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Abahani 1 Mohammedans 0
   Blues prevailed over black and whites as Abahani continued their superb form winning the Premier League derby against arch-rivals Mohammedans by 1-0 goal at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Friday. It was the first loss for Mohammedans in the league.
   Abahani took their tally to 32 points from 16 matches and will play against Wanderers and Fakirerpool in their remaining fixtures. Mohammedans with 35 points from the same outings will face the heat of Muktijoddha and Brothers Union.
   Abahani, who are flying high after beating Sheikh Russell, Muktijoddha and Brothers Union, dominated the game with their teamwork while Mohammedans were a disorganised outfit throughout the match. Mohammedans with the loss again failed to prove their abilities to be the champions.
   Now Abahani have a very slim chance of winning the title provided they win their last two matches and Mohammedans lose to Muktijoddha in one of their remaining two matches and Brothers lose against Muktijoddha and Mohammedans and win against Dipali as expected, then all three teams will finish with same 38 points and the title will be decided through play-offs.
   Abahani certainly now can set their eyes on the runners-up trophy. The players were determined to finish the league in a better position as Abahani started the second phase from the fourth position.
   Mohammedans, on the other hand, started the league with a three-point lead over Brothers but gradually slipped down from the pole position due to poor performances.
   On Friday it was the same story. On a field that was rolled with sand to make it playable Mohammedans never threatened Abahani to send chill in the spine.
   Their defending was poor as Nazrul was totally out of form and Hasan with Peter Odaf were not effective against the continuous attacks of Abahani. In the midfield no player was providing Alfaz any passes or through passes up front and Donald Robert was just like a shadow.
   Abahani presented a confident defence as Pradeep, Obaidur and Ngasa never allowed an inch of loose space. Endem Kiyek and Joy played well and in the up front Audoo Ibrahim, Tipu and Farhad knit themselves into a lethal combination.
   Alfaz sent a placing shot in the 18th minute that deflected off Abahani defender Wali Faisal but Nizam dived timely to fist the ball for a corner. Donald Robert shot straight to Nizam in the 30th minute off an Alfaz back-head.
   Farhad came close to a goal in the 31st minute but his left-footer from a close range sailed over the crossbar and in the very next minute his corner took a sudden dip but Biplob cleared the ball at the last moment with his feet.
   The second half belonged to Abahani as Ghanian Audoo Ibrahim put his team ahead in the 47th minute.
   He collected the ball in the left flank and dodged past Hasan and Nazrul before unleashing a fierce left-footed grounder that gave Biplob no chance.
   Biplob punched an Wali Faisal shot for corner in the 54th minute, Farhad headed an Uzzal free-kick inches wide of the post in the 46th minute, Joy found Biplob alone in the 79th minute but rested the ball straight to the custodians lap and Tipu blasted the ball over the crosspiece from the middle of the box in the 86th minute.
   Mohammedans hardly created any chance in the second half as they tasted the first defeat in their 16th match.

Sri Lankan skipper Marvan Atapattu Friday said Bangladesh were an improving side and deserved respect in the international arena.
   ‘Over the years they have shown potential and are improving. We will play our normal game and give our best,’ Atapattu said ahead of the two Tests and three one-dayers between the South Asian teams.
   ‘You can’t take any side lightly in international cricket.’
   Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore was confident of doing well on the month-long tour after his team beat Australia by five wickets in a tri-series match in England this June.
   ‘The win against the Australians was sensational,’ said Whatmore, a former Australian Test cricketer who coached Sri Lanka during their 1996 World Cup triumph.
   ‘Too many people wouldn’t have thought that we were capable of doing so and I hope we’ll be able to keep the momentum during our tour of Sri Lanka,’ said Whatmore, who was cautious about his team’s prospects.
   ‘Sri Lanka are ranked second in the International Cricket Council (ICC) points table and that itself tells you the story,’ he said.
   ‘That’s a reflection of how well they have played in recent times, particularly at home, and we are looking forward to the challenge.’
   Sri Lanka’s new Aussie coach Tom Moody said they would go all out in the series.
   ‘On our part it’s vital for us to play our best possible side. Bangladesh are improving all the time and with plenty of cricket ahead we must keep the momentum. We need to take these matches very seriously,’ Moody said.
   Sri Lankan selectors have named a full strength side including Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas who were down with injuries during a recent tri-series at home featuring India and the West Indies.
   The tour gets underway with a warm up game against Board President’s XI in Moratuwa with the first one-dayer scheduled for August 31 at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground here.
   The next two one-dayers on September 2 and 4 will be held at the Premadasa Stadium here, which will also host the first Test from September 12-16. The second Test will be held at the Saravanamuttu Stadium, also in Colombo, from September 20-24.

