Richardson backs Amir to make successful return D UBAI —International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive David Richardson says Pakistan pacer
Mohammad Amir can make a successful return to international cricket despite his long absence from the sport because of a ban for spot-fixing. Amir was suspended from all cricket for five years after being found guilty of spot-fixing in a Test against England in 2010. At the start of this year, the leftarm Amir was granted permission by the ICC to return, after he showed a high level of remorse for his wrongdoing and co-operated with anti-corruption education. He has played second grade and domestic T20 cricket in
Iran remains top Asian Football team I SLAMABAD —Iranian national football team remains on top of Asian Football teams, according to the latest rankings by FIFA. Iran has moved one step downward in the world ranking compared to the preceding month and landed in the 41st spot, IRNA reported. According to FIFA ranking, Germany remains the top world national team with 1775 points, followed by Belgium and Argentina with 1509 and 1496 points respectively.—APP
Pakistan since then, and has said he is hoping to return to the international game. Richardson cited the case of his
former captain Hansie Cronje, who was banned from cricket for match-fixing, as a reason to believe people are capable of changing their ways. “I certainly hope so,” said Richardson, when asked if he was confident the five-year ban and rehabilitation procedure will have worked for Amir. “He was a very talented youngster. People make mistakes. I personally was involved with someone who captained my team and made mistakes. “I certainly saw it was very possible for him to realise the wrongs of his ways and to do everything he could to try and get back to be accepted again. “I have every faith that in Amir’s case it will be very similar.”
When Pakistan play England in the UAE later this year, it will be more than five years since Amir last played, in the Test at Lord’s in which his bowling of no-balls to order was exposed. It is unlikely he will have proved himself ready for a recall to national duty by then, but, at 23, time is on his side. While Amir’s case is a reminder of the trouble cricket has faced on the field as regards corruption in the past, Richardson is confident his organisation does not suffer the sort of problems currently overwhelming football. Speaking at a press conference at the ICC offices in Dubai, Richardson said the type of allegations that have been made against FIFA have no parallel at all in cricket. “You know the measures we take to keep our game free of any type of corruption, be that on the field spot or match-fixing or any other kind of corruption,” Richardson said. “I am absolutely confident that in my time at the ICC I have never seen any evidence whatsoever of any kind of backhanders or payments that have been made or shouldn’t have been made as seem to have been alleged in this FIFA investigation. “Yes, from time to time, the decisions made by an ICC board might be questioned in terms of the wisdom of them. “But certainly no evidence, or even talk or consideration to this type of thing that seems to be emerging in the FIFA investigation.”—Agencies
PCB to raise quality of first class cricket with new system KARACHI—Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is focussing in raising the quality of first class in 2015-16 season instead of quantity by introducing new system. “Standard of our cricket has suffered because of too many players appearing in first class cricket,” PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan said on Friday. “Quality of first class cricket was affected and now we are planning to cut the number of team to raise it quality,” he said. “We got a of talent but low standard. Our first class standard has lowered with large participation,” he said. Shaharyar Khan said new domestic system will put in Board Governors meeting for approval on May 13. He said that a new cricket committee
comprising of former Test cricketers will be formed to run domestic cricket to make it controversy-free. Responding on question on the new Central Contract for the players, he said he had already discussed the issue Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq and One-day Captain Azhar Ali. He said these best contracts offered to players including incentives for scoring century and taking five wickets. “Contracts will be awarded before the departure of the team to Colombo” he said. On the report of Cricket World Cup debacle formed by PCB, he said it is being processed and Bangladesh and Zimbabwe tour will also be included in the report.—APP
FIFA paid Ireland $5 million over Henry handball LONDON —FIFA have confirmed they agreement was all signed and all done. seen FIFA executives arrested, presimade a $5 million payment to the Football Association of Ireland after Thierry Henry’s handball stopped Ireland quali-
fying for the 2010 World Cup. Details of the deal first emerged in an interview FAI chief executive John Delaney gave to RTE Radio 1. “We felt we had a legal case against FIFA because of how the World Cup play-off hadn’t worked out for us with the Henry handball,” Delaney said. “We came to an agreement. That was a Thursday and on Monday, the
