Captain to be named on Friday, says PCB chief

  Pakistan`s captain for the World Cup will be named on Friday, a day before the final match of their ongoing one-day series in New Zealand, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt said.

Talking to Pakistani media here on Monday, Ijaz, however, refused to say who would captain the side in the mega event, starting from Feb 19.

Limited-overs captain Shahid Afridi and Test skipper Misbah-ul-Haq are in the race to lead the side.

“We will announce the captain on Friday that is decided now,” he said.

Ijaz said India were willing to play a series against Pakistan in England sometime this year.

“We have made good progress in talks with the Indian board to resume bilateral cricket ties and they have indicated they are willing to resume them,” he added.

Common Wealth Games

Rank	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Australia	74	55	48	177
2	India	38	27	36	101
3	England	37	59	46	142
4	Canada	26	17	32	75
5	South Africa	12	11	10	33
6	Kenya	12	11	9	32
7	Malaysia	12	10	14	36
8	Singapore	11	11	9	31
9	Nigeria	11	10	14	35
10	Scotland	9	10	7	26
17	Pakistan	2	1	2	5

NBA Picks and Predictions for January 31st

A Sunday featuring two marquee matchups on national television certainly didn’t disappoint. In the glamour game, the league’s two most recent champs squared off as Boston and Los Angeles renewed one of the greatest rivalries in professional sports. True to most of this season’s form one team looked their age while the other looked like rejuvenated champs.

Boston handled their business in the Staples Center, led by 32 points from Paul Pierce who always seems to bring his best when he gets the opportunity to return home to Los Angeles. His Celtics cruised to a 109-96 win despite a 41 point effort from Kobe Bryant. The Lakers better find a solution to what’s been ailing them quickly or they could find themselves sliding out their coveted #2 seed in the West and in a world of hurt.

One of the teams they’d be wise to hold home court advantage over is the young Oklahoma City Thunder, who gave the champs a true first round scare last year, pushing them to a tightly contested six game series before a Pau Gasol buzzer-beater sent them home for the Summer.

The Thunder hosted the Heat in the day’s most exciting game. Kevin Durant hit a tough bucket to put them up by one late, but Eddie House’s clutch 3-pointer – which led to House dusting off Sam Cassell’s famous…er, dance – put the Heat ahead for good with 22 seconds remaining.

The most interesting take away from the game was some rare trash talk from Durant afterwards, referring to Chris Bosh as “fake tough.” It was out of character, but showed a little “real tough” from the soft spoken young superstar. The Thunder are maturing in more way than just their play and feel like a squad dialed in with the potential to do some real damage in the playoffs.

Confident Pakistan ready to take on Kiwis in 4th ODI

Pakistan and New Zealand will face off in Mcleans Park here in the fourth One-day International on Tuesday as the series is equalled at 1-1 after Pakistan`s victory at Christchurch on Saturday.

Pakistan showed their real aggression in third ODI where Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal and Misbah-ul-Haq did the job with bat which also reminded cricket fans old days of building innings in initial overs and then going for everything in death overs.

With firepower that Pakistan possess in the middle and late middle-order including Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal and Wahab Riaz, they can afford really to play at around four runs in an hour till 30 overs mark and then turn it on in final stages of the innings.

Now as both teams have won one match apiece, all eyes are on Napier where a fierce battle is expected as Kiwis will have their regular captain Daniel Vettori back in ranks while Pakistan are expected to replace Sohail Tanvir with either Abdur Rehman or Shoaib Akhtar.

Good thing for Pakistan is that their batsmen have finally started to find some form with Mohammad Hafeez and Umar Akmal both looked in great touch in the third ODI while skipper Shahid Afridi also silenced his many critics with a strong show at AMI Stadium.

On the other hand, New Zealand are still struggling to find just perfect batting order as they have tried Brendon McCullum down the order to give their middle order some strength.

However, it`s quite a questionable approach as they already have Jacob Oram there and demoting McCullum so lower in order actually gives their opposition chance to stop scoring rate right at the top.

Black Caps team management is more eager to use this ODI series as an opportunity to experiment rather than winning it as it is expected that coach John Wright will try new combinations at Napier.

