Karachi, Nov. 18: Indian Cricket League champions Lahore Badshahs’ skipper Inzamam-ul Haq has claimed that the Pakistan Cricket Board is all set to lift the ban on players aligned with the rebel Twenty20 league.

"I have got positive vibes and response from the PCB about granting recognition to the ICL and I am hopeful the bans on the ICL players would be lifted soon," Inzamam, former Pakistan skipper, said.

The legal advisors and officials of the PCB are working on finalising a way to lift ban on ICL players, sources close to the board revealed recently.

Inzamam also urged the ICC to take some affirmative steps to safeguard the rights of the cricketers.

"I think it is also time the ICC play its role and take steps to safeguard the players rights, who are signed up for the ICL.

"The ICL is promoting cricket and providing livelihood to many players and also giving chances to young Indian cricketers. So it is time the ICC and Indian board recognise it to make the tournament official," he said.

Lahore Badshahs defeated Hyderabad Heroes in the three-match final to emerge winners of the second edition of the ICL 20-20 championship trophy in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

The skipper on Monday also expressed his eagerness to participate in a friendly encounter with the national team, who recently clinched a three-match ODI series against West Indies in Abu Dhabi, provided the PCB allows them.

New Delhi, Nov. 18: Riding on their back-to-back wins over England in the ongoing seven-match ODI series, India have moved up from fifth to third place on the ICC one-day international championship table.

India’s players are already reaping the rewards of their early success in the series. Yuvraj Singh, with centuries at both Rajkot and Indore, has shot up the batting rankings that are headed by his skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Yuvraj has gained 11 places and now sits at six. For their part, England have slipped to sixth, having lost three ratings points and trail New Zealand by a fraction of a point. With five matches still to go though, Kevin Pietersen’s side can make up lost ground while India can rise to second ahead of South Africa if they carve out a clean sweep in the series.

Bolstered by their 3-0 series win against the West Indies in Abu Dhabi, Pakistan has moved up two places to fourth, while Australia is still No. 1.

Kanpur, Nov. 18: In what would be far from music to the ears of Kevin Pietersen, the pitch curator at the Green Park Stadium on Tuesday predicted a bowlers’ bloodbath when India host a beleaguered England for the third ODI on Thursday.

Licking their wounds after the twin battering in Rajkot and Indore, England’s demoralised bowling unit required some help from the track to silence the Indian big guns.

Curator Shiv Kumar, however, had no such good news to offer to the visitors. "This should be a batting paradise. The bounce would be even, ball would come nicely onto the bat and the strokemakers would make merry," the genial pitch doctor said.

And as if to scare Pietersen and Co., Kumar said he would not be surprised if either of the teams goes on to post the biggest total in the ground. "So far, the 294 India scored against Pakistan remains the highest at Green Park. I don’t rule out a 300-plus score," he said.

Asked what his suggestion would be to Mahendra Singh Dhoni in case the India captain approaches him, Kumar said should they win the toss, the hosts should bat first and set England an imposing total. "The toss would not make much of a difference and the track would behave similarly to both the sides. But if he wins the toss, Dhoni should not have second thoughts about batting first," he said.

"Batting first would allow India exploit the bowlers’ footmarks to the hilt. We have some world class spinners in the rank and they would just love bowling in the rough," he said.

"It’s the first six overs, 20 minutes to be precise, that they have to be a little cautious for the ball might do a bit. After that, it should be smooth sailing for them," Kumar said.

The curator is happy with the consistency shown by the Indian team under Dhoni but says he would miss Sourav Ganguly, who has retired. "The biggest compliment I got in my 10-year-long career as curator was from Dada. After the India-South Africa Test match, he came to me and said ‘you know your job, never change wicket at other’s insistence, whoever it maybe.’ He would seek details of the track, how much watering and rolling have been done etc. But he never interfered. I’ll miss him this time," Kumar said.

Ahmedabad, Nov. 18: Gujarat paceman Siddharth Trivedi took seven wickets to lead the rout against Hyderabad on the third day of their Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match at the Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, near here on Tuesday.

