Broad reveals torn shoulder muscle, may miss fifth ODI

London, Sep 12 England's Twenty20 captain Stuart Broad revealed he has torn a muscle in his shoulder.
Broad had suffered a sudden pain in his right arm during the last over of India's innings during the tied fourth ODI match at Lord's here Sunday. He received the results of a scan Monday and is likely to be out of the fifth ODI at Cardiff.
"Bad news on the shoulder, torn a muscle, I know which one, just can't spell it," Broad tweeted.
His fitness will also be in question for the two Twenty20 matches against West Indies at the end of September, meaning England may have to turn to their fifth captain of the summer.
England are already without Twenty20 vice-captain Eoin Morgan who has an impending shoulder surgery.

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Barcelona kick off Champions League defence against AC Milan

Madrid, Sep 12 : FC Barcelona will make sweeping changes to their starting 11 for the visit of AC Milan to the Camp Nou Stadium in the UEFA Champions League Tuesday night.
The Catalans suffered a setback in their Primera Liga campaign Saturday night when they surrendered a 2-0 lead away to Real Sociedad to end up drawing 2-2, prompting coach Pep Guardiola to comment they had to learn the lesson from that match.
More worrying for Barcelona was the serious muscle injury suffered by winger Alexis Sanchez. Sanchez has an eight inch tear in his left hamstring and tests Sunday confirmed he will be out of action for at least two months.
Guardiola rested key players at the weekend and Andres Iniesta, Leonel Messi, Javier Mascherano and Eric Abidal all watched the majority of the game from the substitutes' bench, along with Carles Puyol.
Although Puyol could still be substitute Tuesday as he looks to put the finishing touches to his return from injury, Messi, Iniesta, Mascherano and Abidal will all be in the side as Barca commence their defense of the title they won last year, when they defeated Manchester United at Wembley.
Mascherano and Abidal will almost certainly return in central defense, with Andreu Fontas stepping down and Sergio Busquets moving into midfield, where Thiago Alcantara will be the player to make way.
The big question is whether Guardiola will play Iniesta on the left of his attack, or continue with David Villa, who seems to lack the pace to play in a wide role.
Milan travel with former Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovich as their main attraction. The Swedish striker spent one season at the Camp Nou two years ago and performed reasonably well, before being sold last summer.
On moving to Milan, Ibrahimovich criticized Guardiola and will be highly motivated against his former companions as will Dutch international Mark van Bommel, another former Barcelona player currently in the Milan side, which also includes former Real Madrid and Manchester City winger, Robinho.
AC Milan are Barcelona's main rival in a group that also contains Bate Borisav and Viktoria Pilsen and a win in their opening match would set Barcelona on their way, as well as calming alarm bells from last weekend.

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Ambrose, Davidson and Belinda Clark to be inducted into ICC Cricket Hall of Fame today

London, Sep 12 : The International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA) today announced that former West Indian fast bowler Curtly Ambrose, former Australian fast bowlers Frederick Spofforth and Alan Davidson and former female Australian batsman Belinda Clark will be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
Ambrose, Davidson and Clark will be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame this evening at the ICC Awards, which will be held in London, by FICA President Jimmy Adams and ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Clive Lloyd.
Spofforth will be inducted later next year in a ceremony involving the former fast bowler's family.
The ICC Cricket Hall of Fame is a joint venture with FICA set up in 2009, the ICC's Centenary year.
Ambrose was the most lethal pace bowler of his generation, taking 405 Test wickets at 20.99.
Two of his most noticeable performances came against England and Australia - he took 6-24 to help hustle England out for 46 in Trinidad in 1993 while he took a series- clinching seven wickets for 25 runs, including nine maiden overs, against Australia at the WACA in the previous season.
"Well for me personally it is a privilege and an honour to be inducted in the Hall of Fame. In the history of cricket there have been many great cricketers and to be part of that elite group, am very happy and am very humbled," said Ambrose, who featured in 176 ODIs claiming 225 wickets at an average of 24.12.
The Antigua born fast bowler believes the induction into the Hall Of Fame is a reward for all the hard work he has out in over the years.
"I never thought that this day would come. This only tells me that all the hard work I put in throughout my career, did not go unnoticed. I see this also as a just reward for all the joy and happiness that I may have brought to cricket and cricketers alike," Ambrose said.