England (477all out) against Australia at tea, day 2
   Andrew Flintoff’s maiden Test hundred against Australia was the centrepiece of an impressive England total in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge here Friday.
   At tea, on the second day, England had been bowled out for 477 after Flintoff had made 102.
   It was England’s highest total in a Trent Bridge Test against Australia since they made 658 for eight declared in 1938.
   Simon Jones, who shared a useful last wicket stand of 23 with Matthew Hoggard was 15 not out after his fellow pace bowler became legendary leg-spinner Shane Warne’s fourth victim of the innings.
   Warne finished with four for 102 and debutant Shaun Tait was the pick of Australia’s quicks with three for 97 in an attack minus the miserly Glenn McGrath, out with a right elbow injury.
   Flintoff, playing in his first Ashes series after injuries and loss of form meant he’d missed previous encounters against Australia, allied good judgment to his familar power as well as familiar power as England, with the five-match Ashes series level at 1-1, made a bid to pull away.
   Together with Geraint Jones, who made 85, his best against Australia, he put on 177 in nearly 40 overs. It was the highest stand for any wicket, by either side, in the series to date.
   Flintoff faced 132 balls with one six and 14 fours before he was lbw, hitting across the line, to Tait.
   At lunch England were 344 for five, Flintoff 73 not out and wicket-keeper Jones unbeaten on 34, the pair sharing their fourth century stand in Test cricket.
   First ball after lunch fast bowler Brett Lee was convinced he’d had Jones caught behind by wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist.
   But West Indies umpire Steve Bucknor, the only man to have stood in 100 Tests, rejected the appeal and replays suggested there may have been two noises with Jones’s bat first hitting the ground.
   Flintoff, who’d flayed Australia for 73 in England’s two-run 1-1 series-levelling victory at Edgbaston, his previous Test best score against them, struck paceman Michael Kasprowicz for three boundaries in four balls to move into the 90s.
   But the England pair were also taking quick singles and such a run, off Lee, gave Jones a 93-ball fifty with four fours.
   Then, with Flintoff on 99, leg-spin great Shane Warne came round the wicket in an attempt to frustrate the 27-year-old Lancashire star into error.
   Flintoff then caused a huge collective intake of breath amongst the crowd when he just missed edging an attempted cut into Gilchrist’s gloves.
   But to the first ball of Warne’s following over, fans’ favourite Flintoff’s onside push saw him complete a 121-ball hundred, his fifth in Test cricket, with one six and 14 fours.
   His exit left England 418 for six, but Jones continued to keep the scoreboard ticking as Australia bowled too many half-volleys and short balls for comfort.
   However Kasprowicz, who dropped a caught and bowled chance given by Kevin Pietersen on Thursday, dismissed Jones - who like the bowler was educated in Brisbane - 15 short of a hundred when he dived forward to hold the Kent gloveman’s checked drive.
   England then 450 for seven, lost Ashley Giles and Stephen Harmison as Warne took two wickets for one run in seven balls.

Shane Bond's blistering bowling swept New Zealand to victory over India in the second match of the triangular series on Friday.
   New Zealand won by 51 runs after fast bowler Bond destroyed India's powerful batting line-up with his career-best haul of six for 19.
   The Black Caps, who won the toss and chose to bat, were all out for 215 before dismissing India for 164 in 37.2 overs.
   A stubborn ninth-wicket stand of 118 between Jyoti Yadav and Irfan Pathan added respectability to India's innings.
   Yadav scored 69, Pathan made a maiden 50 and together they put on more than twice the contribution of the rest of their team mates.
   New Zealand slumped to 36 for five before Craig McMillan rescued the innings with an aggressive 54.
   The Indians had no answer to Bond's express pace.
   He first struck in the third over when Saurav Ganguly, who scored five, gloved a short-pitched legside delivery to wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum.
   With his next ball Bond yorked substitute batsman Venugopal Rao, who replaced Ashish Nehra.
   Rahul Dravid successfully dug out the yorker Bond sent down to try and claim his hat-trick, but in his next over Bond bowled Dravid off the inside edge for five.
   Six balls later India were 19 for four when fast bowler Andre Adams had Yuvraj Singh caught by Stephen Fleming at first slip for one.
   Bond struck two more crucial blows in his first spell of five for 14 when he had a slashing Mohammad Kaif caught by McMillan at third man for nine and the dangerous Virender Sehwag brilliantly caught by a diving Hamish Marshall at point for 15.
   That left India teetering on 39 for six and ended their genuine hopes of victory.
   Bond returned in the 35th over, and two overs later he had Pathan caught behind to make it 162 for nine.
   Seamer Jacob Oram ended the match when he had Yadav caught at mid-off by McMillan.
   The win seemed India's for the taking when the left-arm pace duo of Pathan and Nehra reduced New Zealand to 36 for five in the 13th over.

The much talked-about election of the Bangladesh Cricket Board will be held today at the National Sports Council gymnasium with far less enthusiasm than what had been anticipated earlier.
   The glamour of the election was lessened after the main post, the general secretary, went unopposed to Mahbubul Anam, who successfully managed his three rivals to withdraw their nomination papers. Long serving BCB official Afzalur Rahman Sinha also became the treasurer without facing any opposition. However, the election is expected to see a neck-and-neck fight among six candidates –Shah Nurul Kabir Shaheen, Golam Rasul Mollah, Khandaker Jamil Uddin, Shafiqur Rahman Munna, Aziz Al Kaiser and Gazi Golam Dastagir – for four vice-president posts.
   Of them the last two have been contesting the election as independent candidates while the rest are being backed by the panel led by the already elected general secretary. Three candidates are vying for two joint secretary posts, though panel nominees Riazuddin Al Mamun and Rafiqul Islam Babu are believed to be hot favourites.
   At least 24 candidates are in the fray for 20 membership posts. A total of 163 councillors will cast their votes to elect the BCB officials who will run the country’s premier sports body for the next four years.

Though the stands were almost full with spectators the Metropolitan Football League Committee said only 16,354 gallery tickets were sold in the derby match between Mohammedans and Abahani at the BNS on Friday.
   As the game was declared as the benefit match for the ailing former national football star Monwar Hossain Nannu a huge number of spectators crowded the big bowl.
   It was estimated that more than 25,000 people watched the match.
   The BFF has decided to donate Tk 10 from each gallery ticket and all the money collected from the VIP stands.
   According to the MFLC, 1,554 tickets of gate No 2 (Tk 30 each) while 768 tickets of gate No 1 (Tk 50) were sole on the day.
   So Nannu will get Tk 2,47,940 – Tk 1,63,040 from the gallery tickets and Tk 84,900 from the VIP enclosure.
   The football federation may add some more to the total before handing over the money to Nannu.

