Bond returns to New Zealand team for Pakistan Tests

WELLINGTON: Star fast bowler Shane Bond has been recalled to the New Zealand Test squad to play Pakistan in the first two Tests of a three-match series.

Bond’s selection Friday follows a two-year absence from the New Zealand Test team due to injury and his participation last year in the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL).

The injury-prone 34-year-old has played only 17 Tests since his debut in 2001 but he has taken an impressive 79 wickets at an average of 22.39.

He returned to the New Zealand one-day and Twenty20 team against Sri Lanka in September and played Pakistan in the One-dayers in the United Arab Emirates this month.

“Shane has shown a lot of energy in the UAE and in domestic cricket, and has bowled a good number of overs,” selector Mark Greatbatch said.

“It will be exciting to have him back.”

Also returning is pace bowler Daryl Tuffey, who played his last Test in 2004 before losing form and signing for the ICL.

Greatbatch said Tuffey had a good record at Test level and had made a positive return to domestic first class cricket.

“Significantly, of the 66 Test wickets he’s taken, 24 have been against Pakistan — it’s a team he’s done very well against,” Greatbatch said.

Tuffey and Bond have been joined in the squad by Test seamers Iain O’Brien and Chris Martin.

Batsmen Grant Elliott and Peter Fulton have returned to the Test side after last playing against Australia last year. Gaps have opened in the line-up with Jesse Ryder injured and all-rounder Jacob Oram announcing his retirement from Tests.

“Grant Elliott’s inclusion is based on his excellent form in the short version of the game — we’re keen to give him an opportunity to perform in Tests,” Greatbatch said.

Peter Fulton has been in and out of the Test side and makes his return based on excellent performances on winter tours with emerging players and New Zealand A teams as well as a strong start to the domestic competition, he said.

Greatbatch said it was likely the playing 11 would be based around six batsmen and four bowlers, but the final line-up would be decided closer to the first Test, which begins in Dunedin on Tuesday.

New Zealand: Daniel Vettori (captain), Shane Bond, Grant Elliott, Daniel Flynn, Peter Fulton, Martin Guptill, Chris Martin, Brendon McCullum, Tim McIntosh, Iain O’Brien, Jeetan Patel, Ross Taylor, Daryl Tuffey.

Sachin first to cross 30,000 runs in international cricket

NEW DELHI: After completing 17,000 runs in the 50-over format of the game, Sachin Tendulkar achieved another milestone by completing 30,000 runs in his international career during the first Test against Sri Lanka at Sardar Patel stadium in Ahmedabad

Tendulkar touched the magical 17,000-run mark in One-Day International cricket earlier in this month. Sanath Jayasuriya is second on the list with 13,377 runs followed by Aussie captain Ricky Ponting who has a lot of catching up to do.

Sachin has scored 17778 runs in One-dyers thus far. The Indian batting legend has 45 One-day hundreds and 91 ODI fifties under his belt. The veteran batsman has scored 42 hundreds and 54 half centuries in the Test format of the game.

The diminutive Mumbaikar, who made his ODI debut Pakistan in 1989, is already way ahead of his contemporaries when it comes to accumulating runs.

Derby frenzy over, Bagan shift focus

Two days after thrashing East Bengal, Mohun Bagan are on a higher perch — literally.

Through greenery greener than the jersey they wear, they have travelled past clusters of human habitation quaintly named Byrinhat, Nongpoh and passed the massive Umiam lake hemmed by a row of mountains on one side and dense vegetation on the other to reach Shillong where Lajong FC lie in wait.

It’s a world away from the steaming, heaving cauldron of emotions that the Yuba Bharati Krirangan was on Sunday. And forget talking about it in the way Kolkata just can’t seem to stop, forget the open palm or the five-finger salute that Mohun Bagan supporters haven’t had enough of; the Meghalaya capital seemed untouched by both the hurrah and the humiliation of the derby. One that has devoured a coach, stained reputations and catapulted Edeh Chidi into immortality.

It is just as well, Ishfaq Ahmed said. In a city whose cool breeze and mild sunshine reminded him of home, the midfielder from Kashmir said, “it is possible that we would have got carried away by the frenzy Kolkata is caught up in.”