Hyderabad were forced to follow-on after they were all out for 225, with Gujarat trio of Trivedi, Ashraf Makda and Mohnish Parmar responsible for the damage.

A half-century by Ahmed Quadri, coming in at number seven, was the saving grace for the visitors. He held on to the crease as wickets tumbled at the other end. He was the last batsman to be out, at 57.

At stumps, Hyderabad were three wickets down with 45 on board in their second innings.

Trivedi claimed four wickets in the first innings and later bagged three more during Hyderabad’s second.

Resuming at their first innings score of 32 for one, Hyderabad lost Rushi Raj (26) early on Tuesday morning.

Just when it seemed that a partnership was developing between Anoop Pai and opener T. Suman, the former was bowled by Trivedi, leaving the visitors at 126 for three.

Hyderabad lost four quick wickets, while adding just 24 runs to the total and were 150 for seven in the 54th over.

Brilliant bowling by Trivedi along with Makda, who bagged two and Parmar who scalped three, helped Gujarat end Hyderabad’s innings at 225.

At stumps, Gujarat were in the driving seat with a comfortable 250-run lead over Hyderabad.

Scoreboard

Gujarat 1st innings 520 for 9 declared.

Hyderabad 1st innings (overnight 33 for 1): T. Suman c P. Patel b S. Trivedi 22, D. Rushi Raj c P. Patel b S. Trivedi 26, S. Anoop Pai b S. Trivedi 40, Arjun Yadav c A.R. Singh b M. Parmar 18, Abhinav Kumar c P.K. Panchal b M. Parmar 2, Ahmed Quadri c T.K. Patel b A. Makda 57, M.P. Arjun b M. Parmar 0, S.M. Shoaib run out 11, Ashwin Yadav lbw S. Trivedi 14, A. Lalith Mohan not out 0. Extras (b-9, lb-10, nb-5, w-2) 26. Total (all out in 81.2 overs) 224.

Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-72, 3-126, 4-132, 5-136, 6-141, 7-150, 8-183, 9-222.

Bowling: S. Trivedi 22-11-45-4, A. Makda 14.2-2-59-2, M. Parmar 23-6-43-3, A.R. Singh 10-1-25-0, T. Patel 9-2-23-0, S.J. Patel 2-0-6-0, N.K. Patel 1-0-4-0.

Hyderabad 2nd innings: T. Suman batting 23, Ravi Teja c and b S. Trivedi 13, Anoop Pai b S. Trivedi 0, Abhinav Kumar c and b S. Trivedi 0, Arjun Yadav batting 8. Extras (wd-1) 1. Total (for 3 wickets in 17 overs) 45.

Fall of wickets: 1-24, 2-21, 3-32.

Bowling: S. Trivedi 6-2-16-3, A. Makda 5-0-20-0, T. Patel 3-1-2-0, M. Parmar 3-0-7-0.

Mysore, Nov. 18: Chasing a victory target of 320, Andhra slumped to 28 for four, staring at defeat against Karnataka on the third day of the Ranji Trophy Superleague Group B encounter here on Tuesday.

Resuming at the overnight 161 for seven, the visitors were all out for 218, giving Karnataka a first innings lead of 148. Sunil Joshi bagged five wickets for 41 runs.

Andhra, however, hit back strongly thereafter, dismissing Karnataka for 171 in their second innings, in which former India captain Rahul Dravid top-scored for his side by scoring 50 runs.

Vijay Kumar was the star for Andhra grabbing six wickets for 51 runs.

Brief scores: Karnataka 366 and 171 (R. Uthappa 9, Pavan 18, Ganesh Satish 15, Rahul Dravid 50, Raghu 0, Manish Pandey 22, Thilak Naidu 21, Sunil Joshi 10, Vinay Kumar 16, Aiyappa 5, Vijay Kumar 18.2-6-51-6, Kalyan Krishna 1/59, Suresh 1/9, H. Watekar 2/11) vs Andhra 218 (Watekar 7, Prasad Reddy 14, Gnaneshwar Rao 17, Sumanth 4, Verma 0, Pradeep 8, Manoj Sai 70, Suresh 54, Kalyan Krishna 4, Sarath Babu 25, Vijaya Kumar not out 0, Vinay Kumar 3/56, Aiyappa 2/63, Sunil Joshi 5/41) and 28 for 4 (Watekar 9, Prasad Reddy 8, Manoj Sai 0, Sumanth 4, Gnaneshwar Rao batting 3, Verma batting 2, Vinay Kumar 2/15, Aiyappa 1/3, Sunil Joshi 1/8).

