ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh v Ireland Tigers aren't afraid

Bangladesh's 25-run loss against India on Saturday has now put them in must-win situation against Ireland today if they want to qualify for the next round and the Tigers are determined to ensure that a shock doesn't occur like the Super Eights encounter against the same team at Barbados in the 2007 World Cup.

Today's match is scheduled to start at 1:30pm local time (6:30pm Bangladesh Standard Time) with state-run Bangladesh Television (BTV) and STAR Cricket beaming the live coverage of the Group A encounter.

"It was a match we were too anxious to win I guess because we thought that if we didn't then all our good work in that tournament will be ruined. We brought pressure on ourselves with the fear of losing to a team below us. But that's not the case here. The players are very confident and I have not seen the fear-factor in this side on this trip. They have good players, people with county cricket experience but we are up for anything," said captain Mohammad Ashraful who also believed that Bangladesh had a genuine chance of beating India on Saturday.

"There were little mistakes we made that turned the game in India's favour. We always thought that 181 was gettable on that track but we lost too many wickets inside the first 10 overs. We don't have power hitters in the middle and later order like India and therefore the start was important. We did get the start but when I got out and Shakib [Al Hasan] and Zunaed [Siddiqui] followed it was a difficult chase from there on," said Ashraful who nevertheless was pleased with the bowling and fielding effort.

"We were good in the field and the bowling apart from an over each from Nayeem [Islam] and Rubel [Hossain] was fine.”

All-rounder Shakib also echoed the sentiments of his captain.

"We just needed one of the top four batters to carry on after we got the platform. I thought the turning points in the game was the stumping chance missed when Yuvraj Singh was on naught and then in batting when I got out and Zunaed also fell in the same over," said Shakib.

"I have no doubt that if we play our natural game then we should not have any problems beating Ireland," added Shakib.

Coach Jamie Siddons rued the missed opportunity against India.

"When Ashraful and Zunaed were batting we only needed 8 an over. But we still went for sixes and got out. We could have pushed them even harder," said Siddons.

Bangladesh have an injury worry over left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak who did not make the team against India. Razzak, who had suffered a back strain during a gym session on Saturday was feeling much better according to Tigers physio Michael Henry.

The weather has not got only gloomier in Nottingham and it had rained continuously since last evening. The forecast is for a clearer sky today but locals here are keeping their fingers crossed. The Bangladesh team could not train outdoors at Lady Bay because of the wet conditions and instead opted for practice at the National Cricket Academy's indoor facilities at Loughborough which is the largest such centre in the world.

ICC World Twenty20 SA thrash Scotland

AB de Villi-ers's 79 not out provided the platform for South Africa to crush Scotland by 130 runs in the Proteas' opening match of the ICC World Twenty20 at The Oval here on Sunday.

Scotland, chasing an unlikely 212 to win after South Africa made 211 for five, slumped to 81 all out.

Theirs was the seventh lowest in all Twenty20 internationals and the second worst at the Twenty20 World Cup following Kenya's 73 against New Zealand in Durban two years ago.

Scotland collapsed to 13 for four inside three overs and only Kyle Coetzer's gutsy 42 off 32 balls, featuring three sixes, prevented an even greater margin of defeat.

This crushing reverse ended minnows Scotland's slim hopes of qualifying for the second phase Super Eights after their seven-wicket loss to New Zealand, the other team in Group D, in a rain-affected match at the Oval on Saturday.

De Villiers faced just 34 balls, striking six sixes and six fours.

South Africa quick Dale Steyn bowled Ryan Watson off the fifth ball of the reply and, after Scotland captain Gavin Hamilton fell to Wayne Parnell, two wickets were lost with the score on 13.

Navdeep Poonia was run out needlessly for nough before Colin Smith was bowled first ball by a 91mph Steyn yorker.

Coetzer did give Scotland fans something to cheer by pulling Steyn for six but the match had been over as a contest long before then.

Scotland briefly staunched the flow of wickets before Neil McCallum was bowled by off-spinner Johan Botha to leave his side 35 for five.

South Africa saw captain Graeme Smith (38) and Jacques Kallis (48) put on 87 for the first wicket before off-spinner Majid Haq (two for 25) removed both openers in the space of four balls.

Kallis dragged an intended sweep against Haq onto his stumps having faced 31 balls with eight fours.

And three balls later Smith got a top-edge off Haq which was caught by Scotland wicketkeeper Smith.

Scotland put a brake on the run-rate and when Herschelle Gibbs was stumped by Smith off Watson, South Africa were 125 for three in the 15th over.

But the Proteas scored 83 runs off the last five overs although the last over did see Coetzer take a brilliant catch, diving backwards, to get rid of Mark Boucher.

