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Italian police seize Maradona’s diamond studs

September 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Rome, Sep 19 (ANI): Beleaguered football legend Diego Maradona had to hand over his diamond studs to police as part payment for the millions he owes the Italian tax authorities.

Italian officials paid the holidaying Argentinean coach a visit at the luxury hotel he was staying in and seized the earrings worth nearly 4,000 pounds, Sky News reports.

Police claimed that Maradona still owes some 20 million pounds, dating back to his seven-year stint at the Italian club Napoli, where he frequently failed to pay income tax.

After fleeing Buenos Aires on Monday following Argentina’s four defeats in five matches of 2010 World Cup qualifier, Maradona, 48, is currently staying at a spa in the town of Merano in north-eastern Italy, where he is trying to lose weight.

Italian authorities had seized two of his Rolex watches worth 11,000 pounds in 2006, when he was staying near Naples.

In 2005, they seized the money he was to receive for taking part in a TV dancing show.

Four years earlier, he was met by 20 police officers as he got off a plane in Rome.

Italy’s Supreme Court ordered the ex-footballer to pay 36 million euros in unpaid taxes.

According to the association of Italian taxpayers, Maradona still has 22.4 million euros to pay.

Recently, Brazilian legend Pele took a blow at Maradona, saying he feels another Argentine-born player, Alfredo di Stefano, is the best player ever.

“Maradona was a great player, but he could not kick with his right foot and did not score goals with his head.

The only time he scored an important goal with his head, it turned out he had used his hand,” Pele said referring to Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal against England in 1986 World Cup. (ANI)

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Beckham opens door for Premier League return

September 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep.8 (ANI): England football star David Beckham will win his 114th England cap tomorrow night if introduced during the World Cup qualifier with Croatia at Wembley, but is looking forward to his short sting with A C Milan and is also open to a Premier League offer to remain at the forefront of Fabio Capello’s plans for South Africa 2010.

“I have got plans. I will finish the MLS season. After that, everybody knows that I’ll be coming back to play somewhere. LA Galaxy know that. If it upsets a few people, I can’t do anything about it,” The Independent quoted Beckham, as saying.

“Milan have made me aware that they want me to go back there and I’m more than happy with that. But I have also had another three or four offers, so when the time is right, I will decide,” he added.

The prospect of Beckham being back in the Premier League, even if he will have turned 35 by that point, is an appealing one, especially as for all his platitudes for LA Galaxy, a section of the club’s support have turned against him.

By then he could have become the first England player to have appeared at four World Cup finals. (ANI)

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Maradona insists he won’t quit, instead will work hard like crazy

September 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Buenos Aires (Argentina), Sep 7(ANI): Argentina coach Diego Maradona, who faces the axe if his team fails to qualify for next year’s World Cup in South Africa, has said that he will not quit rather he would “work hard like crazy”.

The two-time World champions was beaten by South American rivals Brazil, and are currently fourth in their group, just two points ahead of Ecuador and Colombia.

“This won’t break me. I will work hard like crazy. To lose to Brazil is always ugly. We were very motivated about winning and moving closer towards the World Cup. But now we can’t sit back because qualifying will be tough,” The Sun quoted Maradona, as saying.

Maradona further accepted to take the responsibility of defeat against Brazil, and said that Messi should not be blamed for it, as he wasn’t the only on playing.

“I won’t complain about my players, because I threw everything at Brazil. Unfortunately we just couldn’t turn the game,” he said.

Maradona also said that there was now huge pressure on the team ahead of the next qualifier, which will be played against Paraguay on Thursday. (ANI)

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Terry goads Croatia about Eduardo being a diver ahead of WC qualifier

September 5, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep 5 (ANI): England captain John Terry has increased the pressure before the World Cup qualifier against Croatia by insisting that their Arsenal striker Eduardo is a diver.

Terry leads his men out to face Slovenia today in a friendly at Wembley but it is very much a warm-up for the main event, The Sun reports.

Eduardo, 26, is expected to lead the visitors’ attack having been centre stage for his tumble against Celtic, which resulted in a two-match ban from UEFA.