Karim Bencherifa took it from there. “Ideally, I would have liked the boys to have enjoyed the moment. After all, having made history, the players deserve to enjoy. They would have loved to be in the middle of the buzz. But that is only if we had 10 days off before the next game.

“Given how the schedule is and that we would have had to play on Thursday, I would rather we did it outside Kolkata and in a place like this. There are no distractions here and although among themselves the players are still talking about the game, the focus ahs already shifted to Thursday’s tie against Lajong FC,” the Mohun Bagan coach said.

As pre-paid connections don’t work in the Northeast, even the mobile phone isn’t a distraction for most in the squad. It is almost like being in what is called concentracao in Brazil and Argentina where before big games players are put up by clubs in one residential area or hotel and cut off from the rest of the world.

“And we can keep the buzz going by getting three points from here,” Bencherifa said.

Wigan Athletic footballer Marlon King ‘broke woman’s nose in club’

A Premier League footballer punched a female student in the face and broke her nose after groping her bottom at a nightclub, a jury was told yesterday. Marlon King, 29, a Wigan Athletic striker, was said to have become angry after the woman rejected his advances, and told her: “Don’t you know who I am? I’m a millionaire. You’re not even in my league.”

When she pushed him away he hit her, leaving her with a broken nose, split lip and blood pouring down her dress, jurors were told.

Roger Daniells-Smith, for the prosecution, told Southwark Crown Court that the attack was “completely gratuitous”.

The 20-year-old woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been celebrating a friend’s birthday at the Soho Revue Bar in the West End of London last December when the argument started.

Shortly before 3am, Mr King, a married father of three, walked over to the party of about 20 women and began touching the woman’s bottom, it was claimed.

“That touching was sexual. It was neither welcomed nor consensual,” Mr Daniells-Smith said. “He couldn’t have thought that she would welcome that — he was a total stranger to her. This was deliberate and sexual.”

Giving evidence, the woman said: “I felt someone grab my left buttock. I turned around because I was quite disgusted and shocked. There was a man standing towards the bar, smirking at me in a suggestive way. I said quite firmly, ‘Don’t touch me, it’s not nice.”

Adding that Mr King had “definitely not” accidentally brushed up against her, she said that he then began touching two other women in her group before one of them said “hands off”. It was then, Mr Daniells-Smith said, that he asked: “Don’t you know who I am? I’m a millionaire.” The woman replied: “I don’t care who you are, take your millionaire self away from our table.”

The prosecution claims Mr King grabbed the woman’s wrist before punching her in the face causing a broken nose, black eye and split lip.

Mr King, from Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, denies sexual assault and actual bodily harm. Mr Daniells-Smith said he claimed that the woman was mistaken about the identity of the attacker.

The trial continues.

Somdev out but Sania, Leander and Mahesh advance

A profligate Somdev Devvarman squandered chances galore to crash out of US Open singles even as Sania Mirza advanced in the women’s doubles and mixed doubles events here at Fushing Meadows.

Somdev, who was trailing by two sets, staged a dramatic comeback by blanking 23rd seed German Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third set but eventually lost his second round encounter 3-6 4-6 6-0 2-6 after a close to three-hour battle last night.

With Somdev’s defeat, Indian challenge ended in the singles events. Sania is already out of singles after suffering one of the worst defeats of her career in the second round against Italian friend Flavia Pennetta.

Somdev, who won three qualifying matches to make it to the main draw, could convert only four of the 20 breakpoints against experienced Kohlschreiber, who had defeated Novak Djokovic in the French Open.

“Qualifying for the US Open was a great breakthrough for me and then to win a match and take a set off Philipp and have some chances against him will give me great confidence for the future,” he said after the match.

However in all other matches of the day, Indians came out triumphant.

Sania and her Italian partner Francesca Schiavone, seeded 14th, survived a scare from unseeded Ekaterina Dzehalevich of Belarus and Czech Renata Voracova before recording a 5-7 7-5 6-1 win to advance to the women’s doubles second round.

