Comfortable England beat Exiles (From York Press) - The Press in York
Comfortable England beat Exiles
8:54pm Saturday 16th June 2012 in National Sport News © Press Association 2011
England drew first blood in the opening game of this year's international Origin series with a comfortable 18-10 victory over a patched-up Exiles team.
England dominated from the kick-off to avenge last year's defeat in the inaugural game but the Exiles will have their chance to level the two-match programme when the teams meet again at Huddersfield on July 4.
However, the overseas team look likely to be without their captain Thomas Leuluai, who was carried off on a stretcher with suspected ankle ligament damage on the hour.
The Exiles had earlier been hit by the late withdrawal of four front-line players which undoubtedly reduced their effectiveness and made England's task that much easier.
The big plus for coach Steve McNamara was the performance of second rower Gareth Hock, who marked the end of his three-year exile from the England scene with an impressive display as well as the game's opening try.
There were also encouraging efforts from England regulars James Roby and Sean O'Loughlin while Danny Tickle justified his call-up with an industrious display. But was hardly a classic and, in conditions made hazardous by torrential rain, it was no surprise that all England's three tries stemmed from kicks.
In a scrappy opening handling errors from Saints duo Tony Puletua and Sia Soliola put the Exiles under early pressure but knock-ons from Sam Tomkins let them off the hook. Another fumble gave England the position to score through Hock, who regathered possession after Exiles half-back Scott Dureau got a hand to Rangi Chase's grubber.
And it was a towering kick from Chase that created a try for Tickle, with Carl Ablett palming the ball back for Kevin Sinfield to provide the final pass. Sinfield converted both tries to make it 12-0 but the Exiles pulled a try back on 31 minutes when half-backs Leuluai and Dureau worked the ball out wide for St Helens winger Francis Meli to cross at the corner.
Conditions eased in the second half but Australian winger Joel Monaghan fumbled the ball from Sinfield's "bomb" and Tomkins was on hand to gather and scoot over for his side's third try, to which Sinfield added a touchline conversion.
A disallowed England try was a let-off for the Exiles and, although they lost their captain in the process, they recovered from the blow to register a second try. A sustained spell of pressure on the England line eventually paid dividends when centre Daryl Millard raced onto Dureau's pinpoint grubber kick and Dureau kicked his first goal.
Pakistan stunned by Perera hat-trick against Sri Lanka - ESPN.co.uk
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Pakistan have been abysmal chasers in recent years in ODI cricket. Three hours of accumulation offered hope that Saturday would not end in another failed pursuit. And then, as if all the accumulation had stretched their patience too taut, the dam broke. From 166 for 2 chasing 244, Pakistan disintegrated to 179 for 9. In less than four overs. Thisara Perera followed up his 6 for 44 in the second ODI with a hat-trick. Pakistan registered six ducks, and their 15th defeat in 18 chases of 240-plus in the last three years.
In the end, the match was decided in the two batting Powerplays, with Sri Lanka surging in both. A cramping Azhar Ali, who became the first player to carry his bat in ODIs in more than a decade, and Misbah-ul-Haq had put on 113 for the third wicket, leaving Pakistan with 78 to get from 76 deliveries. In the 37th over, the second of the batting Powerplays, Misbah refused a tight single with Ali having run more than half way up the pitch. The effort required to get back worsened Ali's cramp, making it harder for him to accelerate, like Kumar Sangakkara had earlier after a similar slow fifty.
Three balls later, Misbah departed for an efficient 57, with Nuwan Kulasekara taking a sharp low catch at mid-off off Lasith Malinga's bowling. Umar Gul had put down a much easier chance at long-on off Sangakkara, who went on to add 62 off 48. Malinga stepped it up after Misbah's departure, pegging Umar Akmal back with three successive sharp bouncers. Akmal drove at and edged his fourth, off Kulasekara, to the wicketkeeper.
The fight had gone out of Pakistan. Younis Khan, held back till No. 6, edged a rising Perera delivery to the keeper. Shahid Afridi either explodes or implodes. He did the latter, punching his first ball to extra cover. Sarfraz Ahmed obliged Perera with the hat-trick, guiding him to slip. The persevering Ali was reduced to a spectator, all his hard work undone in minutes of chaos.
Like Sri Lanka, Pakistan hadn't found run-scoring easy in the first half of their chase, but Ali and Misbah kept the visitors going, taking their team to 100 four overs earlier than Sri Lanka had.
Pakistan's top order continued its wobbly ways when Mohammad Hafeez collected his fifth duck in his last 12 international innings, pulling his fifth delivery from Malinga to long leg. Kulasekara kept Ali and Asad Shafiq under pressure with a probing opening spell of five overs for just 16 runs.
