing recently in the Times, urged the public to boycott the Games to protest against the ‘most blatant exercise in corruption in independent India’s history’.
   ‘Cheering for the loot fest would be a mistake,’ he said.
   New Delhi’s chief minister Sheila Dikshit reflected widespread official anxiety over the task ahead when she said at the weekend that ‘I can only pray and request the whole city and the country to pray.’
   Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inspected the main stadium on Sunday and called on organisers ‘to redouble their efforts’ to be ready on time.
   The list of top-quality athletes withdrawing from the Games has grown, though few have directly blamed Delhi’s troubled preparations.
   Sprint champions Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell, tennis stars Lleyton Hewitt and Samantha Stosur, swimmer Stephanie Rice and cyclist Chris Hoy will all be missing—robbing the event of much international attention. Australian former Olympic champion Dawn Fraser reflected nervousness among some foreigners when she voiced concerns the event could be hit by an attack similar to the massacre of athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972.
   Police and paramilitary troops are expected to keep a tight rein on spectators, and may even ban people from carrying mobile phones and coins.
   On Wednesday, Home Minister P. Chidambaram met with top officials and said the security plan would again be reviewed on September 15.
   Spirit among the home nation is unlikely to be lifted by a major haul of gold medals when the Games begin.
   One top Indian prospect, shooter Rajyavardhan Rathore, who won an Olympic silver at Athens in 2004, has declined to take part due to what he said were unfair national selection policies.
   However, the immovable deadline of October 3 has slowly started to show some benefits for the city’s long-suffering residents.
   An impressive new airport terminal opened weeks ago, and trains from the airport into the city centre should start running this week.

Low temperatures and high winds did nothing to stop the flow of 22 goals in three matches in Pool A of the women’s field hockey World Cup here Wednesday.
   Australia beat India 6-3, Netherlands gave New Zealand a 7-3 hockey lesson and Germany beat Japan 2-1.
   Australia coach Frank Murray agreed Australia put in a poor performance against India
   ‘We realise we are not playing well enough in this tournament but I am happy we have the win today,’ Murray said.
   Madonna Blyth put Australia on the board first and India’s fifteen year old Rani Rampal scored India’s first equaliser.
   Ashleigh Nelson scrambled in a rebound of a penalty corner to give Australia a 2-1 lead a minute before the break.
   Ritu Rani was on the end of a long pass into the circle to make a deflection for India’s second equaliser at 2-2 early in the second half.
   Australia took the game away from India at 5-2 with three goals in six minutes by Casey Eastham, a penalty corner to Nicole Arrold and Nelson’s second goal.
   Rampal drove in her second goal for India and Shelley Liddelow slapped in Australia’s sixth goal in the last 10 minutes.
   Murray praised his team’s reaction when Aussie skipper Madonna Blyth was injured.
   Krystal Forgesson celebrated her 100th cap by scoring in the second minute and went on to score all three New Zealand goals.
   Ellen Hoog scored for the Dutch within the minute and Kim Lammers put Netherlands ahead 2-1 in the middle of the first half.
   Kiwi pride kept Netherlands at bay until after the break when Netherlands scored three goals in the first four minutes of the second half with Katie Glynn under suspension for New Zealand.
   Goals by Marilyn Agliotti, Maartje Paumen’s penalty corner conversion and Michelle van der
   Pols sank New Zealand to 5-1.
   Janneke Schopman
   and Ellen Hoog added to New Zealand’s troubles at 7-1.
   Forgesson clawed back two late goals for the Blacksticks - a field goal deflection of Charlotte Harrison’s cross and a penalty stroke in the last seconds of play.
   New Zealand coach Mark Hager conceded New Zealand had been taught hockey lessons by the Dutch.
   Germany gained their second win in a tough match against Japan.
   Germany defended tenaciously in the scoreless first half as Japan took the match to them.
   Ai Murakami’s penalty corner conversion for Japan had Germany playing catch-up, achieved by stepping up in the midfield to give their strikers more chances.
   Maike Stoeckel’s reverse flick from an acute angle made the equaliser and Natascha Keller made a scorching drive under pressure for the 2-1 winner.
   Germany coach Michael Behrmann described an intensive game.

