Sania blames injury for exit

Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza serves to Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva during the French Open first round match at Roland Garros in Paris yesterday.

India's Sania Mirza blamed a lack of match practice after being eliminated in the first round of the French Open here on Tuesday.

The world number 95 is trying to regain form after an injury-plagued 2008, but looked short of sharpness in a rain-hit 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) defeat to Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva.

"It was tough conditions to play in, going on the court and then going off, and it was windy," said Mirza.

"I haven't had too much practice as well because I injured my wrist again after (the) Madrid (Open) and had to head back home and get that treated. And it's not one of my favourite surfaces to play on!

"But I take nothing away from her. She played really well, she served really well and I think that was the difference."

Mirza held to love in an emphatic opening service game before the heavens opened, forcing the players off with the score 1-1.

The 22-year-old surrendered her serve in the first game after the rain delay and spurned two chances to break back in game six, letting another two break points slip by at 4-3 down as Voskoboeva, 24, closed out the set.

The players exchanged breaks twice in the second set before Russia-born Voskoboeva, the world number 81, took advantage of her opponent's misfiring serve to clinch victory in the tie-break, sealing her win with an ace.

Voskoboeva will play Russian seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in round two.

Mirza became the first female Indian player to earn in excess of one million US dollars in 2008, despite a season disrupted by a recurring wrist injury that caused her to miss last year's French Open.

Her Australian Open mixed doubles success in Melbourne this year, with partner Mahesh Bhupathi, made her the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam title.

"The amount of people who came up to us and said congratulations - those kind of things are really small things, but they really mean a lot," Mirza said.

"A stranger walks up to you and says 'I'm so happy', because you won a tennis match. You bring smiles to people's faces.

"It's great support, because there's a lot of Indians out there trying to support you, but there's also a lot of pressure.

"That's the way it is though. They expect me to win every match I play, but I think I'm used to it now."

OTHER FIRST RD RESULTS
Women
Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS x7) bt Claire Feuerstein (FRA) 6-1, 6-4

Jelena Jankovic (SRB x5) bt Petra Cetkovska (CZE) 6-2, 6-3

Petra Martic (CRO) bt Mara Santangelo (ITA) 6-4, 6-2

Melinda Czink (HUN) bt Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1

Sybille Bammer (AUT x28) bt Nathalie Dechy (FRA) 6-3, 7-6 (7/1)

Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK) bt Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) 6-1, 2-6, 8-6

Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN x24) bt Monica Niculescu (ROM) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3

Caroline Wozniacki (DEN x10) bt Vera Dushevina (RUS) 4-6, 7-5, 6-1

Men
Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG x5) bt Michael Llodra (FRA) 6-3, 6-3, 6-1

Marc Gicquel (FRA) bt Rainer Schuttler (GER x27) 6-0, 6-0, 6-4

Daniel Gimeno (ESP) bt Evgeny Korolev (RUS) 6-4 abandon

Victor Crivoi (ROM) bt Simon Greul (GER) 6-1, 7-6 (7/1), 6-2

Novak Djokovic (SRB x4) bt Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) 6-3, 3-1 abandon

Andreas Beck (GER) bt Ivan Navarro (ESP) 7-6 (11/9), 6-4, 6-1

Gael Monfils (FRA x11) bt Bobby Reynolds (USA) 6-2, 6-3, 6-1

Tigers score 146 for six:

Mahmudullah Riyad and Shakib Al Hasan helped Bangladesh put up a descent total in their first T20 practice match against New Zealand at the Wormsley Cricket Ground in England yesterday.

Bangladesh scored 146-6 in their share of 20 overs.

Riyad top scored with 43 and Shakib added 35.

Dashing opener Tamim Iqbal made 19 and captain Mohammad Ashraful scored 17 runs after the Tigers had decided to bat.

The other notable scorers were Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (15 not out) and Nayeem Islam (11 not out).

After this game the Tigers travel to neighbouring Kent to play the second additional practice game against Netherlands tomorrow while their third match is scheduled for May 29 against Scotland.

Bangladesh's official practice games are against Australia on June 1 and Sri Lanka the next day at Nottingham.

The Tigers, who have been pitted in Group A, will play their first group match against India on June 6 and second match against Ireland on June 8 at Trent Bridge.

