Tiger Woods primed for British Open tilt

GULLANE: Tiger Woods will start the British Open third round on Saturday perfectly placed to mount a strong challenge for his 15th major title.

The world number one trails overnight leader Miguel Angel Jimenez by one shot after battling his way to a level-par 71 on Friday to finish on two under, one behind Spaniard Jimenez.

Woods was level with Briton Lee Westwood, Sweden's Henrik Stenson and fellow American Dustin Johnson after sinking a birdie on the last hole to end an attritional second round with a flourish.

"Just got to continue plodding along. Just continue just being patient, putting the ball in the right spots and trying," Woods said.

"We're not going to get a lot of opportunities out there, but when I have, I've been able to capitalise, and hopefully I can continue doing that."

Jimenez added a 71 to his opening 68 to top a congested leaderboard.

"I feel relaxed," he told reporters. "And I tell you, I love what I'm doing. I play golf. I do this for a living. And I've keep doing the same thing for 25 years."

Westwood, bidding for his first major title, made six birdies in the first 12 holes of his second round before three bogeys stalled his progress.

"I felt pretty comfortable," he said. "I was hitting the ball well. Putting nicely. The golf course got really difficult. The finish is tough. 16, 17, 18 are playing hard. So it's like most major championships, it's a grind out there."

Briton Martin Laird, Argentina's Angel Cabrera, American Zach Johnson and Spain's Rafael Cabrera-Bello will start the third round at one under par.

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Kaka eyeing fresh start, says Ancelotti

MADRID: Real Madrid playmaker Kaka has failed to live up to his billing since his big-money move to the Spanish capital in 2009 but new coach Carlo Ancelotti knows him well and says the Brazilian is confident and motivated for the new season.

Ancelotti was Kaka's coach at AC Milan when he won the World Player of the Year award in 2007 and Real fans are hoping the Italian will be able to help the player, who cost Real 65 million euros ($85.4 million) and turned 31 in April, to rediscover some of that glittering form.

Kaka's four-year stint in La Liga has been disrupted by injury but when he has played he has looked a shadow of the man who inspired Milan to Champions League success six years ago.

Under Jose Mourinho, who quit Real and returned to Chelsea at the end of last season, he often cut a forlorn figure on the bench, leading to speculation that he might be sold before the transfer window closes at the end of next month.

He made only 12 La Liga starts last term and just two in Europe and one in the King's Cup.

"Kaka is a Real Madrid player like all the others," Ancelotti said on Saturday in his first news conference since the players returned to training this week.

"He has started work well and it is clear that he has a lot of confidence for this season and a lot of motivation," the 54-year-old added.

"Later we'll see what happens. Kaka is a player with a lot of character and he wants to do better than last season."

Ancelotti's relaxed and good-humoured appearance before reporters was a refreshing change from the ill-tempered affairs hosted by Mourinho last season.

The Italian, who has also coached Chelsea and Paris St Germain, drew laughter when he listened to a lengthy question in English before announcing that he had not understood a word.

He gave little away about whether Real will add more players to the squad, brushing off enquiries about whether the club were interested in Tottenham Hotspur's Wales winger Gareth Bale or PSG's Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Ancelotti has Zinedine Zidane working as his number two and he praised the former France and Real midfielder's contribution.

"He is very motivated and has a lot of desire to learn," Ancelotti said of Zidane, who recently earned his coaching qualifications.

"I think he's good for us because he has a very good relationship with the players and they will listen to him a lot. I think he will help the team to be better."

Real play their opening pre-season friendly on Sunday at English second-division side Bournemouth.

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Spirit of Bradman may give Oz Ashes lift

LONDON: With Australia's bid to regain the Ashes hanging by a slender thread, Michael Clarke's team would be wise to turn to the spirit of Don Bradman for inspiration.

The Australians, already trailing 1-0 in the series, are up against it again in the second Test at Lord's as England look to extend their 264-run overnight lead on the third day.

Not for the first time in this series, Clarke's men dug themselves into a hole with their shambolic batting.

They produced one of the worst sessions by an Australian side in many years on Friday, collapsing from 42-0 to 128 all out.

And now they will need to produce an epic rearguard action in their second innings to avoid falling 2-0 down in the series.

In the circumstances, how Clarke would love to be able to call on a player of Bradman's calibre.

The legendary Australia batsman, who died aged 92 in 2001, might not be around to lead the fightback, but Clarke and his players could do worse than summoning his spirit by taking a trip to the Lord's Museum during breaks in play.

