Saina off to winning start

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal stormed into the pre-quarterfinals of World Badminton Championships.

Nehwal hardly showed any fatigue from a recent bout of chickenpox as she entered the pre-quarterfinals with a straight-game victory over Russian Anastasia Prokopenko on Wednesday.

The 20-year-old, who was laid low by chicken pox just a few days before the championship, outplayed her rival 21-10 21-17 in 27 minutes in the women's singles second round.

The local favourite faces Bulgarian Petya Nedelcheva on Thursday.

Among other Indians, men's doubles pair of Akshay Dewalkar and Jishnu Sanyal squandered a position of strength to go down 21-17 13-21 18-21 against 16th seed Vitalij Durkin and Alexandr Nikolaenko of Russia in 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, top seed Mi Zhou of Hong Kong beat Kiwi Michelle Chan Ky 21-11 21-15, while men's number one seed Chong Wei Lee beat Ola Fagbemi of Nigeria 21-11 21-14.

Mercurial world number four Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia defeated Mathieu Lo Ying Ping 21-17 21-15 in another men's singles encounter.

Sixth seed Saina, who got a bye in the first round, started aggressively and opened up a 12-8 lead in little time.

In a battle of nerves, the two rivals went neck and neck from 5-5 to 14-14 but after a see-saw battle, it was the Hyderabadi who had the last laugh.

"In the first game, the drift was fast so I played a more attacking game and hit more smashes. She couldn't pick up those but in the same game I was on the other side, so knowing the wind I involved her in some long rallies," Saina told reporters.

"I have played her for the first time but on Tuesday I saw her play. She has some good drives. I was confident about my game and I am happy that I started on the right note," she added.

The world number six Indian also asserted she was completely fit.

"I am fit and I didn't feel too tired. She was an okay player but tomorrow I play a much tougher opponent, my fitness will be tested," she said.

About the ubiquitous crowd which cheered her every move, Saina said she was hoping for the spectator-count to go up with every match.

"It wasn't very different. I wasn't tense but I think it's good for the game that so many people are cheering the players. It has been a very good support and I hope more crowds will turn up tomorrow," she said.

Francisco seals Phillies win

Philadelphia strengthened their grip on the NL East with a hard-fought 4-3 win at the Cubs in a match which ran to 12 innings.

Ben Francisco's home run was decisive and took the Phillies to 62-48 for the season and well placed to reach the play-offs.

Florida remain close on the Phillies' heels after an 11-inning 9-8 victory over Houston at the Astrodome.

Washington's eight-game winning streak was emphatically halted by Atlanta. The Braves opened the series with an 8-1 win with pitcher Tommy Hanson allowing only one run and recording nine strikeouts.

In the Central Division, the Cubs' defeat in Philadelphia was not seized upon by divisional leaders St Louis, who lost 5-4 to Cincinnati after the Cardinals' stand-in pitcher Mitchell Boggs conceded three runs in the first inning.

West Division leaders the Los Angeles Dodgers extended their advantage with a 9-1 success at the San Francisco Giants. Four of the runs came in the fourth inning, Andre Ethier claiming a two-run double with Manny Ramirez and James Loney claiming RBI hits. The win took them to a 69-45 record for the season and well on course for the play-offs.

San Diego, bottom in the West, were 13-6 victors at home to Milwaukee, while Pittsburgh, propping up the Central, triumphed 7-3 at Colorado Rockies. Arizona defeated the New York Mets 6-2 as Max Scherzer finished with eight strikeouts.

In the American League, New York Yankees atoned for Monday's blip by levelling the home series against the Toronto Blue Jays, a win which reasserted their supremacy at the top of the East Division.

The Yankees turned the game around in the eighth inning with back-to-back home runs from Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada to claim a 7-5 victory. Posada's homer was initially disputed but the officials ruled it good after deciding it had not been interfered with by a fan as the ball cleared the right-field wall.

Boston kept the pressure on by going 2-0 up in their series against Detroit with a 7-5 win. Two home runs from Mike Lowell ensured they stayed second behind the Yankees in the East.

Detroit's defeat allowed the Chicago White Sox to gain ground in the Central Division race as Alexei Ramirez's three-run homer in the ninth helped them recover to win 3-1 at Seattle.

Los Angeles Angels remain top dogs in the West after a 6-0 win at home to Tampa Bay. Angels pitcher Ervin Santana kept the Rays at bay as all the hosts' runs came in the fifth and sixth innings.

Cleveland Indians claimed their 10th win in 13 matches with a 5-0 victory at Texas Rangers thanks to some solid pitching from Aaron Laffey and a two-run double from Luis Valbuena, while Baltimore levelled their series against Oakland at 1-1 with a 3-2 victory and Kansas City thrashed Minnesota 14-6.

England manager Fabio Capello will utilise squad to the full against Holland

Fabio Capello will use six substitutions, the maximum permitted for a friendly, in tonight’s match between England and Holland - which means that neither John Terry nor Frank Lampard are likely to complete the full 90 minutes.

Chelsea have a 12.45pm kick-off against Hull City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, which starts the Premier League season, and manager Carlo Ancelotti is keen for none of his players to complete this evening’s match in Amsterdam, which is also likely to mean Ashley Cole is withdrawn at some stage.

Aston Villa’s Emile Heskey, who has a sore Achilles tendon, a constant injury concern, is also unlikely to see out the full 90 minutes, while Paul Robinson should replace Robert Green in goal at some stage.

“I have to choose the best players for the England team because I think the national team is very important. I will do six substitutions tomorrow,” Capello said. “I try to help the managers, always. So I hope that they'll help me in the future.”

The changes will come as no surprise to England supporters who have turned out in force for the short trip to Amsterdam - which, in itself, is hardly a surprise given the obvious attractions of the Dutch capital.

Heavy rain this morning, however, has confined many to the bars and cafes which ring the city - although they would probably have chosen to go there in any case.

The Dutch are taking a slightly more apathetic approach to the encounter, although coach Bert Van Marwijk is expected to field his strongest available line-up and then, like Capello, make wholesale changes.

A difference for the Dutch is that a number of their key players, such as Real Madrid’s Rafael van der Vaart, have been marginalised at their club sides and so many gain more playing time today.

The Premier League contingent - Dirk Kuyt, Robin Van Persie and Nigel de Jong - can all expect to be substituted.

Capello will start with David Beckham on the right of midfield, as Theo Walcott is not fully fit, and the former captain, in the middle of his domestic season with LA Galaxy, may finally get the chance to play a full game under the Italian.

Ashley Young makes his first start and Carlton Cole is expected to come off the bench.

Not that Capello is not taking the occasion seriously.