Rasel, Humayun take National to club title

National Cricket Club of Nilphamari clinched the National Club Cup cricket title with a 22-run victory over Nazrul Pathagar of Barisal in a low-scoring game at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.

Left-arm spinner Humayun Kabir helped fashion the win with three wickets as Nazrul Pathagar were bowled out for 164 in 48.3 overs after the club from north themselves scored a modest 186 from 50 overs.

Out of the three, Humayun picked up the dangerous Maydul Islam, who made 60 off 82 balls with the help of four boundaries and two sixes.

SM Jaidi and Mohammad Hussain took two each while Nadim Sheikh, Rajib Prasad and Jamiul Alam had one each.

Earlier, Mohammad Rasel hit a patient 103-ball 59 that including five boundaries. For the Barisal club, Mohammad Mahin took four wickets while Piar Amin took two wickets.

Rajib's hattrick seals victory:

Riding on Rajib's brilliant hattrick, Barguna Zilla School crushed Nilphamari Kayagola Hat High School 5-2 in a final round match of the Citycell National School Football Championship at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Khulna Koyra Madinabad Secondary School beat RSKH Institution Mohammadia of Magura 2-1 at the same venue. Mamun and Wahiduzzaman scored one goal each for Koyra while Raju netted the lone goal for RSKH Institute Moha-mmedia.

At the Brothers Union Ground, Kishoreganj Azimuddin High School defeated Brahmanbaria Zia Sar Karkhana High School 2-1. Ashraful and Golam scored one goal each for Azimuddin High School while Tuhin pulled one back for Zia Shar Karkhana High School.

In another match, Moulvibazar Victoria High School blanked Cox's Bazar Ramu Khizari High School 4-0 at the same venue. Billal struck twice while Kazi and Ismat scored one goal apiece for Victoria High School.

At the Abahani ground, Rajbari Raja Suriyakumar Institute edged past Jhenidah Moslemuddin Secondary School by a solitary goal scored by Bandhan. In another match, Pabna Yunus Ali High School drubbed Barisal Town Secondary School 2-0 goals also at the same venue.

Shahid and Mainuddin netted one goal each for Yunus Ali High School.

Akhtar barred from T20 meet:

Shoaib Akhtar has been barred from playing in the national Twenty20 tournament by the Pakistan board after they had him replaced in the World Twenty20 squad because he was suffering from a skin infection.

Shoaib had been named captain of the Islamabad Leopards squad two days after he was cut from the Pakistan team. A PCB official, however, said the board had informed the Islamabad Cricket Association (ICA) that Shoaib would be violating his central contract if he played for them despite medical advice advising 10 to 12 days' rest.

"The [Pakistan] board has sent us the medical report and a copy of the central contract, which states that a player playing against medical advice can be fined," Shakil Shaikh, president of the ICA, told Dawn.

Shoaib was initially a part of Pakistan's 15-man squad for the World Twenty20 but he missed the training camp in Bhurban because of a skin infection and was advised 10 days rest by a three-member medical panel appointed by the PCB. The panel's decision prompted the board to replace Akhtar with medium-pacer Rao Iftikhar Anjum.

BFF & DIU sign MoU:

Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) and Daffodil International University (DIU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to improve national and age group footballers' language and presentation skills at the BFF House yesterday.

Under this one of a kind agreement, DIU will provide technical and theoretical assistance to the national and age group players to strengthen their abilities in English, at their language laboratory.

"We want to spread education to all the working professionals of our country including sports. As an institution this agreement with the BFF will enable us to contribute in the nation building capacity. Through our English programme the players will be able to work efficiently and smartly, there are lots of talented players who go abroad for their game and face the media so our input will aid them," said Mizanur Rahman, registrar of the DIU.

BFF expressed their sincere gratitude to DIU for the initiative and said it was a noble gesture on their part to spare a thought for the country's footballers.

"We welcome this initiative of DIU to teach our footballers the basics of English and communication. There is no age limit to learn a new language or a new skill," said BFF vice-president Kazi Nabil Ahmed.

BFF officials also believed that better English language skills would ease the communication between national coach Edson Silva Dido and the players.

BFF general secretary Al-Musabbir Sadi and Mizanur Rahman signed the deal on behalf of their respective organisations.