Paris, Nov. 18: England’s visit to Germany on Wednesday for an end-of-year friendly international sees Fabio Capello’s men hampered by a sizeable injury list, while Diego Maradona will make his coaching bow with Argentina.  But while Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard will both be missing and there will be no 108th cap at least on this occasion for David Beckham, who must wait to draw level with the late Bobby Moore, the match is an opportunity for second-string England players to press their claims.

While the former world champions, who have four months to prepare for their next World Cup qualifiers, do battle at the Berlin Olympic Stadium another former World Cup winner, Maradona, will be taking to the dugout at Hampden Park for his first match in charge of Argentina against Scotland.

It was against the Scots that he netted his first international goal in a friendly win in 1979. Scotland assistant manager Terry Butcher might not remember that one — but he said on Monday he won’t forgive Maradona for his "Hand of God" goal against England in the World Cup quarterfinal in 1986.

"No, I’ll never forgive him," said Butcher. "It’s not nice when you lose a World Cup quarterfinal under those circumstances. I think I’m 4-1 to get a red card in the tunnel — it would be the fist of Terry Butcher rather than the hand," Butcher joked.

After insisting FA medical staff confirm Liverpool’s initial diagnosis on Gerrard’s groin problem Capello, further shorn of Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney, can now invite the likes of Jimmy Bullard and Scott Parker to shine.

Facing the three-time world champions on their own patch is all the motivation necessary for goalkeeper Paul Robinson, who rejoins the squad after Joe Hart injured an ankle in Manchester City’s draw with Hull on Sunday.

Poor form saw Blackburn’s Robinson lose his place with England and Tottenham and his last appearance for his country was the Euro 2008 qualifier defeat by Russia 13 months ago.

In attack, another recalled star, Darren Bent is managing to settle down into a rich vein of form at White Hart Lane, where Robinson endured so many trials and tribulations before his move to Ewood Park.

Spurs’ renaissance under Harry Redknapp has seen Bent earn a recall by notching seven league goals. In truth, Capello should welcome a chance to experiment following a perfect start to the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign with four wins in four games.

As Bent noted, "because of how the boys have done in qualifying the pressure is off — we’re just going out there to impress." Bent also noticed a distinct Capello effect on the troops. "The training is more intense and perhaps more professional," he said.

Germany coach Joachim Loew laid down the disciplinary credo on Monday to his stars following last month’s public spat with captain Michael Ballack. Loew promised — and gave — a "clear and frank address" on what constitutes acceptable behaviour.

He was furious after Ballack and fellow senior player Torsten Frings openly criticised him last month, Frings for being dropped and Ballack for responding that the coach should show his senior players more respect.

Melbourne, Nov. 18: In a statement that has the potential to trigger a bitter row, New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori has labelled his Australian counterpart Ricky Ponting as the most "overtly aggressive" player in world cricket and who is always "spoiling for a fight".

Vettori says he was not surprised when the Australians got embroiled in the ‘monkeygate’ scandal against India as Ponting is always "spoiling for a fight" on the field.

"If a team was going to play the game hard and stand up to everything the Aussies hurled at them, there was going to be trouble," Vettori wrote in his new book, Turning Point, extracts of which came out in the Melbourne Herald Sun.

"I don’t think many of us were surprised about the so-called ‘Monkeygate’ affair. There are always a few individuals in every team who overstate their position or overplay their importance.

"Ponting led his team very aggressively and probably hasn’t often had to face an opposition team that’s been just as aggressive in response," he added.

Vettori said Ponting foul-mouths the opposition so often that it always ends up creating bad blood on the field. "Add to the mix Matthew Hayden and Symonds — who are always at you on the field — and you’ve probably got the three most overtly aggressive players in world cricket. They like to get under the skin of their opponents, whereas the other guys in the Aussie team just get on with the game," he said.