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Four Indians in ICC's ODI team, Dhoni captain

London, Sep 12 The 2011 ODI team of the year announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) Monday features four Indians and has Mahendra Singh Dhoni as its captain.
The team was chosen by a specially-appointed selection panel chaired by West Indian legend and former captain Clive Lloyd.
The other Indians in the side are Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh, who won the man of the series award in the 2011 World Cup.
World Cup winning captain Dhoni makes it to the team for the fourth year in a row.
The announcement was made at a special function ahead of the ICC Awards ceremony which will be held later in the evening at the Grosvenor House Hotel here.
The Test team declared last month only had one Indian in Sachin Tendulkar.
"This has been an outstanding year for 50-over cricket. I think everyone saw in the ICC Cricket World Cup how exciting this format can be. The ICC Cricket World Cup was rightly applauded as one of the greatest in history and no one who was in Mumbai will forget that remarkable evening," said Lloyd.
"The ODI team of the year reflects the success of India with four players selected - Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Dhoni and Zaheer Khan. Yuvraj was, of course, the player of the tournament and Dhoni, the man of the match in the final, whilst fellow finalists Sri Lanka have three players in the side," he said.
Lloyd was joined on the panel by former Pakistan captain Zaheer Abbas, former England captain Mike Gatting, former New Zealand bowler Danny Morrison and former South African bowler Paul Adams.
The team (in batting order):
Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL) Virender Sehwag (Ind) Kumar Sangakkara (SL) AB de Villiers (SA) Shane Watson (Aus) Yuvraj Singh (Ind) MS Dhoni (Ind, wicketkeeper/captain) Graeme Swann (Eng) Umar Gul (Pak) Dale Steyn (SA) Zaheer Khan (Ind)
12th Man - Lasith Malinga (SL).

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Sania cracks top 10 in doubles, slips 17 ranks in singles

New Delhi, Sep 12  India's Sania Mirza Monday cracked the top-10 in the women's doubles tennis rankings. Her singles rankings, however, slipped 17 places to 81.
The top Indian women's player, who is nursing a knee injury, climbed a rung to the 10th position in the new Women's Tennis Association (WTA) doubles rankings.
Her doubles partner Elena Vesnina of Russia also moved up a place to 11th position.
"Woke up to find out I cracked the top 10 in the world... thanks each and everyone of u for the support and love all these years," Sania wrote on her twitter account.
"Needed some good news to lift up spirits after this silly knee injury... hope to recover soon...."
India's experienced doubles player Mahesh Bhupathi congratulated Sania for her achievement and exhorted her to maintain her ranking.
"Welcome @MirzaSania to the top-10 club. That's a big effort. Now stay there for a while please. :)," Bhupathi tweeted.
Sania and Elena had crashed out of the US Open doubles in the third round last week. The two came together at the Qatar Open this year and went on to win the titles at Indian Wells and Charleston before reaching the French Open final.
Sania won her third doubles title Citi Open women's doubles title partnering Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan last month as Vesnina decided to take the week off.
Sania and Elena are placed four in Race to WTA Championships rankings. Sania's injury may prevent them from participating in the year-end event.
The 24-year-old Hyderabadi, who had entered the US Open with a singles rankings of 64, spiralled down after her first round defeat in the tournament's singles event, losing in three sets to her former doubles partner Shahar Peer of Israel.

