PCB fear Champs Trophy blow

The PCB fear they could lose the right to stage the Champions Trophy following recent bombings in Karachi and Islamabad.

The tournament is scheduled to be held in the nation from September 11, but several players from Australia and New Zealand have revealed plans to boycott the tournament because of security concerns.

PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf appears confident the event will pass without incident, telling The Dawn: "If terrorists think they can target cricket or stadiums in the country, they are wrong."

However, an unnamed official told The News the PCB believe the tournament could be shifted and are mentally gearing up to "swallow the bitter pill".

He said: "It would be a huge setback for Pakistan cricket and I'm sure the ICC is aware of it.

"We didn't leave a stone unturned.

"We promised foolproof security, involved the government at the highest level, used diplomacy, upgraded our facilities.

"But if they still take away the Champions Trophy from here then it would be very unfair."

Sri Lanka are possible alternative hosts for the tournament, but South Africa too would be prepared to hold the event.

"If requested by the ICC, and we agree on the terms and conditions of hosting the tournament, we will," Gerald Majola, the chief executive of Cricket South Africa, told the Sydney Morning Herald.

"ICC host agreements are very onerous, so you don't want to accept certain terms if you don't have time to do everything they ask for. We have to sit down with them and go through everything, and negotiate new terms," he added.

The ICC are expected to make a decision after they receive an independent security report next week.

Federer rocked by 'hardest loss'

Roger Federer admitted losing his Wimbledon crown to Rafael Nadal was the toughest defeat of his career.

John McEnroe said Nadal's 6-4 6-4 6-7 6-7 9-7 victory was the best match he had ever seen and that included his 1980 final against Bjorn Borg, which entranced tennis fans across the globe.

"It's up to the fans to judge whether it was the best ever. I'm happy we put in a great effort," said Federer.

"It was a fair battle, which was tough with the rain delays. There were some great points and I think we both stayed tough until the very end.

"In tennis unfortunately there have to be winners and losers, there are no draws. But it was probably my hardest loss by far. It doesn't get much harder than this."

The match was the longest ever Wimbledon final at four hours and 48 minutes with the action ending at 9.16pm in the gloaming after a truly gladiatorial battle, which saw Federer claw his way back from two sets down to win two tense tie-breaks in a match punctuated by two rain breaks that only added to the suspense.

The Wimbledon scoreboard was shining brightly in the gloom when Nadal finally broke the Federer serve in the 15th game of the final set and then served out for a victory that shifts the balance of power in world tennis.

Of his victory Nadal said: "I am very happy to have a title here at Wimbledon. When I was a kid I dreamed of playing here but to win here is unbelievable. The Spanish do not have a lot of titles here.

"I don't want to compare the grand slams but Wimbledon is special for everybody. It is more of a surprise for me to win here than the French.

"For me it is emotional and probably the best match (I have played). It was the final of Wimbledon and I had to fight all the time."

Both players believed the match would have been halted in the fading light if it had gone to one more game.

Nadal said: "In the last game I could see nothing. It was unbelievable."

Meanwhile, Federer said: "I would have said something if I'd broken back to eight-all. It would have been brutal for the fans and us to come back but it was rough on me to lose the biggest tournament in the world because of the light.

"It was not a whole lot of fun, but that's the way it is. It's over, what's the point in arguing about it?"

The five-times champion will now find his number one ranking under threat, and he added: "I wasn't able to break him in the last three sets but still I managed to push him right to the edge.

"Probably later on in life I'll go 'That was a great match.' I'm happy the way I fought. That's all I could really do."

Plum draw for rising stars

England's Ross Fisher and new Spanish star Pablo Larrazabal have been rewarded with fantastic draws at the Scottish Open.

The last two winners on the European Tour have been rewarded with plum draws in the opening two rounds at Loch Lomond on Thursday and Friday.

Fisher, a seven-stroke winner of the European Open on Sunday, partners world number two Phil Mickelson with Mansfield's Oliver Wilson the other member of the group.

French Open champion Larrazabal tees off with Colin Montgomerie and Lee Westwood.

Capirossi set for German GP return

Capirossi set for German GP return

Rizla Suzuki rider Loris Capirossi is set to make his comeback from injury at the German Grand Prix this weekend.

The Italian was absent at Donington Park after colliding with Honda Gresini rider Alex de Angelis at Catalunya. He suffered an arm injury as a result of that crash.

And later on, he sustained a large puncture wound in his right arm on his return at the Dutch TT.

Capirossi was forced to miss the remainder of the Assen weekend but Capirossi worked hard with his own doctors to maximise the healing process. The 35-year-old is convinced he is fit enough to return at Sachsenring.

Although the hand fracture has now fully repaired, the arm injury from Assen is not 100% healed. Capirossi, Suzuki and senior medical staff all assessed the situation before deciding that he is fit to ride.

"I just can't wait to get back on my bike!" declared Loris. "My arm is still mending and it's quite painful, but it is strong enough to ride with. Also, I have had lots of good advice about how the injury is repairing, and what I should consider about racing."

Capirossi finished secod at Sachsenring last year.

ICC to vote on Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe's cricketing status should become clearer on Thursday as the ICC discuss the matter on the second day of their meeting.

The controversial issue was set to be debated Wednesday but it is thought it was pushed back to the end of the two-day meeting to prevent it impinging on other matters.

