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The upcoming Pakistan-India series may be played at a neutral venue like Abu Dhabi if India refuses to tour on security grounds, a Pakistan Cricket Board official said Thursday. “In a worst scenario, if India has its reservations (to tour Pakistan), we can consider playing at a neutral venue,” PCB’s chief operating officer Salim Altaf said.

India is scheduled to play three tests and five one-day internationals during its Jan. 4-Feb.

19 tour to Pakistan. “Of course our first priority will be that foreign teams start playing top level cricket in Pakistan,” Altaf said.

“However, we don’t rule out playing at the neutral venue because we want to generate funds and don’t want to become an isolated cricketing nation.” Earlier this week, India’s government refused permission to its junior hockey team to tour Pakistan due to security concerns.

Abu Dhabi has emerged as the one of the options to host Pakistan-India test matches. “So far the PCB has not approached us, but if we are asked, we will be ready to host the test matches,” Abu Dhabi Cricket Council’s chief executive Dilawar Mani told The Associated Press on Thursday.

“We want cricket to flourish in Pakistan and the first priority should be that India tours Pakistan in January as per schedule,” Mani added. Pakistan is currently playing a three-match limited-overs series against the West Indies in Abu Dhabi.

The International Cricket Council is eager to use the Pakistan-India series as the benchmark to convince other teams especially non-Asian countries that it’s safe to play cricket in Pakistan and a transfer to a neutral venue would undermine that message. Pakistan is the only test-playing nation among the nine competing in top format of the game which will end 2008 without playing a test match.

It was scheduled to play three home tests in March, but world champion Australia canceled its tour due to security reservations. September’s Champions Trophy was also postponed until next year after four leading teams South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and England expressed apprehensions about security.

Somdev Devvarman and his South African partner Izak Van Der Merwe qualified for the doubles event of the ATP Challenger series tournament in Champaign, USA.

The second-seeded pair of Somdev and Izak outplayed the top seed Indian pair of Ashutosh Singh and Harsh Mankad 6-3 6-2 in the final round of the qualifying competition.

It was sweet revenge for Somdev and his partner as they had lost to the same Indian pair in the last week’s Challenger at Nashville at the same stage.

Somdev and Izak will play their first match against Indo-American pair of Prakash Amritraj and Amer Delic.

In the singles event, Prakash will open his campaign against Izak, Somdev’s doubles partner, who entered the main draw as a qualifier.

Delhi defeated Himachal Pradesh by eight wickets in their U-22 C.K. Nayudu Trophy match at the St Stephen’s ground on Monday. Himachal Pradesh showed tremendous improvement in their second innings though as Vikas Sharma (73) and Rishi Dhawan (86), along with opener Minesh Thakur (50), put up a strong fight on the third day.

Dhawan stood like a barrier against the Delhi bowlers but he fell short of the triple figure and failed to save the match and the hosts earned five points. Apart from debutant Kapil Yadav’s six-wicket haul and Narender Singh’s show with bat, Delhi’s wicketkeeper-captain Rahul Yadav played an important role.

Yadav took seven catches and scored an unbeaten 25 in the second inning including five boundaries. There were a couple of disciplinary issues.

The umpires summoned Delhi’s Ankur Jhulka and Rahul Yadav at the end of the play. HT learnt that Jhulka was called for showing his bat to the umpire while Yadav was called up for over-appealing on different occasions.

Brief scores: Himachal Pradesh 106 and 291 (V. Sharma 73, R. Dhawan 86; K. Yadav 3/80) lost to Delhi 328 and 70/2 (R. Yadav 25*, N. Singh 19*).

Indian Cricket League Chairman Kapil Dev said on Friday that he was disappointed by the failure of their talks with the BCCI to gain recognition for their Twenty20 series, which is not authorised by the game’s governing body in India and the ICC.”Agar aap poochte hain toh dukh to hai. Hamaare paas 300 bachche hain par saamne wala (BCCI) baat hi karne ko taiyaar nahi hai (If you ask, I’m of course disheartened. We have 300 youngsters but the other party is not even ready to talk),” said Kapil, who was not a part of the meeting with the BCCI.

The International Cricket Council last week instructed the BCCI to hold talks with ICL officials while deferring a decision on the rebel league’s application for recognition. But the much-anticipated meeting failed to make any headway on the contentious issue.

“This morning there was a meeting at Delhi between officials of BCCI and ICL to see if there was any common ground. The talks failed and there are no plans for any further meeting,” BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan had said in a statement.

Argentina coach Alfio Basile quit on Thursday, the day after his team lost 1-0 to Chile in a 2010 World Cup qualifier, the Argentina Football Association (AFA) said.

