Adil Rashid replaced Yardy

The technical committee of International Cricket Council (ICC) has approved Adil Rashid as a replacement player for all-rounder Michael Yardy in England’s squad in the ongoing World Cup. Yardy on Thursday, turned back to home after admitting to his management that due to depression he can’t play more in tournament. English team will take on Sri Lanka on Saturday, in the big match of quarterfinal. Rashid, who is currently in the West Indies England’s second string team, is due to arrive in Colombo on the same day.

Yardy is the fourth player to be replaced in English squad after all-rounder Kevin Peterson, Fast bowler Staurt Broad, and pacer Ajmal Shahzad.

Any injury-based replacement in the Mega Event is subject to the final approval of the technical committee and once replaced, a player cannot return to the squad save as an approved subsequent replacement for another injured player.

23-year-old Adil Rashid, from Bradford, is a leg-break spinner with Yorkshire, has represented England in five one-day internationals claiming three wickets while he has also represented English team in five Twenty20 Internationals. He made his ODI debut on 27 August 2009, against Ireland. Rashid has played 73 first-class matches so far, and his first-class wickets are 241.

Prince William still in love with football

BLACKPOOL: Prince William, who announced his engagement to fiancee Kate Middleton this week, took time off from planning the wedding of the year to watch the football on Saturday.

The prince, second in line to the throne, is the president of the Football Association, the sport’s governing body in England.

Wearing a baseball hat and glasses, William was spotted in the crowd at Bloomfield Road watching Blackpool beat struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 in the English Premier League.

A spokesman for the prince’s St James’s Palace office said he was enjoying a private weekend with friends which had been planned for a long time.

William, 28, is a search and rescue helicopter pilot with the Royal Air Force on the island of Anglesey, northwest Wales.

He returned to his RAF Valley base after announcing Tuesday that he will marry Middleton in

Americans sicker but English die quicker says study

LONDON/CHICAGO: Older Americans suffer more chronic disease than their English counterparts, but the English die earlier, according to a study on Thursday that could

revive debate about whose health system is better.



Researchers at the U.S.-based RAND Corp and Britain’s Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) found that while Americans aged 55 and older have higher rates of chronic disease, they live longer than elderly people who get ill in England.



“If you get sick at older ages, you will die sooner in England than in the United States,” said James Smith, an economist with RAND in Santa Monica, California, who co-authored the study with James Banks and Alastair Muriel of the IFS.



“It appears that at least in terms of survival at older ages with chronic disease, the medical system in the United States may be

Hollywood studios get tough

Hollywood studios have decided, enough is enough. Plagiarizing Hollywood films and passing it off as an original creation is common in Bollywood. Till a few years ago, the Hollywood studios would turn a blind eye to the rampant chori occurring here. But they seem to have woken up and decided to ask for their rightful dues. What comes as a surprise is that the action is being initiated by the head office in America, not by the Mumbai office.

Reportedly, the producers of a forthcoming film have been served a notice, since the studio feels that there’s too much similarity between the English film and the Hindi one. The studio has asked for the script of the Hindi film, so that they can decide if the film is a complete rip off or a mere inspiration. That’s not all, another Hollywood studio is planning to serve a notice to another biggie, which also bears an uncanny resemblance to an English film.

Bollywood film-makers need to be cautious, especially those who copy and paste from Hollywood films and feign ignorance when asked if it’s a copy. The Big Brother aka Hollywood is watching you!

PCB chief Butt to return to London to consult lawyers

KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt will arrive in London on Tuesday to consult his legal advisers about replying to English demands that he apologise over allegations about match fixing.

Butt would also meet Scotland Yard officials to discuss the spot-fixing accusations against three Pakistan players which overshadowed the team’s recent tour, official sources in the PCB said on Monday.

Butt and PCB legal adviser Tafazzul Rizvi would attend meetings in London this week, the sources said.

“They will meet with the legal firm they have hired in London to finalise the reply to be sent to the English players and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB),” one source said.

