Injured Zaheer ruled out of Deccan encounter

Centurion, May 06: A shoulder injury will prevent Zaheer Khan from being a part of Mumbai Indians’ clash against Deccan Chargers on Wednesday.

Zaheer incurred the injury during his previous match against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Zaheer attempted to stop a drive from Robin Uthappa, but fell on his bowling shoulder instead. He had to leave the ground then and there itself.

Both the Mumbai Indians and Team India could breathe a sigh of relief after subsequent scan reports claimed that the injury was not that serious and the pacer will be seen back in action soon. Zaheer had been picked for the Twenty20 World Cup to be played in England later in next month.

“He [Zaheer] had a scan on his injured shoulder today (on Tuesday). We had feared the worst but it’s not as bad as we thought it could be originally. There is a little bit of inflammation. We will be taking it day by day. But he will not be playing against Hyderabad (Deccan) and that’s for sure,” Shaun Pollock, Mumbai’s mentor-cum-coach, told the media after the team practice session, which Zaheer did not attend.

The Mumbai Indians are currently placed at the second last position in the points table of the Indian Premier League season 2. The team managed to emerge triumphant in only 3 of the 7 encounters they have faced.

Coach Pollock however said that he would not pressurise Zaheer to join the team soon, even though it was important for him to return as soon as possible; the reason being it is more important for the fast-bowler to be completely fit for the mega-event in June, rather than playing the cash-rich IPL.

“We understand that in the bigger picture there is the World Twenty20. We need to understand that so we don’t want him back in action before he is really ready. He has a huge career ahead of him and we don’t want to be stupid,” Pollock said.

When asked if Zaheer would be missing more games, Pollock refused to comment and said, “I am sure that at the earliest possibility we will want him back.”

Pollock said either Dhawal Kulkarni or Rahil Shaikh will replace Zaheer in the match against the Deccan. Kulkarni has played only one game this season while Shaikh, the left-arm fast bowler, is yet to make his IPL debut.

http://cricket.zeenews.com/Image/2009/5/6/ponting_clarke_295-0605.jpg

London, May 06: England cricket captain Andrew Strauss has said the ongoing second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has undermined his side’s preparation for the Test series against the West Indies.

“The important thing is that Test cricket gets the attention it deserves. That means that people prepare themselves properly. You don’t want Test cricket to be devalued in any shape or form. Certainly we wouldn’t want our players arriving two days before,” Strauss was quoted as saying.

John Dyson, the West Indies coach, admitted: “It’s not time for an ideal preparation for a Test match but we have to work with it.”

Strauss added: “None of us want a situation where international cricket is competing against IPL cricket. That is unhealthy for the game, it is unhealthy for the IPL and most important of all it is unhealthy for the future of Test cricket.”

It is difficult for England to stake out the moral high ground on this issue since two of their own IPL players, Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood, arrived home only on Friday and the coach, Andy Flower, admitted that both players would go into Wednesday Test ‘under-prepared’.

Gayle reacted to the issue with a shrug and a smile. “I was due to come here a day earlier, on Sunday, but we had a game and I got permission to stay. But we all knew the situation. We discussed it with board members and we got permission to get back at a particular time. I got permission. No one is bigger than the game. There was a debate about it. It was clarified and sorted out.”

It is clear, though, that the West Indies board gave Gayle permission to return late only reluctantly, just as the England and Wales Cricket Board had serious misgivings about the involvement of Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff in the IPL.

Ponting to earn close to four million dollars a year

Australia cricket’s top dogs Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke will be rewarded with a million-plus dollar contracts in the next fortnight.

They will also receive 12,750 dollars a Test, 5100 dollars for a one-day international and 3835 dollars for a Twenty20 International.

Ponting also has several lucrative advertising, television and newspaper deals, which are expected to take the income of the working-class boy from northern Tasmania to over four million dollars a year.

Several advertising deals ensure Clarke is not far off the pace.

Cricket Australia and its players closely guard the value of contracts and any increase in their pay deal under the latest memorandum of understanding is unclear.

The Australian Cricketers’ Association has been in long negotiations with CA over the new memorandum. The talks have stalled several times due to the uncertainty caused by the global financial crisis.

Australia’s top players appear to have little reason for complaint.