Vettori recalled how Ponting blew a minor incident during his team’s previous tour Down Under into a major controversy by giving provocative statements.

"There was another incident with Ponting after we said a few things to Brad Haddin when we believed he was running on the wicket," Vettori said.

"There were a few heated words exchanged and when I later went to the press conference an Australian reporter asked me whether something had happened in the middle and I remember saying, ‘Not really. It’s just guys running on the wicket but that happens in every single game of cricket’. That seemed fine but Ponting, as was the case with his treatment of the Indians, seemed to be spoiling for a fight and the next day we had to read a blow-by-blow account in the papers of his version," he recalled.

The Kiwi urged Ponting to mend his ways and learn to leave minor issues on the field.

Melbourne, Nov. 18: After weeks of denial, Australian pace spearhead Brett Lee has finally admitted that the bitter separation from his wife and the ensuing custody battle for his son did take a toll on his on-field performance in the lost Test series against India.

"Obviously what I’ve been going through recently, with the marriage break-up and stuff, and with Preston, it’s obviously terrible," Lee, who had maintained through the series that his personal problems were not to be blamed for his poor form, confessed.

Lee came to India without any match practice after being excused from the team to deal with his marital woes for over a month. He managed just eight wickets at an average of over 60 in the four-Test series.

The tearaway bowler said he missed his two-year-old son and spoke to him everyday on phone during the India tour. "It’s really hard and you miss him when you’re on tour, but you’ve got to somehow keep in contact and speak to him every day," Lee said.

Dresden (Germany), Nov. 18: Indian men bounced back with an easy 3-1 victory over Austria in the fifth round of the 32nd Chess Olympiad here.  Aided by fine victories by former World Junior champion P. Harikrishna and Surya Shekhar Ganguly, the Indians took their points tally to eight points out of a possible 10 to be placed joint seventh.

P. Harikrishna continued with his winning ways and downed Stefan Kindermann of Austria with black pieces. In the women’s section, World Junior girls’ champion D. Harika succumbed to a loss against eighth seeded Hungarian Anna Rudolf.

Nisha Mohota was on the receiving end against Vajda Szidonia on the second board while Tania Sachdev, Swati Ghate and Mary Ann Gomes played out draws against Hoang Thanh Trang, Eldiko Madl and Veronica Schneider respectively.  The loss against Hungary meant the women slumped to joint 14th spot with seven points.

Harare, Nov. 18: Top-level cricket returns to troubled Zimbabwe from Thursday this week after Sri Lanka sent a 15-player squad to play a series of five one-day internationals.

The irony is that it was Sri Lanka, as much as any Test nation, which saw the end of Test cricket here four years ago. It was they who, having won two Tests by an innings and more than 200 runs in 2004, were the first to declare they would not play five-day matches against Zimbabwe again.

England, New Zealand and Australia quickly followed suit. Zimbabwe were then limited to 50-overs matches against other full members of the ICC plus four-dayers against such as Kenya and Namibia.

The last incoming tour of substance here was by Bangladesh 15 months ago and the visitors won all three ODI matches.

However, there are signs that Sri Lanka may find the locals rather more than pushovers.

They held Mahela Jayewardene’s side to a draw in Bulawayo last week and on Monday they skittled the Sri Lankans out for 235 runs in fewer than the allotted 50 overs.

Unfortunately heavy rain prevented the home side, Zimbabwe "A", from batting in reply.

The five matches are scheduled for November 20, 22, 24, 28 and 30.

Late November normally sees the onset of the annual rainy season here, so it is possible some play will be lost.

Bengaluru, Nov. 18: Shisham, Festino and Rimpuche excelled when the following horses were exercised on the trial track here on Tuesday.