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Meet the Brit great-great grandfather who still plays golf at 100

London, Sept 12 : A British great-great grandfather is not letting his age slow him down, and is still turning up for a game golf at the ripe age of 100.
Bill Light, who has been playing golf for 92-years after he first started at the age of eight, still goes out twice a week and says he has a fair way to go yet.
And in recent times he has had to switch from the hilly course he has played for 85-years to a flatter one to spare his knees, and is not ashamed to use a motorised buggy to take him around the fairways these days.
But despite his years, Light, who reckons he has played on at least 100 courses around the country, has a respectable handicap of 24.
On his birthday he took part in a tournament with grandson Mark at his local course - and won, without missing a putt.
The veteran started out at Broadstone Golf Club in Poole, Dorset, where he was a member for eight decades.
"I started when I was eight as a caddy and began playing, then I played in the caddy championships and came runner up," the Daily Mail quoted him as saying.
"I loved it. I have never stopped and don't want to. I played at Broadstone for well over 80 years but it was a hard course and I've now moved to an easier one," he revealed.
Six years ago he moved to nearby Sturminster Marshall and plays there every Monday and Thursday.
He can drive the ball about 120 yards - 150 yards less than his best when he was in his prime - but his short game is still in good order.
The retired builder has been married to wife Mabel, 95, for 72 years and they have three children, six grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and five great great grandchildren.
Light celebrated his 100th birthday with a party in the clubhouse at Sturminster Marshall Golf Club.
He puts the exercise he gets from playing the sport down to his longevity as well as having a glass of red wine and a tot of whisky every day.

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Robbie Savage takes a football break from ‘Strictly Come Dancing’

London, Sept 12 : Robbie Savage was pictured putting on his `Strictly Come Dancing' shoes while playing football for a little fun.
Dressed casually in a tracksuit, the 36-year-old former Welsh professional footballer was seen boosting his self-confidence by playing the sport in his dancing shoes, the Daily Mail reported.
Savage was joined by fellow contestant Jason Donovan, who also showed off his kicking skills wearing his slightly-heeled black shoes.
The footballer got off to a positive start on the show with his dancing partner Ola Jordan.

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New Zealand replace India as hosts of 2011 Champions Trophy

Lausanne, Sep 13 : The FIH Tuesday announced that New Zealand will replace India as the hosts of the the 2011 edition of the men's Champions Trophy hockey tournament, which will be held in Auckland Dec
3-11.
As part of the move, New Zealand, ranked seven in the world, will replace No. 9 India in the Champions Trophy. India was originally allotted a place in the Champions Trophy as the hosts, but has now been invited to play as the top-seeded team at the Champions Challenge in November in South Africa.
"It is always tough to move an event out of any country, but I have to say that the silver lining is the bid from New Zealand," said FIH President Leandro Negre in a relaese.
"New Zealand will put on a first-rate event and has been extremely flexible and professional given the tough circumstances and tight timeline. I know that they will do an excellent job hosting the event."
New Zealand is excited to get the opportunity to bring the top men's hockey event to their country.
"It is a privilege to be hosting this event. We have been overwhelmed how quickly our key partners have come together to offer support to ensure this is a truly fantastic event. We have the structure in place and with work already underway, we are confident that we can deliver a world-class event in a short timeframe," said Hockey New Zealand Chief Executive Hilary Poole.
FIH Competitions Committee Chairman Ken Read went to New Zealand for a site visit and came away with a positive impression. "After seeing the facilities and infrastructure first hand I am very confident that Hockey New Zealand is prepared to host a great event for the athletes and supporters," Read concluded.
The schedule of the tournament will be released in the upcoming weeks, but it is certain that the dates of Dec 3-11 will remain fixed. In addition, a revised schedule for the Champions Challenge in South Africa will also be published. Both events will have eight-team pools in a nine-day tournament.