Still, like Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan had for Sri Lanka, Ali and Shafiq ensured Pakistan weren't bogged down completely. It was the left-arm spinner Sajeewa Weerakoon, bowling for the first time in international cricket in his second ODI, who got the breakthrough with his 10th delivery, trapping Shafiq in front on 25 with a slider. The combination of Ali and Misbah was never going to blaze away, but it made sure the asking-rate stayed below six, and under control, finding the boundary just when required. Little did they know of the pandemonium that was to ensue.
Not remotely on the same scale, but Pakistan had fallen apart in the field too after being disciplined for more than three-fifths of Sri Lanka's innings. Gul dropped Sangakkara off Afridi, when on 35 off 82 deliveries. Then came the batting Powerplay. Sangakkara carted 62 off his last 48 deliveries, and Sri Lanka reached the kind of total Pakistan have struggled to chase in recent years.
Till Sangakkara was put down in the 31st over, Sri Lanka had been tied down, first by Pakistan's fast bowlers, and then by their spinners. Sangakkara and Dilshan did add 55 for the second wicket, but they were hard-earned runs, and Dilshan's departure immediately after the first drinks break meant Sri Lanka had to continue with their cautious approach. The absence of scoring opportunities consumed Dinesh Chandimal as well, after which the expected rain came down to force a 70-minute break.
Pakistan's spinners continued with the run-squeeze after the rain interruption. The next few overs were quiet, but Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene took complete charge in the batting Powerplay, which went for 49. Gul, who was feeling some pain in his right index finger, was to suffer the most. He had given just 16 off his first five overs; he disappeared for 26 in two overs in the batting Powerplay. Sangakkara stepped out to launch the first ball of Gul's second spell for a straight six. When Gul overdid the bouncer in the next over, Sangakkara pulled him for six more over fine leg.
Sangakkara dominated the 110-run fourth-wicket partnership with Jayawardene, who played some innovative strokes. He was quick to lap-sweep and sweep the spinners, and even reverse-pulled Saeed Ajmal for four over point. Pakistan managed to dismiss the duo in the 44th and 45th overs to limit the damage, but most of it had already been inflicted. Pakistan's self-destruction later sealed the issue.
Abhishek Purohit is an editorial assistant at ESPNcricinfo
© ESPN EMEA Ltd
Greece V Russia : UEFA Euro 2012 Match Report - Football
Published: 16 Jun 2012 - 22:01:24
Greece in Euro 2012 quarters after foiling Russia
Veteran Greece captain Giorgos Karagounis halted Russia's Euro 2012 campaign in its tracks here on Saturday, as the underdogs unexpectedly beat the Group A early pacesetters 1-0 to reach the last eight instead.
Seconds before the end of stoppage time in the first half, the 35-year-old midfielder latched onto a throw-in that Russian defender Sergei Ignashevich failed to deal with.
Dodging between the Russian rearguard, he fired a powerful low cross shot past goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev.
The 4,000 Greek fans in Warsaw's stadium, who up to then had largely been outsung by 20,000 Russians, went wild as Karagounis hit home to put his side through on the head to head rule - both sides ending on four points behind group winners the Czech Republic.
Karagounis, who was in Greece's Euro 2004 winning squad, and his team-mates had gone into the Russia game gung-ho, knowing that only a win would keep them in the tournament.
They had also said they aimed to bring some cheer to their crisis-ravaged homeland.
Six minutes in, Karagounis fired a corner to Kostas Katsouranis, and Dimitris Salpingidis bundled goalwards, only for Malafeev to save.
Salpingidis had been Greece's hero of the night when, after coming on as a half-time substitute, he equalised against Poland for his side, earlier reduced to 10 men.
Three minutes later, Russian captain Andrey Arshavin crossed to rising star Alan Dzagoev but he was beaten by Greek goalkeeper Michalis Sifakis - brought in to replace Kostas Chalkias, injured in their defeat by the Czechs.
Dzagoev tried again a minute later, but fired over the bar, before Aleksandr Kerzhakov shot wide.
Russia continued to show their strength as the half progressed, underlining the Greeks' vulnerability to counter-attacks.
But while not ironclad, Greece's defence remained solid at the end.
Five minutes from half-time, Yuri Zhirkov took a superb short corner, only to shoot over the bar.
With two minutes added on, Karagounis's strike came just seconds before Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson's half-time whistle.
Returning from the dressing room, both sides continued to display fighting spirit.
Russia came within a whisker of equalising in the 56th minute, but Igor Denisov was off-target.
There was gloom for Karagounis when he received a yellow card for being harshly adjudged to have dived in the box, meaning he will miss their quarter-final as he was also booked against the Czechs.
Greece's Giorgos Tzavellas came close to putting them further ahead in the 69th minute, but hit the post.
Five minutes later, Sifakis saved a shot from Igor Denisov, while Russia were again foiled in the 83rd minute when Dzagoev latched onto an Arshavin cross but fired wide.