Outer sand:

800m: Desert Rule (S. Fargeat), Shoot A Rainbow (Suraj) 56, 600/42.5, former a length ahead. Equidae (S. Fargeat) 1-0, 600/46, handy. Northern Splendour (S. Babu), Persian Rock (Raja Rao) 59.5, 600/46. Trafalgar Square (G. Sapra) 57, 600/43.5, pushed. Char Chand (rb), Silver Paris (Shabuddin) 59.5, 600/46.5. Bastain Bay (rb), Kajuraho (rb) 58.5, 600/45. Hymn-Grand Vacation (rb), Case Law-Final Cut (B.L. Paswan) 1-0.5, 600/43.5. Double Elite (Shoban Babu) 58, 600/45. Look Alike (P. Ramesh) 59, 600/44.5. Aaj Tak (C. Krishnan) 59, 600/46.5, eased. Flip Your Destiny (Gautamraj) 55, 600/41, extended. Sheer Gold (rb), Chesterford Touch (Vivek) 57.5, 600/43.5, neck and neck. Greens (C. Krishnan) 58.5, 600/42, good. Arabian Memories (P.S. Chouhan) 56, 600/43, note. Movie Queen (C. Krishnan) 58.5, 600/43. Lester (C. Krishnan) 59, 600/44.5. You’re Wonderful (P.S. Chouhan) 56, 600/42.5.

1000m: Your Chulbili (P.S. Chouhan), Diffident-Post Impressionist (rb) 1-13.5, 800/56, 600/43.5, level. Rare And Precious (Md. Shafiq) 1-10, 800/55, 600/42.5, more in reserve.

1200m: Apertini (Suraj) 1-25.5, 1000/1-10.5, 800/55.5, 600/42.5, good. Replenish (R. Ravi) 1-26.5, first 600/39, eased. Enduring Star (Suraj) 1-25, 1000/1-10, 800/56, 600/42, impressed. The Last Samurai (rb), Super Shah (rb) 1-26.5, 1000/1-11.5, 800/58, 600/45. Excellent Speed (G. Sapra) 1-27, 1000/1-12.5, 800/58.5, 600/45, fully extended. Star Assembly (Srinath), Target Achiever (D. Patel) 1-30.5, first 600/40.5, eased. Henry’s Secret (Zia. A) 1-29, 1000/1-11.5, 800/56.5, 600/42.5, note. Shisham (rb), Cannavaro (Selvaraj) 1-26, 1000/1-11, 800/56.5, 600/43.5, former shaped better. Mighty Heart (S. Fargeat) 1-30.5, 800/56, 600/41, good.

1400m: Rimpuche (S.A. De Sousa) 1-39.5, 1200/1-24.5, 1000/1-11, 800/56.5, 600/43.5, pleased. Holding Court (R. Marshall) 1-45.5, 800/1-1, 600/46.5, handy. Girl Next Door (S.A. De Sousa), Calming Influence (Suraj) 1-43, 1200/1-25, 800/56, 600/42, former two lengths ahead. Vanquish (rb) 1-46.5, 800/1-2, 600/48, eased. Festino (Shiva Kumar), Caspian Sea (G. Sapra) 1-39.5, 1200/1-24.5, 1000/1-9.5, 800/57, 600/43.5, former showed out. Game Fighter (S. Fargeat) 1-49, 800/1-3, 600/47.5, fluently.

Hyderabad, Nov. 18: Champ Forever, Power Play, Anemometer and Sparks impressed when the folowing horses were exercised here on Tuesday.

Sand track:

800m: Star Senora (D. Fox) 1-4, 600/48, easy. Pay Day (A. Imran Khan) 1-2, 600/47, moved freely. The Scot (rb), Lady In The Limelight (D. Fox) 1200-400/1-2, eased up. Lala Czar (T.S. Jodha) 1-0, 600/44, in fine nick. True Force (rb) 59, 600/44, easy. King Of Habashe (D. Singh) 58, 600/43, moved well. Geography (rb) 1-4, 600/49, easy. Green Mist (Asbar), Flashy Trend (N. Rawal) 1-4, 600/48, they finished level. Bernardo (rb), Khaleels Pride (Mukesh) 1-1, 600/45, latter started three lengths behind and finished level. Iaepetus (D. Fox) 1-3, 600/48, moved freely. Air Bender (Chary) 56, 600/42, moved impressively. Power Play (A. Imran Khan) 56, 600/42, pleased. Indian Archer (rb) 1-3, easy. Ruby Queen (Laxman) 58, 600/43, in fine nick. Bold Blast (rb) 1-1, 600/45, moved fluently. Stroke Of Luck (rb) 1-3, 600/48, easy. Champ Forever (A. Imran Khan) 56, 600/41, a good display. Cannon Tern (rb), High Lands (rb) 59, 600/44, former showed out. Jaan Baaz (rb) 59, moved freely. Hurricane Bay (Laxman), Green Vision (rb) 58, 600/43, they shaped well. Gentlemans Deal (T.S. Jodha) 1-3, 600/48.