Henry Olonga, the former Zimbabwe fast bowler, has criticised the British government’s call for his country to be banned from international cricket, saying that such a move is ‘too late.’
   The ICC is presently meeting in Dubai and will consider the call for a ban, after British ministers wrote asking for Zimbabwe to be excluded because of human rights abuses. But Olonga is of the opinion that something should have been done much earlier.
   ‘The rest of the world has just sat by and watched this tragedy unfold,’ Olonga told BBC Radio Five Live.
   ‘It’s almost like they’re waiting for something massive to happen before they intervene. I think yes, it’s too late.’
   Olonga said that the call to ban Zimbabwe from international cricket was hardly new. ‘The controversy surrounding Zimbabwe cricket has been raging for many years,’ he said.
   ‘When I first came to England in 2003, Zimbabwe had a tour of England and the question of whether Zimbabwe should be involved in international cricket was being asked back then.
   ‘But I think the media attention only comes when something drastic happens in Zimbabwe.’
   Roy Bennett, an official with the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in Zimbabwe said that the world’s cricket authorities should stand by the people of Zimbabwe.
   ‘That cricket (in Zimbabwe) is being broadcast across the world projects normality,’ he said.
   ‘There are people being abused, having their lives taken away from them, and they (the ECB) need to stand by those people.
   The players, the ECB, the ICC, those countries’ cricket boards - they all need to stand together in solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe by speaking out against what’s happened in Zimbabwe.’

Jason Gillespie’s tour has been pretty wretched, and after taking 3 for 300 in the first three Tests, it was not a surprise when he was left out of the Australian side at Trent Bridge.
   But on the eve of the match he turned on the English crowds in a remarkable interview with the Mirror newspaper. Gillespie has been the target of some hefty abuse from crowds at Lord’s, Edgbaston and Old Trafford, with his appearance attracting particular attention.
   ‘Some of the crowd behaviour is appalling, the insulting things people say,’ he said.
   ‘People pay their money to come in and they think it is their right to question your parentage and have a crack at your mother.
   ‘It’s always these guys that abuse you, call you effing this and effing that and 10 seconds later they are asking for an autograph for their kids.
   ‘You say, ‘Look mate, I’m not going to sign it for you’, and all of a sudden you are the worst bloke in the history of the world, so you can’t win.’
   His complaints cut no ice with the Barmy Army.
   Katie Cook, one of their leading members, told BBC Radio Five: ‘I think he’s been a bit pathetic really.
   ‘I hope he’s been misquoted because the Australians give the English more stick than any other country in the world.
   ‘Us lot questioning his parentage or saying he lives in a caravan - and let’s face it, he looks like it - is not bad compared to what the Australian public give the English players over there. Hopefully, we’re squaring it up now.’
   ‘I’ve got no sympathies for that man,’ said Phil Tufnell.
   ‘Every time the ball came to me at Melbourne or Sydney I used to be petrified ... it was a case of get it in your hands or get it away, otherwise the flack you got was awful.’
   ‘You can get shirty about it but it is not going to achieve a hell of a lot,’ Gillespie concluded.
   ‘I have got my way of ignoring what is going on.’
   Unfortunately, by drawing attention to it, he has ensured that the next time he fields near the boundary, he is sure to be the target of some more banter.

Top seed Lindsay Davenport overcame Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova 6-2, 7-6 to reach the semi-finals of the New Haven Open on Thursday.
   The American cruised through the first set but had to fight hard in the second before snatching the tiebreak 7-5 to earn a meeting with unseeded Russian Anna Chakvetadze, who beat Jie Zheng of China 6-4, 6-4.
   Davenport, who will regain the world number one ranking from Russian Maria Sharapova if she reaches the final, admitted she needed time to hit top form, having missed almost a month because of a back injury.
   ‘I think it’s about playing matches,’ Davenport said.
   ‘I think it would be wrong of me to expect that I can come out after seven or eight weeks and be perfect.
   ‘There’s always going to be aspects of my game that need to be worked on and stuff that you can really only get from playing matches. And that’s like hitting a good serve and getting ready for the ball to come back.’
   Fourth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva suffered a surprise 6-4, 6-3 defeat by Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain.
   Medina Garrigues now plays second seed Amelie Mauresmo, after the Frenchwoman outplayed unseeded German Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-3, 6-2.
   In the men’s event, American James Blake continued his resurgence with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over sixth seed Tommy Haas of Germany.
   Blake, who reached the final in Washington earlier this month, was blown off the court in the first set by Haas, the former world number two.
   But Blake picked up his game in the second set and after levelling the match, he broke in the first and ninth games of the decider to clinch victory.
   Blake now plays Juan Ignacio Chela after the Argentine followed up his victory over top seed Nikolay Davydenko with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Frenchman Fabrice Santoro.
   Second seed Fernando Gonzalez of Chile lost 6-7, 7-5, 7-6 to Spaniard Fernando Verdasco but fourth seed Tommy Robredo of Spain crushed Austrian Stefan Koubek 6-2, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals.
   Third seed David Ferrer of Spain outgunned Thailand’s Paradorn Srichaphan 6-4, 6-2, but seventh-seeded Chilean Nicolas Massu was upset 6-4, 6-4 by Romanian Victor Hanescu.
   Fifth seed Feliciano Lopez of Spain and Russian Igor Andreev also advanced.

