Karachi (ANI) The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has put in place stringent measures for the upcoming tour to Sri Lanka to ensure there is no fixing or controversy associated with the players.

The move comes after the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) was caught off-guard by the spot-fixing TV sting operation on some players in Indian Premier League (IPL). The PCB, having learnt its lessons from the BCCI scandal, is not willing to take any chances on the same issue with its players, reports the Daily Times.

“Since the last few tours, the board has made it clear to the players what is expected of them on foreign assignments and adhering to anti-corruption measures form a huge part of their responsibilities,” the paper quoted team manager Naveed Akram Cheema, as saying.

He said the players would be given a proper lecture on anti-corruption and disciplinary issues and the code of conduct they have to follow as national team members, before they embark on the tour to Sri Lanka.

“There will be round the clock security and monitoring of the players and they will be advised not to accept any gift from strangers or invite anyone to their rooms except their families or team members,” he said.

“The PCB is dead serious about enforcing anti-corruption measures and discipline in the team. The management has been told not to compromise on this at all,” he added.

Broad took six for 72, as Windies closed on a total of 243 for nine built upon 87 not out from Chanderpaul, who is officially the world”s best Test batsman.

Broad said they had aimed to take seven wickets on the first day, and praised Chanderpaul’s obdurate innings.

“We aimed for seven wickets in the day. We probably didn”t start as well as we could have done by the standards we set – certainly myself, I probably got driven too much – but that probably came from the wicket being a lot slower than we imagined so we searched for a nick,” Sports24 quoted Broad, as saying.

“As the wicket got a bit quicker you could settle into a better length and to pick up nine we are delighted, but Shiv has played very well and we don”t want him to get a hundred,” he added.

Left-hander Chanderpaul, who is just the 10th man in history to score 10 000 Test runs, has so far batted for over four hours, facing 175 balls with a dozen fours in a trademark display of immovable defiance.

“He plays it so late in swinging conditions. That”s something we can learn as a batting group although we have a great record here as a batting group,” Broad said.

“He”s very hard to draw into a shot which is why he”s No 1 in the world. He gets to 20-30 without you really realizing,” he added.

New Delhi (IANS) Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Albie Morkel says last-gasp thrillers in the Indian Premier League can be stressful for both players and spectators. Everyone is on tenterhooks in those tense, closing stages.

The fifth edition of the IPL has been the most competitive with 13 last-over finishes, 11 of these getting decided off the last ball, in the 67 matches played till Thursday night. And Morkel himself figured in two match-winning shows – he blasted 28 off seven balls against Royal Challengers Bangalore when CSK needed 43 off the last 12 balls and hammered 18 off six balls when his side required an improbable 47 off 24 balls.

The South African all-rounder also leads the Super Sixes competition for the longest hit with his massive 105-metre clout.

For Morkel, whose younger brother Morne plays for Delhi Daredevils, hitting sixes appears to be child’s play, but he says it is extremely taxing to go out and throw the bat around in the closing overs.

“Batting towards the end of a T20 game can be very stressful when the team is trying to win a match from a difficult situation. You can see the run rate going up all the time and when it reaches a stage where you have nothing to lose you hit out at everything. Games against RR and RCB were like that. You have no time to think about the outcome, you just have to try and hit boundaries from ball one,” Morkel told IANS in an interview.

Morkel says staying calm is vital during a tense finish.

“It is important to find a way to try and keep your heart rate down. Sometimes it gets the better of you and you get very stiff. I try to do a lot of stretching to relax and also do not look at the scoreboard too often.”

Super Kings have been the most successful team in IPL’s history, but have struggled with consistency this season. Though the side is still very much in the hunt for a place in the play-offs, Morkel admits the season has been tough for the men in yellow.

“It has been a tough season for the team for various reasons. Personally, I would have liked to be a bit more consistent, though it is a nice feeling to have contributed to the team’s victory more than once,” said Morkel, who has also taken eight wickets in 12 games.

On his team’s inconsistent run in IPL-V, Morkel said: “You can’t always win, but the lack of consistency in the earlier games has not helped our cause.”

There is a clamour by franchises for an increase in the number of overseas players in the playing eleven and it will get shriller with Morkel and his fellow-South African AB de Villiers and West Indian Chris Gayle proving to be the X-factor in their teams.

Morkel, however, feels the existing limit on foreigners should stay.

“I think four is perfect. We must remember that this is an Indian tournament and for us to take part in it is a great privilege.”

As for his place in the South Africa team, the 30-year-old Transvaal-born is happy that he has done well in the shorter versions of the game this season after a low-key performance last year, and he wants to firm up his place in South Africa side.

“I have got a lot of cricket going this winter. After a stint with Somerset in County cricket, he hopes to figure in white ball cricket for South Africa. The target is to do well in the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka.

Morkel made a comeback into the ODI squad for the Sri Lanka series in January after being dropped in 2010. He was also a part of the T20 and ODI squad in New Zealand in February-March.

The lanky cricketer though has ruefully given up on his Test career after playing a single match in 2009.