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Injured Ibrahimovic ruled out of Barcelona clash

Rome, Sep 13 :AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been ruled out of the European Champions League football game against Barcelona after he picked an injury during training Monday.
The Swede picked up a muscle problem in training earlier Monday and will miss the Champions League showdown with his former club Tuesday, the Xinhua reported.
The former Inter and Juventus forward is now also a doubt for the Italian Serie A game at the weekend against Napoli.
The loss of Ibra will give boss Massimiliano Allegri some selection problems as he has now just two fit strikers in the squad.
With Robinho also sidelined due to injury and Pippo Inzaghi excluded from the Champions League squad, the Rossoneri have just Antonio Cassano and Alexandre Pato available for selection.

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Davis Cup: Federer will still fire in spite of short preparation: Hewitt

Melbourne, Sep. 13 : Australian tennis star Lleyton Hewitt believes that a short preparation time won''t hurt Swiss tennis superstar Roger Federer heading into the Davis Cup World Group playoff tie in Sydney this week.
Swiss team management revealed on Tuesday that Federer would arrive in Sydney on Wednesday, just two days before the tie starts.
"For a freak like Roger, it doesn''t matter," Hewitt told reporters on Tuesday.
"I haven''t seen a lot that Roger hasn''t been able to do, so he''s as close to Superman as it comes," he added.
Hewitt was pleased with his physical condition after missing the US Open through injury and said he was prepared to play both singles and doubles if required.
Switzerland''s second-ranked player Stanislas Wawrinka revealed he was battling a foot injury he suffered at the US Open, but hoped to be fit for Friday.
Switzerland boast the two highest ranked singles players in the grass court tie, with Federer at No. 3 and Wawrinka at 14.
Asked what it will take for Australia to win the tie, Hewitt said: "I''ll have to play a lot better than my ranking I guess, 188 in the world probably won''t do it."

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New ICC Cricket Hall of Fame entrant Ambrose recalls 1995 confrontation with Steve Waugh

London, Sep. 13 : New ICC Cricket Hall of Fame entrant and West Indian great Curtly Ambrose has recalled the time when he aggressively confronted former Australian captain Steve Waugh during a Test series between the West Indies and Australia, when the former was in danger of losing its number one status in world cricket.
Recalling the incident, Ambrose said that Waugh said something to him that he did not like, and at first, he thought he should ignore it, but in the heat of the moment, he decided to give back as good as he he had received.
"I'm not one of those guys who really, you know, gets into any kind of confrontation with cricketers. My stare, you know, does a lot for me and I always believe that, I prefer that the ball do the talking for me. And, in case of Steve Waugh, I've always rated him highly and, I want to believe that he has given me the same kind of respect," said Ambrose.
He further added: "And, it was the heat of the moment. It was a very fierce competition between Australia and West Indies. We were one nil down in the series. There was a bit of a pressure, tension. We are on the brink of losing our number one status, and, you know, I just sort of, he said something that I didn't like. So, I just thought that he should have shown me a little more respect."
"So, I thought that, my first impression was to just let it go and then, after thinking about it, I said no, you know, I started to think to retaliate a little bit. In the heat of the moment, I really wanted to physically beat him, you know to be quite fair," said Ambrose.
"But, the funny thing about it , it happened on a pitch for a brief moment. Nothing else was said after that. You know, I still have the highest respect for him (Waugh), and I believe he has the highest respect for me," Ambrose said.
In 1995, after scoring 65 not out in the drawn Second Test at Antigua, Waugh defied the Caribbean pacemen on a green pitch at Trinidad suited to their hostile bowling during the Third Test.
In the first innings, he scored an unbeaten 63 of Australia''s 128 and had a mid-pitch confrontation with Curtly Ambrose. After Waugh had evaded a bouncer from Ambrose, the pair exchanged glares. Waugh swore and told Ambrose to return to his bowling mark.
An angry Ambrose had to be physically dragged away by his captain Richie Richardson.
A photograph of this moment has become one of the iconic images of cricket in the 1990s. It symbolised the point when Australia was no longer intimidated by the West Indies.
Waugh "showed he was prepared to put it all on the line", said Justin Langer, "in the toughest conditions against probably the best fast bowler of our time. To stand up to him [Ambrose] and go toe to toe gave us a huge boost."
Nevertheless, the West Indies won the match and levelled the series.