Terry said: “I think the Eduardo one was a dive. We can all see that and it’s disappointing to see because Arsenal is a quality side and I don’t think they want to be portrayed like that.”

Terry believes diving has to be stamped out of the game, but that English players are too saintly for their own good and don’t get so many free-kicks because they try to remain upright when challenged.

“Diving is something the England lads don’t do. Sometimes we’re too honest. Even in the Premier League, we see the English lads get a bit of contact and try to stay on their feet and score from the chance. The foreign mentality coming in is any little clip, you go tumbling over because of the speed of the game nowadays,” he added.

Terry revealed that he and fellow members of the defenders’ union are well aware who the culprits are in the game.

“Yeah, you know who they are. It’s not all the foreigners so it’s unfair to single them out but from our mentality and the way we’ve grown up it’s not something we’ve ever been into.

“When Chelsea first came into the UEFA Cup and the Champions League, we had to adapt because in the last minute of games we were giving away silly fouls that weren’t.

“When you see the opponents’ team-sheet you know who you’ve got to be careful with but there’s nobody in this England squad like that,” Terry said. (ANI)

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Babel accuses Benitez of breaking promises

September 3, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep 3 (ANI): Dutch winger Ryan Babel has accused Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez of breaking promises which could wreck his World Cup dream.

Babel now wants to join Ajax on loan after claiming he was made a scapegoat for last month’s 2-1 defeat at Spurs.

“There were all sorts of assurances and promises from the club but they have not kept them. I should get more playing time but after the first defeat of the season I was the only one who was singled out – and I lost my place,” The Sun quoted Babel, as saying.

Babel bought by Benitez for 11.5 million pounds from Ajax two years ago, has played just 14 minutes as a sub since that defeat.

He lost his place in the Holland squad for Saturday’s friendly against Japan and the midweek World Cup qualifier in Scotland – until Ibrahim Afellay’s injury saw him recalled.

“Being left out was a real shock and very worrying. I didn’t expect not to be named, I’d already booked my ticket! We will have to review the situation again in January,” he said.

“But I think half a season back at Ajax, with a World Cup coming up next summer, wouldn’t be a bad option at all. I see the current situation at Liverpool as a signal I have to be playing more,” Babel added. (ANI)

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Saina Nehwal makes a triumphant return home

June 28, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Hyderabad, June 28 (ANI): After winning her first ever super series badminton title in Indonesia, Saina Nehwal arrived in Hyderabad, her home city on Saturday.

Ranked number eight in the world, Nehwal won her first super series event in Indonesia on June 21, raising India’s hopes of a strong performance at the World Championships to be staged here in August.

Nehwal who is the world junior champion beat China’s Lin Wang 12-21 21-18 21-9, having lost to world number three at the Singapore Super Series the previous week.

However, her dream of pocketing back-to-back titles went up in smoke as Chinese qualifier Xin Wang stunned the second-seeded Indian in the quarterfinals of the Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament at Johor Bahru on Friday (June 26).

“I don’t want to compare myself with players who have already won that. So I tried to compare with the Chinese but it is really great, fantastic. Now I think I will be able to win more super series event and I look forward to win some bigger events like All England Championship. (Q. What happened in Malaysia?) I was little bit tired because it was really tough tournament. I played all the top 20 players in the tournament from day one, it was really hectic,” said Nehwal.

Nehwal, 19, became the first Indian woman to reach the Olympic singles quarter-finals in Beijing last year. (ANI)

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Iranian football players banned for protesting against Ahmadinejad’s re-election

June 26, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, June 24 (ANI): The Iranian football players, who wore green wristbands to protest against the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have reportedly been banned from the team for life. reen was adopted as the colour of Mir Hossain Mousavi’s campaign, and has been widely displayed in opposition street protests in Iran’s post-election turmoil.

At least seven Iranian players wore the bands in the first half against South Korea, although most were forced to take them off before the second.

A pro-government newspaper reported they had been “retired” from the national team after several members wore green tape on their wrists in a World Cup qualifier against South Korea in Seoul.

