Strauss undone by DRS as Pakistan tighten grip

England 192 and 16 for 1 (Trott 8*, Cook 2*) trail Pakistan 338 (Hafeez 88, Akmal 61, Swann 4-107) by 130 runs

Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Andrew Strauss came as close as he has to dissent during his imperturbable reign as England captain, as his dismissal shortly before lunch strengthened Pakistan's hold on the first Test.

Strauss was given out caught down the leg side against Umar Gul, a decision by umpire Billy Bowden that was upheld by the DRS, and he walked from the outfield with a regal shake of the head. Actually, he allowed himself several regal shakes of the head. For a conservative sort like Strauss that was akin to rebellion. He would not have had much appetite for lunch with England still 130 behind and his own wicket already lost.

There was definitely a woody sound as the ball curled past Strauss' bat and there was a brief delay before he called for the third umpire, although that was probably not as much a clue to guilt as proof of Strauss' determination that England should gather their thoughts before using the review system. Hotspot revealed nothing - but then Hotspot is not infallible. The third umpire, Steve Davis, as the guidelines state, saw "no conclusive evidence" to allow him to overturn Bowden's decision and he had no option but to follow such a course.

History warns England that victory in the first Test is all but impossible after they conceded a lead of 146 to Pakistan in the first Test in Dubai. To dismiss Pakistan for 338 on a decent batting surface was a redoubtable effort by the England attack, but it would require an immense turnaround for them to win the match from here.

As for Strauss himself, he has now passed fifty only once in the last 12 innings. His leadership has been instrumental in carrying England to No. 1 in the world but he badly needs runs.

England conceded another 50 runs on the third morning in removing Pakistan's last three batsmen. Adnan Akmal, one of three Pakistan brothers to play Test cricket, sought to carry the game out of England's reach, advancing his overnight 24 not out to 61 before he was last out, stumped by three yards against Graeme Swann as he looked for a single to farm the strike.

If Mr. and Mrs. Akmal had brought 11 sons into the world instead of seven, they could have formed the most unpredictable cricket team in the world. Adnan played and missed more in the opening half hour than Pakistan had on the first two days as England's pace attack enticed more swing from a second new ball that began the day 23 overs old. But he continued on his carefree way, carving boundaries to third man and then treating Swann to several reverse sweeps as the lead mounted.

England struck with the ninth ball of the morning, when Umar Gul's uncontrolled drive at Stuart Broad careered to gully where Eoin Morgan held a simple catch. Next, Saeed Ajmal, even more than Strauss, had reason to rue his misfortune as Hotspot failed to help out the umpires once more.

"Nobody claims the DRS is perfect," Haroon Lorgat, the ICC's chief executive, had reminded everybody in Dubai the previous day. DRS, according to Lorgat, had improved decision making to 99% accuracy. Saeed Ajmal got the 1% as Davis put small print ahead of commonsense.

Bowden adjudged that Swann had dismissed Ajmal at short leg, the batsman called for a review, and tv replays showed no flick of the glove as the ball deflected off the pad to Alastair Cook at short leg.

According to Sky TV, Davis then told Bowden that because Hotspot was obscured he had "no conclusive evidence" to overrule his decision. It was so hard to believe on slow-motion replay that Bowden had got it right, that Davis seemed to have conclusive evidence to overturn the decision irrespective of Hotspot.

England's mediocre record in Asia is well documented and little illustrates it better than the fact that they have won only two Tests in Asia after conceding a first-innings lead. Both came against Pakistan, 51 years ago in Lahore when the margin was only seven runs and again in Karachi in 2000 when the margin was again slim, 17 runs and England won in the dark.

There has been a lot of talk about England being back in the game. If they are, they are hanging on by the slenderest thread.

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Posted in: Cricket News,Dubai Series,England,Paksiatn

IGN REVIEWS: FIFA 12 GAME REVIEW

I had an unhealthy obsession with FIFA 11. I put in the kind of hours that a Fox News report onWOW addicts might mention. How could I not? It was the current in a fresh emergence of astral EA labels that would've fulfilled any diehard soccer/football fan's gaming fantasy. But, for all of its glitz and glamour, pleasure, and replay worth, it sensed to some extent less deep below the surface. Enter FIFA 12; without reinventing the wheel, it contributes a sense of gravitas that now raises the succession as a whole.

When I sat down to short two-way chat with the game's maker a small number months in the past, the developers at EA Canada had now been championing FIFA 12's "revolution" for months. They alleged that three new extensive gameplay adjusts -- a visceral physics motor for collisions, an overhauled vindicating procedure, and more exact dribbling -- were going to fully completed change the way you acted the game. How right they were.