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Indian cricketers boycott ICC awards in London

London, Sep. 13 : The Indian team boycotted the ICC Awards in London on Monday after the ICC failed to send the invite on time.The team did get a belated call from the ICC, but by then, the players had made their own plans for the evening.
According to sources, one of the cricketers said they did recieve the invite, but it was too late and they had already made plans.
The BCCI, however, said that it had left the decision to the players whether they wanted to attend the ceremony.
According to reports, the team recieved a call from the ICC on Monday, the day of the event.
Reports also suggested that the ICC expected at least Team India captain MS Dhoni to be present at the event at which he was a nominee, but the skipper too gave the award ceremony a miss.
Meanwhile, contrary to the team''s claims, ICC officials claim they sent the invitation to BCCI well in time.

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Dhoni wins ICC Spirit of Cricket Award for recalling Bell

London, Sep 13 : Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni Monday won the Spirit of Cricket Award 2011 at the International Cricket Council (ICC) Awards here for allowing England batsman Ian Bell to continue batting after he was run out in controversial circumstances during the Trent Bridge Test in July.
On what was the last ball before tea on the third day, Bell hit the ball towards the boundary. He mistakenly thought it had gone for four, left his crease and headed towards the pavilion assuming the session was over and the ball was dead. Meanwhile the ball, which had not reached the rope and, therefore, was still in play, was returned to the middle, the bails removed and Bell was correctly given run out.
Upon reflection during the tea interval and following a request from the England team, Dhoni withdrew the appeal and recalled Bell, thus turning boos into cheers from the appreciative Nottingham crowd.
"While the initial appeal and umpire's decision were correct to the letter of the law, the decision by Mahendra and his team to withdraw the appeal shows great maturity. To see players and officials uphold the Great Spirit of cricket, which has underpinned the game for more than a century, is very special," said ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat.
The award is voted by the members of the Elite Panels of ICC Match Referees and Umpires. Dhoni's gesture was voted as the winner ahead of that of South Africa's Jacques Kallis, who twice demonstrated such spirit during the 2011 World Cup by walking once he had clarified with opposition fielders directly that they had caught the ball cleanly rather than waiting for the umpires to decide.
The ICC Awards ceremony is now in its eighth year. Previous ceremonies were held in London (2004), Sydney (2005), Mumbai (2006), Johannesburg (2007 and 2009), Dubai (2008) and Bangalore (2010).

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Auckland Aces cricket team arrives in India for T20 contest

Hyderabad, Sep. 13 : The Auckland Aces cricket team arrived here on Monday to take part in the upcoming Champions League T20 tournament.
Members of the team interacted with mediapersons and stated that they are well prepared to face some of the best teams in the game of cricket.
"We have had really good preparation coming to this tournament. I had been in Brisbane for a week and a half in anticipation of this tournament. We have got a few guys coming in from England to play cricket. They have been playing good cricket at the moment, so they are in good form right now. And we have got some guys playing overseas as well. So in the run back, we can get really good scores. We have got lots of international experience in our squad and we are really looking forward to playing in Kolkata and some cities where we played before. They have got some really good players as well. Every team in this competition is hot in the fast hand," said Daryl Tuffey, cricketer of Auckland Aces.
Paul Strang, coach of the Auckland Aces said that it was not easy to beat Indian teams especially when they have spinners like Amit Mishra.
"If you are breaking into the Indian team, I think you have got to be a good player. Making a step to be a successful international bowler is a different story and it takes many years. You don''t have a (Amit) Mishra to have a couple of good years. People work on how to play them and how we bounce them back will show how good we really are," said Strang.
The tournament would begin from September 23 and would continue in the month of October.
The tournament will see 10 teams from various countries contesting with each other in the T20 format.

