Mehran dominates in squash championship

PESHAWAR, Dec 14: Mehran Javed winning spree continued on Friday when he defeated qualifier Farhan by 3-1 in the NBP National Under-17 Boys Squash Championship being played here at the PAF Hashim Khan Squash Complex.

Mehran faced little resistance from Farhan in the first match where Farhan took the first game by 10-12. Both Mehran and Farhan fought hard for a single point tying the game at 5-5, 6-6, 7-7, 8-8, 9-9, 10-10, but in the end Farhan smashed two forceful shots from the back of the court to win the game 10-12.

In the second game Mehran Javed staged a strong comeback scoring 11-9, 11-6 and 11-9 to seal the fate of rival at 3-1.

In the second match Asfandiyar beat Shehzad Khan 11-9, 11-3, 11-7 while Liaqat Ali eliminated Waqas Younis in the thrilling five-set battle with the score being 10-12, 4-11, 11-8, 11-9, 12-10.

In the other matches Arbab Aziz Khan beat Iqtidar 3-1, 11-8, 11-5, 6-11, 11-9, while Aamir Khan overpowered Kibrayia 10-12, 12-10, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7.

Likewise, Ahmad Ali beat Waqas Khan 5-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-5, Ahsan defeated Zeeshan 12-10, 4-11, 11-8, 11-6 and Munir beat Usman 12-10, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9.

In the under-11 category, Ahmad Hassan beat Asad 11-9, 11-7, 11-8, Zeeshan beat Hamad11-7, 11-3, 11-8, Hamza beat Maviya 11-6, 11-4, 11-7, Uzair Shoukat beat Abdul Ahad 11-9, 12-10, 11-9, Rashid Daulat beat Ali Sher 11-8, 11-5, 11-8 and Bilal beat Khezar Hayat 13-11, 12-10 and 11-9.—APP

PCB U-16 cricket event from 24th

LAHORE, Dec 14: The PCB U-16 one day cricket tournament will be played here from Dec 24 in Lahore and Islamabad simultaneously.

“In all 13 teams have been divided into two pools will feature in the event,” said a spokesman of Pakistan Cricket Board here on Friday.

Pool ‘A’ comprising Quetta, Karachi, Faisalabad, Hyderabad, Bahawalpur, Lahore and Multan, while pool ‘B’ has Abbottabad, Sialkot, Peshawar, Fata, Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Bahawalpur region has been added as the thirteenth team in the tournament. Dates and venues of semifinals and the final of the tournament will be announced later.—APP

Games opening, closing ceremonies relocated

LAHORE, Dec 14: The Punjab Olympic Association (PbOA) has decided to relocate venue for opening and closing ceremonies of the 32 National Games with the Punjab government refusing to allow organisers to hold the ceremonies in the Punjab Stadium.

Opening and closing ceremonies of the Games scheduled to be held from Dec 22 to 28 will now be held at the Railways Stadium.

Dawn has learnt that Punjab Sports Department secretary has refused to provide Punjab Stadium to the PbOA for opening and closing ceremonies compelling the Olympic
association, which is keen to organise the Games at any cost, to shift the venue to the Railways Stadium.

It is to be noted that despite repeated requests from the PbOA, the Punjab government is yet to provide a sum of Rs50m to the PbOA for organising the Games.

Softball players will be sent abroad for training: Jawed Hanif

KARACHI, Dec 14: Sindh Softball Association (SSA) chief Jawed Hanif said on Friday that the leading softball players of the country will soon be sent abroad for world-class training.

“Training at world-class facilities along with top international players will help our players polish their game and subsequently perform better in international
tournaments,” Jawed said during a reception hosted in honour of national players who recently participated in the National Women Softball Championship.

He said that players will soon be sent to foreign countries and talks are underway with a number of softball federations.

He also said that regular refresher courses will also be organised for local coaches, referees and players while specialists from abroad will also be hired to conduct those courses and to run camps.

Jawed added that the game of softball will be promoted from grass-roots level and in this regard SSA would soon organise Karachi Inter-school Championship.

SSA secretary Asif Azeem, who was also the organising secretary of the National Championship recently, said people have seen that Pakistan have immense talent available in the game.

“If we organise courses, coaching camps and invite foreign teams here, then we would be able to establish a strong national softball team, which could be able to forcefully participate in international tournaments,” Asif said.—PPI

Pakistan skiing team to compete in 2014 Winter Games

ISLAMABAD, Dec 14: The Pakistan Ski Federation (SFP) on Friday approved the participation of Pakistan skiing team in the Winter Olympics-2014 being held at Sochi, Russia.

The meetings of Executive Committee and General Council of Ski Federation of Pakistan (SFP) were held at Air Headquarters here with Air Marshal Farhat Hussain Khan, Vice Chief of the Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force who is also the president of Ski Federation of Pakistan in the chair.

Office-bearers of member associations of SFP from all over the country participated in the meetings.

The house discussed in details the participation for the forthcoming Winter Olympics 2014 and also approved the Ski Calendar 2013 starting from January to March 2013.

The house unanimously approved to include the events of Inter-Services Ski Championship and CAS Open Naltar Ski Championship in the Ski Calendar 2013.

The meeting also approved starting of ‘roller-skiing’ in Islamabad during March-April 2013 for the first time in Pakistan.