“The result is always important,” he said, as England prepare to face the nation ranked the third best in the world and the first European country to have qualified for next summer’s World Cup.

“But I'm focused for the game against Croatia (the World Cup qualifier next month at Wembley).

“We have a short time to decide the best players for this game. For this reason, it'll be important, this. To recreate another time the spirit of the group. For this reason, it's important.”

Big Four Premier League players on international duty

Managers will be on tenterhooks tonight as they watch their international stars take part in midweek international friendlies, including Holland v England, just days ahead of the start of the Premier League season. Which of the Big Four's players are in action?

Arsenal:
Robin van Persie (Holland), Theo Walcott (England), Bacary Sagna, William Gallas (France), Johan Djourou, Philippe Senderos (Switzerland), Eduardo (Croatia), Carlos Vela (Mexico), Andrei Arshavin (Russia), Emmanuel Eboue (Ivory Coast), Aaron Ramsey (Wales), Cesc Fabregas (Spain), Thomas Vermaelen (Belgium), Nicklas Bendtner (Denmark).

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Chelsea:
Michael Ballack (Germany), Florent Malouda, Nicolas Anelka (France), John Terry, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole (England), Ricardo Carvalho, Jose Boswinga, Deco (Portugal), Branislav Ivanovic (Serbia), Michael Essien (Ghana), Didier Drogba, Salomaon Kalou (Ivory Coast), Andrei Shevchenko (Ukraine), Petr Cech (Czech Republic).

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Liverpool:
Glen Johnson, Steven Gerrard (England), Ryan Babel, Dirk Kuyt (Holland), Fernando Torres, Albert Riera, Pepe Reina (Spain), Yossi Benayoun (Israel), Philipp Degen (Switzerland), Javier Mascherano (Argentina).

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Manchester United:
Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, Wayne Rooney (England), Patrice Evra (France), Darren Fletcher (Scotland), Dimitar Berbatov (Bulgaria), Jonny Evans (Northern Ireland), Darrn Gibson (Republic of Ireland).

Mike Slade's ICAP Leopard first across line at Plymouth in Rolex Fastnet Race

Mike Slade's ICAP Leopard was first across the Plymouth finish line early this morning to claim line honours in the Rolex Fastnet Race but the wait to find out the overall winner on corrected time is now on as the rest of the fleet make their way to the finish.

Making the most of a breeze that was significantly more favourable than forecast, Leopard crossed the finish line at 01:09:36 BST after two days, 11 hours, 9 minutes and 36 seconds elapsed time, which was more than 15 hours outside their record set in 2007.

At 4.25am, Beau Geste also finished, giving Hong Kong owner Karl Kwok, who last competed in the Fastnet in 1995, a line honours victory in IRC Class 1 and a promising first competitive outing for his new Farr 80 before heading off to Sardinia for the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup.

Seb Josse, French skipper of BT who was sailing two up with Jean Francois Cuzon, clinched the Open 60 title sailing an excellent race to finish at 5am ahead of Niklas Zennstrom's Ran.

Sam Davies, racing with French Volvo Ocean Race sailor Sidney Gavignet arrived 75 minutes later in Artemis Ocean Racing having lost out in the final downwind stretch to BT's superior boat speeds after being first Open 60 to round the Fastnet rock.

"It was a great race but we are still struggling to match BT downwind," said Sam who immediately turned round in Plymouth and headed straight back to Southampton where the boat is based.

"Upwind her performance is superb so we need to work on our performance over the next two months before the Transat Jacques Vabre," she added.

By 9am, six boats had finished, three retired and 291 boats were still racing with those at the back of the fleet just passing Land's End with at least three more days at sea.

Birmingham City confirm Carson Yeung approach

Birmingham City have confirmed that Carson Yeung, the Hong Kong-based businessman who tried to take over the club in 2007, has begun negotiations to increase his investment in the club and assume a majority shareholding.

In a statement to the Stock Exchange, the club this morning confirmed reports of fresh interest from Yeung’s company Grandtop International Holdings Limited in acquiring further shares.

"The board of Birmingham note the recent press speculation and confirm they have received an approach from Grandtop International Holdings Limited ('Grandtop') - which may or may not lead to an offer for the entire issued share capital of the Company," the statement read.

Yeung, through his clothing firm Grandtop, is the largest individual shareholder, currently owning 29.9 per cent of the club, bought in 2007 from chairmen David Sullivan, and David and Ralph Gold for £15m.

He has always stated his intention to purchase the remaining 46.44 per cent, but he has never followed through, mainly, it is believed, because of funding. However, Yeung has now revived his interest.

"As shareholders will be aware, previous approaches did not proceed - and the issue of the funding of any possible offer will be a major factor in determining how the company responds to the approach," the club said.

“A further announcement updating shareholders will be made when appropriate."

Woods denies fine for criticism

Tiger Woods has denied being fined by the PGA Tour for criticising a tournament official at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Reports in the United States suggested the world number one had been punished for his criticism of European Tour chief referee John Paramor, who put him and Padraig Harrington on the clock for slow play at the 16th tee in the last group of their final round showdown at Firestone Country Club in Ohio.

Ireland's Harrington, who had been leading Woods by a stroke as the players arrived at the 16th tee, said he had rushed subsequent shots on that hole which he triple bogeyed having found greenside water while his rival birdied and went on to win by four shots.

The Irishman played down the ruling on Sunday but Woods accused Paramor of getting "in the way of a great battle" and the controversy continued into a third day at Hazeltine National as both players faced the press again ahead of Thursday's opening round of the US PGA Championship.

"I've heard from the Tour and there was no fine. That was an erroneous report," Woods began on Tuesday.

"The way I understood it, we were the only two in contention to win the event.

"We had separated ourselves. The winner was not going to come from the groups ahead, even though Robert (Allenby) played just a great round ahead of us.

"It was going to come from our group and we were having a great battle.

"I just thought that even after Paddy had pitched the ball in the water, he then walked all around the lake, taking the drop, hit his shot over the green and pitched back up, we got on the 17th tee, hit our shots down the fairway and as we were arriving at the ball, the group ahead of us was now entering the 18th fairway.

"So we were not that far behind, maybe five minutes or whatever it may be from the group ahead of us.

"If Paddy does not hit the ball in the water, we play up, we are right behind the group in front of us.

"So that's why I said what I said, because that certainly affected how Paddy played the hole, and the outcome of the tournament.

"He was in control of the event. He was one up with three holes to go and he had a par five.

"And you know, when we were put on the clock, it certainly changed everything."

Harrington, defending the US PGA Championship title in Minnesota this week, once again chose to take the blame for his troubles on the 16th hole last Sunday as he faced the media ahead of Woods.

