MNA Iqbal assures support to Ijaz Butt

LAHORE MNA Iqbal Mohammad Ali, who has been opposing PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt, has offered his assistance the spot-fixing scam surrounding Pakistan cricket team.
It has been learnt that Iqbal called PCB chairman, who is in London and gave a couple of advises for the clearance of the Pakistans from the fixing saga.
Sources said that he talked with the PCB chief for nearly half and hour and assured him of full support and suggested several ways to get out of this trouble.
Iqbal is the same legislator who has been lashing at the PCB for quite some time and passed a resolution while chairing a meeting at the Parliament House calling for the sacking of the PCB chief.
He said to the PCB chief that if the players were in reality involved, they should not be spared but at this point in time it seems that they were trapped in this whole saga.
It has further been learnt that Ali asked the chairman if the players were under stress they should be allowed to take a break but he is reported to have said that he wanted them to play against England and beat them fair and square.
Earlier, Ali and his colleagues said that they would resign from the committee if Butt did not leave the office of chairman PCB.
West Zone to hold trials for Inter-dist Cricket
Our Staff Reporter
LAHORE The West Zone Cricket Association is holding trials to select two zonal teams for the participation in the Regional Inter-district Senior Cricket Tournament.
According to President West Zone Cricket Association Tauqir Shah, the players have been asked to report to the zonal secretary Shoaib Dar on September 4 at the Model Town Ground.
The players are:
Haroon Rashid, Ahmed Dar, Saadullah Ghauri, Yasiur Ajmal, Muntazar Mahdi, Usman Salahuddin, Kashif Ali, Hamza Haroon, Imran Maqsood, Farooq Saleem, Rais Babar, Mohib Munir, Saad Naseem, Muhammad Saad, Muhammad Rahil Hassan Bhatti, Haris Nazir, Ali Zeeshan, Ali Tahir, Babar Manzoor, Farhan Khan, Umer Fayyaz, Ghulam Mustafa, Hasan Dar, Asif Azeem, Abdul Ghafoor, Saad Ullah Khan, Mubashir Ijaz, Umer Ishfaq Butt, Riaz Amin, Tahir bin Zahid, Adnan Butt, Wasim Zahoor, Jameel Khan, Naveed Arif, Sabtain Raza, Fawad Baig, Owais Sarfraz, Hafiz Muhammad Zohaib, Mohsin, Khurram Illahi, Muhammad Azeem, Tasleem Arif, Shahab Basharat, Hafiz Shahid Iqbal, Waqar Ahmed, Abubakar, Ashraf, Sabtain Sarwar, Farrukh Rabani, Ghayoor Abbas, M. Nazir Ahmed (off spinner) Asif Butt, Hafiz M. Zahid, Muhammad Sohail, Abdul Rauf, Muhammad Nadeem, Shaman Butt, Sharif, Tasheer Bukhari, M. Haris, Ali Sohail, Adnan, Aslam, Bahsarat Ali, Naman Khan, Mateen Ijaz, Faisal Javed, Basit Sohail, Aaqib Azhoor, Adil Shah, Shahnawaz (MFB) Javed Khan, Kamran Khan, Usman Ali, Shah Nawaz (RHB), Usman Pervez Butt, Rameez-ud-Din, Ali Haider, Imran Haider, Naveed Zia, Shehzad Ali Khan, Zaheer Maqsood, Hassan Ali Naqvi, Ali Manzoor, Raheel Ali, Fakhar Abbas, Irsalan Haider, Kashif, Saad Sohail Zaman Butt, Balal Masood, Zulfiqar, Saqib Maqsood, Asad Ali Zaidi, Sohail Ahmed (LAS), Ashraf Ali, Waqas Ahmed (MFB) Aitemad-ul-Haq, Arsalan Mir, Khurram Hamayun, Muhammad Naveed.
Govt support vital for promoting boxing
Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI President Young Lyari Boxing Club, former Olympian Malang Baloch, has said that assistance of government was necessary for the development of boxing.