“In terms of Test cricket, I don’t think I will play again as I am not in their (Cricket South Africa) scheme of things. So I just gotta focus on the shorter versions.”

The MCA has lodged a police complaint against Kolkata Knight Riders IPL franchise co-owner Shah Rukh Khan for his alleged misbehaviour last night at the Wankhede Stadium and has decided to ban him for life from entering the premises. Shukla was guarded in his take on the matter.

“I will take the version of the MCA, Shah Rukh Khan and the police before talking about the issue,” he told reporters. “The decision on ban is taken by the Working Committee so I will speak to MCA President Vilasrao Deshmukh on this. I have to take the version of all the parties involved and then speak,” Shukla added.

The Bollywood star had an altercation with the security and officials of the MCA after the Knight Riders had swamped Mumbai Indians, according to MCA treasurer Ravi Savant.

“He misbehaved and abused the MCA security personnel as well as MCA officials, including our president Vilasrao Deshmukh, after the IPL match (between KKR and Mumbai Indians). We have decided to ban him for life from entering the stadium in future,” Savant said, who alleged that the actor was in a totally inebriated state.

London (ANI) Stuart Broad became only the seventh player in history to both take five wickets in a Test innings at Lord”s and score a Test century at the ground after he ended the first day with figures of six for 72 against the West Indies on Thursday.

Broad’s best batting knock of 169 in a Test match against Pakistan was also achieved at Lord’s two years ago.

He is the fifth English player to get his name on both Lord”s batting and bowling honours boards, following in the paths of Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff.

Broad said it was a huge honour for him to follow in the footsteps of Botham and Flintoff, but claiming nine wickets on the first day was much more important.

“To follow Fred (Flintoff) and Beefy (Botham) in the England dressing room is a huge honour but more importantly we got nine wickets on the first day,” Sports24 quoted Broad, as saying.

“But we talked at the start that Lord”s is never like that and it”s a bit of a patience game,” he added.

West Indies ended the day at 243-9, with Shivnarine Chanderpaul still batting at 87 not out.

Mumbai (IANS) Kolkata Knight Riders moved a step closer to qualifying for the playoffs with a convincing 32-run win over Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Wankhede Stadium here Wednesday.

Put in, Knight Riders recovered from a poor start, and crucial innings from Manoj Tiwari (41), Gautam Gambhir (27) and Yusuf Pathan (21 not out) helped them achieve a modest total of 140 for seven in 20 overs.

Tight bowling by the Knight Riders and a mesmerizing spell of spin bowling by West Indian Sunil Narine (four for 15) helped his team bowl out Mumbai for a paltry 108.

Jacques Kallis (2-32) too played a key role as he removed Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Smith off successive balls to put Kolkata in the driving seat. Lakshmipathy Balaji also picked up two wickets giving away just 11 runs from his four overs.

This win took the visitors to second place in the table with 19 points while Mumbai are just one point behind with both teams left with a single match.

The hosts chasing a moderate total were immediately put under pressure by disciplined bowling by Kolkata. South African Herchelle Gibbs was the first one to go, trapped in front of the wicket by Iqbal Abdulla.

Sachin Tendulkar (27) and Dinesh Karthik (20) put on a 46-run stand too fell in close succession to leave Mumbai in a spot of bother with the score on 66 for three in the 13th over.

Ambati Rayudu (11) and Kieron Pollard (8) could not replicate the heroics of their previous match and fell cheaply.

From then on, it was easy sailing for Kolkata as Mumbai batsmen failed to come to terms with some brilliant bowling. Kallis and Narine took two wickets each in the 17th and 18th over to put an end to Mumbai’s resistance.

Earlier, Kolkata after being put into bat were unlucky to lose Brendon McCullum early. R. P. Singh, who moved the ball about initially, trapped the New Zealender in front of the stumps. However, with McCullum advancing a long way and the ball pitching outside leg stump, umpire Subroto Das got one horribly wrong.

The Knight Riders were then dealt a double blow, with the left-arm pacer castling Jacques Kallis the very next ball. Gautam Gambhir (27), Kolkataa’s most prolific batsman this year, again came to the rescue of his team forging a 38-run partnership with Manoj Tiwary (41).

However, the Kolkata skipper could not carry on and got bowled by a slower ball from Kieron Pollard. Tiwary and Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan (13) continued the good work with a 45-run partnership but Shakib trying to up the ante lost his leg stump to Dwayne Smith.

Tiwary too trying to clear the boundary was dismissed by a good running catch by Lasith Malinga.

Yusuf Pathan (21 not out) played a scrappy innings but with the help of Rajat Bhatia (12) and Sunil Narine (9 not out), Kolkata reached a fighting total.

It is learnt that at least three franchises during their meeting with the BCCI top brass have requested them to have either ‘open auction’ or a separate auction exclusively for uncapped domestic players in order to avoid any confusion.

“The brand gets affected by these allegations and the best way to do it is by having either open auctions or an exclusive auction for uncapped domestic players. We have already intimated our feelings to IPL Governing Council in this regard. They have assured us that the matter would be seriously considered,” an IPL team official said on Wednesday.

