PCB to cut down number of staffers

October 7th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Stressing on the need of giving young players more exposure at the international level, former Pakistan batsman Ijaz Ahmad has said that four new opening batsmen have caught his attention. Ahmad, who is a member of the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) selection committee, said he has short listed four young openers and they would certainly be considered for the upcoming one-day series against New Zealand.

October 6th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Former Pakistan coach Mudassar Nazar has criticized the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) selection committee for selecting Imran Nazir as the only specialist opener for the ICC Champions Trophy. Nazar said though Nazir is one of the best batsmen in the T20 format of the game, one cannot rely on him to score runs consistently in one-day cricket.

September 23rd, 2009 SYDNEY - Skipper Ricky Ponting is worried at the prospect of facing an under strength West Indies side during the opening game of the Champions Trophy, which would be followed by the start of the Australian cricket season against the same team. The Australians' opening pool game of the Champions Trophy is against a Windies line-up severely weakened by a contract dispute, which will give the world champions a look at what side could arrive this November.

September 13th, 2009 COIMBATORE - Former Indian cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth has said that India is a strong contender for the Champions Trophy title. While interacting with media in Srikkanth, "I think we are one of the best teams.

September 12th, 2009 MUMBAI - Cricket fans in Mumbai have expressed jubilation over India climbing to number one slot after beating New Zealand by six wickets in Colombo. Indian left-armers Ashish Nehra and Yuvraj Singh shared six wickets on Friday to reach in tri-series final against hosts Sri Lanka.

September 7th, 2009 Dubai, Sept 7 (IBNS) India has a chance to claim number-one place in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship as the tri-nation series also involving host Sri Lanka and New Zealand begins at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo from Tuesday. India trails number-one ranked South Africa by just one ratings point but if it wins all the three matches (including the final), it will gain two ratings points which will put it in number-one position for the first time since the rankings were introduced in October 2002.

September 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Former International umpire Peter Willey believes that umpires will lose their ability to make decisions because of the reliance on technology that will follow the introduction of the referral system to all international cricket next month. "There is a further problem that has arisen from the increased use of technology that international umpires have told me about.

September 1st, 2009 CHANDIGARH - Cricketer Harbhajan Singh's Rs.10 million Hummer SUV has just got costlier. No sooner than the off-spinner in his SUV hit the Chandigarh roads, the traffic police slapped him with a penalty of Rs.3,000 for traffic rule violations.

August 4th, 2009 KOLKATA - Hurt and humiliated at a meagre grant of Rs.25,000 to each of them, the nine surviving members of India's 1956 Melbourne Olympics football squad that finished fourth in the quadrennial extravaganza, have decided to return the cheques to the All India Football Federation (AIFF). "We, nine Olympians of the 1956 team, are very much shocked.

June 29th, 2009 BRISBANE - Sacked Australian cricketer Andrew Symonds has denied that he is an alcoholic, but admitted to being a binge drinker. In an interview on Nine Network's Sixty Minutes last night, Symonds said: "I am not an alcoholic, I have been diagnosed as a binge drinker.

June 25th, 2009 SYDNEY - Fomer Australian vice captain Adam Gilchrist has called for a drastic reduction in the number of Test matches in a bid to help preserve the five-day format from the Twenty20 challenge. Gilchrist insists the Test schedule must be culled, and that the ICC chiefs meeting this week should consider it.

June 21st, 2009 LONDON - After leading Pakistan to World Twenty20 title Sunday, Younis Khan dropped a bombshell when he announced his retirement from the shortest version of the game. "I am already 34 and probably too old for this kind of cricket," said the senior batsman who was Pakistans most prolific run-getter in the tournament.

June 4th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Troubled all-rounder Andrew Symonds is being sent home from the World Twenty20 cricket tournament in England for breaking a number of team rules related to alcohol and other issues. It is likely Symonds' international career could now be over after the latest in a long list of problems off the field.

May 31st, 2009 JOHANNESBURG - The World Twenty20 Cup in England provides another opportunity to South Africa to end the trophy drought, which has eluded the Proteas for more than a decade. The offices of Cricket South Africa have cabinets gleaming with trophies from successful bilateral series and several triangular or quadrangular tournaments.

May 24th, 2009 JOHANNESBURG - South African President Jacob Zuma Sunday thanked the Indian Premier League (IPL) for reviving the country's economy ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The Twenty20 tournament, which concluded Sunday, was shifted to South Africa after it overlapped with the general elections in India.