The President SFP emphasised to bring this breathtaking sport from the snowy mountains to the plains of the country. He said that it would not only encourage the youth to participate in this sport but also enhance the chances of finding talented skiers to represent Pakistan internationally in this thrilling sport.—APP

Work on installation of blue turf starts

LAHORE, Dec 14: Finally, Punjab government after a two-year delay has started work to lay down a new blue coloured Astroturf at the National Hockey Stadium here on Friday.

“The laying of the turf at the world’s largest hockey stadium began here yesterday and continued even during intermittent rains,” said an official statement issued the Sports Board Punjab.

“The Dutch experts, who have specially come to Pakistan supervised the work,” it further stated.

It is to be noted that Pakistan team needed the turf in the lead-up to the 2012 London Games to have some practice before leaving for London, but the team failed to do so with the Sports Board Punjab and then contractor developing differences.

The Punjab government released Rs35million some two years back aiming to complete the work by December 2010.

Mehdi, Rohma clinch U-12 TT titles

KARACHI, Dec 14: Prodigies Mehdi Raza and Rohma Gull clinched boys and girls’ under-12 singles titles respectively in the fourth Dr Essa Mohammad Karachi Open Table Tennis Championship at PSB Coaching Centre on Friday.

While Raza chalked up 11-6, 11-6, 9-11, 11-9 victory over M. Saqib, Gull outplayed Ayesha Bibi 11-2, 11-4, 11-6 in the final.

Raza has also made his mark in boys’ under-15 registering a straight 11-6, 11-4, 12-10 victory over M. Anas to reach the second final of the event. He has also reached boys’ under-18 singles fourth round. Haleema Ali annexed the girls’ under-15 crown by getting the better of Hareem Anwer in the fully stretched battle 3-2 the scores being 10-12, 11-6, 8-11, 11-2, 11-9).

Results:

Boys’ under-12 singles:

Final:

Mehdi Raza bt M. Saqib 3-1 (11-6, 11-6, 9-11, 11-9).
Boys’ under-15 singles:

