World Sports 2

ICC turns Pakistan forfeit
into draw
Agence France-Presse . Dubai

The result of Pakistan’s forfeited Test match at The Oval in 2006 has been changed from an England win to a draw, the International Cricket Council announced here Thursday.
What was the first and only forfeit in the history of Test cricket took place at The Oval in August 2006 when Australian umpire Darrell Hair and his West Indian colleague Billy Doctrove penalised Pakistan five penalty runs for alleged ball-tampering.
That sparked an angry response from Pakistan, who refused to take the field after tea on the fourth day in protest—a move that saw the umpires declare they’d forfeited the match and award it to England.
In a statement issued after a board meeting at its Dubai headquarters, the ICC said: ‘The board decided the result of the match should be altered. The change is from an England win as a result of Pakistan’s refusal to play to the match being termed abandoned as a draw.’
It added: ‘The board’s decision is based on the view that in light of the unique set of circumstances the original result was felt to be inappropriate.’
The match, which came to its controversial climax after tea on the fourth day, was the fourth and final Test of the series.
The ICC added that its decision to change the match result also had implications for the series: ‘This means the series result is altered from 3-0 to England to 2-0.’
However, their statement also said: ‘All players’ performances in the match are unaffected.’
An ICC spokesman told AFP that the change of result would have some effect on their Test championship. The table is due to be updated soon with results from the last two years still counting towards the current standings.
As the Oval match falls within that two-year time frame, it will still have some bearing on the table although the spokesman was uanble to say exactly how.
England, ahead of their series with South Africa which starts next week, are third in the standings - a point ahead of the Proteas.
After the Oval match, the since-retired Inzamam was cleared of all ball tampering charged. As captain, he was deemed to be representing the whole side and that meant none of his team-mates were charged with ball-tampering.
Hair was blamed by the Pakistan Cricket Board for the forfeit as a result of his actions and they successfully campaigned for his removal from the ICC’s elite panel of umpires.
He was only reinstated as a Test umpire earlier this year after a lengthy and messy legal battle which saw Hair allege he was the victim of racial discrimation by the ICC before dropping his case at an employment tribunal hearing in London.
Ponting set to take comfort
Agence France-Presse . Dubai

Australia captain Ricky Ponting is among those likely to welcome the International Cricket Council’s tightening up of rules regarding the use of substitute fielders.
An ICC statement, issued here Thursday after a board meeting, said, ‘Substitute fielders shall only be permitted in cases of injury, illness or other wholly acceptable reasons.
‘Wholly acceptable reasons’ should be limited to extreme circumstances and should not include what is commonly referred to as a ‘comfort break.’
During the 2005 Ashes, Ponting was incensed by the frequency with which England used a substitute fielder.
His frustration boiled over during the fourth Test at Trent Bridge where he was run out by England substitute Gary Pratt.
Ponting, as he walked back into the pavilion, shouted angry words at then England coach Duncan Fletcher.
As it turned out, the star batsman had picked the wrong occasion to let fly at England as Pratt was on the field for fast bowler Simon Jones, off with a genuine ankle problem rather than just having a rest.
Among other rule alterations announced Thursday was the inclusion of a one-over eliminator to replace the ‘bowl-out’ in the event of a tie.
This will be used as a way of settling matches at September’s Champions Trophy tournament, due to be held in Pakistan, and next year’s World Twenty20, scheduled to take place in England.
The eliminator will be applicable in the semi-finals and the final in the Champions Trophy and all matches in the World Twenty20.
When a side loses two wickets in their eliminator over, its innings ends.
If the scores are equal then the team that has hit the most sixes combined in the main match and the eliminator is declared the winner.
If the scores are still equal then teams will be separated by which of them scored the most boundaries - fours and sixes - in both innings.
All one-day internationals will be affected by a rule change which sees the batting side able to select when one of either the second or third powerplay block of fielding restrictions takes place.
At present, the bowling side selects the time for those powerplays.
It was also agreed that three fielders be permitted outside the field restriction areas during both the second and third powerplays.
Previously the third fielder was allowed outside the circle during either the second or third powerplay.
The ICC said the idea behind the amendment was to offer greater opportunities for spin bowlers by giving them more of a ‘safety net’.
Following the controversy surrounding last month’s no-result one-day international washout between England and New Zealand at Edgbaston, rules regarding intervals have been altered.
In a match where rain was a constant threat, New Zealand were denied the chance of victory when the match was called off one over short of the statutory 20 in the second innings needed for a result.
Despite the conditions, the umpires said they had no choice but to persist with a 30-minute mid-innings break even though both sides were ready for a quicker turnaround.
However, the ICC have now said that in the event of more than an hour being lost, the interval could be cut to as little as 10 minutes.
Pakistan court lifts Akhtar ban
Agence France-Presse . Lahore

