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Jab hum jawan hon GAY - England wicket keeper speaks about his gender

LONDON: England wicketkeeper Steven Davies has announced he is gay, saying it was a "massive relief" to speak openly about his sexuality.

Davies told the Daily Telegraph he had told his international colleagues about his sexuality after being called up for the Ashes Tour to Australia starting last year.
"I'm comfortable with who I am and happy to say who I am in public," said Davies, who did not make England's World Cup squad.

He added: "This is the right time for me ... I feel it is right to be out in the open about my sexuality. If more people do it, the more acceptable it will become. That must be a good thing.
"To speak out is a massive relief for me, but if I can just help one person to deal with their sexuality then that's all I care about."

Former Wales rugby captain Gareth Thomas is one of the few leading professional sportsmen who is openly gay after coming out in 2009.

Davies said he had received full support from England skipper Andrew Strauss and Matt Prior, who was preferred to him for the World Cup squad. AGENCIES

Source: http://www.samaa.tv/newsdetail.aspx?ID=29012

ICC World Cup 2011 Wallpaper

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Great start Pakistan. Still room for improvement?

Pakistan has made a fabulous start of ICC World Cup 2011 conquering the battles against Kenya and Sri Lanka. . Although Sri Lanka was too tough to win against but there are very tough matches ahead specially after Quarter Finals where a mistake has no compensation and Knock-out is the destiny.The Green Shirts seem to be in great form and everyone praises the team spirit but there are a few changes that are immediately needed to be made to the Cup-grab.


1. Include Saeed Ajmal instead of Abdur Rehman: Abdur Rehman hasn't been good with the spin in both the matches (0-18 in 7 overs against Kenya and 0-63 in 10 overs against Sri Lanka). Although economical against Kenya but in the situation where we already have economical bowlers like Umar Gul and Mohammad Hafeez, a hardcore wicket-taker is needed and Saeed Ajmal is the perfect choice who can bowl different varities of spin including Off-sppin, Doosra and Arm-ball. Moreover, Saeed Ajmal is also a fine batsman.

Comparing the ODI statistics:

Abdur Rehman: 13 wickets in 17 matches (Average: 49.00)
Saeed Ajmal: 44 wickets in 35 matches (Average: 30.52)

I wonder why still Abdur Rehman remains the ultimate choice of selectors?



2. Middle-order should maintain 100.00+ strike rate: Pakistan's middle-order, specially Misbah-ul-Haq and Younus Khan, is known for a slow and steady game. The middle order has played an important role in many victories but in the time of T20 where the teams are scoring 300+ in ODIs, Pakistani middle-order should maintain a sustainable strike rate so that they pass on a strong situation to the lower-order strikers and ultimately Pakistan achieves a strong total.

3. If Shoaib fails, give Wahab a chance: Shoaib Akhter has taken two important wickets of Sri Lanka but on the other hand he seems unfit to bowl 10 overs, plus he couldn't even dismiss the openers of Kenya bowling with the new ball. Wahab Riaz could be smart choice who bowls with perfect line and length and also good with the bat. Shoaib seemed good in the last match but selectors please keep an eye!







4. Improve fielding and wicket-keeping: No explanation required.

Good luck Pakistan, we pray for your success.

ICC gives Ponting the License to Break Rules

International Cricket Council has again proved itself a biased administration. In a recent, Australian captain Rickey Ponting has angrily smahed a TV screen at the dressing room after his run-out against Zimbabwe. Moreover, Ponting also admitted that he has violated ICC Code of Conduct. Gujrat Cricket Association reported this to ICC.
This act of him is a severe violation of discipline and ICC was highly expected to take some solid action against the Kangroo captain.

On this sever violation, ICC has just warned and reprimanded him instead of charging him strictly. Match Referee Roshan Mahanama, former Sri Lankan batsman, justifies the case and defends Ponting by saying that the act was totally accidental, Ponting has applogized.Ponting's non-sportsman angry-old-man act has offended the Cricket fans worldwide.

Question Mark. Is such an offensive act really meant to be ignored? What happened If an Asian cricket had done that? Surely a ban or fine on Asians if they did that. ICC which bans 3 Pakistani Cricketers ,on just a third-class tabloid report, lets Ponting do anything and severely break the rules.

World Cup will be led by 'Rickshaw drivers'

The Cricket Mega event's thrill has now reached to extreme as its just a day ahead. The stage has been set and the teams are ready to battle. The shining WC trophy is a dream to be fulfilled by every captain but they will start the chase driving Rickshaws.



The return of mega event to the sub-continent after 15 years will be celebrated through a MEGA opening ceremony at Dhaka. All the captains will enter the ground driving rickshaws, a popular public transport means in Bangladesh. Interesting?



On the other hand, the great pop sensation Bryan Adams will rock the audience. Indian musician trio Shankar-Ehsan-Loy, who have also made the WC OST, will perform and renowned singer Sonu Nigam is also set to blast the crowd.

I locked my wife in closet on final`s eve: Saqlain recalls World Cup '99 memories

Playing as a youngster in the 1999 World Cup I had nothing to do with the decisions made or strategies followed by the seniors or team management at the time, but I believe that we shouldn’t have batted first after winning the toss in the final against Australia at Lord’s where the ball is known to swing during the first innings.

Still, having no say in such matters, I just concentrated on enjoying my game and doing my best for my country. The atmosphere in the Pakistan dressing room, too, was very friendly and the team played with unity and the belief of being able to beat any side.

I took five wickets against Bangladesh while giving away just 35 runs at Northhampton along with three for 51 against Australia at Leeds and three for 16 against Zimbabwe in the Super Sixes at The Oval, which became some of my best ODI figures.

But the 1999 World Cup also brings to mind other happy memories for me as I had only recently gotten married then. My wife Sana is from London so I was glad to be allowed time with her in between matches and net practice. But things changed in the last 10 days of the tournament when all the players were requested to send back their better halves home so that we could concentrate on the important matches in the Super Sixes.

Since I was not prepared to part company with my wife at the time, I came up with a great idea and decided to hand her the list of hotels where our team was scheduled to stay during the matches so that she could reach there and check herself in ahead of our arrival.

However, the night before the final when I was sitting in my room with her, our manager Dr Zafar Altaf and assistant manager Chishty sahab knocked at the door.

Actually, both the team officials were checking on all the players to ensure that we were all in our rooms and resting before the big match. I quickly asked my wife to hide in the cupboard before ushering them in. As soon as they left, our coach Richard Pybus arrived in my room and stayed till 10.30pm. When he finally bade goodnight, I got two new visitors in Mohammad Yousuf and Azhar Mahmood.

Feeling guilty by this time about the poor girl hiding in the closet, I finally asked my wife to come out which obviously took both my teammates by surprise. However, they really enjoyed the whole thing upon learning the truth.

http://www.dawn.com/2011/02/16/i-locked-my-wife-in-closet-on-finals-eve-saqlain.html#comment-37384