Bosman sent back due to incomplete paperworkLoots Bosman, the South African batsman signed by the IPL, was forced to return to Johannesburg late on Tuesday night after immigration officials at the Mumbai airport found that he had incomplete paperwork. Bosman, who is a member of the Mumbai Indians outfit, has now sorted things out with diplomatic officials and is expected to land in India on Thursday.Warne’s birthday wish for SachinShane Warne has wished Sachin Tendulkar as many playing years as he wants. This came a day before Tendulkar’s 35th birthday. “He is a great player. We may have to wait for many-many years to have another player like him. He should be allowed to continue till he wants to,” Warne was reported as saying.Maxwell misses the point Neil Maxwell, the CEO of the Mohali franchise, can’t understand the fuss over members of the side being given preferential treatment with regard to the hotels they are staying in. “I could stay under the table to play alongside some of the best in the world,” he was reported as saying in the . This comes in the wake of reports about lesser-known players of the franchise being asked to move out of the five-star hotel to accommodate important guests.Meanwhile, Maxwell, while talking to the Sydney Morning Herald, said that Australia cannot sustain its own version of the IPL since its market is too small. Maxwell, who is the chief executive of Kings XI Punjab, said it would be a good idea if the Australian board charged a transfer fee for players signing on with domestic leagues like the IPL.Gayle arrives but still uncertainChris Gayle has joined the Kolkata Knight Riders’ squad but his participation in team’s next few games is still uncertain. He didn’t take part in the net session on Wednesday. His groin injury, which he picked up in the recent home series against Sri Lanka, is still being monitored and he remains a doubtful starter for the next match against Chennai on Saturday.McGrath looks to expand breast cancer foundationGlenn McGrath and wife Jane are looking at expanding their breast cancer foundation into India to help tackle a soaring incidence of the disease, the reported. “Obviously there’s huge opportunities for us to get involved with something over here,” he said. “I think we need to do our homework. It’s doing amazingly well back home, so if that could be a blueprint for other countries, that would be great.
ScorecardFahad Masood’s fifty and three wickets went in vain•PCB
Shoaib Malik and Sheharyar Ghani scored fifties to chase Habib Bank Limited’s competitive target of 181 which meant Fahad Masood’s all-round performance went in vain.After Pakistan International Airlines chose to field, Habib Bank lost Imran Farhat after he struck three fours which was followed by a 101-run stand between Asad Baig and Masood. The pair batted for 12.2 overs, scoring at more than eight an over. Masood was dismissed for 64 which included eight fours and two sixes. Baig was joined by Hasan Raza and the two scored 60 off the last 32 balls to take them to 180. They were also aided by 20 extras.PIA were in trouble early, as three of their top four batsmen scored five runs in all. They were 7 for 2 after the first five balls and 29 for 3 in the fifth over. However, Malik and Ghani revived them by scoring 118 runs in only 12.3 overs. They needed 56 from the last five overs and when Malik was run-out for 78, they still needed 34 off 16. Anwar Ali was also run-out in the next over but Ghani scored 19 in the penultimate over and his unbeaten 71 ensured they won with two balls to spare. Masood took all three wickets that were taken by bowlers. ScorecardState Bank of Pakistan (SBP) overcame a stop-start batting performance to beat Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) by three runs to record their first win of the Ramadan T20 Cup.Choosing to bat, SBP’s openers began brightly with Rameez Raja collecting a four off the first ball. But just as Raja and his opening partner Farrukh Shehzad were getting into their stride, Mohammad Mudassar accounted for both of them in successive overs to leave SBP at 36 for 2 in the sixth over. SBP flourished again with Adnan Raees and Usman Saeed as they added 52 runs off 38 balls, but both of them were removed in the 17th and 19th overs respectively. SBP lost a further three wickets in the last seven balls to score 139 in 20 overs. Zulfiqar Babar and Mudassar took three wickets apiece for WAPDA.WAPDA began well and had the target in sight even as late as the 12th over when left-arm spinner Mohammad Waheed turned the game around. Needing 70 runs off 51 balls with eight wickets in hand, the well-set Sohaib Maqsood was run out and Waheed capitalised by removing Mohammad Ayub and Saad Nasim to leave WAPDA at a precarious 92 for 5 in the 16th over. Ayaz Tasawwar came up with a threatening cameo but fell in the eighteenth over. With 12 needed off the last over, Rizwan Haider came up with two crucial dot balls to give away only eight and seal the win.