1000m: Anemometer (D. Fox), Shakin Stevens (rb) 1-16, 800/1-10, 600/44, 400/30. Sparks (D. Fox) 1-18, 600/47, pleased.

1200m: Adelaide (rb), Mystic Impact (rb) 1-32, 1000/1-15, 800/1-2, 600/47, 400/30, they finished together. Integer (D. Fox) 1-35, 1000/1-16, 800/1-4, 600/48, in good shape. Colour Sergent (D. Fox) 1-33 1000/1-13 800/59 600/44 400/31 easy.

Beijing, Nov. 18: China’s tennis chiefs have responded to protests from the nation’s rising band of top ranked players and will allow them to keep more of their prize money, state press reported on Tuesday. The boost in earnings is part of a general loosening of the strict State controls that have long dominated Chinese tennis and remain a feature of most other sports in the Communist nation.

"The association intends to give the players more freedom and prize-money so they can have better training conditions and be more competitive," the China Daily quoted Chinese Tennis Association chief Sun Jinfang as saying. All players will now be able keep a minimum of 70 per cent of their winnings, double the amount previously, and even more for strong performances at Grand Slams and other big tournaments, said Sun.

In China, athletes normally have to hand over a large chunk of their prize-money and sponsorship earnings to their sports administrations and coaches. They are normally brought up through government-affiliated programmes, and stories of stars making it to the world stage independently are extremely rare.

However, as China’s female tennis players have risen up the world rankings in recent years, they have spoken out about wanting to keep their winnings and have more independence.

Bhanu (Haryana), Nov. 18: Olympic gold medal winner Abhinav Bindra on Tuesday had a different experience altogether, shooting with different guns at the ITBP’s shooting range here during a police sports meet.

"It was my first experience, a different one, shooting using an (indigenously built) Insas rifle and a .9 mm pistol. After firing from the rifle, there was this big bang," Bindra told reporters after opening the 52nd All India Police Duty Meet-Shooting hosted by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police at the its Basic Training Centre in Panchkula.

Asked if he had given tips to the shooters present at the range, the 25-year-old ace marksman quipped, "I was actually taking tips from them myself."

Bindra has been using a Walther-make air rifle for the past 10 years.

Twenty eight teams belonging to Central Police Forces and State Police Organisations, holding aloft their respective flags, gave a sterling display of their parade and honoured the ace shooter.

Asked that the Armed Forces were facing shortage of officers, Bindra said the youth should be encouraged more to take it up as a career.

"I have great respect for the Armed forces. My grandfather was in the Army. I think we need to encourage our youth more and motivate them to join the Forces as they offer a secure career full of thrill and adventure and at the same time one can serve the nation the best," Bindra said.

To a query if he had any plans to join the Territorial Army like legendary cricketer Kapil Dev had done, he said there were no such immediate plans though he added if any offer comes his way he would think over it.

On his feat at the Olympics, he said, "I feel happy about it and it gives me a great sense of accomplishment. At the same time, I also feel that it (his feat) has brought about biggest change in the mindsets of sportspersons, a big psychological change. More and more sportspersons have started to think in terms of that they can do it too and achieve the best at the highest level. The fact that it has inspired and motivated budding sportspersons, I am happy about that," he said.

Asked that many sportspe-rsons lack support from the system despite having abundant talent, he said, "I think we need to have more acco-untability in our system. We will need to set goals and work towards achieving them. Even if we don’t achieve them, but what is important is take a clear path and follow that and success will surely come one day," he said.