NEW DELHI: Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ejaz Butt has accused the ICC and the BCCI of treating them as beggars and threatened dire consequences if they are not allowed to host 2011 World Cup matches.

Butt is on a mission to drum up support from 2011 World Cup co-hosts India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh after the International Cricket Council moved the matches away from Pakistan following security concerns.

PCB reacted strongly to it, serving ICC with a legal notice while also trying to garner support from the co-hosts.
He travelled to Sri Lanka to meet cricket officials there and met ICC vice-president and former BCCI president Sharad Pawar in India.

The ICC, in an attempt to diffuse tension has offered to compensate PCB for shifting the matches, however, Butt retorted saying, “The ICC and BCCI should stop treating PCB like beggars, as money could not resolve all the matters.”
Butt, who claimed to have Pawar’s support, threatened ICC that the 2011 World Cup could be jeopardised if Pakistan’s hosting rights are not restored.

“The 2011 World Cup could come under heavy cloud if it’s host status is not restored,” Butt said in an interview to a TV channel.
He also said that security situation in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh is volatile and the ICC was unfair in stripping them off the hosting rights. – [PTI]

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Its Royal Challengers v Deccan Chargers in IPL final

Royal Challengers Bangalore qualified to meet Deccan Chargers Hyderabad in the second IPL final at Johannesburg on Sunday. In the second semi-final played at Johannesburg on Saturday, Royal Challengers outplayed Chennai Super Kings to win by six wickets with young Manesh Pandey carrying them to victory with a breezy and stylish knock of 48. The win was Bangalore’s fifth on the trot.
Scores: Chennai Super Kings 146-5 (20) (P Patel 36, M Hayden 26, MS Dhoni 28, S Raina 20, A Morkel 20 n.o., V Kumar 2/38)
Royal Challengers Bangalore 149-4 (18.5) (M Pandey 48, R Dravid 44, V Kohli 24 n.o.)

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President’s Schools Rugby League Division I Segment ‘A’

Trinity hangs on to win a thriller

By Dinesh Kulatunga
In a nail-biting game Trinity College, Kandy hung onto beat St. Peter’s College by 43 points to 33 in a crucial President’s Schools Rugby League Division I Segment ‘A’ match played at Bambalapitiya yesterday.
The lads from Kandy collected their winning points from five goals, one try and a penalty to four goals and a try by St. Peter’s.

This game was decisive for both teams as they had recorded one win and two losses prior to yesterday. They played attacking rugby from the first whistle itself. Trinity ‘eight’ and the back division combined well to put the Petes defence in disarray. The Petes crumbled on many occasions in the first half. The Trinity back division carried their onslaught perfectly and ran the ball at every given opportunity. Skipper Vishvajith Wijesinghe, Kennon Armstrong (who had a grand game) Rehan Weerakoon, Lasantha Samarasekara, Akhila Dissanayake and Kanchana Ramanayake tormented the Petes with their probing runs. The Trinity forwards did not maintain their spoiling work till the latter stages of the game but had individual brilliance of flanker Mohammed Ishan and hooker Damitha Dissanayake. The link man Adeeb Hameed too excelled.

On the other hand Petes came to the game without their skipper Dilshan Paul due to injury. Their forwards led by number eight Shenal Dias, Soyuru Anthony and Chamith Madurawela played an excellent game. Their backs were outstanding in the second half. Sandun Dias and Bhanuka Nanayakkara were excellent at outfoxing the opponents.

In the third minute of the game itself Trinity winger Kennon Armstrong scored from an interception and converted himself. The Petes were dumbstruck again when Trinity winger Akhila Dissanayake sliced through their defence to touch down. Armstrong converted it.

Trinity then extended their lead when flanker Duminda Nayakaratne slipped in to score from a line out. Armstrong kicked correctly to make it 21-0.

Then Petes reduced the lead with a try from flanker Chamith Madurawela. Sandun Herath converted to make it 7-21. Trinity increased their lead again when hooker Damitha Dissanayake scored from a short tap. Armstrong converted it.
Armstrong struck again for Trinity with a peach of a try with his powerful runs which went unconverted. Then Petes penetrated the Trinity defence on two occasions with center Bhanuka Nanayakkara and wing three quarter Sandun Herath touching down. Herath converted both tries.

At the breather the ‘Lions’ led 33-21. Petes in the second half played brilliantly to unsettle their opponents and nearly took the game away from them. In the third minute of the second half winger Danushka Ranjan dummied his way to touch down. Herath converted to make it 28-33. But Trinity struck one more time with Armstrong outpacing his opponents to score. With his conversion Trinity extended their lead with 40-28. Then Petes with their late charge struck with second rower Soyuru Anthony going over for an unconverted try to make it 33-40.

But in the dying stages of the game Trinity was offered a 25-meter penalty which Armstrong obliged to give them a thrilling victory. Trinity’s second rower Deshan Aluvihare was given a yellow card for dangerous play.
The Match was controlled by Aruna Jayasekara.
In the U18 encounter Trinity defeated St. Peters 27-7.