The Pakistan spot-fixing scandal has once again shone the spotlight on illegal betting in the sub-continent and reopened the debate on the legalisation of gambling in India.
   Since the Australian duo of Shane Warne and Mark Waugh admitted in 1998 to passing information to an Indian bookmaker during a 1994 tournament, cricket has seldom had a financial scandal without an Indian connection.
   The laTest spot-fixing scandal, in which Pakistan bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir are alleged to have bowled three deliberate no-balls by arrangement, continued the trend.
   Arrested by British police on suspicion of defrauding bookmakers, Mazhar Majeed claimed he dealt with an Indian party. Two Australian cricketers also said they were approached by an Indian bookie in England last year.
   Lawyer Rahul Mehra, who has fought numerous legal battles against cricket and other sports bodies in India seeking transparency in their functions, is not surprised.
   ‘The Indians bet on the weather, crops and even smaller and trivial things. Cricket is a religion here and India is the financial hub. So it’s hardly a surprise that an India-Pakistan ODI draws bets worth $20 million,’ Mehra told Reuters.
   ‘The only thing is that here betting is not legal which is why there is little government control over the industry.’
   Legal gambling in India is confined to horse-racing while casinos are allowed only in a couple of states.
   Illegal syndicates are thriving, however, and Indian media estimates put the amount bet on last year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) at $427 million.
   A Delhi trial court judge on Tuesday said gambling on cricket should be legalised to prevent the spoils being spent on criminal activity and to generate revenue for the government.
   Former India cricket chief Inderjit Bindra has long been a supporter of legalisation for similar reasons and to help the fight against match-fixing.
   ‘If betting is legalised, it will be in the interest of the government as not only will it eliminate match-fixing but also earn states revenue in crores (tens of millions),’ Bindra, now an adviser at the International Cricket Council , said two years ago. ‘My personal view is that if you want anything to be regulated, it has to be legalised.’
   The cost to the image of cricket from the involvement of Indian bookmakers in the manipulation of results has been huge.
   The game suffered arguably its biggest crisis since the Bodyline series of the 1930s when Delhi Police released the transcript of former South African captain Hansie Cronje’s conversation with an Indian bookie in 2000.
   Subsequently, three international captains—Cronje, Salim Malik of Pakistan and India’s Mohammad Azharuddin—received life bans, while a host of players were fined.
   In the same year, Sri Lankan cricketers revealed being approached by Indian bookies during their 1992 tour of Australia, suggesting the rot had started much earlier than thought.
   In 2004, former New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming said he had been approached by an Indian sports promoter, while in 2008 West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels was banned for two years for passing information to an Indian bookie.
   Columnist Ashok Malik, who comments on politics and the business of sport, does not subscribe to the view that legalising betting would end the problem.
   ‘People should not confuse illegal betting with spot-fixing. Spot-fixing is as much a possibility even in a legalised betting industry,’ he said.
   ‘It’s not legality, the problem starts when bookies try to get prior knowledge of events and are ready to share their profit with the cricketers to fix incidents.’
   ‘Having a legalised betting industry is not the solution. It’s like owning a hotel fulfilling all the legal criteria and then running a prostitution racket there.’
   Malik does, however, believe that gambling on the nation’s favourite sport should be legalised.
   ‘When lotteries and gambling on horse racing is legal, it is ridiculous not to legalise cricket betting.’
   Mehra believes the Indian government should set up a commission to regulate the industry.
   ‘Legalising betting is important, for this is no secret that everyone, including businessmen and corporate houses, wants to bet on cricket,’ he said.
   ‘Besides, legalising it would give the government some control over the industry. They should think about setting up something like a Betting Commission or Gambling Commission.
   ‘Bookies would have to register themselves and everything should be bound by rules and regulation. Whenever you see anything fishy in the odds, you can track down the culprits.
   ‘It would help not only the players, but also the bookies, spectators, government and the game as well.’

The basketball world championships created more questions than they answered on Wednesday with three of the four groups going down to the wire.
   In group A Serbia began the day by beating Australia 94-79 and guaranteed advancement along with Argentina, leaving Australia, Angola and Germany fighting it out for the remaining two spots.
   Next up were Germany and Angola, with Angola needing to win to remain in contention. They did just that, holding off the Germans 92-88 in overtime on the back of 30 points from Olimpio Cipriano.
   Argentina completed group A action beating Jordan 88-77. Jordan surprised the Argentineans who needed a 30 point haul from Luis Scola to get them up over the spirited Jordanians.
   One team that already knows it is going home is Tunisia, who were convincingly beaten 84-64 by Croatia in the opening game of group B.
   Next up in Group B were the USA who had no problems maintaining their unbeaten run with an 88-51 rout over Iran.
   Slovenia guaranteed their spot in the second round alongside the USA, beating Brazil 80-77.
   Brazil, Croatia and Iran are now left decide the remaining two spots. Iran must beat Slovenia to have any chance of going through ahead of the loser from the Brazil-Croatia game.
   Following an 89-80 loss to Russia China now face the very real threat of not advancing from group C.
   They need to pull of an unlikely victory over hosts Turkey or have the Ivory Coast pull of an upset over Puerto Rico to continue their campaign.
   It is unlikely for the second scenario to play out with the Ivory Coast suffering another heavy loss on Wednesday, this time to Greece 60-97.
   Turkey did however show some kinks in their armor, giving the Chinese some hope with Angel Vassallo (19 points) nearly getting his Puerto Rican side up to beat the Turks, who were lucky to hold on to win 79-77.

