Gayle rejoins international cricket

Posted on May 4, 2012 by AHKhan

Former West Indies captain Chris Gayle Thursday announced to join international cricket again.

Gayle, renowned as a big-hitting batsman, has not played international cricket for more than a year following a dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) sparked by critical comments he made about officials in a radio interview.

The 32-year-old Jamaican left-hander, also a useful off-spin bowler, signed to play Twenty20 cricket for Somerset this season.

However, Gayle — currently starring in the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) — issued a statement on Thursday saying he had made himself available for international cricket again following talks with the WICB.

He said he would not be joining south-west side Somerset, even though he has received no guarantees he will be selected by the West Indies.

“I wish to advise that as of today (Thursday), I have written to Somerset and advised them that I will not be honouring the commitment I made to them when I signed a contract with them,” Gayle said.

“I made it clear to them that my decision was made because of my commitment to West Indies cricket and to West Indies cricket fans, and because I believe that it is time for the WICB to make a decision which will provide a clearer view of my own future.

“I understand that by making this decision, it may place me in a position of considerable risk, since I am foregoing a signed contract, without any guarantees whatsoever, with only the hope that I will be selected to play for the West Indies again.

“I have now satisfied all of the requests of the WICB and their selection panel, with whom I met via teleconference yesterday (Wednesday), and to whom I reiterated previous assurances given to the board regarding my availability.

“So that there is no doubt, I confirmed to the selectors that I was available for West Indies duty in all forms of cricket, immediately following the conclusion of my contractual obligations to my IPL franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore.”

Gayle has not played for the West Indies since the 2011 World Cup, but has been in blistering form in the IPL, where he is third in the list of the tournament s highest run scorers and has made 81, 87, 4, 86 and 71 in his past five innings.

Although he was not selected in the West Indies Test squad for a three-match series starting at Lord s on May 17, he could now return to the side for the subsequent one-day series, which gets under way in Southampton on June 16.

But those one-day matches clash with the county Twenty20 tournament, hence Gayle s decision to pull out of his Somerset contract. Somerset were, unsurprisingly, upset by Gayle s move.

“We are very disappointed that Chris Gayle will not be joining us for this season s FLt20 (Friends Life T20), particularly as we have a signed contract and a no-objection certificate from the West Indies Cricket Board,” said Somerset chief executive Guy Lavender.

Somerset subsequently announced that they had signed South African batsman Francois du Plessis as a replacement for Gayle.

The West Indies squad arrived in England on Wednesday and they begin their tour with a three-day match against south coast county Sussex at Hove starting on Saturday.

Lahore: National Junior Wrestling C’ship starts

Posted on May 3, 2012 by AHKhan

Wrestlers from WAPDA dominated in the National Junior Wrestling C’ship which began in Lahore today.

Seven teams are participating in the National Junior Wrestling Championship which started at the Punjab College of Commerce, Lahore today.

In the 55kg category, Muhammad Shahid of WAPDA, Salman Arif of HEC and Haroon Yousuf of Pakistan Army won their bouts.

In the 74kg weight category, Shan Yousuf of Pakistan WAPDA registered win while Tauqeer Ahmad of Punjab won his bout in the 84kg weight category.

Won’t quit cricket for politics: Sachin

Posted on May 2, 2012 by AHKhan

Sachin Tendulkar says he will never quit cricket for politics.

In his first comments since being nominated to the Rajya Sabha, Sachin Tendulkar today said that the “biggest honour” not withstanding, he would not give up cricket to join politics.

“I have been nominated because I am a sportsman and not a politician. I am a sportsman and will always remain one. I am not going to enter politics giving up cricket, which is my life. I will continue to play cricket,” Tendulkar said at a function organised by a realty firm to felicitate him on Maharashtra Day.

To a large, cheering crowd of mainly students and IT professionals, Tendulkar said it was “the biggest honour to be nominated to Rajya Sabha”. “The honour has come from the President of the country… The likes of Lata Mangeshkar and Prithviraj Kapoor have graced the House. It is an honour…to follow in their footsteps,” he said.

