Ballack set for Stamford Bridge return with Bayer Leverkusen

London: Former Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack is set to make a comeback at Stamford Bridge when his Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen faces Chelsea on September 13.

Bayer Leverkusen and Chelsea are in Group E of the Champions League.

The last Ballack played for Chelsea was when he limped off the Wembley pitch after a dreadful challenge in the 2010 FA Cup final against Portsmouth.

“I never had the chance to say goodbye officially, because after that last game we were still talking about a new contract and I thought we would come together,” a leading daily quoted Ballack, as saying.
“Before, when I came here, I was a talent with a little bit of experience but nothing more,” he added. 

Dhoni questions Dravid`s controversial dismissal

Chester-Le-Street: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni questioned the third umpire`s controversial decision to rule Rahul Dravid out even though television replays did not show any edge off the bat during his side`s first ODI against England.

"There are quite a few things (about that dismissal). There was no mark on the Hot Spot, no visual deflection and the umpire had given not out. The benefit of doubt in such cases go to the batsman," Dhoni said at the post-match press conference after the match was abandoned due to heavy rain.

"I still don`t know how exactly he was given out. Whether it was off snickometer; whether snicko is allowed to be used; whether it was an audio technician or a third umpire who gave him out. There are any number of fair questions to be asked; why should not the benefit of doubt go to a batsman?" Dhoni asked.

Dhoni was worried at the ever-growing list of injured players in the Indian camp after Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma joined the casualty list on Saturday.

"We could do with 15 more players, initially I said what could have gone wrong did go wrong. But it has only increased since then," stated Dhoni.


While Tendulkar has an inflamed right toe, Rohit got his right index finger fractured during the Indian innings.

"Coming from India and performing here straightaway can be difficult. We are fighting with whatever resources we`ve got. May be increasing the strength of the team can be the key. We could look at travelling with 18 players if needed," he said.

Dhoni confirmed that the team would be asking for Rohit`s replacement straightaway as the right-handed batsman is definitely out for the rest of the series.

"Rohit would be visiting a specialist and it`s almost certain he would not play any further in this series. Tendulkar will also see a specialist. It`s an old injury which has flared up. He had practice with us last evening but this morning it flared up," Dhoni informed.

He said India would have won the match had England got only to 20 overs to play and with 164 to win. England were 27 for two in 7.2 overs when rain interrupted and match abandoned later.

"A lot has happened in this series. This alone (abandonment) was left. It could have been difficult for them to get close to 130 runs in 12 overs. It was a difficult target to achieve as we had bowled well in the first seven overs," he said.

The Indian captain was all praise for his top order batsmen for posting 274 for seven in their allotted 50 overs.

"They (the openers) batted well. What was important was to see off new ball. It initially swings at this time of the year. What we wanted was stable partnership. They were careful initial but then nicely built up their innings. After Rahane was out, Parthiv made sure he had some partnership so that lower order batsmen could come and score runs."

"It was important knock for them. If you think, these players will be playing in next 3-4 years time. They did it against a good bowling attack and when the most experienced players in your side were missing. It`s a big learning experience for them and it would help them in future."

Dhoni, however, said that his side did not quite capitalize on the fine start of the top order.

"We were a few runs short because we lost Rohit. We wanted to cash in on the slog overs, get as many runs as possible without taking too many risks." 

Japan hold India 1-1 with last-minute equaliser

Ordos (China): India squandered a golden opportunity to pick up full points and conceded a last-minute goal to draw 1-1 with Japan in their second match at the inaugural Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament on Sunday.

After the power-packed 5-0 win over China in their tournament opener yesterday, the match against Japan turned out to be anti-climax for the Indians.

For India Gurwinder Singh Chandi (22nd minute) scored his second goal of the tournament while Naoto Shiokawa equalised for Japan in the 69th minute.

India now have four points from two matches while the Japanese, who had lost their opening encounter 2-3 against South Korea, have one in their kitty.

India will next play South Korea on Tuesday after a rest day on Monday.

Against Japan today, the Indians did all the hard work and should have won by a larger margin but for the errors committed by the forward line.

However, it was Japan which started strongly with three forwards raiding the Indian defence but young Rupinder Pal Singh and V Raghunath held firm.

Upfront, the India forwards did well but lacked cohesion. They attacked in groups of four-five players both from the middle as well as from the flanks, but lacked co-ordination inside the Japanese striking circle.

For the first 15 minutes, neither side could make much headway as both the teams tried to wrest control on the midfield.

India`s first scoring chance came in the 16th minute but an unmarked Gurwinder lost control of the ball inside the Japanese circle.

