SPORTS Saturday, 7 May, 2016
Stuart Law would ‘love to work’ with the Indian team Cricket Australia (CA) batting consultant Stuart Law who was Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) first choice for the vacant head coach position has said he would “love to work” with the Indian cricket team. “I am open to offers from teams regarding positions to be filled; it’ll just have to wait until my contract finishes with CA,” he said. “I was in India for the ‘A’ team tour with Australia and was asked the question then about the vacant head coach position in India, the answer is still the same. I would love to work within the Indian cricket team but only after my contract expires with CA.” He added: “To be able to see from close quarters how these guys prepare and think about the game would be of great interest. India play an exciting brand of cricket and that is how we like to play our cricket here in Australia.” Earlier on Thursday, PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan confirmed to a foreign media agency that the former Bangladesh and Sri Lankan team coach has said that he won’t be able to join team Pakistan immediately. “Yes, there are hurdles in the way of signing on Stuart Law as head coach,” PCB chairman said while speaking to the media. “He had applied for a coaching position with us but he has now conveyed he is more interested in a consultant’s position [with CA] and that he wouldn’t be able to join the team immediately.” Meanwhile, Law said he was flattered by PCB’s offer but his commitments do not allow him to take the head coach position immediately. “I am flattered by the PCB for thinking of me so highly to fill the vacant head coach position,” said Law. “As a consultant coach at the moment, I have just signed a contract with CA to tour Sri Lanka as a batting coach with the men’s national team and this will end on the 25th August unless I am asked to do further work within the Australian set up. This will impact my availability to take up another role before this”. The 47-year-old added that he is not ready to commit as a national coach for any team due to his role with the Kangaroos. “I feel the national coach of any team is a huge responsibility and must take full commitment from the person selected to start the process with a clear mind and direction,” he said. “At the moment I am unable to commit as such. Agencies
PCB aPPoints MiCkey arthur new head CoaCh
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ORMER South African cricketer and coach for Pakistan Super League (PSL’s) Karachi Kings, Mickey Arthur, has been been appointed as Pakistan cricket team’s head coach, confirmed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday. The board has issued a confirmation on the appointment. The post was left vacant after Waqar Younis resigned following Pakistan’s disastrous World Twenty20 in India, where they triumphed in only one of four matches before crashing out. Pakistan’s search for a new
national coach hit a fresh roadblock on Thursday as officials said their top pick, Australia’s Stuart Law, turned down the offer to coach the ailing national team. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) formed a two-man committee comprising ex-captains Wasim Akram and Ramiz Raja to conduct the search for a new coach. They shortlisted Law and his fellow countryman Dean Jones, England’s Andy Moles and South African Mickey Arthur. Former England coach Peter Moores had also turned down an opportunity earlier to
succeed Waqar Younis as the new Pakistan coach. Moores had said he declined a chance to return to international coaching after England sacked him for the second time last year. Coaching Pakistan, traditionally a fractious bunch of talented individuals, is one of the toughest jobs in international cricket. The job is complicated by the relatively low pay and Pakistan’s security issues, while attempts to build relationships with volatile national players are often hampered by its high turnover. Pakistan has had four foreign coaches in the past:
Pakistan outclass India 50-31 to win Asian Kabaddi Championship
ISlamabaD Agencies
Pakistan outclassed India by 5031 points in an important match of the third Asian Kabaddi Championship at Wah Cantt on Friday evening to claim the title.
It was the last match of the traditional style Kabaddi tournament at the Pakistan Ordinance Factory Sports Complex in Wah. Pakistan’s superiority in the match is evident from their lead. The players applied forceful grips to get
hold of Indian players to remain focus of attention throughout the match. The Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF) in collaboration with POF Sports Control Board under the banner of the Asian Kabaddi Federation organised the third Asian Kabaddi Championship at Wah Cantonment from April 27. Seven teams including India, Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan participated in the international event. By beating India, the national team also managed to defend its title. The traditional team sport, in which players try to tag opponents while holding their breath, is hugely popular in the Punjab provinces of both India and Pakistan.
