Zee Telefilms has rejected the suggestion made by the Mumbai High Court last week, that they should go in for a fresh bidding process for the rights of international cricket in India for the next four years. Zee had earlier won the rights from ESPN-Star Sports (ESS), who then filed a petition alleging that Zee were ineligible to bid as per the terms of the Indian board’s tender.Zee’s contention, of course, is that the bidding process was fair and transparent to begin with, and there is no reason for them to enter it again. ESS’s original contention, about Zee’s ineligibility for the rights, will now be heard on September 16.The Board of Control for Cricket in India, for its part, wants the fracas to be resolved as soon as possible. Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Jagmohan Dalmiya, the BCCI’s president, said, “Forget the money, we would lose face if the matches are not televised as we are obliged to provide replays, etc to the third umpire, and ICC may even penalise us heavily, apart from the likelihood of the Australian board demanding compensation.”
Kenya’s High Court has ruled that the decision taken in 2001 by Sports Minister Katana Ngala, to dissolve the Kenya Cricket Association (KCA), was illegal – the decision itself has been revoked.The dispute had begun when the KCA had cancelled the contracts of its professional players after they threatened to boycott a match against Sri Lanka in January 2001. Ngala had stepped in and appointed Nairobi lawyer Paul Ndung’u as head of a new administration which included Sharad Rao, S V Sarvaiya, Tom Tikolo and Sameer Inamdar.This group were to document the dispute between the KCA, its players and its members while also reporting on the KCA finances. The matter reached the courts when the original committee, led by Jimmy Rayani, sought legal advice and decided to challenge the decision taken by the Minister. As a result, the Minister’s move was put on hold pending a full hearing of the case.In her ruling, Justice Jean Gacheche said that the Minister had acted ‘ultra vires’ – beyond his power – and outside his jurisdiction as defined by the constitution of the Kenya National Sports Council. The Justice said that Ngala had flouted the rules of natural justice by not according the association the audience it was entitled to before appointing an investigation commission.The International Cricket Council and Kenya’s Olympic Committee both backed the right of the Kenya Cricket Association to deal with their own affairs. At the time of the Minister’s move the secretary-general of Kenya’s National Olympic Committee, Tom Omwombo, said that if there was dissatisfaction with the way a sport was run, it was up to the affiliates of that sport to employ democratic processes to effect change.
On paper Pakistan and Sri Lanka are ‘even stevens’ andSunday’s Khaleej Times Trophy final is between two wellmatched sides loaded with explosive individuals capable ofchanging the fortune of the match.In earlier two league outings the honours have been shared.Sri Lanka outplayed Pakistan in every facet of the game towin the first match by seven wickets.Pakistan evened the score by winning the second encounter bythe identical margin although faced a much stiffer target.Will it be Sanath Jayasuriya holding aloft the trophy forthe second successive time or Waqar Younis leading Pakistanto victory stand for the first time since taking theleadership mantle is anybody’s guess?Pakistan, rightly considered as the most unpredictable side,are good enough to beat the best on their day if perform totheir talent. But in recent times the Pakistanis have becomechokers specially when competing in the finals.The Sri Lankans on the other hand are better organized thantheir more talented rivals and have the psychological edgeover Pakistan having beaten them in last April’s final.While Pakistan rely on individuals brilliance for victorythe Sri Lankans work as a unit hoping everyone to chip inwith useful performances.Both teams rested their best players for Friday’s tie butwill be at full strength. Champion off-spinner MuttiahMuralitharan will be back to tantalize Pakistani batsmenprobably at the expense of Prabath Nissanka. So will bedemon pace bowler Wasim Akram and classy Saeed Anwar forPakistan. All-rounder Azhar Mahmood and off-spinner ShoaibMalik are likely to make way for the two battle-hardenedveterans.As the pitch is expected to be batsman-friendly a highscoring final is predicted.Teams (from):Pakistan: Waqar Younis (captain), Saeed Anwar,Inzamam-ul- Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi,Shoaib Akhtar, Abdur Razzaq, Naved Latif, Rashid Latif,Wasim Akram, Shoaib Malik, Azhar Mahmood.Sri Lanka: Sanath Jayasuriya (captain), AvishkaGunawardena, Marvan Atapattu, Mahela Jayawardena, RusselArnold, Kumar Sangakkara, Romesh Kaluwitharana, KumarDharmasena, Chaminda Vaas, Charith Buddhika, MuttiahMuralitharan, Prabath Nissanka, Dulip Liyanage.