A selection of Bradman's personal memorabilia, worth over AUS $4.2million (£2.52 million, $3.85 milion, 2.9 million euros), from the Bradman collection has been delivered to England in recent days by a for display at Lord's.

These include significant bats, a Bradman Australia blazer and a family scrapbook.

The Bradman Collection has been housed at Adelaide Oval, the headquarters of South Australia where Bradman completed his career after making his name with New South Wales, since 2008.

While the ground is undergoing a $535 million development, the South Australia Cricket Association, the State Library and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which owns Lord's, along with Bradman's family, have agreed to have the items on display at the 'home of cricket' from the Ashes Test until September.

One of the bats on show was used by Bradman when he made the then Test world record individual score of 334 against England at Headingley in July 1930.

"We know that many Australians travel to the UK for the Ashes, and I would expect many of them would love the opportunity to get an insight into Sir Donald," SACA chief executive Keith Bradshaw, who previously held a similar position at MCC, said.

But whether Clarke and his under-fire teammates will be inspired to produce some much-needed Bradman style heroics remains to be seen.

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Bring on the mind games, says Moyes

SYDNEY: David Moyes said he was looking forward to playing "mind games" with his Chelsea counterpart Jose Mourinho and other Premier League bosses after getting his first win as Manchester United manager in a pre-season friendly on Saturday.

The Scot and his new club have been forced to spend the week reiterating that Wayne Rooney was not for sale after the England striker was "angered and confused" by comments his manager made last weekend.

The public relations battle was made all the harder when returning Chelsea manager Mourinho came in with a bid for Rooney, a move which some saw as typical troublemaking by the Portuguese who enjoyed many a mental tussle with Moyes's predecessor Alex Ferguson.

Asked whether he was looking forward to similar "mind games" with managers such as Mourinho in the season ahead, Moyes said his upbringing predisposed him to it.

"Sounds like your accent's like mine," he told his Scottish questioner. "If you're from Glasgow you quite enjoy those sort of things. So bring it on."

Although Moyes had said repeatedly that results were not important on the Asia-Pacific tour, he was clearly happier with United's 5-1 victory over an A-League All Stars team than he had been with a defeat in Thailand last week.

Two goals apiece for Jesse Lingard and Danny Welbeck were topped off by a late fifth from Robin Van Persie in his first appearance in a United shirt since the end of last season.

Moyes said he would like his formation to be flexible but thought the 4-3-3-1 he played on Saturday was a good "basic structure" which he could embellish when he had players such as Nani, Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young available.

Welbeck's two goals, which matched his tally in all of last season for United, were a fitting reward for his hard work, Moyes thought, while Lingard had not only played well but "showed a lot of maturity" for a 20-year-old.

Moyes was also impressed by the contribution of another 20-year-old - England winger Wilfried Zaha who was Ferguson's last signing before he retired.

"I thought he was unlucky not to score a couple of goals, especially in the second half," Moyes said.

"And I thought he had some moments that nearly got you out of your seat. I think that was a promising night for him as well."

Moyes had suggested on Friday he would have some news about United's bid to bring in some new players, particularly Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

He quickly made clear on Saturday, however, that there had been no progress he was aware of.

"I've got no more updates on anything," he said.

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Qualifier stuns Fedex in Hamburg semis

HAMBURG: In a further sign of his decline, Roger Federer lost to Argentine qualifier Federico Delbonis 7-6 (7), 7-6 (4) in the semifinals of the German Tennis Championships on Saturday.

Federer, a four-time champion in Hamburg, was outplayed by the No. 114-ranked left-hander who advanced to his first career final.

"He played well, he was a little more aggressive," Federer said.

Federer took a wild card for Hamburg after losing in the second round at Wimbledon.

The 31-year-old Swiss ace has dropped to No. 5, his lowest ranking in a decade. He has won one title this year, on grass in Halle, Germany, before Wimbledon.

Federer lost to No. 116 Sergiy Stakhovsky - a player who failed to qualify for Hamburg - as the defending Wimbledon champion.

It was his earliest Grand Slam defeat in 10 years, and his first loss to a player ranked outside the top 100 since 2005.

Federer changed his racket after Wimbledon, going for a bigger frame. But he struggled in Hamburg, going to three sets in two of his previous three matches.

Delbonis will play Fabio Fognini of Italy, who moved within one win of his second title in two weeks when he beat third-seeded Nicolas Almagro of Spain 6-4, 7-6 (1).

Delbonis was playing only the second semifinal of his career but maintained his composure and gave Federer, the 17-time Grand Slam champ, only two break points, one of which he saved.