“Basile spoke to the president of AFA (Julio Grondona) and quit for personal reasons,” AFA spokesman Ernesto Cherquis told reporters.

“The national teams committee tried to persuade him to postpone his decision but Basile was very decided, very determined (and) the resignation has been accepted.”

Basile had been under increasing pressure following a series of poor results and performances from one of the world’s most talented teams.

The gravel-voiced coach was appointed in July 2006 for his second stint in the job, having previously been in charge from 1991 to 1994, a period which included the World Cup finals in the United States.

He led Argentina to last year’s Copa America final where they were thumped 3-0 by Brazil.

He came under increasing pressure after a run of six successive draws but appeared to have weathered the storm with a 2-1 World Cup qualifying win over Uruguay on Saturday.

However, fans were shocked by the way their team were outclassed by Chile on Wednesday as they lost to their neighbours for the first time in 35 years.

A REASSURING display from India’s senior batsmen and interruptions on account of poor light ensured that India ended the first Test of the series unscathed, walking away with an honourable draw. The only blip was Sachin Tendulkar falling on 49, with 15 still needed to get past Brian Lara’s tally of Test runs as India reached 177 for four when play was called off once both sides realised there was no chance of forcing a positive result.

Four days of intriguing cricket, with Australia setting the pace and India fighting hard to keep the game from running away from them had set up the final day perfectly. Ricky Ponting needed only five overs in the morning before declaring the innings closed, leaving India with an unlikely target of 299.

His swift declaration meant he was giving himself enough time to have a few overs with the second new ball, an eventuality that would not arise because of bad light. India’s final dig of the game began badly, with Virender Sehwag slashing hard at Brett Lee with only 15 on the board.

The healthy edge went to Brad Haddin’s right and the keeper could only parry the ball. The lapse would not prove costly as Sehwag closed the face of his bat a touch early, trying to work Stuart Clark to the on side, and only managed a thick nick to first slip.

Rahul Dravid once again looked positive from the time he walked out to the middle but an instinctive flick to a full ball on the pads from Lee proved to be his undoing. Unable to keep the ball down Dravid could only watch in dismay as Ponting lunged to his right to take an acrobatic airborne catch.

Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir then calmed the nerves somewhat, batting with care and application. Tendulkar was hesitant when he began his innings, unsure just how much to trust the bounce of the pitch, but when he convinced himself that there was nothing much to fear, he was barely troubled.

Gambhir too was resolute in defence, and it was against the run of play that a Mitchell Johnson yorker slipped under bat and rattled his stumps. At 77 for three the setting was right for one of India’s infamous final day collapses.

V.V.S. Laxman, though, was batting without a care in the world, timing the ball as only he can. Even with the ball not really coming onto the bat Laxman was untroubled, waiting on the ball and playing it late.

Tendulkar, who was accumulating runs rather than forcing the pace was in kissing distance of a half-century when he fell. Preoccupied with the failing light, Tendulkar had tried his best to convince the umpires that he was not sighting the ball clearly.

This distraction probably played a part in his dismissal, a soft one that would once again give Australia hope. Cameron White floated a ball outside off and Tendulkar’s uppish drive went straight to cover.

Irritated at being dismissed when he was so well set, Tendulkar made the long walk back to the pavilion even as White celebrated his maiden Test wicket. Two stoppages of play for bad light made India’s task easier, but Sourav Ganguly and Laxman focussed so hard that eventually the Australians had to concede that the game had ended in a stalemate.

Ganguly kept things simple, not chancing his arm at any stage, instead occupying the crease with purpose and resolve. Laxman had batted almost three hours, and with his innings each of India’s senior batsmen had made important runs in the game.

Four is an unwieldy number for a Test series, and with one match drawn, it’s now down to the remaining three. With the first Test showing just how evenly matched the two teams are, the matches that follow promise much.

THE DEFEAT to South Korea in their first group match of the AFC under-16 championship in Tashkent has put India under pressure when they take on Syria in the second match on Monday. If they lose this match, their final match on October 8 against Indonesia will be inconsequential.

Monday’s opponents, Syria, who had finished fourth in the last edition in 2006 at Singapore, will be no pushovers either. But the India team media manager, Colonel Mehta, who is accompanying the team was hopeful and said, “We spent a full day training here.

We are optimistic.” When asked about the changes in the team, Mehta said, “We might keep the same starting line-up as.

” However, striker Malsawmfela, who missed the first match due to injury, returns to the squad. “He (Malsawmfela) had been nursing an injury for the last one month,” said Mehta.

“As we didn’t want to take risk, we kept him out of the first match. But now that he is fit, we have decided to play him in the second match against Syria.