Sharad Pawar has emerged as a strong contender for the BCCI president’s election, necessitated by Jagmohan Dalmiya’s death on September 20. Not only has Pawar received formal backing from N Srinivasan, the ICC chairman, but it is also understood that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which runs the federal government in India and controls a sizeable number of BCCI votes, could be open to aligning with Pawar for larger political motives.However Pawar’s biggest hurdle could be his own supporters, a number of whom who are against any alliance with Srinivasan given their recent mutual hostility. Pawar – currently president of the Mumbai Cricket Association – has rarely faced open opposition in his long political and administrative career, preferring to negotiate and broker deals away from the spotlight, but the adamance of his supporters will test his skills.Pawar, who met Srinivasan on Wednesday night in Nagpur, is understood to have briefed his key supporters (Maharashtra, Saurashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha and Mumbai) about Srinivasan’s offer of support. However, a senior member of Pawar’s camp told ESPNcricinfo that some of the West Zone members made it clear that it was not a wise move.”Srinivasan promised him support and said they should have an election, but some of us are not in agreement to this and we told Pawar our support wouldn’t be unanimous,” the camp insider said. “Key members of Pawar group had resigned because of the allegations against Srinivasan.”Significantly, one of his key supporters and longtime associates, Shashank Manohar, was not present during the Srinivasan meeting though he was in the nearby hill station of Mahabaleshwar. Once allies, Manohar – who was BCCI president in the term between Pawar and Srinivasan – has turned into a vocal critic of Srinivasan in the last two years. Pawar would need all his powers of persuasion to get Manohar on his side in this matter.On Friday, Maharashtra Cricket Association president Ajay Shirke met Pawar at the Yeshwant Rao Chavan centre in Mumbai, but he said it was not to discuss the BCCI at all. “There is a book being published to mark Pawar’s 75th birthday celebrations and I am contributing a chapter there. We were there to discuss the book,” Shirke said. “He did not tell us about any deal,” he added.Shirke and Sanjay Jagdale had quit as BCCI treasurer and secretary, respectively, in 2013, after the IPL corruption scandal broke. They were protesting against Srinivasan’s refusal to take moral responsibility and step down as the BCCI president.According to the insider, if Pawar did stand for the elections with Srinivasan’s backing, he would only be guaranteed about 12 votes, which would not be enough to garner a majority number in the 30-member BCCI. From the West Zone vote bank, Pawar has assured support from Maharashtra, Saurashtra, Baroda and Mumbai, and from Central Zone he has the backing of Vidarbha and Madhya Pradesh.One BCCI official told ESPNcricinfo he wondered why Pawar would be interested in aligning with Srinivasan considering the Tamil Nadu heavyweight just had a handful of confirmed votes on his side. “Why does he need to make a deal with Srinivasan? He [Srinivasan] is doing all this to stay in the news. Even on the eve the last AGM in Chennai he told his supporters he had the majority of the votes and in the end how much did he get – just 13 and lost the critical vote of the secretary. Between then and now his stock has improved? It is an effort to remain in fray and not get marginalised. And Pawar is too seasoned a politician to not understand this.”Such talk does not, however, dissuade the Srinivasan camp, which is confident that Pawar will get nominated for the elections, a date for which will need to be announced at the BCCI’s special general body meeting, scheduled soon. “At this time, BCCI needs an experienced person like Sharad Pawar to handle various difficult situations,” a Srinivasan camp official said.The X factor in this is IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla, who is an MP from the opposition Congress party but has always maintained cordial relations with the rivals – both in the political sphere and within the BCCI. He also has a good rapport with current BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur, who is head of the BJP youth wing. It is evidently clear that the BJP will play an integral part in who becomes the next BCCI president and it will most likely take that decision based on larger political factors.
