Mumbai, Feb 16: Embroiled in a series of legal battles and facing dissent in his home association, IPL Chairman Lalit Modi today threatened to shift the Twenty20 matches out of Jaipur, saying the recent FIRs lodged against him were “politically motivated”.Modi said he has been authorised by the IPL Governing Council to decide on the venue of the IPL matches and shifting them from Jaipur was an option being considered.“It is going to deter the IPL management from staging matches (in Jaipur). The Governing Council has already taken a decision authorising me to decide whether we should be able to hold matches anywhere, whether it’s one place or x, y, z,” Modi told reporters here.“The option to move matches (out of Jaipur) is available to us. We are looking at alternate venues without doubt. If any government anywhere is going to deter the IPL management from staging matches we would take away those matches and hold them elsewhere,” he added.A case of cheating was lodged against Modi at a Jaipur police station yesterday for alleged failure to deposit the entire Rs six crore he publicly promised for the city’s blast victims in the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. Modi, however, dismissed the accusations as the state government’s ploy to harass him. “The FIR against me specifically in relation to IPL yesterday is ill-conceived and looks to be politically motivated. Nowhere are complaints registered in the morning and turned into FIRs in the afternoon,” Modi said.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Shahzad, Ali stake Test claims as Sri Lanka toil
KARACHI: Openers Ahmed Shahzad and Azhar Ali hit contrasting centuries for Patron's XI in the warm-up match against Sri Lanka on Tuesday to press claims for a Test place.
Shahzad, aged just 17, scored an aggressive 146 while Ali notched a sedate 100 as Sri Lanka's bowlers toiled hard on a placid Defense Stadium pitch, their only warm-up match before the first of two Tests starting on February 21.
The pair helped Patron's XI reach 395/4 at close on the first day after home team captain Shahid Afridi won the toss and decided to bat. At close Asim Kamal and Sarfraz Ahmed were unbeaten on 18 and 13 respectively.
Shahzad, who represented Pakistan in the Junior World Cup last year, hit 22 boundaries and a six during his 174-ball knock and added 204 runs with Ali.
Shahzad had to retire after he was hit in the groin by a delivery from paceman Thilan Thushara.
Ali, who took 54 deliveries to open his account, hit nine boundaries and two sixes during his 208-ball innings, making a strong case for selection for Pakistan in near future.
Afridi, who is pressing for a Test recall, hit eight boundaries and a six during his rapid-fire 29-ball 49.
Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan went wicketless in 11 overs, while Ajantha Mendis took 1-69.
Muralitharan was unlucky not to have dismissed Shahzad when skipper Mahela Jayawardene spilled a catch in the slips. Shahzad was then on 74.
Soruce: http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Shahzad-Ali-stake-Test-claims-as-Sri-Lanka-toil/articleshow/4144666.cms
Shahzad, aged just 17, scored an aggressive 146 while Ali notched a sedate 100 as Sri Lanka's bowlers toiled hard on a placid Defense Stadium pitch, their only warm-up match before the first of two Tests starting on February 21.
The pair helped Patron's XI reach 395/4 at close on the first day after home team captain Shahid Afridi won the toss and decided to bat. At close Asim Kamal and Sarfraz Ahmed were unbeaten on 18 and 13 respectively.
Shahzad, who represented Pakistan in the Junior World Cup last year, hit 22 boundaries and a six during his 174-ball knock and added 204 runs with Ali.
Shahzad had to retire after he was hit in the groin by a delivery from paceman Thilan Thushara.
Ali, who took 54 deliveries to open his account, hit nine boundaries and two sixes during his 208-ball innings, making a strong case for selection for Pakistan in near future.
Afridi, who is pressing for a Test recall, hit eight boundaries and a six during his rapid-fire 29-ball 49.
Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan went wicketless in 11 overs, while Ajantha Mendis took 1-69.
Muralitharan was unlucky not to have dismissed Shahzad when skipper Mahela Jayawardene spilled a catch in the slips. Shahzad was then on 74.