Pakistani court on Friday said Shoaib Akhtar was free to play cricket again after suspending an 18-month ban imposed on the paceman by the country’s cricket authorities for indiscipline.
A judge at Lahore High Court ruled that the 32-year-old Akhtar should be allowed to play until his appeal against the ban is heard, most likely in September.
Akhtar lodged an appeal with the court on Tuesday against an 18-month ban for indiscipline, the latest in a string of controversies involving the bowler. The ban was originally for five years but was reduced last month.
‘While accepting his application for interim relief (until the appeal is heard), the court has allowed Shoaib Akhtar to play cricket,’ Judge Zahid Hussain told the court in the eastern city.
‘The petition will be heard after the summer vacation,’ which ends in September, he said.
Akhtar welcomed the decision and said he wanted to play in the Champions Trophy, which Pakistan hosts in September this year.
‘I am relieved,’ Akhtar told AFP after the hearing.
‘I am keeping fit and I’m going to England and try to play some county or league matches there and get in shape for the Champions Trophy.’
Akhtar added that he wanted to clear his name.
‘I owe my name and fame to Pakistan, so I will never defame my country. I want to win the Champions Trophy for my country and for that I need everyone’s support.’
‘I am thankful to PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf for his support in the last two months,’ he added.
Akhtar and Ashraf were caught up in a legal battle earlier this year over comments made by the bowler after the initial ban, but PCB sources said a senior cabinet minister had succeeded in engineering a rapprochement between them ahead of the court decision.
A Pakistan Cricket Board disciplinary committee banned Akhtar for five years in April for several incidents of indiscipline and for violating the conditions of a two-year probation period imposed for hitting a teammate with a bat.
The ban followed Akhtar’s public criticism of the PCB after he was dropped from a list of 15 players who were given central contracts in January.
However, an appellate committee reduced the suspension to 18 months and imposed a fine of seven million rupees (115,000 dollars) in June.
In October last year, Akhtar was banned for 13 matches and fined 3.4 million rupees for hitting partner Mohammad Asif with a bat just days before the Twenty20 World Cup in September in South Africa.
The Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed Friday’s decision.
‘Akhtar’s appeal to stay the ban was upheld, which means he is temporarily allowed to play until the petition is heard, but he will have to give the fine,’ Pakistan Cricket Board lawyer Taffazul Rizvi told AFP. Chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed said Akhtar’s place in the Pakistan team ‘will depend on his fitness.’
Pakistan get Champs Trophy go ahead
Agence France-Presse . Dubai

Pakistan will host September’s Champions Trophy as scheduled ‘at this stage’, the International Cricket Council said following a board meeting here Thursday.
The year’s biggest one-day tournament featuring the top eight Test nations – Australia, South Africa, England, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and the West Indies – is due to be held in Pakistan from September 11 to 28.
But touring Pakistan has been a security concern for several foreign teams, especially Australia which postponed its March-April visit this year after a series of suicide bomb blasts.
In a statement Thursday, the global governing body said, ‘The ICC board received an interim, oral report from security consultants on the security arrangements for the Asia Cup, the last multi-team event in Pakistan ahead of September’s ICC Champions Trophy.
‘A final report will be provided to the ICC in due course following the conclusion of the ongoing tournament. At this stage the ICC Champions Trophy will proceed as scheduled.’
With Sri Lanka, the alternate venue, in the midst of heavy fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels, South Africa have come into the reckoning as possible hosts an ICC source told AFP.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting has said he does not yet know if his side will travel to Pakistan and raised the prospect of individual withdrawals even if the title-
holders do decide to send a team.
‘We don’t know if we’re going. And if we do go, we don’t know if individuals are going to pull out,’ Ponting was quoted as saying in Australian newspapers.
‘It just won’t be Australian players. There will be a few other teams who will be thinking long and hard if the tour does go ahead.’
Pakistan officials have dismissed security concerns, hoping the ongoing Asia Cup will dispel any doubts over their ability to host the Champions Trophy.
Inzamam relieved at Oval
forfeit change
Agence France-Presse . Karachi

Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was pleased Thursday when the result of the infamous 2006 Oval Test was changed from forfeit to a draw, saying it justified his stance.
‘I am happy and relieved, my stance is vindicated,’ he said, after the International Cricket Council changed the result on the request of the Pakistan Cricket Board during its annual meeting.
The then Pakistan captain Inzamam led a boycott after Australian umpire Darrell Hair and West Indian colleague Billy Doctrove accused Pakistan of ball-tampering during the fourth Test against England.
Inzamam refused to take the field after tea on the fourth day in protest over the umpires’ decision to endorse five penalty runs over the incident.
England were then awarded the Test on forfeit, the first such instance in Test cricket’s 131-year history.
‘Pakistan was cleared of tampering so the decision of forfeit was wrong because we objected to allegations of tampering and the decision to change the result proves it was wrong,’ said Inzamam who retired last year.
The ICC executive committee’s decision means England won the four-match series 2-0 instead of 3-0.
Following the Oval Test, an International Cricket Council disciplinary committee banned Inzamam for four one-day matches on charges of disrespecting the game with his protest.
Umpire Hair was later banned from the ICC elite umpire’s panel. The Australian only returned after completing a ‘rehabilitation programme’ last September—a reinstatement Inzamam still protests.
‘I think Hair, being the central figure in that Oval case, should not have been allowed to umpire at international level. He has returned to international cricket which is not correct,’ said Inzamam.
PCB chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf said the decision showed there was respect for Pakistan among the ICC members.
‘It was unheard of before that the result of a match is changed after two years,’ Ashraf told AFP. ‘We are thankful to all member boards especially England and Wales Cricket Board who did not object to the decision.’
Priceless effort from
precious little
Cricinfo

On pitches where the bowlers can do very little, such as at the Asia Cup, the little they manage to do is priceless. The Indian medium-pacers put in just such a performance on a heartless pitch to restrict Sri Lanka to 308.
To start off with, Mahendra Singh Dhoni made an aggressive move by playing an extra bowler. ‘We wanted to think a bit differently, to do things a bit differently,’ Dhoni said, after the comprehensive win took them into the final. ‘If you keep doing the same thing, you will get the same result. We wanted to go with a 4-1 combination, because we have struggled in the middle overs. Since there is not much help in the middle overs, we wanted to have an option there.’ One other thing they did differently - and more importantly - was they opened the innings with RP Singh and Ishant Sharma. Praveen Kumar has, in his short career, been a superb new-ball bowler for India, but that is when he can get the ball to move. In Karachi, however, the pitch has not aided Praveen, and the move worked for India.
What favoured Ishant and RP was that the pitch, for the first time in eight matches, had a hint of variable bounce, and as Mahela Jayawardene reckoned, was a bit a slower. And on such pitches bowlers like Ishant, who can hit that length consistently, can be difficult to handle. With RP bowling a tight opening spell of four overs for 11, Ishant was the one Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya had to go after. A less humble man might claim to have chalked out a strategy to bowl in the blind spot around the left-hand batsmen’s hips - Ishant got edges down the legs off both Sangakkara and Jayasuriya just before they could explode. Those, in fact, were not the best balls he bowled, but he had an interesting battle going on with Jayasuriya building up to that dismissal.
RP, who really should have been the Man of the Match, returned for a second spell within the Powerplays to bowl a maiden over to Jayawardene. In his last three overs, bowled at the death, he went for 20 runs and took Kaushal Weeraratne’s wicket, making sure the final charge never arrived.
‘I am pretty happy with the way they did today,’ Dhoni said. ‘Ishant, RP and Pragyan [Ojha] bowled really well, it doesn’t mean that the other bowlers didn’t. You have to see they had the opportunity with the new ball, the rest of the seamers had to bowl with a fairly old ball.’
The old ball has been a problem for India for some time now. They haven’t been great exponents of reverse-swing, and the yorker has been conspicuous in its absence. India did manage to restrict Sri Lanka to 77 in the last 10 overs, but that had a lot to do with the fact that they had got wickets at fairly regular intervals. It was mainly length bowling at the death, with a slower ball here and there; better batsmen than Sri Lanka’s last five would have cherished those dish-outs.
Once again, when India came in to bat, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir gave them an explosive start, which proved to be a blessing for the middle order that usually has a lot more running between the wickets to do than Sehwag or Gambhir. Out of the last 36 hours, India have been involved in cricket-related activities for about 24 hours, so the ease with which they reached the target in 46.5 overs doesn’t begin to reflect the magnitude of the effort. ‘These bikes are running on reserve energy,’ Dhoni joked.
Dhoni, Suresh Raina, and Rohit Sharma looked visibly tired by the end of it; the bowlers will be feeling it even more. In the two days that they have between today and the final, they will have to recover physically, and also work out how to put in the other half of the precious little they managed today.
Zheng needs hubby to hurry
up Serena serves
Agence France-Presse . London

