Standard Bank not to renew contract with CSA

Cricket and soccer in South Africa have suffered a major financial blow with the news that Standard Bank will end its sponsorship with Cricket South Africa (CSA) and soccer teams Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.

Standard Bank will not renew its sponsorships when the current deals expire in May 2011.

CSA is the hardest hit by the news as Standard Bank was the sole sponsor of the South Africa one-day international and twenty20 teams.

The bank, which recently announced they would be cutting 1,305 permanent jobs and 710 fixed term jobs in Johannesburg and London, also sponsors South Africa's domestic Twenty20 tournament and CSA's high performance centre.

"While our sponsorships of soccer and cricket have been extremely valuable in building our brand and engaging with fans, we have had to reassess the costs of these sponsorships and the benefits for Standard Bank in the light of changed business needs," said Sarah-Anne Orphanides, Standard Banks' Group Marketing and Communications Director, in a statement.

"This was a difficult decision as we have made significant investments in both soccer and cricket. But, essentially we believe that this is a responsible, necessary and prudent decision to ensure that we support our business needs in the best possible way," she added.
© Reuters

Pakistan fight back in S.Africa cricket Test

Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq and Azhar Ali led Pakistan's fightback with half-centuries apiece to keep South African hopes of enforcing the follow-on at bay on the third day of the second Test on Monday.

Misbah finished with 77 not out to guide his team to 317-6 at the close after Ali (90) and Asad Shafiq (61) also contributed in a fight for survival with Pakistan still needing another 68 to avoid following on.

Abdul Rehman was the other unbeaten batsman without scoring.

Pakistan trail South Africa's first innings score of 584-9 declared by 267 runs on an Abu Dhabi Stadium pitch which is still not offering any real help to the bowlers.

South Africa pushed hard to enforce the follow-on and to press their chances of winning the two-match series after the first Test in Dubai ended in a draw last week.

Misbah, who reached his sixth Test half-century with consecutive boundaries off Dale Steyn, has so far hit nine boundaries and a six during his 150-ball knock and will have to continue on day four to avoid the follow-on.

South Africa's bowlers, led by Steyn (3-78) and left-arm spinner Paul Harris (2-71), managed just one wicket in the morning session and two each in the second and third.

Misbah added an invaluable 107 for the fifth wicket with Shafiq and then 46 for the sixth with Adna Akmal, who fell five overs before the finish, to Harris, after scoring 17.

Steyn had removed Younis Khan (14) and Ali in the space of five balls to raise hopes of enforcing the follow-on as Pakistan slumped to 156-4 from 153-2 soon after lunch.

But Misbah and Shafiq defied all such attempts, batting confidently to thwart the South African pace-cum spin attack. Both hit off-spinner Johan Botha for three boundaries each in successive overs to take Pakistan to 220-4 at tea.

South African captain Graeme Smith took the second new ball in an attempt to break the partnership, but it was Harris who brought the breakthrough with the wicket of Shafiq, caught in the slip by Jacques Kallis.

Shafiq hit ten boundaries during his 118-ball stay at the crease.

South African coach Corrie van Zyl said his team needs to continue the good work.

"We just have to come and do the same on Tuesday," said van Zyl. "The quicker we can get the last four wickets in terms of time and then we can have a second go or enforce the follow-on."

Shafiq said Pakistan needed to keep batting well.

"I was a bit nervous at the start, but after two-three overs I got the confidence," said Shafiq. "We need to bat well so that the follow-on is avoided and we can't afford to relax."

Resuming at 59-1, Pakistan's batsmen faced no problems as the Umer-Ali duo put on 117 for the second wicket stand before Jacques Kallis provided his team with its only breakthrough by dismissing Umer.

Ali hit paceman Morne Morkel for his eighth boundary to complete his fifth Test half-century -- his third consecutively in the series after hitting one in each innings of the drawn first Test in Dubai.

Ali then had a lucky escape when, on 64, he edged left-arm spinner Paul Harris towards forward short-leg where AB de Villiers juggled with the ball before dropping it.

Ali hit 12 boundaries during his 175-ball knock, falling two runs short of his Test best of 92, made against England at The Oval three months ago.
© AFP

Asiad hockey: Olympics on mind as India brace for semis

GUANGZHOU: The story has unfolded very differently this time, and the Indian men's hockey team will now be eyeing a fairytale ending.

Rajpal & Co. have reached a stage here that was denied to them in Doha 2006. Their disappointing fifth-finish four years ago was followed by an even bigger disaster when the country failed to qualify for the Olympics for the first time in its long history. The events led to a churning from which Indian hockey hasn't quite recovered yet.

There is now this wonderful opportunity to erase those memories and move on.

If India win their semifinal against Malaysia here on Tuesday, it will not just take them to the gold-medal match but also to one step away from sealing a berth in the 2012 London Olympics. FIH, the game's world body, has reserved a direct entry for the champions of the Asian Games and India are within sniffing distance.

But, then, there is still so much to do if that magical moment is to reached.