Andre Agassi believes the unique atmosphere at Flushing Meadows can inspire him to a third US Open title.
   In a sport where 30 is regarded as old, time is running out for the Las Vegan who continues to defy convention and will be playing his 20th consecutive Open.
   ‘It’s the closest tournament to my heart,’ Agassi told Reuters at a launch for his new sponsors, adidas. I don’t think there’s any environment like it in the world of sports. It’s so unique, especially for a night match.’
   Agassi, champion in 1994 and 1999, struggled early in the year with a back problem, yet even at the age of 35 he is one of only a handful of players who can realistically win the title.
   After missing Wimbledon because of his injury, Agassi returned to take the title in Los Angeles and reach the final of the Montreal Masters a fortnight ago.
   Others discuss when he will retire. Agassi prefers to talk of his hopes for another strong showing when the final grand slam of 2005 opens on Monday.
   ‘I feel good. It’s been a great summer and I couldn’t ask to be in a better position going into the US Open. I’m playing well,’ Agassi said.
   ‘I had my last injection at the start of the summer and I didn’t need another one so that’s a good sign.
   ‘The sports fans here are very knowledgeable, they expect you to lay it on the line and I’ve come to really appreciate that. I have some great memories and some heartbreaks too.’
   Winner of eight grand slam titles and one of just five men to have won the sport’s big four events, Agassi will open against Romanian Razvan Sabau.
   ‘The first round is always awkward, more so when you don’t know a player,’ Agassi said.
   ‘But hopefully we’ll get some scouting, get some good practice in. Once I get into the tournament I feel like I can get better quickly and I give myself a good chance.’
   Promising Czech teenager Tomas Berdych could be waiting in the third round while Rafael Nadal, the French Open champion and the man who beat Agassi in the Montreal final, is a likely quarter-final opponent.
   ‘It’s easy to see why he’s had such success,’ Agassi said. ‘But if I have an opportunity here then I’ll look forward to it - I couldn’t have a better opportunity than at the US Open.’
   World number one Roger Federer, who beat him in an epic five-set quarter-final last year, is in the other half of the draw.
   ‘Something tells me you’re going to have to beat Roger to win the tournament anyhow,’ Agassi said. ‘Seeing that he’s won 22 consecutive finals maybe it’s better to play him in the semis.
   ‘But look how many former US Open champions are in the field - (Lleyton) Hewitt, (Marat) Safin, (Andy) Roddick and myself.
   ‘A lot of guys have experienced the final weekend. The way Nadal is playing, you have to include him, but it’s how you execute when you’re asked to play your best tennis.
   ‘There’s a handful of guys who have that ability and they’re the ones who win.’

Lance Armstrong fears allegations he used blood-boosting drugs in the 1999 Tour de France will haunt him forever.
   French newspaper L’Equipe alleged earlier this week that signs of EPO were detected in samples of the American’s urine given during the race.
   The seven-time winner, who strongly denies the claims, told CNN’s Larry King Live show: ‘It’s not good for me.
   ‘The unfortunate thing is you’re potentially dealt something you have to face for the rest of your life.’
   Armstrong had already issued a statement denying L’Equipe’s allegations, which were made on Tuesday.
   The 32-year-old, who retired this year after winning the Tour for the seventh time in as many years, insisted he had never taken performance-enhancing drugs and said the article was part of a ‘witch hunt’.
   Speaking on prime-time American TV on Thursday, Armstrong said the allegations were far from new but threatened to follow him forever.
   ‘It’s always going to be a case of did he or didn’t he but it’s always been a case of did he or didn’t he,’ he added.
   ‘This is not the first time somebody has come along and said ‘he’s doped’, ‘he rode too fast’, ‘his story’s too miraculous’. This has been going on for seven years and I suspect it will continue.
   ‘I thought, you know what, I retire, I move on in life and perhaps this stuff will fade away and boom - this comes along. So no, this is not the first or last time.’
   The tests were carried out last year on 1999 samples at the French national anti-doping laboratory at Chatenay-Malabry, just outside Paris, to help testers improve their EPO detection methods.
   Amstrong also criticised the anti-doping system for allowing his six-year-old urine samples to be retested after they were supposed to be stored anonymously.
   ‘Protocol wasn’t followed and there is no back-up sample to confirm what they say is a positive test,’ said Armstrong.
   ‘Do you think I am going to trust some guy in a French lab to open my samples and say they are positive and announce that to the world and not give me the chance to defend myself? That’s ludicrous. There’s no way you can do that.’
   Armstrong has not ruled out legal action over the allegations.
   ‘We would have to decide who we were going to pursue, whether it was the lab, whether it was L’Equipe, whether it was the sports minister, whether it was Wada (World Anti-Doping Agency). All of these people violated a serious code of ethics.
   ‘Law suits are two things - they are very costly and they are very time consuming - and fortunately cycling has been great to me and I have the money and the resources to do something like that. But at the end of the day when you sue somebody it just keeps a bad story alive forever.’
   Armstrong said he had been dealing with similar accusations from the French media for seven years, but also believes American-French relations and the state of French cycling may be to blame for the allegations.

US Open favourite Kim Clijsters has said that she will terminate her career at the end of 2007 because of recurring injury problems.
   The 22-year-old Belgian star has struggled with injuries for the last 18 months mainly with painful tendons in her left wrist and more recently with a right knee strain caused by making her trademark splits movement in reaching shots.
   But she has battled back to top form during the summer and enters the US Open which starts in New York on Monday on the back of an impressive run of wins on the US hardcourt circuit.
   ‘The way I see things at the moment, I think I will stop playing at the end of in 2007 or early in 2008 after the tournament in Antwerp,’ she said in an interview with Belgian newspapers.
   ‘In any case I will not be playing in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing,’ she added.
   ‘I have various injury problems with my body at the moment,’ she told Het Laatste Nieuws paper.
   Clijsters said she would take time off to think after the US Open on just how she would organise her playing time until the end of her career, adding that she would probably decide not to use the services of a coach.
   In a career dating back to 1998, Clijsters briefly rose to world No. 1 at the end of 2003 before her wrist injury started to hamper her.
   But she has yet to win a Grand Slam title reaching four finals but losing all four. This season she has won six WTA titles including three out of the last four hardcourt tournaments she has played in.

