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Thursday, November 10, 2011

Controvertial 3 idiots Aamir , Salman & Asif

By Usama Abbasi

Pakistan cricket sees the black day as one of its former captains and two front line bowlers are convicted criminals and transferred to jail from the court room. As a lover of the game, it shook my soul to see this betrayal to the country and its honour, the national colours and the millions of fans around the world-and the fruit of the betrayal. Conviction of Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif by a British court is an immense disgrace in Pakistan’s crisis infested cricket history. I was perhaps one of the few persons in this country who, from day one of this fiasco had stated that captain Salman certainly had his hands red in this controversy. I had also suggested that the seriousness of this controversy could perhaps have been reduced with a more sensible Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman than Ijaz Butt.

The moment this news was broken by The News of the World, Pakistan should have immediately withdrawn Salman, Asif and Mohammad Aamir from the touring team. Instead the PCB chose a path of confrontation both with the International Cricket Council (ICC) as well as the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). In an unparalleled stupid move, our honourable ambassador in UK called the players, held his own investigations and declared them ‘totally innocent.’

The latest court verdict which sentences Salman for two and a half years, Asif for 1 year and Aamir for six months has made everybody look like a fool simply because nobody realised the seriousness of what had happened. One would recall a photograph of former manager Yawar Saeed laughing his head off on the balcony of Lord’s ground (or was it The Oval?) with a copy of The News of the World in his hands. It is now time for the powers that be in Pakistan to hold an inquiry in some significant issues. Firstly and most importantly, what were the precise duties and mandate of manager of the team and was it not the part of his duty to ensure discipline amongst players so that they didn’t participate in any unhealthy activity. Secondly, what was the precise nature of duties of full time security officer who accompanied the Pakistan team during that tour because providing security to visiting teams is the responsibility of the hosts. In the light of findings into these sensitive areas, future course of action especially the roll of managers and other team officials needs to be redrafted.

Cricketers are the most well paid sportsmen in Pakistan with an average earning of Rs.10 million which is a lot more than what highly qualified people like financial accountants, auditors etc make and yet if despite this wealth, they get involved into filthy activities like spot-fixing and match-fixing and flush the country's integrity down the drain, it is utterly disgraceful and is indicative of mental level of this breed. The accusations and proof were all recorded, not hearsay or circumstantial. Their guilty verdicts were almost set in stone. They should have spared themselves and Pakistan, the humiliation, and avoided the trials altogether. Surprisingly, they continued to be projected as heroes even after the can of worms had been opened.

They spent the last year smiling and talking lies on talk shows and in the press every other day – arrogantly thinking it was some fools paradise and they would get away with it. Shahid Afridi was openly caught tempering the ball and penalized. We elevated him to Test captaincy and he is now being projected as a role model day in and day out in a TV commercial. Will we ever learn or do we wish to become outcasts in international sports? Pakistan’s honour is bigger and greater than the fame and name of all these so-called heroes.

The PCB now needs to evolve a fresh code of conduct for players, which must contain a clause of criminal proceedings against a player suspected of such activities. New PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf has started on the wrong foot. He is apparently more interested in publicity photo sessions and TV interviews without even having acquainted himself properly with the detailed working of the PCB. No sports administrator worth his salt would pay the glowing tributes that Ashraf paid to former chairman Ijaz whose era was undoubted the greatest disaster in Pakistan cricket.

He is now going to fly off to the United Arab Emirates to watch the Pakistan-Sri Lanka ODI series instead of staying put in Lahore to try and make an effort of damage control. Soon other fringe benefits will follow. After all the PCB is a gold mine for foreign trips, unlimited privileges and fringe benefits together with great publicity avenues. So all the best to Ashraf!

Tennis: Djokovic, Federer, Murray reach Paris quarters


Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns the ball to Viktor Troicki. Photo / AP
 