For one, the Indians need to sort out a few problems in the defence and will be hoping that their forward-line, which was a pale shadow of itself in the Pool B matches against Pakistan and Japan, come back to form against bogey team Malaysia on Tuesday. The semifinal is scheduled for 2.30pm IST.

India, of course, will be elated with the superb form of penalty-corner specialist Sandeep Singh, who has 10 goals from his drag-flicks. The worrying point is that his skills as a defender are as raw as ever and that has brought added pressure on Sardar Singh and Vikram Pillay.

While Pillay wasn't consistent against Pakistan. Sardar held fort admirably but his extended role in defence is bound to have a say on the midfield, which has been suffering from lack of inspiration. That may prove a weak spot against Malaysia, who always seem to reserve their best for India.

The head-to-head this year is 1-1 with India defeating Malaysia 3-2 in the Delhi Commonwealth Games, but losing 2-5 in the Sultan Azlan Shah tournament at Ipoh.

Korea, gunning for a hat-trick of Asian Games hockey titles, take on Pakistan in the first semifinal.

Read more: Asiad hockey: Olympics on mind as India brace for semis - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/16th-asian-games-2010/india-news/Asiad-hockey-Olympics-on-mind-as-India-brace-for-semis/articleshow/6972355.cms#ixzz164p2IuQb

Australia's Clarke in doubt for 1st Ashes test

Australian vice-captain Michael Clarke missed training due a back injury Monday, casting doubt over his fitness for the first Ashes cricket test against England.

Clarke has been troubled by a degenerative back condition for most of his test career and Australian team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris has confirmed he is no certainty to play in the first test which starts Thursday at Brisbane's Gabba ground.

Clarke was unable to play for his New South Wales state team in the most recent round of Australia's Sheffield Shield competition after aggravating the injury in an earlier Shield match.

Kountouris said Clarke's absence from training Monday was planned and his condition was being closely watched.

"He's in the process of recovery now (and) part of the plan was for him not to have a bat today and hopefully he'll be available for the game," Kountouris said. "I'm reasonably optimistic but ... until he bats tomorrow we can't be absolutely 100 per cent sure that he's OK to go."

Clarke refused to rate his level of fitness.

"We want him 100 per cent fit on Thursday, it doesn't matter what he is today," he said.

Clarke played no part in Australia's intense training on Monday. While his teammates warmed up, he walked laps of the Gabba oval before resting.

Allrounder Steve Smith, who remains a member of Australia's 13-man first test squad, will likely play in Clarke's place if he is deemed unfit.

Kumble elected KSCA chief after thumping win

Former India captain Anil Kumble and former India fast bowler Javagal Srinath romped home to a thumping 24-0 victory in Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) polls held on Sunday. At 40 and 39 respectively, Kumble and Srinath are the youngest president and secretary of the state cricket association. The Kumble group wiped out the prospects of their rivals, headed by the former Maharaja of Mysore, Srikantadatta Wodeyar.

The thumping majority in the managing committee of the association is expected to give Team Kumble a free hand to shape Karnataka cricket on the lines that they had promised� world-class facilities at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, practice pitches and infrastructure for local clubs and promoting talented cricketers from Karnataka.

The outgoing managing committee headed by Wodeyar had a thin 13-11 majority in the association resulting in turbulence and little progress for cricket. "Cricket is first for us, everything else is second," Javagal Srinath said in the run-up to the polls.

The Kumble-Srinath team comprises mainly of former cricketers, and enjoys the support of current Test players such as Rahul Dravid. It also has in its ranks experienced administrators and long time association committee members such as hotelier P Sadanada Maiya and finance expert Tallam Venkatesh. Kumble also had the support of Vijay Mallya, owner of IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore, and outgoing secretary of KSCA, Brijesh Patel. Nearly 1500 people, including 229 representing clubs and the life members of the KSCA voted in the elections.

Captaincy, a dream come true: Gambhir

Nagpur: Handed over the responsibility of captaining India in the first two ODIs against New Zealand in Mahendra Singh Dhoni's absence, opener Gautam Gambhir on Sunday said leading the national team in the upcoming series is a dream-come-true moment in his career.

Gambhir was yesterday named captain of India's ODI team for the first two ODIs against New Zealand after the selectors decided to rest five senior players, including regular skipper Dhoni.

"It's a dream-come-true moment for any player to lead his country. I am obviously excited about it and hopefully we would do well," Gambhir told reporters after the second day's play in the third and final Test between India and New Zealand here.

Asked whether his concept and visualisation about captaincy is different from Dhoni, he said, "I know that there are ups and downs in captaincy. I have experienced that while leading the Delhi Daredevils and Delhi Ranji Trophy side. Everyone has a different way of going about his job. It's more about being instinctive.

"You can't think beforehand about a particular situation. You have got to take instinctive decisions and back yourself."

If the left-hander was excited about the prospect of leading the national side, there was disappointment on missing out on a three-figure mark having got out on 78 after playing a loose shot off Tim Southee's bowling.