He was addressing the prize distribution ceremony of one-day Ramazan-ul-Mubarak Boxing Tournament held at Haji Pir Muhammad Road Lyari here the other day. The tournament was organised by South Boxing Association in collaboration with Young Lyari Boxing Club.
Malang Baloch also demanded representation of the people of Lyari in Sindh Boxing Association for the betterment of boxing across the province.
Earlier, 41 boxers from nine clubs participated in the tournament. Pak National Boxing Club secured first position with three gold and one silver medal and Zahid Shaheed Club got second position with two gold and two silver medals.
Final results:
26 kg: Asghar beat Shahbaz Azad by 2-1
28 kg: Hanif beat Zeeshan Azad by 3-0
30 kg: Adil Kachi beat Karim Azad by 3-0
34 kg: Muhammad Ahsan beat Ahsaan Kachi by 3-0
36 kg: Yousuf Kachi beat Asfandyar by 3-0
38 kg: Qadir Bux beat Zubair by 2-1
42 kg: Asghar Nagori beat Munir Ahmed by 3-0
44 kg: Zeeshan beat Faizan by 3-0
46 kg: Badshah Khan beat Muhammad Shoaib by 3-0
48 kg: Kamran beat Hafeez Qambrani by 2-1
50 kg: Faraz Ahmed beat Muhammad Ahmed by 2-1
60 kg: Khalil Asghar beat Awais by 2-1.
Watson fears ICC probe may kill cricket
SYDNEY Players are growing increasingly suspicious of whether the International Cricket Council wants to expose the full extent of corruption in the game, fearing the truth could kill cricket - as it emerged yesterday David Warner is the fifth Australian player to have been approached by suspected bookmakers, Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Warner made an official complaint which was forwarded by NSW to the ICC, after he and some Blues teammates were fronted by a group at a restaurant during the Champions League tournament in India last year.
Like the approaches made by a fixer to Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee during last years tour of England, the ICC could not take any solid action on the Warner case because it could only prove the men wanted general information without mentioning bribes.
We were sitting there and a group of local guys approached us, asking us questions about the game on TV and games the following day, Warner told the Herald last night. We didnt know who they were, interested supporters or what. We told them to go away. They left straight away. I then reported the incident to an official of Cricket NSW.
Watson expressed his concern over the lack of breakthroughs made by the ICCs anti-corruption unit, and called for it to make public all of its investigations for transparency.
I dont think the ICC want to get to the bottom of it, because it could run so deep, but now it is in the public, now everyone knows about it they have to act, they cant cover it up, Watson said. All the other stuff the ICC anti-corruption unit had in their pipeline, theyve got to bring that to the surface.
Asked if the ugly truth could ruin the game, Watson didnt hesitate: Yes it could . . . what is happening already is ruining the game.
What happened during the Sydney Test, which is one of the most special moments of my career . . . to have that talked about being tainted is very sad, and most probably for the people at the game as well. People start to think that emotion I had that day was fabricated.
These are the reasons the ICC has to really step in and totally get on top of this.
Theyve known these things could have been going on, thats why the anti-corruption unit was set up, theyve waited for a newspaper to bring it to light.
Theres no doubt when things change in a game, people will start thinking: 'Is that just how the game panned out or is it because people might have been paid in different ways to change the direction of the game?
Im more sad than anything. One thing we definitely dont need is whats going on, because it is horrific for the game.
It also emerged yesterday Bangladeshs Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal were approached in January.
This approach was also reported to the ICC.
The ICC defended its capabilities, with chief executive Haroon Lorgat stressing the anti-corruption and security unit could not set up a sting because evidence would be inadmissable in court under entrapment laws. Lorgat also put responsibility on the players.
We have identified corrupt individuals and advised players to stay away from them, Lorgat said.
We need cooperation from the players. They must listen to us and also have discipline.
We have a lot of measures in place. These measures work by and large. There have been many approaches [to players] reported and followed up.
The responsibility is on us to rebuild confidence in the game. We must implement additional measures if needed but, rest assured, the ICC will do everything in its power to ensure that confidence is rebuilt.
Haddin said world cricket could survive without Pakistan in light of the spot-fixing allegations.