With Eriksson adding four minutes' stoppage time, a desperate Russia battled to save face, but Sifakis denied Denisov again on his line.
Related Greece News
IOC look into London ticket claims (From York Press) - The Press in York
IOC look into London ticket claims
11:00pm Saturday 16th June 2012 in National Sport News © Press Association 2011
The International Olympic Committee are facing a London 2012 ticket scandal after allegations surfaced that Olympic officials and agents controlling tickets for 54 countries breached regulations on sales.
The IOC have held an emergency meeting of their ruling executive board via conference call after undercover investigations by the Sunday Times newspaper.
The allegations are now to be investigated by the IOC's ethics commission, a senior IOC source has confirmed. The IOC will also consider a complete shake-up of how Olympic tickets are distributed among member countries.
The Sunday Times, posing as envoys of a Middle Eastern ticket tout, say they found 27 officials and agents representing 54 countries who were willing to breach rules on selling tickets.
One, from Serbia, offered 1,500 tickets for £80,000 in cash, said the newspaper, while they allege China's official ticket agency agreed to sell the best seats in the stadiums for up to £6,000 each.
Spyros Capralos, the president of Greece's Olympic committee, is also alleged to have breached regulations, says the Sunday Times.
An IOC statement read: "The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has moved quickly to deal with allegations that some National Olympic Committees (NOC) and Authorised Ticket Resellers (ATR) have broken rules relating to the sale of Olympic tickets.
"After claims that several NOCs and ATRs were reportedly willing to break the rules by offering to buy or sell tickets outside their territory, sell tickets at inflated prices, or sell tickets to unauthorised resellers, the IOC has ordered an immediate inquiry and referred the allegations to its independent ethics commission.
"On being informed of the allegations, the IOC immediately convened an extraordinary meeting of its executive board and determined a number of actions - the convening of the ethics commission and asking for any evidence of wrongdoing to be provided to the commission without delay.
"The IOC takes these allegations very seriously and has immediately taken the first steps to investigate. Should any irregularities be proven, the organisation will deal with those involved in an appropriate manner."
At U.S. housing projects, fathers drawn into the fold - Reuters
NEW YORK |
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Thousands of absentee fathers are expected to join Father's Day celebrations this month at public housing projects, where single-mother households are the majority, in a nationwide push to help dads bond with their children.
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the 3-year-old program is designed to help the one in three children across America, or more than 24 million children, living in homes without fathers.
At one such event on Saturday, 7-year-old Myles Marshall played among the inflatable bounce houses, food stands and music at the Van Dyke Community Center in Brooklyn. He was joined by his father, Robert Smith, whom he typically sees only on the weekends.
"I am just having fun spending time with my dad," Myles said.
The events are part of a broader push by the government, charities and advocacy groups to aid children raised in homes without fathers. Of those children, 42 percent are living in poverty, compared with 8 percent of children in married-couple families, according to the National Fatherhood Initiative, a non-profit group that is not affiliated with the HUD program.
It estimates that children in homes without a father are two times more likely to suffer abuse or neglect, drop out of school, commit crime and suffer poor health.
The Father's Day program was begun in 2010 by the New York Community Housing Authority in Brooklyn, and caught the attention of officials at HUD, who then took it national.
"I think it is really important to try and help these dads reconnect with their kids," said Eric Cumberbatch, acting deputy director of Brooklyn community operations, who helped start the first event.
"Often the dads feel like they are a burden on their families or financially they feel like they can't contribute."
About 300 housing authorities across America are planning fun days and dinners this month in honor of Father's Day, up from last year when 209 housing authorities took part, according to HUD.
"We get the housing authorities to put flyers up around the development because the guys are often around the place," said Ron Ashford, director of Public Housing Supportive Services for HUD.
ALL ARE WELCOME
"We are definitely not saying that single females can't raise kids well, they can and they do, but overall if two parents aren't there, then their child does worse."
He said anyone - including fathers who live with their children - was welcome to attend the events, even those who are not part of the housing development.
At the Van Dyke Community Center, tables were set up for the dozens of fathers who attended to get access to job support, health initiatives and learn about monthly activities they could participate in with their children.
Standing with his son Myles, Smith said it was a challenge to find time for all his children, including son Christopher Marshall, 23, Myles' twin sister, Naima, 9-year-old Nia Marshall and 4-year-old granddaughter Christasia Marshall.
"I have to go out and provide for my family, but I make time for them," Smith said. "There is no time you can create but there is always time you can make."
Another father, Joseph Perry, 28, said it was his wife Maggie's idea to bring their 6-year-old twin girls, Kiana and Kira, along.
"Days like this are important because every child needs a father," his wife said.
(Editing by Paul Thomasch and Peter Cooney)
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