Zheng Jie, the first Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam semi-final, admitted she needs to learn how to combat Serena Williams’ howitzer serving - and will be looking to her husband for help.
Wildcard Zheng, the world 133, won warm applause from Centre Court for her battling performance in her 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) Wimbledon semi-final loss to the eight-time Grand Slam title winner on Thursday.
She even had a set point which would have taken the tie into a decider, but the girl from Sichuan was overwhelmed by a Serena serving barrage which saw 14 aces fired past her.
Zheng, 24, joked that she’ll need husband, and hitting partner Zhang Yu, to start upping the power on the practice courts if she is to compete with the likes of Williams over the coming years.
‘My husband warms up with me every time. He’s a good hitting partner. But maybe he needs to practice the serve more and serve like Serena,’ she smiled.
‘I hope so and then, next time, I will return much better.
‘Her serve was just too big to me, especially on a grass court. But on other courts, I probably would have had a better chance.’
The 26-year-old Serena, 11 kilos heavier and more than 11cm taller, had too much brawn for Zheng who at least had the consolation of picking up 375,000 dollars for her work here which saw her knock out top seed Ana Ivanovic in the third round.
She’ll also see her ranking shoot back up to around 40 in the world when the new standings are released on Monday.
‘I thought I could have won the match when I had set point in the second set,’ added
Zheng of another harsh lesson learnt.
‘Probably I was thinking too much about it, then I didn’t get the chance and I lost the point.’
Next on the agenda for Zheng is the Beijing Olympics next month and she is desperate to carry forward her Wimbledon form onto home ground.
‘I don’t know if they will treat me like a hero or not. But I will use this experience to have better expectations at the Olympics and to have a better achievement.’
Serena, who will meet sister Venus today in a third all-Williams Wimbledon final, was fulsome in her praise of the Chinese player.
‘She pushed me and really played a great match,’ said Serena of an opponent she had comfortably defeated in the first round here four years ago.
China’s media hails
‘magnificent’ Zheng
Agence France-Presse . Beijing

China’s media hailed a ‘magnificent’ Zheng Jie on Friday after her historic charge at Wimbledon came to an end with a straight sets defeat to Serena Williams in the semi-finals.
Wild card Zheng lost 2-6, 6-7 (5-7) in a match watched by millions of people on late night television in China on Thursday, but she still created history by becoming the first Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam semi.
‘In this match, Zheng Jie gave a magnificent performance,’ the Titan Sports Weekly said.
‘She has led fans to believe that this was not a one off performance and that her success will not stop here.’
Zheng, ranked 133 in the world, beat three seeded players at Wimbledon, including a stunning straight sets defeat of world number one Ana Ivanovic in the third round.
The 24-year-old’s run also showed that she is peaking in time for next month’s Beijing Olympic Games where she and other Chinese tennis stars are hoping to perform well before the home crowd.
‘Although she lost, a brave Zheng Jie still won glory on the world stage,’ Sina.com sports, one of China’s leading Internet portals, said in its headline.
‘Zheng Jie has won the respect of the world and showed China’s strength against top players.’
It is not the first time Zheng has tasted success at Wimbledon, but her doubles title triumph with Yan Zi in 2006 received less attention than it deserved back home because China was gripped by the 2006 World Cup.
Chinese media also noted that the star player from southwest China’s Sichuan province had vowed to hand over her Wimbledon prize money to victims of the May 12 devastating earthquake that shattered parts of her home region.
She earnt 375,000 dollars for reaching the semi-finals, but not all of the money will go to quake victims as she has to hand over a portion of her winnings to China’s tennis authorities.
Venus raps claims family fix
Agence France-Presse . London