Australian all-rounder Shane Watson said on Thursday he was ‘blown away’ by the dramatic axing of star England batsman Kevin Pietersen.
   Pietersen was dropped from the five one-day internationals and two Twenty20 matches on Wednesday after a poor run for England.
   The batsman responded to the news by posting a message on micro-blogging internet site Twitter which said: ‘Done for rest of summer!! Man of the World Cup T20 and dropped from the T20 side too.’ He ended his message with a four-letter expletive.
   Watson said it did not make sense for England’s selectors to drop one of the world’s most exciting batsmen, despite his lean trot.
   Pietersen was named man of the series when England won the World Twenty20 in May, but now is not considered good enough to be in their Twenty20 or one-day sides for the coming series against Pakistan.
   ‘There has to be
   other reasons, it can’t
   just be for them saying it’s performance. It can’t
   just be that,’ Watson told The Sydney Morning Herald.
   ‘You don’t perform the way he did, and what everyone knows he can do.
   ‘I think there must be other issues behind this, not just for not performing that well.
   ‘I’m absolutely blown away that they dropped him. It’s a bit outrageous really, for someone of his quality and the things he’s done, to win them the World Twenty20 and then they go, ‘You’re out.’
   ‘There has to be underlying issues that might come to the surface on his Twitter page.’
   Watson said he had no doubt Pietersen would be a part of the England side that plays in Australia for the Ashes here later this year, but saw the mischievous side of apparent problems within the England camp.
   ‘It’s good isn’t it? You need as much ammo as you can get because I’m sure they’ll try to use as much ammunition as they can get about us,’ Watson said.

Triple Olympic gold medallist swimmer Libby Trickett has come out of retirement for a crack at the 2012 London Games, but Australia’s head coach questioned Thursday whether she could recapture her best form.
   Trickett, 25, announced her comeback late Wednesday and said she wanted to be eligible in time under international drug-testing protocols to represent her country again at next year’s world championships in Shanghai.
   The former 50m and 100m freestyle world record holder retired last December, citing a desire to move on to the next stage of her life.
   But Trickett said she started to realise in recent months that she still felt the need to compete and she had already resumed light training with her coach Grant Stoelwinder.
   ‘I think it really solidified it at Pan Pacs (Pan Pacific event in California last month) seeing the guys race,’ Trickett said on television.

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli admitted there’s an atmosphere of apprehension surrounding the national team ahead of today’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Estonia in Tallinn.
   Italy are trying to rebuild and regroup following their disastrous World Cup defence in South Africa, in which they failed to win a game and were bundled out of the group stages following a 3-2 defeat to minnows Slovakia.
   Since then there have been changes afoot with Prandelli replacing Marcello Lippi and many of the old guard pushed out and replaced by younger but less experienced players.
   But Italy have not won a game in this calendar year and failure to beat Estonia would mean equalling their worst ever run of eight games without a win.
   Prandelli admitted that this has produced nerves amongst his group.
   ‘Of course everyone’s feeling fragile because there’s an atmosphere of uncertainty and worry, so it’s natural to feel fragile,’ he said.
   ‘Some of these players only started their journey with the national team five days ago so it’s natural to be nervous.
   ‘But there’s also another aspect which is letting them know that they’re doing something important and they’re the protagonists.
   ‘That’s part of the work we do, it’s not just on the pitch but we also work on their psychology.’
   On paper this should be an easy game against a team that is only just ranked inside the world’s top 100.
   But Prandelli stressed that they need to be taken seriously and that you cannot go into a game believing it will be easy.
   ‘It depends on how we play and what attitude we show, if we lose these games (Friday’s and Tuesday’s at home to Faroe Islands) I wouldn’t say it’s a disaster but it is what it is,’ he said.
   ‘We always have respect for our opponents, it’s not just that everyone says every game is hard, they really are.
   ‘It depends on what happens, after a match you can maybe say it was an easy game but when preparing for a match, definitely not.
   ‘It’s a qualification game on a small pitch, they’re a good team, we’ve had a look at them, they’ve got some good players.
   ‘The potential pitfalls are related to what attitude we show. We’re all curious, we can’t wait to get started.
   ‘I’ve asked the lads to grow together as a team and their attitude has been exceptional.’
   Prandelli has already selected his entire outfield team and is only undecided on his goalkeeper.
   Giampaolo Pazzini will play up front, flanked by Antonio Cassano on the left and Simone Pepe on the right.
   Captain Andrea Pirlo will be joined by Daniele De Rossi and Riccardo Montolivo in a three-man midfield.
   At the back Leonardo Bonucci will partner Giorgio Chiellini in the middle with Cristian Molinaro and Mattia Cassani operating as full-backs.
   In goal it is a toss up between Palermo’s Salvatore Sirigu, who made his debut under Prandelli in last month’s 1-0 friendly defeat to Ivory Coast in London, and uncapped Bologna stopper Emiliano Viviano.
   Whatever his team, Prandelli believes one of the most important elements to Italy’s success is getting the best out of Cassano.
   And the former Fiorentina boss believes he has the key to that.

