| Bopara backs Pietersen to bounce back • Out-of-form Pietersen will benefit from spell in South Africa• 'I hope he comes back for Ashes, and shows how good he is'Ravi Bopara has backed Kevin Pietersen to bounce back from his recent slump in form, saying the out-of sorts England batsman's forthcoming spell with Natal is "a great move".Bopara also had a spell away from English cricket, spending last winter with Auckland in New Zealand, and he feels that Pietersen will feel the benefit just as he did."That is a very wise move," said Bopara. "The move I made to Auckland was very good for my game, and me as a person. I had time to myself, away from everybody and all the coaches."I loved being away, and doing things on my own. I've never really liked too much advice, or too many people having their input. I take advice, but prefer to work things out for myself."I think Kevin is the same sort of person – and I think him going away to Natal will be a great move for him, and a great move for English cricket. I hope he then comes back into the Ashes, and shows how good a player he is."Bopara also feels that lean patches as a batsman can prove valuable in the long run. "Experiences like that either make you a better cricketer, or they destroy you completely – I know for a fact they have made me a better player," he said. "Whenever I have played this summer, especially in one-dayers, I have felt I have been batting really well."Kevin PietersenEngland cricket teamCricketJohn Ashdownguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
NFL: Jets conduct toward reporter unprofessional By 2010-09-18T07:17:57ZNEW YORK (AP) -- The NFL chastised the New York Jets on Friday for unprofessional conduct but found no evidence that a female television reporter was "bumped, touched, brushed against or otherwise subjected to any physical contact" by any member of the team or coaching staff.... hosted.ap.org |
Butt withdraws match-fixing accusations • PCB chairman said players deliberately lost recent ODI• Now says there was a 'misunderstanding' over his claimsTen days after he sparked fury by suggesting that England players may have been paid to lose, the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, Ijaz Butt, yesterday issued the apology that the England and Wales Cricket Board had been seeking.After a meeting lasting an hour and a half in London with the ECB chairman, Giles Clarke, and chief executive, David Collier, Butt made a humiliating climbdown but continued to insist he was misinterpreted."I wish personally and on behalf of the Pakistan Cricket Board to withdraw the comments I made concerning the England and Wales Cricket Board and each of the England players who played in the NatWest one-day international at the Brit Insurance Oval on Friday 17 September."He said it was "regrettable that there was a misunderstanding arising from my comments".Butt, whose future on the International Cricket Council board is likely to be a topic of discussion when it next meets on 23 October, said at the time he was merely repeating what he had heard from bookmaking sources. "I would like to make it quite clear that in the statements which I made, I never intended to question the behaviour and integrity of the England players nor the ECB nor to suggest that any of them were involved in any corrupt practices or in a conspiracy against Pakistan cricket," Butt said."In particular, I wish to make it clear that I have never seen any evidence of any wrong doing by any England player or the ECB at any time. I deeply and sincerely regret that my statements have been interpreted to cast doubt upon the good names of the England players and the ECB and hope that this public withdrawal will draw a line under the matter."The ECB said it "warmly welcomed" the apology and now considered the matter closed. Butt's apology also led Clarke to confirm he would stay on as head of the ICC's Pakistan task force.Butt's original comments, in the wake of spot-fixing allegations about Pakistan's scoring patterns during the third one-day international at The Oval, led to the ECB sending a legal letter threatening court action if Butt did not apologise publicly. In his original statement, Butt had said: "There is loud and clear talk in bookie circles that some English players have taken enormous amounts of money to lose the match. No wonder there was such a collapse."The accusations, which gave greater momentum to the controversy caused by the spot-fixing allegations against the Pakistan trio Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, caused Andrew Strauss and his England team to consider refusing to play the fourth one-day match at Lord's.The ICC confirmed yesterday that Butt, the Test captain, had appealed against the interim suspension imposed on the three players in the wake of allegations they had conspired to deliberately bowl no-balls during the fourth Test at Lord's last month. "Under the terms of the code the ICC code of conduct, commission chairman Michael Beloff will determine the issue of whether the provisional suspension should remain in place," the ICC said. All three players have denied wrongdoing."The ICC shall convene an independent hearing as quickly as possible," the ICC chief executive, Haroon Lorgat, said. "In the meantime the player remains provisionally suspended from all cricket."The ECB announced it would set up a "small working party" to finalise the 2011 domestic schedule following a meeting at Lord's. The decision to put the task of deciding the fixture list in the hands of a small group appointed by the ECB's management board and chaired by Collier could inflame divisions within the game.A meeting at Lord's last week with 56 representatives of the first-class game threw up a host of different opinions, particularly around how to structure and schedule the Twenty20 competition.England cricket teamPakistan cricket betting scandalOwen Gibsonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Michigan's Denard Robinson leads USA TODAY's Heisman Watch After receiving no votes in the preseason, Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson is a near-unanimous choice in the first regular season Heisman ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Colts' punter draws 1-game suspension after arrest By MICHAEL MAROT 2010-10-20T22:19:24ZINDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Colts punter Pat McAfee has become an example for his teammates headed into the team's bye week - and not in a good way.... hosted.ap.org |