” Whether he would start would be decided on Monday. Asked whether the players have been able to acclimatise, Mehta said: “Our players have adapted to the conditions.

The exposure trip to Manchester prior to this event helped us.”.

Big Ben’s big night gave the Pittsburgh Steelers a big boost in the AFC North. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns, helping the Steelers overcome their offensive woes and leading them to a 26-21 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday night.

Pittsburgh (4-1) snapped a four-game losing streak against Jacksonville and stretched its division lead over Baltimore (2-2), which lost to Tennessee earlier in the day.

Roethlisberger finished 26-of-41, rebounding from an interception on his third pass that Rashean Mathis returned 72 yards for a score. Roethlisberger’s perfect 8-yard fade pass to Hines Ward in the corner of the end zone put the Steelers ahead 26-21 with 1:53 remaining.

Roethlisberger misfired on the 2-point conversion, but Pittsburgh’s defense sealed the win by sacking David Garrard and then forcing two incomplete passes.

The Jaguars (2-3) blew a late lead for the fourth consecutive week. They rallied the last two games, getting winning field goals to beat Indianapolis and Houston.

No such luck this time around.

Roethlisberger and his teammates celebrated against Jacksonville for the first time since 2004.

The Jaguars won two close games in Pittsburgh last season, including a 31-29 victory in the first round of the playoffs, and were favored in this one mostly because of the Steelers’ injury situation.

They played without running backs Willie Parker (knee) and Rashard Mendenhall (shoulder), guard Kendall Simmons (Achilles’ tendon) and defensive linemen Casey Hampton (groin) and Brett Keisel (calf).

“We had a statement: ‘The more you can do,’ and we called on a lot of people to do that,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “Guys stepped outside their lines if you will and delivered, delivered big.”

Because Roethlisberger had been sacked 16 times in the first four games, the Jaguars expected to have a big day against Big Ben.

It ended up being the other way around.

Roethlisberger picked apart Jacksonville’s secondary, which played without starting safety Reggie Nelson and cornerback Drayton Florence. And even when the Jaguars looked like they were about to sack him, he made some clutch throws for first downs, none bigger than the 18-yarder to Hines Ward on third-and-8 that put the Steelers at the Jacksonville 13 and set up the go-ahead score.

“Guys are definitely upset,” Garrard said. “We felt like we had it, but they went down and made some amazing plays. Ben had guys draped on his back and he gets a pass off 20 yards down the field. It’s just amazing.”

The Steelers rolled up 28 first downs and 415 yards, and probably would have won going away had it not been for the early interception and 10 penalties for 129 yards.

“It’s something that simply has to be better,” Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said, trying to explain his defense’s second straight meltdown. “It’s the difference between being good and not being good. If you can’t get off the field on third down, you give yourself more exposure to all the things you want to avoid.”

Houston’s Matt Schaub torched the Jaguars for 307 yards passing and three scores last week. Del Rio vowed to get the lapses fixed.

Didn’t happen.

Roethlisberger threw for 237 yards and two scores in the first half and directed scoring drives of 71, 59, 82 and 66 yards. Pittsburgh outgained Jacksonville 300 yards to 49 yards in the first half and had 17 more first downs.

The Jaguars settled down after the break, holding the Steelers to no yards in two possessions and then took a 21-20 lead on the second play of the fourth when Garrard hit tight end Marcedes Lewis over the middle for a 24-yard score.

Jacksonville might have had a bigger lead, but Del Rio passed on a 51-yard field goal attempt in the third quarter. Garrard’s fourth-down pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage.

The one-point margin made it easier for Roethlisberger, who directed an 11-play, 80-yard drive in 4:40 to put the Steelers ahead for good.

Nate Washington caught six passes for 94 yards and a touchdown. Ward had seven receptions for 90 yards and a score.

Mewelde Moore, filling in for Parker, ran 17 times for 99 yards.

Heath Miller scored on 1-yard reception in the first quarter and Washington hauled in a 48-yarder that put Pittsburgh up 17-14 early in the second. Jeff Miller kicked field goals of 38 and 23 yards.

Garrard was 18-of-32 for 200 yards for Jacksonville, most of it to Mike Walker (6 catches, 107 yards). The Jags took a 14-7 lead early, but sputtered much of the night. They had more penalty yards (64) than offensive yards (49) at the half, and their running game was stymied for the fourth time in five games this season.

Fred Taylor led the team with 19 yards on 10 carries.

James Shields listens to horror stories about Tropicana Field, shrugs his shoulders and smiles.

“We don’t complain,” the 26-year-old right-hander said, “because we have to play here.”