What a defining summer this could be at Arsenal. 12-months ago the club was deeply embroiled in two separate transfer sagas sending panic levels soaring around North London. The eventual sale of Cesc Faberags and Samir Nasri left Arsene Wenger with a monumental bank balance but little time to sufficiently purchase replacements. The consequences were severely detrimental during the seasons opening weeks as the Gunners struggled to get over the hangover of losing two key players. From the looks of things this time around the Frenchman has seen the error of his ways and is conducting his transfer business as early and quickly as possible. The swift £10 million capture of Lukas Podolski from Cologne could be turn out to be a very shrewd move especially if he has a prosperous Euro 2012 campaign with Germany. Bringing some big names to the Emirates Stadium will also aid Wenger’s attempts to tie captain Robin Van Persie down to a new long-term contract. The Dutchman has held talks with the club over an extension but the fear that he will leave to boost his chances winning trophies remains.
This week on FFC which prolific French international striker is Wenger chasing and do Arsenal need to start paying close attention to the salaries they’re handing out to average players as the financial fair play rulings loom.
Best of FFC
A wage balance that Arsenal need to finally strike
A huge investment that delivers no guarantees
Fast becoming a ‘must have transfer’ within the Premier League
The TEN South American Talents to Tempt Premier League big boys
Should Arsenal look to follow suit and play hardball?
Arsenal set to lodge £6.5m bid for Montpellier striker
Caption Competition: England quartet get a surprise visitor
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Best of WEB
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The Great Arsenal Summer Clearout – A Cultured Left Foot
Time for Wenger to change strategy and philosophy – Gunnersphere
Nine Reasons to Be a Happy Gooner – Online Gooner
Would it make sense for Arsenal to pursue this Blackburn midfielder? – Gunnersphere
Here comes the summer – Arseblog
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Arsene, if you want to buy in the chav bargain basement, buy the right ones. – Le Grove
Wenger to go cheap – again? Bendtner & Arshavin on their way & Welcome Bould, go find us a Beckham! – Highbury House
If Baines Wants Out, It’s Arsenal He Should Sign For, Not United… – Transfer Tavern
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Quote of the Week “It is more than excitement, it is an absolute privilege and an honour.I know I have some big boots to fill with Pat having spent 44 years at the club and that is going to be the hard part.”I will be learning on the job a little bit but myself and Neil Banfield are more than excited.” Steve Bould talks about replacing the immortal Pat Rice as Arsene Wenger’s assistant.
On the face of it, there is plenty of spice that has been lent to the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy with the presence of a number of India internationals like MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and R Ashwin in the mix. Apart from the format which has been changed from the zonal system to four random groups picked through a draw, giving even the unfancied sides an opportunity to brush shoulders with the best, another talking point has been the use of the Kookaburra Turf ball, which is used in ODIs and T20s, instead of the Kookabura Regulation ball that is generally used in grade cricket.While the regulation ball has a more pronounced seam that can sometimes make even part-time medium pacers look threatening, the flip side has been the fact that the ball gets very soft as the game progresses. In comparison, the turf ball settles down to allow a better balance between bat and ball. Taking the argument a step further, Ashwin, who is leading Tamil Nadu in the domestic 50-over competition where the ball change has been effected for the first time, felt the Kookaburra ensured a level-playing field.”The fact that we are using the Kookaburra Turf ball is welcome because it is a far better option in these conditions than the Kookaburra Regulation ball,” Ashwin explained. “Some kind of balance has been restored, one can say, and for us to play with this ball before we play in Australia means we are using the same ball in a match environment too.”Ball apart, the early-morning starts have given the tournament a predictable feel, with captains having no hesitation in sending the opposition in. While the chasing team has come out trumps most times, Ashwin, who lauded the quality of cricket, said there was a case of either pushing back the start time to take the toss out of the equation or tweak the format slightly to ensure the team batting first was not at a disadvantage even before a ball was bowled.”One of the most standout features of the league phase was the quality of the cricket, which was fairly high. Having said that, because of the 9.00 am starts, there wasn’t too much planning that could go into the matches,” Ashwin explained. “It was a simple strategy of winning the toss and putting the opposition in because it was far easier batting second. Apart from a few games where the teams made big