Other newspapers said the players were retiring voluntarily, reportedly because of their age, but at least one suggested they were forced out, The Telegraph reports.

The speculation focused on two players who both wore green wristband in Seoul: Ali Karimi, 31, and Mehdi Mahdavikia, 32. However, both had earlier announced plans to quit soon because of their age.

The Seoul incident was a gesture of solidarity with opposition leader Mir Hossain Mousavi whose supporters accuse the government of rigging Iran’s June 12 election in favour of the hardline Ahmadinejad.

Mahdavikia is one of Iran’s biggest sports heroes for a goal he scored to eliminate the United States during the first round of the World Cup in 1998. (ANI)

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Quiet guys in the corner, not flashy ones, score more with females

June 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, June 19 (ANI): Being heavily focused on keeping up appearance might serve as a successful “advertisement” for attracting mates, however, in some species, like stickleback fish, it’s the caring ones who score.

Yale scientists theorize that when males must provide care for the survival of their offspring, the males’ signals will consistently be honest – and they may devote more of their energy to caring for their offspring than to being attractive.

The idea that males showcase their best qualities to attract females for mating isn’t a new one, nor is the idea that they might be deceptive in what they are promoting.
nstead, the new findings better predict the requirement for honesty in advertising as a function of the male’s suitability for parenting, according to Natasha Kelly, a graduate student in ecology and evolutionary biology at Yale and lead author of the study.

When a male’s energy is heavily focused on keeping up his appearance, he may have little energy to devote to caring for offspring. But that may be okay, say the researchers – in species where he does not really need to tend to the kids.

However, the new model, now appearing in the online version of the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, examines the reliability of males’ mating signals when they must care for offspring.

There are many species in which males could, but do not have to, provide parental care – because females will pick up the slack. The Yale researchers focused on those species, like stickleback fish, where females cannot pick up the slack and males who do not provide care risk the survival of their offspring.

“This new work shows that when males can not escape the cost of failing to provide care, their advertisements will tend to tend to reliably indicate how much care they will provide,” said senior author Suzanne Alonzo, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Yale.

“The qualifier in this case is where males are obligated to provide care,” said Kelly.

“In that case, the quiet guy in the corner might be giving the more reliable advertisement for fatherhood,” the expert added. (ANI)

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Nadal avoids a marathon with two quick catch-up wins

April 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Rafael NadalMonte Carlo – Rafael Nadal saved energy, earning two wins in a total of three hours to blast into his fifth straight semi-final at the Monte Carlo Masters on Friday as the tournament got caught up after Thursday rain.

The top seed in the chase for five trophies on the trot at the European clay-season opener, by beating Nicolas Lapentti 6-3, 6-0 then notched his 25th win in a row at the venue 6-3, 6-3 in a quarter-final over Croatian Ivan Ljubicic.

“I played less than three hours, that’s always important. I just went to the court and tried to play my best. The first match was not long and I was totally hundred percent in the second.

“It was a tough day but (I got) two good wins without losing a set.”

Nadal will square off on Saturday against Andy Murray, who achieved his best showing ever on clay 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 over Nikolay Davydenko after the Russian spent four and a half hours on court in two matches on the day.

Swiss Stan Wawrinka has a score to settle with Novak Djokovic as the pair stage a re-run of last year’s Foro Italico final when they meet in their semi.

Djokovic, seeded third to the 13th of Wawrinka, beat Wawrinka for the Rome title last May. But Wawrinka is riding a wave of clay confidence a day after defeating good friend Roger Federer in the third round.

He followed up that achievement on Friday, putting out German qualifier Andreas Beck 6-2, 6-4.

“When I came to that final, I already thought my tournament was successful and I didn’t believe in my ability to beat him,” said Wawrinka, seeded 13th. “This is one year later, and everything is different.

“I have more confidence in myself, and I’ll try my best to win.”

Djokovic, winner of all three matches against Wawrinka in 2008, booked his last-four spot as he beat Fernando Verdasco 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

Djokovic needed to play on Thursday night in heavy conditions to conclude a day of rain interruptions. He said that the challenge Friday was much the same.