Soruce: http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Shahzad-Ali-stake-Test-claims-as-Sri-Lanka-toil/articleshow/4144666.cms
Pakistan clears last six ICL players
KARACHI: A Pakistani court on Tuesday lifted domestic bans on the country's last six active players who joined the unofficial Indian Cricket League (ICL).
Seventeen ICL rebels are now free to play domestic cricket in Pakistan but remain barred from international matches until they are cleared by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
"Imran Nazir, Imran Farhat, Humayun Farhat, Riaz Afridi, Arshad Khan and Taufiq Umar got their bans suspended by the court and are now free to play in domestic matches," the players' lawyer Zahid Fakhruddin said.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) respected the decision and cleared the players for domestic matches. Eleven players were reprieved last week, nine of whom featured in the latest round of Pakistan's premier Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.
A total of 19 Pakistani players featured in the ICL, which is bankrolled by India's largest media group, Zee Television, but not recognised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India or the ICC.
Former Pakistan capital Inzamam-ul-Haq and Saqlain Mushtaq are the only players who remain barred from domestic cricket, but both are now retired.
Source: http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
Seventeen ICL rebels are now free to play domestic cricket in Pakistan but remain barred from international matches until they are cleared by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
"Imran Nazir, Imran Farhat, Humayun Farhat, Riaz Afridi, Arshad Khan and Taufiq Umar got their bans suspended by the court and are now free to play in domestic matches," the players' lawyer Zahid Fakhruddin said.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) respected the decision and cleared the players for domestic matches. Eleven players were reprieved last week, nine of whom featured in the latest round of Pakistan's premier Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.
A total of 19 Pakistani players featured in the ICL, which is bankrolled by India's largest media group, Zee Television, but not recognised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India or the ICC.
Former Pakistan capital Inzamam-ul-Haq and Saqlain Mushtaq are the only players who remain barred from domestic cricket, but both are now retired.
Source: http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
Collingwood puts England in command
ST JOHN'S: A century from Paul Collingwood led England to an imposing 566 for nine declared on the second day of the third Test against West Indies in Antigua, as the tourists made their first test mauling a distant memory.
Just nine days after being bowled out for 51 at Sabina Park and suffering an innings defeat, England amassed over 10 times that total with five batsmen scoring half centuries or more.
Collingwood was the constant presence throughout a sun-blessed day at the Antigua Recreation Ground, as his 113, his eighth Test century, provided a perfect complement to skipper Andrew Strauss's 169 on Sunday.
A great day for England ended with the added bonus of the wicket of West Indies captain and batting threat Chris Gayle, who drove Steve Harmison to James Anderson at mid-off to depart on 30.
West Indies ended the day on 55 for one - trailing by 511 runs.
Arriving at the crease after West Indies removed the nightwatchman James Anderson, Collingwood took the upper hand in a positive partnership with Kevin Pietersen through to lunch.
It is not often that Pietersen is overshadowed by his partner but Collingwood's aggression was impressive, as was the way he was able to adjust his role, first to provide stability and then later to take the main run-making responsibility again.
Fidel Edwards had been threatening with the new ball but West Indies did not look like making any headway until after lunch when Jerome Taylor picked up two quick wickets.
With the first ball of his spell he bowled Pietersen for 51 with a delivery that kept low and then Andrew Flintoff went two balls later, Taylor removing his middle and off stump.
Questions answered
Those breakthroughs gave the hosts heart but any questions over England's character that still remained after the debacle at Sabina Park were answered as Collingwood and Matt Prior put on a nicely paced 62-run partnership.
With England looking to pick up the run-rate, Prior skied a simple catch to Shivnarine Chanderpaul handing West Indies' Australian-born medium-pacer Brendan Nash his first test wicket.
Stuart Broad then played some well-timed shots in a lively 44, a partnership which allowed Collingwood to complete his century and take the applause of an overwhelmingly English crowd.
After Broad went, caught behind off Ryan Hinds, Graeme Swann contributed 20 and when Collingwood finally departed, caught at deep midwicket by Fidel Edwards off Hinds, Strauss declared.
That gave England an hour to bowl at West Indies and they gained the precious wicket of Gayle.
