Blatter to skip U-20 final in New Zealand W E L L I N G T O N — F I FA boss Sepp Blatter has cancelled plans to visit New Zealand for this weekend’s Under-20 World Cup final in Auckland, world football’s governing body said Tuesday. “Due to his current commitments in Zurich, the FIFA president (Blatter) will not be able to
travel to New Zealand to attend the final of the FIFA U-20 World Cup,” a spokeswoman said. The Swiss supremo would likely have received a cool reception had he made the long trip, after New Zealand Football (NZF) defected from the Blatter camp and voted against him in last month’s presidential election. NZF chief Andy Martin said earlier this month that he hoped Blatter stayed away as his presence would turn the tournament final into a “sideshow”. The FIFA U-20 World Cup final will take place on Saturday.—AFP
Weather makes impatient Chicago wait a while for Stanley Cup CHICAGO—Chicago Blackhawks fans waited 77 years for their team to win the Stanley Cup on home ice, and then had to wait just a little bit longer, thanks to an inclement weather. Torrential rains and a rare tornado warning, with a funnel cloud spotted just south of the city, almost prevented the Cup from reaching the United Center, where the Blackhawks beat the Tampa Bay Lightning four games to two on Monday. By the time Patrick Kane scored a goal with five minutes remaining in the third period to put the Blackhawks up 2-0, the fans’ chants of “We want the Cup” were reaching a fever pitch. But the so-called ‘Keeper of the Cup’ Philip Pritchard was stuck in traffic.—APP
Pakistan may finally break Herath’s spell: Misbah K ARACHI —Pakistan’s woes against the last of which also took place on well except in the last series in Sri left-arm spin are well documented now but captain Misbah-ul-Haq believes his team may have finally found an answer to arch-nemesis Rangana Herath’s mystery. Pakistan and Sri Lanka begin a three-match battle starting with the first Test on June 17, the spin-friendly conditions at Galle giving Herath all the confidence he needs against his favourite side. The two sides have already played six series in as many years,
the island a year ago. The hosts won both Tests, leaving Pakistan without a win in Sri Lanka since 2006. Misbah, who turned 41 last month, hopes to rectify that record and build on a commendable 2-0 win over Australia in the United Arab Emirates last year, followed by a 1-0 triumph in Bangladesh this May. “We have an answer for Hearth this time as everybody is working hard on how to defend him,” Misbah said. “In the past we really played him
Lanka…sometimes bowler takes the edge, or sometimes batsman. “But we are looking on a plan on how to handle him and how we should apply ourselves against him. We only struggled because he got a good hold of the conditions and it’s important for us to play him well to get a better result. The more we play him well, more we have a chance to do better against them,” the Pakistan skipper said of the 37-year-old leftarm spinner. Herath has picked up 88 wickets in only 17 matches against Pakistan, making him the third most successful bowler against the team. He needs only three more wickets to surpass Shane Warne, and only 12 more wickets to become the first bowler in the world to pick up 100 wickets in Tests against Pakistan. Misbah said though the two teams were well aware of each other ’s strengths and weaknesses now, Pakistan would leave any baggage at the door. “Our ultimate goal is to win and improve our performances and I have best players with me to achieve the target.”—AFP
PCB accepts Salman Butt’s confession on spot-fixing L AHORE —Pakistan Cricket Board chief said on Tuesday former national team captain Salman Butt has confessed to his role in a spot-fixing scandal, potentially paving his way for a return to international cricket.