"You know, we were having a great battle," Harrington said. "I was enjoying it. I believe he was enjoying it. I think we were both putting up to each other, and that was a good thing.

"I reacted poorly to the situation, and that's my own fault. It's part of the rules that these things are going to happen. It would have been probably better if it happened earlier in the round.

"Ultimately, the two of us getting into trouble on 14 pushed us over the edge, which was unfortunate that we both played the hole poorly at the same time."

The world number 10 also said he preferred to let Woods take up the issue.

"As regards what (Woods) said, you know, I think it's easier for having won the tournament, he can take the moral high ground and say what he wants," he said.

"Having lost the tournament, I'm going to sit back and just, you know, there's not much; I'm going to take it on the chin and say it was my mistake.

"He's in a good position that when you've won the tournament, you can, well, what could I say? I suppose that's best left said to him. As I said, he's in a better position to say it."

Fabio Capello looks on the bright side as injuries hit England's friendly with Holland

Welcome to World Cup year, Fabio. Welcome to the perils of managing England.

Your second best player, Steven Gerrard, limps home injured. Your bright goalkeeping hope, Ben Foster, is also out.

Your main speed king, Theo Walcott, fails to complete training and on Wednesday night you face opponents ranked third on Planet Football.

Encouragingly, Capello appears capable of dealing with the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune hurtling his way, although nothing in his experience will prepare him for England's infamous X-factor, the unpredictable pre-tournament incident like the pre-Euro 96 Cathay Pacific controversy or the tale of Teddy Sheringham's crafty ciggy prior to France 98.

An audience with the great man at the Amsterdam Hilton on Tuesday confirmed that England are in good hands. Accentuating the positive in his usual deadpan way, Capello stressed that Gerrard's departure with a "tight groin'' simply allowed Ashley Young to prove his high-speed class on the left.

Stars such as Gerrard can go lame suddenly so Capello must hope the understudies are ready to step up. "All players are important,'' replied Capello, before slipping into the Animal Farm-yard, "but some are more important than others.''

Too right. Not exactly overstocked with world-beaters, England will be immeasurably poorer without either Gerrard or Wayne Rooney, while none of the second tier of Glen Johnson, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard is easily replaceable either. "Sometimes you have to change the system,'' mused Capello.

As for Foster's knee problem, Capello shrugged and insisted he already knew his No 1 for the World Cup, namely David James. Hardly reassuring. The last two keepers to win tournaments were Iker Casillas with Spain at Euro 2008 and Gianluigi Buffon with Italy at the 2006 World Cup. James, currently injured, soon turning 40, is good but is still not fit to lace their gloves.

Capello ruled out any move for Manuel Almunia, who qualifies for a UK passport under the residency rules. "Almunia, for me, is Spanish,'' said Capello of a keeper raised to the sound of bulls chasing Ernest Hemingway wannabes through the streets of Pamplona.

Walcott's absence means David Beckham starts in the Amsterdam Arena. To a chorus of approval from England's Beckham-fixated supporters, expect some dead-ball pyrotechnics from the LA Galaxy quarterback as he uses this timely shop window to parade his ability to AC Milan.

Beckham must also prove to his growing band of doubters that his 34-year-old body still contains enough athleticism to track back with wingers such as Arjen Robben.

The decision to field Beckham, hardly the most experimental move in the history of English football friendlies, particularly when James Milner is aching for opportunity to knock, reflects Capello's conservative streak as well as the reality that Old Goldenballs will be at his fourth World Cup in South Africa. Double the security. Enlarge the press box. The circus is in town.

For all the talk of young bucks, and fast-tracking Stuart Pearce's colts, Capello will go with those he knows. Yesterday's support for James confirmed that. Capello sees the likes of Beckham and James as tried and trusted, not tired and rusted.

Talking to Capello at England's base here, mixed feelings were stirred. Even taking into account the fact that Capello's English regresses after every holiday, as if he heads home and swaps Dickens for Dante the moment he crosses the threshold, the Italian's natural authority was inescapable in any language.

It is easy to see why the players respect him, fear him to an extent. Gerrard, Foster and Walcott would not have limped out of contention without genuine cause. They want to be part of Capello's mission.

Educating England has been the theme of the visiting Italian professor's syllabus. Yesterday, Capello elucidated on the flaws of the English team player. "The most important job I have done is recover the confidence of the players,'' said Capello.

Enough technical ability can be found in the English ranks to take the team to the semi-finals next summer. The mettle needs strengthening, ensuring players concentrate for 90 minutes (or 120 given England's history).

"Sometimes, we play 20 minutes very well, sometimes we sleep a little bit,'' explained Capello. "At other times, we don't play with the same aggression. We have to play 90 minutes like these 20 minutes. It's about consistency in performance.''

However England fare against Robben and company, the whole exercise is useful in focusing minds before the World Cup. England, like the Dutch, have been flying in qualifying, whipping up high expectations for the High Veld.

Even England's captain, John Terry, succumbed to the "we can win it'' hype, forgetting the promise England players had made to themselves after the humiliation of the last World Cup. Don't they learn? Most footballers think hubris is a type of eco-car.

If a personal belief is that England will get no further than the semis next summer, where there is Rooney, there is hope. Terry argued that Rooney was a nightmare to handle "when he's deeper, floating, a free spirit'' behind a centre-forward, causing "problems for centre-halves'' like himself.

Capello agreed, taking "pleasure'' in Sir Alex Ferguson's promise to deploy Rooney through the middle for Manchester United this season. "He's always in the centre of the action, can receive and play a lot of passes and can score goals. It's a good position for him.''

All this understandable praise for Rooney also highlights how bereft England would be without him. Welcome to World Cup year, Fabio. Just keep Rooney fit and you have a chance.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez asks Spain to go easy with Fernando Torres

Rafael Benitez has admitted that he has spoken to Spain's coaching staff to make sure Fernando Torres does not run the risk of injury while on international duty.

Torres trained with the Spanish squad on Monday and on Tuesday flew to Skopje with his team-mates, including Pepe Reina and Albert Riera, for Spain's friendly against Macedonia.

He returned to pre-season training just three weeks ago because of his commitments in South Africa with the Spanish team at the Confederations Cup.

Benitez is desperate to avoid a repeat of his second season in England, which was interrupted by a spate of injuries.

The Liverpool manager is all too well aware that he cannot afford to lose Torres for Sunday's Premier League opener against Tottenham at White Hart Lane, with doubts already hovering over Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel, and Alberto Aquilani already ruled out.

"He has gone with the national team and we are talking with the staff to make sure they do the right things," Benitez said.