UEFA Champions League

Messi praises C'Ron

Barcelona star Lionel Messi will have the chance to watch Cristiano Ronaldo at close quarters on Wednesday after admitting the Manchester United winger is the one player he would pay to see in action.

Along with Ronaldo, Argentina forward Messi is widely regarded as one of the top two or three players in the world, and the duo will be the centre of attention in Wednesday's Champions League final in Rome.

But it is the Portuguese playmaker's flamboyant skills that most excite Messi when he sits down to watch a match on television.

"Manchester United have quality everywhere," Messi told the Daily Mail. "So many good players. But if I had to pick one out it would be Ronaldo. He is a player I would pay to watch.

"He and I are very different players but he is unbelievable, very special, and it will not be easy to stop him.

"But we must not pay all attention to him and forget about Berbatov, Rooney and Carlos Tevez.

"Manchester United have players all over the pitch who can punish you in the same way we have."

Messi also reaffirmed his loyalty to Barcelona and insisted he wants to remain with the club for the rest of his career.

The 21-year-old has been linked with a move to arch-rivals Real Madrid, but he has no intention of leaving Camp Nou.

"I have said so many times that I am so happy at Barcelona, and I have no desire to ever leave," he said.

"I owe them so much. I want to repay them for the rest of my career. I am loyal to Barcelona.

"The doctors at home in Argentina told my parents I would never grow past 4ft 5in.

"The medical bills were very high. My father took on other jobs but even then it was not enough for the other bills.

"Nobody else was prepared to take a chance on me apart from Barcelona and if it was not for them I would not even be a professional football player."

Zia wins 3rd game

Grand Master Ziaur Rahman drew his second round game against Lau Yiping of China but won the third board against Jony Habla of Philippine in the 2nd Subic Open International Chess Tournament which is now being held at Subic Freeport, Olongapo City in the Philippines.

After the third round Zia improved his tally to 2.5 points to share the second spot along with eight other players.

Another Bangladeshi Grand Master, Niaz Murshed secured earned two points as he lost the third round against International Master Richard Bitoon of Philippines.

Juve seal Diego signing

Juventus announced on Tuesday the signing of Brazilian playmaker Diego from Werder Bremen for a fee of 24.5 million euros.

The 24-year-old has signed a deal until June 2014 having spent three years in Germany after joining the club from Portugal's Porto.

Diego's last match for Werder will be in the German Cup final against Bayer Leverkusen this weekend.

Over three seasons he played 84 league matches for Werder, scoring 38 goals and he has appeared for his country 15 times.

He has been bought to replace Czech veteran Pavel Nedved who is retiring at the end of the season.

Diego's fee will be paid over three seasons with an extra 2.5 million to be added on depending on his success with the Italians.

Serie A giants Juve are in the process of rebuilding having been relegated to Serie B in 2006 due to their role in a match-fixing scandal and administrative delegate Jean Claude Blanc said the Brazilian was an important part of that process.

"Due to his technical characteristics Diego is a fundamental part of the rebuilding of our team," he said.

"We've always said that we want to build a team of young players and talented ones and Diego exudes both qualities.

"Despite his age of 24 years he's a player of great experience with having already played at the highest level for seven years."

Diego started his career at Pele's old club Santos where as a teenager he formed a formidable attacking partnership with Robinho, now of Manchester City.

He moved to then Champions League holders Porto in 2004 as a replacement for the Barcelona-bound Deco.

However, his Porto experience soon turned sour as he found himself out of favour with Dutch coach Co Ariaanse and he signed for Bremen two years later for six million euros.

He won league titles with Santos in 2002 and Porto in 2006 as well as two Copa America titles with Brazil in 2004 and 2007.

Baz in high demand:

New South Wales could fork out 250,000 dollars to secure Brendon McCullum for October's Champions Twenty20 League after his New Zealand domestic team, Otago, were announced as one of the extra sides in the expanded tournament. The Blues are likely to lose David Warner to his IPL franchise, Delhi Daredevils, for the two-week event and would view McCullum as a strong replacement.

McCullum made a controversial fly-in appearance for New South Wales in the Twenty20 final against Victoria in January so he could qualify for the Blues. McCullum and Warner are among a group of players who have reached the Champions League through two teams and must therefore decide which side to represent.