It was a payment to the association to not proceed with a legal case.” FIFA later issued a statement explaining: “While the referee’s decision is final, and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) ultimately accepted it as such, in January 2010 FIFA entered into an agreement with FAI in order to put an end to any claims against FIFA. “FIFA granted FAI a loan of USD 5 million for the construction of a stadium in Ireland. At the same time, UEFA also granted the FAI funds for the same stadium. “The terms agreed between FIFA and the FAI were that the loan would be reimbursed if Ireland qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. “Ireland did not so qualify. Because of this, and in view of the FAI’s financial situation, FIFA decided to write off the loan as per 31 December 2014.” France qualified for the 2010 World Cup at Ireland’s expense after Henry blatantly handled the ball as he set up William Gallas for the decisive goal in a play-off match in Paris in November 2009. Delaney’s claim comes amid a corruption scandal engulfing FIFA that has
dent Sepp Blatter announce his resignation and former executive committee member Chuck Blazer admit to paying bribes. Delaney said that Blatter ’s behaviour at the Soccerex football conference in Johannesburg 11 days after the match had hardened his resolve over the matter of compensation. “The way Blatter behaved, if you remember on stage, having a snigger and having a laugh at us...” he said. “That day when I went in (to discuss the agreement), and I told him how I felt about him, there were some expletives used.” Henry was derided as a cheat in the aftermath of the match at the Stade de France, which ended in a 1-1 draw that saw France win 2-1 on aggregate. The FAI and the Irish government unsuccessfully petitioned world governing body FIFA for the game to be replayed or for Ireland to be admitted to the World Cup in South Africa as a ’33rd team’. Henry, then with Barcelona, backed Ireland’s calls for a replay and declared himself “extremely sorry”, but rejected the accusation that he was a cheat.—AFP
LAHORE: Zakir Khan, Director International Cricket-PCB along with others unveils the Logo of Upcoming Pakistan vs Sri Lanka International Cricket series in a local hotel.
Trials to select U-16 team for PFF Soccer Cup today PESHAWAR—A trials to selection Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Under-16 team for the forthcoming Pakistan Football Federation Under-16 Football Cup would be organized on June 6-7, 2015 here at Qayyum Sports Complex. This was stated by Secretary Peshawar District Football Association Haji Hidayat Ullah said that the trials would be organized on June 6 and 7, 2015 at 4 pm. The players have been advised to bring original form-B, school certificate to ascertain their age before the trials. Players born after 1-1-2000 will be eligible to participate. For the smooth sailing of the trials, the Pakistan Football Federation has appointed Muhammad Saleem and Faisal Javed to conduct and supervise the trials. It is pertaining to mention here that the PFF Under-16 Football Cup is commencing from June 15, 2015.—APP
Sharjeel inaugurates KMC Sports Complex in Landhi KARACHI—Sindh Minister for Information and Local Government Sharjeel Inam Memon has inaugurated the KMC Sports Complex in Landhi area of the metropolis. This sports complex had been incomplete for many years. The PPP government decided to complete this project to provide healthy activities for the youths, said a handout issued here on Thursday. The government has spent Rs. 120 million for the completion of the project. There are facilities available for all the indoor and outdoor sports. Addressing the inauguration ceremony, the minister said the PPP government is working to provide maximum facilities to the people of the province, particularly the youth for promoting healthy activities. He advised the youth to participate in healthy sports activities as the government is working to promote sports activities all over the province. Sharjeel Memon said that the government has plans to start more mega projects in the province. He said that street lights in Karachi will be connected with modern LED system. Free internet and Wifi system will also available through this system, he added.—APP
SOA Olympic Day KARACHI—Sindh Olympic
MULTAN: Players struggling to get hold on the ball during the Malik Salahuddin Dogar under-16 National Football Championship trials and training camp.
Association (SOA) Olympic Day Ceremony will be held at Pakistan Sports Board Coaching Centre here on June 7 at 4:00 pm. Double Hockey Olympian Iftikhar Syed will be the chief guest on the occasion, said SOA news release issued on Friday.—APP
‘Batting genius’ De Villiers wins five awards PRETORIA : South Africa World Cup skipper AB de Villiers was called a “batting genius” after winning five of the nine major awards at a Cricket South Africa (CSA) function. “He is a true batting genius, who holds the world records for the fastest 50, 100 and 150 in one-day internationals (ODIs),” CSA
chief executive Haroon Lorgat told the audience near Pretoria. The 31-year-old batsman was voted Cricketer of the Year for the second successive season, a feat no other South African has achieved. His other awards included ODI Cricketer of the Year, Cricketers’ Cricketer of the Year and Supporters’ Cricketer of the Year.