Torres is, in many ways, a victim of his own success, at both club and international level.

Thanks to Euro 2008, the Confederations Cup – jokingly referred to by Benitez as "a very important tournament" – and the World Cup next year, Torres is likely to go four years without a full pre-season rest since his move to Anfield in 2007.

Bayern Munich close in on Chelsea's Jose Bosingwa

Chelsea defender Jose Bosingwa could be on his way to Bayern Munich after the Bundesliga club stepped up their £15 million move for the Portuguese right-back.

Bayern have been courting Bosingwa all summer and they have confirmed he is their No 1 priority in the transfer market.

Bayern general manager Uli Hoeness said: "We are still interested in Jose. We need a strong, experienced defender on the right side, especially if we use Ribery in a more offensive role, as is being considered.

"We want only Bosingwa and have no interest in any other player for this position.

"Chelsea agreed to give us a signal after the Community Shield that they were ready to talk and we are waiting for contact from them."

As well as expressing an interest in Bosingwa, Hoeness also rubbished suggestions Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich had flown over to Munich to discuss the possible £40m transfer of Franck Ribery.

Hoeness said: "What does he expect for that - Ribery's right leg? Seriously, we stopped talking about Franck leaving a month ago because it isn't going to happen."

Chelsea have also failed in their bid to sign Daniele De Rossi from Roma.

Carlo Ancelotti reportedly bid £22m for the 26-year-old Italian international midfielder, but Roma director Bruno Conti said: "The offer was a lot of money but it was refused. For Roma, this player is untouchable."

And team president Rosella Sensi added: "De Rossi is not for sale and will not be in the future."

Ancelotti is lining up a £2.5m bid for 24-year-old Norwegian midfielder Erik Huseklepp.

Marcus Trescothick may still make England comeback for Oval showdown

Marcus Trescothick has not ruled out playing for England in their Ashes showdown at the Oval next week, but he has not quite ruled himself in either.

He will not do either unless the selectors pop the question to him. But if they were to ask, a close friend of Trescothick's puts it at 60-40 that he would say yes, providing it was just a one-off appearance.

"No one has spoken to me or said anything to me on the issue," Trescothick said on Tuesday. "If I was asked, I don't know. I'm retired. I'm done. If they threw questions at me, I would listen. But until they do I can't answer.

"I am just carrying on what I am doing at Somerset. Anything else is so hypothetical at the moment. It's always nice to be thought of. Of course it is. But people are talking about it more than I am thinking about it."

However, there now appears to be a stalemate, with national selector Geoff Miller indicating that Trescothick would not be considered unless he put his hand up for selection.

Miller said on Tuesday: "Marcus has retired from top-level cricket [...] and is still out of the international arena. The selectors and I have spoken to him two or three times this season to see if he is happy with his situation and he said he was. As such we would not consider him for selection for this Test."

While both parties seem to be waiting on each other to make the first move, one person in no doubt that Trescothick should be considered is Justin Langer, his captain at Somerset and the author of the recent and damning dossier on England's players.

Langer said on Tuesday that Trescothick's batting at the head of the order had been so good that he was the outstanding candidate should England seek change to their batting for the Oval.

"I actually canvassed the idea with him the other day and the thought has been going through his mind ever since," said Langer, who played in 21 Ashes Tests.

"He is the stand-out opener in the first division and there is no doubt in my mind that physically, technically and mentally, he is up to the job. He really makes batting look so easy at the moment.

"My only reservation is that until I read his book I had no inkling of the trauma and torment that he'd been going through, even though I'd been playing with and against him throughout that time.

"Whether Test cricket would ignite any of those issues again only he knows, but he's in a very peaceful place at the moment."

Trescothick, 33, retired from international cricket 17 months ago after suffering a breakdown in India early in 2006, but has continued to play for Somerset, for whom he has been in terrific form this season with 1,330 first-class runs at an average of 78.23, including six centuries.

If the selectors feel wary about former Australian Test players bearing eulogies, they can always look up Trescothick's record for England at the Oval, especially in the must-win match against South Africa in 2003, when he made a Test-best 219. Indeed, in seven Test matches there, he has made 687 runs at 67, well above his overall Test average of 43.

England have certainly missed his qualities. Indeed, Andrew Strauss even tried to persuade him to come out of retirement last March to play Twenty20 for England, but that would have entailed overseas travel, one of the triggers to his illness, so he declined.

"After taking everything into consideration, I reluctantly had to tell Strauss that playing for England again was just not possible," Trescothick said at the time. "I might be wrong, but I still believe that if it was as simple as turning up and batting for England, I could do it and succeed."

A one-off Test at the Oval would be just that, though, with the added bonus of a colossal reception from the sell-out crowd. With the Ashes at stake, Australia's bowlers and fielders would no doubt chew his ears off reminding him of his troubled past, but he's coped with that before.

Of course the selectors may not be considering any changes to the squad that assembled at Headingley, despite the batting failures there, but if they are Trescothick has the greatest Test pedigree among those being proposed.

He also scores his runs quickly, something integral to England's chances of forcing a win on a pitch that has not given up many this season.

Roger Federer finds winning touch against Frederic Niemeyer at Rogers Cup in Montreal

World No 1 Roger Federer made comfortable progress into the third round of the Rogers Cup in Montreal.

The Swiss, who became a father to twin daughters last month having won his 15th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, was making his first appearance since that victory at the All England Club after receiving a first-round bye in Canada.

Federer needed a tie-break in the first set against Canadian opponent Frederic Niemeyer but came through 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 as he began his preparations in earnest for the defence of his US Open title.

Federer fired down 16 aces against his 33-year-old opponent, who is ranked 487 in the world.

He will now face either compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka or Andrey Golubev in the third round.

Andy Murray cruised to a 6-4, 6-2 win over Jeremy Chardy in his first match since losing to Andy Roddick in the Wimbledon semi-finals.

The world No 3 wrapped up victory in his first meeting with the Frenchman in one hour and 34 minutes to set up a third-round match with Juan Carlos Ferrero or Gael Monfils.

Service breaks in the opening games of each set paved the way for the Scot, who could move up to second in the rankings, ahead of Rafael Nadal, if the Spaniard loses on Wednesday against compatriot David Ferrer and Murray makes the last four.

Ferrero recorded a thumping win over Lleyton Hewitt in the first round, brushing aside the Australian 6-1, 6-4.

Fourth seed Novak Djokovic overcame Canadian wild card Peter Polansky 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) in his second-round clash, with the Serbian firing 11 aces in the match.

Eighth seed Nikolay Davydenko won his second-round match against Paul-Henri Mathieu in straight sets, but did not have things all his own way as he was taken to two tie-breaks.