Mazhar Majeed, the agent at the centre of the scandal, has been arrested by British customs officers over claims that he has laundered tens of millions of pounds through football club Croydon Athletic.
The businessman, 35, along with his wife and another man, were detained and questioned by officials as part of a second criminal inquiry related to the alleged corruption racket.
The ICC has sent a security agent to Pakistan to interview Veena Malik, the former girlfriend of paceman Mohammad Asif, who she claims accepted money from illegal bookies before the tour of Australia.
Meanwhile, Australian gambling regulators have been urged to consider banning bets on all cricket matches involving Pakistan.
In the aftermath of the apparent spot-fixing scandal involving Pakistani captain Salman Butt, Asif and Mohammad Amir, Victorian gaming minister Tony Robinson has ordered the states gambling regulator to urgently review whether it is appropriate to allow betting on matches involving Pakistan.
US Open top seeds Nadal, Wozniacki capture openers
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NEW YORK (AFP) US Open top seeds Rafael Nadal and Caroline Wozniacki moved into the second round on the Flushing Meadows hardcourts while Serbian stars Novak Djokovic and Jelena Jankovic struggled to advance Tuesday.
Reigning Wimbledon and French Open champion Nadal, trying to become the seventh man to complete a career Grand Slam, beat Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, his only service breaks coming in the last set.
My serve worked well and I hope to continue like this, Nadal said. Its not my best shot, but I always work hard at improving it. If I am to have chances to win here one day, I need to serve well.
The 24-year-old Spaniard, who would be the youngest career Slam holder and only the fourth man to win three Slams in a row if he wins this years US Open, will next face Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan.
Denmarks Wozniacki, seeking her first Grand Slam title after losing to Kim Clijsters in last years US Open final, romped in her first Grand Slam match as a top seed, eliminating US wild card Chelsey Gullickson 6-1, 6-1 in 61 minutes.
Im really happy, Wozniacki said. The first match is always tough. Im happy to be through and into the second round.
Wozniacki will face Taiwans Chang Kai-Chen for a berth in the third round after winning the matchup of 20-year-olds, which did not start until 10 minutes before midnight due to the length of previous Arthur Ashe Stadium matches.
I didnt feel too nervous. I was just happy to get out there and play. We had waited for a long time, Wozniacki said. Definitely it was a long night. But a win is a win and if I win Im happy.
Third seed Djokovic ousted friend and countryman Viktor Troicki 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 after three hours and 40 minutes in the heat to book a place against Germanys Philipp Petzschner.
Give credit to Viktor. He was playing well and serving incredibly well, he said. Even if I would lose today it would have been deserved on his side. A couple of points changed the match and I was just fortunate to get through.
Fourth-seeded Jankovic, seeking her first Grand Slam title, edged 96th-rated Romanian teen Simona Halep 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. The 2008 US Open runner-up nearly suffered her first opening-match Slam exit since the 2005 French Open.
I had to work for every point, Jankovic said. I wasnt playing my best tennis. I was able to find a way to get through.
Jankovic, who will next play 150th-ranked Croatian qualifier Mirjana Lucic, has faith she has what it takes to win a Grand Slam crown.
I know I can do that, Jankovic said. Its just a matter of believing in myself, having the confidence and doing the right things on the court because I really want to get my tennis to another level.
Eighth seed Li Na, the highest Chinese seed in Grand Slam history, lost 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 to Ukraines Kateryna Bondarenko. The Australian Open semi-finalist had not lost a Grand Slam opener since the 2006 Australian Open.
It was sad to lose in the first round, Li said. I just have to forget everything and practice again and hope I come back again soon.
On the mens side, Cypriot 16th seed Marcos Baghdatis went down 6-3, 2-6, 1-6, 6-4, 7-5 to French veteran Arnaud Clement and Frances Jeremy Chardy beat Latvian 24th seed Ernests Gulbis 6-2, 7-6 (7/1), 6-4.
Meanwhile, former world number one Maria Sharapova made the best of a tough situation on Tuesday, outlasting 60th-ranked Australian Jarmila Groth 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 to reach the second round of the US Open.
