India and England were yesterday embroiled in an acrimonious tug-of-war over the inaugural Twenty20 Champions League, with both wanting to host it with or without each other.
The lucrative soccer-style League, featuring top Twenty20 domestic sides from around the world, is scheduled to be played between Sept. 29 and Oct. 8.
India insists it will host the tournament while England, which opposes the terms and conditions laid down by the Indians, wants to stage its own version in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the same dates.
Utter chaos prevailed in cricket circles yesterday as both sides claimed that teams from Australia and South Africa will take part in their respective tournaments.
India, buoyed by the success of the Indian Premier League earlier this year, said it will finalize details of its tournament at a meeting in Mumbai today with Australian and South African chiefs.
The northern cities of New Delhi, Mohali and Jaipur have already been announced as the possible venues in the US$10 million event, with half that amount going to the winners.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said the Abu Dhabi royal family had agreed to bankroll their tournament to be held in the UAE capital and the adjoining emirate of Sharjah.
“At the moment we are progressing with our plans and we have no plans to travel to Mumbai and attend Wednesday’s meeting,” an ECB spokesman said in London on Monday.
Who plays where is undecided, although the original plans had the top two Twenty20 teams from Australia, England, South Africa and India taking part.
Local media reports yesterday said India had turned down England’s offer to send two teams for their event in the Gulf — and also does not expect English sides to feature in their own tournament.
In a letter to the ECB, the Indian board wrote it “wished the ECB all the best” with its tournament but “unfortunately, we cannot accept” the invitation, reports said.
Talks between the Indian board and the ECB failed to resolve the issues of tournament rights and the availability of players who took part in the unauthorized Indian Cricket League (ICL).
India, the sport’s financial powerhouse, wanted to retain a 50 percent stake in the tournament and would not allow teams that fielded ICL players from taking part.
Kent, one of the two teams set to represent England in the Champions League, has two ICL players in Pakistan’s Azhar Mahmood and Justin Kemp of South Africa.
Indian official Lalit Modi had said last week the Champions League was being put off to a later date, but appeared to change his mind after being told England were going ahead with their own tournament.
The tournament is sandwiched in the short 11-day gap between the Champions Trophy final in Pakistan and the first Test between Australia and India in Bangalore.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to