The Russian ground out a 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/2) win in two hours and four minutes.

Elsewhere in round one, Victor Hanescu beat Jurgen Melzer 6-4, 6-3, 15th seed Tommy Robredo beat Alex Bogomolov Jr 6-4, 6-2 and John Isner defeated Jesse Levine 6-3, 6-4.

Andy Murray eases past Jeremy Chardy in the Rogers Cup in Montreal

Andy Murray cruised to a 6-4 6-2 win over Jeremy Chardy in the second round of the Rogers Cup in Montreal on Tuesday in his first match since losing to Andy Roddick in the Wimbledon semi-finals.

Murray started his North American hard-court season by beating a Frenchman ranked No 36 in the world, taking him into the third round of the Masters-level tournament on the Montreal cement.

Although Chardy reached double figures for breakpoints, he could not convert any of them, and Murray won their first tour meeting. The Scottish world No 3 wrapped up victory in one hour 34 minutes.

"When I was down on the breakpoints, I came up with some big serves," said Murray, who had a bye through the first round.

Murray will next play another Frenchman, Gael Monfils, or Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero, a former world No 1 who came through the qualifying competition.

By the end of the week, Murray could move ahead of Rafael Nadal, a winner of six grand slam titles, to become Britain's first world No 2.

That would require the Spaniard to lose on Wednesday and Murray to reach the last four. Such a scenario would put Nadal outside the top two for the first time since 2005.

Venus makes easy progress

Venus Williams made easy progress into the third round of the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open.

The world number three, who was a losing finalist last time out at the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford in California, had no problems against Olga Govortsova as she came through comfortably 6-2 6-2.

World number one and top seed Dinara Safina came through her match against Roberta Vinci of Italy 2-6 7-5 6-4, but fellow Russian and 10th seed Nadia Petrova was not so lucky.

Petrova, ranked 10th in the world, lost in straight sets to Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-2 6-3.

Sixth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova was given a tough test by Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic but eventually emerged victorious 6-3 6-7 (2/7) 7-6 (7/4) in a match which lasted two hours and 18 minutes.

Thirteenth seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland made short work of Japan's Ai Sugiyama, prevailing 6-2 6-1 and Flavia Pennetta, 14th seed in Ohio and winner of the tour event in Los Angeles at the weekend, overcame Japanese qualifier Ayumi Morita 6-2 6-3.

Fifteenth seed Dominika Cibulkova tumbled out in the first round to Peng Shuai 6-2 6-1 while Agnes Szavay and Alisa Kleybanova are both through to the second round thanks to victories over Urszula Radwanska and Aravane Rezai.

Holland Under-21s 0 England Under-21s 0

The friendly match between Holland Under-21s and England Under-21s in Groningen on Tuesday Aug 11, 2009.

Stuart Pearce has bit back at suggestions that Jack Wilshere, the 17-year-old Arsenal starlet who made his Under-21 international debut on Tuesday night, would be fast-tracked into the England senior squad as he warned of the dangers of another “lost generation”.

Wilshere’s remarkable progress at Arsenal has invited fevered predictions that the young midfielder could flourish even greater a talent than Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, but Pearce dismissed the notion that the teenager was next in Fabio Capello’s sights for the World Cup in South Africa.

“I find it a little bit sad that we over-hype players, because I know what is around the corner,” Pearce told Telegraph Sport.

“It just shows the folly of it. From our 'golden generation’ to our 'lost generation’, I have seen it many times. It is very unfair on the player – you should just let the player develop.

“People are talking up his chances, but how many of them have watched him at the Under-17 or Under-19 championships? I have, and he needs to be allowed to blossom in his own time. I will look after him, as will Fabio.”

Wilshere made only a 32-minute cameo at Groningen’s Euroborg stadium, having been drafted in at late notice to replace Fabrice Muamba.

Of Wilshere’s fellow debutants in the team, Fabian Delph illustrated why Aston Villa believed he was worth all of £8 million, operating skilfully in the centre of Pearce’s five-man midfield and displaying neat interplay with West Ham’s Junior Stanislas to ruffle the Dutch defence.

Where the early anticipation had been all about Wilshere, his exile on the bench shifted the focus to Nacer Barazite, an Arsenal team-mate and Moroccan-born Dutch striker who was poached by Arsene Wenger aged just 16.

The hosts were more dynamic in the first half as both Leroy Fer and Diego Biseswar found themselves through on goal.

Micah Richards made the most of his captain’s armband for the night, hurling himself into the six-yard box at every set-piece. James Vaughan joined him in trying to dispatch an inswinging Kieran Gibbs free-kick, putting pressure on Dutch goalkeeper Tim Krul, but all three ended up in a heap.

Barazite’s flair began to tell, though, and his 20-yard drive had goalkeeper Scott Loach stretching. England’s best chance fell to Richards, the right-back producing a delicate one-two with Stanislas, then angling the return pass too close to Krul.

Wilshere was efficient in his distribution when he came on after 58 minutes, and Pearce indicated that he had made a strong case for inclusion in the first of the squads for the 2011 European qualifiers, which begin in Macedonia on Sept 5.

Holland (4-3-3): Krul; Janmaat, Van Eijden (Bruma h-t), Pieters (Blind h-t), Kuiper; Donald (Anita 64), De Jong, Biseswar; Barazite, Emnes (John 64), Fer (Van der Heijden h-t). Subs: Nienhuis (g), Goossens, Leerdam. Booked: Janmaat.

England (4-5-1): Loach (Watford); Richards (Manchester City), Tomkins (West Ham), Mancienne (Chelsea), Gibbs (Arsenal); Rodwell (Everton), Cattermole (Wigan), Delph (Aston Villa), Stanislas (West Ham), Rose (Tottenham); Vaughan (Everton). Subs: Fielding (Blackburn, g) for Loach, h-t; Sturridge (Chelsea) for Vaughan, h-t; Bertrand (Reading) for Gibbs, 58; Naughton (Tottenham) for Richards, 58; Wilshere (Arsenal) for Delph, 58; Carroll (Newcastle) for Cattermole, 71; Sears (Crystal Palace) for Stanislas, 84.

Referee: B Rafati (Germany)

Att: 6,500

Carling Cup Tuesday Review

We take a look at Tuesday's action in the Carling Cup.

League Two sides Port Vale and Rotherham pulled off the best giant-killing heroics in the Carling Cup on Tuesday, beating Championship outfits Sheffield United and Derby County respectively.

Port Vale went ahead at Bramall Lane thanks to Marc Richards' 20th minute goal but Billy Sharp equalised for Sheffield United on 33 minutes.