Federer broke for a 2-1 lead but was broken right back and had to save two set points to force the tiebreaker. He squandered a 4-2 lead, was unable to convert his one set point and saved three with service winners before Delbonis converted his fourth with a smash after some well-played points.

Federer came under pressure immediately in the second set and had to fend off three break points in his opening service game and another in the sixth. Delbonis saved one break point in the next game with a superb volley winner.

In the tiebreaker, Federer made two straight groundstroke errors and he netted a forehand on Delbonis' first match point.

Delbonis will jump to a career-high ranking of around No. 59, according to the ATP.

Fognini won his first career title in Stuttgart last week and is riding a nine-match winning streak.

"I feel incredible," Fognini said.

It was the Italian's 24th win on clay this season. Fognini is the second Italian to reach the final in Hamburg after Adriano Panatta lost to Manuel Orantes in 1972.

Almagro is second in career clay-court titles among active players with 12. Rafael Nadal has 42.

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'Sachin can try open-chested stance'

NEW DELHI: Former Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin reckons that the ageing Sachin Tendulkar could opt for a more open-chested stance to counter quick incoming deliveries which has accounted for his bowled dismissals in recent times.

Azhar said a chest-on stance will give Tendulkar just that little extra time to cover the swing of the ball and such a change may help the batsman on the bouncier tracks of South Africa where India will play their next Test series.

"To each his own, but I believe that Tendulkar can opt for a chest-on stance which will enable him to play the pacers easily. With age reflexes get slower but you can wriggle out if you have the technique like Tendulkar has," Azharuddin said.

Tendulkar, who has now retired from ODIs, has been bowled eight times and trapped leg before wicket 10 times in his last 37 Test innings.

Azhar, a veteran of 99 Tests and 334 ODIs, further explained, "With side-on stance, you can see the delivery with only one eye but chest-on stance helps you observe with both eyes. This also helps one to cover the swing. I have a feeling that Tendulkar will find it easier to play the inswinger. Once he scores a few runs, he can again revert back to his side-on stance."

Azhar, known for his silken wristy strokes during his playing days, cited his own example of having sought Zaheer Abbas' advice on changing his grip during India's tour of Pakistan in 1989 which helped him regain lost touch.

"Initially, I found it painful as it hurt my thumb and my right hand would come off the handle. It took time but I was open to suggestion and it worked for me," the 50-year-old former cricketer, who is now an MP from Moradabad, said.

On Indian cricket's newest batting sensation Shikhar Dhawan, Azhar said that he was impressed with what he saw of the Delhi swashbuckler but his real test will be against South Africa at the end of the year.

"Shikhar's real test will be against Dale Steyn in South Africa. He is a good player to watch as he has a high-on-handle stance. A lot like Allan Lamb or Mark Waugh -- the players of our generation", Azhar said.

"He is a compulsive puller but I saw a tendency of his to recede back to short balls during Champions Trophy in England. He should sort that out before Steyn and Morkel come calling," observed Azhar, who has over 6000 plus runs in Test matches.

Azharuddin was all praise for the trio of Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma.

"I like those players who are always looking ways to score. Virat and Pujara, may be different in their approach have that quality. Rohit disappointed me slightly as I have huge expectations from him. He is phenomenally talented and I have not seen anyone with so much time to play his shots. They will shoulder the burden of Indian batting for minimum next 7-8 years."

The Hyderabadi stylist declined to compare the style of captaincy between Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sourav Ganguly.

"Sourav did well in his time, as he won number of Test matches outside the sub-continent. As far as Dhoni is concerned, results speak for itself. He has been successful and you can't argue against success. There was time when he lost eight successive Test matches and I felt he needed a break. But selectors and the Board had confidence and he has come back well."

Asked what is the proper technique to tackle fast bowling, Azhar doesn't fancy the idea of modern-day batsmen standing a yard out of their crease.

"I never believed in standing out of the crease against 140 plus bowlers. Because that gives a second less and speed of the delivery is few kilometres more if you are standing out.

"People do it to negate the swing but when I played Wasim Akram, I found it easier to stand deep in my crease. I liked that extra second to decide on my shot selection as I was primarily a backfoot player," he said.

Inarguably the best fielder during his generation, Azharuddin is happy to see that India has done well as a unit.

"In my time, we didn't have too many good fielders and thus there was no consistency. Now we have Virat, Raina, Jadeja in the inner circle and all of them are brilliant", Azhar said.

"We have two potent new ball bowlers in Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav. The consistency with which Bhuvi has produced initial breaklthroughs is laudable. It's a good team that Dhoni has and I expect them to fare well consistently over a period of time," he added.