Cricket Australia is reluctant to greatly increase the payments pool in light of world businesses tightening their belts.

Fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, a former Queensland delivery van driver, is poised for a financial bonanza and is likely to be ranked at No. 3 on Australia’s elite 25-man list, a news channel reports.

Johnson can expect a contract for about 850,000 dollars - a far cry from a time from 2004 when he was driving a plumbing supplies truck for a living.

Wicketkeeper Brad Haddin and out-of-form batsman Mike Hussey, who both play all three forms of the game, are likely to be the other two ranked in the top five.

Pacer Peter Siddle will be another big winner while injury-hit speedster Brett Lee and troubled all rounder Andrew Symonds will have their contracts reduced.

CA will announce the contracts in the next fortnight before the squad takes part in a pre-Ashes camp on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast from May 24.

Bollinger a casualty of Lee’s Ashes campaign

Sydney, May 06: New South Wales fast bowler Doug Bollinger must be feeling a touch unlucky not to have made it to the Australian Twenty20 squad for next month’s World Cup, especially in the wake of the selectors pitching for 32-year-old Brett Lee, who has not bowled in a match since December last year.

After a string of superb performances in the one-dayers against Pakistan, Bollinger was looming as the next cab off the rank among Australia’s pacers, but he was squeezed out of the squad by Lee’s elevation.

Bollinger was NSW’s T20 player of the year when they won the domestic title last summer and his efforts against Pakistan had moved him to the brink of World Cup selection, despite an earlier omission from a preliminary 30-man squad, an Australian daily reports.

Bollinger was unavailable for comment last night.

Hilditch said Lee’s selection was an essential part of his preparation for the Ashes.

Australian squad: Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Nathan Bracken, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, James Hopes, David Hussey, Mike Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Peter Siddle, Andrew Symonds, David Warner, Shane Watso

Chelsea look to exploit Barcelona's soft centre

London, May 06: Barcelona wailed about Chelsea's defensive tactics in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final but they should be more concerned about their own rearguard before the return at Stamford Bridge.

With Carles Puyol suspended and Rafael Marquez injured, Barcelona look horribly exposed in central defence, especially with the powerful presence of Didier Drogba poised to overpower whoever is drafted in.

Amid the jubilation of Barcelona's 6-2 thrashing of Real Mad rid on Saturday, Chelsea's spies will have reported back that Real's two goals were via the heads of Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Ramos courtesy of slack marking in the middle.

Gerard Pique, Eric Abidal and Martin Caceres, who has looked shaky this season, are vying for the two slots while manager Pep Guardiola could spring a surprise by dropping muscular midfielder Yaya back to counter the physical presence of Drogba.

The big Ivorian will be licking his lips at the prospect of attacking that soft centre, and when it comes to set pieces, he will have considerable reinforcement.

Centre backs Alex and John Terry, Michael Ballack, Mikel, and fullback Branislav Ivanovic, who headed two goals in the quarter-final against Liverpool, have considerable presence in and Frank Lampard has an unerring delivery.

Ballack and Terry will have loved every word of Barcelona's complaints and no doubt plan to deliver a similarly uncompromising welcome on Wednesday.

Hiddink, aware of his side's set-piece and aerial threat but also concerned by Barcelona's dangerous attack and ability to snatch an away goal, is likely to start with the same steady approach with Drogba ploughing a lone furrow up front.

Ferguson's grandchildren hurt in car crash

London, May 06: Two of Alex Ferguson's grandchildren and their mother were hurt in a car crash on the morning of Manchester United's Champions League semi-final win over Arsenal on Tuesday, a police source said.

All three were in a stable condition in hospital after their Vauxhall Corsa collided with a Ford Fiesta at 8:25 a.m. in Macclesfield, northeast England, Cheshire Police said.

Firefighters had to cut the children's 30-year-old mother, Nadine, from the wreckage before she was taken by helicopter to hospital. She is the estranged wife of Ferguson's son Darren.

Ferguson's 10-year-old grandson Charlie and six-year-old granddaughter Grace were taken to hospital by ambulance.

Police said Grace had suffered minor injuries and was being kept under observation. Charlie suffered more serious injuries but police gave no further details.

The 17-year-old male driver of the other car was taken to hospital with leg injuries.