Should Warner choose Delhi Daredevils, the franchise would need to pay New South Wales compensation, as would the Blues to Otago if they signed McCullum. David Gilbert, the chief executive of Cricket New South Wales, said if they received money for Warner they would consider making Otago an offer.

"There is no doubt having Brendon McCullum in your team increases your chances of a win, that is an undeniable fact," Gilbert told the Sydney Morning Herald. "It's about ensuring we have got all the bases covered. It is certainly something we will consider. It is a cost-neutral exercise."

It could have been a three-way race for McCullum's services had his IPL team, Kolkata Knight Riders, not had such a dismal tournament. Earlier in the year McCullum said it would be his preference to play for Otago, although a hefty cash injection could tempt them to accept an offer from New South Wales.

"Given the fact he has played for them in the last 12 months, I think it could happen," Ross Dykes, the Otago chief executive, said. "You can't ignore figures like that. But on the other hand, you have loyalty reasons for which you wouldn't want to do it. Brendon would have to be involved in these discussions."

Craig Cumming, the Otago captain, said that he was keen to retain McCullum. "We get first dibs on him [McCullum] now that Kolkata didn't get through," Cumming told Radio Sport. "Someone would have to have a pretty strong argument to get him out of the team that I'm playing for. [For guys like Brendon], they play for New Zealand and the franchises in the IPL but this is unique in that you're representing your province on a world stage. This is a real opportunity for him to do something a little bit different from what he normally does because it is for his province. It's a unique chance."

Other players with decisions to make include Dirk Nannes (Victoria and Delhi Daredevils), Andrew McDonald (Victoria and Delhi Daredevils), Cameron White (Victoria and Royal Challengers Bangalore), Nathan Bracken (New South Wales and Royal Challengers Bangalore), Herschelle Gibbs (Cape Cobras and Deccan Chargers) and Farveez Maharoof (Wayamba and Delhi Daredevils).

Victoria's coach Greg Shipperd is also in an unusual position having been in charge of the Delhi Daredevils, who qualified by virtue of finishing on top of the IPL table. However, Shipperd has previously stated that Victoria would be his first priority should both his teams reach the Champions League.

Seniors await battle:

Brett Lee and Stuart Clark will have to wait until the first two tour games to secure their spots in the bowling pecking order for the Ashes. Both men are coming back after lengthy injuries and must leapfrog a couple of the incumbents to win places in the opening Test of the series in Cardiff on July 8.

Mitchell Johnson grew into the attack leader in Lee's absence and was backed up by Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus, who are both expected to suit English conditions, during the strong 2-1 victory in South Africa. "Where Stuart and Brett are in the pecking order, we don't know at the moment," the captain Ricky Ponting said. "Lee is a bit of an unknown [after ankle surgery]. The first two games before the first Test will tell us."

Australia are already talking about playing more than 11 in the lead-up matches in Hove and Worcester to give all five of their frontline weapons a chance to impress, as well as testing the fitness of the all-rounder Shane Watson. In 2005 there was only one first-class affair after the one-day series and the lack of lead-up time led to Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz struggling without the extra work.

Another factor both Ponting and Michael Clarke spoke of during the team camp on the Sunshine Coast was the time it takes for visiting players to get used to the Duke balls used in England. "Our guys will get a great opportunity to use their [England's] cricket ball for a few weeks leading into the first Test," Ponting said. "That was probably what brought us undone last time, their ability to use their ball well and we were a little off the boil with it."

Reverse-swing was one of England's major strengths when they ended Australia's 16-year hold on the urn, but Clarke was confident the current batsmen would be able to negotiate the tricks this time. "Our knowledge, certainly of the guys who have been there before, is a little bit more educated than what it was four years ago," he said. "Generally the difference with the English ball and the Kookaburra [which is used in Australia] is our ball swings from the start.

"It doesn't swing as early in England, then it starts to swing a bit later. Reverse-swing is as big a part as natural swing over there. It sounds like they are having a pretty good summer with weather, that being the case it will probably be pretty dry and we'll have to combat reverse-swing as well."