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Wenger given go-ahead to reel in Suarez

LONDON: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has reportedly been given the green light to break the bank and spend 40 million pounds on controversial Liverpool striker Luis Suarez and the club is confident that Suarez will quit Liverpool for a sensational move to the Emirates.

According to the Mirror, even though the Uruguayan is Wenger's No. 1 choice despite also having Gonzalo Higuain and Wayne Rooney on his radar, Liverpool however, has insisted that Suarez is not for sale.

The report said that the Anfield giants have already rejected one approach for Arsenal after claiming that their valuation of a 35 million-pound package was not enough even though Suarez has a 40 million-pound clause in his contract, which may entitle him to leave if any club matches the price.

However, the report mentioned that the Arsenal board has allowed Wenger access to 70 million pounds transfer funds and made it clear that if he wants to spend the majority on Suarez, they will back his judgement.

However, Liverpool is adamant that they are not obliged to sell Suarez, with manager Brendan Rodgers saying that he expected the footballer to stay until something 'drastic' happens, adding that he is looking forward to working again with Suarez this season.

Dismissing speculations of Suarez moving to another club, Rodgers further said that they had an offer that was nowhere near what they valued Suarez given that he is one of the top strikers in the world, adding that he has three years left on his contract and should use them to help Liverpool get into the Champions League spots.

Suarez was named in Liverpool's 27-man squad for their pre-season tour of Indonesia, Australia and Thailand, although he is one of three players joining the party later in the tour following Confederations Cup duty, the report added.

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Ex-players criticise BCCI's gag attempts

NEW DELHI: The BCCI's attempt to gag contracted Indian cricketers from speaking to the media after tours has drawn flak from former players who have questioned the logic behind such a move.

Two top Indian players -- Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara -- have been cautioned by the BCCI for giving interviews recently in violation of their contractual terms which all the players doing national duty have signed.

Rohit had given interviews shortly after returning from the tri-series in the West Indies where he did very well as an opener.

Pujara, who was not on the tour to the West Indies, had given an interview speaking about making himself a regular in the Indian ODI team following his selection for the tour of Zimbabwe.

"The two players have been cautioned not to speak to the media immediately after the tour. BCCI Secretary Sanjay Patel had a word with them reminding them of their contractual obligation," a top BCCI official said.

As per the BCCI contract, no Indian player is allowed to speak to the media one month before and after a particular tour. Altogether 39 Indian players are contracted across three grades with Grade A players getting Rs one crore annually while Grade B and Grade C get Rs 50 lakh and Rs 25 lakh respectively.

But the clause seeking to gag players from expressing their views has not gone down well with some of the former players.

Ex-India cricketer Kirti Azad, who was a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team, said there was no need for having such a clause at all.

"I think this rule of not allowing the players to give one-on-one interviews should be done away with. Agreed media is present in large numbers but if someone has performed well, he should be allowed to speak as fans are curious to know what they feel and how much planning and hard work has gone into it," Azad said.

"I don't think it's fair to stop the media from interacting with players," Azad said.

Asked about the rule during his time, Azad said, "We used to have a contract which stated that we can't speak about the series for one month after coming back to India. But in those days, media wasn't vibrant as it is now and it hardly mattered then."

Former cricketer Chandu Borde did not see any logic behind the BCCI's clause.

"I don't know what exactly has happened and the reason behind such a gag order. I presume the Board is taking some measures in such bad times for cricket. The sport has earned a lot of disrepute over the last few months with spot-fixing and now doping! Maybe it's one way of a preventive measure by the Board," Borde said.

"But such things did not happen in our times; mediamen had free access to us. We also have some very good friends from the media. Things have changed now. I understand it's a tough call for media. They should request the Board and sort it out," he said.

Former selector Sambaran Banerjee said it was a BCCI decision and he would not like to comment on it.

"It's a BCCI decision, we have to wait and see. I can't say much about it. However, I can say such a thing did not exist during our times," he said.

Another former player felt the current lot of cricketers should be allowed to interact with the media and the Board seemed to be too rigid with their stand.

"It really defies logic why players are not allowed to speak. It's fine if it is sensitive issue or a controversial matter. But the players should at least be allowed to speak about their own game," a former player said on condition of anonymity.

"Secondly, there is so much of cricket being played these days that they will never be able to speak at all if they abide by the one-month period under the contractual terms," he said.