“The courts were really wet, even today you could feel it. The balls were getting bald and really fast – tough to control. But today was a really good match for me. I hung in there and just waited for my chances.”

Djokovic will play in his second consecutive Monte Carlo semi-final after retiring with illness against Federer last year.

Murray has been on a roll this season, leading the ATP with three titles and now in a position to threaten both number 3 Djokovic as well as possibly number 2 Federer.(dpa)

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Wawrinka aims for revenge against Djokovic on Monte Carlo clay

April 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Monte Carlo – Stan Wawrinka has a score to settle with Novak Djokovic as the pair stage a re-run of last year’s Foro Italico final when they meet in in a semi-final Saturday at the Monte Carlo Masters.

Djokovic, seeded third to the 13th of Wawrinka, beat the Swiss for the Rome title last May. But Wawrinka is riding a wave of clay confidence a day after defeating good friend Roger Federer in the third round.

He followed up that achievement on Friday, putting out German qualifier Andreas Beck 6-2, 6-4.

Djokovic, winner of all three matches against Wawrinka in 2008, booked his last-four spot as he beat Fernando Verdasco, the seventh seed, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

Djokovic needed to play on Thursday night in heavy conditions to conclude a day of rain interruptions. He said that the challenge Friday was much the same.

Djokovic will play in his second consecutive Monte Carlo semi-final after retiring with illness against Federer last year.

Four-time champion Rafael Nadal and Scottish fourth seed Andy Murray were due for two matches on the day after concluding their third-rounders earlier.

Nadal claimed his 24th straight victory at the principality, defeating Nicolas Lapentti 6-3, 6-0. The Spanish top seed was next to face Croatian Ivan Ljubicic, who beat Simone Bolelli 7-5 7-6 (7-2).

Murray has been on a roll this season, leading the ATP with three titles and now in a position to threaten both number 3 Djokovic as well as possibly number 2 Federer.

Murray will go against Russian Nikolay Davydenko, who beat David Nalbandian of Argentina 6-4, 5-7, 6-3. (dpa)

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Nadal, Murray finish the job to reach Monte Carlo quarters

April 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Monte Carlo – Rafael Nadal was due to continue his clay campaign Friday with an afternoon quarter-final against Ivan Ljubicic after finishing off a rain-interrupted contest over Nicolas Lapentti at the Monte Carlo Masters.

Officials at the season clay kick-off were riding a lucky streak of perfect weather before more rain was forecast for the weekend.

Nadal completed a 6-3, 6-0 third-round crushing of the Ecuadorian after getting through only one game on Thursday.

Croatian Ljubicic booked his place with a defeat of Italy’s Simone Bolelli, 7-5, 7-6 (7-2).

Nadal has now won 24 straight clay matches at Monte Carlo with his only loss there coming in 2003 to Guillermo Coria.

The Spanish number 1 is aiming for a fifth consecutive trophy at the prestigious venue.

British fourth seed Andy Murray joined Nadal in completing a rain-hit contest, earning his first career quarter-final on clay over Italian Fabio Fognini 7-6 (13-11), 6-4.

Murray has been on a tear this season, leading the ATP with three titles and now in a position to threaten both number 3 Novak Djokovic as well as possibly number 2 Roger Federer.

The Swiss Federer, who made a late entry into the field, was bundled out Thursday by Davis Cup teammate Stan Wawrinka, who was facing a quarter-final against German qualifier Andreas Beck.

Murray was due to play Russian Nikolay Davydenko, who beat David Nalbandian of Argentina 6-4, 5-7, 6-3. (dpa)

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CAS cancels Pizarro fine imposed by Peru federation

April 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lausanne, Switzerland – The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Friday cancelled a fine of 10,000 dollars imposed on Peru striker Claudio Pizarro by his nation’s football federation (PFF) for allegedly misbehaving after a 2007 match with Brazil.

The CAS said in a statement that “the facts put forward by the PFF in relation to Pizarro were not supported by concrete evidence” and added that “the incidents reported by the PFF were not dealt with either in the PFF regulations, or in the FIFA regulations.”

Pizarro and other players reportedly misbehaved in the team hotel after the World Cup qualifier with Brazil in November 2007 in Lima.