Tendulkar said he had played for over 22 years, and believed the nomination to Parliament was the result of what he had achieved on the field. “This is the appreciation of a sportsman, not of a politician,” he said, adding, “I will contribute my expertise in cricket in the House”.

Tendulkar’s Rajya Sabha nomination had been criticised by Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray as the Congress s “Dirty Picture”. “It is Congress s dirtiest play… the real Dirty Picture is this,” Thackeray had said. In an editorial, Sena mouthpiece Saamna said, “Crores of Sachin s fans would have liked to call him ‘Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar’. Alas, he will now only be ‘Sachin Tendulkar, MP’.

ICC Test rankings: India slip to 4th

Posted on April 30, 2012 by AHKhan

Australia push India to fourth in ICC Test rankings after winning series against West Indies.

Australia have pushed India to fourth place in the ICC Test championship table after winning the three-match series against the West Indies 2-0.

Australia had entered the series on equal points with India at 111 but below Mahendra Singh Dhoni s side when ratings were calculated beyond the decimal point.

The series win gave it one ratings point which was enough to put it ahead of India.

England (116) leads the Test Championship table, followed by South Africa (116) which is fraction of a point behind Andrew Strauss s side.

Meanwhile, West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul has regained the number-one ranking in the rankings for Test batsmen after hitting two half-centuries in the Dominica Test, which Australia won by 75 runs to claim the series 2-0.

No Indian figures in the top-20 list for batsmen while Zaheer Khan (12) and Pragyan Ojha (20) have maintained their rankings in the bowlers list.

Chanderpaul scored 68 and 69 which earned him 19 ratings points and helped him to leapfrog South Africa s duo of AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis into the number-one position.

Other batsmen to move up the chart are Australia s David Warner, Ed Cowan and Matthew Wade, and West Indies captain Darren Sammy.

Opener Warner has climbed two places to 43rd spot after scores of 50 and 11, Cowan has jumped six places to 60th position after scores of one and 55.

Wade, who won the man of the match award in Dominica for his 106 and four, has vaulted 46 places to 69th spot while Sammy has moved up 10 places to 73rd position following scores of 10 and 61.

In the rankings for Test bowlers, West Indies Kemar Roach has gained two more places and is now on a career-best 16th position after figures of one for 72 and three for 40.

West Indies off-spinner Shane Shillingford, who had match figures of 10 for 219, has rocketed 21 places to 46th place while Australia captain Michael Clarke s second innings figures of 23-1-86-5 has given him a jump of 11 places and puts him in 75th spot. Nathan Lyon s four for 69 and three for 87 has given him a career-best ranking of 36th.

The bowlers table is headed by South Africa s Dale Steyn with Saeed Ajmal of Pakistan and England s James Anderson in second and third positions, respectively.

Wiggins maintains lead in Tour de Romandie

Posted on April 28, 2012 by AHKhan

Luis Leon Sanchez Gil wins the third stage of the Tour de Romandie.

Spain s Luis Leon Sanchez Gil took the stage honours on the third day of the Tour de Romandie on Friday (April 27), winning narrowly in a sprint finish in Charmey at the end of the 157.6 kilometre leg from La Neuveville.

Slovenian Janez Brajkovic was among a small breakaway group which was swallowed up in the last two kilometres as Briton Bradley Wiggins in the yellow jersey maintained his position with the Sky team near the front of the peloton.

Near the finish Wiggins pulled out of the way as Sanchez Gil fought with Belgian Gianni Meersman and Italian Paolo Tiralongo, Sanchez Gil beating Meersman by a tiny margin to win.

Wiggins holds a one second lead over Sanchez Gil in the overall standings with Australian Michael Rogers a further seven second behind.

Saturday s stage is 184 kilometres from Bulle to Sion. The race finishes on Sunday.

Lahore: National Badminton Tournament starts

Posted on April 27, 2012 by AHKhan

Teams from all over the country are participating in the Tournament which started in Lahore today.