Adam Gilchrist became the fourth wicket-keeper in history to achieve 300 Test dismissals when he caught Ian Bell off Shaun Tait on the first day
   of the fourth Test against England at Trent Bridge here Thursday.
   Only Australia greats Ian Healy and Rodney Marsh, as well as South Africa’s Mark Boucher, have previously reached the landmark.
   Healy, whom Gilchrist replaced in the Australia
   side, holds the world record
   for Test wicket-keeping dismissals with 395 from 119 matches.
   
   Leading Test wicket-keepers
   (dismissals, caught, stumped, player, country, matches):
   395 366 29 I Healy (Aus) 119
   355 343 12 R Marsh (Aus) 96
   323 309 14 M Boucher (SA) 84
   300 272 27 A Gilchrist (Aus) 72
   270 265 5 JDujon (WI) 79
   269 250 19 A Knott (Eng) 95
   241 227 14 A Stewart (Eng) 82
   228 201 27 W Bari (Pak) 81
   219 173 46 G Evans (Eng) 91
   219 207 12 R Jacobs (WI) 65

Hashan Tillakaratne, the former Sri Lankan Test captain, has claimed to have been humiliated after being suspended from his position as executive director of Cricket Aid pending a disciplinary inquiry.
   ‘After sacrificing 18 years of my life for cricket this is the reward I get,’ said a furious Tillakaratne while addressing the media.
   According to a letter sent by Upali Seneviratne, acting Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) chief executive, Tillakaratne left the island without prior permission between June 13-22 and acted in a manner detrimental to the interests of SLC and the Cricket Aid program with regard to his dealings with Paul Sheldon, Surrey’s chief executive, who was responsible for organising a tsunami fund-raising Twenty20 match.
   Tillakaratne has denied the charges brought against him and accused the interim committee installed by the government of trying to sabotage the Cricket Aid programme begun by Thilanga Sumathipala, former SLC president, which was designed to help tsunami-affected families and orphans around the island.
   He also accused the interim committee of carrying out a witch hunt on certain employees of the SLC, and claimed
   that he was now the latest victim.
   The program ground to a virtual standstill after the government accused the previous cricket board administration of financial mismanagement, scaring potential investors and freezing the flow of foreign funds into the
   programme.

Sri Lanka’s Dilmah Tea have signed a new three-year team sponsorship contract with Sri Lanka Cricket worth US $2m.
   Dilmah will be given exclusive branding on the players’ clothing and some in-stadia advertising in Sri Lanka.
   Dilmah won an audited bid process with a substantially lower offer than the $3.2 million they paid in 2002 to secure the sponsorship rights for the first time.
   The reduced-value deal has attracted criticism in the local media, with commentators claiming that off-field controversies within the cricket board scared potential sponsors away.
   Five companies initially expressed a formal interest in the sponsorship before the government suspended the board on grounds of financial mismanagement in March.
   When the bid process was re-started in May after the installation of a government-appointed interim committee to manage the cricket board, Dilmah were the only company that made an offer.
   But the lower value also reflects uncertainty as to whether the sponsor’s logo will appear on the team kit during all major ICC tournaments because of potential product clashes with major ICC event sponsors.
   ‘We thought long and hard about the renewal,’ Dilmah’s director of operations Malik Fernando told reporters.
   ‘Now that we have taken a decision to renew our sponsorship for a further period, we are looking forward to a long association with the team and to continue our relationship which was started in 2002,’ he added.

Coach Raymond Domenech has told fans to temper their euphoria about France’s chances of qualifying for the 2006 World Cup following the return of Zinedine Zidane.
   Playmaker Zidane came out of international retirement last week and scored a goal in the 3-0 friendly defeat of Ivory Coast.
   ‘Two months ago we were hardly good enough for the trash can,’ Domenech said on Friday.
   ‘And today everyone considers there is no doubt about our (2006) qualification.
   ‘As far as I know we haven’t taken any extra points in our campaign. My duty is to make sure that no one gets carried away.
   ‘We must be careful to avoid a dangerous and worthless euphoria.’
    ‘I did everything I could to have them back in the squad,’ Domenech. ‘I refused to set up this farewell match everybody was asking for.
   ‘Had I done that, they would have never come back.’
   The coach said Zidane, Makelele and Thuram had needed time to get over the disappointment of France’s elimination in the quarter-finals at Euro 2004.
   ‘It was impossible to have them back before. They were tired, exhausted, they needed a break,’ he said. ‘Asking them to come back earlier would have led to a split.’