The Jamaican had survived an impressive opening spell from Flintoff and Anderson before crashing Steve Harmison for a six and four in the same over only then to drive the England seamer straight into the arms of Anderson at mid-off.
With such a huge score to chase West Indies needed more than the 30 Gayle provided them and the pressure is now on Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul to produce big and long innings on Tuesday.
Source: http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4134022.cms
Just nine days after being bowled out for 51 at Sabina Park and suffering an innings defeat, England amassed over 10 times that total with five batsmen scoring half centuries or more.
Collingwood was the constant presence throughout a sun-blessed day at the Antigua Recreation Ground, as his 113, his eighth Test century, provided a perfect complement to skipper Andrew Strauss's 169 on Sunday.
A great day for England ended with the added bonus of the wicket of West Indies captain and batting threat Chris Gayle, who drove Steve Harmison to James Anderson at mid-off to depart on 30.
West Indies ended the day on 55 for one - trailing by 511 runs.
Arriving at the crease after West Indies removed the nightwatchman James Anderson, Collingwood took the upper hand in a positive partnership with Kevin Pietersen through to lunch.
It is not often that Pietersen is overshadowed by his partner but Collingwood's aggression was impressive, as was the way he was able to adjust his role, first to provide stability and then later to take the main run-making responsibility again.
Fidel Edwards had been threatening with the new ball but West Indies did not look like making any headway until after lunch when Jerome Taylor picked up two quick wickets.
With the first ball of his spell he bowled Pietersen for 51 with a delivery that kept low and then Andrew Flintoff went two balls later, Taylor removing his middle and off stump.
Questions answered
Those breakthroughs gave the hosts heart but any questions over England's character that still remained after the debacle at Sabina Park were answered as Collingwood and Matt Prior put on a nicely paced 62-run partnership.
With England looking to pick up the run-rate, Prior skied a simple catch to Shivnarine Chanderpaul handing West Indies' Australian-born medium-pacer Brendan Nash his first test wicket.
Stuart Broad then played some well-timed shots in a lively 44, a partnership which allowed Collingwood to complete his century and take the applause of an overwhelmingly English crowd.
After Broad went, caught behind off Ryan Hinds, Graeme Swann contributed 20 and when Collingwood finally departed, caught at deep midwicket by Fidel Edwards off Hinds, Strauss declared.
That gave England an hour to bowl at West Indies and they gained the precious wicket of Gayle.
The Jamaican had survived an impressive opening spell from Flintoff and Anderson before crashing Steve Harmison for a six and four in the same over only then to drive the England seamer straight into the arms of Anderson at mid-off.
With such a huge score to chase West Indies needed more than the 30 Gayle provided them and the pressure is now on Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul to produce big and long innings on Tuesday.
Source: http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4134022.cms
ICC asks 2011 WC organisers to consider alternate venues
NEW DELHI: Aware of the turmoil in Pakistan, the International Cricket Council on Tuesday asked organisers of the 2011 World Cup to consider shifting venues to another city, even to another country, if situation so demands.
Addressing a press conference after the meeting of the 2011 World Cup Central Organising Committee here, ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat said the turmoil in Pakistan was a "consideration" for the governing body which asked the organisers to consider alternate venues in case of an emergency.
"It's a consideration that we have to give attention to. This is not something we discussed today, except to ask the organisers to consider alternate host city venues within the country as well as alternate country venues in the event of something is not favourable in one of the particular host countries," Lorgat said.
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will jointly host the event.
Lorgat, however, felt there was still enough time in hand and there was no need to press the panic button.
"I think it's still a long way off to World Cup. It is certainly a consideration to keep note of but it's way too early to be already concerned at this particular stage," he added.
Reminded about visiting teams' reluctance to tour Pakistan and whether he was optimistic about a marked change in the situation in the trouble-torn country, Lorgat said," I'm optimistic by nature. But at the same time, I'm no crystal ball gazer.
"But we are monitoring the situation regularly and we recently got the Board to support that ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) would take on the extra responsibility of monitoring security on an ongoing basis."