But Richards then got his second on 61 minutes to hand the Valiants a famous win.

Rotherham came from behind to beat Nigel Clough's Derby after Gary Teale had put the Rams ahead in the 11th minute.

Paul Warne then equalised a minute before half-time and Kevin Ellison netted the winner on 65 minutes to send the Millers' fans delirious.

League One Gillingham also continued their flying start to the season by claiming the scalp of Plymouth.

Simeon Jackson and Andy Barcham did the damage for Gillingham in the first half and they held on to win 2-1 after Luke Summerfield netted early in the second period for Plymouth.

Ipswich squeezed through 4-2 on penalties after a 3-3 draw at League Two Shrewsbury with youngster Connor Wickham grabbing two goals.

Extra-time goals from Mike Williamson and Scott Severin saw Watford through 2-0 at League Two neighbours Barnet.

Elsewhere, Championship side Reading easily beat League Two new boys Burton Albion 5-1 at the Madejski.

David Mooney put the Royals ahead on six minutes followed by a quick-fire Nicholas Bignall brace (7 & 9) and a fourth from Gylfi Sigurdsson (27) before Jimmy Phillips netted a 59th minute consolation for the Brewers. Mooney then got a second (77) for the home side.

Championship side Preston also beat League Two opposition in the shape of Morecambe, winning 5-1, while Sheffield Wednesday defeated Rochdale 3-0 thanks to a Jermaine Johnson brace and an opener from Etienne Esajas.

League Two's Notts County put up stubborn resistance before Championship side Doncaster won through James Coppinger's 54th minute winner, while Scunthorpe United beat Chesterfield 2-1 at Glanford Park.

But League Two Hereford provided a shock with a 1-0 extra-time victory over League One Charlton thanks to a 98th minute goal from Jonny Godsmark.

Bryan Gunn's Norwich bounced back from Saturday's 7-1 drubbing by Colchester to win 4-0 at Yeovil thanks to Wesley Hoolahan's 55th minute penalty and a Grant Holt hat-trick.

West Brom proved too strong for Bury as a Graeme Dorrans strike and Mike Jones own goal gave them a 2-0 victory at Gigg Lane.

Cardiff moved into the next round with another win at their new stadium but they were given a few anxious moments before prevailing 3-1 against Dagenham & Redbridge.

Blackpool needed a late effort from Daniel Nardiello to claim a hard-fought 2-1 success at Crewe.

Brentford were tipped to provide Bristol City with a stern challenge at Griffin Park and the odds of a shock increased when Daniel Haynes was sent off, but the ten-man Robins snatched a 1-0 win courtesy of Nicky Maynard.

Crystal Palace negotiated a potential banana skin at home to Torquay as Darren Ambrose stroked home a penalty 12 minutes from time to seal a 2-1 victory.

Barnsley narrowly avoided an upset against Lincoln as Daniel Bogdanovic secured a 1-0 triumph for the Championship side.

Wayne Routledge scored a second-half hat-trick as Queens Park Rangers ran out 5-0 winners over newly promoted League One outfit Exeter.

Paul Mullin struck in the 90th minute to give Accrington of League Two an impressive 2-1 victory over League One Walsall.

There was also a late winner at Brunton Park as Carlisle overcame Oldham 1-0 thanks to Scott Dobie.

Lee Barnard scored twice for Southend as they staged a late fightback to defeat Cheltenham 2-1 at Whaddon Road.

Colchester were brought back down to earth following their 7-1 thrashing of Norwich on the opening day of the season as they lost 2-1 at home to Leyton Orient.

Bristol Rovers bounced back from their defeat to Orient at the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Aldershot.

Huddersfield came out on top in their all-League One clash with Stockport at the Galpharm Stadium, comfortably winning 3-1.

League One's Southampton beat League Two's Northampton 2-0, while Championship Swansea City scored three to put out Brighton.

Visitors Swindon thumped MK Dons 4-1 at Stadium:MK, but there were no surprises at The Den as Millwall beat Bournemouth 4-0 courtesy of a Neil Harris hat-trick and a goal from Gary Alexander.

League One's Tranmere easily beat League Two outfit Grimsby 4-0 to hand new boss John Barnes his first win, while Darren Ferguson's Peterborough overcame a potentially tricky trip to Wycombe, winning by the same scoreline.

Andy Gray missed a penalty as Charlton went down 1-0 to Hereford. The Addicks, who were relegated with Norwich and Southampton last season, had the chance to take the lead with the match an hour old but Gary's powerful penalty was saved by Adam Bartlett.

The match was goalless after 90 minutes and eight minutes into extra-time it was the League Two side who went ahead through Jonny Godsmark's close-range shot.

Muhammad Ali and Henry Cooper set for reunion after 20 years

Sir Henry Cooper and Muhammad Ali are to be reunited for the first time in more than 20 years at an equestrian event in the private grounds of Windsor Castle later this month.

Cooper told The Daily Telegraph: "It will be nice to be in his company again. He was a bit special – the fastest fighter in the world and I'm told it will be his last visit to the UK as he won't be well enough to travel soon. It's always good to trade memories."

Cooper fought Ali twice in the Sixties. In their first meeting, at Wembley, when Ali was still Cassius Clay, Cooper caught Clay in the dying seconds of the fourth with his trademark left hook which sent the American to the canvas.

Then came the controversy. Clay's trainer, Angelo Dundee, made worse a small tear in Clay's gloves, and brought it to the referee's attention, thus allowing Clay some extra time to recover. Cooper was stopped on cuts in the next round.

Cooper added: "People always ask me if I'm bitter about that split glove back in '63 but I see it now as just part of the game. I hope my trainer would've done the same for me in similar circumstances."

Warming to the memories, Cooper said: "I've seen Angelo a few times and he always rubs it in about splitting Ali's glove, and he admits it quite openly. It's all water under the bridge now.

"The great shame is that I hit him on the ropes, rather than in the middle of the ring. If he'd gone down with his shoulders on the boards, he probably would have gone. He was let down gently instead, from the top, then the middle, then the bottom rope."

The face-to-face meeting between the two boxing greats will take place on Friday Aug 28 at the Alltech FEI European Jumping and Dressage Championships. Ali is attending to help raise awareness of the Alltech-Muhammad Ali Center Global Education and Charitable Fund.

The two boxing legends will be joined by other British boxing greats at a VIP reception and will then take part in a lap of honour around the arena in an open-top Land Rover.

Fabio Capello dismisses Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia's England prospects

Fabio Capello has played down the chances of Arsenal's Spanish goalkeeper Manuel Almunia playing for England.

The England manager is preparing for Wednesday night's friendly against Holland without first-choice goalkeeper David James and his likely replacement, Ben Foster, both of whom have knee injuries.