Bale to miss Valencia clash with knee sprain SportS DeSk In-form Real Madrid star Gareth Bale is set to miss the Spanish giants’ crucial La Liga clash with Valencia on Sunday after the club confirmed on Friday he has suffered a knee sprain. “Bale has been diagnosed with a sprained right knee joint,” Madrid said in a statement. “His recovery will continue to be assessed.” The Welsh star reportedly picked up the injury as Madrid progressed to the Champions League final against Manchester City on Wednesday. Various Spanish media sources reported he
will miss Valencia’s visit to the Bernabeu, but he is expected to fully recover well before Real’s final date against local rivals Atletico Madrid to come on May 28. Bale has been Real’s match-winner in their last two Liga games, away at Rayo Vallecano and Real Sociedad, to remain just a point behind leaders Barcelona and Atletico with two games remaining. However, Real will be able to call on threetime World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo, who missed the games against Rayo and Real Sociedad, after he returned from a thigh injury against City in midweek.
Richard Pybus (two tenures in 1999 and 2002-03), Bob Woolmer (2004-07), Geoff Lawson (2007-2008) and Dav Whatmore (2012-14). The board’s budget for the head coach salary is reportedly $16,000 to $20,000 per month
much less than similar positions elsewhere. Foreign coaches balk at touring a country where international cricket has been suspended since an extremist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in 2009. Agencies
Points system in cricket is ‘nonsense’, says Michael Vaughan SportS DeSk Former England captain Michael Vaughan on Thursday criticised the plan to introduce a points system for series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka and called it ‘nonsense’. “It’s an over-complication that is not needed,” he said. “I think it is nonsense. Sometimes too many brains around the room complicate it. What you are going to have is 45 players on a podium at the end of the series,” he added. Under the new system, four points will be awarded for a Test victory while two each for one-day internationals and T20s to decide on an overall winner of the series. The system has been used by England women in the Ashes since 2013. However, former England women’s international Ebony Rainford-Brent disagreed with Vaughan, claiming the new system in more engaging for players and fans. “When I heard about the points system in the women’s game I wasn’t completely convinced. But I have to say, after watching the Ashes series against Australia for the women, I’m a massive fan,” she said. “It brings complete context and storylines to it. The key is getting the points right they had to adjust it in the women’s game but once you do it, you can actually engage fans,” she added. Former Australia bowler Jason Gillespie also favoured adopting the points system, drawing parallels from the Women’s Ashes. “I think the Women’s Ashes last year got a lot of good feedback,” he said. The Yorkshire coach also supported the idea of experimenting with the new system for upcoming England series with Sri Lanka and Pakistan before permanently deciding on it. “Let’s give it a go and see how it works. The rating and ranking of points can always be tinkered with if it’s not quite right,” he said. “And if it doesn’t work scrap all together. But if you don’t give it a go you won’t know,” he added. England is set to host Sri Lanka for three Tests, five one-day internationals and a one-off T20 in summers before playing four Tests against Pakistan, with the same number of limited-over games. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is already in negotiations with Sri Lanka and Pakistan, with each board required to consent to the concept before it can go ahead.
SANIA’S BIOGRAPHY ‘ACE AGAINST ODDS’ SET TO REVEAL HER STORY SportS DeSk Current world number one women’s doubles player Sania Mirza is all set to release her biography, Sania Mirza: Ace against Odds, in July this year in an attempt to inspire Indian youngsters to pursue the sport. “I hope the book is a useful roadmap to guide the next generation of tennis players from India,” wrote Sania. “If my story can inspire even one youngster to the heights of winning a Grand Slam in the future, I will
feel blessed.” Harper Collins recently struck a deal with Sania to publish the book and their publisher Karthika VK believes THE Indian tennis star’s story is ‘compelling’ and ‘inspirational’. “Sania’s is an extraordinary achievement and her autobiography is as compelling as it is inspirational,” she wrote. “We are privileged to be able to work with her on the book.” Recently, Sania was featured in ‘Time Magazine’s 100 most Influential List’.
Published by Arif Nizami at Qandeel Printing Press, 4 Queens Road, Lahore.
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The tennis ace not only received the accolade but it was none other than cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar who wrote her profile. Tendulkar wrote, “Sania’s confidence, strength and resilience reach beyond tennis. She has inspired a generation of Indians to pursue their dreams and to realise that they can also be the best.” “The Mirzas probably knew what the future held for their daughter,” wrote Tendulkar. “Her name, Sania, means brilliant,” he added.