Lorgat said of the 15 World Cup venues, eight would be in India, four in Pakistan, two in Sri Lanka and one in Bangladesh.
Lorgat said ICC was in touch with the Indian Premier League Chairman Lalit Modi on deploying ACSU officials during the IPL.
"We are in discussion with Mr Modi. They are keen to have ACSU officials in IPL and we also feel it makes sense," he said.
Representatives from all the members boards, including Pakistan Cricket Board President Ejaj Butt and CEO Saleem Altaf, BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan, Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty, Sri Lankan cricket board CEO Duleep Mendis and Bangladesh Cricket Board officials attended the meeting presided by Organising Committee Chairman Sharad Pawar.
ICC Principal Adviser IS Bindra was also present in the meeting.
The committee appointed Salim Butt of Pakistan as the Managing Director, while setting up a number of working groups to work out the details "so that we can deliver a successful, world class event," Lorgat said.
The ICC official seemed unperturbed by the snapping of cricket ties between India and Pakistan and didn't foresee it affecting organisation of the World Cup.
"This issue must be approached with an optimistic viewpoint, certainly because we still have some time in our hand. I think it's way too early to be presumptuous and assume that things won't work.
"When we come close to the event, obviously we have to pay much more attention to the issues like safety, security and relation between the countries. But I can assure you at this stage we are planning a World Cup in all the four countries," he said.
Lorgat accepted the criticism of the 2007 World Cup for being too long and said ICC this time was looking at an event which would not go beyond six weeks after its scheduled February 19, 2011 start.
"We are planning to reduce the time-span, not to go beyond the six-week period. The last two weeks of February and March. We are looking to shorten the period down to six weeks," he said.
"We want a shorter and sharper tournament not beyond six weeks and if my memory serves me right, not more than 49 games," he said.
Taking stock of the progress made so far, Lorgat said the organisers were still running behind schedule and had some catch-up job ahead of them.
"There is an acknowledgment that we are little late than we would have liked. This is again why Mr Pawar is driving all forces so that planning and operational issues get underway. We have got some work to catch up with," he said.
Source: http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Look-for-alternate-venues-ICC-to-WC-organisers/articleshow/4143513.cms
Addressing a press conference after the meeting of the 2011 World Cup Central Organising Committee here, ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat said the turmoil in Pakistan was a "consideration" for the governing body which asked the organisers to consider alternate venues in case of an emergency.
"It's a consideration that we have to give attention to. This is not something we discussed today, except to ask the organisers to consider alternate host city venues within the country as well as alternate country venues in the event of something is not favourable in one of the particular host countries," Lorgat said.
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will jointly host the event.
Lorgat, however, felt there was still enough time in hand and there was no need to press the panic button.
"I think it's still a long way off to World Cup. It is certainly a consideration to keep note of but it's way too early to be already concerned at this particular stage," he added.
Reminded about visiting teams' reluctance to tour Pakistan and whether he was optimistic about a marked change in the situation in the trouble-torn country, Lorgat said," I'm optimistic by nature. But at the same time, I'm no crystal ball gazer.
"But we are monitoring the situation regularly and we recently got the Board to support that ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) would take on the extra responsibility of monitoring security on an ongoing basis."
Lorgat said of the 15 World Cup venues, eight would be in India, four in Pakistan, two in Sri Lanka and one in Bangladesh.
Lorgat said ICC was in touch with the Indian Premier League Chairman Lalit Modi on deploying ACSU officials during the IPL.
"We are in discussion with Mr Modi. They are keen to have ACSU officials in IPL and we also feel it makes sense," he said.
Representatives from all the members boards, including Pakistan Cricket Board President Ejaj Butt and CEO Saleem Altaf, BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan, Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty, Sri Lankan cricket board CEO Duleep Mendis and Bangladesh Cricket Board officials attended the meeting presided by Organising Committee Chairman Sharad Pawar.
ICC Principal Adviser IS Bindra was also present in the meeting.
The committee appointed Salim Butt of Pakistan as the Managing Director, while setting up a number of working groups to work out the details "so that we can deliver a successful, world class event," Lorgat said.
