Sports

DOHA: Kim Clijsters followed her defence of the US Open title with a display of great resilience to recapture the WTA Championships title after an interval of seven years here on Sunday. Clijsters, 27, powered her way to a 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 win over world number one Caroline Wozniacki, despite not having competed at all during the seven weeks since her US Open success because of a foot operation.
The Belgian also had to recover from the disappointment of seeing the 20-year-old Dane

ADELAIDE: Australian coach Tim Nielsen has ramped up the pressure on struggling Australian batsmen Mike Hussey and Marcus North after their latest batting failures ahead of the next month's Ashes series with the England.
Hussey made a first-ball duck and North was out for just 10 playing for Western Australia in their domestic Sheffield Shield match against South Australia in Adelaide on Sunday. While the pair is fighting to retain their Test spots, emerging South Australian

KARACHI: Former cricketers and officials voiced mixed reactions on Sunday after the ICC rejected the appeals of Salman Butt and Mohammad Aamer against suspensions over spot-fixing claims. The International Cricket Council code of conduct commissioner heard appeals on Saturday and Sunday before announcing the verdict.
Former Pakistan captain Asif Iqbal said the decision was no surprise. "It may be disappointing, but it was expected because the ICC upholding the suspension proves

DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Sunday rejected the appeals of Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Aamer against suspensions for spot-fixing.
The two, along with fast bowler Mohammad Asif, were provisionally suspended by the ICC over allegations they were involved in spot-fixing during Pakistan's summer tour of England.
All three appealed, but Asif later withdrew his application. ICC code of conduct commissioner Michael Beloff announced the

DUBAI: Woken-up Abdul Razzaq hit a belligerent unbeaten hundred to help Pakistan pull off an incerdible win in the second one-day international against South Africa here on Sunday.
The dashing 30-year-old all-rounder hit a quickfire 109 off just 72 balls studded with ten towering sixes and seven fours to help Pakistan overhaul a daunting 288-run target with just one wicket and one delivery to spare.
Razzaq's third one-day hundred - crossing the fifty mark for the first time

NEW DELHI: Unfancied China should not be underestimated when cricket makes its debut at the Asian Games next month, according to Pakistan great Javed Miandad.
China will play cricket on the world stage for the first time during the November 12-27 Games in Guangzhou, having qualified for the Twenty20 competition by virtue of being the hosts. But Miandad, one of the mentors of the fledging sport in China, said the country's cricketers could prove to be the surprise of the

ABU DHABI: Pakistani taxi driver Kamal Shah has been part of the madding crowd addicted to international cricket ever since matches first came to the Gulf three decades ago. Privately he was delighted when Pakistan was forced to host matches in the United Arab Emirates, far from Islamist militants and rampant insecurity at home, because it gave him the chance to watch his idols.
But spot-fixing allegations against Pakistan on their recent tour of England has left Shah with a

DOHA: Caroline Wozniacki secured the year-end number one spot in the world ranking Thursday, becoming the first ever Dane to do so, but only after suffering an early fright at the WTA Tour Championships here.
For an hour, the 20-year-old top seed seemed in danger of going out of the event, until she worked out the clever tactical patterns of Francesca Schiavone, the French Open champion from Italy, and triumphed 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.
Not until midway through the second set did

LAHORE: Former Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik believes that Shahid Afridi has to deliver as a captain and urged him to make the most of the opportunity given to him by the Pakistan Cricket Board.
"I always supported him and believe he has the experience to do well but he will have to deliver positive results and grab the opportunity that was given to him to lead the country," Malik was quoted as saying by ESPNStar.com. Malik is hoping for a chance to represent Pakistan in the

LAHORE: Pakistani batsman Salman Butt and bowler Mohammad Aamer vowed Friday to prove their innocence as they left for Dubai to appeal against their suspension over a spot-fixing scandal. The International Cricket Council provisionally suspended Salman, who was Pakistan's Test captain, Aamer and bowler Mohammad Asif after they were charged with offences under the anti-corruption code of conduct last month.
They all appealed, although Asif later withdrew his application. An ICC

LAHORE: The Lahore Polo Club has added two new events to its calendar this year and many local and international players will be participating this season, it was announced on Thursday.
In the season-launching press conference, LPC President Irfan Ali Hyder said that the new tournament, named Lahore Cup, will be played at eight goals handicap - a decision welcomed by the local polo fraternity. The event will provide opportunity to players who miss the National Polo Championship

LONDON: Kevin Pietersen insists he will use the forthcoming Ashes showdown with Australia to prove he is still one of the world's best batsmen. Pietersen has suffered a miserable run of form over the last 12 months and was dropped from England's one-day international squad which faced Pakistan in September.
The flamboyant batsman knows that many experts, including former Australia coach John Buchanan, believe he is no longer the force he once was. But Pietersen, 30, is adamant

DOHA: Caroline Wozniacki must wait at least one more day to become year-end world number one, after suffering a surprise defeat at the round robin stage of the WTA Championships here Wednesday.
The in-form favourite, who had previously lost only two out of 33 matches and won five titles, was beaten 6-4, 6-3 by Samantha Stosur, the world number five from Australia. Wozniacki had a great chance to reach break point in the ninth game of the first set, but after missing a relatively

LONDON: Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has warned Sir Alex Ferguson to forget about luring Spanish goalkeeper Jose Reina to Manchester United. Ferguson was linked with a surprise move for Reds star Reina as the United boss looks for a long-term replacement for his veteran keeper Edwin Van der Sar.
It has been reported that Reina and other Liverpool stars like Fernando Torres may consider leaving Anfield due to the club's recent financial problems and current poor form under

LONDON: England winger Theo Walcott scored twice as Arsenal cruised into the quarter-finals of the League Cup on Wednesday with a 4-0 rout of Newcastle at St James Park.
Walcott's brace, an own goal from Newcastle reserve keeper Tim Krul and a Nicklas Bendtner strike settled the tie for Arsene Wenger's men, riding high after last weekend's victory over Manchester City. Wenger was left purring over the contribution of Walcott, scoring his first goals since returning from injury

LAHORE: Tainted by drugs and spot-fixing allegations, Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif believes that he would still make to World Cup 2011 team despite withdrawing his appeal against the ICC's suspension.
The World Cup 2011 is being jointly staged by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh while Pakistan was omitted as a fourth host nation following the attack on the Sri Lanka team last year. The ICC anti-corruption committee suspended Asif, captain Salman Butt and rookie pacer

ABU DHABI: Winning the toss and batting first in the two T20s proved fruitless for Pakistan as their batting line up flopped two days running as South Africans completed two easy wins to take the T20 series. With the first ODI of the five match series to be played today at Abu Dhabi, Pakistan team need to seriously do something about their batting.
Pakistan batting is flopping for quite sometime now and they need solidity. Younis Khan will be returning to the side which can