South Africa conclude their Group D programme against New Zealand at Lord's on Monday.

SCORES IN BRIEF
SOUTH AFRICA: 211 for 5 in 20 overs (Smith 38, Kallis 48, Gibbs16, De Villiers 79 not out, Morkel 24; Drummond 2-40, Haq 2-25)

SCOTLAND: 81 all out in 15.4 overs (Coetzer 42, Haq 15; Steyn 2-21, Botha 2-17, Van der Merwe 2-17, Morkel 2-15)
Result: South Africa won by 130 runs.

ICC World Twenty20 Australia v Sri Lanka Ponting & co must win

Ricky Ponting's Australia must perform or face an embarrassing early exit from the World Twenty20 when they take on emotionally-charged Sri Lanka on Monday.

The Australians, stunned by a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of the West Indies on Saturday following Chris Gayle's explosive 88 off 50 balls, cannot afford another loss.

Even if they emerge victorious, Ponting's men are not assured of advancing to the Super Eights because a Sri Lankan win over the West Indies on Wednesday will throw up a three-way tie to be decided by net run-rate.

The loss to the West Indies with 4.1 overs to spare could spell further disaster for Australia, who must not only beat Sri Lanka, but do so by a big margin to improve their net run-rate.

"It all lies ahead of us," Ponting said ahead of the group C match at Trent Bridge.

"We know exactly what we have to do and if we are good enough, we we get it done."

The defeat against the West Indies was Australia's fourth Twenty20 loss in a row.

The shortest version of the game has not been particularly kind to the undisputed kings of Test and one-day cricket, who have won only 11 of their 22 games so far.

Ponting, however, was quick to stress that all was not lost for his team.

Australia suffered a shock defeat by Zimbabwe in the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007, but still managed to reach the semi-finals where they lost to eventual champions India.

"This form of the game can change very quickly," Ponting said. "We're in exactly the same position as we were last time.

"I guess some of the guys that were in the tournament last time will know what we have to do. There is nowhere else where we can go now."

Sri Lanka will be charged up for their first international match since the horrific terror attack on their team bus in the Pakistani city of Lahore in March while on their way to resume a Test match.

Seven Sri Lankan cricketers and an assistant coach were injured in the attack, which left eight Pakistanis dead.

Kumar Sangakkara, leading Sri Lanka for the first time after good friend Mahela Jayawardene quit the job after the Pakistan tour, said the team looked forward to the game against Australia.

"The pressure will be on them, but we are not taking victory for granted," said Sangakkara. "They will come hard at us and we have to be ready to stand tall.

"We know a side must win at least one game to stay in the race. We have just got to take our chances."

South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup Brazil rout Uruguay

Brazil leaped to the top of the South American qualifying table for the 2010 World Cup on Saturday with a 4-0 rout of host Uruguay while former leader Paraguay fell 2-0 at home to Chile.

Brazil won at Centenario stadium for the first time since 1976 on goals by FC Barcelona star Dani Alves in the 11th minute, AS Roma central defender Juan in the 35th, Sevilla's Luis Fabiano in the 52nd and AC Milan star Kaka on a penalty kick in the 74th minute.

Goals by Matias Fernandez in the 12th minute and Humberto Suazo in the 50th gave the Chilean a critical away triumph that put them only one point off the pace of Brazil and Paraguay, which now trails on goal difference.

Together with Argentina's 1-0 triumph over Colombia at Buenos Aires, the four top teams have separated themselves with five matches remaining to decide the four squads which will qualify for the showdown in South Africa.

Brazil (6-1 with six drawn) stand on 24 points, moving atop Paraguay (7-3-3) by virtue of superior goal difference, with Chile (7-4-2) next on 23 points and Argentina (6-3-4) fourth on 22.

The Uruguayans are fifth, five points back of Argentina but only one ahead of Venezuela and just three atop Colombia and Ecuador, which has a match in hand.

The leaders are not out of reach but even if they hold onto their spots, the remaining six teams have World Cup hope. South America's fifth-place finisher will meet North America's fourth-place team for another 2010 World Cup bid.

Uruguay knew extra heart-break from a fifth-place finish in 2005, losing out on a World Cup trip to Germany in a playoff against Australia.

Daniel Diaz's goal in the 55th minute gave Argentina a crucial home victory, stretching the gap on lower rivals for coach Diego Maradona's side and staying within reach of the top spot.

Bolivian heartache continued with a 1-0 home loss to Venezuela on an own goal in the 32nd minute.

South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup Big three book berth

Australia, Japan and South Korea were celebrating Sunday after powering into the World Cup finals, reinforcing their credentials as Asia's best football teams.