If you've acted any FIFA labels in the past, the game straight away feels as though it's been reduced tempo down to a anxious degree. You'll most in all likelihood agree numerous inexpensive goals as you watch your guard lurch lamely past the fighting against team's striker, letting them an not hard close in resistance to a confused keeper (unless it's Torres). Don't fret though -- when you supervise to bind your head throughout the modifications, that one time bothering "revolution" moniker commences to become a very apt delineation indeed.

Defending is the most blatant change, and it demands staying-power and attentiveness to succeed. Gone are the days of languidly compressing X to blast off colleagues like homing missiles -- a very fragile balance of positional play and timed attempting are now the keys to not getting your assembly reduced eight-to-nil. To quotation a certain clever aged sage, "you ought unlearn what you have learned." Well, that or you could just change the surroundings back to last year's attempting by FIFA 12's in-game customization. I find the CPU adjusting to be principally practical, giving me the skills to set A.I. annoyance to the exact stage that I desired.

FIFA has been renowned for its cutting-edge demonstration, and 12 upholds that repute with a much-improved interface, heightened commentary (having two couples of excitable commentary assemblies aids to retain things fresh), and astral visuals. Some of the competitor types this year are uncanny -- from Tevez's neck disfigurements to Ashley Young's impudence acne. Couple those views with an array of private on-the-pitch attributes, and you'll find the lads at the apex groups looking unnervingly spot-on with their actual life counterparts. It's a flashy parcel that will request to even the most casual football fan's sensibilities.

It aids too when there is so much content. Career mode has long been a greatest source of worry for the FIFA community, and while this year's implementation still feels like baby steps, playing for the long time span is much better than it was in 11. There are new variables that can act on a player's recital (the damage procedure in actual has been fully completed overhauled), and the convey market now has a much bigger sense of realism, with a very pleasure convey deadline day that equates the madness of a day paid out monitoring it on Sky Sports. Ultimate Team is back (and geared up to depart at launch), Virtual Pro/Pro Clubs have been enhanced, and EA Sports Football Club retains your eyes on the expanded film, giving players through the globe a sense of accord for their respective teams. Creation Centre in addition contributes ahead a new dimension of customization, letting you to make unlicensed assemblies that aren't in the game or a fantasy lineup (such as a United all-time XI with the likes of Cantona, Edwards, and Best).

Phew, like I said -- that's many of game.

FIFA 12 isn't perfect: for every amazing time the new collision procedure brings ahead, there's one that just views cumbersome or buggy. The new dribbling setup can be many with space, but I often draw close through unworkable motion with players forcing the ball throughout through a succession of contacts that made them view more like a person playing futsal as an alternative as a certified on an outdoor pitch. These little gripes could in all likelihood be fastened in future patches, but for now I can't aid but be to some extent sidetracked when remnant of the game just views and shows so well.

That being said, FIFA 12 is a extraordinary achievement. EA could have without difficulty taking it easy on its laurels, but alternatively resolved to be ballsy and went about overhauling some rudimentary gameplay mechanics in a game that was now garnering universal praise. Many gamers will in all likelihood weep "$60 roster update" -- but they'll omit the newness and refinement going on under the hood. FIFA 12 demands an unprecedented point of staying-power and attentiveness, while giving the approach and material we've draw close to love -- and that's exactly how a football game should be.

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Posted in: Fifa 12,Football News,Reviews

Football: Lions' second chance at World Cup glory

How far will Singapore go on the road to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup?

Having triumphed over bitter rivals Malaysia to gain a spot for the next round of qualifiers, the Lions join 16 other Asian teams including Bahrain and North Korea for a chance in the finals.

Favourites Australia, South Korea and Japan are almost assured of Asia's four automatic spots for the finals, leaving just that one spot for a battle royale on the pitch.

Just who Singapore will next play will be known on Saturday, where the 20 Asian teams will be drawn into five round-robin, home-and-away groups of four teams each, with the five group winners and five runners-up advance to the next round.

Singapore is pooled for the draw with Iran, Iraq, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Lebanon, Uzbekistan, Syria, China, Kuwait, Oman and Jordan.

In this group, the UAE, Iraq and Indonesia are aiming to add to their solitary World Cup campaigns of 1990, 1986 and 1934 respectively.

After that round which will see the teams whittled down to 10, the nations will play two round-robin, home-and-away groups of five teams each with the top two in each pool heading for the finals while the two third-placed sides play-off with the winner then facing a continental play-off.

Forty-three countries from the Asian continent started out on the road to Brazil, and already it has kicked off to an exciting campaign for Singapore soccer fans.

In the space of five days, Singapore and Malaysia revived their deep-seated soccer rivalry as they locked horns on both sides of the Causeway in their quest for World Cup glory.