Pizarro was banned for 18 months from the team and fined 80,000 dollars by the PFF before the sanctions were reduced on appeal to a three-month ban and 10,000-dollar fine.

Pizarro appealed again before CAS in July 2008, protesting his innocence. The CAS judges only looked into the fine as he has already served the ban (but has not been recalled into the team since).

The CAS news was a welcome break for Pizarro who faces a tax evasion probe in his home country in connection with alleged wrongdoings of his manager.

Pizarro is under contract at English club Chelsea, but currently on loan at his former side Werder Bremen. Pizarro scored the final goal in a 3-3 draw at Italy’s Udinese on Thursday night to reach the UEFA Cup semi-finals.(dpa)

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Iran appoint Mayelikohan as new head coach

April 7, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Tehran – Iran has appointed Mohammad Mayelikohan as national football team coach in succession of Ali Daei, Iranian media reported on Tuesday.

The reports said the Iranian Football Federation (FFI) appointed Mayelikohan late Monday. Mayelikohan trained the national team 1995- 1997 and is currently coach of the Saipa Karaj club.

Daei had to leave after a 2-1 home defeat against Saudi Arabia in a World Cup qualifier on March 28 which left Iran with an uphill battle to qualify for the 2010 finals in South Africa.

Daei, the world’s leading international scorer with 109 goals in 148 caps, was under severe criticism since his appointment in March 2008 for having constantly changed the team’s formation without gaining satisfactory results.

Iran stands fourth in Group B with six points from five of eight games. South Korea have 11 points, North Korea 10 and Saudi Arabia 10 each while the United Arab Emirates are last with one point.

The top two teams qualify directly for the World Cup while the third-placed team goes through playoffs. Iran’s final matches are away at North Korea and South Korea, and at home against the UAE.

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North Korea reiterates footballer food poisoning claim

April 6, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Seoul – North Korea has again accused South Korea its footballers around a World Cup qualifier between the two nations last week.

North Korean coach said after the April 1 game, which South Korea won 1-0, that three of his players had suffered from food poisoning and that the ruling football body FIFA denied his request to play the game at a later date on neutral ground.

North Korea followed up on Sunday with a statement that the incident was part of a confrontation policy of South Korean President Lee Myung Bak. It asked FIFA to investigate.

“It can be said that it was beyond all doubt that the incident was a product of a deliberate act perpetrated by adulterated foodstuff (as the players fell ill) just before the match,” a statement from the North Korean football federation said.

South Korean football federation spokesman Lee Won Jae said on Monday that his body was only responsible for training and transportation of visiting teams.

All other issues were in the hands of the other team, Lee said, which did not put his federation into a position to comment on them.

South Korea also said that the sick players were examined by a sports doctor who discovered no problems.

South Korea moved atop their five-team qualifying group with the victory, one point ahead of North Korea. The two top teams from each group go to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the third-placed team has the chance to make it through playoffs.

The football issue comes at a time of rising tensions between the two nations.

North Korea defied international warnings with a controversial rocket launch on Sunday. State media said a satellite had been put into orbit, while others like South Korea and the US suggested the launch a cover for a long-range missile test.

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Maradona heartache as Argentina get hit for six

April 3, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Argentina were thumped 6-1 by Bolivia in a World Cup qualifier on Wednesday and shattered coach Diego Maradona said that each goal was like a stab in his heart.

Paraguay scored in injury-time to draw 1-1 in Ecuador and stay top of the South American group while Brazil moved into second place after two goals from Luis Fabiano helped them to a straightforward 3-0 win at home to Peru.

Argentina forward Lionel Messi was upstaged by a player from the Mexican second division as Maradona’s 100 percent record went up in smoke at 3,600 metres above sea level in La Paz.

Bolivia striker Joaquin Botero, who plays for a team called Correcaminos (Road Runners), scored a hat-trick and took his tally in the competition to eight goals.

Marcelo Martins, Alex Da Rosa and Didi Torrico were also on target for Bolivia as Argentina shipped six goals for the first time since they lost by the same score to Czechoslovakia at the 1958 World Cup.