From there on, the Indians kept attacking looking desperately to open the scoring and finally succeeded in the 22nd minute through Gurwinder.

Gurwinder scored from a rebound after Roshan Minz`s initial shot was blocked by Japanese goalkeeper Katsuya Takase.

A few minutes later, India got their first penalty corner of the match but it went abegging as Ravi Pal failed to trap the ball.

The Indians were also done in by their tendency tendency to hang onto the ball for long, giving the Japanese the chance to fall back.

Just a minute before the breather, India earned their second penalty corner but to no use as Ravi Pal once again faltered in trapping the ball cleanly.

After the change of ends, Japan looked a completely different side as they came out all guns blazing in search of the equaliser and forced as many as three saves from the Indian defenders.


In the 47th minute, Rupinder Pal Singh came up with a fine save and then cleared for Yuvraj Walmiki, who sent a fantastic through ball for Roshan Minz inside the Japanese striking circle.

But Minz`s shot went wide with only Japanese goalkeeper Takase to beat.

Soon after, the Indians were down to 10 men as Rupinder was shown a yellow card for an infringement.

But to everyone`s astonishment, India went on the defensive midway through the second half, which inspired Japan to launch a full-blown offence on the rival citadel.

India custodian PR Sreejesh also came to his side`s rescue on more than one occasion. He played his part by bringing off two brilliant saves to ensure India`s 1-0 lead.


The consistent pressure on the rival defence saw Japan earn their first penalty corner of the match in the 59th minute but once again an in-form Sreejesh came to India`s rescue by keeping out the powerful flick.

India then launched a counter-attack which led to their third penalty corner but Rupinder Pal Singh`s powerful flick was saved by a Takase.

A brilliant Takase was yet again in the thick of things when he denied Danish Mujtaba in the 63rd minute.

Sreejesh was equally upto the task pulling off two more brilliant saves from Japan`s two successive penalty corners in the 66th and 67th.

Japan`s consistent pressure finally paid off when Shiokawa scored the equaliser from almost zero angle just a minute before the hooter. 

Rain plays spoilsport in the first ODI

Vineet Ramakrishnan/Zeenews Sports Bureau

The first ODI of the Natwest series between India and England has been abandoned due to rain.

Much to the dismay of Indian fans and probably the Indian players rain played spoilsport as India were evidently ahead in the match.

Praveen Kumar had provided India a good start with the ball as he scalped Captain Alastair Cook and Craig Kieswetter.

With 27 on board and both the openers gone, England were on the backfoot with Jonathan Trott (14*) and Ian Bell (2*) in the middle when heavy downpour stopped play.


In the first innings, Powered by a well compiled 95 by Parthiv Patel, India finished with 275 for 8 against England in the first ODI of the Natwest series at Chester-le-Street.

Parthiv and Rahane (40) had given India a good start which was carried forward by Virat Kohli (55) in the middle and ended by captain MS Dhoni (33) and Suresh Raina (38).

For England Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan picked up two wickets each.

With the kind of start the openers had provided India would have liked to finish their innings with 10 to 15 more and England would have been happy to have restricted the visitors under 280.

The Twenty20 alliance for India once again proved to be good as both Rahane and Patel looked positive right from the onset. Parthiv Patel’s innings was a delight to watch as the southpaw displayed his full array of strokes all around the ground and was not afraid to tackle the short pitch deliveries with brave pulls and hooks against the quickies.

Even Ajinkya Rahane who had impressed during his Twenty20 debut matched Parthiv run to run in his ODI debut as well. Rahane looked technically sound and also smacked some hefty blows over the top.

Stuart Broad though came back well to pick up Rahane off a short delivery. Immediately after, in a very dubious decision Broad also scalped Rahul Dravid for just two runs.

In yet another controversial decision, which included Hot Spot technology and Rahul Dravid, the Hot-Spot failed to register any edge when Dravid seemed to have edged Stuart Broad to keeper Prior.

Third Umpire Marais Erasmus went with the noise and the original decision of on-field umpire Billy Doctrove was overturned.

Virat Kohli, who replaced Dravid continued his good form in the One day format with yet another breezy half century. He along with Parthiv put on a healthy 100 run partnership in the middle overs to maintain the run-rate set by the openers.

England captain Alastair Cook's persistence with short pitch delivery failed to provide any dividend later on as both Parthiv and Kohli looked at ease playing the hook and pull.

Another main feature of the partnership was good running between the wickets.


By 35th over India were close to 200 and a final score of 300 was looking gettable but a rare lapse in concentration led to the demise of Parthiv Patel just five runs short of a maiden century.