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Rajans give Pathana a scare

By Samiddha Rathnayake
Isipathana overcame a much improved Dharmraja side with the greatest of difficulties, winning 17-5 in their Division I Segment ‘A’ encounter of the President’s Schools Rugby League 2009 played at Havelock Park yesterday. For Pathana it was all about living up to their set standards and on the other hand Rajans had absolutely nothing to lose.

Within the first minute of play itself Pathana supporters had their hearts in their mouths as a totally different looking Dharmaraja side fiercely tried to penetrate the Pathana defence line. A tight passage of play was seen inside the 22m line before the experience of Pathana managed to win back the ball and kicked to the Rajan territory.

Both teams were playing some aggressive rugby, but the Rajans, coming into the game as the underdogs tried to make an impression. Unfortunately both teams were lacking in ball handling skills. Rajans lost almost three try scoring opportunities due to their lapses in the line while Pathana helped their opposition to gain more ground committing the same mistake. Pathana had their share of luck in the 16th minute of the game when the referee offered a penalty just inside the 22m line in favour of the home team. Their place kicking full-back Malik Jumath succeeded in scoring the penalty with much ease and then in the 40th minute they got another penalty but failed to capitalize on it. At lemons Pathana led 3-0 which was not the type of score that many expected to see.

During the second session of play, Rajans tackled fiercely. In contrast to their earlier games, their tackling had improved a lot but they failed in the line with some sloppy ball collecting. Pathana tried hard to find a hole in the Rajan defence and managed to keep the ball inside the 22m line for more than five minutes before fly-half Prasad Devinda in the 54th minute managed to plant a try under the post. It was a lone battle for Devinda as he managed to overcome the resistance of three Rajan players and passed the goal line. Jumath succeeded with the conversion and the home side was in the lead 10-0.

A poor display of ball passing in the 58th minute allowed Rajans to cover a large territory and they almost scored in the first attempt but after two minutes they worked the ball and right-wing Mayura Hewawasam ran almost 10m to plant a try which was not converted. After that Rajan try, the game got more exciting and if not for the high rate of knock-on conceded by both teams it would have been a perfect thriller. Fighting for their reputation, Pathana hit back in the last minute of the game with left-wing Vishwamithra Wijesinghe getting a pass where no opponents were there to block him. The try was converted successfully by Jumath and the game ended in favour of Pathana 17-5.

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Under strength Kandy beats Airmen

By Hafiz Marikar
Champions Kandy SC playing their second game without six regulars beat Air Force SC by 27 points to 6 in their Caltex ‘A’ division league rugby match played at Nittawela yesterday.

Kandy scored their points through two goals, two tries and one penalty to a penalty and a drop goal.
The champions under the leadership of make shift captain Sameera Silva flashed a brand of play, which was not their normal fashion of play and kept their fans who missed the last game against the sailors happy.

Both sides played fast open rugby and flung the ball about. The Nittawela ruggerites showed a marked superiority over the Airmen in their play to touch down on four occasions.

Kandy SC’s eight using their knowledge, superior weight and binding much tighter and lower had the ball in their possession far more often. The Airmen too addressed in the same manner in forward play.

It was indeed a hearting sight to see such hard and low tackling by the two sides, but the ball handling was not that good due to wet ground conditions. The Kandy SC three-quarters in possession always looked dangerous while the Airmen’s threes appeared flat-footed and displayed a distinct distaste for hard running when in possession.

Sameera Silva’s side played more as a combination than their opponents and it was hardly fair to pick out individuals. However, in any game the potentially great player who is very obviously talented makes his presence felt.

At the breather the winners led 8-3. Kishore Jehan, Sameera Silva, Danushka Pushpakumra and Krishantha Rajapakse scored a try each of which one was goaled by M. Sherifdeen and the other by Radika Hettiarachchi who also put over a penalty. For the Airmen it was Roshan Hapugasthanne who put over a drop goal and the penalty.
B. Nimal controlled the game.

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Champs Kingswood romp home to fourth win

By M Minhaz
Defending schools champions Kingswood College romped home to their fourth win of the season when they trounced St Anthony’s College by 40 points (5 goals, 1 try) to 12 (1 goal, 1 try) in their President’s Schools Rugby League division I segment A rugby match played at Bogambara Stadium yesterday. At half time Kingswood led 28-7.

Kingswood had a good first half scoring as many as four tries through fly half Madhubasha Perera, winger Mohamed Fazly, hooker Uchitha Jayasuriya and skipper and fly half Roshan Weeraratne who also goalled all four tries. In this half the Antonians scored a try through Krishantha Peiris which was goalled by full back Tharanga Bandara.

In the second half however the Antonians gave a much improved display and their three quarters tackled hard to stop the free scoring Kingswood back division. The Antonian fight back was so good that for sometime there was a lull in the scoring.

