SPORTS Wednesday, 23 July, 2014
Fans urged to donate to Pakistanis Fleeing Fighting LAHore
StAff report
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HE national cricket team appealed to fans to donate more money for more than 800,000 people displaced by the military offensive in North Waziristan, on Tuesday. “We feel for the people who are forced out of their homes in this ongoing battle, and we are here to show solidarity with our people and we are with our military and to hit terrorism out of the country,” said Moin Khan, a former wicketkeeper who is team manager and chief of selectors. He was speaking at an armyrun camp where members of the public can donate money and goods, and was joined by new head coach Waqar Younis, Test and one-
day captain Misbahul Haq and several members of the team. He also
Wiggins Wants glasgoW gold to ProPel him toWards rio Sir Bradley Wiggins is hoping Commonwealth Games gold will provide him the perfect slingshot to claim a fifth and final Olympic title in Rio.
Wiggins has decided to focus his Glasgow ambitions purely on the track, riding only in the team pursuit, rather than trying to add Commonwealth time trial gold on the road to his London 2012 title. And the former Tour de France winner insists he is loving being back on the velodrome. "The plan was to come in and do pretty much most of the events but with hindsight, I thought just focus on the Olympic event rather than try to be too greedy," he said. "Having been away from the track for so long, I wondered whether I could still do it straight away. The initial signs were really good and since then I've just been focusing on the team pursuit and dropped everything else. "All the training's been geared up to the team pursuit and trying to break back into that. It's the only Olympic event really that's available to me now, because the individual pursuit has gone. "I thought I'd put all my eggs into the one I'm going to try and do for the next two years." Wiggins last competed at the Commonwealth Games in 2002, winning double silver in his adopted home city of Manchester. And he claims the event has helped him forget the disappointment of not making Team Sky's Tour team. SportS DeSk
handed over a cheque for Rs400,000 for the cause, and prom-
ised that authorities would soon host more exhibition matches to raise more money. “I appeal to the whole nation and people living outside Pakistan to give as much as they can to help these IDPs (internally displaced people),” Khan said. Coach Waqar Younis added, “If we do not unite in this moment of distress our troubles will increase, so I appeal on behalf of the whole team to donate as much as possible”. Pakistan cricket has suffered from the activities of militants. The country has been unable to host any international cricket since an attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in 2009. Since then the team have played their homes series on neutral venues like the United Arab Emirates and England.
Marsh, Harris ruled out of Pakistan series SportS DeSk Batsman Shaun Marsh has been ruled out of Australia's next two tours with an elbow injury, while fast bowler Ryan Harris has also been officially declared unavailable for the series against Pakistan in the UAE in October. Cricket Australia's confirmation on Harris was widely expected, given that he had not even started running yet after having major knee surgery in March. It is unclear whether Harris will be fit for Australia's home Tests against India, but the team physio Alex Kountouris is hopeful that he will be bowling again before Christmas and could be in the mix. However, the news that Marsh requires surgery on his elbow and will miss the tours of Zimbabwe and the UAE and the start of the domestic summer was more of a surprise. Marsh picked up the ligament problem during the IPL earlier this year and his failure to recover with a period of rest has left him with no option but to have surgery next week, which will rule him out for up to four months. The injury lay-off comes at a particularly inopportune time for Marsh, who would have been considered for Australia's Test squad to face Pakistan in the UAE in
October after his 148 against South Africa in Centurion in February. Although Marsh lost his place in the Test side later on the South African tour, he would have been a chance to make the touring party for the Pakistan series. The injury means he will also be unavailable for the one-day tour of Zimbabwe in late August, as well as the Champions League Twenty20 and the start of the home summer for Western Australia. Marsh, who has been plagued by injuries over the course of his career, will have surgery with the goal of returning later in the domestic season and becoming available for the WC and next year's Ashes tour of England. "It's a pretty significant injury," Kountouris said. "We don't see it much in cricket; it's more common in baseball. Cricketers tend to
cope with just a short period of rest and they come back and do well. Shaun has had a short period of rest, but it's still a problem and we know that surgery takes a long time to recover. "There's a three-to-four month recovery period and we've chosen to go ahead with that because it gives him time to play for Australia and prepare for the World Cup and the Ashes next year." Australia will also be hoping to have Harris available for the 2015 Ashes, after his outstanding performance there last year and his remarkable work on the tour of SA this year. After bowling Australia to a series win in Cape Town, Harris had surgery on his chronic knee problem and said he was hoping to be available for the Pakistan series, but it soon became apparent that was an unrealistic aim.