Speaker Punjab assembly, Rana Muhammad Iqbal, inaugurated the National Badminton Tournament at the Rokri Badminton Club Lahore.

In the women team events on the opening day, Sindh defeated FATA, Punjab outplayed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Railway beat Sindh.

In the men team events, Azad Kashmir beat FATA, Railway outclassed PMDA and Punjab defeated Balochistan.

Mahmood urges Pak-India authorities to resolve IPL issue

Posted on April 26, 2012 by AHKhan

INDIA: Pakistani cricketers have been consistently ignored for the Indian Premier League (IPL) since 2008 amid increased tension between the two countries because of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. But this scenario has changed with the inclusion of former Pakistani cricketer Azhar Mahmood.

Azhar Mahmood, who has been recently included within the IPL, is currently representing Kings XI Punjab. The former Pakistani all-rounder, who is now a British national as well, is the first Pakistani player to play cricket within the IPL since 2008.

Azhar was of the view that the PCB and the Indian officials can bilaterally resolve this IPL issue with respect to the inclusion of Pakistani cricketers and he further requested the concerned authorities to come forward and reconcile the issues that left the Pakistani players sidelined.

“I don’t think the doors were ever closed for professionals from Pakistan to be part of the IPL” stated Azhar. To support this, he gave examples of commentator Ramiz Raja, Kolkatta Knight Riders coach Waseem Akram and Umpire Aleem Dar.

“I cannot really answer as to why the Pakistan players are still not a part of IPL but I think the PCB needs to look into this,” he added.

Azhar Mahmood, not currently contracted by the Pakistan Cricket Board, became a Britsih citizen in 2011 and is now a fully qualified English cricketer.

The last time Azhar Mahmood represented Pakistan was during the South Africa series in 2007, although he was called up for the 2007 World Cup as well but never got the chance to represent his country because of Pakistan’s early exit.

South Africa cricket refuses to visit Bangladesh

Posted on April 25, 2012 by AHKhan

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa have turned down a request from Bangladesh to play a limited over series in May primarily because of a hectic schedule, the country’s cricket board said on Wednesday.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board, after their brief Pakistan tour this month was postponed following a court order, had approached Cricket South Africa (CSA) with a proposal to play one-day and Twenty20 internationals in May.

“Unfortunately there are too many practical obstacles that prevent us from accepting this commitment,” CSA acting chief executive Jacques Faul said in a statement.

“At the moment most of our senior Proteas are spread around the world in England and India and those who are at home are undergoing rehabilitation from injuries picked up during the past season.

“We also have to bear in mind that the Proteas have a hectic schedule ahead of it with very important tours to England and Australia with the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka sandwiched in between,” he added. REUTERS

Newell’s Old boys miss out on top spot with draw

Posted on April 24, 2012 by AHKhan

Newell’s Old Boys miss out on top spot after draw at Arsenal.

Arsenal and Newell s Old Boys fought out a 1-1 draw in Argentina s Clausura Soccer League in Buenos Aires on Monday.

Arsenal, who would have gone level with league leaders Boca on 21 points with a victory, took the lead after 46 minutes through Dario Benedetto.

Newell s Old Boys equalised eleven minutes into the second half with a goal from Victor Figueroa.

The draw meant Newell s Old Boys remained behind Boca Juniors in second place on goal difference while Arsenal were fifth, two points behind.

Tendulkar celebrates 39th birthday

Posted on April 24, 2012 by AHKhan

Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar turned 39 on Tuesday and will celebrate his birthday in Mumbai.

Tendulkar, his wife Anjali along with Mumbai Indians team members reached here on Monday by an afternoon flight from Mumbai. The five star hotel, where Mumbai Indians team is staying have made arrangements on their own to throw a party to celebrate Tendulkar s birthday.

Tendulkar is also the first batsman to score a double-century in ODI. His record score of 200 not out against South Africa at Gwalior in 2010 was only recently broken by compatriot Virender Sehwag, who smashed 219 against the West Indies at Indore.

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