Quarter-finals: Mehdi Raza bt M. Shoaib 3-0 (13-11, 11-7, 11-9); M. Anas Khan bt Hanzallah Azim 3-1 (11-9, 5-11, 11-7, 11-4); Mehdi Azhar bt Aqeel Dinar 3-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-6); Owais Ahmed bt Hammad Shaikh 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 11-6).
Semi-final: Mehdi Raza bt M. Anas 3-0 (11-6, 11-4, 12-10).
Boys’ under-18 singles:
Second round: Talal Waseem bt Mehdi Azhar 3-1 (11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 12-10); Mehdi Raza bt Ghulam Askari 3-0 (11-3, 11-9, 15-13); Yusha-ul-Hassan bt Haseeb Ahmed 3-0 (11-4, 11-6, 11-5); Salman Saleem bt Abdul Aziz 3-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-4); Aqil Dinar bt Zahir Khan 3-0 (11-9, 11-9, 11-5); Ali Raza bt Shayan Asghar 3-1 (11-8, 10-12, 11-5, 11-6); Taimoor Masood bt Abad Shaikh 3-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-8); Umer Marfani bt Sameer Asif 3-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-4); Mohammad Saqib bt Shahnil Iqbal 3-0 (11-6, 11-9, 11-8); Tabish Khursheed bt Mohammad Hassan 3-0 (11-3, 11-5, 11-7); Arif Soomro bt Hammad Shaikh 3-0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-6); Sheryar bt Mir Zohaib 3-0 (11-9, 11-6, 11-7); Mehmood Haider bt Abdul Ghaffar 3-0 (11-4, 11-6, 11-9); Saif Asif bt Mohammad Ali Khan 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 11-6); Hanzallah Azim bt Zohaib Kareem 3-0 (11-9, 11-6, 11-7); Mir Mohibullah bt Ahil Shah 3-1 (9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 12-10).
Third round: Salman Saleem bt Aqeel Dinar 3-0 911-7, 11-6, 11-6); Tabish Khursheed bt M. Saqib 3-0 (15-13, 11-9, 12-10); Yusha-ul-Hassan bt Ali Raza 3-0 (11-6, 11-9, 11-4); Talal Waseem bt Shehryar 3-2 (9-11, 11-7, 12-10, 9-11, 12-10); Umer Marfani bt Taimur Masood 3-1 (11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 11-7); Mehdi Raza bt Haris Soomro 3-1 (11-5, 10-12, 11-8, 11-6); Saif Asif bt Mehmood Haider 3-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-8); Hanzallah bt Mohibullah 3-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-7).
Girls’ under-12 singles:
Final: Rohma Gull bt Ayesha Bibi 3-0 (11-2, 11-4, 11-6).
Girls’ under-15 singles:
Semi-finals: Haleema Ali bt Rohma Gull 3-2 (11-3, 11-6, 8-11, 7-11, 11-9); Hareem Anwer bt Ayesha Rafiq 3-0 (11-9, 11-5, 11-6).
Final: Haleema Ali bt Hareem Anwer 3-2 (10-12, 11-6, 8-11, 11-2, 11-9).
Girls’ under-18 singles:
Quarter-finals: Hareem Anwer bt Mehak Anwer 3-1, (11-4, 11-2, 11-13, 11-4); Haleema Ali bt Abeera Ali 3-2 (11-4, 11-9, 10-12, 9-11, 12-10); Iqra Saeed bt Mariam Faiq 3-1 (10-12, 11-8, 11-9, 11-6); Ayesha Bibi bt Rija Khan 3-0 (11-9, 11-5, 11-7).Semi-finals: Haleema Ali bt Hareem Anwar 3-1 (10-12, 13-11, 11-9, 11-4); Iqra Saeed bt Ayesha bibi 3-0 (11-4, 11-5, 11-9).
Men’s singles:
First round: Saad Ahmed bt Ali Raza 3-2 (11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 12-14, 11-9); Ameer Pervez bt Hassan Vohra 3-1 (11-4, 5-11, 11-9, 11-7); Mehmood Shaikhani bt Sheryar Khan 3-0 (11-3, 11-6, 11-9); Tabish Khursheed bt Saqib 3-0 (11-6, 11-7, 11-5); Salman Shahid bt Raja Mumtaz 3-0 (11-4, 11-7, 13-11); Ali Tariq bt Naveed Nazar 3-0 (11-4, 11-8, 11-4); Ahmed Aslam bt Haseeb Ahmed 3-0 (11-6, 11-8, 11-5); Farrukh Kamal bt Rahat Hassan 3-1 (16-14, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9); Ahmer Ali bt Asad Zaidi 3-0 (11-2, 11-4, 11-9); Salman Haider bt Ubaid Hadi 3-1 (11-5, 11-8, 11-13, 11-9); Durrab bt Ghulam Askari 3-0 (11-4, 11-1, 11-6); M. Muzammil bt M. Osama Anis 3-1 (11-5, 11-7, 6-11, 11-6); Abdul Qadir bt M. Ikhlaq Ghori 3-0 (11-4, 11-9, 11-7); Shahzad Shaikh bt Bilal Panjwani 3-0 (11-7,11-5, 11-6); M. Hassan bt Ahil Shah 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-9); S. Salman Mansoor bt Raheel Saleem 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 12-10); Khan Zaeem bt Abdullah Aziz 3-0 (11-4, 11-8, 11-6); Asif Razzaq bt Mohammad Ali Mukati 3-0 (11-6, 11-5, 11-8); Mehdi Raza bt Azad Ali 3-0 (11-3, 11-5, 11-7); M. Ejaz bt Adeel 3-0 (11-6, 11-9, 11-9); Hamza Khan bt Ahmed 3-1 (10-12, 11-8, 11-6, 11-7); Raheel Qureshi bt Khan Sameem 3-0 (11-4, 11-3, 11-6); Shoaib Ansari bt Ashir Ahmed 3-0 (11-8, 11-6, 11-9); Shakoor Latif bt Fazil Burney 3-0 (11-4, 11-7, 11-5); Ubaid Qureshi bt A. Rafey Khan 3-0 (11-8, 11-4, 11-9); Saqib Ahmed bt Tawar Mushtaq 3-0 (12-10, 11-7, 11-8); Asim Hussain bt Ashfaq Ahmed 3-0 (11-5, 11-6, 11-8); Arif Moin bt Ahsan Zaman 3-1 (11-7, 10-12, 11-9, 11-6); Bilal Tariq bt Hani Raza 3-0 (11-7, 11-5, 11-6); Talha bt Aslam Yaqoob 3-0 (11-9, 11-6, 11-7); Asif Aziz bt A. Rehman Arshad 3-0 (11-7, 11-8, 11-9); Hussain Virani bt Hamza Sohail 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 12-10); Danish Idrees bt Hassan Imam 3-0 (12-10, 11-7, 11-9); Ashfaq Siraj bt A. Wasay Khan 3-1 (11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7); Danial Hassan bt Amir Shakil 3-0 (11-8, 11-7, 11-8); Yusha-ul-Hassan bt Emad Najam 3-0 (11-8, 11-4, 11-9); Umer Marfani bt Zafar Khan 3-0 (11-7, 11-8, 11-9); Mohsin Azhar bt Waseem-ul-Zaman 3-0 (11-4, 11-8, 11-6); S. Ali Raza bt Mohammad Ali Sher 3-1 (9-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-6); Noman Hadi bt Saqib Baig 3-0 (11-7, 11-7, 11-6); A. Hafiz Bhatti bt Ghalib Sultan 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 11-6); Akbar Shah bt Mohammad Tayyab 3-0 (11-5, 11-7, 11-9); Mumtaz bt Salman Iqbal 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-9); Asif Hussain bt Mohammad Ali Khan 3-0 (11-4, 11-2, 11-3); M. A. Ansari bt Syed Anas Ali 3-0 (11-7, 11-5, 11-8); Aqil Dinar bt Ahsan Umar 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 11-8); Salman Saleem bt Kashif Hafeez 3-0 (11-8, 11-6, 11-4); Atta Abbas bt Mir Zohaib 3-0 (11-2, 11-4, 11-4); Shariq Ali bt Hamza Sohaib 3-0 (12-10, 11-5, 11-9); Bilal Khan Afridi bt Mirza Mohibullah 3-0 (11-8, 11-4, 11-9); Nadir Sohail bt Shaikh M. Anas 3-0 (11-4, 11-3, 11-6); Hammad Shameem bt Junaid khan 3-0 (11-5, 11-8, 11-9); Umar Nadeem bt Sajid Rahim 3-0 (11-9, 11-6, 11-7); Talah Sardar bt Nazar Kazmi 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-6); Aijaz Malik bt Manzar Abbas 3-0 (11-8, 11-5, 11-9); Shahwaiz Fazil bt Saad 3-0 (11-5, 11-5, 11-9); Mohammad Anas bt S. Azhar Ali 3-0 (11-9, 11-5, 11-6); Atiq Godil bt Taimoor S. Khan 3-1 (11-6, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9); Mohammad Imran bt S. Nadeem Abbas 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-6); Mohammad Sultan bt A. Aziz Khan 3-0 (11-9 ,11-5, 11-8); Ali Shan bt Taha Usman 3-0 (11-5, 11-8, 11-9).