neW PCB Constitution retains Chairman’s PoWer The Pakistan Cricket Board's constitution has been rewritten, changing the structure of the governing board and making the appointment of the chairman more democratic. The caretaker set-up, due in seven days, will implement the new constitution and hold the election for the chairman. This is the fourth constitution since 1995 and the second in the past year. According to the 27-page constitution, the Prime Minister of the country shall be the chief patron of the board and may give the PCB "general policy directions". Historically, the President of Pakistan has been the patron-in-chief and has been appointing the chairman directly. The post of chairman still holds significant value though the board of governors (BoG) will now elect one from among its ten members. Any member within the board can be eligible only if he holds a bachelor degree, is a citizen of Pakistan, has no conviction of any offence involving moral turpitude, and has never been adjudged insolvent by competent court of law. One can't hold the office if one is incapable of discharging one's functions for reasons of physical or mental incapability. The eligibility of the chairman had never been well defined in past constitutions. The new constitution has not only strengthened the BoG but also made it more accountable and more transparent. Though the chairman will be elected for tenure of three years the BoG can remove him with a no-confidence vote against him. Otherwise, the chairman shall be eligible for re-election for one further term of three years but will not be entitled for the third term. The PCB has been criticised in the past because its constitution allowed the chairman near-dictatorial powers. The amended constitution maintains that status quo as the elected chairman can control and oversee income and expenditure, constitute the selection committee, make appointments including the heads of such committees, the captains, vicecaptains of the national cricket teams (men and women) and hold power for final approval and finalise cricket teams picked by the selection committees. The composition of the BoG was also restructured, reducing the members from 14 to 10. The body will include four regional representations (top four teams from the Quaide-Azam Trophy), four representatives of services organizations (top four department teams) and two members to be nominated by the patron in his discretion. The federal secretary of the ministry of interprovincial coordination or any other officer nominated by him shall be an ex officio, non-voting 11th member. The term of each member of the BoG is three years equivalent to one term of the chairman in a bid to induce continuity in the set-up. SportS DeSk
dunga aPPointed as Brazil FootBall CoaCh The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) on Tuesday appointed Dunga as coach, replacing Luiz Felipe Scolari, whose contract was not renewed after the hosts' World Cup semi-final thrashing by Germany. The 50-yearold Dunga, Brazil's 1994 World-Cup winning skipper, takes the reins for a second time having led the Selecao at the 2010 tournament. “I am immensely happy - thank you for your confidence in me,” said Dunga, who in his playing days was a tough-tackling midfielder with Serie A side Fiorentina and Germany's Stuttgart, and who also had a spell in Japan with Jubilo Iwata. rIo De JANeIro
Tabloid suspends spot fixing-fame reporter LoNDoN AgeNcIeS Rupert Murdoch’s British tabloid The Sun suspended an investigative reporter nicknamed the “Fake Sheikh” on Monday after a pop star’s drugs trial collapsed amid allegations that the journalist had lied in court. The trial of singer Tulisa Contostavlos, who had been accused of offering to procure cocaine for reporter Mazher Mahmood, was dismissed by a judge at Southwark Crown Court in London. Mahmood rose to prominence for his work at News of The World, the weekly tabloid that Murdoch shut down in 2011 following revelations of phone hacking, and moved to its sister paper The Sun after its closure. Contostavlos, 26, called on police to
investigate the “horrific and disgusting entrapment” by the reporter, whose use of false identities
to investigate well-known UK figures earned him the “Fake Sheikh” nickname. The decision to suspend
‘Fake Sheikh’ comes after collapse of pop star’s trial Mahmood had posed as a wealthy film producer offering former talent show judge Contostavlos a major role in a Bollywood film. The pair had several meetings at luxury hotels and restaurants, which were secretly recorded by Mahmood, and he claimed that the singer had boasted of being able to supply him with cocaine during one of these meetings. But judge Alistair McCreath told the jury on Monday that the case “cannot go any further” because there were “strong grounds to believe” Mahmood had “lied” at a hearing before the trial started. The prosecution of the singer’s co-defendant, who had already pleaded guilty to supplying cocaine, has also been dismissed. The Sun said the reporter has been
Published by Arif Nizami at Plot No 79, Sector 24, Korangi Industrial Area Karachi.
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suspended pending its own investigation. Fake Sheikh the man behind the smoke-screen A spokesman said: “We are very disappointed with this outcome, but do believe the original investigation was conducted within the bounds of the law and the industry’s Code. This was demonstrated by the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) decision to prosecute. “The Sun, of course, takes the judge’s remarks very seriously. Mr Mahmood has been suspended pending an immediate internal investigation.” Mahmood’s story on cricket spot fixing in 2011 led to the conviction of three Pakistan players, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt, for their involvement in the betting scam.