B4U India

Bell hailed as England’s answer to South Africa

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:02:00 -0400

Ian Bell has been hailed as England’s answer to Jacques Kallis and the batsman South Africa will be targeting next week.

The accolade comes from legendary former South African fast bowler Allan Donald.

Donald insists that it is only a matter of time before England’s flame-haired No 5 delivers consistently on the world stage.

With the First Test at Lord’s looming on Thursday, The Sun quoted Donald as saying: “A lot has been said about Belly not producing when the heat is on. But his time will come. He is a quality player and I know South Africa hold him in high esteem — they see him as a bit of a Jacques Kallis and will try to target him.”

Bell’s Test place came under pressure early in the summer and he again frustrated during the one-dayers against New Zealand with four scores between 20 and 46.

And he is tainted by the statistic that all his seven Test centuries have come when another batsman has already reached three figures in the innings.

He plundered a dazzling 215 from 288 balls against Gloucestershire last weekend — an innings that had Donald drooling.

Donald revealed: “He made it look like a walk in the park, it was fantastic. I don’t know why he hasn’t done quite as well for England. He has so much time, flair and quality that it’s hard to believe he doesn’t score consistently for England. (ANI)

Borg changes track, backs Federer to win Wimbledon again

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:02:00 -0400

Swiss tennis great Bjorn Borg has changed track again.

Not too many days ago, Borg said that Spaniard Rafael Nadal had all the qualities required to defeat Roger Federer in this year’s Wimbledon Championship, and prevent the latter from winning a record sixth consecutive title on the hallowed grass courts.

Now, smiling contentedly and tapping the side of his head, he reflects with wisdom on the five consecutive titles that he won between 1976 and 1980, a record that Federer has equalled and seeks to break this year. There is, however, one championship final that Borg played that needed the soothing balm of time before he could recall it and smile.

The defeat by John McEnroe in the 1981 final effectively ended his dominance over the tennis world. Twenty-seven years on, Borg, sitting in the Wimbledon garden of the IMG house answering questions about tomorrow’s final and whether twice runner-up Rafael Nadal is about to deliver a similarly telling blow to the career of five-times winner Roger Federer, says: “It will be a tight game, perhaps over five sets. But Roger is an artist here and this grass is his field.”

Earlier he had suggested Federer was third favourite behind Nadal and Novak Djokovic. He has seen enough in the past two weeks to convince him that Federer’s imminent demise was perhaps exaggerated.

The Daily Express quoted Borg as saying: “Roger is feeling very confident right now – you can see it from his face and the way he is moving about the court. In my view, he is playing his best tennis. Rafa beat him up in the French Open pretty bad, but that was on clay. To watch Roger on grass is to watch an artist play. He played a bad match in Paris, but this is his home.”

“Before the tournament I picked Nadal, just to choose someone else. I thought Nadal had improved his game from last year. He is hitting the ball better, his volley is better and his slice is better. But if Roger plays the way he has been playing up to the semi-final, he will be tough to beat,” he added.

“He has 12 Grand Slams now, but if he stays healthy and has that motivation he could win somewhere between 15 and 20. He wants to break every single record he can and wants to be the No1 for many years to come,” Borg said. (ANI)

Becks beats Ronaldinho to become football’s top earning star

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:01:00 -0400

When it comes to earning mega bucks, footie ace David Beckham can still run rings around his Brazilian rival Ronaldinho.

Becks raked in a whopping 24.4 million pounds last year thanks to his salary at American club LA Galaxy, and his very lucrative advertising deals.

According to US magazine Forbes, Brazilian Ronaldinho, on the other hand, earned 16.3 millions pounds last year, reports The Sun.

Coming in at third place on ‘Football’s Top 20 Earners’ list was Ronaldinho’s Barcelona teammate Theirry Henry with 12.4 million pounds.

Becks’ former Real Madrid teammate Ronaldo, now with AC Milan, came in fourth with an earning of 10.6 million pounds last year.

The top five was rounded off by Manchester United and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo, who earned 9.2 million pounds last year.