Novak Djokovic rallied from a set down to beat fellow Serb Viktor Troicki 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 and reach the Paris Masters quarterfinals today.
Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Tomas Berdych, David Ferrer of Spain and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France also advanced.
The top-ranked Djokovic looked a pale shadow of the player who dominated the first half of the season, making 44 unforced errors compared to 28 winners.
"It's obvious that I'm still not playing in the form that I had in the last 10 months,'' said Djokovic, who returned to action last week in Basel after a six-week injury layoff. "It takes a little bit of time to get into the rhythm.''
Djokovic dropped serve twice to lose the first set to Troicki. But he broke for a 4-2 lead in the second, and leveled the match when Troicki sent a bakchand wide. The Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion then raced to a 4-0 lead in the final set.
Djokovic will next play Tsonga.
Murray routed Andy Roddick 6-2, 6-2 and will next face 2005 champion Berdych, who beat Janko Tipsarevic 7-5, 6-4.
The second-seeded Murray improved his record to 17-0 since the U.S. Open and has won 27 of his last 28 matches since mid-August.
Murray outclassed Roddick, hitting 27 winners compared to only four for the American. He broke Roddick twice in each set, taking the first with a crosscourt forehand winner before clinching victory with an ace.
"I started the match well, which against him is always important, because he plays his best when he's ahead,'' Murray said. "Because I broke him earlier, I was able to dictate a lot of what happened out there.''
Roddick received a warning from the chair umpire at 2-0 in the second set after smashing his racket out of frustration.
Roddick will finish the season outside the top 10 for the first time since 2001.
"I just need to get in better shape as far as movement, and kind of catch up a little bit,'' Roddick said.
The fifth-seeded Berdych trailed 5-1 in the first set and 4-1 in the second, but fought back both times to clinch his spot in the eight-man ATP World Tour Finals. His victory meant Tsonga and Mardy Fish also secured spots in the season-ending tournament in London, with Tipsarevic missing out.
Tipsarevic made two double-faults in a row to set up match point for Berdych.
Federer downed Richard Gasquet of France 6-2, 6-4 to next meet Juan Monaco of Argentina.
The third-seeded Swiss broke serve twice in the first set and took a 4-3 lead in the second on a double-fault from Gasquet before clinching victory with a forehand winner.
Meanwhile, fourth-seeded Ferrer ousted Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6-3, 6-2, and the sixth-seeded Tsonga defeated Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-3, 6-4.
Ferrer will take on American John Isner, who beat Feliciano Lopez of Spain 6-4, 6-2.
A double-fault from Seppi gave Tsonga a 2-0 lead and the Frenchman took the first set with a forehand winner. The 2008 champion then broke for a 4-3 lead in the second, winning the match when Seppi netted a forehand.
Fish was leading 6-1, 6-7 (6), 2-1 against Monaco when a left hamstring injury forced him to retire.
Fish received treatment in the final set but was forced to quit after playing one more point.
"I started feeling it probably late in the second set,'' Fish said. "It went from sort of tightness and an uncomfortable feeling to, in that last game that I served, a lot more pain, a lot sharper.''
The injury was a recurrence of his hamstring problem from the Swiss Indoors in Basel last week, but Fish still plans to play in the tour finals in London.

High Court quashes Minto's conviction over tennis heckling

John Minto
Veteran protester John Minto has scored a High Court victory after a judged ruled that his megaphone protest against an Israeli tennis player was not disorderly behaviour.
Minto and seven others were convicted and discharged in the Auckland District Court for disorderly behaviour after they used loudspeakers to try and disrupt the ASB Classic tennis at Stanley Street in downtown Auckland last year. They targeted Israeli professional Shahar Pe'er.
They appealed and in a ruling out today, High Court Justice Heath said the issue he had to consider was one of degree.
"It goes without saying that a verbalised protest may offend or disturb a member of the public who either disagrees with what is said or takes umbrage at the disruption of his or her own legitimate activities," the judgment says.
"But disruption to an individual's enjoyment of a sporting event is not the same thing as disruption of public order.
Justice Heath set aside the conviction and said there was no need for the case to go back to the District Court.
The others who won the appeal were Janfrie Wakim, John Darroch, Ruth Amato, Rochelle Rees and Malcolm France.

Aishwarya's baby, Sachin century, bookies and the media

MUMBAI: Though thousands of depressed fans saw West Indies spinner Bishoo send away Sachin Tendulkar, 24 runs short of his target, the bookies had a meadow day riding far above the ground on fan fury.
Yet, bookies are even more satisfied as the maestro's next end is Eden Gardens five days from now. And bets will stay crutch up till then. But, before that, Big B's yet-to-be born grandchild is probable to take centre stage. "Over Rs 150 crores is riding on whether Aishwarya Rai will bring the child on 11. 11. 11 or on Children's Day, the day the Eden Test match kicks off. This in spite of the fact that Abhishek Bachchan has made it clear that wife Aishwarya is not going for a Cesarean operation, said a bookie.

Police are keeping vigil on the gambling scene for the two super actions. "We are awake there is also serious betting on whether the actress will deliver a boy or girl. This is unlucky situation and shows how we are still fanatical with a boy child, said a police officer.

The master blaster, while, can obtain heart. While it's still five days to go, punters are already insertion odds on him achieving the deed at Kolkata. Sachin seems to be in wonderful form. It will be fine if he achieves his ton on his home ground, Mumbai, during the 3rd test.
The betting mafia is pushing in crores to forecast the sex of Aishwarya Rai's unborn child. The news doing the rounds is that bookies are trying to call the Aishwarya's doctor to know the sex of the unborn baby.

The maximum bets are coming in for 11. 11. 11 as all astrologers & numerologist are declaring it to be a very lucky day. There are sufficient bets sited for Children's Day too.