It has taken years, but the Tampa Bay Rays have finally transformed the wackiest stadium in the major leagues into what manager Joe Maddon affectionately calls “The Pit,” a place where some flyballs never come down and opposing teams absolutely hate to visit.

Shields, who will start Game 1 of Tampa Bay’s playoff series against either the Minnesota Twins or Chicago White Sox, has developed a deep appreciation for The Trop, and with good reason. He’s 9-2 with a 2.59 ERA in 17 home starts compared to 5-6 with a 4.82 ERA in 16 road starts this season.

The Rays have prospered in the domed ballpark as well, fashioning the best home record (57-24) in the majors en route to winning the AL East and earning home-field advantage for the opening round of the playoffs.

“We actually come in here knowing we can beat anybody,” Shields said. “We haven’t had that before.”

Opponents gripe about everything from the artificial turf to the infamous catwalks that support the roof of the 18-year-old stadium. Goofy things can happen when batted balls carom off — or occasionally became lodged in — the structures ranging from 59 to 194 feet above the field.

In 11 seasons, 96 fair balls have struck the catwalks — 11 this season, including nine by players on opposing teams.

That explains why some liken the place, opened in 1990 and considered by many to be obsolete by the time the Rays moved in eight years later, to being a giant pinball machine.

Since baseball began allowing umpires to use video replay to review boundary calls in late August, two of the seven tests of the system have come at Tropicana Field, including the historic first that upheld Alex Rodriguez’s catwalk drive on Sept. 4.

But not everyone sold on the idea that it’s a tough place to because of some of the quirky features.

“I’ll tell you why they win at home,” Toronto manager Cito Gaston said earlier this year. “They win because they’ve got a good team.”

Shields agrees.

The pitcher began to notice a difference in the attitude of opposing teams a couple of seasons ago. He said it was directly related to Tampa Bay’s young talented lineup, not the stadium.

“I don’t think teams came in thinking it’s going to be easy. They came in thinking these guys are good, but they don’t know how good they are,” Shields said.

“We never really took advantage of it. We didn’t know how other teams felt until some of the guys started saying, `Man, we really don’t like coming in here. We can’t believe you guys don’t know how good you can be.’”

Tampa Bay lost five series at home all season, including just two of its final 22. The last team in the majors to finish with more home wins was the 1998 New York Yankees, who were 62-19 and went on to win the World Series.

“The record speaks for itself, but you can throw all that out come playoff time because it’s a whole different cat,” Detroit manager Jim Leyland said.

“In the first round, three out of five, somebody else could hit that catwalk. Tampa is really good no matter where they play and whoever they play is good wherever they play.”

The Rays aren’t taking anything for granted, but are confident they can keep it rolling in October.

“You come into our establishment, you win here, you’ve done something real good. That’s how we approach this thing,” designated hitter Cliff Floyd said.

“We’re not going to go and start pressuring ourselves, trying to do something different than we’ve done the whole season. Play our game, be relaxed and go with the flow.”

All-rounder Nathan McCullam scalped a career best six for 90 as New Zeland A bowled out India A for 248 in their first innings on the opening day of their four-day cricket match here today. The off-spinner, who had bowled just 11 overs without success in the tri-series also involving Australia, ran through the inconsistent Indian batting line up, bowling 30.4 overs unchanged from the Pavilion end after being pressed into the attack in the 16th over.

M Vijay (45) and in-form Yusuf Pathan (44) were the main scorers. The hosts failed to take advantage after winning the toss on the flat turf and lost wickets at regular intervals to be bowled out for 248 in 75.4 overs in post-tea session.

New Zealand started their reply strongly and were 36 for no loss in 12 overs at close of play with Aaron Redmond (31-41b, 4×4, 1×6) and B J Walting (2) at the crease. McCullum, older brother of Kiwi batsman Brendon McCullum, took wickets at vital times and his victims included Vijay, Captain Suresh Raina (21), Jayadev Shah (38) and Pathan.

Fast bowlers Michael Mason (1/23) and Trent Boult (1/42) and spinner Watling (2/31) gave McCullum good support. After a shaky start losing opener Sahil Kukreja (5) in the fifth over, the Indians recovered well through Vijay (66b, 7×4) and Shikar Dhawan (27-85b, 2×4).

The two appeared to be settling down for a big score when McCullum struck first. He had Vijay snapped up in the slip with a good ball in the 24th over to break the 71-run second wicket partnership.

Pathan, who was dropped by Mason at point off McCullum with his score on one and team total 132/4, and Saha rescued India adding 54 runs for the sixth wicket. Pathan fell going for an unnecessary pull shot just before tea break and was caught at long on by Trent Boult.