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Deepika fails to impress at World Cup

KOLKATA: It was a disappointing day for the Indians at the Archery World Cup Stage 3 as ace archer Deepika Kumari made a quarterfinal exit, while others failed to progress beyond pre-quarterfinal stage at Medellin, Colombia.

According to information received, Deepika proved to be no match for her US opponent Miranda Leek, who shot the X-ring twice en route to an easy 6-2 victory in the recurve individual section.

The 20-year-old US Olympian then upset third seed Yuanyuan Cui of China 6-5 in a nerve-wracking battle to make the final.

India will now hope to open their account in the team and mixed events lined up later in the day.

Seeded seventh, Deepika was the sole Indian to have advanced to the quarterfinal stage of the competition after notching up easy wins against Regina Maria Romero of Guatemala 6-0 and Denmark's Carina Christiansen 6-4.

But eighth seeded Laishram Bombayla Devi bowed out of the event after going down to eventual finalist Inna Stepanova of Russia 6-2 in the pre-quarterfinals.

In the men's recurve section, Atanu Das and Tarundeep Rai also faltered in the pre-quarterfinals.

While Rai lost to former world number one Brady Ellison of the US, Das went down against Jianping Zhang of China.

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Zimbabwe-bound squad is strong: Kohli

MUMBAI: The Indian team for the upcoming ODI series in Zimbabwe is missing some key players, including inspirational captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who have been rested, but skipper for the tour Virat Kohli has described the squad as a strong one.

"I don't think experience matters, especially in limited overs game. You need 11 players, who are hungry for success, who are hardworking and whose vision is team victory. All 15 players are strong and it is a strong unit, which is good," said Kohli at a promotional event here for Mattel Toys.

India are to play against Zimbabwe in a five-match series from July 24 to August 3. The squad is without Dhoni, R Ashwin, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma.

Kohli said if the team performs in a manner similar to its display over the last month-and-a-half, then it will be good for Indian cricket.

"I can't guarantee. If we continue this way, it will be a good time for Indian cricket. A lot of things that would make people happy," he said.

The team, led by Dhoni, first lifted the ICC Champions Trophy in England and then clinched the tri-series in the West Indies, in which Sri Lanka was the third outfit.

The 24-year-old, who has played 108 ODIs and also featured in the 2011 World Cup winning squad led by Dhoni, said he liked to lead from the front and set an example to others.

"I always like to lead from the front and set an example for whoever is playing with me or around me. I like taking responsibilities. That is a natural thing for me," he said.

Kohli, who has been made the face of superhero toy Max Steel, said he aimed to be fearless.

"The best quality is to not be afraid of anything. Even if you have seniors or players with lot more experience in your team, you need to have confidence in your ability and think you can lead them. It is important you set an example with your performance quickly and then you gain respect.

"If the respect is mutual between players and captain then the side is successful. It comes from performance and when you win matches for the team, that inspiration spreads in the team," he said.

Kohli also welcomed all-rounder Parvez Rasool, the first player from Jammu and Kashmir in the national squad, as a deserving pick.

"It is a good sign that players are not just coming from major cities. You can see everybody is working hard and the thinking is not narrow-minded in India. It is a good sign that he (Rasool) has been selected. If he gets the opportunity to play a match then I am sure he will try to give a good performance."

Kohli termed veteran player Sachin Tendulkar as his superhero and said he dreamed to win matches for India after watching his idol bat.

"It has always been Tendulkar and it will be Tendulkar for life. He is someone who has inspired me immensely. Just watching him play for India, I used to dream of winning games for India, because he used to do it single-handedly.

"I just had a vision and got a chance to play with him and do something like that. He has been my superhero and he will be for my lifetime," he said.

Asked if he ever wished for superpower, he said, "When I was walking into bat in 2011 World Cup final when my idol got out...I felt I was playing in a field where there is no one else apart from me, but 11 other Sri Lankan players. So it was totally quiet. So I wish I had some superpowers so I could do something really special".

Kohli also slammed players alleged to have indulged in corrupt practices like spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League that rocked Indian cricket recently as "villains" who needed to be punished.

"Hero is a person who respects the game and does not corrupt the game. The one who doesn't (respect) or corrupts the game, they are the villains. They should be punished and they have been punished in the past," he said.

A few Rajasthan Royals players, including Test pacer S Sreesanth and first class cricketers Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, were arrested of spot-fixing in IPL by the Delhi police and are presently out on bail.

Kohli termed his unbeaten knock of 133 against Sri Lanka in Hobart February, 2012 as "special" and said it gave him lot of confidence. Riding on his ton, India chased Lanka's huge score of 320 and won by seven wickets.

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