Later Sania teaming up with Candian Daniel Nestor outplayed Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan and Ashley Fisher of Australia 6-3 6-1 in the first round of the mixed doubles.

Defending champions Leander Paes and Cara Black of Zimbabwe overcame a fighting unseeded pair of Swiss Patty Schnyder and South Africa’s Wesley Moodie.

The second seeded Indo-Zimbawean pair tamed the unseeded opponents 6-4 3-6 11-9 in the first round of mixed doubles.

Third seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles cruised to the men’s doubles second round after scoring a comfortable 6-3 6-4 win over American James Cerretani and Lovro Zovko of Croatia.

Mirza, Devvarman charge into round two at US Open

Sania Mirza

Sania Mirza defeated Olga Govortsova of Belarus 6-2, 3-6, 6-3

India’s Sania Mirza and Somdev Devvarman have already had a successful US Open only one day into the year’s last Grand Slam tournament thanks to impressive first-round triumphs for each on Monday.

In a historic double for their homeland, Mirza defeated Olga Govortsova of Belarus 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, while qualifier Devvarman downed Portugal’s Frederico Gil 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the second round on the Flushing Meadows hardcourts.

“I’m really happy we have two players in the second round of a Grand Slam. Things are looking up,” Mirza said. “For a long time I was the only player in singles draws at the Grand Slams. It’s great Somdev is playing well.”

Mirza, who has struggled after a right wrist injury last year, went 1-5 in one 2009 stretch but fought through the pain and fear of a career-threatening injury to the Birmingham semi-finals in June and an important US Open victory.

“The toughest thing is to get that first win under your belt,” Mirza said. “Under the circumstances I’m just happy I can come through that match and get off to a good start.

“To me it has already been successful.”

Somdev Devvarman

Devvarman defeated Portugal’s Frederico Gil 6-3, 6-4, 6-3

Devvarman, a two time US college champion who reached the Chennai final in his hometown back in January, reached a Slam main draw for the first time in four tries with three qualifying wins, then made the most of his opportunity.

“I finally qualified for a Slam and won a match,” Devvarman said. “I really dug in there, didn’t get tight. I competed well. That’s what gets you through those tough ones – the way you compete.

“I don’t want to jinx myself but I feel good about where I am. I’ve had a couple of quality wins. It gives me a lot of confidence and belief that I can come out and compete with anyone. My game is up there with the rest.”

Devvarman, ranked 162nd, will next face Philipp Kohlschreiber, the German 23rd seed who beat Italy’s Andreas Seppi 6-0, 6-4, 6-4.

Mirza, ranked 74th, faces a tough second-round test against Italian 10th seed Flavia Pennetta. But she sent 65th-rated Govortsova packing and in some ways has never been better.

“I’m happy with the way I’m playing,” Mirza said. “Physically I’ve never been fitter in terms of the way I’m moving on the court and playing in matches.

“I came up with the big shot that I needed to have. I have that big weapon when I need to use it.”

Mirza, 24, is finally over her injury and ready to make a run at her career high ranking of 27th from 2007.

I’m at that stage where I’m ready to go up again and go into the new year with confidence,” Mirza said. “The major wrist problem is finally gone. It’s about trying to stay as injury-free as possible.

“It was hurting me on basically every shot, even picking up a fork at one point. You don’t realize how much you miss playing tennis until you think you might not be able to play again. That made me really grow as a person.

“I appreciate it more being on a tennis court now.”

Mirza is engaged to Sorab Mirza, their already-shared last name a happy coincidence – “I always tell him that’s the only reason I’m marrying him,” Mirza joked – but no wedding date has been set.

“We’re not in a hurry,” she said.

Devvarman, 24, was three points from qualifying when rain hit and forced him to return 21 hours later to achieve his first Slam draw.

“I had some matches coming into today and I think that helped,” Devvarman said. “I put in some really good training. Fitness is the strength of my game. Hopefully I will keep that going.”

After one year of adapting to the pro ranks, Devvarman said the worst of those times is behind him.

“It has been an emotional roller coaster for me,” he said. “You are dealing with a lot of adversity but it makes you better. You keep fighting.”