Till now, according to BCCI salary cap, the maximum an uncapped domestic player can earn is Rs 30 lakh, considering he has five years experience in first-class cricket. For BCCI, the ‘open auction’ is certainly not a feasible option considering that IPL auctions are televised live and including hundreds of domestic players won’t be a commercially viable option.

“But we can certainly think of a separate auction for domestic players even if it’s not televised. It will certainly be a step forward towards maintaining transparency as far as payments are concerned,” a BCCI official said. Another franchise official cited Ambati Rayudu’s example as to why domestic players who have performed consistently should get more.

“A Wriddhiman Saha on basis of international experience fetched $100,000 (CSK) from last year’s IPL auctions. Now Ambati Rayudu is entitled to Rs 30 lakh even though his T20 credentials are far more than that of Saha,” the official explained.

London (ANI) Kings XI Punjab captain David Hussey has defended his Indian Premier League (IPL) team following allegations of corruption during the tournament, and insists he would be disappointed if any player from his team is found involved in it.

Amit Yadav and Shalabh Srivastava, two of the five players suspended by the Indian cricket board (BCCI) following a television sting, are contracted to the Punjab IPL team, but have not played in the ongoing tournament.

“Everyone in my team, everyone in Kings XI Punjab as a brand, plays with utmost integrity, and if any print or TV media tries to write differently or say something differently about my team, then I will be very disappointed,” The News quoted Hussey, as telling to media in Delhi.

“I can”t really comment on the sting,” he added.

Reporters from a Hindi-language channel, India TV posing as sports agents, recorded the low-profile players, as saying that spot fixing and black money is prevalent in the Twenty20 IPL.

T. P. Sudhindra, Mohnish Mishra and Abhinav Bali were the other first-class cricketers suspended from the game on Tuesday by the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) until preliminary investigations were completed.

“We will have to wait and see. Nobody is guilty until proven. We will have to wait for the decision after the inquiry and then only we can come to some conclusion. Right now our focus is to finish in the top-2. Nothing has taken the focus away from us. Once the inquiry is over, then we can have some explanation,” Jayawardene said on the eve of the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Delhi are the first team to secure a berth in the playoffs but the elegant Sri Lankan batsman said the team will continue to fight hard in the remaining matches and also refrain from drastic experimentation. “This is something we will discuss with the management. But there won’t be much experimentation. We have been consistent with our selection and it has worked for us. There will not [be] many changes but maybe some,” he said.

“One of our aims was to qualify for the playoffs. And now we want to finish in top-2 to have that advantage. The next two games are important for us. There are certain areas we want to improve in.”

Jayawardene though was not worried over the inconsistency of the team’s middle order. “If you see, the top-10 batsmen in IPL are either openers or number three batsman. Naman [Ojha] played well yesterday and then Irfan [Pathan] finished the match. If they can contribute in the same vein, that’s an added advantage. So middle order is not a concern but yes it can be handled in a better way,” he said.

Jayawardene also hailed Virender Sehwag for the way he has led the side so far. “He’s brilliant. I have played for the first time under him. He gives a lot of freedom and the boys have responded well. He talks to bowlers and plans well. It is tough in the middle and situation can change and he has handled that well. He has batted well also and that reflects in his captaincy. It is a happy dressing room.”

Meanwhile, team mentor TA Sekar said they were prepared to take on big-hitting players such as Chris Gayle, Tillakaratne Dilshan and AB de Villers in Thursday’s game. “The bowlers know what to do,” he said when asked what tips he had given to his bowlerd to handle the power-hitters in RCB ranks. “We have already played RCB. Umesh Yadav has had a good run and Varun [Aaron] has come back well from his injury. Albie Morkel has been good. We do not put pressure on our bowlers,” he said. Sekar also gave a thumbs-up to the current IPL format where top-2 teams get two chances to make the finals. “The aim is to be in top-2. You play good in league stages and then you have one off day and your are out of the tournament. So it is good. You get two chances to qualify for the finals.”

Sydney (ANI) Australia captain Michael Clarke is set to drive a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo during next week’s International Rally of Queensland.

Clarke’s liking for fast cars is no secret, as he once spent 250,000 dollars on an Aston Martin as a Christmas gift for former fiancé Lara Bingle.

Due to his cricket commitments in the Indian Premier League, Clarke won’t get to test the car prior to the event. He’ll also be limited to competing in just two stages of the rally; which runs from May 25-27.

It’s pretty well known that I have a passion for driving, but a part of me has always wondered what it would be like to go up against the best in the business,” The Age quoted Clarke’s statement, as saying.

“There’s no doubt that rally driving is one of the most exhilarating sports around and, as someone who puts my heart into everything I do, this is a great opportunity to mix it with some of the world’s best drivers,” he added.

Rally of Queensland is part of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship and has attracted some of the biggest names in local rallying including former world rally championship stars Alister McRae and Australian Chris Atkinson.