Japan became the first side anywhere to book their place in South Africa with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Uzbekistan in Tashkent, with Shunji Okazaki's strike after nine minutes enough to seal their berth from Group A.

Australia joined them after a bruising goalless draw with Qatar in Doha to remain unbeaten after their six games to sit alongside Japan on 14 points.

Both teams have two games left to play but the focus is now on who grabs the third-placed play-off slot from the group, with Bahrain clear favourite.

The Bahrainis have seven points to Qatar's five and Uzbekistan's four, but with a game in hand. They face Australia away next Wednesday then a home tie against the Uzbeks on June 17.

In Group B, South Korea ensured they will appear in their seventh successive World Cup finals with a 2-0 victory over the United Arab Emirates in Dubai.

Park Chu-Young opened South Korea's account in the fifth minute and Ki Sung-Yeung benefited from a comical error by the UAE goalkeeper on 37 minutes to seal the issue.

Saudi Arabia, who did not play Saturday, are in the driving seat to take the second automatic qualifying spot in the group.

They have 11 points to South Korea's 14, one behind North Korea but with a game in hand.

Iran have seven points but their chances are slim after their goalless draw against North Korea in Pyongyang.

The Saudis face South Korea in Seoul on Wednesday then have what could be a decisive home tie against North Korea on June 17.

The two third-placed teams in each group play each other in a play-off, with the winner taking on New Zealand for the remaining slot at the finals.

Japan coach Takeshi Okada paid tribute to his players' hard work in getting them to their fourth successive World Cup finals.

"I'd like to thank our players for their hard work," said Okada.

"It was a tough game, as we had expected, and our players fought hard until the very end of the game. They showed their mental toughness when our opponents wouldn't let us play our brand of football.

"This is just the start for us. I'm grateful that we have got this opportunity."

Australia coach Pim Verbeek was also delighted after watching his team make the finals for the second time in a row, and pledged that they would not sit back now they have qualified.

"We are now in the finals and we have a long road before playing in the World Cup," said the Dutchman, whose side host Bahrain in Sydney on Wednesday before playing Japan in Melbourne the following week.

"Despite qualifying, we will go into our game against Bahrain to win."

Verbeek will have been equally pleased that his former charges at South Korea also made the grade.

Their coach Huh Jung-Moo revealed he hoped his northern neighbours would follow his side to South Africa, to give Korea two teams at the tournament for the first time ever.

"I personally hope that North Korea can qualify with us to the finals because it will be the first time in World Cup history to have this," he said.

"I'm really happy that we made it. We played well and we are all satisfied with a performance that saw us win and ensure a place in South Africa in 2010.

"The players were excellent throughout the qualifiers and they did a great job."

South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup Dutch through to finals

A revived England all but booked their World Cup finals place Saturday by swatting Kazakhstan 4-0 as Holland became the first European nation to seal their berth for South Africa.

The Dutch saw off Iceland 2-1 in Reykjavik with first half goals from Manchester City's Nigel De Jong and Mark van Bommel to make them the untouchable leaders in Group 9, 11 points clear of second-placed Scotland.

Bert van Marwijk's men, unbeaten in 20 outings, join Australia, Japan and South Korea in next year's finals in South Africa.

Earlier in Almaty England, who missed out on Euro 2008 and suffered the heartache of successive quarterfinal shootout losses at both the World Cup and the Euros, moved closer to booking their own ticket.

With Italian disciplinarian Fabio Capello cracking the whip England have picked up six wins on the bounce, meaning they are in excellent company with European champions Spain and Holland as the only nations yet to drop a point in European qualifying action.

Boosting English morale, Ukraine managed to hold Croatia to a 2-2 draw in Zagreb, which left the Croatians seven points adrift of Capello's side. Belarus leapfrogged the Ukrainians into third in Group Six by beating Andorra 5-1 in Minsk.

The Kazakhs caused England some early anxious moments and even had a goal chalked off for offside but Gareth Barry headed the visitors into a 40th-minute lead and Emile Heskey, Wayne Rooney and a Frank Lampard spotkick saw the visitors romp home.

A booking for Barry was the only blot on proceedings meaning the man who has just left Aston Villa for moneybags Manchester City will miss next week's final qualifier of the season at home to Andorra.

Lampard said England had heeded Capello's call to roll their sleeves up against a country barely 250 kilometres from China, some 10,000 kilometres from home.

"We had to get heads down and work hard this week," Lampard said. "The conditions here were not easy and their work-rate meant it took us half an hour to get going.

"But we were professional ... we have taken a big step again towards qualifying.

Capello himself judged that "it is not easy to play here," but concluded: "I'm happy with the performance and the result."