Germany face Belgium today with coach Joachim Low expecting three points from their opening Euro 2012 qualifier as the Germans look to build on the momentum from the World Cup.
   Low’s young squad finished third in South Africa and having finished as runners-up at Euro 2008, when they lost in the final to Spain, they are favourites to win Group A in qualification.
   Germany are without captain Michael Ballack, who has been dropped for the Brussels game and next Tuesday’s qualifier against Kazakhstan in Cologne, as he works his way back from the ankle injury which kept him out of the World Cup.
   Philipp Lahm will captain the side in Ballack’s absence, but the team will be close to full strength at the Roi Baudouin stadium, the only exceptions being injured defenders Arne Friedrich, Jerome Boateng and Dennis Aogo.
   Low says while his side earned plenty of praise for their World Cup performances, it is now time to put the experience gained in South Africa to good use.
   ‘As nice as the praise for our performances at the World Cup was a new chapter with interesting challenges is beginning,’ said Low.
   ‘Our goal must be to take six points from our first two games.’
   Germany are currently ranked fourth in the world, while Belgium are ranked 48th, behind Burkina Faso and Venezuela, and history is against the Belgians.
   No fewer than 14 matches have passed since Belgium’s last win against a side representing Germany when they beat the former Federal Republic of Germany 2-0 in a friendly in Brussels in September 1954.
   Under new coach Georges Leekens, who took over in May, Low expects Belgium to give Germany a hard game at home.
   Defensive midfielder Timmy Simons will be making his first appearance in a Belgium shirt for a year as Leekens looks to toughen up his side’s midfield.
   ‘He is a young warrior, the type that does everything he can to succeed,’ said Leekens of the 74-time capped, 33-year-old Nuremberg midfielder.
   ‘I brought him back to bring some balance to the team.’
   Germany’s all-star attack boasts names like Real Madrid’s Mesut Ozil, Bayern Munich’s Thomas Mueller and Bastian Schweinsteiger.
   Bayern Munich centre-back Daniel van Buyten will be in the heart of the Belgian defence come Friday and admits his side will have their work cut out.
   ‘We have a very talented young squad and really want to finally make it to a big tournament, to do this we need a good start,’ said the defender.
   ‘Against Germany, it will be very tough, they are really strong.’
   Leekens’s squad is under pressure to pick up points against Germany, but have several talented youngsters in their squad.
   Teenage striker Romelu Lukaku, who is 17-year-old, has been chased by many top European clubs and Eden Hazard, 19, from French side Lille is also considered an exceptional talent.
   Brugge striker Jelle Vossen is a talented forward while Fulham’s Moussa Dembele and Everton’s Marouane Fellaini bring some Premier League experience to the squad and will be led by Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen.
   Belgium finished fourth at the 2008 Olympics, to give the country some hope, but Simons is aware of the challenge ahead.
   ‘They will punish our mistakes hard, so it is important that we concentrate very hard, but I don’t think victory is impossible for us,’ he said.

Laurent Blanc’s plans to use France’s opening Euro 2012 qualifier at home to Belarus today as a launch-pad for the rebirth of the national side have been hit by bans and injuries to key players.
   The new coach is hoping to banish memories of France’s abject World Cup campaign with some rousing attacking performances in the qualifiers, but his hands have been tied by punishments meted out to the supposed ringleaders of the training boycott in South Africa.
   The French Football Federation banned Jeremy Toulalan, Franck Ribery and Patrice Evra for one, three and five matches respectively, leaving Blanc bereft of likely first-team stalwarts for his first competitive games at the helm.
   Blanc is thought to want to build his side around playmaker Yoann Gourcuff, with whom he worked at Bordeaux, but the 22-million-euro Lyon new boy is suspended for two matches after he was sent off in France’s 2-1 defeat by South Africa at the World Cup.
   Gourcuff’s likely replacement Samir Nasri, meanwhile, is out for a month following knee surgery, and Hatem Ben Arfa was not selected after going on strike at Marseille to force through his move to Newcastle United.
   ‘Every player that improves your team’s play and the play of the other players is interesting and important,’ said Blanc.
   ‘But I can’t replace a playmaker with someone who isn’t a playmaker. We’ll have to compensate and set the team up differently.’
   Blanc is likely to keep faith with the central defensive partnership of Adil Rami and Philippe Mexes, who started in the 2-1 friendly defeat against Norway last month, and he says establishing the core of the side is one of his main priorities.
   ‘A team is composed of a backbone and that includes the goalkeeper, the two ‘sentinels’ (centre-back and holding midfielder), the playmaker – depending on the style of play you adopt – and the centre-forward,’ he said.
   ‘To form a solid defensive base, you need a complementary centre-back pairing that is efficient and that performs just as well defensively as it does in terms of the construction of the play. It’s not easy.’
   Blanc is keen to instill a sense of pride and respect for the shirt in his players and to that end he invited his former France team-mate Zinedine Zidane to train with the squad at Clairefontaine on Wednesday.
   Zidane told them that the only way to regain the fans’ support was by winning, and Florent Malouda says it is time to draw a line under what happened at the World Cup.
   ‘We have to stop lamenting and talking about what happened in South Africa and start talking about our next opponents, Belarus and Bosnia (who host France next Tuesday),’ said the Chelsea winger.
   ‘The best way to respond is on the pitch. It’s the best therapy.’
   Belarus have only been a FIFA-affiliated country since 1992 and have never qualified for the finals of a major tournament, but manager Bernd Stange believes his side can produce an upset at the Stade de France.
   ‘France will be clear favourites on Friday, but I believe we will have chances to clinch a positive result in Paris,’ said the German coach.
   ‘We respect France but we are not afraid of them.’
   A former coach of Iraq, Stange has a number of selection quandaries to contend with and must choose between long-term first-choice goalkeeper Yury Zhevnov, who is short of playing time at Zenit Saint Petersburg, and in-form Anton Amelchenko of Russian side FC Rostov.
   The defence is likely to be an all BATE Borisov affair, with Igor Shitov, Sergei Sosnovski, Alexander Yurevich and Maksim Bordachev set to start, but there are concerns over the match fitness of key attacking midfielder Alexander Hleb, who joined Birmingham City on loan from Barcelona on Tuesday.