In the return match played in Kuala Lumpur, the home team had the advantage but the Lions managed to prevail after a 180-minute titanic battle.

With a 5-3 lead from their first match played at the Jalan Besar Stadium last Saturday, the onus was for Singapore to maintain its slender advantage.

The situation seemed tenuous at the Bukit Jalil stadium on Thursday night, when the Malaysian grabbed the lead in the second half.

But the new-look Lions, led by skipper Sharil Ishak and Hariss Harun, redeemed themselves with a tenacious and disciplined display to overcome the reigning SEA Games champion and ASEAN Cup holders.

Bearing the wrath of 90,000 Malaysian fans baying for revenge, Singapore recorded a 1-1 draw at the final whistle to enter the third round of the 2014 World Cup Asian qualifiers on a 6-4 aggregate.

For Singapore's coach Radojko Avramovic, the victory will surely silence his detractors and erase memories of a dismal 2010 which saw the Lions failing to qualify for the last 16 of the Asian Cup; crashing out in the group stages of the ASEAN Suzuki Cup, and the disbanding of the national team.

For the second successive time, he will be guiding the Lions into the third round of Asia's World Cup qualifiers to take on the best of Asia's football and a chance of football's Holy Grail.

In the previous World Cup 2010 qualifying campaign, the Lions were drawn against Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Uzbekistan, where they finished third in the group with six points from six games, after defeating Lebanon twice during the campaign.

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Posted in: Football News,Series

Hina Rabbani Khar pitches for Indo-Pak cricket series

NEW DELHI: Pakistan's young foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar was quickly on to the front foot as she broached the topic of sports diplomacy during her meeting with SM Krishna on Wednesday. Batting for resumption of cricketing ties, Khar told Krishna that the game had the potential to bring closer the two countries at a time when people were keen on peace.

Khar made the point that the time was particularly ripe for resuming Test series between the two nations. There has been no bilateral series since the Mumbai attacks in 2008. In fact, no international team has toured Pakistan since March 2009 when the Sri Lankans were attacked in Lahore by terrorists.

Krishna responded, saying India was keen on resuming sporting ties and hoped India would soon host the Pakistani cricket team and vice versa. While cricket did not find specific mention in the joint statement, it said the two ministers emphasized on holding sports tournaments. Khar is also learnt to have pitched for cricket matches between the women's teams of the two countries.

The idea played on throughout her visit. At Wednesday's dinner in the Pakistan high commission, she asked BCCI vice-president and MoS for parliamentary affairs Rajeev Shukla to work towards initiating an India-Pakistan cricket series.

BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla is learnt to have assured visiting Pakistani foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar that resumption of an Indo-Pak cricket series would be discussed at the BCCI meeting scheduled for next month. A series is said to be tentatively scheduled for next year but it has not been confirmed yet.

The BCCI and the Pakistan cricket board recently held a meeting in Hong Kong on the sidelines of the ICC annual conference in which resumption of bilateral cricketing ties was discussed.

Khar, a polo enthusiast herself, may have taken some tips from her 11-year-old son, a cricket enthusiast who accompanied her to India. For a Pakistan cricket board that is struggling to remain afloat, it is imperative to engage India in a bilateral series not just to generate revenues but also to give the right message to other Test nations who are shying away from playing there.

In India though, it is likely to be seen by many, including opposition parties, as a major concession to Pakistan. Krishna had said in April that India had agreed to play matches with Pakistan while going ahead with peace talks, leading to BJP condemning the statement. The opposition party maintains that cricket ties should be revived only if there is a change in Pakistan's attitude towards terror.

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Posted in: Cricket News,Series

Villa agree £9.5m fee for N'Zogbia

Aston Villa have equated a £9.5 million trade with Wigan for winger Charles N'Zogbia and are close to closing the move.

> N'Zogbia won't beat to get move
> Bent desires N'Zogbia at Villa

Wigan had refused Villa's offer of £9 million for the first Newcastle player. But the two groups held farther debates over the weekend and are trusted to have arrived at a compromise diagram of throughout £9.5 million.

New Villa person in accuse Alex McLeish wants a new winger after the departures of Ashley Young and Stewart Downing to Manchester United and Liverpool respectively this summer. He will take none for given after bungling to indication N'Zogbia when Birmingham person in accuse last summer.

N'Zogbia will retain chats over private time spans in the next 24 hours and undergo a medicinal before noting what is looked frontwards to to be a five-year deal.

He would be in all likelihood to have to hold back to unite up with Villa's first-team squad. McLeish's assembly are presently on a pre-season expedition of Hong Hong and N'Zogbia does not have the demanded work visa.

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Posted in: Football News,Series