Luis Gonzalez replied for Argentina, briefly putting them back on level terms in the 25th minute, before a Botero penalty and Alex Da Rosa header gave Bolivia a 3-1 halftime lead, Martins having opened the scoring the 12th minute.

Botero added two more in the second half and Torrico completed the rout.

“I suffered with them (the Argentine public),” Maradona told reporters, himself appearing short of breath. “Every Bolivia goal was a stab in my heart.

“If we had dreamed this was going to happen before the game, we would have thought it was impossible.”

Before taking over as coach last October, Maradona had publicly backed Bolivia’s campaign against a FIFA ban on high altitude matches, playing in a charity match in La Paz alongside the country’s president Evo Morales.

The ban was later overturned.

FOURTH PLACE

Argentina slipped to fourth in the 10-team group with 19 points from 12 games, the lowest of the positions in which they can finish and qualify directly for South Africa in 2010.

Fifth place would mean a two-leg play off against the fourth side from the CONCACAF region.

Paraguay have 24 points while Brazil are three behind but only eight points separate them from eighth-placed Venezuela.

Sandwiched in between are Chile (20), Argentina, Uruguay (17) and Colombia and Ecuador (14).

Substitute Cristian Noboa headed Ecuador ahead against Paraguay in the 64th minute in Quito, which is 2,800 metres above sea level.

Ecuador’s Edison Mendez hit the crossbar and Paraguay defender Paulo da Silva was sent off, yet the resilient visitors left with a point when Edgar Benitez volleyed home in the second minute of injury-time.

“It was a fair reward because we deserved to take something from here,” said Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino, whose side are on course for a fourth successive World Cup.

Brazil had little trouble in overcoming demoralised, table-propping Peru in Porto Alegre.

Luis Fabiano put them ahead with an 18th minute penalty after a foul on Kaka and added another nine minutes later.

Midfielder Felipe Melo scored the third in the 64th minute of a hopelessly one-sided game.

Chile managed to hold Uruguay to a goalless draw at home in Santiago despite having midfielder Mauricio Isla sent off in the 34th minute.

Uruguay attacked throughout the second half, finishing the game with four strikers, but were unable to force the winner.

“I think we lost two points,” said Uruguay coach Oscar Washington Tabarez.

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Chelsea star Drogba says football is nothing compared Ivory Coast tragedy

March 31, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Mar.31 (ANI): Chelsea’s Ivory Coast international striker Didier Drogba has said that football is nothing compared to the death of 19 people in a deadly stadium stampede before a World Cup qualifier in Ivorian capital Abidjan.
Drogba, who scored two goals as Ivory Coast beat Malawi 5-0 in a game that was still staged following the tragedy at the 45,000-capacity Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, said: I am disappointed by what has happened, it is hard to take. Football is nothing. You are talking about the deaths of 19 people. When things like that happen it makes you realize how much people care about their country and their team.”

As well as the 19 deaths, including two children, more than 132 spectators were injured when part of a wall collapsed as ticketless fans stormed one of the entrances.

Fans who survived the crush have blamed police for the tragedy, saying security forces provoked the panic by throwing tear-gas at people who had nowhere to run.

Drogba’s team-mate, Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure has urged his team-mates to pay tribute to those who lost their lives by ensuring Ivory Coast reach the World Cup in South Africa in 2010. (ANI)

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Media accreditation process opens for ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier

February 11, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Dubai, Feb.10 (ANI): The accreditation process for all members of the media intending to cover the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier (CWCQ) is now open.

Members of the media who wish to carry out their work at the event are urged to submit their applications before the close of business on Friday 20 February 2009 (Dubai time).

The tournament will see the world’s top 12 Associate and Affiliate teams compete at nine venues in 19 days from 1 to 19 April. Three of the nine grounds – at Benoni, Potchefstroom and Centurion – are ODI-accredited venues.

