LONDON : Graeme Swann was the most notable omission as the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the long list for their Cricketer of the Year awards.Eight players each up for three awards as part of the ICC`s annual ceremony designed to honour Test, one-day international and

PARIS: France international striker Nicolas Anelka has poured scorn on the 18-match ban he received for swearing at coach Raymond Domenech during the World Cup, saying it made him laugh."As far as I am concerned, this commission and all that is a joke, a sham aimed at saving face," the

ZURICH: Tyson Gay is the pole sitter in the blue riband event of the 100m in the absence of the injured Usain Bolt, having trumped the Jamaican and set the season`s fastest time.But Gay, who like all other sprinters has fallen under the shadow double world and Olympic champion Bolt has

NEW DELHI:  Commonwealth Games Federation chief Michael Fennell began a two-day tour Wednesday of the much-delayed venues for the Delhi showpiece as the city struggles to be ready just 46 days from the start.The Indian capital resembles a construction site in areas, with some of the

CINCINNATI: Two-time semi-finalist Rafael Nadal won`t make promises about his progress at this edition of the ATP Cincinnait Masters after squeezing in a pair of practice sessions Tuesday.The Spanish world number one maintained his standard low-attitude heading into the last bit even

CINCINNATI: Roger Federer is settling in for the long haul on hardcourts, saying Tuesday that his final in Canada was almost the perfect start to perhaps the most physically demanding portion of a long year."Now that we`re on this kind of surface for eight months, I think this is a very

LONDON: England cricketer Graeme Swann said he was motoring off to buy screwdrivers to rescue a trapped cat when he was arrested for drink-driving, a court heard at the beginning of his trial Monday.The Nottinghamshire off-spinner, ranked the third best Test bowler in the world, was

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has sent to the International Cricket Council (ICC) an official report on last year`s terror attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore."The ICC received the Lahore incident report from the PCB on August 3," a spokesman for the council,

KARACHI: Pakistan`s cricket chief on Tuesday welcomed an announcement of a possible World XI tour to his country, saying he hoped it would revive international cricket in the insurgency-hit nation."The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) welcomes the announcement by Giles Clarke of the intention

DHAKA: Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has appointed Julien Fountain as the National Team’s Specialist Fielding Coach. His contract with the BCB will run till the end of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, according to said an official announcement.Julien will arrive here on August 19 to

JOHANNESBURG: A miserable weekend for African club football giants Al-Ahly of Egypt ended with a 1-0 Champions League loss at Algerian outfit JS Kabylie.The driver lost control of the bus carrying the record six-time champions to a training session in eastern city Tizi-Ouzou during heavy

LONDON: Pakistan could, for the first time in their history, field a side comprised solely of players from the one province when they play England in the third Test at The Oval here on Wednesday.The Pakistan squad is dominated by players from the country`s most populous province, Punjab

KARACHI: Pakistan cricket on Tuesday pledged more than 133,000 dollars for flood victims and said it was working to drum up further funds through an international exhibition match in England.Pakistan has been devastated by massive flooding that has affected 20 million people in the

LONDON: Pakistan wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider has been ruled out of the remaining two Tests against England after doctors advised him on Monday he needed three weeks to recover from a finger injury.Zulqarnain suffered a hairline fracture on his little finger in his right hand while

DAMBULLA: Sri Lanka Cricket on Tuesday apologised to India after Virender Sehwag was denied a one-day century due to what the batsman said was a deliberate no-ball.Sehwag was stranded on 99 not out as India raced to a six-wicket win in a tri-series match on Monday, which ended amid

IRVINE: Michael Phelps is feeling like his old self again, so much so that he is ready to swim the 400-meter individual medley for the first time since the Beijing Olympics.Phelps will test himself in the challenging event at the Pan Pacific Swim Championships, a five-day showdown

MANCHESTER: Dimitar Berbatov, Darren Fletcher and Ryan Giggs scored as Manchester United began their Premier League campaign with a 3-0 win over Newcastle here on Monday giving the losers a sharp reminder of the gulf in class between the Championship and the elite league.United had a

DAMBULLA: Virender Sehwag cracked a robust 99 not out to help India post a comfortable six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the triangular one-day series on Monday.The opener hit two sixes and 11 fours in his 100-ball knock as India raced to the 171-run target with more than 15 overs to

MELBOURNE: Test captain Ricky Ponting on Monday backed Nathan Hauritz as Australia`s number one spinner for the coming Indian tour and the home Ashes series against England.The off-spinner, who has snared 57 wickets at 31.82 in 15 Tests, is returning to full fitness after a foot injury

SYDNEY: Australian paceman Shaun Tait said Monday he will not be available to play in the Ashes Test series against England.Tait, who has just returned home after playing Twenty20 cricket for Welsh county Glamorgan, confirmed he will no longer play in the longer forms of the game, even if