Former Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano has again hit out at the club, claiming the Reds told ‘lies’ over the reasons for his departure from Anfield.
   Mascherano completed his move to La Liga side Barcelona on Monday, and the player believes that Liverpool were prepared to go back on a promise made 12 months earlier when they said they would sanction his move to Spain.
   Mascherano, who took a considerable pay cut to make sure the transfer went through, claims he spent the 2009-10 season waiting on the chance to move to Camp Nou – but it was only 24 hours before the transfer market closed that he was finally able to complete the move.
   The Argentina international also dismissed claims made by Liverpool that he wanted to move for family reasons.
   ‘When they started to involve my family and to say things that didn’t make sense, I obviously suffered,’ he said. ‘They’d promised me something for a whole year and they never fulfilled their promise. And that didn’t have anything to do with my family or anything else. When you read or hear lies, you obviously get angry.
   ‘I’d also like to thank the club [Barca] for their efforts. They’ve spent a lot of money and it was my duty to give way a bit to make this dream come true. When this chance came up I didn’t hesitate. I’ve joined the best club in the world and the best team in the world.’
   Mascherano did have positive words about ex-boss Rafael Benitez, who at one stage he seemed destined to link up with at Inter Milan.
   ‘Rafa taught me tactics,’ Mascherano said. ‘He’s one of the coaches who have taught me the most in my career and I’m very grateful to him. He was fundamental. He gave me the chance to join Liverpool. He had confidence in me at a time when, perhaps, nobody would have dreamed of giving me an opportunity. I’ll be grateful to him all my life.’
   Meanwhile, Lionel Messi has welcomed the player to the La Liga champions: ‘He’s a great player. In addition to what he can do in football, his arrival is a joy for me. Barcelona wanted him for what he means as a player and as a person, I am very glad that he signed.
   ‘He’s a great player, he really helps us, hopefully this season we can keep winning titles with Barcelona’s shirt.’

‘Kicking like a girl’ is a real phenomenon and may explain why females are more likely to suffer knee injuries in sports such as football, US researchers said Wednesday.
   The researchers found significant differences in knee alignment and muscle activation between men and women while kicking a ball.
   The study appearing in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery offers a possible explanation on why female players are more than twice as likely as males to sustain an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
   ‘By analyzing the detailed motion of a soccer kick in progress, our goal was to home in on some of the differences between the sexes and how they may relate to injury risk,’ said orthopedic surgeon Robert Brophy of the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri, and the study author. ‘This study offers more information to help us better understand the differences between male and female athletes, particularly soccer players.’
   Brophy and his colleagues from the Motion Analysis Laboratory and Sports Medicine Service at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York used 3-D video-based motion analysis and electromyography to examine the differences between 13 male and 12 female college soccer players during the action of kicking a soccer ball.
   They found that male players activate the hip flexors inside the hip in their kicking leg and the hip abductors outside of the hip in their supporting leg more than females. The males also generated more than twice as much activation of the gluteus medius and vastus medialis muscles on the upper leg and pelvis area.
   ‘Activation of the hip abductors may help protect players against ACL injury,’ said Brophy, a former collegiate and professional soccer player.
   ‘Since females have less activation of the hip abductors, their hips tend to collapse into adduction during the kick, which can increase the load on the knee joint in the supporting leg, and potentially put it at greater risk for injury.’
   Brophy said the study does not establish a cause-and-effect between muscle activation, knee alignment and ACL injuries, but added the data ‘moves us toward better understanding of what may contribute to differences in injury risk between the sexes and what steps we might take to offset this increased risk in females.’