runs, totals were generally in the range of 230-240, which took some of the sheen off the competition.”These are not the kind of totals you get in international cricket. I suppose we have two options in front of us. Either we have a slightly later start, or the teams bat 10 overs each at the start of the day and then the team that batted first plays out its remaining 40 overs. But if this is how it is, then as players we are fine with that too.”Format and tweaks apart, Ashwin also delved into his role as captain and the challenges he faced in order to bring the best out of a young team on an upward curve. “One of the things I felt was required was to have ideas as a bowling unit,” he said. “As captain, I am trying to put systems in place, trying to show the way towards excellence. Along the way, I am ticking a few boxes personally as well.”I am trying to bowl in pressure situations, at the death, or I am batting either when we need to get a move on or when we have lost early wickets and we need to grind our way out of trouble. It might sound clichéd, but we want to play fearless cricket. We want to go out and express ourselves. Most of all, we want to inflict some serious scars on some good teams, and we want to last the distance.”2:13
Reconstruction of the Galle International stadium will continue after a heritage dispute over a three-storey building that would block a historic 16th century fort was resolved by Mahinda Rajapakse, the Sri Lanka president.”The president [ Rajapakse] called all the relevant parties and had a discussion at which everything was cleared,” Jayananda Warnaweera, the stadium curator, told AFP.Duleep Mendis, the CEO of Sri Lanka Cricket, confirmed that the rebuilding was on schedule. “The ground will be ready for the Third Test [against England in December],” Mendis said.The stadium had been destroyed by the tsunami on December 26, 2004.Earlier, Parakrama Dahanayake, the president of the Galle Heritage Foundation, had expressed concern over the the blocking of the fort. “The view of the fort will be completely blocked by the new building that is coming up,” Dahanayake said. “The view is obscured and the Galle Fort may find itself struck off the World Heritage list as a result.”
The second day of the match between the domestic champions from India and Pakistan ran along similar lines to the first. Uttar Pradesh’s bowlers reduced Sialkot to 96 for 6 but Imran Nazir’s cavalier century from No.7 boosted them to a competitive 261. UP ended the day on 14 for no loss with an overall lead of 69.Nazir had initially opened the innings but was forced to retire after just two balls because of a shoulder injury sustained during fielding. He returned to the middle after the top order capitulated to some disciplined bowling and outstanding catching from Uttar Pradesh. Sialkot’s batsmen were guilty of the same error committed by UP’s top order on the first day: they were too hasty on a slow pitch that offered little bounce. As a result several wickets were lost to indiscreet shots.When Shoaib Malik departed for 24, one of many Sialkot batsmen who frittered starts, Nazir decided it was time to get a move on. He broke loose when given the chance while at the same time played his percentages to ensure minimum risk. He lofted Piyush Chawla, the young legspinner, down the ground repeatedly and got stuck into the fast bowlers. When his shoulder caused him any sort of discomfort, he merely gave it a short massage and continued pummelling the boundary hoardings. He steamed to his century off just 96 balls and formed the mainstay of a 122-run partnership with Tahir Mughal for the seventh wicket.UP had Sialkot by the scruff of the neck before Nazir arrived. In the first two sessions they bowled a tight line and forced the batsmen into mistakes. RP Singh, India’s left-arm seamer, got one to lift suddenly on a dead pitch and Shahid Yousuf, who had raced to 24 off 17 balls, nicked an attempted cut. Mansoor Ahmed had his middle stump uprooted by a shooter and Shezhad Malik was struck in front by another that kept low but they should have known better than to play back on a pitch with such low bounce. To compound Sialkot’s woes, Suresh Raina pulled off an acrobatic catch – diving one-handed to his left at cover – and Ravikant Shukla matched it at slip to dismiss Malik.Then began a spectacular fightback typified by Nazir’s flashing blade. Though the boundaries flowed from Nazir’s bat, Mughal’s support was invaluable. Once Mughal fell, deceived by Chawla’s googly, Asif followed and Sialkot were hobbling at 218 for 8. Nazir then proceeded to farm the strike and propelled the score to 261.Thirteen wickets fell on the day and three of those were of UP’s first innings which resumed on 268 for 7. Sialkot started perfectly when Sarfraz Ahmed snared Amir Khan with the second ball of the day. However, Rizwan Shamshad marshalled the tail and his innings of 84 helped UP cross the 300 run mark.In spite of Nazir’s innings UP ended the day with the upperhand. Their openers Rohit Prakash and Shivakant Shukla negotiated eight overs to see them through to stumps without any damage. They even managed to keep out Mohammad Asif who had recovered from a back problem that allowed him to bowl only 6.4 overs in the first innings.