Who conceived the idea of the ICC revamp? The three most powerful boards – BCCI, ECB and Cricket Australia – did. In January last year, a working group comprising former BCCI president N Srinivasan, former ECB chairman Giles Clarke and former CA chairman Wally Edwards designed a ‘position paper’ that recommended changes to the ICC constitution, governance structure and revenue-sharing model of the ten Full Members. Was it accepted by the ICC board? After opposition from some boards like CSA, PCB and SLC, the Big Three climbed down from their more extreme positions with reference to governance and constitutional changes, but did not change the new revenue distribution model. What were the important decisions accepted? The ICC revenue distribution model was reformulated to give BCCI, ECB and CA a graded percentage share of revenue, with a larger chunk going to these three boards when compared to the rest. It was also decided to have the BCCI nominee be the ICC chairman for the first term lasting two years. Srinivasan became the first chairman. The influential Finance & Commercial Affairs committee was led by Clarke until June 2016. An Executive Committee (ExCo) was formed for the first time to take major policy decisions that would be ratified by the ICC board. Edwards was the first chairman of ExCo, with future heads being picked on a rotation basis from the Big Three boards. After resistance from other members the ExCO strength was increased from four to five, with CSA being included. ICC Business Co (IBC) was set up to replace the existing IDI (ICC Development International). The IBC was in charge of issuing tenders for the ICC’s next media rights and sponsorship cycle (2015-23). What about the Future Tours Programme (FTP)? The existing FTP was disbanded and a new one, where members would sign legally binding contracts, for bilateral series between 2015 and 2023 was put in place. The proposed World Test Championship was scrapped.
BCCI president Shashank Manohar, who is also the ICC chairman, has criticised the imbalance of power within cricket’s governing body because of the constitutional revamp last year, which gave the boards of India, England and Australia greater authority and a larger share of the revenue.Manohar called the revamp “bullying”, and said there were several faults in the ICC that he hoped to rectify during his term as chairman, which ends in June 2016.”I don’t agree with the three major countries bullying the ICC,” Manohar told the . “That’s my personal view, because as I have always said, an institution is bigger than individuals. You cannot guarantee which individual will occupy the top position in either of these countries. And, the ICC constitution, as it stands today, says that in all the major committees of the ICC, these three countries will be automatically there. So all the financial and commercial aspects and the executive committee will be controlled by the representatives of these three countries, which according to me is wrong. You should have the best man, whether he comes from Zimbabwe, or West Indies, or even from an associate or affiliate to work on a committee, who will promote the interests of the ICC.”Manohar was in Dubai last week to get acquainted with the ICC’s functioning after the BCCI named him its representative to replace N Srinivasan, who had become the inaugural chairman last July. Srinivasan had been the main architect behind the Big Three plan, which was passed by the ICC board last February.When asked whether he would propose to other ICC board members to revoke the decisions taken last year, Manohar said he was speaking in his individual capacity and not as ICC. “I don’t agree with that in principle. I am talking about myself. I don’t know what will happen in the future.”Under the new governance structure, while the BCCI president became ICC chairman, the Cricket Australia chairman would head the five-member executive committee, and the ECB president would continue to head the ICC’s Finance and Commercial Affairs (F&CA) committee, making sure the three boards had control over major policy decisions.On January 9 last year, an F&CA committee “working group” comprising Srinivasan, Giles Clarke and Wally Edwards had presented the draft of their radical revamp to the rest of the ICC board. Central to the draft was the revenue distribution model, which was reworked to give the BCCI, ECB and CA a graded percentage share of ICC revenue, with a larger chunk going to these three boards than the rest.In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Srinivasan had said it was wrong to see the revamp as a takeover of the ICC by the BCCI, ECB and CA. “If I had to sum it up I will say the proposal gives financial stability to nations who play cricket,” Srinivasan had said.Manohar, however, was opposed to the revenue-sharing formula. “I don’t agree with the revenue-sharing