The international career of Hamburg striker Ruud van Nistelrooy appeared to be over when Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk snubbed the prolific hitman for Oranje’s World Cup squad. However, the former Real Madrid attacker is now on the verge of a comeback after he was called up for the Euro 2012 qualifier against San Marino to replace the injured Robin van Persie.
   ‘I still feel that I could have been important for the team at the World Cup. I have to admit that I wasn’t 100 per cent yet though and that I’m in much better shape now,’ said Van Nistelrooy in a press conference.
   ‘I respect Van Marwijk’s decision and I’m very glad that he has given me a call-up again now. I never expected to make a comeback, but I’m delighted to be back.
   ‘Of course, it’s possible that the coach drops me again after the matches against San Marino and Finland. Nevertheless, I will do my utmost to show everybody that I still add something to the team.
   ‘Hopefully, I can keep up my good form until Euro 2012. I know that I’ll be 36 years old by then, but you never know what will happen. Look at Andre Ooijer, who played in the quarter-finals of the World Cup at the age of 35. I just want to show what I can do for now.’

Top European club coaches on Thursday welcomed the experiment with two extra assistant referees in the Champions League this season.
   ‘The controversial thing was always going to be technical aids but I think (UEFA president) Michel Platini was brilliant on this issue,’ said Liverpool coach Roy Hodgson after a meeting between 17 elite European coaches at European football’s governing body.
   UEFA decided this summer to carry on with a trial of two extra linesmen it began with Europa League matches last season, expanding it to the Champions League for two years mainly to keep track of goalmouth incidents.
   ‘It’s better to have three pairs of eyes than one pair of eyes,’ Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson commented after the meeting.
   UEFA technical director Andy Roxburgh said coaches preferred the experiment to technical aids.
   ‘One of the things they’re positive about and look forward to is the experiment in the Champions League of the additional referees,’ he told journalists.
   ‘They’re very much aware of problems going down the technological route, like the president if possible they like to keep the human route,’ he added.
   Roxburgh said the practice was bound to evolve and improve with experience over the two year period.
   UEFA also hopes it will have a deterrent effect on pulling and tugging in the goalmouth as well as simulation, and make a difference when the referee is left behind by a fast break from the other half.
   Football’s top rule making body, the International Football Association Board, agreed in July to expand the experiment with extra match officials in Europe, following a spate of high profile refereeing oversights during the World Cup.
   The elite club coaches forum was also asked about the away goal rule in European competitions.
   UEFA is considering whether to modify the rule, such as by making it void during extra time of a return leg. Roxburgh said clubs appeared reluctant to change it entirely after 40 years.

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand is set to return from the knee injury that wrecked his World Cup after emerging unscathed from a reserve team outing on Wednesday.
   United reserve team boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer declared Ferdinand ready to make a first-team return after the defender came through the second string clash with Oldham.
   It was the first time Ferdinand had been in action since he suffered a major knee ligament injury in a freak collision with Emile Heskey on the first day of World Cup training with England in South Africa.
   The injury wrecked the 31-year-old’s hopes of captaining his country and also resulted in him missing the opening three games of United’s Premier League challenge, plus the start of England’s Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.
   However, it seems Ferdinand is now on track to face Everton at Goodison Park on September 11 after a typically stylish performance in the low-key arena of Bower Fold in Stalybridge.
   ‘Rio is always the same player,’ said Solskjaer. ‘It is awhile since he has played but he was still calm.
   ‘He has get through an important 45 minutes, straight after two very hard training sessions...so we are delighted with him.’

World champions Spain play their first competitive match since lifting football’s ultimate prize when they face minnows Liechtenstein in Vaduz today in their first qualifying match for the 2012 European championships.
   Spain are bidding to become the first team to retain the European title having won the Euro 2008 edition and hope for a qualification similar to that of the World Cup finals when they won all 10 matches.
   Vicente del Bosque’s side, ranked number one in the world rankings, are overwhelming favourites to top Group One ahead of the Czech Republic, Scotland, Lithuania and Liechtenstein.
   The first task for Spain is a trip to Liechtenstein, a principality with a population of 35,000 that is ranked 141 in the world rankings and has never qualified for a major finals.
   Spain may not be at their best with just one game gone in the domestic season but Liechtenstein are expected to be a walkover.
   ‘It would be a mistake to think that everything is going to be easy for us because we are world champions,’ said Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos. ‘We have to start from scratch because football doesn’t have a memory.’
   The game could be a special one for new Barcelona striker David Villa who needs just one goal to equal Raul’s all-time national record of 44 goals.
   Raul, formerly of Real Madrid and now at German side Schalke, scored his 44 goals in 102 games while Villa has a much better strike-rate scoring 43 times in just 65 internationals.
   Villa, 28, is on form after five goals at the World Cup and a debut goal for new club Barcelona and minnows Liechtenstein offer him a golden opportunity to match or better Raul’s landmark.
   Whether Villa will play up front on his own against Liechtenstein is unclear as manager del Bosque deliberates on whether to use Liverpool forward Fernando Torres.
   Liverpool coach Roy Hodgson has urged Spain not to play Torres as he continues to regain match sharpness following a knee injury that hindered him at the World Cup, however, del Bosque has so far refused to rule out using the former Atletico Madrid forward in some capacity.
   Spain must do without Barcelona defender Carles Puyol who is out for three weeks with a thigh injury sustained in his team’s 3-0 win over Racing Santander on Sunday.
   Barcelona team-mate Xavi also picked up a knock in the Racing game forcing the midfielder to be substituted and is a doubt for the Liechtenstein match.
   Del Bosque has also allowed Valencia’s Juan Mata and Athletic Bilbao’s Javi Martinez to drop down to help the Under-21 squad claiming he wants to prevent them from suffering burnout.
   Spain face Liechtenstein on Friday before a more glamorous friendly game against Argentina in Buenos Aires next Tuesday but Barcelona midfielder Sergi Busquets was quick to point out which game had the priority.
   ‘The friendly game against Argentina is something to look forward to, however, the first game is Liechtenstein and that is the important one,’ said Busquets. ‘We want to start the qualification campaign off on the right foot.’