The 14th-seeded Russian beauty, a three-time Grand Slam champion, stayed on the path to a possible fourth-round match against top seed Caroline Wozniacki by holding off an aggressive opponent who pressed the attack at every chance.
Days like this where your opponent was playing really well, you really have to find ways to hang in there and ways to fight and at the end of the day, just hope you give yourself another opportunity, Sharapova said.
She came out there and really swung and didnt give me time to do anything. It was quite difficult to get into a rhythm. I hung in there. I knew after the first set it wasnt over. Even though I wasnt playing my best, I came out with a win. Youre giving yourself another match, another chance to get better.
The 23-year-old blonde, who next faces 68th-ranked Czech Iveta Benesova, has not advanced past the third round on the Flushing Meadows hardcourts since winning the 2006 US Open title but has confidence entering the fortnight.
It feels really good to be healthy coming in and not worrying about how you feel, Sharapova said. Overall I feel good.
Sharapova had won 24 first-round matches in a row at Grand Slams until an opening-round ouster at this years Australian Open and she had a test from Groth, who has never beaten a top-20 rival.
Everyone has their ups and downs and everyones going to be put in tough situations, where theyre going to come through, Sharapova said.
Doing the right things to win every match is tough. You have to be out there for two weeks, seven matches in a Grand Slam environment, and you have to come up with the goods when it really matters.
Groth raced to a 5-2 first-set lead but netted a backhand in the ninth game to deliver Sharapova a break that put the set back on serve. The Aussie broke back in the next game to claim the set with a service return forehand winner.
Sharapova broke Groth to open and close the second set and again in the fourth game of the third set. Groth netted a forehand to hand Sharapova a break for a 5-1 edge and the Russian held at love, finally ending matters when Groth sent a forehand wide three minutes shy of two hours.
Groth, 23, reached this years fourth round at Wimbledon and the French Open in her best career Grand Slam showings, but was undone by 48 unforced errors against Sharapova, who made only 17.
Slovakian-born Groth married ATP player Sam Groth last year and became an Australian citizen last November. She still seeks her first elite-level title.
England, South Africa win in World Cup upsets
ROSARIO (Argentina) (AFP) England upset China 1-0 and South Africa pulled off a shock 2-1 victory over Spain in the womens field hockey World Cup on Tuesday while host Argentina edged South Korea 1-0.
Hannah MacLeods goal in the second minute, pushing in a rebound of Crista Cullens penalty corner flick, was all Englands women needed to take maximum points from their first two matches in Pool B competition.
China starved England of possession in the second half by controlling the midfield and had more than 15 shots on goal, but Englands hero goalkeeper Beth Storry made 10 saves, three in a single flurry, to keep China scoreless.
We won it in the first half, England coach Danny Kerry said. In the second, well, we have to be able to play much better than that although our quality showed with really good tackles in the circle.
Beth made some great saves with China throwing everything but the kitchen sink at us.
China coach Kim Sang Ryul agreed England defended well in the second half.
The players could not score in the second half because the England defenders are very strong individually, although I have to say I am happy with the way my players played, except that they could not score, Kim said.
South Africa won its first World Cup match in eight years, having last won in 2002 at Perth against Ukraine in a consolation classification match.
Im confident we will be winning again here and not in another eight to 10 years, South Africa coach Giles Bonnet said.
South Africa scored first through Pietie Coetzee, who drew a penalty corner when she was stick-checked in the circle, then converted with a rocket flick low to the left, deflected into goal off the stick of Spain goalkeeper Maria Lopez de Eguilaz.
Spain survived three more penalty corners to South Africa as Coetzee sent her rockets wide twice and one high flick saved by Lopez de Equilaz.
Nuria Camon scored Spains equaliser just before the break, converting Spains second penalty corner chance, flicking high into goal from an acute angle.
South Africa shaded Spain in the second half and Sulette Damons put the game away for South Africa, deflecting Kelly Madsens high backstick pass into goal.
Spain appealed to the video umpire that Damons stick was above her shoulder when she connected with the ball but the appeal was disallowed.
Spanish coach Pablo Usoz again regretted Spains inability to score from penalty corners.