For organisational purposes, all media representatives intending to cover the CWCQ 2009 must apply for accreditation. Please reply as soon as possible by email to Lucy Benjamin (lucy.benjamin@icc-cricket.com) with the following information:

Name and job title

Organisation (please clarify if it is a newspaper, magazine, radio, television or a website)

Country

Matches intended to cover

A passport-style photograph in jpeg form

A full match schedule for the tournament is available at www.icc-cricket.com.

In due course, journalists will be informed about the status of their application. Please note that it may be necessary to provide proof of identification as a working journalist and a letter of authorisation from the editor or sports editor of your organisation.(ANI)

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Venues and schedule confirmed for ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier

February 11, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Dubai, Feb.10 (ANI): The ICC today confirmed the schedule for the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2009 to take place from 1 to 19 April in South Africa.

With three ODI venues being used, including Willowmoore Park in Benoni and Potchefstroom for group and Super Eight matches and Centurion for the final on 19 April, the event will enjoy first-class facilities.

In total there are nine venues being used for 54 matches played over 19 days with 12 teams fighting it out for the four qualification places on offer in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

The ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier, formerly known as the ICC Trophy, incorporates Divisions 1 and 2 of the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League and is the gateway for the top Associate and Affiliate teams into the premier one-day tournament in the world.

“It looks like it’s going to be a great event,” said ICC President David Morgan.

“Many of the top Associates are very evenly matched and I am expecting some thrilling matches during the tournament. We know from experience that South Africa is a perfect place to host big multi-team tournaments such as this and I know the teams will have some of the best facilities at their disposal,” he said.

“Four years ago, Scotland deservedly overcame the opposition in Ireland so I’m sure they’ll be anxious to hang on to the title. It’s not going to be easy though. Many of the other Associates have made big strides since then so it’s going to be a hard-fought tournament.”

Day one of the event offers up perhaps the most eagerly awaited fixture of all with defending champion Scotland taking on fierce rival Ireland in an ODI at Willowmoore Park in what will be a repeat of the final in 2005.

Among the teams will be Afghanistan and Uganda, which both qualified from January’s Pepsi World Cricket League Division 3 event in Buenos Aires. The WCL was created to provide a clear pathway for teams outside the top 10 towards improvement and ultimately, the ICC Cricket World Cup. This global event gives ICC Associate and Affiliate Members the opportunity to play similarly ranked sides in meaningful competition regardless of where they are located in the world.

The 12 teams taking part in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier are split into two groups of six teams. Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Oman, Namibia and Uganda make up Group A while Kenya, Netherlands, Bermuda, UAE, Denmark and Afghanistan form Group B.

Each side plays the other teams in its group once with the top four from the groups progressing to the Super Eight stage. The teams each play four Super Eight matches against the sides they did not meet in the group stage. All points won in the groups will be carried over to the Super Eight stage apart from those gained against the bottom two from each group.

The top two teams in the Super Eight stage will contest the final to be played at Centurion on 19 April. The third and fourth-placed sides will play-off at Potchefstroom, the fifth and sixth-placed sides play off at Willowmoore Park while the seventh and eighth-placed teams play off at Stan Friedman Oval, Krugersdorp.

The top four sides at the event qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. The top six teams secure ODI status until 2013 and also qualify automatically for the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10.

The bottom two teams from the CWCQ, which incorporates Divisions 1 and 2 of the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League, will be relegated to Division 3.(ANI)

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Croatian footie’s saucy pitch-romp with wife becomes instant web hit

January 28, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Jan 28 (ANI): A Croatian footballer has become an instant hit with German fans without kicking a single ball-all thanks to a video showing him romping with wife on his club’s centre.

Dino Dripc was put on the transfer list at his old club for his raunchy antics on their pitch, and he has now signed up for the German Bundesliga side Karlsruher SC.

The steamy video, which was posted on the net, shows his Playboy model wife Nives Celsius having sex on a special bed to promote her singing career.

And the clip has become one of the country’s top five viewed net videos since his signing was announced, reports The Sun.

The 27-year-old defender and his stunning wife romped on the centre spot of his club’s Zagreb stadium where Croatia beat England 2-0 in a Euro 2008 qualifier.

In fact, the kinky couple had even arranged for pals to leave the floodlights on at the Maksimir Stadium. (ANI)

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