Australia could not get the ball moving as easily as England's bowlers and that trend was repeated in India last year despite the acquisition of Troy Cooley, the bowling coach behind the 2005 success. Tim Nielsen, the current coach, believes he has a complementary attack that can be relied on in all conditions.

Perez faces no contest:

Former Real Madrid president Florentino Perez will automatically take charge of the club again on June 1 because the only other candidate still in the race for the job will not qualify to run, sports daily AS reported Tuesday.

Little-known Eduardo Garcia will be unable to lodge a bank guarantee of 57.4 million euros with the club which is needed to be able to run for president by a May 31 deadline, the newspaper said.

The only other candidate who had announced his intention to run, former Real vice-president Juan Onieva, withdrew his candidacy over the weekend, saying his proposed programme had not been well received in the Spanish media.

According to the club's rules, if there is only one candidate for president, he will be appointed to the post on June 1, otherwise a vote will be held on June 14.

Perez led Real from 2000 to 2006, when it earned the nickname "Los Galacticos", winning the Primera Liga twice and European Champions League with such stars as Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Luis Figo and David Beckham.

But the 62-year-old has already hinted at the return of Zidane and former coach Jorge Valdano of Argentina as possible advisors to him.

While the club normally holds elections every four years, it faces the prospect of holding a ballot a year early due to the resignation of former president Ramon Calderon in January.

CB denies contact:

Pakistan's cricket authorities have said they weren't contacted at all with regard to their ouster from the pool of teams that form the lucrative Champions League, a further worrying indicator of their increasing isolation in world cricket.

The tournament - with 6 million dollars in prize money - is scheduled to be held in India this October and though the number of teams participating has increased from eight to 12, Lalit Modi, the tournament's chairman, said no team from Pakistan would be among them. "Unfortunately, the Pakistan government won't give them [the players] clearance to come to India, and since Saturday was our cut-off date, it's not possible to have a team from Pakistan this year," Modi was quoted by AFP as saying on Sunday.

But a senior PCB official, reacting to Modi's comments, told Cricinfo the board had not been contacted at all by anyone regarding the tournament. "Sialkot had been invited for the first tournament but since that was postponed, we have heard nothing from them at all. We weren't told about any cut-off dates or deadlines. I am surprised Mr Modi is second-guessing what the Pakistan government is likely to be thinking in October," the official said. Incidentally, the PCB's domestic Twenty20 tournament is currently underway with a winner due to emerge on May 29.

Pakistan had a representative - Sialkot Stallions - for last year's tournament that was postponed following the Mumbai attacks. Relations between India and Pakistan then deteriorated; India refused to tour in January and Pakistan's government stopped their players from travelling to India to take part in the IPL - the basis of the decision - though that situation is open to review and, possibly, to change given how quickly relations between the two countries fluctuate.

A BCCI official said the decision was a "precautionary" one. "We don't want a problem in the last minute... with so much money at stake, we don't want to take the risk of inviting a team when - as of now - it is clear that there will be political problems with visas, clearance," he said.

As well as the financial fallout - both team and home board are guaranteed a considerable sum - the move pushes Pakistan further to the margins of world cricket, given that domestic teams from all members (apart from Bangladesh and Zimbabwe) have also been invited to the tournament.

It is another sign possibly of how relations between the PCB and BCCI have cooled off considerably under the present Pakistan administration; though India's refusal to tour in January this year was a state-level decision, tensions have risen between the neighbours over the 2011 World Cup, with the BCCI believing the PCB was misguided in picking a legal fight with the ICC and the PCB believing India manipulated them out of hosting World Cup matches in Pakistan. In contrast, the previous PCB administration under Nasim Ashraf, had been accused, rather like Tony Blair to George Bush, of being India's puppet.

The PCB's own inaction has done nothing to ease the situation. The day after the decision was announced, a number of senior officials were contacted, none of whom had any coherent reply to the situation. One senior official didn't know what the Champions League was, while others referred the matter to the chairman, who simply referred it back.

A prickly relationship with the ICC will not help: the world's governing body isn't a stakeholder in the Champions League, but has sanctioned it and, according to Modi, set a window aside for it in the FTP. ICC members CA and CSA are founding members of the tournament and though they are among those who reiterate that they want to ensure Pakistan does not get isolated, this latest blow, in fact, achieves precisely the opposite.