England’s players, through the ECB, have demanded an apology from Butt after he told a television station he had heard from bookmakers that English players were

Million dollars cost: ECB advised not to sue PCB Chairman

British legal advisors have advised ECB not to sue PCB Chairman Ijaz butt. They say it would cost more than a million dollars to ECB.
According to the British newspaper Daily Telegraph, legal advisors have told ECB that suing PCB chairman Ijaz Butt in an act of defamation would cost more than a million dollars, so better not to do it.
PCB chairman Ijaz Butt, after the allegation imposed on Pakistani cricketers by English media, had said, There is loud and clear talk in the bookies circle that some English players were paid enormous amounts of money to lose the (Oval) match. No wonder there was a total collapse of the English side.

ECB demands apology from Ijaz Butt

The English Cricket Board (ECB) has sent a letter demanding an immediate apology from Ijaz Butt over his match-fixing allegations on the English team.
The ECB said that in case of non-compliance from Ijaz Butt, they would pursue stern legal action against him. The ECB has taken the first step against the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board. After the third one-day of the five match ODI series between England and Pakistan, Ijaz Butt while responding to match fixing allegations allegedly said that if match-fixing issue was true then the English team was involved in it.

ECB demands apology from Ijaz Butt

The English Cricket Board (ECB) has sent a letter demanding an immediate apology from Ijaz Butt over his match-fixing allegations on the English team.
The ECB said that in case of non-compliance from Ijaz Butt, they would pursue stern legal action against him. The ECB has taken the first step against the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board. After the third one-day of the five match ODI series between England and Pakistan, Ijaz Butt while responding to match fixing allegations allegedly said that if match-fixing issue was true then the English team was involved in it.

England beat Pakistan by 121 runs to claim ODI series 3-2

England 256-6 (Morgan 107*, Shoaib 3-40)
Pakistan 135 (K. Akmal 41, Swann 3-26)
Pakistan loses 5th ODI and the series to England. Poor batting performance once again gives opposition the upper hand as they bowl-out Pakistan on 135 and protect their total of 256 by a massive 121 runs.
Pakistani openers were indeed off to a great start as Kamran Akmal and Muhammad Hafeez sent every loose ball, also some brilliant ones to the boundary. They gave an opening stand of 63 when suddenly they looked to have lost confidence over each other. A couple of times Hafeez wanted a quick single – but half way through the pitch Akmal sent him back shouting at him. Hafeez then, in an attempt to make quick runs by hitting boundaries, played a high ball on the off side that landed in the hands of Collingwood. Asad Shafiq came in to replace Hafeez but caught behind on the first ball. Both, Hafeez and Shafiq fell prey to Broad. New comer, Muhammad Yousuf avoided the hat-trick by a quick single. Kamran Akmal was then victimized by the poor umpiring judgments when English Umpire, Ian Gould gave England a treat by giving the in-form batsman LBW on a clear bat-pad, which also showed on the hot-spot screen. Graeme Swan bowled Fawad Alam in the 20th over. Yousuf and Afridi were bowled out on consecutive deliveries of Swann in the 28th over. Razzaq then came in to avoid another hat-trick off English bowling. On by one they were all laid down and after the first wicket, English bowlers never gave Pakistani batsman a chance to develop a good partnership.
Earlier, England winning the toss decided to bat first. English batsman made 256 for six from their 50 overs in the fifth and final one-day international against Pakistan at the Rose Bowl on Wednesday. Eoin Morgan made an unbeaten 107 to help England to a decent score. Openers Andrew Strauss and Steve Davies gave England an encouraging start in the day/night encounter but the hosts found themselves in trouble as they were reduced to 47 for 3. 35-year-old Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar turned back the years with a devastating spell of 3 for 40 off ten overs. Akhtar dismissed the England captain for 25 and then bowled Jonathan Trott for just 3. England suffered further problems when Paul Collingwood left the field because of a migraine while Ian Bell picked up a groin injury while batting – he made 28. But Morgan together with the returning Collingwood helped steady the ship. The Durham all-rounder made 47 while Morgan went onto reach three figures.

England denies Pakistan a neutral venue

Pakistan might have to pay a heavy price for the spot-fixing scandal as England will not serve as a neutral venue for Pakistan again next summer, a media report said.
Sources say that the ECB made this decision in reaction to the allegations of PCB Chairman Ejaz Butt against the English cricket team.
During his visit to India, Butt suggested that England’s players had accepted a bribe to lose the third ODI at The Oval, but the ECB said the allegations were wholly irresponsible and completely without foundation.

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