Newspapers reported that Ferguson had considered returning from London where the match was being played but decided to stay to oversee the game after being told their lives were not in danger.

Police appealed for witnesses to the crash to come forward.

Chelsea and Barca eye final prize

London, May 06: As if a place in the Champions League final isn't motivation enough for Chelsea and Barcelona to win their semi-final second leg at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, both sides will also be fuelled by the chance to settle a few old scores.

For Barcelona, the frustration of being stopped from scoring at the Nou Camp for the first time this season in last week's first leg was exacerbated by the feeling that Chelsea had emerged unscathed from the Catalan cauldron by resorting to the game's dark arts.

It is a source of pride to Barca's fans that their team has always remained true to their purist principles. So to see Chelsea play in such a negative, niggly manner and still avoid defeat drew a furious response from Pep Guardiola's players.

Xavi led the protests against Chelsea's "anti-football" but, inevitably the Blues were unrepentant and Barca would relish the chance to reach the final by eliminating a club who present such an affront to their beliefs.

Losing in the semi-finals to Manchester United last season was painful enough but the prospect of bowing out at the same stage to Chelsea is too awful to contemplate.

But that desire won't guarantee Barca get their wish as Chelsea have plenty of additional incentive to complete the road to Rome themselves.

The Blues were one kick away from winning Europe's elite club competition last May when John Terry ran up to take a penalty in the teeming Moscow rain.

Dempo go down to Al Maged in AFC Cup

New Delhi, May 06: A lackluster Dempo suffered a 1-2 defeat at the hands of Syrian side Al Maged in their Group E AFC Cup match in Damascus.

Dempo, who had beaten their rivals 1-0 at home, were outclassed by the Syrian side and could have lost by a bigger margin had not goalkeeper Abhijit Mondal saved at least half a dozen shots on target at the Al Abbassiyin Stadium last night.

Dempo are now second behind Al Maged with seven points from five matches and will have to win their last group match against bottom-placed Al Faisaly of Jordan on May 19 in Margao.

Al Maged, with 10 points from five matches, are through to the quarter-finals with one match left -- against Bahrain's Al Muharraq (six points) on May 19.

Abdulhadi Al Hariri opened the scoring for the Syrian side in the 40th minute and Kenan Al Nama made it 2-0 in the 63rd before Roberto Mendes Silva pulled one back for Dempo in the 67th minute.

Mondal first blocked a powerful shot from Al Maged's Senegalese midfielder Dame Junior Gaye in the sixth minute and then denied Bashar Al Kaddour a few minutes later.

Two other saves off the efforts of Samer Aouad and Al Zino kept Mondal busy but the Al Maged attack was too frequent to deny them for long and the Syrian side forged ahead five minutes from the breather with Al Hariri connecting Al Zino's cross from right with a powerful header.

Three minutes later, Al Hariri was denied what could have been his second goal by a diving Mondal.

Dempo played better in the second half and Silva's free-kick in the 54th minute flew inches above the woodwork.

Al Maged made it 2-0 three minutes after the hour mark when Al Nama's shot from 20 metres found the top right corner of the Dempo net.

Barely a minute later Al Zino found himself with only the goalkeeper to beat but Mondal was once again Dempo's saviour.

The Goan side pulled one back in the 67th minute when Silva met a cross from the right with a powerful header that flew past Al Maged goalkeeper Samer Saaid.

Al Maged nearly regained their two-goal cushion in the 79th minute as an Ali Diab header slammed against the crossbar.

Dempo coach Armando Colaco conceded that Al Maged were the deserved winners.

"The result is convincing as Al Maged had the better chances in the game. Our mission is hard now as we have a game against Al Faisaly on the last match day," Colaco said.

Davydenko sees room for improvement

Estoril, May 06: Former champion Nikolay Davydenko ran away with the opening set but was made to work harder in the second to record a 6-1, 7-6 (7/4) victory against Andrey Golubev of Kazakstan at the Estoril Open.

The second-seeded Russian who claimed the trophy in 2003 and lost last year's final to Roger Federer and the 2006 edition to David Nalbandian, feared a first-round exit after trailing 4-1 in the second set despite sweeping the first.

"I'm just happy to be out of the first round," said the player who missed several months this season with a heel injury and only returned to action in April. "I was afraid at 4-1 down.”