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho hit out at his club for not backing him in the transfer market and leaving him short up front.
   Despite boasting attacking resources including Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema, Mourinho told Thursday’s La Gazzetta dello Sport that he wanted more.
   ‘As coaches we’re always unsatisfied, we always want more and for that reason I’m with those who ask for new signings,’ he said.
   ‘Even if each person does it in his own way, some more introverted, others more aggressive.
   ‘At Madrid I wanted another striker, Higuain and Benzema are not enough.’
   But he admitted that buying players is never easy when in charge of a big team as selling clubs inflate their prices.
   What he did get was German midfielders Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira, and he said he is happy with them.
   ‘Transfer dealings are not easy with Real, if you move a finger a storm breaks out.
   ‘These two are good players, young, and they were in the last year of their contracts.
   ‘We paid 25 million euros (for the pair), that’s a competitive price.’
   Despite the embarrassment of playing riches at his disposal, Mourinho’s Real started the season with a 0-0 draw against Real Mallorca and immediately came in for some harsh criticism from the Madridista press.
   But that’s something he accepts as an occupational hazard.
   ‘This is Madrid and you can’t change it. If you can’t live with this pressure it’s best not to accept (the job).
   ‘At this stage of my career it was the best time for such an experience.
   ‘After Chelsea and Inter Milan, after 10 years of success and big clubs, after a demanding league such as Italy, I have the right age and maturity.’
   And what he’s already realised is that no teams are going to come out and attack his team and give them space to get in behind their opponents.
   ‘There’s an elementary reality, we’re playing against teams that keep things tight and try to hit us on the counter-attack.
   ‘Even in a friendly playing Real is like a World Cup final.
   ‘This summer, to protect a 1-1 draw a coach made four substitutions between the 90th and 94th minutes.
   ‘I have to be prepared tactically for the possibility that we lose the ball and we get jeered.
   ‘And then find some solutions to open up closed defences.’
   The former Chelsea, Inter and Porto boss also took the opportunity to weigh into the goal-line technology debate, proving in favour.
   But he says first and foremost, players have to stop cheating.
   Last year in the Champions League semi-final, second-leg away to Barcelona, and with Inter protecting a 3-1 first-leg lead, he had Thiago Motta sent off after some blatant simulation by Sergio Busquets.
   After challenging Motta for the ball, Busquets crumpled to the ground clutching his face and writhing in apparent agony, only to be caught on TV cameras taking a sneaky peak through his fingers to check if his play-acting had worked.
   It did, Motta was dismissed for an alleged elbow but Inter still held on to reach the final, playing an hour with 10 men.
   ‘The most important technology is the collaboration between players and referees so we can stamp out dives such as Busquets’ with Thiago Motta.
   ‘And then it’s impossible not to introduce goal-line technology, it’s elementary, basic and avoids injustices.
   ‘As for other things such as offsides, that’s a discussion for our children.’

