Briefly cricket

Injury-plagued New Zealand all-rounder Jacob Oram has been ruled out of next months Champions League as he is undergoing knee surgery...

Knee surgery forces Oram out

Wellington: Injury-plagued New Zealand all-rounder Jacob Oram has been ruled out of next months Champions League as he is undergoing knee surgery next week. Oram will not be available for New Zealand Twenty20 champion side Central Districts for the Champions League Twenty20 which starts on September 10 in Johannesburg. Central Districts had already been hit hard after they lost Ross Taylor to Royal Challengers Bangalore though they got 2,00,000 in exchange.

Waqar,Afridi disagree

Karachi: Trouble is brewing in the Pakistan cricket team as coach Waqar Younis is reportedly at loggerheads with ODI and Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi and chief selector Mohsin Khan over the omission of Shoaib Malik and Umar Amin from the squad for the one-day series in England. Waqar wanted Malik and Amin to be retained in the one-day squad and had disagreed with Mohsin and Afridi when they consulted him on phone while finalising the squad on Wednesday.

Pak manager wants to quit

Karachi: Pakistan cricket teams long serving manager Yawar Saeed wants to step down from his post after the end of the ongoing tour of England. I think after 26 years and managing so many teams,I need to do something different. I would want to step down as manager after the England tour, Yawar said. When this tour ends I will convey my desire to the chairman as I want do something different.

Mumbai,Punjab in title clash

Chennai: Sushant Marathe and Kaushtab Pawar slammed unbeaten centuries to help Mumbai score a 9-wicket win over Karnataka and set up title clash with Punjab in the Buchi Babu Memorial. Marathe hit 141 while Pawar cracked 101 to successfully chase 266 in 90 overs. In another match,Punjab,who made 257 for nine,managed to inflict a 53-run defeat over Kerala,thanks to a superb display by leg spinner Rahul Sharma 6/58.