NATIONAL
Nasir Jamshed and Wahab Riaz come out as outstanding players:
Two rookies from Lahore are likely to pack their bags early in June and leave with the Pakistan team for a triangular series that also involves old rivals India in Bangladesh. Pakistan have tried out around ten newcomers in two back-to-back series against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh this year but from among them only this young duo is expected to earn the selectors’ nod for the away assignment. Left-handed opener Nasir Jamshed and medium pacer Wahab Riaz are the young Turks most likely to stretch their international careers in Bangladesh where the three-nation tournament opens on June 8 in Mirpur. They are expected to be preferred over a batch of other promising cricketers including batsmen Khalid Latif, Khurram Manzoor and fast bowler Sohail Khan. Chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed, however, is non-committal. “We have formed quite a vast pool of second string players and each one of them is on our radar,” the former Test cricketer told the reporters.
Pakistan Juniors wrap up SA
tour with win:
The Pakistan Juniors ended their tour of South Africa taking the five-Test match series with an emphatic 5-3 win against their Juniors in the fifth and final hockey Test at Durban on 26 Apr with a double strike from Kashif Ali. Pakistan won the series against the Proteas 4-0 with one match drawn. Pakistan took the South African citadel by storm and were soon leading from Kashif Ali’s penalty corner conversion in the 5th minute of the first half. Ten minutes later left winger Muhammad Zubair doubled the lead with a brilliant field goal and then Kashif Ali stretched the lead further with a penalty stroke conversion, the result of a penalty corner strike.
Wajid, Sara win badminton titles:
Wajid Ali of WAPDA won the men’s singles title in the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed 51st National Badminton Championship here on Sunday last. He beat Umar Zeeshan in straight games by 21-17, 21-15. Wajid Ali dominated throughout the match and look very active and positive and the other hand Zeeshan did not resist anywhere in the match. Sara Khan of National Bank beat defending champion Ayesha Akram also from National Bank after a hafought, three games match by
PCB wants Akram for training camp:
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is trying to bring back legendary former pacer Wasim Akram for a brief training camp for upcoming fast bowlers in Lahore next month. A PCB official told that the Board is talking with Akram to confirm his presence at the camp for pacers that is tentatively scheduled to get underway at the National Cricket Academy from May 26. “Wasim Akram is one of our greatest fast bowlers and we are sure that his input (in the camp) would be highly beneficial for our promising young pacers,” said Zakir Khan, PCB’s Director of Cricket Operations, Zakir said that the camp will be held for a brief period adding that the Board is confident that Akram will help out the fast bowlers during the camp. “He (Akram) also came to a similar camp last year and his input was very helpul,” said Zakir. “In fact he was one who helped us identify Sohail Tanvir as an exciting new talent at a previous camp for fast bowlers,” he added.
Pakistan face hosts in cup opener:
The Pakistan senior hockey team will face hosts Malaysia in their opening match of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup at Ipoh, Malaysia, from May 8 to 18. Besides hosts Malaysia, Olympic qualifiers Pakistan, Belgium, Canada and New Zealand along with Argentina and India. Following is the match programme of the Cup: May 8 India v New Zealand, Argentina v Belgium, Pakistan v Malaysia. May 9 Canada v Belgium, Pakistan v New Zealand, Argentina v India. May 10 Rest day. May 11 Pakistan v Argentina, Canada v India, Malaysia v New Zealand. May 12 Belgium v India, Canada v Pakistan, Malaysia v Argentina. May 13 Rest day. May 14 New Zealand v Argentina, Belgium v Pakistan, Malaysia v Canada. May 15 Pakistan v India, New Zealand v Canada, Belgium v Malaysia. May 16 Rest day. May 17 Argentina v Canada, India v Malaysia, New Zealand v Belgium. May 18 Top position matches, 5th/6th place, 3rd/4th, 1st/2nd.