formula, because it’s nice to say that India (BCCI) will get 22% of the total revenue of the ICC, but you cannot make the poor poorer and the rich richer, only because you have the clout. The ICC runs cricket throughout the world.”Secondly there is another angle to it which nobody has thought of. India generates money because the other countries come and play in India. If you do not have a fierce competition, the broadcasters are not going to pay you and the sponsors are not going to sponsor your events. So whatever you generate through bilateral series is because there are good teams playing against you. If all teams are of the standards of the low placed ninth and tenth team and India is a good side, who is going to pay you; what interest would be left with the spectators to watch a game, if it’s a one-sided game always. So if you reduce their corpus, their development is going to be hampered and ICC has to think from that point of view.”Manohar also expressed dissatisfaction at the possibility of conflict of interest because of the dual roles held by officials – at the ICC and at their home board. “According to me there is a conflict now at the ICC level, which I have to sort out. Under the present ICC constitution, the chairmanship is offered to the representative of the BCCI. Under the ICC constitution, after the annual conference, there is going to be an election and the person who is elected the chairman will continue only till the time he continues to be the representative of his country.”So tomorrow here could be a scenario, wherein ‘A’ person is elected the chairman and after 10 days he is removed by his board, ‘B’ would take over as the chairman, and after four months that person is removed, ‘C’ would take over as chairman. When people vote, they vote for an individual; they don’t vote for a member board. It’s the competence of a person to lead the ICC is important, and keeping that in mind, people vote for him. According to me that clause is also a bad clause.”Secondly when I am at the ICC as a BCCI representative, it’s my paramount duty to protect the interests of the BCCI; then how can I protect the interests of the ICC, sitting as its chairman? If there is a conflict between the interest of the BCCI and the ICC, I will have to protect the interest of the BCCI. Then I am failing in my duty, sitting there as chairman of the ICC and not protecting its interests.”So according to me there are many flaws in the ICC constitution, which was amended, because earlier the president’s post was occupied by a person who had nothing to do with any board. The first requirement was he had to resign from his home board from all positions; with the result that he was not attending the ICC meetings as a representative of a member board. David Morgan, [Sharad] Pawar, Alan Issac, they resigned from their offices to sit as ICC presidents. This is a unique situation which has been created because of the amendment which creates, according to me, a direct conflict.”Manohar said he had already raised all these issues with Clarke and other senior ranking ICC officials. “I have spoken about these issues to Giles Clarke (ECB) and he agreed with me.”
Chris Gayle’s management have retained the services of a “leading Australian media lawyer” with the intention of “immediately” launching defamation action against Fairfax Media over allegations that he indecently exposed himself to a woman in Sydney during the World Cup last year.The allegation arose following Gayle’s widely decried actions in an interview with the Ten Network sports presenter Mel McLaughlin while playing for the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League.The Renegades fined Gayle $10,000 for the incident, and the Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland declared the West Indian opening batsman would be facing far more severe consequences if he transgressed further.It is believed a substantiation of Fairfax Media’s indecent exposure allegation against Gayle, which it claimed had taken place during a training session at the SCG before the start of the tournament, would be viewed by CA as sufficient cause to tear up his existing contract with the Renegades.Gayle would also be banished from playing for any club in the BBL – a competition designed in part to be a welcoming tournament for females – in the future.”Chris Gayle has strongly denied allegations first published by Fairfax Media that he indecently exposed himself to a woman during last year’s World Cup in Sydney,” Gayle’s manager Simon Auteri said in a statement.”Despite such denials Fairfax Media continues to publish the false and defamatory allegations which have received widespread re-publication in media throughout the world.”As a result Chris Gayle has retained Mark O’Brien, a leading Australian media lawyer to immediately commence defamation proceedings against Fairfax Media.”