With neither Spain, Germany, Italy or France in action Saturday, several hopefuls lined up to press their claims.

A Nenad Milijas penalty gave Serbia a 1-0 home win over Austria meaning 2006 finalists France are now five points adrift of the Group Seven leaders, albeit with a game in hand. The leading pair face off in a crunch game on September 9.

The Republic of Ireland wasted a chance to move a point clear of world champions Italy in Group Eight when they had to settle for a 1-1 draw away to Bulgaria at the Vasil Levski Stadium.

Richard Dunne headed the Irish into a 23rd-minute lead off a Stephen Hunt freekick but Dimitar Telkiyski capitalised on an error by Kevin Kilbane to equalise five minutes later.

The stalemate leaves Giovanni Trapattoni's visitors on 13 points from seven matches, one adrift of the Italians who hold the whip hand having played a match less.

In Group Three, Slovakia swamped hapless San Marino 7-0 to move two points clear of Northern Ireland, who were facing Italy in a friendly international.

In Group Four, where the Germans lead Russia by four points - although the latter have a game in hand - Finland moved to within two points of the Russians after a 2-1 home win over Liechtenstein while Wales are all but out of contention desite a 1-0 win in Azerbaijan.

Elsewhere, Denmark rule the roost in Group One after provisionally extending their advantage over Hungary to three points with a hard-fought 1-0 win at neighbours Sweden courtesy of a goal from Thomas Kahlenberg.

Despite a last-gasp 2-1 win in Albania, where Hugo Almeida and Bruno Alves were on target, Portugal are still fighting for their lives as they trail the Danes by seven points and the Hungarians by four.

French Open Federer breaks clay jinx

Roger Federer gloriously completed a career Grand Slam on Sunday by capturing a record-equalling 14th major with a 6-1, 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 win over Robin Soderling in the French Open final.

The 27-year-old world number two finally won a Roland Garros crown at the 11th attempt and in his fourth successive final having come up heartbreakingly short in the last three showdowns against Spanish nemesis Rafael Nadal.

His victory, ironically over the Swedish 23rd seed who shocked four-time Nadal in the last 16, took him level with great friend Pete Sampras as the holder of 14 Grand Slam titles.

He also moved into a select group made up only of Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and Andre Agassi as men who have won all four of the Grand Slam events.

"It was probably my greatest victory, I was under big pressure. I did it and it's phenomenal," said Federer who broke down in tears after being presented with the trophy by Agassi, the 1999 champion, and while the Swiss national anthem was played.

Soderling, who has now lost 10 times in 10 meetings with Federer, admitted the Swiss was a deserving winner.

"Roger was too good for me today, he played much better. He is a worthy winner and for me he is the best player in history," said Soderling.

"He gave me a lesson in how to play tennis."

Any doubts over Federer's ability to overcome his Paris jinx were quickly dashed as the Swiss star, playing in a record-equalling 19th Grand Slam final and riding a tidal wave of support, dominated Soderling.

He broke the first game on a Soderling double fault and was soon a second break to the good to lead 4-0 when a sweetly-timed drop shot left the Swede stranded behind the baseline.

Soderling, the first Swede in the Roland Garros final since his coach Magnus Norman finished runner-up to Gustavo Kuerten in 2000, stopped the rot with a hold to trail 4-1, but Federer quickly nipped further ahead to 5-1.

Soderling's uncompromising forehand, which was a dagger to the heart of Nadal, was looking more like a blunt instrument in the damp and chilly conditions.

His service game crumbled again in the seventh game as Federer claimed the opening set.

It had taken just 23 minutes with the Swiss losing just two points on serve.

The final was then delayed by a worrying security breach during the fourth game of the second set with Federer ahead 2-1.

A spectator, dressed in red, waved a flag of the Barcelona football club in the world number two's face before he was wrestled off Court Philippe Chatrier by security guards.

But the Swiss star wasn't disrupted from his elegant stride, either by the intruder or the rain which started to steadily fall.

Although Soderling slowly rediscovered his service power, it was Federer who was comfortably dictating the points and he fired down four aces in the tie-break to open up a two-sets lead.

He was a break ahead in the third set to lead 1-0 before Soderling carved out, and squandered, his first break point of the match in the fourth game.

Federer then sent down his 16th ace of the tie to stretch to 4-2.

He came out to serve for a place in history but faltered to 30-40 with a wild, running forehand.

With pregnant wife Mirka looking anxiously on, he averted the crisis and went to match point with a confident volley and claimed victory when Soderling netted a service return after 1hr 55min on court.

Federer slumped to the Paris clay in celebration and in tears as he secured his place as arguably the greatest player of all time.