Outgoing ICC president Ray Mali decreed Zimbabwe should be discussed following the recent decision by South Africa to sever bilateral links with their neighbours.

England followed South Africa's lead and the British Government also outlawed the Zimbabweans' scheduled tour of the country next year.

It is thought a vote on whether Zimbabwe retain their full member status within the ICC will be taken at the end of the meeting, but the Asian bloc's opinions will be vital.

It will take a two-thirds majority to force expulsion and that would be avoided if, as expected, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka all side with Zimbabwe.

That would leave England with a potential problem over next year's World Twenty20, which they are due to host and for which Zimbabwe have been placed in Group A.

In other matters, reports have also claimed the result of the controversial fourth Test between England and Pakistan at The Oval could be changed.

England were declared the winners after Pakistan were deemed to have forfeited the match by umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove.

Pakistan had refused to return to the field after being accused of ball-tampering by Hair.

Now, after a campaign by Pakistan, the result could be declared a draw meaning England's series win would be recorded as 2-0 rather than 3-0.

Murray out-muscled by Nadal

Andy Murray was sent spinning out of Wimbledon in straight sets at the hands of a merciless Rafael Nadal on Wednesday.

The Scot looked jaded from Monday's epic comeback against Richard Gasquet but there was no doubting his opponent's brilliance as the Spaniard wrapped up a 6-3 6-2 6-4 victory to reach the semi-finals.

Murray had boasted about his fitness and physique throughout the championships but there was only one muscle man on Centre Court as Nadal pounded him into submission.

Playing his first grand slam quarter-final, the Scot never got to grips with the Nadal serve or forehand, never once looking like creating a break point, while the Spaniard lapped up another inconsistent Murray service display.

The chief concern was the Murray serve and if he was in any doubt how consistent it would need to be, Nadal let him know by ripping a return winner off his first second serve of the match in game two.

Murray failed to heed the warning and needed some big serving to save two break points in game six. He looked to have done the same in his next service game but a glaring smash error gifted Nadal the break and the second seed served out the set with ease.

The Scot was taken to deuce in his opening service game of the second set but held thanks in part to his first successful drop shot, a tactic his opponent had already used three times to good effect.

Nadal's vicious forehand was giving Murray all sorts of problems and there was a chink of light when Nadal let a 40-0 lead slip with a double-fault when serving for the set. But it was the tiniest of blips as the Spaniard took a two-set lead.

Murray did himself no favours in the third, dropping his serve from a winning position with some sloppy play in game seven.

Now he had to break Nadal to stay alive but he was no nearer in game eight and needed to win the point of the match with a superb pick-up the following game to make the Spaniard serve it out - which he did to advance ominously towards a third straight Wimbledon final.

Sun set for Vienna move

China international Sun Xiang is set to join 23-time Austrian champs FK Austria Wien from Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua.

The 26-year-old attack-minded defender, who scored China’s winner in their academic 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying win over Australia in Sydney last month, has signed a one year contract subject to passing a medical.

Should he pass the medical, which will take place in the Austrian capital on Thursday according to FK Austria Wien’s official website, Sun will then embark on his second spell with a club in Europe.

Sun spent the tail end of the 2006/07 season in Holland with PSV Eindhoven having played five games under then manager Ronald Koeman and his agent Romain Woo believes that the player is ready to make more of an impact in Austria.

“From my understanding this will be different from his first spell overseas with PSV Eindhoven,” Woo told www.the-afc.com.

“The first time was maybe a little bit exciting for him but Sun Xiang is more mature now and he knows how important this opportunity is to prove himself.”

India feel the heat against Sri Lanka

India face a stern test as they take on Sri Lanka in a crucial Asia Cup encounter on Thursday to ensure a place in Sunday's final.

After having lost the match against Pakistan by eight wickets on Wednesday, India have two options ahead of them. The first being an outright win and the second, a close loss to the Lankans so as to ensure that a Pakistan victory over Bangladesh on Friday does not upset the present favourable net run rate ratio.

While it would be best for India to register a win, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram reckons Sri Lanka have the edge.

"India is playing two matches in two days, while Sri Lanka have got two day's rest. They have the edge," he told Mobile ESPN.

Akram said the teams had now understood the true nature of the wicket at Karachi and had realised that the wicket did not deteriorate for the team batting second.

He said a "score of 300 is chaseable, so a score in the range of 320 to 340 will be a safe score".

"It's a true test of good cricketers on these flat tracks, especially the bowlers," he added.

Cricket expert Harsha Bhogle said the outcome of the match "will depend a lot on the approach the Lankans take".

"It is to be seen whether they do play all their seniors. The general feeling is that Jayasuriya will play, but the Lankans may also relax a bit and try out a few things," he said.

However, Bhogle also believed that the Lankans might want to head in to the final with a win over India.

"They have had a break and they have another two days before the final. So they are very well placed to field their best 11. And nothing better than a win over India, going into the final," he said.

The expert commentator said that India had been "erring on the side of caution" by fielding more batsmen and having only four specialist bowlers.

"India have a few problems to sort out. They might now play an extra bowler in the place of Yusuf Pathan. They've allowed all teams to get 280 plus scores. India might go the other way and play the extra bowler," he said.

He reminded that all of Pakistan will be "barracking for Sri Lanka" and therefore, for India, "a win is imperative".