East Zone Opener Shreevats Goswami’s 53-ball 81 helped Bengal chase down 178 with five wickets to spare against Jharkhand in Kolkata. Goswami was the common factor in two half-century stands – 73 for the second wicket with Abhishek Raman, and 71 for the fourth wicket with Pramod Chandila – and he brought Bengal to within ten runs of the target by the time he was dismissed in the 18th over. Chandila, who was unbeaten on 37 off 21 balls, helped the side reach 178 with five balls to spare.Sent in to bat, Jharkhand posted 177 for 6 riding on contributions from Saurabh Tiwary (44), Virat Singh (42) and Pratyush Singh (39), before wicketkeeper Sumit Kumar and Anand Singh added 30 off nine balls for the sixth wicket in a late burst.File photo – Biplab Samantray’s fifty pushed Odisha to 143, but they lost by six wickets•BCCI
Opener Pallavkumar Das’ 51 off 30 balls, including eight fours and a six, helped Assam chase down 144 against Odisha in Kolkata. The result meant Assam finished second in the East Zone points table while Odisha finished third. Bengal topped the table with four wins from four matches.Assam lost Rishav Das and Sibsankar Roy cheaply in their chase but Pallavkumar and Amit Verma put the team back on track with a 34-run partnership for the third wicket. The stand ended in the tenth over when Pallavkumar was dismissed by left-arm spinner Dhiraj Singh. Verma then added 34 with captain Arun Karthik to take the team closer to victory. By the time Verma was removed, Assam needed 31 off 30 balls and they eventually won by six wickets.Having opted to bat, Odisha were reduced to 48 for 3 inside nine overs. Biplab Samantray, the captain, then rescued the innings with his second T20 fifty, which contained five fours and a six. When Samantray fell, Assam were 117 for 6, but a string of cameos from the lower order pushed the total to 143. Verma impressed with the ball too, picking up 3 for 19 in four overs.File photo – Akshadeep Nath’s fifty was not enough for Uttar Pradesh to put it across Vidarbha•BCCI
Central Zone Vidarbha won their second game in two days after completing a comfortable four-wicket victory against Uttar Pradesh in Jaipur. Lower-order batsmen Apoorv Wankhade (27 off 14 balls) and Shrikant Wagh (14 off 9 balls) added an unbroken 38 runs in 19 balls for the seventh wicket after Vidarbha were reduced to 133 for 6.Having opted to bat, UP put up 169 for 4 thanks to half-centuries from opener Eklavya Dwivedi and Akshdeep Nath. Wagh was the pick of the bowlers for Vidarbha, claiming 2 for 17 in four overs. Ambati Rayudu and Ganesh Satish then laid the groundwork for the chase with thirty-somethings before the lower order sealed the deal. Nath and fast bowler Ankit Rajpoot took two wickets each for UP.Fifties from allrounder Mahipal Lomror and wicketkeeper Dishant Yagnik powered Rajasthan to 184, a total they defended by 21 runs against Railways in Jaipur.After opting to bat, Rajasthan lost three early wickets, but Lomror and Yagnik offset the early wobble and then gave the innings muscle with a 78-run stand in 52 balls. Lomror struck seven fours and three sixes during his 65 while Yagnik hit three fours and three sixes on his way to 60, before he was the eighth Rajasthan batsman to be dismissed.Railways started positively in their chase with opener Saurabh Wakaskar scoring 55 off 29 balls, but the middle order could not sustain the momentum, despite an unbeaten 42 off 32 balls from captain Karn Sharma. They ultimately fell short with seamers Tanvir Ul-Haq and Deepak Chahar taking two wickets each.