Vettori said he found the right balance in his team difficult in home conditions, which favour pace over spin bowling because of quick and bouncy wickets.

“It seems whatever balance we go in with, we don`t quite have enough batters or not quite enough bowlers, and maybe that just could be the conditions.

“New Zealand conditions dictate you might need that extra seamer, but when we get to India you can play more fiddly bowlers. It`s probably not like for like but you just want guys in form and feeling good about themselves, and most of that will come from winning,” Vettori said.

Pakistan have won two out of their last five matches while New Zealand only won one match from their last clashes.

New Zealand Cricket is far from disappointed with the empty stadiums that have so far greeted the Black Caps and Pakistan this summer.

Ninety-thousand tickets have been sold for the tour to date, which is ten-thousand below budget. That equates to between two to three hundred thousand dollars.

CEO Justin Vaughan said all things considered the tour was going well.

Manchester United goalkeeper Van der Sar to retire in May

Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar will retire at the end of the season, the Dutchman said on Thursday.

The 40-year-old former Netherlands international joined United from Fulham in 2005 and has made 245 appearances for the Old Trafford club, winning three Premier League titles and the 2008 Champions League crown.

Van der Sar’s wife fell seriously ill in December 2009.

“It is now time to pay attention to my family,” he said on the website of his management company.

“I cannot really identify a time when it (the decision) happened.

“Let’s just say that it was playing on my mind from the moment Annemarie had her stroke.

“She has fought back from it. We decided on another year in England and thus to stay at Manchester United.

“But, once engaged in the season, the thought of saying goodbye started to gnaw a bit more emphatically.”

Van der Sar, who played a record 130 times for his country, began his career at Ajax Amsterdam before moving to Juventus and on to Fulham in 2001.

He set an English league record in 2009 for time without conceding a goal when he went more than 21 hours unbeaten.

United are five points clear at the top of the Premier League and Van der Sar has played in 21 of their 23 league games this season.

“It is a difficult process” he said.

“After a defeat, I thought differently than after playing a few good games in a row.

“My age played no role, I am 40 years old, but I still feel fit.

“And then the decision came suddenly. Do not ask me how or why, but suddenly you know. That was sufficient.”

Ronaldo Leads Soccer Diaspora Back Home as Brazil Rally Brings Madrid Pay

Brazil’s economic boom and strengthening currency are luring hundreds of globe-trotting soccer players home.

The 34-year-old soccer star Ronaldo is getting paid as much with Sao Paulo’s Corinthians as in 2006 with Real Madrid, the biggest soccer team by sales, his agent Fabiano Farah said. That was $8.2 million, according to Spanish newspaper El Mundo. Teammate Roberto Carlos says he doesn’t need to seek out bigger checks abroad after 15 years in Italy, Spain and Turkey.

As Brazil’s economy expands at the fastest rate in more than two decades, wealthier clubs and a stronger currency are boosting the national league, which ends Dec. 5. The number of players traded to Brazilian teams from abroad rose to 707 last year, more than twice as many as in 2006, national soccer federation statistics show. Some 6,650 players had left Brazil between 2003 and 2009.

“Brazil nowadays is very different from the ‘90s, when I left for Europe,’’ Roberto Carlos, 37, said in an interview. ‘‘It’s possible to play at a very high level in Brazil, make money and stay with my family.’’

Players have emigrated since the 1980s as Brazil’s league suffered from crumbling stadiums, fan violence and a calendar that changed so frequently most people couldn’t keep track, said Richard Law, a consultant on Brazil for London team Arsenal.

Ronaldo Rejects U.S.

Now there’s a boom. Revenue of the 20 top-tier teams rose 12 percent to 1.93 billion reais ($1.13 billion) last year on more television rights income, a study by research and consulting firm Crowe Horwath RCS in Sao Paulo found. The English Premier League, soccer’s biggest with $3.6 billion of revenue, had 3 percent growth in the year to June 2009.

Spending by the 20 Brazilian clubs on transfers and salaries rose 14 percent to 1.2 billion reais, according to the study published in May.

Ronaldo was world player of the year three times. He rejected offers from the U.S., England and Germany when he signed with Corinthians in December 2008, said Farah, who declined to name teams that made the bids or disclose Ronaldo’s income. Roberto Carlos, a World Cup winner in 2002, joined Corinthians from Turkey’s Fenerbahce last December.

