De Villiers hopes for Mandela ton
Birmingham: South Africa ODI captain AB de Villiers said that just as batsmen always wanted to make a hundred so too did he hope that Nelson Mandela reached a century of birthdays. Worldwide concerns have been mounting for the health of Mandela after he spent a second day in hospital on Sunday with a lung infection. It is the fourth hospital stay since December for the Nobel peace prize laureate, set to turn 95 next month, after he was discharged in April following treatment for pneumonia. “He’s a legend in our country. He obviously turned things around for our beautiful nation. I just hope he gets better very soon. We all know he’s quite old. I think he’s 95 right now, and I’ve still got a few years to get there, but I can only imagine it’s not too easy moving around at that age,” the 29-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman added.
latif accuses Ramdin of cheating
Karachi: Former captain Rashid latif on Sunday accused West Indies wicketkeeper Dinesh Ramdin of “cheating” when he claimed a clean catch of Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq in their Champions Trophy match in london. Ramdin has been charged with a level two offence by the match referee. Misbah was ruled not out by the third umpire. Ramdin, who could be fined upto 100 per cent of his match fees and also face a one or two match ban, has pleaded not guilty. But latif, who once served a five-match ban for claiming a bump catch, said Ramdin definitely knew that he had not completed the catch.
‘Pak bowlers should go for wkts’
Karachi: Former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar advised Pakistan bowlers to be aggressive and go for wickets in their group matches against South Africa and India to remain in contention for a knock-out berth in the Champions Trophy. “Both teams have strong batting line-ups, so our bowlers should not be thinking of containing them but about getting wickets,” Akhtar said. PNS/Agencies