South Africa controlled much of the match and while we had five penalty corners we still cannot take advantage of those chances to score, Usoz said.
South Korea held Argentina scoreless in the first half despite four penalty corner chances for the hosts.
Luciana Aymar created Argentinas only goal by beating two defenders, shooting into the pads of Moon Youngh Hui and Carla Rebecchi batting the rebound into goal.
It was a great win, the best win, Argentina coach Carlos Retegui said.
Korea pressed Argentinas defence high in the last 5 minutes but could not force a penalty corner.
Im happy with the way the team played and I can only be unhappy we could not convert any of the three penalty corners or score, South Korea coach Kang Keon Wook said.
In Pool A matches on Wednesday, India face Australia, Netherlands meet New Zealand and Germany play Japan.
Etihad Airways unveils giant shirt of Man City Soccer
Our Staff Reporter
LAHORE Etihad Airways has embarked on a drive to promote the giant replica of Manchester City Football Club shirt. This giant shirt has been unveiled at the City of Manchester stadium.
Etihad Airways is the lead sponsor of Manchester City Football Club (FC) and it hosted the tour across the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, with thousands of fans putting their name to the special shirt.
The giant shirt, which now has more than three thousand signatures and messages of good luck, is 21 metres long and 15 metres wide. It was unveiled before the Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Liverpool.
Banning Pakistan too harsh: Taylor
SYDNEY (Agencies) Australian cricket great Mark Taylor has hosed down calls to ban Pakistan from world cricket, saying such a decision would be too harsh.
In the wake of the betting scandal which has gripped the cricketing world, Pakistan has come under the microscope for the widespread levels of alleged match-fixing and spot-fixing amongst their player group.
But the former Test captain said it would be detrimental to the game for an entire nation to be banished from the international scene, and preferred that punishment should be handed out to the individuals involved.
I dont agree with that, I think its too harsh a penalty for one nation, Taylor said on Wednesday.
If they have one person, two people, three people involved in match-fixing or fixing certain deliveries ... to throw the whole nation? No, Im not for that.
I think it would not be a good thing for world cricket to have Pakistan not involved.
Taylor said that match-fixing may be a problem that sport could never remove itself from, and that the suggestion of foul play could stick to cricket well into the future - even if a national ban was enforced.
Youre always going to ask those questions, he said.
(If) you throw them out, when they come back youre still going to ask those questions.
I think all you can do is penalise the individuals and embark on an education process and hopefully stop people from doing this sort of thing, but I think throwing the nation out of world cricket I dont think is right.
(Match-fixing) is probably there in all sports. You cannot monitor people 24/7.
It comes down to education and it comes down at the end of the day saying 'if you get involved in it, the repercussions are going to be damning.
Fawad excels as Usmania thrash UMT 6-0
Our Staff Reporter
LAHORE Front-line player Fawad became first-hat-trick maker of Fair Play Flood Relief Fund Football Tournament as he pushed his team Usmania Club into quarter finals. A large number of fans watched the one-sided affair at Model Town Football Academy (MTFA) Ground with Usmania beating UMT Club 6-0 scoring thrice in each session. By winning sixth quarter-final, Usmania Club joined MTFC, Universal Baba Cargo, Gulshan Ravi, Quaid FC, Raiders FC in the quarter-finals.
Usmania gave no room to newly-formed team of Lahore who used to play at Johar Town. Fawad, the hero of match, opened the scoring in the 8th minute and he added two more in the 26th and 45th minute to complete hat-trick. Winger Khursheed scored twice. Midfielder Mazhar rounded off the tally five minutes from time.
Thursday (2 Sep) Fixture: Young Shooters v Pensi ( 8 PM).
Model Town in Bhutto Shaheed T20 quarters
Our Staff Reporter
LAHORE Model Town Club qualified for the quarter-finals of the Bhutto Shaheed Twenty20 Cricket Tournament while Khizra Cricketers upset P&T Gymkhana.
Model Town Club beat Faran Gymkhana by six wickets and in another match, Khizra Cricketers defeated P&T Gymkhana by six wickets. Another two matches will be played on Thursday (today).