A stronger Brazilian currency is the main reason for marquee players coming back, according to Juan Figer, an agent in Brazil since the 1970s. The Brazilian real climbed 74 percent in value against the euro since May 2004, when Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos were at Real Madrid.

Tax Advantages

Brazil’s lower top tax rate of 27.5 percent -- compared with 43 percent in Spain -- is another motive, says Law, who’s based in Fort Worth, Texas. ‘‘Playing in Europe isn’t what it used to be if you’re going to lose half your income” to tax authorities, Law said.

Corinthians, which increased spending on player trades and salaries by 65 percent to 133.6 million reais last year, is happy to pay more to Ronaldo because he helps generate sponsorship and ticket revenue, team President Andres Sanchez said. The club had net income of 5.8 million reais as sales soared 54 percent to 181 million reais, according to Crowe Horwath’s research.

“Ronaldo is too cheap for me,” Sanchez said in an interview. “Corinthians has never made so much money.”

Ronaldo gets a share of ticket sales and sponsorship income, which doubled last year on deals with companies such as Sao Paulo-based BRF-Brasil Foods SA, the world’s largest poultry exporter, Farah said. Ronaldo, who has six goals in eight league games this season, wasn’t available for interview.

More Organized

As more money flows into the Brazilian league, it is becoming more organized, Law said. In 2003, end-of-season playoffs that were repeatedly amended in an effort to boost audiences were canceled. The championship now has the same format as Europe’s top divisions.

League leader Fluminense of Rio de Janeiro is seeking its first title since 1984 this weekend, when Corinthians and Belo Horizonte’s Cruzeiro can also prevail.

To be sure, Brazilians will still seek contracts in European leagues to boost their profile and earning power, according to Farah.

Real Madrid’s payroll last season was more than three times bigger than that of Corinthians, helping it attract Sao Paulo native Kaka, 28, from AC Milan in 2009. Neymar, 18, said he plans to leave Brazil’s Santos for the Premier League, the Sun newspaper reported Oct. 6. Neymar’s agent Wagner Ribeiro didn’t return messages seeking comment.

“Young players are still going to want to try out new experiences: different food, different languages,” Farah said. “They want to test themselves.”

Deco Returns Home

Brazilian soccer federation statistics show 1,017 players left to play abroad last year, a 14 percent decrease from 2008. That’s because contracts are improving in Brazil, Figer said.

Clubs expect sales to climb 58 percent more by the time Brazil hosts the 2014 World Cup, according to Crowe Horwath’s study. Some $2.8 billion of public investment in 12 stadiums will boost corporate hospitality sales, Crowe Horwath director Amir Somoggi said.

That’s good news for players like 33-year-old Deco, a two- time Champions League winner who moved to Fluminense in August after 13 years in Europe.

“I have been far away from my country for too many years, I missed my family,” Deco said. “It was time to come back.”

Germany sign Barbie for World Cup

The German Football Federation (DFB) is planning to cash in on hosting the Women’s World Cup in June with a football version of the children’s doll Barbie wearing the national team’s colours.

The German team are bidding to win their third consecutive world title at home and a ‘fussball’ edition of the popular children’s toy is expected to hit the stores in football-mad Germany later this year.

The Women’s World Cup kicks off on June 26, when the hosts face Canada at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, and the final will be held in Frankfurt on July 17.

“There will be a Football-Barbie wearing a Germany shirt,” Doris Fitschen, the general manager of the Germany team, told German weekly newspaper Die Zeit.

“It will appear in the shops at the end of March and will be aimed at our target group. We are aiming to attract young girls who we can inspire to play football.”

Germany have dominated the women’s game by winning both the last two World Cup titles, in 2003 and 2007, and the last five European titles.

Australia take series after Brisbane victory

Australia wrapped up a morale-boosting one-day series victory over England with two games to spare after a 51-run win in the fifth match at the Gabba on Sunday.

Michael Clarke’s team took an unassailable 4-1 lead in the seven-match series after hitting 249 in 49.3 overs and then bowling out the visitors for 198.

Pace pair Brett Lee and Doug Bollinger reduced England to 22 for three before Kevin Pietersen (40) and Ian Bell (36) combined for a 73-run partnership.