INTERNATIONAL
Speed’s exit ‘disgraceful’: Ex-ICC boss:
Former ICC chairman Malcolm Gray has condemned as “disgraceful” Malcolm Speed’s removal as head of cricket’s world 
governing body, reports said on Monday last. Gray said the chief executive’s premature departure from the International Cricket Council (ICC) in a row over Zimbabwe was a sign that power, money and race are interfering with the sport’s administration. “I think it’s disgraceful. To me it smacks of mismanagement of a man leaving his position. By doing this it just shows there are problems,” Gray told Melbourne’s The Age newspaper. “Whether it’s a cricket body or a corporation you don’t bare your dirty washing in public if you can help it.” The International Cricket Council announced that Speed is to step down early over Zimbabwe. The announcement was seen as further proof of the problems posed to world cricket by the troubled African state, now dealing with the fall-out from a disputed presidential election. The extraordinary development was reportedly prompted by Speed’s unhappiness at the board’s failure to take any significant action against Zimbabwe Cricket after an independent forensic audit raised questions about its finances.
Real Madrid crush Bilbao but must wait for title:
Real Madrid were unable to clinch a 31st Spanish title last week but their 3-0 win over Athletic Bilbao means they can retain their crown with victory at Osasuna next weekend. Villarreal’s 1-0 win at Real Betis, courtesy of a wonder goal from Marcos Senna, denied Real the opportunity to be crowned champions and Bernd Schuster’s team must wait another week. Goals from Javier Saviola, who could be on his way out this summer, Arjen Robben and Gonzalo Higuain gave Real the spoils against Bilbao but they were also indebted to goalkeeper Iker Casillas for a crucial first half penalty save. Real stay ten points ahead of Villarreal with just 12 points to play for and know that they will lift the championship with victory over Osasuna regardless of what Villarreal do. In fact a draw would be enough 
should Villarreal fail to beat Getafe. A chorus of ‘champions’ rang around the Santiago Bernabeu and the players hugged each other in the knowledge that the title is theirs. Manuel Pellegrini’s team guaranteed Champions League qualification with the Betis triumph and they are now four points ahead of third-placed Barcelona.
IPL party is over for Harbhajan:
India spinner Harbhajan Singh has been banned for the remainder of a domestic Twenty20 league after he was found guilty on Monday last of slapping compatriot Shanthakumaran Sreesanth. Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi told a news conference that the cricketer would be fined all of his match fees from the tournament. The incident happened on Friday, minutes after the Mumbai team captained by Harbhajan lost to Mohali. Television cameras showed opposition paceman Sreesanth sobbing. “As a penalty for the level 4.2 offence committed by Harbhajan Singh, we hereby order that Harbhajan Singh be banned for the rest of the remaining matches of the first IPL event,” Modi announced after the committee viewed the footage of the incident and interviewed the parties. “We also order that Harbhajan Singh be fined 100 per cent of any player fee that may have been paid or may hereafter be paid to him in respect of the remaining matches only. That does not take into account any of the two earlier matches (prior to Friday) that he may have played,” Modi added. Harbhajan and Sreesanth were presented at the news conference and hugged each other and posed for the cameras. “I have made a big mistake and have got the punishment,” Harbhajan said. “The (Indian) board has always supported me and I hope they will continue to do it. “I want to return from the ban in a happy frame of mind.”
Hair to make Test return:
Controversial Australian Darrell Hair will return as a Test umpire next month in the second match during the New Zealand tour of England. Hair will stand with compatriot Simon Taufel in the second Test at Old Trafford from May 23-27, his first since he was restored to the elite panel, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said last weekº. Hair will also stand in the third and final Test, along with Steve Bucknor of West Indies, at Trent Bridge starting on June 5. The Test series begins at Lord’s on May 15. The experienced umpire was dropped from the elite panel for his role in the 2006 Oval Test between England and Pakistan. Pakistan became the first team to forfeit a Test when they refused to return to the field after tea on the fourth day of the fourth Test because they had been penalised five runs for alleged ball tampering. Pakistan squarely blamed Hair for the events and the ICC board removed him from the elite panel. He was recalled last month after undergoing a rehabilitation course.