There was also an award for scoring the fastest ODI international century, against the West Indies at the Wanderers stadium in Johannesburg. Hashim Amla was named Test Cricketer of the Year and Morne van Wyk Twenty20 international Cricketer of the Year. Dale Steyn won the Delivery of the Year prize for a third-Test ball against the West Indies at Newlands stadium in Cape Town and Shabnim Ismail was chosen Women’s Cricketer of the Year. “AB is just so special and must surely be the best allround cricketer in the world,” said Lorgat. “His performances are sheer class and his rankings — No. 2 in Tests and No. 1 in ODIs — tell only part of an amazing story. “He has always been an entertainer and a trend-setter while, at the same time, possessing a unique ability to dig really deep when it matters. “AB has modestly taken limited-overs batting to a new level, and has done it with a style and panache that is beyond the reach of most.” Former star fast bowler Makhaya Ntini was part of a six-man judging panel that included former players, an official, a statistician and a journalist.—AFP
IPC, PSB assures prize money for hockey team: Shahnaz I SLAMABAD —Hockey coach Shahnaz Sheikh on Thursday said the Inter Provincial Coordination Ministry (IPC) and Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) had assured him to grant the deserved prize money to the national hockey team for their performance in the Champions Trophy and of the Asian Games. Talking to APP, Sheikh said Pakistan stood second in the Champions Trophy and in the Asian Games, therefore according to the Sports policy the team prize money amounts to Rupees one million per player. “I thank the IPC and PSB for the assurance of cash rewards to the players before their departure for the Olympic qualification round,” he said adding this will motivate the players and will boost their confi-
dence. Speaking about the Olympic qualification round, he said Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) had announced 30 probables for training camp for the qualifiers to be held in Belgium from June 20 to July 5. “The best 18-member squad will be selected after trials,” he said. Sheikh said we will select the best team available. “No matter if the players are fully fit but they will only be considered in the team after the trials,” he said. Pakistan team failed to get direct entry to the Rio Olympics after missing out on the gold medal at the 17th Asiad last year and will have to play the qualification rounds - the World Hockey League semifinals.—APP
ICC retains Aleem Dar in Elite Panel of Umpires K ARACHI —Legendary Pakistan umpire Aleem Dar maintained his top spot in ICC Elite Panel of Umpires for the year 20152016. Aleem Dar is just five match away from completing century as an umpire in Test matches b e s i d e s standing in 172 ODIs and 35 T20 Internationals. In the meantime, Chris Gaffaney of New Zealand and Sundaram Ravi of India have been promoted from the International Panel of ICC Umpires to the Elite Panel where they have replaced Billy Bowden and the retiring Steve Davis. The Elite Panel of ICC Umpires for 2015-2016 included Aleem Dar (Pakistan), Kumar Dharmasena (Sri Lanka), Marais Erasmus (South africa), Chris Gaffaney (New Zealand), Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong (all England), Sundaram Ravi (India), Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker and Bruce Oxenford (all Australia), said the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Gaffaney, who officiated in his first first-class match in 2005, made his international umpiring debut in Toronto in September 2010 in an ODI between Canada and Ireland, and has to date umpired in two Tests, 41 ODIs and 15 T20 Internationals. On the other hand, Ravi has umpired in six Tests, 24 ODIs and 12 T20 Internationals since making his international debut in Visakhapatnam in December 2011 in an ODI between India and the West Indies. Both the officials also umpired in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 earlier this year in Australia and New Zealand. ICC General Manager Cricket Geoff Allardice congratulated Gaffaney and Ravi on their elevation. “Their promotion is a testament to their hard work, as well as good decision-making and man-management skills over a period of time on the international panel. The ICC Umpire Selectors are confident that these two umpires will acquit themselves well at the top level, and that their selection will encourage umpires from all countries to aspire to elite panel selection if they are prepared to demonstrate the required ability, commitment and teamwork. The Elite Panel of ICC Umpires was selected by the ICC Umpires Selection Panel consisting of chairman Geoff Allardice, ICC General Manager Cricket, ICC Chief Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle, ex-England player and coach and umpire David Lloyd and Srinivas Venkataraghavan, the former India captain and international umpire.—APP