Victory gives KRL top spot in PPFL

KARACHI, Dec 14: Kaleemullah inspired the Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) yet again, scoring two goals in a 4-0 thumping of PMC Athletico that sent them top of the Pakistan Premier Football League table on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) edged out Pakistan Air Force (PAF) 1-0 while Baloch FC were awarded a walkover against Afghan FC.

Kaleemullah scored twice in the first half with the other goals coming from Saddam Hussain and Mohammad Adil as the KRL showed great ruthlessness in their victory at the
PMC Football Ground in Faisalabad to go top of the table with 52 points from 20 games.

The PAF remain third on 49 after Mohammad Riaz scored in the second half to give the KESC victory at the KPT Football Stadium and help them up to 45 points. Army are second on 51 points.

Baloch FC were beneficiaries of another walkover as Afghan FC failed to turn up for the game at the Noushki Football Stadium.

In the departmental-leg of the second-tier Pakistan Football Federation League, Pakistan Railways beat Higher Education Commission 2-1 while the game between Pakistan Steel and SSGC was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch in Lahore.

Saturday’s fixtures:

PFFL: Pak Steel v SSGC (FAME Football Ground, Lahore); Baloch FC v Chand FC (Rai Ali Nawaz Football Ground, Sahiwal); Young Blood FC v Green Star FC (Rai Ali Nawaz Football Ground, Sahiwal).

Derby delight to boost United as City face Newcastle test

LONDON, Dec 14: Manchester United star Ryan Giggs has warned Manchester City that his side’s derby triumph will provide the perfect springboard to wrestle the title away from Eastlands.

United moved six points clear of second placed City after an explosive 3-2 win over their bitter rivals in the Manchester derby last Sunday and Alex Ferguson’s team have a golden opportunity to extend their lead this weekend.

While spluttering champions City have a tricky assignment at Newcastle, United host lowly Sunderland on the back of four successive league victories and with confidence sky-high following Robin van Persie’s stoppage-time winner at Eastlands.

Giggs has seen 12 previous title-winning teams take shape during his career at United and the veteran Welsh midfielder is beginning to sense another dominant team forming at Old Trafford.

Asked if the win over City would provide a major boost, Giggs said: “It should do, purely because of the way we performed.

“We have got everything in place for the busy Christmas period and the confidence of such a great result.“We accept that we are letting too many goals in and we’ve had to come from behind too often, but the signs are there that this could be a very good season for us.

“The wins against Chelsea, Newcastle and City away have been our three best performances and you probably can’t get three bigger challenges.”

While Giggs and his United team-mates can contemplate a successful second half of the season, City are facing a fight to salvage their campaign.

Roberto Mancini’s side have already crashed out of the Champions League and another setback at Newcastle this weekend would deal a hammer blow to their hopes of retaining the title.

Last weekend’s loss to United exposed City’s flaws in defence and attack as they were beaten at home for the first time in the league since December 2010.

United defender Patrice Evra rubbed salt into the wounds by claiming they now have the mental edge, but defiant City captain Vincent Kompany remains convinced the title race isn’t over yet.

“I don’t know anything about psychological blows,” Kompany stated. “Losing on Sunday changes nothing. We lost and we move on to the next game.

“The beauty of football is that you are always challenged, whether you have lost or won, and the next game is always the most important.”

Elsewhere, the spotlight will be firmly on Arsene Wenger on Monday when Arsenal travel to Reading hoping to erase the painful memory of Tuesday’s humiliating League Cup quarter-final defeat at Bradford.

Wenger suffered the most embarrassing loss of his 16-year reign as League Two minnows Bradford won 3-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw and he has come under heavy fire from critics in the media and among his club’s fanbase this week.

Wenger, whose side are currently seventh, can ill-afford to see Arsenal beaten by second bottom Reading, who have won just one of their first 16 matches, and the Frenchman admits he is feeling under pressure to turn the tide.

“I always feel under pressure to deliver, always,” Wenger said. “You can only be successful if you question yourself, because the game has become bigger and better.

Fixtures (1500GMT unless stated):

Saturday: Liverpool v Aston Villa, Man United v Sunderland, Newcastle v Man City (1245GMT), Norwich v Wigan, QPR v Fulham, Stoke v Everton.

Sunday: Tottenham v Swansea (1330GMT), West Brom v West Ham (1600GMT).

Monday: Reading v Arsenal (2000GMT).—AFP

Amir eyes big win over Molina

Amir eyes big LOS ANGELES, Dec 14: Britain’s Amir Khan, trying to fight his way back into the world title picture after back-to-back losses, faces a must-win match-up on Saturday against unbeaten American Carlos Molina.