Barcelona start the defence of their Spanish league title with a tricky trip to newly-promoted Alaves today.
   The Basque club are brimming with confidence at the thought of entertaining the reigning champions.
   'Alaves have got better players than Barca. Ronaldinho? He's very good but we've got another Brazilian Nene, who can also be a winger and has got quality,' said Alaves' president Dimtri Piterman.
   'They've got Samuel Eto'o, well we've got (Rodolfo) Bodipo. And if you are talking about the relationships between price and quality, then for me Bodipo is a thousand times better,' continued the Ukrainian-born real estate magnate.
   'We can challenge for the league title,' added Piterman, although he will struggle to convince many other pundits of his team's championship credentials.
   Barcelona have opted for a much more muted approach to their first match after their final tune-up for the coming season, a 2-2 draw with Italian giants Juventus on Wednesday.
   'We are starting at zero again, but with confidence. We are out to defend the honour,' added Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard.
   Rijkaard has cemented his place in the hearts of Barca's estimated 60 million fans around the world by not only taking the league title last season but also spending the summer becoming fluent in Catalan.
   The one worry for Rijkaard ahead of today's game is that Ronaldinho is still struggling to overcome an inflamed big toe on his left foot.
   In the event that the World Player of the Year has to be left on the sidelines, Rijkaard is expected to opt for Andres Iniesta to play alongside Eto'o up front.
   Fellow Spanish giants Real Madrid face another of the first division new boys on Sunday, Cadiz, who are back in the top flight of Spanish football for the first time in 13 seasons.
   'The team isn't quite where I want it to be,' said Real coach Wanderley Luxemburgo earlier this week.
   'Little-by-little, and during the course of the year, I hope to get them where I want them. The pre-season didn't go exactly the way I wanted because of losing players due to international commitments. I have to confess, at this level, we have a few problems,' added the Brazilian candidly.
   All the indications are that Luxemburgo will stick more-or-less with the team that finished last season, with the inclusion of new signing Julio Baptista on the left wing.
   England captain David Beckham is expected to move back to the right wing role he had during much of his first year at Real, rather than playing in the centre of the midfield as he did last season.
   Spanish international goalkeeper Iker Casillas is expected to be fit to start after hardly training for a week with hamstring twinges but Jose Maria 'Guti' Gutierrez is unlikely to play any part in Real's opener after suffering a slight left hamstring strain.
   Cadiz coach Victor Esparrago has admitted that his club have less lofty ambitions than their first opponents.
   'This season we are looking for survival. However, we've got players of quality so we are not going out (against Real Madrid) thinking that three points have been lost from the whistle,' said Esparrago.
   The other match that grabs the eye is the Basque derby between Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad today.
   Many will be watching how the hosts cope with the departures of Asier Del Horno to Chelsea and Santi Ezquerro to Barcelona.
   Another team under close scrutiny will be Atletico Madrid, who hired the near-legendary Argentine coach Carlos Bianchi during the summer.
   Bianchi, whose list of honours includes three Intercontinental Cups and four Libertadores Cups, has his first test against Real Zaragoza on Sunday.

One year after Newcastle United sacked manager Bobby Robson the red warning lights are already flashing for his successor Graeme Souness.
   His misfiring side are yet to find the net in three Premier League fixtures and a home defeat by Manchester United on Sunday would increase unrest among the demanding St James' Park fans who booed the team off after last week's 0-0 draw with West Ham.
   Things could not be more different for the respective managers of Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, whose unbeaten sides meet at White Hart Lane in today's top-of-the-table clash.
   Jose Mourinho's champions moved top with a 4-0 thrashing of West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday, but Martin Jol's second-placed Spurs will be out to maintain their resurgence with a first win in this fixture for 15 years.
   Less than 12 months after replacing Robson as Newcastle manager, Souness is already the bookmakers' favourite to become the season's first managerial casualty in the top flight.
   After a dismal 14th place last season and an early exit in the Intertoto Cup, a good start was essential for the former Liverpool and Scotland midfielder.
   However, with veteran striker Alan Shearer labouring up front Newcastle have looked toothless.
   Deportivo Coruna announced late on Thursday that they had agreed to sell Spain striker Albert Luque to the Tynesiders for 14 million euros ($17.18 million).
   The Spanish Primera Liga club said the 27-year-old player was given permission to travel to Newcastle on Friday to undergo a medical.
   Regardless of whether the signing of Luque goes through, defender Jean-Alain Boumsong said it was up to the existing players to turn Newcastle's fortunes round.
   'After the start we've had we cannot be happy,' Boumsong told the club's website after Wednesday's 2-0 defeat at Bolton Wanderers. 'We have to find the problem in our game.
   'We have played three games and have just one point. It is not enough.
   'We cannot talk about bad luck. We have to speak out about our game and get it sorted.
   'If we lose confidence we will struggle. We are playing for a big club and we have to deal with the pressure.'
   Manchester United, trophy-less last season, have six points from their opening two matches and look well-equipped to challenge Chelsea's dominance this season.
   Ruud van Nistelrooy looks back to his best and Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo provide a plethora of attacking options, although the loss of experienced right-back Gary Neville will be a worry for manager Alex Ferguson.
   'He will be out for five or six weeks,' Ferguson said after the right-back tore a groin muscle in the 3-0 victory over Debrecen in their Champions League qualifier on Wednesday.
   'Gary's experience is vital to us. He has been such an important player...but I believe we have adequate cover, Wes Brown has played there many times and so has John O'Shea.'
   Newcastle have not beaten United since a 4-3 victory in 2001, but Tottenham must go back to 1990 for their last success against Chelsea in the league.
   Jol, who signed a new three-year contract with Tottenham this week, left Dutch midfielder Edgar Davids and England striker Jermain Defoe on the bench in the 0-0 draw at Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday, probably with one eye on Chelsea.
   Davids will relish a midfield confrontation with Chelsea's record signing Michael Essien, who impressed on his first start for his new club on Wednesday.
   In other Saturday action third-placed Manchester City face Portsmouth while the bottom two clubs, Wigan Athletic and Sunderland, meet at the JJB Stadium still looking for their first points of the season.