Almunia, who was born in Pamplona, is eligible to represent England having spent five years in the country playing for Arsenal.

Speculation has been rife that the 32 year-old could wear the Three Lions, with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger pressing his claims.

But the suggestion brought a very brief response from Capello, which left little room for ambiguity.

"Almunia, for me, is Spanish," the Italian said. "He is Spanish and he plays for the Arsenal team."

Foster had been earmarked for an appearance in Amsterdam, just as he had been due to face Kazakhstan and Andorra in June only to undergo a thumb operation instead.

Foster was unimpressive for Manchester United in Sunday's Community Shield, but Capello does not see that as an issue.

"I am happy with his performances," said Capello, who will field West Ham's Robert Green instead. "Foster made some mistakes on Sunday but he played with confidence and that is really important."

Holland are only European side to have already qualified for next summer's World Cup in South Africa, but Capello does not rate them as highly Euro 2008 winners Spain.

"Holland do not have the same quality as Spain but they have had some really good results, so it is a really important test," said Capello.

"It gives us an opportunity to understand what we will have to do if we play against a team with the same style in South Africa."

Resino slams FIFA over friendlies

Atletico Madrid boss Abel Resino has slammed FIFA as his club prepares for their Champions League qualifier against Panathinaikos.

Resino is set to go into the first leg clash without several key personnel who have been called up for international duty this week.

"It's alien to us - a calendar imposed by FIFA that clubs must respect but it's awkward because as a team we cannot afford to take risks," said Resino.

Spanish tabloid AS reported that the Rojiblancos coach said it was "important" to be ready for the Champions League. While Resino is satisfied with how the team has performed in pre-season, he admitted that there is still a lot of work to be done.

"Every day we improve more and more, we need time to get the team in shape," he said.

Ashley Young to replace injured Steven Gerrard in England team for Holland friendly

Aston Villa forward Ashley Young will replace the injured Steven Gerrard in England's midfield for Wednesday evening's friendly against Holland in Amsterdam.

Liverpool captain Gerrard joined Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster on the absentee list on Tuesday morning, having suffered a slight groin injury in training.

With Gerrard not aboard the flight to the Dutch capital, England manager Fabio Capello decided that Young should fill the left-sided midfield berth.

Young, 24, has been capped five times by England's senior side, having been a regular at under-21 level. Villa paid Watford an initial £8 million for him in January 2007.

Young's first appearance under Capello, against Germany in Berlin last season, was not a great success even though England won the game 2-1.

However, he did better in the 6-0 World Cup qualifying win over Andorra at Wembley in June and Capello is happy to place his faith in the winger.

"It will be a good test for him," the Italian said. "He has only played twice for me but the last time he did very well. I have watched him recently and he is in good form at the moment."

Asked if England would have to change their approach with the replacement of Gerrard with Young, Capello said: "Yes, we will have to a little bit.

"I cannot clone Stevie. Every player has a different style and Ashley Young is really important because he is one of the English players who can dribble and take people on one-on-one.

"He has only played twice for me. The first time it was so-so. The second he played very well.

"Now he needs the confidence to perform against one of the best national sides in the world."

Young's manager at Villa, Martin O'Neill, will certainly not have any fears for his player.

Last December the Northern Irishman described Young as "world class" and a "genius" following his superb double strike in Villa's 3-2 win over Everton.

Foster, meanwhile, was withdrawn by United manager Sir Alex Ferguson on Monday, having suffered a "knock" to his knee while colliding with United defender Patrice Evra during the Community Shield defeat by Chelsea on Sunday.

Capello said: "I am happy because (Robert) Green is in good form. I watched the game he played (for West Ham) against Napoli and he did well."

Capello also said he was not too worried that transfer speculation surrounding Joleon Lescott and Matthew Upson would affect their form.

Both Everton defender Lescott and West Ham centre-back Upson have been targeted by Manchester City this summer.

Capello said: "I remember when I spoke with Gareth Barry before one game (when he was being linked with Liverpool) and then he played very well.

"I hope these players like Lescott and Upson will not be distracted by the problems which can sometimes come."

Northants cannot play in CLT20

Northamptonshire cannot play in Champions T20 League as the county side still has three ICL players, IPL chairman Lalit Modi said.

Modi said Northants still have in their ranks three former South Africa players -- Nicky Boje, Andrew Hall and Van der Wath -- who have not severed their connection with the 'rebel' Indian Cricket League.

"Champions League rules are very clear that no team with players connected to any unauthorised cricket can be a part of it. Northants will be disqualified from the League if they enter the final (of England domestic T20 cricket) and there would be a vacant slot," he said.

The Champions League, featuring 12 teams, would be held from October 8-23 at four centres in India -- Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mohali and Delhi.

If Northants are disqualified, a door could open for a fourth Indian Premier League franchise to appear in the League and Chennai Super Kings, which finished fourth in IPL II, could benefit from such a scenario.

IPL-II winners Deccan Chargers, runners-up Bangalore Royal Challengers and league phase toppers Delhi Daredevils have already qualified for the League.

IPL 2010 to start in early March

Four new venues and a third place playoff match will be introduced in the third IPL which will get underway in Hyderabad in 2010.

The final of the 45-day Twenty20 cricket league, which proved a huge success in its first two editions in India and South Africa, would be held on April 25, IPL Chairman Lalit Modi announced after a meeting of its Governing Council today.

IPL III will have four additional match staging centres -- Nagpur, Vishakhapatnam, Ahmedabad and Dharamsala -- and will also stage one extra match, the 60th, for the third place play-off, Modi said.

"The playing window remains the same, 45 days", Modi said before adding that the Governing Council also decided to include two more franchisees in IPL IV to be held in 2011.

"There would be 94 games in all with each franchisee playing 18, instead of 14 preliminary phase games. But the window would remain more or less the same," Modi said.

The four additional venues would host matches featuring Mumbai Indians, Deccan Chargers, Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals, Modi said.

"Nagpur would host some matches of Mumbai Indians, Vishakhapatnam of Deccan Chargers, Ahmedabad of Rajasthan Royals and Dharamsala of Kings XI Punjab," he said.

Modi also said the IPL decided to allow players who have switched allegiance from the Indian Cricket League to the Cricket Board by taking advantage of the latter's amnesty scheme provided the BCCI Working Committee approves this move in its meeting here on August 13.

"Provided the BCCI Working Committee approves this, the salary cap for such players who have returned from the rebel league has been fixed between Rs 8 lakh and Rs 20 lakh except those who have played internationals who would have to be auctioned off," he said.