Amir was stopped in the fourth round last July by America’s Danny Garcia in a showdown for two world titles after a controversial loss to US fighter Lamont Peterson last December in Washington, Peterson’s hometown.

Now Amir, 26-3 with 18 knockouts but winless since stopping Zab Judah in July of last year, will fight another US hometown hero in Molina, 17-0 with one draw and seven knockouts.

“It’s always tough but maybe that’s the reason we’ve been working even harder, because we know we have to win even more convincingly when you come to someone’s backyard and that’s what we’re going to do,” Amir said.

Amir, 26, vowed he will show his fans some new moves. “You will see a new Amir Khan come into this fight,” he asserted. “The training I’ve been doing with Virgil Hunter has been great – work on new techniques and new skills and everything and be a totally different fighter.”

Molina, 27, figures the new Amir will be no more of a pushover than the old one he has studied in films.

“We’re going to come out of nowhere and shock the world,” Molina vowed.—AFP

Ashour, Shorbagy set up all-Egyptian final at world championship

DOHA, Dec 14: Ramy Ashour, the unpredictable squash genius from Egypt, reached the final of the world championships, ended the titleholder’s defence, and made sure of regaining the world No 1 spot — all in one go here on Thursday.

Ashour also frustrated the two top Englishmen simultaneously.

By winning 11-9, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8 he halted Nick Matthew’s bid for a hat-trick of world titles and guaranteed that he will depose James Willstrop from the top of the rankings.

That is certain irrespective of the outcome of final later on Friday. That is against a surprise survivor — his compatriot Mohammed el Shorbagy, a 21-year-old Bristol-based student who has become the great new contender.

Shorbagy delivered an up-and-down 9-11, 11-9, 12-14, 11-4, 11-8 triumph over Willstrop in almost two hours, first appearing likely to win in four games and then certain to lose in five.

By contrast Ashour’s success was always on the cards, and only for a 15-minute spell when Matthew fought back bravely to lead 5-3 in the fourth was it in a great deal of doubt.

Typically though it still contained its share of drama.

“I feel right on top of the world,” Ashour said. “After being injured in the last two world championships it feels very good to be back in the final. And he [Matthew] was the most impressive player on the tour and has had a good attitude to the sport.”

But Matthew did not entirely return the compliment.

Instead he made known his disapproval that Ashour several times ran into him, knocking him over, eventually in the fourth game causing the referee to give the Egyptian a conduct warning.

“That’s the fifth or sixth time it’s happened,” Matthew lectured the official. “I wonder if the roles had been reversed how long it would have taken to award a point.” His remark hushed a crowd which had supported Ashour vociferously.—AFP

HOBART, Dec 14: Phil Hughes made a solid 86 on his return to Test cricket before Michael Clarke and Mike Hussey took up the running and steered Australia to 299 for four at close of play on the first day of the opening Test against Sri Lanka on Friday.

Hughes was the only batsmen to fall in the final session, lasting only a couple of overs after lunch before being bowled through the gate by Chanaka Welegedera, giving the Sri Lankan seamer his third wicket of the day.

Clarke, who had made 70 not out, and Hussey, unbeaten on 37, batted through the remainder of the day and if the evidence of their prolific partnerships in the recent
series against South Africa is anything to go by, will take some shifting.

“Overall, 299 for four puts the ball in our court,” said Hughes. “I thought we were outstanding today. It really gives us momentum going into tomorrow.”

Sri Lanka’s bowlers, dubbed this week as the worst pace attack ever to tour Australia by former Test speedster Rodney Hogg, made life uncomfortable for the batsmen at times but struggled for any real penetration under cloudy skies at the Bellerive Oval.

“I think we showed we can put Australia under pressure and hopefully the bowlers will be fresh in the morning and we can get them out for less than 100 additional runs,” said Welegedera, who finished with 3-99 on his return after nine months out injured.

Clarke, who passed 1,400 runs for the year, has now put on 731 runs in partnerships with Hussey in the last four Tests and will be looking to plunder a few more on Saturday despite taking a couple of painful knocks to his legs.

Friday, however, belonged to Hughes.

The left-hander was recalled to the side on the back of good domestic form following the retirement of Ricky Ponting at the end of the series against the Proteas.

The 24-year-old reached his fourth Test half century with a square drive for three runs and then initially accelerated towards a century, most notably with an ugly but effective slog for six off spinner Rangana Herath.

On the ground where his second spell as a Test batsman ended amid questions about his technique after two failures against New Zealand last year, Hughes scored eight fours and one six in his 166-ball knock before Welegedera struck with a superb ball.

Australia had lost openers Ed Cowan (4) and David Warner in the opening session, the latter run out for 57 on the stroke of lunch after a calamitous misunderstanding with Hughes.

Shane Watson, dropping down to fourth in the batting order to allow Hughes to come in at No 3, followed them to the pavilion for 30 shortly before tea, the victim of an exceptional diving catch in the slips by skipper Mahela Jayawardene.

That was a second wicket for Welegedera and a measure of redemption for the bowler after he had Hughes caught behind for 77 only for the umpire to call a no ball.

Welegedera had also made the early breakthrough for the tourists when Cowan tried to pull a short delivery only for the ball to catch him high on the bat and carry to mid-on where Shaminda Eranga took a simple catch.