The 31-year-old was one of three players banned for a minimum of five years for their part in arranging deliberate no-balls in return for money during an August 2010 Test against England at Lord’s. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan said Butt has signed a confessional statement. “Butt had not specifically confessed to spot-fixing, so we gave him a statement to sign and he has specifically confessed to spot-fixing,” Shahryar told journalists. The cricketer had previously spoken to reporters about his role in the scandal
in June 2013, but the PCB had rejected it as “a general confession”. Shahryar said the statement has been forwarded to the Anti-Corruption and Safety Unit of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Butt and teammates Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were banned for five years, with the scandal not only destroying three top class careers, but also shaking the cricket world. It also led to jail terms for the trio and their agent Mazhar Majeed in 2011. In January, the ICC approved a revised anti-corruption code that allows the banned players to return to domestic cricket a few months before their bans expire. That allowed Amir, who pleaded guilty in 2011, to resume domestic cricket in February this year, prompting Butt to fight his case as well. Their bans expire on September 1. Butt confirmed he signed the written confession, and said it was in order to play domestic cricket. “I have signed a confession letter because I want to play domestic cricket,” Butt told AFP. “I have offers from a few teams to play the forthcoming season.” Butt said he is also hopeful of playing international cricket. “Why not? If my form and fitness impress selectors then I look forward to playing international cricket,” said Butt, who at the time of his ban had played 33 Tests, including six as captain, for Pakistan. He had also played 78 one-day and 24 Twenty20 internationals in a career that started in 2003. Asif has yet to contact the PCB for reintegration despite confessing to spotfixing in August 2013.—AFP
Heather Watson beaten in Aegon Zulfiqar Babar looking to Classic in first round B I R M I N G H A M — B r i t i s h Croatia’s Ajla Tomljanovic Club. number one Heather Watson lost in straight sets to Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic in the first round of the Aegon Classic in Birmingham. Krunic, a 22-year-old qualifier, beat the world number 45 7-6 (7-5) 6-4. Guernsey-born Watson, 23, was also knocked out in the first round last year, as Serb Ana Ivanovic went on to claim the title. Watson was participating in the grass-court event as preparation for Wimbledon, which begins on 29 June. It was her first match since losing to American Sloane Stephens in the second round of the French Open in late May, having withdrawn from the Aegon Nottingham Open earlier in June. She said before Tuesday’s match she was looking forward to playing on grass, which she described as her favourite surface to play on. On Monday, British wildcards Naomi Broady and Johanna Konta reached the second round with straight-set wins over
and Australian Jarmila Gajdosova respectively. Meanwhile, French Open champion Stan Wawrinka began his grasscourt season with a convincing win over Australia’s Nick Kyrgios at Queen’s
The 30-year-old Swiss, playing his first match since winning at Roland Garros, won 6-3 6-4 to reach round two of the Aegon Championships. “I’m happy with the way I’m playing already,” Wawrinka told BBC Sport.
Title holder Grigor Dimitrov completed a 4-6 63 6-4 win over Sam Querrey in a match held over from Monday. Britain’s Andy Murray and former champion Rafael Nadal are in action later on day two.—AFP
BIRMINGHAM, England: Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia in action against Heather Watson of Great Britain on day two of the Aegon Classic at Edgbaston Priory Club.
Int’l isolation not an ‘excuse’ for Pakistan’s failure: Afridi KARACHI—Straight-shooting Paki- table of ninth. stan all-rounder and Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi said it was time authorities in the country stopped using the absence of international cricket at home as ‘excuse’ for the team’s shortcomings and focus on revamping the domestic structure. The 35-year-old sounded the alarm bells over the fate of cricket in Pakistan, saying that he was worried more about the rot at the domestic level than the return of international cricket in the country. “I am more worried about Pakistan’s domestic cricket than international cricket,” Afridi told cricket.com.au in an interview when asked if he was worried about Pakistan potentially missing the 2017 Champions Trophy. “If we improve our domestic cricket then international cricket will start improving as well.” “The absence of international cricket at home shouldn’t be our excuse.” Pakistan suffered an embarrassing ODI whitewash at the hands of Bangladesh on their April-May tour, which saw them slump to their lowest ever ranking in the ICC one-day international
The defeat put Pakistan’s par-
ticipation in 2017 Champions Trophy in England in doubt as only the top eight teams will compete. It fol-
lowed a below-par performance in the 2015 World Cup, where they crashed out in the quarter-finals. But Afridi, who completed a short stint with Northants in England’s domestic T20 league and will also be one of the star attractions at the upcoming Caribbean Premier League, said stakeholders in Pakistan should address the situation at the grassroots level before doing a postmortem of international performances. He suggested Pakistan should take the lead from South Africa who were suspended from international cricket for two decades. “We have the example of South Africa in front of us. “They did not play international cricket for a long time but they had extremely good domestic structure that is why they have a competitive team today.” The mercurial all-rounder said
