ICC chief Sonn ‘critically ill’
International Cricket Council President Percy Sonn is critically ill and is being treated in an intensive care unit of a Cape Town hospital, reports PTI from Durban.
Sonn had suffered complications after being admitted to the Durbanville clinic in Cape Town on Monday to undergo a minor colon operation, his PA, George Hector, was quoted as saying by Cricinfo.
Venkatesh is Arjuna nominee
Bangalore boy and former Indian skipper Shanmugham Venkatesh has been nominated for the prestigious Arjuna Award by the All India Football Federation, reports DHNS from Bangalore.
Along with the Mahindra United midfielder, Jo Paul Ancheri has also been nominated by the AIFF for the award.
“Obviously I am delighted to see my name figuring in the nominees’ list,” said Venkatesh.
Vaughan back for second Test
Captain Michael Vaughan returned to the England team on Tuesday when the squad for the second Test against West Indies at Headingley was announced, reports Reuters from London.
Vaughan has recovered from a broken finger that kept him out of the first Test at Lord's, which ended in a draw on Monday. The Headingley Test starts on Friday.
Batsman Owais Shah, picked in Vaughan's absence, has been dropped from the squad while fast bowler Matthew Hoggard, who suffered a thigh strain at Lord's on Saturday, remains unavailable.
Squad: Michael Vaughan (capt), Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, James Anderson, Liam Plunkett, Matt Prior, Ryan Sidebottom.
Negi draws, in joint lead
Slipping from a position of strength World’s youngest Grandmaster Parimarjan Negi drew with Grandmaster Rauf Mamedov of Azerbaijan in the 6th round of World Youth Stars International chess tournament, reports PTI from Kirishi, Russia.
Results (6th round):
Zaven Andriasian (Arm, 4) lt to Ian Nepomniachtchi (Rus, 4.5); Parimarjan Negi (Ind, 4.5) drew with Rauf Mamedov (Aze, 3.5); Avetik Grigoryan (Arm, 4) bt Sergei Zhigalko (Blr, 2); Safarli Eltaz (Aze, 2) lt to Yuriy Kuzubov (Ukr, 3.5); Ivan Popov (Rus, 2.5) bt Daniil Lintchevsky (Rus, 2); Falco Bindrich (Ger, 1) lt to Eduard Gorovykh (Rus, 2.5).
RCA pull off convincing win
Raghu Cricket Academy (RCA) of Bangalore registered an easy victory against Mysore University Colleges’ Sports Council (MUCSC) ‘B’ in the third all-India Invitational under-15 cricket tournament at the Pavilion Ground on Tuesday, reports DHNS from Mysore. Put in to bat, MUCSC ‘B’ were bundled out for a paltry 60 runs in 18 overs as Bhuvaneshwar (3/16) and Vinod (2/12) shared the spoils. Raghu Cricket Academy reached their target without losing any wicket in just 8.2 overs.
Brief scores: MUCSC ‘B’: 60 all out in 18 overs (Bhuvaneshwar 3-6, Vinod 2-12) lt to RCA: 61/0 in 8.2 overs. SAAP: 183/9 in 25 overs (Subash 44, Datta Prakash 41; Vishwanath 3-26, Vinay C 3-32) bt Chitradurga XI: 81/8 in 25 overs (Goutham Reddy 3/15). Mt Abu Cricket Academy, Delhi: 143/9 in 30 overs (Partheesh 42; Pratheek R 3-26, Sumangal 2-24) lt to MUCSC ‘A’: 146/5 in 28.1 overs (Shreyas 53, Manjunath M 30 n.o.; Rishab 2-28).
Harinder makes it to last four
India’s Harinder Singh entered the semifinal of the NSC Satellite squash tournament in Kuala Lumpur, reports PTI from Chennai.
In a 46-minute encounter, Harinder defeated second seed and local favourite Nafiizwan Adnan 11-9, 11-6, 11-9.
MCC for fewer ODIs
Concerned about player burnout, the World Cricket Committee of the Marylebone Cricket Club has said the congested international calendar should have fewer number of one-day internationals, reports PTI from London. “The current international playing programme, which sees some sides playing over 90 days of cricket per annum, is too congested with too many one-day international matches,” the committee said in a statement.