Venus Williams has hit out angrily at suggestions the outcome of a potential third Wimbledon final against sister Serena could be decided by anything other than who plays better on Saturday.
Previous finals between the two sisters have rarely added up to the sum of their combined talents, which has led to scepticism as to whether they have both been giving 100 percent at the same time, and even suggestions that the results of matches are pre-arranged.
The issue was given an fresh stir on Thursday by Elena Dementieva, the woman Venus beat to book her final spot against sister Serena, who knocked out China’s Zheng Jie.
Speaking in English in her post-match press conference, Russia’s Dementieva said she felt the outcome of Saturday’s final was ‘going to be a family decision’.
It was not clear whether Dementieva intended to question the integrity of the sisters, but even the vaguest hint of family collusion over the result of such an important match rankled with Venus Williams.
‘I find the question pretty offensive because I’m extremely professional in everything that I do on and off the court,’ she said.
‘I contribute my best in my sport, and I also have a ton of respect for myself and my family. So any mention of that is extremely disrespectful for who I am, what I stand for, and my family. That’s pretty much how I feel about the whole subject.’
The sisters have met 15 times before. Serena currently leads the series 8-7 but has emerged the winner on five of the six occasions the pair have met in Grand Slam finals, including the 2002 and 2003 finals here.
And Venus’s recollection of their first final meeting, at Key Biscayne in 1999, will hardly have reassured sceptics.
‘I definitely wanted to win,’ she recalled. ‘I think that my family wanted me to win because I was the older sister. So they thought I should win this title because I was older, and then Serena would have a chance after.
‘Personally that’s what I felt. They didn’t say anything. There have been other times where I felt like they felt like, Serena hasn’t won, so it’s her turn to win.’
To this day, both Williams sisters refuse to play in the WTA tournament at Indian Wells, California—despite the event being considered one of the most prestigious on the tour outside of the four Grand Slam tournaments.
Their boycott dates back to 2001, when Venus withdrew injured from a semi-final meeting with Serena just minutes before the match was due to start.
Serena was subsequently booed and jeered by the crowd during her final meeting with Kim Clijsters.
Bedser 90 not out
Agence France-Presse . London

Sir Alec Bedser, one of England’s greatest cricketers and one of the best fast-medium bowlers of all time, celebrated his 90th birthday with a special lunch at his Oval home ground here Friday.
Former Australia cricketers Richie Benaud, Arthur Morris, Ken Archer, Neil Harvey and Alan Davidson, who all played Test cricket against Surrey legend Bedser, were among those attending.
Few men have given as much to English cricket as Bedser, who took 236 wickets in 51 Tests, including 39 at an average of just 17.48 during England’s 1953 Ashes triumph at home to Australia.
Then, after his retirement as a player in 1960, Bedser served as an England selector for 23 years and was chairman of selectors from 1969 to 1981, as well as managing the team on two tours of Australia.
He also had the distinction, according to Sir Donald Bradman himself, of bowling the best ball cricket’s greatest batsman ever faced when dismissing the Australian for nought in an Ashes Test at Adelaide during the 1946/67 series.
Bedser, known for his mastery of the leg-cutter, told the Daily Telegraph: ‘The ball was swinging in a little bit.
‘With my ninth ball I held it with that new wider grip. It swung in and pitched leg, cut away and hit off. He (Bradman) said afterwards that it was the best ball that had ever got him out.’
In all Bedser took Bradman’s wicket eight times and dismissed him in five consecutive Test innings.
While helping Surrey win seven County Championship titles in a row during the 1950s, Bedser became a boyhood hero of the future British Prime Minister John Major, who was also due to attend the lunch.
Looking forward to the event, Bedser said he was particularly keen to meet up with the five Australians.
‘It will be really nice to see them all again,’ Bedser said in a Surrey statement. ‘The interesting thing about the five is that I played in all of their debut Test Matches against England, which I suppose is an unusual feat.’
Surrey chief executive Paul Sheldon added: ‘Sir Alec is one of the most revered and respected names in the history of our county.
‘He has dedicated his whole life to the game and it is a thrill for us to be celebrating this special landmark with him.’
Former Surrey wicket-keeper, Arthur McIntyre, a team-mate of Bedser’s, is the only living England Test cricketer older than Sir Alec.
McIntyre, whose England career was restricted to three Tests by Kent’s Godfrey Evans, celebrated his 90th birthday in May.
Bedser’s identical twin brother Eric, an off-spinner and batsman who also played for Surrey, died two years ago.