Midway in the second half Kingswood got their act together and a three quarter movement saw centre Indunil Wickremasinghe going over and Weeraratne added the extra points. The Antonians too came good when their forwards took play into their opponents territory and no. 8 Sanka Rajaguru scored off a maul. Bandara failed to add the extra points. In the dying stages of the game prop Indunil Bandara scored a push over try for Kingswood which went unconverted.
Pradeep Fernando refereed.
Antonians had the consolation of winning the junior match 15-10.

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Lanka to attend emergency ICC WC meeting

The ICC has called an emergency World Cup committee meeting in Dubai on June 3 where the Pakistan Cricket Board will sit down with the ICC and World Cup hosts India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to try and reach an out-of-court settlement over the 2011 World Cup dispute that saw Pakistan’s share of matches taken away over security concerns.

Since the decision in April - taken after the terrorist attacks on Sri Lanka in Lahore in March - Pakistan and the ICC have been locked in a legal wrangle; the PCB filed a notice over the decision, calling it discriminatory and illegal and arguing that the correct procedures had not been followed. The meeting is the first indication of any kind that the impasse may be resolved outside of a courtroom.

The meeting will be attended by ICC president David Morgan, Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, and top officials from the BCCI, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). Sharad Pawar, the former BCCI president and Morgan’s chosen successor, will also be part of the meeting.

It appears to be the result of Butt’s recent trips to Sri Lanka and India, where he met DS de Silva, the SLC chairman, and Pawar to drum up support and discuss Pakistan’s case. After the spate of legal action - which included filing a case in a Lahore civil court against the removal of the World Cup secretariat from Lahore to Mumbai and also referring the entire matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sports - relations between the PCB and the ICC, as well as other members, had worsened considerably. Butt’s visits were seen also as diplomatic missions to improve communications between PCB and the remaining hosts of the world cup.
Since the legal notice, the ICC has vigorously refuted Pakistan’s claims point by point but also clarified, crucially, that Pakistan’s hosting rights to the tournament had not been taken away. For an embattled board, it was a victory of sorts, leaving the option open apparently for a neutral venue to come into play.

No country is willing to visit Pakistan after the terrorist attacks on the Sri Lankan team in March in Lahore, a feeling made clear at the ICC meeting in April when the decision was originally made. Butt confirmed that the neutral venues option was in the pipeline (Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah) but would come up only after the correct process had been followed. This will be top of the agenda at the Dubai meeting.

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Unimpressive Royal drubs Mahanama 54/13

By M Naushad Amit
Despite poor coordination of their three-quarters Royal drubbed lion-hearted Mahanama by 54 points to 13 in their President’s Schools Rugby League Division 1 ‘A’ match played at Longdon Place yesterday. Royal rallied with ten tries of which two were converted while Mahanama collected their points through two penalties and a converted try. In the opening minutes of the game Royal played true to form when they scored three consecutive tries off flanker Hasthike Bandaranayake, second row Kalana Amarasinghe and centre Musheed Faleel to lead 17-nil. Faleel was only successful in converting the second try. With a very strong defence line Mahanama opened their scoring through a penalty off second row Mahesh Kumarasinghe. A few moments later centre Duminda Attygalle managed to punt through the sturdy Mahanama defence to score a spectacular try as Royal further advanced their lead to 22-3. Kumarasinghe added three further points for Mahanama when they were awarded a penalty against foul play. Just before the short whistle Mahanama winger Chathura Shanaka took the opportunity to breach through the Royal defence to score. The try was goaled by Kumarasinghe to cut the lead down to 13-22, which was a great comeback for the low ranked side.

In spite of ball passing blunders Royal rallied round to score six more tries. Lack of experience saw Mahanama fail to put the finishing touches of the few scoring opportunities that came their way. Although they failed to score a single point in the second half Mahanama had the backing of their supporters.

In the second half full back Shabeer Mohamed scored a try for Royal while the blind side wing-three-quarter Chamara Dabare scored two spectacular tries under the post coming from both ends of the post after covering almost 60 meters on each occasion. Then came another brilliant try from winger-three-quarter Shamil Ahmed who covered a good length. The final two tries were scored by centre Asif Akram and flanker Shehan Pathirana. Faleel managed to convert only one of the six tries.
Dilroy Fernando refereed.

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Shoaib to miss ICC World Twenty20

Shoaib Akhtar has been withdrawn from Pakistan’s squad for the World Twenty20 because of a genital infection. The fast bowler, 33, was due to join the 15-man squad for a six-day training camp last week but was advised to rest.
“We have pulled him out of the World Twenty20 on the basis of a medical report,” said a spokesman for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Pakistan have asked the International Cricket Council if they can name a replacement player for the tournament.
They have put forward the name of seamer Rao Iftikhar Anjum to replace him.
A PCB press release stated that a medical board had assessed Shoaib, that he had undergone electrofulguration - a surgical procedure to destroy tissue by electric current - and will be reassessed in the first week of June. – [BBC]

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