The salary cap for each franchise also remains the same at $7 million USD as well as the number of foreign players (10 in all and four in a playing XI), Modi said.

He said the new trading window would open from December 15, 2009 to January 5, 2010 and all other conditions would remain the same as last year.

Modi said there is a change in the strategic time-out that was introduced in IPL II and received mixed responses from players and critics. They have been reduced from seven and half minutes to five.

"The time-outs are mandatory with the bowling team mandated to utilise the first time out lasting 2.5 minutes between overs 6 and 10 and the batting team the second between overs 11 and 16," the IPL chairman said.

"We have finalised the entire schedule of IPL III eight months ahead," he declared.

Modi also made it clear that players contracted to their country's boards for one year cannot just refuse to sign the contract when offered to them the next year in order to play in the IPL.

"A contracted player in the previous year will have to get an NOC from his home board to appear in the IPL. We want to plug this loophole and to maintain the sanctity of international cricket," Modi said explaining that such cases have come to the fore.

From IPL-IV, to be held in 2011, Modi said the icon player status enjoyed by some players currently would not be in existence.

"There won't be an icon player from IPL-IV," he said.

Modi expects a franchise team to represent a city from Gujarat from IPL-IV because of the level of interest shown in IPL I and II by that state's cricket lovers.

The full schedule of the 45-day tournament ending on April 25, 2010, is:

Mar 12: Deccan Chargers (DC) v Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Hyderabad.

Mar 13: Mumbai Indians (MI) v Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Mumbai/Nagpur; Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) v Delhi Daredevils (DD) at Mohali.

Mar 14: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) v Deccan Chargers in Chennai; Kolkata Knight Riders v Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Kolkata.

Mar 15: RR v DD in Jaipur.

Mar 16: RCB v KXIP in Bangalore; KKR v CSK in Kolkata.

Mar 17: DD v MI in Delhi.

Mar 18: RCB v RR in Bangalore.

Mar 19: DC v KXIP in Vishakapatnam.

Mar 20: RR v KKR in Ahmedabad; MI v RCB in Mumbai/Nagpur.

Mar 21: CSK v KXIP in Chennai; DD v DC in Delhi.

Mar 22: MI v KKR in Mumbai/Nagpur.

Apr 16: DD v CSK in Delhi. Apr 17: RCB v MI in Bangalore; KKR v RR in Kolkata.

Apr 18: DC v DD in Hyderabad; KXIP v CSK at Dharamsala.

Apr 19: KKR v MI in Kolkata.

Apr 20: Rest day.

Apr 21: 1st Semifinal.

Apr 22: 2nd Semifinal.

Apr 23: Rest day.

Apr 24: Play-off for 3rd place.

Apr 25: Final.

Shakib scripts convincing win

Bangladesh 320 ( Shakib 104, Tamim 79) beat Zimbabwe 271 (Williams 71, Coventry 61) by 49 runs

Shakib Al Hasan starred with a delightfully aggressive ton as Bangladesh recorded their second straight win in the five-match series against Zimbabwe. Tamim Iqbal laid the platform with a patient half-century before Shakib took over to propel Bangladesh to their highest ODI score. Zimbabwe put up a fight, courtesy fine half-centuries from Charles Coventry and Sean Williams, but the target proved beyond their reach.

Bangladesh's strategy in the field was simple: keep a tight line and wait for the pressure of the steep target to start telling on the batsmen. And it worked. Coventry provided some momentum to the chase by counterattacking after the early wickets. There was a very skillful hit over extra-cover against Syed Rasel and a couple of big sixes against the offspinner Naeem Islam but he fell trying to keep pace with the asking rate.

Post Coventry's exit, Williams played a gem of a cameo, filled with improvisations, but he too became a victim of the run-rate. He notched up his highest ODI score and not only used his feet well against the spinners but also repeatedly put the reverse sweep to good effect to upset the rhythm of the bowlers. He ran hard between the wickets and kept picking singles and twos to keep the scorecard moving. Near the end of the chase, he took more risks, charging out to the seamers as well. He sashayed down the track and heaved Nazmul Hossain to the cowcorner and slapped him over covers but fell while failing to clear long-on. Elton Chigumbura biffed around in the end to raise the home side's hopes but could only succeed in reducing the margin of the loss.

Bangladesh's win was set up by their batsmen led by Shakib, who provided momentum with an imposing knock. Bangladesh were 108 for 1 in 25 overs but Shakib ensured that they finished strongly.

The feature of his innings was his skill in repeatedly picking the gaps: there were quite a few hits over extra cover, a few to the straight boundary and many swings to midwicket. He started carefully, dealing in singles and twos to reach 15, before breaking free with two pulled boundaries. The explosion started in the 38th over, bowled by the part-time spinner Williams, with Shakib, who was denied the services of a runner just prior to the over, swinging twice over midwicket boundary. He went on to crash Ray Price to the straight boundary before lifting Prosper Utseya over long-off and twice over extra-cover as he made full use of the batting Powerplay.

He was aided by some poor fielding and was dropped twice in the inner circle: when he was on 59, Stuart Matsikenyeri spilled a sitter at midwicket off an attempted reverse-sweep against Utseya and when he was on 71, Price dropped another off a top-edged paddle-sweep.

Shakib went on the rampage after the twin drops. He looted 19 runs, with the help of three boundaries that included a stunning six over long-off, off the 44th over bowled by Chamu Chibhaba. He brought up the hundred in 63 balls and celebrated it with a cheeky scoop shot off Ed Rainsford before he was run out going for the third run after Mushfiqur Rahim had slashed to deep point. Rahim sought to make amends for his mistake with some big hitting in the end to push Bangladesh well past 300.

The platform was laid earlier in the day by Tamim, who forged a more staid partnership with Junaid Siddique at the top of the order. Only four fours came in the first fifteen overs and only one boundary was hit in the air. It not only reflected the intent of the batsmen but also the disciplined lines and length of the new-ball bowlers Elton Chigumbura and Rainsford. If there was to be any criticism, it has to be said that they perhaps strayed to the middle and leg line a touch too often against Tamim, which shows up in his wagon wheel: Tamim picked 48 runs on the on side.

For their part, the batsmen were absolutely focused on playing themselves in before going for their shots. Things were looking good when Siddique was run out. He pushed Utseya, who brought himself on in the 11th over, to the left of short midwicket, was caught in a yes-no situation with Tamim and couldn't get back to his crease in time. Tamim, himself, was run out soon in a comical fashion. He had missed to connect a leg-side delivery but was stranded in the middle due to a faulty call from Shakib and was easily run out by the keeper. However, it didn't prove to be a major set back as Shakib set the stadium ablaze with his power-hitting.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details