Brazil forward Robinho gave Real Madrid fans a taste of things to come with a spectacular exhibition of ball skills after signing a five-year deal on Friday.
   The 21-year-old, who joined for $30 million from Santos, juggled for some 8,000 ecstatic fans at the Bernabeu stadium.
   Balancing one ball after another on his back, flicking them over his shoulder and then kicking them into the stands, Robinho had to fend off a stream of admirers who ran on to the pitch to embrace him.
   'Today we are going to present one of the great players in the world,' said Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.
   'Football can be many things but one of the most important is the spectacle it provides, and it is in this aspect of fantasy football that Robinho excels.
   'It hasn't been an easy road for him to come to Real Madrid, but I think he's chosen the perfect team and the perfect league for him to demonstrate is skills. Robinho's Real Madrid dream begins here.'
   The presentation generated the level of interest seen when Galactico predecessor David Beckham signed for the club in 2003.
   Looking calm and relaxed Robinho was presented with the number 10 shirt worn by Luis Figo last season.
   'I'm very happy to be here at Real Madrid, a club with such history and tradition and one that has such excellent players,' he said.
   'I would like to thank the people for the wonderful reception I've been given and it's great to have so many team mates who play for Brazil here at the club.'
   Robinho burst on to the scene as an skinny 18-year-old by helping Santos win their first Brazilian championship in 2002.
   His trickery, skills and physique have led to comparisons with former Santos great Pele although the youngster has yet to be fully tested against the world's top defenders.
   The forward could end up forming an all-Brazilian front line at Real with Ronaldo and Julio Baptista. He said he was confident he would make a rapid transition to European football.
   'Brazilian football is spectacular and entertaining and a lot of its players have succeeded here and I want to do the same. There are a lot of similarities between Spanish and Brazilian football and I hope to adapt rapidly,' Robinho said.
   'I hope to use a few of my trademark 'pedaladas' (step-overs) against my opponents while I'm here,' he added with a smile. 'But above all I want to help make Real Madrid a champion team and win a lot of trophies.'
   Robinho is the fourth Brazilian international in the Real squad and will be reunited with former Santos boss Vanderlei Luxemburgo who is now in charge of the nine times European champions.
   'It is good to have so many team mates who play for Brazil here at the club,' he said. 'I'm fit and raring to go and when Luxemburgo decides to select me I'll be ready to play.
   Arch-rivals and Spanish champions Barcelona who have six Brazilian-born players on their books including World Player of the Year Ronaldindo.
   Robinho, who scored twice in his final home match for Santos on Sunday, said he hoped he would bring something different to Real Madrid.
   'Ronaldinho is a good friend and he's considered the best player in the world. But he has his style and I have mine and I hope I'll make my own mark when I'm here.'

Dennis Bergkamp rates Thierry Henry as the most complete striker he has ever played alongside.
   Henry moved to within one strike of equalling Ian Wright's all-time best of 185 goals for the Gunners after scoring twice in the 4-1 destruction of Fulham on Wednesday.
   Bergkamp was Wrighty's partner up front at Highbury for three years.
   Now the Dutch master, 36, who has worn the Arsenal shirt for more than a decade, has given his close-up verdict.
   He said, 'It is a difficult one but if I compare how I played with them, I'd say Thierry is a complete player.
   'He sets up team-mates, has skill and pace, scores and makes goals.
   'At this level of football it is quite amazing he can do so many things.
   'Ian, on the other hand, is an out-and-out goalscorer who could score goals out of situations that even I thought was impossible.
   'I've been very lucky to have played with them both.'
   Wright arrived at Arsenal from Crystal Palace in a £2.5million deal in 1991 and won the title medal he craved in 1998 - the season he finally eclipsed Cliff Bastin's record which had stood since 1936.
   Henry arrived in 1999, one year after Wright left.
   Bergkamp added, 'When I played with Ian I didn't think I'd ever play with another player like him.
   I didn't think his record would ever be broken.
   'But then if you play with Thierry and see how he scores, goes past defenders and creates things, you realise the record will go.
   'It was always going to take a quite extra-ordinary player to break the record - and we have one.'
   Frenchman Henry, 28, has scored more Premiership goals for one single club than any other player.
   He has 140 - two more than Newcastle's Alan Shearer.
   And Bergy, who has hit 118 goals for the Gunners, added, 'To hold such a record in the Premiership, one of the
   biggest leagues in the world, is amazing.
   'And when Thierry gets the Arsenal record he will be quite frightening - he'll go on and score even more.'
   Skipper Henry insisted, 'Of course I care about the record! I'll maybe go over the moon when it happens.
   'For me, Ian Wright is a legend, so to beat his record would be amazing.'

Title-holders Juventus couldn't have picked better opponents for their opening match of the 2005/06 Serie A season.
   The 'Old Lady' of Turin begin their Scudetto defence on Sunday evening at home to Chievo to whom they have never lost in 11 previous encounters.
   In fact, Juve have won all of their eight league meetings since Chievo were promoted four years ago.
   Worryingly for the Verona minnows who avoided a relegation play-off by one point last season, Juventus have reinforced an already strong squad with the signing of outstanding France international Patrick Vieira this summer.
   One of the world's best midfielders, Vieira spent nine years at Arsenal and helped the Londoners win three English Premiership titles.
   It won't be his Serie A debut, though, having played two matches for AC Milan in November 1996 before leaving for London to join the Gunners.
   Vieira was unable to get a look-in back then with established players such as Demetrio Albertini and Zvonimir Boban in front of him in the pecking order.
   Now 29, Vieira feels he is ready to make an impact on Italian football after his brief San Siro taster. 'I was very young when I was at AC Milan and now I'm more mature,' said the tough-tackling Frenchman.
   'I've got nothing to prove and all I'm looking to do is enjoy myself and help the team win some silverware.'
   Juventus will start with Christian Abbiati, on loan from championship rivals AC Milan - in goal with Gianluigi Buffon expected to be out of action for three months after injuring his shoulder.
   Serie A newcomers Ascoli and Treviso face daunting tasks against AC Milan and Inter Milan respectively.
   Ascoli, whose last season in the top division was the 1991/92 campaign when they finished bottom with just 14 points, are expecting a sell-out 23,000 crowd for their home game with last season's beaten Champions League finalists.
   Ascoli's evergreen striker Marco Ferrante insisted his team were not intimated by AC Milan's star-studded line-up.
   'We have maximum respect, but no fear,' said the 34-year-old who scored 18 goals in 30 Serie A matches for Torino five seasons ago.
   'Names like Maldini, Gilardino, Shevchenko, Vieri and the others can make you quiver because we are talking about great champions, but that can also act as a huge motivation for us.