It could have been even better for the Sri Lankans, who were only centimetres away from the perfect start to the morning after Clarke had won the toss and elected to bat.
Cowan edged the second delivery of the day from Nuwan Kulasekara to the slips but Angelo Mathews was just unable to get his hands to it, despite an athletic dive.—Reuters

Scoreboard

AUSTRALIA (1st Innings):
D.A. Warner run out    57
E.J.M. Cowan c Eranga b Welegedara    4
P.J. Hughes b Welegedara    86
S.R. Watson c M. J’dene b Welegedara    30
M.J. Clarke not out    70
M.E.K. Hussey not out    37
EXTRAS (B-1, LB-3, W-1, NB-10)    15
TOTAL (for four wkts, 90 overs)    299
FALL OF WKTS: 1-18, 2-97, 3-183, 4-198.
TO BAT: M.S. Wade, P.M. Siddle, M.A. Starc, N.M. Lyon, B.W. Hilfenhaus.
BOWLING: (to-date): Kulasekara 22-2-51-0 (5nb, 1w); Welegedara 20-1-99-3 (3nb); Eranga 16-3-52-0 (2nb); Mathews 11-2-35-0; Dilshan 4-0-11-0; Herath 17-3-47-0.
SRI LANKA: T.M. Dilshan, F.D.M. Karunaratne, K.C. Sangakkara, D.P.M.D. Jayawardene, T.T. Samaraweera, A.D. Mathews, H.A.P.W. Jayawardene, K.M.D.N. Kulasekara, H.M.R.L.B. Herath, R.M.S. Eranga, U.W.M.B.C.A. Welegedara.
UMPIRES: A.L. Hill (New Zealand) and N.J. Llong (England).
TV UMPIRE: Aleem Dar (Pakistan).
MATCH REFEREE: B.C. Broad (England).

BERLIN, Dec 14: The new European Games, with the first edition in Azerbaijan’s Baku in 2015, will not compete with the Olympic Games for athletes, cash or the spotlight, the head of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) Patrick Hickey said.

The EOC announced its plan for a continental Games last week amid some opposition, as Hickey said, from “within the Olympic movement”.

The EOC has yet to get all the big Olympic sports federations on board, including the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) which had fixed its
calendar up to 2016 long before the new event was announced, swimming and basketball.

“We do not want to do a copy of the Olympics. We want to be innovative and different,” EOC president Hickey said in an interview. “We will have the core sports but we are flexible.

“The reason we are staging it that year is that we see in the future for this to be a qualifying event for the Olympics (held a year later),” he said.

“But that has to be negotiated with the federations and the International Olympic Committee.”

The plan is to have 15 of the 28 Olympic sports represented, among them volleyball, boxing, judo and rugby sevens.

Three non-Olympic sports, including dance sport and karate, will also be part of the event which will have some 7,000 athletes compared to the 10,000 at the Olympics.

“We are the only continent without senior Games. We do not have an event like the Asian Games or the Pan American or African Games,” said Hickey, who also heads the Irish Olympic Committee.

The first edition of the four-yearly event will be staged by cash-rich Baku which had unsuccessfully bid for the summer Olympics of 2016 and 2020.

“Baku and Azerbaijan are not strapped like the rest of Europe. We wanted to get this off the ground and this event will be at no expense to the national Olympic committees,” said Hickey.

Among those concerned about the event is the IAAF, which sees the European Games as cutting into its revenue streams at times of economic strain.

Swimming, another top Olympic sport in terms of viewership and commercial appeal, has also not finalised its participation.

“I understand some international federations are fearing it may dilute their sponsorship,” Hickey said. “They [IAAF] have a difficult situation as they had committed most of their events to 2016 and tied in with sponsors.” —Reuters

PARIS, Dec 14: World football’s governing body on Friday said that they were unable to check whether claims that an African footballer and not Argentina star Lionel Messi was the record holder for the most goals scored in a calendar year.

“Thanks for the questions about Godfrey Chitalu. Our official stats are limited to FIFA competitions, so we cannot verify this ‘record’,” FIFA’s communications department said on its Twitter account @fifamedia.

“We keep records for all FIFA competitions,” it added.

Barcelona forward Messi was hailed by many as the greatest player ever in the game after he scored twice on Sunday to beat the 40-year-old record of Germany’s Gerd Mueller and take his tally to 86 for 2012.

But claims emerged on Thursday that he may still in fact be well short of Zambia legend Chitalu, who netted 107 times — 49 in league matches for Kabwe Warriors and 58 in cup and internationals — between January 23 and December 10, 1972.

A black and white photograph of a smiling Chitalu, dressed in a suit and holding a ball inscribed with “1972 Godfrey Chitalu 107 goals” has been widely circulated on the Internet.

Yet there have also been claims that his name was raised by jealous supporters of Barca rivals Real Madrid to prevent the record going to a Barcelona player.—AFP

LAHORE, Dec 14: While asserting that Pakistan’s bowling department has enough strength to handle the opponent batsmen in the upcoming limited-overs series in India, head coach Dav Whatmore said on Friday his team would do all possible preparations for what is expected to be a demanding series.

“Our players have played a lot of T20 cricket in the recent past [in National T20 Cup] and they will also feature in 50-over matches in the training camp. This will enable these players to undergo maximum preparations before we leave for India,” Whatmore said while addressing a news conference here on the first day of the team’s training camp set up at the Gaddafi Stadium for the India tour starting from Dec 22.

The second session of the training camp at the stadium could not be held due to intermittent rain.