Paul Maidment, one of the list’s authors said: “More TV money, more matches, more shirts shifted and more endorsements have translated into rising incomes for the world’s top soccer stars.”

The list of Football’s Top 20 Earners as per Forbes magazine is:

1. David Beckham, LA Galaxy (24.4m GBP)

2. Ronaldinho, Barcelona (16.3m GBP)

3. Thierry Henry, Barcelona (12.5m GBP)

4. Ronaldo, AC Milan (10.6m GBP)

5. Cristiano Ronaldo, Man United (9.2m GBP)

6. Kaka, AC Milan (8.8m GBP)

7. Fabio Cannavaro, Real Madrid (8.7m GBP)

8. Andriy Shevchenko, Chelsea (8.7m GBP)

9. Steven Gerrard, Liverpool (8.5m GBP)

10. John Terry, Chelsea (8.5m GBP)

11.Wayne Rooney, Man United (8.1m GBP)

12. Francesco Totti, AS Roma (8.1m GBP)

13. Michael Ballack, Chelsea (8m GBP)

14. Frank Lampard, Chelsea (7.4m GBP)

15. Alessandro del Piero, Juventus (7.1m GBP)

16. Didier Drogba, Chelsea (6.7m GBP)

17. Rio Ferdinand, Man United (6.3m GBP)

18. Lionel Messi, Barcelona (5.9m GBP)

19. Raul Gonzalez Blanco, Real Madrid (5.5m GBP)

20. Oliver Kahn, Bayern Munich (5.1m GBP) (ANI)

India will depend on its batsmen against Lanka in Asia Cup final

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:00:00 -0400

India will depend primarily on its batters to deliver in the final of the Asia Cup against Sri Lanka on Sunday.

The Indian bowlers have not made much of an impression on the batsman-friendly track at Karachi’s National Stadium, but the batsmen have chased down huge totals in the tournament so far.

The Indians, however, will be keen to improve their bowling and fielding against the islanders.

Openers Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag have so far set the pace for India and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be hoping that both click again so that the middle order batsmen are under less pressure.

The Indians will need to do some serious thinking about their bowling combination for the match. (ANI)

Holding quits from ICC over change in status of Oval Test 2006 result

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 06:03:00 -0400

West Indian great Michael Holding has resigned from the ICC Cricket Committee after they changed the result of the 2006 Oval Test between England and Pakistan to a draw.

The tourists were originally ruled to have forfeited the match after refusing to play.

The Sun quoted Holding as saying that: “I have resigned because that game should never, ever be a draw.”

Holding felt that Pakistan's refusal to play should not go unpunished even though they were not guilty of ball tampering.

"I have just written my letter of resignation to the ICC Cricket Committee because I cannot agree with what they've done," Holding said while commentating for Sky Sports during a domestic match in England.

"That game should never, ever be a draw. When you take certain actions, you must be quite happy to suffer the consequences. A lot of things are happening today that I don't want to be involved with, so I've moved on," he added.

Umpire Darrell Hair after Pakistan did not come out to field after tea on the fourth day, following accusations of ball tampering, originally awarded the Oval Test to England.

Pakistan had, at the time, been in a strong position in the match, having secured a first-innings lead of 331 and removed four England batsmen in their second innings. There was nothing at stake in the series, with England already leading 2-0 after wins at Headingley and Old Trafford, but the eventual forfeiture was the first in the history of Test cricket. The removal of England's win could affect their standing in the ICC Test Championship - they are currently third on 110 points, one ahead of their next opponents, South Africa, on 109.

The result had huge off-field ramifications as well. Hair went on to be suspended from the ICC elite panel, and though that decision was overturned last year when he took his employers to the High Court in London, the initial decision formed the basis of Pakistan's appeal for a rethink of the result. (ANI)

Nadal hopes to stop Federer from getting his sixth Wimbledon title

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 06:03:00 -0400

Spain’s Rafael Nadal reckons that Swiss Roger Federer is the greatest player of all time, but has simultaneously warned his Wimbledon rival that he will have to wait a little longer to make history.