The 1996 red F355 Spider Ferrari that belonged to Argentine soccer god Diego Maradona was auctioned and sold Thursday for 670,150 US dollars to a buyer identified as CGBLANCO.
   The vehicle was auctioned through Web-site mercadolibre.com.
   'The buyer has to be very happy because the price reached has been quite high, due to the more than 100,000 visits and the 153 valid bids that were received,' said to the press the manager of the auctioning firm, Juan Martin de la Serna.
   De la Serna said that now the seller, identified as Jorge, has to reach an agreement with the buyer - whose identity is not known yet - to address the terms of the private transaction.
   The company said the seller of the car acquired it registered in the name of the company 'Maradona Producciones SA' a dealership of Ferrari in Buenos Aires.

Michael Owen could be going back to Liverpool after all. Although rival Newcastle negotiated a transfer fee with Real Madrid for the England striker, Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry said Friday that his club might make a move before next Wednesday's transfer deadline.
   Owen has said he would prefer to move to Anfield.
   Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has made little comment on speculation and consistently told reporters he prefers to hire a right winger and a central defender.
   That prompted speculation that he and Parry had disagreed over whether to bring Owen back to the club where he spent the first eight years of his career before moving to Madrid a year ago.
   'There has never been a split between us and Rafa over Michael Owen or any other player,' Parry said. 'It's not a no or a yes. There has been plenty of speculation and we will see next week. It's always encouraging when a player says he wants to come to Liverpool.'
   Since announcing it had made a move for Owen, Newcastle has agreed to a fee for Deportivo de La Coruna's Spanish striker Albert Luque, who flew to England on Friday for a medical checkup and to discuss personal terms.
   If Luque signs, the Magpies, who have failed in bids to hire Luis Boa Morte from Fulham and Nicolas Anelka from Fenerbahce, may call off their move for Owen.

Brazilian striker Ronaldinho Gaucho, of Spanish champion club Barcelona, broke up with dancer Janaina Nattielli, with whom he had a son.
   Ronaldinho's representative Roberto de Assis Moreira, his brother, said in remarks published Thursday by daily O Dia, that the player does not pretend to marry Nattielli, 22.
   Nattielli and the child, Joao, recently travelled from the city of Rio de Janeiro to Porto Alegre, to visit Ronaldinho's parents.
   On Wednesday, at the end of a match, striker Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (Ronaldinho Gaucho) accepted the paternity of Joao and said he will keep the matter private. The brother of the striker said Ronaldinho's son will live with Nattielli in Rio de Janeiro.
   'Since he was born, Joao is part of our family and will always be treated as such,' said Roberto de Assis Moreira.

Juventus coach Fabio Capello was amazed at the ability of Barcelona whizkid Lionel Messi in Wednesday night's Joan Gamper trophy clash.
   'I have never seen a player like him, with so much quality and audacity at his age, in a so important a stadium and with that shirt,' gushed Capello.
   'He has everything.'
   The former Real Madrid coach added, 'He has an extraordinary future - I'd love to bring him to Juve!'

Narinda Progoti beat Old Ideals
Narinda Progoti Boy’s defeated Old Ideals by 44-12 goals in the lone match of the Cute Premeir Division Handball League at the handball ground on Friday. Didar and Mizan scored 10 goals each for the winners while Rafik with 5 goals was the highest scorer for the losers.
— New Age

National Kho Kho starts
Dhaka DSA registered an innings and 13 points victory over Munshiganj DSA in the opening match of the Gazi Tank 3rd National Kho Kho Championship (Men) at the outer stadium Kho Kho court Friday. Former president of Bangladesh Olympic Association Lt Gen (retd) M Mahbubur Rahmam inaugurated the championship as chief guest while Freedom fighter Golam Dastagir Gazi was present as special guest. Bangladesh Kho Kho Federation general secretary Kazi Razib Uddin Ahmed Chapal, tournament committee chairman Mohiuddin Ahmed Bahar were also present on the occasion.
— BD News

Sydney to host ICC awards
The second annual International Cricket Council awards will be held in Sydney on October 11, the ICC announced here on Friday.The inaugural event was held last year in London with the cream of world cricketers attending the gala ceremony.India’s Rahul Dravid was named Player of the Year with England’s Andrew Flintoff elected ODI player of the year.There will also be awards for Test Team of the Year, ODI team of the year and Emerging Player of the Year.The announcement was made by the ICC meeting at their new headquarters in Dubai having moved there from London.
— AFP

Owner of Lokomotiv Plovdiv shot dead
Georgi Iliev, the owner of Bulgaria’s premier league soccer club, Lokomotiv Plovdiv, was shot dead late on Thursday after they won 1-0 against OFK Belgrade in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup. ‘Georgi Iliev was shot with one bullet in the chest last night and we are in a process of investigation,’ Bourgas city police chief Krasimir Petrov told Bulgarian National Television. The 39-year-old businessman, the head of VAI Holding, was shot while talking on the phone at his restaurant at the Black Sea resort of Slanchev Briag near Bourgas, police said. He was probably killed by a sniper, they added. The shooting took place just 40 minutes after Iliev had congratulated his players for going through to the first round of the UEFA Cup.
— Reuters

Luque set
for Magpies
Premiership strugglers Newcastle United were Friday on the verge of signing striker Albert Luque from the Spanish side Deportivo La Coruna.The deal is expected to be sealed after the 27-year-old player passes a medical at the club later in the day. Luque’s signing would end manager Graeme Souness’ long search for a striker after failed attempts to sign Michael Owen, Luis Boa Morte and Nicolas Anelka.
— AFP