Pakistan are scheduled to play three One-day Internationals and two Twenty20 matches during the high-profile tour.

Whatmore while declaring master off-spinner Saeed Ajmal as his trumpcard said Pakistan had enough strength in their spin and pace bowling departments.

“Saeed has always remained my trump card, he is a wonderful bowler and a threat for the opposition,” the coach said. “The short tour of India is also a challenge for Saeed because the Indian batsmen generally play spinners relatively easily.

“We have good bowlers, both in spin and pace. Although, much depends on what conditions exist for a particular match, still I think we have enough depth in bowling as we have picked the best bowlers for the job,” he added.

Whatmore, a former Australian Test player, dispelled the impression that Pakistan and Indian cricketers only share traditional rivalry.

“I can tell you several players from both the sides give each other a lot of respect. We are aware of the pressure that exists because sadly some people give it [Pakistan-India cricket contests] a different dimension.”

It is noticeable that the limited-overs series in India will be Pakistan’s first international contest after a gap of almost three months whereas India have been featuring in international cricket almost constantly. However, Whatmore played down this discrepancy, saying it will not give any extra benefit to India in the coming series against Pakistan.

“In modern-day cricket this [scheduling] benefit can go to any side. Every country will have of course long or short gaps; for instance Australia have a big schedule ahead, we will also have; this time, it is the turn of India,” he expressed.

To a question whether Pakistan spinners like the England spinners would deliver in India, Whatmore said spinners’ role varied for different types of competitions.

“No doubt England are playing very good cricket against India, who are struggling in the [ongoing] fourth Test to square the series [2-2]. However, as regards spinners’ performance, I think we should look at it series-to-series as every series has specific requirements  and priorities [England playing Test series in India while Pakistan will be playing ODIs and T20s],” the coach underlined.

To a query that the team had no all-rounder for the ODI series against India, he said the national team management had the option to use paceman Anwar Ali if the situation demanded. “We have an option to include Anwar as he has already made some runs in domestic cricket [President’s Trophy].”

Meanwhile, responding to a question Whatmore expressed his delight over the appointment of former Test captain and prolific batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq as batting consultant for national team’s tour to South Africa (starting early next year).

The burly batsman, a veteran of 120 Tests, is also giving tips to youngsters in the ongoing training camp for the India series.

“Inzamam undoubtedly is a Pakistan stalwart and his appointment [as batting consultant] will certainly transfer his vast experience and knowledge of playing against Indian bowlers to our present batsmen,” Whatmore said.

About Indian key batsman Virat Kohli, who had become a challenge for the Pakistan bowlers in recent past, Whatmore said: “Some batsmen like certain opposition.
Kumar Sangakarra loves to play against Pakistan while [England Test captain] Alastair Cook often does well against India. So, we will try to do everything possible to counter everyone.”

He said it was a privilege for him that he was part of this Indo-Pak series. “For the last few years the two countries have been playing each other in the ICC or ACC events.
This is the first bilateral series taking place after a long time, and it is a privilege for me to be part of it. A good number of fans will be supporting their [Indian] team, while we will also have some support. So I am looking forward to a good series in India,” he said.

ST JOHN’S (Antigua), Dec 14: A new franchise-based Twenty20 league will begin play in the Caribbean next year the West Indies Cricket Board said on Thursday, filling the hole left by the collapse of Allen Stanford’s tournament.

The Stanford 20/20, held in 2006 and 2008, kick-started Caribbean interest in the shortest form of the game but since the collapse of the Texan’s financial empire, leading to his imprisonment for fraud, there has been a lack of resources for players.

The West Indies were crowned Twenty20 world champions this year and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has run a lower-key regional tournament to keep top players involved in the shortest format.

But the new league promises to give Caribbean cricket a much needed financial boost too.

The WICB said their agreement with Barbados and New York based merchant bank Verus International would ensure annual funding for new retainer contracts for regional players, above and beyond the 20 main squad members who are contracted.

“This will bring a host of benefits to players and West Indies Cricket in general,” WICB president Julian Hunte said.

“A significant number of players at the regional level will benefit through greater financial stability both from playing in the league and from year-round retainer contracts while having an international platform on which to showcase their skills and talent.

“Most importantly is that the league will bring a huge financial injection into the Caribbean and create significant job opportunities across the region in a wide cross section of sectors.”

The competition is expected to comprise up to six privately owned city-based teams. No details were immediately available on how those franchises would be created or any potential owners.

Ajmal Khan, chairman and CEO of Verus said there was huge potential for the league. “We believe the recently won World T20 is a testament to the quality and excitement of West Indies cricket,” he said. “We intend to utilise the Twenty20 league to further develop and strengthen West Indies cricket by expanding the global fan base as well as the number of West Indian cricketers under regional retainer contracts.”—Reuters

NAGPUR, Dec 14: One of the finest exponents of reverse swing, former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram feels the Indian bowlers have not been able to use the art as well as their English counterparts are, in the ongoing Test series.

“Look at the state of the ball in Kolkata when the two teams were bowling,” said Wasim.

“When India had the ball it was average looking. Nobody was bothering to shine the ball, or take responsibility for keeping it dry. When England bowled it was different. One side of the ball was shiny and the other dry,” he observed.

The 46-year-old thought the Indians are not running in hard enough to get the delivery going.