IPL slapping row -- Check sequence of events: Dhoni:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India’s captain in the shorter versions of the game, believes the authorities must check the sequence of events rather than go by what television footage in the Harbhajan Singh-Sreesanth controversy. Comparing the row to the one between footballers Zinedine Zidane and Marco Matterazi at the last World Cup final, Dhoni felt that the act of provocation needed to be checked too. “What Zidane did was wrong, but Materazzi also was not completely in the right,” Dhoni wrote in his column for the Hindustan Times. “Harbhajan is a very aggressive cricketer who plays hard and is there for his team-mates whenever they need him. Even Sreesanth has seen this supportive side of Harbhajan in the Indian dressing room. Sreesanth is also a very aggressive cricketer who likes to express his highs and lows very passionately on the cricket field. Off the field, you will not meet a more soft-spoken guy than Sree.” Dhoni was happy to know the two players had sorted things out between themselves and said the incident was unlikely to have any effect on the Indian dressing room. “The incident ... was unfortunate because I know both of them, and they are not bad guys at all. Everybody is passing judgment based on what is reported in the newspapers, and I am too far from the scene to actually comment on it.”
Explosive Aussie marks his Twenty20
territory:
Had Adam Gilchrist been allowed to bat longer, he would almost certainly have broken Brendon McCullum’s record of 13 sixes in the opening game of the IPL. So breathtaking was Gilchrist’s assault that he smashed ten sixes during his 48-ball innings and achieved the Deccan Chargers’ maiden victory of the tournament with 44 balls to spare. His 109 not out was his first Twenty20 score above 50, the IPL’s fastest century, and the third-fastest in all Twenty20 matches. It shouldn’t surprise many, for Gilchrist had nearly broken Viv Richards’ record for the fastest Test century against England in Perth in 2006. Richards’ record was 56 balls, Gilchrist did it in 57. He later broke the record for the highest score in a World Cup final when he ransacked Sri Lanka for 149 off 104 balls. And in front of a full house at the DY Patil Stadium, Gilchrist left his ominous mark on the Twenty20 format, smashing his previous highest score of 48.
IPL cheerleaders irk Thackeray:
Hitting out at the use of cheerleaders in the field to ‘seduce’ crowd, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray said the sanctity of cricket has been lost as the promoters have turned the stadium into a dance bar. “I am a lover of good sports and music. It is the secret of my cheerfulness. I have a special affinity towards cricket. But till now only cricket was played in the field. However, now things are changing with the bringing of cheergirls to seduce the crowd,” Zeenews quoted Thackeray as saying.
Phenomenal betting in IPL:
Interest in the Indian Premier League has probably surpassed anything organisers could have hoped for. But as always seems the way with Indian cricket, talk of corruption is never far away. Betting on the tournament is reaching phenomenal levels with £1 billion wagering on each match. If that continues, total wagering on the event will come close to £90 billion. However, the threat of corruption still lingers, even more so now it has been revealed that officers from the International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption unit have left India.
Cristiano Ronaldo tops PFA poll in England:
Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo has been voted as England’s Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Player of the Year for the second straight year. The 23-year-old Portuguese star, who has scored 38 goals in all competitions this season, beat Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard, Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Adebayor and David James in the annual poll. Arsenal midfielder Fabregas was named Young Player of the Year. Although he did not attend the PFA’s awards ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House hotel, Ronaldo was shown on screen accepting the trophy from his club boss Sir Alex Ferguson. Ronaldo and United are currently preparing for the second leg of their Champions League semifinal against Barcelona with the sides level at 0-0. “I feel very happy. When you work all season to play good, to do something for the team, to do your contribution for the team and then at the end of the season the PFA give you this award, it is a great moment, it is an honour, a pleasure,” he said.