"I'm only just back on court and I'm not playing my game yet. My brother (coach) told me that I really need more training."

Davydenko, ranked 11th, has played in only five tournaments this year but won his eight 2009 match against four defeats through the narrow victory.

He next faces a second-round battle after improving his Estoril mark to 14-5 as he plays 2001 champion Juan Carlos Ferrero.

The Spanish veteran last month snapped a six-year pause between titles as he won in Casablanca.

"I'm not looking so far ahead," said title favourite Davydenko. "Only to the next round. After my injury I just need to play matches, the more the better.

Safina blasts organisers as Jankovic struggles through

Rome, May 06: World number one Dinara Safina blasted organisers for making her play on a treacherous court after she reached the third round of the WTA Rome International.

The Russian was initially made to work hard before coming through 7-6 (7/1), 6-1 against France's Virginie Razzano yesterday.

Double reigning champion Jelena Jankovic was pushed to the brink by Argentine Gisela Dulko before going through 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) after her match had been delayed for three and a half hours by a torrential downpour.

But Safina, whose match started after the rain, complained that the weather had made the courts too soft and dangerous as it was difficult to slide.

"I was just so angry because you can get injured," said Safina, who fell over twice during her match.

"I mean, it's not funny. They tell us go and play because they think the court is fine but they are not playing on that court. Thank God I didn't break anything but if I broke something, I mean, so many players get injured.”

"Then what should I say to the tournament? I (should) say thanks for pushing us to play? I mean, they would say: oh, we are sorry. But it's my career, it's three months off court (if you're injured). So they have to have a little bit of respect for us as players."

Safina struggled throughout the first set, dropping serve in the first and seventh games but breaking straight back on both occasions.

However, once she entered the tie-break it was a different matter as she took total command.

She sealed the tie-break 7-1 with a service winner and then romped through the second set for the loss of only one game.

The top seed will play Chinese 14th seed Zheng Jie in the 3rd round after she defeated Russian Elena Vesnina 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2.

Third seed Jankovic was far from her best and was forced to stay on court for almost two hours by a dogged opponent who had been a first round loser here in four out of five previous appearances.

The Serbian, the world number four, ultimately gained revenge on Dulko, who beat her in the second round in Miami last month.

But Jankovic was disappointed she had not wrapped up the match earlier having been up a break in the second.

"I just let her come back into the match. I was angry at myself because I was thinking that I should have already finished this match," she said.

"It was very difficult for me because I let her come back and she almost won that second set because I made mistakes and I kind of stopped playing.

Hewitt beats Petzschner to bring up 500th win

Munich, May 06: Australian Lleyton Hewitt clinched his 500th tour-level singles match win in dramatic fashion as he moved into the second round of the German Open on Tuesday.

Hewitt, a two-time ATP World Tour Champion, saved two match points before prevailing 6-2, 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (10/8) against German Philipp Petzschner.

"I think there are only two other active players have won that many," said the 28-year-old Hewitt about reaching the 500 wins milestone.

"That obviously means I'm getting old. I've been around for a long time. It's something I guess you retire and you look back on it and realise you've had a pretty good career.”

"It's nice to bring up those milestones and be among those calibre of players as well."

Hewitt's 500 match wins include two Grand Slam titles at the 2001 US Open and Wimbledon in 2002, and back-to-back Tennis Masters Cup titles in 2001 and 2002.

He finished as the youngest ATP World Tour Champion in 2001 at 20 years and eight months of age, overtaking Gustavo Kuerten who had come into the circuit finale in Sydney with a 48-point lead in the Rankings. In 2002, he became only the fourth player to rank No. 1 for every week during the season.

The Australian looked set for a comfortable victory as he held two match points when serving for victory at 6-2, 5-4, 40/15 but 70th ranked Petzschner hit back to level at 5-5 before taking the tie-break to even the match at one-set all.

Hewitt opened up a 4-2 lead in the deciding set but was once again pegged back as Petzschner levelled at 4-4.

He held two more match points when Petzschner trailed 4-5, 15/40 and a fifth at advantage later in the same game, but the Adelaider failed to convert and was nearly made to pay the price as Petzschner earned two match points at 6-5 and 7-6 in the tie-break.