“I think England have realised that you have to sprint in to bowl reverse swing. Compare them both to Ishant and Zaheer. England’s bowlers were sprinting.

“You have to put that effort in to bowl reverse swing. Myself, Waqar (Younis) and Imran (Khan), we reversed it because we ran in hard,” he said.

James Anderson and Co, according to Wasim, is bowling more like the Pakistan team. “The way they bowled tells me England will only get better in this series because they have the knowledge of reverse swing. To me it looked like the Pakistan team were playing out there, it really did.” —Agencies

DURBAN, Dec 14: New Zealand will not be distracted by the axing of former captain Ross Taylor ahead of their cricket tour of South Africa, new skipper Brendon McCullum said on Friday.

“We can’t control what has unfolded back home and, as players, our focus is very much on the cricket field and what we can control there,” McCullum told a news conference. “What has happened behind the scenes over the last little while is, from a team perspective, now over and our focus is now moving forward.”

Taylor was stripped of the one-day and Twenty20 captaincy last week and rejected an offer to stay on as Test captain while also making himself unavailable for the South Africa tour which includes three Twenty20 Internationals, two Tests and three One-day Internationals.

Former players criticised New Zealand Cricket (NZC) for their handling of the situation and ex-batsman and coach Mark Greatbatch called on the body’s chairman Chris Moller to step down.

Moller has issued a public apology to Taylor for the way that his sacking was handled.

“There have obviously been some distractions going on back home over the last week or so,” McCullum said. “We know about the monumental task in front of us and to take it on without some of our better players is disappointing but that is the way it has unfolded.”

Taylor is arguably New Zealand’s best batsman at the moment and McCullum said he would be missed.

“He is going to be a big loss; we have a number of big losses right throughout our team. It is one thing to long for those guys to be present but it is another thing to get on and deal with the resources you have got.

“From a leadership point of view you have got to find a way to be able to use the resources that we do have rather than the ones that we don’t.

New Zealand coach Mike Hesson, whose recommendation led to Taylor’s sacking, said the former skipper’s absence would give new players a chance to establish themselves in the team.

“There is no doubt that without [all-rounder] Daniel [Vettori], with his injury, and Ross we won’t be as strong with the bat but that also gives opportunities to other people to stand up and that is an exciting thing,” said Hesson.—Reuters

SBP defends minor adjustment: Policy rate goes below 10pc after five years

Sharp depreciation of the rupee against international currencies and a large monetary expansion were the two main reasons which influenced the monetary stance and forced the central bank to go for a small interest rate cut instead of a large one. — File Photo

KARACHI: The State Bank on Friday cut its policy interest rate by 50 basis points to 9.5 per cent. The decision brought down the rate to a single digit for the first time in five years.

In its monetary policy for December and January, the central bank expressed concern over a number of issues directly or indirectly impacting the monetary management.

It said CPI inflation, which stood at 6.9 per cent last month, declined faster than earlier estimates, along with food, non-food and core inflation.

This broad-based deceleration in inflation is now expected to keep the average inflation below the 9.5 per cent target for FY13 (2012-13). “Therefore, the SBP has decided to reduce the policy rate to 9.5 per cent,” it said.

Sharp depreciation of the rupee against international currencies and a large monetary expansion were the two main reasons which influenced the monetary stance and forced the central bank to go for a small interest rate cut instead of a large one.

The decision did not go down well with business and industry as they were optimistic about a big cut in keeping with an unexpected decline in main inflation.

The State Bank said the overall stress in the external position was also increasing given the declining financial inflows and substantial debt repayments.

Led by direct and portfolio investment flows, the total net capital and financial account inflows had been on a declining path for some years now, the SBP said, adding:
“These inflows have come down from a peak of 7.2 per cent of GDP in FY07 (2006-07) to 0.7 per cent in FY12 (2011-12).”

The central bank said a low interest rate could potentially affect the credit demand, including that of imports, and return on rupee-denominated assets relating to foreign currency assets.

“The first consideration is not a source of concern, but the second consideration is important and puts a natural ‘limit’ on downward adjustments in the interest rate.”

The central bank attributed the large monetary expansion to a year-on-year growth of 26.4 per cent and fiscal borrowings from the banking system.

“Given the current high year-on-year growth in broad money of 17.8 per cent, this approach will require more vigilance in near future,” it said.

Almost all fiscal borrowings from scheduled banks and retirement to the SBP took place during the first quarter of FY13. In the second quarter, the fiscal authority has mostly relied on SBP to meet its financing requirements while just rolling over the maturing scheduled bank debt.

As per recent amendments to the SBP Act, the fiscal authority is required to ensure at least zero borrowing from the SBP in a quarter.

“Given that only two weeks remain before the end of the second quarter of the financial year, it seems unlikely that this requirement will be met,” the SBP said.

The fiscal authority borrowed Rs586 billion from scheduled banks between July 1 and Nov 30.

The fiscal deficit of Rs284 billion, or 1.2 per cent of GDP, during the first quarter (July-September) of 2012-13 was entirely financed by borrowings from domestic sources. Almost 91 per cent of last year’s fiscal deficit was also financed from domestic sources.

“A year-on-year growth of 62.5 per cent in interest payments on domestic debt in the first quarter of 2012-13 is not surprising,” the SBP said, adding that the consistently low level of credit availed by the private sector, together with declining foreign investments, were the main factors responsible for a stagnant economy.