Fabio Capello insists he has learned enough from England’s World Cup flop to make changes he believes will put his team back on track as long as they play without fear.
   Capello’s side host Bulgaria in their opening Euro 2012 qualifer at Wembley today with their woeful effort at the World Cup still fresh in the memory.
   The fixture is fraught with difficulties for Capello as he tries to avoid the kind of embarrassing result which would lead to renewed calls for his head from the increasingly vitriolic English media.
   Capello knows the knives are out after the poor showing in South Africa, but he is convinced he can recapture the positive results England produced during World Cup qualifying if his players don’t let the negativity become a distraction.
   ‘We have to play without fear. The players trained well and with confidence and I hope we can see the same against Bulgaria,’ Capello said at the team’s hotel on Thursday.
   ‘It is our job (to deal with pressure), and it is the job of the manager. When we win we are the best and when we lose we are the worst.
   ‘It is easy to be happy when you win but we have to go forward. It will be important for the spirit of the team and for the fans if we win.
   ‘We have to win, we have to play well and I hope the fans support us during the game.’
   Against that background of extreme cynicism, Capello has spent the last three days working to restore his squad’s shattered morale and making alterations to his tactics, while also dealing with the absence of injured stars John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Peter Crouch and Frank Lampard.
   Complaints about the stone-age nature of England’s style at the World Cup came thick and fast after the 4-1 second round thrashing by a younger and more vibrant Germany.
   There were plenty of critics of the boot-camp approach he took around the team’s base in South Africa, which reportedly left players bored and unhappy.
   Those criticisms appear to have struck a chord with Capello and he is said to have adopted a more relaxed attitude.
   Capello has also been tinkering with tactics in training this week, with an increased emphasis on getting his widemen to provide service for Wayne Rooney.
   ‘I changed some things,’ Capello said. ‘I always learn something after new experiences and games. I changed some things but not a lot.
   ‘The training was good, all the players were ok. Also something is getting better. Some problems we have had in the past have not been there for the last two days.’
   Capello knows 10 of his team for Wembley and named Rooney, Joe Hart, Steven Gerrard, Gareth Barry, Glen Johnson, Ashley Cole and Phil Jagielka as certain starters.
   Everton centre-back Jagielka recovered from an ankle injury to train at Wembley on Thursday and wil partner Matthew Upson or Michael Dawson.
   ‘I know the players who will play in the centre of defence will play together for the first time but I am not concerned,’ Capello said
   ‘I hope they will be really focused and I hope (Ashley) Cole and (Glen) Johnson will help these players. Also the two midfielders must help.’
   If England are to start erasing the bitter memories of the World Cup, it is essential that Manchester United striker Rooney recaptures the form he showed for most of last season.
   Rooney scored for the first time in 14 matches when he netted a penalty against West Ham on Saturday and Capello said: ‘I checked on him during his last game against West Ham. He is good, he is back.
   ‘I’m happy because he is scoring goals, It is always important for forwards to score for confidence. He will play with style.’
   Capello also repeated his belief that David Beckham’s international career is not over.
   He appeared to write off Beckham as too old before last month’s friendly win over Hungary but has since softened his stance.
   ‘The door is open for all the players always but I prefer for this moment to choose the young players,’ he said.

On the eve of Germany’s opening Euro 2012 qualifier, Germany striker Miroslav Klose said Thursday he wants to play on until the next World Cup in Brazil in 2014.
   The 32-year-old has already won 101 caps for his country and with 14 World Cup goals to his credit, is just one short of the record of 15 set by Brazil’s Ronaldo.
   ‘I think I can still play for a few more years at a high level,’ said the Bayern Munich striker with Germany set to face Belgium in Brussels on Friday in their first Euro 2012 qualifier in Group A.
   ‘I’m only 32, so age is not a problem.
   ‘If I am still fit in four years and my performances are good enough, why shouldn’t I not play then?’
   Klose is third amongst Germany’s all-time goal-scorers with 52 and is just behind Joachim Streich, who has 55 goals, and Gerd Mueller, who scored 68 goals for his country in just 62 games.
   With rising star Thomas Mueller, the World Cup’s top-scorer, also able to play up front, Klose knows he will have plenty of competition for his place over the next four years.
   ‘It remains to be seen what will happen, as Thomas Mueller showed there are young and talented players coming through,’ said Klose.
   ‘There is also Mario Gomez (of Bayern Munich), (Stuttgart’s) Cacau and Stefan Kiessling (of Leverkusen).’

Stand-in Germany captain Philipp Lahm on Thursday denied he had any problems with coach Joachim Low’s decision to retain Michael Ballack as permanent skipper for the Euro 2012 campaign.
   Ballack, 34 later this month, is out of Friday’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Belgium in Brussels as he recovers from the ankle injury which ruled him out of the World Cup, but will captain Germany again when he returns.
   In his absence, Lahm will take over where he left off in South Africa by captaining the side against the Belgians, but Low has said Lahm will lose the skipper’s armband once Ballack returns from injury.
   ‘You have to accept such decisions,’ said Lahm, who led Germany to third at the World Cup, at the German team’s hotel on the outskirts of Brussels.
   ‘Now it is up to me to lead the team again in the next two games as captain.
   ‘I am looking forward to it and I have the confidence of the players around me and I am looking forward to leading them.’
   Low announced the decision on Wednesday to stick with Ballack as his captain, but until he recovers from injury, Lahm will captain the side with Bastian Schweinsteiger as his deputy.
   The decision has not been greeted with universal praise in Germany with many football fans happy with Lahm’s style of captaincy, while Ballack has clashed with both national team-mates and coaches on and off the pitch in the past.
   Ballack is expected to return for October’s qualifiers against Turkey and Kazakhstan when he could win his 100th cap for Germany having already won 98.
   Having returned to Leverkusen and the Bundesliga this season after a four-year spell in the Premier League with Chelsea, Ballack’s side were hammered 6-3 last Sunday by Borussia Moenchengladbach.