Pakistan’s domestic setup was just not at par with international standards. “Pakistan need a strong domestic structure too. But the facilities given to domestic players should meet international standards. “We need to bring professionalism in our domestic cricket.” Afridi, who’s retired from Test and ODIs, echoed the statement of legendary former captain Imran Khan who recently said ‘nepotism’ in the PCB and an outdated domestic setup had pushed Pakistan to the depths. “I have been suggesting for last 30 years to revamp the system of cricket in Pakistan,” Khan, who led the team to their only World Cup triumph in 1992, said. “The best batsman of Pakistan at the moment is Misbah-ul-Haq and he was given chance at the age of 34. Mohammad Irfan was selected at the age of 30. At these ages players are normally thinking about retirements.” “It illustrates how poor the system of cricket has become in Pakistan. There is clearly a problem in the system.” Pakistan will play three Tests, five one-day internationals and two T20s on their 53-day tour of Sri Lanka, with the aim of qualifying for the 2017 Champions Trophy in England.—APP
defy age factor
KARACHI—Left arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar is looking to defy age factor and perform for Pakistan against Sri Lanka in Test matches. Three-match Test series starting at Galle International Stadium on Wednesday with Pakistan hoping to win their first match since 2006 against Sri Lanka. Babar’s six-wicket haul in the tour game against Sri lankan Board President XI made front runner for the sports in Pakistan team. Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq said the performance was “perfect” for the left-arm spinner to ride on. “He got the rhythm and confidence we are looking for in a spinner. “He bowled exactly how a captain expects his bowler to bowl on such pitches in Sri Lanka. I think we have a good future with these spinners.” When Zulfiqar Babar made his international debut in T20 International against West Indies in July 2013, at 34, he was the second-oldest debutant for Pakistan. “You need time and I don’t have it. I know I have to be at my best and avoid making mistakes,” he told a leading cricket website. “These days there are very few supportive pitches, but I have to be consistent. It’s not like I am saying I will never make mistakes, which is not a fair thing to say. This is a game of cricket and mistakes tend to happen, but the teams that make fewer mistakes eventually win.” Zulfiqar Babar earned a maiden call in October 2013 to the Test side and has played seven Tests after his debut against South Africa in Abu Dhabi. He will be 37 in December this year but age is just a number for the
spinner. Over the years, Saeed Ajmal’s burgeoning success either kept many spinners’ prospects on hold or overshadowed their careers, but Ajmal’s absence from the Sri Lanka tour has given Babar a shot at sealing a relatively long-term position in the team.
Zulfiqar Babar’s best series in a short career came last year in the two Tests against Australia in the UAE. He bowled 115.4 overs, and became the top wicket-taker with 14 scalps at 26.35. match series. The spinner is fully aware that at 36, he can’t afford to lose track and he wants to push himself to stay in the team. “Being in form is nothing but a phase when you are applying yourself in a proper way,” he said. “There are technical things involved and being human, you can’t be consistent all the time. One bad day can distract you and you suddenly lose all confidence.—AFP
Smith family not worrying over possibility of losing top ranking to Kumar Sangakkara Bipin Dani OBSERVER CORRESPONDENT MUMBAI—Peter, the father of Australia’s Steven Smith was excited to see his son’s name on the top of the ICC Test ranking chart. His joy knew no bounds when he learnt that Steven is the second youngest, after India’s Sachin Tendulkar, to achieve this landmark at the age of 26. Speaking exclusively over his mobile from his wax factory in Sydney, he said, “Sachin Tendulkar is a legend, one of the greatest players ever to play cricket. His achievements over a long period of time have been incredible. So for Steven to reach the number one batting ranking around the same age as Sachin is a very humbling experience”. “I was actually scrolling through some comments on another story early Monday morning and saw a comment and link to the ICC site. On checking I found he was now the No. 1 batsman which was incredibly exciting”. “I sent an sms to Steven letting him know and congratulating him. I believe this is when he found out he had topped the rankings”.
The family’s disappointment on recently watching (on TV) son’s missing opportunity of scoring a double Test century second time has disappeared. Last week, Smith was declared out on 199 runs against West Indies at Jamaica. “On this occasion the achievement (claiming no. 1 Test ranking) outweighed the disappointment. It is always good to get some exciting news like this. Cricket is a game there will always be disappointments and achievements”, he further added. The senior Smith is not worried about the possibility of his son losing top spot to Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara. “It is a great achievement to reach the number one spot, however, I do not think you can worry about others replacing you. Kumar (Sangakkara) will play a Test before Steven (Smith) has another opportunity and if he performs well is very likely to go ahead of Steven. That is out of Steven’s control so not something he need worry about. All he can do is savour the moment and continue to perform when he next gets his opportunity in the Ashes”, Peter Smith signed off.