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Footballer Manuel Da Costa accused of ‘punching woman before groping her in nightclub’

London, Sept 13 : Premier League footballer Manuel Da Costa has been accused of punching a young woman on the face before `groping' and sexually assaulting her at a nightclub.
Ex-West Ham defender went on a trial accused of grabbing the 21-year-old''s crotch in Faces nightclub in Gants Hill, Essex, on October 17, 2010.
According to the Daily Mail, Da Costa admitted hitting the victim, but denied sexually assaulting her.
A police video interview with the victim was played to court in which she said that Da Costa `had a smug look on his face' while assaulting her.
The victim said that as made her way through the club, the Portuguese player reached out and grabbed her between the legs before rubbing her left breast.
"I pushed his face to get him off me. As I have turned around, he has punched the left side of my face," she said.
Da Costa''s friends tried to intervene but he punched her again, she added.
Meanwhile, the court heard that Da Costa made no comment during his police interviews.

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London 2012 Olympics to be toughest ever for dopers

London, Sept 13: Scientist heading anti-doping operations for the 2012 London Olympics has warned that the event will be the toughest for dopers as about 6,000 tests would be conducted during the games.
Professor David Cowan strongly indicated that a new test to detect blood doping could be held at the games for the first time.
Scientists have so far failed to devise an effective test for detecting autologous blood doping, in which several high- profile Olympic athletes have indulged over the past 30 years, the BBC reports.
Autologous blood doping increases the number of red blood cells and gives a substantial boost to an athlete''''''''s endurance by allowing them to carry more oxygen
Cowan said the new test would compare the age of blood samples by looking at the genetic component of red blood cells.
"We''''''''re working on a scheme where the nuclear material, not in the nucleus itself, but the RNA material in the cell has been shown to change and we are hoping that using those markers we''''''''ll be able to distinguish stored blood from blood that''''''''s in your body naturally," he said.
Though Cowan did not confirm that the autologous doping test would be available by nextsummer, he strongly hinted that it would be ready in time.
"I would never guarantee what we can deliver by a particular time, that''''''''s the nature of research, we''''''''re working very quickly on this, the progress is very exciting. I would put it the other way round, if you''''''''re an athlete be careful - we may have a test in time," he said.

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Broad likely to miss ODI series in India

London, Sep 13 : England T20 captain Stuart Broad has been ruled out for the remainder of the home season and is likely to miss the five-match One-day series in India next month, following a muscle tear he suffered in the fourth ODI at Lord's.
Broad's injury also that means that he won't be captaining the side in the two Twenty20 International against the West Indies later this month.
"Stuart will require an initial period of rest and rehabilitation," said England & Wales Cricket Board Chief Medical Officer Nick Peirce.
"Exact timescales will be determined in due course, but he is likely to be ruled out of cricket for a number of weeks."
Broad suffered the injury while bowling during the tied match against India Sunday.
The lanky fast bowler may be fit to join the England squad for the Twenty20 fixture scheduled for October 29 in Kolkata.

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Asian hockey champions India return to Delhi

New Delhi, Sep. 13 : The Indian hockey team arrived here late on Monday after its resounding victory against Pakistan in the final of the inaugural Asian Champions Trophy in Ordos city of China''s Inner Mongolia province.
Captain Rajpal Singh said the team''s morale was high throughout the tournament which gave them a positive approach to the game.
"We were confident from the beginning of the tournament. We had a very good start, when we defeated China 5-0, and Korea after that. The main thing about this tournament was that we did not lose a single match. We took the confidence we gained to the final and benefited by it," said Singh.
Singh added that the team needed to continue focusing on their game and evolve a more aggressive technique. He said that now the main goal was to qualify for the Olympics.
Michael Nobbs, the coach of the Indian squad, said that the performance by the young players had made the team proud. He said that the final was a good game, played between two good teams.
He also said that it is now upto the youth of the country to revive interest in hockey.
"We''ve set (hockey) in place, thanks to Hockey India, Mr. Batra. We''ve set in place the growth of Indian hockey through our youth, and to build the depth of our youth of India, to take us through to, hopefully, this Olympics and the next Olympics after that," he said.
India defeated Pakistan 4-2 in the final of the Champions Trophy on Sunday (September 11) in the Chinese city of Ordos. The match went down to a penalty shootout, where two crucial saves by goalkeeper S Sreejesh sealed the game for India.

