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Muttiah Muralitharan,who is set to retire after the first Test at Galle,on Thursday said among the current crop of slow bowlers...

Only Bhajji can overtake me

Muttiah Muralitharan,who is set to retire after the first Test at Galle,on Thursday said among the current crop of slow bowlers,only Harbhajan Singh can match his record of scalping nearly 800 Test wickets. “I think only Harbhajan can do this. I don’t know how old is he and how long he will continue. But he is the only one who can achieve this feat in Test cricket,” he said. “In current scenario Test Cricket is dying. One day cricket does not have bright future. Only Twenty20 is going to survive. So it will be difficult for any slow bowler to survive so long,” he said.

Swann Englands trump card

Shane Warne believes England will travel to Australia with their “best-ever” chance of winning the Ashes and rates off-spinner Graeme Swann as their trump card. “He is the most improved cricketer. He mixes his pace,he’s not afraid to be hit,he’s learning all the time in difficult conditions. As a spinner,he needs to know how to take wickets at the crucial times. His special ability is his quicker delivery he spins it. That’s rare for a spin bowler. He is going to be a trump,” Warne said.

No racism in Howard rejection

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ICC President Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said that the rejection of the candidature of former Australian Prime Minister John Howard for the vice-president’s post had no racial overtones. “There is no white versus brown controversy… There is no racist angle at all,” he said. “The same body had elected David Morgan from England,who led ICC for four years,two years as vice-president and then two years as president,” he said. “It was my concern to see that the process of election remains unopposed but unfortunately we could not persuade our other member colleagues,” he said.

No easy return for Yo-Yo

Former captains Younis Khan and Muhammad Yousuf would not be taken back into the national team until they apologise to the Pakistan Cricket Board for their “recent actions and statements”,the PCB has told the country’s sports minister. “Younis and his lawyer have given inappropriate statements. There is a players’ code of conduct in place and we will not spare anyone who violates the code,” PCB chairman Ejaz Butt said.

Kubica renews Renault contract

Polish driver Robert Kubica has ended speculation about his future by signing a two-year extension to his contract with Renault. The 25-year-old,who is currently sixth in the drivers’ championship,was also linked with a move to Ferrari. “It was a straightforward decision for me to continue with a team where I feel at home,” said Kubica. “What’s important for me is to be in the right atmosphere,with a good group of people,where everybody is pulling in the same direction.”

Mallya eyes podium finish

Force India chairman Vijay Mallya is expecting both Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi to be among points in Sunday’s British Grand Prix and reckons a podium finish is possible in Spa and Monza. “It’s a very big weekend,and obviously Silverstone is where we really want to perform well. It’s the home race for us now and there’s a lot of involvement from the guys in the factory,and the whole team enjoys the race weekend,” Mallya said.

Somdev enters Round Two

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Somdev Devvarman advanced to the second round of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships after scoring a straight-set win over America’s Kevin Kim. The unseeded Indian took one hour and three minutes to complete a 6-4 6-3 win in the first round of the $ 442,500 grass court event. Somdev will next taken on another American in fifth seed Mardy Fish,who humbled compatriot Mark Russell 6-1 6-2 in his opening round.