India, Pak situations different: Morgan

Mohali: The International Cricket Council (ICC) president David Morgan on Sunday expressed hopes that the cancellation of India’s tour to Pakistan would not have any adverse effect on the 2011 World Cup.

Four countries — India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Pakistan — are slated to jointly host the World Cup in 2011.

Addressing a press conference here, Morgan said: “There has to be some concern about the next World Cup. But we are confident that among them, we would have a good World Cup.”

The ICC chief said situations in India and Pakistan were different.

“Pakistan is a different country. Quite clearly, the security experts said India is safe and secure (for England) to return but that is not the case with Pakistan,” Morgan said.

ECB plan

London: England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Sunday hinted that it was in the process of having a mutual agreement with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on the conduct of Indian Premier League (IPL).

ECB said in a statement that it had held discussions with the BCCI at Mohali during the ongoing second Test and will have further discussions in January next year.

Dar admission

Melbourne: Umpire Aleem Dar has admitted that he erred in giving Matthew Hayden out in the first Test against South Africa in Perth. “I got it wrong. I thought it was an inside edge but it wasn’t. I thought Matthew was very good about it,” he said.

Surya on top

Mangalore: Surya Sekhar Ganguly drew with Sriram Jha of LIC to maintain his lead by a full point, while Parimarjan Negi joined teammate Satyapragyan at the second position at the end of Round V of the 46th National A Chess Championship Sunday.

Mary wins

New Delhi: Top seed Tania Sachdev and Mary Ann Gomes defeated Kiran Manisha Mohanty and Pon N Krithika respectively in Round IV of the 35th Parsvnath National Women Chess Championship on Sunday.

Shiv tied 10th

Bangkok: Shiv Kapur was the lone Indian to sign off inside top-10 after a steady final-round two-under 70 helped him grab a share of the 10th spot at the Asian Tour’s season-ending Volvo Masters of Asia on Sunday.

Holyfield loses

Zurich: WBA champion Nikolai Valuev won a majority points decision against four-times world champion Evander Holyfield on Saturday to end the American’s hopes of becoming the oldest ever title-holder.

PP Singh best

Jaipur: Captain Param Pal Singh emerged champion in the skeet event of the national shooting championship (Shotgun) at the Jagatpura range here Sunday.

Sportsdesk & Agencies