Continue Reading... Tags: Hockey, India, New Delhi, Rajpal Singh

Usian Bolt's mother 'forgives' chief starter

Cumbria (England), Sep 13:  Fate brought the 100 metres chief starter and the parents of sprint king Usain Bolt together during the recent World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.
Alan Bell was the man triggering the starter's gun during the Championships, when Bolt suffered his shocking false-start disqualification in the final of the showcase event.
As fate would have it, Bolt's parents, dad Wellesley and mum Jennifer, were seated in the VIP seats next to Bell's life partner Lesley Minervini, who travels with him to events all over the world, on that ill-fated day.
The story unfolded that when the 60-year-old Bell went to meet Minervini following his day's work on the track, Bolt's mother was there to offer him friendly, reassuring words that there were no hard feelings.
Bolt's mother apparently hugged him and told him she and her husband understood his decision.
"All the hype has been around Usain Bolt's disqualification because he is one of the biggest names in sport, but it was probably the easiest decision I have ever had to make," Bell told The Cumberland News daily newspaper.
"He broke very early and got 10 yards down the track, stopped, and took his vest off, so he knew what he had done."
Bell added: "The hard thing from my perspective was coping with the media melee because the track was invaded by ill-disciplined photographers who wanted the picture of him before the other guys had to run the World 100 final.
"What happened to Bolt became history for me because I had to think about keeping my own bottle and giving those seven other guys the best chance."
Bell got things back under control, and kept his cool to again fire the starting gun, releasing the field of runners that included Bolt's fellow Jamaican and training partner Yohan Blake, who claimed a notable victory in
9.92 seconds.
Bell was also the chief starter, when Bolt clocked an astonishing 9.58 secs at the previous World Championships in Berlin, Germany.
He is also expected to be the man firing the gun at next year's Olympics in London.

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ICC inducts former Windies great Curtly Ambrose into Hall of Fame

London, Sep. 13 :The International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Federation of International Cricketers'' Associations (FICA) on Monday inducted former West Indies fast bowler Curtly Ambrose into the Hall of Fame in London.
The former West Indies fast bowler was inducted along with other Australian fast bowlers Frederick Spofforth and Alan Davidson and former batsman of the Australian Women''s cricket team Belinda Clark.
"This award means a lot to me. I have toiled longer enough for 12 and half years representing the West Indies and this award is just like the icing on the cake. It simply tells me that all my hard work and my dedication to cricket didn''t go unnoticed and I''m very very happy to be inducted into the ICC hall of fame among a group of elite players," said Ambrose.
It was in 2009 that the ICC launched the Hall of Fame in association with the FICA.
Batsmen used to dread facing Ambrose as he was one of the most lethal pace bowler, who had taken 405 Test wickets at an average of 20.99.
Ambrose expressed his disappointment over the current state of cricket in West Indies.
"It hurts me to say this, but it''s a fact, I''m a realist, that it is going to take a lot more years for West Indies Cricket to get anywhere near they once were. I believe that the Cricket Board in the West Indies made some mistakes. This is my opinion. I believe that when we were the best team in the world, nothing was ever done, nothing was put in place to nurture the talent that we have coming up. I believe our cricket board and the authorities believe that we could forever produce great cricketers," said the fast bowler.
Ambrose was all praise for Indian batsman and one of the world''s greatest cricketers, Sachin Tendulkar.
"My first thought was he (Sachin Tendulkar) should be in school, not on a cricket pitch really. So, I''m not really surprised that he has achieved so much in cricket. He''s a wonderful cricketer, very humble in my opinion, hardly ever shows any emotions until recently when he walked off. I''m very happy for him and he deserves all that he''s achieved in cricket," added Ambrose.
Ambrose recalled two of his most memorable performances, one was against England and the other one was against Australia. In the match against England, Ambrose scalped six wickets by merely giving twenty-four runs. The match against England was played at Trinindad in 1993.
In the match against Australia, Ambrose guided his team to win the series as he took seven wickets for merely 25 runs. The match was played at the Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA) in the earlier season.
The West Indian fast bowler played in 176 One Day Internationals and took 225 wickets at an average of 24.12.
The Antigua born fast bowler expressed his happiness for being inducted in the Hall of Fame as he believed that his hard work was given due recognition.
Some of the other players who had made their way to the Hall of Fame earlier included Bishan Bedi, Allan Border, Geoffrey Boycott, Donald Bradman, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Vivian Richards, Steve Waugh and Wasim Akram.