Hewitt denied the German the chance for victory though before sealing the win himself on his seventh opportunity at 9-8 after two hours and 36 minutes.

"I was lucky to get out of there in the end," said Hewitt.

"I just kept hanging in there. Saved a few break points early in the third set and then he played a lot better when he was down in the match. He started going for his shots a lot more.”

"He used his forehand a lot heavier and didn't make as many easy mistakes. He gave me a lot early mistakes, especially in the first set."

Hewitt continues to make his comeback from the left-hip surgery he underwent in August 2008. This season he has compiled a 14-9 match record, highlighted by winning his 27th tour-level title at Houston last month

Force India put KERS system on hold

London, May 06: Force India have put on hold the new KERS system they had planned to introduce at this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, team owner Vijay Mallya said.

The optional kinetic energy recovery system offers drivers a power boost at the push of a button but only a handful of Formula One teams have used it so far this season.

Mallya, whose team have yet to score a point since their debut last season, said in a preview for the first European race of the year that Force India wanted to concentrate on other areas.

"We will not be running KERS in Spain," he said.

"At the beginning of the year, it was our provisional plan to introduce the system for the start of the European season, but we have decided to put the emphasis on aero development where we feel the greater gains can be found.”

"As we've seen, many other teams are not running KERS so we do not feel we are at a disadvantage," he added.

"We still plan to use it later in the season but this will be reviewed after each race in line with the other work we have going on in the background."

Force India introduced a new rear diffuser and aerodynamic developments to their Mercedes-powered car at the previous race in Bahrain and plan further upgrades for Barcelona.

Super Aguri mull return to F1

Tokyo, May 06: Japan's Super Aguri could be set for a surprise return to Formula One in 2010, after withdrawing a year ago due to financial difficulties.

Former Super Aguri team chief Aguri Suzuki told reporters that he was tempted to rejoin the sport he once labelled a "club full of piranhas."

"If it's physically possible I would certainly like to (return to Formula One)," Suzuki said.

Super Aguri quit the glamour sport after a promised major sponsorship deal collapsed and backers Honda were not prepared to offer long-term support.

The sport's governing body FIA has since set an optional cap of 40 million pounds on teams to allow entrants that might otherwise struggle to compete against big-spenders like Ferrari and McLaren.

Although the optional cap is barely a quarter of what some teams have been spending, those that accept the cap would have more technical freedom in 2010 than those with unlimited budgets, the FIA said last week.

The FIA also announced there would be space for three new teams on next year's grid, potentially increasing the number of cars to 26 -- six more than at present.

With the global economic downturn biting hard, Honda subsequently pulled out of Formula One themselves to cut costs amid slumping car sales.

Suzuki slammed Formula One at an emotional news conference last year, saying: "It's a club full of piranhas and I don't want to put my fingers back in.

Patrick returns to Indy seeking breakthrough win

Indianapolis, May 06: Danica Patrick has already become the first woman to win an Indy-car race. Now she hopes to become the first to capture the sport's ultimate prize - the Indianapolis 500.

The 27-year-old American beauty won last year's Indy Japan 300 for her series breakthrough and will begin her quest to conquer the famed 2 1/2-mile Indy oval when practice starts here on Wednesday for Saturday's pole qualifying.

"It's a good opportunity to really just focus on qualifying," Patrick said. "All the rest of the year we tend to not really be so heavily focused on it, and we kind of do maybe a qualifying practice run or two, but that's about it.”

"Here we get a few days to really focus on it. It's about getting the car comfortable. You want to start out with a good balanced car, and hopefully you can even take the downforce off and just get faster."

Patrick, coming off a fifth-place effort at Kansas in the final tuneup for the May 24 race, has put a check on her notorious temper, which saw her pick a fight with England's Dan Wheldon and march down the Indy 500 pit lane after Australian Ryan Briscoe.

"I've learned from the past," Patrick said. "Look, the emotional Danica is still there, but there's a time and a place. The time and place is not every weekend. So it's just easier.”

"I always felt in the past like I had to prove to people that I cared and that I wasn't happy being fifth or 12th or something by being mad. It just doesn't really pay off, and it turns people off.”

"It's a lot easier and a lot more fun to be relaxed. It's all bunnies and rainbows around here