The southpaw, in a bid to whack a wide delivery outside off-stump ended up edging it to Prior on 95.

Rohit Sharma, who came in next was retied hurt first ball after a rising delivery from Broad hit his fingers.


It was later confirmed that the talented middle order batsman had fractured his fingers and will be mising the rest of the tour.

Another injury, and another SOS will be send to India for a replacement for Sharma. Hopefully, selectors would be able to find a fit player.

Raina walked in next to a familiar territory of limited overs format and immediately he looked at ease and started middling the ball confidently.

His knock of 38 included two massive sixes, one over long-off and other over square leg but he was undone by a well disguised slower bouncer by Jade Dernbach.

Captain MS Dhoni wielded his bat a bit to push India past the 250-run mark but Bresnan ensured that Dhoni won’t be around to finish off the innings on a high. 

Bolt fires Jamaican relay team to world record

Dargu (South Korea): Usain Bolt anchored Jamaica to a world record time of 37.04 seconds in the final of the 4x100 metres relay at the world championships on Sunday.

The quartet of Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake and Bolt bettered the mark of 37.10 seconds which the Jamaican team ran to win gold at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 to retain their world title.

It was the only world record set at the 13th world championships.

France finished second to win the silver medal in 38.20 seconds with Saint Kitts and Nevis claiming bronze in 38.49.

The American team failed to finish after their third-leg runner Darvis Patton clipped a British athlete and fell over before attempting to pass the baton to Walter Dix.

The British quartet also failed to finish.

Williams overwhelms Azarenka early at US Open

New York: If anyone still harbored any doubts about whether Serena Williams is back at her best, she put on a pretty persuasive performance during the first 17 minutes of her third-round match Saturday at the U.S. Open.

That`s how long Williams needed to build a 5-0 lead en route to a 6-1, 7-6 (5) victory at Flushing Meadows over one of the best players the women`s field had to offer: fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka, a Wimbledon semifinalist two months ago.

Listen to Azarenka describe how it felt to stand across the net from Williams during her superb start:

"What`s it like? It`s painful," said Azarenka, who won eight points in those opening five games. "To have somebody just going at you like that, it`s a little bit painful."

Eventually, though, Azarenka straightened her own play out enough to make things interesting in the second set. She erased four match points, broke when Williams served for the match at 5-3, and left Williams saying she wasn`t pleased.

"She won the first set very easily, and it was a little bit too easy, so then she got tested — and she needed to be tested," said Williams` mother, Oracene Price.

Williams passed the test, and showed off her fitness, which is much improved from when she lost in the fourth round at Wimbledon. At the end of one point, she did the splits. On another, she raced all the way over to the blue sign near the stands to smack a forehand winner.

She and Azarenka described the level of play as being worthy of a Grand Slam semifinal, rather than the Week 1 matchup that it was. But they wound up being drawn to meet this early because Williams is seeded only 28th, a reflection of her lower-than-usual ranking as a result of nearly a year`s absence from the tour because of a series of health scares.

The 29-year-old American already owns 13 major championships, including three at the U.S. Open, which is why, when she was asked how she can play so well now, Williams replied: "I mean, I was a pretty good player before. So just trying to get back into that rhythm and feel it again."

In the fourth round, Williams will face former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, the 2008 French Open champion, who is seeded 16th.

"It`s exciting, at least for me. I think she`s the hottest player out there at the moment. She`s been playing so well lately. It is going to be a good challenge," Ivanovic said after ending Sloane Stephens` surprising run by beating the 18-year-old American 6-3, 6-4 in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday night.

Ivanovic acknowledged that Williams will be the "favorite, that`s for sure" but also said: "I know I can give her a tough match. She beat me in the past, but maybe I can go for revenge on Monday."

Her victory over Stephens was followed Saturday by top-seeded Novak Djokovic against two-time U.S. Open semifinalist Nikolay Davydenko.

The woman who`s seeded No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki, eliminated Vania King of the United States 6-2, 6-4, and will continue her bid for a first Grand Slam title against 15th-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, owner of two major trophies.

Also into the fourth round with victories Saturday were 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy, who got past Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-3; No. 17 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia, who beat 2008 U.S. Open runner-up Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 6-4, 6-4; and No. 10 Andrea Petkovic of Germany, who defeated No. 18 Roberta Vinci of Italy 6-4, 6-0 to reach the fourth round at Flushing Meadows for the second year in a row.

"Grand Slams are very stressful," Petkovic observed. "I think any player that you ask — and if he answers honestly — it`s a lot of stress."