ScorecardFile photo – William Porterfield provided the early momentum with a 15-ball 30•Getty Images
Ireland sealed the T20 series with a nine-run D/L win against Papua New Guinea in Townsville, after rain reduced the match to a 11-overs-a-side contest. After a delayed start, Ireland were inserted to bat and were 4 without loss after one ball before rain intervened again. Three balls after the resumption, Ireland lost Andy Balbirnie.However, brisk camoes from William Porterfield (30 off 15) and Stuart Poynter (35 off 24) lifted Ireland to a score of 96 for 5. Pipi Raho brought PNG back into the game with figures of 3 for 11 from two overs.PNG managed to stay abreast with the required rate through Assad Vala’s 15-ball 25. A clump of wickets fell from the other end, though, and they were soon reduced to 63 for 9 in the ninth over. Norman Vanua provided a glimmer of hope with a quick 26 but it wasn’t enough as PNG fell seven runs short.
Werder Bremen have denied receiving any offers for Germany World Cup star Mesut Ozil.
The 21-year-old playmaker has been one of the standout performers in Germany's impressive march to the semi-finals in South Africa.
Spanish giants Barcelona and several Premier League clubs, including Chelsea and Manchester City, are reported to be interested in signing the former under-21 international.
However, manager Klaus Allofs has denied reports that the Bundesliga club have already started to fend off official interest from suitors.
"Mesut had appeared in the focus of clubs before the World Cup had kicked off," he said."Now he is playing a fantastic World Cup campaign, this is definitely increasing interest.
"But when it comes down to concrete bids, nothing has been done. We want him to stay on and actually there is no news. There are no indications he does not want to see out his contract at our club."
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Ozil has scored one goal in five World Cup appearances for Germany in South Africa.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
If I’m being honest, the 2010 World Cup, the event billed as football’s biggest showpiece, has been somewhat of a disappointment. Low on goals, low on quality, low on drama, Africa’s first World Cup has certainly failed to live up to expectations thus far. Whilst one would be spoilt for choice when asked to select the tournament’s most underwhelming game, one would be hard pressed to look beyond France’s opening Group A clash with Uruguay last Friday.
Emblematic of the tournament as a whole, the opening day’s drab 0-0 affair with Uruguay painted Les Bleus as a shadow of their former selves. Devoid of the inspiration of the French sides of 1998, 2000 and 2006, the performance of Raymond Domenech’s side alluded to a team in turmoil, begging the question, what exactly is wrong with France?
France skipper Patrice Evra blamed his side’s dismal showing against Uruguay on the horns used by fans at the World Cup, claiming that “[my team-mates and I] can’t sleep at night because of the vuvuzelas. People start playing them from 6am. We can’t hear one another out on the pitch because of them.”
Even the most ardent French supporter would fail to believe that their side’s problems are entirely attributable to the use of vuvuzelas. Since the contentious nature of their qualification for the World Cup, French football has been shrouded in controversy and confusion. The team travelled to South Africa amidst a backdrop of unrest, disharmony and mediocrity. The apparent rot that has set in amongst Les Bleus can be traced back as far as the summer of 2008. At the last European Championship finals, France suffered the ignominy of finishing bottom of their group, with just one point and one goal scored. Determined to swiftly banish the memory of their abject display in Austria & Switzerland, France were unable to top their qualifying group for World Cup 2010, finishing a point behind group winners Serbia.
As such, finishing second led to their now infamous two-legged play-off clash with the Republic of Ireland, whereby the ‘handiwork’ of Thierry Henry created the tie’s decisive goal. Despite securing qualification for the World Cup, many were unhappy by the way in which France won the tie, with former World Cup winner Emmanuel Petit explaining to The Sun that, “the feeling among the French public is one of embarrassment.” More recently, French football was rocked by the news that national team players Franck Ribery, Karim Benzema and Sidney Govou had slept with the same underage prostitute. Despite the fact that full investigations into the matter have been postponed until the end of the World Cup, there is no doubt that the revelations would have had a negative impact upon the squad.