"You want to make the most of the opportunities. So it's pretty disappointing that despite being involved in two century partnerships in back-to-back Test matches, I couldn't convert it. Hopefully, we will get those in South Africa," Gambhir said.

About how the match has panned out, the opener feels that the ball has already started turning and a first innings lead of around 300 can clinch the issue for the home team.

Asked about his lack of runs much throughout the past season, Gambhir attributed it more to his recurring knee injury rather than poor form.

"After Asia Cup, I wasn't playing three or four Test matches at one go. When you play three to four Test matches, it helps a lot to get back into form," he said.

Dravid, Dhoni author huge lead for India

NAGPUR, India (Reuters) - Rahul Dravid and Mahendra Singh Dhoni batted with supreme authority to steer India into a huge lead after New Zealand bowlers had picked up three early wickets on the third day of the deciding test match on Monday.

Dravid stood tall with his 31st test hundred while captain Dhoni looked set for his fifth hundred in tests as they stitched together a 182-run partnership for the unbroken sixth wicket.

India reached a huge total of 510 for five wickets at tea to stretch the lead to 317, with Dravid (166) and Dhoni (95) still at the crease.

The right-handed Dravid got to the coveted mark with a flicked two, 10 minutes before lunch at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium.

Dhoni, who had been short of runs of late, joined Dravid at the crease after the hosts had lost Sachin Tendulkar, Vangipurappu Laxman and Suresh Raina cheaply.

The pin-up boy of Indian cricket then stepped on the pedal with some lusty hits to demoralise the New Zealand bowlers. He hit 12 boundaries and a six in his unfinished knock.

The tourists had a couple of half chances but the fielders failed to cling on to any making it more difficult for the under-assault bowlers.

Tendulkar (61) could add just four runs to his overnight score before he edged debutant Andy McKay to wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins to become the left-arm seamer's first test wicket.

Laxman followed soon after as Chris Martin bowled a big inswinger to breach his defence while New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori dismissed Raina through a bat-pad catch at silly mid-on.

The three-test series is tied at 0-0 after two draws.

Pietersen signs on with Surrey

LONDON: England batsman Kevin Pietersen will play for Surrey next season after signing a one-season deal with the English county club.

Pietersen, who is currently in Australia for the Ashes series that starts in Brisbane on Thursday, had spent the end of the 2010 season on loan at the Brit Oval after announcing his plans to quit Hampshire, another southern county at the end of the campaign.

"I'm delighted to be playing for Surrey next season, as I really enjoyed my time with them at the end of this year," Pietersen said in a Surrey statement issued Monday.

"I hope I can get some games in over the summer and spend time at this great club, meeting more of the staff and supporters. I look forward to catching up with the guys when I get back from the Ashes."

Pietersen's Surrey contract will run concurrently with his England central contract, funded by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

As with other centrally contracted players, Pietersen's availability to represent his new county will be governed by England coach Andy Flower and the England team management.

Given his status as a regular for England sides in all three international formats - Test, one-day and Twenty20 cricket - Surrey may not see much of their new signing unless he is dropped from the national set-up.

Pietersen has struggled to get back to the superlative form he showed before an Achilles injury ruled him out of most of last year's Ashes series although the 30-year-old still has an average of nearly 48 from 66 Tests.

He has not made a Test century since the West Indies series in March last year and that led to the South Africa born batsman omitted from England's end-of-season one-day matches against Pakistan in a bid to find some first-class form at The Oval.

Surrey chief executive Paul Sheldon said: "It is a real privilege for Surrey to have signed one of England's greatest players.

"When Kevin played for us last season, he was a strong positive influence in the dressing room, especially with our younger players.

"Although there is a packed schedule of International cricket in 2011, I know that whatever contribution he can make to the club will be of immense value. Meanwhile, we have sent Kevin and our other England squad players our very best wishes for the Ashes series starting on Thursday."

Pietersen joined Hampshire from Nottinghamshire, where he began his career in England, in 2004.

A year later he made his Test debut against Australia in a series that culminated with his Ashes-clinching 158 at The Oval.

After his loan spell at Surrey, Pietersen had a brief stint last month playing for South African side Kwazulu Natal Dolphins where he was coached again by longstanding mentor Graham Ford.


Read more: Pietersen signs on with Surrey - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/top-stories/Pietersen-signs-on-with-Surrey/articleshow/6969895.cms#ixzz160fi4Co4

Asiad: Somdev, Sanam bag sixth gold for India

NEW DELHI: India's tennis pair Somdev Devvarman and Sanam Singh won the sixth gold for the country in the men's doubles event of the Asian Games, when they beat Gong M and Li Z of China on Monday.

The Indian pair won 6-3, 6-7, 10-8 in super tie-breaker.

The gold came after Sania Mirza and Vishnu Vardhan settled for silver medal after losing the mixed doubles final 6-4, 1-6, 2-10 to Chan Yung Jan and Yang Tsung Hua.

Earlier in the day Somdev advanced to the final's of the single's event.

TOI