That, as much as anything, could explain why so many players have been quitting during matches because of injury or illness: No. 9 Tomas Berdych (shoulder) and No. 31 Marcel Granollers (abdominal muscle) did so Saturday, raising the total retirements in men`s and women`s singles to a record 14 by the third round.
Never before had more than 12 players stopped during a match throughout the course of any entire Grand Slam tournament in the Open era.

"For me, it is shocking to see so many retirements. I have never retired in my whole life, except once when I played against (James) Blake in Paris, but I didn`t even walk onto the court. For me it doesn`t matter how bad I`m feeling, I will be out there and giving it a try, because you never know what`s gonna happen," 16-time major champion Roger Federer said.

"Look, every player feels different," he added. "It`s unfortunate it happens."

Federer moved into the fourth round for the 30th consecutive Grand Slam tournament by overcoming what he called "tricky wind" and a second-set blip to defeat No. 27 Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.

The 6-foot-6 Cilic caused some problems with his wingspan, and when he hit a big forehand that Federer couldn`t get back, they were tied at a set apiece.

In the third, with Cilic facing a break point while serving at 4-all, he was warned by the chair umpire for a time violation. Cilic promptly double-faulted, handing Federer a 5-4 lead and momentum.

"Did he double-fault because of the time violation? Maybe. I don`t think so," Federer said. "It came a bit out of nowhere."

He`s won at least one Grand Slam title each of the past eight seasons, but that streak is in danger of ending in 2011. Next up as he pursues a sixth trophy at the U.S. Open is a fourth-round match against 36th-ranked Juan Monaco of Argentina, who beat Federer`s pal, Tommy Haas, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.

Also advancing Saturday were No. 8 Mardy Fish, the top-seeded American, who has yet to drop a set after beating Kevin Anderson of South Africa 6-4, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3); No. 20 Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia; No. 22 Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine; and 2003 French Open champion and U.S. Open runner-up Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain. Tipsarevic (Berdych`s opponent) and Ferrero (Granollers`) play each other next.

On Monday, Fish faces a potentially difficult match against No. 11 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga — the 2008 Australian Open runner-up who beat No. 19 Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 — and so was pleased to finish off Anderson in three sets.

"I`ll be physically fine in two days," Fish said. "But, you know, I`m 29. I don`t wake up in the morning feeling like I`m 20." 

Andy Flower criticises 'unsatisfactory' lack of DRS

Page last updated at 10:09 GMT, Wednesday, 27 July 2011 11:09 UK

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Flower believes DRS allows more correct decisions to be made

England coach Andy Flower says he is worried that not using the Decision Review System (DRS) could cause trouble in the Test series against India.

Flower said it was an "unsatisfactory" situation, particularly after two controversial lbw decisions in the first Test.

He believes umpires would be happier if they had the system available.

"We all know that it is not 100% accurate but we also know you get more right decisions using it," he said.

Flower spoke after umpire Billy Bowden turned down lbw appeals against Sachin Tendulkar and Suresh Raina in the first Test at Lord's.

Continue reading the main story

It would have been wrong if the outcome of the game had been seriously affected by a couple of those decisions

England coach Andy Flower

Replays indicated the decisions were incorrect and Flower said the incidents drew attention to the lack of DRS.

Both sides have to agree to its use and the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which has been a vocal critic of the technology, objected to it.

Despite the controversy over the lbw appeals, neither decision affected the result with Flower's side securing a 196-run victory.

But Flower predicts the issue could cause controversy in the remaining three matches of the series, with the second Test at Trent Bridge starting on Friday.

Asked if he was worried there could be trouble ahead, he added: "Yes, I am actually. We almost saw it happen in this Test match.

"It would have been wrong if the outcome of the game had been seriously affected by a couple of those decisions and it was quite right that, luckily, we did continue to create chances.

"It's unsatisfactory the way it is. There is no doubt about that."

International Cricket Council chief executive Haroon Lorgat has pledged to commission independent research into ball-tracking in a bid to persuade any doubters.

Teams can make two unsuccessful review requests per innings

But Flower believes the ICC should have acted more decisively on the issue ahead of this high-profile contest.

"I don't think there's anything we can do but I think the ICC should be stronger in taking a lead on these issues," said Flower.

"They are the world governing body and they should lead. I don't think it's unfair to say they haven't led on this topic.

"Let's not quibble about millimetres here when we know you get more right than wrong. That's why most Test-playing nations want to use it.

"[Umpiring] is a very difficult job. We all know that and I think they would be happier with it too."