England, however, self destructed when they still had plenty of overs remaining and two well-established players batting.

Pietersen again succumbed to a rush of blood to the head when he misread a slower John Hastings delivery and spooned the ball to Lee at mid-on to leave his team 95 for four.

Eoin Morgan (two) also threw away his wicket when he smashed Steve Smith straight to Mitchell Johnson at long off while Bell chopped Hastings on to his stumps to leave England 103 for six.

Shane Watson then dismissed Paul Collingwood (18) and Chris Woakes (eight) in his first over, the 33rd of the innings, to all but end the run chase despite some final-wicket defiance from James Anderson (22 not out) and Steve Finn (35).

POOR RUN

Earlier, Clarke ended his poor run of scores with a half century while the tail provided a late flurry to help the home side post a good total despite man of the match Woakes claiming six for 45.

Clarke, who had been under pressure, combined for a 65-run partnership with David Hussey (34) for the fifth wicket.

He then needlessly charged Woakes in the 41st over and top edged a simple catch to opposing skipper Andrew Strauss on 54.

Clarke’s dismissal left Australia 190 for six but Smith (24 not out), Johnson (16) and Hastings (13) combined well in the latter stages to set up a victory charge that will give them confidence heading into next month’s World Cup.

The match was also used to help raise money following recent flooding.

The floods have swamped the eastern seaboard of Australia, killing 35 people, crippling coal mines, ruining crops, damaging infrastructure, destroying homes and causing an estimated A$5 billion (US$4.98 billion) in damage in Queensland alone.

More than A$6 million (US$5.96 million) was raised from the game, with the final figure to be matched by the Australian federal government.

“It makes you really very proud to see the way Australians have got out and responded, from a local barbie (BBQ) … to some of our biggest companies in the country,” Prime Minister Julia Gillard told Australia’s Channel Nine.

Scoreboard:

Australia won the toss and chose to bat

Australia innings

S. Watson c Collingwood b Woakes 16

B. Haddin b Finn 37

S. Marsh c Strauss b Collingwood 16

M. Clarke c Strauss b Woakes 54

C. White c Prior b Woakes 16

D. Hussey b Woakes 34

S. Smith not out 24

M. Johnson b Anderson 16

J. Hastings c Collingwood b Woakes 13

B. Lee c sub b Woakes 0

D. Bollinger run out 6

Extras: (w-11, b-2, lb-3, nb-1) 17

Total: (all out, 49.3 overs) 249

Fall of wickets: 1-48 2-72 3-96 4-113 5-178 6-190 7-212 8-233 9-234 10-249

Bowling: Anderson 10-1-42-1 (w-4), Shahzad 8-1-46-0 (w-4), Finn 10-0-61-1 (w-3), Woakes 10-0-45-6 (nb-1), Collingwood 10-1-36-1, Trott 1.3-0-14-0

England innings

A. Strauss c Smith b Bollinger 3

M. Prior b Lee 14

J. Trott c Bollinger b Lee 0

K. Pietersen c Lee b Hastings 40

I. Bell b Hastings 36

E. Morgan c Johnson b Smith 2

P. Collingwood c Hastings b Watson 18

C. Woakes c Haddin b Watson 8

A. Shahzad c Haddin b Bollinger 9

J. Anderson not out 22

S. Finn b Watson 35

Extras: (w-4, nb-5, lb-2) 11

Total: (all out, 45.3 overs) 198

Fall of wickets: 1-20 2-20 3-22 4-95 5-98 6-103 7-128 8-128 9-145 10-198

Bowling: Lee 7-0-21-2 (w-1, nb-1), Bollinger 9-1-57-2 (nb-1), Johnson 8-1-29-0 (w-1, nb-1), Hastings 9-0-35-2 (w-2), Smith 8-0-29-1, Watson 4.3-1-25-3 (nb-2)

Result: Australia won by 51 runs

Australia lead seven-match series 4-1

Next match: February 2, Sydney

Previous results: January 16 – Australia won by six wickets

January 21 – Australia won by 46 runs

January 23 – Australia won by four wickets

January 26 – England won by 21 runs

Man of the match: Chris Woakes