Uttar PradeshAmir Khan c Mashood b Sarfraz 23 (269 for 8) RP Singh b Mughal 15 (306 for 9) Rizwan Shamshad lbw Rehman 84 (315 all out) SialkotShahid Yousuf c Amir b RP Singh 24 (24 for 1) Mansoor Amjad b Kumar 3 (15 for 2) Majid Jehangir c Raina b Chawla 15 (45 for 3) Abdur Rehman c Mashood b Kumar 0 (55 for 4) Shezhad Malik lbw Srivastava 14 (89 for 5) Shoaib Malik c Shukla b Srivastava 24 (96 for 6) Tahir Mughal b Chawla 29 (218 for 7) Mohammad Asif b Chawla 0 (218 for 8) Sarfraz Ahmed b Kumar 4 (236 for 9) Imran Nazir c Raina b RP Singh 123 (261 all out)
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) admitted that the Australian A team’s tour to Pakistan, which ended last week, was at one point under threat after two bomb blasts in Lahore.Shaharyar Khan, chairman PCB, told journalists at a press function in Lahore, “The PCB moved very carefully to persuade the Australians to continue their tour because such bomb blasts are minor incidents and there is nothing serious.”The chairman revealed that the Australians expressed considerable concern over the bomb blasts as they were under the impression that Lahore was among the safest cities in Pakistan.He added, however, that their security was not in doubt and that the board would intensify their security arrangements further. Shaharyar also reiterated that no concerns had been raised by the England and Wales Cricket Board about security for their tour of Pakistan after the bomb blasts.Shaharyar said, “I am going to attend the ICC meetings next month and will have bilateral meetings with English, Indian and Sri Lankan counterparts and I will try to satisfy the England board, if needed, to assure them of their safe stay in Pakistan.”The bomb blast occurred just before the three-match one-day series began and killed six people, injuring a further 30. Australia A eventually won the one-day series 2-1 but lost the two four-day match series 1-0.
UAE 231 for 9 dec and 162 for 3 (Arshad Ali 74*) lead Malaysia 173 (Selvaratnam 53, Mohammad Tauqir 4-34) by 220 runs ScorecardOn the second day of the Intercontinental Cup match at the Royal Selangor Club in Kuala Lumpur, an astonishing collapse by Malaysia’s lower order, in which seven wickets tumbled for 48, handed the initiative back to the United Arab Emirates. The main destroyers on day two were Ali Asad and Khuram Khan, the former UAE captain, who took five wickets between them. The UAE finished the day on 162 for 3 in their second innings, an overall lead of 220.Three wickets fell in three overs this morning, as the UAE came out swinging. Suresh Navaratnam was the first to go, trapped lbw without adding to his overnight score by Asad. Ariffin Ramly and Sarath Jayawardene then followed in quick succession, and after Rohan Suppiah and Shankar Retinam put on 27, the tail was quickly skittled. Khan wrapped up the innings when Retinam, who had played a defiant innings in the middle order as the batting fell to pieces, was caught behind by Mohammad Taskeen, the wicketkeeper.The UAE lost Ramveer Rai in the second over for just a single, but Arshad Ali kept the advantage gained by the bowlers with an unbeaten 74. With a more-than-useful lead already gained, the UAE now stand a good chance of gaining the maximum points necessary to take them through to the semi-final against Canada.