The ICC official seemed unperturbed by the snapping of cricket ties between India and Pakistan and didn't foresee it affecting organisation of the World Cup.
"This issue must be approached with an optimistic viewpoint, certainly because we still have some time in our hand. I think it's way too early to be presumptuous and assume that things won't work.
"When we come close to the event, obviously we have to pay much more attention to the issues like safety, security and relation between the countries. But I can assure you at this stage we are planning a World Cup in all the four countries," he said.
Lorgat accepted the criticism of the 2007 World Cup for being too long and said ICC this time was looking at an event which would not go beyond six weeks after its scheduled February 19, 2011 start.
"We are planning to reduce the time-span, not to go beyond the six-week period. The last two weeks of February and March. We are looking to shorten the period down to six weeks," he said.
"We want a shorter and sharper tournament not beyond six weeks and if my memory serves me right, not more than 49 games," he said.
Taking stock of the progress made so far, Lorgat said the organisers were still running behind schedule and had some catch-up job ahead of them.
"There is an acknowledgment that we are little late than we would have liked. This is again why Mr Pawar is driving all forces so that planning and operational issues get underway. We have got some work to catch up with," he said.
Source: http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Look-for-alternate-venues-ICC-to-WC-organisers/articleshow/4143513.cms
No charges will be filed against Michael Phelps
COLUMBIA: No charges will be filed against American swim star Michael Phelps from his being photographed with a pipe typically used to smoke marijuan a, police announced on Monday.
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lett said that after a full investigation into the November party at which Phelps was photographed, touching off a controversy that led to a three-month ban, there was not enough evidence to charge anyone.
"Having thoroughly investigated this matter, we do not believe we have enough evidence to prosecute anyone that was present at the November party," Lett said.
Phelps, who won a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics six months ago, was shown holding a bong in a photograph published two weeks ago by a British newspaper, humiliating the superstar swimmer.
Phelps was suspended for three months by USA Swimming and lost a sponsorship deal with cerealmaker Kelloggs.
Police confiscated the bong, whose owner reportedly tried to sell the now-infamous pipe for $100,000 on eBay, and questioned people regarding the party after learning it was staged near the University of South Carolina.
Lett had been criticized by some for seeking attention in going after Phelps but defended his inquiry as responsible law-enforcement given the situation.
"By ignoring the November incident, I would have been sending a message of tolerance and condoning the use of illegal drugs. I could not do that," Lett said.
"How can we teach our kids... not to do drugs, then look away when it's an important person?
"Michael Phelps and I agree that something positive needs to come from this incident and that is a message of not using drugs. My perspective is that the law pertains to everyone and our drug laws are to be enforced."
Soruce: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/No_charges_will_be_filed_against_Phelps/articleshow/4139722.cms
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lett said that after a full investigation into the November party at which Phelps was photographed, touching off a controversy that led to a three-month ban, there was not enough evidence to charge anyone.
"Having thoroughly investigated this matter, we do not believe we have enough evidence to prosecute anyone that was present at the November party," Lett said.
Phelps, who won a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics six months ago, was shown holding a bong in a photograph published two weeks ago by a British newspaper, humiliating the superstar swimmer.
Phelps was suspended for three months by USA Swimming and lost a sponsorship deal with cerealmaker Kelloggs.
Police confiscated the bong, whose owner reportedly tried to sell the now-infamous pipe for $100,000 on eBay, and questioned people regarding the party after learning it was staged near the University of South Carolina.
Lett had been criticized by some for seeking attention in going after Phelps but defended his inquiry as responsible law-enforcement given the situation.
"By ignoring the November incident, I would have been sending a message of tolerance and condoning the use of illegal drugs. I could not do that," Lett said.
"How can we teach our kids... not to do drugs, then look away when it's an important person?
"Michael Phelps and I agree that something positive needs to come from this incident and that is a message of not using drugs. My perspective is that the law pertains to everyone and our drug laws are to be enforced."
Soruce: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/No_charges_will_be_filed_against_Phelps/articleshow/4139722.cms
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