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Djokovic beats Nadal in epic US Open final

New York, Sep. 13 : Serbian Novak Djokovic defeated Spaniard Rafael Nadal in an epic U S Open final on Monday.
Djokovic beat Nadal in four sets, 6-2, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1, but it was more like a five-setter in its intensity.
According to The Telegraph, the match lasted four hours and ten minutes.
In each of the three sets, Nadal broke Djokovic's serve early on and gave himself the chance of taking control. On each occasion, Djokovic broke straight back again, wrestling the mighty Spaniard back with a focus that can only stem from absolute self-belief.
There were so many extraordinary moments in this final, so many apparently unreturnable shots that were sent back with interest.
Nadal, serving for 3-0, had game point thrice and break point five times. And then, in a rally that just kept giving, Djokovic retrieved three lost causes until a disbelieving Nadal finally dumped a smash into the net.
Nadal will go away listed as the loser of this match yet he was almost as immovable as Djokovic. He did perhaps start a little slowly, making only 58 per cent of his first serves in the first set and struggling to find the necessary depth with his backhand.
As it stretched past the three-hour mark, one might have expected the players to become weary and erratic. Instead they achieved a zen-like focus, entering that glassy-eyed place that athletes call "the zone".
In some of their exchanges, you wondered whether we would we would have to wait until dawn for one of them to miss.
At the peaks of the performance, points were constructed with a skill and ingenuity that made any normal tennis match look crude, like a wooden shack alongside a cathedral.
This final was a magnificent conclusion to what has been a flawed yet never less than fascinating tournament.

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Injured Broad ruled out of NatWest ODI, Twenty20, ODI leg of India tour

London, Sep. 13 : England bowler Stuart Broad will miss the final ODI against India and the NatWest Twenty20 series against West Indies as well as the ODI leg of the India tour with a muscle tear within his right shoulder.
Broad may be fit to join the England squad for the Twenty20 fixture scheduled for October 29 in Kolkata.
ECB chief medical officer, Dr Nick Peirce, said: "Stuart has a muscle tear within his shoulder and will require an initial period of rest and rehabilitation. Exact timescales will be determined in due course but he is likely to be ruled out of cricket for a number of weeks."

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Pak’s Aleem Dar wins ICC Umpire of the Year award for third time in row

London, Sept 13: Aleem Dar of Pakistan has won the David Shepherd Trophy for the third time after being named the ICC Umpire of the Year 2011.
Dar, 43, was voted to this award by the 10 Full Member captains as well as the eight-man Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, based on his decision statistics and officiating skills over the past 12 months.
It is the third year in a row that he has received the ICC award, which was renamed last year after the late England umpire David Shepherd.
Accepting his award from ICC Hall of Fame 2011 inductee Alan Davidson, Dar said: "It's a great honour and I'm thankful to everyone at the ICC and also my colleagues on the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires along with the Pakistan Cricket Board. I'd like to also thank all my family for all their support since I'm away nearly eight months of the year umpiring."
Dar beat off strong competition from his colleagues on the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires Steve Davis, Ian Gould and five-time ICC Umpire of the Year Simon Taufel.

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