The Majorca mauler seeking to project himself as the underdog ahead of Sunday’s final against Federer, was quoted by The Sun as saying: “For me, Roger is the best in history because he already has six Wimbledon titles.”

But then he quickly corrected his mistake and said: “No, no, only five! Hopefully, not six this year.”

Yet he reckons it is only a matter of time before Federer surpasses Pete Sampras’ record of seven Wimbledon titles and admits he has no idea what is needed to beat the World No 1 on grass.

He said: “All I can do is try my best against him, like I did in the last two finals here. Later, if he plays better than me and beats me, I’ll just congratulate him like every year!

“To win at Wimbledon will be one of the greatest victories of my career. But even if I have that title, I’m still going to be No 2 in the rankings on Monday.”

Nadal, who won his first grass title at last month’s Artois Championships at Queen’s, has beaten Federer in 11 of their previous 17 meetings.

“I don’t have to prove I can play on grass to anyone because this will be my third final in a row here at Wimbledon. I know I have to play very, very well to beat him because the best player in the world will be on the other side of the net. He is playing very well. But so am I — and he knows that,” said Nadal. (ANI)

Donations to McGrath Foundation reach $1m mark

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 05:44:00 -0400

Donations to the McGrath Foundation have reached the magic million dollar mark as Australia honours cricketer Glen McGrath’s late wife Jane who lost her battle to breast cancer two weeks ago.

Following Mrs McGrath’s death, the foundation she and her husband started received a stream of donations to support her cause of funding breast care nurses in rural and remote areas.

Mrs McGrath died with her family around her after a 11 year fight with breast cancer.

Thanks to the donations, the Foundation now has enough money to add three breast care nurses to its existing eight nurses.

It also has another 30 to be placed around Australia after the Federal Government made a 12 million dollar election promise.

Michaela Durrant, of the Foundation, thanked the public for its ‘overwhelming’ support.

"It is just unbelievable. It doesn't seem to be slowing down. Jane obviously had an impact on so many people who were touched by her," the Daily Telegraph quoted her, as saying.

"We will be recruiting more nurses to rural and regional areas which is what Jane wanted but we have not made a decision on how all the money will be spent.

"We use any opportunity we get to thank the public for their support. Thank you to everyone."

Mrs McGrath is survived by her husband and children, James, 8, and Holly, 6. (ANI)

Federer challenges Nadal to break his "incredible winning streak on grass"

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 05:44:00 -0400

Incumbent Wimbledon Champion Roger Federer believes that he is enjoying an incredible winning streak on grass, and insists that he will be the favourite against Spaniard Rafael Nadal, as he looks to land his sixth successive men’s singles title at the event.

The world No 1 has lost 11 of his 17 clashes with the Spaniard, but has beaten him in the last two finals at the All England Club.

Federer has also pointed to his astonishing record at Wimbledon, with yesterday’s straight sets semi-final victory over Marat Safin proving to be his 41st consecutive win.

Most amazingly of all is the fact that during this breathtaking run, Federer has dropped just seven sets.

After polishing off Safin in a 6-3 7-6 6-4 triumph, the Swiss star said: “I’m on an incredible winning streak on grass. First, someone has to break that before we can talk differently, about me not being the favourite. I have not had any problems throughout the Championship. It has been a perfect way to the final, but there’s one match left,” The Sun quoted Federer, as saying.

“And it’s a huge thrill every time I get to another Wimbledon final. It should be an interesting match. Rafa has been playing consistently well and he had an amazing clay court streak. He has become good on all other surfaces. Rafa is a great competitor and he has a winning record over me. But I have played him so often on clay, which is why he has a head-to-head advantage,” he added.

Nadal came close to beating Federer in last year’s five-set final, the Majorcan won this year’s Artois Championships and he has played well at this Wimbledon — particularly in his quarter-final hammering of Andy Murray.

“I think we always hope we can live up to the expectations, because we have had some good matches against each other. But it is hard to live up to them all the time,” Federer said.

Federer is now unbeaten in 65 matches on grass. (ANI)