Although unrest and cliques within national team camps are commonplace, the level of press coverage claiming divisions within the French squad suggests that all is not well amongst Domenech’s charges. Eschewing the initial omissions of the likes of Karim Benzema and Samir Nasri, Domenech’s decision to leave out Chelsea’s Players’ Player of the Year Florent Malouda from the side’s starting line-up to face Uruguay was baffling. Although Malouda has since expressed surprise at being left out, reports have suggested that his omission stemmed from a bust-up between the pair, with Domenech thought to have expressed displeasure at Malouda’s “over-zealous” attitude in training. Malouda’s usually outspoken compatriot William Gallas allegedly refused to speak to the media throughout the entire duration of the World Cup due to anger at being overlooked for the French captaincy.
Patrice Evra has sought to quell such speculation; speaking of rumours of unrest, the Manchester United man stated, ‘‘That’s bull. That’s not true. The mood is good.”
Aside from issues off the field, it is clear to see that France have problems on the field. The absence of Real Madrid anchorman Lassana Diarra has led to an enforced formation switch from 4-2-3-1 (France’s preferred system throughout the qualifying campaign) to the more attacking 4-3-3 (the formation that was debuted in France’s friendly against Costa Rica on May 26). Whilst the change in system indicates a new found proclivity for attacking play, altering the formation so close to the start of tournament failed to provide the players with the chance to sufficiently adapt; unconvincing draws against Tunisia and (latterly) Uruguay, as well as a defeat to China would suggest that this is the case.
France’s lack of cohesion against Uruguay was symptomatic of the fact that many of the players are not yet accustomed to the new system. Former French international Jean-Pierre Papin, highly critical of Domenech, highlighted the inadequacies of Nicolas Anelka as a lone frontman, stating “Nicolas Anelka is not a striker. You need a player who is astute in front of goal. I would play Djibril Cisse or even Andre-Pierre Gignac.” The lack of fluidity and creativity in France’s midfield meant that the intelligent Anelka was starved of service, and forced to play deep and wide, thus meaning that France spent long stretches of the game without a recognised centre-forward to trouble Uruguay’s defence.
Most bookmakers currently rank France as eighth in the list of favourites to win the World Cup outright, a staggering fact when considering the international success the nation have enjoyed over the last 12 years. Unfortunately, their display against Uruguay did little to suggest that the bookmakers have gotten it wrong.
Follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/zarifrasul
**
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Challenge Your Friends Over The World Cup
Build a new team every day Win up to £200 daily Follow fantasy scores LIVE
Manchester United have been impressed by the World Cup form of summer signing Javier Hernandez.
Assistant manager Mike Phelan has revealed his delight at the way the 22-year-old Mexico striker performed in South Africa following conformation that he had agreed to join the Red Devils from Guadalajara on the eve of the tournament.
United are believed to have paid around £7million for the South American starlet, who will join up with his new team-mates on their pre-season tour to the United States.
Hernandez scored two goals in four appearances as Mexico reached the round of 16.
"We were pleased with what we saw at the World Cup," Phelan told the club's official website.
"We would like to get him on board as quickly as we can. Then hopefully he will be a major influence on the team.
"We did the deal before the World Cup and that has probably helped us a little bit. He has only just begun his career with the national team but already he is a very influential player for Mexico.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
"He is young, athletic and as keen as mustard. He will be a good addition.
"We all hope he hits the ground running and adds to what we think is a good blend of youth and experience in our squad. We just hope it all comes together."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Ajax winger Miralem Sulejmani is happy about the prospect of heading to England to join West Ham United on a season-long loan.
The 21-year-old Serbia international was the Dutch club's record signing back in the summer of 2008, but he has struggled to live up to a price-tag rumoured to be in the region of £13million.
However, he is poised to be handed a fresh challenge at Upton Park, as long as he can secure a work permit.
Sulejmani told Sportski Zurnal:"I am happy that I will play in the strongest league in Europe.
"I think that I am up to the challenge and I am convinced that I will get the chance and the opportunities, as Avram Grant was very positive about my qualities.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
"As Martin Jol took over (at Ajax), my status changed and this is the biggest reason that I would like to change my environment."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email